1. Much to Live For
[导读] 热爱生活，让生命的体验成为一段美丽的乐符。翻开书页， 睁开双眼、用心体会这优美的语言和聆听这智慧的声音。
There is so much I have not been, so much I have not seen. I have not thought and have not done or felt enough -- the early sun, rain and the seasonal delight of flocks of ducks and geese in flight, the mysteries of late-at-night. I still need time to read a book, write poems, paint a picture, look at scenes and faces dear to me. There is something more to be of value-- something I should find within myself -- as peace of mind, patience, grace and being kind. I shall take and I shall give, while yet, there is so much to live for -- rainbows, stars that gleam, the fields, the hills, the hope, the dreams, the truth that one must seek. I'll stay here -- treasure every day and love the world in my own way!

[注释]
seasonal delight: 季节性的喜悦
mystery: something that is not fully understood or that baffles or eludes the understanding; an enigma 秘密，谜
grace: A characteristic or quality pleasing for its charm魅力，优雅
rainbow: 虹，彩虹
gleam: To emit a gleam; flash or glow 闪光；闪烁或发光；闪耀
[参考译文]
生命中，有那么多我没经验过，有那么多我没见过。我没有充分想过，做过，或体会过 -- 朝阳、雨水、季节性的喜悦来自成群飞翔的野鸭与野雁和那些午夜的神秘。我还需要时间读书，写诗、作画、观赏景色与我所爱的脸庞。还有一些东西具有价值 -- 那是我应该发现在自己内心的 -- 心灵的宁静、耐心、优雅、与仁慈。我要接受而且我要施舍，然而还是有许多可以赖以生活-- 彩虹，闪烁的星星、田野、山丘、希望、梦想、人人所追求的真理。　我会在此 -- 珍惜每一个时日并且用自我的方式惜爱这个世界！

Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities
[导读]查尔斯-狄更斯，英国大名鼎鼎的作家，是19世纪英国现实主义文学的主要代表。他笔耕一生，靠勤奋和汗水创作出《双城记》、《大卫-科波菲尔》等世界名著。作品艺术上以妙趣横生的幽默、细致入微的心理分析，以及现实主义描写与浪漫主义气氛的有机结合著称。狄更斯在《双城记》一书开头就说，“这是一个最好的时代，也是一个最坏的时代”。妙哉斯言（此句经常被引用）！这段文字中多个平行句（句子结构相同）而打动读者。文中句型的反复、形式上的对偶、内容上的对比、总体结构上的平行（排比），值得仔细体会。

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.
[注释]
incredulity: 怀疑
despair: to lose all hope绝望, 失望
[参考译文]
这是一个最好的时代，也是一个最坏的时代；这是明智的年代，这是愚昧的年代；这是信任的纪元，这是怀疑的纪元；这是光明的季节，这是黑暗的季节； 这是希望的春日，这是失望的冬日； 我们面前拥有一切，我们面前没有一切； 我们都将直上天堂，我们都将直下地狱。

3. Fog
[导读]桑德堡（Carl Sandburg）的短诗《雾》曾在各种媒体广为传播，是美国人家喻户晓的名作。
The fog comes 飘过来的雾，
on little cat feet. 像小猫般轻盈迈步。
It sits looking 坐在港口城市上空，
over harbor and city 四周环顾。
on silent haunches [腰] 悄悄躬一下腰，
and then moves on. 又开始赶路……

Youth
[导读]《青春》一文，麦克阿瑟将军生前视之为座右铭，将之精心装裱在自己的桌上；许多世界名人将其随身携带，以至于皱折不堪。一位日本研究专家说“在日本实业界，凡有所成就，都熟知这篇短文”。它给予了一种启示，教我们如何美好的生活。20世纪初塞缪尔•厄尔曼（Samuel Ullman）写的这篇不足500字的短文《青春》一直为世人倾倒，过了这么多年它的魅力依旧；他1840生于德国，童年时移居美国。他在古稀之年才开始写作，是一个了不起的人。
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity of the appetite, for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing child-like appetite of what's next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite, so long are you young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at eighty.
[注释]
rosy cheeks: 红扑扑的脸庞
supple: 柔软的
vigor: 精力, 活力
temperamental: 心情变化快的, 喜怒无常的
predominance: 优势
timidity: shy 胆怯，害羞的
appetite: 食欲, 胃口, 欲望, 爱好
desert: 放弃, 遗弃
wrinkle: 起皱
enthusiasm: great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause狂热, 热心, 积极性
bow: 鞠躬, 弯腰, 屈服, 屈从
wireless: 无线的 aerials: 天线
infinite: having no limits 无限的，无穷的
cynicism: 玩世不恭, 冷嘲热讽
pessimism: 悲观, 悲观主义 optimism：乐观

David Copperfield （Chapter 11）
[导读]本段选自狄更斯（Charles Dickens）的《大卫•科菲坡尔》。作者极尽细节描写之能事，将David眼中第一次见到描述得形象鲜明，跃然纸上。尤其是脸部的描写细致生动，让人一见难忘。
I went in, and found there a stoutish, middle-aged person, in a brown surtout and black tights and shoes, with no more hair upon his head which was a large one, and very shining than there is upon an egg, and with a very extensive face, which he turned full upon me. His clothes were shabby, but he had an imposing shirt-collar on. He carried a jaunty sort of stick, with a large pair of rusty tassels to it; and a quizzing-glass hung outside his coat – for ornament, I afterwards found, as he very seldom looked through it, and couldn’t see anything when he did.
[注释]
stoutish: 肥胖的, 体形臃肿的
surtout: 男用外套或大衣
tights: 贴身衬衣
extensive: Large in extent, range, or amount广阔的, 宽的
shabby: 破旧的, 褴褛的
imposing: 给人印象深刻的, 使人难忘的
jaunty: 感到自满的, 洋洋得意的
rusty: 生了锈的
tassels: 穗, 缨
ornament: 装饰物

David Copperfield （Chapter 11）
[导读]本段选自狄更斯（Charles Dickens）的《大卫•科菲坡尔》。作者极尽细节描写之能事，将David眼中第一次见到描述得形象鲜明，跃然纸上。尤其是脸部的描写细致生动，让人一见难忘。
I went in, and found there a stoutish, middle-aged person, in a brown surtout and black tights and shoes, with no more hair upon his head which was a large one, and very shining than there is upon an egg, and with a very extensive face, which he turned full upon me. His clothes were shabby, but he had an imposing shirt-collar on. He carried a jaunty sort of stick, with a large pair of rusty tassels to it; and a quizzing-glass hung outside his coat – for ornament, I afterwards found, as he very seldom looked through it, and couldn’t see anything when he did.
[注释]
stoutish: 肥胖的, 体形臃肿的
surtout: 男用外套或大衣
tights: 贴身衬衣
extensive: Large in extent, range, or amount广阔的, 宽的
shabby: 破旧的, 褴褛的
imposing: 给人印象深刻的, 使人难忘的
jaunty: 感到自满的, 洋洋得意的
rusty: 生了锈的
tassels: 穗, 缨
ornament: 装饰物

David Copperfield （Chapter 11）
[导读]本段选自狄更斯（Charles Dickens）的《大卫•科菲坡尔》。作者极尽细节描写之能事，将David眼中第一次见到描述得形象鲜明，跃然纸上。尤其是脸部的描写细致生动，让人一见难忘。
I went in, and found there a stoutish, middle-aged person, in a brown surtout and black tights and shoes, with no more hair upon his head which was a large one, and very shining than there is upon an egg, and with a very extensive face, which he turned full upon me. His clothes were shabby, but he had an imposing shirt-collar on. He carried a jaunty sort of stick, with a large pair of rusty tassels to it; and a quizzing-glass hung outside his coat – for ornament, I afterwards found, as he very seldom looked through it, and couldn’t see anything when he did.
[注释]
stoutish: 肥胖的, 体形臃肿的
surtout: 男用外套或大衣
tights: 贴身衬衣
extensive: Large in extent, range, or amount广阔的, 宽的
shabby: 破旧的, 褴褛的
imposing: 给人印象深刻的, 使人难忘的
jaunty: 感到自满的, 洋洋得意的
rusty: 生了锈的
tassels: 穗, 缨
ornament: 装饰物

She Walks in Beauty
[导读]她走在美的光彩中，像夜晚；皎洁无云而且繁星满天。有人理解为赞美爱人的美丽，有的人则认为是一种意境的呈现。无论从什么角度去欣赏它，这首诗都那么的美，那么的打动人心。诵读时注意诗歌的用韵，每行结尾压韵的单词要重读。
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
George Gordon Byron: She Walks in Beauty
G. G. Byron：拜伦，英国浪漫时期的诗人，著有长诗"Child Harold's Pilgrimage”
clime: 气候；地方
starry: 布满星星的
mellow: soft, sweet, juicy, and full-flavored 柔和、柔软的、甜蜜的；芳醇的。 mellow'd=mellowed, mellow'd是古英语拼法。
tender: 温柔的, 柔嫩的
gaudy: a feast or festival; called also gaud-day and gaudy day.
deny: to give a refusal to; turn down or away 拒绝
她走在美的光彩中，像夜晚
皎洁无云而且繁星满天
明与暗的最美妙的色泽
在她的仪容与秋波里呈现
彷佛是晨露映出的阳光
但比那光亮柔和而幽暗。

Great Expectations
[导读]下面的一段选自查尔斯•狄更斯（Charles Dickens）的《远大前程》（1860－1861），这是他比较晚期的作品。狄更斯经历了丰富的人间生活后，对人，对周围环境，对自己的生活经历都有了深刻的认识，而所有他成熟的思想认识都汇总在《远大前程》一书中。
Great Expectations，意思是指一笔遗产，中文有的译为“远大前程”（有的译作“孤星血泪”）。这个译名给读者一种印象，即作品的主人公是有远大前程的。而事实上，这个“远大前程”是带讽刺意义的，这部作品的主题决非仅仅是写孤儿皮普想当上等人的理想幻灭的故事，如果这样理解，就领会错了狄更斯创作这部作品的意义。皮普生活在姐姐家里，生活艰苦，他的理想是当一名像姐夫一样的铁匠，他没有想当上等人。后来他之所以想当上等人是因为环境的改变。狄更斯的哲学思想之一是环境对人思想的影响。不同的环境可以造就成不同的人。皮普的整个发展过程是符合一般人性理论的。
这部作品的语言可谓是出神入化，要学习英国语言，这是一本典范。狄更斯的作品不矫揉造作，不选用那些华而不实的词语。他的用词都简单明了，朴实易懂。所以文字读来朴实无华，如行云流水。

As the night was fast falling, and as the moon, being past the full, would not rise early, we held a little council: a short one, for clearly our course was to lie by at the first lonely tavern we could find. So, they plied their oars once more, and I looked out for anything like a house. Thus we held on, speaking little, for four or five dull miles. It was very cold, and, a collier coming by us, with her gallery-fire smoking and flaring, looked like a comfortable home. The night was as dark by this time as it would be until morning; and what light we had, seemed to come more from the river than the sky, as the oars in their dipping stuck at a few reflected stars.
[注释]
council：An assembly of persons called together for consultation, deliberation, or discussion讨论会议
tavern：酒馆, 客栈
plied their oars：使劲划起桨来
collier：运煤船
gallery-fire：厨房
[参考译文]
孤星血泪 天黑得很快，偏巧这天又是下弦月，月亮不会很早升起。我们就稍稍商量了一下，可是也用不到多讨论，因为情况是明摆着的，再划下去我们一遇到冷落的酒店就得投宿。于是他们又使劲打起桨来，我则用心寻找岸上是否隐隐约约有什么房屋的模样。这样又赶了四五英里路，一路上好不气闷，大家简直不说一句话。天气非常冷，一艘煤船从我们近旁驶过，船上厨房里生着火，炊烟缕缕，火光荧荧，在我们看来简直就是个安乐家了。这时夜色已经黑透，看来就要这样一黑到天明，我们仅有的一点光亮，是乎不是来自天空，而是来自河上，一桨又一桨的，搅动着那寥寥几颗倒映在水里的寒星。

SEPTEMBER
[导读] 海伦•亨特•杰克逊（Helen Hunt Jackson 1830-1885）是位多产的女作家，主要以同情印第安人、维护印第安人利益的作品为人们喜爱。九月是收获的季节, 累累的果实压弯了枝头。
The golden-rod is yellow;
The corn is turning brown;
The trees in apple orchards
With fruit are bending down.
The gentian's bluest fringes
Are curling in the sun;
In dusty pods the milkweed
Its hidden silk has spun.
The sedges flaunt their harvest,
In every meadow nook;
And asters by the brook-side
Make asters in the brook,
From dewy lanes at morning
The grapes' sweet odors rise;
At noon the roads all flutter
With yellow butterflies.
By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer's best of weather,
And autumn's best of cheer.
But none of all this beauty
Which floods the earth and air
Is unto me the secret
Which makes September fair.
'T is a thing which I remember;
To name it thrills me yet:
One day of one September
I never can forget.
[注释]
golden-rod:秋麒麟草。在八、九月的开花期里，枝头会长满金黄色的小花。它的树枝宛如金色的鞭子一般，这就是它的英文名字“黄金鞭”的由来。
orchards：果园, 果园里的全部果树 bend：弯曲
gentian's bluest fringes：龙胆根的蓝蓝的须
pods：扁豆层, 豆荚
milkweed：乳草属植物
spun：spin的过去式和过去分词；旋转, 纺, 纺纱
sedges：[植]莎草
flaunt：挥动, 飘扬
nook：隐蔽处
asters：[植]紫苑
lane：（乡间）小路, 巷, 里弄
odors：气味
flutter：鼓翼,飞舞。 At noon the roads all flutter with yellow butterflies (蝴蝶).