精美英文欣赏:来自内心的礼物

Gifts from the heart

来自内心的礼物

According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water.

有这样一个传说：一个年轻人在沙漠里漫游时偶然发现了一眼清泉。

The water was so sweet.

泉水清冽甘甜，

He filled his leather canteen so that he could bring some back to a tribal¹ elder who had been his teacher.

于是年轻人用随身的革制水壶盛了一壶，想要带回去送给部落里一位曾做过他老师的老人。

After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deepdrink,smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly² for the sweet water.

四天跋涉后，他终于将水送给了老人。老人满满饮了一口，露出了使人如沐春风的笑容，他对泉水的甘冽赞不绝口，也毫不吝惜对学生的感谢之词。

The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.

于是年轻人满心欢喜地回村去了。

Later, the teacher let another student taste the water.

后来，老师请另外一位学生尝了尝泉水。

He spat³ it out, saying it was awful.

学生一喝便吐了出来，说难喝极了。

It apparently⁴ had become stale because of the old leather container.

显然，水因为装在老旧的革制水壶里而不新鲜了。

The student challenged his teacher: “Master, the water was foul⁵. Why did you pretend to like it?”

于是学生找到老师，质疑地问道：“老师，水明明难以下咽，你为什么还假装很喜欢？”

The teacher replied, “You only tasted the water.

老师说：“你尝到的仅仅是泉水，

I tasted the gift.

而我品到的则是馈赠。

The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter.”

泉水不过是满盛着善举的容器罢了，没有什么比善举更能沁人心脾了。”

I think we understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children.

我想在我们收到孩子们充满爱心的、纯洁的礼物时可以很好地理解这个道理。

Whether it’s a ceramic⁶ tray or a macaroni bracelet,the natural and proper response is appreciation⁷ and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.

不管那礼物是用陶瓷制的盘子还是用通心粉做的手镯，最自然和最合适的回应都是欣赏和表达谢意，因为我们喜欢这礼物所包含的心意。

Gratitude⁸ doesn’t always come naturally.

感恩之心并不是与生俱来的。

Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied⁹ in it.

不幸的是，多数孩子和许多成人仅仅在乎所得的价值而不是礼物所承载的深情。

We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude.

我们应该时刻提醒自己，也要教育我们的子女，感激之情有多么美丽与纯洁，以及如何表达感恩的心情。

After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.

不管怎样，发自内心的馈赠才是盛满了真心的礼物。

1 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

2 lavishly   

adv.慷慨地，大方地

参考例句：

• His house was lavishly adorned.他的屋子装饰得很华丽。
• The book is lavishly illustrated in full colour.这本书里有大量全彩插图。

3 spat   

n.口角，掌击；v.发出呼噜呼噜声

参考例句：

• Her parents always have spats.她的父母经常有些小的口角。
• There is only a spat between the brother and sister.那只是兄妹间的小吵小闹。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

6 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

7 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

8 gratitude   

adj.感激，感谢

参考例句：

• I have expressed the depth of my gratitude to him.我向他表示了深切的谢意。
• She could not help her tears of gratitude rolling down her face.她感激的泪珠禁不住沿着面颊流了下来。

9 embodied   

v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含

参考例句：

• a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
• The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》