提要
「Beauty is only skin deep」是一句英文俗諺，意思是「美麗的外表是膚淺的」，也就是說，保持清爽光鮮的儀容固然是禮貌，內在的修養卻更重要。千萬不要只注意別人看得到的外表，卻任由內心的園地乾涸荒蕪；更不要只看見表相，就妄下定論，也就是「don't judge by appearances」。
Once there lived a little boy in a big city. His name was Allen. He was very fond of playing with gas-filled balloons.
One day he was playing with his friends. They laid a bet. Each of them claimed that his balloon would go the highest in the sky. Allen purchased a blue color balloon, thinking that it would travel the highest, since the sky was also blue.
At a given signal, each of them let go of their balloons. All the balloons started going up in the sky. But Allen was disappointed to see that his balloon did not go the highest. He returned home with a heavy heart.The next day, the children laid another bet. Allen now thought of buying a red color balloon because the previous day it was the red color balloon that had gone up the highest.
When they all let go of their balloons, Allen was again disappointed, as his balloon did not travel the highest. He came back home in a sad mood.
On the third day, the children were playing the same game. Allen badly wanted to win this time. But he was confused. He didn't know what color of balloon to purchase. He didn't know which would go highest.
Allen was puzzled; he approached the balloon seller. Unable to decide, Allen asked the balloon seller, "Tell me please, which balloon will go the highest in the sky? Is it the red, the yellow, the green or the blue one?"
The balloon seller smiled at Allen and said, "My dear child! It is not the color of the balloon that decides how high it will go in the sky. What matters the most is what the balloon has inside it. The balloon, which is filled with more gas, and that too with the lightest gas, rises the highest."
The balloon seller then gave Allen the balloon that had more gas than the other balloons. That day Allen won the game and came home with a smile on his face, and he realized：
How high a person will rise in life depends not on his caste, color or creed, but on his thoughts, confidence, values and character.
解說
在某個大城市中，住著一個小男孩，他的名字叫艾倫，他非常喜歡玩氫氣球。
有一天，他與朋友玩耍的時候，決定要比賽誰的氣球飛得最高。他們每個人都說，自己的氣球可最快衝上天際。
艾倫買了一個藍色氣球，滿心以為這樣就可以飛到最高，因為天空也是藍色的。
約定的信號響起，他們每個人都鬆手放走各自的氣球。
所有的氣球開始冉冉上升……但艾倫很失望地看到他的氣球「表現不佳」，他懷著沉重的心情回家。
第二天，孩子們決定再比賽一次。這一回，艾倫買了一個紅色的氣球，因為前一天的比賽，飛得最快最高的是紅色氣球。
當他們都放鬆手中氣球的繩子，艾倫再次失望了，因為他的氣球還是沒有飛到最高處，再一次，他情緒低落的回家。
到了第三天，孩子們還要玩同樣的遊戲，艾倫非常想贏，但他不知道該買什麼顏色的氣球才會飛得最高。
拿不定主意的艾倫，困惑的走近氣球小販，問他：「請告訴我，這些氣球之中，到底哪一個會飛到最高的天空？是紅色、黃色、綠色或藍色的？」
氣球小販微笑看著艾倫說，「我親愛的孩子！氣球的顏色並不決定它會天空中飄多高，最要緊的是哪一個氣球裡充滿最多也最輕的氣體，才會上升最高。」
小販賣給艾倫比其他的氣球更多氫氣的氣球。
那一天，艾倫終於贏得了比賽，回家與他的臉上露出了笑容，也領悟了一個道理：一人在生活中「能夠上升多高」不在於他的種族，膚色或信仰，而在於他的想法、信心、性格與價值觀。
WOW!原來如此
depend on
「depend on」是「指望；相信」 例如：You can't depend on the train arriving on time.（千萬不要指望這列火車能準點到達。）
「depend on」也是「取決於…」 例如：How much is made depends on how hard we work.（做了多少在於我們努力了多少。）
有時候問別人問題時，會聽到對方回答：「It depends …」（看情況…）至於看什麼情況，就是「on what…」。
with a heavy heart
∕in a sad mood
「with …heart 」與「in…mood」，都表示「……」的心情，「heavy heart」、「sad mood」都是心情沉重的表示；相反的，「with a light heart 」與「in happy mood」就表示心情輕鬆愉快。
purchase
「purchase」是「購買」 。 例如：He purchased this first edition book at an auction.（他在拍賣會中購得這本首刷珍本書。）
「purchase」與「buy」（買）的意思相近，但比較正式也範圍廣泛，一般認為，可以比較嚴謹的用來「購買」（purchase）不動產，比較隨意的「買」（buy）一杯飲料。但purchase一個氣球，也沒什麼不行。