英語經典的短文美文欣賞
有很多人說英語太難學習了，其實不難的。今天小編就給大家分享一下英語美文欣賞，來欣賞學習一下吧
Let Us Smile
讓我們微笑吧
The thing that goes the farthest toward making life worthwhile,
那最能賦予生命價值、代價最廉而回報最多的東西，
That costs the least and does the most, is just a pleasant smile.
不過一個令人心暢的微笑而已。
The smile that bubbles from the heart that loves its fellow men,
由衷地熱愛同胞的微笑，
Will drive away the clouds of gloom and coax the Sun again.
會驅走心頭陰郁的烏云，心底收獲一輪夕陽。
It's full of worth and goodness, too, with manly kindness blent;
它充滿價值和美好，混合著堅毅的仁愛之心;
It's worth a million dollars, and it doesn't cost a cent.
它價值連城卻不花一文。
There is no room for sadness when we see a cheery smile;
當我們看到喜悅的微笑，憂傷就會一掃而光;
It always has the same good look; it's never out of style;
它始終面容姣好，永不落伍;
It nerves us on to try again when failure makes us blue;
失敗令我們沮喪之時，它鼓勵我們再次嘗試;
The dimples of encouragement are good for me and you.
鼓勵的笑靨于你我大有裨益。
It pays the highest interest — for it is merely lent;
它支付的利息高昂無比──只因它是種借貸形式;
It's worth a million dollars, and it doesn't cost a cent.
它價值連城卻不花一文。
A smile comes very easy — you can wrinkle up with cheer,
來一個微笑很容易──嘴角歡快翹起來，
A hundred times before you can squeeze out a salty tear;
你能百次微笑，可難得擠出一滴淚;
It ripples out, moreover, to the heartstrings that will tug,
它的漣漪深深波及心弦，
And always leaves an echo that is very like a hug.
總會留下反響，宛若擁抱。
So, smile away! Folks understand what by a smile is meant;
繼續(xù)微笑吧!誰都懂得它意味著什么;
It's worth a million dollars, and it doesn't cost a cent.
它價值連城卻不花一文。
A Perfect Wife/完美的妻子
By Ellen Glasgow/ 埃倫·格拉斯哥
After thirty years of married happiness, he could still remind himself that Victoria was endowed with every charm except the thrilling touch of human frailty. Though her perfection discouraged pleasures, especially the pleasures of love, he had learned in time to feel the pride of a husband in her natural frigidity. For he still clung, amid the decay of moral platitudes, to the discredited ideal of chivalry. In his youth the world was suffused with the after-glow of the long Victorian age, and a graceful feminine style had softened the manners, if not the natures, of men. At the end of that interesting epoch, when womanhood was exalted from a biological factsintosa miraculous power, Virginius Littlepage, the younger son of an old and affluent family, had married Victoria Brooke, the grand-daughter of a tobacco planter, who had made a satisfactory fortune by forsaking his plantation and converting tobaccos into cigarettes. While Virginius had been trained by stern tradition to respect every woman who had not stooped to folly, the virtue peculiar to her sex was among the least of his reasons for admiring Victoria. She was not only modest, which was usual in the nineties, but she was beautiful, which is unusual in any decade.
經過了三十年的幸?；橐?，他仍能時常提醒自己，維多利亞除了缺乏那么一點點令人心動的人性脆弱以外,擁有一切美妙的品質。盡管她的完美減少了樂趣，尤其是愛情的樂趣，經過長時間的生活，作為一個丈夫，他漸漸為她天性中的保守感到驕傲。雖然陳腐的道德已經沒落，他卻仍然堅守遭到懷疑的騎士風范。他年輕的時候，漫長的維多利亞時代的余暉仍未散去;如果說優(yōu)雅的女性化風尚沒有軟化男人們的本性，那它也軟化了他們的舉止。在這個有趣的年代行將結束的時候，人們對女性的贊美已不再停留在對女人的自然屬性的贊美上，而是近乎把女人作為神明來膜拜。在這個時候，弗吉尼亞斯·里托爾培奇，一個古老富有家庭中的小兒子，和維多利亞·布魯克結婚了。維多利亞是一個大煙草種植園主的孫女，這個種植園主因不再種植煙草而是把煙草做成卷煙而發(fā)了財。盡管嚴格的傳統(tǒng)教育使弗吉尼亞斯尊重所有不甘墮落至做蠢事的女性，女性獨有的美德并不是他愛慕維多利亞的原因。她不僅謙虛——這個品質在九十年代很普遍，她還非常美麗，這在任何年代都是不常見的。
In the beginning of their acquaintance he had gone even further and ascribed intellect to her; but a few months of marriage had shown this to be merely one of the many delusions created by perfect features and noble expression. Everything about her had been smooth and definite, even the tones of her voice and the way her light brown hair, which she wore a la Pompadour*, was rolled stiffly back from her forehead and coiled in a burnished rope on the top of her head.
在他們相識之初，他甚至還認為她才華出眾。但是幾個月的婚姻生活證明了這不過是完美的外表和高貴的言辭帶來的眾多錯覺之一。她的一切都是那么安詳平淡，那么不事張揚，甚至包括她說話的聲調和她選擇的發(fā)式;她梳的是高卷式發(fā)型，淡褐色的頭發(fā)從前額向后緊緊地卷過去用一根光亮的頭繩盤繞在頭頂上。那是一個凡事都嚴肅認真的年代，甚至戀人的情感和頭腦都是有條理的。
A serious young man, ambitious to attain a place in the world more brilliant than the secluded seat of his ancestors, he had been impressed at their first meeting by the compactness and precision of Victoria's orderly mind. For in that earnest period the minds, as well as the emotions, of lovers were orderly. It was an age when eager young men flocked to church on Sunday morning, and eloquent divines discoursed upon the Victorian poets in the middle of the week. He could afford to smile now when he recalled the solemn Browning class in which he had first lost his heart. How passionately he had admired Victoria's virginal features! How fervently he had envied her competent but caressing way with the poet!
弗吉尼亞斯就是這樣一個嚴肅的年輕人，他夢想有朝一日能在世上贏得輝煌的地位，遠勝于他名聲不旺的祖先。他們第一次見面的時候，他就發(fā)現(xiàn)維多利亞不僅思想有條理，而且思維縝密精確，因而留下了深刻的印象。在那個年代，滿懷激情的年輕男子星期天早晨都涌向教堂;每星期三牧師們繪聲繪色地講述維多利亞詩人的詩歌。現(xiàn)在他回想起在那討論詩人布朗寧的嚴肅課堂上，自己竟然春心萌動，不禁啞然失笑。他那時是多么醉心于維多利亞清純的容顏，而看到她對布朗寧的詩心領神會，愛不釋手時，他又是多么妒忌!
Incredible as it seemed to him now, he had fallen in love with her while she recited from the more ponderous passages in The Ring and the Book. He had fallen in love with her then, though he had never really enjoyed Browning, and it had been a relief to him when the Unseen, in company with its illustrious poet, had at last gone out of fashion. Yet, since he was disposed to admire all the qualities he did not possess, he had never ceased to respect the firmness with which Victoria continued to deal in other forms with the Absolute.
現(xiàn)在看起來真是難以置信，他居然是在她背誦《戒指和書》中非常沉悶的段落時愛上她的。盡管他從來沒有真正喜歡過布朗寧的詩，他還是在那時愛上了她。當這個杰出的詩人與他的詩“幽冥”終于不再時興的時候，他感到如釋重負般的輕松?？墒?，對維多利亞繼續(xù)以其它形式信奉絕對真理所表現(xiàn)出的堅定精神，他向來無比欽佩，因為他總是欽佩他所沒有的所有品質。
As the placid years passed, and she came to rely less upon her virginal features, it seemed to him that the ripe opinions of her youth began to shrink and flatten as fruit does that has hung too long on the tree. She had never changed, he realized, since he had first known her; she had become merely riper, softer, and sweeter in nature.
隨著平靜歲月的流逝，維多利亞美麗的容顏開始漸褪;他似乎覺得她年輕時的成熟思想也開始變得不再鋒芒畢露，就像果實在樹上掛得過久。他意識到自從他第一次見到她，她從來沒有改變過;她只是變得更加成熟、溫婉和甜美。
Her advantage rested where advantage never fails to rest, in moral fervour. To be invariably right was her single wifely failing. For his wife, he sighed, with the vague unrest of a husband whose infidelities are imaginary, was a genuinely good woman. She was as far removed from pretence as she was from the posturing virtues that flourish in the credulous world of the drama. The pity of it was that even the least exacting husband should so often desire something more piquant than goodness.
她優(yōu)于別人的地方在于她的精神熱誠，這種優(yōu)勢牢不可破。作為妻子,她惟一的缺點就是能在任何時候都不做錯事。臆想對妻子有不忠行為的丈夫總會有種淡淡的不安，正是帶著這種不安他嘆息道，他的妻子是一個真正的好女人。她沒有一點虛飾，也沒有一點在這個容易輕信的世界上所流行的那種偽善。但遺憾的是，即使是最不挑剔的丈夫也時常會渴望一點更為活潑有趣的東西，而不僅僅是善良。(選自《他們不惜干蠢事》，1929)
Never Too Old to Live Your Dream/Dan Clark
夢想終有成真時/丹·克拉克
The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.I turned around to find a wrinkled，little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.She said，“Hi handsome.My name is Rose.I' m eighty-seven years old.Can I give you a hug?”I laughed and enthusiastically responded，“Of course you may.”and she gave me a giant squeeze.
開學的第一天教授做了自我介紹，他還要求我們去結識某位我們還不認識的人。就在我站起來四處張望時，一只手輕輕地搭在了我的肩上。我轉過身一看，一位滿臉皺紋個子矮小的老太太正沖著我微笑。這微笑使她渾身光彩照人。她說：“嘿，帥小伙兒，我叫羅斯，今年87歲。我可以擁抱你嗎?”我笑了起來，熱情地答道：“當然可以啦。”她緊緊地擁抱了我。
“Why are you in college at such a young，innocent age?”I asked. She jokingly replied，“I'm here to meet a rich husband，get married，have a couple of children，and then retire and travel.”“No，seriously?”I asked.I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
“你為什么在這么年輕而天真的年齡上大學?”我問。她開玩笑地回答說：“我要在此遇到一個有錢的丈夫，結婚，生幾個孩子，然后退休，去旅游。”“真的嗎?不對吧?”我問她。我很想知道，她這么大年紀，是什么促使她接受這樣的挑戰(zhàn)呢。
“I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one.”she told me.After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milk shake We became instant friends.Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop.I was always mesmerized listening to this“time machine”as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.
“我一直夢想接受大學教育。而現(xiàn)在我如愿以償了。”她告訴我說。課后我們一同到學生活動樓，共飲了一杯巧克力泡沫牛奶。我們一下子就成了朋友。在此后的三個月中，我們每天都一起離開課堂，聊起來沒完沒了。在她向我傳授她的智慧和經驗時，我總是著了迷似地傾聽這個“時間機器”。
Over the course of the year，Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed up her from the other students.She was living it up. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech，she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said，“I'm sorry I'm so jittery.I gave up beer for Lent(一種威士忌的牌子) and this whisky is killing me. I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just t ell you what I know.” As we laughed she cleared her throat and began：“We do not stop playing because we are old;we grow old because we stop playing.There are only four secrets to staying young，being happy，and achieving success.”
在這一年里，羅斯成了校園里的偶像。不管到哪里，她很容易地就交上了朋友。她喜歡精心打扮，陶醉于其他學生對她的注意。她盡情地享受這一切。到學期末，我們請羅斯在我們的足球宴會上講話。我永遠也不會忘記她給我們的教誨。介紹完畢后她就登上講臺。正當她要開始已準備好的演講時，她的5寸長3寸寬的卡片掉在了地上。她有些不知所措，還有點尷尬，于是就靠近話筒干脆說了起來：“很抱歉我這么緊張。我為大齋節(jié)戒了啤酒，而這威士忌可是毀了我。按原先準備好了的講是不可能了，還是把我所知道的說給你們聽吧。”我們都笑了，她則清了清嗓子開始說：“我們并不因為自己老了而不娛樂;我們因為停止了娛樂而變老。要想保持年輕，過得幸福并取得成功只有4條秘訣。”
“You have to laugh and find humor every day.”
“每天都要笑，每天都要找到幽默。”
“You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams，you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead an d don't even know it.”
“一定要有夢想。失去了夢想，人就死了。在我們周圍有那么多行尸走肉般的人，他們卻不自知。”
“There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing，you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.”
“變老和成熟是有巨大區(qū)別的。如果你19歲，在床上躺一整年，而不做一件有成效的事情，你會到20歲。如果我87歲，在床上待一年什么也不做，我也會到88歲。誰都會老，那不需要天才或能力。我的意思是要通過在變化中不斷地尋找機會而達到成熟。”
“Have no regrets.The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did，but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.”
“不要后悔。年長的人一般不會為我們所做的事而后悔，而會為我們所沒有做的事后悔。只有充滿遺憾的人才懼怕死亡。”
She concluded her speech by courageously singing“The Rose.”She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
她勇敢地唱了一首《玫瑰之歌》作為結束，還要求我們每個人學習歌詞并在日常生活中將詞意付諸行動。
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years a go. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
年末，羅斯結束了她多年前就開始的大學生涯，取得了學位。畢業(yè)一周之后，羅斯在睡夢中平靜地去世。
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.
兩千多名大學生出席了她的葬禮，對這位了不起的女士表示敬意。她以自身范例教育我們：發(fā)揮自己的潛能永不為晚。
Remember，growing older is mandatory，growing up is optional.
記住，衰老是無法抗拒的，而成熟卻是可以選擇的。
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