英語(yǔ)作為學(xué)習(xí)生涯中必不可少的課程，想學(xué)好真的不容易。小編在此獻(xiàn)上英語(yǔ)美文，希望大家喜歡。

　　　英語(yǔ)經(jīng)典美文欣賞

　　一只木碗The Wooden Bowl

　　A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and a four-year-old grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together nightly at the dinner table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating rather difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass often milk spilled on the tablecloth.

　　有一位風(fēng)燭殘年的老人，他和兒子、兒媳還有四歲的小孫子生活在一起。老人的雙手顫抖，眼睛昏花，步履也已蹣跚。晚上一家人圍在一起吃飯，老人顫抖的手和昏花的眼睛讓吃飯成了件很困難的事兒：豆子從他的勺子里掉出來(lái)，滾到地板上;拿杯子時(shí)牛奶灑在桌布上。

　　The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner at the dinner table. Since grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.

　　這一切讓兒子和兒媳感到反感。于是，這對(duì)夫妻在角落里給老人單獨(dú)擺了張桌子。爺爺一個(gè)人孤單地吃飯，其他人在另外一張餐桌上享受著晚餐。爺爺已經(jīng)打碎了一兩只盤(pán)子，于是他的飯碗被換成了一個(gè)木碗。

　　Sometimes when the family glanced in grandfather's direction, he had a tear in his eye as he ate alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food. The four-year-old son watched it all in silence.

　　有時(shí)候，向爺爺?shù)哪莻€(gè)方向看一眼，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)爺爺獨(dú)自吃飯時(shí)，眼里含著淚花。更有甚者，如果爺爺把叉子掉在地上或者弄灑了食物，夫妻二人拋給老人的話語(yǔ)一定是尖刻的警告。四歲的孫子在一旁靜靜地看著發(fā)生的一切。

　　One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, “What are you making?” Just as sweetly, the boy responded, “Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and mama to eat your food from when I grow up.” The four-year-old son smiled and went back to work. The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.

　　一天晚上晚餐前，父親發(fā)現(xiàn)兒子正在地板上玩木屑。他親切地問(wèn)孩子：“你在做什么?”兒子同樣親切地回答：“哦，我在給你和媽媽做小碗，等我長(zhǎng)大了給你們用。”四歲的孩子笑了笑，然后繼續(xù)做他的小碗。夫妻二人愣住了。兩個(gè)人沉默無(wú)語(yǔ)，眼淚流滿了臉頰。盡管兩個(gè)人都沒(méi)有說(shuō)話，但是他們都知道應(yīng)該怎么做。那晚，丈夫拉著爺爺?shù)氖郑瑴睾偷刂匦伦屗氐搅思彝ワ堊琅浴?/p>

　　For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled. Children are remarkably perceptive. Their eyes always observe, their ears always listen, and their minds always process the messages they absorb. If they see us patiently provide a happy home atmosphere for family members, they will imitate that attitude for the rest of their lives. The wise parent realizes that every day is being laid for the child's future.

　　在老人的余生里，每一頓飯都是和家人一起吃。不知出于什么原因，當(dāng)叉子掉在地上，牛奶被弄灑，桌布被弄臟的時(shí)候，丈夫和妻子都不再像原來(lái)那樣在意。孩子有著驚人的洞察力。他們的眼睛在觀察，他們的耳朵在傾聽(tīng)，他們的頭腦在處理著他們接收的信息。如果他們看見(jiàn)我們耐心地為家庭成員提供一個(gè)快樂(lè)的家的氛圍，那么他就會(huì)在今后的生活中模仿這種態(tài)度。明智的家長(zhǎng)知道每一天都在為孩子的將來(lái)打基礎(chǔ)。

　　Let us all be wise builders and role models. Take care of yourself...and those you love...today, and everyday!

　　讓我們成為明智的建筑師吧，做一個(gè)角色模范。照顧好你自己，照顧好你愛(ài)的人…… 今天!每一天!

　　英語(yǔ)美文欣賞

　　告訴心愛(ài)的人你愛(ài)他 Tell The One You Love That You Love Him

　　In a class I teach for adults, I recently did the “unpardonable.”

　　最近在我執(zhí)教的一個(gè)成人班級(jí)里，我干了一件“不可饒恕的”事情。

　　I gave the class homework!

　　我居然給班上的學(xué)生布置了一份家庭作業(yè)!

　　The assignment was to “go to someone you love within the next week and tell them you love them.

　　任務(wù)是“下周之內(nèi)要走到你所愛(ài)的人面前，告訴他們你愛(ài)他。

　　It has to be someone you have never said those words to before

　　此人必須是一位此前你從未對(duì)之說(shuō)過(guò)此話的對(duì)象，

　　or at least haven’t shared those words with for a long time.”

　　或至少很久沒(méi)有與他們交流過(guò)這些愛(ài)意盎然的話語(yǔ)了。”

　　Now that doesn’t t sound like a very tough assignment, until you stop to realize that most of the men were over 35

　　聽(tīng)起來(lái)這不像是一份苛刻的任務(wù)，直到你意識(shí)到這個(gè)班里多數(shù)男生已年逾35歲。

　　and were raised in the generation of men that were taught that expressing emotions is not “macho.”

　　何況在他們成長(zhǎng)的那個(gè)年代，他們受到的是這樣的灌輸：流露情感沒(méi)有“陽(yáng)剛之氣”。

　　Showing feelings or crying (heaven forbid!) was just not done.

　　人們不會(huì)輕易流露情感和哭泣(老天也不允!)。

　　So this was a very threatening assignment for some.

　　因此對(duì)某些人來(lái)說(shuō)，這是一項(xiàng)令人生畏的任務(wù)。

　　At the beginning of our next class,

　　第二次上課一開(kāi)始，

　　I asked if someone wanted to share what happened when they told someone they loved them.

　　我就問(wèn)：當(dāng)你告訴別人你愛(ài)他/她時(shí)，結(jié)果怎樣?有沒(méi)有人愿意講一講?

　　I fully expected one of the women to volunteer6, as was usually the case,

　　我滿心指望像平常一樣，某位女士能自告奮勇，

　　but on this evening one of the men raised his hand.

　　但是這天晚上，一位男士舉起了手。

　　He appeared quite moved and a bit shaken.

　　他看上去很受感動(dòng)的樣子，還有一點(diǎn)顫抖。

　　As he unfolded out of his chair (all 6 2" of him),

　　當(dāng)他從座椅上直起身來(lái)時(shí)(他身高6英尺2英寸)，

　　he began by saying, Dennis, I was quite angry with you last week when you gave us this assignment.

　　他這樣說(shuō)道：“丹尼斯，上周你給我們布置任務(wù)時(shí)，我很生你的氣。

　　I didn`t feel that I had anyone to say those words to, and besides,

　　我認(rèn)為我沒(méi)有什么人需要我說(shuō)那些話，而且，

　　who were you to tell me to do something that personal8?

　　你是誰(shuí)?憑什么讓我們?nèi)ジ蛇@種涉及隱私的事?

　　“But as I began driving home my conscience started talking to me.

　　“但我驅(qū)車(chē)回家時(shí)，我的良知開(kāi)始與我對(duì)話。

　　It was telling me that I knew exactly who I needed to say I love you to.

　　它告訴我，我確實(shí)知道需要向誰(shuí)說(shuō)“我愛(ài)你”這句話。

　　You see, five years ago, my father and I had a vicious disagreement and really never resolved it since that time.

　　“你瞧，5年前，我與父親發(fā)生了激烈的爭(zhēng)執(zhí)，而且從此再也沒(méi)有消除隔閡。

　　We avoided seeing each other unless we absolutely had to at Christmas or other family gatherings.

　　我們互相回避，除非絕對(duì)必須出席圣誕節(jié)聚會(huì)或其他的家庭聚會(huì)。

　　But even then, we hardly spoke to each other.

　　但甚至在那些場(chǎng)合，我們彼此幾乎也不說(shuō)一句話。

　　“So last Tuesday by the time I got home I had convinced myself I was going to tell my father I loved him.

　　“因此，上周二到家時(shí)，我確信自己做得不對(duì)，打算告訴父親我愛(ài)他。

　　“It’s weird, but just making that decision seemed to lift a heavy load off my chest.

　　“這事兒有點(diǎn)怪怪的，但就是這個(gè)決定似乎搬走了一塊壓在我胸口的重石。

　　“When I got home, I rushed into the house to tell my wife what I was going to do. She was already in bed, but I woke her up anyway. When I told her, she didn’t just get out of bed, she catapulted out and hugged me, and for the first time in our married life she saw me cry. We stayed up half the night drinking coffee and talking. It was great!

　　到家的時(shí)候，我沖進(jìn)屋里，想告訴妻子我的打算。當(dāng)時(shí)她已經(jīng)上床睡了，但我無(wú)論如何還是叫醒了她。我如此這般告訴她，她不單是起了床，簡(jiǎn)直就是跳起來(lái)?yè)肀?，婚后第一次她目睹了我哭泣的樣子。那一夜我們品著咖啡說(shuō)著話一直聊到半夜。這感覺(jué)真棒!

　　“The next morning I was up bright and early. I was so excited I could hardly sleep. I got to the office early and accomplished more in two hours than I had the whole day before.

　　“第二天一大清早我就起了床。我激動(dòng)得睡不著覺(jué)，提前到辦公室上班，兩個(gè)小時(shí)之內(nèi)就干完了比以前干一整天還要多的活。

　　“At 9:00 I called my dad to see if could come over after work. When he answered the phone, I just said, ‘Dad, can I come over after work tonight? I have something to tell you.’ My dad responded with a grumpy, ‘Now what?’ I assured him it wouldn’t take long, so he finally agreed.

　　“在九點(diǎn)的時(shí)候我打電話給父親問(wèn)問(wèn)能不能下班后去看他，當(dāng)他接電話的時(shí)候，我只是說(shuō)：‘老爸，今晚上下班后我能到你哪兒去嗎?我有事跟你說(shuō)。’父親不耐煩的應(yīng)答：‘什么事?’我向他保證花不了多長(zhǎng)時(shí)間，最終他同意了。

　　“At 5:30, I was at my parents’ house ringing the doorbell, praying that Dad would answer the door. I was afraid if Mom answered that I would chicken out and tells her instead. But as luck would have it, Dad did answer the door.

　　“五點(diǎn)半，我就來(lái)到父母家摁響了門(mén)鈴。我暗自禱告老爸會(huì)應(yīng)聲開(kāi)門(mén)。害怕如果應(yīng)聲開(kāi)門(mén)的是母親，我會(huì)因膽怯而對(duì)她說(shuō)出那幾個(gè)字。終歸我的運(yùn)氣好，老爸應(yīng)聲來(lái)到門(mén)口。

　　“I didn’t waste any time – I took one step in the door and said, ‘Dad, I just came over to tell you that I love you.’

　　“我抓緊時(shí)間———我一腳跨進(jìn)門(mén)檻說(shuō)：‘老爸，我來(lái)就是為了特地告訴你一聲我愛(ài)你。’

　　“It was as if a transformation came over my dad. Before my eyes his face softened, the wrinkles seemed to disappear and he began to cry. He reached out and hugged me and said, ‘I love you too, son, but I’ve never been able to say it.’

　　“聽(tīng)了這話，老爸似乎前后判若兩人。只見(jiàn)他臉變得柔和起來(lái)，連皺紋似乎也消失了，他泣不成聲。他伸出手擁抱我說(shuō)：‘兒子，我也愛(ài)你，但這話以前我從來(lái)沒(méi)能說(shuō)出口。’

　　“It was such a precious moment I didn’t want to move. Mom walked by with tears in her eyes. I just waved and blew her a kiss. Dad and I hugged for a moment longer and then I left. I hadn’t felt that great in a long time.

　　“這一刻如此寶貴以至于我不想挪動(dòng)半步。媽媽雙眼含淚走過(guò)來(lái)，我只揮了揮手，給了她一個(gè)飛吻。我和父親又相擁片刻，然后我離開(kāi)了。許久以來(lái)，我都沒(méi)有過(guò)那么棒的感覺(jué)了。

　　“But that’s not even my point. Two days after that visit, my dad, who had heart problems, but didn’t tell me, had an attack and ended up in the hospital, unconscious. I don’t know if he'll make it.

　　“但這并不是我說(shuō)這些的目的。那次上門(mén)之后過(guò)了兩天，我的父親———他患有心臟病，但沒(méi)有告訴我———突發(fā)心肌梗塞，結(jié)果被送往醫(yī)院，昏迷不醒。我不知他是否能挺過(guò)去。

　　“So my message to all of you in this is: Don’t wait to do the things you know need to be done. What if I had waited to tell my dad – maybe I will never get the chance again! Take the time to do what you need to do and do it now!”

　　“所以我要忠告全班同學(xué)的是：如果你知道有些事情需要做的話，千萬(wàn)不要等。要是我等到以后再對(duì)父親說(shuō)‘我愛(ài)你’那句話會(huì)怎么樣呢———也許我永遠(yuǎn)沒(méi)有機(jī)會(huì)了!抓緊時(shí)間去干你需要干的事情，現(xiàn)在就行動(dòng)!