英语学习

The Quarrel of the Colors

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel.

Green said, "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die."

Blue interrupted: "You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea.

It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. Without my peace, you would all be nothing."

Yellow chuckled, "You are all so serious. I bring laughter, fun and warmth into the world.

The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, and the stars are yellow.

Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun."

Orange started next to blow her trumpet, "I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious, for I serve the needs of human life.

When I fill the sky as the sun rises or sets, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you."

Red could stand it no longer he shouted out, "I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for the truth. I am also the color of passion and of love."

Then came purple and indigo…

The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder.

Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening. Rain started to pour down heavily.

The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak, "You foolish colors, fighting among yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest.

Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me."

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. They formed a colorful rainbow.

From then on, whenever a good rain washes the world, a rainbow appears in the sky, letting us remember to appreciate one another.

颜色的争吵

从前，世界的颜色开始争吵。

格林说：“显然我是最重要的。我是生命和希望的象征。我被选为草、树和树叶。没有我，所有的动物都会死。”

蓝色打断他说：“你只考虑地球，但想想天空和海洋。

水是生命的基础，由深海的云层所牵引。如果没有我的和平，你们将一文不名。”

黄笑着说：“你们都是认真的。我给这个世界带来了欢笑、乐趣和温暖。

太阳是黄色的，月亮是黄色的，星星是黄色的。

每当你看着向日葵，整个世界都开始微笑。没有我，就没有乐趣。”

橙色开始吹响她的号角，“我是健康和力量的颜色。我可能是稀缺的，但我是珍贵的，因为我满足了人类生活的需要。

当我在太阳升起或落山的时候，我的美丽是如此惊人，以至于没有人会再想起你们中的任何一个人。”

瑞德再也受不了了，他大声喊道：“我是你们所有人的统治者。我是危险和勇敢的颜色。我愿意为真理而战。我也是激情和爱的颜色。”

然后是紫色和靛蓝…

颜色继续自夸，每个人都相信自己的优越性。他们的争吵声越来越大。

突然出现了一道惊人的亮光。雨开始下得很大。

颜色们在恐惧中蹲下，彼此靠近以求安慰。

在喧哗声中，雨开始说话，“你们这些愚蠢的颜色，你们彼此争斗，每个人都试图控制其余的颜色。

难道你们不知道你们每个人都是为一个特殊的目的而生的，独一无二的，不同的？你们手牵手到我这里来。”

照他们所说的去做，颜色们联合起来，手拉手。他们形成了一道彩色的彩虹。

从那时起，每当一场好雨洗刷这个世界，天空中就会出现一道彩虹，让我们记住彼此欣赏。

美文阅读

㈠听一位老太太闲谈，说起她旧宅的邻居，兄弟二人，隔墙而居，彼此嫉妒。老大有钱，身家上千万，两个儿子生了四个孙女。老二家贫，一个儿子生了三个孙子，第二胎是双胞胎。老二嫉妒老大有钱，老大嫉妒老二有孙子。

老太太叹道，老天爷偏不让人称心。老太太好像是错怪老天爷了，老天爷是不管这些闲事的，是世人都想万事如意。人心不足，人心就不平。

㈡所有的美都是伟大的奇迹，所有的平淡都蕴含着诗意，所有的挫折都变成了花絮，所有的人都是对的人，所有的时刻都是对的时刻，所有的事情都是唯一会发生的事。

㈢总之，滑坡性的思维，根源在于人们偏好于相信循序渐进的趋势本能。一方面，它能产生某种不言而喻的说服力，另一方面，也让许多不相干的事物在讨论问题时，纷纷掺杂进来，让讨论动辄上纲上线，彻底失焦。而有了“回归效应”与“集中议题”这两招心智防身术后，再去看类似的问题时，你的思路就会清楚多了。

㈣其实有的时候，没必要畏惧这些烦恼。要相信，现在你碰见的问题，也不过是每一个人在相似的路口，所遇见的难题。