英语励志美文精华 52

A Shining Day Will Come

by Saul K Padover

A candid¹ statement of faith becomes, for me, a concentrated spiritual autobiography². My fundamental beliefs are the products of three converging³ influences that have been silently at work within my personality: history, America, and Jefferson.

As a student of history, I have been impressed again and again by man’s potentialities for good and evil. I spent my childhood in Vienna. The atmosphere of the dying Austrian Empire made me sensitive to comparative politics and history. Gradually the conviction grew in me that man everywhere, regardless of race or region or climate, is his own worst enemy or best friend. By and large, human beings themselves create their own heavens or hells. They do so because, of all the creatures on Earth, they alone have the intelligence and imagination to change their environment.

My first American home was Detroit. This great middle-western metropolis⁴, the very essence of 20th century American industrialism, stimulated⁵ my imagination. From the inspiring history of America, I have learned what good will, intelligence, and creative application can accomplish. It is one of my beliefs that the opportunities of social and human well being in America are still inexhaustible.

And this brings me to Thomas Jefferson. His influence on my spiritual and intellectual life has been continuous and pervasive⁶. I think I know by now every word he has ever written. I feel inside me the very rhythm of his thought. His life and personality have been, to me, sources of spiritual strength and inspiration. Jefferson never failed me in any crisis.

What I learned from him, in brief, has been an abiding⁷ faith in human potentialities. I would call this the “religion of democratic humanism.” Following Jefferson’s optimistic faith, despite examples of horrors and bloodshed in recent times, I believe that man can and should be kind and just to his fellows; that man can and should strive for constant spiritual and social improvement and to keep the avenues of opportunity always open for himself and his fellow men. To state it negatively, I believe with all my heart that cruelty, injustice⁸, and intolerance are social crimes that should be punished as severely⁹ as physical ones.

It is a cardinal¹⁰ article of faith with me that there is no limit to what men in society can achieve. In this context, I believe that the good, just, and happy life cannot be accomplished¹¹ in any society where power, political or economic, is monopolized¹² in the hands of a single person or single group. I hold, with Jefferson, that only inside a democratic society, even if it is imperfect, can human beings make a successful effort to attain¹³ happiness.

And finally, I believe that all these human goals are attainable¹⁴ by men of all races and creeds¹⁵; and that, if we use our social intelligence and the ample tools of science, a day will come when there is no bloodshed, hatred¹⁶, and diseases, and no slums and no poverty, and no destructive fears of the unknown.

1 candid   

adj.公正的，正直的；坦率的

参考例句：

• I cannot but hope the candid reader will give some allowance for it.我只有希望公正的读者多少包涵一些。
• He is quite candid with his friends.他对朋友相当坦诚。

2 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

3 converging   

adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Plants had gradually evolved along diverging and converging pathways. 植物是沿着趋异和趋同两种途径逐渐演化的。 来自辞典例句
• This very slowly converging series was known to Leibniz in 1674. 这个收敛很慢的级数是莱布尼茨在1674年得到的。 来自辞典例句

4 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

5 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

6 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

7 abiding   

adj.永久的，持久的，不变的

参考例句：

• He had an abiding love of the English countryside.他永远热爱英国的乡村。
• He has a genuine and abiding love of the craft.他对这门手艺有着真挚持久的热爱。

8 injustice   

n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利

参考例句：

• They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
• All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。

9 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

10 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

11 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

12 monopolized   

v.垄断( monopolize的过去式和过去分词 )；独占；专卖；专营

参考例句：

• Men traditionally monopolized jobs in the printing industry. 在传统上，男人包揽了印刷行业中的所有工作。
• The oil combine monopolized the fuel sales of the country. 这家石油联合企业垄断了这个国家的原油销售。 来自互联网

13 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

14 attainable   

a.可达到的，可获得的

参考例句：

• They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
• If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。

15 creeds   

（尤指宗教）信条，教条( creed的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• people of all races, colours and creeds 各种种族、肤色和宗教信仰的人
• Catholics are agnostic to the Protestant creeds. 天主教徒对于新教教义来说，是不可知论者。

16 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。