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適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文（通用10篇）
無(wú)論是身處學(xué)校還是步入社會(huì)，大家一定都接觸過(guò)作文吧，作文是一種言語(yǔ)活動(dòng)，具有高度的綜合性和創(chuàng)造性。那么一般作文是怎么寫(xiě)的呢？以下是小編收集整理的適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文，歡迎閱讀與收藏。
適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文 1
Beautiful Smile and Love美麗的微笑與愛(ài)心
The poor are very wonderful people.One evening we went out and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition-and I told the Sisters: You take care of the other three. I take care of this one who looked worse. So I did for her all that my love can do. I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand as she said just the words "Thank you." and she died.
I could not help but examine my conscience before her and I asked what would I say if I was in her place. And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said I am hungry, that I am dying, I am cold, I am in pain, or something, but she gave me much more--she gave me her grateful love. And she died with a smile on her face. So did that man whom we picked up from the drain, half eaten with worms, and we brought him to the home. "I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for." And it was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man who could speak like that, who could die like that without blaming anybody, without cursing anybody, without comparing anything. Like an angel-this is the greatness of our people. And that is why we believe what Jesus had said: I was hungry-I was naked-I was homeless-I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for-and you did it to me.
I believe that we are not real social workers. We may be doing social work in the eyes of the people, but we are really contemplatives, in the heart of the world. For we are touching the body of Christ twenty-four hours.And I think that in our family we dont need bombs and guns. to destroy, to bring peace-just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that strength of presence of each other in the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world.
And with this prize that I received as a Prize of Peace, I am going to try to make the home for many people who have no home. Because I believe that love begins at home, and if we can create a home for the poor. 1 think that more and more love will spread. And we will be able through this understanding love to bring peace, be the good new to the poor.The poor in our own family first, in our country and in the world. To be able to do this,our Sisters, our lives have to be woven with prayer."They have to he woven with Christ to be able to understand, to be able to share. Because to be woven with Christ is to be able to understand, to be able to share. Because today there is so much suffering…When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hungry. But a person who is shut out, who feels unwanted,unloved, terrified, the person who has been thrown out from society-that poverty is so full of hurt and so unbearable...And so let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love, and once we begin to love each other naturally we want to do something.
窮人是非常了不起的人。一天晚上，我們外出，從街上帶回了四個(gè)人，其中一個(gè)生命岌岌可危。于是我告訴修女們說(shuō):“你們照料其他三個(gè)，這個(gè)瀕危的人就由我來(lái)照顧了�！本瓦@樣，我為她做了我的愛(ài)心所能做的一切。我將她放在床上，看到她的臉上綻露出如此美麗的微笑。她握著我的手，只說(shuō)了句“謝謝您”就死了。
我情不自禁地在她面前審視起自己的良知來(lái)。我問(wèn)自己，如果我是她的話，會(huì)說(shuō)些什么呢?答案很簡(jiǎn)單，我會(huì)盡量引起旁人對(duì)我的關(guān)注，我會(huì)說(shuō)我饑餓難忍，冷得發(fā)抖，奄龜一息，痛苦不堪，諸如此類的話。但是她給我的卻更多更多—她給了我她的感激之情。她死時(shí)臉上卻帶著微笑。我們從排水道帶回的那個(gè)男子也是如此。當(dāng)時(shí)，他幾乎全身都快被蟲(chóng)子吃掉了，我們把他帶回了家。“在街上，我一直像個(gè)動(dòng)物一樣地活著，但我將像個(gè)天使一樣地死去，有人愛(ài)，有人關(guān)心_”真是太好了，我看到了他的偉大之處，他竟能說(shuō)出那樣的活。他那樣死去，不責(zé)怪任何
人，不詛咒任何人，無(wú)欲無(wú)求。像天使一樣—這便是我們的人民的偉大之所在。因此我們相信耶穌所說(shuō)的——我饑腸轆轆—我衣不蔽體—我無(wú)家可歸—我不為人所要，不為人所愛(ài)，也不為人所關(guān)心—然而，你卻為我做了這一切。
我想，我們算一不上真正的社會(huì)工作者。在人們的限中，或許我們是在做社會(huì)工作，但實(shí)際上，我們真的只是世界中心的修行者。因?yàn)�，一�?4小時(shí)，我們都在觸摸基督的圣體。我想，在我們的大家庭里，我們不需要槍和炮彈來(lái)破壞和平，或帶來(lái)和平—我們只需要團(tuán)結(jié)起來(lái)，彼此相愛(ài)，將和平、歡樂(lè)以及每一個(gè)家庭成員靈魂的活力都帶回世界。這樣，我們就能戰(zhàn)勝世界上現(xiàn)存的切邪惡。
我準(zhǔn)備以我所獲得的諾貝爾和平獎(jiǎng)獎(jiǎng)金為那些無(wú)家可歸的人們建立自己的家園。因?yàn)槲蚁嘈�，�?ài)源自家庭，如果我們能為窮人建立家園，我相信愛(ài)便會(huì)傳播得更廣。而且，我們將通過(guò)這種寬容博大的愛(ài)而帶來(lái)和平，成為窮人的福音。首先為我們自己家里的窮人，其次為我們國(guó)家，為全世界的窮人。為了做到這一點(diǎn)，姐妹們，我們的生活就必須與禱告緊緊相連，必須同基督結(jié)為一體才能互相體諒，共同分享，因?yàn)橥浇Y(jié)為一體就意味著互相體諒，共同分享。因?yàn)椋裉焓澜缟先杂腥绱硕嗟目嚯y存在……當(dāng)我從街上帶回一個(gè)饑腸轆轆的人時(shí) ,給他一盤飯，一片面包，我就能使他心滿意足了，我就能驅(qū)除他的饑餓。但是，如果一個(gè)人露宿街頭，感到不為人所要，不為人所愛(ài)，惶恐不安，被社會(huì)拋棄—這樣的貧困讓人心痛，如此令人無(wú)法忍受。因此，讓我們總是微笑相見(jiàn)，因?yàn)槲⑿褪菒?ài)的開(kāi)端，一旦我們開(kāi)始彼此自然地相愛(ài)，我們就會(huì)想著為對(duì)方做點(diǎn)什么了。
課堂筆記：
1.特蕾莎修女沒(méi)有引用演講的常規(guī)模式，如“Ladies and gentlemen"，而是平和地用“窮人是非常了不起的人”做開(kāi)場(chǎng)白。一方面展示了她對(duì)這個(gè)獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)的淡定;另一方面是向在場(chǎng)的觀眾表明她及她的`團(tuán)體所施愛(ài)的對(duì)象群體，恰恰是常人所瞧不起甚至藐視的人群。
2.修女本有一固定單詞為“nun”，特蕾莎修女選擇了“sister”這個(gè)單詞，表明她們慈愛(ài)團(tuán)體的親密關(guān)系如同姐妹，令現(xiàn)場(chǎng)的觀眾也有一種親近感�！癝ister”首字母大寫(xiě)，通常既可以指天主教修女，也可以指基督教會(huì)員。
3.英語(yǔ)中表示“禁不住做某事”的常用結(jié)構(gòu)為“cannot help doing sth.; cannot help but do sth."。
4. "a Prize of Peace”指諾貝爾和平獎(jiǎng).諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)是以瑞典著名化學(xué)家、峭化甘油炸藥發(fā)明人阿爾弗雷德·貝恩哈德·諾貝爾的部分遺產(chǎn)作為基金創(chuàng)立的。諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)包括金質(zhì)獎(jiǎng)?wù)隆⒆C書(shū)和獎(jiǎng)金支票。在遺囑中他提出，將部分遺產(chǎn)(920萬(wàn)美元)作為基金，以其利息分設(shè)物理、化學(xué)、生理或醫(yī)學(xué)、文學(xué)及和平(后添加了經(jīng)濟(jì)獎(jiǎng))5個(gè)獎(jiǎng)項(xiàng)，授予世界各國(guó)在這些領(lǐng)域?qū)θ祟愖鞒鲋卮筘暙I(xiàn)的學(xué)者。
5.此處的“understanding”不應(yīng)簡(jiǎn)單地理解為“有理解力的，有洞察力的”。而是“富有同情心的”。這是特蕾莎修女的演講，理解時(shí)要與她的身份吻。因此，原文中 understanding love可理解為“博愛(ài)”。
適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文 2
Companionship of Books以書(shū)為伴
A 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 chance. 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.
"Books," said Hazlitt, "wind into the heart; the poets verse slides in the current of our blood. We read them when young, we remember them when old. We feel that it has happened to ourselves. They are to be very cheap and good. We breathe but the air of books."
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. "They are never alone," said Sir Philip Sidney, "that are accompanied by noble thoughts." The good and true thought may in times of temptation be as an angel of mercy purifying and guarding the soul. It also enshrines the germs of action, for good words almost always inspire to good works.
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 has been to sift out 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 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 one still listens. Hence we ever remain under the influence of the great men of old. The imperial intellects of the world are as much alive now as they were ages ago.
了解一個(gè)人，通�？梢钥此x什么書(shū)，結(jié)交什么人.因?yàn)橛腥艘匀藶榘�，有人以�?shū)為伴。無(wú)論是書(shū)友還是朋友，生活中我們都應(yīng)該和最佳最善者常相伴。
好書(shū)可以是你最好的朋友。它始終不渝，過(guò)去如此，現(xiàn)在如此，將來(lái)也永不改變。它是最有耐心、最令人愉悅的伴侶。在我們?cè)馐懿恍�，憂傷悲痛的時(shí)候，它不會(huì)拋棄我們。它總是一如既往地親切相待。我們年少時(shí)，好書(shū)給我們帶來(lái)歡笑和知識(shí);我們年老時(shí)，好書(shū)又給我們以親撫和慰藉。
喜歡同一本書(shū)的人，常常發(fā)現(xiàn)彼此間習(xí)性也相近，就像有一時(shí)兩個(gè)人因?yàn)榫茨酵粋�(gè)人而成為朋友一樣。古時(shí)有句諺語(yǔ)：“愛(ài)屋及鳥(niǎo)。”其實(shí)，“愛(ài)我及書(shū)”這句活蘊(yùn)涵更多的哲理。書(shū)是更為真誠(chéng)而高尚的情誼紐帶。人們可以通過(guò)共同喜愛(ài)的作家溝通思想，交流感情，產(chǎn)生共鳴。他們和作家情感相通，作家和他們思想相融。
哈茲利特曾經(jīng)說(shuō)過(guò)：“書(shū)潛移轉(zhuǎn)化人們的內(nèi)心，詩(shī)歌熏陶人們的氣質(zhì)品性。少小所習(xí)，老大不忘，恍如身歷其事。書(shū)籍價(jià)廉物美，不啻我們呼吸的空氣。”
好書(shū)常如最精美的寶器，珍藏著人生思想的精華，因?yàn)槿松木辰缰饕谟谄渌枷氲木辰�。因此，最好的�?shū)是金玉良言，是崇高思想的寶庫(kù)，這些良言和思想若銘記于心并多加珍視，就會(huì)成為我們忠實(shí)的伴侶和永恒的慰藉。菲利普·錫德尼爵士說(shuō)得好:“有高尚思想做伴的人永不孤獨(dú)�！碑�(dāng)我們面臨誘惑的時(shí)候，優(yōu)美純真的思想會(huì)像仁慈的天使一樣，純潔并保衛(wèi)我們的靈魂。優(yōu)美純真的思想也孕育著行動(dòng)的胚芽，因?yàn)榻鹩窳佳詭缀蹩倳?huì)啟發(fā)善行。
書(shū)籍具有不朽的本質(zhì)，是人類努力創(chuàng)造的.最為持久的成果。寺廟會(huì)倒塌，神像會(huì)朽爛，而書(shū)卻經(jīng)久長(zhǎng)存。對(duì)于偉大思想來(lái)說(shuō)，時(shí)間是無(wú)關(guān)緊要的。多年前初次閃現(xiàn)于作者腦海的偉大思想今天依然清新如故。他們昨日的言論和思想刊載于紙張之上，如今依然生動(dòng)如初，向我們娓娓道來(lái)。時(shí)間唯一的作用是淘汰不好的作品，因?yàn)橹挥姓嬲募炎鞑拍芙?jīng)世長(zhǎng)存。
書(shū)籍介紹我們與最優(yōu)秀的人為伍，使我們置身于歷代偉人巨匠之間，如聞其聲，如觀其行，如見(jiàn)其人，同他們情感交融，悲喜與共.感同身受。一定程度上，我們覺(jué)得自己仿佛在作者所描繪的舞臺(tái)上和他們一起粉墨登場(chǎng)。
即使在人世間，偉大杰出的人物也永生不朽。他們的精神被載人書(shū)冊(cè)，傳于四海。書(shū)是有生命力的聲音，是人類至今仍在聆聽(tīng)的智慧之聲。所以，我們永遠(yuǎn)都受歷代偉人的影響。多少世紀(jì)以前的蓋世英才，如今仍同當(dāng)年一樣，顯示著強(qiáng)大的生命力。
課堂筆記：
1.此處的“as well as”相當(dāng)于連詞"and"、連接兩個(gè)介詞短語(yǔ)。
2.虛擬語(yǔ)氣在由“whether”引導(dǎo)的讓步狀語(yǔ)從句中，從句謂語(yǔ)用動(dòng)詞原形，表示“不論是……還是……”同時(shí)，"whether"一詞可以省去，而將“be”動(dòng)詞放在主語(yǔ)前.此從句可以變?yōu)椤癰e it of books or of men”.
3."the same as"和"the same that"都指“和…相同”的含義，但前者強(qiáng)調(diào)的是類型的相同，而后者強(qiáng)調(diào)的是事物本身的相同。此處指的是好書(shū)本身，故而用的是"the same that".
4.句中的兩個(gè)介詞“by"均表示方式，表“通過(guò)”之意。省略"that”的定語(yǔ)從句從句"they have for a book”用于修飾“l(fā)ove"。連詞“as”表示“正如……一樣”，后接從句，用于比較。關(guān)系代詞“which”引導(dǎo)的定語(yǔ)從句“which both entertain for a third”用于修飾“admiration"。
5."Love me, love my dog.”常被譯為“愛(ài)屋及烏”英語(yǔ)中有關(guān)“dog”的諺語(yǔ)很多，比如:a lucky dog(幸運(yùn)兒);Every dog has his day.(人人皆有得意日。);It rains cats and dogs.(下傾盆大雨。);a cat-and-dog life(爭(zhēng)爭(zhēng)吵吵的日子)等等。
6.威廉·哈茲利特(William Hazlitt,1778-1830)，英國(guó)散文家、評(píng)論家、畫(huà)家.
7.這是由關(guān)系代詞which引導(dǎo)的非限制性定語(yǔ)從句，修飾先行詞treasuries，從句中的過(guò)去分詞結(jié)構(gòu)“remembered and cherished(銘記于心并多加珍視)”用作狀語(yǔ)，表示條件.
8.菲利普·錫德尼爵士(Sir Philip Sidney, 1554- 1586 )，英國(guó)文藝復(fù)興時(shí)期的著名的散文家、政治家，有很高的藝術(shù)修養(yǎng).科學(xué)知識(shí)豐富.
9.此處的but為介詞，表示“除……以外”的含義，what引導(dǎo)的從句作but的賓語(yǔ)。
適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文 3
美麗人生 Beautiful Life
Marisa who is a beautiful girl from England, she works as a fitness instructor. She is also a fashionable icon. Having so many identities makes her life wonderful. But before Marisa was 20, who can imagine that she is a very fat girl. When Marisa was a small girl, she liked to eat all kinds of food, which made her a big fat girl. As she grew up, she noticed her difference and the boy she liked fell in love with her best friend. Marisa realized that she needed to lose weight, she refused to the junk food and ate the organic food. She kept practise every day. Finally, a year passed and she lose more than 80 pounds. She began her beautiful life.
瑪麗莎來(lái)自英格蘭，是一個(gè)美麗的女孩,她是一名健身教練。她也是一個(gè)時(shí)尚偶像。多重身份使得她的生活精彩。但在瑪麗莎20歲之前, 誰(shuí)能想象到她是一個(gè)非常胖的女孩。當(dāng)瑪麗莎還是一個(gè)小女孩的時(shí)候,她喜歡吃各種各樣的食物,這使她成為一個(gè)大胖女孩。當(dāng)她長(zhǎng)大了,她注意到自己與眾不同,她喜歡的男孩愛(ài)上了她最好的朋友�，旣惿庾R(shí)到她需要減肥,她拒絕垃圾食品,吃有機(jī)食品。她每天都鍛煉。最后,一年過(guò)去了,她減掉了80多磅。她開(kāi)始她的美麗生活。
學(xué)習(xí)漢語(yǔ)熱 The Heat of Learning Chinese
In China, English is the indispensable suject for students to learn. Some students complain that there is no need to learn English because we live in China, while when we look around the world, we can find that there are more and more foreigners learn Chinese. As the world gets globalized, the world is watching us and foreigners are very interested in our culture. some of them learn Chinese for they sense the great commercial potential and want to do business with us. There is even a competition for foreigners to show their level of Chinese. I am so surprised by their insistance. The foreigners can learn Chinese so well, so there no reason for us to give up English.
在中國(guó),英語(yǔ)是學(xué)生來(lái)說(shuō)是必不可少的學(xué)習(xí)科目。一些學(xué)生抱怨說(shuō),沒(méi)有必要學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ),因?yàn)槲覀兩钤谥袊?guó),而當(dāng)我們放眼世界,我們可以發(fā)現(xiàn),越來(lái)越多的外國(guó)人在學(xué)習(xí)漢語(yǔ)。隨著世界變得越來(lái)越全球化,全世界都在關(guān)注著我們，外國(guó)人對(duì)我們的文化很感興趣。他們中的一些人學(xué)習(xí)中文因?yàn)樗麄兏杏X(jué)到巨大的商業(yè)潛力，想與我們做生意。甚至有節(jié)目來(lái)讓外國(guó)人展示他們的中文水平。他們的堅(jiān)持讓我很吃驚。外國(guó)人學(xué)習(xí)中文學(xué)得那么好,所以我們沒(méi)有理由放棄英語(yǔ)。
學(xué)校的體育館 The Gym In My School
Recently, it has been said that the new building in my school will be finished soon and all the students can use it. It is such exciting news, because we have been looking forward to taking exercise in the gym for such a long time. The new building is used as the gym and there are all kinds of equipments in it. There are badminton court, ping-pong court and basketball court. I love the gym so much. I have always dream to take exercise in such a good gym. Playing sports indoor makes me feel not bad hot and as a girl, I don’t have to turn black. From now on, I will keep taking exercise everyday.
最近,據(jù)說(shuō)我們學(xué)校的新大樓將很快完成,所有的'學(xué)生都可以使用。這是如此令人興奮的消息,因?yàn)槲覀円恢逼诖軌蛟诮∩矸垮憻�。新建筑用作健身房，里面有各種各樣的設(shè)備。有羽毛球場(chǎng),乒乓球場(chǎng)和籃球場(chǎng)。我喜歡健身房。我一直夢(mèng)想在這么好的健身房里面鍛煉。室內(nèi)運(yùn)動(dòng)讓我感覺(jué)到不那么熱,作為一個(gè)女孩,我也不會(huì)被曬黑。從現(xiàn)在起,我會(huì)每天做運(yùn)動(dòng)。
適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文 4
The Three Ways of Man to Preserve Meat
Finding enough meat was a problem for primitive man．Keeping it for times when it was scarce was just as hard．Three ways were found to keep meat from spoiling：salting，drying，and freezing．
People near salty waters salted their meat．At first they probably rubbed dry salt on it，but this preserved only the outside．Later they may have pickled their meat by soaking it in salt water．
In hot，dry lands，men found that they could eat meat that had dried while it was still on the bones．They later learned to cut meat into thin strips and hang it up to dry in the hot air．
Men in cold climates found that frozen meat did not spoil．They could leave their meat outside and eat it when they pleased．
人類儲(chǔ)存肉的三種方法
對(duì)原始人類來(lái)說(shuō)，獲得充足的肉是件難事，而把肉類儲(chǔ)存到缺肉的.時(shí)令也同樣不容易。人們找到了防止肉類變腐的三種辦法：鹽腌、風(fēng)干和冷凍。
靠近咸水地帶的居民用鹽腌肉。起先，他們可能是把干鹽擦在肉上，但這只能使肉的外部不腐。后來(lái)，他們也許就改用咸水浸泡的辦法來(lái)腌肉了。
在炎熱、干燥的地方，人們發(fā)現(xiàn)他們可以食用已經(jīng)變干、但仍連在骨骼上的肉。后來(lái)，他們學(xué)會(huì)把肉切成薄條，懸掛起來(lái)，讓它在炎熱的空氣中變干。
生活在寒冷氣候下的人們則發(fā)現(xiàn)凍肉不腐。他們可以把肉置于室外，高興時(shí)隨時(shí)可吃。
適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文 5
面朝南方Facing South
An old friend used to say to me, "When you are thinking of buying a new house, go and see it on a cloudy day. If you like it then, you need not doubt about liking it in better weather."
一個(gè)老朋友曾經(jīng)告訴我:"當(dāng)你考慮買一套新房時(shí),就趁陰天的時(shí)候過(guò)去看房吧。因?yàn)槿绻菚r(shí)你喜歡它的話,那么在天氣晴朗的日子里你一定也會(huì)喜歡它。
We all enjoy the sun. The sun is the source of heat and life to the earth. Yet people are still to be found who deliberately shut out the sun from their rooms, and are unmindful of the Italian saying that where the sun does not go the doctor does. In this country, especially, we know the value of "facing south".
"我們都喜歡陽(yáng)光。太陽(yáng)是地球上熱量與生命的來(lái)源。然而,我們?nèi)匀话l(fā)現(xiàn)有些人總是故意關(guān)上門,將陽(yáng)光擋在門外,他們忽略了一句意大利諺語(yǔ)"日光不上門,醫(yī)生便上門"。在這個(gè)國(guó)家里,我們都知道"面朝南方"的重要性。
Are we not like houses? We have eyes instead of windows, but we face south, north, east, or west. Who does not know the men and the women facing north? Hard and cold, never letting a ray of sun-shine into their souls. They stand away from all the cheers and warmth of our poor humanity. They are the people who pour cold water on all our enthusiasms, have no faith in human nature, no sympathy with human sufferings.
我們不就像是房子嗎?只不過(guò)我們沒(méi)有窗戶,但是我們擁有眼睛,我們可以選擇面朝各個(gè)方向。我們都知道那些面朝北方的人們是怎樣的。他們頑固而冷酷,從不讓一絲陽(yáng)光照進(jìn)他們的心靈。他們總是躲在角落里,拒絕人性的歡樂(lè)與溫暖。他們總是澆滅旁人熱情的火焰,不相信人性,冷眼看待他人的痛苦。
You must know such people. They are not rich people, perfectly healthy, or people without sorrows. On the contrary, they have had a full measure of misfortune. But they have never changed their outlooks4 on life, in their faith in all things working together for good, in their belief that they are in this world to help where help is needed. What a consolation5 such people are! We go to them in entire confidence. We leave them the better and the brighter, with a firmer step, and the determination to win through the difficulties. They are "facing south".
你必定也認(rèn)識(shí)這樣一種人:他們不是有錢人,不是身體特別健全的人,也不是無(wú)憂無(wú)慮的人。相反,他們的生活中充滿了不幸。但他們從不改變對(duì)生活的態(tài)度,在他們看來(lái),所有的事情都在朝著好的方向發(fā)展,他們堅(jiān)持幫助那些需要幫助的人。他們能給人帶來(lái)極大的安慰!我們滿懷信心地靠近他們,離開(kāi)他們的.時(shí)候變得更加樂(lè)觀和開(kāi)朗,我們的腳步會(huì)變得更為堅(jiān)定,戰(zhàn)勝困難的決心也會(huì)更大。他們就是"面朝南方"的人。
適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文 6
Don’t Work for Money 不做有才華的窮人
The world is filled with smart, talented, educated and gifted people. We meet them every day. A few days ago, my car was not running well. I pulled it into a garage, and the young mechanic had it fixed in just a few minutes. He knew what was wrong by simply listening to the engine. I was amazed. The sad truth is, great talent is not enough.
世界上滿坑滿谷都是精明能干、才華橫溢、學(xué)富五車以及極具天賦之人，我們每天都會(huì)見(jiàn)到他們。幾天前，我的汽車運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)不靈了。我把它開(kāi)進(jìn)維修廠，一位年輕的機(jī)械工只消幾分鐘就把它修好了。他僅憑傾聽(tīng)發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)的聲音就能確定哪兒有毛病，這讓我驚奇不已。然而遺憾的是，光有非凡才華是不夠的。
I am constantly shocked at how little talented people earn. I heard the other day that less than 5 percent of Americans earn more than $100,000 a year. A business consultant who specializes in1 the medical trade was telling me how many doctors, dentists and chiropractors struggle financially. All this time, I thought that when they graduated, the dollars would pour in. It was this business consultant who gave me the phrase, “They are one skill away from great wealth.” What this phrase means is that most people need only to learn and master one more skill and their income would jump exponentially. I have mentioned before that financial intelligence is a synergy of accounting, investing, marketing and law. Combine those four technical skills and making money with money is easier. When it comes to money, the only skill most people know is to work hard.
我常常吃驚，為什么有才華的人卻只有微薄的收入。前幾天我聽(tīng)人說(shuō)，只有不到5%的美國(guó)人年收入在10萬(wàn)美元以上。一位精通藥品貿(mào)易的商務(wù)顧問(wèn)曾經(jīng)告訴我，有有許多醫(yī)生、牙醫(yī)和按摩師生活拮據(jù)。以前我總以為他們一畢業(yè)，財(cái)源便會(huì)滾滾而來(lái)。這位商務(wù)顧問(wèn)告訴了我一句話：“離發(fā)大財(cái)，他們還差一項(xiàng)技能�！边@句話的意思是說(shuō)，大部分人還需多學(xué)習(xí)并掌握一項(xiàng)技能，他們的收入才能呈指數(shù)倍增長(zhǎng)。以前我提到過(guò)，財(cái)商是會(huì)計(jì)、投資、市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷和法律方面的能力綜合。將上述四種專業(yè)技能結(jié)合起來(lái)，以錢生錢就會(huì)更容易。說(shuō)到錢，大部分人所知的唯一技能就是拼命工作。
When I graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1969, my educated dad was happy. Standard Oil of California had hired me for its oil-tanker fleet. I had a great career ahead of me, yet I resigned after six months with the company and joined the Marine Corps to learn how to fly. My educated dad was devastated. Rich dad congratulated me.
1969年，我從美國(guó)海運(yùn)學(xué)院畢業(yè)了。我那有學(xué)識(shí)的爸爸十分高興，因?yàn)榧又輼?biāo)準(zhǔn)石油公司錄用我為它的油輪隊(duì)工作。盡管我的未來(lái)前程遠(yuǎn)大，但我還是在6個(gè)月后辭職離開(kāi)了這家公司，加入海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊(duì)去學(xué)習(xí)飛行。對(duì)此我那有學(xué)識(shí)的爸爸非常傷心，而富爸爸則祝賀我做出的決定。
Job security meant everything to my educated dad. Learning meant everything to my rich dad. Educated dad thought I went to school to learn to be a ship’s officer. Rich dad knew that I went to school to study international trade. So as a student, I made cargo runs, navigating 6 large freighters, oil tankers and passenger ships to the Far East and the South Pacific. While most of my classmates, including Mike, were partying at their fraternity houses, I was studying trade, people and cultures in Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Korea and the Philippines. I also was partying, but it was not in any frat house. I grew up rapidly.
對(duì)于有學(xué)識(shí)的爸爸來(lái)說(shuō)，穩(wěn)定的工作就是一切。而對(duì)于富爸爸來(lái)說(shuō)，學(xué)習(xí)才是一切。有學(xué)識(shí)的爸爸以為我上學(xué)是為了做一名船長(zhǎng)，而富爸爸明白我上學(xué)是為了學(xué)習(xí)國(guó)際貿(mào)易。因此，在做學(xué)生時(shí)，我跑過(guò)貨運(yùn)、為前往遠(yuǎn)東及南太平洋的大型貨輪、油輪和客輪導(dǎo)航。當(dāng)我的大部分同班同學(xué)，包括邁克，在他們的聯(lián)誼會(huì)會(huì)堂舉辦晚會(huì)的時(shí)候，我正在日本、泰國(guó)、新加坡、中國(guó)香港、越南、韓國(guó)和菲律賓學(xué)習(xí)貿(mào)易、人際關(guān)系和文化。我也參加晚會(huì)，但不去任何聯(lián)誼會(huì)，我迅速地成熟起來(lái)了。
There is an old cliché that goes, “Job is an acronym9 for ‘Just Over Broke.’” And unfortunately, I would say that the saying applies to millions of people. Because school does not think financial intelligence is intelligence, most workers “l(fā)ive within their means.” They work and they pay the bills. Instead I recommend to young people to seek work for what they will learn, more than what they will earn. Look down the road at what skills they want to acquire before choosing a specific profession and before getting trapped in the “Rat Race”. Once people are trapped in the lifelong process of bill paying, they become like those little hamsters running around in those little metal wheels. Their little furry legs are spinning furiously, the wheel is turning furiously, but come tomorrow morning, they’ll still be in the same cage: great job.
常言道，“工作(job)就是‘比破產(chǎn)強(qiáng)一點(diǎn)(Just Over Broke)’的縮寫(xiě)”。然而不幸的是，這句話確實(shí)適用于千百萬(wàn)人，因?yàn)閷W(xué)校沒(méi)有把財(cái)商看作是一種才智，大部分工人都“量入為出”：干活掙錢，支付賬單。相反，我勸告年輕人在尋找工作時(shí)要看看能從中學(xué)到什么，而不是只看能掙到多少。在選擇某種特定職業(yè)之前或是陷入 “老鼠賽跑(激烈的競(jìng)爭(zhēng))”之前，要好好掂量自己到底需要獲得什么技能。一旦人們?yōu)橹Ц顿~單而整天疲于奔命，就和那些在小鐵輪里不停奔跑轉(zhuǎn)圈的小老鼠一樣了。老鼠的小毛腿跑得飛快，小鐵輪也轉(zhuǎn)得飛快，可到了第二天早上，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)自己依然困在同一個(gè)老鼠籠里，那就是：重要的工作。
When I ask the classes I teach, “How many of you can cook a better hamburger than McDonald’s?” almost all the students raise their hands. I then ask, “So if most of you can cook a better hamburger, how come McDonald’s makes more money than you?” The answer is obvious: McDonald’s is excellent at business systems. The reason so many talented people are poor is because they focus on building a better hamburger and know little or nothing about business systems. The world is filled with talented poor people. All too often, they’re poor or struggle financially or earn less than they are capable of, not because of what they know but because of what they do not know. They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger.
當(dāng)我在自己教授的班級(jí)上問(wèn)到“你們當(dāng)中有多少人做的漢堡包能比麥當(dāng)勞更好”時(shí)，幾乎所有的學(xué)生都舉起了手。我接著問(wèn)，“如果你們當(dāng)中大部分人都能做出比麥當(dāng)勞更好的漢堡包，那為什么麥當(dāng)勞比你們更能賺錢?”答案是顯而易見(jiàn)的：麥當(dāng)勞擁有一套出色的.運(yùn)營(yíng)體系。許多才華橫溢的人之所以貧窮的原因，就是因?yàn)樗麄冎皇菍Ｐ挠谧龈玫臐h堡包，而對(duì)運(yùn)營(yíng)體系幾乎一無(wú)所知。世界上到處都是有才華的窮人。在很多情況下，他們之所以貧窮、生活拮據(jù)或者收入與其能力不相符，不是因?yàn)樗麄円阎臇|西而是因?yàn)樗麄兾粗臇|西。他們只將注意力集中在提高和完善做漢堡包的技術(shù)上，卻不注意提高有關(guān)漢堡包的銷售和送貨技能。
適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文 7
Living With My Teenage Genius
AS HER son Cameron sits at his laptop completing an assignment for his maths degree course Alison Thompson is busy helping her daughter Emma get dressed.
Nothing unusual there, except that at just 14 Cameron is a highly gifted maths prodigy, while Emma is 12 and severely autistic.
Having two children with such contrasting abilities has at times been a challenge, admits full-time mum Alison, 34, who also has 10-year-old daughter Bethany.
While help has always been readily available for Emma, Alison and her husband Rod, 37, a computer programmer, have had to fight to get Cameron the support he needs. “People could see that Emma has special needs but because Cameron was doing so well at school his teachers never thought there was a problem. They refused to acknowledge that he was gifted, ” says Alison.
Admittedly it took Alison and Rod a while to realise their son was different. “Cameron was our first child and we didn’t really have anything to compare him with. He always had a very impressive vocabulary and we knew he was bright but he didn’t reach his milestones exceptionally early and there were no other real signs.”
It was only when he began primary school that his abilities became clear. “He used to cry when it was time to come home, ” recalls Alison. “He just always wanted to learn more.”
On one occasion he even corrected the teacher when she told the class that zero was the lowest number. Cameron told her she was wrong because there were negative numbers. He was four at the time.
By the time he was seven, Cameron, who lives with his family in Wrexham, North Wales, was leaps and bounds ahead of his classmates. It was also clear that he was suffering from Asperger’s syndrome, which is a form of autism. Children with Asperger’s typically find social interaction incredibly difficult and can become obsessive and inflexible.
“Not only was he getting bored at school but he didn’t know when to keep quiet and had no idea how to pick up on social cues, ” says Alison, who along with Rod started to put pressure on the school for extra support for their son.
Now 14 Cameron is at secondary school, studying for a distance learning maths degree with the Open University, having sailed through his GCSE at 11 and his A-level at 12, achieving top grades.
Today it is clear that this slightly built, engaging and awkward teenager is gifted but it has been a battle to get the authorities to acknowledge his needs.
“I don’t think the teachers had a clue what to do with a gifted child, ” says Alison. “We were worried about being labelled as pushy parents but there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting the best for your child. I think the teachers thought we were trying to drive Cameron with his maths but the drive came from him.”
Frustrated, the Thompsons considered home education – Cameron was also being targeted by bullies – but they thought it would hamper their son socially.
By his final year of primary school, Cameron had become bored and disruptive but fortunately when he moved to senior school teachers there took his talents seriously and he was encouraged to do more advanced maths work.
“He steamed through the GCSE syllabus in just three months, ” says Alison. “For the first time in ages he seemed really happy.”
Then his parents had to decide what to do next. Some gifted children are sent to university early but Alison and Rod felt this wasn’t right for Cameron. “What would he have in common with the other students?” she asks. “I just don’t understand these parents who are so ambitious that they lose all sight of their child.
“I was once contacted by a mother who told me her five-year-old was interested in taking a GCSE. I mean, really? What five-year-old has actually heard of a GCSE? When Cameron was five all he wanted was to be a train driver.”
Alison admits she is baffled by much of her son’s degree course. Even Rod, who has a maths degree himself, struggles to keep up. Yet they are careful never to compare Cameron with his sisters.
Bethany is bright too but not gifted. Sociable and artistic she is the one who will remind absent minded Cameron to put on his coat. She also helps him out in social situations. “Bethany could make friends in an empty room, ” says Alison proudly. “Having siblings with such different needs has made her very accepting.”
Emma attends a specialist school and the family is quick to celebrate her successes too. “The other day she did up the buttons on her coat which was real progress, ” Alison says.
The Thompsons try to live a normal life. Late last year they took part in a fly-on-the-wall television documentary to prove that not all gifted children are the result of overly ambitious parents. Cameron, who is also a brown belt in karate, was happy to take part as he had always wanted to be on TV.
“There is so much help out there for children like Emma but hardly anything at all for those at the other end of the spectrum, ” says Alison. “Gifted children need support too but their lives don’t have to be that different to anyone else’s. Cameron is proof of that.”
家有神童
艾莉森?湯普森家有三個(gè)孩子，三個(gè)孩子個(gè)個(gè)不同。一個(gè)是天賦異稟的小神童，一個(gè)是自閉癥兒童，還有一個(gè)卻在社交方面表現(xiàn)出眾。艾莉森是怎樣撫養(yǎng)他們的？她遇到了哪些困難？
當(dāng)艾莉森?湯普森的兒子卡梅倫坐在電腦前完成他的數(shù)學(xué)學(xué)士學(xué)位課作業(yè)時(shí)，她忙著幫她的女兒埃瑪穿好衣服。 很平常的場(chǎng)景，除了14歲的卡梅隆是一個(gè)非常有天賦的數(shù)學(xué)神童，而12歲的艾瑪則是嚴(yán)重的自閉癥患者。 艾莉森承認(rèn)撫養(yǎng)兩個(gè)反差很大的孩子有時(shí)是一個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)。34歲的艾莉森是一個(gè)全職母親，他同時(shí)還有一個(gè)10歲的女兒伯達(dá)尼。
艾瑪總是及時(shí)獲得幫助的那一個(gè)，而艾莉森和她的程序員丈夫羅德不得不為卡梅隆爭(zhēng)取他所需要的支持。“大家都知道艾瑪有特殊需要，但因?yàn)榭穫愒趯W(xué)校表現(xiàn)優(yōu)秀，他的老師從來(lái)沒(méi)有想過(guò)他的問(wèn)題。他們拒絕承認(rèn)他是天才，”艾莉森說(shuō)。
誠(chéng)然，艾莉森和羅德也不是一開(kāi)始就發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的.兒子有什么不同。 “卡梅隆是我們的第一個(gè)孩子，我們真的沒(méi)有什么可以比較。他的詞匯量一直佷令人驚訝，我們知道他聰明，但在他的階段性發(fā)展中，他沒(méi)有提前很多，也有沒(méi)有其他明顯的跡象�！�
直到他上小學(xué)，他的能力才變得明顯。“過(guò)去一到回家的時(shí)候，他就哭，”艾莉森。 “他只是想學(xué)更多的知識(shí)。” 有一次，他甚至還糾正了老師。當(dāng)老師告訴同學(xué)零是最小的數(shù)字時(shí)，卡梅倫告訴她，她錯(cuò)了，因?yàn)橛胸?fù)數(shù)。那時(shí)候他四歲。
七歲的卡梅倫與他的家人住在北威爾士最大的城市雷克瑟姆（Wrexham），那時(shí)候他已經(jīng)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)他的同學(xué)。但很明顯，他很患有阿斯伯格綜合癥，這是自閉癥的一種形式�；加邪⑺共窬C合癥的兒童通常在社會(huì)交往上存在困難，還可能變得執(zhí)著而頑固。
“他在學(xué)校不僅感到厭煩，還不知道什么時(shí)候應(yīng)當(dāng)保持安靜，無(wú)法理解人際交流中的隱藏含義，”艾莉森說(shuō)。她和羅德開(kāi)始向?qū)W校施壓，以求他們的兒子獲得額外的幫助。
14歲的卡梅隆目前還在中學(xué)階段，已經(jīng)開(kāi)始攻讀開(kāi)放大學(xué)函授數(shù)學(xué)學(xué)位。11歲他通過(guò)了GCSE課程，12歲通過(guò)A-level課程，并且都取得了優(yōu)異的成績(jī)。
毋庸置疑，這個(gè)清瘦、有魅力卻有點(diǎn)古怪的青少年是有天賦的，但讓當(dāng)局承認(rèn)他的需求卻是一場(chǎng)艱苦的戰(zhàn)斗。 “我不認(rèn)為教師們知道該怎么教育一個(gè)有天賦的孩子，”艾莉森說(shuō)。 “我們害怕被當(dāng)作為愛(ài)出風(fēng)頭的父母，但希望孩子獲得最好的教育這一點(diǎn)絕對(duì)沒(méi)有錯(cuò)。老師認(rèn)為是我們要求卡梅隆學(xué)數(shù)學(xué)，但實(shí)際上那是他主動(dòng)要學(xué)的�！� 他們的嘗試受到打擊，卡梅倫也成為了眾矢之的，隨后他們想到了家庭教育，但又覺(jué)得這不利于孩子社會(huì)化的培養(yǎng)。
到卡梅倫小學(xué)最后一年時(shí)，他已經(jīng)開(kāi)始無(wú)聊到搗亂了，所幸升學(xué)后那里的老師很看重他的天賦，并鼓勵(lì)他學(xué)習(xí)高年級(jí)的數(shù)學(xué)。
“他在短短三個(gè)月內(nèi)學(xué)完了GCSE課程教學(xué)大綱，”艾莉森說(shuō)， “他似乎很久沒(méi)那么高興了�！�
然后，他的父母不得不決定下一步做什么。一些天才兒童提前進(jìn)入大學(xué)，但艾莉森和羅德覺(jué)得這樣對(duì)卡梅倫不好。 “他與其他學(xué)生有什么共同點(diǎn)？”她問(wèn)， “我只是不明白有些家長(zhǎng)是如此雄心勃勃，卻全然忘記了他們的孩子。" “曾經(jīng)又一位母親告訴我，她5歲的女兒想要參加GCSE考試。我在想，這會(huì)是真的嗎？ 一個(gè)5歲的孩子真的了解GCSE是什么嗎？當(dāng)卡梅倫5歲時(shí)，他就想當(dāng)一名火車司機(jī)�！�
艾莉森承認(rèn)，她對(duì)兒子的學(xué)位課程感到困惑。即使擁有數(shù)學(xué)學(xué)位的羅德也不見(jiàn)得能跟上。然而，他們很小心，從來(lái)不拿卡梅隆與他的妹妹們做比較。
伯達(dá)尼也很聰明，但算不上天賦異稟。善于交際、喜歡藝術(shù)的她會(huì)提醒心不在焉的卡梅隆把他的外套穿上，她還回在社交場(chǎng)合為哥哥解圍。 “即使在一個(gè)空房間里，伯達(dá)尼也能交朋友，” 艾莉森驕傲地說(shuō)， “有不同需求的兄弟姐妹，讓她變得很包容�！庇⒄Z(yǔ)開(kāi)頭好句子摘抄加翻譯。
艾瑪就讀的是一所特殊學(xué)校，家里人也會(huì)即時(shí)為她的每一次成功慶祝。 “有一天，她自己系上了衣服上所有的扣子，這絕對(duì)是進(jìn)步，”艾莉森說(shuō)。
湯普森一家嘗試著像正常家庭那樣去生活。去年年底，他們參加了一個(gè)觀察式電視紀(jì)錄片的拍攝，向大家證明并不是所有的天才兒童都是過(guò)于雄心勃勃的父母造就的。同時(shí)是空手道棕帶的卡梅倫很高興參加這次紀(jì)錄片拍攝，因?yàn)樗恢毕肷想娨暋?/p>
“社會(huì)給了像艾瑪這樣的孩子許多幫助，但對(duì)于天才兒童幾乎沒(méi)有任何幫助，”艾莉森說(shuō)。 “天才兒童也需要支持，但他們的生活并沒(méi)有和其他人太不同�？穫惥褪莻�(gè)例子�！�
適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文 8
Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage.
The worlds environment is surprisingly healthy. Discuss. If that were an examination topic, most students would tear it apart, offering a long list of plaints: from local smog(煙霧)to global climate change, from the felling(砍伐)of forests to the extinction of species. The list would largely be accurate, the concern legitimate. Yet the students who should be given the highest marks would actually be those who agreed with the statement. The surprise is how good things are, not how bad.
After all, the worlds population has more than tripled during this century, and world output has risen hugely, so you would expect the earth itself to have been affected. Indeed, if people lived, consumed and produced things in the same way as they did in 1900 , the world by now would be a pretty disgusting place: smelly, dirty, toxic and dangerous.
But they dont. The reasons why they dont, and why the environment has not been ruined, have to do with prices, technological innovation, social change and government regulation in response to popular pressure. That is why todays environmental problems in the poor countries ought, in principle, to be solvable.
Raw materials have not run out, and show no sign of doing so. Logically, one day they must: the planet is a finite place. Yet it is also very big, and man is very ingenious. What has happened is that every time a material seems to be running short, the price has risen and, in response, people have looked for new sources of supply, tried to find ways to use less of the materials, or looked for a new substitute. For this reason prices for energy and for minerals have fallen in real terms during the century. The same is true for food. Prices fluctuate, in response to harvests, natural disasters and political instability; and when they rise, it takes some time before new sources of supply bee available. But they always do, assisted by new farming and crop technology. The long-term trend has been downwards.
適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文 9
Human Life a Poem 人生如詩(shī)
I think that, from a biological standpoint, human life almost reads like a poem. It has its own rhythm and beat, its internal cycles of growth and decay. It begins with innocent childhood, followed by awkward adolescence trying awkwardly to adapt itself to mature society, with its young passions and follies, its ideals and ambitions; then it reaches a manhood of intense activities, profiting from experience and learning more about society and human nature; at middle age, there is a slight easing of tension, a mellowing of character like the ripening of fruit or the mellowing of good wine, and the gradual acquiring of a more tolerant, more cynical and at the same time a kindlier view of life; then In the sunset of our life, the endocrine glands decrease their activity, and if we have a true philosophy of old age and have ordered our life pattern according to it, it is for us the age of peace and security and leisure and contentment; finally, life flickers out and one goes into eternal sleep, never to wake up again.
One should be able to sense the beauty of this rhythm of life, to appreciate, as we do in grand symphonies, its main theme, its strains of conflict and the final resolution. The movements of these cycles are very much the same in a normal life, but the music must be provided by the individual himself. In some souls, the discordant note becomes harsher and harsher and finally overwhelms or submerges the main melody. Sometimes the discordant note gains so much power that the music can no longer go on, and the individual shoots himself with a pistol or jump into a river. But that is because his original leitmotif has been hopelessly over-showed through the lack of a good self-education. Otherwise the normal human life runs to its normal end in kind of dignified movement and procession. There are sometimes in many of us too many staccatos or impetuosos, and because the tempo is wrong, the music is not pleasing to the ear; we might have more of the grand rhythm and majestic tempo o the Ganges, flowing slowly and eternally into the sea.
No one can say that life with childhood, manhood and old age is not a beautiful arrangement; the day has its morning, noon and sunset, and the year has its seasons, and it is good that it is so. There is no good or bad in life, except what is good according to its own season. And if we take this biological view of life and try to live according to the seasons, no one but a conceited fool or an impossible idealist can deny that human life can be lived like a poem. Shakespeare has expressed this idea more graphically in his passage about the seven stages of life, and a good many Chinese writers have said about the same thing. It is curious that Shakespeare was never very religious, or very much concerned with religion. I think this was his greatness; he took human life largely as it was, and intruded himself as little upon the general scheme of things as he did upon the characters of his plays. Shakespeare was like Nature itself, and that is the greatest compliment we can pay to a writer or thinker. He merely lived, observed life and went away.
譯文：
人生如詩(shī)
我以為，從生物學(xué)角度看，人的一生恰如詩(shī)歌。人生自有其韻律和節(jié)奏，自有內(nèi)在的生成與衰亡。人生始于無(wú)邪的童年，經(jīng)過(guò)少年的青澀，帶著激情與無(wú)知，理想與雄心，笨拙而努力地走向成熟;后來(lái)人到壯年，經(jīng)歷漸廣，閱人漸多，涉世漸深，收益也漸大;及至中年，人生的緊張得以舒緩，人的性格日漸成熟，如芳馥之果實(shí)，如醇美之佳釀，更具容忍之心，處世雖更悲觀，但對(duì)人生的態(tài)度趨于和善;再后來(lái)就是人生遲暮，內(nèi)分泌系統(tǒng)活動(dòng)減少，若此時(shí)吾輩已經(jīng)悟得老年真諦，并據(jù)此安排殘年，那生活將和平，寧?kù)o，安詳而知足;終于，生命之燭搖曳而終熄滅，人開(kāi)始永恒的長(zhǎng)眠，不再醒來(lái)。
人們當(dāng)學(xué)會(huì)感受生命韻律之美，像聽(tīng)交響樂(lè)一樣，欣賞其主旋律、激昂的高潮和舒緩的尾聲。這些反復(fù)的樂(lè)章對(duì)于我們的生命都大同小異，但個(gè)人的樂(lè)曲卻要自己去譜寫(xiě)。在某些人心中，不和諧音會(huì)越來(lái)越刺耳，最終竟然能掩蓋主曲;有時(shí)不和諧音會(huì)積蓄巨大的能量，令樂(lè)曲不能繼續(xù)，這時(shí)人們或舉槍自殺或投河自盡。
這是他最初的主題被無(wú)望地遮蔽，只因他缺少自我教育。否則，常人將以體面的運(yùn)動(dòng)和進(jìn)程走向既定的終點(diǎn)。在我們多數(shù)人胸中常常會(huì)有太多的斷奏或強(qiáng)音，那是因?yàn)楣?jié)奏錯(cuò)了，生命的`樂(lè)曲因此而不再悅耳。我們應(yīng)該如恒河，學(xué)她氣勢(shì)恢弘而豪邁地緩緩流向大海。
人生有童年、少年和老年，誰(shuí)也不能否認(rèn)這是一種美好的安排，一天要有清晨、正午和日落，一年要有四季之分，如此才好。人生本無(wú)好壞之分，只是各個(gè)季節(jié)有各自的好處。如若我們持此種生物學(xué)的觀點(diǎn)，并循著季節(jié)去生活，除了狂妄自大的傻瓜和無(wú)可救藥的理想主義者，誰(shuí)能說(shuō)人生不能像詩(shī)一般度過(guò)呢。莎翁在他的一段話中形象地闡述了人生分七個(gè)階段的觀點(diǎn)，很多中國(guó)作家也說(shuō)過(guò)類似的話。奇怪的是，莎士比亞并不是虔誠(chéng)的宗教徒，也不怎么關(guān)心宗教。我想這正是他的偉大之處，他對(duì)人生秉著順其自然的態(tài)度，他對(duì)生活之事的干涉和改動(dòng)很少，正如他對(duì)戲劇人物那樣。莎翁就像自然一樣，這是我們能給作家或思想家的最高褒獎(jiǎng)。對(duì)人生，他只是一路經(jīng)歷著，觀察著，離我們遠(yuǎn)去了。
適合初學(xué)者的英語(yǔ)閱讀短文 10
ABrother’sMiracle
Tess was a precocious eight-year-old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money. They were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn’t have the money for the doctor’s bills and our house. Only a very costly surgery could save him now and it was looking like there was no-one to loan them the money. She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered desperation, “Only a miracle can save him now.”
Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be absolutely exact. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way six blocks to the pharmacy with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.
She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good.
Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it! “And what do you want?” the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. “I’m talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven’t seen in ages,” he said without waiting for a reply to his question.
“Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,” Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. “He’s really, really sick… and I want to buy a miracle.”
“I beg your pardon?” said the pharmacist.
“His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?”
“We don’t sell miracles here, little girl. I’m sorry but I can’t help you,” the pharmacist said, softening a little.
“Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn’t enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.”
The pharmacist’s brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?”
“I don’t know,” Tess replied with her eyes welling up. “I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it, so I want to use my money.”
“How much do you have?” asked the man from Chicago. “One dollar and eleven cents,” Tess answered barely audibly. “And it’s all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.”
“Well, what a coincidence,” smiled the man. “A dollar and eleven cents – the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.”
He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said “Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.”
That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neurosurgery. The operation was completed without charge and it wasn’t long until Andrew was home again and doing well.
Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place. “That surgery,” her Mom whispered. “was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?”
Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost…one dollar and eleven cents…plus the faith of a little child.
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