英語哲理散文欣賞
英語散文的發展歷程十分曲折,散文大家風格多變,兼之中英語言個性殊異,若要成功地把英語散文大家的作品翻譯到中文,既須瞭解英語散文發展的概況,又須注意保證氣韻邏輯通暢,文氣沛然,才能傳神譯出,曲盡其妙,令漢語讀者獲得相同或相近的審美感受。下面小編為大家帶來,歡迎大家閱讀!
英語哲理散文:生命過程的樂趣
If you have ever been discouraged because of failure, please read on.
如果你曾因失敗沮喪過,請繼續讀下去。
For often, achieving what you set out to do is not the important thing. Let me explain.
完成你經常開始要做的事可不是大事,讓我娓娓道來。
Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch.
有兄弟倆人決定在他們房子後面挖一個深洞。就在他們不停挖洞時,幾個年齡大點的男孩在附近停下來觀看。
"What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors.
“你們在做什麼?”其中一個問道。
"We plan to dig a hole all the way through the earth!" one of the brothers volunteered excitedly.
“我們計劃挖一個洞,一直穿過地球到達另一端!”兄弟倆中的一個興奮地搶先說道。
The older boys began to laugh, telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible.
這些大男孩開始大笑,告訴這兩個兄弟挖洞穿過地球是不可能的。
After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders, worms and a wide assortment of insects. He removed the lid and showed the wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors.
長長的沉寂之後,其中一個挖掘者從洞裡拿出一個裝滿蜘蛛、蠕蟲和各種各樣昆蟲的罐子,他開啟蓋子把這些奇妙的東西展示給那些嘲諷者看。
Then he said quietly and confidently, "Even if we don't dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!"
然後他平靜而又自信地說:“即使我們挖不到地球另一端,但看看我們途中發現的東西!”
Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is what a goal is for-to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen; in other words, to set us to digging!
他們的目標是太過於雄心勃勃了,但確實鼓勵他們去做了。而這就是目標之所在——使我們朝著我們所選擇的方向前進,換句話說,就是讓我們去挖掘!
But not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end successfully. Not every relationship will endure. Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every endeavor will be completed. Not every dream will be realized.
但不是每一個目標都會完全實現,也不是每一樣工作都能夠最終成功;不是每一種關係都能夠持久,也不是每一絲希望都能夠實現;不是每一次愛都能夠天長地久,不是每一次努力都會碩果累累,也不是每一個夢想都能夠實現。
But when you fall short of your aim, perhaps you can say, "Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!"
但當你沒有達到目標時,也許你可以說:“是的,但看看我們途中所發現的東西!看看這些因為我盡力去做而走進我生活的美妙東西!”
It is in the digging that life is lived. And I believe it is joy in the journey, in the end, that truly matters.
生命正是在挖掘的過程中才具有活力。而且我相信到最後真正要緊的還是過程中的樂趣。
英語哲理散文:生活的一課
“everything happens for the best,”my mother said whenever I faced disappointment.“If you can carry on,one day something good will happen. And you‘ll realize that it wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous disappointment.”
每當我遇到挫折時,母親就會說:“一切都會好的。如果你堅持下去,總有一天會有好事發生。你會認識到,如果沒有以前的挫折就不會有現在的一切。”
Mother was right,as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932.I had decided to try for a job in radio,then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station-and got turned down every time.
母親是對的,發現這個是在1932年,我剛從大學畢業。我已決定試著在電臺找個事兒做,然後爭取做體育節目的播音員。我搭便車到了芝加哥,挨個電臺地敲門推銷自己——但每次都被拒絕了。
In one studio,a kind lady told me that big stations couldn‘t risk hiring inexperienced person-“Go out in the sticks and find a small station that’ll give you a chance,”she said.
在一個播音室裡,一位好心的女士告訴我,大的廣播電臺是不會冒險僱用沒經驗的新手的。“去鄉下找一家給你機會的小電臺吧,”她說。
I thumbed home to Dixon,Illinois. While them was no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon,my father sad Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football,I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn‘t hired.
我搭車來到我的家鄉,那是伊利諾斯州的迪克森。在迪克森當時還沒有電臺播音員這樣的工作,父親說,蒙哥馬利·沃德開了一家新商店,想僱請一個本地的運動員管理店裡的體育部。我中學時曾在迪克森打過橄欖球,出於這個原因我去申請了這份工作。工作聽起來挺適合我的,但是我沒被聘用。
My disappointment must have shown.“Everything happens for the best,”Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to job hunt. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport,Iowa. The program director,a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur,told me they had already hired an announcer.
我的沮喪心情一定表現出來了。“一切總會好的,”母親提醒我說。爸爸給我買了一輛汽車找工作用。我試著到愛荷華州達文波特的woc電臺去求職。那裡的電臺節目總監是一個很棒的蘇格蘭人,名叫彼得·麥克阿瑟,他告訴我他們已經僱到播音員了。
As I left his office,my frustration boiled over. I asked a1oud,“How can a fellow get to be a sport announcer if he can‘t get a job in a radio station?”
離開他辦公室時,我的挫折感達到了極點。我大聲地說:“一個連在電臺都找不到工作的傢伙又怎麼能成為體育節目的播映員呢?
I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling,“What was that you said about sports?Do you know anything about football?”Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game.
等電梯時,我聽到麥克阿瑟喊道:“你說什麼體育?你懂橄欖球嗎?”接著他讓我站到麥克風前面,請我解說一場想象中的比賽。
On my way home,as I have many times since,I thought of my mother‘s words:“if you carry on,one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous disappointment”I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I‘d gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.
在回家的路上——以後也有很多次的,我思考著母親的那句話:“如果你堅持下去,總要一天會有好事發生。如果沒有以前的挫折,就不會有現在的一切。”我常想,如果當年我得到蒙哥馬利·沃德的那份工作,我的人生之路又會怎樣走呢?