Advice to Youth
给青年人的忠告

马克·吐温是著名的美国作家、演说家，其真实姓名是萨缪尔·兰亨·克莱门（Samuel Langhorne Clemens）。马克·吐温的作品包括小说、剧本、散文、诗歌等，小说《百万英镑》《哈克贝利·费恩历险记》《汤姆·索亚历险记》是其代表作。那么，这位写作风格幽默而不乏辛辣讽刺的作家会给青年人提什么建议呢？

Mark Twain
马克·吐温

Being told I would be expected to talk here, I inquired what sort of a talk I ought to make. They said it should be something suitable to youth—something didactic, instructive, or something in the nature of good advice. Very well, I have a few things in my mind which I have often longed to say for the instruction of the young; for it is in one's tender early years that such things will best take root and be most enduring and most valuable. First, then, I will say to you, my young friends—and I say it beseechingly, urgingly—

Always obey your parents, when they are present. This is the best policy in long run, because if you don't, they will make you do. Most parents think they know better than you do, and you can generally make more by humoring that superstition than you can by acting on you own better judgment.

Be respectful to your superiors, if you have any, also to strangers, and sometimes to others. If a person offends you and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures. Yes, always avoid violence; in this age of charity and kindness, the time has gone by for such things.

Now as to the matter of lying. You want to be very careful about lying; otherwise you are nearly sure to get caught. Once caught, you can never again be, in the eyes of the good and pure, what you were before. Many a young person has injured himself permanently through a single clumsy and ill-finished lie.

There are many sorts of books; but good ones are the sort for the young to read. Remember that. They are a great, an inestimable, an unspeakable means of improvement. Therefore, be careful in your selection, my young friends; be very careful.

But I have said enough, I hope you will treasure up the instructions which I have given you, and make them a guide to your feet and a light to your understanding. Build your character thoughtfully and painstakingly upon these precepts, and by and by, when you have got it built , you will be surprised and gratified to see how nicely and sharply it resembles everybody else's.

得知有人期待我来这里做演讲时，我便询问要做一个什么样的演讲。他们说应该说一些适合青年人的——有教育意义的，有指导性的，或是一些好的建议。很好，我确实有一些东西一直想要分享给青年人作为指导，人年轻时，这些东西是最容易根植于内心，能够坚持的时间最为持久，也最有价值的。首先，我要对你们说的是，年轻的朋友们——我迫切地恳请你们——

在你的父母还在世的时候，一定要听他们的话。从长远来看，这是最好的策略，因为即使你不听话，他们最终也能使你顺从。大多数家长都觉得他们比你懂得多，一般来说，如果你接受他们那种迷信观点，与你执意坚持按照自己的更好的判断来行事相比，你的收获会更大。

尊重你的上级（如果你有上级的话）、陌生人，有时候甚至是不相关的其他人。如果有人冒犯了你，而你不确定那是否是故意的，就不要反应过度。是的，要尽量避免冲突，现在是宽容和善良的年代，这类举动的时代已经过去了。

现在我们聊聊说谎的事。你一定要非常谨慎，不然十有八九会被揭穿。一旦被揭穿，在那些善良纯洁的人眼里，你就再也不是原来的你了。很多年轻人在撒了一个简单、笨拙、无法自圆其说的谎后，便永远彻底地毁了自己。

有很多种书籍，其中只有那些好书适合青年人阅读。一定要记住这一点。读这些书是一种极好的、无价的且难以言喻的获取进步的方式。所以在选择时要很慎重，年轻的朋友，一定要十分慎重。

我已经说得够多了，我希望你们能够珍视我给出的建议，并将这些建议作为前进的指南和领悟的明灯。认真用心在这些建议基础之上培养自己的品格，迟早有一天你会感到惊喜，并高兴而满足地发现你的品格和其余所有人的一样美好和机敏。

巧记词汇

didactic [daɪˈdæktɪk] a. 教诲的

【拓】dialect [ˈdaɪəlekt ] n. 方言

beseechingly [bɪˈsiːtʃɪŋli] ad. 恳求地

【拓】plead [pliːd] v. 恳求

superstition [ˌsuːpəˈstɪʃn] n. 迷信

【拓】superstitious [ˌsuːpəˈstɪʃəs] a. 迷信的

intentional [ɪnˈtenʃənl] a. 故意的

【拓】intention [ɪnˈtenʃn] n. 目的

painstakingly [ˈpeɪnzteɪkɪŋli] ad. 精心地

【拓】thoughtfully [ˈθɔːtfəli] ad. 认真地

precept [ˈpriːsept] n. 准则

【拓】rule [ruːl] n. 规则

resemble [rɪˈzembl] v. 与……相似

【拓】resemblance [rɪˈzembləns] n. 相似

趣学短语

resort to 采取；诉诸；依靠

【例】Generally speaking, when people know how to solve their problems, they are less likely to resort to extreme behavior. 一般来说，如果人们知道如何解决自己的问题，那么他们采取极端行为的可能性就小一些。