美国语文第五册 第173期:请君制怒(1)

 　　No one has a temper naturally so good, that it does not need attention and cultivation¹,  没有人天生就有好脾气，好脾气无需关注与培养；

　　and no one has a temper so bad, but that, by proper culture, it may become pleasant.  没有人天生就有坏脾气，但合适的教育环境下，坏脾气可以变好。

　　One of the best disciplined tempers ever seen, was that of a gentleman who was naturally quick, irritable², rash, and violent;  有这样一个事例，与最为训练有素的好脾气有关。一位先生生来性情急躁易怒、轻率暴虐，

　　but, by having the care of the sick, and especially of deranged³ people,  但是通过照看病人，特别那些患有精神病症的患者，

　　he so completely mastered himself that he was never known to be thrown off his guard.  他最终能够控制自身情绪，因此别人对他坦诚而无需设防，至于他的坏脾气，甚至不为人知。

　　The difference in the happiness which is received or bestowed⁴ by the man who governs his temper,  接受幸福抑或馈赠幸福的人，究竟能否掌控还是无法掌控自己的脾气，

　　and that by the man who does not, is immense.  由此构成不同幸福感的巨大差异。

　　There is no misery⁵ so constant, so distressing⁶, and so intolerable to others,  人，不会永远面对不幸，不会总是悲观沮丧，或始终无法容忍别人，

　　as that of having a disposition⁷ which is your master, and which is continually fretting⁸ itself.  因此，拥有好性情乃做人之道，甚至不时为如何拥有好性情而忧心忡忡。

　　There are corners enough, at every turn in life, against which we may run,  我们很可能在生活转折中陷入诸多逆境，一旦受阻，

　　and at which we may break out in impatience⁹, if we choose.  倘若可以选择，我们或许急于逃避，或许失去耐心急于摆脱。

　　Look at Roger Sherman, who rose from a humble¹⁰ occupation to a seat in the first Congress of the United States,  以罗杰.谢尔曼为例来说，他从底层社会做起，直到在美国第一届国会拥有席位，

　　and whose judgment¹¹ was received with great deference¹² by that body of distinguished¹³ men.  他的大法官地位备受国会精英名流的仰慕推崇。

　　He made himself master of his temper, and cultivated it as a great business in life.  谢尔曼先生对自己性情掌控从容，并在生活中作为至关重要的素养精心培育，

　　There are one or two instances which show this part of his character in a light that is beautiful. 以下一两个事例即可展示他光彩照人的性格魅力。

　　One day, after having received his highest honors, he was sitting and reading in his parlor¹⁴.  有一天，当荣获最高荣誉后，他坐在客厅读书。

1 cultivation   

n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成

参考例句：

• The cultivation in good taste is our main objective.培养高雅情趣是我们的主要目标。
• The land is not fertile enough to repay cultivation.这块土地不够肥沃，不值得耕种。

2 irritable   

adj.急躁的；过敏的；易怒的

参考例句：

• He gets irritable when he's got toothache.他牙一疼就很容易发脾气。
• Our teacher is an irritable old lady.She gets angry easily.我们的老师是位脾气急躁的老太太。她很容易生气。

3 deranged   

adj.疯狂的

参考例句：

• Traffic was stopped by a deranged man shouting at the sky.一名狂叫的疯子阻塞了交通。
• A deranged man shot and killed 14 people.一个精神失常的男子开枪打死了14人。

4 bestowed   

赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was a title bestowed upon him by the king. 那是国王赐给他的头衔。
• He considered himself unworthy of the honour they had bestowed on him. 他认为自己不配得到大家赋予他的荣誉。

5 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

6 distressing   

a.使人痛苦的

参考例句：

• All who saw the distressing scene revolted against it. 所有看到这种悲惨景象的人都对此感到难过。
• It is distressing to see food being wasted like this. 这样浪费粮食令人痛心。

7 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

8 fretting   

n. 微振磨损 adj. 烦躁的, 焦虑的

参考例句：

• Fretting about it won't help. 苦恼于事无补。
• The old lady is always fretting over something unimportant. 那位老妇人总是为一些小事焦虑不安。

9 impatience   

n.不耐烦，急躁

参考例句：

• He expressed impatience at the slow rate of progress.进展缓慢，他显得不耐烦。
• He gave a stamp of impatience.他不耐烦地跺脚。

10 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。

11 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

12 deference   

n.尊重，顺从；敬意

参考例句：

• Do you treat your parents and teachers with deference?你对父母师长尊敬吗？
• The major defect of their work was deference to authority.他们的主要缺陷是趋从权威。

13 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

14 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？