陈云珍

Once upon a time， a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the work condition. For those reasons， the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

从前有个很强壮的伐木工，他在木材商那里找到了一份工作。报酬和工作条件都很不错，因为这些，伐木工决心尽全力把工作做好。

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the place where he supposed to work.

他的老板给他一把斧子，并带他来到他应该工作的地方。

The first day，the woodcutter cut down 18 trees.

第一天，伐木工砍了18棵树。

“Congratulations，” the boss said.“Go on that way！”

“祝贺你，”老板说，“继续这样干下去！”

Very moved by the boss words， the woodcutter tried harder the next day， but he could only cut down 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder， but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day， he was cutting down fewer and fewer trees.

老板的話令伐木工非常感动，第二天，他更卖力了，可是他只能砍倒15棵树。第三天，他还要卖力，但是他只能砍下10棵树。日复一日，他砍下的树越来越少。

“I must be losing my strength”， the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and said that he could not understand what was going on.

伐木工想：“我一定是失去了力量。”他去老板那里，说他不能理解事情为什么会这样。

“When was the last time you sharpened your axe？” the boss asked.

老板问道：“你最后一次磨斧子是什么时候？”

“Sharpen？ I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees...”

“磨斧子？我根本没有时间磨斧子。我一直在忙着砍树……”

Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we dont take time to“sharpen the axe”. In todays world， it seems that everyone is busier than ever，but if we dont take the time to “sharpen the axe”， we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.

我们的生活也像那样。我们有的时候很忙，忙到没有时间去“磨斧子”。在当今世界，似乎每个人都比以前要忙，但是如果我们不花时间去“磨斧子”，我们就会变得迟钝和低效。

张秋伟摘自《中学生英语》