考研英语必背文章
考研英语必背文章1
Antique shops exert a peculiar fascination on a great many people. The more expensive kind of antique shop where rare objects are beautifully displayed in glass cases to keep them free from dust is usually a forbidding place. But no one has to muster up courage to enter a less pretentious antique shop. There is always hope that in its labyrinth of musty, dark, disordered rooms a real rarity will be found amongst the piles of assorted junk that litter the floors.
No one discovers a rarity by chance. A truly dedicated bargain hunter must have patience, and above all, the ability to recognize the worth of something when he sees it. To do this, he must be at least as knowledgeable as the dealer. Like a scientist bent on making a discovery, he must cherish the hope that one day he will be amply rewarded.
My old friend, Frank Holliday, is just such a person. He has often described to me how he picked up a masterpiece for a mere￡50. One Saturday morning, Frank visited an antique shop in my neighborhood. As he had never been there before, he found a great deal to interest him. The morning passed rapidly and Frank was about to leave when he noticed a large packing-case lying on the floor. The dealer told him that it had just come in, but that he could not be bothered to open it. Frank begged him to do so and the dealer reluctantly prised it open. The contents were disappointing. Apart from an interesting-looking carved dagger, the box was full of crockery, much of it broken. Frank gently lifted the crockery out of the box and suddenly noticed a miniature painting at the bottom of the packing-case. As its Composition and line reminded him of an Italian painting he knew well, he decided to buy it. Glancing at it briefly, the dealer told him that it was worth￡50. Frank could hardly conceal his excitement, for he knew that he had made a real discovery. The tiny painting proved to be an unknown masterpiece by Correggio and was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
考研英语必背文章2
It has been said that everyone lives by selling something. In the light of this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge, philosophers by selling wisdom and priests by selling spiritual comfort. Though it may be possible to measure the value of material good in terms of money, it is extremely difficult to estimate the true value of the services which people perform for us. There are times when we would willingly give everything we possess to save our lives, yet we might grudge paying a surgeon a high fee for offering us precisely this service. The conditions of society are such that skills have to be paid for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop. Everyone has something to sell.
Tramps seem to be the only exception to this general rule. Beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of passers-by. But real tramps are not beggars. They have nothing to sell and require nothing from others. In seeking independence, they do not sacrifice their human dignity. A tramp may ask you for money, but he will never ask you to feel sorry for him. He has deliberately chosen to lead the life he leads and is fully aware of the consequences. He may never be sure where the next meal is coming from, but he is free from the thousands of anxieties which afflict other people. His few material possessions make it possible for him to move from place to place with ease. By having to sleep in the open, he gets far closer to the world of nature than most of us ever do. He may hunt, beg, or steal occasionally to keep himself alive; he may even, in times of real need, do a little work; but he will never sacrifice his freedom. We often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class as beggars, but how many of us can honestly say that we have not felt a little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care?
考研英语必背文章3
考研英语必背文章精选
Puppies for Sale待售的小狗
A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.
一位农夫有几只小狗要出售。他画了一个广告牌子，并把它钉在院子边的一根柱子上。正当他在敲最后一颗钉子的时候，他觉得有人在扯他的工装裤。他低下头，看见一个小男孩。
"Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."
“先生，”小男孩说，“我想买一只小狗。”
"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."
“呃，”农夫一边擦拭着脖子后面的汗水一边说，“这些小狗都是纯种的，所以贵得很啊。”
The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. "I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"
小男孩低下了头。过了一会，他伸手摸进口袋，掏出了一把零钱，高高地递到了农夫的眼前说：“我有39分。这样可以让我看一眼小狗吗?”
"Sure," said the farmer.
“当然可以，”农夫说。
And with that he let out a whistle, "Here, Dolly!" he called.
话音刚落，他吹了一声口哨，喊道：“多利，过来!”
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.
只见多利从狗屋里跑了出来，奔下了斜坡，身后还跟着四个小家伙。小男孩把脸紧紧贴在了铁丝网上，眼里跳动着喜悦的神采。
As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this One noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began 1)hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up….
这五只小狗跑过来的时候，小男孩发现狗屋里还有些动静。慢慢地，又一只小狗出现了。这只小狗明显弱小得多，他从斜坡上滑了下来，步履蹒跚，努力想赶上同伴们……
"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt.
“我想要那一只，”小男孩指着那只弱小的狗崽说。
The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."
农夫在小男孩的身旁蹲了下来说：“孩子，那只不好。他跑不了，不比其余几只可以陪你玩。”
With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.".
听完这番话，小男孩往后退了一步，坐下来，卷起一只裤脚。只见一只钢制的支架护着他小腿的两侧，底部连接着一只特制的鞋子。小男孩转过头，抬头看着农夫说：“先生，你看，我自己也不太能跑，那只小狗需要一个理解他的人。”
The world is full of people who need someone who understands
同样,我们的世界也有许许多多需要理解的人。
考研英语必背文章阅读
The Touchstone
试金石的故事
When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers.
故事从亚历山大图书馆被付诸一炬开始。有一本书在大火中幸存了下来，但这不是一本贵重的书，一个文化程度并不高的穷人用几块铜板把书买了下来。
The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the "Touchstone"!
书的内容算不上精彩，但书中夹了一张小纸条，上面的内容还是挺吸引人的——关于试金石的小秘密!
The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.
试金石是一种能把普通金属变成纯金的小鹅卵石。书中写道，试金石通常与普通的鹅卵石混在一起，从外表看很难区分出来，但秘诀是当握在手里，试金石是暖的，而普通鹅卵石则是冷的。
So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles.
这个穷人变卖了他为数不多的家产，购买了一些基本的生活必需品，在海边安营扎寨，开始寻找试金石。
He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. – Cold. - Throw it into the sea. – Pick up another. – Cold. – Throw it into the sea.The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months.
他知道，如果自己把拾到的普通鹅卵石又放回原地，那他可能会无数次拣起同一块石头。于是，一旦捡到冷的鹅卵石，他就把它扔进大海里。就这样，他捡了整整一天的石头，也没碰到一块试金石。但他不气馁，依然执著的`重复着这套机械的动作——拣起一块鹅卵石，摸到是冷的，扔进大海里,捡起另一块，仍是冷的，扔进大海……日复一日，很快几周过去了，然后几个月也过去了。
One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.
然而有一天，大概下午两三点的时候，他捡起了一块暖的鹅卵石，但他习惯性地用力把它抛进了大海，等意识到扔出去的是一块试金石时，已经为时过晚。他已经习惯了顺手把拣起来的每一块鹅卵石扔进大海，甚至当试金石出现时，也不例外。
So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant, it's easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.
机会也是如此。如果我们不时刻保持警惕，那么有一天，我们也会很自然地任由手中的大好机会白白溜走。
考研英语必背文章学习
Building your house 建造自己的房子
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire.He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurel life with his wife and enjoy his extended family.He would miss the paycheck each week ,but he wanted to retire.They could get by.
有个老木匠准备退休，他告诉老板，说要离开建造行业，回家与妻子儿女享受天伦之乐。虽然老板给他的工资很高，可是，他更想享受退休生活。生活总能维持下去。
The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor.The carpenter said yes,but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not materials.It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.
老板很不舍得他的好工人离开，问他是否能帮忙再建一座房子。老木匠答应了。但是大家后来都看得出来，他的心已不在工作上，他使用的是次料，做工也很粗糙。这真是一种令人遗憾的结束自己全心全意所从事的事业的方式。
When the carpenter finished his work ,his employer came to inspect the house.Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said,"This is your house...my gift to you."
The carpenter was shocked!
房子建好的时候，老板前来视察，然后把大门的钥匙递给他，说道：“这是你的房子……是我送给你的礼物。”老木匠惊呆了!
What a shame!If he had only known he was building his own house,he would have done it all so differently.
真是丢脸啊!如果他早知道是在给自己建房子，他一定不会这么应付了事的。
So it is with us .We build our lives, a day at a time,often putting less than our best into the building.Then, with a shock;we realize we have to live in the house we have built.If we could do it over,we would do it much differently.
我们又何尝不是这样。我们漫不经心地“建造”自己的生活，不是积极行动，而是消极应付，凡事不肯精益求精，在关键时刻不能尽最大努力。等我们惊觉自己的处境，早已深困在自己建造的“房子”里了。如果能够重新来过，我们一定不会这么做。
But, you cannot go back.You are the carpenter,and everyday you hammer a nail,place a board ,or erect a wall,Someone once said,"Life is a do-it-yourself project."Your attitude and the choices you made today,help build the "house"you will live in tomorrow.Therefore,build wisely!
但是，你永远也无法回到过去。你就是那个木匠，在建造“生活”这所房子，每天敲进去一颗钉，加上去一块板，或者砌起一面墙。有人曾经说过：“生活就是一项DIY的工程”。你今天的态度与选择决定了你明天会住在什么样的“房子”里。因此，用你的智慧去建造你的"房子"吧!
