在英语学习中，阅读能力是学习者发展其它语言能力(听、说、写、译)的基础。以下是人见人爱的小编分享的经典的英语优秀美文（精选10篇），希望可以启发、帮助到大家。
There are young men who do not work, but the world is not proud of them. It does not knowtheir names, even it simply speaks of them as “old So-and-So’s boy”。 Nobody likes them; thegreat, busy world doesn’t know that they are there. So find out what you want to be and do,and take off your coat and make a dust in the world. The busier you are, the less harm you willbe apt to get into, the sweeter will be your sleep, the brighter and happier your holidays, andthe better satisfied will the world be with you.
The Date Father Didn’t Keep （父亲失约）
It happened in one of those picturesque Danish taverns that cater to tourists and where English is spoken. I was with my father on a business-and-pleasure trip，and in our leisure hours we were having a wonderful time.
“It‘s a pity your mother couldn’t come，”said Father.“It would be wonderful to show her around.”
He had visited Denmark when he was a young man. I asked him，“How long is it since you were here?”
“Oh，about 30 years. I remember being in this very inn，by the way.”He looked around，remembering.
“Those were gracious days-”He stopped suddenly，and I saw that his face was pale. I followed his eyes and looked across the room to a woman who was setting a tray of drinks before some customers. She might have been pretty once，but now she was stout and her hair was untidy.“Do you know her?”I asked……
“I did once，”he said.
The woman come to our table.“Drinks?”she inquired.
“We‘ll have beer，”I said. She nodded and went away.
“How she has changed!Thank heaven she didn‘t recognize me，”muttered Father mopping his face with a handkerchief.“I know her before I ever met your mother，”he went on.“I was a student，on a tour. She was a lovely young thing，very graceful. I fell madly in live with her，and she with me.”
“Does Mother know about her?”I blurted out，resentfully.
“Of course，”Father said gently. He looked at me a little anxiously. I felt embarrassed for him.
I said，“Dad，you don‘t have to-”
“Oh，yes，I want to tell you. I don‘t want you wondering about this. Her father objected to our romance. I was a foreigner. I had no prospects，and was dependent on my father. When I wrote Father that I wanted to get married he cut off my allowance. And I had to go home. But I met the girl once more，and told her I would return to America，borrow enough money to get married on，and come back for her in a few months.”
“We know，”he continued，“that her father might intercept a letter，so we agreed that I would simply mail her a slip of paper with a date on it，the time she was to meet me at a certain place;then we‘d married. Well，I went home，got the loan and sent her the date. She received the note. She wrote me：”I’ll be there.“But she wasn‘t. Then I found that she had been married about two weeks before，to a local innkeeper. She hadn’t waited.”
Then my father said，“Thank God she didn‘t. I went home，met your mother，and we’ve been completely happy. We often joke about that youthful love romance.”
The woman appeared with our beer.
“You are from America?”she asked me.
“Yes，”I said.
She beamed.“A wonderful country，America.”
“Yes，a lot of your countrymen have gone there. Did you ever think of it?”
“Not me. Not now，”she said.“I think so one time，a ling time ago. But I stay here. I much better here.”
We drank our beer and left. Outside I said，“Father，just how did you write that date on which she was to meet you?”
He stopped，took out an envelope and wrote on it.“Like this，”he said.“12/11/73，which was，of course，December 11，1973.”
“No!”I exclaimed.“It isn‘t in Denmark or any European country. Over here they write the day first，then the month. So that date wouldn’t be December 11 but the 12th of November!”
Father passed his hand over his face.“So she was there!”he exclaimed.“And it was because I didn‘t show up that she got married.”He was silent a while.“Well，”he said.，“I hope she’s happy. She seems be.”
As we resumed walking I blurted out，“It is a lucky thing it happened that way. You wouldn‘t have met Mother.”
He put his arm around my shoulders，looked at me with a heart-warming smile，and said，“I was doubly lucky，young fellow，for otherwise I wouldn‘t have met you，either!”
A Lesson Learned at Midnight By James Q. DuPont
午夜的一课 詹姆斯。Q.杜邦
Ever since one midnight, in nineteen hundred and nine, when I first heard my mother crying, I have been groping for beliefs to help me through the rough going and confusions of life. My dad’s voice was low and troubled as he tried to comfort Mother. And in their anguish, they both forgot the nearness of my bedroom. I overheard them. I was only seven then, and while their problem of that time has long since been solved and forgotten, the big discovery I made that night is still right with me: life is not all hearts and flowers; it’s hard and cruel for most of us much of the time. We all have troubles, they just differ in nature, that’s all. And that leads to my first belief.
自1909年的一个午夜第一次听到母亲哭泣以来，我一直寻找信仰帮我度过生活中的艰辛与困惑。父亲安慰母亲时，声音低沉而忧郁。极度的痛苦让他们忘记我的卧室就在附近。我无意中听到了他们的谈话，那时我只有七岁。尽管他们当时的问题如今已经解决也被遗忘，但那一晚的重大发现仍然教导我：生活并不总是充满鲜花和爱情。许多时候生活对于我们大多数人来说艰辛而残酷，我们都有烦恼，只是烦恼的性质不同，仅此而已。这就是我的第一个信念。
I believe the human race is very, very tough—almost impossible to discourage. If it wasn’t, then why do we have such words as “laugh” and “sing” and “music” and “dance”—in the language of all mankind since the beginning of recorded time? This belief makes me downright proud to be a human being.
我相信人类十分坚强，几乎不可能感到灰心沮丧。如若不然，为何有史以来人类所有的语言中都有“欢笑”、“歌唱”、“音乐”和“舞蹈”这样的词呢？这一信念让我无比自豪，因为我是一个人。
Next, I believe there is good and evil in all of us. Thomas Mann comes close to expressing what I’m trying to say with his carefully worded sentence about the “frightfully radical duality” between the brain and the beast in man—in all of us.
其次，我相信我们都有善和恶的一面。托马斯。曼字斟句酌地阐述了人类(我们所有人)身上存在的理智这一“极基本的双重性”时，几乎道出了我的观点。
This belief helps me because so long as I remember that there are certain forces of evil ever present in me—and never forget that there is also a divine spark of goodness in me, too—then I find the “score” of my bad mistakes at the end of each day is greatly reduced. “Forewarned of evil, is half the battle against it.” I believe in trying to be charitable, in trying to understand and forgive people, especially in trying to forgive very keen or brilliant people. A man may be a genius, but he can still do things that practically break your heart.
这种信仰让我受益，因为只要记住自己身上一直存在着某些邪恶的力量——但也从未忘记自己身上也有上帝赐予的善良火花——我就会发现每天结束时，错误和悔恨的“得分”大大降低。可见“事先警惕恶行是与之斗争成功的一半”。我相信人要尽量乐善好施，尽量理解和宽恕别人，尤其要宽恕特别敏锐和聪慧的人，因为即使天才也会做出让你伤心的事情。
I believe most if not all of our very finest thoughts and many of our finest deeds must be kept to ourselves alone—at least until after we die. This used confuse me. But now I realize that by their very nature, these finest things we do and cannot talk about are a sort of secret preview of a better life to come.I believe there is no escape from the rule that we must do many, many little things to accomplish even just one big thing. This gives me patience when I need it most.
我相信，即使不是全部，大多数我们提出的最富创见的思想，大多数我们实施的最富成果的行为，都不应让人知道我们提出和实施的——至少要到我们去世之后才能让人知道。这一点过去常让我感到困惑，但如今我明白，我们完成这些最美妙的事情却秘而不宣，实质上是暗地里预见未来更美好的生活。我相信我们必须做许许多多小事才能成就大事，哪怕只一件大事。这一规律无法逃避。这种信仰使我在最需要办大事的时候很耐心。
And then I believe in having the courage to be myself. Or perhaps I should say, to be honest with myself. Sometimes this is practically impossible, but I’m sure I should always try.
还有，我相信要有勇气还自己本色。或许我该说，要对自己实事求是。有时这几乎不可能，但我确信我应该永远努力为之。
Finally, and most important to me, I do believe in God. I’m sure there is a very wise and wonderful Being who designed, constructed, and operates this existence as we mortals know it: this universe with its galaxies and spiral nebulae, its stars and moons and planets and beautiful women, its trees and pearls and deep green moss—and its hopes and prayers for peace.
最后一点，也是对我而言最重要的一点，我深深信仰上帝。我确信有一位非常睿智和神奇的神灵设计、建造并统治这个世界，就像我们凡人所认识的样子：这个宇宙有星群、螺旋型的星云、星星、月亮、行星、美女、树木、珍珠和深绿的苔藓，还有希望和对和平的祈祷。
改变一生的邂逅
Isn‘t it amazing how one person，sharing one idea，at the right time and place can change the course of your life’s history?This is certainly what happened in my life. When I was 14，I was hitchhiking from Houston，Texas，through El Paso on my way to California. I was following my dream，journeying with the sun. I was a high school dropout with learning disabilities and was set on surfing the biggest waves in the world，first in California and then in Hawaii，where I would later live.
Upon reaching downtown El Paso，I met an old man，a bum，on the street corner. He saw me walking，stopped me and questioned me as I passed by. He asked me if I was running away from home，I suppose because I looked so young. I told him，“Not exactly，sir，”since my father had given me a ride to the freeway in Houston and given me his blessings while saying，“It is important to follow your dream and what is in your heart. Son.”
The bum then asked me if he could buy me a cup of coffee. I told him，“No，sir，but a soda would be great.”We walked to a corner malt shop and sat down on a couple of swiveling stools while we enjoyed our drinks.
After conversing for a few minutes，the friendly bum told me to follow him. He told me that he had something grand to show me and share with me. We walked a couple of blocks until we came upon the downtown El Paso Public Library.
We walked up its front steps and stopped at a small information stand. Here the bum spoke to a smiling old lady，and asked her if she would be kind enough to watch my things for a moment while he and I entered the library. I left my belongings with this grandmotherly figure and entered into this magnificent hall of learning.
The bum first led me to a table and asked me to sit down and wait for a moment while he looked for something special amongst the shelves. A few moments later，he returned with a couple of old books under his arms and set them on the table. He then sat down beside me and spoke. He started with a few statements that were very special and that changed my life. He said，“There are two things that I want to teach you，young man，and they are these：
“Number one is to never judge a book by its cover，for a cover can fool you.”He followed with，“I bet you think I‘m a bum，don’t you，young man?”
I said，“Well，uh，yes，I guess so，sir.”
“Well，young man，I‘ve got a little surprise for you. I am one of the wealthiest men in the world. I have probably everything any man could ever want. I originally come from the Northeast and have all the things that money can buy. But a year ago，my wife passed away，bless her soul，and since then I have been deeply reflecting upon life. I realized there were certain things I had not yet experienced in life，one of which was what it would be like to live like a bum on the streets. I made a commitment to myself to do exactly that for one year. For the past year，I have been going from city to city doing just that. So，you see，don’t ever judge a book by its cover，for a cover can fool you.
“Number two is to learn how to read，my boy. For there is only one thing that people can t take away from you，and that is your wisdom.”At that moment，he reached forward，grabbed my right hand in his and put them upon the books he‘d pulled from the shelves. They were the writings of Plato and Aristotle-immortal classics from ancient times.
The bum then led me back past the smiling old woman near the entrance，down the steps and back on the streets near where we first met. His parting request was for me to never forget what he taught me.
Wisdom of the Birds
After raising three children to adulthood, my husband and I were sharing more time together, and we believed that we would have "money in the bank" some day in the not too distant future. "Won"t it be great when we"re retired?" became a frequent sentence in our conversations. Then, an unforgettable year arrived and changed everything.
It was one of those years, the kind when I found my inner voice whispering, "What else can go wrong?" My mom"s health was rapidly failing and our unwed daughter had moved back in with us after delivering a baby girl. During the previous winter, my husband"s mother died a slow, cruel death from Alzheimer"s disease and his father had been hospitalized following emergency surgery. My husband"s mental and physical health began deteriorating with the weight of life"s troubles. Our friends and relatives seemed to be experiencing their unfair share of hardships too. Then September 11th happened. Suddenly, my husband"s seemingly secure job became very insecure as the economy wavered. Life became a topsy-turvy struggle and our marriage was faltering under the strain.
Our daughter"s weakened emotional condition, created by the sudden out-of-state move by her baby"s father (he was to be the baby"s caregiver) created the need for me to request an emergency leave of absence from my job as a special education aide. I would care for her baby while my daughter was student-teaching - student-teaching was the only portion of her schooling left to earn the elementary education degree she needed to secure her future. Though I had been a dedicated district employee for eleven years, the unpaid, short-term leave I requested was denied. Unfortunately, I was caught up in the poor timing of a new superintendent and new special education supervisor; neither knew me. They didn"t realize that I had spent the last eleven years totally devoted to my special education students. Leaving a rewarding, stable job to care for my granddaughter would be a financial burden and a difficult choice, but my heart knew it was the only right choice.
From the time I was a young girl, my parents had instilled in me a love of nature, of all the best, beautiful, free things that life had to offer. Now, more than ever, I would need to draw on that love of nature; it would provide me with the strength needed to pull through the rough times. I began to take long walks with my granddaughter and I found that I would return home physically and spiritually renewed. Autumn was upon us; Alyssa would giggle with delight whenever I placed a leaf or a dried dandelion on the tray of her stroller.
As the trees became bare, I became aware of bird"s nests that had been hidden in the dense summer foliage. "Alyssa, look - a little bird"s nest," I would say. One of the most beautiful nests we found was a tiny, circular one created from bits of dried grasses. The weaving was tight, strong, and yet soft to the touch. Surely it would have rivaled one of Frank Lloyd Wright"s creations. Some were crafted from feathers, dryer lint and bits of pet fur. Still other nests were masterpieces of corn silks, twine, strands of Easter grass and cellophane. How resourceful those little birds were! Each day, my eyes were drawn upward as I discovered more nests. Some were reinforced with mud, forming super strong foundations. Through wind, rain, thunder and lightning, they held together. I began to think about the birds - how simple, yet how hard their lives were. It occurred to me that no matter what obstacles were placed in their path, they managed to overcome, to survive. And faithfully, they started each new day with a song.
Those walks helped transform an extremely difficult, desperate time in my life to a more peaceful one. Through my observations of nature, I had faith that everything would work out and we would prevail. Like the birds and their nests, our family had a strong foundation. We were now living a more simple life, spending only what we needed to spend, and all the time becoming more resourceful. Courageously, the little birds of the air huddle close during stormy times, and the current turbulence seemed to be drawing our family closer together. And in the same way that the little birds started each day with a song, we began to listen to beautiful music more often. A sense of tranquility was settling over our home.
Time has a way of healing, of smoothing over the bumpy parts of our lives. Gradually we see things from a different perspective. One afternoon, while out walking with my granddaughter, I witnessed the most exceptional message of all from the birds. "Look at the geese, Alyssa," I said, as a flock of geese flew overhead in a perfect V formation. For some odd reason, one goose left the group and started to fly in an entirely different direction. The main flock completely changed its course and gradually picked up their wayward member. As I watched this simple, beautiful display, I couldn"t help but think of my family. Our lives too, it seemed, had gone astray for a while. But through courage, inner strength and pure love, our family would change its course and triumph. I knew that all would be well. (:夏根建)
野草 Wild Grass
有这样一个故事。
There is a story which goes like this:
有人问：世界上什么东西的气力最大？回答纷纭的很，有的说“象”，有的说“狮”，有人开玩笑似的说：是“金刚”。金刚有多少气力，当然大家全不知道。
Someone asked, "What is the most powerful thing in the world?" There was a variety of answers. "Elephant," someone said. "Lion," another said. "Buddha's guardian warrior," still another said half-jokingly. As to how powerful the Buddha's guardian warrior was, no one was sure.
结果，这一切答案完全不对，世界上气力最大的，是植物的种子。一粒种子所可以显现出来的力，简直是超越一切，这儿又是一个故事。
In fact none of the answers was correct. The most powerful thing in the world is the seed of plants. The force displayed by a seed is simply incomparable. Here goes another story:
人的头盖骨，结合得非常致密与坚固，生理学家和解剖学者用尽了一切的方法，要把它完整地分出来，都没有这种力气，后来忽然有人发明了一个方法，就是把一些植物的种子放在要剖析的头盖骨里，给它以温度与湿度，使它发芽，一发芽，这些种子便以可怕的力量，将一切机械力所不能分开的骨骼，完整地分开了，植物种子力量之大，如此如此。
The bones of a human skull are so tightly and firmly joined that no physiologist and anatomist had succeeded in taking them apart whatever means they tried. Then someone invented a method. He put sonic seeds of a plant in the skull to be dissected and provided the necessary temperature and moisture to make them germinate. Once the seeds germinated, they manifested a terrible force with which he succeeded in opening up the human skull that had failed to be opened even by mechanical means.
这，也许特殊了一点，常人不容易理解，那么，你看见笋的成长吗？你看见过被压在瓦砾和石块下面的一颗小草的生成吗？他为着向往阳光，为着达成它的生之意志，不管上面的石块如何重，石块与石块之间如何狭，它必定要曲曲折折地，但是顽强不屈地透到地面上来，它的根往土壤钻，它的芽往地面挺，这是一种不可抗的力，阻止它的石块，结果也被它掀翻，一粒种子的力量的大，如此如此。
You may think this is too unusual a story to be grasped by the common mind. Well, have you ever seen how the bamboo shoots grow? Have you ever seen how frail young grass grow out from under debris and rubble? In order to get the sunshine and bring its will to grow into play, no matter how heavy the rocks are and how narrow the space between the rocks, it will wind its way up irresistibly, its roots drilling downward and its sprouts shooting upward. This is an irresistible force. Any rock lying in its way will be overturned. This again shows how powerful a seed can be.
没有一个人将小草叫做“大力士，但是它的力量之大，的确是世界无比。这种力，是一般人看不见的生命力，只要生命存在，这种力就要显现，上面的石块，丝毫不足以阻挡，因为它是一种“长期坑战的力，有弹性，能屈能伸的力，有韧性，不达目的不止的力。
Though the little grass has never been said to be herculean, the power it shows is matchless in the world. It is an invisible force of life. So long as there is life, the force will show itself. The rock above it is not heavy enough to prevent it from growing because it is a force that keeps growing over a period of time, because it is an elastic force that can shrink and expand, because it is a tenacious force that will not stop growing until it is grown.
种子不落在肥土而落在瓦砾中，有生命力的种子决不会悲观和叹气，因为有了阻力才有磨炼。生命开始的一瞬间就带了斗争来的草，才是坚韧的草，也只有这种草，才可以傲然地对那些玻璃棚中养育着的盆花哄笑。
The seed does not choose to fall on fertile land but among debris. If it is filled with life, it is never pessimistic or sad, for it is tempered by resistance and pressure. The grass that fights its way out since the moment it is hom can be called "strong' and “temacious"; only the grass that fights its way up since its birth has the right to laugh with justified pride at the potted plants in glassed green houses.
Change Makes Life Beautiful（生命美于变化）
To regard all things and principles of things as inconstant modes or fashions has more and more become the tendency of modern thought. Let us begin with that which is without——our physical life. Fix upon it in one of its more exquisite intervals，the moment，for instance，of delicious recoil from the flood of water in summer heat. What is the whole physical life in that moment but a combination of natural elements to which science gives their names?But these elements，phosphorus and lime and delicate fibers，are present not in the human body alone：we detect them in places most remote from it. Our physical life is a perpetual motion of them——the passage of the blood，the wasting and repairing of the lenses of the eye，the modification of the tissues of the brain under every ra m.shancaoxiang.com y of light and sound-processes which science reduces to simpler and more elementary forces. Like the elements of which we are composed，the action of these forces extends beyond us：it rusts iron and ripens corn. Far out on every side of us those elements are broadcast，driven in many currents;and birth and gesture and death and the springing of violets from the grave are but a few out of ten thousand resultant combinations. That clear，perpetual outline of face and limb is but an image of ours，under which we group them a design in a web，the actual threads of which pass out beyond it. This at least of flame——like our life has，that it is but the concurrence，renewed from moment to moment，of forces parting sooner or later on their ways.
生命美于变化
将所有事物和事物的原则统统归结为经常变化着的形态或风尚，这已日益成为近代思想界的一个趋势。我们可以从我们的生理活动等表面的事情说起。举个例子来说，选定在酷暑中猛然浸入滔滔清流的一刹那和感觉极其愉快的这么一个微妙的时刻。在那一瞬间的所有生理活动，难道不可以说是具有科学名称的各种元素的一种化合作用吗？但是，像磷、石灰、微细的纤维质等这些元素，不仅存在于人体之中，而且在与人体没有丝毫关系的地方也能检查出它们的存在。血液的流通，眼睛中水晶体的消耗和恢复，每一道光波、每一次声浪对于脑组织所引起的变异——都不外是这些元素永久的运动。但是科学把这些运动过程还原为更为简单和基本力量的作用。正如我们身体所赖以构成的元素所形成的我们的生理活动的力量，这些力量在我们身体以外也同样发挥着作用——它可以使铁生锈，使谷物成熟。这些元素，在种种气流吹送之下，从我们身外向四面八方传播：人的诞生，人的姿态，人的死亡，以及在人的坟头上生长出紫罗兰——这不过是成千上万化合结果的点滴例子而已。人类那轮廓分明、长久不变的面颜和肢体，不过是一种表象，在它那框架之内，我们好把种种化合的元素凝聚一团——这好像是蛛网的纹样，那织网的细丝从网中穿出，又引向他方。在这一点上，我们的生命有些像那火焰——它也是种种力量汇合的结果，这汇合虽不断延续，那些力量却早晚要各自飘散。
Dear God,
Now that I am no longer young, I have friends whose mothers have passed away. I have heard these sons and daughters say they never fully appreciated their mothers until it was too late to tell them.
如今我不再年轻，一些朋友的母亲已经去世。我曾听这些子女们说过，他们从没有向母亲充分表达过他们的感激之情，而待到要告诉时为时已晚了。
I am blessed with the dear mother who is still alive. I appreciate her more each day. My mother does not change, but I do. As I grow older and wiser, I realize what an extraordinary person she is. How sad that I am unable to speak these words in her presence, but they flow easily from my pen.
幸运的是，我亲爱的母亲依然健在。我对她的感情与日俱增。母亲没有变，而我却变了。随着年岁的增长，我越来越懂事了，我认识道她是个非常了不起的人。这些话在她面前我难以启齿，但在笔下却可以轻易地写出来，这令我感到多么难过。
How does a daughter begin to thank her mother for life itself? For the love, patience and just plain hard work that go into raising a child? For running after a toddler, for understanding a moody teenager, for tolerating a college student who knows everything? For waiting for the day when a daughter realizes her mother really is?
一个女儿该怎样开口感谢她的母亲所给予的生命？感谢她在抚养孩子时所付出的爱、耐心以及无私的辛勤劳动？感谢她跟在蹒跚学步的孩子身后奔跑，对情绪不定的少女的理解，以及对一个自以为是的大学生的宽容？感谢她等待女儿认识到她真实一位好母亲的这一天？
How does a grown woman thank for a mother for continuing to be a mother? For being ready with advice(when asked ) or remaining silent when it is most appreciated? For not saying:”I told you so”, when she could have uttered these words dozens of times? For being essentially herself—loving, thoughtful, patient, and forgiving?
一个成年女子该怎样感谢母亲依然如故的角色？感谢在被问到时她会及时提供良言，而在不需要时她会保持沉默？感谢她没有说：“我告诉过你，”而她本来可以说上许多次？感谢她始终不变的爱心、体贴周到、耐心与宽容厚道？
I don’t know how, dear God, except to bless her as richly as she deserves and to help me live up to the example she has set. I pray that I will look as good in the eyes of my children as my mother looks in mine.
我不知道该怎样来表达，亲爱的上帝，除了请求你好好地保佑她——那时她该得到的——并帮助我朝她作出的榜样看齐。我祈愿在孩子的眼里我会如同母亲在我眼里一般好。
A daughter
一个女儿
青春
Youth is not just a stage of life; it is a state of mind.
青春不只是人生的一个阶段；它是一种心境。
It is not a matter of rosy cheeks，red lips and supple knees;
它不是指红润的脸颊、红色的嘴唇和柔软弯曲的膝盖；
it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination，a vigor of the emotions.
而是指意志力、丰富的想象力、充沛的感情。
It is the freshness of the deep spring of life.
它是生命深泉之清新。
Youth means the predominance over of courage over timidity, of adventure over the love ofease.
青春意味着勇气胜过胆怯，冒险犯难胜过贪图安逸。
This often exists in a man of sixty more than in a boy of twenty.
六十岁的人往往要比二十岁的小伙子更持有这种精神。
Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years.
没有人只因活了若干年而变老。
We grow old by deserting our ideals.
我们变老是因为我们抛弃了自己的理想。
Years may wrinkle the skin，but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
岁月可以使皮肤产生皱纹，但是放弃热诚则会消蚀灵魂。
Worry，doubt，self-distrust，fear and despair - these bow the head and turn the growingspirit back to dust.
忧虑、怀疑、缺乏自信、恐惧和绝望—这些都会让我们垂头丧气，而且会让成长的精神化为乌有。
Whether sixty or sixteen，there is in every numan being's heart the love of wonder,
每个人不管是六十岁或是十六岁，心中都有一股好奇心，
the sweet amazement of the stars and the starlike things, the undaunted challenge ofevents，
对星星及星状的东西会产生一种欢喜之情，不畏任何挑战，
the unfailing childlike appetite for what-next and the joy of the game of living.
对未知的事物有着一种像孩子般永不冷却的热望，以及游戏人生的喜悦之情。
You are as young as your faith，as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence,
你有信心、自信和希望时，就会年轻；
as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair.
而你若怀疑、恐惧和绝望时，就会衰老。
A painter hangs his or her finished pictures on a wall, and everyone can see it. A composer writes a work, but no one can hear it until it is performed. Professional singers and players have great responsibilities, for the composer is utterly dependent on them. A student of music needs as long and as arduous a training to become a performer as a medical student needs to become a doctor. Most training is concerned with technique, for musicians have to have the muscular proficiency of an athlete or a ballet dancer。
画家将已完成的作品挂在墙上，每个人都可以观赏到。 作曲家写完了一部作品，得由演奏者将其演奏出来，其他人才能得以欣赏。因为作曲家是如此完全地依赖于职业歌手和职业演奏者，所以职业歌手和职业演奏者肩上的担子可谓不轻。 一名学音乐的学生要想成为一名演奏者，需要经受长期的、严格的训练，就象一名医科的学生要成为一名医生一样。 绝大多数的训练是技巧性的。
Singers practice breathing every day, as their vocal chords would be inadequate without controlled muscular support. String players practice moving the fingers of the left hand up and down, while drawing the bow to and fro with the right arm—two entirely different movements。
音乐家们控制肌肉的熟练程度，必须达到与运动员或巴蕾舞演员相当的水平。 歌手们每天都练习吊嗓子，因为如果不能有效地控制肌肉的话，他们的声带将不能满足演唱的要求。 弦乐器的演奏者练习的则是在左手的手指上下滑动的同时，用右手前后拉动琴弓--两个截然不同的动作。
Singers and instruments have to be able to get every note perfectly in tune. Pianists are spared this particular anxiety, for the notes are already there, waiting for them, and it is the piano tuner’s responsibility to tune the instrument for them. But they have their own difficulties; the hammers that hit the string have to be coaxed not to sound like percussion, and each overlapping tone has to sound clear。
歌手和乐器演奏者必须使所有的音符完全相同协调。 钢琴家们则不用操这份心，因为每个音符都已在那里等待着他们了。 给钢琴调音是调音师的职责。 但调音师们也有他们的难处： 他们必须耐心地调理敲击琴弦的音锤，不能让音锤发出的声音象是打击乐器，而且每个交叠的音都必须要清晰。
This problem of getting clear texture is one that confronts student conductors: they have to learn to know every note of the music and how it should sound, and they have to aim at controlling these sound with fanatical but selfless authority. Technique is of no use unless it is combined with musical knowledge and understanding. Great artists are those who are so thoroughly at home in the language of music that they can enjoy performing works written in any century。
如何得到乐章清晰的纹理是学生指挥们所面临的难题：他们必须学会了解音乐中的每一个音及其发音之道。 他们还必须致力于以热忱而又客观的权威去控制这些音符。除非是和音乐方面的知识和悟性结合起来，单纯的技巧没有任何用处。 艺术家之所以伟大在于他们对音乐语言驾轻就熟，以致于可以满怀喜悦地演出写于任何时代的作品。