Agent数码Reaper
Beauty There were a sensitivity and a beauty to her that have nothing to do with looks. She was one to be listened to, whose words were so easy to take to heart. It is said that the true nature of being is veiled. The labor of words, the expression of art, the seemingly ceaseless buzz that is human thought all have in common the need to get at what really is so. The hope to draw close to and possess the truth of being can be a feverish one. In some cases it can even be fatal, if pleasure is one's truth and its attainment more important than life itself. In other lives, though, the search for what is truthful gives life. I used to find notes left in the collection basket, beautiful notes about my homilies and about the writer's thoughts on the daily scriptural readings. The person who penned the notes would add reflections to my thoughts and would always include some quotes from poets and mystics he or she had read and remembered and loved. The notes fascinated me. Here was someone immersed in a search for truth and beauty. Words had been treasured, words that were beautiful. And I felt as if the words somehow delighted in being discovered, for they were obviously very generous to the as yet anonymous writer of the notes. And now this person was in turn learning the secret of sharing them. Beauty so shines when given away. The only truth that exists is, in that sense, free. It was a long time before I met the author of the notes. One Sunday morning, I was told that someone was waiting for me in the office. The young person who answered the rectory door said that it was "the woman who said she left all the notes." When I saw her I was shocked, since I immediately recognized her from church but had no idea that it was she who wrote the notes. She was sitting in a chair in the office with her hands folded in her lap. Her head was bowed and when she raised it to look at me, she could barely smile without pain. Her face was disfigured, and the skin so tight from surgical procedures that smiling or laughing was very difficult for her. She had suffered terribly from treatment to remove the growths that had so marred her face. We chatted for a while that Sunday morning and agreed to meet for lunch later that week. As it turned out we went to lunch several times, and she always wore a hat during the meal. I think that treatments of some sort had caused a lot of her hair to fall out. We shared things about our lives. I told her about my schooling and growing up. She told me that she had worked for years for an insurance company. She never mentioned family, and I did not ask. We spoke of authors we both had read, and it was easy to tell that books are a great love of hers. I have thought about her often over the years and how she struggled in a society that places an incredible premium on looks, class, wealth and all the other fineries of life. She suffered from a disfigurement that cannot be made to look attractive. I know that her condition hurt her deeply. Would her life have been different had she been pretty? Chances are it would have. And yet there were a sensitivity and a beauty to her that had nothing to do with looks. She was one to be listened to, whose words were so easy to take to heart. Her words came from a wounded but loving heart, very much like all hearts, but she had more of a need to be aware of it, to live with it and learn from it. She possessed a fine-tuned sense of beauty. Her only fear in life was the loss of a friend. How long does it take most of us to reach that level of human growth, if we ever get there? We get so consumed and diminished, worrying about all the things that need improving, we can easily forget to cherish those things that last. Friendship, so rare and so good, just needs our care--maybe even the simple gesture of writing a little note now and then, or the dropping of some beautiful words in a basket, in the hope that such beauty will be shared and taken to heart. The truth of her life was a desire to see beyond the surface for a glimpse of what it is that matters. She found beauty and grace and they befriended her, and showed her what is real.
花小卷2010
阅读经典美文是拓宽思维、增长见识、丰富情感、涵养素质的最有效手段。我精心收集了关于抒情英语美文，供大家欣赏学习!
I teach economics at UNLV three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been so good. He had his wisdom teeth removed. The young man then proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful.
我在内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校教经济学，每周上三次课。上周一，在刚开始上课的时候，我兴致勃勃地问学生们周末过得怎么样。一个男生说，他的周末不太愉快，因为他的智齿被拔掉了，结果让他痛了一整天。然后，他又问我为何我总能保持那么快乐的心情。
His question reminded me of something I'd read somewhere before: "Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that day," I said. "I choose to be cheerful."
他的问题使我想起了一句不知出处的话：“每天早上，当你起床的时候，你可以选择如何面对一天的生活”，我说：“我选择快乐。”
"Let me give you an example," I continued, addressing all sixty students in the class. "In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day a few weeks ago I drove those 17 miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn't turn over. So I put my flashers on, grabbed my books, and marched down the road to the college.
“我给你们举个例子吧，”我对着全班六十个学生继续说道，“除了在这儿上课，我还在一所社区大学任教，那儿离我家17英里。几周前的一天，我驾车前往那所学校，驶离高速公路后，我转入了校园区。在只差400多米就到学校的时候，我的汽车抛锚了。我努力重新发动引擎，但就是不行。我只好把指示灯打亮，然后抓起课本直奔学校。”
"As soon as I got there I called AAA and arranged for a tow truck to meet me at my car after class. The secretary in the Provost's office asked me what has happened. 'This is my lucky day,' I replied, smiling.
我一到学校就马上打电话给汽车协会，让他们在我下课后开辆拖车过来。院长办公室的秘书问我发生了什么事。“今天我真走运。”我笑着答道。
"'Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?' She was puzzled. 'What do you mean?'
“你的车坏了，你还说今天走运?”她一脸的困惑。“你什么意思啊?”
"'I live 17 miles from here.' I replied. 'My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn't. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class, and I've been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn't have been arranged in a more convenient fashion.'
我回答到：“我住在离这儿17英里的地方。其实我的车有可能在高速公路上的什么地方就坏掉了的，但庆幸的是，没有。相反，汽车是在离开了高速公路后才抛锚，而且距离学校很近。我还赶得及上课，还能够安排拖车在课后来处理。如果我的汽车是注定了要在今天抛锚的，那在这个位置抛锚已经是非常幸运了。”
The secretary's eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class." So ended my story.
“那个秘书听得目瞪口呆地，然后她笑了。我也冲她笑了一下，便上课去了。”这就是我的故事。
I scanned the sixty faces in my economics class at UNLV. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe it wasn't the story at all. In fact, it had all started with a student's observation that I was cheerful.
我扫视了一下全班六十张脸。虽然是在大清早，但没有一个学生在打盹儿。不知道为什么，他们好像被我的故事触动了。也许触动他们的并不是故事本身。其实，从一开始有学生发现我兴致高昂的时候，他们便已经被我的快乐感染了。
Deepak Chopra has quoted an Indian wise man as saying, "Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say." I suppose it must be so.
著名的印度作家乔布拉，曾经引述过一位印度智者的名言：“你为人行事的本身，比你的语言更具说服力。”我认为这的确是真理。
只有付出的爱是痛苦的，但比这更痛苦是爱一个人却没有勇气让那人知道你的感情。
A sad thing in life is when you meet someone who means a lot to you，only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be and you just have to let go.
生命中令人悲伤的是你遇到了一个对你来说很重要的人，但却最终发现你们有缘无份，因此你不得不放手。
The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with，never say a word，and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.
最好的朋友就是那种能和你促膝而坐，彼此不说只字片语，分别时却感到这是你有过的最好的一次交流!
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.
的确只有当我们失去时才知道曾拥有的是什么，同样，只有当我们拥有了才知道曾经失去了什么。
It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone，an hour to like someone，and a day to love someone- but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.
对一个人产生好感只需一分钟，喜欢上一个人需要一小时，爱上一个人则要一天，然而，忘记一个人却是一辈子的事情。
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 takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
别倾心于容貌，因为它具有欺骗性，也别倾心于财富，它也会消散，倾心于那个能带给你笑容的人吧，因为一个笑容能使漫漫长夜如白昼般明亮。
Dream what you want to dream;go where you want to go;be what you want to be，because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
做你想做的梦吧，去你想去的地方吧，成为你想成为的人吧，因为你只有一次生命，一个机会去做所有那些你想做的事。
Always put yourself in the other's shoes. If you feel that it hurts you，it probably hurts the person too.
要设身处地的为别人着想, 如果一双鞋你穿着夹脚, 别人的感觉可能也一样。
A careless word may kindle strife;a cruel word may wreck a life;a timely word may level stress;a loving word may heal and bless.
无心快语可能引发争执，无情之词可能折损生命，适时温语可能消弭压力，而关爱之声可能治愈心灵。
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
幸福之人并非拥有一切，只是尽力享受生活的赐予。
Love begins with a smile，grows with a kiss，ends with a tear. When you were born，you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die，you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.
爱情以笑开始，以吻转浓，以泪结束。当你哭着降临人世时，身边的每个人都在为此欢笑，好好生活吧，这样你就能含笑离开人世，而身边的每个人都在为此哭泣。
People regard it as a matter of normality if a man takes the initiative in courtship, but if a woman does that, she is asking for trouble.
如果一个男人主动求爱，人们会把它当成一种常态，但如果是一个女人主动求爱，那她就是自找麻烦。
Traditionally, Chinese women should be stereotypically quiet, patient, and reserved, and to a large extent they were accessories to men. They didn’t have the right to pursue their own true love and were always waiting for men’s actions. With the improvement of women’s status and their newly¬--gained independence, it seems that this attitude should have disappeared nowadays, however, it still exists today.
传统上,中国女性应该安静、耐心和有所保留的并在很大程度上他们是男性附属品。他们没有权利去追求自己的真爱，总是在等待男人的行为。随着妇女地位的提高和他们的新获得的独立，这种态度似乎应该要消失了，但是，今天仍然存在。
There are evidences that amorous initiative is firmly reserved to men, and modern women, although not so subordinate as traditional women, are still in a passive position. It is because that the ambience of society doesn't encourage women to take actions, that men still to some extent hold traditional attitude towards women, and that women themselves also accept the unwritten roles.
有证据显示恋爱中的主动权都是为男性保留的，现代女性，虽然不像传统女性那样，但是仍然处于被动地位。这是因为社会环境并不鼓励妇女采取行动，而男性在某种程度上对于女性还是保持传统观念，女性自己也接受了这个不成文的角色。
When referring to the issue of courtship, most of my male friends, though being college students, insist that initiative should be reserved to boys and girls should never be too positive, otherwise, it will scare away boys, that is, it is not suitable or reasonable for a girl to chase her affectionate boy. They even assume that even if a girl is cute enough to achieve her goal, she will not be really happy later on, because the boy will not cherish the love that isn't pursued by himself. So this initiative is boys’ privilege while girls even don’t have the freedom of pursuing.
在恋爱中谈及到这个问题时，虽然我大部分的男性朋友都是大学生，却坚持认为应该是男孩主动，因为女孩永远都不会太积极的，否则，她会把男孩吓跑的，也就是说，让一个女孩追球她钟情的男孩是不合适的或着说是不合理的。他们甚至认为即使一个女孩足够可爱来实现她的目标，到后面她也不会真的快乐。因为那个男孩不会珍惜不是自己追求来的爱。所以主动是男孩的特权，而女孩子甚至没有追求的自由。
It is said that women hold up half the sky. However, this half sky is shaded with some black clouds, not really cleared up. Hopefully, we can see some light going through the black clouds, shining out over the world.
都说女人能撑起半边天。然而，这半边天空是黑色的云的阴影，不是真的消失了。希望，我们可以通过黑色的云看到一些光，照耀了世界。
One of my friends ever told me a story, which overturns this stereotype, about a brave young lady who had fallen in love with a boy, decided that she would take actions to show her attractions to him, not just waiting for nothing. With her love and perseverance, though there being so much external and internal pressure, she eventually succeeded in attracting the boy and became a heroine and a good example of the other girls who also saw the promising land from her.
我一个朋友曾经告诉过我一个故事。它颠覆了这一观念。故事是关于一个勇敢的年轻女孩爱上一个男孩，并决定向男孩示爱，而不是干等。因为她的爱和坚持，尽管有很多的内部和外部压力，她最终还是成功的追到了那个男孩，成为一个英雄，一个很好的例子，让别的女孩从她身上看到了希望。
Hopefully, there will be many courageous women who try to break up the roles and the stereotypes to pursue their own happiness, making themselves the heroines.
希望将会有许多勇敢的妇女试图打破那种一成不变的角色去追求自己的幸福，让自己成为女英雄。
starjing99
The smile "I was sure that I was to be killed. I became terribly nervous. I fumbled[1] in my pockets to see if there were any cigarettes, which had escaped[2]their search. I found one and because of my shaking hands, I could barely get it to my lips. But I had no matches, they had taken those. "I looked through the bars at my jailer. He did not make eye contact with me. I called out to him 'Have you got a light?' He looked at me, shrugged [3]and came over to light my cigarette. "As he came close and lit the match, his eyes inadvertently locked with mine. At that moment, I smiled. I don't know why I did that. Perhaps it was nervousness, perhaps it was because, when you get very close, one to another, it is very hard not to smile. In any case, I smiled. In that instant, it was as though a spark jumped across the gap between our two hearts, our two human souls. I know he didn't want to, but my smile leaped through the bars and generated a smile on his lips, too. He lit my cigarette but stayed near, looking at me directly in the eyes and continuing to smile. "I kept smiling at him, now aware of him as a person and not just a jailer. And his looking at me seemed to have a new dimension[4] too. 'Do you have kids?' he asked. " 'Yes, here, here.' I took out my wallet and nervously fumbled for the pictures of my family. He, too, took out the pictures of his family and began to talk about his plans and hopes for them. My eyes filled with tears. I said that I feared that I'd never see my family again, never have the chance to see them grow up. Tears came to his eyes, too. "Suddenly, without another word, he unlocked my cell and silently led me out. Out of the jail, quietly and by back routes, out of the town. There, at the edge of town, he released me. And without another word, he turned back toward the town. "My life was saved by a smile." Yes, the smile―the unaffected, unplanned, natural connection between people.. I really believe that if that part of you and that part of me could recognize each other, we wouldn't be enemies. We couldn't have hate or envy or fear. 微笑 “一想到自己明天就没命了，不禁陷入极端的惶恐。我翻遍了口袋，终于找到一支没被他们搜走的香烟，但我的手紧张得不停发抖，连将烟送进嘴里都成问题，而我的火柴也在搜身时被拿走了。 “我透过铁栏望着外面的警卫，他并没有注意到我在看他，我叫了他一声：‘能跟你借个火吗？’他转头望着我，耸了耸肩，然后走了过来，点燃我的香烟。 “当他帮我点火时，他的眼光无意中与我的相接触，这时我突然冲着他微笑。我不知道自己为何有这般反应，也许是过于紧张，或者是当你如此靠近另一个人，你很难不对他微笑。不管是何理由，我对他笑了。就在这一刹那，这抹微笑如同火花般，打破了我们心灵间的隔阂。受到了我的感染，他的嘴角不自觉地也现出了笑容，虽然我知道他原无此意。他点完火后并没立刻离开，两眼盯着我瞧，脸上仍带着微笑。 “我也以笑容回应，仿佛他是个朋友，而不是个守着我的警卫。他看着我的眼神也少了当初的那股凶气，‘你有小孩吗？’他开口问道。 “‘有，你看。’我拿出了皮夹，手忙脚乱地翻出了我的全家福照片。他也掏出了照片，并且开始讲述他对家人的期望与计划。这时我眼中充满了泪水，我说我害怕再也见不到家人。我害怕没机会看着孩子长大。他听了也流下两行眼泪。 “突然间，他二话不说地打开了牢门，悄悄地带我从后面的小路逃离了监狱，出了小镇，就在小镇的边上，他放了我，之后便转身往回走，不曾留下一句话。 “一个微笑居然能救自己一条命。”“是的，微笑是人与人之间最自然真挚的沟通方式。如果我们能用心灵去认识彼此，世间不会有结怨成仇的憾事；恨意、妒嫉、恐惧也会不复存在。 背景介绍： 《微笑》是法国作家安东尼·圣艾修伯里的作品，圣艾修伯里是名飞行员，二次大战对抗纳粹时被击落身亡，之前他也曾参加西班牙内战打击法西斯分子。他根据这次经验写了一篇精彩的故事――《微笑》。他的代表作《小王子》是美国人都很熟悉的童话故事。
