LESSON 54 Words which deceive
第五十四課 謊言
One day a man gave his son some wood to saw. The boy did not want to do such work; so after his father had gone away, he threw the saw down, and it broke.
有一天，一位父親給了兒子一些木頭讓他鋸。兒子不想干這些活，所以在父親離開之后，他把鋸子扔了，而且鋸子斷了。
"I did not break the saw," said the boy to himself; "it broke itself." He tried to deceive himself with words; but he knew in his heart that they were false words, and he was afraid to meet his father.
“我沒有折斷鋸子”男孩對自己說，“它是自己斷掉的”。他試圖用一些話欺騙自己，但是他的內心知道這些都是虛假的話，他害怕極了見父親。
One day a mother said to her son, who had just returned from school, "It is six o'clock, and your school closes at four—where have you been, my boy?"
有一天，一個母親對自己剛剛從學校回來的兒子說，“現在已經六點了，而你的學校是四點放學，那么孩子，你去哪兒了呢？”。
"O mother," said Ned, "when we play at ball, we forget everything else. We do not think of the time, or of coming home. Is tea ready?"
“哦，媽媽”Ned說“當我們在舞會上玩的時候，我們忘記了所有事情，我們忘記了時間以及回家。茶準備好了嗎，媽媽？”
The boy's mother was deceived. Ned's answer led her to think that he had been playing with his companions. But he had not been playing at all.
男孩欺騙了媽媽，Ned的回答讓媽媽認為他和他的同伴在一起玩，然而事實并不如他所說。
He had been "kept in" by his teacher, because he had not learned his lessons. He did not like to tell his mother that. He wished her to think that he had been playing.
真相是他由于不聽課被老師留下來了，他不想讓媽媽知道這個而想讓媽媽認為他是在玩。
"What a shame and a sin it is for you to try to deceive your mother," said something in Ned's heart, as he sat down to his tea.
“欺騙自己的母親是多么的羞恥和罪惡啊”Ned坐著喝茶時心里這樣想。
"I don't care," said the boy to himself, "I don't care. I did not tell a lie—I did not say that I was playing."
“我不在乎”男孩這樣對自己說“我才不在乎呢，我又沒有撒謊——我沒有說我在玩”。
"But", said the voice, "you used words which made your mother think that you had been playing, and that was the same as if you had said so."
“但是。。。”另一個聲音說，“你用了一些話讓你母親認為你在玩，這就等同于溺士這么跟她說的”。
"I did not tell a lie," said Ned.
“我沒有撒謊。”Ned說。
What do you think, my little reader? Did Ned tell a lie, or did he not? I am sure you will say—"Of course he did."
你認為呢？小讀者們。你認為Ned說謊了還是沒有呢？我可以肯定你們會說——“他當然撒謊啦！”
If we use words which are intended to deceive, we tell a lie; and Ned's lie was a very bad one, for it looked so like the truth. A lie that looks like the truth is the worst kind of lie.
如果我們說的話目的是出于欺騙的，那么我們就是在說謊。Ned的謊言是很糟糕的，因為它看上去很像是真的。看起來像真話的謊言是最糟糕的謊言。
What did a man give his son to do? What did the boy do with the saw? What happened to it? What did the boy say to himself? What did he know in his heart?—What did a mother say to her son? What did Ned reply? What effect had Ned's words on his mother's mind? What had made him late? What did he wish his mother to think? What did something in Ned' sheart say? What did the boy say? What did the voice reply? What did Ned say? What will the little reader say? What are words which are intended to deceive? Which kind of a lie is the worst kind?
父親給了兒子什么讓他做？男孩對鋸子做了什么？鋸子怎么樣了？男孩是怎么對自己說的？在他心里他是怎么認為的？母親和兒子說了什么？Ned又是怎么回答的？Ned的話對母親的看法有什么效果？是什么使他回來遲了？他希望母親怎么想？Ned的心里怎么想的？小讀者們會說些什么呢？目的在于欺騙的話是什么話？什么樣的謊花最糟糕？
評論
打印
