LESSON 1 The Good Reader ● 一名优秀的朗读者
LESSON 2 The Bluebell ● 蓝色风铃草
LESSON 3 The Gentle Hand ● 温柔的手
LESSON 4 The Grandfather ● 爷爷
LESSON 5 A Boy on a Farm ● 农场少爷
LESSON 6 The Singing Lesson ● 歌唱课
LESSON 7 Do not Meddle ● 请别多管闲事
LESSON 8 Work ● 劳动
LESSON 9 The Maniac ● 疯子
LESSON 10 Robin Redbreast ● 红胸脯的知更鸟
LESSON 11 The Fish I Did n’t Catch ● 那条我没钓到的鱼
LESSON 12 It Snows ● 下雪了
LESSON 13 Respect for the Sabbath Rewarded ● 尊重安息日
LESSON 14 The Sands o’Dee ● 迪河沙滩
LESSON 15 Select Paragraphs ●《圣经》节选
LESSON 16 The Corn Song ● 玉米颂
LESSON 17 The Venomous Worm ● 致命毒虫
LESSON 18 The Festal Board ● 节日聚会
LESSON 19 How to Tell Bad News ● 如何传达噩耗
LESSON 20 The Battle of Blenheim ● 布伦海姆战役
LESSON 21 I Pity Them ● 我同情他们
LESSON 22 An Elegy on Madam Blaize ● 布莱兹夫人的挽歌
LESSON 23 King Charles II. and William Penn ●
英王查尔斯二世与威廉·佩恩先生
LESSON 24 What I Live For ● 我为什么而活
LESSON 25 The Righteous Never Forsaken ● 公正不会缺席
LESSON 26 Abou Ben Adhem ● 阿博·本·艾德汉
LESSON 27 Lucy Forester ● 露西·弗斯特
LESSON 28 The Reaper and the Flowers ● 死神与花朵
LESSON 29 The Town Pump ● 小镇水泵
LESSON 30 Good Night ● 晚安
LESSON 31 An Old-fashioned Girl ● 传统守旧的女儿
LESSON 32 My Mother’s Hands ● 母亲的双手
LESSON 33 The Discontented Pendulum ● 不满的钟摆
LESSON 34 The Death of the Flowers ● 花朵的死亡
LESSON 35 The Thunderstorm ● 暴风雨
LESSON 36 April Day ● 四月天
LESSON 37 The Tea Rose ● 香水月季
LESSON 38 The Cataract of Lodore ● 洛多大瀑布
LESSON 39 The Bobolink ● 北美食米鸟
LESSON 40 Robert of Lincoln ● 罗伯特·林肯
LESSON 41 Rebellion in Massachusetts State Prison ●
马萨诸塞州州立监狱的叛乱
LESSON 42 Faithless Nelly Gray ● 无情寡义的娜莉·格蕾
LESSON 43 The Generous Russian Peasant ● 慷慨的俄罗斯农民
LESSON 44 Forty Years Ago ● 四十年前
LESSON 45 Mrs. Caudle’s Lecture ● 考德尔夫人的演讲
LESSON 46 The Village Blacksmith ● 乡村铁匠
LESSON 47 The Relief of Lucknow ● 勒克瑙救援
LESSON 48 The Snowstorm ● 暴风雪
LESSON 49 Behind Time ● 迟到
LESSON 50 The Old Sampler ● 昔日的绣花图样
LESSON 51 The Goodness of God ● 上帝的仁爱
LESSON 52 My Mother ● 妈妈
LESSON 53 The Hour of Prayer ● 祈祷时刻
LESSON 54 The Will ● 遗嘱
LESSON 55 The Nose and the Eyes ● 鼻子与眼睛
LESSON 56 An Iceberg ● 冰山
LESSON 57 About Quail ● 鹌鹑
LESSON 58 The Blue and the Gray ● 蓝与灰
LESSON 59 The Machinist’s Return ● 回家之路
LESSON 60 Make Way for Liberty ● 为自由开路
LESSON 61 The English Skylark ● 英国云雀
LESSON 62 How Sleep the Brave ● 勇士如何安眠
LESSON 63 The Rainbow ● 彩虹
LESSON 64 Supposed Speech of John Adams ● 约翰·亚当斯的假想演说
LESSON 65 The Rising ● 呐喊震天
LESSON 66 Control your Temper ● 请君制怒
LESSON 67 William Tell ● 威廉·泰尔(上)
LESSON 68 William Tell ● 威廉·泰尔(下)
LESSON 69 The Crazy Engineer ● 疯狂的火车司机
LESSON 70 The Heritage ● 遗产
LESSON 71 No Excellence without Labor ● 没有汗水,怎有成功
LESSON 72 The Old House Clock ● 老钟
LESSON 73 The Examination ● 审查考试
LESSON 74 The Isle of Long Ago ● 很久以前的小岛
LESSON 75 The Boston Massacre ● 波士顿惨案
LESSON 76 Death of the Beautiful ● 美好事物的逝去
LESSON 77 Snow Falling ● 大雪纷飞
LESSON 78 Squeers’s Method ● 斯格威尔的教学方法
LESSON 79 The Gift of Empty Hands ● 两手空空的礼物
LESSON 80 Capturing the Wild Horse ● 捕捉野马
LESSON 81 Sowing and Reaping ● 播种与收获
LESSON 82 Taking Comfort ● 享受大自然
LESSON 83 Calling the Roll ● 点名
LESSON 84 Turtle Soup ● 甲鱼汤
LESSON 85 The Best Kind of Revenge ● 最好的复仇
LESSON 86 The Soldier of the Rhine ● 莱茵河畔的士兵
LESSON 87 The Winged Worshipers ● 长着翅膀的朝圣者
LESSON 88 The Peevish Wife ● 暴躁易怒的妻子
LESSON 89 The Rainy Day ● 雨天
LESSON 90 Break, Break, Break ● 撞击,撞击,撞击
LESSON 91 Transportation and Planting of Seeds ● 种子的传播和种植
LESSON 92 Spring Again ● 又是一年春天
LESSON 93 Religion the only Basis of Society ● 宗教——社会的唯一基石
LESSON 94 Rock Me to Sleep ● 请荡起摇篮,哄我入眠
LESSON 95 Man and the Inferior Animals ● 人类与低等动物
LESSON 96 The Blind Men and the Elephant ● 盲人摸象
LESSON 97 A Home Scene ● 家庭场景
LESSON 98 The Light of Other Days ● 昔日的光辉
LESSON 99 A Chase in the English Channel ● 英吉利海峡追逐战
LESSON 100 Burial of Sir John Moore ● 约翰·摩尔爵士的葬礼
LESSON 101 Little Victories ● 微小的胜利
LESSON 102 The Character of a Happy Life ● 幸福生活的特点
LESSON 103 The Art of Discouragement ● 泼冷水的艺术
LESSON 104 The Mariner’s Dream ● 水手的梦
LESSON 105 The Passenger Pigeon ● 过路的旅鸽
LESSON 106 The Country Life ● 乡村生活
LESSON 107 The Virginians ● 弗吉尼亚人
LESSON 108 Minot’s Ledge ● 迈诺特的礁石
LESSON 109 Hamlet ● 哈姆雷特
LESSON 110 Dissertation on Roast Pig ● 论烤猪
LESSON 111 A Pen Picture ● 北极素描
LESSON 112 The Great Voices ● 伟大的声音
LESSON 113 A Picture of Human Life ● 人生的一幕
LESSON 114 A Summer Longing ● 夏天的渴望
LESSON 115 Fate ● 命运
LESSON 116 The Bible the Best of Classics ● 《圣经》——最好的经典
LESSON 117 My Mother’s Bible ● 母亲的《圣经》
內容試閱:
LESSON 64
SUPPOSED SPEECH OF JOHN ADAMS
约翰·亚当斯的假想演说
Daniel Webster b. 1782, d. 1852 was born in Salisbury, N.H. He
spent a few months of his boyhood at Phillips Academy, Exeter, but
fitted for college under Rev. Samuel Wood, of Boscawen, N.H. He
graduated from Dartmouth College in 1801. He taught school several
terms, during and after his college course. In 1805, he was
admitted to the bar in Boston, and practiced law in New Hampshire
for the succeeding eleven years. In 1812, he was elected to the
United States House of Representatives. In 1816, he removed to
Boston, and in 1827 was elected to the United States Senate, which
position he held for twelve years. In 1841, he was appointed
Secretary of State. He returned to the Senate in 1845. In 1850, he
was reappointed Secretary of State and continued in office until
his death. He died at his residence, in Marshfield, Mass. Mr.
Webster’s fame rests chiefly on his state papers and speeches. As a
speaker he was dignified and stately, using clear, pure English.
During all his life he took great interest in agriculture, and was
very fond of outdoor sports.
1. Sink or swim, live or die, survive or perish, I give my hand
and my heart to this vote. It is true, indeed, that, in the
beginning, we aimed not at independence. But
“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends.”
The injustice of England has driven us to arms; and blinded to
her own interest, she has obstinately persisted, till independence
is now within our grasp. We have but to reach forth to it, and it
is ours. Why then should we defer the declaration? Is any man so
weak as now to hope for a reconciliation① with England, which shall
leave either safety to the country and its liberties, or security
to his own life and his own honor! Are not you, sir, who sit in
that chair, is not he, our venerable colleague②, near you, are you
not both already the proscribed③ and predestined④ objects of
punishment and of vengeance? Cut off from all hope of royal
clemency⑤, what are you, what can you be, while the power of
England remains, but outlaws?
2. If we postpone independence, do we mean to carry on, or to
give up, the war? Do we mean to submit, and consent that we shall
be ground to powder, and our country and its rights trodden down in
the dust? I know we do not mean to submit. We NEVER shall submit!
Do we intend to violate that most solemn obligation ever entered
into by men, that plighting, before God, of our sacred honor to
Washington, when, putting him forth to incur the dangers of war, as
well as the political hazards of the times, we promised to adhere
to him in every extremity with our fortunes and our lives? I know
there is not a man here, who would not rather see a general
conflagration sweep over the land, or an earthquake sink it, than
one jot or tittle① of that plighted faith fall to the ground. For
myself, having twelve months ago, in this place, moved you that
George Washington be appointed commander of the forces raised, or
to be raised, for the defense of American liberty; may my right
hand forget her cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my
mouth, if I hesitate or waver in the support I give him.
3. The war, then, must go on. We must fight it through. And if
the war must go on, why put off the Declaration of Independence?
That measure will strengthen us. It will give us character abroad.
Nations will then treat with us, which they never can do while we
acknowledge ourselves subjects in arms against our sovereign. Nay,
I maintain that England herself will sooner treat for peace with us
on the footing of independence, than consent, by repealing her
acts, to acknowledge that her whole conduct toward us has been a
course of injustice and oppression. Her pride will be less wounded
by submitting to that course of things, which now predestinates our
independence, than by yielding the points in controversy② to her
rebellious subjects. The former, she would regard as the result of
fortune; the latter, she would feel as her own deep disgrace. Why,
then, do we not change this from a civil to a national war? And
since we must fight it through, why not put ourselves in a state to
enjoy all the benefits of victory, if we gain the victory.
4. If we fail, it can be no worse for us. But we shall not fail.
The cause will raise up armies; the cause will create navies. The
people—the people, if we are true to them, will carry us, and will
carry themselves, gloriously through this struggle. I care not how
fickle other people have been found. I know the people of these
colonies; and I know that resistance to British aggression is deep
and settled in their hearts, and can not be eradicated③. Sir, the
Declaration of Independence will inspire the people with increased
courage. Instead of a long and bloody war for the restoration of
privileges, for redress④ of grievances, for chartered⑤ immunities⑥,
held under a British king, set before them the glorious object of
entire independence, and it will breathe into them anew the spirit
of life.
5. Read this declaration at the head of the army; every sword
will be drawn, and the solemn vow uttered to maintain it, or perish
on the bed of honor. Publish it from the pulpit; religion will
approve it, and the love of religious liberty will cling around it,
resolved to stand with it or fall with it. Send it to the public
halls; proclaim it there; let them see it who saw their brothers
and their sons fall on the field of Bunker Hill and in the streets
of Lexington and Concord, and the very walls will cry out in its
support.
6. Sir, I know the uncertainty of human affairs, but I see—I see
clearly through this day’s business. You and I, indeed, may rue it.
We may not live to see the time this declaration shall be made
good. We may die; die colonists; die slaves; die, it may be,
ignominiously and on the scaffold. Be it so: be it so. If it be the
pleasure of Heaven that my country shall require the poor offering
of my life, the victim shall be ready at the appointed hour of
sacrifice, come when that hour may. But while I do live, let me
have a country, or at least the hope of a country, and that a FREE
country.
7. But whatever may be our fate, be assured—be assured that this
Declaration will stand. It may cost treasure, and it may cost
blood; but it will stand, and it will richly compensate① for both.
Through the thick gloom of the present I see the brightness of the
future as the sun in heaven. We shall make this a glorious, an
immortal day. When we are in our graves, our children will honor
it. They will celebrate it with thanksgiving, with festivity, with
bonfires, and illuminations. On its annual return they will shed
tears,—copious, gushing tears; not of subjection and slavery, not
of agony and distress, but of exultation, of gratitude, and of
joy.
8. Sir, before God I believe the hour is come. My judgment
approves the measure, and my whole heart is in it. All that I have,
and all that I am, and all that I hope in this life, I am now ready
here to stake upon it; and I leave off as I began, that, live or
die, survive or perish, I am for the Declaration. It is my living
sentiment, and, by the blessing of God, it shall by my dying
sentiment; independence now, and INDEPENDENCE FOREVER.
Notes.—Mr. Webster, in a speech upon the life and character of
John Adams, imagines some one opposed to the Declaration of
Independence to have stated his fears and objections before
Congress while deliberating on that subject. He then supposes Mr.
Adams to have replied in the language above.