第455期:英语美文-Golden Advice

 　　New Words：

　　shortcoming¹ n. 缺点；短处

　　wonder² vi.想知道；

　　be of help有帮助，有用

　　When I was³ about 12, I had⁵ an enemy⁶, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings⁷. Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn't a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud⁸, and so on. I tried to bear all this as⁴ long as I could⁹. At last, I became¹⁰ very angry. I ran¹¹ to Daddy with tears¹² in my eyes.

　　大约12岁时,我有一个仇人,那是一个喜欢指出我缺点的女孩。一周周过去,她给我列的缺点来越多:我很瘦,我不是好学生,我太爱说话,我太骄傲。我尽量长时间地忍受这些。最后,我变得非常生气,就含泪跑去见爸爸。

　　He listened to me quietly¹³. Then he asked, "Are the things she says true¹⁴ or not? Allen, didn't you ever¹⁶ wonder what you're really like? Well, you now have that girl's opinion¹⁷. Go and make a list of everything she said¹⁸ and mark¹⁹ the points that are true. Pay²⁰ no attention²¹ to the other things she said."

　　爸爸静静地听我说完。随后,他问道：“她说的这些是不是真的? 爱琳,难道你不想知道自己的真实模样吗?那么,你现在有了那个女孩的意见。去把她所说的一切都列下来,在对的上面打分。对她所说的其他事情不要在意。”

　　I did¹⁵ as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered²² that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn't change (like being²³ very thin), but a good number I could-and suddenly²⁴ I wanted to change. For the first time I got²⁵ a fairly²⁶ clear²⁷ picture of myself²⁸.

　　我按照爸爸说得去做了。令我大为惊讶的是,我发现大约一半都是对的。其中有些我无法改变（比如很瘦）,但好多我可以改变，而且突然我想改变。我第一次对自己有了一个相当清晰的印象。

　　I brought²⁹ the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. "That's just for you," he said. "You know better than anyone³⁰ else the truth³¹ about yourself³². But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger³³ and feel hurt. When something said about you is true, you'll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty³⁴. Don't shut³⁵ your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do."

　　我将这个清单送给爸爸。他没有去接。“那只是给你的,”他说,“你比任何别得人更清楚自己真实的一面。但你必须学会去听,不要生气地闭上耳朵, 感觉受了伤。当说到得有关你的事情是对的时,你会发现那会对你有帮助。我们的世界充满了那些自认为知道你的责任的人。不要闭上耳朵。要听他们所有的人的话,但要听到真话,做你知道是正确的事情。”

　　Daddy's advice³⁶ has returned³⁷ to me at many important³⁸ moments. In my life³⁹, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.

　　爸爸的建议在很多重要时刻都回响在我的耳边。一生中,我从来没有听过比这更好的建议。

1 shortcoming   

n.缺点，不足

参考例句：

• Rudeness is his chief shortcoming.粗鲁是他主要的缺点。
• You may point out our shortcoming,no matter when.你不管什么时候都可以指出我们的缺点。

2 wonder   

v.惊奇；惊讶；(对...)感到怀疑

参考例句：

• I wonder why he is late.我想知道他为什么迟到。
• No wonder it's a wonder.怪不得这是一个奇迹。

3 was   

v.(is,am的过去式)是，在

参考例句：

• He said he was right.他说他是正确的。
• He was cold and hungry.他又冷又饿。

4 as   

conj.按照；如同

参考例句：

• He got work in a hotel as a waiter.他在一家旅馆找到了当服务生的工作。
• In the hotel,the old men were drinking away as usual.在旅馆里，这些老人和往常一样喝个不停。

5 had   

vbl.have的过去式和过去分词；conj.有

参考例句：

• I just had a good idea!我有个好主意！
• The boy had a small branch of a tree in his hand.这个男孩手上拿一条小树枝。

6 enemy   

n.敌人，仇敌，反对者；敌军，敌国

参考例句：

• You must keep a good watch for the enemy.对敌人你们必须保持警戒。
• You'd better first know a friend from an enemy.你首先得分清敌友。

7 shortcomings   

短处，缺点( shortcoming的名词复数 )； 不足之处

参考例句：

• Tom has not nearly corrected his shortcomings in work. 汤姆远远没有改正自己在工作中的缺点。
• Compared with her achievements, her shortcomings are, after all, only secondary. 她的缺点同她的成绩相比，毕竟是第二位的。

8 proud   

adj.感到自豪的；得意的

参考例句：

• He was proud of having such a good friend.他为有这样的好朋友而自豪。
• We are proud of our great motherland.我们为伟大的祖国而自豪。

9 could   

v.能，可能(can的过去式)；aux.v.(can的过去式)能；可以

参考例句：

• Could I open the window?我可以打开窗子吗？
• I could wait ten minutes.我可以等十分钟。

10 became   

v.(become的过去式)成为

参考例句：

• He became a doctor at the age of 27.他27岁时成了一名医生。
• He became a millionaire when he was still young.他还年轻时就成了百万富翁。

11 ran   

vbl.run的过去式

参考例句：

• He ran,and then slowed down to a walk.他跑着，然后放慢速度步行。
• As soon as Marie opened the door,the dog ran in.当玛丽一打开门，狗就跑了进来。

12 tears   

n.眼泪( tear的名词复数 )；破洞；裂口；裂缝v.撕( tear的第三人称单数 )；（使）分裂；撕碎；扯破

参考例句：

• She made a gallant attempt to hide her tears. 她强掩泪水。
• Her eyes were glistening with tears. 她眼里闪着晶莹的泪花。

13 quietly   

adv.安静地，沉着地，稳地

参考例句：

• Winter has been come to quietly.冬天悄然地来了。
• You have to play quietly.你要安安静静地玩。

14 true   

a.真实，不假的；忠实，可靠的；正确无误的

参考例句：

• He who doesn't reach the Great Wall is not a true man.不到长城非好汉。
• I will come and see if it is true.我要来了解一下，是否真有其事。

15 did   

v.动词do的过去式

参考例句：

• How many goals did you score in the last game?上一场比赛你们进了几个球？
• Why did you choose basketball in the first place?你为何首先选择篮球呢？

16 ever   

adv.曾经；永远；不断地；在任何时候；究竟

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to hangzhou?你曾经去过杭州吗？
• I will be young and strong and beautiful for ever.我将永远年轻、强壮，永远漂亮。

17 opinion   

n.看法，意见；v.判断，意见，主张

参考例句：

• My opinion is on the whole the same as yours.我的意见大体上同你的差不多。
• I quite agree to your opinion.我很赞成你的看法。

18 said   

v.动词say的过去式、过去分词

参考例句：

• He said to me that he could not come.他对我说他不能来。
• He said to his mother that he would do it by himself.他对他的母亲说他将自己独立做那件事。

19 mark   

n.标志，分数，马克；v.做标记于，留意，打分数

参考例句：

• Put a question mark at the end of that sentence.在那个句末划一个问号。
• Mark the wrong word with a circle.把错字圈起来。

20 pay   

v.付钱；n.付钱；薪金

参考例句：

• How much did you pay?你付了多少钱？
• His pay is below the average.他的工资低于一般水平。

21 attention   

n.注意，注意力，关心，关注

参考例句：

• I hope you will give attention to this problem.希望你对此给予关注。
• Pay attention to your spelling.请注意拼写。

22 discovered   

v.发现( discover的过去式和过去分词 )；碰见；撞见；了解到

参考例句：

• Marine life was discovered at depths previously thought to be azoic. 在先前被认为没有任何生命迹象的海洋深处发现了海洋生物。
• They were discovered together in a compromising situation . 他们被人发现在一起，场面有伤风化。

23 being   

n.存在；生存；生命存在，生命，人， 本质；art.在，有，是

参考例句：

• Can you explain to me the purpose of being?你能对我解释一下存在的目的吗？
• What is the purpose of our being?我们生存的目的是什么？

24 suddenly   

adv.突然，忽然

参考例句：

• The weather changed suddenly.天气陡变。
• He suddenly cried out at the top of his voice.他声嘶力竭地大叫。

25 got   

v.(get的过去式)得到，猜到，明白

参考例句：

• I just got some bad news.我刚得到一些坏消息。
• I have got far too much work to do.我要做的事太多了。

26 fairly   

adv.公正地，正当地；相当；完全，简直

参考例句：

• I think I was quite fairly treated by the police.我认为警察对我非常公正。
• It fairly destroyed the machine.它将那部机器完全毁了。

27 clear   

vt.清除，扫清；adj.清晰的，明白的；晴朗的；清澈的，明亮的；畅通的，无阻的

参考例句：

• Clear the snow from the road.清除马路上的积雪。
• Is that clear to everyone?大家都明白了么？

28 myself   

pron.我自己

参考例句：

• Should I do it myself?我应该自己做吗？
• I woke up to find myself in the hospital.我醒来发现自己在医院里。

29 brought   

vbl.bring的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He brought a new book with him.他带来一本新书。
• I brought you your shirt.我带来了你的衬衣。

30 anyone   

pron.(=everybody)任何人

参考例句：

• Anyone who wants to can join.愿意的都可以参加。
• Have you got anyone to speak for you?你找到人代表你们发言了吗？

31 truth   

n.真理；真相，事实，实际情况

参考例句：

• We must find out the truth of the matter.我们必须弄清楚事情的真相。
• You may trust me that I'm speaking the truth.你可以相信我在说实话。

32 yourself   

pron.你自己

参考例句：

• I need you to do it yourself.我要你亲自做。
• Late again,Tom?I hope you can explain yourself.汤姆，又迟到了？我希望你能说明理由。

33 anger   

n.生气，怒，愤怒；vt.使发怒；vi. 发怒

参考例句：

• I won't see him until his anger has cooled down.等他怒气消了，我再去看他。
• His eyes flash with anger.他眼中冒出怒火。

34 duty   

n.职责；责任

参考例句：

• Our duty is helping them.我们的责任就是帮助他们。
• It is a simple duty.它是一个简单的职责。

35 shut   

adj.关闭的，合拢的，围绕的；v.关上，闭起，幽禁；vbl.关上，闭起，幽禁

参考例句：

• It's time to shut up shop and go home.该闭店回家了。
• Shut up.I'm trying to think.闭嘴，我在想问题。

36 advice   

n.忠告，建议，劝告

参考例句：

• After all my advice, he still went his own way.在我苦口婆心地相劝后，他仍然一意孤行。
• You should seek advice from your lawyer on this matter.你应该征求你的律师对这件事的意见。

37 returned   

adj.被送回的，归来的v.返回，回来( return的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；还；归还

参考例句：

• He resigned as Home Secretary and returned to the back benches. 他辞去了内政大臣的职务，回到后座议员席。
• The painting has been returned to its rightful owner . 这幅画已归还给合法所有权人。

38 important   

adj.重要的；重大的；严重的

参考例句：

• It's important to find out what he is doing.弄清他在干什么是重要的。
• This is a very important problem.这个问题很重要。

39 life   

n.生活；生命

参考例句：

• The doctor came in time to save his life.医生及时来抢救他的生命。
• At last he knew the meaning of life.终于，他知道了生命的意义。