经典英语美文阅读：宽容

宽容是一种修养，是一种处变不惊的气度。学会宽容别人，就是学会善待自己。下面是小编为大家带来有关宽容的英语经典美文，希望大家喜欢!

英语经典美文：宽容

Happily lived mankind in the peaceful valley of ignorance.

宁静无知的山谷里，人们幸福地生活着。

To the north，to the south，to the west and to the east stretched the ridges of the hills everlasting.

没有尽头的山脉向东南西北各个方向绵延。

A little stream of knowledge tricked slowly through a deep worn gully.

知识的小溪流沿着幽深而残破的山谷缓缓地流着。

It came out of the mountains of the past.

它发源于往日的荒山。

It lost itself in the marshes of the future.

它消失在未来的沼泽。

It was not much，as rivers go. But it was enough for the humble needs of the villagers.

这条小溪没有江河那样汹涌澎湃的波涛，但对于只有微薄需求的村民来说，已经是绰绰有余。

In the evening，when they had watered their cattle and had filled their casks, they were content to sit down to enjoy life.

晚上，村民们喂罢牲口，把水桶里灌满了水，便心满意足地坐下来，尽享人生之乐。

The old men who knew were brought forth from the shady corners where they had spent their day, pondering over the mysterious pages of an old book.

思想陈旧的老人们被搀扶出门，他们整个白天都待在荫凉的角落里，苦苦思索着一本神秘的古书。

They mumbled strange words to their grandchildren，who would have preferred to play with the pretty pebbles，brought down from distant lands.

他们对儿孙们念叨着那些稀奇古怪的字眼，可是孩子们总想着玩那些从远处带来的石头。

Often these words were not very clear.

这些字眼的含义经常含糊不清。

But they were writ a thousand years ago by a forgotten race.Hence they were holy.

不过，它们是一个如今不为人知的部落在一千年前写下的，因而神圣不可裹读。

For in the valley of ignorance，whatever was old was venerable. And those who dared to gainsay the wisdom of the fathers were shunned by all decent people. And so they kept their peace.

在愚昧的山谷里，古老的东西总是受到敬重。谁否定先人的智慧，谁就会遭到正派人的冷落。所以大家处在一起相安无事。

Fear was ever with them. What if they should be refused the common share of the products of the garden?

恐惧总是跟随着人们。谁要是分不到果园里一个份额的果实，又能怎么办呢?

Vague stories there were, whispered at night among the narrow streets of the little town，vague stories of men and women who had dared to ask questions.

夜深的时候，人们簇拥在狭窄的街头巷尾，讲述着那些情节早已模糊不清的往事，论说那些勇于提出质疑的男男女女。

They had gone forth and never again had they been seen.

这些男男女女后来都走了，再没回来过。

A few had tried to scale the high walls of the rocky range that

hid the sun.

另外一部分人试图攀缘挡住太阳的岩墙陡壁。

Their whitened bones lay at the foot of the cliffs.

但结局是他们横尸于山崖脚下，白骨累累。

The years came and the years went by.

岁月流逝，年复一年。

Happily lived mankind in the peaceful valley of ignorance.

在这宁静的无知山谷里，人们幸福地生活着。

Out of the darkness crept a man.

黑暗中，一个人正在爬行。

The nails of his hands were torn.

他的指甲已经磨破了。

His feet were covered with rags, red with the blood of long marches.

他的脚上缠着破破烂烂的布，由于长途跋涉，流出的鲜血已经把布浸透了。

He stumbled to the door of the nearest but and knocked.

他跌跌撞撞地来到最近的一间草屋，敲了敲门。

Then he fainted. By the light of a frightened candle, he was carried to a cot.

接着他便晕了。借助颤动的烛光，他被抬到一张吊床上。

In the morning throughout the village it was known, "He has come back."

到了早上，全村的人都知道:“他回来了。”

The neighbors stood around and shook their heads. They. had always known that this was to be the end.

邻居们围在他的身边，无奈地摇摇头。他们明白，这是早已注定的结局。

Defeat and surrender awaited those who dared to stroll away from the foot of the mountains.

那些敢于离开山谷的人，等待他的是屈服和失败。

And in one corner of the village the old men shook their heads and whispered burning words.

在村子的一个角落，思想迁腐的老人们摇着头，压低了声音说着恶狠狠的话。

They did not mean to be cruel, but the law was the law.Bitterly this man had sinned against the wishes of those who knew.

他们并非生来残忍，但法律就是法律。他违背了那些思想陈腐的长辈们的意志，就是犯下了滔天大罪。

As soon as his wounds were healed he must be brought to trial.

他的伤势一旦痊愈，就必须接受判决。

They meant to be lenient.

迂腐的长辈们本想慈悲为怀。

They remembered the strange, burning eyes of his mother.They recalled the tragedy of his father, lost in the desert these thirty years ago.

他们没有忘记他母亲怪异的跳跃着光芒的眼眸，也回想起了30年前他父亲在沙漠失踪的悲剧。

The law，however, was the law;and the law must be obeyed.

不过法律就是法律，法律是不可违抗的。

The men who knew would see to that.

而那些思想守旧的老人就是法律的执行者。

They carried the wanderer to the market place，and the people stood around in respectful silence.

那些迂腐的老人把出游的人抬到闹市区。人们在都毕恭毕敬地在周围站着，鸦雀无声。

He was still weak from hunger and thirst and the elders bade him sit down，He refused.

出游的人由于饥渴，身体还很虚弱。老人们让他坐下，他拒绝了。

They ordered him to be silent.

他们让他闭嘴。

But he spoke.

但是他坚持要说。

Upon the old men he turned his back and his eyes sought those who but a short time before had been his comrades.

他转过来背对老人，眼光在人群中搜索不久前还与他志同道合的人。

"Listen to me,”he implored, "Listen to me and be rejoiced.I have come back from beyond the mountains. My feet have trod a fresh soil. My hands have felt the touch of other races. My eyes have seen wondrous sights.

“听我说，”他恳请道，“请听我说，大家会很高兴的。我刚从山那边回来，我的双脚踏上了一片新鲜的土地，我的手被其他的民族抚摸过，我的双眼见到了奇妙的景象。”

"When I was a child, my world was the garden of my father.

“小时候，父亲的花园就是我的整个世界。”

"To the west and to the east, to the south and to the north lay the ranges from the beginning of time.

“早在上帝创造世界的时候，花园东西南北各个方位的边界就被确定下来了。”

"When I asked what they were hiding, there was a hush and a hasty shaking of heads. When I insisted, I was taken to the rocks and shown the bleached bones of those who had dared to defy the gods.

“只要我问起边界的那一边藏着什么，大家就把头摇个不停，口里发出嘘嘘的声音。但是我非要打破砂锅问到底，于是他们就带我来这块岩石上，让我看看那些蔑视上帝的人的森森白骨。”

"When I cried out and said,‘It is a lie! The Gods love those who are brave!’the men who knew came and read to me from their sacred books. The law, they explained, had ordained all things of heaven and earth. The valley was ours to have and to hold. The animals and the flowers, the fruit and the fishes were ours, to do our bidding. But the mountains were of the gods. What lay beyond was to remain unknown until the end of time.

“‘骗人’我大声喊道.‘上帝偏爱英勇的人。’于是，迂腐的长辈们走过来，为我读他们的圣书。他们说，上帝的旨意已经决定了天地间万物的命运。山谷是我们的，由我们来掌管，飞禽走兽和花朵，还有果实和鱼虾都是属于我们的，我们决定它们的命运。但山是上帝的，我们不应该知道山对面的一切事物，直到世界的末日。”

"So they spoke, and they lied. They lied to me, even as they have lied to you.

“这就是他们说的，他们在撒谎，他们欺骗了我，就像欺骗了你们一样。”

"There are pastures in those hills. Meadows too, as rich as any. And men and women of our own flesh and blood. And cities resplendent with the glories of a thousand years of labor.

“山的那一边有牧场，有和我们一样的牧草，那里的男女老少有和我们同样的血肉之躯。那历经了一千年的城市，被能工巧匠雕刻得雄壮美丽，光彩闪烁。”

"I have found the road to a better home. I have seen the promise of a happier life. Follow me and I shall lead you thither. For the smile of the gods is the same there as here and everywhere."

“我已经找到了一条大道，可以通往更美好的家园，我已经看到了幸福生活的曙光。跟随我走吧，我带着你们奔向那里。上帝在别处有和在这里一样的微笑。”

He stopped and there went up a great cry of horror.

他停下来了，人群发出了惊恐的叫喊声。

"Blasphemy!”cried the old men. "Blasphemy and sacrilege! A fit punishment for his crime! He has lost his reason. He dares to scoff at the law as it was written down a thousand years ago.He deserves to die!”

“褒读，这是对神灵的襄读，”顽固不化的老人大声叫着，“要让他罪有应得!他已经失去理智了，竟敢戏谑一千年前制定下来的法律。他死有余辜!”

And they took up heavy stones.

人们举起了沉重的石头。

And they killed him.

他们杀死了这个出游的人。

And his body they threw at the foot of the cliffs, that it might lie there as a warning to all who questioned the wisdom of the ancestors.

人们把他的尸体扔到山崖底下，以此训诫其他那些胆敢怀疑祖先智慧的人，杀一儆百。

Then it happened a short time later that there was a great drought. The little brook of knowledge ran dry. The cattle died of thirst. The harvest perished in the fields, and there was hunger in the valley of ignorance.

没有多久，一场特大干旱爆发了。涓涓的知识小溪流千枯了，牲畜都干渴而死，田地里的粮食都枯萎了，无知的山谷里到处都是饥渴的呻吟。

The old men who knew, however, were not disheartened.Everything would all come right in the end，they prophesied，for so it was wrote in their most holy chapters.

不过，那些顽固的老人并没有灰心。他们预言说，所有的一切都会转危为安，至少那些先知先觉的圣书上是这样写的。

Besides, they themselves needed but little food. They were so very old.

而且，他们自己已经很老了，吃不了多少粮食了。

Winter came.

冬天来临了。

The village was deserted.

村庄里荒无人烟。

More than half of the populace died from sheer want.

饥寒交迫夺去了大多数人的生命。

The only hope for those who survived lay beyond the mountains.

活着的人把生存的唯一希望寄托在山的那一边。

But the law said "No!"

但是法律却说:“不可以!”

And the law must be obeyed.

法律是必须要遵守的。

One night there was a rebellion.

一天夜晚，叛乱爆发了。

Despair gave courage to those whom fear had forced into silence.

绝望斌予那些由于恐惧而逆来顺受的人们以勇气。

Feebly the old men protested.

迂腐的老人们无力地抗争着。

They were pushed aside. They complained of their lot. They bewailed the ingratitude of their children，but when the last wagon pulled out of the village, they stopped the driver and forced him to take them along.

他们被推到一边，还在抱怨自己不幸的命运，诅咒儿孙的忘恩负义。但是当最后一辆马车驶离村落时，他们拦住了它，迫使车夫把他们带走。

The flight into the unknown had begun.

就这样，投奔前途未卜的新世界的旅程开始了。

It was many years since the wanderer had returned. It was no easy task to discover the road he had mapped out.

从那个出游者回来到现在已经过了很多年了，所以要找到他开辟的道路，绝不是容易的事情。

Thousands fell a victim to hunger and thirst before the first cairn was found.

成千上万的人在路途上饥渴而亡，人们终于找到了第一座用石子垒起的路标。

From there on the trip was less difficult.

从那以后，旅途中的磨难少了一些。

The careful pioneer had blazed a clear trail through the woods and amidst the endless wilderness of rock.

那个细心的开拓者已经用火在一望无际的险山乱林中烧出了一条宽阔大道。

By easy stages it led to the green pastures of the new land.

沿着这条大道，人们一步步地走到了一个有着绿色牧场的新世界。

Silently the people looked at each other.

人们相对无言。

"He was right after all，”they said, "He was right, and the old men were wrong..."

“他到底还是对的，”人们说，“正确的是他，错误的是那些冥顽不化的老人……”

"He spoke the truth, and the old men lied..."

“他的话是真实的，那些迂腐的老人在撤谎……”

"His bones lie rotting at the foot of the cliffs，but. the old men sit in our carts and chant their ancient lays...”

“他的尸首腐烂在山崖下，可是那些顽固的老人却坐在我们的车里，还唱着那陈旧不堪的歌谣。”

"He saved us, and we slew him..."

“他救了我们，我们却杀害了他。”

"We are sorry that it happened, but of course, if we could have known at the time..."

“我们确实对这件事情非常内疚，不过，当时我们如果知道的话，当然就……”

Then they unharnessed their horses and their oxen and they drove their cows and their goats into the pastures and they built themselves houses and laid out their fields and they lived happily for along time afterwards.

接着，他们为牛马解下套具，把牛羊赶进牧场，建造自己的房屋，规划自己的土地。从此，他们过上了幸福的生活。

A few years later an attempt was made to bury the brave pioneer in the fine new edifice which had been erected as a home for the wise old men.

几年之后，人们为智慧老人建起了一座崭新的大厦作为住宅，并准备把英勇的先驱者的遗骸埋在里面。

A solemn procession went back to the now deserted valley,but when the spot was reached where his body ought to have been，it was no longer there.

一支庄严的队伍回到了早已荒芜人烟的山谷。但是，山崖脚下空空如也，开拓者的尸骨已经无影无踪。

A hungry jackal had dragged it to his lair.

饥饿的豺狗早就把尸首拖入了自己的洞穴。

A small stone was then placed at the foot of the trail (now a magnificent highway). It gave the name of the man who had first defied the dark terror of the unknown, that his people might be guided into a new freedom.

人们在开拓者足迹的尽头放上了一块小石头(那里现在已经是一条大道)，他们把开拓者的名字刻在石头上—这是第一个挑战未知世界的黑暗和恐怖的人的名字，是他把人们带向了新的自由。

And it stated that it had been erected by a grateful posterity.

石头上还写着，它是由前来感恩朝拜的后人建造的。

As it was in the beginning-as it is now-and as some day (so we hope)it shall no longer be.

这样的事情过去发生过，现在也还在发生，不过将来(我们希望)不要再发生了。

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