三指長的耐心

趙遠(yuǎn)征

耐心是高尚的秉性，堅韌是偉大的品質(zhì)。

Once there was a farmer with his wife and children living a happy life by earning from their own land in a village. The family planted the crops in spring， and harvested the crops in autumn. They set aside enough for the whole year， and sold the extra in the market. The only issue faced by the farmer was a lack of water for the fields. After discussing with his family， the farmer decided to dig a well near his land.

After managing to get all the materials prepared， he went to visit an expert to ask for advice on where he should dig one. Under the guidance， he started the project at the edge of the land with great expectation. He worked very hard to dig day and night. But his hard work was not rewarded. The whole family boosted his confidence and advised him not to lose hope. He didn't want to disappoint anyone， especially himself， and began his project again. Another two days went by， and there was not a single drop of water coming from the well. He was completely tired， lost patience and went home thinking that everything was a waste of time. In case passers?by fell into the hole by mistake， he put a piece of wood which was the size of five fingers long near the unfinished well.

One night， a villager walked beside the well and hit his leg on that wood by mistake. This man became so annoyed that with all his frustration and anger he lifted the piece of wood， and with full energy threw the wood inside the well. The moment the man threw the wood， it went and hard hit the ground nearly three fingers deep.

Water sprang up from the well as soon as the wood was hit down and rose to a certain level. When the farmer heard about this， he rushed to his well. Seeing water rising up from the well that he dug， he was too choked with emotion to speak. His eyes filled with tears as his hard work eventually paid off. After inquiring （打聽） about what happened， he knew if he had a little more patience he would have succeeded earlier. He was delighted that it helped him realize one requires more patience in any task being accomplished.

Reading Check

1. What problem did the farmer face？

A. His fields were not enough. B. He couldn't make money from fields.

C. He couldn't get help from his wife. D. His fields were short of water.

2. What does the underlined word “boosted” mean in paragraph 2？

A. Struck. B. Started. C. Increased. D. Hid.

3. Why did the farmer put a piece of wood near the unfinished well？

A. To ask for help from passers?by.

B. To remind passers?by of potential danger.

C. To measure the depth of the well.

D. To test the water source of the well.

4. What can be learned from the farmer's experience？

A. A miss is as good as a mile.

B. As a man sows， so shall he reap.

C. Actions speak louder than words.

D. Great works are accomplished by perseverance.

Language Study

熟詞生義

Water sprang up from the well as soon as the wood was hit down and rose to a certain level. 木頭一落地，水就從井里冒了出來并漲到一定的高度。

spring v. 迅速出現(xiàn)（過去式：sprang? 過去分詞：sprung）

e.g. Tears sprang to her eyes. 她眼里一下子涌出了淚水。