英语故事短文 励志

孤岛上的故事

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.

在一场船难中，唯一的生存者随着潮水，漂流到一座无人岛上。

He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him,

他天天激动地祈祷神救他能够早日离开此处，回到家乡。

and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

他还每天注视着海上有否可搭救他的人，但却是除了汪洋一片，什么也没有。

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

后来，他决定用那片带他到小岛的木头造一个简陋的小木屋，以保护他在这险恶的环境中生存，并且保存他所有剩下的东西。

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.

但有一天，在他捕完食物后，准备回小屋时，突然发现他的小屋竟然陷在熊熊烈火之中， 大火引起的浓烟不断向天上窜。

The worst had happened; everything was lost.

最悲惨的是：他所有的一切东西，在这一瞬间通通化为乌有了。

He was stunned with grief and anger. “God how could you do this to me!” he cried.

悲痛的他，气愤的对天吶喊着：神啊!你怎么可以这样对待我!顿时，眼泪从他的眼角中流出。

Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island.

第二天一早，他被一艘正靠近小岛的船只的鸣笛声所吵醒。

It had come to rescue him.

是的，有人来救他了。

“How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.

到了船上时，他问那些船员说：「你怎么知道我在这里?」

It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad.

「因为我们看到了信号般的浓烟。」他们回答说。 人在碰到困难时，很容易会沮丧。

But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.

不过无论受到折磨或者痛苦，都不用因此失去信心，因为上帝一直在我们心里面做着奇妙的工作。

Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

记住：当下一次你的小木屋着火时，那可能只是上帝美妙恩典的表征而已。

For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves,God has a positive answer for it.

在所有我们所认为负面的事情，上帝都是有正面答案的。

什么才是真正的礼物?

The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.- Eric Hoffer

世界上最难的算术题是如何清点我们的祝福。

According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet, he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher。

据传说，一个年轻的男子在漫游沙漠途中看到一泉如水晶般清澈而可口的水。水的味道非常甜美，于是他灌满了他的皮水壶，这样就可以带一些回去，送给曾经是他老师的部落长老。

After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart。

经过四天的旅程，他把水呈献给老人。老人深饮一口，和蔼地笑了笑，并深切感激学生赠予他甜美的水。年轻人怀着愉快的心情回到了村庄。

Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container。

后来，老师让他的另一个学生品尝水。学生吐了出来，说水太难喝了。它显然已经因为陈旧的皮革容器而变得不再新鲜。

The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"

学生质疑他的老师：“师父，水是臭的，你为什么要假装喜欢它?”

The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter."

老师回答说，“你只品尝了水的味道，我却是在品尝礼物的味道。水仅仅是装载善与爱之行为的容器，而没有什么东西比善与爱更甜美了。”

I think we understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it's a ceramic tray or a macaroni bracelet, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift。

我认为当我们从天真的孩子们那里收到爱的礼物时，能够最透彻地明白这个道理。无论它是一个陶瓷托盘或通心粉手镯，我们自然而恰当的反应是欣赏，并表示感激，因为我们喜欢礼物所包含的心意。

Gratitude doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart。

感恩并不总是自然而来的。不幸的是，大多数儿童和成人只看重被赠予的东西本身，而不是它体现的情谊。我们应该提醒自己，并教导我们的孩子，感情和对感激之情的表达是美丽而纯洁的。毕竟，发自内心给与的礼物才是真正的礼物。

沃尔特▪迪士尼的成功故事

Walt Disney was a man of dreams. He dreamed big dreams. And he made his dreams come true.

沃尔特▪迪士尼是一个有着很多梦想的人。他的梦想不尽都很伟大，而且他也实现了自己的梦想。

Walt had talent, and developed a keen commercial sense of what would appeal to the public. Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and ultimately the other Disney theme parks around the world all came about because Walt Disney insisted that he could build an amusement park that was so much bigger and better than other amusement parks that it shouldn’t even be called an amusement park.

沃尔特很有才华，他发挥出自己对商业的敏锐洞察力，知道什么会吸引公众。迪士尼乐园、沃尔特▪迪士尼世界以及世界上其他迪士尼主题公园的出现都是因为迪士尼坚信他能够建造一个比现有的娱乐公园更大更好的娱乐公园。在他看来，其他的娱乐公园甚至不应该被称作娱乐公园。

In 1940 he revealed a plan to showcase Disney characters in their fantasy surroundings at a park across the street from the Disney studio in Burbank.

1940年，他提出一个计划，他想将迪士尼的各种卡通人物在公园里梦幻般的场景中展现出来，从位于柏班克的迪士尼工作室一直通到街道对面。

The vision of an amusement park grew in Walt’s mind as he traveled through the US and Europe and visited attractions of all kinds. Walt was convinced that an amusement park would be successful in the United States if it offered a “good show” that families could enjoy together, was clean, and had friendly employees.

沃尔特游览了整个美国和欧洲的旅游景点后就萌生了建立娱乐公园的念头。沃尔特深信只要提供让家庭成员一起娱乐的愉悦平台、干净的环境以及亲切的工作人员，娱乐公园在美国一定会成功。

In 1948 he shared his concept with trusted friends, a modest amusement park with a central village including a town hall, a small park, railroad station movie theater, and small stores. Outlying areas would include a carnival area and a western village. Soon he added spaceship and submarine rides, a steamboat, and exhibit halls.

1948年，他和几位自己信任的朋友分享了他的理念：一个中等的娱乐公园，有一个中心村，包括城镇公所、小心公园、火车站、电影院和一些小商店;边远地区将包括狂欢区和西部乡村。很快他又增加了太空飞船、潜水艇、汽船和展览厅。

Four years later, in 1952, he decided on “Disneyland” for the name and formed a company to develop the park, Disneyland, Inc.

四年后，在1952年，他决定将“迪士尼公园”作为公园的名字，并成立了一家公司来发展公司，即迪士尼乐园公司。

In 1953 he enlisted Stanford Research Institute to examine the economic prospects of Disneyland and to find the ideal location.

1953年，他聘请斯坦福研究所对迪士尼公园进行经济前景的测评。并为它找到最理想的所在地。

They broke ground in July, 1954, and one year later, on July 17, 1955, Disneyland opened. Within 7 weeks, a million visitors had visited Disneyland, making it one of the biggest tourist attractions in the US.

1954年7月，他们开始破土动工，一年后，也就是1955年7月17日，迪士尼乐园正式对外开放。七周内就有一百万游客参观迪士尼乐园，并使它成为美国最大的旅游胜地。

Walt combined his talent and his sense of what the public would want with lots of hard work. In 1960, after 37 years in Hollywood, with a mixture of huge successes and frustrating setbacks, Disney had created something that was successful beyond Walt’s own dreams.

沃尔特的才华加上他付出的艰辛努力，在1960年，也就是在好莱坞37年后，伴随着无数卓越的成就和令人沮丧的挫折，他已经创造出比自己梦想更伟大的成就。

With Disneyland and its continuing stream of visitors, Walt had finally achieved financial stability.

迪士尼乐园如潮水般的游客，使沃尔特最终实现了财政上的稳定。