英语美文欣赏Youth
When
the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty , but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.
译2:
青春不是年华,而是一种心态;不是玫瑰般的脸庞,红润的嘴唇和敏捷 的双腿,而是坚韧的意志,丰富的想象力,以及无穷的激情;青春是生命深 处的一股清泉。 青春意味着勇气多于怯懦,青春意味着喜欢冒险而讨厌安逸。拥有此种 品质的人之中,六十岁的老人往往多于二十岁的年轻人。没有人只因年龄的 增长而年老,人们往往因放弃理想而年老。 岁月可使肌肤长满皱纹,但放弃激情可使心灵布满灰尘。焦虑,疑惑, 猜疑,恐惧和沮丧__都会挫伤心灵,磨损意志。 不管是白发老人还是青春少年,每个人的心里皆有其喜欢之新奇事物, 对星星和类似星星的东西皆有好奇之心,敢于挑战,对未知事物的孩子般的 渴求之心,乐于享受生活带来的乐趣。 我们因充满信心而变得年轻;因心存疑虑而变得年老;因自信而年轻, 因心存恐惧而年老,因充满希望而年轻,因满怀沮丧而年老。 人人心里都有一座无线电台,只要接受到来自地球,人类和宇宙的美好, 希望,勇气,庄严及力量,就会变得年轻。 当心灵的天线倒下,心如大雪般的悲观,如冰块般的愤世嫉俗,那时, 惟有那时我们将真正老去。
Whether
sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living. 无论年届花甲,抑或二八芳龄,心中皆有 生命之欢乐,奇迹之诱惑,孩童般天真久 盛不衰。
In
the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young. 人人心中皆有一台天线,只要你从天上人 间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的 信号,你就青春永驻,风华常存。
丹唇、柔膝,而是深沉的意志、恢宏的想 象、炽热的感情;青春是生命的深泉在涌 流。
青春不是年华,而是心境;青春不是桃面、
Youth
means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young. When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty , but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.
青春意味着勇气多于怯懦,青春意味着喜欢冒险 而讨厌安逸。拥有此种品质的人之中,六十岁的 老人往往多于二十岁的年轻人。没有人只因年龄 的增长而年老,人们往往因放弃理想而年老。
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. 岁月可使肌肤长满皱纹,但放弃激情可使心 灵布满灰尘。焦虑,疑惑,猜疑,恐惧和沮 丧——都会挫伤心灵,磨损意志。
Office politics Suck up to 马屁精 Apple polisher/boot licker/ suck-up dog newbie 网络新手;新兵;菜鸟 大片 blockbuster
关于作者:About the Poet
Migrant:生于犹太家庭,与父母从德国移
Youth
is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
民美国 Soldier:美国内战时加入南方邦联军队, 受伤,耳聋。 Businessman 战争结束后从商 Congregational Activist宗教活动人士,热 心犹太教教团活动,大众公益事务, City Alderman :市政议员 Poet:退休后写诗,写散文。
背
译二: 青春不是年华,而是心境;青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝,而是深 沉的意志、恢宏的想象、炽热的感情;青春是生命的深泉在涌流。 青春气贯长虹,勇锐盖过怯弱,进取压倒苟安。如此锐气,二十 后生有之,六旬男子则更多见。年岁有加,并非垂老;理想丢弃,方 堕暮年。 岁月悠悠,衰微只及肌肤;热忱抛却,颓唐必至灵魂。忧烦、惶 恐、丧失自信,定使心灵扭曲,意气如灰。 无论年届花甲,抑或二八芳龄,心中皆有生命之欢乐,奇迹之诱 惑,孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一台天线,只要你从天上人 间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号,你就青春永驻,风华 常存。 一旦天线降下,锐气便被冰雪覆盖,玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而 生,即便年方二十,实已垂垂老矣;然则只要竖起天线,捕捉乐观的 信号,你就有望在八十离龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。
背景2
【年轻】有的版本译为【青春】。是德裔美籍人塞缪尔. 厄尔曼70多年前写的一篇只有四百多字的短文。据说美国 的麦克阿瑟将军在指挥整个太平洋战争期间,办公桌上始 终摆着装有短文《年轻》复印件的镜框,文中的许多的词 句常被他在谈话或开会作报告时引用。后来此文传到日本, 在日本成千上万的读者把它抄下来当作座右铭收藏,许多 中老年人把它当作为安排后半生的精神支柱。文章的观点 成为许多日本人生活哲学的基础,他们甚至将此文装在随 身带的皮夹子里,有空就读一遍。著名的松下公司的创始 人松下幸之助说:“多年来,《青春》始终是我的座右 铭。” 日本人为这部散文诗所倾倒。而在美国伯明翰 Birmingham, Alabama,人们对这位作者知之不多。后来 才在日本人的资助下建立了Samuel Ullman博物馆。