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1、美联英语 提供：英语阅读：Luck 好运气两分钟做个小测试，看看你的英语水平http:/ 好运气I was at a dinner in London given in honor of one of the most celebrated English military men of his time. I do not want to tell you his real name and titles. I will just call him Lieutenant General Lord Arthur Scoresby. I cannot describe my excitement
2、 when I saw this great and famous man. There he sat, the man himself, in person, all covered with medals. I could not take my eyes off him. He seemed to show the true mark of greatness. His fame had no effect on him. The hundreds of eyes watching him, the worship of so many people did not seem to ma
3、ke any difference to him.事情发生在伦敦的一次宴会上。这次宴会是为当代英国威名显赫的两三位军事将领之一举行的。由于下面即将说明的原因，我将不提他的真实姓名和各种头衔。我将称他为陆军中将阿瑟斯考兹比勋爵、皇家护卫骑士、巴斯爵士，等等，等等，等等。鼎鼎大名的人物具有多大的魅力 130 年前他在克里米亚战役中崭露头角，名声大噪，历久不衰。从那时以后我曾无数次听见人们谈到他，而此刻他本人就坐在那儿。我盯着这位半神半人似的人物，看呀，看呀，看呀，好像这就是我的美酒佳肴。我注视着他，搜寻他的一切特点并默记在心：他的面部表情安详、矜持、高贵、严肃；他的气质中具有朴素、诚实的品格，这是
4、一眼就看得出的；他对自己的丰功伟绩虽然踌躇满志，但却不露声色好像不知道成百双充满崇敬之情的眼睛正注视着他；好像不知道出自人们内心的一股深厚的爱慕之情，一种真诚的崇拜，正朝他涌来。Next to me sat a clergyman, who was an old friend of mine. He was not always a clergyman. During the first half of his life he was a teacher in the military school at Woolwich. There was a strange look in his ey
5、e as he leaned toward me and whispered Privately he is a complete fool. He meant, of course, the hero of our dinner.坐在我左边的牧师是我的老相识。他现在是牧师，可前半辈子却是在戎马生涯中度过的，而且还当过伍立奇军事学校的教官。就在我刚谈到的这个时刻，他眼中隐隐约约闪现出一种十分离奇的目光，一边用手势指着宴会上的那位英雄，一边俯过头来轻轻地，但却是满有把握地对我说：“私下说说一他是个头号大傻瓜。”This came as a shock to me. I looked hard a
6、t him. I could not have been more surprised if he has said the same thing about Nepoleon, or Socrates, or Solomon. But I was sure of two things about the clergyman. He always spoke the truth. And, his judgment of men was good. Therefore, I wanted to find out more about our hero as soon as I could.这个
7、评语使我大吃一惊。如果他说的是拿破仑、苏格拉底或是所罗门，我也不会感到更惊奇了。有两点我是清楚的：这位牧师说话句句真实可靠；而且他很有知人之明。因此我断定，毫无疑问，世人是错看了这位英雄：他的确是个傻瓜。于是我就想在方便的时候向这位孤身独处的牧师问清楚，他是怎样发现这个秘密的。Some days later I got a chance to talk with the clergyman, and he told me more. These are his exact words:过了些日子，机会来到了，下面就是这位牧师告诉我的话：About forty years ago, I was
8、an instructor in the military academy at Woolwich, when young Scoresby was given his first examination. I felt extremely sorry for him. Everybody answered the questions well, intelligently, while he why, dear me he did not know anything, so to speak. He was a nice, pleasant young man. It was painful
9、 to see him stand there and give answers that were miracles of stupidity.I knew of course that when examined again he would fail and be thrown out. So, I said to myself, it would be a simple, harmless act to help him as much as I could. I took him aside and found he knew a little about Julius Ceasar
10、s history. But, he did not know anything else. So, I went to work and tested him and worked him like a slave. I made him work, over and over again, on a few questions about Ceasar, which I knew he would be asked.If you will believe me, he came through very well on the day of the examination. He got
11、high praise too, while others who knew a thousand times more than he were sharply criticized. By some strange, lucky accident, he was asked no questions but those I made him study. Such an accident does not happen more than once in a hundred years. Well, all through his studies, I stood by him, with
12、 the feeling a mother has for a disabled child. And he always saved himself by some miracle.大约 40 年前，我在伍立奇军事学校当教官。年轻的斯考兹比参加初试时，我在他那个小组。班上别的学员回答问题都很漂亮，而他一一唉，天啊，他可说是一无所知，我的怜悯之心不禁为之大动。谁都看得出他是个好孩子，可亲可爱，又很天真；此刻他站在那儿，呆若木鸡，回答问题时的愚昧无知真是荒谬绝伦，叫人看了十分痛心。我的怜悯心都被他激发起来了。我暗自思忖，复试时他肯定是要被刷掉的；既然如此，尽我所能来减轻他摔下来的痛苦，也就只不过
13、是一种无害的慈悲举动而已。我把他叫到一旁，发现他还知道一点儿恺撒大帝的历史，既然他别的什么也不知道，于是我就辅导他，逼他像奴隶船上的奴隶一样拼命准备有关恺撒大帝的一些老生常谈的问题，而我知道这些问题是会考到的。信不信由你，考试那天他居然名列前茅！就凭这点儿纯释是表面功夫的“死记硬背”他过了关，而且还受到赞扬；而别人呢，虽然比他强一千倍，却被淘汰了。由于某种奇妙幸运的机遇一这种机遇 百年也难碰到第二次，除了他准备的狭窄范围之外，没其妙。这么说吧，自始至终我都守护着他，我对他的感情就像一位母亲对待自己的瘸腿小孩一样；但他却总是能从困境中自己解脱出来明摆着全是凭奇迹。I thought that w
14、hat in the end would destroy him would be the mathematics examination. I decided to make his end as painless as possible. So, I pushed facts into his stupid head for hours. Finally, I let him go to the examination to experience what I was sure would be his dismissal from school. Well, sir, try to im
15、agine the result. I was shocked out of my mind. He took first prize! And he got the highest praise.当然啰，到头来揭穿他、要他命的还是数学。我打定主意尽量叫他死得痛快点儿；于是我选定了考官最可能出的题目的路子对他反反复复进行填鸭式的硬灌，然后让他听天由命。您想想那结果吧：叫我大吃一惊，他居然荣获头奖！全场向他热烈鼓掌祝贺。I felt guilty day and night what I was doing was not right. But I only wanted to make his
16、 dismissal a little less painful for him. I never dreamed it would lead to such strange, laughable results. I thought that sooner or later one thing was sure to happen: The first real test once he was through school would ruin him.睡觉？一个星期我都睡不着。我日日夜夜受着良心的折磨。我做的这一切纯粹是出于恻隐之心，只是为了让这可怜的小伙子别摔得太惨。我做梦也没有想到，事情的结果竟是如此之荒唐透顶。我感到像弗兰肯斯坦一样有罪，难过。我让一个呆瓜可能有机会青云直上，荣膺重任；而结局只能是：时机一到，他和他的事业前程都会一块儿完蛋。Then, the Crimean War broke o
