英语美文背诵文选100篇1. The First SnowThe first snow came. How beautiful it was, falling so silently all day long, all ni ght long, on the mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs on the livi ng, on the graves of the dead! All white save the river, that marked its course be a winding black line across the Ian dscape; and the leafless tress, that aga inst the leade n sky now revealed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacies of their branches.What silenee, too, came with the snow, and what seclusion! Every sound was muffled, every no ise cha nged to someth ing soft and musical. No more tramp ing hoofs, no more rattling wheels! Only the chiming of sleigh-bell, beating as swift and merrily as the hearts of childre n. (118 words)From Kava naghBy Henry Wadsworth Lon gfellow2. The Hummin g-birdOf all animals being this is the most elegant in form and the most brilliant in colors. The stones and metals polished by our arts are not comparable to this jewel of Nature. She has placed it least in size of the order of birds. "maxime Mira nda in mini mis." Her masterpiece is this little hum min g-bird, and upon it she has heaped all the giftswhich the other birds may only share. Light ness, rapidity, ni mble ness, grace, and rich apparel all belong to this little favorite. The emerald, the ruby, and the topaz gleam upon its dress. It never soils them with the dust of earth, and in its aerial life scarcely touches the turf an instant. Always in the air, flying from flower to flower, it has their freshness as well as their brightness. It lives upon their n ectar, and dwells only in the climates where they pere nn ially bloom. (149 words)From Natural HistoryBy George Louise Buffo n陈冠商《英语背诵文选》3. Pin esThe pine, placed nearly always amongscenes disordered and desolate, bring into them all possible elements of order and precision. Lowland trees may lean to this side and that, though it is but a meadowbreeze that bends them or a bank of cowlips from which their trunks lean aslope. But let storm and avalanche do their worst, and let the pine find only a ledge of vertical precipice to cling to, it will nevertheless grow straight. Thrust a rod from its last shoot dow n the stem; it shall point to the cen ter of the earth as long as the tree lives. It may be well also for lowla nd bran ches to reach hither and thither for what they n eed, and to take all kinds of irregular shape and exte nsion. But the pine is trained to n eed nothing and en dure everything. It is resolvedly whole, self-contained, desiring nothing but rightness,content with restricted completion. Tall or short, it will be straight.(160 words)From Moder n Pai ntersBy Joh n Rusk in陈冠商《英语背诵文选》4. Readi ng Good BooksDevote some of your leisure, I repeat, to cultivating a love of reading good books. Fortun ate in deed are those who con trive to make themselves genuine book-lovers. Forbook lovers have some noteworthy advantages over other people. They need never know Ion ely hours so long as they have books around them, and the better the books the more delightful the compa ny. From good books, moreover, they draw much besidesentertainment. They gain mental food such as few companions can supply. Even while resting from their labors they are, through the books they read, equipping themselves to perform those labors more efficiently. This albeit they may not be deliberately reading to improve their mind. All unconsciously the ideas they derive from theprinted paged are stored up, to be worked over by the imagination for future profit.(135 words)From Self-Developme ntBy Henry Addi ngton Bruce陈冠商《英语背诵文选》5. On EtiquetteEtiquette to society is what apparel is to the in dividual. Without apparel men wouldgo in shameful nudity which would surely lead to the corruption of morals; and without etiquette society would be in a pitiable state and the n ecessary in tercourse betwee n its members would be interfered with by needless offences and troubles. If society were a train, the etiquette would be the rails along which only the train could rumble forth; if society were a state coach, the etiquette would be the wheels and axis on which only the coach could roll forward. The lack of proprieties would make the most intimate friends turns to be the most decided enemies and the friendly or allied coun tries declare war aga inst each other. We can find many examples in the historyof mankind. Therefore I advise you to sta nd on ceremony before anyone else and to take pains not to do anything against etiquette lest you give offences or make enemies. (160 words) by William Hazlitt 陈冠商《英语背诵文选》6. An Hour Before Sun riseAn hour before sun rise in the city there is an air of cold. Solitary desolati on about the no iseless streets, which we are accustomed to see thro nged at other times by a busy, eager crowd, and over the quiet, closely shut build ings which throughout the day are warm ing with life. The drunken, the dissipated, and the crim inal have disappeared; the more sober and orderly part of the population have not yet awakened to the labors of the day, and the still ness of death is over streets; its very hueseems to be imparted to them, cold and lifeless as they look in the gray, somberlight of daybreak. A partially opened bedroom window here and there bespeaks the heat of theweather and the un easy slumbers of its occupa nt; and the dim sca nty flicker of a light through the bli nds of yon der win dows deno tes the chamber of watch ing and sick ness. Save for that sad light, the streets prese nt no sig ns of life,nor the houses of habitation. (166 words)From BozBy Charles Dicke ns陈冠商《英语背诵文选》7. The Importa nee of Scien tific Experime ntsThe rise of modern science may perhaps be considered to date as far as the time ofRoger Bacon, the won derful monk and philosopher of Oxford, who lived betwee n the years 1214 and 1292. He was probable the first in the middle ages to assert that we must learn science by observing and experimenting on the things around us, and he himself made many remarkable discoveries. Galileo, however who lived more tha n300 years later (1564 to 1642), was the greatest of several great men, who in Italy, France, Germany or England, began by degrees to show how manyimportant truths could be discovered by well-directed observation. Before the time of Galileo, learned men believed that large bodies fall more rapidly towards the earth tha n small on es,because Aristotle said so. But Galileo, going to the top of the Leaning Tower ofPisa, let fall two un equal ston es, and proved to some frien ds, whom he had broughtthere to see his experiment, that Aristotle was in error. It is Galileo's sprit ofgoing direct to Nature, and verifying our opinions and theories by experiment, that has led to all the great discoveries of moder n scie nce.(196 words)From LogicBy William Stanley Jevons陈冠商《英语背诵文选》8. Address at GettysburgFourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation in liberty, and dedicated to the propositi on that all men are created equal.Nowwe are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nationso conceived and so dedicated, ca n long en dure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate-we cannot consecrate-we cannot hallow-this ground. The brave men, livi ng and dead, who struggled here, heave con secrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advaneed. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that form these honored dead we take in creased devoti on to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devoti on; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this n ati on, un der God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that gover nment of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. (268 words) By Abraham Lincoln9. A Little Girl (1)Sitting on a grassy grave, beneath one of the windows of the church, was a little girl. With her head bent back she was gaz ing up at the sky and singing, while one of her little hands was pointing to a tiny cloud that hovered like a golden feather above her head. The sun, which had suddenly become very bright, shining on her glossy hair, gave it a metallic luster, and it was difficult to say what was the color,dark bronze or black. So completely absorbed was shi in watching the cloud to which her strange song or incantation and went towards her. Over her head, high up in the blue, a lark that was soaring towards the same gauzy could was singing, as if in rivalry. As I slowly approached the child, I could see by her forehead, which in the sunshine seemed like a globe of pearl, and especially by hercomplexi on, that she un com monly lovely.(159 words)陈冠商《英语背诵文选》10. A Little Girl (2)Her eyes, which at one mome nt seemed blue-gray, at ano ther violet, were shaded bylong black lashes, curvi ng backward in a most peculiar way, and these matched inhue her eyebrows, and the tresses that were tossed about her tender throat and were quiveri ng in the sun light. All this I did not take in at once; for at first I couldsee nothing but those quivering, glittering, changeful eyes turned up into my face. Gradually the other features, especially the sensitive full-lipped mouth, grew upon me as I stood silently gazing. Here seemed tome a more perfect beauty than had ever come to me in my loveliest dreams of beauty. Yet it was not her beauty so much asthe look she gave me that fasc in ated me, melted me. (129 words)(302 words)From Aylwinby Theodore Watts-D unton陈冠商《英语背诵文选》11. Choos ing an Occupati onHodeslea, Eastbo urne,November 5, 1892Dear Sir,I am very sorry that the pressure of other occupations has prevented me form sendingan earlier reply to your letter.In my opinion a man's first duty is to find a way of supporting himself, therebyrelieving other people of the necessity of supporting him. Moreover, the learningto so work of practical value in the world, in an exact and careful manner, is ofitself, a very important education the effects of which make themselves felt in allother pursuits. The habit of doing that which you do not dare about whe n you wouldmuch rather be doing somethi ng else, is in valuable. It would have saved mea frightful waste of time if I had ever had it drilled into me in youth.and en ergy. If you possess that equipme nt, you will find leisure daily commercial work is over, to make an opening in the scientific ranks foryourself. If you do not, you had better stick to commerce. Nothing is less to be desired thanthe fate of a young man who, as the Scotch proverb says, spoils a horn," and becomes a mere hanger-on in literature or in scie nee,whe n he might have bee n a useful and a valuable member of Society in other occupati ons.I think that your father ought to see this letter. (244 words)Yours faithfully.HuxleyFrom Life and Letters of Thomas Henry HuxleyBy Leonard Huxley陈冠商《英语背诵文选》12. An Important Aspect of College LifeIt is perfectly possible to orga nize the life of our colleges in such a way thatstude nts and teachers alike will take part in it; in such a way that a perfectlyn atural daily in tercourse will be established betwee n them; and it is only by suchan organization that they can be given real vitality as places of serious training, be made communities in which youngsters will come fully to realize how interesting intellectual work is, how vital, how important, how closely associated with allmodern achievement-only by such an organization that study can be made to seem part of life itself. Lectures often seem very formal and empty things; recitationsgen erally proved very dull and un reward in g. It is in con versati on and n aturalSuccess in any scientificcareer requires an unusual equipment of capacity, in dustry,eno ugh after your in 'try ing to make a spo onin tercourse with scholars chiefly that you find how lively kno wledge is, how it ties into everything that is interesting and important, how intimate a part it is of every thing that is interesting and important, how intimate a part it is of everythingthat is "practical" and connected with the world. Menare not always made thoughtful by books; but they are gen erally made thoughtful by associati on with men who think. (195 words)By Woodrow Wils on陈冠商《英语背诵文选》13. Night (1)Night has falle n over the coun try. Through the trees rises the red moon, and thestars 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 an chor on the billowy seaof grass. I cannot see the red and blue flowers, but I know that they are there.Far away in the meadowgleams the silver Charles. The tramp of horses' hoofs sounds from the wooden bridge. Then all is still save the continuous wind or the sound ofthe neighboring sea. The village clock strikes; and I feel that I am not alone.(128 words)陈冠商《英语背诵文选》14. Night (2)How differe nt it is in the city! It is late, and the crowd is gone. You step outupon 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 arestill burning up and down the long street. People go by with grotesque shadows, now foreshorte ned, and now len gthe ning away into the dark ness and vanishing, while anew one springs up behind the walker, and seems to pass him revolving like the sailof a win dmill. The iron gates of the park shut with a jan gli ng clang. There are footsteps and loud voices; --a tumult; --a drunken brawl; --an alarm of fire; --then sile nee aga in. And now at len gth the city is asleep, and we can see the ni ght. The belated moon looks over the roofs, and finds no one to welcome her. The moon light is broken. It lies here and there in the squares, and the opening of the streets-a ngular like blocks of white marble. (195 words)(323 words)By Natha nial Hawthor ne陈冠商《英语背诵文选》15. An October Sunrise (1)I was up the n ext morning before the October sun rise, and away through the wild and the woodland. The rising of the sun was noble in the cold and warmth of it; peeping dow n the spread of light, he raised his shoulder heavily over the edge of gray mountain and waveri ng len gth of upla nd. Ben eath his gaze the dew-fogs dipped and crept to the hollow places, then stole away in line and column, holding skirts and cli ng subtly at the shelteri ng corners where rock hung over grass-la nd, while the brave lines of the hills came forth, one bey ond other glid ing.The woods arose in folds, like drapery of awake ned mountains, stately with a depthof awe, and memoryof the tempests. Autumn's mellow hand was upon them, as they owned already, touched with gold and red and olive, and their joy towards the sun was less to a bridegroom tha n a father. (152 words)陈冠商《英语背诵文选》16. An October Sunrise (2)Yet before the floating impress of the woods could clear itself, suddenly the gladsome light leaped over hill and valley, casting amber, blue, and purple, and a tint of rich red rose, according to the scene they lit on, and the curtain flung around; yet all alike dispelli ng fear and the cove n hoof of dark ness, all on the wings of hope adva ncing, and proclai ming, "God is here!" Then life and joy spra ngreassured from every crouching hollow; every flower and bud and bird had a fluttering sense of them, and all the flash ing of God's gaze merged into soft ben efice nee.So, perhaps, shall break upon us that eter nal morning, whe n crag and chasm shall be no more, n either hill and valley, nor great unvin taged ocea n; whe n glory shall not scare happ in ess, n either happ in ess envy glory; but all things shall arise, and shine in the light of the Father's countenance, because itself is risen. (153 words) (305 words)By Richard D. Blackmore陈冠商《英语背诵文选》17. Of Studies (1)Studies serve for delight, for orn ame ntal, and for ability. Their chief use fordelight, in privateness and retiring; for ornament, is in discourse; and for ability, is in the judgme nt and dispositi on of bus in ess. For expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the gen eral coun sels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best from those that are learned. To spend too muchtime in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to makejudgme nt wholly by their rules, is the humour of a scholar. They perfect n ature, n atural pla nts, that n eed proyning by study; and studies themselves do give forth direct ions too much at large, except they be boun ded in by experie nee. 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)陈冠商《英语背诵文选》18. Of Studies (2)Read n ot to con tradict and con fute; nor to believe and take for gran ted; nor to find talk and discourse; but to weigh and con sider. Some books are to be tasted; others to swallowed,and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to beread wholly, and with dilige nee and atte nti on. Some books also may be read by deputy, and extracts made of them by others; but that would be only in the less importa nt argume nts, and the meaner sort of books; else distilled books are like com mon distilled waters, flashy things. Reading maketh a full man; conference a ready man;and writi ng an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had n eed have a great memory; if he confer little, he had n eed have a prese nt wit; an if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not. (170 words) 陈冠商《英语背诵文选》19. Of Studies (3)Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtile; natural philosophydeep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Abeunt studia in mores. Nay there is no stond or impedime nt in the wit, but may be wrought out by fit studies: like as diseases of the body may have appropriate exercises. Bowling is good for the stone and reins; shooting for the lungs and breast; gentle walking for the stomach; riding for the head; and the like. So if a man's wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for dem on strati on s, if his wit be called away n ever so little, hemust begin again. If his wit be not apt to distinguish or find differences, let him study the schoolme n; for they are cymini sectores. If he be not apt to beat over matters, and to call up one thing to prove and illustrate another, let him study the lawyers' cases. So every defect of the mind may have a special receipt. (163 words)(490 words)By Francis Bac on陈冠商《英语背诵文选》20. Books (1)The good books of the hour, the n, --I do not speak of the bad ones —is simply the useful or pleasa nt talk of some pers on whom you cannot otherwise con verse with, printed for you. Very useful often, telling you what you need to know; very pleasant often, as a sensible friend'spresent talk would be. These bright accounts of travels;good-humoured and witty discussion of questions; lively or pathetic story-telling in the form of novel; firm fact-telling, by the real agents concerned in the events of passing history; --all these books of the hour, multiplying amongus as education becomes more gen eral, are a peculiar characteristic and possessi on of the prese nt age: we ought to be entirely thankful for them, and entirely ashamed of ourselves if we make no good use of them. But we make the worse possible use, if we allow them to usurp the place of true books: for, strictly speaking, they are not books at all,but merely letters or newspapers in good print. Our friend's letter may be delightful, or necessary, today: whether worth keeping or not, is to be considered. (189 words) 陈冠商《英语背诵文选》21. Books (2)The n ewspaper may be en tirely proper at breakfast time, but assuredly it is not readi ng for all day. So though bound up in a volume, the long letter which gives you so pleasa nt an acco unt of the inns, the roads, and weather last year at such a place, or which tells you that amusing story, or gives you the real circumstances of such and such eve nts, however valuable for occasi onal reference, may not be, inthe real sense of the word, a "book" at all, nor, in the real sen se, to be "read".A book is essentially not a talked thing, but a written thing; and written, not with the view of mere com muni cati on, but of perma nence. The book of talk is prin ted onlybecause its author cannot speak to thousa nds of people at once; if he could, he would-the volume is mere multiplication of his voice. You cannot talk to your friendin In dia; if you could, you would; you write in stead: that is mere con veya nee of voice. But a book is written, not to multiply the voice merely, not to carry it merely, but to preserve it. (190 words)陈冠商《英语背诵文选》22. Books (3)The author has something to say which he perceives to be true and useful, or helpfully beautiful. So far as he kno ws, no one has yet said it; so far as he kno ws, no oneelse can say it. He is bound to say it, clearly and melodiously if he may; clearly,at all even ts. In the sum of his life he finds this to be the thing, or group of thin gs, mani fest to him; --this the piece of true kno wledge, or sight, which his share of sunshine and earth has permitted him to seize. He would fain set it dow n for ever; engrave it on rock, if he could; saying, "this is the best of me; for therest, I ate, and drank, and slept, loved and hated, like ano ther; my life was as the vapour, and is not; but this I saw and knew: this, if anything of mine, is worthyour memory, " That is his "writing"; it is, in his small humanway, and with whatever degree of true inspiration is in him, his inscription, or scripture. That is a "Book".(186 words)(565 words)By Joh n Rusk in陈冠商《英语背诵文选》24. The Value of Time (1)"Time" says the proverb "is money". This means that every moment well spent may put some money into our pockets. If our time is usefully employed, it will either turn out some useful and important piece of work which will fetch its price in the market, or it will add to our experie nee and in crease our capacities so as to en able us toearn money whe n the proper opport unity comes. There can thus be no doubt that timeis convertible into money. Let those who think nothing of wasting time, rememberthis; let them remember that an hour misspe nt is equivale nt to the loss of a bank-no te; an that an hour utilized is tantamount to so much silver or gold; and then they willprobably th ink twice before they give their consent to the loss of any part of their time.Moreover, our life is nothing more than our time. To kill time is therefore a formof suicide. Weare shocked when we think of death, and we spare no pains, no trouble, and no expe nse to preserve life. But we are too ofte n in differe nt to the loss of an hour or of a day, forgett ing that our life is the sum total of the days and ofthe hours we live. A day of an hour wasted is therefore so much life forfeited. Let us bear this in mind, and waste of time will appear to us in the light of a crimeas culpable as suicide itself. (250 words)陈冠商《英语背诵文选》25. The Value of Time (2)There is a third consideration which will also tend to warn us against loss of time.Our life is a brief span measuring some sixty or seventy years in all, but nearly one half of this has to be spent in sleep; some years have to be spent over our meals; some over dress ing and un dress ing; some in making jour neys on land and voyages by sea; some in merry-making, either on our own account or for the sake of others; some in celebrating religious and social festivities; some in watching over the sick-bedsof our n earest and dearest relatives. Now if all these years were to be deductedfrom the tern over which our life extends we shall find about fifteen or twenty yearsat our disposal for active work. Whoever remembers this can n ever willi ngly wastea single moment of his life. "It is astonishing" says Lord Chesterfield "that anyone can squa nder away in absolute idle ness one sin gle mome nt of that porti on of time which is allotted to us in this world. Know the true value of time; snatch, seize,and enjoy every mome nt of it!" (187 words)陈冠商《英语背诵文选》26. The Value of Time (3)All time is precious; but the time of our childhood and of our youth is more precious than any otherporti on of our existe nee. For those are the periods whe n alone we can acquire kno wledge and develop our faculties and capacities. If we allow these morning hours of life to slip away unutilized,we shall never be able to recoup theloss. As we grow older, our power of acquisiti on gets blun ted, so that the art or scie nee which is not acquired in childhood or youth will n ever be acquired at all.Just as money laid out at interest doubles and trebles itself in time, so the precioushours of childhood and youth, if properly used, will yield us in calculable adva ntages. "Every moment you lose" says Lord Chesterfield "is so much character and advantage lost; as on the other hand, every moment you now employ usefully is so much time wisely laid out at prodigious in terest."A proper employme nt of time is of great ben efit to us from a moral point of view.Idle ness is justly said to be the rust of the mind and an idle brain is said to beSata n's workshop. It is mostly whe n you do not know what to do with yourself that you do something ill or wrong. The mind of the idler preys upon itself. As Watt has said:In works of labour or of skillLet me be busy too;For Satan finds some mischief stillFor idle hands to do. (249 words(686 words)By Robert William Service陈冠商《英语背诵文选》27. Spring The Resurrect ion TimeSprings are not always the same, In some years, April bursts upon our Virginia hills in one prodigious leap —and all the stage is filled at once, whole choruses of tulips, arabesques of forsythia, cadenzas of flowering plum. The trees grow leavesoverni ght.In other years, spring tiptoes in. It pauses, overcome by shyness, like my grandchild at the door, peeping in, ducking out of sight, giggling in the hallway. "I know you're out there," I cry. "Come in!" And April slips into arms.The dogwood bud, pale gree n, is ini aid with russet markin gs. With in the perfectcup a score of clustered seeds are nestled. Once examined the bud in awe: Where were those seeds a month ago The apples display their milli ner's scraps of ivory silk, rose-tinged. All the sleeping things wake up-primrose, baby iris, blue phlox. Theearth warms-you can smell it, feel it, crumble April in your han ds.The dark Blue Mountains in which I dwell, great-hipped, big-breasted, slumber onthe western sky. And then they stretch and gradually awaken. A warm wind, soft asa girl's hair, moves sailboat clouds in gen tle skies. The rain come-good rains tosleep by-and fields that were dun as oatmeal turn to pale green, then to Kelly green.All this reminds me of a theme that runs through my head like a line of music. Itsmessage is profo un dly simple, and profo un dly mysterious also: Life goes on. Thatis all there is to it. Everyth ing that is, was; and everyth ing that is, will be.(259 words)by James J. Kilpatrick陈擎红《英语背诵散文》27. Spell of the Rising MoonAs the moon lifted off the ridge it gathered firmness and authority. Its complexion cha nged from red, to oran ge, to gold, to impassive yellow. It seemed to draw lightout of the darkening earth, for as it rose, the hills and valleys below grew dimmer. By the time the moon stood clear of the horizon, full chested and round and the color of ivory, the valley were deep shadows in the Ian dscape. The dogs, reassured thatthis was the familiar moon, stopped bark ing.The drama took an hour. Moon rise is slow and serried with subtleties. To watch it,we must slip into an older, more patient sense of time. To watch the moon move。