短篇英文演講稿

　　在演講前多背幾篇是非常有必要的，下面小編就分享給你們，希望對你們有用。

　　如下：

　　1

　　Work and Pleasure

　　工作和娛樂

　　To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: "I will take an interest in this or that."Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like; you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes : those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death...

　　想要獲得真正的幸福與平安，一個人至少應該有兩三種業餘愛好，而且必須是真正的愛好。到了晚年才開始說“我要對什麼感興趣”是毫無益處的，這樣的嘗試只會增加精神上的負擔。在與自己日常工作無關的某些領域中，一個人可以獲得淵博的知識，但他幾乎得不到實在的益處或放鬆。喜歡幹什麼就幹什麼是無益的，你得幹一行愛一行。廣義而言，人類可以分成三個階層：勞累而死的人、憂慮而死的人和煩惱而死的人……

　　It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are divided into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the former are the majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fortune's favoured children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long e- nough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.

　　或者可以這麼說，理智的、勤奮的、有用的人可以分為兩類：第一類，他們的工作就是工作，娛樂就是娛樂；第二類，他們的工作和娛樂是合二為一的。當然，很大_部分人都屬於第一類人。他們可以得到相應的補償。在辦公室或工廠里長時間的工作，帶給他們的不僅是維持生計的金錢，還帶給他們一種渴求娛樂的強烈慾望，哪怕這種娛樂消遣是以最簡單、最樸實的方式進行。命運的寵兒則屬於第二類人，他們的生活自然而和諧。在他們看來，工作時間永遠不夠多，每一天在他們看來都是假期；而當正常的假日到來時，他們總會抱怨他們沉迷其中的休假被強行中斷。然而，有一些東西對於這兩類人來說是十分必要的，那就是變換一下視角，改變一下氛圍，努力做一件別的事情。事實上，每隔一段時間，那些把工作看做娛樂的人們很可能最需要以某種方式把工作驅趕出他們的大腦。

　　2

　　Thirteen Names of Virtues

　　十三項美德

　　I conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. I wished to live without committing any fault at any time; I would conquer all that either natural inclination, custom, or company might lead me into. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right or wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other. But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I had imagined. While my case was employed in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. I concluded, at length, that the mere speculative conviction that it was our interest to be completely virtuous, was not sufficient to prevent our slipping; and that the contrary habits must be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before we can have any dependence on a steady, uniform rectitude of conduct. For this purpose I therefore contrived the following method.

　　我曾想出一個達到完美品德的大膽而又費力的計劃。我希望這一輩子都不犯任何錯誤，我要克服所有的缺點，不管它們是由天生的愛好而引起的，還是由於習慣或交友不慎引起的。因為我知道，或者自以為知道，什麼是對的、什麼是錯的，所以我覺得自己能夠只做好事而不做壞事。但不久我發現，自己想做的工作比原先料想的要困難得多。正當我的注意力放在克服某一缺點時，另一個缺點卻出乎意料地冒了出來。習慣利用一時的疏忽，而理智有時又絕非癖好的敵手。後來，我終於得出結論，僅僅抽象地相信完美的品德對我們是有利的，但還不足以防止我們的過失，壞習慣必須打破，好習慣必須培養和建立起來，然後我們才能希望我們的舉止能夠堅定不移、始終如一地正確。為了這個目標，我想出了下面這個方法。

　　In the various enumerations of the moral virtues I had met with in my reading, I found the catalogue more or less numerous, as different writers included more or fewer ideas under the same name. Temperance, for example, was by some confined to eating and drinking, while by others it was extended to mean the moderating of every other pleasure, appetite, inclination, or passion, bodily or mental, even to our avarice and ambition. I proposed to myself, for the sake of clearness, to use rather more names, with fewer ideas annexed to each, than a few names with more ideas; and I included under thirteen names of virtues all that at that time occurred to me as necessary or desirable, and annexed to each a short percept, which fully expressed the extend I gave to its meaning.

　　我在閱讀的過程中，發現在列舉各種道德品質時，各種分類都或多或少地存在分歧，因為對於同一個詞的涵義，不同的作者可以做或多或少的闡釋。例如“節制”這個詞，有人把它的意義限於飲食，而另外一些人卻把它的意義擴充套件到調節其他快樂、慾望、癖好和肉體的或精神的情慾，甚至將其推廣到貪婪和野心上面。我總結出了13種美德，這是我當時認為必需的或適合的所有美德條目，並在每一項底下加了一條簡單的箴言，它充分說明了我認為這個詞的涵義所應有的範圍。

　　These names of virtues, with their precepts, were:

　　這些道德的名目及其涵義如下：

　　1.Temperance. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

　　1.節制。食不過飽，飲酒不醉。

　　2.Silence. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

　　2.沉默。說話必須對自己或他人有益；避免無益的聊天。

　　3.Order. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

　　3.生活秩序。將每一樣東西放在它們應該放的地方；安排好做每件日常事務的時間。

　　4.Resolution. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

　　4.決心。做該做的事；決心做的事應堅持不懈。

　　5.Frugality. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i. e. waste nothing.

　　5.儉樸。花錢必須於人於己有益；換言之，切忌浪費。

　　6.Industry. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

　　6.勤勉。不浪費時間，只做有用的事，戒掉一切不必要的行動。

　　7.Sincerity. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

　　7.誠懇。不欺騙人；思想純潔公正；說話也要如此。

　　8.Justice. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

　　8.公正。不做害人的事情，不要忘記履行對人有益而且又是你應盡的義務。

　　9.Moderation. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

　　9.中庸適度。避免極端；要容忍你認為別人應得的處罰。

　　10.Cleanliness. Tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes, or habitation.

　　10.清潔。身體、衣服和住所力求清潔。

　　11.Tranquility.Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

　　11.鎮靜。不要因為小事或普通的、不可避免的事故而驚慌失措。

　　12.Chastity. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.

　　12.貞節。除非為了健康或生育後代，不常進行房事，切忌房事過度，傷害身體或損害你自己或他人的安寧或名譽。

　　13.Humility. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

　　13.謙遜。仿效耶穌和蘇格拉底。

　　My intention being to acquire the habitude of all these virtues, I judged it would be well not to distract my on of some might facilitate the acquisition of certain others, I arranged them with that view, as they stand above.

　　我的目標是養成一切美德的習慣，因此我認為，為了不至於分散注意力，最好還是不要立即全面嘗試，而是在一段時期內集中精力於其中之一。當我掌握了那項美德之後，接著再開始注意另外一項，如此這樣，直到我做滿13條為止。因此先獲得的一些美德可以方便其他美德的培養，而我就按照這個主張把它們排列起來，就像上面的次序一樣。

　　3

　　Three Days to See

　　假如給我三天光明

　　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 years 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.

　　所有人都讀過動人的故事，故事中的英雄將不久於人世，長則一年，短則24小時。但我們經常關注的是這個命中註定要死的人如何選擇度過生命中的最後幾天或是最後幾個小時。當然，我在這裡所說的是有權做出選擇的自由人，而並非那些活動範圍受到嚴格限制的死囚。

　　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?

　　這類故事會激發起我們的思考：倘若身處類似的環境下，我們自己該做些什麼？在那臨終前的幾個小時裡我們會產生那些聯想？會有多少欣慰和遺憾呢？

　　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 on 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.

　　有時我想，把每天都當作生命的最後一天來度過也不失為一種好的生命法則。這種態度重視的是人生的價值。每一天我們都應該以和善的態度、充沛的精力和熱情的欣賞來度過，但當時間展現在我們面前、來日方長的時候，我們會忽視這些東西。當然，有一些人奉行享樂主義的座右銘，吃喝玩樂，但大多數人卻依然畏懼死亡的到來。

　　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 tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude towards life.

　　我們大多數人認為生命理所當然，明白自己終有一天會死去，但卻常常把這一天看得非常遙遠。當我們身體強健的時候，死亡變成了難以想象的事情。我們很少考慮死亡，日子也一天天過去，好像永無盡頭，所以我們為瑣事奔波，而並沒有意識到我們對待生活的態度是冷漠的。

　　The same lethargy, I am afraid, 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 sounds hazily, without concentration, and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill...

　　我想我們在運用所有的五官時恐怕也同樣是冷漠的。只有聾子才珍惜聽力，只有盲人才能認識到能見光明的幸運。對於那些成年失明或失聰的人尤其如此。但那些聽力或視力未見損失的人卻很少充分利用這些幸運的能力，他們對所見所聞不關注，不欣賞。這與常說的不失去不知珍惜、不生病不知健康可貴的道理是一樣的。

　　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.

　　我時常考問我的有視力的朋友，以瞭解他們看到了什麼。最近有一個很好的朋友在長時間林中漫步之後來看我，我問她觀察到些什麼。“沒什麼特別的。”她回答道。要不是我已習慣於類似的反應，我也許會感到難以置信。我之所以不覺得奇怪是因為我早就確信：有視力者所見甚少。

　　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 than as a means of adding fullness to life.

　　我想，這怎麼可能！在林中走了一個小時，卻什麼值得注意的東西都沒有看到呢？而我一個盲人僅僅通過觸覺便發現了數以百計的有趣的東西。我感到樹葉的對稱美，用手撫摸著白樺樹光滑的樹皮或是松樹那厚厚的粗糙的外衣。春天裡我滿懷希望地觸控著樹枝尋找新芽，那是大自然冬眠後醒來的第一個徵象。我感到了花朵的可愛以及它那天鵝絨般柔軟的質地，發現它層層疊疊地綻放著，大自然的神奇就在我的面前。我把手輕輕地放在一棵小樹上，如果幸運的話，偶爾會感到歌唱著的小鳥正歡快地顫動。我會讓清涼的溪水從手指間流過，而對我來說，滿地厚厚的松針和鬆軟的草坪比奢華的波斯地毯更惹人喜愛，四季變幻的景色也彷彿—場動人心魄永不會完結的戲劇，一段段情節從我的指尖流過。我的心在不時地吶喊，帶著對光明的渴望。如果僅是通過觸控就可以使我獲得如此多的喜悅，那麼光明定會向我展示更多美好的事物啊。可惜那些眼未失明的人分明看到很少，整個世界繽紛的色彩和萬物的活動都被認為是理所當然。也許不珍惜已經擁有的，想得到還沒有得到的是人類的本性，但是在光明的世界裡，視覺只是作為一種方便的工具，而不是豐富生活的工具存在，這是多麼令人遺憾的事情啊！

　　Oh, the things that I should see if I had the power of sight for three days!

　　噢，假如我擁有三天的光明，我將會看到多少美好的事物啊！