英語經典美文閱讀翻譯
美文,不禁浮現出一個美麗的情境,賦予優美的語境和豐富的情感。下面是本站小編帶來的英語經典美文，歡迎閱讀!
Just for Today
就爲了今天
Just for today I will try to live through this day only and not solve my whole life problem at once. I can do something for twelve hours that would appall me if I had to keep it up for a lifetime.
就爲了今天，我將盡力只度過今天而不立刻去解決終身的問題。對一件令我沮喪而又必須堅持一輩子的事，我只能堅持十二個小時。
Just for today I will be happy. This assumes to be true what Abraham Lincoln said，that "Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."
就爲了今天，我會很快樂。亞伯拉罕-林肯說過，“大多數人都是決定想怎麼高興就怎麼高興。”這已經被認爲是真理。
Just for today I will adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my "luck" as it comes.
就爲了今天，我會做自我調整適應事物本來的面目，而不是想方設法使每一件事滿足自己的慾望。當機會來臨的時候我會抓住它。
Just for today I will try to strengthen my mind. I will study. I will learn something useful. I will not be a mental loafer. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration.
就爲了今天，我會盡力心強志堅。我會學習，學一些有用的東西。我不會做一個精神上的流浪漢。我會讀一些需要努力、思考和注意力集中的東西。
Just for today I will exercise my soul in three ways. I will do somebody a good turn and not get found out: If anybody knows of it, it will not count. I will do at least two things I don't want to do—just for exercise. I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt: they may be hurt, but today I will not show it.
就爲了今天，我會用三種方法來磨鍊我的靈魂。我會做對某人有利的事但不能被發現，若有人發現了就不算數。我將會做至少兩件我不願做的事情——只爲了磨練。我不會讓任何人感到我的感情受到了傷害：它們可能受到了傷害，但今天我不想表現出來。
Just for today I will be agreeable. I will look as well as I can, dress becomingly, talk low, act courteously, criticize not one bit，and try not to improve or regulate anybody but myself.
就爲了今天，我會過得很愜意。看起來我達到了最佳狀態，穿着得體、講話謙虛、行爲禮貌、一點不吹毛求疵，儘量改進和調節自己而不是別人。
Just for today I will have a program, I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. I will save myself from two pests: hurry and indecision.
就爲了今天，我會制定一個計劃，我也許不會嚴格地遵守它，但我一定要有計劃。我會避免兩種錯誤：倉促行事和優柔寡斷。
Just for today I will have a quiet half hour all by myself and relax. During this half hour, sometime, I will try to get a better perspective of my life.
就爲了今天，我將會獨自靜靜地呆上半小時放鬆。在這半小時裏，某個時刻，我會日後對我的生活有個更好的看法。
Just for today I will be unafraid. Especially I will not be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful，and to believe that as I give to the world, so the world will give to me.
就爲了今天，我將不再害怕。尤其我不會再害怕享受美麗的事物，並且相信我給予世界的，世界也會給予我。
英語經典美文閱讀Keep Your Goals in Sight
鎖定目標
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen ady she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.
佛羅倫斯·查德威克向前方望去，除了綿延無盡的大霧，她什麼也看不到。她一直在游泳，已經遊了幾乎16個小時，身體都麻木了。在那之前，她已經是第一位從兩個方向遊過英吉利海峽的女子。現在，她已34歲，她的目標是要成爲第一個從卡達琳納島游到加利福尼亞海岸的女子。
On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid grip of the sea, she struggled on—hour after hour— while millions watched on national television.
1952年7月4日的那個早晨，大海就像一個冰浴盆，霧是那麼濃，她甚至連救援她的船隻都看不到。鯊魚遊向她孤單的身軀，只能靠來複槍來擊退。她迎向冰冷的海水，努力向前遊，就這樣一小時一小時過去了;無數觀衆則坐在電視機前觀看這一情景。
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
在佛羅倫斯旁邊的一艘船裏，她母親和她的教練不斷地鼓勵她。他們告訴她離海岸已經不遠了，然而除霧以外，她卻什麼也看不到。他們激勵她不要放棄，事實上，她一直在堅持，然而在距離目的地只有半英里的時候，她卻要求，將她拖出水面。
Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, "Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it." It was not fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal.
幾個小時後，她一邊暖着身體，一邊對着記者說：“怎麼說呢，我不是爲自己找藉口，但如果我能看見陸地的話，我會成功的。”瞧，在這次游泳中，擊敗她的不是勞累和冰冷的海水，而是霧。因爲有霧，她根本看不到自己的目標。
Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men’s record by two hours!
兩個月後，她又試着遊了一次。這一次，儘管霧還是那樣濃，但她始終帶着必勝的信念，頭腦中始終有一個清楚的目標，她知道霧後面的某個地方就是陸地，這一次她成功了!佛羅倫斯·查德威克最終成爲第一個遊過卡達琳納海峽的女子，並且以快兩個小時的速度打破了男子游過該海峽的記錄，這讓男子記錄黯然失色。
英語經典美文學習More Than One Way to the Square
通往廣場的路不止一條
We were standing at the top of a church tower. My father had brought me to this spot in a small Italian town not far from our home in Rome. I wondered why.“Look down, Elsa,” Father said. I gathered all my courage and looked down. I saw the square in the center of the village. And I saw the crisscross of twisting, turning streets leading to the square.
當時我們正站在一個教堂塔樓的頂上，是父親把我從羅馬的家裏帶到這個離家不遠的意大利小鎮樓頂上來的，我不明白他要做什麼。“向下看，埃爾莎，”父親對我說。我鼓足勇氣向下看去，看到了村子中央的廣場，還看到蜿蜒曲折的街道交錯着通向這個廣場。
“See, my dear,” Father said gently. “There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can't get to the place where you want to go by one road, try another.”
爸爸語氣溫和地對我說：“明白了吧，親愛的，通向廣場的路不止一條，生活也是如此，如果一條路走不到想去的地方，就試着走另一條路。”
Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged my mother to do something about the awful lunches that were served at school. But she refused because she could not believe the lunches were as bad as I said.
現在我明白我爲什麼會到這兒來了。那天早些時候我請求媽媽爲學校提供的難吃午餐想點兒辦法，但她拒絕了我的要求，她不相信學校的午餐會像我說的那樣糟。
When I turned to Father for help, he would not interfere. Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a plan.
我轉向爸爸求援，他不想幹預此事，卻把我帶到這個高塔上，給我上了一課。到家時，我已經有了主意。
At school the next day, I secretly poured my luncheon soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I talked the cook into serving it to Mother at dinner. The plan worked perfectly. She swallowed one spoonful and sputtered, “The cook must have gone mad!” Quickly I told what I had done, and Mother stated firmly that she would take up the matter of lunches at school the next day!
第二天在學校吃午餐時，我偷偷地把我的那份午餐湯倒進一個瓶子，把它帶回了家，然後說服廚師，讓她在晚餐時把湯端給媽媽。我的計劃進行得很成功。媽媽喝了一勺湯，就吐了出來，說：“廚師一定發瘋了!”我馬上告訴媽媽這是我安排的，媽媽斬釘截鐵地表示她第二天就去學校就午餐問題提出交涉。
In the years that followed I often remembered the lesson Father taught me. I knew where I wanted to go in life. I wanted to be a fashion designer. And on the way to my first small success I found the road blocked. What could I do? Accept the roadblocks and fail?Or use imagination and wits to find another road to my goal?
隨後的這些年裏，我時常記起爸爸給我上的這一課。我知道我的人生目標：我想當時裝設計師!就在我走向第一個小小的成功之路時，卻遇到了阻礙。怎麼辦呢?是承認此路不通，敗下陣來;還是發揮想像力和智慧，去尋找通向目標的另一條道路呢?
I had come to Paris, the center of the world of fashion, with my sketches6. But none of the famous fashion designers seemed interested in buying them. Then one day I met a friend who was wearing a very beautiful sweater. It was plain in color, but it had a lovely and unusual stitch.
我帶着我的設計草圖來到世界時裝中心巴黎，但是好像沒有一個著名的時裝設計師有興趣購買。後來有一天，我遇到一位朋友，她穿着一件非常好看的毛線衫，毛線衫的色彩平淡，但是針法卻可愛、別緻。
“Did you knit that sweater?” I asked her.
我問她：“毛線衫是你織的嗎?”
“No,” she answered. “It was done by a woman here in Paris.”
她回答：“不，是巴黎的一位婦女織的。”
“What an interesting stitch!” I continued.
“針法真棒!”我又說。
My friend had an explanation. “The woman her name is Mrs. Vidian—told me she learned the stitch in Armenia, her native country.”
朋友解釋說：“這位婦女叫維迪安太太，她跟我說她是在她出生地亞美尼亞學的這種織法。”
Suddenly I pictured a daring design knitted into such a sweater. Then an even more daring idea came to me. Why not open my own house of fashion? Why not design, make and sell clothes from the house of Schiaparelli! I would do it, and I would begin with a sweater.
突然，我想在這件毛線衫上織出一個大膽的圖案，繼而一個更爲大膽的設想閃現在我的腦海裏。爲什麼不開辦自己的時裝店呢?爲什麼不設計、製作和銷售斯基亞帕雷利時裝店的服裝呢?我要這樣做，而且要從毛線衫開始。
I drew a bold black and white butterfly pattern and took it to Mrs. Vidian. She knitted it into a sweater. The result, I thought, was wonderful. Then came the test. I wore the sweater to a luncheon which people in the fashion business would attend. To my great pleasure, the sweater was noticed. In fact, the representative of a large New York store wanted 40 sweaters to be ready in two weeks. I accepted the order and walked out on a cloud of happiness.
我畫了一個醒目的黑白相間的蝴蝶圖案，把它交給維迪安太太，她把這個圖案織到了一件毛線衫上。我認爲這件成品很漂亮，接着就是對它的檢驗。我穿上毛線衫，來到一個時裝界人士參加的午餐會，令我十分高興的是，毛線衫引起了衆人的注意。事實上，紐約一家大商店的代理商想在兩週內得到40件這樣的毛線衫。我接受了他的訂貨，興高采烈地走出了餐廳。
My cloud disappeared suddenly, however, when I stood in front of Mrs. Vidian. “But it took me almost a week to knit that one sweater,” she said. “Forty sweaters in two weeks? It is not possible!”
然而當我站在維迪安太太面前時，喜悅之情就一掃而光了。她說：“我幾乎用一週才織完這樣一件毛線衫，兩週織40件是不可能的!”
I was crushed to be so close to success and then to be blocked! Sadly I walked away. All at once I stopped short. There must be another way. This stitch did take special skill. But surely there must be other Armenian women in Paris who knew how to do it.
我非常失望，離成功僅有半步之遙，竟又被迎頭堵住了!我悲傷地走出維迪安太太的家，突然停下了腳步，一定有別的辦法可以辦到。這種針法確實需要特殊的技巧，然而在巴黎一定還有其他亞美尼亞婦女會這種針法。
I went back to Mrs. Vidian and explained my plan. She really didn't think it would work, but she agreed to help.
我回到維迪安太太的家，向她講述了我的計劃。她真的認爲這個計劃行不通，但同意幫我的忙。
We were like detectives, Mrs. Vidian and I. We put ourselves on the trail11 of any Armenians who lived in Paris. One friend led us to another. At last we tracked down women, each of whom could knit the special stitch. Two weeks later the sweaters were finished. And the first shipment from the new house of Schiaparelli was on its way to the United States!
我和維迪安太太像偵探似地開始行動，我們追蹤任何一位住在巴黎的亞美尼亞人。一個朋友把我們介紹給另一個朋友，就這樣我們終於找到了20名亞美尼亞婦女，她們個個都會這種特殊的針法。兩星期後，毛線衫都織好了，新開張的斯基亞帕雷利時裝店第一批貨物被髮往美國!
From that day a steady stream of clothes and perfumes12 flowed from the house of Schiaparelli. I found the world of fashion gay13 and exciting, full of challenge and adventure. I shall never forget one showing which was really a challenge. Once again Father's advice helped me. I was busy getting ready to show my winter fashions. Then just 13 days before the presentation the sewing girls were called out on strike. I found myself left with one tailor and woman who was in charge of the sewing room! I was as gloomy14 as my models and salesgirls. “We'll never make it,”one of them cried.
從那天開始，一批批時裝和香水源源不斷地從新開張的時裝店售出。我發現時裝業充滿競爭和冒險，令人愉快和興奮。我永生難忘那一次真正充滿挑戰的服裝展覽，是爸爸的那條忠告再次幫助了我。我正忙着準備展覽冬季時裝，就在時裝表演開始前13天，縫紉女工們被叫去參加罷工，我發現只剩下我自己、一個裁縫和一個縫紉車間的女主管!我像我的模特和女售貨員一樣沮喪，有一個女售貨員哭道：“我們絕對趕不上了!”
Here, I thought, is the test of all tests for Father's advice. Where is the way out this time? I wondered and worried. I was certain we would have to call off the presentation or else show the clothes unfinished. Then it dawned on15 me. Why not show the clothes unfinished?
我想，此時是對父親的忠告最嚴峻的考驗。這次的出路在哪兒呢?我滿腹狐疑，心急如焚。我確信只有兩條路可走：要麼取消時裝表演;要麼展出沒有完工的時裝。就在這時，我茅塞頓開：爲什麼不把沒有做完的衣服拿出來展覽呢?
We worked hurriedly. And, exactly 13 days later, right on time, the Schiaparelli showing took place.
我們緊張匆忙地工作着。正好13天后，斯基亞帕雷利的時裝展覽準時開幕了。
What a showing it was! Some coats had no sleeves; others had only one. Many of our clothes were still in an early stage. They were only patterns made of heavy cotton cloth. But on these we pinned sketches and pieces of material. In this way we were able to show that what colors and textures the clothes would have when they were finished.
這是一次什麼樣的展覽呀!有些上衣沒有袖子，有的只有一隻袖子，許多衣服還在初縫階段。它們只是一些用厚棉布做成的衣服試樣，但在這些試樣上我們別上了衣服的草圖和衣料，這樣我們就能告訴人們這些衣服做成之後的顏色和質地。
All in all, the showing was different. It was so different that it was a great success. Our unusual showing caught the attention of the public, and orders for the clothes poured in.
總而言之，這次服裝展別開生面，它太不同凡響了，竟取得了巨大的成功。不尋常的展覽吸引了公衆的注意，訂單源源不斷。
Father's wise words had guided me once again. There is more than one way to the square always.
父親很有見地的那番話再次指引我度過了難關。通往廣場的路的確不止一條。
