adbaobao 发表于 2008-10-26 07:49:18

英文美文:美丽的微笑与爱心(Beautiful Smile and Love)

The poor are very wonderful people. One evening we went out and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition,and I told the sisters: You take care of the other three. I take care of this one who looked worse. So I did for her all that my love can do. I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand as she said just the words “thank you” and she died. I could not help but examine my conscience[良心]before her and I asked what would I say if I was in her place. And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said I am hungry, that I am dying, I am cold, I am in pain, or something, but she gave me much more-she gave me her grateful love. And she died with a smile on her face. As did that man whom we picked up from the drain[阴沟、下水道], half eaten with worms, and we brought him to the home. “I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for.” And it was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man who could speak like that, who could die like that without blaming anybody, without cursing anybody, without comparing anything. Like an angel-this is the greatness of our people. And that is why we believe what Jesus had said: I was hungry, I was naked, I was homeless, I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for, and you did it to me.

   穷人是非常了不起的人。一天晚上,我们外出,从街上带回了四个人,其中一个生命岌岌可危。于是我告诉修女们说:“你们照料其他三个,这个濒危的人就由我来照顾了。”就这样,我为她做了我的爱所能做的一切。我将她放在床上,看到她的脸上绽露出如此美丽的微笑。她握着我的手,只说了句“谢谢您”就死了。我情不自禁地在她面前审视起自己的良知来。我问自己,如果我是她的话,会说些什么呢?答案很简单,我会尽量引起旁人对我的关注,我会说我饥饿难忍,冷得发抖,奄奄一息,痛苦不堪,诸如此类的话。但是她给我的却更多更多――她给了我她的感激之情。她死时脸上却带着微笑。我们从排水道带回的那个男子也是如此。当时,他几乎全身都快被虫子吃掉了,我们把他带回了家。“在街上,我一直像个动物一样地活着,但我将像个天使一样地死去,有人爱,有人关心。”真是太好了,我看到了他的伟大之处,他竟能说出那样的话。他那样地死去,不责怪任何人,不诅咒任何人,无欲无求。像天使一样――这便是我们的人民的伟大之所在。因此我们相信耶稣所说的话――我饥肠辘辘――我衣不蔽体――我无家可归――我不为人所要,不为人所爱,也不为人所关心――然而,你却为我做了这一切。




I believe that we are not real social workers. We may be doing social work in the eyes of the people, but we are really contemplatives[修行者、沉思冥想的人] in the heart of the world. For we are touching the body of Christ twenty-four hours…And I think that in our family we don’t need bombs and guns, to destroy, to bring peace, just get together, love one another, bring that peace, that joy, that strength of presence of each other in the home. And we will be able to overcome all the evil that is in the world.

    我想,我们算不上真正的社会工作者。在人们的眼中,或许我们是在做社会工作,但实际上,我们真的只是世界中心的修行者。因为,一天24小时,我们都在触摸基督的圣体。我想,在我们的大家庭时,我们不需要枪支和炮弹来破坏和平,或带来和平――我们只需要团结起来,彼此相爱,将和平、欢乐以及每一个家庭成员灵魂的活力都带回世界。这样,我们就能战胜世界上现存的一切邪恶。




And with this prize that I have received as a Prize of Peace, I am going to try to make the home for many people who have no home. Because I believe that love begins at home, and if we can create a home for the poor I think that more and more love will spread. And we will be able through this understanding love to bring peace be the good news to the poor. The poor in our own family first, in our country and in the world. To be able to do this, our Sisters, our lives have to be wove with prayer. They have to be woven with Christ to be able to understand, to be able to share. Because to be woven with Christ is to be able to understand, to be able to share. Because today there is so much suffering…When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But a person who is shut out, who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person who has been thrown out from society-that poverty is so full of hurt and so unbearable…And so let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love, and once we begin to love each other naturally we want to do something.
我准备以我所获得的诺贝尔和平奖奖金为那些无家可归的人们建立自己的家园。因为我相信,爱源自家庭,如果我们能为穷人建立家园,我想爱便会传播得更广。而且,我们将通过这种宽容博大的爱而带来和平,成为穷人的福音。首先为我们自己家里的穷人,其次为我们国家,为全世界的穷人。为了做到这一点,姐妹们,我们的生活就必须与祷告紧紧相连,必须同基督结结一体才能互相体谅,共同分享,因为同基督结合一体就意味着互相体谅,共同分享。因为,今天的世界上仍有如此多的苦难存在……当我从街上带回一个饥肠辘辘的人时,给他一盘饭,一片面包,我就能使他心满意足了,我就能躯除他的饥饿。但是,如果一个人露宿街头,感到不为人所要,不为人所爱,惶恐不安,被社会抛弃――这样的贫困让人心痛,如此令人无法忍受。因此,让我们总是微笑想见,因为微笑就是爱的开端,一旦我们开始彼此自然地相爱,我们就会想着为对方做点什么了。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-10-27 10:09:39

英语美文:How to Grow Happiness(种植幸福的三个步骤)

Step one:

  Plant yourself deep in a bed of faith, and pack it down solid and tight. Drench daily with positive thinking, and keep saturated just right. Mulch often with forgivenss, for this will help you grow. Quickly remove any seeds of worry, for they will soon germinate, and keep out the weeds of despair. Nourish disappointments with hope whenever it is neeeded, and always stay cool and shaded when you feel irritated or heated. Trim away guilt or depression, for they create decay, and cultivate with happy memories as often as every day.      
   步骤一:

  把自己紧紧牢牢地埋在“信念”的土壤里。每天浇灌以“积极”的思想,并始终保持湿润。经常以“宽容”来护根,这样有利于幸福的幼苗成长。一旦发现忧虑的种子,及时除掉,否则它们很快就生根发芽,同时也将绝望消灭在萌芽状态。在必要时,用希望来滋养失望;烦躁不安的时候,保持冷静。修剪枝叶,修剪去愧疚和沮丧,否则很快出现衰枝败叶。每天用“幸福回忆”细心照料幼苗。

  Step two:

  Harvest the lessons of the past; just dig, pick, and hoe. And nurture the roots of the present, for now is when you flourish and grow. Start planting for the future; set your goals in a row. Spade the bed well for all your dreams to grow.      
步骤二:

  挖掘、收割、筛选,从“过往”收获经验。精心照料“此时此刻”的根茎,因为这正是旺盛生长的时期。有所计划与目标,着手种植“明天”。翻掘一下泥土,为孕育明天的梦想做好准备。

  Step three:

  Remember that grief is a natural predator, so learn to tolerate some damage. Protect your garden with daily prayers, for this will help you manage. Bury the criticism and complaining, for they are injurious pests. Sow the seed of love wherever you may go--for joy, love, and laughter are surely bound to grow. Although the thorns of life may be here to stay, just sprout a smile along the way...and be thankful for what you have today!
   步骤三:记住,“不幸”是天生的肉食动物,明白它们带来的伤害在所难免,你就会对不完美多一份理解和宽容。每天“祈祷”,保护你的花园,这有利于掌控。将“批评”与“埋怨”这些害虫掩埋起来。将“爱”的种子播散到你足迹所至的每个角落,“欢乐”、“爱”和“微笑”就会生机无限地发育成长。哪怕生命“荆棘”满途,也要在一旁种上微笑的芽苗……不管一切如何,为今天你所拥有的全部心存感激吧!

adbaobao 发表于 2008-10-27 10:11:03

英语美文:Human Life a Poem 人生如诗

I think that, from a biological standpoint, human life almost reads like a poem. It has its own rhythm and beat, its internal cycles of growth and decay随退. It begins with innocent childhood, followed by awkward adolescence 青春期trying awkwardly to adapt itself to mature society, with its young passions and follies, its ideals and ambitions; then it reaches a manhood of intense activities, profiting from experience and learning more about society and human nature人性; at middle age, there is a slight easing of tension, a mellowing 成熟of character like the ripening of fruit or the mellowing of good wine, and the gradual acquiring of a more tolerant, more cynical and at the same time a kindlier view of life; then In the sunset of our life, the endocrine glands decrease their activity, and if we have a true philosophy of old age and have ordered our life pattern according to it, it is for us the age of peace and security and leisure and contentment; finally, life flickers out and one goes into eternal sleep, never to wake up again.One should be able to sense the beauty of this rhythm of life, to appreciate, as we do in grand symphonies, its main theme, its strains of conflict and the final resolution. The movements of these cycles are very much the same in a normal life, but the music must be provided by the individual himself. In some souls, the discordant note becomes harsher and harsher and finally overwhelms or submerges the main melody. Sometimes the discordant note gains so much power that the music can no longer go on, and the individual shoots himself with a pistol or jump into a river. But that is because his original leitmotif has been hopelessly over-showed through the lack of a good self-education. Otherwise the normal human life runs to its normal end in kind of dignified movement and procession. There are sometimes in many of us too many staccatos or impetuosos, and because the tempo is wrong, the music is not pleasing to the ear; we might have more of the grand rhythm and majestic tempo o the Ganges, flowing slowly and eternally into the sea.No one can say that life with childhood, manhood and old age is not a beautiful arrangement; the day has its morning, noon and sunset, and the year has its seasons, and it is good that it is so. There is no good or bad in life, except what is good according to its own season. And if we take this biological view of life and try to live according to the seasons, no one but a conceited fool or an impossible idealist can deny that human life can be lived like a poem. Shakespeare has expressed this idea more graphically in his passage about the seven stages of life, and a good many Chinese writers have said about the same thing. It is curious that Shakespeare was never very religious, or very much concerned with religion. I think this was his greatness; he took human life largely as it was, and intruded himself as little upon the general scheme of things as he did upon the characters of his plays. Shakespeare was like Nature itself, and that is the greatest compliment we can pay to a writer or thinker. He merely lived, observed life and went away.

adbaobao 发表于 2008-10-27 10:12:09

英文美文:Let the Christ Spirit Shine! 发扬基督的精神

Jesus was born at Christmas so that you give each other something each year at Christmas. You can do it any day, or make an excuse even. Or your birthday, instead of asking people to buy presents for you, buy presents for the poor people that you know. At Christmas, instead of waiting to get presents, buy presents for people that you know, on the street even, or people you don't know, also. If you go out and seek out the homeless, give them presents. That's the best Christmas.

圣诞节是耶稣的生日,所以每年你们会买东西送别人,事实上每天你都可以这样做,甚至你可以特地找个借口来这样做。像你过生日的时候,与其要别人买礼物给你,不如自己买礼物送给那些你知道的穷人。圣诞节的时候,等别人买礼物送你,还不如主动买礼物送给你认识的人,甚至送给在街上那些你不认识的人。如果你去找出那些无家可归的人,送他们一些礼物,那就是一个最美好的圣诞节了。



That's why people buy gifts for Christmas to celebrate the love that Christ has imparted to us, to celebrate the unconditional way He sacrificed for mankind. So we can do that on any occasion to remind ourselves of the loving-kindness within us.



所以圣诞节时,人们才要买礼物,庆祝耶稣基督给我们的爱,庆祝他那种无条件为人类牺牲的精神,我们可以随时随地做同样的事,并提醒自己想起我们内边本来就拥有的爱力与慈悲心。
Hug your colleague! Tell her she is good, she is okay, because she sometimes has an inferiority complex; has a problem of her own. Forgive the one who always hates you and picks on you - buy her a present, compliment her on her dress, make her feel happy as a human being. They can hate you, they can make trouble for you, but you have to always be kind and loving. Their way is hatred and revenge; your way is kindness and love. We have to choose our own way despite the situation.


你们也可以给你的同事一个拥抱,告诉他他很好、做得不错,因为他可能有自己的烦恼或自卑感。原谅那些一直讨厌你、挑剔你的人,买个礼物送他,称赞他的衣着,让他高兴。他们可能讨厌你,可能曾替你带来很多麻烦,但你还是要时时保持和善与爱心,因为他们的做事方式是仇恨与报复,但你的方式是和善与爱心。不管我们处在什么环境,都要选择属于自己的方式。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-10-28 07:43:01

英语美文:月亮的启示Lesson from the Moon

Lesson from the MoonAnonymous
When the moon is fullest it begins to wane,When it is darkest it begins to grow.---------Chinese Proverb    There is a calm wisdom in this old saying that impressed me when I heard it first from a monk of a Buddhist monastery in China. It has often, helped me to retain a good measure of equanimity under stress and hardship as well as when some unexpected success or good luck might have made me too exuberant. There is hope and consolation in the sure knowledge that even the darkest hours of pains and troubles won't last: but also a warning against overrating the passing glories of wealth, power and great good fortune. A warning and a hope, not only for the individual, but also for governments,nations and their leaders, a brief summing up of all that history and human experience can tell us. And beyond all that we might hear in it an echo of the law and order that holds our universe in safe balance.月亮的启示佚名“月盈则亏,晦则明。”中国古谚    这句中国的古语里有种平静的智慧,它最初是由佛教寺院中的一位和尚告诉我的,当时我在中国,这句话给我的印象很深。从那时起,每当我遭遇困难阻碍,或者遇到可能使我过于兴奋的成功或好运的时候,这句话对我的帮助很大,它使我保持镇定,泰然处之。这句话启示我们,不论痛苦或困难的时刻有多么黑暗,它们不会长久持续下去,我们因此会感到希望和宽慰;这句话同时也警示我们,财富、权力或鸿运当头的荣耀,都不过是过眼烟云,我们不必太放在心上。这个道理对个人如此,对于国家和政治领袖也是如此。这句谚语所提供的希望和警示,是整个人类历史经验的结晶。除此之外,我们从这句话里面还可以聆听到使宇宙保持平衡状态的法则与秩序的回声。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-10-28 07:45:04

英语美文:艰辛的人生

The Strenuous LifeTheodore Roosevelthttp://www.qzone361.com/upimg/allimg/080113/2248552.jpg
A life of slothful ease, a life of that peace which springs merely from lack either of desire or of power to strive after great things, is as little worthy of a nation as an individual.
We do not admire the man of timid peace. We admire the man who embodies victorious efforts, the man who never wrongs his neighbor, who is prompt to help a friend, but who has those virile qualities necessary to win in the stern strife of actual life. It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort. Freedom from effort in the present merely means that there has been effort stored up in the past. A man can be freed from the necessity of work only by the fact that he or his fathers before him have worked to good purpose. If the freedom thus purchased is used aright, and the man still does actual work, though of a different kind, whether as a writer or a general, whether in the field of politics or in the field of exploration and adventure, he shows he deserves his good fortune.
But if he treats this period of freedom from the need of actual labor as a period, not of preparation, but of mere enjoyment, even though perhaps not of vicious enjoyment, he shows that he is simply a cumberer on the earth’s surface; and he surely unfits himself to hold his own place with his fellows, if the need to do so should again arise. A mere life of ease is not in the end a very satisfactory life, and, above all, it is a life which ultimately unfits those who follow it for serious work in the world.
As it is with the individual, so it is with the nation. It is a base untruth to say that happy is the nation that has no history. Thrice happy is the nation that has a glorious history. Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.http://www.qzone361.com/upimg/allimg/080125/0727584.gif艰辛的人生
[美国]西奥多•罗斯福
[西奥多•罗斯福(1858-1919),美国第26任总统、作家、探险家和军事家,毕业于哈佛大学,曾发表《勤奋地生活》演说,旨在针对19世纪末美国骄奢淫逸、贪图享乐之风盛行,籍此文以遏制当时的腐败现象,本文《艰辛的人生》也反映了他这种反对怠惰安逸、崇尚奋斗 的人生思想。]

一种怠惰安逸的生活,一种仅仅是由于缺少追寻伟大事物的愿望或能力而导致的悠闲,这对国家与个人都是没有价值的。
我们不欣赏那种怯懦安逸的人。我们钦佩那种表现出奋力向上的人,那种永不屈待邻人,能随时帮助朋友,但是也具有那些刚健的性质,足以在实际生活的严酷斗争中获取胜利的人。失败是艰难的,但是从不曾努力去争取成功,却更为糟糕。在人的一生中,任何的收获都要通过努力去得到。目前不用作任何的努力,只是意味着在过去有过努力的积储。一个人不必工作,除非他或他的祖先曾经努力工作过,并取得了丰厚的收获。如果他能把换取到的此类的自由加以正确地运用,仍然做些实际的工作,尽管那些工作是属于另一类的,不论是作一名作家还是将军,不论是在政界还是在探险和冒险方面做些事情,都表明了他没有辜负自己的好运。
但是,如果他将这段不需从事实际工作的自由时期,不用于准备,而仅仅是用于享乐(尽管他所从事的或许并非邪恶的享乐),那就表明了他只是地球表面上的一个赘疣;而且他肯定无法在同僚之中维持自己的地位,如果那种需要再度出现的话。安逸的生活终究并不是一种令人很满意的生活,而且,最主要的是,过那种生活的人最终肯定没有能力担当世上之重任。
于个人如此,对国家也是这样。有人说一个没有历史的国家是得天独厚的,这是卑鄙的谎言。一种得天独厚的优越感来源于一个国家具有光荣的历史。冒险去从事伟大的事业,赢得光荣的胜利,即使其中掺杂着失败,那也远胜于与那些既没有享受多大快乐也没有遭受多大痛苦的平庸之辈为伍(因为他们生活在一个既享受不到胜利也遭遇不到失败的灰暗境界里)。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-10-28 07:48:59

英语美文:当我渐渐老去的时候

Dear son...
孩子…..

The day that you see me old and I am already not, have patience and try to understand me …
哪天你看到*渐老去,身体也渐渐不行,请耐着性子试着了解我……

If I get dirty when eating… if I can not dress… have patience.
Remember the hours I spent teaching it to you.
如果我吃的脏兮兮,如果我不会穿衣服……
有耐性一点……
你记得我曾花多久时间教你这些事吗?

If, when I speak to you, I repeat the same things thousand and one
times… do not interrupt me… listen to me
如果,当我一再重复述说
同样的事情…不要打断我,听我说….

When you were small, I had to read to you thousand and one times the same story until you get to sleep…
When I do not want to have a shower, neither shame me nor scold me…
你小时候,我必须一遍又一遍的读着同样的故事,直到你静静睡着……..
当我不想洗澡,不要羞辱我也不要责骂我……

Remember when I had to chase you with thousand excuses I invented, in order that you wanted to bath…
When you see my ignorance on new technologies… give me the necessary time and not look at me with your mocking smile…
你记得小时后我曾编出多少理由,只为了哄你洗澡…..
当你看到我对新科技的无知,给我一点时间,不要挂着嘲弄的微笑看着我

I taught you how to do so many things… to eat good, to dress well… to confront life…
我曾教了你多少事情啊….如何好好的吃,好好的穿…
如何面对你的生命……

When at some moment I lose the memory or the thread of our
conversation… let me have the necessary time to remember… and if I cannot do it,
do not become nervous… as the most important thing is not my
conversation but surely to be with you and to have you listening to me…
如果交谈中我忽然失忆不知所云,给我一点时间回想…
如果我还是无能为力,
请不要紧张…..
对我而言重要的不是对话,而是能跟你在一起,和你的倾听…..

If ever I do not want to eat, do not force me. I know well when I need
to and when not.
当我不想吃东西时,不要勉强我.
我清楚知道该什么时候进食

When my tired legs do not allow me walk...
当我的腿不听使唤….

… give me your hand… the same way I did when you gave your first steps.
扶我一把….
如同我曾扶着你踏出你人生的第一步….

And when someday I say to you that I do not want to live any more…
that I want to die… do not get angry… some day you will understand…
当哪天我告诉你不想再活下去了….请不要生气….
总有一天你会了解…

Try to understand that my age is not lived but survived.
试着了解我已是风烛残年,来日可数.

Some day you will discover that, despite my mistakes, I always wanted
the best thing for you and that I tried to prepare the way for you..
有一天你会发现,
即使我有许多过错,我总是尽我所能要给你最好的…

You must not feel sad, angry or impotent for seeing me near you. You
must be next to me, try to understand me and to help me as I did it when
you started living.
Help me to walk… help me to end my way with love and patience. I will
pay you by a smile and by the immense love I have had always for you.
当我靠近你时不要觉得感伤,生气或无奈
你要紧挨着我,如同我当初帮着你展开人生一样的
了解我,帮我….
扶我一把,用爱跟耐心帮我走完人生…
我将用微笑和我始终不变无边无际的爱来回报你

I love you son…
我爱你孩子

Your father
你的父亲

adbaobao 发表于 2008-10-29 16:47:36

英语美文:珍惜每一天(Everyday is A Gift)

My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This", he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip.

妹夫打开了妹妹衣柜最底层抽屉,拿出一个用纸包装的包裹。“这个,”他说,“不是件普通内衣,而是一件豪华内衣。”他把薄纸撕开,递给了我那件内衣。

It was exquisite, silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached.

它的确精致无比,丝质、全手工缝制,周围还有一圈网状蕾丝花边。价签都尚未拆去,上面的数字高得惊人。
"Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion.

“这是我们第一次去纽约时简买的,至少已是八、九年前的事了。她从没有穿过它。她想等一个特殊的日子再穿它。”

Well, I guess this is the occasion.

唉,我想现在便是那特殊的日子了。

He took the slip from me and put it on the bed, with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me, "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you' re alive is a special occasion."

妹夫从我手中拿过内衣放在床上,和其他我们要带给殡仪服务人员的衣服放在一起。他的手在那柔软织物上徘徊了一会儿,随即砰然关上抽屉,转身对我说:“永远不要把任何东西留给什么特殊日子。你活着的每一天就是一个特殊的日子。”

I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.

这两句话久久在我耳边回响着,伴我度过了葬礼和帮妹夫、侄女处理妹妹意外死亡后的伤心后事的那几天。我从位处中西部的妹妹家返回加州时,在飞机上还是在想这两句话。我想到妹妹未曾有机会看到、听到或去做的事。我想到她淡然做过,但却没有意识到其特殊性的事。


http://www.52en.com/img/cl-ponder.jpg
I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savour, not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moment now and cherish them.

我至今还在想着妹夫说的话,正是它们改变了我的心境。我花了更多的时间与家人朋友在一起,而少花些时间在那些工作会议上。无论何时,生活应当是一种“品味”而非一种“忍受”。我在学习欣赏每一刻,并珍惜每一刻。

I'm not "saving" anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special. Event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom… I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28. 49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party going friends.

我不再去“珍藏”任何东西;只要有一点好事,我们就不吝啬使用精美的瓷器和水晶制品,比如说当体重减了一磅时,当厨房水槽堵塞通了时,当第一朵山茶花绽放时……如果我想穿,我就穿上我名牌衣服去市场购物。我的理论是:如果我看上去还富足的话,我可以毫不心疼地为一小袋杂货付出28.49美元。我不再为特殊的派对而珍藏我上好的香水;五金店售货员和银行出纳员们的嗅觉,不会比派对上朋友们来得差。

http://www.52en.com/img/family_laugh.jpg
"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I' m not sure what my sister would've done had she know that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted.

“有朝一日”和“终有一天”这样的词正从我的常用词汇中淡出。如果值得去看、去听或去做,我当即就要去看、去听或去做。人们总是理所当然的以为自己必然有明天,不知假如妹妹知道她将没有明日,她会做些什么。

I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize, and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing. I'll never know.

我想她会给家人和几位密友打电话。她可能还会给几位昔日朋友打电话主动道歉,摒弃前嫌。我想她可能会外出吃顿她喜欢的中餐。我只是猜想而已。我永远也不会知道。

It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them.

假如我知道我的时间不多了,那些没来得及做的小事会让我恼火。恼火是因为我一拖再拖没能去看看“有朝一日”会去看的好友们。恼火是因为我还没有写出我“终有一天”要写的信。恼火与内疚是因为我没能更经常地告诉我的丈夫和女儿:我是多么真切地爱他们。

I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that every day, every minute, every breath truly, is... a gift from God.

我正努力不再拖延、保留或珍藏那些能给我们生活带来欢笑和光彩的东西。每天清晨当我睁开双眼,我便告诉自己每一天、每一分钟、每一瞬间都真是……上帝赐予的礼物。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-10-29 16:49:48

英语美文:Youth 青春

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing appetite for what's next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart, there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, courage and power from man and from the infinite, so long as you are young.

When your aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you've grown old, even at 20; but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there's hope you may die young at 80.




    青春不是年华,而是心境;青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝,而是深沉的意志、宏伟的想象、炽热的感情;青春是生命的深泉在涌流。
  青春气贯长虹,勇锐盖过怯弱,进去压倒苟安,如此锐气,二十后生有之,六旬男子则更多见。年年有加,并非垂老;理想丢弃,方堕暮年。
  岁月悠悠,衰微只及肌肤;热忱抛却,颓唐必至灵魂。烦忧、惶恐、丧失自信,定使心灵扭曲,意气如灰。
  无论年届花甲,抑或二八芳龄,心中皆有生命之欢乐,奇迹之诱惑,孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一台天线,只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号,你就青春永驻,风华常存。
  一旦天线倒塌,锐气被冰雪覆盖,玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生,几十年方二十,实已垂老矣;然则只要竖起天线,捕捉乐观的信号,你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉得年轻。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-10-29 16:53:49

英语美文:Eating the Cookie 生活的真谛
One of my patients, a successful businessman, tells me that before his cancer
he would become depressed unless things went a certain way. Happiness was
"having the cookie." If you had the cookie, things were good. If you didn't have
the cookie, life wasn't worth a damn【一文不值】. Unfortunately, the cookie kept changing.
Some of the time it was money, sometimes power, sometimes sex. At other times,
it was the new car, the biggest contract, the most prestigious address. A year
and a half after his diagnosis of prostate cancer he sits shaking his head
ruefully. "It's like I stopped learning how to live after I was a kid. When I
give my son a cookie, he is happy. If I take the cookie away or it breaks, he is
unhappy. But he is two and a half and I am forty-three. It's taken me this long
to understand that the cookie will never make me happy for long. The minute you
have the cookie it starts to crumble or you start to worry about it crumbling or
about someone trying to take it away from you. You know, you have to give up a
lot of things to take care of the cookie, to keep it from crumbling and be sure
that no one takes it away from you. You may not even get a chance to eat it
because you are so busy just trying not to lose it. Having the cookie is not
what life is about." 
 My patient laughs and says cancer has changed him. For the first time he is
happy. No matter if his business is doing well or not, no matter if he wins or
loses at golf. "Two years ago, cancer asked me, 'Okay, what's important? What is
really important?' Well, life is important. Life. Life any way you can have it,
life with the cookie, life without the cookie. Happiness does not have anything
to do with the cookie; it has to do with being alive. Before, who made the
time?" He pauses thoughtfully. "Damn, I guess life is the cookie."

  精美译文:

我有一位病人,他是一个成功的商人,告诉我,在他患癌症之前,凡事如果没有确定下来他就忧心忡忡。对他而言
,幸福是“拥有小甜饼”。如果你拥有了小甜饼,一切都一帆风顺。如果你没有小甜饼,生活就一文不值。不幸的是,
小甜饼总是不断变换着,有时是金钱,有时是权力,有时是欲望。在其他时候,它是一辆新车、一份数额最大的合同、
或者一个享有声望的通讯地址。在他被诊断出患有前列腺癌的一年半之后,他坐在那里,悲天悯人地摇着头,说:“长
大以后,我好像就不知道怎样生活了。当我给我儿子一个小甜饼时,他心花怒放。如果我拿走甜饼或者是小甜饼碎了,
他就闷闷不乐。不同的是,他只有两岁半,而我已经43了。我花了这么长的时间才明白小甜饼并不能使我长久感到幸福
。从你拥有小甜饼的那一刻,它就开始破碎,或者你就开始担心它会破碎,抑或你开始担心别人拿走它。为了守护你的
小甜饼,为了防止它破碎或者确定别人不会从你手中夺走它,你不得不放弃许多东西。你忙于不让自己失去它,甚至没
有时间享受它。拥有小甜饼并不是生活的全部内容。”
  我的病人笑着说癌症已经改变了他。不论他的生意是否一帆风顺,不论他在打高尔夫球时是输是赢,他有生以来第
一次感到幸福。“两年前,癌症问我‘什么重要?什么才真正的重要?’对,生命重要。生命。生命,无论如何你拥有
生命。有小甜饼也罢,没有小甜饼也罢,幸福与小甜饼并非息息相关,而是与生命的存在有关。可是,时光一去不复返
,谁又能让时光倒流呢?”他停顿了一下,若有所思,说:“该死,我觉得生命就是那块小甜饼”。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-11-1 08:09:45

英语美文:The Loneliness of Personal Growth 成长的孤独

We’re like the cream. When the cream rises to the top, it separates itself from the milk. Perhaps that is what the New Age Movement is really all about. We find ourselves lonely at the top. Yes, it is.


我们就像奶油。当奶油浮到顶部的时候,它会和牛奶分离。也许这种现象正像是新世纪运动的写照。我们发现自己飞得越高,就会越感孤独。是的,这就是现实。

It is no different with political enlightenment, spiritual enlightenment, or even becoming enlightened about relating to each other. The more mentally healthy you become, the more spiritual, the more balanced, the wealthier, the more global you become… the more alone you may feel.


不论是政治或精神修养的造诣有多深,或者甚至是与他人之间有一种默契的关系,就孤独这一点而言,是没有区别的。你越是拥有健康有理智,精神修养的造诣越深,生活越平衡,越富有,或你的名气传播得越广,你也会感觉越孤独。

Often, we find ourselves unable to find those other rare individuals who are choosing the same path as ours. The path of sloppy and lazy is full of other people to meet and talk to. The path of whiners is full. The path of being safe, generic, and boring is so crowded you almost cannot even move forward. Isn’t that why you left that path? You had a need to move forward, a need for some elbowroom, a need to spread your arms wide, a need to be seen as special, unique, different. The masses may admire you, but they are not going to be able to really relate to you. You will be alone much of the time.


经常,我们很难找到那些选择我们和我们同路的人们。那条潮湿,慵懒的道路挤满了可以相遇并聊天的人。那条满是牢骚者的道路上也拥挤不堪。那条所谓安全,普通以及枯燥的道路是如此拥挤以至于你无法向前挪步。难道这不正是你离开那条道路的原因吗?你需要向前挪步,需要活动的空间,需要展开你的双臂,需要被认知为特别,有个性,与众不同。万千大众仰慕你,但他们却不可能真正地融入你。大部分的时间里,你将是孤独的。

Do not be afraid of the loneliness of enlightenment. Do not force others to agree with you. Simply give your heart and know that you are growing and that they are free to grow or not. It is the nature of the game. We are all free to choose our paths.

不要害怕因造诣深而产生的孤独感。不必要勉强别人赞识你。做你自己,坚定着你自己的成长,别人是否愿意成长就由他们自己去决定吧。这就是自然界的规则。我们都有选择自己道路的自由。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-11-1 08:11:51

英语美文:If I Rest,I Rust 如果我休息,我就会生锈

inscription found on an old key---“If I rest, I rust”---would be an excellent motto for those who are afflicted with the slightest bit of idleness. Even the most industrious person might adopt it with advantage to serve as a reminder that, if one allows his faculties to rest, like the iron in the unused key, they will soon show signs of rust and, ultimately, cannot do the work required of them.

Those who would attain the heights reached and kept by great men must keep their faculties polished by constant use, so that they may unlock the doors of knowledge, the gate that guard the entrances to the professions, to science, art, literature, agriculture---every department of human endeavor.

Industry keeps bright the key that opens the treasury of achievement. If Hugh Miller, after toiling all day in a quarry, had devoted his evenings to rest and recreation, he would never have become a famous geologist. The celebrated mathematician, Edmund Stone, would never have published a mathematical dictionary, never have found the key to science of mathematics, if he had given his spare moments to idleness, had the little Scotch lad, Ferguson, allowed the busy brain to go to sleep while he tended sheep on the hillside instead of calculating the position of the stars by a string of beads, he would never have become a famous astronomer.

Labor vanquishes all---not inconstant, spasmodic, or ill-directed labor; but faithful, unremitting, daily effort toward a well-directed purpose. Just as truly as eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, so is eternal industry the price of noble and enduring success.


译文:

如果我休息,我就会生锈

在一把旧钥匙上发现了一则意义深远的铭文——如果我休息,我就会生锈。对于那些懒散而烦恼的人来说,这将是至理名言。甚至最为勤勉的人也以此作为警示:如果一个人有才能而不用,就像废弃钥匙上的铁一样,这些才能就会很快生锈,并最终无法完成安排给自己的工作。

有些人想取得伟人所获得并保持的成就,他们就必须不断运用自身才能,以便开启知识的大门,即那些通往人类努力探求的各个领域的大门,这些领域包括各种职业:科学,艺术,文学,农业等。

勤奋使开启成功宝库的钥匙保持光亮。如果休•米勒在采石场劳作一天后,晚上的时光用来休息消遣的话,他就不会成为名垂青史的地质学家。著名数学家爱德蒙•斯通如果闲暇时无所事事,就不会出版数学词典,也不会发现开启数学之门的钥匙。如果苏格兰青年弗格森在山坡上放羊时,让他那思维活跃的大脑处于休息状态,而不是借助一串珠子计算星星的位置,他就不会成为著名的天文学家。

劳动征服一切。这里所指的劳动不是断断续续的,间歇性的或方向偏差的劳动,而是坚定的,不懈的,方向正确的每日劳动。正如要想拥有自由就要时刻保持警惕一样,要想取得伟大的,持久的成功,就必须坚持不懈地努力。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-11-1 08:13:47

英语美文:生活充满选择

Michael is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I'd be twins!” He was a natural motivator.
迈克尔是那种你真想恨一恨的家伙,他总是乐呵呵的,总是说些积极上进的话。如果有人问他近况如何,他会这样回答:“如果我还能再好,我就成双胞胎了!”他生来就会让人积极进取。

If an employee was having a bad day, Michael was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Michael and asked him, "I don't get it. You can't be positive all the time. How do you do it?"
如果哪位雇员有天过得很糟糕,迈克尔会告诉他如何看待问题的积极一面。他的这种方式着实让我好奇,所以有一天我找到迈克尔问:“我真弄不明白。你怎么能总是那样积极乐观?你是如何做到这一点的?”

Michael replied, each morning I wake up and say to myself 'Mike, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."
迈克尔回答说,“每天早晨醒来时我对自己说,‘迈克,今天你有两种选择。你可以选择心情愉快,你也可以选择心情恶劣。'我选择心情愉快。每次什么不愉快的事情发生时,我可以选择成为一个牺牲品,也可以选择从中吸取教训。我选择从中吸取教训。每次有什么人找我来抱怨,我可以选择接受他们的抱怨,也可以选择向他指出生活的积极面。我选择指出生活的积极面。”

"Yeah, right. It isn't that easy." I protested.
“是的,不错。可并不那么容易呀。”我表示异议。

"Yes it is, " Michael said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line is: It's your choice how you live life. " I reflected on what Michael said.
“其实很容易,”迈克尔说。“生活就是选择。从每一事物剔除一切枝节后剩下的都是一种选择。你选择如何应付生活中的种种情形。你选择他人会怎样影响你的情绪。你选择是心情愉快还是心情恶劣。说到底:如何生活是你自己的选择。”我琢磨着迈克尔的这席话。

Soon thereafter, I left the big enterprise that I had worked in for years to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often though about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard Michael was involved in a serious accident, falling off 60 feet from a communications tower.
那以后不久,我离开了工作数年的大企业去创建自己的公司。我们失去了联系,但当我对生活做出一种选择而非对它做出反应时,我时常想起迈克尔。几年之后,我听说迈克尔遭遇一场恶性事故,从一座通讯大楼的60英尺高处掉了下来。

After l8 hours of surgery, and weeks of intensive care, Michael was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw Michael about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
在经历了18个小时的手术和数周的精心护理之后,迈克尔出院了,背部装有金属杆。大约事故半年之后,我见到了迈克尔。当我问他怎么样时,他回答,“如果我还能再好,我就成双胞胎了。想看看我的伤疤吗?”我拒绝看他的伤痕,但的确问了他事故发生时他是怎么想的。

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well being of my soon-to-born daughter," Michael replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, remembered I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Michael continued, "... the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the operation room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, l read 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me” said Michael. "She asked me if I was allergic to anything. ‘Yes,' I said. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled", ‘Gravity'” Over their laughter, I told them, 'I'm choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead'."
“我首先想到的是我那即将出世的女儿的幸福生活,”迈克尔答道。“当时我躺在地上,我记起我有两种选择:我可以选择活着,也可以选择死。我选择了活。”“你难道不害怕吗?你失去知觉了吗?”我问。迈克尔接着说,“……那些护理人员棒极了。他们不停地告诉我我会好的。但当他们把我推进手术室,我看到医生和护士脸上的表情时,我真是吓坏了。在他们的眼里,我读出了‘他是个死人。'我知道我应该采取行动。”“你采取了什么行动?”我问道。“有一位人高马大的护士大声冲我问问题,”迈克尔说。“她问我是否对什么过敏。‘是的,'我说。医生和护士都停下手中的活儿等我回答。我深吸一口气大声说出,‘万有引力。'他们的笑声未了,我告诉他们,‘我选择活着。把我当活人而不是死人来做手术。”'

Michael lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I 1eamed from him that every day we have a choice to live fully. Attitude is everything.
迈克尔活了下来,这要感谢他那些医生的高明医术,但也要归功于他那令人赞叹的态度。我从他那里学到了我们每天都有机会充实地活着,关键是态度。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-11-3 08:50:30

英文美文:All you remember

All you remember about your child being an infant is the incredible awe you felt about the precious miracle you created. You remember having plenty of time to bestow all your wisdom and knowledge. You thought your child would take all of your advice and make fewer mistakes, and be much smarter than you were. You wished for your child to hurry and grow up.
    当你的孩子是个婴儿时,你所记得的,是你对自己创造出的堪称完美奇迹的作品,感到不可思议的敬畏。你记得你有大量的时间去传授你所有的智慧和知识。你认为你的孩子将会接受你所有的忠告而少犯错误,将会比孩提时代的你聪明许多。你多希望你的孩子快快长大。
All you remember about your child being two is never using the restroom alone or getting to watch a movie without talking animals. You recall afternoons talking on the phone while crouching in the bedroom closet, and being convinced your child would be the first Ivy League college student to graduate wearing pullovers at the ceremony. You remember worrying about the bag of M&M's melting in your pocket and ruining your good dress. You wished for your child to be more independent.
   孩子两岁时,你所记得的,是从不能独自使用卫生间,从不看一部与动物无关的电影。你记得那些蜷缩在卧室储衣间跟朋友通电话的下午,深信你的孩子将是第一个身着套头衫出席毕业典礼的常春藤名牌大学毕业生。你记得你担心那袋M&M巧克力糖会在你的衣兜里融化,毁了你体面的衣服。你多希望你的孩子更独立些。All you remember about your child being five is the first day of school and finally having the house to yourself. You remember joining the PTA and being elected president when you left a meeting to use the restroom. You remember being asked "Is Santa real?" and saying "yes" because he had to be for a little bit longer. You remember shaking the sofa cushions for loose change, so the toothfairy could come and take away your child's first lost tooth. You wished for your child to have all permanent teeth.
  孩子5岁时,你所记得的,是他上学第一天你终于独自拥有整个房子了。你记得参加家长—教师联系会,在你离开会议室去洗手间时,你当选为会长。你记得孩子问你“圣诞老人是真的吗?”你回答“是的”,因为他还需要你的肯定回答,尽管不久他就能自己判断了。你记得在沙发垫子下一通翻腾要找出些零钱,这样牙齿仙女就会来把你孩子掉的第一颗牙带走。你多希望孩子的牙都换成了恒牙。
All you remember about your child being seven is the carpool schedule. You learned to apply makeup in two minutes and brush your teeth in the rearview mirror because the only time you had to yourself was when you were stopped at red lights. You considered painting your car yellow and posting a "taxi" sign on the lawn next to the garage door. You remember people staring at you, the few times you were out of the car, because you kept flexing your foot and making acceleration noises. You wished for the day your child would learn how to drive.

 孩子7岁时,你所记得的,是合伙用车的时间安排。你学会了在两分钟内化完妆,照着汽车后视镜刷牙,因为你能给你自己找出的时间就只有汽车停在红灯前的那小段。你想过把你的车子漆成黄色,并在车库门旁的草坪上立一个“出租车”的标志牌。你记得有几次你下车后,人们盯着你,因为你不断用脚踩油门加速,制造噪音。你多希望孩子有一天能学会开车。All you remember about your child being ten is managing the school fund-raisers. You sold wrapping paper for paint, T-shirts for new furniture, and magazine subscriptions for shade trees in the school playground. You remember storing a hundred cases of candy bars in the garage to sell so the school band could get new uniforms, and how they melted together on an unseasonably warm spring afternoon. You wished your child would grow out of playing an instrument.

 孩子10岁时,你所记得的,是怎么组织学校的募捐者。你们为重新粉刷学校兜售包装纸,为购置新家具兜售体恤衫,为在学校操场上种植遮阳树劝人订阅各种杂志。你记得你在车库里存放了上百盒糖果等待出售,得到钱后学校的乐队就可以购置新制服,可是那些糖果竟在一个暖和得过头的春天的下午全都融化在一起了。你多希望孩子长大,不再演奏什么乐器了。All you remember about your child being twelve is sitting in the stands during baseball practice and hoping your child's team would strike out fast because you had more important things to do at home. The coach didn't understand how busy you were. You wished the baseball season would be over soon.

 孩子12岁时,你所记得的,是孩子在体育场打棒球练习赛时,你坐在看台上希望你孩子所在的队很快三击不中出局,因为家里还有更重要的事等你去做。教练不明白你为什么那么忙。你多希望棒球赛季能尽快结束。All you remember about your child being fourteen is being asked not to stop the car in front of the school in the morning. You had to drive two blocks further and unlock the doors without coming to a complete stop. You remember not getting to kiss your child goodbye or talking to him in front of his friends. You wished your child would be more mature.

   孩子14岁时,你所记得的,是他不让你早晨把汽车停在校门口。你不得不开过两个街区,车还没停稳就赶紧打开车门。你记得没能在他的朋友面前跟他吻别或说话。你多希望孩子能更成熟些。All you remember about your child being sixteen is loud music and undecipherable lyrics screamed to a rhythmic beat. You wished for your child to grow up and leave home with the stereo.

孩子16岁时,你所记得的,是吵闹的音乐和以富有节奏的拍子尖声唱出的难以听懂的歌词。你多希望孩子快点长大成人,带着音响离开家吧。
All you remember about your child being eighteen is the day they were born and having all the time in the world.


   当你在静静的房子里走来走去时,你纳闷他们去哪里了——你多希望孩子别这么快就长大了。    孩子18岁时,你所记得的,是他们出生的那一天,拥有世间所有的时光。And, as you walk through your quiet house, you wonder where they went and you wish your child hadn't grown up so fast.

adbaobao 发表于 2008-11-3 08:52:48

英语美文:假如生活从头再来Living life over


  If I had my life to live over……I would have talked less and listened more.
  I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was strained and the sofa faded.
  I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
  I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
  I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
  I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
  I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.
  I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding patter if I were not there for the day.
  I would never have bought anything just because it was practical,would not show soil or was guaranteed to last a life time.
  There would have been more“I love yous”……more“I‘m sorrys”……but mostly,given another shots at life,I would seize every minute……look at it and really see it……live it……and never give it back.
假如生活从头再来
假如生活从头再来
假如我能重新生活,我会说得更少,听得更多。
我会邀请朋友来吃饭,即使地毯变脏,沙发褪色。
我会花时间听我的祖父漫谈他的年轻时光。
我再也不会坚持在某个夏天的某一天车窗一定要打开,而我的头发刚刚被喷胶并被做好。
我会点燃雕得像朵玫瑰一样的粉红的蜡烛,在它被在存储中融化之前。
我会与我的孩子一起坐在草坪上,不用担心草地上的污渍。
我会在看电视时哭得更少,笑得更少,而更多的是观察生活。
当我生病时,我会上床睡觉,而不是假装如果我不在一天,地球就会停止不动。
我再也不会购买任何据说是实用的,牢固的,保证可用一生的东西。
我会说更多的“我爱你. ” … …更多的“对不起. ” … …可是,我被生活再次击倒,我会抓住每一分钟… …看看它, 实实在在地看它… …好好生活… …决不让它重头再来。

adbaobao 发表于 2008-11-3 08:54:13

英语美文:似水年华 It is truly a lifetime

Can it really be sixty-two years ago that I first saw you?
   我们初次相遇,难道真的是六十二年前吗?

  It is truly a lifetime, I know. But as I gaze into your eyes now, it seems like only yesterday that I first saw you, in that small cafe in Hanover Square.

  年华似水,倏忽间我们已相携一世。望着你的眼睛,当年的邂逅历历如在昨昔,就在汉诺威广场的那间小咖啡馆里。

  From the moment I saw you smile, as you opened the door for that young mother and her newborn baby. I knew. I knew that I wanted to share the rest of my life with you.

  从见到你的那一刻起,那一刻你正为一位年轻的母亲和她的小宝宝开门,那一刻当看到你的盈盈笑靥,我就明白我只愿与你执手携老,共度今生。

  I still think of how foolish I must have looked, as I gazed at you, that first time. I remember watching you intently, as you took off your hat and loosely shook your short dark hair with your fingers. I felt myself becoming immersed in your every detail, as you placed your hat on the table and cupped your hands around the hot cup of tea, gently blowing the steam away with your pouted lips.

  我仍然不时想起,那天自己那样地盯着你,一定很傻;就那样情不自禁怔怔地望着你,追随你摘下小帽,用手指松了松短短的黑发,追随你把帽子放在桌前,双手捧起暖暖的茶杯,追随你微撅樱唇,轻轻吹走飘腾的热气,我的目光始终追随着你,感觉自己在你的温柔举止间慢慢融化。

  From that moment, everything seemed to make perfect sense to me. The people in the cafe and the busy street outside all disappeared into a hazy blur. All I could see was you.

  从那一刻起,一切似乎都鲜明了意义。咖啡馆里的来来往往和外面闹市的熙熙攘攘忽然都模糊了起来,我眼里能看到的,只有你。

  All through my life I have relived that very first day. Many, many times I have sat and thought about that the first day, and how for a few fleeting moments I am there, feeling again what is like to know true love for the very first time. It pleases me that I can still have those feelings now after all those years, and I know I will always have them to comfort me.

  光阴似箭,那一天却不断在我的记忆里重演,鲜活如初。多少次我再次坐下,不断追忆那天的点滴,不断回味那些飞纵的瞬间,重新体会一见钟情的美丽。岁月的流逝却并没有带走我的爱恋感觉,这些体验会永远伴随我,安抚我的寥寥余生。

 


Not even as I shook and trembled uncontrollably in the trenches, did I forget your face. I would sit huddled into the wet mud, terrified, as the hails of bullets and mortars crashed down around me. I would clutch my rifle tightly to my heart, and think again of that very first day we met. I would cry out in fear, as the noise of war beat down around me. But, as I thought of you and saw you smiling back at me, everything around me would be become silent, and I would be with you again for a few precious moments, far from the death and destruction. It would not be until I opened my eyes once again, that I would see and hear the carnage of the war around me.

  即使是当我在战壕中控制不住地颤抖,我也不曾忘记你的容颜。我蜷缩在稀泥中,身边是枪林弹雨,弥漫硝烟,我把步枪紧紧地攥在胸前,一颗惊恐不安的心,还是想起了我们初识的那一天。身旁战火呼啸,恐惧让我想要大声呼叫,直到想起你,仿佛见到你在我身后盈盈浅笑,战场忽然沉寂下来,在这珍贵的瞬间,我觉得自己暂时远离了毁灭和死亡,飞向你的身旁。我拼命想留住这美好,直到睁开眼,周围却依然是血与火的生死战场。

   I cannot tell you how strong my love for you was back then, when I returned to you on leave in the September, feeling battered, bruised and fragile. We held each other so tight I thought we would burst. I asked you to marry me the very same day and I whooped with joy when you looked deep into my eyes and said "yes" to being my bride.

  九月休假回到你身边,我疲惫而脆弱,没能再告诉你战火纷飞时我对你的爱有多深。我们只能紧紧拥抱在一起,仿佛要把对方挤碎。也就在那天,面对我的求婚,你深深凝望我的眼睛,答应做我的新娘,而我早已欢喜地大喊大叫。

  I'm looking at our wedding photo now, the one on our dressing table, next to your jewellery box. I think of how young and innocent we were back then. I remember being on the church steps grinning like a Cheshire cat, when you said how dashing and handsome I looked in my uniform. The photo is old and faded now, but when I look at it, I only see the bright vibrant colors of our youth. I can still remember every detail of the pretty wedding dress your mother made for you, with its fine delicate lace and pretty pearls. If I concentrate hard enough, I can smell the sweetness of your wedding bouquet as you held it so proudly for everyone to see.

  我现在正看着我们的结婚照片,总是放在妆台上的那张,就在你的首饰盒旁。那时候,我们多么年轻,多么纯真。我记得我们站在教堂的台阶上,开心得像一对甜蜜的鸳鸯,你还说我穿着制服多么英武俊朗。照片已经旧得泛黄了,但我看到的,却只有当年青春的明媚姿彩。我仍然记得你母亲为你做的那件新娘礼服,那些精致的花边和漂亮的珠饰。让我再想一想,我还能闻到那婚礼花束的甜香,你那么骄傲地捧着花,让每一个人分享你的幸福时光。

   I remember being so over enjoyed, when a year later, you gently held my hand to your waist and whispered in my ear that we were going to be a family.

  一年后,你轻轻地把我的手放到你的腹前,对着我的耳朵悄悄透露这个让我欣喜若狂的好消息:我们就快有宝宝啦。

  I know both our children love you dearly; they are outside the door now, waiting.

  我知道我们的孩子都深深地爱你,他们现在就在门外等候。

  Do you remember how I panicked like a mad man when Jonathon was born? I can still picture you laughing and smiling at me now, as I clumsily held him for the very first time in my arms. I watched as your laughter faded into tears, as I stared at him and cried my own tears of joy.

  你还记得乔纳森出生的时候我那手足无措的慌张样子吗?当我笨拙地把他抱在怀里,我还记得你笑话我的样子,我看着他,我们都情不自禁地迸出了开心的泪花。

 Sarah and Tom arrived this morning with little Tessie. Can you remember how we both hugged each other tightly when we saw our tiny granddaughter for the first time? I can't believe she will be eight next month. I am trying not to cry, my love, as I tell you how beautiful she looks today in her pretty dress and red shiny shoes, she reminds me so much of you that first day we met. She has her hair cut short now, just like yours was all those years ago. When I met her at the door her smile wrapped around me like a warm glove, just like yours used to do, my darling.

  今天早晨撒拉和汤姆带着小缇西也赶到了。你还记得吗?第一次看到这个可爱的小孙女,我俩高兴地紧紧拥抱。真让人难以相信,她下个月就八岁了。亲爱的,我不得不忍住眼泪告诉你,小家伙今天穿着漂亮的裙子,闪亮的红色小鞋,让我立刻想起当年相遇时的你,连她的短发也像极了年轻的你。当我在门口看到她的时候,她的笑容暖人心脾,这竟然也和你一模一样。

  I know you are tired, my dear, and I must let you go. But I love you so much and it hurts to do so.

  我明白,亲爱的,你累了,我应该让你离开。可是爱人即逝,孤侣何伤!

  As we grew old together, I would tease you that you had not changed since we first met. But it is true, my darling. I do not see the wrinkles and grey hair that other people see. When I look at you now, I only see your sweet tender lips and youthful sparkling eyes as we sat and had out first picnic next to that small stream, and chased each other around that big old oak tree. I remember wishing those first few days together would last forever. Do you remember how exciting and wonderful those days were?

  这些年我们相濡以沫,白首到老,我总是逗你说你的容颜依然如昔。可这是真的,亲爱的,我真的见不到他人眼里的皱纹和白发。现在我望着你,也还是只能看到你娇嫩温柔的红唇和秋水流盼的眼眸,仿佛我们第一次在那条小溪边野餐,在那棵巨大的老橡树旁追逐嬉戏。那时候我们刚刚在一起,总是盼望那样的日子生生世世,你还记得吗?那些日子是多么激情荡漾,让人不忍回首……

  I must go now, my darling. Our children are waiting outside. They want to say goodbye to you.

  亲爱的,我应该走了。孩子们都等在外面,他们要和你道别。

  I wipe the tears away from my eyes and bend my frail old legs down to the floor, so that I can kneel beside you. I lean close to you and take hold of your hand and kiss your tender lips for the very last time.

  我擦去了眼角的泪,跪在你的身边,轻轻靠近你,握住你的双手,最后一次吻你。

  Sleep peacefully my dear.

  亲爱的,安心地睡吧。

  I am sad that you had to leave me, but please don't worry. I am content, knowing I will be with you soon. I am too old and too empty now to live much longer without you.

  这分离扯碎了我的心。别担心,我很快就会来陪伴你。生死茫茫,尘世间没有你,这满腔的衷肠凭谁倾诉?这只影的寂寥复有何欢?

  I know it won't be long before we meet again in that small cafe in Hanover Square.

  很快,我们就能在汉诺威广场的那间小咖啡馆里再相逢。

  Goodbye, my darling wife.

  再会了,我的爱妻。

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