求300-500字左右的英语美文，议论文，散文，越多越好。

10篇英文短文300~500词，不要散文，5篇也行~

http://wenku.baidu.com/view/476f029b51e79b896802261e.html?re=view
新概念优美英文背诵短文50篇

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灯 光

世上会有某处阴暗寒冷，亦会有某缕亮光照亮心房。

当一席寒风卷过败花，当一幕黑夜笼罩大地，不觉嗅到了夜来香的芳迹。雷雨来的伧促，仿佛不给生灵喘息的间隙，恶劣而暴躁。路旁的灯亮了，夜也渐深了，而路上的人却多了。即便是雨倾盆，风呼啸，也不知为何拗不过生灵们和自然作对的心。我怕被雨淋到，便在川流不息的人群中，低着头，弯着腰，在他们撑着伞下面奔走着。我正要赶着去上兴趣班，可竟在半路上遇到了如此暴雨。其实早出发一会儿就不会遇到这种情况了，因为贪恋一电视剧便小看了一会儿，没想到看着看着就忘了时间。而这场雨来的及时啊！刚刚好为了这次迟到觅得了借口，我一路上暗自窃喜，洋洋得意。穿过那熙攘的人群，便打起寒战来，没有了伞的庇护，只好任凭雨的鞭打。我极力躲着雨点，希望它不要在我的衣服上逗留。而雨下得更欢，夜来香一路吐着的挺香，也愈加浓烈了。

我看到老师家的灯在膧胧中闪着光，我跑过去，向那幽幽的光线跑去---一个水坑，一踏步一踏步，那泥泞的污水便硬要往我衣服上蹭。我一阵“透心凉”的悲哀。所谓“早知如此，何必当初”的悲哀。我衣服裤子里渗满了水，头发也被雨冲得焉成了一撮一撮的刺猬样。就这样一副样子出现在老师和同学面前，已经不能用，“头发上滴下的水滴顺着脸庞落下”来形容了，简直是走一步便会抖下一瓢水。我在老师家门前喘着气，扶着壁沿，心中忽然想到那条听似合理的借口，正要脱口而出，便看到一条毛巾伸来盖在我的头上，透过毛巾的缝隙，那儿有一张在灯光上忽闪忽闪的脸，似乎知道我想解释。

我说不出话来。哈！下雨算是个什么借口，我侧身瞟了眼其他同学的座位，已经没空缺了，而我的座位上悬着的灯，照着我头上的毛巾，闪闪发光。这就是我，“万无一失”的借口所拥有的效果吗---除了我没一个同学迟到，没一个。而老师呢？他还是站在我的座位旁边，那盏灯照着他瘦长的身子，隐隐发光。

雨夜的借口，算不算是我人生的一大笑话。我只是希望，在我身旁总会有一盏灯，而那光亮，可以照亮我的心房。

当我看见老师的脸颊在昏黄的灯光下微微一笑时，我才欣慰地发现，在某种情况下，借口会变成无形的枷锁，那么或许，没有借口，才会是最好的，“借口”---因为当你绞尽脑汁编一个借口来搪塞过错时，会有一个老师，在昏黄的灯光指引着你所谓人生方向。

而那人生的方向总不会是阴暗寒冷，那儿会有万丈光芒，照亮心房。












最 美
你是我生命中最美的风景，美如一道精彩的虹。
　　你是我生命中最美的风景，美如阳光般灿烂。
　　是的，不论什么时候，你在我心中始终都是那样的美丽，一种朴实的美丽，一种让人深感幸福的美丽。我走在你风景如画的长廊，呼吸着一种甜蜜清新的空气。你不知道，你宛如一束带露的鲜花，在我心的庭院里洒落一地温馨。我看到自己的天空里飘着七色的彩霞，闪耀着灵动的美。
　　我一直在你爱的长廊漫行，你是一幅柔美的画卷，象一幅朴实深沉的水墨山水，常常让我感动于那样一种淳朴深沉的美丽。
　　我想你并不知道自己在我心中到底有多么的美，有多么的重要与珍贵。从来不曾对你说过我爱你，我的笔尖也难以流淌那种爱的美。但我知道，你在我的生命中，象冬日里那束温暖的阳光，象夏日里那缕清凉的风。我很感谢我的生命里有你，穿越时空的隧道，依然可见夕阳西下彩蝶翩然而去带走一串银铃样的欢笑，水风车流转的故事就象耐人寻味的童话。红霞样的枫林中飞舞的落叶铺满一地快乐的记忆，连同你斜倚树杆的姿势以及散文诗淡淡的墨香依然清晰如昨。
　　我踩着你的足迹迈在人生的征途，你是我生命中一道美丽的风景，有着花一样的馨香，雨露一样的甘甜，阳光一样的温暖。
　　你知道吗?你在我心中就象是一本内涵丰富的书，我一直用心的读你。把最精彩的篇章珍藏在心底。你那深沉的爱，那温暖的呵护，让我觉得自己不曾长大。
　　从来不曾说爱你，可你一直是我心中最爱的人。从来不曾告诉你你是我心中最美丽的风景。一道让我深感幸福的风景，一道让我牵挂着淡淡忧伤的风景。







发现离不开用心观察
岁月的年轮一圈圈啮咬而合，四季的脚步又一次从眼前迈过。我欲挽留，它却匆匆。再回眸，竟有那么多的美因缺少发现而淹没在时光的尽头………
　　杨柳姿
　　春日，阳光，杨柳，风。
　　碧波粼粼的护城河，在春的细心装扮下美不胜收，岸头的杨柳散开一头柔美的青丝，在微风中优美地梳理。阳光娇羞地跌在她的肩头，她含着，伸出慈爱的手臂将他抱下，拥入怀中，柔风又起，她披着一身春色，舞尽世间一切美的纷呈。
　　只可惜，我似风般路过，没有发现她少女的娇美，忽略了她母亲的温柔。
　　莲叶情
　　“接天莲叶无穷碧，映日荷花别样红”，夏翩然而至，带来了莲，也带来了叶，一池清水，荡涤着叶对莲的深情。
　　还在睡梦中，田田的叶已恢复原状秋莲撑开田田的伞。缤纷的幻梦中，莲蓓蕾了，叶却恪守着古典的荣誉;修炼于泥土之中。多情的莲绽开娇艳的花，却忘了将目光投向你。可你无怨悔，只是在太阳毒辣时，将莲荫护在你浓浓的情意之中。
　　又可惜，我没有在池边稍作停留，于是，错过了莲的妖艳，和叶的奉献。
　　秋露心
　　轰轰烈烈的夏落下帷幕，秋带着一身宝物悄然降临，我漫步丛林，踏着落叶，呼吸清新，却不曾发现，那么多晶莹的露珠心碎在我的身后和脚下。
　　露，至纯至清，她在夜幕中现形，太阳下隐匿。她滋润着秋风中斑驳的落叶，饱满了庄稼地里贪婪的稻谷，但是，她的存在无声，她只求默默奉献出爱，不渴望太多的赞美。
　　她太渺小，却又如此伟大。
　　白雪魂
　　她是不小心坠入人间的天使，她是迁客骚人笔下永远的神圣，她是童话故事中不老的女王。
　　雪，是世间的精华。她折射出冷冷地光，却带给农民最火热的希望;她不苛言笑，却让孩子们欣喜若狂;她习惯沉默，却在无言中引发着哲人的沉思……
　　她的纷飞，是灵魂的升华。
　　只可惜，我穿过她的身体，却没发现她的纯洁与忧伤。
　　我请求上天赋予我善于发现美的慧眼，那么，若再有春天，我将投入杨柳的怀抱;再有盛夏，我将赞美莲叶的和谐;再有金秋，我将聆听秋露的心语;再有银冬，我将仰望白雪的灵魂。







诗意之月“明月几时有，把酒问青天”。 ——题记 晚上，将凳子搬到自己的小庭院内，仅望月。 夜晚微风荡漾，呼呼的风声攸地划过，余下的应该只有寂静。 我不想回屋，一天的学习有些急于求成，便忘了学习的本质，好吧！我想当一会儿苏轼的“闲人”，来观赏“何夜无月”的情感吧！ 坐定，望着天空那一轮明月，单调，可不是，除了那圆月，星星应该被乌云所掩盖了吧！让我不禁想起那远在成都的姐姐，她是否 也在与我共赏那“月是故乡明”的圆月呢？ 忽得，让我想起，另一个月圆之夜，一代文豪，也在月下举杯邀明月，来抒发自己的思亲之情。闭上眼睛，将自己固定于宋朝，寻东坡，当一时的'钟子期'吧！ 月圆之夜，桃花盛开，见东坡于亭中，独自一人，品桃花之酒，“人面桃花相映红”绯红脸颊，却掩不住泪痕。他，苏轼卧身将酒壶倒入口中，却时时不忘明月，又将酒杯倒满，放至对面，自己又举起酒壶硬生生的塞入口中，“夜饮东坡醒复醉”应总想将自己灌醉，可是谁道天不随愿，“举杯消愁愁更愁”。他踉跄地走进桃花堆，扯一朵桃花，又摇摇晃晃地回去，将桃花打入酒杯，口中嘟哝，“苏辙，哥敬你一杯”。唉！“年年岁岁花相似”，可这年坐他对面的留一幻影了吧。 将头上仰，又唤明月，“明月几时有，把酒问青天”。啊，明月似懂，将云遮住，消失了。 见苏轼如此难过，我又一次想起了我的姐姐，姐姐，你过的好吗？ 泪从眼眶下，我不擦泪，那晶莹的泪珠，说不定能绽放一朵桃花呢？ 回神，睁大眼睛，从屋中拿一酒杯，倒一丝白开水，任泪细细地落入杯中，再“一樽还垒江月”。一饮而尽，水是咸的，犹如此时的心，亦咸，默叹：“姐姐，我想你了！”又一次望着明月，她更亮了，像一面明镜。 “叮……”电话响了，我握紧电话，竭力掩着抽泣声，那边传来熟悉的声响，“坤儿，你是不是想我了”。姐姐，是姐姐的声音，犹如清脆的旋律。而我早已泪流满面，却倔强地说“你怎么知道的我想你了，你也太自恋了”。“不信，你看月亮，你看见我了吗？ 我望月时 ，看见你说得，可不许狡辩哦。” 最后望月，那明月是镜子，将姐姐映入月中。 我噗哧一声笑了，哦！原来苏轼为什么会吟出“但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。”因为他一定也会在月亮中，看见了苏辙吧……

　　我很幸运我的生命中有一个你，因为有你我的人生变得更加美丽与幸福。我会珍惜这份浓浓的深情。我知道在我人生的路上会有很多的风景，而你，永远都是我心中最美的那一道风景。

If the Dream is Big EnoughI used to watch her from mykitchenwindow, she seemed so small as she 1)muscled her way throughthecrowd of boys on the playground. The school was across thestreetfrom our home and I would often watch the kids as theyplayedduring recess. A sea of children, and yet to me, she stoodout fromthem all.I remr the first day I saw her playing basketball.Iwatched in wonder as she ran circles around the other kids.Shemanaged to shoot jump shots just over their heads and into thenet.The boys always tried to stop her but no one could.I begantonotice her at other times, basketball in hand, playing alone.Shewould practice 2)dribbling and shooting over and overagain,sometimes until dark. One day I asked her why she practicedsomuch. She looked directly in my eyes and without a momentofhesitation she said, “I want to go to college. The only way Icango is if I get a scholarship. I like basketball. I decided thatifI were good enough, I would get a scholarship. I am going toplaycollege basketball. I want to be the best. My Daddy told me ifthedream is big enough, the facts don’t count.” Then she smiledandran towards the court to 3)recap the routine I had seen overandover again.Well, I had to give it to her—she was determined.Iwatched her through those junior high years and into highschool.Every week, she led her 4)varsity team to victory.One day inhersenior year, I saw her sitting in the grass, head cradled inherarms. I walked across the street and sat down in the coolgrassbeside her. Quietly I asked what was wrong. “Oh, nothing,”came asoft reply. “I am just too short.” The coach told her that at5’5”she would probably never get to play for a top ranked team—muchless offered a scholarship—so she should stop dreamingaboutcollege.She was heartbroken and I felt my own throat tightenas Isensed her disappointment. I asked her if she had talked to herdadabout it yet.She lifted her head from her hands and told methather father said those coaches were wrong. They just didnotunderstand the power of a dream. He told her that if shereallywanted to play for a good college, if she truly wantedascholarship, that nothing could stop her except one thing — herownattitude. He told her again, “If the dream is big enough, thefactsdon’t count.”The next year, as she and her team went totheNorthern California Championship game, she was seen by acollege5)recruiter. She was indeed offered a scholarship, a fullride, toa Division I, 6)NCAA women’s basketball team. She was goingto getthe college education that she had dreamed of and workedtoward forall those years.It’s true: If the dream is big enough,the factsdon’t count.

我以前常常从厨房的窗户看到她穿梭于操场上的一群男孩子中间，她显得那么矮小。

学校在我家的街对面，我可以经常看到孩子们在下课时间打球。尽管有一大群的孩子，但我觉得她跟其他的孩子截然不同。

我记得第一天看到她打篮球的情景。看着她在其他孩子旁边兜来转去，我感到十分惊奇。她总是尽力地跳起投篮，球恰好越过那些孩子的头顶飞入篮筐。那些男孩总是拼命地阻止她，但没有人可以做得到。

我开始注意到她有时候一个人打球。她一遍遍地练习运球和投篮，有时直到天黑。有一天我问她为什么这么刻苦地练习。她直视着我的眼睛，不加思索地说:“我想上大学。只有获得奖学金我才能上大学。我喜欢打篮球，我想只要我打得好，我就能获得奖学金。我要到大学去打篮球。我想成为最棒的球员。我爸爸告诉我说，心中有目标，风雨不折腰。”说完她笑了笑，跑向篮球场，又开始我之前见过的一遍又一遍的练习。

嘿，我服了她了——她是下定了决心了。我看着她这些年从初中升到高中。每个星期，她带领的学校篮球代表队都能够获胜。

高中那会儿的某一天，我看见她坐在草地上，头埋在臂弯里。我穿过街道，坐到她旁边的清凉的草地上。我轻轻地问出什么事了。“哦，没什么，”她轻声回答，“只是我太矮了。”原来篮球教练告诉她，以五英尺五英寸的身材，她几乎是没有机会到一流的球队去打球的——更不用说会获得奖学金了——所以她应该放弃想上大学的梦想。

她很伤心，我也觉得自己的喉咙发紧，因为我感觉到了她的失望。我问她是否与她的爸爸谈过这件事。

她从臂弯里抬起头，告诉我，她爸爸说那些教练错了。他们根本不懂得梦想的力量。他告诉她，如果真的想到一个好的大学去打篮球，如果她真的想获得奖学金，任何东西也不能阻止她，除非她自己不愿意。他又一次跟她说：“心中有目标，风雨不折腰。”

第二年，当她和她的球队去参加北加利福尼亚州冠军赛时，她被一位大学的招生人员看中了。她真的获得了奖学金，一个全面资助的奖学金，并且进入美国全国大学体育协会其中一队女子甲组篮球队。她将接受她曾梦想并为之奋斗多年的大学教育。

是的，心中有目标，风雨不折腰。

Consider...YOU. In all time before now and in all time to come, there has never been and will never be anyone just like you. You are unique in the entire history and future of the universe. Wow! Stop and think about that. You're better than one in a million, or a billion, or a gazillion...

You are the only one like you in a sea of infinity!

You're amazing! You're awesome! And by the way, TAG, you're it. As amazing and awesome as you already are, you can be even more so. Beautiful young people are the whimsey of nature, but beautiful old people are true works of art. But you don't become "beautiful" just by virtue of the aging process.

Real beauty comes from learning, growing, and loving in the ways of life. That is the Art of Life. You can learn slowly, and sometimes painfully, by just waiting for life to happen to you. Or you can choose to accelerate your growth and intentionally devour life and all it offers. You are the artist that paints your future with the brush of today.

Paint a Masterpiece.

God gives every bird its food, but he doesn't throw it into its nest. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, it's truly up to you.

试想一下……你！一个空前绝后的你，不论是以往还是将来都不会有一个跟你一模一样的人。你在历史上和宇宙中都是独一无二的。哇！想想吧，你是万里挑一、亿里挑一、兆里挑一的。

在无穷无尽的宇宙中，你是举世无双的！！！

你是了不起的！你是卓越的！没错，就是你。你已经是了不起的，是卓越的，你还可以更卓越更了不起。美丽的年轻人是大自然的奇想，而美丽的老人却是艺术的杰作。但你不会因为年龄的渐长就自然而然地变得“美丽”。

真正的美丽源于生命里的学习、成长和热爱。这就是生命的艺术。你可以只听天由命, 慢慢地学，有时候或许会很痛苦。又或许你可以选择加速自己的成长，故意地挥霍生活及其提供的一切。你就是手握今日之刷描绘自己未来的艺术家。画出一幅杰作吧！

上帝给了鸟儿食物，但他没有将食物扔到它们的巢里。不管你想要去哪里，不管你想要做什么，真正做决定的还是你自己。
本文来自: 恒星英语学习网(www.Hxen.com) 详细出处参考：http://www.hxen.com/englishstudy/poem/2007-10-01/14508.html

means of mum`s love
Time is running out for my friend. While we are sitting at lunch she casually mentions she and her husband are thinking of starting a family. "We're taking a survey,"she says, half-joking. "Do you think I should have a baby?"

"It will change your life," I say, carefully keeping my tone neutral. "I know,"she says, "no more sleeping in on weekends, no more spontaneous holidays..."

But that's not what I mean at all. I look at my friend, trying to decide what to tell her. I want her to know what she will never learn in childbirth classes. I want to tell her that the physical wounds of child bearing will heal, but becoming a mother will leave her with an emotional wound so raw that she will be vulnerable forever.

I consider warning her that she will never again read a newspaper without thinking: "What if that had been MY child?" That every plane crash, every house fire will haunt her. That when she sees pictures of starving children, she will wonder if anything could be worse than watching your child die. I look at her carefully manicured nails and stylish suit and think that no matter how sophisticated she is, becoming a mother will reduce her to the primitive level of a bear protecting her cub.

I feel I should warn her that no matter how many years she has invested in her career, she will be professionally derailed by motherhood. She might arrange for child care, but one day she will be going into an important business meeting, and she will think her baby's sweet smell. She will have to use every ounce of discipline to keep from running home, just to make sure her child is all right.

I want my friend to know that every decision will no longer be routine. That a five-year-old boy's desire to go to the men's room rather than the women's at a restaurant will become a major dilemma. The issues of independence and gender identity will be weighed against the prospect that a child molester may be lurking in the lavatory. However decisive she may be at the office, she will second-guess herself constantly as a mother.

Looking at my attractive friend, I want to assure her that eventually she will shed the added weight of pregnancy, but she will never feel the same about herself. That her own life, now so important, will be of less value to her once she has a child. She would give it up in a moment to save her offspring, but will also begin to hope for more years—not to accomplish her own dreams—but to watch her children accomplish theirs.

I want to describe to my friend the exhilaration of seeing your child learn to hit a ball. I want to capture for her the belly laugh of a baby who is touching the soft fur of a dog for the first time. I want her to taste the joy that is so real it hurts.

My friend's look makes me realize that tears have formed in my eyes. "You'll never regret it," I say finally. Then, squeezing my friend's hand, I offer a prayer for her and me and all of the mere mortal women who stumble their way into this holiest of callings.
时光任苒，朋友已经老大不小了。我们坐在一起吃饭的时候，她漫不经心地提到她和她的丈夫正考虑要小孩。“我们正在做一项调查，”她半开玩笑地说。“你觉得我应该要个小孩吗？”

“他将改变你的生活。”我小心翼翼地说道，尽量使语气保持客观。“这我知道。”她答道，“周末睡不成懒觉，再也不能随心所欲休假了……”

但我说的绝非这些。我注视着朋友，试图整理一下自己的思绪。我想让她知道她永远不可能在分娩课上学到的东西。我想让她知道：分娩的有形伤疤可以愈合，但是做母亲的情感伤痕却永远如新，她会因此变得十分脆弱。

我想告诫她：做了母亲后，每当她看报纸时就会情不自禁地联想：“如果那件事情发生在我的孩子身上将会怎样啊！”每一次飞机失事、每一场住宅火灾都会让她提心吊胆。看到那些忍饥挨饿的孩子们的照片时，她会思索：世界上还有什么比眼睁睁地看着自己的孩子饿死更惨的事情呢？我打量着她精修细剪的指甲和时尚前卫的衣服，心里想到：不管她打扮多么考究，做了母亲后，她会变得像护崽的母熊那样原始而不修边幅。

我觉得自己应该提醒她，不管她在工作上投入了多少年，一旦做了母亲，工作就会脱离常规。她自然可以安排他人照顾孩子，但说不定哪天她要去参加一个非常重要的商务会议，却忍不住想起宝宝身上散发的甜甜乳香。她不得不拼命克制自己，才不致于为了看看孩子是否安然无羔而中途回家。

我想告诉朋友，有了孩子后，她将再也不能按照惯例做出决定。在餐馆，5岁的儿子想进男厕而不愿进女厕将成为摆在她眼前的一大难题：她将在两个选择之间权衡一番：尊重孩子的独立和性别意识，还是让他进男厕所冒险被潜在的儿童性骚扰者侵害？任凭她在办公室多么果断，作为母亲，她仍经常事后后悔自己当时的决定。

注视着我的这位漂亮的朋友，我想让她明确地知道，她最终会恢复到怀孕前的体重，但是她对自己的感觉已然不同。她现在视为如此重要的生命将随着孩子的诞生而变得不那么宝贵。为了救自己的孩子，她时刻愿意献出自己的生命。但她也开始希望多活一些年头，不是为了实现自己的梦想，而是为了看着孩子们美梦成真。

我想向朋友形容自己看到孩子学会击球时的喜悦之情。我想让她留意宝宝第一次触摸狗的绒毛时的捧腹大笑。我想让她品尝快乐，尽管这快乐真实得令人心痛。

朋友的表情让我意识到自己已经是热泪盈眶。“你永远不会后悔，”我最后说。然后紧紧地握住朋友的手，为她、为自己、也为每一位艰难跋涉、准备响应母亲职业神圣的召唤的平凡女性献上自己的祈祷

A Box Full Of Kisses
Once upon a time, a man punished his 5-year-old daughter for using up the family's only roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became even more upset when on Christmas Eve, he saw that the child had pasted the gold paper so as to decorate a shoebox to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the next morning the little girl, filled with excitement, brought the gift box to her father and said, "This is for you, Daddy!"

As he opened the box, the father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction.

But when he opened it, he found it was empty and again his anger flared. "Don't you know, young lady,” he said harshly, “when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package!"

The little girl looked up at him with tears rolling from her eyes and said: "Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was all full."

The father was crushed. He fell on his knees and put his arms around his precious little girl. He begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger.

An accident took the life of the child only a short time later. It is told that the father kept that little gold box by his bed for all the years of his life. Whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult problems he would open the box, take out an imaginary kiss, and remember the love of this beautiful child who had put it there.

In a very real sense, each of us as human beings have been given an invisible golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and God.

There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.
从前,一位父亲惩罚了自己5岁的女儿,因为她用光了家里仅有的一卷昂贵的金色包装纸。家中余钱无多，在圣诞前夜来临时，父亲变得更加心烦意乱，他看到了圣诞树下的一个鞋盒，女儿原来把金纸贴在了这个鞋盒上做装饰。

然而，圣诞日的早上，小女孩满是兴奋得把这个圣诞礼盒呈到了父亲面前，说到：“爸爸，这个送给你！”

当父亲打开礼盒时，他为自己先前的过度反应而局促不安着。

但是当他打开盒子后，发现里面是空的，他的怒火再次爆发了。“你不知道吗，小丫头，”他严厉地说，“当你送人礼物时，盒子里面应该是有东西的！”

小女孩抬头看着气头上的父亲，泪水在她的眼眶中打圈：“爸爸，它不是空的。这里面装满了我的吻。”

男人顿时被击垮了。他跪下双膝，双手环抱着自己珍爱的小女孩，祈求她的原谅。

之后不久，一场事故夺走了小女孩的生命。据说，父亲便将那个小金盒子放在床头，一直陪伴着他的余生。无论何时他感到气馁或者遇到难办的事情，他就会打开礼盒，取出一个假想的吻，记起漂亮女儿给予了自己特殊的爱。

从一个非常真实的意义上说，我们每个人都被赠与过一个无形的金色礼盒，那里面装满了来自子女，家人，朋友及上帝无条件的爱与吻。

人们所能拥有的最珍贵的礼物莫过于此了。

Love and Time
Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except for Love.

Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to hold out until the last possible moment.

When the island had almost sunk, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said,

"Richness, can you take me with you?"

Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!"

"I can't help you, Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked, "Sadness, let me go with you."

"Oh . . . Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself!"

Happiness passed by Love, too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her.

Suddenly, there was a voice, "Come, Love, I will take you." It was an elder. So blessed and overjoyed, Love even forgot to ask the elder where they were going. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went her own way. Realizing how much was owed the elder,

Love asked Knowledge, another elder, "Who Helped me?"

"It was Time," Knowledge answered.

"Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?"

Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding how valuable Love is."
从前有一个岛，所有的情感都住在那里：幸福、悲伤、知识和所有其它的，爱也不例外。一天，所有的情感听说小岛即将沉没，因此建造小船，纷纷离开，除了爱。

爱是唯一留下来的，因为它希望能坚持到最后一刻。

小岛即将沉没了，爱决定请求帮助。

富有驾着一艘大船从爱身边经过，爱说，

“富有，你能带上我么？”

富有回答说：“不行，我的船上载满金银财宝，没有你的地方。”

虚荣坐在漂亮的小船中从爱身边驶过，爱问：“虚荣，你能帮助我么？”

虚荣说：“不行，你全身湿透，会弄脏我的船。”

悲伤的船靠近了，爱问：“悲伤，请带我走吧。”

“哦... 爱，我太难过了，想一个人呆着。”

幸福经过爱的身边，它太开心了，根本没听见爱在呼唤。

突然，一个声音喊道：“来，爱，我带你走。” 声音来自“年老”。爱太高兴了，甚至忘了问他们即将去何方。当他们来到岸上，年老自己离开了。爱突然意识到“年老”给了它多大的帮助。

于是，爱问另一位老者--知识：“谁帮助了我？”

知识说：“是时间。”

“时间？”爱问：“但是时间为什么帮助我？”

知识睿智地微笑道：“因为只有时间了解爱的价值。”

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers; wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints; we spend more, but have less; we buy more but enjoy less.

我们这个时代在历史上的说法就是我们拥有更高的建筑，但是有更暴的脾气；我们拥有更宽阔的高速公路，却有更狭隘的观点；我们花费得更多，拥有得却更少；我们购买得更多却享受得更少。

We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time; we have more degrees, but less sense; more knowledge, but less judgment; more experts, but more problems; more medicine, but less wellness.

我们的房子越来越大，家庭却越来越小；便利越来越多，时间却越来越少；学位越来越多，感觉却越来越少；知识越来越多，观点却越来越少；专家越来越多，问题也越来越多；药物越来越多，健康却越来越少。

We drink too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

我们喝得太多，花钱大手大脚，笑得太少，开车太快，易怒，熬夜，赖床，书读得越来越少，电视看得越来越多，却很少向上帝祈祷。

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We’ve learned how to make a living, but not a life; we’ve added years to life, not life to years.

我们常常夸夸其谈，却很少付出爱心，且常常心中充满了仇恨。我们学会了如何谋生，而不知如何生活。我们延长了生命的期限，而不是生活的期限。

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We’ve conquered outer space, but not inner space; we’ve done larger things, but not better things.

我们登上了月球，并成功返回，却不能穿过街道去拜访新邻居。我们已经征服了太空，却征服不了自己的内心；我们的事业越做越大，但质量却没有提高。

We’ve cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul; we’ve split the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less; we plan more, but accomplish less.

我们清洁了空气，却污染了灵魂；我们分离了原子，却无法驱除我们的偏见；我们写得更多，学到的却更少；我们的计划更多，完成的却更少。

We’ve learned to rush, but not to wait; we have higher incomes, but, lower morals.

我们学会了奔跑，却忘记了如何等待；我们的收入越来越高，道德水平却越来越低。

We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication; we’ve become long on quantity, but short on quality.

我们制造了更多的计算机来存储更多的信息，制造了最多的副本，却减少了交流；我们开始渴望数量，但忽视了质量。

These are the days of two incomes, but more divorce; of fancier houses, but more broken homes.

这个时代有双收入，但也有了更高的离婚率；有更华丽的房屋，却有更多破碎的家庭。

These are the days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. Where are we heading...?

这个时代有了快速旅游，免洗尿布，却抛弃了道德、一夜情、超重的身体，以及可以从快乐中走向静止和自杀的药物。我们将走向何方……？

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

如果我们明天就死掉，我们为之工作的公司可能会在一天内很轻易地找人代替我们的位置。但是当我们离开家人后，他们的余生将会在失落中度过。

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family an unwise investment indeed.

考虑一下吧，我们将自己的时间更多地投入到工作中，而放弃与家人在一起的时光，实在并非明智之举。

So what is the morale of the story?

那么这则故事的主旨是什么呢?

Don’t work too hard... and you know what’s the full word of family?

不要工作得太辛苦，你知道家的全称吗？

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER, (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU.

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1 Department of Community Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China,2 Department of Health, Student Health Service, 4/F Lam Tin Polyclinic, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China,3 Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6HE

Introduction

Passive smoking can cause death from lung cancer and coronary heart disease, but there is little evidence for associations with other causes of death in never smokers. A recent study showed increased all cause mortality with exposure to secondhand smoke at home but did not examine associations with specific causes of death and dose-response relations.1 We have published estimates of the mortality attributable to active smoking in Hong Kong2 and now present the related findings on passive smoking at home.

Participants, methods, and results

Details of the sample selection and data collection have been reported.2 Each person who reported a death in 1998 at four death registries was given a questionnaire which asked about the lifestyle 10 years earlier of the decedent and of a living person about the same age who was well known to the informant. Passive smoking was identified in the interview with the question, "Ten years ago, in about 1988, excluding the decedent/control, how many persons who lived with the decedent/control smoked" Decedents or controls who lived with one or more smokers were classed as exposed. Cause of death was obtained from the death certificate.

We selected never smoking decedents and controls aged 60 years or over because there were few younger controls. To avoid selection bias, we included only cases and controls who had a living spouse at the time of reporting. We used logistic regression to derive odds ratios adjusted for age and education, and for sex when men and women were combined.

What is known on this topic

There is strong evidence that passive smoking is causally associated with death from lung cancer, coronary heart disease, and all causes, and also with acute stroke

What this study adds

The dose-response relation between passive smoking and mortality from stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as from lung cancer, ischaemic heart disease, and all causes of death, strengthens the causal link

We identified 4838 never smoking cases (55% male) and 763 never smoking controls (55% male). All controls were used in the analysis for each specific cause of death.

We found significant dose dependent associations between passive smoking and mortality from lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, ischaemic heart disease, and from all cancers, all respiratory and circulatory diseases, and all causes (table). The association between mortality and passive smoking did not differ between males and females. Deaths due to injury or poisoning were not associated with passive smoking.

Number of subjects who were or were not exposed to secondhand smoke at home and odds ratios (adjusted for age and education, and for sex when men and women were combined) for mortality in people aged 60 or over, Hong Kong. Values are odds ratio (95% confidence interval) unless indicated otherwise

Comment

Dose dependent associations between passive smoking and causes of death are consistent with previous findings for lung cancer and coronary heart disease and extend the evidence on stroke. Previous studies have shown associations between passive smoking and first acute strokes,3 4 and we have now shown a dose-response relation with mortality from stroke. Previous studies focused on ischaemic strokes but Chinese populations have a greater incidence of haemorrhagic stroke than do white populations,5 implying that many of the strokes in our study may have been non-ischaemic. Passive smoking probably affects all stroke subtypes, as does active smoking.

Our finding of a 34% increase in all cause mortality is consistent with but higher than that (15%) in the New Zealand cohort.1 Exposure to secondhand smoke at home is higher in Hong Kong than in New Zealand due to crowded living conditions. Before the 1990s, awareness of the danger of passive smoking was lower and smokers smoked freely at home.

We focused on passive smoking at home because the proxy reporter could most reliably supply these data, and we adjusted for education, which was also reliably recorded2 and is a good proxy for social class in Hong Kong. As data on cases and controls were derived from the same proxy, reporting bias should be minimal.2 If our results are not due to residual confounding, they provide further evidence that the dose-response associations between passive smoking and stroke and all cause mortality are likely to be causal.

See Editorial by Kawachi

This article was posted on bmj.com on 27 January 2005: http://bmj.com/cgi/doi/10.1136/bmj.38342.706748.47

We thank W L Cheung for help with analysis; the Immigration Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for data and assistance; and, in particular, the relatives who provided information.

Contributors: THL, SYH, AJH, KHM, and RP designed and carried out the study on which this analysis was based; SMcG, MS, LMH, and GNT planned and carried out this analysis; and all authors contributed to writing the paper. SMcG and THL are guarantors.

Funding: Hong Kong Health Services Research Committee (#631012) and Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health.

Competing interests: THL is vice chairman and AJH a former chairman of the Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health.

Ethical approval: Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong.

References

Hill SE, Blakely TA, Kawachi I, Woodward A. Mortality among never smokers living with smokers: two cohort studies, 1981-4 and 1996-9. BMJ 2004;328: 988-9.

Lam TH, Ho SY, Hedley AJ, Mak KH, Peto R. Mortality and smoking in Hong Kong: case-control study of all adult deaths in 1998. BMJ 2001;323: 361-2.

Bonita R, Duncan J, Truelson T, Jackson RT, Beaglehole R. Passive smoking as well as active smoking increases the risk of acute stroke. Tobacco Control 1999;8: 156-60.

Iribarren C, Darbinian J, Klatsky AL, Friedman GD. Cohort study of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and risk of first ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack. Neuroepidemiology 2004;23: 38-44.

Kay R, Woo J, Kreel L, Wong HY, Teoh R, Nicholls MG. Stroke subtypes among Chinese living in Hong Kong: the Shatin stroke registry. Neurology 1992;42: 985-7.

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辕果醋酸：[答案] 1.The Grate Pyramid As we all know,the Great Pyramid is one of the most famous symbols of ancient culture.It has a history of about 5,000 years.It lies in Egypt,near the Nile River.And it covers an area of about 13 acres. The pyramid was made of blocks ...

贵港市17296996538： 求一篇300字的英语作文《一件难忘的事》 - ？
辕果醋酸： 一件难忘的事情(An Unforgetful Thing) How time flies!I'm fifteen years now.During the long time,there was one thing that I will never forget. The Spring Festival is our traditional festival.During the Spring Festival,people usually visit their friends and...

贵港市17296996538： 求七年级下水平的英语文章...300~500词,朗读用的,最好要一个故事或者寓言什么的,小红帽,灰姑娘那些妇孺皆知的就算了. - ？
辕果醋酸：[答案] The Smile 微笑 Smile at each other,smile at your wife,smile at your husband,smile at your children,smile at each other―it doesn't matter who it is―and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other. 经常保持笑容,对你的另一半、你的孩子...