高二下学期美文.docx

1、高二下学期美文1珍惜每一天(Everyday is A Gift)My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sisters bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. This, he said, is not a slip. This is lingerie. He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite, silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace

2、. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion. He took the slip from me and put it on the bed, with t

3、he other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me, Dont ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you re alive is a special occasion. I remembered those words through the funeral and the

4、 days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the midwestern town where my sisters family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadnt seen or heard or done. I th

5、ought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special. Im still thinking about his words, and theyve changed the weeds in the garden. Im spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of exper

6、ience to savour, not endure. Im trying to recognize these moment now and cherish them. Im not saving anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special. Event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like

7、it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28. 49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. Im not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party going friends. Someday and one of these days a

8、re losing their grip on my vocabulary. If its worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I m not sure what my sister wouldve done had she know that she wouldnt be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close

9、friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize, and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. Im guessing. Ill never know. Its those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours wer

10、e limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with someday. Angry because I hadnt written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didnt tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them. Im trying

11、 very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that every day, every minute, every breath truly, is. a gift from God.译文：妹夫打开了妹妹衣柜最底层抽屉，拿出一个用纸包装的包裹。“这个，”他说，“不是件普通内衣，而是一件豪华内衣。”他把薄纸撕开，递给了我那件内衣。

12、它的确精致无比，丝质、全手工缝制，周围还有一圈网状蕾丝花边。价签都尚未拆去，上面的数字高得惊人。“这是我们第一次去纽约时简买的，至少已是八、九年前的事了。她从没有穿过它。她想等一个特殊的日子再穿它。”唉，我想现在便是那特殊的日子了。妹夫从我手中拿过内衣放在床上，和其他我们要带给殡仪服务人员的衣服放在一起。他的手在那柔软织物上徘徊了一会儿，随即砰然关上抽屉，转身对我说：“永远不要把任何东西留给什么特殊日子。你活着的每一天就是一个特殊的日子。”这两句话久久在我耳边回响着，伴我度过了葬礼和帮妹夫、侄女处理妹妹意外死亡后的伤心后事的那几天。我从位处中西部的妹妹家返回加州时，在飞机上还是在想这两句话。我

13、想到妹妹未曾有机会看到、听到或去做的事。我想到她淡然做过，但却没有意识到其特殊性的事。我至今还在想着妹夫说的话，正是它们改变了我的心境。我花了更多的时间与家人朋友在一起，而少花些时间在那些工作会议上。无论何时，生活应当是一种“品味”而非一种“忍受”。我在学习欣赏每一刻，并珍惜每一刻。我不再去“珍藏”任何东西；只要有一点好事，我们就不吝啬使用精美的瓷器和水晶制品，比如说当体重减了一磅时，当厨房水槽堵塞通了时，当第一朵山茶花绽放时如果我想穿，我就穿上我名牌衣服去市场购物。我的理论是：如果我看上去还富足的话，我可以毫不心疼地为一小袋杂货付出28.49美元。我不再为特殊的派对而珍藏我上好的香水；五金店

14、售货员和银行出纳员们的嗅觉，不会比派对上朋友们来得差。“有朝一日”和“终有一天”这样的词正从我的常用词汇中淡出。如果值得去看、去听或去做，我当即就要去看、去听或去做。人们总是理所当然的以为自己必然有明天，不知假如妹妹知道她将没有明日，她会做些什么。我想她会给家人和几位密友打电话。她可能还会给几位昔日朋友打电话主动道歉，摒弃前嫌。我想她可能会外出吃顿她喜欢的中餐。我只是猜想而已。我永远也不会知道。假如我知道我的时间不多了，那些没来得及做的小事会让我恼火。恼火是因为我一拖再拖没能去看看“有朝一日”会去看的好友们。恼火是因为我还没有写出我“终有一天”要写的信。恼火与内疚是因为我没能更经常地告诉我的丈

15、夫和女儿：我是多么真切地爱他们。 我正努力不再拖延、保留或珍藏那些能给我们生活带来欢笑和光彩的东西。每天清晨当我睁开双眼，我便告诉自己每一天、每一分钟、每一瞬间都真是上帝赐予的礼物。2行胜于言(Louder than Anything You Can Say)I teach economics at UNLV three times per week. Last Monday, at the beginning of class, I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that

16、 his weekend had not been so good. He had his wisdom teeth removed. The young man then proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful. His question reminded me of something Id read somewhere before: Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that

17、day, I said. I choose to be cheerful. Let me give you an example, I continued, addressing all sixty students in the class. In addition to teaching here at UNLV, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, 17 miles down the freeway from where I live. One day a few weeks ago I drove those

18、17 miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldnt turn over. So I put my flashers on, grabbed my books, and marched down the ro

19、ad to the college. As soon as I got there I called AAA and arranged for a tow truck to meet me at my car after class. The secretary in the Provosts office asked me what has happened. This is my lucky day, I replied, smiling. Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day? She was puzzled. What do

20、you mean? I live 17 miles from here. I replied. My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didnt. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place: off the freeway, within walking distance of here. Im still able to teach my class, and Ive been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet m

21、e after class. If my car was meant to break down today, it couldnt have been arranged in a more convenient fashion. The secretarys eyes opened wide, and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class. So ended my story. I scanned the sixty faces in my economics class at UNLV. Despite the early

22、hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them. Or maybe it wasnt the story at all. In fact, it had all started with a students observation that I was cheerful. Deepak Chopra has quoted an Indian wise man as saying, Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say. I s

23、uppose it must be so.译文：我在内华达大学拉斯维加斯分校教经济学，每周上三次课。上周一，在刚开始上课的时候，我兴致勃勃地问学生们周末过得怎么样。一个男生说，他的周末不太愉快，因为他的智齿被拔掉了，结果让他痛了一整天。然后，他又问我为何我总能保持那么快乐的心情。他的问题使我想起了一句不知出处的话：“每天早上，当你起床的时候，你可以选择如何面对一天的生活”，我说：“我选择快乐。”“我给你们举个例子吧，”我对着全班六十个学生继续说道，“除了在这儿上课，我还在一所社区大学任教，那儿离我家17英里。几周前的一天，我驾车前往那所学校，驶离高速公路后，我转入了校园区。在只差400多米就到

24、学校的时候，我的汽车抛锚了。我努力重新发动引擎，但就是不行。我只好把指示灯打亮，然后抓起课本直奔学校。”我一到学校就马上打电话给汽车协会，让他们在我下课后开辆拖车过来。院长办公室的秘书问我发生了什么事。“今天我真走运。”我笑着答道。 “你的车坏了，你还说今天走运？”她一脸的困惑。“你什么意思啊？”我回答到：“我住在离这儿17英里的地方。其实我的车有可能在高速公路上的什么地方就坏掉了的，但庆幸的是，没有。相反，汽车是在离开了高速公路后才抛锚，而且距离学校很近。我还赶得及上课，还能够安排拖车在课后来处理。如果我的汽车是注定了要在今天抛锚的，那在这个位置抛锚已经是非常幸运了。”“那个秘书听得目瞪口呆

25、地，然后她笑了。我也冲她笑了一下，便上课去了。”这就是我的故事。 我扫视了一下全班六十张脸。虽然是在大清早，但没有一个学生在打盹儿。不知道为什么，他们好像被我的故事触动了。也许触动他们的并不是故事本身。其实，从一开始有学生发现我兴致高昂的时候，他们便已经被我的快乐感染了。 著名的印度作家乔布拉，曾经引述过一位印度智者的名言：“你为人行事的本身，比你的语言更具说服力。”我认为这的确是真理。3老爸(Dad) The first memory I have of him of anything, really is his strength. It was in the late afternoon

26、 in a house under construction near ours. The unfinished wood floor had large, terrifying holes whose yawning张大嘴 darkness I knew led to nowhere good. His powerful hands, then age 33, wrapped all the way around my tiny arms, then age 4, and easily swung摇摆 me up tohis shoulders to command all I survey

27、ed. The relationship between a son and his father changes over time. It may grow and flourish繁茂 in mutual maturity成熟. It may sour in resented dependence or independence. With many children living in single-parent homes today, it may not even exist. But to a little boy right after World War II ,a fat

28、her seemed a god with strange strengths and uncanny离奇的 powers enabling him to do and know things that no mortal could do or know. Amazing things, like putting a bicycle chain back on, just like that. Or building a hamster仓鼠 cage.Or guiding a jigsaw拼板玩具 so it forms the letter F;I learned the alphabet

29、字母表 that way in those pre-television days. There were, of course, rules to learn. First came the handshake. None of those fishy冷冰冰的 little finger grips, but a good firm squeeze accompanied by an equally strong gaze into the others eyes. “ The first thing anyone knows about you is your handshake,” he

30、 would say. And wed practice it each night on his return from work, the serious toddler in the battered用旧了的 Cleveland Indians cap running up to the giant father to shake hands again and again until it was firm enough. As time passed, there were other rules to learn. “Always do your best.” “Do it now

31、.” “Never lie!” And most importantly, “You can do whatever you have to do.” By my teens, he wasnt telling me what to do anymore, which was scary令人害怕的 and heady使人兴奋的 at the same time. He provided perspective, not telling me what was around the great corner of life but letting me know there was a lot

32、more than just today and the next, which I hadnt thought of. One day, I realize now, there was a change. I wasnt trying to please him so much as I was trying to impress him. I never asked him to come to my football games. He had a high-pressure career, and it meant driving through most of Friday night. But for all the big games, when I looked over at the sideline, there was that familiar fedora. And by God, did the opposing team captain ever get a firm handshake a