長篇唯美的英語文章

　　9世紀30年代到20世紀第一次世界大戰前,在歐洲這片大陸上的人們經歷了一場獨特的文藝思潮,這便是被後世喻為具有現代性意識的唯美主義。下面是小編帶來的，歡迎閱讀!

　　1

　　Extra Good Luck

　　好運符:一張兩美元鈔票

　　I keep a two dollar bill in my wallet that was given to me by my mother when I was six yearsold. I am not superstitious but the bill goes with me wherever I go.

　　有一張兩美元的鈔票一直儲存在我的錢夾裡，那是我6歲時媽媽給的。

　　My mother gave it to me so that luck would follow me everywhere. She looked at me and said, 'Iwant you to carry this two dollar bill for extra good luck.'

　　我不迷信，但無論到哪裡，我都隨身帶著它。媽媽希望這張兩美元鈔票能讓我事事順利。當時，她看著我說：“帶上這兩美元吧，它會帶給你好運。”

　　'Thanks mom,' I replied. 'I will keep it close to me always.'

　　“謝謝媽媽，”我說，“我會永遠帶著它。”

　　Every morning I would get dressed and my two dollar bill went into my pocket. My motherpassed away when I was 17 years old and I remember taking out my two dollar bill. I held it inmy hand for the longest time and knew that she would be watching over me the rest of my life.

　　每天早上，穿好衣服後，我就將這兩美元裝進口袋。17歲那年，媽媽去世了。當時，我掏出那張兩美元鈔票，久久地攥在手中。我知道，媽媽會一直關注我以後的生活。

　　Each time I felt I had a crisis on my hands, I would reach for my two dollar bill and set it on thetable. I would stare at it for several hours and could always come up with a solution.

　　每每遇到棘手問題，我就拿出那兩美元，放在桌上，一連幾個小時盯著它，最終總能想出辦法。

　　When I applied for my first job, I was thirty years old and very shy.

　　第一次找工作時我已經30歲了，又有些羞怯。

　　The thought of being interviewed for a job was scary but I had to work. On my first interview,as I sat in the waiting room, I noticed there were five women ahead of me.

　　一想到要面試，我就很害怕，但我必須得工作。第一次面試，在等候室裡，除了我還有五位女xìng求職者。她們都比我年輕，並且衣著考究。

　　All of the women were younger and very well dressed. One of them was impeccable in her bluestriped suit with matching purse and shoes.

　　其中一位穿著藍色斑紋套裝，配以類似風格的錢包和鞋子，簡直太完美了。

　　I knew I was up against women better qualified by looking at the length of their resumes.

　　我很清楚，若以履歷論長短，我不是這五位女士的對手。

　　Mrs. Martin, the office manager, summoned me into her office.

　　業務經理馬丁太太把我叫進辦公室。

　　'What makes you feel you are qualified for this job?' she asked.

　　“你覺得你能勝任這份工作的理由是什麼?”她問道。

　　'I really need this job and there is nothing I cannot do,' I responded.

　　“我很需要這份工作，而且，也沒有我做不來的事。”我答道。

　　2

　　善良女孩的一米陽光

　　My childhood and adolescence were a joyous outpouring of energy, a ceaseless quest for expression, skill, and experience. School was only a background to the supreme delight of lessons in music, dance, and dramatics, and the thrill of sojourns in the country, theaters, concerts. And books, big Braille books that came with me on streetcars, to the table, and to bed.

　　我在童年和少年時代激情四溢，無時無刻不追求展現自我、磨礪才藝和體味生活。學校裡的音樂、舞蹈和戲劇課讓我歡欣不已，而劇院和音樂會更讓我身心為之震顫， 鄉間流連的時光也同樣美妙，還有我的書，那些厚重的盲文書籍無論在我乘車、用餐還是睡覺時都與我形影不離。

　　Then one night at a high school dance, a remark, not intended for my ears, stabbed my youthful bliss: "That girl, what a pity she is blind." Blind! That ugly word that implied everything dark, blank, rigid, and helpless. Quickly I turned and called out, Please don't feel sorry for me, I'm having lots of fun. But the fun was not to last.

　　然而，一天晚上，在高中的一次舞會上，一句我無 意中聽到的話霎那間將我年少的幸福擊碎——“那女孩是個瞎子，真可惜!”瞎子——這個刺耳的字眼隱含著一個陰暗、漆黑、僵硬和無助的世界。我立刻轉過身， 大聲喊道：“請不要為我嘆惜，我很快樂!”——但我的快樂自此不復存在。

　　With the advent of college, I was brought to grips with the problem of earning a living. Part-time teaching of piano and harmony and, upon graduation, occasional concerts and lectures, proved only partial sources of livelihood. In terms of time and effort involved, the financial remuneration was disheartening.

　　升入大學之後，我開始為生計而奔波。課餘時間我教授鋼琴及和聲，臨近畢業時還偶爾參加幾次演奏會，做了幾次講座，可要維持生計光靠這些還是不夠，與投入的時 間和精力相比，它們在經濟上的回報讓人沮喪。

　　This induced within me searing self-doubt and dark moods of despondency. Adding to my dismal sense of inadequacy was the repeated experience of seeing my sisters and friends go off to exciting dates. How grateful I was for my piano, where—through Chopin, Brahms, and Beethoven—I could mingle my longing and seething energy with theirs. And where I could dissolve my frustration in the beauty and grandeur of their conceptions.

　　這讓我失去了自信和勇氣，內心鬱悶苦惱。眼看我的姐妹和夥伴們一次次興高采烈地與人約會，我更覺消沉空虛。所 幸的是，還有鋼琴陪我。我沸騰的渴望和激情在肖邦、貝多芬、勃拉姆斯那裡得到了共鳴。我的挫敗感在他們美妙壯麗的音樂構想中消散。

　　Then one day, I met a girl, a wonderful girl, an army nurse, whose faith and stability were to change my whole life. As our acquaintance ripened into friendship, she discerned, behind a shell of gaiety, my recurring plateaus of depression. She said, “Stop knocking on closed doors. Keep up your beautiful music. I know your opportunity will come. You’re trying too hard. Why don’t you relax, and have you ever tried praying?”

　　直到有一天，我遇見一位女孩，一位出色的女孩，這名隨軍護士的信念和執著將改變我的一生。我們日益熟稔，成為好友，她也慢慢察覺出我的快樂的外表之下內心卻時常愁雲密佈。她對我說，“門已緊鎖，敲有何用?堅持你的音樂夢想，我相信機會終將來臨。你太辛苦了，何不放鬆一下——試試禱告如何?”

　　The idea was strange to me. It sounded too simple. Somehow, I had always operated on the premise that, if you wanted something in this world, you had to go out and get it for yourself. Yet, sincerity and hard work had yielded only meager returns, and I was willing to try anything. Experimentally, self-consciously, I cultivated the daily practice of prayer. I said: God, show me the purpose for which You sent me to this world. Help me to be of use to myself and to humanity.

　　禱告?我從未想到過，聽起來太天真了。一直以來，我的行事準則都是，無論想得到什麼都必須靠自己去努力爭取。不過既然從前的熱誠和辛勞回報甚微，我什麼都願意嘗試一番。雖然有些不自在，我嘗試著每天都禱告——“上帝啊，你將我送到世上，請告訴我你賜予我的使命。幫幫我，讓我於人於己都有用處。”

　　In the years to follow, the answers began to arrive, clear and satisfying beyond my most optimistic anticipation. One of the answers was Enchanted Hills, where my nurse friend and I have the privilege of seeing blind children come alive in God’s out-of-doors.

　　在接下來的幾年裡，我得到了明確而滿意的回答，超出了我最樂觀的期望值。其中一個回答就是魔山盲人休閒營區。在那裡，我和我的護士朋友每年都有幸看到失明的孩子們在大自然的懷抱中是多麼生氣勃勃。

　　Others are the never-ending sources of pleasure and comfort I have found in friendship, in great music, and, most important of all, in my growing belief that as I attune my life to divine revelation, I draw closer to God and, through Him, to immortality.

　　除此之外，朋友們真摯的友誼以及美妙的音樂都給我帶來無窮無盡的歡樂和慰藉。最重要的是，我越來越意識到，在我日復一日的禱告中，當我聆聽上帝的啟示之時，我正日益與他靠近，並通過他接近永恆。

　　3

　　Collectibles

　　收藏品

　　Collectibles have been a part of almost every culture since ancient times.

　　從古代開始，收藏品就是文化的一部分。

　　Whereas some objects have been collected for their usefulness, others have been selected for their aesthetic beauty alone.

　　一些物品因它們的有用性被收藏，而另一些則純粹因為它們的美被收藏。

　　In theUnited States, the kinds of collectibles currently popular range from traditional objects

　　在美國，當今流行的收藏品種類從傳統物件，

　　such as stamps, coins, rare books, and art to more recent items of interest like dolls, bottles, baseball cards, and comic books.

　　如郵票、硬幣、珍本書籍、藝術品，到更近期一些的有趣的東西，如布娃娃、瓶子、壘球卡、連環漫畫冊。

　　Interest in collectibles has increased enormously during the past decade, in part because some collectibles have demonstrated their value as investments.

　　對收藏品的興趣在過去十年中大大地增長，部分原因是一些收藏品顯示出了它們的投資價值。

　　Especially during cycles of high inflation, investors try to purchase tangibles that will at least retain their current market values.

　　尤其在高通貨膨脹時期，投資者儘量購買那些至少會保持他們現有市場價值的有形資產。

　　In general, the most traditional collectibles will be sought because they have preserved their value over the years, there is an organized auction market for them,

　　一般來說，最傳統的收藏品受青睞，因為它們多年後仍保持其價值。它們擁有完善的拍賣市場，

　　and they are most easily sold in the event that cash is needed. Some examples of the most stable collectibles are old masters,

　　在需要現金的時候最容易被賣掉。一些最穩當的收藏品是古老的畫作、

　　Chinese ceramics, stamps, coins, rare books, antique jewelry, silver, porcelain, art by well-known artists, autographs, and period furniture.

　　中國陶器、郵票、硬幣、珍本書籍、古代珠寶、銀器、瓷器、著名藝術家的作品、親筆簽名和有時代特徵的傢俱。

　　Other items of more recent interest include old photograph records, old magazines, post cards, baseball cards, art glass, dolls, classic cars, old bottles, and comic books.

　　其它更近期的物品有舊唱片、舊雜誌、明信片、壘球卡片、彩色玻璃、布娃娃、早期汽車、古瓶和連環畫冊。

　　These relatively new kinds of collectibles may actually appreciate faster as short-term investments, but may not hold their value as long-term investments.

　　作為短期投資這些相對說來較新穎的收藏品的確可能更快地增值，但作為長期投資則可能不能保值。

　　Once a collectible has had its initial play, it appreciates at a fairly steady rate, supported by an increasing number of enthusiastic collectors competing

　　一旦一件收藏品有了它第一次交易，它便以一個相當穩定的比率增值，這個增值率受到越來越多的熱情的收藏者的支援，

　　for the limited supply of collectibles that become increasingly more difficult to locate.

　　他們為有限的而且越來越難找到的收藏品而競爭。