第3章 匆忙的蝴蝶 A Rushed Butterfly
佚名/Anonymous
A man was walking in the forest near his farm. The man loved nature. He watched birds and looked for signs of small animals.
One day, the man found the cocoon of a butterfly. It was hanging from the branch of a tree. He was excited to witness this miracle of nature as it unfolded. Anxiously, the man checked on the cocoon everyday. Several days passed with no sign of movement or life.
Finally, one day a small opening appeared in the cocoon. The man sat down on the forest floor, ready to enjoy the show. He watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole.
The process was endless and the man was getting impatient. Then the creature in the cocoon seemed to stop making progress altogether. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and as though it could go no further.
The man decided to help the butterfly. He went home and found a pair of scissors. He returned to the forest and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man sat down and continued to watch the butterfly.
He expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body. He also supposed that the body would contract in time. Neither of these things happened.
In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly was necessary. As the butterfly fought to get through the tiny opening, fluid was forced from the body of the butterfly into its wings.
This way, it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we were allowed to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
有一个人在农场附近的森林里漫步。他热爱大自然，喜欢观察飞鸟，寻找小动物的踪迹。
一天，那个人发现了一只蝴蝶的茧。茧正挂在一棵树的树枝上。能目睹破茧成蝶这一自然奇迹，他感到很激动。每天他都急切地去查看这个茧。几天过去了，茧没有任何活动或生命的迹象。
终于，有一天茧裂开了一个小口。于是，那个人坐在林地上，准备欣赏这场“表演”。他看着蝴蝶用了数小时的时间从一个小洞里向外挣扎。
这个过程一直在持续。那个人变得没有耐心起来。接着，茧中的生命好像完全停止了挣扎，看上去好像是它已经用尽全力，再不能更进一步了。
那人决定帮蝴蝶一把。他回到家，找了一把剪刀，然后返回森林，把残留的一点茧剪开。蝴蝶很容易就脱离了出来，但是它的身体却很肿胀，翅膀也是又小又萎缩的。那个人又坐下来，继续观察蝴蝶。
他期待着在某一个时刻，蝴蝶的翅膀会变大，伸展开来足以支撑它的身体。他也假想着，蝴蝶的身体能及时变小。然而，两种情况都未发生。
事实上，这只蝴蝶一生也只能用它肿胀的身体和褶皱的翅膀在周围爬行。它永远也飞不起来了。
这个仁慈又心急的人，不明白茧的束缚与蝴蝶的挣扎是必要的。在蝴蝶从小孔挣扎出来的过程中，液体被挤出身体，进入了翅膀。只有这样，一旦从茧中获得自由，蝴蝶才能振翅高飞。
有时，奋斗正是我们生存的必需。如果生命中没有任何障碍，我们只会成为跛子。
记忆填空
1.One day, the man____________the cocoon of a butterfly. It was hanging from the branch of a tree. He was____________to witness this miracle of nature as it unfolded. Anxiously, the man checked on the cocoon everyday. Several days passed with no____________of movement or life.
2.The process was____________and the man was getting impatient. Then the creature in the cocoon seemed to____________making progress altogether. It appeared as if it had gotten as____________as it could and as though it could go____________further.
佳句翻译
1.他热爱大自然，喜欢观察飞鸟，寻找小动物的踪迹。
译___________________________________________________
2.他期待着在某一个时刻，蝴蝶的翅膀会变大，伸展开来足以支撑它的身体。
译___________________________________________________
3.如果生命中没有任何障碍，我们只会成为跛子。
译___________________________________________________
短语应用
1.It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and as though it could go no further.
as far as：至于，直到，远到；就……而言
造___________________________________________________
2.If we were allowed to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.
go through：参加；经受；仔细检查；通过
造___________________________________________________