2021年1月23日发(作者：五点法)
适合背诵英语经典美文摘抄

Three passions
三种激情
-----
罗素



《 三种激情》是选自《伯特兰·罗素自传》的一篇优秀散文。它
既是作者心灵的抒发，
也是生命体 验的总结。
作者以深刻的感悟和敏
锐的目光，分析了人生中的三种激情，即对爱的渴望，对知识 的追求
和对人类苦难的同情。对爱的渴望，使人欣喜若狂，既能解除孤独，
又能发现美好的未来 。对知识的追求，使人理解人心，了解宇宙，掌
握科学。
爱和知识把人引向天堂般的境界，而对人类的同情之心又使
人回到苦难深重的人间。
作者认为这就是人生，
值得为此 再活一次的
人生。
这篇散文似乎信手拈来，
但却耐人寻味。
充满激情，
充满感慨，
充满智慧，情文并茂，逻辑性和感染力极强。



伯特兰·罗素
(Bertrand Russell,1872-1970)
是英国声 誉卓著，
影响深远的哲学家、数学家、逻辑学家和散文家。他生于威尔士的特
莱雷克，就读于剑 桥三一学院，在其漫长的一生中完成了
40
余部著
作，
涉及哲学、
数 学、
伦理、
社会、
、
历史、
宗教及政治等许多领域。
他早年 的成就主要在数学和逻辑学，
中年关注伦理道德、
教育、
政治，
激励和启发富 有进取精神的人。在
1921
年曾来中国，在北京大学作
过讲座。他在
195 0
年荣获诺贝尔文学奖。在政治上，他反对侵略战
争，主张和平，晚年参加反战示威。主要著作 有《数学原理》、《哲
学大纲》、《教育与美好生活》、《罗素自传》三卷本。


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 life for a few hours of 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 tried
to
apprehend
the
Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flu.

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.
Echoesek?u
重复
of cries of pain reverberate ri'v?:b?reit
回
响
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?'li:vieit
减轻
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.


三种激情
-----
罗素



三种激情虽然简单，
却 异常强烈，
它们统治着我的生命，
那便是：
对爱的渴望，对知识的追求，以及对人类苦 难的难以承受的同情。这
三种激情像变化莫测的狂风任意地把我刮来刮去，
把我刮入痛苦的深< br>海，到了绝望的



边缘。



我曾经寻找爱，首先是因为它能使我欣喜若狂——这种喜悦之情
如此强烈，使我常常宁愿为这几个小时的愉悦而牺牲生命中的其他一
切。我寻求爱，其次是因为爱能解除孤独— —在这种可怕的孤独中，
一颗颤抖的良心在世界的边缘，注视着下面冰凉、毫无生气、望不见
底 的深渊。
我寻求爱还因为在爱的融合中，
我能以某种神秘的图像看
到曾被圣人和人想象 过的天堂里未来的景象。
这就是我所追求的东西，
虽然这似乎对于人类的生命来说过于完美，< br>但这确实是我最终发现的
东西。

我怀着同样的激情去寻找知识，我曾渴望着理 解人心，我曾
渴望知道为何星星会闪烁，
我还企图弄懂毕达哥拉斯所谓的用数字控
制变 化的力量，但在这方面，我只知道一点点。



爱的力量和知 识的力量引我接近天堂，但同情之心往往又把我拉
回大地。痛苦的哭泣回响、震荡在我的心中。饥饿的儿 童，被压迫、
受折磨的人们，成为儿孙们讨厌的包袱的、无助的老人们，充斥着整
个世界的孤独 的气氛，
贫穷和苦难，
所有这一切都是对人类生活原本
该具有的样子所作的讽刺。我渴 望消除一切邪恶，但我办不到，因为
我自己也处于苦难之中。

这就是我的生活，我认为值得一过。
而且，
如果有第二次机会，我将乐意地再过一次。


Relish the moment
拥抱今天


Tucked away in our subconscious is an
我们的潜意识里藏着
一派田


idyllic
vision.
We
see
ourselves
on
a
long
园诗般的风光
!
我
们仿佛身处一次
trip that spans the continent. We are
横贯大
陆的漫漫旅程之中
!
乘着火
traveling
by train.
Out
the
windows,
we
车
,
我们领略着窗外流动的景色：
drink
in
the
passing
scene
of
cars on
附近高速公路上奔驰的汽车、十字
nearby highways, of
children
waving
at
a
路口处招手的孩童、远山上吃草的
crossing,
of cattle grazing on a distant
牛群、源源不断地从电厂排放出
的
hillside, of smoke pouring from a power
烟尘、一片片的玉
米和小麦、平原
plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat,
与
山谷、群山与绵延的丘陵、天空
of flatlands and valleys, of
mountains
映衬下城市的轮廓
,
以及乡间的庄
and rolling
hillsides, of city skylines
园宅第
!

and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final
然而我们心里想得
最多的却是
destination. On a certain day at a certain
最终的
目的地
!
在某一天的某一时
hour, we will pull into the station.
Bands
刻
,
我们将会抵达进站
!
迎接我们
will
be
playing
and
flags
waving. Once we
的将是乐队和飘舞的彩旗
!
一旦到
get there, so
many wonderful dreams will
了那儿
,
多少美梦将成为现实
,
我
e
true
and
the
pieces
of
our
lives
will
们的生活也将变得完整
,
如
同一块
fit together like a pleted jigsaw

puzzle. How restlessly we pace the

--waiting, waiting, waiting for the

station.


当我们到站的时候
,
一切就都



好了
!
我们呼喊
着
!
当我
18
岁的
it!
时
候
!

当我有了一辆新
450SL
奔
a
new
450SL
Mercedes
Benz!

I put
驰的时候
!
当我供最小的孩子念
the last kid through
college.

I
完大学的时候
!

当我偿清贷款的
have
paid
off
the mortgage!
时候
!
当我官升高任的时候
!
promotion.
当我到了退休的时候
,
就可
以从此
retirement, I shall live happily ever
过上幸福的生活
啦
!

after!

Sooner or later, we must realize there
可是我们终究会认识
到人生的
is no station, no one place to arrive at
旅途中并没
有车站
,
也 没有能够

一到永逸

的地方
!
生活的真正乐趣
the trip. The station is only
a dream. It
在于旅行的过程
,
而车站不过是个
constantly
outdistances us.
梦
,
它始终遥遥领先于我们
!
理好了的拼图
!
可
是我们现在在过道里不耐烦地踱来踱去
,
咒骂火车着
,
期待着火车
进站的那一刻
! aisles, damning the minutes for loitering
的拖
拖拉拉
!
我们期待着
,
期待



享受现在

是句很好的
箴言
,
especially
when
coupled
with
Psalm
118
：尤其是当它与《圣
经·诗篇》中第
24
：

１１
８页２４ 行的一段话相映衬的
made
；
we will rejoice and be glad
in it.
时候
,
更是如此：

今日乃主所创

today that drive
造；生活在今日我们将欢欣、高兴
! men mad. It
is the regrets over yesterday
真正令人发疯的不是今日的负担
,
and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear
而是对昨日的悔恨及
对明日的恐
are twin thieves who rob us of today.
惧
!
悔恨与
恐惧是一对孪生窃贼
,


将今天从你我身边偷走
!

So stop pacing the aisles and counting
那么就不要在过道里
徘徊吧
, the miles. In stead, climb more

mountains, eat more ice cream, go
别老惦记着你离车站还有
多远
!
何不换一种活法
,
将更多的高山攀
barefoot more often,
swim more rivers,
爬
,
多吃点儿冰淇淋甜甜嘴巴
,
经
watch more
sunsets, laugh more, cry less.
常光着脚板儿溜达溜达
,
在更多
的
Life must be lived as we go along. The
河流里畅游
,
多看看
夕阳西下
,
多
station will e soon enough.
点欢笑哈哈
,
少让泪
水滴答
!
生活



得一边过一边瞧
!
车站就会很快到



达
!By Robert J. Hastings
李端奇



译


Beautiful Smile and Love


作者介绍
:
特蕾莎修女
(Mother
Teresa,1910-1997)
，印度著名的
慈善家，
印度天主教仁爱 传教会创始人，
在世界范围内建立了一个庞
大的慈善机构网，赢得了国际社会的广泛尊敬。1979
年被授予
__
。
本文所选即好在领取该奖项时的演讲辞，语言 简洁质朴而感人至深。
诺贝尔奖领奖台上响起的声音往往都是文采飞扬、热烈、激昂。而特
雷莎 修女的演说朴实无华，
其所举事例听来似平凡之至，
然而其中所
蕴含的伟大而神圣的爱 感人至深。平凡中孕育伟大，真情才能动人。
我们时，要善于从自己所熟知的平凡中


By heart

Some plays are so suessful that they run for years on end.
In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are
required to go on repeating the same lines night after night.
One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never
have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.

A famous actor in a highly suessful play was once cast in
the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the
Bastille for twenty years. In the last act, a gaoler would
always e on to

the
stage
with
a
letter
which
he
would
hand
to
the
prisoner.
Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each
performance, he always insisted that it should be written out
in full. One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his
colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had
managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The
curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the
aristocrat
sitting
alone
behind
bars
in
his
dark
cell.
Just
then,
the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his hands. He
entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat.
But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as
usual. It
was simply
a blank sheet
of
paper.
The
gaoler
looked
on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow-actor had at last
learnt his lines.
The noble
stared at
the
blank
sheet
of
paper
for
a
few
seconds.
Then,
squinting
his
eyes,
he
said:
'The
light
is
dim.
Read
the
letter
to
me.'
And
he
promptly
handed
the
sheet
of paper to the gaoler. Finding that he could not remember a
word of the letter either, the gaoler replied: 'The light is
indeed
dim,
sire.
I
must
get
my
glasses.'
With
this,
he
hurried
off the stage. Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler
returned
a
few
moments
later
with
a
pair
of
glasses
and
the
usual
copy
of the
letter which
he
proceeded
to read
to
the
prisoner.


有些剧目十分成功，以致连续上演好 几年。这样一来，可怜的演
员们可倒霉了。
因为他们需要一夜连着一夜地重复同样的台词。人们
以为，这些演员一定会把台词背得烂熟，绝不会临场结巴的，但情况
却并不总是这样。



有一位名演员曾在一出极为成功的剧目中扮演一个贵族角 色，这
个贵族已在巴士底狱被关押了
20
年。在最后一幕中，狱卒手持一封
信 上场，
然后将信交给狱中那位贵族。
尽管那个贵族每场戏都得念一
遍那封信。但他还是 坚持要求将信的全文写在信纸上。



一天晚上，狱卒决定与 他的同事开一个玩笑，看看他反复演出这
么多场之后，
是否已将信的内容记熟了。
大幕 拉开，
最后一幕戏开演，
贵族独自一人坐在铁窗后阴暗的牢房里。
这时狱卒上场，手里拿着那
封珍贵的信。狱卒走进牢房，将信交给贵族。但这回狱卒给贵族的信
没有像往常 那样把全文写全，而是一张白纸。狱卒热切地观察着，急
于想了解他的同事是否记熟了台词。贵族盯着纸 看了几秒钟，然后，
眼珠一转，说道：“光线太暗，请给我读一下这封信。”说完，他一
下子把 信递给狱卒。
狱卒发现自己连一个字也记不住，
于是便说：
“陛
下，这儿光线 的确太暗了，我得去眼镜拿来。”他一边说着，一边匆
匆下台。贵族感到非常好笑的是：一会儿工夫，狱 卒重新登台，拿来
一副眼镜以及平时使用的那封信，然后为那囚犯念了起来。


Three Days to See

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
tech
him
the
joys
of
sound.

Now
and
then
I
have
tested
my
seeing
friends
to
discover
what
they
see.
Recently
I
was
visited
by
a
very
good
friends
who
had
just returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her
what she had observed.
I might have been incredulous had I not been austomed to such
reposes, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see
little.

How was it possible, I asked myself, to walk for an hour
through
the
woods
and see nothing
worthy
of note? I
who
cannot
see
find
hundreds
of
things
to
interest
me
through
mere
touch.
I
feel
the
delicate
symmetry
of
a
leaf.
I
pass
my
hands
lovingly
about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or the rough, shaggy
bark of a pine. In the spring I touch the branches of trees
hopefully
in
search
of
a
bud
the
first
sign
of
awakening
Nature
after her winter's sleep. I feel the delightful, velvety
texture
of
a
flower,
and
discover
its
remarkable
convolutions;
and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me.
Oasionally, if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently on
a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song.
I am delighted to have the cool waters of a brook rush thought
my open finger. To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy
grass is more wele than the most luxurious Persian rug. To me
the page
ant
of
seasons
is
a thrilling
and
unending
drama,
the
action of which streams through my finger tips.