艾倫·亞曆山大·米爾恩/A. A. Milne
Of the fruits of the year I give my vote to the orange. In the first place it is a perennial—if not in actual fact, at least in the greengrocer's shop. On the days when dessert is a name given to a handful of chocolates and a little preserved ginger, when macédome de fruits is the title bestowed on two prunes and a piece of rhubarb, then the orange, however sour, comes nobly to the rescue; and on those other days of plenty when cherries and strawberries and raspberries and gooseberries riot together upon the table, the orange, sweeter than ever, is still there to hold its own. Bread and butter, beef and mutton, eggs and bacon, are not more necessary to an ordered existence than the orange.
It is well know that the commonest fruit should be also the best. Of the virtues of the orange I have not room fully to speak. It has properties of health giving, as it cures influenza and establishes the complexion. It is clean, for whoever handles it on its way to your table but handles its outer covering, its top coat, which is left in the hall. It is round, and forms an excellent substitute with the young for a cricket ball. The pips can be flicked at your enemies, and quite a small piece of peel makes a slide for an old gentleman.
But all this would count nothing had not the orange such delightful qualities of taste. I dare not let myself go upon this subject. I am a slave to its sweetness. I grudge every marriage in that it means a fresh supply of orange blossom, the promise of so much golden fruit out short. However, the world must go on.
Yet with the orange we do live year in and year out. That speaks well for the orange. The fact is that there is an honesty about the orange which appeals to all of us. If it is going to be bad—for the best of us are bad sometimes—it begins to be bad from the outside, not from the inside. How many a pear which presents a blooming face to the world is rotten at the core. How many an innocent-looking apple, is harboring a worm in the bud. But the orange has no secret faults. Its outside is a mirror of its inside, and if you are quick you can tell the shopman so before he slips it into the bag.
一年四季，在眾多水果中，我最喜歡橘子。首先，橘子四季不斷——縱然這不是事實，至少在水果店是這樣的。在某些時期，甜食隻是幾塊巧克力和一點糖薑，而什錦水果則是兩塊梅子幹和一片大黃，此刻的橘子，不管有多酸，都解了燃眉之急。到了水果盛產時期，餐桌上堆滿了櫻桃、草莓、山莓和醋栗，這時的橘子，要比以往更甜美，它仍在那裏堅守著自己的崗位。在人們的日常生活中，與麵包、黃油、牛羊肉、雞蛋和鹹肉相比，橘子一樣是不可或缺的。
眾所周知，最普通的水果往往也是最好的。橘子的優點，我怎麽講也講不完：它有保健強身的功效，可以治愈流行性感冒，讓人麵色紅潤；它很幹淨，因為在上桌前，人們摸的隻是它們的表皮，即橘子的外套，而那是要被剝下留在廳堂裏的；橘子圓圓的，可以被孩子們當做板球來玩；橘子核可以用來彈射你的對手；一塊小小的橘皮，則會令一位老紳士滑倒在地。
然而，假如橘子不是這麽甜美可口，那麽一切將毫無意義。對於這一點，我不忍由著性子談論下去，我已經被它的甜美所征服。每舉行一次婚禮，我都會心疼不已，因為這意味著又有很多橘子花要被摘下，又有很多有望收獲的金色水果夭折了。但是，世間的一切仍然在進行著。
一年又一年，我們的生活不能沒有橘子，這恰恰證明了橘子的優點，實際上，我們喜愛的正是橘子誠實的品質。假如橘子腐爛了——我們之中品質最優良的人有時也會變壞——它是從表麵壞起，並不是從內部。外表嬌嫩可口，而內部腐爛的梨子在世上多的是，一眼望去純淨無瑕而內心早已長了蛆蟲的蘋果又有多少呢？可是，橘子就沒有缺點可以隱藏。它的外部就是內心的一麵鏡子，假如你眼光犀利，在售貨員將壞橘子裝入袋子之前，你就能及時告訴他了。
W 詞匯筆記
perennial[p??renj?l]adj.四季不斷的；終年的；長期的
例 This is a perennial river.
這是一條四季不枯竭的河流。
bestow[bi?st?u]v.給予；授；利用；放置
例 I do not deserve all the praises bestowed upon me.
我不配得到這些讚揚。
complexion[k?m?plek??n]n.麵色；膚色；情況；局麵
例 This information puts a (whole) new complexion on the situation.
這消息使整個形勢為之改觀。
grudge[ɡr?d?]v.懷恨；吝惜；嫉妒；不情願做
例 I grudge paying so much for such iferior goods.
我不願花這麽多錢買次品。
S 小試身手
一年四季，在眾多水果中，我最喜歡橘子。
譯___________________________________________
橘子的優點，我怎麽講也講不完。
譯___________________________________________
然而，假如橘子不是這麽甜美可口，那麽一切將毫無意義。
譯___________________________________________
P 短語家族
Of the fruits of the year I give my vote to the orange.
give one's vote to sb.：投某人一票
造___________________________________________
I dare not let myself go upon this subject.
go upon：據……來判斷（行動）
造___________________________________________