Emma's learning

真理的时间只有现在

2009-07-07T20:20:00.001+08:00

    1. The secret of man's being is not only to live but to have something to live for.

    人类生存的秘密，不但是要活，而且是要为啥而活。--- 陀思妥耶夫斯基

    2. One can know a man from his laugh, and if you like a man's laugh before you know anything of him, you may confidently say that he is a good man.

    可以通过笑声了解一个人。如果不了解一个人，却喜欢他的笑声，你就可以很自信地说，那是一个好人。--- 陀思妥耶夫斯基

    3. It seems, in fact, as though the second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has accumulated during the first half.

    实际上，似乎人的下半生，除了有上半生积累的习惯以外，别的什么都没有。--- 陀思妥耶夫斯基

    4. Truth has no special time of it's own. Its hour is now always.

    真理没有自己特定的时间段。它的时间永远是现在。

    5. The whole honours and pride in the world, all come from the mother. —— Al gore

    世界上的一切光荣和骄傲，都来自母亲。——高尔基

    6. My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.—George Washington

    我的母亲是我见过的最漂亮的女人。我所有的一切都归功于我的母亲。我一生中所有的成就都归功于我从她那儿得到的德、智、体的教育。              ——乔治・华盛顿

    7. Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall. A mother's secret hope outlives them all.—Oliver Wendell Holmes 　

    青春会逝去；爱情会枯萎；友谊的绿叶也会凋零。而一个母亲内心的希望比它们都要长久. . ——奥利弗・温戴尔・荷马

    8. I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and   sweat . --- Winston Churchill

    我所能奉献的没有其他，只有热血，辛劳，眼泪和汗水。---丘吉尔.W

    9. Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.----Martin Luther King Jr.

    世界上再也没有比纯粹的无知和认真的愚蠢更危险的了。--- 小马丁・路德・金

    10. Laziness is like a lock, which bolts you out of the storehouse of information and makes you an intellectual starveling.----Bernard Shaw

    懒惰就像一把锁，锁住了知识的仓库，使你的智力变得匮乏。----肖伯纳

    11. A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world.－Joseph Addison

    知足是人生在世最大的幸事。－（美国作家艾迪生）

覆水难收 feather in the wind

2009-07-07T20:11:00.001+08:00

摘要：一位善良的女人一天说了一些话伤害了她最好的有多年友情的朋友；她话一出口就后悔了，她想做任何事来收回她的话。她的话伤害朋友如此之深，以至于这个善良的女人为自己给朋友造成痛苦而伤心不已。

    A certain good woman one day said something that hurt her best friend of many years. She regretted immediately and would have done anything to have taken the words back . What she said hurt the friend so much that this good woman was herself hurt for the pain she caused . In an effort to undo what she had done , she went to an older ,wise woman in the village, explained her situation ,and asked for advice.

    Listening to her ，the older woman sensed the younger woman's distress and knew she must help her . She also knew she could never alleviate the pain , but she could teach . She knew the outcome would depend solely on the character of the younger woman . She said ,"Tonight ,take your best feather pillows and put single feather on the doorstep of each house in the town before the sun rises."

    The young woman hurried home to prepare for her chore ,even though the feather pillows were very dear to her .All night long ,she labored alone in the cold. Finally the sky was getting light ,she placed the last feather on the steps of the last house .Just as the sun rose, she returned to the older woman.

    "Now", said the wise woman,"go back and refill your pillows with the feather you have put on the steps .then everything will be as it was before."

    "You know that's impossible! the wind blew away each feather as fast as I placed them on the doorsteps!" the young woman was surprised .

    "That's true," said the older woman."never forget. each of your words is like a feather in the wind. once spoken, no amount of effort, regardless how heartfelt or sincere, can never return them to your mouth. Choose your words well and guard them most of all the presence of those of you love. "

    【中文译文】：

    一位善良的女人一天说了一些话伤害了她最好的有多年友情的朋友；她话一出口就后悔了，她想做任何事来收回她的话。她的话伤害朋友如此之深，以至于这个善良的女人为自己给朋友造成痛苦而伤心不已。为了努力消除自己所做错事的影响，她拜访本村一位有智慧的年长妇女，介绍她的现状，寻求解决办法。

    听着年轻女的述说，年长女感觉到年轻女的忧伤，并且意识到自己得帮助年轻女。年长女知道她不可能减轻年轻女的伤痛，但她可以让年轻女从中吸取教训。她明白事情的结果只能是取决于年轻女的性格。她说：“今晚，拆开你最好的羽毛枕头，在太阳升起之前，在本镇每家的门阶上放一根羽毛。”

    年轻女匆匆回家准备这事，尽管这些枕头是她非常心爱的。一整夜，她独自在严寒中劳动。最后，天放亮时，她终于将最后一根羽毛放在最后一家的台阶上。太阳升起时，她回到年长女的家。

    “现在”，年长女说道，“回去再用你放在每家台阶上的羽毛把枕头填满，然后，一切事情就象是没有发生过，一如往昔。

    “你知道这是不可能的！我把羽毛一放在台阶上，风就把它们吹跑了！”年轻女非常惊讶年长女这个建议。

    “没错。”年长女说道，“你要永远记住，你的每句话就象是风中的羽毛，覆水难收。一旦不计后果，话已说出，尽管你的愿望是如何真心、如何诚意，但说话如�水不可收回。适当选择你的话，并且当心你的话，特别特别是在那些为你所爱的人面前。”

不查字典易弄错的单词

2009-06-23T22:13:00.001+08:00

　　lover           情人（不是“爱人”）

　　busboy           餐馆勤杂工（不是“公汽售票员”）

　　busybody         爱管闲事的人（不是“大忙人”）

　　dry goods       （美）纺织品；（英）谷物（不是“干货”）

　　heartman         换心人（不是“有心人”）

　　mad doctor       精神病科医生（不是“发疯的医生”）

　　eleventh hour    最后时刻（不是“十一点”）

　　blind date      （由第三者安排的）男女初次会面（并非“盲目约会”或 “瞎约会”）

　　dead president   美钞（上印有总统头像）（并非“死了的总统”）

　　personal remark 人身攻击（不是“个人评论”）

　　sweet water      淡水（不是“糖水”或“甜水”）

　　confidence man   骗子（不是“信得过的人”）

　　criminal lawyer 刑事律师（不是“犯罪的律师”）

　　service station 加油站（不是“服务站”）

　　rest room        厕所（不是“休息室”）

　　dressing room    化妆室（不是“试衣室”或“更衣室”）

　　sporting house   妓院（不是“体育室”）

　　horse sense      常识（不是“马的感觉”）

　　capital idea     好主意（不是“资本主义思想”）

　　familiar talk    庸俗的交谈（不是“熟悉的谈话”）

　　black tea        红茶（不是“黑茶”）

　　black art        妖术（不是“黑色艺术”）

　　black stranger   完全陌生的人（不是“陌生的黑人”）

　　white coal     （作动力来源用的）水（不是“白煤”）

　　white man        忠实可靠的人（不是“皮肤白的人”）

　　yellow book      黄皮书（法国政府报告书，以黄纸为封）（不是“黄色书籍”）

　　red tape         官僚习气（不是“红色带子”）

　　green hand       新手（不是“绿手”）

　　blue stocking    女学者、女才子（不是“蓝色长统袜”）

　　China policy     对华政策（不是“中国政策”）

　　Chinese dragon   麒麟（不是“中国龙”）

　　American beauty 红蔷薇（不是“美国美女”）

　　English disease 软骨病（不是“英国病”）

　　Indian summer    愉快宁静的晚年（不是“印度的夏日”）

　　Greek gift      害人的礼品（不是“希腊礼物”）

　　Spanish athlete 吹牛的人（不是“西班牙运动员”）

　　French chalk    滑石粉（不是“法国粉笔”）

　　restroom       不是休息室而是公共厕所

　　milkway        银河

　　piss you off   不是对着你撒尿，是把你惹毛

　　fuck you up    不是把你*起来，而是毁掉你

Love like a War

2009-06-13T13:08:00.001+08:00

1 love is like war, easy to begin but hard to end.
爱就像一场战争，开战容易停火难。

2 Love opens your chest and opens your heart and it means someone can get inside you and mess you up.
爱扒开你的胸膛，掏出你的心脏，有人就乘机侵入你的心胸把你搞得一团糟。

3 Does God punish or reward us with love?
爱，是上帝用来惩罚我们的还是奖赏我们的呢？

4 Love your neighbor, but don't get caught.
爱你的邻家女孩吧，但注意不要被逮着了。

5 I love a hand that meets my own with a grasp that causes some sensation.
我喜爱这样的一只手，它的力度让我有几分感觉的手。

6 The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost.
珍爱一切的好办法是：意识到你可能会失去它。

7 Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away.
爱就像是握在手里的水银，把手指张开，它好好的呆在那里，要是你紧紧抓着，它反而溜走了。

8 If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
老是审视别人的话，你就腾不出时间去爱他们了。

9 A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love.
极其微弱的一线希望就足以点燃爱的火花。

10 At the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet.
一谈到爱，每个人都变成了一位诗人。

11 Sometimes the perfect person for you is the one you least expect.
有时候，最适合你的人恰恰是你最没有想到的人。

12 How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
我是多么幸运啊，拥有一样东西让我的"再见"迟迟说不出口。

13 The Eskimos have 52 words for snow because it is so special for them; there ought to be as many for love!
爱斯基摩人有52个分别表示"雪"的词语，因为雪在他们的生活中太重要了；我们也应该有这么多表达"爱"的词语啊！

14 If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving one be me.
如果世上真的不存在两方对等的爱，就让付出更多的一方是我吧。

15 When two eyes meet and hold strongly, they are bound to meet again.
当两眼相遇久久凝视，这两双眼睛注定将会再一次相遇。

Wise sentence

2009-06-08T21:52:00.001+08:00

　 1. You will receive a body. 关爱自己，受益无限。

　　You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for as long as you live. How you take care of it or fail to take care of it can make an enormous difference in the quality of your life.

　　无论喜欢还是厌恶，你的身体要跟随你一辈子。能否照顾好自己的身体，会决然影响你的一声。

　　2. You will learn lessons. “人生”学校，无所不教。

　　You are enrolled in a full-time, informal school called Life. Each day, you will be presented with opportunities to learn what you need to know. The lessons presented are often completely different from those you need.

　　有一所大学，非正式但终身制，这就是人生。每天，它都会有机会教给你你应该学会的东西。常常，人生的课程并非你想要的。

　　3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. 没有错误，只有教训。

　　Growth is a process of trial, error and experimentation. You can learn as much from failure as you can from success. Maybe more.

　　成长是探索、犯错和试验的过程。失败和成功一样能教会你东西，甚至更多。

　　4. A lesson is repeated until it is Learned. 一个教训会不断地重复，直至你领悟了。

　　A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it (as evidenced by a change in your attitude and ultimately your behavior) then you can go on to the next lesson.

　　生活会以不同的形式教育你，直到你的态度和行为发生改变。完全领悟了，你会开始走向下一堂课。

　　5. Learning lessons does not end. 学无止境。

　　There is no stage of life that does not contain some lessons. As long as you live there will be somthing more to learn.

　　无学习，不人生。只要你活着，学习就不会停。

　　6. Others are merely mirrors of you. 别人不过是你的镜子。

　　You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. When tempted to criticize others, ask yourself why you feel so strongly.

　　一个人对另一个人的爱憎，完全是因为对方折射了自己身上的某些东西。当你想批评别人的时候，先问问自己为什么反应如此强烈。

　　7. What you make of your life is up to you. 你的生活你做主。

　　You have all the tools and resources you need. What you create with those tools and resources is up to you. Remember that through desire, goal setting and unflagging effort you can have anything you want. Persistence is the key to success.

　　你拥有所有的工具和资源，能用它们来创造什么，完全由你自己做主。记住，有愿望、有目标、有不屑的努力，你就能得到你想得到的任何东西。坚持是成功的关键。

　　8. The answer lie inside of you. 答案就在你身边。

　　The solutions to all of life problems lie within your grasp. All you need to do is ask, look, listen and trust yourself.

　　所有问题的解决方案尽在自己的掌控之中。你只需要对自己提问、观察、倾听，还有信任。

the promise in wedding

2009-06-07T14:34:00.001+08:00

当舒缓有力的结婚进行曲想起，当洁白的婚纱踏上洒满玫瑰花瓣的红地毯，十指相扣间，一对新人就在神父面前许下毕生的誓言：　　I, [Groom's name], take you [Bride's name], to be my wife, my partner in life and my one true love.

　　I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever.

　　I will trust you and honor you

　　I will laugh with you and cry with you.

　　I will love you faithfully

　　Through the best and the worst,

　　Through the difficult and the easy.

　　What may come I will always be there.

　　As I have given you my hand to hold

　　So I give you my life to keep

　　So help me God

　　我(新郎的名字)请你(新娘的名字),做我的妻子，我生命中的伴侣和我唯一的爱人。

　　我将珍惜我们的友谊，爱你，不论是现在，将来，还是永远。

　　我会信任你，尊敬你，

　　我将和你一起欢笑，一起哭泣。

　　我会忠诚的爱着你，

　　无论未来是好的还是坏的，是艰难的还是安乐的，我都会陪你一起度过。

　　无论准备迎接什么样的生活，我都会一直守护在这里。

　　就像我伸出手让你紧握住一样，

　　我会将我的生命交付于你。

　　所以请帮助我我的主。

注：新娘的誓词只要把名字调换一下即可。

　　Entreat me not to leave you, or to return from following after you,

　　For where you go I will go,

　　and where you stay I will stay

　　Your people will be my people,

　　and your God will be my God.

　　And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried.

　　May the Lord do with me and more if anything but death parts you from me.

　　真诚的恳求上帝让我不要离开你，或是让我跟随在你身后

　　因为你到哪里我就会去到哪里，

　　因为你的停留所以我停留。

　　你爱的人将成为我爱的人，

　　你的主也会成为我的主。

　　你在哪里死去，我也将和你一起在那里被埋葬，

　　也许主要求我做的更多，但是不论发生任何事情，都会有你在身边生死相随。

Three Passions

2009-05-24T15:14:00.001+08:00

    《三种激情》是选自《伯特兰・罗素自传》的一篇优秀散文。它既是作者心灵的抒发，也是生命体验的总结。作者以深刻的感悟和敏锐的目光，分析了人生中的三种激情，即对爱的渴望，对知识的追求和对人类苦难的同情。对爱的渴望，使人欣喜若狂，既能解除孤独，又能发现美好的未来。对知识的追求，使人理解人心，了解宇宙，掌握科学。爱和知识把人引向天堂般的境界，而对人类的同情之心又使人回到苦难深重的人间。作者认为这就是人生，值得为此再活一次的人生。这篇散文似乎信手拈来，但却耐人寻味。充满激情，充满感慨，充满智慧，情文并茂，逻辑性和感染力极强。

    伯特兰・罗素(Bertrand Russell,1872-1970)是英国声誉卓著，影响深远的哲学家、数学家、逻辑学家和散文家。他生于威尔士的特莱雷克，就读于剑桥三一学院，在其漫长的一生中完成了40余部著作，涉及哲学、数学、伦理、社会、教育、历史、宗教及政治等许多领域。他早年的成就主要在数学和逻辑学，中年关注伦理道德、教育、政治，激励和启发富有进取精神的人。在1921年曾来中国，在北京大学作过讲座。他在1950年荣获诺贝尔文学奖。在政治上，他反对侵略战争，主张和平，晚年参加反战示威。主要著作有《数学原理》、《哲学大纲》、《教育与美好生活》、《罗素自传》三卷本。

    Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.

    I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy –ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness--that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what- at last- I have found.

    With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flu. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.

    Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.

    This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.

    【中文译文】：

    三种激情 -----罗素

    三种激情虽然简单，却异常强烈，它们统治着我的生命，那便是：对爱的渴望，对知识的追求，以及对人类苦难的难以承受的同情。这三种激情像变化莫测的狂风任意地把我刮来刮去，把我刮入痛苦的深海，到了绝望的边缘。

    我曾经寻找爱，首先是因为它能使我欣喜若狂——这种喜悦之情如此强烈，使我常常宁愿为这几个小时的愉悦而牺牲生命中的其他一切。我寻求爱，其次是因为爱能解除孤独——在这种可怕的孤独中，一颗颤抖的良心在世界的边缘，注视着下面冰凉、毫无生气、望不见底的深渊。我寻求爱还因为在爱的融合中，我能以某种神秘的图像看到曾被圣人和诗人想象过的天堂里未来的景象。这就是我所追求的东西，虽然这似乎对于人类的生命来说过于完美，但这确实是我最终发现的东西。我怀着同样的激情去寻找知识，我曾渴望着理解人心，我曾渴望知道为何星星会闪烁，我还企图弄懂毕达哥拉斯所谓的用数字控制变化的力量，但在这方面，我只知道一点点。

    爱的力量和知识的力量引我接近天堂，但同情之心往往又把我拉回大地。痛苦的哭泣回响、震荡在我的心中。饥饿的儿童，被压迫、受折磨的人们，成为儿孙们讨厌的包袱的、无助的老人们，充斥着整个世界的孤独的气氛，贫穷和苦难，所有这一切都是对人类生活原本该具有的样子所作的讽刺。我渴望消除一切邪恶，但我办不到，因为我自己也处于苦难之中。这就是我的生活，我认为值得一过。而且，如果有第二次机会，我将乐意地再过一次。

about mother

2009-05-08T21:18:00.001+08:00

All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother. I remember my moth er’s prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my li fe.——Abraham Lincoln 1809—1865

无论我现在怎么样，还是希望以后会怎么样，都应当归功于我天使一般的母亲。我记得母亲的那些祷告，它们一直伴随着我，而且已经陪伴了我一生。 ——亚伯拉罕・林肯

My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mo ther. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physic al education I received from her.——George Washington 1732—1799

我的母亲是我见过的最漂亮的女人。我所有的一切都归功于我的母亲。我一生中所有的成就都归功于我从她那儿得到的德、智、体的教育。 ——乔治・华盛顿

There never was a woman like her. She was gentle as a dove and brave as a lioness… The memory of my mother and her teachings were, after all, the only capital I had to start life with, and on that capital I have made my way. ——Andrew Jackson

从来没有一个女人像她那样。她非常温柔，就像一只鸽子；她也很勇敢，像一头母狮 ……毕竟，对母亲的记忆和她的教诲是我人生起步的惟一资本，并奠定了我的人生之路。 ——安德鲁・杰克逊

A good mother is worth a hundred schoolmaster. ——George Herbert(1593—1633 )

一位好母亲抵得上一百个教师。 ——乔治・赫伯特

Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall. A mother’s secret hope outlives them all. ——Oliver Wendell Holmes 1809—1894

青春会逝去；爱情会枯萎；友谊的绿叶也会凋零。而一个母亲内心的希望比它们都要长久。——奥利弗・温戴尔・荷马

易弄错的词汇

2009-05-08T19:52:00.001+08:00

1.bank holiday 不是银行节，是公共假期

　　有一次我看电视剧，里面两位男士边走边谈，一位提到明天是bank holiday，中文字幕赫然出现“明天是银行节”。在英国国定假日叫bank holiday，也许银行与英国人关系太密切了，是生活中不可或缺的，所以国定假日银行不开门，就称之为bank holiday

　　2.bookmaker 不一定是图书业者，有可能是接受赌注的庄家

　　3.coming of age 不是时代来临，而是成年

　　4.crow's feet 不是乌鸦脚，而是鱼尾纹

　　5.drawing room 不是画室，而是客厅

　　6.living room 就是客厅，在英国又称之为sitting room，主要是普罗阶层的说法。豪门贵族的客厅则称之为drawing room，但这里和画画没关系。从前贵族客厅乃男士高谈阔论的地方，女性和小孩通常都会回避。所以drawing room其实是withdrawing room的简称。

　　7.flat-footed 不是扁平足，有可能是手足无措

　　扁平足引文叫做flatfoot。扁平足的人脚弓instep arch直接触地，不利于行，因此flat-footed 常用来指笨手笨脚，手足失措。如：

　　A recent drought caught the government flat-footed.

　　8.fourth estate 不是第四笔地产，是指记者或新闻界

　　estate 有地产、遗产、地位的意思。欧洲传统上认为社会由贵族、教会、平民三大基层构成。大家是否还记得高中历史书上的法国大革命的图片。这些就是所谓的estate of the realm；

　　近代新闻记者自成一个势力，则是传统三大阶层以外的第四阶层，称为fourth estate,有人把它译为第四权。

　　9.full of beans 不是到处都是豆子，是精力充沛

　　bean 通常指四季豆，大概是豆子营养丰富的原因，所以full of beans 意为精力充沛。不过在美国俚语中另有“错误连篇”的意思。

　　10.gray matter 不是灰色的东西

　　是大脑皮层表面的灰质……

　　大脑里面的白质也就是 white matter

　　11.green bean 不是绿豆，是四季豆

　　12.hard shoulder 不是硬肩膀，是路肩

　　hard shoulder则确实是指路肩是铺的硬石子，与此对应还有soft shoulder，都是在美国公路上可以看见的路标，意在告诉司机路肩的状况，帮助司机了解在那里可以临时停车。

　　13.headhunt 不再是从前食人族的猎头陋习，而是当前流行的“挖角”行为

　　14.heavy duty 不是责任重大，是耐用

　　15.hobby horse 不是爱马，是别人早就听腻、自己却乐此不彼的话题

　　hobby一般译为嗜好，但其实跟中文的嗜好有些不同。hobby必须是正面的，花时闲去培养的休闲活动，看电视、逛街都不算。骑马 horseback riding 可算是一种hobby，但hobby horse 与马无关，是别人早就听腻了的，自己却乐此不彼、老爱谈起的话题。

　　16.industrial action 不是工业行动，是罢工之类的手段

　　17.labour of love 不是为情所困，是为了兴趣嗜好而无怨无悔做的事

　　18.milk run 不是牛奶用光了，是旅行搭的飞机或火车停很多站，非直达或者直飞

　　有别于直飞或直达，停靠好几站载客的飞机或火车，就像milkman一天要跑好多地方一样，所以叫做milk run。另外，英国有所谓的milk round。是指大公司每年到各大学征才的活动。大概就是招聘会。

　　19.moonshine 不一定是月光，也指私酒，或馊主意

　　20.mug shot 不是被马克杯击中，而是拍照存档

　　mug现在被译为马克杯。18世纪初英国流行怪异面孔装饰造型的马克杯，因此mug遂有“面孔”的意思。歹徒被捕后到警察局 get a mug shot，指拍照存档。

　　21.on the couch 不一定是坐在沙发上，是看心理医师

　　couch就是sofa，看心理医师的时候，病人躺下来谈话的长椅也叫couch，所以 on the couch也就有看心理医师的意思。Spending months on the couch delving into childhood traumas.

　　是“花几个月看心理医师，探索童年的心灵创伤”的意思。

　　22.free shipping 不是免费“偷渡”，而是免费邮寄

【名人名言】未来在你我手中

2009-04-13T15:53:00.001+08:00

　　1. To make a lasting marriage we have to overcome self-centeredness.
　　要使婚姻长久，就需克服自我中心意识。－George Gordon Byron（英国诗人，拜伦）

　　2. When a man is wrapped up in himself he makes a pretty little package.
　　一个只顾自己的人不足以成大器。－John Ruskin（英国作家罗斯金）

　　3. The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but what they miss.
　　生活的悲剧不在于人们受到多少苦，而在于人们错过了什么。－Thomas Carlyle（英国散文家卡莱尔）
　　
　　4. I find life an exciting business ------ and most exciting when it is lived for others.
　　我发现生活是令人激动的事情，尤其是为别人活着时。－Helen Keller（美国作家，海伦?凯勒）
　　
　　5. Young men make great mistakes in life; for one thing, they idealize love too much.
　　年轻人一生中常犯大错误，其中之一就是把爱情太理想化了。－John Ray（美国科学家雷伊）

　　6. All happy families are like one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
　　所有幸福的家庭都相似，而每个不幸的家庭各不同。－Leo Tolstoy（俄国文学家托尔斯泰）

　　7. If you fight for yourself, only you can win; when you fight for your marriage, you both win.
　　如果你只为自己奋斗，只有你一个人是赢家；若为婚姻奋斗，夫妻两人都是赢家。－Pearsall Paul（美国哲学家保罗）

　　8. Treat other people as you hope they will treat you.
　　你希望别人如何对待你，你就如何对待别人。－Aesop（古希腊寓言家伊索）

　　9. The secret of being miserable is to have leisure to bother about whether you are happy or not.
　　痛苦的秘密在于有闲功夫担心自己是否幸福。－George Bernard Shaw（英国剧作家肖伯纳）
　　
　　10. Optimists always picture themselves accomplishing their goals.
　　乐观主义者总是想象自己实现了目标的情景。－Lucius Annaeus Seneca（古罗马哲学家，西尼加）

　　11. Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations ,our possibilities become limitless.

    局限只存在于我们的大脑中。可是如果我们运用自己的想象力，就会获得无限的可能性。---杰米.帕里内蒂

　　12. The future is simply infinite possibility waiting to happen.What it waits on is human imagination to crystallize its possibilities.

　　未来就是有待发生的可能性。它等待着人类的想象力将这些可能性明确化。-利兰.凯撒

　　13.Some of the world’s greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.

　　世上有些丰功伟绩之所以能够缔造，是因为有些人不够“聪明”，不知道那些原是不可能的。---------道格.拉森

　　14.Every new day begins with possibilities. It’s up to us to fill it with the things that move us toward progress and peace.

　　每一天都以可能性开始。能否在每一天都做一些让我们走向进步与和平的事情，这都由我们决定。-------罗纳德.里根

Rational Human

2009-04-13T15:52:00.001+08:00

    1. Repetition is the mother of knowledge.

    反覆学习是知识之源。

    2. Real knowledge, like everything else of value, is not to be obtained easily, it must be worked for, studied for, thought for, and more than all, must be prayed for.

    真正的学问，像其他一切有价值的东西一样，是不容易得到的，必须学习、钻研、思考，最重要的是必须有迫切的要求。

    3. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

    读书养神，锻链健身。

    4. Reading makes a full amn, meditation a profound man, discourse a clear man.

    博览群书使人完美无瑕，冥思苦想让人深刻精邃，论证阐述让人头脑清晰。

    5. Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.

    读书使人渊博，交谈使人机敏，写作使人严谨。

    6. Read not books alone, but men.

    不要光是读书，还要识人。

    7. Reckless youth makes rueful age.

    虚度青春，悔恨无已。

    8. Remember that you are but a man.

    记住你自己只不过是一个人。

    9. Repentance is good, but innocence is better.

    悔罪虽好，无罪更佳。

    10. Reason binds the man.

    理智约束著人。

    11. Reason deceives us often, conscience never.

    理性常骗人，良心永不欺。

    12. Reason governs the wise man a cudgels the fool.

    理智指导聪明人，而且打击愚蠢汉。

    13. Reason is the guide and light of life.

    理智是人生的响导和光辉。

    14. Reason rules all things.

    情理管万事。

Return to Paradise

2009-04-13T15:49:00.001+08:00

Lisa stood facing the Caribbean Sea, feeling the faint breeze against her face; her eyes were shut and she felt the white sand warm between her bare toes. The place was beautiful beyond belief, but it was still unable to ease the grief she felt as she remembered the last time she had been here.

    She had married James right here on this spot three years ago to the day. Dressed in a simple white 1)shift dress, 2)miniature white roses attempting to 3)tame her long dark curls, Lisa had been happier than she had ever thought possible. James was even less formal, yet utterly irresistible in 4)creased summer trousers and a loose white cotton shirt. His dark hair was slightly ruffled and his eyes were full of adoration as he looked at his bride to be. The [1] justice of the peace had read their vows as they held hands and laughed at the sheer joy of being young, in love and staying in a five star resort on the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic. They had seen the years blissfully stretching ahead of them, together forever. They planned their children, two she said; he said four so they compromised on three (two girls and a boy of course); where they would live, the travelling they would do together—it was all certain, or so they had thought then.

    But that seemed such a long time ago now. A lot can change in just a few years—a lot of heartache can change a person and drive a 5)wedge through the strongest ties, break even the deepest love. Three years to the day and they had returned, though this time not for the beachside marriages the island was famous for, but for one of its equally popular 6)quickie divorces.

    Lisa let out a sigh that was filled with pain and regret. What could she do but move on, find a new life and new dreams?—the old one was beyond repair. How could this beautiful place, with its lush green coastline, eternity of 7)azure blue sea and endless sands be a place for the agony she felt now?

    The man stood watching under the palm tree. He couldn’t take his eyes off the dark-haired woman he saw standing at the water’s edge, apparently gazing out to sea as though she was waiting for something—or someone. She was beautiful, with her slim figure dressed in a loose flowing cotton dress, her crazy hair and bright blue eyes not far off the colour of the sea itself. It wasn’t her looks that attracted him though; he came across many beautiful women through his work as a 8)freelance photographer. It was her loneliness and intensity that lured him. Even at some distance he was aware that she was different from any other woman he could ever meet.

    Lisa sensed the man approaching even before she turned around. She had been aware of him standing there staring at her and had felt strangely calm about being observed. She looked at him and felt the instant spark of connection she had only experienced once before. He walked slowly towards her and they held each other’s gaze. It felt like meeting a long lost friend—not a stranger on a strange beach.

    Later, sitting at one of the many bars on the resort, sipping the local cocktails they began to talk. First 9)pleasantries—their hotels, the quality of the food and friendliness of the locals. (1)Their conversation was strangely hesitant considering the naturalness and confidence of their earlier meeting. (2)Onlookers, however, would have detected the subtle flirtation as they mirrored each other’s actions and looked directly into each other’s eyes. Only later, after the alcohol had had its loosening effect, did the conversation deepen. They talked of why they were here and finally, 10)against her better judgment, Lisa opened up about her heartache of the past year and how events had led her back to the place where she had married the only man she believed she could ever love. She told him of things that had been locked deep inside her, that she had so far been able to tell no one. She told him how she had felt after she had lost her baby.

    She was six months pregnant and the happiest she had ever been when the pains had started. She was staying with her mother as James was working out of town. He hadn’t made it back in time. The doctor had said it was just one of those things and that they could try again. But how could she when she couldn’t even look James in the eye? She hated him then, for not being there, for not hurting as much as her; but most of all she hated him for looking so much like the tiny baby boy that she held for just three hours before they took him away. All through the following months she had withdrawn from her husband, family, and friends—not wanting to recover from the pain she felt—that would have been a betrayal of her son. At the funeral she had refused to stand next to her husband and the next day she had left him.

    (3)Looking up, Lisa could see her pain reflected in the man’s eyes. For the first time in months she didn’t feel alone, she felt the unbearable burden begin to lift from her— only a bit, but it was a start. She began to believe that maybe she had a future after all and maybe it could be with this man, with his kind 11)hazel eyes, wet with their shared tears.

    They had come here to dissolve their marriage, but maybe there was hope. Lisa stood up and took James by the hand and led him away from the bar towards the beach where they had made their vows to each other three years ago. Tomorrow she would cancel the divorce; tonight they would work on renewing their promises.

    【注释】：

    1) shift dress: 一种宽松的礼服，从肩膀直垂下去，没有腰身。

    2) miniature adj. 微型的

    3) tame v. 使变得驯服

    4) crease v. 折，弄皱

    5) wedge n. 使分裂的东西,侵入并引起分裂或崩裂的东西

    6) quickie adj. <俚> 简短的，速成的

    7) azure adj. 蔚蓝的

    8) freelance 自由劳动者：一类人，尤指作家或艺术家为雇佣者服务但对他们不负有任何长期的义务

    9) pleasantry n. 幽默，开玩笑

    10) against one’s better judgement 明知不可取地, 明知不适当地

    11) hazel adj. 榛树的, 淡褐色的

    【中文译文】：

    莉萨伫立在加勒比海边，面向着大海，感受微风轻拂脸颊——她闭上双眼，裸露的脚趾间拥满了温暖的沙粒。这个地方美得简直令人难以置信，但回忆起上次在这的情景时,此般美景依然无法抚慰心中的伤痛。

    三年前的今天，莉萨就是在这里和詹姆斯结婚的。她身着简洁的白色长礼裙，小小的白玫瑰服贴、点缀着她又黑又长的卷发，如此的幸福感是她从未企及的。詹姆斯的装扮更休闲，一条带摺的清凉夏裤和一件宽松的白色棉质衬衫，配上一头稍稍凌乱的黑发，然而他看上去依然是魅力不可挡，当他凝视着自己的准新娘时，眼神里写满了爱意。他们手牵手，聆听太平绅士宣读他们的誓言。他们为年轻而欢呼，为爱情而雀跃，为身处多米尼加共和国加勒比岛屿的五星级胜地而陶醉。他们似乎看到未来的幸福之路在眼前展开，直至相携到老。他们商量着生孩子的事，她说要两个，他却想要四个，最终各退一步，决定生三个（当然是两女一男）。他们计划着安居的地方，计划着一起旅游——所有事情都显得顺理成章，或者大约他们当时便想到这些。

    然而这一切似乎是许久以前的事了，短短几年时间就可能发生许多变故。太多的伤痛可以改变一个人，可以破坏最牢固的关系，甚至可以摧毁最刻骨的爱情。三年后的今天，他们又回到了这个岛上，但并非因为此地闻名的海滨婚礼，而是因为此地同样闻名的闪电离婚。

    莉萨深深地叹了一口气，带出了心中的痛苦和悲伤。除了继续前行，寻找新生活和新梦想她还能做什么呢?——毕竟旧的已经无法弥补。这里有繁茂的绿色海岸线、无边的蔚蓝大海和绵延的沙滩，可是现在如此美丽的地方怎么就成了她心中无法隐忍的痛？

    一个男子站在棕榈树下，目不转睛地注视着这位黑发女子：她伫立在水边，凝望着大海，显然像是在等待什么——或是某人。她很美，身段修长，一袭宽松的棉质裙与头发在风中起舞，那双明亮的蓝眼睛，美得简直可以与大海的颜色相媲美。然而吸引他的并非她的容貌，作为一名自由摄影师，因为工作上的关系，他见过的美女无数。吸引他的是她的落寞和深情。尽管隔着一些距离，但是他仍能感觉到她是不同于他所见过的任何其他女性的。

    未曾转身，莉萨便察觉到了男人在靠近。她早已发觉他站在远处盯凝着她，奇怪的是，她并没有因为被注视而感到不自在。她看着他，瞬间闪过一丝心灵相通的火花，这样的碰撞以前只有过一次。他慢慢地向她走近，两人的目光胶着了。他们就像见到一个失去联络很久的朋友——而不是在陌生的地方遇见一个陌生人。

    过了一会儿，他们在附近林立的酒吧里找了一间坐了下来。啜饮着当地的鸡尾酒，开始交谈。最初是谈论一些有趣的事——聊他们住的酒店，食物的品质以及当地人的友好热情。然而再深入下去时，相比之前见面的自然和从容，他们的谈话便莫名地犹豫不前了。尽管如此，从他们端详对方的举止和直视对方眼睛的神态中，旁观者还是能洞悉到些许微妙的暧昧。直到酒精逐渐发挥了让人放松的效力，谈话才继续深入下去。他们谈论着来此地的原因，最后，虽然明知不太适宜，莉萨仍将她去年所经历的痛苦尽数道出，以及是什么事情让她又回到了这里——在这儿，她嫁给了一个曾以为会深爱一生的男人。她将一直锁在心底、至今仍无法向他人启齿的话倾吐了出来，并向他倾诉失去宝宝后悲痛的心情。

    那时她已怀孕六个月，还是世界上最幸福的人。直到事情发生的前一刻。当时她和母亲待在一起，詹姆斯在郊外工作，没能及时赶回来。医生说这是很平常的事情，他们还有机会。然而她无法做到，她连正视詹姆斯的眼睛都办不到。她恨他，恨他当时不在身边，恨他没有自己那么伤心，更恨他和仅仅在自己怀里躺了三个小时就被抱走的儿子如此相像。接下来的几个月，她远离了丈夫、家庭和朋友，不愿从伤痛中走出来——她觉得那样做是对儿子的背叛。在葬礼上，她拒绝站在丈夫旁边。第二天，她便离开了他。

    抬起头，莉萨读出自己的伤痛映满了男人的双眼。几个月来，她第一次不再感到孤独，她感到压得她喘不过气来的担子开始减轻，尽管只有一点点，但起码这是个开始。她开始相信自己还是有未来的，也许是和眼前这个男人、也许是和他这双温柔的淡褐色眼睛——里面噙着他们共同的泪花。

    他们来此本为结束他们的婚姻，但也许事情还有转机。她站起身，牵起詹姆斯的手，领着他走出酒吧，走向他们三年前互相许下诺言的沙滩。明天，她会取消离婚，今晚，他们将重续承诺。

    小资料

    [1] Justice of the Peace,（太平绅士J.P.），原称治安委员，是一种源于英国，由政府委任民间人士担任维持社区安宁、防止非法刑罚及处理一些较简单的法律程序的职衔。成为太平绅士无须任何学历或资格认证要求。现时英国的英格兰与威尔士、澳大利亚、马来西亚、美国、新加坡、香港等国家、地区皆有太平绅士制度，但各地区对太平绅士的定义和要求皆有分别。

    温馨提示

    (1) Their conversation...meeting.

    刚刚在沙滩上两人见面时比较自然，甚至女主角心里有一丝碰撞的火花，considering在这的意思是较之前的见面，两人的谈话就没有那么自如了。本文前面部分制造了一个悬念，原来此男子就是她要离婚的丈夫James。

    (2) Onlookers, however...other’s eyes.

    这句话作者暗示了两人微妙的夫妇关系。

    (3) Looking up,...man’s eye.

    这句话可以有两个意思，一是她在男人眼睛反射的影像里看到了自己的样子，另一个是她看到了这个男人的痛苦，和自己的一样深。从后面一句For the first time in months she didn’t feel alone, she felt the unbearable burden begin to lift from her, only a bit but it was a start。可以看出，此男主角内心也痛苦，从而分担了女主角的忧愁，也暗示了两人共同经历的事情。

ZT: The Difference between Man and Woman

2009-04-13T15:48:00.001+08:00

　 1. By nature 本性上

　　Men are polygamous by nature. There's no doubt and there's nothing to debate about it。

　　从本性上讲，男人是花心的。毫无疑问，这没什么可争辩的。

　　Women are monogamous by nature. The same holds true with this fact. When a woman loves--it's now and forever. More or less they tend to love now and forever. Most women have hard time forgetting their first love。

　　从本性上来说，女人是纯情的。这是事实。当女人爱上男人时，她们的爱持续时间很长。女人通常会长时间的爱着她们所爱的男人。大多数的女人对她们的初恋难以忘怀。

　　2. Physically 身体上

　　Men are physically stronger than women. This is very evident on the physical differences between men and women。

　　从体格上来说，男人比女人强壮。这是男人和女人差异较为突出的一点。

　　3. Emotionally 情感上

　　Women are emotionally stronger than men。

　　在情感上，女人比男人坚强。

　　Though we tend to see women crying all the time they are stronger emotionally. Men easily get depress and there are more men admitted in mental asylums。

　　虽然我们经常见到女人哭泣，但是她们是坚强的。男人则容易沮丧，因而有较多的男人患有精神病。

　　4. Men are more aggressive than women. 男人比女人好斗。

　　Men proved their aggressiveness through their being adventurous. They are at the same time more aggressive sexually。

　　他们喜欢冒险，这就可以证明他们好斗的性格。当他们为了争夺异性时，好斗的性格就更为突出了。

　　5. Men are possessive and women are submissive. 男人有着很强的占有欲而女人则较为温顺。

　　Though men are polygamous, they want their women to be theirs alone. Most women submit themselves to the will of their man。

　　虽然男人花心，但是对于属于自己的女人，他们则希望她们是完全属于他们自己的，而大多数的女人则顺服于这种大男子主义。

　　6. Men have better sense of humor than women. 男人比女人有幽默感。

　　As evidence, there are more movie comedians than comediennes。

　　通过男性电影喜剧演员比女性电影喜剧演员多这一事实就可以说明这一点了。

　　7. Women mature earlier than men. 女性比男性早熟。

　　At age 17 most women are already matured, whether physically or emotionally。

　　到17岁时，她们的生理机能和心理情感都成熟了。

　　8. Women are more caring than men. 女人比较会照顾人。

　　From the womb until we grow it's our mother who took care of us。

　　我们从胎儿时期到长大成人这期间都是由妈妈照顾的。

　　9. Women have better sense of smell than men. 女人的嗅觉比男人的灵敏。

　　Women can smell whether a companion smoked a cigarette, or sipped wine, wearing perfume or not and many others。

　　她们可以用嗅觉分辨出伴侣是否有吸烟，喝酒，或喷香水诸如之类的事情。

　　10. Women are more talkative than men. 女人话比较多。

　　It has been a proven fact that women speak more frequent than men。

　　已经有事实证明女人讲话的频率比男人的高。

　　11. Women's favorite past time is gossiping. 女人打发时间的最爱方式就是闲聊。

　　It's the cheapest form of entertainment anyway。

　　无论怎么说这都是最划算的娱乐方式。

【名人名言】智慧不在胡子上

2009-04-13T15:46:00.001+08:00

    1. Character is what you are in the dark. (D. L Moody. USA churchman)

    暗处最能反映一个人真正品格。(美国教士穆迪.D.L)

    2. Friendship is like flower fragrance, the more delicate it is, the more attractive and longlasting it will be.(Xi Murong)

    友谊和花香一样，还是淡一点的比较好，越淡的香气越使人依恋，也越能持久。(席慕容)

    3. Progress is the activity of today and the assurance of tomorrow . (Emerson)

    进步是今天的活动、明天的保证。(爱默生)

    4. Words may be false and full of arts ,sighs are the natural language of the heart.(Thomas Shadwell, British dramatist)

    言语可以是谎言并带有技巧；叹息才是心灵的自然流露。(英国剧作家沙德韦尔.T.)

    5. Wherever true valor is found, true modesty will there abound. (William Gillbert, British dramatist and poet)

    真正的勇敢，都包含谦虚。 (英国剧作家、诗人吉尔伯特.W.)

    6. Wisdom is in the head and not in the beard. (Aesop)

    智慧在脑子里，不在胡子上。(伊索)

    7. Plain living and high thinking. (William Wordsworth, British poet)

    生活要朴素，情操要高尚。(英国诗人德莱顿. W)

    8. Life is painting a picture, not doing a sum. (O.W.Holmes)

    生活是绘画,不是做算术。(霍姆斯)

    9. Fame is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent.(Nicolas Chamfort, French writer)

    盛名殊誉是德才之忌。(法国作家尚福尔.N.)

    10. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. (Aesop)

    美存在于欣赏者的眼中。(伊索)

Crystal Shoes

2009-04-13T15:44:00.001+08:00

“Hi! John.” Mary ran towards me with a rare bright smile on her face, saying, “I’m gonna have a dance performance tonight. I hope you’ll come. Here is the ticket. Don’t forget!” She left in a hurry, disappearing in the throngs of people quickly.

    “What?!” I just came to my mind, “What performance? Dance? Is that credible?” I asked myself. Mary was not such kind of girl. She was a quite ordinary one. I had never seen her making up or wearing attractive clothes, moreover, she always wore her big black-frame glasses, for she did not know how to dress up indeed. What a terrible thing, especially for a plain girl!

    “I should go to, I must go to. That’s a miracle!” I thought.

    I arrived at the hall with the ticket, and found my seat. Her performance was the seventh one. I knew I would suffer from a hard time before her turn, for I had no sense of art, but her performance was worth of watching, no matter how long I would wait for.

    Time went slowly, I struggled with myself not to fall asleep.

    “Let’s welcome the next exciting dance — Latin!” Applause fulfilled the hall at once.

    I opened my eyes as large as possible, fearing to lose anything. Wearing a golden and shinning skirt, Mary appeared on the glorious stage. Her dress went well with the brilliant lights. Such scene seemed to be a mermaiden showing up under the glittering sunshine, meanwhile, I could feel all the audience in the hall focused their eyes on her and it was also hard for me to remove my sights from her. She was so beautiful: her stature was slim; her long golden hair lay back in curls over her delicate ears. Dancing with a charming smile, she was fully absorbed in the Latin music. At this moment, she looked like a pretty butterfly flying on the splendid stage… I could hardly believe my eyes.

    After all the performance ended, I waited for her at the gate.

    “Hi!” She stood in front of me with a bag and her crystal high-heeled shoes in her hands, and dressed as she used to be, but the making-up still could be seen.

    “How do you feel?” There was not a little bit tired expression appeared on her face.

    “Fantastic!” I answered.

    “Ha, ha. I knew it would be.” She could not conceal her excitement, laughing like a child.

    “May I lend a hand?”

    “Thank you!” She handed her crystal shoes to me which were shinning in the wonderful starry night; at the mean time, I realized that every girl has a pair of special shoes which are like the crystal shoes of Cinderella.

    【中文译文】：

    “嗨，约翰！”玛丽脸上带着罕见的笑容向我跑来，口中还说着，“今晚我要参加一个演出，希望你能来。这是门票，别忘了啊！”说完，她就匆匆忙忙地离开了，很快消失在人群中。

    “什么？！”我这才回过神来，“什么演出啊？跳舞？是真的吗？”我自言自语道。玛丽不是那种女孩。她非常普通。我从没见过她穿过漂亮的衣服，并且，她总是戴着那幅黑边大眼镜，因为她真的不知该如何打扮。真是不幸啊，尤其对一个相貌平平的女孩来说。

    我想：“我应该去，我必须去。这简直是个奇迹！”

    我拿着票走进演出大厅，找到座位。她的表演排在第七位，我知道我得忍受一段艰难的时间了，因为我对艺术根本就没有什么感觉。但是不论等多久，她的表演都值得一看。

    时间过得很慢，我努力不使自己睡着。

    “让我们欢迎下一个精彩的舞蹈——拉丁舞！”掌声立刻响彻全场。

    我尽量睁大眼睛，生怕会漏掉什么。玛丽穿着一条闪闪发光的金色裙子出现在舞台上。她的打扮与闪耀的灯光正好相配。这个场景就像是美人鱼出现在耀眼的阳光下。这时，我感到整个大厅里的观众都将目光集中在她身上，我也无法把视线从她身上移开。她是如此美丽，身材如此婀娜。她长长的头发卷曲着，遮住她精美的耳朵。她带着迷人的笑容，翩翩起舞，完全沉醉在拉丁音乐中。那一刻，她就像一只美丽的蝴蝶在辉煌的舞台上起舞。我简直不敢相信自己的眼睛。

    演出结束之后，我在门口等她。

    “嗨！”她站在我面前，提着一个手袋和水晶高跟鞋，穿着她平常穿的衣服，但还能看出淡淡的化妆痕迹。

    “感觉怎么样？”她的脸上没有显出一丝疲倦的神情。

    我答道：“棒极了！”

    “哈哈，我就知道是这样。”她掩饰不住兴奋，露出孩子般的笑容。

    “我帮你拿吧？”

    “谢谢！”她把水晶鞋递给我。它们在星夜的天空下闪闪发光。这时，我意识到，每个女孩都有一双属于自己的特殊的鞋，就像灰姑娘的水晶鞋一样。

Value each momen

2009-04-13T15:43:00.001+08:00

    To realize the value of One Year ,
    Ask a student who failed his or her AP exams .

    要知一年有多重要，
    去问问大学预考没过关的学生吧；

    To realize the value of One Month ,
    Ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby .

    要知一月有多重要，
    去问问分娩早产儿的妈妈吧；

    To realize the value of One Week ,
    Ask an edior of a weekly magazine .

    要知一周有多重要，
    去问问周刊杂志的编辑吧；

    To realize the value of One Day ,
    Ask a daily wage laborer who has six kids to feed .

    要知一天有多重要，
    去问问有六个孩子嗷嗷待哺的日薪工人吧；

    To realize the value of One Hour ,
    Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet .

    要知一小时有多重要，
    去问问等待约会的恋人吧；

    To realize the value of One Minute ,
    Ask a person who missed the train .

    要知一分钟有多重要，
    去问问误了火车的人吧；

    To realize the value of One Second ,
    Ask the person who survived an accident.

    要知一秒钟有多重要,
    去问问车祸的幸存者吧。

    To realize the value of One Millisecond ,
    Ask the person who won a silver medal in the Olympics .

    要知一毫秒有多重要，
    去问问奥运会的银牌得主吧。

Love in Love Songs

2009-04-13T15:42:00.001+08:00

   （take me to your heart）

    take me to your heart, take me to your soul, give me your hand before im old

    将我留存心间，与你的灵魂相伴，给我你的手，在我老去之前

    （i swear）

    I'll be there, for better or worse, till death do us part

    I'll love you with every beat of my heart and I swear

    我会在那里，无论顺遂或艰辛，直至死亡将我们分开

    我会用每一次心跳的力量爱你，我发誓

    （i still believe）

    If we believe that true love never has to end, then we must know that we will love again

    如果我们相信真爱永不会终止，那么我们一定将会再次相爱

    （only love）

    Ive tried my best to make you see theres hope beyond the pain

    if we give enough, if we learn to trust

    我用尽全力让你明白，痛楚过后还有希望，

    如果我们给予足够，如果我们学着去信任

    (memory)

    Darling you know i love you till the end of time

    亲爱的你知道，我爱你，直到地老天荒

    (Ocean Deep)

    cant you hear when i call? a little love is all i ask

    你能听到我的呼唤吗？我只要一点点爱

    (like fire tonight)

    Im here to please you, I am your man. Every day, every night, I hold you tight

    我在取悦你，我是你的人。每一天，每个夜晚，我紧紧拥着你

    (Its Amazing)

    Mesmerized by your eyes, the window to your soul. In the match am I your goal?

    被你的眼睛蛊惑，你那灵魂之窗。在爱的游戏中我是你的目标吗？

    (I bruise easily)

    I bruise easily, so be gentle when you handle me

    我容易受伤，所以，请温柔待我

    (forgiven)

    Im sorry things i said hurt you bad. I'm sorry things ive did made you sad Do you think ill be forgiven?

    我抱歉，我说的话让你伤心。

    我抱歉，我做的事让你难过你认为我能被原谅吗？

Love lives deep in the mind

2009-04-13T15:39:00.003+08:00

    1. Love lives deep in the mind instead of residing in the lips.([Britain] William Shakespeare)

    爱情是埋在心灵深处，并不居住在双唇之间。(［英国］莎士比亚)

    2. Between grief and nothing I will take grief. (William Faulkner, American writer)

    在悲痛与虚无之间，我愿意选择悲痛。(美国作家福克纳 W)

    3. Be wisely worldly, be not worldly wise. (Francis Quarles)

    要善于处世，不要老于世故。(夸尔斯)

    4. I don't want to earn my living; I want to live. (Oscar.Wilde)

    我不想谋生；我想生活。(奥斯卡.王尔德)

    5. The world has been made by fools that wise men should live in it. (Oscar.Wilde)

    傻瓜创造了世界，聪明人不得不生活于其中。(奥斯卡.王尔德)

    6. Anger, like grief is a weakness. (Marcus Aurelius Antonius)

    愤怒和悲哀一样，也是一种软弱。(马可・奥勒利乌斯)

    7. Every man is a poet when he is in love.(Plato ancient Creek philosopher)

    每个恋爱中的人都是诗人。 (古希腊哲学家柏拉图)

    8. I wept when I was born, and every day shows why.(Jack London, American novelist)

    我一生下来就开始哭泣，而每一天都表明我哭泣的原因。(美国小说家杰克・伦敦)

    9. Truth needs no colour; beauty , no pencil. (William Shakespeare)

    真理不需色彩，美丽不需涂饰。 (W・莎士比亚)

    10. Sweetest joy ,the wildest woe is love. (Philip Bailey)

    爱情是最甜蜜的欢乐，最强烈的痛苦。(菲利浦.贝利)

【谚语】学问催人老

2009-04-13T15:39:00.001+08:00

    1. Diamond cuts diamond.    强中更有强中手。

    2. We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.

    井干方知水可贵。

    3. You can't get something for nothing. 人不能不劳而获。

    4. A good fame is better than a good face.

    美名胜过美貌。

    5. A man of words and not of deeds is like a garden full of weeds.

    光说空话不做事，犹如花园光长刺。

    6. A wise head makes a close mouth.

    真人不露相，露相非真人。

    7. A man cannot whistle and drink at the same time.

    一心不能二用。

    8. Be slow to promise and quick to perform.

    不轻诺，诺必果。

    9. Knowledge advances by steps and not by leaps.

    知识只能循序渐进，不能跃进。

    10. Talking mends no holes.

    空谈无补。

    11. Too much knowledge makes the head bald.

    学问太多催老。

    12. A fault confessed is half redressed.

    承认错误等于改正一半。/ 浪子回头金不换。

    13. Each day brings its own road.

    天无绝人之路。

    14. Care and diligence bring luck.

    谨慎和勤奋才能抓住机遇。

    15. When a man is going down-hill, everyone will give him a push.

    墙倒众人推。

Mother's hand

2009-04-13T15:34:00.001+08:00

    Night after night, she came to tuck me in, even long after my childhood years. Following her longstanding custom, she'd lean down and push my long hair out of the way, then kiss my forehead.

    I don't remember when it first started annoying me — her hands pushing my hair that way. But it did annoy me, for they felt work-worn and rough against my young skin. Finally, one night, I shouted out at her, "Don't do that anymore —your hands are too rough!" She didn't say anything in reply. But never again did my mother close out my day with that familiar expression of her love.

    Time after time, with the passing years, my thoughts returned to that night. By then I missed my mother's hands, missed her goodnight kiss on my forehead. Sometimes the incident seemed very close, sometimes far away. But always it lurked, in the back of my mind.

    Well, the years have passed, and I'm not a little girl anymore. Mom is in her mid-seventies, and those hands I once thought to be so rough are still doing things for me and my family. She's been our doctor, reaching into a medicine cabinet for the remedy to calm a young girl's stomach or soothe the boy's scraped knee. She cooks the best fried chicken in the world... gets stains out of blue jeans like I never could...

    Now, my own children are grown and gone. Mom no longer has Dad, and on special occasions, I find myself drawn next door to spend the night with her. So it was late on Thanksgiving Eve, as I slept in the bedroom of my youth, a familiar hand hesitantly run across my face to brush the hair from my forehead. Then a kiss, ever so gently, touched my brow.

    In my memory, for the thousandth time, I recalled the night my young voice complained, "Don't do that anymore — your hands are too rough!" Catching Mom's hand in hand, I blurted out how sorry I was for that night. I thought she'd remember, as I did. But Mom didn't know what I was talking about. She had forgotten — and forgiven — long ago.

    That night, I fell asleep with a new appreciation for my gentle mother and her caring hands. And the guilt that I had carried around for so long was nowhere to be found.

    【中文译文】：

    母亲总是在我入睡之后，为我掖好被子，然后俯下身子，轻轻拨开覆在我脸上的长发，亲吻我的前额。日复一日，母亲一直保持着这个习惯，即使我已不再是小孩子了，这一切却依然故我。

    不知从什么时候开始，母亲的这种习惯渐渐让我感到不悦----我不喜欢她那双布满老茧的手就这样划过我细嫩的皮肤。终于，在一个夜晚，我忍不住冲她吼了起来：“你不要再这样了，你的手好粗糙！”母亲无言以对。但从此却再没有用这种我熟悉的表达爱的方式来为我的一天画上句号。

    日子一天天过去，随着时间的流逝，我却总是不由得想起那一夜。我开始想念母亲的那双手，想念她印在我前额上的“晚安”。这种渴望忽远忽近，但始终潜藏在我心灵深处的某个角落。

    若干年后，我成熟了，已不再是个小女孩了。母亲也已到了古稀之年，可她却始终没有停止过操劳，用她那双曾经被我视为“粗糙”的手为我和我的家庭做着力所能及的事情。她是我们的家庭医生，小姑娘胃痛时，她会从药箱里找出胃药来，小男孩擦伤的膝盖时，她会去安抚他的伤痛。她能做出世界上最好吃的炸鸡，能把蓝色牛仔裤上的污渍去得毫无痕迹......

    现在，我自己的孩子也已长大，有了自己的生活，母亲却没有了父亲的陪伴。有一次，恰好是感恩节前夜，我决定就睡在母亲旁边的卧室里，陪她度过这一夜。这是我儿时的卧室，一切都是那么的熟悉，还有一只熟悉的手犹豫着从我的脸上掠过，梳理着我前额的头发，然后，一个吻，带着一如往日的温柔，轻轻落在了我的额头。

    在我的记忆里，曾几千次再现那晚的情景和我那稚嫩的抱怨声：“你不要再这样了，你的手好粗糙！”我一把抓住母亲的手，一股脑说出我对那一晚深深的愧疚。我想，她一定和我一样，对那晚的事历历在目。然而，母亲却不知我再说些什么-----她早忘了，早已原谅我了。

    那天晚上，我带着对母亲新的感激安然入睡，我感激她的温柔，和她那呵护的双手。多年来压在我心头的负罪感也随之烟消云散。

A Simple Day

2009-04-13T15:31:00.001+08:00

    To wake up in the morning， knowing I am still alive，

    在清晨醒来，知道自己仍然活着，

    To know I have a choice each day，starting afresh，

    明白每天都有选择的权利，可以重新开始，

    To find joy in every day，acknowledging simple pleasures，

    在每一天里找到快乐，去感知微小的愉悦，

    To live in the present moment，eagaging my awareness，

    活在当下，并保持清醒的头脑，

    To count the blessing in life，believing abundance abounds，

    数念生命中的恩赐，相信富足无处不有，

    To enjoy the work I do，following my passion，

    享受所从事的工作，追随着自己的热情，

    To make a little difference，adding to the universe，

    为全人类，贡献自己的一份力量，

    To be what I am ，listenning to my inner being，

    做你自己，聆听自己内心的声音，

    To give away love，rejoicing in the chance to give，

    撒播爱念，为给予的机会而欣喜，

    To receive love with gratitude，feeling good about it，

    以感激之情接受爱，并感觉良好，

    To smile at strangers，seeing how infections it can be，

    对陌生人微笑，看看笑容的感染力，

    To speak words of kindness，spreading a little warmth，

    口出善言，分洒点点温暖，

    To understand with compassion，openning up my mind，

    以同情之心去理解，开放思想，

    To play with children，nurturing my inner child，

    与孩子们嬉戏，养育童心，

    To appreciate the nature，soaking up all the beauty，

    欣赏大自然，吸纳一切美丽，

    To feel the warmth of the sun，glowing upon my skin，

    感受太阳的温暖，让阳光照耀我的肌肤，

    To listen to the falling rain，pattering on the grounds，

    倾听雨声，滴答降落大地，

    To taste the richness of food，sliding down my throat，

    品尝食物的鲜美，滑落喉咙，

    To smell the freshness of air，filling up my lungs，

    去嗅吸空气的清新，充满肺腑，

    To see the falling night，concluding a well-lived day，

    看夜色落下，结束充实的一天，

    That is life，that is living，

    那就是生命，那就是生活，

    That is the core of what really matters...

    那就是真正重要的核心所在......

    And if I have missed out anything，

    如果我还遗漏了什么，

    Please let love make up for all of it.

    请用爱把剩余的空隙都填满。

Desperate Housewives

2009-04-13T15:30:00.001+08:00

Temptation comes to all of us, whether or not we succumb depends on our ability to recognize its disguise.Sometimes it arrives in a form of an old flame, flickering back to life, or a new friend who could end up being so much more, or a young child who wakens feelings we didn't know we had.And so we give in to temptation all the while knowing come morning, we'll have to suffer the consequences.

    有时它们以闪回的火花形式出现；有时是一个意义深远的新朋友；有时是一个触发我们不曾有过的感觉的婴儿。每个人都会受到诱惑，我们是否屈服与诱惑决定于我们识破其伪装的能力。不过如果我们屈服于诱惑，那么第二天我们必须承担后果。

We've all done something in our lives us we are ashamed of.Some of us have fallen for the wrong man, some have let go of the right women, there're those who have humiliated their parents and those who have failed their children.Yes, we've all made mistakes that diminish us and those we love.But there is redemption if we try to learn from those mistakes and grow.

    我们都做过一些自己都感到惭愧的事。有些人爱错了人，有些人错过了爱；有些孩子使父母丢脸，也有些家长让孩子失望。是的，我们都犯过错使我们爱的人离我们而去。但如果我们试着从这些错误中吸取教训并成长，就还有挽回的机会。

　　When the truth is ugly, people try to keep it hidden, because they know if revealed, the damage it will do.So they conceal it within sturdy walls, or they place it behind closed doors, or they obscure it with clever disguises.But truth , no matter how ugly, always emerges, and someone we care about always ends up getting hurt, and someone else will revel in their pain, and that's the ugliest truth of all.

    当真相很丑陋的时候，人们想法设法来掩盖它。因为他们知道如果被发现的话后果相当严重。所以他们用严实的墙来遮蔽它；或把真相关在紧闭的门后；或用聪明的伪装使它们变得朦胧。但不管真相多么丑陋它们总会浮现，那些我们关心的人最后还是会受到伤害，而另外一些人却为他们的痛苦而快乐，这才是最丑陋的事实。

     以上部分转载自21色社区

      As I look back at the world I left behind, it’s all so clear to me. The beauty that waits to be unveiled. The mysteries that long to be uncovered. But people so rarely stop to take a look. They just keep moving. It’s a shame, really. There’s so much to see.

      当我回头看身后的这个世界时，我看得如此的清晰，有那么多有待发现的美丽，和那么多有待揭幕的秘密。但人们很少会停下来看上一眼，他们只是不停地往前走。这真的很遗憾，有那么多值得一看的东西。

      I remember the world. Every detail. And what I remember the most is how afraid I was. What a waste! You see, to live in fear, is not to live at all. I wish I could tell this to those I left behind, but would it do any good? Probably not. I understand now, there will always be those who face their fears... and there will always be those who run away.

      我记得这世界每一个细节，而我影响最深刻的是，我是如何害怕的，多么浪费！你看，生活在恐惧中不是生活的全部。我希望我能告诉这些给我之后的人，但是那会有用吗？也许不会。我现在明白了，总会有些人面对他们的恐惧……而有些人会选择逃跑。

      People, by their very nature, are always on the lookout for intruders... trying to prevent those on the outside from getting in. But there will always be those who force their way into our lives... just as there will be those we invite in. But the most troubling of all will be the ones who stand on the outside looking in... the ones we never truly get to know.

      本能的都在寻找入侵者，阻止别人从外面闯入。但总有些人强行闯入我们的生活，正如那些被我们邀请进入我们生活圈的人一样。但最令人头痛的是，那些站在外面向里面偷窥的人，一些你根本无法真正去了解的人。

      The search for power begins when we are quite young. As children, we were taught that the power of good triumphs over the power of evil. But as we get older, we realize that nothing is ever that simple. Traces of evil always remain...

      当我们还很小的时候，寻根究底的力量就开始显现了。孩子们被告知，正义的力量能战胜邪恶。当我们长大了，我们意识到没有什么事情如此简单。和邪恶的斗争，永不停息。

      Competition, it means different things to different people. But whether it� a friendly rivalry... or a fight to the death, the end result is the same. There will be winners and there will be losers. Of course, the trick is to know which battles to fight. You see, no victory comes without a price.

      竞争因人而异，但是不管是友好竞争还是生死决斗，结果总是相同的――有赢家，也有输家。但是，诀窍是，懂得去参加什么样的竞争。要知道，胜利都是用代价换来的。

      There is a widely read book that tells us everyone is a sinner. Of course, not everyone feels guilt over the bad things they do. In contrast, there are those who assume more than their share of the blame. There are others, who sooth their consciences with small acts of kindness. Or by telling themselves their sins were justified. Finally, there are the ones who simply vow to do better next time, and pray for forgiveness. Sometimes, their prayers are answered.

      有一本流行的书告诉我们“每个人都是罪人”。当然了，不是每个人看了这书都对他们所作的坏事感到愧疚。相反的，有些人认为那应该比应受的谴责更多；还有些人用他们善意的小事安抚他们的良心；或者告诉他们自己，他们的罪行是正当的；最后，有些人会发誓，下次会做好些，然后为了饶恕而祈祷。有时，他们的祈祷被回应了。

      People are complicated creatures. On the one hand，able to perform great acts of charity. On the other, capable of the most underhanded forms of betrayal. It’s a constant battle that ranges within all of us, between the better angels of our nature, and the temptation of our inner demons. And sometimes the only way to ward off the darkness... is to shine the light of compassion.

      人是一种复杂的动物，一方面，在施舍上表现地很好，另一方面，却遭别人的背叛。我们每个人的愤怒是场持久战，在我们本性好的一面，和我们内心深处的黑暗面。

How keep fresh of love

2009-03-14T17:13:00.001+08:00

如何让你们之间的爱情历久弥新？试试下面的方法：

    1. Start each day with a kiss--I think this one is not that hard; on the contrary; it can be healthy and nice.

    用一个吻迎接新的一天。接吻如此简单，却能令人身心愉悦。
　
    2. Date once a week--May not as often as once a week, let's say every other week or that a date can be inside your home and that you don't have to go somewhere fancy to have it, you get the idea, right? 　　

    一周约会一次。也不必非得一周一次，也可以两周一次。而且约会的地点可以在家中，不必非去什么特别的地方。你是不是明白了？有心就好。

    3. Accept differences--No one is perfect. However; healthy arguments are good for the relationship, hence; the most important thing would be learning how to compromise with one another. 　　

    接受彼此的不同，因为人无完人。适度的争论可以增进双方的关系，但重要的是要在争论中懂得妥协。
　
    4. Be polite--Please, thank you, you are welcome… these are not only meant for strangers; your own spouse and family should come first and you must always use these phrases inside your home. 　

    多用礼貌用语。请、谢谢、不客气这些话不只要说给陌生人听，更要说给你的伴侣和家人听。在家里要记得多用这些客气话。

    5. Be gentle--a person is supposed to be the closest to his/her spouse, being gentle is crucial to keep them close enough. 　　

    温柔一些——若想关系亲密，温柔是至关重要的。

    6. Give gifts--nice small gifts are appreciated every once in a while. 　　

    给对方送礼物——偶尔送些甜蜜小礼物，就能令对方感激不尽。

    7. Touch--intimacy between married people is very important and touching is a means of communication that reflects closeness, connection and love; it is your way of keeping the spark alive. 　　

    抚触——情侣间的抚触非常重要，它可以增进情感，传达爱意。它是情感交流的一种方式，它可以让爱的火花常燃不熄。

    8. Talk about dreams--dreams of the future that is; if you don't share your dreams with your spouse; then who? 　　

    谈论梦想——说说对未来的憧憬。试想，若不和伴侣分享你的梦想，那么还能同谁讲呢？
　
    9. Select a song that can be "our song" —— this sounds like a cliché, but it can be nice, don't you think? 　

    选一首歌作为“你俩的歌”——听起来有点老套，但是不是很美妙？

    10. Laugh together--laughter is medicine. When you share good laughs together; the fun grows in the relationship and you grow closer and stronger every day. 　　

    一起开怀大笑——笑是良药。当你俩一起开怀的时候，你们的关系也会伴随着笑声一天天地亲近和坚固起来。　

    11. Send a card for no reason--another cliché? Maybe, but everyone likes to receive a nice "I love you" or "I miss you" notes every once in a while. 　　

    没什么缘由地送张卡片——又很老套吗？不过谁不喜欢时不时地收到些“我爱你”，“我想你”之类的卡片呢？　　

    12. Listen--this could be the most important one ever, but note that you should listen with empathy and not just hear what they are saying; you should get involved. 　

    聆听——这非常重要，但注意聆听的时候你应该全情投入并参与其中，而不仅仅只是听到了对方说的话。　

    13. Encourage--positive support and being there for one another is also very important; seek their support and give them yours and be generous! 　　

    鼓励——彼此支持是非常重要的。向对方寻求支持并慷慨地给予对方支持！　　

    14. Do it his or her way--sometimes; you need to do things their way just to show how much you love them and respect their feelings. 　　

    按照对方喜欢的方式行事——有时候，你可以按照对方喜欢的方式行事，并以此来传达你对伴侣的爱恋和尊重。　　

    15. Know his or her needs--what good is a spouse if he/she does not know the needs of their significant others? This should be your primary concern! 　　

    知道对方的需求——如果不知道另一半的需要，那还算什么好伴侣？这一点是首先需要留心的。

the value of love

2009-03-12T22:41:00.001+08:00

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

    Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

    When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

    Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,

    "Richness, can you take me with you?"

    Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

    Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"

    "I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat", Vanity answered.

    Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."

    "Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

    Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

    Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you". It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder, Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"

    "It was Time", Knowledge answered.

    "Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"

    Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is".

    【中文译文】：

    从前，情感们都居住在一座小岛上。他们中有喜悦、悲哀、博学……还有爱。一天，情感们接到通知，这座岛即将沉没。于是，他们纷纷造船逃离。除了爱。

    爱是唯一留下来的。爱想要坚持到最后一刻。

    岛就要沉了，爱决定求救。

    财富驾着一艘大船驶过来。爱问道：

    “财富，你能带我走吗？”

    财富回答说：“不，我不能。我的船上满载着金银财宝，没有多余的地方了。”

    虚荣乘的船驶过来了，那船美仑美奂。“虚荣，请救救我吧！”

    “我帮不了你，爱。你浑身都湿透了，你会毁了我的船。”虚荣回答说。

    这时，悲伤的船经过了，爱请求道：“悲伤，让我跟你走吧。”

    “噢……爱，我忧伤极了，我想独自一个人。”

    喜悦的船也经过了爱的身畔，但她太兴奋了，她没听到爱的呼唤。

    突然，有个声音对爱说道：“来吧，爱，到我的船上来。”这是一位长者。爱如蒙圣恩，欣喜若狂，甚至忘了问他们要往哪儿去。抵达陆地后，长者径自离开了。怀着对长者的无限感激，爱问另一位长者博学：“救我的是谁？”

    “是时间。”博学答道。

    “时间？”爱问道：“时间为什么要救我呢？”

    博学意味深长地笑了，答道：“因为只有时间懂得爱是多么珍贵。”

人人都会犯错误

2009-03-02T16:38:00.001+08:00

    1. In nature there are no rewards or punishments; there are consequences. (Horacl Annexley Vachell, British writer)　

    自然界中没有奖赏和惩罚，只有因果报应。(英国作家瓦谢尔 H A)

    2. A man who is never satisfied with himself and whom therefore nobody can please. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , German poet)

    人要是从来不满意自己，就不会有人能够使他满意。(德国诗人歌德.J.W. )

    3. The law cannot make all men equal, but they are all equal before the law. (Frederick Pollock ,British jurist　)

    法律不能使人人平等，但是在法律面前人人是平等的.(英国法学家波洛克 F)　

    4. A man , like a watch , is to be valued by his manner of going. William Penn, British admiral )

    一个人，正如一个时钟，是以他的行动来定其价值的。 (英国海军上将佩恩 W.)

    5. All men are liable to error; and most men are, in many points, by passion or interest, under temptation to it. (John Locke, British Philosopher )

    人都会犯错误，在许多情况下，大多数仍是由于欲望或兴趣的引诱而犯错误的。(英国哲学家洛克.J.)

    6. A friendship founded on business is better than business founded on friendship. (John Davison Rockefeller, American businessman)　

    建立在商务基础上的友谊胜过建立在友谊基础上的商务。(美国实业家洛克菲勒 J D)

    7. Fools learn nothing from wise men , but wise men learn much from fools.( Lavater, Swiss writer)　

    傻瓜向聪明人学之甚少，而聪明人却向傻瓜学之甚多。(瑞士作家拉瓦特.J.K.)

    8. Man errs so long as he strives. (Johan Wolfgang Goethe , German poet and dramatist)

    人只要奋斗就会犯错误。 (德国诗人、剧作家歌德. J. W.)

    9. All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend .(Voltaire , French thinker)

    人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。 (法国思想家伏尔泰)

    10. The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today .(Franklin Roosevelt , American president)

    实现明天理想的唯一障碍是今天的疑虑。 (美国总统罗斯福. F .)

    11. We cannot always build the future for our youth , but we can build our youth for the future . (Franklin Roosevelt , American president )

    我们不能总是为我们的青年造就美好未来，但我们能够为未来造就我们的青年一代。 (美国总统罗斯福. F.)

    12. Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing. (Benjamin Franklin, American pesident)

    选择朋友要谨慎，换朋友更要谨慎。(美国总统富兰克林.B.)

    13. Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing .(Albert Einstein , American scientist )

    有时候一个人为不花钱得到的东西付出的代价最高。(美国科学家爱因斯坦. A.)

    14. A lifetime of happiness ! No man alive could bear it ; it would be hell on earth .(G. Bernard Shaw ,British dramatist )

    终身幸福！这是任何活着的人都无法忍受的，那将是人间地狱。(英国剧作家肖伯纳. G.)

    15. There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it. (George Bernard Shaw).

    人生悲剧有二: 一是不遂心愿,一是得遂心愿. (萧伯纳)

我感谢布什总统为我们国家作出的服务，感谢他在过渡期间所展示的慷慨与合作。

I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

关于困境

我们都明白我们现在处于危机当中。我们的国家处于战争状态，与一个影响深远的、暴力与仇恨的网络作战。我们的经济遭到严重削弱，这是部分人贪婪和不负责任的后果，但也因为我们作为一个集体没能作出艰难选择，没能为新时代作好准备。

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.

关于经济

从今天开始，我们必须从跌倒中起来，拍拍灰尘，再次开始重塑美国。

Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

奥巴马演说精华摘录

2009-02-20T22:05:00.001+08:00

国家的经济情况要求我们采取大胆且快速的行动，我们的确是要行动，不仅是要创造就业，更要为（下一轮经济）增长打下新的基础。

The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.

市场创造财富、拓展自由的能力无可匹敌，但是这场危机提醒我们，如果没有监管，市场很可能就会失去控制，而且偏袒富人国家的繁荣无法持久。国家经济的成败不仅仅取决于国内生产总值的大小，而且取决于繁荣的覆盖面，取决于我们是否有能力让所有有意愿的人都有机会走向富裕。

Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control, and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart, not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

关于外交

我想对正在观看这一仪式的其他国家的人民和政府说，不论他们现在各国伟大的首府还是在如同我父亲出生地一般的小村落，我想让他们知道：对于每个追求和平和自尊的国家和个人而言，美国都是朋友，我们愿意再次领导大家踏上追寻之旅。

And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.

我们将以负责任的态度，将伊拉克交还给伊拉克人民，同时巩固阿富汗来之不易的和平。对于老朋友和老对手，我们将继续努力，不遗余力，削弱核威胁，遏制全球变暖的幽灵。

We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.

关于安全

对于那些企图通过恐怖主义或屠杀无辜平民达成目标的人，我们要对他们说：我们的信仰更加坚定，不可动摇，你们不可能拖垮我们，我们定将战胜你们。

We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.

关于美国精神

我们面临的挑战也许是新的，我们应对挑战的措施也许也是新的，但那些长期以来指导我们成功的价值观――勤奋、诚实、勇气、公平竞争、包容以及对世界保持好奇心，还有对国家的忠诚和爱国主义――却是历久弥新，这些价值观是可靠的。

But those values upon which our success depends ― hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism ― these things are old. These things are true.

大人物VS小人物

2009-02-20T21:51:00.001+08:00

   1. Fish and visitors smell three days.( Franklin Benjamin, American president)

    鱼放三天发臭，客住三天讨嫌。 (美国总统富兰克林. B.)

    2. If you doubt yourself , then indeed you stand on shaky ground.(Ibsen, Norwegian dramatist)

    如果你怀疑自己，那么你的立足点确实不稳固了。 (挪威剧作家易卜生)

    3. Work banishes those three great evils: boredom, vice, and poverty. (Voltaire, French philosopher)

    工作撵跑三个魔鬼：无聊、堕落和贫穷。 (法国哲学家伏尔基泰)

    4. Almost any situation---good or bad ---is affected by the attitude we bring to. (Lucius Annaus Seneca, Ancient Roman philosopher)

    差不多任何一种处境――无论是好是坏――都受到我们对待处境的态度的影响。(古罗马哲学家西尼加 L A)

    5. The time of life is short; to spend that shortness basely, it would be too long. (William Shakespeare, British dramatist )

    人生苦短，若虚度年华，则短暂的人生就太长了。(英国剧作家莎士比亚. W.)

    6. Miracles sometimes occur, but one has to work terribly for them.(C.Weizmann)

    奇迹有时候是会发生的，但是你得为之拼命地努力。(魏茨曼)

    7. A great man is always willing to be little. ―― R. W. Emerson

    伟大的人物总是愿意当小人物的。 ――爱默生

    8. Do not, for one repulse, forgo the purpose that you resolved to effor．(Shakespeare)

    不要只因一次挫败，就放弃你原来决心想达到的目的。(莎士比亚)

    9. Eternal truths will be neither true nor eternal unless they have fresh meaning for every new social situation . (Franklin Roosevelt, American president )

    永恒的真理如果不在新的社会形势下赋予新的意义,要么就不是真理,要么就不是永恒的。 (美国总统罗斯福 . F.)

    10. If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some. (Benjamin Franklin , American president )

    要想知道钱的价值，就想办法去借钱试试。( 美国总统富兰克林. B.)

    11. To really understand a man we must judge him in misfortune.(Bonaparte Napoleon , French emperor)

    要真正了解一个人，需在不幸中考察他。 (法国皇帝拿破仑. B .)

    12. Experience is not what happens to a man ; it is what a man does with what happens to him .(Aldous Leonard Huxley, American writer)

    经验不会从天而降；经验只有通过实践才能获得。(美国作家郝胥黎.A.L)　

    13. A fool always finds a bigger fool to admire him. (Boileau Nicolas, French poet and critic )

    傻瓜总会发现有比他更傻的人在赞美他。(法国诗人、批评家尼古拉斯)　

    14. Happiness is beneficial for the body , but it is grief that develops the powers of the mind. (Marcel Proust, French writer )

    愉快有益于人的身体，但只有悲伤才能培养心灵力量。(法国作家普鲁斯M)　

    15. Adversity reveals genius; fortune conceals it. (Horace, ancient Roman poet )

    苦难显才华，好运隐天资。(古罗马诗人贺拉斯)　

A Little Piece of Me

2009-02-13T17:33:00.001+08:00

When he told me he was leaving I felt like a vase which has just smashed. There were pieces of me all over the tidy, tan tiles. He kept talking, telling me why he was leaving, explaining it was for the best, I could do better, it was his fault and not mine. I had heard it before many times and yet somehow was still not immune; perhaps one did not become immune to such felony.

    He left and I tried to get on with my life. I filled the kettle and put it on to boil, I took out my old red mug and filled it with coffee watching as each coffee granule slipped in to the bone china. That was what my life had been like, endless omissions of coffee granules, somehow never managing to make that cup of coffee.

    Somehow when the kettle piped its finishing warning I pretended not to hear it. That's what Mike's leaving had been like, sudden and with an awful finality. I would rather just wallow in uncertainty than have things finished. I laughed at myself. Imagine getting all philosophical and sentimental about a mug of coffee. I must be getting old.

    And yet it was a young woman who stared back at me from the mirror. A young woman full of promise and hope, a young woman with bright eyes and full lips just waiting to take on the world. I never loved Mike anyway. Besides there are more important things. More important than love, I insist to myself firmly. The lid goes back on the coffee just like closure on the whole Mike experience.

    He doesn't haunt my dreams as I feared that night. Instead I am flying far across fields and woods, looking down on those below me. Suddenly I fall to the ground and it is only when I wake up that I realize I was shot by a hunter, brought down by the burden of not the bullet but the soul of the man who shot it. I realize later, with some degree of understanding, that Mike was the hunter holding me down and I am the bird that longs to fly. The next night my dream is similar to the previous nights, but without the hunter. I fly free until I meet another bird who flies with me in perfect harmony. I realize with some relief that there is a bird out there for me, there is another person, not necessarily a lover perhaps just a friend, but there is someone out there who is my soul mate. I think about being a broken vase again and realize that I have glued myself back together, what Mike has is merely a little part of my time in earth, a little understanding of my physical being. He has only, a little piece of me.

    【中文译文】：

    当他告诉我他要离开的时候，我感觉自己就像花瓶裂成了碎片，跌落在茶色瓷砖地板上。他一直在说话，解释着为什么要离开，说什么这是最好的，我可以做得更好，都是他的错，与我无关。虽然这些话我已经听上好几千遍了，可每次听完都让我很受伤，或许在这样巨大的打击面前没有人能做到无动于衷。

    他走了，我尝试着继续过自己的生活。我烧开水，拿出红色杯子，看着咖啡粉末一点点地落入骨灰瓷的杯子里。这正是我自己的鲜活写照，不断地往下掉咖啡粉末，却从来没有真正地泡成一杯咖啡。

    水开了，水壶发出警报声，我假装没有听见。迈克的离去也是一样，突如其来，并且无可挽回。要知道，我宁愿忍受分与不分的煎熬，也不愿意以这样的方式被宣判"死刑"。想着想着我就哑然失笑，自己竟然为一杯咖啡有如此多的人生感怀，我自己一定是老了。

    可是镜子里回瞪着我的那个女孩还是那么年轻啊！明目皓齿，充满了前途与希望，光明的未来在向她招手。没关系的，反正我也从来没有爱过迈克。何况，生命中还有比爱更重要的东西在等待着我，我对自己坚持说。我将咖啡罐的盖子盖好，也将所有关于迈克的记忆尘封起来。

    那天晚上，出乎意料的是，他并没有入到我的梦中。在梦里，我飞过田野和森林，俯瞰着大地。突然间，我掉了下来……醒来后才发现原来自己被猎人打中了，但是令我坠落的不是他的子弹，而是他的灵魂。我后来才渐渐明白，原来迈克就是那个使我坠落的猎人，而我是那只渴望飞翔的小鸟。到了第二天晚上，我仍然做了类似的梦，但是猎人不见了，我一直在自由地飞翔，直到遇上另外一只小鸟和我比翼双飞。我开始意识到，总有那么一只鸟，那么一个人在前面等我，这个人可能是我的爱人，可能只是朋友，但一定是知我懂我的人，这令我感觉如释重负。我想起曾经觉得自己像花瓶一样裂开了，才意识到原来自己已经把自己修理好了。迈克只是我生命过程中的小小过客，他仅仅了解我的表面，他仅仅是我生命中的小小一部分。

英语的幽默

2009-02-08T11:19:00.001+08:00

老外们喜欢幽默，日常生活中许多英语幽默来自于对语言的巧妙运用，尤其是对双关语的运用。老外们的幽默感通过双关语得到了淋漓尽致地发挥。

　　1 句法结构双关

　　例句：

　　--"Do you ever draw picture in the nude?"

　　--"No, I usually wear a jacket."

　　对话中，提问的人是想问"你有没有画过裸体画"，而回答的人却理解为"你曾经光着身子画过画吗?"这则

　　幽默中双关产生的原因是对in the nude在句中不同功能的理解，即作定语或作状语。

　　2 语义双关

　　例一：一个男孩子为了追求一个在银行窗口工作的女孩子，便在递交存折的同时附上了一张小纸条。"Dear M:

　　I have been SAVING this question in the hope that I might gain some INTEREST. If free Friday, would you care to DEPOSIT yourself beside me at a movie? I have taken into ACCOUNT that you maybe previously engaged; if so I will WITHDRAW my offer and hope Saturday. At any RATE, your company would much enjoy, and I hope you will not ASSESS this as too forward. Check you late.

　　Sincerely B."

　　如此有创意的求爱方式，女孩子能不为之心动么。男孩子巧妙运用银行术语(save,interest,deposit, withdraw, account, assess, check)与日常环境的不同意思，以独特的方式表达了自己的爱慕之情。

　　例二：英语习惯用语生动形象，用在一定的语境中，可以产生一语双关的效果。

　　--What weather does mice most dislike?

　　--When it is raining cats and dogs.

　　"Cats and dogs"是倾盆大雨的意思。这则

　　幽默取其字面意思，猫狗都从天上掉下来了，老鼠自然不喜欢了。

　　3 语音双关

　　例一：The things my wife buy at auctions are keeping me baroque.

　　baroque即巴洛克风格，该单词本义是指一种形状不规则的珍珠，引申为"不合常规，古典主义者用它来称呼这种被认为是离经叛道的建筑风格。其特点是外形自由，追求动态，喜好富丽的装饰和雕刻、强烈的色彩，常用穿插的曲面和椭圆形空间。

这句话是一位男士利用baroque(形式怪样的)与broke(破产)的相近读音来表达对妻子花钱大手大脚的不满。

　　例二：Six-year-old Linda returned impressed from her school first day at school. Asked how she got on, she replied:" Every morning, we all have to sit at our desk and when the teacher calls our names, we have to answer 'prisoner' !"

　　当老师点名时，学生应该回答"present"。而Linda利用"prisoner"与"present"的相近读音，表达了对学校生活的不满。

　　例三：--"You're not eating your fish," the waitress asked him, "Anything wrong with it?"

　　--"Long time no sea," the customer replied.

　　"Long time no sea"鱼久不见海，肯定不新鲜。而"Long time no see"是朋友见面时所用的寒暄语，相当于老朋友久别重逢时说的"好久不见"。Sea与see是同音异形异义词，这位顾客巧妙地运用这一点，指出了鱼不好吃，不新鲜。

The Missed Blessings

2009-02-08T11:15:00.001+08:00

    A young man was getting ready to graduate from college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

    As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation, his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, but somewhat disappointed, the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the young man's name embossed in gold. Angrily, he raised his voice to his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" He then stormed out of the house, leaving the Bible.

    Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and a wonderful family, but realizing his father was very old, he thought perhaps he should go to see him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make the arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care of things.

    When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart. He began to search through his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he was reading, a car key dropped from the back of the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words... "PAID IN FULL".

    How many times do we miss blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; but remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

    Sometimes we don't realize the good fortune we have or we could have because we expect "the packaging" to be different. What may appear as bad fortune may in fact be the door that is just waiting to be opened.

    【中文译文】：

    从前，有位年轻人即将大学生毕业。数月来，他一直渴望得到某汽车商产品陈列室中的一辆跑车。他知道，他那富有的父亲肯定买得起这辆车，于是，他便跟父亲说他很想得到那辆漂亮的跑车。

    在毕业典礼即将来临的日子里，年轻人等待着父亲买下跑车的消息。终于，在毕业典礼那天上午，父亲将他叫到自己的书房，并告诉他，有他这么出色的儿子自己感到非常自豪而且非常爱他这个儿子。接着，父亲递给儿子一个包装精美的礼品盒。年轻人感到好奇，但带着些许失望地打开礼品盒，却发现里面是一本精美的精装本《圣经》，上面以金子凸印着年轻人的名字。看罢，年轻人怒气冲冲地向父亲大喊道："你有那么多钱，却只给我一本《圣经》？"说完，便丢下《圣经》，愤怒地冲出房子。

    多年以后，年轻人已事业有成。他拥有一所漂亮的房子，一个温馨的家庭。但当得知父亲年事已高，他想，或许应该去看看他。自从毕业那天起他就一直不见父亲。就在起程时，他收到一封电报－－父亲已逝世，并已立下遗嘱将其所有财产转给儿子。他要立即回父亲家处理后事。

    在父亲的房子里，他突然内心感到一阵悲伤与懊悔。他开始仔细搜寻父亲的重要文件，突然发现了那本《圣经》－－还跟几年前一样崭新。他噙着泪水打开《圣经》并一页一页地阅读着。忽然，从书的背面掉出一把钥匙。钥匙上挂着一个标签，上面写着一个汽车经销商的名字－－正是他曾渴望的那辆跑车的经销商。标签上还有他的毕业日期及"款已付清"的字样。

    我们多少次地与祝福擦肩而过，仅仅因为他们没有按我们想象中的样子包装好？不要在渴望得到没有的东西时损坏你已经拥有的东西，但要记住一点：你现在所拥有的恰恰正是你曾经一心渴望得到的。

    有时，我们并没有意识到我们已经拥有或本该拥有的好运，仅仅因为它的外表与我们想象中的有所不同。其实，表面上看起来像是坏运气的东西或许正是等待开启的幸运之门。

给年轻人的话

2009-02-08T11:14:00.001+08:00

1. Most of it doesn't matter.So much of what I got excited about, anxious about, or wasted my time and energy on, turned out not to matter. There are only a few things that truly count for a happy life. I wish I had known to concentrate on those and ignore the rest.

    拥有一颗平常心。

    太多我曾经为其兴奋，为其焦虑，亦或是浪费了我时间以及精力的事情到最后却被证明是无关紧要的。它们只是幸福生活里极其微小的一部分。我多么希望早点知道这些，以便能把精力都投入到这些关乎幸福的事，而不是其他。

    2. The greatest source of misery and hatred in this world is clinging to past hurts.Look at all the terrorists and militant groups that hark back to some event long gone, or base their justification for killing on claims of some supposed historical right to a bit of land, or redress for a wrong done hundreds of years ago.

    这个世界上痛苦与仇恨最大源泉是对过去的执迷。看看那些恐怖组织和激进分子，他们总是抓住过去的一些事情不放，或把一小片土地的历史归属问题作为他们进行杀戮的理由，更或是为了修正几百年前的所谓的历史错误。

    3. Waiting to do something until you can be sure of doing it exactly right means waiting for ever.One of the greatest advantages anyone can have is the willingness to make a fool of themselves publicly and often. There's no better way to learn and develop. Heck, it's fun too.

    等待有把握时再去做一件事，往往意味着永远的等待。一个人能做的最大的冒险事情，就是乐意在公共场合经常暴露自己的愚昧。没有什么能比这样学得更快。"哎呀", 也是一种乐趣。

    4.Following the latest fashion, in work or in life, is spiritual and intellectual suicide.You can be a cheap imitation of the ideal of the moment; or you can be a unique individual. The choice is yours. Religion isn't the opiate of the masses, fashion is.

    盲目追赶潮流是对精神和智力的扼杀。你可以成为一个廉价的时尚木偶，也可以成为独一无二的你，这些都在于自己的选择。信仰不是群众的鸦片，流行才是。

    5. If people complain that you're too fond of going your own way and aren't fitting in, you must be on the right track.Who wants to live life as a herd animal? The guys in power don't want you to fit in for your own sake; they want you to stop causing them problems and follow their orders. You can't have the freedom to be yourself and meekly fit in at the same time.

    如果有人抱怨你太特立独行，恭喜你，你正走在正确的路上。谁愿意像动物一样活着？那些强有力的家伙们不希望你按照自己的意愿去做，他们希望你停止给他们制造麻烦并听从他们的命令。但你得知道，你无法做到在卑躬屈膝的同时又能活出自我。

    6. If you make your work your life, you're making your life into hard work. Like most people,I confused myself by looking at people like artists and musicians whose life's "work" fills their time. That isn't work. It's who they are. Unless you have some overwhelming passion that also happens to allow you to earn a living doing it, always remember that work should be a means to an end: living an enjoyable life. Spend as little time on the means as possible consistent with achieving the end. Only idiots live to work.

    如果你将工作等同于生活，那么你将为工作而生活。和很多人一样，当看到那些艺术家和音乐家的工作几乎是全部的生活，我感到很困惑。其实那不是工作，那是他们的自我。除非你有无法抵挡的激情，恰巧也能让你从中得以谋生，否则请永远记住，工作只是一种手段，而不是目的，我们的最终目的是享受生活。在实现目的的同时，尽可能地少花时间在手段上。只有傻瓜才是为工作而生活。

    7. The quickest and simplest way to wreck any relationship is to listen to gossip.The worst way to spend your time is spreading more. People who spread gossip are the plague-carriers of our day. Cockroaches are clean, kindly creatures in comparison.

    破坏关系的最快最简单的方法就是听信谣言。浪费你时间的最糟糕方式是传播这些谣言。传播流言蜚语的人好比瘟疫的携带者，相比之下，蟑螂都比他们干净、善良。

    8. Trying to please other people is largely a futile activity. Everyone will be mad at you sometime.Most of the people you deal with will dislike, disparage, belittle, or ignore what you say or do most of the time. Besides, you can never really know what others do want, so a good deal of whatever you do in that regard will go to waste. Be comforted. Those who love you will probably love you regardless, and they are the ones whose opinions are worth caring about. The rest aren't worth five minutes of thought between them.

    试图取悦别人是徒劳无益的做法。总有些人会对你发飙。很多你接触的人，在很多时候也会不喜欢、贬低、轻视或忽略你。另外，你永远也不知道别人真正的需要，因此你为此所做的所有努力都会付诸东流。放松些吧，爱你的人终究会包容你的过失，他们才是值得我们在乎的人。其他那些人，他们甚至都不值得花5分钟去考虑。

    9. Every winner is destined to be a loser in due course.It's great to be up on the winner's podium. Just don't imagine you can stay there for ever. Worst of all is being determined to do so, by any means available.

    没有永久的胜利者。踏上冠军宝座是件好事情。但不要梦想着可以永久占据这个位置，最糟糕的是，你正决定为达此目的而不择手段。

    10.You can rarely, if ever, please, placate, change, or mollify an asshole.The best thing you can do is stay away from every one you encounter. Being an asshole is a contagious disease. The more time you spend around one, the more likely you are to catch it and become one too.

    不可能取悦、平息或改造一个混蛋。你能做的最好方式，是和他们敬而远之。变成混蛋也能传染，你和他们呆的时间越长，你也越有可能染上混蛋的习气或者你就成为混蛋。

    11. Everything takes twiceas long as you plan for and produces results about half as good as you hoped. There's no reason to be downhearted about this. Just allow for it and move on.

    努力加倍，期望减半。任何事情都是花掉你计划的两倍时间，最后却只换来你一半的期望结果。没什么好为此沮丧的，（中国俗话说：事倍功半）让它去吧，你要继续前行。

    12. People are oddly consistent.Liars usually tell lies. Cheaters cheat whenever it suits them. A person who confides in you has usually confided in several others first―but not got the response they wanted. A loyal friend will stay loyal under enormous amounts of thoughtless abuse.

    人是奇怪的偏执狂。撒谎者总是撒谎，骗子总要行骗。一个人对你倾诉的时候，通常已在其它人的面前倾诉过，只是可能没有得到想要回应。一位忠诚的朋友，无论遭受多大的冤屈依旧忠诚。

    13.However hard you try, you can't avoid being yourself.Who else could you be? You can act and pretend, but the person acting and pretending is still you. And if you won't accept yourself―and do the best you can with what you have―who then has any obligation to accept you?

    接纳自己。不管你怎么努力，你都无法逃避成为自己。除了自己，你还能成为谁呢？你可以扮演和假装，但进行扮演和假装的人还是你自己。如果你都无法接纳自己，没有努力挖掘自己已有的东西，那么谁有义务接纳你呢？

    14. When it comes to blatant lies, there are none more egregious than budget figures.Time spent agonizing over them is time wasted. Even if (miracle of miracles!) yours are honest and accurate, no one else will have been so foolish.

    谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。把时间折腾在这上面，是浪费时间。既使(奇迹中的奇迹!) 你是实事求是并且准确的, 其他人也不会那么愚蠢。

    15. The loudest noise in the world is the sound of people whining.Don't add to it.

    世界上最大的噪音是人们的抱怨。不要再增加了。

面试((商务英语))

2009-02-08T11:02:00.001+08:00

You put your best foot forward during your job interview. You wear a pressed suit and arrive 20 minutes early. Once you've been working at a place for a while, though, you get a little more comfortable. Maybe you scrounge through the hamper to find a shirt that's not too wrinkled and you slide into your chair just as the clock strikes eight.

    在面试时，你有一个很好的起步。你身穿烫得笔挺的西服、提前20分钟上班。不过，一旦你在一个地方工作了一阵子后，就会变得放松一点。也许，你会从一堆衣服里找一件不算太皱的衬衫，刚好在早晨八点钟敲响时，屁股坐到位子上。

    Did it ever occur to you that employers might also be hiding their true colors during an interview? The dream job with the friendly boss who has an open-door policy might turn into a nightmare as soon as you sign the offer letter.

    你有没有想过雇主也许同样在面试时隐藏了他们的"本色"呢？一份拥有采取开放政策的好上司的理想工作也许在你签下合同后就成了一场噩梦。

    Here are six true-life signs that you shouldn't stick around at your new job.

    以下是取材自现实生活中的六个迹象，表明你不该再继续这份新工作了：

    1. You ask your new boss for supplies and she hands you a No. 2 pencil and legal pad -- and nothing else. Not every company has the budget to give you an expense account, a BlackBerry and a cutting-edge laptop, but you should be equipped with the tools necessary to perform your job. A company experiencing financial troubles might be so stingy with supplies that you spend more time worrying about the company books than working.

    你要求新上司提供办公用品，他给你一只2号铅笔和一本便条本――别的什么都没有了。虽然并不是每个公司都有钱给你开一个费用报销帐户，一个通讯工具，和一台尖端笔记本电脑，但是，你应该拥有完成工作的必要工具。有资金麻烦的公司也许就对这些资源十分吝啬，使你花更多的时间担心办公用品而不是工作。

    2. You were shown to a cubicle your first day of work, given a company manual and haven't spoken to anyone since. Any good employer trains new hires during their first few days on the job. Although you might have years of experience, each company has its own procedures and expectations that you won't magically know without some instruction. From the first day, your new employer should make it clear that you have a network of support ready to help you and answer any questions.

    上班第一天，你就被领到一个办公隔间，丢给你一份公司手册，从此，没人和你说过话。任何好的雇主都会在新员工开始工作的头几天提供工作培训。虽然你也许有数年的工作经验，但是每家公司都有自己的流程和期望值；不通过指导你是无法神奇地知道这些的。从第一天起，你的新雇主就应该表明你拥有一个支持网络，他们准备好帮助你并且回答你的任何问题。

    3. You get the same reaction every time you tell someone about your new job and employer: Raised eyebrows and "Really? ... Good luck with that." You know better than to believe gossip, but sometimes a company's reputation speaks too loudly to ignore. If friends, colleagues and people in the industry consistently give negative feedback about the company, there's probably a legitimate reason. At the start of your job search, research which companies have the best reputations and which have the worst.

    每次谈论新工作和新雇主时，别人的反应都差不多：皱起眉说"真的?……祝你好运"。你知道最好不要相信流言，但是有时候，公司的名声是不能忽视的。如果朋友、同事和在这一行的人们对这家公司给出的都是消极评价，那肯定是有理由的。在开始找工作时，调查一下哪些公司的名声最好、哪些最差。

    4. After two weeks on the job, you are already halfway to becoming the employee with the most seniority. One of the reasons the country's top companies have employees who have been around for years is that people will stay where they're appreciated and treated well, and they'll leave when they're not. "I joined a firm in St. Louis and learned that the company had seven other employees come and go in the past year," says Sarah, a public relations executive. "What's worse is that it was only a five-person operation. That should have been the first sign that the company was not a great place to work."

    上班两周后，你就已经快成为"元老"了。顶级公司有长期雇员的一个原因是人们会呆在被欣赏、善待的公司；否则，就会离开。公关主管Sarah说："我在一家圣路易斯的公司工作过，发现公司在去年有七名员工加入和辞职，更糟糕的是，公司总共只是五个人在经营。这就是某家公司不怎么好的首要迹象。"

    5. You answer the phone while the company's secretary is away from her desk and find that the voice at the other end is a collection agency calling for the third time that week. While this sounds unbelievable, this actually happened to one worker, who said other employees at the company were eventually instructed to not answer the phones. "It became a joke with all of us," she says. "We used to run out and cash our checks as soon as we got paid and were always afraid that they were going to bounce!" If you see any signs that your company is in real financial or legal trouble, don't wait for layoffs; get your résumé back out on the market.

    当公司秘书不在，你在她的办工桌上接了电话，发现对方是催缴公司、称其本周第三次打来。虽然听上去难以置信，但是，这确实真有其事。一名员工曾遇到过公司的员工被指示不接这个电话的事情。她说："这成了一个笑话。我们常常会在发薪水时就赶忙把支票兑现，一直担心会被退票！"如果你发现你的公司出了经济或法律麻烦，就别犹豫辞职了；赶紧把简历重新放到人才市场去吧。

    6. You notice that every day for the last week, at least one person has run crying from your boss's office. Not every boss is the kind of person you want to be best friends with, but you should show each other respect. If you can't have a conversation with your boss without being yelled at, don't feel obligated to stick around. A good company uses open communication, not fear and intimidation, to get results.

    你发现上周每天至少有一个人从老板办公室哭着跑出来。虽然不是每位老板你都愿意和他成为最好的朋友，但是你们应该彼此尊重。如果每次和老板说话都少不了被大声训斥，那么就没有义务再呆下去了。好的公司会采用开放的交流来取得结果，而不是用恐惧或胁迫。

    It may take a few days, weeks or even months to realize the new job isn't right for you. The key is to recognize the signs and leave when you can. If you have a bad gut feeling the first morning you report for work, listen to it. Better to move on than to find yourself still waiting for conditions to improve five years from now.

    也许发现某份新工作不适合你需要几天、几周甚至几个月的时间。关键是要发现那些信号，并在可能的时候辞职。如果在第一天上班报道的时候就有不好的感觉，相信这种感觉。最好的办法是换工作，而不是发现自己五年后还在等待事情有所改观。

常用实用搭配

2009-01-23T01:03:00.000+08:00

1.经济的快速发展 the rapid development of economy

　　2.人民生活水平的显著提高/ 稳步增长the remarkable improvement/ steady growth of people’s living standard

　　3.先进的科学技术 advanced science and technology

　　4.面临新的机遇和挑战 be faced with new opportunities and challenges

　　5.人们普遍认为 It is commonly believed/ recognized that…

　　6.社会发展的必然结果 the inevitable result of social development

　　7.引起了广泛的公众关注 arouse wide public concern/ draw public attention

　　8.不可否认 It is undeniable that…/ There is no denying that…

　　9.热烈的讨论/ 争论 a heated discussion/ debate

　　10. 有争议性的问题 a controversial issue

　　11.完全不同的观点 a totally different argument

　　12.一些人 …而另外一些人 … Some people… while others…

　　13. 就我而言/ 就个人而言 As far as I am concerned, / Personally,

　　14.就…达到绝对的一致 reach an absolute consensus on…

　　15.有充分的理由支持 be supported by sound reasons

　　16.双方的论点 argument on both sides

　　17.发挥着日益重要的作用 play an increasingly important role in…

　　18.对…必不可少 be indispensable to …

　　19.正如谚语所说 As the proverb goes:

　　20.…也不例外 …be no exception

　　21.对…产生有利/不利的影响 exert positive/ negative effects on…

　　22.利远远大于弊 the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.

　　23.导致，引起 lead to/ give rise to/ contribute to/ result in

　　24.复杂的社会现象 a complicated social phenomenon

　　25.责任感 / 成就感 sense of responsibility/ sense of achievement

　　26. 竞争与合作精神 sense of competition and cooperation

　　27. 开阔眼界 widen one’s horizon/ broaden one’s vision

　　28.学习知识和技能 acquire knowledge and skills

　　29.经济/心理负担 financial burden / psychological burden

　　30.考虑到诸多因素 take many factors into account/ consideration

　　31. 从另一个角度 from another perspective

　　32.做出共同努力 make joint efforts

　　33. 对…有益 be beneficial / conducive to…

　　34.为社会做贡献 make contributions to the society

　　35.打下坚实的基础 lay a solid foundation for…

　　36.综合素质 comprehensive quality

　　37.无可非议 blameless / beyond reproach

　　39.致力于/ 投身于 be committed / devoted to…

　　40. 应当承认 Admittedly,

　　41.不可推卸的义务 unshakable duty

　　42. 满足需求 satisfy/ meet the needs of…

　　43.可靠的信息源 a reliable source of information

　　44.宝贵的自然资源 valuable natural resources

45.因特网 the Internet (一定要由冠词，字母I 大写)

　　46.方便快捷 convenient and efficient

　　47.在人类生活的方方面面 in all aspects of human life

　　48.环保(的) environmental protection / environmentally friendly

　　49.社会进步的体现 a symbol of society progress

　　50.科技的飞速更新 the ever-accelerated updating of science and technology

　　51.对这一问题持有不同态度 hold different attitudes towards this issue

　　52.支持前/后种观点的人 people / those in fovor of the former/ latteropinion

　　53.有/ 提供如下理由/ 证据 have/ provide the following reasons/ evidence

　　54.在一定程度上 to some extent/ degree / in some way

　　55. 理论和实践相结合 integrate theory with practice

　　56. …必然趋势 an irresistible trend of…

　　57.日益激烈的社会竞争 the increasingly fierce social competition

　　58.眼前利益 immediate interest/ short-term interest

　　59.长远利益. interest in the long run

　　60.…有其自身的优缺点 … has its merits and demerits/ advantages and disadvantages

　　61.扬长避短 Exploit to the full one’s favorable conditions and avoid unfavorable ones

　　62.取其精髓，取其糟粕 Take the essence and discard the dregs.

　　63.对…有害 do harm to / be harmful to/ be detrimental to

　　64.交流思想/ 情感/ 信息 exchange ideas/ emotions/ information

　　65.跟上…的最新发展 keep pace with / catch up with/ keep abreast with the latest development of …

　　66.采取有效措施来… take effective measures to do sth.

　　67.…的健康发展 the healthy development of …

　　68.有利有弊 Every coin has its two sides.

　　No garden without weeds.

　　69.对…观点因人而异 Views on …vary from person to person.

　　70.重视 attach great importance to…

　　71.社会地位 social status

　　72.把时间和精力放在…上 focus time and energy on…

　　73.扩大知识面 expand one’s scope of knowledge

　　74.身心两方面 both physically and mentally

　　75.有直接/间接关系 be directly / indirectly related to…

　　76. 提出折中提议 set forth a compromise proposal

　　77. 可以取代 “think”的词 believe, claim, maintain, argue, insist, hold the opinion/ belief that

　　78.缓解压力/ 减轻负担 relieve stress/ burden

　　79.优先考虑/发展… give (top) priority to sth.

　　80.与…比较 compared with…/ in comparison with

　　81. 相反 in contrast / on the contrary.

　　82.代替 replace/ substitute / take the place of

　　83.经不起推敲 cannot bear closer analysis / cannot hold water

　　84.提供就业机会 offer job opportunities

　　85. 社会进步的反映 mirror of social progress

　　86.毫无疑问 Undoubtedly, / There is no doubt that…

　　87.增进相互了解 enhance/ promote mutual understanding

　　88.充分利用 make full use of / take advantage of

英文感叹词用法

2009-01-23T00:20:00.000+08:00

一、Oh 表示惊讶、指责、痛苦、称赞、懊恼等,可译为"哦"、"哎呀"、"噢""啊"、"呀"等.

1."Oh, who was that?" Mr. Black asked."哦,是谁?"布莱克先生问.

2."Oh, how blind you are!" he cried."哎呀,你们真瞎!"他大声道.

3."Oh, oh!" he cried."My stomach! My head! oh! oh!""哎呀,哎哟!"他大声道,"我的肚子!我的头!哎哟!哎哟!"

4.Oh, learned judge! Oh, wise young man.噢,博学的法官!噢,聪明的年轻人!

二、Ah表示惊奇、高兴、讨厌、懊悔、藐视、威胁等,可译为"呀、啊"等.

1.Ah, yes, Jeanne married a man with a lot of money.啊,对啦,让娜嫁给了一个很有钱的人.

2."Ah, what splendid clothes!" thought the Emperor."啊!多华丽的衣服啊!"皇帝想.

3.Ah,how pitiful!呀,多可惜!

4. Ah, here is the thing I am after.哎呀,我找的东西在这儿呢.

三、come表示鼓励、不耐烦、引起注意、安慰等,可译为"喂、好吧、说吧、得啦"等.

1.Oh,come, Mathilde.Surely you can tell an old friend.嗨,说吧,玛蒂尔德,你对老朋友说说总是可以的吧.

2.Come, we must hurry.喂,我们得赶紧啦!

3.Come, come, get him his change.Tod,get him his change.好吧,好吧,托德,快把钱找给他,快把钱找给他.

4. Come,come! What were you really doing behind the bicycle sheds?喂!喂!你还在车棚里磨蹭啥?

四、dear表示后悔、难过、怜悯、同情、吃惊、盼望等,可译为"哎呀、天哪"等.

1. Dear me! What awful weather!哎呀!多糟的天气!

2.Oh, dear, dear! Where can Harry be?天哪,天哪,亨利会在哪儿?

3.Dear, dear! Where have I put my keys?哎呀,我把钥匙放在哪啦?

4."Dear me," he said to himself,"Am I foolish or unfit for my office?""哎呀!"他心里嘀咕着,"我是愚蠢呢还是不称职?"

五、well表示快慰、让步、期望、讥讽、解释、责备、犹豫等,可译为"好吧、不过、好啦、嗯"等.

1. Well,your father has found him in the garage.好啦,你父亲在车库里找到他了.

2.Are you sure? Well,perhaps you,are right.你能肯定吗?嗯,也许你说得对.

3.Well,you must come to lunch tomorrow.不过,你明天一定要来吃午饭.

4.I handed the note to him and said,"Oh,very well,I apologize."我把那张票子递给了他,说道:"啊,好极了,我向你道歉."

5.Well,why don't you make a notice like theirs?那么,你为什么不做个像他们那样的广告牌呢?

六、now表示警告、命令、请求、说明、安慰筹,可译为"喂、喏、好了"等,有时也可不必译出.

1.Now,now, you two;Don't fight again.喂,喂,你们俩,别再打了.

2.Now, now, my boy!It's all right!There's no need to cry!好了,好了,孩子,没事了,别哭了.

3.Now,let's play basketball.喏,咱们打篮球吧!

4.Now,lift me up,Doctor,lift me up.Where is he?把我扶起来吧,医生,把我扶起来.他在哪里?

七、there表示得意、鼓励、同情、悲哀、不耐烦、失望、安慰、挑衅、引起注意等,可译为"哟、瞧、好啦、得啦"等.

1.There!There! Never mind, you'll soon feel better.好啦,好啦,不要紧,你马上会好的.

2.Thefe,there,you said too much.得啦,得啦,你说的太多了.

3.There-I've filled it up again.瞧,我又把它灌满了.

4.There-what's that?哟,那是什么!

八、man表示兴奋、轻蔑、不耐烦、引起注意、可译为"啊、嗨"等.

1."Use you knife,man!" ordered the British officer nearby."嗨,用刀子割!"旁边的英国军官命令道.

2.Hurry up,man.嗨,快点.

3.We have won the match,man!啊,我们胜利了.

九、boy表示高兴、兴奋、惊奇等,可译为"嘿、哇、哼、怎么样"等.

1. Boy,oh,boy!Our team's going to win!How fantastic?哇,怎么样!我们队要赢了!真是太好了!

2.Boy!This soup is good,Mama!嘿,妈妈,这汤好得很.

3.Oh,boy!I just had a wonderful dream!嘿,我刚才做了个好梦.

十、此外还有:

ha(惊奇、疑惑、鄙视)aha(得意、惊奇、嘲弄、满意)

hey(喜悦、打招呼)hell(喜悦、惊奇、打招呼)

sh(制止、引起注意)why(吃惊、抗议)

nonsense(胡说) Good heavens(惊异、不高兴)

1.Ha! Pround as these nobles are,he is afraid to see me.哈!这些贵族尽管傲慢,他却害怕见到我.

2.The trousers are all right;now the waistcoat; aha,right again.裤子合身;再请穿上背心试试;啊哈,也很合适.

3 Hey!I didn't expect to meet you here.嗨,我没想到会在这儿遇到你.

4.Hello? Yes, this is Professor Hunter's house.喂,是的,这儿是亨特教授的家.

5.They were about to go down. When Tum suddenly whispered."Sh!Keep still. Don't move!"他们正想再下去,这时托姆突然低声道:"嘘,安静,别动!"

6 Why, what's the harm?咳,这有什么害处呢?

7."Nonsense," the king shouted."My cook is the best cook in the world.""胡说!"那国王喊道,"我的厨师是世界上最好的厨师."

8."Good heavens! Listen to that silly child," said the father."天哪!听听那傻孩子在瞎说些什么!"孩子的父亲说.

奥巴马就职演说

2009-01-23T00:04:00.005+08:00

OBAMA: My fellow citizens:
　　
　　I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
　　
　　Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.
　　
　　So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
　　
　　That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
　　
　　These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land, a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
　　
　　Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America, they will be met.
　　
　　On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
　　
　　On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
　　
　　We remain a young nation, but in the words of scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
　　
　　In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
　　
　　For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
　　
　　For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
　　
　　For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

美国当地时间1月20日上午12点05分(北京时间21日凌晨1点05分)，第44届美国总统奥巴马发表了就职演说。以下为演讲全文实录：
　　
　　我的同胞们，
　　
　　今天我站在这里，看到眼前面临的重大任务，深感卑微。我感谢你们对我的信任，也知道先辈们为了这个国家所作的牺牲。我要感谢布什总统为国家做出的贡献，以及感谢他在两届政府过渡期间给与的慷慨协作。
　　
　　迄今为止，已经有44个美国总统宣誓就职。总统的宣誓有时面对的是国家的和平繁荣，但通常面临的是乌云密布的紧张形势。在紧张的形势中，支持美国前进的不仅仅是领导人的能力和远见，也在于美国人民对国家先驱者理想的信仰，以及对美国立国文件的忠诚。
　　
　　前辈们如此，我们这一代美国人也要如此。
　　
　　现在我们都深知，我们身处危机之中。我们的国家在战斗，对手是影响深远的暴力和憎恨；国家的经济也受到严重的削弱，原因虽有一些人的贪婪和不负责任，但更为重要的是我们作为一个整体在一些重大问题上决策失误，同时也未能做好应对新时代的准备。
　　
　　我们的人民正在失去家园，失去工作，很多且要倒闭。社会的医疗过于昂贵、学校教育让许多人失望，而且每天都会有新的证据显示，我们利用能源的方式助长了我们的敌对势力，同时也威胁着我们的星球。
　　
　　统计数据的指标传达着危机的消息。危机难以测量，但更难以测量的是其对美国人国家自信的侵蚀——现在一种认为美国衰落不可避免，我们的下一代必须低调的言论正在吞噬着人们的自信。
　　
　　今天我要说，我们的确面临着很多严峻的挑战，而且在短期内不大可能轻易解决。但是我们要相信，我们一定会度过难关。
　　
　　今天，我们在这里齐聚一堂，因为我们战胜恐惧选择了希望，摒弃了冲突和矛盾而选择了团结。
　　
　　今天，我们宣布要为无谓的摩擦、不实的承诺和指责画上句号，我们要打破牵制美国政治发展的若干陈旧教条。
　　
　　美国仍是一个年轻的国家，借用《圣经》的话说，放弃幼稚的时代已经到来了。重拾坚韧精神的时代已经到来，我们要为历史作出更好的选择，我们要秉承历史赋予的宝贵权利，秉承那种代代相传的高贵理念：上帝赋予我们每个人以平等和自由，以及每个人尽全力去追求幸福的机会。
　　
　　在重申我们国家伟大之处的同时，我们深知伟大从来不是上天赐予的，伟大需要努力赢得。(我们的民族一路走来)，这旅途之中从未有过捷径或者妥协，这旅途也不适合胆怯之人、或者爱安逸胜过爱工作之人、或者单单追求名利之人。这条路是勇于承担风险者之路，是实干家、创造者之路。这其中有一些人名留青史，但是更多的人却在默默无闻地工作着。正是这些人带领我们走过了漫长崎岖的旅行，带领我们走向富强和自由。
　　
　　为了我们，先辈们带着微薄的细软，横渡大洋，寻找新生活；为了我们，先辈们忍辱负重，用血汗浇铸工厂；为了我们，先辈们在荒芜的西部大地辛勤耕作，定居他乡；为了我们，先辈们奔赴 (独立战争中的)康科德城和葛底斯堡、(二战中的)诺曼底、(越战中的)Khe Sahn，他们征战、死去。

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
　　
　　This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
　　
　　 For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act, not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
　　
　　Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
　　
　　What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
　　
　　Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control, and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart, not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
　　
　　As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our founding fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
　　
　　Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
　　
　　We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
　　
　　For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
　　
　　To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
　　
　　To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

一次又一次，我们的先辈们战斗着、牺牲着、操劳着，只为了我们可以生活得更好。在他们看来，美国的强盛与伟大超越了个人雄心，也超越了个人的出身、贫富和派别差异。
　　
　　今天我们继续先辈们的旅途。美国依然是地球上最富裕、最强大的国家。同危机初露端倪之时相比，美国人民的生产力依然旺盛；与上周、上个月或者去年相比，我们的头脑依然富于创造力，我们的商品和服务依然很有市场，我们的实力不曾削弱。但是，可以肯定的是，轻歌曼舞的时代、保护狭隘利益的时代以及对艰难决定犹豫不决的时代已经过去了。从今天开始，我们必须跌倒后爬起来，拍拍身上的泥土，重新开始工作，重塑美国。
　　
　　我目之所及，都有工作有待完成。国家的经济情况要求我们采取大胆且快速的行动，我们的确是要行动，不仅是要创造就业，更要为(下一轮经济)增长打下新的基础。我们将造桥铺路，为企业铺设电网和数字线路，将我们联系在一起。我们将回归科学，运用科技的奇迹提高医疗质量，降低医疗费用。我们将利用风能、太阳能和土壤驱动车辆，为工厂提供能源。我们将改革中小学以及大专院校，以适应新时代的要求。这一切，我们都能做到，而且我们都将会做到。
　　
　　现在，有一些人开始质疑我们的野心是不是太大了，他们认为我们的体制承载不了太多的宏伟计划。他们是健忘了。他们已经忘了这个国家已经取得的成就；他们已经忘了当创造力与共同目标以及必要的勇气结合起来时，自由的美国人民所能发挥的能量。
　　
　　这些怀疑论者的错误在于，他们没有意识到政治现实已经发生了变化，长期以来耗掉我们太多精力的陈腐政治论争已经不再适用。今天，我们的问题不在于政府的大小，而在于政府能否起作用，政府能否帮助家庭找到薪水合适的工作、给他们可以负担得起的医疗保障并让他们体面地退休。哪个方案能给与肯定的答案，我们就推进哪个方案。哪个方案的答案是否定的，我们就选择终止。而掌管纳税人税金的人应当承担起责任，合理支出，摒弃陋习，磊落做事，这有这样才能在政府和人民之间重建至关重要的相互信任。
　　
　　我们面临的问题也不是市场好坏的问题。市场创造财富、拓展自由的能力无可匹敌，但是这场危机提醒我们，如果没有监管，市场很可能就会失去控制，而且偏袒富人国家的繁荣无法持久。国家经济的成败不仅仅取决于国内生产总值的大小，而且取决于繁荣的覆盖面，取决于我们是否有能力让所有有意愿的人都有机会走向富裕。我们这样做不是慈善，而是因为这是确保实现共同利益的途径。
　　
　　就共同防御而言，我们认为国家安全与国家理想的只能选其一的排他选择是错的。面对我们几乎无法想像的危险，我们的先辈们起草了确保法治和个人权利的宪章。一代代人民的鲜血夯实了这一宪章。宪章中的理想依然照亮着世界，我们不能以经验之谈放弃这些理想。因此我想对正在观看这一仪式的其他国家的人民和政府说，不论他们现在各国伟大的首府还是在如同我父亲出生地一般的小村落，我想让他们知道：对于每个追求和平和自尊的国家和个人而言，美国都是朋友，我们愿意再次领导大家踏上追寻之旅。
　　
　　回想先辈们在抵抗法西斯主义之时，他们不仅依靠手中的导弹或坦克，他们还依靠稳固的联盟和坚定的信仰。他们深知单凭自己的力量我们无法保护自己，他们也深知我们强大并不足以使我们有权利为所欲为。他们明白，正是因为使用谨慎，我们的实力才不断增强；正是因为我们的事业是公正的、我们为世界树立了榜样，因为我们的谦卑和节制，我们才安全。
　　
　　我们继承了这些遗产。在这些原则的再次领导下，我们有能力应对新的威胁，我们需要付出更多的努力、进行国家间更广泛的合作以及增进国家间的理解。首先，我们将以负责任的态度，将伊拉克交还给伊拉克人民，同时巩固阿富汗来之不易的和平。对于老朋友和老对手，我们将继续努力，不遗余力，削弱核威胁，遏制全球变暖的幽灵。我们不会为我们的生活方式感到报歉，我们会不动摇地捍卫我们的生活方式。对于那些企图通过恐怖主义或屠杀无辜平民达成目标的人，我们要对他们说：我们的信仰更加坚定，不可动摇，你们不可能拖垮我们，我们定将战胜你们。
　　
　　因为我们知道，我们的多元化遗产是一个优势，而非劣势。我们国家里有基督徒也有穆斯林，有犹太教徒也有印度教徒，同时也有非宗教信徒。我们民族的成长受到许多语言和文化的影响，我们吸取了这个星球上任何一个角落的有益成分。正是因为我们民族曾亲尝过内战和种族隔离的苦酒，并且在经历了这些黑色的篇章之后变得更加强大更加团结，因此我们不由自主，只能相信一切仇恨终有一天都会成为过去，种族的划分不久就会消失，而且随着世界变得越来越小，我们相信终有一天人类共有的人性品德将会自动显现。在迎接新的和平时代到来的过程中，美国需要发挥自己的作用。

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.
　　
　　We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
　　
　　For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
　　
　　Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility, a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
　　
　　This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
　　
　　This is the source of our confidence, the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
　　
　　This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
　　
　　So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
　　
　　"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet (it)."
　　
　　America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

思索前方的路，我们无时无刻不在铭记那些远征沙漠和偏远山区的英勇美国战士，对他们充满了感激之情，他们和那些安息在阿灵顿国家公墓之下的战争英雄们一样，给与我们启示。
　　
　　我们尊敬他们，不仅因为他们是自由的守护者，还因为他们代表的是为国家服务的精神，他们自愿追寻比自身的价值更伟大的意义(美国国家之伟大)。此时此刻，在这个要塑造一代人的时刻，我们需要的正是这样一种精神。
　　
　　因为无论美国政府能做多少，必须做多少，美国国家的立国之本最终还是美国人的决心和信念。于防洪堤坝决堤之时收留陌生受难者的善意，于在经济不景气的时候宁愿减少自己工时也不肯看着朋友失业的无私，正是他们支撑我们走过黑暗的时刻。消防队员冲入满是浓烟的楼梯抢救生命的勇气，父母养育孩子的坚持，正是这些决定了我们的命运。
　　
　　我们面临的挑战也许是新的，我们应对挑战的措施也许也是新的，但那些长期以来指导我们成功的价值观——勤奋、诚实、勇气、公平竞争、包容以及对世界保持好奇心，还有对国家的忠诚和爱国主义——却是历久弥新，这些价值观是可靠的。他们是创造美国历史的无声力量。我们现在需要的就是回归这些古老的价值观。我们需要一个新的负责任的时代，一个觉醒的时代，每个国人都应意识到即我们对自己、对国家和世界负有责任，我们不应该不情愿地接受这些责任，而应该快乐地承担起这些责任。我们应该坚定这一认识，即没有什么比全身心投入一项艰巨的工作更能锻炼我们的性格，更能获得精神上的满足。
　　
　　这是公民应尽的义务，应做出的承诺。
　　
　　我们自信源于对上帝的信仰，上帝号召我们要掌握自己的命运。
　　
　　这就是我们自由和信仰的意义，这也是为何不同种族、不同信仰、不同性别和年龄的人可以同聚一堂在此欢庆的原因，也是我今天能站在这里庄严宣誓的原因，而在50多年前我的父亲甚至都不能成为地方餐馆的服务生。
　　
　　所以，让我们铭记自己的身份，镌刻自己的足迹。在美国诞生的时代，那最寒冷的岁月里，一群勇敢的爱国人士围着篝火在冰封的河边取暖。首都被占领，敌人在挺进，冬天的雪被鲜血染成了红色。在美国大革命最受质疑的时刻，我们的国父们这样说：
　　
　　“我们要让未来的世界知道……在深冬的严寒里，唯有希望和勇气才能让我们存活……面对共同的危险时，我们的城市和国家要勇敢地上前去面对。”
　　
　　今天的美国也在严峻的寒冬中面对共同的挑战，让我们记住国父们不朽的语言。带着希望和勇气，让我们再一次勇敢地面对寒流，迎接可能会发生的风暴。我们要让我们的子孙后代记住，在面临挑战的时候，我们没有屈服，我们没有逃避也没有犹豫，我们脚踏实地、心怀信仰，秉承了宝贵的自由权利并将其安全地交到了下一代的手中。

小故事，大道理

2009-01-22T21:23:00.001+08:00

    （一）

    What's Prettier Than Freckles？什么比皱纹更美？

    An elderly woman and her little grandson, whose face was sprinkled with bright freckles, spent the day at the zoo. Lots of children were waiting in line to get their cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them with tiger paws.

    "You've got so many freckles, there's no place to paint!" a girl in the line said to the little fellow.

    Embarrassed, the little boy dropped his head. His grandmother knelt down next to him. "I love your freckles. When I was a little girl I always wanted freckles," she said, while tracing her finger across the child's cheek. "Freckles are beautiful."

    The boy looked up, "Really?"

    "Of course," said the grandmother. "Why just name me one thing that's prettier than freckles."

    The little boy thought for a moment, peered intensely into his grandma's face, and softly whispered, "Wrinkles."

    【中文译文】：

    一位老太太和她长满小雀斑的小孙子一起在动物园里游玩。很多小孩都在排队等候一位当地的艺术家用虎爪在他们的脸上着色。

    "你脸上这么多雀斑，都没地方画了！"队列中有个女孩子对小男孩说。

    小男孩感到很难堪，就低下头。奶奶蹲下来对他说："我喜欢你的雀斑，我小时候总想长这些雀斑呢，"她抚摸着男孩的脸颊，"雀斑很漂亮！"

    男孩抬起头，"真的吗？"

    "当然是真的，"奶奶说，"你看我身上有什么比雀斑还漂亮的？"

    小男孩想了一下，又认真地注视着奶奶的面孔，小声地说："皱纹。"

    （二）

    A Million-dollar Lesson 价值百万美元的一课

    A cab driver taught me a million dollar lesson. And it only cost me a $12 taxi ride.

    I had flown into Dallas for the sole purpose of calling on1 a client. A spotless2 cab pulled up. The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As he got in the driver's seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me was for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy. Well! I looked around for a "Candid Camera3"! I could not believe the service I was receiving!

    I took the opportunity to say, "Obviously you take great pride in your work. You must have a story to tell."

    "You bet," he replied, "I used to work for an electric power company, but I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my niche4 in life where I could feel proud of being the best I could be. I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service, and feeling like I have done a full day's work, and done it well. I evaluated my personal assets and, wham! I became a cab driver. One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I could simply meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be GREAT in my business, I have to EXCEED the customer's expectations!"

    【中文译文】：

    一位出租车司机给我上了一堂价值百万美元的课，可我只花了12美元的出租车费。

    我飞来达拉斯只是为了拜访一位客户。一辆纤尘不染的出租车停了下来，司机迅速（下车）为我打开客座车门，等我舒服地坐好后才把车门关上。在驾驶座上坐定之后，他告诉我放在我旁边的那份叠得整齐的《华尔街日报》是供我翻阅的。然后，他又将几盒磁带递给我，问我喜欢什么音乐。噢！我环顾四周，看有没有一架"偷拍照相机"！我简直不敢相信有这等服务！

    我趁机说："看得出你为自己的工作感到非常自豪，这其中一定有故事吧。"

    " 没错，"他答道，"我以前曾在一家电力公司上班。心想我最好也不过如此，厌倦了这种想法。于是，我决定找到生活的归宿，在那里我能做到最好，并为此而感到自豪。我知道当不了火箭专家，可我喜欢开车，喜欢服务，喜欢工作了一整天并且干得出色的那种感觉。我盘算了自己的资产……于是，我开起了出租车。有一件事我深信不疑，想在这个行当中做得好，只要满足乘客的期望就行了。而要想出类拔萃，我就必须超出顾客的期望！"

somtimes, Love is Sorrowful

2009-01-22T18:39:00.001+08:00

1.One is always on a strange road, watching strange scenery and listening to strange music. Then one day, you will find that the things you try hard to forget are already gone. 　

    一个人总要走陌生的路，看陌生的风景，听陌生的歌，然后在某个不经意的瞬间，你会发现，原本是费尽心机想要忘记的事情真的就那么忘记了。

2.Happiness is not about being immortal nor having food or rights in one's hand. It's about having each tiny wish come true, or having something to eat when you are hungry or having someone's love when you need love.

    幸福，不是长生不老，不是大鱼大肉，不是权倾朝野。幸福是每一个微小的生活愿望达成。当你想吃的时候有得吃，想被爱的时候有人来爱你。

3.Love is a lamp, while friendship is the shadow. When the lamp is off,you will find the shadow everywhere. Friend is who can give you strength at last.

    爱情是灯，友情是影子，当灯灭了，你会发现你的周围都是影子。朋友，是在最后可以给你力量的人。

4.I love you not for who you are, but for who I am before you.
　　
    我爱你不是因为你是谁，而是我在你面前可以是谁。

5.Love makes man grow up or sink down.

    爱情，要么让人成熟，要么让人堕落。

6.If you can hold something up and put it down, it is called weight-lifting; if you can hold something up but can never put it down,it's called burden-bearing. it is a pity, most of people are bearing heavy burdens when they are in love.

    举得起放得下的叫举重，举得起放不下的叫负重。可惜，大多数人的爱情，都是负重的。

7.We all live in the past. We take a minute to know someone, one hour to like someone, and one day to love someone, but the whole life to forget someone. 　

    我们每个人都生活在各自的过去中，人们会用一分钟的时间去认识一个人，用一小时的时间去喜欢一个人，再用一天的时间去爱上一个人，到最后呢，却要用一辈子的时间去忘记一个人。

8.One may fall in love with many people during the life time. When you finally get your own happiness, you will understand the previous sadness is kind of treasure, which makes you better to hold and cherish the people you love.

    一个人一生可以爱上很多的人，等你获得真正属于你的幸福之后，你就会明白一起的伤痛其实是一种财富，它让你学会更好地去把握和珍惜你爱的人。

    9.When you are young, you may want several love experiences. But as time goes on, you will realize that if you really love someone, the whole life will not be enough. You need time to know, to forgive and to love.All this needs a very big mind.
　　
    年轻的时候会想要谈很多次恋爱，但是随着年龄的增长，终于领悟到爱一个人，就算用一辈子的时间，还是会嫌不够。慢慢地去了解这个人，体谅这个人，直到爱上为止，是需要有非常宽大的胸襟才行。

    10.When tomorrow turns in today, yesterday, and someday that no more important in your memory, we suddenly realize that we are pushed forward by time. This is not a train in still in which you may feel forward when another train goes by. It is the truth that we've all grown up.And we become different.

    当明天变成了今天成为了昨天，最后成为记忆里不再重要的某一天，我们突然发现自己在不知不觉中已被时间推着向前走，这不是静止火车里，与相邻列车交错时，仿佛自己在前进的错觉，而是我们真实的在成长，在这件事里成了另一个自己。

If you are the one（非诚勿扰征婚启事）

2009-01-22T18:29:00.001+08:00

他的征婚启事是这么写的:

Here's his announcement looking for a bride.

你要想找一帅哥就别来了，你要想找一钱包就别见了，硕士学历以上的免谈，上海女人免谈，女企业家免谈(小商小贩除外)，省得咱们互相都会失望。刘德华和阿汤哥那种财貌双全的郎君是不会来征你的婚的，当然我也没有做诺丁山的梦。您要真是一仙女我也接不住，没期待您长得更画报封面一样看一眼就魂飞魄散。外表时尚，内心保守，身心都健康的一般人就行，要是多少还有点儿婉约那就更靠谱了。心眼儿别太多岁数别太小，允许时常有不切实际的想入非非，但三句话就能给轰回现实还不气脑顶多有点儿难为情地咧嘴一笑就该干吗干吗去了。我喜欢会叠衣服的女人，每次洗完烫平叠得都像刚从商店里买回来的一样。说得够具体了吧。

If you are looking for a handsome guy or a wallet,don't reply;If you hold a Master's degree or higher, not possible;girls born in Shanghai, not possible;female entrepreneurs(except small business hawker), not possible, so that we don't waste each other's hope. The Andy Lau or Tom criuse kind, ,who are both wealthy and good-looking, would not make an announcement looking for you. Surely, I don't expect a Notting Hill story either. Even if you were an angle, I wouldn't be able to handle you―I don't expect you looks like a cover girl, who makes men have a crush on at the first sight. An averge person, with external stylishness and internal conservativeness,with good mental and physical health,will just do. It will be a plus if you're graceful. You need not to play too many tricks or be too young, from time to time, you're allowed to have unrealistic dreams, but a few words is enough to get you back into reality without getting you angry�a little embarassed grin at most,and then do what you ought to do. I like a woman who knows how to fold clothes in a way that whenever you finish washing, ironing and folding them, they will look just like when you bought them from stores. It cannot be more specific than this, can it?

自我介绍一下，我，岁数已经不小了，日子小康，抽烟不喝酒，留学生身份出去的，在国外生活过十几年，没正经上过学，蹉跎中练就一身生存技能，现在学无所成海外归来，实话实说应该定性为一只没有公司没有股票没有学位的"三无劣海龟"。性格OPEN，人品五五开，不算老实人，但天生胆小，杀人不犯法我也杀不了人，伤天害理了自己良心也备受摧残，命中注定想学坏都当不了大坏蛋。总体而言基本上还是属于对人类对社会有益无害的一类。

Let me introduce myself for you. I'm a man who is no longer young, living a moderately well-off life, who doesn't drink but smoke. I went abroad as a student and spent more than a decade abroad, but never received a standard education. In wasting time, I learned all sorts of ways to make a living. Now I returned with no achivement at all. To tell you the truth, I should be judged as a "Fake Turtle" without the three�No company, no stocks and no degree. My personality is open; my character is neither good nor bad. I'm not exactly an honest man, but I was not born to be a courageous person. Even it is not illegal to kill, I wouldn't kill anyone. My conscience will be tortured by the guilt if I do anything cruel to others.I am meant not to be a villain, even if I try to be one. In general and basically, I'm still one of those who are beneficial and harmless to the mankind and our society.

有意者电联，非诚勿扰。

Contact me by phone, if you're the one.

women

2009-01-15T01:13:00.001+08:00

女人 women

    If you kiss her, you are not a gentleman
    如果你亲她, 那你就没有绅士风度

    If you don't, you are not a man
    可是如果你不亲她, 那你就不算男子汉!

    If you praise her, she thinks you are lying
    如果你赞美她, 她会认为你只是在奉承她

    If you don't, you are good for nothing
    但要是你不赞美她, 那你就一无是处了!

    If you agree to all her likes, you are a wimp
    如果你完全同她的话, 那你真无能。

    If you don't, you are not understanding
    要是你不同意, 那就表示你根本不了解。

    If you make romance, you are an 'experienced man'
    假如你把气氛控制的很浪漫, 你就一定是情场老手。

    If you don't you are half a man
    如果不是, 那你根本还不够成熟。

    If you visit her too often, she thinks it is boring
    如果你太常去找她, 她会觉得烦腻。

    If you don't, she accuses you of double-crossing
    但是如果你不去找她, 她会责备你欺骗她的感情。

    If you are well dressed, she says you are a playboy
    你要是穿的帅一点, 她会说你是花花公子。

    If you don't, you are a dull boy
    穿的破烂点, 那你又是笨头笨脑的家伙。

    If you are jealous, she says it's bad
    如果你吃醋, 她会说这样是不对的。

    If you don't , she thinks you do not love her
    可是如果你完全不吃醋, 她又会认为你根本不爱她。

    If you attempt a romance, she says you didn't respect her
    你如你试图对她调情, 她会认为你不尊重她。

    If you don't, she thinks you do not like her
    但要是你一直规规矩矩的, 她又会觉得你不喜欢她。

    If you are a minute late, she complains it's hard to wait
    你若是迟到一分钟, 她会抱怨等的多累多苦。

    If she is late, she says that's a girl's way
    要是她自己迟到了, 她会说女孩子约会迟到是理所当然的。

    If you visit another man, you're not putting in "quality time"
    如果你去找你的朋友, 她说你乱花时间。

    If she is visited by another woman, "oh it's natural, we are girls"
    如果是她, 她会说 "喔, 这很自然啊, 女孩子都是这样。

    If you kiss her once in a while, she professes you are cold
    如果你偶而才吻她一下, 她会到处说你这人很冷漠。

    If you kiss her often, she yells that you are taking advantage
    如果你经常吻她, 她会大叫说你吃她豆腐。

    If you fail to help her in crossing the street, you lack ethics
    如果你过马路的时候没有照顾她, 那你这人缺乏道德。

    If you do, she thinks it's just one of men's tactics for seduction
    要是你小心照顾她过马路, 她又会说这是男人的花招。

    If you stare at another woman, she accuses you of flirting
    你若是凝视某个女人, 她会指责你是到处对女生调情。

    If she is stared by other men, she says that they are just admiring
    如果是其他男人瞪着她看, 她会说他们只是欣赏而已。

    If you talk, she wants you to listen
    如果你跟她说话, 她希望你只要听就好。

    If you listen, she wants you to talk
    如果你只倾听, 她又要你和她说话。

    Oh God! you created those creature called "WOMAN'
    上天啊, 你创照了这些叫做女人的生物。

    So simple, yet so complex
    既简单又复杂。

    So weak, yet so powerful
    如此柔弱, 却又如此强悍。

    So confusing, yet so desirable
    让人又恼又爱。

    So damning, yet so wonderful...
    真伤人又奇妙。

经验之痛

2009-01-04T16:06:00.001+08:00

From the page Google Reader (507):

1. The tragedy of the world is that those who are imaginative have but slight experience, and those who are experienced have feeble imagination.
　
　世界的悲剧就在于有想象力的人缺乏经验，而有经验的人缺乏想象力。－Alfred North Whitehead（英国哲学家怀特海）
　　
　　2. The way to win an atomic war is to make certain it never starts.

　　赢得核战争的方法是确保它永远不会发生。－Bradley Omar（美国上将奥马尔）
　　
　　3. Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.

　　经验是当你没得到想得到之物时所得到的东西。－Dan Stanfort（美国实业家斯坦福）

　　4. All I am, or can be, I owe to my angel mother.

　　我之所有，我之所能，都归功于我天使般的母亲。－Abraham Lincoln（美国总统林肯）
　　
　　5. Experience without learning is better than learning without experience.

　　有经验而无学问胜于有学问而无经验。－Bertrand Russell（英国哲学家罗素）
　　
　　6. Experience keeps a dear school, yet fools will learn in no other.

　　经验始终是收费高的学校，然而，笨汉非进此学校不可。－Benjamin Franklin（美国总统富兰克林）
　　
　　7. Follow your own course, and let people talk.

　　走自己的路，让人家去说吧。－Alghieri Dante（意大利诗人但丁）
　　
　　8. If you would have a thing well done, you must do it yourself.

　　如果要将事情做好，就得亲自动手。－Henry Wadsworth Longfellow（美国诗人朗费罗）

　　9. Experience is the child of thought, and thought is the child of action. We cannot learn men from books.

　　经验是思想之子，思想是行动之子，了解他人不可以书本为据。－Benjamin Disraeli（英国政治家狄斯雷利）

　　10. One thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning.

　　一次痛苦的经验抵得上千百次的告诫。－James Russell Lowell（英国诗人洛威尔）

　　11. Experience more than sufficiently teaches that men govern nothing with more difficult than their tongues.

　　经验给了我们太多的教训，告诉我们人类最难管制的东西，莫过于自己的舌头。－Bendict de Spinoza（荷兰哲学家斯宾诺沙）
　　
　　12. The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.

　　人生最大的教训是要知道即使傻瓜有时候也是对的。－Winston Churchill（英国政治家丘吉尔）

"There" is no better than "Here"

2008-12-31T17:17:00.001+08:00

"There" is no better than "Here"

　　Many people believe that they will be happy once they arrive at some specific goal they set for themselves. However, more often than not, once you arrive " there" you will still feel dissatisfied, and move your " there" vision to yet another point in the future. By always chasing after another "there," you are never really appreciating what you already have right "here." It is important for human beings to keep soberminded about the age-old drive to look beyond the place where you now stand. On one hand, your life is enhanced by your dreams and aspirations. On the other hand, these drives can pull you farther and farther from your enjoyment of your life right now. By learning the lessons of gratitude and abundance, you can bring yourself closer to fulfilling the challenge of living in the present.

　　Gratitude To be grateful means you are thankful for and appreciative of what you have and where you are on your path right now. Gratitude fills your heart with the joyful feeling and allows you to fully appreciate everything that arises on your path. As you strive to keep your focus on the present moment, you can experience the full wonder of "here."

　　There are many ways to cultivate gratitude. Here are just a few suggestions you may wish to try:

　　1. Imagine what your life would be like if you lost all that you had. This will most surely remind you of how much you do appreciate it.

　　2. Make a list each day of all that you are grateful for, so that you can stay conscious daily of your blessings. Do this especially when you are feeling as though you have nothing to feel grateful for. Or spend a few minutes before you go to sleep giving thanks for all that you have.

　　3. Spend time offering assistance to those who are less fortunate than you, so that you may gain perspective.

　　However you choose to learn gratitude is irrelevant. What really matters is that you create a space in your consciousness for appreciation for all that you have right now, so that you may live more joyously in your present moment.

　　Abundance One of the most common human fears is scarcity. Many people are afraid of not having enough of what they need or want, and so they are always striving to get to a point when they would finally have enough.

　　Alan and Linda always dreamed of living "the good life." Both from poor working-class families, they married young and set out to fulfill their mutual goal of becoming wealthy. They both worked very hard for years, amassing a small fortune, so they could move from their two-bedroom home to a palatial seven-bedroom home in the most upscale neighborhood. They focused their energies on accumulating all the things they believed signified abundance: membership in the local exclusive country club, luxury cars, designer clothing, and high-class society friends. No matter how much they accumulated, however, it never seemed to be enough. They were unable to erase the deep fear of scarcity both had acquired in childhood. They needed to learn the lesson of abundance. Then the stock market crashed in 1987, and Alan and Linda lost a considerable amount of money. A bizarre but costly lawsuit depleted another huge portion of their savings. One thing led to another, and they found themselves in a financial disaster. Assets needed to be sold, and eventually they lost the country club membership, the cars, and the house. It took several years and much hard work for Alan and Linda to land on their feet, and though they now live a life far from extravagant, they have taken stock of their lives and feel quite blessed. Only now, as they assess what they have left -- a solid, loving marriage, their health, a dependable income, and good friends -- do they realize that true abundance comes not from amassing, but rather from appreciating.

　　Scarcity consciousness arises as a result of the "hole-in-the-soul syndrome." This is when we attempt to fill the gaps in our inner lives with things from the outside world. But like puzzle pieces, you can't fit something in where it does not naturally belong. No amount of external objects, affection, love, or attention can ever fill an inner void. We already have enough, so we should revel in our own interior abundance.

【中文译文】：

　　彼岸无尽头，知足才常乐

　　许多人都相信，一旦他们达到了自己所设定的某个特定目标，他们就会开心、快乐。然而事实往往是，当你到达彼岸时，你还是不知足、不满意，而且又有了新的彼岸--新的幻想和憧憬。由于你总是疲于追逐一个又一个的彼岸，你从未真正欣赏、珍惜你已经拥有的一切。不安于现状的欲望人皆有之，由来已久，但重要的是要对它保持清醒的头脑。一方面，你的生活因为梦想和渴望而更加精彩。另一方面，这些欲望又使你越来越不懂得珍惜和享受现在拥有的生活。假如你能懂得感恩，学会知足，你就接近实现生活在现实中提出的要求。

　　感恩之心感恩是指你感激、珍惜自己当前所拥有的一切以及所处的人生境遇。心存感恩，你的心灵就充满愉悦，你就能真正领会人生路上的种种体验。如果你努力把眼光锁定在此时此刻，你就能感受它的美妙之处。

　　感恩之心需要经常加强。许多方法可以培育感恩之心，你不妨试试以下几种：

　　1．设想如果你失去了你现在所拥有的一切，你的生活将会怎么样。它肯定会使你回想起原来你是多么喜欢和珍视这一切。

　　2．每天都列出那些值得你感激的事物，那样你就能时时刻刻意识到自己的幸运。每天都要这么做，尤其是当你觉得好像没有什么可感激的时候。另外你也可以每天临睡前花几分钟感恩自己所拥有的一切。

　　3．花时间帮助那些没有你那么幸运的人，这样你也许会对生活有正确的认识。

　　其实，你选择何种方法去学会感恩，这无关紧要，真正重要的是你应该有意识地努力去欣赏和珍视你现在所拥有的一切，这样你就可以更快乐地享受你目前的生活。

　　知足常乐贫穷是人类最普遍的恐惧之一。许多人担心自己的所需所求不够，所以他们总是孜孜以求有朝一日能心满意足，别无他求。

　　艾伦和琳达都来自贫苦的工人家庭，都一直梦想着过上"好日子"。他们早早地成了家，然后就开始为他们共同的致富目标奋斗。他们拼命工作了好几年，终于积攒了一笔钱，从两居室搬到了一套坐落在最高档街区的富丽堂皇的七居室大房子。此后，他们费尽心思去积聚那些他们认为是代表富足的东西：当地惟一的一家乡村俱乐部的会员资格、豪华汽车、名牌服装，以及上流社会的朋友。但是，不论他们积聚了多少，似乎永远难以满足。他们俩谁都无法消除小时侯对贫穷的刻骨铭心的恐惧。其实，他们就需要学会知足常乐这一课。1987年，股市遭受重创，艾伦和琳达损失惨重。祸不单行，一场莫名其妙的昂贵的官司又耗尽了他们的一大笔积蓄，这一切使他们陷入了经济困境。他们不得不变卖家产，最后他们丢掉了乡村俱乐部的会员资格，失去了汽车和房子。艾伦和琳达努力奋斗了好几年才从困境中走出来。现在他们的生活毫不奢华，但是他们是自己生活的主宰，幸福而又知足。只有在这时，他们才掂量着那些尚未失去的东西，如稳固相爱的婚姻、健康的身体、可靠的收入、真正的朋友等等，他们终于认识到，真正的富足不是来自财富的积聚，而是来自对所拥有的一切的珍视。

　　贫穷感可以归因于"精神空虚综合症"，即我们试图用身外之物来填补内心的空缺。但是，就像拼图游戏一样，你不能把本来不属于那个地方的东西硬塞进去。任何身外之物、情感、关爱和关注都无法填补内心的空虚。我们拥有的已经足够，因此我们应该满足于内心世界的丰富与充实。

木兰辞

2008-12-25T16:13:00.001+08:00

Long ago, in a village of northern China, there lived a girl named MuLan. One day, she sat at her loom weaving cloth. Click-Clack! Click-Clack! Went the loom.

Suddenly, the sound of weaving changed to sorrowful sighs. "What troubles you?" her mother asked. "Nothing. Mother," Mulan softly replied.

Her mother asked her again and again, until Mulan finally said, "there is news of war."

"Invaders are attacking. The emperor is calling for troops, Last night. I saw the draft poster and twelve scrolls of names in the market. Father's name is on it."

"But father is old and frail." Mulan sighed. "How can he fight? He has no grown son and I have no elder brother.

I will go the markets. I shall buy a saddle and a horse. I must fight in father's place."

唧唧复唧唧，木兰当户织。不闻机杼声，唯闻女叹息。

问女何所思？问女何所忆？女亦无所思，女亦无所忆。

昨夜见军帖，可汗大点兵，军书十二卷，卷卷有爷名。

阿爷无大儿，木兰无长兄，愿为市鞍马，从此替爷征。

From the eastern market Mulan bought a horse, and from the western market, a saddle. From the southern market she bought a bridle, and from the northern markets a whip.

At dawn Mulan dressed in her armor and bid a sad farewell to her father, mother, sister and brother. Then she mounted her horse and rode off with the soldier.

By nightfall she was camped by the bank of the Yellow River. She thought she heard her mother calling her name. But it was only the sound of the river crying.

At sunrise MuLan took leave of the Yellow river. At dusk she reached the Peak of Black Mountain.

In the darkness she longed to hear her father's voice but heard only the neighing of enemy horses far away.

东市买骏马，西市买鞍鞯，南市买辔头，北市买长鞭。

朝辞爷娘去，暮宿黄河边。不闻爷娘唤女声，但闻黄河流水鸣溅溅。

旦辞黄河去，暮至黑山头。不闻爷娘唤女声，但闻燕山胡骑声啾啾。

Mulan rode ten thousand miles to fight a hundred battles. She crossed peaks and passes like a bird in flight.

Nights at the camp were harsh and cold, but Mulan endured every hardship. Knowing her father was safe warmed her heart.

The war dragged on. Fierce battles ravaged the land. One after another, noble generals lost their lives.

Mulan's skill and courage won her respect and rank. After ten years. She returned as a great general, triumphant and victorious!

The emperor summoned Mulan to the High Palace. He praised her for her bravery and leadership in battle.

The court would bestow many great titles upon her. Mulan would be showered with gifts of gold.

"Worthy general, you may have your heart's desire," the Emperor said, "I have no need for honors or gold," Mulan replied.

"All I ask for is a swift camel to take me back home." The emperor sent a troop to escort Mulan on her trip.

万里赴戎机，关山度若飞。朔气传金柝，寒光照铁衣。将军百战死，壮士十年归。

　归来见天子，天子坐明堂。策勋十二转，赏赐百千强。

可汗问所欲，"木兰不用尚书郎，愿借明驼千里足，送儿还故乡。"

In town, the news of Mulan's return created great excitement. Holding each other, her proud parents walked to the village gate to welcome her.

Waiting at home, Mulan's sister beautified herself.

Her brother sharpened his knife to prepare a pig and sheep for the feast in Mulan's honor.

Home at last! Mulan threw open her bedroom door and smiled. She removed her armor and changed into one of her favorite dresses.

She brushed out her shiny black hair and pasted a yellow flower on her face. She looked into the mirror and smiled again, happy to be home.

What a surprise it was when Mulan appeared at the door! Her comrades were astonished and amazed. "How is this possible?" They asked.

"How could we have fought side by side with you for ten years and not have known you were a woman!"

爷娘闻女来，出郭相扶将。阿姊闻妹来，当户理红妆。

小弟闻姊来，磨刀霍霍向猪羊。开我东阁门，坐我西阁床。

脱我战时袍，著我旧时裳。当窗理云鬓，对镜贴花黄。

出门看火伴，火伴皆惊惶。同行十二年，不知木兰是女郎。

Mulan replied, "They say the male rabbit likes to hop and leap, while the female rabbit prefers to sit still. But in times of danger, when the two rabbits scurry by, who can tell male from female?"

"雄兔脚扑朔，雌兔眼迷离；双兔傍地走，安能辨我是雄雌！"

Mulan's glory spread through the land. And to this day, we sing of this brave woman who loved her family and served her country, asking for nothing in return.

The smile

2008-12-20T16:25:00.001+08:00

背景介绍：

　　《微笑》是法国作家安东尼・圣艾修伯里的作品，圣艾修伯里是名飞行员，二次大战对抗纳粹时被击落身亡，之前他也曾参加西班牙内战打击法西斯分子。他根据这次经验写了一篇精彩的故事��《微笑》。他的代表作《小王子》是美国人都很熟悉的童话故事。

　　"I was sure that I was to be killed. I became terribly nervous. I fumbled[1] in my pockets to see if there were any cigarettes, which had escaped[2]

　　Their search. I found one and because of my shaking hands, I could barely get it to my lips. But I had no matches, they had taken those. "I looked through the bars at my jailer. He did not make eye contact with me. I called out to him 'Have you got a light?' He looked at me, shrugged [3]and came over to light my cigarette. "As he came close and lit the match, his eyes inadvertently locked with mine. At that moment, I smiled. I don't know why I did that. Perhaps it was nervousness, perhaps it was because, when you get very close, one to another, it is very hard not to smile. In any case, I smiled. In that instant, it was as though a spark jumped across the gap between our two hearts, our two human souls. I know he didn't want to, but my smile leaped through the bars and generated a smile on his lips, too. He lit my cigarette but stayed near, looking at me directly in the eyes and continuing to smile.

　　 "I kept smiling at him, now aware of him as a person and not just a jailer. And his looking at me seemed to have a new dimension[4] too. 'Do you have kids?' he asked. " 'Yes, here, here.' I took out my wallet and nervously fumbled for the pictures of my family. He, too, took out the pictures of his family and began to talk about his plans and hopes for them. My eyes filled with tears. I said that I feared that I'd never see my family again, never have the chance to see them grow up. Tears came to his eyes, too. "Suddenly, without another word, he unlocked my cell and silently led me out. Out of the jail, quietly and by back routes, out of the town. There, at the edge of town, he released me. And without another word, he turned back toward the town.

　　 "My life was saved by a smile." Yes, the smile�the unaffected, unplanned, natural connection between people.. I really believe that if that part of you and that part of me could recognize each other, we wouldn't be enemies. We couldn't have hate or envy or fear.

【中文译文】：

　　"一想到自己明天就没命了，不禁陷入极端的惶恐。我翻遍了口袋，终于找到一支没被他们搜走的香烟，但我的手紧张得不停发抖，连将烟送进嘴里都成问题，而我的火柴也在搜身时被拿走了。 "我透过铁栏望着外面的警卫，他并没有注意到我在看他，我叫了他一声：'能跟你借个火吗？'他转头望着我，耸了耸肩，然后走了过来，点燃我的香烟。 "当他帮我点火时，他的眼光无意中与我的相接触，这时我突然冲着他微笑。我不知道自己为何有这般反应，也许是过于紧张，或者是当你如此靠近另一个人，你很难不对他微笑。不管是何理由，我对他笑了。就在这一刹那，这抹微笑如同火花般，打破了我们心灵间的隔阂。受到了我的感染，他的嘴角不自觉地也现出了笑容，虽然我知道他原无此意。他点完火后并没立刻离开，两眼盯着我瞧，脸上仍带着微笑。

　　"我也以笑容回应，仿佛他是个朋友，而不是个守着我的警卫。他看着我的眼神也少了当初的那股凶气，'你有小孩吗？'他开口问道。 "'有，你看。'我拿出了皮夹，手忙脚乱地翻出了我的全家福照片。他也掏出了照片，并且开始讲述他对家人的期望与计划。这时我眼中充满了泪水，我说我害怕再也见不到家人。我害怕没机会看着孩子长大。他听了也流下两行眼泪。 "突然间，他二话不说地打开了牢门，悄悄地带我从后面的小路逃离了监狱，出了小镇，就在小镇的边上，他放了我，之后便转身往回走，不曾留下一句话。

　　"一个微笑居然能救自己一条命。""是的，微笑是人与人之间最自然真挚的沟通方式。如果我们能用心灵去认识彼此，世间不会有结怨成仇的憾事；恨意、妒嫉、恐惧也会不复存在。

　　注释：

　　1. fumble：我们总是能看到爱抽烟的男人在自己的身上到处摸烟的镜头，用动词fumble（乱摸、摸索）来形容他们的动作是再恰当不过了；下文中提到的 nervously fumbled for the pictures也是借用fumble来形容"主人公非常紧张地在钱包搜索照片"的情景；现在如果你看到某人在"哗啦啦"地翻书寻找他想要的内容，你就可以大胆地用fumle来描述他的动作，可以说He fumbled the pages looking for the place.

　　2. escape是个很调皮的词汇，总是"逃离这儿，逃离那儿"，此处的escaped their search字面上就表示出"（烟）逃离了他们的搜查"，也就是"没有被他们搜走（的烟）"；再看看I'm afraid your name escapes me. 看起来是"你的名字逃离了我"，也就是"我恐怕想不起你的名字了"。如果你是位老师，在课堂可能就会很严肃地对那些捣蛋的学生说上一句：Nothing escaped my attention.（什么都逃不过我的注意），这下，那些学生该乖乖地听课了吧。

　　3. shrug表示的动作是"耸耸肩"，比如你把一个消息告诉给自己的好友时，"她听到消息后只是耸耸肩"，你就可以描绘成She shrugged her shoulders at the news. 因为我们也经常用"耸肩"的动作来表示"不感兴趣"或"无所谓"等心态，所以shrug可以引申地表示"冷漠、无所谓、不屑一顾"等意思。比如说在法庭上，法官已经对某个贪污犯进行了判决，但是此人仍然暴跳如雷地表示抗议，那么People only shruggled at his protests.看来"人们对他的抗议只是轻蔑地耸耸肩而已了"。

　　4. dimension：如果你已经知道dimension是用来表示"尺寸、面积、大小"的，那么你就会很疑惑此处的a new dimension是什么意思。不过你要是联想一下，既然dimension表示事物的"长、宽、高"等各因素，这也就相当于事物的"各个方面"了，所以此处的a new dimension也就相当于"一个新的方面"，联系上下文，可推断出这个"新的方面"就是jailer对"主人公"态度的转变，从最初的"凶"到现在的 "友好"；如果你发现了男朋友身上的一个新特点，就可以对他说到 I found a new dimension of your personality. 我保证他一定要求你把his new dimension说出来的。

人生在于完整

2008-12-10T13:39:00.001+08:00

     Once a circle missed a wedge. the circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. but because it was incomplete and therefore could roll only very slowly, it admired the flowers along the way. it chatted with worms. it enjoyed the sunshine. it found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. so it left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching. then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. it was so happy. now it could be whole, with nothing missing. it incorporated the missing piece into itself and began to roll. now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to notice the flowers of talking to the worms. when it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled slowly away.


    The lesson of the story, i suggested, was that in some strange sense we are more whole when we are missing something. the man who has everything is in some ways a poor man. he will never know what if feels like to yearn, to hope, to nourish his soul with the dream of something better. he will never know the experience of having someone who loves him give him something he has always wanted or never had.

    There is a wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his limitations, who has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so. there is a wholeness about the man or woman who has learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a tragedy and survive, she can lose someone and still feel like a complete person.

    Life is not a trap set for us by god so that he can condemn us for failing. life is not a spelling bee, where no matter how many words you've gotten right, you're disqualified if you make one mistake. life is more like a baseball season, where even the best team loses one-third of its games and even the worst team has its days of brilliance. our goal is to win more games than we lose.

    When we accept that imperfection is part of being human, and when we can continue rolling through life and appreciate it, we will have achieved a wholeness that others can only aspire to. that, i believe, is what god asks of us---not "be perfect", not "don't even make a mistake", but "be whole."

    If we are brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, generous enough to rejoice in another 's happiness, and wise enough to know there is enough love to go around for us all, then we can achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will ever know.

    【中文译文】:

    从前有一只圆圈缺了一块楔子。圆圈想保持完整，便四处寻找失去的那块楔子。由于它不完整，所以只能滚动很慢。一路上，它对花儿露出羡慕之色。它与蠕虫谈天侃地。它还欣赏到了阳光之美。圆圈找到了许许多多不同的配件，但是没有一件能完美地与它相配。所以，它将它们统统弃置路旁，继续寻觅。终于有一天，它找到了一个完美的配件。圆圈是那样地高兴，现在它可以说是完美无缺了。它装好配件，然后滚动起来。既然它已成了一个完整的圆圈，所以滚动得非常快，快得以至于无暇观赏花儿，也无暇与蠕虫倾诉心声。圆圈快奔急骋，发现眼中的世界变得如此不同，于是，它不禁停了下来，将找到的那个配件留在路旁，又开始了慢慢地滚动。

    我觉得这个故事告诉我们，从某种奇妙意义上讲，当我们失去了一些东西时反而感到更加完整。一个拥有一切的人其实在某些方面是个穷人。他永远也体会不到什么是渴望、期待以及对美好梦想的感悟。他也永远不会有这样一种体验：一个爱他的人送给他某种他梦寐以求的或者从未拥有过的东西意味什么。

    人生的完整性在于一个人知道如何面对他的缺陷，如何勇敢地摒弃那些不现实的幻想而又不以此为缺憾。人生的完整性还在于一个男人或女人懂得这样一个道理：他（她）发现自己能勇敢面对人生悲剧而继续生存，能够在失去亲人后依然表现出一个完整的人的风范。

    人生不是上帝为谴责我们的缺陷而给我们布下的陷阱。人生也不是一场拼字游戏比赛。不管你拼出多少单词，一旦出现了一个错误，你便前功尽弃。人生更像是一个棒球赛季。即使最好的球队比赛也会输掉1/3，而最差的球队也有春风得意的日子。我们的目标就是多赢球，少输球。

    我们接受了不完整性是人类本性的一部分，我们不断地进行人生滚动并能意识到其价值，我们就会完整人生的过程。而对于别人来讲，这只能是一个梦想。我相信这就是上帝对我们的要求：不求"完美"，也不求"永不犯错误"，而是求得人生的"完整"。

    如果我们勇敢得能够去爱，坚强得能够去宽容，大度得能够去分享他人的幸福，明智得能够理解身边充满爱，那么我们就能取得别的生物所不能取得的成就。

Untitled

2008-12-03T23:50:00.001+08:00

    父母 Parents

    十年前我们是父母的孩子
    10 years ago, we were children of our parents;

    十年后我们是孩子的父母
    10 years later, we become parents of our children.

    十年前我有温暖的家
    10 years ago, I had a home full of joys and affection ;

    十年后我才体会家的温暖
    10 years later, I feel warmth of family then and not till then.

    十年前我渴望离家去远方
    10 years ago, I yearned for leaving far away from home,

    十年后我渴望从远方回家
    10 years later, I am longing to return my drifting heart home.

    十年前我对父母大吵大嚷
    10 years ago, I shouted and thunder at my parents;

    十年后我希望父母再骂我一次
    10 years later, I wish my parents scold me again even in my dream.

    爱情 Love

    十年前你是我的同桌
    10 years ago, you were my desk mate,

    十年后你成了别人的妻子
    10 years later, you become the wife of the other guy.

    十年前我唱着同桌的你
    10 years ago, I sang My Desk mate for you,

    十年后我想着同桌的你
    10 years later, I am thinking of you my dear desk mate.

    十年前我们面对的唯一问题是考试
    10 years ago, the only problem we faced was exam,

    十年后我们除了考试所有的问题都要面对
    10 years later, we have to face all except for exam.

    十年前我在你家楼下记住了你嫣然的回眸一笑
    10 years ago, I remembered your sweet smile at me at your downstairs;

    十年后我在你家楼下看到你训斥孩子的严厉面孔
    10 years later, I unwittingly saw you nagging at your child with a stony face at your downstairs.

    十年前我渴望马上结婚
    10 years ago, I yearned for marriage at every moment;

    十年后我渴望再谈一次恋爱
    10 years later, I am longing to fall in love one more time.

    十年前我们谈及爱情，总是羞涩
    10 years ago, we felt shy when talking about love;

    十年后我们谈及爱情，却是生涩
    10 years later, awkward only can be seen on our face when talking about love.

    十年前我渴望爱情，但不知道什么是爱情
    10 years ago, I yearned for love but didn't know what true love was;

    十年后我知道了什么是爱情，却不再拥有爱情
    10 years later, I have know what love is but can never own love.

    十年前我喜欢漂亮女生
    10 years ago, I like girls with nice appearances;

    十年后我家有丑妻
    10 years later, I have an ugly wife at home.

    十年前我有了初恋
    10 years ago, I fell in love first time;

    十年后我有了初次离婚
    10 years later, I am divorced for the first time.

The secret of Happiness

2008-11-24T21:20:00.001+08:00

（一）

    You are supposed to buy a rose
    in such pink atmosphere;
    I wonder if roses bloom
    only for us.

    With a little money,
    I hold the rose' destination;
    when the day passes,
    who else will care her petals paled
    somewhere else?

    在如此浪漫的氛围里，
    注定你要买一束玫瑰；
    只是我怀疑它们
    为我们还是为自己开放。

    只用了一点点钱，
    我握着一束玫瑰的命运。
    情人节过后，
    谁还会叹息她的花瓣
    在哪里凋谢?

    （二）

    Happiness is the way.
    So treasure every moment that you have.
    And remember that time waits for no one.
    So stop waiting until you finish school;
    until you go back to school;
    until you get married;
    until you get divorced;
    until you have kids;
    until you retire;
    until you get a new car or home;
    until spring;
    until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy…

    幸福本身就是路。
    所以,珍惜你拥有的每一刻，
    且记住时不我待，
    不要再作所谓的等待--
    等你上完学，
    等你再回到学校；
    等你结婚或离婚；
    等你有了孩子或孩子长大离开家；
    等你开始工作或等你退休；
    等你有了新车或新房；
    等春天来临；
    等你有幸再来世上走一遭才明白此时此刻最应快乐……

感恩节

2008-11-21T13:26:00.001+08:00

The Pilgrims, shown here celebrating their first Thanksgiving, werea group of Puritans who landed at Plymouth Rock, in what is nowMassachusetts, United States, in 1620. In 1621 Governor WilliamBradford of New England proclaimed a day of "thanksgiving" and prayerto celebrate the Pilgrims' first harvest in America. United Statespresident Abraham Lincoln, following the precedent of a number ofstates, designated a national Thanksgiving Day in 1863. NowThanksgiving Day falls annually on the fourth Thursday of November.

About Thanksgiving Day

I Introduction

Thanksgiving Day, legal holiday observed annually in the UnitedStates on the fourth Thursday of November. In Canada, Thanksgivingfalls on the second Monday in October. Its origin probably traces toharvest festivals that have been traditional in many parts of the worldsince ancient times (see Festivals and Feasts). Today Thanksgiving ismainly a celebration of domestic life, centered on the home and family.Most people celebrate Thanksgiving by gathering with family or friendsfor a holiday feast.

II Customs and Symbols

Public observances of Thanksgiving usually emphasize theholiday's connection with the Pilgrims. Thanksgiving pageants andparades often feature children dressed in Pilgrim costume, completewith bonnets or tall hats, dark clothes, and shoes with largesilver-colored buckles.Many of the images commonly associated withThanksgiving are derived from much older traditions of celebrating theautumn harvest. For example, the cornucopia (a horn-shaped basketoverflowing with fruits and vegetables) is a typical emblem ofThanksgiving abundance that dates to ancient harvest festivals. Manycommunities also decorate their churches with fruits, flowers, andvegetables at Thanksgiving, much as European communities have forcenturies during the autumn harvest season.

In keeping with the idea of celebrating a plentiful harvest,preparing and eating a large meal is a central part of mostThanksgiving celebrations. Thanksgiving menus usually include turkey,bread-crumb stuffing, cranberry sauce, squash, mashed potatoes, sweetpotatoes, and pumpkin pie. These simple foods recall the rustic virtuesof the Pilgrims. Additionally, most of these foods are native to NorthAmerica, emphasizing the natural bounty that greeted early settlers intheir adopted homeland. Later groups of immigrants to North Americaoften adapted the traditional holiday menu to fit their own tastes. Forexample, many Italian American Thanksgiving meals include Italianspecialties, such as pasta and wine.

Many Americans digest their holiday meal while watching footballgames on television. Traditionally, two National Football League (NFL)teams, the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys, host games onThanksgiving Day. High viewership of these holiday games has madefootball an American Thanksgiving tradition.

III Origins

Long before Europeans settled in North America, western Europeansobserved Harvest Home festivals to celebrate the successful completionof gathering-in the season's crops. In the British Isles, Lammas Day(Loaf Mass Day), observed on August 1, was often held to celebrate agood wheat harvest. If the wheat crop was disappointing, the holidaywas usually canceled.Another important precursor to the modernThanksgiving holiday was the custom among English Puritans (seePuritanism) of designating special days of thanksgiving to expressgratitude for God's blessings. These observances were not heldregularly; they usually took place only in times of crisis orimmediately after a period of misfortune had passed. Puritanthanksgiving ceremonies were serious religious occasions and bore onlya passing resemblance to modern Thanksgiving celebrations.

IV American Thanksgivings

Although there is record of earlier thanksgiving celebrations(most notably in 1619 at Berkeley Plantation, Virginia), Americanstrace their traditional Thanksgiving holiday to one celebrated in 1621.This celebration was held at the Plymouth Colony, now in the state ofMassachusetts. The English Pilgrims who had founded the colony markedthe occasion by feasting with Native American guests―members of theWampanoag tribe―who brought gifts of food as a gesture of goodwill.Although this event was an important part of American colonial history,there is no evidence that any of the participants thought of the feastas a thanksgiving celebration. Two years later, during a period ofdrought, a day of fasting and prayer was changed to one of thanksgivingbecause rains came during the prayers. Gradually the custom prevailedamong New Englanders to annually celebrate Thanksgiving after theharvest.Colonial governments and, later, state governments took up thePuritan custom of designating thanksgiving days to commemorate variouspublic events. Gradually the tradition of holding annual thanksgivingholidays spread throughout New England and into other states. Duringthe American Revolution (1775-1783) the Continental Congress proclaimeda national day of thanksgiving following the American victory at theBattle of Saratoga in 1777. U.S. president George Washington proclaimedanother day of thanksgiving in 1789 in honor of the ratification of theConstitution of the United States. In 1817 New York State adoptedThanksgiving Day as an annual custom, and many other states soon didthe same. Most of the state celebrations were held in November, but notalways on the same day.

In the mid-19th century Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's LadiesBook, led a movement to establish Thanksgiving as a national holiday.In 1863, during the American Civil War (1861-1865), President AbrahamLincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November to be Thanksgiving Dayin order to bolster the Union's morale. After the war, Congressestablished Thanksgiving as a national holiday, but widespread nationalobservance caught on only gradually. Many Southerners saw the newholiday as an attempt to impose Northern customs on them. However, inthe late 19th century Thanksgiving's emphasis on home and familyappealed to many people throughout the United States. As a distinctlyAmerican holiday, Thanksgiving was also considered an introduction toAmerican values for the millions of immigrants then entering thecountry.

During the 20th century, as the population of the United Statesbecame increasingly urban, new Thanksgiving traditions emerged thatcatered to city dwellers. The day after Thanksgiving gradually becameknown as the first day of the Christmas shopping season. To attractcustomers, large retailers such as Macy's in New York City and Gimbel'sin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, began to sponsor lavish parades. By 1934the Macy's parade, featuring richly decorated floats and giganticballoons, attracted more than one million spectators annually.

The custom of watching football games on Thanksgiving Day alsoevolved during the early decades of the 20th century. As footballbecame increasingly popular in the 1920s and 1930s, many people beganto enjoy the holiday at a football stadium. Teams in the NationalFootball League eventually established the tradition of playingnationally televised games on Thanksgiving afternoon.

In 1939 U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt shifted the day ofThanksgiving from the last Thursday in November to one week earlier.Retail merchants had petitioned the president to make the change toallow for an extra week of shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas.Many Americans objected to the change in their holiday customs andcontinued to celebrate Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of the month.Roosevelt's political opponents in Congress also opposed the break withtradition and dubbed the early holiday "Franksgiving." In May 1941Roosevelt admitted that he had made a mistake and signed a bill thatestablished the fourth Thursday of November as the nationalThanksgiving holiday, which it has been ever since.

Thanksgiving is also a legal holiday in Canada. Because Canada isnorth of the United States, its harvest comes earlier in the year.Accordingly, the Thanksgiving holiday falls earlier in Canada than inthe United States. The Canadian Parliament set aside November 6 forannual Thanksgiving observances in 1879. In 1957 the date was shiftedto an even earlier day, the second Monday in October.

二、感恩节（中文版）

每年11月的第四个星期四(the fourth Thursday in November)是美国的感恩节(Thanksgiving Day)。感恩节是美国人民独创的一个古老节日，也是美国人合家欢聚的节日，因此美国人提起感恩节总是倍感亲切。

感恩节的由来要一直追溯到美国历史(American history)的发端。1620年，著名的"五月花(theMayflower)"号船满载不堪忍受英国国内宗教迫害的清教徒(thepilgrims)102人到达美洲(America)。1620年和1621年之交的冬天，他们遇到了难以想象的困难，处在饥寒交迫之中，冬天过去时，活下来的移民(settlers)只有50多人。这时，心地善良的印第安人(theIndians)给移民送来了生活必需品，还特地派人教他们怎样狩猎、捕鱼和种植玉米、南瓜。在印第安人的帮助下，移民们终于获得了丰收，在欢庆丰收的日子，按照宗教传统习俗，移民规定了感谢上帝的日子，并决定为感谢印第安人的真诚帮助，邀请他们一同庆祝节日。在第一个感恩节的第一天，印第安人和移民欢聚一堂，他们在黎明时鸣放礼炮，列队走进一间用作教堂的屋子，虔诚地向上帝表达谢意，然后点起篝火举行盛大宴会。第二天和第三天又举行了摔跤、赛跑、唱歌、跳舞等活动。第一个感恩节非常成功。其中许多庆祝方式流传了300多年，一直保留到今天。最初感恩节没有固定日期，由各州临时决定，直到美国独立后，感恩节才成为全国性的节日。 1863年，林肯总统(PresidentLincoln)把感恩节定为法定假日。到1941年，美国国会(Congress of the UnitedStates)通过一项法令，把感恩节定在每年十一月的第四个星期四。每逢感恩节这一天，美国举国上下热闹非凡，人们按照习俗前往教堂(church)做感恩祈祷，城乡市镇到处都有化装游行、戏剧表演或体育比赛等。分开了一年的亲人们也会从天南海北归来，一家人团团圆圆，品尝美味的感恩节火鸡。

感恩节的食品富有传统特色。其中最吸引人的大菜是烤火鸡(roast turkey)和南瓜馅饼(pumpkinpie)。烤火鸡是感恩节的传统主菜，通常是把火鸡肚子里塞上各种调料和拌好的食品，然后整只烤出，由男主人用刀切成薄片分给大家。火鸡在烘烤时要以面包作填料以吸收从中流出来的美味汁液，但烹饪技艺常因家庭和地区的不同而各异，应用什么填料也就很难求得一致。此外，人们在餐桌上还可以吃到苹果(apple)、桔子(orange)、栗子(chestnut)、胡桃(walnut)和葡萄(grape),以及碎肉馅饼(mincepie)、小红莓酱(cranberry sauce)等。感恩节宴会(Thanksgivingdinner)后，人们有时会做些传统游戏，比如南瓜赛跑是比赛者用一把小勺推着南瓜跑，规则是不能用手碰南瓜，先到终点者获胜。比赛用的勺子越小，游戏就越有意思。多少年来，庆祝感恩节的习俗代代相传，无论在岩石嶙峋的西海岸(WestCoast)，还是在风光旖旎的夏威夷(Hawaii)，人们几乎在以同样的方式欢度感恩节，感恩节是不论何种信仰、何种民族的美国人都庆祝的传统节日。

三、感恩节（英汉互译版)

Thanksgiving Day is the most truly American of the national Holidaysin the United States and is most closely connected with the earliesthistory of the country.

In 1620, the settlers, or Pilgrims, they sailed to America on theMay flower, seeking a place where they could have freedom of worship.After a tempestuous two-month voyage they landed at in icy November,what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts.

During their first winter, over half of the settlers died of[1]starvation or epidemics. Those who survived began sowing in the firstspring.

All summer long they waited for the harvests with great anxiety,knowing that their lives and the future existence of the colonydepended on the coming harvest. Finally the fields produced a yieldrich beyond expectations. And therefore it was decided that a day ofthanksgiving to the Lord be fixed[2]. Years later, President of theUnited States proclaimed the fourth Thursday of November asThanksgiving Day every year. The celebration of Thanksgiving Day hasbeen observed on that date until today.

The pattern of the Thanksgiving celebration has never changedthrough the years. The big family dinner is planned months ahead. Onthe dinner table, people will find apples, oranges, chestnuts, walnutsand grapes. There will be plum pudding, mince pie, other varieties offood and cranberry juice and squash. The best and most attractive amongthem are roast turkey and pumpkin pie. They have been the mosttraditional and favorite food on Thanksgiving Day throughout the years.

Everyone agrees the dinner must be built around roast turkey stuffedwith a bread dressing[3] to absorb the tasty juices as it roasts. Butas cooking varies with families and with the regions where one lives,it is not easy to get a consensus on[4] the precise kind of stuffingfor the royal bird.

Thanksgiving today is, in every sense, a national annual holiday onwhich Americans of all faiths and backgrounds join in to express theirthanks for the year' s bounty and reverently ask for continued[5]blessings.

感恩节是美国国定假日中最地道、最美国式的节日，而且它和早期美国历史最为密切相关。
1620年，一些朝圣者（或称为清教徒）乘坐"五月花"号船去美国寻求宗教自由。他们在海上颠簸折腾了两个月之后，终于在酷寒的十一月里，在现在的马萨诸塞州的普里茅斯登陆。
在第一个冬天，半数以上的移民都死于饥饿和传染病，活下来的人们在第一个春季开始播种。整个夏天他们都热切地盼望着丰收的到来，他们深知自己的生存以及殖民地的存在与否都将取决于即将到来的收成。后来，庄稼获得了意外的丰收，所以大家决定要选一个日子来感谢上帝的恩典。多年以后，美国总统宣布每年十一月的第四个星期四为感恩节。感恩节庆祝活动便定在这一天，直到如今。
感恩节庆祝模式许多年来从未改变。丰盛的家宴早在几个月之前就开始着手准备。人们在餐桌上可以吃到苹果、桔子、栗子、胡桃和葡萄，还有葡萄干布丁、碎肉馅饼、各种其它食物以及红莓苔汁和鲜果汁，其中最妙和最吸引人的大菜是烤火鸡和番瓜馅饼，这些菜一直是感恩节中最富于传统意义和最受人喜爱的食品。
人人都赞成感恩节大餐必需以烤火鸡为主菜。火鸡在烘烤时要以面包作填料以吸收从中流出来的美味汁液，但烹饪技艺常因家庭和地区的不同而各异，应用什幺填料也就很难求得一致。
今天的感恩节是一个不折不扣的国定假日。在这一天，具有各种信仰和各种背景的美国人，共同为他们一年来所受到的上苍的恩典表示感谢，虔诚地祈求上帝继续赐福。

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

注释：

1. died of：死于…… 当死于身体内部原因的，die后面要接介词of，如：饥饿（starvation）、悲伤（sadness）等；当死于外因时则要用die from，比如死于受伤（wound）.

2. it was decided that a day of thanksgiving to the Lord be fixed：decide可是个让你省事儿的好词了。它后面如果接从句，往往接虚拟语气。所以看见decide后面的从句，你就可以大胆地用动词（should）+"原形""啦！

3. dressing：调味品、填料。这里的dressing可不是穿的呀，a bread dressing可不是"面包衣服"！和bread在一起，dressing自然就是吃的啦！它是"调味品"的意思，"穿"在食物的身上了.

4. consensus on：就……达成一致。注：consensus后面的介词要用on，而不用about。

5. continued：继续的。这里的continued看似动词continue的过去式，但它却是有自己的含义的，它是形容词"继续的"意思。这样continued blessings就是上帝"继续的赐福"了

Nov. 21th, 2008

2008-11-21T12:48:00.001+08:00

Hope from Grandpa

We tried so hard to make things better for our kids that we made them worse. For my grandchildren, I d know better.

    I'd really like for them to know about hand-me-down clothes and home-made ice cream and leftover meatloaf. I really would.

    My cherished grandson, I hope you learn humility by survivingfailure and that you learn to be honest even when no one is looking.

    I hope you learn to make your bed and mow the lawn and wash thecar-and I hope nobody gives you a brand-new car when you are sixteen.

    It will be good if at least one time you can see a baby calf born,and you have a good friend to be with you if you ever have to put yourold dog to sleep.

    I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

    I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother. Andit is all right to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when hewants to crawl under the covers with you because he s scared, I hopeyou ll let him.

    And when you want to see a Disney movie and your kid brother wants to tag along, I hope you take him.

    I hope you have to walk uphill with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

    If you want a slingshot, I hope your father teaches you how to makeone instead of buying one. I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and readbooks, and when you learn to use computers, you also learn how to addand subtract in your head.

    I hope you get razzed by friends when you have your first crush ona girl, and that when you talk back to your mother you learn what Ivorysoap tastes like.

    May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on the stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

    I hope you get sick when someone blows smoke in your face. I don tcare if you try beer once, but I hope you won't like it. And if afriend offers you a joint or any drugs, I hope you are smart enough torealize that person is not your friend.

    I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandpa or go fishing with your uncle.

    I hope your mother punishes you when you throw a baseball through aneighbor s window, and that she hugs you and kisses you when you giveher a plaster of pared mold of your hand.

    These things I wish for you-tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness.

    【中文译文】：

    我们竭尽全力想让我们的儿女们过得更好，而结果却是适得其反。对我的孙辈们，我就明智得多了。

    我真的希望他们能够了解什么是兄长传下来的旧衣服，家制的冰淇淋，以及吃剩的肉糕。我真的希望。

    我的宝贝孙子，我希望你在经受失败的考验之后能学会谦卑，也希望你能学会诚实，即使在没有人注视你的时候。

    我希望你能学会自己叠被子，自己刈草坪，自己洗车--我还希望在你满十六岁时没有人送给你一辆崭新的轿车。

    假如你至少有一次机会看见小牛犊出生，假如你不得不为你的老狗送终，那时有一位好朋友在场为你作伴--那样该有多好啊！

    我希望你能为自己的所信仰与人斗得眼青脸肿。

    我希望你能和你弟弟共一间卧室--即使你在卧室中间划一条分界线也没关系。可是，当弟弟因为害怕而要爬进你的被窝时，我希望你会接纳他。

    当你要出去看迪斯尼电影，你的小弟弟想做你的小尾巴时，我希望你能带上他。

    我希望你能和朋友们一起爬山，而在你所生活的城市里做这项运动不会有什么危险。

    如果你想要一把弹弓，我希望你父亲能教你怎样自己做一把，而不是为你买一把现成的。我还希望你能学会挖泥巴和读书；而当你学会使用电脑时，你也应该学会加减法的心算。

    当你第一次恋上一个女孩时，我希望你会受到朋友们的嘲弄；而当你跟你母亲顶嘴时，希望她叫你尝一尝象牙肥皂的滋味。

    但愿你能在爬山时弄破膝盖上的皮，或者在炉子上烧伤手，或者让舌头粘在结冰的旗杆上。

    我希望吸烟者对着你的脸上喷吐烟雾时，你会感到恶心。如果你尝试喝一次啤酒，我不会在意；但是我希望你不会喜欢上它。如果有一位朋友请你吸一口含大麻的香烟，或者任何毒品，我希望你明智地意识到他不是你的朋友。

    我当然希望你能抽时间来陪你爷爷在门廊上坐一坐，或者陪你叔叔钓钓鱼。

    如果你把捧球扔进了邻居的窗户，我希望你母亲惩罚你。如果你能剪掉指甲，用石膏做一只自己的手的模型送给你妈，我希望她会给你拥抱和亲吻。

    我希望你能经历：艰难的岁月，挫折和失望；希望你努力工作，幸福快乐。

英语初学者

2008-11-17T12:40:00.001+08:00

"怎样才能学好英语？"虽然这是一个说滥了的题目，但其实很难回答。我在北外教了整整40年英语，学生几乎年年拿这个问题考我，可我从来没能作出自己感到满意的答复。学会一种语言，涉及的方方面面实在太多了。现在我仅就某些具体问题谈一些个人看法，希望能对初学者有些帮助。首先我想说句人们听腻了的老话：一个人要想学好英语，必须有足够的信心，必须坚信英语是可以学好的。实际上，连国外都有不少人相信中国人学英语很有些天才。每年成千上万的中国人考TOEFL得高分，甚至得满分，有的GRE考得比美国学生还好，都从一个方面证明了这一点。当然，有信心还不够，还必须有决心。因为英语要学好也不容易。必须准备花大力气，下苦功。眼下，快餐文化流行，什么都急功近利,无论做什么都巴不得以极有限的投资就迅速获得高额的回报。媒体也每每讲些通过自学精通几国外语的故事，让碌碌如我辈听了无地自容，因为我们学了一辈子，至今一国外语也不敢吹"精通"两字。但冷静下来想想，世界上恐怕很难有这种便宜事。近来，听说市场上出现了不少诸如"趣味英语"，"奇迹英语"，"疯狂英语"之类的新产品，我没有认真进行过研究，但是我想只要还是"英语"，总还得按规律来、总还得符合语言的一般规律，英语的特殊规律和中国人学习外语的具体规律吧。"趣味"是一个好东西。生动活泼、丰富多彩的教材教法都有助于学习。但我不相信取巧，不相信侥幸，不相信速成，不相信跳跃。而现在不少初学者的问题恰恰就是缺少一种刻苦的精神，有些朋友总以为交点钱，上个培训班，泡上一两个学期；每星期心血来潮听几次课，考试时买个"快译通"帮帮忙，就能学好英语，这纯粹是误解。达尔文说过，"It's thedogged that does it"（只有百折不回的人，才能最后成功。），不花牛力气，恐怕很难尝到掌握一国语言的乐趣。

说到这里，我忍不住又要"忆苦思甜"了。我们这些六十上下的人当年还是学生的时候，哪里有今天的优越条件？图书短缺，教材单一，和外部世界信息不通。没有英语录像，英语电影就几部四十年代的旧片子，数量比八个样板戏还少。录音机是四、五十斤重的老"钟声"（现在早进了博物馆），练听力时全班人伸长耳朵，站在喇叭口还听不清。外文书报杂志更谈不上。记得在湖北沙洋干校时，学生每天在露天听英语广播，下雨就打着伞听。可即使是这样的条件，人们还是掌握了英语的技能。靠的就是一种坚韧不拔的精神。从这个意义上说，"怎样才能学好英语？"这个问题的回答其实也很简单：天下无难事，只怕有心人。用过去一句口头禅说，就是：想学好英语就必须"丢掉幻想，准备战斗。"

说到克服困难的决心，最最需要这种决心的时候大概就是英语的入门阶段了。入门关不好过。因为英语学习中的种种困难，恐怕有80%都集中在这个阶段。语音语法词汇，听说读写的技巧，都要在这个阶段实现零的突破，打下基础，养成习惯。难怪中外各种英语教学法，大都围绕这个阶段的各种问题做文章。总之，"师父领进门，修行在本人"，这入门关过去了，下面文章就好做了。现在每年都有几十万甚至成百万人兴冲冲地开始学英语，但到头来，也许只剩千把人坚持到参加自学高考，大多数都在入门关卡住了。

  入门关能不能绕过去呢？不能，凡是想跳过入门阶段的人，十个有五双最终都成夹生饭。欲速不达，进退两难。入门阶段一定要踏踏实实来，一步一个脚印。这么做，当时觉得慢，事后却会证明是多快好省的唯一途径。学习材料不要越难越好。以为课本难，就是自己程度高，完全是错觉。我们现在中学英语教材和学生实际掌握的水平往往不成比例，我斗胆说一句：这实在是一种失策。不如学得少些，但学得好些，将基础打扎实。入门阶段的任务很重。语音没有一年半载的苦练，光靠注汉语拼音符号是不行的。基本语法，如名词复数、动词变位、时态、语态、形容词副词的比较级最高级以及各种基本的句子结构，没有一年半载的反复操练，也不会成为自己的东西。入门阶段三千上下的词汇都是基本词、结构词，不通过一、二年的艰苦练习，也很难真正掌握。而这些语言要素还要通通转化成为听说读写的实际技能。要做到这一切，不到一定的火候是不可能的。

    入门阶段往往坚持不到底的另一个原因是：在这段时间里，实际上还没有运用语言进行交流的能力。因此初学者往往看不到自己的进步，尝不到甜头。其实他们这时正在一步一步接近门槛。再坚持一下，就有可能柳暗花明，豁然开朗。此时突然丧失信心，功亏一篑，实在可惜。

   入门阶段一般可分成两个部分。一个以语音为重点，一个以语法为重点。说到语法，有些初学者往往以为就是指语法的理论。这是一种片面的观点。语法里是有不少条条，它们有明显的指导作用和归纳作用。千变万化的语言，一经点破，就成了有规律可循的东西，这当然给学习带来了很大的方便。但语法理论在入门阶段，不能不讲，也不能多讲。钻得过早、过细、过深，不但会不必要地耗费时间精力，而且会产生不良后果。入门阶段应强调技能训练，突出的就是一个"练"字。所以与其坐在海边反复读游泳手册，不如下海扑腾它一两个小时。语法中多数条条并不难懂难记，但要熟练掌握就要千百次地苦练。英语中he和she的差别谁都知道，但有些人学了一辈子还在混。有一些学理工科出身的初学者，往往习惯于从语法规则出发，然后以相应的规则组装成句子。他们的毛病往往是过分强调理论，而忽视实践。也就是说是过分重视知识，而忽视技巧。结果，有些初学者虽然每一个难句都能用语法分析得一清二楚，却仍然听不懂说不出，没有运用语言的实际能力。所以，在入门阶段，不宜打破沙锅问到底，在一般情况下，不如把复杂的语法看成一些不同的句型去模仿。不然，就有可能像寓言里的"蜈蚣"，当它的朋友问它："你这么多脚怎么决定先迈哪条腿呢？"，它就愣住了。结果本来走得好好的，就因为想弄清理论上应先迈哪条腿，而从此不会走路了。

   这里顺便说说我对各种练习的看法。入门阶段要强调练，练就要做各种习题，这似乎是顺理成章的事情。但实际上习题可以设计得千奇百怪。不同的习题当然可以达到不同的目的。但有必要突出重点。在入门阶段，我主张要少做以弄清概念为目的的练习，而要多做有利于实际使用，有利于技能熟巧，有利于思想表达的练习。我特别对各种是非题，选择题有保留。因为这种练习容易导致非此即彼的简单的思维模式。也容易导致钻牛角尖。更重要的是它的目的只在于弄清概念，而不涉及语言技巧的实际操练。现在我国各级学校，学生深受题海战术之苦。有的学校和学生不得已把做题作为学习的主要方式，参加各种考试作为各项教学工作的核心。这是一种极其有害的做法。习题中大部分仅仅是为了测试学生的学习情况，就如用温度计测量人的体温。不能误认为做习题就能掌握一种语言。正如用体温计不能使病人退烧一样。现在全国考托福成风，结果影响到正常的英语学习。使人以为托福考好了，英语就学通了。这又是一种严重的误解。社会上还流行各种教学生如何取巧得高分的培训班，教学生画圈如何画得快，猜得准。我说句笑话，这样的考试如果得了满分，这位学生的英文也许什么地方出了什么毛病。就像我70年代听说过的一个学生，他用9元人民币买了一辆二手自行车，据说那车会骑了以后，正常车反而不会骑了。我担心目前这种考试会成为这种9元钱买来的二手车。习题和考试自然有它们的用处。但一个英语程度好的人能对付习题和考试，并不等于说会对付习题和考试的人英语程度就好。语言教育家们都认为,英语水平高低只有一个可靠的标准：就是看一个人利用它能表达多少思想，表达到什么深度以及表达得如何精确，生动，流利。

    入门阶段要突出一个"练"字，就是要勤用眼，勤用耳，勤用嘴，勤用手，勤用脑。在我看来，这里最最重要的是要尽快攻下听说关。必须尽早学会张嘴说话。什么时候能做到"言论自由"了，学习英语的大门也就敞开了。

   要解决听说入门，先要练语音，其次要结合基本语法，基本词形变化，口头反复操练基本句型。初学时，练的当然是简单的套话，但万丈高楼也就从此而起，不能眼高手低。普通成人初学者往往会说的不想说，因为觉得太简单幼稚。想说的又不敢说，因为怕犯错误让人看笑话。结果是一学就会，一听就懂，一过就忘，一说就错。成人的丰富思想，反而成了心理障碍。学习效果反而不如一些无所顾忌的孩子。记得我二十几岁大学刚毕业时曾教过一批准备出国的优秀中年科学工作者，其中一位就是现在复旦大学校长杨福家教授。当时我就说服他们跟我这个毛头小伙子一起咿呀学英语，讲"LittleTom"之类的小故事，天天一起操练一些最简单不过的东西。但一年半强化训练的结果表明，这种基本训练即使对这些尖端科学的中年学者也是有效的。所谓听说能力，在入门阶段，实际上离不了模仿。为此，朗读、背诵、复述都是必需的。我至今仍相信熟读唐诗三百首那句老话。东西背多了，迟早会消化，成为自己的东西。

我还认为，在入门阶段，所谓听说的能力，首先就是听懂别人问题以及向别人提问题的能力。任何事物，能学会以不同问句形式（一般疑问句、特殊疑问句、反意疑问句、选择疑问句等），以不同人称，不同时态、语态，问清时间、地点、经过、原因、后果等等，并能流利作答，将是入门阶段了不起的成就。当然练习问答，最好有人对练。实际上，听说能力培养的前提是一个人要有交流思想的愿望和兴趣。性格过分内向，平时就沉默寡言，一天下来，连本国语也难得说几句的人，听说关要顺利过去肯定十分困难。听说训练，当然要由近及远，由浅入深。先从日常生活开始，逐步扩大题材。这就涉及到多听多读的问题，因为吸收语言的途径无非靠眼睛看和靠耳朵听两条。现在学习英语条件好了，练习听，不论软件或硬件都有现成的。但据我平时观察，不少学生听得不够，也听得不精。五十年代时英语教师中常常提"精"和"泛"的关系，认为两者应有机结合，不能偏废。我至今仍然认为这是一条真理。我主张学生应该有计划地精听一些东西。一周准备一小时左右的材料，每周的材料反复听它七八次，听到当年我儿子听"地道战"那种程度。即使做不到倒背如流，起码也要做到听来毫无困难。如此坚持四年，肚子里有这么二百小时左右的地道英语垫底，听的困难就该解决了。不仅听，这些呼之欲出的熟悉的声音，肯定也会为说的能力打下坚实的基础。

听说能力要想提高自然还必须和阅读结合起来。读的东西多了，词汇量大了，语言现象熟悉了，听力也会受益。实际上，阅读不入门，听说也难入门。所谓入门，简单说，我认为就是要开始大量阅读，读出味道来，养成习惯。读多少才算大量阅读呢？入门阶段是否可以定它一个50-100本的指标？我大学刚毕业时，因为学生时代政治运动，社会工作太多，加上起点太低(从ABC学起)，所以基础太差，恐怕比不上今天刚入学的优等生。后来逼得没办法，只好下苦功，利用工作之余苦读。记得当时每周要上课18-24小时，每天还要下班辅导几小时，集体备课几小时，社会活动，政治活动几小时……，基本上不到晚上10点没有时间看书。就这样我几乎每天攻读到半夜一二点，星期日也基本上都背一个书包，带几个馒头，在紫竹园读一整天。甚至有时进城购物，也一路看书。走到城里，买东西来不及了，但书已看完了一半，又欣欣然空手看着书回校。一年多下来，就这样利用当时工余的可怜巴巴的一点时间，读完了一万四五千页书。事后发现，就这点书成了我英语学习的一个转折点。我并不希望年青人机械模仿，今天有人再捧着书边读边在路上走，也太危险。我只想说明阅读的作用非同小可。读些什么呢？学生们常常问。我的意见是不妨随心所欲。爱看爱情故事，就从爱情故事入手，爱读侦探小说，也不妨先看侦探小说。总之，根据个人兴趣、需要、条件决定，听其自然。因为开始时，最要紧的是要培养兴趣，养成习惯。以后读到一定程度，人们自然会有扩大范围的要求和能力。不过，从配合听说训练考虑，不妨先读些当代的小说；尤其是多读些剧本和电影脚本。因为这些书里活的语言多，学了就能用。当年我有段时间里专门读Shaw, James,Barry和Galsworthy等人的全集，就觉得对自己的口语很有帮助。总之，我不赞成过早结合理工科或其它的专业。我相信，专业英语如没有一般英语的雄厚基础，很难真正学通。当然，从长远看，读的材料也不能过偏。兴趣要广泛些。和饮食一样，挑食不好。阅读材料的难易程度一定要合适。满篇生词，阅读时大部时间在查词典，一小时只看两三页，读起来就索然无味了。也失去了大量阅读的本意。所以材料中生词难点不能过多，不能达到语言学家所说的"frustrationlevel"（使学生感到沮丧的程度）。一种合适的材料，读起来应该津津有味，爱不释手。为此，一小时七八页恐怕是起码的速度。总之，一开始材料不怕容易。只有容易，才能大量；而只有大量，才能入门。要不要查词典？开始时能不查就不查，能猜就猜。要不要记笔记？如是自己的书，精彩的地方做个记号也好，以后有空可以再重点翻翻，加深印象。但犯不着记太多笔记。记多了，花时间太多，也影响连贯阅读，而且成了一本词典，反而用处不大。这样泛泛读会有收获吗？肯定会有。这种收获也许不能具体计量，但它一定会成为你学习语言的丰富源泉。阅读入门以后，当然还要不断提高。记得北外五十年代和六十年代初提出过学生要过简易读物关，简易原著关（比如中文的英译本）和一般原著关三关，我觉得这一条今天也仍然站得住。

   大量阅读的关键是要解决词汇量太少这个拦路虎。这就成了美国小说里的"第22条军规"。要大量阅读必须有大量词汇，要有大量词汇又必须大量阅读。鸡和蛋，谁先谁后，很难说清。也许这就是两种东西相辅相成，互为因果的意思。在实际操作中，我认为特别需要记住的一点是，要扩大词汇，首先要学会区别对待"积极词汇"和"消极词汇"，也就是说不能满足于在教师指导下一个词一个词细细抠，而应该大量接触。对这大量的新词，可以只求辨认，不求甚解。只有降低掌握这些词汇的要求，才能在短期内扩大数量。反过来，也只有扩大了这些词汇，阅读中才不至于寸步难行。以后阅读大量开展了，大量的"消极词汇"就会"积极"起来，原来的"点头之交"就会成为你的"亲密战友"。

   为了扩大词汇，还要学会联想，学会比较，学会举一反三。一个词的词形、发音、词义、用法都会有一些有趣的特点，能帮助我们记忆和掌握。见到一个词不妨同时想想它的同义词、反义词、派生词。在英美中学里有一门拉丁文课，据说对掌握构词法极有帮助。我们没有这门课，但同样应该重视构词法，以扩大我们的词汇。

   扩大词汇能不能通过背词典的办法？我知道有不少人下过这种功夫，我本人就是一个（我曾经背过一本小词典，每天背一页，撕一页）。但回头来看，除非有特殊情况，比如在敌人牢里的革命者或当年上山下乡的知青，一般不必出此下策。因为词典收集的词不分轻重缓急，没有上下文，不利于多快好省地学习掌握。通过大量阅读来扩大词汇要容易得多。不过，在特定时期，为一个明确目标，在一定范围内进行一些词汇突击，还是可取的。记得我在大学一年级学完以后，利用一个暑假强记了三千多常用词，到了第二年，学习就显得十分主动，阅读起来也大大减少了困难。后来年级举行写作比赛，居然得了第一，使我当时受宠若惊，从此也进一步增强了学习的兴趣和信心。突击单词当然要一批一批来，恰到好处，而且一定要和阅读结合起来，不然死记硬背的东西很难在记忆中持久，也不可能学活。

   以上我谈的主要都是入门阶段的一些问题。英语学习进入高级阶段以后，当然还有很多挑战。比如写作问题将日益突出。翻译能力的培训也是一个艰苦的过程。技能之外，知识又成为永无止境的探求的目标。一个学外语的人最终必然还会涉及文、史、哲、政治、经济、法律等领域。要真正成为一个有用的人才，终不能停留在语音语法词汇上。总还有整个文化素质的问题、人文修养的问题、理想的问题和气节的问题。不过这一些都不是本文的题目了。

    作者：北京外国语大学杨立民

守财奴

2008-11-16T11:51:00.001+08:00

    1.He is a very stingy person. 他是个很小气的人。

    2.What a miser! 真是个吝啬鬼！

    3.He's not a generous person. 他不是个慷慨的人。

    4.She's such a penny pincher. 她真是个守财奴。

    5.He's such a tightwad. 他真是个小气鬼。

    6.Money means everything to her. 她视钱如命。

    7.He's very tightfisted. 他很吝啬。

    8.Her boss is a skinflint. 她老板是个一毛不拔的人。

    9.She never wants to splash the cash. 她出手从不大方。

    10.He's a real scrooge. 他是个不折不扣的守财奴。

李阳:学好英语十大关键问题

2008-11-15T14:37:00.001+08:00

Making the tacks

    The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shopand so hard working was he that at times he would make the sparks flyfrom his hammer.

    The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see theblacksmith everyday and for hours and hours he would enjoy himselfwatching how the tradesman worked.

    "Young man, why don't you try your hand to learn to make shoetacks, even if it is only to pass the time?" said the blacksmith. "Whoknows, one day, it may be of use to you."

    The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a littlepractice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he wasmaking some of the finest tacks.

    Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all hisgoods. He had to leave home and was forced to take up residence inanother country. It so happened that in this village there werenumerous shoemakers who were spending a lot of money to buy tacks fortheir shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were notalways able to get what they wanted, because in that part of thecountry there was a high demand for soldiers' shoes.

    Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his dailybread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art ofmaking tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with theshoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they wouldhelp to get him settled in his workshop. The shoemakers were only tooglad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soonmaking the finest tacks in the village.

    "How funny it seems," he used to say, "even making tacks can bringa fortune. My trade is more useful to me than were all my formerriches."

    【中文译文】：

    琼斯是个非常勤劳的铁匠，常常一整天都在店里工作。他工作非常努力，他的铁锤下常常是火花飞舞。

    邻居史密斯先生很有钱，他的儿子常常来看琼斯打铁。他喜欢看这位工匠工作，常常一看就是几个小时。

    "年轻人，为什么不亲自尝试一下如何制作鞋钉呢，哪怕只是为了消磨时间？"铁匠说，"没准，有一天它会对你有帮助。"

    懒懒的孩子开始想看看自己到底能做什么。然而，仅仅经过很短的练习，他便发现自己非常熟练起来，很快他就做出了最好的鞋钉。

   老史密斯先生去世了，而他的儿子则因为战争的缘故失去了所有的财产。他不得不离开家园，在另外一个国家住了下来。巧的是，这个国家的这个地区，急需大量军鞋，所以这个村子里有很多鞋匠，他们总是花费很多钱购买鞋钉。有时，即使付了很高的价钱，也买不到他们想要的鞋钉。

    在这食不果腹的困难时刻，年轻的史密斯记起自己曾学过制鞋钉这门手艺，便突发奇想，想和这些鞋匠们做一个交易。他对他们说，如果他们可以帮助他成立一个店铺，他就可以做鞋钉。鞋匠们对他的这一提议欣喜若狂。很快，史密斯发现他做的鞋钉是村里面最好的。

    "这真是有趣，"他常常会说，"即便是做鞋钉也会带来财富。与我以前所有的财富相比，我现在做的事情对于我来说更有用。"

15th, Nov., 2008

2008-11-15T14:35:00.001+08:00