经典美文是阅读教学的重要组成部分,可以陶冶情操,丰富想象,还可以培养学生对语言文字的兴趣和敏感力。下面是小编带来的高中英语晨读美文,欢迎阅读!
高中英语晨读美文精选
Freedom
自由
It is not only true that most people entirely misunderstand Freedom, but I sometimes think I have not yet met one person who rightly understands it. The whole Universe is absolute Law. To the degraded or undeveloped — and even to too many others — the thought of freedom is a thought of escaping from law — which, of course, is impossible. More precious than all worldly riches is Freedom — freedom from the painful constipation and poor narrowness of ecclesiasticism — freedom in manners, habiliments, furniture, from the silliness and tyranny of local fashions — entire freedom from party rings and mere conventions in Politics — and better than all, a general freedom of oneself from the tyrannic domination of vices, habits, appetites, under which nearly every man of us (often the greatest brawler for freedom), is enslaved. Can we attain such enfranchisement —the true Democracy, and the height of it? While we are from birth to death the subjects of irresistible law, enclosing every movement and minute, we yet escape, by a paradox, into true free will. Strange as it may seem, we only attain to freedom by a knowledge of, and implicit obedience to law. Great — unspeakably great — is the Will! The free Soul of man! At its greatest, understanding and obeying the laws, it can then, and then only, maintain true liberty. For there is to the highest, that law as absolute as any — more absolute than any — the Law of Liberty. The shallow, as intimated, consider liberty a release from all law, from every constraint. The wise see in it, on the contrary, the potent law of Laws, namely, the fusion and combination of the conscious will, or partial individual law, with those universal, eternal, unconscious ones, which run through all Time, pervade history, prove immortality, give moral purpose to the entire objective world, and the last dignity to human life.
大部分人不仅彻底曲解了“自由”的含义,更可怕的是,我有时觉得还没有见过一个能恰当了解“自由”的人。整个宇宙是一个亘古不变的法则。对于堕落和愚昧无知的人,甚至芸芸众生来说,自由就是避开法律,而这肯定是不能实现的。比世俗的所有财富更珍贵的是自由,自由意味着从教会神学的痛苦禁闭和悲观的狭隘中脱离出来;自由意味着在礼仪、服饰、家具上的随心所欲;自由意味着从地方流行的愚蠢和束缚中脱离出来;自由意味着彻底从党派小圈子和政治运作的旧例中脱离出来;其中最为重要的是,当我们每个人差不多都(我们常常大声叫喊着要自由)受控于罪恶、恶习、欲望时,自由意味着自我从奴役的严酷压迫中彻底脱离出来。我们可以获得这样的自由吗?自由是真正的民主,高度的民主。从出生到死亡,这无法阻挡的法则都在束缚着我们,束缚着我们的一举一动、分分秒秒。可是,说起来有些矛盾,我们却一直想方设法要逃脱,拥有真正的自由意志。奇怪得很,唯有学习法则并默默地服从法则,我们才能获得自由。意志是伟大的!人类自由的灵魂是伟大的!伟大得无法形容。当意志力达到完美,理解并服从法则,那时候,仅仅是那时候,人们才能获得真正的自由。这是因为自由的法则无比高尚。同其他法则一样绝对,不,比其他法则还要绝对。肤浅的人认为自由意味着从一切法则的约束中脱离出来。而智者则截然相反,他们从中意识到了威力无穷的众法之法,它是有意识的意志力、局部的个人准则与通用的、持久的、没有意识的法则的融合。而这种法则经历了所有时代,写进了整个历史,被证明是恒久不变的。这种法则为整个客观世界指明了道德方向,为人类的生活保证了最后的尊严。
高中英语晨读美文阅读
Our Family Creed
家族的信条
They are the principles on which my wife and I have tried to bring up our family. They are the principles in which my father believed and by which he governed his life. They are the principles, many of them, which I learned at my mother's knee.
这些是我妻子和我在教育培养我们子女时尽力倚靠的信条,这些是我父亲所笃信并以之规范其生活的信条,这些信条中的大部分是我从母亲的膝下秉承而来的。
They point the way to usefulness and happiness in life, to courage and peace in death.
这些信条指明了人们如何幸福而有所作为地生活,也指明了人们如何勇敢而安详地对待死亡。
If they mean to you what they mean to me, they may perhaps be helpful also to our sons for their guidance and inspiration.
如果这些信条对于诸位的意义如同它们对于我的意义,那么它们或许可以有效地指导和鼓舞我们的子女们。
Let me state them :
让我将这些信条陈述如下:
I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
我相信,个人拥有至上的价值,拥有生存、自由和追求幸福的权利。
I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty.
我相信,每一项权利都必然蕴含着一种责任,每一个机遇都必然蕴含着一种义务,每一种获得都必然蕴含着一种职责。
I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master.
我相信,法律为人所制定,而非人为法律而生,政府是人民的仆人,而非人民的主人。
I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living.
我相信,不管体力劳动抑或脑力劳动都是高尚的,世界不会让人不劳而获,但却会给每个人一次谋生的机会。
I believe that thrift is essential to well-ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs.
我相信,不管是在政府、商业还是个人事务中,勤俭节约都是合理安排生活之基本要素,而经济适用是健全的金融机制之主要需求。
I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order.
我相信,真理与正义是任何一个长治久安的社会秩序之基石。
I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man' word should be as good as his bond, that character—not wealth or power or position — is of supreme worth.
我相信,承诺是神圣的;并且,假如人的言语和契约同样可靠,那么这种品质,一而非财富、权势与身份地位一就具有至高无上的价值。
I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness ccxisumed and the greatness of the human soul set free.
我相信,人类共同的职责是有助益地服务社会,只有在自我牺牲的炼火之中,自私的渣滓才会被焚为灰烬,人类灵魂中的伟大情操才会获得自由。
I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individuar s highest fulfillment, greatest happiness and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His will.
我相信,有一位无所不知、大慈大悲的上帝存在一尽管人们对他的称呼各不相同,人们能在和他的意志和谐相处的过程中得到最高的满足感、最大的幸福感,以及最广博的成就感。
I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might.
我相信,爱是这个世界上最伟大的事物,只有爱才能够战胜仇恨,而正义能够而且必定击败强权。
These are the principles, however formulated, for which all good men and women throughout the world, irrespective of race or creed, education, social position or occupation, are standing, and for which many of them are suffering and dying.
无论怎样表述,以上就是这些信条一全世界所有不计种族、信仰、教育程度、社会地位或职业的善良的男男女女们所赞同的信条一而且正是为了这些信条,他们中的许多人正在忍受苦痛,甚至即将死去。
These are the principles upon which alone a new world recognizing the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God can be established.
只有凭借这些信条,人类才能建立起人人如手足、上帝如慈父的新世界。
高中英语晨读美文学习
Three Days to See
假如给我三天光明
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 twenty-four hours, but always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last years 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.
所有人都读过动人的故事,故事中的英雄将不久于人世,长则一年,短则24小时。但我们经常关注的是这个命中注定要死的人如何选择度过生命中的最后几天或是最后几个小时。当然,我在这里所说的是有权做出选择的自由人,而并非那些活动范围受到严格限制的死囚。
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 should we find in reviewing the past, what regrets?
这类故事会激发起我们的思考:倘若身处类似的环境下,我们自己该做些什么?在那临终前的几个小时里我们会产生那些联想?会有多少欣慰和遗憾呢?
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 a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation on 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. " Most people would be chastened by the certainty of impending death.
有时我想,把每天都当作生命的最后一天来度过也不失为一种好的生命法则。这种态度重视的是人生的价值。每一天我们都应该以和善的态度、充沛的精力和热情的欣赏来度过,但当时间展现在我们面前、来日方长的时候,我们会忽视这些东西。当然,有一些人奉行享乐主义的座右铭,吃喝玩乐,但大多数人却依然畏惧死亡的到来。
Most of us 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 towards life.
我们大多数人认为生命理所当然,明白自己终有一天会死去,但却常常把这一天看得非常遥远。当我们身体强健的时候,死亡变成了难以想象的事情。我们很少考虑死亡,日子也一天天过去,好像永无尽头,所以我们为琐事奔波,而并没有意识到我们对待生活的态度是冷漠的。
The same lethargy, I am afraid, characterizes the use of 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...
我想我们在运用所有的五官时恐怕也同样是冷漠的。只有聋子才珍惜听力,只有盲人才能认识到能见光明的幸运。对于那些成年失明或失聪的人尤其如此。但那些听力或视力未见损失的人却很少充分利用这些幸运的能力,他们对所见所闻不关注,不欣赏。这与常说的不失去不知珍惜、不生病不知健康可贵的道理是一样的。
Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they see. Recently I was visited by a very good friend 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 responses, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little.
我时常考问我的有视力的朋友,以了解他们看到了什么。最近有一个很好的朋友在长时间林中漫步之后来看我,我问她观察到些什么。“没什么特别的。”她回答道。要不是我已习惯于类似的反应,我也许会感到难以置信。我之所以不觉得奇怪是因为我早就确信:有视力者所见甚少。
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 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 in a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song. I am delighted to have cool waters of a brook rush through my open fingers. To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug. To me the pageant of seasons is a thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through my finger tips. At times my heart cries out with longing to see all these things. If I can get so much pleasure from mere touch, how much more beauty must be revealed by sight. Yet, those who have eyes apparently see little. The panorama of color and action fill the world is taken for granted. It is human, perhaps, to appreciate little that which we have and to long for that which we have not, but it is a great pity that in the world of light and the gift of sight is used only as mere convenience rather than as a means of adding fullness to life.
我想,这怎么可能!在林中走了一个小时,却什么值得注意的东西都没有看到呢?而我一个盲人仅仅通过触觉便发现了数以百计的有趣的东西。我感到树叶的对称美,用手抚摸着白桦树光滑的树皮或是松树那厚厚的粗糙的外衣。春天里我满怀希望地触摸着树枝寻找新芽,那是大自然冬眠后醒来的第一个征象。我感到了花朵的可爱以及它那天鹅绒般柔软的质地,发现它层层叠叠地绽放着,大自然的神奇就在我的面前。我把手轻轻地放在一棵小树上,如果幸运的话,偶尔会感到歌唱着的小鸟正欢快地颤动。我会让清凉的溪水从手指间流过,而对我来说,满地厚厚的松针和松软的草坪比奢华的波斯地毯更惹人喜爱,四季变幻的景色也仿佛—场动人心魄永不会完结的戏剧,一段段情节从我的指尖流过。我的心在不时地呐喊,带着对光明的渴望。如果仅是通过触摸就可以使我获得如此多的喜悦,那么光明定会向我展示更多美好的事物啊。可惜那些眼未失明的人分明看到很少,整个世界缤纷的色彩和万物的活动都被认为是理所当然。也许不珍惜已经拥有的,想得到还没有得到的是人类的本性,但是在光明的世界里,视觉只是作为一种方便的工具,而不是丰富生活的工具存在,这是多么令人遗憾的事情啊!
Oh, the things that I should see if I had the power of sight for three days!
噢,假如我拥有三天的光明,我将会看到多少美好的事物啊!