精美英文欣赏:青春物语

Man's Youth

Thomas wolfe

Man's youth is a wonderful thing: it is so full of anguish¹ and of magic and he nevr comes to know it as it is, until it has gone from him forever. It is the thing he cannot bear to lose, it is the thing whose passing he watches with infinite sorrow and regret, it is the thing whose loss with a sad and secret joy, the thing he would never willingly relive again, could it be restored to him by any magic.

Why is this? The reason is that the strange and bitter miracle of life is nowhere else so evident as in our youth. And what is the essence of that strange and bitter miracle of life which we feel so poignant² , so unutterable, with such a bitter pain and joy, when we are young? It is this: that being rich, we are so poor; that being mighty³, we can yet have nothing; that seeing, breathig, smelling, tasting all around us the impossible wealth and glory of this earth, feeling with an intolerable certitude that the whole structure of the enchanted⁴ life – the most fortunate, wealthy, good, and happy life that any man has ever known – is ours – is ours at once, immediately and forever, the moment that we choose to take a step, or stretch a hand, or say a word- we yet know that we can reeally keep, hold, take, and possess forever- nothing. All passes; nothing lasts: the moment that we put our hand upon it , it melts away like smoke, is gone forever, and the snake is eating at our heart again; we see then what we are and what our lives must come to.

A young man is so strong, so mad, so certain, and so lost. He has everything and he is able to use nothing. He hurls⁵ the great shoulder of his strength forever against phantasmalbarriers, he is a wave whose power explodes in lost mid⁶ – oceans under timeless skies, here-aches out to grip a fume⁷ of painted smoke, he wants all, feels the thirst and power foreverything, and finally gets nothing. In the end, he is destroyed by his own strength, devoured⁸ by his own hunger, impoverished⁹ by his own wealth. Thoughtless of money or the accumulation of material possessions, he is none the less defeated in the end by his own greed a greed that makes the avarice¹⁰ of King Midas seem paltry¹¹ by comparison.

And that is the reason why, when youth is gone, every man will look back upon that period of his life with infinite sorrow and regret. It is the bitter sorrow and regret of a man who knows that once he had a great talent and wasted it , of a man who knows that once he had a great treasure and got nothing from it , of a man who knows that he had strength enough for everything and never used it.

青春奇妙无穷，充满魅力，充满痛楚。青春年少的时候根本不知青春为何物，直到青春一去不复返了才对青春有了真正的认识。谁都想让青春永驻，不忍青春离去；眼睁睁地看着青春流逝,心中会涌起无穷的忧伤和惋惜；青春的失去是人们永远感到悲哀的事；青春的失去是人们真正觉得悲喜交集的事；即便奇迹出现青春复苏，谁都不会心甘情愿重度青春的岁月。

为什么如此？因为在青春时代，生活充满了奇特而辛酸的不可思议的事。我们在青春年少时带着悲喜交集的心情，十分强烈而不可名状地感受到人生的奇特辛酸、不可思议的经历。其实质是什么呢？其实质是这样的：青春年少的时候，虽然殷实富足，却非常贫穷；虽然力气强大，却一无所有；世间的富贵荣华触目皆是，简直可以呼吸到，闻到嗅到，还可以品尝到，心中的自信按捺不住，深切地感受到整个被陶醉了的生活----人类迄今为止所知道的最幸运、最富有的美好幸福的生活，只要我们决定向前迈步，奋发努力，便立即归我们所有了，并将永远属于我们。然而，我们知道，我们真的永远不能抓到什么，永远不能获得什么，永远不能占有什么。一切匆匆过去，荡然无存。我们一出手它就烟消云散，飘然而去，一去不复返了。于是，心中泛起阵阵隐痛，看到了自己真实的面孔，看到了自己未来生活的必然走向。

青年人非常坚强，狂热自信，但容易迷惘混沌，虽然机缘无数，却把握不住，虽然身强体壮，试图冲破重重虚幻的屏障，却如同一个波浪，最终还是无力地消失在旷远浩淼的大海中央，他伸出手想要抓住斑斓的云烟，他想得到世间的万物，渴望主宰一切，最终却是一无所获。最后，他被自己的力量所毁灭，被自己的饥饿所吞食，被自己的财富弄得贫穷潦倒。他对金钱或财富的积累不以为意漫不经心，然而最终还是被自己的贪欲所吞噬。

青春消逝，蓦然回首，无论是谁，心中都会充满无尽的忧伤，充满无穷的懊悔。曾经才智卓越，却白白浪费了，曾经财富殷实，却一无所有，曾经本事高强，却从未利用。一个认识到自己失落青春的人回忆起来总是充满悲伤和懊悔。

1 anguish   

n.(尤指心灵上的)极度痛苦，烦恼

参考例句：

• She cried out for anguish at parting.分手时，她由于痛苦而失声大哭。
• The unspeakable anguish wrung his heart.难言的痛苦折磨着他的心。

2 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

3 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

4 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

5 hurls   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的第三人称单数 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• Jane really hurls herself into learning any new song, doesn't she? 对任何新歌，简都会一心一意去学，对吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The necromancer hurls a bolt of dark energies against his enemies. 亡灵法师向对手射出一道带着黑暗能量的影束。 来自互联网

6 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

7 fume   

n.(usu pl.)(浓烈或难闻的)烟，气，汽

参考例句：

• The pressure of fume in chimney increases slowly from top to bottom.烟道内压力自上而下逐渐增加，底层住户的排烟最为不利。
• Your harsh words put her in a fume.你那些难听的话使她生气了。

8 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

9 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 avarice   

n.贪婪；贪心

参考例句：

• Avarice is the bane to happiness.贪婪是损毁幸福的祸根。
• Their avarice knows no bounds and you can never satisfy them.他们贪得无厌，你永远无法满足他们。

11 paltry   

adj.无价值的，微不足道的

参考例句：

• The parents had little interest in paltry domestic concerns.那些家长对家里鸡毛蒜皮的小事没什么兴趣。
• I'm getting angry;and if you don't command that paltry spirit of yours.我要生气了，如果你不能振作你那点元气。