勵志英語故事大全集

  在我們有時間的時候,不妨找一些經典勵志英文小故事來給孩子們看看,下面是小編給大家整理的勵志英語故事,供大家參閱!

  勵志英語故事:人生變幻,“富二代”成了鞋釘匠

  如果故事裡的“富二代”瓊斯,在自己家庭很富裕時,拒絕了自己感興趣但是很累很苦很低賤的“鐵匠”工作時,那麼當家產在意外中失去時,他該拿什麼來維持生計?一個很小的決定,就可能改變你的一生;一件很小的事,卻有很大的意義。

  The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard working was he that at times he would make the sparks fly from his hammer.

  瓊斯是個非常勤勞的鐵匠,常常一整天都在店裡工作。他工作非常努力,他的鐵錘下常常是火花飛舞。

  The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith everyday and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.

  鄰居史密斯先生很有錢,他的兒子常常來看瓊斯打鐵。他喜歡看這位工匠工作,常常一看就是幾個小時。

  "Young man, why don't you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks, even if it is only to pass the time?" said the blacksmith. "Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you."

  “年輕人,為什麼不親自嘗試一下如何製作鞋釘呢,哪怕只是為了消磨時間?”鐵匠說,“沒準,有一天它會對你有幫助。”

  The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.

  懶懶的孩子開始想看看自己到底能做什麼。然而,僅僅經過很短的練習,他便發現自己非常熟練起來,很快他就做出了最好的鞋釘。

  Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to take up residence in another country. It so happened that in this village there were numerous shoemakers who were spending a lot of money to buy tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers' shoes.

  老史密斯先生去世了,而他的兒子則因為戰爭的緣故失去了所有的財產。他不得不離開家園,在另外一個國家住了下來。巧的是,這個國家的這個地區,急需大量軍鞋,所以這個村子裡有很多鞋匠,他們總是花費很多錢購買鞋釘。有時,即使付了很高的價錢,也買不到他們想要的鞋釘。

  Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in his workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.

  在這食不果腹的困難時刻,年輕的史密斯記起自己曾學過製鞋釘這門手藝,便突發奇想,想和這些鞋匠們做一個交易。他對他們說,如果他們可以幫助他成立一個店鋪,他就可以做鞋釘。鞋匠們對他的這一提議欣喜若狂。很快,史密斯發現他做的鞋釘是村裡面最好的。

  "How funny it seems," he used to say, "even making tacks can bring a fortune. My trade is more useful to me than were all my former riches."

  “這真是有趣,”他常常會說,“即便是做鞋釘也會帶來財富。與我以前所有的財富相比,我現在做的事情對於我來說更有用。”

  勵志英語故事:狐狸和獅子

  The fox and the lion

  When the fox first saw the lion he was terribly frightened. He ran away, and hid himself in the woods.

  The second time, however, he came near the lion. He stopped at a safe distance, and watched him pass by.

  The third time they came near one another.

  The fox went straight up to the lion, and stayed the whole day with him. He asked the lion how his family was, and when they would meet again.

  They soon became good friends.

  狐狸和獅子

  狐狸第一次見到獅子時非常害怕,趕緊藏到森林裡。

  當他第二次遇到獅子時,則站在附近看獅子經過。

  第三次遇到獅子時,他竟有膽量,走了上去,與獅子進行十分親切的談話。

  不久,他們變成了好朋友。

  寓意: 不要害怕不瞭解的事物,接近它,就會覺得沒什麼可怕的。

  勵志英語故事:Margaret Thatcher瑪格麗特•撒切爾

  Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s longest-serving and only woman prime minister, has died aged 87 after suffering a stroke, prompting a flood of tributes from across the globe.

  瑪格麗特?撒切爾Margaret Thatcher因中風去世,享年87歲,在世界各地引發了一陣哀悼浪潮。撒切爾是英國任職最長的首相,也是唯一的女首相。

  Leaders lined up to pay their respects to the former prime minister, who revolutionised the UK economy during an 11-year tenure, as she rolled back the state and put in place some of the country’s most radical and controversial reforms.

  各國領導人紛紛向這位英國前首相表達敬意。在其長達11年的任期中,撒切爾領導了英國經濟的革命,縮減了政府職能,並實施了該國最為激進、最有爭議的一些改革。

  David Cameron, UK prime minister, described the former Conservative prime minister as the “greatest peacetime prime minister”.

  英國現首相戴維?卡梅倫David Cameron把這位前保守黨首相稱為“英國和平時期最偉大的首相”。

  “[She] took a country that was on its knees and made Britain stand tall again. We can’t deny that Lady Thatcher divided opinion. For many of us, she was and is an inspiration. For others she was a force to be defined against.

  卡梅倫表示:“她臨危受命,讓英國重新站起來,再度屹立。不可否認,人們對她的評價各異。在我們許多人看來,她過去和現在都是一位鼓舞人心的人物。在其他人看來,她是一種特色鮮明的力量。

  “But if there is one thing that cuts through all of this – one thing that runs through everything she did – it was her lion-hearted love for this country,” he said.

  “但如果說有一箇中心貫穿著她的一生——在她所做的每一件事中都體現出來,那就是她對這個國家的無比熱愛。”

  President Barack Obama said: “The world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend.”

  美國總統巴拉克?奧巴馬Barack Obama表示:“世界失去了一位積極倡導自由的領袖,美國失去了一位真正的朋友。”

  The prime minister’s office announced that parliament would be recalled for a special session on Wednesday to pay tribute to Thatcher. Her funeral will be held at the end of next week at St Paul’s Cathedral.

  英國首相辦公室宣佈,週三議會將召開一次特別會議,向撒切爾致哀。她的葬禮將於下週末在倫敦聖保羅大教堂St Paul's Cathedral舉行。

  She will have a “full ceremonial funeral” with military honours as was afforded to the Queen Mother and Lady Diana. The British flag flew at half mast over Parliament to honour Thatcher as all UK political parties suspended campaigning for the local elections on May 2.

  撒切爾將享有帶有軍事禮儀的“禮儀葬禮”,禮遇同王太后和戴安娜一樣。英國國會降半旗向撒切爾致哀,各政黨暫停針對5月2日地方選舉的競選活動。

  Thatcher, who transformed Britain with her free-market revolution, had been in poor health since suffering minor strokes in 2002.

  自從2002年患上中風以來,撒切爾的健康狀況一直很差。她曾以自己的自由市場革命改變了英國的面貌。

  Statesmen past and present shared their memories of the woman dubbed the “Iron Lady”. Tony Blair, the second longest-serving postwar prime minister, called her “a towering political figure”. “Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world. Margaret was such a leader. Her global impact was vast.”

  已卸任和在任的政治家們共同悼念有“鐵娘子”綽號的撒切爾。英國戰後任期第二長的首相托尼?布萊爾Tony Blair稱撒切爾為“一位偉大的政治人物。”“不但改變本國政治版圖、還改變世界政治版圖的領袖人物非常少,撒切爾就是其中的一位。她在全球播下了深遠的影響。”

  George W. Bush, former US president, described her as a “great ally” who “strengthened the special relationship”.

  美國前總統小布什George W. Bush稱撒切爾為一位“強化了美英特殊關係的偉大盟友”。

  Thatcher had a particularly close relationship with Ronald Reagan, the former US president.

  撒切爾與美國前總統羅納德?里根Ronald Reagan之間保持了一種極為密切的關係。

  With Reagan, she helped bring about the end of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The British prime minister saw herself as the perfect intermediary between the two countries, having struck up constructive relationships with both Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet president, and a man with whom she told Reagan “we can do business”.

  她和里根一道促成了蘇聯的解體和柏林牆的倒塌。這位英國前首相把自己視為美蘇兩國間的完美中間人,與里根和蘇聯總統米哈伊爾?戈爾巴喬夫Mikhail Gorbachev都建立了富有建設意義的關係。她告訴里根,戈爾巴喬夫是一個“我們能和他打交道”的人。

  Mr Gorbachev said Thatcher helped end the Cold War: “Thatcher was a politician whose word carried great weight,” he said in a statement on his website. “Our first meeting in 1984 marked the beginning of a relationship that was at times difficult, not always smooth, but was treated seriously and responsibly by both sides.”

  戈爾巴喬夫在自己網站上釋出的宣告中表示,撒切爾幫助結束了冷戰:“撒切爾是一位一言九鼎的政治家。我們在1984年第一次會面,隨後便開啟了一段時而棘手、並非一帆風順但雙方都認真負責予以對待的關係。”

  Lech Walesa, Poland’s former president and anti-communist freedom figure, said Thatcher was key in hastening the fall of the Iron Curtain: “She was a great person. She did a great deal for the world, along with Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Solidarity, she contributed to the demise of communism in Poland and central Europe.”

  波蘭前總統、反對共產主義的自由派人士列赫?瓦文薩Lech Walesa表示,撒切爾在加速“鐵幕”Iron Curtain倒塌的過程中發揮了關鍵的作用:“她是一位偉人。她為世界做出了巨大的貢獻,她與羅納德?里根、教皇約翰?保羅二世Pope John Paul II和波蘭團結工會Solidarity一起,推動了波蘭與中歐共產主義政權的終結。”

  Her other great success abroad was in the Falklands War against Argentina, which invaded the islands in 1982. Thatcher defied resistance in her own cabinet to send a 25,000-strong task force to the tiny archipelago, which troops eventually recaptured after two months.

  撒切爾在海外的其他巨大勝利,還包括1982年的英阿福克蘭群島戰爭Falklands war,又稱馬島戰爭。她不顧自己內閣的反對,向面積微小的福克蘭群島派出了2.5萬人的特遣部隊,最終於兩個月後奪回了該群島。

  Her legacy was just as long-lasting at home. A succession of prime ministers, Labour and Conservative alike, have felt unable or unwilling to depart from the blueprint she established of a state serviced by privatised utilities and free of the stranglehold of organised unions.

  撒切爾在國內留下的遺產同樣意義深遠。歷任首相,無論出自工黨還是保守黨,都感到不能或不願背離她為英國設定的藍圖——公用事業私有化,企業不受有組織工會的鉗制。