Daddy, can I learn to play the violin? Young Sarah asked. She was always asking for things and her father was not very pleased. "You cost me a lot of money, Sarah," he said. "First you wanted to learn horse riding, then dancing, then swimming. Now it's the violin. ""I'll play every day, Daddy." Sarah said. "I'll try very hard."
All right, her father said. "This is what I'll do. I'll pay for you to have lessons for six weeks. At the end of six weeks you must play something for me. If you play well, you can have more lessons. If you play badly, I will stop the lessons." "OK. Daddy." Sarah said. "That is fair."
He soon found a good violin teacher and Sarah began her lessons. The teacher was very expensive, but her father kept his promise1. The six weeks passed quickly. The time came for Sarah to play for her father. She went to the living room and said, "I'm ready to play for you, Daddy." "Fine, Sarah," her father said. "Begin."
She began to play and played very badly. She made a terrible noise. Her father had a friend with him, and the friend put his hands over his ears. When Sarah finished, her father said, "Well done, Sarah. You can have more lessons."
Sarah ran happily out of the room. Her father's friend turned to him, "You've spent a lot of money, but she still plays very badly. "Well, that's true," her father said. "But since she started learning the violin I've been able to buy five apartments2 in this building very cheaply. In another six weeks I'll own the whole building!"
Notes:
1. promise 許諾,保證
2. apartment 公寓
“爸爸,我能學(xué)拉小提琴嗎?”小莎拉問她的父親。她總是要東西,因此她爸爸很不高興?!澳慊宋液芏噱X,莎拉。”他說,“開始你想學(xué)騎馬,然后想學(xué)跳舞,然后是游泳?,F(xiàn)在又想學(xué)拉小提琴?!薄拔視刻於祭模职??!鄙f,“我會認(rèn)真練的?!?
“好吧”,她爸爸說?!跋旅媸俏乙龅模何視槟愀读鶄€星期的小提琴課費用,六個星期后你必須拉首曲子給我聽。如果你拉得很好,你可以繼續(xù)上小提琴課,要是你拉得很差,你就不要再學(xué)了。”“行,爸爸?!鄙f,“這很公平。”
他很快就找到了一個好的小提琴老師,莎拉就開始學(xué)拉提琴了。盡管學(xué)費很高,但她爸爸遵守了諾言。六個星期很快就過去了,該是莎拉給爸爸拉提琴的時候了。她走進(jìn)起居室說:“我準(zhǔn)備好拉提琴給你聽了?!薄昂猛郏?,她爸爸說?!伴_始吧。”
她開始拉了,拉得很差,發(fā)出了可怕的噪音。她爸爸身旁有位朋友,朋友用手捂著耳朵。莎拉拉完一曲,她父親說:“拉得好,莎拉。你可以繼續(xù)學(xué)琴了?!?
莎拉高興地跑出門去。她爸爸的朋友說:“你已經(jīng)花了不少錢了,但她還是拉得很差?!薄班?,的確如此”,她爸爸說,“但自從她開始學(xué)小提琴,這幢樓里有五位住戶用很便宜的價格把他們的公寓賣給了我。再過六周,我就可以擁有整幢樓啦!”
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小提琴結(jié)構(gòu)看似簡單,但從誕生之日起,它就以其鮮活的音色和豐富的表現(xiàn)力征服了世界。小提琴大師耶胡迪·梅紐因曾說:“如果說上帝是根據(jù)自己的形象創(chuàng)造了人,那么可以肯定地說,人是根據(jù)自己的形象創(chuàng)造了小提琴,因為小提琴就是一位美麗的女神。”