英语美文：人生之笔

 　Suppose someone gave you a pen - a sealed, solid-colored pen.

　　You couldn't see how much ink it had. It might run dry after the first few tentative words or last just long enough to create a masterpiece(or several) that would last forever and make a difference in the scheme of things. You don't know before you begin. Under the rules of the game, you really never know. You have to take a chance!

　　And of what would you write: Of love? Hate? Fun? Misery¹? Life? Death? Nothing? Everything? Would you write to please just yourself? Or others? Or yourself by writing for others? Would your strokes be tremblingly timid or brilliantly bold? Fancy with a flourish or plain? Would you even write? Once you have the pen, no rule says you have to write. Would you sketch²? Scribble³? Doodle or draw? Would you stay in or on the lines, or see no lines at all, even if they were there? Or are they?

　　There's a lot to think about here, isn't there?

　　Now, suppose someone gave you a life...

　　[参考译文]

　　人生之笔

　　假如有人送你一支笔，一支不可拆卸的单色钢笔。

　　看不出里面究竟有多少墨水。或许在你试探性地写上几个字后它就会枯干，或许足够用来创作一部影响深远的不朽巨著(或是几部)。而这些，在动笔前，都是无法得知的。 在这个游戏规则下，你真的永远不会预知结果。你只能去碰运气！

　　你又会用笔写下些什么呢：爱？恨？喜？悲？生？死？虚无？万物？你写作只是为了愉己？还是为了悦人？抑或是借替人书写而愉己？你的落笔会是颤抖胆怯的，还是鲜明果敢的？你的想象会是丰富的还是贫乏的？甚或你根本没有落笔？这是因为，你拿到笔以后，没有哪条规则说你必须写作。也许你要画素描，乱写一气？信笔涂鸦？画画？你会保持写在线内还是线上，还是根本看不到线，即使有线在那里？嗯，真的有线吗？

　　这里面有许多东西值得考虑，不是吗？

　　现在，假如有人给予你一支生命的笔…… 

1 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

2 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

3 scribble   

v.潦草地书写，乱写，滥写；n.潦草的写法，潦草写成的东西，杂文

参考例句：

• She can't write yet,but she loves to scribble with a pencil.她现在还不会写字，但她喜欢用铅笔乱涂。
• I can't read this scribble.我看不懂这种潦草的字。