今天小编给大家带来了关于英语四六级文章阅读欣赏，希望对大家的英语写作水平有所帮助，祝愿大家天天开心，每天都有一个好的心态面对生活。心中有梦就要一如既往，不能遇到困难说放就放，千锤百炼才能磨练出好钩。
　　 Monday July 22nd 1996 I woke up at 6: 30 AM to thesounds of my crackling radio, as I did every day. I openedmy chocolate brown curtains to a day o gray.①Everythingwas gray, the clouds were gray, the streets were gray, thehills in the far distance were gray, as far as the eye could seewas gray. Even the faded reflection looking back at me fromthe shutter was gray, but then so am I.
　　 You may know me already, I'm the strange bachelor wholives on the block who calls the police to complain about thenoise in your party or the man who keeps your offspring'sball that lands in my garden.② I am solitary and don t mingle, the person whom you both despise and feel sorry for inequal proportions, the person who you laugh at and fear andthe person who you just can't quite bring yourself to hate.
　　 At 7: 45 AM I got out of the car at my regular parkingsPACe, about ten minutes from the factory where I work. about five minutes into my short journey I came to a road andwaited to cross with the other pedestrians. I was standingnext to a young man, who was about 23 and didn't look as ifhe was from the area, and I assumed he was a foreign exchange student studying at the local university.
　　 We stood next to each other in silence, exchanging nothing more than a passing glance at each other's eyes. Then, Ididn't know if it was, maybe early morning tiredness, but hestarted to cross the intersection, seemingly unaware of theproximity of the car speeding towards him to his right.③
　　 Spontaneously, I put my hand out to intervene, in lessthan heroic fashion④, and stopped him. He woke up fromhis perplexity suddenly, shaking and breaking a sweat. Iasked him if he was OK, he said "yes" and thanked me in hisbroken English, and then as if we had never met, we crossedthe road and went on separate ways.
　　 As I walked to work that day I felt good, happy even.The more I thought about it, the more I realized I saved thatman's life. I knew then, however, that this outbreak of optimism would be short lived, and it was.⑤Before the day wasout I felt my usual self again. Lonely, angry and ever unhappy
　　 Thursday 30th January 2002, I opened my chocolatebrown curtains at 6: 30 AM to a day that was gray. Everything was gray, the clouds were gray, the streets were gray,the hills in the far distance were gray, as far as the eye couldsee was gray. Even the faded reflection looking back at merom the window was gray.
　　 I turned on my new portable television to be met by thesight of the early morning news.⑥
　　 As I dressed quietly, a story caught my eyes. I'm notreally the sort of person who keeps up-to-date with currentaffairs, so I couldn't tell you all the details, but I could tell itwas about some situation or other that had been avoided, duemainly to the intense negotiations between a coalition and apatriotic diplomat, the name of who I didn't catch, thoughthe eyes that looked at me from the small screen were theones of the student I met 6 years ago.
　　 I've never considered myself a deep thinker, I wasn'tvery good in school, nor did I go to university, but I left myhouse that day and walked with the light winter sun permeating on my face.
　　 My one action saved the life of a man who, in turn,may have negotiated tosafeguard the lives of thousands.⑦It wasn't just a coincidence. Of course what I did won't makethe early morning news, it won'teven make the local periodical, but to me it felt better than that, it elevated me to ahigher place where I had never been before.
　　 Someone once told me that the world is like a picturepuzzle⑧ and we are the pieces. Some are larger than others,some seem more important, some take up the corners andsome are the ones that people just automatically look forfirst at the beginning of each new puzzle.⑨Some pieceshowever,are small, pointless and get easily missed. Justfragments in the middle that receive little attention orthought, but are needed to complement each other andmakea complete image, and if just one gets lost it puts the wholepicture in jeopardy.⑩
　　 I am the small piece in the middle thatcanbeso cardinal. I won't win any awards, I won't get any recognition, butI can go forward in my everyday dull tasks, in my everydaydull life, knowing I've played my part and that I've made adifference.
　　 Of course I'm still the strange man who lives on yourblock, but now I'm the strange man who lives on your blockwith dignity who has found his role and fulfilLED his destiny.
　　①I openedmy chocolate brown curtains to a day o gray.
　　 我打开了巧克力色的窗帘，准备迎接又一个灰色的一天。
　　②You may know me already, I'm the strange bachelor wholives on the block who calls the police to complain about thenoise in your party or the man who keeps your offspring'sball that lands in my garden.
　　 你或许已经认识我了，我就是住在这片的那个奇特的单身汉，总是报警抱怨你们在搞派对时制造噪音，将你孩子踢进我的花园里的球扣下不还的人。
　　③seemingly unaware of theproximity of the car speeding towards him to his right.
　　 似乎并未发觉临近有辆小车正驶向他的右边。
　　④in lessthan heroic fashion.
　　 正像一个英雄一样。
　　⑤I knew then, however, that this outbreak of optimism would be short lived, and it was.
　　 然而,当时我知道这种乐观不会持续长久，而且的确如此。
　　⑥I turned on my new portable television to be met by thesight of the early morning news.
　　 我打开了新买的便携式电视，里面正在播放早间新闻。
　　⑦My one action saved the life of a man who, in turn,may have negotiated tosafeguard the lives of thousands.
　　 我的一个举动挽救了一个人的生命，从而可能使他经过谈判,挽救了数千人的生命。
　　⑧a picturepuzzle.
　　 拼图游戏。
　　⑨andsome are the ones that people just automatically look forfirst at the beginning of each new puzzle.
　　 而某些正是人们每当开始新游戏时就会不自觉地去寻找的小拼图。
　　⑩in jeopardy.
　　 在危险中。
　　Words & expressions
　　assume vt.假定,假设;承担,担任;呈现
　　automatic a.自动的;无意识的;自然的n.自动(或步枪等);有自动装置的汽车
　　bachelor n.单身汉;学士(学位)
　　cardinal n.红衣主教;基数词 a.很重要的,基本的
　　chocolate n.巧克力,巧克力色
　　coalition n.结合(体),同盟;联合
　　coincide vi.同时发生;相符,相致;重合,重叠
　　coincidence n.巧合,巧事;(意见爱好等的)一致,符合
　　complement n./v.补充,补足 n.编制名额,装备定额;补(足)语
　　despise vt.鄙视,看不起
　　destiny n.命运,定数,天命
　　dignity n.庄严,端庄;尊严,高贵
　　diplomat n.外交官,外交家;有交际手腕的人,圆滑的人
　　dull a.乏味的,单调的;晦暗的,阴沉的;低沉的;笨的;钝的
　　elevate vt.(地位、形象)提升,提高;使情绪高昂;举起,使上升
　　elevator n.电梯,升降机
　　fragment n.碎片,碎块 v.(使)成碎片
　　fulfill vt.完成(任务、计划等),履行(诺言、责任等);达到(目的),满足(愿望、要求等)
　　fulfillment n.履行,实现,完成
　　heroic a.英雄的,英勇的,崇高的
　　intersection n.道路交叉口,交点
　　intervene vi.(人)干涉,干预;干扰,阻挠
　　mingle vt.(使)混合,(使)相混vi.相交往,相往来
　　negotiate vt.顺利通过,成功越过 v.协商,谈判
　　negotiation n.谈判,协商
　　offspring n.子女,子孙,后代(动物的)崽
　　optimism n.乐观
　　optimistic a.乐观的
　　outbreak n.爆发,突发
　　patriotic a.爱国的,有爱国心的,显示爱国精神的
　　pedestrian n.步行者,行人
　　periodical n.期刊a.周期的,时而发生的;定期的
　　permeate v.弥漫,遍布,散布;渗入,渗透
　　perplex vt.使困惑,使费解,使复杂化超
　　automatically ad.自动地
　　crackle v.发轻微的爆裂声(如干柴燃烧时的响声),发噼啪声
　　portable a.便于携带的,手提式的,轻便的
　　proportion n.比例;部分;均衡,相称
　　proximity n.接近,邻近
　　recognition n.认出,识别;承认,认可;赏识,表彰,报偿
　　safeguard vt.保护,维护 n.预防措施,保证条款
　　shutter n.百叶窗;(照相机)快门
　　solitary a.(人)单独的,独自的;(物)单个的,惟一的;孤独的,隐居的
　　spontaneous a.自发的,无意识的;自然的,天真率直的
　　update vt.更新,使现代化 n.新信息
　　jeopardy n.危险
　　perplexity n.困惑,混乱
　　spontaneously ad.自然地,本能地
　　GeneralSense
　　改变我一生的一天
　　 我总是离群索居,但一件事改变了我的看法。1996年7月22日,在等着过马路的时候我伸手救了一个留学生,当时他差点被一辆车撞倒。当天我很开心,但也仅此而已。2002年1月30日,我却在早间新闻里看到被我救过的那位留学生成了一名外交家,由于他的谈判,数千人的生命得以挽救。我突然意识到我实际上做了多么重大的事情啊!从那以后,我就开始变得非常有责任心。