英文散文佳作賞析三篇中英對照

英文散文佳作賞析：《生命的三分之一》

生命的三分之一

One Third of Our Lifetime

一個人的生命究竟有多大的意義，這有什麼標準可以衡量嗎？提出一個絕對的標準當然很困難；但是，大體上看一個人對待生命的態度是否嚴肅認真，看他對待勞動、工作等等的態度如何，也就不難對這個人的存在意義做出適當的估計了。

What is the significance of life? Is there any gauge to measure it? It would be very difficult, of course, trying to advance an absolute standard. However, the significance of one's existence can more or less be rated by examining his attitude toward life and work.

古來一切有成就的人，都很嚴肅的對待自己的生命，當他活着一天，總要儘量多勞動、多工作、多學習，不肯虛度年華，不讓時間白白的浪費掉。我國曆代的勞動人民以及大政治家、大思想家等等都莫不如此。

Since ancient times all people of accomplishment are very serious about their lives. While they are alive, even if there is only one day left to live, they try to work as hard as they can and learn as much as possible, never letting a single day slip by without any gain. This is true of the working people as well as of the great statesmen and great thinkers in our history.

班固寫的《漢書食貨志》上有下面的記載：“冬，民既人；婦人同巷相從夜績，女工一月得四十五日。”

In the chapter “Foods and Goods" of The Chronicles of the Han Dynasty, the great historian Ban Gu states:"In winter people stay indoors. Women get together to spin hemp threads at night. They manage to work forty-five days in a month."

這幾句讀起來很奇怪，怎麼一月能有四十五天呢？再看原文底下顏師古做了註解，他說：“一月之中，又得夜半爲十五日，共四十五日。

”It sounds strange. How come there are forty-five days in a month? Let us look at its annotations given by Yanshigu:"They gain half a day 's time every night and, they have forty-five days in a month."

這就很清楚了。原來我國的古人不但比西方各國的人更早地懂得科學地、合理地計算勞動日；而且我們的古人老早就知道對於日班和夜班的計算方法。

Now it’s clear. Our ancestors had, earlier than the westerners, learned how to calculate workdays accurately and reasonably. They had also learned how calculate day shift and night shift as well.

一個月本來只有三十天，古人把每個夜晚的時間算作半天，就多了十五天。從這個意義張說來，夜晚的時間實際上不就等於生命的三分之一嗎？

It is common knowledge that there are only thirty days in a month. Counting the time of one night for half a day, our forefathers managed to expend the month by fifteen days. In this sense the night time gained amounts to one third of our lives, doesn't it?

對於這三分之一的生命，不但歷代的勞動者如此重視，而且有許多大政治家也十分重視。班固在《漢書刑法志》裏還寫道：

This one third of life is not only treasured by the working people but also by the great statesmen in our history. In the chapter "Criminal Law" of The Chronicles of the Han Dynasty, Ban Gu also states:

“秦始皇躬操文墨，晝斷獄，夜理書。”

"The First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty set a good example in being industrious, disposing of lawsuits during the day and reading at night ,"This is about how he tried to find time to read at night.

有的人一聽說秦始皇就不喜歡他，其實秦始皇畢竟是中國歷史上的一個偉大的人物，班固對他也還有一些公平的評價。這裏寫的是秦始皇在夜間看書學習的情形。

To some people the The First Emperor of the Qin isn’t a pleasant name to recall but there is no denying that he was a great figure in the history of China. Even BanGu has an impartial opinion of him.

據劉向的《說苑》所載,春秋戰國時有許多國君都很注意學習。

Liu Xiang, the great scholar of the Han Dynasty ,cites in his historical Anecdotes many princes of the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period who paid great attention to learning.

爲什麼古人對於夜晚的時間都這樣重視，不肯輕易放過呢？我認爲這就是他們對待自己生命的三分之一的嚴肅認真的態度，這正是我們所應該學習的。

Why did the people in the set such great store by the night time? I think this is positive proof of their attitude toward the one third of their lives. This is exactly what we should learn from them.

我之所以想利用夜晚的時間，向讀者同志們做這樣的談話，目的也不過是要大家引起注意珍惜這三分之一的生命，是大家在整天的勞動，工作以後，以輕鬆的心情，領略一些古今有用的知識而已。

My intention of writing this little essay tonight is to call the readers’ attention to the one third of his lifetime so that , after working for a whole day, he can sit relaxed at home, browsing through and appreciating the useful knowledge of the past and of the present.

英文散文佳作賞析：Fame 聲譽

Fame

聲譽

Fame is very much like an animal chasing its own tail who, when he captures it, does not know what else to do but to continue chasing it. Fame and the delighting popularity that accompanies it, force the famous person to participate in his or her own destruction.

聲譽很像一隻追逐自己尾巴的動物，當它抓住了自己的尾巴後，除了再繼續追逐外再不知做什麼。聲譽與令人興奮的知名度相生相伴，從而使名人走向毀滅。

Those who gain fame most often gain it as a result of possessing a single talent or skill: singing, dancing, painting, or writing, etc. The successful performer develops a style that is marketed aggressively and gains some popularity.

那些聲名鵲起之人多半是由於有一技之長；唱歌、跳舞、繪畫或寫作等。一個成功的表演者發展了一種雄踞市場的風格因而受到歡迎。

And it is this popularity that usually convinces the performer to continue performing in the same style, since that is what the public seems to want and to enjoy. But in time, the performer becomes bored singing the same songs in the same way year after year, or the painter becomes bored painting similar scenes or portraits, or the actor is tired of playing the same character repeatedly.

正是由於這種受歡迎程度才使得他繼續保持這種風格，因爲這種風格是大衆所需要和喜愛的。但最終，歌手爲年復一年地以同樣的方式唱同樣的歌而感到心煩，畫家爲畫類似的風景人物而感到厭倦，演員爲反覆演同樣的角色而疲憊不堪。

The demand of the public holds the artist hostage to his or her own success, fame. If the artist attempts to change his or her style of writing or dancing or singing, etc. the audience may turn away and look to confer changeable fame which is passing quickly on another.

公衆的需求使得藝術家們固守自己的名譽。若他們企圖改變自己的寫作風格、唱腔、舞步等，則聽衆、觀衆便會離去，把稍縱即逝的名譽給予他人。

I believe that fame and celebrity, influence and power, success and failure, reality and illusion are all somehow neatly woven into a seamless fabric we laughingly call reality. I say to those who desperately seek fame and fortune, celebrity: good luck.

我相信名譽和聲望、影響和權力、成功與失敗，現實和幻想都以某種方法整齊地編織在山張無縫隙的織緞中，即我們所笑稱的現實。我對那些拼命尋求名譽、財富和聲望的人說：祝你好運。

But what will you do when you have caught your tail, your success, and your fame? Keep chasing it? If you do catch it, hang on for dear life because falling is not as painful as landing. See you soon famous and almost famous.

但當你抓住自己的尾巴、獲得成功和贏得名譽之後你又能做什麼呢?繼續追逐名利嗎?如果你確實抓住的話，千萬抓緊了，因爲下墜與落地的痛楚不一樣。祝你很快成名或差不多成名!

英文散文佳作賞析：母親的禮物 My Mother's Gift

My Mother's Gift

母親的禮物

I grew up in a small town where the elementary school was a ten-minute walk from my house and in an age, not so long ago , when children could go home for lunch and find their mothers waiting.

我是在一個小鎮上長大的，從鎮上的小學校到我家， 只需步行10分鐘。離當前不算太太久遠的那個時代 ， 小學生可以回家吃午飯，而他們的母親，則會老早在家等候着。

At the time, I did not consider this a luxury, although today it certainly would be. I took it for granted that mothers were the sandwich-makers, the finger-painting appreciators and the homework monitors. I never questioned that this ambitious, intelligent woman, who had had a career before I was born and would eventually return to a career, would spend almost every lunch hour throughout my elementary school years just with me.

這一切對如今的孩子來說，無疑是一種奢望了，可是那時的'我，卻並不以爲然。 我覺得做母親的給她的孩子製作三明治，鑑賞指畫，檢查他們的家庭作業，都是理所當然的事。我從來沒有想過：像我母親這樣一個頗有抱負又很聰明的女人，在我降生之前，她有一份工作，而且後來她又謀了份差事，可是，在我上小學那幾年，她卻幾乎天天陪着我吃午飯，一同打發午餐時的每一分鐘。

I only knew that when the noon bell rang, I would race breathlessly home. My mother would be standing at the top of the stairs, smiling down at me with a look that suggested I was the only important thing she had on her mind. For this, I am forever grateful.

只記得，每當午時鈴聲一響，我就一口氣地往家裏跑。母親總是站在門前臺階的最高層，笑盈盈地望着我--那神情分明表示：我便是母親心目中唯一最重要的東西了。爲此，我一輩子都要感謝我的母親。

Some sounds bring it all back: the high-pitched squeal of my mother's teakettle, the rumble of the washing machine in the basement and the jangle of my dog's license tags as she bounded down the stairs to greet me. Our time together seemed devoid of the gerrymandered schedules that now pervade my life.

如今，每當我聽到一些聲音，像母親那把茶壺水開時發出的尖叫聲，地下室洗衣機的隆隆聲，還有， 我那條狗蹦下臺階衝我搖頭擺尾時它脖子上那牌照發出的撞擊聲，便會勾起我對往事的回憶。和母親在一起的歲月，全然沒有充斥於我的生活中的、事先排定的虛情假意的日程表。

One lunchtime when I was in the third grade will stay with me always. I had been picked to be the princess in the school play, and for weeks my mother had painstakingly rehearsed my lines with me. But no matter how easily I delivered them at home, as soon as I stepped onstage, every word disappeared from my head.

我永遠忘不了在我上三年級時的那一頓午飯。在那天之前，我被學校選中，要在一個即將演出的小劇中扮演公主的角色。一連好幾個禮拜，母親總是不辭辛勞地陪着我，一起背誦臺詞。可是，不管在家裏怎麼背得滾瓜爛熟，只要一上舞臺，我的腦子裏就成了一片空白。

Finally, my teacher took me aside. She explained that she had written a narrator's part to the play, and asked me to switch roles. Her word, kindly delivered, still stung, especially when I saw my part go to another girl.

終於，老師把我叫到了一邊。她說劇中旁白這個角色的臺詞已寫好了，想把我替換下來當旁白。儘管老師這些話說得和和氣氣，可還是刺痛了我的心，特別是當我發覺自己扮演的公主角色讓另外一個女孩頂替時，更是如此。

I didn't tell my mother what had happened when I went home for lunch that day. But she sensed my unease, and instead of suggesting we practice my lines, she asked if I wanted to walk in the yard.

那天回家吃午飯時我沒有把這事告訴母親。然而，母親見我心神不定，因此沒有再提練習背臺詞的事兒，而是問我願意不願意到院子裏散散步。

It was a lovely spring day and the rose vine on the trellis was turning green. Under the huge elm trees, we could see yellow dandelions popping through the grass in bunches, as if a painter had touched our landscape with dabs of gold .I watched my mother casually bend down by one of the clumps. "I think I'm going to dig up all these weeds, "she said, yanking a blossom up by its roots."From now on, we'll have only roses in this garden."

那真是一個可愛的春日，棚架上薔薇的藤蔓正在轉青。在一些高大的榆樹下面，我們可以看到，一叢叢黃色的蒲公英冒出草坪，彷彿是一位畫家爲了給眼前的美景增色而着意加上的點點金色。我看到母親在一簇花叢旁漫不經心地彎下身來。"我看得把這些野草都撥了，"她說着，一邊使勁把一叢蒲公英連根撥出。"往後咱這園子裏只讓長薔薇花。"

"But I like dandelions, "I protested. "All flowers are beautiful-even dandelions. "My mother looked at me seriously."Yes, every flower gives pleasure in its own way, doesn't it?" She asked thoughtfully. I nodded, pleased that I had won her over. "And that is true of people too, "she added." Not everyone can be a princess, but there is no shame in that."

可是我喜歡蒲公英，"我不滿地說，"凡是花都好看--蒲公英也不例外。"母親嚴肅地看着我。"噢，這麼說，每朵花都自有它令人賞心悅目的地方嘍？"她若有所思地問道。我點了點頭，總算說服了母親，這使我很得意。"可是人也一樣呀，"母親接着又發話，"不見得人人都能當公主，但當不了公主並不丟臉。"

Relieved that she had guessed my pain, I started to cry as I told her what had happened. She listened and smiled reassuringly.

母親猜到了我的苦惱，這使我的情緒安定下來。我哭了起來，把事情的經過講給母親聽。母親專注地聽着，臉上帶着安詳的微笑。

"But you will be a beautiful narrator, " she said , reminding me of how much I loved to read stories aloud to her . "The narrator's part is every bit as important as the part of a princess.

"但你會成爲一名頂呱呱的解說員，"母親又說。她說平常我是多麼喜歡朗誦故事給她聽，還說"從哪方面看，旁白這個角色都和公主那個角色一樣重要"。