佚名/Anonymous
Back in the Fifteenth Century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children.Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood.
Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Durer the Elder’s children, Albrecht and Albert, had a dream.They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the academy.
After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact.They would toss a coin.The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy.Then, when the brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines.
They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church.Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg.Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation.Albrecht’s etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.
When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht’s triumphant home-coming.After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition.His closing words were,“And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn.Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you.”
All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated over and over,“No...no...no...no.”
Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks.He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly,“No, brother.I cannot go to Nuremberg.It is too late for me.Look, what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush.No, my brother...for me it is too late.”
More than 450 years have passed.By now, Albrecht Durer’s hundreds of masterful portraits hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer’s works.More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.
To pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother’s abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward.He called his powerful drawing simply Hands, but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love The Praying Hands.
The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look.Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one—no one—ever makes it alone!
早在15世紀時，紐倫堡附近的一個小村莊裏，有一個家庭有18個孩子。18個！為了解決這個大家庭的溫飽，身為金匠的一家之主，父親每天要工作近18個小時，而且，還得在鄰居那找些雜活。
盡管他們的處境很困窘，但老阿爾布雷希特·丟勒的兩個兒子阿爾布雷希特和阿爾貝特，依然擁有夢想。他們都想繼續發展自己的藝術才能，但也都清楚地意識到他們的父親甚至不可能供一個去紐倫堡上美術學院。
無數個夜晚，他們擠在床頭徹夜長談，最後，兩兄弟終於達成一個協議——擲硬幣，誰輸了，誰就去附近的礦井，用掙來的錢供他的兄弟上美術學院。然後，等贏的那個完成四年的學業後，就支持另一個上學，可以用賣畫的錢，或者，如有必要，還要當礦工。
一個星期天的早晨，做完禮拜後，他們擲了硬幣。阿爾布雷希特·丟勒贏了，他去了紐倫堡。阿爾貝特則下到危險的礦井裏，整整四年供他的兄弟上學。他的兄弟很快轟動了美術學院，阿爾布雷希特的蝕刻畫、木版畫和油畫甚至遠遠超過了他的一些教授的水平。快要畢業時，他已經靠替人作畫獲得了一筆可觀的收入。
當這個年輕的畫家回到故鄉，丟勒一家在自家門口的草坪上，舉辦宴席以慶祝阿爾布雷希特的衣錦還鄉。難忘的宴席長久地持續進行，匯成了歌聲和歡笑聲的海洋。阿爾布雷希特從榮耀的主位上站起來，向他敬愛的兄弟敬酒，感謝他為自己做出的犧牲，使自己夢想成真。他最後說道，“現在，阿爾貝特，我可敬的兄弟，輪到你去上學了。你可以去紐倫堡追逐你的夢想了，我會照顧你的。”
所有的人都迫切地轉向遠在桌角的阿爾貝特，他坐在那兒，眼淚滑過他蒼白的麵孔，他的頭低垂著，不停地搖晃。他嗚咽著一遍又一遍地說：“不……不……不……不。”
最終，阿爾貝特站起來，擦掉臉上的淚，掃視著長桌旁親人們的麵龐。然後，他舉起手放到右臉頰旁，輕聲說道，“不，兄弟，我不能去紐倫堡了，這對我來說，太晚了。在礦井的四年，看看我的手被折磨成什麽樣了！手上的每一根骨頭至少折過一次，最近，我的右手患了嚴重的關節炎，我甚至都不能舉起酒杯來回敬你，更別說拿筆或刷在紙上畫細膩的線條了。不用了，兄弟，這對我太晚了。”
450多年過去了，如今，全世界各大博物館裏都珍藏著爾布雷希特·丟勒成千上萬的傑作。不過，你也許和大多數人一樣，可能隻熟悉他的一幅作品，也可能不僅是熟悉，你家裏或辦公室裏也許就掛著這幅畫的複製品。
為了向阿爾貝特做出的犧牲表示敬意，阿爾布雷希特·丟勒將他兄弟飽經摧殘的手指和掌心，細致入微地描繪了下來，幹枯的手指伸向天空。他將這幅力作簡單地命名為《手》，全世界很快為之轟動，人們將這愛的獻禮重新命名為《祈禱之手》。
下次看到這幅感人的畫作的複製品時，你要多留心。如果需要，就讓它時刻提醒你：沒有人能單槍匹馬取得成功!
(1) sensationa.desire
(2) ambition b.feeling
(3) delicatec.aspire
(4) pursued.marked by fineness
Write
TRUEif the statement agrees with the information
FALSE?if the statement contradicts the information
_______ (1) The family lived a happy life.
_______ (2) Only Albrecht went to the Nuremberg for studying.
_______ (3) Albrecht made great success eventually.
1.After a long and memorable meal,_________, music and laughter.
難忘的宴席長久地持續進行，匯成了歌聲和歡笑聲的海洋。
2._________, if you still need one, that no one—no one—ever makes it alone!
如果需要，就讓它時刻提醒你：沒有人能單槍匹馬取得成功!