英語經(jīng)典美文（大全15篇）

　　在學(xué)習(xí)、工作乃至生活中，大家都寫過美文嗎？在網(wǎng)絡(luò)時(shí)代人們接觸到的信息越來越多，微小說等很多網(wǎng)絡(luò)文章也被籠統(tǒng)的列入美文行列。那么你真的知道要怎么寫美文嗎？以下是小編整理的英語經(jīng)典美文，歡迎大家分享。

英語經(jīng)典美文1

　　[美文欣賞]

　　Failure doesn't mean you are a failure,

　　It does mean you haven't succeeded yet.

　　Failure doesn't mean you have accomplished nothing,

　　It does mean you have learned something.

　　Failure doesn't mean you have been a fool,

　　It does mean you had a lot of faith.

　　Failure doesn't mean you've been disgraced,

　　It does mean you were willing to try.

　　Failure doesn't mean you don't have it,

　　It does mean you have to do something in a different way.

　　Failure doesn't mean you are inferior,

　　It does mean you are not perfect.

　　Failure doesn't mean you've wasted your life,

　　It does mean you have a reason to start afresh.

　　Failure doesn't mean you should give up,

　　It does mean you must try harder.

　　Failure doesn't mean you'll never make it,

　　It does mean it will take a little longer.

　　Failure doesn't mean God has abandoned you,

　　It does mean God has a better idea.

　　[參考譯文]

　　失敗并不代表你是個(gè)失敗者

　　它只表明你尚未成功

　　失敗并不代表你一無所獲

　　它只表明你吸取了一次教訓(xùn)

　　失敗并不代表你很愚蠢

　　它只表明你信心百倍

　　失敗并不代表你無臉見人

　　它只表明你百折不回

　　失敗并不代表白費(fèi)功夫

　　它只表明你的方法仍待改進(jìn)

　　失敗并不代表你低人一等

　　它只表明你也并非完人

　　失敗并不代表你浪費(fèi)了生命

　　它只表明你有理由重新開始

　　失敗并不代表你應(yīng)該放棄

　　它只表明你要加倍努力

　　失敗并不代表成功永遠(yuǎn)不屬于你

　　它只表明你可能需要付出更多的時(shí)間

　　失敗并不代表上帝已經(jīng)將你拋棄

　　它只表明上帝還有更好的'主意

英語經(jīng)典美文2

　　卡夫卡說，“受難”是這個(gè)世界和積極因素之間惟一的聯(lián)系。當(dāng)我們用不屈服的.人生態(tài)度面對(duì)生命中的磨難時(shí)，我們才不會(huì)在生命的快樂中缺席。 是的，只要堅(jiān)持，希望的翅膀終有一天會(huì)張開，飛翔天上。

　　A little girl—the 20th of 22 children, was born prematurely and hersurvival was doubtful.

　　When she was 4 years old, she contracted double pneumonia andscarlet fever, which left her with a paralysed left leg. At age 9, she removed the metal leg brace she had been dependenton and began to walk without it. By 13 she had developed a rhythmic walk, which doctors said was amiracle. That same year she decided to become a runner. She entered arace and came in last.

　　For the next few years every race she entered, she came in last.Everyone told her to quit, but she kept on running.

　　One day she actually won a race, and then another. From then on shewon every race she entered.

　　Eventually this little girl—Wilma Rudolph, went on to win three Olympic gold medals.

　　Winner never quit!

英語經(jīng)典美文3

　　A fib 小小的謊言

　　I was six years old, my sister, Sally Kay, was a submissive three-year-old girl. For some reasons, I thought we needed to earn some money. I decided we should "hire out" as maids. We visited the neighbors, offering to clean houses for them for a quater cents. Reasonable as our offer was, there were no takers. But one neighbor telephoned my mother to let her know what Mary Alice and Sally Kay were doing.

　　Mother had just hung up the phone when we came first into the back door into the kitchen of our apartement. "Girls," mother asked, "why were you two going around the neighborhood telling people you would clean their houses?" Mother wasn't angry with us. In fact, we learned afterwards she was amused that we had came up with such an idea.

　　But, for some reason, we both denied having done any such thing. Shocked and terribly hurt that her dear little girls could be such "boldfaced (厚顏無恥的) liars" . Mother then told us that Mrs. Jones had just called and told her we had been to her house and said we would clean it for a quater cents .

　　Faced with the truth, we admitted what we had done. Mother said we have fibed, we have not told the truth. She was sure that we knew better. She tried to explain why a fib (小謊) hurt, but she didn't feel that we really understood.

　　Years later, she told us that the lesson she came up with for trying to teach us to be truthful would probably have been found upon by child psychologists. The idea came to her in a flash, and a tender-hearted mother told us it was the most difficult lesson she ever taught us. It was a lesson we never forgot. After admonishing(警告，勸告) us, mother cheerfully begain preparing for lunch. As we monching on sandwhiches, she asked:" Would you two like to go to see the movies this afternoon?"

　　"Wow, would we ever?" We wondered what movie would be playing. Mother said:"The Matinee".

　　"Oh, fatastic! We would be going to see The Matinee, would we lucky?" We got bathed and all dressed up. It was like getting ready for a birthday party. We hurried outside the apartment, not wanting to miss the bus that would take us downtown. On the landing, Mom stunned (使震驚) us by saying, "Girls, we are not going to the movies today." We didn't hear her right.

　　"What?" we objected. "What do you mean? Aren't we going to The Matinee? Mommy, you said that we are going to the Matinee. " Mother stooped and gathered us in her arms. I couldn't understand why there were tears in her eyes. We still had the time to get the bus, but hugging us, she gently explained this is a fib felt like. "It is important that what we say is true ," Mom said. "I fibbed to you just now and it felt awful to me. I don't ever want to fib again and I'm sure you don't want to fib again either. People must be able to believe each others. Do you understand? "

　　We assured her that we understood. We would never forget. And since we had learned a lesson, why not go to the movie to see The Matinee. There were still time. Not today. Mother told us. We would go another time. That is how over fifty years ago, my sister and I learned to be truthful. We have never forgotten how much a fib can be hurt.

英語經(jīng)典美文4

　　Passage1. Knowledge and Virtue

　　Knowledge is one thing, virtue is another; good sense is not conscience, refinement is not humility, nor is largeness and justness of view faith. Philosophy, however enlightened, however profound, gives no command over the passions, no influential motives, no vivifying principles. Liberal Education makes not the Christian, not the Catholic, but the gentleman. It is well to be a gentleman, it is well to have a cultivated intellect, a delicate taste, a candid, equitable, dispassionate mind, a noble and courteous bearing in the conduct of life—these are the connatural qualities of a large knowledge;they are the objects of a am advocating, I shall illustrate and insist upon them;but still, I repeat, they are no guarantee for sanctity or even for conscientiousness,and they may attach to the man of the world, to the profligate,to the heartless, pleasant, alas, and attractive as he shows when decked out in by themselves, they do but seem to be what they are not;they look like virtue at a distance, but they are detected by close observers, and in the long run;and hence it is that they are popularly accused of pretense and hypocrisy,not, I repeat, from their own fault,but because their professors and their admirers persist in taking them for what they are not,and are officious in arrogating for them a praise to which they have no the granite rock with razors, or moor the vessel with a thread of silk,then may you hope with such keen and delicate instruments as human knowledgeand human reason to contend against those giants, Passage 2. “Packing” a Person

英語經(jīng)典美文5

　　To see the golden sun and the azure sky, the outstretched ocean, to walk upon the green earth, and to be a lord of a thousand creatures to look down giddy precipices or over distant flowery vales, to see the world spread out under one's finger in a map, to bring the stars near, to view the smallest insects in a microscope, to read history and witness the revolutions of empires and the succession of generations, to hear the glory of Sidon and Tyre of Babylon and Susa, as of a fade pageant and to say all these were and are now nothing. to think that we exist in such a point of time, and in such a corner of space, to be at once spectators and a part of the moving scene to watch the return of the seasons, of spring and autumn, to hear—

　　The stock dove plain amid the forest deep,

　　That drowsy rustles to the sighing gale.

　　—to traverse desert wildness, to listen to the dungeon's gloom,or sit in crowded theatres and see life itself mocked, to feel heat and cold,pleasure and pain right and wrong,truth and falsehood, to study the works of art and refine the sense of beauty to agony, to worship fame and to dream of immortality, to have read Shakespeare and Beloit to the same species as Sir Isaac Newton to be and to do all this and then in a moment to be nothing to have it all snatched from one like a juggler's ball or a phantasmagoria...

　　我們看到金色的太陽，蔚藍(lán)的天空，廣闊的海洋；我們漫步在綠油油的大地上，做萬物的主人；我們俯視令人目眩心悸的懸崖峭壁，遠(yuǎn)眺鮮花盛開的山谷；我們把地圖攤開，任意指點(diǎn)全球；我們把星辰移到眼前觀看，還在顯微鏡下觀察極其微小的生物，我們學(xué)歷史，親自目睹帝國(guó)的興亡，時(shí)代的交替；我們聽人談?wù)撐黝D、推羅、巴比倫和蘇撒的勛業(yè)，如同聽一番往昔的盛會(huì)，聽了以后，我們說這些事確實(shí)發(fā)生過，但現(xiàn)在卻是過眼云煙了；我們思考著自己生活的時(shí)代，生活的地區(qū)；我們?cè)谌松�的`活動(dòng)舞臺(tái)上既當(dāng)觀眾，又當(dāng)演員；我們觀察四季更迭，春秋代序，我們聽見了——

　　野鴿在濃密的樹林中哀訴，

　　樹林隨微風(fēng)的嘆息而低語。

　　——我們橫越大漠；我們傾聽了子夜的歌聲；我們光顧燈火輝煌的廳堂，走下陰森森的地牢，或者坐在萬頭攢動(dòng)的劇院里觀看生活本身受到的摩擬；我們親身感受炎熱和寒冷，快樂和痛苦，正義和邪惡，真理和謬誤；我們鉆研藝術(shù)作品，把自己的美感提高到極其敏銳的程度；我們崇拜榮譽(yù)，夢(mèng)想不朽；我們閱讀莎士比亞，或者把自己和牛頓爵士視為同一族類，正當(dāng)我們面臨這一切，從事這一切的時(shí)候，自己卻在一剎那之間化為虛無，眼前的一切像是魔術(shù)師手中的圓球，像是一場(chǎng)幻影，一下子全都消失得無影無蹤……

英語經(jīng)典美文6

　　冬爺爺來了，樹上的葉子掉光了，北風(fēng)呼嘯著;大地一片蕭條的景象。河里結(jié)著厚厚的冰。人們圍著圍巾戴著手套，穿著各款的棉襖，但還是難以抵擋寒冷的侵襲臉都凍得紅撲撲的。

　　If winter comes, the leaves on the trees drop light, the north wind whistling, The earth a depression spectacle. The river caked with thick ice. People around scarf wearing gloves, wearing sections of the cotton-padded jacket, but still difficult to resist invasion of cold cold red face.

　　你看冬天是一個(gè)滴水成冰，哈氣成霜的季節(jié)。冬天醞釀著一個(gè)銀色的夢(mèng)。冬姑娘的禮物—雪花，給小朋友帶來了歡樂。瞧，小朋友穿著大衣有的在滑雪，有的在打雪仗，有的在堆雪人，還有的.在拍雪景，把銀裝素裹的世界永遠(yuǎn)留下來。

　　Winter is a DiShuiChengBing, HaQi into frost season. Winter ferment a silvery dream. Winter girl gift - snowflakes, give children brought joy. Lo, children overcoated some in the skiing, some in snowball fights, some is in a snowman, and still working on the snow, silver-coated world forever stay.

　　冬天的雪花從天空慢慢地飄下來，真像一朵朵梅花��！落在地上白茫茫的，人踩在上面，就咯吱咯吱響，像歡快的歌唱。

　　Snowflakes drifting down from the sky slowly, really like pieces of plum flower！ Fall on the ground, the white people trample on top, and squeak cheerful singing, like.

　　我愛冬天，更愛美麗的雪景。雪，也是冬天的象征。冬季如果少了雪花，那就只能叫冬天，不能叫冬季。你知道這為什么嗎？那是因?yàn)�，春雨、烈日、秋風(fēng)、雪花是春夏秋冬的使者。如果少了使者，人們不由得產(chǎn)生一種想法：今年的冬天怎么來的這么突然？

　　I love the winter, the more love beautiful snow. Snow, is also the symbol of winter. Winter if less snow, it can only be called winter, cant call winter. You know why is this？ That is because, under burming sun, rain, wind, snow is chun xia qiu dongs messenger. If less angel, people cannot produce a kind of idea: the winter of this year how come so suddenly？

　　我愛冬天，但我更注重它的使者——雪花。俗話說：瑞雪兆豐年。雪讓農(nóng)民伯伯笑容更加燦爛。雪也給小朋友們帶來獨(dú)有的快樂。

　　I love the winter, but I more notice its angel - snowflakes. As the saying goes: good harest. Snow lets the farmer uncle smile more splendid. Snow also give children bring unique joy.

　　啊！我愛你冬天，更愛你——雪。

英語經(jīng)典美文7

　　[美文欣賞]

　　The lives of most men are determined by their enviroment.They accept the circumstances amid which fate has thrown them not only resignation but even with good will.They are like streetcars running contendedly on their rails and they despise the sprightly flitter that dashes in and out of the traffic and speeds so jauntily across the open country .I respct them; they are good citizens,good husbands,and good fathers ,and of course somebody has to pay the taxes; but I do not find them exciting. I am fasinated by the men, few enough in all conscience , who take life in their own hands and seem to mould it in to their own liking. It may be that we have no such thing as free will, but at all events, we have the illusion of it. At a cross-road it does seem to us that we might go either to the right or to the left and ,the choice once made, it is difficult to see that the whole course of the world's history obliged us to take the turning we did.

　　[參考譯文]

　　大多數(shù)人的生活被他們身處的環(huán)境所決定。他們不僅接受既定的命運(yùn)，而且順從命運(yùn)的安排。他們就像街上的.電車一樣，在他們既定的軌道上行駛，而對(duì)于那些不時(shí)出沒于車水馬龍間和歡快地奔馳在曠野上的廉價(jià)小汽車卻不屑一顧。我尊重他們，他們是好公民、好丈夫和好父親。當(dāng)然，總得有些人來支付稅收，但是，他們并沒有令人激動(dòng)的地方。另外有一些人，他把生活掌握在自己的手里，可以按照自己的喜好去創(chuàng)造生活，盡管這樣的人少之又少，但我卻被他們深深的吸引著。可能世界上并沒有諸如自由意志這樣的事情，但是無論怎樣，我們總有關(guān)于自由意志的的幻想。當(dāng)我們處在一個(gè)十字路口時(shí)，我們似乎可以決定向左走還是向右走，可是一旦做出選擇，我們卻很難意識(shí)到，實(shí)際上是世界歷史的全部進(jìn)程強(qiáng)迫我們做出了那樣的選擇。

英語經(jīng)典美文8

　　If we look at the sky on a perfectly fine summer‘s day we shall find that the blue colour is the most pure and intense overhead, and when looking high up in a direction opposite to the sun. Near the horizon it is always less bright, while in the region immediately around the sun it is more or less yellow.

　　The reason of this is that near the horizon we look through a very great thickness of the lower atmosphere, which is full of the larger dust particles reflecting white light, and this diluter the pure blue of the higher atmosphere seen beyond,And in the vicinity of the sun a good deal of the blue light is reflected back into space by the finer dust, thus giving a yellowish tinge to that which reaches us reflected chiefly from the coarse dust of the lower atmosphere.

　　At sunset and sunrise, however, this last effect is greatly intensified, owing to the great thickness of the strata of air through which the light reaches us. The enormous amount of this dust is well shown by the fact that then only we can look full at the sun, even when the whole sky is free from clouds and there is no apparent mist. But the sun’s rays then reach us after having passed, first, through an enormous thickness of the higher strata of the air, the minute dust of which reflects most of the higher strata of the air, the minute dust of which reflects most of the blue rays away from us, leaving the complementary yellow light to pass on,Then, the somewhat coarser dust reflects the green rays, leaving a more orange-coloured light to pass on; and finally some of the yellow is reflected, leaving almost pure red. But owing to the constant presence of air currents, arranging both the dust and vapour in strata of varying extent and density ,and of high or low clouds which both absorb and reflect the light in varying degrees, we see produced all those wondrous combinations of tints and those gorgeous ever-changing colours which are a constant source of admiration and delight to all who have the advantage of an uninterrupted view to the west and who are accustomed to watch for those not infrequent exhibitions of nature’s kaleidoscopic colour painting.

　　With every change in the altitude of the sun the display changes its character; and most of all when it has sunk below the horizon, and owing to the more favourable angles a larger quantity of the coloured light is reflected toward us, Especially when there is a certain amount of cloud is this the case. These, so long as the sun was above the horizon, intercepted much of the light and colour, but when the great luminary has passed away from our direct vision, his light shines more directly on the under sides of all the clouds and air strata of different densities; a new and more brilliant light flushes the western sky, and a display of gorgeous ever-changing tints occurs which are at once the delight of the beholder and the despair of the artist.

　　And all this unsurpassable glory we owe to--dust!

英語經(jīng)典美文9

　　“Do you like my dress？"she asked of a passing stranger。"My mommy made it just for me。"She said with a tear in her eye。

　　"你喜歡我的連衣裙嗎？“她問一位正走過她身邊的陌生人�！蔽覌寢寣＝o我做的�！彼�說道，眼里冒出了淚珠。

　　"Well，I think it's very pretty，so tell me little one，why are you crying？"

　　“嗯，我認(rèn)為你的裙子真漂亮。告訴我，小姑娘，你為什么哭呢？”

　　With a quiver in her voice the little girl answered。"After Mommy made me this dress，she had to go away。"

　　小姑娘聲音有些顫抖，回答道：“我媽媽給我做完這條裙子后就不得不離開了�！�

　　"Well，now，"said the lady，"with a little girl like you waiting for her，I'm sure she'll be right back。"

　　“哦，是這樣，”陌生的女士說，“有你這樣一個(gè)小姑娘等著她，我敢肯定她很快就會(huì)回來的�！�

　　"No Ma'am ，you don't understand，"said the child through her tears，"my daddy said she's up in heaven now with Grandfather。"

　　“不，女士，您不明白，”女孩透過淚水說，“我爸說她現(xiàn)在和我爺爺在天堂里。”

　　Finally the woman realized what the child meant，and why she was crying。Kneeling down she gently cradled the child in her arms and together they cried for the mommy that was gone。

　　女士終于明白孩子的意思了，也明白她為什么哭泣。她跪下，溫柔地把女孩摟在懷里，她們一起為離去的媽媽哭泣。

　　Then suddenly the little girl did something that the woman thought was a bit strange。She stopped crying，stepped back from the woman and began to sing。She sang so softly that it was almost a whisper。 It was the sweetest sound the woman had ever heard，almost like the song of a very small bird。

　　忽然小姑娘又做了件讓女士感到有點(diǎn)奇怪的事。她停住了哭泣，從女士懷抱中抽出身，向后退了一步，然后開始唱歌。她唱得如此輕柔，幾乎像章晨低語。這是女士聽到過的最甜美的聲音，簡(jiǎn)直就像一只非常小的小鳥在吟唱。

　　After the child stopped singing she explained to the lady，"My mommy used to sing that song to me before she went away，and she made me promise to sing it whenever I started crying and it would make me stop。"

　　小女孩唱完后解釋說：“媽媽離去前經(jīng)常給我唱這支歌，她讓我答應(yīng)她我一哭就唱這支歌，這樣我就不哭了。”

　　"See，"she exclaimed，"it did，and now my eyes are dry！"

　　“您瞧，”她驚叫道，“真管用，現(xiàn)在我的眼睛里沒有眼淚了！”

　　As the woman turned to go，the little girl grabbed her sleeve，"Ma'am，can you stay just a minute？I want to show you something。"

　　女士轉(zhuǎn)身要走時(shí)，小女孩抓住她的衣袖：“女士，您能再停留一小會(huì)兒?jiǎn)�？我想給您看點(diǎn)東西�！�

　　"Of course，"she answered，"what do you want me to see？"

　　“當(dāng)然可以，”她回答，“你想要我看什么呢？”

　　Pointing to a spot on her dress，she said，"Right here is where my mommy kissed my dress，and here，"pointing to another spot，"and here is another kiss， and here，and here。Mommy said that she put all those kisses on my dress so that I would have her kisses for every booboo'that made me cry。"

　　小女孩指著裙子上的一處，說：“就在這里，我媽媽親了我的裙子，還有這里，”她指著另外一處，“這里有另外一個(gè)吻，還有這里，這里。媽媽說她把所有這些吻都留在我的連衣裙上，這樣我遇到什么事哭了，就會(huì)有她的親吻�！�

　　Then the lady realized that she wasn't just looking at a dress，no，she was looking at a mother…who knew that she was going away and would not be there to kiss away the hurts that she knew her daughter would get。

　　這時(shí)，女士意識(shí)到在她眼前的不是一件連衣裙，不是的，她在凝視一位母親……這位母親知道她將離去，無法隨時(shí)守候在女兒身邊，吻去她知道女兒必然會(huì)遇到的種種傷心事。

　　So she took all the love she had for her beautiful little girl and put them into this dress，that her child now so proudly wore。

　　所以她將所有對(duì)她美麗女兒的.愛傾注在這件連衣裙上。現(xiàn)在，女兒如此驕傲地穿在身上。

　　She no longer saw a little girl in a simple dress。 She saw a child wrapped…in her mother's love。

　　她看到的不再是身穿一件簡(jiǎn)單的連衣裙的小女孩。她看到的是一個(gè)……被媽媽的愛裹著的孩子。

英語經(jīng)典美文10

　　Sitting on a grassy grave, beneath one of the windows of the church, was a little girl.With her head bent back she was gazing up at the sky and singing, while one of her little hands was pointing to a tiny cloud that hovered like a golden feather above her head. The sun, which had suddenly become very bright, shining on her glossy hair, gave it a metallic luster, and it was difficult to say what was the color, dark bronze or black. So completely absorbed was she in watching the cloud to which her strange song or incantation seemed addressed, that she did not observe me when I rose and went towards her.Over her head, high up in the blue, a lark that was soaring towards' the same gauzy cloud was singing, as if in rivalry. As I slowly approached the child, I could see by her forehead, which, in the sunshine seemed like a globe of pearl, and especially by her complexion, that she was uncommonly lovely. Her eyes, which at one moment seemed blue-gray, at another violet, were shaded by long black lashes, curving backward in a most peculiar way, and these matched in hue her eyebrows, and the tresses that were tossed about her tender throat and were quivering in the sunlight. All this I did not take in at once; for at first I could see nothing but those quivering, glittering, changeful eyes turned up into my face. Gradually the other features, especially the sensitive full-lipped mouth, grew upon me as I stood silently gazing. Here seemed to me a more perfect beauty than had ever come to me in my loveliest dreams of beauty. Yet it was not her beauty so much as the look she gave me that fascinated me, melted me.

　　在教堂的一扇窗下長(zhǎng)滿綠草的墳堆上，坐著個(gè)小女孩。她仰著頭，望著天空，唱著歌兒。她的小手指點(diǎn)著一朵飄浮在她頭頂?shù)慕鹕�羽毛般的小彩云。突然間，陽光顯得格外燦爛，照在她光澤的頭發(fā)上，給它涂上一層金屬似的光彩，很難說出它突竟是什么顏色，是深褐色，還是黑色。她是那么全神貫注地望著彩云，她那奇妙的歌聲，或可說是喃喃自語，似乎是對(duì)著那彩云而發(fā)的'。因而她沒有注意到我站起身來朝她走去。在她上空高高的藍(lán)天里，一只展翅飛向那朵輕盈透明的彩云的云雀也在歌唱，似乎在與她比賽。我慢步向小女孩走去，她那在陽光下如同珍珠一樣圓潤(rùn)的前額，特別是她那膚色，使我感到她真是異�？蓯�。媳耶黑黑的長(zhǎng)睫毛非常別致地朝后彎曲著，掩映著一雙一會(huì)兒象是藍(lán)灰色的，一會(huì)兒又象是紫羅蘭色的眼睛。她的長(zhǎng)睫毛同她的眉毛和頭發(fā)色澤調(diào)和，披拂在她嬌嫩的脖子上的發(fā)綹，在陽光里輕輕飄動(dòng)。我并沒有馬上領(lǐng)略到這一切，因?yàn)槲乙婚_始只注意了那雙閃閃發(fā)光、富于表情、盯著我看的眼睛。我佇立在一邊默默地注視著她，才漸漸地看清了她容貌的其他部分，特別是那張靈敏而又豐滿的小嘴。呈現(xiàn)在我眼苧的這一美的形象似乎比我在最美好的夢(mèng)境中所見過的更美。然而，與其說是她的美麗，不如說是她朝我看的那種眼神，更使我著迷，更使我陶醉.

英語經(jīng)典美文11

　　It is a plain fact that we are in a world where competition is going on in all areas and at all levels.

　　This is exciting.

　　Yet, on the other hand, competition breeze a pragmatic attitude.

　　People choose to learn things that are useful,and do things that are profitable.

　　Todays' college education is also affected by this general sense of utilitarianism.

　　Many college students choose business nor computing programming as their majors convinced that this professions are where the big money is.

　　It is not unusual to see the college students taking a part time jobs as a warming up for the real battle.

　　I often see my friends taking GRE tests, working on English or computer certificates and taking the driving licence to get a licence.

　　Well, I have nothing against being practical.

　　As the competition in the job market gets more and more intense, students do have reasons to be practical.

　　However, we should never forget that college education is much more than skill training.

　　Just imagine, if your utilitarianism is prevails on campus, living no space for the cultivation of students' minds,or nurturing of their soul.

　　We will see university is training out well trained spiritless working machines.

　　If utilitarianism prevails society, we will see people bond by mind-forged medicals lost in the money-making ventures;we will see humality lossing their grace and dignity, and that would be disastrous.

　　I'd like to think society as a courage and people persumed for profit or fame as a horese that pulls the courage.

　　Yet without the driver picking direction the courage would go straight and may even end out in a precarious situation .

　　A certificate may give you some advantage, but broad horizons, positive attitudes and personal integrities ,these are assets you cannot acquire through any quick fixed way.

　　In today's world, whether highest level of competition is not of skills or expertise , but vision and strategy.

　　Your intellectual quality largely determinds how far you can go in your career.

英語經(jīng)典美文12

　　Japan"s Voluntary Shut-Ins 日本的自閉現(xiàn)象

　　TOKYO -- Akiko Abe has barely seen her 25-year-old son in six years, yet they live in the same small house. He leaves his room only when he"s sure his parents are out or asleep, she said. She can tell when he has used the kitchen, and she knows he goes to the living room to watch television and use the computer at night.

　　She has waited patiently for him to tire of his isolation, sometimes standing outside his door and talking, to herself as much as to him. But, afraid that many more years would pass like this, she finally approached an organization that works with shut-ins by making home visits. "It will be difficult, because he won"t open his door," she said quietly.

　　As many as a million Japanese -- most of them young men -- are considered shut-ins, either literally cloistered in their rooms or refusing to work and avoiding all social contact for periods ranging from six months to more than 10 years. Forty-one percent live reclusively for one to five years, according to a government survey.

　　Some shut-ins suffer from such illnesses as depression, agoraphobia or schizophrenia. But experts say the vast majority shut themselves up at home for six months or more without showing any other signs of neurological or psychiatric disorder.

　　The seriousness of the problem has increased dramatically over the past decade as Japan"s economy has slid into recession, bringing record unemployment rates and little job security as companies restructure or go bankrupt.

　　Psychologists and other mental health experts here say that Japan has the biggest problem of this type in the world, and that it is growing. They give a long list of reasons why young men are dropping out of society, including a declining birthrate, which means there are more families with only one son on whom they place all their hopes in this patrilineal society. Also, boys grow up without male role models because their fathers are working all the time. Psychologists also cite Japan"s "culture of shame," which makes people fear how they"re perceived if they have a problem fitting in.

　　Japan"s wealth makes it possible for people to cut themselves off from society. Young adults live at home much longer than they do in the United States, traditionally until marriage. Teens and adults who drop out of school or leave work are simply supported by their parents.

　　"When I was young, there was no question that you would have to go to work," said Abe, 61, who asked that her son, who refused to talk to a visitor, not be named. "Now, families have enough money so that the children don"t need to find jobs right away." In an attempt to get their son to communicate with them, Abe and her husband have decided that from now on, they are not going to slip an envelope under his door with his $400 monthly allowance.

　　Shut-ins -- 70 to 80 percent of whom are men -- often sleep much of the day and are up all night, watching television, using the Internet and popping out to the 24-hour convenience stores that are located in most neighborhoods and sell all kinds of microwaveable packaged meals. Japan"s convenience store culture caters to the solitary life -- providing everything for the person eating alone, living alone.

　　"In Japan, it"s easy for anybody to live with walls around themselves," said Seiei Muto of the Tokyo Mental Health Academy. "And with the number of children declining, you play alone, eat alone, study alone."

　　Muto and other mental health workers talk about the decline of communication skills, the increasing anonymity of urban Japan and the collapse of a cooperative society. "If a child is walking down the street, it would be rare for someone to ask the child, "Where are you going?" " Muto said.

　　Others say the problem has deep historical and cultural roots. "Japan is a rich country, but we have no identity, no confidence, no ability to communicate with others," said Tadashi Yamazoe, a professor of clinical psychology at Kyoto Gakuen University. "Japanese have a passive personality."

　　But most people say it is a modern phenomenon, evidence of a great generation gap between those who built Japan"s postwar economic success, and their children, who cannot expect lifetime employment in today"s weak economy and say they do not want it anyway.

　　"In Japan there has been only one path, and today an increasing number of people are not on it," said Noki Futagami, who began the nonprofit New Start Foundation to work with shut-ins. "It"s easy to say that academic background is not everything. But the parents cannot suggest another path because they don"t know one."

　　The existence of large numbers of shut-ins in many ways encapsulates the social problems of modern Japan and the wrenching period it is now going through. The Japanese word for the phenomenon -- hikikomori -- translates as withdrawal, and it is becoming increasingly familiar. It is the subject of television documentaries and newspaper and magazine articles.

　　Many adult shut-ins start as school dropouts.For a country obsessed with education, there is a surprisingly high number of dropouts. A record 134,000 elementary and junior high students were absent from school for at least 30 straight days during the 20xx-01 school year, more than twice the number 10 years ago.

　　Abe said her son"s school years were normal, but in high school he failed the university entrance exam. That is not unusual; most who fail study for another year and try again. Abe"s son said he was going to study on his own instead of enrolling in a cram school, and that began his withdrawal.

　　The family has tried to keep the problem hidden, not even talking about it to relatives, much less neighbors.

　　But Futagami said this means the family is shutting itself in as well, making the problem worse.

　　"There are things parents can and cannot do," he said. "They should be more open and get help from others, nurture social ties. I regard this as an illness stemming from society. Nobody helps these people, so they accumulate."

　　In a few recent cases, socially withdrawn young men have committed shocking crimes, including a 27-year-old who kidnapped a 9-year-old girl in 1990 and kept her in his room for nine years. His mother, who lived downstairs, was never permitted to enter his room.

　　"In America, the child"s room belongs to the parents and is seen as being rented out to the kid," noted one of the actors appearing in a new play on shut-ins. "The child can be displaced for guests." This is a remarkable concept in Japan, where the norm is that teens or young adults can forbid their parents from entering their rooms.

　　As the problem gets more national attention, parent support groups, counseling centers and mental health clinics have geared up to help families. Home visits over the course of months and sometimes years bring many people out of their rooms.

　　But finding a job after having spent several years as a shut-in is extremely difficult. To provide work experience, Futagami"s New Start organization runs a welfare center for the elderly, a restaurant and coffee shop.

　　Takeshi Watanabe, a counselor with the Tokyo Mental Health Academy, and Yasutaka Masuko, 28, seem like brothers. For 10 years Watanabe visited Masuko once a week at the home Masuko refused to leave. Masuko said he doesn"t remember anything specific causing him to drop out of school during his second year of junior high. "Maybe I was feeling pressure," he said. For a while he became physically ill when people came to see him.

　　But Watanabe"s steady visits, their shared interest in music and eventually Masuko"s purchase of a computer slowly convinced Masuko that he could go out. The turning point was soccer. He wanted so badly to go to the games of his favorite team -- an interest encouraged by Watanabe -- that he bought a season ticket, and before the first game practiced going outside.

　　"For night games I went early in the morning to get a good seat," he said. "I made friends because I was in the same place every game."

　　Masuko has taken other big steps. He got his high school degree through a correspondence course and is now enrolled at Nihon University, majoring in philosophy and education. He said there are many other former shut-ins there, and they often talk.

　　He also found a part-time job at a loan collection company.

　　An understanding society is critical to dealing with the problem, Watanabe said. The mental health clinic in a Tokyo suburb where he works has cultivated about a dozen business establishments in the immediate neighborhood, where they have introduced themselves and the young men who come by.

　　"We wanted them to understand we are not a cult," Watanabe said. At the bike shop, coffee shop and 7-Eleven, people started to talk to them, started to say, "Hi, how"s it going?" They got emotional support from the neighborhood and some shopkeepers hired them to work two to three hours per week, he explained.

　　"Many people feel nostalgic about Japanese traditions and the warmth that is harder to find today," Watanabe said.

　　阿部秋子盡管與兒子同住在一間小房子里，六年來，他只在父母外出或者睡覺的時(shí)候才出門。她只知道他什么時(shí)候用過廚房，還知道他在客廳看過電視，在晚上使用過電腦，可是她卻沒能和自己25歲的兒子見上幾次面。

　　她耐心地等待著有一天兒子終于會(huì)厭煩這種自我封閉，有時(shí)她就站在他的門口說話，既是對(duì)他說也是對(duì)自己說。但是她很害怕再過上幾年這樣的日子，于是她終于向一家自閉癥患者援助中心求助，這個(gè)組織可以提供家訪服務(wù)�！斑@可能會(huì)很麻煩，因?yàn)樗�不愿意開門，”她小聲地說道。

　　日本有將近一百萬人患有自閉癥，其中大多數(shù)是年輕人。他們把自己幽禁在房間里，不愿意去工作，把自己完全與外界隔離開來，少則半年，多的超過10年。根據(jù)一項(xiàng)政府調(diào)查表明，41%的患者把自己一人關(guān)禁起來一到五年不等。

　　一些自閉者患有沮喪、曠野恐懼或者精神分裂等癥狀。但是專家們表示，大多數(shù)的自閉病人在呆在家里半年或更長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間里，都沒有出現(xiàn)任何神經(jīng)或精神上的失調(diào)癥狀。隨著日本的經(jīng)濟(jì)開始走下坡路，經(jīng)濟(jì)蕭條導(dǎo)致了居高不下的失業(yè)率，而由于公司重組或者破產(chǎn)員工的飯碗也是朝不保夕，自閉現(xiàn)象在過去十年里也變得更加嚴(yán)重。

　　心理學(xué)家和心理健康專家們都一致認(rèn)為自閉現(xiàn)象在日本尤其嚴(yán)重，并且有增長(zhǎng)的趨勢(shì)。他們列出了一大串的理由來解釋為什么年輕人會(huì)幽居寡出，與世隔絕。這些理由包括低出生率，這表明在這個(gè)父系社會(huì)里，越來越多的家庭只有一個(gè)孩子，家長(zhǎng)們把他們所有的希望都寄托在這個(gè)孩子身上。同時(shí)，由于父親長(zhǎng)時(shí)間在外工作，男孩在成長(zhǎng)過程中缺乏可模仿的男性模范角色。心理學(xué)者同時(shí)指出日本文化中的羞恥感，在出現(xiàn)問題的時(shí)候，人們都害怕不能被社會(huì)所接納而極力隱瞞。

　　日本的富有也使日本國(guó)民可以脫離社會(huì)生存。日本的年輕成人呆在家里的時(shí)間遠(yuǎn)比美國(guó)人的長(zhǎng)，傳統(tǒng)上他們?cè)诮Y(jié)了婚以后才自立門戶。對(duì)退學(xué)或失業(yè)的孩子，他們的父母完全有能力把他們養(yǎng)在家里。

　　“在我年輕的時(shí)候，我必須要出去找工作謀生”，現(xiàn)年61歲的阿部秋子說。她的兒子拒絕和來訪者交談，她請(qǐng)求不要把她兒子的名字寫出來，“現(xiàn)在，每家每戶都有足夠的錢，他們的子女也不必急著去找工作。”嘗試著讓他們的兒子以后和他們進(jìn)行交流，阿部秋子夫婦倆決定停止兒子每月400美金的零用錢，那還是夫婦倆用信封裝好從兒子的門縫里塞進(jìn)去的。

　　70%到80%的自閉癥患者是男性，他們經(jīng)常晝伏夜出，白天就蒙頭大睡，晚上才出來活動(dòng)，看電視、上網(wǎng)，或者跑到外面24小時(shí)營(yíng)業(yè)的便利店。這些便利店在每個(gè)街區(qū)都有，可以提供各式各樣的速食食品，只要放進(jìn)微波爐烤一烤就可以吃。日本的便利店文化迎合了獨(dú)居生活的需要——里面的東西可以滿足一個(gè)人獨(dú)吃獨(dú)住的一切需求。

　　“在日本，人們很容易生活在自己修筑的墻里面，孤獨(dú)地生活著”，東京精神健康研究所的武藤清英說，“隨著兄弟姐妹數(shù)量的減少，你就自然成了孤家寡人，你只好一個(gè)人玩，一個(gè)人吃，一個(gè)人學(xué)習(xí)。”

　　武藤清英和一些精神康復(fù)的工作人員還談到了自閉現(xiàn)象的其他成因，比如說交流能力的匱乏，日本城市里人們彼此距離的疏遠(yuǎn)，及集體合作精神的崩潰等�！叭绻�一個(gè)小孩在街道上游蕩，幾乎沒有路人會(huì)上去問他‘你要去哪里呀?’”武藤清英說。

　　但也有人認(rèn)為這個(gè)問題有著深遠(yuǎn)的歷史與文化根源�！叭毡臼莻�(gè)富裕的國(guó)家，但是我們卻有身份危機(jī)，我們?nèi)狈ψ孕牛�不懂與他人交流”，東京學(xué)園大學(xué)的臨床心理學(xué)教授山添忠說，“日本人的性格都很消極被動(dòng)�！�

　　但是大多數(shù)的人認(rèn)為這只是個(gè)現(xiàn)代病，證明兩代人之間已經(jīng)有了一道無法逾越的鴻溝，與親手締造戰(zhàn)后日本經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮的父輩相比，他們的子女根本不指望能在經(jīng)濟(jì)疲軟的今天找到鐵飯碗，他們甚至不在乎有沒有工作。

　　“在日本只有一條路可以走，可現(xiàn)在越來越多的人都不在這條路上走，”二神軒這樣說道，他創(chuàng)辦了新生基金會(huì)，一個(gè)幫助自閉癥患者的非贏利機(jī)構(gòu)，“大家都說學(xué)歷背景其實(shí)并不重要，說起來很容易，可是家長(zhǎng)們又不能提出其他更好的出路�！�

　　自閉現(xiàn)象的流行其實(shí)濃縮了日本的很多社會(huì)問題，日本經(jīng)濟(jì)的不景氣也使這個(gè)問題顯得特別尖銳。日語把這現(xiàn)象稱為閉居，翻譯過來就是遁世。這個(gè)詞現(xiàn)在在日本很流行，常在電視、報(bào)紙和雜志等媒體中報(bào)道。

　　很多成年人的自閉首先從退學(xué)開始。

　　對(duì)極端重視教育的日本來說，日本的輟學(xué)率也是相當(dāng)驚人。日本中小學(xué)在20xx年度就有134,000人次曠課一個(gè)月以上，這個(gè)數(shù)字是10年前的兩倍多。

　　阿部秋子說她兒子在學(xué)校的表現(xiàn)還算正常，但在高中升大學(xué)的考試中考砸了。這本來也不是很出奇的事情，大多數(shù)失敗的考生都會(huì)復(fù)讀一年再考一次。阿部秋子的兒子說他寧愿自習(xí)也不愿意參加備考班，從此他就開始了遁世。

　　夫婦倆試圖掩蓋這件事情，從沒跟親戚們講起，鄰居們也自然無從得知。

　　但是二神軒說，這就意味著這個(gè)家庭也把自己封閉起來，這只會(huì)使問題惡化。“處理這些問題有些是家長(zhǎng)們可以做的，有些卻是不能做的，”他說，“他們應(yīng)該更加開放，從外界尋求幫助，培養(yǎng)社會(huì)關(guān)系。我認(rèn)為這是由于社會(huì)弊端在作怪，沒有人愿意幫助這些人，所以這些人的人數(shù)也隨之增長(zhǎng)�！�

　　近期的一些例子中，遁離社會(huì)的年輕人犯下了令人發(fā)指的罪行，其中有一個(gè)27歲的男子，于1990年綁架了個(gè)年僅9歲的小女孩，然后把她困在自己房間里長(zhǎng)達(dá)9年之久。而住在樓下的母親卻從來不容許進(jìn)入他的房間。

　　“在美國(guó)，孩子的房間是父母的財(cái)產(chǎn)，他們就好像把房間租給孩子一般，”一位演員這樣說到，他剛參加了一部反映自閉現(xiàn)象的戲劇演出，“當(dāng)有客人來時(shí)，小孩的房間可以準(zhǔn)做客房�！倍�在日本，青少年和年輕成年人完全可以把父母趕出他們的房間，這在日本已經(jīng)是個(gè)深入人心的觀念。

　　這個(gè)問題越來越引起全國(guó)的關(guān)注，家長(zhǎng)援助組織、咨詢中心和心理健康醫(yī)療所等機(jī)構(gòu)組織了各種活動(dòng)援助那些家庭。幾個(gè)月甚至幾年的`家訪，他們終于使很多患者帶出了他們的家門。

　　但是，自閉癥患者在閑置多年后再繼續(xù)找工作會(huì)變得特別困難。為了給他們提供工作經(jīng)歷，二神軒的新生基金會(huì)開了一個(gè)老人福利中心、一家餐館和咖啡店。

　　渡邊武是東京精神健康研究院的顧問，他與28歲的康隆雅子看上去象是兄弟一般。十年來，渡邊武每周對(duì)康隆雅子進(jìn)行一次家訪，而康隆雅子卻不肯離開自己的家門�？德⊙抛踊貞浾f，他其實(shí)記不清是哪件具體的事情讓他在初二時(shí)退學(xué)。“也許是我感到壓力吧，”他說。在一段時(shí)間里，只要有人來看他，他就會(huì)覺得渾身不舒服。

　　渡邊武持之以恒的家訪發(fā)現(xiàn)倆人在音樂方面有共同的愛好，最終康隆雅子買下了一臺(tái)電腦，而康隆雅子也慢慢地被說服，他其實(shí)是可以出去面對(duì)的。轉(zhuǎn)折點(diǎn)是一場(chǎng)足球比賽。康隆雅子非常想看一場(chǎng)他喜愛球隊(duì)的比賽，渡邊武也一直鼓勵(lì)他喜歡足球運(yùn)動(dòng)，他還買下了整個(gè)賽季的球票，在賽季開始前他們練習(xí)一起走出家門。

　　“比賽在晚上舉行，我早上就去了，這樣就能占個(gè)好位置，”他說，“由于我每次都坐在同一個(gè)位置上，我還結(jié)交了一些朋友�！�

　　康隆雅子在其他方面也取得了很大的進(jìn)步，他通過函授課程獲得了高中學(xué)歷，現(xiàn)在已被日本大學(xué)錄取，所學(xué)的專業(yè)是哲學(xué)與教育。他說在這里還有很多以前的自閉癥患者，他們經(jīng)常一起交流。

　　他同時(shí)還在一家商賬追收公司找到了一份兼職。

　　渡邊武說，一個(gè)理解寬容的社會(huì)對(duì)這個(gè)問題的處理是很重要的。他在東京郊外的那家精神健康診所已經(jīng)在周邊地區(qū)開了十幾家的店鋪，他們向人們介紹自己和在店里工作的前自閉癥患者。

　　“我們要讓他們明白我們并不是什么邪教組織，”渡邊武說。在自行車店、咖啡店和7-11連鎖店里，人們開始跟他們交談，開始會(huì)問，“嘿，最近怎么樣啊?”他們得到了鄰居們的精神支持，一些店主還雇傭他們?cè)诘昀锩恐芄ぷ?到3小時(shí)，他解釋說。

　　“大家都很懷念日本過去的傳統(tǒng)，而過去人與人間的溫情現(xiàn)在也很難找到了!”渡邊武說道。

英語經(jīng)典美文13

　　In the late years of the Qin Dynasty (秦朝,221 - 206BC), Xiang Yu (項(xiàng)羽) launched a rebellion.

　　秦朝末年，項(xiàng)羽發(fā)動(dòng)了叛亂。

　　After crossing the Zhang River (漳河), Xiang Yu ordered his soldiers to sink all the boats and break their cooking pots.

　　在隊(duì)渡過漳河之后，項(xiàng)羽命令士兵把所有的船只都鑿破，沉到河底，再把煮飯鍋完全打碎。

　　He distributed each soldier three days' rations and warned them that there was no way return; the only thing they could do to survive was to fight against the enemy.

　　項(xiàng)羽給每個(gè)人只發(fā)三天的.糧食，然后再上戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)，這樣做，是為了向大家表示“寧死不退”的決心。

　　After nine furious war, the Qin army was finally defeated.

　　果然，經(jīng)過九次的激烈奮戰(zhàn)，項(xiàng)羽的隊(duì)終于打敗了秦國(guó)的隊(duì)。

　　This idiom is used to reveal one's strong determination to achieve one's goal at any cost.

　　后來，我們使用“破釜沉舟”比喻：下定決心，不達(dá)目的絕不罷休的精神。

英語經(jīng)典美文14

　　The north wind whizzing in the ear, now it is winter, the memory of a snow-white winter.

　　It was so fast in winter, in a trance, the shadow of the sunny summer was still shaking, and the golden yellow of the autumn had not yet gone.

　　It is coming, the footsteps are so light and light that they can't hear the sound.

　　It was white in the air and white; the flakes of snowflakes falling in the sky were white; it was white in the air. In winter, it looks like a white spirit, circling in the sky.

　　The south is no snow, I remember last year, there was snow, snow drifting profusely and disorderly fall, we run wild in the snow snowball fight together, in the snow in front, we like a naughty child, showing their innocence.

　　It was early in the morning, heavy fog, wind, sun signs are ready, and the warm lights cast little light, hands in his pockets, memories of the past, enjoy the warmth of the winter.

英語經(jīng)典美文15

　　Message in a Body

　　Have you completely lost your mind? I asked myself as I walked down the hall to the office of my boss. In my right hand I clutched the resignation letter I had typed the night before.

　　No, you haven"t, the small part of me that wasn"t scared to death whispered back. Remember what happened a few months ago?

　　Oh yes, I remembered it well.

　　I had worked for the same company for over a decade, my dedication and long hours finally paying off when I was promoted to upper management while still young. I had tons of responsibilities, and there were deadlines and daily crises. The stacks of paper on my desk grew taller as the weeks passed, and phone calls, faxes and e-mails dominated my life. I took great pride in my work, and mailed home some business cards to my parents so they could see the title under my name.

　　One by one, relationships with friends dwindled as I lived and breathed my job. It had become my whole life, and I gave it 110 percent. I pumped myself up with caffeine during the day and took over-the-counter sleep aids to fall asleep at night. I had five kinds of headache remedies and dozens of antacids in my purse as I pushed myself beyond my limits. I started keeping a pad and pen near my bed so I could take notes during those middle-of-the-night anxiety attacks that started to plague me.

　　Finally, my body said, No more! I had taken three days off and planned to go to Florida and soak in the tranquility of sun, ocean and beach, but the morning I was scheduled to leave I couldn"t even get up. My body refused to move. I was utterly exhausted and drained. I slept all day, getting up only to eat before collapsing back into bed. The next day the same thing happened. I tried to bribe my body by imagining a dazzling mental slide show of our vacation, but my body said, Thanks, but no thanks. I need to be where I am.

　　By the third day I was scared. After forty-eight hours of almost nonstop sleep I was still exhausted and unwilling to move, so I called my doctor, and his office worked me into their schedule.

　　I lay on the examining table while a technician ran blood tests. I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror and was shocked - an older woman stared back at me. Who are you? I wondered. She didn"t answer. The doctor came back in and pronounced me the healthiest sick person he had ever seen. "You have hyperstress," he said, and wrote a prescription.

　　"What am I supposed to take?" I asked. In a barely legible scrawl he had written on the pad: "Get a different job."

　　That day I made a promise to myself: I will carve out time for myself every day. When the clock says it"s 5 p.m., I will leave, no matter what.

　　The first day back at work I had to force myself to do it, and was actually shocked when the sky didn"t fall. What a revelation!

　　I started walking my dogs again, trying to pay them back for all the times I"d left them. I picked up my journal, blew dust off the cover and began writing. Words came slowly at first, then more freely as my inner voice was finally allowed to speak. During the next three months it said: quit your job, over and over again.

　　I"d been working since I was seventeen, part-time to put myself though college, and then full-time immediately after graduation. Now I had a strong feeling there was a person under all those diplomas and titles who was literally dying to get out. So, with no firm plans for the future, I gave a thirty-day notice and then spent that month alternating between panic, regret and hysteria. The real shocker - that I was easily replaceable - came when the company filled my position two weeks after my notice. The last day on the job I looked into the bathroom mirror and asked: Who are you?

　　The silence was deafening.

　　Suddenly, I had no job on which to hang my identity; I was putting all my trust in the great unknown, and I was truly scared. But there was also a strange, previously unknown faith buoying me up, telling me, Don"t be afraid. Everything will work out. Believe in yourself! I clung to that like a frightened child to her mother"s hand.

　　Finally, I was free to embark on my journey of self-discovery. After a while, I realized I"d never really forgotten who I was - I had just covered it up with work, work and more work. As I took long, slow walks in the woods, I rediscovered my inner core. I listened to my body and slept when it was tired, ate when it was hungry. I reconnected with friends, read dozens of books and wrote in my journal.

　　That faith did not fail me. Two months later, a friend heard of a low-stress job and helped me get an interview. I got the job - and a hefty pay cut as well - but I don"t regret it for a second. That eight-week sabbatical changed my life and taught me that a life without balance isn"t worth living - it isn"t even livable! I felt a profound gratefulness to my body for sending me such a clear message.

　　I had dipped my hand in the well of restoration, and I will never forget it. I had finally learned to define myself from the inside out, rather than the outside in.

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