A man died and was on his way to another world, either the Heaven or the hell. He saw an extremely magnificent palace half way and the owner of the palace asked him to stay and live in the palace.
The man said, “I have been working arduously during my life and now I just want to eat and sleep without any work.”
The owner of the palace said, “If so, there is nowhere else better than here for you. There are a wealth of seafood and delicacies in my palace and you can eat whatever you want without anyone stopping you. Moreover, you can rest assured that nothing needs to be done by you.” Then, the man settled down in the palace.
At the beginning, the man felt very happy at the rotation of eating and sleeping. But gradually, he felt a bit lonely and void. So he went to the owner and groaned, “It is very tedious to live by just eating and sleeping every day. Now I show no interest in this kind of life any more. Could you help me find a job?”
The owner replied, “Sorry, there is no job here at all.”
After another several months, the man could not bear the present life and went to the owner again, “I really could not stand this sort of life any more. If you do not offer me a job, I would prefer to go to the hell instead of living here.”
The owner of the palace smiled contemptuously, “Do you think it is Heaven here? It is actually the hell!”
先逐字读一遍短文，不认识的不着急查词典，读完一遍，不熟悉的生词大约心中有数了，再回头仔细读一遍，有生词的部分，细读，根据上下文猜测一下意思。如果手头有纸笔不妨写下来。最好通读三遍，文章的大约意思估计也就明白八九不离十了。再逐字查阅生词，最后再对照译文，通读一两遍。还有疑难不解的地方做好笔记请教他人。
extremely
英[ɪkˈstriːmli]
美[ɪkˈstriːmli]
adv.极其;极端;非常;
She found it extremely difficult to get a job.
她发觉找工作极其困难。
magnificent
英[mæɡˈnɪfɪsnt]
美[mæɡˈnɪfɪsnt]
adj.壮丽的;宏伟的;值得赞扬的;
magni-,巨大的，-fic,做，制造。引申词义伟大，壮观，辉煌。
These magnificent ancient buildings demonstrate the great intelligence of the labouring people.
这些壮丽的古代建筑显示了劳动人民的高度智慧。
arduously
英 ['ɑ:dʒʊəslɪ] 美 ['ɑdʒʊrslɪ]
adv.费力地，严酷地；
英英释义 adv.in an arduous manner
He arduously and soon began to play in local bands.
他拼命学习弹奏，很快就加入了当地的一个乐队
rest assured
英[rest əˈʃʊəd]
美[rest əˈʃʊrd]
必定，一定会（做某事）;
assured
英[əˈʃʊəd]
美[əˈʃʊrd]
v.有把握;确保;使确信;向…保证;弄清;查明;使确定;
adj.自信的;有把握的;必将发生的;确定的;肯定得到;
assure的过去分词和过去式;
n.被保险人;保险受益人;深信无疑;非常肯定;
You may rest assured that we will do all we can to find him.
你就放心吧，我们会千方百计找到他。
settled down
安顿下来 ；
The mother cat settled down in the basket with her kittens.
猫妈妈和她的小宝宝们在篮子里安顿下来。
rotation
英[rəʊˈteɪʃn]
美[roʊˈteɪʃn]
n.旋转;转动;(旋转的)一周，一圈;轮换;交替;换班;
The change of some soil physical properties under the rotation of paddy soil and Dryland Crop
水旱交替利用下土壤某些物理性质的变化
gradually
英[ˈɡrædʒuəli]
美[ˈɡrædʒuəli]
adv.逐步地;逐渐地;渐进地;
The company has gradually absorbed its smaller rivals.
该公司逐步地吞并了一些比它小的竞争对手。
groaned
英[ɡrəʊnd]
美[ɡroʊnd]
v.呻吟;叹息;哼哼;发出似呻吟的声音;
groan的过去分词和过去式;
She groaned and held her head.
她呻吟着，用手抱住头。
contemptuously
英 [kən'temptjʊəslɪ]
美 [kənˈtɛmptʃʊəslɪ]
'You!' he snorted contemptuously.
“你！”他轻蔑地哼了一声。
一个人死后去往另一个世界，那世界不知是天堂还是地狱。半路上，他看到一座气势极其宏伟的宫殿。宫殿主人邀请他住下。
这个人说：“我之前努力干了一辈子活，现在我只想吃吃睡睡，不用工作。”
宫殿主人说：“要是这样的话，再没有比这里更适合你的地方了。我这宫殿里海鲜和美味要多少有多少，你想吃什么就吃什么，没人拦你。还有，你放心休息，我保证你什么都不用干。”听了这话，这个人就住了下来。
一开始，他过得可开心了，吃完了睡，睡完了吃。可是渐渐地，他感到有点寂寞空虚，就去找宫殿主人发牢骚：“每天吃吃睡睡地过日子真叫无聊。我现在对这种生活失去了兴趣，您能不能给我找份工作？”
主人回答：“不好意思，我们这儿没工作可找。”
又过了几个月，这个人再也受不了这样的生活了，就又去找主人说：这日子我实在是受不了了。您要是不给我找份工作干干，我宁愿下地狱去，也不在这儿待了。”
宫殿主人轻蔑地笑道：“您一直以为这是天堂呐？这可是真正的地狱。”
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