英語(yǔ)勵(lì)志故事：一生的收獲(Catch of A lifetime)

他11歲那年，一有機(jī)會(huì)就到新漢普郡湖心島上他家小屋的碼頭釣魚(yú)。

在鱸魚(yú)季節(jié)來(lái)臨的前一天，他和父親晚上很早就開(kāi)始準(zhǔn)備了，他們用小蟲(chóng)做誘餌來(lái)釣太陽(yáng)魚(yú)和鱸魚(yú)，他在銀色的魚(yú)鉤上，放好誘餌，開(kāi)始練習(xí)拋線(xiàn)，魚(yú)鉤撞到水面上，在夕陽(yáng)中蕩起一片金光閃閃的水波，月亮升起來(lái)時(shí)，水波就變得銀光閃閃。

當(dāng)魚(yú)竿彎下去的時(shí)候，他知道線(xiàn)的那一端一定釣到了一條大魚(yú)，他靈巧地在碼頭邊沿和那條大魚(yú)周旋，父親用贊賞的眼神關(guān)注著他。

最后，他很小心地將那條精疲力盡的大魚(yú)從水里拉了出來(lái)，這可是他所見(jiàn)過(guò)的最大的一條魚(yú)，而且還是鱸魚(yú)。

男孩和他的父親凝視著這條漂亮的魚(yú)，它的腮在月光下一張一合。父親點(diǎn)燃一根火柴，看了一下表，現(xiàn)在是10點(diǎn)——離鱸魚(yú)季節(jié)的開(kāi)放時(shí)間還有兩個(gè)小時(shí)。他看了看魚(yú)，又看了看兒子。

“你要把它再放回去，兒子。”他說(shuō)。

“爸爸！”男孩喊。

“還會(huì)有其它魚(yú)的。”父親說(shuō)。

“但肯定不會(huì)像這條一樣大。”男孩喊道。

他看了看湖的周?chē)?。月光下，周?chē)鷽](méi)有其他漁民或者船只。他再一次看著父親。盡管并沒(méi)有人看著他們，也沒(méi)有人知道他們是什么時(shí)候釣到魚(yú)的，但從父親那堅(jiān)定的聲音中，男孩知道這個(gè)決定是不容更改的。他慢慢地將魚(yú)鉤從大鱸魚(yú)的唇上拿下來(lái)，然后蹲下來(lái)把那條魚(yú)再放回水里。

那條魚(yú)擺了擺強(qiáng)健的軀體，消失在水里。男孩懷疑他再也不可能看到那么大的魚(yú)了。

那件事情已經(jīng)過(guò)去34年了。而今，男孩已經(jīng)成為紐約城里一位成功的建筑師，他父親的小屋仍然佇立于湖心島上，他也曾帶著自己的兒子和女兒回到同一個(gè)碼頭去釣魚(yú)。

他當(dāng)時(shí)的猜想是對(duì)的，他再也沒(méi)有見(jiàn)過(guò)那么大的魚(yú)了，就像很久以前的那天晚上所釣到的那樣，但是，在他每次面對(duì)道德難題時(shí)，那條大魚(yú)總會(huì)浮現(xiàn)在他的眼前。

因?yàn)檎绺赣H告訴他的那樣，道德就是簡(jiǎn)單的對(duì)和錯(cuò)的問(wèn)題，但困難的是付諸行動(dòng)，在無(wú)人旁觀時(shí)，我們的行為能否仍然正當(dāng)？為了將圖紙及時(shí)送到，我們是否會(huì)抄近路？或者在明知不應(yīng)該的情況下，我們是否會(huì)將公司的股份賣(mài)掉。

當(dāng)我們年輕的時(shí)候，如果有人要讓我們把魚(yú)放回去，我們應(yīng)該那樣去做，因?yàn)槲覀儗闹袑W(xué)到真理。選擇去做正確事情的決定將在我們的記憶里變的深刻而清晰，我們可以把這個(gè)故事自豪地講給我們的朋友和后輩聽(tīng)。這并不是關(guān)于如何攻擊某種體制并戰(zhàn)勝它，而是關(guān)于如何去做正確的事情，從而不斷完善自己

Catch of A lifetime

He was 11 years old and went fishing every chance he got from the dock at his family's cabin on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake. 

On the day before the bass season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching sunfish and perch with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure and practiced casting. The lure struck the water and caused colored ripples in the sunset, then silver ripples as the moon rose over the lake. 

When his peapole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish alongside the dock. 

Finally, he very gingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass. 

The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, gills playing back and forth in the moonlight. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 P.M.-- two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy. 

"You'll have to put it back, son," he said. 

"Dad!" cried the boy. 

"There will be other fish," said his father. 

"Not as big as this one," cried the boy. 

He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were anywhere around in the moonlight. He looked again at his father. Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he caught the fish, the boy could tell by the clarity of his father's voice that the decision was not negotiable. He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and lowered it into the black water. 

The creature swished its powerful body and disappeared. The boy suspected that he would never again see such a great fish. 

That was 34 years ago. Today, the boy is a successful architect in New York City. His father's cabin is still there on the island in the middle of the lake. He takes his own son and daughters fishing from the same dock. 

And he was right. He has never again caught such a magnificent fish as the one he landed that night long ago. But he does see that same fish-again and again-every time he comes up against a question of ethics. 

For, as his father taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult. Do we do right when no one is looking? Do we refuse to cut corners to get the design in on time? Or refuse to trade stocks based on information that we know we aren't supposed to have? 

We would if we were taught to put the fish back when we were young. For we would have learned the truth. The decision to do right lives fresh and fragrant in our memory. It is a story we will proudly tell our friends and grandchildren. Not about how we had a chance to beat the system and took it, but about how we did the right thing and were forever strengthened.