英語四六級典藏筆記四

英語四六級典藏筆記（a）

NothingtoSellandNothingtoBuy.................................................................................1

IllusionsofPastoralPeace..............................................................................................3

SpeedandComfort.........................................................................................................6

OurNeighbour,theRiver...............................................................................................9

經(jīng)典美文

NothingtoSelland

NothingtoBuy

Ithasbeensaidthateveryonelivesbysellingsomething.Inthelightofthis

statement,teacherslivebysellingknowledge,philosophersbysellingwisdom

andpriestsbysellingspiritualcomfort.Thoughitmaybepossibletomeasure

thevalueofmaterialgoodsintermsofmoney,itisextremelydifficultto

estimatethetruevalueoftheserviceswhichpeopleperformforus.Thereare

timeswhenwewouldwillinglygiveeverythingwepossesstosaveourlives,yet

wemightgrudgepayingasurgeonahighfeeforofferinguspreciselythisservice.

Theconditionsofsocietyaresuchthatskillshavetobepaidforinthesameway

thatgoodsarepaidforatashop.Everyonehassomethingtosell.

Trampsseemtobetheonlyexceptiontohisgeneralrule.Beggarsalmostsell

themselvesashumanbeingstoarousethepityofpassers-by.Butrealtramps

arenotbeggars.Theyhavenothingtosellandrequirenothingfromothers.In

seekingindependence,theydonotsacrificetheirhumandignity.Atrampmay

askyouformoney,buthewillneveraskyoutofeelsorryforhim.Hehas

deliberatelychosentoleadthelifeheleadsandisfullyawareofthe

consequences.Hemayneverbesurewherethenextmealiscomingfrom,but

heisfreefromthethousandsofanxietieswhichafflictotherpeople.Hisfew

materialpossessionsmakeitpossibleforhimtomovefromplacetoplacewith

ease.Byhavingtosleepintheopen,hegetsfarclosertotheworldofnature

thanmostofuseverdo.Hemayhunt,beg,orstealoccasionallytokeephimself

alive;hemayeven,intimesofrealneed,doalittlework;buthewillnever

sacrificehisfreedom.Weoftenspeakoftrampswithcontemptandputthemin

thesameclassasbeggars,buthowmanyofuscanhonestlysaythatwehave

notfeltalittleenviousoftheirsimplewayoflifeandtheirfreedomfromcare?

經(jīng)典美文

參考譯文：

不賣也不買

據(jù)說每個(gè)人都靠出售某種東西來維持生活。根據(jù)這種說法，教師靠賣知識為生，哲學(xué)家

靠賣智慧為生，牧師靠賣精神安慰為生。雖然物質(zhì)產(chǎn)品的價(jià)值可以用金錢來衡量，但要估算

別人為我們?yōu)樗峁┑姆?wù)的價(jià)值卻是極其困難的。有時(shí)，我們?yōu)榱送炀壬?，愿意付出?/p>

們所占有的一切。但就在外科大夫給我們提供了這種服務(wù)后，我們卻可能為所支付的昂貴的

費(fèi)用而抱怨。社會上的情況就是如此，技術(shù)是必須付錢去買的，就像在商店里要花錢買商品

一樣。人人都有東西可以出售。

在這條普遍的規(guī)律前面，好像只有流浪漢是個(gè)例外，乞丐出售的幾乎是他本人，以引起

過路人的憐憫。但真正的流浪并不是乞丐。他們既不出售任何東西，也不需要從別人那兒得

到任何東西，在追求獨(dú)立自由的同時(shí)，他們并不犧牲為人的尊嚴(yán)。流浪漢可能會向你討錢，

但他從來不要你可憐他。他是故意在選擇過那種生活的，并完全清楚以這種方式生活的后果。

他可能從不知道下頓飯有無著落，但他不像有人那樣被千萬樁愁事所折磨。他幾乎沒有什么

財(cái)產(chǎn)，這使他能夠輕松自如地在各地奔波。由于被迫在露天睡覺，他比我們中許多人都離大

自然近得多。為了生存，他可能會去打獵、乞討，偶爾偷上一兩回;確實(shí)需要的時(shí)候，他甚至

可能干一點(diǎn)兒活，但他決不會犧牲自由。說起流浪漢，我們常常帶有輕蔑并把他們與乞丐歸

為一類。但是，我們中有多少人能夠坦率地說我們對流浪漢的簡樸生活與無憂無慮的境況不

感到有些羨慕呢？

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Illusionsof

PastoralPeace

Thequietlifeofthecountryhasneverappealedtome.Citybornandcitybred.

Ihavealwaysregardedthecountryassomethingyoulookatthroughatrain

window,orsomethingyouoccasionalvisitduringtheweekend.Mostofmy

friendsliveinthecity,yettheyalwaysgointorapturesatthemerementionof

thecountry.Thoughtheyextolthevirtuesofthepeacefullife,onlyoneof

themhasevergonetoliveinthecountryandhewasbackintownwithinsix

months.Evenhestilllivesundertheillusionthatcountrylifeissomehow

superiortotownlife.Heisforevertalkingaboutthefriendlypeople,theclean

atmosphere,theclosenesstonatureandthegentlepaceofliving.Nothingcan

becompared,hemaintains,withthefirstcockcrow,thebvitteringofbirdsat

dawn,thesightoftherisingsunglintingonthetreesandpastures.Thisidyllic

pastoralsceneisonlypartofthepicture.Myfriendfailstomentionthelong

andfriendlesswintereveningsinfrontoftheTV—virtuallytheonlyformof

entertainment.Hesaysnothingaboutthepoorselectionofgoodsintheshops,

oraboutthoseunfortunatepeoplewhohavetotravelfromthecountrytothe

cityeverydaytogettowork.Whypeoplearepreparedtotolerateafour-hour

journeyeachdayforthedubiousprivilegeoflivinginthecountryisbeyond

me.Theycouldbesavedsomuchmiseryandexpenseiftheychosetolivein

thecitywheretheyrightlybelong.

Ifyoucandowithoutthefewpastoralpleasuresofthecountry,youwillfind

thecitycanprovideyouwiththebestthatlifecanoffer.Youneverhaveto

travelmilestoseeyourfriends.Theyinvariablylivenearbyandarealways

availableforaninformalchatoranevening'sentertainment.Someofmy

acquaintancesinthecountrycomeuptotownonceortwiceayeartovisitthe

theatreasaspecialtreat.Forthemthisisamajoroperationwhichinvolves

considerableplanning.Astheplaydrawstoitsclose,theywonderwhether

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theywillevercatchthatlasttrainhome.Thecitydwellerneverexperiences

anxietiesofthissort.Thelatestexhibitions,films,orplaysareonlyashortbus

rideaway.Shopping,too,isalwaysapleasure.Thelatestexhibitions,films,or

playsareonlyashortbusrideaway.Shopping,too,isalwaysapleasure.There

issomuchvarietythatyouneverhavetomakedowithsecondbest.Country

peoplerunwildwhentheygoshoppinginthecityandstaggerhomeloaded

withasmanyoftheexoticitemsastheycancarry.Noristhecitywithoutits

momentsofbeauty.Thereissomethingcomfortingaboutthewarmglowshed

byadvertisementsoncoldwetwinternights.Fewthingscouldbemore

impressivethanthepeacethatdescendsondesertedcitystreetsatweekends

whenthethousandsthattraveltoworkeverydayaretuckedawayintheir

homesinthecountry.Ithasalwaysbeenamysterytomewhocitydwellers,

whoappreciateallthesethings,obstinatelypretendthattheywouldpreferto

liveinthecountry.

參考譯文：

寧靜田園生活的遐想

寧靜的鄉(xiāng)村生活從來沒有吸引過我。我生在城市，長在城市，總認(rèn)為鄉(xiāng)村是透過火車車

窗看到的那個(gè)樣了，或偶爾周末去游玩一下景象。我的許多朋友都住在城市，但他們只要一

提起鄉(xiāng)村，馬上就會變得欣喜若狂。盡管他們都交口稱贊寧靜的鄉(xiāng)村生活的種種優(yōu)點(diǎn)，但其

中只有一個(gè)人真去農(nóng)村住過，而且不足6個(gè)月就回來了。即使他也仍存有幻覺，好像鄉(xiāng)村生

活就是比城市生活優(yōu)越。他滔滔不絕地大談友好的農(nóng)民，潔掙的空氣，貼近大自然的環(huán)境和

悠閑的生活節(jié)奏。他堅(jiān)持認(rèn)為，凌晨雄雞第一聲啼叫，黎明時(shí)分小鳥吱喳歡叫，冉冉升起的

朝陽染紅樹木、牧場，此番美景無與倫比。但這種田園詩般的鄉(xiāng)村風(fēng)光僅僅是一個(gè)側(cè)面。我

的朋友沒有提到在電視機(jī)前度過的漫長寂寞的冬夜一一電視是唯一的娛樂形式。他也不說

商店貨物品種單調(diào)，以及那些每天不得不從鄉(xiāng)下趕到城里工作的不幸的人們。人們?yōu)槭裁辞?/p>

愿每天在路上奔波4個(gè)小時(shí)去換取值得懷疑的鄉(xiāng)間的優(yōu)點(diǎn)，我是無法理解的。要是他們愿意

住在本來屬于他們的城市，則可以讓他們省去諸多不便與節(jié)約大量開支。

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如果你愿舍棄鄉(xiāng)下生活那點(diǎn)點(diǎn)樂趣的話，那么你會發(fā)出城市可以為你提供生活最美好

的東西。你去看朋友根本不用跋涉好幾英里，因?yàn)樗麄兌甲≡诟浇?，你隨時(shí)可以同他們聊天

或在晚上一起娛樂。我在鄉(xiāng)村有一些熟人，他們每年進(jìn)城來看一回或幾回戲，并把此看作一

種特殊的享受?？磻蛟谒麄兪羌笫拢枰挠?jì)劃。當(dāng)戲快演完時(shí)，他們又為是否能趕上

末班火車回家而犯愁。這種焦慮，城里人是從未體驗(yàn)過的。坐公共汽車幾站路，就可看到最

新的展覽、電影、戲劇。買東西也是一種樂趣。物品種繁多，從來不必用二等品來湊合。鄉(xiāng)

里人進(jìn)城采購欣喜若狂，每次回家時(shí)都買足了外來商品，直到拿不動方才罷休，連走路都搖

搖晃晃的。城市也并非沒有良辰美景。寒冷潮濕的冬夜里，廣告燈箱發(fā)出的暖光，會給人某

種安慰。周末，當(dāng)成千上萬進(jìn)城上班的人回到他們的鄉(xiāng)間寓所之后，空曠的街市籠罩著一種

寧靜氣氛，沒有什么能比此時(shí)的寧靜更令人難忘了。城里人對這一切心里很明白，卻偏要執(zhí)

拗地裝出他們喜歡住在鄉(xiāng)村的樣子，這對我來說一直是個(gè)謎。

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SpeedandComfort

Peopletravellinglongdistancesfrequentlyhavetodecidewhethertheywould

prefertogobyland,sea,orair.Hardlyanyonecanpositivelyenjoysittingina

trainformorethanafewhours.Traincompartmentssoongetcrampedand

stuffy.Itisalmostimpossibletotakeyourmindoffthejourney.Readingisonly

apartialsolution,forthemonotonousrhythmofthewheelsclickingontherails

soonlullsyoutosleep.Duringtheday,sleepcomesinsnatches.Atnight,when

youreallywishtogotosleep,yourarelymanagetodoso.Ifyouarelucky

enoughtogetasleeper,youspendhalfthenightstaringatthesmallbluelight

intheceiling,orfumblingtofindyourticketforinspection.Inevitablyyou

arriveatyourdestinationalmostexhausted.Longcarjourneysareevenless

pleasant,foritisquiteimpossibleeventoread.Onmotorwaysyoucan,atleast,

travelfairlysafelyathighspeeds,butmoreoftenthannot,thegreaterpartof

thejourneyisspentonroadswithfewservicestationsandtoomuchtraffic.By

comparison,ferrytripsorcruisesofferagreatvarietyofcivilizedcomforts.You

canstretchyourlegsonthespaciousdecks,playgames,meetinterestingpeople

andenjoygoodfood—alwaysassuming,ofcourse,thattheseaiscalm.Tfitis

not,andyouarelikelytogetseasick,noformoftransportcouldbeworse.Even

ifyoutravelinidealweather,seajourneystakealongtime.Relativelyfew

peoplearepreparedtosacrificeuptoathirdoftheirholidaysforthepleasure

oftravellingbysea.

Aeroplaneshavethereputationofbeingdangerousandevenhardened

travellersareintimidatedbythem.Theyalsohavethedisadvantageofbeingthe

mostexpensiveformoftransport.Butnothingcanmatchthemforspeedand

comfort.Travellingataheightof30,000feet,farabovetheclouds,andatover

500milesanhourisanexhilaratingexperience.Youdonothavetodeviseways

oftakingyourmindoffthejourney,foranaeroplanegetsyoutoyour

destinationrapidly.Forafewhours,yousettlebackinadeeparmchairtoenjoy

theflight.Therealescapistcanwatchafreefilmshowandsipchampagneon

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someservices.Butevenwhensuchrefinementsarenotavailable,thereisplenty

tokeepyouoccupied.Anaeroplaneoffersyouanunusualandbreathtaking

viewoftheworld.Yousoareffortlesslyoverhighmountainsanddeepvalleys.

Youreallyseetheshapeoftheland.Ifthelandscapeishiddenfromview,you

canenjoytheextraordinarysightofunbrokencloudplainsthatstretchoutfor

milesbeforeyou,whilethesunshinesbrilliantlyinaclearsky.Thejourneyis

sosmooththatthereisnothingtopreventyoufromreadingorsleeping.

Howeveryoudecidetospendyourtime,onethingiscertain:youwillarriveat

yourdestinationfreshanduncrumpled.Youwillnothavetospendthenextfew

daysrecoveringfromalongandarduousjourney.

參考譯文：

又快捷又舒適

出遠(yuǎn)門的人常常需要決定是走旱路、水路，還是坐飛機(jī)。很少有人能夠真正喜歡坐幾個(gè)

小時(shí)以上的火車。車廂很快就變得擁擠、悶熱，想擺脫開旅途的困擾是很難的。看書只能解

決部分問題。車輪與鐵軌間單調(diào)的嘎喳聲很快就會送你進(jìn)入夢鄉(xiāng)。白天是忽睡忽醒，到了夜

晚，你真想睡了，卻很難入睡。即使你走運(yùn)弄到一個(gè)臥鋪，夜間有一半時(shí)間你會盯著車頂那

盞小藍(lán)燈而睡不著覺;要不然就為查票摸索你的車票。一旦抵達(dá)目的地，你總是疲憊不堪。乘

汽車作長途旅行則更加不舒服，因?yàn)檫B看書都幾乎不可能。在公路上還好，你至少能以相當(dāng)

快的速度安全地向前行。但旅行的大部分時(shí)間都花在路.匕而且只有很少的服務(wù)設(shè)施，交通

也很擁擠。相比之下，坐船旅行或環(huán)游可以得到文明世界的各種享受。你可以在甲板上伸展

四肢、做游戲，還能見到各種有趣的人，能享用各種美味佳肴一一當(dāng)然，這一切只有在大

海風(fēng)平浪靜的情況下才有可能。如果大海肆虐起來，你就可能暈船，那種難受勁兒是任何一

種別的旅行的方式都不會帶來的。即使風(fēng)平浪靜，坐船旅行也要占用很長時(shí)間。沒有多少人

會為享受坐船旅行的樂趣而犧牲假期的時(shí)間。

飛機(jī)以危險(xiǎn)而著稱，連老資格的旅行者也怕飛機(jī)。飛機(jī)另一個(gè)缺點(diǎn)是昂貴。但就速度與

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舒適而言，飛機(jī)是無與倫比的。騰云駕霧，在30,000英尺高空以500英里的口寸速旅行，

這種經(jīng)歷令人心曠神怡。你不必想辦法去擺脫旅途的困擾，因?yàn)轱w機(jī)會迅速地把你送到目的

地。幾小時(shí)之內(nèi)，你躺在扶手椅上，享受著旅途的歡樂。真正會享受的人還可以在某些航班

上看一場電影和喝香檳。即使沒有這些消遣條件，也總是有事可做。飛機(jī)上，你可以觀察世

界上非同尋常的奇妙的美景。你亳不費(fèi)勁地飛越高山幽谷，你確能飽覽大地的風(fēng)貌。如果這

種景色被遮住了，你可以觀賞一下展現(xiàn)在你面前的、一望數(shù)英里的、連綿不斷的云海，同時(shí)

陽光燦爛，天空清澈明朗。旅途平穩(wěn)，絲毫不妨礙你閱讀或睡眠。不管你打算如何消磨時(shí)間，

有件事是可以肯定的，即當(dāng)你抵達(dá)日的地時(shí)，你感到精神煥發(fā)，亳無倦意，用不著因?yàn)槁L

的旅途的辛苦而花幾天時(shí)間休息來恢復(fù)精神。

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OurNeighbour5

theRiver

Theriverwhichformstheeasternboundaryofourfarmhasalwaysplayedan

importantpartinourlives.Withoutitwecouldnotmakealiving.Thereisonly

enoughspringwatertosupplytheneedsofthehouses,sowehavetopumpfrom

theriverforfarmuse.Wetellriveralloursecrets.Weknowinstinctively,just

asbeekeeperswiththeirbees,thatmisfortunemightovertakeusifthe

importanteventsofourliveswerenotrelatedtoit.

Wehavespecialriverbirthdaypartiesinthesummer.Sometimeswego

upstreamtoafavouritebackwater,sometimeswehaveourpartyatthe

boathouse,whichapredecessorofoursatthefarmbuiltinthemeadowhardby

thedeepestpoolforswimminganddiving.Inaheatwavewechooseamidnight

birthdaypartyandthatisthemostexcitingofall.Wewelcometheseasonsby

theriverside,crowningtheyoungestgirlwithflowersinthespring,holdinga

summerfestivalonMidsummerEve,givingthanksfortheharvestinthe

autumn,andthrowingaholywreathintothecurrentinthewinter.

Afteralongperiodofraintherivermayoverflowitsbanks.Thisisarare

occurrenceasourclimateseldomguesttoextremes.Weareluckyinthatonly

thelowerfields,whichmakeupaverysmallproportionofourfarm,areaffected

byflooding,butotherfarmsarelessfavorablysited,andfloodingcan

sometimesspelldisasterfortheirowners.

Onebadwinterwewatchedtherivercreepupthelowermeadows.Allthecattle

hadbeenmovedintostallsandwestoodtoloselittle.Wewere,however,

worriedaboutournearestneighbors,whosefarmwaslowlyingandwhowere

newcomerstothedistrict.Asthefloodshadputthetelephoneoutoforder,we

couldnotfindouthowtheyweremanaging.Fromanatticwindowwecouldget

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asweepingviewoftheriverwheretheirlandjoinedours,andatthemostcritical

juncturewetookturnsinwatchingthatpoint.Thefirstsignofdisasterwasa

deadsheepfloatingdown.Nextcameahorse,swimmingbravely,butwewere

afraidthatthestrengthofthecurrentwouldpreventitslandinganywhere

beforeitbecameexhausted.Suddenlyaraftappeared,lookingratherlike

Noah'sark,carryingthewholefamily,afew