As a writing teacher, I never could convince my students of the need to revise . For them, the first draft was the final draft.
Finally, I got through to a few of them by putting a large sign at my office door. It read:
“Well, it's hard, you know. I can't figure out if I should kill myself or not, you know.” Shakespeare's Hamlet , Act III, Scene 1. Rough draft.
“To be or not to be, that is the question...” Final draft.
作为一名写作课教师，我一直没能说服学生让他们相信写作是一个需要不断进行修改的过程。对他们来说，第一稿就是最终稿了。
最后，我在办公室门上贴了一大张标语，用这种方法给几个学生讲清了这个道理。标语上是这么写的：
“总之，不容易啊，你知道的。我想不出来该不该自杀，你知道的。”莎士比亚之《哈姆雷特》，第三幕，第一场。(草稿)
“生存还是毁灭，这是个问题……”(最终稿)
-revise [rɪˈvaɪz] v. 修订
只有淬炼提纯过的文字才经得起时间的推敲。浓缩出精华。
A young man with a large parcel on his back came from afar for Master Wuji. He said, “Master, I'm so lonely and so painful that the long trek makes me tired out, my shoes worn-out, my feet cut by the thorns, my hands also injured and bleeding and my voice hoarse due to the long shouting... Why can't I find the sun in the heart?”
The master asked, “What do you put in your large parcel?”
The young man said, “It is very important to me, inside it including the suffering each time I fall, the weeping each time I'm hurt, the trouble each time I feel lonely... Relying on it, I can come to you here.”
So Master Wuji took the young man to the river, where they crossed in a boat. Ashore , the master said, “Hurry on your journey shouldering the boat!”
“What, shouldering the boat?” the young man was surprised, “it is so heavy. How can I shoulder it?”
“Yes, my son, you can't carry it,” the master just smiled and said, “when you cross the river, the boat is useful. But after crossing it, you will put down the boat and hurry on. Otherwise, it will become a burden. Suffering, loneliness and tears — all these are useful to life. They can sublimate life, but if you don't forget them all the time, they will become the burden in life. Put it down! My son, life can't bear a heavy burden.”
The young man put down his parcel and hurried on. He felt his pace was easy and merry, and much faster than before.
一个年轻人背着大包袱远道而来要找无极大师。他说：“大师，我一路长途跋涉，疲惫不堪，又寂寞又痛苦。我的鞋磨破了，脚也被刺扎伤了，手也受了伤一直在流血，我哭喊了太久，嗓子也哑了……我的心里怎么就没有阳光呢？”
大师问他：“你这么大的包袱里都装了些什么？”
年轻人说：“都是些重要的东西，里面有我每次跌倒沾的灰、每次受伤流的泪、孤独时刻受的罪……就是靠着这些，我才走到了您的面前。”
无极大师把年轻人带到河边，上了船。到了对岸，大师说：“快点扛上船上路吧！”
“什么？扛上船？”年轻人很惊讶，“这么重，怎么扛啊？”
“是吧，孩子，你扛不动它。”大师笑着说，“过河的时候，船是有用的，但是过了河之后，就该把船放下，继续上路啊。否则，船就成了负担。苦难、寂寞、泪水，这些都是生命里必要的。它们可以升华你的人生，但是如果总是放不下，这些就会成为生命中的负担。放下吧！孩子，人的生命承受不了这种重负！”
年轻人放下包袱，急忙上路了。他感到脚步轻松愉快，走得比之前快得多。
-hoarse [hɔːs] adj. 嘶哑的
-ashore [əˈʃɔː(r)] adv. 上岸
-sublimate [ˈsʌblɪmeɪt] v. 使……升华
轻装上阵，方能致远。