英语名篇名段背诵精华(第1-20篇)

1、英语名篇背诵精华01 Life is a chess-board 人生是一盘棋说人生是一出戏也好，是一盘棋也罢，只不过是对人生的一种理解，因人而异。The chess-board is the world: the pieces are the phenomena of the universe; the rules of the game are what we call the laws of nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us. We know that his play is always fair, just

2、and patient. But also we know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, or makes the smallest allowance for ignorance.By Thomas Henry Huxley 注释overlookuvluk: to fail to see or notice 忽视make allowance for: 考虑到（而原谅） 作者简介Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), English biologist and educator. Huxley gav

3、e up his own biological research to become an influential scientific publicist and was the principal exponent of Darwinism in England. An agnostic, he doubted all things not immediately open to logical analysis and scientific verification. He held up truth as an ideal and spoke and wrote frequently

4、on its tool, the scientific method, and its yield, the evolutionary theory. He placed human ethic outside the scope of the materialistic processes of evolution; he believed that civilization is mans protest against nature and that progress is achieved by the human control of evolution. 托马斯.亨利.赫胥黎，英国

5、著名博物学家，达尔文进化论学说最杰出的代表。棋盘宛如世界：一个个棋子仿佛世间的种种现象：游戏规则就是我们所称的自然法则。竞争对手藏于暗处，不为我们所见。我们知晓，这位对手向来处事公平，正义凛然，极富耐心。然而，我们也明白，这位对手从不忽视任何错误，或者因为我们的无知而做出一丝让步，所以我们也必须为此付出代价。英语名段背诵精华 02 Best of times 最好的时代狄更斯在双城记一书开头就说，“这是一个最好的时代，也是一个最坏的时代”。妙哉斯言！这段文字因含有多个平行句（句子结构相同）而打动读者。文中句型上的反复、形式上的对偶、内容上的对比、总体结构上的平行，都值得仔细体会。It was

6、the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything be

7、fore us, we had nothing before us; we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.Excerpt from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 注释wisdomwizdm: 智慧，明智的行为，学识epochi:pk, epk: age, era, period 新纪元，时代，时期incredulityinkridju:liti: the state or quality of being incredulous;

8、disbelief 怀疑despair: to lose all hope 绝望，失望 作者简介Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English novelist and one of the most popular writers in the history of literature. In his enormous body of works, Dickens combined masterly storytelling, humor, pathos, and irony with sharp social criticism and acute observ

9、ation of people and places, both real and imagined. His works have been translated into practically every language and his novels have been adapted to plays, films, musicals and so on. 查尔斯.狄更斯，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人物之一。他笔耕一生，靠勤奋和汗水创造出双城记、大卫.科波菲尔等世界文学名著。其作品在艺术上以妙趣横生的幽默、细致入微的心理分析，以及现实主义描写与浪漫主义气

10、氛的有机结合而著称。这是一个最好的时代，也是一个最坏的时代；这是明智的年代，这是愚昧的年代；这是信任的纪元，这是怀疑的纪元；这是光明的季节，这是黑暗的季节；这是希望的春日，这是失望的冬日；我们面前应有尽有，我们面前一无所有；我们都将直上天堂，我们都将直下地狱 英语名段背诵精华 03 Equality and greatness 平等与伟大Between persons of equal income there is no social distinction except the distinction of merit. Money is nothing: character, condu

11、ct, and capacity are everything. Instead of all the workers being leveled down to low wage standards and all the rich leveled up to fashionable income standards, everybody under a system of equal incomes would find her or his own natural level. There would be great people and ordinary people and lit

12、tle people, but the great would always be those who had done great things, and never the idiot whose mothers had spoiled them and whose fathers had left a hundred thousand a year; and the little would be persons of small minds and mean characters, and not poor persons who had never had a chance. Tha

13、t is why idiots are always in favour of inequality of income (their only chance of eminence), and the really great in favour of equality.By George Bernard Shaw 注释distinctiondistikn: the condition or fact of being dissimilar or distinct; difference 区别，差别meritmerit: 功绩，荣誉，价值eminenceeminns: a position

14、of great distinction or superiority 卓越 作者简介George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was an Irish-born playwright, pamphleteer and music and theater critic. Shaw was a ruthless social critic and irreverent toward institutions. By forging a drama that combined moral passion and intellectual conflict and experi

15、menting with symbolic farce, Shaw helped to reshape the stage of his time and to mold the thought of his own and later generations. His play The Devils Disciple became a success in the United States, and Shaws next work, Man and Superman (1903) helped establish Shaws reputation in London. Among the

16、plays that followed was Saint Joan (1923), for which Shaw received the 1925 Nobel Prize in literature. 萧伯纳，英国戏剧家，1856年7月26日生于爱尔兰都柏林。1885年萧伯纳开始戏剧创作。到1949年为止，共完成剧本51部。1925年获得诺贝尔文学奖。收入相当的人除了品性迥异以外没有社会差别。金钱不能说明什么：性格、行为、能力才代表一切。在收入平等制度下，每个人将会找到她或他正常的地位，而不是所有的工人被划到应拿低工资阶层，所有的富人被划到应得高收入的阶层。人有卓著伟人，平庸之辈和碌碌小人

17、之别，然伟人总是那些有所建树之人，而非从小深受母亲溺爱、父亲每年留下一大笔钱之人；碌碌小人总是那些心胸狭窄，品德卑劣之人，而不是那些从未获取机会的穷人。愚蠢之众总是赞成收入不平等（他们职能凭借这种机会才能为人所知），而真正伟大之人则主张平等相待，原因就在于此。英语名篇名段背诵精华 04 Great expectation 远大前程下面这段文字选自查尔斯.狄更斯的远大前程（1860-1861），这是他比较晚期的作品。狄更斯经历了丰富的人间生活后，对人、对周围环境、对自己的生活经历都有了深刻的认识，而所有他成熟的思想认识都汇总在远大前程一书中。这部作品的语言可谓是出神入化，要学习英国语言，这是一部

18、典范。狄更斯的作品不矫揉造作，不选用那些华而不实的词语。他的用词都简单明了，朴实易懂，所以文字读来朴实无华，如行云流水。As the night was fast falling, and as the moon, being past the full, would not rise early, we held a little council: a short one, for clearly our course was to lie by at the first lonely tavern we could find. So, they plied their oars once

19、more, and I looked out for anything like a house. Thus we held on, speaking little, for four or five dull miles. It was very cold, and, a collier coming by us, with her gallery-fire smoking and flaring, looked like a comfortable home. The night was as dark by this time as it would be until morning;

20、and what light we had, seemed to come more from the river than the sky, as the oars in their dipping stuck at a few reflected stars.Except from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens 注释councilkaunsil: an assembly of persons called together for consultation, deliberation or discussion 讨论，会议taverntv(:)

21、n: 酒馆，客栈piled their oars: 使劲划起桨来collierkli: 运煤船gallery-fire: 厨房Great expectations, 原意是指一笔遗产，中文译为远大前程（也有的译作孤星血泪）。这个译名给读者一种印象，即作品的主人翁是有远大前程的。而事实上，这个“远大前程”是带有讽刺意义的。这部作品的主题决非仅仅是写孤儿皮普想当上等人的理想幻灭的故事，如果这样理解，就领会错了狄更斯创作这部作品的意义。皮普生活在姐姐家里，生活艰苦，他的理想是当一名像姐夫一样的铁匠，他没有想当上等人。后来他之所以想当上等人是因为环境的改变。狄更斯的哲学思想之一是环境对人思想的影响。不

22、同的环境可以造就不同的人。皮普的人生发展过程是符合一般人性理论的。天黑得很快，偏巧这天又是下弦月，月亮不会很早升起。我们就稍稍商量了一下，可是也用不着多讨论，因为情况是明摆着的，再划下去我们一遇到冷落的酒店就得投宿。于是他们又使劲打起浆来，我则用心寻找岸上是否隐隐约约有什么房屋的模样。这样又赶了四五英里路，一路上好不气闷，大家简直不说一句话。天气非常冷，一艘煤船从我们近旁驶过，船上厨房里生着火，炊烟缕缕，火光荧荧，在我们看来简直就是个安乐家了。这时夜已透黑，看来就要这样一直黑到天明，我们仅有的一点光亮似乎不是来自天空，而是来自河上，一桨又一桨的，搅动着那寥寥几颗倒映在水里的寒星。英语名篇名段背

23、诵精华 05 The Doer of Deeds 有作为的人 美国前总统尼克松在他的领导者（Leader）一书中引用了如下的话：It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and

24、 sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best kno

25、ws in the end the triumphs of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.Except from The Honorable People by Theodore Roosevelt 注释arenari:n: 竞技场，舞台valian

26、tly: 勇猛地，英勇地enthusiasminju:zizm: great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause 狂热，热心，积极性 作者简介Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th president of the USA (1901-1909), Republican, Nobel Peace Prize winner. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and

27、the American public towards progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.西奥多.罗斯福，政治家，经济学家，美国第26届总统。罗斯福总统是一个热衷于户外生活的人，而在他的全部政策中，保护美国自然资源的政策具有最持久的意义。真正令人尊敬的并非那些评论家和那些指出强者是如何跌倒、实干家本该做得更好的人。荣誉属于那些亲临竞技场，满脸污泥、汗水和鲜血的人。他们不懈地努力，他们曾犯过过错，并一再失败。因为付出即意味着犯错和失败。他们满怀激情地努力做事，执着不懈，将生命奉献于崇高的事业。他们为经过艰辛努力最终取得的伟大成就而自豪

28、，如果失败，他们也败得荣耀。因而，这样的人永远不应与那些不知道胜利、也从未失败过的冷淡而胆怯的灵魂相提并论英语名篇名段背诵精华 06 American dream 美国梦美国梦是一个被众多美国人普遍信仰的信念，即通过努力的工作，非凡的勇气与意志力，每个人都可以致富，实现自己的梦想。机会均等是美国梦的灵魂。聪明、勤奋与坚忍不拔是实现美国梦的必要条件。To Americans, industriousness, thrift and ambition are positive values. We encourage our children to be competitive, to get a

29、head, 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 labor-saving 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 thei

30、r 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 thes

31、e are desirable goals, and the individual, whatever his personal inclination, is under considerable pressure to conform. By Corinne Brown 注释positivepztiv: 积极的，却有助益的gadgetgdit: 小器具，小配件conformknf:m: 一致，符合 作者简介Corinne Brown has her master degree in history. The author of childrens books is also a poet

32、and playwright. Her stories demonstrate that children from diverse backgrounds can choose to get along even when adults are hostile to each other. Brown is the author of Lets Keep This Secret.科林娜.布朗，儿童作家、诗人及剧作家。对美国人而言，刻苦努力、勤俭节约、胸怀大志都是积极向上的美德。我们鼓励子女敢于竞争、力争上游、自谋营生、积累财富。在比赛中，在商务往来中，目标就是要赢得比赛，获得奖品，签订合约。

33、我们孜孜不倦地追求省力的工具、灵巧的装置，提高速度，寻求捷径。我们认为每对年轻夫妇都应该有属于自己的家，我们同情那些必须和父亲或者母亲住在一起的年轻夫妇，更不用说与其他亲戚住在同一屋檐下的人了。当然，事实上并不是所有的美国人都具有这些品质，拥有这些品质的人可能同时还具备一些影响他们行为方式的品质，或者相反的品质。但是，总的来说，我们的社会普遍期望这些品德是我们的既定目标，无论每个人的自我倾向是什么，他都承受着一定压力去实现这些目标。英语名篇名段背诵精华 07 Shakespeare 莎士比亚威廉.莎士比亚（1564-1616）是欧洲文艺复兴时期英国最伟大的剧作家和卓越的人文主义思想的代表。Sh

34、akespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life. His characters are not modified by the customs of particular places, unpracticed by the rest of the world; by the peculiarities of st

35、udies or professions, which can operate but upon small numbers; or by the accidents of transient fashions or temporary opinions: they are the genuine progeny of common humanity, such as the world will always supply, and observation will always find. His persons act and speak by the influence of thos

36、e general passions and principles by which all minds are agitated, and the whole system of life is continued in motion. In the writings of other poets a character is too often an individual; in those of Shakespeare it is commonly a species.Except from The Major Works (The Preface to Shakespeare) by

37、Samuel Johnson 注释transienttrnzint: passing with time; transitory 短暂的，一时的progenyprdini: 子孙，后代agitatediteit: to stir up public interest in a cause 鼓动，使不安定 作者简介Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was an English poet, essayist, critic, journalist, lexicographer, and conversationalist. He was regarded as one of t

38、he outstanding figures of 18th-century life and letters.塞缪尔.约翰逊，伦敦18世纪大名鼎鼎的批评家、随笔作家、辞典编纂家、诗人和传记家，是刺塞拉斯、诗人列传等著作的作者，编写巨著英文字典。莎士比亚的才华高于一切作家，至少高于当今的所有作家。他是一位自然的诗人，他的作品将人间百态真实地展现在读者眼前。他的人物塑造并不拘泥于只为一部分人所遵循的某个特定地区的习俗，也不局限于一小部分人所从事的特定的研究或职业，也不追随短暂的潮流或暂时的思想观点：他们据有人们一贯具备的、普遍的人性特点。就像世界能永不竭地供应，眼睛能永不停地发现。他笔下人物的一

39、言一行都受那些能够触动所有人的大众化的情感和能使整个生命体系得以延续的普遍原则所影响。在其他诗人的作品中，一个人物往往就是一个个体，而莎翁笔下的人物通常代表着一类人。 英语名篇名段背诵精华08 Heart of a stranger 陌生者之心每位作家在滚滚红尘中，大概都渴望有一个宁静恬适的地方，在那里不但可以思考、写作，也可以让疲惫的心灵能够停泊在避风的港湾。虽然有些作家相信“大隐隐于市”，因此并不刻意想在大自然中寻觅隐居之所，然而自然总是具有某种不可抗拒的魔力，当自然喃喃细语、含情轻诉之时，恐怕没有哪个作家，可以对它野性多情的呼唤充耳不闻。The most loved place, for

40、 me, in this country has in fact been many places. It has changed throughout the years, as I and my circumstances have changed. I havent really lost any of the best places from the past, though. I may no longer inhabit them, but they inhabit me, portions of memory, presences in the mind.My best plac

41、e at the moment is very different, although I guess it has some of the attributes of that long-ago place. It is a small cedar cabin on the Otonabee river in southern Ontario. Ive lived three summers there, writing, birdwatching, riverwatching. I sometimes feel sorry for the people in speedboats who

42、spend their weekends zinging up and down the river at about a million miles an hour. For all theyre able to see, the riverbanks might just as well be green concrete and the river itself flowing with molten plastic.By Margaret Laurence 注释circumstances:kmstns: 环境inhabitinhbit: to live or reside in 居住于

43、，栖息attributetribju(:)t: 品质，特性cedarsi:d: 雪松cabinkbin: 小屋，船舱Otonabee river: 奥托拿比河Ontariontriu: 安大略湖北美洲中东部（美国和加拿大共有的湖）birdwatching: 赏鸟riverwatching: 观河speedboat: 高速游艇zinging: 俚拟声词尖啸声；风嗖嗖声concreteknkri:t: 混凝土moltenmultn: 熔铸的 作者简介Margaret Laurence (1926-1987), a much-loved Canadian author, was one of the

44、 greatest novelists of the twentieth century. Her stories feature strong women and their struggles for self-understanding and acceptance. She was known for her outspoken support of peace, womens rights, and other progressive causes. 玛格丽特.劳伦斯（1926-1987）出生在加拿大中部的曼尼托巴省尼帕瓦镇，她的故乡后来成为其小说系列中虚构的马那瓦卡镇。劳伦斯自幼就

45、开始写作。她的作品有石头天使（1964）、上帝的嘲弄（1966）、受尽煎熬的人（1968）、笼中之鸟（1970）、先明者，以及一个儿童读物连续篇杰逊的追求（1970）。上帝的嘲弄和先明者使她两度获得加拿大荣誉最高的总督奖，1971年她被列入加拿大名人榜。在这个国家里我最喜欢的地方其实一直有很多。这些年来，由于我们自己和情况的变迁，我最爱的地方也随着改变。虽然如此，过去我喜爱过的任何一个地方我并没有真正地失去它们。我或许不再居住在那儿，但它们却存在于我的心里，成为我记忆中的片段，时常浮现在脑海中此刻我最喜爱的地方相当不同，但我想它仍具有和老早的那个地方（即明湖，Clear Lake）相同的某些特

46、质。这个地方是安大略省南方奥托拿比河边的一间松木小屋。我在那儿居住了三个夏天：写作、赏鸟、观河。有时候我为那些来此地度周末，却驾着快艇以极速在河上往来呼啸的人感到难过，因为这些人看见的河岸只不过是绿色的混凝土岸，而河流本身也仿佛只是条闪亮的流动塑料英语名篇名段背诵精华09 Thoughts in a grave yard 墓园沉思面对墓园那各式各样的十字架，总会使人思绪无尽。生与死，在永恒的两极相通：正因为人之难免一死，我们才更感受到那“生命中不可承受之轻”的沉重 When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy di

47、es in me; when I read the epitaphs of the beautiful, even inordinate desire goes out; when I meet with the grief of parents upon a tombstone, my heart melts with compassion; when I see the tomb of the parents of themselves, I consider the vanity of grieving for those whom we must quickly follow: whe

48、n I see kings lying by those who deposed them, when I consider rival wits placed side by side, or the holy men that divided the world with their contests and disputes, I reflect with sorrow and astonishment on the little competitions, factions, and debates of mankind. When I read the several dates o

49、f the tombs, of some that died yesterday, and some six hundred years ago, I consider that great when we shall all of us be contemporaries, and make our appearance together.Excerpt from Westminster Abbey by Joseph Addison 注释inordinatein:dinit: exceeding reasonable limits; immoderate过分的，无节制的deposedipu

50、z: to remove from office or power免职；废黜 作者简介Joseph Addison (1672-1719) was an English essayist, poet, and statesman. He was educated at Charterhouse, where he was a classmate of Richard Steele, and at Oxford, where he became a distinguished classical scholar. Addison first achieved prominence with Th

51、e Campaign (1704). Addisons most enduring fame was achieved as an essayist. His contributions to the periodicals raised the English essay to a degree of technical perfection never before achieved and perhaps never since surpassed. In a prose style marked by simplicity, order, and precision, he sough

52、t to engage mens thoughts toward reason, moderation, and a harmonious life.约瑟夫.艾迪生，英国散文家、诗人、剧作家及政治家。艾迪生的名字在文学史上常常与他的好朋友理查德.斯蒂尔一起被提起，两人最重要的贡献是创办两份著名的杂志闲谈者与旁观者。当我瞻仰伟人的坟墓，心中所有的嫉妒顿时烟消云散；当我读到美人的悼文，所有的非分之想顷刻消失殆尽；当我遇见在墓碑旁悲痛欲绝的父母亲，我的心中也满怀同情；当我看到那些父母亲自己的坟墓，我不禁感慨：既然我们很快都要追随逝者的脚步，悲伤又有何用。当我看到国王与那些将他们废黜的人躺在一起，当我

53、想到那些争斗一生的智者，或是那些通过竞争和争执将世界分裂的圣人们被后人并排葬在一起，我对人类的那些微不足道的竞争、内讧和争论感到震惊和悲伤。当我看到一些坟墓上的日期，有的死于昨日，而有的死于六百年前，我不禁想到，有那么一天我们都会在同一个时代同时出现在世人眼前。英语名篇名段背诵精华 10 I have as much soul as you 我的心灵一样丰富这段文字是无需多言的绝对经典。I tell you I must go! I retorted, roused to something like passion. Do you think I can stay to become not

54、hing to you? Do you think I am an automaton?-a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!-I have as

55、 much soul as you,-and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh;-it is my s

56、pirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both has passed through the grave, and we stood at Gods feet, equal,-as we are!Excerpt from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte 注释retortrit:t: to present a counterargument to 反驳，反击automaton:tmtn: 机器人morselm:sl: a small piece of food（食物）一口，少量snatchsnt: 攫取dash: 泼

57、溅obscurebskju: of undistinguished or humble station or reputation 身份卑微的conventionalityknvennliti: the rules of conventional social behavior 惯例，俗套，老一套mortalm:tl: 人类的grave: 墓穴，坟墓 作者简介Charlotte Bronte (1816-1854) was born on 21 April, 1816, third of the six children of Patrick Bronte and Maria Branwell

58、 Bronte. The major event of her young life was the death of her mother in 1821, which created a lot of chaos. She had two elder sister, Maria and Elizabeth. 夏洛蒂.勃朗特的简.爱通过简.爱的自述，描绘了一个出身贫苦家庭、长相平凡、无依无靠的家庭女教师的曲折遭遇。简成为纯洁、热情、坦率、爱好真理、敢于追求幸福的女性的象征，因而形象鲜明。作品成功之处还在于作者对人性的描述中，我们隐约看到了自己或卑劣或美丽的人性，而觉得心有戚戚焉。 “我告诉你我非走不可！”我回驳着，感情很有些冲动。“你难道认为，我会留下来甘愿做一