英语专业大一背诵篇目.doc

A Tale of Two Cities (excerpt)狄更斯在双城记一书的开头就说，“这是一个最好的时代，也是一个最坏的时代”。妙哉斯言！这段文字中多个平行句所表达的希望与绝望、光明与黑暗、理想与现实一直深深地打动读者。文中句型的反复、形式上的对偶、内容上的对比、总体结构上的平行（排比），都值得我们细细体味。It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age ofwisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it wasthe epoch of incredulity; it was the season of light, it was the season ofdarkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we hadeverything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directto Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.Charles Dickens 注释：wisdom: a wise outlook, plan, or course of action 智慧，明智的行为，学识epoch: a particular period of history, especially one considered remarkable or noteworthy age, era,period 新纪元，时代，时期incredulity: the state or quality of being incredulous; disbelief 怀疑despair: to lose all hope 绝望，失望查尔斯狄更斯（18121870），英国大名鼎鼎的作家，是19 世纪英国现实主义文学的主要代表。他笔耕一生，靠勤奋和汗水创作出大卫科波菲尔、双城记等世界名著。他的作品以妙趣横生的幽默、细致入微的心理分析以及现实主义描写与浪漫主义气氛的有机结合而著称。 (85 words)Spring Song布莱克的诗读起来朗朗上口，有音乐的美感，充满感性，喜欢的人很多。希望你也喜欢。Spring is coming, spring is coming,Birdies, build your nest;Weave together straw and feather,Doing each your best.Spring is coming, spring is coming,Flowers are coming too:Pansies, lilies, daffodillies Now are coming through.Spring is coming, spring is coming,All around is fair,Shimmer and quiver on the river,Joy is everywhere.William Blake 注释：straw : a single stalk of threshed grain 稻草，麦秆pansies, lilies, daffodillies: 三色紫罗兰、百合花、喇叭水仙花sahimmer : to shine with a subdued, flickering light 微光quiver : to shake with a slight, rapid, tremulous movement 颤抖，振动William Blake， 布莱克（17571827），英国诗人，著有诗集天真之歌(1789)经验之歌（1794）。他最重要的绘画有坎特伯雷香客和雅各的梦。Youth20 世纪初塞缪尔厄尔曼写的这篇不足500 字的短文青春一直为世人倾倒，过了这么多年它的魅力依旧。因为它给予了一种启示，教我们如何美好地生活。Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosycheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of theimagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deepsprings of life. Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage overtimidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This oftenexists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows oldmerely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles thesoul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back todust. Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every beings heart the lure ofwonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of whats next, and the joy of thegame of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wirelessstation; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courageand power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows ofcynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even attwenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism,there is hope you may die young at eighty.Samuel Ullman 注释：rosy cheeks: 玫瑰花般的脸颊supple: readily bent; pliant 柔软的vigor : physical or mental strength, energy, or force 精力，活力temperamental : excessively sensitive or irritable; moody 心情变化快的，喜怒无常的predominance : the state or quality of being predominant; preponderance 优势timidity : shy 胆怯的，害羞的appetite : 食欲，胃口，欲望，爱好desert : 放弃，遗弃wrinkle: to draw up into wrinkles; pucker 起皱enthusiasm : great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause 狂热，热心，积极性wireless : 无线的infinite : having no limits 无限的，无穷的aerial : 天线cynicism: a scornful, bitterly mocking comment or act 玩世不恭，冷嘲热讽pessimism: a tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable possible view 悲观，悲观主义optimism: a tendency to expect the best possible outcome or dwell on the most hopeful aspects ofa situation 乐观，乐观主义塞缪尔厄尔曼，1840 年生于德国，童年时移居美国。他在古稀之年才开始写作，是一个了不起的人。（本文由于手抄流传等多种原因，存在多个版本，这里采用作者原文。）The Garden of EdenBible 一词源于希腊文的biblia，意思是“书丛”。圣经分为两部分：旧约和新约，包含有诗歌、法律、历史、预言、训诲、故事、书信等文体。旧约的内容是希伯来人出埃及时，上帝（耶和华）与人类（希伯来人）所立之旧的盟约以及此盟约的兑现。所谓“约”，即“约定”的意思。新约是上帝与人类所立的新的盟约，此盟约是以耶稣的圣训和他的生活为基础的。下面是圣经故事创世纪中的一段。GOD had made a beautiful garden for the first man and woman to live in.The garden, called Eden, was full of many wonderful things. Flowers asbeautiful to look at as they were to smell grew everywhere. Soft, greengrass grew under foot. The joyful music of songbirds drifted across gentle,warm breezes. A clear flowing stream gave cool, fresh water to drink,while hanging from the limbs of the many trees were all sorts of deliciousfruits. Tasty vegetables grew free for the gathering. In the Garden of Edenwere also all manner of animals, both large and small. Adam and Evedidnt have to be afraid of any of the beasts, for all the animals were theirfriends. GOD told the man and woman that it was their job to take care oftheir new home. He also told them that two special trees grew in thegarden. One was the Tree of Life. The other was the Tree of theKnowledge of Good and Evil.GOD told them, “You may eat the fruit that grows on all the treesexcept for one. You mustnt touch the fruit that grows on the Tree of theKnowledge of Good and Evil. If you eat the fruit that grows on that treeyou will die.”注释：Eden: the garden that was the first home of Adam and Eve (圣经)伊甸园，乐园drift: something moving along in a current of air or water 飘；漂流breeze: a light current of air; a gentle wind 微风Adam and Eve:亚当和夏娃(圣经中的人物，所谓的人类始祖)英语晨读精华 (220 words)American dreamTo Americans, industriousness, thrift and ambition are positive values. We encourage our children to be competitive, to get ahead, to make money, to acquire possession. In games and in business alike, the aim is to win the game, the trophy, the contract. We go in for laborsaving devices, gadgets, speed and shortcuts. We think every young couple should set up a home of their own. And we pity the couple who must share their home with their parent, let alone with other relatives. Actually, of course, not all Americans hold all these values. And those who do may hold other, and at times contradictory values that affect their ways of behaving. In the main, however, the collective expectation of our society is that these are desirable goals, and the individual, whatever his personal inclination, is under considerable pressure to conform.I Have a Dream马丁路德金(19291968)，美国黑人解放运动的著名领袖，1968 年被种族主义者刺杀。1963 年8 月28 日，美国首都华盛顿举行大规模的黑人集会，为黑人争取自由、平等和就业。马丁路德金在会上发表本篇演说。I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation wherethey will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content oftheir character. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governorslips are presently dripping with the words of interposition andnullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boysand black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and whitegirls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hilland mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, andthe crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shallbe revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South.With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair astone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the janglingdiscords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. Withthis faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggletogether, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowingthat we will be free one day. Martin Luther King 注释：Alabama: a tribe of the Creek confederacy formerly inhabiting southern Alabama and nowlocated in eastern Texas 阿拉巴马州(美国的一个州)lip: either of two fleshy folds that surround the opening of the mouth 嘴唇drip: to let fall in or as if in drops (使)滴下interposition: 异议nullification: the state of being nullified 无效transform: to subject (a construction) to a transformation 改变exalt: 升高crooked: having or marked by bends, curves, or angles 弯曲的glory: a highly praiseworthy asset 荣誉，光荣reveal: to make known (something concealed or secret) 显示，透露jangling: 刺耳的discord: inharmonious combination of simultaneously sounded tones; dissonance 意见不合，嘈杂声symphony: 交响乐，交响曲brotherhood: the state or relationship of being brothers 手足情谊jail: a place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention; a prison 监狱 (250 words)Think it overToday we have higher buildings and wider highways, but shorter temperaments and narrower points of view;We spend more, but enjoy less; We have bigger houses, but smaller families;We have more compromises, but less time;We have more knowledge, but less judgment;We have more medicines, but less health;We have multiplied out possessions, but reduced out values;We talk much, we love only a little, and we hate too much;We reached the Moon and came back, but we find it troublesome to cross our own street and meet our neighbors;We have conquered the outer space, but not our inner space;We have higher income, but less morals;These are times with more liberty, but less joy;We have much more food, but less nutrition;These are the days in which it takes two salaries for each home, but divorces increase;These are times of finer houses, but more broken homes;Thats why I propose, that as of today;You do not keep anything for a special occasion. because every day that you live is a SPECIAL OCCASION. Search for knowledge, read more ,sit on your porch and admire the view without paying attention to your needs; Spend more time with your family and friends, eat your favorite foods, visit the places you love;Life is a chain of moments of enjoyment; not only about survival; Use your crystal goblets. Do not save your best perfume, and use it every time you feel you want it.Remove from your vocabulary phrases like “one of these days” or someday; Lets write that letter we thought of writing one of these days! Lets tell our families and friends how much we love them; Do not delay anything that adds laughter and joy to your life; Every day, every hour, and every minute is special;And you dont know if it will be your last.(320 words)Companionship of BooksA man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps; for there is a companionship 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 does not 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 affinity 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 sympathize with each other through their favorite author. They live in him together, and he in them. A good book is often the best urn of a life enshrining the best that life could think out; for the world of a mans 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 immortality. 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 authors minds, ages ago. What was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page. The only effect of time have been to sift out the bad products; for nothing in literature can long survive e 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 the 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 do not die, even in this world. Embalmed in books, their spirits walk abroad. The book is a living voice. It is an intellect to which on still listens. (460 words)If I Were A Boy AgainIf I were a boy again, I would practice perseverance more often, and never give up a thing because it was or inconvenient. If we want light, we must conquer darkness. Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. “There are only two creatures,” says a proverb, “who can surmount the pyramidsthe eagle and the snail.”If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention; I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once. The habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we begain early enough. I often hear grown up people say “ I could not fix my attention on the sermon or book, although I wished to do so” , and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth.If I were to live my life over again, I would pay more attention to the cultivation of the memory. I would strengthen that faculty by every possible means, and on every possible occasion. It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately; but memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble. It only needs early cultivation to become a power.If I were a boy again, I would cultivate courage. “Nothing is so mild and gentle as courage, nothing so cruel and pitiless as cowardice,” syas a wise author. We too often borrow trouble, and anticipate that may never appear.” The fear of ill exceeds the ill we fear.” Dangers will arise in any career, but presence of mind will often conquer the worst of them. Be prepared for any fate, and there is no harm to be freared.If I were a boy again, I would look on the cheerful side. Life is very much like a mirror: if you smile upon it, I smiles back upon you; but if you frown and look doubtful on it, you will get a similar look in return. Inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner, but of all that come in contact with it. “ who shuts love out ,in turn shall be shut out from love.”If I were a boy again, I would school myself to say no more often. I might write pages on the importance of learning very early in life to gain that point where a young boy can stand erect, and decline doing an unworthy act because it is unworthy.If I were a boy again, I would demand of myself more courtesy towards my companions and friends, and indeed towards strangers as well. The smallest courtesies along the rough roads of life are like the little birds that sing to us all winter long, and make that season of ice and snow more endurable.Finally, instead of trying hard to be happy, as if that were the sole purpose of life, I would , if I were a boy again, I would still try harder to make others happy.假如我又回到了童年，我做事要更有毅力，决不因为事情艰难或者麻烦而撒手不干，我们要光明，就得征服黑暗。毅力在效果上有时能同天才相比。俗话说：“能登上金字塔的生物，只有两种鹰和蜗牛。”假如我又回到了童年，我就要养成专心致志的习惯；有事在手，就决不让任何东西让我分心。我要牢记：优秀的滑冰手从不试图同时滑向两个不同的方向。如果及早养成这种专心致志的习惯，它将成为我们生命的一部分。我常听成年人说：“虽然我希望能集中注意听牧师讲道或读书，但往往做不到。”而原因就是年轻时没有养成这种习惯。假如我现在能重新开始我的生命，我就要更注意记忆力的培养。我要采取一切可能的办法，并且在一切可能的场合，增强记忆力。要正确无误地记住一些东西，在开始阶段的确要作出一番小小的努力；但要不了多久，记忆力本身就会起作用，使记忆成为轻而易举的事，只需及早培养，记忆自会成为一种才能。假如我又回到了童年，我就要培养勇气。一位明智的作家曾说过：“世上没有东西比勇气更温文尔雅，也没有东西比懦怯更残酷无情。”我们常常过多地自寻烦恼，杞人忧天。“怕祸害比祸害本身更可怕。”凡事都有危险，但镇定沉着往往能克服最严重的危险。对一切祸福做好准备，那么就没有什么灾难可以害怕的了。假如我又回到了童年，我就要事事乐观。生活犹如一面镜子：你朝它笑，它也朝你笑；如果你双眉紧锁，向它投以怀疑的目光，它也将还以你同样的目光。内心的欢乐不仅温暖了欢乐者自己的心，也温暖了所有与之接触者的心。“谁拒爱于门外，也必将被爱拒诸门外。”假如我又回到了童年，我就要养成经常说“不”字的习惯。一个少年要能挺得起腰，拒绝做不应该做的事，就因为这事不值得做。我可以写上好几页谈谈早年培养这一点的重要性。假如我又回到了童年，我就要要求自己对伙伴和朋友更加礼貌，而且对陌生人也应如此。在坎坷的生活道路上，最细小的礼貌犹如在漫长的冬天为我们歌唱的小鸟，那歌声使冰天雪地的寒冬变得较易忍受。最后，假如我又回到了童年，我不会力图为自己谋幸福，好像这就是人生唯一的目的；与之相反，我要更努力为他人谋幸福。 (510 words)Three Days to SeeAll of us have read thrilling 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 condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited.Such stories set up thinking, wondering what we should do under similar circumstances. 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 panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the epicurean motto of “