伊索寓言:风和太阳(The wind and the sun)
The wind and the sun were disputing who was the stronger.
Suddenly they saw a traveler coming down the road. The sun said, "Whoever can make the traveler take off his coat will be the stronger."
So the sun hid behind a cloud, and the wind began to blow as hard as it could. As the wind blew harder, the traveler wrapped his coat more closely around himself.
Then the sun came out. He shone on the traveler. The traveler soon felt quite hot, and took off his coat.
I was always a little in awe of Great-aunt Stephina Roos. Indeed, as children we were all frankly terrified of her. The fact that she did not live with the family, preferring her tiny cottage and solitude to the comfortable but rather noisy household where we were brought up-added to the respectful fear in which she was held.
我对斯蒂菲娜老姑总是怀着敬畏之情。说实在话,我们几个孩子对她都怕得要死。她不和家人一块生活,宁愿住在她的小屋子里,而不愿住在舒舒服服、热热闹闹的家里--我们六个孩子都是在家里带大的--这更加重了我们对她的敬畏之情。
We used to take it in turn to carry small delicacies which my mother had made down from the big house to the little cottage where Aunt Stephia and an old colored maid spent their days. Old Tnate Sanna would open the door to the rather frightened little messenger and would usher him-or her - into the dark voor-kamer, where the shutters were always closed to keep out the heat and the flies. There we would wait, in trembling but not altogether unpleasant.
我们经常轮替着从我们住的大房子里带些母亲为她做的可口的食品到她和一名黑人女仆一块过活的那间小屋里去。桑娜老姨总是为每一个上门来的怯生生的小使者打开房门,将他或她领进昏暗的客厅。那里的百叶窗长年关闭着,以防热气和苍蝇进去。我们总是在那里哆哆嗦嗦、但又不是完全不高兴地等着斯蒂菲娜老姑出来。
She was a tiny little woman to inspire so much veneration. She was always dressed in black, and her dark clothes melted into the shadows of the voor-kamer and made her look smaller than ever. But you felt. The moment she entered. That something vital and strong and somehow indestructible had come in with her, although she moved slowly, and her voice was sweet and soft.
一个像她那样身材纤细的女人居然能赢得我们如此尊敬。她总是身穿黑色衣服,与客厅里的阴暗背景融成一体,将她的身材衬托得更加娇小。但她一进门,我们就感到有一种说不清道不明、充满活力和刚强的气氛,尽管她的步子慢悠、声调甜柔。
She never embraced us. She would greet us and take out hot little hands in her own beautiful cool one, with blue veins standing out on the back of it, as though the white skin were almost too delicate to contain them.
她从不拥抱我们,但总是和我们寒暄,将我们热乎乎的小手握在她那双秀美清爽的手里,她的手背上露出一些青筋,就像手上白嫩的皮肤细薄得遮不住它们似的。
Tante Sanna would bring in dishes of sweet, sweet, sticky candy, or a great bowl of grapes or peaches, and Great-aunt Stephina would converse gravely about happenings on the farm ,and, more rarely, of the outer world.
桑娜阿姨每次都要端出几碟粘乎乎的南非糖果和一钵葡萄或桃子给我们吃。斯蒂菲娜老姑总是一本正经他说些农场里的事,偶尔也谈些外边世界发生的事。
When we had finished our sweetmeats or fruit she would accompany us to the stoep, bidding us thank our mother for her gift and sending quaint, old-fashioned messages to her and the Father. Then she would turn and enter the house, closing the door behind, so that it became once more a place of mystery.
待我们吃完糖果或水果,她总要将我们送到屋前的门廊,叮嘱我们要多谢母亲给她送食品,要我们对父母亲转达一些稀奇古怪的老式祝愿,然后就转身回到屋里,随手关上门,使那里再次成为神秘世界。
As I grew older I found, rather to my surprise, that I had become genuinely fond of my aloof old great-aunt. But to this day I do not know what strange impulse made me take George to see her and to tell her, before I had confided in another living soul, of our engagement. To my astonishment, she was delighted.
让我感到吃惊的是,随着我逐渐长大,我发现打心眼里喜欢起我那位孤伶伶的老姑姑来。至今我仍不知道那是一种什么样的奇异动力,使我在还没有透露给别人之前就把乔治领去看望姑姑,告诉她我们已经订婚的消息。不成想,听到这个消息以后,她竟非常高兴。 "An Englishman,"she exclaimed."But that is splendid, splendid. And you,"she turned to George,"you are making your home in this country? You do not intend to return to England just yet?"
"是英国人!"她惊讶地大声说道,"好极了。你,"她转向乔治,"你要在南非安家吗?你现在不打算回国吧?"
She seemed relieved when she heard that George had bought a farm near our own farm and intended to settle in South Africa. She became quite animated, and chattered away to him.
当她听说乔治已经在我们农场附近购置了一片农场并打算定居下来时,好像松了一口气。她兴致勃勃地和乔治攀谈起来。
After that I would often slip away to the little cottage by the mealie lands. Once she was somewhat disappointed on hearing that we had decided to wait for two years before getting married, but when she learned that my father and mother were both pleased with the match she seemed reassured.
从那以后,我常常到那所位于玉米地边的小屋。有一次,当斯蒂菲娜老姑听说我们决定再过两年结婚时,露出了失望的神色,但一听说我的父母亲都对这门亲事满意时,她又放宽了心。
Still, she often appeared anxious about my love affair, and would ask questions that seemed to me strange, almost as though she feared that something would happen to destroy my romance. But I was quite unprepared for her outburst when I mentioned that George thought of paying a lightning visit to England before we were married."He must not do it,"she cried."Ina, you must not let him go. Promise me you will prevent him."she was trembling all over. I did what I could to console her, but she looked so tired and pale that I persuaded her to go to her room and rest, promising to return the next day.
但她对我的婚姻大事还是经常挂在嘴边。她常常问一些怪怪的问题,几乎像担心我的婚事会告吹一样。当我提到乔治打算在婚前匆匆回一趟国时,她竟激动了起来。只见她浑身哆嗦着大声嚷道:"他不能回去!爱娜!你不能放他走,你得答应我不放他走!"我尽力安慰她,但她还是显得萎靡不振。我只得劝她回屋休息,并答应第二天再去看她。
When I arrived I found her sitting on the stoep. She looked lonely and pathetic, and for the first time I wondered why no man had ever taken her and looked after her and loved her. Mother had told me that Great-aunt Stephina had been lovely as a young girl, and although no trace of that beauty remained, except perhaps in her brown eyes, yet she looked so small and appealing that any man, one felt, would have wanted to protect her.
我第二天去看她时,她正坐在屋前的门廊上,流露出抑郁孤寂的神情。我第一次感到纳闷:以前怎么没有人娶她、照料和爱抚她呢?记得母亲曾经说过,斯蒂菲娜老姑以前曾是一个楚楚可爱的小姑娘。尽管除了她那褐色的眼睛尚能保留一点昔日的风韵之外,她的美貌早已荡然无存。但她看上去还是那样小巧玲珑、惹人爱怜,引起男人们的惜香怜玉之情。
She paused, as though she did not quite know how to begin.
Then she seemed to give herself, mentally, a little shake. "You must have wondered ", she said, "why I was so upset at the thought of young Georges going to England without you. I am an old woman, and perhaps I have the silly fancies of the old, but I should like to tell you my own love story, and then you can decide whether it is wise for your man to leave you before you are married."
我走到她的跟前。她拍着身边的椅子,淡淡一笑。"坐下吧,亲爱的,"她说,"我有话要告诉你。"她欲言又止,好像不知道话从何说起似的。接着,她仿佛振作了起来。她说:"我听你说乔治要回国,又不带你走,心里非常不安。我这份心事你是不明白的。我是一个老婆子了,大概还怀着老人们的那颗痴心吧。不过,我想把自己的爱情故事讲给你听。这样你就能明白在你们结婚之前让你的未婚夫离开你,是不是一个明智之举。"
"I was quite a young girl when I first met Richard Weston. He was an Englishman who boarded with the Van Rensburgs on the next farm, four or five miles from us. Richard was not strong. He had a weak chest, and the doctors had sent him to South Africa so that the dry air could cure him. He taught the Van Rensburg children, who were younger than I was, though we often played together, but he did this for pleasure and not because he needed money.
"我第一次遇见理查德威斯顿时还是一个年轻姑娘。他是一个英国人,寄宿在我家附近四、五英里一个农场上的范伦斯堡家里。他身体不好,胸闷气短。医生让他去南非让干燥的气候治好他的病。他教伦斯堡的孩子们念书,他们都比我小,尽管我们经常在一块玩。理查德是以教书为乐,并不是为了赚钱。
"We loved one another from the first moment we met, though we did not speak of our love until the evening of my eighteenth birthday. All our friends and relatives had come to my party, and in the evening we danced on the big old carpet which we had laid down in the barn. Richard had come with the Van Rensburgs, and we danced together as often as we dared, which was not very often, for my father hated the Uitlanders. Indeed, for a time he had quarreled with Mynheer Van Rensburg for allowing Richard to board with him, but afterwards he got used to the idea, and was always polite to the Englishman, though he never liked him.
"我和理查德是一见钟情,尽管直到我18岁生日那天我们才表示彼此的爱慕之情。那天晚上的舞会上,我们的亲友都来了。我们在仓房里铺上一条宽大的旧毛毯,翩翩起舞。我和他壮起胆子频频起舞。但事实上,没有多少次,因为我的父亲很讨厌洋人。有一次,他曾抱怨说伦斯堡先生不应该让理查德寄住在他的家里,为此还跟他吵过一场,他后来就习以为常了。虽谈不上喜欢,但对这个英国人以礼相待。"那是我一生中最快乐的一个生日,因为理查德在跳舞间歇将我领到外面清凉的月光中,在点点繁星之下对我倾诉爱慕之情,并向我求婚。我二话没说答应了他的要求,因为我早已心醉神迷,想不到父母亲会说什么。我的心中除了理查德和他的爱情,什么也顾不上了。 "That was the happiest birthday of my life, for while we were resting between dances Richard took me outside into the cool, moonlit night, and there, under the stars ,he told me he loved me and asked me to marry him. Of course I promised I would, for I was too happy to think of what my parents would say, or indeed of anything except Richard was not at our meeting place as he had arranged. I was disappointed but not alarmed, for so many things could happen to either of us to prevent out keeping our tryst. I thought that next time we visited the Van Ransburgs, I should hear what had kept him and we could plan further meetings…
"从那以后,我们就尽可能多地见面,但往往是秘密进行。我们就这样度过了将近1年时间。后来有一天,在他安排的约会处,理查德爽约没有来。失望之际,我没有大惊小怪,因为我们俩谁碰到形形色色的事都可能使我们无法幽会。我想我们以后去范伦斯堡家看望之时,我就会明白理查德未能赴约的原因,再安排以后的约会……
"So when my father asked if I would drive with him to Driefontein I was delighted. But when we reached the homestead and were sitting on the stoep drinking our coffee, we heard that Richard had left quite suddenly and had gone back to England. His father had died, and now he was the heir and must go back to look after his estates.
"所以,当父亲问我是否愿意和他一块开车去德里方丹时,我就高兴地答应了。但待我们赶到范伦斯堡家,坐在他们家屋前的门廊上喝咖啡时,却听说理查德已经不辞而别回英国去了。他的父亲死了,他是继承人,不得不回去料理遗产。
"I do not remember very much more about that day, except that the sun seemed to have stopped shining and the country no longer looked beautiful and full of promise, but bleak and desolate as it sometimes does in winter or in times of drought. Late that afternoon, Jantje, the little Hottentot herd boy, came up to me and handed me a letter , which he said the English baas had left for me. It was the only love letter I ever received, but it turned all my bitterness and grief into a peacefulness which was the nearest I could get, then, to happiness. I knew Richard still loved me, and somehow, as long as I had his letter, I felt that we could never be really parted, even if he were in England and I had to remain on the farm. I have it yet, and though I am an old, tired woman, it still gives me hope and courage."
"那天的.事我记不大清楚了,只记得当时阳光惨淡,田野也失去了美丽的丰采和欣欣向荣的景象,萧瑟凄凉得跟冬天或大旱时一样。那天傍晚,在我和父亲动身回家之前,霍但托特族的小牧童詹杰交给我一封信,他说是那位英国老爷留给我的。这可是我有生以来收到的唯一的情书!它将我的忧伤一扫而光,使我的心情变得平静--当时对我来说几乎类似幸福的平静。我知道理查德仍在爱着我。不知怎么回事,有了这封信,我便觉得我们不可能真正分开,哪怕他到了英国、我还留在南非的农场。这封信我至今仍保留着,尽管我已经年迈体衰,但它仍能带给我希望和勇气。"
"I must have been a wonderful letter, Aunt Stephia,"I said.
"斯蒂菲娜老姑,那封信一定美极了吧,"我说。
英语故事9:坚强的海伦凯勒(Helen Keller)
In 1882 a baby girl caught a fever that was so fierce she nearly died. She survived but the fever left its mark she could no longer see or hear. Because she could not hear she also found it very difficult to speak.
1882年,一名女婴因高发烧差点丧命。她虽幸免于难,但发烧给她留下了后遗症 她再也看不见、听不见。因为听不见,她想讲话也变得很困难。
So how did this child, blinded and deafened at 19 months old, grow up to become a world-famous author and public speaker?
那么这样一个在19个月时就既盲又聋的孩子,是如何成长为享誉世界的作家和演说家的呢?
The fever cut her off from the outside world, depriving her of sight and sound. It was as if she had been thrown into a dark prison cell from which there could be no release.
高烧将她与外界隔开,使她失去了视力和声音。她仿佛置身在黑暗的牢笼中无法摆脱。
Luckily Helen was not someone who gave up easily. Soon she began to explore the world by using her other senses. She followed her mother wherever she went, hanging onto her skirts, She touched and smelled everything she came across. She copied their actions and was soon able to do certain jobs herself, like milking the cows or kneading dough, She even learnt to recognize people by feeling their faces or their clothes. She could also tell where she was in the garden by the smell of the different plants and the feel of the ground under her feet.
万幸的是海伦并不是个轻易认输的人。不久她就开始利用其它的感官来探查这个世界了。她跟着母亲,拉着母亲的衣角,形影不离。她去触摸,去嗅各种她碰到的物品。她模仿别人的动作且很快就能自己做一些事情,例如挤牛奶或揉面。她甚至学会*摸别人的脸或衣服来识别对方。她还能*闻不同的植物和触摸地面来辨别自己在花园的位置。
By the age of seven she had invented over 60 different signs by which she could talk to her family, If she wanted bread for example, she would pretend to cut a loaf and butter the slices. If she wanted ice cream she wrapped her arms around herself and pretended to shiver.
七岁的时候她发明了60多种不同的手势,*此得以和家里人交流。比如她若想要面包,就会做出切面包和涂黄油的动作。想要冰淇淋时她会用手裹住自己装出发抖的样子。
Helen was unusual in that she was extremely intelligent and also remarkably sensitive. By her own efforts she had managed to make some sense of an alien and confusing world. But even so she had limitations.
海伦在这方面非比一般,她绝顶的聪明又相当敏感。通过努力她对这个陌生且迷惑的世界有了一些知识。但她仍有一些有足。
At the age of five Helen began to realize she was different from other people. She noticed that her family did not use signs like she did but talked with their mouths. Sometimes she stood between two people and touched their lips. She could not understand what they said and she could not make any meaningful sounds herself. She wanted to talk but no matter how she tried she could not make herself understood. This make her so angry that she used to hurl herself around the room, kicking and screaming in frustration. 海伦五岁时开始意识到她与别人不同。她发现家里的其他人不用象她那样做手势而是用嘴交谈。有时她站在两人中间触摸他们的嘴唇。她不知道他们在说什么,而她自己不能发出带有含义的声音。她想讲话,可无论费多大的劲儿也无法使别人明白自己。这使她异常懊恼以至于常常在屋子里乱跑乱撞,灰心地又踢又喊。
As she got older her frustration grew and her rages became worse and worse. She became wild and unruly . If she didnt get what she wanted she would throw tantrums until her family gave in. Her favourite tricks included grabbing other peoples food from their plates and hurling fragile objects to the floor. Once she even managed to lock her mother into the pantry. Eventually it became clear that something had to be done. So, just before her seventh birthday, the family hired a private tutor Anne Sullivan.
随着年龄的增长她的怒气越为越大。她变得狂野不驯。倘若她得不到想要的东西就会大发脾气直到家人顺从。她惯用的手段包括抓别人盘里的食物以及将易碎的东西猛扔在地。有一次她甚至将母亲锁在厨房里。这样一来就得想个办法了。于是,在她快到七岁生日时,家里便雇了一名家庭教师 安尼沙利文。
Anne was careful to teach Helen especially those subjects in which she was interested. As a result Helen became gentler and she soon learnt to read and write in Braille. She also learnt to read peoples lips by pressing her finger-tips against them and feeling the movement and vibrations. This method is called Tadoma and it is a skill that very, very few people manage to acquire. She also learnt to speak, a major achievement for someone who could not hear at all. 安尼悉心地教授海伦,特别是她感兴趣的东西。这样海伦变得温和了而且很快学会了用布莱叶盲文朗读和写作。*用手指接触说话人的嘴唇去感受运动和震动,她又学会了触唇意识。这种方法被称作泰德马,是一种很少有人掌握的技能。她也学会了讲话,这对失聪的人来说是个巨大的成就。
Helen proved to be a remarkable scholar, graduating with honours from Radcliffe College in 1904. She had phenomenal powers of concentration and memory, as well as a dogged determination to succeed. While she was still at college she wrote ‘The Story of My Life. This was an immediate success and earned her enough money to buy her own house.
海伦证明了自己是个出色的学者,1904年她以优异的成绩从拉德克利夫学院毕业。她有惊人的注意力和记忆力,同时她还具有不达目的誓不罢休的毅力。上大学时她就写了《我的生命》。这使她取得了巨大的成功从而有能力为自己购买一套住房。
She toured the country, giving lecture after lecture. Many books were written about her and several plays and films were made about her life. Eventually she became so famous that she was invited abroad and received many honours from foreign universities and monarchs. In 1932 she became a vice-president of the Royal National Institute for the Blind in the United Kingdom. 她周游全国,不断地举行讲座。她的事迹为许多人著书立说而且还上演了关于她的生平的戏剧和电影。最终她声名显赫,应邀出国并受到外国大学和国王授予的荣誉。1932年,她成为英国皇家国立盲人学院的副校长。
After her death in 1968 an organization was set up in her name to combat blindness in the developing world. Today that agency, Helen Keller International, is one of the biggest organizations working with blind people overseas. 1968年她去世后,一个以她的名字命名的组织建立起来,该组织旨在与发展中国家存在的失明缺陷做斗争。如今这所机构,“国际海伦凯勒”,是海外向盲人提供帮助的最大组织之一。
没有规矩不成方圆”,每个家庭都会有自己的家风、家训,我们家的家训只有两个字——诚实,虽然简单普通,但是爸爸妈妈一直非常重视,我也一样,可是在我八岁那年的暑假我曾经说了一次谎。
记得那次因为我口算落后了,妈妈叫我写十张口算训练,从中午一直写到天黑,由于我带着抵触情绪慢吞吞的还没写完。月光从窗户洒进来,一直照到我的脸上,渐渐地,我越发厌倦了这个作业,心里响起一个声音:“和妈妈去说一声,明天再写吧。”我刚想去说,又一个声音响了:“要不乱写一下吧,省得被妈妈骂,明天也不需要再写了。”“妈妈如果要检查怎么办?”“不让她看到不就行了!”“可是……”脑子里不同的声音没完没了的吵闹起来,最后偷懒的声音赢了,我在口算纸上随意乱填了一些数字,估计答案基本都是错误的。
然后我安心的上床睡觉了,想着妈妈明天肯定是不会发现的,因为我把那十张口算纸放在了被子下面,从外面看是看不见的。等到躺下时,我就把它放在枕头下面,以免妈妈帮我盖被子时发现,这些事情都办稳妥了,没一会儿我就睡着了。
第二天一早,妈妈居然叫我把口算拿出来让她看看,我急忙说:“昨天写完放在桌子,怎么不见了呢?可能…可能…”我想不出接下去该说什么,因为我撒谎了。“对了,可能是被风吹走了吧!”妈妈像是看出了我的`心思,微微一笑说:“好吧,那算了,你什么时候想到放哪里了再拿给我看。”然后顾自转身忙家务去了。我忐忑不安的楞在一边,想想爸爸妈妈平时反复提到的家训,做人要诚实,于是,我鼓起勇气跑去跟妈妈说了实情。出人预料的是,这次妈妈居然没有骂我,她摸摸我的小脑袋说:“能够主动承认错误的孩子还是个好孩子。”
我的家庭只是千千万万个小家庭的其中一个,每个家庭都有自己不同的家风家训,只有我们都维护好我们的家风,我们祖国这个大家庭才能更和谐!
Time is 8 years old, and follows her own ideas. When her parents tell her to do something, she always doesn't do it.
Today, she will go to a friend's birthday party. She is now choosing skirt to wear. She has three skirts: a blue skirt, a white one and a yellow one.
She asks her father, "Which one is the best?" her father says, "I think the blue one is the best." Then she asks her mother, "Which one do you think is the best?" Her mother answers, " The white one , of course!" Tina says, "Thank you."
Then she puts on the yellow shirt and goes out.
穿哪条裙子?
缇娜8岁了, 她又自己的主意。当她的父母要她做事时,她总是不去做。
今天,她将去参加一位朋友的生日聚会。她在选择穿哪一条裙子. 她又三条裙子:一条是蓝裙子,一条白裙子和一条黄裙子。 她问她的`父亲:"哪条裙子是最好的?"她的父亲说:"我认为蓝色是最好的。"她问她的母亲:"你认为哪条裙子是最好的?"她的母亲回答:"当然是白色的了。"缇娜说:"谢谢。"她穿上黄色的裙子出去了。
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