英语学习
①单词背诵
②短文翻译
The Dinner Party
作: Mark Twain
The Dinner Party
There were fourteen people at the dinner party. The Duke and Duchess of Shoreditch, and their daughter, Lady Anne-Grace-Eleanor de Bohun, the Earl and Countess of Newgate, Viscount Cheapside, Lord and Lady Blatherskite, the Ambassador and his wife and daughter, and some other people. There was also a beautiful, twenty-two-year old English girl, named Portia Langham. I fell in love with her in two minutes, and she with me.宴会上有十四个人。肖尔迪奇公爵和公爵夫人,以及他们的女儿,安妮·格雷斯·埃莉诺·德博洪夫人,纽盖特伯爵和伯爵夫人,奇普赛德子爵,布拉特斯基勋爵和夫人,大使及其妻子和女儿,以及其他一些人。还有一个漂亮的22岁的英国女孩,名叫波西娅·兰厄姆。我两分钟就爱上了她,她也爱上了我。
After a while, the house servant presented another guest, Mr Lloyd Hastings. When Mr Hastings saw me, he said, “I think I know you.”
“Yes, you probably do.”
“Are you the – the – ”
“Yes, I'm the strange millionaire with the million-pound note in his pocket!”过了一会儿,佣人介绍了另一位客人,劳埃德·黑斯廷斯先生。当黑斯廷斯先生看到我时,他说:“我想我认识你。”
“是的,你可能知道。”
“你是那个——”
“是的,我是那个口袋里揣着百万英镑钞票的奇怪百万富翁!”
“Well, well, this is a surprise. I never thought you were the same Henry Adams from San Francisco! Six months ago, you were working in the offices of Blake Hopkins in San Francisco. I remember clearly. You had a very small salary. And, at night, you helped me arrange the papers for the Gould and Curry Mining Company. Now you're a millionaire, a celebrity here in London. I can't believe it! How exciting!”“好吧,好吧,这是个惊喜。我从没想过你是旧金山的亨利·亚当斯!六个月前,你在旧金山布莱克·霍普金斯的办公室工作。我记得很清楚。你的薪水很低。晚上,你帮我整理古尔德和咖喱矿业公司的文件。现在你成了百万富翁,伦敦的名人。真不敢相信!真令人兴奋!”
“I can't believe it, either, Lloyd.”
“Just three months ago, we went to the Miner's Restaurant – ”
“No, no, it was the What Cheer Restaurant.”
“Right, it was the What Cheer. We went there at two o'clock in the morning. We had steak and coffee. That night we worked for six long hours on the Gould and Curry Mining Company papers. Do you remember, Henry, I asked you to come to London with me. I wanted you to help me sell the Gould and Curry gold mine shares. But you refused.”
“Of course I remember. I didn't want to leave my job in San Francisco. And, I still think it's difficult to sell shares of a California gold mine here in London.”
“You were right, Henry. You were so right. It is impossible to sell these shares here in London. My plan failed and I spent all my money. I don't want to talk about it.”“我也不敢相信,劳埃德。”
“就在三个月前,我们去了矿工餐厅–”
“不,不,那是What-Cheer餐厅。”
“是的,那是什么欢呼。我们凌晨两点去了那里。我们吃了牛排和咖啡。那天晚上,我们在古尔德和库里矿业公司的文件上工作了六个小时。你还记得吗,亨利,我叫你和我一起去伦敦。我想让你帮我卖掉古尔德和咖喱金矿的股票。但你拒绝了。”
“我当然记得了。我不想离开在旧金山的工作。而且,我仍然认为,在伦敦出售加州金矿的股份很困难。”
“你说得对,亨利。你说得对。在伦敦出售这些股票是不可能的。我的计划失败了,我花光了所有的钱。我不想谈这个。”
“But you must talk about it. When we leave the dinner party, you must tell me what happened.”
“Oh, can I? I really need to talk to a friend,” Lloyd said, with water in his eyes.
“Yes, I want to hear the whole story, every word of it.”
“Thank you, Henry. You're a true friend.”但你必须谈谈。我们离开宴会时,你必须告诉我发生了什么事。”
“哦,我可以吗?“我真的需要和一个朋友谈谈,”劳埃德说,眼里含着水。
“是的,我想听听整个故事,每个字。”
“谢谢你,亨利。你是个真正的朋友。
At this point, it was time for dinner. Thanks to the English system of precedence, there was no dinner.
The Duke of Shoreditch wanted to sit at the head of the table. The American Ambassador also wanted to sit at the head of the table. It was impossible for them to decide, so we had no dinner.这时,是吃晚饭的时候了。由于英国的优先制度,没有晚餐。
肖尔迪奇公爵想坐在桌子的前面。美国大使还想坐在桌子的最前面。他们不可能决定,所以我们没有吃晚饭。
The English know about the system of precedence.
They have dinner before going out to dinner. But strangers know nothing about it. They remain hungry all evening.
Instead, we had a dish of sardines and a strawberry. Now it was time for everyone to play a game called cribbage. The English never play a game for fun. They play to win or to lose something.英国人知道优先权制度。
他们在出去吃饭之前先吃晚饭。但陌生人对此一无所知。他们一晚上都饿着。
相反,我们吃了一盘沙丁鱼和一个草莓。现在是时候让每个人都玩一个叫克里比奇的游戏了。英国人从不玩游戏取乐。他们玩游戏是为了赢还是输
Miss Langham and I played the game, but with little interest. I looked at her beautiful face and said, “Miss Langham, I love you!”
“Mr Adams,” she said softly and smiled, “I love you too!”
This was a wonderful evening. Miss Langham and I were very happy. We smiled, laughed and talked.兰厄姆小姐和我玩这个游戏,但没什么兴趣。我看着她美丽的脸庞说:“兰厄姆小姐,我爱你!”
“亚当斯先生,”她轻轻地说,微笑着,“我也爱你!”
这是一个美妙的夜晚。兰厄姆小姐和我很高兴。我们笑了,笑了,说了。
I was honest with her. I told her that I was poor and that I didn't have a cent in the world. I explained that the million-pound note was not mine. She was very curious to know more. I told her the whole story from the start. She laughed and laughed. She thought the story was very funny. I didn't understand why it was funny. I also explained that I needed an important job with a big salary to pay all my debts.我对她很诚实。我告诉她我很穷,我一分钱也没有。我解释说那张百万英镑的钞票不是我的。她很想知道更多。我从一开始就把整个故事告诉了她。她笑个不停。她认为这个故事很有趣。我不明白为什么这么有趣。我还解释说,我需要一份薪水丰厚的重要工作来偿还我所有的债务。
“Portia, dear, can you come with me on the day I must meet those two gentlemen?"
“Well, yes, if I can help you,” she replied.
“Of course you can help me. You are so lovely that when the two gentlemen see you, I can ask for any job and any salary. With you there, my sweet Portia, the two gentlemen won't refuse me anything.”“波西娅,亲爱的,我必须去见那两位先生的那天,你能和我一起去吗?”
“好吧,是的,如果我能帮你的话,”她回答说。
“你当然可以帮我。你太可爱了,当两位先生见到你时,我可以要求任何工作和薪水。有你在,亲爱的波西娅,两位先生不会拒绝我的。”
美文阅读
①短文阅读
㈠读心 | 把小事做好的人,生活总不会亏待他
作者:洋气杂货店
未来很远, 我们无法一下到达,而我们唯一能创造未来的方式,就是脚踏实地地完成生活中的每一件小事。
作家连岳说过:“你有没有改造世界的蓝图,我不在乎,我更愿意相信从小事得出的观察结果:你有没有耐心读完一本书,能不能控制自己的体重,敢不敢坚持跑步……小事做得好,此人就不会太差劲。”
张晓风说:爱一个人就是喜欢两人一起收尽桌上的残肴,并且听他在水槽里刷碗的声音,事后再偷偷地把他不曾洗干净的地方重洗一遍。
控制情绪这件事在别人看来不值一提,却比能拿下一座城池的人更伟大。
生活最奇妙的地方在于,我们很难看出当下某个时刻在自己一生中的意义,也不知道坚持一件不起眼的小事以后会发生什么,而最终的结果之所以叫惊喜,就在于它处于意料之外。
㈡读书 | 海棠花未眠
作者:(美)刘荒田
清晨六时,静,连鸟声也不好意思霸占整个郊野,只在栅栏上抛下几声啾啾,那是小山雀。
我在灯下读川端康成的散文《花未眠》,开头一段是:“昨日一来到热海的旅馆,旅馆的人拿来了与壁龛里的花不同的海棠花。我太劳顿,早早就入睡了。凌晨四点醒来,发现海棠花未眠。”
㈢读古 | 民国广告吓死人
作者:刘永加
民国的广告了不得, 特别是抖包袱的功夫更是到了家。
三友实业社” 生产的“方便丸”,实际上是帮助消化的常用药, 他们精心策划了自己的广告用语:“大便不通,心事重重;大便一通,万事轻松。”口号响亮且朗朗上口。
上海实业家黄楚九创办的卷烟公司计划出品一种“小囡牌”香烟,为了打开销路,请张善琨出手做了一条广告。那时报刊上刊登广告,不论图画文字,全是黑色。而张善琨独辟蹊径,加倍出广告费,在报端登出了一个红色的大鸡蛋,而且没有一个字的说明。广告一出,人们无不惊奇猜测。一连登了几天后,张善琨才在同一位置登出文字说明:“‘小囡牌’烟卷呱呱坠地,请大家吃红蛋!”
因为苏沪一带习俗,生了孩子,要向亲友馈送红蛋。把“小囡牌”香烟的诞生与吃红蛋结合起来,十分巧妙恰当。
当时,上海新世界与国际饭店中间,挂了一张足有8 层楼高的《夜半歌声》大海报,上面画着剧中人物宋丹萍手拉着李晓霞,两人四目圆睁,惊恐万分,似有所见。而在广告的最下角画着一个鸡皮鹤发的老妇,手举烛台, 弯腰驼背。广告的下角因为日久而被风吹裂,一有风吹便微微颤抖。一天晚上,北风一刮,那支蜡烛便摇曳不定,好像烛火忽明忽暗,那老太太也好像突然变成了活人。据说恰巧在这时,一个妇女拉着一个十来岁的孩子从此经过,小孩吓得昏倒在地,后来也没有被抢救过来。于是第二天的上海娱乐头条是:《夜半歌声》真恐怖,广告吓死人。经这么一炒作,《夜半歌声》顿时火了起来,让张善琨赚得盆满钵满。
当时正值抗战,爱国青年学生常常举行游行示威,反对国民党政府不抗日、打内战的倒行逆施。而国民党元老吴稚晖却经常跳出来大骂爱国学生:“放屁放屁,真是岂有此理。”这些话传到胡文虎的耳朵里,他非常反感,就指示上海永安堂负责人在报纸上登出特大广告:“放屁放屁,真正是有此理。”吴稚晖看过后怒火万丈,正想发作,可再一看广告标题下的一段小字,就无话可说了:“河南某地某人寄给永安堂一封信,信中说:‘我某日某时突然肚子绞痛,跌倒在地,什么药都吃了,都未治好。后来我拿出一盒万金油,刮了一大块,用开水送服。过了不久,只觉得肚子里叽里咕噜响得厉害,放了几个大屁,就全好了。特此致函感谢!’”这个包袱抖得巧妙至极,讽刺意味浓厚。
㈢读世相 | 人生没有正确答案
作者:刘媛媛
创业的前辈说,你能力这么强不出来创业可惜了,现在创业就是时代潮流,你要站在风口浪尖推动时代啊!
好像选择每一条道路都有些道理,每个人都能够从一个侧面说些自己的感受和见闻,谈不上是全部的真相,但是也不假。
日语里有一个词叫“罗生门”,原作“罗城门”,罗城门是战乱时期丢弃死尸的地方,人死了就从城楼上被丢下去,活人就在城内继续生活。因此罗城门是一个连接生死、隔离阴阳的地方,有些生死徘徊之意。
到后来,这个词慢慢地演化为:事件当事人各执一词,分别按照对自己有利的方式进行表述证明或编织谎言,同时又都难以拿出第三方公证有力的证据,使得事实真相扑朔迷离,最终陷入无休止的争论与反复中。
人生就好像是徘徊在生死之间的罗生门,怎么活着都行。没有哪种生活方式更好,没有哪种人更正确,也没有哪句话是真相。早结婚有早结婚的道理,晚结婚有晚结婚的道理,不结婚也有不结婚的道理。
奋发向上有奋发向上的道理,及时行乐有及时行乐的道理。孤独有孤独的道理,热闹有热闹的道理。苏格拉底有苏格拉底的道理,猪也有猪的道理。只要你能坚持把自己的道理活成真理。
最喜欢的一句话就是:食得咸鱼挨得渴。
你爱裙子,就忍受饿;你爱吃,就忍受胖;你爱成功,就忍受辛苦;你爱闲淡,就忍受平常;你爱一个不好的他,就忍受坏脾气、小性子、大男子主义;你爱自由,就一个人坦坦荡荡……多简单,有所渴望,有所担当。领悟到这一点之后,人就会变得很有自知之