As I was rambling along the beach, I happened on a very small seashell and picked it up.
Small as it was, the shell was strongly made and elegantly shaped. In the spiraling decorative pattern, there were tiny spots of different hues, each of which, upon scrutiny, revealed a surrounding circle of intricate design. No wonder people in the ancient times used it as a currency. I wouldn’t give it up in trading, for it was too precious to part with – such a fine work of art.
When it was found, the fleshy part of the small creature sheltered inside was gone. Traces of life, if any, were washed away by waves, sand and sunshine. Yet the creature, however tiny and humble it was, however frail and transient its life, was endowed by Providence with an exquisite shelter made meticulously for it in all earnestness.
In contrast with the shellfish, isn’t my life span longer, and my living space larger? Shouldn’t I make use of my endowments to do what I can more meticulously and earnestly so that the work done will be more exquisite?
Let me, as best I can, leave something behind that is worth cherishing, something to be marveled at.
Hundreds or thousands of years from now, there might be someone who, attracted by what I have left, would look it over and over, fondle it with a connoisseur’s eye, and couldn’t help uttering a sigh of wonder: What a determined, unaffected mind to make this possible!
Of all social organizations, family is the most natural one. It is the principal bond that links man with the earth and with the source of life. To have a good partner, build a good nest and raise the young while nurturing the old, can give us a sound feeling of reassurance about life. Those without a family are carefree, but this freedom can sometimes be too hard to bear, for it can easily trap us in a feeling of rootlessness and emptiness.
1、“家”的辨析(牛津字典英文解释如下)
home is the house or apartment where they live. 家
family:a group consisting of one or two parents and their children
因此**句的“家”，只适合选择“family”。第2句，虽然无“家”字，但是结合第3句，显然指“有家”的人对家的感觉，所以增译“home”；第3句，无“家”的人，且不可译为homeless man, man without home, 原文其实是“没有组建家庭的人”
2、A是B，这是汉语中常见的语言结构，结合语境可选择：
1).同位语结构，比如：man, a greedy animal, tends to yearn for two conflicitng things(第2段首句)；
2).动词结构：mean, serve as...(如本文)family serves as a bond between man and the earth, and between man and the source of life.
Man is a greedy animal caught by conflicting desires. For example, while he wants stability, he also craves freedom; while he desires a comfortable home, he also yearns for a romantic escape. He tends to think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, and so he often finds himself unsatisfied with what he has and yearning for what he has not. Thus he is caught in confusion and in the dilemma of whether to enter or escape the“besieged city”.
1.结合语境选词：
1、矛盾的东西：desire 作为抽象名词表示“欲望”...，加上“-s”表示具体名词“想要的东西或人”•When she agreed to marry him he felt he had achieved his heart's desire . 当她答应嫁给他时，他感到终于得到了自己的心上人。其实这也是英语中常见的一种现象：抽象名词+s,可能变成具体名词（含义或者相同，或者不同）
Most people, however, are willing to sacrifice some freedom for the sake of stability. Those modern people who once abandoned their families for the sake of fashion are now returning to them in great numbers and cherishing marital harmony, which thus proves the point. The reason is simple: man is after all a social animal, and family, as a living cell of society, can allow man to achieve the fullest satisfaction of his social nature.
