英语沙龙：Human Thought Grows Like a Tree

Human thought is not a firework, ever shooting off fresh forms and shapes as it burns;

it is a tree, growing very slowly—you can watch it long and see no movement

—very silently, unnoticed.

It was planted in the world many thousand years ago, a tiny, sickly plant.

And men guarded it and tended it, and gave up life and fame to aid its growth.

In the hot days of their youth, they came to the gate of the garden and knocked,

begging to be let in, and to be counted among the gardeners.

And their young companions outside called to them to come back,

and play the man with bow and spear, and win sweet smiles from rosy¹ lips,

and take their part amid the feast, and dance, not stoop with wrinkled brows, at weaklings' work.

And the passers by mocked them and called shame, and others cried out to stone them.

And still they stayed there laboring², that the tree might grow a little,

and they died and were forgotten.

And the tree grew fair and strong.

The storms of ignorance passed over it, and harmed it not.

The fierce fires of superstition³ soared around it;

but men leaped into the flames and beat them back, perishing, and the tree grew.

With the sweat of their brow men have nourished its green leaves.

Their tears have moistened the earth about it.

With their blood they have watered its roots.

The seasons have come and passed, and the tree has grown and flourished.

And its branches have spread far and high, and ever fresh shoots are bursting forth⁴,

and ever new leaves unfolding to the light.

But they are all part of the one tree—the tree that was planted on the first birthday of the human race.

The stem that bears them springs from the gnarled old trunk that was green and soft

when white-haired Time was a little child;

the sap that feeds them is drawn⁵ up through the roots that twine⁶ and twist about the bones of the ages that are dead.

1 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

2 laboring   

n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• The young man who said laboring was beneath his dignity finally put his pride in his pocket and got a job as a kitchen porter. 那个说过干活儿有失其身份的年轻人最终只能忍辱，做了厨房搬运工的工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• But this knowledge did not keep them from laboring to save him. 然而，这并不妨碍她们尽力挽救他。 来自飘（部分）

3 superstition   

n.迷信，迷信行为

参考例句：

• It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
• Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。

4 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 twine   

v.搓，织，编饰；（使）缠绕

参考例句：

• He tied the parcel with twine.他用细绳捆包裹。
• Their cardboard boxes were wrapped and tied neatly with waxed twine.他们的纸板盒用蜡线扎得整整齐齐。