英文名人故事(英汉对照)

Frederic Francois Chopin


Frederic Francois Chopin, Polish-born composer and renowned pianist, was the creator of 55 mazurkas, 13 polonaises, 24 preludes, 27 etudes, 19 nocturnes, 4 ballads, and 4 scherzos.

Frederic Chopin was born in Zelazowa Wola, Poland, on February 22, 1810, to a French father and Polish mother. His father, Nicholas Chopin, was a French tutor to many aristocratic Polish families, later accepting a position as a French teacher at the Warsaw Lyceum.

Although Chopin later attended the Lyceum where his father taught, his early training began at home. This included receiving piano lessons from his mother. By the age of six, Chopin was creating original pieces, showing innate prodigious musical ability. His parents arranged for the young Chopin to take piano instruction from Wojciech Zywny.

When Chopin was sixteen, he attended the Warsaw Conservatory of Music, directed by composer Joseph Elsner. Elsner, like Zywny, insisted on the traditional training associated with Classical music but allowed his students to investigate the more original imaginations of the Romantic style as well.

As often happened with the young musicians of both the Classical and Romantic Periods, Chopin was sent to Vienna, the unquestioned center of music for that day. He gave piano concerts and then arranged to have his pieces published by a Viennese publishing house there. While Chopin was in Austria, Poland and Russia faced off in the apparent beginnings of war. He returned to Warsaw to get his things in preparation of a more permanent move. While there, his friends gave him a silver goblet filled with Polish soil. He kept it always, as he was never able to return to his beloved Poland.

French by heritage, and desirous of finding musical acceptance from a less traditional audience than that of Vienna, Chopin ventured to Paris. Interestingly, other young musicians had assembled in the city of fashion with the very same hope. Chopin joined Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Felix Mendelssohn, Vincenzo Bellini, and Auguste Franchomme, all proponents of the "new" Romantic style.

Although Chopin did play in the large concert halls on occasion, he felt most at home in private settings, enjoying the social milieu that accompanied concerts for the wealthy. He also enjoyed teaching, as this caused him less stress than performing. Chopin did not feel that his delicate technique and intricate melodies were as suited to the grandiose hall as they were to smaller environments and audiences.

News of the war in Poland inspired Chopin to write many sad musical pieces expressing his grief for "his" Poland. Among these was the famous "Revolutionary Etude." Plagued by poor health as well as his homesickness, Chopin found solace in summer visits to the country. Here, his most complex yet harmonic creations found their way to the brilliant composer's hand. The "Fantasia in F Minor," the "Barcarolle," the "Polonaise Fantasia," "Ballade in A Flat Major,

" "Ballade in F Minor," and "Sonata in B Minor" were all products of the relaxed time Chopin enjoyed in the country.

As the war continued in Warsaw and then reached Paris, Chopin retired to Scotland with friends. Although he was far beyond the reach of the revolution, his melancholy attitude did not improve and he sank deeper into a depression. Likewise, his health did not rejuvenate either. A window in the fighting made it possible for Chopin to return to Paris as his health deteriorated further. Surrounded by those that he loved, Frederic Francois Chopin died at the age of 39. He was buried in Paris.

Chopin's last request was that the Polish soil in the silver goblet be sprinkled over his grave.

钢琴诗人—肖邦

肖邦是近代浪漫派的抒情音乐家，他在音乐史中，是一位神秘、爱国而最富于诗意生命的钢琴家。他一生创作了55部马祖卡舞曲，13部波罗涅滋，24首序曲，27首练习曲，19首夜曲，4首叙事曲以及4部诙谐曲。

1810年2月12日，肖邦出生于波兰华沙郊区的热拉佐瓦沃拉。他的父亲尼古拉斯是具有波兰血统的法国人，而母亲却是一位纯粹的波兰人。尼古拉斯原本是波兰贵族家庭的一名法语教师，后来到华沙的一所中学教授法语。

肖邦最初接触音乐的机会是跟随母亲学钢琴。六岁那年，肖邦创作出了人生的第一部作品，充分展现了他与生俱来的非凡的音乐天赋。不久后，他进入了父亲所在的学校学习，并在父母的安排下，跟随捷克音乐家W.日夫尼学习钢琴。

中学毕业后，肖邦进入华沙音乐学院学习，从师德国音乐家J.A.F埃尔斯纳。与日尼夫相同的是，埃尔斯纳在坚持古典派推崇的传统练习外，鼓励学生们从浪漫派中吸取灵感。

离开华沙音乐学院后，肖邦来到了当时的音乐圣地－维。在那里，肖邦不仅举行了多场音乐会，也发表了不少音乐作品。在波兰民族运动走向高潮，与沙俄的战争一触即发的时候，肖邦身在奥地利。不久，他回到华沙为出国做准备。临行前，华沙音乐学院的师生们为他送行，并赠以盛满祖国泥土的银杯。尽管从此肖邦再也没有回到他深爱着的祖国，他一直保存着这捧祖国的泥土。

为了得到更多浪漫派听众的认可，加上自己拥有一半的法国血统，肖邦来到了法国巴黎。有趣的是，许多抱有同样想法的年轻音乐家们也都聚集到了这座流行之都。在这里，肖邦结识了西欧文艺界许多重要人物，包括匈牙利艺术家李斯特，柏辽兹，意大利音乐家贝利尼等新浪漫主义的拥护者。

尽管肖邦有时也在大型音乐厅演出，但他更喜欢在家或是一些私人的场合，享受更融洽的氛围。他也更喜欢教学时放松的心情。肖邦认为他细致优美的演奏技巧和纷繁的旋律更适合小环境

演奏，而不适合宏伟的音乐厅。

波兰陷入战火的消息促使他写了许多充满悲伤的作品，以表达对祖国波兰的哀伤与思念，其中包括名曲《革命练习曲》。肖邦的健康状况一直不佳，加上思乡心切，一度患上肺病，曾在法国南部疗养。期间写过不少成名的珍品。《F小调幻想曲》，《威尼斯船歌》，《幻想波罗涅滋舞曲》，《降A大调叙事曲》，《F小调叙事曲》，《B小调奏鸣曲》等都是在南部疗养时创作的。

战事从华沙蔓延到了巴黎，肖邦不得不和朋友们躲避至苏格兰。虽然肖邦远离了波兰的战火，但他忧郁的情绪丝毫没有改善，反而陷入了更深的沮丧之中。同样地，他的健康状况也没有恢复。回巴黎后，肖邦的健康状况急剧下降，最终在友人们的陪伴下逝世于巴黎的寓所中，结束了短短39年的生命。他的遗体被安葬在巴黎。

肖邦最后的遗愿是将银杯中祖国波兰的泥土撒在他的墓碑上。







魔法妈妈— J.K.Rowling

Like that of her own character, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling's life has the luster of a fairy tale. Divorced, living on public assistance in a tiny Edinburgh flat with her infant daughter, Rowling wrote Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at a table in a cafe during her daughter's naps — and it was Harry Potter that rescued her.

Joanne Kathleen Rowling entered the world in Chipping Sodbury General Hospital in Bristol, England, a fitting beginning for someone who would later enjoy making up strange names for people, places and games played on flying broomsticks. Her younger sister Di was born just under two years later.

Rowling remembers that she always wanted to write and that the first story she actually wrote down, when she was five or six, was a story about a rabbit called Rabbit. Many of her favorite memories center around reading—hearing The Wind in the Willows read aloud by her father when she had the measles, enjoying the fantastic adventure stories of E. Nesbit, reveling in the magical world of C. S. Lewis's Narnia, and her favorite story of all, The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge.

At Exeter University Rowling took her degree in French and spent one year studying in Paris. After college she moved to London to work for Amnesty International as a researcher and bilingual secretary. The best thing about working in an office, she has said, was typing up stories on the computer when no one was watching. During this time, on a particularly long train ride from Manchester to London in the summer of 1990, the idea came to her of a boy who is a wizard and doesn't know it. He attends a school for wizardry--she could see him very plainly in her mind. By the time the train pulled into King's Cross Station four hours later, many of the characters and the early stages of the plot were fully formed in her head. The story took further shape a

s she continued working on it in pubs and cafes over her lunch hours.

In 1992 Rowling left off working in offices and moved to Portugal to teach English as a Second Language. In spite of her students making jokes about her name (this time they called her "Rolling Stone"), she enjoyed teaching. She worked afternoons and evenings, leaving mornings free for writing. After her marriage to a Portuguese TV journalist ended in divorce, Rowling returned to Britain with her infant daughter and a suitcase full of Harry Potter notes and chapters. She settled in Edinburgh to be near her sister and set out to finish the book before looking for a teaching job. Wheeling her daughter's carriage around the city to escape their tiny, cold apartment, she would duck into coffee shops to write when the baby fell asleep. In this way she finished the book and started sending it to publishers. It was rejected several times before she found an London agent, chosen because she liked his name--Christopher Little, who sold the manuscript to Bloomsbury Children's Books.

Rowling was working as a French teacher when she heard that her book about the boy wizard had been accepted for publication. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published in June 1997 and achieved almost instant success. With the publication of the American edition, retitled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, in 1998, Rowling's books continued to make publishing history. Harry Potter climbed to the top of all the bestseller lists for children's and adult books. Indeed, the story of the boy wizard, his Cinderlad childhood, and his adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry caught the imagination of readers of all ages. In Britain a separate edition of the first book appeared with a more "adult" dust jacket so that grown-ups reading it on trains and subways would not have to hide their copy behind a newspaper.

Jo Rowling lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her daughter Jessica and continues to work on writing the seven-book saga of Harry Potter.


魔法妈妈—J.K.罗琳

J.K.罗琳的生活展现出童话般的光芒，如同她所创造的魔法小巫师—哈利?波特。经历了一次失败的婚姻后，这个靠救济金过日子，独自抚养女儿的单亲妈妈和出生不久的女儿搬到了爱丁堡的一个狭小的公寓里。为了逃离又小又冷的房间，她常待在住家附近的咖啡馆里，待女儿熟睡后开始写作，女儿睡多久，她就写多久。就在这个小咖啡馆里，她写出了《哈利?波特与魔法石》，塑造了那个将她带离窘境的小巫师。

乔安?凯瑟琳?罗琳出生在英格兰的一家综合医院里，这对一个喜欢给别人起奇怪名字，喜欢坐着扫帚满场飞奔的小姑娘来说，是个合适的开始。她的妹妹两年后来到这个世上。

罗琳从小就喜欢写作，五、六岁时就写了一篇跟兔子有关的故事。小时候美好的记忆似乎总是

围绕阅读的—得麻疹时听爸爸大声讲故事，读奇异的冒险故事，沉浸在奇妙的故事世界里。

大学里，罗琳主修法语，在巴黎留学一年。毕业后，她搬去伦敦担任调查员和双语秘书。罗琳回忆说，那段时间最有趣的事情就是趁没人的时候在电脑上打小说。1990年，时值24岁的罗琳坐在由曼撤斯特出发前往伦敦的火车上，哈利?波特闯入了她的生命。她可以在脑海里清晰地勾画他的模样，看到他进入魔法学校。四小时后，当火车驶入王十字车站时，大部分人物和故事的前期框架已经在她的脑海里形成了。当她午餐时间坐在咖啡馆里继续构思时，故事的结构变得更加清晰。

1992年，罗琳结束了白领生涯，前往葡萄牙做英语教师。尽管学生们常拿她的名字开玩笑，叫她滚石（英语中Rowling与rolling同音），她仍然非常喜欢教书。她在下午和晚上去学校工作，上午用来写作。不久后，她与一名葡萄牙的电视台记者结婚，但这段婚姻最终以离婚告终。离婚后，罗琳带着女儿和满满一箱子哈利?波特的笔记与手稿回到了英国。为了能住得靠近妹妹，罗琳在爱丁堡定居下来，准备在找新工作前完成这部小说。她常常推着女儿的手推车四处闲逛，只是为了逃离又小又冷的公寓。她会躲到咖啡馆里，趁女儿睡着时写作。就这样，罗琳在咖啡馆里完成了哈利?波特的创作，开始寻找出版商。但她的稿件被多次退回，直到她找到了一个伦敦的经纪人。罗琳之所以会找到他，仅仅是因为喜欢他可爱的名字—克里斯多夫?里特（Christopher Little）。

当罗琳得知这本关于小巫师的小说被出版商接受时，她正在一所学校教法语。《哈利?波特》才一出版，就大获成功。随着哈利?波特1998年在美国的出版，罗琳的书继续创造着出版界的历史。哈利?波特登上了儿童与成人书籍的最佳销售榜的首位。确实，这个小巫师的故事，他灰姑娘一样的童年，和他在霍格华兹魔法学校的历险引发了各个年龄读者的丰富想象力。在英国，出版商出版了一种更成人化封面的版本，使得大人们能在火车或者地铁里阅读而不用把书藏在报纸后面。

现在，J.A.罗琳和她的女儿捷西卡住在苏格兰的爱丁堡，继续完成哈利?波特的冒险故事。








The Firm Helen Keller
In 1882 a baby girl caught a fever that was so fierce she nearly died. She survived but the fever left its mark - she could no longer see or hear. Because she could not hear she also found it very difficult to speak.1882年，一名女婴因高发烧差点丧命。她虽幸免于难，但发烧给她留下了后遗症-- 她再也看不见、听不见。因为听不见，她想讲话也变得很困难。
Before her seventh birthday, the

family hired a private tutor - Anne Sullivan.Anne was careful to teach Helen especially those subjects in which she was interested. As a result Helen became gentler and she soon learnt to read and write in Braille. She also learnt to read people's lips by pressing her finger-tips against them and feeling the movement and vibrations. This method is called Tadoma and it is a skill that very, very few people manage to acquire. She also learnt to speak, a major achievement for someone who could not hear at all.在她快到七岁生日时，家里便雇了一名家庭教师 -- 安尼?沙利文。安尼悉心地教授海伦，特别是她感兴趣的东西。这样海伦变得温和了而且很快学会了用布莱叶盲文朗读和写作。靠用手指接触说话人的嘴唇去感受运动和震动，她又学会了触唇意识。这种方法被称作泰德马，是一种很少有人掌握的技能。她也学会了讲话，这对失聪的人来说是个巨大的成就。
Helen proved to be a remarkable scholar.While she was still at college she wrote 'The Story of My Life'. This was an immediate success and earned her enough money to buy her own house.海伦证明了自己是个出色的学者，上大学时她就写了《我的生命》。这使她取得了巨大的成功从而有能力为自己购买一套住房。
After her death in 1968 an organization was set up in her name to combat blindness in the developing world. Today that agency, Helen Keller International, is one of the biggest organizations working with blind people overseas1968年她去世后，一个以她的名字命名的组织建立起来，该组织旨在与发展中国家存在的失明缺陷做斗争。如今这所机构，"国际海伦?凯勒"，是海外向盲人提供帮助的最大组织之一。








从街头流浪汉到百万富翁
Chris Gardner tells 20/20 how he worked to move himself from a life of homelessness to a successful life as a businessman。
Chris Gardner在《美国广播公司新闻》20/20点节目讲述了他如何从街头流浪到成为百万富翁的经历。
Gardner is the head of his own brokerage firm and lives in a Chicago Townhouse－－one of his three homes with a collection of tailored suits， designer shoes， and Miles Davis albums。
Gardner自己开了一家经纪人公司并任总管，住在芝加哥别墅区－－他三处住宅中的其中一处，里面收藏有西装，时装鞋和Miles Davis的唱片集。


His path to this extraordinary success took a series of extraordinary turns。 Just 20 years ago， Gardner was homeless and living， on occasion， in a bathroom at a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in Oakland， Calif。
在成功的道路上，他历经了一系列坎坷挫折。20年前，Gardner无家可归，有时就住在加州奥克兰市湖湾区快速运输站上的洗手间里过夜。


Gardner was raised by his mother， a schoolteacher。 He says he never knew his father while he was gr

owing up。 But his mother had a way of keeping him grounded when he dreamed of things like being a jazz trumpeter。
Gardner从小由当教师的母亲抚养长大。他说自己从未见过父亲。但是，当他梦想作一名爵士乐小号手时，他母亲有一套方法指导他。


Mothers have a way of saying things， Gardner said， She explained to me， ‘Son， there‘s only one Miles Davis and he got that job。 So you have to do something else。 But what that something else was， I did not know。‘
母亲有自己的表述方法。Gardner说：她对我说，‘儿子，只有一个Miles Davis，他从事这个行业。因此，你就得做其他的事情，至于那是什么事情，我就不知道了。‘


Gardner credits his uncles with providing the male influence he needed。 Many of them were military veterans。 So， straight out of high school， he enlisted in the Navy for four years。 He says it gave him a sense of what was possible。
Gardner认为是他的叔叔给他提供了影响他的人生道路的男人。他们中许多人是部队里的老兵。因此，高中一毕业，他就报名参军当了四年的海军。他称这给他带来一种成就感。



A Red Ferrari and a Turning Point
一辆红色法拉利，一次人生转折点

After the military， Gardner took a job as a medical supply salesman。 Then， he says， he reached another turning point in his life。 In a parking lot， he met a man driving a red Ferrari。 He was looking for a parking space。 And I said， ‘You can have mine。 But I gotta ask you two questions。‘ The two questions were： What do you do？ And how do you do that？ Turns out this guy was a stockbroker and he was making $80，000 a month。
退役以后，Gardner作起了医药销售员。他说，那时，他经历了人生又一个转折点。在一处停车场，他遇见一名男子驾着一辆红色法拉利。他正在找一个停车摊位。我说，‘你可以停我这里。但我要问你两个问题。这两个问题是：你做什么工作？你怎样去做？这个人原来是股票经纪人，月薪8万美元。


Gardner began knocking on doors， applying for training programs at brokerages， even though it meant he would have to live on next to nothing while he learned。 When he finally was accepted into a program， he left his job in medical sales。 But his plans collapsed as suddenly as they had materialized。 The man who offered him the training slot was fired， and Gardner had no job to go back to。
Gardner开始上门申请学习经纪人课程，即使这意味着在他学习期间会衣食无着。当他终于被录取上培训班时，他辞掉销售员的工作。然而，他的计划突然之间转为泡影正如他们突然呈现一样。那个曾经答应给他上培训课的人被辞退了，而Gardner又丢掉了自己的工作。


Things got worse。 He was hauled off to jail for $1，200 in

parking violations that he couldn‘t pay。 His wife left him。 Then she asked him to care for their young son without her。 Despite his lack of resources， Gardner said， I made up my mind as a young kid that when I had children



Rags to Riches
陌生人施善帮助
When he could afford it， he stayed with his son， Chris Jr。， in cheap motels。 When they returned home at night， Gardner says， he received help from some unexpected sources。 The ladies of the evening were beginning their shift。 And they would always see myself， this baby and the stroller。 当他交起学费时，他和儿子Chris Jr。住在廉价汽车旅馆里。 Gardner说，他们深更半夜回家时意外地受到一些人的帮助。晚上，女士来汽车旅馆上夜班，总是看见我、小婴儿和那辆推车。


So they started giving him $5 bills。 Without their help， Gardner said， there would have been nights when he couldnt have fed his son。 The Rev。 Cecil Williams， founder of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco， remembers the first time he saw Gardner， who had gone to the church with his son to stand in a meal line。 He said， I wondered， What in the world is a man doing with a baby？
于是，她们就掏出五块钱给他。Gardner说，没有她们的帮助，儿子可能就会挨饿。旧金山Glide 教堂的创建人Rev。 Cecil Williams回忆第一次见到Gardner的情形，当时他带着儿子排在就餐队伍中间。他说，我当时纳闷：一个大男人怎么会身边拖着一个婴儿？


Even to Williams， it was an unusual sight。 The Urban Institute estimates that children make up 25 percent of the nations homeless population， but most are living with a single mother，not the father。 就连Williams也弄不明白这是怎么回事。根据城市协会估算，全国无家可归的人口中儿童占到百分之二十五。但是，绝大多数儿童和单亲母亲而不是单亲父亲一起生活。



It Is a Green Thing
全靠经验
With Williams help and a room supplied by Glide Memorial when he needed it， Gardner not only made it through the brokerage training program， he passed his licensing exam on the first try。
在Williams的帮助下，Gardner 需要时就住在Glide教堂提供的一间房间里，Gardner不仅完成经纪人培训课程学习，而且一次性通过营业执照考试。


Gardner went to work making cold calls at the firm of Dean Witter。 He says no one at the firm knew he was homeless。 I was the first one at work， I was the last one to leave。 Id be on the phone， 200 phone calls a day。 Thats what they noticed， he said。 Every time I picked up that phone， I was digging my way out of this hole。
Gardner为谋到一份工作，几次访问Dean Witter的公司，受到冷遇，他说公司里没有人知道他无家可归。我第一个上班，最后一个下班。我一天接200个电话。这就是他们注意

到的，他说。每一次我接电话，我都在寻找出路。


Gardner moved on to Bear， Stearns。 As he learned the business， he also learned that it came with some unpleasant baggage。 Because African－American brokers were rare， one phone customer， assuming that Gardner was white， told racist jokes as he placed his orders。 When the client came for a face－to－face meeting， Gardner says， He was either gonna close his account with meorI was gonna get all his business。
Gardner搬到Stearns市Bear区居住。他学会做生意的同时，还懂得干这一行的艰辛，因为美籍非洲人很少作经纪人，有一位打电话的顾客以为Gardner是白人，一面下定单，一面讲带有种族歧视的玩笑，当顾客前来 开会互相照面时，Gardner说，他要么不再委托我作他的经纪人，要么把生意全都交给我做。


Gardner kept the account。Thats when I learned in this business its not a black thing， its not a white thing， its a green thing。 If you can make me money， I dont care what color you are。
客户继续让他做下去。我干这行才了解到，作经纪人与你是黑人还是白人无关，全靠经验。只要你能给我股票赚钱，我就不管你是什么肤色。


In 1987， with $10，000 in capital， Gardner started his own company in Chicago，operating at first from his home。 His company is now an institutional brokerage firm with offices in Chicagos financial district。
1987年，Gardner 用$10，000美元作资本在芝加哥的家中创立了自己的公司，他的公司现在是一家经纪人公司，办事处设在芝加哥金融区。


Ironically， when San Franciscos Bay Area Rapid Transit System issued new bonds to raise money a few years ago， one of the underwriters was Gardner‘s company run by a man who， when he was homeless， had bathed his son in the bathroom of one of its train stations。 具有讽刺意义的是，几年前，当旧金山湖湾区快速运输站发行债券募集资金时，一家保险公司的经营者正是当年在火车站洗手间给他儿子洗澡的那个男人。



No Books， No Bucks
不读好书，赚不到钱
He has donated money to educational projects in memory of his mother。 And he has been honored for his work on behalf of an organization called Career Gear， which helps clothe and advise young people who are applying for jobs。
为了纪念母亲，Gardner把捐款给教育工程。并且他因为为Career Gear机构的出色工作而受到表彰。该机构给申请就业的年青人提供衣物和忠告。


When he speaks at high schools he keeps his message simple， telling students： No books， no bucks。 Thats it。 当他在高中做报告时，他简洁地告诉学生，不读好书就赚不到钱，就是这样。
He also has returned many times to Glide Memorial in San Francisco， not only to donate money， but to work on the food line

where he used to stand。 I see me， I see my son 20 years ago，he said。 And I know how important this meal is to that individual， to that man， that woman。 他还多次回到旧金山的Glide教堂，不仅是去捐款，也是到他曾经站过的免费餐台前服务。我看到20年前的我自己，看到我的儿子，他说。我深知这一餐对于一个人，那个男人，那个女人有多重要。