A long time ago, there was a young man named Billy. Billy inherited¹ the warm and good characteristics of his father. "My father had such a good personality. He was the horse-keeper of a funeral carriage."

很久以前，有个年轻人叫比利。比利继承了他父亲脾气温和的好品性。“我的父亲有着良好的品性。他是一个赶柩车的人。”

 

"No matter how hard the work was, he always smiled. I got the habit of visiting the church cemetery² from my father and of reading the newspaper, too."

“不管工作多么辛苦，他总是微笑着。我还继承了父亲经常去教堂的墓地还有读报纸的习惯。

 

"He said reading the newspaper would help my studying a lot. Sometimes, I take a walk to the church cemetery by myself. I learned³ a lot from my father." One day, he saw a tombstone while he was walking down to the church cemetery. "The man who was buried right here was miserable⁴ before he died."

“他说，看报纸可以帮助我学习。有时，我自己去教堂的墓地散步。我从父亲那里学到很多东西。”有一天，他在去教堂墓地的路上看到了一块墓碑。“埋在这里的人活着的时候生活一定很悲惨。”

 

"Even though he had a good job and made enough money for living, he got angry easily. Maybe he was too narrow- minded. For all of his entire life, he worried and got angry, then he was buried here." Billy went to another grave⁵ and saw another tombstone.

“尽管他有份好工作，也赚不愁吃穿，但他很脾气不好。也许他太狭隘了。在他的一生中，经常会担心和生气，然后他就被葬在这里。”比利又走向另一座坟墓，又看到一块墓碑。

 

"This man right here was happy before he died, I guess. He was from a good family of high class. He spent his life enjoying everyday." Billy got close to the other grave and saw its tombstone.

“我猜，这人在他死之前很快乐。他的家庭一定幸福美满。他用一生享受着每一天。”比利又靠近一座坟墓看见了墓碑上的字。

 

"The man under this tombstone makes me sad. He spent all of his life hoping to come up with one extraordinary idea. One day, when he had the wonderful idea, he died from the shock. Maybe he is not resting peacefully even now."

“我为这墓碑下埋葬的人感到惋惜。他一生都在期望能思考出一个惊为天人的主意。然而有一天，当他终于想出这个主意时，却死于休克。也许他现在还不能安安静静地休息。”

 

Next, he came to another grave and saw the tombstone. "A very stingy woman lies in this grave. She used to tell her neighbor that she was raising a cat, but she just made the noise of a cat 'Mew, mew'. Maybe she was the stingiest woman."

接着，他又来到另一座墓穴，看见了墓碑。“躺在这坟墓里的是一个非常吝啬的女人。她曾经告诉她的邻居自己养了一只猫，但她只是发出了“喵喵”的声音来骗邻居。也许她是世界上最吝啬的女人。”

 

He stopped in front of another tombstone and looked down. "In this grave, a young lady from a good family lies. She used to sing a song whenever she was at a party, but she sang the same song every time." He walked to the next grave.

他忽然停在一座墓碑前，低头看了看。“这座坟墓里，是一位教养良好的年轻的女子。无论什么时候参加晚宴，她都会唱同一首歌。”他又走向另一座坟墓。

 

"There is a widow⁶ here. She always said good things with her mouth, but she said bad things in her mind. She used to visit from house to house and say bad things about her friends and neighbors."

“这里埋葬的是一位寡妇。但她总是说好听话，所作所为却可恶至极。以前她常到别人家里去，到处说朋友和邻居的坏话。”

 

"Whoever was buried and stayed in their own caskets without moving a finger, then, they will be born again with good personalities⁷. Some day, when the time to end my life comes, I will write down this on my tombstone, 'A Man with Good Personality'."

“无论是谁，只要躺进棺材后就什么知觉都没有了，之后，他们将被赋予良好的品性再次获得重生。总有一天，当我的生命结束的时候，我会在我的墓碑上写上：“一个好心境的人”。

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