英语专业晨读美文-励志篇 13 Today I Begin a New Lif

[00:01.08]Today I Begin a New Life
[00:03.82]Today I shed my old skin which hath, too long,
[00:09.39]suffered the bruises¹ of failure and the wounds of mediocrity.
[00:12.89]Today I am born anew and my birthplace
[00:16.50] is a vineyard where there is fruit for all.
[00:19.56]Today I will pluck grapes of wisdom from the tallest
[00:23.45] and fullest vines in the vineyard,
[00:25.53]for these were planted by the wisest of my profession who have come before me,
[00:30.67]generation upon generation.
[00:33.30]Today I will savor² the taste of grapes from these vines and verily
[00:38.22] I will swallow the seed of success buried in each
[00:41.64]and new life will sprout³ within me.
[00:44.37]The career I have chosen is laden⁴ with opportunity
[00:48.09] yet it is fraught⁵ with heartbreak and despair and the bodies of those
[00:52.58]who have failed, were they piled one atop another,
[00:55.42]would cast a shadow down upon all the pyramids of the earth.
[00:59.25]Yet I will not fail, as the others,
[01:01.87] for in my hands I now hold the charts
[01:04.93]which will guide through perilous⁶ waters to shores
[01:07.67]which only yesterday seemed but a dream.
[01:10.95]As a child I was slave to my impulses; now I am slave to my habits,
[01:16.64]as are all grown men. I will form good habits and become their slave.
[01:22.10]And how will I accomplish this difficult feat⁷? Through these scrolls⁹,
[01:26.70]it will be done, for each scroll⁸ contains a principle
[01:30.09]which will drive a bad habit from my life and replace it with one
[01:34.68]which will bring me closer to success.
[01:36.87]And I make a solemn oath to myself that nothing will retard¹⁰ my new life's growth.
[01:43.11] I will lose not a day from these readings
[01:46.39]for that day cannot be retrieved¹¹ nor can I substitute another for it.
[01:51.53] I must not, I will not, break this habit of daily reading from these scrolls and,
[01:57.22] in truth, the few moments spent each day on this new habit
[02:01.48]are but a small price to pay for the happiness and success that will be mine.
[02:06.84]Today my old skin has become as dust.
[02:10.55] I will walk tall among men and they will know me not,
[02:14.17]for today I am a new man, with a new life.

1 bruises   

n.瘀伤，伤痕，擦伤( bruise的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was covered with bruises after falling off his bicycle. 他从自行车上摔了下来，摔得浑身伤痕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The pear had bruises of dark spots. 这个梨子有碰伤的黑斑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 savor   

vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味

参考例句：

• The soup has a savor of onion.这汤有洋葱味。
• His humorous remarks added a savor to our conversation.他幽默的话语给谈话增添了风趣。

3 sprout   

n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条

参考例句：

• When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角？
• It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。

4 laden   

adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的

参考例句：

• He is laden with heavy responsibility.他肩负重任。
• Dragging the fully laden boat across the sand dunes was no mean feat.将满载货物的船拖过沙丘是一件了不起的事。

5 fraught   

adj.充满…的，伴有(危险等)的；忧虑的

参考例句：

• The coming months will be fraught with fateful decisions.未来数月将充满重大的决定。
• There's no need to look so fraught!用不着那么愁眉苦脸的！

6 perilous   

adj.危险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• The journey through the jungle was perilous.穿过丛林的旅行充满了危险。
• We have been carried in safety through a perilous crisis.历经一连串危机，我们如今已安然无恙。

7 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

8 scroll   

n.卷轴，纸卷；(石刻上的)漩涡

参考例句：

• As I opened the scroll,a panorama of the Yellow River unfolded.我打开卷轴时，黄河的景象展现在眼前。
• He was presented with a scroll commemorating his achievements.他被授予一幅卷轴，以表彰其所做出的成就。

9 scrolls   

n.（常用于录写正式文件的）纸卷( scroll的名词复数 )；卷轴；涡卷形（装饰）；卷形花纹v.（电脑屏幕上）从上到下移动（资料等），卷页( scroll的第三人称单数 )；（似卷轴般）卷起；（像展开卷轴般地）将文字显示于屏幕

参考例句：

• Either turn it off or only pick up selected stuff like wands, rings and scrolls. 把他关掉然后只捡你需要的物品，像是魔杖(wand)，戒指(rings)和滚动条(scrolls)。 来自互联网
• Ancient scrolls were found in caves by the Dead Sea. 死海旁边的山洞里发现了古代的卷轴。 来自辞典例句

10 retard   

n.阻止，延迟；vt.妨碍，延迟，使减速

参考例句：

• Lack of sunlight will retard the growth of most plants.缺乏阳光会妨碍大多数植物的生长。
• Continuing violence will retard negotiations over the country's future.持续不断的暴力活动会阻碍关系到国家未来的谈判的进行。

11 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句