英語美文摘抄勵志勇敢摘抄
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英語勵志勇敢美文摘抄
Matisse and the Music of Discontent 馬蒂斯和永不滿足的音樂
By Andre Kostelanetz
On Easter Sunday, 1945, the last year of the war, my wife and I were in Marseilles. We had just arrived for four days’ rest, after a tour of entertaining the troops in Burma. It was a wonderful morning, sparkling but not too warm. There were no tourists, of course, and we decided to drive along the Riviera to Vence and call on Matisse. We had never met the painter, but we knew well his son Pierre in New York.
We found Matisse living in a small house, with a magnificent, sweeping view beyond his vegetable garden. In one room, there was a cage with a lot of fluttering birds. The place was covered with paintings, most of them obviously new ones. I marveled at his production, and I asked him, “What is your inspiration?”
“I grow artichokes,” he said. His eyes smiled at my surprise and he went on to explain: “Every morning, I go into the garden and watch these plants. I see the play of light and shade on the leaves, and I discover new combinations of colors and fantastic patterns. I study them. They inspire me. Then I go back into the studio and paint.”
This struck me forcefully. Here was perhaps the world’s most celebrated living painter. He was approaching 80, and I would have thought that he had seen every combination of light and shade imaginable. Yet every day he got fresh inspiration from the sunlight on an artichoke; it seemed to charge the delicate dynamo of his genius with an effervescent energy almost inexhaustible.
I wondered what might have happened if Matisse had never taken that morning stroll in the garden. But such a withdrawal is not in his character. Sometimes a man builds a wall around himself, shutting out the light. Not Matisse. He goes out to meet the world, discovers it and seems to soak up the discoveries in his very pores.
In such a process, man inhales the chemicals of inspiration, so to speak. As a musician, inspiration is vital to me, but I find it hard to define what it is. It is more than just drinking in a view or being in love. It is, I think, a sense of discovery, a keen appetite for something new. There goes with it a certain amount of discipline, of control, coupled with a reluctance to accept a rigid, preconceived pattern. Someone has described this whole feeling as a divine discontent.
The source of this capacity for thrilling, explanatory wonder at life rests, I believe, above man himself in something supreme. I sense this in regarding nature, which stimulates me in all my creative work.
There are a host of things about the universe which I do not clearly understand, any more than I can understand, for example, the technicalities of the process by which we can be heard and seen in this new dimension, the miraculous television screen.
Such finite things as these inventions were inconceivable mysteries a few years ago. The reason for life may be obscure to me, but that is no cause to doubt that the reason is there. Like Matisse with his artichoke, I can regard the infinite number of lights and shades of a piece of music and know that this is true.
英語勵志勇敢美文摘抄鑒賞
排水管的啟示
Inspiration from a Drainpipe
排水管的啟示
By Mrs. John G. Lee
約翰.G.李夫人
I think the most profound influence in my life was my father. He was an inventor and a scientist with a most inquisitive mind. He loved and was greatly stimulated by the beauty and the design he found in nature.
我想在我一生中,父親對我的影響最大。他是一位發(fā)明家和科學家,對任何事物都充滿好奇。他熱愛他在自然中發(fā)現(xiàn)的美和圖案,并從中獲得極大的啟示。
He believed in people and was himself a completely honest person. His sense of humor was keen though kindly and his energy was inexhaustible. Once he was asked how he got the idea for the Maxim Silencer.
他相信人,自己也是個十分誠實的人。他的幽默盡管有時讓人感到尖刻,但卻是善意的;他的精力十分旺盛。一次,有人問他怎么想到馬克西姆消音器這個點子。
He answered, "By watching the way water behaved when it went down a drain." This simple statement opened up for me a whole realm of ideas which led to a firm belief that human intelligence need recognize no bounds; that through the use of our intelligence we will move progressively closer to an understanding of man and of the universe around us; that this knowledge will bring a closer harmony between man and his surroundings; and that this way lies the chance to make the world a better place to live in.
他回答說,“是觀察水在排水管中流動的方式得到的啟發(fā)。”這句簡單的話開啟了我的心智,使我堅信人類的智慧無窮無盡;運用我們的智慧,我們將逐步深入了解人類和我們周圍的宇宙;這種知識將使人類和他們生活的環(huán)境更加和諧地相處;只有這樣,我們才有機會使人類生活的世界更美好。
Then I remember sitting with him on the deck of his boat one night in early September.
我還記得九月初的一天晚上,我和父親坐在他的小船甲板上。
We were anchored in a secluded cove. The breeze was light and very salty. We could hear across a little strip of land the pounding of the surf.
船??吭谝粋€幽僻的小灣里。陣陣微風吹過,帶著咸味。一小條狹長陸地那邊傳來浪花拍岸的聲音。
The stars were brilliant and every now and then a shooting star would streak across the sky. He was deeply interested in astronomy and he led my mind into unforgettable population as we explored the grandeur of that night.
星星明亮,不時會有一顆流星劃過夜空。父親對天文學深感興趣,當我們探討那天晚上壯麗的夜色時,他引導著我思索,那種思索令我永遠不能忘懷。
I think from this I came to understand that there must be law and order in our universe. There is design. Man can observe, he can learn to understand, he can apply. The secret is to apply in the interests of the common good; not for one or for a few; not to destroy but to build for all peoples.
我想正是從那時起我開始懂得在我們的宇宙里必須有法律和秩序。一切都安排好了。人類能夠觀察,能夠學會理解事物并運用所學的知識,奧秘就在于運用知識是為了所有的人的利益,而不是為了某一個人或幾個人,不是為了毀滅而是為了所有人而建設。
My mother and father each had an acute social conscience. They believed that because good fortune had endowed them with better than average opportunity, they had a duty to perform in their communities.
我的父母都有強烈的社會責任感。他們認為他們有責任在自己的群體中履行自己的職責,因為好運給了他們比一般人更多的機會。
From this no doubt came my own conviction that I must give more than I receive and that a satisfactory life must be measured by its usefulness to others.
我自己的信仰也正是來自于此,我應該更多地給予而不是領受,令人滿意的人生必須通過你是否對他人有用來衡量。
I remember the excitement engendered by the conversation in our home. All kinds of ideas were explored; all sorts of prejudices were challenged; penetrating minds were brought to bear on every problem of the day.
我還記得在我家里的談話所帶來的興奮和激動。各種觀點都得到探討;各種偏見都受到質疑;深邃的思想幾乎觸及當代所有的問題。
I learned that each one of us has a right to his own beliefs, that prejudice perverts truth and that violence in the long run gains us nothing. From this understanding I moved into the belief that people everywhere must learn how to work together for the common purpose of the betterment of mankind.
我明白我們都一個人都有權利擁有自己的信仰,偏見會歪曲真理,從長遠的觀點看來,暴力會使我們一無所獲。正是基于這樣的認識,我開始相信世界各地的人們必須學會如何團結起來,為了人類更美好的明天這一共同目標而奮斗。
I believe one of the greatest ideas of all times, one that is a compelling moral force, is the concept of the dignity and worth of the human individual. From this idea there develops a sense of devotion to the common good.
我相信所有時代最偉大的觀念之一,即最令人信服的道德力量就是個人的尊嚴和價值。為了共同利益而奉獻的精神就來自于這種觀念。
I believe that if we pull these rather simple but fundamental things together and tie them up with honesty and truth, there are no visible limits to the heights to which mankind can rise.
我相信如果我們把這些看似簡單但卻十分重要的觀念集中起來,用誠實和真理把它們連在一起,人類將會登上一個又一個高峰。
英語勵志勇敢美文摘抄賞析
The Only Way to Make a Friend
交友的唯一方式
By HERBERT H. LEHMAN
赫伯特·H·萊曼
SO MANY THINGS affect a man’s philosophy and his life that I find it difficult to put into words my personal beliefs. I hesitate to speak of them publicly for fear of giving the appearance of preaching.
許多事情會影響一個人的人生哲學和生活,因此我覺得難以用言語來陳述我的信仰。我躊躇著,不愿在公眾面前提到我的信仰,擔心會因此留給我說教的印象。
Two convictions, however, I believe have more than any others influenced my thinking both in private and in public life.
然而,我相信有兩條信念無論是在公共或是私人生活方面對我產生了深刻的影響。
First, commonplace as it may sound, I am convinced that what we get out of life is in direct proportion to what we put into it. Second, I must respect the opinions of others even if I disagree with them.
第一條,它可能聽起來像老生常談,我相信我們對生活付出多少,就會收獲多少。第二條,即使我和他人意見不同,我仍然應該尊重他們的觀點。
Throughout my long and rather busy career I have always held firmly to the belief that I owe life as much as it owes to me. If that philosophy is sound, and I believe it is, it applies, I hope, to all of my activities—to my home, to my daily work, to my polities, and above all things to my relationships to others.
在我漫長而忙碌的一生中,我始終堅守一個信念:我對生活付出多少,就會收獲多少。如果這種人生哲學是正確的,我也相信如此,那么我希望它能適用于我的一切活動——我的家庭,我的日常工作,我的政治活動,尤其是我和他人的關系。
Life is not a one-way street. What I do, what I say, even what I thank, inevitably has a direct effect on my relationships with others. I am certain that in the degree that my attitude towards others has given convincing proof of loyalty, sincerity, honesty, courtesy and fairness, I have encouraged in others the same attitude towards me. Respect begets respect, suspicion begets suspicion, hate begets hate. It has been well said that “The only way to have a friend is to be one.”
生活并不是單行道。我的行為、我的言談,甚至我的想法都不可避免地會直接影響我和他人的關系。我確信我對他人的態(tài)度表明了多少我的忠誠、真摯、誠實、謙恭和公正,我也鼓勵他人以同樣的態(tài)度對待我。尊重他人必被人尊重,懷疑他人必被人懷疑,嫉恨他人必遭人嫉恨。人們常說:“交友的唯一方式就是做他人的朋友。”
None of the blessings of our great American heritage of civil liberties is self-executing. To make effective such things as brotherhood, kindliness, sympathy, human decency, the freedom of opportunity, the very preciousness of life—to make these things real requires respect and constant vigilance. This is the core of my American Faith.
我們美國公民自由的偉大傳統(tǒng)中沒有任何一項是自動生效的。要使諸如兄弟情誼、仁慈、同情、人類的行為準則、機會自由以及生命的珍貴等生效——要使這些成為現(xiàn)實,就需要尊重和常備不懈。這就是我的美國信仰之核心。
As I have said, I believe I must help to safeguard to all men free expression of their views even though I may be in disagreement with them. I must listen to and study responsible views; sometimes I will learn much from them. No individual and no nation has a monopoly of wisdom or talent. When an individual or a nation becomes self-satisfied or complacent, it is time, I believe, to be deeply concerned. He who closes his ears to the views of others shows little confidence in the integrity of his own views.
正如我所說過的,我認為我必須幫助所有人捍衛(wèi)他們的言論自由,即使我和他們意見不同。我必須傾聽并研究責任重大的觀點;有時我會從中學到很多。任何個人或國家都無法獨享智慧或才能。一個人或一個國家開始驕傲自滿之日,我想,便是它令人深感憂慮之時。對他人的觀點置若罔聞的人事實上是對他們自己觀點的完整性缺乏信心。
There can be no question with regard to the inherent rights of Americans to enjoy equal economic opportunity in every field, to secure decent living conditions, adequate provision for the moral and spiritual development of their children, and free association with their fellow men as equals under the law and equals in the sight of God. These rights can be safeguarded and advanced only where men may think and speak freely.
毫無疑問,美國人與生俱來的權利是在一切領域享有平等的機會謀取自身的利益、獲得適當?shù)纳顥l件、足夠的經濟實力培養(yǎng)孩子的道德和精神、享有在法律和上帝面前平等的身份與同胞自由地交往。只有當人們能自由地思考和發(fā)表自己的見解時,這些權利才能夠得到捍衛(wèi)和發(fā)展。
I reject a fundamental principle of democracy if I seek to prevent a fellow citizen of different background from fully expressing his thoughts on any subject. I have tried to express a few of my own thoughts on this subject which is very close to me. I think that we will have good reason for optimism about the future of the American ideal as long as men can and will say, without fear, what they believe.
如果我試圖阻止一個具備不同背景的公民就任何話題自由地發(fā)表自己的觀點,那就違背了民主的根本準則。我已經對與我密切相關的問題表達了自己的一些見解。我想我們理應樂觀地看待美國理的未來,只要人們能夠并將無所畏懼地說出他們的信仰。
HERBERT H. LEHMAN has had a long and distinguished career in business and public life. For thirty years after his graduation from Williams College in 1899 he engaged in commercial, industrial, and banking activities. In 1928 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York, serving for four years. He was elected Governor and served ten years.
赫伯特·H·萊曼在商業(yè)和公共事務領域久負盛名。他1899年畢業(yè)于威廉姆斯學院,三十年來一直致力于商業(yè)、工業(yè)和銀行事務。1928年他當選為紐約代理州長,任期四年。隨后,當選為州長并任職十年。
In 1943 he was chosen Director General of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration by the unanimous vote forty-four nations. This organization dispensed over three and a half billion dollars and saved millions of people from starvation. Decorated by many foreign governments for his services to humanity, he also holds the Distinguished Service Medal.
1943年經過四十四個國家一致投票通過,他當選為聯(lián)合國善后救濟總署署長。該組織發(fā)放三十五億五千萬美元,使成千上萬的人免受饑餓之苦。許多外國政府因為他對人類的貢獻授予他榮譽勛章,他還獲得服役優(yōu)異勛章。
In 1949 he was elected United States Senator from New York to fill the unexpired term of Senator Robert F. Wagner, and in 1950 was re-elected for a full six-year term.
1949年他當選為紐約的美國參議員,履行任期未滿的參議員羅伯特·費迪南德·瓦格納的職務,1950年重新當選,任期六年。