我们最喜爱的童书都曾给我们的童年乃至一生留下不可磨灭的印象。故事书中一些我们挚爱的人物在我们的记忆中是那么栩栩如生、触手可及,仿佛我们昨天才与他们相识。不过,除了令人愉悦、妙趣横生的内容之外,这些绝佳的童书也曾帮助我们理解周遭世界。经年累月间,它们塑造了我们的想象力、理想志向和是非观。下面就列举一些我们最喜爱的童书以及它们教我们的那些最重要的人生道理。书名:Where the Wild Things Are 野兽国
人生道理:Setting out on an adventure is thrilling, but coming home is even better. 动身探险令人激动,而返回家园会让人更加心潮澎湃。
莫里斯·森达克所著的《野兽国》对每一个曾梦想离家出走的孩子来说都是一本绝佳的故事书。淘气包马克斯因生活无趣而感到十分沮丧,于是被送到了一片可怕又骇人的土地上,那里住着各种野兽。马克斯当上了众兽之王,陶醉在自由自在的丛林生活中。但即使贵为大王也有宵禁时间,有一次,马克斯闻到了家里晚饭时熟悉的味道,他喜不自胜,甚至放弃了王位,返回了自己的卧室。
Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are is the perfect story for every child who's ever dreamed of running away. The mischievous Max, frustrated with his boring life, is transported to a frightening, monstrous land inhabited by beasts. He becomes king of the Wild Things and revels in the freedom of the jungle. But even royalty has a curfew, and once Max smells the familiar scent of suppertime at home, he's all too happy to abdicate the throne and return to his bedroom.
人生道理:You can only truly be sure of what you feel in your heart. 你能深信的只有自己内心的感觉。
在安托万·德圣埃克苏佩里的《小王子》中,主人公爱上了一朵脾气不太好的美丽玫瑰花。在与这朵难伺候的玫瑰花闹别扭之后,小王子决定动身踏上星际探险之旅。旅途中,小王子开始质疑自己对玫瑰花的爱,尤其是当他发现地球这颗行星上有着许许多多和她一样的玫瑰花的时候。后来,一只睿智的狐狸让他明白,正是他对那朵玫瑰花的爱才使她变得特别。这只狐狸告诉小王子:“只有用心才能看到事情的真相,至关重要的东西用眼睛是看不到的。”
In Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, the protagonist struggles with his love for a tempestuous but beautiful rose. Frustrated with the demanding flower, the Little Prince decides to go out on an interplanetary adventure. During his travels, the Prince begins to doubt his love for the rose, particularly when he discovers that the planet Earth has bushels of flowers identical to her. Then, a wise fox teaches him that his love for the rose was the very thing that made her special, telling him, "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."人生道理:Don't suppress your individuality for the sake of conformity. 不要为了从众而压抑你的个性。
在洛伊丝·劳里的《记忆传授人》中,11岁的乔纳斯生活在一个被高度控制的“乌托邦”世界,在那里,墨守成规和恭顺服从高于一切。乔纳斯的浅色眼睛和能看到色彩的能力让他觉得自己与这里格格不入,而当他被指派与“记忆接收人”一起接受训练时,他与社会之间的疏离变得更深了。他发现了各种美好的事物,而他所在的社会已将这些美好全部葬送,只是为了追求没有痛苦、井然有序的生活。最后,乔纳斯拒绝背负社会对他的那些期望,这给了他改写自己命运的勇气。
In Lois Lowry's The Giver, 11-year-old Jonas lives in a highly controlled "utopia", in which conformity and obedience are prioritized above all else. Jonas's pale-colored eyes and his ability to see color make him feel out of place, and his isolation from the community deepens when he is assigned to train with the "Receiver of Memory". He discovers all the beauty that his society has sacrificed in their quest for a painless, orderly existence. Eventually, Jonas's refusal to embody his society's expectations gives him the courage to rewrite his destiny.人生道理: We give our lives meaning by helping others.帮助他人让我们的生命有了意义。
在E. B. 怀特的《夏洛的网》中,我们见到了最聪明的蜘蛛,她盘桓在一本童书的书页间,编织着自己的路。夏洛(编注:该蜘蛛的名字)通过在自己的一张张网上织出有关威尔伯(编注:一只待宰的猪)的信息,挽救了他的必死命运。她对威尔伯说:“一只蜘蛛的生命不能总是这样乱糟糟的,只忙着诱捕和进食苍蝇,这没有什么用处。通过帮助你,也许我也在尽力让我生命的价值得到一点点提升。”
In E. B. White's Charlotte's Web, we meet the wisest spider to ever spin her way across the pages of a children’s book. Charlotte rescues Wilbur from certain death by spinning messages about him in her webs. She tells Wilbur, "A spider's life can't help being something of a mess, with all this trapping and eating flies. By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a bit." 书名:The Secret Garden 秘密花园人生道理:Never allow anybody to impose limitations on your own abilities. 永远不要让任何人给你的能力设限。
在弗朗西丝·霍奇森·伯内特的《秘密花园》中,脾气暴躁的玛丽·伦诺克斯在秘密花园的美中找到了快乐,她决定和新认识的堂兄科林分享这份快乐。科林在他的一生中一直被当做残疾人对待,但是玛丽确信他的体弱纯粹是心理作祟的结果。通过坚持不懈的练习,玛丽教会了科林走路。当得知科林能像其他孩子一样奔跑玩耍的时候,所有大人都惊呆了。这宝贵的一课告诉我们,我们绝不能让别人给我们自己的能力设限,即使给我们设限的是最爱我们的人也不行。
In Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden, the petulant Mary Lennox finds happiness in the beauty of the Secret Garden and decides to share that with her newfound cousin, Colin. Colin has been treated as physically disabled his entire life, but Mary is certain that his weakness is purely psychological. Through persistent practice, Mary teaches Colin to walk. All the adults are shocked when they learn that Colin can run and play like any other child. This valuable lesson taught us that we must never allow limitations to confine our abilities, even if those limitations have been set by those who love us most.人生道理:Knowledge is the most powerful weapon. 知识是最有力的武器。罗尔德·达尔的故事主题总是围绕着聪明过人的孩子们(比他们所在的周遭世界更聪明)展开,在《玛蒂尔达》中,我们会见到这一主题最典型的范例。尽管玛蒂尔达拥有过人的智慧,她仍旧常常被家人欺辱和轻视。她对阅读的热情支撑着她,最终变成了她最有力的武器。的确,正如小说叙述者所说:“她阅读过的内容赋予了她别人不曾见过的人生观。”玛蒂尔达学会了巧妙地控制身边那些严酷、无知的成年人。我们可以断定,所有看完《玛蒂尔达》的书虫们只想知道,他们得读多少本书才能像玛蒂尔达一样让老师的粉笔漂浮起来。
Roald Dahl’s stories so often revolve around children who are smarter than the worlds they inhabit, and in Matilda, we meet the quintessential example of this theme. Despite Matilda's superhuman wit, she is constantly bullied and belittled by her family. Her passion for reading sustains her and eventually becomes her best weapon. Indeed, as the narrator says, “All the reading she had done had given her a view of life that they had never seen.” Matilda learns to deftly manipulate the cruel, ignorant adults around her. We bet all bookworms finished Matilda wondering just how many books they’d have to read before they too could levitate their teacher’s chalk.By Amanda Scherker 译 / 祝莉丽
⏩本文选自即将出版的《新东方英语·中学生》2016年12月号。
“你出10元运费,我送4本过刊”的超值优惠活动正在进行!点击图片进入活动页面吧~
点击下方“阅读原文”,进入本刊官方微信小店。