新版英语美文欣赏(1)

① A Child’s Angel

Once upon a time there was a child ready to be born. So one day he asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

"Among the many angels, I chose one for you. She will be waiting for you and will take care of you." God replied.

"But here in Heaven, I don't do anything else but sing and smile, that's enough for me to be happy." God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you every day. And you will feel your angel's love and be happy."The child said, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me, if I don't know the language that men speak?"God patted him on the head and said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?"

"Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray." Child said, "I've heard that on earth there are bad men, who will protect me?"God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking her life!"

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore,"

"Your angel will always talk to you about me and will teach you the way for you to come back to me, even though I will always be next to you."

At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from earth could already be heard. And the child in a hurry, asked softly, "Oh God, if I am about to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."God replied, "Your angel's name is not hard to remember. You will call your angel Mommy."

（一）孩子的守护天使

从前，有个孩子马上就要诞生了。于是有一天他问上帝：“听说明天您就送我去人间了，但是，我这么弱小和无助，我在那儿怎么生活呢？”上帝答道：“在众多的天使中，我特别为你挑了一位。她会守候你，无微不至地照顾你。”

小孩还是拿不准自己是否真的想去：“但是在天堂，我除了唱唱笑笑外，什么也不做，这就足以让我感到幸福了。”

“你的天使每天会为你唱歌，为你微笑。你会感受她的爱，并且因此而幸福。”“如果我不懂人类的语言，他们对我说话时，我怎么听得懂呢？”孩子继续问道。

“你的天使会对你说最最美丽、最最动听的话语，而这些都是你从未听过的。她会不厌其烦地教你说话。”

“如果我想与你说话怎么办？”

你的天使会将你的双手合拢，教你如何祈祷。”“听说尘世有很多坏蛋，谁来保护我呢？”“即使冒着生命危险，你的天使也会保护你的。”

“但是见不到你，我会难过的。”

“尽管我会一直陪伴你左右，你的天使仍会提起我，教你重返天堂之路。”

此时，天堂一片宁静，凡间的声音已可听到，小孩明白自己得赶紧上路了。他又轻声问了最后一个问题：“哦，上帝，假如我现在就出发，请你告诉我，我的天使叫什么名字？”上帝答道：“你的天使的名字很容易记住，你就叫她－－妈妈。”

② Bill Gates’8 Rules to Students

1. Life is not fair, get used to it.

2. The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

3. You will not make 4,000 dollars a year right out of high school .You won't be a vice president with a car phone, until you earn both.

4. If you think your teacher is tough ,wait till you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure.

5. If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about our mistakes, learn from them.

6. Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' genernation , try "delousing" the closet in your own room.

7. Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life

8. Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself .Do that on your own time.

（二）比尔.盖茨给学生的八条准则

1. 生活是不公平的,要去适应它。

2. 这个世界并不会在意你的自尊．它指望你在自我感觉良好之前先要有所成就。

3. 高中刚毕业你不会一年挣４万美元．你不会成为一个公司副总裁，并拥有一部装有电话的汽车，直到你将此职位和汽车电话都挣到手。

4. 如果你认为你的老师严厉，等你有了老板再这样想。老板可是没有任期限制的。

5. 如果你陷入困境，那不是你父母的错，所以不要尖声抱怨我们的错误，要从中吸取教训。 6. 在你出生之前，你的父母并非像他们现在这样乏味。他们变成今天这个样子是因为这些年来他们一直在为你付帐单，给你洗衣服，听你大谈你是如何的酷．所以你想消灭你父母那一辈子中的＂寄生虫＂来拯救雨林的话，你还是先去清除你房间衣柜里的虫子吧。

7. 你的学校也许已经不再分优等生和劣等生，但生活却仍在作出类似的区分。在某些学校已经废除不及格分，只要你想找到正确答案，学校就会给你无数机会。这和现实生活中的任何事情没有一点相似之处。

8. 生活不分学期．你并没有暑假可以休息，也没有几位雇主乐于帮助你发现自我。自己找时间做吧。

二、词汇学习

1. self-esteem n. 自尊, 自负, 自大

例句： If he failed, his self-esteem would suffer. 如果他失败，他的自尊心会受到损害。

2. tenure n. (财产、职位等的)占有(期, 权, 条件)；(土地的)使用(权, 期), 所有权 例句： He is promised a long tenure of office. 他得到许诺可有一个较长的任期。 3. parasite n. 寄生虫,食客

例句：The mistletoe plant is a parasite on trees. 槲寄生是寄生在树上的植物。 4. delouse [di:'laus] v. 驱除虱子

③ Sand and Stone

The story goes that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, he wrote in the sand: "Today my best friend slapped me in the face.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him.

After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: "Today my best friend saved my life.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now you write on a stone. Why?"

The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us we should write it down in the sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in a stone where no wind can ever erase it."

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN THE STONE.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire life to forget them.

Send this phrase to the people you'll never forget. It's a short message to let them know that you'll never forget them.

（三）沙子与石头

话说两个好朋友正在穿越一个沙漠。途中他们忽然争吵了起来，其中一个一巴掌扇在另外一个人的脸上。

"被扇的那个人受了伤害，但他一句话也没有说，只是在沙子上写道：“今天我最要好的朋友打了我一个耳光。”

他们继续走下去，后来发现了一片绿洲，他们于是决定洗个澡。先前被打的那个人这时不小心陷入了一个泥潭里面，差点被淹死了，幸运的是他的朋友把他给救了出来。 "他苏醒过来后，立刻在一块石头上写道：“今天我最要好的朋友救了我一命。” 扇过他耳光又救过他性命的朋友于是问他说：“我打了你之后你在沙子上写字，而现在你却在石头上写，为什么呢？” 写字的那个人回答说：“当我们被别人伤害了之后，我们应该把它写在沙子上，那样，宽容的风就很快就会将其抹去，但当我们受到别人的帮助之后，我们必须将它刻在石头上，那样，风就不会轻易把它磨灭。”

学会将你所受到的伤害写在沙子上，把别人给你的帮助记在石头上。

人们常说发掘一个特别的人需要一分钟，欣赏一个人需要一个小时，爱上一个人需要一整天，但忘记一个人却需要你一生的时间。

将这句话发给你永远不会忘怀的人吧，让他们知道你将永远把他们放在心上。

④ Ten Suggestions for a Brighter Future

改变未来的十句警言

◆ Realize that life isn't always fair. Accept what you must, and change what you can. 要知道生活并非绝对公平。接受既定命运，改变你所能改变的。

◆ Think before you act. A moment of carelessness or anger can cause years of anguish and regret.

三思而后行。为一时的疏忽与愤怒所付的代价是经以数年的痛苦悔恨。 ◆ Look for the beauty in life, in people, in nature, and in yourself.

发掘生活中无处不在的美，在大自然里，在他人中，在自己身上。

◆ Appreciate what you have: the people, the opportunities, the material possessions. 珍视你所拥有的一切：人、机遇、物质财富。

◆ Make the effort to have fun: it's a great way to bond with others, and it makes some of the best memories.

努力营造生活的乐趣：与人交往是件美妙的事情，它将留给你美好的回忆。

◆ Set aside some time for yourself. Do some thing you enjoy without feeling even a little guilty. 留时间给自己。潇潇洒洒、无所顾忌地做点自己喜欢的事情。

◆ Accept others without judgment. Everyone is unique, and it's okay to be different. 不偏不倚地接受他人。每个人都是独一无二的，个体差异实属正常。

◆ Forgive. Bitterness and resentment hurt you more than the person you direct them at.[

宽容。愤怒和仇恨远比你所憎恨的人更伤人。

◆ Learn. Open your mind to new ideas and activities, and don't be afraid to try.

学习。勇于接受新观点新理念，不要畏惧新的尝试。

◆ Dream. Make plans, believe in yourself, and go for what you want.

梦想。制订计划，坚信自己，为你的梦想全力以赴。

⑤ Child, Don’t Grow up Too Fast

All you remember about your child being twelve is sitting in the stands during baseball practice and hoping your child's team would strike out fast because you had more important things to do at home. The coach didn't understand how busy you were. You wished the baseball season would be over soon.

All you remember about your child being fourteen is being asked not to stop the car in front of the school in the morning. You had to drive two blocks further and unlock the doors without coming to a complete stop. You remember not getting to kiss your child goodbye or talking to him in front of his friends. You wished your child would be more mature.

All you remember about your child being sixteen is loud music and undecipherable lyrics screamed to a rhythmic beat. You wished for your child to grow up and leave home with the stereo.

All you remember about your child being eighteen is the day they were born and having all the time in the world.

And, as you walk through your quiet house, you wonder where they went and you wish your child hadn't grown up so fast.

（五）孩子，别长得太快

孩子12岁时,你所记得的,是孩子在体育场打棒球练习赛时,你坐在看台上希望你孩子所 在的队很快三击不中出局,因为家里还有更重要的事等你去做。教练不明白你为什么那么忙。 你多希望棒球赛季能尽快结束。

孩子14岁时,你所记得的,是他不让你早晨把汽车停在校门口。你不得不开过两个街区,车还没停稳就赶紧打开车门。你记得没能在他的朋友面前跟他吻别或说话。你多希望孩子能更成熟些。

孩子16岁时,你所记得的,是吵闹的音乐和以富有节奏的拍子尖声唱出的难以听懂的歌词。你多希望孩子快点长大成人,带着音响离开家吧。

孩子18岁时,你所记得的,是他们出生的那一天,拥有世间所有的时光。

当你在静静的房子里走来走去时,你纳闷他们去哪里了——你多希望孩子别这么快就长大了。

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