英语专八考试汉译英考前练习讲解（13）

The secret of being a saint (revised by Uncle Yeti)

从前，在一个国家里，有一位做了无数善事的善心者。国王非常欣赏他的善举，便封他为圣者。

有一天，圣者过八十大寿，国王前来庆贺，特别带来一位画家，想通过画家的笔，将这位圣者慈祥的容貌画下来，作为世人的典范。

用完晚餐之后，众多的嘉宾前来观赏这幅慈爱的画。肖像画家将这幅画像拿出来的时候，所有人大吃一惊。因为画里的人根本没有慈善的面貌，反而充满暴戾，粗野，邪恶的气息。国王一看，生气地要人把画家拖出去鞭打。

这时，圣者听到惊呼声，跑了过来，他看到这幅画后，跪倒在地：“国王，这画里的人，才是真实的我啊。”国王惊诧地问：“为什么?”圣者道：“这就是我一生挣扎着，不想去做的那个人啊。”

在这世上，没有天生的圣者，惟有能时时刻刻自我反省，自我检视的人，才能成为圣者。

Once upon a time there lived in a country a do-gooder. The king was very appreciative of his deeds and decided to honour him as a saint by a decree.

On the saint's eightieth birthday, the king was invited to his birthday celerbration. He brought with him a painter so as to do a picture of the kindly saint as a paragon for his countrymen.

When the feast is over all the guests were asked to have a look at the picture. To their great surprise, when the picture was shown, what they saw was not a kind but a ruthless and cruel look. The king was very angry at seeing this and ordered his men to beat the painter.

Upon hearing the noise, the saint rushed to the scene to have a look at the picture. After viewing it, the saint knelt down and said, "your majesty, the person in the picture is none other than me." Why?" said the king, dumbfounded. "This has been the very person whom I have never wanted to be."

In this world, there are no naturally born saints; only those who can do self-criticism and sel-examination, can become saints.