书城外语当英语成为时尚:生活全由你创造
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第3章 If I were a Boy Again 假如我又回到童年

Anonymous

心灵寄语

假如给你一次重新活过的机会,假如你又回到了童年,你会怎么样呢?是同样碌碌无为地过一生呢?还是更加注重对自己良好习惯的培养,活出人生的精彩?

If I were a boy again, I would practise perseverance1 oftener, and never give up a thing because it was hard or inconvenient. If we want light, we must conquer darkness.

Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results.

“There are only two creatures,”says a proverb,“who can surmount2 the pyramids—the eagle and the snail.”

If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention;I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once.

The habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we begin early enough. I often hear grown-up people say“I could not fix my attention on the sermon3 or book, although I wished to do so”,and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth.

If I were to live my life over again, I would pay more attention to the cultivation of the memory. I would strengthen that faculty 4 by every possible means, and of every possible occasion. It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately, but memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble. It only needs early cultivation to become a power.

If I were a boy again, I would cultivate courage.“Nothing is as mild and gentle as courage, nothing is as cruel and pitiless as cowardice,”says a wise author.

We too often borrow trouble, and anticipate evils that may never appear.“The fear of ill exceeds the ill we fear.”Dangers will arise in any career, but presence of mind will often conquer the worst of them. Be prepared for any fate, and there is no harm to be feared.

If I were a boy again, I would look on the cheerful side. Life is very much like a mirror:if you smile upon it, it will smile back upon you;but if you frown and look doubtful on it, you will get a similar look in return.

Inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner, but of all that come in contact with it.“Who shuts love out, in return shall be shut from love.”

If I were a boy again, I would school myself to say“no”oftener. I might write pages on the importance of learning very early in life to gain that point where a young boy can stand erect, and decline doing an unworthy act because it is unworthy.

If I were a boy again, I would demand of myself more courtesy5 towards my companions and friends, and indeed towards strangers as well. The smallest courtesies along the rough roads of life are like the little birds that sing to us all winter long, and make that season of ice and snow more endurable.

Finally, instead of trying hard to be happy, as if that were the sole purpose of life, I would, if I were a boy again, try still harder to make others happy.

佚名

假如我再回到童年,我会更加经常地锻炼自己的毅力,决不因为事情艰难或麻烦而放弃不干。如果我们要光明,就必须征服黑暗。

有时,毅力带来的效果可与天赋相媲美。有句谚语说:“只有两种生物能登上金字塔顶端——雄鹰与蜗牛。”

假如我再回到童年,我会培养自己专心致志的习惯。一旦手头有事,任何东西都不会使我分心。我会牢记:一位优秀的滑冰者从来不试图同时滑向两个不同的方向。

如果及早养成专心致志的习惯,它就会成为我们生命的一部分。我常常听到成年人说:“尽管我希望能集中注意力听一次演讲或是静下心去读一本书,但往往都做不到。”原因在于,年轻时没有养成这种习惯。

假如我能重新活过,我会更加注意培养自己的记忆力。我要采取一切可能的办法,在一切可能的场合,增强记忆力。要精确地记住一切事物,起初的确要作出一番小小的努力,但用不了多久,记忆力本身就会起作用,使记忆成为轻而易举的事。只需及早培养,记忆自会成为一种才能。

假如我又回到了童年,我会培养勇气。一位智慧的作家曾说过:“世上没有东西比勇气更温文尔雅,也没有东西比怯懦更残酷无情。”

我们常常过多地自寻烦恼,杞人忧天。“对苦难的恐惧比苦难自身更加可怕。”凡事都有危险,但镇定沉着往往能克服最可怕的危险。对一切祸福做好准备,那么你就不会惧怕任何灾难了。

假如我再回到童年,我会凡事都想着乐观的一面。生活就像一面镜子:你朝它微笑,它也会朝你微笑;但如果你朝它皱眉头,用怀疑的目光看待它,它同样也会朝你皱眉头,以怀疑的目光看待你。

内心的阳光不仅温暖了自己的心,同时也温暖了所有跟他接触的人的心。“谁将爱拒之门外,谁就会被爱拒之门外。”

假如我再回到童年,我就要养成经常说“不”的习惯。一个少年要能挺直腰杆,拒绝做一切不值得做的事——就因为它不值得做。我可以写上好几页,谈谈早期培养这一习惯的重要性。

假如我再回到童年,我会要求自己对待同伴和朋友更有礼貌,而且对陌生人也要如此。在坎坷的人生道路上,最细小的礼貌犹如在漫长的冬季为我们歌唱的小鸟,使得冰天雪地的严冬变得不是那么难耐。

最后,假如我再回到童年,我不会竭力为自己谋幸福——似乎那是人生的唯一目标;与之相反,我会更加努力,让他人幸福。

词汇空间 ocabulary

1.perseverance n. 坚持不懈,锲而不舍

2.surmount v. 登上,凌驾

3.sermon n. 布道,训诫

4.faculty n. 才能,本领

5.courtesy n. 礼貌,谦恭

文化链接 Culture Background

1.埃及金字塔

埃及是世界上历史最悠久的文明古国之一。金字塔是古埃及文明的代表作,是埃及国家的象征,是埃及人民的骄傲。埃及金字塔是埃及古代奴隶社会的方锥形帝王陵墓,是世界八大建筑奇迹之一。数量众多,分布广泛,在开罗西南尼罗河西古城孟菲斯一带最为集中。到目前为止,埃及共发现金字塔96座,最大的是开罗郊区吉萨的三座金字塔。

2.《童年》

《童年》是高尔基著名的自传体小说三部曲之一,写出了高尔基对苦难的认识和对社会人生的独特见解,字里行间涌动着一股生生不息的热望与坚强。它内涵丰厚,耐人寻味,为我们描绘了一个精彩纷呈的精神世界。它通过描述一个渐渐长大的孩子阿廖沙的生活,以孩子的眼光来观察和了解他周围的世界,让我们看到了一个倔强、富有同情心和不断追求的青少年形象和他在成长期所遇到的种种问题、所经受的种种心理考验。

妙语拾珠

1.Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results.“There are only two creatures,”says a proverb,“who can surmount the pyramids—the eagle and the snail.”

有时,毅力带来的效果可与天赋相媲美。有句谚语说:“只有两种生物能登上金字塔顶端——雄鹰与蜗牛。”

2.The smallest courtesies along the rough roads of life are like the little birds that sing to us all winter long, and make that season of ice and snow more endurable.

在坎坷的人生道路上,最细小的礼貌犹如在漫长的冬季为我们歌唱的小鸟,使得冰天雪地的严冬变得不是那么难耐。