經(jīng)典英語(yǔ)美文故事
經(jīng)典英語(yǔ)美文故事
英語(yǔ)美文用簡(jiǎn)單溫暖的文字、真實(shí)動(dòng)人的情感傳達(dá)語(yǔ)言之美,讓讀者在閱讀之后,感同身受,觸動(dòng)心靈。通過(guò)英語(yǔ)美文,不僅能夠感受語(yǔ)言之美,領(lǐng)悟語(yǔ)言之用，還能產(chǎn)生學(xué)習(xí)語(yǔ)言的興趣。度過(guò)一段美好的時(shí)光，即感悟生活，觸動(dòng)心靈。下面是學(xué)習(xí)啦小編為大家?guī)?lái)經(jīng)典英語(yǔ)美文故事，希望大家喜歡!
經(jīng)典英語(yǔ)美文故事：人生的轉(zhuǎn)角
Please excuse me if I’m a little 1)pensive today.
如果我今天有點(diǎn)郁郁寡歡,請(qǐng)?jiān)徫摇?/p>
Mark is leaving, and I’m feeling kind of sad.
馬克要走了,我感到有點(diǎn)難過(guò)。
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(rèn)識(shí)馬克,但如果你認(rèn)識(shí)像他那樣的人,那你可能走運(yùn)了。好幾年來(lái),他都是辦公室里的核心和靈魂人物,專業(yè)技能堪稱典范,態(tài)度和藹,性情溫柔。工作表現(xiàn)出色的他從不熱衷于爭(zhēng)風(fēng)邀功。他只想做他的工作,并出色地完成。
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(xiàn)在,他要向一份令人興奮的新職邁進(jìn)。聽(tīng)起來(lái)是個(gè)一生難得的機(jī)會(huì),我們也真心誠(chéng)摯地替他高興。但那并沒(méi)使我們跟這么一位親愛(ài)的朋友、信任的同事告別來(lái)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拋出曲線球。當(dāng)我們剛開(kāi)始和某人融洽相處,或是適應(yīng)一個(gè)地方或一種境況時(shí),某事就發(fā)生了,改變了一切。很好的鄰居要搬家了;家里的某個(gè)成員畢業(yè)了;孩子找到新歡,在婚姻殿堂里尋獲忠誠(chéng);家里養(yǎng)家糊口的主力軍被解雇了。
Our ability to cope with change and disruption determine to a great degree, our peace, happiness and contentment in life.
我們應(yīng)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?cè)撛趺醋?哲人們已經(jīng)思考這個(gè)問(wèn)題好幾個(gè)世紀(jì)了,他們的回答各不相同。根據(jù)《圣經(jīng)·舊約全書·傳道書》的作者,人們可以通過(guò)記住“大千世界,萬(wàn)事萬(wàn)物皆有時(shí)”來(lái)獲得安慰。而卡里·紀(jì)伯倫也曾敦促他的聽(tīng)眾去“讓今日用記憶擁抱昨日,用渴望擁抱未來(lái)”。
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(gè)在政府工作的朋友喜歡提醒他的那幫官僚同事們“生存取決于適應(yīng)性。”還有克里斯,加利福尼亞州的一位沖浪愛(ài)好者,他曾告訴我,生活中所有問(wèn)題的答案都能歸為四個(gè)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?”
“就像沖浪,”克里斯解釋道,“你無(wú)法掌控大海。波浪隨意蕩起。你乘著浪任其領(lǐng)著你向前沖,然后,你伏身于沖浪板往回劃水至某處,接而踏乘下一個(gè)浪。當(dāng)然,你總會(huì)希望等到那個(gè)完美的浪頭,就像你知道的那種滾筒浪。但大多數(shù)情況,也就是隨波逐流,這不是什么登天難事,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(shuō),生活是由一連串事件組成的——其中有好有壞。不論你的統(tǒng)籌技巧有多純熟,總會(huì)有些你無(wú)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(huì)發(fā)生,并做好準(zhǔn)備在必要時(shí)做出調(diào)整——而這樣的情況常常發(fā)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.
那并不意味著你不需要不斷努力去實(shí)現(xiàn)你的夢(mèng)想。意思只是說(shuō),當(dāng)計(jì)劃以外的事發(fā)生時(shí),你得去處理,然后繼續(xù)前進(jìn)。當(dāng)然,人生沿途出現(xiàn)的一些“撞擊”要比另一些容易處理。比如,因?yàn)橄掠暌∠安?總比自己所愛(ài)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(shí)給人帶來(lái)痛苦,但改變卻是永遠(yuǎn)必須的。”哲人托馬斯·卡萊爾說(shuō)道,“并且,如果記憶擁有其力量和價(jià)值,那么希望也同樣擁有。”
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(huì)想念馬克,就像你會(huì)想念那畢業(yè)離家的孩子、那位搬走的鄰居或那新婚的兒女一樣。但我們與其沉湎于分離所帶來(lái)的哀傷中,倒不如把期盼聚焦于一個(gè)更光明的未 來(lái)——為他,也為我們自己。然后,我們將走出去,盡我們的一切力量去實(shí)現(xiàn)夢(mèng)想中的未來(lái)。
Until our plans change—again.
直到我們的計(jì)劃——再次改變。
經(jīng)典英語(yǔ)美文故事：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(zhǎng)大,那是美國(guó)馬薩諸塞州波士頓市郊的一個(gè)城鎮(zhèn)。在20世紀(jì)40年代,那是個(gè)生氣勃勃而又老式別致的小社區(qū)。那是我的家鄉(xiāng),我熱愛(ài)的地方。那時(shí),我以為自己永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)離開(kāi)。我最好的朋友羅斯和我常常一起夢(mèng)想著有一天各自擁有自己的家庭。我們什么都計(jì)劃好了,還想著以后要挨著住,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(mèng)想歷經(jīng)小學(xué)、中學(xué),甚至之后的歲月,從未變更。1953年當(dāng)我嫁給我一生的摯愛(ài)——迪克時(shí),羅斯是我的伴娘。那時(shí),她甚至開(kāi)玩笑說(shuō),她就差結(jié)婚了,要不就完美了——這樣就可以離我們的夢(mèng)想更近了。就在那時(shí),迪克決心成為一名海軍陸戰(zhàn)隊(duì)軍官,而我則全力支持他的雄心壯志。我意識(shí)到,他可能會(huì)在牙買加平原以外很遠(yuǎn)的地方駐扎,不過(guò)我告訴他我可以重新安家并適應(yīng)下來(lái)。和他一起體驗(yàn)新天地的生活,這想法對(duì)我來(lái)說(shuō)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.
于是,1955年迪克被安排駐扎在阿拉斯加時(shí),我們搬家了。羅斯對(duì)我的離開(kāi)感到很難過(guò),但仍祝我好運(yùn)。接下來(lái)的幾年里,我們通過(guò)定期打電話來(lái)保持聯(lián)絡(luò),但不久我們便失去了彼此的音訊。20世紀(jì)50年代那會(huì),要想和遠(yuǎn)方的人保持聯(lián)絡(luò)并不太容易,特別是當(dāng)你每隔幾年就要搬家時(shí)。那時(shí)還沒(méi)有電子郵箱或者搬家不換號(hào)的服務(wù),姓名地址查詢服務(wù)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(lái),我有好幾次想起了她。20世紀(jì)60年代中期,有一次在我去大波士頓區(qū)時(shí),我嘗試追尋她的下落,但卻搜尋未果。在我離開(kāi)后的10年里,牙買加平原發(fā)生了巨變。外來(lái)人口的大量遷入影響了我的舊社區(qū)。我家早已搬離了那個(gè)地區(qū),從前認(rèn)識(shí)的鄰居中有很多也搬走了。羅斯則杳無(wú)音訊,無(wú)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(guò)去了,我們?cè)傥凑f(shuō)過(guò)話。后來(lái),我有了一個(gè)五口之家,現(xiàn)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?；旧?我的一生就這么過(guò)去了。如今,在我即將邁入八十大壽之際,一個(gè)空閑的周三下午我接到了一個(gè)陌生來(lái)電。“喂?”我打招呼道。“嗨,納塔利,我是羅斯。”電話那頭的聲音回應(yīng)道。“已經(jīng)過(guò)了這么久了。我不知道你還記不記得我,過(guò)去還是小孩子的時(shí)候,在牙買加平原,我們是最好的朋友。”她說(shuō)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(xiàn)在也還沒(méi)再見(jiàn)過(guò)面,但我們花了很長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間在電話里互訴了這52年里我們各自的生活。有意思的是,即使是分別了52年,我們的個(gè)性和興趣仍然極其相似。我們都鐘情于某些愛(ài)好,而那是在我們失去聯(lián)絡(luò)幾年后各自養(yǎng)成的。這感覺(jué)簡(jiǎn)直就像我們才剛剛分別就又重聚了一樣,考慮到現(xiàn)實(shí)情況,這確實(shí)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里拍的家庭合影給我。令人興奮不已的是,僅僅是看著這些照片,聽(tīng)她描述著她的家庭就讓我想起了我自己的家庭;一個(gè)相當(dāng)健康的大家庭。內(nèi)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(gè)人的生命中有如此多的相似之處,我并不認(rèn)為這僅僅是巧合。我認(rèn)為這表示,我們視彼此為最好的朋友,不只是嘴上說(shuō)的,而是真真切切地曾經(jīng)為彼此最好的朋友,即使到了現(xiàn)在,我們還是可以成為最好的朋友。真正的朋友有兩個(gè)共同點(diǎn):相容的個(gè)性和堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的品格。相容的個(gè)性是最初連接兩人的紐帶,而這一紐帶的維系則有賴于雙方所擁有的堅(jiān)強(qiáng)品格。如果一段友誼里有著這兩者的存在,那么這段友誼就是真的,這樣一來(lái),它就能經(jīng)受住時(shí)間和長(zhǎng)久分離的考驗(yàn)而毫不“褪色”。
以上就是學(xué)習(xí)啦小編為大家?guī)?lái)的經(jīng)典英語(yǔ)美文故事，希望大家喜歡!
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