Be happy

Davy Jones

Jntroduction

“感恩是唯一的生活態度。 ”不管你遇到了什么樣的挫折與低谷，什么樣的失敗與打擊，你都要學會感恩，這會讓你在風雨之后遇到彩虹。

Twenty years ago I was living in Seattle and going through hard times. To my shame I was driving a school bus to make ends meet although I had a Masters degree. I had been through five interviews with a company and one day they called to say I did not get the job. I went to the bus barn（車 庫） like a zombie （僵 尸 ）of disappointment.

Later that afternoon， I had an inner wave—like a scream—arising from deep inside me and I thought “Why has my life become so hard?”

Immediately after this scream I pulled the bus over to drop off a little girl who handed me an earring saying I should keep it in case somebody claimed it. The earring said “BE HAPPY”.

At first I got angry. Then it hit me. I had been putting all of my energies into what was wrong with my life rather than what was right!I decided to make a list of 50 things I was grateful for.

At first it was hard， then it got easier. One night there was a phone call for me from a lady who was a manager at a large hospital. About a year earlier I had taught at a community college to give a course on stress management. She asked me if I would do a one-day lesson for 200 hospital workers. I said yes and got the job.

My day with the hospital workers went very well. I got a standing ovation（熱烈鼓掌）and many more days of work. To this day I know that it was because I changed my attitude to gratitude.

Incidentally， the day after I found the earring，the girl asked me if anyone had claimed it.I told her no and she said， “I guess it was meant for you then.”

I spent the next year conducting training workshops and then decided to go back to Scotland where I had lived previously. One month later I met my wonderful English wife and best friend of 15 years now. We live in a small beautiful cottage.

“The only attitude is gratitude”has been my motto for years now and yes， it completely changed my life.

Reading Check

1.Why did the author feel shameful according to paragraph 1？

A.He was going through much trouble then.

B.He lost heart entirely in face of difficulties.

C.He was repeatedly turned down by employers.

D.He worked as a driver despite his Masters degree.

2.What can be inferred about the author's lesson for the hospital workers？

A.It was a difficult task.

B.It was a lasting job at first.

C.It totally changed the author's later life.

D.It brought along the author much fortune.3.What does the author intend to tell us by writing this text？

A.To recall one of his hardest times.

B.To stress the importance of gratitude.

C.To give practical advice to job hunters.

D.To be in memory of a little helpful girl.

Language Study

從《一朵紅紅的玫瑰》到生動形象的明喻（simile）

比喻語言具有一種詩一般的特點，它是語言中最活躍、最常用的修辭方式之一。 比喻可分 為 明 喻(simile)、 隱 喻(metaphor) 和 提 喻(synecdoche)三類。明喻(simile)是上述比喻的一種。它是就兩個截然不同的事物之間的相似處進行比較，表明本體和喻體的相類關系。 明喻的表現形式各異，但它們所起的修辭作用和語言效果無不生動、具體、形象，因而留給讀者雋永深長、耐人尋味的藝術魅力。

like句型是英語明喻中最基本的表現形式。 本體(the tenor) 說明客觀事物， 喻體(the vehicle)用以說明比喻的事物。句型中的謂語動詞大多數是be，但也可用其他動詞。

The water of the pool was too dirty， and what was more， the swimmers were packed like sardine. 游泳池里的水太臟，在池里，游泳的人就像沙丁魚一樣擠在一起。

這是一個非常生動、形象、傳神的比喻。作者把擠在游泳池里的人們比作 “擁擠的沙丁魚”， 給人的直觀印象是： 游泳池里人如此之多，水如此之臟。水面上泛起一層白色，就像一大鍋骨頭湯似的。

再請看：

O my Luve's like a red, red rose，

That's newly sprung in June;

O my Luve's like the melodie，

That's sweetly play'd in tune.

啊，我的愛人像朵紅紅的玫瑰，

它在六月里初開；

啊，我的愛人像支樂曲，

美妙地演奏起來。

紅玫瑰作為愛情的象征源于古希臘神話。傳說紅玫瑰是愛神阿佛羅狄忒(Aphrodite)用自己的鮮血化出的：她為了安慰被野豬刺傷的情人阿多尼斯(Adonis)，將自己用荊棘刺傷，鮮血流出把玫瑰染紅了。因此，在情人節，戀人們以紅玫瑰相贈，表示真摯的愛。文學作品中以“玫瑰”喻指“愛情”的例子更是數不勝數。《一朵紅紅的玫瑰》(A Red, Red Rose) 是蘇格蘭詩人羅伯特·彭斯( Robert Burns)愛情詩的名篇之一。在這兩句詩中，本體均是my Luve(love) ;喻體分別為a red， red rose that's newly sprung in June和the melodie that's sweetly play'd in tune;喻詞均為like。 羅伯特·彭斯以“紅紅的玫瑰(a red，red rose)”這個意象比喻熱戀的愛人(my Luve) ，著眼于“我的愛人”與“六月里初開的紅玫瑰”之間的相似之處。感情真摯，節奏明快，歌頌了堅貞的愛情；字句質樸流暢，詩風自然清新，品讀這首詩歌，如見其人，如聞其聲。

本文使用了兩處明喻，前者表達了作者失望茫然的心情，后者表達了作者內心情緒的沖突。 你能找到它們嗎？