英语小达人 189 Silence Is Good

 　　Silence Is Good

　　沉默是金

　　At an Indian fair there was a merchant who had an elephant for sale. He saw an American who was examining it with very great care--walking round and round it, putting his head on one side, and taking in everything.

　　在印度集市上，有个商人要卖大象。他看到一个美国人仔细地观察，围着大象走来走去，还歪着头看，一切都记在心上。

　　The merchant went up to the American, and said, "Don't say anything about the elephant till I have sold it, and I will make you a present."

　　商人走过去对美国人说：“在我卖掉大象之前一个字都不准说，我会给你一份礼物的。”

　　"All right," said the American.

　　“好啊！”美国人说。

　　After the elephant was sold, the merchant gave him one-tenth of the price he had got for it, and said, "Now tell me how you found out that blemish¹ on the left foreleg of the elephant. I thought it was quite concealed²."

　　卖了大象之后，商人把卖大象钱的十分之一给了美国人，并且说道：“现在告诉我你是怎么发现大象左前腿的毛病吧。我以为很隐蔽呢！”

　　"Blemish!" said the American. "I never found any blemish."

　　“毛病？！”美国人说道，“我从没发现什么毛病啊！”

　　"Then, why did you examine the elephant so closely³?" asked the merchant.

　　“那么，你为什么那么细心地检查大象呢？”商人问道。

　　"Because I had never seen an elephant before, and wanted to see what it was like," said the American.

　　“因为我以前从没看到过大象，想看看到底是什么样子。”美国人说。

1 blemish   

v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点

参考例句：

• The slightest blemish can reduce market value.只要有一点最小的损害都会降低市场价值。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

2 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

3 closely   

adv.紧密地；严密地，密切地

参考例句：

• We shall follow closely the development of the situation.我们将密切注意形势的发展。
• The two companies are closely tied up with each other.这两家公司之间有密切联系。