A young traveler was exploring the Alps. He came upon a vast stretch of barren land. It was desolate . It was the kind of place you hurry away from.
Then, suddenly, the young traveler stopped dead in his tracks. In the middle of this vast wasteland was a bent-over old man. On his back was a sack of acorn . In his hand was a four-foot length of iron pipe.
The old man was using the iron pipe to punch holes in the ground. Then from the sack he would take an acorn and put it in the hole. Later the old man told the traveler. “I've planted over 100,000 acorns. Perhaps only tenth of them will grow.” The old man's wife and son had died, and this was how he chose to spend his final years. “I want to do something useful,” he said.
Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveler returned to the same place. What he saw amazed him. He could not believe his own eyes. The land was covered with a beautiful forest two miles wide and five miles long. Birds were singing, animals were playing, and wild flowers perfumed the air.
The traveler stood there recalling the desolation that once was; a beautiful oak forest stood there now — all because someone cared.
一个年轻的旅行家去阿尔卑斯山脉探险，他发现了一大片贫瘠的土地。那里荒无人烟，就是那种你想要快步逃离的地方。
后来，年轻人突然停住了脚步。这大片荒地中央有个驼背的老人，背上背着一麻袋橡果，手里拿着一根四英尺长的铁管。
老人正用铁管往地里打洞，然后从麻袋里拿出一颗橡果，丢进打好的洞里。“我已经种下了100 000多颗橡果。可能只有十分之一能成活。”老人的妻子和儿子已经死了，这就是老人选择度过余生的方式。“我想做些有用的事。”他说。
二十五年过去了，如今不再年轻的旅行家再次来到那片土地上。眼前所见让他惊呆了。他简直不能相信自己的眼睛。这片土地上长出了一片美丽的森林，足有两英里宽，五英里长。鸟儿歌唱，动物嬉闹，空气里充斥着野花的芳香。
旅行家站在原地回忆当年的荒凉景象；如今，一片美丽的橡树林拔地而起——这一切可多亏有人用心啊。
-desolate [ˈdesələt] adj. 无人的
-dead [ˈded] adv. 完全地
-acorn [ˈeɪkɔːn] n. 橡子
西方人觉得橡树(oak)具有魔力，是长寿、强壮和骄傲的象征，甚至是圣树，是“森林之王”。人们常把红丝带系在橡树上来表示对远方亲人的盼望与思归。德语还有谚语说：“一掌推不倒一棵橡树”。传说中，橡树的掌管者是希腊主神宙斯、罗马爱神丘比特以及灶神维斯塔。在古罗马人的婚礼上，橡树的树枝必不可少，其目的是增进新婚夫妇的感情，祝福他们多子多孙。在英国和法国，早期的巫师被称为德鲁伊特，该词在凯尔特语中的意思是“知道橡树”。这些“知道橡树”者都有着非凡的威仪、特别的气度和神秘的力量，属于社会中最早的一批知识分子，一般担任当地的祭司、教师和法官。