学习,一生的事业

 Learning:A Lifelong Career

　　As food is to the body, so is learning to the mind. Our bodies grow and muscles develop with the intake¹ of adequate nutritious² food. Likewise, we should keep learning day by day to maintain our keen mental power and expand our intellectual capacity. Constant learning supplies us with inexhaustible fuel for driving us to sharpen our power of reasoning, analysis, and judgment³. Learning incessantly⁴ is the surest way to keep pace with the times in the information age, and reliable warrant of success in times of uncertainty⁵.

　　Once learning stops, vegetation sets in. It is a common fallacy to regard school as the only workshop for the acquisition of knowledge. On the contrary, learning should be a never-ending process, from the cradle to the grave. With the world changing so fast, to cease learning for just a few days will make a person lag behind. What's worse, the animal instinct dormant⁶ deep in our sub-conscious will come to life.weakening our will to pursue our noble ideas, undermining our determination to sweep away obstacles to our success and strangling our desire for the refinement⁷ of our character. Lack of learning will inevitably⁸ lead to the stagnation⁹ of the mind, or even worse, its fossilization. Therefore, to stay mentally young, we have to take learning as a lifelong career.

　　[参考译文]

　　学习：一生的事业

　　学习之于心灵，就像食物之于身体一样。摄取了适量的营养食物，我们的身体得以生长而肌肉得以发达。 同样地，我们应该日复一日不断地学习以保持我们心智的敏锐，并扩充我们的智力容量。不断的学习提供我们用之不尽的燃料，来驱使我们磨砺我们的推理、分析和判断的能力。持续的学习是在信息时代中跟时代井驾齐驱的最稳当的方法，也是在变动的时代中成功的可靠保证。

　　一旦学习停止，单调贫乏的生活就开始了。视学校为汲取知识的惟一场所是种常见的谬误。相反地，从生到死,学习应该是一种无终止的历程。 由于世界变化得如此迅速，只要学习停顿数日就能使人落后。更糟的是，蛰伏在我们潜意识深处的兽性本能就会复活，削弱我们追求高尚理想的意志，弱化我们扫除成功障碍的决心，而且扼杀我们净化我们人格的欲望。缺少学习将不可避免地导致心灵的停滞，甚至更糟，使其僵化。因此，为了保持心态年轻，我们必须将学习当作一生的事业。

1 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

2 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

3 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。

4 incessantly   

ad.不停地

参考例句：

• The machines roar incessantly during the hours of daylight. 机器在白天隆隆地响个不停。
• It rained incessantly for the whole two weeks. 雨不间断地下了整整两个星期。

5 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

6 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

7 refinement   

n.文雅；高尚；精美；精制；精炼

参考例句：

• Sally is a woman of great refinement and beauty. 莎莉是个温文尔雅又很漂亮的女士。
• Good manners and correct speech are marks of refinement.彬彬有礼和谈吐得体是文雅的标志。

8 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

9 stagnation   

n. 停滞

参考例句：

• Poor economic policies led to a long period of stagnation and decline. 糟糕的经济政策道致了长时间的经济萧条和下滑。
• Motion is absolute while stagnation is relative. 运动是绝对的，而静止是相对的。