A hardworking shopkeeper drove his donkey to the market to buy salt. On their way home, they had to cross a stream. The donkey was very tired, and he slipped on a rock and fell into the water.

　　To the donkey’s surprise, his load was now much lighter. The water had washed away almost all of the salt. The shopkeeper took the donkey back to the market and bought even more salt than before. This time when they reached the stream, the donkey fell into the water on purpose.

　　The shopkeeper saw through the donkey’s trick. He returned to the market and bought sponges instead of salt.

　　When they reached the stream, the donkey used his trick again and fell into the water. But this time the trick was on him. The sponges became heavy with water and the weight of his load greatly increased.

　　“I hope you’ve learned your lesson,” the shopkeeper said to the donkey. “If you use a trick to avoid work, you will just end up with more work in the end.”

　　Vocabulary

　　1. hardworking adj. 努力的;辛勤工作的

　　2. salt n. 盐

　　3. slip v. 滑倒

　　4. load n. 负载，负担

　　5. trick n. 诡计;小技俩

　　6. sponge n. 海面

　　7. weight n. 体重，重量

　　8. increase v. 增加

　　9. avoid v. 避免

　　英语补给站

　　Language Notes

　　on (one’s) way… 在(某人)前往(某地)的路上

　　解析

　　这个片语常用于以下两种句型：

　　1. on (one’s) way+ 副词 在此常用的副词有home(回家)、back (回程)、out(出去)等等…

　　Can you pick up some orange juice on your way home ?

　　你回家的时候可不可以顺道买柳橙汁?

　　2. on(one’s) way + to + 地点

　　Scott had an accident on his way to work this morning.

　　史考特今天早上在上班途中出了意外。

　　更多精彩内容 >> 新东方网英语频道 

　　全国新东方英语课程搜索

（实习编辑：高奕飞）