Story：A life lesson
【明報專訊】Back in ancient Greece, an inquisitive young man asked his teacher, ''What is love?''
His teacher said, ''Go to the wheat field and pick the largest ear of wheat. Remember that you have only one chance.''
The young man did so but walked out of the field empty-handed. ''I didn't pick anything because I kept thinking that there might be a larger one.''
''This is love!'' The teacher sighed with pain.
''What is marriage?'' The young man asked another difficult question.
His teacher asked him to have a walk in the woods. ''Cut down the largest tree in the woods. You can only fell one.
The young man did so but only came back with a short one.
The teacher asked him the reason.
The young man answered, ''I learnt a lesson from the wheat field. I chose this tree because it looks good enough. I don't want to come back empty-handed.''
''This is marriage!'' The teacher, again, sighed with pain.
Adapted from an old tale circulated about Plato(柏拉圖) and his teacher Socrates(蘇格拉底), both famous Greek philosophers.
By Ian Lam
◆Food for thought
Surely this story goes beyond love and marriage. What aspects of life do you think it may also apply to?
■Gear up
(Answers on next text)
Answer the following questions after reading the above story.
(1)Why does the young man come back from the field empty-handed?
A. He does not like wheat.
B. The ears of wheat are too heavy.
C. He wants to pick the largest one but misses the chance.
(2) Which sentence best matches the teacher's attitude towards marriage?
A. He feels hopeful about it.
B. He thinks it's hard to have an ideal marriage.
C. He hates marriage.
(3)Find a word in the story which could be replaced by the following:
pull __________
■Glossary
inquisitive (adj) 好奇愛問的
ear (n) 穗
empty-handed (adj) 空手的
fell (v) 砍
[Smarties' Power English 第321期]
