英语美文：The Road of Life

 The lives of most men are determined¹ by their enviroment.They accept the circumstances amid which fate has thrown them not only resignation but even with good will.They are like streetcars running contendedly on their rails and they despise the sprightly² flitter that dashes in and out of the traffic and speeds so jauntily³ across the open country .I respct them; they are good citizens,good husbands,and good fathers ,and of course somebody has to pay the taxes; but I do not find them exciting. I am fasinated by the men, few enough in all conscience , who take life in their own hands and seem to mould it in to their own liking⁴. It may be that we have no such thing as free will, but at all events, we have the illusion of it. At a cross-road it does seem to us that we might go either to the right or to the left and ,the choice once made, it is difficult to see that the whole course of the world's history obliged us to take the turning we did. 

大多数人的生活被他们身处的环境所决定。他们不仅接受既定的命运，而且顺从命运的安排。他们就像街上的电车一样，在他们既定的轨道上行驶，而对于那些不时出没于车水马龙间和欢快地奔驰在旷野上的廉价小汽车却不屑一顾。我尊重他们，他们是好公民、好丈夫和好父亲。当然，总得有些人来支付税收，但是，他们并没有令人激动的地方。另外有一些人，他把生活掌握在自己的手里，可以按照自己的喜好去创造生活，尽管这样的人少之又少，但我却被他们深深的吸引着。可能世界上并没有诸如自由意志这样的事情，但是无论怎样，我们总有关于自由意志的的幻想。当我们处在一个十字路口时，我们似乎可以决定向左走还是向右走，可是一旦做出选择，我们却很难意识到，实际上是世界历史的全部进程强迫我们做出了那样的选择。

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 sprightly   

adj.愉快的，活泼的

参考例句：

• She is as sprightly as a woman half her age.她跟比她年轻一半的妇女一样活泼。
• He's surprisingly sprightly for an old man.他这把年纪了，还这么精神，真了不起。

3 jauntily   

adv.心满意足地；洋洋得意地；高兴地；活泼地

参考例句：

• His straw hat stuck jauntily on the side of his head. 他那顶草帽时髦地斜扣在头上。 来自辞典例句
• He returned frowning, his face obstinate but whistling jauntily. 他回来时皱眉蹙额，板着脸，嘴上却快活地吹着口哨。 来自辞典例句

4 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。