There was once a farmer who lived near a road。It was not a busy road，but from time to time，cars passed the farm。
Near the farm gate，there was a large hole in the road。This hole was always full of water，and the drivers of the cars could not see how deep the hole was。They thought it was probably shallow。Then when they drove into the hole，they could not drive out because it was so deep。
The farmer did not spend much time working on his farm。He spent most of it watching the hole。When a car drove into it，he pulled the car out with his tractor and charged the driver a lot of money for doing this。
One day，the driver of a car said to him，“You must make a lot of money pulling cars out of this hole night and day。”
“Oh，no”the farmer said。“I don’t pull cars out of the hole at night。At night I fill the hole with water。”
地坑
从前，有个农夫住在马路边上。这不是个繁忙的路段，偶尔有汽车从农场路过。
就在农场大门的旁边，路当中有个大坑。坑里总是充满了水，汽车司机根本看不出坑有多深。他们会以为很浅。司机们一旦把车开进坑里，就别想再开出来，因为坑太深了。
农夫也不怎么在农场里干活，大部分时间他都在注视着这个坑。当一个汽车开进坑里，他就用他的拖拉机把它拉上来，然后为此向司机索要很多钱。
一天，一位汽车司机对他说：“你日日夜夜把汽车往外拉，肯定挣了很多钱。”
“哦，不，”农夫说，“我夜里不干这活儿，夜里我得朝这坑里注水。”
shallow[lu]adj。浅的；肤浅的
例：He is a shallow thinker whose opinions aren’t worth much。他看问题很浅薄，他的意见没有多大价值。
tractor[trkt]n。拖拉机，牵引机
例：He has a tractor。他有一台拖拉机。
“有时”除了用文中的from time to time表达外，还有其他的表达法：
①at times，如：His language is a bit vulgar at times。他说话有时有点粗俗。
②at whiles，如：Gloom hung upon his father’s brow at whiles。他父亲时常愁眉不展。
③on occasion，如：You have on occasion surprised people。你有时使人们感到诧异。
④sometimes，如：Even Homer sometimes nods。智者千虑，必有一失。
珍惜时间的几种中英文表达
夜以继日：day and night；day in and day out；around the clock
争分夺秒：waste no time；split second
分秒必争：against the clock；against time；Every second counts。
焚膏继晷：burn the midnight oil
只争朝夕：seize the day
见缝插针：seize every opportunity