導語：21世紀大學英語教材編寫以人為本，以教學為中心，下面本站小編分享21世紀大學英語讀寫基礎教程Unit4課文講解，歡迎學習!
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One day, a man who seemed to own everything he could want suddenly felt a deep, inexplicable sadness. What's wrong with him? Did he finally regain his happiness? Here is the story...
The Happiest Man in the World
Adapted by Amy Friedman
Once upon a time there lived a man named Henry who had both land and money. He loved his wife and their strong and healthy children. In short, Henry had everything a man could want. At least that's the way it seemed to everyone who knew him.
But one morning Henry awoke from a deep sleep beneath a warm comforter, his eyes filled with tears. His heart felt heavy. "I'm unhappy," he said. For a moment he was frightened by such a feeling, but then he jumped out of bed, packed a picnic lunch and set off for a walk in the woods. He was determined to feel happy again.
Henry hiked for hours, looking at the bright blue sky, enjoying the crisp autumn day. Everyone he passed greeted him. His neighbor's dog barked hello. Another neighbor, meeting him as he returned home, handed him a freshly baked pumpkin pie, which he took home for supper.
Henry had always loved pumpkin pie, but even the pie, and his children's happy voices and the blaze of the fire in the hearth, did not lift his spirits. He fell asleep feeling unhappier than he had ever before felt in all his life.
When he woke the next morning, he was even sadder. "I must fix this," he said, and set off for the city, where he thought he would find a hundred ways to cheer himself. He purchased silver bracelets for his wife and bags of candy for his children. He bought himself a pair of the softest slippers he could find. He dined in an elegant restaurant, and ate his favorite foods. And still that night he felt a deep sadness.
Weeks passed in this way. The ripe pumpkins in the field that had once brought him joy did nothing to raise his spirits. Neither did the moonlit nights, the honking geese, the flowing streams, the fields of hay, the chatter of the children, the feel of his soft new slippers. Henry sipped hot chocolate. He ate ripe apples. He bathed in warm baths and listened to beautiful music. But nothing helped.
At last, at his wit's end, Henry went to see a wise man, and there he begged with a voice filled with misery and longing. "Sir, please tell me what I can do to find a way to lift my heavy heart. I must be cured of this terrible illness, which seems to have come from nowhere. I must find happiness."
"That which is clear to some people is sometimes hidden from others," the wise man said. "You must find the happiest man in the world. When you find him, ask him to trade his shirt for yours. Happiness will be yours once again."
Henry set off at once to find the happiest man in the world. One after another he came upon men who told him they were happy. Then Henry asked them one question: "Would you be happier if I gave you all my money?"
"Yes," each man answered.
"Then you are not the happiest man in the world," Henry said, and he went on searching.
One day as he walked through the forest, he heard someone in the distance singing the happiest song he had ever heard. He followed the sound and soon came to a woodcutter chopping logs.
"Excuse me. My name is Henry, and I am looking for the happiest man in the world," he said.
"You've come to the right man," the woodcutter said. "I'm happy as can be."
"Ah, then," Henry said, "would you like me to give you all my money?"
The woodcutter laughed. "I have no need for your money. Look at all I have," and he beckoned Henry to look at the forest—at the red and golden leaves, at the squirrels scurrying across the forest floor, at the birds perched overhead, at the deer grazing nearby.
"At last!" Henry cried. "I have been searching for you for a long time now. The wise man told me that if I exchanged shirts with the happiest man in the world, I would be cured of my illness. You see, I'm unhappy. Please, will you exchange your shirt for mine?"
The happiest man in the world looked closely at Henry, and then he began to laugh and laugh. He laughed until the forest echoed with his laughter.
When at last he quieted himself, Henry asked him, "How can you laugh at such a serious request? You see my shirt. It's made of the finest cotton, and it will be yours. All I need is to wear yours."
And then the woodcutter unbuttoned his tattered coat, and Henry saw that the happiest man in the world wasn't wearing a shirt.
"I own no shirts," the woodcutter said. "But now you know that you have the strength to seek all that you think you should have."
Henry smiled, for now he understood why the wise man had sent him on this journey. He felt his heart became light once more.
(841 words)
New Words
beneath
or to a lower position than 在…的下面
comforter
n. (美)蓋被
unhappy
a. 不愉快的，不幸福的
picnic
n. 郊遊野餐;戶外用餐;(個人自帶食品的)聚餐
determine
v. (cause to) make a decision (使)下決心
* hike
v. take a long walk in the country (在鄉間)作徒步旅行;遠足
* crisp
a. 1. (of the air, weather, etc.) cold, dry and fresh (空氣、氣候等)幹而冷的;清爽的;清新的
2. hard and dry; easily broken 幹而硬的;脆的;易碎的
bark
vi. (at) make the short, sharp cry that a dog and some other animals make (狗等動物)吠，叫
* pumpkin
n. 南瓜
pie
n. 餡餅(一種西式點心)
* blaze
n. 1. (a burst of) a bright flame 火焰;烈火
2. a bright show of lights, colours, etc. 光輝;燦爛
vi. burn brightly and strongly 熊熊燃燒
hearth
n. 壁爐爐床;壁爐邊(被認為是家庭生活的中心)
purchase
vt. (fml) buy [正式]購買
n. 1. (fml) the act of buying [正式]購買
2. a thing that has been bought 購買之物
bracelet
n. 手鐲;臂鐲
candy
n. (esp. AmE) a sweet, sweets, or (a piece of) chocolate (尤美)糖果
slipper
n. a type of soft comfortable shoe for wearing inside the house 室內便鞋，拖鞋
* dine
vi. (fml) eat dinner [正式]用膳;進餐
elegant
a. beautiful and graceful 高雅的，優美的
sadness
n. 悲傷
moonlit
a. lighted by the moon 有月光的，月明的
honk
v. (雁)叫;按汽車喇叭
flow
v. (of liquid) move continuously and easily (液體)流動，流淌
stream
n. 1. a natural flow of water smaller than a river 小河，小溪
2. (of) a continuous flow of things or people 一連串，川流不息
hay
n. long grass that has been cut and dried, esp. used as animal food (作牲畜飼料用的)乾草
chatter
n. rapid unimportant conversation 喋喋不休，饒舌
vi. talk quickly, continuously, and for a long time, usu. about sth. unimportant 喋喋不休，饒舌
* sip
v. drink only a little at a time 小口地喝，啜飲
n. a very small amount of a drink 一小口
chocolate
n. 巧克力;巧克力飲料
wit
n. 1. power of thought 才智，才能
2. the ability to use words in a clever and humorous way 風趣;幽默
* misery
n. great unhappiness or great pain (of body or mind) (身心的`)痛苦，不幸
longing
n. (for)a strong feeling of wanting sth. 渴望
nowhere
ad. 什麼地方都不，無處
woodcutter
n. a man whose job is to cut down trees in a forest 伐木者，樵夫
chop
v. cut by repeatedly hitting with an axe or other sharp instrument 砍，劈
log
n. a thick piece of wood cut from a tree 原木，圓材，乾材
beckon
v. call or signal with a movement of the head, head, etc. (用頭或手的動作)示意，召喚
squirrel
n. 松鼠
scurry
vi. hurry; move quickly, esp. with small short steps (尤指用小步)急跑，急趕
perch
vi. (of a bird)come to rest, esp. on a thin, raised object such as a branch (鳥)飛落，暫棲
overhead
a. & ad.(located or passing) above one's head 在頭頂上(的)，在空中(的)
deer
n. 鹿
* graze
vi. feed on growing grass, as cattle, sheep, etc. (牛、羊等)啃食牧草
nearby
a. & ad. near; close by (在)附近(的)
exchange
v. (for, with) give sb. sth. and receive sth. of the same kind in return 交換
echo
vi. (with) (of a place) be filled with echoes 發出回聲，產生迴響
n. a sound sent back or repeated from a surface such as a wall 回聲，聲音
laughter
n. an act or sound of laughing 笑，笑聲
request
n. an act of asking for sth 要求，請求
vt. ask (for) 要求，請求
unbutton
v. 解開(鈕釦)
tattered
a. (esp. of clothes) old and torn (尤指衣服)破舊的，破爛的
Phrases and Expressions
in short
briefly stated; in a few words 總而言之
at least
至少
for a moment
片刻，一會兒
set off
start going 出發， 動身
at last
終於
at one's wit's end
(infml) completely at a loss or in despair [非正式]智窮計盡;全然不知所措
from nowhere
從不知道的地方
once again
再一次
one after another
one by one; repeatedly or continuously 一個接一個地;接連地
come upon
meet, find, or discover by chance (偶然)遇見，發現
go on
continue without stopping or without change 繼續
once more
再一次
Proper Names
Amy Friedman
艾米·弗裡德門(人名)
Henry
亨利(男子名)