GO INTO EXILE
“Ah!"says the mouse,"The world is really small and small.At first,it was so big that I was afraid of it.I kept running and running,when I saw there were walls on my left and right,I was very excited.But I can't think these long walls will merge quickly.And forced me into the lastest house.And fell into the trap you fixed at the corner formed by two walls."
"In fact,you should only change the direction you run in."the cat says,and eats the mouse .
参考译文：“唉！”老鼠说：“这个世界真是越来越小了。刚开始，它大得让我感到可怕，所以我不停地奔跑，当我看到有一堵墙在我的左右向前延伸时，我感到兴奋极了。可我没有想到那堵墙会迅速合拢，并将我带入最里面的那个屋子。而我也陷阱了你设在墙体尽头的笼子里。”
“其实，你只需要改变一下你奔跑的方向罢了”猫说道，然后把它吃了。
PS：译文看似平淡，但这篇文章本事是属于西式black humor（黑色幽默）的一部作品，英文版比较有可读性，作为精短的演说比较合适（比较适合高中）

---

　　time the hours of a wise man are lengthened by his ideas as those of a fool are by his passions. the time of the one is long, because he does not know what to do with it; as is that of the other, because he distinguishes every moment of it with useful or amusing thoughts, or in other words, because the one is always wishing it away, and the other always enjoying it. how different is the view of past life, in the man who is grown old in knowledge and wisdom, from that of him who is grown in ignorance and folly? the latter is like the owner of a barren country, that fills his eye with the [1] prospect of naked hills and plains, which produce nothing either profitable or [2] ornamental; the other [3] beholds a beautiful and spacious landscape, divided into delightful gardens, green meadows, fruitful fields, and can scarce [4] cast his eye upon a single spot of his possessions, that is not covered with some beautiful plant or flower. lengthen /???????/ v. 延长 passion /??????/ n. 热情 amusing /?????????/ adj. 有趣的 wisdom /???????/ n. 智慧 ignorance /?????????/ n. 无知 folly /?????/ n. 蠢事 barren /??????/ n. 贫瘠 ornamental /???????????/ adj. 装饰的 behold /????????/ v. 看见，注视 meadow /??????/ n. 草地 参考译文 光阴 聪明人的时辰得以延长在于他们的思想，而蠢人的时辰得以延长在于他们的激情。蠢人的光阴是漫长的，因为他不知如何打发时光；聪明人的光阴也是漫长的，因为他用有益或有趣的想法来突出每寸光阴，或者换而言之，因为蠢人总是希望消磨时光，而聪明人总是在享受时光。 聪明人在知识和智慧中年龄渐长，蠢人在无知和愚蠢中年龄渐长，二者对于过去生活的看法有何差异？后者犹如拥有一片不毛之地，满目是光秃秃的丘陵平原，长不出任何有价值的或是美好的东西；前者则看到一派美丽广阔的田野，目光投向任何一处，拥有的一切处处总有美丽的芳草或鲜花，所以可谓美不胜收。

---

　　Treasure Starfish----珍贵的海星
Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.As he got closer he called out, "Good morning! What are you doing?"The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean.""I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?""The sun is up, and the tide is going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die.""But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach, andstarfish all along it? You can't possibly make a difference!"The young manlistened politely, then bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said,"It made a difference for that one."There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our visions the power to shape the future. We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, the world will be blessed.从前有一位哲人常到海边去写作。他有个习惯，就是开始前要到海边散步。有一天，他正沿着岸边走顺着海边向远处看时，看到个人，那人的动作看起来像是位舞蹈演员在跳舞。他很高兴，以为今天正好能看到有人跳舞。于是他加快步伐以免错过。当靠近之后，才看清是一个年轻人，他不是在跳舞，而是弯下腰来，从海滩上捡着什么轻轻地扔到海里。他走近了说：“早上好！你在做什么？”这个年轻人停了下来，抬起头回答道：“把海星扔进海里。”“我想我问的是，为什么你要把海星扔进海里？”“太阳升起来了，潮就要退了，如果不把它们扔进海里，它们将会死去。”“但是年轻人，难道你没有看到这长长的海滩上面布满了海星。你起不到什么作用的！”年轻人有礼貌地听着又捡起一只海星扔进了海里，走了过来，他说道：“对于那一只就起作用了。”我们每一个人都有特别的地方，我们都被赋予了发挥某些作用的能力。如果我们能意识到那种天赋，就会通过我们的想象力，获得改变未来的力量。我们必须找到我们的海星，如果我们明智而恰当地把我们的海星扔进了海里，那么这个世界就得到了祝福