在英语教学中,开展经典美文教学不仅能提高学生的文学水平,而且能提高学生的英语素养。下面小编整理了一生必读的英语经典美文，希望大家喜欢!

一生必读的英语经典美文摘抄

Playing a Violin with Three Strings

断弦的小提琴

Anonymous

佚名

On Nov.18，1995，Itzhak Perlman，the violinist，came on stage to give a concert. if you have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child，and so he walks with the aid of two crutches.

1995年11月18日，小提琴家伊扎克·帕尔曼举办了一场音乐会。如果你曾经听过帕尔曼的音乐会，你就知道对他来说走上舞台可不是一件容易的事情。他小的时候患过小儿麻痹症，所以他走路要借助双拐。

The audience sit quietly while he makes his way across the stage to his chair and begins his play. But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few bars，one of the strings on his violin broke. We thought that he would have to stop the concert. But he didn't. Instead，he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again.

观众在静静地等待着他穿过舞台坐在椅子上开始表演。但是这一次出了点意外。当他刚刚演奏完前面几小节的时候，一根琴弦断了。我们以为他不得不结束这场演奏会，然而他却没有。他停了一下，闭上了眼睛，然后向指挥示意重新开始。

The orchestra began and he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before.

乐队再一次开始演奏，他用前所未有的激情、力量和纯洁的内心而演奏着。

Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to play a harmonious work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that.

当然，我们都知道仅用三根琴弦是无法演奏出和谐的乐曲的。你我都明白这一事实，但是那晚伊扎克·帕尔曼就是拒绝承认。

When he finished，there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium.

当演奏结束的时候，大厅里先是一阵可怕的沉寂。接着，人们从座位上起立并欢呼起来，从观众席的每一个角落都爆发出了热烈的掌声。

He smiled，wiped the sweat from this brow and then he said in a quiet, sacred tone, "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left."

他微笑着，擦去了额头的汗珠，他用平静的、虔诚的语气说道，“有些时候音乐家需要明白，用不完整的乐器，你还能演奏出怎样的音乐。”

This powerful line has stayed in my mind ever since I heard it. Perhaps that is the definition of life-not just for artists but for all of us.

从那天起，我就一直铭记这句铿锵有力的话。要知道，也许这就是对生命的解释—不仅是对音乐家，而且是对所有的人。

He has prepared all his life to make music on a violin of four strings, but all of a sudden, in the middle of a concert, he finds himself with only three strings;so he makes music with three strings, and the music he made that night with just three strings was more beautiful，more sacred, more memorable, than any that he had ever made before, when he had four strings.

伊扎克·帕尔曼一生都在做着用四弦小提琴演奏音乐的准备，然而，突然间，就在音乐会上，他发现他只剩下三根琴弦，于是他用三根琴弦演奏。那一晚他用三根琴弦演奏的音乐比他以往用四根琴弦演奏的音乐更美妙，更神圣，更难忘。

So，perhaps our task in this shaky，fast-changing，bewildering world in which we live is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then，when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left.

我们要学会在这个动荡多变、充满迷惑的世界里演奏音乐，也许开始的时候倾尽所有来演奏，当有些东西不再拥有的时候，就用我们所剩下的来演奏音乐。

一生必读的英语经典美文鉴赏

Childhood

10.童年

Leo Tolstoy

[俄]列夫·托尔斯泰

Happy, happy, never-retuning time of childhood! How can we help loving and dwelling upon its recollections? They cheer and elevate the soul, and become to one a source of higher joys.

幸福的，幸福的，一去不复返的童年时代啊，怎能不爱惜、不珍重对童年的回忆呢?这些回忆使我精神舒爽，心情振奋，是我的无上乐趣的源泉。

Sometimes，when dreaming of bygone days, fancy that,tired out with running about I have sat down in my high arm-chair by the tea-table. It is late, and I have long since drunk my cup of milk. My eyes are heavy with sleep as I sit there and listen. How could I not listen, seeing that Mamma is speaking to somebody,and that the sound of her voice is so melodious and kind? How much its echoes recall to my heard With my eyes veiled with drowsiness I gaze at her wistfully. Suddenly she seems to grow smaller and smaller, and her face vanishes to a point; yet I can still see it—can still see her as she looks at me and smiles. Somehow it pleases me to see her grown so small. I blink and blink, yet she looks no larger than a boy reflected in the pupil of an eye. Then I rouse myself, and the picture fades. Once more I half-close my eyes, and cast about to try and recall the dream, but it has gone, I rise to my feet, only to fall back comfortably into the armchair.

有时，我会回忆起流逝的岁月。那时跑不动了，我就在茶桌旁那把高背安乐椅上安逸地坐下来;夜深了，我就喝光所有的牛奶，迷迷糊糊地合上眼睛，静坐在那儿聆听着妈妈在同什么人说话，她的声音是那么婉转优美!那声音不停地在我的心灵深处荡漾，让我想起那段美妙的时光。我用迷糊的睡眼渴望地看着妈妈的脸。忽然，妈妈的身影逐渐变小，她的面孔缩小成了一个小黑点;可是，我依然可以看到她，她笑眯眯地瞥了我一眼。不知什么缘故，我喜欢看见妈妈变得这么小的样子。我眨了眨双眼，她的样子变得和瞳孔里的小孩儿一样大了。后来我被惊醒了，画面也不见了。我眨眨眼睛，举目四望，努力想使梦中的景象再现，却一点也想不起来了。我本想站起来，却又马上惬意地靠在安乐椅上。

"There! You are falling asleep again，little Nicolas，”says Mamma，"You had better go to by-by."

“你又睡着了，尼古拉斯，”妈妈对我说，“你还是上楼去睡比较好。”

"No, I won't go to sleep, Mamma,”I reply, though almost inaudibly, for pleasant dreams are filling all my soul. The sound sleep of childhood is weighing my eyelids down，and for a few moments. I sink into slumber and oblivion until awakened by some one. I feel in my sleep as though a soft hand were caressing me. I know it by the touch, and, though still dreaming, I seize hold of it and press it to my lips. Every one else has gone to bed, and only one candle remains burning in the drawing-room.Mamma has said that she herself will wake me. She sits down on the arm of the chair in which I am asleep, with her soft hand stroking my hair, and I hear her beloved, well-known voice say in my ear, "Get up, my darling. It is time to go by-by."

“我不想睡，妈妈。”我朦朦胧胧地叨念，我心里装的都是那些迷幻而幸福的梦想。还是小孩的我抵挡不住那浓浓的睡意，眼皮慢慢合了起来，刹那间就来到了沉沉的梦乡，直到最终被人唤醒。朦胧间，我觉得有人用手在轻轻地抚摩我，这种触摸的感觉告诉我，是妈妈的手。睡梦中的我情不自禁地拉住那只手，把它牢牢地按在嘴唇上。所有的人都已经离开，客厅里只剩下一根燃烧的蜡烛。妈妈说，她要自己叫醒我。妈妈坐在我睡的那张椅子扶手上，用她那温暖的手抚摸着我的头发，用我熟悉的、暖人的声音在我耳边说:“起来吧，我的乖宝贝，该去睡觉了。”

No envious gaze sees her now. She is not afraid to shed upon me the whole of her tenderness and love. I do not wake up,yet I kiss and kiss her hand.

她不会因为任何人嫉妒的眼光而有丝毫犹疑，她根本不顾虑把她的全部温柔和慈爱赋予我。我合着眼，只是一次又一次地亲她的手。

"Get up, then，my angel.”

“起来吧，我的天使!”

She passes her other arm round my neck, and her fingers tickle me as they move across it. The room is quiet and in half-darkness, but the tickling has touched my nerves and I begin to awake. Mamma is sitting near me-that I can tell-and touching me;I can hear her voice and feel her presence. This at last rouses me to spring up, to throw my arms around her neck, to hide my head in her bosom，and to say with a sigh，"Ah，dear,darling Mamma, how much I love you!”

她的另外一只手楼住我的脖子。手指滑过我的脖子，让我觉得很痒。房间里没有一点儿声音，光线忽明忽暗，但挠痒让我精神振奋，睡意全无。此刻，妈妈就坐在我的身边—这我感觉得到—充满爱意地抚着我;我听到她的声音，真实地感觉到了她的气息。我赶紧跳了起来，双手抱住妈妈的脖颈，把头钻进她的怀里，叹息了一声说道:“噢，亲爱的，亲爱的妈妈，我多么爱你呀!”

She smiles her sad，enchanting smile，takes my head between her two hands, kisses me on the forehead，and lifts me on to her lap. "Do you love me so much，then?" she says. Then，after a few moments'silence, she continues, "And you must love me always，and never forget me. If your Mamma should no longer be here .will you promise never to forget her-never, Nicolas?" and she kisses me more fondly than ever.

妈妈露出忧郁而迷人的微笑，然后用双手托住我的头，亲亲我的前额，最后抱起来让我坐在她的腿上。“这么说你十分爱我?”她停了片刻，随后说，“记住，你一定要永远爱我，永远不要忘了我。如果妈妈不在人世了，你不会忘掉她吧?尼古拉斯，你不会忘记吧?”她更加轻柔地亲我。

"Oh, but you must not speak so, darling Mamma, my own darling Mamma!”I exclaim as I clasp her knees, and tears of joy and love fall from my eyes.

“不，不要这么说，我亲爱的妈妈，我最亲爱的妈妈!”我喊了起来，使劲抱住她的双腿，爱和狂喜的泪水止不住地往下流。

How, after scenes like this!would go upstairs, and stand before the icons, and say with a rapturous feeling，"God bless Papa and Mamma!”and repeat a prayer for my beloved mother which my childish lips had learnt to lisp-the love of God and other blending strangely in a single emotion!

所有的事情都过去后，我回到楼上，虔诚地站在圣像前祷告:“主啊，求你祝福我的爸爸和妈妈。”这一刻我的心情是多么美好啊!幼稚的我重复着为亲爱的妈妈的祈祷—我对她的爱和对上帝的爱神奇地融合在了一起。

After saying my prayers, I would wrap myself up in the bedclothes. My heart would feel light, peaceful，and happy, and one dream would follow another. Dreams of what? They were all of them vague, but all of them full of pure love and of a sort of expectation of happiness. Usually, also, there would be some favorite toy-a china dog or the bedarner into the bed-corner behind the pillow, and it would please me to think how warm and comfortable and well cared-for it was there. Also, I would pray God to make everyone happy, so that every one might be contented, and also to send fine weather tomorrow for our walk.Then I would turn myself over on to the other side, and thoughts and dreams would become jumbled and entangled together until at last I slept soundly and peacefully, though with a face wet with tears.

说完祈祷词后我爬进被窝，心情是又轻快，又平和，又快乐。美梦接二连三，我梦见了什么呢?它们大都不合逻辑，然而，纯洁的爱和对幸福的向往却充溢在我的梦里。随后，我就把我宠爱的瓷玩具—一只小狗或者一只小兔—放到枕头后面的床角，看着它们如此安逸温暖地躺在那里，我就感到心满意足了。接着，我又祈祷，恳求上帝赐给大家幸福，让人们都心想事成，还恳求上帝让明天有个好天气，那样我们才能去散步;后来我翻了一下身，思绪和梦境交织混杂在一起;最后，我舒服地进入了梦乡，脸上还留着湿漉漉的泪水。

Do in after life the freshness and light-heartedness, the craving for love and for strength of faith, ever return which we experience in our childhood's years? What better time is there in our lives than when the two best of virtues-innocent gaiety and a boundless yearning for affection-are our sole objects of pursuit? Where now are our ardent prayers? Where now are our best gifts-the pure tears of emotion which a guardian angel dries with a smile as he sheds upon us lovely dreams of ineffable childish joy? Can it be that life has left such heavy traces upon one's heart that those tears and ecstasies are for ever vanished?Can it be that there remains to us only the recollection of them?

只有童年时代才会有朝气蓬勃、心无杂念的心情，对爱的向往和对信仰的坚定，在我们以后的人生岁月里真的还能得到吗?当天真的喜悦和对爱的无限渴求—这两种崇高的美德—成为生命中仅有的愿望，我们的生命中，还会有比这更美妙的事物吗?那些衷心的祈祷现在在哪里?最珍贵的礼物—由情感激发的纯洁泪水—现在又在哪里呢?守护天使曾降临在我们周围，微笑着拭去那些眼泪，指引我们进入那充满无法形容的童真乐趣的甜蜜梦境。难道生活在我们的心头划过的伤痕，已经让那些泪水和欢乐永远远离我们了吗?难道剩下的只是对昔日的留恋了吗?

一生必读的英语经典美文赏析

Tolerance

宽容

Hendrik Willem Van Loon

[美]亨德里克·威廉·房龙

Happily lived mankind in the peaceful valley of ignorance.

宁静无知的山谷里，人们幸福地生活着。

To the north，to the south，to the west and to the east stretched the ridges of the hills everlasting.

没有尽头的山脉向东南西北各个方向绵延。

A little stream of knowledge tricked slowly through a deep worn gully.

知识的小溪流沿着幽深而残破的山谷缓缓地流着。

It came out of the mountains of the past.

它发源于往日的荒山。

It lost itself in the marshes of the future.

它消失在未来的沼泽。

It was not much，as rivers go. But it was enough for the humble needs of the villagers.

这条小溪没有江河那样汹涌澎湃的波涛，但对于只有微薄需求的村民来说，已经是绰绰有余。

In the evening，when they had watered their cattle and had filled their casks, they were content to sit down to enjoy life.

晚上，村民们喂罢牲口，把水桶里灌满了水，便心满意足地坐下来，尽享人生之乐。

The old men who knew were brought forth from the shady corners where they had spent their day, pondering over the mysterious pages of an old book.

思想陈旧的老人们被搀扶出门，他们整个白天都待在荫凉的角落里，苦苦思索着一本神秘的古书。

They mumbled strange words to their grandchildren，who would have preferred to play with the pretty pebbles，brought down from distant lands.

他们对儿孙们念叨着那些稀奇古怪的字眼，可是孩子们总想着玩那些从远处带来的石头。

Often these words were not very clear.

这些字眼的含义经常含糊不清。

But they were writ a thousand years ago by a forgotten race.Hence they were holy.

不过，它们是一个如今不为人知的部落在一千年前写下的，因而神圣不可裹读。

For in the valley of ignorance，whatever was old was venerable. And those who dared to gainsay the wisdom of the fathers were shunned by all decent people. And so they kept their peace.

在愚昧的山谷里，古老的东西总是受到敬重。谁否定先人的智慧，谁就会遭到正派人的冷落。所以大家处在一起相安无事。

Fear was ever with them. What if they should be refused the common share of the products of the garden?

恐惧总是跟随着人们。谁要是分不到果园里一个份额的果实，又能怎么办呢?

Vague stories there were, whispered at night among the narrow streets of the little town，vague stories of men and women who had dared to ask questions.

夜深的时候，人们簇拥在狭窄的街头巷尾，讲述着那些情节早已模糊不清的往事，论说那些勇于提出质疑的男男女女。

They had gone forth and never again had they been seen.

这些男男女女后来都走了，再没回来过。

A few had tried to scale the high walls of the rocky range that

hid the sun.

另外一部分人试图攀缘挡住太阳的岩墙陡壁。

Their whitened bones lay at the foot of the cliffs.

但结局是他们横尸于山崖脚下，白骨累累。

The years came and the years went by.

岁月流逝，年复一年。

Happily lived mankind in the peaceful valley of ignorance.

在这宁静的无知山谷里，人们幸福地生活着。

Out of the darkness crept a man.

黑暗中，一个人正在爬行。

The nails of his hands were torn.

他的指甲已经磨破了。

His feet were covered with rags, red with the blood of long marches.

他的脚上缠着破破烂烂的布，由于长途跋涉，流出的鲜血已经把布浸透了。

He stumbled to the door of the nearest but and knocked.

他跌跌撞撞地来到最近的一间草屋，敲了敲门。

Then he fainted. By the light of a frightened candle, he was carried to a cot.

接着他便晕了。借助颤动的烛光，他被抬到一张吊床上。

In the morning throughout the village it was known, "He has come back."

到了早上，全村的人都知道:“他回来了。”

The neighbors stood around and shook their heads. They. had always known that this was to be the end.

邻居们围在他的身边，无奈地摇摇头。他们明白，这是早已注定的结局。

Defeat and surrender awaited those who dared to stroll away from the foot of the mountains.

那些敢于离开山谷的人，等待他的是屈服和失败。

And in one corner of the village the old men shook their heads and whispered burning words.

在村子的一个角落，思想迁腐的老人们摇着头，压低了声音说着恶狠狠的话。

They did not mean to be cruel, but the law was the law.Bitterly this man had sinned against the wishes of those who knew.

他们并非生来残忍，但法律就是法律。他违背了那些思想陈腐的长辈们的意志，就是犯下了滔天大罪。

As soon as his wounds were healed he must be brought to trial.

他的伤势一旦痊愈，就必须接受判决。

They meant to be lenient.

迂腐的长辈们本想慈悲为怀。

They remembered the strange, burning eyes of his mother.They recalled the tragedy of his father, lost in the desert these thirty years ago.

他们没有忘记他母亲怪异的跳跃着光芒的眼眸，也回想起了30年前他父亲在沙漠失踪的悲剧。

The law，however, was the law;and the law must be obeyed.

不过法律就是法律，法律是不可违抗的。

The men who knew would see to that.

而那些思想守旧的老人就是法律的执行者。

They carried the wanderer to the market place，and the people stood around in respectful silence.

那些迂腐的老人把出游的人抬到闹市区。人们在都毕恭毕敬地在周围站着，鸦雀无声。

He was still weak from hunger and thirst and the elders bade him sit down，He refused.

出游的人由于饥渴，身体还很虚弱。老人们让他坐下，他拒绝了。

They ordered him to be silent.

他们让他闭嘴。

But he spoke.

但是他坚持要说。

Upon the old men he turned his back and his eyes sought those who but a short time before had been his comrades.

他转过来背对老人，眼光在人群中搜索不久前还与他志同道合的人。

"Listen to me,”he implored, "Listen to me and be rejoiced.I have come back from beyond the mountains. My feet have trod a fresh soil. My hands have felt the touch of other races. My eyes have seen wondrous sights.

“听我说，”他恳请道，“请听我说，大家会很高兴的。我刚从山那边回来，我的双脚踏上了一片新鲜的土地，我的手被其他的民族抚摸过，我的双眼见到了奇妙的景象。”

"When I was a child, my world was the garden of my father.

“小时候，父亲的花园就是我的整个世界。”

"To the west and to the east, to the south and to the north lay the ranges from the beginning of time.

“早在上帝创造世界的时候，花园东西南北各个方位的边界就被确定下来了。”

"When I asked what they were hiding, there was a hush and a hasty shaking of heads. When I insisted, I was taken to the rocks and shown the bleached bones of those who had dared to defy the gods.

“只要我问起边界的那一边藏着什么，大家就把头摇个不停，口里发出嘘嘘的声音。但是我非要打破砂锅问到底，于是他们就带我来这块岩石上，让我看看那些蔑视上帝的人的森森白骨。”

"When I cried out and said,‘It is a lie! The Gods love those who are brave!’the men who knew came and read to me from their sacred books. The law, they explained, had ordained all things of heaven and earth. The valley was ours to have and to hold. The animals and the flowers, the fruit and the fishes were ours, to do our bidding. But the mountains were of the gods. What lay beyond was to remain unknown until the end of time.

“‘骗人’我大声喊道.‘上帝偏爱英勇的人。’于是，迂腐的长辈们走过来，为我读他们的圣书。他们说，上帝的旨意已经决定了天地间万物的命运。山谷是我们的，由我们来掌管，飞禽走兽和花朵，还有果实和鱼虾都是属于我们的，我们决定它们的命运。但山是上帝的，我们不应该知道山对面的一切事物，直到世界的末日。”

"So they spoke, and they lied. They lied to me, even as they have lied to you.

“这就是他们说的，他们在撒谎，他们欺骗了我，就像欺骗了你们一样。”

"There are pastures in those hills. Meadows too, as rich as any. And men and women of our own flesh and blood. And cities resplendent with the glories of a thousand years of labor.

“山的那一边有牧场，有和我们一样的牧草，那里的男女老少有和我们同样的血肉之躯。那历经了一千年的城市，被能工巧匠雕刻得雄壮美丽，光彩闪烁。”

"I have found the road to a better home. I have seen the promise of a happier life. Follow me and I shall lead you thither. For the smile of the gods is the same there as here and everywhere."

“我已经找到了一条大道，可以通往更美好的家园，我已经看到了幸福生活的曙光。跟随我走吧，我带着你们奔向那里。上帝在别处有和在这里一样的微笑。”

He stopped and there went up a great cry of horror.

他停下来了，人群发出了惊恐的叫喊声。

"Blasphemy!”cried the old men. "Blasphemy and sacrilege! A fit punishment for his crime! He has lost his reason. He dares to scoff at the law as it was written down a thousand years ago.He deserves to die!”

“褒读，这是对神灵的襄读，”顽固不化的老人大声叫着，“要让他罪有应得!他已经失去理智了，竟敢戏谑一千年前制定下来的法律。他死有余辜!”

And they took up heavy stones.

人们举起了沉重的石头。

And they killed him.

他们杀死了这个出游的人。

And his body they threw at the foot of the cliffs, that it might lie there as a warning to all who questioned the wisdom of the ancestors.

人们把他的尸体扔到山崖底下，以此训诫其他那些胆敢怀疑祖先智慧的人，杀一儆百。

Then it happened a short time later that there was a great drought. The little brook of knowledge ran dry. The cattle died of thirst. The harvest perished in the fields, and there was hunger in the valley of ignorance.

没有多久，一场特大干旱爆发了。涓涓的知识小溪流千枯了，牲畜都干渴而死，田地里的粮食都枯萎了，无知的山谷里到处都是饥渴的呻吟。

The old men who knew, however, were not disheartened.Everything would all come right in the end，they prophesied，for so it was wrote in their most holy chapters.

不过，那些顽固的老人并没有灰心。他们预言说，所有的一切都会转危为安，至少那些先知先觉的圣书上是这样写的。

Besides, they themselves needed but little food. They were so very old.

而且，他们自己已经很老了，吃不了多少粮食了。

Winter came.

冬天来临了。

The village was deserted.

村庄里荒无人烟。

More than half of the populace died from sheer want.

饥寒交迫夺去了大多数人的生命。

The only hope for those who survived lay beyond the mountains.

活着的人把生存的唯一希望寄托在山的那一边。

But the law said "No!"

但是法律却说:“不可以!”

And the law must be obeyed.

法律是必须要遵守的。

One night there was a rebellion.

一天夜晚，叛乱爆发了。

Despair gave courage to those whom fear had forced into silence.

绝望斌予那些由于恐惧而逆来顺受的人们以勇气。

Feebly the old men protested.

迂腐的老人们无力地抗争着。

They were pushed aside. They complained of their lot. They bewailed the ingratitude of their children，but when the last wagon pulled out of the village, they stopped the driver and forced him to take them along.

他们被推到一边，还在抱怨自己不幸的命运，诅咒儿孙的忘恩负义。但是当最后一辆马车驶离村落时，他们拦住了它，迫使车夫把他们带走。

The flight into the unknown had begun.

就这样，投奔前途未卜的新世界的旅程开始了。

It was many years since the wanderer had returned. It was no easy task to discover the road he had mapped out.

从那个出游者回来到现在已经过了很多年了，所以要找到他开辟的道路，绝不是容易的事情。

Thousands fell a victim to hunger and thirst before the first cairn was found.

成千上万的人在路途上饥渴而亡，人们终于找到了第一座用石子垒起的路标。

From there on the trip was less difficult.

从那以后，旅途中的磨难少了一些。

The careful pioneer had blazed a clear trail through the woods and amidst the endless wilderness of rock.

那个细心的开拓者已经用火在一望无际的险山乱林中烧出了一条宽阔大道。

By easy stages it led to the green pastures of the new land.

沿着这条大道，人们一步步地走到了一个有着绿色牧场的新世界。

Silently the people looked at each other.

人们相对无言。

"He was right after all，”they said, "He was right, and the old men were wrong..."

“他到底还是对的，”人们说，“正确的是他，错误的是那些冥顽不化的老人……”

"He spoke the truth, and the old men lied..."

“他的话是真实的，那些迂腐的老人在撤谎……”

"His bones lie rotting at the foot of the cliffs，but. the old men sit in our carts and chant their ancient lays...”

“他的尸首腐烂在山崖下，可是那些顽固的老人却坐在我们的车里，还唱着那陈旧不堪的歌谣。”

"He saved us, and we slew him..."

“他救了我们，我们却杀害了他。”

"We are sorry that it happened, but of course, if we could have known at the time..."

“我们确实对这件事情非常内疚，不过，当时我们如果知道的话，当然就……”

Then they unharnessed their horses and their oxen and they drove their cows and their goats into the pastures and they built themselves houses and laid out their fields and they lived happily for along time afterwards.

接着，他们为牛马解下套具，把牛羊赶进牧场，建造自己的房屋，规划自己的土地。从此，他们过上了幸福的生活。

A few years later an attempt was made to bury the brave pioneer in the fine new edifice which had been erected as a home for the wise old men.

几年之后，人们为智慧老人建起了一座崭新的大厦作为住宅，并准备把英勇的先驱者的遗骸埋在里面。

A solemn procession went back to the now deserted valley,but when the spot was reached where his body ought to have been，it was no longer there.

一支庄严的队伍回到了早已荒芜人烟的山谷。但是，山崖脚下空空如也，开拓者的尸骨已经无影无踪。

A hungry jackal had dragged it to his lair.

饥饿的豺狗早就把尸首拖入了自己的洞穴。

A small stone was then placed at the foot of the trail (now a magnificent highway). It gave the name of the man who had first defied the dark terror of the unknown, that his people might be guided into a new freedom.

人们在开拓者足迹的尽头放上了一块小石头(那里现在已经是一条大道)，他们把开拓者的名字刻在石头上—这是第一个挑战未知世界的黑暗和恐怖的人的名字，是他把人们带向了新的自由。

And it stated that it had been erected by a grateful posterity.

石头上还写着，它是由前来感恩朝拜的后人建造的。

As it was in the beginning-as it is now-and as some day (so we hope)it shall no longer be.

这样的事情过去发生过，现在也还在发生，不过将来(我们希望)不要再发生了。