Once there was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the fence.

從前，有一個小男孩，他的脾氣很壞。他的父親送給他一袋釘子。告訴他說，他每發(fā)一次火，就必須將一顆釘子釘在柵欄上。

The first day the boy hammered 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

第一天，男孩將37顆釘子釘進了柵欄。又過了幾周，隨著他學(xué)會控制自己的怒火，釘子的數(shù)目日益減少。他發(fā)現(xiàn)控制自己的脾氣要比往柵欄上釘那些釘子容易。

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and his father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

最后，男孩再也不發(fā)火的日子終于來了。他把這件事告訴了他的父親。他的父親建議他現(xiàn)在每天能控制住自己的脾氣，就拔掉一顆釘子。

The days passed and one day the young boy told his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. The fence would never be the same. “When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like those nails,” his father said.

又過去了好幾天。有一天，男孩對他的父親說，所有的釘子都沒有了。男孩的父親拉住他的手，將他領(lǐng)到了柵欄邊。柵欄再也不是從前的樣子了?！爱?dāng)你生氣的說出事情時，它們就像那些釘子一樣留下了傷疤。”他的父親說。

詞匯：

temper n 性情、脾氣

nail n 釘子、指甲 v 釘牢

hammer n 錘子 v 錘打

fence n 圍欄

dwindle v 逐漸減少

scar n 傷疤 v 給...留下傷疤