第一篇:英語經典美文背誦100篇011(最終版)
英語經典美文背誦100篇011-015
大耳朵英語http://2008-03-13 11:55:14【打印】
感謝大耳朵網友“macongqi”提供聽力原文
1Russell on Affection(羅素論愛)
The best type of affection is reciprocally life-giving;each receives affection with joy and gives it without effort, and each finds the whole world more interesting in consequence of the existence of this reciprocal happiness.There is, however, another kind, by no means uncommon, in which one person sucks the vitality of the other, one receives what the other gives, but gives almost nothing in return.Some very vital people belong to this bloodsucking type.They extract the vitality from one victim after another, but while they prosper and grow interesting, those upon whom they live grow pale and dim and dull.Such people use others as means to their own ends, and never consider them as ends in themselves.Fundamentally they are not interested in those whom for the moment they think they love;they are interested only in the stimulus to their owe activities, perhaps of a quite impersonal sort.Evidently this springs from some defect in their nature, but it is one not altogether easy either to diagnose of to cure.It is a characteristic frequently associated with great ambition, and is rooted, I should say, in an unduly one-sided view of what makes human happiness.Affection in the sense of a genuine reciprocal interest of two persons in each other, not solely as means to each other’s good, but rather as a combination having a common good, is one of the most important elements of real happiness, and the man whose ego is so enclosed within steel walls that this enlargement of it is impossible misses the best that life has to offer, however successful he may be in his career.A too powerful ego is a prison from which a man must escape if he is to enjoy the world to the full.A capacity for genuine affection is one of the marks of the man who has escaped form this prison of self.To receive affection is by no means enough;affection which is received should liberate the affection which is to be given, and only where both exist in equal measure does affection achieve its best possibilities.最好的那種愛是彼此愉悅的愛;彼此很愉快地接受,很自然地給出,并且由于有了這種互惠的快樂,彼此都覺得整個世界更有趣味。然而,還有一種決非少見的愛,那就是一方吸收著另一方的活力,接受著另一方的給出,但他這一方幾乎毫無回報。某些生命力極旺的人便屬于這吸血的一類。他們把一個又一個犧牲者的活力吸凈,但是當他們越發生機勃勃,興致盎然之時,那些被榨取的人卻變得越來越蒼白、黯淡和遲鈍。這種人總是把他人當作工具來實現自己的目標,卻從不考慮他人也有他自己的目標。他們一時以為他們愛著那些人,其實那些人根本引不起他們的興趣;他們感興趣的不過是為自己的活動添些刺激,而他們的活動也許當屬全無人格的那種。這種情形顯然源于他們本性上的某種缺陷,但是這種缺陷既不容易
診斷也不容易治療。它往往與極大的野心有關,同時也是由于他們總是不恰當地從單方面去看待人生幸福的緣故。兩人真正相互關心意義的愛,不僅是促進彼此幸福的手段,而且是促進共同幸福的手段,是真正快樂的最重要因素之一。凡是把自我禁錮起來不能擴展的人,必然錯失人生所能提供的最好的東西,不管他在事業上如何成功。太強的自我是一座監獄,你若想充分地享受人生,就得從這座監獄中逃脫。能有真正的愛,這是一個人已逃出自我監獄的標志之一。光接受愛是絕對不夠的;接受的愛應當能激發你奉獻出自己的愛,惟有當接受的愛和奉獻出的愛等量存在時,愛才能達到它的最佳狀態。
3Blood, Toil, Sweat and Tears
熱血、辛勞、眼淚和汗水
In this crisis I think I may be pardoned if I do not address the House at any length today, and I hope that any of my friends and colleagues or former colleagues who are affected by the political reconstruction will make all allowances for any lack of ceremony with which it has been necessary to act.在這生死存亡之際,如果我今天沒有向下院作長篇演講,我希望能夠得到你們的寬恕,我還希望,因為這次政府改組而受到影響的任何朋友和同事,或者以前的同事,會對禮節上的不周之處予以充分諒解,這種禮節上的欠缺,到目前為止是在所難免的。
I say to the House as I said to Ministers who have joined this government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, sweat and tears.正如我曾對參加本屆政府的成員所說的那樣,我要對下院說:“我沒什么可以奉獻,有的,只是熱血、辛勞、眼淚和汗水。
We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind.擺在我們面前的,是一場極為痛苦的嚴峻的考驗。
We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering.在我們面前,有許多許多漫長的斗爭和苦難的歲月。
You ask, what is our policy?
你們問:我們的政策是什么?
I say it is to wage war by land, sea and air.我要說,在海上、陸地和空中進行戰爭。
War with all our might and with all the strength God has given up, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime.我們的政策就是用我們全部能力,用上帝所給予我們的全部力量,同一個在人類黑暗悲慘的罪惡史上所從未有過的窮兇極惡的暴政進行戰爭。
That is our policy.這就是我們的政策。
You ask, what is our aim?
你們問:我們的目標是什么?
I can answer in one word.我可以用一個詞來回答:
It is victory.那就是勝利。
Victory at all costs;victory in spite of all terrors;victory, however long and hand the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.不惜一切代價,去贏得勝利;無論多么可怕,也要贏得勝利,無論道路多么遙遠和艱難,也要贏得勝利,因為沒有勝利,就不能生存。
Let that be realized.大家必須認識到這一點。
No survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge, the impulse of the ages, that mankind shall move forward toward his goal.沒有勝利就不復有大英帝國,沒有勝利就不復有大英帝國所象征的一切,沒有勝利就不復有多少世紀以來的強烈要求和沖動:人類應當向自己的目標邁進。
I take up my task in buoyancy and hope.但是當我挑起這個擔子的時候,我是心情愉快、滿懷希望的。
I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men.我深信,人們不會聽任我們的事業遭受失敗。
I feel entitled at this juncture, at this time, to claim the aid of all and to say, ”Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength.“
此時此刻,我覺得我有權利要求大家的支持,我要說:”來吧,讓我們同心協力,一道前進。"
4The Four Freedoms(Franklin D.Roosevelt)
In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.我們力求安定的未來日子里,我們期待一個以人類四大基本自由為基礎的世界.The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world.第一是在全世界任何地方發表言論和表達意見的自由。
The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way everywhere in the world.第二是在全世界任何地方,人人有以自己的方式來崇拜上帝的自由。
The third is freedom from want, which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants--everywhere in the world.第三是不虞匱乏的自由--這種自由,就世界范圍來講,就是一種經濟上的融洽關系,它將保證全世界每一個國家的居民都過健全的、和平時期的生活。
The fourth is freedom from fear, which, translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor--anywhere in the world.第四是免除恐懼的自由--這種自由,就世界范圍來講,就是世界性的裁減軍備,要以一種徹底的方法把它裁減到這樣的程度:務使世界上沒有一個國家有能力向全世界任何地區的任何鄰國進行武力侵略。
That is no vision of a distant millennium.It is a definite basis for a kind of world attainable in our own time and generation.That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called “new order” of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb.這絕不是對遙遠未來的幻想。在我們這個時代,我們這代人就可以在這一實實在在的基礎之上,建立起一個新的世界。這個世界是與獨裁者們想用炸彈炸出來的所謂暴政新秩序截然相反的。
Since the beginning of our American history we have been engaged in change, in a perpetual, peaceful revolution, a revolution which goes on steadily, quietly, adjusting itself to changing conditions without the concentration camp or the quicklime in the ditch.The world order which we seek is the cooperation of free countries, working together in a friendly, civilized society.自美國有史以來,我們一直致力于變革。這是一種從未間斷的和平革命,一種扎實漸進的革命,悄然地進行調整,以適應變化多端的形勢,沒有集中營,也沒有萬人坑。我們所追求的世界新秩序是自由國家之間的合作,是自由國家在一個友好、文明的世界里同心協力,共同努力。
This nation has placed its destiny in the hands and heads and hearts of its millions of free men and women, and its faith in freedom under the guidance of God.Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere.Our support goes to those who struggle to gain those rights and keep them.Our strength is our unity of purpose.我們的國家已經將它的命運交到她千百萬自由男女的手里、腦里和心里。她已將她對于自由的信仰交由上帝指引。自由意味著在任何地方,人權高于一切。我們支持一切為爭取、捍衛這種權力而斗爭的人們。我們的力量就在于我們目標一致。
To that high concept there can be no end save victory.為了實現這一崇高的信念,我們不獲全勝,絕不罷休。
5Hard Work Is Good for Health努力工作有利健康
Scientists find that the hard-working prestigious people live longer than average men and women.Career women are healthier than housewives.Evidences show that the jobless are in poorer health than job-holders.An investigation shows that whenever the unemployment rate increases by 1%, the death rate increases correspondingly by 2%.All this comes down to one point: work is helpful to health.Why is work good for health? It is because work keeps people busy, away from lonehness
and solitude.Researches show that people feel unhappy, worried and solitary when they have nothing to do.Instead, the happiest are those who are busy.Many high achievers who love their careers feel they are most happy when they are working hard.Work serves as a bridge between man and reality.By work, people come into contact with each other.By collective activity, they find friendship and warmth.This is helpful to health.The loss of work means the loss of everything.It affects man spiritually and hence makes him liable to disease.Besides, work gives one the sense of fulfillment and a sense of achievement.Work makes one feel his value and status in society.When a writer finishes his writing or a doctor snccessfully operates on a patient or a teacher sees his students grow, they are happy beyond words.From the above we can come to the conclusion that the more you work, the happier and healthier you will be.Let us work hard and study well and live a happy and healthy life.讓我們努力工作,好好學習,過幸福健康的生活。
科學家們發現努力工作的名人比一般人壽命長,職業婦女比家庭婦女健康。有證據表明,失業者比在業人員健康狀況差。調查表明失業率每增長l%,死亡率相應增長2%。所有這些都表明:工作有利于健康。
為什么工作對健康有好處?因為工作使人忙碌,不會寂寞、孤獨。研究表明,人們無事可做時會感到不愉快、憂慮、孤獨。忙碌反而使人愉快。許多熱愛事業、卓有成就的人在努力工作時感到最幸福。工作可作為人與現實之間的橋梁:通過工作,人們彼此接觸;通過集體活動,人們得到友誼和溫暖。這有利于健康。失去工作就是失去一切,它影響人的精神,使人容易得病。
此外,工作給人以充實感和成就感。工作使人感到自身的價值和社會地位。作家寫完書,醫生成功地給病人做完手術,教師看到學生的成長,他們有說不出的幸福。
從以上我們可以得出這一結論:工作越多越幸福,也越健康.讓我們努力工作,好好學習,過幸福健康的生活.
第二篇:英語美文段落背誦
Youth Youth is not a time of life;it is a state of mind;it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees;it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions;it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of what’s next and the joy of the game of living.In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.------
Risks To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.To reach out for another is to risk involvement.To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self.To place your ideas and your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss.To love is to risk not being loved in return.To live is to risk dying.To hope is to risk despair.To try is to risk failure.But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.The person, who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing and is nothing.This person may avoid suffering and sorrow, but cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live.Chained by attitudes he is a slave;and forfeited freedom.Only a person who risks is free.------
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;A time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up;A time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance;A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;A time to get, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away;A time to rend, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;A time to love, and a time to hate;a time of war, and a time of peace.-
Ecclesiastes 3:3
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Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled.Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.--Matthew 5:3-11------
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.Give us this day our daily bread.And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.Amen.--Matthew 6:9-13------
First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.Then they came for the socialists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.--Martin Niem?ller------
An Anonymous Poem After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul, And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security,And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises,And you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child, And learn to build all your roads on today because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans.After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.So plant your own garden and decorate your own soul, instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.And you learn that really can endure…that your really are strong, And you really do have worth.------
Happiness Consists in Love
Who can say in what remoteness of time, in what difference of earthly shape, love first comes to us as a stranger in the jungle? We, in our human family, know him through dependence in childhood, through possession in youth, through sorrow and loss in their season.In childhood we are happy to receive;it is the first opening of love.In youth we take and give, dedicate and possess—rapture and anguish are mingled, until parenthood brings a dedication that, to happy, must ask for no return.All these are new horizons of content, which the lust of holding, the enemy of love, slowly contaminates.Loss, sorrow and separation come, sickness and death;possession, that tormented us, is nothing in our hands;it vanishes.Love’s elusive enchantment, his ubiquitous presence, again became apparent;and in age we may reach a haven that asking for nothing knows how to enjoy.------
Mystery We are all still romantics at heart.The romantics give us back our moon, for instance, which science has taken away from us and made into just another airport.Secretly we all want the moon to be what it was before—a mysterious, hypnotic light in the sky.We want love to be mysterious too, as it used to be, and not a set of psycho-therapeutic rules for interpersonal relationships.We crave mystery even as we forge ahead toward the solution of one cosmic mystery after another.
第三篇:英語背誦(名著片段,英語美文)
1、Pride and Prejudice VolumeⅠ
chapter1 It is a truth universally acknowledgedthat a single man inpossession of a good fortune,must be in want of a wife.However little known the feelings or views of such a manmay be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so wellfixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he isconsidered as the rightful property of some one or other of theirdaughters.‘My dear Mr.Bennet,’ said his lady to him one day, ‘have youheard that Netherfield Park is let at last?’
Mr.Bennet replied that he had not.‘But it is,’ returned she;‘for Mrs.Long has just been here, andshe told me all about it.’
Mr.Bennet made no answer.‘Do not you want to know who has taken it?’ cried his wifeimpatiently.‘You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.’ This was invitation enough.‘Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs.Long says that Netherfieldis taken by a young man of large fortune from the north ofEngland;that he came down on Monday to seethe place, and was so much delighted with it that he agreed withMr.Morris immediatelyand some of his servants are to be in the house by theend of next week.”
2、Pride and Prejudice VolumeⅢ
chapter17 “My dear Lizzy, where can you have been walking to?”was a question which Elizabeth received from Janeas soon as she entered their room,and from all theothers when they sat down to table.She had only to say in reply,that they had wandered about, till she was beyond her ownknowledge.She colored as she spoke;but neither that, nor anything else, awakened a suspicion of the truth.The evening
passed
quietly,unmarked talked
by and
anything laughed, extraordinary.The acknowledged lovers theunacknowledged were silent.Darcy was not of a disposition inwhich happiness overflows in mirth;and Elizabeth, agitated andconfused, rather knew that she was happy, than felt herself to beso;for, besides the immediate embarrassment, there were otherevils before her.She anticipated what would be felt in the familywhen her situation became known;she was aware that no oneliked him but Jane;and even feared that with the others it was adislike which not all his fortune and consequence might do away.3、The little prince discovers a garden of roses “Good morning,” he said.He was standing beforea garden, all abloomwithroses.“Good morning,” said theroses.The little prince gazed atthem.They all looked like hisflower.“Who are you?” hedemanded, thunderstruck.“We are roses,” the roses said.And he was overcome with sadness.His flower had told him that she was the onlyone of her kind in all the universe.And here were five thousand of them, all alike, in onesingle garden!“She would be very much annoyed,” he said to himself, “if she should see that...shewould cough most dreadfully, and she would pretend that she was dying, to avoid beinglaughed at.And I should be obliged to pretend that I was nursing her back to lifeforif Idid not do that, to humble myself also, she would really allow herself to die...” Then he went on with hisreflections: “I thought that Iwas rich, with a flower thatwas unique in all the world;and all I had was a commonrose.A common rose, andthree volcanoes that come upto my kneesandone ofthem perhaps extinct forever...that doesn’t make me a verygreat prince...” And he lay down in the grass and cried.4、The little prince consoles the narrator “All men have the stars,” he answered, “but they are not the same things for differentpeople.For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides.For others they are no morethan little lights in the sky.For others, who are scholars, they are problems.For mybusinessman they were wealth.But all these stars are silent.You, youalone, willhavethe stars as no one else has them” “What are you trying to say?” “In one of the stars I shall be living.In one of them I shall be laughing.And so it willbe as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night...you, onlyyou, willhave stars that can laugh!” And he laughed again.“And when your sorrow is comforted(time soothes all sorrows), you will be contentthat you have known me.You will always be my friend.You will want to laugh with me.And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure...and your friends willbe properly astonished to see you laughing as you look up at the sky!Then you will sayto them, ‘Yes, the stars always make me laugh!’ And they will think you are crazy.It will bea very shabby trick that I shall have played on you...”
5、Three Days to See All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time tolive.Sometimes it was as long as a year;sometimes as short as twenty-four hours, but always wewere interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his lasthours.I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphereof activities is strictly delimited.Such stories set up thinking, wondering what we should do under similar circumstances.What associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings? What happiness shouldwe find in reviewing the past, what regrets? Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should dietomorrow.Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life.We should live each daywith a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretchesbefore us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come.6、Youth Youth is not a time of life;it is a state of mind;it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees;it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions;it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20.Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.We grow old by deserting our ideals.Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing appetite for what’s next and the joy of the game of living.In the center of your heart and my heart, there is a wireless station;so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, courage and power from man and from the infinite, so long as you are young.When your aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you’ve grown old, even at 20;but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there’s hope you may die young at 80.7、A reason, season, or lifetime People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need youhave expressed.They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.They are there for the reason you need them to be.Then, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.Sometimes they walk away.Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.Sometimes they die.What we must realize is that our need has been met, their work is done, and now it is time to move on.When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn.They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh.They may teach you something you have never done.They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy, but only for a season.LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
第四篇:英語美文背誦
1……….Clean Your Mental Space(Excerpts)
Jennifer Givler
Think about the last time you felt a negative emotion – like stress, anger, or frustration.What was going through your mind as you were going through that negativity? Was your mind cluttered with thoughts? Or was it paralyzed, unable to think?
The next time you find yourself in the middle of a very stressful time, or you feel angry or frustrated, stop.Yes, that is right, stop.Whatever you are doing, stop and sit for one minute.While you are sitting there, completely immerse yourself in the negative emotion.Allow that emotion to consume you.Allow yourself one minute to truly feel that emotion.Do not cheat yourself here.Take the entire minute-but only one minute-to do nothing else but feel that emotion.When the minute is over, ask yourself, “Am I willing to keep holding on to this negative emotion as I go through the rest of day?”
Once you are allowed yourself to be totally immersed in the emotion and really feel it, you will be surprised to find that the emotion clears rather quickly.清理心靈的空間
想一下你最近一次感受到的消極情緒,例如壓力、憤怒或挫折。當你處于那種消極情緒時你在想什么?是充滿了混亂的思緒?還是陷于麻木,無法思考?
下次當你發現自己處于非常緊張的狀態時,或是你感到氣憤或受挫時,停下來。是的,對,停下來。不管你在做什么,停下來坐上一分鐘。坐著的時候,讓自己完全沉浸在那種消極情緒之中。
讓那種消極情緒吞噬你,給自己一分鐘的時間去真切地體會那種情緒,不要欺騙自己。花整整一分鐘的時間——但只有一分鐘——去體會那種情緒,別的什么也不要做。
當一分鐘結束時,問自己:“我是否想在今天余下的時間里繼續保持這種消極情緒?”
一旦你允許自己完全沉浸在那種情緒當中并真切體會到它,你就會驚奇地發現那種情緒很快就消失了。2……..Mirror, Mirror---What do I See?(Excerpts)
Marion Franklin
A loving person lives in a loving world.A hostile person lives in a hostile world.Everyone you meet is your mirror.Mirrors have a very particular function.They reflect the image in front of them.Just as a physical mirror serves as the vehicle to reflection, so do all of the people in our lives.When we see something beautiful such as a flower garden, that garden serves as a reflection.In order to see the beauty in front of us, we must be able to see the beauty inside of ourselves.When we love someone, it’s a reflection of loving ourselves.We have often heard things like “I love how I am when I’m with that person.” That simply translates into “I’m able to love me when I love that other person.” Oftentimes, when we meet someone new, we feel as though we “click”.Sometimes it’s as if we’ve known each other for a long time.That feeling can come from sharing similarities.鏡子,鏡子,告訴我充滿愛意的人生活在充滿愛意的世界里,充滿敵意的人則生活在充滿敵意的世界里。你所遇到的每一個人都是你的鏡子。
鏡子有一個非常獨特的功能,那就是映射出在其前面的影像。就像真正的鏡子具有反射功能一樣,我們生活中的所有人也都能映射出他人的影子。
當我們看到美麗的事物時,例如一座花園,那這花園就起到了反射作用。為了發現我們面前美好的事物,我們必須能發現自己內在的美。我們愛某個人,也正是我們愛自己的表現。我們經常聽到這樣的話:“當我和那個人在一起的時候,我愛那時的自己。”這句話也可以簡單地說成:“在我愛那個人的同時,我也能愛我自己。”有時,我們遇見一個陌生人,感覺仿佛是一見如故,就好像我們已經相識甚久。這種熟悉感可能來自于彼此身上的共同點。
3………..Giving Life Meaning(Excerpts)
James Rick
Have you thought about what you want people to say about you after you’re gone? Can you hear the voices saying, “He was a great man.” Or “She really will be missed.” What else do they say?
One of the strangest phenomena of life is to engage in a work that will last long after death.Isn’t that a lot like investing all your money so that future generations can bare interest on it? Perhaps, yet if you look deep in your own heart, you’ll find something drives you to make this kind of
contribution---something drives every human being to find a purpose that lives on after death.Do you hope to memorialize your name? Have a name that is whispered with reverent awe? Do you hope to have your face carved upon 50 ft of granite rock? Is the answer really that simple? Is the purpose of lifetime contribution an ego-driven desire for a mortal being to have an immortal name or is it something more?
給生命以意義
你有沒有想過,你希望人們在你死后怎樣評論你?你能否聽到這樣的說法,“他是個偉大的人”或“人們的確會懷念她”,他們還會說些什么?
人生最奇異的現象之一就是,你從事的事業在你死后仍將長久存在。這和你用所有的錢進行投資以便后人能從中獲益難道不是如出一轍嗎?也許,如果你審視自己的內心深處,你就會發現促使你做出這種貢獻的驅動力——一種驅使每個人尋找在自己死后仍能繼續存在的事業的驅動力。
你希望自己的名字被人記住嗎?你希望別人提起你的名字時心懷敬畏嗎?你希望自己的面容被雕刻在50英尺高的花崗巖上嗎?答案真的那么簡單嗎?貢獻一生的目的難道是終將一死之人想要獲得不朽名聲的自我鞭策的欲望?抑或是其他更偉大的事物? 4………Abundance is a Life Style(Excerpts)
Catherine Franz
Abundance is a life style, a way of living your life.It isn’t something you buy now and then or pull down from the
cupboard, dust off and use once or twice, and then return to the cupboard.Abundance is a philosophy;it appears in your physiology, your value system, and carries its own set of beliefs.You walk with it, sleep with it, bath with it, feel with it, and need to maintain and take care of it as well.Abundance doesn’t always require money.Many people live with all that money can buy yet live empty inside.Abundance begins inside with some main self-ingredients, like love, care, kindness and gentleness, thoughtfulness and compassion.Abundance is a state of being.It radiates outward.It shines like the sun among the many moons in the world.富足的生活方式
富足是一種生活方式。它不是你偶爾買來,從架子上拿下來,抹去灰塵用上一兩次然后又放回到架子上的東西。
富足是一種哲學,它體現于你的生理機能和價值觀之中,并帶有自己的一套信仰。無論走路,睡覺,洗澡你都會感受到它,你還要維護并照顧它。
富足并不一定需要金錢。許多人擁有金錢所能買到的一切,但卻內心空虛。富足源自內心,其中包含一些重要的自我成分,比如愛,關心,善良和溫柔,體貼與同情。富足是一種存在狀態,它向外發散,像處于眾多星球之間的太陽那樣發光發熱。
第五篇:高中英語 經典美文背誦_英語
By heart
Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end.In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night.One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter.Yet this is not always the case.A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years.In the last act, a gaoler would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner.Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that it should be written out in full.One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart.The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell.Just then, the gaoler appeared with the precious letter in his hands.He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat.But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual.It was simply a blank sheet of paper.The gaoler looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow-actor had at last learnt his lines.The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds.Then, squinting his eyes, he said: 'The light is dim.Read the letter to me.' And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler.Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied: 'The light is indeed dim, sire.I must get my glasses.' With this, he hurried off the stage.Much to the aristocrat's amusement, the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.有些劇目十分成功,以致連續上演好幾年。這樣一來,可憐的演員們可倒霉了。因為他們需要一夜連著一夜地重復同樣的臺詞。人們以為,這些演員一定會把臺詞背得爛熟,絕不會臨場結巴的,但情況卻并不總是這樣。
有一位名演員曾在一出極為成功的劇目中扮演一個貴族角色,這個貴族已在巴士底獄被關押了20年。在最后一幕中,獄卒手持一封信上場,然后將信交給獄中那位貴族。盡管那個貴族每場戲都得念一遍那封信。但他還是堅持要求將信的全文寫在信紙上。
一天晚上,獄卒決定與他的同事開一個玩笑,看看他反復演出這么多場之后,是否已將信的內容記熟了。大幕拉開,最后一幕戲開演,貴族獨自一人坐在鐵窗后陰暗的牢房里。這時獄卒上場,手里拿著那封珍貴的信。獄卒走進牢房,將信交給貴族。但這回獄卒給貴族的信沒有像往常那樣把全文寫全,而是一張白紙。獄卒熱切地觀察著,急于想了解他的同事是否記熟了臺詞。貴族盯著紙看了幾秒鐘,然后,眼珠一轉,說道:“光線太暗,請給我讀一下這封信。”說完,他一下子把信遞給獄卒。獄卒發現自己連一個字也記不住,于是便說:“陛下,這兒光線的確太暗了,我得去眼鏡拿來。”他一邊說著,一邊匆匆下臺。貴族感到非常好笑的是:一會兒工夫,獄卒重新登臺,拿來一副眼鏡以及平時使用的那封信,然后為那囚犯念了起來。
Three Days to See I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life.Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight;silence would tech him the joys of sound.Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they see.Recently I was visited by a very good friends who had just returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed.“Nothing in particular.” she replied.I might have been incredulous had I not been accustomed to such reposes, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little.How was it possible, I asked myself, to walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing worthy of note? I who cannot see find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch.I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf.I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or the rough, shaggy bark of a pine.In the spring I touch the branches of trees hopefully in search of a bud the first sign of awakening Nature after her winter's sleep.I feel the delightful, velvety texture of a flower, and discover its remarkable convolutions;and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me.Occasionally, if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently on a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song.I am delighted to have the cool waters of a brook rush thought my open finger.To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.To me the page ant of seasons is a thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through my finger tips.我常常想,如果每個人在他成年的早期有一段時間致瞎致聾,那會是一種幸事,黑暗會使他更珍惜視力,寂靜會教導他享受聲音。
我不時地詢問過我的能看見東西的朋友們,以了解他們看到什么。最近,我的一個很好的朋友來看我,她剛從一片森林里散步許久回來,我問她看到了什么,她答道:“沒什么特別的。”如果我不是習慣了聽到這種回答,我都可能不相信,因為很久以來我已確信這個情況:能看得見的人卻看不到什么。
我獨自一人,在林子里散步一小時之久而沒有看到任何值得注意的東西,那怎么可能呢?我自己,一個不能看見東西的人,僅僅通過觸覺,都發現許許多多令我有興趣的東西。我感觸到一片樹葉的完美的對稱性。我用手喜愛地撫摸過一株白樺那光潮的樹皮,或一棵松樹的粗糙樹皮。春天,我摸著樹干的枝條滿懷希望地搜索著嫩芽,那是嚴冬的沉睡后,大自然蘇醒的第一個跡象。我撫摸過花朵那令人愉快的天鵝絨般的質地,感覺到它那奇妙的卷繞,一些大自然奇跡向我展現了。有時,如果我很幸運,我把手輕輕地放在一棵小樹上,還能感受到一只高聲歌唱的小鳥的愉快顫抖,我十分快樂地讓小溪澗的涼水穿過我張開的手指流淌過去。對我來說,一片茂密的地毯式的松針葉或松軟而富彈性的草地比最豪華的波斯地毯更受歡迎。對我來說四季的壯觀而華麗的展示是一部令人激動的、無窮盡的戲劇。這部戲劇的表演,通過我的手指端涌淌出來。
YOUTH
Samuel Ullman Youth is not a time of life;it is a state of mind;it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees;it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions;it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.Youth means a tempera-mental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20.Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.We grow old by deserting our ideals.Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spring back to dust.Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of what’s next and the joy of the game of living.In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.青春
塞繆爾·厄爾曼
青春不是年華,而是心境;青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝,而是深沉的意志,恢宏的想象,炙熱的戀情;青春是生命的深泉在涌流。
青春氣貫長虹,勇銳蓋過怯弱,進取壓倒茍安。如此銳氣,二十后生而有之,六旬男子則更多見。年歲有加,并非垂老,理想丟棄,方墮暮年。
歲月悠悠,衰微只及肌膚;熱忱拋卻,頹廢必致靈魂。憂煩,惶恐,喪失自信,定使心靈扭曲,意氣如灰。
無論年屆花甲,擬或二八芳齡,心中皆有生命之歡樂,奇跡之誘惑,孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一臺天線,只要你從天上人間接受美好、希望、歡樂、勇氣和力量的信號,你就青春永駐,風華常存。
一旦天線下降,銳氣便被冰雪覆蓋,玩世不恭、自暴自棄油然而生,即使年方二十,實已垂垂老矣;然則只要樹起天線,捕捉樂觀信號,你就有望在八十高齡告別塵寰時仍覺希望。
Hello, Chicago.If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled.Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.We are, and always will be, the United States of America.It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment change has come to America.A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination.And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change.Yes we can.America, we have come so far.We have seen so much.But there is so much more to do.So tonight, let us ask ourselves--if our children should live to see the next century;if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?
This is our chance to answer that call.This is our moment.This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids;to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace;to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one;that while we breathe, we hope.And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.Thank you.God bless you.And may God bless the United States of America.您好,芝加哥
如果還有人仍在懷疑美國是否是一個一切皆有可能的國度的話,如果還有人仍在疑慮我們美國的締造者的夢想是否還存在于我們這個時代的話,如果還有人仍在質疑我們民主的力量的話,今晚你就可以得到答案。
它的答案告訴延伸線,圍繞學校和教堂的人數這個民族從未見過的,等待三個小時,四個小時的人們,許多第一次在他們的生活,因為他們認為,這次一定是不同的,他們的聲音可能是不同的。
不管你是年輕人還是老年人,是富人還是窮人,是民主黨人還是共和黨人,是黑人還是白人,也不管你是拉丁美洲人或亞洲人還是本土美國人,更無論你是否為同性變者、是否是殘疾人,這是美國人共同的答案。美國人向全世界傳遞一個聲音,那就是我們的選舉從不分紅州或藍州。
我們屬于,而且永遠只屬于美利堅合眾國。
它的答案,導致這些誰一直在說這么長時間這么多的是玩世不恭和恐懼和懷疑是我們能夠實現把他們手中的弧的歷史和彎曲再次向希望一個更美好的一天。
雖然等待了很長時間,但在今晚的這一決定性時刻,由于我們在這次選舉中的努力,美國終于迎來了變革。
一名男子降落在月球上,墻上下來在柏林,世界是連接我們自己的科學和想象力。
今年,在這次選舉中,她談到她的手指到屏幕上,她和演員投票,因為106年后,在美國,通過最好的時候和最黑暗的時間,她知道怎樣可以改變美國。
是我們能夠做到。
美國,我們來到迄今。我們已經看到這么多。但有這么多事情要做。因此,今夜,讓我們反問一下我們自己,如果我們的孩子能夠活到下個世紀;如果我的女兒能夠幸運地活得像安-尼克森-庫珀那樣長,他們將會看到什么樣的變化?我們那時將會取得什么樣的進步?
這是我們來回答問題的機會,這是我們的時刻。
這是我們的時代,要使我們的人民重新工作并將機會留給我們的子孫;重新恢復繁榮并促進和平;回歸我們的美國夢想并重申一個基本事實--在眾人之中,我們也是其中一個;當我們呼吸,當我們充滿希望的時候,我們遭遇冷嘲熱諷和質疑,那些人認為我們無法做到。我們將用一句話來做出回應:不,我們可以!
謝謝您。上帝保佑你。愿上帝保佑美利堅合眾國。
We are on a Journey
Wherever you are, and whoever you may be, there is one thing in which you and I are just alike at this moment, and in all the moments of our existence.We are not at rest;we are on a journey.Our life is a movement, a tendency, a steady ceaseless progress toward an unseen goal.We are gaining something, or losing something, everyday.Even when our position and our character seem to remain precisely the same, they are changing.For the mere advance of time is a change.It is not the same thing to have a bare field in January and in July.The season makes the difference.The limitations that are childlike in the children are childish in the man.Everything that we do is a step in one direction or another.Even the failure to do something is in itself a deed.It sets us forward or backward.The action of the negative pole of a magnetic needle is just as real as the action of the positive pole.To decline is to accept — the other alternative.Are you nearer to your port today than you were yesterday? Yes, — you must be a little nearer to some port or other;for since your ship was first launched upon the sea of life, you have never been still for a single moment;the sea is too deep, you could not find an anchorage if you would;there can be no pause until you come into port.無論你身處何處,也不管你是誰,此刻,抑或是我們生命存在的每一個瞬間,有一件事對我們來說都是一樣的:我們沒有停留;我們正在旅途上。
生命是一種運動,是一種趨勢,是一個向著未知目標奮進的無休止的行進。每天,我們有所得亦有所失。我們時時刻刻都在改變,即使我們的狀態和角色看上去沒有絲毫的變化。只因為時間推移的本身就是一種變化。對于一塊荒蕪的土地,一月和七月是截然不同的。因為季節的變化讓他有所區別。能力的局限在孩子們的身上只是一種天真,而在大人的身上卻表現出一種幼稚。
我們做的所有事情都是向著某個方向邁出了一步。即使是失敗,本身也是一個作為,左右著我們的進退。磁針的負極作用與正極作用是一樣的真實。
對比昨天的你,今天你是否離自己的目標更近了?答案是肯定的,你一定離某個港口更近了些。因為自從你的航船在生命的海洋中起航的那一刻起,你就從來沒有停泊過。海水太深了,你尋找不到拋錨之處。你永遠都不可能停下來,除非你到達自己的港口。
《海上鋼琴師》 經典英文對白
1900: Moonlight city.You just couldn’t see an end to it.It wasn’t what I saw that stopped me ,Max.It was what I didn’t see.Take the piano.Keys begin.Keys end.You know there are 88 of them.They’re not infinite.You’re infinite.And on those keys, the music that you can make is infinite.I like that.That I can live by.But you get me up on that gangway, and you roll them out
in front of me.Keyboards have millions and billions of keys that never end.That keyboard is infinite.Then on that keyboard there’s no music you can play.That’s God’s piano.Did you see the streets?
There’re thousands of them.How do you choose just one?
One woman, one house, one way to die…….You don’t even know where it comes to an end.Aren’t you ever just scared of breaking apart with the
thought of it?
I was born on this ship.And the world passed me by.But 2000 people at a time and there’re old wishes here.But nevermore that fit between prow and stern..You played out your happiness bit on a piano that was not
infinite.I learned to live that way.Land?
Land is a ship too big for me,It’s a woman too beautiful, a bridge too long, perfume to
strong, music I don’t know how to play.I can never get off this ship.At best, I didn’t step off my life.After all, I don’t exist for anyone.偌大的城市,綿延無盡。
并非是我眼見的讓我停住了腳步,而是我所看不見的。你能明白嗎?
拿鋼琴來說。
鍵盤有始亦有終。
你確切地知道88個鍵就在那兒,錯不了。
它們并不是無限的,而你,才是無限的。你能在鍵盤上表現的音樂是無限的。
我喜歡這樣,我能輕松應付。
而你現在讓我走過跳板,走到城市里,等著我的是一個沒有盡頭的鍵盤。
我又怎能在這樣的鍵盤上彈奏呢?
那是上帝的鍵盤啊!
你看到那數不清的街道嗎?
如何只選擇其中一條去走?
一個共渡一生的女人,一幢屬于自己的屋子,一種生與死的方式~~~~
你甚至不知道什么時候才是盡頭。
一想到這個,難道不會害怕、會崩潰嗎?
我在這艘船上出生。
世事千變萬化,然這艘船每次只載2000人。
這里有著希望,但僅在船頭和船尾之間。
你可以在有限的鋼琴上奏出你的歡欣快樂。
我習慣了這樣的生活。
陸地?
陸地對我來說是一艘太大的船,太漂亮的女人,太長的旅程,太濃烈的香水,無從著手的音樂。
我永遠無法走下這艘船,這樣的話,我寧可舍棄我的生命。
畢竟,我從來沒有為任何人存在過
If I Were a Boy Again
If i were a boy again, I would practise perseverance more often, and never give up a thing because it was hard or invonvenient.If we want light, we must conquer darkness.Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results.“There are only two creatures,” says a proverb, “who can surmount the pyramides-the eagle and the snail.” If i were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention;I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand.I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once.The habit of attention becomes part of our life, if we begin early enough.I often hear grown-up people say,“I could not fix my attention on the lecture or book, althought i wished to do so,” and the reason is, the habit was not formed in yourth.If I were to live my life over again, I would pay more attention to the cultivation of memory.I would strengthen that faculty by every possible means, and , on every possible occasion.It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately,but memory soon helps itself, and gives very little trouble.It only needs early cultivation to become a power.If i were a boy again, I would look on the cheerful side.Life is very much like a mirrow.If you smile upon it, it smiles back upon you;but if you frown and look doubtful on it, you will get a similar look in return.Inner sunshine warms not only the heart fo the owner, but of all that come in contact with it.Who shuts love out, in turn shall be shut from love.If I were a boy again, I would school myself to say“No” oftenner.I might write pages on the importance of learning very early in life to gain that point where a young boy can stand erect, and decline doing a unworthy act because it is unworthy.If I were a boy again, I would demand of myself more courtesy towards my companions and friends, and indeed towards stangers as well.The smallest courtesies along the rough roads of life are like the little birds that sing to us all winter long, and make that season of ice and snow more endurable.Finally, instead of trying hard to be happy, as if that were the sole purpose of life, I would , if I werea boy again, try still harder to make others happy..假如我又回到了童年
假如我又回到了童年,我做事要更有毅力,決不因為事情艱難或者麻煩而撒手不干,我們要光明,就得征服黑暗。毅力在效果上有時能同天才相比。俗話說:“能登上金字塔的生物,只有兩種——鷹和蝸牛。”
假如我又回到了童年,我就要養成專心致志的習慣;有事在手,就決不讓任何東西讓我分心。我要牢記:優秀的滑冰手從不試圖同時滑向兩個不同的方向。如果及早養成這種專心致志的習慣,它將成為我們生命的一部分。我常聽成年人說:“雖然我希望能集中注意聽牧師講道或讀書,但往往做不到。”而原因就是年輕時沒有養成這種習慣。
假如我現在能重新開始我的生命,我就要更注意記憶力的培養。我要采取一切可能的辦法,并且在一切可能的場合,增強記憶力。要正確無誤地記住一些東西,在開始階段的確要作出一番小小的努力;但要不了多久,記憶力本身就會起作用,使記憶成為輕而易舉的事,只需及早培養,記憶自會成為一種才能。
假如我又回到了童年,我就要培養勇氣。一位明智的作家曾說過:“世上沒有東西比勇氣更溫文爾雅,也沒有東西比懦怯更殘酷無情。” 我們常常過多地自尋煩惱,杞人憂天。“怕禍害比禍害本身更可怕。”凡事都有危險,但鎮定沉著往往能克服最嚴重的危險。對一切禍福做好準備,那么就沒有什么災難可以害怕的了。
假如我又回到了童年,我就要事事樂觀。生活猶如一面鏡子:你朝它笑,它也朝你笑;
如果你雙眉緊鎖,向它投以懷疑的目光,它也將還以你同樣的目光。內心的歡樂不僅溫暖了歡樂者自己的心,也溫暖了所有與之接觸者的心。“誰拒愛于門外,也必將被愛拒諸門外。”
假如我又回到了童年,我就要養成經常說“不”字的習慣。一個少年要能挺得起腰,拒絕做不應該做的事,就因為這事不值得做。我可以寫上好幾頁談談早年培養這一點的重要性
假如我又回到了童年,我就要要求自己對伙伴和朋友更加禮貌,而且對陌生人也應如此。在坎坷的生活道路上,最細小的禮貌猶如在漫長的冬天為我們歌唱的小鳥,那歌聲使冰天雪地的寒冬變得較易忍受。
最后,假如我又回到了童年,我不會力圖為自己謀幸福,好像這就是人生唯一的目的;與之相反,我要更努力為他人謀幸福.No matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you!
In 1989 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened America, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes.In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left his wife safely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.After the unforgettably initial shock, he remembered the promise he had made to his son: “No matter what, I'll always be there for you!” And tears began to fill his eyes.As he looked at the pile of ruins that once was the school, it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his commitment to his son.He began to direct his attention towards where he walked his son to class at school each morning.Remembering his son's classroom would be in the back right corner of the building;he rushed there and
started digging through the ruins.As he was digging, other helpless parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying: “My son!” “My daughter!” Other well-meaning parents tried to pull him off what was left of the school, saying: “It's too late!They're all dead!You can't help!Go home!Come on, face reality, there's nothing you can do!” To each parent he responded with one line: “Are you going to help me now?” And then he continued to dig for his son, stone by stone.The fire chief showed up and tried to pull him off the school's ruins saying, “Fires are breaking out, explosions are happening everywhere.You're in danger.We'll take care of it.Go home.” To which this loving, caring American father asked, “Are you going to help me now?”
The police came and said, “You're angry, anxious and it's over.You're endangering others.Go home.We'll handle it!” To which he replied, “Are you going to help me now?” No one helped.Courageously he went on alone because he needed to know for himself: “Is my boy alive or is he dead?” He dug for eight hours...12 hours...24 hours...36 hours...then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a large stone and heard his son's voice.He screamed his son's name, “ARMAND!” He heard back, “Dad!?!It's me, Dad!I told the other kids not to worry.I told them that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved.You promised, No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you!You did it, Dad!” “What's going on in there? How is it?” the father asked.“There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad.We're scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you're here.When the building collapsed, it made a triangle, and it saved us.” “Come out, boy!”
“No, Dad!Let the other kids out first, cause I know you'll get me!No matter what happens, I know you'll always be there for me!”