新视野大学英语视听说教程第四册 Unit 6 Task3: Career Transitions
There was a king in Africa who has a close friend that he grew up with. The friend has a habit of looking at every situation in his life and saying, “This is good!”
One day the king and his friend were out hunting. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation, the friend remarked as usual, “This is good!” to which the king replied, “No, this is NOT good!” and proceeded to send his friend to jail.
About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied him to a stake surrounded by wood. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king had but one thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So they set the king free.
As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb off and felt badly sorry about his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. “You were right,” he said, “it was good for my thumb was blown off.” Then he apologized, “I’m very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this.”
“No,” his friend replied, “this is good!”
“What do you mean, ‘this is good’? How could it be good that I sent you, my good friend, to jail for all this time?”
“If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you—and eaten.!”
For Reference
1. He had a habit of looking at every situation in his life and saying, “This is good!”
2. After taking the gun, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.
3. They set the king free, because being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole
4. He felt sorry for his friend and went to the jail to apologize to him.
5. If he had not been in jail, I would have been with you—and eaten.
