書是我們的好朋友，時刻陪伴著我們;書也是我們的好老師，能教給我們很多知識。它忠誠，耐心，充滿智慧，是我們生活中必不可少的一部分。
Companionship of Books
A man may usually be known by the books he reads as well as by the company he keeps: for there is a companionship of books as well as of men①; and one should always live in the best company, whether it be of books or of men.
A good book may be among the best of friends. It is the same today that it always was, and it will never change. It is the most patient and cheerful of companions. It does not turn its back upon us in times of trouble or distress.It always receives us with the same kindness, amusing and instructing us in youth, and comforting us in age.
Books possess an extract having the fundamental properties of immortality. They are by far the most lasting products of human effort. Temples and statues decay, but books survive. Time is of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their author’s minds ages ago. The only effect of time has been to sift out the bad products: for nothing in literature can long survive but what is really good.
Books introduce us into the best society: they bring us into the presence of the greatest minds that have ever lived. We hear what they said and did: we see them as if they were really alive; we sympathize with them, enjoy with them, hurt with them; their experience becomes ours, and we feel as if we were, in a measure, actors with them in the scenes which they describe.
The great and good do not die even in this world. Embalmed in books, their spirits walk abroad. The book is a living voice. It is an intellect to which one still listens. Hence we ever remain under the influence of the great men of old. The great intellects of the world are as much alive now as they were ages ago.
[334 words]
行文點評
本文是蘇格蘭作家塞謬爾·斯邁爾斯(Samuel Smiles)的作品。短文以小品文(essay)的形式寫成。小品文形式是法國作家蒙田(Montaigne)創立的，注重抒發作者的思想感受。文章語言凝練，其中不乏經典名句，各段首句均為每段的主題句，簡短精悍，易于背誦。
文章層層深入，結構清晰。文中首段首句直接點題。從第二段起直至文章的結尾緊扣主題逐步論述。第二段把一本好書比作the best of friends，緊接著在第三段指出記錄偉人思想的書籍能流芳百世。第四段又把書籍喻為引導者，它將我們與偉人聯系在一起。接著這個話題，最后一段進一步解釋：書是一種充滿生氣的聲音，能將偉人的精神傳播四方。
閱讀時還須體會作者用多變的句式和長短句交替 (alternation of long sentences and short sentences)的方式表達思想的手法。
好文妙譯
書友
要了解一個人，只要知道他讀什么書即可，正好比“見其友，知其人”。因為書像人一樣可以成為好伙伴。任何人都會選擇最好的伙伴，不管這個伙伴是書或是人。
一本好書或許是最好的朋友之一。它每天始終如一，永不變心，且它是最有耐心、最令人愉悅的朋友。在我們遇到困難或情緒低落時，它不會背棄我們。它總是以一貫的溫和態度對待我們。在我們年輕時它教導我們，給我們帶來歡樂;在我們已近日暮殘年時，它安慰我們，使我們倍受關懷。
書籍之精髓永垂不朽。迄今為止，書是人類努力寫成的最持久耐用的作品。寺廟和雕像會被腐蝕破壞，但書卻永遠存在。偉大的思想不會隨時間的流逝而褪色，許多年前作者頭腦中掠過的思想在今天依然鮮活。時間的惟一作用是淘汰劣質書籍，因為只有真正好的文學著作才能流芳百世。
書籍引導我們進入最高的境界，它將我們帶到歷史上的那些偉大人物的面前。我們聽其言，見其行，仿佛他們仍活于世上。我們對他們的遭遇表示同情，我們與他們悲喜與共，他們的經歷成了我們的財富。我們感覺好像在某種程度上自己成了他們所描繪的舞臺中的某個角色。
即使在當今世界，偉人也永不磨滅。他們的事跡記入史冊，他們的精神傳于四方。書是一種充滿生氣的聲音，是人們仍能聽得見的智慧。因此，我們仍然受著歷代偉人的影響，他們在今天仍像以前一樣活躍在世界大舞臺上。
詞匯斟酌
distress n.苦痛
fundamental a.基本的，根本的，基礎的
immortality n.不朽
decay v.腐朽
sift sth out 篩分(某物)
sympathize vi.①同情，憐憫②體諒，贊同
embalm v.使不朽
intellect n.①智力，理解力②才智非凡的人
佳句臨摹
①【注釋】as well as 也，還，而且
【臨摹】She is a talented musician as well as being a photographer.她不但是攝影家還是個天才的音樂家。
思如泉涌
Books and friends should be few but good. 書籍和朋友都要少而精。
Books are like little boats, by them we can swim in the wide ocean of knowledge. 書籍就像一艘艘小船，載著我們暢游于廣闊的知識海洋當中。
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