学生通过大量的经典美文阅读能够开阔自己的视野,通过经典的美文阅读可以增加文化积淀和思想内涵,通过经典美文导读可以陶冶情操,提高素养。本文是关于高中经典英语美文，希望对大家有帮助!

关于高中经典英语美文：Free Minds and Hearts at Work

by Jackie Robinson

At the beginning of the World Series of 1947, I experienced a completely new emotion, when the National Anthem was played. This time, I thought, it is being played for me, as much as for anyone else. This is organized major league baseball, and I am standing here with all the others; and everything that takes place includes me.

About a year later, I went to Atlanta, Georgia, to play in an exhibition game. On the field, for the first time in Atlanta, there were Negroes and whites. Other Negroes, besides me. And I thought: What I have always believed has come to be.

And what is it that I have always believed? First, that imperfections are human. But that wherever human beings were given room to breathe and time to think, those imperfections would disappear, no matter how slowly. I do not believe that we have found or even approached perfection. That is not necessarily in the scheme of human events. Handicaps, stumbling blocks, prejudices — all of these are imperfect. Yet, they have to be reckoned with because they are in the scheme of human events.

Whatever obstacles I found made me fight all the harder. But it would have been impossible for me to fight at all, except that I was sustained by the personal and deep-rooted belief that my fight had a chance. It had a chance because it took place in a free society. Not once was I forced to face and fight an immovable object. Not once was the situation so cast-iron rigid that I had no chance at all. Free minds and human hearts were at work all around me; and so there was the probability of improvement. I look at my children now, and know that I must still prepare them to meet obstacles and prejudices.

But I can tell them, too, that they will never face some of these prejudices because other people have gone before them. And to myself I can say that, because progress is unalterable, many of today's dogmas will have vanished by the time they grow into adults. I can say to my children: There is a chance for you. No guarantee, but a chance.

And this chance has come to be, because there is nothing static with free people. There is no Middle Ages logic so strong that it can stop the human tide from flowing forward. I do not believe that every person, in every walk of life, can succeed in spite of any handicap. That would be perfection. But I do believe — and with every fiber in me — that what I was able to attain came to be because we put behind us (no matter how slowly) the dogmas of the past: to discover the truth of today; and perhaps find the greatness of tomorrow.

I believe in the human race. I believe in the warm heart. I believe in man's integrity. I believe in the goodness of a free society. And I believe that the society can remain good only as long as we are willing to fight for it — and to fight against whatever imperfections may exist.

My fight was against the barriers that kept Negroes out of baseball. This was the area where I found imperfection, and where I was best able to fight. And I fought because I knew it was not doomed to be a losing fight. It couldn't be a losing fight-not when it took place in a free society.

And in the largest sense, I believe that what I did was done for me — that it was my faith in God that sustained me in my fight. And that what was done for me must and will be done for others.

自由思想与心灵的作用

杰基·罗宾逊

1947年的世界职业棒球大赛开赛那天，当美国国歌奏响的那一刻，我产生了一种全新的情感。这一次，国歌是为我而奏，就像为其他人奏一样。我终于能和其他人一样，站在职业棒球大联盟球赛的赛场上，成为这一切的一部分。

大约一年以后，我参加了在乔治亚州首府亚特兰大举办的一次棒球表演赛。这是亚特兰大的赛场上第一次同时出现白人和黑人运动员。除我之外，还有其他黑人选手。那一刻，我一直坚守的信念终于实现了。

我一直坚守的信念是什么呢?首先，我知道人类不可避免会有缺陷。但只要人类有一息尚存，只要人类还能思考，这些缺陷一定会逐渐消失，无论过程会多么漫长。我并不认为我们已经到达或正在接近完美无缺的境界。完美无缺的境界并非人类社会不可或缺的一部分。有些缺陷，例如残疾、障碍和偏见，在人类社会中都存在，也就需要我们勇敢地去面对。

我一路上遇到的阻碍都促使我更加努力地去抗争、去奋斗。然而，如果不是我内心深处坚信我的奋斗有希望，我就根本无法坚持。我的奋斗有希望，因为这是一个自由的社会。在这里，我不止一次遇到过无法逾越的障碍，也不止一次经历过令人绝望的境况。但那时，思想与心灵的自由便能起作用，让我摆脱困境。如今我看着自己的孩子们，我知道我仍需要他们准备面对困难与歧视。

然而，我可以告诉他们，正因为前人的努力奋斗，他们今后不必再经受我们现在承受的某些偏见。我也告诉自己，社会进步是必然的，当我的孩子们长大成人时，现在社会上的许多教条一定会消失。因此，我可以告诉我的孩子们：你们有希望——我不敢保证什么，但肯定有希望。有自由思想的人决不会停滞不前，所以你们有希望。再也没有中世纪强大荒谬的逻辑能阻挡人类历史的潮流滚滚向前。我并不认为从事任何职业的任何人都能排除一切障碍获得成功——这样的完美不现实。但我的确有一条坚定不疑的信念——我现在所做到的一切是因为我们能够抛开从前的教条(无论多么缓慢)，能探寻当下的真理，也许还能发现未来的美好。

我相信人类。

我相信热诚的心。

我相信人们的正直与诚实。

我相信自由社会中的美德。

我相信只要我们愿意为之奋斗，愿意与所存在的缺陷抗争到底，这个社会就能永远美好。

棒球比赛将黑人拒之门外就是人类社会的一种缺陷。既然我有这个能力，我就要和这种现象抗争到底。我抗争，因为我知道这场战斗并非注定以失败告终。

这场战斗不会失败——在一个自由社会中这场战斗不可能失败。

大而言之，我所做到的一切都市上苍的眷顾——正是我对上帝的信仰支撑着我，给我抗争的勇气。我相信被眷顾的不仅仅是我一个人，而应是、也将是我们所有人。

附注：杰基·罗宾逊：是一位了不起的黑人棒球运动员。

关于高中经典英语美文：Baseball Has a Religion Too

By Joe Williams

There is saying at the race track that you can't "rule a man off for trying." I believe in this approach to life on this earth. I believe in God. I believe in my country. I believe in basic human decency. I believe there is a right and a wrong way to do things. If I were asked to define Americanism - what made our country what it is to date - I would say it was the American's willingness and ambition to stand on his own two feet. I keep a box score on every baseball game I cover. There is a credit column in which hits are recorded and there is a debit column in which errors are listed. These are often deceptive. They will give hits to a batter who has been lucky and they will charge errors against a fielder who has been unlucky. This is a small mirror of life itself. These things over a long run even up just as they do in life.

I've seen shortstops make errors on plays another shortstop would not even try to make. He had his record in mind. The shortstop who made the errors had the team's success in mind. He was willing to sacrifice his personal record in the greater interest of the team's success. There is a kind of religion in that attitude.

I've often wondered how it would be, how it would affect the lives of our people if we all kept a daily box score on ourselves. As a matter of fact, I believe in sports as a way of life. It was Wellington who said battles are won on the playing fields of Eton. I believe it can be stated with equal truth that the principles of decent citizenship are born on the sand lots of Bass River, Massachusetts, Peoria, Illinois, and Southgate, California.

That's where our youngsters first see the religion of sports, if I may be permitted the term, in actual use. They learn about fair play, sportsmanship and working together in a common cause. And because they frequently learn by ugly contrast, their instincts and the early teachings they got from their parents are sharpened against unfair practices, bully-ragging and swell-headedness.

Not too long ago I had what was apparently a narrow escape from death. I was the last passenger out of a burning plane, the crash of which had instantly killed the pilot. I believe I am a physical coward, but singularly I felt not fear when I came to and began to seek a way to safety. Maybe I was still stunned, but I was completely composed. I did not pray, though I believe in prayer. I did not think of my family, though I am devoted to my family. I was neither sure I would escape nor that I would perish. I was, I suppose, completely resigned to whatever fate awaited me.

They have another saying around the race tracks - "The red board is up." This means the race is over, the result is final, and there's nothing anybody can do about it. It has gone into the records.

I believe that somehow much of the philosophy of the people I live with his rubbed off me. I don't know whether this is good or bad. All I know is that is how it is with me and I've lived a happy life and I hope a reasonably decent one according to my lights.

棒球运动中也有信仰

乔·威廉斯

赛场上有一种说法，“选手有尝试的机会”。我相信生活中也应采取这种态度。我还相信上帝，相信我的祖国，相信人性本善，相信处事原则有对有错。如果让我来界定什么是美国精神，也就是我们的国家得以有今日之成就的这种精神，我认为它指的就是美国人民自强自立的意愿和志向。我保留着自己报导过的每场棒球比赛的成绩一览表。表上正分那一栏记录的是击出安打的次数，负分那一栏则记录着失误的次数。这样的记录常常不准确，因为有时会把安打球记在某位走运的击球员身上，而有时又会把失误记在某位倒霉的守场员身上，但久而久之总的数据还是会基本扯平——生命中的许多事情又何尝不是如此。

我见过有些游击手在比赛中故意出现失误，这些失误其他游击手压根儿不会考虑，因为他们脑子里想的是自己的个人表现记录。选择故意失误的游击手想的是球队的胜利，为了顾全球队的大局，他们宁可牺牲自己的个人成绩。我想这种态度就是一种信仰的体现。

我常想，如果我们每人每天都能填写一份自己的成绩与不足一览表，那我们的生活将会怎样变化!其实我一直都认为体育运动也是一种生活方式。威灵顿公爵曾经说过，人生的胜负是在伊顿公学的操场上决定的。我想这句话对棒球场也同样适用。马萨诸塞州的巴斯河，伊利诺伊州的皮奥里亚，加利福尼亚州的绍斯盖特——在这些棒球训练场上，公民的优良品质得以形成、得以体现。

在棒球运动中，我们的年轻人第一次发现体育运动中实际上也有信仰，如果能允许我使用“信仰”这个词。他们明白了什么叫公平竞争，什么是运动精神，学会了通过团结合作去实现共同的目标。他们也经常在体育比赛中看到不公平竞争、威胁恐吓或是骄傲自大等丑陋现象。正是这种丑恶与美德形成的强烈反差让他们源自于天性以及早年家庭教育的那些优良品质得以发扬光大。

不久以前我有过一次死里逃生的惊险经历。我乘坐的飞机着了火，我刚一逃出机舱飞机就坠毁了，驾驶员当场丧生。我是个畏惧自然法则的人，但奇怪的是，当我回过神来逃生时，我一点也不害怕。也许我受了惊吓，但我非常镇静。在那一刻，我没有祷告，尽管我相信祷告的力量：我也没有想到家人，尽管我深爱着他们。我既不知道自己能否死里逃生，也不知道自己是否必死无疑。我想我当时是将自己完全交给了命运去安排。

赛场上还有一种说法，叫做“竖起红板”，指的是比赛已然结束，胜负已见分晓，一切都已载入记录，谁也改变不了。

我身边许多人的人生哲学都对我产生了影响。我不知这是好是坏。我只知道这就是我的生活态度，而我也过着快乐的生活，希望这是一种在我看来正派的生活。

关于高中经典英语美文：Growing in the Middle Ground

Anne Phipps

I believe that my beliefs are changing. Nothing is positive. Perhaps I’m in a stage ofmetamorphosis, which will one day have me emerging complete, sure of everything. Perhaps,I shall spend my life searching.

Until this winter, I believed in outward things, in beauty as I found it in nature and art. Beautypast—swift and sure—from the outside to the inside, bringing intense emotion. I felt aformless faith when I rode through summerwoods, when I heard the counterpoint of breakingwaves, when I held a flower in my hand.

There was the same inspiration from art, here and there in flashes; in seeing for the first timethe delicacy of a green jade vase, or the rich beauty of a rug; in hearing a passage of musicplayed almost perfectly; in watching Markov dance Giselle; most of all, in reading. Other people’screations, their sensitivity to emotion, color, sound, their feeling for form, instructed me. Thenecessity for beauty, I found to be the highest good, the human soul’s greatest gift. But therewere moments when I wasn’t sure. There was an emptiness inside, which beauty could not fill.

This winter, I came to college. The questions put to me changed. Lists of facts—and whodragged whom how many times around the walls of what—lost importance. Instead, I wasasked eternal question: what is beauty, what is truth, what is God? I talked about faith withother students. I read St. Augustine and Tolstoy. I wondered if I hadn’t been worshippingaround the edges. Nature and art were the edges, and inner faith was the center. I discovered—really discovered—that I had a soul.

Just sitting in the sun one day, I realized the shattering meaning of St. Augustine’s statementthat, “The sun and the moon, all the wonders of nature, are not God’s first works but secondto spiritual works.” I had, up till then, perceived spiritual beauty only through the outward. Ithad come into me. Now I am groping towards an inner, spiritual consciousness that will beable to go out from me. I am lost in the middle ground. I’m learning.

在探索中成长

安妮.菲普斯

我坚信，自己的信仰一直在改变。没有什么事情是绝对的。或许，我还只是处在幼体的发育阶段，总有一天我会发育完全，就会对一切深信不疑;或许，我将用一生的时间去探索。

在这个冬天以前，我信仰外界的事物，信仰在自然与艺术中所发现的美。美丽总会稍纵即逝，从外到内，给人留下无尽的感伤。当我骑马穿过夏日的树林，当我聆听着浪花翻滚的韵律，当我手中握着一朵鲜花时，我感觉到一种无形的信念。同样的灵感也来源于艺术——它无处不在，转瞬即逝。当我初次看到一只精妙的白玉花瓶时，或者看到一块华丽的地毯，听到一段演奏得近乎完美的音乐，看到马尔科娃在《吉赛尔》中优美的舞姿时，都会有这种灵感。然而，最多的灵感却是来自于阅读。他人的思想，对情感、颜色、声音的敏锐，以及对形式的感知，都会给我带来启迪。我发现，对美的需求是人类最崇高的善举，是人类灵魂最伟大的天赋。但是，我想它并非一切。

今年冬天，我开始了大学生活。我所面临的问题也有所改变。很多事实与那些“谁拉着谁徘徊在哪个墙边?”的问题已变得毫无意义。相反，一些永恒的问题出现在我的面前，比如，何为美?何为真?

何为上帝?我与其他学生探讨信仰的问题，我阅读圣奥古斯丁与亚里士多德的著作。我想知道，自己是否一直徘徊在信仰的边缘。自然与艺术皆为边缘，心中的信仰才是核心所在。我真实地发现，自己拥有一个灵魂。

一天，当我坐在阳光下时，我猛然明白了圣尼古斯丁的话的涵义：太阳与月亮，所有自然界的奇迹，皆非上帝的“初作”，而是精神上的二次创造。直到那一刻，通过外部的事物，我才认识到精神上的美，那种美已经走进我的心中。如今，我正在通往内在精神意识的道路上摸索前行，希望有一天能够将它们从我的内心唤醒。我迷失在探索之中，我在学习。