高中生必背英语经典美文（诗词）（Part Two）●True BeautyOne grandfather quipped about his grandchildren: “My grandchildren are four and six. The Pulitzer Prize winner is four and the brain surgeon is six.”Parents and grandparents are understandably proud of the quick minds and impressive talents of their little ones. But let me tell you about another quality found in a little girl named Skylar, which is perhaps even more important.I received a letter from a grandmother who told me about her four-year-old granddaughter Skylar. Ever since Skylar learned of Disneyland from TV, she saved her nickels and dimes in a piggy bank in the hope of visiting there someday. Her parents surprised her with a trip to Disneyland later, but didn’t even require her to us e her own money!When Skylar returned it was Christmas time. She decided to buy presents with her savings. But at that time she learned from announcements on TV about a local homeless shelter called “The Road House”. She repeatedlyasked her mother what “homeless”meant and why those children needed coats and warm clothes. She couldn’t seem to get the “homeless” off her mind. Her mother took her to the store to buy presents. Instead of buying for herself or her family, she decided to purchase a warm coat, socks, gloves and crayons for a little girl in the shelter. She also wanted to buy a doll（a “baby”, as she called it）, but when she discovered she didn’t have enough money, she put the doll back.When Skylar got home, she lined up her own much-loved “babies”and chose one she thought other children could also love. Then she put the “baby” into a box with the other items she bought that day.She could hardly wait for Christmas! Skylar was not thinking about Santa Claus or the presents she would be getting. Skylar was thinking about going to the shelter and giving her carefully selected gifts to a homeless child.On Christmas Eve she and her family drove to the shelter where Skylar presented her Christmas box to a grateful little girl. Skylar was so filled with joy at truly helping someone else that her family has decided to make the journey to the shelter an annual tradition.“Perhaps it’s good to have a beautiful mind, but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart,” says Nobel laureate John Nash in the movie A Beautiful Mind. Young Skylar has a beautiful heart. It is this quality, above all else, that makes people beautiful.【部分注释】quip讲俏皮话，打趣crayon彩色铅笔（或粉笔，蜡笔）laureate 荣誉获得者，获奖者【参考译文】真正的美丽一个爷爷打趣地谈论着自己的孙子们“我的孙子一个四岁，一个六岁，四岁那个是普利策奖获得者，六岁那个是脑外科医生。
”父母和爷爷奶奶们会因为小孩子们聪明伶俐、才华过人而感到自豪，这点是可以理解的。
但我要告诉你从一个名叫斯凯拉的小女孩儿身上发现的另一种品质，这种品质可能更重要。
我曾收到一位老奶奶的来信，（在信中）她告诉我关于她四岁的孙女斯凯拉的事情。
自从斯凯拉从电视节目中得知迪斯尼乐园之后，就把分分角角的钱攒起来放在小猪存钱罐里，期待着哪天到迪斯尼乐园玩。
后来，她的父母带她去迪斯尼乐园旅行了一圈，甚至还不要求她花自己的钱!这让她感到非常惊讶。
当斯凯拉回到家的时候已经是圣诞节期间了，（于是）她决定用自己攒的钱买礼物。
但是那时，她从电视上的公告中得知，当地有一个为无家可归的人设立的收容所，名字叫“The Road House”。
她不停地问母亲“无家可归”是什么意思，为什么那些孩子需要外套和保暖的衣服。
“无家可归”这个词似乎在她的脑海中挥之不去。
她的母亲带她去商店买礼物。
然而她却没有给自己或者家人买，而是决定为收容所里的一个小女孩儿买一件保暖的大衣，一些袜子、手套和蜡笔。
她还想买一个洋娃娃（她称之为“小婴儿”），但是当她发现自己没有足够的钱时，又把洋娃娃放了回去。
回到家之后，斯凯拉把自己非常喜爱的“小婴儿们”排成一排，从中选出来一个她认为别的小孩子也会喜欢的，然后把那个“小婴儿”连同她那天买的其他东西一起放到了一个盒子里。
她几乎等不及想要过圣诞节了! 斯凯拉并不是在想圣诞老人或者她会收到什么礼物，而是在想着要去那个收容所把自己精心挑选的礼物送给一个无家可归的孩子。
圣诞节前夕，她和家人开车来到那个收容所，在那儿斯凯拉把装好圣诞节礼物的盒子送给了一个小女孩儿，小女孩儿非常感激。
真正去帮助他人使斯凯拉感到满心欢喜，于是她的家人决定把带她去收容所作为每年的一个传统。
诺贝尔奖获得者约翰·纳什在电影《美丽心灵》中说过：“也许拥有美丽的心灵固然不错，但（上天赐予我们的）更好的礼物是发现一颗美丽的心灵。
”小斯凯拉有一颗美丽的心灵，最重要的是，正是这种品质使人们变得美丽。
●The Philosophy of Potatoes, Eggs and Coffee BeansOnce upon a time, a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed that each time one problem was solved, another one soon followed.Her father, a cook, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on the fire. Once water in the three pots began to boil, he put potatoes into the first pot, eggs into the second pot, and ground coffee beans into the third pot.He then let them continue to boil, without saying a word to his daughter.The daughter impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl; pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl.He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her, he asked, “Daughter, what do you see?”“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.He then explained that the potatoes, eggs and coffee beans each had faced the same adversity—the boiling water.However, they reacted differently.The potatoes were strong, hard, and unyielding at first, but in boiling water, they became soft and weak.The eggs were fragile, with the thin outer shells protecting their interior liquid. But after they were put in the boiling water, the inside part of the eggs became hard.However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were put in the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.“Which one are you?” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how will you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?”【部分注释】ground〔grind〕磨碎，碾碎burner煤气头，炉膛ladle（用大勺）舀，盛hastily匆忙地，草率地sip呷，啜aroma芳香adversity逆境，困境unyielding顽强不屈的，坚定的fragile易碎的，易损的interior内部的，里面的【参考译文】土豆、鸡蛋与咖啡豆的哲理从前，一个女儿向她的父亲抱怨道，她的人生苦不堪言，她不知道该如何继续生活下去。