英语经典美文阅读(合集)
在平时的学习、工作或生活中，大家都接触过美文吧？美文是指不带实用目的专供直觉欣赏的作品，带有实用目的去写作，那么问题来了，怎样才能完成一篇优秀的美文呢？下面是小编整理的英语经典美文阅读，欢迎大家分享。
英语经典美文阅读1
What I have Lived for 我为何而生
Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.
I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy---ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of my life for a few hours for this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness---that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what---at last---I have found.
With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.
Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always it brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.
This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.
译文：
我为何而生
我的一生被三种简单却又无比强烈的激情所控制：对爱的渴望，对知识的探索和对人类苦难难以抑制的屿。这些激情像狂风，把我恣情吹向四方，掠过苦痛的大海，迫使我濒临绝望的边缘。
我寻求爱，首先因为它使我心为之着迷，这种难以名状的美妙迷醉使我愿意用所有的余生去换取哪怕几个小时这样的幸福。我寻求爱，还因为它能缓解我心理上的孤独中，我感觉心灵的战栗，仿如站在世界的边缘而面前是冰冷，无底的死亡深渊。我寻求爱，因为在我所目睹的结合中，我仿佛看到了圣贤与诗人们所向往的天堂之景。这就是我所寻找的，虽然对人的一生而言似乎有些遥不可及，但至少是我用尽一生所领悟到的。
我用同样的激情去寻求知识。我希望能理解人类的心灵，希望能够知道群星闪烁的缘由。我试图领悟毕达哥拉斯所景仰的“数即万物”的思想。我已经悟出了其中的'一点点道理，尽管并不是很多。
爱和知识，用它们的力量把人引向天堂。但是同情却总把人又拽回到尘世中来。痛苦的呼喊声回荡在我的内心。饥饿的孩子，受压迫的难民，贫穷和痛苦的世界，都是对人类所憧憬的美好生活的无情嘲弄。我渴望能够减少邪恶，但是我无能为力，我也难逃其折磨。
这就是我的一生。我已经找到它的价值。而且如果有机会，我很愿意能再活它一次。
英语经典美文阅读2
However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not as bad as you are.
不论你的生活如何卑贱，你要面对它生活，不要躲避它，更别用恶言咒骂它。它不像你那样坏。
It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is.
你最富有的时候，倒是看似最穷。爱找缺点的人就是到天堂里也能找到缺点。
You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poor-house. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the alms-house as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.
你要爱你的生活，尽管它贫穷。甚至在一个济贫院里，你也还有愉快、高兴、光荣的时候。夕阳反射在济贫院的窗上，像身在富户人家窗上一样光亮；在那门前，积雪同在早春融化。我只看到，一个从容的人，在哪里也像在皇宫中一样，生活得心满意足而富有愉快的思想。
The town's poor seem to me often to live the most independent lives of any. Maybe they are simply great enough to receive without misgiving. Most think that they are above being supported by the town; but it often happens that they are not above supporting themselves by dishonest means, which should be more disreputable.
城镇中的穷人，我看，倒往往是过着最独立不羁的生活。也许因为他们很伟大，所以受之无愧。大多数人以为他们是超然的'，不靠城镇来支援他们；可是事实上他们是往往利用了不正当的手段来对付生活，他们是毫不超脱的，毋宁是不体面的。
Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Turn the old, return to them.
视贫穷如园中之花而像圣人一样耕植它吧！不要找新的花样，无论是新的朋友或新的衣服，来麻烦你自己。找旧的，回到那里去。
Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.
万物不变，是我们在变。你的衣服可以卖掉，但要保留你的思想。
英语经典美文阅读3
One of the most successful, influential and beloved women in American history, Eleanor Roosevelt once said that she had one regret: she wished she had been prettier. Who hasn’t felt the same way? We are all too aware of our physical imperfections. To overcome them, we spend billions upon billions of dollars every year on cosmetics, diet products, fashion, and plastic surgery.
Why do we care so much about how we look? Because it matters. Because beauty is powerful. Because even when we learn to value people mostly for being kind and wise and funny, we are still moved by beauty. No matter how much we argue against it or pretend to be immune, beauty exerts its power over us. There is simply no escape.
Aristotle said, “Beauty is a greater recommendation than any letter of introduction.” It’s not fair, but it’s true. We simply treat beautiful people better than we do others. Attach a photograph of a beautiful author to an essay, and people will think that is more creative and more intelligently written than exactly the same essay accompanied by the photo of a homely author.
Our sensitivity to physical beauty is not something we can control at will. We are born with it. Experiments conducted by psychologist Judith J. Langlois showed that even small infants prefer to look at attractive faces. Before they have met a single supermodel, before they have watched a single TV show, before they have opened up a single fashion magazine, they are drawn to the same faces which adults have judged to be attractive.
There are more important things in life than beauty. But as Etcoff says, “We have to understand beauty, or we will always be enslaved by it.” If you aim to be wise and kind and funny, it doesn’t mean that you can’t also try your best to look beautiful. There’s no reason to feel guilty about being moved by beauty’s power. It moves us all.
翻译：美的力量
身为美国史上最成功、最有影响力且最受人喜爱的女性之一的罗斯福夫人曾说她有一个遗憾：她希望自己长得更漂亮。谁没有过同样的想法呢？我们都强烈感觉到自己身体的缺陷。为了克服缺陷，我们每年都要花费几十亿美元--在化妆品、减肥食品、流行时尚与整容手术上。
我们如此这么在意自己的外貌？因为它很重要。因为美的力量很大。因为即使我们学着基本上去看重仁慈、智能、风趣的人，但我们仍会受到美的感动。无论我们多么用力辩驳，或假装对它免疫，美仍然对我们产生影响。根本无法逃避。
亚里斯多德说：“美是比任何介绍信都要有用的推荐函。”这并不公平，但却是事实。我们就是会对美丽的人比较好。把一位美丽作家的照片贴在作品上，读者就会认为这篇文章较有创意，写得更有智能。完全相同的文章配上相貌平凡的作家照片，评价就会较低。
我们对外在美的.敏感，不是可以控制自如的。我们天生就这么敏感。心理学家朱迪丝蓝洛斯的实验显示，就连小婴儿也喜欢看漂亮的脸。他们从来没有见过超级名模、没看过电视节目，也没翻开过时尚杂志，却已经受到大人也认为有魅力的脸庞所吸引。
人生中有比美丽更重要的事，但就如艾特考夫所说：“我们必须了解美，否则我们永远都会是它的奴隶。”如果你的目标是要聪明、仁慈又风趣，这并不代表你就不能尽力让自己变得漂亮。被美的力量感动，并不需要有罪恶感，因为所有的人都受它感动。
英语经典美文阅读4
A pet’s commandments
宠物情缘：我与狗狗的约定
A dog is our friend, who will never oppose and hurt us. No matter who you are, wealthy or poor,they will always be with you. Now, please read these pet`s commandments, which will help you get a better understanding of your faithful friend.
狗狗是我们的朋友，它永远不会与我们作对，伤害我们。不管你是谁，贫穷或富有，它们会一直守护在你的身旁，寸步不离。现在，请看一看狗狗与我们的这些约定吧，它能够帮助你进一步地了解自己那忠实的.朋友。
My life is likely to last ten to fifteen years. Any separation from you will be painful for me. Remember that before you buy me.
我这一生大概能活10到15年，和你分别是件无比痛苦的事。在买下我之前请记住这些。
Give me time to understand what you want of me.
请给我一点时间，让我理解你对我的要求是什么。
Don’t be angry for me for long and don’t lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your entertainment and your friends. I have only you.
请被对我生气太久，也别把我关起来当做是惩罚。因为，你有你的工作，你的娱乐，你的朋友。而我，只有你。
Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don’t understand your words, I understand your voice when it’s speaking to me.
时不时地和我说说话吧，虽然我听不懂你的语言，但当你开口说话时，我会懂得你的声音。
Be aware that however you treat me, I’ll never forget it and if it’s cruel it may affect me forever.
请注意无论你如何对待我，我都永远不会忘记它;如果它是残酷的，可能会给我带来永久的影响。
Remerber before you hit me that I have teeth that could easily crush the bones of your hand, but that I choose not to bite you.
在打我前，请不要忘记，我其实拥有可以轻易咬碎你手骨的牙齿，但我绝不会选择去伤害你。
Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I`m not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.
当你责骂我懒惰、不听话前，请你问问自己：也许我遇到了什么问题，也许我吃的东西不对，也许我在太阳下跑得太久了，又或许我已经年老体弱了。
Take care of me when I get old. You too, will grow old.
当我老了时，请好好照顾我。因为我们都会有老的一天。
When I will leave, you must guard at my side. Never say "I can’t bear to watch it" or "let it happen in my absence". Everything is easy for me if you are there. Remember, I love you.
当我即将要离开这个世界的时候候，请一定要守护在我的身边。请不要说"我不忍心看下去"或"让我不在场的时候让它去吧"这样的话。只要有你在我的身边，我可以坦然接受任何事情。记住，我爱你!
英语经典美文阅读5
Failure doesn’t mean you are failuer,
It does mean you haven’t succeeded yet.
Failure doesn’t mean you have accomplished nothing,
It does mean you have learned something.
Failure doesn’t mean you have been a fool,
It does mean you had a lot of faith.
Failure doesn’t mean you’ve been disgraced,
It does mean you were willing to try.
Failure doesn’t mean you don’t have it,
It does mean you have to do something in a different way.
Failure doesn’t mean you are inferior,
It does mean you are not perfect.
Failure doesn’t mean you’ve wasted your life,
It does mean you have a reason to start afresh.
Failure doesn’t mean you should give up,
It does mean you must try harder.
Failure doesn’t mean you’ll never make it,
It does mean it will take a little longer.
Failure doesn’t mean God has abandoned you,
It does mean God has a better idea.
译文：
失败不表明你是一个失败者，
它只是意味着你尚未成功而已。
失败不表明你一事无成，
它意味着你学有所成。
失败不表明你是一个傻子，
它意味着你充满信心。
失败不表明你蒙受羞辱，
它意味着你勇于尝试。
失败不表明你尚未拥有，
它意味着你必须改换方式再试锋镝。
失败不表明你低人一等，
它意味着你尚不优异。
失败不表明你浪费生命，
它意味着你可以重新选择前景。
失败不表明你应该屈服，
它意味着你须更加努力。
失败不表明你永难遂意，
它意味着成功还需假以时日。
失败不表明上帝抛弃了你，
它意味着上帝还有更好的主意。
英语经典美文阅读6
1. The more we know about ourselves, the more power we have to behave better. We each have an infinite capacity for self-deception countless unconscious ways we protect ourselves from pain, uncertainty, and responsibility often at the expense of others and of ourselves.
1.越了解自己就越要谨慎而为。我们每个人在 自欺欺人 方面的潜能都是无限的，尽管大多数时候，我们这么做都是无意为之，是为了保护自己免受痛苦、责任和不确定的伤害。然而，当我们在欺骗自己的同时，可能就要用他人的痛苦、责任和不确定来作为代价。
2. Notice the good. We each carry a predisposition to dwell on what's wrong in our lives. The antidote is to deliberately take time out each day to notice what's going right, and to feel grateful for what you've got.
2.关注好的方面。我们与生俱来的一种特质就是看到生活中不好的地方。而治愈这种顽症的良药就是有意识地每天花一点时间去关注好的方面，对你所获得的'抱有感恩之心。
3. Let go of certainty. The opposite isn't uncertainty. It's openness, curiosity and a willingness to embrace paradox, rather than choose up sides. The ultimate challenge is to accept ourselves exactly as we are, but never stop trying to learn and grow.
3.世上没有确定之事。确定的反面就是不确定，就是开放、好奇和愿意接受悖论的思想，而不是选边站。人生的终极挑战就是接受真正的自己，同时永不停歇地去求知、去成长。
4. Never seek your value at the expense of someone else's. When we're feeling devalued, our reactive instinct is to do anything to restore what we've lost. Devaluing the person who made you feel bad will only prompt more of the same in return.
4.永远不要通过贬低别人来找回自己的价值。当我们被人看扁的时候，本能反应就是要找回我们失去的东西、以牙还牙。然而，贬低看扁我们的人的这种做法只会招致更多的恶果，造成恶性循环。
5. Do the most important thing first in the morning and you'll never have an unproductive day. Most of us have the highest energy early in the day, and the fewest distractions. By focusing for a designated period of time, without interruption, on the highest value task for no more than 90 minutes, it's possible to get an extraordinary amount of work accomplished in a short time.
5.最重要的事放在早上做，你的一天都会充满效率。大多数人早上的精力都是最充沛的，而且这个时候受到的干扰是最少的。拨出一段特定的时间，不要超过一个半小时，集中注意力，排除一切干扰，来完成价值最高的工作。这样，在短时间内你就能拥有非凡的工作成绩。
6. It's possible to be excellent at anything, but nothing valuable comes easy and discomfort is part of growth. Getting better at something depends far less on inborn talent than it does the willingness to practice the activity over and over, and to seek out regular feedback, the more precise the better.
6.你可能出色地做到任何事，但记住，成功来之不易，挫折也是成长的一部分。能不能做好一件事，天赋只占很小的一部分原因，而愿不愿意一次次地去做，去寻求反馈才是关键因素，收到的反馈越多，准确度越高，效果越好。
7. The more behaviors you intentionally make automatic in your life, the more you'll get done. If you have to think about doing something each time you do it, you probably won't do it for very long. The trick is to get more things done using less energy and conscious self-control. How often do you forget to brush your teeth?
7.你在生活中越是能自动自发地做事，你的收获就越多。如果在做一件事之前你总要想一想，那么这件事你可能不会做得太长久。秘诀就是花更少的力气，少去想为什么要做，同时能完成更多的事情。想想看：你会经常想要不要去刷牙这个问题吗?
8. Slow down. Speed is the enemy of nearly everything in life that really matters. It's addictive and it undermines quality, compassion, depth, creativity, appreciation and real relationship.
8.放慢速度。追求速度几乎是生活中所有重要的事情的天敌。求快速会有损于做事的质量、同情心、深度、创造力、鉴赏力，还有真正重要的人际关系。
9. The feeling of having enough is magical. It rarely depends on how much you've got. More is rarely better. Too much of anything eventually becomes toxic.
9.知足常乐的感觉是奇妙的。幸福往往不在于你真的拥有多少。很多情况下，拥有太多不一定就是好事。拥有太多反而会成为带来烦恼。
10. Do the right thing because it's the right thing to do, and don't expect anything in return.Your values are one of the only possessions you have that no one can take away from you. Doing the right thing may not always get you what you think you want in the moment, but it will almost always leave you feeling better about yourself in the long run.
10.做好事因为它应该做，而不要希求有什么回报。人的价值是少数只属于你的、别人抢不走的财富。做好事可能不会立刻有好报，不过从长远来看，做好事总会让你感觉更加良好。
11. Add more value in the world than you're using up. We spend down the earth's resources every day. Life's primary challenge is to put more back into the world than we take out.
11.付出要比索取多。我们每天都在消耗地球上的资源，而生活最基本的挑战就是，向这个世界索取了多少，就要回报得比索取更多才行。
12. Savor every moment even the difficult ones. It all goes so fast.
12.享受每一刻 即使是困难的时候，也要细细品味。生命中的每一刻都是转瞬即逝的。
英语经典美文阅读7
Sitting on a grassy grave, beneath one of the windows of the church, was a little girl.With her head bent back she was gazing up at the sky and singing, while one of her little hands was pointing to a tiny cloud that hovered like a golden feather above her head. The sun, which had suddenly become very bright, shining on her glossy hair, gave it a metallic luster, and it was difficult to say what was the color, dark bronze or black. So completely absorbed was she in watching the cloud to which her strange song or incantation seemed addressed, that she did not observe me when I rose and went towards her.Over her head, high up in the blue, a lark that was soaring towards' the same gauzy cloud was singing, as if in rivalry. As I slowly approached the child, I could see by her forehead, which, in the sunshine seemed like a globe of pearl, and especially by her complexion, that she was uncommonly lovely. Her eyes, which at one moment seemed blue-gray, at another violet, were shaded by long black lashes, curving backward in a most peculiar way, and these matched in hue her eyebrows, and the tresses that were tossed about her tender throat and were quivering in the sunlight. All this I did not take in at once; for at first I could see nothing but those quivering, glittering, changeful eyes turned up into my face. Gradually the other features, especially the sensitive full-lipped mouth, grew upon me as I stood silently gazing. Here seemed to me a more perfect beauty than had ever come to me in my loveliest dreams of beauty. Yet it was not her beauty so much as the look she gave me that fascinated me, melted me.
在教堂的一扇窗下长满绿草的坟堆上，坐着个小女孩。她仰着头，望着天空，唱着歌儿。她的小手指点着一朵飘浮在她头顶的金色羽毛般的小彩云。突然间，阳光显得格外灿烂，照在她光泽的头发上，给它涂上一层金属似的光彩，很难说出它突竟是什么颜色，是深褐色，还是黑色。她是那么全神贯注地望着彩云，她那奇妙的歌声，或可说是喃喃自语，似乎是对着那彩云而发的。因而她没有注意到我站起身来朝她走去。在她上空高高的蓝天里，一只展翅飞向那朵轻盈透明的彩云的云雀也在歌唱，似乎在与她比赛。我慢步向小女孩走去，她那在阳光下如同珍珠一样圆润的前额，特别是她那肤色，使我感到她真是异常可爱。媳耶黑黑的长睫毛非常别致地朝后弯曲着，掩映着一双一会儿象是蓝灰色的，一会儿又象是紫罗兰色的眼睛。她的长睫毛同她的眉毛和头发色泽调和，披拂在她娇嫩的脖子上的发绺，在阳光里轻轻飘动。我并没有马上领略到这一切，因为我一开始只注意了那双闪闪发光、富于表情、盯着我看的眼睛。我伫立在一边默默地注视着她，才渐渐地看清了她容貌的`其他部分，特别是那张灵敏而又丰满的小嘴。呈现在我眼苎的这一美的形象似乎比我在最美好的梦境中所见过的更美。然而，与其说是她的美丽，不如说是她朝我看的那种眼神，更使我着迷，更使我陶醉.
英语经典美文阅读8
It's never good news when your business adviser calls out of the blue and says, "Wes, we need to talk."
That's what happened to me one spring morning not long after I'd arrived at my office. I own a small agency that handles speaking engagements and literary rights for Christian entertainers, authors and leaders. I started the business in my 20s and it grew to about a dozen employees, earning me enough to provide a comfortable living for my family and to send my kids to college.
That year, though, the company hit a rough patch, so I'd hired a business consultant to give me some ideas for improvement. He's the one who called that April morning.
"Wes," he said, "your company is in more trouble than you know. We need to get together. Soon."
Before I could ask what was wrong he told me he had already been in touch with my banker and my accountant. "How about we meet at your house tonight?" I stammered out an okay and spent the rest of the day in a knot.
That evening, Ken, the consultant, Ed, my banker, and Tom, my CPA, sat down in my living room. Normally they were laid-back Southern guys. Tonight they looked deadly serious. Tom pulled out some spreadsheets and other documents. "Wes," he said, "do you realize how deeply your company's in debt?"
My eyes widened. A while back I'd transferred much of the day-to-day running of the company to two people I trusted. One was my chief operating officer. The other was Tim, my vice president. Tim had joined the business eight years earlier soon after graduating college. The COO had been with me 14 years. We were a team and close friends besides. Most weeks we spent far more time with each other than we did with our families.
Ed, the banker, said, "Wes, I've been getting these phone calls from Tim asking questions about the company's accounts I didn't think were proper."
"Did you know about this line of credit?" Ed continued, pointing to a paper with my signature authorizing the loan for a substantial sum of money. I didn't remember agreeing to borrow that much.
"Take a look at these expenses," Ken said, indicating high-priced hotel rooms and restaurant bills Tim and the COO had charged to the company.
I felt the color drain from my face. What on earth was going on? Yes, the past year had been difficult at work. I was in my 50s and eager to dial back, but I often disagreed with where Tim and the COO wanted to take the company. Still, none of our arguments ever suggested either of them wanted to deceive me.
"The bottom line, Wes," said Ken, "is it's pretty clear these guys are taking advantage of you. We need to do some more research, but at the very least you're going to have to let these guys go. Legal charges may even be in order."
I was stunned. The three of them went over some more figures then told me to lie low till we'd gathered enough documentation to make a clear case for dismissal. "In the meantime we're going to have to figure out how to get your company's finances back in order," said Tom. "You're in a pretty deep hole and it'll take some doing to climb out."
They left and I stumbled upstairs. My wife, Linda, was getting ready for bed. I told her everything. Her face turned ashen. "Wes," she said, "I can't believe it. Those guys are our friends. They betrayed you! Why?"
I shook my head. Until Linda used that word I hadn't thought of it as betrayal. These men were among my best friends. For some reason they'd taken advantage of my trust and drained money from the business we'd worked so hard to build. Maybe there was some explanation. Maybe it wasn't so utterly awful.
The next morning in the office I knew it was that awful. Shock and dismay must've been written all over my face because the minute I said hello to Tim and the COO they stiffened and gave each other a look. The company's offices were small, a two-story brick building in a complex outside Nashville. My office was downstairs. The other two guys worked on the second floor. That day and the days following I sat at my desk listening to the profound silence upstairs. The office was unbearably tense.
英语经典美文阅读9
I started for school very late that morning and was in great dread of a scolding, especially because M. Hamel had said that he would question us on participles, and I did not know the first word about them. For a moment I thought of running away and spending the day out of doors. It was so warm, so bright! The birds were singing at the edge of the woods; and in the open field back of the sawmill the Prussian soldiers were drilling. It was all much more tempting than the rule for participles, but I had the strength to resist, and hurried off to school.
When I passed the town hall there was a crowd in front of the bulletinboard. For the last two years all our bad news had come from there—the lost battles, the draft, the orders of the commanding officer—and I thought to myself, without stopping:
“What can be the matter now?”
Then, as I hurried by as fast as I could go, the blacksmith, Wachter, who was there, with his apprentice, reading the bulletin, called after me:
“Don't go so fast, bub; you ll get to your school in plenty of time!”
I thought he was making fun of me, and reached M. Hamel s little garden all out of breath.
Usually, when school began, there was a great bustle, which could be heard out in the street, the opening and closing of desks, lessons repeated in unison, very loud, with our hands over our ears to understand better, and the teacher s great ruler beating on the table. But now it was all so still! I had counted on the commotion to get to my desk without being seen; but, of course, that day everything had to be as quiet as Sunday morning. Through the window I saw my classmates, already in their places, and M. Hamel walking up and down with his terrible iron ruler under his arm. I had to open the door and go in before everybody. You can imagine how I blushed and how frightened I was.
But nothing happened. M. Hamel saw me and said very kindly:
“Go to your place quickly, little Franz. We were beginning without you.”
I jumped over the bench and sat down at my desk. Not till then, when I had got a little over my fright, did I see that our teacher had on his beautiful green coat, his frilled shirt, and the little black silk cap, all embroidered, that he never wore except on inspection and prize days. Besides, the whole school seemed so strange and solemn. But the thing that surprised me most was to see, on the back benches that were always empty, the village people sitting quietly like ourselves; old Hauser, with his three-cornered hat, the former mayor, the former postmaster, and several others besides. Everybody looked sad; and Hauser had brought an old primer, thumbed at the edges, and he held it open on his knees with his great glasses lying across the pages.
While I was wondering about it all, M. Hamel mounted his chair, and, in the same grave and gentle tone which he had used to me, said:
“My children, this is the last lesson I shall give you. The order has come from Berlin to teach only German in the schools of Alsace and Lorraine. The new master comes tomorrow. This is your last French lesson. I want you to be very attentive.”
What a thunderclap these words were to me!
Oh, the wretches; that was what they had put up at the town hall!
My last French lesson! Why, I hardly knew how to write! I should never learn any more! I must stop there, then! Oh, how sorry I was for not learning my lessons, for seeking birds eggs, or going sliding on the Saar! My books, that had seemed such a nuisance a while ago, so heavy to carry, my grammar, and my history, were old friends now that I couldn t give up. And M. Hamel, too; the idea that he was going away, that I should never see him again, made me forget all about his ruler and how cranky he was.
英语经典美文阅读10
时间的疗伤能力The Healing Power of Time
The healing power of time is legendary. When skies are grey it can be hard to imagine brighter days ahead. When you feel your heart has been crushed1, you wonder how you can overcome the pain and anguish.
时间的疗伤能力是出了名的。当天空变得阴霾,人们很难想像之后也会晴空万里。当你感到心碎,你想弄明白如何才能战胜痛苦。
Time can bring about the most magical changes in our lives. All you need to do is add in a little faith. If you can visualize duanwenw.com a positive outcome and hold onto that vision, no matter what, the healing power of time will prove itself to you. Perhaps the most helpful thing you can do, meanwhile, is seek a distraction. Try to find something meaningful that you can turn to.
时间给我们的生活带来最神奇的改变。你需要做的`只是拥有信念。如果你能在脑中描绘并保留一幅积极乐观的画面,无论发生什么,时间的疗伤能力都会证明给你看。与此同时,寻找一个分散注意力的事也对你很有帮助。努力寻找一些有意义,且你能投入进去的事。
Creative activities can have an amazing healing influence. In times of acute stress you can immerseduanwenw.com yourself almost instantly. Most of us are able to put pen to paper; the act of writing, drawing or painting has the power to quickly absorb your thoughts and shift your energies. Maybe you could turn your hand to sculpting. Have you thought of trying poetry?
创造性的活动具有神奇的疗伤作用。当剧烈的压力席卷而来,你能让自己立刻沉浸在这些创造性的活动中。大多数人都会写写画画,写作和绘画能快速吸引你的注意力,转移你的精力。也许你还能试试雕塑。你想过试着创作诗歌吗?
Remember, the anguish you may feel right now is only temporary. Try to you’re your mind relax and allow yourself the healing power of time.
记住,你现在感到的痛苦只是暂时的。努力放松心情,让时间来疗伤吧。
英语经典美文阅读11
1、“Thank you for your application. We would like to congratulate you,” the letter read. Those words can make your heart skip a beat and bring tears to your eyes. The feeling of following your dreams is inexplicableand proof that all your hard work was worth it.“感谢你的申请。我们要恭喜你，”信上写道。那些话能使你的心为之一颤，让你热泪盈眶。追随梦想的感受是难以言喻的，并且证明你所有的努力都是值得的。
2、It is a signpost in life, a trail marker. It is a day you will never forget, the day you opened that envelope and your future was revealed. But what about all those days in-between—the ones that make and break you, the days that are nothing special.那是人生中的一个标记，人生路上的.里程碑。那是你永远不会忘记的日子，那天你打开那个信封，你的未来就随之展现。但是在你获得录取信之前的所有日子呢？那些使你成功也使你崩溃的日子，那些平平淡淡的日子。
3、Would you have received that acceptance letter had you not attended the college fair at your school? What if you had forgotten to send an essay with your application, would you have been rejected?要是你那时没有参加学校的学院展，你还会收到录取信吗？如果当时在寄申请书的时候，你忘记附上一篇个人陈述，你会被拒绝吗？
4、In life, one step creates the next. Each day is of equal importance, no matter how good or bad. There is no moment in life that does not matter. Regardless of how insignificant, each choice, each day, each idea, is the birth of the next. Something simple can completely reshapeyour life. It’s just like the Butterfly Effect and you never know what is at the end. To go back in time and change one moment in the many that create your life could change everything that follows.人生中，步步相随。无论好与坏，每一天都一样的重要。人生中没有一个时刻是无关紧要的。不管如何不值一提，每个选择、每一天、每个想法，都会引出下一步。简单的事情可以完全重塑你的人生。那就像是“蝴蝶效应”，你永远不知道最后的结果是什么。若回顾从前并改变创造你人生的众多时刻中的一个，随后的一切也会被改变。
5、If I’ve learned anything, it is that everything matters. You can struggle through life in an attempt to create the perfect path, but the truth is you will always wonder if it could have been better. Everything is important and nothing need be changed—to climb up the hill may be difficult, but you’ll reach the top no matter which path you choose.要是说我悟出什么道理，那就是任何事情都是重要的。你可以奋斗一生，试图创造完美的人生之路，但事实是你总是怀疑是否原本有更好的路可以走。每件事情都是重要的，任何事情都无需改变——攀山的过程可能是艰辛的，但无论你选择哪条道路，你终会到达顶峰。
英语经典美文阅读12
My grandmother became a widow in 1970. Shortly after that, we went to the animal shelter to pick out a puppy to keep her company. Grandma decided on a little terrier that had a reddish-brown spot above each eye. Because of these spots, the dog was promptly named Penny.
Grandma and Penny quickly became very attached to each other, but that attachment grew much stronger about three years later when Grandma had a stroke. Grandma could no longer work, so when she came home from the hospital, she and Penny were constant companions.
After her stroke, it became a real problem for Grandma to let Penny in and out because the door was at the bottom of a flight of stairs. So a mechanism using a rope and pulley was installed from the back door to a handle at the top of the stairs. Grandma just had to pull the handle to open and close the door. If the store was out of Penny's favorite dog food, Grandma would make one of us cook Penny browned beef with diced potatoes in it. I can remember teasing my grandmother that she loved that dog better than she loved her family.
As the years passed, Grandma and Penny became inseparable. Grandma's old house could be filled to the brim with people, but if Grandma went to take her nap, Penny walked along beside her and stayed by her side until she awoke. As Penny aged, she could no longer jump up on the bed to lay next to Grandma, so she laid on the rug beside the bed. If Grandma went into the bathroom, Penny would hobble along beside her, wait outside the door and accompany her back to the bed or chair. Grandma never went anywhere without her faithful companion by her side.
The time came when both my grandmother and Penny's health were failing fast. Penny couldn't get around very well, and Grandma had been hospitalized several times. My uncle and I lived with Grandma, so Penny was never left alone, even when Grandma was in the hospital. During these times, Penny sat at the window looking out for the car bringing Grandma home and would excitedly wait at the door when Grandma came through it. Each homecoming was a grand reunion between the two.
On Christmas Day in 1985, Grandma was again taken to the hospital. Penny, as usual, sat watching out the window for the car bringing Grandma home. Two mornings later when the dog woke up, she couldn't seem to work out the stiffness in her hips as she usually did. The same morning, she began having seizures. At age fifteen, we knew it was time. My mother and aunt took her to the veterinarian and stayed with her until the end.
Now the big dilemma was whether to tell Grandma while she was still in the hospital or wait. The decision was made to tell her while she was in the hospital because when we pulled up at the house, the first thing Grandma would look for was her beloved Penny watching out the window and then happily greeting her at the door. Grandma shed some tears but said she knew that it had to be done so Penny wouldn't suffer.
That night while still in the hospital, Grandma had a massive heart attack. The doctors frantically worked on her but could not revive her. After fifteen years of loving companionship, Grandma and Penny passed away within a few hours of each other. God had it all worked out – Penny was waiting at door when Grandma came Home.
英语经典美文阅读13
如果我休息,我就会生锈If I Rest, I Will Rust
The significant1 words found on an old key —"If I rest, I will rust"—would be an excellent motto for those who are lazy.
在一把旧钥匙上发现了一则意义深远的铭文——如果休息,我就会生锈。对于那些懒散的人来说,这是一句至理名言。
Even the most diligent person might adopt it as a reminder. If one allows his abilities to rest, duanwenw.com like the iron in the unused key, they will soon show signs of rust, and, finally, cannot do the work required of them.
甚至最为勤勉的人也以此为座右铭:如果一个人有才能却不去运用它们,这些才能很快就会像废弃的钥匙一样锈迹斑斑,最终无法完成自己肩负的工作。
Those who wish to climb to great heights must constantly keep their abilities in use, so that they may unlock the doors to knowledge.
要想取得卓越的成就,就必须不断运用自身的`才智,这样知识的大门才会向你敞开。
Diligence keeps the key that opens the treasury of achievement bright. If Hugh Miller, after working hard all day in a mine, duanwenw.com had devoted his evenings to rest and relaxation, he would never have become a famous geologist4. The famous mathematician, Edmund Stone, would never have found the key to the science of mathematics if he had given his spare moments to idleness. If the young Scottish man, Ferguson, had allowed his busy brain to go to sleep while he tended sheep on the hillside instead of measuring the positions of the stars, he would never have become a distinguished astronomer ..
勤奋令开启成功宝库的钥匙恒久闪亮。如果休·米勒在采石场一整天的辛苦劳作后,将晚上的时光用于休息和消遣,他将不会成为名垂青史的地质学家。如果著名数学家爱德蒙·斯通在闲暇之时无所事事,又怎会发现开启数学之门的钥匙?如果苏格兰青年弗格森在山坡上放羊时让他活跃的大脑休息放松,而不是计算星星的位置,就不会成为一名杰出的天文学家……
.Labor conquers all: not inconsistent or ill-directed labor, but faithful and unstopping daily effort, toward a well-directed purpose. Eternal diligence is the price of noble and enduring success.
劳动可以征服一切——当然,这里指的不是那些半途而废、方向错误的劳动,而是坚定执著、方向正确、日复一日的辛苦耕耘。只有坚持不懈的勤奋,才能确保卓越而持久的成功。
英语经典美文阅读14
密友与普通朋友Real and Simple Friend
Anyone can stand by you when you are right, but a friend will stand by you when you are wrong.
当你一帆风顺时,任何人都可能跟你站在一边,但只有真正的朋友会在你遇到困难时跟你站在一起。
A simple friend identifies himself when he calls. A real friend doesn’t have to.
普通朋友给你打电话时会先说自己是谁,密友用不着这么做。
A simple friend opens a conversation with a full news bulletin on his life.duanwenw.com A real friend says, "What’s new with you?"
普通朋友总是一开口就谈自己近来的生活情况,而密友会问:"你最近怎么样?"
A simple friend thinks the problems you complain about are recent. A real friend says, "You’ve been complaining about the same thing for years."
普通朋友会认为你抱怨的问题是近期遇上的,但密友会说:"这事你已经念叨很久了。"
A simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend has shoulders wet from your tears.
普通朋友永远不会见到你流泪,你只会靠在密友肩头痛哭。
A simple friend doesn’t know our parents ’first names.duanwenw.com A real friend has their phone numbers in his address book.
普通朋友不会知道你父母的名字,密友连你父母的电话号码都有。
A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party.A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.
普通朋友参加聚会时会带来一瓶酒,密友却会早早赶到帮你做饭,会为了帮你收拾残局而很晚离开。
A simple friend hates it when you call after he has gone to bed. A real friend asks you why you take so long to call.
普通朋友睡觉时接到你的'电话会很反感,而密友会问你为什么这么晚才来电话。
A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems. A real friend seeks to help you with your problems.
普通朋友总是跟你讨论你遇上的问题,密友则会努力帮你解决问题。
英语经典美文阅读15
生活不易Life is Difficult
It is a great truth because once we truly understand and accept it, Then life is no longer difficult. 一旦我们懂得并接受生活,生活便不再艰难。这是伟大的真理。
Most do not fully see this truth. Instead they complain about their problem
and difficulties as if life should be easy. It seems to them that difficulties represent a special kind of suffering especially forced upon them or else upon their families, their class, or even their nation. 但是大多数人没有认识到这一点。他们只会抱怨遇到的问题和生活的.艰难,好像生活本不该这么艰难。似乎困难就代表了一种强加于他们,或强加于他们的家人、阶级、民族的苦难。生活之所以如此艰难,是因为面对和解决问题的过程是一个痛苦的过程。生活中不同种类的问题会给我们带来悲伤、孤独、遗憾、愤怒与恐惧。那是一种令人不舒服的感觉,像身体的疼痛一样令人痛苦。由于生活中经常会有各种各样无穷无尽的问题,生活才显得艰难并充满痛苦与欢乐。
What makes life difficult is that the process of facing and solving problems is a painful one. Problems, depending on their nature , cause in us sadness or loneliness or regret or anger or fear. These are un- comfortable feelings, often as painful as any kind of physical pain. And since life causes an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy. 然而,正是在处理这些问题的整个过程中,生命体现出其意义所在。那些问题就是严峻的考验,能让我们分辨成功与失败。当我们鼓舞别人打英语短文起精神时,我们就是在鼓励人去解决问题,就像在学校里我们给学生设置一些问题让他们去解决一样。在面对问题与解决问题的过程中,我们不断学到新东西。正如本杰明-富兰克林所说:有些东西使我们受伤,又给我们指明方向。正因如此,许多人便学着不再恐惧,而是欢迎问题给我们带来痛苦。
Yet, it is in this whole process of solving problem that life has its meaning.
Problems are the serious test that tells us success from failure. When we desire to encourage the growth of human spirit, we encourage the human ability to solve problems, just as in school we set problems for our children to solve. It is through the pain of meeting and working out problems that we learn. As Benjamin Franklin said, those things that hurt, instruct. It is for this reason that wise people learn not to fear but to welcome the pain of problems.
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