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经典的英语优秀美文
在平时的学习、工作或生活中，大家一定看过美文吧？随着时代的发展，读者对美文的要求也在不断变化，因此人们对美文的要求也在不断变化，想要学习写美文吗？以下是小编为大家整理的经典的英语优秀美文，希望对大家有所帮助。
经典的英语优秀美文1
Wisdom of the Birds
After raising three children to adulthood, my husband and I were sharing more time together, and we believed that we would have "money in the bank" some day in the not too distant future. "Won"t it be great when we"re retired?" became a frequent sentence in our conversations. Then, an unforgettable year arrived and changed everything.
It was one of those years, the kind when I found my inner voice whispering, "What else can go wrong?" My mom"s health was rapidly failing and our unwed daughter had moved back in with us after delivering a baby girl. During the previous winter, my husband"s mother died a slow, cruel death from Alzheimer"s disease and his father had been hospitalized following emergency surgery. My husband"s mental and physical health began deteriorating with the weight of life"s troubles. Our friends and relatives seemed to be experiencing their unfair share of hardships too. Then September 11th happened. Suddenly, my husband"s seemingly secure job became very insecure as the economy wavered. Life became a topsy-turvy struggle and our marriage was faltering under the strain.
Our daughter"s weakened emotional condition, created by the sudden out-of-state move by her baby"s father (he was to be the baby"s caregiver) created the need for me to request an emergency leave of absence from my job as a special education aide. I would care for her baby while my daughter was student-teaching - student-teaching was the only portion of her schooling left to earn the elementary education degree she needed to secure her future. Though I had been a dedicated district employee for eleven years, the unpaid, short-term leave I requested was denied. Unfortunately, I was caught up in the poor timing of a new superintendent and new special education supervisor; neither knew me. They didn"t realize that I had spent the last eleven years totally devoted to my special education students. Leaving a rewarding, stable job to care for my granddaughter would be a financial burden and a difficult choice, but my heart knew it was the only right choice.
From the time I was a young girl, my parents had instilled in me a love of nature, of all the best, beautiful, free things that life had to offer. Now, more than ever, I would need to draw on that love of nature; it would provide me with the strength needed to pull through the rough times. I began to take long walks with my granddaughter and I found that I would return home physically and spiritually renewed. Autumn was upon us; Alyssa would giggle with delight whenever I placed a leaf or a dried dandelion on the tray of her stroller.
As the trees became bare, I became aware of bird"s nests that had been hidden in the dense summer foliage. "Alyssa, look - a little bird"s nest," I would say. One of the most beautiful nests we found was a tiny, circular one created from bits of dried grasses. The weaving was tight, strong, and yet soft to the touch. Surely it would have rivaled one of Frank Lloyd Wright"s creations. Some were crafted from feathers, dryer lint and bits of pet fur. Still other nests were masterpieces of corn silks, twine, strands of Easter grass and cellophane. How resourceful those little birds were! Each day, my eyes were drawn upward as I discovered more nests. Some were reinforced with mud, forming super strong foundations. Through wind, rain, thunder and lightning, they held together. I began to think about the birds - how simple, yet how hard their lives were. It occurred to me that no matter what obstacles were placed in their path, they managed to overcome, to survive. And faithfully, they started each new day with a song.
Those walks helped transform an extremely difficult, desperate time in my life to a more peaceful one. Through my observations of nature, I had faith that everything would work out and we would prevail. Like the birds and their nests, our family had a strong foundation. We were now living a more simple life, spending only what we needed to spend, and all the time becoming more resourceful. Courageously, the little birds of the air huddle close during stormy times, and the current turbulence seemed to be drawing our family closer together. And in the same way that the little birds started each day with a song, we began to listen to beautiful music more often. A sense of tranquility was settling over our home.
Time has a way of healing, of smoothing over the bumpy parts of our lives. Gradually we see things from a different perspective. One afternoon, while out walking with my granddaughter, I witnessed the most exceptional message of all from the birds. "Look at the geese, Alyssa," I said, as a flock of geese flew overhead in a perfect V formation. For some odd reason, one goose left the group and started to fly in an entirely different direction. The main flock completely changed its course and gradually picked up their wayward member. As I watched this simple, beautiful display, I couldn"t help but think of my family. Our lives too, it seemed, had gone astray for a while. But through courage, inner strength and pure love, our family would change its course and triumph. I knew that all would be well. (:夏根建)
经典的英语优秀美文2
Things My Mother Taught Me
母亲教我的（节选）
My mother taught me to appreciate a job well done: "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning!" My mother taught me religion: "You better pray that will come out of the carpet." My mother taught me about time travel: "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!" My Mother taught me logic: "Because I said so, that's why." My mother taught me foresight: "Be sure you wear clean underwear in case you're in an accident." My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM contortion: "Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!" My mother taught me about stamina: "You'll sit there'til all that spinach is finished." My mother taught me about weather: "It looks as if a tornado swept through your room." My mother taught me how to solve physics problems: "If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you, would you listen then?" My mother taught me about envy: "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"母亲教我如何珍惜他人辛苦劳动： “如果你们要打架，到外边打去——我刚整理好房间！” 母亲教我什么是宗教： “你最好祈祷那个东西能从地毯下冒出来。” 母亲教我什么是时间旅行： “你要是不改，我把你一把推到下周三！”（意为：不让过周末。） 母亲教我什么是逻辑： “为什么？因为我就是这么说的.！” 母亲教我什么是远见： “一定要穿干净内衣，以防万一你遇到事故。” 母亲教我什么是柔体杂技： “你能不能看看你脖子后面的泥！” 母亲教我什么是耐力： “坐在那儿，直到把所有的菠菜吃完。” 母亲教我如何识天气： “好像有龙卷风席卷过你的房间。” 母亲教我如何解决物理学问题： “如果我高声叫喊，是因为我看见有一颗流星正朝你俯冲而来，那你会不会听我的话？” 母亲教我什么是嫉妒： “这世界上有数百万不幸的孩子，他们可没有你这么好的父母。”
经典的英语优秀美文3
野草 Wild Grass
有这样一个故事。
There is a story which goes like this:
有人问：世界上什么东西的气力最大?回答纷纭的很，有的说“象”，有的说“狮”，有人开玩笑似的说：是“金刚”。金刚有多少气力，当然大家全不知道。
Someone asked, "What is the most powerful thing in the world?" There was a variety of answers. "Elephant," someone said. "Lion," another said. "Buddha's guardian warrior," still another said half-jokingly. As to how powerful the Buddha's guardian warrior was, no one was sure.
结果，这一切答案完全不对，世界上气力最大的，是植物的种子。一粒种子所可以显现出来的力，简直是超越一切，这儿又是一个故事。
In fact none of the answers was correct. The most powerful thing in the world is the seed of plants. The force displayed by a seed is simply incomparable. Here goes another story:
人的头盖骨，结合得非常致密与坚固，生理学家和解剖学者用尽了一切的方法，要把它完整地分出来，都没有这种力气，后来忽然有人发明了一个方法，就是把一些植物的种子放在要剖析的头盖骨里，给它以温度与湿度，使它发芽，一发芽，这些种子便以可怕的力量，将一切机械力所不能分开的骨骼，完整地分开了，植物种子力量之大，如此如此。
The bones of a human skull are so tightly and firmly joined that no physiologist and anatomist had succeeded in taking them apart whatever means they tried. Then someone invented a method. He put sonic seeds of a plant in the skull to be dissected and provided the necessary temperature and moisture to make them germinate. Once the seeds germinated, they manifested a terrible force with which he succeeded in opening up the human skull that had failed to be opened even by mechanical means.
这，也许特殊了一点，常人不容易理解，那么，你看见笋的成长吗?你看见过被压在瓦砾和石块下面的一颗小草的生成吗?他为着向往阳光，为着达成它的生之意志，不管上面的石块如何重，石块与石块之间如何狭，它必定要曲曲折折地，但是顽强不屈地透到地面上来，它的根往土壤钻，它的芽往地面挺，这是一种不可抗的力，阻止它的石块，结果也被它掀翻，一粒种子的力量的`大，如此如此。
You may think this is too unusual a story to be grasped by the common mind. Well, have you ever seen how the bamboo shoots grow? Have you ever seen how frail young grass grow out from under debris and rubble? In order to get the sunshine and bring its will to grow into play, no matter how heavy the rocks are and how narrow the space between the rocks, it will wind its way up irresistibly, its roots drilling downward and its sprouts shooting upward. This is an irresistible force. Any rock lying in its way will be overturned. This again shows how powerful a seed can be.
没有一个人将小草叫做“大力士，但是它的力量之大，的确是世界无比。这种力，是一般人看不见的生命力，只要生命存在，这种力就要显现，上面的石块，丝毫不足以阻挡，因为它是一种“长期坑战的力，有弹性，能屈能伸的力，有韧性，不达目的不止的力。
Though the little grass has never been said to be herculean, the power it shows is matchless in the world. It is an invisible force of life. So long as there is life, the force will show itself. The rock above it is not heavy enough to prevent it from growing because it is a force that keeps growing over a period of time, because it is an elastic force that can shrink and expand, because it is a tenacious force that will not stop growing until it is grown.
种子不落在肥土而落在瓦砾中，有生命力的种子决不会悲观和叹气，因为有了阻力才有磨炼。生命开始的一瞬间就带了斗争来的草，才是坚韧的草，也只有这种草，才可以傲然地对那些玻璃棚中养育着的盆花哄笑。
The seed does not choose to fall on fertile land but among debris. If it is filled with life, it is never pessimistic or sad, for it is tempered by resistance and pressure. The grass that fights its way out since the moment it is hom can be called "strong' and “temacious"; only the grass that fights its way up since its birth has the right to laugh with justified pride at the potted plants in glassed green houses.
经典的英语优秀美文4
What is Love? 爱是什么?
What is Love? The eternal question we all carry around deep within our heart. Love is the eternal search. Love is eternal when we find it. But do we really ever find it ? When we define it do we negate it? When we set limits on what we believe to be love do we begin to destroy it by hoping to understand or own it for ourselves? We offer it through all of our relationship we vary our giving, often by what we hope to receive in return. But is this really love?xiao84.com
爱是什么?这是所有人心底一个永恒的问题。爱，是永恒的寻觅。爱一旦被找到，它也将变为永恒。但是我们真的找到过爱吗?当我们定义爱的同时，是否也在否定爱呢?在给我们所认为的爱加种种限制的同时，我们试图按自己的方式理解它，或想将其据为己有时，我们是否也在破坏它呢?我们将爱施与周围的所有人，而如何给予是由期望的回报来决定的。但这是真正的爱
I recently overheard someone say in a conversation that there is no such thing as “ unconditional love .” I would have to agree, although for different reasons. Love within itself is unconditional. Anything else is only an attempt to love, a learning to get us nearer to the one true knowing of love. It may be honorable, well-intentioned, passionate and desiring, courageous and pure. It may be felt as temporary, but if lost easily it may not have been love at all. Love cannot be thwarted and often fall short of what we hope love will be. This is where we learn we are human.
最近，我无意间听别人说，世上没有所谓的“无条件的爱”。在此，我不得不表示同意这一论断，尽管理由不尽相同，但爱本身确是无条件的。其他一切都仅仅是爱的一种尝试，通过它们去逐渐地理解爱的真谛。爱可能是高贵善意的，是充满热情和渴望的，是勇敢和纯洁的;爱是势不可挡的，而且，常常达不到我们的期望值。由此我们可以透察人性。
Love has been experienced as a life of living poetry. Love has been experienced as being the very notes of song, uplifting and generous to the wanting ear. Love has been experienced as the final act of giving one’s life for another in battle. Love has been experienced as an endless passionate over flow of emotion in the arms of waiting lover.
爱的经历就像一首鲜活灵动的诗;爱的经历就像一个个美妙动听的`音符，让企盼的双耳得到振奋、满足;爱的经历就像战场上舍己救人的一幕;爱的经历就像赋予人新生的选择;爱的经历就像依偎在期盼已久的爱人臂弯时所流露出的无尽爱意。
What do you do with the love granted to you each day? How many times do we deny its expression for others because we fear what our own expressions will bring? Are we not denying our creator every time we deny the expression of love?
你是怎样对待每天给予你的爱的呢?有多少次由于害怕被拒绝，我们未能向他人表达爱意?在每次拒绝爱的表白之时，难道我们不是拒绝造物主的恩赐吗?
Lost, empty, alone and searching. As individuals who have experienced separation or divorce, or even the loss of a loved one to death, the separation can be the most traumatic experience we live through. The heart-wrenching pain that seems to never really go away, the enormous waves that hit us daily, the times we hit the wall right after a strong and uplifting experience reminds us that we are learning. We are learning about strength, passion for our own life, about our own sincerity in our beliefs, about our loyalty to who we are, and certainly about our own genuineness. We search for that day when love will come again. We search everywhere, everyday, almost every hour.
迷茫、空虚、孤独、寻觅。对于那些经历过分别、离异，甚至失去过爱人的人来说，这样的离别乃是生命中最大的伤痕。揪心的伤痛永无此境;生活中的挫折和磨难无时无刻不在提醒我们：我们正处于认知的过程中。我们正在认识自己生命的力量和激情，认识对信仰的虔诚，认识对自的忠贞，认识自己的本性。我们期待真爱重回的那一天，我们每时每刻都在每个角落寻觅。
It has been said for centuries that “ love is where the eyes meet with passion, for the eyes cannot hide what the heart feels.” So we have learned to look outward for this eternal love that will fulfill us, forgetting that it must first fill our own hearts. Perhaps that is why we fall into such pain and agony and sorrow when a love affair fails. It is at that moment that we realize we did not fail the other person we expressed love to , but we have somehow not fulfilled ourselves once again. We combat failure with a misunderstood unfulfilled promise. We lade it, not knowing if we will ever find it again. The emotion tides life and fall ,crash and settle, then lift again.
几个世纪以来，我们一直说：“爱就是充满激情的目光相遇，因为眼睛掩饰不住内心的真实感受”。因此，我们都学会了向外看，去寻找那份永恒的能使自己充实起来的爱，却忽略了它首先应占据我们自己心灵的领地。或许，这就是当一段恋情受挫时，我们会如此地痛苦和悲伤的原因所在。此时，我们才意识到，我们并未负于曾向我们示爱的那个人，只是我们认为它没能让我们充实、完整。我们用误解且无法兑现的承诺来抑制失败。我们失去了爱，不知是否能再次找回它。感情的潮水起伏不定，时而汹涌，时而平和，继而会再次澎湃。
No one else, no matter how much we talk or cry, can pull us through the anxious hours of soul repair and growth. It is our own fire within that needs rekindling, guarding against the winds that would blow it out and leave us dark, cold and helpless. It is at this time that we find the lobe that binds us together with every other being that surrounds us on the planet. Eventually we find the sun still rises to meet in the morning and the stars continue to show us the way each night. The rivers still flow downstream into oceans that will never turn them away. The trees still reach upward every day praising the God that made them. We stand up straight and take a lesson from it all.
无论我们说了多少话，流了多少泪，无人能帮助我们过心灵修复的阴霾与成长过程中的绵绵阴雨。我们的心灵为火需要再燃，需要呵护，不致让风将其吹灭，不致让自己被黑暗、阴冷和无助所包围。此时，我们便找到把我们与周围的每一个生命维系在一起的那份爱。我们终会发现，太阳依然长期升起，来迎接黎明的到来;星光依然闪烁，来指引我们夜行的方向;江河依然流向下游，归入广纳百川的大海;树木依然日日向上生长，歌颂赋予其生命的上苍。我们挺直身躯，从这一切中汲取教训。
What if you woke up one morning and realized that you were the only person left on the face of the earth? Who would you love? Why do we wait so long to start the journey that begins in the same place that it ends?Love, in all its endlessness, unboundedness and failed definitions is this experience.
如果某天早上，当你醒来，发觉这个世界只剩下你一人，你当如何应对?你去爱谁?我们为何要等如此长的时间，才在终点重新形开始新的旅程?这是一次无边无尽、无从定义的爱之旅。
Love doesn’t ask why. It doesn’t come. It doesn’t go. It just is. It is not only in our hands, it is our hands. It isn’t only in our heart, it is what makes our heart beat every beat. It wraps itself around us so securely that all we need to do to survive against all odds is to recognize it as the very breath we just drew, and the last breath we just let go.
爱不问理由。它不会走近你，也不会远离你。爱始终存在着。它就是我们的手中，在我们的心里，确切地说就是我们的双手，就是我们每一次心跳的动力。爱将我们安全地包围着，我们把它当成每一次真切的呼吸，时刻与爱同在，是我们克服一切困难有秘诀。
经典的英语优秀美文5
Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits. “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny,” the maxim goes.
从根本上来讲，我们的个性是塑成习惯的成分之一。有一句箴言讲到：“播下一个想法，收获一个行动；播下一个行动，收获一个习惯；播下一个习惯，收获一个性格；播下一个性格，收获一份命运。”
Habits are powerful factors in our lives. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character and produce our effectiveness or ineffectiveness.
习惯是我们生活中有力的因素。因为习惯的持续性，人们常常不能意识到它们。于是，每一天，我们的习惯总在彰显着我们的性格，我们是否有效率也源自习惯。
As Horace Mann, the great educator, once said, “Habits are like a cable. We weave a strand of it everyday and soon it cannot be broken.” I personally do not agree with the last part of his expression. I know habits can be learned and unlearned. But I also know it isn't a quick fix. It involves a process and a tremendous commitment.
正如伟大的教育学家霍瑞斯·曼曾经说的那样：“习惯犹如一根缆绳。我们每日为其编织一股，不久它便不容易断裂。”我个人不认同他最后一段的表达。我知晓有些习惯是后天习得的，而有些则是不学就有的。可我也明白习惯无法速成，它是一段涉及郑重承诺的过程。
Those of us who watched the lunar voyage of Apollo 11 were transfixed as we saw the first men walk on the moon and return to earth. But to get there, those astronauts literally had to break out of the tremendous gravity pull of the earth. More energy was spent in the first few minutes of lift, in the first few miles of travel, than was used over the next several days to travel half a million miles.
我们之中见证过阿波罗11号登月的人，当看到人类在月球上跨出第一步并返回地球时，瞠目结舌。但为了抵达月球，毫不夸张地说，这些宇航员得挣脱地球对其极大的地心引力。在升起的头几分钟、太空旅程的头几英里中，宇航员耗费的能量要远大于之后几天五十万英里旅程中的.能量。
Habits, too, have tremendous gravity pull more than most people realize or would admit. Breaking deeply imbedded habitual tendencies such as procrastination, impatience, criticalness, or selfishness that violate basic principles of human effectiveness involves more than a little willpower and a few minor changes in our lives. “Lift off” takes a tremendous effort, but once we break out of the gravity pull, our freedom takes on a whole new dimension.
习惯也具有极强的牵引力，比大多数人意识到或承认的还来得多。对于一些根深蒂固的习惯，像是拖延症、不耐烦、挑剔或自私，它们违反了人类效率的基本原则。而要戒掉这些陋习，仅靠那一丁点的意志力和生活中极小的改变，是无济于事的。“起飞时分”要付出巨大努力，而一旦我们挣脱地心引力，我们享有的自由便会展现出一个全新的维度。
Like any natural force, gravity pull can work with us or against us. The gravity pull of some of our habits may currently be keeping us from going where we want to go. But it is also gravity pull that keeps our world together, that keeps the planets in their orbits and our universe in order. It is a powerful force, and if we use it effectively, we can use the gravity pull of habit to create the cohesiveness and order necessary to establish effectiveness in our lives.
与其他自然力一样，地心引力对我们而言，是助力，亦可是对抗力。我们一些习惯所具有的引力也许正在妨碍我们抵达目的地。然而同时也是地心引力将世界凝聚，使各大行星在轨道上运转，让我们的宇宙井然有序。引力是很强大的，我们倘若能有效运用它，便可用习惯的引力来创建凝聚力和秩序，使我们的生活有效率。
经典的英语优秀美文6
Excellence is not an act, but a habit
Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits. “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny,” the maxim goes.
人的品德基本上是由习惯组成的。 俗语说；思想决定行动，行动决定习惯，习惯决定品德，品德决定命运。
Habits are powerful factors in our lives. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character and produce our effectiveness or ineffectiveness.
习惯对我们的生活有绝大的影响，因为它们是一贯的。 在不知不觉中， 经年累月影响着我们的品德，暴露出我们的本性，左右着我们的成败。
As Horace Mann, the great educator, once said, “habits are like a cable. We weave a strand of it every day and soon it cannot be broken.” I personally do not agree with the last part of his expression. I know habits can be learned and unlearned. But is also know it isn’t a quick fix. It involves a process and a tremendous commitment.
美国著名教育家曼恩曾说：“习惯就仿佛是一条缆绳，我们每天为他缠上一股新索，不要多久就会变得牢不可破。”这句话的后半段我不敢苟同，我相信习惯可以养成，也可以打破，但绝不是一蹴而就，而是需要长期的努力和无比的毅力。
Those of us who watched the lunar voyage of Apollo 11 were transfixed as we saw the first men walk on the moon and return to earth. But to get there, those astronauts literally had to break out of the tremendous gravity pull of the earth. More energy was spent in the first few minutes of lift-off, in the first few miles of travel, than was used over the next several days to travel half a million miles.
宇航员搭乘阿波罗11号太空船，首次登陆月球的刹那，的确令人叹为观止。但宇航员得先摆脱地球强大的引力，才能飞往月球。由此在刚发射的几分钟，也就是整个任务一开始的几英里之内，是最艰难的时刻，所耗的力量往往超越往后的`几十万英里。
Habits, too, have tremendous gravity pull- more than most people realize or would admit. Breaking deeply imbedded habitual tendencies such as procrastination, impatience, criticalness, or selfishness that violate basic principles of human effectiveness involves more than a little willpower and a few minor changes in our lives. “Lift off” takes a tremendous effort, but once we break out of the gravity pull, our freedom takes on a whole new dimension.
习惯也是一样，它具有极大的引力，只是许多人不加注意或不肯承认了。想要革除因循苟且，缺乏耐心，吹毛求疵或自私自利等不良习性，若是缺乏意志力，不能大刀阔斧的改革，便难以实现目标。“起飞”需要极大的努力，然而一旦脱离重力的牵绊，我们便可享受前所未有的自由。
1. maxim ['mksm] 座右铭
2. Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits.
人的品德基本上是由习惯组成的。
composite[kɑm'pɑzt] n. 组合，组成物，adj 组合而成的
composite material 复合材料
China is a great composite of various nationalities.
3. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns
因为它们是一贯的。
consistent[kn'sstnt] adj. 始终如一的， 坚持的， 一致的
Running is my only consistent habit.
Losing weight is her consistent slogan.
4. It involves a process and a tremendous commitment.
tremendous[tr'mnds]adj.极好的， 极大的， 惊人的
The city has taken place a tremendous change these years.
commitment [k'mtmnt]n. 承诺， 保证， 承担承诺， 献身
Don't offer any commitment if you can't fulfill it.
5. Those astronauts literally had to break out of the tremendous gravity pull of the earth.
gravity['ɡrvti]最喜欢的一首歌《Defying Gravity》 没听过的一定要去听哦！
5.Breaking deeplyimbeddedhabitual tendencies such as procrastination, impatience, criticalness, or selfishness.
想要革除拖延，缺乏耐心，吹毛求疵或自私自利等顽固地不良习性。
imbedded[m'bdId] adj 嵌入的
My whole life is imbedded in teaching English.
经典的英语优秀美文7
Suddenly, I think of my youngest daughter, living now in Amsterdam. Very soon she will call and ask “Have you planted the bulbs yet?” Then I will answer teasingly that actually I’m waiting until she comes to help me. And then we will both be overcome by nostalgia, because once we always did that together. One entire sunny autumn afternoon, when she was three and a half years old, she helped me with all enthusiasm and joyfulness of her age.
It was one of the last afternoons that I had her around, because her place in school has been already reserved. She wandered around so happily carefree with her little bucket and spade, covering the bulbs with earth and calling out “Night, night” or “Sleep night”, her little voice chattering constantly on. She discovered “baby bulbs”, “kiddie bulbs”, and “mummy and daddy bulbs”, the latter snuggling cozily together. While we were both working so industriously, I watched my kid very deliberately. She was such a tiny thing, between an infant and a toddler, with such a round little tummy.
Every autumn, throughout her childhood, we repeated the ritual of planting the bulbs together. Every autumn I saw her changing, the toddler became a schoolgirl, a straightforward realist, full of drive. Never once dreamy, her hands in her pockets; no longer happily indulging in her fantasies. The schoolgirl developed long legs, her jaw-line changed, she had her hair cut. It was autumn again that I thought “bye roses, bye butterflies, bye schoolgirl”. I listened to her stories while we painstakingly burrowed in the earth, planting the promise of spring.
Suddenly, much quicker than I had expected, a tall teenager was standing by my side. She is taller than I. The ritual became rather silent, and we no longer chatter from one subject to another. I thought about her room full of posters and knick-knacks, how it had been full of treasures in bottles and boxes, white peddles, a copper brooch, colored drawings, the treasures of a child who still knew nothing of money, who wanted to be read to and who looked anxiously at a spider at her room and asked, “Would he want to be my friend?”
Then came the autumn when I planted the bulbs alone, and I knew from then on it would always be that way. But every year, in autumn, she talks about it. Full of nostalgia for the security of childhood, the seclusion of a garden, the final moments of a season. How both of us would dearly love to have a time machine. To go back. Just for a day.
经典的英语优秀美文8
The Olympics represents the noble ideal of sports overcoming the barriers of politics withchampion athletes of all nations gathering in the spirit of sportsmanship. However, the stakesgo beyond who wins the gold medal. Shortly after each competition, nations begin to vieafresh for the bid to host the next game. Winning the vote to host is not merely an honor, itis a political conquest in global recognition. It also spins revenue from the influx of tourists,participants and Olympic related paraphernalia.
However, all that glitters is not gold. For some residents of Beijing, the site of Olympic 2008,the impact of winning the bid cuts deep and far into their personal lives. The capital isexpecting to pour billions of dollars into sports facilities and related upgrades such as roads,public transport, landscaping and sanitation. For the bustling city of bicycles and traffic jamstucked among imperial relics, the Olympics is an opportunity for urban renewal.
Yet for those within the areas, something must give way to make room for the model OlympicVillage.
Decades of family homes will be uprooted and dispersed among apartments on the outskirtsof the city. Although modern plumbing and sanitation will replace chamber pots, the move isan upheaval of a community and its way of life and social dynamics. It will be interesting tofollow up on those and study the effects ofthe transplant.
The Olympics upgrades are not disposable stage props that can be easily discarded after theshow. Experts are afraid that without the heartbeat of ordinary people dwelling in the ancientcity, the high tech Olympic City would become culturally dry. Careful urban planning andstringent regulations such as building restrictions can preserve the impression of an intactneighborhood. Nevertheless, without the residents, aesthetic is lost and only the facaderemains, waiting to be filled by tourists and businesses.
Nonetheless who can begrudge anyone a more comfortable living environment? Even withoutthe Olympics, can the drumbeat of modernization be stopped? And whether the changes arefor better or worse, who should presume to judge such things other than those whose livesbear the brunt of the impact?
奥运会所代表的崇高理想，就是各国的运动选手用运动员精神超越政治障碍聚集在一起。可是，其利害关系不仅在于谁获得金牌。每一届奥运会后不久，各国又重新开始争夺下一届奥运会的主办权。获得主办权不仅仅是一种荣誉，也代表着在政治上被全球认同的胜利。此外，还可以通过接踵而来的游客、参赛者和和奥运会有关的设备迅速增加税收。
然而，我们不能只看其表面(该句亦可直译为"闪闪发光的`未必都是金子”)。对于北京2008年奥运会场地的那些居民来说，获得主办权对他们生活的影响是深远的。首都预计要在运动设施及其相关的改进，如道路、公共交通、环境景观和公共卫生等方面投入数十亿美元。对于其皇家遗址中到处存放自行车、交通拥堵的繁忙城市，奥运会是一次都市翻新的机会。可是对于那些住在规划用地的人而言，他们必须放弃一些东西来为—个现代化的奥运村腾地儿。
几十年的家园被连根拔起，而被分散到城市郊区的公寓。虽然现代化的管道和卫生设备将取代便盆，但是迁移对一个社区及其生活方式和社会变迁过程仍然是一个大变动。追踪这些人并研究迁移给他们带来的影响将是很有意义的。
为奥运会所做的改进工程，并非是戏剧演出结束后轻易就可以丢弃的舞台小道具。专家们担心在这座古城中缺乏了普通 居民的声迹，高科技的奥运城会在文化上几近枯竭。即使细心的城市规划和严厉的法规,例如建筑管制可以保留原封不动的社区外观，然而没有了居民，美感仍会失落,而只留下空壳，等待游客和商业的填充。
不过，谁能妒忌一些人有较舒适的居住环境呢?即使没有奥运会，现代化的鼓点声是否能被阻挡?而且社会变迁的好与坏，除了那些深受其影响的人以外，还有谁能擅自判断呢?
经典的英语优秀美文9
Since the pre-historic times，man has had an urge to satisfy his needs. Be it hunger，shelter or search for a mate，he has always manipulated the circumstances to the best of his advantages. Probably this might be the reason why we human are the most developed of all living species on the earth，and probably also in the universe. As we climbed the steps of evolution with giant leaps，we somehow left behind common sense and logical thinking—we forgot that we have stopped thinking ahead of times.
If you are hungry，what do you do?Grab a piece of your favorite meal and stay quiet after that?Just like your stomach，even your mind is hungry. But it never lets you know，because you keep it busy thinking about your dream lover，favorite star and many such absurd things. So it silently began to heed to your needs and never let itself grow. When mind looses its freedom to grow，creativity gets a full stop. This might be the reason why we all sometimes think“What happens next?”，“Why can‘t I think?”，“Why am I always given the difficult problems?”Well this is the aftermath of our own karma of using our brain for thinking of not-so-worthy things.
Hunger of the mind can be actually satiated through extensive reading. Now why reading and not watching TV?Because reading has been the most educative tool used by us right from the childhood. Just like that to develop other aspects of our life，we have to take help of reading. You have innumerable number of books in this world which will answer all your“How to?”questions. Once you read a book，you just don‘t run your eyes through the lines，but even your mind decodes it and explains it to you. The interesting part of the book is stored in your mind as a seed. Now this seed is unknowingly used by you in your future to develop new ideas. The same seed if used many times，can help you link and relate a lot of things，of which you would have never thought of in your wildest dreams!This is nothing but creativity. More the number of books you read，your mind will open up like never before. Also this improves your oratory skills to a large extent and also makes a significant contribution to your vocabulary. Within no time you start speaking English or any language fluently with your friends or other people and you never seem to run out of the right words at the right time.
Actually，I had a problem in speaking English fluently，but as I read，I could improve significantly. I am still on the path of improvement to quench my thirst for satisfaction. So guys do join me and give food for your thoughts by reading，reading and more reading. Now what are you waiting for?Go，grab a book，and let me know!
Deepak Chandrasekaran
篇二：Weakness or Strength (将弱项变为强项)
Sometimes our biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take，for example，the story t of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that the had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.
The boy began lesson with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was dong well，so he couldn‘t understand why，after three months of training，the master had taught him only one move.
“Mister，”the boy finally said，“shouldn‘t I be learning more moves?”
“This is the only move you know，but this is the only move you‘ll ever need to know，”the master replied.
Not quite understanding，but believing in his teacher，the boy kept training.
Several months later，the master took the boy to his first tournament.
To his surprise，，the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult，but after some time，his opponent became impatient and charged;the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success，the boy was now in the finals.
This time，his opponent was bigger，stronger，and more experienced. For a while，the boy appeared to be overmatched.
Concerned that the boy might get hurt，the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the master intervened.“No，”his master insisted，“let him continue.”
Soon after the match resumed，his opponent made a critical mistake：he dropped his guard. Instantly，the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.
On the way home，the boy and his master reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really in his min.
“Mister，how did I win the tournament with only one move?”
“You won for two reasons，”the master answered.“First，you‘ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second，the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”
The boy‘s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.
Everyday English
经典的英语优秀美文10
Venice is a fascinating city between sea and sky. It is built on 117 islands. There aren't any cars or buses because there are no highways in Venice. But it has 150 canals and 400 bridges. The narrow streets, with theirhistoric names, are paved with flagstones, but have no footpaths. They are lined with flower-decked balconies, Madonnas, shop signs and lanterns. Artisans' stalls and palaces stand side by side. The squares are charming. The brick bridges, with white stone trimmings, are pitched high to allow barges to pass under them. Every year thousands of touristsfromthe five continents visit this beautiful city.
They are always amazed at the charm of her water and pellucid light, which can make them freefromall dust and cooled by the sea breezes. But because the level of the surrounding waters is constantly rising, the exceptional position of Venice constitutes a threat to its very existence. And the Venetians love their city and want to stay there to save Venicefromthe sea. Now carious measures have already been taken and a plan to safeguard and remedy the position is under investigation.
经典的英语优秀美文11
泥土的微笑
All over my garden Ive planted nothing but roses, fragrant and if looked at from afar-ablaze with colour like sunset clouds. I would be very happy if any one of my visiting friends should desire to pick and take some for their homes.I trust that any friend of nune carrying the roses would vanish into the distance feeling that his emotion had been rekindled.
我在花园里种满了芬芳的玫瑰花，远远望去，他们像一片燃烧的晚霞。如果来访的朋友想摘些花带回家，我会很高兴。我相信朋友捧着火红的玫瑰渐渐走远的背影，一定能点燃易感的情怀。
A close friend came for a visit the other day, I know her to be a lover of flowers and plants, and for that reason I told her at her departure that she should pick a bunch of roses to decorate her boudoir. I promised that the scent ofthe roses would be wafted far, far away.
有一天，一位非常要好的女友来探望我，我知道她平素最喜欢花花草草了，临别时我说，采一束玫瑰点缀你的闺房，保证十里飘香。
That girl friend of mine, tiptoeing into the garden in high spirits, sniffed here and smelt there, but in the end she didnt pick a single rose. I said there were so many of them tbat she could pick as many as shed like to, I told her that I was not a florist and didnt make a living out of them. While saying so I raised the scissors for the sacrifice of the flowers, but she vehemently stopped me, crying no, no, no!
女友轻轻地跨进花园，东闻闻，西嗅嗅，神采飞扬，就是不肯采摘。我说没关系，多的是，并让她尽管采摘。我告诉她我又不是花店的老板，不会靠玫瑰赚钱的，说完我就举起剪刀准备献美。女友急忙拦住，高声叫着不可不可。
To cut such beautiful roses would hurt one, she said.With her hands clutching at my sleeves, she told me that by no means should they be cut. Roses are the smiling face of the earth, and who could be so iron hearted as to destroy a smile so exhilarating
这么美丽的玫瑰剪下来，让人心疼，她说道。她紧抓住我的袖子叮咛道：千万不能剪啊，玫瑰是泥土的微笑，谁忍心杀戮美得醉人的微笑
My mind was thoroughly boggled: the ugly earth, the humble earth,the plain earth-it is only because of the roses that it reveals an amazing and bright smile, and it is for the sake of that smile that it wins the care and pity of men.
我的灵魂悚然一惊，丑陋的泥土、卑微的泥土、朴素的泥土，因为玫瑰，它露出了惊艳一笑。因为这一笑，它让人爱惜非常。
Of late a friend of mine i_nvited me to appreciate a Tang Dynasty vase that he was fortunate enough to have bought at an auction. The vase, with its slim neck, plump body, and fine little flowers on a blue and white background, has a noble shape and a rich colouring, elegant, refined, proud, poised, and supercilious, an extreme embodiment of the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. I was filled with wonder to think that while everyone present was talang great care not to cause the slightest damage to the Tang treasure, it was to me nothing but an object made of clay. It had only become a piece of classic art after being baked in a china kiln.
近日，一个朋友在拍卖会上有幸购得一个花瓶，花瓶细颈大肚，碎花蓝白图案，看上去流光溢彩。从造型到色彩，整个如唐朝盛世的化身，雍容、华贵、高傲、悠闲，目空一切。朋友邀请我们大家观赏。奇怪的是每一个参观者都小心谨慎，生怕碰坏这盛唐的宝贝。其实它不过是一撮泥土而已，在经过窑烧之后才干修百炼成瓷中经典的口.
Both the exqusiteness of the boccaro teapots made in south China, and the shockingly beautiful sculptures by Clay Sculptor Zhang of Tianjin arent they all smiles of the earth They are such exquisite treasures that-even if they look ugly, humble, plain, or whatever-they no doubt deserve respect and veneration.
江南的紫砂壶玲珑剔透，天津泥人张的彩塑令人拍案叫绝，它们不都是泥土的微笑吗它们弥足珍贵，即使曾丑陋，即使曾卑微，即使曾朴素，同样让人肃然起敬。
Now I understand that no one, however ordinary, should be condemned to anonymity, and that anyone who adds a dash of colour to life deserves our respect.
我懂得了，即使再平凡的人，也没有理由被埋没，只要努力活出色彩，一定会叫人刮目相看。
天才养成攻略
Lesson one: New challenges require new ways of thinking
面对新挑战，要有新思路
Part car, part jet fighter, part spaceship, Bloodhound SSC aims to be the first land vehicle to break the 1,000mph barrier. One of the key challenges has been to design the wheels. How do you create the fastest wheels in history, make them stable and reliable at supersonic speeds, and with limited resources
部分汽车、部分喷气式飞机、部分宇宙飞船，猎犬号超级汽车的目标是做世界上第一辆时速突破1000英里的汽车。而这面临的一项关键挑战是车轮的设计。如果换做是你，你会如何在有限的资源下发明出超音速汽车上用的轮子呢
After much deliberation, and devising ideas that pushed the boundaries of material technology, Mark Chapman, chief engineer of the Bloodhound project said the team decided to take a step back and change the way they were trying to solve problems. Theres very little weve actually developed thats new, he says, whats unique is how we apply technologies.
猎犬号项目的总工程师马克查普曼思来想去，觉得材料还是不够好。最后他和他的团队决定退回一步、换个角度看有没有别的办法。我们实际创新的东西并不多，马克说：我们的独特之处在于应用技术的方式别具一格。
They adopted an approach called the design of experiments a mathematical technique of problem solving through doing lots of little experiments and then looking at the statistics all glued together. All of a sudden, where wed been knocking our head against the wall for maybe two, three, four months, we came up with a wheel design that would hold together and was strong enough, he says.
他们采用实验设计的方法做了很多的小实验，综合所得的数据再得出精确设计。花了三四个月绞尽脑汁做尽各种实验之后，很突然地我们做出了一个大胆的设计：把各种可用的(飞机、飞船所用的)技术都融合在一辆车上，从而使它足够强大。马克说。
Lesson two: Let evidence shape your opinion
观点要用证据来证明
Like his peers, geophysicist Steven Jacobsen from Northwestern University believed that water on Earth originated from comets. But by studying rocks, which allow scientists to peer back in time, he discovered water hidden inside ringwoodite, which lies in the Earths mantle, and which suggests that the oceans gradually made its way out of the planets interior many centuries ago.
美国西北大学地球物理学家史蒂文雅各布森曾认为，地球上的水源于彗星。但通过对岩石的研究，他发现地幔的林伍德石里面也藏有水，这一发现表明或许在N个世纪之前，海洋是从地球内部自己慢慢溢出来的。
I had a pretty hard time convincing others, he admits. Yet two key pieces of evidence uncovered this year seem to support his point of view. Time will tell whether the new theories are true, and there may be further twists to the tale. But thinking about the fact that you may be the first person to see something for the first time doesnt happen very often, he says. When it does its thrilling.
那时候我难说服别的学者相信这个。史蒂文说。但是今年新发现的两个关键证据似乎支持了他的理论。所以，一个新理论的正确与否可能需要时间来慢慢印证，在被世人接受前可能会经历很多曲折。但是如果你发现你是第一个发现这个规律的人，且时间又证明你是对的之后，你会倍受鼓舞的。史蒂文说。
Lesson three: It really is 99% perspiration
天才的99%确实是汗水
Sheila Nirenberg at Cornell University is trying to develop a new prosthetic device for treating blindness. Key to this was cracking the code that transmits information from the eye to the brain. Once I realised this, I couldnt eat, I couldnt sleep all I wanted to do was work, says Nirenberg.
康奈尔大学希拉尼伦伯格正在研究治疗失明的新型假体，其中破解眼睛与大脑的信息交流密码是最关键的。我意识到这一点之后，就吃不下饭、睡不着觉，只想全身心投入工作。尼伦伯格说。
Sometimes Im exhausted and I get burnt out, she adds. But then I get an email from somebody in crisis or somebody whos getting macular degeneration, and they cant see their own childrens faces, and it is like, How can I possibly complain It gives me the energy to just go back and keep doing it.
每次觉得筋疲力尽、江郎才尽的时候，我都会收到一些到正处于危险状态马上要失明的、或是患有黄斑部退化症的病人的邮件，这些人将没办法看清自己孩子的长相、无法看这五颜六色的世界。每当这个时候，我就跟自己说我怎么能够抱怨呢，然后就又动力十足的继续工作。
Lesson four: The answer isnt always what you expect
结果并不总是和预想的一样
Sylvia Earle has spent decades trying to see the ocean with new eyes. Her dream machine is a submarine that could take scientists all the way to the bottom of the deepest ocean floor. What sort of material could best withstand the types of pressure you would encounter thousands of miles below the ocean surface It could be steel, it could be titanium, it could be some sort of ceramic, or some kind of aluminium system, says Earle. But glass is the ultimate material. By her estimates, a glass sphere about four-to-six inches (10-15cm) thick should be able safely explore the ocean depths she dreams of exploring.
西尔维亚厄尔花了几十年的时间试图让人们用新的方式亲近海底，她的梦想号潜艇可以让科学家潜入到最深的海底。那种材料才能够承受住深海的巨大压力呢厄尔说：我想过用钢、钛、陶瓷等，但最终发现其实玻璃才是终极王者。根据她的预计，一块10-15厘米厚的玻璃板就能让她进入梦寐以求的那片深海世界。
Glass is the oldest material known to man and one of the least understood, says Tony Lawson, Earles engineering director at Deep Ocean and Exploration Research Marine. It has a higgledy-piggledy molecular structure a bit like a liquid, rather than the ordered lattices often found in other solids. As a result, when glass is evenly squeezed from all sides as it would be under the ocean the molecules cram closer together and form a tighter structure.
厄尔的项目技术总监称，虽然玻璃是人类已知的最古老材料，但是我们对它的了解却甚少。玻璃的分子结构有点像是液体，排列方式没有一般固体的有规律。因此，当玻璃被海洋里的压力从四面八方压迫时，它的分子会被压在一起，形成更紧密的结构。
Lesson five: A little luck goes a long way
偶尔的一点好运也可以维持很久
It was hailed as one of the biggest success stories in the history of space exploration 20 years of planning ended earlier this year with the Philae lander rendezvousing with Comet 67P over 300 million miles (480 million kilometres) away from Earth.
菲莱探测器被誉为太空探索史上最大跨越之一，历经20年的策划期终于在年初发射并成功在离地球四亿八千万公里的67P彗星上着陆。
The biggest challenge, says Stephan Ulamec, manager of the Philae lander programme, was how to design a probe to land on a body whose makeup they had little knowledge about. We had no idea of the size, we had no idea of the day-night cycle, which influences the thermal design, we had no idea of the gravity, so how fast would the lander impact, we had no idea how the surface looked, he says.
据菲莱项目的负责人斯蒂芬介绍，在这20年里遇到的最大挑战是对彗星构造了解较少，不知道该如何设计这个探测器。我们不知道彗星的昼夜循环情况会影响保热设计，不知道彗星的重力也无法预测探测器着陆后对转速的影响，甚至不清楚彗星表面的样子。
They needed to create design parameters that could cope with an extremely wide range of possible comet structures but banked on the comet being a relatively even potato shape with enough flat surfaces for the probe to land on. Even then, not everything went to plan, and two decades of meticulous planning could have failed within minutes at touchdown. Philaes anchoring harpoons didnt fire as planned, and it bounced off the comet before settling onto its icy surface and successfully beaming data back to its relieved creators.
科学家们需要建立尽可能符合多种彗星结构的设计参数，但是还是得寄希望于彗星的表面要够平坦。可即便是花了20年设计、缜密计划过的菲莱还是在着陆的几分钟里有点小失败：鱼叉系统未如计划打开，无法准确钉入彗星表面。不过幸运的是，菲莱还是成功地把数据发回了地球。
Lesson six: Genius is indefinable
天才定义不明
Its a funny word: the word genius, says Nirenberg. I just sort of ignore it and just go on with life. You just do what you do independent of whatever labels attached to you. I dont know really how else to explain it.
天才这个词很有趣，尼伦伯格说，我常常忽略这个标签继续走自己的路。只需要抛掉别人在你身上贴的各种标签做自己想做到的事就好了。因为所谓天才真是判断标准不一、无法解释的事情。
旅行的'N种正能量
I am currently on a massive adventure with my family: we are seven months into a year-long trip around Australia.
我和家人正在一同展开一场声势浩大的冒险活动：全年畅游澳大利亚，这是其中的第七个月。
Coaching and traveling can bring up the same opportunities to shift long-held beliefs and ways of being.
无论是乘坐马车观光还是一般的旅行，都能为你提供许多机会，让你改变积习的顽信，改换陈旧的生活方式。
When we sit down with a coach of any kind, it is because we want to achieve a particular goal in our lives, be it work, relationships, wellbeing or something else.
当我们坐上一列马车无论是哪种马车，我们想要的是实现一种心愿，无论这心愿是工作顺遂，广结善缘，生活安康还是其他的心愿。
When we travel, we want to achieve a particular goal, be it experiences, connections, expansion or relaxation.
当我们外出旅行的时候，我们想要的是达到某一目标，无论这目标是积累经验，构建人脉，博闻强识还是休闲放松。
When we are travelling, we find ourselves in new places and new spaces, physically and internally; it is the same with coaching.
在我们的旅行途中，我们会发现自己置身于新的地理位置，也获得了新的心灵空间;乘马车观光亦是如此。
As travelers, we have to look at things in a different way; we need to draw on inner resources -- resources we may not have ever tapped into before. This builds inner confidence in other areas of our lives.
作为旅行者，我们会以不同的方式看待事物;我们要开放自己的内在感官这些内在感官或可能是我们从未开发过的矿藏。由此，我们能够充实内在的信心，以便应对生活的方方面面。
When we travel, we have to be willing to look at things in a new way, a different way. We need to see things from another perspective and work with what is right in front of us, not with what we hope it to be.
在旅程中，我们应学会用新的，不一样的眼光看待事物。我们应从不同的视角看待事情，接受当下所面对的人和事，而不是沉湎于自己所希冀的幻想之中。
One of the foundations of life coaching is knowing where you are starting from -- what is working in your life and what is not working -- and using that starting point to chart a course to where you need to go.
坐马车旅程也是从人生旅途的某个驿站开始的行程。你要知道自己从哪里出发你的生活中那些方面顺心如意，那些方面不尽人意你从这个点出发，向着你必须到达的目的地，开始一段旅程。
As a roaming traveler, you do not have room for extra baggage: extra baggage wears you down emotionally and physically, a weight you do not need. Coaching allows us to uncover baggage we may not even know we have.
作为一个随遇而安的旅人，你无需过多的行装：过重的行李会让你身体劳乏，心灵疲惫，你本可以避开这幅重担。乘着马车旅行，你会发现，原来你背负着许多包袱，自己从未意识到。
When traveling with others (as we are in life), we have to forgive quicker, let go longer and generate compassion to ourselves and others, as a group/family dynamic can be as changeable as the wind.
当我们与旁人结伴旅行的时候(正如我们在生命中共同走过一段人生一样)，我们应该原谅那些来去匆匆的人，放下独来独往的人，既要爱自己，也要爱他人，因为团队/家庭成员之间的关系和风一样善变。
When we move from one place to another we experience movement: I was in a different place yesterday to where I am today; tomorrow I can be somewhere completely different again.
当我们从一个地方来到另一个地方的时候，我们所体验到的就是无所不在的变动：昨天我曾在一个不同的地方;今天我正在这个地方;明天我会去另一个完全陌生的地方。
经典的英语优秀美文12
We all see and hear about extraordinary people around us and wonder why can’t we be more like them? Sometimes we chuck that notion as absurd and unachievable. I would say not so fast. It’s not the big things that make someone extraordinary. It’s the small things.
我们都看到或听说过身边那些优秀的人，并在想为什么自己不能和他们一样？有时我们觉得这种想法很荒谬，根本无法实现。我觉得不一定。人并不是因为大事而优秀，而是因为小事才变得卓越。
Things that over a period of time have the power to radically change your life. They become extraordinary by making a difference in someone's life. Here are some of the things extraordinary people do every day:
发生在一段时间内的事情可以从根本上改变你的生活。优秀的人通过让他人的生活有所不同而变得卓越。下面的几件事是非凡的人每天都会做的。
1. They are open to criticism
他们乐于接受批评
Just because you’re the boss, doesn’t mean you are right every time. It doesn’t mean you have the best ideas. Learn to back up your ideas or decisions with reason. Use logic to explain things, not authority. By doing this your decisions might invite criticism, but you will also get an opportunity to improve.
你是老板，但这不表示你每次都对，不表示你的想法最好。学着用理性来支持你的想法或决定。运用逻辑来解释事情 ，而不是运用权威。这样的话你的决策可能会引发批评，但是你却得到了提高的机会。
2. They admit their mistakes
他们都承认错误
My friend’s boss made a huge mistake by tying up with an event management company. The whole purpose of the tie-up was to promote his company but it failed miserably. Instead of defending his idea and carrying on as if nothing happened, he apologised to the team for not including them in the decision making. It’s OK to admit you were wrong. You will not only gain the respect of your team mates, you will also gain credibility.
我朋友的老板犯了个大错，他把公司和一个活动管理公司合并了，本来合并是为了提升他的公司，谁知道最后竟是悲惨的结局。他没有为自己的想法辩护，没装作什么也没有发生，而是因自己在做决策时没有考虑到团队的意见而向他们道歉。承认自己做错了没什么大不了。你不仅会获得团队成员的尊敬，而且也会赢得信誉。
3. They are generous with compliments
他们毫不吝啬赞美之词
Remember the time, say in school or at work when you worked really hard but got nothing in return. Not even a thank you. It hurts when your efforts are not recognized. So every chance you get to praise someone, do it. A simple, “That was some great work, keep it up,” can go a long way in making the employee feel great about them self. A compliment can have a positive impact on their lives. Your team/family will love you for it.
还记得你认真学习或努力工作而没有任何回报的时候吧，有时连句“谢谢”都没有。可你的努力不被承认时你会受到打击。所以，当你有机会赞扬他人时，一定要赞扬。一句简单的赞美之词，如“做得真好，继续努力，”会让雇员在很长时间内都会感觉良好。赞美能对他们的生活产生积极的影响。你的团队/家庭也喜欢你这样做。
4. They are sensitive to others
他们对他人都很敏感
Think about a time you complimented someone and the recipient changed the topic? Maybe he or she was uncomfortable. But you still were not amused were you? Similarly, when you feel awkward receiving a compliment or an award, remain in control and give the person in front of you a genuine smile and thank him or her. Don’t make the moment sour by acting on your insecurities.
想一想，有没有这样的时候？你正赞美对方而对方却改变了话题？也许你的赞美令他/她感觉不舒服。但是你会觉得不痛快，对吧？同样地，当你收到赞美之词或奖品时，如果感到尴尬，可以克制自己，给你面前的人报以真正的微笑并谢谢他/她。不要因为不安全感而让那一刻变得不愉快。
5. They ask for help
他们寻求帮助
When you need help, don’t be arrogant or shy and stop yourself. If you’re lost on the road, it is fine to ask for directions. Everyone needs a little help sometime. When you ask for help, you receive help. By doing so, you’re letting people know you’re no superhuman, that you’re willing to listen, you also need support at times…which only show you could become a great leader someday.
当你需要帮助时，不要因为自大或害羞而不去向他人求助。如果你迷路了，就去问问别人怎么走。每个人都会在某一时刻需要帮助。当你寻求帮助时，会有人帮助你。这样做，你会让人知道你不是超人，你愿意倾听，你有时也需要别人的支持……这表明有一天你也可能成为伟大的领导。
6. They apologize when needed
他们该道歉的时候就道歉
We all make mistakes, but what makes a person big is when he is ready to apologize. Don’t try to hide behind excuses: “I didn’t mean to say it, it just happened.” “I was irritated with such and such person so…” No. Don’t try to shift blame. Just come right out and say you’re sorry.
我们都会犯错，但优秀的`人勇于道歉。不要试图找借口：“我不是这个意思。”“我被这样的人激怒了……”不要这样。不要试图推卸责任。直接说你错了。
7. They are willing to learn
他们乐于学习
When you don’t understand how something works, let an expert show you. When you let someone teach you something, you are telling the person that you respect their talent, time and that you believe he knows what he is talking about. That you respect their experience. Always be willing to learn, because there is no way in hell to know everything.
当你不清楚事物的原理时，让专家给你解释。当你让别人教你东西时，你是在告诉别人你尊敬他的天赋、时间，你相信他的话。你佩服他们的经验。永远要乐于学习，因为这是认识世间万物的唯一途径。
8. They are helpful
他们乐于助人
Never hesitate to help someone. It’s fairly simple but it goes a long way. Don’t be non-committal and say something vague like, “Can I help you?” because they might just say, “No, I’m good.” The key is to not sound patronizing. Be specific. “I had the same problem with this coffee machine in the morning. I think I have figured a way to make it work.” Offer in a way that feels mutually beneficial.
能助人时且助人。说起来容易做起来难。不要害怕承诺并说一些模糊的话，“需要我的帮忙吗？”因为别人可能以为你只是说说，“不，我很好。”并要注意不要以恩人自居。要具体一点.” 早晨我也碰到这个咖啡机出现过同样的问题。我觉得我想到了一个办法能把它修好。”用一种互惠互利的方式去帮助他人。
9. They are expressive
他们愿意表达自己
They are not bottled up. They feel something they verbalize it. Then be it pulling someone for not working hard or congratulating someone on their wonderful performance. This behaviour is not only restricted to work, but is applied to every aspect of their life.
他们不把话憋在肚子里。他们把感觉用语言表达出来。有人不努力工作就督促他，有人做得很好就祝贺他。这种方式不仅限于工作，而且适用于生活的方方面面。
10. They’re in charge of their emotions
他们能控制情感
Sometimes it is very important to stay mum. Especially when you’re angry or irritated or bitter, you don’t want to end up saying things you didn’t really mean to. So they take their time, they process their emotions, thin back to what happened, and then come to a decision about how to tackle it. Before you say anything, consider other’s feelings. Never be rash with words or actions.
有时保持沉默是非常重要的。尤其是当你生气、被激怒或很痛苦时。你不想说一些让别人误会的话。优秀的人很从容，他们能控制自己的情感，想想发生过的事情，然后决定如何处理。在说话之前，考虑他人的感受。不要轻率说话或行动。
经典的英语优秀美文13
Why do leaves change color in the fall? asks Patricia Brown, of New York City.
Autumn's cool days are trimmed with deep blue skies and golden light, and brilliant leaves of yellow, orange and red. Leaves changing color in the fall are a tree's way of preparing for long winter, rather like we put up storm windows and pull warm clothes and blankets out of storage.
In summer, the leaves on trees like pin oaks and sugar maples are green because they are chock-full of the green pigment chlorophyll.
Trees need sunlight to produce chlorophyll. In turn, chlorophyll uses sunlight's energy to split water （H2O） into hydrogen and oxygen. Meanwhile, leaves also absorb carbon dioxide gas from the air. The end products of leaf chemistry: carbohydrates （homemade plant food for the tree）， and oxygen, released into the air （the gas we need to breathe）。 The whole process is called photosynthesis.
Along with green chlorophyll, most leaves also contain yellow, orange and red-orange pigments celled carotenoids. Trees don't need light to make carotenoids. Botanists call them "helper pigments," because carotenoids absorb some sunlight and （nicely） pass the energy along to chlorophyll. We don't see much of these deputy pigments （carotene, lycopene, and xanthophyll） in summer, because they are masked by abundant green chlorophyll.
But the ever-shortening days of fall mean less daylight and colder weather. The average tree is rushing to save all the nutrients it can for its winter hibernation. Nitrogen and phosphorus are pulled from leaves for storage in branches. A layer of corky cells grows between the leaves' stems and their branches, reducing the leaves' supply of nutrients and water.
With diminished sunlight, water, and nutrients, chlorophyll synthesis slows. Old, worn-out chlorophyll breaks down at the usual rate--ironically, sunlight destroys it--so each leaf's stock gradually dwindles. And as the green fades, yellow and orange emerge from hiding.
Unlike the green and yellow pigments, red and purple pigments （anthocyanins, part of the flavonoid class） actually form in leaves in the autumn, tinting leaves scarlet and burgundy.
Botanists have long wondered why some trees are genetically programmed to manufacture anthocyanins in the fall. New research indicates that anthocyanins may be a tree's own sunscreen.
Anthocyanins are made in a leaf's sugary sap, with the help of lots of sun and cool temperatures. Botanists think that anthocyanins shield the leaves' fading photosynthesis factories from too much sunlight, rather like the pigment melanin protects our skin from the sun. While the red pigments act as a shield, the tree feverishly breaks down and pulls nutrients out of leaves and into its limbs and trunk before leaves drop or die.
Anthocyanins may also act like Vitamin C or E, scavenging so-called "free radicals" before they can do oxidizing damage to a fall leaf's fragile structure.
Upper and outer leaves tend to be reddest, since they are most exposed to sunlight and cold. In some trees, like sugar maples, the reds of the anthocyanins combined with the yellows of the carotenoids make especially brilliant orange leaves.
经典的英语优秀美文14
Walking by Faith
I"ll never forget the day I met her and her glowing personality. It was the beginning of my senior year of high school. I had that typical senior attitude - I was anxious, excited, a little on the proud side. I wanted to enjoy my senior year, and I wasn"t too concerned with meeting or befriending any lowerclassmen, especially not the new kids. Fortunately, my arrogance was overcome the moment I met Sarah in my computer class on the first day of school. There was just something about her. She was so friendly and sweet, and seemed genuinely excited about being at our tiny eighty-student Christian high school.
It was only ten minutes of initial small talk that endeared Sarah to my heart. She liked basketball. Basketball was one of the highlights of my childhood, and our slightly weak team was always thrilled to welcome new players.
She was taller than me by a couple of inches, and my five-foot-seven frame was unfortunately the tallest on our team. Each practice, as we worked together toward our common goal, we became closer. She was always so encouraging and positive; it seemed like nothing could get her down.
I remember vividly an early tournament we attended that December. We were playing a team that was tough. They had been our rivals throughout my basketball years. The game went back and forth, and victory was up for grabs. However, it looked like our team would not pull through. Three of our starters had fouled out, and we were falling behind until Sarah entered the game with great enthusiasm. She played well, but it was her attitude that helped us the most. "We"re going to win this!" I remember her saying. And we did! After that game, I remember admiring Sarah"s determination to succeed and her powerful encouragement. She seemed to be fearless of any obstacle she might have to face.
Unfortunately, in only a matter of weeks, she would have to face a life-changing one. Sarah was involved in a terrible car accident on her way to school. During a bad snowstorm, her family"s van skidded off the road, and Sarah was thrown several feet onto the pavement. Her major injuries included a crushed vertebrae in her neck and a bruised spine. For a day or two, no one knew if she would survive. Then the doctors told her that she would never walk again.
As soon as I heard the tragic news, my heart sank. Why did this happen to someone like Sarah? My spirits were instantly lifted, however, as I watched classmates, friends and teachers earnestly praying for Sarah"s recovery. It wasn"t until a few weeks later when a couple of my friends and I visited Sarah in the hospital that I realized the extent of her positive attitude. She had impacted her family, friends, our basketball team and even the nurses with her faith in God and her strong will to recover completely. Despite the doctor"s negative prognosis, Sarah remained calm and determined. Her faith never wavered, even though those of us who loved her most doubted that walking would ever be in her future. Sarah put herself 100 percent into getting better and walking on her own. When she wasn"t doing painful rehabilitation exercises, she was either spreading her kindness to others or praying.
It wasn"t long before Sarah was indeed walking again. She showed the same strength and devotion toward getting better as she did each time she walked onto the basketball court. She isn"t playing basketball yet, but I don"t doubt that she will be amazing us once again. Sometimes just believing can make anything possible.
[AUTHOR"S NOTE: Sarah now attends a Christian college in southern Florida. The last time I saw her was at a varsity basketball game at our former high school. Of all the people who I wanted to see during my Christmas break, she was at the top of my list. We greeted each other with a big hug, and she had that same big smile on her face - that smile that even after all she had been through, still shone courageously. She had completed her first semester of her freshman year and would be returning after break to continue her education in writing.]
经典的英语优秀美文15
Feelings, Failure and Finding Happiness
感觉、失败及寻找幸福
The world has so many lessons to teach you. I consider the world, this Earth, to be like a school and our life the classrooms. And sometimes here in this Planet Earth school the lessons often come dressed up as detours or roadblocks. And sometimes as full-blown crises. And the secret I've learned to getting ahead is being open to the lessons, lessons from the grandest university of all, that is, the universe itself. It's being able to walk through life eager and open to self-improvement and that which is going to best help you evolve, because that's really why we're here, to evolve as human beings. To grow into more of ourselves, always moving to the next level of understanding, the next level of compassion and growth.
这个世界将教会你们很多。我认为这个世界，这个地球，就像一所学校，而我们的人生就像是教室。在世界这所大学里，有些课程会是人生的弯路或障碍，有些课程则充满危机。而我所学到的应对这一切的私、诀就是：勇于面对一切挫折与危机，世界本身就是世上最好的大学。在人生的旅途中，妥对生活充满激情，并不断提高自我，这就是进化为人类并存在于世的意义。不断提升自我，去追求人生的更高境界，去追求更高级别的怜悯和自我提高。
I think about one of the greatest compliments I've ever received: I interviewed with a reporter when I was first starting out in Chicago. And then many years later, I saw the same reporter. And she said to me, "You know what? You really haven't changed. You've just become more of yourself."
我记得我所受到的最高的.赞扬之一。刚在芝加哥开始工作时，我采访了一个记者。很多年以后我们又见面了。她对我说：“你知道吗?你一点也没有变，你变得更自我了。”
And that is really what we're all trying to do, become more of ourselves. And I believe that there's a lesson in almost everything that you do and every experience, and getting the lesson is how you move forward. It's how you enrich your spirit. And, trust me, I know that inner wisdom is more precious than wealth. The more you spend it, the more you gain.
这就是我们一直努力在傲的，去做我们自己。我坚信你们会从自己做过的每一件事情上学到经验，这样你们才能取得进步。也只有这样你们的心灵才能更加丰富。相信我，内在的智慧比外在的财富更加珍贵。你运用智慧越多，你得到的也会越多。
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