英语诗歌：Youth 致青春

  Youth

                                    Samuel Ullman 

                                         塞缪尔厄尔曼

 

Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind.

青春不是年华，而是心境；

 

It is not a matter of rosy¹ cheeks, red lips and supple² knees.

青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，

 

It is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor³ of the emotions; 

而是深沉的意志、宏伟的想象、炽热的感情。

 

It is the freshness of the deep spring of life.

青春是生命的深泉在涌流。

 

Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity,

青春气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，

 

of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. 

进取压倒苟安，如此锐气，

This often exits in a man of 60, more than a boy of 20.

 

二十后生有之，六旬男子则更多见。

 

nobody grows merely by the number of years;we grow old by deserting our ideas. 

年年有加，并非垂老；理想丢弃，方堕暮年。

 

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.

 

                             岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤；热忱抛却，颓唐必至灵魂。

 

Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust. 

 

烦忧、惶恐、丧失自信，定使心灵扭曲，意气如灰。

 

Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being's heart the lure⁴ of wonders, 

 

无论年届花甲，抑或二八芳龄，心中皆有生命之欢乐，奇迹之诱惑，

 

the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living. 

孩童般天真久盛不衰。

 

In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless⁵ station; 

人人心中皆有一台天线，

 

so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from infinite, 

 

只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号，

 

so long as you are young. 

你就青春永驻，风华常存。

 

When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with the snows of cynicismand the ice of pessimism, 

一旦天线倒塌，锐气被冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生，

 

then you've grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up,

                  几十年方二十，实已垂老矣；

to catch waves of optimism, there's hope you may die young at 80.  

         然则只要竖起天线，捕捉乐观的信号，你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉得年轻。

1 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

2 supple   

adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺

参考例句：

• She gets along well with people because of her supple nature.她与大家相处很好，因为她的天性柔和。
• He admired the graceful and supple movements of the dancers.他赞扬了舞蹈演员优雅灵巧的舞姿。

3 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。

4 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

5 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。