Pengembaraan Jejaka Bijaksana: Satu Kisah Dongeng untuk Pelajar Bahasa Inggeris
(The Journey of a Wise Man: A Fable for English Learners)
1 Pada zaman dahulu, ada seorang jejaka bijaksana yang tinggal di negara pergunungan. Negara itu cantik. Tetapi makanan yang mencukupi sukar diperolehi di sana.
1 A long time ago, there was a wise man living in a mountain country. The country was beautiful. But it was always difficult to find enough food.
2 Penduduk Negara Pergunungan bercadang untuk mengembara bersama ke Negara Pamah. Apabila salji mula cair, mereka kemaskan semua barang milik mereka ke dalam kenderaan. Dengan rasa ingin tahu berbaur sedih, Jejaka bijaksana dan jiran-jirannya meninggalkan kediaman mereka di Negara Pergunungan.
2 The people of the High Country decided that they would travel together to the Low Country. When the snow began to melt, they packed all they owned into their wagons. With anticipation mixed with sadness, the wise man and his neighbors left their High Country homes.
3 Jejaka bijaksana merasakan suatu keganjilan berlaku sebaik sahaja mereka memulakan perjalanan. Hari demi hari mereka berjalan, tangan kanannya semakin kejang. Semakin jauh perjalanan meninggalkan Negara Pergunungan, ia menjadi semakin lemah. Terdapat tiga perkara yang mengelirukannya. Pertama, tangannya terasa paling lemah setiap kali mereka berhenti di sesebuah kampung. Kedua, dia dapati apabila semua pengembara dari Negara Pergunungan berkumpul di sekeliling ungun api pada waktu malam untuk berbual, tangannya akan menjadi kuat semula.
3 The wise man noticed something strange taking place soon after they began their journey. As they traveled day after day, his right arm began to feel stiff. The further they traveled from the High Country, the weaker it became. Three things puzzled him. First, his arm always felt the weakest whenever they stopped in a village. Secondly, he noticed that when the travelers from the High Country gathered around a fire at night to talk among themselves, his arm became strong again.
4 Penemuannya yang ketiga adalah paling mengelirukan baginya. Apabila dia letakkan tangannya ke belakang, ia tidak lagi kejang dan lemah.
4 His third discovery puzzled him the most. When he put his arm behind his back, it no longer felt stiff and useless.
5 Pada suatu hari jejaka bijaksana terperanjat. Semasa kenderaannya melewati suatu selekoh di jalan gunung, dia memandang ke bawah dan kelihatanlah kenderaan jiran-jirannya yang berada di hadapan. Dia dapati ramai diantara mereka turut meletakkan sebelah tangan di belakang. Apabila dia perhatikan dengan lebih teliti, dia dapati sesetengah warga tua telah mengikat tangan mereka dengan tali supaya ia kekal di belakang.
5 One day the wise man was startled. As his wagon rounded a bend in a high mountain road, he looked down on his neighbors' wagons ahead of him. He realized that many others were also holding an arm behind their back. As he looked more closely, he saw that some older people had even tied their arm in place with a rope.
6 Kenapa, fikirnya, semua ini berlaku?
6 Why, he wondered, was this happening?
7 Akhirnya, mereka tiba di Negara Pamah. Cuacanya agak panas. Padangnya akan membuahkan bijirin dan hutannya akan membekalkan balak untuk rumah mereka. Kehidupan menjanjikan kebaikan. Kebaikan, iaitu, melainkan tangan mereka yang lemah. Terdapat khabar angin bahawa udara Negara Pamah menjadi punca kelemahan ini. Malah, sesetengah orang mengatakan mereka perlu belajar hidup dengan kelemahan ini jika mereka ingin menetap di Negara Pamah.
7 At last they reached the Low Country. The weather was warm. The fields would produce grain and the forests would supply lumber for their houses. Life looked promising. Promising, that is, except for their weak arms. It was rumored that the Low Country's air caused this strange weakness. Some of the people even said they must learn to live with this weakness if they wanted to stay in the Low Country.
8 Orang dewasa dan kanak-kanak mula berkerja. Mereka menerangkan tanah, menenam tanaman, dan menyediakan kayu-kayan untuk membina kediaman-kediaman baru. Tukang jahit dari Negara Pergunungan menjahit kot jenis baru yang akan memastikan tangan yang tidak berguna itu di kekal ditempatnya. Dia juga meletakkan kulit pada kot itu supaya bahagian bahu dapat menolak bebenan yang berat. Walaupun menggunakan kot jenis baru itu, kerja masih perlahan kerana semua orang menggunakan sebelah tangan sahaja.
8 The adults and children set to work. They cleared the land, planted crops, and prepared lumber to build their new homes. A High Country tailor sewed a new kind of coat that would hold the useless arm in place. He also put leather on the coat so the shoulder could push heavy loads. Even with the new coat, however, work was slow because everyone used only one arm.
9 Sekali lagi, jejaka bijak, menyedari satu perkara yang pelik. Pertama, dia sedar walaupun sakit, lambat laun kanak-kanak mula menggunakan semula tangan mereka yang lemah. Kedua, jejaka bijaksana sedar bahawa apabila penduduk Negara Pergunungan berkumpul di dalam bangunan, jika mereka tutup semua pintu dan tingkap, kekuatan tangan mereka kembali walaupun pada lelaki tua dan wanita. "Pastinya," kebanyakan mereka berkata, "ini membuktikan udara Negara Pamah yang bermasalah." Banayak yang bersetuju bahawa penyelesaian terbaik ialah dengan membina kediaman kukuh yang dapat memastikan udara Negara Pamah kekal di luar. Tetapi lelaki bijaksana rasa paling keliru kerana kanak-kanak kelihatan semakin kuat semasa bermain dan berkerja di luar di dalam udara Negara Pamah.
9 Again, the wise man noticed a strange thing. First, he noticed that--even though it caused them pain--the children soon began using their weak arm again. Secondly, the wise man noticed that whenever the High Country people met together in their first buildings, if they shut all the doors and windows, strength returned to the arms of even the oldest men and women. "Surely," most said, "this proves that the Low Country air is at fault." Most agreed that the only solution was to build houses so strong that all Low Country air could be kept outside. But the wise man was puzzled most because the children seemed to become stronger while playing and working outside in the Low Country air.
10 Jejaka bijaksana memerhatikan cubaan jirannya dari Negara Pergunungan membina rumah dengan menggunakan satu tangan sahaja. Dia risaukan kebajikan rakan-rakannya. Kot jenis baru membantu mereka berkerja lebih cepat dengan hanya sebelah tangan. Tetapi musim sejuk akan tiba dan rumah dan tanaman tidak akan siap jika semua orang terus berkerja dengan sebeah tangan terikat di belakang.
10 The wise man watched his High Country neighbors trying to build their houses while using only one arm. He became fearful for his people's welfare. The new coat helped them work faster with one arm. But winter was coming and neither the houses nor the crops would be ready if everyone continued to work with one arm behind their back.
11 Jejaka bijaksana mendapat satu pengajaran daripada golongan kanak-kanak. Dia sedar baahwa walaupun sakit, menggunakan tangan yang lemah untuk kerja berat adalah satu-satunya cara untuk menguatkannya semula. Oleh kerana musim sejuk akan tiba, dia tahu dia tidak boleh berhenti membina rumahnya untuk meluangkan semua masanya bagi menguatkan tangannya. Tapi dia juga tahu bahawa dia tidak dapat menyiapkan rumahnya sebelum musim sejuk melainkan dia menggunakan kedua-dua tangan. Jejaka bijaksana membuat keputusan jika ingin menyiapkan rumahnya sebelum musim sejuk, dia mesti meluangkan masa setiap hari untuk menguatkan tangannya supaya dia dapat menyiapkan rumahnya dengan lebih cepat.
11 The wise man learned a lesson from the children. He realized that--even though it was painful--using his weak arm for hard work was the only way to make it strong again. Because winter was coming, he knew that he could not stop working on his house in order to spend all his time trying to make his arm strong. But he also knew that he could not finish his house before winter unless he used both arms. The wise man decided that if he was to finish his house before winter, he must spend some time each day strengthening his arm so that he could finish his house more quickly.
12 Seitap hari, jejaka bijaksana meluangkan masa menguatkan tangannya dan membina rumahnya. Dia menyiapkan rumahnya sebelum musim sejuk.
12 The wise man spent time each day both strengthening his arm and working on his house. He finished his house before winter.
13 Sesetengah penduduk Negara Pergunungan meninggal pada musim sejuk itu kerana salji tiba sebelum hasil dapat dituai dan sebelum rumah mereka siap. Mereka telah berkerja dengan perlahan setiap hari kerana mereka takut untuk berhenti sekejap dari membina rumah mereka untuk menguatkan tangan mereka yang lemah.
13 Some High Country people perished that winter because the snow came before their crops were harvested and their houses finished. They had worked slowly every day because they were afraid to stop working on their houses long enough to strengthen their weak arm.
14 Jika anda menetap di Amerika Syarikat dan anda tidak bertutur Bahasa Inggeris dengan baik, anda hidup umpama menggunakan mengikat satu tangan di belakang. Anda mesti berkerja untuk menyara keluarga. Tetepi jika anda tidak meluangkan masa setiap hari mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris, anda akan terhalang seumur hidup. Spoken English Learned Quickly ditulis supaya anda dapat belajar di rumah dan kekal berkerja. Jika and sanggup belajar Bahasa Inggeris dengan tekun setiap hari selama enam bulan hingga setahun, penguasaan Bahasa Inggeris anda akan bertambah baik. Anda akan perolehi pendapatan yang lebih tinggi, hidup dengan lebih efektif dalam masyarakat, dan berbual dengan anak-anak anda semasa mereka belajar Bahasa Inggeris di sekolah.
14 If you live in the United States and cannot speak English well, you are living as though one arm was tied behind your back. You must work to support your family. But if you do not spend time each day learning English, you will be limited for the rest of your life. Spoken English Learned Quickly was written so that you can study at home and still hold a job. If you will regularly study English each day for six months to a year, your English will greatly improve. You will be more able to earn higher wages, live more effectively in your community, and talk with your children as they learn English in school.
Spoken English Learned Quickly | The Journey of a Wise Man |
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