双语有声阅读：人生如诗

 I think that,from a biological standpoint,human life almost reads like a poem.It has its own rhythm and beat,its internal cycles of growth and decay.It begins with innocent childhood,followed by awkward adolescence¹ trying awkwardly to adapt itself to mature society,with its young passions and follies², its ideals and ambitions;then it reaches a manhood of intenseactivities, profiting from experience and learning more about society and human nature; at middle age, there is a slight easing of tension,a mellowing³ of character like the ripening⁴ of fruit or the mellowing of good wine,and the gradual acquiring of a more tolerant, more cynical⁵ and at the same time a kindlier view of life;then in the sunset of our life, the endocrine glands⁶ decrease their activity,and if we have a true philosophy of old age and have ordered our life pattern according to it,it is for us the age of peace and security and leisure and contentment;finally, life flickers⁷ out and one goes into eternal sleep, never to wake up again.One should be able to sense the beauty of thisrhythm of life, to appreciate, as we do in grand symphonies, its main theme,its strains of conflict and the final resolution.

 

The movements of these cycles are very much the same in a normal life, but the music must be provided by the individual himself.In some souls, the discordant⁸ note becomes harsher and harsher and finally overwhelms or submerges the main melody.Sometimes the discordant note gains so much power that the music can no longer go on, and the individual shoots himself with a pistol or jumps into a river.But that is because his original leitmotif has been hopelessly over shadowed through the lack of a good self education. Otherwise the normal human life runs to its normal end in a kind of dignified⁹ movement and procession.

 

No one can say that a life with childhood, manhood and old age is not a beautiful arrangement; the day hasits morning, noon and sunset, and the year has its seasons, and it is good that it is so. There is no goodor bad in life, except what is good according to its own season.And if we take this biological view of life and try to live according to the seasons, no one but a conceited¹⁰ fool or an impossible idealist can denythat human life can be lived like a poem. 

 

我想，从生物学的观点来说，人生品味起来就像一首诗。它有其自身的韵律和节拍,有其生老病死的内在循环过程。它以天真烂漫的童年为序曲；接着便是青涩的青舂期，带着青年人的热情和愚蠢、理想和抱负，羞涩、惽懂地迈向成人的世界；然后便进入一个活力充沛的成年时期，这个时期人们从阅历中获益，对社会及人性也有了更多了解;到中年之时，压力才稍为减轻，人的性格就像熟透的水果或醇厚的美酒一般，更为圆熟，这时候，对人生的态度也逐渐变得更宽容、更随性、更仁慈。此后，便到了我们的迟暮之年，内分泌腺的活动逐渐趋缓。如果我们对年老持一种真正的达观态度，并以此来安排我们的生活方式,那么，这个时期对我们来说，就是安宁、稳定、闲逸和满足的时期；最终,生命的火光摇曳不定，之后人将永远地长眠，不再醒来。人应该能够体会这种人生之韵的美，应该能够像欣赏盛大的交响乐那样，去欣赏人生的主旋律，欣赏它的冲突片断和最后的尾声。

 

这些循环过程的运动在每个常人的生命中并无二至，但是生命的乐曲须由我们每个人自己来谱写。在有些人的灵魂之中，不和谐的音符变得愈加刺耳，到最后完全盖过或是湮没了生命的主旋律。有时候，这种不和谐的音符会如此强大以至于生命的乐曲不能继续演奏，而使人饮弹自尽或者投河而亡。但男陽由于缺乏良好的自我修养，人最初的主旋律就已投上了无望的阴影。否则，一个正常人的生活会以一种尊贵的方式演进而最后得以正常结束。

 

没有人能够说，由童年、成年和老年组成的人生不是一种完美的安排; 就像一天有早晨、中午和晚上，一年有四季，如此存在就是美好的。人生并没有好坏之分，只要符合我们所处的阶段， 生活就都是人生的大好时光。而如果我们采纳这种看待人生的生物学观点，并且，尽量依照不同的阶段来生活，那么，除了狂妄自大的蠢人或不可理喻的理想主义者之外，没有人能够否认：人生可以活得像一首诗。

1 adolescence   

n.青春期，青少年

参考例句：

• Adolescence is the process of going from childhood to maturity.青春期是从少年到成年的过渡期。
• The film is about the trials and tribulations of adolescence.这部电影讲述了青春期的麻烦和苦恼。

2 follies   

罪恶，时事讽刺剧； 愚蠢，蠢笨，愚蠢的行为、思想或做法( folly的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He has given up youthful follies. 他不再做年轻人的荒唐事了。
• The writings of Swift mocked the follies of his age. 斯威夫特的作品嘲弄了他那个时代的愚人。

3 mellowing   

软化，醇化

参考例句：

• Sticking small needles into the hammer's felt creates mellowing. 在琴槌的毛毡上粘上小针以使音色圆润。

4 ripening   

v.成熟，使熟( ripen的现在分词 )；熟化；熟成

参考例句：

• The corn is blossoming [ripening]. 玉米正在开花[成熟]。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• When the summer crop is ripening, the autumn crop has to be sowed. 夏季作物成熟时，就得播种秋季作物。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

6 glands   

n.腺( gland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a snake's poison glands 蛇的毒腺
• the sebaceous glands in the skin 皮脂腺

7 flickers   

电影制片业； （通常指灯光）闪烁，摇曳( flicker的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The fire flickers low. 炉火颤动欲灭。
• A strange idea flickers in my mind. 一种奇怪的思想又在我脑中燃烧了。

8 discordant   

adj.不调和的

参考例句：

• Leonato thought they would make a discordant pair.里奥那托认为他们不适宜作夫妻。
• For when we are deeply mournful discordant above all others is the voice of mirth.因为当我们极度悲伤的时候，欢乐的声音会比其他一切声音都更显得不谐调。

9 dignified   

a.可敬的，高贵的

参考例句：

• Throughout his trial he maintained a dignified silence. 在整个审讯过程中，他始终沉默以保持尊严。
• He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend. 他总是在女友面前摆出这种庄严的姿态。

10 conceited   

adj.自负的，骄傲自满的

参考例句：

• He could not bear that they should be so conceited.他们这样自高自大他受不了。
• I'm not as conceited as so many people seem to think.我不像很多人认为的那么自负。