8-3 父亲的赐福（在线收听）

Dad's Blessings

A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautifully wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed¹ in gold. Angry, he raised his voice to his father and said, “With all your money, you give me a Bible?” and stormed² out of the house, leaving the Bible.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed³ all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. And as he did, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words PAID IN FULL.

注释：

1. emboss [im5bCs] vt. 浮雕，在……上浮雕图案，装饰

2. storm [stC:m] vi. 猛冲，横冲直撞

3. will [wil] vt. 遗赠，立遗嘱言明

父亲的赐福

一位年轻人即将大学毕业。数月来他一直心仪某个汽车经销商摆放在陈列室的一辆漂亮的跑车，他知道他的父亲完全买得起，于是告诉父亲这是他的惟一所求。

毕业典礼之日即将来临，年轻人等待着父亲给他买车的迹象。终于，在典礼当天的早晨，父亲把他叫进他的私人书房。父亲说，他为有他这样优秀的儿子而感到骄傲，又说他非常爱他。父亲递给儿子一个包装精美的礼品盒。儿子不免好奇，但也有几分失望。他打开盒子，看到里面是一本精致的、皮面装帧的《圣经》，上面用金色浮饰刻着年轻人的名字。年轻人生气了，高声对父亲说道：“凭您的财富，您就给我一本《圣经》？”他气呼呼地冲出房间，没有带上那本《圣经》。

    许多年过去了，年轻人在生意上非常成功。他拥有漂亮的房子和美满的家庭，但意识到父亲已经非常老了，他想也许他应该去看看父亲。从毕业那天起他就没再见过父亲。等他要安排行程时，他收到一封电报，被告知父亲已经离世，将所有的财产都遗留给了他。他必须立即回家，料理后事。

当他赶回父亲家时，突袭而来的悲哀和懊悔充满了他的心。他开始在父亲的重要文件中搜寻，看见了那本《圣经》，崭新如初，就像他多年前留下它时一样。他流着泪，打开《圣经》，开始翻页。不经意间，一把汽车钥匙从《圣经》的后面掉了下来。钥匙上有个标签，上面有经销商的名字，就是那位拥有他心仪的那辆跑车的经销商。标签上写有他毕业的日期，及“全额付清”的字样。