英语口语考试

When he was very young, he waved his arms, gnashed the teeth of his massive jaws, and tromped around the house so that the dishes trembled in the china cabinet. “Oh, for goodness sake,” his mother said. “You are not a dinosaur! You are a human being!””Since he was not a dinosaur, he thought for a time that he might be a pirate. “Seriously,” his father said at some point, “what do you want to be?” A fireman, then. Or a policeman. Or a soldier. Some kind of hero. But in high school they gave him tests and told him he was very good with numbers. Perhaps he would like to be a math teacher? That was respectable. Or a tax accountant? He could make a lot of money doing that. 。It seemed a good idea to make money, what with falling in love and thinking about raising a family. So he was a tax accountant, even though he sometimes regretted that it made him, well, small.And he felt even smaller when he was no longer a tax accountant, but a retired tax accountant.Still worse, a retired tax accountant who forgot things. He forgot to take the garbage to the curb, forgot to take his pill, forgot to turn his hearing aid back on.Every day it seemed he had forgotten more things, important things, like which of his children lived in San Francisco and which of his children were married or divorced.

Then one day when he was out for a walk by the lake, he forgot what his mother had told him. He forgot that he was not a dinosaur. He stood blinking his dinosaur eyes in the bright sunlight, feeling the familiar warmth on his dinosaur skin, watching dragonflies flitting among the horsetails at the water’s edge.

那时他还小。他挥动双臂，张开大嘴，把牙齿咬得咯咯作响，踏着重重的步子在屋子里巡行，把碗橱里的碟子惹得叮叮当当。“喂，看在老天的份上，”他母亲说，“你又不是恐龙！你是个人耶！那就不是恐龙吧。有段时间，他觉得自己可能是个海盗。“说真的，”他父亲有一天问他，“你以后想当个什么呀？”那就当个消防员吧。要么当个。当兵也行。总之是英雄之类的。谁知道上了高中，他们给他做测验，然后通知他，他数学很好。也许他愿意当个数学老师？那倒挺受人尊敬的。或者当个税务师？那样的话他能赚一大笔钱赚钱似乎是个不错的主意。有了钱，就讨得到老婆，养得起家。于是他当了税务师，当然偶尔也会不甘心，觉得那让他——怎么说呢——卑微。后来他又不再是税务师了，他成了一个退休的税务师，还要卑微。一个退休税务师，还老是忘东忘西，更糟糕。忘了扔垃圾，忘了吃药，忘了开助听器。他好像每天都在忘掉更多的事情，重要的事情，像是他的孩子们里面，谁住三藩市，谁结婚了，谁又离了。

有一天，他出门沿着湖边散步，他一下子忘了母亲和他说过的话。他忘了，他不是一条恐龙。阳光明媚，他眨着那双恐龙眼睛，用恐龙的皮肤感觉那种熟悉的暖意，打量着水边蕨草丛中，汲汲营营的蜻蜓。

Lesson 30 Excerpt I from \"Advice to Youth\" by Mark Twain

Always obey your parent, when they are present. This is the best policy in the long run, because if you don’t, they will make you. Most parents think they know better than you do, and you can generally make more by humoring that superstition than you can by acting on your own better judgment.

Be respectful to your superiors, if you have any, also to strangers, and sometimes to others. If a person offends you and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick.

That will be sufficient. If you shall find that he had not intended any offense, come out frankly and confess yourself in the wrong when you struck him; acknowledge it like a man and say you didn’t mean to. Yes, always avoid violence;’ in this age of charity and kindliness, the time has gone by for such things. Leave dynamite to the low and unrefined.

Go to bed early, get up early – this is wise. Some authorities say get up with the sun; some say get up with one thing, others with another. But a lark is really the best thing to get up with. It gives you a splendid reputation with everybody to know that you get up with the lark; and if you get the right kind of lark, and work at him right, you can easily train him to getup at half past nine, every time – it’s no trick at all.

马克.吐温给年轻人的建议

一贯遵从你的父母，在他们还在世的时候。这是最终得出的最好办法，因为如果你不这样做，他们会强迫你。大多数的家长认为他们比你懂得多，而且一般你迎合这种迷信，往往比你执行自己认为是更好的决定时所获更多。

如果你有任何长者，请尊重你的长者，同时也要尊重其他一些人，包括陌生人。如果有人冒犯了你，而且同时你又不确定他是否为有意，不要采用极端的手段。只等待时机到来，然后打他个措手不及。这样做是有效的。如果你后来发现他并不是有意要冒犯你，真诚地坦白也你打他的错误，让大家认可你是一个男人，你并不是有意的。是的，始终避免暴力；在这个仁慈和平的年代，时间就在这些事情之间流过了。把火药留给低级的和未精炼的事情。

早睡早起——这是明智之举。一些权威讲要太阳升起的时候起床；一些说要在其他的时候起床，另外还有一些其他的说法。但是在百灵鸟叫的时候起床算是再好不过的了。如果大家都知道你和百灵鸟一起起床，这能给予你很好的名声而且如果你正确地找到一种百灵鸟并且训练它的话，你可以很容易地教它在九点半起床，每次如此，完全不用什么诀窍。

Lesson 31 Advice to Youth (MARK TWAIN)

Being told I would be expected to talk here, I inquired what sort of a talk I ought to make. They said it should be something suitable to youth--- something didactic, instructive, or something in the nature of good advice. Very well, I have a few things in my mind which I have often longed to say for the instruction of the young; for it is in one’s tender early years that such things will best take root and be most enduring and most valuable. First, then, I will say to you, my young friends ----and I say it beseechingly, urgingly ----

Always obey your parents, when they are present. This is the best policy in long run, because if you don’t, they will make you do. Most parents think they know better than you do, and you can generally make more by humoring that superstition than you can by acting on you own better judgment.

Be respectful to your superiors, if you have any, also to strangers, and sometimes to others. If a person offends you and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him with a brick. That will be sufficient. If you shall find that he had not intended any offense, come out frankly and confess yourself in the wrong when you stuck him; acknowledge it like a man and say you didn’t mean to. Yes, always avoid violence; in this age of charity and kindness, the time has gone by for such things. Leave dynamite to the low and the unrefined.

Go to bed early, get up early--- this is wise. Some authorities say get up with

the sun; some others say get up with one thing, some with another. But a lark is really the best thing to get up with. It gives you a splendid reputation with everybody to know that you get up with a lark; and if you get the right kind of lark, and work at him right, you can easily train him to get up at half past nine, every time---it is no trick at all.

Now as to the matter of lying. You want to be very careful about lying; otherwise you are nearly sure to get caught. Once caught, you can never again be, in the eyes of the good and pure, what you were before. Many a young person has injured himself permanently through a single clumsy and ill-finished lie, the result of carelessness born of incomplete training. Some authorities hold that the young ought not to lie at all. That, of course, is putting it rather stronger than necessary; still while I cannot go quite so far as that, I do maintain, and I believe I am right, that the young ought to be temperate in the use of this great art until practice and experience shall give them that confidence, elegance and precision which alone can make the accomplishment graceful and profitable. Practice, diligence, painstaking attention to detail –these ate the require; these, in time, will make the student perfect; upon these, and upon these only, may he rely as the sure foundation for future eminence. Think what tedious years of study, thought, practice, experience, went to the equipment of that peerless old master who was able to impose upon the whole world the lofty and sounding maxim that ―truth is mighty and will prevail‖ --- the most majestic compound fracture of fact which any of woman born has yet achieved. For the history of our race, and each individual’s experience, are sown thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and a lie told well is immortal. There is in Boston a monument of the man who discovered anesthesia; many people are aware, in these latter days, that that man didn’t discover it at all, but stole the discovery from another man. Is this truth mighty, and will it prevail? Ah no, my hearers, the monument is made of hardy material, but the lie it tells will outlast it a million years. An awkward, feeble, leaky lie is a thing which you ought to make it your unceasing study to avoid; such a lie as that has no more real permanence than an average truth. Why, you might as well tell the truth at once and be done with it. A feeble, stupid, preposterous lie will not live two years—excepted it be a slander upon somebody. It is indestructible, then, of course, but that is no merit of yours. A final word: begin your practice of this gracious and beautiful art early –begin now. if I had begun earlier, I should have known how.

给青年人的忠告（ 杨自伍 译 ） 听说期望我来谈谈，我便询问应该发表什么样的谈话。他们说应当宜于青年人的话题――教诲性的，启发性的话题，或者实质上是良言忠告之类的话题。好吧。关于开导青年人，我心里倒是有几件事时常要说的；因为正是在人幼小时，这些事最适合扎根，而且最持久最有价值。那么，首先呢，我要对你们，我的年轻的朋友们说的是――我恳切的，迫切的要说的是―― 永远服从你们的父母，只要他们在堂的时候。长远看来这是上策，因为你们要是不服从的话，他们也非要你服从。大多数家长认为比你们懂的多，一般说来你们迁就那种迷信的话们，比起你们根据自以为是的判断行事，你们会建树大些。

对待上司要尊重，要是你们有上司；对待陌生人，有时还有别人，也要尊重。如果有人得罪了你们，你们要犹豫一番，看看是存心的还是无意的，不要采取极端的作法；只要看好机会用砖头打他一下，那就足够了。如果你们发现他并非故意冒犯，那就坦然走出来，承认自己

打他不对；像个男子汉人个错，说声不是故意的。况且，永远要避免动武；处于这个仁慈和和睦的时代，此类举动的年代已经过去了。“炸药”留给卑下而无教养的人吧。

早睡早起――这是聪明的。有的权威讲，跟着太阳起床；还有的讲跟着这样东西起床，又有的讲，跟着那样东西起床。其实跟着云雀起床是再好不过的。这样你就落个好名声，人人都知道你跟着云雀起床；如果弄到一只那种适合的云雀，在它身上花点功夫，你就很容易把它调教到九点半起床，每次都是――这可决不是欺人之谈。

接着来谈谈说谎的问题。你们可是要非常谨慎的对待说谎；否则十有会被揭穿。一旦揭穿，在善良和纯洁的看来，你就再也不会是过去的你了。多少年轻人，因为一次拙劣难园的谎言，那是由于不完整的教育而导致的的轻率结果，使得自己永远蒙受损害。有些权威认为，年轻人根本不应该说谎。当然，这种说法言之过甚，其实未必如此；不过，虽然我可不能把话讲得太过分，我却认定而且相信自己看法正确，那就是，在实践和经验使人获得信心，文雅，严谨之前，年轻人运用这门了不起的艺术时要有分寸，只有这三点才能使说谎的本领无伤大雅，带了好处。耐性，勤奋，细致入微――这些是必要素质；这些素质日久天长就能使学生变得完善起来；凭借这些，只有凭借这些，他才能为将来的出类拔萃打下稳固的基础。试想一下，要付出多么漫长的岁月，通过学习思考，实践，经验，那位盖世无双的前辈大师才具有如此地素养，他迫使全世界接受了“真理是强大的而且终将取胜”这句崇高而掷地有声地格言――这是关于事实地复杂层面道出的最豪迈的话，迄今任何出自娘胎的人都未获得。因为我们人类的历史，还有每个个人的经验，都深深的埋下了这样的证据：一个真理不难扼杀，一个说得巧妙的谎言则历史不衰。波士顿有座发现麻醉法的人的纪念碑；许多人到后来才明白，这个人根本没有发现麻醉法，而是剽窃了另一个人的发现。这个真理强大吗？它终将取胜吗？哎！错哉！听众们，纪念碑是用坚硬材料建造成的，而它所晓示的谎言却将比它持久百万年。一个脆弱愚蠢而又荒谬的谎言持续不了两年――除非是对什么人物的诽谤。当然，那种谎言是牢不可破的，不过那可不是你们的光彩。最后说一句：早些开始实践这门优雅美妙的艺术――从现在作起。要是我早些作起，我就会学会门道了。

Lesson 32 Excerpt from \"Three Peach Stones\" by Ronald Duncan

Observe a child; any one will do. You will see that not a day passes in which he does not find something or other to make him happy, though he may be in tears the next moment. Then look at a man; any one of uswomen's shox turbo will do. You will notice that weeks and months can pass in which day is greeted with nothing more than resignation, and endure with every polite indifference. Indeed, most men are as miserable as sinners, though they are too bored to sin-perhaps their sin is their indifference. But it is true that they so seldom smile that when they do we mens shox nz do not recognize their face, so distorted is it from the fixed mask we take for granted. And even then a man can not smile like a child, for a child smiles with his eyes, whereas a man smiles with his lips alone. It is not a smile; butwomen shox turbo a grin; something to do with humor, but little to do with happiness. And then, as anyone can see, there is a point (but who can define that point?) when a man becomes an old man, and then he will smile again.

It would seem that happiness is something to do with simplicity, andkids shox nz that it is the ability to extract pleasure form the simplest things-such as a peach stone, for instance.

It is obvious that it is nothing to do with success. For Sir Henry Stewart was certainly successful. It is twenty years agshox monster metal o since he came down to our village from London , and bought a couple of old cottages, which he had knocked into one. He

used his house a s weekend refuge. He was a barrister. And the village followed his brilliant career with something almost amounting to paternal pride.

仔细观察一个小孩，随便哪个小孩都行，你会发现，他每天都会发现一两件令他快乐的事情，尽管过一会儿他可能会哭哭啼啼。再看看一个大人，我们中间任何人都行。你会发现，一周复一周，一月又一月，他总是以无可奈何的心情迎接新的一天的到来，以温文尔雅、满不在乎的心情忍受这一天的消逝。确实，大多数人都跟罪人一样苦恼难受，尽管他们太百无聊赖，连罪恶都不犯--也许他们的冷漠就是他们的罪孽。真的， 他们难得一笑。如果他们偶尔笑了，我们会认不出他们的容貌，他们的脸会扭曲走样，不再是我们习以为常的固定不变的面具。即使在笑的时候，大人也不会像小孩儿那样，小孩儿用眼睛表示笑意，大人只用嘴唇。这实际上不是笑，只是咧列嘴；表示一种心情，但跟快乐无关。然而，人人都能发现，人到了一定地步（但又有谁能解释这是什么地步呢？），成了老人，他又会笑了。

看起来，幸福同纯真的赤子之心有关系，幸福是一种能从最简单的事物里--譬如说，核桃--汲取快乐的能力。

幸福显然同成功毫不相干。因为亨利•斯图亚特爵士当然是个十分成功的人。20年前，他从伦敦来到我们的村子，买了好几座旧房屋，推倒后建了一所大房子。他把这所房子当作度周末的场所。他是位律师。我们村里的人带着一种几近父辈的骄傲心情追随他那辉煌的业绩。

Lesson 33 Excerpt from \"The Whistle\" by Benjamin Franklin

When I was a child of seven years old, my friends, on a holiday, filled my pocket with coppers. I went directly to a shop where they sold toys for children, and being charmed with the sound of a whistle, that I met by the way in the hands of another boy, I voluntarily offered and gave all my money for one. I then came home, and went whistling all over the house, much pleased with my whistle, but disturbing all the family. My, brothers,and

sisters, and cousins, understanding the bargain I had made, told me I had given four times as much for it as it was worth; put me in mind what good things I might have bought withthe rest of the money; and laughed at me so much for my folly, that I cried with vexation;and the reflection gave me more chagrin than the whistle gave me pleasure. This, however, was afterward of use to me, the impression continuing on my mind; so that often, when I was tempted to buy some unnecessary thing, I said to myself, Don't give too much for the whistle; and I saved my money.

As I grew up, came into the world, and observed the actions of men, I thought I met with many, very many, who gave too much for the whistle.

When I saw one too ambitious of court favor, sacrificing his time in attendance on levees, his repose, his liberty, his virtue, and perhaps his friends, to attain it, I have said to myself, This man gives too much for his whistle.

When I saw another fond of popularity, constantly employing himself in political

bustles, neglecting his own affairs, and ruining them by that neglect, He pays indeed, said I, too much for his whistle.

我七岁的时候，有一次过节，大人们给我的衣袋里塞满了铜币。我立刻向一家卖儿童玩具的店铺跑去。半路上，我却被一个男孩吹哨子的声音吸引住了，于是我用所有的铜币换了他这个哨子。回到家里，我非常得意，吹着哨子满屋子转，却打扰了全家人。我的哥哥、姐姐和表姐们知道我这个交易后，便告诉我，我为这个哨子付出了比它原价高四倍的钱。他们还告诉我，用那些多付的钱，我不知道可以买到多少好东西。大伙儿都取笑我傻，竟使我懊恼得哭了。回想起来，那只哨子给我带来的悔恨远远超过了给我的快乐。不过，这件事情后

来却对我很有用处，它一直保留在我的记忆中。因此，当我打算买一些不必要的东西时，我便常常对自己说，不要为哨子花费太多，于是便节省了钱。

我长大了走进社会，观察人们的作为，感到我遇到的很多很多的人，他们都为了一个哨子付出了过高的代价。

当我看见一个人过分热衷于猎取恩宠荣禄，把自己的光阴牺牲在侍候权贵、谋求接见之中，为了得到这种机会，他不惜牺牲自己的自由、品德甚至于自己的朋友，我便对自己说，这个人为他的哨子付出了太高的代价。 当我看见另一个人醉心于名望，无休止地投身于政界的纷扰之中，却忽视了自己的事，我说，他的确也为了他的哨子付出了过高的代价。

如果我听说有个守财奴为了积累财产，宁愿放弃各种舒适的生活、为别人做好事的一切乐趣、同乡们对他的尊重，以及慷慨无私的友谊的快乐，我说，可怜的人啊，为了你的哨子，你付出了过高的代价。

Lesson 35 The Joys of Writing The fortunate people in the world—the only reallyfortunate people in the world, in my mind, are those whose work is also their pleasure. The class is not a large one, not nearly so large as it is often represented to be; and authors are perhaps one of the most

important elements in its composition.They enjoy in this respect at least a real harmony of life. To my mind, to be able to make your work your pleasure is the one class distinction in the world worth striving for; and I do not wonder that others are inclined to envy those happy human beings who find their livelihood in the gay effusions of their fancy, to whom every hour of labour is an hour of enjoyment, to whom repose—however necessary—is a tiresome interlude. And even a holiday is almost deprivation. Whether a man writes well or ill, has much to say or little, if he cares about writing at all, he will appreciate the pleasures of composition. To sit at one's table on a sunny morning, with four clear hours of uninterruptible security, plenty of nice white paper, and a Squeezer pen—that is true happiness. The complete absorption of the mind upon an agreeable occupation—what more is there than that to desire? What does it matter what happens outside？The House of Commons may do what it likes, and so may the House of Lords. The heathen may rage furiously in every part of the globe. The bottom may be knocked clean out of the American market. Consols may fall and suffragettes may rise. Nevermind, for four hours, at any rate, we will withdraw ourselves from a common, ill-governed, and disorderly world, and with the key of fancy unlock that cupboard where all the good things of the infinite are put away.

在我看来，世上幸运的人——世上唯一真正幸运的人，是那些以工作为乐的人。这个阶层的人并不多，还没有人们常说的那样多。也许，作家是其中最重要的组成部分之一。就幸运而言，他们至少享受着生活中真正的和谐美。依我看，能使工作成为乐趣，是世人值得为之奋斗的一种崇高的荣誉；而且，我毫不怀疑别人会羡慕这些幸福的人，因为他们在快乐地喷涌的幻想中找到了生计，对他们来说，每劳动一小时，就是享受一小时，而休息——无论多么有必要——是令人讨厌的插曲，甚至度假也几乎成了一种损失。无论写得好坏，写成多少，只要在意，就可尝到谋章布局的乐趣。在一个阳光明媚的早晨，临桌而坐，整整四个小时不受打扰，有足够数量的雪白稿纸，还有一支“挤压式”妙笔——那才叫真正的幸福。全心全意地投入一项令人愉快的职业——此愿足矣！外面发生什么事又有何妨？下院想干什么就干什么吧，上院也可如此。异教徙可以在全球各地大发作。美国市场可以彻底崩溃。证券可以下跌；女权运动可以兴起。没有关系，不管怎么说，我们有四个小时可以躲开这俗气的、

治理不善的、杂乱无章的世界，并且用想象这把钥匙，去开启藏有大千世界一切宝物的小橱。

Lesson 38 Excerpt from \"Scottish Humour\"󰀀 Fun seems to be the possession of the English race.Fun is JohnBulll's idea of humour，and there is no intellectual judgment in fun.Everybody understands it because it is practical.More than that，it unites allclasses and sweetens even political life.To studythe elemental form of English humour，you must look to the school-boy.It begins with the practical joke，and unless there is something of his nature about it，it is never humour to an Englishman.In an English household，fun is going all the time.The entire house resounds witn it.The father comes home and the whole family contribute to the amusement；puns，humorous uses of words，little things that are meaningless nonsense，if you like，fly round，and every one enjoys them thoroughly for just what they are.The Scotch are devoid ofthis trait，and the Americans seem to be，too.

If I had the power to give humour to the na-tions I would not give them drollery，for that is impractical；I would not give them wit，for that is aristocratic，and many minds cannot grasp it；but I would be contented to deal out fun，which has no intellectual element，no subtlety，belongs to oldand young，educated and uneducated alike，and isthe natural form of the humour of the Englishman.

Let me tell you why the Englishman speaksonly one language.He believes with the strongest conviction that his own tongue is the one that allpeople ought to speak and will come in time tospeak，so what is the use of learning any other？He believes，too，that he is appointed by Providenceto be a governor of all the rest of the human race.From our Scottish standpoint we can never see anEnglishman without thinking that there is oozing from every pore of his body the conviction that he belongs to a governing race.It has not been his desire that large portions of the world should be un-der his care，but as they have been thrust upon him in the proceedings of a wise Providence，he must discharge his duty.This theory hasn't endeared him to others of his kind，but that isn't a matter that concerns him.He doesn't learn anyother language because he knows that he could speak it only so imperfectly that other people would laugh at him，and it would never do that aperson of his importance in the scheme of the universe should be made the object of ridicule.

逗乐儿似乎是英国人的秉性，是约翰·布尔所说的幽默，不需区分智力高下。它切合实际，人人都懂。不仅如此，它把各阶层人士联系在一起，甚至还使政治生活变得盎然有趣。要研究英国幽默的基础形式，你必须观察学童。逗乐儿始于恶作剧，但须顺其自然，否则在英国人看来，就无幽默可言。在一个英国家庭里，逗乐儿无时不在进行，整幢屋子其乐融融。父亲回家了，全家人各显其能，津津乐道；双关语、俏皮话、大实话、空话废话满天飞，人人尽情享受。苏格兰人没有这种性格，美国人恐怕也没有。

如果我有权给予各民族幽默，那么我不给予他们解嘲，因为那不切实际；也不给予他们风趣，因为那过于贵族派头，以致多数人无法理解；我要心满意足地给予他们逗乐儿，即不分智力高下，没有隐晦曲折，无论老少或受教育与否都能享受的英国式的自然幽默。

让我告诉诸位为什么英国人只讲一种语言。英国人坚信，英语是各国人民都应该讲、而且迟早都会讲的语言，因此，学其他语言有什么用？他还认为，上帝已委派他成为全人类的

主宰。从苏格兰人的立场来看，英国人每一个毛孔都散发着他是属于统治民族的信念。他虽然不想把各国人民置于自己的监护之下，但是，既然贤明的上帝让他这样做，他就必须尽到责任。这种理论没有使他对其他人、包括对和他一样的人变得亲切可爱，但那不关他的事。他之所以不学其他语言，因为他知道自己说得很糟，唯恐别人耻笑，而像他那样重要的人是万万不能成为别人的笑柄的。

Lesson 39 Excerpt from \"On Affection\" by Bertrand Russell

The best type of affection is reciprocally life-giving; each receives affection with joy and gives it without effort, and each finds the whole world more interesting in consequence of the existence of this reciprocal happiness. There is, however, another kind, by no means uncommon, in which one person sucks the vitality of the other, one receives what the other gives, but gives almost nothing in return. Some very vital people belong to this bloodsucking type. They extract the vitality from one victim after another, but while they prosper and grow interesting, those upon whom they live grow pale and dim and dull. Such people use others as means to their own ends, and never consider them as ends in themselves. Fundamentally they are not interested in those whom for the moment they think they love; they are interested only in the stimulus to their owe activities, perhaps of a quite impersonal sort. Evidently this springs from some defect in their nature, but it is one not altogether easy either to diagnose of to cure. It is a characteristic frequently associated with great ambition, and is rooted, I should say, in an unduly one-sided view of what makes human happiness. Affection in the sense of a genuine reciprocal interest of two persons in each other, not solely as means to each other’s good, but rather as a combination having a common good, is one of the most important elements of real happiness, and the man whose ego is so enclosed within steel walls that this enlargement of it is impossible misses the best that life has to offer, however successful he may be in his career. A too powerful ego is a prison from which a man must escape if he is to enjoy the world to the full. A capacity for genuine affection is one of the marks of the man who has escaped form this prison of self. To receive affection is by no means enough; affection which is received should liberate the affection which is to be given, and only where both exist in equal measure does affection achieve its best possibilities.

最好的那种爱是彼此愉悦的爱；彼此很愉快地接受，很自然地给出，并且由于有了这种互惠的快乐，彼此都觉得整个世界更有趣味。然而，还有一种决非少见的爱，那就是一方吸收着另一方的活力，接受着另一方的给出，但他这一方几乎毫无回报。某些生命力极旺的人便属于这吸血的一类。他们把一个又一个牺牲者的活力吸净，但是当他们越发生机勃勃，兴致盎然之时，那些被榨取的人却变得越来越苍白、黯淡和迟钝。这种人总是把他人当作工具来实现自己的目标，却从不考虑他人也有他自己的目标。他们一时以为他们爱着那些人，其实那些人根本引不起他们的兴趣；他们感兴趣的不过是为自己的活动添些刺激，而他们的活动也许当属全无人格的那种。这种情形显然源于他们本性上的某种缺陷，但是这种缺陷既不容易诊断也不容易治疗。它往往与极大的野心有关，同时也是由于他们总是不恰当地从单方面去看待人生幸福的缘故。两人真正相互关心意义的爱，不仅是促进彼此幸福的手段，而且是促进共同幸福的手段，是真正快乐的最重要因素之一。凡是把自我禁锢起来不能扩展的人，必然错失人生所能提供的最好的东西，不管他在事业上如何成功。太强的自我是一座监狱，你若想充分地享受人生，就得从这座监狱中逃脱。能有真正的爱，这是一个人已逃出自我监狱的标志之一。光接受爱是绝对不够的；接受的爱应当能激发你奉献出自己的爱，惟有当接受

的爱和奉献出的爱等量存在时，爱才能达到它的最佳状态。 Lesson 40 Excerpt from \"Shall We Choose Death\" by Bertrand Russell

I am speaking not as a Briton, not as a European, not as a member of a western democracy, but as a human being, a member of the species Man, whose continued existence is in doubt. The world is full of conflicts: Jews and Arabs; Indians and Pakistanis; white men and Negroes in Africa; and, overshadowing all minor conflicts, the titanic struggle between communism and anticommunism.

Almost everybody who is politically conscious has strong feelings about one or more of these issues; but I want you, if you can, to set aside such feelings for the moment and consider yourself only as a member of a biological species which has had a remarkable history and whose disappearance none of us can desire. I shall try to say no single word which should appeal to one group rather than to another. All, equally, are in peril, and, if the peril is understood, there is hope that they may collectively avert it. We have to learn to think in a new way. We have to learn to ask ourselves not what steps can be taken to give military victory to whatever group we prefer, for there no longer are such steps. The question we have to ask ourselves is: What steps can be taken to prevent a military contest of which the issue must be disastrous to all sides?

The general public, and even many men in positions of authority, have not realized what would be involved in a war with hydrogen bombs. The general public still thinks in terms of the obliteration of cities. It is understood that the new bombs are more powerful than the old and that, while one atomic bomb could obliterate Hiroshima, one hydrogen bomb could obliterate the largest cities such as London, New York, and Moscow. No doubt in a hydrogen-bomb war great cities would be obliterated. But this is one of the minor disasters that would have to be faced. If everybody in London, New York, and Moscow were exterminated, the world might, in the course of a few centuries, recover from the blow. But we now know, especially since the Bikini test, that hydrogen bombs can gradually spread destruction over a much wider area than had been supposed. It is stated on very good authority that a bomb can now be manufactured which will be 25,000 times as powerful as that which destroyed Hiroshima. Such a bomb, if exploded near the ground or under water, sends radioactive particles into the upper air. They sink gradually and reach the surface of the earth in the form of a deadly dust or rain. It was this dust which infected the Japanese fishermen and their catch of fish although they were outside what American experts believed to be the danger zone. No one knows how widely such lethal radioactive particles might be diffused, but the best authorities are unanimous in saying that a war with hydrogen bombs is quite likely to put an end to the human race.

我不是作为一个英国人、一个欧洲人、一个西方民主国家的一员，而是作为一个人，作为不知是否还能继续生存下去的人类的一员在讲演。世界充满了争斗：犹太人和阿拉伯人；印度人和巴勒斯坦人；非洲的白人和黑人；以及使所有的小冲突都相形见绌的主义和反主义之间的大搏斗。

差不多每个有政治意识的人都对这类问题怀有强烈的感受；但是我希望你们，如果你们能够的话，把这份感受暂搁一边，并把自己只看作一种具有非凡历史、谁也不希望它灭亡的生物的一员。可能会迎合一群人而冷落另一群人的词语，我将努力一个字都不说。所有的人，不分彼此，都处在危险之中；如果大家都看到了这种危险，那么就有希望联合起来避开它。我们必须学习新的思想方法。我们必须学习不自问能采取什么措施来使

我们所喜欢的人群获得军事上的胜利，因为不再有这样的措施。我们必须自问的问题是：能采取什么措施来避免必然会给各方造成灾难的军事竞赛？

普通群众，甚至许多当权人士，不清楚一场氢弹战所包含的会是什么。普通群众仍旧从城市的毁灭上思考问题。不言而喻，新比旧更具威力——一颗原弹能毁灭广岛，而一颗氢弹能毁灭像伦敦、纽约和菲斯科这样的大都市。毫无疑问，一场氢弹战将会毁灭大城市。但这只是世界必须面对的小灾难中的一个。假如化敦人、纽约人和莫斯科人都灭绝了，世界可能要经过几个世纪才能从这场灾难中恢复过来。而我们现在，尤其是从比基尼核试验以来很清楚：氢弹能够逐渐把破坏力扩散到一个比预料要广大得多的地区。据非常权威的人士说，现在能够制造出一种，其威力比毁灭广岛的大2.5万倍。这种如果在近地或水下爆炸，会把放射性微粒送入高层大气。这些微粒逐渐降落，呈有毒灰尘或毒雨的状态到达地球表面。正是这种灰尘使日本渔民和他们所捕获的鱼受到了感染，尽管他们并不在美国专家所确认的危险区之内。没有人知道这种致命的放射性微粒怎么会传播得这么广，但是这个领域的最高权威一致表示：一场氢弹战差不多就是灭绝人类的代名词。

Lesson 45 The Color of the friendship

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All claimed that they were the best.

The most important. The most useful. The favorite.

从前，世界上的各种颜色进行过一次争吵。 每一种颜色都说自己是最好的， 最重要的， 最有用的，

和最讨人喜欢的。

Green said:

\"Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.\"

绿色说：

“显然，我是最重要的。我是生命和希望的标志。我被选作青草，树木以 及叶子的颜色。没有了我，所有的动物都会死去。展望田野吧，你会看到，到 处都有我。”

Blue interrupted:

\"You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without

my peace, you would all be nothing.\"

兰色打断了它的话：

“你只考虑了地上，想想天空和海洋吧。水才是生命的基础呀，云彩把水分 从深邃的大海带到了天空。天空给了人们空间、和平和宁谧。没有我的和平，你 们将不复存在。”

Yellow chuckled:

\"You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun.\"

黄色咯咯地笑出了声：

“你们都太严肃了。我给这个世界带来了笑声、欢乐和温暖。太阳是黄色的， 月亮是黄色的，星星是黄色的，每一次你看向日葵的时候，整个世界都开始欢笑。 没有我就没有快乐。”

Orange started next to blow her trumpet:

\"I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and papayas. I don't hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you.\"

橙色马上开始自吹自擂：

“我可是健康和力量的颜色。我可能比较稀少，但是我非常宝贵，因为我满 足了人们生活的需要。我携带了大多数重要的维他命。想想胡罗卜、南瓜、柑橘、 芒果和番木瓜。我并不经常出没在天空，但日出或日落我在天际登场时，我的美 丽足以惊世，没有人还会想起你们。”

Red could stand it no longer he shouted out:

\"I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood - life's blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy.\"

红色再也忍不下去了，他喊道：

“我，是你们所有人的主宰。我是血液——生命的血液！我是危险和勇敢的 颜色。我愿意为了一个目标而斗争。我把烈火带入血液。没有了我，地球会象月 亮一样变得空虚。我是激情和爱的颜色，是红玫瑰、猩猩木和罂粟。

Purple rose up to his full height:

He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: \"I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey.\"

紫色站起身来：

他非常高，说起话来风度十足：“我是王权和力量的象征。国王、酋长、主教 都选择了我，因为我象征着权威和智慧。人们不会对我提出疑问，他们只能聆听和 服从。”

Finally Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination:

\"Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.\"

最后，靛青说话了，他的声音比其他人都轻，但却比其他人都斩钉截铁： “想想我吧。我是沉默的颜色。你们几乎注意不到我，但是如果没有我，你们全 都会变得肤浅。我代表着思想和反省，代表者黎明的微光和深邃的海水。你们需要我 来平衡和比较，来祈祷和获求内心的安宁。”

And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder rolled and boomed. Rain

started to pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

这样一来，颜色们就不停地自夸，每个人都深信自己无比优越。他们的争吵声越 来越大。突然，电闪雷鸣。雨无情地倾盆而下。颜色们惊恐地蜷缩起来，彼此挤在一 起捱过着恐怖的时刻。

In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak:

\"You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.\"

在一片喧嚣声中，雨开始说话了：

“你们这些愚蠢的颜色，彼此相互争斗，每个人都想支配别人。你们难道就不知 道每个人都是天造地设，都是独一无二，彼此不同的吗？携起手来吧。”

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. The rain continued:

\"From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow.\" And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a Rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.

颜色们按照着雨的话，团结在一起，携起手来。 雨接着说：

“从现在开始，每次下雨的时候你们都要变成一个巨大的彩色弓形横跨天空， 以证明你们能够和平相处。彩虹就是未来希望的标志。”所以，每当大雨冲刷这个 世界时，彩虹都会出现在天空，让我们记住彼此要珍惜。