On Peace of Mind
First listen and then answer the questions.
1. What’s the most important element of all according to the wise elder？
2. Why is it the most important element？
Once， as a young man full of exuberant fancy， I undertook to draw up a catalogue of the acknowledged “goods” of life. As other men sometimes tabulate lists of properties they own or would like to own， I set down my inventory of earthly desirables： health， love， beauty， talent， power， riches， and fame.
When my inventory was completed I proudly showed it to a wise elder who had been the mentor and spiritual model of my youth. Perhaps I was trying to impress him with my precocious wisdom. Anyway， I handed him the list. “This”， I told him confidently， “is the sum of mortal goods. Could a man possess them all， he would be as a god.”
At the corners of my friend’s old eyes， I saw wrinkles of amusement gathering in a patient net. “An excellent list，” he said， pondering it thoughtfully.” Well digested in contented and set down in not-unreasonable order. But it appears， my young friend， that you have omitted the most important element of all. You have forgotten the one ingredient， lacking which each possession becomes a hideous torment.”
“And what，” I asked， peppering my voice with truculence， “is that missing ingredient ？ ”
With a pencil stub he crossed out my entire schedule. Then， having demolished my adolescent dream structure at a single stroke， he wrote down three syllables： peace of mind. “This is the gift that God reserves for His special protégés，” he said.
“Talent and beauty he gives to many. Wealth is commonplace， fame not rare. But peace of mind—that is His final guerdon of approval， the fondest insignia of His love. He bestows it charily. Most men are never blessed with it； others wait all their lives—yes， far into advanced age—for this gift to descend upon them.”
曾經，當我是一個充滿了豐富幻想的年經人時，著手起草了一份被公認為人生“幸福”的目錄。就像別人有時會將他們所擁有或想要擁有的財產列成表一樣，我將世人希求之物列成表：健康、愛情、美麗、才智、權力、財富和名譽。
當我完成清單後，我自豪地將它交給一位睿智的長者，他曾是我少年時代的良師和精神楷模。或許我是想以此來加深他對我早熟智慧的印象。無論如何，我把單子遞給了他。我充滿自信地對他說：“這是人類幸福的總和。一個人若能擁有這些，就和神差不多了。”
在我的朋友老邁的眼角處，我看到了感興趣的皺紋，匯聚成一張耐心的網。他深思熟慮後說：“是一張出色的表單，內容整理詳細，記錄順序也合理。但是，我的年輕朋友，好像你忽略了最重要的一個要素。你忘了那個要素，如果缺少了它，每項財產都會變成可怕的折磨。”
我立即暴躁地逼問：“那麽，我遺漏的這個要素是什麽？”
他用一小段鉛筆劃掉我的整張表格。在一拳擊碎我的少年美夢之後，他寫下三個單詞：心之靜，“這是上帝為他特別的子民保留的禮物。”他說道。
“他賜予許多人才能和美麗。財富是平凡的，名望也不稀有，但心靈的寧靜才是他允諾的最終賞賜，是他愛的最佳象征。他施予它的時候很謹慎。多數人從未享受過，有些人則等待了一生——是的，一直到高齡，才等到賞賜降臨他們身上。
為了尋求心靈的寧靜，人們采取了各種各樣的方式，有的醉心於琴棋書畫，有的退隱山野臥居，有的皈依宗教，有的整日靜坐冥思。殊不知，真正的寧靜在於心靈的寧靜，無論退到什麽地方，采用什麽方式都不如進入到心靈的寧靜之中。其實寧靜就在我們自己的心中，我們隻要去把它找到。
Ace in the Hole
Keywords and expressions
1. exuberant
作形容詞：繁茂的；生氣勃勃的，充溢的
例：So why did financial markets remain exuberant for so long？
但是為什麽長時間來金融市場依然火爆？
2. catalogue
作名詞：目錄
例：Can I have a look at your catalogue？
我能看一下你們的樣本目錄嗎？
3. omit
作動詞：省略；遺漏
例：Don’t omit his name from the list.
名單上不要遺漏了他的名字。
Chunks in Practice
Listen to the following passage twice and then fill in the blanks with appropriate
words.
1. As other men sometimes tabulate _ of properties they own or would like to own， I set down my inventory of earthly desirables： health， _ ， beauty， talent， _ ， riches， and fame.
2. Then， having demolished my adolescent dream _ at a single stroke， he wrote down three syllables： peace of _ . "This is the gift that God reserves for His _ protégés， " he said.
3. Wealth is commonplace， fame not rare. But _ —that is His final guerdon of approval， the fondest insignia of His love. He bestows it charily. Most men are never _ it； others wait all their lives—yes， far into _ age—for this gift to descend upon them. "