高中生英语美文摘抄「有翻译」
The Choice of Companion选择朋友
By William Makepeace Thayer
A good companion is better than a fortune, for a fortune cannot purchase those elements of character which make companionship a blessing. The best companion is one who is wiser and better than ourselves, for we are inspired by his wisdom and virtue to nobler deeds.
一个好友胜过一笔财富，因为钱财买不到人的某些品德因素，而正是这些因素，使友情成为一种恩惠。最好的朋友是那些比我们更睿智、更出色的人，我们会受到他们的智慧和美德的激励，从而使我们的行为更加高尚。
“Keep good company and you shall be one of the number.” said George Herbert. “A man is known by the companion he keeps.” Character makes character in the associations of life faster than anything else. Purity begets purity, like begets like; and this fact makes the choice of companion in early life more important even than that of teachers and guardians.
“与优秀者为伍，你也会成为优秀者中的一员。”乔治.赫伯特曾说，“从一个人所交的朋友可知其为人。”在社会交往中，品性对品性的塑造胜过其他任何因素。纯洁的品格会培养纯洁的品格，爱好会引发相同的爱好。这一事实使得在年少时选择朋友甚至比选择老师和监护人还要重要。
It is true that we cannot always choose all of our companions, some are thrust upon us by business or the social relations of life, we do not choose them, we do not enjoy them; and yet, we have to associate with them more or less. The experience is not altogether without compensation, if there be principle enough in us to bear the strain. Still, in the main, choice of companions can be made, and must be made. It is not best or necessary for a young person to associate with “Tom, Dick, and Harry” without forethought or purpose. Some fixed rules about the company he or she keeps must be observed. The subject should be uttermost in the thoughts, and canvassed often.
事实上，并非所有的朋友都是我们选择的，有些是生意或社会关系强加于我们的。我们没有选择他们，也不喜欢他们，可是我们不得不或多或少地与他们交往。不过，在情势的.压力之下，只要我们自有主张，这样的交往也并非全无益处。大多数情况下，我们还是可以而且必须要选择朋友的。一个年轻人无所考虑、无所目的地随意与张三李四交往是不好的，也是没必要的，他/她必须遵循一些交友的定例，择友时应首先考虑这些定例，并经常加以审视。
Companionship is education, good or not; it develops manhood or womanhood, high or low; it lifts soul upward or drags it downward; it ministers to virtue or vice. Sow virtue, and the harvest will be virtue, Sow vice, and the harvest will be vice. Good companionships help us to sow virtue; evil companionships help us to sow vice.
无论是有益还是有害，友谊就是一种教育。它可以培育高贵或卑微的品格;它可以升华灵魂，也可以使之沉沦;它可以滋生美德，也可以助长邪恶。播种美德，就会收获美德;播种邪恶，就会收获邪恶。有益的友谊帮助我们播种美德，而有害的友谊则使我们播种邪恶。
The Two Roads两条道路
By John Ruskin
It was New Year's night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were floating like white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake. Then he cast them on the earth, where few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain goal--the tomb. He had already passed sixty of the stages leading to it, and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and remorse. Now his health was poor, his mind vacant, his heart sorrowful, and his old age short of comforts.
这是新年的夜晚。一位老人站在窗边，忧伤的眼睛眺望着深蓝的天空。空中的繁星犹如漂浮在清澈如镜的湖面上的朵朵百合。他慢慢将目光投向地面，此刻，没有什 么人比他还绝望，迈向他最终的归宿--坟墓。他已走过通向坟墓的六十级台阶，除了错误和悔恨，他一无所获。现在，他体弱多病，精神空虚，心哀神伤，人到晚 年无慰藉。
The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads--one leading to a peaceful, sunny place, covered with flowers, fruits and resounding with soft, sweet songs; the other leading to a deep , dark cave, which was endless, where poison flowed instead of water and where devils and poisonous snakes hissed and crawled.
年轻岁月，如梦般展现在他面前，老人想起父亲把他带到岔路口的那个庄严时刻--一条路通向安宁，快乐的世界，鲜花遍布，果实丰硕，甜美轻柔的歌声在空中回荡;另一条路则通向幽深黑暗，没有尽头的洞穴，洞内流淌着的不是水而是毒液，群魔乱舞，毒蛇嘶嘶爬动。
He looked towards the sky and cried painfully, "O, youth, return! O, my father, place me once more at the entrance to life, and I'll choose the better way!" But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away.
他仰望星空，痛苦的大喊：”啊，青春，回来吧!啊，父亲，再一次带我到人生的岔路口吧，我会选一条更好的道路。“但是，他的父亲和青春岁月都已经一去不复返了。
He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness. These were the days of his wasted life; he saw a star fall down from the sky and disappeared, and this was the symbol of himself. His remorse, which was like a sharp sorrow, struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood, which entered a life together with him. But they had made their way to success and were now honored and happy on this New Year's night.
他看到亮色在黑暗中流逝，就像他挥霍掉的往昔;他看到一颗流星自天边坠落，消失不见，就像是他的化身。无尽的悔恨，像一支利箭，深刺心间。他又记起和自己一同迈入人生之途的儿时玩伴。但他们已功成名就，在这个新年之夜，倍受尊崇，幸福快乐。
The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents' early love for him. They had taught him and prayed to God for his good. But he chose the wrong way. With shame and grief he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father lived. His darkened eyes were full of tears, and with a despairing effort, he burst out a cry:"Come back, my early days! Come back!"
高高的教堂钟楼传来敲钟声，这声音使他记起父母早年对他的疼爱。他们教育他，为他祈祷。然而，他却选择了错误的道路。羞愧和悲哀使他再也没有勇气仰望父亲所在的天堂。黯淡的双眼噙满了泪水，他绝望地嘶声大呼：“回来吧，我的往昔!回来吧!”
And his youth did return, for all this was only a dream, which he had on New Year's night. He was still young though his faults were real; he had not yet entered the deep, dark cave, and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land.
他的青春真的回来了，所有这些只是一个梦，一个他在新年之夜所做的梦。他仍然年轻，虽然他犯的错误是真实的;他尚未走入那幽深黑暗的洞穴，还有自由选择通向安宁，快乐的道路。
Those who still linger on the entrance of life, hesitating to choose the bright road, remember that when years are passed and your feet stumble on the dark mountains, you will cry bitterly, but in vain."O youth, return! Oh give me back my early days!"
仍在人生路口徘徊，仍在为是否应当选择光明坦途而犹豫不决的人们啊，请记住：当青春不再，当你的双脚在黑暗的山岭间跌绊时，你会痛苦地呼喊“啊，青春，回来吧!啊，还给我往昔吧!”此时，一切已是徒劳。