书城外语用耳朵听最优美的讲演
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第62章 智慧人生(9)

Don"t overuse the word“love”.Everyone overuses the word“love”.“I love your shoes.”“I just love the new Justin Grarini CD.”In Hollywood, they say“Love ya, babe!”So, OK, I get it.It"s just the way people talk and it"s probably harmless, but you shouldn"t forget the real thing.The real thing is great.It"s just not so easy with actual human beings, but if you work at it and get it right, it will make you happier than anything else you do in your life.As you begin your new journey, you can try to remove everything that you find distasteful in the world, or you can just pour in more love.AIt"s the only thing that the more you give away, the more you have.

So take all that warm, fuzzy stuff you"re been hiding and spread it around a little. And then judge yourself not by your accomplishments, but by the happiness of the people around you.If you do that, you can do anything, you can go anywhere, you can fail at anything, and wherever you are, you will find a“there”there, because you"ll bring it with you.

I would like to conclude with a sad, but true, story from my childhood. When I was a young boy of only 7,it was decided that I should take piano lessons.I studied piano for three years and I learned to play one song poorly, which actually turned out to be an improvement over high school.BNobody was willing to tell me that I had no musical talent whatsoever.Finally, after three years, I was invited by my piano teacher, Mr.Dillman, to play in a recital.I was told recently that Mr.Dillman twitched visibly when my name was mentioned at his funeral.

I can"t answer for others, but I was very excited that I was at last going to play my song in front of an audience. The day of the recital arrived.That morning I got the chicken pox and, tragically, I never got to play my song.CBut today I"ve taken the liberty of bringing with me a small keyboard and, with your permission, I will finally get to play my song in front of an audience.I think you will see that the lesson is patience.There comes a time for everything.

难点重点,一目了然!

长难句解析Sentence Structures

AIt"s the only thing that the more you give away, the more you have.付出越多,得到的就越多,这是唯一的真理。

the more……the more越……越……。例如:The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became.她越想越沮丧。

BNobody was willing to tell me that I had no musical talent whatsoever.

没有人愿意告诉我我没有任何音乐细胞。

whatsoever用于no+n.,nothing, none等词之后,用以加强语气。

CBut today I"ve taken the liberty of bringing with me a small keyboard and, with your permission, I will finally get to play my song in front of an audience.

但是今天我擅自带了一个小键盘,如果你们允许的话,我最终就能在观众面前演奏我的曲子。

take the liberty of doing sth表示擅自或冒昧做某事。例如:I took the liberty of borrowing your book while you were away.你不在的时候我擅自借用了你的书。

116.We Are What We Choose(1)选择塑造人生(1)

Track 116. MP3

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总词汇量:0365词汇

每篇好演讲都有灵魂!

今日关键语导读Today"s Key Points

年少时期的经历是否还历历在目,是否会希望获得家长父母的夸奖?人的聪明才智是否是人生中最重要的精神财富?从亚马逊创始人杰夫·贝佐斯儿时的一段经历,我们又能领悟什么样的人生哲理呢?

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好英文娓娓动听Words and Expressions

As a kid, I spent my summers with my grandparents on their ranch in Texas.I helped fix windmills, vaccinate cattle, and do other chores.AWe also watched soap operas every afternoon, especially“Days of our Lives”.My grandparents belonged to a Caravan Club, a group of Airstream trailer owners who travel together around the U.S.and Canada.And every few summers, we"d join the caravan.We"d hitch up the Airstream trailer to my grandfather"s car, and off we"d go, in a line with 300 other Airstream adventurers.I loved and worshipped my grandparents and I really looked forward to these trips.On one particular trip, I was about 10 years old.I was rolling around in the big bench seat in the back of the car.My grandfather was driving.And my grandmother had the passenger seat.She smoked throughout these trips, and I hated the smell.

At that age, I"d take any excuse to make estimates and do minor arithmetic. I"d calculate our gas mileage—figure out useless statistics on things like grocery spending.I"d been hearing an ad campaign about smoking.I can"t remember the details, but basically the ad said every puff of a cigarette takes some number of minutes off of your life:I think it might have been two minutes per puff.BAt any rate, I decided to do the math for my grandmother.I estimated the number of cigarettes per days, estimated the number of puffs per cigarette and so on.CWhen I was satisfied that I"d come up with a reasonable number, I poked my head into the front of the car, tapped my grandmother on the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed,“At two minutes per puff, you"ve taken nine years off your life!”

I have a vivid memory of what happened, and it was not what I expected. I expected to be applauded for my cleverness and arithmetic skills.“Jeff, you"re so smart.You had to have made some tricky estimates, figure out the number of minutes in a year and do some division.”That"s not what happened.Instead, my grandmother burst into tears.I sat in the backseat and did not know what to do.

难点重点,一目了然!

长难句解析Sentence Structures

AWe also watched soap operas every afternoon, especially“Days of our Lives”.

每天下午,我们都会看肥皂剧,尤其是《我们的岁月》。

soap opera指的是肥皂剧。

BAt any rate, I decided to do the math for my grandmother.

无论如何,我决定为祖母做个算术。

at any rate 如论如何。例如:That"s one part of the job done at any rate.不管怎么说,这个工作已经做了一部分了。

CWhen I was satisfied that I"d come up with a reasonable number, I poked my head into the front of the car, tapped my grandmother on the shoulder, and proudly proclaimed,“At two minutes per puff, you"re taken nine years off your life!”

当我心满意足地得出了一个合理的数字,我把头探到了车前,拍了拍祖母的肩膀,然后骄傲地宣称,“每天吸两分钟的烟,就会少活九年!”

come up with 找到,提出。例如:She came up with a new idea to increase sales.她想出了增加销售量的新主意。

117.We Are What We Choose(2)选择塑造人生(2)

Track 117. MP3

朗读指数:◆◆◆

背诵指数:◆◆

难度指数:◆◆

总词汇量:0388词汇

每篇好演讲都有灵魂!

今日关键语导读Today"s Key Points

“聪明是一种天赋,而善良是一种选择”,聪明才智在人的生活中占据着非常重要的位置,在什么样的场合我们的聪明才智可以派上用场呢?还有比聪明才智更重要的东西吗?

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