英语名篇诵读 完整的人生

The Wholeness of Life

完整的人生

Once a circle missed a wedge¹ . The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But because it was incomplete² and therefore could roll only very slowly, it admired the flowers along the way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. Finally one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly³. It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing missing. It incorporated⁴ the missing piece into itself and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to notice flowers or talk to the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled slowly away.

The lesson of the story is that in some strange sense we are more whole when we are missing something. The man who has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never know what it feels like to yearn⁵ , to hope, to nourish⁶ his soul with the dream of something better. He will never know the experience of having someone who loves him and gives him something he has always wanted or never had. There is a wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his limitations, who

has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so.

There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a tragedy and survive, she can lose someone and still feel like a complete person.

Life is not a spelling bee, where no matter how many words you've gotten right, you've failed if you make one mistake. Life is a baseball season, where even the best team loses one third of its games and even the worst team has its days of brilliance⁷ . Our goal is to win more games than we lose.

When we accept that imperfection is part of being human, and when we can continue rolling through life and appreciate it, we will have achieved a wholeness that others can only aspire⁸ to. Not “be perfect”, not “don't even make a mistake”, but “be whole”.

If we are brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, generous enough to rejoice⁹ in another's happiness, and wise enough to know there is enough love to go around for us all, then we can achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will ever know.

从前，一个圆缺失了一个楔形边。这个圆想要变得完整，于是就四处寻找丢失的部分。但是因为它不完整，所以就只能缓慢地滚动，这就使它有机会欣赏沿途争妍的百花。

它同虫儿交谈，享受着和煦的阳光。它找到了许多不同的碎片，但没有一块配得上。终于有一天，这个圆找到了完美相配的一块，高兴极了。这样它就完整了，一点儿也不缺。它把丢失的那块嵌入到自己里面，开始滚起来。因为是个完整的圆，它滚得非常快，快得观赏不了花，也不能同虫儿们说说话。当它意识到自己滚得这么快世界会变得多么不同时，就停了下来，把找到的那一块放在路边，慢慢地滚动起来。

这个故事的教益是，在某种奇特的意义上，我们有所缺失时才更完整。一个应有尽有的人在某种意义上是可怜的。他永远不会知道渴望、希望、用更美好的梦想滋养心灵是什么感觉。他永远不会知道有这样一种美妙体验，有人会爱上他并且给予他一直想要或从没拥有的东西。

同自己的局限妥协的人，有足够的勇气丢弃不切实际的梦想而并没有失败感的人，自有其完整性。一个人，无论男女，只要知道自己坚强得足以经历大灾大难而能挺过来，能够失去某人而依然感觉自己是个完整的人，自有其完整性。

生活不是拼字比赛，在那种比赛中，不论你答对多少，只要出现一个错误，就会全盘皆输。生活是一个棒球赛季，在这个赛季里，即使最优秀的球队也会输三分之一的场次，而即使最差的球队也有赢的日子。我们的目标是赢多输少。

当我们相信不完美是人生的组成部分，当我们面对不完美能够继续在生活中滚动向前，并欣赏生活时，我们就将达到别人只能渴望的完整性。不求“完美”，不求“一错不犯”，但求“完整”。

如果我们足够勇敢去爱，足够强大去宽恕，足够大度去乐他人之乐，足够聪慧明白有充足的爱使我们大家共享，那么，我们就能获得他人无法知晓的满足感。

1 wedge   

n.楔子，楔形物；vt.楔住，嵌，挤进；vi.被卡住

参考例句：

• Put a wedge under the door so that it will stay open.在门下面插个楔，好让门开着。
• The box won't wedge into such a narrow space.那盒无法塞进那么小的地方去。

2 incomplete   

adj.不完全的，不完善的

参考例句：

• The building was left incomplete.那座楼没有完工就停下来了。
• His novel was incomplete when he died.他死的时候他的小说没有写完。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 incorporated   

a.结合的，并为一体的

参考例句：

• Many of your suggestions have been incorporated in the plan. 你的很多建议已纳入计划中。
• These conditions must be expressly incorporated into the contract of employment. 这些条件都必须明确地写进雇佣合同之中。

5 yearn   

v.想念；怀念；渴望

参考例句：

• We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

6 nourish   

vt.滋养，给予营养，养育，持有或怀有

参考例句：

• They needed good food to nourish their bodies.他们需要好食品滋养身体。
• I could find nothing to nourish my suspicion.我找不到任何怀疑的根据。

7 brilliance   

n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智

参考例句：

• I was totally amazed by the brilliance of her paintings.她的绘画才能令我惊歎不已。
• The gorgeous costume added to the brilliance of the dance.华丽的服装使舞蹈更加光彩夺目。

8 aspire   

vi.(to，after)渴望，追求，有志于

参考例句：

• Living together with you is what I aspire toward in my life.和你一起生活是我一生最大的愿望。
• I aspire to be an innovator not a follower.我迫切希望能变成个开创者而不是跟随者。

9 rejoice   

vi.感到高兴，充满喜悦

参考例句：

• We rejoice at every victory won by your people.我们为贵国人民取得的每一个胜利都感到高兴。
• Let us rejoice together on this great occasion!在这样一个盛大的节日里，让我们共同欢庆吧！