烽火馋眠
英文美文朗诵两篇
朗读是学生学习英语的一种有效的方法;是提高听、说、读、写综合能力的一种行为，下面是英文美文朗诵两篇。
•第一篇：Youth 青春
Youth
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of 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.
译文：
青春
青春不是年华，而是心境;青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而是深沉的意志，恢宏的想象，炙热的恋情;青春是生命的深泉在涌流。
青春气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，进取压倒苟安。如此锐气，二十后生而有之，六旬男子则更多见。年岁有加，并非垂老，理想丢弃，方堕暮年。
岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤;热忱抛却，颓废必致灵魂。忧烦，惶恐，丧失自信，定使心灵扭曲，意气如灰。
无论年届花甲，拟或二八芳龄，心中皆有生命之欢乐，奇迹之诱惑，孩童般天真久盛不衰。人人心中皆有一台天线，只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号，你就青春永驻，风华常存。 、
一旦天线下降，锐气便被冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生，即使年方二十，实已垂垂老矣;然则只要树起天线，捕捉乐观信号，你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。
•第二篇： Three Days to See(Excerpts)假如给我三天光明(节选)
Three Days to See
All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. Sometimes it was as long as a year, sometimes as short as 24 hours. But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed hero chose to spend his last days or his last hours. I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly delimited.
Such stories set us thinking, wondering what we should do under similar circumstances. What events, what experiences, what associations should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings, what regrets?
Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with gentleness, vigor and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the Epicurean motto of “Eat, drink, and be merry”. But most people would be chastened by the certainty of impending death.
In stories the doomed hero is usually saved at the last minute by some stroke of fortune, but almost always his sense of values is changed. He becomes more appreciative of the meaning of life and its permanent spiritual values. It has often been noted that those who live, or have lived, in the shadow of death bring a mellow sweetness to everything they do.
Most of us, however, take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. When we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude toward life.
The same lethargy, I am afraid, characterizes the use of all our faculties and senses. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sounds hazily, without concentration and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill.
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 teach him the joys of sound.
译文：
假如给我三天光明(节选)
我们都读过震撼人心的故事，故事中的主人公只能再活一段很有限的时光，有时长达一年，有时却短至一日。但我们总是想要知道，注定要离世人的会选择如何度过自己最后的时光。当然，我说的是那些有选择权利的.自由人，而不是那些活动范围受到严格限定的死囚。
这样的故事让我们思考，在类似的处境下，我们该做些什么?作为终有一死的人，在临终前的几个小时内我们应该做什么事，经历些什么或做哪些联想?回忆往昔，什么使我们开心快乐?什么又使我们悔恨不已?
有时我想，把每天都当作生命中的最后一天来边，也不失为一个极好的生活法则。这种态度会使人格外重视生命的价值。我们每天都应该以优雅的姿态，充沛的精力，抱着感恩之心来生活。但当时间以无休止的日，月和年在我们面前流逝时，我们却常常没有了这种子感觉。当然，也有人奉行“吃，喝，享受”的享乐主义信条，但绝大多数人还是会受到即将到来的死亡的惩罚。
在故事中，将死的主人公通常都在最后一刻因突降的幸运而获救，但他的价值观通常都会改变，他变得更加理解生命的意义及其永恒的精神价值。我们常常注意到，那些生活在或曾经生活在死亡阴影下的人无论做什么都会感到幸福。
然而，我们中的大多数人都把生命看成是理所当然的。我们知道有一天我们必将面对死亡，但总认为那一天还在遥远的将来。当我们身强体健之时，死亡简直不可想象，我们很少考虑到它。日子多得好像没有尽头。因此我们一味忙于琐事，几乎意识不到我们对待生活的冷漠态度。
我担心同样的冷漠也存在于我们对自己官能和意识的运用上。只有聋子才理解听力的重要，只有盲人才明白视觉的可贵，这尤其适用于那些成年后才失去视力或听力之苦的人很少充分利用这些宝贵的能力。他们的眼睛和耳朵模糊地感受着周围的景物与声音，心不在焉，也无所感激。这正好我们只有在失去后才懂得珍惜一样，我们只有在生病后才意识到健康的可贵。
我经常想，如果每个人在年轻的时候都有几天失时失聪，也不失为一件幸事。黑暗将使他更加感激光明，寂静将告诉他声音的美妙。
蓝精灵粑粑
朗诵虽是朗诵者的二度创作,但诗词本身所表现的意境美是不可忽略的,更要结合朗诵者的体会,在朗诵过程中得以升华。下面是我带来的英文经典朗诵美文，欢迎阅读!英文经典朗诵美文篇一 That's what friends do 朋友就该这么做 Jack tossed the papers on my desk—his eyebrows knit into a straight line as he glared at me. 杰克把文件扔到我桌上，皱着眉头，气愤地瞪着我。 "What's wrong?" I asked. “怎么了?”我问道。 He jabbed a finger at the proposal. "Next time you want to change anything, ask me first," he said, turning on his heels and leaving me stewing in anger. 他指着计划书狠狠地说道：“下次想作什么改动前，先征求一下我的意见。”然后转身走了，留下我一个人在那里生闷气。 How dare he treat me like that, I thought. I had changed one long sentence, and corrected grammar, something I thought I was paid to do. 他怎么能这样对我!我想，我只是改了一个长句，更正了语法错误，但这都是我的分内之事啊。 It's not that I hadn't been warned. Other women who had worked my job before me called Jack names I couldn't repeat. One coworker took me aside the first day. "He's personally responsible for two different secretaries leaving the firm," she whispered. 其实也有人提醒过我，上一任在我这个职位上工作的女士就曾大骂过他。我第一天上班时，就有同事把我拉到一旁小声说：“已有两个秘书因为他而辞职了。” As the weeks went by, I grew to despise Jack. His actions made me question much that I believed in, such as turning the other cheek and loving your enemies. Jack quickly slapped a verbal insult on any cheek turned his way. I prayed about the situation, but to be honest, I wanted to put Jack in his place, not love him. 几周后，我逐渐有些鄙视杰克了，而这又有悖于我的信条——别人打你左脸，右脸也转过去让他打;爱自己的敌人。但无论怎么做，总会挨杰克的骂。说真的，我很想灭灭他的嚣张气焰，而不是去爱他。我还为此默默祈祷过。 One day another of his episodes left me in tears. I stormed into his office, prepared to lose my job if needed, but not before I let the man know how I felt. I opened the door and Jack glanced up. “What?” he asked abruptly. 一天，因为一件事，我又被他气哭了。我冲进他的办公室，准备在被炒鱿鱼前让他知道我的感受。我推开门，杰克抬头看了我一眼。“有事吗?”他突然说道。 Suddenly I knew what I had to do. After all, he deserved it. 我猛地意识到该怎么做了。毕竟，他罪有应得。 I sat across from him and said calmly, "Jack, the way you've been treating me is wrong. I've never had anyone speak to me that way. As a professional, it's wrong, and I can't allow it to continue." 我在他对面坐下：“杰克，你对待我的方式很有问题。还从没有人像你那样对我说话。作为一个职业人士，你这么做很愚蠢，我无法容忍这样的事情再度发生。” Jack snickered nervously and leaned back in his chair. I closed my eyes briefly. God help me, I prayed. 杰克不安地笑了笑，向后靠靠。我闭了一下眼睛，祈祷着，希望上帝能帮帮我。 "I want to make you a promise. I will be a friend," I said. "I will treat you as you deserve to be treated, with respect and kindness. You deserve that. Everybody does." I slipped out of the chair and closed the door behind me. “我保证，可以成为你的朋友。你是我的上司，我自然会尊敬你，礼貌待你，这是我应做的。每个人都应得到如此礼遇。”我说着便起身离开，把门关上了。 Jack avoided me the rest of the week. Proposals, specs, and letters appeared on my desk whileI was at lunch, and my corrected versions were not seen again. I brought cookies to the officeone day and left a batch on his desk. Another day I left a note. "Hope your day is going great,"it read. 那个星期余下的几天，杰克一直躲着我。他总趁我吃午饭时，把计划书、技术说明和信件放在我桌上，并且，我修改过的文件不再被打回来。一天，我买了些饼干去办公室，顺便在杰克桌上留了一包。第二天，我又留了一张字条，在上面写道：“祝你今天一切顺利。” Over the next few weeks, Jack reappeared. He was reserved, but there were no otherepisodes. Coworkers cornered me in the break room. "Guess you got to Jack," they said. "Youmust have told him off good." 接下来的几个星期，杰克不再躲避我了，但沉默了许多，办公室里再也没发生不愉快的事情。于是，同事们在休息室把我团团围了起来。“听说杰克被你镇住了，”他们说，“你肯定大骂了他一顿。” I shook my head. "Jack and I are becoming friends," I said in faith. I refused to talk about him.Every time I saw Jack in the hall, I smiled at him. After all, that's what friends do. 我摇了摇头，一字一顿地说：“我们会成为朋友。”我根本不想提起杰克，每次在大厅看见他时，我总冲他微笑。毕竟，朋友就该这样。 One year after our "talk," I discovered I had breast cancer. I was thirty-two, the mother of threebeautiful young children, and scared. The cancer had metastasized to my lymph nodes and thestatistics were not great for long-term survival. After my surgery, friends and loved onesvisited and tried to find the right words. No one knew what to say, and many said the wrongthings. Others wept, and I tried to encourage them. I clung to hope myself. 一年后，我32岁，是三个漂亮孩子的母亲，但我被确诊为乳腺癌，这让我极端恐惧。癌细胞已经扩散到我的淋巴腺。从统计数据来看，我的时间不多了。手术后，我 拜访 了亲朋好友，他们尽量宽慰我，都不知道说些什么好，有些人反而说错了话，另外一些人则为我难过，还得我去安慰他们。我始终没有放弃希望。 One day, Jack stood awkwardly in the doorway of my small, darkened hospital room. I wavedhim in with a smile. He walked over to my bed and without a word placed a bundle beside me.Inside the package lay several bulbs. 就在我出院的前一天，我看到门外有个人影。是杰克，他尴尬地站在门口。我微笑着招呼他进来，他走到我床边，默默地把一包东西放在我旁边，那里边是几个球茎。 "Tulips," he said. “这是郁金香。”他说。 I grinned, not understanding. 我笑着，不明白他的用意。 He shuffled his feet, then cleared his throat. "If you plant them when you get home, they'llcome up next spring. I just wanted you to know that I think you'll be there to see them whenthey come up." 他清了清嗓子，“回家后把它们种下，到明年春天就长出来了。”他挪挪脚，“我希望你知道，你一定看得到它们发芽开花。” Tears clouded my eyes and I reached out my hand. "Thank you," I whispered. 我泪眼朦胧地伸出手。 Jack grasped my hand and gruffly replied, "You're welcome. You can't see it now, but nextspring you'll see the colors I picked out for you. I think you'll like them." He turned and leftwithout another word. “谢谢你。”我低声说。杰克抓住我的手，生硬地答道：“不必客气。到明年长出来后，你就能看到我为你挑的是什么颜色的郁金香了。”之后，他没说一句话便转身离开了。 For ten years, I have watched those red-and-white striped tulips push their way through thesoil every spring. 转眼间，十多年过去了，每年春天，我都会看着这些红白相间的郁金香破土而出。事实上，今年九月，医生已宣布我痊愈了。我也看着孩子们高中 毕业 ，进入大学。 In a moment when I prayed for just the right word, a man with very few words said all the rightthings. 在那绝望的时刻，我祈求他人的安慰，而这个男人寥寥数语，却情真意切，温暖着我脆弱的心。 After all, that's what friends do. 毕竟，朋友之间就该这么做。 英文经典朗诵美文篇二 A church built with 57 cents - Anonymous 57美分建成的教堂 匿名 A sobbing little girl stood near a small church from which she had been turned away because it "was too crowded."I can't go to Sunday school," she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by. 一个小女孩被拦在一座小教堂外面，“因为里面“太拥挤了，他们不让我进星期日学校(在美国，星期日学校是指在星期天对 儿童 进行宗教 教育 的学校)。”小女孩向一位路过的牧师哭诉道。 Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the reason and,taking her by the hand,took her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class.The child was so happy that they found room for her, that she went to bed that night thinking of the children who have no place to worship Jesus. 见她蓬头垢面、衣衫褴褛的样子，牧师便猜出她为何被拒之门外了。于是，牧师牵着她的小手，把她带进教堂，在星期日学校的教室里给她找到了一个位置，小女孩非常高兴。 Some two years later, this child lay dead in one of the poor tenement buildings and the parents called for the kindhearted pastor, who had befriended their daughter, to handle the final arrangements.As her poor little body was being moved, a worn and crumpled purse was found which seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump. 两年后，小女孩在一间破旧的贫民屋里离开了人世。她的父母把那位曾经善待他们女儿的好心牧师请过来料理后事。当他们挪动可怜的小女孩的遗体时，从她身上突然滑落了一个皱巴巴的、破烂不堪的、像是从垃圾堆里翻出来的红色小钱包。 Inside was found 57 cents and a note scribbled in childish handwriting which read, "This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday School. 钱包里共有57美分，还有一张小纸条，上面用歪歪扭扭的小孩字迹写道：“这些钱用来扩建小教堂，这样更多的小朋友就能够上星期日学校了。” For two years she had saved for this offering of love.When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do.Carrying this note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion. 小女孩花了两年的时间来积攒这份爱!牧师泪流满面地看完这张纸条，立刻意识到自己该做些什么。他把这张小纸条和红色钱包带到教堂的讲坛，向众人讲述这个充满了无私的爱与宗教虔诚的感人 故事 。 He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building. 牧师还向教堂的执事提议，通过募集资金来扩建这座小教堂。 But the story does not end there! 但是，故事并未就此结束…… A newspaper learned of the story and published it. It was read by a Realtor who offered them aparcel of land worth many thousands.When told that the church could not pay so much, heoffered it for 57 cents. Church members made large donations. Checks came from far andwide.Within five years the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000.00--a huge sum for thattime (near the! turn of the century).Her unselfish love had paid large dividend. 一家报社得知这一情况，将整个故事搬上了报纸。一个富裕的房地产商读到这篇 文章 后，把一块价值不菲的地皮以57美分的价格卖给了这个小教堂。教区的人们捐助了一大笔钱，馈赠的支票也从四面八方汇集而来。短短五年的时间，捐赠的数字已从当初小女孩的57美分增加到25万美元——这在20世纪初，可是一笔相当可观的财富! When you are in the city of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church, with a seating capacityof 3,300 and Temple University,where hundreds of students are trained.Have a look, too, at theGood Samaritan Hospital and at a Sunday School building which houses hundreds of SundaySchoolers, so that no child in the area will ever need to be left outside during Sunday schooltime. 现在，如果您到费城，请参观一下拥有3，300个座位的天普浸信会教堂(坦普尔大教堂)，也不要忘了去看一看天普大学(坦普尔大学)，成千上万的学生在那儿接受教育。同时，再到撒马利亚慈善医院瞧一瞧，以及扩建后的星期日学校，如今，教区的数百名活泼可爱的儿童都可以进入星期日学校，没人会被拒之门外。 In one of the rooms of this building may be seen the picture of the sweet face of the little girlwhose 57 cents,so sacrificially saved, made such remarkable history. Alongside of it is aportrait of her kind pastor, Dr. Russel H. Conwell, author of the book, "Acres of Diamonds" Atrue story, which goes to show WHAT GOD, CAN DO WITH 57 cents. 星期日学校里面，有一个房间专门用来陈列这个小女孩的画像，画面上的小女孩是那么可爱，这个贫穷的小女孩用节俭下来的57美分创造了一段非同寻常的历史。画像旁边陈列着那位好心牧师的肖像，《万亩钻石》的作者——鲁塞·H·康威尔( Russell H. Conwell)博士。 英文经典朗诵美文篇三 Forgiveness 宽恕的艺术 To forgive may be divine, but no one ever said it was easy. 宽恕是神圣的，但是没有人说很容易做到宽恕别人。 When someone has deeply hurt you, it can be extremely difficult to let go of your grudge. 当你被深深伤害的时候，想要不怀恨在心是很难做到的。 But forgiveness is possible -- and it can be surprisingly beneficial to your physical and mental health. 但是宽恕是可能的——而且这会给你的身心健康带来出乎意料的益处。 "People who forgive show less depression, anger and stress and more hopefulness," says Frederic, Ph.D., author of Forgive for Good. " 《宽恕的好处》一书的作者弗雷德里克博士说。 “懂得宽恕的人不会感到那么沮丧、愤怒和紧张，他们总是充满希望。 So it can help save on the wear and tear on our organs, reduce the wearing out of the immune system and allow people to feel more vital." 所以宽恕有助于减少人体各种器官的损耗，降低免疫系统的疲劳程度并使人精力更加充沛。” So how do you start the healing? Try following these steps: 那么，如何恢复自己的情绪呢?试试下面的一些步骤吧： Calm yourself. To defuse your anger, try a simple stress-management technique. " 让自己冷静下来。尝试一种简单的减压技巧来缓解你愤怒的情绪。 Take a couple of breaths and think of something that gives you pleasure: a beautiful scene in nature, someone you love," Frederic says. 弗雷德里克建议：“做几次深呼吸，然后想想那些令你快乐的事情，比如自然界的美丽景色，或者你爱的人。” Don't wait for an apology. "Many times the person who hurt you has no intention of apologizing," Frederic says. 不要等别人来道歉。弗雷德里克说：“许多时候，伤害你的人没有想过要道歉。” "They may have wanted to hurt you or they just don't see things the same way. So if you wait for people to apologize, you could be waiting an awfully long time." “他们可能是故意的，也可能只是和你看待事物的方式不一样。所以如果你等着别人来道歉，你可能会等相当长的时间。” Keep in mind that forgiveness does not necessarily mean reconciliation with the person who upset you or condoning of his or her action. 你要牢记，宽恕并不一定意味着顺从那些让你心烦意乱的人，也不意味着饶恕他或她的行为。 Take the control away from your offender. Mentally replaying your hurt gives power to the person who caused you pain. " 不要让冒犯你的人控制你的情绪。内心里总是想着自己的伤痛，只会给伤害你的人打气。 Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, learn to look for the love, beauty and kindness around you," Frederic says. 弗雷德里克说：“与其老是关注自己受到的伤害，还不如学着去寻找你身边的真善美。” Try to see things from the other person's perspective. If you empathize with that person, you may realize that he or she was acting out of ignorance, fear -- even love. 试着从别人的角度来看问题。如果你站在别人的立场上，你也许会意识到他或她是因为无知、害怕、甚至是爱才那样做的。 To gain perspective, you may want to write a letter to yourself from your offender's point of view. 为了能够站在别人的角度来看问题，你可以从冒犯你的人的立场给你自己写一封信。 Recognize the benefits of forgiveness. Research has shown that people who forgive report more energy, better appetite and better sleep patterns. 认识到宽恕的益处。研究表明懂得宽恕的人精力更旺盛、食欲更好、睡觉更香。 Don't forget to forgive yourself. "For some people, forgiving themselves is the biggest challenge," Frederic says. "But it can rob you of your self-confidence if you don't do it." 不要忘了宽恕自己。弗雷德里克说：“对于有些人来说，宽恕自己才是最大的挑战。但是如果你不宽恕自己，你会失去自信。”
