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作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 20:52     标题: 阅读区

这里有很多材料
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 20:54     标题: 笑话

If I were a Boy Again
假如我又回到了童年


Anonymous/无名氏



　　If I were a boy again, I would practice perseverance more often, and never give up a thing because it was or inconvenient. If we want light, we must conquer darkness. Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. “There are only two creatures,” says a proverb, “who can surmount the pyramids—the eagle and the snail.”
　　If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention; I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once.
　　The habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we begin early enough. I often hear grown up people say “ I could not fix my attention on the sermon or book, although I wished to do so” , and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth.
　　If I were to live my life over again, I would pay more attention to the cultivation of the memory. I would strengthen that faculty by every possible means, and on every possible occasion. It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately; but memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble. It only needs early cultivation to become a power.
　　假如我又回到了童年，我做事要更有毅力，决不因为事情艰难或者麻烦而撒手不干，我们要光明，就得征服黑暗。
　　毅力在效果上有时能同天才相比。俗话说：“能登上金字塔的生物，只有两种——鹰和蜗牛。”
　　假如我又回到了童年，我就要养成专心致志的习惯；有事在手，就决不让任何东西让我分心。我要牢记：优秀的滑冰手从不试图同时滑向两个不同的方向。
　　如果及早养成这种专心致志的习惯，它将成为我们生命的一部分。我常听成年人说：“虽然我希望能集中注意听牧师讲道或读书，但往往做不到。”而原因就是年轻时没有养成这种习惯。
　　假如我现在能重新开始我的生命，我就要更注意记忆力的培养。我要采取一切可能的办法，并且在一切可能的场合，增强记忆力。要正确无误地记住一些东西，在开始阶段的确要作出一番小小的努力；但要不了多久，记忆力本身就会起作用，使记忆成为轻而易举的事，只需及早培养，记忆自会成为一种才能。
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 20:55     标题: 笑话

A Forever Friend  
　　永远的朋友  


　　
　　"A friend walk in when the rest of the world walks out."  
　　"别人都走开的时候，朋友仍与你在一起。”  
　　
　　Sometimes in life,  
　　有时候在生活中，  
　　
　　You find a special friend;  
　　你会找到一个特别的朋友;  
　　
　　Someone who changes your life just by being part of it.  
　　他只是你生活中的一部分内容，却能改变你整个的生活。  
　　
　　Someone who makes you laugh until you can‘t stop;  
　　他会把你逗得开怀大笑；  
　　
　　Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world.  
　　他会让你相信人间有真情。  
　　
　　Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it.  
　　他会让你确信，真的有一扇不加锁的门，在等待着你去开启。  
　　
　　This is Forever Friendship.  
　　这就是永远的友谊。  
　　
　　when you‘re down,  
　　当你失意，  
　　
　　and the world seems dark and empty,  
　　当世界变得黯淡与空虚，  
　　
　　Your forever friend lifts you up in spirits and makes that dark and empty world  
　　suddenly seem bright and full.  
　　你真正的朋友会让你振作起来，原本黯淡、空虚的世界顿时变得明亮和充实。  
　　
　　Your forever friend gets you through the hard times,the sad times,and the confused times.  
　　你真正的朋友会与你一同度过困难、伤心和烦恼的时刻。  
　　
　　If you turn and walk away,  
　　你转身走开时，  
　　
　　Your forever friend follows,  
　　真正的朋友会紧紧相随，  
　　
　　If you lose you way,  
　　你迷失方向时，  
　　
　　Your forever friend guides you and cheers you on.  
　　真正的朋友会引导你，鼓励你。  
　　
　　Your forever friend holds your hand and tells you that everything is going to be okay.  
　　真正的朋友会握着你的手，告诉你一切都会好起来的。  
　　
　　And if you find such a friend,  
　　如果你找到了这样的朋友，  
　　
　　You feel happy and complete,  
　　你会快乐，觉得人生完整，  
　　
　　Because you need not worry,  
　　因为你无需再忧虑。  
　　
　　Your have a forever friend for life,  
　　你拥有了一个真正的朋友，  
　　
　　And forever has no end.  
　　永永远远，永无止境。
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 20:56     标题: 精美文章

Helen Keller/海伦.凯勒
　　
　　All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. Sometimes it was as long as a year; sometimes as short as twenty-four hours, but always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hours. I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited.
　　Such stories set up thinking, wondering what we should do under similar circumstances. What associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings? What happiness should we find in reviewing the past, what regrets?
　　 Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the epicurean motto of “Eat, drink, and be merry,” most people would be chastened by the certainty of impending death.
　　我们都读过这样一些动人的故事，故事里主人公将不久于人世。长则一年，短则２４小时。但是我们总是很想知道这个即将离开人世的人是决定怎样度过他最后的日子的。当然，我所指的是有权作出选择的自由人，不是那些活动范围受到严格限制的死囚。　
　　　　这一类故事会使我们思考在类似的处境下，我们自己该做些什么？在那临终前的几个小时里我们会产生哪些联想？会有多少欣慰和遗憾呢？
　　　　有时我想，把每天都当作生命的最后一天来度过也不失为一个很好的生命法则。这种人生态度使人非常重视人生的价值。每一天我们都应该以和善的态度、充沛的精力和热情的欣赏来度过，而这些恰恰是在来日方长时往往被我们忽视的东西。当然，有这样一些人奉行享乐主义的座右铭——吃喝玩乐，但是大多数人却不能摆脱死亡来临的恐惧。
　　Most of us take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future, when we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty task, hardly aware of our listless attitude towards life.
　　The same lethargy, I am afraid, characterizes the use of our faculties and senses. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sound hazily, without concentration, and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we conscious of health until we are ill.
　　I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound.
　　Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they see. Recently I was visited by a very good friend who had just returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed. “Nothing in particular,” she replied. I might have been incredulous had I not been accustomed to such responses, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little.
　　我们大多数人认为生命理所当然，我们明白总有一天我们会死去，但是我们常常把这一天看得非常遥远。当我们身体强壮时，死亡便成了难以相象的事情了。我们很少会考虑它，日子一天天过去，好像没有尽头。所以我们为琐事奔波，并没有意识到我们对待生活的态度是冷漠的。
　　我想我们在运用我们所有五官时恐怕也同样是冷漠的。只有聋子才珍惜听力，只有盲人才能认识到能见光明的幸运。对于那些成年致盲或失陪的人来说尤其如此。但是那些听力或视力从未遭受损失的人却很少充分利用这些幸运的能力，他们对所见所闻不关注、不欣赏。这与常说的不失去不懂得珍贵，不生病不知道健康可贵的道理是一样的。
　　我常想如果每一个人在他成年的早些时候，有几天成为了聋子或瞎子也不失为一件幸事。黑暗将使他更珍惜光明；沉寂将教他知道声音的乐趣。
　　有时我会试探我的非盲的朋友们，想知道他们看见了什么。最近我的一位非常要好的朋友来看我，她刚刚在树林里走了很长时间，我问她看见了什么。“没什么特别的，”她回答说。如不是我早已习惯了这样的回答，我也许不会轻易相信，因为很久以前我就相信了有眼人看不见什么。
　　How was it possible, I asked myself, to walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing worthy of note? I who cannot see find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch. I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or the rough shaggy bark of a pine. In spring I touch the branches of trees hopefully in search of a bud, the first sign of awakening Nature after her winter’s sleep I feel the delightful, velvety texture of a flower, and discover its remarkable convolutions; and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me. Occasionally, if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently in a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song. I am delighted to have cool waters of a brook rush through my open fingers. To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug. To me the pageant of seasons is a thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through my finger tips. At times my heart cries out with longing to see all these things. If I can get so much pleasure from mere touch, how much more beauty must be revealed by sight. Yet, those who have eyes apparently see little. The panorama of color and action fill the world is taken for granted. It is human, perhaps, to appreciate little that which we have and to long for that which we have not, but it is a great pity that in the world of light and the gift of sight is used only as mere convenience rather that as a means of adding fullness to life.
　　Oh, the things that I should see if I had the power of sight for three days!
　　我问自己在树林中走了一小时，怎么可能什么值得注意的东西都没有看到呢？而我一个盲人仅仅通过触摸就发现了数以百计的有趣的东西。我感到树叶的对称美，用手摸着白桦树光滑的树皮或是松树那粗糙的厚厚的树皮。春天里我满怀着希望触摸着树枝寻找新芽，那是大自然冬眼后醒来的第一个征象。我感到了花朵的可爱和茸茸的感觉，发现它层层叠叠地绽开着，大自然的神奇展现在我的面前。当我把手轻轻地放在一棵小树上，如果幸运的话，偶尔会感到歌唱的小鸟欢快的颤动。我会愉快地让清凉的溪水从手之间流过。对我来说，满地厚厚的松针和松软的草坪比奢华的波斯地毯更惹人喜爱。对我来说四季变换的景色如同一场动人心魄的不会完结的戏剧，剧中的人物动作从我的指尖流过。我的心不时在呐喊，带着对光明的渴望。既然仅仅通过触摸就能使我获得如此多的喜悦，那么光明定会展示更多美好的事物啊。可惜的是那些有眼睛的人分明看到很少，整个世界缤纷的色彩和万物的活动都被认为是理所当然。也许不珍惜已经拥有的，想得到还没有得到的是人的特点，但是在光明的世界里只把视觉用做一种方便的工具，而不是丰富生活的工具，这是令人多么遗憾的事情啊。
　　噢，假如我拥有三天光明，我将会看见多少事物啊！
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 20:57     标题: 精美文章

爱是人类永恒的话题，时间也是人们生生不息探求的领域，那么把爱和时间放在一起会有怎么样的化学反应呢？
Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,"Richness, can you take me with you?"

Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"

"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."

"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder,

Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"

"It was Time," Knowledge answered.

"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is."

中文翻译

　　从前有一个岛，所有的情感都住在那里：幸福、悲伤、知识和所有其它的，爱也不例外。一天，所有的情感听说小岛即将沉没，因此建造小船，纷纷离开，除了爱。
　　爱是唯一留下来的，因为它希望能坚持到最后一刻。
　　小岛即将沉没了，爱决定请求帮助。
　　富有驾着一艘大船从爱身边经过，爱说，“富有，你能带上我么？”
　　富有回答说：“不行，我的船上载满金银财宝，没有你的地方。”
　　虚荣坐在漂亮的小船中从爱身边驶过，爱问：“虚荣，你能帮助我么？”
　　虚荣说：“不行，你全身湿透，会弄脏我的船。”
　　悲伤的船靠近了，爱问：“悲伤，请带我走吧。”
　　“哦。。。爱，我太难过了，想一个人呆着。”
　　幸福经过爱的身边，它太开心了，根本没听见爱在呼唤。
　　突然，一个声音喊道：“来，爱，我带你走。” 声音来自“年老”。爱太高兴了，甚至忘了问他们即将去何方。当他们来到岸上，年老自己离开了。爱突然意识到“年老”给了它多大的帮助。
　　于是，爱问另一位老者--知识：“谁帮助了我？”
　　知识说：“是时间。”
　　“时间？”爱问：“但是时间为什么帮助我？”
　　知识睿智地微笑道：“因为只有时间了解爱的价值。”
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 20:59     标题: 精美对话

A girl and a boy were on a motorcycle, speeding through the night.
一天夜里，男孩骑摩托车带着女孩超速行驶
　　
They loved each other a lot..
他们彼此深爱着对方
　　
Girl: Slow down a little. I'm scared...
女孩：“慢一点...我怕...”
　　
Boy: No, it's so fun...
男孩：“不，这样很有趣...”
　　
Girl: Please... it's so scary...
女孩：“求求你...这样太吓人了...”
　　
Boy: Then say that you love me...
男孩：“好吧，那你说你爱我...”
　　
Girl: Fine... I love you... Can you slow down now?
女孩：“好....我爱你...你现在可以慢下来了吗？”
　　
Boy: Give me a big hug...
男孩：“紧紧抱我一下...”
　　
The girl gave him a big hug.
女孩紧紧拥抱了他一下
　　
Girl: Now can you slow down?
女孩：“现在你可以慢下来了吧？”
　　
Boy: Can you take off my helmet and put it on? It's uncomfortable and it's bothering me while I drive.
男孩：“你可以脱下我的头盔并自己戴上吗？它让我感到不舒服，还干扰我驾车。”
　　
Then next day, there was a story in the newspaper: a motorcycle had crashed into a building because it sbrakes were broken.
第二天，报纸报道：一辆摩托车因为刹车失灵而撞毁在一幢建筑物上。
　　
There were two people on the motorcycle, of which one died, and the other had survived...
车上有两个人，一个死亡，一个幸存...
　　
The guy knew that the brakes were broken. He didn't want to let the girl know, because he knew that the girl would have gotten scared.
驾车的男孩知道刹车失灵，但他没有让女孩知道，因为那样会让女孩感到害怕。
　　
Instead, he was told the last time that she loved him, got a hug from her, put his helmet on her so that she can live, and die himself...
相反，他让女孩最后一次说她爱他，最后一次拥抱他，并让她戴上自己的头盔，结果，女孩活着，他自己死了...
　　
Once in a while, right in the middle of anordinary life, love gives us a fairytale...
就在一会儿的时间里，就在平常的生活里，爱向我们展示了一个神话。
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:02

A little boy asked his mother "why are you crying?"

"Because i'm a woman," she told him.

"I don't understand," he said.

His mum just hugged him and said, "and you never will"

Later the little boy asked his father, "why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"

"All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say."

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to god; and when god got on the phone, he asked, "god, why do women cry so easily?"

God said: "when i made the woman she had to be special. i made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the  world; yet, gentle enough to give comfort"

"I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children"

"I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining "

"I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly"

"I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart"

"I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly"

"And finally, i gave her a tear to shed. this is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."

"You see: the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair."

"The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides."

中文翻译：
　　一个男孩问他的妈妈：“你为甚么要哭呢？”
　　妈妈说：“因为我是女人啊。”
　　男孩说：“我不懂。”
　　他妈妈抱起他说：“你永远不会懂得。”
　　後来小男孩就问他爸爸：“妈妈为甚么毫无理由的哭呢？”
　　“所有女人都这样。”他爸爸回答。
　　小男孩长成了一个男人，但仍就不懂女人为甚么哭泣。
　　最後，他打电话给上帝；当上帝拿起电话时，他问道：“上帝,女人为什么那么容易哭泣呢？”
　　上帝回答说：“当我创造女人时，让她很特别。我使她的肩膀能挑起整个世界的重担。并且又柔情似水。
　　我让她的内心很坚强,能够承受分娩的痛苦和忍受自己孩子多次的拒绝。”
　　我赋予她耐心使她在别人放弃的时候继续坚持,并且无怨无悔的照顾自己的家人渡过疾病和疲劳。
　　我赋予她在任何情况下都会爱孩子的感情,即使她的孩子伤害了她。
　　我赋予她包容她丈夫过错的坚强和用他的勒骨塑成她来保护他的心。
　　我赋予她智慧让她知道一个好丈夫是绝不会伤害他的妻子的,但有时我也会考验她支持自己丈夫的决心和坚强。
　　最後，我让她可以流泪。只要她愿意。这是她所独有的。
　　你看，女人的漂亮不是因为她穿的衣服，她保持的体型或者她梳头的方式。
　　女人的漂亮必须从她的眼睛中去看，因为那是她心灵的窗户和爱居住的地方。
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:02

Letter that Changed My Life

　

I was not yet 30 years old and was working as a firefighter(消防队员) in the South Bronx's Engine Co. 82, probably the world's most active firehouse at the time. It was warm and sunny, the kind of leisurely Sunday that brought extra activity to the neighborhood and to its firefighters. We must have had 15 or 20 calls that day, the worst being a garbage fire in the rear of an abandoned building, which required a hard pull of 600 feet of cotton-jacketed hose.
Between alarms I would rush to the company office to read Captain Gray's copy of the Sunday New York Times. It was late in the afternoon when I finally got to the Book Review section(纽约时报的书评版). As I read it, my blood began to boil. An article blatantly stated what I took to be a calumny -- that William Butler Yeats(叶芝，威廉·巴特勒1865-1939爱尔兰作家，被认为是20世纪最伟大的诗人之一), the Nobel Prize-winning light of the Irish Literary Renaissance, had transcended his Irishness and was forever to be known as a universal poet.

There were few things I was more proud of than my Irish heritage, and ever since I first picked up a book of his poems from a barracks shelf when I was in the military, Yeats had been my favorite Irish writer, followed by Sean O'Casey and James Joyce.

My ancestors were Irish farmers, fishermen and blue-collar workers, but as far as I can tell, they all had a feeling for literature. It was passed on to my own mother, a telephone operator(话务员), who hardly ever sat down without a book in her hands. And at that moment my own fingernails might have been soiled with the soot of the day's fires, but I felt as prepared as any Trinity don to stand up in the court of public opinion and protest. Not only that Yeats had lived his life and written his poetry through the very essence of his Irish sensibility, but that it was offensive to think Irishness -- no matter if it was psychological, social or literary -- was something to be transcended.

My stomach was churning, and I determined not to let an idle minute pass. "Hey, Captain Gray. Could I use your typewriter?" I asked.

The typewriter was so old that I had to use just one finger to type, my strongest one, even though I could type with all ten. I grabbed the first piece of clean paper I could find -- one that had the logo of the Fire Department of the City of New York across the top -- and, hoping there would be a break in the alarms for 20 minutes or so, wrote out a four-paragraph letter of indignation to the editor of the Sunday Book Review(「纽约时报」书评).

Throughout his poetry, I postulated, Yeats yearned for a messiah to lead Ireland out from under the bondage of English rule, and his view of the world and the people in it was fundamentally Irish.

Just as I addressed the envelope, the final alarm of my tour came in, and as I slid down the long brass pole, I felt unexpectedly calm, as if a great rock had been purged from the bottom of my stomach.

I don't know why I felt it my obligation to safeguard the reputation of the world's greatest poet, at least next to Homer and Shakespeare, or to inscribe an apologia for Irish writing. I just knew that I had to write that letter, in the same way a priest has to pray, or a musician has to play an instrument.

Until that point in my life I had not written much of value -- a few poems and short stories, the beginning of a coming-of-age novel. I knew that my writing was anything but refined. Like a beginning artist who loves to draw, I understood that the more one draws, or writes, or does anything, the better the end result will be, and so I wrote often to better control my writing skills, to master them. I sent some material to various magazines and reviews but found no one willing to publish me.

It was a special and unexpected delight, then, when I learned something I'd written would finally see print. Ironically it wasn't one of my poems or short stories -- it was my letter to the Times. I suppose the editor decided to publish it because he was first attracted by the official nature of my stationery (was his staff taking smoke breaks out on the fire escape?), and then by the incongruity of a ghetto firefighter's using words like messianism, for in the lines below my letter it was announced that I was a New York City firefighter. I'd like to think, though, that the editor silently agreed with my thesis.

I remember receiving through the fire department's address about 20 sympathetic and congratulatory letters from professors around the country. These letters made me feel like I was not only a published writer but an opinion maker. It was as if I was suddenly thrust into being someone whose views mattered.

I also received a letter from True magazine and one from The New Yorker, asking for an interview. It was the latter that proved momentous, for when an article titled "Fireman Smith" appeared in that magazine, I received a telephone call from the editor of a large publishing firm who asked if I might be interested in writing a book about my life.

I had little confidence in my ability to write a whole book, though I did intuit that my work as a firefighter was a worthy subject. And so I wrote Report From Engine Co. 82 in six months, and it went on to sell two million copies and to be translated into 12 languages. In the years that followed, I wrote three more best-sellers, and last year published a memoir, A Song for Mary: An Irish-American Memory.

Being a writer had been far from my expectations; being a best-selling author was almost unfathomable. How had it happened? I often found myself thinking about it, marveling at it, and my thoughts always came back to that letter to the New York Times.

For me, the clearest explanation is that I had found the subject I was searching for, one I felt so strongly about that the writing was a natural consequence of the passion I felt. I was to feel this same kind of passion when I began writing about firefighters and, later, when writing about my mother. These are subjects that, to me, represent the great values of human life -- decency, honesty and fairness -- subjects that burn within me as I write.

Over the years, all five of my children have come to me periodically with one dilemma or another. Should I study English or art? Should I go out for soccer or basketball? Should I take a job with this company or that one?

My answer is always the same, yet they still ask, for reassurance is a good and helpful thing. Think about what you're feeling deep down in the pit of your stomach, I tell them, and measure the heat of the fire there, for that is the passion that will flow through your heart. Your education and your experience will guide you toward making a right decision, but your passion will enable you to make a difference in whatever you do.

That's what I learned the day I stood up for Ireland's greatest poet.
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:03

I’ll give you some advice about life.
　　给你生活的忠告
　　Eat more roughage;
　　多吃些粗粮；
　　Do more than others expect you to do and do it pains;
　　给别人比他们期望的更多，并用心去做；
　　Remember what life tells you;
　　熟记生活告诉你的一切；
　　Don’t take to heart every thing you hear.
　　Don’t spend all that you have.
　　Don’t sleep as long as you want;
　　不要轻信你听到的每件事，不要花光你的所有，不要想睡多久就睡多久；
　　Whenever you say” I love you”, please say it honestly;
　　无论何时说“我爱你”，请真心实意；
　　Whevever you say” I’m sorry”, please look into the other person’s eyes;
　　无论何时说“对不起”，请看对方的眼睛；
　　Fall in love at first sight;  
　　相信一见钟情；
　　Don’t neglect dreams;
　　请不要忽视梦想；
　　Love deeply and ardently, even if there is pain, but this is the way to make your life complete;
　　深情热烈地爱，也许会受伤，但这是使人生完整的唯一方法；
　　Find a way to settle, not to dispute;
　　用一种明确的方法解决争议，不要冒犯；
　　Never judge people by their appearance;
　　永远不要以貌取人；
　　Speak slowly, but think quickly;
　　慢慢地说，但要迅速地想；
　　When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, simle and say, “Why do you want to know?”
　　 当别人问你不想回答的问题时，笑着说：“你为什么想知道？”
　　Remember that the man who can shoulder the most risk will gain the deepest love and the supreme accomplishment;
　　记住：那些敢于承担最大风险的人才能得到最深的爱和最大的成就；
　　Call you mother on the phone. If you can’t, you may think of her in your heart;
　　给妈妈打电话，如果不行，至少在心里想着她；
　　When someone sneezes say, “God bless you”;
　　当别人打喷嚏时，说一声“上帝保佑”；
　　If you fail, don’t forget to learn your lesson;
　　如果你失败了，千万别忘了汲取教训；
　　 Remember the three “ respects” .Respect yourself, respect others, stand on dignity and pay attention to your behavior;
　　记住三个“尊”： 尊重你自己； 尊重别人； 保持尊严， 对自己的行为负责；
　　Don’t let a little dispute break up a great friendship;
　　不要让小小的争端损毁了一场伟大的友谊；
　　Whenever you find your wrongdoing, be quick with reparation!
　　无论何时你发现自己做错了，竭尽所能去弥补；动作要快！
　　Whenever you make a phone call smil when you pick up the phone, because someone feel it!
　　无论什么时候打电话，摘起话筒的时候请微笑，因为对方能感觉到！
　　Marry a person who likes talking; because when you get old, you’ll find that chatting to be a great advantage;
　　找一个你爱聊的人结婚；因为年纪大了后，你会发觉喜欢聊天是一个人最大的优点；
　　Find time for yourself.
　　找点时间，单独呆会儿；
　　Life will change what you are but not who you are;
　　欣然接受改变，但不要摒弃你的个人理念；
　　Remember that silence is golden;
　　记住：沉默是金；
　　Read more books and watch less television;
　　多看点书，少看点电视；
　　Live a noble and honest life. Reviving past times in your old age will help you to enjoy your life again;
　　过一种高尚而诚实的生活。当你年老时回想起过去，你就能再一次享受人生。
　　Trust God, but don’t forget to lock the door;
　　相信上帝，但是别忘了锁门；
　　The harmonizing atmosphere of a family is valuable;
　　家庭的融洽氛围是难能可贵的；
　　Try your best to let family harmony flow smoothly;
　　尽你的能力让家平顺和谐；
　　When you quarrel with a close friend, talk about the main dish, don’t quibble over the appetizers;
　　当你和你的亲近的少吵嘴时候，试着就事论事，不要扯出那些陈芝麻、烂谷子的事；
　　You cannot hold onto yesterday;
　　不要摆脱不了昨天；
　　Figure out the meaning of someone’s words;
　　多注意言下之意；
　　
　　Share your knowledge to continue a timeless tradition;
　　和别人分享你的知识，那才是永恒之道；
　　Treat our earth in a friendly way,don’t fool around with mother nature;
　　善待我们的地球，不要愚弄自然母亲；
　　Do the thing you should do;
　　做自己该做的事；
　　Don’t trust a lover who kisses you without closing their eyes;
　　不要相信接吻时从不闭眼的伴侣；
　　Go to a place you’ve never been to every year.
　　每年至少去一个你从没去过的地方。
　　
　　If you earn much money,the best way to spend it is on charitable deeds while you are alive;
　　如果你赚了很多钱，在活着的时候多行善事，这是你能得到的最好回报；
　　Remember,not all the best harvest is luck;
　　记住有时候，不是最好的收获也是一种好运；
　　Understand rules completely and change them reasonably;
　　深刻理解所有的规则，合理地更新他们；
　　Remember,the best love is to love others unconditionally rather than make demands on them;
　　记住，最好的爱存在于对别人的爱胜于对别人的索求这上；
　　Comment on the success you have attained by looking in the past at the target you wanted to achieve most;
　　回头看看你发誓取得的目标，然后评价你到底有多成功；
　　In love and cooking,you must give 100% effort……but expect little appreciation;
　　无论是烹饪不是爱情，都用百分之百的负责态度对待，但是不要乞求太多的回报。
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:05

有感于青春常在


　　
　　Life is a pure flame,and we live by an invisible sun within us.  
　　 -------Sir Thomas Browne  
　　“生命是束纯净的火焰，我们依靠自己内心看不见的太阳而存在。”  
　　 --------托马斯。布朗爵士
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:06

"Zhong Qiu Jie", which is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is a time for family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon - an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant mooncakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea, while the little ones run around with their brightly-lit lanterns.
　　农历八月十五日是中国的传统节日——中秋节。在这天，每个家庭都团聚在一起，一家人共同观赏象征丰裕、和谐和幸运的圆月。此时，大人们吃着美味的月饼，品着热腾腾的香茗，而孩子们则在一旁拉着兔子灯尽情玩耍。

"Zhong Qiu Jie" probably began as a harvest festival. The festival was later given a mythological flavour with legends of Chang-E, the beautiful lady in the moon.
　　中秋节最早可能是一个庆祝丰收的节日。后来，月宫里美丽的仙女嫦娥的神话故事赋予了它神话色彩。

According to Chinese mythology, the earth once had 10 suns circling over it. One day, all 10 suns appeared together, scorching the earth with their heat. The earth was saved when a strong archer, Hou Yi, succeeded in shooting down 9 of the suns. Yi stole the elixir of life to save the people from his tyrannical rule, but his wife, Chang-E drank it. Thus started the legend of the lady in the moon to whom young Chinese girls would pray at the Mid-Autumn Festival.
　　传说古时候，天空曾有10个太阳。一天，这10个太阳同时出现，酷热难挡。弓箭手后翌射下了其中9个太阳，拯救了地球上的生灵。他偷了长生不死药，却被妻子嫦娥偷偷喝下。此后，每年中秋月圆之时，少女们都要向月宫仙女嫦娥祈福的传说便流传开来。

In the 14th century, the eating of mooncakes at "Zhong Qiu Jie" was given a new significance. The story goes that when Zhu Yuan Zhang was plotting to overthrow the Yuan Dynasty started by the Mongolians, the rebels hid their messages in the Mid-Autumn mooncakes. Zhong Qiu Jie is hence also a commemoration of the overthrow of the Mongolians by the Han people.
　　在14世纪，中秋节吃月饼又被赋予了一层特殊的含义。传说在朱元璋带兵起义推翻元朝时，将士们曾把联络信藏在月饼里。因此，中秋节后来也成为汉人推翻蒙古人统治的纪念日。

During the Yuan Dynasty (A.D.1206-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung Dynasty (A.D.960-1279) were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Packed into each mooncake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this event.
　　在元朝，蒙古人统治中国。前朝统治者们不甘心政权落入外族之手，于是密谋策划联合起义。正值中秋将近，起义首领就命令部下制作一种特别的月饼，把起义计划藏在每个月饼里。到中秋那天，起义军获取胜利，推翻了元朝，建立明朝。今天，人们吃月饼纪念此事。
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:08

Legend of Chang-Er, the Moon Goddess

The story begins around 2170 B.C. after the great flood in the Hsia dynasty. Yu, king of many kingdoms, was credited with stopping the flood, and with teaching farmers how to cultivate their fields, thus commencing a prosperous epoch.

At the same time in Heaven the Jade Emperor wished to help the farmers raise animals and cultivate their fields. He gave orders to his ten sons to become ten suns and travel across the sky one at a time, each taking one day. The ten young men disobeyed; all ten of them came out every day, and the heat from ten suns shining all at once made the earth intolerably hot. People and animals died of heat, rivers dried up, land became barren and forests scorched and burned.

Notecultivate: vt. 培养，耕作             intolerably: adv. 到难耐的程度     
barren: adj. 不孕的                scorch: v. 烧焦，枯萎    The farmers prayed, giving sacrifices and burning incense to Heaven for deliverance. The Jade Emperor heard their prayers and saw the destruction caused by his sons. He sent Hou Yi, his bravest god, down to earth to solve the problem of the ten suns and end the catastrophe. Hou Yi was a good, courageous god with a beautiful wife, Chang Er. Deeply in love with each other, they were known as the Divine Couple. Chang Er didn't like the thought of going down to earth, but she was unwilling to be separated from her husband, so together they descended to earth and became mortals among the Eastern clans.
Hou Yi was a great archer and brought his magic bow from heaven with him. Knowing that Hou Yi came from heaven, the people of the clans proclaimed him to be their leader.

Seeing how much suffering and destruction were caused by the heat of the ten suns, Hou Yi climbed to the top of Tienshan mountain and began negotiating with the suns to have pity on the unfortunate people. He pleaded to the suns to take turns and make their journeys across the sky singly, one for each day, and explained the white blaze of ten suns is much too much for the land to bear. He also told them how much Heaven loves all living things.

But the ten audacious suns considered it dull and boring to go across the sky one at a time and that much more fun was to be had by coming out together, so they refused to listen. They increased their heat and caused even more suffering. This angered Hou Yi. He took out his magic bow and arrows and shot down nine of the suns; the last sun begged for his life and promised obedience at performing his task of separating night from day.

Notesacrifice: n. 祭品     destruction: n. 破坏     catastrophe: n. 大灾难
proclaim: vt. 宣布      negotiate: v. 谈判       arrow: n. 箭 Finally the earth was at peace and people enjoyed their work and lives. However, when Hou Yi made his report to the Jade Emperor, he was furious at Hou Yi for killing his nine sons, and refused to let the Divine Couple return to Heaven.
As leader of the clans, there was much for Hou Yi to do on earth. He taught the people many ways to defend their land and themselves. He was so busy with his duties he became neglectful of his lovely and lonely wife. Chang Er was especially unhappy to be an earthly mortal with all of mortality's suffering, aging and death in particular. Also, she was angry at Hou Yi for shooting down the Jade Emperor's nine sons, and the couple became unhappy and estranged.

To avoid arguing with his wife, Hou Yi spent his time travelling about the land alone. He became familiar to its people, performing many good deeds wherever he travelled. He also killed a gigantic, 100,000-foot snake and a nine-headed monster that had caused much distress and thousands of lives. Many times he prayed to the Jade Emperor to let himself and his wife return to Heaven, but the Emperor refused his plead and so Hou Yi and Chang Er remained as mortals, suffering as ordinary human beings do.

Noteclan: n. 部落       neglectful: adj. 忽略的      distress: n. 悲痛，危难 In his travel he chanced to meet a beautiful mortal woman, Mi Fei. She was the wife of Feng Yee, the God of Water, who had a reputation as a womanizer and for ignoring his wife. Both lonelyd, Mi Fei and Hou Yi became friends and later lovers. In legend, such things never remain unpunished. When Feng Yee returned and discovered his wife's infidelity, he was furious and transformed himself into a white dragon, roaring and plunging in the water, destroying fields and killing many people. Hou Yi thought the dragon was an evil sea monster. He took up his bow and shot, blinding Feng Yee in one eye. Thereupon, the god of waters registered a complaint with the Jade Emperor. The Emperor considered all the good deeds that Hou Yi had done for the mortals, and since he was already under punishment, the Emperor merely ordered Hou Yi to go home to Chang Er and never see Mi Fei again.
Hou Yi had no choice but to return home. Chang Er was angry with him for his unfaithfulness and unhappiness came between the once "divine" couple. Hou Yi knew that he had wronged his wife and tried to soothe her, telling her that tears would make her age faster, as they were now mortals. Chang Er looked at her reflection in the water, for in those days there were no mirrors. She was terrified to see wrinkles appearing around her eyes, and demanded that Hou Yi find some way to restore her immortality.

Notethereupon: adv. 于是，因此     divine: adj. 神的      immortality: n. 不朽 Hou Yi was desolate and dared not stay at home, but he couldn't violate the Jade Emperorís order by going to Mi Fei. He became violent and drunk. In his drunkenness he treated the people cruelly. There were two men among the people who began to plot against him, Feng Meng and Han Cho. Both were opportunists. Han Cho told Hou Yi that the Royal Goddess resided on top of Kunlun Mountain and had a pill of immortality.
Hou Yi decided that for the saje of peace at home he would climb Kunlun Mountain and begg the Royal Goddess for the pill of immortality. The Goddess, taking pity on him, gave him her one remaining pill. She instructed Hou Yi that if one person took the pill he would ascend to Heaven, but if he cut the pill into two halves and shared it with another, they could live forever. The pill had to be taken on the 15th night of the eighth month when the moon was fullest. Hou Yi was very happy and thanked the Royal Goddess exuberantly and went home to Chang Er. They decided to divide the pill and take it at the proper time so that they could both attain immortality.

Three days before the 15th day of the eighth month, Hou Yi heard of a medicinal solution called "jade elixir" that could be found on Tienshan mountain, an elixir that could could prevent women from aging and allow them to stay eternally beautiful. Hou Yi wished to please Chang Er and resume a happy life at home, so he decided that he could make the trip in three days to obtain this wonderful medicine and to surprise his wife. He left for Tienshan immediately.

Noteviolate: vt. 违犯          opportunist:n. 机会主义者，投机取巧者
ascend: v. 攀登           eternally: adv. 永恒地
On the 15th of the eighth month, Chang Er saw no sign of Hou Yi. She waited and later grew impatient, and sought out Feng Meng the schemer and asked where her husband was. Feng Meng lied and told Chang Er that Hou Yi had gone to see Mi Fei. Chang Er believed him and became furious at her unfaithful husband. As the moon rose Chang Er went into the garden, looking up to heaven and remembering the contentment in the life of immortality and the happiness of heaven, and then she thought of the sorrows of the earth. She was confused and filled with emotion. Thinking that Hou Yi had abandoned her, she swallowed the whole pill and at once she felt her body becoming lighter, rising upwards towards the sky. At this moment Hou Yi arrived back with the jade elixir and saw Chang Er ascending faster and faster.

Noteschemer: n. 谋士      furious: adj. 狂怒的，狂暴的
The gods and goddesses in heaven despised Chang Er because she had abandoned her husband. Chang Er had to change her direction and head toward the cold palace in the moon. Hou Yi watched from the earth and took out his magic bow to shoot down the moon. He aimed but he could not bear to kill his wife. Frustrated and saddened, he destroyed his magical weapons and took to drink.

Hou Yi's enemy Feng Meng watch and waited until Hou Yi was senselessly drunk, then he attacked Hou Yi then and killed him. When Chang Er arrived at the cold palace in the moon and saw how her husband had been cruelly murdered she deeply mourned what she had done. She was cut off from the happy life in heaven and committed to eternity alone in the moon, becaming the moon goddess.

Each year on the 15th day of the eighth month, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, people look at the moon and try to see in it the image of a beautiful maiden.
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:09

Moon in Chinese Celestial Cosmology

The choice of the festival's theme -- celebrating the glories and mysteries of the moon -- was a natural. Along with the sun, the moon has long been an object of human curiosity and worship. "It is probable that sun and moon were early held to be deities and that they were the first visible objects of worship," according to the book "Sketches of the History of Man." To the most ancient ancestors of the Chinese, the sun and the moon were considered the "chief objects of veneration," according to records dating to the Han dynasty emperor Wu Di (157-87 B.C.).

Notecuriosity: n. 好奇心       worship: n. 崇拜，尊敬       deity: n. 神，神性
ancestor: n. 祖先，祖宗     veneration: n. 尊敬，崇拜
In ancient Asian mythology, there is a strong relationship between the moon and water. The moon is said to regulate reservoirs and supplies of water. There is a suggestion that the moon produces fertility and freshness in the soil. The moon's role in bountiful harvests is widely recognized during autumns around the world.

In Chinese celestial cosmology, the moon represents the female principle, or yin. During ancient autumn Moon Festivals, women took center stage because the moon is considered feminine. Only women took part in Moon Festival rituals on the night of the full moon. Altars would be set up in households, and when the full moon appeared, women would make offerings of incense, candles, fruit, flowers, and mooncakes.


Notereservoir: n. 水库，蓄水池     fertility: n. 肥沃      cosmology: n. 宇宙论
feminine: adj. 妇女的，阴性的     ritual: n. 典礼，仪式

The enduring legend of the Moon Goddess, Chang O (Chang-E in other transliterations), reflects the feminine principle of yin, as opposed to the masculine principle of yang, which is symbolized by the sun.
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:09

Love Your Life
　热爱生活

Henry David Thoreau/享利.大卫.梭罗




However mean your life is, meet it and live it ;do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poor-house. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the alms-house as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace. The town's poor seem to me often to live the most independent lives of any. May be they are simply great enough to receive without misgiving. Most think that they are above being supported by the town; but it often happens that they are not above supporting themselves by dishonest means. which should be more disreputable. Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends, Turn the old, return to them. Things do not change; we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.

不论你的生活如何卑贱，你要面对它生活，不要躲避它，更别用恶言咒骂它。它不像你那样坏。你最富有的时候，倒是看似最穷。爱找缺点的人就是到天堂里也能找到缺点。你要爱你的生活，尽管它贫穷。甚至在一个济贫院里，你也还有愉快、高兴、光荣的时候。夕阳反射在济贫院的窗上，像身在富户人家窗上一样光亮；在那门前，积雪同在早春融化。我只看到，一个从容的人，在哪里也像在皇宫中一样，生活得心满意足而富有愉快的思想。城镇中的穷人，我看，倒往往是过着最独立不羁的生活。也许因为他们很伟大，所以受之无愧。大多数人以为他们是超然的，不靠城镇来支援他们；可是事实上他们是往往利用了不正当的手段来对付生活，他们是毫不超脱的，毋宁是不体面的。视贫穷如园中之花而像圣人一样耕植它吧！不要找新的花样，无论是新的朋友或新的衣服，来麻烦你自己。找旧的，回到那里去。万物不变，是我们在变。你的衣服可以卖掉，但要保留你的思想。
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:10

Love 爱情



I love you not because of who you are,but because of who I am when I am with you.
我爱你，不是因为你是一个怎样的人，而是因为我喜欢与你在一起时的感觉。

No man or woman is worth your tears,and the one who is ,won't make you cry.
没有人值得你流泪，值得让你这么做的人不会让你哭泣。

The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them knowing you can't have them.
失去某人，最糟糕的莫过于，他近在身旁，却犹如远在天边。

Never frown,even when you are sad,because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.
纵然伤心，也不要悉眉不展，因为你不知是谁会爱上你的笑容。

To the world you may be one person,but to one person you may be the world.
对于世界而言，你是一个人；但是对于某人，你是他的整个世界。

Don't waste your time on a man/woman,who isn't willing to waste their time on you.
不要为那些不愿在你身上花费时间的人而浪费你的时间。

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to,doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
爱你的人如果没有按你所希望的方式爱你，那并不代表他们没有全心全意地爱你。

Don't try to hard,the best things come when you least expect them to.
不要着急，最好的总会在最不经意的时候出现。

Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one,so that when we finally meet the person,we will know how to be grateful.
在遇到梦中人之前，上天也许会安排我们先遇到别人；在我们终于遇见心仪的人时，便应当心存感激。

Don't cry because it is over,smile because it happened.
不要因为结束而哭泣，微笑吧，为你的曾经拥有。
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:11

By Robert H. Gilbert 阿蛮 选注

　　打开这个记忆的盒子，就像万缕花香飘散开来，沁人心脾；又像一瓶尘封多年的老酒，香醇与苦涩，美在其中。



　　One day, an older woman was sitting on her bed, packing some things, in boxes, to put in her closet. She rubbed her forehead with her hand and thought of her terrible migraine headache, brought on by all this packing.1

　　As she sat there, she looked at an empty box in front of her. Next, she looked around, wondering what she might pack in that box. Then, she said to herself, "If I get rid of some of these memories, that have been in my head all these years, maybe my head would not hurt as bad.2"

　　She put the tip of her finger between her lips. Then, her mind started wondering back, back, and back into her younger years.

　　She remembered her first puppy love3. Boy, was he handsome and strong for his age of 11. He looked even bigger in his elementary football uniform. "Guess, I will keep that memory," she said. So, she quickly put that in the box.

　　Then, she began to think a little bit harder, now. "Oh, Yes, I surely remembered my first kiss. He was such a good kisser, too." She, quickly, put her hand over her heart and could feel it beating faster and faster. She opened her eyes and said, "If I keep having memories like this, I will need something to take for high blood pressure." She gasped4, then put that memory, definitely, into the box.



　　Then, she remembered the last spanking she got from her dad. As she remembered this, she rubbed her bottom. It was as if she, still, felt the burning.5 She would keep that memory, as it taught her to be nice to others.

　　Her memory took her forward ?to her high school prom6. She remembered the beautiful pink dress that her father had bought her. At the prom, she recognised a boy that she really liked. However, her sister had the same feelings. When her sister saw her looking at that boy, she walked over and (accidentally) spilled chocolate ice cream all over the front of her dress.7 She grabbed that memory and threw it in the trash.

　　Though her memory started moving through the years, it stopped at meeting her husband. One night, she had gone out with her girlfriends and, upon returning home, there was an insurance salesman there. Her parents introduced them and, when she looked into his eyes, she knew she was in real love. Three months later, they were married.

　　She went out at night with him, to go to several appointments. She soon realised that most of the late night meetings were with young women. She threw that memory in the trash, too.

　　About a month later, she told her husband that he needed to stay home and find another job. He did. He became a CPA8. Little did she know that her husband and her puppy love were best of friends.



　　She, then, began to think of their first child, then becoming a grandmother. She remembered her first diaper change9, too. (Poop.) She still remembered the stink10, held her nose shut, and put that thought in the trash, too. (She had to remember to take the trash out, when this was over.)

　　When she realised that the box was full, she took some tape and tape the lid shut11. She took the box into the dining area and sat the box in a chair. Then, she went into the kitchen to fix supper for her husband.

　　As she was preparing supper, the doorbell rang. There stood her puppy love. She could not turn him away, as they were friends now.

　　He walked into the dining area and looked at the box in the chair. He picked it up and shook it. He asked her, "What's in the box?"

　　"My box of memories," she answered.

　　"Can I look in it?" he asked.

　　"Sure, but don't spill12 anything."

　　He opened the box and it was empty. Either I am blind or she is going insane. He looked at her and said, "There is nothing in here."

　　She turned toward him, with her hands on her hips, and said, "Well, does that tell you something? It means that you were not in my thoughts long enough to be in my memories."

　　1. 她用手揉了揉额头，想起了自己那恼人的偏头痛，由于整理东西又发作了。rub：按摩，揉擦；migraine headache： [医]偏头痛； bring on：使出现，引起。

　　2. 要是我能忘掉一些在脑海里停留多年的记忆，或许我的头就不会痛得那么厉害了。

　　3. puppy love：少男少女之间短暂的爱情。亦指此类爱情的恋爱对象。

　　4. gasp：倒抽气。

　　5. 她想起爸爸最后一次打她屁股(的情形)。她一边回忆，一边不由自主地揉了揉屁股，似乎依然能感觉到那种火辣辣的疼痛。spanking: 打屁股；一顿揍。

　　6. prom：<美口>(大学、高中等的)班级舞会。

　　7.妹妹看到她注视着那个男孩，就走过来，(意外地)把巧克力冰淇淋全都洒到了她裙子的前摆上。

　　8. CPA：注册会计师，Certified Public Accountant的缩写。

　　9. diaper change：换尿布。

　　10. stink：恶臭，异味。

　　11.她拿出胶带，把盖子封好。句中第一个tape是名词，意为“胶带”，第二个tape为动词，意为“用胶带固定，用胶带封住”。

　　12. spill：使洒落，使泼出。
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:12

Love Is Just a Thread  

Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don't act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, "I love you" is too luxurious for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine's Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he's very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.

One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.

"Mom, I have a question to ask you," I said after a while.

"What?" she replied, still doing her work.

"Is there love between you and Dad?" I asked her in a very low voice.

My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn't answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.

I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn't know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:

"Susan," she said thoughtfully, "Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it's really there. Love is inside."

I listened carefully but I couldn't understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.

After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.

The doctor had said my father would recover in two months. But after two months he still couldn't walk by himself. All of us were worried about him.

"Dad, how are you feeling now?" I asked him one day.

"Susan, don't worry about me." he said gently. "To tell you the truth, I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life." Reading his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply.

Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm.

　　……
　　
　　注：

　　“我曾经认为爱情就是鲜花、礼物和甜蜜的亲吻。但从那一刻起，我明白了，爱情就像是生活中被子里的一根线。爱情就在里面，使生活变得坚固而温暖。”
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:13

A Truly Outstanding Article
　
The trend in everyday conversation is to use grandiose words. "Outstanding" is new "good", "amazing" is the new "OK", and "huge" is the new "big".

I was in a restaurant in D.C. last weekend and everything I asked was answered in superlatives.

Me: How s the salmon?

Server: Fantastic!

Me: Does it come with rice?

Server: Absolutely!

Would a "good" and a "yes" have been sufficient? Undeniably!

At Starbucks, the smallest coffee you can order is a Tall. Tall would seem to indicate that there was also a short and medium, with Tall being the largest. But at Starbucks, Tall is small. Grande, which is both Italian and Spanish for large, is medium.

Likewise, at your local 7-Eleven you cannot buy a small: Your choices are Big Gulp, Super Gulp and Extremely Big Gulp. Old Banana Navy Gap also did away with the small. You cannot buy anything from the chain stores that is really a "small". My father is an average-sized man. He hasn't gained weight (or height, for that matter) for the past 30 years. Ergo, his size remains the same. But in the same amount of time, his T-shirt size has gone from small/medium to medium to large to extra large.

Upon reflection, the reason for all this colossal-speak is clear: We are bored with our fantastic, wonderful lives. We want the next-next thing now. Now!

And we also want others to think that we still care, that we can still be delighted, that we know that everything is just great. Even when deep inside we know it can't be. Everything can't be great. Hence, we live in a world where extreme is ordinary, where radical is quotidian; exceptional is pedestrian. And to not be overly delighted by the mundane is appalling. It's horrific. And, Dude, that's heinous.

I'm not a scientist, and my methods of proof leave a little to be desired, or a lot to be desired, or an immensity. And to be honest, I guess I'd rather live in a world where people were overly excited than depressed.

But listen to the voices around you. Listen to your own voices. There is nothing on the news that is good or bad, only things that are wonderful or devastating. Even the weather is either beautiful or horrible.

Listen the next time when someone asks you something and you agree, because when you could simply say "yes", instead you will say "absolutely" or "without doubt" or "Oh, yeah, unquestionably - absolutely without doubt."

Have people forgotten what it is like to be OK? Simply OK with what they have and who they are?

If everything is outstanding, if everything is the most amazing thing ever, is anything ever amazing at all?

　　中文：

　　用词浮夸是如今日常会话的时髦。“出类拔萃”代替了“好”，“不可思议”代替了“不错”，“巨大”代替了“大”。

　　上周末我去哥伦比亚特区的一家餐馆，我的每一个问题得到的回答全是最高级的修饰语。

　　我：鲑鱼怎么样？
　　服务生：妙不可言！
　　我：带米饭吗？
　　服务生：千真万确！

　　说一个“好”和一个“是的”够不够？毋庸置疑嘛！

　　在星巴克咖啡店，你能点到的最小份的咖啡叫“高杯”。这似乎意味着还有矮杯和中杯，“高杯”该为最大杯。可是在星巴克，“高杯”却是小杯。“豪华”（这个词在意大利语和西班牙语中是“大”的意思）才是中杯。

　　同样地，你在当地的7-Eleven便利店里也买不到小杯咖啡：供选择的只有大杯、超大杯和特大杯。Old Banana Navy Gap商店也废除了小号。在它的连锁店你买不到真正的“小号”。我父亲是中等体形，他的体重（或身高也如此）在过去三十年没增加过。所以他的身体尺寸没变化。可是在同样长的时间里，他的T恤尺寸却从小/中号增至中号、大号、加大号。

　　回头想想，这种夸大其词的原因很明了：我们对精彩、美妙的生活已经厌倦。我们现在想要的是未来之未来的东西。现在就要！

　　同时，我们想让别人认为我们仍然在意生活，仍然能够兴高采烈，认为我们知道一切都是那么美好。哪怕在内心深处我们清楚这不可能。不可能事事都妙不可言。由此以来，我们生活在这样一个世界：极度等于平凡，极端等于普通，非凡等于一般。而对寻常事物若不是感到特别高兴就成了骇人听闻。“太恐怖了。”“啊，令人发指。”

　　我不是专家，我的证明方法有一些，或许多，或巨大的待改进之处。坦白地说，我想我也宁愿活在一个人们激动过分而不是垂头丧气的世界里。

　　但是听听你周围的声音吧。听听自己的心里话。从新闻中听不到任何好或坏的消息，只有一些要么美妙之极，要么糟糕透顶的东西。连天气都变成了或美丽或恐怖。

　　当下次有人问你什么而你表示同意的时候，你留意听听，因为本来你可以简单地说声“是的”，可你却会说“绝对如此”或“毫无疑问”或“哦，是啊，无可争议 --- 绝对地毫无疑问”。

　　难道人们已经忘了“好”是什么样的吗？忘了什么是过得“还不错”、自己是谁了吗？

　　如果一切都成了出类拔萃，如果事事都是令人无比诧异，那还有无令人诧异一说吗？
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:14

Is He Dying?

A man was sitting in a bar with tears streaming down his face. A friend walked in and asked why he was so unhappy. The weeping one said, "The doctor has just told me I'll have to take these tablets for the rest of my life."

Cheerfully, his friend pointed out that many people have to take tablets every day of their life. "Sure," came the reply, "but he only gave me ten."
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:15

When a Tiger comes

Two guys were walking through the jungle. All of a sudden, a tiger appears from a distance, running towards them.



One of the guys takes out a pair of "Nikes" from his bag and starts to put them on. The other guy with a surprised look and exclaims, "Do you think you will run faster than the tiger with those?"



His friend replies: "I don't have to out run it, I just have to run faster than you."
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:15

The Day that You're Inaugurated



A woman and her husband were out shopping when she realized that she needed to purchase some hair color for her graying hair.



"When are you going to stop buying that expensive stuff," complained the husband, "and let your hair go gray like Barbara Bush?"  



"The day that you're inaugurated," the wife replied.
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:16

In England nobody under the age of eighteen is allowed to drink in a public bar．



Mr． Thompson used to go to a bar near his house quite often，but he never took his son，Tom，because he was too young． Then when Tom had his eighteenth birthday， Mr．Thompson took him to his usual bar for the first time．They drank for half an hour， and then Mr．Thompson said to his son，“Now， Tom，I want to teach you a useful lesson．You must always be careful not to drink too much． And how do you know when you've had enough？ Well， I'll tell you．Do you see those two lights at the end of the bar？ When they seem to have become four，you've had enough and should go home．”



“But， Dad，” said Tom，“I can only see one light at the end of the bar．”
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:16

Mr．Green went to Germany，because he had some work there．He came back last Monday，and his young wife met him at the airport．They walked to their car and passed a tall，pretty air hostess．Mr．Green said to her，“Goodbye，Miss Harris，” and the air hostess smiled and said“Goodbye” too．



Mrs．Green stopped and looked at the air hostess．Then she said to her husband，“How did you know her name？”



“That was easy，”answered Mr．Green．“The names of the captain and all the crew were on a piece of paper in front of our sests．”



“What was the name of the captain？”Mrs．Green asked with a smile．



Mr．Green laughed and answered，“I don't remember any of the other names．”

格林去了德国，因为他在那里有些工作要做。他上星期一回国，他年轻的妻子到机场去接他。他们向他们的汽车走去，遇见了一位高挑、漂亮的空中小姐。格林先生对她说：“再见，哈里斯小姐。”那位空中小姐莞尔一笑，也说了声“再见”。



格林夫人停下来，看看那位空中小姐，然后她问她丈夫：“你怎么知道她的名字？”



“这很容易，”格林先生回答。“机长和机组全体人员的名单都写在我们座位前的一张纸上。”



“那机长叫什么名字？”格林夫人笑着问。



格林先生笑着答道：“我不记得其他任何人的名字。”
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:16

Guns Buried in the Garden



An old man lived alone in Northern Ireland. His only son was in  prison. The old man wanted to plant some potatoes in his garden but he didn't know anyone who would help him plow up the garden.  



He wrote to his son about it, and received this reply, "For HEAVENS SAKE, don't dig up that garden, that's where I buried the GUNS!"



At 4 AM the next morning, a dozen British soldiers showed up and dug up the entire garden, but didn't find any guns.



Confused, the man wrote to his son telling him what happened and asking him what to do next.



His son's reply was: "Just plant your potatoes."



埋在花园里的枪



一个老人独居在北爱尔兰，他的独生子正在坐牢。老人想在花园里种些土豆，但不知道谁可以帮忙把泥土翻松。他写信想儿子提及此事，儿子回信说道：“看在上帝的面上，千万不要翻松花园的泥土，我把枪埋在那儿了。”

第二天凌晨4点，一队英国士兵出现在老人家中，在花园把土地翻遍，但并没有找到任何枪支。”



老人写信告诉儿子这件奇怪的事情，问到底发生了什么事情，下一步应该怎么做。



儿子回信道：“你只管种土豆好了。”
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:17

On her return from school，little Dolly，aged ten，was pulled on to her Daddy's knee，and informed that the fairies had that day brought a big surprise a little baby brother．She see med glad，and presently said：



“Will you give me a stamp，daddy？I want to write and tell brother Tom．”



The father was touched by this，and provided the little lass with the materials to write a letter to her brother，who was away at school．Later，curious to know how she would tell the news，he took an opportunity to read what she had writen．He received something of a shock on reading the following：



“Dear Tom，



“It's come off today．You've lost；it's a boy．”



1．你输了



放学回到家里，十岁的小多莉被拉过来坐在她爸爸的膝上，她被告知那天仙女们带来了一个大大的惊奇——一个婴儿小弟弟。她似乎很高兴，马上说：

“爸爸，你能不能给我一张邮票？我要写信告诉汤姆哥哥。”



父亲被这话感动了，他为小姑娘提供了给她哥哥写信所需的各种用具，她的哥哥住在学校里。后来，想知道她是怎么报告这个消息的，他找机会读了她写的信。在读到下面这两行字时，他差点儿惊呆了：



“亲爱的汤姆：



“今天结果出来了，你输了；是个男孩。”
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:18

A Gentleman


Dick was seven years old，and his sister，Catherine．was five．One day their mother took them to their aunt's house to play while she went to the big city to buy some new clothes．



The children played for an hour，and then at half past four their aunt took Dick into the kitchen．She gave him a nice cake and a knife and said to him，“Now here's a knife，Dick．Cut this cake in half and give one of the pieces to your sister，but remember to do it like a gentleman．”



“Like a gentleman？” Dick asked．“How do gentlemen do it？”



“They always give the bigger piece to the other person．”answered his aunt at once．



“Oh” said Dick．He thought about this for a few seconds．Then he took the cake to his sister and said to her，“Cut this cake in half，Catherine．”

绅士



迪克年龄七岁，他的妹妹凯瑟琳五岁。一天，妈妈把他们带到姨妈家去玩，自己就到大城市去买些新的衣服。”



孩子们玩了个把小时，在四点半的时候，姨妈领着迪克走进了厨房。她交给迪克一块精美的蛋糕和一把刀子，并对他说：“喏，迪克，给你刀子，把这块蛋糕一切为二，给你妹妹一块。不过，你得记住要做得像一个绅士那样。”



迪克问：“像一个绅士？绅士怎样做呢？”



他姨妈马上回答说：“绅士总是把大的一块让给别人的。”



迪克说了一声“噢”。他对此想了一会，然后，他把蛋糕拿给妹妹，并对她说：“凯瑟琳，你来把这块蛋糕一切为二吧。”
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:19

My Boss and I



When I take a long time, I am slow.



When my boss takes a long time, he is thorough.



When I don't do it, I am lazy.



When my boss doesn't do it, he is too busy.   



When I do something without being told, I am trying to be smart.



When my boss does the same, that is initiative.



When I please my boss, I am ass-kissing.



When my boss pleases his boss, he is co-operating.



I do good, my boss never remembers.



When I do wrong, he never forgets.



老板和我



我做事情花了长时间，是效率低；

老板做事情花了长时间，是深思熟虑。

我没有做完事情，是懒惰；

老板没有做完事情，是太繁忙。

没有人告诉我的事情我做了，是自作聪明；

老板做了同样的事情，是首创。

我取悦老板，是献媚；

老板取悦他的老板，是合作。

我干得好，老板从来不会想起；

我干得不好，老板从来不会忘记。
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:23

The Right Leg


Proctor（exceedingly angry）：“So you confess that this unfortunate freshman was carried to this frog pond and drenched？Now what part did you take in this disgraceful affair？”



Soph．（meekly）：“The right leg，sir．”



13．右腿



学监（非常生气）：“现在你承认这可怜的新生被扔进这蛙池里，浑身湿透？那么你在这不光彩的事情里扮演了什么角色呢？”



二年级学生（恭顺地）：“右腿，先生。”
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:23

George Ⅲ asked the once wellknown wit， Horne Tooke，whether he could play cards．



“Your Majesty，” replied Tooke，“ I am a mere childwhere cards are concerned． I cannot even tell a King from aKnave.”



57．霍恩·图克



乔治三世问一度大名鼎鼎的才子霍恩·图克，会不会玩纸牌。



“陛下，”图克回答说：“在玩纸牌方面，我只不过是幼儿园的水平。我甚至分不清国王和无赖。”
作者: tshcup    时间: 2006-12-4 21:24

An Absent Minded Professor


A notoriously absentminded professor was one day observed walking along the street with one foot continually in the gutter，the other on the pavement．



A pupil meeting him said：



“Good evening，professor．How are you？



“Well，” answered the professor，“I thought I was all right when I left home，but now I don't know what's the matter with me．I've been limping for the last half hour．”



16．心不在焉的老师



有一天，人们看见一个有名的心不在焉的老师在路上走，他的一只脚一直踏在街沟里，另一只脚踩在人行道上。



一个碰见他的学生说：



“晚安，老师。您怎么了？”



“啊，”这位老师回答说：“我想我离开家的时候还挺好的，可是现在我不知道出了什么毛病。我已经一瘸一拐走了半个小时了。”




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作者: yoyo530521    时间: 2006-12-5 10:23

辛苦了
作者: linliugy    时间: 2006-12-5 14:16

thanks for your hard work , why don't you send its RAR articles?
作者: chengfuquan    时间: 2006-12-6 12:46     标题: 赞成

写的不错,多多努力
作者: 123456789w    时间: 2006-12-18 09:17

..
作者: DZ    时间: 2007-9-13 17:33

原帖由 linliugy 于 2006-12-5 02:16 PM 发表
thanks for your hard work , why don't you send its RAR articles?


yes,i think that's a good way hard job



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