佚名/Anonymous
I think that, from a biological standpoint, human life almost reads like a poem. It has its own rhythm and beat, its internal cycles of growth and decay. It begins with innocent childhood, followed by awkward adolescence trying awkwardly to adapt itself to mature society, with its young passions and follies, its ideals and ambitions; then it reaches a manhood of intense activities, profiting from experience and learning more about society and human nature; at middle age, there is a slight easing of tension, a mellowing of character like the ripening of fruit or the mellowing of good wine, and the gradual acquiring of a more tolerant, more cynical and at the same time a kindlier view of life; then in the sunset of our life, the endocrine glands decrease their activity, and if we have a true philosophy of old age and have ordered our life pattern according to it, it is for us the age of peace and security and leisure and contentment; finally, life flickers out and one goes into eternal sleep, never to wake up again. One should be able to sense the beauty of this rhythm of life, to appreciate, as we do in grand symphonies, its main theme, its strains of conflict and the final resolution.
The movements of these cycles are very much the same in a normal life, but the music must be provided by the individual himself. In some souls, the discordant note becomes harsher and harsher and finally overwhelms or submerges the main melody. Sometimes the discordant note gains so much power that the music can no longer go on, and the individual shoots himself with a pistol or jumps into a river. But that is because his original leitmotif has been hopelessly over-shadowed through the lack of a good self-education. Otherwise the normal human life runs to its normal end in a kind of dignified movement and procession.
No one can say that a life with childhood, manhood and old age is not a beautiful arrangement; the day has its morning, noon and sunset, and the year has its seasons, and it is good that it is so. There is no good or bad in life, except what is good according to its own season. And if we take this biological view of life and try to live according to the seasons, no one but a conceited fool or an impossible idealist can deny that human life can be lived like a poem.
從生物學的角度來看，我想，人類的生命解讀起來似乎是一首詩，有自己的韻律和節拍，有成長與消亡的內在周期。人類從無知的孩童開始拉開自己生命的帷幕；澀澀的青春期緊隨其後，它笨拙地使澀澀的生命去適應成人的社會，帶著年輕的熱情和荒謬，帶著理想和抱負；之後，它邁入活力充沛的成年時期，從經曆中吸取教訓，更了解社會與人類的本性；人到中年，壓力稍有減輕，性格也像成熟的水果或佳釀一般得以成熟、圓滑，這個時期，人漸漸變得更加寬容、世故、有城府，同時對生活的態度也更加和善；接著，人到暮年，內分泌減緩，如果你對年老有一種正確、冷靜的態度，並在這段時間裏為生命的格局作好安排，那這段時期對我們來說，就是平和、安全、安逸和滿足的；最後，生命的燈火熄滅，人永遠地進入了夢鄉，再也不能醒來。人應該能夠感知這種生命的韻律美。欣賞它，就像欣賞盛大的交響曲，欣賞其主旋律、**與尾聲。
循環過程中的這些運轉，在普通人的生命中都是如此，但每個人生命的樂曲是由自己去譜寫的。在一些人的靈魂中，不悅耳的音符越來越刺耳，直到最終淹沒了主旋律。有時，不和諧的音符會變得很強大，以至於音樂無法再進行下去，有人就將自己擊斃或溺死。那是因為缺乏良好的自我教育，使他最初的主題絕望地失色。否則，普通人的人生會在一種莊嚴的樂章和進程中正常地完結。
沒有人會說，由童年、成年和老年構築的人生不完美。正如一天當中有早晨、中午和晚上，一年當中有美妙的春、夏、秋、冬四季更迭，生命也同樣精彩。人生無優劣之分，適合自己就好。如果我們接受這種生物學上的人生觀，盡力去和著節拍生活，除了自以為是的愚人和令人無法忍受的理想主義者，沒有人會否認人類可以生活得像詩一樣。
W 詞匯筆記
standpoint[?st?nd?p??nt]n.立場，觀點
例 From my standpoint, this thing is just ridiculous.
依我看來，這件事簡直荒唐。
decay[di?kei?]n.衰敗；衰退；衰落
例 This industry has been in decay for some time.
這一行業進入衰敗期已有一段時間。
mellow[?mel?u]v.（使）成熟
例 She's mellowed over the years.
這些年來，他變得成熟了。
dignified[?diɡn??faid]adj.有尊嚴的；高貴的；顯得高尚的；莊嚴的
例 He always strikes such a dignified pose before his girlfriend.
他總是在女友麵前擺出這種莊嚴的姿態。
S 小試身手
人到中年，壓力稍有減輕，性格也像成熟的水果或佳釀一般得以成熟、圓滑。
譯___________________________________________
人應該能夠感知這種生命的韻律美。欣賞它，就像欣賞盛大的交響曲，欣賞其主旋律、**與尾聲。
譯___________________________________________
正如一天當中有早晨、中午和晚上，一年當中有美妙的春、夏、秋、冬四季更迭，生命也同樣精彩。
譯___________________________________________
P 短語家族
It begins with innocent childhood, followed by awkward adolescence trying awkwardly to adapt itself to mature society.
adapt to：適應；（使）適應；改編
造___________________________________________
Sometimes the discordant note gains so much power that the music can no longer go on.
go on：繼續下去；發生；繼續
造___________________________________________