Catch of a Lifetime
Understand these new words before you read this article.
1. bass['beis] n. 鱸魚
2. lure[lu？] n. 誘餌
3. ripple['ripl] n. 漣漪
4. gill [d？？l] n. 魚鰓
5. negotiable[ni'g？u？i？bl] adj. 可以協商的
6. be supposed to 應該
He was 11 years old and went fishing every chance he got from the dock at his family’s cabin on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake.
On the day before the bass season opened， he and his father were fishing early in the evening， catching sunfish and perch with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure and practiced casting. The lure struck the water and caused colored ripples in the sunset， then silver ripples as the moon rose over the lake.
When his peapoledoubled over， he knew something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish alongside the dock.
Finally， he very gingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen， but it was a bass.
The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish， gills playing back and forth in the moonlight. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 P.M.—two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish， then at the boy.
“You’ll have to put it back， son.” he said.
“Dad！” cried the boy.
“There will be other fish.” said his father.
“Not as big as this one.” cried the boy.
He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were anywhere around in the moonlight. He looked again at his father. Even though no one had seen them， nor could anyone ever know what time he caught the fish， the boy could tell by the clarity of his father’s voice that the decision was not negotiable. He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and lowered it into the black water.
The creature swished its powerful body and disappeared. The boy suspected that he would never again see such a great fish.
That was 34 years ago. Today， the boy is a successful architect in New York City. His father’s cabin is still there on the island in the middle of the lake. He takes his own son and daughters fishing from the same dock.
And he was right. He has never again caught such a magnificent fish as the one he landed that night long ago. But he does see that same fish again and again—every time he comes up against a question of ethics.
For， as his father taught him， ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult. Do we do right when no one is looking？ Do we refuse to cut corners to get the design in on time？ Or refuse to trade stocks based on information that we know we aren’t supposed to have？
We would if we were taught to put the fish back when we were young. For we would have learned the truth.The decision to do right lives fresh and fragrant in our memory. It is a story we will proudly tell our friends and grandchildren. Not about how we had a chance to beat the system and took it， but about how we did the right thing and were forever strengthened.
他11歲那年，一有機會就到新漢普郡湖心島上自家小屋的碼頭釣魚。
在鱸魚季節到來的前一天，他和父親晚上很早就開始準備了。他們用小蟲做誘餌來釣太陽魚和鱸魚。他在銀色的魚鉤上放好誘餌，開始練習拋線。魚鉤撞到水麵上，在夕陽中**起一片色彩斑瀾的水波。接著，當月亮升起來時，水波就變得銀光閃閃。
當他的魚杆彎下去的時候，他知道線的那一端一定釣到了一條大魚。他靈巧地在碼頭邊沿和那條大魚周旋。父親用充滿讚賞的眼神看著他。
最後，他很小心地將那條筋疲力盡的魚從水裏拉了出來。這可是他所見過的最大的一條魚，而且還是一條鱸魚。
男孩和他的父親凝視著這條漂亮的魚，它的鰓在月光下一張一翕。父親點亮一根火柴，看了—下表。現在是晚上十點——離鱸魚季節的開放還有兩個小時。他看了看魚，又看了看那個男孩。
“你要把它再放回去，兒子。”他說。
“爸爸！”男孩喊。
“還會有其他魚的。”父親說。
“但肯定不會有這樣大的。”男孩喊道。
他看了看湖的周圍，月光籠罩下，沒有其他漁民或船隻。他再一次看著父親。盡管並沒有人看著他們，也沒有人知道他們是什麽時候釣到魚的，但從父親那堅定的聲音中，男孩知道這個決定是不可更改的。他慢慢地將魚鉤從大鱸魚的唇上拿下來，然後蹲下去把那條魚放回水裏。
那條魚擺了擺強健的身子，消失在水裏。男孩懷疑他再也不可能看到那麽大的魚了。
那件事已經過去三十四年了。而今，那個男孩已經成為紐約城裏一位成功的建築師。他父親的小屋仍然矗立於湖心島上。他也曾帶著自己的兒子和女兒回到那個碼頭去釣魚。
他當時的猜想是對的。他再也沒有見過那麽大的魚，大得像很久以前的那天晚上所釣到的那條魚。但是，在他每次麵對道德問題時，那條大魚總會浮現在他的眼前。
因為正如父親告訴他的那樣，道德是簡單的對和錯的問題，但困難的是付諸行動。在旁側無人時，我們能否仍然正當行事？我們是否會拒絕為了按時完成設計而草率了事？或者在明知不應該的情況下，根據不該得知的信息買賣公司股票呢？
當我們年輕的時候，如果有人讓我們把魚放回去，我們就會那樣去做，因為我們從中將學到真理。選擇去做正確事情的決定將在我們的記憶裏變得深刻而清晰。我們可以把這個故事自豪地講給朋友和後輩聽。這不是關於如何攻擊某種體製並戰勝它，而是關於如何去做正確的事情，從而變得更加堅強有力。
有人對道德不屑一顧，有人認為道德不值一文，但道德的價值隻有在失去後才能顯示出來。一個人贏得道德，才會贏得尊重，贏得生命的價值。道德是簡單的對和錯的問題，但要付諸行動卻很難。在沒人注意的時候，我們是否仍能如終如一，一絲不苟。
Seize Your Time
According to the speech， match each of the following verbs with its meaning.
(1)strike a. to have an idea that sth is probably true or likely to happen
(2)swish b. to hit sb/sth hard or with force
(3)suspect c. to think or believe that sth is true or possible
(4)suppose d. to move quickly through the air in a way that makes a soft sound
Practicing for Better Learning
Do the following statements agree with the information in the reading text？
Write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
______ (1) Someone saw the boy catch a bass at that night， so he had to set it free.
______ (2) When the boy grew up， he had caught a bigger fish again in the lake.
______ (3) The man once took his own children to fish at the same dock.
Now a Try
What would you do when you face the lure of profit？
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