英语美文阅读 有翻译.doc

Be Happy“The days that make us happy make us wise.”-John Masefieldwhen I first read this line by Englands Poet Laureate, it startled me. What did Masefield mean? Without thinking about it much, I had always assumed that the opposite was true. But his sober assurance was arresting. I could not forget it.Finally, I seemed to grasp his meaning and realized that here was a profound observation. The wisdom that happiness makes possible lies in clear perception, not fogged by anxiety nor dimmed by despair and boredom, and without the blind spots caused by fear.Active happiness-not mere satisfaction or contentment -often comes suddenly, like an April shower or the unfolding of a bud. Then you discover what kind of wisdom has accompanied it. The grass is greener; bird songs are sweeter; the shortcomings of your friends are more understandable and more forgivable. Happiness is like a pair of eyeglasses correcting your spiritual vision.Nor are the insights of happiness limited to what is near around you. Unhappy, with your thoughts turned in upon your emotional woes, your vision is cut short as though by a wall. Happy, the wall crumbles.The long vista is there for the seeing. The ground at your feet, the world about you-people, thoughts, emotions, pressures-are now fitted into the larger scene. Everything assumes a fairer proportion. And here is the beginning of wisdom.快乐“快乐的日子使人睿智。”- 约翰梅斯菲尔德第一次读到英国桂冠诗人梅斯菲尔德的这行诗时，我感到十分震惊。他想表达什么意思？我以前从未对此仔细考虑，总是认定这行诗反过来才正确。但他冷静而又胸有成竹的表达引起了我的注意，令我无法忘怀。终于，我似乎领会了他的意思，并意识到这行诗意义深远。快乐带来的睿智存在于敏锐的洞察力之间，不会因忧虑而含混迷惑，也不会因绝望和厌倦而黯然模糊，更不会因恐惧而造成盲点。积极的快乐 并非单纯的满意或知足 通常不期而至，就像四月里突然下起的春雨，或是花蕾的突然绽放。然后，你就会发觉与快乐结伴而来的究竟是何种智慧。草地更为青翠，鸟吟更为甜美，朋友的缺点也变得更能让人理解，宽容。快乐就像是一副眼镜，可以矫正你的精神视力。快乐的视野并不仅限于你周围的事物。当你不快乐时，你的思维陷入情感上的悲哀，你的眼界就像是被一道墙给阻隔了，而当你快乐时，这道墙就会砰然倒塌。你的眼界变得更为宽广。你脚下的大地，你身边的世界，包括人，思想，情感和压力，现在都融入了更为广阔的景象之中，其间每件事物 的比例都更加合理。而这就是睿智的起始。SolitudeI find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will. Solitude is not measured by the miles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows. The really diligent student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary as a dervish in the desert. The farmer can work alone in the field or the woods all day, hoeing or chopping, and not feel lonesome, because he is employed; but when he comes home at night he cannot sit down in a room alone, at the mercy of his thoughts, but must be where he can :see the folks,:” and recreate, and, as he thinks, remunerate himself for his days solitude; and hence he wonders how the student can sit alone in the house all night and most of the day without ennui and :the blues:; but he does not realize that the student, though in the house, is still at work in his field, and chopping in his woods, as the farmer in his, and in turn seeks the same recreation and society that the latter does, though it may be a more condensed form of it.Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other. We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are. We have had to agree on a certain set of rules, called etiquette and politeness, to make this frequent meeting tolerable and that we need not come to open war. We meet at the post-office, and at the sociable, and about the fireside every night; we live thick and are in each others way, and stumble over one another, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another. Certainly less frequency would suffice for all important and hearty communications. Consider the girls in a factory-never alone, hardly in their dreams. It would be better if there were but one inhabitant to a square mile, as where I live. The value of a man is not in his skin, that we should touch him.I have a great deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls. Let me suggest a few comparisons, that some one may convey an idea of my situation. I am no more lonely than the loon in the pond that laughs so loud, or than Walden Pond itself. What company has that lonely lake, I pray?And yet it has not the blue devils, but the blue angels in it, in the azure tint of its waters. The sun is alone, except in thick weather, when there sometimes appear to be two, but one is a mock sun. god is alone-but the devil, he is far from being alone; he sees a great deal of company; he is legion. I am no more lonely than a single mullein or dandelion in a pasture, or a bean leaf, or sorrel, or a horse-fly, or a bumblebee. I am no more lonely than the Millbrook, or a weathercock, or the north star, or the south wind, or an April shower, or a January thaw, or the first spider in a new house.译文：独处我发现人若大部分时间用于独处，将有益身心。与人为伴，即使是挚友，也很快会有厌烦或虚度光阴的感觉。我爱独处，我发现没有比独处更好的伴侣了。出国，身在熙攘人群中，要比退守陋室更让人寂寞。心有所想，身有所系的人总是孤身一人，不论他身处何地。独处与否也不是由人与人之间的距离来确定。在剑桥苦读的学子虽身处蜂巢般拥挤的教室，实际上却和沙漠中的苦行僧一样，是在独处。家人终日耕于田间，伐于山野，此时他虽孤单但并不寂寞，因他专心于工作；但待到他日暮而息，却未必能忍受形影相吊，空有思绪做伴的时光，他必到“可以看见大伙儿”的去处去找乐子，如他所认为的那样以补偿白日里的孤独；因此他无法理解学子如何能竟夜终日独坐而不心生厌倦或倍感凄凉；然而他没意识到，学子虽身在学堂，但心系劳作，但是耕于心田，伐于学林，这正和农人一样，学子在寻求的无非是和他一样的快乐与陪伴，只是形式更简洁罢了。与人交往通常都因唾手可得而毫无价值，在频繁的相处中，我们无暇从彼此获取新价值。我们每日三餐相聚，反复让彼此重新审视的也是依旧故我，并无新奇之处。为此我们要循规蹈矩，称其为懂礼仪，讲礼貌，以便在这些频繁的接触中相安无事，无须论战而有辱斯文。我们相遇在邮局，邂逅在社交场所，围坐在夜晚的炉火旁，交情甚笃，彼此干扰着，纠缠着；实际上我认为这样我们都或多或少失去了对彼此的尊重。对于所有重要的倾心交流，相见不必过频。想想工厂里的女孩，她们虽从不落单，但也少有梦想。像这样方圆一英里仅一人居住，那情况会更好。人的价值非在肌肤相亲，而在心有灵犀。我的房子里有很多伙伴，尤其在无人造访的清晨。我把自己和周围事物对比一下，你或许能窥见我生活的一斑。比起那湖中长笑的潜鸟，还有那湖，我并不比它们孤独多少。你看：这孤单的湖又何以为伴呢？然而它那一湾天蓝的湖水里有的却是天使的纯净，而非魔鬼的忧郁。太阳是孤独的，虽然时而在阴郁的天气里会出现两个太阳，但其中之一为幻日；上帝是孤独的 魔鬼才从不孤单，他永远不乏伙伴，因从他都甚众。比起牧场上的一朵毛蕊花，一支蒲公英，一片豆叶，一束酢浆草，一只牛虻或大黄蜂来，我并不孤单多少；比想密尔溪，风标，北极星，南风，四月春雨，正月融雪，或者新房中的第一只蜘蛛，我也并不更加孤单。 Born to WinEach human being is born as something new, something that never existed before. Each is born with the capacity to win at life. Each person has a unique way of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and thinking. Each has his or her own unique potentials-capabilities and limitations. Each can be a significant, thinking, aware, and creative being-a productive person, a winner.The word “winner” and “loser” have many meanings. When we refer to a person as a winner, we do not mean one who makes someone else lose. To us, a winner is one who responds authentically by being credible, trustworthy, responsive, and genuine, both as an individual and as a member of a society.Winners do not dedicated their lives to a concept of what they imagine they should be; rather, they are themselves and as such do not use their energy putting on a performance, maintaining pretence and manipulating others. They are aware that there is a difference between being loving and acting loving, between being stupid and acting stupid, between being knowledgeable and acting knowledgeable. Winners do not need to hide behind a mask.Winners are not afraid to do their own thinking and to use their own knowledge. They can separate facts from opinions and dont pretend to have all the answers. They listen to others, evaluate what they say, but come to their own conclusions. Although winners can admire and respect other people, they are not totally defined, demolished, bound, or awed by them.Winners do not play “helpless”, nor do they play the blaming game. Instead, they assume responsibility for their own lives. They dont give others a false authority over them. Winners are their own bosses and know it.A winners timing is right. Winners respond appropriately to the situation. Their responses are related to the message sent and preserve the significance, worth, well-being, and dignity of the people involved. Winners know that for everything there is a season and for every activity a time.Although winners can freely enjoy themselves, they can also postpone enjoyment, can discipline themselves in the present to enhance their enjoyment in the future. Winners are not afraid to go after what he wants, but they do so in proper ways. Winners do not get their security by controlling others. They do not set themselves up to lose.A winner cares about the world and its peoples. A winner is not isolated from the general problems of society, but is concerned, compassionate, and committed to improving the quality of life. Even in the face of national and international adversity, a winners self-image is not one of a powerless individual. A winner works to make the world a better place.译文：生而为赢人皆生而为新，为前所未有之所存在；人皆生而能赢。人皆有其特立独行之方式去审视，聆听，触摸，品味及思考，因而都具备独特潜质-能力和局限。人皆能举足轻重，思虑明达，洞察秋毫，富有创意，成就功业。“成者”与“败者”含义颇多。谈及成者我们并非指令他人失意之人。对我们而言，成者必为人守信，值得信赖，有求必应，态度诚恳，或为个人，或为社会一员皆能以真诚回应他人。成者行事并不拘泥于某种信条，即便是他们认为应为其奉献一生的理念；而是本色行事，所以并不把精力用来表演，保持伪装或操控他人。他们明了爱与装家，愚蠢与装傻，博学与卖弄之间迥然有别。成者无须藏于面具之后。成者敢于利用所学，独立思考，区分事实与观点，且并不佯装通晓所有答案。他们倾听，权衡他人意见，但能得出自己的结论。尽管他们尊重，敬佩他们，但并不为他们所局限，所推翻，所束缚，也不对他人敬若神灵。成者既不佯装“无助”，亦不抱怨他人。相反，他们对人生总是独担责任，也不以权威姿态凌驾他人之上。他们主宰自己，而且能意识到这点。成者善于审时度势，随机应变。他们对所接受的信息做出回应，维护当事人的利益，康乐和尊严。成者深知成一事要看好时节，行一事要把握时机。尽管成者可以自由享乐，但他更知如何推迟享乐，适时自律，以期将来乐趣更盛。成者并不忌惮追求所想，但取之有道，也并不靠控制他们而获取安然之感。他们总是使自己立于不败。成者心忧天下，并不孤立尘世弊病之外，而是置身事内，满腔热情，致力于改善民生。即使面对民族，国家之危亡，成者亦非无力回天之个体。他总是努力令世界更好。 To Be or Not to BeOutside the Bible, these six words are the most famous in all the literature of the world. They were spoken by Hamlet when he was thinking aloud, and they are the most famous words in Shakespeare because Hamlet was speaking not only for himself but also for every thinking man and woman. To be or not to be, to live or not to live, to live richly and abundantly and eagerly, or to live dully and meanly and scarcely. A philosopher once wanted to know whether he was alive or not, which is a good question for everyone to put to himself occasionally. He answered it by saying: I think, therefore am. But the best definition of existence ever saw did another philosopher who said: To be is to be in relations. If this true, then the more relations a living thing has, the more it is alive. To live abundantly means simply to increase the range and intensity of our relations. Unfortunately we are so constituted that we get to love our routine. But apart from our regular occupation how much are we alive? If you are interest-ed only in your regular occupation, you are alive only to that extent. So far as other things are concerned-poetry and prose, music, pictures, sports, unselfish friendships, politics, international affairs-you are dead. Contrariwise, it is true that every time you acquire a new interest-even more, a new accomplishment-you increase your power of life. No one who is deeply interested in a large variety of subjects can remain unhappy; the real pessimist is the person who has lost interest. Bacon said that a man dies as often as he loses a friend. But we gain new life by contacts, new friends. What is supremely true of living objects is only less true of ideas, which are also alive. Where your thoughts are, there will your live be also. If your thoughts are confined only to your business, only to your physical welfare, only to the narrow circle of the town in which you live, then you live in a narrow cir-conscribed life. But if you are interested in what is going on in China, then you are living in China if youre interested in the characters of a good novel, then you are living with those highly interesting people, if you listen intently to fine music, you are away from your immediate surroundings and living in a world of passion and imagination. To be or not to be-to live intensely and richly, merely to exist, that depends on ourselves. Let widen and intensify our relations. While we live, let live!译文：生存还是毁灭“生存还是毁灭。”如果把圣经除外，这六个字便是整个世界文学中最有名的六个字了。这六个字是哈姆雷特一次喃喃自语时说的，而这六个字也就成了莎士比亚作品中最有名的几个字了，因为这里哈姆雷特不仅道出了他自己的心声，同时也代表了一切有思想的男男女女。是活还是不活是要生活还是不要生活，是要生活得丰满充实，兴致勃勃，还是只是活得枯燥委琐，贫乏无味。一位哲人一次曾想弄清他自己是否是在活着，这个问题我们每个人也大可不时地问问我们自己。这位哲学家对此的答案是： “我思故我在。” 但是关于生存我所见过的一条最好的定义却是另一位哲学家下的：“生活即是联系。”如果这话不假的话，那么一个有生命者的联系越多，它也就越有生气。所谓要活得丰富充实也即是要扩大和加强我们的各种联系。不幸的是，我们往往会因为天性不够丰厚而容易陷入自己的陈规旧套。试问除去我们的日常工作，我们的真正生活又有多少?如果你只是对你的日常工作才有兴趣，那你的生趣也就很有限了。至于在其它事物方面，比如诗歌、散文、音乐、美术、体育、无私的友谊、政治与国际事务，等等你只是死人一个。 但反过来说，每当你获得一种新的兴趣甚至一项新的造诣你就增长了你的生活本领。一个能对许许多多事物都深感兴趣的人是不可能总不愉快的，真正的悲观者只能是那些丧失兴趣的人。 培根曾讲过，一个人失去朋友即是死亡。但是凭着交往，凭着新朋，我们就能获得再生。这条对于活人可谓千真万确的道理在一定程度上也完全适用于人的思想，它们也都是活的。你的思想所在，你的生命便也在那里。如果你的思想不出你的业务范围，不出你的物质利益，不出你所在城镇的狭隘圈子，那么你的一生便也只是多方受着局限的狭隘的一生。但是如果你对当前中国那里所发生的种种感到兴趣，那么你便可说也活在中国；如果你对一本佳妙小说中的人物感到兴趣，你便是活在一批极有趣的人们中间；如果你能全神贯注地听点好的音乐，你就会超脱出你的周围环境而活在一个充满激情与想象的神奇世界之中。 生存还是毁灭活得热烈活得丰富，还是只是简单存在，这就全在我们自己。但愿我们都能不断扩展和增强我们的各种联系。只要一天我们活着，就要一天是在活着。The Goodness of LifeThough there is much to be concerned about, there is far, far more for which to be thankful. Though lifes goodness can at times be overshadowed, it is never outweighed.For every single act that is senselessly destructive, there are thousands more small, quiet acts of love, kindness and compassion. For every person who seeks to hurt, there are many, many more who devote their lives to helping and to healing.There is goodness to life that cannot be denied.In the most magnificent vistas and in the smallest details, look closely, for that goodness always comes shining through.There si no limit to the goodness of life. It grows more abundant with each new encounter. The more you experience and appreciate the goodness of life, the more there is to be lived.Even when the cold winds blow and the world seems to be cov ered in foggy shadows, the goodness of life lives on. Open your eyes, open your heart, and you will see that goodness is everywhere.Though the goodness of life seems at times to suffer setbacks, it always endures. For in the darkest moment it becomes vividly clear that life is a priceless treasure. And so the goodness of life is made even stronger by the very things that would oppose it.Time and time again when you feared it was gone forever you found that the goodness of life was really only a moment away. Around the next corner, inside every moment, the goodness of life is there to surprise and delight you.Take a moment to let the goodness of life touch your spirit and calm your thoughts. Then, share your good fortune with another. For the goodness of life grows more and more magnificent each time it is given away.Though the problems constantly scream for attention and the conflicts appear to rage ever stronger, the goodness of life grows stronger still, quietly, peacefully, with more purpose and meaning than ever before.生命的美好尽管有很多事让人忧虑，但相比而言，值得感激的事要多得多。尽管生命的美好有时被蒙上阴影，但它却永远不会被埋没。相对于每一个无谓的破坏行为而言，都有更多数以千计更为微小的，包含着爱，友善和同情的举动静静地上演着。相对于每一个试图伤害他人的人而言，都有更多的人致力于帮助他人，治愈他人的创伤。生命的美好不能否认。在最为壮观的前景和最为琐碎的细节中，请仔细观察，因为美好的事物总是散发着耀眼的光芒闪亮登场。生命的美好没有界限。每一次相遇都会使这美好变得越发丰富。你经历得越多，越能欣赏生命的美好，生命中的美好就会变得越多。即使当寒风袭来，整个世界似乎被雾气掩盖之时，生命的美好仍会存在。睁开双眼，打开心扉，你就会发现这美好无处不在。尽管生命的美好有时似乎遭受挫折，但它总会挺过来。因为，在最黑暗的时刻，有一点变得格外清楚，那就是，生命是无价的财富。因此，下正是与生命的美好相对立的事物使其越发强大。无数次地，当你担心这美好已经远离之时，你会发现生命的美好其实只与你相隔须臾。它就在下一角落，存在于每个时刻之间，等着给你惊喜。花些时间让生命的美好感动自己的灵魂，放松自己的思绪。然后，把你的幸运与他人分享。因为生命的美好会在每次给予之间变得越来越壮观。尽管总是有问题让你去关注，冲突也似乎愈演愈烈，但生命的美好却总是静静地，平和地，带着比以往更强的意志和更多的价值变得更加强大。 Giving Life MeaningHave you thought about what you want people to say about you after youre gone? Can you hear the voice saying, “He was a great man.” Or “She really will be missed.” What else do they say?One of the strangest phenomena of life is to engage in a work that will last long after death. Isnt that a lot like investing all your money so that future generations can bare interest on it? Perhaps, yet if you look deep in your own heart, youll find something drives you to make this kind of contribution-something drives every human being to find a purpose that lives on after death.Do you hope to memorialize your name? Have a name that is whispered with reverent awe? Do you hope to have your face carved upon 50 ft of granite rock? Is the answer really that simple? Is the purpose of lifetime contribution an ego-driven desire for a mortal being to have an immortal name or is it something more?A child alive today will die tomorrow. A baby that had the potential to be the next Einstein will die from complication is at birth. The circumstances of life are not set in stone. We are not all meant to live life through to old age. Weve grown to perceive life3 as a full cycle with a certain number of years in between. If all of those years arent lived out, its a tragedy. A tragedy because a humans potential was never realized. A tragedy because a spark was snuffed out before it ever became a flame.By virtue of inhabiting a body we accept these risks. We expose our mortal flesh to the laws of the physical environment around us. The trade off isnt so bad when you think about it. The problem comes when we construct mortal fantasies of what life should be like. When life doesnt conform to our fantasy we grow upset, frustrated, or depressed.We are alive; let us live. We have the ability to experience; let us experience. We have the ability to learn; let us learn. The meaning of life can be grasped in a moment. A moment so brief it often evades our perception.What meaning stands behind the dramatic unfolding of life? What single truth can we grasp and hang onto for dear life when all other truths around us seem to fade with time?These moments are strung together in a series we call events. These events are strung together in a series we call life. When we seize the moment and bend it according to our will, a will driven by the spirit deep inside us, then we have discovered the mea