第7章 在微尘与浮梁之上 (7)
他们即使年届七旬，在走路、跑步、翻山越岭时，都走在他人前面。并且，他们也都是语言方面的天才。你从来没有看见他们坐下来学习一种新的语言，甚至连不规则动词表也没见他们浏览过，但是他们都可以讲几种语言，不仅流利，而且发音纯正。他们一般都精通几门学科，而且不会使自己局限在某一门科学里，大自然这部巨著被他们熟记在心。不久以前，我还读到一位杰出的小说家的事迹。他是一位非常老练且细致的人，据说他熟悉乡村每一种野花野草、树木和禽鸟的名称、习性和生活史。除此之外，请原谅我用一些套话来形容，这些大人物都是富于灵感的音乐大师，或是精妙绝伦的业余水彩画家，或是风格优美的文体家。更使我们感到惊讶的是，尽管他们的境遇不同，只要他们认真从事这门或那门艺术，凭着他们的才能，日后都会获得不朽的声誉，甚至还会享誉全球。这些对他们的描述总是神乎其神。
但是我非常困惑。他们凭什么做得到？我再次想问这个问题，甚至嫉妒和烦恼得要遥问苍天。我们应该仔细地想一想，一首乐曲、一幅水彩画或一篇美妙的文章究竟意味着什么（这一点却被他们轻轻带过或略而不谈），这需要很多年专心致志地在键盘上、在画架上或者在写字台上辛勤工作才能有所成就。而像你我这样胡乱弹奏钢琴曲，同时还用左手插入即兴的过门，或者不管色彩是否协调蘸上水彩乱涂几笔，或者在一篇粗制滥造的散文里贴上几句闪闪烁烁的陈词滥调，是不会成为一个有成就的音乐家、画家或作家的。要是成功指的是前者，我可以理解；但是如果指的是后者呢？——尚且还不过是作为一种业余的消遣！更不用说他们还要从事体育运动、研究各门科学、学习各种语言，甚至自然史！这使我迷惑不解，佩服得五体投地。这就是使我觉得自己越来越渺小，小得像个小蚊虫的原因。而他们有如此神奇的天赋，正像传说中讲的那样。
茫茫宇宙，广阔的大自然，我们在其中都是那么渺小。不论多么伟大的人，都会发出这样的感慨！我们渺小，但有存在的价值。一切伟大与渺小都是相对的！
1. The big_________of Nature they know by heart._________ the other day I was reading an account of a great novelist， a most sophisticated and subtle person， and was told that he_________the name and habits and history of every wild_________and plant and tree and bird in the country.
2. We are_________told that， had circumstance been ， their talents were such that they need only have given their serious_________to one or other of these arts to have procured for themselves lasting and perhaps world-wide reputations. So_________the legend of the eulogists.
3. The very idle rumour of fellow-creatures so wonderfully_________makes me dwindle in my own estimation to the_________of a gnat.
1. 你从来没有看见他们坐下来学习一种新的语言，甚至连不规则动词表也没见他们浏览过。
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2. 大家都认为他们随便就可以讲几种语言，不仅流利，而且发音纯正。
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3. 这使我迷惑不解，佩服得五体投地。
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1. To begin with， unless these people chance to be obvious invalids like Stevenson or Chehov， they are always tremendous athletes…
to begin with：首先；第一；原先
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2. …they are always tremendous athletes， with surprising strength， powers of endurance， and so forth.
and so forth：等等；诸如此类
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微笑的力量
The Smile
佚名 / Anonymous
Many Americans are familiar with The Little Prince， a wonderful book by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. This is a whimsical and fabulous book and works as a children’s story as well as a thought—provoking adult fable. Far fewer are aware of Saint-Exupery’s other writings， novels and short stories.
Saint-Exupery was a fighter pilot who fought against the Nazis and was killed in action. Before World War II， he fought in the Spanish Civil War against the fascists. He wrote a fascinating story based on that experience entitled The Smile. It is this story which I’d like to share with you now. It isn’t clear whether or not he meant this to be autobiographical or fiction. I choose to believe it to be the former.
He said that he was captured by the enemy and thrown into a jail cell. He was sure that from the contemptuous looks and rough treatment he received from his jailers he would be executed the next day. From here， I’ll tell the story as I remember it in my own words.
“I was sure that I was to be killed. I became terribly nervous and distraught. I fumbled in my pockets to see if there were any cigarettes， which had escaped their search. I found one and because of my shaking hands， I could barely get it to my lips. But I had no matches. They had taken those.
“I looked through the bars at my jailer. He did not make eye contact with me. After all， one does not make eye contact with a thing， a corpse. I called out to him ‘Have you got a light？’ He looked at me， shrugged and came over to light my cigarette.
“As he came close and lit the match， his eyes inadvertently locked with mine. At that moment， I smiled. I don’t know why I did that. Perhaps it was nervousness， perhaps it was because， when you get very close， one to another， it is very hard not to smile. In any case， I smiled. In that instant， it was as though a spark jumped across the gap between our two hearts， our two human souls. I knew he didn’t want to， but my smile leaped through the bars and generated a smile on his lips， too. He lit my cigarette but stayed near， looking at me directly in the eyes and continuing to smile.
“I kept smiling at him， now aware of him as a person and not just a jailer. And his looking at me seemed to have a new dimension， too. ‘Do you have kids？’ He asked.
“‘Yes， here， here.’ I took out my wallet and nervously fumbled for the pictures of my family. He， too， took out the pictures of his family and began to talk about his plans and hopes for them. My eyes filled with tears. I said that I feared that I’d never see my family again， never have the chance to see them grow up. Tears came to his eyes， too.
“Suddenly， without another word， he unlocked my cell and silently led me out. Out of the jail， quietly and by back routes， out of the town. There， at the edge of town， he released me. And without another word， he turned back toward the town.
“My life was saved by a smile.”