英語經典美文(通用)
在現實生活或工作學習中，大家一定看過美文吧？什么是美文？就像一千個人心中就有一千個哈姆雷特一樣，每個人心目中都有自己衡量美文的標準。你知道怎么才能寫好美文嗎？以下是小編為大家收集的英語經典美文，歡迎大家分享。
英語經典美文1
Friday and the Thirteenth
Friday-the Thirteenth has long been considered extremely unlucky because it has some bad associations which came from mythology,tale of the Bible,and the customs and habits. According to the Bible,the Lord God created the first man,Adam.Then he took a rib from Adam's body and out of it created the first woman, Eve. It was said that Adam was created on a Friday and it was on Friday that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit,and on a Friday they died.
Friday was also the common day in England for executing criminals , for which it was sometimes known as Hanging Day.
From the old Norse myth people got the idea that 13 people sitting at a table to have a dinner was unlucky. And this superstition was confirmed by the last supper of Christ and his disciples. Bible tells us that Christ sat down with his 12 disciples, which made up the number 13, at the last supper when Judas, one of the 12 disciples , sold his master for thirty pieces of silver. Christ was killed by nailing on the cross the following day on a Friday.
英語經典美文2
When Pable Picasso was a little boy, he lived in a small town in Spain. His mother liked to call him “Piz”. It is the Spanish word for pencil. As a baby, he liked pencils and chalks better than any of his toys.
巴勃羅.畢加索小時候住在西班牙的一個小鎮上。他母親喜歡叫他“皮茲”。這是“鉛筆”的西班牙語單詞。他從小就喜歡鉛筆和粉筆勝過任何的玩具。
Picasso’s father was an artist, He spent a lot of time teaching the little boy how to draw.
畢加索的父親是個畫家。他花了大量時間教他兒子怎樣繪畫。
Drawing was Picasso’s great pleasure. He usually sat by the windows and drew pictures of pigeons.
繪畫成了畢加索很大的'樂趣。他通常坐在窗戶旁邊畫鴿子。
One day his father came back, He stood for a long time looking at Picasso’s picture. The pigeons in the picture looked quite real.
有一天，他父親回來了。他站了很長時間觀察畢加索畫的畫。畫中的鴿子看上去十分逼真。
His father gave all his brushes and paint to Picasso. He told his son that from then on there would be only one artist in the family.
畢加索的父親把所有的畫筆和顏料全給了他。他對他兒子說，從那個時候起家中只有一個畫家。
英語經典美文3
"I'm going to marry you one day." Beth said to her long time crush Jake. She wore her favorite blue teddy bear shirt. Her four-year-old blue eyes shined in the sun.
"No you're not, you're a girl." Jake said.
The California afternoon wind blew his light brown hair. Jumping off the monkey bars he laughed back to class.
Sitting alone and confused she didn't know what to do. Beth sat high on the monkey bars crying. How can her future husband just leave like that?
She was going to get him, but how? "I will not let him get away! I won't! I won't!"
15 years later:
"I love you, too, Jake." Hanging up the phone she caught her mom smiling. "What?"
"When is he coming in from France? He's been there for awhile." She sat down on her black leather couch. The house was made up of different Indian stuff. On the walls were different dream catchers. Her mother was a full blood Cherokee Indian. She passed away when Beth was eight.
"He has a lot of schooling to do right now. Maybe this Saturday."
Fixing her short overalls she thought of Jake. Who would have thought they were going to date when she turned five?
"Is he still living in Colorado?" Her mother Kay wore a white tank top with tan pants. And long blonde hair with pretty blue eyes. She was the most beautiful woman on Earth. And Beth is looking like her by the minute.
"Yeah, I hate having a long distance relationship." She plopped on a leather chair.
"It's ok baby, you know he loves you more than anything in this world. Love will keep you together."
Beth could not help but smile. Her mother is and will always be her best friend.
Jake sat in his hotel the school rented for him. School of law. He loved going overseas for everything. But he missed being with Beth. That hurt him the most.
Spending the lonely nights in the hotel made him think of how much it would hurt to spend the rest of his life without her in it.
Getting up off his bed he went into the bathroom. Watching his reflection in the mirror, all he could think about was Beth. He would leave Thursday, and get there Friday night.
Turning off the light he jumped into the cold bed. On a coffee table near his bed rested a frame with them in it. It was taken at a beach about two years ago. It was the best time of their lives.
It was Thursday morning and Beth waited for Jake's morning phone call. He would call at eight — it was ten.
Beth got out of bed and got her favorite blue tank top. She took off her shirt and screamed at the top of her lungs.
"What? What?" Her mother came rushing into her room. Staring at her naked daughter she saw the lump of her breast. "Does it hurt?"
Beth could only say "No." Looking at the lump, she cried in pain.
"Let's get you to the doctor."
"Ok, let me get dressed."
Shutting the door behind her, the room became silent. Shaking she put on her shirt, and ran out into the living room.
"Mom, where are my blue shorts?"
"In the dresser, second drawer."
Finishing getting dressed she hopped into her car. Her red mustang drove like a baby.
They waited for the doctor to come in. Beth could not begin to think she had cancer. As her mind drifted off her cell phone rang.
"Hello?" Her heart skipped a beat, hoping it was Jake.
"Hey, how are you?" He asked out of breath.
"Could be better. Why didn't you call me this morning?"
"Sorry, school got ahold of me today."
"Why are you out of breath?" Looking stunned she stared at her mother.
"I'm so sorry, he'll call back." Her mother gave Beth a hug.
The doctor came in, and greeted his self. "Hello. I'm Kevin Baker." He smiled while examining her breast.
英語經典美文4
One of my patients, a successful businessman, tells me that before his cancer he would become depressed unless things went a certain way. Happiness was “having the cookie.” If you had the cookie, things were good. If you didn't have the cookie, life wasn't worth a damn. Unfortunately, the cookie kept changing. Some of the time it was money, sometimes power, sometimes desire. At other times, it was the new car, the biggest contract, the most prestigious address.
A year and a half after his diagnosis of prostate cancer he sits shaking his head ruefully. “It's like I stopped learning how to live after I was a kid. When I give my son a cookie, he is happy. If I take the cookie away or it breaks, he is unhappy. But he is two and a half and I am forty-three. It's taken me this long to understand that the cookie will never make me happy for long.
The minute you have the cookie it starts to crumble or you start to worry about it crumbling or about someone trying to take it away from you. You know, you have to give up a lot of things to take care of the cookie, to keep it from crumbling and be sure that no one takes it away from you. You may not even get a chance to eat it because you are so busy, just trying not to lose it. Having the cookie is not what life is about.”
My patient laughs and says cancer has changed him. For the first time he is happy. No matter if his business is doing well or not, no matter if he wins or loses at golf. “Two years ago, cancer asked me, ‘Okay, what's important? What is really important?’ Well, life is important. Life.
Life any way you can have it, life with the cookie, life without the cookie. Happiness does not have anything to do with the cookie; it has to do with being alive. Before, who made the time?” He pauses thoughtfully. “Damn, I guess life is the cookie.”
我有一位病人，他是一個成功的商人，告訴我，在他患癌癥之前，凡事如果沒有確定下來他就憂心忡忡。對他而言，幸福是“擁有小甜餅”。如果你擁有了小甜餅，一切都一帆風順。如果你沒有小甜餅，生活就一文不值。不幸的是，小甜餅總是不斷變換著，有時是金錢，有時是權力，有時是欲望。在其他時候，它是一輛新車、一份數額最大的合同、或者一個享有聲望的通訊地址。
在他被診斷出患有前列腺癌的一年半之后，他坐在那里，悲天憫人地搖著頭，說：“長大以后，我好像就不知道怎樣生活了。當我給我兒子一個小甜餅時，他心花怒放。如果我拿走甜餅或者是小甜餅碎了，他就悶悶不樂。不同的是，他只有兩歲半，而我已經43了。我花了這么長的時間才明白小甜餅并不能使我長久感到幸福。
從你擁有小甜餅的那一刻，它就開始破碎，或者你就開始擔心它會破碎，抑或你開始擔心別人拿走它。為了守護你的小甜餅，為了防止它破碎或者確定別人不會從你手中奪走它，你不得不放棄許多東西。你忙于不讓自己失去它，甚至沒有時間享受它。擁有小甜餅并不是生活的全部內容。”
我的病人笑著說癌癥已經改變了他。不論他的`生意是否一帆風順，不論他在打高爾夫球時是輸是贏，他有生以來第一次感到幸福。“兩年前，癌癥問我‘什么重要？什么才真正的重要？’對，生命重要。生命。
生命，無論如何你擁有生命。有小甜餅也罷，沒有小甜餅也罷，幸福與小甜餅并非息息相關，而是與生命的存在有關。可是，時光一去不復返，誰又能讓時光倒流呢？”他停頓了一下，若有所思，說：“該死，我覺得生命就是那塊小甜餅”。
英語經典美文5
30. The Enchantment of Creeks (2)
Above all, a creek offers the mind a chance to penetrate the alien universe of water, of tadpoles and trout. What drifts in creek water is the possibility of other worlds inside and above our own. Poet Robert Frost wrote: "It flows between us, over us, and with us. And it is time, strength, tone, light, life, and love.
Creeks lead one on, like perfume on the wind. A creek is something that disappears around a bend, into the ground, into the next dimension. To follow a creek is to seek new acquaintance with life.
I still find myself following creeks. In high mountain meadows I'll trace their course into the limegreen grass and deep glacial duff, marveling at the sparkle of quartz and mica. The pursuit liquefies my citified haste and lifts weight from my shoulders. Once, in the California desert, as hummingbirds darted from cactus blossoms, I heard the babble of rushing water. My ears led me over dusty hillsides and sown scabrous ravines to an unexpected ribbon of clear, cold water, leaping from rock to rock, filling little pools. The discovery seemed Biblical. It filled me with joy.
(191 words)
(405 words)
by Peter Steinhart
英語經典美文6
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
在一場船難中，唯一的幸存者隨著潮水，漂流到一座荒無人煙的小島上。他焦躁不安地祈禱上帝能夠救他。每天他都注視著海上是否有可搭救他的人，但似乎沒有人前來。
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
感覺筋疲力盡，他最終決定用浮木造一個簡陋的小木屋，以保護他在這險惡的環境中生存，并且保存他所剩無幾的東西。
But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.
但有一天，在他搜尋完食物回到小屋時，卻發現他的小屋陷入熊熊烈火之中，滾滾濃煙不斷向天上竄。
The worst had happened: everything was lost.
最糟糕的是:他所有的一切通通化為烏有。
He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried.
他既悲痛又憤怒，茫然不知所措，怒喊道:“神啊！你怎么可以這樣對我！”
Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.
第二天一早，他被一艘正向小島駛近的船只的鳴笛聲吵醒。那是來救他的。
How did you know I was here? he asked the weary man of his rescuers.
“你們怎么知道我在這里？”他問那些船員中一個充滿倦意的人。
We saw your smoke signal, they replied.
“我們看到了你發出的煙霧信號。”他們回答說。
It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.
人處于困境時，很容易變得沮喪。但我們不應失去信心，因為上帝一直在我們的生活中做著工作，甚至在我們遭遇疼痛和苦難時也是這樣。
Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God. For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it.
記住：當下一次你的`小木屋燒毀時，那可能只是召喚上帝美妙恩典的煙霧信號而已。在所有我們認為負面的事情，上帝都有正面的答案。
英語經典美文7
A Little Bit More
Today is an excellent day for small improvements. Whatever is working for you, find a way to improve it just a little. There’s no need to make a huge change, just a small one, something you can do right now.
If you called just one additional customer each day, over the course of the next month you would talk to about 20 new people. If you learned just one more new word each day, in the next year you would increase your vocabulary by more than 300 words.
Small improvements can add up over time into big accomplishments. Look around you. Consider the work you do each day. Think about how you could do it just a little bit better.
In a marathon race, each step the winner takes is just a little bit longer and a little bit faster than each stride taken by the 100th place finisher. Yet over the course of the race, that small difference adds up in a big way.
Do just a little bit more today, and tomorrow too, and each day after that. Anyone can make just a small improvement, and that can make a big, big difference.
再多一點點
今天就是你可以做改進的極好的一天。無論你在做什么,找一個方法去做一點點的改進。不用做太大的改變,只要一點點——你現在可以做到的一點點。
如果你每天多給一個顧客打電話的話,一個月下來你會發現你又多認識了差不多二十個人。如果每天多學會一個新詞,過一年,你的詞匯量將會增加300多個。
小小的改進能夠逐步積累成大的成就。觀察你的周圍。思考你每天所做的工作。英語短文想一下你怎么能做得更好一點。
在馬拉松比賽中,冠軍的每一步都只比第一百名的選手的步伐大一點點、快一點點。英語短文但是在比賽過程中,那些小小的不同積累成了巨大的區別。
今天、明天、今后的每一天盡力做更多一點點。任何人都能做一點小小的改進,但那小小的改進將會起到非常大、非常大的作用。
You are Absolutely Unique
Enjoy that uniquenesss1. You do not have to pretend in order to seem more like someone else. You do not have to lie to hide the parts of you that are not like what you see in anyone else.
You were meant to be different. Nowhere, in all of history, will the same things be going on in anyone’s mind, soul and spirit as are going on in yours right now.
If you did not exist, there would be a hole in creation, a gap2 in history, and something missing from the plan for humankind. Treasure your uniqueness. It is a gift given only to you. Enjoy it and share it!
No one can reach out to others in the same way that you can. No one can speak your words. No one can convey your meanings. No one can comfort others with your kind of comfort. No one can bring your kind of understanding to another person. No one can be cheerful and light-hearted3 and joyous4 in your way. No one can smile your smile. No one else can bring the whole unique impact of you to another human being.
Share your uniqueness. Let it flow out freely among your family and friends, and the people you meet in the rush and clutter of living, wherever you are. That gift of yourself was given to you to enjoy and share. Give yourself away!
See it! Receive it!
Let it inform you, move you and inspire you!
You are unique!
你是獨一無二的
請欣賞你自己的獨特吧!你不用偽裝自己以使你看起來和別人一樣,也無需掩藏你在別人看來所具有的獨特性。
你生來與眾不同。現在你所擁有的思想,靈魂,精神是任何時刻、任何地點的其他人都不曾擁有的。
如果你不存在了,那么上帝的作品中就有了一個缺憾,歷史也不再完整,人類發展也有了缺失。
珍惜你所擁有的獨特性。這是上天給你的禮物,請欣賞并學會分享它。
沒有人能像你一樣樂于幫助別人。沒有人能像你一樣表達自己。也沒人能夠表達你想傳達的意思。沒有人能用你所特有的方式來安慰別人。也沒有人能夠像你一樣善解人意。沒有人能像你一樣感受快樂、無憂無慮,也沒有人能像你一樣微笑。總而言之,沒有人能夠把你的`特性展示給其他人。
分享你的獨特性吧!盡情地將你的獨一無二展示給其他人,英語短文不管是你的親人和朋友還是你在紛繁復雜的生活中所遇到的路人。請欣賞并分享上帝給你的這份獨特的禮物吧。釋放你自己!
感知它并且接受它!
聽從你的獨特性,讓它影響你、感動你并且激勵你前進!
你是獨一無二的!
Thoughts and Actions
Some people go through life standing at the excuse counter.
They say they’d like to do this or that, but then they offer all the excuses in the world for why they can’t do whatever it is. No matter what the excuses are, the only thing that is usually limiting them is their own self-perception.
If I’ve learned anything, I’ve learned that a person —any person —may do anything they set their mind on doing. The things you need are willingness to work for what you want, patience to learn what you need to know and, most important of all, belief in yourself. You only need a seed, and then your faith in yourself will grow with you as you move forward.
If your self-perception is that you can’t accomplish something because you’re not smart enough, then take the time to learn what you need to know, and then your self-perception will change.
If your self-perception is that you can’t accomplish something because you never finish anything you start, then go and finish something and change your self- perception.
If your self-perception is that you’re too lazy, too busy, too unworthy, too unfocused, too depressed, or too dependent on others to accomplish great things, then you’re right. You are that because you believe you are, but in fact, you can change that! Life is change, and the past doesn’t equal the future. Your reality today is the result of your past beliefs and actions. Change your beliefs and actions, and you will change your future. Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right. You are what you think.
Think about that the next time you need an excuse.
思想與行動
有些人的一生都在借口中度過。
他們總是說喜歡這喜歡那,只是隨之給出各種理由來解釋他為什么沒能去做。但無論是什么借口,唯一能限制他們行為的通常只是他們的自我認知。
如果說我確實明白了一些事情,那就是了解了一個人,任何一個人,幾乎可以做成任何事情,只要他們下決心去做。你需要的只是為夢想而奮斗的意愿、為學習必要知識的耐心,但是最重要的是你的自信。你只需播下一粒夢想的種子,你的信念將會隨著你一起成長。
如果你自認為是因不夠聰明而不能完成某件事情,那么就花些時間去學習所需要的知識,這樣,你的自我認知就會改變。
如果你自認為你不能完成某件事情常常是因為半途而廢,那么就去做完它,將這種自我認知徹底改變。
如果你自認為是因太懶惰、太忙、太卑微、太不專心、太消沉、太依賴別人而不能做成大事,那么你是對的。英語短文你確實是這樣,因為你自己就是這樣認為的。但事實上你能夠改變。生活無時無刻不在變化,過去不等于未來。你的現在正是你過去所想所做的必然結果。改變你的信念和行動,成就你的將來。如果你認為你能或不能做什么,那么你是對的,因為正是你的思想造就了你。
下次你找什么借口的時候,仔細思量一番。
英語經典美文8
Night has fallen over the country. Through the trees rises the red moon, and the stars are scarcely seen. In the vast shadow of night the coolness and the dews descend. I sit at the open window to enjoy them; and hear only the voice of the summer wind. Like black hulks, the shadows of the great trees ride at anchor on the billowy sea of grass. I cannot see the red and blue flowers, but I know that they are there. Far away in the meadow gleams the silver Charles. The tramp of horses' hoofs sounds from the wooden bridge. Then all is still save the continuous wind or the sound of the neighboring sea. The village clock strikes; and I feel that I am not alone. (128 words) 14. Night (2)
How different it is in the city! It is late, and the crowd is gone. You step out upon the balcony, and lie in the very bosom of the cool, dewy night as if you folded her garments about you. Beneath lies the public walk with trees, like a fathomless, black gulf, into whose silent beloved spirit clasped in its embrace. The lamps are still burning up and down the long street. People go by with grotesque shadows, now foreshortened, and now lengthening away into the darkness and vanishing, while a new one springs up behind the walker, and seems to pass him revolving like the sail of a windmill. The iron gates of the park shut with a jangling clang. There are footsteps and loud voices; --a tumu< --a drunken brawl; --an alarm of fire; --then silence . .
again. And now at length the city is asleep, and we can see the night. The belated moon looks over the roofs, and finds no one to welcome her. The moonlight is broken. It lies here and there in the squares, and the opening of the streets-angular like blocks of white marble. (195 words) (323 words) By Nathanial Hawthorne
陳冠商《英語背誦文選》
英語經典美文9
On beauty
Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide? And how shall you speak of her except she be the 1)weaver of your speech?
The 2)aggrieved and the 3)injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle. Like a young mother half-shy of her own 4)glory she walks among us."
And the 5)passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of 6)might and 7)dread. Like the 8)tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."
The tired and the 9)weary say, "Beauty is of soft 10)whisperings. She speaks in our spirit. Her voice 11)yields to our silences like a 12)faint light that 13)quivers 14)in fear of the shadow."
But the 15)restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains, and with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and the beating of wings and the 16)roaring of lions."
At night the watchmen of the city say, "Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east."
And at 17)noon-time the 18)toilers and the 19)wayfarers say, "We have seen her leaning over the earth from the windows of the sunset."
In winter say the 20)snow-bound, "She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hills."
And in the summer heat the 21)reapers say, "We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves, and we saw a drift of snow in her hair."
All these things have you said of beauty, yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied, and beauty is not a need but an 22)ecstasy. It is not a mouth 23)thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, but rather a heart 24)enflamed and a soul 25)enchanted. It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear, but rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears. It is not the 26)sap within the 27)furrowed 28)bark, nor a wing attached to a 29)claw, but rather a garden for ever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.
Beauty is life when life 30)unveils her holy face.
1) weaver n. 編織者，織工
2) aggrieved a. 苦惱的，悲傷的 the aggrieved指苦惱的人，悲傷的人
3) injured a. 受傷的，受損害的 the injured指受傷的人，受損害的人
4) glory n. 榮譽，光榮
5) passionate a. 熱情的 the passionate指充滿熱情的人
6) might n. 力量，威力
7) dread n. 懼怕，擔心
8) tempest n. 暴風雨
9) weary a. 疲倦的 the weary指疲倦的人
10) whispering n. 耳語
11) yield to 屈服于，屈從于
12) faint a. 微弱的，模糊的
13) quiver v. 顫抖
14) in fear of 對……懼怕，擔憂
15) restless a. 不能安靜的 the restless指好動的人
16) roaring n. 咆哮，呼喊
17) noon-time n. 正午，白晝
18) toiler n. 辛勞者
19) wayfarer n. 旅人，徒步旅行者
20) snow-bound a. 被大雪困阻的 the snowbound指被大雪困阻的人
21) reaper n. 收割者
22) ecstasy n. 入迷
23) thirsting a. 口渴的
24) enflame v. 燃燒
25) enchant v. 施魔法，使迷惑
26) sap n. 樹液
27) furrowed a. 有犁溝的，有皺紋的
28) bark n. 樹皮
29) claw n. 爪
30) unveil v. 揭開，除去面紗
美
如果美不以自身為途徑，為向導，你們到哪里，又如何能找到她呢？如果她不是你們言語的編織者，你們又如何能談論她呢？
傷心痛苦者說：“美是善良而溫柔的'。她像一位因自己的榮耀而半含羞澀的年輕母親，走在我們的身邊。”
熱情奔放者說：“不，美是強烈而令人驚畏的。她如暴風雨般震動我們腳下的大地，搖撼我們頭上的天空。”
疲憊怠倦者說：“美是溫柔的低語，她在我們的心中訴說。她的聲音波動在我們的沉默中，猶如一道微弱的光在對陰影的恐懼中顫抖。”
但活潑好動者說：“我們曾聽到她在山谷中大聲呼叫，隨其吶喊而來的是足蹄踏地、翅膀拍擊和雄獅怒吼的聲音。”
夜晚，城市的守夜人說：“美將與晨光一同從東方升起。”
正午，辛勤勞作者和長途跋涉者說：“我們曾看到她透過黃昏之窗眺望大地。”
嚴冬，困在風雪中的人說：“她將與春同至，雀躍于山巒之間。”
酷暑，收割莊稼的人說：“我們曾看到她與秋葉共舞，雪花點綴于她的發梢。”
你們談到關于美的所有這些，實際并非關于她本身，而是關于你們未被滿足的需求，但美并不是一種需求，而是心醉神迷的欣喜。她不是焦渴的唇，也不是伸出的空空的手，而是一顆燃燒的心，一個充滿喜悅的靈魂。她不是你們想看到的形象，也不是你們想聽到的歌聲，而是你們閉上眼睛看到的形象，堵住耳朵聽到的歌聲。她不是傷殘樹皮下的樹液，也不是懸在利爪下的翅膀。而是一座鮮花永遠盛開的花園，一群永遠在天空飛翔的天使。
當生命摘去遮蓋她圣潔面容的面紗時，美就是生命。
英語經典美文10
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast。 He constantly advertised for hired hands。 Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic。 They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic， wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops。 As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job， he received a steady stream of refusals。
Finally， a short， thin man， well past middle age， approached the farmer。 "Are you a good farmhand？" the farmer asked him。
"Well， I can sleep when the wind blows，" answered the little man。
Although puzzled by this answer， the farmer， desperate for help， hired him。 The little man worked well around the farm， busy from dawn to dusk， and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work。
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore。 Jumping out of bed， the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters。 He shook the little man and yelled， "Get up！ A storm is coming！ Tie things down before they blow away！"
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly， "No sir。 I told you， I can sleep when the wind blows。"
Enraged by the response， the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot。 Instead， he hurried outside to prepare for the storm。 To his amazement， he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins。 The cows were in the barn， the chickens were in the coops， and the doors were barred。 The shutters were tightly secured。 Everything was tied down。 Nothing could blow away。
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant， so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew。
英語經典美文11
Chinese Undergraduates in the US
Each year, elite American universities and liberal arts colleges, such as Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Amherst and Wellesley, offer a number of scholarships to Chinese high school graduates to study in their undergraduate programs.
Four years ago, I received such a scholarship from Yale.
What are these Chinese undergrads like? Most come from middle-class families in the big urban centers of China.
The geographical distribution is highly skewed, with Shanghai and Beijing heavily over-represented.
Outside the main pool, a number of Yale students come from Changsha and Ningbo,swhereseach year American Yale graduates are sent to teach English.
The overwhelming majority of Chinese undergraduates in the US major in science, engineering or economics.
Many were academic superstars in their high schools - gold medallists in international academic Olympiads or prize winners in national academic contests.
Once on US campuses, many of them decide to make research a lifelong commitment.
Life outside the classroom constitutes an important part of college life.
At American universities the average student spends less than thirteen hours a week in class.
Many Chinese students use their spare time to pick up some extra pocket money.
At Yale, one of the most common campus jobs is washing dishes in the dining halls.
Virtually all Chinese undergraduates at Yale work part-time in the dining halls at some point in their college years.
As they grow in age and sophistication, they upgrade to better-paying and less stressful positions.
The more popular and interesting jobs include working as a computer assistant, math homework grader, investment office assistant and lab or research assistant.
The latter three often lead to stimulating summer jobs.
Student activities are another prominent feature of American college life.
Each week there are countless student-organized events of all sorts - athletic, artistic, cultural, political or social (i.e.just for fun).
New student organizations are constantly being created, and Chinese undergrads contribute to this ferment.
Sport looms much larger on US campuses than in China.
At Yale, intramural sports from soccer to water polo take place all year long; hence athletic talent is a real social asset.
One of the Chinese students at Yale several years ago was a versatile sportsman.
His athletic talents and enthusiastic participation in sporting events, combined with his other fine qualities, made him a popular figure in his residential college.
英語經典美文12
Studies serve for delight, for ornamental, and for ability. Their chief use for delight, in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgment and disposition of business. For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humour of a scholar. They perfect nature, natural plants, that need proyning by study; and studies themselves do give forth directions too much at large, except they be bounded in by experience. Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them; for they teach not their own use; but that is a wisdom without them, and above them, won by observation. (157 words)
英語經典美文13
if you want to understand adversity, take two identical acorns from the same oak tree and plant them in two different locations. plant the first in the middle of a dense forest, and the other on a hill by itself.
如果你想理解什么是逆境，就去摘兩顆從同一棵樹上年齡相同的橡樹果，并且把它們種到不同的地方。
第一顆種在濃密的樹林當中，另外一顆則單獨種在一座山上。
here's what will happen. the oak standing on a hillside is exposed to every storm and gale. as a result its roots plunge deep into the earth and spread in every direction, even wrapping themselves around giant boulders. at times it may seem the tree isn't growing fast enough—but the growth is happening underground. it's as if the roots know they must ported the tree from the threatening elements.
事情的結果便是這樣。那顆長在山上的橡樹經歷了大風大雨，結果它的.根深深地扎進了泥土中間，并不斷向四周擴張，甚至把自己置身于巨大的石塊當中。有時它可能看起來長的不是很快，但此時它卻在地下悄悄生長著，好像它的根知道自己必須快速生長來保護樹木免受自然危害的影響。
英語經典美文14
There are people in the world who love the bloom of the spring, some love summer in summer, some love the fruitful autumn, and I love the heavy snow in winter.
The window is still under a heavy snow drifting profusely and disorderly. I opened the door, the whole world is a vast expanse of whiteness, snow, as if into a fairy tale world, snow like flocks of elves, the earth covered with a drop from the clouds, coat. I stand in the snow, gently catch a snowflake, cool, and it has six petals, sparkling, gradually it is in my hand into water, my palms get wet.
Winter is the most happy snowman, class, my classmates and I play in the snow, I want an idea: "we have a snowball fight." My classmates disagreed. Later I made snowmen together. We worked in the division of labor. I was responsible for doing the snowball well. He was responsible for putting carrots, branches and straw hats in various parts of the snowman.
Ah! Beautiful winter, you like a picture can not be seen, not finished.
英語經典美文15
熱愛生活Love Your Life
However difficult your life is, meet it and love it. 不論生活如何艱辛,你要正視它、熱愛它。
Do not avoid it and call it names1. It is not as bad as you think. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults in paradise. 不要躲避它,更不要用惡言咒罵它。它并不像你想象的那樣壞。也許在你最富有的時候卻是它看起來最貧乏的時候。吹毛求疵的人就算在天堂也能找到缺點。
Love your life. Poor sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man’s house.
The snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I can only see a quiet mind living as contentedly there, and have as cheerful thoughts, as in a palace. 熱愛生活吧!濟貧院的窗戶反射的陽光同富人家窗戶反射的一樣明亮;春天濟貧院門前的積雪也一樣會早早融化。在那里,我只看到人們像住在宮殿一樣,思想平靜、滿足,心情愉悅。
The town’s poor seem to me to live the most independent lives of any. Maybe they are simply great enough to receive without doubt. Most think that they are above being supported by the town, but it often happens that they are not above supporting themselves by dishonest means, which should be more disreputable4. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Turn to the old, and return to them. 在我看來城鎮中的.窮人往往過著最獨立的生活。或許他們只是足夠偉大而可以毫無疑問地接受生活。大多數人以為自己沒有依賴政府救濟來養活;可是事實上他們通常利用了不正當的手段來過活,這是更加不體面的。不要為了過分追求新東西而困擾你自己,無論是朋友或衣服。去找你的老朋友或者舊衣服,回歸應有的生活。
Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts. 東西并未改變,是我們自己變了。賣掉那些不必要的衣服吧,但是要保留你的思想
【英語經典美文】相關文章：
英語經典美文02-24
經典英語美文11-11
英語經典美文05-22
經典的英語美文欣賞08-26
經典英語美文的摘抄09-05
英語經典美文欣賞08-19
晨讀英語美文03-13
英語短篇美文11-11
英語美文欣賞11-11
經典英語美文(合集)02-07