英语沙龙：建造自己的房子

Building Your Own House

 

 

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire after years of work.

He told his employer-contractor¹ of his plans

to leave the house-building business

to live a more leisurely² life with his wife

and enjoy his extended family.

He would miss the paycheck each week,

but he wanted to retire.

With the money the carpenter had put aside

during the years he worked for the employer-contractor,

they could get by.

The contractor was very sorry to see his good worker go

and asked if he could possibly build just one more house

as a personal favor for him.

The carpenter said yes,

but over time it was easy to see

that his heart was not in his work at all.

He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior³ materials.

You see, it was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated⁴ career.

When the carpenter finished his work,

his employer came to inspect the house.

Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said

“This is your house...my gift to you.”

The carpenter was shocked!

What a shame!

If he had only known he was building his own house,

he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us.

We build our lives, a day at a time,

often putting less than our best into the building.

Then, with a shock,

we realize we have to live in the house we have built.

If we could do it all over again,

we would do it much differently.

But you cannot go back.

You are the carpenter,

and everyday you hammer a nail,

place a board, or erect⁵ a wall.

Someone once said,

“Life is a do-it-yourself project.”

Your attitude and the choices you make today

helps to build the “house” you will live in tomorrow.

Therefore, build wisely!

1 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

2 leisurely   

adj.悠闲的；从容的，慢慢的

参考例句：

• We walked in a leisurely manner,looking in all the windows.我们慢悠悠地走着，看遍所有的橱窗。
• He had a leisurely breakfast and drove cheerfully to work.他从容的吃了早餐，高兴的开车去工作。

3 inferior   

adj.劣等的，次的，下级的；n.下级，下属

参考例句：

• These oranges are inferior to those I bought last week.这些桔子没我上个周买的好。
• They sell inferior goods at that store.那家商店卖劣等货。

4 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

5 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。