向大师学英文——边欣赏边思考边应用（11）

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学习过程中不断的自我检测，也就是主动的回忆学过的内容是很有效的学习方法之一。如果你想知道比这更有效的方法，那就是主动应用，所以爱用英语会让你更爱学英语。

测验单词的时间到了,以下这些单词或词组在以前读过的段落中出现过，看看还有没有印象呢？

immediate world

contemplative mood

insipid

physical beauty

hygienic

the Book of Changes

the Analects

affinity

cast a spell on

继续欣赏林语堂先生《生活的艺术》一书中有关“阅读的艺术”的第十一段。

先看译文：

如此读书艺术的概念，显然是排斥以读书为一种责任或义务的想法。在中国，我们常听到勉人“苦读”的说法。从前有一个勤苦的读书人在夜里读书时，每以锥刺股，使他不致睡去。还有一个读书人在夜里读书时，命一个女仆在旁边以便在他睡去时叫醒他，这种读法简直是荒谬的。一个人在读书的时候，正当那古代的智者作家对他说话时而忽然睡去，他应当立刻上床去安睡。用锥刺股或用仆人叫醒，无论做到什么程度，绝不能使他得到什么益处。这种人已完全丧失了读书之乐。凡是有所成就的读书人绝不懂什么叫做“勤研”或“苦读”，他们只知道爱好书，而情不自禁的读下去。

再读英文原著：

Such a conception of the art of reading completely precludes the idea of reading as a duty or as an obligation. In China, one often encourages students to "study bitterly." There was a famous scholar who studied bitterly and who stuck an awl in his calf when he fell asleep while studying at night. There was another scholar who had a maid stand by his side as he was studying at night, to wake him up every time he fell asleep. This was nonsensical. If one has a book lying before him and falls asleep while some wise ancient author is talking to him, he should just go to bed. No amount of sticking an awl in his calf or of shaking him up by a maid will do him any good. Such a man has lost all sense of the pleasure of reading. Scholars who are worth anything at all never know what is called "a hard grind" or what "bitter study"means. They merely love books and read on because they cannot help themselves.

此段中的“There was a famous scholar who studied bitterly and who stuck an awl in his calf when he fell asleep while studying at night.” 很有意思，其中 awl 和 owl (猫头鹰) 很像， calf又有“小牛”的意思，而实际上这句话所表达的意思和动物是没有关系的，而是……，建议你可以查查字典。

应用一下：

People who really love reading never know what is called "a hard grind" or what "bitter study" means. Such kind of pain is only the imagination of someone who never really tastes the pleasure of reading.

真正爱阅读的人绝不懂什么叫做“勤研”或“苦读”，而“”苦读的苦“”往往是不知读书之乐的人的一种想象罢了。