英语名篇名段背诵精华(第1-30篇有背景介绍)

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英语名篇背诵精华01 Life is a chess- board 人生是一盘棋
说人生是一出戏也好，是一盘棋也罢，只不过是对人生的一种理解，因人而异。
The chess-board is the world: the pieces are the phenomena of the universe; the rules of the game are
what we call the laws of nature. The player on the other side is hidden from us. We know that his play
is always fair, just and patient. But also we know, to our cost, that he never overlooks a mistake, or
makes the smallest allowance for ignorance.
By Thomas Henry Huxley
注释
overlook[??uv??luk]:
to fail to see or notice
忽视
make allowance for: 考虑到……（而原谅）
作者简介
Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), English biologist and educator. Huxley gave up his own biological
research to become an influential scientific publicist and was the principal exponent of Darwinism
in England. An agnostic, he doubted all things not immediately open to logical analysis and scientific
verification. He held up truth as an ideal and spoke and wrote frequently on its tool, the scientific
method, and its yield, the evolutionary theory. He placed human ethic outside the scope of the
materialistic processes of evolution; he believed that civilization is man’s protest against nature
and that progress is achieved by the human control of evolution. 托马斯.亨利.赫胥黎，英国著名博物
学家，达尔文进化论学说最杰出的代表。
棋盘宛如世界 ：一个个棋子仿佛世间的种种现象：游戏规则就是我们所称的自然法则。竞争对手藏于暗处，不为我
们所 见。我们知晓，这位对手向来处事公平，正义凛然，极富耐心。然而，我们也明白，这位对手从不忽视任何错误，或者因为我们的无知而做出一丝让步，所以我们也必须为此付出代价。
英语名段背诵精华 02 Best of times 最好的时代
狄更斯在《双城记》一书开头就说，“这是一个最好 的时代，也是一个最坏的时代”。妙哉斯言！这段文字因含有
多个平行句（句子结构相同）而打动读者。 文中句型上的反复、形式上的对偶、内容上的对比、总体结构上的平行，
都值得仔细体会。
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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness;
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of light, it was the season
of darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we
had nothing before us; we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.
Excerpt from
A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens
注释
wisdom[?wizd?m]: 智慧，明智的行为，学识
epoch[?i:p?k, ?ep?k]:
age, era, period
新纪元，时代，时期
incredulity[?inkri?dju:liti]:
the state or quality of being incredulous; disbelief
怀疑
despair:
to lose all hope
绝望，失望
作者简介
Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English novelist and one of the most popular writers in the history of
literature. In his enormous body of works, Dickens combined masterly storytelling, humor, pathos,
and irony with sharp social criticism and acute observation of people and places, both real and imagined.
His works have been translated into practically every language and his novels have been adapted to
plays, films, musicals and so on. 查尔斯.狄更斯，英国大名鼎鼎的作家，是19世纪英国现实主义文学的
主要代表人物之一。他 笔耕一生，靠勤奋和汗水创造出《双城记》、《大卫.科波菲尔》等世界文学名著。其作
品在艺术上以妙 趣横生的幽默、细致入微的心理分析，以及现实主义描写与浪漫主义气氛的有机结合而著称。
这是一个 最好的时代，也是一个最坏的时代；这是明智的年代，这是愚昧的年代；这是信任的纪元，这是怀疑的纪
元；这是光明的季节，这是黑暗的季节；这是希望的春日，这是失望的冬日；我们面前应有尽有，我们面前一无所
有；我们都将直上天堂，我们都将直下地狱……
英语名段背诵精华 03 Equality and greatness 平等与伟大
Between persons of equal income there is no social distinction except the distinction of merit. Money
is nothing: character, conduct, and capacity are everything. Instead of all the workers being leveled
down to low wage standards and all the rich leveled up to fashionable income standards, everybody under
a system of equal incomes would find her or his own natural level. There would be great people and ordinary
people and little people, but the great would always be those who had done great things, and never the
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idiot whose mothers had spoiled them and whose fathers had left a hundred thousand a year; and the little
would be persons of small minds and mean characters, and not poor persons who had never had a chance.
That is why idiots are always in favour of inequality of income (their only chance of eminence), and the
really great in favour of equality.
By George Bernard Shaw
注释
distinction[dis?ti?k??n]:
the condition or fact of being dissimilar or distinct; difference
区
别，差别
merit[?merit]: 功绩，荣誉，价值
eminence[?emin?ns]:
a position of great distinction or superiority
卓越
作者简介
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was an Irish- born playwright, pamphleteer and music and theater critic.
Shaw was a ruthless social critic and irreverent toward institutions. By forging a drama that combined
moral passion and intellectual conflict and experimenting with symbolic farce, Shaw helped to reshape
the stage of his time and to mold the thought of his own and later generations. His play
The Devil’s
Disciple
became a success in the United States, and Shaw’s next work,
Man and Superman
(1903) helped
establish Shaw’s reputation in London. Among the plays that followed was
Saint Joan
(1923), for which
Shaw received the 1925 Nobel Prize in literature. 萧伯纳，英国戏剧家，1856年7月26日生于爱尔兰
都柏林。1885年 萧伯纳开始戏剧创作。到1949年为止，共完成剧本51部。1925年获得诺贝尔文学奖。
收入相 当的人除了品性迥异以外没有社会差别。金钱不能说明什么：性格、行为、能力才代表一切。在收入平等制
度下，每个人将会找到她或他正常的地位，而不是所有的工人被划到应拿低工资阶层，所有的富人被划到应得高 收
入的阶层。人有卓著伟人，平庸之辈和碌碌小人之别，然伟人总是那些有所建树之人，而非从小深受母 亲溺爱、父
亲每年留下一大笔钱之人；碌碌小人总是那些心胸狭窄，品德卑劣之人，而不是那些从未获取 机会的穷人。愚蠢之
众总是赞成收入不平等（他们职能凭借这种机会才能为人所知），而真正伟大之人则 主张平等相待，原因就在于此。
英语名篇名段背诵精华 04 Great expectation 远大前程
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下面这段文字选自查尔斯. 狄更斯的《远大前程》（1860-1861），这是他比较晚期的作品。狄更斯经历了丰富的人
间生活 后，对人、对周围环境、对自己的生活经历都有了深刻的认识，而所有他成熟的思想认识都汇总在《远大前
程》一书中。
这部作品的语言可谓是出神入化，要学习英国语言，这是一部典范。狄更斯的作品不矫 揉造作，不选用那些华而不
实的词语。他的用词都简单明了，朴实易懂，所以文字读来朴实无华，如行云 流水。
As the night was fast falling, and as the moon, being past the full, would not rise early, we held a little
council: a short one, for clearly our course was to lie by at the first lonely tavern we could find. So,
they plied their oars once more, and I looked out for anything like a house. Thus we held on, speaking
little, for four or five dull miles. It was very cold, and, a collier coming by us, with her gallery-fire
smoking and flaring, looked like a comfortable home. The night was as dark by this time as it would be
until morning; and what light we had, seemed to come more from the river than the sky, as the oars in
their dipping stuck at a few reflected stars.
Except from
Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens
注释
council[?kaunsil]:
an assembly of persons called together for consultation, deliberation or
discussion
讨论，会议
tavern[?t?v?(:)n]: 酒馆，客栈
piled their oars: 使劲划起桨来
collier[?k?li?]: 运煤船
gallery-fire: 厨房
Great expectations, 原意是指一笔遗产，中文译为《远大前程》（也有 的译作《孤星血泪》）。这个译
名给读者一种印象，即作品的主人翁是有远大前程的。而事实上，这个“ 远大前程”是带有讽刺意义的。这部
作品的主题决非仅仅是写孤儿皮普想当上等人的理想幻灭的故事，如 果这样理解，就领会错了狄更斯创作这部
作品的意义。皮普生活在姐姐家里，生活艰苦，他的理想是当一 名像姐夫一样的铁匠，他没有想当上等人。后
来他之所以想当上等人是因为环境的改变。狄更斯的哲学思 想之一是环境对人思想的影响。不同的环境可以造
就不同的人。皮普的人生发展过程是符合一般人性理论 的。
天黑得很快，偏巧这天又是下弦月，月亮不会很早升起。我们就稍稍商量了一下，可是也用不着多 讨论，因为情况
是明摆着的，再划下去我们一遇到冷落的酒店就得投宿。于是他们又使劲打起浆来，我则 用心寻找岸上是否隐隐约
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约有什么房屋 的模样。这样又赶了四五英里路，一路上好不气闷，大家简直不说一句话。天气非常冷，一艘煤船从
我们 近旁驶过，船上厨房里生着火，炊烟缕缕，火光荧荧，在我们看来简直就是个安乐家了。这时夜已透黑，看来就要这样一直黑到天明，我们仅有的一点光亮似乎不是来自天空，而是来自河上，一桨又一桨的，搅动着那寥 寥几
颗倒映在水里的寒星。
英语名篇名段背诵精华 05 The Doer of Deeds 有作为的人
美国前总统尼克松在他的《领导者》（Leader）一书中引用了如下的话：
It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the
doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and
blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without
error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumphs
of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his
place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Except from
The Honorable People
by Theodore Roosevelt
注释
arena[??ri:n?]: 竞技场，舞台
valiantly: 勇猛地，英勇地
enthusiasm[in?θju:zi?z?m]:
great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause
狂热，热心，
积极性
作者简介
Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), 26th president of the USA (1901-1909), Republican, Nobel Peace Prize
winner. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the
American public towards progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.
西奥多.罗斯福，政 治家，经济学家，美国第26届总统。罗斯福总统是一个热衷于户外生活的人，而在他的全
部政策中，保 护美国自然资源的政策具有最持久的意义。
真正令人尊敬的并非那些评论家和那些指出强者是如何跌倒、实干家本该做得更好的人。
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荣誉属于那些亲临竞技场，满脸污泥、汗水和鲜血的 人。他们不懈地努力，他们曾犯过过错，并一再失败。因为付
出即意味着犯错和失败。他们满怀激情地努 力做事，执着不懈，将生命奉献于崇高的事业。他们为经过艰辛努力最
终取得的伟大成就而自豪，如果失 败，他们也败得荣耀。因而，这样的人永远不应与那些不知道胜利、也从未失败
过的冷淡而胆怯的灵魂相 提并论
英语名篇名段背诵精华 06 American dream 美国梦
美国梦是一 个被众多美国人普遍信仰的信念，即通过努力的工作，非凡的勇气与意志力，每个人都可以致富，实现
自 己的梦想。机会均等是美国梦的灵魂。聪明、勤奋与坚忍不拔是实现美国梦的必要条件。
To Americans, industriousness, thrift and ambition are positive values. We encourage our children to be
competitive, to get ahead, to make money, to acquire possession. In games and in business alike, the aim
is to win the game, the trophy, the contract. We go in for labor-saving devices, gadgets, speed and shortcuts.
We think every young couple should set up a home of their own. And we pity the couple who must share their
home with their parent, let alone with other relatives. Actually, of course, not all Americans hold all
these values. And those who do may hold other, and at times contradictory, values that affect their ways
of behaving. In the main, however, the collective expectation of our society is that these are desirable
goals, and the individual, whatever his personal inclination, is under considerable pressure to conform.
By Corinne Brown
注释
positive[?p?z?tiv]: 积极的，却有助益的
gadget[?g?d?it]: 小器具，小配件
conform[k?n?f?:m]: 一致，符合
作者简介
Corinne Brown has her master degree in history. The author of children’s books is also a poet and
playwright. Her stories demonstrate that children from diverse backgrounds can choose to get along
even when adults are hostile to each other. Brown is the author of
Let’s Keep This Secret
.
科林娜.布朗，儿童作家、诗人及剧作家。
对美国人而言，刻苦努 力、勤俭节约、胸怀大志都是积极向上的美德。我们鼓励子女敢于竞争、力争上游、自谋营
生、积累财富 。在比赛中，在商务往来中，目标就是要赢得比赛，获得奖品，签订合约。我们孜孜不倦地追求省力
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的工具、灵巧的装置，提高速度，寻求捷径。我们认 为每对年轻夫妇都应该有属于自己的家，我们同情那些必须和
父亲或者母亲住在一起的年轻夫妇，更不用 说与其他亲戚住在同一屋檐下的人了。当然，事实上并不是所有的美国
人都具有这些品质，拥有这些品质 的人可能同时还具备一些影响他们行为方式的品质，或者相反的品质。但是，总
的来说，我们的社会普遍 期望这些品德是我们的既定目标，无论每个人的自我倾向是什么，他都承受着一定压力去
实现这些目标。
英语名篇名段背诵精华 07 Shakespeare 莎士比亚
威廉.莎士比亚（156 4-1616）是欧洲文艺复兴时期英国最伟大的剧作家和卓越的人文主义思想的代表。
Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature; the poet that
holds up to his readers a faithful mirror of manners and of life. His characters are not modified by the
customs of particular places, unpracticed by the rest of the world; by the peculiarities of studies or
professions, which can operate but upon small numbers; or by the accidents of transient fashions or
temporary opinions: they are the genuine progeny of common humanity, such as the world will always supply,
and observation will always find. His persons act and speak by the influence of those general passions
and principles by which all minds are agitated, and the whole system of life is continued in motion. In
the writings of other poets a character is too often an individual; in those of Shakespeare it is commonly
a species.
Except from
The Major Works
(The Preface to Shakespeare) by Samuel Johnson
注释
transient[?tr?nzi?nt]:
passing with time; transitory
短暂的，一时的
progeny[?pr?d?ini]: 子孙，后代
agitate[??d?iteit]: to stir up public interest in a cause 鼓动，使不安定
作者简介
Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was an English poet, essayist, critic, journalist, lexicographer, and
conversationalist. He was regarded as one of the outstanding figures of 18th-century life and l etters.
塞缪尔.约翰逊，伦敦18世纪大名鼎鼎的批评家、随笔作家、辞典编纂家、诗人和传记 家，是《刺塞拉斯》、
《诗人列传》等著作的作者，编写巨著《英文字典》。
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莎士比亚的才华高于一切作家，至少高于当今的所有 作家。他是一位自然的诗人，他的作品将人间百态真实地展现
在读者眼前。他的人物塑造并不拘泥于只为 一部分人所遵循的某个特定地区的习俗，也不局限于一小部分人所从事
的特定的研究或职业，也不追随短 暂的潮流或暂时的思想观点：他们据有人们一贯具备的、普遍的人性特点。就像
世界能永不竭地供应，眼 睛能永不停地发现。他笔下人物的一言一行都受那些能够触动所有人的大众化的情感和能
使整个生命体系 得以延续的普遍原则所影响。在其他诗人的作品中，一个人物往往就是一个个体，而莎翁笔下的人
物通常 代表着一类人。
英语名篇名段背诵精华08 Heart of a stranger 陌生者之心
每位作家在滚滚红尘中，大概都渴望有一个宁静恬适的地方，在那里不但可以思考、写作， 也可以让疲惫的心灵能
够停泊在避风的港湾。虽然有些作家相信“大隐隐于市”，因此并不刻意想在大自 然中寻觅隐居之所，然而自然总
是具有某种不可抗拒的魔力，当自然喃喃细语、含情轻诉之时，恐怕没有 哪个作家，可以对它野性多情的呼唤充耳
不闻。
The most loved place, for me, in this country has in fact been many places. It has changed throughout
the years, as I and my circumstances have changed. I haven't really lost any of the best places from the
past, though. I may no longer inhabit them, but they inhabit me, portions of memory, presences in the
mind...My best place at the moment is very different, although I guess it has some of the attributes of
that long-ago place. It is a small cedar cabin on the Otonabee river in southern Ontario. I've lived three
summers there, writing, birdwatching, riverwatching. I sometimes feel sorry for the people in speedboats
who spend their weekends zinging up and down the river at about a million miles an hour. For all they're
able to see, the riverbanks might just as well be green concrete and the river itself flowing with molten
plastic.
By Margaret Laurence
注释
circumstance[?s?:k?mst?ns]: 环境
inhabit[in?h?bit]:
to live or reside in
居住于，栖息
attribute[??tribju(:)t]: 品质，特性
cedar[?si:d?]: 雪松
cabin[?k?bin]: 小屋，船舱
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Otonabee river: 奥托拿比河
Ontario[?n?tε?ri?u]: 安大略湖〔北美洲中东部〕（美国和加拿大共有的湖）
birdwatching: 赏鸟
riverwatching: 观河
speedboat: 高速游艇
zinging: [俚]〔拟声词〕尖啸声；风嗖嗖声
concrete[?k?nkri:t]: 混凝土
molten[?m?ult?n]: 熔铸的
作者简介
Margaret Laurence (1926-1987), a much-loved Canadian author, was one of the greatest novelists of
the twentieth century. Her stories feature strong women and their struggles for self-understanding
and acceptance. She was known for her outspoken support of peace, women’s rights, and other
progressive causes. 玛格丽特.劳伦斯（1926-1987）出生在加拿大中 部的曼尼托巴省尼帕瓦镇，她的故乡后
来成为其小说系列中虚构的马那瓦卡镇。劳伦斯自幼就开始写作。 她的作品有《石头天使》（1964）、《上帝
的嘲弄》（1966）、《受尽煎熬的人》（1968） 、《笼中之鸟》（1970）、《先明者》，以及一个儿童读物连
续篇《杰逊的追求》（1970）。《 上帝的嘲弄》和《先明者》使她两度获得加拿大荣誉最高的总督奖，1971年
她被列入加拿大名人榜。
在这个国家里我最喜欢的地方其实一直有很多。这些年来，由于我们自己和情况的变迁，我最爱的地方也 随着改变。
虽然如此，过去我喜爱过的任何一个地方我并没有真正地失去它们。我或许不再居住在那儿， 但它们却存在于我的
心里，成为我记忆中的片段，时常浮现在脑海中……此刻我最喜爱的地方相当不同， 但我想它仍具有和老早的那个
地方（即明湖，Clear Lake）相同的某些特质。这个地方是安大 略省南方奥托拿比河边的一间松木小屋。我在那儿
居住了三个夏天：写作、赏鸟、观河。有时候我为那些 来此地度周末，却驾着快艇以极速在河上往来呼啸的人感到
难过，因为这些人看见的河岸只不过是绿色的 混凝土岸，而河流本身也仿佛只是条闪亮的流动塑料
英语名篇名段背诵精华09 Thoughts in a grave yard 墓园沉思
面对墓园那各式各样的十字架，总会使人思绪无尽。生与 死，在永恒的两极相通：正因为人之难免一死，我们才更
感受到那“生命中不可承受之轻”的沉重……
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When I look upon the tombs of the great, every emotion of envy dies in me; when I read the epitaphs of
the beautiful, even inordinate desire goes out; when I meet with the grief of parents upon a tombstone,
my heart melts with compassion; when I see the tomb of the parents of themselves, I consider the vanity
of grieving for those whom we must quickly follow: when I see kings lying by those who deposed them, when
I consider rival wits placed side by side, or the holy men that divided the world with their contests
and disputes, I reflect with sorrow and astonishment on the little competitions, factions, and debates
of mankind. When I read the several dates of the tombs, of some that died yesterday, and some six hundred
years ago, I consider that great when we shall all of us be contemporaries, and make our appearance together.
Excerpt from
Westminster Abbey
by Joseph Addison
注释
inordinate[in??:dinit]:
exceeding reasonable limits; immoderate
过分的，无节制的
depose[di?p?uz]: to remove from office or power免职；废黜
作者简介
Joseph Addison (1672-1719) was an English essayist, poet, and statesman. He was educated at
Charterhouse, where he was a classmate of Richard Steele, and at Oxford, where he became a distinguished
classical scholar. Addison first achieved prominence with
The Campaign
(1704). Addison’s most
enduring fame was achieved as an essayist. His contributions to the periodicals raised the English
essay to a degree of technical perfection never before achieved and perhaps never since surpassed.
In a prose style marked by simplicity, order, and precision, he sought to engage men’s thoughts toward
reason, moderation, and a harmonious life.约瑟夫. 艾迪生，英国散文家、诗人、剧作家及政治家。艾迪生
的名字在文学史上常常与他的好朋友理查德.斯蒂 尔一起被提起，两人最重要的贡献是创办两份著名的杂志《闲
谈者》与《旁观者》。
当我瞻仰 伟人的坟墓，心中所有的嫉妒顿时烟消云散；当我读到美人的悼文，所有的非分之想顷刻消失殆尽；当我
遇见在墓碑旁悲痛欲绝的父母亲，我的心中也满怀同情；当我看到那些父母亲自己的坟墓，我不禁感慨：既然我们
很快都要追随逝者的脚步，悲伤又有何用。当我看到国王与那些将他们废黜的人躺在一起，当我想到那些 争斗一生
的智者，或是那些通过竞争和争执将世界分裂的圣人们被后人并排葬在一起，我对人类的那些微 不足道的竞争、内
讧和争论感到震惊和悲伤。当我看到一些坟墓上的日期，有的死于昨日，而有的死于六 百年前，我不禁想到，有那
么一天我们都会在同一个时代同时出现在世人眼前。
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英语名篇名段背诵精华 10 I have as much soul as you 我的心灵一样丰富
这段文字是无需多言的绝对经典。

nothing to you Do you think I am an automaton--a machine without feelings and can bear to have my morsel
of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup Do you think, because I
am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless You think wrong!--I have as much soul
as you,--and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have
made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through
the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh;--it is my spirit that addresses your
spirit; just as if both has passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal,--as we are!
Excerpt from
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte
注释
retort[ri?t?:t]:
to present a counterargument to
反驳，反击
automaton[?:?t?m?t?n]: 机器人
morsel[?m?:s?l]:
a small piece of food
（食物）一口，少量
snatch[sn?t?]: 攫取
dash: 泼溅
obscure[?b?skju?]:
of undistinguished or humble station or reputation
身份卑微的
conventionality[k?n?ven???n?liti]:
the rules of conventional social behavior
惯例，俗套，老
一套
mortal[?m?:tl]: 人类的
grave: 墓穴，坟墓
作者简介
Charlotte Bronte (1816-1854) was born on 21 April, 1816, third of the six children of Patrick Bronte
and Maria Branwell Bronte. The major event of her young life was the death of her mother in 1821,
which created a lot of chaos. She had two elder sister, Maria and Elizabeth. 夏洛蒂.勃朗特的《简.
爱》通过简.爱的自述，描绘了一个出身贫苦家庭、长 相平凡、无依无靠的家庭女教师的曲折遭遇。简成为纯洁、
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热情、坦率、爱好真理、敢于追求幸福的女性的象征，因而形象鲜明。作品成功之处还在 于作者对人性的描述
中，我们隐约看到了自己或卑劣或美丽的人性，而觉得心有戚戚焉。
“ 我告诉你我非走不可！”我回驳着，感情很有些冲动。“你难道认为，我会留下来甘愿做一个对你来说无足轻重< br>的人你以为我是一架机器——一架没有感情的机器能够容忍别人把一口面包从我嘴里抢走，把一滴生命之水 从我杯
子里泼掉难道就因为我一贫如洗、默默无闻、长相平庸、个子瘦小，就没有灵魂和心肠了你想错了 ！我的心灵跟你
一样丰富，我的心胸跟你一样充实！要是上帝赐予我一点姿色和财富，我会使你难以离开 我，就像现在我很难离开
你一样。我不是根据习俗、常规，甚至也不是血肉之躯同你说话，而是我的灵魂 同你的灵魂在对话，就仿佛我们两
人穿过坟墓，站在上帝脚下，彼此平等，本来就如此！”
英语名篇名段背诵精华11 Frankness 诚实
文中的第一段，常常为人们所引用。 本文是李将军写给儿子的话，其中包含深刻的为人处事的道理，令人受益匪浅。
You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what
you mean to do, on every occasion. If a friend asks a favor, you should grant it, if it is reasonable;
if not, tell him plainly why you cannot. You would wrong him and wrong yourself by equivocation of any
kind.
Never do a wrong thing to make a friend or keep one. The man who requires you to do so is dearly purchased
at a sacrifice. Deal kindly but firmly with all your classmates. You will find it the policy which wears
best. Above all, do not appear to others what you are not.
If you have any fault to find with any one, tell him, not others, of what you complain. There is no more
dangerous experiment than that of undertaking to do one thing before a man's face and another behind his
back. We should say and do nothing to the injury of any one. It is not only a matter of principle, but
also the path of peace and honor.
By Robert E. Lee
注释
frankness:
candidness; outspokenness
坦白；率直
occasion[??kei??n]:
timely opportunity
时机
favor[?feiv?]:
kindness; friendly regard
恩惠；眷顾
grant:
allow; give
同意，允许；给
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reasonable:
proper; rational
正当的；合理的
plainly:
frankly
坦白地
wrong:
do injustice to
得罪
equivocation[i?kwiv??kei??n]:
using expressions of uncertain meaning
含糊其辞，模棱两可的话
deal with:
treat
对待
wear:
endure
持久
above all:
more than all; above everything else
首先，最重要的是
have any fault to find with:
criticize unfavorably; blame
指责；责备
experiment:
practical test
试验
undertaking[??nd??teiki?]:
promising
允许
injury[?ind??ri]:
damage
损害
principle[?prins?pl]:
moral principles
原则；道义
作者简介
Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), American soldier, general in the Confederate States army, was the youngest
son of major-general Henry Lee, called “Light Horse Harry”. He trained at West Point, and in the
Mexican War became chief engineer of the central army in Mexico (1846). He commanded the US Military
Academy (1852-1855), was a cavalry officer on the Texan border (1855-1859), and in 1861 was made
commander- in-chief of the Virginia forces. He was in charge of the defense at Richmond, and defeated
Federal forces in the Seven Day’s Battles (1862). His strategy in opposing General Pope, his invasion
of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and other achievements are central to the history of the war. In 1865,
he surrendered his army to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. After the war, he became President
of Washington College at Lexington. 罗伯特.李将军是美国历史上最为传奇的人物之一，他曾经是美国内战
时 期南方联军的统帅。有兴趣的读者可以找来他的传记读一读。
在世间必须学会以真诚示人：率真乃是诚 实与勇敢之子。无论在何种场合，都应该道出自己的真实想法。如果朋友
对你有所求，对于合情合理之请 ，应该欣然同意；不然，应该明明白白地告诉朋友拒绝的理由。任何模棱两可的话
语将会让别人误解，也 会使自己蒙受冤屈。
千万不要为了结交朋友或者挽留友情而做错一事。对你有这种要求的人也会付出沉 重的代价。与同学真心相对，绝
不背叛。你将发现这是最有效用的准则。总之，要以真实面目示人。
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如果发现某人身有瑕疵，直接告诉他 你的意见，而不是诉之他人。人前一套，背后又是一套，没有什么比这更加危
机四伏。任何有损他人的言 语或者事情我们都应该避免。这不仅是一种做人的原则，而且也是通向平和的人际关系、
获得他人尊敬之 道。
英语名篇名段背诵精华12 Letter to a Young Friend 给年轻朋友的一封信
婚姻就像个杯子，提供个容器，把男人和女人放在一起，依靠相互的渗透，让这本 来很苦的生活散出点香味儿来。
My dear friend
I know of no Medicine fit to diminish the violent natural inclination you mention; and if I did, I think
I should not communicate it to you. Marriage is the proper Remedy. It is the most natural State of Man,
and therefore the state in which you will find solid Happiness. Your Reason against entering into it at
present appears to be not well founded. The Circumstantial Advantages you have in view by Postponing it,
are not only uncertain, but they are small in comparison with the Thing itself, the being married and
settled. It is the Man and Woman united that makes the complete human Being, Separate she wants his force
of Body and Strength of Reason; he her Softness, Sensibility and acute Discernment. Together they are
most likely to succeed in the World. A single man has not nearly the value he would have in that State
of Union. He is an incomplete Animal. He resembles the odd Half of a Pair of Scissors.
If you get a prudent, health wife, your Industry in your Profession, with her good Economy, will be a
Fortune sufficient.
Your Affectionate Friend
Except from
Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress
by Benjamin Franklin
注释
circumstantial advantages: 可能的利益
he her softness: 男人缺乏女人的温柔
作者简介
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was famous for being a scientist, an inventor, a statesman, a printer,
a philosopher, a musician, and an economist. He was the most famous American in his day. Today,
Americans honor Franklin as one of the Founding Father and as one of America’s greatest citizens.
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本杰明.富兰克林，资本主义精神最完美的代表，1 8世纪美国最伟大的科学家，著名的政治家和文学家。独立
战争爆发后，他参加了第二届大陆会议和《独 立宣言》的起草工作。
参考译文
亲爱的朋友：
我知道没有药物能够消除你们所提 到的那种疯狂的自然倾向；即使我知道,我想我也不该告诉你。婚姻是适当的药物。
它是人类最本能的状 态, 因此是一种最幸福的生活状态。你拒绝现在进入婚姻殿堂的理由显的不够充分。你认为推
迟婚姻可 能存在好处，不仅不一定实现，而且，那些利益跟婚姻本身以及婚后的安定相比起来就微不足道了。男人
和女人只有联合起来才能组成完整的人。女人缺乏男人的力量和周密的推理，而男人缺乏女人的温柔、感性和敏锐
的洞察力。因此当男人和女人联合起来，就能够无往不胜。单身和离婚生活的男男女女不可能具有婚姻生 活中的价
值，是一种不完善的动物。他简直好比半把剪刀--孤掌难鸣。
如果你拥有一位健康而谨慎的妻子，你的辛勤工作，加上她的勤俭节约，必定会创造充足的财富。
您真挚的朋友
英语名篇名段背诵精华13 The meaning of life生命的意义
生命的意义是什么这似乎已成为千古的话题，每个人在无意间或寂寞时往往会想起 这个永恒的话题。这是许多人共
有的心路历程。
Life is never just being. It is becoming, a relentless flowing on. Our parents live on through us, and
we will live on through our children. The institutions we build endure, and we will endure through them.
The beauty we fashion cannot be dimmed by death. Our flesh may perish, our hands will wither, but that
which they create in beauty and goodness and truth lives on for all time to come.
Don't spend and waste your lives accumulating objects that will only turn to dust and ashes. Pursue not
so much the material as the ideal, for ideals alone invest life with meaning and are of enduring worth.
Add love to a house and you have a home. Add righteousness to a city and you have a community. Add truth
to a pile of red brick and you have a school. Add religion to the humblest of edifices and you have a
sanctuary. Add justice to the far-flung round of human endeavor and you have civilization. Put them all
together, exalt them above their present imperfections, add to them the vision of humankind redeemed,
forever free of need and strife and you have a future lighted with the radiant colors of hope.
By J. B. Priestly
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注释
relentless[ri?lentlis]:
unyielding in severity or strictness; unrelenting
无情的，不宽容的
perish[?peri?]:
to bring to destruction; destroy
使毁灭；摧毁
edifice[?edifis]: 大厦，大建筑物
sanctuary[?s??ktju?ri]:
a place of refuge or asylum
避难所
exalt[ig?z?:lt,eg-]: to increase the effect or intensity of; heighten 加强，增加……的效果或加
强……，增高
作者简介
John Boynton Priestley (1894-1984) was a writer. He studied at Bradford and Cambridge, made a
reputation with his critical writings, and gained wide popularity from his novel
The Good Companions

(1929). He established his reputation as playwright with
Dangerous Corner
(1932),
Time and The Conways

(1937), and other plays on space-time themes, as well as popular comedies such as
Laburnum Grove
(1933). 约翰.博因顿.普里斯特利（1894-1984），英国剧作家、小说家、批评家，其作品广泛为英语国家 所知。1929
年出版代表作流浪汉小说《好伙伴》，1931年与诺布洛克合作将其改编成同名剧本， 后又拍成影片，并于1974
年改编为音乐剧，于是成为当时最有吸引力的剧作家之一。
生命 从来不仅仅是存在。它是一个逐渐变化发展的过程，它无情地流逝着。我们的父母通过我们二延续生命，
而我们则通过我们的子女而延续它。我们建立的制度、习俗会延续下去，而我们也会通过他们延续。我们创造的美丽不会因死亡而变得暗淡。我们的肉体可能会消亡，我们的双手将干枯，但是人们用美丽、善良和正直所
创造的一切将永葆生机。
不要消耗并浪费你的生命去积累那些只会化作尘土与灰烬的东西。不 要过分地追求物质，而是应将理想作为目
标，只有理想才能赋予生命以意义并具有历久不衰的价值。将爱 赋予一座房子，你便会拥有一个家。将正义赋
予一座城市，你将赢得全城的居民。将真理赋予那一堆红砖 ，你便拥有一所学校。给最简陋的大厦添加宗教信
仰，你便拥有一座圣殿。将公正赋予久远而漫长的整个 人类事业，你会拥有文明。把上面这些汇合成一个整体，
改善他们目前尚不完善的方面，赋予到人类赎罪 自新的憧憬里，使其永远地摆脱贫困和争斗的煎熬，这样，你
会拥有一个被绚丽希望点亮的未来。
英语名篇名段背诵精华14 Love your life 热爱生活
只有懂得生命可贵的 人才会热爱生活，才会珍惜生活；只有热爱生活的人才明白自己人生的目标〕意义与价值。
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However mean your life is, meet it and live it, do not shun it and call it hard names .It is not so bad
as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault- finder will find faults even in paradise.
Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in
a poor-house. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the alms-house as brightly as from the
rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind
may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace. The town's poor seem to
me often to live the most independent lives of any. May be they are simply great enough to receive without
misgiving. Most think that they are above being supported by the town; but it often happens that they
are not above supporting themselves by dishonest means, which should be more disreputable. Cultivate
poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes
or friends. Turn the old, return to them. Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep
your thoughts…
From
Walden
by Henry David Thoreau
注释
poor-house: 济贫院
alms-house: 济贫院
above being supported: 不靠外援
作者简介
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American essayist, poet, and practical philosopher, best-known for
his autobiographical story of life in the woods
Walden
(1854). Thoreau became one of the leading
personalities in New England Transcendentalism. He wrote tirelessly but earned from his books and
journalism little. Thoreau’s
Civil Disobedience
(1849) influenced Gandhi in his passive resistance
campaigns, Martin Luther King, Jr., and at one time the politics of the British Labour Party. 享利.大卫.梭罗，博物学家、散文家、超验现实主义作家。生于美国康科德，毕业于剑桥大学。他是一名虔诚 的
超验主义信徒，并用毕生的实践来体验这一思想，曾隐居家乡的瓦尔登湖长达两年之久，过着与世隔绝 的生活。
其代表作《瓦尔登湖》又名《湖滨散记》，是他隐居生活的真实记录。他的作品朴实无华，亲切 自然，极大地
感染了一战后美国人的思想，从而也奠定了他在美国文学史上的崇高地位。
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不管你的生活如何卑微，你都得面对与度过；不要逃 避，更不要诅咒，生活并不像你想象的那样糟糕；而当你富甲
天下时，生活却显得贫瘠乏味。就是在天堂 ，挑剔的人也总能挑出缺点。虽然贫穷，你也应该热爱生活。因为即使
在救济院，你也有自己的快乐、激 动与辉煌的时刻。夕阳照在救济院窗上的光与照在富人家的一样耀目，门前的积
雪也同在早春融化。我看 到心绪宁静的人即使住在那里，也会同住在宫殿一样快乐。在我看来，城镇中的贫民过着
最为无拘无束的 生活。或许他们只是超乎寻常，毫不恐惧地接受这一切。大多数人都认为自己无需依赖城镇的供养。
然而 结果常常是他们养活自己靠的是不诚实的手段，这比贫民的生活更不体面。视贫穷如园中的花草慢慢地耕耘吧。< br>不要自找麻烦去追求新花样——新衣服或新朋友。寻求故往，回归故往。万物未变，是我们在变。你的衣服 可以卖
掉，但要保留自己的思想。
英语名篇名段背诵精华15 Build me a son 塑造我儿
全天下所有的父亲都希望自己的孩子能茁壮成长，殷切地期望孩子能成为人格健全、 富有幽默感和同情心、积极向
上的人。
Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself
when he is afraid; One who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee and that
to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and
challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.
Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before
he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will
reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be
serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the
simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.
Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper
From
A Father’s Prayer
by General Douglas A. Mac Arthur
注释
unbending[??n?endi?]:
not yielding; inflexible
坚决的，不屈的
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humble[?h?mbl]:
showing deferential or submissive respect
卑下的，微贱的，谦逊的
Thee:
pron.
<古> (thou的宾格) 你
foundation: 基础，根本
compassion[k?m?p???n]: 同情，怜悯
humility[hju(:
)
?militi]:
the quality or condition of being humble
谦卑
meekness: 温顺，柔和
作者简介
General Douglas Mac Arthur (1880-1964), was a son of Civil War hero Arthur MacArthur, graduated from
West Point in 1903, with some of the highest grades ever recorded. MacArthur was a commander of erratic
capabilities, when he was good he was brilliant, but he was often careless and self- centered, which
led to errors in planning. Although generally regarded as a staunch conservative, he had no personal
political principles, merely saying what seemed to please whomsoever he was speaking with (among other
things he endorsed socialism and the American Civil Liberties Union). He had no friends, as he had
no equals. 麦克阿瑟，第二次世界大战期间任西南太平洋盟军总司令，日本投降后 曾任占领日本的盟军最高司
令官（1945-1951）。
主啊，求你塑造我的儿子，使他足 够坚强，可以战胜软弱，足够勇敢，可以直面恐惧，使他成为一个败不馁、胜不
骄的人。
恳求 塑造我的儿子，使他不致空有理想二缺乏毅力，引导他认识你，同时又知道，认识自己乃是真知的基石。
我祈祷，愿你引导他不求安逸舒适，相反的，经过压力、艰难和挑战，学会在风暴中挺身站立，学会怜恤那些失 败
的人。
求你塑造我的儿子，使他心灵纯洁，而且目标远大；使他在指挥别人之前，懂得先 驾驭自己；让他知道去欢笑，也
能牢记曾哀号；让他满怀理想，也要牢记挫折。
当他拥有以 上的一切，我还要祈求，赐他足够的幽默感，使他能认真严肃，却不致过分苛求自己。恳求你赐他谦卑，
使他永远牢记，真伟大中之平凡，真智慧中之豁达，真勇猛中之温柔。
如此，我这做父亲的，才敢低声说：“我没有虚度此生。”
英语名篇名段背诵精华16 The Pleasant Family 幸福的一家
这也许是世间无数对夫妻的生活写照，这种生 活模式给人一种天伦之美，井然有序的幸福，但是又好像欠缺一点儿
什么。
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When in an hour they crowded into a cab to go home， I strolled idly to my club. I was perhaps a little
lonely， and it was with a touch of envy that I thought of the pleasant family life of which I had had
a glimpse. They seemed devoted to one another. They had little private jokes of their own which，
unintelligible to the outsider， amused them enormously. Perhaps Charles Strickland was dull judged by
a standard that demanded above all things verbal scintillation； but his intelligence was adequate to
his surroundings， and that is a passport， not only to reasonable success， but still more to happiness.
Mrs. Strickland was a charming woman， and she loved him. I pictured their lives， troubled by no untoward
adventure， honest， decent， and， by reason of those two upstanding， pleasant children， so obviously
destined to carry on the normal traditions of their race and station， not without significance. They
would grow old insensibly； they would see their son and daughter come to years of reason， marry in due
course —— the one a pretty girl， future mother of healthy children； the other a handsome， manly fellow，
obviously a soldier； and at last， prosperous in their dignified retirement， beloved by their descendants，
after a happy， not unuseful life， in the fullness of their age they would sink into the grave.
Excerpt from
The Moon and Sixpence
by William Somerset Maugham
注释
stroll[s
tr?ul]
: 闲逛，漫步
glimpse[glimps]:
a brief, incomplete view or look
一瞥，一看
unintelligible[??nin?telid??bl]:
being such that understanding or comprehension is difficult
or impossible
难以理解的
scintillation[?sinti?lei??n]: （才华的）焕发，闪亮
untoward[?n?t?u?d]: 倔强的，萌发的，困难的，不幸的
作者简介
William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), was an English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer.
His first novel,
Liza of Lambeth
, was a minor success, he then turned to writing full-time. Four of
his plays ran simultaneously in London in 1908, and he wrote many others, notably
The Moon and Sixpence
,
the
Circle
,
East of Suez
, and
Cakes and Ale
. His novels include the semi-autobiographical
Of Human
Bondage
. He is best known for his short stories, particularly “Rain”, originally published in the
collection,
The Trembling of a Leaf
,
The Complete Short Stories
(3 vols) was published in 1951.
威廉.萨默塞特.毛姆，英国现代著名作 家，20世纪上半叶最受欢迎的小说家之一。1897年以描绘伦敦贫民区生
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活的小说《兰贝斯的丽莎》开始其漫长的创作生涯。 他一生著作甚多，除诗歌以外的各个文学领域，都有所涉
及，有所建树。他的作品，特别是他的长、短篇 小说，文笔质朴，脉络清晰，人物性格鲜明，情节跌宕有致，
机智、幽默，不时流露出对一些社会现象的 讥讽。
一个钟头以后，这一家挤上一辆马车回家去了，我也一个人懒散地往俱乐部踱去。我也许感到有 一点寂寞，回想我
刚才瞥见的这种幸福家庭生活，心里不无艳羡之感。这一家人感情似乎非常融洽。他们 说一些外人无从理解的小笑
话，笑得要命。如果纯粹从善于辞令这一角度衡量一个人的智慧，也许查理斯 。思特里克兰德算不得聪明，但是在
他自己的那个环境里，他的智慧还是绰绰有余的，这不仅是事业成功 的敲门砖，而且是生活幸福的保障。思特里克
兰德太太是一个招人喜爱的女人，她很爱她的丈夫。我想象 着这一对夫妻的生活，不受任何灾殃祸变的干扰，诚实、
体面，两个孩子更是规矩可爱，肯定会继承和发 扬这一家人的地位和传统。在不知不觉间，他们俩的年纪越来越老，
儿女却逐渐长大成人，到了一定的年 龄，就会结婚成家——一个已经出落成美丽的姑娘，将来还会生育活泼健康的
孩子；另一个则是仪表堂堂 的男子汉，显然会成为一名军人。最后这一对夫妻告老引退，受到子孙敬爱，过着富足、
体面的晚年。他 们幸福的一生并未虚度，直到年寿已经很高，才告别了人世。
——摘自《月亮与六便士》威廉?萨默塞特?毛姆
英语名篇名段背诵精华17 Two Views of Time 两种时间观念
时间与人生似乎是个说不尽的话题。时间永远存在于我们的世界，而我们却往往忽视它的存在。
Imagine that you spent your whole life at a single house. Each day at the same hour you entered an
artificially-lit room, undressed and took up the same position in front of a motion picture camera. It
photographed one frame of you per day, every day of your life. On your seventy-second birthday, the reel
of film was shown. You saw yourself growing and aging over seventy-two years in less than half an hour
at sixteen frames per second). Images of this sort, though terrifying, are helpful in suggesting unfamiliar
but useful perspectives of time. They may, for example, symbolize the telescoped, almost momentary
character of the past as seen through the eyes of an anxious or disaffected individual. Or they may suggest
the remarkable brevity of our lives in the cosmic scale of time. If the estimated age of the cosmos were
shorted to seventy-two years, a human life would take about ten seconds.
But look at time the other way. Each day is a minor eternity of over 86,000 seconds. During each second,
the number of distinct molecular functions going on with the human body is comparable to the number of
seconds in the estimated age of the cosmos. A few seconds are long enough for a revolutionary idea, a
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startling communication, a baby's conception, a wounding insult, a sudden death. Depending on how we think
of them, our lives can be infinitely long or infinitely short.
By R. Grudin
注释
perspective[p??spektiv]: 观点，看法
symbolize[?simb?laiz]:
to serve as a symbol of
象征
设想你在同一间房子里度过了一生。每天在同一时刻，你进入这间 人工照明的房间，脱去衣服，在摄影机前摆同一
姿势。在你一生的所有日子里，摄影机每天给你拍下一个 镜头。在你72岁生日那天，放映这部影片。不到半个小时
（每秒16个镜头，总共分钟），你就能看完 自己在72年里的“兴衰”。这部影片，尽管令人惊诧，却能向我们说
明那陌生而有用的时间概念。比方 说，在一个焦虑的而又愤愤不平的人眼里，它们可能象征着转瞬即逝的过去的缩
影，或者它们可能说明了 在宇宙长河里，我们生命的异常短暂。如果将宇宙的估计年龄缩短到72年，人的生命可能
只有10秒钟 。
但是从另一个角度看时间，每天都有86,000秒的小永恒。每一秒钟，人体内不同分子作用的次 数可与宇宙估计年龄
的秒数相比。几秒钟的时间已足够进行一次革命的酝酿、一场惊人的交流、一个婴儿 的孕育、一起伤人的侮辱、一
次突然的死亡。我们的寿命可以是无限长，也可以是无限短，这取决于我们 怎么看待这一切。
英语名篇名段背诵精华18 Youth 青春
许多世界名人曾将这篇短 文随身携带，以至于皱折不堪。为什么因为它教给我们如何美好地生活。20世纪初塞缪尔.
厄尔曼写的 这篇不足500字的短文《青春》一直为世人倾倒，过了这么多年它的魅力依旧。
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 sixty more than a boy of twenty. 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 spring back to dust.
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Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing
child-like appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and
my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage
and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism,
then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up to catch waves of optimism,
there is hope you may die young at eighty.
Except from
Youth
by Samuel Ullman
注释
rosy cheeks: 玫瑰红的脸颊
supple[?s?pl]:
readily bent
柔软的
vigor:
physical or mental strength, energy, or force
精力，活力
temperamental[?temp?r??mentl]: excessively sensitive or irritable; moody 心情变化快的，喜怒无
常的
predominance[pri?d?min?ns]: 优势
timidity[ti?miditi]:
shy
胆怯，害羞的
appetite[??pitait]:
a strong wish or urge
欲望，爱好
desert: 放弃，遗弃
wrinkle[?ri?kl]: 起皱
enthusiasm[in?θju:zi?z?m]:
great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause
狂热，热心，
积极性
wireless: 无线的
infinite: having no limits 无限的，无穷的
aerials: 天线
cynicism: 玩世不恭，冷嘲热讽
作者简介
Samuel Ullman (1840-1924) was born 1840 in Germany to Jewish parents, Ullman immigrated with his family
to America in order to escape the discrimination they met in Europe. These words, written by Samuel
Ullman in Birmingham, Alabama at the age of 70-plus, are credited with inspiring a generation of
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Japanese citizen, businessmen, and government leaders who were faced with rebuilding their country
after World War II. 塞缪尔?厄尔曼1840年 生于德国，童年时移居美国。他在古稀之年才开始写作，是一个
了不起的人。本文由于手抄流传等多种原 因，存在多个版本，这里采用作者原文。
青春不是年华，而是心境；青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而是 深沉的意志，恢弘的想象，炽热的感情；青春是生命
的深泉在不息地涌流。
青春气贯长虹，勇 锐盖过怯懦，进取压倒苟安。如此锐气，弱冠后生有之，耳顺之年，则亦多见。年岁有加，并非
垂老，理 想丢弃，方堕暮年。
岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤；热忱抛却，颓唐必致灵魂。忧烦，惶恐，丧失自信，定 使心灵扭曲，意气如灰。
无论年届花甲，抑或二八芳龄，心中皆有猎奇之欲，久盛不衰的孩童之趣，以 及生命之乐。人人心中皆有一无线电
台；只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量，你就青 春永驻，风华长存。
一旦追求消失，锐气如同冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭，自暴自弃，即使年方二十，实已老 矣；然坚持追求，乐观向上，你
就可以在耄耋之年告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。
英语名篇名段背诵精华19 Advice to a Young Man 给一位青年的忠告
罗伯特.伯德特的作品逻辑严密，层层推进，富有感染力。
Remember, my son, you have to work. Whether you handle a pick or a pen, a wheel barrow or a set of books,
digging ditches or editing a paper, ringing an auction bell or writing funny things, you must work. If
you look around you will see the men who are the most able to live the rest of their days without work
are the men who work the hardest. Don't be afraid of killing yourself with overwork. It is beyond your
power to do that on the sunny side of thirty. They die sometimes, but it is because they quit work at
six in the evening, and do not go home until two in the morning. It's the interval that kills, my son.
The work gives you an appetite for your meals; it lends solidity to your slumbers, it gives you a perfect
and grateful appreciation of a holiday.
There are young men who do not work, but the world is not proud of them. It does not know their names,
even it simply speaks of them as “old So-and-So's boy”. Nobody likes them; the great, busy world doesn't
know that they are there. So find out what you want to be and do, and take off your coat and make a dust
in the world. The busier you are, the less harm you will be apt to get into, the sweeter will be your
sleep, the brighter and happier your holidays, and the better satisfied will the world be with you.
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By Robert Jones Burdette
注释
wheel barrow:
a small vehicle with one wheel and two handles, used for moving small loads
手推车
ditch [dit?]:
a channel dug in the ground
沟
auction [??:k??n]:
a public sale in which goods are sold to the highest bidder
拍卖
overwork:
too much work
工作过劳
on the sunny side of thirty:
below thirty years of age
三十岁以内
So-and-So:
a certain person
某人
take off your coat:
keep up your spirits
脱下你的外衣，意即提起你的精神
make a dust in the world:
become prominent in the world
扬名于世
apt to get into:
liable to suffer
易于遭受
作者简介
Robert J. Burdette (1844-1914) was an author of four volumes of prose and two of poetry, was best
known for writing humorous sketches of life in the Midwest that were published in newspapers in Illinois
and Iowa. “
The Drums of the 47th
”, an eloquent written memoir, records the Civil War experiences
of Robert J. Burdette, private in the 47th Illinois Infantry Regiment. 罗伯特 J.伯德特，散文家、
诗人。作品逻辑严密，幽默机智。
记住，孩子，你得劳动。不管你手里 拿的是铁锹还是钢笔，面对的是手推车还是书籍，无论你是挖掘沟渠还是编辑
文稿，是在拍卖行里摇铃铛 ，还是创作有趣的文章,你都得劳动。如果你环顾四周，你会发现那些最能够安享晚年的
人必定是在年轻 时工作最卖力的人。不要“过劳死”，在三十岁以内你是走不到那一步的。有些人英年早逝，那是
因为他 们在傍晚六点钟下班后在外面寻欢作乐直到凌晨两点才归家。孩子，正是那段娱乐的时间才使他们劳累过度。劳动能增进你的食欲，有助于你睡眠，使你能怀着感恩的心情全身心地享受假日的欢乐。
有一些 年轻人不劳动，但人们并不为他们感到骄傲。人们不知道他们的名字，只知道他们是“某某人的儿子”。人
们不喜欢他们,甚至不知道他们的存在。因此，你要知道你想成为什么样的人，打起精神，使自己扬名于世。你 越是
忙碌,就越不容易遭受伤害，你的睡眠会更香甜，你的假期会更快乐，人们对你也越满意。
英语名篇名段背诵精华20 What Is Immortal 论不朽
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在人类的精神创造物中，更多是速朽的，时代的喧嚣 声里，那些最耀眼、在响亮的往往和“不朽”相去甚远。诗人
和他们的作品，可能在所处时代是寂寞的、 被人忽略的，但他们对生命存在的完美追求、对艺术形式永无止境的探
索、对真理与文明的价值取向，却 永远存在于人们心中……
To see the golden sun and the azure sky, the outstretched ocean, to walk upon the green earth , and to
be a lord of a thousand creatures, to look down giddy precipices or over distant flowery vales, to see
the world spread out under one's finger in a map, to bring the stars near, to view the smallest insects
in a microscope, to read history, and witness the revolutions of empires and the succession of generations,
to hear the glory of Sidon and Tyre, of Babylon and Susa, as of a faded pageant, and to say all these
were, and are now nothing, to think that we exist in such a point of time, and in such a corner of space,
to be at once spectators and a part of the moving scene, to watch the return of the seasons, of spring
and autumn, to hear
---“The stock dove plain amid the forest deep,
That drowsy rustles to the sighing gale”---
to traverse desert wildness, to listen to the midnight choir, to visit lighted halls, or plunge into the
dungeon's gloom, or sit in crowded theatres and see life itself mocked, to feel heat and cold, pleasure
and pain right and wrong, truth and falsehood, to study the works of art and refine the sense of beauty
to agony, to worship fame and to dream of immortality, to have read Shakespeare and belong to the same
species as Sir Isaac Newton; to be and to do all this, and then in a moment to be nothing, to have it
all snatched from one like a juggler's ball or a phantasmagoria……
By William Hazlin
注释
azure [????]: 蔚蓝的
outstretched [?autstret?t]: 广阔的
lord [l?:d]:
a king
王
giddy [?gidi]: 头晕的
precipice [?presipis]: 悬崖
to bring the stars near: 指使用望远镜观测星辰
Sidon and Tyre, of Babylon and Susa: 四个古国名、地名。西顿位于今黎巴嫩西南港市，提尔位于今黎巴嫩
南部港市，巴比伦是古 巴比伦王国首都，苏萨位于今伊朗西部古遗址。
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faded pageant: 往昔的盛会
spectator [spek?teit?; ?spekteit?]:观众
The stock dove plain amid the forest deep, That drowsy rustles to the sighing gale
. 引自18世纪英
国诗人汤姆逊的诗《懒散的城堡》 “
The Castle of indolence
”。
dungeon [?d?nd??n]: 地牢
see life itself mocked:
moc k
一词兼有“模仿”和“嘲笑”两意。这句话的意思类似中文里的谚语，“戏台
小天地，天地大 戏台”。
agony [??g?ni]:
the suffering of intense physical or mental pain
苦恼，极大的痛苦
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727)牛顿爵士，英国大科学家。作者如此说， 是因为在18世纪牛顿由于并非显贵出
生曾受到贵族人士轻视。
juggler [?d??gl?]:
one that uses tricks, deception, or fraud
变戏法者，行骗者
phantasmagoria [?f?ntz??g?ri?, - ?g?: -]: 幻影，千变万化的风景
作者简介
William Hazlitt (1778-1830) was one of the great masters of English prose style. He was a major literary
critic and radical polemicist whose intellect was both analytical and sensuously particular. His own
prose communicated the deep joy of the critical act as a form of inspired creativity. He hated monarchy,
despised aristocracy, and made his prose sing of liberty, but he was never narrowly partisan. His
prose rang with courageous expressions of principle and glistens with brilliant passages of critical
commentary and analysis. 威廉.黑兹利特，十九世纪初英国浪漫主义散文家、评论家，著有《莎剧人物》、
《英国戏剧概观》等。
我们看到金色的太阳、蔚蓝的天空、广阔的海洋；我们漫步在绿油油的大地之上，做万物的主人；我们俯 视令人目
眩心悸的悬崖峭壁，远眺鲜花盛开的山谷；我们把地图摊开，任意指点全球；我们把星辰移到眼 前观看，还在显微
镜下观察极其微小的生物，我们学历史，亲自目睹帝国的兴亡、时代的交替；我们听人 谈论西顿、提尔、巴比伦和
苏萨的勋业，如同听人谈论一番往昔的盛会，听了以后，我们说：这些事确实 发生过，但现在却是过眼云烟了；我
们思考着自己生活的时代、生活的地区；我们在人生的活动舞台上既 当观众，又当演员；我们观察四季更迭，春秋
代序，我们听见了
___野鸽在浓密的树林中哀诉，
树林随微风的叹息而低语___
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我们横越大漠；我们倾听子夜的歌声；我们光顾灯火 辉煌的厅堂，走下阴森森的地牢，或者坐在万头攒动的剧院里
观看生活本身受到的嘲讽；我们亲身感受炎 热和寒冷，快乐和痛苦，正义和邪恶，真理和谬误；我们钻研艺术作品，
把自己的美感提高到极其敏锐的 程度；我们崇拜荣誉，梦想不朽；我们阅读莎士比亚，或者把自己和牛顿爵士视为
同一族类，正当我们面 临这一切，从事这一切的时候，自己却在一刹那之间化为虚无，眼前的一切，像是魔术师手
中的圆球，像 是一场幻影，一下子全都消失得无影无踪......


英语名篇名段背诵精华21 The English Character 英国人的性格
以下这段文字选自哥尔德史密斯的《世界公民》一书中有关英国社会的论述。关于英国人的性格，我们现在依然可
以从中窥见一二。
The English seem as silent as the Japanese, yet vainer than the inhabitants of Siam. Upon my arrival I
attributed that reserve to modesty, which, I now find, has its origin in pride. Condescend to address
them first, and you are sure of their acquaintance; stoop to flattery, and you conciliate their friendship
and esteem. They bear hunger, cold, fatigue, and all the miseries of life without shrinking, danger only
calls forth their fortitude; they even exult in calamity, but contempt is what they cannot bear. An
Englishman fears contempt more than death; he often flies to death as a refuge from its pressure, and
dies when he fancies the world has creased to esteem him.
Except from
Letters of a Citizen of the World
by Oliver Goldsmith
注释
vain [vein]:
too proud of one’s ability or achievements
自负的
fortitude [?f?:titju:d]:
strength of mind that allows one to endure pain or adversity with courage

坚韧，刚毅
exult[ig?z?lt]:
to rejoice greatly; be jubilant or triumphant
狂喜，喜气洋洋或得意洋洋
contempt [k?n?tempt]: disgrace, scorn 轻蔑，鄙视
作者简介
Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774) was a great man. Despite the disintegration of his personality, his
excessive drunkenness and incurable extravagance, he was a man of rare talents that bordered on genius,
one of the first natural writers in the English language. This reputation is based on, and justified
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by, some half a dozen books, essays, plays, poems, and one novel,
The Vicar of Wakefield
. And
An History
of the Earth and Animated Nature
has been described as everything from “hackwork” to his “most
substantial literary legacy”.奥利弗.哥尔德史密斯，是18世纪著 名的英国剧作家。出生于爱尔兰，1756
年定居伦敦，并展开其创作事业。不论是诗歌、小说、文章还 是剧本，他的写作风格均以嬉笑怒骂的形式，借
以讽刺时弊。
英国人似乎和日本人一样沉默寡 言，却比泰国人更自负一点。我刚到伦敦时，把这种矜持归结为谦虚，现在我
发现其源头是自尊心。要是 你主动先和他们客套寒暄，你就会成为他们的熟人；要是你停下来对他们赞美一番，
你就会成为赢得他们 的友谊与尊重。他们忍受饥饿、寒冷、劳累，面对人生所有的苦难从不退缩；苦难只会让
他们更加坚忍不 拔；即使身处逆境，他们仍然能欣然面对；但决不能忍受遭轻视，对一个英国人来说，这比死
更难受。他 常常因承受不了遭人鄙视的压力而赴死以求解脱。当他人物世人不再尊重自己时就会毅然弃世。
英语名篇名段背诵精华22 The Use of History 历史的用处
《历史的用处》(The Use of History, 1946)一书，倾注了罗斯对历史的热情，书中体现了他多年的教学心得。
There are two ways of thinking of history. There is, first, history regarded as a way of looking at other
things, really the temporal aspect of anything, from the universe to this nib with which I am writing.
Everything has its history. There is the history of the universe, if only we knew it－and we know something
of it, if we do not know much. Nor is the contrast so great, when you come to think of it, between the
universe and this pen-nib. A mere pen-nib has quite a considerable history. There is, to begin with, what
has been written with it, and that might be something quite important. After all it was probably only
one quill-pen or a couple that wrote Hamlet. Whatever has been written with the pen-nib is part of its
history. In addition to that there is the history of its manufacture: this particular nib is a 'Relief'
nib, No. 314, made by R. Esterbrook and Co. in England, who supply the Midland Bank with pen-nibs, from
whom I got it—a gift, I may say. But behind this nib there is the whole process of manufacture.... In
fact a pen nib implies of universe, and the history of it implies its history. We may regard this way
of looking at it—history as the time-aspect of all things: a pen-nib, the universe, the fiddled before
me as I write, as a relative conception of history. There is, secondly, what we might call a substantive
conception of history, what we usually mean by it, history proper as a subject of study in itself.
Excerpt from
The Use of History
by 注释
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temporal [?temp?r?l]: 当时的，暂时的，现世的
nib [nib]: 鹅管笔的尖端，钢笔尖
considerable [k?n?sid?r?bl]: worth of consideration; significant 重要的，值得考虑的；有重大意
义的
Midland Bank: 米特兰银行
the fiddled: 不重要的事
substantive [?s?bst?ntiv]:
of or relating to the essence or substance; essential
实质的，实在
的
作者简介
A. L. Rowse (1903-1997) was a fellow of All Souls College, University of Oxford. The general editor
of the Oxford Shakespeare, he achieved worldwide fame when he claimed the elusive Dark Lady of the
sonnets was Emilia Lanier. He published more than ninety books of history, poems, biography, and
criticism, including The Expansion of Elizabethan England. 罗斯是当代英国首屈一指的文史学者 ，著作
丰硕，纵横文学与史学两大领域。其史学作品有文学旨趣，而其文学著作又有史家见识，尤其擅长 用传记来构
筑断代史，为著名的伊丽莎白王朝学者，他的英国伊丽莎白社会历史三部曲（1950-19 71）著作更是有口皆碑，
他也写了好几部丘吉尔家族传，所以他的史学情怀可谓贯通古今。
历史的思考方式有两种。其一，历史作为审视其他事物的一种方式，其实仅为所有事物暂时的面貌，从整个宇宙到正在书写的笔尖。每一样事物都有它的历史。宇宙也有它的历史，要是我们知道的话—虽然我们所知有限 ，
总算知道一些；仔细想一下，宇宙和这笔尖，其间的差异也不是那么大。但即使仅是这笔尖也有一段历 史。首
先，透过它便有写出来的东西，而这些可能相当重要。毕竟莎士比亚戏剧《哈姆雷特》也只靠一两 支鹅毛笔便
完成了。通过笔尖所写出来的变成了它自身的历史。此外，还有制造过程的历史：我这支笔尖 其实是英国艾斯
塔布禄克(Esterbrook)厂牌314号凸版型产品，专门供应米特兰银行用品 ，我是从那儿取得的—或许应该说是
银行的赠品。在这笔尖的背后有一连串的制造过程……。故此，这笔 尖蕴含了一个宇宙，而它的历史也蕴含了
它自身的历史。我们可以把这种审视的方式看作—历史就是所有 事物的设计面貌：一支笔尖、宇宙、眼前我写
作的领域…...作为历史的相对观念。其二，则为我们称 作实质观念的历史，就是我们通常所说的，历史本身作
为一个研究科目。
英语名篇名段背诵精华23 The Study of Words学习词汇的重要性
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“你老板的词汇量比你的词汇量大。这是他为什么会 成为你老板的一个重要原因。”作者认为每天花15分钟时间记
单词的人，才会有丰富得体的表达能力， 因此词汇能让你卓越不凡！
That if your vocabulary is limited your chances of success are limited.
That one of the easiest and quickest ways to get ahead is by consciously building up your knowledge of
words.
That the vocabulary of the average person almost stops growing by the middle twenties. And that from then
on it is necessary to have an intelligent plan if progress is to be made. No haphazard hit-or-miss methods
will do.
...
The study of words is not merely something that has to do with literature. Words are your tools of thought.
You can't even think at all without them. Try it. If you are planning to go down town this afternoon you
will find that you are saying to yourself:
such a simple decision as this without using words.
Without words you could make no decisions and from no judgments whatsoever. A pianist may have the most
beautiful tunes in his head, but if he had only five keys on his piano he would never get more than a
fraction of these tunes out.
Your words are your keys for your thoughts. And the more words you have at your command the deeper, clearer
and more accurate will be your thinking.
A command of English will not only improve the processes of your mind. It will give you assurance; build
your self-confidence; lend color to your personality; increase your popularity. Your words are your
personality. Your vocabulary is you. And your words are all that we, your friends, have to know and judge
you by. You have no other medium for telling us your thoughts--for convincing us, persuading us, giving
us orders.
Except from
Give us 15 Minutes a Day
by Wilfred Funk & Norman Lewis
注释
literature [?lit?rit??]: 文学（作品），文艺，著作，文献
convince [k?n?vins]:
to bring by the use of argument or evidence to firm belief or a course of action

使确信，使信服
作者简介
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Wilfred Funk威尔弗雷德.芬克，词典编辑家、出版家、作家；Norman Lewis诺曼.刘易斯，纽约州立大 学的英
语指导教师，1942年合作发表《三十天获取更有力的词汇量》(Thirty Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary)
一书。该书是美国出版史上最为畅销的“自学手册”之一。
如果你的词汇量不大，你成功的机会也就不多。
最简洁而又最迅速的改进方法之一就是有意识地扩大你的词汇知识。
普通人的词汇量到了二十 五六岁就几乎停止增长了。从那以后要想继续增加词汇量就必须有一个精心设计的计
划。随意安排的、漫 无目的的计划是不起作用的。
词汇学习并非只是某种与文学有关的事情。词汇是思维的工具。没有了词 汇你甚至根本无法思维。你可以试一
试。如果你打算今天下午进城，你会发现你在对自己说：“我想今天 下午我要进趟城。”不借助词的话，你连
这样一个简单的决定也作不了。
没有词汇你什么决定 也作不了，什么判断也作不成。一位钢琴家的脑中可能想到了一首美妙的曲子，但是如果
他的钢琴上只有 五个音键的话，他永远也只能演奏出这首曲子的一些破碎的片段。
你的词汇是你思维的关键。你所掌握的词汇越多，你的思想就越深邃、越清晰、越准确。
掌握 英语不仅可以改进你的思维方式，它还给你信心，令你自信，带给你鲜明的个性，使你更受欢迎。你的用
词反映了你的个性。所谓词如其人。
作为你的朋友，我们大家都是从你的言辞中来了解你和评价你的。 除此以外，你无法用别的什么交际手段来告
诉我们你的想法—无法使我们信服，无法劝服我们，无法给我 们下达命令。
英语名篇名段背诵精华24 Did You Deal With Fortune Fairly 你对命运公平吗
你是否感叹过命运对你不公你是否从未想过—站在命运的立场上—问问自己：你对命运公平吗
Most people complain of fortune, few of nature; and the kinder they think the latter has been to them,
the more they murmur at what they call the injustice of the former.
Why have not I the riches, the rank, the power, of such and such, is the common expostulation with fortune;
but why have not I the merit, the talents, the wit, or the beauty, of such and such others, is a reproach
rarely or never made to nature.
The truth is, that nature, seldom profuse, and seldom niggardly, has distributed her gifts more equally
than she is generally supposed to have done. Education and situation make the great difference. Culture
improves, and occasions elicit, natural talents. I make no doubt but that there are potentially, if I
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may use that pedantic word, many Bacons, Lockes, Newtons, Caesars, Cromwells, and Mariboroughs at the
ploughtail, behind counters, and, perhaps, even among the nobility; but the soil must be cultivated, and
the season favourable, for the fruit to have all its spirit and flavour.
If sometimes our common parent has been a little partial, and not kept the scales quite even; if one
preponderates too much, we throw into the lighter a due counterpoise of vanity, which never fails to set
all right. Hence it happens, that hardly any one man would, without reverse, and in every particular,
change with any other.
Though all are thus satisfied with the dispensations of nature, how few listen to her voice! How to follow
her as a guide! In vain she points out to us the plain and direct way to truth, vanity, fancy, affection,
and fashion assume her shape, and wind us through fairy-ground to folly and error.
Except from
Upon Affectation
by Lord Chesterfield
注释
niggardly [?nig?dli]:
grudging and petty in giving or spending
吝啬的，小气的
pedantic [pi?d?ntik]:
characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious concern for book learning and
formal rules
迂腐的，学究式的
preponderate [pri?p?nd?reit]:
to be greater than something else, as in power, force, quantity,
or importance
占优势的，超过，胜过
counterpoise [?kaunt?p?iz]: 平均，平衡
dispensation [?dispen?sei??n]:
the act of dispensing
分配
作者简介
Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773), English statesman and author. A noted wit and orator, his long public
career, begun in 1715, included an ambassadorship to
The Hague
(1728-1732), a seat in Parliament,
and a successful tenure as lord lieutenant of
Ireland
(1745-1746). His literary fame rests upon his
letters to his illegitimate son,
Philip Stanhope
(first pub. 1774), designed for the education of
a young man, and upon his letters to his godson. 切斯特菲尔德勋爵，英国著名政治家、外 交家及文学家。
他曾就读于剑桥大学，并游学欧洲大陆，1726年继承爵位，1728年出使荷兰，曾 任爱尔兰总督及国务大臣等职
位。并与他同时代的文学家波普、艾略特、爱迪生、斯威夫特等国王甚密。 切斯特菲尔德勋爵留给世人最宝贵
的财富，是他集几十年的心血，写个儿子菲利普.斯坦霍普及教子的信 。在他的谆谆教诲下，其子也成为一名杰
出的外交家。
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很多人抱怨命运，却很少有人抱怨自然；人们越是认 为自然对他们仁爱有加，便越是嘀咕命运对他们的所谓不公。
人们常常对命运发出诘难：我为何没有财 富、地位、权力以及诸如此类的东西；但人们却很少或从不这样责怪过自
然：我为何没有长处、天赋、机 智或美丽以及诸如此类的东西。
事实是，自然总是将天赋公平地分配给人们，比人们通常认为的还要不 偏不倚，很少过分地慷慨，也很少吝啬。人
与人之间的巨大差异是由于教育和环境使然。文化修养改良了 天赋，机遇环境诱发了天赋。如果允许我用“潜在的”
这个学究味浓重的词的话，我们并不怀疑在农田耕 作，在柜台后营业，甚至在豪门贵族中间有很多潜在的培根们、
洛克们、牛顿们、凯撒们、克伦威尔们和 马尔伯勒们；但是要使果实具有它全部的品质和风味，还必须有耕耘过的
泥土，必须有适宜的季节。 < br>倘若大自然有时候有那么一点偏心，没有将天平摆正；倘若有一头过重，我们就会在轻的一头投上一枚大小 适当的
虚荣的砝码，它每次都会将天平重新调平，从不出差错。因此就出现了这种情况：几乎没有人会毫 无保留地和另一
个人里里外外全部对换一下。
虽然对于自然的分配，人人都感到满意；然而肯 听听她的忠告的人却是如此之少!能将她当作向导而跟随其后的人又
是如此之少!她徒然地为我们指出一 条通向真理的笔直的坦途；而虚荣、幻想、矫情、时髦却俨然以她的面貌出现，
暗中将我们引向虚幻的歧 途，走向愚笨和谬误。
英语名篇名段背诵精华25 The Lesson of a Tree 一棵树的启示
一棵树默默无闻地生存奉献,而人们却能从中获取丰富的人生哲理......
I should not take either the biggest or the most picturesque tree to illustrate it. Here is one of my
favorites now before me, a fine yellow poplar, quite straight, perhaps 90 feet high, and four thick at
the butt. How strong, vital, enduring! How dumbly eloquent! What suggestions of imperturbability and
being
,
as against the human trait of mere
seeming
. Then the qualities, almost emotional, palpably artistic, heroic,
of a tree; so innocent and harmless, yet so savage. It
is
, yet says nothing. How it rebukes by its tough
and equable serenity all weathers, this gusty-temper’d little whiffet, man that runs indoors at a mite
of rain or snow. Science (or rather half-way science) scoffs at reminiscence of dryad and hamadryad, and
of trees speaking. But, if they don’t, they do as well as most speaking, writing, poetry, sermons—or
rather they do a great deal better. I should say indeed that those old dryad-reminiscences are quite as
true as any, and profounder than most reminiscences we get. (“Cut this out,” as the quack mediciners
say, and keep by you.) Go and sit in a grove or woods, with one or more of those voiceless companions,
and read the foregoing, and think.
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One lesson from affiliating a tree—perhaps the greatest moral lesson anyhow from earth, rocks, animals,
is that same lesson of inherency, of
what is
, without the least regard to what the looker-on (the critic)
supposes or says, or whether he likes or dislikes. What worse—what more general malady pervades each
and all of us, our literature, education, attitude toward each other, (even toward ourselves,) than a
morbid trouble about
seems
, (generally temporarily seems too,) and no trouble at all, or hardly any, about
the sane, slow-growing, perennial, real parts of character, books, friendship, marriage—humanity’s
invisible foundations and hold-together
by Walter Whitman
注释
imperturbability [?imp?(:)?t?:b??biliti]: 沉着冷静，泰然自若
the human trait of mere seeming: 人生的浮华表象
gusty-tempered little whiffed: 无用的小东西
scoff [sk?f]:
to mock at or treat with derision
讽刺，嘲笑
malady [?m?l?di]:
a disease, a disorder, or an ailment
疾病
pervade [p?(:)?veid]:
to be present throughout; permeate
充斥于，弥漫
perennial [p??renj?l]:
active through the year; enduring
终年的；持久的
作者简介
Walter Whitman (1819-1892) was an American poet. Considered by many to be the greatest of all American
poets, Walt Whitman celebrated the freedom and dignity of the individual and sang the praises of
democracy and the brotherhood of man. His Leaves of Grass, unconventional in both content and technique,
is probably the most influential volume of poems in the history of American literature. 瓦尔特.
惠特曼，19世纪美国最伟大的诗人之一。他费 时37年，历经九次改版，才成就《草叶集》这本不朽诗集。他
的写作风格清新质朴，其诗文不拘于格律 ，思想自由奔放，鼓舞人心，又能从变化无常的世事中，直指生命的
真谛。作品不但是美国文学的瑰宝， 同时也受到全世界读者的喜爱。
我不会列举最直耸云天或者最绚烂夺目的树来说明这个问题。现在我面 前的是一颗我最爱的树，一颗茂盛的黄
白杨，树干笔直，可能有九十英尺高，最粗的地方有四英尺宽。多 么强壮，多么生机勃勃，多么坚忍不拔！多
么口若悬河，而又默默无闻！这是沉着冷静、存在即真的表现 ，与人仅仅注重外表的性格恰恰相反。一棵树情
感丰富，艺术感唾手可得，英雄气十足；天真无知，无心 害人，而又冷酷无情。一棵树具备这些气质，却从不
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言语。树以坚强和一如既往的平静指责所有雨雪阴晴天气，大风来袭也只是轻轻摇曳，只 要有一丝雨水或者一
片雪花，人们就会跑进室内。科学（或者伪科学）嘲笑人们回忆森林女神和树神，嘲 笑树间的轻语。但是，如
果他们不介意，他们同样可以讲演，可以写作，可以吟诗，可以布道—或者他们 可以做得更好。我应该说这些
古老的回忆的确千真万确，比我们所作的大多数追忆更加深刻。（“把树切 断”，庸医说这话的时候，你把树
据为己有。）坐在小树林或者森林中，与这些默默无语的朋友相伴，回 忆往事，陷入沉思。
追溯一棵树的根源得到的启示—也许从土地、岩石、动物身上获得的最伟大的道德 启示同样是内在属性，无论
旁观者（评论家）如何猜想或者评论，无论他喜欢抑或厌恶，都坚守自己的初 衷。更糟糕的是—我们之间常常
出现的流行疾病，我们的文学、教育、待人态度（甚至待己态度）之间常 常出现的问题好疾病一样看起来不会
造成困难，或者根本就没有困难，只是健全的、慢慢生长的、终年存 在的人性本质，书籍、友情、婚姻的本质
—人类无形的根基，紧紧地连接在一起
英语名篇名段背诵精华26 The joys of writing 写作的快乐
写作是 一种快乐，但并不是每一个人都能享受这种快乐。丘吉尔把写作当作一种快乐，当作对生活幸福的消化。把
自己的心捧到纸上，去寻找和呼唤遥远的共鸣。以一张素纸遮起人所有的羞怯，痛快淋漓地倾诉自己。
The fortunate people in the world—the only really fortunate people in the world, in my mind, -- are those
whose work is also their pleasure. The class is not a large one, not nearly so large as it is often
represented to be; and authors are perhaps one of the most important elements in its composition. They
enjoy in this respect at least a real harmony of life. To my mind, to be able to make your work your pleasure
is the one class distinction in the world worth striving for; and I do not wonder that others are inclined
to envy those happy human beings who find their livelihood in the gay effusions of their fancy, to whom
every hour of labour is an hour of enjoyment, to whom repose—however necessary—is a tiresome interlude.
And even a holiday is almost deprivation. Whether a man writes well or ill, has much to say or little,
if he cares about writing at all, he will appreciate the pleasures of composition. To sit at one's table
on a sunny morning, with four clear hours of uninterruptible security, plenty of nice white paper, and
a Squeezer pen—that is true happiness. The complete absorption of the mind upon an agreeable
occupation—what more is there than that to desire What does it matter what happens outsideThe House of
Commons may do what it likes, and so may the House of Lords. The heathen may rage furiously in every part
of the globe. The bottom may be knocked clean out of the American market. Consols may fall and suffragettes
may rise. Never mind, for four hours, at any rate, we will withdraw ourselves from a common, ill- governed,
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and disorderly world, and with the key of fancy unlock that cupboard where all the good things of the
infinite are put away.
By Winston Churchill
注释
in the gay effusions of their fancy: 在思如泉涌的想象中
interlude [?int?(:)?lu:d]: 插曲
deprivation [depri?vei??n]:
the act or an instance of depriving; loss
剥夺，丧失
heathen [?hi:??n]: 异教徒
consols [k?n?s?lz]: 统一公债（由英国政府1751年开始发行的长期债券）
作者简介
Winston
Churchill (1874-1965), was educated at Harrow and Sandhurst. After a brief but eventful career in
the army, he became a Conservative Member of Parliament in 1900. He is best known for his stubbornness
yet courageous leadership as Prime Minister for Great Britain when he led the British people from
the brink of defeat during World War II. 温斯顿.丘吉尔，两次任英国首相，保守党领袖。在第二次世界
大战期间 ，带领英国人民取得反法西斯战争伟大胜利的民族英雄，是与斯大林、罗斯福并立的“三巨头”之一，
是 耸立于世界史册上的一代伟人。丘吉尔在文学上有很深的造诣，于1953年获得诺贝尔文学奖。
在我 看来，世上幸运的人—世上唯一真正幸运的人，是那些以工作为乐的人。这类人并不多，还没有人们常说
的那样多。而且，作家是其中最重要的组成部分之一。及幸运而言，他们至少享受着生活中真正的和谐之美。我觉得能使工作成为乐趣，是世人值得为之奋斗的一种崇高的荣誉；而且，我相信别人会羡慕这些幸福的人，
因为他们在快乐的幻想中找到了生活之路，对他们来说，每劳动一小时，就是享受一小时，而休息—无论 多么
有必要—是令人讨厌的插曲，甚至度假也几乎成为了一种损失。无论写得好坏，写成多少，只要有心 计，就可
尝到谋章布局的乐趣。在一个阳光明媚的早晨，临桌而坐，整整四个小时不受打扰，有足够数量 的洁白稿纸，
还有一支“挤压式”妙笔—那才叫真正的幸福。全心全意地投入一项令人愉快的职业—此愿 足矣！外面发生什
么事又有何妨下院想干什么就干什么吧，上院也可如此。异教徒可以在全球各地大发疯 狂。美国市场可以彻底
崩溃。证券可以下跌；女权运动可以兴起。没有关系，不管怎么说，我们有四个小 时可以躲开这俗气的、管理
不善的、杂乱无章的世界，并且用想象这把钥匙，去开启藏有大千世界一切宝 物的小橱。
英语名篇名段背诵精华27 Three passions 三种激情
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三种激情，质朴而又十分强烈，一直支配着我的人生 ，即对爱的渴望、对知识的求索和对人类苦难的无限怜悯。当
我读到这一句，我就深深为之吸引了。
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 pity 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.
Except from
What I Have Lived For
by Bertrand Russell
注释
Unbearable无法忍受的
hither and thither到处
wayward人性的
anguish痛苦，苦恼
verge边缘
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ecstasy [?ekst?si]:
intense joy or delight
欣喜若狂
unfathomable [?n?f???m?bl]:
difficult or impossible to understand; incomprehensible
深不可
测的
abyss深渊
miniature [?minj?t??]: 缩影，缩图
prefigure预示，设想
reverberate反响
oppressor压迫者
mockery嘲笑
alleviate减轻
Pythagorean [pai?θ?g??ri:?n]: 毕达哥拉斯式的
flux [fl?ks]:
constant or frequent change; fluctuation
不断变化，波动
famine [?f?min]:
severe hunger; starvation
极度饥饿；饥饿
作者简介
Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) was a British philosopher and popularizer and historian of philosophy,
mathematician (leading exponent of Logicism), pacifist (jailed for 6 months in 1918 anticonscription
campaign) and Fabian socialist; leader of Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, co-organiser of International
War Crimes Tribunal convened in 1966 to focus opposition to US war in Vietnam. He won the Nobel Prize
for literature, famous in China for his
History of Western Philosophy
and was the co-author of
Principia
Mathematic
. 罗素， 20世纪著名的数学家、逻辑学家和哲学家。无数人将罗素视为这个时代的先知，而与此同时罗
素的许多 政治立场却有是十分有争议性的。他出生于1872年正值巅峰的大英帝国，逝于1970年，此时的英国已经< br>历两次世界大战的摧残，帝国已经土崩瓦解。
有三种质朴而又十分强烈的激情一直支配着我的人 生，这就是对爱的渴望、对知识的求索和对人类苦难的无限怜悯。
这三种激情，有如狂飙挟我四海漂泊， 游移不定，直至苦海的深渊，濒临绝望的边缘。
我寻求爱，首先在于爱能带来狂喜—它是如此令人心醉 神迷，我愿舍弃余生来换取在片刻的欢乐；我寻求爱，还因
为爱你消除孤独—那种当一个颤抖的灵魂从世 界的边缘透视那冰冷、荒凉的无尽深渊时感到的那种孤独；此外，我
所以寻求爱，还因为在爱的交融中， 我看见了圣者和诗人所预想的天堂景象的神秘缩影，这正是我心中之所求，虽
然人生似乎难臻此境，我最 终却不负所求。
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我怀着同样的激情 来探索知识。我希望能够理解众人之心，我渴望了解星星缘何闪光，我也曾努力领会毕达哥拉斯
赋予数的 力量—主宰万物流变之力。我虽未创斐然之绩，却也还算小有所成。
爱和知识竭力引导着我超凡入圣， 但怜悯又把我拉回了凡尘。声声悲号在我心中回响不绝。饥饿的孩子、惨遭压迫
的苦难者、因依附儿子而 被视为可憎重负的无助老人以及整个孤独、贫闲好痛苦的世界是对人们理想人生的嘲讽。
我渴望减轻罪恶 ，却又无能为力，我也同样感到痛苦。
这就是我的人生。我觉得自己并未虚度此生，若有可能，我将欣然再一次度过如此人生。
英语名篇名段背诵精华28 The Americans美国人
每个民族都有其独特的性格 ，人们常常谈及英国人的矜持、法国人的浪漫、中国人的含蓄等等，同样，美国人的性
格也有去自身的特 点。
Americans are a peculiar people. They work like mad, then give away much of what they earn. They play
until they are exhausted, and call this a vacation. They live to think of themselves as tough-minded
businessmen, yet they are pushovers for any hard luck story. They have the biggest of nearly everything
including government, motor cars and debts, yet they are afraid of bigness. They are always trying to
chip away at big government, big business, big unions, big influence. They like to think of themselves
as little people, average men, and they would like to cut everything down to their own size. Yet they
boast of their tall buildings, high mountains, long rivers, big state, the best country, the best world,
the best heaven. They also have the most traffic deaths, the most waste, the most racketeering.
When they meet, they are always telling each other, it easy,then they rush off like crazy in opposite
directions. They play games as if they were fighting a war, and fight wars as if playing a game. They
marry more, go broke more often, and make more money than any other people. They love children, animals,
gadgets, mother, work, excitement, noise, nature, television shows, comedy, installment buying, fast
motion, spectator sports, the underdog, the flag, Christmas, jazz, shapely women and muscular men,
classical recordings, crowds, comics, cigarettes, warm houses in winter and cool ones in summer, thick
beefsteaks, coffee, ice cream, informal dress, plenty of running water, do-it- yourself, and a working
week trimmed to forty hours or less.
They crowd their highways with cars while complaining about the traffic, flock to movies and television
while griping about the quality and the commercials, go to church but don't care much for sermons, and
drink too much in the hope of relaxing － only to find themselves stimulated to even bigger dreams.
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There is of course, no typical American. But if you added them all together and then divided by 226,000,000
they would look something like what this chapter has tried to portray.
Excerpt from
Why We Behave Like Americans
by Bradford Smith
注释
tough-minded: 铁石心肠
pushovers [?pu??uv?(r)]: 人员为之打动的人，有恻隐之心的人
chip away: 削减，减少
racketeering [?r?ki?ti?ri?]: 敲诈勒索
作者简介
Bradford Smith (1909-1964), the author of
Why We Behave Like Americans, The Seasoned Mind.
布拉德
福德.史密斯所概括的美国人的形象被人们广泛引用。
美国人是 一个独树一帜的民族。他们疯狂地工作，然后把赚来的钱大笔大笔花掉，玩到精疲力竭，并把这称为度假。
他们喜欢把自己当作坚强的职场中人，但是他们也会碰到很多不顺心的事情。他们所拥有的东西几乎一切都是最 大
的，政府，汽车和债务，但是他们又惧怕庞大。他们总是试图逃离大的政府，拆散大公司，脱离大联盟 ，摆脱大影
响。他们喜欢把自己看作渺小的普通人，总是把所有事简化到原来大小。但是他们总是自诩拥 有高楼大厦、耸立的
高山、绵延的河流、面积广大的州、最幸福的国度、最舒适的天堂。 他们也有最多的交通死亡人数、最大的浪费、
最猖狂的诈骗。
见面后，他们常常告诉对方“放 轻松点”，然后疯一样地朝相反的方向奔去。他们玩游戏就像打仗，打仗就像玩游
戏。他们比其他人结婚 的次数更多，离婚更多，赚的钱更多。他们喜欢孩子、动物、小玩意、母亲、工作、兴奋、
噪音、自然、 健美的男子、经典唱片、热闹、漫画、香烟、冬暖夏凉的房子、厚厚的牛排、咖啡、冰淇淋、休闲服
饰、 自来水一直淌着、自己动手、一周工作时间限制在40小时以内。
他们开车聚集在高速公路上，抱怨交 通堵塞，三五成群地奔向电影院，坐在电视机前，埋怨节目质量和广告，做礼
拜，但是并不专心布道，喝 很多酒寻求放松—结果却发现自己受到鼓舞追求更大的梦想。
当然没有典型的美国人。但是如果把所有 的美国人加在一起，然后除以226,000,000，美国人就会表现出这章所描
绘的模样。
节选自布拉德福德所著《为什么我们的举止象美国人》
英语名篇名段背诵精华29 The English and the American 英国人和美国人
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美国人类学家霍尔(Edward T. Hall )认为影响文化的主要因素有：时间、空间和情境（指文化资源对情境依存的相
关性，包括语言、宗教、 政治、历史、习俗、地域、价值观等子要素）。让我们看看英国人和美国人会有怎样的文
化差异。
The contrasting English and American patterns have some remarkable implications, particularly if we assume
that man, like other animals, has a built-in need to shut himself off from others from time to time. An
English student in one of my seminars typified what happens when hidden patterns clash. He was quite
obviously experiencing strain in his relationships with Americans. Nothing seemed to go right and it was
quite clear from his remarks that we did not know how to behave. An analysis of his complaints showed
that a major source of irritation was that no American seemed to be able to pick up the subtle clues that
there were times when he didn’t want his thoughts intruded on. As he started it, “I’m walking around
the apartment and it seems that whenever I want to be alone my roommate starts talking to me. Pretty soon
he’s asking ‘What’s the matter’ and wants to know if I’m angry. By then I am angry and say something.”
It took some time but finally we were able to identify most of the contrasting features of the American
and Britain problems that were in conflict in this case. When the American wants to be alone he goes into
a room and shuts the door---he depends on architectural features for screening. For an American to refuse
to talk to someone else present in the same room, to give them the “silent treatment” is the ultimate
form of rejection and a sure sign of great displeasure. The English, on the other hand, lacking rooms
of their own since childhood, never developed the practice of using space as a refuge from others. They
have in effect internalized a set of barriers, which they erect and which others are supposed to recognize.
Therefore, the more the Englishman shuts himself off when he is with an American the more likely the American
is to break in to assure himself that all is well. Tension lasts until the two get to know each other.
The important point is that the spatial and architectural needs of each are not the same at all.
By Edward T. Hall
注释
pick up the subtle clues: 心领神会
the ultimate form of rejection: 最严厉的拒绝方式
shut off: 分开，与人隔开
spatial [?spei??l]: 空间的，占据空间的
作者简介
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Edward T. Hall (1914-) is an anthropologist. The foundation for his lifelong research on cultural
perceptions of space was laid during World War II when he served in the U. S. Army in Europe and the
Philippines. Hall is most associated with proxemics, the study of the human use of space within the
context of culture. He has published numerous practical and academic books on cross-cultural
communication. 爱德华. T. 霍尔，美国作家兼人类学家。一直都在研究人类对其周围空间的反应。他在研究
人类个人空间的时候，创 造了一个所谓领域学的新名词用来定义这个理论。霍尔博士提出一般人常用的四种界
限：亲密距离（0- 45cm）；私人距离（45-75cm）；礼貌距离（120-210cm）和一般距离（360-750cm 或更远）。
英美人的对比模式有一些显而易见的特征，如果我们假定人像其他动物一样有固定的需要经 常把自己保护起来，
免受他人打扰，这些特征就更为明显。在我的一个研讨会上，一位英国学生的行为突 出表现了当潜在的模式发
生碰撞时可能出现的情况。他与美国人在一起时非常紧张。看起来一切都乱套了 ，显然他的话里的意思是我们
美国人不懂如何与人相处。对其抱怨的分析结果表明，他恼羞成怒的主要原 因是，当他不希望别人对他的想法
进行攻击时，美国人似乎并没有理解他时不时给出的细微暗示。他说， “我在公寓里踱步，只要我想独处，我
的室友就开始跟我讲话。很快，他就问我‘你怎么了’，想知道我 是不是生气。这个时候，我就大发雷霆，吵
起来。”
虽然花了一些时间，但是最后我们发现英 美人之间的大多数突出问题就是类似这样的冲突。当美国人想独处时，
他就会走进房间，关上房门—他依 赖建筑特征与外人隔离。对美国人来说，拒绝与在同一个房间的另外一个人
讲话，对其他人“漠然视之” 是最严重的拒绝方式，也是极度不高兴的明显表现。然而英国人从孩提时代开始
就没有自己的房间，从来 不会把空间作为远离他人的避难所。他们内在形成了一套屏障，这由他们建立，并且
希望他人能够了解。 因此，英国人与美国人在一起时，越封闭自己，美国人越确定一切都很正常。直到相互之
间了解，这种紧 张关系才会得以缓和。关键在于英美人之间的空间和建筑需要根本就完全不一样。
英语名篇名段背诵精华30 Advice to Youth 忠告年轻人
刚刚走上社会的 年轻人，充满了蓄势待发的豪情、青春的朝气、前卫的思想，梦想着轰轰烈烈的事业。可是，社会
毕竟是 一所包罗万象、喧嚣复杂的大学校，拒绝虚假和肤浅，更拒绝空想和庸碌。如何在涉世之初少走弯路，有一
个好的开端，开始一番成功的事业》
Being told I would be expected to talk here, I inquired what sort of talk I ought to make. They said it
should be something suitable to youth-something didactic, instructive, or something in the nature of good
advice. Very well. I have a few things in my mind which I have often longed to say for the instruction
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of the young; for it is in one’s tender early years that such things will best take root and be most
enduring and most valuable. First, then, I will say to you, my young friends—and I say it beseechingly,
urgingly— always obey your parents, when they are present. This is the best policy in the long run, because
if you don’t, they will make you. Most parents think they know better than you do, and you can generally
make more by humoring that superstition than you can by acting on your own better judgment.
Be respectful to your superiors, if you have any, also to strangers, and sometimes to others. If a person
offend you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures;
simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. That will be sufficient. If you shall find that he
had not intended any offense, come out frankly and confess yourself in the wrong when you struck him;
acknowledge it like a man and say you didn’t mean to. Yes, always avoid violence; in this age of charity
and kindliness, the time has gone by for such things. Leave dynamite to the low and unrefined.
Go to bed early, get up early- this is wise. Some authorities say get up with the sun; some say get up
with one thing, others with another. But a lark is really the best thing to get up with. It gives you
a splendid reputation with everybody to know that you get up with the lark; and if you get the right kind
of lark, and work at him right, you can easily train him to get up at half past nine, every time—it’s
no trick at all.
By Mark Twain
注释
beseechingly [bi?si:t???li]: 恳求地
superstition [?sju:p??sti??n]: 迷信
dynamite [?dain?mait]: 炸药，充满火药味的（东西）
lark [la:k]: 云雀，百灵鸟，
rise with the lark
（习语）早起
作者简介
Mark Twain (1835-1910), an American writer, whose sharp wit has entertained many readers for over
a century. Throughout his whole life, he tasted misfortune and sadness. But he never lost his humour
towards life. His adventures give the reader a picture of American life along the Mississippi before
the American Civil War. 马克. 吐温，美国批判现实主义文学的奠基人，世界著名的短篇小说大师。他经历了
美国从自由资本主义到帝国 主义的发展过程，其思想和创作也表现为从轻快调侃到辛辣讽刺再到悲观厌世的发
展阶段。其作品文字清 新有力，审视角度自然而独特，被视为美国文学史上具划时代意义的现实主义著作。
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被告知将要在此演讲，我询问应该说哪种话才合适宜 。他们说我演讲的内容应该适合年轻人—具有教育意义，
或者能提出些善意的忠告。正如，我脑中有一些 想法，一直希望能表达出来，对年轻人进行教育；因为在年轻
时，这些事情最能深扎心底，最为持久，最 为珍贵。首先，我要告诉你们，我年轻的朋友—我恳切地说，当父
母在世时，永远遵从他们的要求，从长 远来看这是最佳法则，因为你不这样做，他们也会迫使你去做。大部分
父母认为，他们比你了解得更多， 一般来说相信这一点会比照自己的判断行事更奏效。
尊敬长辈（若家中有老人），尊重陌生人，有时也 要尊重他人。如果有人攻击你，你要考虑清楚人家是有意还
是无意的，不要采取极端措施；仅仅看准时机 ，用砖头予以回击，这样足矣。如果你发现他并非有心攻击你，
那么你坦率地承认自己打他是不应该的； 像个男子汉承认自己并不是有意的。是的，应该避免诉诸暴力行为；
在与人为善、厚道谦和的年代，为这 种事情计较的同时，时间也会慢慢流逝。让身份低贱、没有受过教育的人
去动手动脚吧。
早睡 早起—这是明智之举。有些权威人士说与日同起，有些人说与这样事物同起，有些人说与那样事物同起。
但是百灵鸟真的是最佳的同起之物。所有人知道你伴着百灵鸟起床，你会因此声名鹊起：如果你得到合适的百灵鸟，用正确的方法调教，那么可以轻易地训练它在九点半起床，每次—不骗你。

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