英语名篇诵读 生命的真正价值

The Real Value of Life

生命的真正价值

A hundred times every day, I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the

labors² of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same

measure as I have received and am still receiving. I am strongly drawn³ to a frugal⁴ life and am

often oppressively aware that I am engrossing⁵ an undue⁶ amount of the labor¹ of my fellow-

men. I regard class distinctions as unjustified and, in the last resort , based on force. I also

believe that a simple and unassuming life is good for everybody, physically⁷ and mentally.

To inquire after the meaning or object of one's own existence or that of all creatures has

always seemed to me absurd from an objective point of view. And yet everybody has certain

ideals which determine the direction of his endeavors and his judgments⁸. In this sense I have never

looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves — this ethical⁹ basis I call the ideal of a

pigsty¹⁰. The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to

face life cheerfully, have been kindness, beauty, and truth. Without the sense of kinship with

men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in

the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed to me empty. The trite¹¹ objects

of human efforts — possessions, outward success, luxury — have always seemed to me

contemptible¹² .

我每天上百次地提醒自己，我的精神和物质生活是以别人（活着的和逝去的）的劳动

为基础的，因而自己必须勤奋努力，以同样的分量来回报已经领受和正在领受的一切。我

强烈地向往着简朴的生活，并且时常自责，因为觉得自己占用了过多同胞的劳动成果。我

认为阶级差别是不公正的，而且最终都是建立在暴力之上的。我还相信，对每个人来说，

简单纯朴的生活有益身心。

从客观上看，探寻个人或芸芸众生生存的意义或目的，我总觉得似乎是荒唐可笑的。

然而，每个人都有某些理想，决定着他做出努力和进行判断的方向。在这种意义上，我从

不把安逸和享受看作生活目的本身——我把这种伦理基础叫做“猪栏”理想。照亮我人生之

路、一次又一次给我新的勇气快乐地面对生活的理想，一直都是真、善、美。没有志同道

合者之间的亲密感情，没有全神贯注于客观世界——那个在艺术和科学的领域永远达不到

的世界，那么在我看来生活就会是空虚的。人生努力实现的那些庸俗的目标——财产、徒

有其表的成功、奢侈——对我来说一向是可鄙的。

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

3 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

4 frugal   

adj.节俭的，节约的，少量的，微量的

参考例句：

• He was a VIP,but he had a frugal life.他是位要人，但生活俭朴。
• The old woman is frugal to the extreme.那老妇人节约到了极点。

5 engrossing   

adj.使人全神贯注的，引人入胜的v.使全神贯注( engross的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He told us an engrossing story. 他给我们讲了一个引人入胜的故事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It might soon have ripened into that engrossing feeling. 很快便会发展成那种压倒一切的感情的。 来自辞典例句

6 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

7 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

8 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

9 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

10 pigsty   

n.猪圈，脏房间

参考例句：

• How can you live in this pigsty?你怎能这住在这样肮脏的屋里呢？
• We need to build a new pigsty for the pigs.我们需修建一个新猪圈。

11 trite   

adj.陈腐的

参考例句：

• The movie is teeming with obvious and trite ideas.这部电影充斥着平铺直叙的陈腐观点。
• Yesterday,in the restaurant,Lorraine had seemed trite,blurred,worn away.昨天在饭店里，洛兰显得庸俗、堕落、衰老了。

12 contemptible   

adj.可鄙的，可轻视的，卑劣的

参考例句：

• His personal presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.他气貌不扬，言语粗俗。
• That was a contemptible trick to play on a friend.那是对朋友玩弄的一出可鄙的把戏。