精美英文欣赏:爱的涟漪

Chain of Love

"How do you account for your remarkable¹ accomplishment² in life?" Queen Victoria of England asked Helen Keller. "How do you explain the fact that even though you were both blind and deaf, you were able to accomplish so much?"

Ms. Keller's answer is a tribute to her dedicated³ teacher. "If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown."

According to speaker Zig Ziglar, "Little Annie" Sullivan, as she was called when she was young, was no stranger to hardship. She was almost sightless herself (due to a childhood fever) and was, at one time, diagnosed as hopelessly "insane" by her by caregivers. She was locked in the basement of a mental institution outside of Boston. On occasion, Little Annie would violently attack anyone who came near. Most of the time she generally ignored everyone in her presence.

An elderly nurse believed there was hope, however, and she made it her mission to show love to the child. Every day she visited Little Annie. For the most part, the child did not acknowledge the nurse's presence, but she still continued to visit. The kindly⁴ woman left cookies for her and spoke⁵ words of love and encouragement. She believed Little Annie could recover, if only she were shown love.

Eventually, doctors noticed a change in the girl. Where they once witnessed anger and hostility⁶, they now noted⁷ an emerging gentleness and love. They moved her upstairs where she continued to improve. Then the day finally came when this seemingly "hopeless" child was released.

Anne Sullivan grew into a young woman with a desire to help others as she, herself, was helped by the kindly nurse. It was she who saw the great potential in Helen Keller. She loved her, disciplined her, played with her, pushed her and worked with her until the flickering⁸ candle that was her life became a beacon⁹ of light to the world. Anne Sullivan worked wonders in Helen's life; but it was a loving nurse who first believed in Little Annie and lovingly transformed an uncommunicative child into a compassionate¹⁰ teacher.

"If it had not been for Anne Sullivan, the name of Helen Keller would have remained unknown." But if it had not been for a kind and dedicated nurse, the name of Anne Sullivan would have remained unknown. And so it goes. Just how far back does the chain of redemption extend? And how for forward will it lead?

Those you have sought to reach, whether they be in your family or elsewhere, are part of a chain of love that can extend through the generations. Your influence on their lives, whether or not you see results, is immeasurable. Your legacy¹¹ of dedicated kindness and caring can transform lost and hopeless lives for years to come.

爱的涟漪

英国维多利女王曾问海伦·凯勒：“ 你一生中获得如此卓越成就的原因是什么？你又聋又盲，你是如何取得如此巨大的成就的？”

凯勒女士将这一切归功于她那赋予奉献精神的老师。“如果没有安妮·沙利文, 海伦凯勒的名字也许永远不会为人所知。”

据金克·金克拉说，小安妮——沙利文幼时的名字——可是没少经历苦难。她自己因为儿时发高烧而几乎双目失明，且一度被看护者们诊断为精神失常，无法医治。她被所在波士顿城外一个精神医院的地下室里。有时，小安妮惠狂暴的攻击每一个靠近她的人,但多数时候她则对身边的每一个人不理不睬。

尽管如此，一位上了年纪的护士认为仍有希望。她把爱护这个孩子作为自己的职责，每天都去看小安妮。大多数时候，这孩子都意识不到护士的存在，但她仍旧不断地去看她。这位好心的女士给孩子留下饼干，对她说鼓励和慈爱的话语。她坚信，只要有爱，小安妮就一定能恢复正常。

终于，医生发现了小姑娘身上的变化。以往他们看到的是愤怒和敌意，但现在看到的确是逐渐显现的温顺和爱意。他们把她搬到了楼上，在那里，她的情况继续好转。终于有一天，这个看来无药可救的孩子出院了。

安妮·沙利文长成了一个大姑娘。她热切地渴望去帮助别人，就像她自己被那位好心的护士帮助一样。正是她看到了身上的潜质。她爱护她，教育她，和她一起玩耍，该她鼓励，和她一起工作，直到她生命微弱的烛光变成了照亮世界的一束强光。安妮·沙利文创造了海伦生命的奇迹，但首先是一位好心的护士相信小安妮，并慈爱的绛一个无法交流的孩子变成了一个有爱心的老师。

“如果没有安妮·沙利文，海伦·凯勒的名字也许永远不为人知。”但是如果没有那个好心且赋予奉献精神的护士，安妮·沙利文的名字也会远不为人所知。这样推下去，这条救助的链条会绵延到哪里？它又会向前延伸多远？

那些你所想到的人，不管他们在你的家里或是其他什么地方，都是这条在几代人间延续的爱的链条上的一环。你对他们生命的影响，不管你是否看到结果，都是无法估量的。你所奉献的爱心与关怀将会在未来的岁月中转变那些处于迷失和绝望之中的生命。

1 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

2 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

3 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

4 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 hostility   

n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争

参考例句：

• There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。
• His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 flickering   

adj.闪烁的，摇曳的，一闪一闪的

参考例句：

• The crisp autumn wind is flickering away. 清爽的秋风正在吹拂。
• The lights keep flickering. 灯光忽明忽暗。

9 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

10 compassionate   

adj.有同情心的，表示同情的

参考例句：

• She is a compassionate person.她是一个有同情心的人。
• The compassionate judge gave the young offender a light sentence.慈悲的法官从轻判处了那个年轻罪犯。

11 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。