高中英語課前三分鐘勵(lì)志小故事_三分鐘勵(lì)志英語小故事(2)
高中英語課前三分鐘勵(lì)志小故事_三分鐘勵(lì)志英語小故事
高中英語課前三分鐘勵(lì)志小故事篇四：鐵娘子撒切爾夫人
Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s longest-serving and only woman prime minister, has died aged 87 after suffering a stroke, prompting a flood of tributes from across the globe.
瑪格麗特•撒切爾(Margaret Thatcher)因中風(fēng)去世，享年87歲，在世界各地引發(fā)了一陣哀悼浪潮。撒切爾是英國任職最長(zhǎng)的首相，也是唯一的女首相。
Leaders lined up to pay their respects to the former prime minister, who revolutionised the UK economy during an 11-year tenure, as she rolled back the state and put in place some of the country’s most radical and controversial reforms.
各國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人紛紛向這位英國前首相表達(dá)敬意。在其長(zhǎng)達(dá)11年的任期中，撒切爾領(lǐng)導(dǎo)了英國經(jīng)濟(jì)的革命，縮減了政府職能，并實(shí)施了該國最為激進(jìn)、最有爭(zhēng)議的一些改革。
David Cameron, UK prime minister, described the former Conservative prime minister as the “greatest peacetime prime minister”.
英國現(xiàn)首相戴維•卡梅倫(David Cameron)把這位前保守黨首相稱為“英國和平時(shí)期最偉大的首相”。
“[She] took a country that was on its knees and made Britain stand tall again. We can’t deny that Lady Thatcher divided opinion. For many of us, she was and is an inspiration. For others she was a force to be defined against.
卡梅倫表示：“(她)臨危受命，讓英國重新站起來，再度屹立。不可否認(rèn)，人們對(duì)她的評(píng)價(jià)各異。在我們?cè)S多人看來，她過去和現(xiàn)在都是一位鼓舞人心的人物。在其他人看來，她是一種特色鮮明的力量。
“But if there is one thing that cuts through all of this – one thing that runs through everything she did – it was her lion-hearted love for this country,” he said.
“但如果說有一個(gè)中心貫穿著她的一生——在她所做的每一件事中都體現(xiàn)出來，那就是她對(duì)這個(gè)國家的無比熱愛。”
President Barack Obama said: “The world has lost one of the great champions of freedom and liberty, and America has lost a true friend.”
美國總統(tǒng)巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)表示：“世界失去了一位積極倡導(dǎo)自由的領(lǐng)袖，美國失去了一位真正的朋友。”
The prime minister’s office announced that parliament would be recalled for a special session on Wednesday to pay tribute to Thatcher. Her funeral will be held at the end of next week at St Paul’s Cathedral.
英國首相辦公室宣布，周三議會(huì)將召開一次特別會(huì)議，向撒切爾致哀。她的葬禮將于下周末在倫敦圣保羅大教堂(St Paul's Cathedral)舉行。
She will have a “full ceremonial funeral” with military honours as was afforded to the Queen Mother and Lady Diana. The British flag flew at half mast over Parliament to honour Thatcher as all UK political parties suspended campaigning for the local elections on May 2.
撒切爾將享有帶有軍事禮儀的“禮儀葬禮”，禮遇同王太后和戴安娜一樣。英國國會(huì)降半旗向撒切爾致哀，各政黨暫停針對(duì)5月2日地方選舉的競(jìng)選活動(dòng)。
Thatcher, who transformed Britain with her free-market revolution, had been in poor health since suffering minor strokes in 2002.
自從2002年患上中風(fēng)以來，撒切爾的健康狀況一直很差。她曾以自己的自由市場(chǎng)革命改變了英國的面貌。
Statesmen past and present shared their memories of the woman dubbed the “Iron Lady”. Tony Blair, the second longest-serving postwar prime minister, called her “a towering political figure”. “Very few leaders get to change not only the political landscape of their country but of the world. Margaret was such a leader. Her global impact was vast.”
已卸任和在任的政治家們共同悼念有“鐵娘子”綽號(hào)的撒切爾。英國戰(zhàn)后任期第二長(zhǎng)的首相托尼•布萊爾(Tony Blair)稱撒切爾為“一位偉大的政治人物。”“不但改變本國政治版圖、還改變世界政治版圖的領(lǐng)袖人物非常少，撒切爾就是其中的一位。她在全球播下了深遠(yuǎn)的影響。”
George W. Bush, former US president, described her as a “great ally” who “strengthened the special relationship”.
美國前總統(tǒng)小布什(George W. Bush)稱撒切爾為一位“強(qiáng)化了美英特殊關(guān)系的偉大盟友”。
Thatcher had a particularly close relationship with Ronald Reagan, the former US president.
撒切爾與美國前總統(tǒng)羅納德•里根(Ronald Reagan)之間保持了一種極為密切的關(guān)系。
With Reagan, she helped bring about the end of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall. The British prime minister saw herself as the perfect intermediary between the two countries, having struck up constructive relationships with both Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet president, and a man with whom she told Reagan “we can do business”.
她和里根一道促成了蘇聯(lián)的解體和柏林墻的倒塌。這位英國前首相把自己視為美蘇兩國間的完美中間人，與里根和蘇聯(lián)總統(tǒng)米哈伊爾•戈?duì)柊蛦谭?Mikhail Gorbachev)都建立了富有建設(shè)意義的關(guān)系。她告訴里根，戈?duì)柊蛦谭蚴且粋€(gè)“我們能和他打交道”的人。
Mr Gorbachev said Thatcher helped end the Cold War: “Thatcher was a politician whose word carried great weight,” he said in a statement on his website. “Our first meeting in 1984 marked the beginning of a relationship that was at times difficult, not always smooth, but was treated seriously and responsibly by both sides.”
戈?duì)柊蛦谭蛟谧约壕W(wǎng)站上發(fā)布的聲明中表示，撒切爾幫助結(jié)束了冷戰(zhàn)：“撒切爾是一位一言九鼎的政治家。我們?cè)?984年第一次會(huì)面，隨后便開啟了一段時(shí)而棘手、并非一帆風(fēng)順但雙方都認(rèn)真負(fù)責(zé)予以對(duì)待的關(guān)系。”
Lech Walesa, Poland’s former president and anti-communist freedom figure, said Thatcher was key in hastening the fall of the Iron Curtain: “She was a great person. She did a great deal for the world, along with Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Solidarity, she contributed to the demise of communism in Poland and central Europe.”
波蘭前總統(tǒng)、反對(duì)共產(chǎn)主義的自由派人士列赫•瓦文薩(Lech Walesa)表示，撒切爾在加速“鐵幕”(Iron Curtain)倒塌的過程中發(fā)揮了關(guān)鍵的作用：“她是一位偉人。她為世界做出了巨大的貢獻(xiàn)，她與羅納德•里根、教皇約翰•保羅二世(Pope John Paul II)和波蘭團(tuán)結(jié)工會(huì)(Solidarity)一起，推動(dòng)了波蘭與中歐共產(chǎn)主義政權(quán)的終結(jié)。”
Her other great success abroad was in the Falklands War against Argentina, which invaded the islands in 1982. Thatcher defied resistance in her own cabinet to send a 25,000-strong task force to the tiny archipelago, which troops eventually recaptured after two months.
撒切爾在海外的其他巨大勝利，還包括1982年的英阿?？颂m群島戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)(Falklands war，又稱馬島戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng))。她不顧自己內(nèi)閣的反對(duì)，向面積微小的福克蘭群島派出了2.5萬人的特遣部隊(duì)，最終于兩個(gè)月后奪回了該群島。
Her legacy was just as long-lasting at home. A succession of prime ministers, Labour and Conservative alike, have felt unable or unwilling to depart from the blueprint she established of a state serviced by privatised utilities and free of the stranglehold of organised unions.
撒切爾在國內(nèi)留下的遺產(chǎn)同樣意義深遠(yuǎn)。歷任首相，無論出自工黨還是保守黨，都感到不能或不愿背離她為英國設(shè)定的藍(lán)圖——公用事業(yè)私有化，企業(yè)不受有組織工會(huì)的鉗制。
高中英語課前三分鐘勵(lì)志小故事篇五：富二代成了鞋釘匠
如果故事里的“富二代”瓊斯，在自己家庭很富裕時(shí)，拒絕了自己感興趣但是很累很苦很低賤的“鐵匠”工作時(shí)，那么當(dāng)家產(chǎn)在意外中失去時(shí)，他該拿什么來維持生計(jì)?一個(gè)很小的決定，就可能改變你的一生;一件很小的事，卻有很大的意義。
The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard working was he that at times he would make the sparks fly from his hammer.
瓊斯是個(gè)非常勤勞的鐵匠，常常一整天都在店里工作。他工作非常努力，他的鐵錘下常常是火花飛舞。
The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith everyday and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.
鄰居史密斯先生很有錢，他的兒子常常來看瓊斯打鐵。他喜歡看這位工匠工作，常常一看就是幾個(gè)小時(shí)。
"Young man, why don't you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks, even if it is only to pass the time?" said the blacksmith. "Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you."
“年輕人，為什么不親自嘗試一下如何制作鞋釘呢，哪怕只是為了消磨時(shí)間?”鐵匠說，“沒準(zhǔn)，有一天它會(huì)對(duì)你有幫助。”
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
懶懶的孩子開始想看看自己到底能做什么。然而，僅僅經(jīng)過很短的練習(xí)，他便發(fā)現(xiàn)自己非常熟練起來，很快他就做出了最好的鞋釘。
Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to take up residence in another country. It so happened that in this village there were numerous shoemakers who were spending a lot of money to buy tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers' shoes.
老史密斯先生去世了，而他的兒子則因?yàn)閼?zhàn)爭(zhēng)的緣故失去了所有的財(cái)產(chǎn)。他不得不離開家園，在另外一個(gè)國家住了下來。巧的是，這個(gè)國家的這個(gè)地區(qū)，急需大量軍鞋，所以這個(gè)村子里有很多鞋匠，他們總是花費(fèi)很多錢購買鞋釘。有時(shí)，即使付了很高的價(jià)錢，也買不到他們想要的鞋釘。
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in his workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
在這食不果腹的困難時(shí)刻，年輕的史密斯記起自己曾學(xué)過制鞋釘這門手藝，便突發(fā)奇想，想和這些鞋匠們做一個(gè)交易。他對(duì)他們說，如果他們可以幫助他成立一個(gè)店鋪，他就可以做鞋釘。鞋匠們對(duì)他的這一提議欣喜若狂。很快，史密斯發(fā)現(xiàn)他做的鞋釘是村里面最好的。
"How funny it seems," he used to say, "even making tacks can bring a fortune. My trade is more useful to me than were all my former riches."
“這真是有趣，”他常常會(huì)說，“即便是做鞋釘也會(huì)帶來財(cái)富。與我以前所有的財(cái)富相比，我現(xiàn)在做的事情對(duì)于我來說更有用。”
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