初中英語哲理文章

　　閱讀美文的同時又能學習英語，真是一舉兩得的好方法。下面是小編為你整理的，希望能幫助到你!

　　1：小箱子

　　How oft the commonest of tasks looks long and tiresome1 till begun. To use your wits, is all it asks, start doing, and it's done.

　　They brought John Brown a box, fresh from the workman's hands. Twas work that took the eye, so neatly2, cleanly done. This charming little box delighted everyone.

　　Then in comes a mechanic. Oh yes, these things he understands. He glances at the box. 'This box has got some trick. You see it has no lock. And yet I warrant you, I'll have it open quick. You boobies over there, don't mock! Just wait! I'll find the catch, then show the trick to you. In matters of this kind I know a thing or two.'

　　He sets to work, leaves nothing untried. He turns it round on every side; he guesses and he guesses. One knob and then the next, and then the handle presses. John looks at him and all the while Just shakes his head and James and Ned whisper among themselves and smile. From time to time some onlooker3 will say: 'Not that way! No, not there!'

　　But harder still and harder he puzzles, he perspires4, till damped is all his ardour. He gives it up and puts it on the shelf. And why not raise the lid? He never tried that way! This was a box that opened of itself.

　　最普通的工作,沒動手之前，總覺得費心費力。其實只要開動腦筋，考慮好了，一做就成。

　　有人拿了一隻剛做好的箱子。箱子做得細緻又大方，讓人眼前一亮。這箱子如此漂亮，人人都喜歡。

　　這時，一個機械師來了。不錯，他還懂得這玩意兒，他看了一眼小箱子說道：“這箱子有點名堂，你瞧，連鎖都看不到;然而我擔保，我能立刻開啟它。站在一邊的蠢才別恥笑，等著瞧吧!我一定會找到竅門，把祕密告訴大家的。說到機械，我多少也懂點門道。”

　　於是，他動手在小箱子上到處摸索，翻來轉去，琢磨了又琢磨，試試這個釘，又摸摸那個紐，然後按按把手。這時候啊，有人緊瞅著他，有人搖頭，相顧而笑。旁觀者不時地說著話：“不是那樣,不，不，不在那裡!”

　　他拼命地琢磨，渾身大汗，出得氣都洩了。終於，他放棄了，把小箱子放到架子上。為什麼不掀起蓋子呢?他從來沒有這樣試過。其實，這是一個沒有鎖可以自己開啟的箱子。

　　2：工人與蛇

　　A labourer's little son was bitten by a snake and died of the wound. The father was beside himself with grief, and in his anger against the snake the caught up an axe1 and went and stood close to the snake's hole, and watched for a chance of killing2 it. Presently the snake come out, and the man aimed a blow at it, but only succeeded in cutting of the tip of its tail before it wriggled3 in again. He then tried to get it to come out a second time, pretending that he wished to make up the quarrel. But the snake said, "I can never be your friend because of my lost tail, nor you mine because of your lost child."

　　Injuries are never forgotten in the presence of those who caused them.

　　工人的小兒子被一條毒蛇咬了一口，並且死於蛇傷。悲痛氣憤之餘，工人抓起一把斧頭，氣沖沖地跑到蛇洞外，等待機會砍死蛇。不久，蛇從洞裡出來了，工人立即一斧頭砍過去，可是隻砍斷了它的尾巴尖。隨後，工人還想再如法炮製，便假裝想與蛇和解。可是，蛇卻說：“我永遠也無法成為你的朋友，因為我丟了自己的尾巴，而你卻丟失了兒子。”

　　在造成創傷的雙方心裡，永遠無法忘卻傷痛。

　　3：當風吹時

　　Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.

　　Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached the farmer. "Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him.

　　"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

　　Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help, hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.

　　Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!"

　　The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly, "No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

　　Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.

　　The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.

　　MORAL: When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically, you have nothing to fear.

　　Can you sleep when the wind blows through your life? The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he had secured the farm against the storm.

　　幾年前，一個農場主在大西洋沿岸擁有一塊土地，他經常貼廣告僱傭人手。可是，很多人都不願意在大西洋岸邊的農場幹活，他們害怕大西洋上空劇烈的風暴會破壞房屋和莊稼。所以當這個農場主招工面試時，收到的是一連串堅定的拒絕。

　　最後，有一個個頭不高、略顯瘦弱、已過中年的男人來到農場主面前。“你是個幹農活的好手嗎?”農場主問他。

　　“是的，起風的時候我可以睡覺，”那個矮個男人回答道。

　　儘管農場主對他的回答有點迷惑，可苦於沒有幫手，於是僱傭了他。那個矮個男人在農場幹活很賣力，從天亮一直忙到天黑，因此農場主對他的工作很滿意。

　　一天晚上，海面上颳起了咆哮的大風，農場主從床上跳了起來，抓起燈籠就向旁邊僱工住的地方衝去。他晃著那個矮個男人喊道：“起來!颳風暴了!快把東西繫好，別刮跑了!”

　　那個矮個男人在床上翻了一下身，平靜地說道：“不，先生，我告訴過你，颳風的時候我可以睡覺。”

　　農場主被他的回答激怒了，氣得真想當場把他解僱。不過，還是趕緊跑出去應付暴風雨吧。然而，令他驚奇的是，他發現所有的乾草垛已經蓋好了防水油布，牛在牲口棚裡面，小雞在雞籠裡，門閂好了，百葉窗也關緊了，一切都栓牢了，什麼東西都刮不走了。

　　此刻，農場主才明白了僱工那句話的意思，於是，風颳起來的時候，他也回自己的床上睡覺了。

　　寓意：當精神上、心理上和物質上都做好準備的時候，一切就無所畏懼了。

　　當你的生活颳起***的時候，你是否能睡著覺呢?故事中那個僱來的幫手能睡著，因為他已經為農場做好了抵禦風暴的準備。