英文经典故事集

经典励志的英文故事（精选8篇）

你是不是也跟我一样喜欢经常找一些经典励志英文故事来看看呢，那么经典励志英文故事都有哪些呢?下面 为大家带来经典励志的英文故事，快来看看吧。

Tiresias was a blind, darkseeing prophet(先知) of Thebes. He was struck with blindness in his youth, because he had spied unwittingly on the goddess Athena. He was wandering in the woods one day when quite unexpectedly he saw anaked maiden bathing in a placid lake. Little did he know that he had offended the virgin goddess. Taken unaware and scarlet with wrath(愤怒) , the goddess exclaimed that whoever had the boldness to steal a glance at her naked body was doomed to perpetual(永久的) blindness. But when she learned later that the offence was unintentional, it was too late for her to take back what she had said. Taking pity on the poor youth for the loss of his sight, she obtained from Zeus an exceptional long life for him, and from Apollo a divine(神圣的) power of prophecy. Besides, she provided him with a marvellous sharpness of ear, so that he could understand the voices of all birds. And she filled his mind with mystic knowledge of things past and of things to come. In short she gave him quite an amount of her own wisdom. He was the first to recognise and welcome Dionysus, god of feast and wine, on the The ban land. When the infant Heracles caught Hera's two serpents(巨蛇) in its hands, it was Tiresias who cast the child's fortune and revealed the divine origin and destiny of the boy. When Oedipus abused Tiresias as having had a hand in the murder of Laius, Tiresias had the fearless courage to tell the truth that Oedipus was the murderer. Even in the lower world he continued to prophesy. There he helped Odysseus when the hero came to him for advice. Alive, he was highly respected by all;dead, he enjoyed the generous air and rosy light in the land of the Blest.

泰瑞西斯是位只能看见黑暗的底比斯先知。由于他年轻时不小心窥见了女神雅典娜，他的双目失明。一天，他在森林里漫步时，意外地看见一位全身裸露的仙女正在平静的湖水中沐浴。他不知道他已经冒犯了这位贞洁的女神。因莫名其妙地被人看了个一清二楚，女神勃然大怒。她诅咒道：谁胆敢偷看她的玉体，谁就必将永远变瞎。但当后来她得知泰瑞西斯并非有意冒犯她时，再想收回她的咒语已经不可能了。出于怜悯，她从宙斯那里替这位贫穷的，丧失了视力的年轻人争取到了长寿;又从阿波罗那里要来了神圣的预言本领;并且，她赋予他神奇敏锐的双耳，这样他就可以明白各种鸟语。此外，雅典娜给了他魔术般的本领，使他既知过去，也能预测未来。总而言之，她使他拥有了她自身智慧中的很大一部分。在底比斯，是泰瑞西斯第一个认出了宴会神、也是酒神的狄俄尼索斯，并向他表示欢迎。当海格克斯还是个婴儿，用手抓起赫拉的两条毒蛇时，也正是泰瑞西斯卜算出了这个孩子的未来并预示出他的出身及其命运。当奥狄浦斯指责泰瑞西斯参与谋杀了拉伊俄斯时，泰瑞西斯勇敢地讲出了事实真相：奥狄浦斯才是凶手。即使到了地狱，他依然预测未来。在那儿，当奥德修斯前去征求他的意见时，泰瑞西斯帮助了他。活着的时候，他受到人们的普遍敬重;死后，在不莱斯特这块土地上，他享受着无比清新的空气和玫瑰般绚丽多彩的阳光。

Far out in the sea there was an island, on the rocky edge of which lived three Sirens, the three sisters of magic song. Half human and half bird, the Siren sisters sat in a field of flowers, singing in voices that excited the hearts of men. The attractive songs were so sweet that ships were attracted to the island and struck to pieces on the rocks. No sailor nor ship had ever been known to pass the Island of the Sirens without being attracted to disaster.

Acting on the advice of Circe, Odysseus took careful preparation against the Sirens. Before their ships came to where they could hear the song, Odysseus had himself tied to the mast(桅杆，柱) , stopped the ears of his men with wax(蜡) and ordered them to ignore his orders and gestures when they were passing the fatal island.

Soon they came in sight of the rocky island, and the attractive song reached the ears of Odysseus. It moved him so much that he struggled in despair to free himself and shouted for his men to turn towards the rich and flowery grass land of the singing sisters. But no one paid any attention to him. The sailors kept straight on until they were completely out of hearing. Then his friends freed him and took the wax out of their ears. For once the Sirens had sung with no effects. The eldest of the sisters, Partherope, loved Odysseus so much that she threw herself into the sea after his ships had passed.

遥远的海面上有一岛屿，石崖边居住着唱魔歌的海妖塞壬三姐妹。半人半鸟的塞壬姐妹们坐在一片花丛里，唱着盎惑人心的歌，甜美的歌声把过往的船只引向该岛，然后撞上礁石船毁人亡。过往的海员和船只都受到迷惑走向毁灭，无一幸免。

奥德修斯遵循女神喀耳斯的忠告。为了对付塞壬姐妹，他采取了谨慎的防备措施。船只还没驶到能听到歌声的地方，奥德修斯就令人把他拴在桅杆上，并吩咐手下用蜡把他们的耳朵塞住，他还告诫他们通过死亡岛时不要理会他的命令和手势。

不久石岛就进入了他们的视线。奥德修斯听到了迷人的歌声。歌声如此令人神往，他绝望地挣扎着要解除束缚，并向随从叫喊着要他们驶向正在繁花茂盛的草地上唱歌的海妖姐妹，但没人理他。海员们驾驶船只一直向前，直到最后再也听不到歌声。这时他们才给奥德修斯松绑，取出他们耳朵中的蜡。这次塞壬海妖们算是白唱了歌。三姐妹中的老大帕耳塞洛珀深深地爱慕着奥德修斯，当他的船只走过后，她就投海自尽了。

A Straight Wall Is Hard to Build

人格的力量

by Lou R. Crandall

卢.R.克兰德尔

As I try to outline my thoughts, the subject becomes more and more difficult. I have many basic beliefs but as I try to pick and choose it seems to me that they all can be summarized in the word "character." Obviously, what you believe is a fundamental thing. There can be no fanfare, no embellishments. It must be honest.

我在努力清理思路时，主题变得越来越难讲述。我有很多的信仰，但试图挑选时，似乎都可用“人格”一词概括。显然，一个人的信仰是根本，不需要炫耀，不用饰，本来是什么就是什么。

An architect once told me that the most difficult structure to design was a simple monumental shaft. The proportions must perfect to be pleasing. The hardest thing to build is a plain straight wall. The dimensions must be absolute.

一位建筑师告诉我，最难设计的建筑是一尊简单的纪念柱，比例必须完美无缺，赏心悦目;最难砌的.是一堵简朴笔直的墙，尺寸必须一丝不差。

In either case there is no ornamentation to hide irregularities, no moldings to cover hidden defects and no supports to strengthen concealed weaknesses.

在这两种情况下，都无法用修饰掩盖不平整，以造型遮盖暗藏的缺陷，以支撑物来加固不牢的根基。

I am using this example to illustrate human character, which to me is the most important single power in the world today. The young people of toady are in reality foundations of structures yet to be built.

我以此例来说明人格，在我看来它是当今世界上最重要的唯一的力量。今天的年轻人实际上是世界待建结构的根基。

It is obvious that the design of these human structures is the combined efforts of many human architects. Boys and girls are influenced first by their parents, then by their friends and finally by business associates. During this period of construction, the human character is revised and changed until at maturity a fairly well-fixed form of character is found.

很显然，设计这些人格结构需要众多人类建筑师的共同努力。孩子们的成长，先后要受到父母、朋友和事业伙伴的影响。在这一成长过程中，人格一直在改变，直到在成熟期定型。

There are few human straight walls and fewer human monumental shafts. Such men and women are personalities of great beauty and are so rare that history records their being and holds them up as examples for the future.

人类中堪称墙一般笔直挺立的人少有，像纪念柱一样矗立的人更少，这样的人是美的化身，世所罕见，历史记录他们的存在，奉之为后世的楷模。

The Biblical characters are for me the closest examples of human perfection. They were unselfish, steadfast in their faith and unstinting in their help to others.

《圣经》中的人物在我心中是最接近完人的范例，他们无私，信仰坚定，帮助他人，不遗余力。

Today in this world of turmoil and trouble we could use more of such people, but they do not just happen along. I believe that they are the result of concentrated effort on the part of parents and associates, and the more we build with character the better the world will become.

在今天这个混乱不安的世界，我们可以多用这样的人，但他们并非从天而降。我相信他们是父母、同伴倾力锻造的结果。我们越重视人格的建构，世界会越美好。

This may sound like a dreamer's hope and a theoretical goal which can never be reached. I do not think so.

这听起来像痴人说梦，是永远无法实现的理论目标，我却不这么想。

The world as a whole has progressed tremendously material-wise, and we are a fortunate nation in that we are leading the procession. It is, I believe, natural that nations not so fortunate should look upon us with envy. We would do the same if the positions were reserved, so we should not judge too harshly the efforts of others to equal our standard of living. In either case, the fortunate or the unfortunate character in the individual and collectively in a nation stands out.

全世界在物质生产上已取得巨大进步，美利坚荣幸地成为引导这一进程的国家。我相信，没有这样好运气的国家可能会嫉妒我们，如果换个位置，我们也会如此，因此对于别人奋力向我们的生活标准看齐，我们不应该草率地评判。无论是哪种情况，个人或民族的幸运或不幸的品格都会凸显出来。

I agree that it is easier to build character under ideal conditions but cannot forget that character is also required to give as well as receive.

我赞同在理想条件下更容易塑造人格的说法，但我认为不能忘记人格的塑造不仅需要外界条件的熏陶，也需要自身的努力。

It should be to the benefit of humanity if all individuals - and this includes myself - did a renovation or remodeling job on our own character. It may merely be a case of removing rough edges or tossing away molding to expose irregularities, in some cases to remove a prop and stand on one's own feet.

如果所有人——也包括我自己——都更新或重铸自己的人格，这应该是有益于人类的。这也许仅仅是抹去粗糙的边缘或丢弃固有的模式，从而显露出不平整，有时则需要拿走支撑物，完全靠自己站立。

In any event if some of us set example, others will follow and the result should be good. This I believe.

不论何种情况，只要我们有人树立榜样，其他人就会效仿，结果就应该是好的。对此我深信不疑。

Give the wrong-doer a way out

Beginning with Yu the GREat, the Xia Dynasty had lasted about four hundred years before Jie became the supreme ruler.

And that was in the 18th century BC. Jie was extremely tyrannical and dissolute. This aroused GREat resentment among the people. Tang, the Chief of the tribe Shang took advantage of this situation to overthrow the Xia Dynasty and established the Shang Dynasty in the early 17th century BC. Among the preparations for the overthrow had been the winning over of popular support.

One day, Tang was having a walk in the open country. He saw a man catching birds with a big net spread in a box-like and mumbling: "Come on, birds! Come into my net. All of you, whether you are flying high or low, east or west. Come into my net!"

Tang walked over and said to the man, "This method is ruthless! You'll spare no birds this way!" With these words, he cut the net down on three sides. Then he murmured in a light voice as if praying: "Oh, birds! Fly to the left or right as you like. And if you're really tired of your life, come into this net!"

When chiefs of other tribes heard about this, they were all moved. They said, "Tang is a good king indeed. He is so kind even to birds and beasts. He must be more merciful to human beings." And very soon, about forty tribes pledged allegiance to Tang.

From that story came the idiom "Open the net on three sides". Later, people changed it into "Give the wrong-doer a way out."， indicating to be lenient to the wrong-doers.

从大禹到桀，夏朝一共持续了四百多年的历史。

那是在公元前十八世纪。桀是个极端残暴，放荡的人。他激起了人民的极度不满。部落商的领袖汤利用这个形势，推翻了夏朝，并在公元前十七世纪早期建立了商朝。在准备这场推翻夏朝的行动中，汤赢得了广泛的支持。

一天，汤在一片开阔的田野里散步。他看见一个人正在捕鸟。那人支开一张像笼子般的大网，喃喃的说："来吧，鸟儿们!飞到我的网里来。无论是飞得高的还是低的，向东还是向西的，所有的鸟儿都飞到我的网里来吧!"

汤走过去对那个人说："你这种方法太残忍了!这样作你连一只鸟也不放过!"

一边说着，汤砍断了三面网。然后，像做祈祷那样，他轻轻的低声说道，"哦，鸟儿们，喜欢向左飞的，就向左飞;喜欢向右飞的，就向右飞;如果你真的厌倦了你的生活，就飞入这张网吧!"

其它部落的首领得知这件事后都非常感动。他们说："汤真是一位贤王啊。他对鸟兽都如此仁慈，何况是对人呢?" 不久就有四十多个部落宣誓效忠汤。

"网开三面"这个成语就是由此而来的。后来，人们把它改为"网开一面"，表示宽容的对待做错事的人。

A bird startled by the mere twang of a bow-string

During the time of the Warring States (475-221 BC)， there lived a well-known archer named Geng Ying whose art in shooting was excelled by none at his time.

One day, as he was standing by the side of the King of Wei, a flock of swan geese were flying over. With confidence, Geng Ying said to the king, "The twang of my bow-string might bring down a bird." The King doubted much. Just then a solitary swan goose appeared, low and slow in its flight, sad and dolorous in its cry. Instantly Geng Ying bended his bow and forcibly pulled the bowstring. Twang! High up went he shrilling sound into the air and down fell the bird to the ground. The king admired with bewilderment. Gang Ying then explained: "The bird was flying low and slow, because it was already hurt; it was crying in a bitter tone, because it had lost its companions. Due to the fact that it was already hurt and sad at heart, the twang of my strong bow, that birds dreaded most, startled it. The shrilling sound made its heart beat fast, its wings weak, its balance uneven. Thus it fell down just as commonly as a man drops his chop-sticks, at the thunder-stroke, at a dinner table." Henceforth comes the idiom "A bird startled by the mere twang of a bow-string", illustrating a case where a man who had been previously and repeatedly frightened became numb and stupefied by a new thing of the same nature not knowing how to face the new situation.

战国时期，有个杰出的弓箭手，叫做更赢。他的射箭本领在当时可称是举世无双。有一天，他和魏王并肩站着，天空中忽然飞过一群鸿雁。更赢很自信的对魏王说："我可以用弓声就把飞鸟给打下来。"魏王很怀疑。正在那是，一只孤雁很低很慢的飞过。鸣声凄惨。更赢见了，就张着弓，扣着弦，砰的一声，直入云宵。那孤雁果然应声落地。魏王惊叹之余，不明白这是怎么回事。更赢解释说："那孤雁飞得低且慢，因为它已经受过伤;它鸣叫的声音悲而哀，因为它离了群。身伤心碎，使它心跳加速，两翼无力，体重失去平衡，正如人们吃饭时，突然听见雷声，筷子落地的情况一样自然而平常。

后人根据上面的故事，做成了"惊弓之鸟"这个成语，形容先前多次受过惊吓的人，忽然遇到同样可怕的事物，就吓得魂飞魄散，惊惶失措，不知如何去应付新的环境。

乌鸦坐在树枝上，嘴里叼着一块奶酪。这时，狐狸在观察乌鸦，转动鬼脑筋想得到那块奶酪。

于是，狐狸先生走过去，站在树下，仰起头说道：“我的头上有一只多么高贵的鸟儿呀！”她的美貌天下无双，她的羽毛精致纤美。

要是她的声音也像外貌和羽毛那样美好，毫无疑问，她该成为鸟类的女王！“听到这番恭维，乌鸦简直受宠若惊，一心只想向狐狸炫耀一下自己的歌喉，就“呱”地大叫一声。

理所当然，她嘴里的那奶酪就掉了下去，狐狸立刻抓起奶酪，说：“乌鸦夫人，我知道你的歌喉很不错，可你需要的是智慧。”

A Crow was sitting on a branch of a tree with a piece of cheese in her beak when a Fox observed her and set his wits to work to discover some way of getting the cheese. Coming and standing under the

tree he looked up and said, "What a noble bird I see above me! Her beauty is without equal, the hue of her plumage exquisite. If only her voice is as sweet as her looks are fair, she ought without doubt to be Queen of the Birds." The Crow was hugely flattered by this, and just to show the Fox that she could sing she gave a loud caw. Down came the cheese, of course, and the Fox, snatching it up, said, "You have a voice, madam, I see: what you want is wits."

A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked, “What did you want the most when you were there?” The boy replied, “Air.” Socrates said, “That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it. There is no other secret.”

一个年轻人向苏格拉底询问秘诀，苏格拉底让年轻人第二天早晨去到河边见他。他们见面后，苏格拉底叫年轻人和他一起走向河里，当河水淹至他们的 脖子时，苏格拉底出其不意地抓住年轻人并把其压入水中，那人想要挣出水面， 而强壮有力的苏格拉底将他摁在水中直到他变得无力抗争，脸色发青。苏格拉 底将他的头拖出水面，这个年轻人所做的第一件事就是大口喘息后，深吸一口 气。苏格拉底问： “当你闷在水里的时候你最想要的是什么？”年轻人回答说： “空气。 ”苏格拉底说： “那就是秘诀。当你像渴望空气一样渴望成功， 你就能够获得它！没有其他的秘密了。 ”

After the rain， a difficult spider to the wall has been fragmented network， due to damp walls， it must climb the height， it will fall， which one to climb， repeatedly falling and… No. a person to see， and he sighed to himself： "my life as this spider is not it? busy and no income." Thus， he increasingly depressed. See the second person， he said： this spider really stupid， why do not dry place from the next to climb up to look around? I'll be as stupid as it can not. Thus， he becomes wise up. See the third person， he immediately spiders keep the spirit of war touched. So he has become strong.

Tip： the mentality of those who are successful can be found everywhere the power of success.

雨后，一只蜘蛛艰难地向墙上支离破碎的网爬去，由于墙壁潮湿，它爬到一定的高度，就会掉下来，它一次次地向上爬，一次次地又掉下来……第一个人看到了，他叹了一口气，自言自语：“我的一生不正如这只蜘蛛吗?忙忙碌碌而无所得。”于是，他日渐消沉。第二个人看到了，他说：这只蜘蛛真愚蠢，为什么不从旁边干燥的地方绕一下爬上去?我以后可不能像它那样愚蠢。于是，他变得聪明起来。第三个人看到了，他立刻被蜘蛛屡败屡战的精神感动了。于是，他变得坚强起来。