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英语短文阅读经典美文 篇三
The Color of Friendship 友谊的颜色
Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All claimed that they were the best. The most important.The most useful.The favorite.从前，世界上的各种颜色进行过一次争吵。每一种颜色都说自己是最好的,最重要的，
最有用的,和最讨人喜欢的。
Green said: "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority."
绿色说：“显然，我是最重要的。我是生命和希望的标志。我被选作青草，树木以及叶子的颜色。没有了我，所有的动物都会死去。展望田野吧，你会看到，到处都有我。”
Blue interrupted: "You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing."
兰色打断了它的话：“你只考虑了地上，想想天空和海洋吧。水才是生命的基础呀，云彩把水分从深邃的大海带到了天空。天空给了人们空间、和平和宁谧。没有我的和平，你们将不复存在。”
Yellow chuckled: "You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun."
黄色咯咯地笑出了声：“你们都太严肃了。我给这个世界带来了笑声、欢乐和温暖。太阳是黄色的，月亮是黄色的，星星是黄色的，每一次你看向日葵的时候，整个世界都开始欢笑。没有我就没有快乐。”
Orange started next to blow her trumpet: "I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and papayas. I don't hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you."
橙色马上开始自吹自擂：“我可是健康和力量的颜色。我可能比较稀少，但是我非常宝贵，因为我满足了人们生活的需要。我携带了大多数重要的维他命。想想胡罗卜、南瓜、柑橘、芒果和番木瓜。我并不经常出没在天空，但日出或日落我在天际登场时，我的美丽足以惊世，没有人还会想起你们。”
Red could stand it no longer he shouted out: "I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood - life's blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy." 红色再也忍不下去了，他喊道：“我，是你们所有人的主宰。我是血液——生命的血液!我是危险和勇敢的颜色。我愿意为了一个目标而斗争。我把烈火带入血液。没有了我，地球会象月亮一样变得空虚。我是激情和爱的颜色，是红玫瑰、猩猩木。
Purple rose up to his full height: He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: "I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey."
紫色站起身来：他非常高，说起话来风度十足：“我是王权和力量的象征。国王、酋长、主教都选择了我，因为我象征着权威和智慧。人们不会对我提出疑问，他们只能聆听和服从。”
Finally Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: "Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace."
最后，靛青说话了，他的声音比其他人都轻，但却比其他人都斩钉截铁：“想想我吧。我是沉默的颜色。你们几乎注意不到我，但是如果没有我，你们全都会变得肤浅。我代表着思想和反省，代表者黎明的微光和深邃的海水。你们需要我来平衡和比较，来祈祷和获求内心的安宁。”
And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.
这样一来，颜色们就不停地自夸，每个人都深信自己无比优越。他们的争吵声越来越大。突然，电闪雷鸣。雨无情地倾盆而下。颜色们惊恐地蜷缩起来，彼此挤在一起捱过着恐怖的时刻。
In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak: "You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me."
在一片喧嚣声中，雨开始说话了：“你们这些愚蠢的颜色，彼此相互争斗，每个人都想支配别人。你们难道就不知道每个人都是天造地设，都是独一无二，彼此不同的吗?携起手来吧。”
Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. The rain continued: "From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow." And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a Rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.
颜色们按照着雨的话，团结在一起，携起手来。雨接着说：“从现在开始，每次下雨的`时候你们都要变成一个巨大的彩色弓形横跨天空，以证明你们能够和平相处。彩虹就是未来希望的标志。”所以，每当大雨冲刷这个世界时，彩虹都会出现在天空，让我们记住彼此要珍惜。
英语短文阅读经典美文 篇四
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 while I was at lunch, and my corrected versions were not seen again. I brought cookies to the office one 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 other episodes. Coworkers cornered me in the break room. “Guess you got to Jack,” they said. “You must 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 three beautiful young children, and scared. The cancer had metastasized to my lymph nodes and the statistics were not great for long-term survival. After my surgery, friends and loved ones visited and tried to find the right words. No one knew what to say, and many said the wrong things. 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 waved him 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’ll come up next spring. I just wanted you to know that I think you’ll be there to see them when they 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 next spring you’ll see the colors I picked out for you. I think you’ll like them." He turned and left without 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 the soil every spring. In fact, this September the doctor will declare me cured. I’ve seen my children graduate from high school and enter college.
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 right things.
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。
