第34章 The Importance of Being Honest

Anonymous

诚实的重要性

心灵寄语

诚信是什么？诚信是荒原上流淌的一汪清泉；诚信是寒冬腊月交替傲放的一枝腊梅；诚信是夜晚行路时前方的不灭之灯；诚信是在浮浮沉沉漂泊不定的人海中导航的一座灯塔……

On a Friday night，a poor young artist stood at the gate of the subway station，playing his violin。The music was great，though people were quickly going home for the weekend，in this

case，many of them slowed down their paces and put some money into the hat of the young man。

The next day，the young artist came to the gate of the subway station，and put his hat on the ground gracefully。Different than the day before，he took out a large piece of paper and laid it on the ground and put some stones on it。Then he adjusted1the violin and began playing。It seemed more pleasant to listen to。

Before long，the young violinist was surrounded2with people，who were all attracted by the words on that paper。It said，“Last night，a gentleman named George Sang put an important thing into my hat by mistaken。Please come to claim it soon。”

Seeing this，it caused a great excitement and people wondered what it could be。After about half an hour，a middle-aged man ran there in a hurry and rushed through the crowd to the violinist and grabbed3his shoulders and said，“Yes，it’s you。You did come here。I knew that you’re an honest man and would certainly come here。”

The young violinist asked calmly，“Are you Mr。George Sang？”

The man nodded。

The violinist asked，“Did you lose something？”

“Lottery。It’s lottery，”said the man。

The violinist took out a lottery ticket on which George Sang’s name was seen。“Is it？”he asked。

George nodded promptly4and seized the lottery ticket and kissed it，then he danced with the violinist。

The story turned out to be this：George Sang is an office clerk。He bought a lottery ticket issued by a bank a few days ago。The awards opened yesterday and he won a prize of ＄500，000.So he felt very happy after work and felt the music was so wonderful，that he took out 50dollars and put in the hat。However the lottery ticket was also thrown in。The violinist was a student at an Arts College and had planned to attend advanced studies in Vienna。He had booked the ticket and would fly that morning。However when he was cleaning up he found the lottery ticket。Thinking that the owner would return to look for it，he cancelled the flight and came back to where he was given the lottery ticket。

Later someone asked the violinist，“At that time you were in needed to pay the tuition5fee and you had to play the violin in the subway station every day to make the money。Then why didn’t you take the lottery ticket for yourself？”

The violinist said，“Although I don’t have much money，I live happily；but if I lose honesty I won’t be happy forever。”

Through our lives，we can gain a lot and lose so much。But being honest should always be with us。If we bear ourselves in a deceptive6and dishonest way，we may succeed temporarily。However，from the long-term view，we will be a loser。Such kind of people is just like the water on the mountain。It stands high above the masses at the beginning，but gradually it comes down inch by inch and loses the chance of going up。

佚名

那是一个星期五的晚上，贫穷的年轻艺人站在地铁站的门口拉小提琴。琴声悠扬，尽管人们都匆匆忙忙地赶回家过周末，但很多人听到琴声后，不由地放慢了脚步，在年轻人面前的帽子里放些钱。

第二天，年轻的艺人又来到了地铁站的门口，把他的帽子优雅地放在地上。不同于以往的是，他还拿出一大张纸来，把它平铺在地上，用小石块压着。接着，他调好小提琴的音，开始了演奏。琴声似乎更加优美动听了。

没一会儿，年轻的小提琴手周围就堆满了人，他们都被纸上的话吸引住了。纸上写道，“昨天晚上，有一位叫乔治·桑的先生不小心把一样重要的东西错放到我的帽子里。请来认领。”

看到这种情况，人们都兴奋了起来，想看看到底是什么东西。大约半个小时后，一位中年男子急急忙忙跑过来，拨开人群就冲到小提琴手面前，紧抓住他的肩膀，激动地说：“太好了！真的是你！你真的来了！我就知道你是个诚实的人，你一定会回来的。”

年轻的小提琴手平静地问：“您是乔治·桑先生吗？”

那人连忙点点头。

小提琴手又问：“您昨天落下了什么东西吗？”

那位先生说：“彩票！是彩票！”

于是，小提琴手拿出那张彩票，上面还清楚地写着乔治·桑的名字，小提琴手问：“是这个吗？”

乔治·桑立即点点头，抓过奖票亲吻了一下，然后又拉着小提琴手跳起了舞。

这个故事原来是这样的，乔治·桑是个公司职员。几天前，他买了由一家银行发行的彩票。昨天上午开奖，他赢得50万美元的奖金。所以昨天下班后他心情很好，觉得小伙子的琴声也特别得优美，就从钱包里拿出50美元，放在了帽子里。但是他没觉察到把彩票也一起放了进去。这个小提琴手是艺术学院的学生，他本来计划去维也纳进修。他已经定好了机票，准备那天上午就走。但是，他整理东西时发现了这张彩票。想到失主一定会回来找，于是就退了机票，又来到地铁站门口，等待失主。

之后，有人问这个小提琴手：“当时，你急需一笔钱交学费，不得不每天到地铁站拉小提琴赚钱。那你为什么不留着那50万美元的彩票呢？”

小提琴手说：“虽然我没钱，但我活得很快乐；假如失去了诚信，我将永远也不会快乐。”

在我们的一生中，能够获得许多，但也会失去很多。但诚信却应始终与我们相随。如果我们在生活中欺骗别人、不讲诚信，所赢得的成功也是暂时的。然而，从长远的观点看，我们终究是个失败者。这种人就像高山上的流水。一开始高高在上，一览众山小，但后来就逐渐地下降，永远失去上升的机会了。

V

词汇空间

ocabulary

1.adjust v。 调适，调节

2.surround v。 围绕

3.grab v。 抓住

4.promptly adv。 立即地，迅速地

5.tuition n。 学费

6.deceptive adj。 欺骗的，骗人的

文化链接

Culture Background

1.维也纳（德语：Wien），（英语：Vienna）

维也纳是奥地利的首都，是享誉世界的文化名城，既有“音乐之都”的盛誉，又有以精美绝伦、风格各异的建筑而赢得的“建筑博览会”的美称。维也纳的新年音乐会已成为国际性的音乐盛会。它位于奥地利东北部阿尔卑斯山北麓维也纳盆地之中，三面环山，波光粼粼的多瑙河穿城而过，四周环绕着著名的维也纳森林。维也纳还是多瑙河第一个流经的大城市，因此有多瑙河的女神之称。

2.小提琴（Violin）

现代小提琴的出现已有300多年的历史，其制作本身是一门极为精致的工艺技术。小提琴音色优美，接近人声，音域宽广，表现力强，从它诞生那天起，就一直在乐器中占有显著的地位，为人们所宠爱。如果说钢琴是“乐器之王”，那么小提琴就是乐器的“王后”了。

妙语拾珠

1.Although I don’t have much money，I live happily；but if I lose honesty I won’t be happy forever。

虽然我没钱，但我活得很快乐；假如失去了诚信，我将永远也不会快乐。

2.Such kind of people is just like the water on the mountain。It stands high above the masses at the beginning，but gradually it comes down inch by inch and loses the chance of going up。

这种人就像高山上的流水。一开始高高在上，一览众山小，但后来就逐渐地下降，永远失去上升的机会了。