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其实,大可不必去羡慕他人,只要能大量地阅读美文,掌握美文的写作方法,大家也可以的。下面小编整理了大学英语四级晨读美文，希望大家喜欢!
The Choice of Companion
选择朋友
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.
一个好友胜过一笔财富，因为钱财买不到人的某些品德因素，而正是这些因素，使友情成为一种恩惠。最好的朋友是那些比我们更睿智、更出色的人，我们会受到他们的智慧和美德的激励，从而使我们的行为更加高尚。
“Keep good company and you shall be one of the number.” said George Herbert. “A man is known by the companion he keeps.” 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.
“与优秀者为伍，你也会成为优秀者中的一员。”乔治.赫伯特曾说，“从一个人所交的朋友可知其为人。”在社会交往中，品性对品性的塑造胜过其他任何因素。纯洁的品格会培养纯洁的品格，爱好会引发相同的爱好。这一事实使得在年少时选择朋友甚至比选择老师和监护人还要重要。
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.
事实上，并非所有的朋友都是我们选择的，有些是生意或社会关系强加于我们的。我们没有选择他们，也不喜欢他们，可是我们不得不或多或少地与他们交往。不过，在情势的压力之下，只要我们自有主张，这样的交往也并非全无益处。大多数情况下，我们还是可以而且必须要选择朋友的。一个年轻人无所考虑、无所目的地随意与张三李四交往是不好的，也是没必要的，他/她必须遵循一些交友的定例，择友时应首先考虑这些定例，并经常加以审视。
Companionship is education, good or not; it develops manhood or womanhood, high or low; it lifts soul upward or drags it downward; it ministers to virtue or vice. 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.
无论是有益还是有害，友谊就是一种教育。它可以培育高贵或卑微的品格;它可以升华灵魂，也可以使之沉沦;它可以滋生美德，也可以助长邪恶。播种美德，就会收获美德;播种邪恶，就会收获邪恶。有益的友谊帮助我们播种美德，而有害的友谊则使我们播种邪恶。
home
家
What makes a home? Love and sympathy and confidence. It is a place where kindly affections exist among all the members of the family. The parents take good care of their children, and the children are interested in the activities of their parents. Thus all of them are bound together by affection, and they find their home to be the cheeriest place in the world.
组成家庭的因素是什么?答案即爱、同情和信赖。家是一个所有家庭成员凝结情感的地方。父母亲悉心照料孩子，而孩子们也对他们双亲的活动感兴趣。他们为爱所联结，因而发现家是世界上最令人感到欢乐的地方。
A home without love is no more a home than a body without a soul is a man. Every civilized person is a social being. No one should live alone. A man may lead a successful and prosperous life, but prosperity alone can by no means insure happiness. Many great personages in the world history had deep affections for their homes.
一个没有爱的家便不再称其为家，如同没有灵魂的躯体不再是人一样。每一个有修养的人都是社会性的人。没有人能够脱离社会独自生存。一个人也许过着成功而宽裕的生活，但是荣华富贵决不能保证幸福快乐。在世界历史上，许多名人都对其家庭怀有深情厚意。
Your home may be poor and humble, but duty lies there. You should try to make it cheerful and comfortable. The greater the difficulties, the richer will be your reward.
你的家也许贫穷而简陋，但那正是你的职责所在。你应该努力使其愉快和舒适。你遭遇的困难越大，所得到的报偿也就越多。
A home is more than a family dwelling. It is a school in which people are trained for citizenship. A man will not render good services to his country if he can do nothing good for his home; for in proportion as he loves his home, will he love his country. The home is the birthplace of true patriotism. It is the secret of social welfare and national greatness. It is the basis and origin of civilization.
家不仅仅是一个供家人居住的地方。它还是一个培养人们成为公民的场所。一个人假如无法对家庭做出有意义的事情，也就无法为国家提供优良的服务，因为爱家和爱国是成正比的。家庭是爱国主义精神的真正发源地，是社会福利和国家昌盛的秘诀，是文明的基础和起源。
John O’Hara to His Daughter
约翰•奥哈拉给女儿的信
Quogue，Long Island
16 September1962，Sunday
于奎基，长岛，星期日
1962年9月16日
My dear：
我的宝贝：
Well，here we are——but not here.You at St.Tim's，Sister in Princeton，and me in Quogue，and another brand new year is about to start for you.For me，too.I always seem to approach the autumn in the frame of mind that spring induces in most people.The excitement of new things;the new plays，the new books，new clothes，etc.，etc.，etc.At the same time the autumn for me is a season of a sweet melancholy that is hard to explain. I love the early evenings，the leaves burning，the lights in houses.
好了，我们到了——但不是到这儿。你在圣•蒂姆斯，西斯特在普林斯顿，而我在奎基，对你来说崭新的一年又开始了。对于我，也是如此。我似乎总是带着一种春天在大多数人身上所激发的心情走近秋季。新生事物给人们带来的兴奋;新剧目、新书、新服装，等等，等等，等等。同时，秋天对于我则是带着美丽的忧郁的季节。这是难以用言语表达的。我爱黄昏，爱像火一样燃烧着的红艳艳的树叶，爱房屋里的灯光。
It is the beginning of a big year for you，in many respects your biggest so far.By the time June comes around you will be 18，and graduating from school.In the past week or so I have called you“Kid” but subconsciously I have been doing that because your kid days are over，or just about.I suspect that you are going through the experience of first love，and no matter what else happens，after that experience you are never a kid again.
对你来说，这是至关重要的一年的开始，从许多方面来说这是你最重要的一年。到六月份你就18岁了，将中学毕业。在过去的几周里，我称你为“小孩子”，但在潜意识里我这样做是因为你的少年时代已经过去，或正要过去。我猜想你已在经历你的初恋，不管发生什么，有过初恋的经历之后，你再也不是小孩子了。
Most of the nice things we associate with being a kid are okay——while you are still a kid.But you gain more than you lose.You gain in understanding standing，in appreciation of people，in understanding and appreciation of yourself.You begin to see the wisdom in that quotation I have so often repeated to you：to thine own self be true.Every year at this time I have repeated that quotation to you，and the time is not really too far distant when you will be passing it on to your own children.It is probably the best single piece of advice I can give you，or you can give them.
与当个孩子相关的许多美好的事物都是很不错的——然而你仍然是个孩子。但你将得到比所失去的更多的东西。你将得到理解、人们的欣赏，以及你对你自己的理解和欣赏。你将明白我常常告诉你的那句话所隐含的智慧：真诚地对待你自己。每一年的这个时候我都对你重复这句话，而且这离你把这句话告诉你的孩子们的时候也为时不远了。这句话也许是我能够给你的最好的一条建议，或许也是你能够给你的孩子们的最好的一条建议。
You have done well，and I am pleased with you，not only for what you have done，but for what you are.As Miss Finnegan said to Sister，“Wylie has the right reactions.”So good luck in your Senior Year，and always know that the old man loves you very much.
你做得很好，我对你很满意，并不只是因为你所做的那些事，而且因为你本人。就像芬尼根小姐对西斯特所说的那样“威利反应敏捷”。因此，祝你中学的最后一年交好运，并且永远记住，我这个老人非常爱你。
Always
Dad
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