英语美文欣赏--TIME OFF（推荐10篇）
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同学们在写励志青春的新概念作文时，难免会找不到头绪，那么励志青春的新概念作文都有哪些可以参考呢?一起来看看吧。
励志青春的新概念作文：青春的挥洒
理想总比想象距离要远，所以理想是让人实现人生的舞台，无论这段路有多么的艰辛，告诉自己世界没有免费午餐。只要付出过努力和汗水，挥发自己的青春，就算付出和收获不成比例，我也无怨无悔，因为理想是人生的导航，没有理想，世界将没有星光。
高考将来临，多次考试的失败，让自己低落心情从没间断过，但自己却无力的挣扎。看到自己的分数就想到以后的路有多难走，再不努力读书，那么自己必须去社会实践，就发觉老师的苦心，为什么严格要求自己，因为外面世界就是人才市场，老师说过，我教你的东西未必在社会可以学会致用，但是它是一张上大学的门票，没有文凭你将什么都没有，那么你只能靠自己双手去挣辛苦钱，每天工作10小时，反复工作，你还记得你当初的理想吗?你还担心三餐问题吗?只要努力这100天，考到理想大学，那么你的人生就升值了，你出来实践的机会也大了。所以参加高考去改变自己的人生，一间学校学到东西并不大，但学会做人的道理却很多，学而懂礼。无论外面的风多大，雨多猛，坚持自己的目标，因为从小有轻度自闭症，但是15岁那年才懂得幽默才可以化解人和人之间的距离，才可以冲破人和人之间的芥蒂。所以用欢乐给别人带来美好的回忆。我想当一位演员，就想周星驰一样，带给人欢乐，但是这只是自己的一厢情愿，临近高考65天，给自己一声加油，无论失败与成功，我付出过的汗水和努力，一定会实现到我的人生目标，我的语文老师李铭声讲过，求学不是求分数，读书不读死书，学而活用，一定要坚持自己理想，才走得远，站得高。
无论将来上线或者不上线，我也无怨无悔，因为我的青春无限，学习只是人生的一部分，但学做人是人生当中活用的必须品，加油升大的同学，无论成功和失败，这是人生必须经过的历程，没有失败，不知道自己想要的东西，得来不易，要好好的珍惜。高考我输给你了吗?答案没有。因为我还有青春。青春才能挥洒我的人生!
励志青春的新概念作文：青春
青春是四月里明媚的忧伤。
——题记
小王子一直在苦苦追寻一朵玫瑰花，而最后，他找到了，转身却发现，有一座玫瑰园，小王子坐在地上，哭了起来。
也许，这就是我们的青春，我们为了自己的学习，为了父母老师的“殷切”期盼，为了我们所谓的清华北大，苦苦地，日日夜夜地学习，然后到头来，我回顾青春，多少人明媚而欢快的青春啊，而我，却什么也看不见。
我站在一座空旷的、被黑灰充斥的天地间，呼啸的风不断地撞击着我的耳膜，想要把我的胸膛撞碎，拼了命的歇斯底里。于是，我也哭了，我蹲在地上拣拾青春的碎片，却只看到，一滩握不住的沙。
我看到以前一样爱听摇滚的小四，在高三的时候扔掉了它所有的摇滚CD，而他却开不了口对和他一样听摇滚的死党说，他妥协了，因为他高三了。
我看到站在艺术学院门口驻足的表姐眼里的憧憬和忧伤，她叹息着，忧郁而又坚韧地移开了注满铅的双腿，我看到她背着的装满复习资料的沉重书包里的妥协，残忍而血腥，只因艺术学院的孩子没有出路。
我看到进入大学的哥哥，一点一点地开始变得世俗、堕落，我看到他沉迷于网游，我看到他浑浊的双眼里呆滞的妥协，因为大学一点点麻木掉了我们的感觉，一点点磨合掉了我们的棱角，一点点流逝掉了我们那么美好的青春。
然后，我看到他们也蹲在地上，一点一滴地抓青春散在地上的沙，直到抱头痛哭。
有人说，这就是属于你们的青春，试卷漫天飞的青春，是四月里明媚的忧伤。
呵，原来我的青春不只有空白，它还有它的试卷和分数，以及对我成绩的种种论述，原来我的青春不只是黑灰一片，它还有它的的鲜红。
灼人的红。
我厌恶并憎恨这红。它让我的青春更加明媚而忧伤，多少次我被它刺伤了眼、落了泪。
然后，青春就被啪嗒啪嗒的水珠打碎了，碎成了一地的沙，一盘会从掌心指缝间流走的沙，我的青春!
我的青春啊，是四月里明媚的忧伤，是掌心间消逝掉的沙，我苦苦寻觅，苦苦寻觅到最后，我蹲下来，抱头痛哭。
励志青春的新概念作文：致青春
每个人都有青春，青春有太多太多的点滴。哭过、笑过、疯狂过、坚持过、也梦想过。
青春中的人都有过叛逆的心理，我们中学生也不例外。叛逆的我们应该都做过同样的事：喝酒，抽烟，染红发，早恋写满厚厚的情书，穿奇装异服，上可爱接话茬让老师难堪，以和老师作对为乐。
但是你不知道，其实这是在浪费青春。青春是终将逝去的。青春是终将失去的。那为什么不为我们的青春做点有用的事呢?等悼念老是再拿来细细品味定有另一番滋味。
我们的青春没有谁不会犯错。
其实犯错也没什么，最重要的是要及时改正才对，那些叛逆期的女孩其实说她坏，她也
不坏。其实那些坏是那个女孩最本真的一面，当她走过青春叛逆期，她依旧可以变成温顺、乖巧、美好的样子。因此，在我的眼里每一个孩子都是天使，哪怕是一个人人都不喜欢的坏孩子。
青春的选择也是很重要的，就像在火车路上行驶。选择的车票不同，就代表她的人生过得不同，选错了车票，也没什么，是可以改的。你可以转车在到达目的地。就像要学会转弯一样。
所有不珍惜青春的人都会在年老时叹气。我想叹气又有什么用呢?都怪自己当初没有做对的事。没有后悔药卖的。
我决定了，为了不让自己有什么恶果，有什么后悔。我愿为我的青春闯一闯，为我的梦想拼一拼。因为追梦是每个年轻人应有的权利。
我们的青春尽管说出口那么的骄傲，那么的嚣张。可它本应该是这样的，因为我们疯狂过、坚持过、也执着过。最后怎么过都看你有没有梦想过。青春是终将逝去的、终将失去的。为自己做一切有用的事，为我生命中的青春做一份努力。还有一句话“做自己所喜欢的事，为自己而活的精彩。”
我为了我而珍惜青春。
致我生命中终将逝去的青春于珍惜，致我生命中终将失去的青春于努力。
一、连读引起的语音歧义
例1:The stuff he knows can lead to problem.
例2:She has her own aim.
例3:Where are those sticks?
以上例子的歧义都是由于连读或弱读引起的。当操英语的本族人听到这些句子时, 他们可以根据自身经验很快判断出意思。但对于那些母语并非英语的人来说, 由于缺乏视觉帮助, 要在极短的时间内作出正确的判断就不那么容易了。在口语交际中, 受话者有可能把例1听成the stuffy nose。因为对讲英语的人来说, the stuff he knows和the stuffy nose读起来或听起来发音几乎完全一样。他们在读某些以h开头的词汇时, 往往把/h/弱化, 或者根本不读出来。这就给受话者在辨音和理解方面造成一定困难, 也有可能造成歧义。例2的歧义则是由连读引起的, 例2可读成或听成own name。在例3里, 由于浊辅音/z的缘故, /s/被弱化了, 受话者有可能把those sticks听成those ticks。又如:Notebooks are put on the desk.由于不完全爆破, 此句很可能被听成:No books are put on the desk.这是因为口语能体现连读和弱读。但如果把这些话语改用书面语表达, 歧义就消失了。书面语具有消除口语歧义的功能, 这一点毋庸置疑。
二、同音同形异义词引起的歧义
在现代英语的词汇中, 同音同形而异义的词汇数量很大, 为歧义的产生提供了大量的原始素材, 由同音同形异义现象引起歧义的例子不胜枚举。请看:
例4:“Nothing can mend a broken heart.”A hopeless widower said.
“Except repairing, ”A widow answered.
单词repairing可作两种理解:一种为“修理”, 其读音只有一个重音:re謖pair, 另一种为“重新配对”, 其读音应有两个重音:謖re謖pair。两个单词发音基本相似, 只是重音稍微有些差别, 但正是这一差别让听者有了联想的余地, 真是一语双关, 这也是语言的幽默所在。
例5:Little Steve has a pet rabbit, Bunny.From time to time he gives the poor rabbit an angry shake and says, “How much is two plus two?Steve, ”his mother says, “why do you treat your poor little Bunny that way?”
“Well, ”explains Steve angrily, “our teacher says that rabbits multiply very quickly, but this dummy can’t even add.”
这段对话把一个孩子的天真无邪表现得淋漓尽致。老师说“兔子繁殖很快”, 孩子却理解为“兔子乘法做得很快”, 结果发现他的这只兔子连加法都不会做呢。
英语词汇相当丰富, 一词多义现象极为普遍, 随着社会的发展, 许多词又被赋予了新意, 因而造成了英语中的“貌合神离”的现象, 有这么一则笑话:农夫的猪被过往的汽车撞死了。
例6:The farmer, whose pig was killed by an automobile, was raving mad.
“Don’t worry, ”said the motorist, trying to pacify the bereaved owner, “I’ll replace your pig.”
“No, you can’t, ”growled the farmer, “you ain’t fat enough.”
这里的歧义与幽默在于单词replace的一词多义。除了普通意义“代替”以外, replace还有“归还、赔还”的意思。开车人显然是要赔偿农夫的猪, 可农夫因气得发疯而失去理智, 所以把此句理解为“代替”, 才说出开车人不够肥的话。
三、同音异形异义词引起的歧义
英语中也存在大量的同音异形异义词。这是导致语音歧义的重要根源之一。同音异形异义词经常被用来进行有意识的巧妙安排。这种语言现象, 往往因为相同的发音而使受话人联想到与说话人意图大相径庭的词义, 从而引发许多令人捧腹的幽默笑话。请看下面几则例子:
例7:“I had a round of golf with my wife this morning.”A man told his friend.
“Which won?”asked the friend.
The man didn’t answer.
“Which won?”asked the friend a second time.
“Which one?”thundered the man, “How many wives do you think I have?”
那位朋友的本意是问“你和你妻子谁赢了”, 但问题在于won和one的读音相同, Which one的意思是“哪一个”。那位丈夫以为朋友在问自己和“哪位妻子”打高尔夫球, 因此才会大发雷霆地质问朋友:“你以为我有多少位妻子?”
例8:We have courses to make grown men young and young men groan.
这是一家健身房的广告。为了吸引顾客。广告制作人采用了蓄意歧义来制造幽默效果, grown (成年的) 和groan (呻吟) , 这对同音异形异义词被巧妙地用在了广告词中, 幽默油然而生。
例9:“How is bread made?”
“I know that.”Alice cried eagerly.“You take some flour...”
“Where do you pick the flower?”the White Queen asked, “in the garden or in the hedges?”
“Well, it isn’t picked at all.”Alice explained, “It is ground...”
“How many acres of ground?”asked the White Queen.
这是《爱丽丝漫游奇境记》中的一段幽默对话, 其中flour (面粉) 和flower (花) 是同音异形异义词, ground (磨碎、碾碎:grind的过去分词) 和ground (土地) 是同音同形异义词。正是由于the White Queen没能很好地了解这几个词的一词多义的特征, 因而对Alice的话答非所问。
四、语法歧义
语法歧义, 也称句法歧义, 指的是在书面语中对句法结构的不同理解所引起的歧义。在句法结构中, 一个句子的某个结构可作两种或两种以上的句法分析, 导致与说话人意图大相径庭的或不合常理的理解, 这时候往往会产生歧义。
例10:A:Must I stick the stamp on myself?
B:No, sir.It’s much better to stick it on the envelope.
小品词on既是副词也是介词, stick the stamp on把邮票贴 (在信封) 上, myself作句子的状语, 意思是“亲自、自己”。发话人的意思是:我要亲自把邮票贴 (在信封) 上吗?但受话人把on myself看作了一个词组, 有意或无意地曲解了发话人的意思, 以为他是要把邮票贴在自己身上, 岂不滑稽?
例11:Customer:Can I try on the trousers in the window?
Salesman:You can if you want, sir, but we do have a dressing room.
这个例子的幽默在于in the window在句中修饰不同的成分所产生的句法歧义。in the window在此句中有两种句法解释, 其一是作状语修饰动词短语try on“在橱窗里试裤子”, 其二是作后置定语修饰名词the trousers, 意为“试橱窗里的裤子”。售货员显然是有意或无意选择了第二种解释, 把顾客“试橱窗里的裤子”理解或故意理解成“在橱窗里试裤子”从而产生了幽默。这种句子成分间修饰关系的不明确性是幽默产生的一个重要手段。另外句子成分的过多省略也可能引起句法歧义。
例12:Last weekend, my wife and I held a dinner party.John came with his wife.His wife is young and pretty.We enjoyed ourselves.He loves his wife and so do I.
这段话让人忍俊不禁。说话人的意思是He loves his wife and I love my wife, too.但由于语境制约不足, 此句又传达了另外一个意思:He loves his wife and I love his wife, too.比较状语从句中的过多省略也可能引起同样的歧义幽默。如:He loves that dog more than his wife. (他对那条狗的爱远胜于他对妻子的爱。) 或者 (他比他妻子更爱那条狗。)
以上列举的例子证明, 英语的语音、词汇、句法都能引起歧义并带来幽默效果。这样的例子数不胜数。歧义是英语语言幽默的重要根源, 分析歧义幽默, 有利于提高我们对英语语言的理解力和欣赏力, 加深我们对英语语言的认识, 从而使我们的语言更加丰富, 更加生动有趣。
参考文献
[1]姜希星.语言歧义与英语幽默[J].石家庄铁路职业技术学院学报, 2006, (2) .
[2]黄敏娥.英语歧义与幽默[J].武汉市教育科学研究院学报, 2006, (3) .
[关键词] 广告英语 修辞格 欣赏
随着我国加入世贸组织及对外经济交往的加深，人们每天要接触大量的英语广告。作为一种应用语言，广告英语不仅具有很高的商业价值，而且具有一定的美学欣赏价值。许多英语广告之所以能给受众留下深刻印象，实际上与这些广告使用的各种修辞格是分不开的。本文现对英语广告中常用的修辞格做一初步探讨，供大家参考。
一、使用语音手段的修辞格
1.头韵Alliteration
头韵是指在词的开头重复相同的元音或辅音，使广告语富于韵律和节奏，读起来琅琅上口。
Sea, sun, sand, seclusion. 这则旅馆广告有一串S头韵，读起来具有一种音乐美，让人情不自禁地向往拥有海滨、阳光、沙滩、幽静且具有西班牙风情的旅馆。
2.尾韵Rhyme
尾韵是在词末用韵，以增强广告语的节奏感。
Big thrills，Small bills. 这是Budget出租车广告语，thrills与bills押尾韵，广告结构整齐，韵味十足。
3.头韵、尾韵并用
My Goodness! My Guinness! 這则啤酒广告，Goodness和Guinness兼押头韵和尾韵，读来起琅琅上口，生动地刻画出人们饮用此啤酒时赞不绝口的情景，增强了广告的效果。
4.拟声Onomatopoeia
拟声是指摹拟人和动物以及其他非语言的声音，可以带来生动逼真、绘声绘色的效果。
Shhhhhhh…这是则洗碗机广告，为了突出机器运转时无噪音，广告选用了“shhhhhhh”来摹拟机器运转时发出的轻微咝咝声，增强了产品的实体感和表现力。
二、使用词汇手段的修辞格
1.明喻（Simile）
明喻指两个或以上不同事物之间的明显比较，通常由like或 as引导。
Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine. Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.这则广告把没有橘子汁的早餐比作没有阳光的日子,新颖独特,别具匠心。
Light as breeze, soft as cloud.这则服装广告用两个明喻把服装轻如风、柔如云的特点形象生动地展现出来了。
2.隐喻（Metaphor）
隐喻是不用like或as的隐含的比喻，它有助于产品与消费者建立一种感情联系。
告把口红比喻成缎子，口红擦在唇上，好似穿上了光亮柔滑、细薄透亮的绸缎，魅力四射。
3.转喻（Metonymy）
转喻是利用甲乙两事物之间的密切关系，用甲事物的名称来代替乙事物的一种修辞格，它能增强语言的表现力，加深消费者对产品的印象。
Wash the city right out of your hair. 这则洗发液广告用the city替代the dirt，不仅形象生动，而且避免了用词不雅。
4.双关（Pun）
广告设计者常运用两个以上同形异义词或同音异义词来达到双关效果，使广告显得俏皮幽默。
“Oh, I see”是美国一家以“OIC”为商标的眼镜公司推出的广告。Oh, I see和OIC谐音，赋予了OIC这三个字母“哦，我看见了!”的内涵，使字母与眼镜公司的业务以及产品的质量联系在一起，既吸引了读者的眼球，又方便易记，可谓精彩绝伦。
5.拟人（Personification）
拟人是把没有生命的事物比作有生命的东西，赋予它们以人的特性、思想和活动，给人以亲切感，从而达到促销的目的。
The National guards your money. 把National银行看作守护神，顾客把钱存入这样的银行安全放心。
6.委婉语（Euphemism）
委婉语是用委婉的词句来回避令人不愉快的一种修辞格。某些产品本身使人比较敏感，商家常采用委婉的言辞以避免失去潜在的消费者。
I came back to softness and comfort.I came back to Dr.White’s.Dr. White’s是一种卫生巾的牌子，广告中没有直接出现卫生巾这词，而是用品牌名字代替，避免了女性消费者的尴尬。
7.夸张（Hyperbole）
夸张是为宣传产品，在消费者心目中树立起形象，有意“言过其实”，以更好地反映商品的本质，使广告更具感染力。
Look young in only two weeks.这则化妆品广告突出了其产品独特的功效，着实令众多爱美者按捺不住。
8.仿拟（Parody）
仿拟对人们熟悉的词语、成语、谚语等进行仿造，赋予广告新的内容，以扩大品牌的知名度，易受大众的青睐。
Quality breeds success.这则福特汽车广告套用了谚语“Familiarity breeds contempt.”
9.矛盾修饰（Oxymoron）
矛盾修饰是把两个意义截然相反的词放在一起，用两种不相调和的特征形容同一个事物，是一种貌似矛盾而意味深长的表达方法。
A contemporary classic, a timeless timepiece.
这则手表广告中, contemporary“当代的”和classic“古典的”是一对反义词。Timeless指时间上的无垠, 而timepiece指用来记时的手表, 两对词看似矛盾, 却构成了强烈的冲击力, 表达了“当代经典, 永恒时计”的理念, 巧妙地强调了手表的品质。
10.扼式搭配（Zeugma）
扼式搭配指用一个形容词或动词同时修饰或支配两个或以上名词。通过结构上的等同性与语义上的多义性来制造出诙谐、幽默的效果。
You manage a business, stocks, bonds and people. And now you can manage your hair. 在这则洗发水的广告中, 作者用“管理”一词和“头发”搭配使用, 给人以新颖感。
11.反语（Irony）
反语是一种通过正话反说或反话正说来取得讽刺、幽默等修辞效果的修辞格。
If people keep telling you to quit smoking cigarettes, don’t listen——they’re probably trying to trick you into living.这则戒烟广告让消费者从反语中领会广告的真正意图，可以收到出奇制胜的效果。
三、使用句法手段的修辞格
1.排比（Parallelism）
排比一般是由两项或以上的词语或句子构成，其结构相同、意义相关、语气连贯。排比不仅可以加强语气，而且富有节奏美。
Hear the surf, smell the flowers, taste the wind and enjoy yourself.
这是一则旅游广告，hear, smell, taste, enjoy四个动词的排比形象地勾划出海边度假村的魅力，令人心动！令人神往！
2.对偶（Antithesis）
对偶由结构平行的词语或句子排列而成，语义上互为对立或对照，以突显广告商品的特性。
A business in millions, A profit in pennies.
这则广告中millions与pennies语义上形成强烈的对比，节奏优美，琅琅上口，塑造了企业的形象，极能打动消费者的心。
3.反复（Repetition）
反复是通过在广告中重复使用某一词语，以增强语言节奏感，达到抒发感情、营造气氛的目的。
Dish after dish after dish. People expect us to be better.
这则广告通过三次重复dish，突出了该食品美味可口，撩人食欲的特点。
4.修辞问句（Rhetorical question）
修辞问句一反平铺直叙的写法，通过设计有趣的问题引起读者强烈的好奇心，往往会收到较好的广告效果。
Why put off for tomorrow the pleasure you can afford today?
这是美国皮革大成公司所做的一则广告，这家公司附属于纽约最大的家具展览厅，它有华贵富丽而柔软的皮革家具。看了这广告，许多人定会跃跃欲试！
广告设计是一门艺术。优秀的广告作品是对语言千锤百炼的结果，它既具有信息价值，又蕴涵艺术价值。在英语广告中恰当地运用修辞格，可以使广告具有强大的感染力和表现力，让受众在获得精神陶冶和美感享受的同时，加深对产品的印象，引起购买欲望，达到促销商品的目的。
参考文献：
[1]王春梅:广告英语的修辞魅力[J].安徽工业大学学报,2005 (6):111-112
[2]张福娟:刍议英语广告中的修辞手法[J].闽西职业大学学报, 2005(3):118-121
[3]张楠:浅谈英语广告修辞及其翻译[J].内蒙古民族大学学报,2005(2):109-113
[4]张雪莲:广告英语的修辞特点[J].和田师范专科学校学报, 2004(4):123
[5]钟馥兰:广告英语中的修辞格与翻译[J].黎明职业大学学报,2003(1):18-21
Once I left home to hitch-hike2 to California with my friend Penelope. The trip wasn?t easy，and there were many times I didn?t feel safe. One situation in particular kept me grateful to still be alive. When I returned home，I was different，not so outwardly sure of myself.
I was happy to be home. But then I noticed that Penelope，who was staying with us，was wearing my clothes. And my family seemed to like her better than me. I wondered if I would be missed if I weren?t there. I told my mom，and she explained that though Penelope was a lovely girl，no one could replace me. I pointed out，“She is more patient and is neater than I have ever been.” My mom said these were
wonderful qualities，but I was the only person who could fill my role. She made me realize that even with my faults—and there were many-I was a loved member of the family who couldn?t be replaced.
I became a searcher，wanting to find out who I was and what made me unique. My view of myself was changing. I wanted a solid base to start from. I started to resist3 pressure to act in ways that I didn?t like any more，and I was delighted by who I really was. I came to feel much more sure that no one can ever take my place.
面朝大海，春暖花开―海子
From tomorrow on,I will be a happy man.
从明天起，做一个幸福的人
Grooming,chopping and traveling all over the world.
喂马，劈柴，周游世界
From tomorrow on,I will care foodstuff and vegetable.
从明天起，关心粮食和蔬菜
Living in a house towards the sea, with spring blossoms.
我有一所房子，面朝大海，春暖花开
From tomorrow on,write to each of my dear ones.
从明天起，和每一个人通信
Telling them of my happiness.
告诉他们我的幸福
What the lightening of happiness has told me.
那幸福的闪电告诉我的
I will spread it to each of them.
我将告诉每一个人
Give a warm name for every river and every mountain.
给每一条河每一座山取一个温暖的名字
Strangers,I will also wish you happy.
陌生人，我也为你祝福
May you have a brilliant future!
愿你有一个灿烂的前程
May you lovers eventually become spouses!
愿有情人终成眷属
May you enjoy happiness in this earthly world!
愿你们在尘世获得幸福
I only wish to face the sea, with spring blossoms.
诺丁汉大学的理查德·唐尼博士说：“老话讲金钱难买开心颜，这可能不全对。但是传统的家庭观念，拥有一个稳定舒适的家庭，经济上有保障，衣食无忧，这些对于获得幸福感都是关键因素。”
The top ten tips:
十大要诀：
1.Spend more time with family
多和家人相处。
2.Stay married
结了婚的人比较容易幸福。
3.Buy a detached house
在较为僻静的地方买一处房子，避开城中心。
4.Move north
更多英语资料请访问：http://www.manfen.net/thread-14350-1-1.html 2 满分网（www.manfen.net）
往北边挪。
5.Avoid debt
不要背债。
6.Take regular holidays
有规律的休假。
7.Take regular exercise
有规律的做运动。
8.Work
有一份工作。
9.Maintain friendships
有一帮朋友。
10.Maintain a positive attidude
保持乐观积极的生活态度。
一、影片的选择
利用影视进行英语学习, 影片的选择至关重要。影片选择得当, 有助于学生更好地提高英语水平, 了解文化差异, 树立良好的价值观人生观。影片选择不当, 则有可能使学习流于形式, 起不到应有的作用。对于影片的选择要考虑到以下几点。
1. 主题健康向上。
中职生正处于少年期和青年期, 这个时期的学生正处于人生观、价值观形成的时期。这个阶段的学生学习能力强, 因此, 选择具有教育意义、主题向上的好影片, 不仅能够在学习英语的同时, 帮助学生树立正确的、积极的人生观、价值观。例如, 经典名片《罗马假日》中, 公主在经历罗马一日假期后, 反而体验到自己对国家的责任, 忍痛抛弃爱情返回大使馆, 并果断地表达了自己的思想:“I trust you will not find i necessary to use that word again.Were I not completely aware o my duty to my family and my country, I would not have come backtonight.” (大人, 我相信您不会再这么说了, 若我不清楚自己对国家和家庭的责任, 今晚我就不会回来。) 《料理鼠王》当中, 名厨Gusteau在影片最开始就告诉大家:“Your only limit is your soul.Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great.”在影片的最后, 刻薄的美食物评论员也被小老鼠的烹饪天赋打动, 一改原先的观点并承认:“Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” (并非是谁都能成为伟大的艺术家, 不过伟大的艺术家, 却可能来自任何角落。)
2. 根据学生的实际英语水平和理解能力选择难度适中的影片。
中职学生掌握的词汇量不大, 听力基础较弱。因此, 选择影片时, 应当选择词汇简单、语速较慢、语音纯正清晰的影片。在这方面, 动画片是一个很好的选择。动画片一则画面较为干净, 比较没有一些暴力、血腥等不宜镜头;二来比较轻松、诙谐, 主题向上, 如《里约大冒险》《马达加斯加》等;三是语音清晰, 语速较缓。一些影片如《新德勒的名单》等, 虽然也是很好的学习影片, 但主题太过沉重, 对于中职生来说, 接收要难些。
3. 选择具有中国元素的影片, 更贴近学生生活。
如《功夫熊猫》的盖世传奇系列短剧中, 出现“黯然销魂茶” (the cup o heartbreak and sorrow) “兰花失忆手” (fluttering finger mind slip) 等, 极大地激发了学生的兴趣。
二、影片的学习
英语原声电影一般长达一两个小时, 而我们的课堂时间有限。所以我们可以组织学生利用课余时间进行影片的观看或者布置学生提前自行观看。然后, 教师根据教学目标、学生水平有选择地对影片进行剪辑, 截取重点片段, 进行片段学习。为了更好地利用影片做好英语学习, 我们必须做好学习前准备、影片学习及学习后巩固三个阶段的工作。
1. 学习前准备。
鉴于学生的英语水平, 观赏影片以有双语字幕的为佳。对一部分影片, 观影前可对影片人物或背景做一番介绍。如《罗马假日》, 可对学生进行两个主角的介绍:格利高里·派克和奥黛丽·赫本。在观看《凯尔经的秘密》前, 则有必要介绍背景文化, 先向同学们介绍什么是凯尔经:“凯兰书卷约在公元800年左右由苏格兰西部爱欧那岛 (Iona) 上的僧侣凯尔特修士绘制。这部书由四部新约圣经福音书组成, 语言为拉丁语。这是一本有着华丽装饰文字的圣经福音手抄本, 每篇短文的开头都有一幅插图, 总共有两千幅。被大众认为是爱尔兰最珍贵的国宝”[1]。在学习《里约大冒险》前, 可以先让学生了解一下里约和狂欢节:“里约热内卢是位于巴西东南部的一座城市, 是巴西第二大城, 仅次于圣保罗, 风景优美, 每年吸引大量游客到此观光, 市境内的里约热内卢港是世界三大天然良港之一, 而里约热内卢基督像也是世界新七大奇迹之一”[2]。“里约狂欢节期间, 会举行桑巴巡游大赛和各种街头巡游及表演”[3]。学习前准备不仅能帮助学生更好地欣赏理解电影, 还有助于扩大学生的知识面, 同时也能提高学生对电影学习的兴趣。
2. 影视片段学习。
教师根据教学目标﹑学生水平截取影片中适合学习的片段, 通过不同方式的设计, 从不同方面锻炼并提高学生英语听﹑说﹑读﹑写的综合应用能力。
(1) 听力的训练
影视欣赏对提高学生的听力具有良好的作用。然而在做听力训练时, 由于中职生基础薄弱, 特别是在听力方面。因此, 在选材时, 要特别挑选一些低难度、词汇量少的素材。选择的素材至少让学生能听懂50%的内容, 这样才不会让学生产生畏难情绪, 同时才能起到听力的训练作用。在《料理鼠王》影片的学习中, 我截取了小米被困在地下水道里的一段视频, 该段视频语速缓慢, 词汇简单, 基本上所有词汇都在中职生可掌握的范畴内, 采用了挖空填空的方式, 降低了难度。内容如下:
I waited for a__ , a__ , a__ , __ .
Gusteau:If you are__ , go up and look around, Remy.Why do you__ and mope?
Remy:Well, I’ve just lost my__ , all my friends, probably forever.
Gusteau:How do you know?
Remy:You are an illustration.Why am I__ to you?
Gusteau:Well, you just__ your family, all your friends.You are__ .
Remy:Yeah, well.You’re__ .
Gusteau:Ah, but that is no match for wishful thinking.If you focus on what you’ve left behind, you’ve never be able to see what lies ahead.
(答案:sound, voice, sign, something, hungry, family, talking, lost, lonely, wait, dead)
在《里约大冒险》中, 选取Blu第一次在救助站见到Jewel时的情景。该场景情节活泼、浪漫有趣, 很容易引起学生的兴趣。做该段听力时, 可让学生先在本子上记下他们所能听懂的句子或单词, 然后对对话大致的内容进行猜测, 再逐句精听。
(2) 角色扮演
角色扮演是锻炼学生口语的一个良好方式。既可以学以致用, 增加乐趣, 又可以培养合作精神。在《里约大冒险》学习中, 我选取了小鸟偷跑后, 坏人头目骂两个手下的较为诙谐的片段:
A:Do you think I’m an idiot.there were two birds, chained together, in a cage.How could you lose them?
B:They out smart us boss.But don’t worry.We’ll get them back.I have a plan.
A:Oh, Great.What are you going to do?Wander in the city, calling“here birdie-birdie, here birdie!”
B:Well, anything sounds dumb when you say it like that.
做角色扮演前, 先对片段进行讲解学习, 然后播放视频让学生进行模仿, 操练之后, 再请同学上台表演。这时, 可事先准备好台词卡, 分发给学生, 帮助他们记台词。
(3) 口语讨论
根据影片的内容, 组织一些问题让同学们进行讨论。一方面训练学生的口语表达能力, 另一方面培养学生养成独立思考的能力, 形成自己对事物的看法。例如, 在观看《凯尔经的秘密》后, 可让同学们分组思考讨论片中所说的这本经书能给人们带来怎样的奇迹。引导学生更深层次地理解电影的内涵;了解到凯尔经是一本经书, 它并不具备强大的神力去抵挡维京人的侵略, 它更多的是一种宗教上的信仰, 这种信仰能在人们绝望之际, 安抚受到创伤的心灵, 带来希望, 传播和平。在学习《料理鼠王》时, 可让同学们讨论大厨Gusteau的观点“Anyone can cook.”询问“Do you agree?Why or why not?”在学习《里约大冒险》结尾时, 还可让同学们讨论:“What can we do to protec our birds and environment?”
(4) 文化背景知识的学习
交际不仅仅是语言的交际, 更是文化的交际。原声电影的观看不仅能够提高语言的水平, 更能够渗透文化知识, 提高跨文化交际的能力, 同时拓宽学生的知识面。如在《里约大冒险》中, 片中多次出现里约的一些标志性建筑:耶稣像、贫民区、面包山等, 可以增强学生对里约的认识;片中出现的狂欢节的场面有助于学生更直观地了解这座城市的文化;通过学习蓝金刚鹦鹉及片中出现的鸟类的常识, 可以使学生更好地了解里约丰富的地理生物构成。学习《料理鼠王》前, 可先让学生了解rat和mouse之间的区别, 尤其是文化意义上的区别:西方往往将rat与负面意义联系在一起;这与rat的生物学特性或者行为无关, 很可能与历史上的黑死病有关系;Rat被看做是邪恶的、不洁的、寄生的动物, 盗取食物并传播疾病;Mouse则经常成为宠物, 被看做好玩、可爱或容易侍弄, 米老鼠就叫Mickey Mouse。之后, 交代学生在观看电影时, 注意片中人们是如何称呼老鼠的。通过对影片的观看学习, 学生对法国饮食文化有了更好的了解。
(5) 经典台词翻译
影片中都有一些令人难忘的, 充满正能量的台词。选择合适的、难度不大的句子让学生进行翻译, 既可提高学生的翻译水平, 又可引导学生形成积极向上的观念。如, 《料理鼠王》中:I’ve always believed with hard work and a little bit of luck, it’s only a matter of time before I’m discovered! (我总是相信勤奋与努力外加一点点幸运就能换来成功, 我的天分被发现, 只是时间的问题。) Not everyone can become a great artist, but a grea artist can come from anywhere. (并非是谁都能成为伟大的艺术家, 不过伟大的艺术家, 却可能来自任何角落。)
3. 学习后巩固。
学习后巩固对于巩固学习的成果很重要。对于程度比较好的同学, 观看学习完后, 可让其阅读一些英语介绍或影评, 并要求写观后感。对于程度比较薄弱的同学, 可以在影片学习后, 整理影片中的经典台词和所要求掌握的单词, 要求他们进行背诵并考查。此外, 还可组织同学课后学习影片中的歌曲, 如《罗马假日》的主题曲《难以忘怀》;《里约大冒险》中出现过的名曲“say you, say me”。
总之, 影视欣赏与学习要避免流于形式或造成只欣赏而少学习的局面。如何将欣赏和学习有效结合, 进行系统的学习?这是我们必须深入思考、探索、研究的问题。
参考文献
[1]凯尔经的解说.百度百科.
[2]里约介绍.维基百科.
饮料食品类：
1. Good to the last drop.
滴滴香浓，意犹未尽——麦氏咖啡
2. Obey your thirst.
听从你的渴望——雪碧
3. Take time to indulge.
尽情享受吧——雀巢冰激凌
4. The choice of a new generation.
新一代的选择——百事可乐
5. You can’t beat the feeling！
挡不住的诱惑——可口可乐
6. Melt in your mouth, not in your hand.
只溶在口，不溶在握——玛氏巧克力
7. To me，the past is black and white，but the future is always color.
对我而言，过去平淡无奇；而未来，却是绚烂缤纷——轩尼诗酒
电子科技类：
1. We lead．Others copy．
我们领先，他人仿效——理光复印机
2．Impossible made possible．
使不可能变为可能——佳能打印机
3. Intelligence everywhere.
智慧演绎，无处不在——摩托罗拉
4. Make yourself heard.
理解就是沟通——爱立信
5. Connecting people.
科技以人为本——诺基亚
6. Let’s make things better.
让我们做得更好——飞利浦
7. Feel the new space.
感受新境界——三星电子
8. Take TOSHIBA, take the world.
拥有东芝，拥有世界——东芝电子
9. Intel Inside.
给电脑一颗奔腾的“芯”——英特尔奔腾
10. You press the button, we do the rest.
你只需按快门，剩下的我们来做——柯达照相机
生活用品类：
1. Good teeth, good health.
牙齿好，身体就好——高露洁牙膏
2. Behind that healthy smile, there’s a Crest kid.
健康笑容来自佳洁士——佳洁士牙膏
3. Start ahead.
成功之路，从头开始——飘柔
4. Ask for more.
渴望无限——百事流行鞋
5. Just do it.
只管去做——耐克运动鞋
6. Tide’s in, dirt’s out.
汰渍到，污痕逃——汰渍洗衣粉
7. Quality never goes out of style.
质量与风格共存——李维斯牛仔服装
8. To be NO.1.
追求时尚，引领全球——鸿星尔克
9. Anything is possible.
When I was six years old, I began to go to school.The first school(which)I attended was a primary school.There were many subjects(which were taught in the school, such as Chinese, arithmetic, history, geography, drawing and so forth.Since I was(became)a student, I studied very hard.My parents were quite proud of me.After I had studied there for three years, I entered a junior high school.When I was twelve years old, I became a student of a senior high school.I still studied very hard.Except on sick leave I was never absent from class.Everybody looked upon me as a model student.我六岁的时候，就开始上学了。我第一个上的学校是一所国小。学校里教的课目有许多，诸如国文，算术，史地，画图等等。既然我是一个学生，我就用功读书。我父母深以我为荣。
我在那边读了三年后，就进入初中。我十二岁的时候，就成为一个高中的物理学。我依旧用功读书。除病假外，我永不缺课。人人都把我看作是一个模范生。MY NATIVE TOWN 我的故乡
My native town is X.We have settled down here since my grandfather was a child.In other words, my family has lived here for more than one hundred years.It is a small village.There are about one thousand inhabitants.Most of them are farmers.The mode of their living is very simple.However, they have already possessed television sets and refrigerators.They made up their minds to live a modern life.我的故乡是X。我们自从祖父是小孩时，就定居在此地。换句话说，我们家人在此地已经住了一百余年了。
这个小村庄。居民大约有一千人。他们大部分是农夫。他们的生活方式很简单。然而，他们已拥有电视和冰箱。他们下定决心要过一个现代的生活
INDUSTRY(DILIGENCE)勤勉
It is a matter of course that industry will bring us success, wealth and good luck.I am sure that a hard-working person can always succeed in the work which he wants to do.This is unchangeable truth.Idleness is the opposite of industry.It is the source of all evil.An idle man only enjoys playing and making pleasures.That he is doomed to failure is of no doubt.We should not follow his example.勤勉会带给我们成功，财富和好运乃是当然之事。我确信一个苦干的人终是能够做成功他所要做的工作。这是不易之定理。懒惰是勤勉的反面。它是万恶之源泉。一个懒惰的人只享受玩耍和寻乐。他命运注定失败是毫无疑问的。我们不应学他的榜样。THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION 教育的重要性
It is impossible for us to make our country rich and strong without developing education.Why? Because education gives people knowledge and teaches them how to become good citizens so as to be able to serve their country.No wonder they say that education decides the progress, prosperity and civilization of a country.At present(Nowadays)most countries in(of)the world are enforcing compulsory education.It is necessary for all kinds of people, both rich and poor, to receive education.Taiwan is an exception as well not.我们不可能使我们的国家富强而不发展教育。为什么？因为教育给予人民知识并教他们如何成为好公民以便能为国家效力。难怪，有人说教育决定一个国家的进步，繁荣与文化。
现在世界大多数的国家都在实施强迫教育。所有各类人民不论贫富都必须接受教育。台湾也不例外。
THE NATIONAL FLAG 国旗
it is the duty of every citizen to honor the national flag.Why? Because the national flag is the symbol of a(the)country.To respect it means to respect the country.In other words, if a man loves his country, he must love the national flag.In school, the national flag is usually raised at a certain time every day.Then the principal, teachers, staff and students are to(must)stand before it and sing the national anthem.It is indeed extremely meaningful to attend such a ceremony.尊敬国旗是每个公民的责任（义务）。为什么？因为国旗是国家的象征。尊敬它意思就是尊敬国家。换句话说，如果一个人爱国，他必须爱国旗。在学校里，通常每天定时要升旗。那时，校长，老师，教职员学生教师将恭敬地站在它前面并且唱国歌。参加此项仪式确实非常有意义。
HOW TO BE A GOOD CITIZEN 如何做一个好公民
My aim is to become a good citizen so as to be able to render service to the(my)country.However, to become a good citizen is not an easy thing.He has many duties to fulfill.The first duty of a good citizen is to love his country.He is to(must)be ready to sacrifice even his own life for the country.His second duty is to obey the law and help the government(to)maintain order.If everybody can do so, the country will be rich and strong(powerful).我的志向是做一个好公民以便能给国家效力。然而，做一个好公民不是一件容易的事情。他有许多责任要尽。
一个好公民第一件责任是爱他的国家。他须准备为国家牺牲自己的生命。
他第二件责任是服从法律并且帮助政府维持治安。如果人人都能这样做的话，国家必定富强。
THE BENEFITS OF TRAVELING 旅行的益处
I am always interested in traveling.My reasons are quite(extremely)simple and clear.If anybody is not satisfied with my viewpoint(s), I shall be greatly surprised at his ways of thinking.In the first place, traveling increases our knowledge.Only by traveling can we see（因为用（only）开头，主动词须颠倒）things outside our home town.In the second place, traveling is good to our health.While we are traveling, we usually exercise our bodies.In conclusion, I earnestly hope that everybody must seize(grasp at)the opportunity of traveling.我对旅行终是感觉有趣。我的理由非常简单时了。如果任何人对我的观点不满意的话，我将对他的想法会大大吃惊。
旅行增加我们的知识。只有藉旅行我们可以看到我们故乡以外的东西。旅行对我们的健康有益。当我们旅行的时候，我们通常运动我们的身体 HOW EXERCISE HELPS 运动的利益
If our bodies are not strong, our spirit to do things will certainly be quite dull.And at the same time, we are lack of energy(ies)to study.Diseases will only attack the weak, but not the strong.Why are our bodies not strong? Because we do not pay attention to exercise.For this reason, we students must often take different kinds(sorts)of exercise in the gym.Exercise helps us(to)strengthen our bodies and avoid disease.It also teaches us cooperation, for most exercise is played by team.如果我们的身体不强壮，我们做事的精神一定会十分迟钝。而且同时，我们也缺少足够的精力来读书。疾病只为侵击体弱的人而不是强壮的人。
为什么我们的身体会不强壮呢？因为我们不注意运动。基于此种理由，我们学生必须时常在运动场做不同种类的运动。
·第二篇： Three Days to See(Excerpts)假如给我三天光明（节选）
·第三篇：Companionship of Books 以书为伴（节选）
·第四篇：If I Rest, I Rust 如果我休息，我就会生锈
·第五篇：Ambition 抱负
·第六篇：What I have Lived for 我为何而生
·第七篇：When Love Beckons You 爱的召唤
·第八篇：The Road to Success 成功之道
·第九篇：On Meeting the Celebrated 论见名人
·第十篇：The 50-Percent Theory of Life 生活理论半对半
·第十一篇：What is Your Recovery Rate? 你的恢复速率是多少？
·第十二篇：Clear Your Mental Space 清理心灵的空间
·第十三篇：Be Happy 快乐
·第十四篇：The Goodness of life 生命的美好
·第十五篇：Facing the Enemies Within 直面内在的敌人
·第十六篇：Abundance is a Life Style 富足的生活方式
·第十七篇：Human Life a Poem 人生如诗
·第十八篇：Solitude 独处
·第十九篇：Giving Life Meaning 给生命以意义
·第二十篇：Relish the Moment 品位现在·第二十一篇：The Love of Beauty 爱美
·第二十二篇：The Happy Door 快乐之门
·第二十三篇：Born to Win 生而为赢
·第二十四篇：Work and Pleasure 工作和娱乐
·第二十五篇：Mirror, Mirror--What do I see镜子,镜子,告诉我·第二十六篇：On Motes and Beams 微尘与栋梁
·第二十七篇：An October Sunrise 十月的日出
·第二十八篇：To Be or Not to Be 生存还是毁灭
·第二十九篇：Gettysburg Address 葛底斯堡演说
·第三十篇：First Inaugural Address(Excerpts)就职演讲（节选）
·第一篇：Youth 青春
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.·第二篇： Three Days to See(Excerpts)假如给我三天光明（节选）
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.·第三篇：Companionship of Books 以书为伴（节选）
Companionship of Books
A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps;for there is a companionship of books as well as of men;and one should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men.A good book may be among the best of friends.It is the same today that it always was, and it will never change.It is the most patient and cheerful of companions.It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress.It always receives us with the same kindness;amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.Men often discover their affinity to each other by the mutual love they have for a book just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third.There is an old proverb, „Love me, love my dog.” But there is more wisdom in this:” Love me, love my book.” The book is a truer and higher bond of union.Men can think, feel, and sympathize with each other through their favorite author.They live in him together, and he in them.A good book is often the best urn of a life enshrining the best that life could think out;for the world of a man‟s life is, for the most part, but the world of his thoughts.Thus the best books are treasuries of good words, the golden thoughts, which, remembered and cherished, become our constant companions and comforters.Books possess an essence of immortality.They are by far the most lasting products of human effort.Temples and statues decay, but books survive.Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author‟s minds, ages ago.What was then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly as ever from the printed page.The only effect of time have been to sift out the bad products;for nothing in literature can long survive e but what is really good.Books introduce us into the best society;they bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived.We hear what they said and did;we see the as if they were really alive;we sympathize with them, enjoy with them, grieve with them;their experience becomes ours, and we feel as if we were in a measure actors with them in the scenes which they describe.The great and good do not die, even in this world.Embalmed in books, their spirits walk abroad.The book is a living voice.It is an intellect to which on still listens.·第四篇：If I Rest, I Rust 如果我休息，我就会生锈
If I Rest, I Rust
The significant inscription found on an old key---“If I rest, I rust”---would be an excellent motto for those who are afflicted with the slightest bit of idleness.Even the most industrious person might adopt it with advantage to serve as a reminder that, if one allows his faculties to rest, like the iron in the unused key, they will soon show signs of rust and, ultimately, cannot do the work required of them.Those who would attain the heights reached and kept by great men must keep their faculties polished by constant use, so that they may unlock the doors of knowledge, the gate that guard the entrances to the professions, to science, art, literature, agriculture---every department of human endeavor.Industry keeps bright the key that opens the treasury of achievement.If Hugh Miller, after toiling all day in a quarry, had devoted his evenings to rest and recreation, he would never have become a famous geologist.The celebrated mathematician, Edmund Stone, would never have published a mathematical dictionary, never have found the key to science of mathematics, if he had given his spare moments to idleness, had the little Scotch lad, Ferguson, allowed the busy brain to go to sleep while he tended sheep on the hillside instead of calculating the position of the stars by a string of beads, he would never have become a famous astronomer.Labor vanquishes all---not inconstant, spasmodic, or ill-directed labor;but faithful, unremitting, daily effort toward a well-directed purpose.Just as truly as eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, so is eternal industry the price of noble and enduring success.·第五篇：Ambition 抱负
Ambition
It is not difficult to imagine a world short of ambition.It would probably be a kinder world: with out demands, without abrasions, without disappointments.People would have time for reflection.Such work as they did would not be for themselves but for the collectivity.Competition would never enter in.conflict would be eliminated, tension become a thing of the past.The stress of creation would be at an end.Art would no longer be troubling, but purely celebratory in its functions.Longevity would be increased, for fewer people would die of heart attack or stroke caused by tumultuous endeavor.Anxiety would be extinct.Time would stretch on and on, with ambition long departed from the human heart.Ah, how unrelieved boring life would be!
There is a strong view that holds that success is a myth, and ambition therefore a sham.Does this mean that success does not really exist? That achievement is at bottom empty? That the efforts of men and women are of no significance alongside the force of movements and events now not all success, obviously, is worth esteeming, nor all ambition worth cultivating.Which are and which are not is something one soon enough learns on one‟s own.But even the most cynical secretly admit that success exists;that achievement counts for a great deal;and that the true myth is that the actions of men and women are useless.To believe otherwise is to take on a point of view that is likely to be deranging.It is, in its implications, to remove all motives for competence, interest in attainment, and regard for posterity.We do not choose to be born.We do not choose our parents.We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing.We do not, most of us, choose to die;nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death.But within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift.We decide what is important and what is trivial in life.We decide that what makes us significant is either what we do or what we refuse to do.But no matter how indifferent the universe may be to our choices and decisions, these choices and decisions are ours to make.We decide.We choose.And as we decide and choose, so are our lives formed.In the end, forming our own destiny is what ambition is about.·第六篇：What I have Lived for 我为何而生
What I Have Lived For
Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy---ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of my life for a few hours for this joy.I have sought it, next, because it
relieves loneliness---that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss.I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined.This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what---at last---I have found.With equal passion I have sought knowledge.I have wished to understand the hearts of men.I have wished to know why the stars shine.And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux.A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens.But always it brought me back to earth.Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart.Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be.I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.This has been my life.I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.·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.·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 everywhere.“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.”
·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.·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 swimming 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 yielded 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.·第十一篇：What is Your Recovery Rate? 你的恢复速率是多少？
What is Your Recovery Rate?
What is your recovery rate? How long does it take you to recover from actions and behaviors that upset you? Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks? The longer it takes you to recover, the more influence that incident has on your actions, and the less able you are to perform to your personal best.In a nutshell, the longer it takes you to recover, the weaker you are and the poorer your performance.You are well aware that you need to exercise to keep the body fit and, no doubt, accept that a reasonable measure of health is the speed in which your heart and respiratory system recovers after exercise.Likewise the faster you let go of an issue that upsets you, the faster you return to an equilibrium, the healthier you will be.The best example of this behavior is found with professional sportspeople.They know that the faster they can forget an incident or missd opportunity and get on with the game, the better their performance.In fact, most measure the time it takes them to overcome and forget an incident in a game and most reckon a recovery rate of 30 seconds is too long!
Imagine yourself to be an actor in a play on the stage.Your aim is to play your part to the best of your ability.You have been given a script and at the end of each sentence is a ful stop.Each time you get to the end of the sentence you start a new one and although the next sentence is related to the last it is not affected by it.Your job is to deliver each sentence to the best of your ability.Don‟t live your life in the past!Learn to live in the present, to overcome the past.Stop the past from influencing your daily life.Don‟t allow thoughts of the past to reduce your personal best.Stop the past from interfering with your life.Learn to recover quickly.Remember: Rome wasn‟t built in a day.Reflect on your recovery rate each day.Every day before you go to bed, look at your progress.Don‟t lie in bed saying to you, “I did that wrong.” “I should have done better there.” No.look at your day and note when you made an effort to place a full stop after an incident.This is a success.You are taking control of your life.Remember this is a step by step process.This is not a make-over.You are undertaking real change here.Your aim: reduce the time spent in recovery.The way forward?
Live in the present.Not in the precedent.·第十二篇：Clear Your Mental Space 清理心灵的空间
Clear Your Mental Space
Think about the last time you felt a negative emotion---like stress, anger, or frustration.What was going through your mind as you were going through that negativity? Was your mind cluttered with thoughts? Or was it paralyzed, unable to think?
The next time you find yourself in the middle of a very stressful time, or you feel angry or frustrated, stop.Yes, that‟s right, stop.Whatever you‟re doing, stop and sit for one minute.While you‟re sitting there, completely immerse yourself in the negative emotion.Allow that emotion to consume you.Allow yourself one minute to truly feel that emotion.Don‟t cheat yourself here.Take the entire minute---but only one minute---to do nothing else but feel that emotion.When the minute is over, ask yourself, “Am I wiling to keep holding on to this negative emotion as I go through the rest of the day?”
Once you‟ve allowed yourself to be totally immersed in the emotion and really fell it, you will be surprised to find that the emotion clears rather quickly.If you feel you need to hold on to the emotion for a little longer, that is OK.Allow yourself another minute to feel the emotion.When you feel you‟ve had enough of the emotion, ask yourself if you‟re willing to carry that negativity with you for the rest of the day.If not, take a deep breath.As you exhale, release all that negativity with your breath.This exercise seems simple---almost too simple.But, it is very effective.By allowing that negative emotion the space to be truly felt, you are dealing with the emotion rather than stuffing it down and trying not to feel it.You are actually taking away the power of the emotion by giving it the space and attention it needs.When you immerse yourself in the emotion, and realize that it is only emotion, it loses its control.You can clear your head and proceed with your task.Try it.Next time you‟re in the middle of a negative emotion, give yourself the space to feel the emotion and see what happens.Keep a piece of paper with you that says the following:
Stop.Immerse for one minute.Do I want to keep this negativity? Breath deep, exhale, release.Move on!
This will remind you of the steps to the process.Remember;take the time you need to really immerse yourself in the emotion.Then, when you feel you‟ve felt it enough, release it---really let go of it.You will be surprised at how quickly you can move on from a negative situation and get to what you really want to do!11
·第十三篇：Be Happy 快乐
Be Happy!
“The days that make us happy make us wise.”----John Masefield
when I first read this line by England‟s Poet Laureate, it startled me.What did Masefield mean? Without thinking about it much, I had always assumed that the opposite was true.But his sober assurance was arresting.I could not forget it.Finally, I seemed to grasp his meaning and realized that here was a profound observation.The wisdom that happiness makes possible lies in clear perception, not fogged by anxiety nor dimmed by despair and boredom, and without the blind spots caused by fear.Active happiness---not mere satisfaction or contentment---often comes suddenly, like an April shower or the unfolding of a bud.Then you discover what kind of wisdom has accompanied it.The grass is greener;bird songs are sweeter;the shortcomings of your friends are more understandable and more forgivable.Happiness is like a pair of eyeglasses correcting your spiritual vision.Nor are the insights of happiness limited to what is near around you.Unhappy, with your thoughts turned in upon your emotional woes, your vision is cut short as though by a wall.Happy, the wall crumbles.The long vista is there for the seeing.The ground at your feet, the world about you----people, thoughts, emotions, pressures---are now fitted into the larger scene.Everything assumes a fairer proportion.And here is the beginning of wisdom.12
·第十四篇：The Goodness of life 生命的美好
The Goodness of Life
Though there is much to be concerned about, there is far, far more for which to be thankful.Though life‟s goodness can at times be overshadowed, it is never outweighed.For every single act that is senselessly destructive, there are thousands more small, quiet acts of love, kindness and compassion.For every person who seeks to hurt, there are many, many more who devote their lives to helping and to healing.There is goodness to life that cannot be denied.In the most magnificent vistas and in the smallest details, look closely, for that goodness always comes shining through.There is no limit to the goodness of life.It grows more abundant with each new encounter.The more you experience and appreciate the goodness of life, the more there is to be lived.Even when the cold winds blow and the world seems to be covered in foggy shadows, the goodness of life lives on.Open your eyes, open your heart, and you will see that goodness is everywhere.Though the goodness of life seems at times to suffer setbacks, it always endures.For in the darkest moment it becomes vividly clear that life is a priceless treasure.And so the goodness of life is made even stronger by the very things that would oppose it.Time and time again when you feared it was gone forever you found that the goodness of life was really only a moment away.Around the next corner, inside every moment, the goodness of life is there to surprise and delight you.Take a moment to let the goodness of life touch your spirit and calm your thoughts.Then, share your good fortune with another.For the goodness of life grows more and more magnificent each time it is given away.Though the problems constantly scream for attention and the conflicts appear to rage ever stronger, the goodness of life grows stronger still, quietly, peacefully, with more purpose and meaning than ever before.13
·第十五篇：Facing the Enemies Within 直面内在的敌人
Facing the Enemies Within
We are not born with courage, but neither are we born with fear.Maybe some of our fears are brought on by your own experiences, by what someone has told you, by what you‟ve read in the papers.Some fears are valid, like walking alone in a bad part of town at two o‟clock in the morning.But once you learn to avoid that situation, you won‟t need to live in fear of it.Fears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy our ambitions.Fear can destroy fortunes.Fear can destroy relationships.Fear, if left unchecked, can destroy our lives.Fear is one of the many enemies lurking inside us.Let me tell you about five of the other enemies we face from within.The first enemy that you‟ve got to destroy before it destroys you is indifference.What a tragic disease this is!“Ho-hum, let it slide.I‟ll just drift along.” Here‟s one problem with drifting: you can‟t drift your way to the top of the mountain.The second enemy we face is indecision.Indecision is the thief of opportunity and enterprise.It will steal your chances for a better future.Take a sword to this enemy.The third enemy inside is doubt.Sure, there‟s room for healthy skepticism.You can‟t believe everything.But you also can‟t let doubt take over.Many people doubt the past, doubt the future, doubt each other, doubt the government, doubt the possibilities and doubt the opportunities.Worse of all, they doubt themselves.I‟m telling you, doubt will destroy your life and your chances of success.It will empty both your bank account and your heart.Doubt is an enemy.Go after it.Get rid of it.The fourth enemy within is worry.We‟ve all got to worry some.Just don‟t let conquer you.Instead, let it alarm you.Worry can be useful.If you step off the curb in New York City and a taxi is coming, you‟ve got to worry.But you can‟t let worry loose like a mad dog that drives you into a small corner.Here‟s what you‟ve got to do with your worries: drive them into a small corner.Whatever is out to get you, you‟ve got to get it.Whatever is pushing on you, you‟ve got to push back.The fifth interior enemy is overcaution.It is the timid approach to life.Timidity is not a virtue;it‟s an illness.If you let it go, it‟ll conquer you.Timid people don‟t get promoted.They don‟t advance and grow and become powerful in the marketplace.You‟ve got to avoid overcaution.Do battle with the enemy.Do battle with your fears.Build your courage to fight what‟s holding you back, what‟s keeping you from your goals and dreams.Be courageous in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.·第十六篇：Abundance is a Life Style 富足的生活方式
Abundance is a Life Style
Abundance is a life style, a way of living your life.It isn‟t something you buy now and then or pull down from the cupboard, dust off and use once or twice, and then return to the cupboard.Abundance is a philosophy;it appears in your physiology, your value system, and carries its own set of beliefs.You walk with it, sleep with it, bath with it, feel with it, and need to maintain and take care of it as well.Abundance doesn‟t always require money.Many people live with all that money can buy yet live empty inside.Abundance begins inside with some main self-ingredients, like love, care, kindness and gentleness, thoughtfulness and compassion.Abundance is a state of being.It radiates outward.It shines like the sun among the many moons in the world.Being from the brightness of abundance doesn‟t allow the darkness to appear or be in the path unless a choice to allow it to.The true state of abundance doesn‟t have room for lies or games normally played.The space is too full of abundance.This may be a challenge because we still need to shine for other to see.Abundance is seeing people for their gifts and not what they lack or could be.Seeing all things for their gifts and not what they lack.Start by knowing what your abundances are, fill that space with you, and be fully present from that state of being.Your profession of choice is telling you of knowing and possibilities.That is their gift.Consultants and customer service professionals have the ministrative assistants and virtual assistants have an abundance of coordination and time management.Abundance is all around you, and all within.See what it is;love yourself for what it is, not what you‟re missing, or what that can be better, but for what it is at this present moment.Be in a state of abundance of what you already have.I guarantee they are there;it always is buried but there.Breathe them in as if they are the air you breathe because they are yours.Let go of anything that isn‟t abundant for the time being.Name the shoe boxes in your closet with your gifts of abundance;pull from them every morning if needed.Know they are there.Learning to trust in your own abundance is required.When you begin to be within your own space of abundance, whatever you need will appear whenever you need it.That‟s just the way the higher powers set this universe up to work.Trust the universal energy.The knowing of it all will humble you to its power yet let the brightness of you shine everywhere it needs to.Just by being from a state of abundance, it is being you.15
·第十七篇：Human Life a Poem 人生如诗
Human Life a Poem
I think that, from a biological standpoint, human life almost reads like a poem.It has its own rhythm and beat, its internal cycles of growth and decay.It begins with innocent childhood, followed by awkward adolescence trying awkwardly to adapt itself to mature society, with its young passions and follies, its ideals and ambitions;then it reaches a manhood of intense activities, profiting from experience and learning more about society and human nature;at middle age, there is a slight easing of tension, a mellowing of character like the ripening of fruit or the mellowing of good wine, and the gradual acquiring of a more tolerant, more cynical and at the same time a kindlier view of life;then In the sunset of our life, the endocrine glands decrease their activity, and if we have a true philosophy of old age and have ordered our life pattern according to it, it is for us the age of peace and security and leisure and contentment;finally, life flickers out and one goes into eternal sleep, never to wake up again.One should be able to sense the beauty of this rhythm of life, to appreciate, as we do in grand symphonies, its main theme, its strains of conflict and the final resolution.The movements of these cycles are very much the same in a normal life, but the music must be provided by the individual himself.In some souls, the discordant note becomes harsher and harsher and finally overwhelms or submerges the main melody.Sometimes the discordant note gains so much power that the music can no longer go on, and the individual shoots himself with a pistol or jump into a river.But that is because his original leitmotif has been hopelessly over-showed through the lack of a good self-education.Otherwise the normal human life runs to its normal end in kind of dignified movement and procession.There are sometimes in many of us too many staccatos or impetuosos, and because the tempo is wrong, the music is not pleasing to the ear;we might have more of the grand rhythm and majestic tempo o the Ganges, flowing slowly and eternally into the sea.No one can say that life with childhood, manhood and old age is not a beautiful arrangement;the day has its morning, noon and sunset, and the year has its seasons, and it is good that it is so.There is no good or bad in life, except what is good according to its own season.And if we take this biological view of life and try to live according to the seasons, no one but a conceited fool or an impossible idealist can deny that human life can be lived like a poem.Shakespeare has expressed this idea more graphically in his passage about the seven stages of life, and a good many Chinese writers have said about the same thing.It is curious that Shakespeare was never very religious, or very much concerned with religion.I think this was his greatness;he took human life largely as it was, and intruded himself as little upon the general scheme of things as he did upon the characters of his plays.Shakespeare was like Nature itself, and that is the greatest compliment we can pay to a writer or thinker.He merely lived, observed life and went away.·第十八篇：Solitude 独处
Solitude
I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time.To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating.I love to be alone.I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers.A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will.Solitude is not measured by the miles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows.The really diligent student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary as a dervish in the desert.The farmer can work alone in the field or the woods all day, hoeing or chopping, and not feel lonesome, because he is employed;but when he comes home at night he cannot sit down in a room alone, at the mercy of his thoughts, but must be where he can :see the folks,:” and recreate, and, as he thinks, remunerate himself for his day‟s solitude;and hence he wonders how the student can sit alone in the house all night and most of the day without ennui and :the blues:;but he does not realize that the student, though in the house, is still at work in his field, and chopping in his woods, as the farmer in his, and in turn seeks the same recreation and society that the latter does, though it may be a more condensed form of it.Society is commonly too cheap.We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other.We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are.We have had to agree on a certain set of rules, called etiquette and politeness, to make this frequent meeting tolerable and that we need not come to open war.We meet at the post-office, and at the sociable, and about the fireside every night;we live thick and are in each other‟s way, and stumble over one another, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another.Certainly less frequency would suffice for all important and hearty communications.Consider the girls in a factory---never alone, hardly in their dreams.It would be better if there were but one inhabitant to a square mile, as where I live.The value of a man is not in his skin, that we should touch him.I have a great deal of company in my house;especially in the morning, when nobody calls.Let me suggest a few comparisons, that some one may convey an idea of my situation.I am no more lonely than the loon in the pond that laughs so loud, or than Walden Pond itself.What company has that lonely lake, I pray?
And yet it has not the blue devils, but the blue angels in it, in the azure tint of its waters.The sun is alone, except in thick weather, when there sometimes appear to be two, but one is a mock sun.god is alone---but the devil, he is far from being alone;he sees a great deal of company;he is legion.I am no more lonely than a single mullein or dandelion in a pasture, or a bean leaf, or sorrel, or a horse-fly, or a bumblebee.I am no more lonely than the Millbrook, or a weathercock, or the north star, or the south wind, or an April shower, or a January thaw, or the first spider in a new house.17
·第十九篇：Giving Life Meaning 给生命以意义
Giving Life Meaning
Have you thought about what you want people to say about you after you‟re gone? Can you hear the voice saying, “He was a great man.” Or “She really will be missed.” What else do they say?
One of the strangest phenomena of life is to engage in a work that will last long after death.Isn‟t that a lot like investing all your money so that future generations can bare interest on it? Perhaps, yet if you look deep in your own heart, you‟ll find something drives you to make this kind of contribution---something drives every human being to find a purpose that lives on after death.Do you hope to memorialize your name? Have a name that is whispered with reverent awe? Do you hope to have your face carved upon 50 ft of granite rock? Is the answer really that simple? Is the purpose of lifetime contribution an ego-driven desire for a mortal being to have an immortal name or is it something more?
A child alive today will die tomorrow.A baby that had the potential to be the next Einstein will die from complication is at birth.The circumstances of life are not set in stone.We are not all meant to live life through to old age.We‟ve grown to perceive life3 as a full cycle with a certain number of years in between.If all of those years aren‟t lived out, it‟s a tragedy.A tragedy because a human‟s potential was never realized.A tragedy because a spark was snuffed out before it ever became a flame.By virtue of inhabiting a body we accept these risks.We expose our mortal flesh to the laws of the physical environment around us.The trade off isn‟t so bad when you think about it.The problem comes when we construct mortal fantasies of what life should be like.When life doesn‟t conform to our fantasy we grow upset, frustrated, or depressed.We are alive;let us live.We have the ability to experience;let us experience.We have the ability to learn;let us learn.The meaning of life can be grasped in a moment.A moment so brief it often evades our perception.What meaning stands behind the dramatic unfolding of life? What single truth can we grasp and hang onto for dear life when all other truths around us seem to fade with time?
These moments are strung together in a series we call events.These events are strung together in a series we call life.When we seize the moment and bend it according to our will, a will driven by the spirit deep inside us, then we have discovered the meaning of life, a meaning for us that shall go on long after we depart this Earth.18
·第二十篇：Relish the Moment 品位现在Relish the Moment
Tucked away in our subconsciousness is an idyllic vision.We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the moment.We are traveling by train.Out the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn ad wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.But uppermost in our minds is the final destination.On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station.Bands will be playing and flags waving.Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle.How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering---waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry.“When I‟m 18.” “When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz!” “When I put the last kid through college.” “When I have paid off the mortgage!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!”
Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all.The true joy of life is the trip.The station is only a dream.It constantly outdistances us.It isn‟t the burdens of today that drive men mad.It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles.Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less.Life must be lived as we go along.The station will come soon enough.·第二十一篇：The Love of Beauty 爱美
The Love of Beauty
The love of beauty is an essential part of all healthy human nature.It is a moral quality.The absence of it is not an assured ground of condemnation, but the presence of it is an invariable sign of goodness of heart.In proportion to the degree in which it is felt will probably be the degree in which nobleness and beauty of character will be attained.Natural beauty is an all-pervading presence.The universe is its temple.It unfolds into the numberless flowers of spring.It waves in the branches of trees and the green blades of grass.It haunts the depths of the earth and the sea.It gleams from the hues of the shell and the precious stone.And not only these minute objects but the oceans, the mountains, the clouds, the stars, the rising and the setting sun---all overflow with beauty.This beauty is so precious, and so congenial to our tenderest and noblest feelings, that it is painful to think of the multitude of people living in the midst of it and yet remaining almost blind to it.All persons should seek to become acquainted with the beauty in nature.There is not a worm we tread upon, nor a leaf that dances merrily as it falls before the autumn winds, but calls for our study and admiration.The power to appreciated beauty not merely increases our sources of happiness---it enlarges our moral nature, too.Beauty calms our restlessness and dispels our cares.Go into the fields or the woods, spend a summer day by the sea or the mountains, and all your little perplexities and anxieties will vanish.Listen to sweet music, and your foolish fears and petty jealousies will pass away.The beauty of the world helps us to seek and find the beauty of goodness.20
·第二十二篇：The Happy Door 快乐之门
The Happy door
Happiness is like a pebble dropped into a pool to set in motion an ever-widening circle of ripples.As Stevenson has said, being happy is a duty.There is no exact definition of the word happiness.Happy people are happy for all sorts of reasons.The key is not wealth or physical well-being, since we find beggars, invalids and so-called failures, who are extremely happy.Being happy is a sort of unexpected dividend.But staying happy is an accomplishment, a triumph of soul and character.It is not selfish to strive for it.It is, indeed, a duty to ourselves and others.Being unhappy is like an infectious disease.It causes people to shrink away from the sufferer.He soon finds himself alone, miserable and embittered.There is, however, a cure so simple as to seem, at first glance, ridiculous;if you don‟t feel happy, pretend to be!
It works.Before long you will find that instead of repelling people, you attract them.You discover how deeply rewarding it is to be the center of wider and wider circles of good will.Then the make-believe becomes a reality.You possess the secret of peace of mind, and can forget yourself in being of service to others.Being happy, once it is realized as a duty and established as a habit, opens doors into unimaginable gardens thronged with grateful friends.21
·第二十三篇：Born to Win 生而为赢
Born to Win
Each human being is born as something new, something that never existed before.Each is born with the capacity to win at life.Each person has a unique way of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and thinking.Each has his or her own unique potentials---capabilities and limitations.Each can be a significant, thinking, aware, and creative being---a productive person, a winner.The word “winner” and “loser” have many meanings.When we refer to a person as a winner, we do not mean one who makes someone else lose.To us, a winner is one who responds authentically by being credible, trustworthy, responsive, and genuine, both as an individual and as a member of a society.Winners do not dedicated their lives to a concept of what they imagine they should be;rather, they are themselves and as such do not use their energy putting on a performance, maintaining pretence and manipulating others.They are aware that there is a difference between being loving and acting loving, between being stupid and acting stupid, between being knowledgeable and acting knowledgeable.Winners do not need to hide behind a mask.Winners are not afraid to do their own thinking and to use their own knowledge.They can separate facts from opinions and don‟t pretend to have all the answers.They listen to others, evaluate what they say, but come to their own conclusions.Although winners can admire and respect other people, they are not totally defined, demolished, bound, or awed by them.Winners do not play “helpless”, nor do they play the blaming game.Instead, they assume responsibility for their own lives.They don‟t give others a false authority over them.Winners are their own bosses and know it.A winner‟s timing is right.Winners respond appropriately to the situation.Their responses are related to the message sent and preserve the significance, worth, well-being, and dignity of the people involved.Winners know that for everything there is a season and for every activity a time.Although winners can freely enjoy themselves, they can also postpone enjoyment, can discipline themselves in the present to enhance their enjoyment in the future.Winners are not afraid to go after what he wants, but they do so in proper ways.Winners do not get their security by controlling others.They do not set themselves up to lose.A winner cares about the world and its peoples.A winner is not isolated from the general problems of society, but is concerned, compassionate, and committed to improving the quality of life.Even in the face of national and international adversity, a winner‟s self-image is not one of a powerless individual.A winner works to make the world a better place.22
·第二十四篇：Work and Pleasure 工作和娱乐
Work and Pleasure
To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real.It is no use starting late in life to say: “I will take an interest in this or that.” Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort.A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief.It is no use doing what you like;you have got to like what you do.Broadly speaking, human being may be divided into three classes: those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death.It is no use offering the manual laborer, tired out with a hard week‟s sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon.It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or business man, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the weekend.It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are divided into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure;and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one.Of these the former are the majority.They have their compensations.The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms.But Fortune‟s favored children belong to the second class.Their life is a natural harmony.For them the working hours are never long enough.Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vacation.Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential.Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.23
·第二十五篇：Mirror, Mirror--What do I see镜子,镜子,告诉我Mirror, Mirror---What do I See?
A loving person lives in a loving world.A hostile person lives in a hostile world.Everyone you meet is your mirror.Mirrors have a very particular function.They reflect the image in front of them.Just as a physical mirror serves as the vehicle to reflection, so do all of the people in our lives.When we see something beautiful such as a flower garden, that garden serves as a reflection.In order to see the beauty in front of us, we must be able to see the beauty inside of ourselves.When we love someone, it‟s a reflection of loving ourselves.When we love someone, it‟s a reflection of loving ourselves.We have often heard things like “I love how I am when I‟m with that person.” That simply translates into “I‟m able to love me when I love that other person.” Oftentimes, when we meet someone new, we feel as though we “click”.Sometimes it‟s as if we‟ve known each other for a long time.That feeling can come from sharing similarities.Just as the “mirror” or other person can be a positive reflection, it is more likely that we‟ll notice it when it has a negative connotation.For example, it‟s easy to remember times when we have met someone we‟re not particularly crazy about.We may have some criticism in our mind about the person.This is especially true when we get to know someone with whom we would rather spend less time.Frequently, when we dislike qualities in other people, ironically, it‟s usually the mirror that‟s speaking to us.I began questioning myself further each time I encountered someone that I didn‟t particularly like.Each time, I asked myself, “What is it about that person that I don‟t like?” and then “Is there something similar in me?” in every instance, I could see a piece of that quality in me, and sometimes I had to really get very introspective.So what did that mean?
It means that just as I can get annoyed or disturbed when I notice that aspect in someone else, I better reexamine my qualities and consider making some changes.Even if I‟m not willing to make a drastic change, at least I consider how I might modify some of the things that I‟m doing.At times we meet someone new and feel distant, disconnected, or disgusted.Although we don‟t want to believe it, and it‟s not easy or desirable to look further, it can be a great learning lesson to figure out what part of the person is being reflected in you.It‟s simply just another way to create more self-awareness.24
·第二十六篇：On Motes and Beams 微尘与栋梁
On Motes and Beams
It is curious that our own offenses should seem so much less heinous than the offenses of others.I suppose the reason is that we know all the circumstances that have occasioned them and so manage to excuse in ourselves what we cannot excuse in others.We turn our attention away from our own defects, and when we are forced by untoward events to consider them, find it easy to condone them.For all I know we are right to do this;they are part of us and we must accept the good and bad in ourselves together.But when we come to judge others, it is not by ourselves as we really are that we judge them, but by an image that we have formed of ourselves fro which we have left out everything that offends our vanity or would discredit us in the eyes of the world.To take a trivial instance: how scornful we are when we catch someone out telling a lie;but who can say that he has never told not one, but a hundred?
There is not much to choose between men.They are all a hotchpotch of greatness and littleness, of virtue and vice, of nobility and baseness.Some have more strength of character, or more opportunity, and so in one direction or another give their instincts freer play, but potentially they are the same.For my part, I do not think I am any better or any worse than most people, but I know that if I set down every action in my life and every thought that has crossed my mind, the world would consider me a monster of depravity.The knowledge that these reveries are common to all men should inspire one with tolerance to oneself as well as to others.It is well also if they enable us to look upon our fellows, even the most eminent and respectable, with humor, and if they lead us to take ourselves not too seriously.25
·第二十七篇：An October Sunrise 十月的日出
An October Sunrise
I was up the next morning be fore the October sunrise, and away through the wild and the woodland.The rising of the sun was noble in the cold and warmth of it peeping down the spread of light, he raised his shoulder heavily over the edge of grey mountain and wavering length of upland.Beneath his gaze the dew-fogs dipped, and crept to crept to the hollow places;then stole away in line and column, holding skirts, and clinging subtly at the sheltering corners where rock hung over grassland, while the brave lines of the hills came forth, one beyond other gliding.The woods arose in folds, like drapery of awakened mountains, stately with a depth of awe, and memory of the tempests.Autumn‟s mellow hand was upon them, as they owned already, touched with gold and red and olive, and their joy towards the sun was less to a bridegroom than a father.Yet before the floating impress of the woods could clear it self, suddenly the gladsome light leaped over hill and valley, casting amber, blue, and purple, and a tint of rich red rose;according to the scene they lit on, and the curtain flung around;yet all alike dispelling fear and the cloven hoof of darkness, all on the wings of hope advancing, and proclaiming, “God is here!” then life and joy sprang reassured from every crouching hollow;every flower, and bud and bird had a fluttering sense of them;and all the flashing of God‟s gaze merged into soft beneficence.So, perhaps, shall break upon us that eternal morning, when crag and chasm shall be no more, neither hill and valley, nor great unvintaged ocean;but all things shall arise, and shine in the light of the Father‟s countenance, because itself is risen.26
·第二十八篇：To Be or Not to Be 生存还是毁灭
To be or not to be Outside the Bible, these six words are the most famous in all the literature of the world.They were spoken by Hamlet when he was thinking aloud, and they are the most famous words in Shakespeare because Hamlet was speaking not only for himself but also for every thinking man and woman.To be or not to be, to live or not to live, to live richly and abundantly and eagerly, or to live dully and meanly and scarcely.A philosopher once wanted to know whether he was alive or not, which is a good question for everyone to put to himself occasionally.He answered it by saying: “I think, therefore am.”
But the best definition of existence ever saw did another philosopher who said: “To be is to be in relations.” If this true, then the more relations a living thing has, the more it is alive.To live abundantly means simply to increase the range and intensity of our relations.Unfortunately we are so constituted that we get to love our routine.But apart from our regular occupation how much are we alive? If you are interest-ed only in your regular occupation, you are alive only to that extent.So far as other things are concerned--poetry and prose, music, pictures, sports, unselfish friendships, politics, international affairs--you are dead.Contrariwise, it is true that every time you acquire a new interest--even more, a new accomplishment--you increase your power of life.No one who is deeply interested in a large variety of subjects can remain unhappy;the real pessimist is the person who has lost interest.Bacon said that a man dies as often as he loses a friend.But we gain new life by contacts, new friends.What is supremely true of living objects is only less true of ideas, which are also alive.Where your thoughts are, there will your live be also.If your thoughts are confined only to your business, only to your physical welfare, only to the narrow circle of the town in which you live, then you live in a narrow cir-conscribed life.But if you are interested in what is going on in China, then you are living in China~ if you‟re interested in the characters of a good novel, then you are living with those highly interesting people, if you listen intently to fine music, you are away from your immediate surroundings and living in a world of passion and imagination.To be or not to be--to live intensely and richly, merely to exist, that depends on ourselves.Let widen and intensify our relations.While we live, let live!27
·第二十九篇：Gettysburg Address 葛底斯堡演说
Gettysburg Address
Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.Now, we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.We are met on a great battlefield of that war.We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground.The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract.The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us---that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion;that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain;that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom;and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.28
·第三十篇：First Inaugural Address(Excerpts)就职演讲（节选）
First Inaugural Address
We observe today not a victory of party, but a celebration of freedom, symbolizing an end, as well as a beginning;signifying renewal, as well as change.For I have sworn before you and Almighty God the same solemn oath our forebears prescribed nearly a century and three quarters ago.in your hands, my fellow citizens, more than in mine, will rest the final success or failure of our course.Since this country was founded, each generation of Americans has been summoned to give testimony to its national loyalty.The graves of young Americans who answered the call to service surround the globe.Now the trumpet summons us again, not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need;not as a call to battle, though embattled we are;but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope;patient in tribulation”, a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
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