英语专业晨读美文-励志篇 8 Criteria of Excellency

[00:02.46]Criteria of Excellency
[00:07.64]My l4-year-old son, John, and I spotted¹ the coat simultaneously².
[00:14.39]It was hanging on a rack at a secondhand clothing store
[00:17.76]in Northampton Mass,
[00:19.82]crammed in with shoddy trench³ coats and an assortment⁴ of sad,
[00:23.66]woolen⁵ overcoats—a rose among thorns.
[00:26.70]While the other coats drooped⁶,
[00:28.98]this one looked as if it were holding itself up.
[00:31.45]The thick, black wool of the double-breasted chesterfield
[00:35.18]was soft and unworn, as though it had been preserved
[00:38.61]in mothballs for years in dead old Uncle Henry's steamer trunk.
[00:42.46]The coat had a black velvet⁷ collar, beautiful tailoring,
[00:46.08]a Fifth Avenue label and an unbelievable price of $28.
[00:50.99]We looked at each other, saying nothing,
[00:53.77]but John's eyes gleamed. Dark, woolen topcoats were popular
[00:58.83]just then with teenage boys,
[01:00.45]but could cost several hundred dollars new.
[01:03.21]This coat was even better,
[01:05.05]bearing that touch of classic elegance⁸ from a bygone era.
[01:08.72]John slid his arms down into the heavy satin lining⁹ of the sleeves
[01:13.06]and buttoned the coat. He turned from side to side,
[01:16.55]eyeing himself in the mirror with a serious,
[01:19.65]studied expression that soon changed into a smile.
[01:22.94]The fit was perfect.
[01:24.92]John wore the coat to school the next day
[01:27.75]and came home wearing a big grin.
[01:30.03]“Did the kids like your coat?” I asked.
[01:32.61]“They loved it.” he said, carefully folding it
[01:35.29]over the back of a chair and smoothing it flat.
[01:37.83]I started calling him “Lord Chesterfield” and “The Great Gatsby.”
[01:42.50]Over the next few weeks, a change came over John.
[01:46.03]Agreement replaced contrariness, quiet,
[01:50.09]reasoned discussion replaced argument.
[01:52.61]He became more judicious¹⁰, more mannerly,
[01:55.78]more thoughtful, eager to please.
[01:58.37]“Good dinner, Mom.” he would say every evening.
[02:01.79]He would generously loan his younger brother his tapes
[02:05.23]and lecture him on the niceties of behaviour;
[02:08.14]without a word of objection,
[02:10.32]he would carry in wood for the stove.
[02:12.93]One day when I suggested
[02:14.94]that he might start on homework before dinner,
[02:17.29]John—a veteran procrastinator—said,
[02:20.87]“You're right. I guess I will.”
[02:23.39]When I mentioned this incident to
[02:25.99]one of his teachers and remarked that I didn't know
[02:28.76]what caused the changes, she said laughing.
[02:31.06]“It must be his coat!” Another teacher told him
[02:34.26]she was giving him a good mark not only because
[02:37.35]he had earned it but because she liked his coat.
[02:39.89]At the library, we ran into a friend
[02:42.87]who had not seen our children in a long time,
[02:45.12]“Could this be John?” he asked,
[02:47.29]looking up to John's new height,
[02:49.31]assessing the cut of his coat and extending his hand,
[02:52.98]one gentleman to another.
[02:54.74]John and I both know we should never mistake a person's clothes
[02:58.23]for the real person within them.
[03:00.30]But there is something to be said
[03:02.24]for wearing a standard of excellence¹¹ for the world to see,
[03:05.11]for practising standards of excellence in thought,
[03:07.91]speech, and behaviour, and for matching
[03:11.04]what is on the inside to what is on the outside.
[03:13.97]Sometimes, watching John leave for school,
[03:17.12]I've remembered with a keen sting
[03:19.53]what it felt like to be in the eighth grade-a time
[03:22.52]when it was as easy to try on different approaches to life
[03:25.80]as it was to try on a coat. The whole world,
[03:28.99]the whole future is stretched out ahead,
[03:31.87]a vast panorama¹² where all the doors are open.
[03:35.55]And if I were there right now,
[03:37.79]I would picture myself walking through those doors
[03:40.55]wearing my wonderful, magical coat.

1 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

2 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

3 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

4 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

5 woolen   

adj.羊毛(制)的；毛纺的

参考例句：

• She likes to wear woolen socks in winter.冬天她喜欢穿羊毛袜。
• There is one bar of woolen blanket on that bed.那张床上有一条毛毯。

6 drooped   

弯曲或下垂，发蔫( droop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her eyelids drooped as if she were on the verge of sleep. 她眼睑低垂好像快要睡着的样子。
• The flowers drooped in the heat of the sun. 花儿晒蔫了。

7 velvet   

n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的

参考例句：

• This material feels like velvet.这料子摸起来像丝绒。
• The new settlers wore the finest silk and velvet clothing.新来的移民穿着最华丽的丝绸和天鹅绒衣服。

8 elegance   

n.优雅；优美，雅致；精致，巧妙

参考例句：

• The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
• John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。

9 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

10 judicious   

adj.明智的，明断的，能作出明智决定的

参考例句：

• We should listen to the judicious opinion of that old man.我们应该听取那位老人明智的意见。
• A judicious parent encourages his children to make their own decisions.贤明的父亲鼓励儿女自作抉择。

11 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。

12 panorama   

n.全景，全景画，全景摄影，全景照片[装置]

参考例句：

• A vast panorama of the valley lay before us.山谷的广阔全景展现在我们面前。
• A flourishing and prosperous panorama spread out before our eyes.一派欣欣向荣的景象展现在我们的眼前。