精美英文欣赏:要紧的事

What will matter

要紧的事

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end.

不管有没有准备好，总有一天一切将走到终点。

There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days.

不再有日出，不再有分钟，不再有小时，也不再有日子。

All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.

所有你积攒的东西，不管是你所珍藏的的还是已遗忘的，都将归属于他人。

Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance¹.

你的财产，荣誉和一时的权力终将枯竭，最后无关紧要。

It will not matter what you owned or what you were owed.

你拥有的和你亏欠的都将毫无意义。

Your grudges², resentments³, frustrations⁴ and jealousies⁵ will finally disappear.

你的怨怼，愤恨，沮丧和嫉妒最终都会消失。

So will your hopes, ambitions, plans and to do lists expire too.

你的希望，抱负，计划和安排同样会终止。

The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

你曾那么重视的输赢也将褪去光彩。

It won't matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived on at the end.

你从何而来，临终前要往何处去都已不再重要。

It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant.

你是否美丽，是否聪慧也都无所谓。

Even your gender⁶ and skin color will be irrelevant⁷.

甚至你的性别，肤色，最后都无关紧要。

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

那么到底什么才重要？你一生的价值将如何判定？

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built, not what you got but what you gave.

重要的是你创造了什么而非买到了什么，不是你拥有了什么，而是你付出了什么。

What will matter is not your success but your significance.

重要的是你的存在意义而非你的成功。

What will matter is not what you learned but what you taught.

重要的是你教授的东西而非你学会的东西。

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion⁸, courage, or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate⁹ your example.

重要的是你正直、怜悯、勇敢、奉献的举动丰富了他人的生活，令人以你为榜样，为鞭策。

What will matter is not your competence¹⁰ but your character.

重要的是你的性格而非你的竞争力。

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting¹¹ loss when you're gone.

重要的不是你认识多少人，而是你离开时会有多少人深感痛苦。

What will matter is not your memories but the memories that live in those who love you.

重要的不是你自己的记忆，而是那些深爱着你的人的记忆。

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

重要的是你会被铭记多久，是出于何种原因又是被何种人所铭记的。

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident. It's not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

过有意义的生活不是偶然而至的，它不由环境决定，只取决于你的选择。

Choose to live a life that matters.

选择过一种有意义的生活。

1 irrelevance   

n.无关紧要；不相关；不相关的事物

参考例句：

• the irrelevance of the curriculum to children's daily life 课程与孩子们日常生活的脱节
• A President who identifies leadership with public opinion polls dooms himself to irrelevance. 一位总统如果把他的领导和民意测验投票结果等同起来，那么他注定将成为一个可有可无的人物。 来自辞典例句

2 grudges   

不满，怨恨，妒忌( grudge的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He never grudges money. 他从不吝惜金钱。
• They bear grudges against each other. 他俩有过节儿。

3 resentments   

（因受虐待而）愤恨，不满，怨恨( resentment的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He could never transcend his resentments and his complexes. 他从来不能把他的怨恨和感情上的症结置之度外。
• These local resentments burst into open revolt. 地方性反感变成公开暴动。

4 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

5 jealousies   

n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡

参考例句：

• They were divided by mutual suspicion and jealousies. 他们因为相互猜疑嫉妒而不和。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• I am tired of all these jealousies and quarrels. 我厌恶这些妒忌和吵架的语言。 来自辞典例句

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

8 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

9 emulate   

v.努力赶上或超越，与…竞争；效仿

参考例句：

• You must work hard to emulate your sister.你必须努力工作，赶上你姐姐。
• You must look at the film and try to emulate his behavior.你们必须观看这部电影，并尽力模仿他的动作。

10 competence   

n.能力，胜任，称职

参考例句：

• This mess is a poor reflection on his competence.这种混乱情况说明他难当此任。
• These are matters within the competence of the court.这些是法院权限以内的事。

11 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。