【#第一文档网# 导语】以下是®第一文档网的小编为您整理的《优秀英语美文摘抄及赏析》，欢迎阅读！
优秀英语美文摘抄及赏析 A life of slothful ease, a life of that peace which springs merely from lack either of desire or of power to strive after great things, is as little worthy of a nation as an individual. We do not admire the man of timid peace. We admire the man who embodies victorious efforts, the man who never wrongs his neighbor, who is prompt to help a friend, but who has those virile qualities necessary to win in the stern strife of actual life. It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort. Freedom from effort in the present merely meansthat there has been effort stored up in the past. A man can be freed from the necessity of work only by the fact that he or his fathers before him have worked to good purpose. If the freedom thus purchased is used aright, and the man still does actual work, though of a different kind, whether as a writer or a general, whether in the field of politics or in the field of exploration and adventure, he shows he deserves his good fortune. But if he treats this period of freedom from the need of actual labor as a period, not of preparation, butof mere enjoyment, even though perhaps not of vicious enjoyment, he shows that he is simply a cumberer on the earth’s surface; and he surely unfits himself to hold his own place with his fellows, if the need to do so should again arise. A mere life of ease is not in the end a very satisfactory life, and, above all, it is a life which ultimately unfits those who follow it for serious work in the world. As it is with the individual, so it is with the nation. It is a base untruth to say that happy is the nation that has no history. Thrice happy is the nation that has a glorious history. Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much,because they live in the gray twillight that knows neither victory nor defeat. Why are so many people so anxious to get away from the small town or village where they brought up,and to make for the big cities? They usually describe their hometown as "boring" or "dead",or the harshest criticism of all as"provincial". If we examine the question from a distance, as if we were viewing the whole country from a long way off,westart to get a clue about what it is that lures us into the big cities. The main point to notice about big cities is that they are big: there are a lot of people,and there are a lot of things going on. If you look down on a city, literally from a great distance,from an airplane at night, you will be struck by the incredible brightness of a are so many lights that you cannot help feeling that all the bright things of life are down there waiting for you.But a feeling of disappointment will set in shortly after you land,because you will discover as you drive into the city center from theairport that the lights are just , miles and miles of street lights and neon signs.They are notin themselves sources of joy and happiness: city lights are not friendly, they are merely lights.In fact, the effect will probably be to make you feel lonely and isolated. And yet the city lures us, because it is not provincial like the dead little town we have left behind us.“Provincial” is in fact our way of describing not the town but the attitude of the people. In our littletown,we know or think we know everybody. And what we know about them is that they do not want to go anywhere,or to do anything outside to normal routine of their everyday lives. Unlike us, they have no sense ofadventure,no longing for new experiences or new horizons. So we look down on them, pity or despise them, pack our bags, and make for the big world which we know is out there,where the bright lights are. Then a curious thing happens. We find a job, make a small circle offriends and acquaintances,and move into some cramped accommodation. Gradually we get to know our section of the city, its shops and its people,and for a while, we begin to feel at home. It is small enough, our part of the city, for us not to feel lost or anonymous.We, in effect, create another little village for ourselves within the big city.The ultimate irony comes when we rent a television set so that we can stay in atnightand watch exactly the same programs that our despised country cousins watch.Soon we too become “provincial”, and others who live round us will be glad to get up and leave us behind. All of us ought to be able to brace ourselves for the predictable challenges and setbacks thatcrop up everyday. If we expect that life won’t be perfect, we’ll be able to avoid that impulse toquit. But even ifyou are strong enough to persist the obstacle course of life and work,sometimes you will encounter an adverse event that will completely knock you on your back. Whether it’s a financial loss, the loss of respect of your peers or loved ones, or some othertraumatic event in your life these major setbacks leave you doubting yourself and wondering ifthings can ever changefor the better again. Adversity happens to all of us, and it happens all the time. Some form of major adversity iseither going to be there or it’s lying in wait just around the corner. To ignore adversity is tosuccumb to the ultimate self-delusion. But you must recognize that history is full of examples of men and women who achievedgreatness despite facing hurdles so steep that easily could have crashed their spirit and leftthem lying in the dust. Moses was a stutterer, yet he was called on to be the voice of God.Abraham Lincoln overcomes a difficult childhood, depression, the death of two sons, andconstant ridicule during the Civil War to become arguably our greatest president ever. HelenKeller made an impact on the world despite being deaf, dumb, and blind from an early age.Franklin Roosevelt had polio. There are endless examples. These were people who not only looked adversity in the face butlearned valuable lessons about overcoming difficult circumstances and were able to moveahead. 感谢您的阅读，祝您生活愉快。 本文来源：https://www.dywdw.cn/cf346cd3c081e53a580216fc700abb68a882ad65.html
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2022-07-27
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