赖大师的精选---我的挚爱(8)

第八弹  书香怡神

Companionship of books

A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as the company
he keeps; for there is a companionship of books as well as of men; and one
should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men.

A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the same today that
it always was, and it will never change. It is the most patient and cheerful
of companions. It does not turn its back upon us in times of adversity or
distress². It always receives us with the same kindness, amusing and
instructing us in youth, and comforting and consoling us in age.

Men often discover their affinity³ to each other by the love they each have
for a book. The book is a truer and higher bond of union. Men can think,
feel, and sympathize with each other through their favorite author. They
live in him together, and he, in them.

A good book is often the best urn¹ of a life enshrining the best that life
could think out, for the world of a man’s life is, for the most part, but
the world of his thoughts.  Thus the best books are treasuries⁴ of good
words, the golden thoughts, which, remembered and cherished, become
our constant companions and comforters.

Books possess an essence of immortality⁵. They are by far the most lasting⁶
products of human effort. Temples and statues decay, but books survive.
Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as
when they first passed through their authors’ minds ages ago. What was
then said and thought still speaks to us as vividly⁷ as ever from the printed
page.

Books introduce us into the best society; they bring us into the presence
of the greatest minds that have ever lived. We hear what they said and
did; we see them as if they were really alive; we sympathize with them,
grieve with them; their experience becomes ours, and we feel as if we
were in a measure actors with them in the scenes which they describe.

1 urn   

n.（有座脚的）瓮；坟墓；骨灰瓮

参考例句：

• The urn was unearthed entire.这只瓮出土完整无缺。
• She put the big hot coffee urn on the table and plugged it in.她将大咖啡壶放在桌子上,接上电源。

2 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

3 affinity   

n.亲和力，密切关系

参考例句：

• I felt a great affinity with the people of the Highlands.我被苏格兰高地人民深深地吸引。
• It's important that you share an affinity with your husband.和丈夫有共同的爱好是十分重要的。

4 treasuries   

n.（政府的）财政部( treasury的名词复数 )；国库，金库

参考例句：

• Yields on Treasuries, Bunds and gilts can remain at historically low levels. 美国国债、德国国债和英国国债的收益率仍然可以维持在历史低位。 来自互联网
• Treasuries and gold rose in response but the dollar fell sharply. 接着，国债和黄金的价格上涨，而美元价格则猛跌。 来自互联网

5 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

6 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

7 vividly   

adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地

参考例句：

• The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
• The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。