时间:2018-11-30 作者:英语课 分类:英语励志美文精华


英语课

Philosophy from a Tugboat


BY GEORGE YOUNG


ONE NIGHT many years ago I was on the bridge of a ship that passed


one of our large cities on a quiet night I saw its lights reflected in


the sky and heard the rumblings of the city's noises. As I looked to


my other side, I could see nothing but open space of darkness and


endless water. I realized how small I was and that my own problems


of life did not seem great.


I have spent twenty-five years on boats. Now I am a docking pilot.


My job is to bring in the large luxury liners and stay with them


until they are safely moored 2 in their berths 4. Sometimes this requires


two tugs 5, sometimes many more, depending on the tide, the weather,


and the draft of the vessel 6.


Most of you no doubt have seen these tugs pushing and pulling


at the big liners. What they are doing doesn't seem to make much


sense, but presently the big boat is alongside her pier 7, her hawsers 8


made fast, and the job is done.


These tugs, whether one or ten ? move about in accord with whistle


signals I send them from the bridge of the big liner. These signals


make up a language that is just as dependable as the spoken word;


or even more so, because our docking signals are rarely misunder-


stood. The captain of each tug 1 does his work according to the signals


he receives. He never asks questions. He takes everything on faith,


and it always works out.


Working around tugboats, where so much depends on teamwork,


has had its effect on what I believe. I believe that if I am to attain 9


a successful place in the world I must have the help of my fellow


man just as the great transatlantic liners depend on the help of the


little tugs to bring them safely to port.


I felt very important the first time I ever docked a big liner. She


came riding up the harbor on a flood tide and towered high over the


stout 10 little tug that carried me. As we drew alongside, a doorway 11


opened almost at water level and two smartly rigged sailors helped


me aboard. I was escorted to the bridge where I took over from the


captain. I realized I was in control of a great ship worth millions of


dollars and the owners were depending on me to bring her safely to


her berth 3. After I had docked several of the large liners, I realized


I was not important, but simply the quarterback who called the


signals.


In spite of what we read in the newspapers, I have a great faith in


this country and I pray that a peaceful understanding will come to


this unsettled world, so that my children can grow up in a world


that will give them happiness instead of bloodshed. I believe this


will come about. I remember the understanding and sympathy that


took over this country, back in 1949, when a little girl named Kathy


Fiskus fell into an abandoned well out in California. Engineers and


sandhogs and people in all walks of life worked almost three days,


and when they got her out she was dead. People sent in thousands


of dollars in rescue funds, but those who did the work and furnished


the equipment wouldn't take money. They worked for bigger stakes.


I talked to captains of foreign ships that came into New York Harbor,


and they were just as concerned as we Americans over the tragedy.


I believe some way will be found to work together for world peace


with the same sympathy and understanding that people worked to


rescue little Kathy Fiskus. I believe God will someday bring this


about.



1 tug
v.用力拖(或拉);苦干;n.拖;苦干;拖船
  • We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
  • The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。
2 moored
n.卧铺,停泊地,锚位;v.使停泊
  • She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
  • They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。
3 berths
n.(船、列车等的)卧铺( berth的名词复数 );(船舶的)停泊位或锚位;差事;船台vt.v.停泊( berth的第三人称单数 );占铺位
  • Berths on steamships can be booked a long while in advance. 轮船上的床位可以提前多日预订。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Have you got your berths on the ship yet? 你们在船上有舱位了吗? 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
4 tugs
n.猛拉( tug的名词复数 );猛拖;拖船v.用力拉,使劲拉,猛扯( tug的第三人称单数 )
  • The raucous sirens of the tugs came in from the river. 河上传来拖轮发出的沙哑的汽笛声。 来自辞典例句
  • As I near the North Tower, the wind tugs at my role. 当我接近北塔的时候,风牵动着我的平衡杆。 来自辞典例句
5 vessel
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管
  • The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
  • You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。
6 pier
n.码头;桥墩,桥柱;[建]窗间壁,支柱
  • The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害,专家担心它已不能负重。
  • The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。
7 hawsers
n.(供系船或下锚用的)缆索,锚链( hawser的名词复数 )
8 attain
vt.达到,获得,完成
  • I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
  • His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。
9 stout
adj.强壮的,粗大的,结实的,勇猛的,矮胖的
  • He cut a stout stick to help him walk.他砍了一根结实的枝条用来拄着走路。
  • The stout old man waddled across the road.那肥胖的老人一跩一跩地穿过马路。
10 doorway
n.门口,(喻)入门;门路,途径
  • They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
  • Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。
学英语单词
abutilon grandifolium
adrenaline junkie
air-proof
albescens
analysis of means
anatolian carpet
anemone nikoensis maxim.
Apo Mount
assembly systems
associated matrice
atmospheric factor
baseling
bitsharpener
brutize
buffy crust
cefsumide
changes in financial position
CHAUNACIDAE
collotypy
conformal correspondence
creekbank
cryptorchidiy
curry leaves
cyclohexene hydroperoxide
deaeration
demote to
earnester
elastic energy degradation
English yarn
fagopyrum esculentum moench common buckwheat
fahlerz(fahlers fahlore)
fragrant bedstraw
funguses
genetic engineer
get at cross purposes
goofy-footer
hamsphire
hemiphaedusa exilis janshanensis
hire base
humphrey deforest bogarts
individual life policy
iode
it is one's turn to
JCN
joiningup
jowlopped
kangdingensis
klepner
know no parallel
La Isabela
laser induced fluorescence
legal relation
losest
low coal seam
Mashoro
maw-worms
maxes out
molar heat of solution
Morococha
Mount Barker
mussilage
narcoterrorist
Nilex
nitrogen metabolism
non-feasible solution
obstinacies
over-charitable
personal abuse
point to point service,PTP
potages
probability of flooding
prospecting mineralogy
pubovesical ligaments
quick step
quittor
razor-shell
record interface
relative inertness
rubberization
San Pedro de Latarce
saturation capacity
side hung folding door
sinusoidal limit theorem
solid plaster work
srus
sundrier
supra-acoustic frequency
tautometric
tetrahydrofurfuryl phthalate
time circulation
turbulent flow burner
undermanaged account
upvs
vacuum floatation
vertical dive
Viejo, Cerro
war-fightings
weight of unknown
wind cave storage
works-righteousness
yhyled
zozo