1、新課標英語高考備考經(jīng)典英語美文四篇A Grain of SandHere is a story. A participant in the long-distance race got his shoes filled with sand when he was crossing a beach. He had to stop to get the sand out hastily before he resumed running. Unfortunately there still was sand rubbing the sole and its effect became increa

2、singly telling so that each step meant a twinge of pain. Reluctant to halt and get rid of the sand he continued to run in spite of the pain until he could stand no more. He dropped out of the contest just a few yards from the finishing line. As he managed to get out of the show he was surprised to f

3、ind the cause of his lasting torment was only a grain of sand.It seems that the greatest obstacle on ones way forward may not be a high mountain or a deep valley but a grain of sand that is hardly visible. To avoid blame on a minor fault one may tell a lie. That adds a burden to a heavy heart and we

4、ighs it down. In the days to come he will have to fabricate one falsehood after another to cover the lie he told and the fault he committed. Thus he will never be able to free himself from lingering anxiety, worry and regret, to the ignorance that all his sufferings originate in only a grain of sand

5、-the first lie he told.一粒沙有這么一個故事：有一個參加長跑的選手在走過一片沙灘時，鞋子里灌滿了沙子，他匆匆把鞋子脫下，胡亂地把沙子倒出，便又急急地繼續(xù)往前跑?？墒侨杂猩匙恿粼谒男?，在他以后的路程中，那沙子磨著他的腳，使他走一步，疼一步。但他并沒有停下把鞋子脫掉，抖出磨自己腳的沙子，而仍是匆匆前進，在離終點不遠的地方，因腳痛難忍，他不得不止步，最后放棄了比賽。當他忍著揪心的痛把鞋脫掉時，他發(fā)現(xiàn)讓自己痛苦了幾小時并放棄比賽的竟只是一粒沙子?？磥恚袝r阻撓我們前進的不是高山、深淵，而是極細小的一粒沙子。為了避免因一次輕微的過失遭指責，我們便編出謊言來掩蓋。于是從編造第一個

6、謊言開始，我們便背上了兩個沉甸甸的包袱：“過失”與“謊言”。以后的日子，便常常為掩飾“過失”與“謊言”而不得不再造出新的謊言，此次自己便不得不在緊張、擔心、悔恨的歲月中熬過。那第一個謊言就是一粒沙。An Identity of Ones OwnIn the eternal universe, every human being has a one-off chance to live-his existence is unique and cannot be renewed, for the mold with which he was made, as Rousseau said, was

7、immediately broken by God.Fame, wealth and knowledge are merely worldly possessions within the reach of anybody striving for them. But your experience and feelings about life are your won and not to be shared. No one can live your life over again after your death. A full awareness of this will point

8、 out to you that the most important thing in your existence is your distinctive individuality or something special of yours. What counts is not your worldly success but your peculiar insight into the meaning of life and your commitment to it, which can add luster to your personality.It is not easy t

9、o be true to oneself and show what one really is. Many a person in the world can be easily identified, for you can take his job, his status or his social role as his identity, which has nothing to do with the person himself. It does do him justice to say that he has no identity of his own, if he doe

10、snt know his own mind, has to follow others advice or let others arrange things for him; if his life, always occupied by external things, is completely void of an inner world. You wont be able to find anything whatever, either his brain nor his heart, that truly belongs to him. He is, indeed, no mor

11、e than a shadow cast by somebody else or a machine capable of doing work on borders.活出個性在茫茫宇宙間，每個人都只有一次生存的機會，都是一個獨一無二、不可重復的存在。正像盧梭所說的，上帝把你造出來后，就把那個屬于你的特定模子打碎了。名聲、財產(chǎn)、知識等等是身外之物，人人都可求而得之，但沒有人能夠代替你感受人生。你死之后，沒有人能夠代替你再活一次。如果你真正意識到了這一點，你就會明白，活在世上，最重要的事就是活出你自己的特色和滋味來。你的人生是否有意義，衡量的標準不是外在的成功，而是你對人生意義的獨特領(lǐng)悟和堅守，

12、從而使你的自我閃放出個性的光華。真正成為自己不是一件容易的事。世上有許多人，你說他什么都行，例如是一種職業(yè)、一個身份、一個角色，唯獨不是他自己。如果一個人總是按別人的意見生活，沒有自己的獨立思索，總是為外在事物忙碌，沒有自己的內(nèi)心生活，那么，說他不是自己就一點兒也沒有冤枉他。因為確確實實，從他的頭腦到他的心靈，你在其中已經(jīng) 絲毫真正屬于他自己的東西了，他只是別人的一個影子和事務的一架機器罷了。In all ones lifetime it is oneself that one spends the most time being with or dealing with. But it is

13、 precisely oneself that one has the least understanding of.人生在世，和“自己”相處最多，打交道最多，但是往往悟不透“自己”。When you are going upwards in life you tend to overestimate yourself. It seems that everything you seek for is within your reach; luck and opportunities will come your way and you are overjoyed that they cons

14、titute part of your worth. When you are going downhill you tend to underestimate yourself, mistaking difficulties and adversities for your own incompetence. Its likely that you think it wise for yourself to know our place and stay aloof from worldly wearing a mask of cowardice, behind which the flow

15、 of sap in your life will be retarded.人生走上坡路時，往往把自己估計過高，似乎一切所求的東西都能垂手可得，甚至把運氣和機遇也看做自己身價的一部分而喜不自勝。人在不得意時，又往往把自己估計過低，把困難和不利也看做自己的無能，以至把安分守己，與世無爭誤認為有自知之明，而實際上往往被怯懦的面具窒息了自己鮮活的生命。To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to gain a correct view of oneself and be a sober realist - aware of both ones st

16、rength and shortage. You may look forward hopefully to the future but be sure not to expect too much, for ideals can never be fully realezed. You may be courageous to meet challenges but it should be clear to you where to direct your efforts. Thats to way so long as you have a perfect knowledge of y

17、ourself there wont be difficulties you cant overcome, nor obstacles you cant surmount.悟透自己，就是正確認識自己，也就是說要做一個冷靜的現(xiàn)實主義者，既知道自己的優(yōu)勢，也知道自己的不足。我們可以憧憬人生，但期望值不能過高。因為在現(xiàn)實中，理想總是會打折扣的?？梢杂犹魬?zhàn)。但是必須清楚自己努力的方向。也就是說，人一旦有了自知之明，也就沒有什么克服不了的困難，沒有什么過不去的難關(guān)。To get a thorough understanding of oneself needs selfappreciation. Wh

18、ether you liken yourself to a towering tree or a blade of grass, whether you think you are a high mountain or a small stone, you represent a state of nature that has its own raison detre. If you earnestly admire yourself youll have a real sense of self-appreciation, which will give you confidence. A

19、s soon as you gain full confidence in yourself youll be enabled to fight and overcome any adversity.要悟透自己就要欣賞自己。無論你是一棵參天大樹，還是一棵小草，無論你成為一座巍峨的高山，還是一塊小小的石頭，都是一種天然，都有自己存在的價值。只要你認真地欣賞自己，你就會擁有一個真正的自我。只有自我欣賞才會有信心，一旦擁有了信心也就擁有了抵御一切逆境的動力。To get a thorough understanding of oneself also requires doing oneself a

20、 favor when its needed. In time of anger, do yourself a favor by giving vent to it in a quiet place so that you wont be hurt by its flames; in time of sadness, do yourself a favor by sharing it with your friends so as to change a gloomy mood into a cheerful one; in time of tiredness, do yourself a f

21、avor by getting a good sleep or taking some tonic. Show yourself loving concern about your health and daily life. As you are aware, what a person physically has is but a human body thats vulnerable when exposed to the elements. So if you fall ill, its up to you to take a good care of yourself. Unles

22、s you know perfectly well when and how to do yourself a favor, you wont be confident and ready enough to resist the attack of illness.要悟透自己，就要心疼自己。在氣憤時心疼一下自己，找個僻靜處散散心，宣泄宣泄，不要讓那些無名之火傷身；憂傷時，要心疼一下自己，找個三五好友，訴說訴說，讓感情的陰天變晴；勞累時，你要心疼一下自己，為自己來一番問寒問暖，要明白人所擁有的不過是一個血肉之軀，經(jīng)不住太多的風力霜劍；有病時，你要心疼一下自己，惟有對自己的心疼，才是戰(zhàn)勝疾病的信

23、心和力量。To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to get a full control of oneslife. Then one will find ones life full of color and flavor.悟透了自己，才能把握住自己，你生活才會有滋有味！Get a thorough understanding of oneself. In all ones lifetime it is oneself that one spends the most time being with ordealing1with. But

24、 it isprecisely2oneself that one has the least understanding of. When you are goingupwards3in life you tend tooverestimate4yourself. When you are going downhill you tend to underestimate yourself. Its likely that you think it wise for yourself to know your place and stayaloof5from worldly wearing a

25、mask ofcowardice6, behind which the flow of sap in your life will beretarded7.To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to gain a correct view of oneself and be a sober realist - aware of both ones strength and shortage. You may look forward hopefully to the future but be sure not to expect too

26、much, for ideals can never befully8realized. You may becourageous9to meet challenges but it should be clear to you where to direct your efforts.To get a thorough understanding of oneself needs self-appreciation. Whether you liken yourself to a towering tree or a blade of grass, whether you think you

27、 are a high mountain or a small stone, you represent a state of nature that has its own reason of existence. If you earnestly admire yourself youll have a real sense of self-appreciation, which will give you confidence. As soon as you gain full confidence in yourself youll be enabled to fight and ov

28、ercome any adversity.To get a thorough understanding of oneself also requires doing oneself a favor when its needed. In time of anger, do yourself a favor by givingvent10to it in a quiet place so that you wont be hurt by its flames; in time of sadness, do yourself a favor by sharing it with your fri

29、ends so as to change a gloomy mood into a cheerful one; in time of tiredness, do yourself a favor by getting a good sleep or taking sometonic11. Show yourself loving concern about your health and daily life. Unless you knowperfectly12well when and how to do yourself a favor, you wont be confident an

30、d ready enough to resist the attack of illness.To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to get a full control of ones life. Then one will find ones life full of color and flavor. 1dealingn.經(jīng)商方法，待人態(tài)度參考例句： This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.該商店因買賣公道而享有極高的聲譽。 His fair dealing

31、earned our confidence.他的誠實的行為獲得我們的信任。2preciselyadv.恰好，正好，精確地，細致地參考例句： Its precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那種油腔滑調(diào)的推銷宣傳。 The man adjusted very precisely.那個人調(diào)得很準。3upwardsadv.向上，在更高處.以上參考例句： The trend of prices is still upwards.物價的趨向是仍在上漲。 The smoke rose straight upwards.煙

32、一直向上升。4overestimatev.估計過高，過高評價參考例句： Dont overestimate seriousness of the problem.別把問題看重了。 We overestimate our influence and our nuisance value.我們過高地估計了自己的影響力和破壞作用。5aloofadj.遠離的；冷淡的，漠不關(guān)心的參考例句： Never stand aloof from the masses.千萬不可脫離群眾。 On the evening the girl kept herself timidly aloof from the crow

33、d.這小女孩在晚會上一直膽怯地遠離人群。6cowardicen.膽小，怯懦參考例句： His cowardice reflects on his character.他的膽怯對他的性格帶來不良影響。 His refusal to help simply pinpointed his cowardice.他拒絕幫助正顯示他的膽小。7retardeda.智力遲鈍的，智力發(fā)育遲緩的參考例句： The progression of the disease can be retarded by early surgery. 早期手術(shù)可以抑制病情的發(fā)展。 He was so slow that many

34、thought him mentally retarded. 他遲鈍得很，許多人以為他智力低下。8fullyadv.完全地，全部地，徹底地；充分地參考例句： The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.醫(yī)生讓我先吸氣，然后全部呼出。 They soon became fully integrated into the local community.Englishtec他們很快就完全融入了當?shù)厝说娜ψ印?courageousadj.勇敢的，有膽量的參考例句： We all honour courageous peopl

35、e.我們都尊重勇敢的人。 He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壯語促使他奮起行動。10ventn.通風口，排放口；開衩；vt.表達，發(fā)泄參考例句： He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高聲咒罵以發(fā)泄他的憤怒。 When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.當通風口被堵塞時，發(fā)動機就會停轉(zhuǎn)。11tonicn./adj.滋補品，補藥，強身的，健體的參考例句： It will be marketed as a tonic for th

36、e elderly.這將作為老年人滋補品在市場上銷售。 Sea air is Natures best tonic for mind and body.海上的空氣是大自然賦予的對人們身心的最佳補品。12perfectlyadv.完美地，無可非議地，徹底地參考例句： The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.證人們個個對自己所說的話十分肯定。 Everything that were doing is all perfectly above board.我們做的每件事情都是光明正大的。EnglishtecWe are

37、not born with courage, but neither are we born with fearMaybe some of our fears are brought on by your own experiences, by what someone has told you, by what youve read in the papersSome fears are reasonable, like walking alone in a bad part of town at two oclock in the morningBut once you learn to

38、avoid that situation, you wont need to live in fear of itFears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy our ambitionsFear can destroy fortunesFear can destroy relationshipsFear, if left uncontrolled, can destroy our livesFear is one of the many enemies hidden inside usLet me tell you about fiv

39、e of the other enemies we face from withinThe first enemy that youve got to destroy before it destroys you is indifferenceWhat a tragic disease this is! “Ho-hum, let it slideIll just drift along” Heres one problem with drifting: you cant drift your way to the top of the mountainThe second enemy we f

40、ace is indecisionIndecision is the thief of opportunity and enterpriseIt will steal your chances for a better futureTake a sword to this enemyThe third enemy inside is doubtSure, theres room for healthy skepticismYou cant believe everythingBut you also cant let doubt take overMany people doubt the p

41、ast, doubt the future, doubt each other, doubt the government, doubt the possibilities and doubt the opportunitiesWorst of all, they doubt themselvesIm telling you, doubt will destroy your life and your chances of successIt will empty both your bank account and your heartDoubt is an enemyGo after it

42、Get rid of itThe fourth enemy within is worryWeve all got to worry someJust dont let it defeat youInstead, let it alarm youWorry can be usefulIf you step off the sidewalk in New York City and a taxi is coming, youve got to worryBut you cant let worry loose like a mad dog that drives you into a small

43、 cornerHeres what youve got to do with your worries: drive them into a small cornerWhatever is out to get you, youve got to get itWhatever is pushing on you, youve got to push backThe fifth enemy inside is overcautionIt is the timid （膽怯的） approach to lifeTimidity is not a virtue; its an illnessIf yo

44、u let it go, itll defeat youTimid people dont get promotedThey dont advance and growYouve got to avoid overcautionDo battle with the enemiesDo battle with your fearsBuild your courage to fight whats holding you back, whats keeping you from your goals and dreamsBe courageous in your life and in your

45、pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to becomeTitle: Facing the （71） withinWhat they are（72） they affect youHow you can deal with themFear（73） you your ambitions, fortunes, relationships and even livesBring it under （74） IndifferenceJust get you to drift along, in which case, you c

46、an never （75） it to the top of the mountainDestroy it before it destroys youIndecision（76） you of opportunity, enterprise and your chances for a better futureTake a sword to itDoubt Destroy your life and your chances of success Empty your heart as （77） as your bank accountGo after it and remove itWorryDrive you into a small corner like a mad dogLet it alarm you （78） of allowing it to defeat youOvercaution Stop you from （79） promoted （80） in your not advancing and growing Dont let it go, or