双语有声阅读：行为决定命运

Unit11 You Are What You Do

 

第十一课 行为决定命运

If the past has taught us anything, it is that every cause brings effect, every action has a consequence.

过去的日子若曾经教过我们些什么的话，那便是有因必有果，每一个行为都有一种结果。

This thought, in my opinion, is the moral foundation of the universe;

依我之见，这种想法是宇宙的道德基础:

it applies equally in this world and the next.

它不仅适用于今生也适用于来世。

We Chinese have a saying:"If a man plants melons, he will reap melons; if he sows beans, he will reap beans."

我们中国人有句谚语说:“种瓜得瓜，种豆得豆。”

And this is true of every man's life: good begets¹ good，and evil leads to evil.

而这就是每个人生活的写照:善有善报，恶有恶报。

True enough, the sun shines on the saint and sinner alike, and too often it seems that the wicked wax and prosper².

说实在，圣人与罪人皆会受到阳光的泽被，而且常常似乎是恶者大行其道。

But we can say with certitude that, with the individual as with the nation, the flourishing of the wicked is an illusion,

但是我们可以确信地说，不管是对个人或是对国家而言，恶人猖獗只是一种幻象，

for, unceasingly，life keeps books on us all.

因为生命无时无刻不将我们的所作所为像账本一样一笔一笔记录下来。

In the end, we are all the sum total of our actions.

到最后，我们就是我们的行为总合。

Character cannot be counterfeited³, nor can it be put on and cast off as if it were a garment to meet the whim⁴ of the moment.

品德是无法伪装的，也无法像衣服一样随兴地穿上或脱下来丢在一边。

Like the markings on wood which are ingrained in the very heart of the tree, character requires time and nurture⁵ for growth and development.

就像木头的纹路发自于树木的中心深处，品德的成长与发育也需要时间和滋养。

Thus also, day by day, we write our own destiny，for inexorably we become what we do.

也因此，我们日复一日地写下我们自己的命运，因为我们的所为将不留情面地决定我们的命运。

This，I believe，is the supreme⁶ logic⁷ and the law of life.

我相信这就是最高的逻辑及人生的法则。

1 begets   

v.为…之生父( beget的第三人称单数 )；产生，引起

参考例句：

• It begets at least seven standard type offspring from such matings. 这类交配中生下至少七个标准型后代。 来自辞典例句
• Violence begets violence until the innocent perish with the guilty. 暴力招致暴力直到这因罪行而无缘无故的毁灭。 来自电影对白

2 prosper   

v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣

参考例句：

• With her at the wheel,the company began to prosper.有了她当主管，公司开始兴旺起来。
• It is my earnest wish that this company will continue to prosper.我真诚希望这家公司会继续兴旺发达。

3 counterfeited   

v.仿制，造假( counterfeit的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• How did you spot those fifties were counterfeited? 你怎样察觉出那些50元面值的纸币是伪造的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The old miser's widow counterfeited a grief she did not feel. 这个老守财奴的寡妇伪装出她并没有的哀伤。 来自辞典例句

4 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

5 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 logic   

n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性

参考例句：

• What sort of logic is that?这是什么逻辑？
• I don't follow the logic of your argument.我不明白你的论点逻辑性何在。