英语名篇诵读 心灵的滋养

The Cultivation¹ of the Heart

心灵的滋养

The autumn, with its ripening² fruits and waving harvest, is now with us. We see on every

hand the results of the farmer's toil³ and forecast in the springtime. Then it was that he broke up

the soil, sowed the seed, pruned⁴ his trees, and guarded the tender plants. Now we see the

ripening crops. The trees are bending with golden fruit, and abundance rewards the farmer's toil.

But suppose in spring the farmer had left the soil unturned, the seed unsown, the trees

untrimmed , and everything neglected, what would now be the result?We should see nothing

but barren fields, overrun with weeds and briers ; and the farmer would feel that a winter

of want and distress⁵ was before him.

And let us remember that autumn of life will come on apace; and that what we now sow, we

shall then reap. If we would reap an abundant harvest, and gather precious fruit, and secure an

autumn of plenty and prosperity, we must now, in the springtime of life, be diligent⁶ and careful in

cultivation of our hearts. We must form only those habits which will produce good fruits. Our

acts must be noble, our thoughts and our words must be pure, and our feelings must be kind. As

we now sow, we shall then reap. If we “sow the wind, we shall reap the whirlwind ”.

秋天来了，给我们带来了累累果实和滚滚稻浪。我们到处看到的都是农夫春天的辛苦

劳作和殷切期盼的成果。那时候，农夫忙着翻耕土壤，播下种子，修剪树枝，看护幼苗。

现在，我们看到了成熟的庄稼。金灿灿的果实把树压弯了腰，农夫的辛劳得到了丰厚的回

报。

但是设想春天里农夫没耕作土地，没播下种子，没修剪树木，一切都没做，那么现在

会是什么结果呢？我们看到的将是田园荒芜，杂草丛生，荆棘遍布；农夫就会感受到一个

饥寒交迫的冬天就在眼前。

让我们记住，人生的秋天很快就会到来；我们现在种下什么，那时就会收获什么。如

果我们要想获得大丰收，采摘珍贵的果实，赢得一个富足兴旺的秋天，那么，在春天里，

我们就必须勤奋不怠，在我们的心田里精耕细作。我们必须养成那些只产生好的结果的习

惯。我们的行为必须高尚，我们的思想和言语必须纯洁，我们的情感必须善良。种瓜得

瓜，种豆得豆。如果我们“种的是风，收获的必是风暴”。

1 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

2 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》

3 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

4 pruned   

v.修剪（树木等）( prune的过去式和过去分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分

参考例句：

• Next year's budget will have to be drastically pruned. 下一年度的预算将大幅度削减。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The roses had been pruned back savagely. 玫瑰被狠狠地修剪了一番。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 distress   

n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛

参考例句：

• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
• Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。

6 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。