英语美文教材赏析︰我们要追求精神上的满足.ppt

英语美文教材赏析：我们要追求精神上的满足 The turning point of my life was my decision to give up a promising business career and study music. My parents, although sympathetic, and sharing my love of music, disapproved of it as a profession. This was understandable in view of the family background. My grandfather had taught music for nearly forty years at Springhill College in Mobile and, though much beloved and respected in the community, earned barely enough to provide for his large family. My father often said it was only the hardheaded thriftiness of my grandmother that kept the wolf at bay. As a consequence of this example in the family, the very mention of music as a profession carried with it a picture of a precarious existence with uncertain financial rewards. My parents insisted upon college instead of a conservatory of music, and to college I went - quite happily, as I remember, for although I loved my violin and spent most of my spare time practicing, I had many other interests. 我人生的转折点是我决定不做发迹有望的商人而专攻音乐。父母虽然与我志趣相投，也像我一样热爱音乐，却反对我以音乐为职业。考虑到我的家庭情况，他们的态度是完全可以理解的。我祖父在莫比尔的斯普林希尔学院教授音乐达四十年之久，深受学院师生的热爱和敬重，他的工资却只能勉强维持一大家人的生活。父亲常说若不是祖母精明能干，克勤克俭，一家人非挨饿不可。所以在我们家，只要一提起音乐这个职业，大家就联想起收入不稳定的那种苦日子。父母坚持要我上大学，不让我进音乐学院，我也就上了大学。记得当时我还挺开心，因为虽然我热爱小提琴，大部分时间都用来练琴，我还有许多其他的爱好。 Before my graduation form Columbia, the family met with severe financial reverses and I felt it my duty to leave college and take a job. Thus was I launched upon a business career - which I always think of as the wasted years. 没等我从哥伦比亚大学毕业，家里的经济情况就变得很糟，我感到自己有责任退学找工作，这才投身商界--我始终认为那段经商岁月是虚掷光阴。 Now I do not for a moment mean to disparage business. My whole point I is that it was not for me. I went into it for money, and aside from the satisfaction of being able to help the family, money is all I got out of it. It was not enough. I felt that life was passing me by. From being merely discontented I became acutely miserable. My one ambition was to save enough to quit and go to Europe to study music. I used to get up at dawn to practic