Three hours passed. Then the professor began to collect the papers. The students no longer looked confident. On their faces was a frightened expression. No one spoke. As papers in hand, the professor faced the class. He surveyed the worried faces before him, then asked, "How many completed all five questions?"

　　三个小时的考试时间过去了，教授开始收试卷。学生们脸上的自信这时已经荡然无存了，显出手足无措的样子。没有人说话。教授手持试卷，低头扫视着整个班。他审视着面前一张张惶恐的脸，问：“有多少人完成了这五道题?”

　　Not a hand was raised.

　　没有人举手。

　　"How many answered four?"

　　“那么四道题呢?”

　　Still no hands.

　　仍然没人举手。

　　"Three? Two?"

　　“三道……两道呢?”

　　The students shifted restlessly in their seats.

　　学生们这时在座位上发出了一阵不安的骚动。

　　"One, then? Certainly somebody has finished one."

　　“那么一道呢?肯定有人能完成一道吧。”

　　But the class remained silent. The professor put down the papers. "That is exactly what I expected," he said. "I just want to impress upon you that, even though you have completed four years of engineering. There are still many things about the subject you don't know. These questions you could not answer are relatively common in everyday practice." Then, smiling, he added, "You will all pass this course, but remember — even though you are now college graduates, your education has just begun."

　　回答教授的仍然是沉默。“不出我所料，”教授放下试卷说，“我只是想让你们谨记，虽然你们已经完成了四年的工程学课程，但在这个科目中仍有很多东西是你们所不懂的。其实这些问题在你们的日常实践中相当常见。”他又微笑着补充一句：“这次考试你们将全部通过，但请大家记住：大学毕业仅仅表示你们的教育才刚开始。”

　　The years have obscured the name of this professor, but not the lesson he taught.

　　岁月流逝，教授的名字已经被淡忘，但是他的教导却为学生所铭刻于心。