英语美文摘抄
Sleeping Through The Storm
未雨绸缪
It was spring, in western America, the weather was getting warmer. There was a young man who went out to find a job on a farm. He came to a small farm, which belonged to an old farmer and his wife. He told the farmer he wanted to apply for a job as a farmhand. When the farmer asked for his qualifications, “What can you do, boy?” The young man said, “I can sleep when the wind blows.”
那是美国西部的一个春天，天气开始变暖，一个年轻人离开家，想在农场里找些活儿干。于是他来到一个小农场。这个农场的主人是一对老夫妇。年轻人告诉农场主他想在农场里当一个帮手。当农场主问道：“年轻人，你能干些什么？”时，那个年轻人回答：“我能在刮风的时候睡得着觉。”
This answer quite puzzled the farmer and his wife. But he looked honest and reliable, so the couple liking the young man decided to hire him.
他的回答让农场主夫妇感到迷惑不解，但是他看起来诚实可靠，老两口也很喜欢这个孩子，于是就决定把他雇了下来。
Two months passed and the young man had worked well on the farm, nothing unusual.
两个月过去了，这个年轻人在农场里干得还不错，但也没有什么特别之处。
One night, the farmer and his wife were awakened by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things out to see if all was secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace.
一天夜里，突如其来的暴风雨把睡梦中的农场主夫妇惊醒了。他们赶紧起来查看农场里的东西是否安全。他们发现农舍的门都已牢牢地拴紧。一大堆木头已经码在壁炉旁。
The young man slept soundly.
再看那个年轻人，他正睡得香呢。
The farmer and his wife then inspected their property. They found that the farm tools had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements. The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn was properly locked. Even the animals were calm. All was well.
然后，农场主夫妇检查了他们的东西，发现农具都已经收进了仓库，远离风雨。拖拉机已经开进了车库。牲口棚也锁得好好的，就连家畜也都很平静。一切正常。
The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man's words, “I can sleep when the wind blows.” Because the farmhand did his work loyally and faithfully when the skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it broke. So when the wind blew, he was not afraid. He could sleep in peace.
这时农场主终于明白了当初这个年轻人为什么说他能在刮风的时候睡得着觉。因为这个小伙子已经在天气好的时候尽心尽力地干好了他该干的活，为暴风雨的到来做好了准备，所以当暴风雨袭来时他没什么可担心的，自然也就能高枕无忧了。
英语美文摘抄阅读
Grow Great By Dreams
因梦想而伟大
The question was once asked of a highly successful businessman: “How have you done so much in your lifetime?”
一位非常成功的商人曾经被人问起这样一个问题：“您如何在有生之年取得了这样的成就？”
He replied, “I have dreamed. I have turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do. Then I have gone to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night I dreamt about my dreams. And when I awoke in the morning, I saw the way to make my dreams real. While other people were saying, ‘You can't do that, it isn't possible,’ I was well on my way to achieving what I wanted.” As Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the US, said: “We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.”
他回答道：“我拥有梦想，大胆去遐想自己想做什么，然后躺在床上思考梦想。夜里我就梦到了梦想。早晨醒来后，我发现了实现自己梦想的途径。当别人仍在说：‘你做不到，那不可能’时，我已经为实现梦想而稳步前行了。”正如美国第28任总统伍德罗？威尔逊所言：“我们因梦想而伟大，所有伟人都是梦想家。”
They see things in the soft haze of a spring day, or in the red fire on a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.
在春天的薄雾中或是在漫漫冬夜的熊熊炉火旁，他们想象着要做的事情。我们之中有些人会让这些伟大的梦想自生自灭，但是另一些人则会培育梦想并保护梦想，身处人生低谷也不放弃梦想，直至见到太阳与光明。而太阳与光明也总是垂青于那些真诚地希望梦想成真的人。
So please, don't let anyone steal your dreams, or try to tell you they are too impossible.
那么，请别让他人偷走你的梦想，也别因他人说你的梦想太遥不可及而放弃。
Sing your song, dream your dreams, hope your hope and walk on your own way.
唱你自己的歌，做你自己的梦，企盼你自己的希望，走你自己的路吧！
英语美文摘抄学习
The Brilliant Lessons Of Michelangelo
米开朗基罗的经验
The artist Michelangelo often stirred up the opposition of the contemporary artists of his day. Many of them envied his magnificent abilities. One example was the architect Bramante.
画家米开朗基罗常常激起同时代画家的反对，许多人嫉妒他的卓越才华。当时的建筑师布拉曼特就是一例。
Pope Julius retained Michelangelo to build him a splendid tomb. Michelangelo gladly accepted the project and spent eight months in a marble pit personally cutting and selecting the most perfect stones. When he returned, he found the pope had second thoughts. Bramante had turned Pope Julius against the project. The Pope cancelled it.
罗马教皇朱利叶斯雇佣米开朗基罗为他修建一座华丽的坟墓。米开朗基罗欣然接受了这个工程，而后花了八个月的时间亲自在大理石坑里开凿挑选最好的石料。当他回到教皇那里时，教皇已经改变了主意。布拉曼特已经说服了教皇不再进行这个项目，于是教皇就将之取消了。
Later the idea for another special project entered the Pope's mind. Bramante saw the project as a time consuming trap for which there would be little public recognition. Bramante recommended Michelangelo for the job.
不久，教皇的头脑中又萌发了一个特别的项目。布拉曼特发现这个项目耗时费工，不大可能得到公众的赞赏，可以作为一个圈套缚住米开朗基罗，因此他就向教皇推荐由米开朗基罗承担这个项目。
The great artist saw the trap. He knew what Bramante was up to. He wished to turn the project down but did not want to refuse the Pope's request. So Michelangelo went to work. He spent many years doing the slow and tedious labor the project required. It was the Sistine Chapel.
米开朗基罗这位大艺术家识破了布拉曼特的诡计，知道布拉曼特的目的何在。他不愿接手这个项目，但又不想拒绝教皇的要求，最终只好接手了这个项目。这项工程是一件耗时且乏味的体力活，他花费了好几年的时间才最终完成。这就是西斯廷教堂。
The inspiration that flowed through Michelangelo can likewise flow through any human being. That is what inspiration wants to do. It cannot be stopped. It is a living, powerful river that easily circumvents all obstacles.
因为这个教堂，那些从米开朗基罗脑海中流泻而出的灵感同样可以被所有人感受到。这就是灵感的意图所在，它就像一条生生不息、威力巨大的河流轻而易举地吞没障碍，难以阻挡。
Michelangelo collected his inner forces for a complete victory. Likewise, we must not fear to face the trickery of some people and expose it for what it is. This is not negative, but intelligent protection and spiritual perception.
米开朗基罗聚起自己内心的力量胜利地完成了作品。同样，我们也不要害怕面对某些人的阴谋诡计，要还事情以其本来的面目。这不是消极被动，而是聪明的保护和精神的感知。
In his many books on inner development author Vernon Howard refers to Michelangelo several times. He quotes him as saying, “The more the marble wastes, the more the statue grows.” And, “I released the statue from the stone.” He chiseled away all that was unnecessary, and David emerged.
作家弗农？霍华德在多本关于内心发展的书中多次引用米开朗基罗的事例，其中引用有米开朗基罗所说过的话，比如：“消耗的大理石越多，雕像就越多。”“我把雕像从大理石中解放出来。”米开朗基罗凿去大理石中那些多余的部分，于是雕像大卫就诞生了（大卫是圣经中的少年英雄，曾杀死侵略者巨人哥利亚）。