Gettysburg Address（葛底斯堡演说） 立即阅读
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth ,on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
The Nightingale and the Rose（夜莺与玫瑰） 立即阅读
"She said that she would dance with me if I brought her red roses," cried the young Student, "but in all my garden there is no red rose." From her nest in the oak tree the Nightingale heard him, and she looked out through the leaves and wondered. "No red rose in all my garden!" he cried, and his beautiful eyes filled with tears. "Ah, on what little things does happiness depend! I have read all that the wise men have written, and all the secrets of philosophy are mine, yet for want of a red rose is my life made wretched."
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death（不自由，毋宁死） 立即阅读
Mr. President: No man thinks more highly than I do of the patriotism, as well as abilities, of the very worthy gentlemen who have just addressed the House. But different men often see the same subject in different lights; and, therefore, I hope it will not be thought disrespectful to those gentlemen if, entertaining as I do opinions of a character very opposite to theirs, I shall speak forth my sentiments freely and without reserve. This is no time for ceremony. The question before the House is one of awful moment to this country. For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at truth, and fulfill the great responsibility which we hold to God and our country. Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.
Lincoln's First Inaugural Address（林肯的第一次就职演说） 立即阅读
Fellow citizens of the United States: in compliance with a custom as old as the government itself, I appear before you to address you briefly and to take, in your presence, the oath prescribed by the Constitution of the United States, to be taken by the President "before he enters on the execution of his office."I do not consider it necessary, at present, for me to discuss those matters of administration about which there is no special anxiety, or excitement. Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection.
The Gift of the Magi（麦琪的礼物） 立即阅读
ONE dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one’s cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied. Three times Della counted it. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas.
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address（林肯第二次就职演说） 立即阅读
一八六四年当林肯再度当选连任总统职位时，美国仍为内战所分裂。当时战争的结果仍不能确定，而林肯的再度当选，成为北方人民决心作战到底争取最后胜利的一个令人振奋的表现。一八六五年三月四日当林肯宣誓就职时，局势清楚显示北方即将战胜，战争行将结束。在这篇就职演讲词中，林肯致力于讨论战后美国人民将面临的重大课题。林肯希望避免一切过错与惩罚的问题。当他准备实施这项政策时，一个刺客的枪弹葬送了他的崇高理想。
Appointment with love（爱的约会） 立即阅读
Six minutes to six, said the clock over the international booth in New York’s Grand Central Station. The tall young Army lieutenant lifted his sunburned face and narrowed his eyes to note the exact time. His heart was pounding with a beat. In six minutes he would see the woman who had filled such a special place in his life for the past 13 month, the woman he had never seen, yet whose written words had sustained him unfailingly.
Who is the most beautiful woman in the world?（谁是这个世界上最漂亮的女人？） 立即阅读
Who is the most beautiful woman in the world? If only we could answer that question as quickly as the magic mirror in Snow White, since there is never a fixed definition of beauty. But People, a US weekly magazine, has been trying to answer that tough question since 1990 with its annual Most Beautiful Woman list. And this year’s top choice was 49-year-old US actress Julia Roberts. This was her fifth time to win the title. While Roberts is perhaps not the perfect choice in everyone’s mind, People has its own reasons, and it’s not just about her looks.
Can I see my baby? the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears. Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks.
The art of living is to know when to hold fast and when to let go. For life is a paradox: it enjoins us to cling to its many gifts even while it ordains their eventual relinquishment. The rabbis of old put it this way: "A man comes into this world with his fist clenched, but when he dies, his hand is open."