乘风秋夜
上帝的咖啡 一群事业有成的同学回去看望他们的大学老师，很快他们开始抱怨生活和工作中的压力。 老师去厨房为客人们准备咖啡，回来时端着一大壶咖啡和各式各样的杯子，这些杯子有陶瓷的、塑料的、玻璃的、水晶的，有的普通，有的昂贵，有的精致，老师让大家随意享用。 等每个人都端起一杯咖啡，老师说话了：你们注意到吗：所有好看昂贵的杯子都被用了，剩下那些朴素便宜的杯子。你们都只想要最好的，这很正常，这恰恰是你们的问题和压力所在。杯子不会让咖啡的质量变得更好，很多时候，只是让它变得更贵一些，甚至，有时候，让人忽略了到底我们在喝什么。你们真正想要的其实是咖啡，不是杯子，但你们有意识地去拿那些最好的杯子，随后开始打量其他人手上的杯子。想想吧：生活好比咖啡，工作、金钱和社会地位都只是杯子，只是生活的容器，而我们拥有的杯子既无法定义、也无法改变我们生活的质量。有时，由于我们只关心杯子，我们甚至不能够好好品尝上帝赐予我们的咖啡。 上帝冲泡了咖啡，不是杯子。······享受你们的咖啡吧。 最快乐的人们并不是因为他们拥有最好的一切，他们只是把一切当成最好。 简单地活着。仁慈地爱着。深深地关心着。友善地说话。 其他的，就留给上帝吧。 God's Coffee A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us." God brews the coffee, not the cups.......... Enjoy your coffee! "The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything." Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. A Sioux Indian story ... 这是苏语系印第安人部落中流传的一个古老的故事…… My grandfather took me to the fish pond on the farm when I was about seven, and he told me to throw a stone into the water. He told me to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone. 在我七岁那年，我的祖父来到田边的一个池塘。他让我丢一颗石子到水中，并嘱咐我仔细观察石子所激起的水波纹。然后他叫我把自己想象成那颗石子。 "You may create lots of splashes in your life, but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures," he said. 他说：“在生命的水面上，你也许能激起许多波纹，而你所激起的波纹也会打破别人的平静，” "Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles." “要谨记，对你所激起的波纹中所包含的东西负责，因为这些东西会接触、影响到别人的波纹。” "You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both." “你应当努力使自己波纹中的平和宁静传播给他人。当然，如果你的波纹中携带有愤怒、嫉妒，别人也会受到你的影响，因此，你要对它们负责。” That was the first time I realized that each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. 这是我第一次了解到，每个人心中的平和抑或不和，都会传播给整个世界。如果我们自己内心都被冲突、仇恨、疑虑或者愤怒所纠缠，自然就不能给世界带来平和宁静。 We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life. 无论我们是否说出心中的感觉和思绪，我们都在向外界传播它们。无论我们内心激起的是何种波纹，它们都会被传向他人，与别人的生命波纹共同激起美丽，抑或是不和谐。 表演大师 有一位表演大师上场前，他的弟子告诉他鞋带松了。大师点头致谢，蹲下来仔细系好。等到弟子转身后，又蹲下来将鞋带解松。有个旁观者看到了这一切，不解地问：“大师，您为什么又要将鞋带解松呢？”大师回答道：“因为我饰演的是一位劳累的旅者，长途跋涉让他的鞋事松开，可以通过这个细节表现他的劳累憔悴.”“那你为什么不直接告诉你的弟子呢？”“他能细心地发现我的鞋带松了，并且热心地告诉我，我一定要保护他这种热情的积极性，及时地给他鼓励，至于为什么要将鞋带解开，将来会有更多的机会教他表演，可以下一次再说啊。” 这个故事说明了：人一个时间只能做一件事，懂抓重点，才是真正的人才。 The perform master Front some performs the master to go on stage, his disciple told him the shoelace to be loose. The master nods expresses thanks, squats down carefully is good. When after the disciple turns around, also squats down the shoelace solution pine. Has an observer to see all these, relentlessly asked: "The master, why do you have the shoelace solution pine?" The master replies: "Because I play am a tired travel, makes a long and wearisome journey lets his shoes matter pine open, may tired display him through this detail to be thin and pale." "Why then you not directly do tell you the disciple?" "He can carefully discover my shoelace has been loose, and warm-heartedly tells me, me certainly must preserve he this kind of warm initiative, promptly encourages for him, why as for has to untie the shoelace, future will be able to have more opportunities to teach him to perform, will be allowed next again to say." this story told us that:Person time only can make a matter, understands grasps key, is the genuine talented person. 1.Yesterday was my birthday, so some of my classmates sent me presents. Mother prepared a tea party for me. I invited all of them to come and take part in it.The tea party began at half past six. There were cold drinks and refreshments. We ate, talked and laughed. We felt that we were the happiest men in the world 昨天是我生日，所以有几位我的同班同学送我礼。母亲给我准备一个茶会。我邀请他们都前来参加。茶会下午六点半开始。有冷饮和点心。我们又吃又谈又笑。我们觉得是世界上最快乐的人。。 2.I like the Chinese new year better than any other festival. This is a time especially for rest and joy. I need not study. I wear good clothes and eat good food. I have a good time from morning till night. I am as happy as a king. 我喜欢中国新年比喜欢其它任何节日更甚。这是一个专为休息和欢乐的时间。我不需要读书。我穿好衣服，吃好东西。我每天从早到晚日子过得轻松愉快。我和上帝一样快乐。 3.No sooner had the witer vacation begun than I returned to my native town. Of course I must make good use of it;.In the morning I reviewed my lessons and read newspapers or magazines. In the afternoon I played ball games with my friends or went fishing in the river. At night I watched television with my family. hardly had the clock on the wall struck ten when I went to bed. 寒假刚一开始，我就回故乡了。自然我须好好利用它。 早晨我复习功课并阅读报纸或杂志。下午我和朋友打球，或去河中钓鱼。晚上我就和家人看看电视。墙上的钟刚敲十下，我就去睡觉了。 4.I live very happily today! In the morning, it is very fine! Then I climb the mountain with family, the air on the mountain is very fresh, the flowers plants and trees on the mountain all seem extremely beautiful. Coming back home in the evening, family and I sat and watched TV together, we are returning and eating the fruit while chatting, the whole family is happy and harmonious! 今天我过得非常开心！早上，天气非常好！于是我和家人一起去登山，山上的空气非常清新，山上的花草树木都显得格外美丽。晚上回到家，我与家人坐在一起看电视，我们还一边聊天一边吃着水果，全家其乐融融！ A wolf had been badly wounded by dogs. He lay sick and maimed in his lair. He felt very hungry and thirsty. When a sheep passed by, he asked him to fetch some water from the stream. "If you bring me the water," he said, "I will find means to get some food." "Yes," said the sheep, "if I bring you the water, you would undoubtedly make me your food." 狼和羊 ●狼被狗所咬，伤势很严重，痛苦地躺在巢穴里，不能外出觅食。 ●他感到又饿又渴，这时，他看见一只羊，便请求他到附近的小河里为他取一点水来。 ●“你给我一点水解渴”，他说，“我就能自己去寻找食物了。” ●“是呀”，羊回答说，“如果我给你送水喝，那么我就会成为你的食物。” 寓意: 谎言是经不起推敲的，它很容易被人们识破。
cathyzhou214
<一>Think it over 好好想想 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 outer 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 front 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 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。 <二>If I were a Boy Again假如我又回到了童年If I were a boy again, I would practice perseverance more often, and never give up a thing because it was hard or inconvenient. 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 pyramids—the eagle and the snail.”If I were a boy again, I would school myself into a habit of attention; I would let nothing comebetween 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 begain early enough. I often hear grown uppeople say “I could not fix my attention on the sermon or book, although I wished to do so”, and the reason is, the habit was not formed in youth.If I were to live my life over again, I would pay more attention to the cultivation of the 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.假如我又回到了童年，我做事要更有毅力，决不因为事情艰难或者麻烦而撒手不干，我们要光明，就得征服黑暗。毅力在效果上有时能同天才相比。俗话说：“能登上金字塔的生物，只有两种——鹰和蜗牛。”假如我又回到了童年，我就要养成专心致志的习惯；有事在手，就决不让任何东西让我分心。我要牢记：优秀的滑冰手从不试图同时滑向两个不同的方向。如果及早养成这种专心致志的习惯，它将成为我们生命的一部分。我常听成年人说：“虽然我希望能集中注意听牧师讲道或读书，但往往做不到。”而原因就是年轻时没有养成这种习惯。假如我现在能重新开始我的生命，我就要更注意记忆力的培养。我要采取一切可能的办法，并且在一切可能的场合，增强记忆力。要正确无误地记住一些东西，在开始阶段的确要作出一番小小的努力；但要不了多久，记忆力本身就会起作用，使记忆成为轻而易举的事，只需及早培养，记忆自会成为一种才能。If I were a boy again, I would cultivate courage. “Nothing is so mild and gentle as courage, nothing so cruel and pitiless as cowardice,” says a wise author.We too often borrow trouble, and anticipate that may never appear. "The fear of ill exceeds the ill we fear." Dangers will arise in any career, but presence of mind will often conquer the worst of them. Be prepared for any fate, and there is no harm to be feared.If I were a boy again, I would look on the cheerful side. Life is very much like a mirror: 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 of 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 more often. I might write pages on theimportance of learning very early in life to gain that point where a young boy can stand erect, and decline doing an 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 strangers 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 were a boy again, I would still try harder to make others happy.假如我又回到了童年，我就要培养勇气。一位明智的作家曾说过：“世上没有东西比勇气更温文尔雅，也没有东西比懦怯更残酷无情。”我们常常过多地自寻烦恼，杞人忧天。“怕祸害比祸害本身更可怕。”凡事都有危险，但镇定沉着往往能克服最严重的危险。对一切祸福做好准备，那么就没有什么灾难可以害怕的了。假如我又回到了童年，我就要事事乐观。生活犹如一面镜子：你朝它笑，它也朝你笑；如果你双眉紧锁，向它投以怀疑的目光，它也将还以你同样的目光。内心的欢乐不仅温暖了欢乐者自己的心，也温暖了所有与之接触者的心。“谁拒爱于门外，也必将被爱拒诸门外。”假如我又回到了童年，我就要养成经常说“不”字的习惯。一个少年要能挺得起腰，拒绝做不应该做的事，就因为这事不值得做。我可以写上好几页谈谈早年培养这一点的重要性。假如我又回到了童年，我就要要求自己对伙伴和朋友更加礼貌，而且对陌生人也应如此。在坎坷的生活道路上，最细小的礼貌犹如在漫长的冬天为我们歌唱的小鸟，那歌声使冰天雪地的寒冬变得较易忍受。最后，假如我又回到了童年，我不会力图为自己谋幸福，好像这就是人生唯一的目的；与之相反，我要更努力为他人谋幸福。两篇都不错，自己选吧。
