The Race for Water

關(guān)于水的比賽

There was a town next to a river. The people there had a lot of water. But they wasted it. That made the Sky angry. It said, “If you waste water, I will take it away from you.” But the people didn’t listen. 河邊有一座城，城里的人們都不缺水，但是他們卻無節(jié)制地浪費(fèi)水。上天對此很生氣，對城里的居民說：“你們要是再浪費(fèi)水，我就把水都移走。”但人們并沒有改變。

When the season changed from spring to summer, the clouds disappeared. The bright sun was hot and made the river dry. There was no water available. People asked, “When will the rain fall?”

天氣也從春季進(jìn)入了夏季，天空萬里無云，火辣的太陽把河水都曬干了。人們無水可用，于是問道：“什么時(shí)候能降雨？”

The Sky’s response was, “You don’t appreciate water. You waste it, and now I will never make rain again.”

上天回答說：“你們不珍惜水，浪費(fèi)水，我永遠(yuǎn)都不會給你們降雨。”

A boy determined that this wasn’t fair. He thought of a solution. He asked the Sky to race him. He said, “If I get to the top of that hill before your rain can form puddles, you must fill our river.”

一個(gè)男孩覺得上天這樣做很不公平，于是想了一個(gè)辦法。他要求上天與自己來一場比賽。他對上天說：“如果我跑到了那個(gè)山頂，而你的降雨還沒有形成水坑，你就必須要把河水還給我們。”

The Sky laughed. “Little boy, I am the Sky. I am above everything else. You cannot beat me.” But the boy knew he would win.
 上天笑了：“小孩，我是天神，我是最強(qiáng)大的，你贏不了我的。”但男孩知道自己能贏得這場比賽。

When the race began, the boy ran forward. The Sky started raining on the hill. But puddles did not form there. When it rained on the hill, the water went down.
比賽開始后，男孩開始往前跑。上天開始往山上降雨，但是山上是不可能積水的，因?yàn)樗涞降厣暇蜁铝鳌?/p>

The Sky kept raining. The water flowed down into the river. When the boy reached the top of the hill, the river was full. The people began to celebrate. It was the highest level the river had ever been at before.

上天持續(xù)降雨，落下的雨水都流進(jìn)了河里。當(dāng)男孩跑到山頂時(shí)，小河已經(jīng)注滿了水。人們開始為此慶祝，這是有史以來最高的水位了。

The Sky was angry. “A boy can’t beat me! I won’t fill your river,” it said.

上天惱羞成怒地說：“我不可能被一個(gè)小孩打敗！我不會往你們的河里注水。”

Now the boy laughed. “It doesn’t matter whether you want to fill it or not,” he said. “You already did.” The Sky looked at the full river.

小男孩笑著說：“你愿不愿意都沒關(guān)系，河水已經(jīng)注滿了。”上天看了看注滿水的小河。

You tricked me, it said. It asked the people, “Do you appreciate water now?”

“你騙我，”上天說道。它問人們：“你們現(xiàn)在知道水的珍貴了吧？”

Yes, they said. “We won’t waste it.”

“是的”人們回答，“我們不會再浪費(fèi)水了。”

That is how a lone boy saved his town and won the race for water.

男孩就這樣贏得了這場關(guān)于水的比賽并救了整個(gè)鎮(zhèn)子的人。

單詞

appreciate v.欣賞，感激

available adj.可得的

beat v.打敗。

bright adj.明亮的

celebrate v.慶祝

determine v.決定，判決

disappear v.消失

else adj.其他的

fair adj.公平的

flow v.流動

forward adv.向前地

hill n.小山，丘陵

level n.水平

lone adj.單獨(dú)的

puddle n.水坑

response n.響應(yīng)，反應(yīng)，回答

season n.季節(jié)

solution n.解決

waste v.浪費(fèi)

whether conj.是否，不論