英语经典短篇美文欣赏

使我愿意用所有的余生去换取哪怕几个小时这样的幸福。我寻求爱，

还因 为它能缓解我心理上的孤独中，我感觉心灵的战栗，仿如站在

世界的边缘而面前是冰冷， 无底的死亡深渊。我寻求爱，因为在我

所目睹的结合中，我仿佛看到了圣贤与诗人们所向 往的天堂之景。

这就是我所寻找的，虽然对人的一生而言似乎有些遥不可及，但至

少是我用尽一生所领悟到的。

我用同样的激 情去寻求知识。我希望能理解人类的心灵，希望能够

知道群星闪烁的缘由。我试图领悟毕 达哥拉斯所景仰的

“

数即万物

”

的思想。我已经悟出了其中的一点点道理，尽管并不是很多。

爱和知识，用它们的力量把人引向天堂。但是同情却总把人又拽回

到尘 世中来。痛苦的呼喊声回荡在我的内心。饥饿的孩子，受压迫

的难民，贫穷和痛苦的世界 ，都是对人类所憧憬的美好生活的无情

嘲弄。我渴望能够减少邪恶，但是我无能为力，我 也难逃其折磨。

这就是我的一生。我已经找到它的价值。而且 如果有机会，我很愿

意能再活它一次。

??

第七篇：

when love beckons you

爱的召唤

when love beckons you

when love beckons to you, follow him, though his ways are

hard and steep. and when his wings enfold you, yield to him,

though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.

and when he speaks to you, believe in him, though his voice

may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the

garden.

for even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. even as

he is for your growth so is he for your pruning. even as he

ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches

that quiver in the sun, so shall he descend to our roots and

shake them in their clinging to the earth.

but if, in your fear, you would seek only love’s peace and

love’s pleasure, then it is better for you that you cover your

nakedness and pass out of love’s threshing

-floor, into the

seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your

laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears. love gives naught

but it self and takes naught but from itself. love possesses not,

nor would it be possessed, for love is sufficient unto love.

love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. but if you love and

must have desires, let these be your desires:

to melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the

night.

to know the pain of too much tenderness.

to be wounded by your own understanding of love;

and to bleed willingly and joyfully.

to wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for

another day of loving;

to rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;

to return home at eventide with gratitude;

and then to sleep with a payer for the beloved in your heart

and a song of praise upon your lips.

译文：

爱的召唤

当爱召唤你时，请追随她， 尽管爱的道路艰难险峻。当爱的羽翼拥

抱你时，请顺从她，尽管隐藏在其羽翼之下的剑可 能会伤到你。当

爱向你诉说时，请相信她，尽管她的声音可能打破你的梦想，就如

同北风吹落花园里所有的花瓣。

爱会给你戴 上桂冠，也会折磨你。爱会助你成长，也会给你修枝。

爱会上升到枝头，抚爱你在阳光下 颤动力的嫩枝，也会下潜至根部，

撼动力你紧抓泥土的根基。

但是，如果你在恐惧之中只想寻求爱的平和与快乐，那你就最好掩

盖真实的自我，避开爱的考验，进入不分季节的世界，在那里你将

欢笑，但并非开怀大 笑，你将哭泣，但并非尽情地哭。爱只将自己

付出，也只得到自己。爱一无所有，也不会 为谁所有，因为爱本身

就已自足。

爱 除了实现自我别无他求。但是如果你爱而又不得不有所求，那就

请期望：

将自己融化并像奔流的溪水一般向夜晚吟唱自己优美的曲调。

明了过多的温柔所带来的苦痛。

被自己对爱的理解所伤害；

并情愿快乐地悲伤。

在黎明带着轻快的心醒来并感谢又一个有家的日子；

在黄昏怀着感恩之心回家；

然后为内 心所爱之人祈祷，吟唱赞美之歌，并带着祷告和歌声入眠。

??

第八篇：

the road to success

成功之道

the road to success

it is well that young men should begin at the beginning and

occupy the most subordinate positions. many of the leading

businessmen of pittsburgh had a serious responsibility thrust

upon them at the very threshold of their career. they were

introduced to the broom, and spent the first hours of their

business lives sweeping out the office. i notice we have

janitors and janitresses now in offices, and our young men

unfortunately miss that salutary branch of business education.

but if by chance the professional sweeper is absent any

morning, the boy who has the genius of the future partner in

him will not hesitate to try his hand at the broom. it does not

hurt the newest comer to sweep out the office if necessary. i

was one of those sweepers myself.

assuming that you have all obtained employment and are fairly

started, my advice to you is “aim high”. i would not give a fig

for the young man who does not already see himself the

partner or the head of an important firm. do not rest content for

a moment in your thoughts as head clerk, or foreman, or

general manager in any concern, no matter how extensive. say

to yourself, “my place is at the top.” be king in your dreams.

and here is the prime condition of success, the great secret:

concentrate your energy, thought, and capital exclusively upon

the business in which you are engaged. having begun in one

line, resolve to fight it out on that line, to lead in it, adopt every

improvement, have the best machinery, and know the most

about it.

the concerns which fail are those which have scattered their

capital, which means that they have scattered their brains also.

they have investments in this, or that, or the other, here there,

and everywh

ere. “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” is all

wrong. i tell you to “put all your eggs in one basket, and then

watch that basket.” look round you and take notice, men who

do that not often fail. it is easy to watch and carry the one

basket. it is trying to carry too many baskets that breaks most

eggs in this country. he who carries three baskets must put

one on his head, which is apt to tumble and trip him up. one

fault of the american businessman is lack of concentration.

to summarize what i have said: aim for the highest; never enter

a bar room; do not touch liquor, or if at all only at meals; never

speculate; never indorse beyond your surplus cash fund;

make the firm’s interest yours; break orders always to save

owners; concentrate; put all your eggs in one basket, and

watch that basket; expenditure always within revenue; lastly,

be not impatient, for as emerson says, “no one can cheat you

out of ultimate success but yourselves.”

译文：

成功之道

年轻人创业之初，应该从最 底层干起，这是件好事。匹兹保有很多

商业巨头，在他们创业之初，都肩负过

重任

”

：他们以扫帚相 伴，

以打扫办公室的方式度过了他们商业生涯中最初的时光。我注意到

< br>我们现在办公室里都有工友，于是年轻人就不幸错过了商业教育中

这个有益的环节 。如果碰巧哪天上午专职扫地的工友没有来，某个

具有未来合伙人气质的年轻人会毫不犹 豫地试着拿起扫帚。在必要

时新来的员工扫扫地也无妨，不会因为而有什么损失。我自己 就曾

经扫过地。

假如你已经被录用， 并且有了一个良好的开端，我对你的建议是：

要志存高远。一个年轻人，如果不把自己想 象成一家大公司未来的

老板或者是合伙人，那我会对他不屑一顾。不论职位有多高，你的

内心都不要满足于做一个总管，领班或者总经理。要对自己说：我

要迈向顶尖！要做就做你梦想中的国王！

成功的首要条件和 最大秘诀就是：把你的精力，思想和资本全都集

中在你正从事的事业上。一旦开始从事某 种职业，就要下定决心在

那一领域闯出一片天地来；做这一行的领导人物，采纳每一点改 进

之心，采用最优良的设备，对专业知识熟稔于心。

一些公司的失败就在于他们分散了资金，因为这就意味着分散了他

们的精 力。他们向这方面投资，又向那方面投资；在这里投资，在

那里投资，到处都投资。

“

不要把所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里

”

的说

法大错特错。我要对你说：

“

把所有的鸡蛋都放在一个篮子里，然后

小心地看好那个篮子。

看看你周围，你会注意到：这么做的人其实

很少 失败。看管和携带一个篮子并不太难。人们总是试图提很多篮

子，所以才打破这个国家的 大部分鸡蛋。提三个篮子的人，必须把

一个顶在头上，而这个篮子很可能倒下来，把他自 己绊倒。美国商

人的一个缺点就是不够专注。

把我的话归纳一下：要志存高远；不要出入酒吧；要滴酒不沾，或

要喝也只在用 餐时喝少许；不要做投机买卖；不要寅吃卯粮；要把

公司的利益当作自己的利益；取消订 货的目的永远是为了挽救货主；

要专注；要把所有的鸡蛋放在一个篮子里，然后小心地看 好它；要

量入为出；最后，要有耐心，正如爱默生所言，

“

谁都无法阻止你最

终成功，除非你自己承认自己失败。

”

??

第九篇：

on meeting the celebrated

论见名人

on meeting the celebrated

i have always wondered at the passion many people have to

meet the celebrated. the prestige you acquire by being able to

tell your friends that you know famous men proves only that

you are yourself of small account. the celebrated develop a

technique to deal with the persons they come across. they

show the world a mask, often an impressive on, but take care

to conceal their real selves. they play the part that is expected

from them, and with practice learn to play it very well, but you

are stupid if you think that this public performance of theirs

corresponds with the man within.

i have been attached, deeply attached, to a few people; but i

have been interested in men in general not for their own sakes,

but for the sake of my work. i have not, as kant enjoined,

regarded each man as an end in himself, but as material that

might be useful to me as a writer. i have been more concerned

with the obscure than with the famous. they are more often

themselves. they have had no need to create a figure to protect

themselves from the world or to impress it. their

idiosyncrasies have had more chance to develop in the limited

circle of their activity, and since they have never been in the

public eye it has never occurred to them that they have

anything to conceal. they display their oddities because it has

never struck them that they are odd. and after all it is with the

common run of men that we writers have to deal; kings,

dictators, commercial magnates are from our point of view

very unsatisfactory. to write about them is a venture that has

often tempted writers, but the failure that has attended their

efforts shows that such beings are too exceptional to form a

proper ground for a work of art. they cannot be made real. the

ordinary is the writer’s richer field. its unexpectedness, its

singularity, its infinite variety afford unending material. the

great man is too often all of a piece; it is the little man that is a

bundle of contradictory elements. he is inexhaustible. you

never come to the end of the surprises he has in store for you.

for my part i would much sooner spend a month on a desert

island with a veterinary surgeon than with a prime minister.

译文：

论见名人

许多人热衷于见名人，我始 终不得其解。在朋友面前吹嘘自己认识

某某名人，同此而来的声望只能证明自己的微不足 道。名人个个练

就了一套处世高招，无论遇上谁，都能应付自如。他们给世人展现

的是一副面具，常常是美好难忘的面具，但他们会小心翼翼地掩盖

自己 的真相。他们扮演的是大家期待的角色，演得多了，最后都能

演得惟妙惟肖。如果你还以 为他们在公众面前的表演就是他们的真

实自我，那就你傻了。

我自己就喜欢一些人，非常喜欢他们。但我对人感兴趣一般不是因

为他们自身的缘故，而是出于我工作需求。正如康德劝告的那样，

我从来没有把认识某 人作为目的，而是将其当作对一个作家有用的

创作素材。比之名流显士，我更加关注无名 小卒。他们常常显得较

为自然真实，他们无须再创造另一个人物形象，用他来保护自己不

受世人干扰，或者用他来感动世人。他们的社交圈子有限，自己的

种种癖性也就越有可能得到滋长。因为他们从来没有引起公众的关

注，也就从来没有想 到过要隐瞒什么。他们会表露他们古怪的一面，

因为他们从来就没有觉得有何古怪。总之 ，作家要写的是普通人。

在我们看来，国王，独裁者和商界大亨等都是不符合条件的。去 撰

写这些人物经常是作家们难以抗拒的冒险之举，可为此付出的努力

不免以失败告终，这说明这些人物都过于特殊，无法成为一件艺术

作品的创作根基， 作家也不可能把他们写得真真切切。老百姓才是

作家的创作沃土，他们或变幻无常，或难 觅其二，各式人物应有尽

有，这些都给作家提供了无限的创作素材。大人物经常是千人一 面，

小人物身上才有一组组矛盾元素，是取之不尽的创作源泉，让你惊

< br>喜不断。就我而言，如果在孤岛上度过一个月，我宁愿和一名兽医

相守，也不愿同 一位首相做伴。

??

第十篇：

the 50-percent theory of life

生活理论半对半

the 50-percent theory of life

i believe in the 50-percent theory. half the time things are

better than normal; the other half, they re worse. i believe life is

a pendulum swing. it takes time and experience to understand

what normal is, and that gives me the perspective to deal with

the surprises of the future.

let’s benchmark the parameters: yes, i will die. i’ve dealt with

the deaths of both parents, a best friend, a beloved boss and

cherished pets. some of these deaths have been violent,

before my eyes, or slow and agonizing. bad stuff, and it

belongs at the bottom of the scale.

then there are those high points: romance and marriage to the

right person; having a child and doing those dad things like

coaching my son’s baseball team, paddling around the creek

in the boat while he’s swi

mming with the dogs, discovering his

compassion so deep it manifests even in his kindness to

snails, his imagination so vivid he builds a spaceship from a

scattered pile of legos.

but there is a vast meadow of life in the middle, where the bad

and the good flip-flop acrobatically. this is what convinces me

to believe in the 50-percent theory.

one spring i planted corn too early in a bottomland so flood-

prone that neighbors laughed. i felt chagrined at the wasted

effort. summer turned brutal---the worst heat wave and drought

in my lifetime. the air- conditioned died; the well went dry; the

marriage ended; the job lost; the money gone. i was living

lyrics from a country tune---music i loathed. only a surging

kansas city royals team buoyed my spirits.

looking back on that horrible summer, i soon understood that

all succeeding good things merely offset the bad. worse than

normal wouldn’t last long. i am owed and savor the halcyon

times. the reinvigorate me for the next nasty surprise and offer

assurance that can thrive. the 50-percent theory even helps me

see hope beyond my royals’ recent slump, a field of struggling

rookies sown so that some year soon we can reap an october

harvest.

for that on blistering summer, the ground moisture was just

right, planting early allowed pollination before heat withered

the tops, and the lack of rain spared the standing corn from

floods. that winter my crib overflowed with corn---fat, healthy

three-to-a-stalk ears filled with kernels from heel to tip---while

my neighbors’ fields yi

elded only brown, empty husks.

although plantings past may have fallen below the 50-percent

expectation, and they probably will again in the future, i am

still sustained by the crop that flourishes during the drought.

译文：

生活理论半对半

我信奉对半理论。生 活时而无比顺畅，时而倒霉透顶。我觉得生活

就像来回摆的钟摆。读懂生活的常态需要时 间和阅历，而读懂它也

练就了我面对未来的生活态度。

让我们确定一下好坏的标准：是的，我注定会死去。我已经经历了

双亲 ，一位好友，一位敬爱的老板和心爱宠物的死亡。有些突如其

来，近在眼前，有些却缓慢 痛苦。这些都是糟糕的事情，它们属于

最坏的部分。