英语专业晨读美文-人生篇 9 Shelly to Elizabeth Hitc

[00:01.43]Shelly to Elizabeth Hitchener
[00:03.94]Your letter of the 1st hath this moment reached me.
[00:08.43]I answer it according to our agreement,
[00:11.06] which shall be inviolable.
[00:13.35]Truly did you say that, at our arising in the morning,
[00:16.52]nature assumes a different aspect.
[00:19.25]Who could have conjectured¹ the circumstances of my last letter?
[00:23.09]Friend of my soul, this is terrible, dismaying:
[00:27.46]it makes one's heart sink, it withers² vital energy...
[00:31.40]Dear being, I am thine again;
[00:34.79] thy happiness shall again
[00:36.01]predominate over this fleeting³ tribute to self-interest.
[00:40.16]Yet who would not feel now?
[00:42.24]Oh'twere as reckless a task to endeavour
[00:45.09]to annihilate⁴ perception while sense existed,
[00:48.38] as to blunt the sixth sense to such impressions as these!—
[00:52.65]forgive me, dearest friend! I pour out my whole soul to you.
[00:57.24] I write by fleeting intervals⁵:
[00:59.54]my pen runs away with my senses.
[01:02.05] The impassionateness of my sensations grows upon me.
[01:05.44] Your letter, too, has much affected⁶ me.
[01:08.51]Never, with my consent,
[01:10.37]shall that intercourse⁷ cease
[01:11.98] which has been the day-dawn of my existence, the sun
[01:15.16]which has shed warmth
[01:16.58] on the cold drear length of the anticipated prospect⁸ of life.
[01:20.52]Prejudice might demand the sacrifice,
[01:23.14]but she is an idol⁹ to whom we bow not.
[01:26.21] The world might demand it; its opinion might require;
[01:30.25]but the cloud which flees over young mountain were
[01:33.09] as important to our happiness, to our usefulness.
[01:36.71]This must never be, never whilst this existence continues;
[01:41.95] and when Time has enrolled¹⁰ us in the list of the departed,
[01:45.56] surely this friendship will survive to bear our identity to heaven.
[01:50.05] What is love, or friendship? Is it something material—a ball,
[01:55.76] an apple, a plaything—
[01:57.95]which must be taken from one to be given to another?
[02:01.01] Is it capable of no extension, no communication?
[02:05.06] Lord Kaimes defines love to a particularization of the general passion.
[02:09.87]But this is the love of sensation, of sentiment——
[02:13.26]the absurdest of absurd vanities:
[02:16.11] it is the love of pleasure, not the love of happiness.
[02:20.04]The one is a love which is self-centered, self-devoted,
[02:24.20]self-interested: It desires its own interest;
[02:27.70]it is the parent of jealousy¹¹.
[02:30.10]Its object is the plaything which it desires to monopolize¹².
[02:33.93]Selfishness, monopoly, is its very soul,
[02:38.31]and to communicate to others part of this love were to destroy its essence,
[02:42.46] to annihilate this chain of straw.
[02:44.76] But love, the love which we worship,—
[02:48.05]virtue¹³, heaven, disinterestedness—
[02:51.44]in a word, Friendship—
[02:53.29]which has as much to do with the senses as with yonder mountains;
[02:56.90] that which seeks the good of all—
[02:59.20]the good of its object first,
[03:01.06]not because that object is a minister to its pleasures,
[03:04.67] not merely because it even contributes to its happiness,
[03:08.27]but because it is really worthy¹⁴,
[03:10.79]because it has powers, sensibilities, is capable of abstracting itself,
[03:16.59] and loving virtue for virtue's own loveliness—
[03:19.87]desiring the happiness of others
[03:22.05] not from the obligation of fearing hell or desiring heaven:
[03:25.88] but for pure, simple, unsophisticated virtue.
[03:30.69]You will soon hear again.
[03:32.67] Adieu, my dearest friend.
[03:35.18]Continue to believe that
[03:36.82]when I am insensible to your excellence¹⁵,
[03:39.33]I shall cease to exist.
[03:41.52]Yours most sincerely, inviolably, eternally
[03:46.01]Percy S.
 

1 conjectured   

推测，猜测，猜想( conjecture的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The old peasant conjectured that it would be an unusually cold winter. 那老汉推测冬天将会异常地寒冷。
• The general conjectured that the enemy only had about five days' supply of food left. 将军推测敌人只剩下五天的粮食给养。

2 withers   

马肩隆

参考例句：

• The girl's pitiful history would wring one's withers. 这女孩子的经历令人心碎。
• "I will be there to show you," and so Mr. Withers withdrew. “我会等在那里，领你去看房间的，"威瑟斯先生这样说着，退了出去。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

3 fleeting   

adj.短暂的，飞逝的

参考例句：

• The girls caught only a fleeting glimpse of the driver.女孩们只匆匆瞥了一眼司机。
• Knowing the life fleeting,she set herself to enjoy if as best as she could.她知道这种日子转瞬即逝，于是让自已尽情地享受。

4 annihilate   

v.使无效；毁灭；取消

参考例句：

• Archer crumpled up the yellow sheet as if the gesture could annihilate the news it contained.阿切尔把这张黄纸揉皱，好象用这个动作就会抹掉里面的消息似的。
• We should bear in mind that we have to annihilate the enemy.我们要把歼敌的重任时刻记在心上。

5 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

8 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。

9 idol   

n.偶像，红人，宠儿

参考例句：

• As an only child he was the idol of his parents.作为独子，他是父母的宠儿。
• Blind worship of this idol must be ended.对这个偶像的盲目崇拜应该结束了。

10 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

12 monopolize   

v.垄断，独占，专营

参考例句：

• She tried to monopolize his time.她想独占他的时间。
• They are controlling so much cocoa that they are virtually monopolizing the market.他们控制了大量的可可粉，因此他们几乎垄断了整个市场。

13 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

14 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。

15 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。