美文佳作

1. THE FIRST SNOW

The first snow came. How beautiful it was, falling so silently all day long, all night long, on the mountains, on the meadows, on the roofs of the living, on the graves of the dead! All white save the river, that marked its course by a winding black line across the landscape; and the leafless trees, that against the leaden sky now revealed more fully the wonderful beauty and intricacies of their branches. What silence, too, came with the snow, and what Seclusion! Every sound was muffled, every noise changed to something soft and musical. No more tramping hoofs, no more rattling wheels! Only the chiming of sleigh-bells, beating as swift and merrily as the hearts of children.

From Kavanagh

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

2. THE HUMMING-BIRD

Of all animated beings this is the most elegant in form and the most brilliant in colors. The stones and metals polished by our arts are not comparable to this jewel of Nature. She has placed it least in size of the order of birds, “maxi m e miranda in minimis.” Her masterpiece is this little humming-bird, and upon it she has heaped all the gifts which the other birds may only share. Lightness, rapidity, nimbleness, grace, and. rich apparel all belong to this little favorite. The emerald, the ruby, and the topaz gleam upon its dress. It never soils them with the dust of earth, and in its aerial life scarcely touches the turf an instant. Always in the air, flying from flower to flower, it has their freshness as well as their brightness. It Jives upon their nectar, and dwells only in the climates where they perennially bloom.

From Natural History

by George Louis Leclerc Buffon

3. TREES

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree;

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against t he earth’s sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain,

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

From Trees ana’ Other Poems

by Joyce Kilmer

4. READING GOOD BOOES

Devote some of your leisure, I repeat, to cultivating a love of reading good books. Fortunate indeed are those who contrive to make themselves genuine book-lovers. For book-lovers have some noteworthy advantages over other people. They need never know lonely hours so long as they have books around them, and the better the books the more delightful the company. From good books, moreover, they draw much besides entertainment. They gain mental food such as few companions can supply. Even while resting from their labors they are, through the books they read, equipping themselves to perform those labors more efficiently. This albeit they may not be deliberately reading to improve their mind. All unconsciously the ideas they derive from the printed pages are stored up, to be worked over by the imagination for their future profit.

From Self-Developmzent

by Henry Addington Bruce

5. ON ETIQUETTE

Etiquette to society is what apparel is to the individual. Without apparel men would go in shameful nudity which would surely lead to the corruption of morals; and without etiquette society would be in a pitiable state and the necessary intercourse between its members would be interfered with by needless offences and troubles. If society were a train, the etiquette would be the rails along which only the train could rumble forth; if society were a state coach, the etiquette would be the wheels and axis on which only the coach could roll forward. The lack of proprieties would make the most intimate friends turn to be the most decided enemies and the friendly or allied countries declare war against each other. We can find many examples in the history of mankind. Therefore I advise you to stand on ceremony before anyone else and to take pains not to

do anything against etiquette lest you give offences or make enemies.

by William Hazlitt

6. THE FLIGHT OF YOUTH

There are gains for all cur losses.

There are balms for all our pain:

But when youth, the dream, departs

It takes something from our hearts,

And it never comes again.

We are stronger, and are better,

Under manhood’s ste rner reign;

Still we feel that something sweet

Followed youth, with flying feet,

And will never come again.

Something beautiful is vanished,

And we sigh for it in vain;

We behold it everywhere,

On the earth, and in the air,

But it never comes again !

by Richard Henry Stoddard

7. ADDRESS AT GETTYSBURG

Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come td dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate ---we cannot consecrate ---we cannot hallow ---

this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us ---that from these honoured dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

by Abraham Lincoln APRIL DAYS

Days of witchery, subtly sweet,

When every hill and tree finds heart,

When winter and spring like lovers meet

In the mist of noon and part—

In the April days.

Nights when the wood frogs faintly peep

Once — twice — and then are still,

And the woodpeckers’ martial voices sweep

Like bugle notes from hill to hill ----

Through the pulseless haze.

Days when the soil is warm with rain,

And through the wood the shy wind steals,

Rich with the pine and the poplar smell,

And the joyous earth like a dancer reels —

Through April days!

by Hamlin Garland

AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF COLLEGE LIFE

It is perfectly possible to organize the life of our colleges in such a way that

students and teachers alike will take part in it; in such a way that a perfectly natural

daily intercourse will be established between them; and it is only by such an organization that they can be given real vitality as places of serious training, be made communities in which youngsters will come fully to realize how interesting intellectual work is, how vital, how important, how closely associated with all modern achievement -—only by such an organization that study can be made to seem part of life itself. Lectures often seem very formal and empty things; recitations generally prove very dull and unrewarding. It is in conversation and natural intercourse with scholars chiefly that you find how lively knowledge is, how it ties into everything that is interesting and important, how intimate a part it is of everything that is interesting and important, how intimate a part it is of everything that is “practical” and connected with the world. Men are not always made thoughtful by books; but they are generally made thoughtful by association with men who think.

by Woodrow Wilson

NIGHT

Night has fallen over the country. Through the trees rises the red moon, and the stars are scarcely seen. In the vast shadow of night the coolness and the dews descend. I sit at the open window to enjoy them; and hear only the voice of the summer wind. Like black hulks, the shadows of the great trees ride at anchor on the billowy sea of grass. I cannot see the red and blue flowers, hut I know that they are there. Far away in the meadow gleams the silver Charles. The tra mp of horses’ hoofs sounds from the wooden bridge. Then all is still save the continuous wind of the summer night. Sometimes I know not if it be the wind or the sound of the neighboring sea. The village clock strikes; and I feel that I am not alone.

How different it is in the city I It is late, and the crowd is gone. You step out upon the balcony, and lie in the very bosom of the cool, dewy night as if you folded her garments about you. Beneath lies the public walk with trees, like a fathomless, black gulf, into whose silent darkness the spirit plunges, and floats away with some beloved spirit clasped in its embrace. The lamps are still burn-ing up and down the long street. People go by with grotesque shadows, now foreshortened, and now lengthening away into the darkness and vanishing,

while a new one springs up behind the walker, and seems to pass him revolving like the sail of a windmill. The iron gates of the park shut with a jangling clang.

There are footsteps and loud voices; — a tumult; — a drunken brawl; —alarm of fire; — then silence again. And now at length the city is asleep, and we can see the night. The belated moon looks over the roofs, and finds no one to welcome her: The moonlight is broken. It lies here and there in the squares, and the opening of the streets — angular like blocks of white marble,

by Nathanial Hawthorne

[参考译文]

初雪

亨利·沃兹沃思·朗费罗

初雪飘临。多么美啊!，它整日整夜那么静静地飘着，落在山岭上，落在草地上，落在世人的屋顶上，落在死者的坟墓上! 在一片白茫茫之中，只有河流在美丽的画面上划出一道曲曲弯弯的黑线，还有那叶儿落净的树木，映衬着铅灰色的天空，此刻更显得枝丫交错，姿态万千。初雪飘落时，是何等的宁谧, 何等的幽静!一切声响都趋沉寂，一切噪音都化作柔和的音乐。再也听不见马蹄得得，再也听不见车轮辚辚1唯有雪橇的铃铛，奏出和谐的乐声，那明快欢乐的节拍犹如孩子们心房的搏动。

蜂鸟

乔治·路易·勒克莱尔·布丰

在一切生物中，要算蜂鸟体型最优美、颜色最鲜艳。经过工艺加工的各种宝石和金属是无法跟这个大自然的珍宝媲美的。大自然按照鸟类的大小把它列为最小号，真是“最小的绝妙珍品’。这种小蜂鸟是大自然的杰作。大自然把其他鸟类只能分有其中一部分的种种天赋全部慷慨地给了它。这个小宠儿具有轻盈、敏捷，灵活，优雅以及羽毛绚丽等一切妙处。那翠绿的，艳红的，嫩黄色

的羽毛闪闪发光。蜂鸟从不让它的羽毛沾染尘土，它生活在天空中，一刻也不碰到草皮。它总是在空中飞翔，从花丛飞向花丛，它象花一样的新鲜，又象花一样的艳丽。蜂鸟靠花蜜为生，它只生活在四季鲜花盛开的地带。

树

乔埃斯，基尔砍

我想我永远也不会看到

象一棵树那样优美的诗篇;

树那饥渴的嘴唇紧紧贴住

大地乳汁甘美的胸脯;

它整天仰望着上帝，

举起枝叶繁茂的手臂祈祷;

它那茂密如发的枝叶里

夏天会筑起知更鸟的安乐窝;

雪花飘落在它怀里，

它同雨水亲密无间。

诗歌出自我等愚人之手，

而树却是造化的天工。

阅读好书

H．爱丁顿．布鲁斯

我再说一遍，把你的一部分空闲时光用来培养阅读好书的爱好吧。那些设法把自己培养成为真正爱好读书的人，确实是幸运的。因为爱读书的人比之

别人有着明显的好处。只要手头有书，他们就从来不知寂寞。书越好，读来越是津津有味。他们从好书中不但得到乐趣，而且受到很多教益。他们从中获得的那种精神食粮，从其他地方是很难得到的。即使是在工余休息时，通过读书，他们的工作效率也能更加提高，尽管他们末必有意识地想到读书是为了提高才智。在全然不知不觉之中，他们从书中吸取的知识积累起来，经过想象力的加工，对将来大有用处。

论礼仪

威廉·黑兹利特

礼仪之于社会犹如衣着之于个人。人若不穿衣服，就会一丝不挂，令人耻笑，必然导致道德败坏；社会要是没有礼仪，就会陷入可悲的境地，而社会成员之间所必需的交往就会被无谓的冲突和纠纷所干扰。假定社会是一列火车，礼仪就好比轨道，火车只能沿着它隆隆前进。假定社会是一辆贵宾车，礼仪就好比轮子与轴，马车只有靠它们才能滚滚前进。缺了礼节，最亲密的朋友会变成死敌，友好或结盟的国家会兵戎相见。我们可以从人类历史上找到许多这种例子。因此我劝你对于任何人都要讲究礼仪，并且尽力不做违背礼仪的事，以免冒犯他人或者树敌。

青春的飞逝

理查德·亨利．斯托达德

我们失去的一切都能得到补偿，

我们所有的痛苦都能得到安慰，

可是梦境似的青春一旦消逝，

它带走了我们心中共种美好的事物，

从此一去不复返回。

严峻的成年生活将我们驱使，

我们变得日益刚强、更臻完美，

可是依然感到某种甜美的东西，

已随着青春飞逝，

永不再返回。

美好的东西已经消失，

我们枉自为此叹息，

虽然在天地之间，

我们到处能看见青春的魅力，

可是它永不再返回I

受命统率全军

乔治·华盛顿

你可以相信我，我极其庄严地向你保证我根本没有追求过这项任命，而是竭尽全力，千方百计地回避它。这不仅是因为我不愿意同你以及全家人分别，而且因为我深知责任重大，非我力所能及。另外，倘若我出门数十载寻求前景非常遥远的幸福，那还比不上在家中与你相聚一个月那样真正幸福。但是，既然命运已赋予我这个使命，我希望，安排我来承担这个任务是为了使我有所建树。……

我将信赖一直保佑我和降福于我的上帝，深信到秋天我：将平安地回到你的身边。对出征所带来的艰辛和危险，我不会感到痛苦，使我难过的是我知道你独自一人留在家中必然感到焦虑不安。因此，我恳求你鼓起全部勇气，尽量愉快地过日子。没有什么比听到你过得愉快的消息——并且是从你的笔下听到这消息，能使我感到更大的欣慰了。

葛提斯堡演说

亚伯拉罕，林肯

八十七年前，我们的先辈在这块大陆上创建了一个新的国家。她孕育于自由之中，奉行一切人生来平等的原则。现在，我们正从事于一场伟大的内战，以考验这个国家，或者说，以考验任何孕育于自由并奉行上述原则的国家能否长久生存。我们聚集在这场战争中的一个伟大的战场上。我们在此集会，是为

了把这战场的一部分奉献给那些为这个国家的生存而献身的烈士，作为他们的最后安息之所。我们这样做，是理所当然、恰如其分的。

但是，从更为广泛的意义上来说，我们无法奉献、无法圣化、无法神化这块土地。那些曾在这里战斗过的勇敢的生者与死者已经将这块土地圣化，这远不是我们微薄的力量所能增减的。全世界不会注意，也不会长久记住我们今天在这里所讲的话。但是，全世界永远不会忘记这些勇士在这里做过的事。对我们这些活着的人来说，倒是应该把自己奉献于勇士们以崇高的精神向前推进而尚未完成的事业，应该把自己奉献于依然摆在我们面前的伟大任务——我们要从这些可敬的死者身上汲取更多的献身精神，来完成他们为之献出全部忠诚的事业；我们要在这里下定最大的决心，不让烈士们的鲜血白流，要在上帝的保佑下，使我们的国家获得自由的新生，要使我们这个民有、民治，民享的政府永世长存。

四月的日子

哈姆林.加兰

迷人的日子，发出飘逸的幽香，

每座山和每株树都焕发出生机，

冬天和春天象情人一样

在正午的雾霭中相聚又分离——

在这四月的日子里。

夜晚，树蛙在轻轻地叫，

一下——两下——接着一片寂静，

啄木鸟威武的嗓音

象军号声越过重重山峦——

穿过无声无息的雾气。

在那些日子里，雨水浸润的土地发出暖气，

羞怯的风悄悄地穿过树林，

满载着松树和白杨的清香，

还有欢乐的大地，象舞蹈家一样翩翩起舞——

在这整个四月的日子里！

大学生活的一个重要方面

伍德罗·威尔逊

完全有可能把我们大学的生活组织得使学生和教师都参加在其中，使师生之间产生完全自然的日常交流，只有通过这样的组织，才能使大学这种严格地培养。人的地方真正充满朝气，才能使它们成为共同生活的团体，年轻人在其

中会充分认识到脑力劳动是多么有趣味，多么充满活力，多么重要，并且与一切现代成就有着多么紧密的联系——只有通过这样的组织，才能使学习似乎成为生活本身的组成部分。课堂讲授常常显得很一本正经而空洞无物，背诵往往非常枯燥而收效甚微。主要是在与学者们的谈话和自然的交往中，你才能懂得知识是多么生气蓬勃，知识与一切有趣和重要的事物是多么紧密相连，它是这些事物的不可分割的一部分，是一切“实用的”以及与当今世界；有关的事物密切相连的一部分。读书并不—定能使人变得善于思考，但是，一般说来，与善于思考的人们交往，就能使人好学善思。

夜

纳撤尼尔·霍桑

夜幕已笼罩着乡间。一轮红月正从树林后面冉冉升起，天上几乎看不到星星。在这苍茫的夜色中，寒气与露水降下来了。我坐在敞开的窗前欣赏着这夜色，耳边只听到那夏天的风声。大树的阴影象黑色的大船停泊在波浪起伏的茫茫草海上，虽然我见不到红色和蓝色的花朵，。…但我知道它们在那儿。在远处的草地上，银色的查尔斯河闪闪发光，木桥那边传来了踢嗒踢嗒的马蹄声。接着，一片寂静，留下的只是那夏夜不断的风声。有时，我根本辨别不出它究竟是风声，还是邻近的海涛声。村子里的时钟敲起来了，于是我觉得并不孤独。

城市的夜晚可是多么不同呀！夜深了，人群已经散去。你走到阳台上，躺在凉快和露水弥漫的夜幕中，仿佛你用它作为外衣裹住了你的身子，阳台下面是栽着树木的人行道，象一条深不可测的黑色海湾，飘忽的精灵就投入了这漆黑沉静的海湾，拥抱着某个所爱的精灵随波荡漾而去。漫长的大街上，街灯依然到处亮着。人们打灯下走过，拖着各种各样奇形怪状的影子，影子时而缩短，时而伸长，最后消失在黑暗中；同时，一个新的影子又突然出现在那个行路人的身后，这影子似乎象风车上的翼板一样，转到他身体的前方去了。公园的铁门当啷一声关上了。耳边可以听见脚步声和响亮的说话声，---一阵喧闹，---一阵酒醉后的吵架声，---一阵火灾的报警声，--- 接着，又是一片寂静。于是，城市终于沉睡，我们终于能看到夜的景色。姗姗来迟的月亮从屋顶后面探出脸来，发觉没有人在欢迎她。破碎的月光东一块，西一块地撒落在各个广场上和各条大街的开阔处--- 象一块块白色的大理石一样棱角分明。

（背诵文选2）

Smiling

By Tony Cranston

Smiling is infectious

You catch it like the flu.

When someone smiled at me today

I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner

And someone saw me grin.

When he smiled I realised

I’d p assed it on to him.

-S 13