读点好英文:A Letter to My Son　一封给我儿子的信

A Letter to My Son　一封给我儿子的信

·Jason·

Dear Seth，

You're only three years old, and at this point in your life you can't read, much less understand what I'm going to try to tell you in this letter. But I've been thinking a lot about the life that you have ahead of you, about my life so far as I reflect on what I've learned, and about my role as a dad in trying to prepare you for the triaIs that you will face in the coming years.

You won't be able to understand this letter today, but someday, when you're ready, I hope you will find some wisdom and value in what I share with you.

You are young, and life has yet to take its toll on you, to throw disappointments and heartaches and loneliness and struggles and pain into your path. You have not been worn down yet by long hours of thankless work, by the slings and arrows of everyday life.

For this, be thankful. You are at a wonderful stage of life.You have many wonderful stages of life still to come, but they are not without their costs and periIs.

I hope to help you along your path by sharing some of the best of what I've learned. As with any advice, take it with a grain of salt.What works for me might not work for you.

Life Can Be CrueI

There will be people in your life who won't be very nice. They'll tease you because you're different, or for no good reason.They might try to buIIy you or hurt you.

There's not much you can do about these people except to learn to deal with them, and learn to choose friends who are kind to you, who actuaIIy care about you, who make you feel good about yourself. When you find friends like this, hold on to them, treasure them, spend time with them, be kind to them, love them.

There will be times when you are met with disappointment instead of success. Life won't always turn out the way you want.This is just another thing you'll have to learn to deal with.But instead of letting these things get you down, push on.Accept disappointment and learn to persevere, to pursue your dreams despite pitfalls.Learn to turn negatives into positives, and you'll do much better in life.

You will also face heartbreak and abandonment by those you love. I hope you don't have to face this too much, but it happens.Again, not much you can do but to heal, and to move on with your life.Let these pains become stepping stones to better things in life, and learn to use them to make you stronger.

But Be Open to Life Anyway

Yes, you'll find cruelty and suffering in your journey through life……but don't let that close you to new things. Don't retreat from life, don't hide or wall yourself off.Be open to new things, new experiences, new people.

You might get your heart broken 10 times, but find the most wonderful woman the 11th time. If you shut yourself off from love, you'll miss out on that woman, and the happiest times of your life.

You might get teased and bullied and hurt by people you meet……and then after meeting dozens of jerks, find a true friend. If you close yourself off to new people, and don't open your heart to them, you'll avoid pain……but also lose out on meeting some incredibIe people, who will be there during the toughest times of your life and create some of the best times of your life.

You will fail many times but if you allow that to stop you from trying, you will miss out on the amazing feeling of success once you reach new heights with your accomplishments. Failure is a stepping stone to success.

Life Isn't a Competition

You will meet many people who will try to outdo you, in school, in college, at work. They'll try to have nicer cars, bigger houses, nicer clothes, cooler gadgets.To them, life is a competition-they have to do better than their peers to be happy.

Here's a secret：Life isn't a competition. It's a journey.If you spend that journey always trying to impress others, to outdo others, you're wasting your journey.Instead, learn to enjoy the journey.Make it a journey of happiness, of constant learning, of continual improvement, of love.

Don't worry about having a nicer car or house or anything material, or even a better-paying job. None of that matters a whit, and none of it will make you happier.You'll acquire these things and then only want more.Instead, learn to be satisfied with having enough-and then use the time you would have wasted trying to earn money to buy those things……use that time doing things you love.

Find your passion, and pursue it doggedly. Don't settle for a job that pays the bills.Life is too short to waste on a job you hate.

Love ShouId Be Your RuIe

If there's a single word you should live your life by, it should be this：Love. It might sound corny, I know……but trust me, there's no better rule in life.

Some would live by the rule of success. Their lives will be stressful, unhappy and shallow.

Others would live by the rule of selfishness-putting their needs above those of others. They will live lonely lives, and will also be unhappy.

Still others will live by the rule of righteousness-trying to show the right path, and admonishing anyone who doesn't live by that path. They are concerned with others, but in a negative way, and in the end will only have their own righteousness to live with, and that's a horrible companion.

Live your life by the rule of love. Love your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, with all of your heart.Give to them what they need, and show them not cruelty nor disapproval nor coldness nor disappointment, but only love.Open your soul to them.

Love not only your loved ones, but your neighbors……your coworkers……strangers……your brothers and sisters in humanity. Offer anyone you meet a smile, a kind word, a kind gesture, a helping hand.

Love not only neighbors and strangers……but your enemy. The person who is cruelest to you, who has been unkind to you……love him.He is a tortured soul, and most in need of your love.

And most of all, love yourself. While others may criticize you, learn not to be so hard on yourself, to think that you're ugly or dumb or unworthy of love……but to think instead that you are a wonderful human being, worthy of happiness and love……and learn to love yourself for who you are.

Finally, know that I love you and always will. You are starting out on a weird, scary, daunting, but ultimately incredibly wonderful journey, and I will be there for you when I can.Godspeed.

Love, Your Dad

詹森

亲爱的赛思：

你现在只有3岁，还无法阅读，更无法理解在这封信里我想要告诉你的。我想了很多，有关于你未来所要面对的生活，有到目前为止我在生活中学会的东西，和作为一个父亲我将尽可能为你未来所要面对的考验做的准备。

你现在还不能理解这封信，但是有一天，当你准备好了，我希望你能在这里找到我要与你分享的智慧和价值。

你现在还小，还没有感受到生命的代价，生活中会有失望、烦恼、孤独、挣扎和伤痛。你还没有因为长时间无回报的工作和日常生活中的荆棘而一蹶不振。

对于这一点，你该感到很庆幸。你现在正处在一个很美好的生活阶段。在你的生活中将有很多精彩的阶段，但它们同样伴随着代价和危险。

我希望能把我在人生中学到的最好的东西与你分享，以助你一臂之力。但对于任何建议，你都应当稍加分析。那些对我有用的东西不一定适合你。

生活可能很残酷

你在生活中遇到的某些人可能不是很友善。可能因为你的与众不同，或者没有任何理由，他们会嘲笑你。他们可能会欺辱你或者伤害你。

对于这些人，你除了要学会对付他们之外，没有什么可做的。你还要学会选择那些对你友善、真正关心你并且让你感觉良好的人做朋友。当你找到这种朋友时，就要把握住他们，珍惜他们，与他们共处，对他们友善，并且要爱他们。

将来，有时候你可能会遭遇失败而非成功。生活不可能总按你希望的方向发展。这是另一件你必须学会处理的事情。你应当推动事情向你所希望的方向发展，而不是任它摆布。接受失望并且学会坚持，即使遭遇困难也要追求梦想。学会把消极的转化为积极的，这样你就能在生活中表现得更好。

你也会遭到你爱的人的离弃。我希望你不会过多地面对这些情况，但是这确实会发生。同样，你也只能慢慢自愈，并且继续你的生活。让这些伤害变成你追求更好生活的踏脚石，并且要利用它们使你自己变得更坚强。

要乐意接受生活中的方方面面

你将会在人生的旅途中遭遇残忍和不幸……但是不要让那些束缚你去接触新的事物。不要远离生活，不要隐藏或隔离自己。让自己去接触一些新的事物、新的经验和新的朋友。

你也许会伤心十次，却在第十一次找到了最棒的女人。如果你封闭自己不去爱的话，你就会失去那个女人和你生命中最快乐的时光。

你也许会被你遇到的人嘲笑、欺侮、伤害……但是遇到一群蠢人，随后你就会找到真正的朋友。如果你封闭自己不去接触一些不认识的人，不和他们以诚相待的话，你会避免受到伤害……同时，你也会错过一些了不起的人，这些人将会陪你度过生命中最艰难的时光，为你创造生命中最辉煌的日子。

你也许会失败很多次，但是如果你让那些失败阻止你去进行新的尝试的话，一旦你的成就到达新的高度时，你将失去那种成功的美妙感觉。失败乃成功之母。

生活不是一场竞赛

你会碰到很多人，他们会在中学、大学以及工作中试着超过你。他们想拥有更好的车、更大的房子、更漂亮的衣服、更酷的装备。对他们来说，生活就是一场竞赛——只有比同龄人更强，他们才会感到快乐。

这里有一个秘密：生活不是一场竞赛。它是一次旅程。如果你在旅程中只是花时间让别人佩服你和超过别人，那么你就是在浪费你的旅程。相反，你应该学会享受旅程，把它当作一次快乐的、不断学习的、不断进步的和爱的旅程。

不要为拥有更好的汽车、房子或者其他物质的条件，甚至是一份高薪的工作而烦恼。它们一点都不值得，它们也没法让你变得更快乐。当你获得这些东西以后，你会想得到更多。相反，你要学会满足于自己所拥有的东西——然后用你原本准备赚钱买那些东西的时间……去做一些你喜欢的事情吧。

寻找你的兴趣，并且持之以恒地追求它。不要为高薪而去工作，生命太短暂了，不要将其浪费在自己不喜欢的工作上。

爱应该是你的生活法则

如果用一个词来形容你应该如何生活的话，那么它应该是：爱。我知道，它也许听起来很老套……但是相信我，生活中没有比这更好的规则了。

有些人也许会把成功当作生活中的准则。他们的生活将会压力重重、不快乐，而且是肤浅的。

其他人也许会以自私为准则——把他们自身的需要凌驾于其他人之上。他们的生活会很孤单，而且也不会快乐。

还有一些人以公正为准则——试图为其他人引领正确的道路，并且会警告那些没有按照他的道路生活的人。他们总在关注别人，但却以一种消极的方式，最后他们一生只与公正为伍，这是一个可怕的同伴。

你的生活应该以爱为准则。全身心地去爱你的伴侣、你的孩子、你的父母、你的朋友。给予他们所需要的，给予他们的不是残酷，不是反对，不是失望，而只是爱。把你的心向他们敞开。

不仅爱你所爱的人，还要以仁爱的心去爱你的邻居、你的工作伙伴、陌生人以及你的同胞。给你所遇见的人一个微笑、一句友善的话、一个友好的手势，以及帮助。

不仅要爱你的邻居、陌生人，也要爱你的敌人。那个对你最残酷、对你不友好的人，也请你去爱他。他的灵魂是扭曲的，所以他最需要你的爱。

最重要的是要爱你自己。当其他人批评你的时候，学会不要苛刻地对待自己，不要认为自己很丑或很蠢甚至不值得被爱……而要认为自己是一个不错的人，值得拥有快乐和爱……并且要学会接受自己、爱自己。

最后，你要知道我爱你，并且永远都会深爱着你。你将要开始一场无法预测的、可怕的、令人畏缩的，却异常美好的旅程，我将会尽我最大的可能陪在你身边。祝你一路平安。

爱你的爸爸

Practising&Exercise　实战提升篇

核心单词

ahead[ə'hed]adj.前方的；在前的 adv.在前；向前

triaI['traiəl]n.试用；试验；考验

arrow['ærəu]n.箭；箭状物

periI['perəl]n.危险

buIIy['buli]n.恶霸v.威吓，胁迫

actuaIIy['æktʃuəli]adv.实际上；真的

negative['negətiv]adj.否定的；消极的 n.消极

incredibIe[in'kredəbl]adj.不可信的；惊人的；极妙的

实用句型

This is just another thing you'II have to Iearn to deaI with.

这是另一件你必须学会处理的事情。

①这是一句省略了引导词that的定语从句。

②have to和must都表“必须”，区别是have to表客观的需要，而must表说话人主观上的看法，即主观的必要。

翻译练习

1.他已学会恰当地应付各种复杂局面了。（deal with）

2.他们出门前要把家中的煤气和电源都关掉。（shut off）

3.像他这样的人永远不满足于现状。（be satisfied with）