英语精美散文22篇.doc

01_Dad Sure Could Play that Mandolin 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 2)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.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 3)rendition of Silver Bells. Silver Bells, Silver Bells, its Christmas time in the city would ring throughout the house. One of Dads favorite 4)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.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.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.When Dad was younger, he worked for his father on the farm. His father was a farmer and 5)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 6)limestone 7)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 8)conveyor so that the 9)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 10)amputated. He didnt lose enough of the finger where it would stop him picking up anything, but it did impact his ability to play the mandolin.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 couldnt play. Eventually, we would 11)wear him down and he would say Okay, but remember, I cant hold down on the strings the way I used to or Since the accident to this finger I cant play as good. For the family it didnt make any difference that Dad couldnt 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.In August of 1993 my father was 12)diagnosed with 13)inoperable lung cancer. He chose not to receive 14)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 15)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 ones life. Dad would never play the mandolin for us again. We felt at the time that he wouldnt 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! 02_A Love Letter03_Christmas MorningA light drizzle was falling as my sister Jill and I ran out of the Methodist Church, eager to get home and play with the presents that Santa had left for us and our baby sister, Sharon. Across the street from the church was a Pan American gas station where the Greyhound bus stopped. It was closed for Christmas, but I noticed a family standing outside the locked door, huddled under the narrow overhang in an attempt to keep dry. I wondered briefly why they were there but then forgot about them as I raced to keep up with Jill. Once we got home, there was barely time to enjoy our presents. We had to go off to our grandparents house for our annual Christmas dinner. As we drove down the highway through town, I noticed that the family was still there, standing outside the closed gas station. My father was driving very slowly down the highway. The closer we got to the turnoff for my grandparents house, the slower the car went. Suddenly, my father U-turned in the middle of the road and said, “I cant stand it!” “What?” asked my mother. “Its those people back there at the Pan Am, standing in the rain. Theyve got children. Its Christmas. I cant stand it.” When my father pulled into the service station, I saw that there were five of them: the parents and three children two girls and a small boy. My father rolled down his window. “Merry Christmas,” he said. “Howdy,” the man replied. He was very tall and had to stoop slightly to peer into the car. Jill, Sharon, and I stared at the children, and they stared back at us. “You waiting on the bus?” my father asked. The man said that they were. They were going to Birmingham, where he had a brother and prospects of a job. “Well, that bus isnt going to come along for several hours, and youre getting wet standing here. Winborns just a couple miles up the road. Theyve got a shed with a cover there, and some benches,” my father said. “Why dont yall get in the car and Ill run you up there.” The man thought about it for a moment, and then he beckoned to his family. They climbed into the car. They had no luggage, only the clothes they were wearing. Once they settled in, my father looked back over his shoulder and asked the children if Santa had found them yet. Three glum faces mutely gave him his answer. “Well, I didnt think so,” my father said, winking at my mother, “because when I saw Santa this morning, he told me that he was having trouble finding all, and he asked me if he could leave your toys at my house. Well just go get them before I take you to the bus stop.” All at once, the three childrens faces lit up, and they began to bounce around in the back seat, laughing and chattering. When we got out of the car at our house, the three children ran through the front door and straight to the toys that were spread out under our Christmas tree. One of the girls spied Jills doll and immediately hugged it to her breast. I remember that the little boy grabbed Sharons ball. And the other girl picked up something of mine. All this happened a long time ago, but the memory of it remains clear. That was the Christmas when my sisters and I learned the joy of making others happy. My mother noticed that the middle child was wearing a short-sleeved dress, so she gave the girl Jills only sweater to wear. My father invited them to join us at our grandparents for Christmas dinner, but the parents refused. Even when we all tried to talk them into coming, they were firm in their decision. Back in the car, on the way to Winborn, my father asked the man if he had money for bus fare. His brother had sent tickets, the man said. My father reached into his pocket and pulled out two dollars, which was all he had left until his next payday. He pressed the money into the mans hand. The man tried to give it back, but my father insisted. “Itll be late when you get to Birmingham, and these children will be hungry before then. Take it. Ive been broke before, and I know what its like when you cant feed your family.” We left them there at the bus stop in Winborn. As we drove away, I watched out the window as long as I could, looking back at the little gihugging her new doll.04_True Love05_Dads Kiss07_Catch the Star that will Take You to Your DreamsCatch the star that holds your destiny, the one that forever twinkles within your heart. Take advantage of precious opportunities while they still sparkle before you. Always believe that your ultimate goal is attainable as long as you commit yourself to it. Though barriers may sometimes stand in the way of your dreams, remember that your destiny is hiding behind them. Accept the fact that not everyone is going to approve of the choices youve made. Have faith in your judgment. Catch the star that twinkles in your heart and it will lead you to your destinys path. Follow that pathway and uncover the sweet sunrises that await you. Take pride in your accomplishments, as they are stepping stones to your dreams. Understand that you may make mistakes, but dont let them discourage you. Value your capabilities and talents for they are what make you truly unique. The greatest gifts in life are not purchased, but acquired through hard work and determination. Find the star that twinkles in your heartfor you alone are capable of making your brightest dreams come true. Give your hopes everything youve got and you will catch the star that holds your destiny.08_A Business CreedTo respect my work, my associates and myself. To be honest and fair with them as I expect them to be honest and fair with me. To be a man whose word carries weight. To be a 1) booster, not a 2) knocker; a pusher, not a kicker; a motor, not a 3) clog. To base my expectations of reward on a solid foundation of service rendered; to be willing to pay the price of success in honest effort. To look upon my work as opportunity, to be seized with joy and made the most of, and not as painful 4) drudgery to be reluctantly endured. To remember that success lies within myself; in my own brain, my own ambition, my own courage and determination. To expect difficulties and force my way through them, to turn hard experiences into capital for future struggles. To interest my heart and soul in my work, and aspire to the highest efficiency in the achievement of results. To be patiently receptive of just criticism and profit from its teaching. To treat equals and superiors with respect, and 5) subordinates with kindly encouragement. To make a study of my business duties; to know my work from the ground up. To mix brains with my efforts and use system and method in all I undertake. To find time to do everything needful by never letting time find me or my subordinates doing nothing. To 6) hoard days as a 7) miser does dollars, to make every hour bring me 8) dividends in specific results accomplished. To 9) steer clear of 10) dissipation and guard my health of body and peace of mind as my most precious 11) stock in trade. Finally, to take a good 12) grip on the joy of life; to play the game like a gentleman; to fight against nothing so hard as my own weakness, and endeavor to grow in business capacity, and as a man, with the passage of every day of time. 14_Run Patti RunAt a young and tender age, Patti Wilson was told by her doctor that she was an epileptic. Her father, Jim Wilson, is a morning jogger. One day she smiled through her braces and said, Daddy what Id really love to do is run with you every day, but Im afraid Ill have a seizure.Her father told her, If you do, I know how to handle it, so lets start running!Thats just what they did every day. It was a wonderful experience for them to share and there were no seizures at all while she was running. After a few weeks, she told her father, Daddy, what Id really love to do is break the worlds long-distance running record for women.Her father checked the Guiness Book of World Records and found that the farthest any woman had run was 80 miles. As a freshman in high school, Patti announced, Im going to run from Orange County up to San Francisco. (A distance of 400 miles.) As a sophomore, she went on, Im going to run to Portland, Oregon. (Over 1500 miles.) As a junior Ill run to St. Louis. (About 2000 miles) As a senior Ill run to the White House. (More than 3000 miles away.)In view of her handicap, Patti was as ambitious as she was enthusiastic, but she said she looked at the handicap of being an epileptic as simply an inconvenience. She focused not on what she had lost, but on what she had left.That year, she completed her run to San Francisco wearing a T-shirt that read, I Love Epileptics. Her dad ran every mile at her side, and her mom, a nurse, followed in a motor home behind them in case anything went wrong.In her sophomore year, Pattis classmates got behind her. They built a giant poster that read, Run, Patti, Run! (This has since become her motto and the title of a book she has written.) On her second marathon, en route to Portland, she fractured a bone in her foot. A doctor told her she had to stop her run. He said, Ive got to put a cast on your ankle so that you dont sustain permanent damage.Doc, you dont understand, she said. This isnt just a whim of mine, its a magnificent obsession! Im not just doing it for me, Im doing it to break the chains on the brains that limit so many others. Isnt there a way I can keep running? He gave her one option. He could wrap it in adhesive instead of putting it in a cast. He warned her that it would be incredibly painful, and he told her, It will blister. She told the doctor to wrap it up.She finished the run to Portland, completing her last mile with the governor of Oregon. You may have seen the headlines: Super Runner, Patti Wilson Ends Marathon For Epilepsy On Her 17th Birthday.After four months of almost continuous running from West Coast to the East Coast, Patti arrived in Washington and shook the hand of the President of United States. She told him, I wanted people to know that epileptics are normal human beings with normal lives.I told this story at one of my seminars not long ago, and afterward a big teary-eyed man came up to me, stuck out his big meaty hand and said, Mark, my name is Jim Wilson. You were talking about my daughter, Patti. Because of her noble efforts, he told me, enough money had been raised to open up 19 multi-million-dollar epileptic centers around the country.If Patti Wilson can do so much with so little, what can you do to outperform yourself in a state of total wellness?15-Never Judge A Book by Its CoverA lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the president of Harvards outer office .The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods country folk had not business at Harvard, and probably didnt even deserve to be in Cambridge .She frowned. ”We want to see the president,” the man said softly.” Hell be busy all day,” the secretary snapped.” Well wait,” the lady replied.For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didnt. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president. ”Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, theyll leave,” she told him. He signed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didnt have the time to spend with nobodies, but he detested gingham and homespun suits cluttering his office.The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple .The lady told him, ”We had a son that attended Harvard for one year .He loved Harvard, and was very happy here. But he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him somewhere on campus. ”The president wasnt touched, and she was shocked, ”Madam,” he said gruffly, ”we cant put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died, this place would look like a cemetery.“Oh, no“ the lady explained quickly, “we dont want to erect a statue .We thought we would give a building to Harvard.” The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, ”A building! Do you have and earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard.For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased .He could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said q