經典生活英語美文
英語作爲學習生涯中必不可少的課程，想學好真的不容易。小編在此獻上英語美文，希望大家喜歡。
英語經典美文欣賞
大石塊The big rocks
One day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz.” Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-Mouthed Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He then produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is the jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes."
一天，一名時間管理專家在對一羣學習商業的學生講話時，爲了論證一個論點，他用了一個令學生們永遠難忘的 表述方式。站在這羣出類拔萃的學生面前，他說：“來，做個小測試。”他拿出一個一加侖的廣口玻璃瓶，放在他們面前的桌上。接着他拿出一小堆拳頭大小的石塊，小心翼翼、一塊一塊地放進瓶子裏。等石塊裝滿到瓶子，再也塞不下時，他問：“瓶子滿了嗎?”大家都說：“滿了。”
He replied, "Really?"
他問：“真的滿了嗎?”
He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel, then dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks.
他伸手到桌下提出一桶碎石，將碎石倒進瓶子裏，搖晃瓶子讓碎石漏進石塊的間隙裏去。
He asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"
他又問學生：“瓶子裝滿了嗎?”
By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered.
這時學生們領悟過來了。“可能還沒滿吧!”一個學生回答說。
"Good!" he replied.
“好!”他說道。
He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question,"Is the jar full?"
他伸手從桌底下拎出了一桶沙，把沙往瓶子裏倒，沙子塞滿了石塊與碎石的縫隙，他又一次問：“滿了嗎?”
"No!" the class shouted.
“沒滿!”全班學生大聲回答。
Once again he said, "Good!"
再一次，他說道：“好!”
Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager student raised her hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in!"
然後他又拿出一大罐水往瓶子裏倒，一直倒到水升到瓶口高。他看着學生們問“這個演示說明了什麼?”一個學生急忙舉手說：“說 明瞭：不管時間安排得多緊，只要你想辦法，總是可以見縫插針地做更多的事情。”
"Good answer, but no," the speaker replied, "that’s not my point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all. What are the’big rocks" in your life? In my life they are my children... my wife... my loved ones... my education... my dreams... charities and worthy causes... teaching or mentoring others... doing things that I love... time for myself... my health... Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’ll never get them in at all."
“回答得好，不過，”專家說：“這不是我想說的。這個例子告訴我們一個事實：如果你不是先放大石塊，以後 它們就永遠擺不進去。你生活中的‘大石塊’是什麼呢?在我的生活中，那就是我的孩子、妻子、所愛的人、學習、夢想、善行和有價值的事業、教導他人、做我喜歡做的事、留給自己的時間、健康，等等。要記住，必須先放“大石塊”，否則它們永遠放不進去。”
If you sweat the little stuff then you’ll fill your life with little things to worry about that don’t really matter, and you’ll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big,important stuff：the big rocks.
如果你奔忙於瑣事，那麼這些無關緊要的小事就會充斥你的生活，讓你成天操心，你就永遠沒辦法騰出有質量的時間來處理你的大事和要事(大石塊)。
英語美文欣賞
錯過的祝福 The Missed Blessings
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.
從前，有位年輕人即將大學生畢業。數月來，他一直渴望得到某汽車商產品陳列室中的一輛跑車。他知道，他那富有的父親肯定買得起這輛車，於是，他便跟父親說他很想得到那輛漂亮的跑車。
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.
在畢業典禮即將來臨的日子裏，年輕人等待着父親買下跑車的消息。終於，在畢業典禮那天上午，父親將他叫到自己的書房，並告訴他，有他這麼出色的兒子自己感到非常自豪而且非常愛他這個兒子。接着，父親遞給兒子一個包裝精美的禮品盒。年輕人感到好奇，但帶着些許失望地打開禮品盒，卻發現裏面是一本精美的精裝本《聖經》，上面以金子凸印着年輕人的名字。看罷，年輕人怒氣衝衝地向父親大喊道：“你有那麼多錢，卻只給我一本《聖經》?”說完，便丟下《聖經》，憤怒地衝出房子。
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.
多年以後，年輕人已事業有成。他擁有一所漂亮的房子，一個溫馨的家庭。但當得知父親年事已高，他想，或許應該去看看他。自從畢業那天起他就一直不見父親。就在起程時，他收到一封電報——父親已逝世，並已立下遺囑將其所有財產轉給兒子。他要立即回父親家處理後事。
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".
在父親的房子裏，他突然內心感到一陣悲傷與懊悔。他開始仔細搜尋父親的重要文件，突然發現了那本《聖經》——還跟幾年前一樣嶄新。他噙着淚水打開《聖經》並一頁一頁地閱讀着。忽然，從書的背面掉出一把鑰匙。鑰匙上掛着一個標籤，上面寫着一個汽車經銷商的名字——正是他曾渴望的那輛跑車的經銷商。標籤上還有他的畢業日期及“款已付清”的字樣。
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.
我們多少次地與祝福擦肩而過，僅僅因爲他們沒有按我們想象中的樣子包裝好?不要在渴望得到沒有的東西時損壞你已經擁有的東西，但要記住一點：你現在所擁有的恰恰正是你曾經一心渴望得到的。
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.
有時，我們並沒有意識到我們已經擁有或本該擁有的好運，僅僅因爲它的外表與我們想象中的有所不同。其實，表面上看起來像是壞運氣的東西或許正是等待開啓的幸運之門。
經典優美英語文章
生活的一課A Lesson for Living
"Everything happens for the best," my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. "If you carry on, one day something good will happen. And you'll realize that it wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."
每當我遇到挫折時，母親就會說：“一切都會好的。如果你堅持下去，總有一天會有好事發生。你會認識到，如果沒有以前的挫折就不會有現在的一切。”
Mother was right, as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932. I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicagoand knocked on the door of every station - and got turned down every time.
母親是對的，發現這個時是在1932年，我剛從大學畢業。我已決定試着在電臺找個事兒做，然後爭取做體育節目的播音員。我搭便車到了芝加哥，挨家電臺地敲門推銷自己--但每次都被拒絕了。
In one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations couldn't risk hiring an inexperienced person. "Go out in the sticks and find a small station that'll give you a chance," she said.
在一個播音室裏，一位好心的女士告訴我，大的廣播電臺是不會冒險僱傭沒經驗的新手的。“去鄉下找一家給你機會的小電臺吧，”她說。
I thumbed home toDixon,Illinois. While there was no radio-announcing jobs inDixon, my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. SinceDixonwas where I had played high school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn't hired.
我搭車來到家鄉 My Hometown'>我的家鄉，那是伊利諾斯州的迪克森。在迪克森當時還沒有電臺播音員這樣的工作，父親說，蒙哥馬利·沃德開了一家新商店，想僱請一個本地的運動員管理店裏的體育部。我中學時曾在迪克森打過橄欖球，出於這個原因我去申請了這份工作。工作聽起來挺適合我的，但是我沒被聘用。
My disappointment must have shown. "Everything happens for the best," Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to job hunt. I tried WOC Radio inDavenport,Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur, told me they had already hired an announcer.
我的沮喪心情一定表現出來了。“一切總會好的，”母親提醒我說。爸爸給我買了一輛汽車找工作用。我試到愛荷華州達文波特的WOC電臺去求職。那裏的電臺節目負責人是一個很棒的蘇格蘭人，名叫彼得?麥克阿瑟，他告訴我他們已經僱到播音員了。
As I left his office, my frustration boiled over. I asked aloud, "How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can't get a job in a radio station?"
離開他辦公室時，我憤怒極了。我大聲地說：“一個連在電臺都找不到工作的傢伙又怎麼能成爲體育節目的播音員呢?”
I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling, "What was that you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?" Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game.
等電梯時，我聽見麥克阿瑟喊道：“你說什麼體育?你瞭解橄欖球嗎?”接着他讓我站到麥克風前，請我解說一場想象中的比賽。
On my way home, as I have many times since, I thought of my mother's words: "If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn't have happened if not for that previous disappointment."
在回家的路上--以後也有很多次地，我思考着母親的那句話：“如果你堅持下去，總有一天會有好事發生。如果沒有以前的挫折，就不會有現在的一切。”
I often wonder what direction my life might have taken if I'd gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.
我常想，如果我當年得到了蒙哥馬利·沃德的那份工作，我的人生之路又會怎樣走呢?
