名篇背诵13:更光明的未来(海伦.凯勒)

 　　编者按：

　　地球是多数人的幸福家园。但信念是精神的一种状态。人只要拥有信念，就不会轻言放弃。倘若他不得已颠沛流离，就会再次建起一座房子，那是地球上任何飓风都无法摧毁的。

　　The Light of a Bright Day

　　By Helen Keller

　　I choose for my subject faith wrought¹ into life, apart from creed² or dogma. By faith I mean a vision of good one cherishes and the enthusiasm that pushes one to seek its fulfillment regardless of obstacles. Faith is a dynamic power that breaks the chain of routine and gives a new, fine turn to old commonplaces. Faith reinvigorates the will, enriches the affections and awakens³ a sense of creativeness.

　　Active faith knows no fear, and it is a safeguard to me against cynicism and despair. After all, faith is not one thing or two or three things; it is an indivisible totality of beliefs that inspire me. Belief in God as infinite good will and all-seeing Wisdom whose everlasting⁴ arms sustain me walking on the sea of life. Trust in my fellow men, wonder at their fundamental goodness and confidence that after this night of sorrow and oppression they will rise up strong and beautiful in the glory of morning. Reverence⁵ for the beauty an preciousness of the earth, and a sense of responsibility to do what I can to make it a habitation of health and plenty for all men. Faith in immortality⁶ because it renders less bitter the separation from those I have loved and lost, and because it will free me from unnatural⁷ limitations and unfold still more faculties⁸ I have in joyous⁹ activity. Even if my vital spark should be blown out, I believe that I should behave with courageous¹⁰ dignity in the presence of fate and strive to be a worthy¹¹ companion of the beautiful, the good, and the True. But fate has its master in the faith of those who surmount¹² it, and limitation has its limits for those who, thought disillusioned¹³, live greatly. True faith is not a fruit of security, it is the ability to blend mortal fragility with the inner strength of the spirit. It does not shift with the changing shades of one's thought.

　　It was a terrible blow to my faith when I learned that millions of my fellow creatures must labor¹⁴ all their days for food and shelter, bear the most crushing burdens and die without having known the joy of living. My security vanished forever, and I have never regained¹⁵ the radiant belief of my young years that earth is a happy home and hearth¹⁶ for the majority of mankind. But faith is a state of mind. The believer is not soon disheartened. If he is turned out of his shelter, he builds up a house that the winds of the earth cannot destroy.

　　When I think of the suffering and famine, and the continued slaughter¹⁷ of men, my spirit bleeds, but the thought comes to me that, like the little deaf, dumb and blind child I once was, mankind is growing out of the darkness of ignorance and hate into the light of a brighter day.

　　更光明的未来

　　海伦.凯勒

　　我选择生活的信念作为主题，而不是信条或教义。我认为，信念是一个人所珍爱的美好想象，是鼓励某人不顾艰难实现梦想的热情。信念是一种充满活力的力量，它能打破常规的束缚，让平凡陈旧的事物焕然一新。信念能使人的意志再次振作，使人的情感更为丰富，并能唤醒人的创造力。

　　积极的信念是无畏的，它守护着我远离愤世嫉俗和绝望的境地。除此之外，信念并非一种或两三种具体的事物，而是鼓舞着我所有信仰的整体，是无法分割的。我相信，当我在生命的海洋中前行时，是拥有无限善意和无尽的智慧的上帝，用他永恒的臂膀为我支撑的。我相信我的同伴，惊奇于他们善良的天性与信念。他们相信，在经历了悲伤与压迫的漫漫长夜后，他们将会在清晨的美丽光影中坚强地重新站起来。我崇敬着地球上一切美丽与珍贵的事物，感觉到自己有责任为全人类能拥有一个健康而富饶的家园尽心尽力。永恒能减轻我与深爱但已失去的人分离时的痛苦；它能让我摆脱人为的束缚，发现享受欢乐的能力，因此我相信永恒。就算我的生命之火终将熄灭，我还是坚信，自己能够勇敢且充满尊严地面对命运，成为真善美称职的战友。但那些战胜命运者的信仰也会受命运的主宰，那些理想虽破灭但依然勇敢生存者的权利也会受到局限。真正的信念充满了危险，它是人类致命的脆弱与精神内在力量的能力结合。它不会随一个人想法的转变而改变。

　　当我得知数不清的同伴都在为他们的生计终日劳作，忍受着最沉重的压力，不曾享受生活的乐趣就黯然而逝的时候，我的信念遭到了严重的打击。我永远地失去了安全感，也永远失去了儿时那令人欣喜的信仰：地球是多数人的幸福家园。但信念是精神的一种状态。人只要拥有信念，就不会轻言放弃。倘若他不得已颠沛流离，也会再次建起一座房子，那是地球上任何飓风都无法摧毁的。

　　当我想到人们依然遭受着苦难与饥荒，想到人类无休止的杀戮，我的心便会滴血。但我的脑海里会出现这样的想法：正如我曾经是个又聋又哑又盲的小女孩一样，人类也正在无知与憎恨的黑暗中慢慢成长，向更光明的明天走去。

1 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

2 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

3 awakens   

v.（使）醒( awaken的第三人称单数 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• The scene awakens reminiscences of my youth. 这景象唤起我年轻时的往事。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The child awakens early in the morning. 这个小孩早晨醒得早。 来自辞典例句

4 everlasting   

adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的

参考例句：

• These tyres are advertised as being everlasting.广告上说轮胎持久耐用。
• He believes in everlasting life after death.他相信死后有不朽的生命。

5 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。

6 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

7 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

8 faculties   

n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院

参考例句：

• Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
• All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 joyous   

adj.充满快乐的；令人高兴的

参考例句：

• The lively dance heightened the joyous atmosphere of the scene.轻快的舞蹈给这场戏渲染了欢乐气氛。
• They conveyed the joyous news to us soon.他们把这一佳音很快地传递给我们。

10 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。

11 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

12 surmount   

vt.克服；置于…顶上

参考例句：

• We have many problems to surmount before we can start the project.我们得克服许多困难才能著手做这项工作。
• We are fully confident that we can surmount these difficulties.我们完全相信我们能够克服这些困难。

13 disillusioned   

a.不再抱幻想的，大失所望的，幻想破灭的

参考例句：

• I soon became disillusioned with the job. 我不久便对这个工作不再抱幻想了。
• Many people who are disillusioned in reality assimilate life to a dream. 许多对现实失望的人把人生比作一场梦。

14 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

15 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

16 hearth   

n.壁炉炉床，壁炉地面

参考例句：

• She came and sat in a chair before the hearth.她走过来，在炉子前面的椅子上坐下。
• She comes to the hearth,and switches on the electric light there.她走到壁炉那里，打开电灯。

17 slaughter   

n.屠杀，屠宰；vt.屠杀，宰杀

参考例句：

• I couldn't stand to watch them slaughter the cattle.我不忍看他们宰牛。
• Wholesale slaughter was carried out in the name of progress.大规模的屠杀在维护进步的名义下进行。