經典英語美文故事
英語美文用簡單溫暖的文字、真實動人的情感傳達語言之美,讓讀者在閱讀之後,感同身受,觸動心靈。通過英語美文,不僅能夠感受語言之美,領悟語言之用，還能產生學習語言的興趣。度過一段美好的時光，即感悟生活，觸動心靈。下面是小編為大家帶來，希望大家喜歡!
：人生的轉角
Please excuse me if I’m a little 1***pensive today.
如果我今天有點鬱鬱寡歡,請原諒我。
Mark is leaving, and I’m feeling kind of sad.
馬克要走了,我感到有點難過。
You probably don’t know Mark, but you might be lucky enough to know someone just like him. He’s been the heart and soul of the office for a couple of year combining 2***exemplary professional skills with a sweet nature and gentle 3***disposition. He’s never been all that interested in 4***getting credit for the terrific work he does. He just wants to do his job, and to do it superbly well.
你或許不認識馬克,但如果你認識像他那樣的人,那你可能走運了。好幾年來,他都是辦公室裡的核心和靈魂人物,專業技能堪稱典範,態度和藹,性情溫柔。工作表現出色的他從不熱衷於爭風邀功。他只想做他的工作,並出色地完成。
And now he’s moving on to an exciting new professional opportunity. It sounds like it could be the chance of a lifetime, and we’re genuinely, sincerely pleased for him. But that doesn’t make it any easier to say goodbye to a dear friend and trusted colleague.
而現在,他要向一份令人興奮的新職邁進。聽起來是個一生難得的機會,我們也真心誠摯地替他高興。但那並沒使我們跟這麼一位親愛的朋友、信任的同事告別來得容易一些。
Life has a way of throwing these curve balls at us. Just when we start to get comfortable with a person, a place or a situation, something comes along to alter the recipe. A terrific neighbor moves away. Someone in the family graduates. A child finds new love and loyalties through marriage. The family’s principle bread-winner is laid off.
生活用它自己的方式不斷向我們丟擲曲線球。當我們剛開始和某人融洽相處,或是適應一個地方或一種境況時,某事就發生了,改變了一切。很好的鄰居要搬家了;家裡的某個成員畢業了;孩子找到新歡,在婚姻殿堂裡尋獲忠誠;家裡養家餬口的主力軍被解僱了。
Our ability to cope with change and disruption determine to a great degree, our peace, happiness and contentment in life.
我們應付變化以及混亂情況的能力很大程度上決定了我們生活的安寧、幸福和滿意度。
But how do we do that? Philosophers have considered the question for centurie and their responses have been varied. According to the author of the Biblical book of 5***Ecclesiaste comfort can be found in remembering that “to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” 6***Kahlil Gibran urged his listeners to “let today embrace the past with remembrance, and the future with longing.”
但我們該怎麼做?哲人們已經思考這個問題好幾個世紀了,他們的回答各不相同。根據《聖經·舊約全書·傳道書》的作者,人們可以通過記住“大千世界,萬事萬物皆有時”來獲得安慰。而卡里·紀伯倫也曾敦促他的聽眾去“讓今日用記憶擁抱昨日,用渴望擁抱未來”。
A friend of mine who works for the government is fond of reminding his fellow 7***bureaucrats that “survivabi-lity depends upon adaptability.” And then there’s Chri the California 8***surf-rat, who once told me that the answer to life’s problems can be summed up in four words: “Go with the flow.”
我一個在政府工作的朋友喜歡提醒他的那幫官僚同事們“生存取決於適應性。”還有克里斯,加利福尼亞州的一位衝浪愛好者,他曾告訴我,生活中所有問題的答案都能歸為四個字——“隨遇而安”。
“It’s like surfing,” Chris explained. “You can’t organize the ocean. Waves just happen. You ride ’em where they take you, then you paddle back out there and catch the next one. Sure, you’re always hoping for the perfect wave where you can get, like, you know, totally 9***tubular. But mostly you just take ’em the way they come. It’s not like you’re trying to 10***nail Jell-O to a tree, you know?”
“就像衝浪,”克里斯解釋道,“你無法掌控大海。波浪隨意蕩起。你乘著浪任其領著你向前衝,然後,你伏身於衝浪板往回划水至某處,接而踏乘下一個浪。當然,你總會希望等到那個完美的浪頭,就像你知道的那種滾筒浪。但大多數情況,也就是隨波逐流,這不是什麼登天難事,你知道的。”
I’m not exactly sure, but I think Chris was saying that life is a series of events—both good and bad. No matter how 11***deft your organizational skill there will always be life-influencing factors over which you have no control. The truly successful person expects the unexpected, and is prepared to make adjustments should the need arise—as it almost always does.
我不太確定,但我想克里斯在說,生活是由一連串事件組成的——其中有好有壞。不論你的統籌技巧有多純熟,總會有些你無法控制的因素影響著我們的生活。真正的成功者料想到意料之外的事總會發生,並做好準備在必要時做出調整——而這樣的情況常常發生。
That doesn’t mean you don’t keep trying to make all your dreams come true. It just means that when things come up that aren’t exactly in your plan, you work around them—and then you move on. Of course, some 12***bumps along the road of life are easier to take than others. A 13***rained-out picnic, for example, is easier to cope with than the sudden death of a loved one. But the principle is the same.
那並不意味著你不需要不斷努力去實現你的夢想。意思只是說,當計劃以外的事發生時,你得去處理,然後繼續前進。當然,人生沿途出現的一些“撞擊”要比另一些容易處理。比如,因為下雨要取消野餐,總比自己所愛的人突然去世更容易處理。但原理是相同的。
“Change, indeed, is painful, yet ever needful,” said philosopher 14***Thomas Carlyle. “And if memory have its force and worth, so also has hope.”
“改變確實給人帶來痛苦,但改變卻是永遠必須的。”哲人托馬斯·卡萊爾說道,“並且,如果記憶擁有其力量和價值,那麼希望也同樣擁有。”
We’re going to miss Mark, just like you’ll miss that graduate, that neighbor or that newlywed. But rather than dwell on the sadness of our parting, we’ll focus on our hopes for a brighter future—for him, and for us. And then we’ll go out and do everything we can to make that future happen.
我們會想念馬克,就像你會想念那畢業離家的孩子、那位搬走的鄰居或那新婚的兒女一樣。但我們與其沉湎於分離所帶來的哀傷中,倒不如把期盼聚焦於一個更光明的未 來——為他,也為我們自己。然後,我們將走出去,盡我們的一切力量去實現夢想中的未來。
Until our plans change—again.
直到我們的計劃——再次改變。
：天涯若比鄰
I grew up in Jamaica Plain, an urban community located on the 1***outskirts of Boston, 2***Massachusetts. In the 1940’s it was a 3***wholesome, 4***quaint little community. It was my home and I loved it there; back then I thought I would never leave. My best friend Rose and I used to collectively dream about raising a family of our own someday. We had it all planned out to live next door to one another.
我在牙買加平原長大,那是美國馬薩諸塞州波士頓市郊的一個城鎮。在20世紀40年代,那是個生氣勃勃而又老式別緻的小社群。那是我的家鄉,我熱愛的地方。那時,我以為自己永遠不會離開。我最好的朋友羅斯和我常常一起夢想著有一天各自擁有自己的家庭。我們什麼都計劃好了,還想著以後要挨著住,做鄰居。
Our dream remained alive through 5***grade school, high school, and even beyond. Rose was my 6***maid of honor when I got married in 1953 to the love of my life, Dick. Even then she joked that she was just one perfect guy short of being married, thus bringing us closer to our dream. Meanwhile, Dick aspired to be an officer in the 7***Marines and I fully supported his ambitions. I realized that he might be 8***stationed far away from Jamaica Plain, but I told him I would 9***relocate and adjust. The idea of experiencing new places together seemed somewhat romantic to me.
我們的這一夢想歷經小學、中學,甚至之後的歲月,從未變更。1953年當我嫁給我一生的摯愛——迪克時,羅斯是我的伴娘。那時,她甚至開玩笑說,她就差結婚了,要不就完美了——這樣就可以離我們的夢想更近了。就在那時,迪克決心成為一名海軍陸戰隊軍官,而我則全力支援他的雄心壯志。我意識到,他可能會在牙買加平原以外很遠的地方駐紮,不過我告訴他我可以重新安家並適應下來。和他一起體驗新天地的生活,這想法對我來說有些浪漫。
So, in 1955 Dick was stationed in Alaska and we relocated. Rose was sad to see me leave, but wished me the best of luck. Rose and I remained in touch for a few years via periodic phone call but after awhile we lost track of one another. Back in the 1950’s it was a lot more difficult to stay in touch with someone over a long distance, especially if you were relocating every few years. There were no email addresses or transferable phone number and directory lookup services were mediocre at best.
於是,1955年迪克被安排駐紮在阿拉斯加時,我們搬家了。羅斯對我的離開感到很難過,但仍祝我好運。接下來的幾年裡,我們通過定期打電話來保持聯絡,但不久我們便失去了彼此的音訊。20世紀50年代那會,要想和遠方的人保持聯絡並不太容易,特別是當你每隔幾年就要搬家時。那時還沒有***或者搬家不換號的服務,姓名地址查詢服務也不甚完善。
I thought of her several times over the years. Once in the mid 1960’s when I was visiting the Greater Boston area I tried to determine her 12***whereabout but my search turned up empty-handed. Jamaica Plain had changed 13***drastically in the 10 years I was gone. A pretty obvious shift in income demographics was affecting my old neighborhood. My family had moved out of the area, as did many of the people I used to know. Rose was nowhere to be found.
這些年來,我有好幾次想起了她。20世紀60年代中期,有一次在我去大波士頓區時,我嘗試追尋她的下落,但卻搜尋未果。在我離開後的10年裡,牙買加平原發生了鉅變。外來人口的大量遷入影響了我的舊社群。我家早已搬離了那個地區,從前認識的鄰居中有很多也搬走了。羅斯則杳無音訊,無跡可尋。
52 years passed and we never spoke. I’ve since raised a family of five, all of whom now have families of their own, and Dick passed away a few years ago. Basically, a lifetime has passed. Now here I am at the doorstep to my 80th birthday and I receive a random phone call on an idle Wednesday afternoon. “Hello?” I said. “Hi Natalie, it’s Rose,” the voice on the other end replied. “It’s been so long. I don’t know if you remember me, but we used to be best friends in Jamaica Plain when we were kid” she said.
52年過去了,我們再未說過話。後來,我有了一個五口之家,現在孩子們也全都有了自己的家庭,而迪克也在幾年前去世了。基本上,我的一生就這麼過去了。如今,在我即將邁入八十大壽之際,一個空閒的週三下午我接到了一個陌生來電。“喂?”我打招呼道。“嗨,納塔利,我是羅斯。”電話那頭的聲音迴應道。“已經過了這麼久了。我不知道你還記不記得我,過去還是小孩子的時候,在牙買加平原,我們是最好的朋友。”她說道。
We haven’t seen each other yet, but we have spent countless hours on the phone14***catching up on 52 years of our lives. The interesting thing is that even after 52 years of separation our personalities and interests are still extremely similar. We both share a passion for several hobbies that we each 15***picked up independently several years after we lost touch with one another. It almost feels like we are picking up right where we left off, which is really strange considering the circumstances.
我們到現在也還沒再見過面,但我們花了很長的時間在電話裡互訴了這52年裡我們各自的生活。有意思的是,即使是分別了52年,我們的個性和興趣仍然極其相似。我們都鍾情於某些愛好,而那是在我們失去聯絡幾年後各自養成的。這感覺簡直就像我們才剛剛分別就又重聚了一樣,考慮到現實情況,這確實讓人感到有些奇怪。
Her husband passed away a few years ago as well, but she mailed me several photographs of her family that were taken over the years. It’s so crazy, just looking at the photos and listening to her describe her family reminds me of my own; a reasonably large, healthy family. Part of me feels like we led fairly similar lives.
她的丈夫也在幾年前去世了,但她寄了幾張那些年裡拍的家庭合影給我。令人興奮不已的是,僅僅是看著這些照片,聽她描述著她的家庭就讓我想起了我自己的家庭;一個相當健康的大家庭。內心深處,我感到我們有著極其相似的人生。
I don’t think the numerous similarities between our two lives are a coincidence either. I think it shows that we didn’t just call each other best friend we truly were best friend and even now we can be best friends again. Real friends have two things in common: a compatible personality and a strong-willed character. The compatible personality is what initiates the connection between two people and a strong-willed character at both ends is what maintains the connection. If those two ingredients are present in a friendship, the friendship is for real, and can thus sustain the tests of time and prolonged absence without 16***faltering.
我們兩個人的生命中有如此多的相似之處,我並不認為這僅僅是巧合。我認為這表示,我們視彼此為最好的朋友,不只是嘴上說的,而是真真切切地曾經為彼此最好的朋友,即使到了現在,我們還是可以成為最好的朋友。真正的朋友有兩個共同點:相容的個性和堅強的品格。相容的個性是最初連線兩人的紐帶,而這一紐帶的維繫則有賴於雙方所擁有的堅強品格。如果一段友誼裡有著這兩者的存在,那麼這段友誼就是真的,這樣一來,它就能經受住時間和長久分離的考驗而毫不“褪色”。
以上就是小編為大家帶來的，希望大家喜歡!