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正如要想拥有自由就要时刻保持警惕一样，要想取得伟大的，持久的成功，就必须坚持不懈地努力。

If I Rest, I Rust

The significantinscriptionfound on an old key---“If I rest, I rust”---would be an excellent motto for those who areafflictedwith the slightest bit ofidleness. Even the most industrious person might adopt it with advantage to serve as a reminder that, if one allows hisfacultiesto rest, like the iron in the unused key, they will soon show signs of rust and, ultimately, cannot do the work required of them.

Those who would attain the heights reached and kept by great men must keep their facultiespolishedby constant use, so that they may unlock the doors of knowledge, the gate that guard the entrances to the professions, to science, art, literature, agriculture---every department of human endeavor.

Industry keeps bright the key that opens the treasury of achievement. If Hugh Miller, aftertoilingall day in aquarry, had devoted his evenings to rest and recreation, he would never have become a famous geologist. The celebrated mathematician, Edmund Stone, would never have published a mathematical dictionary, never have found the key to science of mathematics, if he had given his spare moments to idleness, had the little Scotch lad, Ferguson, allowed the busy brain to go to sleep while he tended sheep on the hillside instead of calculating the position of the stars by a string of beads, he would never have become a famousastronomer.

Labor vanquishes all---not inconstant, spasmodic, or ill-directed labor; but faithful,unremitting, daily effort toward a well-directed purpose. Just as truly as eternalvigilanceis the price of liberty, so is eternal industry the price of noble and enduring success.

参考译文

如果我休息，我就会生锈

在一把旧钥匙上发现了一则意义深远的铭文——如果我休息，我就会生锈。对于那些懒散而烦恼的人来说，这将是至理名言。甚至最为勤勉的人也以此作为警示：如果一个人有才能而不用，就像废弃钥匙上的铁一样，这些才能就会很快生锈，并最终无法完成安排给自己的工作。

有些人想取得伟人所获得并保持的成就，他们就必须不断运用自身才能，以便开启知识的大门，即那些通往人类努力探求的各个领域的大门，这些领域包括各种职业：科学，艺术，文学，农业等。

勤奋使开启成功宝库的钥匙保持光亮。如果休·米勒在采石场劳作一天后，晚上的时光用来休息消遣的话，他就不会成为名垂青史的地质学家。著名数学家爱德蒙·斯通如果闲暇时无所事事，就不会出版数学词典，也不会发现开启数学之门的钥匙。如果苏格兰青年弗格森在山坡上放羊时，让他那思维活跃的大脑处于休息状态，而不是借助一串珠子计算星星的位置，他就不会成为著名的天文学家。

劳动征服一切。这里所指的劳动不是断断续续的，间歇性的或方向偏差的劳动，而是坚定的，不懈的，方向正确的每日劳动。正如要想拥有自由就要时刻保持警惕一样，要想取得伟大的，持久的成功，就必须坚持不懈地努力。

词汇释义

1.inscription n. 题字,碑铭

例句：
Time and weather had long ago effaced the inscription on the monument.
岁月和风雨早已磨掉纪念碑上的铭文。

2.afflict v. 使苦恼,折磨

例句：
She was afflicted with conscience.
她受良心责备。

3.idleness n. 懒惰,闲散,失业

例句：
The tutor took the young lad in hand and soon cured him of his idleness.
这个家庭教师负责管教这一少年，很快就改正了他懒惰的习气。

4.faculty n. 才能,能力,全体教员

例句：
Man is the only animal that has the faculty of speech.
人类是唯一有说话能力的动物.

5.polish n. 光泽,优雅,精良 v. 擦亮,磨光,推敲

例句：
It's an honest book but it hasn't been polished.
这本书写得真诚坦率，但还未经润色。

6.toil n.辛苦, 苦工, 网, 罗网, 圈套 v.苦干, 跋涉, 费力地做

例句：
The slaves toiled up the hill pulling the heavy blocks.
那些奴隶艰难地把沉重的石块拖上山。

7.quarry n. 采石场,猎获物,出处

例句：
a man who works in a quarry.
一个在采石厂工作的人。

8.astronomer n. 天文学家

例句：
He is the best one of those astronomers.
他是那些天文学家中最优秀的一个。

9.unremitting adj. 不歇的,不断的,坚忍的

例句：
Due to the unremitting efforts of the leaders of the two countries, a frightful was disaster was avoided.
由于两国领导人的不懈努力，一次可怕的战争灾难避免了。

10.vigilance n. 警戒,警觉心,守夜

例句：
Police's vigilance was eventually rewarded.
警方时时警戒终有所获。

难句解析

1.Those who would attain the heights reached and kept by great men must keep their faculties polished by constant use, so that they may unlock the doors of knowledge, the gate that guard the entrances to the professions, to science, art, literature, agriculture---every department of human endeavor.

【参考译文】有些人想取得伟人所获得并保持的成就，他们就必须不断运用自身才能，以便开启知识的大门，即那些通往人类努力探求的各个领域的大门，这些领域包括各种职业：科学，艺术，文学，农业等。

【结构解析】“reached and kept by great men”是过去分词做定语，修饰“heights ”，这里的“ faculties”意思是“才能”。

2.If Hugh Miller, after toiling all day in a quarry, had devoted his evenings to rest and recreation, he would never have become a famous geologist.

【参考译文】如果休·米勒在采石场劳作一天后，晚上的时光用来休息消遣的话，他就不会成为名垂青史的地质学家。

【结构解析】这句话的主干是"If Hugh Miller...had devoted..., he would never..."。