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最新英语短篇美文（通用10篇）

2023-08-13 03:18:25 高考在线

　　最新英语短篇美文1

　　Three Days to See

　　All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. Sometimes it was as long as a year, sometimes as short as 24 hours. But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed hero chose to spend his last days or his last hours. I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited.

　　Such stories set us thinking, wondering what we should do under similar circumstances. What events, what experiences, what associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings, what regrets?

　　Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with gentleness, vigor and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the Epicurean motto of “Eat, drink, and be merry”. But most people would be chastened by the certainty of impending death.

　　In stories the doomed hero is usually saved at the last minute by some stroke of fortune, but almost always his sense of values is changed. He becomes more appreciative of the meaning of life and its permanent spiritual values. It has often been noted that those who live, or have lived, in the shadow of death bring a mellow sweetness to everything they do.

　　Most of us, however, take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. When we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude toward life.

　　The same lethargy, I am afraid, characterizes the use of all our faculties and senses. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sounds hazily, without concentration and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill.

　　I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight； silence would teach him the joys of sound.

　　译文：

　　假如给我三天光明（节选）

　　我们都读过震撼人心的故事，故事中的主人公只能再活一段很有限的时光，有时长达一年，有时却短至一日。但我们总是想要知道，注定要离世人的会选择如何度过自己最后的时光。当然，我说的是那些有选择权利的自由人，而不是那些活动范围受到严格限定的死囚。

　　这样的故事让我们思考，在类似的处境下，我们该做些什么？作为终有一死的人，在临终前的几个小时内我们应该做什么事，经历些什么或做哪些联想？回忆往昔，什么使我们开心快乐？什么又使我们悔恨不已？

　　有时我想，把每天都当作生命中的最后一天来边，也不失为一个极好的生活法则。这种态度会使人格外重视生命的价值。我们每天都应该以优雅的姿态，充沛的精力，抱着感恩之心来生活。但当时间以无休止的日，月和年在我们面前流逝时，我们却常常没有了这种子感觉。当然，也有人奉行“吃，喝，享受”的享乐主义信条，但绝大多数人还是会受到即将到来的死亡的惩罚。

　　在故事中，将死的主人公通常都在最后一刻因突降的幸运而获救，但他的价值观通常都会改变，他变得更加理解生命的意义及其永恒的精神价值。我们常常注意到，那些生活在或曾经生活在死亡阴影下的人无论做什么都会感到幸福。

　　然而，我们中的大多数人都把生命看成是理所当然的。我们知道有一天我们必将面对死亡，但总认为那一天还在遥远的将来。当我们身强体健之时，死亡简直不可想象，我们很少考虑到它。日子多得好像没有尽头。因此我们一味忙于琐事，几乎意识不到我们对待生活的冷漠态度。

　　我担心同样的冷漠也存在于我们对自己官能和意识的运用上。只有聋子才理解听力的重要，只有盲人才明白视觉的可贵，这尤其适用于那些成年后才失去视力或听力之苦的人很少充分利用这些宝贵的能力。他们的眼睛和耳朵模糊地感受着周围的景物与声音，心不在焉，也无所感激。这正好我们只有在失去后才懂得珍惜一样，我们只有在生病后才意识到健康的可贵。

　　我经常想，如果每个人在年轻的时候都有几天失时失聪，也不失为一件幸事。黑暗将使他更加感激光明，寂静将告诉他声音的美妙。

　　最新英语短篇美文2

　　Youth

　　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.

　　译文：

　　青春

　　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，恢宏的想象，炙热的恋情；青春是生命的深泉在涌流。

　　青春气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，进取压倒苟安。如此锐气，二十后生而有之，六旬男子则更多见。年岁有加，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，颓废必致灵魂。忧烦，惶恐，丧失自信，定使心灵扭曲，意气如灰。

　　无论年届花甲，拟或二八芳龄，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。&nbsp；

　　一旦天线下降，锐气便被冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生，即使年方二十，实已垂垂老矣；然则只要树起天线，捕捉乐观信号，你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。

　　最新英语短篇美文3

　　However mean your life is, meet it and live it； do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The faultfinder will find faults in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse.

　　The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the alms-house as brightly as from the rich man‘s abode； the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace. The town‘s poor seem to me often to live the most independent lives of any. May be they are simply great enough to receive without misgiving. Most think that they are above being supported by the town； but it often happens that they are not above supporting themselves by dishonest means. Which should be more disreputable. Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage.

　　Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends, Turn the old, return to them. Things do not change； we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.

　　译文：

　　不论你的生活如何卑贱，你要面对它生活，不要躲避它，更别用恶言咒骂它。它不像你那样坏。你最富有的时候，倒是看似最穷。爱找缺点的人就是到天堂里也能找到缺点。你要爱你的生活，尽管它贫穷。甚至在一个济贫院里，你也还有愉快、高兴、光荣的时候。

　　夕阳反射在济贫院的窗上，像身在富户人家窗上一样光亮；在那门前，积雪同在早春融化。我只看到，一个从容的'人，在哪里也像在皇宫中一样，生活得心满意足而富有愉快的思想。城镇中的穷人，我看，倒往往是过着最独立不羁的生活。也许因为他们很大，所以受之无愧。大多数人以为他们是超然的，不靠城镇来支援他们；可是事实上他们是往往利用了不正当的手段来对付生活，他们是毫不超脱的，毋宁是不体面的。

　　视贫穷如园中之花而像圣人一样耕植它吧！不要找新的花样，无论是新的朋友或新的衣服，来麻烦你自己。找旧的，回到那里去。万物不变，是我们在变。你的衣服可以卖掉，但要保留你的思想。

　　最新英语短篇美文4

　　it has never been explained why university students seem to enjoy practical jokes more than anyone else. students specialize in a particular type of practical joke: the hoax. inviting the fire-brigade to put out a non-existent fire is a crude form of deception which no self-respecting student would ever indulge in, students often create amusing situations which are funny to everyone except the victims. when a student recently saw two workmen using a pneumatic drill outside his university, he immediately telephoned the police and informed them that two students dressed up as workmen were tearing up the road with a pneumatic drill. as soon as he had hung up, he went over to the workmen and told them that if a policeman ordered them to go away, they were not to take him seriously. he added that a student had dressed up as a policeman and was playing all sorts of silly jokes on people. both the police and the workmen were grateful to the student for this piece of advance information.

　　the student hid in an archway nearby where he could watch and hear everything that went on. sure enough, a policeman arrived on the scene and politely asked the workmen to go away. when he received a very rude reply from one of the workmen, he threatened to remove them by force. the workmen told him to do as he pleased and the policeman telephoned for help. shortly afterwards, four more policemen arrived and remonstrated with the workmen. as the men refused to stop working, the police attempted to seize the pneumatic drill. the workmen struggled fiercely and one of them lost his temper. he threatened to call the police. at this, the police pointed out ironically that this would hardly be necessary as the men were already under arrest. pretending to speak seriously, one of the workmen asked if he might make a telephone call before being taken.

　　to the station. permission was granted and a policeman accompanied him to a call-box. only when he saw that the man was actually telephoning the police did he realize that they had all been the victims of a hoax.

　　谁也弄不清为什么大学生好像比任何人都更喜欢恶作剧。大学生擅长一种特殊的恶作剧——戏弄人。请消防队来扑灭一场根本没有的大火是一种低级骗局，有自尊心的大学生决不会去做。大学生们常常做的是制造一种可笑的局面，使大家笑上一场，当然受害者是笑不出来的。

　　最近有个学生看见两个工人在学校门外用风钻干活，马上打电话报告警察，说有两个学生装扮成工人，正在用风钻破坏路面。挂上电话后，他又马上来到工人那儿，告诉他们若有个警察来让他们走开，不要把他当回事，还对工人说，有个学生常装扮成警察无聊地同别人开玩笑。警察与工人都对那个学生事先通报情况表示感谢。

　　那个学生躲在附近一拱形的门廊里，在那儿可以看见、听到现场发生的一切。果然，警察来了，不礼貌地请工人离开此地；但其中一个工人粗鲁地回了几句。于是警察威胁要强行使他们离开。工人说，悉听尊便。警察去打电话叫人。一会儿工夫，又来了4个警察，规劝工人离开。由于工人拒绝停下手中的活，警察想夺风钻。两个工人奋力抗争，其中一个发了火，威胁说要去叫警察。警察听后讥讽地说，这大可不必，因为他俩已被逮捕了。其中一个工人装模作样地问道，在被带往警察局之前，是否可以打一个电话。警察同意了，陪他来到一个投币地电话前，当他看到那个工人真的是给警察挂电话，才恍然大悟，原来他们都成一场骗局的受害者。

　　最新英语短篇美文5

　　Most people need to hear those three little words I love you. Once in a while, they hear them just in time.

　　大多数人需要听到那“三个小字”——我爱你。有时他们就会在最需要的时候听到。

　　I met Connie the day she was admitted to the hospice ward, where I worked as a volunteer. Her husband, Bill, stood nervously nearby as she was transferred from the gurney to the hospital bed. Although Connie was in the final stages of her fight against cancer, she was alert and cheerful. We got her settled in. I finished marking her name on all the hospital supplies she would be using, then asked if she needed anything.

　　我在康尼住进收容所病房的那天见到了她。我在那儿当义工。把她从轮床抬上病床时，她的丈夫比尔焦虑不安地站在旁边。虽然康尼处于和癌症搏斗的晚期，但她仍然神智清醒，精神愉快。我们把她安顿好。我在医院提供给她使用的所有用品上标上她的名字，然后问她是否需要什么。

　　Oh, yes, she said, would you please show me how to use the TV? I enjoy the soaps so much and I don‘t want to get behind on what‘happening. Connie was a romantic. She loved soap operas, romance novels and movies with a good love story. As we became acquainted, she confided how frustrating it was to be married 32 years to a man who often called her a silly woman.

　　“啊，是的，”她说，“请告诉我怎么用电视好吗？我非常喜欢肥皂剧，想随时跟上进展情况。”康尼是个浪漫的人。她酷爱肥皂剧、浪漫小说和讲述美好爱情故事的电影。随着我们越来越熟，她向我吐露说，跟一个经常叫她“傻女人”的男人生活了32年有多么沮丧。

　　Oh, I know Bill loves me, she said, but he has never been one to say he loves me, or send cards to me. She sighed and looked out the window at the trees in the courtyard. I‘d give anything if he‘d say ‘I love you,‘ but it‘s just not in his nature.

　　“唉，我知道比尔爱我，”她说道，“可是他从来不说他爱我，也不给我寄贺卡。”她叹了口气，朝窗外庭院里的树望去。“如果他说声‘我爱你’，我愿意付出一切，可这根本不是他的性格。”

　　Bill visited Connie every day. In the beginning, he sat next to the bed while she watched the soaps. Later, when she began sleeping more, he paced up and down the hallway outside her room. Soon, when she no longer watched television and had fewer waking moments, I began spending more of my volunteer time with Bill.

　　比尔每天都来探望康尼。一开始，康尼看肥皂剧，他就坐在床旁。后来，她睡的时候多了，比尔就在屋外走廊里踱来踱去。不久，康尼不再看电视了，醒的时候也少了，我开始花更多的义工时间和比尔在一起。

　　He talked about having worked as a carpenter and how he liked to go fishing. He and Connie had no children, but they‘d been enjoying retirement by traveling, until Connie got sick. Bill could not express his feelings about the fact that his wife was dying.

　　他谈到他一直是个木工，他多么喜欢钓鱼。他和康尼没有孩子，但他们四处旅游，享受着退休生活，直到康尼得病。对他妻子病危这一事实，比尔无法表达他的感受。

　　One day, over coffee in the cafeteria, I got him on the subject of women and how we need romance in our lives； how we love to get sentimental1 cards and love letters.

　　一天，在自助餐厅喝咖啡时，我设法和比尔谈起女人这个话题，谈到生活中我们多么需要浪漫，多想收到充满柔情蜜意的卡片和情书。

　　Do you tell Connie you love her? I asked (knowing his answer), and he looked at me as if I was crazy.

　　“你跟康尼说你爱她吗？”我明知故问。他瞧着我，就好像我有神经病。

　　I don‘t have to, he said. She knows I do!

　　“我没有必要说，”他说道。“她知道我爱她！”

　　I‘m sure she knows, I said, reaching over and touching his hands rough, carpenter‘s hands that were gripping the cup as if it were the only thing he had to hang onto but she needs to hear it, Bill. She needs to hear what she has meant to you all these years. Please think about it.

　　“我肯定她知道，”我说。我伸出手，触摸着他那双木工粗糙的手。这双手紧握着杯子，似乎它是他需要依附的惟一东西——“可是她需要听到它，比尔。她需要听到所有这些年来她对你意味什么。请你考虑考虑。”

　　We walked back to Connie‘s room. Bill disappeared inside, and I left to visit another patient. Later, I saw Bill sitting by the bed. He was holding Connie‘s hand as she slept. The date was February 12.

　　我们走回康尼的房间。比尔进了屋，我走开去看望另一个病人。后来，我看见比尔坐在床边。康尼入睡了，他握着她的一只手。那天是2月12日。

　　Two days later I walked down the hospice ward at noon. There stood Bill, leaning up against the wall in the hallway, staring at the floor. I already knew from the head nurse that Connie had died at 11 A.M..

　　两天后的中午时分，我顺着收容所病房过道向前走着。比尔站在那里，靠着墙，凝视着地面。护士长已经告诉我，康尼在上午11点故去了。

　　When Bill saw me, he allowed himself to come into my arms for a long time. His face was wet with tears and he was trembling. Finally, he leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath.

　　比尔看见我后，让我拥抱了他许久。他满脸泪水，浑身颤抖。最后，他向后靠在墙上，深深地吸了一口气。

　　I have to say something, he said. I have to say how good I feel about telling her. He stopped to blow his nose. I thought a lot about what you said, and this morning I told her how much I loved her... and loved being married to her. You shoulda2 seen her smile!

　　“我有话非说不可，”他说道。“我得说，对她说出来，感觉真是好极了。”他停下来擤鼻子。“你说的话我想了很多；今天早上我对她说我多么爱她……我多么珍惜和她结为夫妻。你真该看看她的笑容！”

　　I went into the room to say my own goodbye to Connie. There, on the bedside table, was a large Valentine card from Bill. You know, the sentimental kind that says, To my wonderful wife... I love you.

　　我走进康尼的房间，亲自去和她告别 。我看见，床头桌上放着一张比尔给她的大大的情人节贺卡——就是那种充满柔情蜜意的贺卡，上面写着：“给我出色的妻子……我爱你。”

　　最新英语短篇美文6

　　Every morning, you are defining how your life would be like.

　　每一天早上，你都在定义你未来人生的模样。

　　No, I‘m not saying the cliche that every morning you have the chance to make a different decision.

　　不，我并不是在说“你每天早上都可以做出不同的抉择”这种陈词滥调。

　　What I‘m suggesting is that how you choose to live your morning speaks a lot about how you choose to live your life.

　　我的意思是，你过每一个早上的态度，在很大程度上都说明了你过这一生的态度。

　　There are people who choose to get out of the bed in the last minute and grab whatever they can get to eat or even give up breakfast all together.

　　有的人选择早上在最后一刻才起床，随便抓点什么当早餐，或者干脆不吃早餐了。

　　These people are choosing to make their lives failures, because apparently they have no idea how to make solid plans and make life organized.

　　这些人是在选择让自己的生活变得失败，因为他们显然不知道如何制定有效的计划并让生活仅仅有条。

　　There are another kind of people who choose to make every morning in order.

　　还有一种人，他们选择让每个早晨都过得有规律。

　　They get up relatively early and can finish a lot of things before they go to work.

　　他们会在一个比较早的时间起床，并且能在上班前搞定很多事情。

　　That makes the whole day way easier for them and make them more productive in the office.

　　这会让他们的一天都轻松得多，也会让他们在上班的时候更有创造力。

　　Yes, how you live your morning does speak a lot about how you live your life.

　　是的，你如何过你的早上，你就如何过你的一生。

　　Don‘t underestimate it.

　　千万别小看了这一点。

　　最新英语短篇美文7

　　If life treats you unfairly.

　　如果生活对你不公。

　　Don‘t cry. Don‘t shout. Don‘t complain to anyone.

　　不要哭泣。不要叫嚷。也不要向任何人抱怨。

　　Because that‘s just how life is.

　　因为这就是生活。

　　It‘s never fair.

　　它从来就不是公平的。

　　Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there were two boys.

　　让我来给你讲一个故事吧。从前，有两个男孩。

　　One of them was short and the other was tall.

　　他们其中一个很矮，而另一个很高。

　　They stood in front of a low wall and both wanted to see what was beyond that wall.

　　他们同时站在了一堵矮墙面前，都想看看墙那边是什么。

　　The taller one could easily do that but the shorter one needed to stand on a chair to reach the height.

　　个子高的那个很轻易就能做到，但个子矮的那个却需要站在椅子上才能达到同样的高度。

　　To the taller one the chair was only a chair.

　　对于个子高的那个，这个椅子只不过是个椅子。

　　But the shorter one called the chair Justice, because it made the situation fair.

　　可矮的那个却把它称为“正义”，因为它带来了“公平”。

　　Well, real life is just like this. It‘s not fair.

　　其实真实的生活不就像是这样吗？它并不公平。

　　Most people complain about it and stop at just complaining about it, while a few others choose to bear this unfairness and try to discover their own strength.

　　大部分人会为此而抱怨，而且仅仅止步于抱怨；而还有一小部分人，他们选择承受这种不公，并试着发掘自己的力量。

　　And this second kind are the ones who have a chance to truly run the world.

　　只有这第二种人才有可能成为世界真正的主人。

　　Only by bearing unfairness can you bear responsibility.

　　你得承受得起委屈，才能承受得了责任。

　　That‘s how life works.

　　生活就是这么运作的。

　　最新英语短篇美文8

　　Learning English Now English is becoming more and more useful.It can help you to get a better job.English can allow you to communicate freely with foreigners.You will make new friends with people all over the world.In the 21st century,English will be a powerful weapon in our life.You will also find a nice surprise—— speaking English is so fun!

　　Let’s master English to make our future brighter!

　　英语变得越来越有用.它能帮你找到一份更好的工作.英语让你与外国人自由交流,可以与世界各国的人交朋友.在二十一世纪英语会成为我们生活的强大武器,他还能给你带来惊喜.说英语真的很有趣.让我们的未来更好.

　　I like music very much.I always listen to music on my way to school.Music is like my best friend.When I feel down and blue,I will listen to my favorite music.This is a world of my own and no one can disturb me.Music is so wonderful that it makes my life colorful.

　　我非常喜欢音乐.我总是在去学校的路上听音乐.音乐像我最好的朋友.当我心情郁闷的时候,我会听最喜欢的音乐.这是一个属于我的世界,没有人可以打扰我.音乐如此美妙,它使我的生活变得丰富多彩.

　　If I Were a Millionaire ，What would you do if you were a millionaire?Many people would buy a house or travel the world.As for me,I would start a school.If I had a school,I would be able to educate many children and teach them right from wrong.Anyone will tell you that children are a country’s future.If my dream comes true,I will be very happy because I will be doing my country a good service.

　　如果你是个百万富翁,你将会做些什么呢?许多人会买房子或环游世界.至于我,我会开办一所学校.如果我有一个学校,我就能够教育很多孩子,教育他们明辨是非.大家都说孩子是祖国的未来.如果我梦想成真,我就会高兴因为我为祖国作出巨大贡献.

　　I think smiling is as important as sunshine. Smiling is like sunshine because it can make people happy and have a good day. If you aren’t happy, you can smile, and then you will feel happy. Someone may say, “But I don’t feel happy.” Then I would say, “Please smile as you do when you are happy or play with your friends happily. You will really be happy again.”

　　Smiling can let you have more friends.So I say, smiling is like a flower. It will give you happiness.

　　我认为微笑是一样重要的象阳光。 微笑是象阳光，因为它可能使人愉快和有一个早晨好。 如果您不是愉快的，您能微笑，您然后将感觉愉快。 某人也许说， “但是我不感到愉快”。 然后我会说， “请微笑，您，当您愉快地是愉快或戏剧与您的朋友。 您真正地再将是愉快的”。

　　微笑可能让您有更多朋友。如此我说，微笑是象花。 它将给您幸福。

　　It was Sunday and I have to go to school. I finished my homework the day before. So I decided to help mother do housework. I washed some clothes after I got up. Then I went shopping with a basket. I bought some meat, eggs and some vegetables in the market. After I came back, I started to cook dinner for the whole family. In the evening, I sat at the table and began to write down on my notebook what I had done during the day.

　　它是星期天，并且我没有必须去学校。 我前一天完成了我的家庭作业。 如此我决定帮助做家事。 在我起来了之后，我洗了一些衣裳。 然后我带着篮子去购物。 我在市场上买了一些肉、蛋和有些菜。 在我回来了之后，我开始为全家烹调晚餐。 在晚上，我在我的笔记本写下什么我白天做了什么。

　　最新英语短篇美文9

　　年轻的心

　　Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being‘s heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of 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, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.

　　无论是60岁还是16岁，你需要保持永不衰竭的好奇心、永不熄灭的孩提般求知的渴望和追求事业成功的欢乐与热情。

　　在你我的心底，有一座无线电台，它能在多长时间里接收到人间万物传递来的美好、希望、欢乐、鼓舞和力量的信息，你就会年轻多长时间。

　　最新英语短篇美文10

　　Most people complain of fortune, few of nature； and the kinder they think the latter has been to them, the more they murmur at what they call the injustice of the former.

　　很多人抱怨命运，却很少有人抱怨自然；人们越是认为自然对他们仁爱有加，便越是嘀咕命运对他们的所谓不公。

　　Why have not I the riches, the rank, the power, of such and such, is the common expostulation with fortune； but why have not I the merit, the talents, the wit, or the beauty, of such and such others, is a reproach rarely or never made to nature.

　　人们常常对命运发出诘难：我为何没有财富、地位、权力以及诸如此类的东西；但人们却很少或从不这样责怪过自然：我为何没有长处、天赋、机智或美丽以及诸如此类的东西。

　　The truth is, that nature, seldom profuse, and seldom niggardly, has distributed her gifts more equally than she is generally supposed to have done. Education and situation make the great difference. Culture improves, and occasions elicit, natural talents I make no doubt but that there are potentially, if I may use that pedantic word, many Bacons,

　　事实是，自然总是将天赋公平地分配给人们，比人们通常认为的还要不偏不倚，很少过分地慷慨!也很少吝啬。 人与人之间的巨大差异是由于教育和环境使然。文化修养改良了天赋，机遇环境诱发了天赋。我们并不怀疑在农田耕作，在柜台后营业，甚至在豪门贵族中间有很多 潜在的培根们、洛克们、牛顿们、凯撒们、克伦威尔们和马尔伯勒们，如果允许我

　　Lockes, Newtons, Caesars, Cromwells, and Marlboroughs at the ploughtail behind counters, and, perhaps, even among the nobility； but the soil must be cultivated, and the season favourable, for the fruit to have all its spirit and flavour.

　　用“潜在的”这个学究味浓重的词的话；但是要使果实具有它全部的品质和风味， 还必须有耕耘过的泥土，必须有适宜的季节。

　　If sometimes our common parent has been a little partial, and not kept the scales quite even； if one preponderates too much, we throw into the lighter a due counterpoise of vanity, which never fails to set all right. Hence it happens, that hardly any one man would, without reverse, and in every particular, change with any other.

　　倘若大自然有时候有那么一点偏心，没有将天平摆正；倘若有一头过重，我们就会在轻的一头投上一枚大小适当的虚荣的砝码，它每次都会将天平重新调平，从不出差错。因此就出现了这种情况：几乎没有人会毫无保留地和另一个人里里外外全部对换一下。

　　Though all are thus satisfied with the dispensations of nature, how few listen to her voice! How to follow her as a guide! In vain she points out to us the plain and direct way to truth, vanity, fancy, affection, and fashion assume her shape and wind us through fairy-ground to folly and error.

　　虽然对于自然的分配，人人都感到满意；然而肯听听她的忠告的人却是如此之少!能将她当作向导而跟随其后的人又是如此之少!她徒然地为我们指出一条通向真理的笔直的坦途；而虚荣、幻想、矫情、时髦却俨然以她的面貌出现，暗中将我们引向虚幻的歧途，走向愚笨和谬误。