《大学英语精读第二册第三课Lesson from Jefferson优秀10篇》

时间：2025-07-22 05:45

友谊是两个平等者之间的无私交往;爱情则是暴君与奴隶之间的卑下交流。

初中英语美文 1

The Choice of Companion

A good companion is better than a fortune, for a fortune cannot purchase those elements of character which make companionship a blessing. The best companion is one who is wiser and better than ourselves, for we are inspired by his wisdom and virtue to nobler deeds. Greater wisdom and goodness than we possess lifts us higher mentally and morally.

"A man is known by the companion he keeps." It is always true. Companionship of a high order is powerful to develop character. Character makes character in the associations of life faster than anything else. Purity begets purity, like begets like; and this fact makes the choice of companion in early life more important even than that of teachers and guardians.

It is true that we cannot always choose all of our companions, some are thrust upon us by business or the social relations of life, we do not choose them, we do not enjoy them; and yet, we have to associate with them more or less. The experience is not altogether without compensation, if there be principle enough in us to bear the strain. Still, in the main, choice of companions can be made, and must be made. It is not best or necessary for a young person to associate with "Tom, Dick, and Harry" without forethought or purpose. Some fixed rules about the company he or she keeps must be observed. The subject should be uttermost in the thoughts, and canvassed often

Companionship is education, good or not; it develops manhood or womanhood, high or low; it lifts soul upward or drags it downward; it minister to virtue or vice. There is no half way work about its influence. If it ennobles, it does grandly, if it demoralizes, it doest it devilishly. It saves or destroys lustily. Nothing in the world is surer than this. Sow virtue, and the harvest will be virtue, Sow vice, and the harvest will be vice. Good companionships help us to sow virtue; evil companionships help us to sow vice.

PROPER NAMES 2

Bruce Bilven

布鲁斯。布利文

Thomas Jefferson

托马斯。杰斐逊

George Washington

乔治。华盛顿

Abraham Lincoln

亚伯拉罕。林肯

the Declaration of Independence

《独立宣言》

the James River

詹姆斯河

Lafayette

拉斐特

France

法国

Heaven

上帝；天堂

Philadelphia

费城(美国港市)

友情的英语美文赏析：你拥有的是真正的友情吗 What is True Friendship? 3

Friendship means being friendly to each other or making friends with one another. Human beings are social animals. They do not live in isolation.They need each other both physically and emotionally.

However, some people distort friendship by forming small groups that are harmful to others, or even to the whole community. In university some students from the same city or province form an association to help each other. But such associations often exclude students from other parts of the country, and thus do not promote friendship in a broad sense.

True and lasting friendship is based on a more solid foundation. Real friends share the same ideals. While marching toward their common objective, they help each other. If one makes a mistake, his friend will not hesitate to point it out for him, because he knows the frank criticism will help him. What we need is this type of genuine friendship.

NEW WORDS 4

declaration

n. document containing an open public announcement 宣言

independence

n. freedom from the control of others 独立

obtain

vt. get through effort 获得

source

n. place from which sth. comes; place where a river starts (来)源；源头

personal

a. done in person; belonging to a person 亲自的；个人的

investigation

n. detailed or careful examination 调查

investigate

vt.

appoint

vt. put (sb.) in a position 任命

appointment

committee

n. a group of people chosen for special duties 委员会

capitol

n. (美国)州议会大厦

canoe

n. light boat moved by a paddle 独木舟

on-the-spot

a. at the place of the action 现场的

humble

a. low in position 地位低下的

origin

n. parentage; birth; beginning 血统；出身；起源

gardener

n. person who works in a garden either for pay or as a hobby 园丁

waiter

n. person who serves food to the tables in a restaurant (男)侍者

nobleman

n. 贵族

dissatisfy

vt. hang over dangerously; utter a threat against 使不满

threaten

vt. hang over dangerously; utter a threat against 威胁

threat

reject

vt. refuse to take, believe, use of consider 拒绝

rejection

nephew

n. the son of one's brother or sister

error

n. mistake; sth. done wrongly

false

a. not true or correct

judgment

n. opinion 判断，看法

hesitate

vi. feel doubtful; be undecided 犹豫，迟疑不决

hesitation

prefer

vt. like better; choose (one thing) rather than (another) 更喜欢；宁愿

preference

latter

a. nearer to the end 后面的；后半的'

n. the second of two persons or things just spoken of 后者

conflict

n. be opposed; clash 冲突

n. disagreement; clash; fight

unquestioning

a. given or done without question or doubt

agreement

n. having the same opinion(s); thinking in the same way 同意；一致的

criticism

n. unfavourable remarks of judgments 批评

critic

n. person who makes judgments about the good and bad qualities of sth.; person who points out mistakes 评论家；批评者

criticize

vt.

philosophy

n. 哲学

resent

vt. feel angry or bitter at 对。忿恨；对。不满

action

n. the process of doing things; sth. done 行动过程；行动

custom

n. 习惯，风俗

perpetual

a. never-ending; going on for a long time or without stopping 永恒的；连续不断的

constitution

n. 宪法；章程

living

a. alive now 活(着)的

remark

vt. say; comment 说；评论说

n. 话语；评论

evil

n. sth. bad; sin 邪恶，罪恶

a. very bad 邪恶的，坏的

idealism

n. 理想主义；唯心主义

arch(a)eology

n. study of ancient things, esp. remains of prehistoric times 考古学

rotation

n. 轮作；旋转

rotate

conservation

n. protecting from loss of from being used up 保护；保存

conserve

vt.

superior

a. good or better in quality or value 较好的；优的

superiority

existence

n. the state of existing 存在

influence

vt. have an effect on 影响

architecture

n. art and science of building 建筑术；建筑学

constantly

ad. continuously; frequently 不断地；经常地

constant

perform

vt. do, carry out 做，履行

talent

n. special natural ability 才能，天资

central

a. chief; main; most important 主要的

tireless

a. never or rarely getting tired

writer

n. a person who writes esp. as a way of earning money 作家

publish

vt. have (a book, etc.) printed and put on sale 出版

volume

n. book, esp. one of a set of books 卷；册

thrill

vi. have a very exciting feeling 非常激动

self-evident

a. clear without proof 不言而喻的

create

vt. make (sth. that has not been made before) 创造

creation

anniversary

n. the yearly return of a special date 周年纪念日

countryman

n. a person from one's own country 周胞

legacy

n. sth. that one person leaves to another when he dies 遗产

owe

vt. 欠(债等);应把。归功于

debt

n. something owed to someone else 债(务)

educate

vt. train; teach how to read, write, think, etc.

友情的英语美文赏析：我的友情永远和你同在 5

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison met in it have been any other year? They worked together starting then to further American Revolution and later to shape the new scheme of government. From the work sprang a friendship perhaps incomparable in intimacy and the trustfulness of collaboration and induration. It lasted 50 years. It included pleasure and utility but over and above them, there were shared purpose, a common end and an enduring goodness on both sides. Four and a half months before he died, when he was ailing, debt-ridden, and worried about his impoverished family, Jefferson wrote to his longtime friend. His words andMadison's reply remind us that friends are friends until death. They also remind us that sometimes a friendship has a bearing on things larger than the friendship itself, for has there ever been a friendship of greater public consequence than this one?

托马斯-杰斐逊和詹姆斯-麦迪逊相识于1776年。为什么偏偏是这一年呢？当时他们开始共同努力推动美国革命，后来又在这些合作中孕育出的友谊是亲密无间、信诚以托、坚不可摧的。这份友谊维持了五十年。当中包含有欢乐，有协作，他们更志同道合地朝共同的目标迈进，历经多年从不间断地令彼此受益。在离开人世前四个半月时，杰斐逊重病在身，债台高筑，并为家庭的贫困感到忧心如焚，于是他提笔给这位知心好友写了封信。从他的信以及麦迪逊的回复中，我们可以看到:这两个朋友是一生之交；并且有时候，他们之间的友情意义之大更超越了友情本身，这份友谊给大众带来的深远影响是前所未有的。

"The friendship which has subsisted between us now half a century, the harmony of our po1itical principles and pursuits have been sources of constant happiness to me through that long period. It's also been a great solace to me to believe that you're engaged in vindicating to posterity the course that we've pursued for preserving to them, in all their purity, their blessings of self-government, which we had assisted in acquiring for them. If ever the earth has beheld a system of administration conducted with a single and steadfast eye to the general interest and happiness of those committed to it, one which, protected by truth, can never known reproach, it is that to which our lives have been devoted. To myself you have been a pillar of support throughout life. Take care of me when dead and be assured that I should leave with you my last affections."

“你我之间的友谊迄今已经走过了半个世纪，我们在政治原则与追求上取得的协调在过去的漫漫岁月中为我带来了源源不断的快乐。我感到一大安慰的是，我相信你还在兢兢业业地致力于造福子孙后代的事业一一这份事业我们曾为他们争取过，我们也努力要把他们透明自治的优良体制流传下去。希望这世界上有一种治理制度，在执行的时候专门有坚定不移的一只眼睛来审视它，监护大众利益和为之奋斗者的幸福，建立在真理基础上的制度将永远与责难无缘，我们一生所致力的也正在这里。我自己，还有你，毕生都为此鼎力支持。请你照顾我的身后之事，也请相信，我的友情永远和你同在。”

TEXT 6

Jefferson died long ago, but may of his ideas still of great interest to us.

Lessons from Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, may be less famous than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but most people remember at last one fact about him: he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

Although Jefferson lived more than 200 years ago, there is much that we learn from him today. Many of his ideas are especially interesting to modern youth. Here are some of the things he said and wrote:

Go and see. Jefferson believed that a free man obtains knowledge from many sources besides books and that personal investigation is important. When still a young man, he was appointed to a committee to find out whether the South Branch of the James River was deep enough to be used by large boats. While the other members of the committee sat in the state capitol and studied papers on the subject, Jefferson got into a canoe and made on-the-spot-observations.

You can learn from everyone. By birth and by education Jefferson belonged to the highest social class. Yet, in a day when few noble persons ever spoke to those of humble origins except to give an order, Jefferson went out of his way to talk with gardeners, servants, and waiters. Jefferson once said to the French nobleman, Lafayette, "You must go into the people's homes as I have done, look into their cooking pots and eat their bread. If you will only do this, you may find out why people are dissatisfied and understand the revolution that is threatening France."

Judge for yourself. Jefferson refused to accept other people's opinions without careful thought. "Neither believe nor reject anything," he wrote to his nephew, "because any other person has rejected or believed it. Heaved has given you a mind for judging truth and error. Use it."

Jefferson felt that the people "may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false, and to form a correct judgment. Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."

Do what you believe is right. In a free country there will always be conflicting ideas, and this is a source of strength. It is conflict and not unquestioning agreement that keeps freedom alive. Though Jefferson was for many years the object of strong criticism, he never answered his critics. He expressed his philosophy in letters to a friend, "There are two sides to every question. If you take one side with decision and on it with effect, those who take the other side will of course resent your actions."

Trust the future; trust the young. Jefferson felt that the present should never be chained to customs which have lost their usefulness. "No society," he said, "can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs to the living generation." He did not fear new ideas, nor did he fear the future. "How much pain," he remarked, "has been caused by evils which have never happened! I expect the best, not the worst. I steer my ship with hope, leaving fear behind."

Jefferson's courage and idealism were based on knowledge. He probably knew more than any other man of his age. He was an expert in agriculture, archeology, and medicine. He practiced crop rotation and soil conservation a century before these became standard practice, and he invented a plow superior to any other in existence. He influenced architecture throughout America, and he was constantly producing devices for making the tasks of ordinary life easier to perform.

Of all Jefferson's many talents, one is central. He was above all a good and tireless writer. His complete works, now being published for the first time, will fill more than fifty volumes. His talent as an author was soon discovered, and when the time came to write the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia in 1776, the task of writing it was his. Millions have thrilled to his words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal…"

When Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of American independence, he left his countrymen a rich legacy of ideas and examples. American education owes a great debt to Thomas Jefferson, Who believed that only a nation of educated people could remain free.

初中英语美文 7

Become a Better Listener

I strongly believe that it is rather important to be a good listener. And although I have become a better listener than I was ten years ago, I have to admit I'm still only an adequate listener.

Effective listening is more than simply avoiding the bad habit of interrupting others while they are speaking or finishing their sentences. It's being content to listen to the entire thought of someone rather than waiting impatiently for your chance to respond. In some ways, the way we fail to listen is symbolic of the way we live. We often treat communication as if it were a race. It's almost like our goal is to have no time gaps between the conclusion of the sentence of the person we are speaking with and the beginning of our own. My wife and I were recently at a cafe having lunch, eavesdropping on the conversations around us. It seemed that no one was really listening to one another, instead they were taking turns not listening to one another.I asked my wife if I still did the same thing. With a smile on her face she said, "Only sometimes." Slowing down your responses and becoming a better listener aids you in becoming a more peaceful person. It takes pressure from you. If you think about it, you'll notice that it takes an enormous amount of energy and is very stressful to be sitting at the edge of your seat trying to guess what the person in front of you (or on the telephone) is going to say so that you can fire back your response. But as you wait for the person you are communicating with to finish, as you simply listen more intently to what is being said, you'll notice that the pressure you feel is off. You'll immediately feel more relaxed, and so will the people you are talking to. They will feel safe in slowing down their own responses because they won't feel in competition with you for "air time"！ Not only will becoming a better listener make you a more patient person, it will also enhance the quality of your relationships. Everyone loves to talk to someone who truly listens to what they are saying.

初中英语美文 8

A lifetime friendship

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison met in 1776. Could it have been any other year? They worked together starting then to further American Revolution and later to shape the new scheme of government. From the work sprang a friendship perhaps incomparable in intimacy and the trustfulness of collaboration and induration. It lasted 50 years. It included pleasure and utility but over and above them, there were shared purpose, a common end and an enduring goodness on both sides. Four and a half months before he died, when he was ailing, debt-ridden, and worried about his impoverished family, Jefferson wrote to his longtime friend. His words and Madison's reply remind us that friends are friends until death. They also remind us that sometimes a friendship has a bearing on things larger than the friendship itself, for has there ever been a friendship of greater public consequence than this one?

A week later Madison replied-

"You cannot look back to the long period of our private friendship and political harmony with more affecting recollections than I do. If they are a source of pleasure to you, what aren’t they not to be to me? We cannot be deprived of the happy consciousness of the pure devotion to the public good with Which we discharge the trust committed to us and I indulge a confidence that sufficient evidence will find in its way to another generation to ensure, after we are gone, whatever of justice may be withheld whilst we are here. "

PHRASES & EXPRESSIONS 9

go out of one's way (to do sth.)

take particular trouble; make a special effort 特地

leave...to

leave sb. in charge of 交托，委托

act on

act according to 按照。行事

leave behind

abandon; fall to take or bring 丢弃；留下，忘带

in existence

existing 存在

above all

most important of all 首先，尤其是

友情的英语美文赏析：伟大的友谊 10

A Great Friendship

——托马斯·杰斐逊和詹姆斯·麦迪逊

--Thomas Jefferson and James Madison

托马斯·杰斐逊和詹姆斯·麦迪逊相识于1776年。为什么偏偏是这一年呢？当时他们开始共同努力推动美国革命，后来又在这些合作中孕育出的友谊是亲密无间、信诚以托、坚不可摧的。这份友谊维持了五十年。当中包含有欢乐，有协作，他们更志同道合地朝共同的目标迈进，历经多年从不间断地令彼此受益。在离开人世前四个半月时，杰斐逊重病在身，债台高筑，并为家庭的贫困感到忧心如焚，于是他提笔给这位知交好友写了封信。从他的信以及麦迪逊的回复中，我们可以看到：这两个朋友是一生之交；并且有时候，他们之间的友情意义之大更超越了友情本身，这份友谊给大众带来的深远影响是前所未有的。

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison met in 1776. Could it have been any other year? They worked together starting toaccomplish the further deveopment of American Revolution and later to shape the new scheme of government. From that work sprang a friendship perhaps incomparablein intimacy and the trustfulness of collaboration and indurations. It lasted 50 years. It included pleasure and utility but over and above them, there were shared purpose, a common end and an enduring goodness on both sides. Four and a half months before he died, when he was ailing, debt-ridden, and worried about his impoverishedfamily, Jefferson wrote to his longtime friend. His words and Madison's reply remind us that friends are friends until death. They also remind us that sometimes a friendship has a bearing on things larger than the friendship itself, for has there ever been a friendship of greater public consequence than this one?

“你我之间的友谊迄今已经走过了半个世纪，我们在政治原则与追求上取得的协调在过去的漫漫岁月中为我带来了源源不断的快乐。我感到一大安慰的是，我相信你还在兢兢业业地致力于造福子孙后代的事业——这份事业我们曾为他们争取过，我们也努力要把他们透明自治的优良体制流传下去。希望这世界上有一种治理制度，在执行的时候专门有坚定不移的一只眼睛来审视它，监护大众利益和为之奋斗者的幸福，建立在真理基础上的制度将永远与责难无缘，我们一生所致力的也正在这里。我自己，还有你，毕生都为此鼎力支持。请你照顾我的身后之事，也请相信，我的友情永远和你同在。” （1826年2月17日）

"The friendship which has subsisted between us now half a century, the harmony of our political principles and pursuits have been sources of constant happiness to me through that long period. It's also been a great solace to me to believe that you're engaged in vindicating to posterity the course that we've pursued for preserving to them, in all their purity, their blessings of self-government, which we had assisted in acquiring for them. If ever the earth has beheld a system of administration conducted with a single and steadfast eye to the general interest and happiness of those committed to it, one which, protected by truth, can never know reproach, it is that to which our lives have been devoted. Myself, you have been a pillar of support throughout life. Take care of me when dead and be assured that I shall leave with you my last affections." (Feb 17, 1826)

一个星期后，麦迪逊写了回信——

A week later Madison replied--

“在过去的漫长岁月中，你我的友谊与一致的政治观，总令我在回想时心中无比感动。它们为你带来欢乐，对我又何尝不是如此？我们肩负人民的信我坚信，无论当前对我们的评判怎样，我们的一切贡献，身后的下一代人必将给予公断。”

"You cannot look back to the long period of our private friendship and political harmony with more affecting recollections than I do. If they are a source of pleasure to you, what aren't they not to be to me? We cannot be deprived of the happy consciousness of the pure devotion to the public good with which we discharge the trust committed to us and I indulge a confidence that sufficient evidence will find its way to another generation to ensure, after we are gone, whatever of justice may be withheld whilst we are here."