Wednesday, December 18, 2002
Monday, December 16, 2002
My Library
by Augusting Binell
It is no doubt a pleasant thing to have a library left you. The present writer will disclaim no such legacy, but hereby undertakes to accept it, however dusty. But good as it is to inherit a library, it is better to collect one. Each volume then, however lightly a stranger's eye may roam from shelf to shelf, has its own individuality, a histroy of its own. You remember where you got it, and how much you gave for it; and your word may safely be taken for the first of these facts, but not for the second.
The man who has a library of his own collection is able to contemplate himself objectively, and is justified in believing in his own existence. No other man but he would have made precisely such a combination as his. Had he been in any single respect different from what he is, his library, as it exists, never would have existed. Therefore, surely he may exclaim, as in the gloaming he contemplates the backs of his loved ones, "They are mine, and I am theirs."
我的藏书室
如果别人留给你一间藏书室,这无疑是一件令人高兴的事.本文作者绝不拒绝继承这样的遗产,而是立即答应接受,不管它布满多少尘土.继承一间书室虽然很好,但比不上自己收集图书汇成书室.不管陌生人的眼光多么漫不经心地从一个书架游移到另一个书架上,但是这里的每一卷书都有自己的独到之处和属于自己的一段历史.你记得是从哪里找到这本书的,为它付了多少代价;你说的关于这些书的事,人们必定会相信它们的来源地,而不相信它们的费用.
一个拥有自己藏书室的人可以客观地审视自己,完全有理由相信自己的存在.没有别人而只有他自己才可以得出这样的结论:是自己造就了自己.只要他在任何一方面与眼下的自己有所不同,现有的藏书室就不会存在.因此,在黄昏下,当他凝视着这些心爱之物时就可以宣布:"它们是我的,而我也属于它们."
by Augusting Binell
It is no doubt a pleasant thing to have a library left you. The present writer will disclaim no such legacy, but hereby undertakes to accept it, however dusty. But good as it is to inherit a library, it is better to collect one. Each volume then, however lightly a stranger's eye may roam from shelf to shelf, has its own individuality, a histroy of its own. You remember where you got it, and how much you gave for it; and your word may safely be taken for the first of these facts, but not for the second.
The man who has a library of his own collection is able to contemplate himself objectively, and is justified in believing in his own existence. No other man but he would have made precisely such a combination as his. Had he been in any single respect different from what he is, his library, as it exists, never would have existed. Therefore, surely he may exclaim, as in the gloaming he contemplates the backs of his loved ones, "They are mine, and I am theirs."
我的藏书室
如果别人留给你一间藏书室,这无疑是一件令人高兴的事.本文作者绝不拒绝继承这样的遗产,而是立即答应接受,不管它布满多少尘土.继承一间书室虽然很好,但比不上自己收集图书汇成书室.不管陌生人的眼光多么漫不经心地从一个书架游移到另一个书架上,但是这里的每一卷书都有自己的独到之处和属于自己的一段历史.你记得是从哪里找到这本书的,为它付了多少代价;你说的关于这些书的事,人们必定会相信它们的来源地,而不相信它们的费用.
一个拥有自己藏书室的人可以客观地审视自己,完全有理由相信自己的存在.没有别人而只有他自己才可以得出这样的结论:是自己造就了自己.只要他在任何一方面与眼下的自己有所不同,现有的藏书室就不会存在.因此,在黄昏下,当他凝视着这些心爱之物时就可以宣布:"它们是我的,而我也属于它们."
Friday, December 13, 2002
Hello, Bennie.
I'm here finally after several hard tries.
The system seems unwilling to accept my request, : )
I find your essays quite suitable for my site,
considering the charactor of translation and discussion.
I'd like to make a link of your site on my board.
And I hope we could exchange more ideas on verses and essays.
Best wishes!
Shellin
I'm here finally after several hard tries.
The system seems unwilling to accept my request, : )
I find your essays quite suitable for my site,
considering the charactor of translation and discussion.
I'd like to make a link of your site on my board.
And I hope we could exchange more ideas on verses and essays.
Best wishes!
Shellin
Thursday, December 12, 2002
Life's rhythm
Take it easy
At a community function I was introduced to a very successful lawyer. He intimated to me that his achievement in Hign School was only mediocre. His Higher School Certificate results were not so brilliant to give him a good choice of courses at university, and he really did not know what he wanted to do next, so he decided to "take it easy". He took a year off and went travelling. A year was a long time and he soon became bored with doing nothing, but it was during that time that he recieved some inspiration and decided to try the Higher School Certificate examination again. The following year he achieved better results and was able to enter the Law Faculty. He eventually completed that course of his choice.
I compared his experience with that of some friends I know: they studied really hard while at school, not wasting a single moment. The diligence was commendable but they had not allowed themselves much time to rest and think. Some rushed into a course of study that turned out not to be their life's calling. As a result they ended up in the wrong profession. Soon they would become trapped into the mundane routine of paying off a mortgage, getting married, having children...etc. They staggered into their middle age before they realised that they had gone a long way without really knowing where they were heading.
When life's rhythm appears so frantic that you find it hard to keep up, "take it easy" is a very good advice: your driving instructor would ask you to take it easy when he sees your limbs going in all directions, your Tai-Chi teacher might notice that you are acting like a rap-dancer and say to you, "Take it easy! It is only when you are relaxed that you could sense the external forces and respond accordingly."
A debating coach had this to say to his team, " A relaxed mind will manifest in the tempo of your speech and in your body language. Your relaxed demeanor is the most persuasive force, because it is an expression of confidence."
"Take it easy" -the art of achieving more by attempting less.
Translation
从容就易
在一个社团宴会上我被介绍认识了一位很成功的律师。他告诉我，他在中学时的成绩十分平庸，中学毕业以后不知道想做什么，于是决定"take it easy"，他自己放了一年假去游玩，其实很快就玩厌了，但就在那段日子里生命得到启示，决定重头再来。他次年考进法律系，结果修读完成他真正喜爱的学科。
他的经历使我联想到一些我认识的朋友：求学时代埋头苦干，一刻也不放松，本来是件好事，但似乎没有给自己喘气的机会，更有些人因太急切而选错科系，入错专业，毕业后又忙于储蓄、供房子、结婚，很快儿女成行。及届中年，他们才开始问自己为什么连这个世界还未看清楚便走了这么长的路。
当生命节奏紧密，使你难以应付的时候，"Take it easy" 是一句很好的忠告，在不少情况下都用得着：驾车师傅会在你手忙脚乱的时候指点你"Take it easy"。太极拳师傅见你张牙舞爪的时候会指点你：“放松一点吧！那样可以使你更迅速地回应外来的力量啊！”
一位辩论教练这样告戒他的队员：“从容的心态会很自然地流露在你演说的节拍和动作里，也就是最具有说服力，因为它是自信的表现。”
"Take it easy"-坦荡荡的人生哲学。
Take it easy
At a community function I was introduced to a very successful lawyer. He intimated to me that his achievement in Hign School was only mediocre. His Higher School Certificate results were not so brilliant to give him a good choice of courses at university, and he really did not know what he wanted to do next, so he decided to "take it easy". He took a year off and went travelling. A year was a long time and he soon became bored with doing nothing, but it was during that time that he recieved some inspiration and decided to try the Higher School Certificate examination again. The following year he achieved better results and was able to enter the Law Faculty. He eventually completed that course of his choice.
I compared his experience with that of some friends I know: they studied really hard while at school, not wasting a single moment. The diligence was commendable but they had not allowed themselves much time to rest and think. Some rushed into a course of study that turned out not to be their life's calling. As a result they ended up in the wrong profession. Soon they would become trapped into the mundane routine of paying off a mortgage, getting married, having children...etc. They staggered into their middle age before they realised that they had gone a long way without really knowing where they were heading.
When life's rhythm appears so frantic that you find it hard to keep up, "take it easy" is a very good advice: your driving instructor would ask you to take it easy when he sees your limbs going in all directions, your Tai-Chi teacher might notice that you are acting like a rap-dancer and say to you, "Take it easy! It is only when you are relaxed that you could sense the external forces and respond accordingly."
A debating coach had this to say to his team, " A relaxed mind will manifest in the tempo of your speech and in your body language. Your relaxed demeanor is the most persuasive force, because it is an expression of confidence."
"Take it easy" -the art of achieving more by attempting less.
Translation
从容就易
在一个社团宴会上我被介绍认识了一位很成功的律师。他告诉我，他在中学时的成绩十分平庸，中学毕业以后不知道想做什么，于是决定"take it easy"，他自己放了一年假去游玩，其实很快就玩厌了，但就在那段日子里生命得到启示，决定重头再来。他次年考进法律系，结果修读完成他真正喜爱的学科。
他的经历使我联想到一些我认识的朋友：求学时代埋头苦干，一刻也不放松，本来是件好事，但似乎没有给自己喘气的机会，更有些人因太急切而选错科系，入错专业，毕业后又忙于储蓄、供房子、结婚，很快儿女成行。及届中年，他们才开始问自己为什么连这个世界还未看清楚便走了这么长的路。
当生命节奏紧密，使你难以应付的时候，"Take it easy" 是一句很好的忠告，在不少情况下都用得着：驾车师傅会在你手忙脚乱的时候指点你"Take it easy"。太极拳师傅见你张牙舞爪的时候会指点你：“放松一点吧！那样可以使你更迅速地回应外来的力量啊！”
一位辩论教练这样告戒他的队员：“从容的心态会很自然地流露在你演说的节拍和动作里，也就是最具有说服力，因为它是自信的表现。”
"Take it easy"-坦荡荡的人生哲学。
Wednesday, December 11, 2002
Honesty
There is an old English proverb which says, "Honesty is the best policy." I think, honesty is more than a policy. It is a form of honour. An honourable man can be trusted with any amount of money or other valuable things.
Cheating at any time is a sneaking thing to do. When you feel inclined to cheat in order to win a game, or feel very distressed when a game in which you are playing is going against you, just say to yourself, "It is only a game. One can't always win, though I will stick to it in case of a chance coming." If you keep your mind in this way, you will very often find that you win after all from not being over-anxious or desparing.
And don't forget, whenever you do lose a game, take the defeat calmly and bravely. If you are a true sportsman, you will at once cheer the winning team or shake hands with and congratulate the fellow who has beaten you. If you have the ambition to win the goal of success, be honest and strive to succeed. Dishonest means will not help you, but on the contrary will lead you to great difficulties.
Translation:
论诚实
一句古老的英国谚语说,"诚实是上策."我以为,诚实何止是一种策略,它简直就是一种荣誉.一位廉洁正直的人可以托付给他任何数目的钱财或其它贵重物品.
不管什么时候,欺骗都是卑鄙的行为.当你想赢得一场比赛却企图运用欺骗手段时,或者由于你参与的一场比赛对你不利而心情沮丧时,就该对自己说:"这只不过是一场比赛.人们在比赛中不可能永远获胜.我该耐心,以后也许会有机会."如果你这样想,你就会发现你毕竟克服了过度焦虑或失望等消极情绪.
不管在什么时候,当你输掉比赛时,记住,你要冷静而且勇敢地接受这次挫折.如果你是一位真正的运动员,你应立刻向胜队欢呼喝彩,和击败你的对手握手并向他祝贺.如果你一心想得到成功,就应该诚实行事,努力争取成功.不诚实对你无利,相反,他会给你带来重重困难.
There is an old English proverb which says, "Honesty is the best policy." I think, honesty is more than a policy. It is a form of honour. An honourable man can be trusted with any amount of money or other valuable things.
Cheating at any time is a sneaking thing to do. When you feel inclined to cheat in order to win a game, or feel very distressed when a game in which you are playing is going against you, just say to yourself, "It is only a game. One can't always win, though I will stick to it in case of a chance coming." If you keep your mind in this way, you will very often find that you win after all from not being over-anxious or desparing.
And don't forget, whenever you do lose a game, take the defeat calmly and bravely. If you are a true sportsman, you will at once cheer the winning team or shake hands with and congratulate the fellow who has beaten you. If you have the ambition to win the goal of success, be honest and strive to succeed. Dishonest means will not help you, but on the contrary will lead you to great difficulties.
Translation:
论诚实
一句古老的英国谚语说,"诚实是上策."我以为,诚实何止是一种策略,它简直就是一种荣誉.一位廉洁正直的人可以托付给他任何数目的钱财或其它贵重物品.
不管什么时候,欺骗都是卑鄙的行为.当你想赢得一场比赛却企图运用欺骗手段时,或者由于你参与的一场比赛对你不利而心情沮丧时,就该对自己说:"这只不过是一场比赛.人们在比赛中不可能永远获胜.我该耐心,以后也许会有机会."如果你这样想,你就会发现你毕竟克服了过度焦虑或失望等消极情绪.
不管在什么时候,当你输掉比赛时,记住,你要冷静而且勇敢地接受这次挫折.如果你是一位真正的运动员,你应立刻向胜队欢呼喝彩,和击败你的对手握手并向他祝贺.如果你一心想得到成功,就应该诚实行事,努力争取成功.不诚实对你无利,相反,他会给你带来重重困难.
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