Life is a gift.docx

1、Life is a gift32 Thc happy door32 快乐之门Happiness is like a pebble dropped into a pool to set in motion an ever-widening circle of ripples. As Stevenson has said, being happy is a duty.快乐就像一块为了激起阵阵涟漪而丢进池塘的小石头。正好史蒂文森所说，快乐是一种责任。There is no exact definition of the word happiness. Happy people are happy f

2、or all sorts of reasons. The key is not wealth or physical well-being, since we find beggars, invalids and so-called failures, who are extremely happy.快乐这个词并没有确切的定义，快乐的人快乐的理由多种多样。快乐的关键并不是财富或身体健康，因为我们发现有些乞丐，残疾人和所谓的失败者也都非常快乐。Being happy is a sort of unexpected dividend. But staying happy is an accompl

3、ishment, a triumph of soul and character. It is not selfish to strive for it. It is, indeed, a duty to ourselves and others.快乐是一种意外的收获，但保持快乐却是一种成就，一种灵性的胜利。努力追寻快乐并不自私，实际上，这是我们对自己和他人应尽的责任。Being unhappy is like an infectious disease. It causes people to shrink away from the sufferer. He soon finds hims

4、elf alone, miserable and embittered. There is, however, a cure so simple as to seem, at first glance, ridiculous; if you dont feel happy, pretend to be!不快乐就像传染病，它使得人们都躲避不快乐的人。不快乐的人很快就会发现自己处于孤独，悲惨，痛苦的境地。然而，有一种简单得看似荒谬的治病良方：如果你不快乐，就假装你很快乐！It works. Before long you will find that instead of repelling pe

5、ople, you attract them. You discover how deeply rewarding it is to be the center of wider and wider circles of good will.这很有效。不久你就会发现，别人不再躲着你了，相反，你开始吸引别人了。你会发觉，做一块能激起好意涟漪的小石头有多么值得。Then the make-believe becomes a reality. You possess the secret of peace of mind, and can forget yourself in being of se

6、rvice to others.然后假装就变成了现实。你拥有了使心灵平静的秘密，会因帮助他人而忘我。Being happy, once it is realized as a duty and established as a habit, opens doors into unimaginable gardens thronged with grateful friends.一旦你认识到快乐是一种责任并使快乐成为习惯，通向不可思议的乐园的大门就会向你敞开，那里满是感激你的朋友。39. Cherish every moment39. 珍惜每一刻My brother-in-law opened

7、the bottom drawer of my sisters bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. This, he said, is not a slip（纸片）. This is lingerie（女士内衣）. He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite（精致的）; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb （蜘蛛网，蛛丝）of lace（花边）. The price tag with an astrono

8、mical figure on it was still attached. Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion. He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking

9、to the mortician（殡葬员）. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. Dont ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day youre alive is a special occasion.我的妹夫打开我妹妹书桌最底下的抽屉，拿出一个裹着纸片的小包。“这个，”他说，“不是一张纸片，而是一件女士内衣，”“他弄掉纸片，把它递给我。这是件精致的女士内衣，它

10、是用手工缝制的丝制品，齐整的镶着蛛网似的花边。衣服上甚至还钉着数额惊人的价格标签。”“这是我和简第一次去纽约的时候买的，至少是八九年以前了，她从来没有穿过，她一直在等一个特殊的场合。我想，现在该是时候了。”“他从我手上拿过内衣，把它和其他一些衣服一起摆到床上，我们要把它们带到殡仪馆。他的手在那柔软的面料上摩擦了一会儿，然后砰的关上抽屉，转过来对我说。“千万别珍藏什么东西去等一个合适的机会，你活着的每一天都是一个机会。”I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him

11、 and my niece attend to all the sad chores （琐事）that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sisters family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadnt seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she h

12、ad done without realizing that they were special.我牢记着这些话，帮着他和我的侄女处理这起因以外事故丧生后的葬礼和各种悲伤琐事。在我从妹妹居住的这个中西部地区小镇飞往加利福尼亚的飞机上,，还在回想着这些话语。我想着那些她从来没有见过、听过、或者做过的事情，我想着那些她经理过却没有意识到其独特性的事情。Im still thinking about his words, and theyve changed my life. Im reading more and dusting less. Im sitting on the deck and a

13、dmiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. Im spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor（使有风味，尽情享受）, not endure. Im trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.现

14、在我仍然还在思索他的话，他们甚至改变了我的一生。我阅读更多的东西，少了很多迷惑。我坐在草地上欣赏风景，不再去担心花园的杂草。我花更多的时间陪伴家人和朋友，不再一味的去参加无聊的会议。不论何时，生活应该是一种享受的过程，而不是忍受。我开始认识并珍视现在的每一时刻。Im not saving anything. we use our good china and crystal for every special event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia （茶花）blossom. I w

15、ear my good blazer （颜色鲜明的运动夹克）to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out（交付，支付）$28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing（畏缩）. Im not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that functio

16、n as well as my party-going friends.我不再珍藏任何东西，我用上好的瓷器和水晶器，庆贺每一件事-比如减掉了一磅体重，打通了堵塞的下水道，开放了第一朵茶花。只要我喜欢，我会穿上我漂亮的夹克衫去逛超市。我的逻辑是：如果我看上去够有钱，我会毫不犹豫地花28.49美元去买一小带杂货。我不会珍藏我的名贵香水去等待一个特殊的晚会，商店职员和银行出纳员的鼻子跟我舞友的鼻子有着同样的功能。Someday and one of these days are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If its worth seeing , hea

17、ring or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. Im not sure what my sister would have done, had she known that she wouldnt be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apolog

18、ize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. Im guessing-Ill never know.“总有一天”和“某一天”对我已失去了意义。如果某件事值得去看，去听、去做、我会立刻去实行。我不知道，如果我妹妹知道她不再拥有我们都认为理所当然会到来的明天时，她会怎么做。我想她会给家人和一些亲密的朋友打电话。她会打电话给以前的一些朋友，为曾经发生过的争论道歉或弥补关系。我想她会出去，到一见中餐厅，吃她最

19、喜爱的食物。我只是采写-永远都不会知道了。Its those little things left undone that would make me angry ,if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with”someday.” Angry because I hadnt written certain letters that I intended to write-one of these day

20、s. Angry and sorry that I didnt tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them.如果时间紧迫，而我还有一些事情没有做完，我会愤怒不已。我会为不得不把准备去拜访的朋友推延到“某一天”而恼火，为曾设想着“总会有一天”会写下来的词句，而没有写下来而生气，为没有尽可能多的告诉我的丈夫和女儿我是多么爱他们而后悔和遗憾。Im trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laugh

21、ter and luster to our lives.我尽最大的努力避免推迟,延误,或保留那些能给我们的生活增添欢乐和色彩的东西。And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is . a gift from God.每天早上，我睁开眼睛，告诉自己这是特殊的一天。每一天，每一分钟，每一次呼吸.都是上帝对我们的恩赐。欣赏完了美文，别忘了自己的目标还是学习英语哟。26 Life inspiring 26 生活的

22、启示A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her, She did not know she was going to make it and want to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.有一个女孩向她父亲抱怨她的生活，她觉得凡事都很艰难，不知该怎样挺过去，想放弃。她厌倦了不断的抗争和奋斗，似

23、乎一个问题刚刚解决，另一个问题马上呈现。Her father, a cook, took her to the kitchen, He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire .Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and in the last he placed ground coffee beans. He led them sit and boil, without sayi

24、ng a word.她的父亲是个厨师，他把她带到了厨房。他在三个壶里分别装满了水，然后放到高温的火上烧。很快，壶里的水被煮开了。他往第一个壶里放了些胡萝卜，往第二个壶里放了几个鸡蛋，在最后一个壶里放了些磨碎的咖啡豆，然后，一句话也没说，他由着水把它们煮沸。The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners, He fished the carrots out and placed t

25、hem in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a mug. Turning to her he asked, Darling, what do you see?女儿咂巴着牙齿发出声响，不耐烦地等着，对父亲的行为感到很纳闷。大约二十分钟后，父亲关掉了火炉，把胡萝卜捞出来，放到一个碗里。又把鸡蛋拣出来放进另一个碗里，接着把咖啡用勺子舀出来倒进一个杯子里，然后转过头来，对她说，“亲爱的，你看到的是什么？”Carrots, eggs

26、, and coffee. she replied.“胡萝卜、鸡蛋和咖啡。”她答道。He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots, she did and noted that they were soft .He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee .She smiled,

27、 as she tasted its rich aroma.父亲把她带近了这些东西，要她去摸胡萝卜，她摸了之后，注意到，它们变柔软了。然后，他又要她去拿一个鸡蛋并把它敲破，在把壳剥掉之后，她观察了这个煮熟的鸡蛋。最后，父亲要她饮一口咖啡。尝着芳香四溢的咖啡，她微笑起来。What does it mean, Father? she humbly asked.“这是什么意思，父亲？”她谦逊地问道。He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water, but each reacted different

28、ly. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and weak. The egg had being fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water. its inside became hardened ,The ground coffee be

29、ans were unique ,however ,After they were in the boiling water ,they had changed the water .父亲解释说，这三样东西面临着同样的逆境煮沸的水。但它们的反应却各不相同。胡萝卜本是硬的，坚固而且强度大，但受到煮沸的水的影响后，它变得柔软而脆弱。鸡蛋本来易碎，薄薄的外壳保护着内部的液体。但是在经历过煮沸的水以后，它的内部却变得坚硬。不过，最独特的却是磨碎的咖啡豆，当它们被放入煮沸的水之后，它们却改变了水。Which are you? he asked his daughter.“哪一个是你呢？”他问女儿。Whe

30、n adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?当逆境找上你时，你该如何应对呢？ 你是胡萝卜、鸡蛋，还是咖啡豆？欣赏完了美文，别忘了自己的目标还是学习英语哟。点击这里免费体验跟外教一对一的练习42Life is a gift 42享受生活Today before you think of saying an unkind word,如今，在你出言不逊前，Think of someone who cant speak.想想那些身患哑疾的人吧。Before

31、you complain about the taste of your food,在抱怨事物不够美味前，Think of someone who has nothing to eat.想想那些还在忍饥挨饿的人们吧。Before you complain about your husband or wife,在抱怨婚姻对象不尽如意时，Think of someone whos crying out to God for a companion.想想那些还在为找不到对象而愁苦的人吧。Today before you complain about life,在为生活的种种深感郁闷前，Think o

32、f someone who went too early to heaven.想想那些早已离开人世的人吧。Before you complain about your children,在为孩子不听话而气恼前，Think of someone who desires children but theyre barren.想想那些不能生育而渴求孩子的人吧。Before you argue about your dirty house someone didnt clean or sweep,在为房子没人清洁打扫而发牢骚前，Think of the people who are living in the streets.想想那些无家可归的人吧。Before whining about the distance you drive,在抱怨行车旅途太长前，Think of someone who walks the same distance with their feet.