-
英语经典美文
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乡间
土路
Dirt Roads
在那条
乡间的土路上，
我嗅到了泥土的气息，
眼前浮现出的是深深的车
辙，
还有
行走中的路人与淳朴的农夫的身影。
< br>
What's mainly
wrong with society today is that too many Dirt
Roads have been
paved.
There's not a problem in America
today
, crime, drugs, education,
divorce,
delinquency that wouldn't be
remedied, if we just had more Dirt Roads, because
Dirt
Roads give character.
That it can jar1) you right down to
your teeth sometimes, but it's worth it, if at the
end is home...a loving spouse, happy
kids and a dog.
People that live at the end of Dirt
Roads learn early on that life is a bumpy2) ride.
We wouldn't have near the
trouble with our educational system if our kids
got
their exercise walking a Dirt Road
with other kids, from whom they learn how to get
along.
There was less crime in our streets
before they were paved.
Criminals didn't walk two dusty miles
to rob or rape, if they knew they'd be
welcomed by 5 barking dogs and a double
barrel shotgun.
People did not worship their cars more
than their kids, and motorists were more
courteous, they didn't tailgate3) by
riding the bumper4) or the guy in front would
choke you with dust and bust your
windshield5) with rocks. Our values were better
when our roads were worse!
Dirt Roads taught patience.
Dirt Roads were environmentally
friendly
, you didn't hop in6) your car
for a quart
of milk you walked to the
barn for your milk. For your mail, you walked to
the mail
box.
What if it rained and the Dirt Road got
washed out? That was the best part, then
you stayed home and had some family
time, roasted marshmallows7) and popped
popcorn and pony rode on Daddy's
shoulders and learned how to make prettier quilts
than anybody
.
Most paved roads lead to trouble, Dirt
Roads more likely lead to a fishing creek or
a swimming hole.
At the end of a Dirt Road, the only
time we even locked our car was in August,
because if we didn't some neighbor
would fill it with too much zucchini8).
At the end of a Dirt Road,
there was always extra springtime income, from
when
city dudes9) would get stuck,
you'd have to hitch up10) a team and pull them
out.
Usually you got
a dollar...always you got a new friend...at the
end of a Dirt Road!
当今社会的主要问题都出在太多的土路被铺成了公路这上面。
在现今的美国，所有涉及犯罪、毒品、教育、离婚或其他过失
的问题都可以
解决。前提是只要我们能有更多的土路，因为土路有它的特殊性。
可能它有时会颠簸得让你牙齿打颤
，但是只要它的终点是你的家，在那里有
你的爱人、可爱的孩子还有一条狗在等着你的话
，这一切就都值得。
在土路的尽头居住的人们懂得生活就是颠簸旅程的道理。
有了土路，我们就不会再为教育体系而大伤脑筋。和其他的小
伙伴们一道，
我们的孩子在土路上学会了如何跋涉，如何与人相处。
而我们的街道在被铺设前也没有那么多的犯罪。
罪犯们如果事先就知道，在满是灰尘的土路上行走两英里之后
，最终等待他
们的是五只狂吠的大狗和双管猎枪的话，就绝对不会去抢劫或者强奸了。<
/p>
我们的价值观在道路的状况不是很好的时候会更加高尚。
人们不会把车子看得比孩子还重要，而驾车人也更加小心，他
们不会紧随前
车行驶而造成追尾，
因为前面的车扬起的灰尘足够
让你窒息，
飞起得小石块也会
让你车子的挡风玻璃吃不消的。<
/p>
土路让人懂得忍耐。
而土路也是环保的，
你不会驱车到畜棚就为了一壶牛奶，
而顶多是步行而已。
到邮筒取信你自然也会步行。
那么要是碰上了下雨的天气而土路被冲没了怎么办？这其实是
最好不过了
呢！
你就会呆在家里真正地享受家庭生活，
有美味的蜜饯和爆米花，
还有可以骑
在爸爸的背
上或者学着怎么把被褥叠得比其他人都整齐。
大多数的公路带来的都是麻烦，而土路引领你去的是可以垂钓的小溪或可以
< br>游泳的池塘。
在土路
上，我们惟一要锁车的时间是八月，因为（在那个收获的季节）邻居
们会把整个车里塞满
南瓜的。
在土路
上，总会有些额外的收获，那些城里来的有钱人们遇到麻烦就会要搭
你的车，还要请你找
一帮子人帮他们把车从泥潭里拽出来。
通常你能得到一美元的报偿
?
?
更好的是能认识一个新的朋友
?
?
看，一切
都发生在一条土路上！
lllusions of pastoral peace
英语经典美文
-
宁静田园生活的遐想
The quiet life of the
country has never appealed to me. City born and
city bred, I have
always regarded the
country as something you look at through a train
window, or
something you occasionally
visit during the weekend. Most of my friends live
in the
city
, yet they always
go into raptures at the mere mention of the
country
. Though they
extol
the virtues of the peaceful life, only one of them
has ever gone to live in the
country
and he was back in town within six months. Even he
still lives under the
illusion that
country life is somehow superior to town life. He
is forever talking about
the friendly
people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to
nature and the gentle pace
of living.
Nothing can be compared, he maintains, with the
first cockcrow, the
twittering of birds
at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting on
the trees and
pastures. This idyllic
pastoral scene is only part of the picture. My
friend fails to
mention the long and
friendless winter evenings in front of the TV ----
virtually the
only form of
entertainment. He says nothing about the poor
selection of goods in the
shops, or
about those unfortunate people who have to travel
from the country to the