Roses for Rose 送给罗丝的玫瑰

红玫瑰花是她的最爱,她的名字也叫Rose。每年情人节,她的丈夫都要送她打了可爱蝴蝶结的红玫瑰。他去世那年,玫瑰花送到了她的门口,卡片上写着:“我的情人节礼物”……


Red roses were her favorites, her name was also Rose. And every year her husband sent them, tied with pretty bows. The year he died, the roses were delivered to her door. The card said, "Be my Valentine, "like all the years before. Each year he sent her roses, and the note would always say, "I love you even more this year, than last year on this day. ""My love for you will always grow, with every passing year. "She knew this was the last time that the roses would appear. She thought, he ordered roses in advance before this day. Her loving husband did not know, that he would pass away. He always liked to do things early. Then, if he got too busy, everything would work out fine. She trimmed the stems, and placed them in a very special vase. Then, sat the vase beside the portrait of his smiling face. She would sit for hours, in her husband's favorite chair. While staring at his picture, and the roses sitting there.

A year went by, and it was hard to live without her mate. With loneliness and solitude, that had become her fate. Then, the very hour, as on Valentines before, the door-bell rang, and there were roses, sitting by her door. She brought the roses in, and then just looked at them in shock. Then, went to get the telephone, to call the florist shop. The owner answered, and she asked him, if he would explain, why would someone do this to her, causing her such pain?

"I know your husband passed away, more than a year ago, " The owner said, "I knew you'd call, and you would want to know. " "The flowers you received today, were paid for in advance. " "Your husband always planned ahead, he left nothing to chance. "

"There is a standing order, that I have on file down here. And he has paid, well in advance, you'll get them every year. There also is another thing, that I think you should know. He wrote a special little card. . . he did this years ago. "

"Then, should ever, I find out that he's no longer here. That's the card. . . that should be sent, to you the following year. "

She thanked him and hung up the phone, her tears now flowing hard. Her fingers shaking, as she slowly reached to get the card. Inside the card, she saw that he had written her a note. Then, as she stared in total silence, this is what he wrote: "Hello my love, I know it's been a year since I've been gone, I hope it hasn't been too hard for you to overcome. " "I know it must be lonely, and the pain is very real. For if it was the other way, I know how I would feel. The love we shared made everything so beautiful in life. I loved you more than words can say, you were the perfect wife. "

"You were my friend and lover, you fulfilled my every need. I know it's only been a year, but please try not to grieve. I want you to be happy, even when you shed your tears. That is why the roses will be sent to you for years. "

"When you get these roses, think of all the happiness that we had together, and how both of us were blessed. I have always loved you and I know I always will. But, my love, you must go on, you have some living still. "

"Please. . . try to find happiness, while living out your days. I know it is not easy, but I hope you find some ways. The roses will come every year, and they will only stop when your door's not answered, when the florist stops to knock. "

"He will come five times that day, in case you have gone out. But after his last visit, he will know without a doubt. To take the roses to the place, where I've instructed him, and place the rose where we are, together once again. "

Rush 匆匆--朱自清

Swallows may have gone, but there is a time of return; willow trees may have died back, but there is a time of regreening; peach blossoms may have fallen, but they will bloom again. Now, you the wise, tell me, why should our days leave us, never to return? - If they had been stolen by someone, who could it be? Where could he hide them? If they had made the escape themselves, then where could they stay at the moment?
  燕子去了,有再来的时候;杨柳枯了,有再青的时候;桃花谢了,有再开的时候。但是,聪明的,你告诉我,我们的日子为什么一去不复返呢?——是有人偷了他们罢:那是谁?又藏在何处呢?是他们自己逃走了:现在又到了哪里呢?

  I don't know how many days I have been given to spend, but I do feel my hands are getting empty. Taking stock silently, I find that more than eight thousand days have already slid away from me. Like a drop of water from the point of a needle disappearing into the ocean, my days are dripping into the stream of time, soundless, traceless. Already sweat is starting on my forehead, and tears welling up in my eyes.

  我不知道他们给了我多少日子;但我的手确乎是渐渐空虚了。在默默里算着,八千多日子已经从我手中溜去;象针尖上一滴水滴在大海里,我的日子滴在时间的流里,没有声音也没有影子。我不禁头涔涔而泪潸潸了。

  Those that have gone have gone for good, those to come keep coming; yet in between, how swift is the shift, in such a rush? When I get up in the morning, the slanting sun marks its presence in my small room in two or three oblongs. The sun has feet, look, he is treading on, lightly and furtively; and I am caught, blankly, in his revolution. Thus--the day flows away through the sink when I wash my hands, wears off in the bowl when I eat my meal, and passes away before my day-dreaming gaze as reflect in silence. I can feel his haste now, so I reach out my hands to hold him back, but he keeps flowing past my withholding hands. In the evening, as I lie in bed, he strides over my body, glides past my feet, in his agile way. The moment I open my eyes and meet the sun again, one whole day has gone. I bury my face in my hands and heave a sigh. But the new day begins to flash past in the sigh.

  去的尽管去了,来的尽管来着,去来的中间,又怎样的匆匆呢?早上我起来的时候,小屋里射进两三方斜斜的太阳。太阳他有脚啊,轻轻悄悄地挪移了;我也茫茫然跟着旋转。于是——洗手的时候,日子从水盆里过去;吃饭的时候,日子从饭碗里过去;默默时,便从凝然的双眼前过去。我觉察他去的匆匆了,伸出手遮挽时,他又从遮挽着的手边过去,天黑时,我躺在床上,他便伶伶俐俐地从我身边垮过,从我脚边飞去了。等我睁开眼和太阳再见,这算又溜走了一日。我掩着面叹息。但是新来的日子的影儿又开始在叹息里闪过了。

  What can I do, in this bustling world, with my days flying in their escape? Nothing but to hesitate, to rush. What have I been doing in that eight-thousand-day rush, apart from hesitating? Those bygone days have been dispersed as smoke by a light wind, or evaporated as mist by the morning sun. What traces have I left behind me? Have I ever left behind any gossamer traces at all? I have come to the world, stark naked; am I to go back, in a blink, in the same stark nakedness? It is not fair though: why should I have made such a trip for nothing!

  在逃去如飞的日子里,在千门万户的世界里的我能做些什么呢?只有徘徊罢了,只有匆匆罢了;在八千多日的匆匆里,除徘徊外,又剩些什么呢?过去的日子如轻烟却被微风吹散了,如薄雾,被初阳蒸融了;我留着些什么痕迹呢?我何曾留着象游丝样的痕迹呢?我赤裸裸来到这世界,转眼间也将赤裸裸地回去罢?但不能平的,为什么偏要白白走这一遭啊?

  You the wise, tell me, why should our days leave us, never to return?
  你聪明的,告诉我,我们的日子为什么一去不复返呢?

假如我能留住彩虹

如果我能留住彩虹,我将只为你一个人挽留,在你感到忧伤的日子,与你分享它的美丽;如果我能建造大山,你尽可把它当成自己宁静的港湾,独处的空间……


If I could catch a rainbow

I would do it just for you

And share with its beauty

On the days you're feeling blue. If I could build a mountain

You could call your very own

A place to find serenity

A place to be alone.

If I could take your troubles

I would toss them into the sea

But all these things I'm finding

Are impossible for me.

I cannot build a mountain

Or catch a rainbow fair

But let me be what I know best

A friend that's always there.

与你相伴I promise to be there for you

If one day you feel like crying...  

  Call me.

  I don’t promise that I will make you laugh,

  But I can cry with you.

If one day you want to run away —

Don’t be afraid to call me.

I don’t promise to ask you to stop...

But I can run with you.

If one day you don’t want to listen to anyone...

Call me.


I promise to be there for you,

And I promise to be very quiet.

But if one day you call...

And there is no answer...

Come fast to see me,

Perhaps I need you.

著名诗人徐志摩名篇-《再别康桥》

Very quietly I take my leave

As quietly as I came here;

Quietly I wave good-bye

To the rosy clouds in the western sky.

The golden willows by the riverside

Are young brides in the setting sun;

Their reflections on the shimmering waves

Always linger in the depth of my heart.

The floating heart growing in the sludge

Sways leisurely under the water;

In the gentle wave of Cambridge

I would be a water plant!

That pool under the shade of elm trees

Hold not water but the rainbow from the sky;

Shattered to pieces among the duckweeds

Is the sediment of a rainbow-like dream?

To seek a dream? Just to pole a boat upstream

To where the green grass is more verdant;

Or to have the boat fully loaded with starlight

And sing aloud in the splendor of starlight.

But I cannot sing aloud

Quietness is my farewell music;

Even summer insects heap silence for me

Silence is Cambridge tonight!

Very quietly I take my leave

As quietly as I came here;

Gently I flick my sleeves,

Not even a wisp of cloud will I bring away.

Beautiful Smile and Love

Mother Teresa The poor are very wonderful people.
One evening we went out and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition---and I told the sisters: You take care of the other three. I take care of this one who looked worse. So I did for her all that my love can do. I put her in bed and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand as she said just the words “Thank you.” And she died.

I could not help but examine my conscience before her, and I asked what would I say if I were in her place. And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said I am hungry, that I am dying. I am cold. I am in pain or something, but she gave me much more—she gave me her graceful love. And she died with a smile on her face. As did that man whom we picked up from the drain, half eaten with worms, and we brought him to the home. “I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for.” And it was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man who could speak like that, who could die like that without blaming anybody, without cursing anybody, without comparing anything. Like an angel—this is the greatness of our people. And that is why we believe what Jesus had said: I was hungry—I was naked—I was homeless—I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for –and you did it to me.

I believe that we are not real social workers. We may be doing social work in the eyes of the people, but we are really contemplatives in the heart of the world. For we are touching the body of Christ twenty-four hours… And I think that in our family we don’t need bombs and guns, to destroy, to bring peace—just get together, love on another, bring that peace, that joy, that strength of presence of each other in the home. And we will be able to overcome al the evil that is in the world.

And with this prize that I have received as a Prize of Peace,I am going to try to make the home for many people who have no home. Because I believe that love begins at home, and if we can create a home for the poor I think that more and more love will spread. And we will be able through this understanding love to bring peace, be the good news to the poor, the poor in our own family first, in our country and in the world. To be able to do this, our sisters, our lives have to be woven with prayer. They have to be woven with Christ to be able to understand, to be able to share. Because to be woven with Christ is to be able to understand, to be able to share. Because today there is no such suffering…When I pick up a person from a street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread, I have satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But a person who is shut out, who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person who has been thrown out from society—that poverty is so full of hurt and so unbearable, and I find that very difficult… And so let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love, and once begin to love each other naturally we want to do something.

Spring(春天)

  威廉·布莱克是十九世纪英国浪漫派诗人,主要诗作有诗集《天真之歌》、《经验之歌》等。 早期作品简洁明快,中后期作品趋向玄妙晦涩,充满神秘色彩。本诗选自《天真之歌》。

  春天来了,万物复苏。这表现在动物的活动上:鸟儿欢腾,公鸡鸣叫,云雀在天上翻飞,夜莺在山谷间歌唱;也表现在孩子们的活动上:欢蹦乱跳,笑语喧哗,跟小动物一块儿玩耍。

  这首诗的三节像三个变焦电影镜头:由远而近依次是山谷树林、村庄农舍,然后聚焦在一个与羊羔相戏的儿童身上。意象鲜明、具体、生动,趣味盎然。而诗以儿童的口吻写出,反映了孩子们对春天的感受。诗行由片语和短句组成,注意押韵和反复,几近童谣,轻松自然,琅琅上口,读来颇有春天气息扑面而来的新鲜感。





Sound the Flute!

  Now it's mute.

  Birds delight

  Day and Night.

  Nightingale

  In the dale,

  Lark in Sky

  Merrily

  Merrily Merrily to welcome in the Year.

  Little Boy

  Full of joy.

  Little Girl

  Sweet and small.

  Cock does crow,

  So do you.

  Merry voice,

  Infant noise,

  Merrily Merrily to welcome in the Year.

  Little Lamb,

  Here I am,

  Come and lick

  My white neck.

  Let me pull

  Your soft Wool.

  Let me kiss

  Your soft face.

  Merrily Merrily we welcome in the Year.

  把笛子吹起!

  现在它无声无息。

  白天夜晚

  鸟儿们喜欢。

  有一只夜莺

  在山谷深深,

  天上的云雀,

  满心喜悦,

  欢天喜地,迎接新年到。

  小小的男孩

  无比欢快。

  小小的女孩

  玲珑可爱。

  公鸡喔喔叫,

  你也叫声高。

  愉快的嗓音,

  婴儿的闹声,

  欢天喜地,迎接新年到。

  小小的羊崽,

  这里有我在,

  走过来舔舐

  我白白的脖子。

  你的毛柔软,

  让我牵一牵。

  你的脸娇嫩,

  让我吻一吻。

  欢天喜地,我们迎接新年到。

Love's Witness 爱情的见证

Slight unpremeditated Words are borne
By every common Wind into the Air;
Carelessly utter'd, die as soon as born,
And in one instant give both Hope and Fear:
Breathing all Contraries with the same Wind
According to the Caprice of the Mind.
But Billetdoux are constant Witnesses,
Substantial Records to Eternity;
Just Evidences,who the Truth confess,
On which the Lover safely may rely;
They're serious Thoughts,digested and resolv'd;
And last,when Words are into Clouds devolv'd.


不加思索的轻率话语,
被每一次平凡的呼吸载入空气;
随便说说,刚出口即消失,
一瞬间给人希望和恐惧:
同一气息呼出万般矛盾心肠,
追随心灵无常的遐想。
但情书则是恒常的见证,
直至永恒的实体记录;
公道的证物,它道出真诚,
恋人能在其上安心依附;
它们是严肃的思想,经过深思熟虑;
当话语在云外消失,它们还将延续。

Think it Over

Today we have higher buildings and wider highways,but shorter temperaments and narrower points of view;

今天我们拥有了更高层的楼宇以及更宽阔的公路,但是我们的性情却更为急躁,眼光也更加狭隘;

We spend more,but enjoy less;

我们消耗的更多,享受到的却更少;

We have bigger houses,but smaller famillies;

我们的住房更大了,但我们的家庭却更小了;

We have more compromises,but less time;

我们妥协更多,时间更少;

We have more knowledge,but less judgment;

我们拥有了更多的知识,可判断力却更差了;

We have more medicines,but less health;

我们有了更多的药品,但健康状况却更不如意;

We have multiplied out possessions,but reduced out values;

我们拥有的财富倍增,但其价值却减少了;

We talk much,we love only a little,and we hate too much;

我们说的多了,爱的却少了,我们的仇恨也更多了;

We reached the Moon and came back,but we find it troublesome to cross our own street and meet our neighbors;

我们可以往返月球,但却难以迈出一步去亲近我们的左邻右舍;

We have conquered the uter space,but not our inner space;

我们可以征服外太空,却征服不了我们的内心;

We have highter income,but less morals;

我们的收入增加了,但我们的道德却少了;

These are times with more liberty,but less joy;

我们的时代更加自由了,但我们拥有的快乐时光却越来越少;

We have much more food,but less nutrition;

我们有了更多的食物,但所能得到的营养却越来越少了;

These are the days in which it takes two salaries for each home,but divorces increase;

现在每个家庭都可以有双份收入,但离婚的现象越来越多了;

These are times of finer houses,but more broken homes;

现在的住房越来越精致,但我们也有了更多破碎的家庭;

That's why I propose,that as of today;

这就是我为什么要说,让我们从今天开始;

You do not keep anything for a special occasion.because every day that you live is a SPECIAL OCCASION.

不要将你的东西为了某一个特别的时刻而预留着,因为你生活的每一天都是那么特别;

Search for knowledge,read more ,sit on your porch and admire the view without paying attention to your needs;

寻找更我的知识,多读一些书,坐在你家的前廊里,以赞美的眼光去享受眼前的风景,不要带上任何功利的想法;

Spend more time with your family and friends,eat your favorite foods,visit the places you love;

花多点时间和朋友与家人在一起,吃你爱吃的食物,去你想去的地方;

Life is a chain of moments of enjoyment;not only about survival;

生活是一串串的快乐时光;我们不仅仅是为了生存而生存;

Use your crystal goblets.Do not save your best perfume,and use it every time you feel you want it.

举起你的水晶酒杯吧。不要吝啬洒上你最好的香水,你想用的时候就享用吧!

Remove from your vocabulary phrases like"one of these days"or "someday";

从你的词汇库中移去所谓的“有那么一天”或者“某一天”;

Let's write that letter we thought of writing "one of these days"!

曾打算“有那么一天”去写的信,就在今天吧!

Let's tell our families and friends how much we love them;

告诉家人和朋友,我们是多么地爱他们;

Do not delay anything that adds laughter and joy to your life;

不要延迟任何可以给你的生活带来欢笑与快乐的事情;

Every day,every hour,and every minute is special;

每一天、每一小时、每一分钟都是那么特别;

And you don't know if it will be your last.

你无从知道这是否最后刻。

情系七夕:Chinese Valentine's Day Comes

Chinese Valentine's Day (or "Qi Qiao Jie ") falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar (August according to the Gregorian calendar). As is the custom elsewhere in the world, this is a day devoted to romance. In China, this day is also known as "The Begging Festival" or "The Daughter's Festival." It is an important day for girls. In the evening, girls prepare melons and fruit before worship and prayers for a good marriage.

There are many stories as to the origins of Chinese Valentine's Day, and one of them involves the Emperor of Heaven and his seven daughters.

The love story

The seventh daughter of the Emperor of Heaven and an orphaned cowherd were separated by the Emperor; the girl was forced to move to the star Vega (织女星,天琴座中的最亮的那颗星)and the cowherd, to the star Altair(牛郎星, 牵牛星). They were only allowed to meet once a year on the day of seventh day of seventh lunar month - Chinese Valentine's Day.

The story begins with the handsome but poor orphan who lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law. After his parents passed away, the boy's brother inherited the house and land. But all he had was an old ox. As a cowherd, the boy had to work the farm fields with his ox everyday. His daily life routine resembled the story of Cinderella (《灰姑娘》).

The seventh daughter of the Emperor, also known as the Weaving Maid, was good at handcrafting, especially weaving clothes. The Emperor particularly appreciated her skills of weaving clouds with rainbows to make the world more beautiful.

The cowherd's ox, which was actually an immortal from heaven, made mistakes in heaven and was reincarnated as an ox to toil on earth. One day, the ox suddenly said to the cowherd: "You are a nice person. If you want to get married, go to the brook and your wish will come true."


The cowherd went to the brook and watched the seven pretty daughters of the Emperor come down from heaven to take a bath. Fascinated by the youngest and the most beautiful one, the cowherd hid her fairy clothes. When the other six fairies went away after the bath, the youngest could not fly back to heaven without her fairy clothes.

The cowherd then appeared and told the Weaving Maid that he would keep her clothes until she agreed to be his wife. After a slight hesitation, mixed with coyness and eagerness, the maid accepted the handsome man's proposal. The couple was then married and had two children two years later.

Meanwhile, up in heaven, the Emperor missed the beautiful skies once woven by his seventh daughter. He ordered his daughter's grandmother to find her and bring her back to him. As the seventh princess was flying to heaven with her grandmother, the cowherd put on his old ox's hide (which he preserved after the animal had died long ago) and put their children into two bamboo baskets laced with his wife's magical fairy clothes to chase after his love.

But the grandmother created a milky way in the sky with her hairpin, which kept the lovers apart. The seventh princess moved to the star Vega (The Swooping Eagle) in the Lyra (Harp) constellation. And the cowherd and their two children stayed on the star Altair (Flying One) in the Aquila (Eagle) constellation.

经典电影台词(actor's lines)

1. Life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get. (生命就像一盒巧克力,结果往往出人意料)

2. Stupid is as stupid does. (蠢人做蠢事,也可理解为傻人有傻福)

3. Miracles happen every day. (奇迹每天都在发生)

4. Jenny and I was like peas and carrots. (我和珍妮形影不离)

5. Have you given any thought to your future? (你有没有为将来打算过呢)

6. You just stay away from me please. (求你离开我)

7. If you are ever in trouble, don’t try to be brave, just run, just run away. (你若遇上麻烦,不要逞强,你就跑,远远跑开)

8. It made me look like a duck in water. (它让我如鱼得水)

9. Death is just a part of life, something we’re all destined to do. (死亡是生命的一部分,是我们注定要做的一件事)

10. I was messed up for a long time. (这些年我一塌糊涂)

11. Momma always says there’s an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Where they’re going. Where they’ve been. (妈妈经常说:看鞋可以识人。他们会去哪里?他们到过哪里?)

12.I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floating around accidentally—like on a breeze.(我不懂我们是否有着各自的命运,还是只是到处随风飘荡)

The stars

Gaze up to where the Milky Way (or "Heavenly River" in Chinese) traverses the night sky and you will see a Gaze up to where the Milky Way (or "Heavenly River" in Chinese) traverses the night sky and you will see a constellation of five small stars on the east bank. This is Vega, also called the Weaving Maid or "Zhi Nu." Opposite to her, on the distant western bank, is Altair, also known as Cowherd or "Niu Lang ", shining brilliantly throughout the ages -- lonely and waiting.

Since Vega is the fifth brightest star in the sky, it is therefore very easy to spot on a summer night. Vega is 16 times bigger than the sun and its surface temperature tops 10,000 degrees Celsius. Vega is also 25 times brighter than the sun and 25 light years away from Earth.

Altair, as the 11th brightest star in the sky, is also easy to spot on a summer night. Altair is four times bigger than the sun at a surface temperature of about 8,000 degrees Celsius. It is 11 times brighter than the sun and 17 light years away from Earth.

Two stars Alshain and Tarazed, located on each side of Altair, are said to be the cowherd's two children. Since the distance between Vega and Altair is 16 light years, they cannot meet in the sky. In the story, the magpie bridge allowed the Weaving Maid and cowherd to meet.

The festival

On Chinese Valentine's Day, couples go to matchmaker temples to pray for everlasting love and marriage. Even single people will frequent the temple for luck in love.

Chinese Valentine's Day is also called "The Daughter's Festival". Long ago, Chinese girls aspired to becoming skilled craftswomen like the Weaving Maid. This skill was considered essential to their future as wives and mothers. On that night, unmarried girls prayed to the Weaving Maid star for the special gift. When the star Vega was high up in the sky, girls performed a small test by placing a needle on the water's surface: If the needle did not sink, the girl was considered to be ready to find a husband. Once a year, on this day, girls could wish for anything their hearts desired.

In some Chinese provinces, people believe that decorating an ox's horns with flowers on Chinese Valentine's Day will ward off disaster. On the night of Valentine's Day, women wash their hair to give it a fresh and shiny look; children wash their faces the next morning using the overnight water in their backyards for a more naturally beautiful appearance; and girls throw five-colored ropes made during the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival on the roofs so magpies can use them to build the bridge.

改变一生的邂逅

如果一个人,在适当的时候、合适的地方因为一句话而改变了他的人生,你会感到不可思议吗?然而这的确是真的,它就发生在我14岁那年。那时,我正在从得克萨斯州的休斯敦,经由爱坡索市前往加利福尼亚州去的旅途中……


Isn't it amazing how one person, sharing one idea, at the right time and place can change the course of your life's history? This is certainly what happened in my life. When I was 14, I was hitchhiking from Houston, Texas, through El Paso on my way to California. I was following my dream, journeying with the sun. I was a high school dropout with learning disabilities and was set on surfing the biggest waves in the world, first in California and then in Hawaii, where I would later live.

Upon reaching downtown El Paso, I met an old man, a bum, on the street corner. He saw me walking, stopped me and questioned me as I passed by. He asked me if I was running away from home, I suppose because I looked so young. I told him, "Not exactly, sir," since my father had given me a ride to the freeway in Houston and given me his blessings while saying, "It is important to follow your dream and what is in your heart. Son. " The bum then asked me if he could buy me a cup of coffee. I told him, "No, sir, but a soda would be great." We walked to a corner malt shop and sat down on a couple of swiveling stools while we enjoyed our drinks.

After conversing for a few minutes, the friendly bum told me to follow him. He told me that he had something grand to show me and share with me. We walked a couple of blocks until we came upon the downtown El Paso Public Library.

We walked up its front steps and stopped at a small information stand. Here the bum spoke to a smiling old lady, and asked her if she would be kind enough to watch my things for a moment while he and I entered the library. I left my belongings with this grandmotherly figure and entered into this magnificent hall of learning.

The bum first led me to a table and asked me to sit down and wait for a moment while he looked for something special amongst the shelves. A few moments later, he returned with a couple of old books under his arms and set them on the table. He then sat down beside me and spoke. He started with a few statements that were very special and that changed my life. He said, "There are two things that I want to teach you, young man, and they are these:

"Number one is to never judge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you. "He followed with, "I bet you think I'm a bum, don't you, young man?"

I said, "Well, uh, yes, I guess so, sir. "

"Well, young man, I've got a little surprise for you. I am one of the wealthiest men in the world. I have probably everything any man could ever want. I originally come from the Northeast and have all the things that money can buy. But a year ago, my wife passed away, bless her soul, and since then I have been deeply reflecting upon life. I realized there were certain things I had not yet experienced in life,one of which was what it would be like to live like a bum on the streets. I made a commitment to myself to do exactly that for one year. For the past year, I have been going from city to city doing just that. So, you see, don't ever judge a book by its cover, for a cover can fool you.

"Number two is to learn how to read, my boy. For there is only one thing that people can t take away from you, and that is your wisdom. " At that moment, he reached forward, grabbed my right hand in his and put them upon the books he'd pulled from the shelves. They were the writings of Plato and Aristotle-immortal classics from ancient times.

The bum then led me back past the smiling old woman near the entrance, down the steps and back on the streets near where we first met. His parting request was for me to never forget what he taught me.

Living life over 如果有来生

如果有来生,我会少说,多听;我会请朋友来家里吃饭,即使把地毯弄脏;如果有来生,我会点燃那支雕成玫瑰状的蜡烛,不让它在尘封中融化;我会与孩子们坐在草地上,不去担心草地上的污渍……如果有来生,我会说更多的“我爱你”……“对不起”……然而,最重要的是,如果有来生,我会抓住每一秒……看人生,读人生……体验人生……再也不放手。


If I had my life to live over...I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was strained and the sofa faded. I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding patter if I were not there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, would not show soil or was guaranteed to last a life time.

There would have been more "I love yous" ... more "I'm sorrys"... but mostly, given another shots at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it...live it...and never give it back.

Virtue 美德

Sweet day,so cool,so calm,so bright! 甜美的白昼,如此凉爽、安宁、明媚!
  The bridal of the earth and sky- 天地间完美的匹配-----
  The dew shall weep thy fall to-night; 今宵的露珠儿将为你的消逝而落泪;
  For thou must die. 因为你必须离去。
  
  Sweet rose,whose hue angry and brave, 美丽的玫瑰,色泽红润艳丽,
  Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye, 令匆匆而过的人拭目而视,
  Thy root is ever in its grave, 你的根永远扎在坟墓里,
  And thou must die. 而你必须消逝。
  
  Sweet spring,full of sweet days and roses, 美妙的春天,充满了美好的日子和芳香的玫瑰,
  A box where sweets compacted lie, 如一支芬芳满溢的盒子,
  My music shows ye have your closes, 我的音乐表明你们也有终止,
  And all must die, 万物都得消逝。
  
  Only a sweet and virtuous soul, 唯有美好而正直的心灵,
  Like season‘d timber,never gives; 犹如干燥备用的木料,永不走样;
  But though the whole world turn to coal, 纵然整个世界变为灰烬,
  Then chiefly lives. 它依然流光溢彩。

A moving story--about FAMILY

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year oldson waiting for him at the door.

SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?" replied the man.

SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"

DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.

SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"

DAD: "If you must know, I make $20 an hour."

"Oh", the little boy replied, with his head down.Looking up, he said,"Daddy, may I please borrow $10?"

The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behaviour."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down,and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10 and he really didn't ask for money very often.

The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door. "Are you asleep, son?" He asked. "No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.

"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier said the man ."It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $10 you asked for." The little boy sat straight up,smiling. "Oh, thank you.daddy!" He yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he

pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man, seeing that the boy already had money,started to get angry again.he little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at his father."Why do you want more money ! if you already have some?" the father grumbled. "Because I didn't have enough, but nowI do," the little boy replied. "Daddy, I have $20 now. Can I buy anhour of your time? Please comehome early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."

So what is the moral of the story? Don't work too hard...and you know what's the full word of FAMILY?

FAMILY = ( F )ATHER ( A )ND ( M )OTHER ( I ) ( L )OVE ( Y )OU!

火车上的女孩

I had the compartment on the train to myself up to Rohana, and then a girl got on. The couple seeing her off were probably her parents, they seemed very anxious about her comfort, and the woman gave the girl detailed instructions as to where to keep her things, when not to lean out of windows, and how to avoid speaking to strangers. As I had become blind by then, I could not tell what the girl looked like, but I knew she wore slippers from the way they slapped against her heels, and I liked the sound of her voice.

"Are you going all the way to Dehra Dun?" I asked her as the train pulled out of the station.

I must have been sitting in a dark corner, because my voice startled her. She gave a little exclamation, and said, "I didn't know anyone else was here."

Well, it often happens that people with good eyesight fail to see what is right in front of them. They have too much to observe, I suppose, whereas those who cannot see take in what registers most telling on their remaining senses.

"I didn't see you either at first," I said. "But I heard you come in." I wondered if I would be able to prevent her from discovering that I couldn't see. I thought, provided I keep to my seat, it shouldn't be too difficult.

"I'm getting down at Saharanpur," the girl said. "My aunt is meeting me there. Where are you going?"

"To Dehra Dun, and then to Mussoorie," I replied. "Oh, lucky you! I wish I were going to Mussoorie. I love the mountains. Especially in October."

"Yes, this is the best time." I said, calling on my memories when I could see. "The hills are covered with wild dahlias, the sun is delicious, and at night you can sit in front of a log fire and drink a little brandy.

Most of the tourists have gone, and the roads are quiet and almost deserted."

She was silent, and I wondered if my words had touched her, or whether she thought me a romantic fool. Then I made a mistake. "What is it like outside?" I asked.


She seemed to find nothing strange in the question. Had she noticed already that I could not see? But her next question removed my doubts.

"Why don't you look out of the window?" she asked quite naturally.

I moved easily along the berth and felt for the window ledge. The window was open and I faced it, making a pretense of studying the landscape. In my mind's eye, I could see the telegraph posts flashing by. "Have you noticed," I ventured, "that the trees seem to be moving while we seem to be standing still?"

"That always happens," she said.

I turned from the window and faced the girl, and for a while we sat in silence. "You have an interesting face," I commented. I was becoming quite daring, but it was a safe remark, few girls can resist flattery.

She laughed pleasantly, a clear, ringing laugh. "It's nice to be told that," she said. "I'm so tired of people telling me that I have a pretty face."

Oh, so you do have a pretty face, thought I, and aloud I said, "Well, an interesting face can also be pretty."

"You are very gallant," she said. "But why are you so serious?"

"We'll soon be at your station," I said rather abruptly. "Thank goodness it's a short journey. I can't bear to sit in a train for more than two or three hours."

Yet I was prepared to sit there for almost any length of time, just to listen to her talking. Her voice had the sparkle of a mountain stream. As soon as she left the train, she would forget our brief encounter, but it would stay with me for the rest of the journey, and for some time after.

The engine's whistle shrieked, the carriage wheels changed their sound and rhythm. The girl got up to collect her things. I wondered if she wore her hair in a bun, or if it hung down loose over her shoulders, or if it was cut very short.

The train drew slowly into the station. Outside, there was the shouting of porters and vendors and, near the carriage door, a highpitched female voice that must have belonged to the girl's aunt. "Goodbye," said the girl.

She was standing very close to me, so close that the perfume from her hair was tantalizing. I wanted to raise my hand and touch her hair, but she moved away, and only the perfume still lingered where she had stood.

There was some confusion in the doorway. A man getting into the compartment, stammered an apology. Then the door banged shut, and the world was closed out again. I returned to my berth. The guard blew his whistle and we moved off.

The train gathered speed, the wheels took up their song, the carriage groaned and shook. I found the window and sat in front of it, staring into daylight that was darkness for me. Once again I had a game to play and a new fellow traveller.

"She was an interesting girl," I said. "Can you tell me -- did she keep her hair long or short?" "I don't remember," he replied, sounding puzzled. "It was her eyes I noticed, not her hair. She had such beautiful eyes, but they were of no use to her -- she was completely blind. Didn't you notice?"

April Showers Bring May Flowers

  从美国中西部金色的田野,到巴勒斯坦嫩绿色的古老疆土,那些留心观察的人共享着同一个快乐真理。近来这一真理被阐述为:四月的雨带来五月的花。这一真理预示光明会从黑暗中迸发;刚强生自软弱;如果你敢确信,生命会从死亡中萌发!

  全世界的农民们都明白季节的重要性和永恒性。他们知道在哪个季节播种,哪个季节收获,每件事都必须应时而做!虽然暴雨无情地倾盆而下,迫使所有的户外劳作停止,但土地的主人会仰天微笑。尽管有诸多不便,但是他知道,雨会为他的庄稼带来繁茂生长所需的营养。四月里的豪雨,会带来五月里的繁花似锦。

  但是这一古老真理并不只适用于田里的庄稼,它还是那些正经历着人生磨难的人的无限希冀:一段友谊的受挫会开启另一段崭新友谊的大门;此处失去的工作会提供彼处更好的工作机会;一个梦想的破灭会成为美好未来的基石。万物皆有道!

  请谨记:势不可挡的黑暗或有一晚,但它永远无法阻挡清晨的万丈光芒!当你正处于悲伤之季,请坚持住,因为欢乐的季节也许马上就会到来……

From the golden-tipped fields of mid-west America to the ancient kingdoms of verdant Palestine, there is a happy truth to be shared with all who would take heed. In more recent times, this truth has been expressed as: April showers bring May flowers. This is a truth that promises light bursting from darkness, strength born from weakness and, if one dares to believe, life emerging from death.  Farmers all over the world know the importance and immutability of the seasons. They know that there is a season to plant and a season to harvest; everything must be done in its own time. Although the rain pours down with the utmost relentlessness, ceasing all outdoor activities, the man of the field lifts his face to the heavens and smiles. Despite the inconvenience, he knows that the rain provides the nourishment his crops need to grow and flourish. The torrential rains in the month of April, give rise to the glorious flowers in the month of May.

  But this ancient truth applies to more than the crops of the fields; it is an invaluable message of hope to all who experience tragedy in life. A dashed relationship with one can open up the door to a brand new friendship with another. A lost job here can provide the opportunity for a better job there. A broken dream can become the foundation of a wonderful future. Everything has its place.

  Remember this: overwhelming darkness may endure for a night, but it will never overcome the radiant light of the morning. When you are in a season of sorrow, hang in there, because a season of joy may be just around the corner…

April gina Bring Showers lack

Not a Chance to Regret

A short while ago when life was simple and all that mattered was friends and having fun. There were two sisters that lived life just as gracefully as possible. There names were Carlie and Mary Jane they were liked by everyone but something just wasn't right. Carlie and Mary Jane were both cheerleaders and loved it with a passion. But one day the unexpected happened. The sisters that were always the best of friends weren't so close and Mary Jane started arguing with her mom and little things like that. Well one day it just got out of hand the arguing and yelling. M.J. and her mom were going to cheerleading practice and were going at it pretty bad and her mom said the most hurtful thing to her "Mary Jane i can't believe the person you've become i want you out of my house and my life."

Those words pierced her heart so hard and so fast that she just plunged out of the car and down an embankment her mom stopped on a dime, yelling and praying she was okay. The car that was behind her saw the whole thing and happened to be a pastor, he got out and ran down the hill to find M.j.'s mom lying there holding her daughter helplessly yelling and screaming for her daughter to wake up " I love u sweetie wake up GOD PLEASE let her wake up i love her don't take her from me i need her god PLEASE."
The pastor walked over and called 911 and he began to pray, " Dear lord watch over this young lady bring her back we need her here don't take her away just yet." well the ambulance came and so did the helicopter they knew there was something seriously wrong. M.J.'s mom Gabrielle called Carlie from the hospital and had her rush right over. Carlie arrived and didn't even recognize her dear sister, so pale and bruised and filled with aggone her eyes began to water up. Then she asked " Is she gonna be okay." the doctor replied, "Carlie your sister is on life support and is unconscious the odds aren't good." Poor Carlie dropped to her knees and begged for her sister to wake up and be okay."

M.J. I need you want you here you gotta cheer with me be my brides maid at my wedding, throw me a baby shower when I'm expecting, M.J. its to soon don't go please i love you." and right then Mary Jane took her last breath. Word traveled fast and everyone was devastated friends, family, and even complete strangers. Mary Jane will always be remembered and loved. But you never know when its your time to go so try and be the best person you can be and don't do something in the heat of the moment you might not get a chance to regret it.

The Many Faces of Love

 Love.. what is love? A lot of people shared their views to what Love really is, or at least what Love is in their eyes. Perhaps love is just an illusion. A strong illusion, especially for those who are searching for a purpose of life. Is love an answer? Love can be wonderful, special, complicated, a distress, a gift, a curse, a tragedy, and most of all, an experience.  Love is a mysterious and a complicated force. What do a person mean when they say they love someone? Love is many different things. Each of us have our own understanding of Love is, and most of the time we base our definitions from feelings and experiences. The book defines love in many ways. "It is a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties." It can be an affection and tenderness felt by lovers. Love is the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration.

  Just when we thought we finally grasp what love is, somebody asks:

  "Does anyone really know what "LOVE" mean? I believe I have a true love, but "True love" is always hurt, isn"t it?"

  I scratches my head with this thought and began to wonder. What is the answer to this? "This I have to know!" I said to myself. I looked in the mirror and asked "Is it a true love when you know you want to live with this special person for the rest of your life? Have we reached "true love" when we are ready to give everything away towards our subject? Or maybe when can go as far as to sacrifice ourselves for our love? What about love as an obsession? Is that possible?

  "But isn"t love suppose to be an obsession? If it is not, then you"d have to rationalize. If you rationalize then it"s not love, because there is always a better rationalization."

  "I think the "in love" phase is obsessive but according to Williamson (and backed up by my paltry experience), love does not involve the ego, is selfless and the opposite of obsession."

  According to Marriane Williamson, the author of "A Return to Love," there is a "holy love" and a "special love." "The latter type is the obsessiveone; finding that one "special" person absorbs _ALL_ your attention."

  So who is right and who is wrong about love? There is no wrong answer. Love is many wonderful things. Love may not work out all the time but it leaves you a special sort of feeling, like nothing you have ever imagined. Is love a purpose of life? I think are life will be dull without it. But is it necessary? Important? It is a part of life, and forever it will be a part of us.

  "Love is not thinking about your happiness but making others happy." -anonymous

  "Our hearts are created to Love." -E. Atienza

  "Love is like a roller coaster, it has ups and downs."

  "Love doesn"t make the world go around, Love makes the ride worth while." -unknown

  "Money will buy you sex but not Love." -Simon Vainrub

  "The more you cry for the person you really love, the more you can understand real love." -Tsuchida Tomomi

A Good Heart to Lean on

When I was growing up, I was embarrassed to be seen with my father. He was severely crippled and very short, and when we would walk together, his hand on my arm for balance, people would stare. I would inwardly squirm at the un­wanted attention. If he ever noticed or was bothered, he never let on. It was difficult to coordinate our steps —— his halting, mine impatient —— and because of that, we didn't say much as we went along. But as we started out, he always said, "You set the pace. I will try to adjust to you. "

Our usual walk was to or from the subway, which was how he got to work. He went to work sick, and despite nasty weather. He almost never missed a day, and would make it to the office even if others could not. A matter of pride.

When snow or ice was on the ground, it was impossible for him to walk, even with help. At such times my sisters or I would pull him through the streets of Brooklyn, NY, on a child's sleigh to the sub­way entrance. Once there, he would cling to the handrail until he reached the lower steps that the warmer tunnel air kept ice-free. In Manhattan the subway station was the basement of his office building, and he would not have to go outside again until we met him in Brooklyn' on his way home.

When I think of it now, I marvel at how much courage it must have taken for a grown man to subject himself to such indignity and stress. And at how he did it —— without bitterness or complaint .

He never talked about himself as an object of pity, nor did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able. What he looked for in others was a "good heart", and if he found one, the owner was good enough for him.

Now that I am older, I believe that is a proper standard by which to judge people, even though I still don' t know precisely what a "good heart" is. But I know the times I don’t have one myself.

Unable to engage in many activities, my father still tried to participate in some way. When a local sandlot baseball team found itself |without a manager, he kept it going. He was a knowledgeable baseball fan and often took me to Ebbets Field to see the Brooklyn Dodgers play. He liked to go to dances and parties, where he could have a good time just sitting and watching.

On one memorable occasion a fight broke out at a beach party, with everyone punching and shoving. He wasn't content to sit and watch, but he couldn't stand unaided on the soft sand. In frustration he began to shout, "I' ll fight anyone who will tit down with me!"

Nobody did. But the next day people kidded him by saying it was the first time any fighter was urged to take a dive even before the bout began.

I now know he participated in some things vicariously through me, his only son. When I played ball (poorly), he "played" too. When I joined the Navy he "joined" too. And when I came home on leave, he saw to it that " I visited his office. Introducing me, he was really saying, "This is my son, but it is also me, and I could have done this, too, if things had been different." Those words were never said aloud.

He has been gone many years now, but I think of him often. I wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen with him during our walks. If he did, I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was, how unworthy I was, how I regretted it. I think of him when I complain about trifles, when I am envious of another's good fortu ne, when I don't have a "good heart".

At such times I put my hand on his arm to regain my balance, and say, "You set the pace, I will try to adjust to you."

Hold Your Head up High

I was fifteen months old, a happy carefree kid . . . until the day I fell. It was a bad fall. I landed on a glass rabbit which cut my eye badly enough to blind it. Trying to save the eye, the doctors stitched the eyeball together where it was cut, leaving a big ugly scar in the middle of my eye. The attempt failed, but my mama, in all of her wisdom, found a doctor who knew that if the eye were removed entirely, my face would grow up badly distorted, so my scarred, sightless, cloudy and gray eye lived on with me. And as I grew, this sightless eye in so many ways controlled me. I walked with my face looking at the floor so people would not see the ugly me. Sometimes people, even strangers, asked me embarrassing questions or made hurtful remarks. When the kids played games, I was always the "monster." I grew up imagining that everyone looked at me with disdain, as if my appearance were my fault. I always felt like I was a freak.

Yet Mama would say to me, at every turn, "Hold your head up high and face the world." It became a litany that I relied on. She had started when I was young. She would hold me in her arms and stroke my hair and say, "If you hold your head up high, it will be okay, and people will see your beautiful soul." She continued this message whenever I wanted to hide.

Those words have meant different things to me over the years. As a little child, I thought Mama meant, "Be careful or you will fall down or bump into something because you are not looking." As an adolescent, even though I tended to look down to hide my shame, I found that sometimes when I held my head up high and let people know me, they liked me. My mama's words helped me begin to realize that by letting people look at my face, I let them recognize the intelligence and beauty behind both eyes even if they couldn't see it on the surface.

In high school I was successful both academically and socially. I was even elected class president, but on the inside I still felt like a freak. All I really wanted was to look like everyone else. When things got really bad, I would cry to my mama and she would look at me with loving eyes and say, "Hold your head up high and face the world. Let them see the beauty that is inside."

When I met the man who became my partner for life, we looked each other straight in the eye, and he told me I was beautiful inside and out. He meant it. My mama's love and encouragement were the spark that gave me the confidence to overcome my own doubt. I had faced adversity, encountered my problems head on, and learned not only to appreciate myself but to have deep compassion for others.

"Hold your head up high," has been heard many times in my home. Each of my children has felt its invitation. The gift my mama gave me lives on in another generation.

Don’t Miss Out on Life

It takes only a minute to get crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone. But it takes a lifetime to forget someone. Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile. Because it only takes a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.

Maybe we meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person. We will know how to be grateful for that gift.

It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.

Giving someone all your love will not provide assurance that they'll love you back. Don’t expect love in return; Just wait for it to grow in their hearts. But if it doesn't, be content. It grew in yours.

There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real!

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

Happiness are for those who cry, those who have searched, and those who have tried because only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.

The Important Things in Life

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be - a roommate, a neighbor, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger - but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.

Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones.

If someone loves you, give love back to them in whatever way you can, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and listen to what they have to say.

Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don"t believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.

You can make anything you wish of your life. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.

And if you love someone tell them, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.

Words from A Loving Father

IN THE DOORWAY of my home, I looked closely at the face of my 23-year-old son, Daniel, his backpack by his side. We were saying good-bye. In a few hours he would be flying to France. He would be staying there for at least a year to learn another language and experience life in a different country. It was a transitional time in Daniel's life, a passage, a step from college into the adult world. I wanted to leave him with words that would have some meaning, some significance beyond the moment.

But nothing came from my lips. No sound broke the stillness of my beachside home on Long Island. Outside, I could hear the shrill cries of sea gulls as they circled the ever-changing surf. Inside, I stood frozen and quiet, looking into the searching eyes of my son.

What made it more difficult was that I knew this was not the first time I had let such a moment pass. When Daniel was five, I took him to the school-bus stop on his first day of kindergarten. I felt the tension in his hand holding mine as the bus turned the corner. I saw color flush his cheeks as the bus pulled up. His questioning eyes looked up at mine.

What is it going to be like, Dad? Can I do it? Will I be okay? And then he walked up the steps of the bus and disappeared inside. And the bus drove away. And I had said nothing.

A decade or so later, a similar scene played itself out. With his mother, I drove him to the College of William and Mary in Virginia. His first night, he went out with his new schoolmates. When he met us the next morning, he was sick. He was coming down with mononucleosis, but we could not know that then. We thought he had a hangover.

In his room, Dan lay stretched out on his bed as I started to leave for the trip home. I tried to think of something to say to give him some courage and confidence as he started this new phase of life.

Again, words failed me. I mumbled something like, "Hope you feel better, Dan." And I left.

Now, as I stood before him, I thought of those lost opportunities. How many times have we all let such moments pass?

A parent dies, and, instead of giving a eulogy ourselves, we let a clergyman speak. A child asks if Santa Claus is real, or where babies come from, and, embarrassed, we slough it off. When a daughter graduates or a son is married, we watch them go through the motions of the ceremony. But we don't seek out our children and find a quiet moment to tell them what they have meant to us. Or what they might expect to face in the years ahead.

How fast the years had passed. Daniel was born in New Orleans, slow to walk and talk, and small of stature. He was the tiniest in his class, but he developed a warm, outgoing nature and was popular with his peers. He was coordinated and agile, and he became adept in sports.

Baseball gave him his earliest challenge. He was an outstanding pitcher in Little League, expecting to make it big in high school. It didn't happen that way. He failed to move up from the junior varsity team. But he stuck it out. Eventually, as a senior, he moved up to the varsity. He won half the team's games. At graduation, the coach named Daniel the team's most valuable player.

His finest hour, though, came at a school science fair. He entered an exhibit showing how the circulatory system works. He sketched it on cardboard. It was primitive and crude, especially compared to the fancy, computerized, blinking-light models entered by other students. My wife, Sara, felt embarrassed for him.

It turned out that the other kids had not done their own work--their parents had made their exhibits. As the judges went on their rounds, they found that these other kids couldn't answer their questions. Daniel answered every one. When the judges awarded the Albert Einstein Plaque for the best exhibit, they gave it to him.

By the time Daniel left for college he stood six feet tall and weighed 170 pounds. He was muscular and in superb condition. But he never pitched another inning. He found that he could not combine athletics with academics. He gave up baseball for English literature. I was sorry that he would not develop his athletic talent, but proud that he had made such a mature decision. He graduated with a "B" average.

One day, I told Daniel that the great failing in my life had been that I didn't take a year or two off to travel when I finished college.

This is the best way, to my way of thinking, to broaden oneself and develop a larger perspective on life. Once I had married and begun working, I found that the dream of living in another culture had vanished.

Daniel thought about this. His Yuppie friends said that he would be insane to put his career on hold. But he decided it wasn't so crazy. After graduation, he worked as a waiter, a bike messenger, and a house painter. With the money he earned, he had enough to go to Paris.

The night before he was to leave, I tossed in bed. I was trying to figure out something to say. Nothing came to mind. Maybe, I thought, it wasn't necessary to say anything.

What does it matter in the course of a lifetime if a father never tells a son what he really thinks of him? But as I stood before Daniel, I knew that it does matter. My father and I loved each other. Yet, I always regretted never hearing him put his feelings into words and never having the memory of that moment.

Now, I could feel my palms sweat and my throat tighten. Why is it so hard to tell a son something from the heart? My mouth turned dry. I knew I would be able to get out only a few words clearly.

"Daniel," I said, "if I could have picked, I would have picked you."

That's all I could say. I wasn't sure he understood what I meant. Then he came toward me and threw his arms around me. For a moment, the world and all its people vanished, and there was just Daniel and me.

He was saying something, but my eyes misted over, and I couldn't understand what he was saying. All I was aware of was the stubble on his chin as his face pressed against mine. And then, the moment ended, and Daniel left for France.

I think about him when I walk along the beach on weekends. Thousands of miles away, somewhere out past the ocean waves breaking on the deserted shore, he might be scurrying across Boulevard Saint Germain, strolling through a musty hallway of the Louvre, bending an elbow in a Left Bank café.

What I said to Daniel was clumsy and trite. It was nothing. And yet, it was everything.

The Power of Silence

What did you not say yesterday? Were there things you wish you had said but held back? Did you corral certain words, certain sentences, and hold them for another opportunity? Were some thoughts pushed below the surface, allowed to be changed with time, perhaps to be forgotten forever? How many “I love you’s” went unsaid that would have healed an aching heart? As with sleep, you cannot store them and build a reserve to tap into at a later date. Their power, their balming effect, quickly dissipates with disuse. They work only in the moment that they were intended. Left idle, their potential is gone, the object of their delivery untouched by kindness, by tenderness.

“I love you.” It is so simple to say. Three words. There are many other opportunities to say them, but none more important and possessing more potential than now. Words can have the opposite effect if left unsaid, almost as if they were spoken as opposites. Silence can equal the opposite. “I love you” unsaid can become “I don’t love you” out loud. Your most tender and endearing thoughts, if not allowed to fly free from the prison of your mind, may silently tell someone that you don’t care. How many times has your silence told your partner or child that you didn’t love them? How often has an unsaid word created the opposite effect? Think of all the lives that would have been changed had armies of sentences been allowed to roam free. Those who go through life cloaked in spoken endearments, wrapped and comforted in the voiced love of others, are truly blessed. The power of the spoken word is mighty. The power of silence can be mightier still.

Countless millions of words have been written and spoken since the beginning of human history. A total of all the words in all the libraries of the world, past and present, and every word of every conversation, idle chatter, lecture, broadcast, and speech in history would be dwarfed by the vast legions of words left unsaid, those rendered impotent by silence. Not that it is a good thing to instantly speak every thought that comes to mind: chaos would ensue. We have to be selective of our words and deliver them into the pattern of conversation where appropriate; however, it is our mental editing that isolates certain words and thoughts as unspeakable, and sentences them to die (pun intended).

Words can change the world. They can incite, torture, kill, comfort, heal, encourage, humiliate, anger, inspire, sadden, give joy, make one laugh, and they can forever change one’s life. There are many kinds of words: “In other words,” four-letter-words, words that are read, words to make you blue; there is the spoken word, the written word, the forgotten word; we put words in someone’s mouth, and we don’t have the words to express.... Words, words, everywhere, and not a thought to speak. And the unsaid words—oh, how they could have changed the course of history! Would they have altered the destructive lives of John Wilkes Booth, Adolph Hitler, Lee Harvey Oswald, Jeffrey Daumer, or the Son of Sam? Would the unspoken “I love you’s” have given them a new lease on life had those three words been bestowed upon them?

The power of words and their silent cousins: “What did you say?” “Nothing.” Think of the consequences had that “nothing” actually been, “I was wrong. I’m sorry. I apologize and want to make it up to you.” Instead, a relationship was probably hurt forever, or even eventually terminated. “Ouch, that hurts,” if left unsaid, can become one of many familiar wedges in a marriage, or any relationship. Not expressed, it can fester inside, becoming worse and much larger over time than it originally was. It also will accumulate other unsaid “ouches,” and grow to become a very powerful “I hate your guts.” It can eat at one’s insides if not voiced. Actually, its release will help the relationship; its incarceration will destroy.

Don’t withhold. Let the hostages go. Release the words while they still hold their meaning. Release them before they change in silence. The loneliest place in the world, more desolate and forbidding than the blackest cell of any prison, is a silent marriage/partnership. All the city lights from Manhattan to Bangkok could probably be powered by the turbulent energy of the silent, but unrelenting, dialogues churning in the minds of an unhappy couple. And it would be possible, as well, to freeze solid the oceans of the world by the dynamics between the two.

Allow your thoughts to be heard. You are the most powerful person on earth. You alone possess the ability to change your world, make friends, and influence people. You have the key. Use your words for good. They can help you. Don’t withhold them, for in their muted state they can turn on you. Life is a fine balance of releasing the right words in the right order at the right time, and deciding which words are truly better left unsaid.

A Present for Father′s Day

Last Sunday, I went to an English-study report. A little girl and her father sat behind me. They were discussing the meaning of an English word shown on the screen. On hearing their conversation, I recalled my happy childhood with my father.

As a small child, I was blessed with the dear father who is profound and patient. He often taught me some English words at the time, which made me become interested in English. Consequently when I went to primary school, English became my favorite subject. Moreover I still remember that everyday dad recorded a TV programme we both liked very much on video for me, and then we watched it together at lunchtime. It was an interesting programme, which told historical legend. Also in summer vacation, dad took me into the library of the university where we lived frequently, in which I've read almost all the ancient Chinese myths. And dad worked on extensive academic books at the same time. During term time, mother and I sometimes accompanied dad in his office till a late hour. From then on I understood that dad worked with great effort. There're still too many precious memories for me to list here, which I'll cherish in my heart.

However, when I became a teenager, I got capricious. I feel regretful and apologetic about all the things I did that made dad felt unpleasant.

Times flies and I'm twenty now. As I'm growing older, I realize that the most outstanding person is right by my side—my dad. And I become different myself. I'm now a grown-up who knows one should be independent. I have my own goal in life. Therefore I'll exert myself so as to become versatile. Dad is aging gradually. Unfortunately, he is suffering from heart attack every now and then and he toils away over his work. I hope that he may get support from me just like what I did from him before. In my belief, every period of one's life has its splendor, so does old age. Thus, as I have diverse opportunities after graduate, dad also has a colorful future. As far as I concerned, dad has a brilliant mind and will succeed in everything he wants to. What's more, he has such an excellent daughter—at least will be excellent in future—who will advocate him permanently.

Therefore, dad, forget all about the illnesses and unhappiness, since there are so many nice things waiting for you to enjoy. And the first is the Father's Day.

飞鸟集

夏天的飞鸟,飞到我的窗前唱歌,又飞去了。

秋天的黄叶,它们没有什么可唱,只叹息一声,飞落在那里。

Stray birds of summer come to my window to sing and fly away.

And yellow leaves of autumn, which have no songs, flutter and fall there with a sign.



世界上的一队小小的漂泊者呀,请留下你们的足印在我的文字里。 

  

Troupe of little vagrants of the world, leave your footprints in my words.



世界对着它的爱人,把它浩翰的面具揭下了。   

         

它变小了,小如一首歌,小如一回永恒的接吻。  

         

The world puts off its mask of vastness to its lover.

It becomes small as one song, as one kiss of the eternal.



是大地的泪点,使她的微笑保持着青春不谢。   

         

It is the tears of the earth that keep here smiles in bloom.



无垠的沙漠热烈追求一叶绿草的爱,她摇摇头笑着飞开了。  

The mighty desert is burning for the love of a blade of grass who shakes her head and laughs and flies away.



如果你因失去了太阳而流泪,那么你也将失去群星了。  

      

If you shed tears when you miss the sun, you also miss the stars.7

跳舞着的流水呀,在你途中的泥沙,要求你的歌声,你的流动呢。你肯挟瘸足的泥沙而俱下么? 

                        

The sands in your way beg for your song and your movement, dancing water. Will you carry the burden of their meness?



她的热切的脸,如夜雨似的,搅扰着我的梦魂。  

         

Her wishful face haunts my dreams like the rain at night.



有一次,我们梦见大家都是不相识的。    

           

我们醒了,却知道我们原是相亲相爱的。  

            

Once we dreamt that we were strangers.

We wake up to find that we were dear to each other.

10

忧思在我的心里平静下去,正如暮色降临在寂静的山林中。   

   

Sorrow is hushed into peace in my heart like the evening among the silent trees.

11

有些看不见的手,如懒懒的微(风思)的,正在我的心上奏着潺(氵爰)的乐声。

Some unseen fingers, like an idle breeze, are playing upon my heart the music of the ripples.

12

"海水呀,你说的是什么?"   

               

   "是永恒的疑问。"   

                    

   "天空呀,你回答的话是什么?"  

              

"是永恒的沉默。"   

                    

What language is thine, O sea?

The language of eternal question.

What language is thy answer, O sky?

The language of eternal silence.

13

静静地听,我的心呀,听那世界的低语,这是它对你求爱的表示呀。  

Listen, my heart, to the whispers of the world with which it makes love to you.

14

创造的神秘,有如夜间的黑暗--是伟大的。而知识的幻影却不过如晨间之雾。 

                               

The mystery of creation is like the darkness of night--it is great.

Delusions of knowledge are like the fog of the morning.15

不要因为峭壁是高的,便让你的爱情坐在峭壁上。   

       

Do not seat your love upon a precipice because it is high.

16

我今晨坐在窗前,世界如一个路人似的,停留了一会,向我点点头又走过去了。 

                               

I sit at my window this morning where the world like a passer-by stops for a moment, nods to me and goes.

17

这些微(风思),是树叶的簌簌之声呀;它们在我的心里欢悦地微语着。

There little thoughts are the rustle of leaves; they have their whisper of joy in my mind.

18

你看不见你自己,你所看见的只是你的影子。   

         

What you are you do not see, what you see is your shadow.

19

神呀,我的那些愿望真是愚傻呀,它们杂在你的歌声中喧叫着呢。

让我只是静听着吧。    

                   

My wishes are fools, they shout across thy song, my Master.

Let me but listen.

20

我不能选择那最好的。            

          

是那最好的选择我。    

                   

I cannot choose the best.

The best chooses me.

The Road to Happiness

It is a commonplace among moralists that you cannot get happiness by pursuing it. This is only true if you pursue it unwisely. Gamblers at Monte Carlo are pursuing money, and most of them lose it instead, but there are other ways of pursuing money, which often succeed. So it is with happiness. If you pursue it by means of drink, you are forgetting the hang-over. Epicurus pursued it by living only in congenial society and eating only dry bread, supplemented by a little cheese on feast days. His method proved successful in his case, but he was a valetudinarian, and most people would need something more vigorous. For most people, the pursuit of happiness, unless supplemented in various ways, is too abstract and theoretical to be adequate as a personal rule of life. But I think that whatever personal rule of life you may choose it should not, except in rare and heroic cases, be incompatible with happiness.

There are a great many people who have all the material conditions of happiness, i.e. health and a sufficient income, and who, nevertheless, are profoundly unhappy. In such cases it would seem as if the fault must lie with a wrong theory as to how to live. In one sense, we may say that any theory as to how to live is wrong. We imagine ourselves more different from the animals than we are. Animals live on impulse, and are happy as long as external conditions are favorable. If you have a cat it will enjoy life if it has food and warmth and opportunities for an occasional night on the tiles. Your needs are more complex than those of your cat, but they still have their basis in instinct. In civilized societies, especially in English-speaking societies, this is too apt to be forgotten. People propose to themselves some one paramount objective, and restrain all impulses that do not minister to it. A businessman may be so anxious to grow rich that to this end he sacrifices health and private affections. When at last he has become rich, no pleasure remains to him except harrying other people by exhortations to imitate his noble example. Many rich ladies, although nature has not endowed them with any spontaneous pleasure in literature or art, decide to be thought cultured, and spend boring hours learning the right thing to say about fashionable new books that are written to give delight, not to afford opportunities for dusty snobbism.

If you look around at the men and women whom you can call happy, you will see that they all have certain things in common. The most important of these things is an activity which at most gradually builds up something that you are glad to see coming into existence. Women who take an instinctive pleasure in their children can get this kind of satisfaction out of bringing up a family. Artists and authors and men of science get happiness in this way if their own work seems good to them. But there are many humbler forms of the same kind of pleasure. Many men who spend their working life in the city devote their weekends to voluntary and unremunerated toil in their gardens, and when the spring comes, they experience all the joys of having created beauty.

The whole subject of happiness has, in my opinion, been treated too solemnly. It had been thought that man cannot be happy without a theory of life or a religion. Perhaps those who have been rendered unhappy by a bad theory may need a better theory to help them to recovery, just as you may need a tonic when you have been ill. But when things are normal a man should be healthy without a tonic and happy without a theory. It is the simple things that really matter. If a man delights in his wife and children, has success in work, and finds pleasure in the alternation of day and night, spring and autumn, he will be happy whatever his philosophy may be. If, on the other hand, he finds his wife fateful, his children's noise unendurable, and the office a nightmare; if in the daytime he longs for night, and at night sighs for the light of day, then what he needs is not a new philosophy but a new regimen----a different diet, or more exercise, or what not.

Man is an animal, and his happiness depends on his physiology more than he likes to think. This is a humble conclusion, but I cannot make myself disbelieve it. Unhappy businessmen, I am convinced, would increase their happiness more by walking six miles every day than by any conceivable change of philosophy



________Bertrand Russell

幸福之道

  道德家们常说:幸福靠追求是得不到的。只有用不明智的方式去追求才是这样。蒙特卡洛城的赌徒们追求金钱,但多数人却把钱输掉了,而另外一些追求金钱的办法却常常成功。追求幸福也是一样。如果你通过畅饮来追求幸福,那你就忘记了酒醉后的不适。埃毕丘鲁斯追求幸福的办法是只和志趣相投的人一起生活,只吃不涂黄油的面包,节日才加一点奶酪。他的办法对他来说是成功的,但他是个体弱多病的人,而多数人需要的是精力充沛。就多数人来说,除非你有别的补充办法,这样追求快乐就过于抽象和脱离实际,不宜作为个人的生活准则。不过,我觉得无论你选择什么样的生活准则,除了那些罕见的和英雄人物的例子外,都应该是和幸福相容的。
 
 很多人拥有获得幸福的全部物质条件,即健康的身体和丰足的收入,可是他们非常不快乐。就这种情况来说,似乎问题处在生活理论的错误上。从某种意义上讲,我们可以说任何关于生活的理论都是不正确的。我们和动物的区别并没有我们想象的那么大。动物是凭冲动生活的,只要客观条件有利,它们就会快乐。如果你有一只猫,它只要有东西吃,感到暖和,偶尔晚上得到机会去寻欢,它就会很快活。你的需要比你的猫要复杂一些,但还是以本能为基础的。在文明社会中,特别是在讲英语的社会中,这一点很容易被忘却。人们给自己定下一个最高的目标,对一切不利于实现这一目标的冲动都加以克制。生意人可能因为切望发财以致不惜牺牲健康和爱情。等他终于发了财,他除了苦苦劝人效法他的好榜样而搅得别人心烦外,并没有得到快乐。很多有钱的贵妇人,尽管自然并未赋予她们任何欣赏文学或艺术的兴趣,却决意要使别人认为她们是有教养的,于是他们花费很多烦人的时间学习怎样谈论那些流行的新书。这些书写出来是要给人以乐趣的,而不是要给人以附庸风雅的机会的。
 
 只要你观察一下周围那些你可称之为幸福的男男女女,就会看出他们都有某些共同之处。在这些共同之处中有一点是最重要的:那就是活动本身,它在大多数情况下本身就很有趣,而且可逐渐的使你的愿望得以实现。生性喜爱孩子的妇女,能够从抚养子女中得到这种满足。艺术家、作家和科学家如果对自己的工作感到满意,也能以同样的方式得到快乐。不过,还有很多是较低层次的快乐。许多在城里工作的人到了周末自愿地在自家的庭院里做无偿的劳动,春天来时,他们就可尽情享受自己创造的美景带来的快乐。
 
 在我看来,整个关于快乐的话题一向都被太严肃的对待过了。过去一直有这样的看法:如果没有一种生活的理论或者宗教信仰,人是不可能幸福的。也许那些由于理论不好才导致不快乐的人需要一种较好的理论帮助他们重新快活起来,就像你生过病需要吃补药一样。但是,正常情况下,一个人不吃补药也应当是健康的;没有理论也应当是幸福的。真正有关系的是一些简单的事情。如果一个男人喜爱他的妻子儿女,事业有成,而且无论白天黑夜,春去秋来,总是感到高兴,那么不管他的理论如何,都会是快乐的。反之,如果他讨厌自己的妻子,受不了孩子们的吵闹,而且害怕上班;如果他白天盼望夜晚,而到了晚上又巴望着天明,那么,他所需要的就不是一种新的理论,而是一种新的生活----改变饮食习惯,多锻炼身体等等。
 
 人是动物,他的幸福更多的时候取决于其生理状况而非思想状况。这是一个很庸俗的结论,然而我无法使自己怀疑它。我确信,不幸福的商人与其找到新的理论来使自己幸福,还不如每天步行六英里更见效。



伯 罗素

《人生成功12课》里的精彩片段

  The secret of being miserable is to have the leisure to bother about whether you are happy or not. So don’t bother to think about it! Spit on your hands and get busy. Your blood will start circulating; you mind will start ticking – and pretty soon this whole positive upsurge of life in your body will drive worry from your mind.

  Get busy. Keep busy. It’s the cheapest kind of medicine there is on this earth – and one of the best.

  令自己感到沮丧的秘诀就是用空闲时间去烦恼自己是否快乐。所以不要费事去想它!摩拳擦掌干起来吧。你将热血沸腾,你会头脑清醒。很快,在你身体中的这种高涨的积极人生观将把烦恼从你的头脑中赶出去。

  行动起来,忙碌起来。这是世界上最便宜的一种药,也是最好的一种。

请大家反复听、反复模仿这段录音,争取在最短时间内脱口而出!

一首优美的英文诗

On Wings Of Song

On wings of song, my darling,
I'll carry you off, and we'll go
Where the plains of the Ganges are calling,

Red flowers are twining and plaiting
There in the still moonlight,
The lotus flowers are awaiting

The violets whisper ca resses
And gaze to the stars on high;
The rose in secret confesses
Her sweet-scented tales with a sigh

Around them listening and blushing,
Dance gentle, subtle gazelles;
And in the distance rushing
The holy river swells.

Oh, let us lie down by it,
Where the moon on the palme tree beams;
And drink deep of love and quiet
And dream our happy dreams.







乘着歌声的翅膀

乘着歌声的翅膀,
心爱的人,我带你飞翔,
向着恒河的原野,
那里有最美的地方。

一座红花盛开的花园,
笼罩着寂静的月光,
莲花在那儿等待
它们亲密的姑娘。

紫罗兰轻笑调情,
抬头向星星仰望;
玫瑰花把芬芳的童话
偷偷地在耳边谈讲。

跳过来暗地里倾听
是善良聪颖的羚羊;
在远的地方喧腾着
圣洁的河水的波浪。

我们要在那里躺下,
在那棕榈树的下边,
吸引爱情和寂静,
沉入幸福的梦幻。

请大家帮忙翻译着段话。谢谢!


The golas and purpose of cloning range from making copies ofthose that are deceased to better engineering the offspring inhumans and animals . researchers can harvest and grow adult cells in large amounts compared to embryos.

克林顿发表离职演说(英)

 
"My fellow citizens, tonight is my last opportunity to speak to you from the Oval Office as your president.

  I am profoundly grateful to you for twice giving me the honor to serve, to work for you and with you to prepare our nation for the 21st century. And I'm grateful to Vice President Gore, to my Cabinet secretaries, and to all those who have served with me for the last eight years.

  This has been a time of dramatic transformation, and you have risen to every new challenge. You have made our social fabric stronger, our families healthier and safer, our people more prosperous.

  You, the American people, have made our passage into the global information age an era of great American renewal.

  In all the work I have done as president, every decision I have made, every executive action I have taken, every bill I have proposed and signed, I've tried to give all Americans the tools and conditions to build the future of our dreams, in a good society, with a strong economy, a cleaner environment, and a freer, safer, more prosperous world.

  I have steered my course by our enduring values. Opportunity for all. Responsibility from all. A community of all Americans. I have sought to give America a new kind of government, smaller, more modern, more effective, full of ideas and policies appropriate to this new time, always putting people first, always focusing on the future.

  Working together, America has done well. Our economy is breaking records, with more than 22 million new jobs, the lowest unemployment in 30 years, the highest home ownership ever, the longest expansion in history.

  Our families and communities are stronger. Thirty-five million Americans have used the family leave law. Eight million have moved off welfare. Crime is at a 25-year low. Over 10 million Americans receive more college aid, and more people than ever are going to college. Our schools are better —— higher standards, greater accountability and larger investments have brought higher test scores, and higher graduation rates.

  More than three million children have health insurance now, and more than 7 million Americans have been lifted out of poverty. Incomes are rising across the board. Our air and water are cleaner. Our food and drinking water are safer. And more of our precious land has been preserved, in the continental United States, than at any time in 100 years.

  America has been a force for peace and prosperity in every corner of the globe.

 I'm very grateful to be able to turn over the reins of leadership to a new president, with America in such a strong position to meet the challenges of the future.

  Tonight, I want to leave you with three thoughts about our future. First, America must maintain our record of fiscal responsibility. Through our last four budgets, we've turned record deficits to record surpluses, and we've been able to pay down $600 billion of our national debt, on track to be debt free by the end of the decade for the first time since 1835.

  Staying on that course will bring lower interest rates, greater prosperity and the opportunity to meet our big challenges. If we choose wisely, we can pay down the debt, deal with the retirement of the baby boomers, invest more in our future and provide tax relief.

  Second, because the world is more connected every day in every way, America's security and prosperity require us to continue to lead in the world. At this remarkable moment in history, more people live in freedom that ever before. Our alliances are stronger than ever. People all around the world look to America to be a force for peace and prosperity, freedom and security. The global economy is giving more of our own people, and billions around the world, the chance to work and live and raise their families with dignity.

  But the forces of integration that have created these good opportunities also make us more subject to global forces of destruction, to terrorism, organized crime and narco-trafficking, the spread of deadly weapons and disease, the degradation of the global environment.

  The expansion of trade hasn't fully closed the gap between those of us who live on the cutting edge of the global economy and the billions around the world who live on the knife's edge of survival. This global gap requires more than compassion. It requires action. Global poverty is a powder keg that could be ignited by our indifference.

  In his first inaugural address, Thomas Jefferson warned of entangling alliances. But in our times, America cannot and must not disentangle itself from the world. If we want the world to embody our shared values, then we must assume a shared responsibility.

  If the wars of the 20th century, especially the recent ones in Kosovo and Bosnia, have taught us anything, it is that we achieve our aims by defending our values and leading the forces of freedom and peace. We must embrace boldly and resolutely that duty to lead, to stand with our allies in word and deed, and to put a human face on the global economy so that expanded trade benefits all people in all nations, lifting lives and hopes all across the world.

  Third, we must remember that America cannot lead in the world unless here at home we weave the threads of our coat of many colors into the fabric of one America. As we

become ever more diverse, we must work harder to unite around our common values and our common humanity.

  We must work harder to overcome our differences. In our hearts and in our laws, we must treat all our people with fairness and dignity, regardless of their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation and regardless of when they arrived in our country, always moving toward the more perfect union of our founders' dreams.

  Hillary, Chelsea and I join all Americans in wishing our very best to the next president, George W. Bush, to his family and his administration in meeting these challenges and in leading freedom's march in this new century.

  As for me, I'll leave the presidency more idealistic, more full of hope than the day I arrived and more confident than ever that America's best days lie ahead.

  My days in this office are nearly through, but my days of service, I hope, are not. In the years ahead, I will never hold a position higher or a covenant more sacred than that of president of the United States. But there is no title I will wear more proudly than that of citizen.

  Thank you. God bless you, and God bless America."

克林顿发表离职演说(中)

「译文」

  同胞们,今晚是我最后一次作为你们的总统,在白宫椭圆形办公室向你们做最后一次演讲。

  我从心底深处感谢你们给了我两次机会和荣誉,为你们服务,为你们工作,和你们一起为我们的国家进入21世纪做准备。这里,我要感谢戈尔副总统,我的内阁部长们以及所有伴我度过过去8年的同事们。现在是一个极具变革的年代,你们为迎接新的挑战已经做好了准备。是你们使我们的社会更加强大,我们的家庭更加健康和安全,我们的人民更加富裕。

  同胞们,我们已经进入了全球信息化时代,这是美国复兴的伟大时代。

  作为总统,我所做的一切——每一个决定,每一个行政命令,提议和签署的每一项法令,都是在努力为美国人民提供工具和创造条件,来实现美国的梦想,建设美国的未来——一个美好的社会,繁荣的经济,清洁的环境,进而实现一个更自由、更安全、更繁荣的世界。

  借助我们永恒的价值,我驾驭了我的航程。机会属于每一个美国公民;(我的)责任来自全体美国人民;所有美国人民组成了一个大家庭。我一直在努力为美国创造一个新型的政府:更小、更现代化、更有效率、面对新时代的挑战充满创意和思想、永远把人民的利益放在第一位、永远面向未来。

  我们在一起使美国变得更加美好。我们的经济正在破着一个又一个的记录,向前发展。我们已创造了2200万个新的工作岗位,我们的失业率是30年来最低的,老百姓的购房率达到一个空前的高度,我们经济繁荣的持续时间是历史上最长的。

  我们的家庭、我们的社会变得更加强大。3500万美国人曾经享受联邦休假,800万人重新获得社会保障,犯罪率是25年来最低的,1000多万美国人享受更多的入学贷款,更多的人接受大学教育。我们的学校也在改善。更高的办学水平、更大的责任感和更多的投资使得我们的学生取得更高的考试分数和毕业成绩。

  目前,已有300多万美国儿童在享受着医疗保险,700多万美国人已经脱离了贫困线。全国人民的收入在大幅度提高。我们的空气和水资源更加洁净,食品和饮用水更加安全。我们珍贵的土地资源也得到了近百年来前所未有的保护。

  美国已经成为地球上每个角落促进和平和繁荣的积极力量。

  我非常高兴能于此时将领导权交给新任总统,强大的美国正面临未来的挑战。

  今晚,我希望大家能从以下3点审视我们的未来:第一,美国必须保持它的良好财政状况。通过过去4个财政年度的努力,我们已经把破纪录的财政赤字变为破纪录的盈余。并且,我们已经偿还了6000亿美元的国债,我们正向10年内彻底偿还国家债务的目标迈进,这将是1835年以来的第一次。

  只要这样做,就会带来更低的利率、更大的经济繁荣,从而能够迎接将来更大的挑战。如果我们做出明智的选择,我们就能偿还债务,解决(二战后出生的)一大批人们的退休问题,对未来进行更多的投资,并减轻税收。

  第二,世界各国的联系日益紧密。为了美国的安全与繁荣,我们应继续融入世界。在这个特别的历史时刻,更多的美国人民享有前所未有的自由。我们的盟国更加强大。全世界人民期望美国成为和平与繁荣、自由与安全的力量。全球经济给予美国民众以及全世界人民更多的机会去工作、生活,更体面地养活家庭。

  但是,这种世界融合的趋势一方面为我们创造了良好的机会,但同时使得我们在全球范围内更容易遭致破坏性力量、恐怖主义、有组织的犯罪、贩毒活动,致命性武器和疾病传播的威胁。

  尽管世界贸易不断扩大,但它没能缩小处于全球经济繁荣中的我们同数十亿处于死亡边缘的人们之间的距离。

  要解决世界贫富两极分化需要的不是同情和怜悯,而是实际行动。贫穷有可能被我们的漠不关心激化而成为火药桶。

  托马斯-杰斐逊在他的就职演说中告诫我们结盟的危害。但是,在我们这个时代,美国不能,也不可能使自己脱离这个世界。如果我们想把我们共有的价值观赋予这个世界,我们必须共同承担起这个责任。

  如果20世纪的历次战争,尤其是新近在科索沃地区和波斯尼亚爆发的战争,能够让我们得到某种教训的话,我们从中得到的启示应是:由于捍卫了我们的价值观并领导了自由和和平的力量,我们才达到了目标。我们必须坚定勇敢地拥抱这个信念和责任,在语言和行动上与我们的同盟者们站在一起,领导他们按这条道路前进;循着在全球经济中以人为本的观念,让不断发展的贸易能够使所有国家的所有人受益,在全世界范围内提高他们的生活水平和实现他们的梦想。

  第三,我们必须牢记如果我们不团结一致,美国就不能领先世界。随着我们变得越来越多样化,我们必须更加努力地团结在共同价值观和共同人性的旗帜下。

  我们要加倍努力地工作,克服生活中存在的种种分歧。于情于法,我们都要让我们的人民受到公正的待遇,不论他是哪一个民族、信仰何种宗教、什么性别或性倾向,或者何时来到这个国家。我们时时刻刻都要为了实现先辈们建立高度团结的美利坚合众国的梦想而奋斗。

  希拉里、切尔西和我同美国人民一起,向即将就任的布什总统、他的家人及美国新政府致以衷心的祝福,希望新政府能够勇敢面对挑战,并高扛自由大旗在新世纪阔步前进。

  对我来说,当我离开总统宝座时,我充满更多的理想,比初进白宫时更加充满希望,并且坚信美国的好日子还在后面。

  我的总统任期就要结束了,但是我希望我为美国人民服务的日子永远不会结束。在我未来的岁月里,我再也不会担任一个能比美利坚合众国总统更高的职位、签订一个比美利坚合众国总统所能签署的更为神圣的契约了。当然,没有任何一个头衔能让我比作为一个美国公民更为自豪的了。

  谢谢你们!愿上帝保佑你们!愿上帝保佑美国!

My Oath我的誓言

My Oath我的誓言

Today I truly believe —
This unique journey will completely change my life!
Today I truly believe —
That all my efforts will produce generous returns!
Today I truly believe —
English will be a powerful weapon in my life!
Today I truly believe —
My dream of speaking beautiful
English will come alive!

Therefore,
I must devote all my energy and time to learning
English with courage, passion, enthusiasm, and vigor!
I must enjoy losing face!
I must pour all my efforts into learning English!
I must be absolutely responsible for myself!
I must be 100 percent dedicated to my goal!
I must be totally crazy about speaking English!
I must not waste one minute, or even one second!
I must challenge my limits and then surpass them!
I must conquer English and charge toward success!
I will speak good English!
I will because I think I will!
Right here! Right now! Action!

今天我坚信——这段特殊的旅程将彻底改变我的一生!
今天我坚信——我所有的付出终将得到丰厚的回报!
今天我坚信——英语一定会成为我人生奋斗的强有力的武器!
今天我坚信——讲一口漂亮英语的理想一定会美梦成真!

所以,
我一定要精神饱满、热情高涨、热爱丢脸、疯狂投入!
我必须对自己负百分之百的责任!
我必须对我的目标百分之百地专注!
我必须百分之百地疯狂说英语!
在今天的每一分每一秒,全力以赴!
挑战极限,超越自我!
征服英语,迈向成功!
我一定能讲一口最漂亮的英语!
我一定行,因为我认为我行!
就在这里!就在此刻!马上行动!

The Olympics Are a Great Chance奥运会是一个伟大的机会

The Olympics are a great chance for China to show itself to the world.
The Olympics are a great chance for China to welcome friends from every corner of the Earth.
The Olympics are a great chance for China to teach the world about its culture.
The Olympics are a great chance for Chinese people to display their hospitality.
The Olympics are a great chance for China to shine!

奥运会是一个中国向世界展示自己的伟大机会。
奥运会是一个中国欢迎全世界朋友的伟大机会。
奥运会是一个中国向世界传播中国文化的伟大机会。
奥运会是一个中国人民展示热情好客的伟大机会。
奥运会是一个中国闪耀于世界民族之林的伟大机会。


We must!
我们必须! We must grab this chance!
We must prepare well for this chance!
We must study English and other languages crazily.
We must improve our manners tremendously.
We must be helpful, responsible, courteous and kind.
We must deepen our knowledge of our motherland.
We must make a commitment to putting on the best Olympic Games the world has ever seen!
We are the face of China!
We can't let our country down.
We can't let the world down.

我们必须抓住这个机会。
我们必须为这个机会做好准备。
我们必须努力学好英语和其它语言。
我们必须大力改进我们的文明礼貌。
我们必须乐于助人,负责任,有礼貌,善待别人。
我们必须加深对我们祖国的了解。
我们必须保证举办一个世界上最好的奥运会。

我的自述My Self-introduction

Hi, this is Li Yang. I graduated from Lanzhou University and majored in Mechanical Engineering. I was once a poor student of English, and it was my biggest headache and trouble maker. I got sick and tired of learning boring grammar rules and lifeless words. But through hard work in practicing speaking English and breaking away from the traditional grammar games, I found myself a totally different and exciting new world. Not only did I pass Band 4 and Band 6 College English exams very easily with high marks, but more importantly, I began to use English. Finally, I developed a new Language Cracking System myself. I began to teach German not long after I started to learn this terribly difficult language in my own way. It was a miracle but I made it. To speak good English, I think one year of study should be enough for any diligent and intelligent person. I'd like to share my learning techniques with you, and I will be very glad to answer your letters and be your friend. For further information, please write to 510010 P. O. Box 511 Guangzhou.

  大家好,我是李阳。我毕业于兰州大学工程力学系。我曾经是一个英文很差的学生(大学时代十几门功课不及格),英语令我头痛,让我难堪。我厌倦了学习无聊的语法规则和没有生命的单词。但通过刻苦操练口语摆脱传统的语法游戏,我发现了一个崭新的、令人激动的新世界。我不仅轻易高分地通过了大学英语四六级考试,更重要的是,我开始应用英语。最后,我发展和完善了一套新的语言突破方法。我用这个方法开始学习德语不久就开始教授德语。这是不可思议的奇迹,但我做到了。对于勤奋和聪明的人,要想说一口流利的英语,我认为一年的学习就应该足够了。我非常乐意与大家分享我的学习技巧,我也很乐意回答你的来信并成为你的朋友。如需了解进一步的情况,请随时和我联络。

经典英文浪漫爱情诗歌

My river runs to thee. Blue sea, wilt thou welcome me? My river awaits reply.Oh! sea, look graciously.


------Emily Dickinson

我是一条朝你奔流而去的小溪,蓝色的大海啊,你愿意接纳我吗?优雅的大海啊,小溪正在等待你的回答。



All it took was one glance.Now all I ask is one chance,To try to win your heart.Just give me a chance to start.I\\\\\\\'ll show you it was meant to be.To be together is our destiny.

------- DANIEL LAZARUS GARCIA

我对你一见钟情。我所要求的全部就是给我一个机会,以赢取你的芳心。只要给我一个开始的机会,我将向你证明这是前世的安排,我俩的结合是冥冥之中的定数。




Two star-crossed lovers in perfect harmony. Just give me a chance And you will agree.I was meant for you.And you were meant for me.

------- DANIEL LAZARUS GARCI

两个命运多舛的情人如此和谐地在一起,只要给我一线希望,你终将答应。我为你而生,你因我而存在。



Please forgive me for falling in love with you.Forgive me for loving you with all my heart.Forgive me for never wanting to be apart.

--------Sandra Robbins Heaton

请原谅我爱上你;原谅我用全部的身心爱你;原谅我永不愿与你分离。




Without you?I\\\\\\\'d be a soul without a purpose.Without you?I\\\\\\\'d be an emotion without a heart.I\\\\\\\'m a face without expression,A heart with no beat.Without you by my side,I\\\\\\\'m just a flame without the heat.

-------- Elle Kimberly Schmick

没有你? 我将是一个没有目的的灵魂;没有你? 我的情感将没有了根基;我将是一张没有表情的脸;一颗停止跳动的心;没有你在我身边;我只是一束没有热量的火焰。



If you were a teardrop;In my eye,For fear of losing you,I would never cry.And if the golden sun,Should cease to shine its light,Just one smile from you,Would make my whole world bright.

-------- Hannah Jo Keen

如果你是我眼里的;一滴泪;为了不失去你;我将永不哭泣;如果金色的阳光;停止了它耀眼的光芒;你的一个微笑;将照亮我的整个世界。

A Blueprint for Achievement 成功蓝图

A Blueprint for Achievement
Practice while others are complaining.
Believe while others are doubting.
Plan while others are playing.
Study while others are sleeping.
Decide while others are delaying.
Prepare while others are daydreaming.
Begin while others are procrastinating.
Work while others are waiting.
Save while others are wasting.
Listen while others are talking.
Smile while others are frowning.
Compliment while others are criticizing.
Persist while others are quitting.
Progress while others are lagging behind.
Then, you will succeed while others are failing.


成功蓝图
当别人抱怨时你练习。
当别人疑惑时你坚信。
当别人玩耍时你规划。
当别人休息时你学习。
当别人耽搁时你决定。
当别人做梦时你准备。
当别人拖延时你开始。
当别人企盼时你工作。
当别人浪费时你节约。
当别人谈话时你倾听。
当别人皱眉时你微笑。
当别人批评时你赞扬。
当别人放弃时你坚持。
当别人落后时你进步。
于是,当别人失败时你就迈向成功。

Time flies! 光阴似箭!

Many people value their time more than anything else in the world. Once time is gone it can never be replaced.

  This makes time more valuable than money.

  Time is precious. Nobody can afford to waste time. Once time has gone by, it will never return. You can never turn the clock back. Time passes very quickly. People say time flies. Time and tide wait for no man. We should, therefore, make the best use of our time.

  If you can manage your time well, you will have a successful life. Try using all your spare time to practice English crazily. Even a few minutes practice while waiting for the bus can be valuable learning time.

Smiles

[1] Smiles send us light in the darkness. Smiles bring us warm sunlight on a cold winter day. Smiles can break the ice. Smiles are like rainbows. Rainy days end and the sky is beautiful again.

[2] Smiles show love and friendship. Teachers' smiles encourage us. Mothers' smiles warm us. Friends' smiles make us feel closer.

[3] We welcome smiles from others. And we should give others our smiles too. No one is richer than a man who often smiles at others. If a man doesn't smile at you, just smile at him. Smiles help you forget your sadness. Life is a long road. Why not cover it with smiles?

微笑
[1]微笑在黑暗中给我们送来光明。微笑在寒冷的冬日带给我们温暖的阳光。微笑能打破坚冰。微笑犹如彩虹。雨天结束,天空重现美丽。

[2]微笑体现着爱和友谊。老师的微笑激励着我们。母亲的微笑使我们感到温暖。朋友的微笑使我们更加亲密。

[3]我们欢迎别人的微笑。我们也该向别人微笑。没有谁会比一个经常向别人微笑的人更富有。如果一个人没有对你微笑,就向他微笑吧。微笑让你忘却悲伤。生活之路很漫长。我们为什么不微笑着一直走下去呢?