容颜与人生 Face and Fortune
There is a story about a proposed appointment in Lincoln's cabinet that I have always liked very much. One of his advisers urgently recommended a candidate and Lincoln declined to follow the suggestion. So he was asked to give his reasons.
“I don't like the man's face.”Lincoln explained briefly.
“But the poor man is not responsible for his face.”His advocate insisted.
“Every man over forty is responsible for his face.”Lincoln replied, and turned to the discussion of other matters.
Recently, at the instigation of my publisher, I had some photographs taken. It was a long time, he reminded me, since I had supplied him with a new one; I could not go on using the same pose indefinitely. I do not enjoy the process of being photographed, and when I saw the results of this latest ordeal, I enjoyed these still less. I compared the new photograph with one that had been taken twenty-five years ago, and my feminine vanity suffered an acute pang at the thought of being presented to the public as I am today. My first instinct was to have the prints “touched up”, though I have never “touched up”my own face or my own hair because I have always maintained that women who did this deceived no one except themselves. As I thoughtfully considered the photographs, I knew that as till more important principle was involved.
A quarter century of living should put a great deal into a woman's face besides a few wrinkles and some unwelcome folds around the chin. In that length of time she has become intimately acquainted with pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, life and death. She has struggled and survived, failed and succeeded. She has lost and regained faith. And, as a result, she should be wiser, gentler, more patient and more tolerant than she was when she was young. Her sense of humor should have mellowed, her outlook should have widened, her sympathies should have deepened. And all these should show. If she tries to erase the imprint of age, she runs the risk of destroying, at the same time, the imprint of experience and character.
I know I am more experienced than I was a quarter century ago and I hope I have more character. I released the pictures as they were.
我很喜欢一个故事，那是有关推荐林肯内阁职务的。他的一位顾问极力向他推荐一位候选人，但是林肯拒绝接受这个建议。因此，这位顾问要求林肯给出原因来。
“我不喜欢那人的面相。”林肯简明扼要地回答道。
“可是那个可怜的人不应对他的长相负责。”推荐人坚持道。
“一个人一旦过了40岁就应该对自己的长相负责。”林肯答复完就转而讨论其他的事情了。
最近在出版商的游说下，我拍了一些照片。他提醒我，我已经很久没给他新照片了，我不能总使用同样的姿势。我不喜欢拍照的过程，当我看到最近一次痛苦经历的结果后，就更不喜欢这些照片了。我把新照片和二十五年前的一张照片比较之后，想到我要以现在的面貌面对公众时，我的女性虚荣心开始遭受剧痛。我的第一个直觉就是“修饰”一下这些照片，虽然我从不修饰自己的脸或头发，因为我一直认为女人这么做，除了骗自己之外谁也骗不了。但当我深思过之后，我明白这其中蕴含着一个更重要的原则。
四分之一世纪的生活在女人脸上除了留下一些皱纹及不受欢迎的皱痕之外，还有更多的东西。在这段漫长的时间里，她已经饱尝痛苦与欢乐、开心与伤心以及生生死死。她经历了生存与斗争、失败与成功，曾经失去又重获信心。因此，有过这些经历，她应该比年轻时更明智、高雅、耐心和宽容。她的幽默感应该成熟起来了，视野应该被拓宽，同情心也应该加深了。而所有的这一切都会在她的面貌上表现出来。如果她试图抹去这些岁月的痕迹，同时也是在冒摧毁经验与性格印痕的危险。
我知道自己比二十五年前更有经验了，也希望我比以前更有个性，所以我按照原样发布了我的照片。
心灵小语
美丽的容颜不是不老的容颜。让明智、高雅、有耐心和有度量等美德充斥你的灵魂，才能拥有能与时间对抗的美丽。
词汇笔记
briefly [bri:fli] adv. 短暂地；简略地；暂时地
例 This paper briefly introduces the basic characteristics, the development and the application of strong concrete.
本文简要介绍了高强混凝土的发展与应用情况及基本特点。
advocate [ˈædvəkit] n. 提倡者；拥护者；推荐人
例 The Chinese people are advocates of peace.
中国人民都是和平的拥护者。
insist [inˈsist] v. 坚持；强调
例 We insist on the letter of credit.
我们坚持用信用证方式付款。
instigation [ˌinstiˈɡeiʃən] n. 煽动；鼓动；刺激；教唆
例 At his instigation, the water carriers deliberately delayed their delivery by two days.
在他的鼓动下，他们故意比规定的日期迟了两天献水。
小试身手
一个人一旦过了40岁就应该对自己的长相负责。
译_______________
四分之一世纪的生活在女人脸上除了留下一些皱纹及不受欢迎的皱痕之外，还有更多的东西。
译_______________
她应该比年轻时更明智、高雅、耐心和宽容。
译_______________
短语家族
I compared the new photograph with one that had been taken twenty-five years ago……
compared with：与……相比较
造_______________
……she runs the risk of destroying……
run the risk of：冒……的危险；冒……的风险
造_______________