21篇英语美文，今日（大年初四）全部刊完。希望喜欢！

The Best Kind of Love
最理想的爱
By Annette Paxman Bowen

作者是位善感的女子。
一个坠入爱河的女子向作者喋喋不休地诉说自己的狂热：
She honestly claims the sky is bluer. Mozart (莫扎特；实指其音乐作品) moves her to tears. She has lost 15 pounds and looks like a cover girl. “I’m young again!” she shouts exuberantly.
观其形，闻其言，已经走过了20年婚姻道路的作者不禁思绪如潮：
As my friends raves on about her new love, I’ve taken a good look at my old one.
这位女子咄咄逼人，把爱的力量演绎到了极致。然而，初恋耀眼的火花是否能燃放终生？而持续终生的爱又将是如何的？
作者的婚姻非常充实，文笔十分酣畅，思想极为深邃，于是，在她（take）a good look at my old one (指love, 相对前面的new love而言)的时候，或直接，或隐晦地回答了上面的问题，给世人留下了一篇美文。
一位年轻的朋友，读了此文后写下了几行文字：
爱的核心不是喜从天降的癫狂，不是节日焰火的灿烂，爱情是久而弥醇的佳酿，是男耕女织的默契。
读者朋友，无论你处于什么年龄段，你是否感到以下作者的自叙描绘了一个现实生活中的真爱，而非目前影视中的胡诌？
a. 我们依然“顽皮”
Last Saturday at the grocery, we split the list and raced each other to see who could make it to the checkout（付款处）first.
b. 我们营造“惊喜”
One time I came home to find a note on the front door that led me to another note, then another, until I reached the walk-in closet. I opened the door to find Scott holding a “pot of gold”……
c. 我们彼此“心通”
I understand why he must play basketball with the guys……
d. 我们共同“分享”
……we also share ideas……
e. 我们互相“体谅”
When I’m embarrassingly loud and crazy at parties, Scott forgives me. When he confessed losing some of our savings in the stock market, I gave him a hug and said, “It’s okay. It’s only money.”
读者朋友，你是否觉得上句里的only一词用得那么轻松，却又那么有份量？
f. 我们同为“性情中人”
He wept as he recalled the woman’s husband standing beside her bed, caressing her hand. How was he going to tell this husband of 40 years that his wife would probably never recover?
I shed a few tears myself……
g. 我们“信念坚定”
That night I told my husband about these events. We helped each other acknowledge the cycles of life and that joys counter the sorrows. It was enough to keep us going.
h. 我们“相知相识”
He knows I sleep with a pillow over my head; I’ll lock us out of the house on a regular basis, and I will also eat the last chocolate.
夫妻恩爱，白头偕老，在我国是新人的传统愿望，而本文的结尾告诉读者——这也是西方社会的婚姻观：
As a bride, I had Scott’s wedding band engraved with Robert Browning’s line “Grow old along with me!” We’re following those instructions.

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I have a friend who is falling in love. She honestly claims the sky is bluer. Mozart moves her to tears. She has lost 15 pounds and looks like a cover girl. “I’m young again!” she shouts exuberantly.
有一个朋友处于热恋中，她发自内心地说，天空好像更蓝了。莫扎特的音乐也让她感动涕零。恋爱以来，她的体重已经减了十五磅，现在苗条得活像封面女郎。“我又年轻了！”她欢呼道。
As my friend raves on about her new love, I’ve taken a good look at my old one. My husband of almost 20 years, Scott, has gained 15 ponds. Once a marathon runner, he now runs only down hospital halls. His hairline is receding, and his body shows the signs of long work hours and too many candy bars. Yet he can still give me a certain look across a restaurant table and I want to ask for the check and head home.
在我的朋友不停地对她的新恋人赞不绝口时，我好好审视了我的另一半一番。丈夫斯科特和我结婚将近二十年，体重增加了十五磅。以前他是马拉松选手，现在却只是从楼上跑到楼下的医院大厅。他的发线不断后移（意即他开始秃顶），从体形你就可以看出他经常工作过度，吃太多甜食。但在约会的时候，餐桌对面的他仍然能够向我使某种会意的眼神，然后我就想要结账回家去了。
When my friend asked me “what will make this love last?” I ran through all the obvious reasons: commitment, shared interests, unselfishness, physical attraction, communication. Yet there is more.
当朋友问我“是什么让这份爱延续”时，我毫不犹豫地列举了这些显而易见的因素：责任感、慷慨无私、共同的兴趣、身体的吸引力，当然还有沟通。但是，还有其他更多的原因。
We still have fun. Spontaneous good times. Yesterday, after slipping the rubber band off the rolled-up newspaper, Scott flipped it playfully at me: this led to an all-out war. Last Saturday at the grocery, we split the list and raced each other to see who could make it to the checkout first. Even washing dishes can be a blast. We enjoy simply being together.
我们依然“顽皮”。那是生活中简单自发的幸福。昨天，斯科特把原本捆扎成卷的报纸上的橡皮筋拉下来，然后顽皮地弹向我，“战争”就此一发不可收拾；上周六，在杂货店，我们把购物清单一分为二，比赛看谁先完成购物、先到达收银台。就是一起洗碗的时候，我们也可以小闹一番。只要在一起，我们就能开心不已。
And there are surprises. One time I came home to find a note on the front door that led me to another note, then another, until I reached the walk-in closet. I opened the door to find Scott holding a “pot of gold” (my cooking kettle) and the “treasure” of a gift package. Sometimes I leave him notes on the mirror and little presents under his pillow.
我们营造“惊喜”。有一次回家，我发现前门上贴着一张小纸条，纸条指引我找到另一张纸条，接着再一张，直到我找到大壁橱，打开门，发现斯科特藏在里面，手里捧着一个“金罐子”（即我的蒸煮锅）和一个宝贝大礼包。有时候我也会把给他的纸条贴在镜子上，把小礼物藏到他的枕头底下。
There is understanding. I understand why he must play basketball with the guys. And he understands why, once a year, I must get away from the house, the kids - and even him - to meet my sisters for a few days of nonstop talking and laughing.
我们彼此“心通”。我理解他为什么一定要和朋友们打篮球，而他也理解我为什么每年都要远离家门、抛下孩子甚至是他，去与姐妹们相聚，连续几天不停地说啊笑啊。
There is sharing. Not only do we share household worries and parental burdens - we also share ideas. Scott came home from a convention last month and presented me with a thick historical novel. Though he prefers thrillers and science fiction, he had read the novel on the plane. He touched my heart when he explained it was because he wanted to be able to exchange ideas about the book after I’d read it.
我们共同“分享”。我们不但分担家庭之忧以及为人父母之责任，还分享各自的见解。上月，斯科特参加一个会议，给我带回一本很厚的历史小说。尽管他更喜欢惊栗小说和科幻小说，他还是在飞机上把那本小说看完了。他解释说是为了在我看完书以后能够交流各自的看法，我为之感动不已。
There is forgiveness. When I’m embarrassingly loud and crazy at parties, Scott forgives me. When he confessed losing some of our savings in the stock market, I gave him a hug and said, “It’s okay. It’s only money.”
我们互相“体谅”。当我在派对上不顾面子，疯狂地喧闹时，斯科特原谅了我；当他坦言用了我们的一些积蓄炒股亏本时，我给了他一个拥抱，安慰说：“没事儿，不过就是些钱嘛。”
There is sensitivity. Last week he walked through the door with that look that tells me it’s been a tough day. After he spent some time with the kids, I asked him what happened. He told me about a 60-year-old woman who’d had a stroke. He wept as he recalled the woman’s husband standing beside her bed, caressing her hand. How was he going to tell this husband of 40 years that his wife would probably never recover?
我们同为“性情中人”。上周，他回家进门的时候，从他的神情我看得出，他那一天过得很艰难。在他和孩子们玩了一会儿后，我问他发生了什么事。他告诉我一个六十岁的老太太患了中风。当回想起病人的丈夫站在她的床边爱抚着她的手时，眼泪滑下了他的脸。他怎么忍心告诉和病人相处了四十年的丈夫，他妻子可能将永远无法康复！
I shed a few tears myself. Because of the medical crisis. Because there were still people who have been married 40 years. Because my husband is still moved and concerned after years of hospital rooms and dying patients.
我也流泪了，因为那可怕的病，因为这世上还有婚姻维持了四十年的人，还因为我的丈夫这么多年来在医院目睹过无数垂死的病人之后还有感动和怜悯之心！
There is faith. Last Tuesday a friend came over and confessed her fear that her husband is losing his courageous battle with cancer. On Wednesday I went to lunch with a friend who is struggling to reshape her life after divorce. On Thursday a neighbor called to talk about the frightening effects of Alzheimer’s disease on her father-in-law’s personality. On Friday a childhood friend called long-distance to tell me her father had died. I hung up the phone and thought：this is too much heartache for one week.
我们“信念坚定”。上周二，一个朋友到我家，向我坦白她担心她的丈夫会逐渐失去和癌症搏斗的勇气。周三，我和一个朋友吃午饭，她正努力重建离婚后的生活。周四，一个邻居致电给我，说可怕的老年痴呆症困扰着她公公。周五，一个儿时的伙伴打长途电话告诉我，她的父亲去世了。我把电话放下，心想怎么一周内接连发生那么多令人心痛的事情。
Through my tears, as I went out to run some errands, I noticed the boisterous orange blossoms of the gladiolus outside my window. I heard the delighted laughter of my son and his friend as they played. I caught sight of a wedding party emerging from a neighbor’s house. The bride, dressed in satin and lace, tossed her bouquet to her cheering friends.
泪眼模糊的我走出门外准备做点什么，这时我发现窗外橙色的剑兰花争奇斗艳，耳边传来儿子和伙伴们玩耍时的欢声笑语。我还看到邻居正在举行婚宴，新娘子穿着有缎子和花边的婚纱，将花球抛向欢呼雀跃的朋友们中。
That night I told my husband about these events. We helped each other acknowledge the cycles of life and that joys counter the sorrows. It was enough to keep us going.
那夜，我把这一切都告诉了丈夫，我们互相砥砺，明白人生轮回，悲欢离合总相随。这就足以让我们相濡以沫地生活下去。
Finally, there is knowing. I know Scott will throw his laundry just shy of the hamper every night, he’ll be late to most appointments and eat the last chocolate in the box. He knows I sleep with a pillow over my head; I’ll lock us out of the house on a regular basis, and I will also eat the last chocolate.
最后一个原因是，我们“相知相识”。我知道斯科特每晚都会把换洗的衣服扔向洗衣篓，却总是扔不进去；我知道他在大部分约会中都会迟到，因此会被罚吃掉最后剩下的一块巧克力。他知道我睡觉的时候喜欢用枕头蒙头，每隔一段时间我会忘记带钥匙，我们因此而进不了家门，然后我也会自觉吃掉最后一块巧克力。
I guess our love lasts because it’s comfortable. No, the sky is not bluer: it’s just a familiar hue. We don’t feel particularly young: we’ve experienced too much that’s contributed to growth and wisdom, taken its toll on our bodies, and created our memories.
我想，我们在一起轻松自在，是这让我们的爱延续。啊，天空并没有变得更蓝，它依旧是昨天的颜色；我们也不再感觉年轻：我们已经历了太多，而这些经历让我们成长，让我们睿智，让我们逐渐老去，但却构成了我们共同的回忆。
I hope we’ve got what it takes to make our love last: As a bride, I had Scott’s wedding band engraved with Robert Browning’s line “Grow old along with me!” We’re following those instructions.
我希望我们已经得到了爱情持久的秘诀。结婚之时，我让斯科特的结婚戒指上刻下了罗伯特•布朗宁的诗词“陪我一起慢慢变老！” 我们一直都恪守着这个誓言。