英語四級晨讀哲理美文：一生的收獲

　　On the day before the bass season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching sunfish and perch with worms. When his peapole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end.

　　鱸魚季節開放的前一天晚上，他和父親早早開始垂釣，用小蟲作餌釣太陽魚和鱸魚。當魚桿向下彎的時候，他知道線的另一端一定釣到了一條大魚。

　　He very gingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but it was a bass.

　　他小心翼翼地將筋疲力盡的魚提出水面。這是他所見過的最大的一條，還是一條鱸魚。

　　The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, gills playing back and forth in the moonlight. The father lit a match and looked at his watch. It was 10 P.M.-- two hours before the season opened. He looked at the fish, then at the boy.

　　男孩和他父親看著這條漂亮的魚，它的魚鰓在月光下一張一翕。父親點燃一根火柴，看了看表。十點了--離開禁還有兩個小時。他看了看魚，又看了看男孩。

　　“You’ll have to put it back, son,” he said.

　　“你得把它放回去，孩子，”他說道。

　　“Dad!” cried the boy.

　　“爸爸!”男孩叫道。

　　“There will be other fish,” said his father.

　　“還有其他的魚嘛，”父親說道。

　　“Not as big as this one,” cried the boy.

　　“但沒這么大，”男孩叫道。

　　He looked around the lake. No other fishermen or boats were anywhere around in the moonlight. He looked again at his father. Even though no one had seen them, nor could anyone ever know what time he caught the fish, the boy could tell by the clarity of his father’s voice that the decision was not negotiable. He slowly worked the hook out of the lip of the huge bass and lowered it into the black water.

　　他環視了一遍湖。月光下附近沒有其他的漁民或船只。他又看了看他父親。從父親不可動搖的語氣中，他知道這個決定沒有商量余地，即使沒有人看到他們，更無從得知他們何時釣到了魚。他慢慢地將魚鉤從大鱸魚的唇上取下，然后蹲下將魚放回水中。

　　That was 34 years ago. Today, the boy is a successful architect in New York City. His father’s cabin is still there on the island in the middle of the lake. He takes his own son and daughters fishing from the same dock. And he was right. He has never again caught such a magnificent fish as the one he landed that night long ago. But he does see that same fish-again and again-every time he comes up against a question of ethics.

　　那是34年前的事了。現在，男孩是紐約的一個成功的建筑師。他父親的小屋依然在湖心島上，他帶著自己的兒女仍然在同一個碼頭上釣魚。 自那次以后，他再也沒有釣過那么大的一條魚了。但每次他面臨道德問題而猶豫不決的時候，他的眼前總是浮現出那條魚。

　　For, as his father taught him, ethics are simple matters of right and wrong. It is only the practice of ethics that is difficult. Do we do right when no one is looking?

　　他父親曾告訴他，道德即是簡單的對和錯的問題，但要付諸行動卻很難。在沒人瞧見的時候，我們是否仍始終如一，一絲不茍?

　　We would if we were taught to put the fish back when we were young. For we would have learned the truth. The decision to do right lives fresh and fragrant in our memory. It is a story we will proudly tell our friends and grandchildren. Not about how we had a chance to beat the system and took it, but about how we did the right thing and were forever strengthened.

　　在我們還小的時候，如果有人要我們把魚放回去，我們會這樣做，因為我們還在學習真理。正確的決定在我們的記憶里變得深刻而清晰。這個故事我們可以驕傲地講給朋友和子孫們聽，不是關于如何攻擊和戰勝某種體制，而是如何做正確的決定，從而變得無比堅強。

　　英語四級晨讀哲理美文詞匯：

　　exhausted adj. 筋疲力盡的

　　negotiable adj. 可磋商的，可通行的

　　hook n. 鉤子

　　architect n. 建筑師

　　fragrant adj. 芬香的，愉快的

　　英語四級晨讀哲理美文：擁抱今天

　　Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.

　　我們的潛意識里蘊藏著一幅田園般的風光。我們仿佛置身于一次橫貫大陸的漫漫旅程之中!乘著火車，我們領略著窗外不斷閃過的景色:附近高速公路上奔馳的汽車，十字路口處招手的孩子，遠山上吃草的牛群。源源不斷地從電廠排放出的煙塵，一片片的玉米地和麥田。平原與山谷，群山與綿延的丘陵，天空映襯下城市的輪廓，以及鄉間的莊園宅第!

　　But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour,we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering --waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.

　　然而我們心里想得最多的卻是最終的目的地!在某一天的某一時刻。我們將會抵達進站!迎接我們的將是樂隊和飄舞的彩旗!一旦到了那兒，多少美夢將變為現實，生活中的點點滴滴也將變得完整，如同一塊理好了的拼圖!可是我們現在在車道里不耐煩地踱來踱去，咒罵時間的列車拖拖拉拉!我們期待著，期待著J期待著火車進站的那一刻!

　　"When we reach the station, that will be it! "we cry. "When I'm 18. ""When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz! ""When I put the last kid through college. ""When I have paid off the mortgage!""When I get a promotion.""When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after! "

　　“當我們到站的時候，一切就都好了!”我們呼喊著!“當我18歲的時候望““當我有了一輛新45OSL奔馳的時候!”“當我供最小的孩子念完大學的時候!”“當我償清所有貸款的時候!”“當我得到晉升的時候!”“當我到了退休的時候，就可以從此過上幸福的生活啦!

　　Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.

　　可是翻門終究會認識到人生的旅途中并沒有車站，也沒有能夠“一到永逸”的地方!生活的真正樂趣在于旅行的過程，而車站只不過是個夢，它始終遙遙領先于我們!

　　"Relish the moment "is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118：24："This is the day which the Lord hath made;we will rejoice and be glad in it. "It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

　　“享受現在”是句很好的蔑言，尤其是當它與《圣經·詩篇》中第118頁24行的一段話相映襯的時候。更是如此:“今日是上帝所創造:生活在今日我們將愉悅，快樂!”真正令人發瘋的不是今日的負擔，而是對昨日的悔恨及對明日的恐懼!悔恨與恐懼是一對孿生竊賊，將今天從你我身邊偷走!

　　So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. In stead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.

　　那么就停止在過道里徘徊吧，別老惦記著你離車站還有多遠!與此相反。何不去攀爬更多的高山。多吃點兒冰淇淋，經常光著腳板兒溜達溜達。在更多的河流里暢游一番，多看看夕陽西下的美景，多點歡笑，少點淚水!生活得邊過邊欣賞!車站就會很快抵達!

　　英語四級晨讀哲理美文詞匯：

　　relish vt. 品味，喜歡

　　subconscious adj. 潛意識的

　　idyllic adj. 快樂祥和的，田園詩的

　　graze vi. 吃草

　　aisle n. (席位間的)通道

　　mortgage n. 抵押

　　rejoice vi. 歡喜，高興