原版英文故事与诗歌：The Seven Ages of Man

 　　The Seven Ages of Man

 

　　(from As You Like It, II, vii)

 

　　by William Shakespeare

 

　　All the world's a stage,

 

　　And all the men and women merely players;

 

　　They have their exits and their entrances;

 

　　And one man in his time plays many parts,

 

　　His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

 

　　Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms;

 

　　Then the whining² school-boy, with his satchel³

 

　　And shining morning face, creeping like snail⁴

 

　　Unwillingly⁵ to school. And then the lover,

 

　　Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad⁶

 

　　Made to his mistress' eyebrow⁷. Then a soldier,

 

　　Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,

 

　　Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

 

　　Seeking the bubble reputation

 

　　Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,

 

　　In fair round belly⁸ with good capon lin'd,

 

　　With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

 

　　Full of wise saws and modern instances;

 

　　And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

 

　　Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,

 

　　With spectacles on nose and pouch⁹ on side;

 

　　His youthful hose, well sav'd, a world too wide

 

　　For his shrunk shank; and his big manly¹⁰ voice,

 

　　Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

 

　　And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

 

　　That ends this strange eventful history,

 

　　Is second childishness and mere¹ oblivion;

 

　　Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

1 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

2 whining   

n. 抱怨，牢骚 v. 哭诉，发牢骚

参考例句：

• That's the way with you whining, puny, pitiful players. 你们这种又爱哭、又软弱、又可怜的赌棍就是这样。
• The dog sat outside the door whining (to be let in). 那条狗坐在门外狺狺叫着（要进来）。

3 satchel   

n.(皮或帆布的)书包

参考例句：

• The school boy opened the door and flung his satchel in.那个男学生打开门，把他的书包甩了进去。
• She opened her satchel and took out her father's gloves.打开书箱，取出了她父亲的手套来。

4 snail   

n.蜗牛

参考例句：

• Snail is a small plant-eating creature with a soft body.蜗牛是一种软体草食动物。
• Time moved at a snail's pace before the holidays.放假前的时间过得很慢。

5 unwillingly   

adv.不情愿地

参考例句：

• He submitted unwillingly to his mother. 他不情愿地屈服于他母亲。
• Even when I call, he receives unwillingly. 即使我登门拜访，他也是很不情愿地接待我。

6 ballad   

n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲

参考例句：

• This poem has the distinctive flavour of a ballad.这首诗有民歌风味。
• This is a romantic ballad that is pure corn.这是一首极为伤感的浪漫小曲。

7 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

8 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

9 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

10 manly   

adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地

参考例句：

• The boy walked with a confident manly stride.这男孩以自信的男人步伐行走。
• He set himself manly tasks and expected others to follow his example.他给自己定下了男子汉的任务，并希望别人效之。