英语经典散文欣赏

热情成就未来

Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers urged, "Barbara, be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience."

How right they were. Enthusiastic people can turn a boring drive into an adventure, extra work into opportunity and strangers into friends.

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm," wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is the paste that helps you hang in there when the going gets tough. It is the inner voice that whispers, "I can do it!" when others shout, "No, you can't."

It took years and years for the early work of Barbara McClintock, a geneticist who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted. Yet she didn't let up on her experiments. Work was such a deep pleasure for her that she never thought of stopping.

We are all born with wide-eyed, enthusiastic wonder as anyone knows who has ever seen an infant's delight at the jingle of keys or the scurrying of a beetle.

It is this childlike wonder that gives enthusiastic people such a youthful air, whatever their age.

At 90, cellist Pablo Casals would start his day by playing Bach. As the music flowed through his fingers, his stooped shoulders would straighten and joy would reappear in his eyes. Music, for Casals, was an elixir that made life a never ending adventure. As author and poet Samuel Ullman once wrote, "Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul."

How do you rediscover the enthusiasm of your childhood? The answer, I believe, lies in the word itself. "Enthusiasm" comes from the Greek and means "God within." And what is God within is but an abiding sense of love -- proper love of self (self-acceptance) and, from that, love of others.

Enthusiastic people also love what they do, regardless of money or title or power. If we cannot do what we love as a full-time career, we can as a part-time avocation, like the head of state who paints, the nun who runs marathons, the executive who handcrafts furniture.

Elizabeth Layton of Wellsville, Kan, was 68 before she began to draw. This activity ended bouts of depression that had plagued her for at least 30 years, and the quality of her work led one critic to say, "I am tempted to call Layton a genius." Elizabeth has rediscovered her enthusiasm.

We can't afford to waste tears on "might-have-beens." We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go after "what-can-be."

We need to live each moment wholeheartedly, with all our senses -- finding pleasure in the fragrance of a back-yard garden, the crayoned picture of a six-year-old, the enchanting beauty of a rainbow. It is such enthusiastic love of life that puts a sparkle in our eyes, a lilt in our steps and smooths the wrinkles from our souls。

经典英语散文赏析：轻松地生活

To a large degree，the measure of our peace of mind is determined by how much we are able to live in the present moment．Irrespective of what happened yesterday or last year，and what may or may not happen tomorrow，the present moment is where you are－always．

Without question，many of us have mastered the neurotic1) art of spending much of our lives worrying about a variety of things －all at once．We allow past problems and future concerns to dominate our present moments，so much so that we end up anxious，frustrated，depressed，and hopeless．On the flip side，we also postpone our gratification，our stated priorities2)，and our happiness，often convincing ourselves that ‘someday’ will be better than today．Unfortunately，the same mental dynamics3) that tell us to look toward the future will only repeat themselves so that ‘someday ’never actually arrives．John Lennon once said，‘Life is what’s happening while we’re busy making other plans．’When we’re busy making ‘other plans’，our children are busy growing up，the people we love are moving away and dying，our bodies are getting out of shape，and our dreams are slipping away．In short，we miss out4) on life． Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal5) for some later date．It isn’t．In fact，no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow．Now is the only time we have，and the only time that we have any control over．When our attention is in the present moment，we push fear from our minds．Fear is the concern over events that might happen in the future－we won’ t have enough money，our children will get into trouble，we will get old and die，whatever． To combat fear，the best strategy6) is to learn to bring your attention back to the present．Mark Twain said，‘I have been through some terrible things in my life，some of which actually happened．I don’t think I can say it any better．Practice keeping your attention on the here and now．Your efforts will pay great dividends7)．

我们内心是否平和在很大程度上是由我们是否能生活在现实之中所决定的。不管昨天或去年发生了什么，不管明天可能发生或不发生什么，现实才是你时时刻刻所在之处。

毫无疑问，我们很多人掌握了一种神经兮兮的艺术，即把生活中的大部分时间花在为种种事情担心忧虑上---而且常常是同时忧虑许多事情。我们听凭过去的麻烦和未来的担心控制我们此时此刻的生活，以致我们整日焦虑不安，萎靡不振，甚至沮丧绝望。而另一方面我们又推迟我们的满足感，推迟我们应优先考虑的事情，推迟我们的幸福感，常常说服自己“有朝一日”会比今天更好。不幸的是，如此告诫我们朝前看的大脑动力只能重复来重复去，以致“有朝一日”永远不会真正来临。约翰·列农曾经说过：“生活就是当我们忙于制定别的计划时发生的事。”当我们忙于制定种种“别的计划”时，我们的孩子在忙于长大，我们挚爱的人离去了甚至快去世了，我们的体型变样了，而我们的梦想也在悄然溜走了。一句话，我们错过了生活。

许多人的生活好像是某个未来日子的彩排。并非如此。事实上，没人能保证他或她明天肯定还活着。现在是我们所拥有的惟一时间，现在也是我们能控制的惟一时间。当我们将注意力放在此时此刻时，我们就将恐惧置于脑后。恐惧就是我们担忧某些事情会在未来发生---

我们不会有足够的钱，我们的孩子会惹上麻烦，我们会变老，会死去，诸如此类。

若要克服恐惧心理，最佳策略便是学会将你的注意力拉回此时此刻。马克·吐温说过：“我经历过生活中一些可怕的事情，有些的确发生过。”我想我说不出比这更具内涵的话。经常将注意力集中于此情此景、此时此刻，你的努力终会有丰厚的报偿

My dictation:

Now the VOA special English program - words and their stories.

Expressions about water are almostly as common as water itself. But many of the expressions using water have unpleasent meannings.

The expression "to be in hot water " is one of them. It is a very old expression. Hot water was used five hundred years ago to mean being in trouble. One story says it got that meaning from the custom of throwing extremely hot water down on enemies attacking a castle. That no longer happens. But we still get "in hot water". When we are in hot water, we are in trouble.It can be any kinds of trouble, serious or not so serious. A person who breaks a law can be in hot water with the police. A young boy can be in hot water with his mother if he walks in the house with dirty shoes. "Being in deepwater" is almost the same as being in hot water.When you are in deep water, you are in a difficult position. Imaging a person who can not swim being thrown in water over his head. You are in deep water when you are facing a problem that you don’t have the ability to solve. You can be in deep water, for example, if you invest in stocks without knowing anything about the stock market.

"To keep your head above water" is a colorful expression that meaning staying out of debt. A company seeks to keep it's head above water during economic hard times. A man who loses his job tries to keep his head above water until he finds a new job.

"Water over the dam" is another expression about past event. It is something that it is finished, and it cannot be changed. The expression comes from the idea that water has floated over a dam cannot be brought back again. When a friend is troubled by a mistake she have made. You might tell her to forget about it, you say it is water over the dam.

Another common expression" to holdwater" is about the strength or weakness of an idea or opinion that you may be arguing about. It probably comes from a way of testing the condition of a container.If it can hold water, it is strong and has no holes in it. If your argument can hold water, it is strong and does not have any holes;if it does not hold water, then, it is weak and not worth debating.

"Throwing coldwater "also is an expression that deals with ideas or proposles, it means to not like an idea. For example, you want to buy a new car because the old one has some problems, but your wife throws cold water on the idea because she says a new car costs too much.