英語(yǔ)美文：The Five Boons of Life

　　以下是小編整理的情感類英語(yǔ)美文欣賞：The Five Boons of Life， 希望使你的心靈有所觸動(dòng)。

　　The Five Boons of Life

　　In the morning of life came a good fairy with herbasket,and said:"Here are gifts. Take one, leave theothers,And be wary,choose wisely!For only one ofthem is valuable."

　　The gifts were five :Fame, Love,Riches,Pleasure,Death.The youth,said,eagerly:"Thereis no need to consider";and he chose Pleasure.

　　He went out into the world and sought out thepleasures that youth delights in . But each in its turnwas short-liyed and disappointing,vain and empty;and each,departing,mocked him .In the endhe said:"These years i have wasted.If i could but choose again, I would choose wisely."

　　在生命之初，一位仙女帶著籃子走來(lái)，對(duì)一位年輕人說(shuō)道："這里有幾份禮物，你可以從中選一份，留下其它的.你要小心，做一個(gè)明智的選擇;啊，你要明智地進(jìn)行選擇!因?yàn)檫@里面只有一份禮物是珍貴的."

　　一共有五份禮物：名聲，愛(ài)情，財(cái)富，快樂(lè)，還有死亡.年輕人迫不及待地說(shuō)："沒(méi)有必要多想."他選了快樂(lè).

　　此后他就開(kāi)始步入世界，追逐年輕人所喜愛(ài)的快樂(lè).然而每一種快樂(lè)都是如此短暫，令人感到空虛和失望.每當(dāng)一種快樂(lè)棄他而去時(shí)，還要把他嘲弄一番.最后，年輕人感嘆道"這些年我都浪費(fèi)了.如果我可以再選一次，我一定會(huì)做一個(gè)明智的選擇."

　　2

　　The fairy appeared,and said:"Four of the gifts remain.choose once more:and oh,remember--time is flying,and only one of them is precious."

　　The man considered long,then chose Love;and did not mark the tears that rose in the fairy'seyes.

　　After many,many years the man sat by a coffin,in an empty home.And he communed withhimself,saying:"One by one they have gone away and leftme;and now she lies here,the dearestand the last.Desolation after desolation has swept over me;but each hour of happiness thetreacherous trader,Love,sold me i have paid a thousand hours ofo grief!Out of my heart ofhearts i curse him!"

　　這時(shí)仙女又出現(xiàn)了，她說(shuō)："這里還有四份禮物.再選一次吧.噢，記住時(shí)間飛逝，而其中只有一件是珍貴的."

　　他思考了很久，最終選擇了愛(ài)情;他沒(méi)有注意到仙女眼里泛起的淚光.許多許多年之后，這個(gè)人坐在一口棺材旁邊，屋子里空蕩蕩的.他自言自語(yǔ)道："他們一個(gè)一個(gè)地走了，只剩下我.現(xiàn)在，她就躺在這兒，我最親愛(ài)的人兒，我最后的親人.孤獨(dú)一次又一次把我包圍.都是因?yàn)閻?ài)情這個(gè)陰狡詐的商人，他出售給我的每個(gè)甜蜜的小時(shí)，我現(xiàn)在都要用數(shù)千個(gè)小時(shí)的悲傷來(lái)償還!我從心底里詛咒他!"

　　3

　　"Choose again."It was the fairy speaking."The years have you wisdow-surely it must beso.There gifts remain.Only one of them has anyworth-remember it ,and choose warily."

　　The man reflected long,then chose Fame;and the fairy,sighing,went her way.

　　Years went by and she came again,and stood behind the man where he sat solitary in thefading day,thinking.And she knew his thought:"My name filled the world,and its praiss were onevery tongue,and it seemed well with me for a littlewhile.How little a while it was!Then cameenvy;then detraction;then hate;then persecution.Then derision,which is the begining of theend.And last of all came pity,which is the funeral of fame.Oh ,the bitterness and misery ofrenown!"

　　"你在選一次吧."仙女又一次說(shuō)話了.

　　"這些年已經(jīng)教予你智慧--也理當(dāng)如此.這里還有三份禮物，其中只有一份是有價(jià)值的--切記，你好好挑吧."

　　他想了很久，然而選擇了名聲.仙女嘆了口氣，徑自離開(kāi)了.歲月流轉(zhuǎn)，仙女又回來(lái)了，站到他的身旁.已邁入遲暮之年的他孑然一身，心情重重.他在想些什么，她都了然于心.

　　"我的名字傳遍世界，每個(gè)人都爭(zhēng)相贊頌，有一陣子好像讓我心滿足.可那是多么短暫的一陣子啊!隨之而來(lái)的是妒忌;然后是詆毀;然后是憎惡;然后是迫害.之后是嘲諷，從些一切開(kāi)始步入完結(jié).最后便是憐憫，這也是我的名聲的葬禮.啊，名聲原來(lái)是這般苦澀和痛苦!"

　　4

　　"Choose yet again."It was the fairy's voice. "Two gifts remain.And do not despair .In thebegining there was but one that was precious,and it is still here.

　　"Wealth-which is power!How blind i was!"said the man."Now,at last,life will be worth the living.Iwill spend.squander.These mockers and despisers will crawl in the dirt before me,and i will feedmy hungry heart with their envy,I will have all luxuries,all joys,all enchant-times of the spirit Iwill buy,buy,buy!I have lost much time,and chosen badly heretofore,but let that pass;I wasignorant then,and could but take for best what seemed so."

　　Three short years went by,and a day came when the man sat shivering in a mean garret;and hewas gaunt and wan and hollow-eyed,and clothed in rags;and he was gnawing a dry crust andmumbling:"Curse all the world's gifts for mockeries and gilded lies!And miscalled,every one,Theyare not gifts,but merely lendings.Pleasure.Love,Fame.Riches:they are but temporary disguisesfor lasting realities-Pain,Grief,Shame,Poverty.The fairy said true;in all her store there was butone gift which was precious,only one that was not valueless,How poor and cheap and mean iknow those others now to be,Bring it!I am weary.I would rest."

　　"不過(guò)你還可以重新現(xiàn)挑一次."仙女的聲音再度響起.

　　"還剩下兩份禮物.不要灰心喪氣，從一開(kāi)始就只有一份是寶貴的，而現(xiàn)在它還在那里啊."

　　"財(cái)富--財(cái)富就是力量!我過(guò)去多盲目啊!"他說(shuō)."現(xiàn)在，終于，我的生命將要變得有意義.我要縱情歡度此生，我要揮霍我的人生.那些對(duì)我冷嘲熱諷，輕蔑詆毀我的人將要在我面前的泥土里掙扎，而我空乏的心也將因?yàn)樗麄兊亩始啥玫綕M足.我將要享盡榮華富貴，所有歡樂(lè)和所有銷魂的時(shí)光.我要買(mǎi)，買(mǎi)!以前我做錯(cuò)了選擇，失去了許多時(shí)間，就讓它過(guò)去吧;當(dāng)時(shí)我很無(wú)知，我只能選我覺(jué)得最好的東西.

　　短短的三年又過(guò)去了.到了這么一天，這個(gè)人蜷縮在一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)陋的小閣樓里，古瘦如柴，蒼白無(wú)力，雙眼深陷，身上裹著碎布衣衫，渾身顫抖不停.他一邊啃著一塊干面包皮，一邊咕噥著："該死的禮物，都是為了讓我受人嘲笑和欺詐!每一樣都叫錯(cuò)了!它們都不是禮物，根本只是租借品!快樂(lè)，愛(ài)情，名聲還有財(cái)富-都只不過(guò)是長(zhǎng)久現(xiàn)實(shí)的暫時(shí)偽裝-它們其實(shí)是永遠(yuǎn)的痛苦，悲哀，恥辱和貧窮!那個(gè)仙女說(shuō)的沒(méi)錯(cuò)啊，她所有的東西里只有一樣是珍貴的，只有那么一樣不是毫無(wú)價(jià)值的.我現(xiàn)在才明白，其它禮物是多么低賤與卑劣!把它帶來(lái)吧-那真正寶貴的禮物!我累了，我想休息了.

　　5

　　The fairy came,bringing again four of the gifts,but Death was wanting.She said:"I gave it to amother's pet, a little child.It was ignorant,but trusted me,asking me to choose for it.You didnot ask me to choose."

　　"Oh,miserable me!What is left for me ?"

　　"What not even you have deserved:the wantoninsult of Old Age."

　　仙女出現(xiàn)了，帶著以前的那四件禮物，但惟獨(dú)沒(méi)有最后那一件-死亡.她說(shuō)道："我把它給了一位母親的寵兒子：一個(gè)小孩子.他什么也不懂，但他相信我，讓我來(lái)幫他挑選.而你并沒(méi)有這么做."

　　"啊，我多可悲啊!那還剩下什么給我呢?"

　　"一件你也不配得到的東西：接受年老體衰的折磨.