Do you know you can tell how old a horse is by looking at its teeth? The longer the teeth look, the older the horse is. How old do you think this horse is?
A young horse can run faster and work harder than an old horse. Because of this, a young horse is more expensive than an old horse. When people buy a horse they look in its mouth to see how old it is.
In Englisgh we sometimes say “Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.” Imagine if someone gave you a horse as a gift. It would be very rude to check its teeth. It doesn't matter how old the horse is if it's a gift. The important thing is that someone was kind enough to give you the horse!
PHOTO: AFP
Of course not many people get given horses. The saying really means that if you get a gift from a friend you shouldn't try to work out how much it's worth, or point out what's wrong with it. You should just be happy they thought about you. Also if something lucky happens to you, you shouldn't ask too many questions. Just be happy that you're having a lucky day. Remember: Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!
(Catherine Thomas, Staff Writer)
你知道，你可以觀察馬的牙齒來分辨牠幾歲嗎？馬的牙齒愈長，年紀就愈大。你認為這匹馬幾歲呢？
年輕的馬較老馬跑得快，工作也較賣力。所以幼馬比老馬售價高。人們購買馬匹時會往馬嘴裡看，看那匹馬年紀多大。
在英文中，我們會說「Don't look a gift horse in the mouth」。想像一下某人送你一匹馬。檢查那匹馬的牙齒可能相當無禮。假如這匹馬是禮物，牠年紀多大都沒有關係。重要的是有人很好心地送你馬匹！
當然，被送過馬匹的人不多。這個諺語真正的意思是，假如你得到朋友的禮物，不應該處心積慮地想知道禮物的價值。你應該為了他們想到你而感到快樂。假如你好運降臨，也不該提出太多問題。只要為幸運的一天開心就好。記住︰別揣測禮物的價值！
（翻譯：賴美君）
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