周敏欣

What does happiness mean to you？ Is it something as simple as getting a new toy or doing well on an exam？ Or is it something more meaningful than that？

A group of university graduates visited their old professor. During their visit， the conversation turned to work. The graduates were complaining about their problems and stress in work and in life. After offering coffee to his guests， the professor went to the kitchen and came back with a coffee pot and a tray①， crowded with many different cups： porcelain②， glass， plastic and crystal③.

Some cups were simple， other ones expensive. The professor asked them to pick out their cups first. When the graduates picked out their favorite cups， the professor explained： “Notice how all the beautiful cups were picked out and the simple and cheap ones were left.”

“Wanting only the best things for yourself is the source of your problems and stress. You need to understand that the cup doesnt make the coffee better. Actually， all that you wanted was the coffee， not the cup. But you consciously④ chose the best cups， and then looked to see what cups others picked.”

“Life is the coffee. Your job， money， position in society... they are the cups. The type of cup doesnt determine the quality of life. Sometimes， by concentrating only on the cups， we forget to enjoy the taste of coffee. The happiest people are not those who have the best things， but those who enjoy life and make the most of what they have.”

Hearing this， the graduates were speechless. They had learned another important life lesson from their old professor—that true happiness means enjoying life and not worrying about unimportant things.

Notes： ① tray n. 托盤 ② porcelain n. 陶瓷 ③ crystal n. 水晶 ④ consciously adv. 有意识地

【难句解析】

1. Or is it something more meaningful than that？

释义：或者它是比那更有意义的事情？

点拨：more... than...结构有三种用法：表示“比……更多”，此时more为many或much的比较级，表示数量，后接名词;表示“比……更……”，此时more后接多音节形容词或副词，构成比较级，表示对两者进行比较;表示“与其说……不如说……”，此时不是对两个对象进行比较，而是对同一个人或物在两个不同方面进行比较或取舍，此时不论形容词或副词是单音节、双音节还是多音节，一律用more... than...。例如：

Last year there were more births than deaths. 去年的出生人数多于死亡人数。

Travelling by train is more relaxing than driving. 乘火车旅行比开汽车轻松得多。

He is more lucky than clever. 与其说他聪明，不如说他幸运。

2. Some cups were simple， other ones expensive.

释义：一些杯子很便宜，另外一些很贵。

点拨：英语中通常用some... others...或some... other people / things... 来表示“有些……另一些”的意思，在other前可以加and或while。例如：

Some people learn by experiment and others learn by experience. 一些人通过实验学习，另一些人则从经验中学习。

Some people like modern art， while others say that it is rubbish. 有些人喜欢现代艺术，而另一些人认为它是垃圾。

3. Wanting only the best things for yourself is the source of your problems and stress.

释义：仅仅想为自己得到最好的东西是你的问题和压力的来源。

点拨：在此句中，动名词wanting only the best things for yourself作主语，the source of your problems and stress作表语。当动名词作主语时，谓语动词用单数形式。例如：

Working in these conditions is not a suffer but a pleasure. 在这种条件下工作不是一件痛苦的事而是一件愉快的事。

4. The happiest people are not those who have the best things， but those who enjoy life and make the most of what they have.”

释义：最幸福的那些人不是拥有最好东西的，而是享受生活和充分利用他们拥有的东西的那些人。

点拨：在此句中，the happiest是最高级，who have the best things和who enjoy life and make the most of what they have是由who引导的定语从句，修饰前面的先行词those。定语从句中的what they have作介词of的宾语从句，what在宾语从句中作have的宾语，not... but...意为“不是……而是……”。例如：

Those who listened to him were deeply moved. 听他讲话的人都被深深地感动了。

He is thinking about what he should say next. 他在想接下来应该说什么。

The value of life lies not in the length of days， but in the use that we make of them. 生命的价值不在于活了多少天，而在于我们如何利用这些日子。