Once a king had a great highway built. Before it was open to the public, the king decided to have a contest. He wanted to see who could travel the highway best.
On the day of the contest, many people came. Some had fine chariots . Some had fine clothing. They traveled all day. When they finished, they complained to the king that there was a large pile of rocks left on the road.
At the end of the day, an old traveler crossed the finish line. He was tired and dirty, but he handed the king a bag of gold.
He explained,“I stopped along the way to clear away a pile of rocks. This bag of gold was under it, and I want you to return it to its owner .”
The king replied ,“You are the owner.”
The traveler replied,“Oh no, that is not mine. I've never known such money.”
“Oh yes,”said the king.“You've earned this gold, for you won my contest. He who travels the road best is he who makes the road smoother for those who follow.”
-decide ［dɪ'saɪd ］ vt. 下决心；决定
-contest ［'kɒntest ］ n. 竞赛
-chariot ［'tʃæriət ］ n. 战车；敞篷马车
-complain ［kəm'pleɪn ］ vt. 抱怨
-rock ［rɒk ］ n. 岩石，石头
-return ［rɪ'tɜ:n ］ vt. 归还
-owner ［'əʊnə(r) ］ n. 主人，拥有者
-reply ［rɪ'plaɪ ］ vt. 回答；答复
-earn ［ɜ:n ］ vt. 赚得；挣得；博得
-smooth ［smu:ð ］ adj. 光滑的；平坦的
decide to do 决定做……
a large pile of 一大堆
at the end of 在……最后
1. The king decided to have a contest. 国王决定举行一场比赛。
Mary decided to give up her plan. 玛丽决定放弃她的计划。
Alice decided to give her sister a lesson. 艾丽斯决定给她妹妹一个教训。
2. You've earned this gold, for you won my contest.
你赢得了这些金子，因为你已经取得了这场比赛的胜利。
Mom gave me a gift, for I got a good mark in the test.
妈妈送了份礼物给我，因为我在考试中得了高分。
I gave him a piece of bread, for he was so hungry.
我给了他一片面包，因为他当时很饿。
国王的公路
从前，有一个国王让人们建造了一条宽阔的公路。公路对公众开放之前，国王决定举行一场比赛，他想看看谁能在沿路旅行中表现得最好。
比赛那天，来了许多人。有些人乘坐着精致的马车，有些人穿着华丽的衣裳。他们都旅行了一整天。完成路程之后，他们向国王抱怨说，路上有很大一堆石块。
那天快要结束时，一位年迈的行人跨过了终点线。他又累又脏，但他却交给国王一袋金子。
他解释道：“我在路上停下来，搬走一大堆石块。这袋金子就在石堆下面。我想请您把它还给主人。”
国王回答道：“你就是它的主人呀。”
那行人赶忙说：“哦，不，不是我的。我可从未有过这么多钱。”
“啊，是你的，”国王说。“你赢得了这些金子，因为你已赢了这场比赛。最佳行者就是能够为后面的人铺平道路的人。”