早读英语精华本下册 Unit5

　　YOUTH
Samuel Ullman
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy¹ cheeks, red lips and supple² knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor³ of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure⁴ of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite for what’s next and the joy of the game of living.　In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless⁵ station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long as you are young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism⁶, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.
青春 　　塞缪尔?厄尔曼
人生匆匆，青春不是易逝的一段。青春应是一种永恒的心态。满脸红光，嘴唇红润，腿脚灵活，这些都不是青春的全部。真正的青春啊，它是一种坚强的意志，是一种想象力的高品位，是感情充沛饱满，是生命之泉的清澈常新。
青春意味着勇敢战胜怯懦，青春意味着进取战胜安逸，年月的轮回就一定导致衰老吗？要知道呵，老态龙钟是因为放弃了对真理的追求。
无情岁月的流逝，留下了深深的皱纹，而热忱的丧失，会在深处打下烙印。焦虑、恐惧、自卑，终会使心情沮丧，意志消亡。
60也罢，16也罢，每个人的心田都应保持着不泯的意志，去探索新鲜的事物，去追求人生乐趣。我们的心中都应有座无线电台，只要不断地接受来自人类和上帝的美感、希望、勇气和力量，我们就会永葆青春。倘若你收起天线，使自己的心灵蒙上玩世不恭的霜雪和悲观厌世的冰凌，即使你年方20，你已垂垂老矣；倘若你已经80高龄，临于辞世，若竖起天线去收听乐观进取的电波，你仍会青春焕发。

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。

6 pessimism   

n.悲观者，悲观主义者，厌世者

参考例句：

• He displayed his usual pessimism.他流露出惯有的悲观。
• There is the note of pessimism in his writings.他的著作带有悲观色彩。