詩歌／散文賞析

If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking如果我能讓一顆心不再疼痛

If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I share not live in vain;

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

如果我能讓一顆心不再疼痛，

我就沒有白活這一生；

如果我能把一個生命的憂煩減輕，

或讓悲哀者變鎮靜，

或者幫助一隻昏迷的知更鳥

重新返回它的巢中，

我就沒有白活這一生。

點評：該詩篇是浪漫主義詩人Emily Dickenson 的經典作品，她的作品常以人生的意義及愛情為主題，感情基調大多偏向悲情主義。這與她的生活經歷有關，Dickenson從小熱愛閱讀，不屑世俗的評斷，雖經歷過兩段為世人所知的深刻愛情，但終身未嫁。古典詩在表達上較抽象晦澀，裡面會出現大量生僻單詞，且更講究ryme－韻腳，讀起來酣暢淋漓，但做題常無跡可尋。

Life is A Journey人生如旅

From the hell to the heaven,

There』s no straight way to walk,

Sometimes up, sometimes down.

Hope creates a heaven for us,

Despair makes a hell for us.

地獄天堂路遙遙，

理想捷徑無處尋，

起起落落前行路。

一線希望造天堂，

千般絕望墜地獄。

Some choices are waiting for me,

Which one on earth is better?

No God in the world can help me,

Choosing is the byname of freedome,

Different choice makes different future.

前行歧路須選擇，

究竟哪條會更好？

絕無上帝可依託，

自由別名乃選擇，

不同抉擇造異境。

It』s stupid to put eyes on others.

I have to make up my own mind,

Going my way to the destination.

盲隨他人不明智，

吾須定奪前行路，

不達目標誓不休。

Facing success or failure,

It』s no need to care too much.

Only if I』ve tried my best,

It』s enough for my simple life.

縱然面對成與敗，

謹記無須太在意。

只要吾已竭全力，

淡然此生無所系。

點評：該篇屬於一首現代詩，近兩年在SSAT閱讀中也較常見。與Emily Dickenson的詩作相比，現代詩較通俗易懂，因為作品中生僻單詞較少，且不會有thee,thy等古英文出現。只要同學們抓住詩作主題那麼所有的題目都迎刃而解啦。

You!生命掌握在你自己手裡

Consider... YOU. In all time before now and in all time to come, there has never been and will never be anyone just like you. You are unique in the entire history and future of the universe. Wow! Stop and think about that. You re better than one in a million, or a billion, or a gazillion.

試想一下……你！一個空前絕後的你，不論是以往還是將來都不會有一個跟你一模一樣的人。你在歷史上和宇宙中都是獨一無二的。哇！想想吧，你是萬里挑一、億里挑一、兆里挑一的。

You are the only one like you in a sea of infinity!!!

在無窮無盡的宇宙中，你是舉世無雙的！！！

You re amazing! You re awesome! And by the way, TAG, you re it. As amazing and awesome as you already are, you can be even more so. Beautiful young people are the whimsey of nature, but beautiful old people are true works of art. But you don t become "beautiful" just by virtue of the aging process.

你是了不起的！你是卓越的！沒錯，就是你。你已經是了不起的，是卓越的，你還可以更卓越更了不起。美麗的年輕人是大自然的奇想，而美麗的老人卻是藝術的傑作。但你不會因為年齡的漸長就自然而然地變得「美麗」。

Real beauty comes from learning, growing, and loving in the ways of life.That is the Art of Life. You can learn slowly, and sometimes painfully, by just waiting for life to happen to you. Or you can choose to accelerate your growth and intentionally devour life and all it offers. You are the artist that paints your future with the brush of today.

Paint a Masterpiece.

真正的美麗源於生命里的學習、成長和熱愛。這就是生命的藝術。你可以只聽天由命,慢慢地學，有時候或許會很痛苦。又或許你可以選擇加速自己的成長，故意地揮霍生活及其提供的一切。你就是手握今日之刷描繪自己未來的藝術家。畫出一幅傑作吧！

God gives every bird its food, but he doesn t throw it into its nest. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, it s truly up to you.

上帝給了鳥兒食物，但他沒有將食物扔到它們的巢里。不管你想要去哪裡，不管你想要做什麼，真正做決定的還是你自己。

點評：該篇章文體屬於prose－散文，在2017年6月的考試中出現多篇散文，很多考生逐字閱讀後卻不知所云。其實散文類與詩歌閱讀法類似，只是更簡單而已。詩歌中的主題常被詩人用明喻或者暗喻的修辭手法藏在內容里，而散文就會直抒胸臆，極盡歌頌之能事啦。

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