双语美文集锦Passage 1 Learn to Live at the Present MomentTo a large degree, the measure of our peace of mind isdetermined by how much we are able to live at the presentmoment. Irrespective of what happened yesterday or last year,and what may or may not happen tomorrow, the presentmoment is where you are—always.Without question, many of us have mastered the neuroticart of spending much of our lives worrying about a variety of things—all at once. We allow past problems and future concerns dominate our present moments, so much so that we end up anxious, frustrated, depressed and hopeless. On the flip side, we also postpone our gratification, our stated priorities, and our happiness, often convincing that “someday”will be much better than today. Unfortunately, the same mental dynamics that tell us to look toward the future will only repeat themselves so that “someday” never actually arrives. John Lennon once said, “Life is what is happening while we are busy making other plans.” When we are busy making ‘other plans’, our children are busy growing up, the people we love are moving away and dying, our bodies are getting out of shape, and our dreams are slipping away. In short, we miss out on life.Many people live as if life is a dress rehearsal for some later date. It isn’t. In fact, no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow. Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we have any control over. When we put our attention on the present moment, we push fear from our minds. Fear is the concern over eventsthat might happen in the future—w e won’t have eno ugh money, our children will get into trouble, we will get old and die, whatever.学会活在此刻我们内心是否平和在很大程度上是由我们是否能生活在此刻所决定的。
不管昨天或去年发生了什么，不管明天可能发生或不发生什么，现实才是你时时刻刻所在之处。
毫无疑问，我们很多人掌握了一种神经兮兮的艺术，即把生活中的大部分时间花在为种种事情担心忧虑上——而且常常是同时忧虑许多事情。
我们听凭过去的麻烦和未来的担心控制我们此时此刻的生活，以致我们整日焦虑不安，萎靡不振，甚至沮丧绝望。
而另一方面我们又推迟我们的满足感，推迟我们应优先考虑的事情，推迟我们的幸福感，常常说服自己“有朝一日”会比今天更好。
不幸的是，如此告诫我们朝前看的大脑动力只能重复来重复去，以致“有朝一日”不会真的来临。
约翰·列侬曾经说过：“生活就是当我们忙于制订别的计划时发生的事。
”当我们忙于制订种种“别的计划”时，我们的孩子在忙于长大，我们挚爱的人离去了甚至快去世了，我们的体型变样了，而我们的梦想也在消然溜走。
一句话，我们错过了生活。
许多人的生活好像是某个未来日子的彩排。
并非如此。
事实上，没人能保证他或她明天肯定还活着。
现在是我们所拥有的唯一时间，现在也是我们能控制的唯一的时间。
当我们将注意力放在此时此刻时，我们就将恐惧置于脑后。
恐惧就是我们担忧某些事情会在未来发生——我们不会有足够的钱，我们的孩子会惹上麻烦，我们会变老，会死去，诸如此类。
Passage 2 What will matter?Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. Therewill be no more sunrises, no days, no hours or minutes. All thethings you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will passto someone else.Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel toirrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.Your grudges, resentments, frustrations, and jealousies will finally disappear.So, too, your hopes, ambitions, plans, and to-do lists will all expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.It w on’t matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived.It won’t matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Your gender, skin color, ethnicity will be irrelevant.So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built; not what you got, but what you gave.What will matter is not your success, but your significance.What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage and sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.What will matter is not your competence, but your character.What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when y ou’re gone.What will matter is not your memories, but the memories of those who loved you.What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.Living a life that matters doesn’ t happen by accident.It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice.Choose to live a life that matters.什么才重要？无论你是否准备好，总有一天它都会走到尽头。
那里没有日出，没有白天，没有小时和分钟。
你收集的所有东西，不管你珍惜或已忘记，它们都将流入他人手中。
不管是你已得到的或是别人欠你的，你的财富、名誉和权势都会变成和你毫不相干的东西。
你的怨恨、愤慨、沮丧和妒忌最终也将消失。
同样，你的希望、抱负、计划以及行动日程表也将全部结束。
当初看得比较重的成功和失败也会消失。
你来自何方，住在穷人区还是富人区也都不重要了。
你昔日的漂亮与辉煌也都不重要了，你的性别、肤色、种族地位也将变得无关紧要。
因此，什么重要呢？怎么衡量你有生之年的价值呢？重要的不是你买了什么，而是你创造了什么；不是你得到了什么，而是你给予了什么。
重要的不是你成功了，而是你生命的意义。
重要的不是你学到了什么，而是你传授了什么。
重要的是每个行动之中都充满正直、怜悯、勇气以及奉献精神，并且鼓励他人效仿榜样。
重要的不是你的能力，而是你的性格。
重要的不是你认识多少人，而是在你离开后，多少人会认为是个永远的损失。
重要的不是你想念谁，而是爱你的人想念你。
重要的是别人会记着你多长时间，谁记着你，为什么记着你。
过一种有意义的生活不是一件偶然的事情。
那不是环境的问题，而是选择的问题。
选择有意义的人生吧！Passage 3 The expectation of grandfatherWe made every effort to assure a better life for our kids butour attempt proved to be an abortion. For my grandchildren,would know better.I hope you follow your priest’s suggestion to read the Bible in your spare time, though you have no religious belief.I hope you consult with the veterans (stagers) frequently.When you disagree others, you should not only dare to argue, but also be patient to hear your opponents’ arguments and remember that weapon can’t be the terminal solution,I hope you learn to drive a crane or mend the semiconductor radio. A craft will ensure that you won’t be starved forever.I hope you know there is not only applause, medals and crowns , but also failure, defeat and dilemma in the world; there are not only peace, equality and cooperation but also controversy collision and contradiction , or even traps , cruelty and deceptionin the world ,I hope you show charity to the cripples, I hope you could help others sincerely at your convenience by doing some minor things, such as vacuuming the house for your mom, shifting the tire for Mister Smith or stopping in highway when somebody thumbs a ride.I hope you have ever mounted a high mountain equipped with a compass and torch. I also hope nobody would send you a brand-new auto before you’re 20.My cherished grandson, I hope you compute the sending of your allowance and make a timetable or an agenda lest time click away without your consciousness.My dear grandson, I want you to put down your briefcase, leave your urban life with air-condition, internet and vehicles, and take a break at hometown when you are tired , I surely hop you could accompany grandpa to have a haircut or see the dentist or have a chat with your grandma.爷爷的期望我们竭尽全力想让我们的儿女们过得更好，而结果却无济于事。