經典美文背誦

　　優美的文字於細微處傳達出美感，並浸潤著人們的心靈。通過英語美文，不僅能夠感受語言之美，領悟語言之用，還能產生學習語言的興趣。度過一段美好的時光，即感悟生活，觸動心靈。下面是小編為大家帶來，希望大家喜歡!

　　經典美文：科學與藝術

　　I beg leave to thank you for the extremely kind andapprieciative manner in which you have received thetoast of science.It is the more grateful to me to hearthat toast proposed in an assembly of this kind.Because I have noticed of late years a great andgrowing tendency among those who were oncejestingly said to have been born pre-scientific age tolook upon science as an invading and aggressiveforce, which of it had find its own way, it would oust from the universe all other pursuits. Ithink there are many persons wholook upon the new birth of our times as a sort of monsterrising out of the sea of modern thought with thepurpose of devouring the Andromeda of art.Andnow and then a Perseus, equipped with the shoes of swiftnessof the ready writer, and with thecap of invisibility of the editorial article,and it may be with the Medusa head of vituperation,shows herself ready to try conclusions with the scientific dragon. Sir, I hope that Perseus shouldthink better of it. First, for the sake of his own, because the creature is hard of head,strong ofjaw,for some time past has shown a great capacity for going over and through whatever comesin his way; and secondly, for the sake of justice, for I assure you, of my own personalknowledge if left alone, the creature is a very debonair and gentle monster.As for theAndromeda of art, the creature has the tenderest respect for the lady, and desires nothing morethan to see her happily settled and annually pruducing a flock of such charming children asthose we see about us.

　　But putting parables aside, I am unable to understand how any one with a knowledge ofmankind can imagine that the growth of science can threaten the development of art in any ofits forms. If I understand the matter of all, science and art are the obverse and reverse ofthe Nature's medal; the one expressing the external order of things, in terms of feeling, andthe other in terms of thought. When men no longer love norhate; when suffering causes nopity, and the tale of great deeds ceases to thrill. when the lily of the field shall seem no longermore beautifully arrayed than the Solomon in all his glory, and the owe has vanished from thesnow-capped peak and deep ravine, and indeed the science may have the world to itself, butitwill not be because the monster has devoured the art, but because one side of human natureis dead, and because men have lost half of their ancient and present attributes.

　　請允許我為你們如此友善和讚賞地為科學乾杯而深表感謝。我尤其感激在這般友善的大會上來為科學祝酒。因為事實上近些年我確實發現有些戲稱自己是在前科學時代出生的人，正在醞釀一股很強大而且日漸強大的傾向，將科學視為入侵和佔領的勢力，而且若假以時日，必將我們宇宙其他的事物驅逐出去。我想有很多人認為我們的時代是從現代頭腦中爆發的怪物，目的就是要吞噬掉藝術的安德洛默達。時不時的，還有一位珀爾修斯，腳蹬寫作快手之超速鞋，頭戴社論文章之陰形帽，或許還安著充斥漫罵之詞的“美杜沙之腦”威風凜凜，大有與科學之龍一比高下的氣勢。但是，各位紳士，我勸這位珀爾修斯先生三思而行。首先，為了他自己的安全著想，因為這怪物腦殼堅硬，口鄂強壯，從它過往的經歷可以看出它所到之處，勢如破竹，所向披靡，無人能攔，實不易對付。再者，為正義說句話，我可以向你們保證，以我愚見，只要放任不管，它還是一個溫而文雅，無比紳士的怪物。至於藝術的安德洛默達，此怪物窮其所有的敬仰，別無他求，只希望看到她能夠安居樂業，每年都能生一大群如我們所見的快樂迷人的小孩子。

　　不過撇去那些比喻，我實在不能理解那些有一點人文知識的人為什麼會擔心科學的進步怎麼就會威脅到藝術的發展。依我所見，科學和藝術實乃大自然這枚聖牌的正反兩面，一個以情感的方式表達了事物的外在規律，而另外一個則是一理性的方式。當人類不再愛，也不再恨;當苦難不再引起憐憫;當壯舉不再讓人激動，當山野的百合花還比不上所羅門的榮光，當雪山之巔和萬丈深淵不再博得敬畏，那麼科學是真的統治了這個世界。但是那不是因為怪物吞噬了藝術，而是因為人性的另一面已經死亡，而是因為人類已經失去了他們從古到今的天性。

　　經典美文：雄心

　　It is not difficult to imagine a world short ofambition. It would probably be a kinder world: without demands, without abrasions, withoutdisappointments. People would have time forreflection. Such work as they did would not be forthemselves but for the collectivity. Competitionwould never enter in. conflict would be eliminated,tension become a thing of the past. The stress ofcreation would be at an end. Art wouldno longer be troubling, but purely celebratory in itsfunctions. The family would become superfluous as social unit, with all its former power forbringing about neurosis drained away, Longevity would be increased, for fewer people would dieof heart attack or stroke caused by tumultuous endeavor. Anxiety would be extinct. Timewould stretch on and on, with ambition long departed from the human heart.

　　Ah, how unrelieved boring life would be!

　　There is a strong view that holds that success is a myth, and ambition therefore a sham. Doesthis mean that success does not really exist? That achievement is at bottom empty? That theefforts of men and women are of no significance alongside the force of movements and eventsnow not all success, obviously, is worthesteeming, nor all ambition worth cultivating. Which areand which are not is something one soon enough learns on one’s own. But even the mostcynical secretly admit that success exists; that achievement counts for a great deal; and thatthe true myth is that the actions of men and women are useless. To believe otherwise is to takeon a point of view that is likely to be deranging. It is, in its implications, to remove all motivesfor competence, interest in attainment, and regard for posterity.

　　We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historicalepoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not,most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death. But within allthis realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice,honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift.We decide what is important and what istrivial in life. We decide that what makes us significant is either what we do or what we refuseto do. But no matter how indifferent the universe may be to our choices and decisions, thesechoices and decisions are ours to make. We decide. We choose. And as we decide and choose, soare our lives formed. In the end, forming our own destiny is what ambition is about.

　　一個缺乏抱負的世界將會怎樣，這不難想象。或許，這將是一個更為友善的世界：沒有渴求，沒有磨擦，沒有失望。人們將有時間進行反思。他們所從事的工作將不是為了他們自身，而是為了整個集體。競爭永遠不會介入;衝突將被消除。人們的緊張關係將成為過往雲煙。創造的重壓將得以終結。藝術將不再惹人費神，其功能將純粹為了慶典。作為社會單位的家庭及其所帶來精神傷痛也將蕩然無存，人的壽命將會更長，因為由激烈拼爭引起的心臟病和中風所導致的死亡將越來越少。焦慮將會消失。時光流逝，抱負卻早已遠離人心。

　　啊，長此以往人生將變得多麼乏味無聊!

　　有一種盛行的觀點認為，成功是一種神話，因此抱負亦屬虛幻。這是不是說實際上並不豐在成功?成就本身就是一場空?與諸多運動和事件的力量相比，男男女女的努力顯得微不足?顯然，並非所有的成功都值得景仰，也並非所有的抱負都值得追求。對值得和不值得的選擇，一個人自然而然很快就能學會。但即使是最為憤世嫉俗的人暗地裡也承認，成功確實存在，成就的意義舉足輕重，而把世上男男女女的所作所為說成是徒勞無功才是真正的無稽之談。認為成功不存在的觀點很可能造成混亂。這種觀點的本意是一筆勾銷所有提高能力的動機，求取業績的興趣和對子孫後代的關注。

　　我們無法選擇出生，無法選擇父母，無法選擇出生的歷史時期與國家，或是成長的周遭環境。我們大多數人都無法選擇死亡，無法選擇死亡的時間或條件。但是在這些無法選擇之中，我們的確可以選擇自己的生活方式：是勇敢無畏還是膽小怯懦，是光明磊落還是厚顏無恥，是目標堅定還是隨波逐流。我們決定生活中哪些至關重要，哪些微不足道。我們決定，用以顯示我們自身重要性的，不是我們做了什麼，就是我們拒絕做些什麼。但是不論世界對我們所做的選擇和決定有多麼漠不關心，這些選擇和決定終究是我們自己做出的。我們決定，我們選擇。而當我們決定和選擇時，我們的生活便得以形成。最終構築我們命運的就是抱負之所在。