英语沙龙：Advice to a Young Man

Advice to a Young Man

Remember, my son, you have to work.

Whether you handle a pick or a pen,

a wheel-barrow or a set of books,

digging ditches or editing a paper,

ringing an auction¹ bell or writing funny things,

you must work.

If you look around you will see the men

who are the most able to live the rest of their days without work

are the men who work the hardest.

Don’t be afraid of killing² yourself with overwork.

It is beyond your power to do that on the sunny side of thirty.

They die sometimes,

but it is because they quit work at six in the evening,

and do not go home until two in the morning.

It’s the interval³ that kills, my son.

The work gives you an appetite for your meals;

it lends solidity to your slumbers⁴;

it gives you a perfect and grateful appreciation⁵ of a holiday.

There are young men who do not work,

but the world is not proud of them.

It does not know their names;

even it simply speaks of them as “old so-and-so’s boy”.

Nobody likes them;

the great, busy world doesn’t know that they are there.

So find out what you want to be and do,

and take off your coat and make a dust in the world.

The busier you are, the less harm you will be apt to get into,

the sweeter will be your sleep,

the brighter and happier your holidays,

and the better satisfied will the world be with you.

1 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

2 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

3 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

4 slumbers   

睡眠，安眠( slumber的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His image traversed constantly her restless slumbers. 他的形象一再闯进她的脑海，弄得她不能安睡。
• My Titan brother slumbers deep inside his mountain prison. Go. 我的泰坦兄弟就被囚禁在山脉的深处。

5 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。