【温馨美文：心静如水】02 生活的两极
《温馨美文：心静如水》
本书为“大学英语美文赏析”系列四级丛书之一。精心选取的40篇国外最新美文，从心灵、情感、教育、科普、社会、文体、励志和哲理八个方面为读者提供接触经典英文的机会。本书所有的文章均来自2005年之后的英语报纸杂志，选材新颖，结构安排合理，内容紧跟时代潮流，语言地道真实，既能提供英语美文的赏析，也能拓展视野，更好地了解英语世界和文化。
Two Extremes In Life by Arthru Unknown
你是否喜欢抱怨冬天太冷？你是否喜欢抱怨夏天太热？你是否觉得你生活得不快乐？生活如此美好，怎能只留下抱怨？换个角度，你会发现一片崭新的天空……
It has been so bitterly cold here in Pennsylvania.
I can’t remember a winter being as cold as this, but I’m sure there were colder days.
Even though the daylight hours are growing longer minute by minute, it’s easy to find an excuse not to go out unless you absolutely must, but then again I often have to push myself to accomplish things.
People I speak to have been in all kinds of nasty moods. They say they’re “under the weather,” not feeling good about this time of year.
As I stood outside with my two dogs yesterday, it was so cold that my nose and face felt crisp and my cars were stinging.
Of course, that doesn’t matter to Ricky and Lucy. They have a routine they must go through to find just the fight spot no matter how cold or hot it is.
So I wait.
But this time it was different. As cold as it was, I suddenly was invigorated thinking about how wonderful this extreme cold really was.
Then the sun broke through the clouds and memories of summer’s scorching hot days flashed through my mind. I could remember standing in the heat of the afternoon, sweat pouring down my brow and the hot, burning sun against my face. I reminded myself then and there that in the cold of the winter I would wish I had this heat.
I was right.
Two extremes in my life that most of the time I find uncomfortable, I normally dread them and gripe about it all the way through.
But today I was grateful for them. Without the extremes in my life, I would never appreciate the days when things were just right. Without the extremes life would be boring.
It’s being pushed to one of the extremes that makes us appreciate the middle more. Health challenges reminds us that we need to pay more attention to how we live. Financial extremes reminds us that when things are in excess it’s time to tuck away for when the times are lean.
So bring on the cold so I appreciate the heat more.
Make me sweat on a hot summer’s day so I wish I had a handful of snow to rub my face in.
I’ve come to the conclusion that all too often I find a reason not to be happy with where I am at that moment.
Whether it’s hot or cold, good health or bad, in the money or out of it, I always wanted it to be different.
But no more. I want to start finding a reason to be happy right where I am. Even if it’s simply the fact that I’m alive.
I’m tired of being “Under the Weather!” (From Oct. 13th, 2009)
（本书由浙江工商大学出版社授权沪江英语发布，严禁转载。）
温馨美文：心静如水——大学英语美文赏析（四级）
邬易平等 编译
出版社：浙江工商大学出版社
建议上架：故事•双语
