讀點好英文:An Exhausting StruggIe 一場累人的斗爭

An Exhausting StruggIe 一場累人的斗爭

·Frank·

Balzac once said artistic creation was“an exhausting struggle”. He believed that only by tenacious work and not being afraid of difficulties could you show your talent.It was just like the soldiers charging the fortress, not reIaxing your effort even for a moment.

Once Balzac wrote for hours on end, he was so tired that he could not hold out any longer. He ran to a friend's home and plunged headlong onto the sofa.He wanted to sleep, but he told his friend he must be woken up within an hour.His friend, seeing him so tired, did not wake him up on time.After he woke up, Balzac got very angry at his friend.Fortunately his friend had an intimate understanding of him and did not quarrel with him.

Balzac did not smoke cigarettes, nor did he drink any alcohol. But he got one habit：while he was writing he always drank very strong coffee that could almost anaesthetize his stomach.He didn't add milk, nor did he add sugar in his coffee.It would not satisfy him until it was made bitter.People generally did not like to drink such bitter coffee.That had a strange stimuIus effect on him, and could help him drive the sleepiness away, according to himself.

弗蘭克

巴爾扎克曾經(jīng)說過，藝術創(chuàng)造是“一場累人的斗爭”。他認為，只有頑強工作，不怕困難，才能把自己的才華表現(xiàn)出來。這就好像向堡壘沖擊的戰(zhàn)士，一刻也不能松勁兒。

有一次，巴爾扎克一連寫了好幾小時，累得實在支持不住了，跑到一個朋友家里，一頭倒在沙發(fā)上。他想睡一覺，但他告訴朋友，一定要在一小時之內叫醒他。他的朋友見他非常疲勞，就沒有按時叫醒他。他醒來后，對朋友大發(fā)脾氣。幸好他的朋友很了解他，沒有和他爭吵。

巴爾扎克既不抽煙，也不喝酒。但他有個習慣：當他寫作的時候，總是呷著幾乎可以使胃麻痹的濃咖啡。他的咖啡里既不加牛奶，也不加糖，要熬得發(fā)苦才滿意。像這樣苦的咖啡，一般人都不愿意喝。但他卻認為，這樣對他有奇異的刺激作用，可以驅走睡魔。

核心單詞

exhausting[ig'z?：sti?]adj.使耗盡的；使人精疲力竭的

artistic[a：'tistik]adj.藝術的；美術的；唯美（主義）的

reIaxing[ri'l?ksi?]adj.令人松懈的，輕松愉悅的

intimate['intimit]adj.親密的，熟悉的

satisfy['s?tisfai]v.使?jié)M意，使高興；使?jié)M足

stimuIus['stimjul?s]n.刺激；刺激品；興奮劑

實用句型

He beIieved that onIy by tenacious work and not being afraid of difficuIties couId you show your taIent.

他認為，只有頑強工作，不怕困難，才能把自己的才華表現(xiàn)出來。

①這是用that 引導的賓語從句。

②afraid of 害怕，類似的表達還有afraid to不敢（做）等固定搭配。

翻譯練習

1.他不在這兒住了。（not……any longer）

2.他連續(xù)幾個月都在寫他的小說。（on end）

3.他將據(jù)其罪行的輕重受到處罰。（according to）