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40、A Quick Glance Can Be Misleading 走马观花 从前，有一个瘸子希望找一位美丽的妻子，却屡遭拒绝。他通过媒婆找到了一位姑娘，让她在家门口拿着玫瑰等候，而他为了掩盖自己的瘸腿而选择骑马，飞快掠过女孩的家门口。女孩含羞细嗅玫瑰的一幕使他坠入了爱河。然而，当他将女孩迎娶回家时却发现女孩鼻子上有个肉瘤，当时正好用玫瑰来掩盖。这个令人哭笑不得的故事又告诉我们什么道理呢？Long ago in ancient China, a man named Ji Liang was desperate to find a wife. Liang had many good qualities, but one handicap. His left leg was shorter than his right and so he walked with a limp.Ji Liang eagerly met potential wife after potential wife, only to find disappointment every time.“Aiya! Rejected again!” Ji Liang cried to his best friend, Zhou. “This will be my 85th bad meeting! My mother matched me up with her friend’s friend’s friend’s aunt’s cousin’s best friend’s daughter. Miss Chien and I had barely sat down at the tea house when she said she felt sick and left.”“Maybe she drank bad tea?” Zhou suggested.“She didn’t even sit down, never mind drink tea!” Liang snapped. “It must be my appearance. I’m not much to look at, especially with this limp.”“I have an idea,” said Zhou. “Let’s find a real matchmaker. My mother’s best friend’s aunt’s sister-in-law’s niece’s godmother knows one.”A few days later, Liang went to the matchmaker’s house. He noticed a parrot flying about Mr. Hua’s home.“So, you want to find a wife. One that is a suitable match?” asked Mr. Hua.“Oh, yes! A good match. A beautiful wife!” Liang replied anxiously.“Well, let’s see who we have,” said Mr. Hua. Then he nodded to his parrot.The parrot flew to a tall Chinese medicine cabinet lined with many drawers. He chirped, “Good match. Good match. Good match.”He opened one drawer, but shook his head, then closed it. He flew three levels higher, opened another drawer, and pulled out a card.The parrot handed the card to Mr. Hua, repeating, “Good match. Good match. Good match.”Mr. Hua looked at the card and nodded, “Ah, a good match indeed.”“Oh, a match! A beautiful lady. Just my type!” exclaimed Liang. “When can I meet her?”“Let me see what I can do,” replied Mr. Hua.In those days in China, most ladies did not wander outside of their homes alone. So, Mr. Hua asked the lady to stand at her doorway with a rose. When Liang passed by her house, he would get a glimpse of her.“I’m going to meet the match of my life, Zhou!” Liang said to his friend. “I can’t mess up. I don’t want the lady to turn away from me because of my limp. What should I do?” He thought for a moment, then answered himself. “I know!” Liang shouted. “I shall meet her riding a horse. That will hide my limp. Nobles ride horses. I will look noble and majestic.”The next week, Mr. Hua and Ji Liang rode horses over to the lady’s village. They spotted a lady sniffing a rose as she stood in a doorway. Her pretty eyes were cast downward, shyly. As Liang rode by, she batted her eyelashes. He was lovestruck. She was the lady for him. He was not going to let this one get away!The pair were soon married in a traditional Chinese ceremony. The bride’s head was covered by a heavy red veil. At the end of the evening, the groom pulled the veil away from his bride’s face.“Aiya! You have a giant wart on your nose! You hid it with that rose!” a shocked Ji Liang shouted. He limped around the room anxiously.The bride retorted, “Well, I didn’t know you have a limp! You hid it by riding a horse!Ji Liang and his bride were indeed a perfect match. He was a “running horse looking at flowers” who found out that if you rush past something, you may miss important details.Question: Do you think the matchmaker did a good job finding a match for Ji Liang? Why or why not? 核心词汇 desperate adj. 绝望的，不顾一切的 handicap n. 障碍，不利条件 limp n. 跛行 potential adj. 潜在的，可能的 reject v. 拒绝，拒绝......的求婚 barely adv. 仅仅，几乎不 snap v. 厉声地说 matchmaker n, 媒人 chirp v. （鸟的）啁啾声 cabinet n. 箱 glimpse n. 一瞥，一看 noble n. & adj. 贵族的，高贵的；贵族，尊贵的人 majestic adj. 雄伟的，威严的 spot v. 发现，辨认 sniff v. （吸着气）嗅，闻 bat v 眨眼 eyelash n. 睫毛 lovestruck adj. 热恋着的 bride n. 新娘 veil n. 面纱 groom n. 新郎 wart n. 肉赘，瘤 retort v. 反驳 以下翻译来自百度翻译： 很久以前，在中国古代，一个名叫姬亮的男人非常渴望找到一个妻子。梁有许多好的品质，但有一个缺点。他的左腿比右腿短，所以走路一瘸一拐。季亮急切地接见了一个又一个潜在的妻子，但每次都感到失望。“哎呀！又被拒绝了！”纪良对他最好的朋友周说。“这将是我第85次糟糕的会面！我母亲把我和她朋友的朋友的朋友的朋友的姨妈的表妹最好的朋友的女儿撮合在一起。简小姐和我刚在茶馆坐下，她就说她病了，就走了。”“她甚至都没坐下，更不用说喝茶了！”梁厉声说道。“一定是我的外表。我没什么好看的，尤其是这跛脚。”“我有个主意，”周说。“我们去找一个真正的媒人吧。我母亲最好的朋友的姑姑的嫂嫂的侄女的教母认识一个。”几天后，梁去了媒人家。他注意到一只鹦鹉在华先生家附近飞来飞去。“哦，是的！很般配。一个漂亮的妻子！”梁焦急地回答。“好吧，让我们看看我们有谁，”华先生说。然后他向他的鹦鹉点点头。鹦鹉飞到一个排列着许多抽屉的高高的中药柜前。他唧唧喳喳地说：“配得好。配得好。配得好。”他打开一个抽屉，摇了摇头，然后合上了。他飞了三层楼，打开另一个抽屉，拿出一张卡片。鹦鹉把卡片递给华先生，重复着：“很好，很好，很好。”华先生看了看卡片，点了点头，“啊，真是一场精彩的比赛。”“哦，一根火柴！一位漂亮的女士。正是我喜欢的类型！”梁大声说。“我什么时候能见到她？”在那些日子里，在中国，大多数女士不会独自走出家门。于是，华先生让这位女士拿着一朵玫瑰花站在门口。当梁路过她家时，他会瞥见她。“我要去见我生命中的对手，周！”梁对他的朋友说。“我不能搞砸。我不想让那位女士因为我的跛脚而离开我。我该怎么办？”他想了一会儿，然后回答自己。“我知道！”梁喊道。“我将骑马迎接她。这将掩盖我的跛行。贵族们骑马。我将看起来高贵而威严。”第二周，华先生和纪良骑马来到了这位女士的村庄。他们发现一位女士站在门口嗅着玫瑰花。她那双美丽的眼睛羞涩地垂下。当梁骑着马经过时，她拍了拍睫毛。他被爱情迷住了。她是他心目中的淑女。他不会让这个逃走的！两人很快在传统的中国婚礼上结了婚。新娘的头上蒙着一层厚厚的红色面纱。晚会结束时，新郎拉开了新娘脸上的面纱。“哎呀！你鼻子上有一个巨大的疣子！你用那朵玫瑰把它藏起来了！”纪良震惊地喊道。他焦急地在房间里一瘸一拐地走着。新娘反驳道：“哦，我不知道你跛脚了！你骑马把它藏起来了！纪良和他的新娘真是天造地设的一对。他是一个“跑马看花”的人，他发现如果你匆匆经过某个地方，你可能会错过重要的细节。
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