Plato once crossed a river, and as the ferryman did not ask him for anything, he supposed that he had let him pass free out of respect, and said that the ferryman had laid Plato under an
obligation1. Shortly afterwards, seeing the ferryman take one person after another across the river with the same pains, and without charging anything, Plato declared that the ferryman had not laid him under an obligation. If you wish me to be grateful for what you give, you must not merely give it to me, but show that you mean it
specially2 for me; you cannot make any claim upon one for having given him what you
fling3 away broad-cast among the crowd. What then? shall I owe you nothing for it? Nothing, as an individual; I will pay, when the rest of mankind do, what I owe no more than they.
点击

收听单词发音
1
obligation
|
|
n.(法律、道德上的)义务,责任 |
参考例句: |
- Every player is under an obligation to keep the rules.每个选手都必须遵守这些规则。
- It is the obligation of citizens to perform military service.服兵役是每个公民的义务。
|
2
specially
|
|
adv.特定地;特殊地;明确地 |
参考例句: |
- They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
- The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。
|
3
fling
|
|
vt.用力扔,使投身;n.尽情欢乐的一阵 |
参考例句: |
- I really must fling out all these old newspapers.我真的该把这些旧报纸扔掉了。
- It's good to fling off heavy clothing now that spring is here.春天到了,脱去笨重的冬装真让人高兴。
|