The Chinese text below was taken from the book published by Kang Shuan 康軒文教事業.
The red characters are the vocabulary words for that lesson. The grammar/enrichment section following each story/essay/poem has not been included here, because translating those sections into English wouldn't be very meaningful.
From the second semester of grade 5 the Chinese textbook is less focused on grammar and vocabulary, and more focused on content and meaning. Students write more, and their homework calls for more complex written responses.
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| Thinking about death yet? It's never too early to start! |
一 One: 努力請從今日始 Begin Striving Today
明日歌 Ode to Tomorrow 明錢福 by Chian Fu
明日復明日,
Tomorrow succeeds tomorrow,
明日何其多!
So many tomorrows!
我生待明日,
I wait for tomorrow,
萬事成蹉跎.
Everything passes away.
世人若被明日累,
If people are tired by tomorrow,
春去冬來老將至.
Seasons pass us by.
朝看水東流,
Watching rivers flow to the sea,
暮看日西墜,
And the sun move from east to west,
百年明日能幾何?
How many tomorrows lie in a hundred years?
請君聽我明日歌!
May the king* hear my Ode to Tomorrow!
今日歌 Ode to Today 明文嘉 by Wen Jia
今日復今日,
Today succeeds today,
今日何其少!
So many todays!
今日又不為,
If today is not suitable,
此事何時了?
When will this thing be done?
人生百年幾今日,
In a life of hundred years there are only a few todays,
今日不為真可惜!
What a shame to waste today!
若言姑待明朝至,
If you say you want to wait until tomorrow,
明朝又有明朝事.
Tomorrow also has its own demands.
為君聊賦今日詩,
May the king mark well this Ode to Today,
努力請從今日始!
And begin striving from today!
注釋 Comments**
1. 蹉跎: 虛度光陰
2. 百年明日能幾何: 人的一生中能有多少個明天?
3. 若言姑待明朝至: 如果說要暫時等到明天. 姑待, 暫且等待.
4. 聊賦: 姑且寫下.
賞析 Summary
明天, 明天...., 未來似乎有無數個明天! 然而, 我們做事若只是等待明天, 期待明天, 不僅會讓時間從手中溜走, 也會坐失許多良機. Tomorrow, tomorrow... the future holds endless tomorrows! However, if we always wait until tomorrow (or the day after) to get things done we not only end up wasting time, but also lose many opportunities.
錢福寫下明日歌告訴世人: 時間稍縱即逝, 千萬不要虛度光陰, 以免被明日牽絆. 當我們朝看河水東流, 暮看夕陽西下, 春去冬來, 年復一年, 驀然回首, 青春已逝, 人的一生, 能有多少個明天呢? In his "Ode to Tomorrow," author Chian Fu is telling the people of the world that time is fleeting, and if you waste it you will be inconvenienced by future events. When we observe the flow of rivers, the setting of the sun, the passage of the seasons, and the succession of years from the vantage point of the future, we realize that our youth is quickly spent. How many tomorrows does anyone have in their life?
讀過明日歌, 再讀今日歌, 更能凸顯 "今日" 的重要. 今日就像流水, 一去不回頭. 今天的事, 如果不去做, 何時才能完成呢? 人生在世, 能有多少個今日? 白白浪費 "今日" 寶貴的時間, 不是十分可惜嗎? 有人說, 姑且等待明天再做吧! 可是明天還有明天的事啊! Moving from a reading of "Ode to Tomorrow" to "Ode to Today," we can realize the importance of today. Today is like flowing water - once it passes by, it will not return. If you don't finish today's business today, when can you finish it? How many todays does someone have in their life? Isn't it a real shame to waste the precious time in a "today?" Many people say they'll wait until tomorrow to conclude their business, but tomorrow will also have tomorrow's business!
文嘉寫下今日歌, 提醒那些蹉跎歲月, 虛度光陰的人, 努力必須從今天開始. 唯有把握今天的每一分, 每一秒, 做好該做的事, 才能讓自己的生命發光發亮, 活出希望, 活出意義. In writing "Ode to Today," Wen Jia meant to alert those who would waste their time, and urge them to work hard today. It is only by seizing every minute and every second of every day that we can make our lives productive, realize our dreams, and make our time meaningful.
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| One can relate. This stuff is pretty serious for fifth graders. |
二 Two: 從從容容 穩穩當當 Being Dilligent
這幾天, 我替你做了一個有趣的小統計, 發現你在三天裡, 一共弄丟了四樣東西. 星期一, 你丟了公車月票; 星期二, 你丟了鋼筆跟三角尺; 星期三, 你甚至弄丟了繫裙子的皮帶. 事實上, 這些東西都不能算丟, 因為我都幫你找回來了. 公車月票, 是夾在你看的那本風蕭蕭裡. 鋼筆在地板上, 三角尺在地圖集裡, 皮帶就掛在你的脖子上. 這些事情屢見不鮮, 全部是因為 "匆忙". Over the past few days I made an interesting little chart, and discovered that you lost four things in three days. On Monday you lost your bus ticket. On Tuesday you lost your pen and your triangle. On Wednesday you even lost the belt for your skirt. In truth, these things weren't really lost because I later found them for you. The bus ticket was sandwiched between the pages of the book you were reading, the pen was on the floor, the triangle was in the pages of your atlas, and the belt was hanging around your neck. I see you do these types of things all the time, all because of your "hurry."
每天早晨, 我常常在你該去上學的時候, 聽你大叫一聲: "哎呀! 來不及了!" 接著, 你開始慌忙無措的說: "我的公車月票呢?", "我的鋼筆呢?"... . 我夜裡都要寫稿, 睡得很遲, 你的叫聲使我焦急, 只好在夢寐中勉強睜開睡眼, 爬下床來, 幫你找東西. 我從不對你疾言厲色, 因為我知道你不過是心裡慌, 需要人幫忙就是了. 其實那不算 "找", 我只是替你 "拿" 東西, 讓你出得了門, 讓你上學不遲到. Early every morning, I usually hear you cry "Oh no! I'm going to be late!" as you are about to leave for school. Then, in a panic you say: "My bus ticket? My pen?" I stay up late writing reports and sleep in, but the sound of your talking pulls me out of an uneasy sleep. I have to get out of bed and help you look for your things. I don't blame you, because I know you are just flustered and need help. In truth I'm not so much helping you as finding things for you, all so that you can get out the door and get to school on time.
為什麼你一直那麼匆匆忙忙, 慌慌張張? 為什麼你不能從從容容, 穩穩當當的? Why are you so panicked, and flustered all the time? Why can't you be more calm, and attentive to detail?
放學回家, 你常常侷促不安, 團團亂轉, 說: "功課太多了, 怎麼辦?" 你把書包裡的書一股腦兒全倒在桌子上, 抓一本, 扔一本, 唉聲嘆氣. 一, 二十分鐘過去了, 你只在那裡躁動不已, 什麼事情也沒做. When you come home from school, you are usually uneasy, pacing back and forth and saying: "I have too much homework, what can I do?" You dump all the textbooks in your school bag over your desk, take one, then take another, and sigh. 10 or 20 minutes passes, and you just sit there fidgeting, doing nothing.
今天晚上, 你臨睡的時候, 神色慌張的跑到書房來找我, 說: "怎麼辦? 我的一本地圖弄丟了, 明天上課要用的." 我只好把我的一本地圖給了你. 過了一會兒, 你又笑咪咪的回到書房來, 把地圖交還給我, 說: "地圖沒丟, 在我的書包裡." In the evening, you worriedly come to me in my study, saying: "What can I do? I've lost my atlas, and I need it for class tomorrow." All I can do is give you my atlas. A moment later you abashedly return to my study, giving me back my atlas, saying: "I didn't lose the atlas. It was in my book bag."
我問你: "剛才你怎麼會想到準備地圖?" I ask you: "Why did you only now think of preparing your atlas [for tomorrow]?"
你說: "忽然想到了." You say: "I just suddenly thought of it."
我勸你不如就去整理書包, 把明天要帶的書本都準備好. 你的回答是: "明天再說吧! 現在已經太晚了, 我得趕緊去睡了." 我終於發現使你這麼匆忙, 慌張的真正原因是什麼了. I [then] suggest that you go and organize your book bag, and prepare the things you need for tomorrow. Your answer is: "I'll worry about it tomorrow! It's too late now, and I should go to bed." I finally understand why you are so hurried and panicked.
你是不計畫, 不講條理的, 你所依靠的是 "忽然想起"; 你是不準備, 不安排的, 你喜歡 "到時候再說:. 因為你全靠 "忽然想起", 所以一想起就緊張; 你全靠 "到時候再說", 因此到了時候常常已經來不及了. You don't plan, and you don't have any structure. You are always relying upon "remembering something at the last moment." You don't prepare and you're not organized. You like to "deal with it when it comes" because you always rely upon "remembering things at the last moment." For this reason, when you think of things, you are always worried. This is because you are always waiting to "deal with things as they come." This is [also] why you are always late.***
我做事喜歡先有個梗概, 想做些什麼, 該在什麼時候做, 都先想好了. 做的時候, 又喜歡 "提早五分鐘開始", 使時間運用得更加遊刃有餘. 星期三教的稿子, 我喜歡在星期二就寫好. 我在夜裡, 準備好第二天早晨出門要帶的東西. 我不仰賴 "忽然想起", 我喜歡 "早早去想"; 我絕對不放心 "到時候再說", 我喜歡 "先準備好". 我永遠不 "趕", 不趕就能從容, 從容就不容易出錯. When I do things I like to have a plan, and I think about how to complete things before I start doing them. When I do things, I like to "start five minutes early," and make the best use of my time. I like to write Wednesday's report on Tuesday. At night I prepare the things I need to take with me the following morning. I don't believe in "remembering things at the last moment," I like "remembering things early." I will never "deal with things as they come," I like to "come prepared." I am never "hurried," and because I'm never hurried, I don't make mistakes because I'm in a panic.
我想, 你會懂這個道理. I think you can understand this.
愛你的爸爸手書
The Loving Father's Handbook
The Loving Father's Handbook
三月五日
March 5
March 5
*I'm assuming this was addressed to a king or emperor. The book doesn't say when it was written. In some contexts 君 could have meant "gentlemen."
**I'll leave the Chinese for this section as it appears in the textbook. The translations appear in the poem above anyway. It wouldn't be very meaningful to render this part in English.
***This part sounds kind of weird in English. The phrases between the quotation marks make more sense in Chinese.
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