英語經典美文背誦3篇

　　要選擇恰當的誦讀材料,重視閱讀教學中誦讀技巧的指導,循序漸進地培養中學生的美文誦讀能力,鼓勵學生理解性地誦讀文章。下面小編整理了，希望大家喜歡!

　　摘抄

　　Cultivating a Hobby

　　培養一種業餘愛好

　　The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance to a public man .But this is not a business that can be untaken in a day or swiftly improvised by a mere command of the will. The growth of alternative mental interests is a long process. The seeds must be carefully chosen; they must fall on good ground; they must be sedulously tended, if the vivifying fruits are to be at band when needed.

　　對一個公眾人物來說，培養一種業餘愛好、一種新的興趣顯得尤為重要。但這不是一件一朝一日或憑一時的意氣就能一蹴而就的事情。這種替代憂慮的心理興趣培養是一個長期的過程。它的種子必須要精挑細選，然後播撒到肥沃的土壤中，要想得到籽粒飽滿、需要時隨手可摘的果實，還必須對他們精心呵護。

　　To be really happy really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: “I will take an interest in this or that.” Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use dong what you like; you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes; those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual laborer, tired out with a hard week’s sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or businessman, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the week-end.

　　要想真正的快樂，而且每次都能真正奏效，一個人必須有兩種或三種業餘愛好，而且必須是真正的業餘愛好。一個人到了晚年才說：“我要培養這種或那種興趣。”那已經沒有任何意義了。這種嘗試只能更加增加大腦的壓力。一個人可能具有與他日常工作無關的大量的知識，但這些知識並無助於他減輕心理壓力。隨心所欲的做你喜歡的工作不會幫你減輕心理壓力，而是你必須設法喜歡你目前所做的工作。大致來說，人可分為三類：第一類人是累死;第二類人是愁死;第三類人是煩死。體力勞動者經過一週的辛勤勞動已經筋疲力盡，再讓他們在週六下午踢足球或打棒球無助於消除他們的疲勞。讓那些為一些大事已經連續工作或煩惱了六天的政治家、專業人員或工商界人士來說，在週末的時候讓他們為一些雞毛蒜皮的小事煩惱費神，也不會使他們身心輕鬆。

　　It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are dividing into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the former is majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fortune’s favored children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.

　　也可以說，理智、勤奮、有才能的人可以分為兩類：第一類是工作與娛樂涇渭分明;第二類人是工作與娛樂合二為一。大多數人屬於前者。他們有他們的報酬。長時間在辦公室或工廠的辛勤勞作不僅使他們得到了維持生命的薪水，而且培養了他們追求快樂的強烈願望，即使僅僅是那些最簡單、最樸實的形式。然而命運女神所偏愛的卻是第二類人。他們的生活自然、和諧。對他們來說，工作的實踐永遠都不夠長。每一天都是假期，法定假期到來時，他們不願休假，認為這是強行終端干擾了他們精彩的假期。然而，這兩類人都必須改變一下他們的觀點，調整一下氣氛、轉移一下奮鬥的方向。事實上或許那些以工作為了的人正是那些最需要通過一種興趣或愛好使自己適時忘記自己工作的人。

　　鑑賞

　　The Pop Revolution

　　流行音樂革命

　　Even if the word “pop” disappears from the English vocabulary, the influence of pop will remain. Pop has become part of British—and American—history.

　　“流行音樂”這個詞即使從詞彙中消失，它的影響將仍然存在。流行音樂已經成為英國——以及美國——歷史的一個組成部分。

　　There has always been a close cultural link, or tie, between Britain and English—speaking America, not only in literature but also in the popular arts, especially music. Before the Second World War the Americans exported jazz and the blues. During the 1950s they exported rock ’n’ roll, and star singers like Elvis Presley were idolized by young Britons and Americans alike.

　　在英國和說英語的美國之間，不僅在文學方面，而且在流行藝術，特別是音樂方面，一直有著密切的接觸或聯絡。第二次世界大戰前，美國的爵士音樂和布魯士樂曾流傳到國外。在五十年代，他們又輸出了搖滾樂。像普雷斯利這樣的歌星，在英美兩國同樣受到年輕人的崇拜。

　　Then in the early 1960s a new sound was heard, very different from anything which had so far come from the American side of the Atlantic. This was the Liverpool, or Merseyside, “beat”. Situated on the River Mersey in the north—eastern corner of the industrial Black Country, Liverpool was not a place which anyone visited for fun. Until the 1960s it was known only as one of Britain’s largest ports. Then, almost overnight, it became world famous as the birthplace of the new pop culture which, in a few years, swept across Britain and America, and across most of the countries of the western world.

　　後來，在六十年代初期，人們聽到一種新的聲音。它和過去從大西洋彼岸的美國傳來的聲音很不相同。這是利物浦或默西塞德郡的“節拍”。利物浦位於工業區黑鄉東北角和默西河畔，並不是一個遊覽勝地。在19世紀60年代以前，利物浦都只不過是以英國最大的港口而被人們所熟知，但是，一夜之間，利物浦以新流行文化的搖籃而世界聞名，這股流行文化風在短短的幾年內，橫掃英美，在西方世界的大多數國家流行起來。

　　The people responsible for the pop revolution were four Liverpool boys who joined together in a group and called themselves The Beatles. They played in small clubs in the back streets of the city. Unlike the famous solo stars who had their songs written for them, the Beatles wrote their own words and music. They had a close personal relationship with their audience, and they expected them to join in and dance to the “beat” of the music. Audience participation is an essential characteristic of pop culture.

　　發動通俗音樂這場革命的人是利物浦的四名男青年。他們組成一個小組，自稱為“披頭士樂隊。”他們穿街走巷，在城市的小俱樂部裡演奏。有名的獨唱歌星們有別人為他們創作歌曲。披頭士樂隊卻和他們不同，自己寫詞譜曲。他們與聽眾之間有密切的直接聯絡，他們歡迎聽眾參加進來，和他們一起隨著音樂的節拍起舞。聽眾參加是通俗文化的一個基本特點。

　　Some pop groups, in particular the Rolling Stones, did more than just entertain. They wrote words which were deliberately intended to shock. They represented the anger and bitterness of youth struggling for freedom against authority, and for this reason they were regarded by some people as the personification of the “permissive society”.

　　有些流行音樂團體，特別是滾石樂隊，並不只提供娛樂。他們寫的歌詞，經過精心推敲，有意使人震驚。這些歌詞表達了為爭取自由，與傳統權威進行鬥爭的廣大青年的憤怒和怨恨。因此有些人認為他們是“放縱社會”的化身。

　　The Beatles, on the other hand, finally won the affection—and admiration—of people of all ages and social backgrounds. As they developed, their songs became more serious. They wrote not only of love, but of death and old age and poverty and daily life. They were respected by many intellectuals and by some serious musicians. Largely thanks to the Beatles, pop music has grown into an immense and profitable industry.

　　另一方面，披頭士樂隊最終還是贏得了不同年齡、不同社會經歷的人們的喜愛和讚賞。隨著樂隊的發展他們的歌曲變得更加嚴肅。他們不僅寫愛情，也寫死亡、老年、貧窮和日常生活。他們獲得許多知識分子和一些嚴肅的音樂家們的尊敬。流行音樂成為一支龐大的、有利可圖的行業，主要應歸功於披頭士樂隊。

　　The influence of British pop in America was immense. American pop groups soon became as famous as British groups. Both British and Americans are experimenting with new ideas, and pop is developing and changing, and merging with modern folk music.

　　英國的流行音樂對美國的影響很大。美國的流行音樂團體很快也像英國流行樂隊那樣有名。英美兩國人民都在不斷地試驗著各種新的思想，因而流行音樂也在不斷地發展、變化，而且日益與現代音樂結合起來。

　　賞析

　　For the Love of Chocolate

　　濃情巧克力

　　Most people know that chocolate is made from cocoa and that the origins of chocolate can be traced back to Central and South America. For centuries, the natives there regarded cocoa as a gift from the gods. But how did chocolate go from being the food of the gods to being the food of love?

　　大多數人都知道巧克力由可可製成，它起源於中南美洲。幾個世紀以來，當地的居民把可可看作神的恩賜。但巧克力是怎樣從神的食品變成了愛情食品的呢?

　　Around A.D. 600, the Mayas were the main aboriginal group in Central America. They established the first cocoa plantations and used the cocoa bean as the main ingredient in a dark, bitter drink that we would call “chocolate.” The Mayas believed that chocolate had mystical properties---but cocoa also had commercial value. In fact, cocoa beans were used as a form of currency that was worth its weight in gold!

　　公元600年左右，瑪雅人是中美洲主要的土著居民。他們建立了第一座可可種植園，並用可可豆為主要原料，製成了一種又黑又苦的飲料，我們叫“巧克力”。瑪雅人相信巧克力具有神祕的特性，也具有商業價值。實際上，可可豆曾經被當作一種與金子等值的貨幣形式!

　　Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez was the first European explorer to realize cocoa's commercial possibilities. When he arrived in the New World in 1519, he soon established his own cocoa plantation. In 1529, Cortez returned to Spain and introduced chocolate---as a drink mixed with sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon---to European society.

　　西班牙征服者赫爾南多•科蒂斯是第一位瞭解可可的商業潛力的歐洲探險家。他1519年抵達新大陸，不久就建立了自己的可可種植園。1529年，赫爾南多•科蒂斯回到西班牙，他將巧克力——一種混合糖、香草及肉桂的飲料引入歐洲社會。

　　It caught on---especially with the nobility, who fancied hot chocolate as an aphrodisiac. As its popularity spread, people found new ways to make and use chocolate. These days, chocolate is enjoyed as both a tasty treat and a romantic indulgence. Whether it is in delectable desserts or crunchy candy, people the world over are still in love with chocolate.

　　巧克力倍受貴族們的親睞，他們視熱巧克力為一種春藥。隨著巧克力廣為普及，人們發現了一些製造和使用巧克力的新方法。現在，巧克力被人們當作一種可口的美食和浪漫的享受。無論是在美味的甜點裡，還是在酥脆的糖果中，世界各地的人們依舊對巧克力迷戀不已。