英语优美长篇文章

语言学习与 文化 学习是交织在一起的，语言习得者要掌握好一门语言，尤其是第二语言，具备充足的文化背景知识是必不可少的。下面是我带来的英文长篇美文阅读，欢迎阅读!英文长篇美文阅读篇一 Americans have any morals Do Americans have any morals? That's a good question. Many people insist that ideas about right and wrong are merely personal opinions. Some voices, though, are calling Americans back to traditional moral values. William J. Bennett, former U.S. Secretary of Education, edited The Book of Virtues in 1993 to do just that. Bennett suggests that great moral stories can build character. The success of Bennett's book shows that many Americans still believe in moral values. But what are they? 美国人还有道德吗?这是个好问题。许多人坚持对与错乃是个人的意见。但是，还是有些人在呼唤美国人回到传统的道德价值里去。威廉。班奈特，前任美国 教育 部长，正是为了此目的而在一九九三年编辑了「美德」这本书。班奈特认为伟大的道德 故事 可以建造性格。班奈持这本书的成功显示了许多美国人仍然相信道德的价值。但是它们到底为何? To begin with, moral values in America are like those in any culture. In fact, many aspects of morality are universal. But the stories and traditions that teach them are unique to each culture. Not only that, but culture influences how people show these virtues. 最开始，道德价值在美国就像在任何 其它 的文化一样。事实上，许多道德的观点是全球一致的。但是，不同的文化则有不同的故事和传统来教导它们。不仅如此，文化也影响了人民如何表现这些美德。 One of the most basic moral values for Americans is honesty. The well-known legend about George Washington and the cherry tree teaches this value clearly. Little George cut down his father's favorite cherry tree while trying out his new hatchet. When his father asked him about it, George said, “I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my hatchet.” Instead of punishment, George received praise for telling the truth. Sometimes American honesty-being open and direct-can offend people. But Americans still believe that “honesty is the best policy.” 美国人最基本的道德价值之一是诚实。众所周知的乔治。华盛顿砍樱桃树的故事，即将此道德教导地极为清楚。小乔治在试他新斧头时砍倒了爸爸最心爱的樱桃树。当爸爸问他的时候，乔治说，「我不能说谎，我用我的斧头砍了它。」乔治非但未被惩罚，反而因为诚实而被赞赏。有时候美国人仍然相信「诚实是最上策」 Another virtue Americans respect is perseverance. Remember Aesop's fable about the turtle and the rabbit that had a race? The rabbit thought he could win easily, so he took a nap. But the turtle finally won because he did not give up. Another story tells of a little train that had to climb a steep hill. The hill was so steep that the little train had a hard time trying to get over it. But the train just kept pulling, all the while saying, “I think I can, I think I can.” At last, the train was over the top of the hill. “I thought I could, I thought I could,” chugged the happy little train. 另外一个为美国人所尊崇的美德为坚忍。记得再龟兔赛跑这则伊索寓言吗?兔子以为它可以赢的很轻松，便睡了个午觉，但是乌龟再最后终因不放弃而赢了这场比赛。另一个故事谈到一个必须爬过陡峭山头的小火车，山头是这么陡，以至于小火车很难爬上去，但是它仍不断地爬，并不停地说：「我想我能做到，我能做到。」最后，火车终于爬过了山头，「我就知道我可以。」这个快乐的小火车继续往前去。 Compassion may be the queen of American virtues. The story of “The Good Samaritan” from the Bible describes a man who showed compassion. On his way to a certain city, a Samaritan man found a poor traveler lying on the road. The traveler had been beaten and robbed. The kind Samaritan, instead of just passing by, stopped to help this person in need. Compassion can even turn into a positive cycle. In fall 1992, people in Iowa sent truckloads of water to help Floridians hit by a hurricane. The next summer, during the Midwest flooding, Florida returned the favor. In less dramatic ways, millions of Americans are quietly passing along the kindnesses shown to them. 同情心，可能是美国的道德之最了。圣经中的「好撒玛利亚人」的故事，描述一个流露同情心的人。在这个撒玛利亚人出发去某城市的途中，看到一个可怜的旅客躺在路旁。这旅客被鞭打、抢劫，这位仁慈的撒玛利亚人非但没有视而不见，反而停下来帮助这位有需要的人。同情心还可以变成一个正面循环，在一九九二年的秋天，爱荷华州的居民将好几辆卡车的水送到受飓风侵袭的佛罗里达州;而就在第二年夏天，当中西部闹水灾的时候，佛州人便投挑报李。数以百万计的美国人民正用较不醒目的方式回报人们向他们表达的善意。 In no way can this brief description cover all the moral values honored by Americans. Courage, responsibility, loyalty, gratitude and many others could be discussed. In fact, Bennett's bestseller-over 800 pages-highlights just 10 virtues. Even Bennett admits that he has only scratched the surface. But no matter how long or short the list, moral values are invaluable. They are the foundation of American culture-and any culture. 在这么一篇短短的 文章 里，无论如何也不能将美国人所尊崇的道德述尽。勇气、责任心、忠诚、感激之心还有许多其它可以讨论的。事实上，班奈特最畅销的书──超过八百页──只谈到了十种美德。即使班奈特也承认他只谈到了皮毛而已。但是不论这张道德表是多长或短，道德价值都是无价的。他们是美国文化──和任何其它国家的文化之基础

学生通过大量的经典美文阅读能够开阔自己的视野,通过经典的美文阅读可以增加 文化 积淀和思想内涵,通过经典美文导读可以陶冶情操,提高素养。下面是我带来的经典优美英文 文章 ，欢迎阅读!

经典优美英文文章1

Have You Seen the Tree

你见过那棵树吗

My neighbor Mrs. Gargan first told me about it."Have you seen the tree?" she asked as I was sitting in the backyard enjoying the October twilight.

关于那棵树，最初是我的邻居加根太太告诉我的。“你见过那棵树吗?”她问道，当时我正坐在后院欣赏十月的暮色。

"The one down at the corner," she explained. "It's a beautiful tree-all kinds of colors.Cars are stopping to look. You ought to see it."

“就是下去拐角处的那棵”她解释说，“漂亮极了—五颜六色的。好多车路过都停下来看，你该去看看。”

I told her I would, but I soon forgot about the tree. Three days later, I was jogging down the street, my mind swimming with petty worries, when a splash of bright orange caught my eye. For an instant, I thought someone's house had caught fire. Then I remembered the tree.

我对她说我会去看的，可转眼就忘记了关于树的事。三天后，我顺着街道慢跑，脑子里充斥着恼人的小事，忽然，一片耀眼的橘红色映入眼帘，有一会儿，我还以为是谁家的房子着火了呢，但我马上想到了那棵树。

As I approached it, I slowed to a walk. There was nothing remarkable about the shape of the tree. a medium-sized maple. But Mrs. Gargan had been right about its colors.Like the messy whirl of an artist's palette, the tree blazed a bright crimson on its lower branches, burned with vivid yellows and oranges in its center. and simmered to deep red at its top. Through these fiery colors cascaded thin rivulets of pale-green leaves and blotches of deep-green leaves, as yet untouched by autumn.

我慢慢走近它.就像朝圣者缓缓步向神殿，我发现靠近树梢的地方有几根光秃秃的枝丫，上面黑乎乎的小枝像鹰爪一般伸向天空。枯枝上落下的叶子一片猩红，像地毯似的铺在树干周围。

Edging closer-like a pilgrim approaching a shrine-I noticed several bare branches near the top, their black twigs scratching the air like claws.The leaves they had shed lay like a scarlet carpet around the trunk.

当我靠近树时，禁不住放慢了脚步。树的形状并没有什么非凡之处，是一棵中等大小的枫树。但加根太太说得不错，它的色彩确实奇特，像画家调色板中斑斓的颇料，令人眼花缭乱。树底部的枝丫好似一片鲜红的火海，树的中部燃烧着明快的黄色和橘色，顶部的树梢又爆发着深红色。在这火一样的色彩中，流淌着浅绿的叶子汇成的小溪，深绿的叶子斑驳点缀其间，似乎至今末曾受到过秋天的侵袭。

With its varied nations of color, this tree seemed to become a globe, embracing in its broad branches all seasons and continents: the spring and summer of the Southern hemisphere in the light and dark greens, the autumn and winter of the Northern in the blazing yellows and bare branches.

这棵枫树集各种颇色于一体。如果一种颜色就是一个国家，枫树俨然成了一个缤纷的地球，它张开宽大的枝条，历数着四季轮回，容纳着五湖四海。深浅错落的绿叶，昭示着南半球的春夏，耀眼的黄叶和光秃秃的枝丫勾勒出北半球的秋冬。整个星球就围绕这一时空的交集点和谐运转。

As I marveled at this all-encompassing beauty, I thought of Ralph Waldo Emerson's comments about the stars. If the constellations appeared only once in a thousand years, he observed in Nature, imagine what an exciting event it would be. But because they're up there every night, we barely give them a look.

我为这棵树无所不包的美而惊叹不已。这时,我想起了著名作家拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生有关星星的评论。他在《自然》一书中写道：倘若星座一千年才出现一次，那么，星座的出现是一桩多么激动人心的事;可正因为星座每夜都挂在天上，人们才很少去看上一眼。

I felt the same way about the tree. Because its majesty will last only a week, it should be especially precious to us. And I had almost missed it.

对于眼前这棵树，我也有同感。它此时的华美只能维持一个星期，所以它对于我们就相当珍贵。可我竟差一点错过了。

Once when Emily Dickenson's father noticed a brilliant display of northern lights in the sky over Massachusetts, he tolled a church bell to alert townspeople. That's what I felt like doing about the tree. I wanted to become a Paul Revere of autumn, awakening the countryside to its wonder.

有一次，当埃米莉·迪金森的父亲偶然看见马萨诸塞州上空一道炫目的北极光时，他立刻跑到教堂鸣钟告知所有市民。现在，我也产生了同样的想法，我要向世人宣扬这棵树。我愿成为秋天的信使。让田园乡村每一个角落的人们都了解它的神奇。

I didn't have a church bell or a horse, but as I walked home, I did ask each neighbor I passed the same simple but momentous question Mrs. Gargan had asked me: "Have you seen the tree?"

可我没有教堂的大钟，也没有快马，但当我走在回家的路上，我会问遇见的每一位邻居加根太太曾问过我的那个极其简单又极其重要的问题:“你见过那棵树吗?”

经典优美英文文章2

欲爱人，先自爱

I want to fall in love in 2016.

在2016年我渴望坠入爱河。

I want to fall head over heels this year. By the very end of it, I want to be bursting at the seams of all my scars with a love burning happily in my heart.

这一年我希望自己爱得死心塌地。待到年末之际，我希望冲破所有创伤，让爱的火焰在心中快乐地燃烧。

I want the authentic feeling that surpasses dreaming -- a love that is true and never fleeting. I want this for myself as well as for you. I'd like it for the world, if possible.

我渴望那种超越梦境的真实感觉——那种真正的、永不流逝的爱。我希望你我皆有这种感觉。如果可能的话，全世界都能享受这种感觉。

I want to be every fear I've ever held in the darkest parts of my heart transformed into the purest desire for truth. I want to feel the magic of love singing my soul to sleep.

我希望我内心最阴暗处曾拥有的每一份恐惧都转化为对真爱最热切的渴望。我期望感受到那种魔力，那种爱情唱着歌让灵魂入眠的魔力。

I want to fall in love before I fall for you.

在爱上你之前，我想先坠入爱河。

So I would like to fall in love many times this year, so that I may know how extraordinary you are when you appear.

所以今年我想坠入爱河很多次，次数多到你一出现我就知道你是多么的与众不同。

I must fall in love this year so I can understand the magnitude of what you will be -- of what you will mean to me, and I to you.

我今年一定要坠入爱河，这样我才能知道你的出现是多么的重要——关于你对我、我对你意味着什么。

That's how I want to fall in love in 2016. I want to know love before I know you. I want to feel its essence and understand its woes. I want to fall in love this way so that I am full of so much love to hand to you, and I am waiting patiently for the day when I can give it all to you.

这些就是2016年我想去爱的方式。我想在认识你之前先懂得爱，我想感受到爱情的本质并懂得它的悲哀。我想如此去爱，这样我就会有足够的爱来传递给你，我会耐心地等待着那一天的到来，在那天我将把所有爱都传递给你。