【英語美文】高二年級(jí) 八篇美文欣賞(上)

高二年級(jí)八篇美文欣賞（上）

Passageone:

Anoldladyinthecruise

Amanaskedwhyanoldladywasallaloneonacruiseship.Henoticed

thatalthoughshewasalone,allthestaff,shipsofficers,waitersandbusboyswereveryfamiliarwithher.So,heaskedthewaiterwhotheladywas,

expectingtobetold…sheownedtheline,butallthewasonthelastfourcruises,backtoback.

waiterknewwasthatshe

Asheleftthediningroomoneeveninghecaughthereyeandstoppedtosayhello.Theychattedandheasked,“Iunderstandyou'vebeenonthisshipfor

thelastfourcruises.”

Shereplied,“Yes,that'strue.”

Hesaid,“Idon'tunderstand”andshereplied,withouta

pause,“It'scheaper

thananursinghome.So,therewillbenonursinghomeinmyfuture.I'm

stayingonthiscruise;theaveragecostforanursinghomeis$200perday.

Here,Icangetalongtermdiscountandseniordiscountpriceof$135per

day.Thatleaves$65adayfortipsandextracash.Ihaveitmadehere.Icanhaveasmanyas10mealsadayoffantasticfoodorroomservicewhich

meansIcanhavebreakfastinbedeverydayoftheweek.Igetfreepools,aworkoutroom,freewashersanddryersandshowseverynight.Igetfree

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toothpaste,razors,andfreesoapandshampoo.Theywilleventreatyoulikea

customer,notapatient.Anextra$5worthoftipswillhavetheentirestaffscramblingtohelpyou.Igettomeetnewpeopleevery7or14days!TV

broken?Lightbulbneedchanging?Needtohavethemattersreplaced?No

problem!Theywillfixeverythingandapologizeforyourinconvenience.

Cleansheetsandtowelseverydayandyoudon'tevenhavetoaskforthem.

Thereisalwaysadoctoronboard.ThisishowIwanttolivetheendofmylife.”

PassageTwo:

Bedifferent

Oneofthegreatestchallengesinlifeisbeingyourselfinaworldthat's

tryingtomakeyoulikeeveryoneelse.Forresearchpurpose,scientistsplaced5monkeysinacage,withaladderinthemiddleandbananasonthe

top.Everytimeamonkeywentuptheladder,thescientistsoakedtherestof

themonkeyswithcoldwater.Afterawhile,wheneveramonkeyattemptedto

climbtheladder,otherswouldbeathimup.Aftersometime,nomonkey

daredgouptheladderregardlessofthetemptation.Scientiststhendecidedtoreplaceoneofthemonkeys.

Asexpected,thenewmonkeyinstantlyfellforthetemptationandwasbeaten

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upbytherest.Afterseveralbeatings,thisnewmemberlearntnottoclimbup

theladdereventhoughheneverlearnttherealreason.Then,asecond

monkeywasbroughtinandthesamethinghappened.Thefirstmonkeyparticipatedinthebeatingofthesecondmonkey.

Thereplacementscontinued,untilonlyagroupof5monkeyswereleftinthe

cage.Eventhoughthenewgroupofmonkeysneverreceivedacoldshower,

theycontinuedtobeatupanymonkeythatattemptedtoclimbtheladder.If

youaskedanyofthenewmonkeyswhythebeatingstookplace,theanswer

wouldprobablybe,“Well,howdoIknow.Iguessthat'showthingsaredonearoundhere!"

Youwillneverinfluencetheworldifyoucontinuedoingthingsthewaytheyhavealwaysbeendone.Bedifferent.Createchaos.Leaveanechobehind!

Passagethree:

Donotwasteyourenergy

InancientGreece,Socrateswasreputedtoholdknowledgeinhighesteem.

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Onedayanacquaintancemetthegreatphilosopherandsaid,“DoyouknowwhatIjustheardaboutyourfriend?”

“Holdonaminute,”Socratesreplied,“Beforeyoutalktomeaboutmyfriend,

itmightbegoodideatotakeamomentandfilterwhatyou’regoingtosay.

That’swhyIcallitthetriplefiltertest.ThefirstfilterisTruth.Haveyoumadeabsolutelysurethatwhatyouareabouttotellmeistrue?”

“Well,no,”themansaid,“actuallyIjustheardaboutitand…”

“Allright,”saidSocrates,“So,Youreallydidnotknowifit’strueornot.

Now,let’strythesecondfilter,thefilterofGoodness.Iswhatyouareatotellmeaboutmyfriendsomethinggood?”

bout

“No,onthecontrary...”saidthefriend.

Socratescontinued,“Youwanttotellmesomethingbadaboutmyfriend,butyou’renotcertainit’strue.”

“Youmaystillpassthetestthough

,becausethere’s

onefilterleft-thefilter

ofUsefulness.Iswhatyouwanttotellmeaboutmyfriendgoingtobeusefultome?”

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“No,notreally…”

“Well…”ConcludedSocrates...

“Ifwhatyouwanttotellmeistellittomeatall?”

neithertrue,norgood,norevenuseful,why

“Donotwastetime

.gossipingkillsyourenergy,thepeopleyouaregossiping

aboutandthepeopleyouaretellingitto…”

PassageFour:

Fairshares

ThisShortStoryFairSharesisquiteinterestingtoallthepeople.Enjoyreadingthisstory.

AliandAbrahamwerebrothers.Theirmotherdiedveryearly.Theirfatheralsodiedaftersometime.Helefthissonsacowandadate-tree.

Aliwascunning.Hewasgreedytoo.Abrahamwaskindandhonest.He

trustedhiselderbrother.Theywantedtodividetheirfather’s

property.Ali

said,“Iwillbevery

fairwithyou,Abraham.Youtakethefrontportionofthe

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cowasyourshare.Iwilltakethehindsideofthecow.Eachonegetshis

profitonlyfromhisshare.”Inthesamewaythetreewasalso

divided.The

upperpartofthetreewenttoAli.AndthelowerpartofthetreewenttoAbraham.

Abrahamfedthecowverywellfreshgrassandwater.Thecowbecame

healthy.Itgavelotofmilk.Aligotthemilk.Hesoldthemilkandgotalotof

money.ButhedidnotharethemoneywithAbraham.Abrahamaskedhis

brotherabouthisshareofmoney.Alireplied,“Igotthemilkfrommyportion

ofourcow.Hindpartismineaspertheagreement.Eachofusgetsthe

benefitsonlyfromhispart.”Abrahamsaidno

thing.

AwisemanadvisedAbraham.HesaidsomethingintheearofAbraham.The

nextdayAliwasmilkingthecow.ThenAbrahambeatthecowinthefront

portion.Thecowstartedkicking.AlishoutedatAbraham.“Youfool!Whydo

youbeatthecow?Donot

seememilkingthecow?”

“Thefrontportionofthecowismine.Icandoanything.Thatisouragreement.”saidAbraham.

Alicouldnotsayanything.Finallyheagreedtosharethemoney.Abraham

said,“Notjustmoney.Youmustalsosharetheworkoffeed

ingandtaking

careofthecowtoo.”Aliagreed.

Withregardtothetree,Alihadtakenupperpartofthetree.Hemadeholes

ontheupperpartofthetree.Akindofsweet-smellingjuicecameoutoftheseholes.Thejuicewascollectedinpots