英语美文背诵 为别人而活

For the Sake of Other Men

Strange is our situation here upon earth.

我们在地球上的处境真是奇妙。

Each of us comes for a short visit，not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to divine a purpose.

我们每一个人都是为了一趟短暂的旅程而来，也不知道是为了什么，但有时候似乎又猜想是有其目的。

From the standpoint of daily life，however, there is one thing we do know:

然而从日常生活的观点来看，我们可以确知一点，

that man is here for the sake of other men-above all for those upon whose smile and well-being¹ our own happiness depends，

那就是人生在世是为了别人而活，尤其是为了那些我们的快乐与否取决于他们的微笑及幸福的人而活;

and also for the countless² unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy.

也为着无数不知名的人而活，他们的命运藉由同胞之情的维系与我们结合在一起。

Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors³ of my fellow men，

一天中有许多次我会认识到自已外在和内在的生活大多依赖国人的劳力，

both living and dead，and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.

不管他们是否在世或已过世，也认识到我必须要多么认真努力才能同等回报我所获得的一切。

My peace of mind is often troubled by the depressing sense that I have borrowed too heavily from the work of other men.

我对别人的付出亏欠太多了，而这种挫折感常困扰我心灵的平静。

To ponder interminably over the reason for one's own existence or the meaning of life in general seems to me， from an objective point of view, to be sheer folly⁴.

对我而言，从客观的角度来看，不断思考自己为何会存在于世，或者生命的一般意义究竟为何，似乎是非常愚蠢的。

And yet everyone holds certain ideals by which he guides his aspiration⁵ and his judgment⁶.

然而每个人都拥有某些理想，他藉由这些理想引导自己的愿望与判断力。

The ideals which have always shone before me and filled me with the joy of living are goodness, beauty, and truth.

这些一直在引导我且令我充满生活乐趣的理想便是真、善、美。

To make a goal of comfort and happiness has never appealed to me; a system of ethics⁷ built on this basis would be sufficient only for a herd⁸ of cattle.

我从未想过要以过着舒适安逸的生活为日标;若以这个墓础来建立一套道德观的话，这种道德观仅适用于牛群。

1 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

2 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

3 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

4 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

5 aspiration   

n.志向，志趣抱负；渴望；(语)送气音；吸出

参考例句：

• Man's aspiration should be as lofty as the stars.人的志气应当象天上的星星那么高。
• Young Addison had a strong aspiration to be an inventor.年幼的爱迪生渴望成为一名发明家。

6 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

7 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

8 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。