英语名篇诵读 一位母亲写给世界的信

A Mother's Letter to the World

一位母亲写给世界的信

Dear World,

My son starts school today. It's going to be strange and new to him for a while. And I wish

you would sort of treat him gently.

You see, up to now, he's been king of the roost . He's been boss of the back yard. I have

always been around to repair his wounds, and to soothe¹ his feelings.

But now — things are going to be different.

This morning, he's going to walk down the front steps, wave his hand and start on his great

adventure that will probably include wars and tragedy and sorrow. To live his life in the world he

has to live in will require faith and love and courage.

So, World, I wish you would sort of take him by his young hand and teach him the things he

will have to know. Teach him — but gently, if you can. Teach him that for every scoundrel, there

is a hero; that for every crooked² politician there is a dedicated³ leader; that for every enemy

there is a friend. Teach him the wonders of books. Give him quiet time to ponder the eternal

mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on the green hill. Teach him it is far more

honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if everyone else tells

him they are wrong. Teach him to sell his brawn⁴ and brains to the highest bidder⁵ , but never

to put a price on his heart and soul. Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob... and to stand

and fight if he thinks he's right. Teach him gently, World, but don't coddle him because only the

test of fire makes fine steel.

This is a big order, World, but see what you can do. He's such a nice little fellow.

亲爱的世界：

我儿子今天开始上学了。在一段时间里，对他来说一切将既新鲜又陌生，愿您待他多

少温和些。

你瞧，直到现在，他还是家里的小皇帝，后院的小主人。我一直在他身边为他疗伤，

逗他开心。

而现在——情况就会不同了。

今天早上，他就将走下屋前的台阶，挥手告别，踏上伟大的人生冒险征途。征途上，

他可能会遇到战争、悲剧和伤痛；生活中，他需要信念、爱心和勇气。

因此，世界，愿您轻握他稚嫩的手，告诉他应该知道的事情。如果可能，请温和地教

导他。对他讲，人世间有恶棍有英雄，有奸诈的政客也有献身的领袖，有敌人也有朋友。

教导他，书中自有魅力在。给他安静的时间让他思索自然界中那永恒的神秘：空中的小

鸟，阳光下的蜜蜂，青山上的花朵。告诉他，失败比欺骗光荣。教导他要自信，要有主

见，哪怕所有人都说他错了也不动摇。告诉他尽展才华不负己，决不把心灵、灵魂出卖

掉。跟他说，歹徒的嚎叫耳边风，该出手时莫畏缩。世界，请您温和地教导他，但注意，

莫溺爱，溺爱难成真英才，烈火才能炼成钢。

世界，殷殷慈母心，把可爱的孩子相托，请您尽心莫负我。

1 soothe   

v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承

参考例句：

• I've managed to soothe him down a bit.我想方设法使他平静了一点。
• This medicine should soothe your sore throat.这种药会减轻你的喉痛。

2 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

3 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

4 brawn   

n.体力

参考例句：

• In this job you need both brains and brawn.做这份工作既劳神又费力。
• They relied on brains rather than brawn.他们靠的是脑力，而不是体力。

5 bidder   

n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder.电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。
• The bidder withdrew his bid after submission of his bid.投标者在投标之后撤销了投标书。