读童话《自私的巨人》
Selflessness basically means that you are more concerned about others' feelings and well-being than your own. It's safe to say that the world would be a much better place if we were all a little more selfless. It starts at the individual level, so you can start making that change today! There are tons of easy ways to start being more selfless in your everyday life.
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1 Try to help one random person each day.
It could be big or small, as long as you make the commitment(做出了承诺). Maybe you let someone in a rush go ahead of you on line, maybe you give money to a homeless person, or maybe you lent a hand on a project to a stressed coworker. Every little thing you do helps make the world a better place.
It's okay if the opportunity to help someone doesn't come up every day. Just make the commitment to help if the situation does come up.
2 Volunteer your time for a good cause.
This is a great way to practice generosity and contribute to the world. There are probably tons of local organizations that you can do some volunteer work with. Dedicate a few hours on the weekends to give back to your community.
Popular volunteer work includes handing out food in a soup kitchen, helping clean up local parks, caring for animals at a shelter, and helping organize town events.
If you want to do bigger volunteer projects, you could also join an organization like the Peace Corps.
If you need more motivation, volunteering has great personal and mental health benefits too.
3 Support charities with regular donations.
Giving up on frivolous things to help others is a selfless quality. If you're able to, find some charities that you'd like to support and set up a regular donation to them. Your support will help them keep doing their great work.
It's okay to skip giving money if you're not financially secure. There are tons of other ways to help people!
4 Make yourself available for friends and family.
The people in your everyday life could probably use a helping hand! If someone asks you for some help, do all you can to make that happen. It might be a little inconvenient, but it'll really improve their day.
Keep an eye out for little opportunities to help, like if your neighbor is carrying something heavy. Maybe they didn't ask for your help, but they'll appreciate you going over to offer a hand.
Remember that it's okay to say no if helping someone will put undue strain on you. Don't run yourself ragged! (衣衫褴褛)
5 Be patient with others to practice empathy.
Expecting everything at the drop of a hat is a selfish quality. If you're getting impatient, take a step back. Understand that in most cases, the people around you are trying their best, and you just need to be understanding. This keeps things in perspective and prevents you from losing your temper.
This quality can help improve your personal relationships too. Patient people usually attract other people because they're easier to be around.
Being patient doesn't mean you can't communicate your needs to others. It just means understanding that you can't always have instant gratification.
6 Listen when others share their feelings with you
Good, active listening is key to understanding people's needs. If someone starts opening up to you, let them do it without interrupting. Being generous with your time like this will show others that you're the kind of person they can come to with problems.
Try to avoid offering advice unless they ask for it. People who are venting usually just want to get things off their chest.
Sometimes it helps to repeat what the person said back to them so they know you’ve heard and understood them.
7 Put yourself in other people's shoes
You'll be more motivated to help people if you can empathize with them. Try to identify with the people around you and understand where they're coming from. This is a great way to see people as individuals and get rid of any preconceived motions you may have had.
Volunteer work is a good way to see how other people live. You can really broaden your horizons this way.
Good listening is also a good way to understand people and their needs better.
8 Admit when you're wrong
This isn't fun and no one wants to do it, but it's an important quality. Believing you can never be wrong is a selfish quality. Don'tact like you know all the answers. Accept that other people might have the correct answers, and if you are wrong, own it and admit it. This will probably feel better than you're expecting it to!
This usually makes your personal relationships stronger too. Friends, family, and partners probably won't like it if you act like you're never wrong.
Remember that being wrong is an opportunity to learn. If you pretend you're never wrong, you won't be able to grow as a person.
9 Let others be the center of attention
Selfish people don't like when others get attention. Be willing to take a step back and let others enjoy their accomplishments without trying to focus attention on yourself. Don't worry—you'll have your day too!
If the boss compliments someone at work, for example, offer them a nice congratulations. Maybe you wanted some attention for your work too, but let your coworker have their moment.
You might not notice if you're a one-upper, but try to monitor your behavior when someone else is getting attention. If you feel like you want that attention focused on you instead, then this might be something to work on.
10 Don't have rewards in mind when you help others
The point of being selfless is making the world a better place. If you're hoping for rewards when you help others, then you're not really being selfless. Forget about being paid back for what you do and take satisfaction in your good work instead.
Over time, you'll realize that helping others makes you feel good, which is like a reward in itself.
Note that this doesn't mean you should continue giving all your effort to people who Don't appreciate it or take advantage of you, like in a relationship. This leads to resentment on your part.
11 Make time for self-care too
Being selfless doesn't mean neglecting yourself or your health. Continue making time for yourself, doing your hobbies, resting, and overall taking care of yourself. That way, you'll have plenty of energy to keep helping others.
Remember, you'll be able to help people better if you're rested and refreshed!
1) appreciate
2) available
3) benefits
4) commitment
5) communicate
6) community
7) contribute
8) energy
9) financially
10) focus
11) identify
12) individual
13) mental
14) monitor
15) motivated
16) overall
17) partner
18) perspective
19) project
20) random
21) secure
22) stress
23) volunteer
24) accomplishment
25) boss
26) broaden
27) charity
28) compliments
29) corps
30) coworker
31) dedicate
32) donation
33) empathize
34) empathy
35) frivolous
36) gratification
37) hobbies
38) impatient
39) inconvenient
40) preconceived
41) ragged
42) resentment
43) selfless
44) skip
45) strain
46) undue
Selfish Giant
Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden.
每天下午，孩子们放学后，都会去巨人的花园玩耍。
It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass.
那是一个可爱的大花园，上面种着柔软的绿草。
Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit.
草地上到处都是美丽的花朵，像星星一样，还有十二棵桃树，春天开出粉红色和珍珠般的娇嫩花朵，秋天结出丰富的果实。
The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them.
小鸟们坐在树上，唱得那么甜美，孩子们常常停下游戏来听他们说话。
"How happy we are here! " they cried to each other.
“我们在这里真高兴！”他们互相喊道。
One day the Giant came back.
有一天，巨人回来了。
He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years.
他曾去拜访他的朋友康沃尔食人魔，并在他身边呆了七年。
After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he was determined to return to his own castle. （mansion）
七年过去了，他想说的都说完了，因为他的谈话有限，他决定回到自己的城堡。
When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.
当他到达时，他看到孩子们在花园里玩耍。
"What are you doing here? " he cried in a very gruff /ɡrʌf/ voice, and the children ran away.
“你在这里做什么？”他用非常粗鲁的声音喊道，孩子们跑了。
"My own garden is my own garden, " said the Giant; "any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.
“我自己的花园就是我自己的花园，”巨人说。“任何人都可以理解这一点，除了我自己，我不会允许任何人参与其中。”于是他在它周围筑起了高墙，并竖起了一块布告牌。
TREPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED. He was a very selfish Giant.
入侵者将被起诉。他是一个非常自私的巨人。
The poor children had now nowhere to play.
可怜的孩子们现在无处可玩。
They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it.
他们试着在路上玩，但是路上尘土飞扬，到处都是坚硬的石头，他们不喜欢这样。
They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside.
"How happy we were there, " they said to each
other.
下课后，他们常常在高墙上闲逛，谈论里面美丽的花园。
“我们在那里真开心，”他们互相说。
Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds.
Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter.
然后春天来了，全国到处都是小花和小鸟。
只是在自私巨人的花园里，还是冬天。
The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom.
由于没有孩子，鸟儿们不在意在里面唱歌，树也忘了开花。
Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep.
有一次，一朵美丽的花从草丛中探出头来，但当它看到布告栏时，它为孩子们感到难过，它又滑回地面，睡着了。
The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost.
唯一感到高兴的是雪和霜。
"Spring has forgotten this garden, " they cried, "so we will live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver.
“春天忘记了这个花园，”他们喊道，，“所以我们一年四季都住在这里。”雪用她那件白色的大斗篷盖住了草地，霜把所有的树都涂成了银色。
Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came.
然后他们邀请北风和他们住在一起，他来了。
He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down.
他裹着皮草，整天在花园里咆哮，把烟囱吹倒。
"This is a delightful spot, " he said, "we must ask the Hail on a visit." So the Hail came.
“这是一个令人愉快的地方，”他说，“我们必须拜访冰雹。”于是冰雹来了。
Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go.
每天三个小时，他在城堡的屋顶上嘎嘎作响，直到他把大部分石板都打碎了，然后他以最快的速度在花园里跑来跑去。
He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.
他一身灰衣，气息如冰。
"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming, " said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather." But the Spring never came, nor the Summer.
“我不明白为什么春天来得这么晚，”自私的巨人说道，他坐在窗前，望着他冰冷的白色花园。 “我希望天气会有所改变。”但是春天没有来，夏天也没有。
The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none.
"He is too selfish, " she said.
秋天给了每个花园金色的果实，但她没有给巨人的花园。
“他太自私了，”她说。
So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.
所以那里总是冬天，北风，冰雹，和霜，还有雪在树上跳来跳去。
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music.
It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by.
一天早上，巨人正躺在床上醒来，听到一些美妙的音乐。
这声音在他的耳朵里听起来如此美妙，以至于他认为一定是国王的音乐家路过。
It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world.
窗外真的只是一只小红雀在唱歌，但他已经很久没有在花园里听到过鸟儿的歌声了，在他看来，那是世界上最美妙的音乐。
Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement.
然后冰雹在他头顶停止了舞动，北风也停止了咆哮，一股芬芳的香味从敞开的窗扉飘到了他的面前。
"I believe the Spring has come at last, " said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out.
“我相信春天终于来了，”巨人说。他从床上跳下来向外张望。
What did he see?
He saw a most wonderful sight.
他看到了什么？
他看到了最美妙的景象。
Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees.
In every tree that he could see there was a little child.
And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads.
孩子们从墙上的一个小洞里爬了进来，他们坐在树枝上。
在他能看到的每一棵树上，都有一个小孩。
树木很高兴孩子们又回来了，它们用鲜花把自己盖住了，在孩子们的头顶上轻轻地挥舞着手臂。
The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing.
It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter.
鸟儿飞来飞去，欢快地叽叽喳喳，花儿在绿草丛中仰望而笑。
这是一个可爱的场景，只是在一个角落里还是冬天。
It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy.
He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly.
这是花园最远的角落，里面站着一个小男孩。
他太小了，伸手够不到树枝，在它周围转来转去，痛哭流涕。
The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it.
那棵可怜的树上还结满了霜和雪，北风在它上面吹着呼啸着。
"Climb up! little boy, " said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny.
“爬上去！小男孩，”树说，它把树枝往下压得尽可能低。但是这个男孩太小了。
And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out.
当他向外看时，巨人的心融化了。
"How selfish I have been! " he said; "now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever." He was really very sorry for what he had done.
“我是多么自私！”他说。“现在我知道为什么春天不会来了。我会把那个可怜的小男孩放在树顶上，然后我会推倒墙，我的花园将永远是孩子们的游乐场。”他真的为自己的所作所为感到非常抱歉。
So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden.
于是他蹑手蹑脚地下楼，轻轻地打开前门，走进花园。
But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again.
但孩子们看到他，吓得都跑了，花园又变成了冬天。
Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming.
只有小男孩没有跑，因为他的眼睛里充满了泪水，他没有看到巨人来了。
And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree.
巨人悄悄走到他身后，轻轻握住他的手，把他放到树上。
And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant's neck, and kissed him.
树立刻开花了，鸟儿飞来，在树上歌唱，小男孩伸出两只胳膊搂住巨人的脖子，吻了他。
And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring.
而其他的孩子，当他们看到巨人不再邪恶时，跑回来了，春天也跟着来了。
"It is your garden now, little children, " said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall.
“现在是你的花园了，小孩子们，”巨人说，他拿起一把大斧头把墙撞倒了。
And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.
当人们在十二点钟去市场时，他们发现巨人在他们所见过的最美丽的花园里和孩子们玩耍。
All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye.
他们玩了一整天，到了晚上，他们来到巨人面前向他道别。
"But where is your little companion? " he said: "the boy I put into the tree." The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.
“可是你的小伙伴呢？”他说：“我放进树里的那个男孩。”巨人最爱他，因为他吻过他。
"We don't know, " answered the children; "he has gone away."
"You must tell him to be sure and come here tomorrow, " said the Giant.
“我们不知道，”孩子们回答。 “他走了。” “你必须告诉他要确定，明天到这里来，”巨人说。
But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad.
但孩子们说他们不知道他住在哪里，也从未见过他；巨人感到非常难过。
Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant.
每天下午放学后，孩子们都会来和巨人一起玩。
But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again.
但是巨人所爱的那个小男孩再也没有出现过。
The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him.
巨人对所有的孩子都很好，但他很想他的第一个小朋友，经常提起他。
"How I would like to see him! " he used to say.
“我多么想见他！”他常说。
Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble.
岁月流逝，巨人变得非常苍老和虚弱。
He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden.
他不能再打一场比赛了，所以他坐在一张巨大的扶手椅上，看着孩子们的游戏，欣赏他的花园。
"I have many beautiful flowers, " he said; "but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all." One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing.
“我有很多美丽的花朵，”他说。“但孩子们是最美丽的花朵。”一个冬天的早晨，他在穿衣服时从窗外望去。
He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.
他现在不讨厌冬天了，因为他知道那只是春天睡着了，花儿还在休息。
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked.
突然，他惊讶地揉了揉眼睛，看了又看。
It certainly was a marvellous sight.
这当然是一个了不起的景象。
In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved.
花园最远的角落里有一棵树，上面开满了可爱的白花。它的枝条全是金色的，和银色的果实挂在上面，下面站着他心爱的小男孩。
Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden.
巨人高兴地跑下楼，跑进了花园。
He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child.
他急忙穿过草地，走到孩子身边。
And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, "Who hath dared to wound thee? " For on the palms of the child's hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.
当他走近时，他的脸气得涨红了，说：“谁敢伤害你？”因为孩子的手掌上有两个钉子的印子，两个钉子的印子在小脚上。
"Who hath dared to wound thee? " cried the Giant; "tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him."
"Nay! " answered the child; "but these are the wounds of Love." "Who art thou?" said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.
“谁敢伤害你？”巨人叫道。“告诉我，我可以拿起我的大剑杀了他。”
“不！”孩子回答。 “但这些都是爱的伤口。”“你是谁？”巨人说，一种奇怪的敬畏降临在他身上，他跪在小孩子面前。
And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, "You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise." And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
孩子对巨人笑了笑，对他说：“你让我在你的花园里玩一次，今天你要和我一起去我的花园，那是天堂。”那天下午，孩子们跑过去，发现巨人躺在树下，开满是白色的花朵。
