中英美文

中英美文篇一：80篇中英双语美文

>01 The Language of Music

A painter hangs his or her finished picture on a wall, and everyone can see it. A composer writes a work, but no one can hear it until it is performed. Professional singers and players have great responsibilities, for the composer is utterly dependent on them. A student of music needs as long and as arduous a training to become a performer as a medical student needs to become a doctor. Most training is concerned with technique, for musicians have to have the muscular proficiency of an athlete or a ballet dancer. Singers practice breathing every day, as their vocal chords would be inadequate without controlled muscular support. String players practice moving the fingers of the left hand up and down, while drawing the bow to and fro with the right arm -- two entirely different movements.

Singers and instrumentalists have to be able to get every note perfectly in tune. Pianists are spared this particular anxiety, for the notes are already there, waiting for them, and it is the piano tuner's responsibility to tune the instrument for them. But they have their own difficulties: the hammers that hit the strings have to be coaxed not to sound like percussion, and each overlapping tone has to sound clear.

This problem of getting clear texture is one that confronts student conductors: they have to learn to know every note of the music and how it should sound, and they have to aim at controlling these sounds with fanatical but selfless authority.

Technique is of no use unless it is combined with musical knowledge and understanding. Great artists are those who are so thoroughly at home in the language of music that they can enjoy performing works written in any century. 01 音乐的语言

画家将已完成的作品挂在墙上，每个人都可以观赏到。 作曲家写完了一部作品，得由 演奏者将其演奏出来，其他人才能得以欣赏。因为作曲家是如此完全地依赖于职业歌手和职 业演奏者，所以职业歌手和职业演奏者肩上的担子可谓不轻。 一名学音乐的学生要想成为 一名演奏者，需要经受长期的、严格的训练，就象一名医科的学生要成为一名医生一样。 绝 大多数的训练是技巧性的。 音乐家们控制肌肉的熟练程度，必须达到与运动员或巴蕾舞演 员相当的水平。 歌手们每天都练习吊嗓子，因为如果不能有效地控制肌肉的话，他们的声 带将不能满足演唱的要求。 弦乐器的演奏者练习的则是在左手的手指上下滑动的同时，用 右手前后拉动琴弓--两个截然不同的动作。歌手和乐器演奏者必须使所有的音符完全相同协 调。 钢琴家们则不用操这份心，因为每个音符都已在那里等待着他们了。 给钢琴调音是调 音师的职责。 但调音师们也有他们的难处： 他们必须耐心地调理敲击琴弦的音锤，不能让 音锤发出的声音象是打击乐器，而且每个交叠的音都必

须要清晰。如何得到乐章清晰的纹理 是学生指挥们所面临的难题：他们必须学会了解音乐中的每一个音及其发音之道。 他们还 必须致力于以热忱而又客观的权威去控制这些音符。除非是和音乐方面的知识和悟性结合起 来，单纯的技巧没有任何用处。 艺术家之所以伟大在于他们对音乐语言驾轻就熟，以致于 可以满怀喜悦地演出写于任何时代的作品。

>02 Schooling and Education

It is commonly believed in the United States that school is where people go to get an education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark is important. Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows no bounds. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or in the job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole universe of informal learning. The agents of education can range from a revered grandparent to thepeople debating politics on the radio, from a child to a distinguished scientist.

Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People are engaged in education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part of one's entire life.

Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.

上学与受教育

在美国，人们通常认为上学是为了受教育。 而现在却有人认为孩子们上学打断了他们 受教育的过程。 这种观念中的上学与受教育之间的区别非常重要。 与上学相比，教育更具 开放性，内容更广泛。 教育不受任何限制。 它可以在任何场合下进行，在淋浴时，在工作 时，在厨房里或拖拉机上。 它既包括在学校所受的正规教育，也包括一切非正规教育。 传 授知识的人可以是德高望重的老者，可

以是收音机里进行政治辩论的人们，可以是小孩子， 也可以是知名的科学家。 上学读书多少有点可预见性，而教育往往能带来意外的发现。 与 陌生人的一次随意谈话可能会使人认识到自己对其它宗教其实所知甚少。 人们从幼时起就 开始受教育。 因此，教育是一个内涵很丰富的词，它自始至终伴随人的一生，早在人们上 学之前就开始了。 教育应成为人生命中不可缺少的一部分。然而，上学却是一个特定的形 式化了的过程。 在不同场合下，它的基本形式大同小异。 在全国各地，孩子们几乎在同一 时刻到达学校，坐在指定的座位上，由一位成年人传授知识，使用大致相同的教材，做作业， 考试等等。 他们所学的现实生活中的一些片断，如字母表或政府的运作，往往受到科目范 围的限制。 例如，高中生们知道，在课堂上他们没法弄清楚他们社区里政治问题的真情， 也不会了解到最新潮的电影制片人在做哪些尝试。 学校教育这一形式化的过程是有特定的 限制的。

>03 The Definition of "Price"

Prices determine how resources are to be used. They are also the means by which products and services that are in limited supply are rationed among buyers. The price system of the United States is a complex network composed of the prices of all the products bought and sold in the economy as well as those of a myriad of services, including labor, professional, transportation, and public-utility services. The interrelationships of all these prices make up the"system" of prices. The price of any particular product or service is linked to a broad, complicated system of prices in which everything seems to depend more or less upon everything else. If one were to ask a group of randomly selected individuals to define "price", many would reply that price is an amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller of a product or service or, in other words, that price is the money value of a product or service as agreed upon in a market transaction. This definition is, of course, valid as far as it goes. For a complete understanding of a price in any particular transaction, much more than the amount of money involved must be known. Both the buyer and the seller should be familiar with not only the money amount, but with the amount and quality of the product or service to be exchanged, the time and place at which the exchange will take place and payment will be made, the form of money to be used, the credit terms and discounts that apply to the transaction, guarantees on the product or service, delivery terms, return privileges, and other factors. In other words, both buyer and seller should be fully aware of all the factors that comprise the total "package" being exchanged for the asked-for amount of money in order that they may evaluate a given price.

"价格"的定义 价格决定资源的使用方式。 价格也是有限的产品与服务在买方中的配给 手段。 美国的价格系统是复杂的网状系统，包括经济生活中一切产品买卖的价格，也包括 名目繁多的各种服务，诸如劳动力、专职人员、交通运输、公共事业等服务的价格。 所有 这些价格的内在联系构成了价格系统。 任何一种个

别产品或服务的价格都与这个庞大而复 杂的系统密切相关，而且或多或少地受到系统中其它成份的制约。如果随机挑选一群人，问 问他们如何定义"价格"，许多人会回答价格就是根据卖方提供的产品或服务，买方向其付出 的钱数。 换句话说，价格就是市场交易中大家认同的产品或服务的货币量。 该定义就其本 身来说自有其道理。 但要获得对价格在任何一桩交易中的完整认识，就必须考虑到大量" 非货币"因素的影响。 买卖双方不但要清楚交易中的钱数，而且要非常熟悉交易物的质量和 数量，交易的时间、地点，采用哪种形式付款，有怎样的缓付和优惠，对交易物的质量保证、 交货条款、退赔权利等等。 也就是说，为了能估算索价，买卖双方必须通晓构成交易物价 格的通盘细节。

>04 Electricity

The modern age is an age of electricity. People are so used to electric lights, radio, televisions, and telephones that it is hard to imagine what life would be like without them. When there is a power failure, people grope about in flickering candlelight, cars hesitate in the streets because there are no traffic lights to guide them, and food spoils in silent refrigerators.Yet, people began to understand how electricity works only a little more than two centuries ago. Nature has apparently been experimenting in this field for millions of years. Scientists are discovering more and more that the living world may hold many interesting secrets of electricity that could benefit humanity.

All living cells send out tiny pulses of electricity. As the heart beats, it sends out pulses of record; they form an electrocardiogram, which a doctor can study to determine how well the heart is working. The brain, too, sends out brain waves of electricity, which can be recorded in an electroencephalogram. The electric currents generated by most living cells are extremely small -- often so small that sensitive instruments are needed to record them. But in some animals, certain muscle cells have become so specialized as electrical generators that they do not work as muscle cells at all. When large numbers of these cells are linked together, the effects can be astonishing.

The electric eel is an amazing storage battery. It can send a jolt of as much as eight hundred volts of electricity through the water in which it lives. (An electric house current is only one hundred twenty volts.) As many as four-fifths of all the cells in the electric eel's body are specialized for generating electricity, and the strength of the shock it can deliver corresponds roughly to the length of its body.

电 当今时代是电气时代。 人们对电灯、收音机、电视和电话早已司空见惯以致很难想 象没有它们生活会变成什么样。 当停电时，人们在摇曳不定的烛光下暗中摸索； 因没有红 绿灯的指示，汽车在道路上迟疑不前；冰箱也停止工作，导致食物变质。人们只是在两个世 纪前一点才开始了解电的使用原理，自然界却显然在这方面经历过了数百万年。 科学家不 断发现许多生物世界里可能有益于人类的关于电的有趣秘密。所有生物细胞都会发出微小的 电脉冲。 当心脏跳动时，

把它发出的脉冲记录下来就成了心电图，这可让医生了解心脏的 工作状况。大脑也发出脑电波，这可在脑电图上记录下来。 许多生物细胞发出的电流都是 极微小的，小到要用灵敏仪器才能记录和测量。 但一些动物的某些肌肉细胞能转化成一个 个发电机，以致完全失去肌肉细胞的功能。 这种细胞大量地连接在一起时产生的效果将是 非常令人吃惊的。电鳗就是一种令人惊异的蓄电池。 它可以在水中发出相当于 800 伏特电 压电流(家庭用户的电压只有 120 伏特)。 在电鳗的身体里，多至五分之四的细胞都专门用 来发电，而且发出的电流的强度大约和它身体的长度成正比。

>05 The Beginning of Drama

There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world - even the seasonal changes - as unpredictable, and they sought through various means to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama.

Those who believe that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances and when the entire community

did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the "acting area" and the

"auditorium." In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, or supernatural beings, and mimed the desired effect -- success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival of the Sun -- as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities.

Another theory traces the theater's origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this view tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.

中英美文篇二：中英文美文

What we know or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.

我们知道的或相信的，本质上并不重要。唯一重要的是：我们做的。

-Just keep moving forward and don't give a shit about what anybody thinks. Do what you have to do, for you. (Johnny Depp)

——自己大胆往前走就好了，压根别在乎别人怎么想。只为自己去做该做的事。

For the one who really cares for you, please save your true love.

为了某个在乎你的人，请节约你的真心。

Don’t look for love. Love will find you.

不用刻意去找寻爱，爱会自然找到你

Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.

不要浪费时间敲一堵墙，你无法将其变做一扇门。

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.

没人能回头重新来过；但谁都可以从现在起书写一个不同的结局。

Growing in wisdom can be measured by the decrease in bitterness.

智慧的增长可用痛苦的减少来衡量。

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

决定我们一生的，不是我们的能力，而是我们的选择。

Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.

成功就是日复一日那一点点小小努力的积累。

A year from now, you will wish you had started today.

明年今日，你会希望此时此刻自己已经行动了。

Friendship is both a source of pleasure and a component of good health.

友谊既是快乐之源泉，又是健康之要素。

Nothing is impossible for a willing heart.

心之所愿，无所不成。

Patriotism is the highest of all. - Chopin

爱祖国高于一切。——肖邦

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind. 好奇心是活跃思维永恒明确的特性之一

Birds of a feather flock together.

物以类聚，人以群分。

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

平静由内而生。不要从外追寻。

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

千里之行，始于足下。

Youth is not a time of life, it is a state of mind.

青春不是一段年华，而是一种心境。

Love means never having to say you're sorry.

爱就是永远不必说对不起。

Let life be beautiful like summer flowers and death like autumn leaves.

愿生如夏花之绚烂，死如秋叶之静美。

Merry meet, merry part.

好聚好散。

It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

决定我们一生的，不是我们的能力，而是我们的选择。

Marriage comes by destiny.

姻缘命中定。

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.

借鉴昨天，活在今天，憧憬明天。

There's no place like home.

任何地方都不能与家相提并论。

A day is a miniature of eternity.

一天是永恒的缩影。

Where there is life, there is hope.

留得青山在，不怕没柴烧。

Happy is the man who is living by his hobby.

以爱好为生的人是幸福的。

The family is one of nature's masterpieces.

家庭是大自然创造的杰作之一。

The unexamined life is not worth living.

混混噩噩的生活不值得过。

Elegance is the only beauty that never fades.--- Audrey Hepburn

优雅是唯一不会褪色的美。——奥黛丽?赫本

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

没有彻底击倒你的东只会你更加强大。

Life is a series of commas, not periods.

人生是一系列的号不是句号。

Lookers-on see most of the game.

旁观者清。

Every man dies, not every man really lives.-- Braveheart

每个人都会死，但并非每个人都曾真正活过。——《勇敢的心》

Happiness isn't getting all you want. It's enjoying all you have.

幸福不是得到你想要的一切，而是享受你所拥有的一切。

I don't really know where I'm going, but I hope I go far.

我不太肯定我的方向，但是我希望自己能走的远一点。

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery. But today is a gift.

昨日已逝，明天尚远，今天才是老天赐予的礼物。

It doesn't really matter if your glass is half empty or half full. Be thankful that you have a glass and that there's something in it.

不管你的杯子是半空还是半满，要心存感激，至少你还有半杯。

Face the past with the least regrets, face the present with the least waste and face the future with the most dreams.

不后悔过往，不浪费现在，满怀梦想，面对未来。

There is always a bit of something hidden when you say “nothing.”

每当你说“没事”的时候，心里或多或少都藏着点事。

Everyone's got a life that no one else knows about.

各自人生，冷暖自知。

You can learn great things from your mistakes when you aren't busy denying them. 当你不再急于否认错误时，你就学到了重要的一课。

Success is not an event. It’s a journey.

成功不是一个结果，而是一个过程。

When I was young, happiness was simple; now that I've grown up, simplicity is happiness.

小时候，幸福是件很简单的事；长大后，简单是件很幸福的事。

Natural abilities are like natural plants that need pruning by study.

天生的才干如同天生的植物一样，需要靠学习来修剪。

Loveis patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps norecord of wrongs. 爱是恒久忍耐，又有恩慈；爱是不嫉妒，爱是不自夸，不张狂，不做害羞的事，不求自己的益处，不轻易发怒。

The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you will see.

你回首看得越远，你向前也会看得越远。——Winston Churchill

All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.

人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

A person is not lovely for being beautiful but beautiful for being lovely. -Teenmix 不是因为美丽才可爱，而是因为可爱才美丽。——天美意

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

无热情成就不了伟业。

Your happy passer-by all knows, my distressed there is no place hides. ?.你的幸福路人皆知，我的狼狈无处遁形。

If you want to fly too high in relation to the horizon forget. ?.如果想飞得高，就该把地平线忘掉。

Each trauma, is another kind of maturity.

?.每一种创伤，都是另一种成熟。

Mistake is temporary regret but missing is the forever one. ?.过错是暂时的遗憾，而错过则是永远的遗憾。

I forget, or you have not loved.

?.是我忘不掉，还是你未曾爱过。

I paid that well, but was felt unnecessary pain.

?.我在实收这幸福，却被无谓感觉的痛楚。

I want to be strong with the cry, tears are not obedient.

?.我想坚强着不哭，泪却不听话。

Still keep their own small strong, have been strong.

?.还留着自己的小坚强，一直坚强着。

Emotion is the innate weakness of human.

?.情感是人类的本质弱点。

Don't waste your new tears for the old sorrow.

?.不要为旧的悲伤，浪费新的眼泪

I would rather be single than choose a wrong person.

?.与其找错误的人相伴，不如选择单身。

Happiness needs comparison that is worse so that it can be felt. ?.幸福是个比较级，要有东西垫底才容易感觉到

Life is simple.You make choices and you don't look back.

?.人生很简单，做了决定就不要后悔

The more you care, the more you have to lose.

?.在意的越多，失去的就越多

If my future has you in it, I'm not afraid of anything.

?.如果我的未来有你在，其他一切我都不怕了

Memory is a kind of inner rumor.

?.回忆，是一种内心的谣言

To forgive is easy,but to trust again is not that easy.

?.原谅是容易的。再次信任，就没那么容易了。

I'm just folk.I have mood swings.

?.我只是个平凡人，我也有我的小情绪

So-called playboy is that you can't fill up my heart for 24 hours. ?.所谓花心，就是你无法24小时填充我的心

Those prosperitis I have granted to you belong to you.

?.那些我许给你的繁华，那就是属于你的

The game of love, you will lose once you take it seriously. ?.爱情这个游戏，你一认真就输了

Something is a knot when you reserve it,a scar when it's opened. ?.有些事，不说是个结，说了是个疤

中英美文篇三：高中生英语必背美文(中英文对照)

As a teenager，I felt I was always letting people down. I was rebellious out－side，but I wanted to be liked inside.Once I left home to hitch-hike2 to California with my friend Penelope. The trip wasn?t easy，and there were many times I didn?t feel safe. One situation in particular kept me grateful to still be alive. When I returned home，I was different，not so outwardly sure of myself.

I was happy to be home. But then I noticed that Penelope，who was staying with us，was wearing my clothes. And my family seemed to like her better than me. I wondered if I would be missed if I weren?t there. I told my mom，and she explained that though Penelope was a lovely girl，no one could replace me. I pointed out，“Ｓhe is more patient and is neater than I have ever been.” My mom said these were wonderful qualities，but I was the only person who could fill my role. She made me realize that even with my faults—and there were many－I was a loved member of the family who couldn?t be replaced.

I became a searcher，wanting to find out who I was and what made me unique. My view of myself was changing. I wanted a solid base to start from. I started to resist3 pressure to act in ways that I didn?t like any more，and I was delighted by who I really was. I came to feel much more sure that no one can ever take my place.

Each of us holds a unique place in the world. You are special，no matter what others say or what you may think. So forget about being replaced. You can’t be.

当我还是个10几岁的少年的时候，觉得自己总是让人失望。从外表上看，我似乎很叛逆，但是在内心深处，我是如此地渴望被人疼爱。

有一次我离开了家和我的朋友佩内洛普搭便车去了加利福尼亚。这次旅行并不轻松，而且有很多次我感觉不安。有一次的突发状况让我一直庆幸自己还活着。回到家，我发觉自己变了，看上去不那么自信了。

我很高兴能回到家，但不久我注意到和我们一起的佩内洛普穿着我的衣服，而且我父母看上去更喜欢她，我想知道如果我不在家的话他们是否会想念我。后来，我把我的想法告诉了母亲，她说尽管佩内洛普是个可爱的女孩，但她始终不能取代我，我说：“她比我有耐心而且无论何时看上去她都比我要整洁大方。”母亲说这些都是非常好的优点，但我却是惟一个能扮演好自己角色的人。母亲让我感到尽管我有缺点———似乎还很多———但是，我被家中每一个人爱着，谁也无法取代。

我成了一个探寻者，想要知道自己到底是谁，又是什么让我变得独一无二。我的人生观开始改变。我需要一个坚固的基础来发展，我忍受住压力，不再做自己不喜欢做的事。而且我为真实的我感到高兴。渐渐地我越发肯定自己无可替代。每个人在这个世界上都占有一个独一无二的位置。无论别人说什么，你自己怎么想，你都是特别的。所以，不要担心自己会被取代，因为你永远是惟一的。

太多的时候，我们总认为光明就在脚下，就在不远的前方，于是忘了去仰望头顶的那片天……

If you put a buzzard1) in a pen2) six to eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner. The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten to twelve feet. Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt3) to fly, but remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, who is a remarkable nimble4) creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place. If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is to shuffle5) about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation6) from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

A bumblebee7) if dropped into an open tumbler8) will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists9) in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

In many ways, there are lots of people like the buzzard, the bat and the bumblebee. They are struggling about with all their problems and frustrations10), not realizing that the answer is right there above them.

如果把一只秃鹫放在一个6～8平方英尺的无顶围栏里，这只大鸟尽管会飞，也绝对会成为这栏中之囚。原因是秃鹫从地面起飞前总要先助跑10～12英尺的距离。这是它的习惯，如果没有了足够的助跑空间，它甚至不会尝试去飞，只会终身困囿于一个无顶的小囚笼中。

晚上飞来飞去的普通的蝙蝠，本是一种在空中极其敏捷的动物，但却无法在平地上起飞。如果被放在地板或平坦的地面上，它就只会无助地挪动，毫无疑问这样很痛苦。除非它到了稍高的位置，有了落差，才可以立刻闪电般地起飞。 一只大黄蜂如果掉进了一个敞口平底玻璃杯里，除非有人把它拿出来，否则它就会一直呆在里边直到死去。它永远不知道可以从杯口逃出，只坚持试图从杯底的四壁寻找出路。它会在根本不存在出口的地方寻找出路，直到彻底毁了自己。 其实在很多方面，很多人也像秃鹫、蝙蝠和大黄蜂一样，使尽浑身解数试图解决问题、克服挫折，却没有意识到解决之道就在正上方。 Vocabulary

1.buzzard n. [动]秃鹫 2.pen [pen] n. 围栏，围圈 3.attempt vt. 尝试，企图 4.nimble adj. 敏捷的

6.elevation n. 高地，海拔 7.bumblebee n. [动]大黄蜂 8.tumbler n. (平底)玻璃杯 9.persist vi. 坚持，持续 10.frustration n. 失败，挫折

Both my parents came from towns in Mexico. I was born in El Paso, Texas, and when I was four, my family moved to a housing project in East Los Angeles.

Even though we struggled to make ends meet, my parents stressed1) to me and my four brothers and sisters how fortunate we were to live in a great country with limitless opportunities. They imbued2) in us the concepts of family, faith and patriotism. I got my first real job when I was ten. My dad, Benjamin, injured his back working in a cardboard-box factory and was retrained as a hairstylist. He rented space in a little mall and gave his shop the fancy name of Mr. Ben's Coiffure3).

The owner of the shopping center gave Dad a discount on his rent for cleaning the parking lot three nights a week, which meant getting up at 3 a.m. To pick up trash, Dad used a little machine that looked like a lawn mower. Mom and I emptied garbage cans and picked up litter4) by hand. It took two to three hours to clean the lot. I'd sleep in the car on the way home.

I did this for two years, but the lessons I learned have lasted a lifetime. I acquired5) discipline and a strong work ethic6), and learned at an early age the importance of balancing life's competing interests7) — in my case8), school, homework and a job. This really helped during my senior year of high school, when I worked 40 hours a week flipping9) burgers at a fast-food joint10) while taking a full load of percolate courses.

The hard work paid off11). I attended12) the U.S. Military Academy and went on to receive graduate degrees in law and business from Harvard. Later, I joined a big Los Angeles law firm and was elected to the California state assembly. In these jobs and in everything else I've done, I have never forgotten those days in the parking lot. The experience taught me that there is dignity13) in all work and that if people are working to provide for themselves and their families that is something we should honor.

我的父母都来自墨西哥的小镇。我出生于得克萨斯州的埃尔帕索城。我四岁时，全家搬到了东洛杉矶的一处低收入住宅区。

尽管我们当时要做到收支平衡都很困难，但父母仍对我和四个兄弟姐妹强调说，能在这样一个充满无限机遇的国家里落户，我们是多么幸运啊！他们给我们灌输了家庭、信仰以及爱国主义的观念。

十岁的时候，我得到了人生第一份真正的工作。我的爸爸本杰明在纸箱厂工作时背部受了伤。经过再培训，他成了一名发型师。他在一个规模不大的商业区租下了一个摊位，并给他的店取了个奇妙的名字：“本先生的发型”。

商业中心的老板在租金上给爸爸打了个折扣，但条件是每周打扫三次停车场，这意味着凌晨三点就要起床干活。爸爸用一个看起来像除草机的小机器来收捡垃圾，而我和妈妈则要清空垃圾桶并用手拾捡散落的垃圾。打扫这个停车场要用两到三个小时。我总是在回家时的车里就睡着了。

这份工作我干了两年，但从中学到的东西却让我受用终生。我学会了自律，建立了很强的职业道德。从小我就懂得了平衡生活中各种利益冲突的重要性——对我而言，就是上学、作业和工作。这在我高二那年真是很有用处。那时，我在一家快餐连锁店制作汉堡包，每周工作四十个小时，同时还肩负着沉重

的大学预科课程的学习任务。

辛勤的工作终见回报。我考入了美国军事学院，接着又获得了哈佛大学的法律和商业硕士学位。后来，我进入洛杉矶一家著名

的律师事务所并被选为加州议会参议员。在做这些工作和其他所有事情的过程中，我从未忘记过在停车场辛勤工作的那些日子。那段经历使我懂得工作无贵贱, 靠自食其力来供养自己和家人就值得人们敬佩。 Vocabulary

1.stress [stres] v. 强调，着重 2.imbue v. 灌输，深深影响 3.coiffure n. 发式

4.litter n. 废弃物，被胡乱扔掉的东西(尤指废纸等杂物) 5.acquire vt. 获得，学到 6.work ethic: 职业道德

给予比获得更让人幸福......

Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street boy was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it.

"Is this your car, Mister?" he asked.

Paul nodded. "My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astonished. "You mean your brother gave it to you and it didn't cost you anything? Boy, I wish...." He hesitated. Of course Paul knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the lad1 said made Paul quite surprised.

"I wish," the boy went on, "that I could be a brother like that."

Paul looked at the boy in astonishment, then impulsively2 he added, "Would you like to take a ride in my automobile?" "Oh, yes, I'd love that."

After a short ride, the boy turned and with his eyes shining, said, "Mister, would you mind driving in front of my house?" Paul smiled a little. He thought he knew what the lad wanted. He wanted to show his neighbors that he could ride home in a big automobile. But Paul was wrong again.

"Will you stop where those two steps are?" the boy asked. He ran up the steps. Then in a little while Paul heard him coming back, but he was not coming fast. He was carrying his little crippled3 brother. He sat him down on the bottom step, then sort of4 squeezed up5 against him and pointed to the car. "There she is, Buddy, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him for Christmas and it didn't cost him a cent. And some day I'm gonna6 give you one just like it... then you can see for yourself all the pretty things in the Christmas windows that I've been trying to tell you about."

Paul got out and lifted the lad to the front seat of his car. The shining-eyed older brother climbed in beside him and the

7.interest n. 利益，利害关系 8.in one's case: 就某人的情况而言 9.flip vt. 使翻转

10.joint n. 连接，结合，本文中指连锁店 11.pay off: 得到好结果，取得成功 12.attend [E5tend] vt. 上(大学等) 13.dignity [5dI^nItI] n. 尊贵，高贵

three of them began a memorable holiday ride.

That Christmas Eve, Paul learned that it was more blessed to give....

保罗收到一辆汽车，那是他哥哥送的圣诞礼物。圣诞节前夜，保罗从办公室出来时，一个街头少年绕着那辆闪闪发亮的新车，十分羡慕。

“先生，这是你的车？”少年问道。

保罗点点头：“这是我哥哥送我的圣诞礼物。”男孩十分惊讶：“你是说这是你哥送你的，你一分钱也没花？好家伙，我希望……”他停住了。保罗当然知道男孩他希望什么。他希望能有一个那样的哥哥。但那少年接下来说的话却让保罗大吃一惊。

“我希望，”男孩继续说：“我能成为那样的哥哥。” 保罗惊愕地看着那男孩，他冲口而出：“你要不要坐我的车去兜一兜风？”

“哦，当然，我愿意！”

车开出一小段路后，男孩转过头来，眼睛闪闪发亮地说：“先生，你是否介意把车子开到我家门前？”保罗微笑。他想他知道男孩想干什么。那男孩肯定是要向邻居炫耀他能坐一部大轿车回家。但是这次保罗又猜错了。

“你能不能把车子停在那两个台阶前？”男孩要求。男孩跑上台阶，过了一会儿保罗听到他回来了，但动作有些缓慢。他背来了他跛脚的弟弟。他让弟弟坐在最下面的台阶上，略有些挤靠着自己，然后指着那辆车。“这就是那车，巴迪，就是我刚才在楼上对你说的。他哥哥送他的圣诞礼物，他一分钱也没花。将来某一天我也会送给你一辆像这样的车，到那时候，你就能自己去看我一直努力给你描绘的那些圣诞节陈列窗里的漂亮东西了。”

保罗走下车子，把跛脚的男孩抱到车子前座。兴奋得满眼放光的哥哥也爬上车子，坐在弟弟身旁。三个人开始了一

次令人难忘的假日兜风。

那个圣诞节前夜，保罗体会到“施与比获得更让人幸

福……”

Sir Edmund Hillary is famous for being the first person to climb Mt. Everest (n. 珠穆朗玛峰).

What many people do not know is that Sir Hillary did not make it to the top of Everest the first time he tried. The first attempt was a complete failure. His climbing party encountered one problem after another and more than half his climbing party died. Nonetheless (adv. 虽然如此), the British Parliament (n. 议会) decided to honor him with some type of award. When he entered the chamber to receive his award, Sir Hillary saw that a large picture of Everest had been setup.

During the standing ovation (n. 热烈欢迎) that he was receiving, he walked over to the picture, shook his fist at it and said, “You won, this time. But you are as big as you are ever going to get. And I'm still growing.”

We frequently hear the stories of people who have succeeded. And we frequently assume that they succeeded the first time. But in fact it's the exact opposite.

The road to success is paved with the bricks of failure.

埃德蒙·希拉里爵士是登上珠穆朗玛峰的第一人，他因此而闻名天下。

然而，很多人并不知道，希拉里爵士第一次试着攀登珠穆朗玛峰时并未成功登顶。第一次登山以彻底的失败而告终。他们接二连三遇到问题，登山队中超过半数的人都丧生了。

尽管如此，英国议会还是决定授予他某种奖励。希拉里爵士走进议会大厅领奖时，看到里面竖着一幅很大的珠穆朗玛峰的画。

大家起立热烈欢迎希拉里爵士，这时他走到画跟前，冲画挥动了一下拳头，说道：“你这次赢了。但是你就这么高，再也不会长，而我还在长。”

我们常常听到成功人士的故事。我们常常以为他们第一次就成功了。 但事实恰恰相反。

在无法看见彼岸的时候，请坚信浓雾后的不远处一定是陆地……把你的目标放在心里！

When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog1. Her body was numb2. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours.

Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.

On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense3 she could hardly see her support boats.

Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn?t much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had...until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.

Still warming her chilled

4 body several hours later, she told a reporter,“Look, I?m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it.”It was not fatigue5 or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal. Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing6 the men?s record by two hours!

当弗洛伦斯·查德威克朝前方看去时，除了一团浓雾，她什么也看不见。她的身体已经麻木，她游了快16个小时了。 她是第一位游泳往返英吉利海峡的女性。现在她已34岁了，她的目标是成为第一个从卡特林娜岛游到加利福尼亚海岸

的女性。

1952年7月4日的早晨，大海就像个冰窖，雾浓得她连自己的支援船都看不见。

在靠近她的一艘船上，她的母亲和教练在不断鼓励她。他们告诉她离岸已经不太远了，但她的眼前只有雾。他们劝她不要放弃，她从未在中途放弃过……除了这次。她在离岸仅半英里处要求支援船把她拉上去。

几个小时后，她还在暖着她那冻僵了的身体，她告诉记者：“听着，我不是为自己辩解，但是如果我能看到陆地，我是可以成功的。”打败她的不是疲劳或者寒冷的海水，而是浓雾。她无法看到目标。

两个月后，她再一次尝试。这次，尽管雾依然很浓，但是她怀着坚定的信念，目标清晰地呈现在心中。她知道浓雾后的某个地方就是陆地，而这次她成功了！弗洛伦斯·查德维克成为第一个游过卡特林娜海峡的女性，而且还比男子纪录快了两个小时！

One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream, and listen to the chirps1 of birds and the rustling2 of leaves in the trees. I would also watch the bamboo trees bend under pressure from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their upright or original position after the wind had died down.

When I think about the bamboo tree?s ability to bounce back or return to it?s original position, the word resilience3 comes to mind. When used in reference to a person this word means the ability to readily recover from shock, depression or any other situation that stretches4 the limits of a person?s emotions.

Have you ever felt like you are about to snap5? Have you ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully, you have survived the experience to live to talk about it.

During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions that threatened your health. You felt emotionally drained, mentally exhausted and you most likely endured unpleasant physical symptoms.

Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that take you close to your breaking point, bend but don?t break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best of you.

A measure of hope will take you through the unpleasant ordeal6. With hope for a better tomorrow or a better situation, things may not be as bad as they seem to be. The unpleasant ordeal may be easier to deal with if the end result is worth having. If the going gets tough and you are at your breaking point, show resilience. Like the bamboo tree, bend, but don?t break.

对我而言，童年时代最珍爱的回忆就是去河边散步、在堤岸上慵懒地闲坐。在那里，我可以尽情地享受这份恬静和闲适，看着向下游奔涌的河水、倾听鸟鸣和树叶的“沙沙”声。我也会经常注视那片竹林，由于风的压力，竹子会弯下身子，然而当风力逐渐减小乃至完全停止时，它们便会优雅地恢复到原来那种竖直状态。

当我回想起竹子所具有的这种恢复原状的本领时，“韧性”这个词便在我的脑海中浮现出来。这个词用来形容人的时候，则表示一个人具有从惊吓、沮丧以及其它任何超越人类情感极限的状态中从容地恢复过来的能力。

你是否曾觉得自己就要垮掉？你是否曾感到自己正处在崩溃的边缘？令人欣慰的是，当你谈论这些事情的时候，你已经通过了这些考验并使生活能得以继续了。

当你经历这些考验的时候，你也许察觉到了对你的健康产生危害的复杂情绪；当你感到萎靡不振、心力憔悴时，各种讨厌的病症也很可能会接踵而来。

人生是复杂的，其中既有美好，也有痛苦；既有快乐，也有悲伤。当你下一次经历痛苦或悲伤的时候，当你感到自己接近崩溃边缘的时候，要顺应而不是使自己崩溃，尽你的全力不要让现状战胜你。

心怀希望将会帮助你度过难关。当你对一个更好的明天或者更好的状况到来充满希望时，所有事情都不会像看上去的那么糟糕。如果结局值得拥有，你将会更容易战胜那些不愉快的考验。

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