When the wind blows起风时
很多年前, 在大西洋海岸边，有位农场主拥有块土地,为了出租,他一直坚持不懈地做着广告，招聘农场帮手。去大西洋延岸的农场工作，是很多人都不愿意。因为他们惧怕那横扫大西洋，肆虐农作物和建筑物的那令人恐怖的暴风雨。当这位农场主面试了这些申请工作的人时，得到的都是坚决的拒绝。最后，一位又矮又瘦但很健康的中年人，走向农场主，农场主问说道：“你是一个好的农场工人吗？”
“是啊! 即使刮风的时候我都能睡着，”这个小个子男人答到。
尽管被这样的回答感到迷惑不解，可对于急需帮手的农场主来讲，别无选择，还是雇用了他。小个子在农场工作的非常好，从天亮忙到天黑，对此，农场主感到满意极了。
一天晚上，海面上吹起了狂风。跳下床，农场主抓起一个灯笼就冲到隔壁农场帮手的宿舍。他摇了摇小个子大声叫道：“起床，起床，快起床！暴风雨就要来了！赶快把东西捆绑好，否则都要被风吹走了！！”
小个子在床上翻了翻身，镇定地说：“不，先生，我告诉过你了，即使刮风，我也能睡着！”
这样的回答激怒了农场主，很想当场就解雇他，可他还是急忙冲到外面准备着暴风雨的来临。让他惊愕的是，他发现所有的干草堆已经盖上了油布。牛群进了畜舍，家禽进了禽舍，门已关上了栅栏。窗户已经紧紧地关上。什么都早已栓好了。没有什么东西会被吹走的！
农场主这时才明白他所雇的帮手给他说的含意。于是他又回到家中睡觉了，即使起风时。
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原文:
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic，wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job，he received a steady stream of refusals.
Finally，a short，thin man，well past middle age，approached the farmer. “Are you a good farmhand？”the farmer asked him.
“Well，I can sleep when the wind blows，” answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer，the farmer，desperate for help，hired him. The little man worked well around the farm，busy from dawn to dusk，and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed，the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled，“Get up！ A storm is coming！ Tie things down before they blow away！”
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly，“No sir. I told you，I can sleep when the wind blows.”
Enraged by the response，the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead，he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement，he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn，the chickens were in the coops，and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant，so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.
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NOTES：
constantly adv.不变地, 经常地, 坚持不懈地
advertise v.做广告, 登广告
for hire 出租
reluctant adj.不顾的, 勉强的, 难得到的, 难处理的
dread [dred] n.恐惧, 恐怖, 可怕的人(或物), 畏惧 v.惧怕, 担心
wreak [ri:k] vt.发泄(怒火), 报仇
havoc n.大破坏, 浩劫 vt.严重破坏
Havoc [美]夜间轰击机, 中型轰炸机
steady adj.稳固的, 稳定的, 坚定的, 扎实的, 坚定不移的 v.(使)稳定, (使)稳固
refusal n.拒绝, 推却, 优先取舍权, 优先取舍的机会
approach n.接近, 逼近, 走进, 方法, 步骤, 途径, 通路 vt.接近, 动手处理 vi.靠近
farmhand n. 农业工人，农场工人；雇农
desperate adj.不顾一切的, 拚死的, 令人绝望的
dawn n.黎明, 拂晓, 破晓 vi.破晓, 开始现生, 变得(为人所)明白 v.破晓
Dawn n. 道恩（女子名）
dusk n.薄暮, 黄昏
offshore adj.向海面吹的, 离岸的, 海面上的
enrage vt.激怒
roll over (睡时)翻身, 反侧
response n.回答, 响应, 反应
on the spot adv.当场, 在危险中, 处于负责地位
spot n.班点, 污点, 地点, 场所, 现场 v.沾污, 弄脏, 侦察 vt.认出, 发现
haystack n.干草堆
tarpaulin n.防水油布
barn n.[农]谷仓, 畜棚, 畜舍, 机器房
coop n.小屋, 鸡(兔)笼, 拘留所, <俗>监狱 vt.关进(鸡舍等), 拘禁
shutter n.关闭者, 百叶窗, 快门, <美俚>安眠药 vt.关上, 装以遮门, 以百叶窗遮闭 When we are prepared，we have nothing to fear:victory:
致版主
致版主
以后多搞点文章上面，嘿嘿，研究就当听听小故事 会的:) [url]http://bbs.tingroom.com/viewthread.php?tid=19081&extra=page%3D1[/url]这里有专区哦页:
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