We couldn t conceive of a miracle if none had ever happened.
On Miracle
In Sunday school， the minister was trying to illustrateillustrate vt.举例说明，阐明 the word miraclemiracle n.奇迹， 奇事. “Boys and girls，” he said， “suppose I stood on the roof of a tenstory building， lost my balance and fell off. Then all of a sudden in midairmidair n.半空中， a whirlwind swept me up and brought me safely to the ground. Now what word would you use to describe this？”
如果从来没有奇迹发生过，我们便无法想像奇迹这回事。
论奇迹
在周日学校里，牧师正举例说明“奇迹”一词的意义。“孩子们，”他说：“假如我站在一座10层高的楼顶上，失去平衡掉了下来。在跌落到半空中时，突然刮来一阵旋风，把我举起来，使我安全着陆。想想看，该用什么词来描绘这件事？”
After a long silence a boy raised his hand and said， “Luck？”
“True， ture，” replied the minister. “It could be luck—but thats not the word I wanted. Ill repeat the story. There I am on top of the tenstory building again， and I fall. A whirlwind catches me in midair and places me safely on the ground. Think now—what word would describe the situation？”
“Accident，” cried out one girl.
“No， no，” answered the minister. “Listen carefully for the third time. Im on the same building； I fall and am swept to safety by a sudden whirlwind. What word could account for my safely reaching the ground？”
The boys and girls shouted in unison： “Practice！”
很长时间没有回答。后来一个男孩举手说：“运气”
“好吧，好吧，”牧师回答说：“可以说是运气，不过那不是我想要的词。我再讲一遍这个故事。我还是在一座10层高的楼顶上，从上面摔下来。一阵旋风在半空中把我托住，使我安全返回地面。好好想一下，该用什么词来描绘这一情景呢？”
“意外，”有个女孩大声说。
“不对，不对，”牧师说：“你们仔细听，再听一遍。我还是在那座楼顶上，摔下来时被一阵突然刮来的旋风托住，转危为安。用什么词来解释我安全返回地面这事？”
孩子们齐声叫道：“反复练习！”