英语早读练习材料

《YOUTH》Samuel Ullman

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

it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees;

it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions;

it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.

青春不是年华，而是心境；

青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，

而是深沉的意志、恢宏的想象、炽热的感情；

青春是生命的深泉涌流。

Youth means a tempera-mental 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.

青春气贯长虹，

勇锐盖过怯弱，进取压倒苟安。

如此锐气，二十后生有之，

六旬男子则更多见。

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 spring back to dust.

年岁有加，并非垂老；

理想丢弃，方堕暮年。

岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤；

热忱抛却，颓唐必致灵魂。

忧烦、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 lure of wonder,

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

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，

孩童般天真久盛不衰。

In the center of your heart and my heart，

there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.

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

人的心灵应如浩淼瀚海，

只有不断接纳美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的百川，

才能青春永驻、风华长存。

一旦心海枯竭，锐气便被冰雪覆盖，

玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生，

即使年方二十，实已垂垂老矣；

然则只要虚怀若谷，让喜悦、达观、仁爱充盈其间，

你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。

口语材料：

1. What kinds of meals do you like?

Oh, I adore different meat plates… My mouth is watering（流口水）whenever I see roast beef, grilled chicken or pork chops（猪排）… However, I don’t like to cook… That's why I often eat ready meals and take-aways.

2. When do you usually eat dinner?

I usually have main meal at about 4 p.m. … I'm starving hungry by then（到那时候）and sometimes overeat myself... 那时我饿坏了，有时吃得太多.

3. Describe something you learned in a place or from someone

You should say:

What it was

Where or who you got it

What the situation was

How you felt

我向别人那里学到的东西是从一名叫Ellen的老师那里学到的越南语。她是一位非常专业的的美国语言教师培训师。

Something I learned from someone was about some basic Vietnamese from a teacher of mine named Ellen who is a very professional language teacher trainer in the U.S.

去年，我在剑桥大学的一个职业教师那里学习语言。一个九月份的早晨，她给我们用越南语讲了一节越南语课程。关键问题是我对越南语一窍不通。加之她又特别的严谨治学。所以我那会儿有些忐忑不安，担心自己不能够有效掌握课上的越南语内容。你也知道，对于一个初学者或者是零基础的人来说学习一门语言能够脱口而出完整的句子是有多么的困难。

Last year I got some training in language teaching from a certified professional trainer in Cambridge. One day morning in Sept., she gave us a language course about Vietnamese，in Vietnamese which we didn’t have any knowledge about. Plus, she was very strict with us in terms of learning. So, I even got butterflies in my stomach（我很紧张）and worried that I might not pick up anything about it because you know how hard it is for a beginner or even a learner with zero foundation to learn how to blurt

out（脱口而出）a sentence.

然而接下来呢，让我不可思议的事情发生了。在她的指导下(包括一些肢体语言，面部表情和教具的使用等)，我们成功的会用越南语打招呼和简要做自我介绍了。However, what happened next made us just can’t believe it’s real. Under some guidance using some gestures and facial expressions together with some realia（教具）, we managed to say some greetings and personal information in Vietnamese.

那应该是我去年最那一忘怀的一段时光之一了。当你能够在一堂纯纯越南语教学的越南语课上学会了越南语，你就会觉得这是多么神奇的一件事了。

I felt it was one of the most memorable periods last time. Because you would imagine how magical it is when you had been able to pick up some Vietnamese in the class where only lessons taught in Vietnamese!

自那会儿起，她就成了我语言教学上的一个楷模。我也希望我能够起码在自己的小圈子里有所作为。

Since then on, She just became my role model in language teaching. I hope I could one day make a difference at least in my own little circle.

4. What do you do in your spare time?

I love reading and writing when I have some free time available. Apart from these, I also like playing badminton. So, whenever I do get time, I usually read, write or play badminton.

5.What do you do to relax yourself?

For relaxation, I prefer taking a short nap. It could be either for 20 minutes or may be an hour. But, nothing helps me relax better than some sleep.

6.What do you usually do after work or classes?

There is nothing much that can be done after work（下班后什么也做不了）because it really becomes quite tiring. So, most of the times I am either working on my blog or writing something or some drafts, here and there（零零散散地）.

7.Do you think modern lifestyles give enough time to people for leisure?

I think it depends on the kind of modern lifestyle an individual is leading. So, a person doing a corporate job might have less time to spare for leisure activity but probably a person who does freelancing（当自由职业者）will find more time to leisure. Not because a work is less time consuming but because the way things get done in each.（不是因为一项工作花费的时间较少，而是因为每一项工作的完成方式。）Even more, I think it all depends on how the person sets priorities for themselves.

8.Do you think people today have more time to relax as compared to that in past?

I certainly believe that people are more busy when compared with their past counterparts（与对方地位相当的人）. Earlier people lived a content life but with changing times people are less satisfied with what they have and are always on the look out of doing more.（总是留心做更多的事）This has made lives much more hectic（繁忙）than ever.

8.What do you think is the importance of leisure time in life?

Leisure is the one thing that makes the life worth living. I surely believe that apart from the daily activities，a person should always try to do things that makes him or her happy. It could be either something that he or she likes doing or could even be some person likes spending time with. It is only through this that a person is able to enjoy life.

9.Do you think old and young people spend their leisure time in the same way?

I believe it is not about young and old, it is more about individuals. I have seen old people party harder than some of the young chaps out there and then some young people reading better than the wiser older people. In my opinion, it is all about the individual choices that people make.

10.Do you like to travel in holidays?

Well, I love travelling not only because everyone else does but because for me travelling teaches so much more to me than anything else can ever do. Also, travelling allows me to explore myself and the world in ways that opens up my horizons, giving me a broader aspect of life.

11. Is there any difference in your life now from when you were a child? Absolutely yes, there are huge differences! Since I am now a married person with kids to take care of, I do not get enough time for fun and entertainment related activities. But when I was a child, I always used to play games with my childhood friends outside my home in a large playground, for example, we used to enjoy playing cricket vigorously. Moreover, life used to be free，but now, it is full of stress.

12.Describe a historical period that you are interested in

You should say:

What the historical period is

How you know it

What happened during that period

Why you find it interesting

Speaking of a period of history that I’m fond of, I would like to talk something about the Middle age. Life in the Middle Ages was completely different than we see it today. Some reflections of life of that period are found in cinemas but most of them are unrealistic. They are filled with fantasies. The real life in the Middle Ages was filled with classifications and the feudal system（封建制度）dominated the entire society. And most importantly, people were superstitious（迷信的）to a great extent. This is a very smart candidate task card（候选任务卡）and I am happy to have it in my share.

In some terms, living in the Middle Ages was beneficial. Life was not so much complicated as it is found today. People used to live near nature. And there were fewer traffic congestions in the streets. Though the streets remained crowded round

the day(整天拥挤), there were no troubles among the pedestrians and people used to live in their own way. Minding the own business was the key task. The other important benefit was that they did not think so much about the career or about the other silly issues that matter most in the present day.

But there were some drawbacks（缺点）as well. The classification was the most important obstacle of this age. People were classified into various groups and the noblemen used to dominate the poorer section of the society. The scope of entertainment was limited and the lower parts of the society had no or little access to such activities. The daily life in this age was the subject of wealth and power.

I would like to have lived in that period of time. In fact, a fascination works in me about that age. I have seen numerous events in movies and got addicted to the age. So, I want to travel in the streets with a dimmed lantern（烛火微弱的灯笼）with me and enjoy the views around.

13. Are people in your country fond of animals?

Yes, they are. People in my country love animals. You could find a dog or a cat being owned by a family. And it is not for any monetary reasons but because they like being around them and caring for them. Animals do bring a certain extent of happiness and togetherness in a family.

14. What kinds of animals as a pet do the people have in your country?

As a pet, most of the people have dogs in their house. Dogs are preferred over other animals because firstly they are very friendly and loyal to their owner. Also, they help in guarding the house against all the possible odds.

have been many observable changes in our country since past few decades.

With the coming of globalization and people going for modernization,

6. Do you think cities are suitable places for keeping a pet?

A pet requires 24/7 care and if in a city one can provide that care, there should not be any issue in keeping a pet. I think with houses in cities so close to each other. keeping pets like cows or other big ones is not possible. But, for the ones smaller in size like dog, cat or fishes, it is completely feasible and one should definitely go for them. But, yes if one has a very strict working lifestyle, keeping a pet will only be disastrous for the pet.

Reading make a full man; conference a ready man; and writing an exact man. And therefore, if a man write little, he had need have a great memory; if he confer little, he had need have a present wit; and if he read little, he had need have much cunning, to seem to know that he doth not.

读书使人充实，讨论使人机智，笔记使人准确。因此不常做笔记者须记忆力特强，不常讨论者须天生聪颖，不常读书者须欺世有术，始能无知而显有知。Histories make men wise; poets witty; the mathematics subtile; natural philosophy deep; moral grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Abeunt studia in morse.

(Studeis go to make up a ma n’s character.)

读史使人明智，读诗使人灵秀，数学使人周密，科学使人深刻，伦理学使人庄重，逻辑修辞之学使人善辩；凡有所学，皆成性格。

Silence is soundlessness; silence exists in different forms.

无声即沉默。沉默有各种各样——

An empty head or a blank mind which leads to speechlessness--that is silence.

腹中空泛，思想一片苍白，故无言可发，这是沉默。

Enthusiasm fades like dying embers and thus leads to cynicism and indifference to life, which arouses neither happiness nor sadness, neither worries nor anger, and which costs people their interest in and desire for anything--that is silence.

热情已如柴薪尽燃，故而冷漠处世，无喜无悲，无忧无愤，对人世的一切都失去兴趣和欲望，这也是沉默。

Despite all the experiences of love and hate, of disorientation and reorientation, of order-giving that was answered by hundreds and call-issuing that was not answered by a single soul, there is not a word uttered, but only a clam eye that watches on this world--that is also silence.

有过爱，有过恨，有过迷茫，有过颖悟，有过一呼百应的呐喊，有过得不到回报的呼唤，然而却收口如瓶，只是平静地冷眼看世界，这是沉默。

Worries and sufferings, tastes of changes and vicissitudes of the world, footprints left in mountains and valleys and noises of rivers and oceans cherished in the heart are all but hidden unrevealed--that is still silence.

饱经忧患，阅尽人生百态，胸有千山万壑的屐痕，有江河湖海的涛声，然而却深思不语，这也是沉默。

春江花月夜（张若虚）

春江潮水连海平，海上明月共潮生。

滟滟随波千万里，何处春江无月明！

江流宛转绕芳甸，月照花林皆似霰；

空里流霜不觉飞，汀上白沙看不见。

江天一色无纤尘，皎皎空中孤月轮。

江畔何人初见月？江月何年初照人？

人生代代无穷已，江月年年只相似。

不知江月待何人，但见长江送流水。

白云一片去悠悠，青枫浦上不胜愁。

谁家今夜扁舟子？何处相思明月楼？

可怜楼上月徘徊，应照离人妆镜台。

玉户帘中卷不去，捣衣砧上拂还来。

此时相望不相闻，愿逐月华流照君。

鸿雁长飞光不度，鱼龙潜跃水成文。

昨夜闲潭梦落花，可怜春半不还家。

江水流春去欲尽，江潭落月复西斜。

斜月沉沉藏海雾，碣石潇湘无限路。

不知乘月几人归，落月摇情满江树。