經典英語美文閱讀：寬容

寬容是一種修養，是一種處變不驚的氣度。學會寬容別人，就是學會善待自己。下面是本站小編爲大家帶來有關寬容的英語經典美文，希望大家喜歡!

Happily lived mankind in the peaceful valley of ignorance.

寧靜無知的山谷裏，人們幸福地生活着。

To the north，to the south，to the west and to the east stretched the ridges of the hills everlasting.

沒有盡頭的山脈向東南西北各個方向綿延。

A little stream of knowledge tricked slowly through a deep worn gully.

知識的小溪流沿着幽深而殘破的山谷緩緩地流着。

It came out of the mountains of the past.

它發源於往日的荒山。

It lost itself in the marshes of the future.

它消失在未來的沼澤。

It was not much，as rivers go. But it was enough for the humble needs of the villagers.

這條小溪沒有江河那樣洶涌澎湃的波濤，但對於只有微薄需求的村民來說，已經是綽綽有餘。

In the evening，when they had watered their cattle and had filled their casks, they were content to sit down to enjoy life.

晚上，村民們喂罷牲口，把水桶裏灌滿了水，便心滿意足地坐下來，盡享人生之樂。

The old men who knew were brought forth from the shady corners where they had spent their day, pondering over the mysterious pages of an old book.

思想陳舊的老人們被攙扶出門，他們整個白天都待在蔭涼的角落裏，苦苦思索着一本神祕的古書。

They mumbled strange words to their grandchildren，who would have preferred to play with the pretty pebbles，brought down from distant lands.

他們對兒孫們唸叨着那些稀奇古怪的字眼，可是孩子們總想着玩那些從遠處帶來的石頭。

Often these words were not very clear.

這些字眼的含義經常含糊不清。

But they were writ a thousand years ago by a forgotten e they were holy.

不過，它們是一個如今不爲人知的部落在一千年前寫下的，因而神聖不可裹讀。

For in the valley of ignorance，whatever was old was venerable. And those who dared to gainsay the wisdom of the fathers were shunned by all decent people. And so they kept their peace.

在愚昧的山谷裏，古老的東西總是受到敬重。誰否定先人的智慧，誰就會遭到正派人的冷落。所以大家處在一起相安無事。

Fear was ever with them. What if they should be refused the common share of the products of the garden?

恐懼總是跟隨着人們。誰要是分不到果園裏一個份額的果實，又能怎麼辦呢?

Vague stories there were, whispered at night among the narrow streets of the little town，vague stories of men and women who had dared to ask questions.

夜深的時候，人們簇擁在狹窄的街頭巷尾，講述着那些情節早已模糊不清的往事，論說那些勇於提出質疑的男男女女。

They had gone forth and never again had they been seen.

這些男男女女後來都走了，再沒回來過。

A few had tried to scale the high walls of the rocky range that

hid the sun.

另外一部分人試圖攀緣擋住太陽的巖牆陡壁。

Their whitened bones lay at the foot of the cliffs.

但結局是他們橫屍于山崖腳下，白骨累累。

The years came and the years went by.

歲月流逝，年復一年。

Happily lived mankind in the peaceful valley of ignorance.

在這寧靜的無知山谷裏，人們幸福地生活着。

Out of the darkness crept a man.

黑暗中，一個人正在爬行。

The nails of his hands were torn.

他的指甲已經磨破了。

His feet were covered with rags, red with the blood of long marches.

他的腳上纏着破破爛爛的布，由於長途跋涉，流出的鮮血已經把布浸透了。

He stumbled to the door of the nearest but and knocked.

他跌跌撞撞地來到最近的一間草屋，敲了敲門。

Then he fainted. By the light of a frightened candle, he was carried to a cot.

接着他便暈了。藉助顫動的燭光，他被擡到一張吊牀上。

In the morning throughout the village it was known, "He has come back."

到了早上，全村的人都知道:“他回來了。”

The neighbors stood around and shook their heads. They. had always known that this was to be the end.

鄰居們圍在他的身邊，無奈地搖搖頭。他們明白，這是早已註定的結局。

Defeat and surrender awaited those who dared to stroll away from the foot of the mountains.

那些敢於離開山谷的人，等待他的是屈服和失敗。

And in one corner of the village the old men shook their heads and whispered burning words.

在村子的一個角落，思想遷腐的老人們搖着頭，壓低了聲音說着惡狠狠的話。

They did not mean to be cruel, but the law was the erly this man had sinned against the wishes of those who knew.

他們並非生來殘忍，但法律就是法律。他違背了那些思想陳腐的長輩們的意志，就是犯下了滔天大罪。

As soon as his wounds were healed he must be brought to trial.

他的傷勢一旦痊癒，就必須接受判決。

They meant to be lenient.

迂腐的長輩們本想慈悲爲懷。

They remembered the strange, burning eyes of his recalled the tragedy of his father, lost in the desert these thirty years ago.

他們沒有忘記他母親怪異的跳躍着光芒的眼眸，也回想起了30年前他父親在沙漠失蹤的悲劇。

The law，however, was the law;and the law must be obeyed.

不過法律就是法律，法律是不可違抗的。

The men who knew would see to that.

而那些思想守舊的老人就是法律的執行者。

They carried the wanderer to the market place，and the people stood around in respectful silence.

那些迂腐的老人把出遊的人擡到鬧市區。人們在都畢恭畢敬地在周圍站着，鴉雀無聲。

He was still weak from hunger and thirst and the elders bade him sit down，He refused.

出遊的人由於飢渴，身體還很虛弱。老人們讓他坐下，他拒絕了。

They ordered him to be silent.

他們讓他閉嘴。

But he spoke.

但是他堅持要說。

Upon the old men he turned his back and his eyes sought those who but a short time before had been his comrades.

他轉過來背對老人，眼光在人羣中搜索不久前還與他志同道合的人。

"Listen to me,”he implored, "Listen to me and be rejoiced.I have come back from beyond the mountains. My feet have trod a fresh soil. My hands have felt the touch of other races. My eyes have seen wondrous sights.

“聽我說，”他懇請道，“請聽我說，大家會很高興的。我剛從山那邊回來，我的雙腳踏上了一片新鮮的土地，我的手被其他的民族撫摸過，我的雙眼見到了奇妙的景象。”

"When I was a child, my world was the garden of my father.

“小時候，父親的花園就是我的整個世界。”

"To the west and to the east, to the south and to the north lay the ranges from the beginning of time.

“早在上帝創造世界的時候，花園東西南北各個方位的邊界就被確定下來了。”

"When I asked what they were hiding, there was a hush and a hasty shaking of heads. When I insisted, I was taken to the rocks and shown the bleached bones of those who had dared to defy the gods.

“只要我問起邊界的那一邊藏着什麼，大家就把頭搖個不停，口裏發出噓噓的聲音。但是我非要打破砂鍋問到底，於是他們就帶我來這塊岩石上，讓我看看那些蔑視上帝的人的森森白骨。”

"When I cried out and said,‘It is a lie! The Gods love those who are brave!’the men who knew came and read to me from their sacred books. The law, they explained, had ordained all things of heaven and earth. The valley was ours to have and to hold. The animals and the flowers, the fruit and the fishes were ours, to do our bidding. But the mountains were of the gods. What lay beyond was to remain unknown until the end of time.

“‘騙人’我大聲喊道.‘上帝偏愛英勇的人。’於是，迂腐的長輩們走過來，爲我讀他們的聖書。他們說，上帝的旨意已經決定了天地間萬物的命運。山谷是我們的，由我們來掌管，飛禽走獸和花朵，還有果實和魚蝦都是屬於我們的，我們決定它們的命運。但山是上帝的，我們不應該知道山對面的一切事物，直到世界的末日。”

"So they spoke, and they lied. They lied to me, even as they have lied to you.

“這就是他們說的，他們在撒謊，他們欺騙了我，就像欺騙了你們一樣。”

"There are pastures in those hills. Meadows too, as rich as any. And men and women of our own flesh and blood. And cities resplendent with the glories of a thousand years of labor.

“山的那一邊有牧場，有和我們一樣的牧草，那裏的男女老少有和我們同樣的血肉之軀。那歷經了一千年的城市，被能工巧匠雕刻得雄壯美麗，光彩閃爍。”

"I have found the road to a better home. I have seen the promise of a happier life. Follow me and I shall lead you thither. For the smile of the gods is the same there as here and everywhere."

“我已經找到了一條大道，可以通往更美好的家園，我已經看到了幸福生活的曙光。跟隨我走吧，我帶着你們奔向那裏。上帝在別處有和在這裏一樣的微笑。”

He stopped and there went up a great cry of horror.

他停下來了，人羣發出了驚恐的叫喊聲。

"Blasphemy!”cried the old men. "Blasphemy and sacrilege! A fit punishment for his crime! He has lost his reason. He dares to scoff at the law as it was written down a thousand years deserves to die!”

“褒讀，這是對神靈的襄讀，”頑固不化的老人大聲叫着，“要讓他罪有應得!他已經失去理智了，竟敢戲謔一千年前制定下來的法律。他死有餘辜!”

And they took up heavy stones.

人們舉起了沉重的石頭。

And they killed him.

他們殺死了這個出遊的人。

And his body they threw at the foot of the cliffs, that it might lie there as a warning to all who questioned the wisdom of the ancestors.

人們把他的屍體扔到山崖底下，以此訓誡其他那些膽敢懷疑祖先智慧的人，殺一儆百。

Then it happened a short time later that there was a great drought. The little brook of knowledge ran dry. The cattle died of thirst. The harvest perished in the fields, and there was hunger in the valley of ignorance.

沒有多久，一場特大幹旱爆發了。涓涓的知識小溪流千枯了，牲畜都乾渴而死，田地裏的糧食都枯萎了，無知的山谷裏到處都是飢渴的呻吟。

The old men who knew, however, were not ything would all come right in the end，they prophesied，for so it was wrote in their most holy chapters.

不過，那些頑固的老人並沒有灰心。他們預言說，所有的一切都會轉危爲安，至少那些先知先覺的聖書上是這樣寫的。

Besides, they themselves needed but little food. They were so very old.

而且，他們自己已經很老了，吃不了多少糧食了。

Winter came.

冬天來臨了。

The village was deserted.

村莊裏荒無人煙。

More than half of the populace died from sheer want.

飢寒交迫奪去了大多數人的生命。

The only hope for those who survived lay beyond the mountains.

活着的人把生存的唯一希望寄託在山的那一邊。

But the law said "No!"

但是法律卻說:“不可以!”

And the law must be obeyed.

法律是必須要遵守的。

One night there was a rebellion.

一天夜晚，叛亂爆發了。

Despair gave courage to those whom fear had forced into silence.

絕望斌予那些由於恐懼而逆來順受的人們以勇氣。

Feebly the old men protested.

迂腐的老人們無力地抗爭着。

They were pushed aside. They complained of their lot. They bewailed the ingratitude of their children，but when the last wagon pulled out of the village, they stopped the driver and forced him to take them along.

他們被推到一邊，還在抱怨自己不幸的命運，詛咒兒孫的忘恩負義。但是當最後一輛馬車駛離村落時，他們攔住了它，迫使車伕把他們帶走。

The flight into the unknown had begun.

就這樣，投奔前途未卜的新世界的旅程開始了。

It was many years since the wanderer had returned. It was no easy task to discover the road he had mapped out.

從那個出遊者回來到現在已經過了很多年了，所以要找到他開闢的道路，絕不是容易的事情。

Thousands fell a victim to hunger and thirst before the first cairn was found.

成千上萬的人在路途上飢渴而亡，人們終於找到了第一座用石子壘起的路標。

From there on the trip was less difficult.

從那以後，旅途中的磨難少了一些。

The careful pioneer had blazed a clear trail through the woods and amidst the endless wilderness of rock.

那個細心的開拓者已經用火在一望無際的險山亂林中燒出了一條寬闊大道。

By easy stages it led to the green pastures of the new land.

沿着這條大道，人們一步步地走到了一個有着綠色牧場的新世界。

Silently the people looked at each other.

人們相對無言。

"He was right after all，”they said, "He was right, and the old men were wrong..."

“他到底還是對的，”人們說，“正確的是他，錯誤的是那些冥頑不化的老人……”

"He spoke the truth, and the old men lied..."

“他的話是真實的，那些迂腐的老人在撤謊……”

"His bones lie rotting at the foot of the cliffs，but. the old men sit in our carts and chant their ancient lays...”

“他的屍首腐爛在山崖下，可是那些頑固的老人卻坐在我們的車裏，還唱着那陳舊不堪的歌謠。”

"He saved us, and we slew him..."

“他救了我們，我們卻殺害了他。”

"We are sorry that it happened, but of course, if we could have known at the time..."

“我們確實對這件事情非常內疚，不過，當時我們如果知道的話，當然就……”

Then they unharnessed their horses and their oxen and they drove their cows and their goats into the pastures and they built themselves houses and laid out their fields and they lived happily for along time afterwards.

接着，他們爲牛馬解下套具，把牛羊趕進牧場，建造自己的房屋，規劃自己的土地。從此，他們過上了幸福的生活。

A few years later an attempt was made to bury the brave pioneer in the fine new edifice which had been erected as a home for the wise old men.

幾年之後，人們爲智慧老人建起了一座嶄新的大廈作爲住宅，並準備把英勇的先驅者的遺骸埋在裏面。

A solemn procession went back to the now deserted valley,but when the spot was reached where his body ought to have been，it was no longer there.

一支莊嚴的隊伍回到了早已荒蕪人煙的山谷。但是，山崖腳下空空如也，開拓者的屍骨已經無影無蹤。

A hungry jackal had dragged it to his lair.

飢餓的豺狗早就把屍首拖入了自己的洞穴。

A small stone was then placed at the foot of the trail (now a magnificent highway). It gave the name of the man who had first defied the dark terror of the unknown, that his people might be guided into a new freedom.

人們在開拓者足跡的盡頭放上了一塊小石頭(那裏現在已經是一條大道)，他們把開拓者的名字刻在石頭上—這是第一個挑戰未知世界的黑暗和恐怖的人的名字，是他把人們帶向了新的自由。

And it stated that it had been erected by a grateful posterity.

石頭上還寫着，它是由前來感恩朝拜的後人建造的。

As it was in the beginning-as it is now-and as some day (so we hope)it shall no longer be.

這樣的事情過去發生過，現在也還在發生，不過將來(我們希望)不要再發生了。

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