“…如果你发现了一颗不属于任何人的钻石，那它就属于你的了。当你发现一个不属于任何人的岛屿时，它当然就是你的啦。”
—生意人对于“拥有”的观点
“…我拥有火山，是因为我对我的火山有用处；我拥有我的花儿，是因为我对我的花儿也有用处。可是你对那些星星来说什么用也没有呀…”
—小王子对于“拥有”的看法
【刘博士英语突破学习法】
第1步:在上班路上阅读理解并熟读英语原文；
第2步：在下班路上，听读原文直到跟上音频；
第3步：晚上在家跟读原文，直到熟读。
（如果可能，将英文文本打印出来，作为听读和跟读的主要资料）。
【本节导读】
小王子的这一段成人世界之旅非常有意思，因为我猜多数的大人会支持生意人对于“拥有”的观点。他说的的确很有道理，我简直都没有办法反驳他。事实不就是如此吗？
不过我请求大人们能够停下来思考一下小王子的问题，把他当作我们的孩子给我们提出的问题。如果我们能够孩子满意答案的话，也许能影响他们的一生。
1）一个人的一生中，什么才是最重要的（请说出唯一一条你相信并且也在践行的事情）。
在《小王子中》，大人们最常说的话就是:他们在做“重要的事情（Matters of consequence）”。
我将英语“matters of consequences”翻译成“重要的事情”是不全面/不准确的，但是我很抱歉，我找不到能准确翻译英文原意同时又是中文中常用的口语表达。
Matters of consequence 是指那些能够满足实用目的、结果、价值、或是功能的事情。这种思考方式在哲学上称之为“目的论”，这种观点认为世界上一切事物的存在都有其具体的存在目的/和实用目的。其比较典型的哲学思想流派有“结果宿命论”和“实用主义”流派。我们比较熟悉的实用主义名言是“目的决定过程”（the ends justify the means）。实用主义在我国的文化传统中并不陌生，学以致用的思想就是一个典型的实用主义表现。也正因为这个原因，我国的大人们也许会更难回答出除实用目的之外的其他内容。
2）什么是拥有？（possession）
这个词汇的中文词典含义非常简单，就是持有和占有。在英语中，则有多个意思。除了用于法律中表明所有权的占有外，作为一般的“拥有”“占有”含义时，则包括对物品的所有状态，对事物的控制权以及更为抽象的归属状态。
生意人对拥有的理解显然是成人世界中最普遍的占有权，所有权。我们拥有这些东西，是因为这些东西对我们有用，我们是不会考虑我们这些东西是否有用的
而且小王子则提出了一个与大人完全相反的“拥有“概念，他认为，我们拥有一件东西，是因为我们对这些东西有用。
小王子的说法正确吗？如果不正确的话，我们会如何向孩子解释？如果正确的话，我们大人对“拥有”概念的理解又有什么问题呢？
对这个问题的重新理解和定义，或许可以影响孩子的一生，或许可以影响我们的后半生。
下面，让我们继续我们的英语原著阅读陪伴计划
【刘博士英语突破学习法】第1步:在上班路上阅读理解并熟读英语原文；第2步：在下班路上，听读原文直到跟上音频；第3步：晚上在家跟读原文，直到熟读。
（如果可能，将英文文本打印出来，作为听读和跟读的主要资料）。
【刘博士译文】：
小王子
第13章 小王子拜访一个生意人
第四颗星球是属于一个生意人的世界。当小王子到达他的星球时，生意人正忙得不可开交，连头也没有抬一下。
“你好，”小王子对他说，“你的香烟已经灭了。”
“三加二等于五。五加七等于十二。十二加三等于十五。你好！十五加七等于二十二。二十二加六等于二十八。我没空再点烟啦。二十六加五等于三十一。好啦！那就等于五个亿零…一百六十二万…二千七百三十一。”
“五个亿的什么东西呀？”小王子问他。
“嗯？你还在这儿呢？五个亿零一百万--我现在没空--我有一堆事要做呢！我有很多重要的事情要操心。我可没功夫闲聊。二加五等于七……”
“五亿零一百万的什么东西呀？”小王子重复着他的问题，他从来都是只要问了问题，就会不达目的不罢休的。
生意人终于抬起了头来。
“我在这个星球上生活的54年当中，只有三次被人打断过。第一次是在22年前，有只不知从哪里飞来晕头晕脑的大雁落在了这儿。他发出的声音响彻整个星球，简直可怕极了。那一次我在算账时犯了四个错误。第二次是在11年前，我的风湿病发作了，打断了我的工作。我的锻炼是不够，可是我没时间游手好闲呀。这第3次嘛——哼，就是这一次！我当时正在说，五亿零一百万--”
“五亿多的什么东西呀？”
生意人突然意识到了，除非他回答这个问题，否则他休想清静下来。
“五亿多的那些小玩意儿，”他说，“你有时能在天上看见它们。”
“小飞虫？”
“不，不是，是那些亮晶晶的东西。”
“蜜蜂？”
“不--不是，是那些金色的小玩意儿，能够让游手好闲的人做白日梦的那种东西。对我来说呀，我只关心重要的事情。我可没时间做白日梦浪费生命。”
“哦！你指的是星星吗？”
“对，就是那东西。是星星。”
“你数这五亿多颗星星干什么呢？”
“是501，622，731颗星星。我只关心最重要的事情：那就是我的数字必须准确。”
“你用这些星星做什么呢？”
“我用它们做什么？”
“对呀？”
“什么也不做。它们是我拥有的星星。”
“你拥有这些星星？”
“当然啦。”
“可是，我已经见过一个星球的国王——”
“国王并不拥有星星，他们只是统治而已。那完全是另一码事。”
“那你拥有星星又有什么好处呢？”
“好处就是让我很富有啊。”
“那你富有了对你又有什么好处呢？”
“那我就可以买更多的星星了，要是有人发现的新的星星的话。”
“这个人呀，”小王子自言自语地说，“他的想法真有点像那个可怜的酒鬼……”
不过，小王子还有一些问题想搞清楚。
“人怎么可能会拥有星星呢？”
“它们还能属于谁呀？”商人很不耐烦地反驳道。
“我也不知道。它们不属于任何人。”
“这样的话，它们就属于我的了，因为我是第一个想到这一点的人。”
“光这样就足够了吗？”
“当然啦。如果你发现了一颗不属于任何人的钻石，那它就属于你的了。当你发现一个不属于任何人的岛屿时，它当然就是你的啦。当你比别人先想到一个想法的时候，你就会为它申请专利，表明它是属于你的。我也是这样做的。我拥有这些星星，就是因为在我之前没人想到过要拥有星星。”
“是呀，还真的是这样的，”小王子说，“那你会拿它们做什么用呢？”
“我管理它们，”生意人回答道。“我会把它们数了一遍又一遍。这很费劲的。不过我天生就是一个喜欢干重要事情很的人。”
小王子对这个回答还是不满意。
“如果我拥有一条丝巾的话，”小王子说，“我会把它围在我的脖子上，到哪儿我都会戴着它。如果我拥有一朵花的话，我可以把那朵花摘下来，到哪儿我都可以带着它。可是你总不能把星星从天上摘下来吧……”
“我是不能。可是我能把它们存进银行呀。”
“这到底又是什么意思呢？”
“这就是说，我可以把我的星星的数量写在一张纸条上，然后再把这张纸条放进抽屉锁起来。”
“这样就行了？”
“这就足够啦，”生意人说。
“这真有意思，”小王子心里想，“听上去蛮诗意的嘛。可这并没有什么重要的呀。”
在关于什么是重要事情方面，小王子的想法与大人们的这些看法非常不同。
“我自己也拥有一朵花儿，”小王子继续与生意人谈起了自己，“我每天会给她浇水。我还拥有三座火山，我每周都会清理它们（也包括清理那座不再喷发的火山，谁也不知道以后他会不会再喷发）。我拥有火山，是因为我对我的火山有用处；我拥有我的花儿，是因为我对我的花儿也有用处。可是你对那些星星来说什么用也没有呀……”
生意人张了张嘴，却找不到任何话可以回答。于是小王子离开了。
“这些大人们可真的是完全不可思议，”小王子只是对自己说了这番话，就又开始继续他的旅程了。
【the English Text】
The Little Prince
Chapter 13 The little prince visits the businessman
The fourth planet belonged to a businessman. This man was so much occupied that he did not even raise his head at the little prince‘s arrival.
"Good morning," the little prince said to him. "Your cigarette has gone out."
"Three and two make five. Five and seven make twelve. Twelve and three make fifteen. Good morning. Fifteen and seven make twenty-two. Twenty-two and six make twenty-eight. I haven‘t time to light it again. Twenty-six and five make thirty-one. Phew! Then that makes five-hundred-and-one-million, six-hundred-twenty-two-thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one."
"Five hundred million what?" asked the little prince.
"Eh? Are you still there? Five-hundred-and-one-million—I can‘t stop... I have so much to do! I am concerned with matters of consequence. I don‘t amuse myself with balderdash. Two and five make seven..."
"Fivehundred-and-one million what?" repeated the little prince, who never in his life had let go of a question once he had asked it.
The businessman raised his head.
"During the fifty-four years that I have inhabited this planet, I have been disturbed only three times. The first time was twenty-two years ago, when some giddy goose fell from goodness knows where. He made the most frightful noise that resounded all over the place, and I made four mistakes in my addition. The second time, eleven years ago, I was disturbed by an attack of rheumatism. I don‘t get enough exercise. I have no time for loafing. The third time--well, this is it! I was saying, then, five hundred-and-one-millions--"
"Millions of what?"
The businessman suddenly realized that there was no hope of being left in peace until he answered this question.
"Millions of those little objects," he said, "which one sometimes sees in the sky."
"Flies?"
"Oh, no. Little glittering objects."
"Bees?"
"Oh, no. Little golden objects that set lazy men to idle dreaming. As for me, I am concerned with matters of consequence. There is no time for idle dreaming in my life."
"Ah! You mean the stars?"
"Yes, that‘s it. The stars."
"And what do you do with five-hundred millions of stars?"
"Five-hundred-and-one million, six-hundred-twenty-two thousand, seven-hundred-thirty-one. I am concerned with matters of consequence: I am accurate."
"And what do you do with these stars?"
"What do I do with them?"
"Yes."
"Nothing. I own them."
"You own the stars?"
"Yes."
"But I have already seen a king who--"
"Kings do not own, they reign over. It is a very different matter."
"And what good does it do you to own the stars?"
"It does me the good of making me rich."
"And what good does it do you to be rich?"
"It makes it possible for me to buy more stars, if any are ever discovered."
"This man," the little prince said to himself, "reasons a little like my poor tippler..."
Nevertheless, he still had some more questions.
"How is it possible for one to own the stars?"
"To whom do they belong?" the businessman retorted, peevishly.
"I don‘t know. To nobody."
"Then they belong to me, because I was the first person to think of it."
"Is that all that is necessary?"
"Certainly. When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you discover an island that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you get an idea before anyone else, you take out a patent on it: it is yours. So with me: I own the stars, because nobody else before me ever thought of owning them."
"Yes, that is true," said the little prince. "And what do you do with them?"
"I administer them," replied the businessman. "I count them and recount them. It is difficult. But I am a man who is naturally interested in matters of consequence."
The little prince was still not satisfied.
"If I owned a silk scarf," he said, "I could put it around my neck and take it away with me. If I owned a flower, I could pluck that flower and take it away with me. But you cannot pluck the stars from heaven..."
"No. But I can put them in the bank."
"Whatever does that mean?"
"That means that I write the number of my stars on a little paper. And then I put this paper in a drawer and lock it with a key."
"And that is all?"
"That is enough," said the businessman.
"It is entertaining," thought the little prince. "It is rather poetic. But it is of no great consequence."
On matters of consequence, the little prince had ideas which were very different from those of the grownups.
"I myself own a flower," he continued his conversation with the businessman, "which I water every day. I own three volcanoes, which I clean out every week (for I also clean out the one that is extinct; one never knows). It is of some use to my volcanoes, and it is of some use to my flower, that I own them. But you are of no use to the stars..."
The businessman opened his mouth, but he found nothing to say in answer. And the little prince went away.
"The grownups are certainly altogether extraordinary," he said simply, talking to himself as he continued on his journey.
