双语美文之似水流年 （58）无论你的生活如何卑微(4)
There is a solid bottom everywhere.
所有地方的底部都是结实的。
We read that the traveler asked the boy if the swamp before him had a hard bottom.
我们从书中得知这样一个故亊，一个旅行者问一个男孩，前方的这块沼泽底部是不是坚固。
The boy replied that it had.
男孩回答道是坚固的。
But presently the traveler’s horse sank in up to the girths, and he observed to the boy,I thought you said that this bog had a hard bottom So it has，answered the latter, but you have not got half way to it yet.
可是旅行者没走多远，他的马便深陷沼泽，不一会儿就到了马的腰部，他对男孩说，我本以为你说的是这块沼泽底部是坚固的…是坚固的啊。男孩说道，可是你还没有触到它的底部一半深呢。
So it is with the bogs and quicksands of society;but he is an old boy that knows it.
社会的泥沼和流沙也是这个道理；但是只有少年老成的人才知晓这一点。
Only what is thought, said, or done at a certain rare coincidence is good.
只有在一些少有的巧合中，人们的所想，所言、所为才是正确的。
I would not be one of those who will foolishly drive a nail into mere lath and plastering ;such a deed would keep me awake nights.
有一些人愚蠢地只知道是将钉子钉入板条和灰泥中，我可不想与这样的人为伍；要是那么做，我会彻夜难眠。
Give me a hammer, and let me feel for the furring.
给我一把锤子，让我感受一下钉板条的感觉。
Do not depend on the putty.
不要依靠油灰状的黏性材料。
Drive a nail home and clinch it so faithfully that you can wake up in the night and think of your work with satisfactory.
钉入一只钉子，就钉得结结实实， 就算是在半夜醒来，一想到自己的工作，你也会心满意足。
a work at which you would not be ashamed to invoke the Muse.
即便请来缪斯女神，你对这件工作也没有愧疚。
So will help you God, and so only.
这么做，而且只有这么做，上帝才会伸出援助之手。
Every nail driven should be as another rivet in the machine of the universe, you carrying on the work.
钉入的每颗钉子，都应像宇宙机器中的铆钉一样固定，你的工作才能继续下去。
Rather than love, than money, than fame，give me truth.
我不在乎爱、金钱、名誉，我只要真理。
I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, and obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not；and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board.
我坐在摆满佳肴美酒的桌旁，身边有谄媚的侍从，但是却少了真诚和誓言。我饿着肚子转身离开这冷漠的餐桌。
The hospitality was as cold as the ices.
这种盛情如冰一样冰冷，
I thought that there was no need of ice to freeze them.
我想无需再用冰块来冻结它们。
They talked to me of the age of the wine and the fame of the vintage;but I thought of an older, a newer, and purer wine, of a more glorious vintage, which they had not got, and could not buy.
他们告诉我葡萄美酒的年份和产地的历史，这让我想起了一种更年深月久且更新更纯、更光荣的佳酿，可他们手上没有，也无法买到。
The style, the house and grounds and entertainment pass for nothing with me.
我把他们的风格、豪宅、庭园和娱乐当做草芥。
I called on the king, but he made me wait in his hall, and conducted like a man incapacitated for hospitality.
我去拜见国王，他却让我在客厅等候，他的行为如同丧失了好客能力似的。
There was a man in my neighborhood who lived in a hollow tree.
我的一个邻居住在树洞里，
His manners were truly regal.
他的举止才是真正的王者。
I should have done better had I called on him.
我要是去拜访他，待遇肯定会好得多。
亨利大卫梭罗（Henry David Thoreau ),美国作家及自然主义者。 他的作品主张对不公正的政府进行非暴力抵抗运动，并产生了广泛的影响,他的论文《论公民的不服从权利》，就曾影响了托尔斯泰和圣雄甘地。亨利大卫梭罗在文中阐述了他对人生的见解，他喜欢清贫，对爱、 金钱和荣誉不屑一顾，追求理想的人生。文中的佳句比比皆是，令人回味无穷。
1.almshouse n.贫民所，救济院
The cottage was formerly an almshouse constructed in 1615.
这小屋的前身是一座建于1615年的济贫院。
I do not hesitate, in such a case, to suggest work, or the almshouse; or why not keep its castle in silence, as I docommonly?
在这种情况下我会毫不犹豫的向公立救济院提出建议，我为什么不像往常那样保持沉默呢？
2.vital 维持生命所必需的；至关重要的
The china-brazil connection is increasingly vital.
中巴之间的联系变得日益重要。
And who needs to learn this vital lesson now?
目前哪个国家需要吸取这个重大教训呢？
3.starch n.淀粉，含淀粉的食物
It breaks starch molecules into more digestible fragments.
它使得淀粉分子变成更加易消化的片段。
The crust beauty depends on the amount of sugar and starch.
面包皮是否香脆欲滴取决于糖和淀粉的含量。