英语阅读材料100字

阅读能力高低直接影响我们接受外界信息和理解阅读资料的质量。对中学生而言，阅读效率高不仅阅读的速度要快，而且理解水平也要好。我精心收集了100字优美英语短文，供大家欣赏学习!

Giving Life Meaning

Have you thought about what you want people to say about you after you’re gone? Can you hear the voice 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?

A child alive today will die tomorrow. A baby that had the potential to be the next Einstein will die from complication is at birth. The circumstances of life are not set in stone. We are not all meant to live life through to old age. We’ve grown to perceive life3 as a full cycle with a certain number of years in between. If all of those years aren’t lived out, it’s a tragedy. A tragedy because a human’s potential was never realized. A tragedy because a spark was snuffed out before it ever became a flame.

By virtue of inhabiting a body we accept these risks. We expose our mortal flesh to the laws of the physical environment around us. The trade off isn’t so bad when you think about it. The problem comes when we construct mortal fantasies of what life should be like. When life doesn’t conform to our fantasy we grow upset, frustrated, or depressed.

We are alive; let us live. We have the ability to experience; let us experience. We have the ability to learn; let us learn. The meaning of life can be grasped in a moment. A moment so brief it often evades our perception.

What meaning stands behind the dramatic unfolding of life? What single truth can we grasp and hang onto for dear life when all other truths around us seem to fade with time?

These moments are strung together in a series we call events. These events are strung together in a series we call life. When we seize the moment and bend it according to our will, a will driven by the spirit deep inside us, then we have discovered the meaning of life, a meaning for us that shall go on long after we depart this Earth.

译文：

给生命以意义

你有没有想过，你希望人们在你死后怎样评论你?你能否听到这样的说，“他是个伟大的人”或“人们的确会怀念她”，他们还会说些什么?

人生最奇异的现象之一就是，你从事的事业在你死后仍将长久存在。这和你用所的钱进行投资以便后人能从中获益不是如出一辙吗?也许，如果你审视自己的内心深处，你就会发现促使你做出这种贡献的驱动力-一种驱使每个人寻找在自己死后仍能继续存在的事业的驱动力。

你希望自己的名字被人记住吗?你希望别人提起你的名字时心怀敬畏吗?你希望自己的面容被雕刻在50英尺高的花岗岩上吗?答案真的那么简单吗?贡献一生的目的难道终将一死之人想要获得不朽名声的自我鞭策的欲望?抑或是其他更伟大的事物?

今天活着的孩子明天就会死去。一个有可能成为下一个爱因斯坦的婴儿会死于出生并发症。生命的情形并不是固定不变的。我们并没有注定都要活到老年。我们已经认识到，生命是一个周期，其时间长度是特定的。如果这些时间没有被充分利用，那就是个悲剧，因为人的潜能还未实现，因为火花还没形成火焰就被补灭。

由于存在于肉体之中，所以我们接受这些风险。我们使易朽的肉体服从周围物理环境的法则。你仔细想一想就会发现，这种交易并不是那么糟糕。当我们幻想生命应该如何时，问题就来了。当生命和我们的幻想不一致时，我们就变得烦恼，无奈或沮丧。

我们活着，那我们就要活得精彩;我们有能力体验，那我们就要体验人生甘苦;我们有能力学习，那我们就要在学海徜徉。生命的意义可以在一瞬间抓住-一个经常被我们忽略的短暂瞬间。

当生命戏剧般地一幕幕拉开时，其中隐含的意义是什么?当我们周围所有其他都似乎随着时间而消逝时，我们能够掌握哪个真理并依靠它来生活呢?

这些瞬间串联在一起，我们称之为事件。这些事件串联系在一起， 我们称之为生活。当我们抓住那个瞬间并按照我们的意志来改变它-这意志受到我们内心深处的精神的驱使，我们就发现了生命的意义-这意义将在我们离开地球之后长久存在。

今生你已不可取代

As a teenager, I felt I was always letting people down. I was rebellious outside, but I wanted to be liked inside.

当我还是个10几岁的少年的时候，觉得自己总是让人失望。从外表上看，我似乎很叛逆，但是在内心深处，我是如此地渴望被人疼爱。

Once I left home to hitch-hike2 to California with my friend Penelope. The trip wasn’t easy，and there were many times I didn’t feel safe. One situation in particular kept me grateful to still be alive. When I returned home, I was different, not so outwardly sure of myself.

有一次我离开了家和我的朋友佩内洛普搭便车去了加利福尼亚。这次旅行并不轻松，而且有很多次我感觉不安。有一次的突发状况让我一直庆幸自己还活着。回到家，我发觉自己变了，看上去不那么自信了。

I was happy to be home. But then I noticed that Penelope，who was staying with us，was wearing my clothes. And my family seemed to like her better than me. I wondered if I would be missed if I weren’t there. I told my mom, and she explained that though Penelope was a lovely girl, no one could replace me. I pointed out,” She is more patient and is neater than I have ever been.” My mom said these were wonderful qualities, but I was the only person who could fill my role. She made me realize that even with my faults—and there were many-I was a loved member of the family who couldn’t be replaced.

我很高兴能回到家，但不久我注意到和我们一起的佩内洛普穿着我的衣服，而且我父母看上去更喜欢她，我想知道如果我不在家的话他们是否会想念我。后来，我把我的想法告诉了母亲，她说尽管佩内洛普是个可爱的女孩，但她始终不能取代我，我说：“她比我有耐心而且无论何时看上去她都比我要整洁大方。”母亲说这些都是非常好的优点，但我却是惟一个能扮演好自己角色的人。母亲让我感到尽管我有缺点———似乎还很多———但是，我被家中每一个人爱着，谁也无法取代。

I became a searcher, wanting to find out who I was and what made me unique. My view of myself was changing. I wanted a solid base to start from. I started to resist3 pressure to act in ways that I didn’t like any more, and I was delighted by who I really was. I came to feel much more sure that no one can ever take my place.

我成了一个探寻者，想要知道自己到底是谁，又是什么让我变得独一无二。我的人生观开始改变。我需要一个坚固的基础来发展，我忍受住压力，不再做自己不喜欢做的事。而且我为真实的我感到高兴。渐渐地我越发肯定自己无可替代。

Each of us holds a unique place in the world. You are special, no matter what others say or what you may think. So forget about being replaced. You can’t be.

每个人在这个世界上都占有一个独一无二的位置。无论别人说什么，你自己怎么想，你都是特别的。所以，不要担心自己会被取代，因为你永远是惟一的。

做最好的自己 To be the Best of Yourself

If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,

如果你当不成山巅的一棵劲松，

Be a scrub in the valley---but be

就做山谷里的小树吧---但务必

The best little scrub by the side of the rill;

做溪流边最棒的一棵小树;

Be a bush if you can't be a tree.

当不了树就做一丛灌木，

If you can't be a bush be a bit of grass--

当不成灌木还可以做小草--但务必

And some highway happier make.

做路边最快乐的一株小草。

If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass--

如果你不是大梭鱼就做一尾鲈鱼吧，

But the liveliest bass in the lake!

但要做湖里最活泼的小鲈鱼!

We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,

我们不能都做船长,必须有人当船员，

There's something for all of us here,

可每个人都有自己的事儿，

There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do,

有的事情大，有的事情小，

And the task you must do is the near.

而你要完成的任务就近在咫尺。

If you can't be a highway then just be a trail,

如果你不能做大道就做一条小径，

If you can't be the sun be a star;

若是不能做太阳就做星星;

It isn't by size that you win or you fail--

决定成败的不是你的大小--

Be the best of whatever you are!

做最好的自己!