奇速英语

A rich man asked a wise scholar(学者) to get his son away from his bad habits. The scholar took the youth for a walk in a garden. Stopping suddenly, he asked the boy to pull out a very small plant growing there.

The youth held the plant between his two fingers and pulled it out. The old man then asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant. The youth pulled hard and the plant came out, roots and all. “Now pull out that one,” said the old man, pointing to a bush(灌木). The boy had to pull it out with all his strength.

“Now take this one out,” said the old man, pointing at a big tree. The youth grasped the bottom of the tree and tried to pull it out. But it would not move. “It’s impossible,” said the boy, out of breath.

“So it is with bad habits,” said the scholar. “When they are young, it is easy to pull them out, but when they take hold, they cannot be got rid of. Don’t wait for bad habits to grow in you. Drop them while you have control over it, or they will get control of you.”

The talk with the old man changed the boy’s life.