精美英文欣赏:生命的精神支柱

Spiritual Handholds on Life

by Dr. Fred Dow Fagg, JR

The view of the high Sierra Lake, nestled in the snow and rock slightly below the timber line, was beautiful from my vantage point some five hundred feet above its shimmering¹ surface. I was anxious to rejoin my companions and try the fishing before are afternoon shadow - edging out from the surrounding array of peaks - entirely² covered the lake. Just a short distance beyond the intervening shale³, the trail zigzagged⁴ down to the valley. I disliked the thought of returning by the long, tedious trail I had ascended⁵, and decided⁶ to chance the shale - even though part of it lay above a sheer drop-off of several hundred feet.

I started working my way over the loose rock with considerable caution and had covered about half the distance when I became aware of a slight but persistent⁷ yielding of the shale under my feet. Desperately⁸, I looked for something that would offer support and lurched forward to grasp a light outcropping of solid rock just as the surface shale underfoot - loosened from its foundation by the warm noonday sun - cascaded⁹ downward and disappeared over the cliff. Several seconds passed before I heard it rattle¹⁰ into the lake.

Finally - after due consideration of the folly¹¹ of short cuts - I managed to move from handhold to handhold and, at last, pulled myself to the trail by the aid of a dwarf¹² juniper root. I have forgotten how many trout¹³ I caught that afternoon, but I have not forgotten the value of handhold.

Handholds are needed also during the course of everyday life. They provide security when the things we depend upon seem to be slipping out from under us. What are the spiritual handholds I have found to be most value?

First, the teachings of the humble¹⁴ carpenter of Nazareth - for their insistence¹⁵ on the supreme¹⁶ worth of the individual, for their stressing of the significance of sympathetic understanding, and for their unsurpassed evidence of dauntless faith.

Second, the conviction that, while every person should delight in making a courageous¹⁷ and self-reliant effort to live up to his capabilities¹⁸, there are well-springs of power outside himself that can be tapped - if he will avail himself of them.

Third, that the nature of this world and of the people in it is determined¹⁹ more by our individual vision, understanding and conduct than by any material environmental factors, and that - in other words - nothing will produce the good world but the good man.

These are the principal spiritual handholds I have found to possess enduring value. They offer both an exciting challenge and a calm assurance. They are the things I believe.

生命的精神支撑

　　小弗雷德.道.法格博士

坐落在高山上的谢拉湖，依偎在积雪与岩石的怀抱中，岩层往上是一片森林。从高出湖面约500英尺的观景点看下去，湖面微波荡漾，美不胜收。我着急与同伴再次会合，准备在午后周围群山的阴影尚未笼罩全湖之前，一起钓鱼。离错层的页岩不远，便是一条通往山谷的蜿蜒小路。

我不想再走上山时所走的那条漫长而乏味的小道，便决定试着走上页岩——虽然这其中一段路的下面是几百英尺的垂直峭壁。

我小心翼翼地走在松动的页岩上。大约走到一半时，我发现脚下的页岩正一点点地不断下滑。我急忙寻找可以抓住的东西。我向前一扑，抓住了一块露出地表的坚硬岩石。就在这时，脚下被午后阳光照射的发热的页岩表层开始松动，从山上滑了下去，消失在峭壁上。几秒钟后，我听到它落进湖中的声音。

稍微考虑了一下抄近路这愚蠢行为的后果后，我想办法从一个支撑点挪到另一个支撑点，最终借助一棵矮松的根将自己拉到小路上。那天下午钓了多少鲑鱼，我已经不记得了，但我绝对忘不了支撑点的重要性。

在日常生活中，支撑点也是非常重要的。当我们的依靠即将从脚下溜走时，支撑点会带给我们安全的保障。我发现的最有价值的精神支撑是什么呢？　　

首先，是拿撒勒卑微的木匠的教诲——他坚决主张个人价值至上，强调同情与理解的重要性，并为坚定的信仰提供了无可厚非的证明。

其次，尽管我们每个人都应该乐于勇敢、独立地发挥自己的能力，但也要相信，只要我们愿意，我们也能从外界获得力量之源。

再次，除了物质环境因素外，世界和人类的本质更多的是取决于我们个人的视野、理解和行为。也就是说，唯有出色的人才能创造出美好的世界。

这些便是我所发现的精神支撑点，它们具有永恒的价值。它们给予我们的不仅是刺激的挑战，还有令人安心的承诺。这就是我信仰的一切。

1 shimmering   

v.闪闪发光，发微光( shimmer的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The sea was shimmering in the sunlight. 阳光下海水波光闪烁。
• The colours are delicate and shimmering. 这些颜色柔和且闪烁微光。 来自辞典例句

2 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 shale   

n.页岩，泥板岩

参考例句：

• We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
• Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。

4 zigzagged   

adj.呈之字形移动的v.弯弯曲曲地走路，曲折地前进( zigzag的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The office buildings were slightly zigzagged to fit available ground space. 办公大楼为了配合可用的地皮建造得略呈之字形。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The lightning zigzagged through the church yard. 闪电呈之字形划过教堂的院子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 ascended   

v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He has ascended into heaven. 他已经升入了天堂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The climbers slowly ascended the mountain. 爬山运动员慢慢地登上了这座山。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

8 desperately   

adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地

参考例句：

• He was desperately seeking a way to see her again.他正拼命想办法再见她一面。
• He longed desperately to be back at home.他非常渴望回家。

9 cascaded   

级联的

参考例句：

• His money cascaded away in a couple of years. 他的钱在三两年内便滚滚流失了。
• The water cascaded off the roof in the thunderstorm. 雷雨中水象瀑布一样从屋顶泻下。

10 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

11 folly   

n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话

参考例句：

• Learn wisdom by the folly of others.从别人的愚蠢行动中学到智慧。
• Events proved the folly of such calculations.事情的进展证明了这种估计是愚蠢的。

12 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

13 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

14 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

15 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

16 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

17 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

18 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

19 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。