第426期:Enlarge Your Advantage

中國有句古話叫做：天生我才必有用。我對這句話的理解就是，人不分種族，階級，地域，性別，年齡，都會有自己的所長和價值。爲什這麼說？因爲每個人都有自己的優點和缺點。如果一個人逐步放大並且培養自己的優點，那麼，這看似非常細微的優點，就會逐漸轉化成一個人的優勢。今天我們來分享一篇英語美文，講述的是法國著名小說家大仲馬的故事。

大仲馬簡介：
亞歷山大·仲馬（Alexandre Dumas，1802年7月24日—1870年12月5日），人稱大仲馬，法國19世紀浪漫主義作家。大仲馬各種著作達300卷之多，以小說和劇作爲主。代表作有：《亨利第三及其宮廷》（劇本）、《基督山伯爵》（長篇小說）、《三個火槍手》（長篇小說）等。
大仲馬信守共和政見，反對君主專政。先後參加了1830年“七月革命”、1848年推翻七月王朝革命、加里波第對那不勒斯王國的征戰等活動。2002年，大仲馬去世132年後遺骸移入了法國先賢祠。
大仲馬小說大都以真實的歷史作背景，情節曲折生動，往往出人意料，有歷史驚險小說之稱。結構清晰明朗，語言生動有力，對話靈活機智等構成了大仲馬小說的特色。大仲馬也因而被後人美譽爲“通俗小說之王”。

New Words:
out at elbows穿得很破爛 捉襟見肘
geography n. 地理；地形
awkwardly adv. 笨拙地；尷尬地
succession n. 連續；繼位；
advantage n. 優勢；利益；有利條件
self-abasement n. 自卑；自謙
abound vi. 富於；充滿

A young man out at the elbows wandered to Paris, expecting that his father’s friend find a business for a living.
一個窮困潦倒的年輕人流浪到巴黎, 期望父親的朋友能幫助自己找到一份謀生的差事。
"Are you expert in mathematics," his father's friend asked him.
“你精通數學嗎?”父親的朋友問他。
The young man shook his head.
年輕人搖了搖頭。
"How is your history and geography?"
“歷史、地理怎樣?
The young man shook his head again.
年輕人還是搖搖頭。
"How about your law?"
“法律呢?”
The young man lowered his head awkwardly.
年輕人窘迫地垂下了頭。
His father's friend asked in succession. But the young man could only shake his head and told him-he himself couldn't find out any advantages.
父親的朋友接連發問, 年輕人只能搖頭告訴對方—自己連絲毫的優點也找不出來。
"Then write down your address first."
“那你先把聯繫地址寫下來吧。”
The young man wrote down his address and turned to leave, but he was grabbed by his father's friend. "Your name is written very beautifully, which is your advantage. You shouldn't satisfy with finding a job for a living."
年輕人寫下了自己的住址, 轉身要走,卻被父親的朋友一把拉住了:“你的名字寫得很漂亮, 這就是你的優點, 你不該只滿足找一份餬口的工作。”
Years later, the young man wrote the classical works that won the world fame. He was Alexandre Dumas, a famous French writer of 18th century.
數年後,年輕人果然寫出享譽世界的經典作品。他就是法國18世紀著名作家大仲馬。
There are many ordinary people in the world who all have many small advantages, but they are neglected because of their self-abasement. In fact, there abounds a gold mine in every ordinary life. If you're willing to dig, you will dig out treasures that Surprise yourself.
世間許多平凡之輩,都有一些小優點,但因自卑而常被忽略。其實,每個平淡的生命中都蘊涵着一座豐富的金礦,只要肯挖掘,就會發現令自己都驚訝不已的寶藏。

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