John was a very famous pianist.

约翰是著名的钢琴家。

When he was a small boy, he once played at a party in the home of a rich man.

当他还是个小男孩的时候，他曾经在一个富人家里的聚会上演奏钢琴。

He was only eight years old, but he had played the piano for several years.

虽然只有八岁，但他弹钢琴好几年了。

At the party he played a famous piece by Beethoven.

在晚会上他演奏了贝多芬的一首名曲。

He played wonderfully.

他弹得非常好。

The famous piece has several long rests in it.

这首著名的曲子有几段很长的休止符。

In each of these rests he took his hands away from the piano and waited.

每次休息时，他都把手从钢琴上拿开，等待着。

To him this was very exciting, but the mother of the rich man thought differently.

对他来说，这非常令人兴奋，但富人的母亲却有不同的想法。

Finally, during one of these rests she came over to him.

最后，在其中一次的休息时间，她走到他身边。

She touched him on the head, smiled and said, “My boy, why don't you play us what you know well?”

她摸了摸他的头，笑着说:“孩子，你为什么不给我们弹你熟悉的曲子呢?”