美文欣赏

My grandparents believed you were either honest or you weren’t.There was no in between.

They had a simple motto hanging on heir living-room wall:“Life is like a field of newly fallen snow;where I choose to walk every step will show.”They didn’t have to talk about it—they demonstrated the motto by the way they lived.They understood instinctively that integrity means having a personal standard of morality and ethics that does not sell out to selfishness and that is not relative to the situation at hand.

Integrity is an inner standard for judging your behavior.Unfortunately,integrity is in short supply today—and getting scarcer.But it is the real bottom line in every area of society.And it is something we must demand of ourselves. A good test for this value is to look at what I call the Integrity Trial, which consists of three key principles:Stand firmly for your convictions in the face of personal pressure.When you know you’re right, you can’t back down. Always give others credit that is rightfully theirs. Don’t be afraid of those who might have a better idea or who might even be smarter than you are. Be honest and open about who you really are.People who lack genuine core values rely on external factors—their looks or status—in order to feel good about themselves.Inevitably they will do everything they can to preserve this appearance, but they will do very little, to develop their inner value and personal growth. So be yourself. Don’t engage in a personal cover-up of areas that are unpleasing in your life. When it’s tough, do it tough. In other words, face reality and be adult in your responses to life’s challenges.Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.Integrity means you do what you do because it’s right and not just fashionable or politically correct. A life of principle, of not giving in to the seductive sirens of easy morality, will always win the day. It will take you forward into the 21st century without having to check your tacks in a rearview mirror. My grandparents taught me that.

参考译文

我的爷爷和奶奶认为，你要么是诚实的，要么不是，不可能介于两者之间。

在他们起居室的墙上挂着一幅简单易懂的座右铭：“生活好像一片刚刚落满白雪的土地；我走到哪里，我的每一个脚印就会出现在哪里。”他们无需就此加以评说—一他们是以身体力行的方式来证实这幅座右铭的。 他们本能的理解是，诚实意味着具备一定的伦理道德标准，既不看风使舵，也不随着眼下的形势而转移。

诚实是判断你行为的内在标准。遗憾的是，如今，诚实处在短缺状态——甚至越来越稀罕。然而，它却是社会各个领域真正的思想底线，而且是我们必须要求自己严格做到的。检验这种价值标准的一个有效方法是，参看我所指的诚实考验，其中包括三条主要原则：在个人压力面前，要坚定信念。当你知道你做得对的时候，你就不能退缩。对那些值得赞扬的人要常常给予肯定。切莫害怕那些可能有更好主意的或者那些可能比你更聪明的人。真诚、坦率地展示真实的你。那些缺乏真正的基本价值观念的人，为了使自己感觉良好而依靠外在因素----相貌或社会地位。他们势必尽一切可能来保全这种表面形象，却很少会去培养自己内在的价值和注重个人的成长。 因此，要展示你的真面目。不要设法掩盖你生活中令人不快的方方面面。艰难时刻要顽强。换言之，要正视现实。面对生活的挑战，要老成持重，应付有方。 自尊和问心无愧是构成诚实的强有力的成分，是丰富你与他人关系的基础。诚实意味着去做你认为对的事，而不仅仅是为了赶时髦或在政治上不出错。坚持原则，不屈从于持享乐人生观的女妖的诱惑，这样的人生观将战无不胜。它将使你问心无愧地走向21世纪。这是祖父母教导我的。

词汇释义

1.motto n. 座右铭, 箴言

"Think before you act" is my motto.
“三思而后行”是我的座右铭。

2.instinctively adv. (出于)本能地

He instinctively grabbed the knife.
他本能地抓住了刀子。

3.conviction n. 定罪, 信服, 坚信

I have the conviction that he is right.
我深信他是对的。

4.unpleasing adj. 不愉快的

Parts of old paintings which appear unpleasing to later artists are sometimes painted out.
在以往的油画当中那些被后来的艺术家认为不满意的部分常常被涂掉。

5.seductive adj. 诱惑的, 引人注意的, 有魅力的

Her figure was slighter and therefore more seductive than Natalie.
她的身段比较苗条，因此比娜塔丽更加诱人。

6.siren 塞壬（古希腊传说中半人半鸟的女海妖，惯以美妙的歌声引诱水手，使他们的船只或触礁或驶入危险水域）