短小英语经典美文7篇 Youth(1001)
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the
love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm
wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing appetite for what's next and the joy of the game of living. In the center
of your heart and my heart, there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, courage and power from man and from the infinite, so long as you are young.
When your aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you've grown old, even at 20; but as long as your
aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there's hope you may die young at 80.
青春不是年华，而是心境;青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而 是深沉的意志、宏伟的想象、炽热的感情;青春是生命的深 泉在涌流。
青春气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，进去压倒苟安，如此锐 气，二十后生有之，六旬男子则更多见。年年有加，并非垂 老;理想丢弃，方堕暮年。
岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤;热忱抛却，颓唐必至灵魂。 烦忧、惶恐、丧失自信，定使心灵扭曲，意气如灰。 无论年届花甲，抑或二八芳龄，心中皆有生命之欢乐， 奇迹之诱惑，孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一台天线， 只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信 号，你就青春永驻，风华常存。
一旦天线倒塌，锐气被冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭、自暴自弃 油然而生，几十年方二十，实已垂老矣;然则只要竖起天线， 捕捉乐观的信号，你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉得年 轻。
Relish the Moment(717)
Tucked away in our subconsciousness is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the moment. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we
drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn ad wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. O n a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once
we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering---waiting, waiting,
waiting for the station. (726)
“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry. “When I?m 18.” “When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz!” “When I put the last kid through college.” “When I have paid off the mortgage!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!”
Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy
of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
It isn?t the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is
the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.
译文: 品味现在
我们的潜意识里藏着一派田园诗般的风光! 我们仿佛身处一 次横贯大陆的漫漫旅程之中! 乘着火车, 我们领略着窗外流 动的景色:附近高速公路上奔驰的汽车、十字路口处招手的 孩童、远山上吃草的牛群、源源不断地从电厂排放出的烟尘、 一片片的玉米和小麦、平原与山谷、群山与绵延的丘陵、天 空映衬下城市的轮廓, 以及乡间的庄园宅第!
然而我们心里想得最多的却是最终的目的地! 在某一天的某一时刻, 我们将会抵达进站! 迎接我们的将是乐队和飘舞的彩旗! 一旦到了那儿, 多少美梦将成为现实, 我们的生活也将变得完整, 如同一块理好了的拼图! 可是我们现在在过道里不耐烦地踱来踱去, 咒骂火车的拖拖拉拉! 我们期待着, 期待着, 期待着火车进站的那一刻!
\"当我们到站的时候, 一切就都好了! \"我们呼喊着! \"当我18岁的时候! \"\"当我有了一辆新450SL奔驰的时候! \"\"当我供最小的孩子念完大学的时候! \"\"当我偿
清贷款的时候! \"\"当我官升高任的时候! \"\"当我到了退休的时候, 就可以从此过上幸福的生活啦! \"
可是我们终究会认识到人生的旅途中并没有车站, 也没有能够\"一到永逸\"的地方!生活的真正乐趣在于旅行的过程, 而车站不过是个梦, 它始终遥遥领先于我们!
真正令人发疯的不是今日的负担, 而是对昨日的悔恨及对明日的恐惧! 悔恨与恐惧是一对孪生窃贼, 将今天从你我身边偷走!
那么就不要在过道里徘徊吧, 别老惦记着你离车站还有多远! 何不换一种活法, 将更多的高山攀爬, 多吃点儿冰淇淋甜 甜嘴巴, 经常光着脚板儿溜达, 在更多的河流里畅游, 多看 看夕阳西下, 多点欢笑哈哈, 少让泪水滴答! 生活得一边过 一边瞧! 车站就会很快到达!
:Companionship of Books 以书为伴(节选) (1111)
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 change. 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.
A good book is often the best urn of a life enshrining
the best that life could think out; for the world of a man?s 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.
855
Books possess an essence of immortality. They are by far the most lasting products of human effort. Temple s 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 author?s 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 have been to sift out the bad products; for nothing in literature can long survive e 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 the
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 on still listens. 译文: 以书为伴
通常看一个读些什么书就可知道他的为人，就像看他同什么人交往就可知道他的为人一样，因为有人以人为伴，也有人以书为伴。无论是书友还是朋友，我们都应该以最好的为伴。
好书就像是你最好的朋友。它始终不渝，过去如此，现在如此，将来也永远不变。它是最有耐心，最令人愉悦的伴侣。在我们穷愁潦倒，临危遭难时，它也不会抛弃我们，对我们总是一如既往地亲切。在我们年轻时，好书陶冶我们的性情，增长我们的知识;到我们年老时，它又给我们以慰藉和勉励。
人们常常因为喜欢同一本书而结为知已，就像有时两个人因为敬慕同一个人而成为朋友一样。有句古谚说道:“爱屋及屋。”其实“爱我及书”这句话蕴涵更多的哲理。书是更为真诚而高尚的情谊纽带。人们可以通过共同喜爱的作家沟通思想，交流感情，彼此息息相通，并与自己喜欢的作家思想相通，情感相融。
好书常如最精美的宝器，珍藏着人生的思想的精华，因为人
生的境界主要就在于其思想的境界。因此，最好的书是金玉良言和崇高思想的宝库，这些良言和思想若铭记于心并多加珍视，就会成为我们忠实的伴侣和永恒的慰藉。
书籍具有不朽的本质，是为人类努力创造的最为持久的成果。寺庙会倒坍，神像会朽烂，而书却经久长存。对于伟大的思想来说，时间是无关紧要的。多年前初次闪现于作者脑海的伟大思想今日依然清新如故。时间惟一的作用是淘汰不好的作品，因为只有真正的佳作才能经世长存。
书籍介绍我们与最优秀的人为伍，使我们置身于历代伟人巨匠之间，如闻其声，如观其行，如见其人，同他们情感交融，悲喜与共，感同身受。我们觉得自己仿佛在作者所描绘的舞台上和他们一起粉墨登场。
即使在人世间，伟大杰出的人物也永生不来。他们的精神被载入书册，传于四海。书是人生至今仍在聆听的智慧之声，永远充满着活力。
:If I Rest,I Rust 如果我休息，我就会生锈 1359
The significant inscription found on an old key---“If I rest, I rust”---would be an excellent motto for those who
are afflicted with the slightest bit of idleness. Even the most industrious person might adopt it with advantage to serve as a reminder that, if one allows his faculties to rest, like the iron in the unused key, they will soon show signs of rust and, ultimately, cannot do the work required of them.
Those who would attain the heights reached and kept
by great men must keep their faculties polished by constant use, so that they may unlock the doors of knowledge, the gate that guard the
entrances to the professions, to science, art, literature, agriculture---every department of human endeavor.
Industry keeps bright the key that opens the treasury of achievement. If Hugh Miller, after toiling all day in a
quarry, had devoted his evenings to rest and recreation, he would never have become a famous geologist.
The celebrated mathematician, Edmund Stone, would never have published a mathematical dictionary, never
have found the key to science of mathematics, if he had given his spare moments to idleness, had the littl
e Scotch lad, Ferguson, allowed the busy brain to go to sleep while he tended sheep on the hillside instead
of calculating the position of the stars by a string of beads, he would never have become a famous astronomer.
Labor vanquishes all---not inconstant, spasmodic, or ill-directed labor; but faithful, unremitting, daily effort toward a well-directed purpose. Just as truly as eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, so is eternal industry the price of noble and enduring success.
如果我休息，我就会生锈
在一把旧钥匙上发现了一则意义深远的铭文——如果我休 息，我就会生锈。对于那些懒散而烦恼的人来说，这将是至 理名言。甚至最为勤勉的人也以此作为警示:如果一个人有 才能而不用，就像废弃钥匙上的铁一样，这些才能就会很快 生锈，并最终无法完成安排给自己的工作。
有些人想取得伟人所获得并保持的成就，他们就必须不断运 用自身才能，以便开启知识的大门，即那些通往人类努力探
求的各个领域的大门，这些领域包括各种职业:科学，艺术，文学，农业等。 勤奋使开启成功宝库的钥匙保持光亮。如果休•米勒在采石场劳作一天后，晚上的时光用来休息消遣的话，他就不会成为名垂青史的地质学家。著名数学家爱德蒙•斯通如果闲暇时无所事事，就不会出版数学词典，也不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，让他那思维活跃的大脑处于休息状态，而不是借助一串珠子计算星星的位置，他就不会成为著名的天文学家。
劳动征服一切。这里所指的劳动不是断断续续的，间歇性的或方向偏差的劳动，而是坚定的，不懈的，方向正确的每日劳动。正如要想拥有自由就要时刻保持警惕一样，要想取得伟大的，持久的成功，就必须坚持不懈地努力。
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