第1个回答 2023-01-24
【 #英语听力# 导语】每天一篇英文故事,或美妙,或感人,或忧伤。在精彩的英语小故事中寻找英语学习的快乐,每天一篇,精彩不容错过。下面是 为大家分享的初中英语听力的小故事，欢迎阅读！
【初中英语听力小故事一】 ulius Caesar
尤里乌斯.凯撒
Nearly two thousand years ago there lived in Rome a man whose name was Julius Caesar. He was the greatest of all the
Romans. Why was he so great?
大约两千年前，罗马有一个名叫尤利乌斯·凯撒的人。他是全体罗马人中最伟大的人。他为什么这么伟大呢?
He was a brave warrior，and had conquered many countries for Rome. He was wise in planning and doing. He knew how to make men both love and fear him.
他是个勇敢的战士，为罗马征服了许多国家。他计划周密，办事精明。他懂得如何让人们既爱他又怕他。
At last he made himself the ruler of Rome. Some said he wished to become its king. But the Romans at that time did not believe in kings.
最后他让自己当上了罗马的统治者。有人说他想成为罗马国王。但那时候罗马并不信任国王。
Once when Caesar was passing through a little country village, all the men, women and children of the place came out to see him. There were not more than fifty of them, all together, and they were led by their mayor，who told each one what to do.
有一次，凯撒途经一个小村庄，这个地方的男女老少都出来看他。总共不到50人，由他们的市长率领。市长告诉每一个人做什么:
These simple people stood by the roadside and watched Caesar pass. The mayor looked very proud and happy; for was he not the ruler of this village? He felt that he was almost as great as Caesar himself.
这些纯朴的人站在路边看着凯撒走过。市长看上去既骄傲又得意，难道不是因为他是这个村庄的统治者吗?他感到自己几乎像凯撒一样伟大了。
Some of the ranking officers who were with Caesar laughed. They said, "See how that fellow struts at the head of his little flock!”
随同凯撒的一些高级官员都笑了。他们说:“看，这群人前头的那个家伙有多神气呀!”
"Laugh as you will." said Caesar, he has reason to be proud. "I would rather be the head man of a village than the second man in Rome!"
“你们想怎么笑就怎么笑吧，”凯撒说。他有他骄傲的理由。“我宁愿做一村之长，也不做罗马的第二号人物。”
At another time, Caesar was crossing a narrow sea in a boat. Before he was half way to the farther shore, a storm overtook him. The wind blew hard; the waves dashed high; the lightning flashed; the thunder rolled.
还有一次，凯撒乘小船横渡一个不宽的海面。划出还不到一半的路程时，遇到了暴风雨风猛烈地刮着，波浪冲天，电闪雷鸣。
It seemed every minute as though the boat would sink. The captain was in great fright. He had crossed the sea many times, but never in such a storm as this. He trembled with fear; he could not guide the boat; he fell down upon his knees; he moaned, "All is lost! All is lost!"
看上去这条船马上就要沉没了。船长害怕极了。他曾多次横渡大海，但是从没有遇到过这样的暴风雨。他吓得浑身发抖，无法再掌舵了。他跪下嘟咬着:“全完了!全完了!”
But Caesar was not afraid. He bade the man get up and take his oars again. "Why should you be afraid?" he said."The boat will not be lost; for you have Caesar on board."
但是凯撒一点也不害怕。他吩咐那个人站起来，重新拿起浆来。“你为什么害怕呢?”他问。“这条船不会沉没的，因为凯撒在船上。”
【初中英语听力小故事二】 Caesar Augustus
凯撒·奥古斯都
Many consider Augustus to be Rome's greatest emperor; his policies certainly extended the Empire's life span and initiated the celebrated Pax Romana or Pax Augusta. He was intelligent,decisive，and ashrewd politician, but he was not perhaps as charismatic as Julius Caesar, Nevertheless, his legacy proved more enduring.
许多人认为奥古斯都是罗马最伟大的皇帝。其政策无疑大大延长了罗马的寿命，并开启了罗马的盛世，即“罗马和平”或“奥古斯都的和平”。奥古斯都悟性很高，能断大事，是极狡猾的一名政治天才。他并不像尤利鸟斯·凯撒般光彩照人，但其留给后人的遗产却更持久。
The longevity of Augustus' reign and its legacy to the Roman world should not be overlooked as a key factor in its success. As Tacitus wrote, the younger generations alive in AD 14 had never known any form of government other than the Principate. Had Augustus died earlier (in 23 BC,for instance), matters might have turned out differently. The attrition of the civil wars on the old Republican oligarchy and the longevity of Augustus, therefore, must be seen as major contributing factors in the transformation of the Roman state into a monarchy in these years.
奥古斯都的长久统治和他留给罗马的遗产是他成功的关键因素之一。正如Tacitus所写的那样，生活在公元14年的人，除了元首制外，不知道还有其他制度。要是他死得更早一些(比如公元前23年)，事情可能就大不一样了。罗马共和国寡头政治时期的连年内战和奥古斯都的长寿，是罗马由共和制转为帝制的决定性因素。
Augustus' own experience, his patience, his tact, and his political acumen also played their parts. He directed the future of the Empire down many lasting paths, from the existence of a standing professional army stationed at or near the frontiers, to the dynastic principle so often employed in the imperial succession, to the embellishment of the capital at the emperor's expense. Augustus' ultimate legacy was the peace and prosperity the Empire enjoyed for the next two centuries under the system he initiated.
奥古斯都个人的城府、忍耐、手腕和他如日中天的政治声望也起了一定作用。其制定了在很多方面影响了以后的帝国政策:维持常备军并屯军于边，皇位的继承原则与方式，使用皇帝的经费建设首都。其最重要的遗产是建立了能让帝国在未来二百年维持和平与繁荣的制度。
His memory was enshrined in the political ethos of the Imperial age as a paradigm of the good emperor. Every emperor of Rome adopted his name, Caesar Augustus, which gradually lost its character as a name and eventually became a title.
在帝国时代，他的行为被奉为明君典范。虽然后世罗马皇帝都袭用“凯撒·奥古斯都”的称号，但只有少数人真正配得上。
【初中英语听力小故事三】 Benjamin Franklin
本杰明·富兰克林
Franklin's parents were both pious Puritans. The family attended the old South Church, the most liberal Puritan congregation in Boston, where Benjamin Franklin was baptized in 1706.
富兰克林的双亲皆为虔诚的清教徒，他们加入了波士顿最自由的清教徒们所参加的古老的南方教堂，富兰克林也于1706年在那里受洗礼。
Franklin's father, a poor chandler, owned a copy of a book, Bonifacius: Essays to Do Good, by the Puritan preacher and family friend Cotton Mather, which Franklin often cited as a key influence on his life. The book preached the importance of forming voluntary associations to benefit society. Franklin learned about forming do-good associations from Cotton Mather, but his organizational skills made him the most influential force in making voluntarism an enduring part of the American ethos.
他的父亲是位贫困的杂货商，拥有一本Bonifacius的书，书名为:行善箴言，这本书是一个清教传教士也是富兰克林家族的朋友Cotton Mather写的。此人对富兰克林的人生产生了关键性的影响。书中亦提及:成立志愿协会对社会的好处。从Cotton Mather身上，富兰克林得知成立行善协会将会对社会产生贡献，但富兰克林的组织才能使其成为影响形成美国人坚忍个性的最主要力量。
Franklin formulated a presentation of his beliefs and published it in 1728. It did not mention many of the Puritan ideas as regards belief in salvation, the divinity of Jesus,and indeed most religious dogma. He clarified himself as a deist in his 1771 autobiography, although he still considered himself a Christian. He retained a strong faith in a God as the wellspring of morality and goodness in man, and as a providential actor in history responsible for American independence.
富兰克林在1728年公开了他的信仰并出版了一本书，书中并未提及诸多清教徒们的思想，像救世、地狱、耶稣的神威等等。他也在1776年的自传中澄清，自己身为一位自然神论者，虽然他仍保有着对上帝的坚强的信念:道德善良的人们及清教徒对美国独立的责任。
When he stopped attending church, Franklin wrote in his autobiography: "Sunday being my studying day, I never was without some religious principles.I never doubted, for instance, the existence of the Deity; that He made the world, and governed it by His providence; that the most acceptable service of God was the doing good to man; that our souls are immortal;and that all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter."
当富兰克林停止去教会后，他在他的自传中写道，“星期天是我学习的日子，我坚守信仰且从未怀疑过，比如我相信:神的存在;他创造了这个世界，并以他的远见来治理，最令人接受的服务，便是对人类做些有益的事;我们的灵魂是不朽的，不论现在或未来，所有的罪犯都将受到惩处，而坚贞的美德都将受到赞赏。”
【初中英语听力小故事四】 Thomas Jefferson
托马斯·杰斐逊
While the Presidential election was taking place in the House of Representatives, amid scenes of great excitement, strife and intrigue, which was to decide whether Jefferson or Burr should be the chief magistrate of the nation, Jefferson was stopped one day, as he was coming out of the Senate chamber, by Governor Morris, a prominent leader of the Federalists.
当总统选举正在众议院进行的时候，在决定到底应该是杰斐逊还是博尔做国家总统的异常激烈而又充满斗争和阴谋的一幕幕当中，一天，正当杰斐逊走出参议院的时候，他被莫里斯州长，一个卓越的北部联邦同盟盟员的领导人拦住了。
Mr. Morris said, "I wish to have an earnest talk with you, Mr. Jefferson, on the alarming situation of things."
莫里斯先生说:“杰斐逊先生，我想就这一令人担忧的形势和你进行一次诚恳的交谈。”
"I am very glad," said Jefferson, "to talk matters over with you."
我非常愿意，”杰弗逊说，“和你讨论这些问题。”
"As you well know," said Mr. Morris, "I have been strenuously opposing you, as have also the large majority of the
States."
“正像你所熟知的那样，”莫里斯先生说，“我一直都在坚决反对你，就像美国的绝大多数人那样。”
"To be frank with you," he continued, "we are very much afraid of you. We fear, first, that you will turn all the
Federalists out of office; second, that you will put down the navy; third, that you will wipe off the public debt. Now, if you will declare, or authorize your friends to declare that you will not take these steps, your election will be made sure."
“说实话，”他接着说，“我们都很怕你。我们担心，第一，你会把所有的联邦主义者赶出政府.第二，你会削减海军:第三，你会了结公债。现在，如果你宣布，或者授权你的朋友们宣布你将不采取这些措施，那么你的选举就会得到保证。”
Mr. Jefferson replied, "Governor Morris, I naturally want to be President, and yet I cannot make any terms to obtain the position. I shall never go into the office by capitulation. I cannot have my hands tied by any conditions which would hinder me from pursuing the measures which I deem best for the public good. I must be perfectly free.The world can judge my future course by that which I have hither to follow. I am thankful to you for your interest, but I cannot make the slightest promise."
杰斐逊先生回答道:“莫里斯州长，我自然想当总统，然而我不能为获得这一职位而达成任何协议。我将永远不会通过投降而就职的。我的双手不能被任何将妨碍我追求那些我认为对公众利益最有利的措施的情况所束缚。我必须完全自由。世界可以判断迄今为止我一直在遵循的未来的路线。我感谢你对此的兴趣，但我不能做丝毫的。”