2013--2014背诵文章

A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps; for there is a companionship of books as well

as of men; and one should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men.

A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the same today that it always was, and it will never change. It is the most patient and cheerful of companions. It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity or distress. It always receives us with the same kindness; amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.

Men often discover their affinity to each other by the mutual love they have for a book just as two persons sometimes discover a friend by the admiration which both entertain for a third. There is an old proverb, ‗Love me, love my dog.‖ But there is more wisdom in this:‖ Love me, love my book.‖ The book is a truer and higher bond of union. Men can think, feel, and sympathize with each other through their favorite author. They live in him together, and he in them.

通常看一个读些什么书就可知道他的为人，就像看他同什么人交往就可知道他的为人一样，因为有人以人为伴，也有人以书为伴。无论是书友还是朋友，我们都应该以最好的为伴。

好书就像是你最好的朋友。它始终不渝，过去如此，现在如此，将来也永远不变。它是最有耐心，最令人愉悦的伴侣。在我们穷愁潦倒，临危遭难时，它也不会抛弃我们，对我们总是一如既往地亲切。在我们年轻时，好书陶冶我们的性情，增长我们的知识；到我们年老时，它又给我们以慰藉和勉励。

人们常常因为喜欢同一本书而结为知已，就像有时两个人因为敬慕同一个人而成为朋友一样。有句古谚说道：―爱屋及乌。‖ 其实―爱我及书‖这句话蕴涵更多的哲理。书是更为真诚而高尚的情谊纽带。人们可以通过共同喜爱的作家沟通思想，交流感情，彼此息息相通，并与自己喜欢的作家思想相通，情感相融。

好书常如最精美的宝器，珍藏着人生的思想精髓，因为人生的境界主要就在于其思想的境界。因此，最好的书是金玉良言和崇高思想的宝库，这些良言和思想若铭记于心并多加珍视，就会成为我们忠实的伴侣和永恒的慰藉。

书籍具有不朽的本质，是为人类努力创造的最为持久的成果。寺庙会倒坍，神像会朽烂，而书却经久长存。对于伟大的思想来说，时间是无关紧要的。多年前初次闪现于作者脑海的伟大思想今日依然清新如故。时间惟一的作用是淘汰不好的作品，因为只有真正的佳作才能经世长存。

书籍把我们引入最理想的社会，使我们置身于历代伟人巨匠之间，如闻其声，如观其行，如见其人，同他们情感交融，悲喜与共，感同身受。我们觉得自己仿佛在作者所描绘的舞台上和他们一起粉墨登场。

甚至在人世间，伟大杰出的人物也与世长存。他们的精神被载入书籍，传于四海。书是人生至今仍在聆听的智慧之声，永远充满着活力。

尹转云推荐

2. How to grow old

Some old people are oppressed by the fear of death. In the young there is a justification for this feeling. Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have been cheated of the best things that life has to offer. But in an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject and ignoble. The best way to overcome it--so at least it seems to me--is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river--small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. The man who, in old age can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things he cares for will continue. And if, with the decay of vitality, weariness increases, the thought of rest will be not unwelcome. I should wish to die while still at work, knowing that others will carry on what I can no longer do, and content in the thought that what was possible has been done. 杨承松 推荐

论老之将至

有些老年人恐惧死亡。要是年轻人这样想，那倒情有可原。那些害怕在战争中阵亡的年轻人，想到自己被生活所欺骗，错失了生命中最美好的东西，感到苦涩理所当然。但对于一个尝遍人生酸甜苦辣，实现一生抱负的老人来说，恐惧死亡就有点不光彩了。 战胜怕死的最好的方法――至少在我看来――是逐步地拓宽你的兴趣，并使其不受人际感情的影响，直到自我的围墙慢慢地坍圮，你的生命加快融入到众生之中。人生当如一条河流――开始时很小，狭隘的局限于自己堤岸，富有激情的冲过岩石和瀑布。慢慢地，河流越走越宽，河岸逐步退去，水流更显平缓，直到最后，毫无迹象地融入大海，平和地失去了独自的存在。垂暮之人，倘能如此看待生命，也就不会惧怕死亡，因为他所关注的事业仍在继续。倘若精力日衰，疲劳日增，想要进入永恒的休息也许就不会那样无法接受了。我希望自己能在工作中死去，我知道他人会继续我未竞的事业。想到我曾经竭尽全力地工作过，我就心满意足了。 译文提供：张静洁

3. John F. Kennedy‘s Inaugural Address

In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it—and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God's work must truly be our own.

Abstracted from John F. Kennedy‘s Inaugural Address on January 20, 1961 推荐老师：杨承松

译文：

在悠久的世界历史中，只有很少几代的人在自由遭遇最大危机的时刻被赋予保卫自由的责任。我决不在这责任之前退缩；我欢迎它。我相信我们中间不会有人愿意跟别人或者其他时代的人们交换位置。我们在这场努力中所献出的精力、信念与虔诚，将照亮我们的国家以及所有为国家服务的人，而这火焰发出的光芒定能照亮全世界。

所以，我的美国同胞们：不要问你们的国家能为你们做些什么，而要问你们能为国家做些什么。

我的全球同胞们：不要问美国愿为你们做些什么，而应问我们在一起能为人类的自由做些什么。

最后，不管你是美国公民或世界它国的公民，我们在此要求你们力量、牺牲，请用同样的高标准来要求我们。我们唯一可靠的报酬是问心无愧，我们行为的仲裁者是历史，让我们勇往直前，领导我们所挚爱的国家，企求上帝的保佑与扶携，但我们知道，在这个世界上，上帝的任务肯定就是我们自己所应肩负的任务。 推荐老师：张静洁

4. REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN A NATIONAL ADDRESS TO AMERICA‘S

SCHOOLCHILDREN

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you‘re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That‘s the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a great writer -- maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper -- but you might not know it until you write that English paper -- that English class paper that‘s assigned to you. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor -- maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine -- but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice -- but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you‘ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You‘re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You‘ve got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.

Wakefield High School, Arlington, Virginia

September 8, 2009

司选海

参考译文

我首先要讲讲你们对自己应尽的责任。你们每个人都有自己的长处。你们每个人都能做出自己的贡献。你们对自己应尽的责任是发现自己的能力所在。而教育能够提供这样的机会。

你或许能成为一名出色的作家——甚至可能著书立说或在报纸上发表文章——但你可能要在完成那篇英语作文,那篇英文课上布置的作文后才会发现自己的才华。你或许能成为一名创新者或发明家——甚至可能设计出新一代iPhone或研制出新型药物或疫苗——但你可能要在完成科学课的实验后才会发现自己的才华。你或许能成为一名或参议员或最高的大法官——但你可能要在参加学生会的工作或辩论队后才会发现自己的才华。

不论你的生活志向是什么，我敢肯定你必须上学读书才能实现它。你想当医生、教师或警官吗？你想当护士、建筑师、律师或军人吗？你必须接受良好的教育，才能从事上述任何一种职业。你不能指望辍学后能碰上个好工作。你必须接受培训，为之努力，为之学习。

5. Oprah Winfrey‘s Harvard Commencement Speech

This is what I want to share. It doesn‘t matter how far you might rise. At some point you are bound to stumble because if you‘re constantly doing what we do, raising the bar. If you‘re constantly pushing yourself higher, higher the law of averages not to mention the Myth of Icarus predicts that you will at some point fall. And when you do I want you to know this, remember this: there is no such thing as failure. Failure is just life trying to move us in another direction. Now when you‘re down there in the hole, it looks like failure. So this past year I had to spoon feed those words to myself. And when you‘re down in the hole, when that moment comes, it‘s really okay to feel bad for a little while. Give yourself time to mourn what you think you may have lost but then here‘s the key, learn from every mistake because every experience, encounter, and particularly your mistakes are there to teach you and force you into being more who you are. And then figure out what is the next right move. And the key to life is to develop an internal moral, emotional G.P.S. that can tell you which way to go.

这就是我想分享的。无论你已经达到怎样的高度，在某个节点，你肯定会跌倒，因为如果你一直不断的在做我们每个人做的事：不断设定更高的目标。如果你不断地把自己推向更高的目标，一般的常识,不用说伊卡洛斯法则,就能预测你会将在某一点上跌倒。当你真的跌倒时我想让你知道，并请记住：―世间并不存在失败，那不过是生活想让我们换个方向走走罢了，当然, 当你身处人生谷底时，那看起来像是失败。‖ 在过去的一年里，这些话支撑着我自己。当你到了人生谷底，到那时候，你可以难过一段时间，给自己时间去哀悼你认为你可能失去的一切，但关键在于：从每个失败和挫折中学习, 特别是你的每个错误，都会教你, 迫使你成为真正的自己，然后想想接下来怎么做。生活的重点在于建立内在道德、情感的定位系统，它能为你指路。

司选海推荐

6. We are on a Journey (Henry Van Dyke )

亨利·范·戴克(1852-1933), 美国牧师、教育家、作家，曾任普林斯顿大学英语文学系教授,著有《小河集》（Little rivers,15)、《其他智者》（The other Wise Man,16)和《船与港》（Ships and Heavens,17)等。本文选自《船与港》第二章。

Wherever you are, and whoever you maybe, 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 not a mere fact; it 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.

Everything 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 pole of a magnetic needle is just as real as the action of the positive pole. 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 first 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. (255 words)

无论你现在身处何方，也无论你是何等人物，此时此刻，以及我们生命中的每一瞬间，你我之间都有一个共同之处。那就是我们并未停歇，而是人在旅途。我们的人生不仅仅是一种存在的事实，而是一种运动，一种趋势，一种坚定不移、没有停息地朝向某个看不见的目标前行的过程。

每一天，我们都有所得，也有所失。即使我们的地位和品性看似一成不变，但实际上他们正在改变，因为时间的推移本身就是一种改变。同一片荒野，在一月和七月是不同的，季节造成了这种差异。智能上的不足，在孩子身上被视作天真无邪，而对于成人来说却是一种幼稚的表现。

我们所做的每件事都是朝着某一个方向迈出的一步。甚至无为，其本身也是一种作为，它使我们前进或后退。一根磁针的磁极作用，无论正负都是一样的真实。拒绝也是一种接受，只不过是另外一种选择罢了。

你今天比昨天更接近你的港口了吗? 是的，那么你一定距某个港口更近了。因为，自从你驶入人生之海，你的航船至今尚未停歇片刻。这片海洋太深了，纵使你想找一个抛锚停泊之处也难以求得。因此，在驶入港口之前，你无法稍作歇息。

(马琼)