小型水电站发电原理:英文美文24篇（下）！【All?That?Is?Beautiful―Poems?and?P...

英文美文24篇（下）！【All That Is Beautiful―Poems and Passages of Life】

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第十三篇 A Greek to Remember 一位值得纪念的希腊人

Diogenes was a famous Greek philosopher of the fourth century B.C.,who established the philosophy of cynicism.He often walked about in the daytime holding a lighted lantern,peering around as if he were looking for something.When auestioned about his odd behavior,he would reply,"I am searching for an honest man." Diogenes held that the good man was self-sufficient and did not require material comforts or wealth.He believed that wealth and possessions constrained humanity‘s natural state of freedom.In keeping with his philosophy,he was perefectly satisfied with making his home in a large tub discarded from the temple of Cybele,the goddess of nature. This earthen tub,called a pithos,and formerly been used for holding wine or oil for the  sacrifices at the temple.  One day,Alexander the Great ,conqueror of half the civilized world,saw Diogenes sitting in thistub in the sunshine .So the king,surrounded by his countries,approached Diogenes and said,"I am Alexander the Great."The philosopher replied rather contemptuously,"I am Diogenes,the Cynic."Alexander then asked him if he could help him in any way." Yes,"shot back Diogenes,"don‘t stand between me and the sun."A surprised Alexander then replied quickly,"If I were not Alexander,I would be Diogenes."

提奥奇尼斯是公元前四世纪一位著名的希腊哲学家,就是他创立了犬儒派哲学。他经常在白天点着灯笼四处走动、张望，像是在找什么东西似的。哪人们问起他这古怪行为时，他会回答说：“我正在寻找正人君子。” 提奥奇尼斯认为好人是自给自足的，不需要物质享受和财富。他认为财富、财产束缚了人们天生的自由状态。与他的哲学相一致，他拿一个从别人从自然之母的庙里丢弃的大坛作为自己的家，还对此万分满意。这个陶制的大坛叫做圣坛 ，过去在庙里是用来盛装祭祀用的酒和油的。一天，征服了半个文明世界的亚历山大大帝看见提奥奇尼斯坐在大坛里晒太阳。于是这位君主在大臣们的簇拥下走过去，对提奥奇尼斯说：“我是亚历山大大帝。”哲学家相当傲慢地回答说：“我是提奥奇尼斯――――犬儒学者。”然后亚历山大问他是否需要任何帮助。“ 是的”，提奥奇尼斯驳回道，“别站在我和太阳之间。”大吃一惊的亚历大继而迅速回答道：“假如我不是亚历山大，我就会是提奥奇斯。”

第十四篇 Friends 朋友

A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.

真正的朋友是一个可以援手帮助并感动你心扉的人。

There‘s always going to be people that hurt you,so what you have to do is keep on trusting and just be more careful about who you trust next time around.

别人常常伤害你，所以你该继续付出信任，并小心挑选你下次信任的人。

Make youself a better person and know who you are before you try and know someone else and expect them to know you.

在你想了解别人也想让别人了解你之前，先完善并了解自己。

Remember:Whatever happens,happens for a reason.

要记住：任何事情的发生都有因有起。

How many people actually have 8 true friends?Hardly anyone I know.But some of us have all right friends and good friends.

有多少人可以拥有八个真正的朋友？就我所知少之又少。但我们会有泛泛之交和好友。

第十五篇 The More Loving One 让我们成为更有爱心的人

W.H.Auden/W.H.奥登

Looking up at the stars, I know quite well 仰望群星的时分，我一清二楚，

That, for all they care, I can go to hell, 尽管它们关怀备至，我亦有可能赴地府，

But on earth indifference is the least 可是尘世间我们丝毫不必畏惧

We have to dread from man or beast. 人类或禽兽的那份冷漠。

How should we like it were stars to burn 倘若群星燃烧着关怀我们的激情，

With a passion for us we could not return? 我们却无法回报，我们作何感想？

If equal affection cannot be, 倘若无法产生同样的感情，

Let the more loving one be me. 让我成为更有爱心的人。

Admirer as I think I am 尽管我自视为群星的崇拜者，

Of stars that do not give a damn, 它们满不在乎，

I cannot, now I see them ,say 现在我看群星，我却难以启齿，

I missed one terribly all day. 说我成天思念一颗星星。

Were all stars to disappear or die 倘若所有的星星消失或者消亡，

I should learn to look at an empty sky 我应该学会仰望空荡的天空，

And feel its total dark sublime, 同时感受天空一片漆黑的崇高，

Though this might take me a little time. 虽然这样可能要花费一点时间。

第十六篇 If I were a Boy Again 假如我又回到了童年

Anonymous/无名氏

If I were a boy again, I would practice perseverance more often, and never give up a thing because it was or inconvenient. If we want light, we must conquer darkness. Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. “There are only two creatures,” syas a proverb, “who can surmount the pyramids ―the eagle and the snail.” If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention; I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once. The habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we begain early enough. I often hear grown up people say “ I could not fix my attention on the sermon or book, although I wished to do so” , and the eason is, the habit was not formed in youth. If I were to live my life over again, I would pay more attention to the cultivation of the memory. I would strengthen that faculty by every possible means, and on every possible occasion. It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately; but memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble. It only needs early cultivation to become a power.

　　我又回到了童年，我做事要更有毅力，决不因为事情艰难或者麻烦而撒手不干，我们要光明，就得征服黑暗。毅力在效果上有时能同天才相比。俗话说：“能登上金字塔的生物，只有两种――鹰和蜗牛。” 假如我又回到了童年，我就要养成专心致志的习惯；有事在手，就决不让任何东西让我分心。我要牢记：优秀的滑冰手从不试图同时滑向两个不同的方向。如果及早养成这种专心致志的习惯，它将成为我们生命的一部分。我常听成年人说：“虽然我希望能集中注意听牧师讲道或读书，但往往做不到。”而原因就是年轻时没有养成这种习惯。

　　假如我现在能重新猹始我的生命，我就要更注意记忆力的培养。我要采取一切可能的办法，并且在一切可能的场合，增强记忆力。要正确无误地记住一些东西，在开始阶段的确要作出一番小小的努力；但要不了多久，记忆力本身就会起作用，使记忆成为轻而易举的事，只需及早培养，记忆自会成为一种才能。

If I were a boy again, I would cultivate courage. “Nothing is so mild and gentle as courage, nothing so cruel and pitiless as cowardice,” syas a wise author. We too often borrow trouble, and anticipate that may never appear.” The fear of ill exceeds the ill we fear.” Dangers will arise in any career, but presence of mind will often conquer the worst of them. Be prepared for any fate, and there is no harm to be freared. If I were a boy again, I would look on the cheerful side. Life is very much like a mirror: if you smile upon it, I smiles back upon you; but if you frown and look doubtful on it, you will get a similar look in return. Inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner, but of all that come in contact with it. “ who shuts love out ,in turn shall be shut out from love.” importance of learning very early in life to gain that point where a young boy can stand erect, and decline If I were a boy again, I would school myself to say no more often. I might write pages on the doing an unworthy act because it is unworthy. If I were a boy again, I would demand of myself more courtesy towards my companions and friends, and indeed towards strangers as well. The smallest courtesies along the rough roads of life are like the little birds that sing to us all winter long, and make that season of ice and snow more endurable. Finally, instead of trying hard to be happy, as if that were the sole purpose of life, I would , if I were a boy again, I would still try harder to make others happy.

　　假如我又回到了童年，我就要培养勇气。一位明智的作家曾说过：“世上没有东西比勇气更温文尔雅，也没有东西比懦怯更残酷无情。”  

　　常常过多地自寻烦恼，杞人忧天。“怕祸害比祸害本身更可怕。”凡事都有危险，但镇定沉着往往能克服最严重的危险。对一切祸福做好准备，那么就没有什么灾难可以害怕的了。假如我又回到了童年，我就要事事乐观。生活犹如一面镜子：你朝它笑，它也朝你笑；如果你双眉紧锁，向它投以怀疑的目光，它也将还以你同样的目光。 内心的欢乐不仅温暖了欢乐者自己的心，也温暖了所有与之接触者的心。“谁拒爱于门外，也必将被爱拒诸门外。” 假如我又回到了童年，我就要养成经常说“不”字的习惯。一个少年要能挺得起腰，拒绝做不应该做的事，就因为这事不值得做。我可以写上好几页谈谈早年培养这一点的重要性。假如我又回到了童年，我就要要求自己对伙伴和朋友更加礼貌，而且对陌生人也应如此。在坎坷的生活道路上，最细小的礼貌犹如在漫长的冬天为我们歌唱的小鸟，那歌声使冰天雪地的寒冬变得较易忍受。

　　最后，假如我又回到了童年，我不会力图为自己谋幸福，好像这就是人生唯一的目的；与之相反，我要更努力为他人谋幸福。

第十七篇 Words To Live By 生活的忠告 

Anonymous/无名氏

I’ll give you some advice about life.

给你生活的忠告

Eat more roughage;

多吃些粗粮；

Do more than others expect you to do and do it pains;

给别人比他们期望的更多，并用心去做；

Remember what life tells you;

熟记生活告诉你的一切；

Don’t take to heart every thing you hear. Don’t spend all that you have. Don’t sleep as long as you want;

不要轻信你听到的每件事，不要花光你的所有，不要想睡多久就睡多久；

Whenever you say” I love you”, please say it honestly;

无论何时说“我爱你”，请真心实意；

Whevever you say” I’m sorry”, please look into the other person’s eyes;

无论何时说“对不起”，请看对方的眼睛；

Fall in love at first sight;

相信一见钟情；

Don’t neglect dreams;

请不要忽视梦想；

Love deeply and ardently, even if there is pain, but this is the way to make your life complete;

深情热烈地爱，也许会受伤，但这是使人生完整的唯一方法；

Find a way to settle, not to dispute;

用一种明确的方法解决争议，不要冒犯；

Never judge people by their appearance;

永远不要以貌取人；

Speak slowly, but think quickly;

慢慢地说，但要迅速地想；

When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, simle and say, “Why do you want to know?”

当别人问你不想回答的问题时，笑着说：“你为什么想知道？”

Remember that the man who can shoulder the most risk will gain the deepest love and the supreme accomplishment;

记住：那些敢于承担最大风险的人才能得到最深的爱和最大的成就；

Call you mother on the phone. If you can’t, you may think of her in your heart;

给妈妈打电话，如果不行，至少在心里想着她；

When someone sneezes say, “God bless you”;

当别人打喷嚏时，说一声“上帝保佑”；

If you fail, don’t forget to learn your lesson;

如果你失败了，千万别忘了汲取教训；

Remember the three “ respects” .Respect yourself, respect others, stand on dignity and pay attention to your behavior;

记住三个“尊”： 尊重你自己； 尊重别人； 保持尊严， 对自己的行为负责；

Don’t let a little dispute break up a great friendship;

不要让小小的争端损毁了一场伟大的友谊；

Whenever you find your wrongdoing, be quick with reparation!

无论何时你发现自己做错了，竭尽所能去弥补；动作要快！

Whenever you make a phone call smil when you pick up the phone, because someone feel it!

无论什么时候打电话，摘起话筒的时候请微笑，因为对方能感觉到！

Marry a person who likes talking; because when you get old, you’ll find that chatting to be a great advantage;

找一个你爱聊的人结婚；因为年纪大了后，你会发觉喜欢聊天是一个人最大的优点；

Find time for yourself.

找点时间，单独呆会儿；

Life will change what you are but not who you are;

欣然接受改变，但不要摒弃你的个人理念；

Remember that silence is golden;

记住：沉默是金；

Read more books and watch less television;

多看点书，少看点电视；

Live a noble and honest life. Reviving past times in your old age will help you to enjoy your life again;

过一种高尚而诚实的生活。当你年老时回想起过去，你就能再一次享受人生。

Trust God, but don’t forget to lock the door;

相信上帝，但是别忘了锁门；

The harmonizing atmosphere of a family is valuable;

家庭的融洽氛围是难能可贵的；

Try your best to let family harmony flow smoothly;

尽你的能力让家平顺和谐；

When you quarrel with a close friend, talk about the main dish, don’t quibble over the appetizers;

当你和你的亲近的少吵嘴时候，试着就事论事，不要扯出那些陈芝麻、烂谷子的事；

You cannot hold onto yesterday;

不要摆脱不了昨天；

Figure out the meaning of someone’s words;

多注意言下之意；

Share your knowledge to continue a timeless tradition;

和别人分享你的知识，那才是永恒之道；

Treat our earth in a friendly way,don’t fool around with mother nature;

善待我们的地球，不要愚弄自然母亲；

Do the thing you should do;

做自己该做的事；

Don’t trust a lover who kisses you without closing their eyes;

不要相信接吻时从不闭眼的伴侣；

Go to a place you’ve never been to every year.

每年至少去一个你从没去过的地方。

If you earn much money,the best way to spend it is on charitable deeds while you are alive;

如果你赚了很多钱，在活着的时候多行善事，这是你能得到的最好回报；

Remember,not all the best harvest is luck;

记住有时候，不是最好的收获也是一种好运；

Understand rules completely and change them reasonably;

深刻理解所有的规则，合理地更新他们；

Remember,the best love is to love others unconditionally rather than make demands on them;

记住，最好的爱存在于对别人的爱胜于对别人的索求这上；

Comment on the success you have attained by looking in the past at the target you wanted to

achieve most;

回头看看你发誓取得的目标，然后评价你到底有多成功；

In love and cooking,you must give 100% effort……but expect little appreciation;

无论是烹饪不是爱情，都用百分之百的负责态度对待，但是不要乞求太多的回报。

第十八篇 A psalm of life 人生礼颂

 Herry Wadsworth Longfellow/享利.沃兹渥斯.朗费罗

Tell me not in mournful numbers,

请别用哀伤的诗句对我讲；

Life is but an empty dream!

人生呵，无非是虚梦一场！

For the soul is dead that slumbers

因为沉睡的灵魂如死一般，

And things are not what they seem.

事物的表里并不一样。

Life is real! Life is earnest!

人生是实在的！人生是热烈的！

And the grave is not its goal;

人生的目标决不是坟墓；

Dust thou art , to dust returnest,

你是尘土，应归于尘土。

Was not spoken of the soul.

此话指的并不是我们的精神。

Not enjoyment , and not sorrow,

我们的归宿并不是快乐，

Is our destined and our way;

也不是悲伤，

But to act,

实干

That much to-morrow.

才是我们的道路，

Find us farther than to-day.

每天不断前进，蒸蒸蒸日上。

Art is long , and time is fleeting.

光阴易逝，而艺海无涯，

And our hearts , though stout and brave.

我们的心哪――虽然勇敢坚强，

Still , like muffled drums , are beating

却像被布蒙住的铜鼓，

Funeral marches to the grave。

常把殡葬的哀乐擂响。

In the world’s broad field of battle,

在这人生的宿营地，

In the bivouac of Life,

在这辽阔的世界战场，

Be not like dumb,driven cattle!

别做无言的牲畜任人驱赶，

Be a hero in the strife!

做一名英雄汉立马横枪！

Trust no future.howe’er pleasant!

别相信未来，哪怕未来多么欢乐！

Let the dead Past bury its dead!

让死去的往昔将死亡一切埋葬！

Act,act in the living Present!

上帝在上，我们胸怀勇气，

Heart within,and God O’erhead!

行动吧―――趁现在活着的好时光！

Lives of great men all remind us

伟人的生平使我们想起，

We can make our lives sublime,

我们能使自己的一生变得高尚！

And departing,leave behind us

当我们辞别人间，

Footprints on the sands of time;

能把足迹留在时间的流沙上，

Footprints that perhaps another,

也许有个遭了船灾的苦难弟兄，

Sailing o’er life solemn main,

他曾在庄严的人生大海中飘航，

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

见到我们的脚印，

Seeing,shall take heart again,

又会满怀信心。

Let us,then,be up and doing,

让我们起来干吧，

With a heart for any fate;

下定决心，不管遭遇怎样；

Still achieving,still pursuing

不断胜利，不断追求，

Learn to labour and to wait.

要学会苦干和耐心等待。

第十九篇 自我意识 Self-Awareness

Virginia Woolf/弗吉尼亚.吴尔夫

The man who is aware of himself is henceforth independent; and he is never bored, and life is only too short, and he is steeped through and through with profound yet temperate happiness. He alone lives, while other people, slaves of ceremony, let life slip past time in a kind of dream. Once conform ,once do what other people do finer than they do it, and a lethargy steals over all the finer nerves and faculties of the soul, He becomes all outer show and inward emptiness; dull, callous, and indifferent.

凡是意识到自我的人从今往后才是独立的；他永远不知疲倦，他明白生命苦短，所以完全沉浸于深深的而又适度的幸福之中。他独立生活，而别人是繁文缛节的奴隶，在醉生梦死之中听从生命悄然流逝。一旦循规蹈矩，一旦人为亦为，呆滞就笼罩着灵魂中一切灵敏的神经和官能。灵魂变得徒有其表，其中空空；迟钝，木然、冷漠。

第二十篇 青春的飞逝 The Flight of youth

Richard Henry Stoddard/理查德.亨利.斯托达德

There are gains for all our losses.

我们失去的一切都能得到补偿，

There are balms for all our pain;

我们所有的痛苦都能得到安慰；

But when youth,the dream,departs

可是梦境似的青春一旦消逝，

It takes something from our hearts,

它带走了我们心中的某种美好，

And it never comes again.

从此一去不复返。

We are stronger, and are better,

我们变得日益刚强、更臻完美，

Under manhood’s sterner reign;

在严峻的成年生活驱使下；

Still we feel that something sweet

可是依然感到甜美的情感，

Following youth, with flying feet,

已随着青春飞逝，

And will never come again.

不再返回。

Something beautiful is vanished,

美好已经消逝，

And we sigh for it in vain;

我们枉自为此叹息；

We behold it everywhere,

尽管在天地之间，

On the earth, and in the air,

我们处处能见青春的魅力，

But it never comes again!

可是它不再返回！

第二十一篇 发现 Discovery

Diane Ackerman/迪安.阿克曼

The word “discovery” literally means, uncovering something that’s hidden from view. But what really happens is a change in the viewer. The familiar offers comfort few can resist, and fewer still want to disturb. But as relatively recent inventions such as the telescope and microscope have taught us, the unknown has many layers. Every truth has geological strata, and you can’t have an orthodoxy without a heresy.

The moment a newborn opens its eyes, discovery begins.

I learned this with a laugh one morning after delivering a calf. When it lifted up its fluffy head and looked at me, its eyes held the absolute bewilderment of the newly born. A moment before it had the even black nowhere of the womb, and suddenly its world was full of colour, movement and noise. I’ve never seen anything so shocked to be alive.

　　“发现”一词，字面上是指揭开某种视线以外的隐藏的事物。不过其实是观察者自身发生了变化。很少人能抗拒熟悉事物带来的舒适，愿意扰乱这种舒适的人更少。然而，正如望远镜、显微镜这些较为近期的发明所揭示给我们的，求知事物具有多种层次。每个事实都有地质层次，没有异端也就无所谓正统。

　　新生儿睁开双眼的那一刻起，发现也就开始了。

　　我是在一天清晨给一头小牛犊接生的时候突然意识到这一点的，不禁大笑。小牛仰起毛茸茸的脑袋看着我，目光中透出这个新生命对世界的一无所知。片刻这前，它还呆在母体里某个黑暗而平静的地方，突然，它的世界变得五光十色，变得活泼而喧闹。我从未见过任何东西在获得生命时是如些的惊异。

第二十二篇： If the world were a Village of 100 People

如果世界是个一百人的村落

David J.Smith/大卫.史密斯

Shelath Armstrory／谢拉.阿姆斯壮

To all my friends and loved ones Love from me Useful Perspective

致朋友们以及我所爱的人们 这是一份爱的礼物 也是一席金玉良言

If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the exsting human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following:

如果我们把全世界的人口按照现有压缩为一个１００人的村子，情况就会如同以下：

There would be:

这个村子里有：

57 Asians

57 人是亚洲人

21 Europeans

21 人是欧洲人

14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south

14 人来自西半球的南、北美洲

8 Africans

8 人是非洲人

52 would be female

52 人是女性

48 would be male

48 人是男性

70 would be non-while

70 人是有色人种

30 would be white

30 人是白人

70 would be non-christian

70 人是非基督教徒

30 would be Christian

30 人是基督徒

89 would be heterosexual

89 人是异性恋者

11 would be homosexual

11 人是同性恋者

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world’s wealth and all 6 would be from the United States.

6 人拥有全世界59％的财富,而且这6 人全是美国人

80 would live in substandard housing

80 人的居住环境不达标准

70 would be unable to read

70 人是文盲

50 would suffer from malnutrition

50 人苦于营养不良

1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth

1 人濒临死亡边缘；1 人正要出生

1(yes, only 1) would have a college education

1 人（是的，只有１人)会接受大学教育

1 would own a computer

1 人拥有电脑

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.

透过这个压缩图来放眼我们的世界，就会明晓接纳他人、谅解以及教育是何等重要。

The following is also something to ponder……

再从以下角度来想想看……

If you woke pup this morning with more health than illness……you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

如果你早上醒来的时候健康无恙……那么，比起活不过这一周的百万人来说，你真是幸运多了。

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation…you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

如果你未曾经历过战争的危险、入狱的孤独、严刑的苦楚、饥饿的痛苦……那么，比起世界

上５亿人来，你真是幸运多了。

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep…you are richer than 75% of this world.

如果你冰箱里有食物，身上有衣服可穿，有屋篷遮蔽，有地方睡觉……那么，比起世界上75%的人来，你真是富足多了。

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in dish someplace…you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealth.

如果你银行中有存款，钱包中也有钱，还能到某处消费习菜……你便跻身在世界上最富有的8%人口当中了。

If your parents are still alive and still married…you are very rare, even in the United Stated and Canada.

如果你的父母依然健在，而且还在一起生活的话……这可是非常难得的事，即使是在美国与加拿大。

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

有人说过：我所付出的终将会回归。

So…

所以……

Work live you don’t need the money.

去工作时，犹如你不执迷于金钱。

Love like you’ve never been hurt.

去爱他人，犹如你从未曾被伤害。

Dance like nobody’s watching.

去舞蹈吧，犹如无人在一旁观看。

Sing like nobody’s listening.

去歌唱吧，犹如无人在一边谛听。

Live like it’s Heaven on Earth.

好好地生活，犹如这里是人间乐土。

第二十三篇 Three Days to See 假如拥有三天光明

Helen Keller/海伦.凯勒

All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. Sometimes it was as long as a year; sometimes as short as twenty-four hours, but always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hours. I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited. Such stories set up thinking, wondering what we should do under similar circumstances. What associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings? What happiness should we find in reviewing the past, what regrets? Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the epicurean motto of “Eat, drink, and be merry,” most people would be chastened by the certainty of impending death.

我们都读过这样一些动人的故事，故事里主人公将不久于人世。长则一年，短则２４小时。但是我们总是很想知道这个即将离开人世的人是决定怎样度过他最后的日子的。当然， 我所指的是有权作出选择的自由人，不是那些活动范围受到严格限制的死囚。这一类故事会使我们思考在类似的处境下，我们自己该做些什么？在那临终前的几个小时里我们会产生哪些联想？会有多少欣慰和遗憾呢？ 有时我想，把每天都当作生命的最后一天来度过也不失为一个很好的生命法则。这种人生态度使人非常重视人生的价值。每一天我们都应该以和善的态度、充沛的精力和热情的欣赏来度过，而这些恰恰是在来日方长时往往被我们忽视的东西。当然，有这样一些人奉行享乐主义的座右铭――吃喝玩乐，但是大多数人却不能摆脱死亡来临的恐惧。

Most of us take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future, when we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty task, hardly aware of our listless attitude towards life. The same lethargy, I am , characterizes the use of our faculties and senses. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight.

 Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sound hazily, without concentration, and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we conscious of health until we are ill. I have often thought it would be a lessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound. Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they see. Recently I was visited by a very good friend who had just returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed. “Nothing in particular,” she replied. I might have been incredulous had I not been accustomed to such responses, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little.

我们大多数人认为生命理所当然，我们明白总有一天我们会死去，但是我们常常把这一天看得非常遥远。当我们身体强壮时，死亡便成了难以相象的事情了。我们很少会考虑它，日子一天天过去，好像没有尽头。所以我们为琐事奔波，并没有意识到我们对待生活的态度是冷漠的。

我想我们在运用我们所有五官时恐怕也同样是冷漠的。只有聋子才珍惜听力，只有盲人才能认识到能见光明的幸运。对于那些成年致盲或失陪的人来说尤其如此。但是那些听力或视力从未遭受损失的人却很少充分利用这些幸运的能力，他们对所见所闻不关注、不欣赏。这与常说的不失去不懂得珍贵，不生病不知道健康可贵的道理是一样的。我常想如果每一个人在他成年的早些时候，有几天成为了聋子或瞎子也不失为一件幸事。黑暗将使他更珍惜光明；沉寂将教他知道声音的乐趣。有时我会试探我的非盲的朋友们，想知道他们看见了什么。最近我的一位非常要好的朋友来看我，她刚刚在树林里走了很长时间，我问她看见了什么。“没什么特别的，”她回答说。如不是我早已习惯了这样的回答，我也许不会轻易相信，因为很久以前我就相信了有眼人看不见什么。

How was it possible, I asked myself, to walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing worthy of note? I who cannot see find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch. I  feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or the rough shaggy bark of a pine. In spring I touch the branches of trees hopefully in search of a bud, the first sign of awakening Nature after her winter’s sleep I feel the delightful, velvety texture of a flower, and discover its remarkable convolutions; and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me. Occasionally, if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently in a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song. I am delighted to have cool waters of a brook rush through my open fingers. To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug. To me the pageant of seasons is a thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through my finger tips. At times my heart cries out with longing to see all these things. If I can get so much pleasure from mere touch, how much more beauty must be revealed by sight. Yet, those who have eyes apparently see little. The panorama of color and action fill the world is taken for granted. It is human, perhaps, to appreciate little  that which we have and to long for that which we have not, but it is a great pity that in the world of light and the gift of sight is used only as mere convenience rather that as a means of adding ullness to life. Oh, the things that I should see if I had the power of sight for three days!

噢，假如我拥有三天光明，我将会看见多少事物啊！

我问自己在树林中走了一小时，怎么可能什么值得注意的东西都没有看到呢？而我一个盲人仅仅通过触摸就发现了数以百计的有趣的东西。我感到树叶的对称美，用手摸着白桦树光滑的树皮或是松树那粗糙的厚厚的树皮。春天里我满怀着希望触摸着树枝寻找新芽，那是大自然冬眼后醒来的第一个征象。我感到了花朵的可爱和茸茸的感觉，发现它层层叠叠地绽开着，大自然的神奇展现在我的面前。当我把手轻轻地放在一棵小树上，如果幸运的话，偶尔会感到歌唱的小鸟欢快的颤动。我会愉快地让清凉的溪水从手之间流过。对我来说，满地厚厚的松针和松软的草坪比奢华的波斯地毯更惹人喜爱。对我来说四季变换的景色如同一场动人心魄的不会完结的戏剧，剧中的人物动作从我的指尖流过。我的心不时在呐喊，带着对光明的渴望。既然仅仅通过触摸就能使我获得如此多的喜悦，那么光明定会展示更多美好的事物啊。可惜的是那些有眼睛的人分明看到很少，整个世界缤纷的色彩和万物的活动都被认为是理所当然。也许不珍惜已经拥有的，想得到还没有得到的是人的特点，但是在光明的世界里只把视觉用做一种方便的工具，而不是丰富生活的工具，这是令人多么遗憾的事情啊。

第二十四篇 Genius at Work 天才在工作

Henry Ford didn’t always pay attention in school. One day ,he and a friend took a watch apart. Angry and upset, the teacher told him both to stay after school. Their punishment was to stay until they had fixed the watch. But the teacher did not know young Ford’s genius. In ten minutes, this mechanical wizard had repaired the watch and was on this way home..

Ford was always interested in how things worked. He once plugged up the spout of a teapot and

placed it on the fire. Then he waited to see what would happen. The water boiled and, of course,

turned to steam. Since the steam had no way to escape, the teapot exploded. The explosion

cracked a mirror and broke a window. The young inventor was badly scalded

Ford’s year of curiosity and tinkering paid off. He dreamed of a horseless carriage. When he

built one, the world of transportation was changed forever.

亨利.福特在学校里常常心不在焉。有一天，他和一个小朋友把一块手表拆开了。老师很生气，让他们放学后留下来，把表修好才能回家。当时这位老师并不知道小福特的天才。只用了十分钟，这位机械奇才就把手表修好，走在回家的路上了。

福特对各种东西的工作原理总是很感兴趣。曾有一次，他把茶壶嘴用东西堵住，然后把茶壶放在火炉上。他便站在一边等候着会出现什么情况。当然，水开后变成了水蒸气。因为水蒸气无处逸出，茶壶便爆炸了，因而打碎了一面镜子和一扇窗户。这个小发明家也被严重地烫伤了。

多年后，福特的好奇心和他的动手能力使他得到了回报。他曾经梦想着去制造一辆无马行进的车。他造成了一辆这样的车后，运输界发生了永久性的变化。