適合孩子寒假背誦的英語(yǔ)美文6篇

01YouthYouthisnotatimeoflife;itisastateofmind;itisnotamatterofrosycheeks,redlipsandsuppleknees;itisamatterofthewill,aqualityoftheimagination,avigoroftheemotions;itisthefreshnessofthedeepspringsoflife.Youthmeansatemperamentalpredominanceofcourageovertimiditoftheappetiteforadventureovertheloveofease.Thisoftenexistsinamanof60morethanaboyof20.Nobodygrowsoldmerelybyanumberofyears.Wegrowoldbydesertingourideals.Yearsmaywrinkletheskin,buttogiveupenthusiasmwrinklesthesoul.Worry,fear,self-distrustbowstheheartandturnsthespiritbacktodust.Whether60or16,thereisineveryhumanbeing’sheartthelureofwonders,theunfailingappetiteforwhat’snextandthejoyofthegameofliving.Inthecenterofurheartandmyheart,thereisawirelessstation;solongasitreceivesmessagesofbeauthope,courageandpowerfrommanandfromtheinfinite,solongasyouareung.Whenuraerialsaredown,andyourspiritiscoveredwithsnowsofcynicismandtheiceofpessimism,thenyou’vegrownold,evenat20;butaslongasuraerialsareup,tocatchwavesofoptimism,there’shopeyoumaydieyoungat80.譯文：青春青春不是年華，而是心境；青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而是深沉的意志，恢宏的想象，炙熱的戀情；青春是生命的深泉在涌流。青春氣貫長(zhǎng)虹，勇銳蓋過(guò)怯弱，進(jìn)取壓倒茍安。如此銳氣，二十后生而有之，六旬男子則更多見(jiàn)。年歲有加，并非垂老，理想丟棄，方墮暮年。歲月悠悠，衰微只及肌膚；熱忱拋卻，頹廢必致靈魂。憂煩，惶恐，喪失自信，定使心靈扭曲，意氣如灰。無(wú)論年屆花甲，擬或二八芳齡，心中皆有生命之歡樂(lè)，奇跡之誘惑，孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一臺(tái)天線，只要你從天上人間接受美好、希望、歡樂(lè)、勇氣和力量的信號(hào)，你就青春永駐，風(fēng)華常存。、一旦天線下降，銳氣便被冰雪覆蓋，玩世不恭、自暴自棄油然而生，即使年方二十，實(shí)已垂垂老矣；然則只要樹(shù)起天線，捕捉樂(lè)觀信號(hào)，你就有望在八十高齡告別塵寰時(shí)仍覺(jué)年輕。02ThreeDaystoSee(Excerpts)Allofushavereadthrillingstoriesinwhichtheherohadonlyalimitedandspecifiedtimetolive.Sometimesitwasaslongasayear,sometimesasshortas24hours.Butalwayswewereinterestedindiscoveringjusthowthedoomedherochosetospendhislastdaysorhislasthours.Ispeak,ofcourse,offreemenwhohaveachoice,notcondemnedcriminalswhosesphereofactivitiesisstrictlydelimited.Suchstoriessetusthinking,wonderingwhatweshoulddoundersimilarcircumstances.Whatevents,whatexperiences,whatassociationsshouldwecrowdintothoselasthoursasmortalbeings,whatregrets?SometimesIhavethoughtitwouldbeanexcellentruletoliveeachdayasifweshoulddietomorrow.Suchanattitudewouldemphasizesharplythevaluesoflife.Weshouldliveeachdaywithgentleness,vigorandakeennessofappreciationwhichareoftenlostwhentimestretchesbeforeusintheconstantpanoramaofmoredaysandmonthsandyearstocome.Therearethose,ofcourse,whowouldadopttheEpicureanmottoof“Eat,drink,andbemerry”.Butmostpeoplewouldbechastenedbythecertaintyofimpendingdeath.Instoriesthedoomedheroisusuallysavedatthelastminutebysomestrokeoffortune,butalmostalwayshissenseofvaluesischanged.Hebecomesmoreappreciativeofthemeaningoflifeanditspermanentspiritualvalues.Ithasoftenbeennotedthatthosewholive,orhavelived,intheshadowofdeathbringamellowsweetnesstoeverythingtheydo.Mostofus,however,takelifeforgranted.Weknowthatonedaywemustdie,butusuallywepicturethatdayasfarinthefuture.Whenweareinbuoyanthealth,deathisallbutunimaginable.Weseldomthinkofit.Thedaysstretchoutinanendlessvista.wegoaboutourpettytasks,hardlyawareofourlistlessattitudetowardlife.Thesamelethargy,Iamafraid,characterizestheuseofallourfacultiesandsenses.Onlythedeafappreciatehearing,onlytheblindrealizethemanifoldblessingsthatlieinsight.Particularlydoesthisobservationapplytothosewhohavelostsightandhearinginadultlife.Butthosewhohaveneversufferedimpairmentofsightorhearingseldommakethefullestuseoftheseblessedfaculties.Theireyesandearstakeinallsightsandsoundshazily,withoutconcentrationandwithlittleappreciation.Itisthesameoldstoryofnotbeinggratefulforwhatwehaveuntilweloseit,ofnotbeingconsciousofhealthuntilweareill.Ihaveoftenthoughtitwouldbeablessingifeachhumanbeingwerestrickenblindanddeafforafewdaysatsometimeduringhisearlyadultlife.Darknesswouldmakehimmoreappreciativeofsight;silencewouldteachhimthejoofsound.譯文：假如給我三天光明（節(jié)選）我們都讀過(guò)震撼人心的故事，故事中的主人公只能再活一段很有限的時(shí)光，有時(shí)長(zhǎng)達(dá)一年，有時(shí)卻短至一日。但我們總是想要知道，注定要離世人的會(huì)選擇如何度過(guò)自己最后的時(shí)光。當(dāng)然，我說(shuō)的是那些有選擇權(quán)利的自由人，而不是那些活動(dòng)范圍受到嚴(yán)格限定的死囚。這樣的故事讓我們思考，在類似的處境下，我們?cè)撟鲂┦裁?？作為終有一死的人，在臨終前的幾個(gè)小時(shí)內(nèi)我們應(yīng)該做什么事，經(jīng)歷些什么或做哪些聯(lián)想？回憶往昔，什么使我們開(kāi)心快樂(lè)？什么又使我們悔恨不已？有時(shí)我想，把每天都當(dāng)作生命中的最后一天來(lái)邊，也不失為一個(gè)極好的生活法則。這種態(tài)度會(huì)使人格外重視生命的價(jià)值。我們每天都應(yīng)該以優(yōu)雅的姿態(tài)，充沛的精力，抱著感恩之心來(lái)生活。但當(dāng)時(shí)間以無(wú)休止的日，月和年在我們面前流逝時(shí)，我們卻常常沒(méi)有了這種子感覺(jué)。當(dāng)然，也有人奉行“吃，喝，享受”的享樂(lè)主義信條，但絕大多數(shù)人還是會(huì)受到即將到來(lái)的死亡的懲罰。在故事中，將死的主人公通常都在最后一刻因突降的幸運(yùn)而獲救，但他的價(jià)值觀通常都會(huì)改變，他變得更加理解生命的意義及其永恒的精神價(jià)值。我們常常注意到，那些生活在或曾經(jīng)生活在死亡陰影下的人無(wú)論做什么都會(huì)感到幸福。然而，我們中的大多數(shù)人都把生命看成是理所當(dāng)然的。我們知道有一天我們必將面對(duì)死亡，但總認(rèn)為那一天還在遙遠(yuǎn)的將來(lái)。當(dāng)我們身強(qiáng)體健之時(shí)，死亡簡(jiǎn)直不可想象，我們很少考慮到它。日子多得好像沒(méi)有盡頭。因此我們一味忙于瑣事，幾乎意識(shí)不到我們對(duì)待生活的冷漠態(tài)度。我擔(dān)心同樣的冷漠也存在于我們對(duì)自己官能和意識(shí)的運(yùn)用上。只有聾子才理解聽(tīng)力的重要，只有盲人才明白視覺(jué)的可貴，這尤其適用于那些成年后才失去視力或聽(tīng)力之苦的人很少充分利用這些寶貴的能力。他們的眼睛和耳朵模糊地感受著周圍的景物與聲音，心不在焉，也無(wú)所感激。這正好我們只有在失去后才懂得珍惜一樣，我們只有在生病后才意識(shí)到健康的可貴。我經(jīng)常想，如果每個(gè)人在年輕的時(shí)候都有幾天失時(shí)失聰，也不失為一件幸事。黑暗將使他更加感激光明，寂靜將告訴他聲音的美妙。03CompanionshipofBooksAmanmayusuallybeknownbythebookshereadsaswellasbythecompanyhekeeps;forthereisacompanionshipofbooksaswellasofmen;andoneshouldalwaysliveinthebestcompany,whetheritbeofbooksorofmen.Agoodbookmaybeamongthebestoffriends.Itisthesametodaythatitalwayswas,anditwillneverchange.Itisthemostpatientandcheerfulofcompanions.Itdoesnotturnitsbackuponusintimesofadversityordistress.Italwaysreceivesuswiththesamekindness;amusingandinstructingusinyouth,andcomfortingandconsolingusinage.Menoftendiscovertheiraffinitytoeachotherbythemutuallovetheyhaveforabookjustastwopersonssometimesdiscoverafriendbytheadmirationwhichbothentertainforathird.Thereisanoldproverb,‘Loveme,lovemydog.”Butthereismorewisdominthis:”Loveme,lovemybook.”Thebookisatruerandhigherbondofunion.Mencanthink,feel,andsympathizewitheachotherthroughtheirfavoriteauthor.Theyliveinhimtogether,andheinthem.Agoodbookisoftenthebesturnofalifeenshriningthebestthatlifecouldthinkout;fortheworldofaman’slifeis,forthemostpart,buttheworldofhisthoughts.Thusthebestbooksaretreasuriesofgoodwords,thegoldenthoughts,which,rememberedandcherished,becomeourconstantcompanionsandcomforters.BookspossessanessenceofimmortalitTheyarebyfarthemostlastingproductsofhumaneffort.Templesandstatuesdecay,butbookssurvive.Timeisofnoaccountwithgreatthoughts,whichareasfreshtodayaswhentheyfirstpassedthroughtheirauthor’sminds,agesago.Whatwasthensaidandthoughtstillspeakstousasvividlyaseverfromtheprintedpage.Theonlyeffectoftimehavebeentosiftoutthebadproducts;fornothinginliteraturecanlongsurviveebutwhatisreallygood.Booksintroduceusintothebestsociety;theybringusintothepresenceofthegreatestmindsthathaveeverlived.Wehearwhattheysaidanddid;weseetheasiftheywerereallyalive;wesympathizewiththem,enjoywiththem,grievewiththem;theirexperiencebecomesours,andwefeelasifwewereinameasureactorswiththeminthesceneswhichtheydescribe.Thegreatandgooddonotdie,eveninthisworld.Embalmedinbooks,theirspiritswalkabroad.Thebookisalivingvoice.Itisanintellecttowhichonstilllistens.譯文：以書(shū)為伴（節(jié)選）通?？匆粋€(gè)讀些什么書(shū)就可知道他的為人，就像看他同什么人交往就可知道他的為人一樣，因?yàn)橛腥艘匀藶榘?，也有人以?shū)為伴。無(wú)論是書(shū)友還是朋友，我們都應(yīng)該以最好的為伴。好書(shū)就像是你最好的朋友。它始終不渝，過(guò)去如此，現(xiàn)在如此，將來(lái)也永遠(yuǎn)不變。它是最有耐心，最令人愉悅的伴侶。在我們窮愁潦倒，臨危遭難時(shí)，它也不會(huì)拋棄我們，對(duì)我們總是一如既往地親切。在我們年輕時(shí)，好書(shū)陶冶我們的性情，增長(zhǎng)我們的知識(shí)；到我們年老時(shí)，它又給我們以慰藉和勉勵(lì)。人們常常因?yàn)橄矚g同一本書(shū)而結(jié)為知已，就像有時(shí)兩個(gè)人因?yàn)榫茨酵粋€(gè)人而成為朋友一樣。有句古諺說(shuō)道：“愛(ài)屋及屋?！逼鋵?shí)“愛(ài)我及書(shū)”這句話蘊(yùn)涵更多的哲理。書(shū)是更為真誠(chéng)而高尚的情誼紐帶。人們可以通過(guò)共同喜愛(ài)的作家溝通思想，交流感情，彼此息息相通，并與自己喜歡的作家思想相通，情感相融。好書(shū)常如最精美的寶器，珍藏著人生的思想的精華，因?yàn)槿松木辰缰饕驮谟谄渌枷氲木辰?。因此，最好的?shū)是金玉良言和崇高思想的寶庫(kù)，這些良言和思想若銘記于心并多加珍視，就會(huì)成為我們忠實(shí)的伴侶和永恒的慰藉。書(shū)籍具有不朽的本質(zhì)，是為人類努力創(chuàng)造的最為持久的成果。寺廟會(huì)倒坍，神像會(huì)朽爛，而書(shū)卻經(jīng)久長(zhǎng)存。對(duì)于偉大的思想來(lái)說(shuō)，時(shí)間是無(wú)關(guān)緊要的。多年前初次閃現(xiàn)于作者腦海的偉大思想今日依然清新如故。時(shí)間惟一的作用是淘汰不好的作品，因?yàn)橹挥姓嬲募炎鞑拍芙?jīng)世長(zhǎng)存。書(shū)籍介紹我們與最優(yōu)秀的人為伍，使我們置身于歷代偉人巨匠之間，如聞其聲，如觀其行，如見(jiàn)其人，同他們情感交融，悲喜與共，感同身受。我們覺(jué)得自己仿佛在作者所描繪的舞臺(tái)上和他們一起粉墨登場(chǎng)。即使在人世間，偉大杰出的人物也永生不來(lái)。他們的精神被載入書(shū)冊(cè)，傳于四海。書(shū)是人生至今仍在聆聽(tīng)的智慧之聲，永遠(yuǎn)充滿著活力。04IfIRest,IRustThesignificantinscriptionfoundonanoldkey“IfIrest,Irust”wouldbeanexcellentmottoforthosewhoareafflictedwiththeslightestbitofidleness.Eventhemostindustriouspersonmightadoptitwithadvantagetoserveasareminderthat,ifoneallowshisfacultiestorest,liketheironintheunusedkey,theywillsoonshowsignsofrustand,ultimately,cannotdotheworkrequiredofthem.Thosewhowouldattaintheheightsreachedandkeptbygreatmenmustkeeptheirfacultiespolishedbyconstantuse,sothattheymayunlockthedoorsofknowledge,thegatethatguardtheentrancestotheprofessions,toscience,art,literature,agricultureeverydepartmentofhumanendeavor.Industrykeepsbrightthekeythatopensthetreasuryofachievement.IfHughMiller,aftertoilingalldayinaquarry,haddevotedhiseveningstorestandrecreation,hewouldneverhavebecomeafamousgeologist.Thecelebratedmathematician,EdmundStone,wouldneverhavepublishedamathematicaldictionary,neverhavefoundthekeytoscienceofmathematics,ifhehadgivenhissparemomentstoidleness,hadthelittleScotchlad,Ferguson,allowedthebusybraintogotosleepwhilehetendedsheeponthehillsideinsteadofcalculatingthepositionofthestarsbyastringofbeads,hewouldneverhavebecomeafamousastronomer.Laborvanquishesallnotinconstant,spasmodic,orill-directedlabor;butfaithful,unremitting,dailyefforttowardawell-directedpurpose.Justastrulyaseternalvigilanceisthepriceoflibertsoiseternalindustrythepriceofnobleandenduringsuccess.04譯文：如果我休息，我就會(huì)生銹在一把舊鑰匙上發(fā)現(xiàn)了一則意義深遠(yuǎn)的銘文——如果我休息，我就會(huì)生銹。對(duì)于那些懶散而煩惱的人來(lái)說(shuō)，這將是至理名言。甚至最為勤勉的人也以此作為警示：如果一個(gè)人有才能而不用，就像廢棄鑰匙上的鐵一樣，這些才能就會(huì)很快生銹，并最終無(wú)法完成安排給自己的工作。有些人想取得偉人所獲得并保持的成就，他們就必須不斷運(yùn)用自身才能，以便開(kāi)啟知識(shí)的大門，即那些通往人類努力探求的各個(gè)領(lǐng)域的大門，這些領(lǐng)域包括各種職業(yè)：科學(xué)，藝術(shù)，文學(xué)，農(nóng)業(yè)等。勤奮使開(kāi)啟成功寶庫(kù)的鑰匙保持光亮。如果休?米勒在采石場(chǎng)勞作一天后，晚上的時(shí)光用來(lái)休息消遣的話，他就不會(huì)成為名垂青史的地質(zhì)學(xué)家。著名數(shù)學(xué)家愛(ài)德蒙?斯通如果閑暇時(shí)無(wú)所事事，就不會(huì)出版數(shù)學(xué)詞典，也不會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)開(kāi)啟數(shù)學(xué)之門的鑰匙。如果蘇格蘭青年弗格森在山坡上放羊時(shí)，讓他那思維活躍的大腦處于休息狀態(tài)，而不是借助一串珠子計(jì)算星星的位置，他就不會(huì)成為著名的天文學(xué)家。勞動(dòng)征服一切。這里所指的勞動(dòng)不是斷斷續(xù)續(xù)的，間歇性的或方向偏差的勞動(dòng)，而是堅(jiān)定的，不懈的，方向正確的每日勞動(dòng)。正如要想擁有自由就要時(shí)刻保持警惕一樣，要想取得偉大的，持久的成功，就必須堅(jiān)持不懈地努力。05AmbitionItisnotdifficulttoimagineaworldshortofambition.Itwouldprobablybeakinderworld:withoutdemands,withoutabrasions,withoutdisappointments.Peoplewouldhavetimeforreflection.Suchworkastheydidwouldnotbeforthemselvesbutforthecollectivity.Competitionwouldneverenterin.conflictwouldbeeliminated,tensionbecomeathingofthepast.Thestressofcreationwouldbeatanend.Artwouldnolongerbetroubling,butpurelycelebratoryinitsfunctions.Longevitywouldbeincreased,forfewerpeoplewoulddieofheartattackorstrokecausedbytumultuousendeavor.Anxietywouldbeextinct.Timewouldstretchonandon,withambitionlongdepartedfromthehumanheart.Ah,howunrelievedboringlifewouldbe!Thereisastrongviewthatholdsthatsuccessisamyth,andambitionthereforeasham.Doesthismeanthatsuccessdoesnotreallyexist?Thatachievementisatbottomempty?Thattheeffortsofmenandwomenareofnosignificancealongsidetheforceofmovementsandeventsnownotallsuccess,obviously,isworthesteeming,norallambitionworthcultivating.Whichareandwhicharenotissomethingonesoonenoughlearnsonone’sown.Buteventhemostcynicalsecretlyadmitthatsuccessexists;thatachievementcountsforagreatdeal;andthatthetruemythisthattheactionsofmenandwomenareuseless.Tobelieveotherwiseistotakeonapointofviewthatislikelytobederanging.Itis,initsimplications,toremoveallmotivesforcompetence,interestinattainment,andregardforposterity.Wedonotchoosetobeborn.Wedonotchooseourparents.Wedonotchooseourhistoricalepoch,thecountryofourbirth,ortheimmediatecircumstancesofourupbringing.Wedonot,mostofus,choosetodie;nordowechoosethetimeorconditionsofourdeath.Butwithinallthisrealmofchoicelessness,wedochoosehowweshalllive:courageouslyorincowardice,honorablyordishonorably,withpurposeorindrift.Wedecidewhatisimportantandwhatistrivialinlife.Wedecidethatwhatmakesussignificantiseitherwhatwedoorwhatwerefusetodo.Butnomatterhowindifferenttheuniversemaybetoourchoicesanddecisions,thesechoicesanddecisionsareourstomake.Wedecide.Wechoose.Andaswedecideandchoose,soareourlivesformed.Intheend,formingourowndestinyiswhatambitionisabout.譯文：抱負(fù)一個(gè)缺乏抱負(fù)的世界將會(huì)怎樣，這不難想象?；蛟S，這將是一個(gè)更為友善的世界：沒(méi)有渴求，沒(méi)有磨擦，沒(méi)有失望。人們將有時(shí)間進(jìn)行反思。他們所從事的工作將不是為了他們自身，而是為了整個(gè)集體。競(jìng)爭(zhēng)永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)介入；沖突將被消除。人們的緊張關(guān)系將成為過(guò)往云煙。創(chuàng)造的重壓將得以終結(jié)。藝術(shù)將不再惹人費(fèi)神，其功能將純粹為了慶典。人的壽命將會(huì)更長(zhǎng)，因?yàn)橛杉ち移礌?zhēng)引起的心臟病和中風(fēng)所導(dǎo)致的死亡將越來(lái)越少。焦慮將會(huì)消失。時(shí)光流逝，抱負(fù)卻早已遠(yuǎn)離人心。啊，長(zhǎng)此以往人生將變得多么乏味無(wú)聊！有一種盛行的觀點(diǎn)認(rèn)為，成功是一種神話，因此抱負(fù)亦屬虛幻。這是不是說(shuō)實(shí)際上并不豐在成功？成就本身就是一場(chǎng)空？與諸多運(yùn)動(dòng)和事件的力量相比，男男女女的努力顯得微不足？顯然，并非所有的成功都值得景仰，也并非所有的抱負(fù)都值得追求。對(duì)值得和不值得的選擇，一個(gè)人自然而然很快就能學(xué)會(huì)。但即使是最為憤世嫉俗的人暗地里也承認(rèn)，成功確實(shí)存在，成就的意義舉足輕重，而把世上男男女女的所作所為說(shuō)成是徒勞無(wú)功才是真正的無(wú)稽之談。認(rèn)為成功不存在的觀點(diǎn)很可能造成混亂。這種觀點(diǎn)的本意是一筆勾銷所有提高能力的動(dòng)機(jī)，求取業(yè)績(jī)的興趣和對(duì)子孫后代的關(guān)注。我們無(wú)法選擇出生，無(wú)法選擇父母，無(wú)法選擇出生的歷史時(shí)期與國(guó)家，或是成長(zhǎng)的周遭環(huán)境。我們大多數(shù)人都無(wú)法選擇死亡，無(wú)法選擇死亡的時(shí)間或條件。但是在這些無(wú)法選擇之中，我們的確可以選擇自己的生活方式：是勇敢無(wú)畏還是膽小怯懦，是光明磊落還是厚顏無(wú)恥，是目標(biāo)堅(jiān)定還是隨波逐流。我們決定生活中哪些至關(guān)重要，哪些微不足道。我們決定，用以顯示我們自身重要性的，不是我們做了什么，就是我們拒絕做些什么。但是不論世界對(duì)我們所做的選擇和決定有多么漠不關(guān)心，這些選擇和決定終究是我們自己做出的。我們決定，我們選擇。而當(dāng)我們決定和選擇時(shí)，我們的生活便得以形成。最終構(gòu)筑我們命運(yùn)的就是抱負(fù)之所在。06WhatIHaveLivedForThreepassions,simplebutoverwhelminglystrong,havegovernedmylife:thelongingforlove,thesearchforknowledge,andunbearablepityforthesufferingofmankind.Thesepassions,likegreatwinds,haveblownmehitherandthither,inawaywardcourse,overadeepoceanofanguish,reachingtotheveryvergeofdespair.Ihavesoughtlove,first,becauseitbringsecstasyecstasysogreatthatIwouldoftenhavesacrificedalltherestofmylifeforafewhoursforthisjoIhavesoughtit,next,becauseitrelieveslonelinessthatterriblelonelinessinwhichoneshiveringconsciousnesslooksovertherimoftheworldintothecoldunfathomablelifelessabyss.Ihavesoughtit,