英语美文30篇01-Youth

                           英语美文30篇01-Youth

大耳朵英语　  2008-03-26 11:50:13　 【 打印】

Youth 

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. 

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. 

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. 

Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder,the unfailing childlike appetite for what’s next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young. 

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80. 

名家译文 

青春不是年华，而是心境；青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而是深沉的意志，恢宏的想象，炙热的恋情；青春是生命的深泉在涌流。 

青春气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，进取压倒苟安。如此锐气，二十后生而有之，六旬男子则更多见。年岁有加，并非垂老，理想丢弃，方堕暮年。 

岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤；热忱抛却，颓废必致灵魂。忧烦，惶恐，丧失自信，定使心灵扭曲，意气如灰。 

无论年届花甲，拟或二八芳龄，心中皆有生命之欢乐，奇迹之诱惑，孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一台天线，只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号，你就青春永驻，风华常存。 

一旦天线下降，锐气便被冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生，即使年方二十，实已垂垂老矣；然则只要树起天线，捕捉乐观信号，你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。

 

 

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Youth

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life. 
　青春不是人生的一段时间，而是一种心态；青春不在于满面红光，嘴唇红润，腿脚麻利，而在于意志的刚强，想象的丰富，情感的饱满；青春是生命之泉的明澈清新。
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. 
　青春意味着气质上勇敢战胜怯懦，进取精神战胜安逸享受。这种气质在60岁的老人身上比20岁的青年更常见。仅仅一把年纪决不会导致衰老。我们之所以老态龙钟，是因为我们放弃了对理想的追求。
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. 
岁月的流逝会在皮肤上留下皱纹，而热情的丧失会给灵魂刻下皱纹。焦虑、恐惧和缺乏自信会使心情沮丧，意志泯灭。
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder,the unfailing childlike appetite for what’s next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young. 

　　无论是60岁，还是16岁，每个人的心田都有着对新鲜事物的心驰神往和寻根问底、追求人生乐趣的不泯童心。在你我的心中有座无线电台，只要它能接受来自人类和上帝的美感，希望，欢乐，勇气和力量，你就永葆青春。

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80. 

　　如果你收起天线，使自己的心灵蒙上一层玩世不恭的霜雪和悲观厌世的冰凌，即使你年方20，你已垂垂老矣；但只要你竖起天线去收集乐观进取的电波，那就有机会在你80岁高龄辞世之时仍然青春焕发。

 

(2) Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.

    没有人仅仅因为时光的流逝而变得衰老

    by a number of years译为“因为时间的流逝”

(3)　　the lure of wonder和the unfailing childlike appetite都是be curious about something and desire to know it的意思，一起使用有一种强调的意义，为了达到顺畅，翻译的时候不用两个都译。我觉得这个时候翻译的重心在what’s next and the joy of the game of living。将what’s next译为“未来”很好，不仅简练，而且让人联想到“希望”这一让人永葆青春的要素。再就是“the game of living”,game本意是游戏，特别是那种带一点点竞争性质的游戏。不知是不是出于这个原因，译者二把它译为“人生竞争中的快乐”。但我觉得译为“人生的乐趣”也可以。