英语经典美文15篇[实用]
在日常生活或是工作学习中，大家一定看过美文吧？随着网络文化的发展，美文的概念已经不限定于某种文体，或某类内容。你知道写美文要注意哪些问题吗？以下是小编帮大家整理的英语经典美文，供大家参考借鉴，希望可以帮助到有需要的朋友。
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英语经典美文1
友谊Friendship
No young man starting life could have better capital than plenty of friends.
They will strengthen his credit，support him in every great effort，and make him what, unaided，he could never be. Friends of the right sort will help him more—--to be happy and successful—--than much money or great learning.
Friendship is no one—sided affair. There can be no friendship without reciprocity. One cannot receive all and give nothing，or give all and receive nothing, and expect to experience the joy and fullness of true companionship.
Those who would make friends must cultivate the qualities which are admired and which attract. If you are mean, stingy and selfish, nobody will admire you. You must cultivate generosity and large—heartedness；you must be magnanimous and tolerant; you must have positive qualities, for a negative, shrinking, apologizing, roundabout man is despised. You must believe in yourself. If you do not，others will not believe in you. You must look upward and be hopeful, cheery, and optimistic. No one will be attracted to a gloomy pessimist.
英语经典美文2
The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more but enjoy less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life; we’ve added years to life, not life to years.
We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space; we’ve done larger things, but not better things.
We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less.
We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but, lower morals.
We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we’ve become long on quantity, but short on quality.
These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but more broken homes.
These are the days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. Where are we heading...?
If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family an unwise investment indeed.
So what is the morale of the story?
Don’t work too hard... and you know what’s the full word of family?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER, (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU.
英语经典美文3
生命中最美丽的瞬间-the most beautiful moment in life
that the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
世界上最好的课堂在老人的脚下.
that when you're in love.it shows.
当你坠入爱河时,就会表露无遗.
that having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feeling in the world.
让一个孩子在你的臂弯入睡,你会体会到世间最安宁的感觉.
that being kind is more important than being right.
善良比真理更重要.
that you should never say no to a gift from a child.
永远不要拒绝孩子送给你的礼物.
that i can always pray for someone when i don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
当无力给予他人帮助时,将永远为他祈祷.
that no matter how serious your life requires you to be,everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
不论生活要求你要多严肃,每个人都需要一个能够一起嬉戏的朋友.
that sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
有时候,一个人想要的只是一只可握的.手和一颗感知的心.
that money dosn't buy class.
金钱买不到风度.
that it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.
每天的小小惊奇,让我们的生活如此多姿.
that under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
人人都渴求欣赏和关爱.
that the Lord didn't do it all in one day. what makes me think i can?
上帝并非一天完所有的事,我又怎么么可能呢?
that when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
如果你想报复某人,只会继续受到此人对你的伤害.
that love ,not time,heals all wounds.
治愈一切创伤的并非时间,而是爱.
that the easiest way for e togrow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than i am.
促进自己成长的最简单方法是与自己更优秀的人为伴.
that everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.
每一个与你相遇的人都值得你笑脸相迎.
that no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
只有深爱一个人时才会认为他是完美的.
that life is tough,but I'm tougher.
生活是艰苦的,但我应更坚强.
that a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
微笑是改善容貌的一种并不昂贵的方式.
英语经典美文4
You have a choice I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important.
My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.
Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.
Today I can fell sad that I don’t have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.
Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.
Today I can lament over all that my parents didn’t give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.
Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.
Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.
Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.
Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.
What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have!
英语经典美文5
The move comes within two months of the producers, Andy Vajna and Mario Kassar, settling a three-year-old lawsuit with actress Sharon Stone, who claimed they had promised to pay her at least $14 million even if the film was not made.
Stone is now set to reprise her role as Catherine Tramell, the manipulative, seductive novelist at the heart of a murder investigation in the original. That film, her last big hit, also starred Michael Douglas and was directed by Paul Verhoeven.
The sequel was originally due to go into production in 20xx, albeit without Douglas and Verhoeven, who reportedly had problems with each other the first time around. Several directors were attached, including John McTiernan, who pulled out after Stone reportedly vetoed Benjamin Bratt as her co-star.
Caton-Jones has most recently been working on "Shooting Dogs," which is based on the true story of a Catholic priest and an English teacher caught in the Rwandan genocide. Before that, he helmed "City by the Sea," toplining Robert De Niro and Frances McDormand. His other credits include "The Jackal," "Rob Roy" and "Memphis Belle."
英语经典美文6
1、There is no right choices in this world at all. We just need to strive and work hard to make the original choice right.
这个世界上根本没有正确的选择，我们只不过是要努力奋斗，使当初的选择变得正确。
2、We are not afraid of being incompetent, but are fearful of being impersistent.
不怕无能，就怕无恒。
3、There is nothing which human courage will not undertake, and little that human patience will not endure.
人的勇气能承担一切重负，人的耐心能忍受大部分痛苦。 ?
4、The winner is not necessarily the one who runs the fastest but the one who holds on to the last.
胜利者不一定是跑得最快的人，而是最有耐力的人。 ?
5、Once there was a scientist, who wanted to study how monkeys learn. He put two peanuts into a tall glass bottle. The bottle was completely transparent, and one could see the two peanuts clearly from outside. Then he gave the bottle to a monkey. The monkey grabbed the bottle and shook it methodlessly for a while. Finally, the peanuts fell out and the monkey got to eat them. The scientist put another two peanuts into the bottle. This time, he showed the monkey that if you put the bottle upside-down the peanuts will fall out easily. But the monkey still shook the bottle methodlessly after it grabbed it. It didn’t learn anything the scientist taught it. Why? The reason is that all the monkey saw were just the peanuts. Its brain could not handle anything else such as the scientist’s example. Sometimes, and quite often, when we encounter complex situations, we are just like this monkey. We don’t calm ourselves down and try to find a solution for the problem. We merely fight a pointless fight methodlessly with the problem.译文：曾经有一位科学家，他想研究猴子的学习能力。他把两颗花生米放进了一个高高的玻璃瓶里。玻璃瓶是完全透明的，从外面可以很清楚地看到两颗花生。然后，他把这个瓶子递给了一只猴子。猴子拿到瓶子之后，乱摇了好久，终于摇出了花生米，这才吃到。科学家又往瓶子里装了两颗花生米，这一次，他向猴子示范，只要把瓶子倒过来，花生就掉出来了。不过，猴子在接过瓶子之后，依旧像之前那样乱摇，完全没有学会科学家教它的方法。这是为什么呢?这是因为，猴子的眼里一直只有那两颗花生，它的大脑根本没有余地关心科学家的示范。很多时候，我们在遇到复杂问题的时候，就像这只猴子一样，不去冷静地思考解决问题的`办法，而只是单纯与问题做无意义的抗争。
6、Pursue your object, be it what it will, steadily and indefatigably.
不管追求什么目标，都应该坚持不懈。
7、Science only bestows the grandest favour on those who concentrate on it.
科学只把最高的恩典赐给专心致志献身于它的人。
8、A strong will and enthusiasm are the wings of pioneering work; self-confidence and perseverance are the steps to success.
壮志与热情是创业的羽翼，自信和坚忍是成功的阶梯。
9、When you"re sleeping, I"ll be working. When you"re working, I"ll be twice as hard.
当你在睡觉的时候，我一直在工作。当你在工作的时候，我已经付出了双倍于你的努力。 ---何猷君?
10、A room without books is a body without soul.
没有书籍的屋子，就像没有灵魂的躯体。
11、A little learning is a dangerous thing.
学问浅薄，如履薄冰。（蒲柏）?
12、We must repeat a thousand and one times; perseverance is the only road to success.
我们必须重复一千零一次，坚韧不拔是唯一的成功之路。
英语经典美文7
Once there was a scientist。 He wanted to study how monkeys learn。
曾经有一位科学家，他想研究猴子的学习能力。
He put two peanuts into a tall glass bottle。
他把两颗花生米放进了一个高高的玻璃瓶里。
The bottle was completely transparent， one could see the two peanuts clearly from outside。
玻璃瓶是完全透明的，从外面可以很清楚地看到两颗花生。
Then he gave the bottle to a monkey。
然后，他把这个瓶子递给了一只猴子。
The monkey grabed the bottle and shook it methodlessly for a while。 Finally， the peanuts fell out and the monkey got to eat them。
猴子拿到瓶子之后，乱摇了好久，终于摇出了花生米，这才吃到。
The scientist put another two peanuts into the bottle。 This time， he showed the monkey that if you put the bottle upside—down the peanuts will fall out easily。
科学家又往瓶子里装了两颗花生米，这一次，他向猴子示范，只要把瓶子倒过来，花生就掉出来了。
But the monkey still shook the bottle methodlessly after it grabed it。 It didn’t learn anything the scientist taught it。
不过，猴子在接过瓶子之后，依旧像之前那样乱摇，完全没有学会科学家教它的方法。
Why？
这是为什么呢？
The reason is that all the monkey saw were just the peanuts。 Its brain could not handle anything else such as the scientist’s example。
这是因为，猴子的眼里一直只有那两颗华生，它的大脑根本没有余地关心科学家的示范。
Sometimes， and quite often， when we encounter complex situations， we are just like this monkey。 We don’t calm ourselves down and try to find a solution for the problem。 We merely fight a pointless fight methodlessly with the problem。
很多时候，我们在遇到复杂问题的.时候，就像这只猴子一样，不去冷静地思考解决问题的办法，而只是单纯与问题做无意义的抗争。
英语经典美文8
Caring for my ailing mother proved quite difficult. I lived 1,700 miles away. My young family also needed attention so I could manage to visit her just a week to ten days every month.
Mom"s respiratory condition worsened. Oxygen, special medication and a lot of bed rest became the fare of the day for her, while fatigue, frustration and financial difficulties foreshadowed my life. Yet I promised myself I"d try to do what was necessary for as long as it took.
"I can"t go shopping." "I can"t visit my neighbors." "I can"t even get to church."
Mom"s complaints were unavoidable but valid. Being housebound and isolated from all the activities she so enjoyed caused her to rapidly sink into a state of depression. In a short span of time, it was obvious her mental health deteriorated to the point of worry.
On one visit I asked, "How are you managing when I"m not here?"
She replied, "Oh, I don"t need much these day. But when I do, Gen, the church lady, as you used to call her, comes by and takes care of me."
"What does she do for you?"
"She tidies up, brings me treats, shops for my groceries, makes me a cup of tea, and keeps me up to date on the latest gossip."
Smiling I said, "She sounds like quite a friend and a natural caregiver."
Mom"s face beamed. "Not only to me but to anyone who needs a helping hand. Look at all she"s done for the church over the years. Not only does she cook a few meals for the clergy, she dresses the altar with ceremonial linens and flowers and keeps the statues and the pews spotless. She washes, waxes and polishes every inch, from floor to ceiling. When you were just a little girl you always wanted to help her."
I remembered the times I was allowed to go along and do a few small chores.
On another visit, just before Mom was hospitalized, Gen arrived at my mother"s door with two home cooked meals.
"I knew you were coming and I had a little extra," she said. "Thought you two girls might enjoy not having to cook tonight."
Gen stayed and visited with me after Mom turned in for the night. I got the low-down on whose children were engaged, getting married, having babies, plus recent deaths and all the new activities at the church. I so appreciated her generosity and company. I thanked her profusely for caring for Mom.
She smiled. "It"s my pleasure," she said. "Besides living right up stairs makes it as easy as can be."
"Mom can be stubborn; I"m surprised she agreed to letting you help her."
"We"ve been friends a long time, so once we worked out a few problems, everything fell into place. Now it"s routine."
My stomach tightened. I asked, "What kind of problems?"
"I guess it started the day the washing machine overflowed," she explained. "I knew she didn"t follow directions. And since she doesn"t have much laundry, I asked if I could wash a few things of my own in her machine using a special low-suds cleaning product. Catherine was delighted. Now it"s a regular routine." Gen added, "We"ve never had another flood."
"Was there any damage to the house?"
Gen shook her head.
My relief only lasted a few seconds when I saw her brow furrow. "Something else?" I asked.
There was a slight pause.
"Well, there was the afternoon I stopped in for tea." She closed her eyes and made the sign of the cross. "The minute I walked in I smelled gas. Seems Catherine went to make a cup of tea, couldn"t light the burner on the stove and walked away forgetting to turn the knob back to its off position."
I gasped at the thought of an explosion.
"I opened the windows, aired out the apartment then told her I got a new supply of imported teas from England and hoped she"d help me enjoy them. I promised her I"d come every afternoon. Catherine was thrilled. Now she waits for me to make the tea. Says I have a special touch." Gen smiled. "And, I"ve never smelled gas since."
I said a silent prayer.
Gen leaned in close and patted my hand. "Did you know she"s not fond of the Meals on Wheels selections?" Before I could answer she continued. "Catherine took it upon herself to sleep through the delivery time. I told her I loved their food and made a deal to swap it for some of my dishes. We switch all the time now and she"s not losing any more weight."
How I missed these potential danger signs baffled me. I pointed to Mom"s medication containers on the kitchen counter. "Your idea, too?"
A quick nod was followed with, "I convinced her that a different color pill-box for each day makes taking medicine a little more fun. Once we matched a day with a special color, there were no more mistakes."
The more I heard, the more I realized this "church lady" was more than a caregiver; she was an angel. "You"re a special person. You"ve given Mom more than friendship and physical care; you"ve managed to help her keep her dignity when she needs it most. How can I thank you for your kindness? Can I pay you for your time?"
Shaking her head Gen answered, "Just keep me in your prayers and keep coming as often as you can. I don"t think Catherine has much time left."
I promised I would on both accounts and hugged her wholeheartedly. "I worry about her all the time."
"There"s no need to worry," Gen told me before she left to go upstairs to her apartment. "I"m here for her; just a few steps away."
Gen was indeed an expert in her field. She washed away my worries and heartaches with her presence and generosity. She waxed my spirit with her unselfish ministry. She polished my faith, hope and charity with her exemplary life.
英语经典美文9
8. Address at Gettysburg
Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, ca n long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate-we cannot consecrate-we cannot hallow-this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, heave consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that form these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. (268 words)
By Abraham Lincoln
英语经典美文10
音乐之声 The Sound of Music
The hills are alive with the sound of music,
With songs they have sung for a thousand years.
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every thing every song it hears.
My heart wants to beat
Like the wings of the birds that rise
From the lake to the trees.
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
From a church on a breeze
To laugh like a brook when it trips
And falls over stones on its way.
To sing through the night
Like a lake who is learning to pray.
I go to the hills when my heat is lonely.
I know I will hear what I"ve heard before.
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music,
And I"ll sing once more.
音乐声回荡在群山之间，
传唱千年的歌声在飘扬。
山峦唤起我心中的音乐，
我的'心想唱出听到的每首歌每件事。
我的心想和着
鸟儿振翅的节拍
飞过湖面飞过树林。
我的心想与钟声齐轻叹
乘风飞出教堂。
如淙淙溪流般欢笑!
一路在石子上轻盈跳跃。
如彻夜高歌，
学习祈祷的云雀。
心灵孤寂的时候我就来到群山中。
我知道会听到从前听过的声音。
音乐声洗涤我的心灵，
我将会再一次地歌唱。
英语经典美文11
1.Prose of its very nature is longer than verse,and the virtues peculiar to it manifest themselves gradually. If the cardinal virtue of poetry is love, the cardinal virtue of prose is justice; and, whereas love makes you act and speak on the spur of moment, justice needs inquiry, patience, and a control even of the noblest passions. By justice here I do not mean justice only to particular people or ideas, but a habit of justice in all the processes of thought, a style tranquillized and a form moulded by that habit.
本质上，散文长于韵文，散文独有的品质逐渐显现。若诗歌的主要品质是爱，那散文的主要品质就是正义;而且，尽管爱会让你一时心血来潮的去动作和表达，但正义则需要质询，耐心和对强烈感情的控制。这里所说的正义，并非专对某些人或思想，正义是所有思想过程中的习惯，以及由此习惯铸就的`形态和沉静的风格。
2.The master of prose is not cold, but will not let any word or image inflame him with a heat irrelevant to his purpose. Unhasting, unresting, he pursues it, subduing all the riches of his mind to it, rejecting all beauties that are not germane to it; making his own beauty out of the very accomplishment of it, out of the whole work and its proportions, so that you must read to the end before you know that it is beautiful.
散文大家并不冷漠，但也不会因头脑发热，让任意与其目的无关的词汇或形象扰乱自己。从容不迫，坚持不懈，他追寻着它，献出自己毕生的智慧，赶走所有与它无关的浮华。成就散文创造自己的美，美渗透于整体和部分，所以你只有把它读完，才能发现它的美。
3.But he has his reward, for he is trusted and convinces, as those who are at the mercy of their own eloquence do not; and he gives a pleasure all the greater for being hardly noticed. In the best prose, whether narrative or argument, we are so led on as we read, that we do not stop to applaud the writer, nor do we stop to question him.
但他也有所回报，因为人们信任他，他也使人们信服，这正是那些靠口才的人所不能得到的;他不露声色而给人更大的愉悦。最好的散文，无论是叙述或辩论，都使我们着迷，已无心停下来为作者叫好，亦或质询什么。
英语经典美文12
I walk into the coffee shop and breathe in deep, savoring that familiar aroma. The smell of coffee, with a hint of hazelnut, vanilla, mocha, and just a touch of cinnamon. There’s only one place in the world other than a coffee shop that smells like that—Grandmother’s house.我走进咖啡店，深深地吸了一口气，又闻到了那股熟悉的芳香。那股咖啡的香味，夹杂着丝丝榛子、香草、摩卡和一丁点肉桂的气息，除了咖啡店以外，在这个世界上只有一个地方弥漫着这样的气息——那就是在奶奶的家里。
Grandmother didn’t just like her coffee, and it wouldn’t really do her justice to say she loved her coffee. Grandmother was to coffee what a sommelier is to wine. She knew the intricacies of coffee, the different tastes and even the textures. And only the best would do for her. No instant coffee, or coffee bought at the grocery store. She had to have fresh coffee, from a respectable coffee shop. “The morning cup of coffee sets the tone for the whole day,” she used to say.奶奶不止是喜欢咖啡这么简单，说句公道话，咖啡是她的挚爱。咖啡对于奶奶而言，就如同美酒对于斟酒侍者一般重要。她对于咖啡的纷繁学问，其不同的口味，甚至其结构特征都了如指掌。而她只喝最好的咖啡，既不要速溶的，也不喜欢从杂货店买的。她一定要喝有名望的咖啡店出售的新鲜咖啡。“清晨的一杯咖啡决定了一整天的基调。”她常这么说。
I used to go to Grandmother’s every Sunday morning. Her routine was always the same. She would kiss me once on each cheek, hang up my coat and lead me into the kitchen, slice a piece of banana bread right out of the oven (sometimes cranberry), and pour a cup of freshly brewed coffee.以前每个星期天的早上，我都会去奶奶家，而她也总会用同样的程序来迎接我。她会在我的两边脸颊上各亲一下，挂起我的外套，然后把我带进厨房，切一片刚出炉的香蕉面包（有时候是蔓越橘口味的），并倒一杯新煮的咖啡给我。
“Alexa,” she said to me one day. “Did you know that every person’s personality is like a flavor of coffee?”“阿丽夏，”一天，她对我说，“你知道吗，每个人的性格就像是一种口味的咖啡。”
“Really?” I said, amused at how Grandmotherrelished her coffee so much that she related everything to it.“是吗？”我说。见到奶奶如此钟爱她的咖啡，以致于将每一件事物都与之扯上关系，觉得挺逗的。
“Ye” she said. “You, my dear, are French vanilla. You are sweet, almost sickeningly so at times to the discerning coffee drinker.” I slightly recoiled at Grandmother’s assessment of me. You expect your grandmother to call you sweet, but never sickeninglysweet.“是的，”她说。“你，我亲爱的，是法国香草味的。你很甜美，对于那些有品味的咖啡客来说，有时甜得都有些发腻了。”听了奶奶对我的评价后，我觉得有点不爽。你当然会希望奶奶说你很甜美，但绝对不希望是甜得发腻。
“Your father is espresso,” she continued. “He comes on strong. There are many people who don’t like him, but others can’t live without that high feeling that he gives them. He has an addictive personality that many people can’t let go of.”“你爸爸是杯浓缩咖啡，”她接着说，“他能给人以强烈的印象。有很多人不喜欢他，但也有人离开了他带来的那种兴奋感就活不下去。他有一种让许多人无法放手的致命的吸引力。”
“Let me guess Grandmother. You’re hazelnut.”“让我猜猜，奶奶，那您就是榛子口味的。”
“Hazelnut? Why on earth would you say that?”“榛子口味？你到底为什么会这么说？”
“Because I find your coffee talk a bit nutty.”“因为我发现您的咖啡论挺狂热的。”（双关语，nutty既指带坚果口味，也指对某事狂热。）
I smiled at Grandmother, but I could tell she was not amused. “Alexa dear, I am trying to teach you a lesson about life here. I do not need you poking fun at me.”我冲着奶奶笑了起来，不过我能看得出她并不觉得这很好笑。“亲爱的阿丽夏，我是想在这里教你一个人生的道理，而不是让你拿我开玩笑的。”
A lesson about life? Is she kidding? “Grandmother, you can’t dissect a person’s personality by comparing them to a cup of coffee. People are more complex than that. Everyone has nuances personality quirk things that make them different. You just can’t go around saying, ‘She’s a dark roast, he’s an instant, he’s a mocha almond.”一个人生的道理？她在开玩笑吧？“奶奶，你不可以用一杯咖啡去分析一个人的性格。人要比咖啡复杂得多。每个人都有差别，性格癖好相异，方方面面各不相同。你不可能四处晃晃，然后说：‘她是杯深焙咖啡，他是杯速溶咖啡，他是杯摩卡杏仁咖啡……’”
Grandmother looked at me, almost a blank, dull stare. “Then you just don’t understand coffee,” she snapped, clearing my plate and coffee cup from the table. “I guess not,” I sighed, exasperated at my hazelnut grandmother.奶奶用一种几乎是茫然而沮丧的眼神看着我。“这么说，你根本就不懂咖啡，”她厉声说，从桌上清走了我的盘子和咖啡杯。“我想是的，”我叹了口气，对我这个“榛子口味”的'奶奶感到有些恼火。
I went to Grandmother’s house many more times after that, and she always kept her same routine. It was a welcome routine, one that I enjoyed every week. Grandmother didn’t talk to me after that about the “coffee catastrophe” as I called it, but eventually, she did start to make more ridiculous claims concerning her favorite drink.在那之后，我又多次去过奶奶家，而她依然以同样的程序来迎接我。我很喜欢这套程序，每个星期都要去享受一次。在那之后，奶奶再也没有跟我谈论过我所称的“咖啡大灾难”，不过最后，就她最喜爱的饮品，她还是开始发表了更加荒谬的言论。
“I knew your grandfather was the right man for me because we loved our coffee the same way,” she said. “Cream with just a touch of sugar.”“我知道你爷爷就是那个最适合我的人，因为我们都喜欢相同味道的咖啡，”她说，“奶油里加上一丁点糖。”
I rolled my eyes. “Grandmother, many people like it that way.”我转了转眼珠，说：“奶奶，很多人都喜欢那种口味。”
“I disagree,” she said. “For most people, if they prefer cream, they like a lot of sugar, or at least a moderate amount. Those who drink it with just a touch of sugar usually put milk in it, or drink it black.”“我不同意，”她说，“对于大多数人来说，如果他们喜欢奶油，他们就喜欢加很多糖，或至少是中等量的糖。而那些喝咖啡时只加一丁点糖的人，通常会加入牛奶，或者干脆就喝黑咖啡。”
“So what if Papa preferred his coffee black? Or with milk and sweetener? Does that mean that you would have never married? That I wouldn’t be here today?”“那么，如果爷爷更喜欢喝黑咖啡呢？或者是牛奶加甜味料呢？那是不是说你就不嫁给他了？那么今天就没有我在这里了？”
“Oh don’t be silly,” Grandmother said. “I won’t think about your grandfather preferring his coffee any differently. I don’t know what would have become of us. But you, my dear Alexa, belong to me. You would be here no matter what.”“噢，别傻了，”奶奶说，“我从来没想过你爷爷会喜欢什么不一样的咖啡。我不知道我们之间会有什么不同的结果，但是你，我亲爱的阿丽夏，是属于我的。无论怎么样你都会在这里的。”
The last time I saw Grandmother was a Sunday just like all the others. I sat down at the table with Grandmother and she looked at me with a very intense look in her eyes.我最后一次见到奶奶也是在一个星期天，和其他星期天没什么区别。我和奶奶一起坐在桌边，她看着我，眼中闪烁着一种热情的光芒。
“Do you ever think about heaven?” she asked me.“你有没有想过天堂是个什么样子的？”她问我。
I stared at Grandmother and stopped chewing for a moment.我凝视着奶奶，暂时停止了咀嚼。
“Well, do you?” she asked again.“嗯，你想过了么？”她又问了一遍。
“Umm, not really,” I said, growing increasingly uncomfortable with this line of conversation.“唔……没怎么想过，”我说，对于这种类型的对话感到越来越不舒服。
“Well, I’ve been thinking about it lately,” Grandmother said. “I mean, I am getting to that age where I realize that I don’t have much more time here on earth. And I’ve just been thinking lately about heaven—and what’s there and what’s not. And I just hope that when it’s my time to leave this world, the next one has everything that I love here.”“嗯，我最近一直在想这个问题，”奶奶说，“我的意思是，我也快到那个年纪了，所以我意识到我在这个世上的时间已经不多了。最近我一直在思考天堂是个什么样子的——那里有什么，没有什么。而我只希望当我离开这个世界的时候，另一个世界里也有我在这边所深爱的一切。”
“And what’s that, Grandmother?”“那是些什么，奶奶？”
“Good food, good people, and good coffee.”“好吃的食物，好相处的人，还有上好的咖啡。”
I smiled at Grandmother’s simplicity and love for the good things in life. And I hoped that she would find exactly what she would be looking for in the next world.我对奶奶的纯朴，以及对生命中美好事物的热爱报以微笑，也希望她真能在另一个世界找到她所想要的一切。
Grandmother passed away later that week. They found her sitting in her favorite rocker in the living room, half a cup of freshly brewed coffee by her side. And somehow, I knew that it was a sign that everything would be all right for Grandmother.奶奶在那周末去世了。他们发现她坐在客厅里她最喜欢的摇椅上，身旁还有半杯新煮的咖啡。不知道为什么，我明白这是一个征兆，表明了奶奶会一切都好。
Now, years later, I’m frequently reminded of my Grandmother. The scent of freshly baked banana bread, or the way someone will kiss me on my cheek will bring a quick flashback of her. But my memories are always most vivid when I step foot into a coffee shop, the aroma of freshly roasted beans and brewed coffee livening my senses.现在，多年过去了，我不时还会想起奶奶。新出炉的香蕉面包的香气，或某人亲吻我脸颊的方式，都会让我脑海中突然闪现出她的身影。不过每当我迈进一间咖啡馆时，我的记忆总是特别鲜明，那新烤的咖啡豆和新煮咖啡的香气总能让我的感觉活跃起来。
“What would you like?” the person at the counter asks me.“您想要点什么？”柜台上的人问我。
“A medium hazelnut,” I say. “Cream with just a touch of sugar.”“一杯中杯的榛子咖啡，”我说，“加奶油和一丁点糖。”
英语经典美文13
去年年底，比彻姆接到一个模特代理公司打来的电话，说想请她担任一场婚纱时装表演的模特，并承诺报酬丰厚，且会在有线电视上转播。伊薇特欣然接受了这个邀请，并激动地把这个消息告诉了她的未婚夫。
When Yvette Beauchamp got a call from an agent late last year asking her to model in a bridal fashion show, she excitedly told her fiancé, Ric Feinberg. The show paid well and would even be seen on cable television.
国际在线报道：伊薇特·比彻姆今年39岁，是一位减肥锻炼器材的示范模特，同时也为电视购物节目里的产品展示作模特。 去年年底，比彻姆接到一个模特代理公司打来的电话，说想请她担任一场婚纱时装表演的模特，并承诺报酬丰厚，且会在有线电视上转播。伊薇特欣然接受了这个邀请，并激动地把这个消息告诉了她的未婚夫。
今年1月22日，当伊薇特身着象牙色的Oleg Cassini(美国高级时装品牌)礼服、头披白纱，随着颤动人心的婚礼进行曲步入甬道的时候，她还不知道自己是真正的新娘。在她身后的两名女子也身着婚纱在音乐声中行进，所以她以为自己只是在进行时装表演。由于一心想着表演，她也没注意到一个极不寻常的情况：观众们都穿着正式的礼服。当看到她的母亲和父亲也在场时，她还是没有猜到这是她的婚礼。
伊薇特说：“如果那天是我的生日的话，我也许会猜出是怎么回事了。可是，谁能想到自己会有一个意外的婚礼呢?”
伊薇特的未婚夫范伯格今年44岁，是佛罗里达州坦帕市的一位律师。他的朋友们赞赏他既富于创造力，又很疯狂。范伯格在一次看电视里的时装表演时突然冒出这个主意，于是策划了这场秘密的婚礼。他的朋友们表示羡慕他的勇气，但认为策划秘密婚礼既紧迫又有压力。一些女性朋友对范伯格说，如果她们的.男朋友给她们一个秘密婚礼，她们会非常生气。但范伯格了解伊薇特，他说：“伊薇特喜欢惊喜。”
伊薇特和范伯格是在20xx年秋天相遇的，6个月后，他们开始约会。范伯格的第一次婚姻以离婚告终，伊薇特则离过两次婚。范伯格说：“我向伊薇特求过差不多60次婚，最初没有打动她，她还没认定我是能跟她走完余生的人。”曾经有一次伊薇特已经同意跟他结婚，但又反悔了，伊薇特说：“我只是不想仓促地做任何事。”
之后，伊薇特发现自己怀孕了，而这时她又和前夫相遇了，似乎旧情复燃。8个月后，当伊薇特出现在范伯格面前时，她给了他一个惊喜——举着一块纸板，上面写着“你愿意娶我吗?”范伯格回答说：“绝对愿意!”
1年后，也就是20xx年，他们的女儿雪梨出世。12月份他们搬到了佛罗里达州的圣彼得堡市，这时伊薇特又怀孕了。这时，范伯格的秘密计划已经展开了行动。当伊薇特问他什么时候结婚时，他就想方设法推脱。最后，他答应在20xx年3月在他们的院子里举行婚礼。然后到坦帕领取结婚证书。
与此同时，范伯格得到了伊薇特好朋友诺拉·冈瑟的支持。诺拉也是一名模特，她联系到一家电视台专门播放婚礼节目的频道的制片人，制片人同意转播这场秘密婚礼。另一方面，范伯格劝说大卫婚礼用品商店(伊薇特的婚纱就是范伯格从这家商店买的)的老板，举办一场婚纱时装表演，以便把婚纱借给秘密婚礼上的其他模特穿。
范伯格把婚礼地点定在迈阿密的国家酒店，并准备好了一切事宜。然后，他秘密同一个模特经纪公司交涉，请他们“聘请”伊薇特作婚纱模特。之后，范伯格又静悄悄地邀请了约50位亲友，伊薇特的父亲专程从洪都拉斯飞到迈阿密。
当亲友们都已经在酒店的礼堂里就座，伊薇特步入甬道时，她看见前方有一个老年男士背对她站着，以为他是扮演新娘父亲的模特。于是伊薇特走过去从身后挽住他的胳膊。但是直到走到了甬道的一半，伊薇特才发现：这个人不是模特，而是她的父亲!她发出吃惊的尖叫。这时她又看见甬道尽头的范伯格和他们的女儿，以及站在范伯格身边的、他最好的朋友帕特里克·史密斯。伊薇特又是一声尖叫。
当伊薇特走到他们身边，她似乎已经被极度的惊喜弄得晕眩了。范伯格对她说：“我们现在就要结婚了。”
婚礼当天的晚上，伊薇特把范伯格 “拷问”到深夜3点钟。最后，伊薇特知道了秘密计划里的所有细节。她说：“我不可能有比这更好的婚礼了!” When Yvette Beauchamp got a call from an agent late last year asking her to model in a bridal fashion show, she excitedly told her fiancé, Ric Feinberg. The show paid well and would even be seen on cable television.
What Ms. Beauchamp didn"t know was that she had just been booked for her own wedding.
On Jan. 22, when Ms. Beauchamp stepped out on the runway to throbbing dance music in an ivory halter dress by Oleg Cassini, she said she still had not figured out that she was to be a real-life bride. After all, two other women were also parading in bridal gowns. "I was just hamming it up for the cameras," explained Ms. Beauchamp, a 39-year-old brunette with a giant smile whose work as a fitness model includes demonstrating exercise equipment on televised shopping shows.
In her zeal, she said, she failed to notice that the unusually boisterous audience was in formal wear and included her mother, Gloria Beauchamp, and Mr. Feinberg"s father, Dr. Sidney Feinberg, who had brought along his Yorkie clad in a tiny tuxedo jacket.
"Maybe if it was my birthday I would have guessed something was going on," Ms. Beauchamp said, maintaining she was clueless. "I mean, who would ever think of a surprise wedding?"
Mr. Feinberg, a 44-year-old lawyer in Tampa, Fla., whom friends describe as either creative or crazy, in equally admiring tones, got the idea while watching a fashion show on television. Some of Mr. Feinberg"s friends said they envied his courage but thought planning a secret wedding rather stressful. Several women told him they would kill their boyfriends if greeted by a surprise ceremony.
"Yvette likes surprises," Mr. Feinberg said. "She"s the kind of person who loves it when someone asks their girlfriend to marry them on the Jumbotron at a hockey game."
The couple met in fall 20xx and started dating about six months later. "I probably asked her to marry me 60 times," said Mr. Feinberg, whose first marriage ended in divorce. "Initially it didn"t strike her that I was going to be the man she"d be with the rest of her life." At one point she agreed to live with him, but then broke it off altogether. "I just didn"t want to rush into anything," said Ms. Beauchamp, a veteran of two divorces.
But larger forces seemed to take hold. First Ms. Beauchamp discovered she was pregnant. At that, the couple reunited. Eight months later she surprised Mr. Feinberg again with a cardboard sign on which she had written "Will you marry us?"
"I said "absolutely," " Mr. Feinberg recalled.
Their daughter, Sydney Marie, was born a year ago, and in December the family moved into a house by the water in St. Petersburg, Fla. - whereupon Ms. Beauchamp discovered she was pregnant again.
By then Mr. Feinberg"s secret plan was unfolding, so when Ms. Beauchamp asked about setting a date he was evasive. Finally he agreed to a March ceremony in their yard, and then took her to Tampa, where they applied for a wedding license.
Mr. Feinberg had meanwhile enlisted Ms. Beauchamp"s best friend, Nora Guenther, who is also a model. Both knew that the fashion show had to appear genuine, so Ms. Guenther contacted the producers of a Learning Channel show that features weddings. Mr. Feinberg then persuaded the David"s Bridal store where he had bought the wedding gown to orchestrate a fashion show, with dresses on loan to other models.
Mr. Feinberg settled on the National Hotel in Miami for the event, and hired caterers and a makeup artist. He sealed the deal by asking a modeling agency in Orlando to "hire" Ms. Beauchamp. Then he quietly invited about 50 friends and relatives, including the bride"s father, Hector Beauchamp, who flew in from Honduras.
While guests gathered inside the hotel, the penthouse suite was transformed into a dressing area for Ms. Beauchamp and other models, who were really obliging friends of Ms. Guenther"s. The plot thickened when Ms. Beauchamp showed up with her own makeup artist, provoking whispered debate over whether she was in on the plan or just a diva.
At last, with guests in their seats, it was time for Ms. Beauchamp"s aha! moment. As she moved down the runway, she encountered a man facing away from her who looked to be posing as the father of the bride. She grabbed his arm from behind.
That man was no model, but she was halfway down the runway before she realized it was her father. "I was so focused on the show, and on what I was supposed to be doing," she said later.
Between screams she made her way to Mr. Feinberg and their daughter, gathered with Patrick Smith, the bridegroom"s best friend.
"We"re going to get married right now," Mr. Feinberg told Ms. Beauchamp, who seemed stunned and pleased as Mr. Smith, a Florida notary, officiated.
That night, the new Mrs. Feinberg grilled her husband until 3 a.m. "Once I knew, I started putting things together that people had said and done," she said. "All those lies!"
"I couldn"t have had a better wedding," she added, laughing. "But I told Ric I"m still waiting for my check for the fashion show."
英语经典美文14
Feeling of Youth
No young man believes he shall ever die. It was a saying of my brother’s, and a fine one. There is a feeling of Eternity in youth, which makes us amend for everything. To be young is to be as one of the Immortal Gods. One half of time indeed is flown-the other half remains in store for us with all its countless treasures; for there is no line drawn, and we see no limit to our hopes and wishes. We make the coming age our own
The vast, the unbounded prospect lies before us.
Death. old age. are words without a meaning. that pass by us like the idea air which we regard not. Others may have undergone, or may still be liable to them-we "bear a charmed life”, which laughs to scorn all such sickly fancies. As in setting out on delightful journey, we strain our eager gaze forward-
Bidding the lovely scenes at distance hail!
And see no end to the landscape, new objects presenting themselves as we advance; so, in the commencement of life, we set no bounds to our inclinations. nor to the unrestricted opportunities of gratifying them. we have as yet found no obstacle, no disposition to flag; and it seems that we can go on so forever. We look round in a new world, full of life, and motion, and ceaseless progress; and feel in ourselves all the vigor and spirit to keep pace with it, and do not foresee from any present symptoms how we shall be left behind in the natural course of things, decline into old age, and drop into the grave. It is the simplicity, and as it were abstractedness of our feelings in youth, that (so to speak) identifies us with nature, and (our experience being slight and our passions strong) deludes us into a belief of being immortal like it. Our short-lives connection with existence we fondly flatter ourselves, is an indissoluble and lasting union-a honeymoon that knows neither coldness, jar, nor separation. As infants smile and sleep, we are rocked in the cradle of our wayward fancies, and lulled into security by the roar of the universe around us0we quaff the cup of life with eager haste without draining it, instead of which it only overflows the more-objects press around us, filling the mind with their magnitude and with the strong of desires that wait upon them, so that we have no room for the thoughts of death.、
英语经典美文15
Passing through the Atlanta airport one morning, I caught one of those trains that take travelers from the main terminal to their boarding gates. Free, sterile and impersonal, the trains run back and forth all day long. Not many people consider them fun, but on this Saturday I heard laughter.
一天早晨去亚特兰大机场，我看见一辆列车载载着旅客从航空集散站抵达登记处。这类免费列车每天单调、无味地往返其间，没人觉得有趣。但这个周六我却听到了笑声。
At the front of the first car – looking out the window at the track that lay ahead – were a man and his son.
在头节车厢的最前面，坐着一个男人和他的儿子。他们正透过窗户观赏着一直往前延伸的铁道。
We had just stopped to let off passengers, and the doors wee closing again. “Here we go! Hold on to me tight!” the father said. The boy, about five years old, made sounds of sheer delight.
我们停下来等候旅客下车，之后，车门关上了。“走吧。拉紧我!”父亲说。儿子大约5岁吧，一路喜不自禁。
I know we’re supposed to avoid making racial distinctions these days, so I hope no one will mind if I mention that most people on the train were white, dressed for business trips or vacations – and that the father and son were black, dressed in clothes that were just about as inexpensive as you can buy.
车上坐的`多半是衣冠楚楚，或公差或度假的白人，只有这对黑人父子穿着朴素简单。我知道如今我们不该种族歧视，我希望我这样描述没人介意。
“Look out there!” the father said to his son. “See that pilot? I bet he’s walking to his plane.” The son craned his neck to look.
“快看!”父亲对儿子说：“看见那位飞行员了吗?我敢肯定是去开飞机的。”儿子伸长脖子看。
As I got off, I remembered some thing I’d wanted to buy in the terminal. I was early for my flight, so I decided to go back.
下了车后我突然想起还得在航空集散站买点东西。离起飞时间还早，于是我决定再乘车回去。
I did – and just as I was about to reboard the train for my gate, I saw that the man and his son had returned too. I realized then that they hadn’t been heading for a flight, but had just been riding the shuttle.
正准备上车的时候，我看到那对父子也来了。我意识到他们不是来乘飞机的，而是特意来坐区间列车的。
“I want to ride some more!”
“我还想再坐一会儿!”
“More?” the father said, mock-exasperated but clearly pleased. “You’re not tired?”
“再坐一会儿!”父亲嗔怪模仿着儿子的语调，“你还不累?”
“This is fun!” his son said.
“真好玩!”儿子说。
“All right,” the father replied, and when a door opened we all got on.
“好吧，”父亲说。车门开了，我们都上了车。
There are parents who can afford to send their children to Europe or Disneyland, and the children turn out rotten. There are parents who live in million-dollar houses and give their children cars and swimming pools, yet something goes wrong. Rich and poor, black and white, so much goes wrong so often.
我们很多父母有能力送孩子去欧洲，去狄斯尼乐园，可孩子还是堕落了。很多父母住豪华别墅，孩子有车有游泳池，可孩子还是学坏了。富人、穷人，黑人、白人，那么多人都轻易学坏了。
“Where are all these people going, Daddy?” the son asked.
“爸爸，这些人去哪?”儿子问。
“All over the world,” came the reply. The other people in the air port wee leaving for distant destinations or arriving at the ends of their journeys. The father and son, though, were just riding this shuttle together, making it exciting, sharing each other’s company.
“世界各地。”父亲回答。机场来来往往的人流或准备远行，或刚刚归来。这对父子却在乘坐区间列车，享受着父子间的亲情与陪伴。
So many troubles in this country – crime, the murderous soullessness that seems to be taking over the lives of many young people, the lowering of educational standards, the increase in vile obscenities in public, the disappearance of simple civility. So many questions about what to do. Here was a father who cared about spending the day with his son and who had come up with this plan on a Saturday morning.
我们正面临许多问题：犯罪、越来越多的年轻人变得冷漠无情、文化水平下降、公共场合卑劣猥亵上升、起码的礼貌丧失，等等。我们有那么多的问题要处理。而这里。这位父亲却很在意花上一天陪伴儿子，并在这样一个星期六的早上，提出这个计划。
The answer is so simple: parents who care enough to spend time, and to pay attention and to try their best. It doesn’t cost a cent, yet it is the most valuable thing in the world.
其实答案很简单：父母愿意花时间，愿意关注，愿意尽心尽职。这不要花一分钱，可这却是世间无价之宝。
The train picked up speed, and the father pointed something out, and the boy laughed again.
火车加速了。父亲指着窗外说着什么，儿子直乐。
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