第一篇 我们正在起跑点

We’re Just Beginning

Charles F Kettering

“We are reading the first verse of the first chapter of a book whose pages are infinite…”

I do not know who wrote these words, but I have always liked them as a reminder that the future can be anything we want to make it. We can take the mysterious, hazy future and carve out of it anything that we can imagine, just as a sculptor carves a statue from a shapeless stone.

We are all in the position of the farmer. If we plant a good seed, we reap a good harvest. If our seed is poor and full of weeds, we reap a useless crop. If we plant nothing at all, we harvest nothing at all.

I want the future to be better than the past. I don’t want it contaminated by the mistakes and errors with which history is filled. We should all be concerned about the future because that is where we will spend the remainder of out lives.

The past is gone and static. Nothing we can do will change it. The future is before us and dynamic. Everything we do will affect it. Each day brings with it new frontiers, in our homes and in our businesses, if we will only recognize them. We are just at the beginning of the progress in every field of human endeavor .

“我们正在阅读一本页数无限的书的第一章的第一节……。”

我不知道这段文字是谁写的，我一直很喜欢这段文字并用它们来提醒自己，那就是未来操之在我。我们可以掌握神秘而不可知的未来，从中创出我们所能想象的任何东西，一如雕刻家可以将未成型的石头刻出雕像一样。

我们每个人都是农夫。我们若种下好种子，就会有丰收。倘若种子长的不良且长满杂草，我们就会徒劳无获。如果我们什么也不种，就根本不会有什么收获。

我希望未来会比过去更好。我不希望未来会被那些充斥在历史中的错误所污染。我们应关心未来，因为往后的余生都要在未来中度过。

往昔已一去不复返而且是静止的。任凭我们怎么努力都不能改变过去。未来就在我们眼前而且是动态的。我们的所作所为都会影响未来。只要我们体会的出来，每天都可以发现新的知识领域伴随而生，可能是在家里，也可能是在我们的事业中。我们正处在人类所努力钻研的每个领域中进步的起点。

mysterious [mi'stiəriəs] adj. 神秘的；难解的

∙ adj. 神秘的；不可思议的；难解的

magic , fantastic

carve [kɑ:v] vt. 雕刻；切开

sculptor [skʌlptə] n. 雕刻家

statue ['stætju:] n. 雕像，塑像

contaminate [kən'tæmi,neit] vt. 污染，弄脏

error ['erə] n. 误差；错误

remainder [ri'meində] n.残余,剩余物

static ['stætik] adj. 静态的；静电的

dynamic [dai'næmik] adj. 动态的；有活力的

frontier ['frʌntjə] n. 前沿；边界；国境

endeavor [in'devə] n. 努力；尽力

第二篇 快乐的钥匙

A Key to Happiness

To help others, you don’t have to be an efficient expert in the art; the main thing is the intention. You may be crude and clumsy, wasteful and ineffective, but if you sincerely try to help, your attempt produces nothing but good. The one you are trying to help knows your intention and is strengthened and encouraged by the magic of your sharing. In nearly every case, your simple desire to help, converted into action, produce the good sought. But perhaps the greatest good is the good that you yourself get out of the attempt. Service to others delivers more joy to you than the joy you deliver to them. In doing good, you free yourself from the terrible burden of self; you escape from yourself into a clean world of joy and light. The good you simply try to do, regardless of the outcome, is always a success inside yourself.

Unselfish giving is your most efficient formula for happiness, for you have embraced eternity instead of self; you have felt life, and you are now the world bigger than you were before you began the project.

想去帮助旁人，你不必是这值种艺术的能干的专家，主要的是你有没有一颗助人的心。你也许是粗陋而笨拙的，徒劳又没有成就，但是如果你真诚地想帮助旁人，你的尝试必然产生善果。你所打算帮助的人晓得了你的意向，会因你公担困苦的魔力而坚强振作起来。差不多每一次，你的单纯的助人愿望，在化为行动之后，都会产生所寻的善果。但是最大的善果，也许还是你自己从这项尝试中所获得的益处。在帮助旁人的时候，你本身所获得的快乐要比你带给那些人的快乐为多。在行善之中，你便摆脱了以自我为本位的可怕重担，而进入一个快乐和光明的清新世界。只要你去试行为善，不论其结果如何，再你的心中都永远会是一项成功。

无私的给与是获得快乐的最有效率的方法。因为如果能够做到这一点，你所拥抱的已经不是自我，而是永恒；你已经感觉到生命的存在，而现在的妳的世界也比你开始行善之前还要开阔。

efficient [i'fiʃənt] adj. 有效率的；有能力的

intention [in'tenʃən] n. 意向；目的；打算

crude [kru:d] adj. 粗糙的；天然的，未加工的；粗鲁的

clumsy ['klʌmzi] adj. 笨拙的

ineffective [,ini'fektiv] adj. 无效的，不起作用的

sincere [sin'siə] adj. 真诚的；诚挚的

attempt [ə'tempt] n/ vt.. 企图，试图

strengthen ['streŋθən, 'streŋkθən] vt. 加强；巩固

desire [di'zaiə] n. 欲望；要求/ vt. 想要

convert [kən'və:t] vt/vi.. 使转变；转换…

sought [sɔ:t] v. 寻找（seek的过去式和过去分词）

formula ['fɔ:mjulə] n. [数] 公式，准则；配方

embrace [im'breis] vt. 拥抱；信奉，皈依；包含

eternity [i'tə:nəti] n. 来世；不朽

第三篇 劳动之乐

The Joy of Labor

Wise men of ancient times and successful men of today have told us that labor is sweet. Its reward is not material gain but what one becomes by it. Work does much more for us than just giving us a living; it gives us our life and the reason for living. The real joys of life come from doing something and doing it well.

All of us hope for success, but it is illusive and hard to keep. It nearly always slips away from one like sand through the fingers, like water through a leaky pail, unless it is held tight by hard work, day by day, night by night, year in year out. Everyone who fears failure should work harder and harder with a faithful heart as long as he lasts.

古时的贤达和今天的成功者都告诉我们劳动是甜美的。劳动的报酬不是物质的获得而是人们籍由劳动所达到的成就。工作所给与我们的岂止是混口饭吃；它赋予我们生命以及活下去的理由。人生真正的乐趣就是把所做的事做好。

    我们都希望成功，但成功却是虚幻且难以维持的。除非你能日日夜夜、年复一年地努力紧守成功，否则它几乎总会从你身边溜走，就如沙粒从指尖滑落，或像水从漏桶流失一样。凡事害怕失败的人应该在有生之年，一心一意地更加努力奋发才是。

labor ['leibə] n. 劳动；工作 the Labour's Day/ Labor Day/ May Day 劳动节

illusive [i'lju:siv] adj. 错觉的；幻影的；迷惑人的

slip [slip] vi. 滑动；滑倒; 闪开

leaky ['li:ki] adj. 漏的；有漏洞的

pail [peil] n. 桶，水桶

第四篇：青春

Youth

Youth is not just a stage of life; it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor of the emotions, it is the freshness of the deep spring of life.

Youth means the predominance of courage over timidity, of adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than in a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust, fear and despair—these bow the head and turn the growing spirit back to dust.

Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the love of wonder, the sweet amazement of the stars and the star-like things, the undaunted challenge of events, the unfailing childlike appetite for what-next and the joy of the game of living.

You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair.

青春不只是人生的一个阶段；它是是一种心境。它不是指红润的脸颊，红色的嘴唇和柔软弯曲的膝盖；而是指意志力、丰富的想象力、充沛的感情。它是生命深泉之清新。

青春意味着勇气胜过胆怯，冒险犯难胜过贪图安逸。60岁的人往往要比20岁的小伙子更持有这种精神。没有人只因活了若干年而变老。我们变老是因我们抛弃了自己的理想。

岁月可使皮肤产生皱纹，但是放弃了热诚则会消蚀灵魂。忧虑、怀疑、缺乏自信、恐惧和绝望-----这些都会让我们垂头丧气而且使成长的精神化为乌有。

每个人不管是60还是16，心中都有一股好奇心，对星星及星状的东西会产生一种惊喜之情，不畏惧任何挑战，对未知的事物有着孩子般用不冷却的热望，以及游戏人生的喜悦之情。

你有信心，自信和希望时，就是年轻；而你若怀疑、恐

rosy ['rəuzi] adj. 蔷薇色的，玫瑰红色的

cheek [tʃi:k] n. 面颊，脸颊

lip [lip] n. 嘴唇

supple ['sʌpl] adj. 柔软的；灵活的

knee [ni:] n. 膝盖，膝

vigor ['viɡə] n. [生物] 活力，精力

predominance [pri'dɔminəns] n. 优势；卓越

timidity [/ti'midəti/] n. 胆怯，羞怯

ease [i:z] vt. 减轻，缓和/ n. 轻松，舒适n. 胆怯，胆小；羞怯cowardliness , timorousness

n. 优势；卓越desert ['dezət] vt. 遗弃；放弃/n. 沙漠superiority , advantage , edge , dominance

wrinkle ['riŋkl] n. 皱纹/ vi. 起皱

enthusiasm [in'θju:ziæzəm] n. 热心，热情

despair [di'spεə] n. 绝望；令人绝望的人或事

bow [bəu] n/ vi.. 弓；鞠躬；

wonder ['wʌndə] n. 惊奇；奇迹/ vi. 怀疑；想知道

undaunted [,ʌn'dɔ:ntid] adj. 勇敢的，无畏的

unfailing [,ʌn'feiliŋ] adj. 经久不衰的；无穷尽的

appetite ['æpitait] n. 食欲；嗜好

第五篇 为别人而活

For the sake of other men

Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose.

From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: that man is here for the sake of other men—above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, and also for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received. My peace of mind is often troubled by the depressing sense that I have borrowed too heavily from the work of other men.

To ponder interminably over the reason for one’s own existence or the meaning of life in general seems to me, from an objective point of view, to be sheer folly. And yet everyone holds certain ideals by which he guides his aspiration and his judgment. The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty, and truth. To make a goal of comfort and happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd of cattle.

我们在这个世界上的处境是奇妙的。每个人都是来做一次短暂的访问，不知道是为了什么，不过有时似乎也会觉察到有某种目的。
　　但是从平日的生活来看，有一件事情我们是很清楚的：我们是为别人而活----尤其是为了那些我们的快乐与否取决于他们的微笑及幸福的人而活。同时，我们也为无数不知名的人而活，他们的命运借由同胞之情的维系与我们结合在一起。每天，很多次，我都会意识到我的肉体生活和精神生活很大程度上是建立在那些活着的和死去的人们的工作之上的，意识到我必须诚挚地、竭尽全力地努力去回报我所得到的东西。我经常心绪不宁，感觉自己从别人的工作里承袭了太多，这种感觉让我惴惴不安。
　　总体上在我看来，从客观的角度，没完没了地思考自己为什么会存在，或者是生命有什么意义，是非常愚蠢的行为。不过，每个人都有一些理想，来指引着自己的抱负和辨别是非。始终在我面前闪耀着光芒，并且让我充满生活乐趣的理想是善、美和真理。对我来说，以舒适和享乐为目标的生活从来没有吸引力。　以这些目标为基础建立起来的一套伦理观点只能满足一群牲畜的需要。

divine [di'vain] adj. 神圣的；非凡的

countless ['kauntlis] adj. 无数的；数不尽的

soul [səul] n. 灵魂；心灵 appeal [ə'pi:l] vi. 有吸引力,呼吁，上诉

bond [bɔnd] n. 债券；结合/ vi. 结合，团结 ethics ['eθiks] n. 伦理学；道德标准

sympathy ['simpəθi] n. 同情；慰问 sufficient [sə'fiʃənt] adj. 足够的；充分的

earnest ['ə:nist] adj. 认真的，热心的 herd [hə:d] n. 兽群，畜群

depressing [di'presiŋ] adj. 压抑的；使人沮丧的

ponder ['pɔndə] vt. 仔细考虑；衡量 ideal [ai'diəl] adj. 理想的；完美的/ n. 理想；典范

interminably [in'tə:minəbli] adv. 无限地；漫无止境地

existence [iɡ'zistəns] n. 存在，存在物；生存

objective [əb'dʒektiv] adj. 客观的；目标的/ n. 目的；目标

sheer [ʃiə] adj. 绝对的 shone [ʃəun, ʃɔn] vi. 发光（shine的过去式及过去分词）

aspiration [,æspə'reiʃən] n. 渴望；抱负

sufficient condition 充分条件

sufficient for oneself 不靠他人，不受他人影响  

necessary and sufficient condition 充要条件；必要且充分的条件

sufficient for 足够的；充分的

sufficient and necessary condition 充要条件；充分必要条件

sufficient quantity 足够的数量；适宜量

more than sufficient 绰绰有余

sufficient cause 充分理由；充足原因

self sufficient 自给自足的；极为自负的

第六篇 相信别人

Have Faith in Others

Belief is a happier state of mind than doubt and suspicion. By this I live, for if I don’t have faith in others, who will believe in me? I would rather believe in a thousand people, friends and strangers, and have 999 fail me than not believe. If many fail me, I remember how many I failed.

This is not to say that the blind belief of sentimentality, the so-called “tolerance” of the dishonest and vicious, is sensible or rewarding. There are some dark corners which do not react to sweetness and light. Belief in people should be accomplished with open eyes and clarity of judgment. But when your judgment proves bad rather than good, it’s no reason to walk thereafter with suspicion as a companion.

None knows another’s heart, his grief, his struggle, his despair and motivation. Not all our geese become swans, but one swan atones for many flocks of geese. All men share pain and mortality; some bear these better than others, and multitudes have perished spiritually for the lack of another’s belief in them.

So, I would rather be disappointed than afraid of disappointment.

相信乃是一种比怀疑与猜忌更快乐的心态。我就是本着这个信念做人处事，因为我若不信任他人，谁又会信任我呢？我宁可信任一千个人，不管是朋友还是陌生人，且我宁可有999个人辜负我，我也不愿对人不信任。如果众人辜负我，我会记得自己曾辜负了多少人。

这并非是说，感情用事的盲目相信是理性而又值得做的，这种感情用事的盲目相信就是对不诚实及邪恶的人所谓的“容忍”。总有一些黑暗的角落，在这里任凭你怎么和蔼讲理都是不起作用的。相信别人应该要擦亮双眼并有明确的判断力。但你的判断若证明是错的而非对的，那也没有理由就此便一直心存怀疑。

别人有什么样的心地、所悲为何、为什么奋斗、为何绝望、有什么动机，这些都是我们无法了解的。我们周围的芸芸众生并非个个都能成大器，但这些芸芸众生中只要有一个成大器就够了。所有的人都会遭遇痛苦与死亡，只不过有些人更善于承受罢了。而许多人因为无法获得别人的信任而在精神上形同死亡。

因此，我宁可因他人负我而失望也不愿害怕失望而不信任他人。

suspicion [sə'spiʃən] n. 怀疑；嫌疑/ vt. 怀疑

sentimentality [,sentimen'tæliti] n. 多愁善感

tolerance ['tɔlərəns] n.宽容；容忍

vicious ['viʃəs] adj.恶意的；堕落的；

rewarding [ri'wɔ:diŋ] adj. 有益的，值得的；有报酬的

accomplish [ə'kʌmpliʃ] vt. 完成；实现

clarity ['klærəti] n. 清楚，明晰

companion [kəm'pænjən] n. 同伴；朋友

motivation [,məuti'veiʃən] n. 动机；积极性

geese [ɡi:s] n. 鹅（goose复数）

swan [swɔn, swɔ:n] n. 天鹅

flock [flɔk] n. 群 (多用于禽类)

mortality [mɔ:'tæləti] n. 死亡数，死亡率

multitude ['mʌlti,tju:d] n. 群众；多数

perish ['periʃ] vi. 死亡；毁灭

spiritually ['spiritʃuəli] adv. 在精神上地

第七篇 人生之旅

We Are on a Journey

Wherever you are and whoever you may be, there is one thing in which you and I are just alike at this moment, and in all the moments of our existence; we are not at rest; we are on a journey.

Our life is a movement, a tendency, a steady, ceaseless progress, towards an unseen goal. We are gaining something or losing something every day. Even when our position and our character seem to remain precisely the same, they are changing, for the mere advance of time is a change. It is not the same thing to have a bare field in January and in July; the season makes the difference. The limitations that are childlike in the child are childish in the man.

Every thing that we do is a step in one direction or another. Even the failure to do something is in itself a deed. It sets us forward or backward. The action of the negative pull of a magnetic needle is just as real as the action of the positive pull. To decline is to accept the other alternative.

Are you nearer to your port today than you were yesterday? Yes, you must be a little nearer to some port or other, for since your ship was launched upon the sea of life you have never been still for a single moment-----The sea is too deep. You could not find an anchorage if you would; there can be no pause until you come into port.

无论你身在何处，也无论你是何人，此时此刻，有一件事于你我而言都是相同的，而且只要我们活着，这个共同点就存在。那就是,我们并非停留不前，而是人在旅途。我们的生命是一种运动，一种趋势，是向一个看不见的目标无休止地奋进。

每天，我们都有所得，也有所失。即便我们的位置和角色看似与原来无异，但实际上也是时时变化的。因为时间的推移本身就是一种变化。对于同一片荒地来说，在一月和七月是截然不同的，季节造成了这种差异。能力的局限在孩子身上被视为天真烂漫，而在大人身上则是幼稚的的表现。
我们所做的每件事情都是朝着某个方向迈进了一步。即使是失败本身，也是有所得的，失败可以催人奋进，也可以让人一蹶不振。磁针负极的作用与正极的作用都是一样真实的。

拒绝也是一种接受，只不过是另一种选择罢了。
你今天比昨天更接近你的港口了么？是的，你肯定离某个港口更近了。因为自从你的航船从生命的海洋上启航的那一刻开始，你没有哪一刻是静止的。大海如此深邃，即便你想停泊，也找不到地方；只有当你驶入自己的港口，你才能停止下来。

existence [iɡ'zistəns] n. 存在，生存，存在物 port [pɔ:t, pəut] n. 港口，口岸

tendency ['tendənsi] n. 倾向，趋势 launch [lɔ:ntʃ, lɑ:ntʃ] vt. 使…下水;发射；发起

ceaseless ['si:slis] adj. 不断的；不停的 anchorage ['æŋkəridʒ] n. 锚地；下锚

mere [miə] adj. 仅仅的；只不过的 pause [pɔ:z] n. 暂停；间歇

bare [bεə] adj. 空的；赤裸的，无遮蔽的

limitation [,limi'teiʃən] n. 限制；限度；极限

direction [di'rekʃən] n. 方向；指导

backward ['bækwəd] adv. 向后地；相反地

negative ['neɡətiv] adj. [数] 负的；消极的；否定的

pull [pul] vt. 拉；拔；拖/ n. 拉；拉力

magnetic [mæɡ'netik] adj. 地磁的；有磁性的

decline [di'klain] vi. 下降；衰落；谢绝

alternative [ɔ:l'tə:nətiv] n. 二中择一；供替代的选择/ adj. 供选择的；选择性的

第八篇 肯尼迪总统就职演说摘录

An Excerpt of John Kennedy’s Inaugural Address

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.

To those old allies whose cultural and spiritual origins we share, we pledge the loyalty of faithful friends. United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do, for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.

To those new states whom we welcome to the ranks of the free, we pledge our word that one form of colonial control shall not have passed away merely to be replaced by a far more iron tyranny. We shall not always expect to find them supporting our view. But we shall always hope to find them strongly supporting their own freedom—and to remember that, in the past, those who foolishly sought to find power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside.

To those peoples in the huts and villages across the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required.

告知诸国，不管是盼我们好或盼我们坏，我们将不惜付出任何代价，忍受任何重负，不辞艰辛的支持朋友，反对敌人，以确保自由的存续与成功。

对于那些和我们拥有共同文化和精神传统的旧盟邦，我们保证以挚友之诚相待。只要团结，则在许多合作事业中几乎没有什么是办不到的。倘若分裂，我们则无可作为，因为我们在意见分歧、各行其是的情况下，是不敢应付强大挑战的。

对于那些新兴国家，我们欢迎其加入自由国家的行列。我们要提出保证，殖民统治结束后不会有更残酷的暴政来取代。我们不能期望这些新兴国家会永远支持我们的观点，但我们却一直希望他们能坚决维护他们自身的自由----而且也希望我们自己能永远记得在过去愚昧地试图骑在虎背上仗势求权的人结果反入虎腹。

对于那些住在茅舍和乡村中，正奋力挣脱集体悲惨命运的另一半地球民族，只要他们呢需要，不管到何年何月，我们保证尽最大努力助其自救。

本文为肯尼迪总统演讲原文摘录，生词可能较多，希望大家多花点时间研究文章的遣词造句。

excerpt [ek'sə:pt] n. 摘录，引用 venture ['ventʃə] vi. 冒险；投机/n. 企业；冒险

inaugural [i'nɔ:ɡjurəl] adj.就任的，就职的 dare [dεə] vt/ vi 敢冒；不惧

foe ['fəu] n. 敌人；反对者 odds [ɔdz] n. 几率； at odds 争执 ; 不一致

assure [ə'ʃuə] vt. 保证；担保 split [split] vt/ vi.. 分离；使分离

survival [sə'vaivəl] n. 幸存，残存；幸存者 asunder [ə'sʌndə] adv. 化为碎片地；分离地

liberty ['libəti] n. 自由 colonial [kə'ləunjəl] adj. 殖民地的，殖民的

allies ['ælaiz] n. （第二次世界大战时的）同盟国

cultural ['kʌltʃərəl] adj. 文化的；教养的 rank [ræŋk] n. 排；等级；军衔

spiritual ['spiritjuəl] adj. 精神的，心灵的 iron ['aiən] adj. 铁的；残酷的/ n. 熨斗；烙铁/ vt. 熨

origin ['ɔridʒin] n. 起源；原点 tyranny ['tirəni] n. 暴政；专横

pledge [pledʒ] n. 保证，誓言/ vt. 保证，许诺 bond [bɔnd] n. 债券；结合；约定

loyalty ['lɔiəlti] n. 忠诚；忠心 hut [hʌt] n. 小屋；临时营房

faithful ['feiθful] adj. 忠实的，忠诚的 cooperative [kəu'ɔpərətiv] adj. 合作的

host [həust] n. 主人；主持人；许多 misery ['mizəri] n. 痛苦，悲惨；不幸

hut [hʌt] n. 小屋；临时营房mass [mæs] n. 块，团；群众，民众/ adj. 群众的，民众的

英语美文8篇（带翻译）