英语晨读背诵美文30篇-英文+翻译

1 英语背诵美文英语背诵美文 30 篇篇 英文 翻译英文 翻译 第一篇 Youth 青春 Youth is not a time of life it is a state of mind it is not a matter of rosy cheeks red lips and supple1 knees it is a matter of will a quality of the imagination a vigor of the emotions it is the freshness of the deep springs of life Youth means a temperamental2 predominance3 of courage over timidity of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20 Nobody grows old merely by a number of years We grow old by deserting4 our ideals Years may wrinkle the skin but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul Worry fear self distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust Whether 60 or 16 there is in every human being s heart the lure of wonders the unfailing childlike appetite of what s next and the joy of the game of living In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station So long as it receives messages of beauty hope cheer courage and power from men and from the infinite5 so long are you young When the aerials are down and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism6 and the ice of pessimism then you are grown old even at 20 but as long as your aerials are up to catch waves of optimism there is hope you may die young at 80 Annotation 1 supple adj 柔软的 2 temperamental adj 由气质引起的 3 predominance n 优势 4 desert vt 抛弃 5 the Infinite 上帝 6 cynicism n 玩世不恭 青春 青春不是年华 而是心境 青春不是桃面 丹唇 柔膝 而是深沉的意志 恢弘的想象 炙热的感情 青春是生命的深泉在涌动 青春气贯长虹 勇锐盖过怯弱 进取压倒苟安 如此锐气 二十年后生而有 之 六旬男子则更多见 年岁有加 并非垂老 理想丢弃 方堕暮年 岁月悠悠 衰弱只及肌肤 热忱抛却 颓废必致灵魂 忧烦 惶恐 丧失自 信 定使心灵扭曲 意气如灰 无论年届花甲 抑或二八芳龄 心中皆有生命之欢乐 奇迹之诱惑 孩童般 2 天真久盛不衰 人人皆有一台天线 只要你从天上人间接受美好 希望 欢乐 勇气和力量的信号 你就青春永驻 风华常存 一旦天线倒塌 锐气使冰雪覆盖 玩世不恭 自暴自弃油然而生 即使年方 二八 实已垂垂老矣 然则只要竖起天线 捕捉乐观信号 你就有望在八十高 龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻 第二篇 Three Days to See Excerpts 假如给我三天光明 节选 All of us have read thrilling1 stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live Sometimes it was as long as a year sometimes as short as twenty four hours But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hours I speak of course of free men who have a choice not condemned2 criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited3 Such stories set us thinking wondering what we should do under similar circumstances What events what experiences what associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings What happiness should we find in reviewing the past what regrets Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life We should live each day with a gentleness a vigor and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama4 of more days and months and years to come There are those of course who would adopt the Epicurean5 motto of Eat drink and be merry but most people would be chastened6 by the certainty of impending7 death In stories the doomed hero is usually saved at the last minute by some stroke of fortune but almost always his sense of values is changed He becomes more appreciative of the meaning of life and its permanent spiritual values It has often been noted that those who live or have lived in the shadow of death bring a mellow sweetness to everything they do Most of us however take life for granted We know that one day we must die but usually we picture that day as far in the future When we are in buoyant health death is all but unimaginable We seldom think of it The days stretch out in an endless vista8 So we go about our petty tasks hardly aware of our listless9 attitude toward life The same lethargy10 I am afraid characterizes the use of all our faculties and senses Only the deaf appreciate hearing only the blind realize the manifold11 blessings that lie in sight Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life But those who have 3 never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sounds hazily without concentration and with little appreciation It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it of not being conscious of health until we are ill I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight silence would teach him the joys of sound Annotation 1 thrilling adj 惊心动魄的 2 condemned adj 被宣告无罪的 3 delimit vt 定界限 4 panorama n 全景 5 epicurean adj 伊壁鸠鲁的 享乐主义的 6 chasten vt 斥责 惩罚 7 impending adj 迫近的 8 vista n 前景 展望 9 listless adj 冷漠的 倦怠的 情绪低落的 10 lethargy n 无生气 11 manifold adj 多方面的 假如给我三天光明 节选 我们都读过震撼人心的故事 故事中的主人公只给再活一段很有限的时光 有时长达一年 有时却短至一日 但我们总是想要知道 注定将要离世的人会 选择如何度过自己最后的时光 当然 我说的是那些有选择权利的自由人 而 不是那些活动范围受到严格限定的死囚 这样的故事让我们思考 在类似的处境下 我们该做些什么呢 作为终有一 死的人 在临终的几个小时内我们该做什么事 经历些什么或做哪些联想 回 忆往昔 什么使我们开心快乐 什么又使我们悔恨不已 有时我想 把每天都当作生命中的最后一天来过 也不失为一个极好的生活 法则 这种态度会使人格外重视生命的价值 我们每天都应该以优雅的姿态 充沛的精力 抱着感恩之心来生活 但当时间以无休止的日 月和年在我们面 前流逝时 我们却常常没有了这种感觉 当然 也有人奉行 吃 喝 享受 的 享乐主义信条 但绝大多数人还是会受到即将到来的死亡的惩罚 在故事中 将死的主人公通常都在最后一刻因突降的幸运而获救 但他的价 值观通常都会改变 他变的更加理解生命的意义及永恒的精神价值 我们常常 注意到 那些生活在或曾经生活在死亡阴影下的人无论做什么都会感到幸福 然而 我们中的大多数人都把生命看作是理所当然的 我们知道有一天我们 必将面对死亡 但总认为那一天还在遥远的将来 当我们身强体健之时 死亡 简直不可想象 我们很少考虑到它 日子多的好像没有尽头 因此我们一味忙 4 于琐事 几乎意识不到我们对待生活的冷漠态度 我担心同样的冷漠也存在于我们对自己官能和意思的运用上 只有聋子才理 解听力的重要 只有盲人才明白视觉的可贵 这尤其适用于那些成年后才失去 视力和听力的人 但是那些从未受过丧失视力或听力之苦的人很少充分利用这 些高贵的能力 他们的眼睛和耳朵模糊地感受着周围的景物与声音 心不在焉 也无所感激 这正如我们只有在失去才懂得珍惜一样 我们只有生病后才意识 到健康的可贵 我经常想 如果每个人在年轻的时候都有几天失明失聪 也不失为一件幸事 黑暗将使他更加感激光明 寂静将告诉他声音的美妙 第三篇 Companionship of Books 以书为伴 节选 A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company1 he keeps for there is a companionship2 of books as well as of men and one should always live in the best company whether it be of books or of men A good book may be among the best of friends It is the same today that it always was and it will never change It is the most patient and cheerful of companions It doesn t turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress It always receives us with the same kindness amusing and instructing us in youth and comforting and consoling us in age Men often discover their affinity3 to each other by the mutual love they have for a book just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third There is an old proverb Love me love my dog But there is more wisdom in this Love me love my book The book is a truer and higher bond of union Men can think feel and sympathize4 with each other through their favorite author They live in him together and he in them A good book is often the best urn5 of a life enshrining6 the best that life could think out for the world of a man s life is for the most part but the world of his thoughts Thus the best books are treasuries of good words the golden thoughts which remembered and cherished become our constant companions and comforters Books possess an essence of immortality7 They are by far the most lasting products of human effort Temples and statues decay but books survive Time is of no account with great thoughts which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author s minds ages ago What was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page The 5 only effect of time has been to sift out8 the bad products for nothing in literature can long survive but what is really good Books introduce us into the best society they bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived We hear what they said and did we see them as if they were really alive we sympathize with them enjoy with them grieve with them their experience becomes ours and we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes which they describe The great and good don t die even in this world Embalmed9 in books their spirits walk abroad The book is a living voice It is an intellect to which one still listens Annotation 1 company n 陪伴 2 companionship n 友谊 3 affinity n 吸引力 4 sympathize vi 同情 5 urn n 壶 容器 6 enshrine v 珍藏 7 immortality n 不朽 8 sift sth out 淘汰 删除 9 embalm vt 铭记 使不朽 以书为伴 节选 通常看一个人读些什么书就可知道他的为人 就像看他同什么人交往就知道 他的为人一样 因为有人以人为伴 也有人以书为伴 无论是书还是朋友 我 们都应该以最好的为伴 好书就像是你最要好的朋友 它始终不渝 过去如此 现在如此 将来也永 远不变 它是最有耐心 最令人愉悦的伴侣 在我们穷愁潦倒 临危遭难时 它也不会抛弃我们 对我们总是一如既往的亲切 在我们年轻时 好书陶冶我 们的性情 增长我们的见识 到我们年老时 它又给我们以慰藉和勉励 人们常常因为喜欢同一本书而结为知己 就像有时两个人因为敬慕同一个人 而成为朋友一样 有句古谚说道 爱屋及乌 其实 爱我及书 这句话蕴涵着更 多的哲理 书是更为真诚而高尚的情谊纽带 人们可以通过共同喜爱的作家沟 通思想 交流情感 彼此息息相通 并与自己喜欢的作家思想相通 情感相融 好书常如最精美的宝器 珍藏着人生思想的精华 因为人生的境界主要就在 于其思想的境界 因此 最好的书是金玉良言和崇高思想的宝库 这些良言和 思想若铭记于心并多加珍视 就回成为我们忠诚的伴侣和永恒的慰藉 书籍具有不朽的本质 是人类努力创造的最为持久的成果 寺庙会倒坍 神 像会朽烂 而书却经久长存 对于伟大的思想来说 时间是无关紧要的 多年 前初次闪现于作者脑海的伟大思想今日依然清新如故 他们当时的言论和思想 6 刊于书页 现在依然生动如初 时间唯一的作用是淘汰不好的作品 因为只有 真正的佳作才能经世长存 书籍介绍我们与最优秀的人为伍 使我们置身于历代伟人巨匠之间 如闻其 声 如观其行 如见其人 同他们情感交融 悲喜与共 感同身受 我们觉得 自己仿佛在作者所描绘的舞台上和他们粉墨登场 即使在人时间 伟大杰出的人物也永生不灭 他们的精神被载入书册 传于 四海 书是人们至今仍在聆听的智慧之声 永远充满活力 第四篇 If I Rest I Rust 如果我休息 我就会生锈 The significant inscription1 found on an old key If I rest I rust would be an excellent motto for those who are afflicted2 with the slightest bit of idleness Even the most industrious person might adopt it with advantage to serve as a reminder that if one allows his faculties3 to rest like the iron in the unused key they will soon show signs of rust and ultimately can t do the work required of them Those who would attain the heights reached and kept by great men must keep their faculties polished by constant use so that they may unlock the doors of knowledge the gates that guard the entrances to the professions to science art literature agriculture every department of human endeavor4 Industry keeps bright the key that opens the treasury of achievement If Hugh Miller after toiling5 all day in a quarry6 had devoted his evenings to rest and recreation he would never have become a famous geologist The celebrated mathematician Edmund Stone would never have published a mathematical dictionary never have found the key to science of mathematics if he had given his spare moments to idleness Had the little Scotch lad Ferguson allowed the busy brain to go to sleep while he tended sheep on the hillside instead of calculating the position of the stars by a string of beads he would never have become a famous astronomer Labor vanquishes7 all not inconstant spasmodic8 or ill directed labor but faithful unremitting9 daily effort toward a well directed purpose Just as truly as eternal vigilance10 is the price of liberty so is eternal industry the price of noble and enduring success Annotation 1 inscription n 题字 2 afflict vt 折磨 3 faculty n 才能 4 endeavor vi 努力 5 toil vi 苦干 6 quarry n 采石场 7 7 vanquish vt 征服 击败 8 spasmodic adj 间歇性的 9 unremitting adj 不懈的 10 vigilance n 警惕 如果我休息 我就会生锈 在一把旧钥匙上发现了一则意味深远的铭文 如果我休息 我就会生锈 对于那些为懒散而苦恼的人来说 这将是至理名言 甚至最为勤勉的人也可以 此为警示 如果一个人有才而不用 就像废弃钥匙的铁一样 这些才能很快就 会生锈 并最终无法完成安排给自己的工作 有些人想取得伟人所获得并保持的成就 他们就必须通过不断运用自身才能 以便开启知识的大门 即那些通过人类努力探求的各个领域的大门 这些领域 包括各种职业 科学 艺术 文学 农业等 勤奋使开启成功宝库的钥匙保持亮光 休 米勒如果在采石厂劳作一天后 晚上的时光用来休息消遣的话 他就不会成为名垂青史的地质学家 著名数学 家爱德蒙 斯通如果闲暇时无所事事 就不会出版数学词典 也不会发现开启数 学之门的钥匙 如果苏格兰青年弗格森在山坡上放羊时 让自己那思维活跃的 大脑处于休息状态 而不是借助一串珠子计算星星的位置 他就不会成为著名 的天文学家 劳动征服一切 这里所指的劳动不是断断续续的 间歇性的或方向偏差的劳 动 而是坚定的 不懈的 方向正确的每日劳动 正如要想拥有自由就必须时 刻警惕一样 要想取得伟大的 持久的成功 就必须要坚持不懈的努力 第五篇 Ambition 抱负 It is not difficult to imagine a world short of ambition It would probably be a kinder world without demands without abrasions1 without disappointments People would have time for reflection Such work as they did would not be for themselves but for the collectivity2 Competition would never enter in Conflict would be eliminated tension become a thing of the past The stress of creation would be at an end Art would no longer be troubling but purely celebratory in its functions Longevity would be increased for fewer people would die of heart attack or stroke caused by tumultuous3 endeavor Anxiety would be extinct Time would stretch on and on with ambition long departed from the human heart Ah how unrelievedly4 boring life would be There is a strong view that holds that success is a myth and ambition therefore a sham5 Does this mean that success does not really exist That achievement is at bottom6 empty That the efforts of men and women are of no significance alongside the force of movements and events Now not all success obviously is worth esteeming nor all ambition worth cultivating 8 Which are and which are not is something one soon enough learns on one s own But even the most cynical7 secretly admit that success exists that achievement counts for a great deal and that the true myth is that the actions of men and women are useless To believe otherwise is to taken on a point of view that is likely to be deranging8 It is in its implications to remove all motives for competence interest in attainment and regard for posterity9 We don t choose to be born We don t choose our parents We don t choose our historical epoch10 the country of our birth or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing We don t most of us choose to die nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death But within all this realm of choicelessness we do choose how we shall live courageously or in cowardice11 honorably or dishonorably with purpose of in drift We decide what is important and what is trivial in life We decide that what makes us significant is either what we do or what we refuse to do But no matter how indifferent the universe may be to our choices and decisions these choices and decisions are ours to make We decide We choose And as we decide and choose so are our lives formed In the end forming our own destiny is what ambition is about Annotation 1 abrasion n 磨损 2 collectivity n 集体 3 tumultuous adj 喧嚣的 纷乱的 4 unrelievedly adv 持续不变地 未缓和地 5 sham n 骗局 6 at bottom 实际上 7 cynical adj 愤世嫉俗的 8 derange vi 打乱 9 posterity n 子孙 后裔 10 epoch n 时代 时期 11 cowardice adj 胆怯 怯懦 抱负 一个缺乏抱负的世界将会怎样 这不难想象 或许 这将是一个更为友善的 世界 没有渴望 没有摩擦 没有失望 人们将有时间进行反思 他们所从事 的工作将不是为他们自身 而是为了整个集体 竞争永远不会介入 冲突将被 消除 人们的紧张关系将成为过往云烟 创造的重压将得以终结 艺术将不在 惹人费神 其功能将纯粹为了庆典 人的寿命将会更长 因为有激烈拼争引起 的心脏病和中风所导致的死亡将越来越少 焦虑将会消失 时光流失 抱负却 早已远离人心 啊 长此以往人生将变的多么乏味无聊 9 有一种盛行的观点认为 成功是一种神话 因此抱负亦属虚幻 这是不是说 实际上并不存在成功 成就本身就是一场空 与诸多运动和事件的力量相比 男男女女的努力显得微不足道 显然 并非所有的成功都值得敬仰 也并非所 有的抱负都值得追求 对值与不值的选择 一个人自然而然很快就学会 但即 使是最为愤世嫉俗的人暗地里也承认 成功确实存在 成就的意义举足轻重 而把世界男男女女的所作所为说成是徒劳无功才是真正的无稽之谈 认为成功 不存在的观点很可能造成混乱 这种观点的本意是一笔勾销所有提高能力的动 机 求取业绩的兴趣和对子孙后代的关注 我们无法选择出生 无法选择父母 无法选择出生的历史时期与国家 或是 成长的周遭环境 我们大多数人都无法选择死亡 无法选择死亡的时间或条件 但是在这些无法选择之中 我们的确可以选择自己的生活方式 是勇敢无畏还 是胆小怯懦 是光明磊落还是厚颜无耻 是目标坚定还是随波逐流 我们决定 生活中哪些至关重要 哪些微不足道 我们决定 用以显示我们自身重要性的 不是我们做了些什么 或是我们拒绝做些什么 但是不论世界对我们所做的选 择和决定有多么漠不关心 这些选择和决定终究是我们自己做出的 我们决定 我们选择 而当我们决定和选择时 我们的生活便得以形成 最终构筑我们命 运的就是抱负之所在 第六篇 What I have Lived for 我为何而生 Three passions simple but overwhelming strong have governed my life the longing for love the search for knowledge and unbearable1 pity for the suffering of mankind These passions like great winds have blown me hither and thither2 in a wayward3 course over a deep ocean of anguish4 reaching to the very verge5 of despair I have sought love first because it brings ecstasy6 ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of my life for a few hours for this joy I have sought it next because it relieves loneliness that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable7 lifeless abyss8 I have sought it finally because in the union of love I have seen in a mystic miniature9 the prefiguring10 vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined This is what I sought and though