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A watched pot never boils
心急吃不了热豆腐。
【Andrew's Note】
You wait, and you wait, and you wait, but waiting doesn't really help. Things will move along at their own speed whether you wait or not.
你着急地等呀、等呀、等呀，但无济于事。不管你多么着急，事情都以自身的速度运转着。
[1] Mr. Dong wants to attend a seminar to be held in Singapore but the organizing committee asks each participant to present a research paper focusing on ESL teaching in China. However, this requirement puts Mr. Dong in a jam.
[2] This morning he called me and said he had something urgent to talk with me. I was reluctant to leave the work at hand, but went to meet him in the office. He was all smiles to me and killed me with kindness, leaving me dumbfounded. He made a point of making tea for me himself and asked me to be seated next to him. I felt even more perplexed and puzzled.
[3] I couldn't tolerate being treated that way so I asked what the matter was. He got down to business and told me he was in direneed of a paper to present to the Singaporean Seminar. He asked me to do him another favor and promised to give me something in return for my labor. I didn't dare turn him down but I insisted that it would take some time. But Mr. Dong was not happy about that and said, "No, sir. You know the deadline is due just next week, so you must get on with itstraight away and give me the paper this Saturday night."
[4] This time I was getting huffy, saying roughly, "If time is short, I can't vouch forthe quality of your paper. You make your choice, quality or junk? Mr. Dong, a watched pot never boils."
【参考译文】
[1] 董先生想参加一个在新加坡举办的研讨会，但是组委会要求每个与会者需提交一篇针对ESL中国教学情况的论文。这个要求使董先生感到很棘手。
[2] 今早他给我打来电话，说是有要事和我谈谈。我不情愿地放下手头上的工作,去办公室见他。他见到我满脸堆笑，我被这突如其来的热情搞得一时语塞。他还专门给我沏茶，并请我落座。我越来越感到不知所措了。
[3] 我受不了这般热情的对待，便问何故。他这才言归正传，他正急需一篇论文,提交到新加坡研讨会。他要我帮他，并许诺会对我的劳动给予回报。我不敢拒绝他，但我强调说这需要时间。但董先生很不高兴，“不，先生。你要知道最后期限就在下星期，所以，你得立马着手行动并在周六晚交给我。”
[4] 这次我不高兴了，便没好气地说：“ 时间不够，我可不能保证论文质量。你自己定夺：质量还是垃圾？董先生，心急吃不了热豆腐。”
