An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife and his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.

　　The employer was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

　　When the carpenter finished his work and the employer came to inspect the house and handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

　　What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

　　So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.

【山西省永济市涑北中学高三英语总复习：美文欣赏（2）（Life Is a Do-It-Yourself Project）】相关文章：

★ 湖南省汝城二中2014届高考英语一轮复习阅读训练 (1)

★ 山西省永济市涑北中学高三英语总复习：美文欣赏（2）（How Rich Are We）

★ 山东省济宁市2016年高考英语复习：条件状语从句（含解析）

★ 山西省永济市涑北中学高三英语总复习：美文欣赏（2）（Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff）

★ 湖南省长沙县实验中学2016届高三英语二轮复习书面表达复习重点话题指导专题11 青少年成长话题指导（学生版）

★ 山西省永济市涑北中学高三英语总复习：美文欣赏（2）（Dad’s Gift）

★ 河南省三门峡市2014高考英语一轮（暑假）基础训练（7）附答案

★ 山西省永济市涑北中学高三英语总复习：美文欣赏（2）（A Lunch with God）

★ 山西省永济市涑北中学高三英语总复习：美文欣赏（2）（Invitation）

★ 浙江省湖州市2014高考英语完形填空一轮（暑假）精炼（6）含答案