读是人生中最重要的学习方式,阅读的过程就是建构和发展的过程。下面是小编带来的英语课外阅读文章,欢迎阅读!
英语课外阅读文章1Stop All The Clocks - W.H. Auden
葬礼蓝调 - W.H. Auden
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
停止所有的时钟,切断电话,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
给狗一块浓汁的骨头,别让它吠叫,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
把琴声凝住在低沉的鼓声中,抬出灵怄,让送葬者进来。
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
让盘旋的飞机在头上呜咽,在天空上潦草的写着:他已逝去,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
把黑纱系在信鸽的白颈,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
让交通警员带上黑手套。
He was my North, my South, my East and West,
他是我的南北西东,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
我的工作日,我的休息日,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
我的正午,我的夜半,我的话语,我的歌吟;
I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.
还以为爱可以天长地久,我错了。
The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
不再需要星星,把每一颗都摘掉;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
把月亮包起,掩盖骄阳;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
把海水抽干,把林木扫掉。
For nothing now can ever come to any good.
因为什么也不会,再有意味。
英语课外阅读文章2Grandpa's Bee
祖父的蜜蜂
A long time before I was born, my Grandma and Grandpa moved into the house on Beechwood Avenue. They had a young family of 4 little girls. The little girls slept in the attic in a big feather bed. It was cold there on winter night. Grandma put hot bricks under the covers at the foot of the bed to keep the little girls warm.
早在我出生以前,爷爷和奶奶搬到比奇乌大道位。他们膝下养有四个小女儿。女孩们睡在阁楼的一张大羽毛床上。那里冬夜寒冷。奶奶得在床脚下垫热砖给女儿们取暖。
During the Great Depression, work was hard to find, so Grandpa did whatever jobs he could. He dug ditches during the week and on weekend he and Grandma dug a garden lo grow some of their own food.
大萧条时期,工作很难找,爷爷什么苦工都做。在平时他,挖沟渠,周末和奶奶在花园里挖挖锄锄,种点自己的粮食。
The house on Beechwood Avenue had a big front yard with shade trees and fruit trees. In the middle of the yard was a water pump where the four little girls pumped water for cooking, cleaning and watering the garden. On one side of the yard, Grandma and Grandpa planted tomatoes, beans, squash, cucumbers, peppers and strawberries to feed their growing family. They planted roses, lilacs and irises on the other side of the yard, around the statue of the Blessed Mother.
比奇乌大道的房子有个大前院,院子里种着浓荫遮蔽的大树和果树。院中央的是个水泵,小女孩们就在这里泵水用来做饭、打扫卫生、灌溉花园。奶奶和爷爷在院子的一边种上番茄、豆子、南瓜、黄瓜、辣椒和草莓,供应这个大家庭的食用。在另一边,他们围着圣母的雕像种了玫瑰、丁香和蝴蝶花。
Everybody worked to keep the garden growing. All summer long, the family ate food from the garden and enjoyed the beautiful flowers. Grandma put up strawberry jam,tomatoes, beans, peppers, pears and peaches in canning jam. They were good to eat through the long winter.
人人都辛勤地耕种花园,使它更加茂盛。整个夏天,我们一家人吃着花园种出的食物,欣赏着花园里的美丽花朵。奶奶还把做好的草莓酱、番茄、豆子、辣椒、梨子和桃子装进罐子里,使它们的美味能保持一整个漫长的冬天。
The family grew up, and before too many years had passed, the grandchildren came to visit. Grandma and Grandpa still planted their garden every spring. Everyone still enjoyed the good food from the garden and always took some home.
多年过去,孩子们长大,孙子孙女们也来到了世上。奶奶和爷爷仍然每年春天都耕种花园。人人都能分享花园种出的好东西,也总能带上一些回家里。
Grandchildren grow up, and grandparents grow older. It became harder for Grandma and Grandpa to keep up the garden. So they made it a little smaller. There was still plenty to eat from the garden and lovely flowers to enjoy.
孙子孙女们长大了,爷爷、奶奶年迈古稀。维护花园花去他们更多的精力,所以他们缩小了些花园的面积。但里面种出来的食物还足够吃,花朵也还招人喜爱。
Then one summer when Grandpa was eighty-nine years old, all he could do was watch from his lawn chair as the vegetables grew and the roses bloomed. Summer slowly faded, and Grandpa died before it was time to bring in the harvest.
等到爷爷八十九岁的那个夏天,他只能坐在草地的椅子上,看蔬菜长大,玫瑰开花。夏日渐渐消逝,爷爷在丰收前就去世了。
It was a lonely winter for Grandma She sat near the window, looking out at the yard and wondering if she could plant the garden in the spring. It would be hard to care for it by herself. When spring came, she planted only a little garden.
对奶奶来说,这是个寂寞的冬天。她坐在窗边,望着外边的院子,考虑着来年春天还能不能耕种花园。只靠她自己来打理太难了些。当春天来到时,她只稍微种了一点。
One sunny day in the early summer, Grandma heard a commotion in the front yard and looked out the window to see a frightening sight a gigantic swarm of bees filled the air between two tall trees. There was thousands of bees in the air, so many that the swarm reached the tree-lops! The buzzing sound was tremendous. Grandma watched as the bees made their way into a hole up in one of the trees. Before long, every one of those bees had disappeared into its new home.
初夏的一天,阳光灿烂,奶奶听到前院传来一阵骚动声,她看出窗外,看到可怕的一幕。两棵大树上满满缀着大团的蜜锋。空中还飞舞着成千上万只,多不胜数的蜂群一直排到树梢上!嗡嗡声不绝于耳。奶奶看见这些蜜蜂先后钻进一棵树上高高的树洞中。很快,所有的蜜蜂都搬进新家,消失了。
Grandma wondered what in the world she could do. Should she hire someone to get rid of bees? That would cost more than she could afford. She decided to wait and think it over.
奶奶不禁发愁起来。她是否该请人清走这些蜜蜂呢?但是她,根本支付不起费用。于是她决定等一等,再想想办法。
During the next few days, the bees were busy making. their own business. Grandma could always see a few bees buzzing in and out around the opening high in the tree. Before long, she decided the bees won't bother anyone, so she went about her business and didn't give them any other thought.
随后几天,蜜蜂忙碌个不停。奶奶总能看到有一些蜂儿从高高的树洞里嗡嗡地飞进飞出。不久,她看出蜜蜂并无妨碍,于是自顾自地干活,不再理会它们。
That summer, Grandma's little garden grew and grew. The neighbors would stop to admire the huge crop of vegetables and puzzle over their own gardens weren't doing well. No matter, because Grandma had enough give some away. Of course, everyone who came to visit was treated to a meal of good things from the garden.
那年夏天,奶奶的小花国硕采累累。邻居们都驻足羡慕里面生长出丰盛的蔬菜,纳闷怎么自己花园的长势就没有这么喜人。没关系,因为奶奶有好多可以送人。登门来访的人当然都有花园里的美味来招待。
One day, Grandma's brother Frank visited from Arizona. As Grandma made Frank a delicious lunch of squash pan cakes and home made apple sauce, she told him the story about the swarm of bees.
一天,奶奶的弟弟法兰克从亚利桑那州前来拜访。奶奶给他做了一顿香喷喷的午饭,有南瓜饼,有自制的苹果酱,她还把蜜蜂的故事告诉了法兰克。
Frank said, "in Arizona, the farmers often hired beekeepers to set up beehives near their fields. The bees pollinated the crops and helped them to grow."
法兰克说在亚利桑那,农夫们常常雇请养缘人在农田附近搭蜂箱。蜜蜂校粉有助于庄稼成长。
That was when Grandma realized at her bees had helped with her garden all summer.
"奶奶才意识到,原来是这些蜜锋在夏季助成了花园的丰收。"
"So that's why my little garden had such a big crop! " she exclaimed. From that time on, Grandma always believed that since Grandpa couldn't be there to help her that summer, he had sent the bees to take his place and make Grandma's little garden grow and grow...
所以我的斗小、花园才有了大丰收!从那时开始,奶奶便相信是因为爷爷那年夏天没能亲自帮她,才派了蜜给到这里,让奶奶的小花园欣欣向荣。
英语课外阅读文章3Love is the Best Legacy
最好的遗产是爱
As a young man, Al was a skilled artist, a potter. He had a wife and two fine sons. One night, his oldest son developed a severe stomachache. Thinking it was only some common intestinal disorder, neither Al nor his wife took the condition very seriously. But the malady was actually acute appendicitis and the boy died suddenly that night.
年轻时, Al就已经是一个技艺精湛的陶艺艺术家了。他有了妻子和两个健壮的儿子。但是一天夜里,他大儿子肚子疼得厉害,他想这也只不过是普通的肠道疾病,就没太在意,他妻子也是这样认为。然而那种病却是急性阑尾炎,这个男孩那天夜里就这么死了。
Knowing the death could have been prevented if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, Al's emotional health deleriorated under the enormous burden of his guilt. To make matters worse his wife left him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son. The hurt and pain of the two situations were more than Al could handle, and he turned to alcohol to help him cope. In lime Al became an alcoholic.
如果他那时意识到情况的严重性,孩子的死本来是可以避免的,一想到这些 Al内心就无比愧疚,情绪也一天比一天糟糕。更糟的是,不久他的妻子抛弃了他,把他们6岁的小儿子留给了他。丧子之痛加上妾离之苦让Al无法喘息,他开始斟酒来麻痹自己,最后他成了一个名副其实的酒鬼。
As the alcoholism progressed, Al began to lose everything he possessed-his home, his land, his art objects, everything. Eventually Al died alone in a San Francisco motel room.
就这样喝酒度日,Al慢慢地失去了他所拥有的一切——房子,土地,艺术作品等等,最后孤独地在旧金山的一个汽车旅馆里死去。
When I heard of Al' s death, I reacted with the same disdain the world shows for one who ends his life with nothing material to show for it. "What a complete failure! " I thought. "What a totally wasted life! "
当我听说 Al的死讯时,我的反应和世人一样,都视他没有留下什么财产。"多失败啊!" 我思索着完全没有意义的一生。 "
As time went by, I began to reevaluate my earlier harsh judgment. You see, I knew Al's now adult son, Ernie. He is one of the kindest, most caring, most loving men I have ever known. I watched Ernie with his children and saw the free flow of love between them. I knew that kindness and caring had lo come from somewhere.
随着时间的流逝,我开始重新审视从前我对Al刻薄的评价。你们知道,我认识Al已成年的儿子,Ernie。他是我认识的最善良、懂得关心人、最有爱心的男人了。每每看着他和他的孩子们,我都能感觉到他们之间爱的自然流动。我意识到这种善良和关心一定有所渊源。
I hadn't heard Ernie talk much about his father. It is so hard to defend an alcoholic. One day I worked up my courage to ask him. "I'm really puzzled by something," I said. "I know your father was basically the only one to raise you. What on earth did he do that you became such a special person?"
Ernie很少提及他的父亲,毕竟他就是想为父亲辩驳也很难。一天,我鼓起勇气问了他有些事情让我很疑惑我说道,"我知道事实上可以说是你父亲一个人抚养你成人,但是他是怎样把你培养成这么特别的一个人呢?"
Ernie sat quietly and reflected for a few moments. Then he said, "From my earliest memories as a child until I left home at 18, Al came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, 'I love you, son.
Ernie坐在那里沉思了一会,说道从我还是孩子时最早的回忆到 18岁离开家, Al每天晚上都会来到我的房闭,吻我一下然后对我说:‘我爱你,儿子’"。
Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to judge Al as a failure. He had not left any material possessions behind. But he had been a kind loving father, and he left behind one of the finest, most giving men I have ever known.
听到这些,我抑制不住自己,眼泪涌出来了,我认识到自己是多么的愚蠢,居然认为Al是个失败的人。他确实没留下什么物质遗产,但是他曾经是一个很有爱心的父亲,是我认识的最好的、最有爱心的人。