每日一篇英语短文.docx

1、每日一篇英语短文英语美文赏读欣赏篇第一篇 Mark Twains Letter to Olivia马克吐温给奥莉维亚的一封信Livy dear,I have already mailed todays letter, but I am so proud of my privilege of writing the dearest girl in the world whenever I please, that I must add a few lines if only to say I love you, Livy.For I do love you, Livy as the dew lo

2、ves the flowers; as the birds love the sunshine;as the wavelets love the breeze; as mothers love their first-born;as memory loves old faces; as the yearning tides love the moon;as the angels love the pure in heart.I so love you that if you were taken from me it seems as if all my love would follow a

3、fter you and leave my heart a dull and vacant ruin forever and forever. . . Take my kiss and my benediction, and try to be reconciled to the fact that I am yours forever and always. Sam马克吐温对奥利维亚（即信中的Livy）一见倾心，他向奥利维亚求婚，不过遭到拒绝。不甘于此的马克吐温展开了情书攻势，向她写了184封情书。马克吐温最终赢得美人芳心，与她步入婚姻殿堂。词汇：wavelet wevlt小浪，微波bene

4、diction bendkn n祝福;恩赐;（礼拜结束时的）赐福祈祷;（大写）（罗马天主教）祈求上帝赐福的仪式Reconcile reknsal vt.使和好，使和解;调停，排解（争端等）第二篇Christmas Gifts圣诞礼物I never believed in Santa Claus. None of us kids did. Mom and Dad refused to let us. They couldnt afford expensive presents and they didnt want us to think we werent as good as other k

5、ids who, on Christmas morning, found all sorts of fancy toys under the tree that were supposedly left by Santa Claus.Dad had lost his job, and when Christmas came that year, we had no money at all. On Christmas Eve, Dad took each one of us kids out into the desert night one by one.“Pick out your fav

6、orite star,” Dad said.“I like that one!” I said.Dad grinned（露齿而笑；咧着嘴笑）, “thats Venus（金星；太白星）”, he said. He explained to me that planets glowed because reflected light was constant and stars twinkled because their light pulsed（行星稳定发光是因为反射光是持续的，恒星闪烁是因为它们的光是不稳定的；pulse：搏动，跳动，震动）.“I like it anyway,” I sa

7、id.“What the hell（没关系；不管了）,” Dad said. “Its Christmas. You can have a planet if you want.”And he gave me Venus.Venus didnt have any moons or satellites or even a magnetic field, but it did have an atmosphere sort of similar to Earths, except it was super hotabout 500 degrees or more. （金星没有像月亮那样的卫星或其

8、他卫星，甚至没有磁场，但它有着与地球相似的大气层/空气，只是它的空气超热，大约有五XX甚至更高）“So,” Dad said, “when the sun starts to burn out and the Earth turns cold, everyone might want to move to Venus to get warm（当太阳开始燃尽时地球将变冷，生活在地球上的每个人都可能会想搬到金星上取暖）. And theyll have to get permission from your descendants first（这样的话，他们得先经过你的子孙的同意）.”We lau

9、ghed about all the kids who believed in the Santa myth and got nothing for Christmas but a bunch of cheap plastic toys（一堆廉价的塑料玩具）. “Years from now, when all the junk they got is broken and long forgotten,” Dad said, “youll still have your stars（再过些年，他们所得到的垃圾玩具都坏了，而后被他们抛在脑后，”爸爸说，“你们的星星却还是你们的）.”本文节选自玻

10、璃城堡。该书是美国记者珍妮特沃尔斯的一本传记回忆录，讲述了作者的家庭背景和成长经历。该书一出版便蝉联纽约时报畅销书榜，作者也因此在文坛名声大振。第三篇Twenty Dollars 二十美元A well-known speaker started off （开始活动，动身；进行或开展起来）his seminar（研讨会，讨论会，培训会） by holding up（举起，抬起）a $20 bill.In the room of 200, he asked. “Who would like this $20 bill?”Hands started going up. He said, “I am

11、going to give this $20 bill to one of you. But first, let me do this.”He proceeded（继而）to crumple（弄皱；使变得皱巴巴的）the 20 dollar note. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air.“Well,” he replied, “what if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and started to grind（磨碎，碾碎，摩擦发出

12、刺耳声）it into the floor with his shoe.He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?”Still the hands went up in the air.“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was stil

13、l worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way（来临；遇到；碰到；意外落在头上；偶尔发生在身上）. We feel as though we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.Dirt

14、y or clean, crumpled or finely（成颗粒地；细微地；细小地；华丽地；优雅地；精致地；精巧地；精确地）creased（弄皱，压褶，使起褶子）, you are still priceless to those who love you.The worth of our lives comes, not in what we do or who we know, but in who we are.You are special; dont ever forget it.第四篇Things I Hate about You我恨你的十件事来源: 电影我恨你的十件事I ha

15、te the way you talk to me,And the way you cut your hair.I hate the way you drive my car,I hate it when you stare.I hate your big dumb combat boots（兵靴；作战靴；军靴）,And the way you read my mind.I hate you so much it makes me sick,it even makes me rhyme.I hate the way youre always right,I hate it when you l

16、ie.I hate it when you make me laugh,Even worse when you make me cry.I hate it when youre not around,And the fact that you didnt call.But mostly I hate the way I dont hate you,Not even close,Not even a little bit,Not even at all.恨是爱的绝对反义词吗？也许不是。它是爱的另一种表达方式，一种反向表达。在电影中，性格一向高傲的女主站在讲台上，当着全班师生的面念出写给男主的这首

17、诗，坦诚对方在自己心中的位置。此时我们或许应该知道：我恨你恰恰是因为我太过爱你。第五篇A Forever Friend一个永远的朋友Sometimes in life, you find a special friend.Someone who changes your life just by being part of it.Someone who makes you laugh until you cant stop.Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world.Someone who convi

18、nces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it.This is forever friendship.When youre down and the world seems dark and empty, your forever friend lifts you up in spirit and makes that dark and empty world suddenly seem bright and full.Your forever friend gets you thro

19、ugh the hard times, the sad times and the confused times.If you turn and walk away, your forever friend follows.If you lose your way, your forever friend guides you and cheers you on.Your forever friend holds your hand and tells you that everything is going to be okay.And if you find such a friend,

20、you feel happy and complete because you need not worry.You have a forever friend, and forever has no end.第六篇 The Price of A Mothers Love母爱的价格A little boy went up to his mother and he handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on.This is what it said:For cutting the grass $5.00For cleaning

21、my room this week $1.00For going to the store for you $0.50Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping $0.25Taking out the garbage $1.00For getting a good report card $5.00For cleaning up and raking the yard $2.00Total Owed: $14.75Well, his mother looked at him standing there expectantly, an

22、d you could see the memories flashing through her mind.So she picked up the pen, turned over the paper hed written on and this is what she wrote:For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me, no charge.For all the nights that Ive sat up with you, doctored you and prayed for you,

23、 no charge.For all the trying times, and all the tears that youve caused through the years, theres no charge.For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were ahead, no charge.For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose, theres no charge, son.And when you add

24、 it all up, the full cost of real love is no charge.When he finished reading what his mother had written, there were great big tears in his eyes.And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote: ALREADY PAID.能力提升篇第1篇 The Bird Jingwei Trying to Fill the Sea（精卫填海）Once upon a time, the younge

25、st daughter of Emperor Yan, legendary ruler of primitive China, went boating on the Eastern Sea. While she was enjoying herself, a strong wind rose on the sea and her boat capsized. Just before she was buried by the surging waves, her spirit turned into a beautiful bird. As it flew over the roaring

26、sea, it cried sadly in the sound “jinwei, jingwei”. That was why people called it “Jingwei”.The bird lived on a mountain near the sea. It hated the sea so much that it decided to fill it up. Every day, it flew to and fro between the mountain and the sea, carrying in a twig or a pebble from the mount

27、ain and dropping it into the sea.从前，炎帝（传说中中国原始社会的统治者）的小女儿在东海上划船。正当她划得高兴时，海面上突然升起一阵大风，把她的小船弄翻了。就在她要被汹涌的波浪吞 没时，她的灵魂变成了一只美丽的小鸟。它飞过那咆哮的海面，伤心的叫着精卫，精卫的声音。所以人们就叫她精卫。 精卫鸟住在靠海的一座山上。它非常恨大海，所以决心要把它填平。它每天来回于山海之间，把从山上衔来的小树枝和小石子扔在大海里。 One day, the roaring sea said to Jingwei, Poor little bird, stop doing that mea

28、ningless thing! Youll never fill me up. Jingwei replied, Ill fill you up no doubt! I will, even if itll take me thousands of years! Ill fight on until doomsday! The brave little bird kept carrying twigs and pebbles from the mountain to the Eastern Sea without taking a rest. From this fable comes the

29、 idiom The bird Jingwei trying to fill the sea. We use it to describe people who are firm and indomitable and will not stop until they reach their goal. 一天，咆哮的大海对精卫说：可怜的小鸟，停止你那无谓的举动吧！你是永远都填不平我的。 精卫回答说：我当然会把你填平的！即使这需要千千万万年的时间，我也一定会斗争到底，直到你的末日来临！ 这只勇敢的小鸟继续从山上衔来小树枝和小石子，扔到东海中，从未有片刻休息。 精卫填海这个成语就是由这个传说而来的

30、，形容那些坚定不移，不屈不挠，不到目的决不罢休的人。词汇：legendary传奇的;传说的;极其著名的primitive 原始的;发展水平低的;落后的;生物学原生的capsized vt.& vi. 倾覆;使（船或车）翻surging（波涛等）汹涌的waves波浪roaring喧哗的;风哮雨嚎的；怒吼的；咆哮的to and fro 来回地，往复地；来来回回地twig 细枝，嫩枝pebble 卵石第二篇 螃蟹鲁迅The Crab-by Lu Xun An old crab grew restless. Finding himself stiff all over, he knew it was

31、time for him to moult his shell. He dashed here and there in search of a cave to hide. He was going to block up the mouth of the cave so that he could moult in secret. He knew it would be very dangerous to shed his shell in the open because，with his new shell still being soft，he might be eaten up by

32、 other crabs. This fear was not groundless for he himself had really seen it happen to other moulting crabs. The old crab kept moving about in a hurry. A nearby crab asked, “Hey，brother, whats the rush?”老螃蟹觉得不安了，觉得全身太硬了，自己知道要脱壳了。他跑来跑去的寻。他想寻一个窟穴，躲了身子，将石子堵了穴口，隐隐的蜕壳。他知道外面蜕壳是危险的。身子还软，要被别的螃蟹吃去的。这并非空害怕，他实在亲眼见过。他慌慌张张地走。旁边的