吹牛的旅行者 The Boasting Traveler

 

    A MAN who had traveled in foreign lands boasted very much, on returning to his own country, of the many wonderful and heroic feats he had performed in the different places he had visited.  Among other things, he said that when he was at Rhodes he had leaped to such a distance that no man of his day could leap anywhere near him as to that, there were in Rhodes many persons  who saw him do it and whom he could call as witnesses.  One of  the bystanders interrupted him, saying:  "Now, my good man, if  this be all true there is no need of witnesses.  Suppose this  to be Rhodes, and leap for us." 
 

    有個運動員因平常參加比賽時缺乏勇氣，被人們指責(zé)，只好出外去旅行。過了些日子，他回來后，大肆吹噓說，他在別的很多城市多次參加競賽，勇氣超人，在羅德島曾跳得很遠，連奧林匹克的冠軍都不能與他抗衡。他還說那些當(dāng)時在場觀看的人們?nèi)裟艿竭@里來，就可以給他作證。這時，旁邊的一個人對他說：“喂，朋友，如果這一切是真的，根本不需要什么證明人。你把這里當(dāng)作是羅德島，你跳吧！”

    這故事說明，用事實容易就近證明的事，說得再多都是多余的。