【以幸福为主题英语作文】以幸福为主题英语美文-给予就是幸福

　　其实幸福离我们并不遥远，它就在我们身边，只要我们给予，就会得到幸福。小编为大家准备了幸福主题英语美文，一起来看看吧!

　　给予就是幸福

　　After starving as a barber during the Depression2, my father traded his straight razor3 for a bench saw at the local lumberyard. His salary wasn't much, but it was steady. Mama was filled with thanksgiving so thankful in fact that she vowed to tithe the family earnings to the Lord. Every Sunday she would go to her tithe box a colorful White Owl cigar box extract some dollar bills from it, deposit the money into a churchprovided envelope, and hand it to Dad to drop in the offering4 plate.

　　在大萧条时期，我当理发师的父亲饱受饥饿之苦。于是，他把自己的折叠式剃刀换成木工锯子，去当地贮木场工作了。他的收入不多，但是稳定。妈妈对此充满着感激之情。事实上，她的感激之心如此强烈，以至于她发誓要从家里的收入中扣除一部分献给上帝。每个星期天，她都会拿出她的捐献盒——一个彩色的“白猫头鹰”牌烟盒——从中抽出几张钞票，放入教堂提供的信封里，交给爸爸去放到教堂的奉献盘中。

　　Because Mama and Dad lived from paycheck to paycheck, that cigar box also served as a lastgasp fund5 for family emergencies. It always had to be repaid. Mama was picky6 about what constituted an emergency. A new pair of shoes was not necessary if the old ones could be restitched7, halfsoled8 or heeled. Neither was a new Easter dress for her or my sister, not if Mama could find some material, fashion a pattern, and sew it herself.

　　因为爸妈靠微薄的薪水过日子，所以，那个烟盒中的钱也成了家中的救急款，不过事后得把钱还回去。妈妈对家中什么是急需有严格的规定。如果一双旧鞋还可以再补，或打一个前掌或后跟的话，就没有必要买新鞋。还有，如果妈妈能找到一些布料，设计一种样式，为自己或我妹妹缝制复活节连衣裙的话，也决不买新的。

　　During World War II Dad was drafted9 and went off to war, leaving behind Mama and three kids. Only 10 years old at the time, I contributed a little to the family financial pool10 with money earned from delivering the Toledo Blade. I delivered my newspapers on an old dilapidated11 bicycle. The fenders were gone, the frame was bent and both pedals were missing. Flat tires were my biggest problem. I carried a repair kit12 and pump with me so I could mend tires on the go. “I've put my name on the bicycle list at Mr. Martin's hardware store,” I revealed one night at dinner. Because of the war, bicycles were in short supply. “You could use a new bike,” Mama said. Was a bike an emergency? I didn't know what Mama's thought was at the time.

　　二战期间，爸爸应征入伍，去了战场，留下妈妈和我们3个孩子。虽然当时我才10岁，但是我也通过送《托莱多刀刃报》为家庭经济出一份力。我骑一辆破旧不堪的自行车送报。自行车前后挡板都没了，车架弯了，两个脚踏板也没了。瘪胎是最头疼的问题。我随身带着修理工具和打气筒，这样我可以随时补胎。“我在马丁先生的五金商店登了记，准备买辆新车，”一天吃晚饭时，我透露说。由于战争的原因，自行车供应短缺。“你可以用辆新车，” 妈妈说。 一辆新自行车是家中急需吗?我不知道妈妈当时是怎样想的。

　　One day I saw Mr. Martin in front of his store assembling a shiny red Rollfast. “Ain't it a beauty?” he said. “And your name's at the top of the list.” “How much?” I asked breathlessly. Mr. Martin wiped his hand on his apron. “Fortyone dollars,” he said. “Don't sell it to anyone else until I get back,” I shouted over my shoulder. I jumped on my old bike and rattled home. “Mr. Martin's got my bike,” I exclaimed, running into the house. “It's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen apple red with gray trim and chrome1 wheels.” Mama looked up from her ironing board and asked, “How much does it cost?” “Fortyone dollars,” I said. “I've got about twenty saved.” Mama pursed2 her lips, considering the situation. She started to shake her head no, but something stopped her.

　　一天，我看见马丁先生正在店门口组装一辆锃亮的红色“飞滚”牌自行车。“这车是不是很漂亮?” 他说道。“你的名字排在登记单的第一位。” “多少钱?” 我屏住呼吸问道。马丁先生在围裙上擦了擦手说：“41块。” “别卖给别人，我很快就回来，” 我边走边回头喊道。我跳上旧车，一路吱嘎声，匆忙骑回家。“马丁先生有辆新车要卖给我，” 我大声喊道，飞奔进屋。“你从没见过这么漂亮的车——苹果红镶着灰边，还有铬合金车轮。” 妈妈从烫衣板上抬起头，问道： “多少钱?” “41块，” 我说。“我攒了差不多20块。” 妈妈噘起嘴唇，掂量着这件事情。她开始摇头说不，但不知怎么又停住了。

　　She went to her bedroom and came back with the White Owl box in hand. She opened it and began counting, pulling out two fives first, followed by several ones. Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen... Then she stopped counting. For the first time in my life, the box seemed to be empty. I felt a hollowness of disappointment I'd never known before. Lord, please help her find three more dollars, I prayed, closing my eyes tight. When I opened them I saw her reach into the box again and pull out a little blue cloth purse with a silver catch on it. From the purse she extracted another dollar, another and another until she reached the required number.

　　她去了卧室，手上拿着那个“白猫头鹰”捐献盒出来。她打开盒子，开始数钱，先拿出了两张5块的，接着拿出来几张1块的，16，17，18 …… 然后，她停住了。我生平第一次觉得，这个盒子似乎空了。我感到一种从未有过的失望。上帝，帮帮她再找到3块钱吧，我紧闭双眼，心中祈祷着。当我睁开眼睛时，我看见她的手又伸进了盒子，拿出了一个蓝色小布钱包，上面有一条银色拉锁。从这个钱包中，她拿出了1块，又1块，再1块，直到钱够数为止。

　　“Oh, mama, thank you,” I said, hugging her and kissing her cheek. “Just remember,” she cautioned as I gathered up the cash, “this is the Lord's money, and you'll have to repay it. When we give to the Lord, he gives right back.” “I will repay it,” I answered, and I did. On my sleek3 new Rollfast I could deliver more papers. And it was just as Mama said，I earned enough to give back to the tithe box and then I earned some more. “Ten percent for the tithe box,” Mama said and in it went. As long as we gave, we were blessed.

　　“噢，妈妈，谢谢你，” 我说道，拥抱着她，亲吻她的面颊。“要记住，” 我把钱收拢时，她提醒说：“这是上帝的钱，你必须还回来。我们献给上帝的，他即刻就会赐还给我们。” “我会还回来的，” 我回答说，并且我做到了。骑着我优美、闪亮的“飞滚”车，我能多送报纸。正像妈妈说的那样，我挣了足够的钱，不但把从捐献盒中拿的钱还上了，而且还多挣了一些钱。 “10%的收入进入捐献盒，”妈妈要求说。妈妈的话我照办了。只要我们给予，就会得到赐福。

　　矛盾的幸福感

　　幸福是个人的一种感知。我们本能地受限于外界，找寻着生活的瑕疵，出于人的天性，我们从有能力自由思考的那刻起，就开始对生活吹毛求疵。也就在那时，我们失去了对自我价值的认知，也失去了生命的活力，陷于幸福的矛盾中，找不到幸福的方向。

　　what is the definition of "happiness”? is it material wealth filled with fancy cars, a dream house, extravagant furs and jewelry? or is happiness simply having a roof over your head? food in the fridge? having a child? a pet? a swimming pool? a designer gucci bag? parents? grandchildren? love? money? the perfect job? winning the lottery?

　　“幸福”是什么?幸福是拥有豪华的汽车、梦想的居室、名贵的裘皮和珠宝等物质上的富足嘛?或者，幸福其实很简单——有遮风避雨的住所，冰箱里有食物，有孩子、宠物、游泳池、gucci的包，有父母、子孙、有爱情、金钱和理想的工作，彩票中奖了呢?

　　according to the american heritage dictionary,"happiness"is derived from the middle english word hap—meaning” luck." but does happiness really have anything to do with” luck"? we could assume that if you avoided a fatal traffic accident but got fired by coming late to work, would you be filled with ”happiness?"? is it luck or what do you make of it? maybe,"happiness"is exactly defined by its indirect alias: happiness—perhaps, happiness is in fact defined by the fortune that we permit to happen.

　　在《美国传统字典》中，幸福是从中古英语“hap”一词演变而来，“hap”意为“好运”。幸福真的与“好运”有关联吗?基于此，想想看，如果你在一场必死无疑的交通事故中幸免于难，却因此迟到，导致被老板炒鱿鱼。对此，我们应该感到“幸福”吗?这是好运吗?还是要看个人如何看待这个问题呢?或许确切地说，幸福的定义应当直接从它的词源来看——事实上，幸福或许就是命中注定要发生的事情。

　　you recall a time—let's say when you were about 5 years old—what defined happiness back then? was it getting a puppy for christmas? or maybe, you were a child of divorcé; and all you wanted was for mom and dad to get back together again? then as you got older, you were hoping that someone would ask you to the prom that would've made your day, maybe your life for the moment. during college, good grades made you happy, but it was short-lived. because in the real world, you had to look for a job, and competition was stark. it’s an employer's world you thought. but then, you got the perfect job—now you could be happy—or could you?

　　你能回忆起你5岁时对幸福的理解吗?那时，幸福是从圣诞树上摘下的一只小狗吗?或者爸爸妈妈离婚了，你唯一的愿望就是他们能和好如初，重新生活在一起?当你渐渐长大，你希望有人会邀请你参加舞会，希望所有的日子都凝固在那一天，那一刻。上大学期间，考试得了高分让你无比开心，但这种幸福感毕竟是短暂的。因为在现实中，你得找一份工作，而社会竞争也相当激烈。于是，你就会想，这是一个雇主的世界。随后，你找到了一份理想的工作——现在的你很开心，是吗?

　　life requires more than just what we want. inevitably, one must understand that to truly find” happiness", he must make his own happiness "happen”. sounds a bit redundant, but truthfully, there is no set guidelines that will bring one happiness. there is no "magic wand” we can wave to bring joy into our lives. human nature thrives on the thrill of the chase. we dream and we hope for the next big brea—it is the grand adventure of living.

　　生活向我们索要的远比我们想要的多。一个人必须明白，要想真正找到幸福，他就必须让自己幸福。可能听起来有些多余，但确是如此——生活中，没有能代来幸福的现成的指南，也没有挥一挥就能带来欢乐的魔棒。人性在追求幸福的刺激中不断升级、完善。我们梦想着，期望着下一个大的转变——这就是生活中的大冒险了。

　　幸福的本质

　　i live in hollywood. you may think people in such a glamorous, fun-filled place are happier than others. if so, you have some mistaken ideas about the nature of happiness.

　　我住在好莱坞。你可能认为住在这样一个魅力四射、充满欢笑的地方要比其他人更幸福。倘若如此，你就误解了幸福的本质。

　　many intelligent people still equatehappiness with fun. the truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. fun is what we experience during an act. happiness is what we experience after an act. it is a deeper, more abiding emotion.

　　许多聪明人依旧将幸福与娱乐等同起来。事实上，娱乐与幸福很少、甚至毫无共同之处。娱乐是某个活动进行中的体验，而幸福则是活动之后的体验。幸福是更深刻、更持久的情感。

　　going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities thathelp us relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. but they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end when the fun ends.

　　去游乐场或去看球赛，看电影或看电视，这些都是娱乐活动，有助于我们放松身心，暂时忘却自己的难题，甚至让我们放声大笑。但是，这一切并不能带来幸福，因为娱乐一结束，它们的正面效应亦随之终结。

　　i have often thought that if hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. these rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to glamorousparties, fancy cars, expensive homes, everything that spells "happiness".

　　我常常这样想，如果好莱坞明星起到某种作用的话，那就是向我们昭示幸福与娱乐毫无关系。作为个人，他们富有，楚楚动人，可以随时出席令人神往的宴会，拥有顶尖级汽车、昂贵的宅第--这一切似乎意味着“幸福”。

　　but in memoir after memoir, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriages, troubled children, profound loneliness.

　　然而，在一部又一部的回忆录中，名流们揭示了隐藏在这一切娱乐活动背后的不幸：忧郁、酗酒、吸毒成瘾、失败的婚姻、饱受困扰的孩子、极度的孤独。

　　the way people clingto the belief that a fun-filled, pain-free life equates happiness actually diminishes their chances of ever attaining real happiness. if fun and pleasure are equated with happiness, then pain must be equated with unhappiness. but, in fact, the opposite is true: more times than not, things that lead to happiness involve some pain.

　　人们执迷不悟，以为充满欢笑、没有痛苦的生活就等于幸福;这实际上减少了他们真正臻于幸福之境的可能性。如果娱乐和快乐等同于幸福的话，那么痛苦必然等同于不幸福。可事实正相反：导致幸福的一切常常蕴含着些许痛苦。

　　as a result, many people avoid the very endeavors that are the source of true happiness. they fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, civicor charitablework, and self-improvement.

　　因此，许多人不愿努力，而这些努力恰恰正是真正幸福的源泉。诸如婚姻、抚育子女、职业成就、宗教信仰、公共及慈善事业、自身修养等必然带来痛苦，他们因而对于这一切心怀畏惧。