优秀的经典英语美文摘抄赏析

经典美文是语文阅读教学的重要组成部分,可以陶冶情操,丰富想象,还可以培养学生对语言文字的兴趣和敏感力。小编整理了优秀的经典英语美文，欢迎阅读!

优秀的经典英语美文：SHALL WE CHOOSE DEATH?

by Bertrand Russell

December 30, 1954

I am speaking not as a Briton, not as a European, not as a member of a western democracy, but as a human being, a member of the species Man, whose continued existence is in doubt. The world is full of conflicts: Jews and Arabs; Indians and Pakistanis; white men and Negroes in Africa; and, overshadowing all minor conflicts, the titanic struggle between communism and anticommunism.

Almost everybody who is politically conscious has strong feelings about one or more of these issues; but I want you, if you can, to set aside such feelings for the moment and consider yourself only as a member of a biological species which has had a remarkable history and whose disappearance none of us can desire. I shall try to say no single word which should appeal to one group rather than to another. All, equally, are in peril, and, if the peril is understood, there is hope that they may collectively avert it. We have to learn to think in a new way. We have to learn to ask ourselves not what steps can be taken to give military victory to whatever group we prefer, for there no longer are such steps. The question we have to ask ourselves is: What steps can be taken to prevent a military contest of which the issue must be disastrous to all sides?

The general public, and even many men in positions of authority, have not realized what would be involved in a war with hydrogen bombs. The general public still thinks in terms of the obliteration of cities. It is understood that the new bombs are more powerful than the old and that, while one atomic bomb could obliterate Hiroshima, one hydrogen bomb could obliterate the largest cities such as London, New York, and Moscow. No doubt in a hydrogen-bomb war great cities would be obliterated. But this is one of the minor disasters that would have to be faced. If everybody in London, New York, and Moscow were exterminated, the world might, in the course of a few centuries, recover from the blow. But we now know, especially since the Bikini test, that hydrogen bombs can gradually spread destruction over a much wider area than had been supposed. It is stated on very good authority that a bomb can now be manufactured which will be 25,000 times as powerful as that which destroyed Hiroshima. Such a bomb, if exploded near the ground or under water, sends radioactive particles into the upper air. They sink gradually and reach the surface of the earth in the form of a deadly dust or rain. It was this dust which infected the Japanese fishermen and their catch of fish although they were outside what American experts believed to be the danger zone. No one knows how widely such lethal radioactive particles might be diffused, but the best authorities are unanimous in saying that a war with hydrogen bombs is quite likely to put an end to the human race. It is feared that if many hydrogen bombs are used there will be universal death - sudden only for a fortunate minority, but for the majority a slow torture of disease and disintegration...

我们该选择死亡吗?

伯特兰·罗素

1954年12月30日

我不是作为一个英国人、一个欧洲人、一个西方民主国家的一员，而是作为一个人，作为不知是否还能继续生存下去的人类的一员在讲演。世界充满了争斗：犹太人和阿拉伯人;印度人和巴勒斯坦人;非洲的白人和黑人;以及使所有的小冲突都相形见绌的共产主义和反共产主义之间的大搏斗。

差不多每个有政治意识的人都对这类问题怀有强烈的感受;但是我希望你们，如果你们能够的话，把这份感受暂搁一边，并把自己只看作一种具有非凡历史、谁也不希望它灭亡的生物的一员。可能会迎合一群人而冷落另一群人的词语，我将努力一个字都不说。所有的人，不分彼此，都处在危险之中;如果大家都看到了这种危险，那么就有希望联合起来避开它。我们必须学习新的思想方法。我们必须学习不自问能采取什么措施来使我们所喜欢的人群获得军事上的胜利，因为不再有这样的措施。我们必须自问的问题是：能采取什么措施来避免必然会给各方造成灾难的军事竞赛?

普通群众，甚至许多当权人士，不清楚一场氢弹战所包含的会是什么。普通群众仍旧从城市的毁灭上思考问题。不言而喻，新炸弹比旧炸弹更具威力——一颗原弹能毁灭广岛，而一颗氢弹能毁灭像伦敦、纽约和菲斯科这样的大都市。毫无疑问，一场氢弹战将会毁灭大城市。但这只是世界必须面对的小灾难中的一个。假如伦敦人、纽约人和莫斯科人都灭绝了，世界可能要经过几个世纪才能从这场灾难中恢复过来。而我们现在，尤其是从比基尼核试验以来很清楚：氢弹能够逐渐把破坏力扩散到一个比预料要广大得多的地区。据非常权威的人士说，现在能够制造出一种炸弹，其威力比毁灭广岛的炸弹大2.5万倍。这种炸弹如果在近地或水下爆炸，会把放射性微粒送入高层大气。这些微粒逐渐降落，呈有毒灰尘或毒雨的状态到达地球表面。正是这种灰尘使日本渔民和他们所捕获的鱼受到了感染，尽管他们并不在美国专家所确认的危险区之内。没有人知道这种致命的放射性微粒怎么会传播得这么广，但是这个领域的最高权威一致表示：一场氢弹战差不多就是灭绝人类的代名词。如果许多氢弹被使用，死神恐怕就会降临全球——只有少数幸运者才会突然死亡，大多数人却须忍受疾病和解体的慢性折磨……

优秀的经典英语美文：春

Springs are not always the same. In some years, April bursts upon Virginia hills in one prodigious leap – and all the stage is filled at once, whole choruses of tulips, arabesques of forsythia, cadenzas of flowering plum. The trees grow leaves overnight.

In other years, spring tiptoes in. It pauses, overcome by shyness, like my grandchild at the door, peeping in, ducking out of sight, giggling in the hallway. “I know you’re out there,” I cry. “Come in!” And April slips into our arms.

The dogwood bud, pale green, is inlaid with russet markings. Within the perfect cup a score of clustered seeds are nestled. One examines the bud in awe: Where were those seeds a month ago? The apples display their milliner’s scraps of ivory silk, rose-tinged. All the sleeping things wake up – primrose, baby iris, blue phlox. The earth warms – you can smell it, feel it, crumble April in your hands.

Look to the rue anemone, if you will, or the pea patch, or to the stubborn weed that thrusts its shoulders through a city street. This is how it was, is now, and ever shall be, the world without end. In the serene certainty of spring recurring, who can fear the distant fall?

春不总是千篇一律的。有时候，四月一个健步就跃上了弗吉尼亚的小山丘。顿时，整个舞台活跃起来：郁金香们引吭高歌，连翘花翩翩起舞，梅花表演起了独奏。树木也在一夜之间披上了新绿。

有时候，春又悄然来临。它欲前又止，羞涩腼腆，就像我的小孙女，倚在门口，偷偷往里瞅，又一下子跑开了，不见踪影，从门厅传出她咯咯的笑声。我喊一声：“我知道你在那儿，进来吧!”于是四月便倏地一下飞进我们怀中。

山茱蓃的花骨朵儿嫩绿嫩绿的，镶着赤褐色的花边。在那漂亮的花萼里，竟稳稳地簇拥着十几颗小种子。我们不禁要惊羡地问一句：一个月前这些种子还在哪儿呢?苹果树则像卖帽人，向人们展示他帽子上那一片片微带点玫瑰红地乳白色丝缎。所有熟睡的都醒了——樱草花、小蝴蝶花、蓝夹竹桃。大地也暖和起来了——你可以闻到四月的气息，感觉到它那股馨香，把它捧在手中赏玩。

去看看白头翁花，如果你愿意，再去看看豌豆畦，或是那倔强地手臂伸过城市街道的野花。它们从前是这样，现在是这样，将来还会是这样，这是个永不停息的世界。当我们发现，春已切切实实地回来了，在恬静之中，谁还会害怕遥远的秋天呢?

优秀的经典英语美文：相信自己，追随梦想

I have a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.”

“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch.”

“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’”

“The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive an F?’”

“The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’”

“The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’”

“Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.’”

Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, ‘Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.’”

Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.

我有个朋友叫蒙提·罗伯兹，他在圣思多罗有座牧马场。我常借用他宽敞的住宅举办募款活动，以便为帮助青少年的计划筹备基金。

上次活动时，他在致辞中提到：“我让杰克借用住宅是有原因的。这故事跟一个小男孩有关，他的父亲是位马术师，他从小就必须跟着父亲东奔西跑，男孩的求学过程并不顺利。高中时，有次老师叫全班同学写报告，题目是长大后的志愿。”

“那晚他洋洋洒洒地写了七张纸，描述他的伟大志愿，那就是想拥有一座属于自己的牧马农场，并且仔细画了一张200亩农场的设计图，上面标有马厩、跑道等的位置，然后在这一大片农场中央，还要建造一栋占地4,000平方英尺的巨宅。”

“他花了好大心血把报告完成，第二天交给了老师。两天后他拿回了报告，第一页上打了一个又红又大的F，旁边还写了一行字：下课后来见我。”

“脑中充满幻想的他下课后带着报告去找老师：‘为什么给我不及格?’”

“老师回答道：‘你年纪轻轻，不要老做白日梦。你没钱，没家庭背景，什么都没有。盖座农场可是个花钱的大工程;你要花钱买地、花钱买纯种马匹、花钱照顾它们。你别太好高骛远了。’他接着又说：‘如果你肯重写一个比较不离谱的志愿，我会重新给你打分。’”

“这男孩回家后反复思量了好几次，然后征询父亲的意见。父亲只是告诉他：‘儿子，这是非常重要的决定，你必须自己拿定主意。’”

“再三考虑好几天后，他决定原稿交回，一个字都不改。他告诉老师：‘即使不及格，我也不愿放弃梦想。’”

蒙提此时向众人表示：“我提起这故事，是因为各位现在就坐在200亩农场内，占地4,000平方英尺的豪华住宅。那份高中时写的报告我至今还留着。”他顿了一下又说：“有意思的是，两年前的夏天，那位老师带了30个学生来我农场露营一星期。离开之前，他对我说：‘蒙提，说来有些惭愧。你读高中时，我曾泼过你冷水。这些年来，我也对不少学生说过相同的话。幸亏你有这个毅力坚持自己的梦想。’”

不论做什么事，相信你自己，别让别人的一句话将你击倒。