2014年考研英語(yǔ)36篇必背作文精選2(新概念)_跨考網(wǎng)

　　Lesson 24 A skeleton in the cupboard “家丑”

　　We often read in novels how a seemingly respectable person or family has some terrible secret which has been concealed from strangers for years. The English language possesses a vivid saying to describe this sort of situation. The terrible secret is called ‘a(chǎn) skeleton in the cupboard’. At some dramatic moment in the story, the terrible secret becomes known and a reputation is ruined. The reader's hair stands on end when he reads in the final pages of the novel that the heroine, a dear old lady who had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her youth, poisoned every one of her five husbands.

　　It is all very well for such things to occur in fiction. To varying degrees, we all have secrets which we do not want even our closest friends to learn, but few of us have skeletons in the cupboard. The only person I know who has a skeleton in the cupboard is George Carlton, and he is very proud of the fact. George studied medicine in his youth. Instead of becoming a doctor, however, he became a successful writer of detective stories. I once spent an uncomfortable weekend which I shall never forget at his house. George showed me to the guest-room which, he said, was rarely used. He told me to unpack my things and then come down to dinner. After I had stacked my shirts and underclothes in two empty drawers, I decided to hang one of the two suits I had brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the cupboard door and then stood in front of it petrified. A skeleton was dangling before my eyes. The sudden movement of the door made it sway slightly and it gave me the impression that it was about to leap out at me. Dropping my suit, I dashed downstairs to tell George. This was worse than ‘a(chǎn) terrible secret’; this was a real skeleton! But George was unsympathetic. ‘Oh, that,’ he said with a smile as if he were talking about an old friend. ‘That's Sebastian. You forget that I was a medical student once upon a time. ’

　　在小說(shuō)中，我們經(jīng)常讀到一個(gè)表面上受人尊重的人物或家族，卻有著某種多年不為人所知的駭人聽(tīng)聞的秘密。英語(yǔ)中有一個(gè)生動(dòng)的說(shuō)法來(lái)形容這種情況。驚人的秘密被稱(chēng)作“柜中骷髏”。在小說(shuō)的某個(gè)戲劇性時(shí)刻，可怕的秘密泄漏出來(lái)，接著便是某人的聲譽(yù)掃地。當(dāng)讀者讀到小說(shuō)最后幾頁(yè)了解到書(shū)中女主人公，那位一向待大家很好的可愛(ài)的老婦人年輕時(shí)一連毒死了她的5個(gè)丈夫時(shí)，不禁會(huì)毛骨悚然。

　　這種事發(fā)生在小說(shuō)中是無(wú)可非議的。盡管我們?nèi)巳硕加懈鞣N大小秘密，連最親密的朋友都不愿讓他們知道，但我們當(dāng)中極少有人有柜中骷髏。我所認(rèn)識(shí)的唯一的在柜中藏骷髏的人便是喬治·卡爾頓，他甚至引以為自豪。喬治年輕時(shí)學(xué)過(guò)醫(yī)，然而，他后來(lái)沒(méi)當(dāng)上醫(yī)生，卻成了一位成功的偵探小說(shuō)作家。有一次，我在他家里度周末，過(guò)得很不愉快。這事我永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)忘記。喬治把我領(lǐng)進(jìn)客房，說(shuō)這間房間很少使用。他讓我打開(kāi)行裝后下樓吃飯。我將襯衫、內(nèi)衣放進(jìn)兩個(gè)空抽屜里，然后我想把隨身帶來(lái)的兩套西服中的一套掛到大衣柜里去。我打開(kāi)柜門(mén)，站在柜門(mén)前一下子驚呆了。一具骷髏懸掛在眼前，由于柜門(mén)突然打開(kāi)，它也隨之輕微搖晃起來(lái)，讓我覺(jué)得它好像馬上要跳出柜門(mén)朝我撲過(guò)來(lái)似的。我扔下西服沖下樓去告訴喬治。這是比“駭人聽(tīng)聞的秘密”更加驚人的東西，這是一具真正的骷髏啊!但喬治卻無(wú)動(dòng)于衷?！班蓿撬?他笑著說(shuō)道，儼然在談?wù)撘晃焕吓笥??！澳鞘侨退沟侔病Ｄ阃宋乙郧笆菍W(xué)醫(yī)的了?！?

　　Lesson 27 Nothing to sell and nothing to buy 沒(méi)有東西可賣(mài)也沒(méi)有東西可買(mǎi)

　　It has been said that everyone lives by selling something. In the light of this statement, teachers live by selling knowledge, philosophers by selling wisdom and priests by selling spiritual comfort. Though it may be possible to measure the value of material good in terms of money, it is extremely difficult to estimate the true value of the services which people perform for us. There are times when we would willingly give everything we possess to save our lives, yet we might grudge paying a surgeon a high fee for offering us precisely this service. The conditions of society are such that skills have to be paid for in the same way that goods are paid for at a shop. Everyone has something to sell.

　　Tramps seem to be the only exception to this general rule. Beggars almost sell themselves as human beings to arouse the pity of passers-by. But real tramps are not beggars. They have nothing to sell and require nothing from others. In seeking independence, they do not sacrifice their human dignity. A tramp may ask you for money, but he will never ask you to feel sorry for him. He has deliberately chosen to lead the life he leads and is fully aware of the consequences. He may never be sure where the next meal is coming from, but he is free from the thousands of anxieties which afflict other people. His few material possessions make it possible for him to move from place to place with ease. By having to sleep in the open, he gets far closer to the world of nature than most of us ever do. He may hunt, beg, or steal occasionally to keep himself alive; he may even, in times of real need, do a little work; but he will never sacrifice his freedom. We often speak of tramps with contempt and put them in the same class as beggars, but how many of us can honestly say that we have not felt a little envious of their simple way of life and their freedom from care?

　　據(jù)說(shuō)每個(gè)人都靠出售某種東西來(lái)維持生活。根據(jù)這種說(shuō)法，教師靠賣(mài)知識(shí)為生，哲學(xué)家靠賣(mài)智慧為生，牧師靠賣(mài)精神安慰為生。雖然物質(zhì)產(chǎn)品的價(jià)值可以用金錢(qián)來(lái)衡量，但要估算別人為我們?yōu)樗峁┑姆?wù)的價(jià)值卻是極其困難的。有時(shí)，我們?yōu)榱送炀壬?，愿意付出我們所占有的一切。但就在外科大夫給我們提供了這種服務(wù)后，我們卻可能為所支付的昂貴的費(fèi)用而抱怨。社會(huì)上的情況就是如此，技術(shù)是必須付錢(qián)去買(mǎi)的，就像在商店里要花錢(qián)買(mǎi)商品一樣。人人都有東西可以出售。

　　在這條普遍的規(guī)律前面，好像只有流浪漢是個(gè)例外，乞丐出售的幾乎是他本人，以引起過(guò)路人的憐憫。但真正的流浪并不是乞丐。他們既不出售任何東西，也不需要從別人那兒得到任何東西，在追求獨(dú)立自由的同時(shí)，他們并不犧牲為人的尊嚴(yán)。游浪漢可能會(huì)向你討錢(qián)，但他從來(lái)不要你可憐他。他是故意在選擇過(guò)那種生活的，并完全清楚以這種方式生活的后果。他可能從不知道下頓飯有無(wú)著落，但他不像有人那樣被千萬(wàn)樁愁事所折磨。他幾乎沒(méi)有什么財(cái)產(chǎn)，這使他能夠輕松自如地在各地奔波。由于被迫在露天睡覺(jué)，他比我們中許多人都離大自然近得多。為了生存，他可能會(huì)去打獵、乞討，偶爾偷上一兩回;確實(shí)需要的時(shí)候，他甚至可能干一點(diǎn)兒活，但他決不會(huì)犧牲自由。說(shuō)起流浪漢，我們常常帶有輕蔑并把他們與乞丐歸為一類(lèi)。但是，我們中有多少人能夠坦率地說(shuō)我們對(duì)流浪漢的簡(jiǎn)樸生活與無(wú)憂無(wú)慮的境況不感到有些羨慕呢?

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