六级晨读美文：美丽英文篇(txt+pdf+epub+mobi电子书下载)

作者：新东方考试研究中心

出版社：浙江教育出版社

格式: AZW3, DOCX, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, TXT

六级晨读美文：美丽英文篇试读：

什么是美？人们的答案可能千差万别。美可以是一朵含苞待放的玫瑰，可以是清晨的阳光雨露，可以是字里行间体现出来的美好心灵，可以是历经繁华与沧桑之后仍然积极而温暖的内心……不同的人对美有着不同的定义。在美国文学家拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生看来，美是大自然通过人心的净化而形成的。创造美，是为“艺术”。其实，只要我们用心去发现，美，无处不在。Ralph Waldo Emerson拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生

All men are in some degree impressed by the face of the world; some men even to delight. This love of beauty is Taste. Others have the same love in such excess, that, not content with admiring, they seek to embody it in new forms. The creation of beauty is Art.

The production of a work of art throws a light upon the mystery of humanity. A work of art is an abstract or epitome of the world. It is the result or expression of nature, in miniature. For although the works of nature are innumerable and all different, the result or the expression of them all is similar and single. Nature is a sea of forms radically alike and even unique. A leaf, a sunbeam, a landscape, the ocean, make an analogous impression on the mind. What is common to them all—that perfectness and harmony, is beauty. The standard of beauty is the entire circuit of nature forms, the totality of nature; Nothing is quite beautiful alone; nothing but is beautiful in the whole. A single object is only so far beautiful as it suggests this universal grace. The poet, the painter, the sculptor, the musician, the architect, seek each to concentrate this radiance of the world on one point, and each in his several work to satisfy the love of beauty which stimulates him to produce. Thus is Art a nature passed through the alembic of man.

The world thus exists to the soul to satisfy the desire of beauty. This element I call an ultimate end. No reason can be asked or given why the soul seeks beauty. Beauty, in its largest and profoundest sense, is one expression for the universe.

人们对世间之美多少都有所体会，有些人甚至为之感到欢喜。这种爱美之心可谓之“品味”。另一些人爱美尤甚，不能满足于仰慕，进而寻求以新的形式体现美。创造美，是为“艺术”。

艺术作品的创造为揭开人类的神秘面纱创造了契机。艺术作品是世界的精华，也是世界的缩影。微观上，它们是大自然的产物或是表现形式。尽管自然界的作品难以计数且各不相同，它们的产物却是相似统一的。大自然包罗万象，本质相同，却又各具特色。一片树叶、一缕阳光、一道风景、一汪海洋，虽不是同一种景物，但是给人的感受却是相似的。所有这些事物的共同点在于，完美与和谐构成了美。美的标准是整个自然界万事万物汇聚在一起，没有什么单独看起来很美，只有整体才是美的。单独的物体只有在反射万物之美时才会如此美丽。诗人、画家、雕塑家、音乐家、建筑家采用不同的形式，将世界的光辉集中于一点，通过其作品满足人们的爱美之心，而这又反过来激励他们去创造美。因而，艺术就是大自然通过人心的净化而形成的。

所以世界的存在，是为了满足人们灵魂中爱美的渴望。在我看来，这是最终极的目标。对于为什么灵魂会寻求美这个问题，没有原因，也没有答案。美，从最宏大和最深远的意义上说，是一种对宇宙的表述。巧记词汇

embody [ɪmˈbɒdi] v. 体现；包括【拓】embodiment [ɪmˈbɒdimənt] n. 体现

abstract [ˈæbstrækt] n. 精华；摘要【拓】essence [ˈesns] n. 精华

epitome [ɪˈpɪtəmi] n. 缩影【拓】example [ɪɡˈzɑːmpl] n. 例证

innumerable [ɪˈnjuːmərəbl] a. 数不清的【拓】countless [ˈkaʊntləs] a. 无数的

sunbeam [ˈsʌnbiːm] n. 阳光【拓】sunshine [ˈsʌnʃaɪn] n. 阳光

analogous [əˈnæləgəs] a. 类似的【拓】akin [əˈkɪn] a. 相似的

radiance [ˈreɪdiəns] n. 光辉；辐射【拓】radiate [ˈreɪdieɪt] v. 发光；辐射

alembic [ə'lembɪk] n. 净化器【拓】purify [ˈpjʊərɪfaɪ] v. 净化趣学短语

seek to 争取，力图【例】Though that country does not seek to promote its economic strategy, it does not mean that others cannot learn from it. 虽然该国家并不寻求推广其经济策略，但是这并不意味着其他国家不可以向它学习。Once More to the Lake in Maine重游缅因湖扫码听音频

有没有那么一个地方，一旦去过，就不曾遗忘？有没有那么一个地方，无论欣喜还是沮丧，你都想要去那里与之分享？有没有那么一个地方，储存着你最美好的记忆，让你的内心充满平静与美好？在大多数人心中，或许都有这样一个地方。对于美国当代作家埃尔文·布鲁克斯·怀特来说，缅因湖就是那样一个地方。Elwyn Brooks White埃尔文·布鲁克斯·怀特

One summer, along about 1904, my father rented a camp on a lake in Maine and took us all there for the month of August. And from then on none of us ever thought there was any place in the world like that lake in Maine. We returned summer after summer—always on August 1st for one month. I have since become a salt-water man, but sometimes in summer there are days when I miss the placidity of a lake in the woods. A few weeks ago this feeling got so strong I returned to the lake where we used to go, for a week's fishing and to revisit old haunts.

On the journey over to the lake I began to wonder what it would be like. I wondered how time would have marred this unique, this holy spot—the coves and streams, the hills that the sun set behind, the camps and the paths behind the camps. I was sure that the tarred road would have found it out and I wondered in what other ways it would be desolated. It is strange how much you can remember about places like that once you allow your mind to return into the grooves which lead back. You remember one thing, and that suddenly reminds you of another thing. I guess I remembered clearest of all the early mornings, when the lake was cool and motionless, remembered how the bedroom smelled of the lumber it was made of and of the wet woods whose scent entered through the screen. The partitions in the camp were thin and did not extend clear to the top of the rooms, and as I was always the first up I would dress softly so as not to wake the others, and sneak out into the sweet outdoors and start out in the canoe, keeping close along the shore in the long shadows of the pines. I remembered being very careful never to rub my paddle against the gunwale for fear of disturbing the stillness of the cathedral…

Summertime, oh summertime, pattern of life indelible, the fade-proof lake, the woods unshatterable, the pasture with the sweet fern and the juniper forever and ever, summer without end. It seemed to me, as I kept remembering all this, that those times and those summers had been infinitely precious and worth saving. There had been jollity and peace and goodness.

有一年夏天，大概是1904年，父亲在缅因州的一处湖区租了一个营地，带我们全家人去那里度过了整个八月份。打那时起，我们都没有想过世界上还有别的地方可以和缅因州的这个湖区相提并论。后来我们每年夏天都会去那里——总是从八月一号开始，待上整整一个月。后来我成为了一名海员，但是到了夏天，有时候仍会很想念林间湖泊的宁静。几周之前，这种感觉是如此强烈，所以我又回到了我们过去常去的那个湖区，打算垂钓一周，故地重游。

在去湖区的路上，我开始好奇它如今会是什么模样。我想知道，岁月会让这个独一无二的圣洁之地——林间的小路与溪流，落日西下的山峦，还有营地和营地背后的小路——发生什么样的变化。我确信柏油路已经修到了那里，但又好奇它将以其他什么方式遗世独立。一旦你任由思绪回到过往，你会发现自己对于这类地方的记忆竟是如此丰富，这真的很奇怪。你想起一件事，这件事又会突然让你记起另一件事。我想我记得最清楚的是那些清晨，湖水平静而凉爽，卧室散发着建造木屋所用木材的香气，还有从纱窗飘进来的湿木材的味道。营地木屋所用的板材很薄，而且高度未及屋顶，我总是最早起床，所以我穿衣服时动作都会格外地轻，以免吵醒其他的人，然后便悄悄地溜出去。屋外空气清新怡人，我泛舟于湖上，湖边种植了很长一排松树，我便顺着湖岸边松树的树荫向前划。我记得自己小心翼翼，从不让船桨碰到舷缘，生怕打扰了这教堂般的寂静。

夏日时光啊，夏日时光，永恒的生活状态，永不褪色的湖泊，经年不摧的森林，永远长满香蕨木和杜松的原野，夏日时光似乎没有尽头。于我而言，正如我长久以来记忆中的那样，那些时光和夏日无比珍贵，值得珍藏，其中充满了欢乐、平静和美好。巧记词汇

placidity [pləˈsɪdəti] n. 平静；平和【拓】calmness [ˈkɑːmnəs] n. 平静，安宁

mar [mɑː(r)] v. 毁损【拓】damage [ˈdæmɪdʒ] v. 损害

tar [tɑː(r)] v. 铺以柏油【拓】tarred road 柏油路

motionless [ˈməʊʃnləs] a. 静止的【拓】motion [ˈməʊʃn] n. 移动 v. 示意

lumber [ˈlʌmbə(r)] n. 木材【拓】wood [wʊd] n. 木材

paddle [ˈpædl] n. 划桨【拓】canoe [kəˈnuː] n. 独木舟

gunwale [ˈɡʌnl] n. 舷缘【拓】gun [ɡʌn] n. 枪支

indelible [ɪnˈdeləbl] n. 永恒的【拓】forever [fərˈevə(r)] ad. 永远

pasture [ˈpɑːstʃə(r)] n. 草地，牧场【拓】meadow [ˈmedəʊ] n. 草地

jollity [ˈdʒɒləti] n. 高兴，欢乐【拓】jolly [ˈdʒɒli] a. 快乐的趣学短语

remind sb. of… 使某人想起……【例】Cary reminds me of the good old days when we were young. 卡里让我想起了我们年轻时的美好旧时光。A New Look from Borrowed Time第二次生命的启示扫码听音频

有句话说：大难不死，必有后福。在经历生死攸关的时刻后，能够有机会重新深刻地审视之前的生活，延续以往好的做法，改正错误的行为，使自己有机会为真正重要的人做更多的事情，也更好地爱护自己，这应该算是其中一种“福”吧。但是，并不是所有人都有二次审视自己的机会，所以，我们要做的是，珍惜当下，少留遗憾。Ralph Richmond拉尔夫·里士满

Just ten years ago, I sat across the desk from a doctor with a stethoscope. “Yes,” he said, “there is a lesion in the left, upper lobe. You have a moderately advanced case…” I listened, stunned, as he continued, “You'll have to give up work at once and go to bed. Later on, we'll see.” He gave no assurances.

Feeling like a man who in mid-career has suddenly been placed under sentence of death with an indefinite reprieve, I left the doctor's office, walked over to the park, and sat down on a bench, perhaps, as I then told myself, for the last time. I needed to think. In the next three days, I cleared up my affairs; then I went home, got into bed, and set my watch to tick off not the minutes, but the months. 2 years and many dashed hopes later, I left my bed and began the long climb back. It was another year before I made it.

I speak of this experience because these years that past so slowly taught me what to value and what to believe. They said to me: Take time, before time takes you. I realize now that this world I'm living in is not my oyster to be opened but my opportunity to be grasped. Each day, to me, is a precious entity. The sun comes up and presents me with 24 brand new, wonderful hours—not to pass, but to fill.

Frequently, I sit back and say to myself, let me make note of this moment I'm living right now, because in it I'm well, happy, hard at work doing what I like best to do. It won't always be like this, so while it is I'll make the most of it—and afterwards, I remember—and be grateful. All this, I owe to that long time spent on the sidelines of life. Wiser people come to this awareness without having to acquire it the hard way. But I wasn't wise enough. I'm wiser now, a little, and happier.

大约十年前，我坐在一位拿着听诊器的大夫对面。他说：“是的，你的肺上叶有一处病变，而且在逐渐恶化……”听到大夫这么说，我完全愣住了，随后他紧接着说道：“你必须立即放下工作，卧床休息。之后我们再看情况。”他没有给任何保证。

我离开了大夫的办公室，感觉就像是一个处在事业中期的人突然被判了死刑，但缓期到不知哪一天执行。我走到公园里，坐在一个长凳上，告诉自己可能是最后一次来这儿了。我需要好好想想。在接下来的三天里，我把所有的事情都处理完了，之后回家躺在床上，把手表从显示分钟调为显示月份。两年过去了，在许许多多的希望破灭之后，我离开病床，开始艰难地回归从前的生活。我又用了一年的时间才成功。

我说起这段经历，是因为那几年度日如年的时间教会了我应该珍惜和相信什么。它们跟我说：在让时间掌控你之前，你要掌控时间。我意识到我所生活的世界不是一个等待着我去打开的牡蛎，而是需要我去抓住的机会。每一天对我来说都是一种宝贵的存在。太阳每一次升起都带给我崭新而精彩的24小时——这24个小时不是用来虚度的，而是需要我去将它们填满。

我经常坐下来休息并告诉自己，要记住当下的每时每刻，因为现在的我健康、快乐，努力做着自己最喜欢的工作。这种状态不会永远持续，所以趁我还是这样的时候，我要最大限度地利用好它——在这一切逝去之后，我会记得——心怀感激。这一切都得益于我淡出生活的那几年。睿智的人不需要通过这种痛苦的方式就能懂得这个道理，但是我那个时候不够睿智。但是我现在比以前多了几分智慧，也多了几分快乐。巧记词汇

stethoscope [ˈsteθəskəʊp] n. 听诊器【拓】telescope [ˈtelɪskəʊp] n. 望远镜

lesion [ˈliːʒn] n. 病变；损伤【拓】illness [ˈɪlnəs] n. 疾病

lobe [ləʊb] n. 肺叶；脑叶【拓】lung [lʌŋ] n. 肺

indefinite [ɪnˈdefɪnət] a. 不确定的【拓】definite [ˈdefɪnət] a. 确切的

reprieve [rɪˈpriːv] n. 暂缓；缓刑【拓】receive [rɪˈsiːv] v. 收到

dash [dæʃ] v. 使破灭【拓】dash one's hopes 使某人的希望破灭

entity [ˈentəti] n. 存在；实体【拓】exist [ɪɡˈzɪst] v. 存在

afterwards [ˈɑːftəwədz] ad. 后来【拓】later [ˈleɪtə(r)] ad. 后来趣学短语

owe…to sb./sth. 将……归因或归功于某人/某事物【例】She owes her achievement more to luck than to ability. 她将自己的成就更多地归因于运气，而不是能力。Visions and Ideals愿望与理想扫码听音频

你的愿望与理想是什么？不同的人会有不同的答案。不能否认的是，不管一个人的理想是什么，他/她所取得的成就都是由自己心中的愿望和理想所决定的。一个人可能暂时处于低谷，但只要他/她有远大的理想并不断为之而努力，总会越来越靠近成功。梦想是现实的萌芽。James Allen詹姆斯·艾伦

He who cherishes a beautiful vision and a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it. Columbus cherished a vision of another world, and he discovered it; Copernicus fostered the vision of a multiplicity of worlds and a wider universe, and he revealed it.

The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.

Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not long remain so if you perceive an ideal and strive to reach it. You cannot travel within and stand still without. And you, too, youthful reader, will realize the vision of your heart, be it base or beautiful, or a mixture of both, for you will always gravitate toward that which you, secretly, most love. Into your hands will be placed the exact results of your own thoughts, you will receive that which you earn; no more, no less. Whatever your present environment may be, you will fall, remain, or rise with your thoughts, your vision, your ideal. You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration.

The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent, seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of fortune, and chance. Seeing a man grown rich, they say, “How lucky he is!” Observing another become intellectual, they exclaim, “How highly favored he is!”

In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength of the effort is the measure of the result. Chance is not. Gifts, powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of effort; they are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realized.

The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart—this your will build your life by, this you will become.

心中珍藏着美好愿望和崇高理想的人，终有一天会将它们变成现实。哥伦布怀着对另一个世界的愿景，于是他发现了新大陆；哥白尼想象着有多重世界，想象着宇宙范围其实更大，而他后来确实揭示了这一点。

最伟大的成就最初并在一段时间里只是一个梦想。橡树从橡子里萌发，小鸟需要等待破壳而出，苏醒的天使诞生自心灵最崇高的愿望。梦想是现实的萌芽。

你当前的处境也许并不顺遂，但是如果你心怀梦想，并为了实现梦想而努力奋斗，那么这种状况很快就会改变。一个人的内心在发生变化的时候，他的外在也会发生变化。而你们也一样，年轻的读者们，不论你们心中的理想是渺小还是绚丽，或者两者兼而有之，因为你终将被心里的最爱所吸引，所以那梦想也终究会实现。你双手中握着的将会是你自己思想的结果，你的收获也都是自己争取来的，不会多也不会少。不管你现在身处什么样的环境，你都会跟随你的思想、愿望和理想起起落落或者原地不动。你可以变得像你那被约束的心愿那样渺小，也可以变得像你那崇高的抱负那般伟大。

那些轻率、无知和懒惰的人，只能看见事情的表面，而看不到事物本身，总是认为一切都是靠运气、命运和机会。看到别人变得富有，他们会说：“他太幸运了！”看到一个人变得聪明睿智，他们会惊呼：“上天真是眷顾他啊！”

人类所有的事情都需要人们自己去付出努力，也都会产生结果，而衡量结果的标准便是为之努力的程度，而不是运气。天赋、力量、物质、智慧和精神财富都是努力的结果；它们是被付诸实践的想法，是被完成的目标，是被实现的愿望。

塑造你的生命和未来的，便是你心中崇尚的愿望和理想。巧记词汇

lofty [ˈlɒfti] a. 崇高的【拓】loft [lɒft] n. 阁楼；顶楼

foster [ˈfɒstə(r)] v. 抱有（希望）【拓】cultivate [ˈkʌltɪveɪt] v. 培养

multiplicity [ˌmʌltɪˈplɪsəti] n. 多重性【拓】multiple [ˈmʌltɪpl] a. 多重的

acorn [ˈeɪkɔːn] n. 橡子【拓】oak [əʊk] n. 橡树

uncongenial [ˌʌnkənˈdʒiːniəl] a. 不称心的【拓】pleasant [ˈpleznt] a. 惬意的

gravitate [ˈɡrævɪteɪt] v. 被吸引到【拓】attract [əˈtrækt] v. 吸引

indolent [ˈɪndələnt] a. 懒惰的【拓】diligent [ˈdɪlɪdʒənt] a. 勤勉的

glorify [ˈɡlɔːrɪfaɪ] v. 崇尚【拓】glorious [ˈɡlɔːriəs] a. 光荣的

enthrone [ɪnˈθrəʊn] v. 崇拜；立……为王【拓】admire [ədˈmaɪə(r)] v. 崇敬趣学短语

strive to do sth. 努力做某事【例】Though it might be difficult, I hope you could strive to make the best of life. 我希望你能够努力过好人生的每一天，虽然要做到这一点可能并不容易。Circles圆扫码听音频

我们能见到很多和“圆”有关的词，也经常说为人处世要圆润一点。圆作为一种简单的图形，却有着极为深刻的寓意：它无处不在，每个圆的外面都会有新的圆；自然界中没有尽头，每一个终点都是另一个起点，每一个深处都会有更深处……Ralph Waldo Emerson拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生

The eye is the first circle; the horizon which it forms is the second; and throughout nature this primary figure is repeated without end. It is the highest emblem in the cipher of the world. St. Augustine described the nature of God as a circle whose centre was everywhere and its circumference nowhere. We are all our lifetime reading the copious sense of this first of forms. One moral we have already deduced in considering the circular or compensatory character of every human action. Another analogy we shall now trace, that every action admits of being outdone. Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle another be drawn; that there is no end in nature, but every end is a beginning; that there is always another dawn risen on mid-noon, and under every deep a lower deep opens.

The difference between talents and character is adroitness to keep the old and trodden round, and power and courage to make a new road to new and better goals. Character makes an overpowering present; a cheerful, determined hour, which fortifies all the company by making them see that much is possible and excellent that was not thought of. Character dulls the impression of particular events. When we see the conqueror we do not think much of any one battle or success. We see that we had exaggerated the difficulty. It was easy to him. The great man is not convulsible or tormentable; events pass over him without much impression. People say sometimes, “See what I have overcome; see how cheerful I am; see how completely I have triumphed over these black events.” Not if they still remind me of the black event. True conquest is the causing the calamity to fade and disappear as an early cloud of insignificant result in a history so large and advancing.

The one thing which we seek with insatiable desire is to forget ourselves, to be surprised out of our propriety, to lose our sempiternal memory and to do something without knowing how or why; in short to draw a new circle. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

眼睛是第一个圆，眼睛所形成的视野是第二个圆；在自然界中这个形状无休止地重复。在世界的密码中，圆是一种最高形式的象征。圣奥古斯丁将上帝的本质形容为一个圆，其中心无所不在，圆周却无处可寻。我们终其一生都在阅读这个形状的丰富含义。通过每一个人类行为的循环和相互补偿的本质，我们已经推导出一个寓意。现在我们描绘另一个类推，那就是每个行为都将被超越。我们的生命就是对真理的追求，每个圆的外面都会有新的圆；自然界中没有尽头，每一个终点都是另一个起点；每个正午时分总会有另一道曙光冉冉升起，每一个深处都会有更深处。

天才和杰出人物的差异在于杰出人物既能机敏地维持原状，行事圆滑，又有力量和勇气去开拓新的道路，实现更远大的目标。杰出人物创造压倒一切的现在，在一个快乐而坚决的时刻，他让世人看到，他们没想过的很多事情是可以实现的，并且可以做得很好。杰出人物淡化了人们对特殊事件的印象。当我们看到征服者，我们不会想到任何一场战争或胜利。我们发现其实是我们自己夸大了困难，那对他来说其实很容易。伟大的人是无法撼动的，对他们来说，所有的事情都恰似过眼云烟。人们有时候说：“看看我所经历的，看看我如今多么快乐，看我是多么彻底地战胜了这些磨难。”他们这么说只会提醒我他根本还没有战胜它们。真正的征服是让灾难淡去，如同微不足道的云朵消失在如此宏大和滚滚向前的历史中。

我们穷尽一生所追求的是忘我的境界，超越舒适区，失去永恒的记忆，全情投入不问缘由，简言之就是画一个新的圆。没有热情难成大事。巧记词汇

circumference [səˈkʌmfərəns] n. 圆周【拓】diameter [daɪˈæmɪtə(r)] n. 直径

copious [ˈkəupɪəs] a. 丰富的【拓】abundant [əˈbʌndənt] a. 大量的

deduce [dɪˈdjuːs] v. 推论，演绎【拓】infer [ɪnˈfɜː(r)] v. 推断

analogy [əˈnælədʒɪ] n. 相似，类比【拓】similar [ ˈsɪmələ(r) ] a. 相似的

adroitness [əˈdrɔɪtnəs] n. 灵巧【拓】clumsy [ˈklʌmzi ] a. 笨拙的

tread [tred] v. 行事；行走【拓】behave [bɪˈheɪv] v. 行事

overpowering [ˌəʊvəˈpaʊərɪŋ] a. 压倒性的【拓】overwhelming [ˌəʊvəˈwelmɪŋ] a. 压倒性的

fortify [ˈfɔːtɪfaɪ] v. 激励，鼓舞【拓】encourage [ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ] v. 激励

convulsible [kənˈvʌlsəbl] a. 可撼动的【拓】convulse [kənˈvʌls] v. 使震动

insatiable [ɪnˈseɪʃəbl] a. 极贪心的【拓】greed [ɡriːd] n. 贪婪，贪心趣学短语

triumph over 战胜【例】The movie strengthen our belief that justice will ultimately triumph over evil. 这部电影强化了我们的一个信念：正义终将战胜邪恶。Two Sorts of People in the World世界上的两种人扫码听音频

面对同样的事情，不同的人会有不同的感受。就像，阳光普照大地，有人觉得温暖舒适，有人却觉得燥热难耐。出现这样的差异，和财富无关，和身体健康与否无关，而在于人的心态。有的人能够看到积极的一面，因此快乐常在；有的人只能看到消极的一面，所以总是沮丧。让我们用积极的心态去感知这个世界。Benjamin Franklin本杰明·富兰克林

There are two sorts of people in the world, who with equal degrees of health, and wealth, and the other comforts of life, become, the one happy, and the other miserable. This arises very much from the different views in which they consider things, persons, and events; and the effect of those different views upon their own minds.

In whatever situation men can be placed, they may find conveniences and inconveniencies; in whatever company, they may find persons and conversation more or less pleasing; at whatever table, they may meet with meats or drinks of better and worse taste, dishes better or worse dressed; in whatever climate they will find good and bad weather; in every poem or work of genius they may see faults and beauties; in almost every face and every person, they may discover fine features and effects, good and bad qualities.

Under these circumstances, the two kinds of people above mentioned fix their attention, those who are to be happy, on the conveniences of things, the pleasant parts of conversation, the well-dressed dishes, the goodness of the wines, the fine weather, and enjoy all with cheerfulness. Those who are to be unhappy, think and speak only of the contraries. Hence they are continually discontented themselves, and by their remarks sour the pleasures of society, offend personally many people, and make themselves everywhere disagreeable. If this turn of mind were founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. But as the disposition to critics, or be disgusted, is perhaps taken up originally by imitation, and is unawares grown into a habit, which those at present strong may nevertheless be cured when those who have it are convinced of its bad effects on their felicity.

世界上有两种人，他们的身体同样健康，拥有同等的财富和生活舒适度，但是一种人感觉幸福快乐，而另一种人则感觉痛苦万分。这主要是源于他们在各种事情、人和事件等方面的观点不同，这些不同的观点对他们的思想所产生的影响也不一样。

一个人无论处于什么样的情形之下，都会遇到顺境和逆境；无论在什么场合，所接触到的人和进行的交谈，多少总会有让人高兴或者烦心的；无论在什么餐桌上，都会遇到可口或者不可口的酒肉，也有精美的和难看的菜肴；无论在哪种气候地带，都会有好天气和坏天气；在天才的诗歌或作品中，也总有写得糟糕和精彩的地方；几乎在每个人的脸上和身上，也都能找到长处和缺憾。

在这些情景之中，上述两种人各自的关注点不同，那些快乐的人看到的是事物好的一面、交谈中令人愉快的内容、精美的菜肴、美酒、好天气，并享受这一切令人高兴的事物。而那些不开心的人则只能看到相反的一面。于是他们总是让自己感到不满意，他们的言论在社交场合会大煞风景，冒犯很多人，使他们自己无论走到哪里都不受欢迎。如果这种性情是与生俱来的，那么这些不开心的人可能会更加值得同情。但是如果那种爱评论、令人反感的性情起初只是源自模仿他人，后来不知不觉地养成了习惯，那么，只要有这种坏习惯的人能够意识到它会有损他们的快乐心情，就还是可以得到矫正的，即便是这种性情已经根深蒂固。巧记词汇

miserable [ˈmɪzrəbl] a. 痛苦的【拓】unhappy [ʌnˈhæpi] a. 不快乐的

convenience [kənˈviːniəns] n. 自在；舒适；便利【拓】convenient [kənˈviːniənt] a. 方便的

cheerfulness [ˈtʃɪəfəlnəs] n. 高兴；愉快【拓】cheerful [ˈtʃɪəfl] a. 高兴的

discontent [ˌdɪskənˈtent] v. 使不满【拓】discontented [ˌdɪskənˈtentɪd] a. 不满的

sour [ˈsaʊə(r)] v.（使）变糟【拓】worsen [ˈwɜːsn] v. 使恶化

disagreeable [ˌdɪsəˈɡriːəbl] a. 难相处的【拓】agreeable [əˈɡriːəbl] a. 怡人的

disposition [ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃn] n. 性情，性格【拓】character [ˈkærəktə(r)] n. 性格

disgust [dɪsˈɡʌst] v. 使反感【拓】disgusting [dɪsˈɡʌstɪŋ] a. 令人厌恶的

felicity [fəˈlɪsəti] n. 幸福，快乐【拓】happiness [ˈhæpinəs] n. 幸福，快乐趣学短语

be convinced of 使确信；使认识到【例】After seeing the doctor, he was convinced of the harmful impact of staying up late and decided to get rid of the bad habit. 去医院看过大夫之后，他认识到了熬夜的不良影响，并决定改掉这个坏习惯。First Snow初雪扫码听音频

冬天虽然寒冷，却也是很多人最爱的季节。小时候，每到冬天，一家老小就会盼望着雪的到来，仿佛只有当大地完全被白雪覆盖，才算得上是货真价实的冬天。初雪的到来尤其令人兴奋。那空中飞舞的一片片雪花，就像是我们内心那一个个快乐的精灵，精心地装扮着这个广袤的世界。冬日初雪过后，围坐在炉火边喝一杯热茶是那般舒适。Gilean Douglas吉琳·道格拉斯

One evening I look out the window of my secluded cabin, and there are soft languid flakes falling in the golden lamplight. They fall all night, while the voice of the Teal River becomes more and more hushed and the noises of the forest die away. By dawn, the whole world of stream and wood and mountain has been kindled to a white flame of beauty.

I go out in the early morning and there is such silence that even breath is a profanation. The mountain to the north has a steel-blue light on it, and to the west the sky still holds something of the darkness of the night. To the east and the south a faint pink is spreading. I look up and see the morning star keeping white watch over a white world.

After heavy snowfalls, it is the evergreens that are the loveliest, with their great white branches weighted down until they are almost parallel with the trunks. They seem like giant birds with their wings folded against the cold.

The sky is clear blue now and the sun has flung diamonds down on meadow and bank and wood. The silence is dense and deep. Even

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