英语名篇诵读 扮演好自己的角色

Act Your Part Well

扮演好自己的角色

Joseph Addison(约瑟夫·艾迪生)

I could wish that men, while they are in health, would consider well the nature of the part

they are engaged in, and what figure it will make in the minds of those they leave behind them:

whether it was worth coming into the world for; whether it be suitable to a reasonable being; in

short, whether it appears graceful¹ in this life, or will turn to an advantage in the next.

But if we look into the bulk of our species, they are such as are not likely to be

remembered a moment after their disappearance². They leave behind them no traces of their

existence, but are forgotten as tho ' they had never been. They are neither wanted by the poor,

regretted by the rich, nor celebrated³ by the learned. They are neither missed in the

commonwealth⁴ , nor lamented⁵ by private persons. Their actions are of no significance to

mankind, and might have been performed by creatures of much less dignity, than those who are

distinguished⁶ by the faculty⁷ of reason...

我倒希望，趁着身体健康，人们好好想想自己在扮演哪一类角色，将在后人心目中留

下什么样的形象：这个角色有无价值，是否配得上一个理性的人；总之，是否于今生得

体，抑或于来世有益。

但是当我们仔细打量芸芸众生，其生前表演微不足道，死后不留片刻记忆，被忘个干

干净净，像从来没有存在过。他们不为穷人需要，不为富人惋惜，也不为斯文之士赞美。

他们不为公众怀念，也无私交追思。他们的所作所为对人生没有任何意义，这些行为本应

由心性低劣之徒所做，而不应由独具理性的人所为。

1 graceful   

adj.优美的，优雅的；得体的

参考例句：

• His movements on the parallel bars were very graceful.他的双杠动作可帅了!
• The ballet dancer is so graceful.芭蕾舞演员的姿态是如此的优美。

2 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

3 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

4 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

5 lamented   

adj.被哀悼的，令人遗憾的v.（为…）哀悼，痛哭，悲伤( lament的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• her late lamented husband 她那令人怀念的已故的丈夫
• We lamented over our bad luck. 我们为自己的不幸而悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。