精美英文欣赏:堆沙堡的小男孩

男孩跪在那儿用塑料铲挖沙子，并把沙子装在一个鲜艳的蓝桶里。然后他把蓝桶倒扣在地上，把它提起。让这小建筑师高兴的是：一座城堡的塔楼就这样诞生了。

Making Sandcastles

A little boy is on his knees scooping¹ and packing the sand with plastic shovels² into a bright blue bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created.

All afternoon he will work，scooping out the moat and packing the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries³. Sticks will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built.

Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling⁴ traffic.

A man is in his office. At his desk he puts papers into stacks and assigns tasks. The phone is on his shoulder and he is knocking the keyboard with his fingers. Contracts are signed and much to the delight of the man, a profit is made.

All his life he will work，formulating the plans, forecasting the future. Profits will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An empire will be built.

Two builders of two castles. They have much in common. They shape little pebbles⁵ into grand buildings. They are diligent⁶ and determined⁷. And for both the tide will rise and the end will come. Yet that is where the similarities stop. For the boy sees the end while the man ignores it. Watch the boy as the dusk approaches.

As the waves near, the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would happen. He is not surprised.

And when the great breaker crashes into his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles. He smiles, picks up his tools, takes his father’s hand, and goes home.

The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years collapses⁸ on his castle he is terrified. He tries to protect the sandy monument. He blocks the waves from the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering he snarls⁹ at the incoming tide.

"It’s my castle," he protests.

The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs...

I don’t know much about sandcastles.

But children do. Watch them and learn.

Go ahead and build, but build with a child’s heart.

When the sun sets and the tides take——applaud.

Salute¹⁰ the process of life and go home.

堆沙堡的小男孩

男孩跪在那儿用塑料铲挖沙子，并把沙子装在一个鲜艳的蓝桶里。然后他把蓝桶倒扣在地上，把它提起。让这小建筑师高兴的是：一座城堡的塔楼就这样诞生了。

他会干一下午：挖护城河，建城墙，用瓶盖做岗哨，用木棍做桥，就这样，一座城堡建成了。

某个大城市，喧嚣的街道，川流不息的交通。

办公室里有一位男士。坐在办公桌前，他把文件堆叠在一起，布置任务。他将电话夹在肩头，手指敲击键盘。合同签字生效，让这位男士高兴的是，一比赢利就这样到手了。

他一生都会工作：指定计划，预测未来。红利就是岗哨，资本增加就是桥梁。一个帝国就这样建成了。

这两座承包的建筑者有许多共同之处。他们会把细小的沙石变成宏伟的建筑。他们很用心也很有决心，而对于他们两个而言，涨潮都会发生，一切都会结束。

然而，巨浪来临时，聪明的男孩欢呼，跳跃，没有痛苦，没有恐惧，没有遗憾。他知道这一切都会发生，他并不感到惊讶。当这巨大的破坏者击碎他的城堡，将他的杰作卷入大海，男孩笑了，收拾好他的工具，拉着父亲的手，回家。

然而，这位成年人，当岁月的巨浪击毁他的承包，他害怕了，他试图保护这沙质纪念碑。他试图阻止巨浪袭击他建的城墙。咸的海水将他的城堡湮没。

"这是我的城堡"他战栗着怒吼。

海洋不需要回应。

两者都明白沙子的归宿。

我对沙堡所知甚少，但男孩知道，他看着它们，学习着。走上前用心地建造。

太阳升起了，潮水在为他鼓掌，向生命的过程敬礼，回家。

1 scooping   

n.捞球v.抢先报道( scoop的现在分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• Heated ice cream scoop is used for scooping really cold ice cream. 加热的冰淇淋勺是用来舀非常凉的冰淇淋的。 来自互联网
• The scoop-up was the key phase during a scooping cycle. 3个区间中，铲取区间是整个作业循环的关键。 来自互联网

2 shovels   

n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• workmen with picks and shovels 手拿镐铲的工人
• In the spring, we plunge shovels into the garden plot, turn under the dark compost. 春天，我们用铁锨翻开园子里黑油油的沃土。 来自辞典例句

3 sentries   

哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We posted sentries at the gates of the camp. 我们在军营的大门口布置哨兵。
• We were guarded by sentries against surprise attack. 我们由哨兵守卫，以免遭受突袭。

4 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

5 pebbles   

[复数]鹅卵石； 沙砾； 卵石，小圆石( pebble的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The pebbles of the drive crunched under his feet. 汽车道上的小石子在他脚底下喀嚓作响。
• Line the pots with pebbles to ensure good drainage. 在罐子里铺一层鹅卵石，以确保排水良好。

6 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

7 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

8 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。

9 snarls   

n.（动物的）龇牙低吼( snarl的名词复数 )；愤怒叫嚷（声）；咆哮（声）；疼痛叫声v.（指狗）吠，嗥叫， （人）咆哮( snarl的第三人称单数 )；咆哮着说，厉声地说

参考例句：

• I don't know why my hair snarls easily. 我不知道我的头发为什么容易缠结。 来自辞典例句
• She combed the snarls out of her hair. 她把头发的乱结梳理通。 来自辞典例句

10 salute   

vi.行礼，致意，问候，放礼炮；vt.向…致意，迎接，赞扬；n.招呼，敬礼，礼炮

参考例句：

• Merchant ships salute each other by dipping the flag.商船互相点旗致敬。
• The Japanese women salute the people with formal bows in welcome.这些日本妇女以正式的鞠躬向人们施礼以示欢迎。