[荐]英语经典美文15篇_佳句推荐

[荐]英语经典美文15篇

　　The good books of the hour, then, --I do not speak of the bad ones—is simply the useful or pleasant talk of some person whom you cannot otherwise converse with, printed for you. Very useful often, telling you what you need to know; very pleasant often, as a sensible friend's present talk would be. These bright accounts of travels; good-humoured and witty discussion of questions; lively or pathetic story-telling in the form of novel; firm fact-telling, by the real agents concerned in the events of passing history; --all these books of the hour, multiplying among us as education becomes more general, are a peculiar characteristic and possession of the present age: we ought to be entirely thankful for them, and entirely ashamed of ourselves if we make no good use of them. But we make the worse possible use, if we allow them to usurp the place of true books: for, strictly speaking, they are not books at all, but merely letters or newspapers in good print. Our friend's letter may be delightful, or necessary, today: whether worth keeping or not, is to be considered.

　　Something that has always intrigued1 me about Abraham Lincoln is, not surprisingly, his sense of humor. As far as I can tell, he’s the first American President to have one.

　　That’s because the term “sense of humor” really wasn’t in common usage until the eighteen-sixties and seventies. In the eighteen-forties and fifties, it was called “the sense of the ridiculous,” and didn’t have the positive connotations2 that “sense of humor” has today. Back then, what was ridiculous was what invited ridicule3. Funniness and cruelty went hand in hand. Of course, they still do a lot of arm-in-arm strolling in our day as well.4

　　Lincoln’s humor was very different because, for one thing, it was actually “humor” as the word was defined in his time. We don’t make the distinction between “wit” and “humor” anymore, but in the nineteenth century people did. Wit was sarcastic and antipathetic while humor was congenial and empathetic.5 It’s the differ—ence we note now when we distinguish between “laughing with” and “laughing at.” Lincoln was much more about “laughing with” than “laughing at.” And when “laughing at,” it was often himself he was mocking.

　　In the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, when Douglas accused Lincoln of being two-faced, Lincoln replied, referencing his homeliness,6 “Honestly, if I were two-faced, would I be showing you this one?” And, in a way, Lincoln’s face itself tells us much about his sense of humor.

　　You can comb through7 thousands of photographs of politicians, soldiers, and the like from Lincoln’s time and not find a single smile. Here’s his sourpussed cabinet.8

　　True, the extended exposures9 required for photographs of that era made smiling difficult. Yet Lincoln alone, as far as I can tell, overcame that difficulty. And though there is only a hint of smile in his photographs, it hints at what Lincoln knew too well: that, as Mark Twain pointed out, “the secret source of humor is not joy but sorrow.”

　　Interestingly, while having a sense of humor, or at least the appearance of one provided by comedy writers, has become a necessary characteristic for an American President in our time, in the nineteenth century, too much humor was considered a liability.10 And that was the case for Lincoln. A journalist covering the Lincoln-Douglas debates commented that “I could not take a real personal liking to the man, owing to an inborn weakness for which he was even then notorious and so remained during his great public career, he was inordinately fond of jokes, anecdotes, and stories.”11

　　There’s hoping that our age might have a more favorable feeling towards him

　　"Time" says the proverb "is money". This means that every moment well spent may put some money into our pockets. If our time is usefully employed, it will either turn out some useful and important piece of work which will fetch its price in the market, or it will add to our experience and increase our capacities so as to enable us to earn money when the proper opportunity comes. There can thus be no doubt that time is convertible into money. Let those who think nothing of wasting time, remember this; let them remember that an hour misspent is equivalent to the loss of a bank-note; an that an hour utilized is tantamount to so much silver or gold; and then they will probably think twice before they give their consent to the loss of any part of their time. Moreover, our life is nothing more than our time. To kill time is therefore a form of suicide. We are shocked when we think of death, and we spare no pains, no trouble, and no expense to preserve life. But we are too often indifferent to the loss of an hour or of a day, forgetting that our life is the . .

　　sum total of the days and of the hours we live. A day of an hour wasted is therefore so much life forfeited. Let us bear this in mind, and waste of time will appear to us in the light of a crime as culpable as suicide itself. (250 words)

　　However mean your life is,meet it and live it ;do not shun it and call it hard is not so bad as you looks poorest when you are fault-finder will find faults in your life,poor as it may perhaps have some pleasant,thrilling,glorious hourss,even in a 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 town's poor seem to me often to live the most independent lives of be they are simply great enough to receive without misgiving.

　　A cab driver taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Motivational speakers charge thousands of dollars to impart this kind of training to corporate executives and staff. It cost me a $12 taxi ride.

　　I had flown into Dallas for the sole purpose of calling on a client. Time was of the essence and my plan included a quick turnaround trip from and back to the airport. A spotless cab pulled up. The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As he got in the driver"s seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me was for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy. Well! I looked around for a "Candid Camera!" Wouldn"t you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, "Obviously you take great pride in your work. You must have a story to tell."

　　"You bet," he replied, "I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my niche in life where I could feel proud of being the best I could be. I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day"s work and done it well. I evaluate my personal assets and… wham! I became a cab driver. One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I could simply just meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be great in my business, I have to exceed the customer"s expectations! I like both the sound and the return of being "great" better than just getting by on "average""

　　Did I tip him big time? You bet! Corporate America"s loss is the travelling folk"s friend!

　　怎样令顾客满意，达到他们的期望，一个出租车司机给我上了宝贵的一课。换了是一些给公司行政人员和员工作培训的讲师，可能要收取上万的课酬才会传授这等经验。而我呢，只花了12美元的出租车费就学到了。

　　之前我为了见一个客户飞了一趟达拉斯，时间就是生命，按照行程计划，我马上又折返回到了机场。一辆一尘不染的出租车停在面前。司机随即替我开车门，确定我稳稳妥妥地坐好后才把门关上。坐进驾驶室时，他不忘提醒我，旁边叠得整整齐齐的《华尔街日报》是给我看的。接着，他拿了几盘带子出来，问我喜欢什么类型的音乐。哇塞!我到处张望，看偷拍镜头究竟藏在哪里。碰到这样的情形，你也会有这个反应吧?我简直不敢相信会享受到这般服务!我趁机和他聊了起来：“看得出你很以自己的工作为豪，这里头一定有什么故事吧。”

　　“你说中了，”他答道，“我以前也是美国商界一员，但是我已经厌倦了怎么努力也达不到别人定下的目标这种生活。我决定要为我的人生创造属于自己的新天地，在那里我可以为自己的最佳表现而感到自豪。我知道我永远也不会成为一个火箭科学家，但是喜欢开车，喜欢为别人服务，喜欢感觉完成一整天的工作而且把事情做好。算了一下手头的资产后，我就当起出租车司机了。我很清楚要干好这一行，需要做的仅仅就是满足乘客的期望。但是我要做出不一般的成绩，我的`服务就要超出顾客的期望!我不要以一般服务混日子，我喜欢听到顾客对我优良服务的赞赏和为此得到的回报。”

　　我有没有爽快给他小费?当然有!奔波各地的我就这样和这个美国商界流失的一大人才成了朋友。

　　The first Wednesday in every month was a Perfectly Awful Day--- a day to be awaited with dread, endured with courage and forgotten with haste. Every floor must be spotless, every chair dustless, and every bed without a wrinkle. Ninety-sevenjsquirming little orphans must be scrubbed and combed and buttoned into freshly starched ginghams; and all ninety-seven reminded of their manners, and told to say, "Yes, sir," "No,sir," whenever a trustee spoke.

　　It was a destressing time; and poor Jerusha Abbott, being the oldest orphan, had to bear the brunt of it. But this particular first Wednesday, like its predecessors, finaly dragged itself to a close. Jerusha escaped from the pantry where she had been making sandwiches for the asylum"s guests, and truned upstairs to accomplish her regular work. Her special care was room F, where eleven little tots, from four to seven, occupied eleven little tots set in a row. Jerusha assembled her charges, straightened their rumpled frocks, wiped their noses, and started them in an orderly and willing line towards the dinning-room to engage themselves for a blessed half hour with bread and milk and prune pudding.

　　Then she dropped down on the window seat and leaned throbbing temples against the cool glass. She had been on her feet since five that morning, doing everybody"s bidding, scolded and hurried by a nervous matron. Mrs. Lippett, behind the scenes, did not always maintain that calm and pompous dignity with which she faced an audience of trustees and lady visitors. Jerusha gazed out across a broad stretch of frozen lawn, beyond the tall iron paling that marked the confines of the asylum, down undualting ridges sprinkled with country estates, to the spires of the village rising from the midst of bare trees.

　　Passage 3. Three Passions I Have Lived for

　　Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life:the longing for love, the search for knowledge,and unbearable pity for the suffering of 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 have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy—ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of my lifefor a few hours for this have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness—that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousnesslooks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless 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 is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life,this is what—at last—I have equal passion I have sought have wished to understand the hearts of have wished to know why the stars shine ...A little of this, but not much, I have and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the always pity brought me back to of cries of pain reverberate in my 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 long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too has been my have found it worth living, and would gladly live it againif the chance were offered me.

　　When you see geese flying along in“V”formation，you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings，it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in“V”formation，the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. People who share a common direction and sense of

　　community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another. When a goose falls out of formation，it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone - and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. If we have as much sense as a goose，we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are. When the head goose gets tired，it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point. It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs，whether with people or with geese flying south. Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. What messages do we give when we honk from behind? Finally - and this is important - when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot，and falls out of formation，two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies，and only then do they launch out on their own，or with another formation to catch up with their group. If we have as much sense as a goose，we will stand by each other like that!

　　Romance of the Poor People

　　At some dusk, when I was walking in the street, I saw a young man take a woman on his back and go up to the sky-bridge. I could deduce that they are a couple come from countryside from their clothes. The man walked difficultly step by step,at the same time, his forehead is full of sweat.

　　So I walked towards them quickly and inquired carefully: what is wrong with her? Let me ask for a taxi for you. While, the man only smiled, instead, the woman on his back said to me: thank you, nothing. Nothing? It is so hard to understand what they did and said, therefore, I followed them all the time to pass the bridge. The woman jumped down from the back suddenly. Her husband as wiped and said to me: sorry and thanks a lot. We are playing game each other, it is just a game, ha ha . What? You are playing game! I was so awkward with little angry.

　　After a while, the woman explained to me, today is the date of the three anniversaries of our marriage. Tonight, We have asked for a leave to walk outside. Her husband had little money in his pocket. Yet he wanted to buy gift for me. I refused and told him, we could buy a bag of flour with it. My husband is so strong, so I asked for him to take me with his back, therefore, he took me three rounds for the three anniversaries. In addition, he has promised me that he would be able to take me thirty rounds for the thirty anniversaries, he he.In fact, in my sight, the woman is not pretty. But, at that moment, she looks seem to be a princess under the sunlight of love.

　　Said to good-bye to that couple after some greetings. I walked in the street with crowds and thought: we always think that romance relates fresh flowers, cand lelight and music. While, I never imagine this fancy romance no relations with money.

　　That is true, if we have no money to provide romance for lover, yet, we can at least take lover with our back to go up to the sky- bridge, which keeps love up to date step by step.

　　Er 8230; the loveliest house that I’ve ever lived in was one that I lived in with my grandparents when I was a child. And the name of the house was Crosslands. And I have some very happy memories of Crosslands.

　　It was, it seemed so huge to me as a child. And it had a lovely living room with a piano in it and a lovely sort of hall with lots of carpets and chests and antiques and so on. And there was a mysterious room, it was the drawing room, and we only used it on Sundays, or when the vicar came for tea, or Christmas Day or Easter Day, and I was 8211; used to be amazed about this room because it had the best furniture in it but it was covered up with sheets 8211; it was as if all the furniture was wearing clothes 8211; and it seemed to me ridiculous that we couldn’t en- joy this beautiful furniture all the week through really.

　　And probably my favorite room was the kitchen. It had a lovely red flagstone floor, which was always highly polished, and an Aga, you know one of those big cookers that heats the whole room so it was always warm there, and there was a kind of clothes-horse above it that we used to hang all our clothes on, and it was just 8211; it was lovely. It was a very warm room with baked bread and 8211; my grandmother used to make ice cream and we’d eat it in there and 8230; there was a vegetable garden leading from there so I spent a lot of time in the vegetable garden picking peas and eating them 8211; my grandmother used to get really cross with me because I used to pick all the vegetables and the fruit for our meals and then I’d eat half of them, because they tasted so delicious coming fresh from the garden.

　　Now, I went back to it a few years ago and it was a big mistake. They’ve modernized it inside, they’ve got rid of those lovely old fire- places 8230; have just gone. And they’ve knocked a wall down so the drawing room and the living room have become one big modern plastic kind of room.

　　But I think what upset me most about it was the feeling that the house had shrunk, it had become smaller and that my memory of this lovely large warm comfortable house had turned into an old house with modernized rooms inside it. And it taught me a lesson really, that you can’t go back on the past and recapture it. But there’s a beautiful memory there.

　　呃……我住过的最可爱的房子，就是小时侯和爷爷奶奶一起住的房屋了。房子的名字叫“十字地带”，它留给我一些令人非常愉快的回忆。

　　房子，在儿时的我眼里，感觉真是好大啊!可爱的起居室里摆放着一架钢琴，漂亮的大厅里有各种各样的地毯、柜子、古董等东西。还有一间很神秘的房间，就是会客厅，我们只在周日，以及牧师来喝茶、圣诞节或者复活节的`时候才用它。里面有最好家具，却总是覆盖着东西―― 就好像所有的家具都穿上了外衣，因此，那时候我一直对这间房子很好奇。不过，令我感到荒谬的是，这么漂亮的家具我们却一个星期都不能连续享用。

　　Hope is the thing with feathers

　　That perches in the soul,

　　And sings the tune without the words,

　　And never stops at all.

　　The sweetest in the gale is heard;

　　And sore must be the storm

　　That could abash the little bird

　　That kept so many warm.

　　I've heard it in the chillest land,

　　And on the strangest sea;

　　Yet, never,in extremity,

　　It asked a crumb of me.

　　希望是鸟儿，

　　在人们心灵栖居，

　　唱着无词的歌儿，

　　永无止息。

　　心灵是甜蜜的`避风港

　　只有猛烈的风暴，

　　才能威胁希望，

　　这慰藉心灵的小鸟。

　　它歌唱在最寒冷的地方

　　最陌生的海洋

　　纵然身处绝境，

　　也不索取分毫。

　　A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed,he examined it.

　　有个人，他种了一株玫瑰，并坚持给它浇水，待到玫瑰花开之际，他仔细地端详着玫瑰。

　　He was the bud that would soon blossom,but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought,"How can any beautiful flower from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?"Saddened by this thought,he neglected to water the rose,and just before it was ready to bloom,it died.

　　他看到了含苞欲放的蓓蕾，但同时也看到了茎干上长着的刺，心想，“长着这么多锋利的刺的植物，怎么可能开出漂亮的花呢？”他很伤心，开始忘记给花浇水，马上就要开放的玫瑰因此枯萎死掉了。

　　So it is with people,Within every soul there is a rose.The God-like qualities planted in us at birth,grow amid the thorns of our faults.Many of us look at ourselves and a see only the thorns,the defects.

　　有很多和他一样的人。每个人的心中都有一株玫瑰。出生时我们内心深处就有着各种神圣的特征，也长有类似玫瑰刺的缺点，但很多人在自我审视时，眼里看到的只有刺，只有缺点。

　　We despair,thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us.We neglect to water the good within us,and eventually it dies.We never realize our potential.

　　这让我们觉得很失望，认为我们不可能有什么好的成就，因此忘记了浇灌内心的`美德和优点，最终导致心灵之花枯萎死亡，未能实现自身的潜能。

　　Some people do not see the rose within themselves;someone else must show it to them.One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another,and find the rose within them.

　　很多人看不到自己内心深处的玫瑰，这需要其他的帮助。上帝赐予人类最伟大的礼物就是人类能够透过他人内心的刺发现他人心中的玫瑰。

　　This is one of the characteristics of love ,with love ,we can look at a person and accept that person into our life,knowing their true faults and all the while recognizing the nobility in their soul.We should help others to realize they can overcome their faults.If we show them the "rose"within themselves.they will conquer their thorns .Only then will they blossom many times over.

　　这是爱情最典型的特征之一，因为爱，我们才能了解对方，知道对方存在的缺点，但同时也要一直看到对方的优点，这样才能接受对方。我们应该帮助他人认识到他们的缺点是可以克服的，让他们看到自己心中的玫瑰，这样他们才能战胜自己内心的刺，才能永远花开不败。

　　The only problem unconsciously assumed by all Chinese Philosophers to be of any importance is: How shall we enjoy life, and who can best enjoy life? No perfectionism, no straining after the unattainable, no postulating of the unknowable, but taking poor, mortal human nature as it is, how shall we organize our life so that we can work peacefully, endure nobly2 and live happily?

　　不知不觉中，所有的中国哲人都认为最重要的一个问题是：该怎样享受生活？谁最能享受生活？没有至善论，没有未果的追求，没有无知的假定，仅仅是把可怜的、致命的人类本性视为生命。我们该怎样组织我们的生命，以使我们能携带着崇高平静地工作、幸福地生活？

　　Who are we? That is the first question. It is a question almost impossible to answer. But we all agree that the busy self occupied in our daily activities is not quite the real self. We are quite sure we have lost something in the mere pursuit3 of living. When we watch a person running about looking for something in a field, the wise man can set a puzzle for all the spectators to solve: what has that person lost? Some one thinks it is a watch; another thinks it is a diamond brooch; and others will essay other guesses. After all the guesses have failed, the wise man who really doesn’t know what the person is seeking after, tells the company, “I’ll tell you. He has lost some breath.” And no one can deny that he is right. So we often forget out true self in the pursuit of living, like a bird forgetting its own danger in pursuit of a mantis, which again forgets its own danger in pursuit of another prey, as is so beautifully expressed in a parable by Chuangtse.

　　第一个问题我们是谁？这是一个几乎无法回答的问题。但是，我们都认为日常生活中忙碌的自我，并不是十分真正的自我。我们相当确定，在纯粹的生活追求中我们丢失了一些什么。当我们看到一个人在一片田地中来回地寻找什么东西时，智者会为旁观者设置一个迷：那个人丢失了什么?有人认为丢了手表，有人认为是钻石胸针，还有人作着其他的猜测。然而，所有的猜测都是错误的，后来，那个其实并不知道真相的智者告诉那些人说：“我来告诉你们吧，他丢了一些气息。”没有人能够否认他的话的.正确性。因此，在生活的追求中我们往往会忘记真实的自我，就像庄子的寓言——一只鸟在捕食螳螂时忘记了自身的危险，而那只螳螂在捕捉另一只猎物时也忘记了自身的危险一样，惟妙惟肖。

　　By Pablo Neruda 作者: 帕布罗.聂鲁达

　　I want you to know one thing 希望你知道

　　You know how this is 这是我的想法

　　If I look at the crystal moon 当我凭窗凝望

　　at the red branch 姗姗而来的秋日

　　of the slow autumn at my window 红枝上的明月

　　If I touch near the fire 当我轻触火堆旁

　　the impalpable ash, 似有似无的尘烬

　　or the wrinkled body of the log 或是褶皱层层的木柴

　　Everything carries me to you 我的心儿就会飞向你

　　As if everything that exists 似乎一切都有了

　　Aromas, light, medals, 芬芳,光明和荣誉