51.The starfish（编译）

从前有个年轻人，天未亮，就来到海滩上漫步。突然，他看见远处有一个体弱的老人。当他走近老人时，发现老人在捡搁浅在海滩上的海星并把它们扔回到大海。当老人反复地把搁浅的小海星从海滩上一个一个地扔进水里时，年轻人很吃惊地观看着。年轻人忍不住地问老人：“你为什么花费这么多的精力，做似乎浪费时间的事情？”老人解释说：“如果把它们留在海滩上，早晨的阳光会把它们晒死的。”

“地球上有成千上万的海滩和数百万的海星，你一个人的努力能起多大作用？”年轻人说。

老人望着手里的小海星，顺手把它扔进大海里，然后对年轻人说：“至少对这个小海星有用。”

原来，你也能起作用啊。

There was a young man walking down a beach just before dawn .In the distance ，he saw a weak old man.As he approached the old man，he saw him picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea.The young man watched them surprisingly as the old man again and again threw the small starfish from the beach to the water.

He asked him，“Why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time?”The old man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.

“But there must be thousands of beaches and millions of starfish，”said the young man.“How can your effort make any difference?”The old man looked down at the small starfish in his hand and as he threw it back to the sea，he said，“It makes a difference to this starfish.”

You can make a difference.