【畢友導(dǎo)讀】：這是一篇只有四百多字的短文，由德裔美籍人塞繆爾.厄爾曼所作，至今已有70余年，魅力依然不減，其優(yōu)美的語句成為很多英文學(xué)習(xí)者必背的范文，并以其深刻的思想成為很多人的座右銘。
《年輕》——塞繆爾·烏爾曼
德裔美籍人塞繆爾.厄爾曼70多年前寫的一篇只有四百多字的短文，首次在美國發(fā)表的時(shí)候，引起全美國轟動(dòng)效應(yīng)，成千上萬的讀者把它抄下來當(dāng)作座右銘收藏，許多中老年人把它作為安排后半生的精神支柱。美國的麥克阿瑟將軍在指揮整個(gè)太平洋戰(zhàn)爭期間，辦公桌上始終擺著裝有短文《年輕》復(fù)印件的鏡框，文中的許多的詞句常被他在談話或開會(huì)作報(bào)告時(shí)引用。后來此文傳到日本，文章的觀點(diǎn)成為許多日本人生活哲學(xué)的基礎(chǔ)。松下公司的創(chuàng)始人松下幸之助說：“多年來，《年輕》始終是我的座右銘?！?
文章全文如下：
Youth
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees. It is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep spring of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exits in a man of 60, more than a boy of 20.nobody grows merely by the number of years; we grow old by deserting our ideas. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust1 bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what’s next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from infinite, so long as you are young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with the snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you’ve grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there’s hope you may die young at 80.
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind. It is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep spring of life. These are what I have and what we have at this period of life. So, I'm still young, yes, definitely ! Come on my fellow friends, show your energy and passion to this god damn world ! Let the universe hear our voice, see our cheek, hug our enthusiasm and witness our maturity. We're going to create a brand new future !
Mark Lee
May, 3rd, 2012
The night before the Youth Day
年 輕
—— 塞繆爾·烏爾曼
年輕，并非人生旅程的一段時(shí)光，也并非粉頰紅唇和體魄的矯健。
它是心靈中的一種狀態(tài)，是頭腦中的一個(gè)意念，是理性思維中的創(chuàng)造潛力，是情感活動(dòng)中的一股勃勃的朝氣，是人生春色深處的一縷東風(fēng)。
年輕，意味著甘愿放棄溫馨浪漫的愛情去闖蕩生活，意味著超越羞澀、怯懦和欲望的膽識(shí)與氣質(zhì)。而60歲的男人可能比20歲的小伙子更多地?fù)碛羞@種膽識(shí)與氣質(zhì)。沒有人僅僅因?yàn)闀r(shí)光的流逝而變得衰老，只是隨著理想的毀滅，人類才出現(xiàn)了老人。
歲月可以在皮膚上留下皺紋，卻無法為靈魂刻上一絲痕跡。憂慮、恐懼、缺乏自信才使人佝僂于時(shí)間塵埃之中。
無論是60歲還是16歲，每個(gè)人都會(huì)被未來所吸引，都會(huì)對(duì)人生競爭中的歡樂懷著孩子般無窮無盡的渴望。
在你我心靈的深處，同樣有一個(gè)無線電臺(tái)，只要它不停地從人群中，從無限的時(shí)間中接受美好、希望、歡欣、勇氣和力量的信息，你我就永遠(yuǎn)年輕。一旦這無線電臺(tái)坍塌，你的心便會(huì)被玩世不恭和悲觀失望的寒冷酷雪所覆蓋，你便衰老了—即使你只有20歲。但如果這無線電臺(tái)始終矗立在你心中，捕捉著每個(gè)樂觀向上的電波，你便有希望超過年輕的80歲。
所以只要勇于有夢(mèng)，敢于追夢(mèng)，勤于圓夢(mèng)，我們就永遠(yuǎn)年輕！
千萬不要?jiǎng)硬粍?dòng)就說自己老了，錯(cuò)誤引導(dǎo)自己！年輕就是力量，有夢(mèng)就有未來！
