經(jīng)典長篇英語美文欣賞長篇帶翻譯
多閱讀一些英語美文,對于我們英語閱讀能力的提高會有很大的幫助,今天學(xué)習(xí)啦小編在這里為大家分享一些經(jīng)典長篇英語美文欣賞,希望大家會喜歡這些英語美文!
經(jīng)典長篇英語美文欣賞篇一
Genius Sacrificed for Failure
犧牲英才得庸才
Wliilam N. Brown
威廉·N.布朗
During my youth in America’s Appalachian mountains, I learned that farmers preferred sonsover daughters,largely because boys were better at heavy farm labor (though what boysanywhere could best the tireless Hui’an girls in the fields of Fujian!)
我在美國的阿巴拉契亞山區(qū)度過青少年時代時,發(fā)現(xiàn)那里的農(nóng)民重男輕女,多半因為男子更能勝任重體力農(nóng)活。當(dāng)然,如果要同福建省惠安縣農(nóng)田里的婦女相比,她們那份不歇不竭的能耐是任何地方的男子都自嘆弗如的!
With only 3% of Americans in agriculture today,brain has supplanted brawn, yet culturalpreferences, like bad habits,are easier to make than break. But history warns repeatedly of thetragic cost of dismissing too casually the gifts of the so-called weaker sex.
今天在美國,腦力已經(jīng)取代了體力,只有3%的美國人在從事農(nóng)業(yè)。但文化上的習(xí)俗正如陋規(guī),形成容易沖破難。面對所謂“陰柔”性別,歷史再三告誡我們,若對她們的稟賦過于輕率地否定,其代價將會何等慘重!
About 150 years ago,a village church vicar in Yorkshire, England,had threelovely,intelligent daughters but his hopes hinged entirely on the sole male heir, Branwell, ayouth with remarkable talent in both art and literature.
約150年前在英國的約克郡有一個鄉(xiāng)村教區(qū)的牧師,他有三個聰慧可愛的女兒,但是他的希望卻獨獨釘在唯一的繼承者兒子布朗維爾身上。這個年輕人在藝術(shù)和文學(xué)上都有出眾的天賦。
Branweir s father and sister hoarded their pennies to pack him off to London' s Royal Academyof Arts, but if art was his calling, he dialed a wrong number. Within weeks he hightailed it home,a penniless failure.
父親和姐妹都省吃儉用,幫兄弟打點完備,送他上了倫敦皇家藝術(shù)學(xué)院??墒潜M管他要以藝術(shù)為業(yè),但撥錯了號。不到幾個禮拜,就不名一文,棄甲歸家。
Hopes still high, the family landed Branwell a job as a private tutor, hoping this would free himto develop his literary skills and achieve the success and fame that he deserved. Failureagain.
然而家人并不就此罷休,他們又想方設(shè)法幫布朗維爾撈到一份私人教師的活兒,希望這份差事能夠使他自由發(fā)展文學(xué)才能,走上應(yīng)得的功成名就的大道:這次又失敗了。
For years the selfless sisters squelched their own goals, farming themselves out as teachersand governesses in support of their increasingly indebted brother, convinced the world musteventually recognize his genius. As failures multiplied, Branwell turned to alcohol,thenopium,and eventually died as he had lived: a failure. So died hope in the one male8 _ butwhat of the three anonymous sisters?
幾年來,無私的姐妹們壓抑著她們自己的目標(biāo)和志向,受雇于人做管家或家庭教師以支持她們那日益?zhèn)_高筑的兄弟,她們深信世界總有一天會認(rèn)識到他的天才。隨著接踵而至的失敗,布蘭維爾開始酗酒,后來又吸上鴉片,最后死時與生前一樣,一無所成,于是寄托在這唯一男性身上的指望也隨之死去。但是,那三位默默無聞的姐妹們又如何了呢?
During Branwell ’ s last years,the girls published a book of poetry at their own expense (undera pseudonym,for fear of reviewer’ s bias against females). Even Branwell might havesnickered: they sold only 2 copies.
在布蘭維爾生前最后幾年,姑娘們自己出資出版了一本詩集(用的是假名,以防編輯們對女性的成見)。只賣出兩本,就連布蘭維爾也哂笑她們。
Undaunted, they continued in their spare time, late at night by candlelight, to pour out theirpent-up emotion,writing of 9 what they knew best, of women in conflict with their naturaldesires and social condition — in reality, less fiction than autobiography! And 19th centuryliterature was transformed by Anne ’ s Agnes Grey, Emily, s Wuthering Heights, andCharlotte ’ s Jane Eyre.
然而她們并不氣餒。姐妹們繼續(xù)利用她們的空余時間,夜深人靜時秉燭而書,傾吐她們幽禁的情懷,抒寫她們最熟悉的一切。她們描寫了那種女性自發(fā)的意愿與社會環(huán)境之間的沖突。實際上她們所寫的與其說是小說不如說是自傳!于是,19世紀(jì)文學(xué)就因安妮的《安格尼斯·格雷》、艾米麗的《呼嘯山莊》和夏洛特的《簡·愛》而改觀了。
But years of sacrifice for Banwell had taken their toll. Emily took ill at her brother’s funeral anddied within 3 months, aged 29; Anne died 5 months later, aged 30; Charlotte lived only to age39. If only they had been nurtured instead of sacrificed.
然而,三姐妹為了布蘭維爾的多年犧牲,付出了沉重的代價。艾米麗在她兄弟葬禮的那一天便得了病,三個月后便離世了,年方29歲;五個月后安妮也以30芳齡長逝;夏洛特則只活到39歲。假若她們能早日得到培養(yǎng)而不做犧牲,那該多好啊!
No one remembers Branwell ’ s name, much less his art or literature,but Bronte sister' stragically shot lives teach us even more of life than of literature. Their sacrificed genius cries outto us that in modem society we must value children not by their physical strength or sexualgender, as we would any mere beast of burden, but by their integrity, strength, commitment,courage—spiritual qualities abundant in both boys and girls. China,a nation blessed by moreboys and girls than any nation,ignores at her own peril 10 the lesson of the Bronte tragedy.
無人再記得布蘭維爾的名字,更不用說他的藝術(shù)或文學(xué)了。然而,從勃朗特三姐妹悲劇性的夭折中,我們學(xué)到的不僅是文學(xué),更重要的是生命之諦,她們犧牲了的天分向我們大聲疾呼:現(xiàn)在社會再不能以體力或性別,把子女當(dāng)牛馬來評估了。它必須就忠誠、能力、責(zé)任心、勇敢等等男女孩子都富有的精神品質(zhì)來對他們評價。中國,這個有幸擁有世界上最多的男孩女孩的國家應(yīng)從勃朗特悲劇中獲得認(rèn)識,勿蹈覆轍。
Patrick Bronte fathered Branwell,but more importantly, he fathered Anne, Emily and Charlotte.Were he alive today he would surely urge us to put away our passe 11 prejudices and avoidhis own tragic and irrevocable error of putting all of his eggs in one male basket!
帕特里克·勃朗特養(yǎng)育了布蘭維爾,但更重要的,他是安妮、艾米麗和夏洛特的父親。倘若此人今日仍活著的話,他一定會迫切敦促我們放下我們的古舊偏見,避免他自己的悲劇和抱憾終身的過失—將一切都押在一個男性后裔身上。
經(jīng)典長篇英語美文欣賞篇二
Glories of the Storm
輝煌壯麗的暴風(fēng)雨
It begins when a feeling of stillness creeps into my consciousness. Every thing has suddenlygone quiet. Birds do not chirp. Leaves do not rustle. Insects do not sing.
起初,有一種平靜的感覺悄悄襲上我的心頭。剎那間,萬物都突然寂靜無聲。鳥兒不在啁啾,樹葉不再沙沙作響,昆蟲也停止了歡唱。
The air that has been hot all day becomes heavy. It hangs over the trees, presses the heads ofthe flowers to the ground, sits on my shoulders. With a vague feeling of uneasiness I move tothe window. There, in the west, lies the answer - cloud has piled on cloud to form a ridge ofmammoth while towers, rearing against blue sky.
整日悶熱的空氣變得格外呆滯,它籠罩著樹木,逼得花朵垂向地面,也壓得我的肩頭沉甸甸的。我懷著隱隱約約的煩躁不安,信步走到窗前,原來答案就在西邊天際,云層重重疊疊,就像一排嵯峨的白塔,高聳在藍天之上。
Their piercing whiteness is of brief duration. Soon the marshmallow rims flatten to anvil tops,and the clouds reveal their darker nature. They impose themselves before the late-afternoonsun, and the day darkens early. Then a gust of wind ships the dust along the road, chillwarning of what is to come.
云彩那耀眼的白色轉(zhuǎn)瞬便消失了。頃刻間,棉花糖狀的云彼岸變得像鐵砧一樣平展,云層也露出了陰暗的本來面目。它強行遮住西斜的太陽,使天色早早就黑了下來。接著,勁風(fēng)驟起,一路卷起塵土飛揚。冷嗖嗖的,預(yù)示著即將來臨的一切。
In the house a door shuts with a bang, curtains billow into the room. I rush to close thewindows, empty the clothesline, secure the patio furnishings. Thunder begins to grumble inthe distance.
砰的一聲,風(fēng)關(guān)上了一扇房門。窗簾也隨風(fēng)揚起,向屋內(nèi)翻卷著。我急忙跑上去關(guān)上窗戶,收下晾曬的衣服,安頓好露臺上的家什。遠(yuǎn)處開始響起隆隆的雷聲。
The first drops of rain are huge. They splat into the dust and imprint the windows withindividual signatures. They plink on the vent pipe and plunk on the patio roof. Leaves shudderunder their weight before rebounding, and sidewalk wears a coat of shiny spots.
最初落下來的是大顆大顆的水珠,撲撲地打在塵土里。在玻璃窗是留下了一個個印記。雨點把排氣管敲得叮叮當(dāng)當(dāng),把露臺頂棚打得噼噼啪啪,樹葉被砸得瑟瑟發(fā)抖,難以抬頭。人行道披上了一層亮閃閃的水點。
The rhythm accelerates; plink follows plunk faster and faster until the sound is a roll of drumsand the individual drops become an army marching over fields and rooftops. Now the first boltof lightning stabs the earth. It is heaven's exclamation point. The storm is here!
雨加快了節(jié)奏,叮叮當(dāng)當(dāng)緊跟著噼噼啪啪,一陣緊似一陣,終于連成一片緊密的鼓點,顆顆雨滴也匯集成一支行進在田野和屋頂?shù)拇筌?。這時,第一道閃電刺向大地,這是老天劃的驚嘆號。暴風(fēng)雨來了。
In spite of myself, I jump at the following crack of thunder. It rattles the windowpane andsends the dog scratching to get under the bed. The next bolt is even closer. It raises the hairon the back of my neck, and I take an involuntary step away from the window.
隨即響起了一聲霹靂,我不禁跳了起來,雷聲震得窗戶格格作響,嚇得狗兒三抓兩爬鉆到床底下。第二道閃電離得更近。我驚得寒毛倒立,不由得從床邊后退了一步。
The rain now becomes a torrent, flung capriciously by rising wind. Together they batter thetrees and level the grasses. Water streams off roofs and out of rain spouts. It pounds againstthe window in such a steady wash that I am sightless. There is only water. How can so muchfall so fast? How could the clouds have supported this vast weight? How can the earth endurebeneath it?
這時,雨下的簡直是傾盆如注,狂風(fēng)吹得雨水飄搖不定。風(fēng)雨交加,恣意地抽打樹木,夷平草地。雨水從屋頂奔流而下,漫出了排水管,不停地潑灑在窗戶上,使我什么也看不清楚。眼前只有水。這么多雨水,怎么能下得這么急?云層怎么能承受得這么巨大的重量?大地怎么能經(jīng)受得起這樣的沖擊?
Pacing through the house from window to window, I am moved to openmouthed wonder. Lookhow the lilac bends under the assault, how the day lilies are flattened, how the hillside steps area new made waterfall! Now hailstones thump upon the roof. They bounce white against thegrass and splash into the puddle. I think of the vegetable garden, the fruit trees, the crops inthe fields; but, thankfully, the hailstones are not enough in numbers or size to do real damage.Not this time.
我在房里踱來踱去,從一個窗口走到另一個窗口,屋外的景色使我瞠目結(jié)舌,驚嘆不已。瞧,在暴風(fēng)雨的襲擊下,丁香折彎了腰,萱草倒伏在地,山坡上的石階小道變成了一簾新辟的瀑布!這是突然下起冰雹。乒乒乓乓地砸在屋頂上,頃刻間草地上銀珠紛飛,稅洼里水花四濺,我開始擔(dān)心園里的蔬菜、水果,還有田里的莊稼;不過,謝天謝地,冰雹個頭不大,數(shù)量也不多,還不足以造成什么實際損失。至少這一次是不會了。
From this storm is already beginning to pass. The tension is released from the atmosphere, thecurtains of rain let in more light. The storm has spend most of its energy, and what is left willbe expended on the countryside to the east.
因為這場暴風(fēng)雨即將過去,緊張的氣氛緩和了,從雨幕中透出更多的亮光。暴風(fēng)雨已經(jīng)耗去了大部分的精力,還有一點余威只能到東邊的鄉(xiāng)間去施展了。
I am drawn outside while the rain still falls. All around, there is a cool and welcome feeling. Ibreathe deeply and watch the sun's rays streaks through breaking clouds. One ray catches thedrops that form on the edge of the roof, and I am treated to a row of tiny, quivering colors -my private rainbows.
雨仍在淅淅瀝瀝地下著,我卻忍不住走到室外,環(huán)境是那么清新宜。我深深地呼吸著新鮮空氣,仰望著那船運而出的道道陽光,有一束陽光恰巧映射在屋檐邊的水珠上,我便看到一條細(xì)細(xì)的、微微顫動著的七色彩帶——一條供我個人欣賞的彩虹。
I pick my way through the west grass, my feet sinking into the saturated soil. The creek in thegully runs bank - full of brown water, but the small lakes and puddles are already disappearinginto the earth. Every leaf, brick, single, and blade of grass is fresh-washed and shining.
我小心翼翼地穿過濕漉漉的草地,雙腳不時陷入雨水浸透的土壤中。河谷里的小溪滿載著渾濁的泥水奔流而去,但那些小水洼和小水坑里的水已滲入地下,都不見了蹤影。每片樹葉和草葉,每塊磚頭和卵石都沖得纖塵不染,熠熠發(fā)光。
Like the land, I am renewed, my spirits cleansed. I feel an infinite peace. Fro a time I haveforgotten the worries and irritations I am nurturing before. They have been washed away by theglories of the storm.
像大地一樣,我也煥然一新,心靈得到了凈化。我感到無比的平靜,一時間全然忘掉了以往郁積在心頭的煩惱與憂愁。他們都已被這輝煌壯麗的暴風(fēng)雨滌蕩得干干凈凈。
經(jīng)典長篇英語美文欣賞篇三
Han Suyin's China
韓素音筆下的中國
China: her size roughly that of Canada or the United States. Her population one billion onehundred million, 22 per cent of the planet's human beings.
中國面積大致相當(dāng)于加拿大或美國,人口11億,占全球人口的22%.
China: very young, 60 per cent of the Chinese under 25 years of age. Very old, millennia ofaccumulated and still potent history, pride of remembered greatness motivating her marchtowards the new technological era which is changing the world, and changing her.
中國非常年輕,60%的中國人年齡在25歲以下。中國又非常古老,具有數(shù)千年累積起來、現(xiàn)仍具有強大影響的歷史,對往昔文明鼎盛的自豪激勵著她邁步走向新技術(shù)時代。這個時代正在改變世界,改變中國。
China: her history not unitary, but made up of many histories; as she is made up of manydifferent peoples, altogether 56 nations. Yet she is a oneness, coherent, whole. THE GREATWITHIN.
中國的歷史并不是一部單一的歷史,而是由許多部歷史組成,因為中國是由許多不同的民族組成的——總共有56個民族。然而她卻是一個緊密完整的統(tǒng)一體。真是一個偉大的、自成一統(tǒng)的國家。
There is a China of the plains, easily travelled, a tourist delight. Here are the wealthiest, themost advanced metropolises: Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou...fertilealluviallowlands which seem vast, yet are less than 15 per cent of her total territory. AndChina's arable, cultivable acres make up only seven per cent of the world's total acreage. Onthis she feeds almost a quarter of the world's people. A prodigious achievement!
中國的一部分地區(qū)是平原,旅行便利,為游覽勝地。這里有最富庶、最先進的大都市:北京、天津、上海、南京、廣州……肥沃的沖積平原似乎廣闊無邊,而實際還不到總領(lǐng)土的15%。中國的耕地面積只占世界耕地總面積的7%。她憑這么少的耕地卻養(yǎng)活幾乎占世界人口四分之一的人,真是一個了不起的成就!
This China of the plains stretches from Manchuria to Hong Kong; most of it lies eastwards, witheasy access to the ocean. Here both urban and rural areas have greatly profited from therecent economic reforms. Most of the foreign investments, the special economic zones, the newindustrial plants,are sited here. Here are the skills, the manpower, the markets, thecommunication network. Most of the universities are also here, and more than 80 percent ofthe population. Prosperity is evident-over 60 per cent of new houses in the villages, over 20per cent of families with television installed in the last ten years, large new apartment houses forurban dwellers, modem hotels...
中國平原地區(qū)從滿洲里一直延伸到香港,多半位于東部,臨近海洋。新近的經(jīng)濟改革使這里城鄉(xiāng)地區(qū)都受惠匪淺。多數(shù)外資企業(yè)、經(jīng)濟特區(qū)、新興工廠都在這一地區(qū)。這里擁有先進的技術(shù)、充足的人力、廣大的市場和發(fā)達的交通網(wǎng)絡(luò)。多數(shù)大學(xué)也在這里,還有這個國家。80%以上的人口。繁榮景象是顯而易見的——農(nóng)村60%以上的房屋是新建的,20%以上的家庭在過去十年中添置了電視機,城市居民住上了寬敞的新公寓,還有現(xiàn)代化的旅館……
But there is the other China, 85 per cent of the total surface of the land. This China is not easilyvisited, for communication is still a problem. It stretches in an immense bow fiom North toSouth, and in it live, besides the "typical" Chinese, who call themselves the Hans, fifty-oddother races or ethnic groups called "national minorities". These hark back to China's verybeginning. With them the Hans both warred and traded; co-existed, intermarried ostracized, fornearly 5,000 years.
但是中國還有另外一部分,占國土總面積的85%。中國的這一部分出入不便,因為交通仍然是一個問題。它由北向南伸展,構(gòu)成一個巨大的弓形,其中除了自稱漢族的“典型”中國人之外,還居住著另外五十幾個民族或種族,稱為“少數(shù)民族”。這些少數(shù)民族早在中國形成之初就已存在。將近5,000年間,漢族和少數(shù)民族既有戰(zhàn)爭又有貿(mào)易,或與之共存,或與之通婚,或相互排斥。
This other China has many mountain ranges, thousand kilometre long chains stretching fromwest to east dividing the land into enclosed plateaus and basins whose rivers never reach anysea. It has many deserts; more than a million square kilometres of deserts-almost 15 per centof her total area of nine million six hundred thousand square kilometres. It has immensegrasslands and steppes, oases and salt lakes, jungles and troughs lower than the Dead SeamPalestine.
中國的這一部分有許多山脈,一座又一座綿亙千里,由西向東伸展,把土地分隔成一個個山巒環(huán)抱的高原和盆地,其中河流一向不通大海。這里有許多沙漠,沙漠面積有一百多萬平方公里——幾乎占國土總面積960萬平方公里的15%。還有一望無際的草地和大草原,有綠洲和鹽湖,有叢林和比巴勒斯坦死海還低的地槽。
This China we must lcnow in order really to know China. It is this conglomerate of manynations, mosaic of peoples, languages and customs, which shaped Chinese culture as we knowit today and it is in developing and modernising this area that her future lies.
我們要真正了解中國,就必須了解中國的這一地區(qū)。正是這個不同民族、語言、風(fēng)俗薈萃的多民族聚集體,才形成了今天我們所知道的中國文化。中國的未來就在于這一地區(qū)的發(fā)展和現(xiàn)代化。
North, Northwest, Southwest...for administraave purposes, this other China,nearly seven millionout of the nearly ten million square kilometres of the land,is conveniently divided into regions,each one holding several provinces. I have walked, ridden,jeeped, explored this China severaltimes in the course of the last three decades. I have leamt the local names of mountains,rivers,deserts; for everything here has two names, the Han Chinese name, and the name (ornames) given by the national minorities which inhabit the area.
中國的這一地區(qū)在將近1,000萬平方公里的國土中占了近700萬平方公里,為了行政管理方便劃分為華北、西北、西南……等幾個區(qū)域,每個區(qū)域各擁有若干省份。在過去30年中,我曾數(shù)次徒步、騎馬或乘吉普車考察過中國的這個地區(qū)。我學(xué)到了不少山脈、河流、沙漠的本地名稱,因為這里所有的東西都有兩個名稱,一個是漢名,,另一個是居住在當(dāng)?shù)氐纳贁?shù)民族給起的名稱。
Mountains: the majestic Altai, whence came thudding on thick-legged Mongol ponies so manynomad hordes. The Bogden or Heaven's mountain, sitting in vast skirts of their own crumbledstone. From their slopes flow streams feeding the oases strung along the rim of inlanddeserts. The Kunlun and the Karakoram, the Pamir and the Himalayas-here Mount Everest isiknown as Chomolungma.
山脈:有巍峨的阿爾泰山,當(dāng)初不知有多少游牧部落在那邊登上腿腳粗壯的蒙古馬,轟隆隆一路奔來;有博格多山,又稱天山,坐落在山崩地裂造成的廣闊地段,從山坡上淌下條條溪流,源源注入內(nèi)地沙漠邊緣上的一連串綠洲之中;還有昆侖山脈和喀喇昆侖山脈、帕米承山脈和喜馬拉雅山脈——這里把埃非爾士峰叫做珠穆朗瑪峰。
Deserts: the stone deserts of the Gobi and the Ordos, the Tanguli and Kurban Tungu and thedreadful Taklamakan.
沙漠:有戈壁灘和鄂爾多斯沙石灘,有騰格里沙漠和古爾班通古特沙漠,還有那令人生畏的塔克拉瑪干沙漠。
Plateaus and basins: Dzungaria and Tarim and Tsaidam, and the Roof of the World, theimmense plateau of Tibet.
高原和盆地:有準(zhǔn)噶爾盆地和塔里木盆地,有柴達木盆地,還有“世界屋脊”——遼闊的西藏高原。
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