高中生必背英语经典美文(诗词) (Part Two)

高中生必背英语经典美文（诗词）

（Part Two）

●True Beauty

One grandfather quipped about his grandchildren: “My grandchildren are four and six. The Pulitzer Prize winner is four and the brain surgeon is six.”

Parents and grandparents are understandably proud of the quick minds and impressive talents of their little ones. But let me tell you about another quality found in a little girl named Skylar, which is perhaps even more important.

I received a letter from a grandmother who told me about her four-year-old granddaughter Skylar. Ever since Skylar learned of Disneyland from TV, she saved her nickels and dimes in a piggy bank in the hope of visiting there someday. Her parents surprised her with a trip to Disneyland later, but didn’t even require her to us e her own money!

When Skylar returned it was Christmas time. She decided to buy presents with her savings. But at that time she learned from announcements on TV about a local homeless shelter called “The Road House”. She repeatedly

asked her mother what “homeless”meant and why those children needed coats and warm clothes. She couldn’t seem to get the “homeless” off her mind. Her mother took her to the store to buy presents. Instead of buying for herself or her family, she decided to purchase a warm coat, socks, gloves and crayons for a little girl in the shelter. She also wanted to buy a doll（a “baby”, as she called it）, but when she discovered she didn’t have enough money, she put the doll back.

When Skylar got home, she lined up her own much-loved “babies”and chose one she thought other children could also love. Then she put the “baby” into a box with the other items she bought that day.

She could hardly wait for Christmas! Skylar was not thinking about Santa Claus or the presents she would be getting. Skylar was thinking about going to the shelter and giving her carefully selected gifts to a homeless child.

On Christmas Eve she and her family drove to the shelter where Skylar presented her Christmas box to a grateful little girl. Skylar was so filled with joy at truly helping someone else that her family has decided to make the journey to the shelter an annual tradition.

“Perhaps it’s good to have a beautiful mind, but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart,” says Nobel laureate John Nash in the movie A Beautiful Mind. Young Skylar has a beautiful heart. It is this quality, above all else, that makes people beautiful.

【部分注释】

quip讲俏皮话，打趣

crayon彩色铅笔（或粉笔，蜡笔）

laureate 荣誉获得者，获奖者

【参考译文】真正的美丽

一个爷爷打趣地谈论着自己的孙子们“我的孙子一个四岁，一个六岁，四岁那个是普利策奖获得者，六岁那个是脑外科医生。”

父母和爷爷奶奶们会因为小孩子们聪明伶俐、才华过人而感到自豪，这点是可以理解的。但我要告诉你从一个名叫斯凯拉的小女孩儿身上发现的另一种品质，这种品质可能更重要。

我曾收到一位老奶奶的来信，（在信中）她告诉我关于她四岁的孙女斯凯拉的事情。自从斯凯拉从电视节目中得知迪斯尼乐园之后，就把分分角角的钱攒起来放在小猪存钱罐里，期待着哪天到迪斯尼乐园玩。后来，她的父母带她去迪