The Mean Chef

小氣的大廚

Once there was a chef, who was mean to his cooks. He was mean to the people who came in to eat. He charged too much for meals. Many people were not able to afford the cheapest bean dish. When his metal oven broke, he did not have it fixed. So everything baked in it burned. The only light was from candles, and the whole place was a mess. Sometimes, he didn’t pay his waiters. Since they had no funds, they had many debts.

曾經有一個對手下很吝嗇的廚師長，他對前來就餐的客人都很小氣。他把價格標的很高，很少有人能吃得起一份最便宜的豆類菜品。就連金屬烤箱壞了，他也沒有去修，以致于烘焙的所有食品都燒著了。店里唯一的照明是幾根蠟燭，整個后廚亂成一團。他有時不給服務員發工資，以致于他們欠下了很多債務。

The chef behaved this way all the time. He monitored the cooks and yelled if they did not do things his way.

這個廚師一直以來都是這樣。如果手下的廚師不按他的方式去做他就會大喊大叫。

One day, the cooks decided that they were tired of the abuse and that they would not be passive anymore. Everyone opposed the chef. At first, they thought about suing him. Instead, they tied up the chef with rope. Now, they controlled the restaurant! They decreased the price of food. They used the best ingredients and made large quantities of food. They turned on the lights. The restaurant was converted into a happy place. For the first time, many people came to eat.

某天，手底下的廚師終于決定不再忍受這種虐待，不再沉默。所有人都開始反抗。起初，大家都想著起訴他，但最后卻用繩子把他綁了起來。然后大家控制了餐廳！他們開始降價，并使用最好的原材料做菜，而且菜量也增加很多。大家把燈打開，餐廳瞬間變成一片樂土。有史以來的第一次，人們紛紛前來就餐。

The chef realized that the restaurant’s problems were his fault. The chef learned an important lesson. The new, generous chef insisted on giving the customers a free meal.

廚師長意識到餐廳具有的問題都是自己的過錯導致，他吸取了一次重要的教訓。廚師長改頭換面，慷慨的請客人們免費吃了一頓飯。

單詞表

abuse v.虐待

afford v.買得起

bake v.烤

bean n.豆

candle n.蠟燭

convert v.轉換，轉變

debt n.債務

decrease v.減少

fault n.過失

fund n.資金

generous adj.大方的

ingredient n.成分

insist v.堅持，強調

mess n.混亂

metal n.金屬

monitor v.監視

oppose v.反對

passive adj.消極的

quantity n.數量

sue v.控告