精美英文欣赏:生活的两条真理

The art of living is to know when to hold fast and when to let go. For life is a paradox¹: it enjoins² us to cling to its many gifts even while it ordains³ their eventual⁴ relinquishment⁵. The rabbis of old put it this way: “A man comes to this world with his fist clenched⁶, but when he dies, his hand is open.”

Surely we ought to hold fast to life, for it is wondrous⁷, and full of a beauty that breaks through every pore of God’s own earth. We know that this is so, but all too often we recognize this truth only in our backward glance when we remember what was and then suddenly realize that it is no more.

We remember a beauty that faded, a love that waned⁸. But we remember with far greater pain that we did not see that beauty when it flowered, that we failed to respond with love when it was tendered.

A recent experience re-taught me this truth. I was hospitalized following a severe heart attack and had been in intensive care for several days. It was not a pleasant place.

One morning, I had to have some additional tests. The required machines were located in a building at the opposite end of the hospital, so I had to be wheeled across the courtyard on a gurney.

As we emerged from our unit, the sunlight hit me. That’s all there was to my experience. Just the light of the sun. and yet how beautiful it was — how warming, how sparkling, how brilliant!

I looked to see whether anyone else relished⁹ the sun’s golden glow, but everyone was hurrying to and fro, most with eyes fixed¹⁰ on the ground. Then I remembered how often I, too, had been indifferent to the grandeur¹¹ of each day, too preoccupied¹² with petty and sometimes even mean concerns to respond to the splendor¹³ of it all.

The insight gleaned¹⁴ from that experience is really as commonplace as was the experience itself: life’s gifts are precious—but we are too heedless of them.

Here then is the first pole of life’s paradoxical demands on us: Never too busy for the wonder and the awe¹⁵ of life. Be reverent¹⁶ before each dawning day. Embrace each hour. Seize each golden minute.

Hold fast to life … but not so fast that you cannot let go. This is the second side of life’s coin, the opposite pole of its paradox: we must accept our losses, and learn how to let go.

生活的两条真理

生活的艺术就是知道何时坚持不放与何时松手放弃。因为生活是一条悖论：它甚至指示我们牢牢抓住许多到头来注定要放弃的东西。古代的犹太学者们这样表达生活：人紧握着拳头来到这个世界上，可是松开手辞世而去。

我们确实应该抓紧生活，因为生活很奇妙，上帝创造的这个世界每个小孔都充满了美。我们知道生活确实如此，可是往往回首往事时才意识到这个道理，并突然醒悟美好的往事已不再。

我们记得褪色了的美，消逝了的爱。可是我们更痛苦地记得当美绽放时我们却没有看到，也没有以爱回报我们得到的爱。

最近的一次经历让我再次明白这个道理。心脏病严重发作后我被送到医院，被精心护理了几天。医院是一个令人心情不愉快的地方。

一天早上，我得做些附加检查，做检查的机器在医院尽头对面的一栋楼里，因此我不得不躺到带轮子的小床上被推着穿过医院庭院。

当我们从我的住院单元出来时，阳光照到了我身上。我的体验就全来自那里。只是阳光。然而它多么美丽——多么温暖，多么生气勃勃，多么灿烂啊！

我看看是否还有其他人也欣赏这金色的阳光，可是每个人都来去匆匆，多数人的目光盯在地面上。于是记起我多么经常，也，漠视了这每天的壮观，也专注在各种琐事上，有时甚至是些卑劣的事情上来回应阳光的壮丽。

对那次经历的洞悉就跟经历本身一样平凡无奇。生活赠予我们的礼物是珍贵的——可是我们对此太不以为意了。

因而这就是生活悖论的第一个极点：不要过于忙碌而忽略了生活的奇妙，不敬畏生活。要虔诚地迎接每个黎明的到来，要抓住每个小时，不浪费珍贵的每一分钟。

抓紧生活……可是不要太紧而不能松手放弃。这是生活硬币的第二面，生活悖论的对立面：必须接受失败，并且学会如何放弃。

1 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

2 enjoins   

v.命令( enjoin的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Accordingly, Council enjoins concerned branch undertook nervous investigation, argumentation works further. 据此，国务院责成有关部门进一步进行了紧张的调查、论证工作。 来自互联网
• Humanity enjoins us to teach them agriculture and the domestic arts. 基于人道精神我们乃教导他们农业与持家之道。 来自互联网

3 ordains   

v.任命（某人）为牧师( ordain的第三人称单数 )；授予（某人）圣职；（上帝、法律等）命令；判定

参考例句：

• The festival ordains the Jains to observe the ten universal supreme virtues in daily practical life. 盛典命令耆那教徒日常遵守十大美德。 来自互联网

4 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

5 relinquishment   

n.放弃；撤回；停止

参考例句：

• One kind of love is called relinquishment. 有一种爱叫做放手。
• Our curriculum trains for the relinquishment of judgment as the necessary condition of salvation. 我们的课程则训练我们把放弃判断作为得救的必需条件。

6 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

8 waned   

v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》
• The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 relished   

v.欣赏( relish的过去式和过去分词 )；从…获得乐趣；渴望

参考例句：

• The chaplain relished the privacy and isolation of his verdant surroundings. 牧师十分欣赏他那苍翠的环境所具有的幽雅恬静，与世隔绝的气氛。 来自辞典例句
• Dalleson relished the first portion of the work before him. 达尔生对眼前这工作的前半部分满有兴趣。 来自辞典例句

10 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

11 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

12 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

14 gleaned   

v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗

参考例句：

• These figures have been gleaned from a number of studies. 这些数据是通过多次研究收集得来的。
• A valuable lesson may be gleaned from it by those who have eyes to see. 明眼人可从中记取宝贵的教训。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

16 reverent   

adj.恭敬的，虔诚的

参考例句：

• He gave reverent attention to the teacher.他恭敬地听老师讲课。
• She said the word artist with a gentle,understanding,reverent smile.她说作家一词时面带高雅，理解和虔诚的微笑。