#英语美文

The Two Road

It was New Year’s Night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were floating like white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake. Then he cast them on the earth, where few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain goal- the tomb. He had already passed sixty of the stages leading to it, and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and remorse. Now his health was poor, his mind vacant, his heart sorrowful, and his old age short of comforts.

The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him ant the entrance of the two roads—one leading to a peaceful, sunny place, covered with flowers, fruits and resounding with soft, sweet songs; the other leading to a deep, dark cave, which was endless, where poison flowed instead of water and where devils and poisonous snakes hissed and crawled.

He looked towards the sky and cried painfully, “O youth, return! O my father, place me once more ant the entrance to life, and I’ll choose the better way!” But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away.

He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness. These were the days of his wasted life; he saw a star fall from the sky and disappear, and this was the symbol of himself. His remorse, which was like a sharp arrow, struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhoodm who entered on life together with him. But they had made their way to success and were now honoured and happy on this New Year’s Night.

The clock in the hign church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents' early love for him. They had tought him and prayed to God for his good. But he choose the wrong way. With shame and grief he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father lived. His darkened eyes were full of tears, and with a despairing effort, he burst out a cry: “Come back, my early days! Come back!”

And his youth did return, for all this was only a dream which he had on New Year’s Night. He was still young though his faults were real; he had not yet entered the deep, dark cave, and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land.

Those who still linger on the entrance of life, hesitating to choose the bright road, remember that when years are passed and your feet stumble on the dark mountains, you will cry bitterly, but in vain: “O youth, return! Oh give me back my early days!"

• mournful a. 悲伤的
• lily n. 百合花
• remorse n. 悔恨
• resound v. 回响
• hiss v. 嘶嘶作响
• linger v. 徘徊
• stumble v. 绊倒

两条道路

一个新年之夜，一位老人伫立在窗前。他仰望着深蓝色的天空，满眼哀伤。夜空像一个清澈宁静的大湖，星星如朵朵洁净的百合花轻轻地飘在湖面上。然后，他把目光投向大地，几个比他更加绝望地人正走向他们必然的终点——坟墓。在通往人生终点地道路上，他已经走过了六十个驿站，在这漫长的旅途中，除了过失和悔恨，他别无所获。如今，他身体欠安，头脑空虚，心情抑郁，缺少晚年应有的舒适和安逸。

青春岁月如梦幻般浮现在他的眼前，他回想起父亲将他放在人生岔路口上那个庄严的时刻。当时，他面前有两条道路：一条通往和平安宁，阳光灿烂的地方，那里布满鲜花与果实，柔和甜美的歌声四处飘扬；另一条道路则通向黑暗无底的深渊，那里流淌的不是清水，而是毒液，恶魔肆虐，毒蛇嘶嘶爬行。

他望向天空，痛苦地叫喊：“啊，青春，请回来吧！啊，父亲，请把我重新放到人生道路的起点上吧，我会做出更好的选择。” 然而他的父亲和他的青春年华都早已离他而去。

他看见灯光在黑暗中消逝，那正是他虚度的年华。他看见一颗颗星星从空中陨落，然后消失了，那正是他自身的写照。悔恨如同一支利箭，深深地刺入了他的内心。接着，他想起儿时的朋友，他们曾与他一同踏上人生的旅程，现已获得成功，收到人们的尊敬，此刻正沉浸于欢度新年之夜的幸福中。

教堂高塔的钟声响起，在钟声里他回忆起父母早年对他的爱，他们曾给予他敦敦教诲，曾为他的幸福向上帝祈祷。而他却偏偏选择了人生的歧途。羞愧和悲伤使他再也不敢正视父亲所在的天堂。他双眼黯然无光，饱含泪水，在绝望中，他奋力哭喊：“回来吧，我那逝去的青春！回来吧！”

他的青春真的回来了，因为以上所发生的一切只是他在新年之夜所做的一场梦而已。他仍然年轻，尽管他确实犯有过失，但还没有坠入那黑暗的深渊，他仍然可以自由地走在通往安宁和光明的道路上。

正在人生路口徘徊，不知是否要选择光明大道的年轻人啊，请记住，当年华流逝，你的双足在黑暗的山间举步维艰、跌跌撞撞之时，你会痛心疾首地呼唤：“啊，回来吧，青春！把我逝去的年华还给我！” 可是，那只会是徒劳无益的。