优秀的英语经典散文短篇
Catch of a lifetime一生的收获
He was 11 and went fishing every chance he got from the dock at his family's cabin on an island in the middle of a New Hampshire lake..
他11岁那年，只要一有机会，就会到他家在新汉普郡湖心岛上的小屋的码头上钓鱼。
On the day before the bass season opened, he and his father were fishing early in the evening, catching sunfish and perch with worms. Then he tied on a small silver lure and practiced casting. The lure struck the water and caused colored ripples in the sunset,then silver ripples as the moon rose over the lake. When his peapole doubled over, he knew something huge was on the other end. His father watched with admiration as the boy skillfully worked the fish alongside the dock.
鲈鱼季节开放的前一天晚上，他和父亲晚上很早就开始准备了。他们用小虫做诱饵来钓太阳鱼和鲈鱼。他系上鱼饵，练习如何抛线。鱼钩击在水面，在夕阳中漾起一片金色的涟漪，夜晚月亮升出湖面时，涟漪变成银色。当鱼杆向下弯的时候，他知道线的另一端一定钓到了一条大鱼。父亲看着他技巧纯熟地在码头边沿和鱼周旋，眼神充满赞赏。
Finally, he very ingerly lifted the exhausted fish from the water. It was the largest one he had ever seen, but is was a bass.The boy and his father looked at the handsome fish, gills playing back and forth in the moonlight.
最后他小心翼翼地将筋疲力尽的鱼提出水面。这是他所见过的最大的一条，还是一条鲈鱼。男孩和他父亲看着这条漂亮的鱼，它的鱼鳃在月光下一张一翕。
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.
父亲檫着一根火柴，看了看表。十点了---离开禁还有两个小时。他看了看鱼，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。”父亲说道。
Dad! cried the boy.
“爸爸!”男孩叫道。
There will be other fish, said his father.
“还有其他的鱼嘛。”父亲说道。
Not as big as this one, cried the boy.
“但没这么大。”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.The creature swished its powerful body and disappeared.The boy suspected that he would never again see such a great fish.
男孩环视了一遍湖。月光下，附近没有其他人或渔船。他又看了看他父亲。从父亲不可动摇的语气中，他知道这个决定没有商量余地，即使没有人看到他们，更无从得知他们何时钓到了鱼。他慢慢地将鱼钩从大鲈鱼的唇上取下，然后蹲下将鱼放回水中。鱼儿摆动着它强健的身躯，消失在水中。 男孩想，他可能再也看不到这么大的鱼了。
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.
那是34年前的事了。现在，男孩是纽约的一个成功的建筑师，他父亲的小屋依然在湖心岛上，他带着自己的儿女仍然在同一个码头上钓鱼。
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.
他猜得没错。自那次以后，他再也没有钓上过那么大的鱼了。但每次他面临道德难题而举棋不定的时候，他的眼前再三浮现出那条鱼。
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? Do we refuse to cut corners to get the design in on time? Or refuse to trade stocks based on information that we know we aren't supposed to have?
他父亲曾告诉他，道德即是简单的对和错的问题，但要付诸行动却很难。在没人瞧见的时候，我们是否仍遵循道德准则?为了将图纸按时完成，我们是不是也会走捷径?或者在明知道不可以的情况下，仍将公司股份卖掉?
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.
在我们还小的时候，如果有人教导我们把鱼放回去，我们会这样做，因为我们还在学习真理。正确的决定在我们的记忆里变得深刻而清晰。
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.
这个故事我们可以骄傲地讲给朋友和子孙们听，不是关于如何攻击和战胜某种体制，而是如何做正确的决定，从而变得无比坚强。
If were a boy again如果再回到童年
If I were a boy again,I would practise perseverance more often,and never give up a thing because it was hard or inconvenient.If we want light,we must conquer darkness.Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results.“There are only two creatures,”says a proverb;“who can surmount the pyramids-the eagle and the snail.”
谚语说：“能登上金字塔的生物只有两种——雄鹰与蜗牛。”如果我们需要光明,我们就得征服黑暗.在产生的结果方面,毅力往往可以与天才相媲美。假如我再回到童年,我会更多地培养自己的毅力,决不因为事情艰难或麻烦而放弃不干
If I were a boy again,I would school myself into a habit of attention .I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand.I would remember that a good skater never tries to skate in two directions at once.The habit of attention becomes part of our life,if we begin early enough.
假如我再回到童年，我会培养自己专心致志的习惯;一旦手头有事，决不让任何东西使我分心。我会牢记：一位优秀的溜冰手从不试图同时滑向两个不同的方向。如果及早养成专心致志的习惯，它就会成为我们生命的一个部分。
I often hear grown-up people say,“I could not fix my attention on the lecture or book,although I wished to do so,”and the reason is,the habit was not formed in youth.
我常常听到成年认说：“尽管我希望集中注意力听讲课或读书，但往往做不到。”其愿意就在于年轻时没有养成这种习惯。
If I were to live my life over again,I would pay more attention to the cultivation of the memory.I would strengthen that faculty by every possible means, and,on every possible occasion.It takes a little hard work at first to remember things accurately;but memory soon helps itself,and gives very little trouble. It only needs early cultivation to become a power.
假如我能重新活过，我会更加注意培养自己的记忆力。我要采取一切可能的办法，在一切可能的场合,增强记忆力。要精确地记住一切事物，起初的确要作出一番小小的努力;但用不了多久，记忆力本身就会起作用，使记忆成为轻而易举的事。只需及早培养，记忆自会成为一种才能。
If I were a boy again, I would cultivate courage. "Nothing is so mild and gentle as courage, nothing so cruel and pitiless as cowardice," says a wise author.We too often borrow trouble, and anticipate that may never appear.The fear of ill exceeds the ill we fear.Dangers will arise in any career, but presence of mind will often conquer the worst of them.Be prepared for any fate, and there is no harm to be feared.
假如我又回到了童年，我就要培养勇气。"世上没有东西比勇气更温文尔雅，也没有东西比懦怯更残酷无情。"一位明智的作家曾说过我们常常过多地自寻烦恼，"杞人忧天。" 怕祸害比祸害本身更可怕,凡事都有危险，但镇定沉着往往能克服最严重的危险。对一切祸福做好准备，那么就没有什么灾难可以害怕的了。
If I were a boy again,I would look on the cheerful side.Life is very much like a mirror:if you smile upon it,it smiles back upon you;but if you frown and look doubtful on it,you will get a similar look in return.Inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner,but of all that come in contact with it.
假如我能再回到童年，我会凡事都看光明的一面。生活就像一面镜子：你朝它微笑，它也会朝你微笑：但如果你朝它皱眉头，它也会朝你皱眉头;内心的阳光不仅温暖了自己的心，同时也温暖了所有跟他接触的人的心。
Who shuts love out,in turn shall be shut from love.
“谁将爱拒之门外，谁就会被爱拒之门外。”
If I were a boy again,I would school myself to say “No”oftener.I might write pages on the importance of learning very early in life to gain that point where a young boy can stand erect,and decline doing an unworthy act because it is unworthy.
假如我再回到童年，我就要养成经常说“不”的习惯。 我可以写上好几页，谈谈早期培养这一点的重要性,一个少年要能挺得起腰杆,拒绝做不值得做得事——就因为它不值得做。
If I were a boy again,I would demand of myself more courtesy towards my companions and friends,and indeed towards strangers as well.The smallest courtesies along the rough roads of life are like the little birds that sing to us all winter long,and make that season of ice and snow more endurable.Finally,instead of trying hard to be happy,as if that were the sole purpose of life,I would,if I were a boy again,try still harder to make others happy.
假如我再回到童年，我会要求自己对待同伴和朋友更礼貌，而且对陌生人也同样如此。再坎坷得人生道路上，最细小的礼貌犹如在漫长的冬季为我们唱歌的小鸟，使得冰天雪地的严冬变得较易忍受。最后，假如我再回到童年，我不会竭力为自己谋幸福——仿佛那是人生的唯一目标;与之相反，我会更加努力——让他人幸福。
Cherish every moment珍惜每一刻
My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package. "This," he said, "is not a slip(纸片). This is lingerie(女士内衣)." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite(精致的); silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb (蜘蛛网，蛛丝)of lace(花边). The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician(殡葬员). His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you're alive is a special occasion."
我的妹夫打开我妹妹书桌最底下的抽屉，拿出一个裹着纸片的小包。“这个，”他说，“不是一张纸片，而是一件女士内衣，”“他弄掉纸片，把它递给我。这是件精致的女士内衣，它是用手工缝制的丝制品，齐整的镶着蛛网似的花边。衣服上甚至还钉着数额惊人的价格标签。”“这是我和简第一次去纽约的时候买的，至少是八九年以前了，她从来没有穿过，她一直在等一个特殊的场合。我想，现在该是时候了。”“他从我手上拿过内衣，把它和其他一些衣服一起摆到床上，我们要把它们带到殡仪馆。他的手在那柔软的面料上摩擦了一会儿，然后砰的关上抽屉，转过来对我说。“千万别珍藏什么东西去等一个合适的机会，你活着的每一天都是一个机会。”
I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores (琐事)that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.
我牢记着这些话，帮着他和我的侄女处理这起因以外事故丧生后的葬礼和各种悲伤琐事。在我从妹妹居住的这个中西部地区小镇飞往加利福尼亚的飞机上,，还在回想着这些话语。我想着那些她从来没有见过、听过、或者做过的事情，我想着那些她经理过却没有意识到其独特性的事情。
I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life. I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor(使有风味，尽情享受), not endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.
现在我仍然还在思索他的话，他们甚至改变了我的一生。我阅读更多的东西，少了很多迷惑。我坐在草地上欣赏风景，不再去担心花园的杂草。我花更多的时间陪伴家人和朋友，不再一味的去参加无聊的会议。不论何时，生活应该是一种享受的过程，而不是忍受。我开始认识并珍视现在的每一时刻。
I'm not "saving" anything. we use our good china and crystal for every special event-such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia (茶花)blossom. I wear my good blazer (颜色鲜明的运动夹克)to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out(交付，支付)$28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing(畏缩). I'm not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party-going friends'.
我不再珍藏任何东西，我用上好的瓷器和水晶器，庆贺每一件事--比如减掉了一磅体重，打通了堵塞的下水道，开放了第一朵茶花。只要我喜欢，我会穿上我漂亮的夹克衫去逛超市。我的逻辑是：如果我看上去够有钱，我会毫不犹豫地花28.49美元去买一小带杂货。我不会珍藏我的名贵香水去等待一个特殊的晚会，商店职员和银行出纳员的鼻子跟我舞友的鼻子有着同样的功能。
Someday and "one of these days" are losing their grip on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing , hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now. I'm not sure what my sister would have done, had she known that she wouldn't be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I'm guessing--I'll never know.
“总有一天”和“某一天”对我已失去了意义。如果某件事值得去看，去听、去做、我会立刻去实行。我不知道，如果我妹妹知道她不再拥有我们都认为理所当然会到来的明天时，她会怎么做。我想她会给家人和一些亲密的朋友打电话。她会打电话给以前的一些朋友，为曾经发生过的争论道歉或弥补关系。我想她会出去，到一见中餐厅，吃她最喜爱的食物。我只是采写--永远都不会知道了。
It's those little things left undone that would make me angry ,if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with”someday.” Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to write--one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them.
如果时间紧迫，而我还有一些事情没有做完，我会愤怒不已。我会为不得不把准备去拜访的朋友推延到“某一天”而恼火，为曾设想着“总会有一天”会写下来的词句，而没有写下来而生气，为没有尽可能多的告诉我的丈夫和女儿我是多么爱他们而后悔和遗憾。
I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives.
我尽最大的努力避免推迟,延误,或保留那些能给我们的生活增添欢乐和色彩的东西。
And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every day, every minute, every breath truly is ... a gift from God.
每天早上，我睁开眼睛，告诉自己这是特殊的一天。每一天，每一分钟，每一次呼吸.....都是上帝对我们的恩赐。
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