Alexander Fleming 亞歷山大·弗萊明

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the child from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scottish farmer’s terrible surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

“I want to repay you,” said the nobleman. “You saved my son’s life.”

“No, I can’t accept payment for what I did,” the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door of the family hovel.

“Is that your son?” the nobleman asked. “Yes,” the farmer replied proudly.

“I’ll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the child is anything like his father, he’ll grow to a man you can be proud of.”

And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming’s son graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the nobleman’s son was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved him? Penicillin.

The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill.

His son’s name? Sir Winston Churchill.

【日積月累】

bog n. 沼澤                              mire vt. 使……困境

muck n. 淤泥                           fancy adj. 高檔的

elegantly adv. 優雅地                hovel n. 茅舍

pneumonia n.肺炎      

【參考譯文】

他叫弗萊明，是一個貧窮的蘇格蘭農民。一天，當他正為家人的生計忙碌時，他聽到附近沼澤傳來求救聲。他丟下工具就向那個沼澤跑去。在沼澤里，一個嚇壞的了男孩陷入了齊腰深的黑色淤泥中，男孩尖叫著，并不斷掙扎著試圖想要把自己從沼澤中弄出來。農民弗萊明把孩子救了出來，否則沼澤將慢慢地、殘忍地把孩子淹死。

第二天，一輛高檔馬車停在了這個蘇格蘭農民糟糕的住處。一位穿著十分優雅的貴族從馬車上走下來，并自稱是農民弗萊明挽救的孩子的父親。

“我要報答你，”貴族說，“你救了我兒子的性命。”

“不，我不能因為自己做的那點事而接受你的報答。”這個蘇格蘭農民回答道，他揮揮手拒絕了對方的好意。這時，農民的兒子從一家人居住的茅屋中走了出來。

“那是你的兒子嗎？”貴族問道。“是的。”農民驕傲地回答。

“我來和你做筆交易。我把你兒子帶走，讓他接受良好的教育。如果這個孩子跟他父親一樣，那么他會成長為讓你自豪的人。”

于是貴族帶走了那個孩子。后來，農民弗萊明的兒子從倫敦圣瑪麗醫藥學院畢業，并成為了世界聞名的亞歷山大·弗萊明爵士，他就是盤尼西林（青霉素）的發現者。

又是數年以后，貴族的兒子飽受肺炎的折磨。

是什么救了他？是盤尼西林。

那個貴族是誰？蘭朵夫·丘吉爾勛爵。

他的兒子又是誰？溫斯頓·丘吉爾勛爵。

【人生啟迪】

看起來，真是環環相扣啊，若是農民沒有救那個陷入沼澤的孩子，若是孩子的父親沒有想要報答農民，若是農民沒有拒絕別人的報答，若是農民沒有讓那個人把孩子帶走并接受良好的教育，那么一切都將是完全不同的結果。雖然我們不能說世事都是定數，但善有善報總是不錯的。正因為他們都是正直善良的人，彼此才都有了這么美好的結局。所以，讓我們都做個正直而善良的人吧。