Long ago, an old man and his son lived in a faraway town near the Chinese border. They farmed the land and lived a mostly peaceful life.One night, there was a terrible storm. Wind lashed the trees. An old elm crashed into the barn door. The frightened horse ran out of the barn, heading toward the hills. The old man and his son looked all over for the horse. They walked through the dark fields, holding torches. They calledtothe horse and scattered sweet hay. Still, they could not find him.The entire time the old man kept saying, “Perhaps losing our horse isn’t such a bad thing.” His son kept quiet. He didn’t understand his father.They asked everyone about the missing horse. The townspeople answered politely, saying that they hadn’t seen the horse, but would look out for him. They all pitied the old man and his son. “It must be terrible to lose such a beautiful animal,” they said. But the old man insisted that losing the horse might not be a bad thing. The townspeople grew quiet.They didn’t understand the old man.Indeed, it turned out to not be such a bad thing. The horse returned the next day, bringing with it a beautiful female horse. The townspeople congratulated the old man, telling him that he had good luck. The old man, however, responded, “Perhaps my horse returning is not such a?good thing after all.” The townspeople grew quiet. They didn’t understand the old man.As the days passed, the old man’s son came to love the new horse. He rode it every day. When they raced, they flowed like the wind over the grass. But one day, as the old man’s son was riding the horse, a large bird suddenly flew in front of them. The terrified horse stood up on two legs, pawing the air. The old man’s son reached for his horse’s mane but grabbed only air. He flew off the horse’s back.He slammed into the hard ground. His leg broke. The old man ran to his son and carried him back to the house.The townspeople expressed their sympathy to the old man. They were all very sorry. His son would never be able to walk without pain again.Yet unlike the townspeople, the old man said, “Maybe this is not such a bad thing after all.” The townspeople grew quiet. They didn’t understand the old man.A few months later, the Emperor of China passed through the town with his soldiers. There was a war raging near the border. All the able?bodied young men had to join the army. What the Emperor didn’t say was that most of the young men would die in the fight.?However, because the old man’s son was handicapped, he could not fight. He didn’t have to join the army. Instead, he stayed home. He helped tend crops on the family farm.“See?” the old man said to the townspeople. “It all worked out in the end.My horse running away brought back the second horse. And that second horse stopped my son from going off to his death. So, in the end, it was good and lucky that these things happened.” The townspeople cheered the old man’s wisdom. At last, they understood him.The moral of this story is that even the worst things can have positive effects. There is a similar idiom in English. It is “Every cloud has a silver lining.”
The EndQuestion:??Describe a time when something that seemed bad actually helped you out.
核心詞匯

border n. 邊境

lash v. （風、雨）猛烈打擊

elm n. 榆木

barn n. 谷倉

scatter v. 分散

hay n. （作飼料用的）干草

entire adj. 整個的，全部的

insist v. 堅持

female adj. 女性的，母的

terrify v. 使害怕

paw v. 用爪子抓（或扒）

mane n. （馬）鬃，（獅）鬣

grab v. 抓取，攫取

slam v. 砰地關上（門或窗）

able-bodied adj. 體格健全的，強壯的

rage v. （戰爭）激烈進行

handicapped adj. 殘疾的

tend v. 照料，照顧crop n. 谷物

wisdom n. 智慧

moral n. 寓意

idiom n. 習語

以下翻譯來自百度翻譯：
很久以前，一位老人和他的兒子住在中國邊境附近的一個遙遠的小鎮上。他們耕種土地，過著平靜的生活。一天晚上，有一場可怕的暴風雨。風猛烈地吹著樹。一棵老榆樹撞上了谷倉的門。那匹受驚的馬跑出谷倉，向山上跑去。老人和他的兒子到處尋找那匹馬。他們手持火把穿過黑暗的田野。他們把馬叫來，撒下甘美的干草。但是，他們還是找不到他。老人一直在說，“也許失去我們的馬不是件壞事。”他的兒子保持沉默。他不理解他的父親。他們向大家打聽那匹失蹤的馬。鎮上的人禮貌地回答說，他們沒有看到那匹馬，但會注意他的。他們都同情老人和他的兒子。“失去這么漂亮的動物一定很可怕，”他們說。但是老人堅持說，失去這匹馬可能不是一件壞事。鎮上的人都安靜下來了。他們不理解這位老人。事實證明，這并不是一件壞事。第二天，這匹馬回來了，帶來了一匹漂亮的母馬。鎮上的人向老人祝賀，說他運氣好。然而，老人回答說：“也許我的馬回來并不是一件好事。”鎮上的人都安靜了下來。他們不理解這位老人。日子一天天過去，老人的兒子愛上了這匹新馬。他每天都騎著它。當他們比賽時，他們像風一樣在草地上飛舞。但是有一天，當老人的兒子騎馬時，一只大鳥突然飛到他們面前。那匹受驚的馬兩條腿走路站起來，用爪子抓著空氣。老人的兒子伸手去抓馬的鬃毛，但只抓住了空氣。他從馬背上飛走了。他砰地一聲撞在堅硬的地面上。他的腿斷了。老人跑向他的兒子，把他帶回了家。鎮上的人對這位老人表示同情。他們都很抱歉。他的兒子再也不能不痛地走路了。然而，與城里人不同的是，老人說：“也許這畢竟不是件壞事。”城里人變得安靜了。他們不理解這位老人。幾個月后，中國皇帝帶著他的士兵穿過了這個城鎮。邊境附近爆發了一場戰爭。所有有能力的?體格健壯的年輕人不得不參軍。皇帝沒有說的是，大多數年輕人都會在戰斗中死去。然而，由于老人的兒子是殘疾人，他不能戰斗。他不必參軍。相反，他呆在家里。他幫助照料家庭農場的莊稼。“看到了嗎？”老人對鎮上的人說。“最后一切都解決了。我跑開的馬帶回了第二匹馬。第二匹馬阻止了我兒子的死亡。因此，最終，這些事情發生了，真是幸運。”鎮上的人們為老人的智慧歡呼。他們終于明白了他的意思。這個故事的寓意是，即使是最糟糕的事情也會產生積極的影響。英語中有一個類似的成語。這是“每一朵云都有一線希望。”