爱华网随着英语的国际化越来越广泛,我国的英语学习者也逐年激增,各大英语学习网站也推出英语美文的赏析和阅读。下面小编整理了适合朗读的英语美文，希望大家喜欢!
适合朗读的英语美文：Leaders Who Use Humour and Charm to Reach the Top
领导靠幽默与魅力发迹
Humour and charm are a surprisingly powerful combination as a means of ascent in life.
作为人生发迹的手段之一，幽默和魅力是一对效力惊人的组合。
I have met a number of entrepreneurs who have built fortunes on the back of their wit and general popularity -and not much else. They disarm us with self-deprecation, we enjoy their company-so why wouldn't we want to do business with them? Of course, it all has to be done well; sycophancy and flat jokes do not weave the same spell.
我遇见过许多凭借风趣机智和好人缘白手起家的企业家。他们谦和自敛，让我们生不起气来。我们与他们相处愉快一一所以我们为什么不与他们做生意呢?当然，这里面必须讲求技巧。一味溜颈拍马，开一些干巴巴的玩笑，不会产生同样的魔力。
The British feel that some light relief amid the drudgery is essential for existence to be tolerable. It seems to be a cornerstone of our psychology and culture. In London, to say someone has no sense of humour is to condemn them utterly. Many important meetings I attend start with a little friendly banter to break the ice, a ritual to remind us that we are all human-rather than simply robots of commerce.
英国人认为，人生在世，就得苦中作乐。这似乎是我们心理学和文化的一条基本原则。在伦敦，说一个人缺乏幽默感，等于是说他一无是处。我出席的许多重要会议，都以一些善意的玩笑开场，以此打破沉默。这种惯例提醒我们，我们都是凡人，而不完全是商业机器。
I am sure foreigners must think our levity is baffling. My defence is that Brits subscribe to Horace's view: "A jest often decides matters of importance more effectively and happily than seriousness."
外国人肯定认为我们的轻浮举止不可理喻。要让我说，我们英国人是赞同贺拉斯的观点：“遇到大事，比起一本正经的态度，开开玩笑固能够更有效、也更开心地解决问题。”
Some years ago, a partner of mine practised what I called "management by laughter". He motivated and inspired by making the atmosphere at work fun, rather than the bullying and intimidation common in many workplaces.
几年前，我的一位合伙人实行我所说的“欢笑管理”。他鼓舞和激励士气的方法，是营造充满乐趣的工作氛围，不同于许多工作场所常见的威逼和胁迫的氛围。
But the 21st-century office can be a minefield for the amateur who enjoys a giggle. I was recently warned about a trap being sprung by a professional gang from eastern Europe. They plant an attractive female staff member in an organisation. At roughly the same time, a male co-conspirator also gets a job; the connection between them is unknown to the employer. After a little while, he sends a series of highly suggestive internet jokes to the pretty female. She complains of harassment and threatens to bring an embarrassing employment tribunal involving sexual discrimination-and, once she reveals that she has hired expert legal advisers and PR agents, the victim business settles quickly.
然而，对于喜欢逗笑取乐的人来说，21世纪的职场可能会是个雷区。我最近听到警告，说一个来自东欧的专业犯罪团伙会设下这样的圈套：在一家机构安插一名漂亮迷人的女员工，再让一名男同伙也混进去。两人前后脚进入这家公司，他们的关系不为人所知。不久后，他就向那位美女发送了一堆黄色网络笑话。于是她投诉遭到骚扰，并威胁要以性别歧视为由，告到让人头大的就业法庭。而一旦她透露出已聘请了专业法律顾问和公关代理，受害企业就会赶紧花钱了事。
In these litigious, politically correct times, the perils of making cheap gags can be considerable. Recently, I attended a dinner at a trade conference. The speaker was a well-known executive who told a number of jokes in poor taste, some at the expense of influential figures in the room. Just as a vulgar best man's speech at a wedding can strike the wrong note, so I sensed as we chatted after the speech that the jibes would not be swiftly forgotten.
在这种动辄法庭上见、政治上正确的时代，讲低级笑话可能会相当危险。我最近出席了一个贸易会议举办的晚宴，席间一位颇有名气的高管发表了演讲。他讲了许多低级趣味的笑话，有些还是取笑在座的显要人物。演讲后我们在闲聊时，我感觉到，他的那些话不会被很快忘记，这与婚礼上伴郎讲话粗俗不合时宜一样。
Some one once said: "Brains, integrity and force may be all very well, but what you need today is charm." This is the age of celebrity, even in the boardroom, and none of us is impervious to the presence of those legendary characters when they switch on the full blast of their glittering personality. Perhaps it is their reputation, perhaps their smile, perhaps their brilliance with words-or possibly their rapt attention.
曾有人说：“拥有才智、诚实和力量固然不错，但当今你需要的是魅力。” 这是一个名人的时代，即使在董事会也是如此。那些鼎鼎大名的人物一旦全力展现他们迷人的个性或者是名声、或者是微笑、或者是口才，又或者是专注的神情，投入能够抵御。
I am often struck how often young children utter the phrase "Look at me!" They want appreciation, and fundamentally not much changes, even when we are 50. Genuine approval from the boss can taste better than anything-even a pay rise.
小孩子常常会说“看我的!”，对此我常常感到惊讶。他们想要得到赞赏。这一点在长大后基本上也不会改变，即使到了50岁。老板真心的称赞比什么——甚至加薪，都更让人觉得受用。
Are charm and a sense of humour acquired traits? They certainly improve with effort and practice. Ronald Reagan used his years in showbiz to hone his performance skills before succeeding in politics.
魅力和幽默感能够后天培养吗?努力练习肯定会有作用。罗纳德·里根早年在演艺界干过，练得一身表演才能，后来才进入政界，成就了一番事业。
I have sat with stand-up comics before they go on stage. The most brilliant appear almost nonchalant, rather than rehearsed or anxious, and their acts are mostly learnt word-perfect yet appear spontaneous.
我曾经在一些笑星登台前与他们坐在一起。最出色的笑星出场前几乎都显得若无其事，既没有背台词，也没有焦虑不安。他们表演的内容基本上都是事先背下来的，但却显得像是即兴发挥。
So it is with outstanding business leaders who persuade their teams to laugh and try harder: they apply themselves assiduously to the task. Most world-class chief executives possess charisma-really a captivating blend of charm and wit. And, believe me, they graft at it far more than they admit.
杰出的企业领导能够让他的团队既开心又卖力工作：他们自己会勤于工作。世界级的首席执行官大多魅力非凡——这实际上是吸引力和风趣机智的迷人组合。另外，请相信我，他们花费在这上面的心力，远远超过他们所承认的。
适合朗读的英语美文：World's Largest Cupcake
World's Largest Cupcake
世界最大的杯蛋糕
A 4 feet cupcake weighing a hefty 1,224 pounds has been officially recognized as the world's largest by the Guinness Book of Records.
一个“身高”4英尺、“体重”达1224磅的杯蛋糕日前被《吉尼斯世界记录》正式认证为世界上最大的杯形蛋糕。
Unveiled on Monday, in Detroit, Michigan, US, the enormous cake -with a whopping circumference of 11 feet-was over eight times bigger than the previous record holder.
这块巨型蛋糕于本周一在美国密歇根州的底特律市公布于众，它的“腰围”惊人，达到11英尺，比之前的记录保持者大8倍之多。
Baked over the course of 12 hours, the gigantic cup cake was made from 200 pounds of flour, 200 pounds of sugar, 200 pounds of butter and 800 eggs.
这一庞大的杯形蛋糕经过12小时烘制而成，共用掉200磅面粉、200磅糖、200磅黄油和800个鸡蛋。
When covered with frosting and custard, the one-of-a-kind dessert boasted 2,000,000 calories. The brainchild of American firm Gourmet Gift Baskets, the cupcake smashed the previous record of 151 pounds set on July 20.
再加上糖霜和蛋奶沙司，这块独一无二的大蛋糕所含的热量高达200万卡路里。这块蛋糕的创意来自美国“美食礼品篮公司”，它打破了之前于7月20日创下的151磅的记录。
Appearing at the Woodward Avenue Dream Cruise Classic Car Show in Detroit, proceeds from the sale of the cupcake went to cancer charity Passionately Pink for the Cure.
这块蛋糕在底特律的伍德沃得大街梦想之航经典车展上亮相，它的销售收益将捐献给“粉色激情治疗”癌症慈善组织。
Ryan Abood, CEO of GourmetGiftBaskets.com, assembled a cupcake "dream team" including master-baker George Algarin to begin making the cake on August 12, five days before the scheduled unveiling.
“美食礼品篮”网站的首席执行官莱恩·阿布德组建了一支制作杯蛋糕的“梦之队”，其中还包括特级面包师乔治·阿尔加林。这块蛋糕于8月12日开始制作，当时据计划展出还有5天的时间。
"We started off with a goal of a 7,000 pounds cupcake but fate intervened on Friday morning when the baking was supposed to be complete," said Mr Abood.
阿布德说：“我们一开始的目标是一个7000磅的蛋糕，但就在周五早上快完工时，命运跟我们开了个玩笑。”
"The huge 8x8 feet oven was opened and we found that the weight of the expanding batter crushed one of the main convection mbes blowing hot air into the heart of the cupcake causing cup-cake to collapse."
“当我们打开8乘8英尺的巨型烤箱时，发现面糊膨胀的重量把其中一根主对流管压坏了，结果热空气吹到杯形蛋糕的中心部位，导致蛋糕坍塌。”
Luckily, the team managed to avert disaster by rustling up a cake with only half a day to go, still managing to beat all other cupcake records in the process.
幸运的是，“梦之队”在离最后期限还剩半天的时间里又重新赶制了一个，避免了一场大麻烦，而且还是打破了所有其他杯形蛋糕的记录。
An adjudicator from Guinness had flown in from London, especially to measure the cupcake and announced the record to a crowd of hundreds at the motor show.
来自吉尼斯世界纪录的一名评审员特地从伦敦飞往底特律为这块杯蛋糕进行测量，并向前来参加车展的数百民众公布了这一记录。
适合朗读的英语美文：Dad Sure Could Play that Mandolin
Dad Sure Could Play that Mandolin
父爱无边
My father was a self-taught mandolin player. He was one of the best string instrument players in our town. He could not read music, but if he heard a tune a few times, he could play it. When he was younger, he was a member of a small country music band. They would play at local dances and on a few occasions would play for the local radio station. He often told us how he had auditioned and earned a position in a band that featured Patsy Cline as their lead singer. He told the family that after he was hired he never went back. Dad was a very religious man. He stated that there was a lot of drinking and cursing the day of his audition and he did not want to be around that type of environment.
我父亲是个自学成才的曼陀林琴手，他是我们镇最优秀的弦乐演奏者之一。他看不懂乐谱， 但是如果听几次曲子，他就能演奏出来。当他年轻一点的时候，他是一个小乡村乐队的成员。 他们在当地舞厅演奏，有几次还为当地广播电台演奏。他经常告诉我们，自己如何试演，如 何在佩茜•克莱恩作为主唱的乐队里占一席之位。他告诉家人，一旦被聘用就永不回头。父亲 是一个很严谨的人，他讲述了他试演的那天，很多人在喝酒，咒骂，他不想呆在那种环境里。
Occasionally, Dad would get out his mandolin and play for the family. We three children: Trisha, Monte and I, George Jr., would often sing along. Songs such as the Tennessee Waltz, Harbor Lights and around Christmas time, the well-known rendition of Silver Bells. "Silver Bells, Silver Bells, its Christmas time in the city" would ring throughout the house. One of Dad's favorite hymns was "The Old Rugged Cross". We learned the words to the hymn when we were very young, and would sing it with Dad when he would play and sing. Another song that was often shared in our house was a song that accompanied the Walt Disney series: Davey Crockett. Dad only had to hear the song twice before he learned it well enough to play it. "Davey, Davey Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier" was a favorite song for the family. He knew we enjoyed the song and the program and would often get out the mandolin after the program was over. I could never get over how he could play the songs so well after only hearing them a few times. I loved to sing, but I never learned how to play the mandolin. This is something I regret to this day.
有时候，父亲会拿出曼陀林，为家人弹奏。我们三个小孩：翠莎、蒙蒂和我，还有乔治通常 会伴唱。唱的有： 《田纳西华尔兹》和《海港之光》 ，到了圣诞节，就唱脍炙人口的《银铃》 ： “银铃，银铃，城里来了圣诞节。 ”歌声充满了整个房子。父亲最爱的其中一首赞歌是《古老的十字架》 。我们很小的时候就学会歌词了，而且在父亲弹唱的时候，我们也跟着唱。我们经 常一起唱的另外一首歌来自沃特•迪斯尼的系列片： 《戴维•克罗克特》 。父亲只要听了两遍就 弹起来了， “戴维，戴维•克罗克特，荒野边疆的国王。 ”那是我们家最喜欢的歌曲。他知道我 们喜欢那首歌和那个节目，所以每次节目结束后，他就拿出曼陀林弹奏。我永远不能明白他 如何能听完几遍后就能把一首曲子弹得那么好。我热爱唱歌，但我没有学会如何弹奏曼陀林， 这是我遗憾至今的事情。
Dad loved to play the mandolin for his family he knew we enjoyed singing, and hearing him play. He was like that. If he could give pleasure to others, he would, especially his family. He was always there, sacrificing his time and efforts to see that his family had enough in their life. I had to mature into a man and have children of my own before I realized how much he had sacrificed.
父亲喜欢为家人弹奏曼陀林，他知道我们喜欢唱歌，喜欢听他弹奏。他就是那样，如果他能 把快乐奉献给别人，他从不吝啬，尤其是对他的家人。他总是那样，牺牲自己的时间和精力 让家人生活得满足。父亲的这种付出是只有当我长大成人，而且是有了自己的孩子后才能体 会到的。
I joined the United States Air Force in January of 1962. Whenever I would come home on leave, I would ask Dad to play the mandolin. Nobody played the mandolin like my father. He could touch your soul with the tones that came out of that old mandolin. He seemed to shine when he was playing. You could see his pride in his ability to play so well for his family.
我在 1962 年 1月加入了美国空军基地。每当我休假回家，我都请求父亲弹奏曼陀林。没有人 弹奏曼陀林能达到像我父亲那样的境界，他在那古老的曼陀林上抚出的旋律能够触及你的灵 魂。他弹奏的时候，身上似乎能发出四射的光芒。你可以看出，父亲为能给家人弹奏出如此 美妙的旋律，他是多么的自豪。
When Dad was younger, he worked for his father on the farm. His father was a farmer and sharecropped a farm for the man who owned the property. In 1950, our family moved from the farm. Dad had gained employment at the local limestone quarry. When the quarry closed in August of 1957, he had to seek other employment. He worked for Owens Yacht Company in Dundalk, Maryland and for Todd Steel in Point of Rocks, Maryland. While working at Todd Steel, he was involved in an accident. His job was to roll angle iron onto a conveyor so that the welders farther up the production line would have it to complete their job. On this particular day Dad got the third index finger of his left hand mashed between two pieces of steel. The doctor who operated on the finger could not save it, and Dad ended up having the tip of the finger amputated. He didn't lose enough of the finger where it would stop him picking up anything, but it did impact his ability to play the mandolin.
父亲年轻的时候，曾在农场为爷爷工作。爷爷是农场使用者，要向农场所有人交纳谷物抵租。 1950 年，我们全家搬离农场，父亲在当地石灰石采石场谋得职位。采石场在 1957 年倒闭， 他只好另觅工作。他曾在马里兰州登多克的欧文斯游艇公司上班，还在马里兰州的洛斯的托 德钢铁公司上过班。在托德钢铁公司上班期间，他遇到了意外。他的工作是把有棱角的铁滚 到搬运台上，这样焊接工才能作进一步加工来完成整个工序。在那个特殊的日子里，父亲的左手第三个手指被缠在两片钢铁中。医生对手指施手术，但未能保住那只手指，最后父亲只 好让医生把那手指的指尖给切除了。那个手指并没有完全丧失拿东西的能力，但是却影响了 他弹奏曼陀林的能力。
After the accident, Dad was reluctant to play the mandolin. He felt that he could not play as well as he had before the accident. When I came home on leave and asked him to play he would make excuses for why he couldn't play. Eventually, we would wear him down and he would say "Okay, but remember, I can't hold down on the strings the way I used to" or "Since the accident to this finger I can't play as good". For the family it didn't make any difference that Dad couldn't play as well. We were just glad that he would play. When he played the old mandolin it would carry us back to a cheerful, happier time in our lives. "Davey, Davey Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier", would again be heard in the little town of Bakerton, West Virginia.
事故后，父亲不太愿意弹奏曼陀林了，他觉得再也不能像以前弹得那么好了。我休假回家请 求他弹奏曼陀林，他以种种借口解释不能弹奏的原因。最后，我们软硬兼施逼他就范，他终 于说： “好吧，但是记住，我拨弦再也不能像过去一样了。 ”或者会说： “这个手指出意外后， 我再也不能弹得像过去那样好了。 ”对于家人来说，父亲弹得好不好并没有分别，我们很高兴 他终于弹奏了。当他弹起那把陈旧的曼陀林，就会把我们带回昔日那些无忧无虑的幸福时光。 “戴维，戴维•克罗克特，荒野边疆的国王”就会再次响彻西弗吉尼亚州的贝克顿小镇。
In August of 1993 my father was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. He chose not to receive chemotherapy treatments so that he could live out the rest of his life in dignity. About a week before his death, we asked Dad if he would play the mandolin for us. He made excuses but said "okay". He knew it would probably be the last time he would play for us. He tuned up the old mandolin and played a few notes. When I looked around, there was not a dry eye in the family. We saw before us a quiet humble man with an inner strength that comes from knowing God, and living with him in one's life. Dad would never play the mandolin for us again. We felt at the time that he wouldn't have enough strength to play, and that makes the memory of that day even stronger. Dad was doing something he had done all his life, giving. As sick as he was, he was still pleasing others. Dad sure could play that Mandolin!
1993 年 8月，父亲诊断得了不宜动手术的肺癌。他不想接受化疗，因为他想体面地过完他生 命最后的时光。大约在父亲去世的一周前，我们请求他能否为我们弹奏曼陀林，他说了很多 借口，最后还是答应了。他知道这可能是他最后一次为我们弹奏了，他为老曼陀林调弦，弹 了几个音。我环顾四周，家人个个都泪水满眶。我们看见在我们面前是一个安静的、谦虚的 人，以生命最后的力量，用爱的力量支撑着。父亲再也没有足够的力量弹奏，这使我们对那 天的记忆更加强烈。父亲做着他一生都在做的事情：奉献。即使生命已走到了尽头，他却仍 尽力为他人创造欢乐。没错，父亲一定还能弹奏曼陀林的。
