Just at the Beginning
“We are reading the first verse of the first chapter of a book whose pages are infinite.”
I do not know who wrote those words, but I have always liked them as a reminder that the future can be anything we want to make it. We can take the mysterious, hazy future and carve out of it anything that we can imagine, just like a sculptor carves a statue from a shapeless stone.
We are all in the position of the farmer. If we plant a good seed, we reap a good harvest. If our seed is poor and full of weeds, we reap a useless crop. If we plant nothing at all, we harvest nothing at all.
I want the future to be better than the past. I don’t want it contaminated by the mistakes and errors with which history is filled. We should all be concerned about the future because that is where we will spend the reminder of our lives.① The past is gone and static. Nothing we can do will change it.② The future is before us and dynamic. Everything we do will affect it.
Each day will brings with it new frontiers, in our homes and in our businesses, if we will only recognize them. We are just at the beginning of the progress in every field of human endeavor.
［230 words］
行文点评
文中多处使用比喻、对比，例如将我们比作雕塑家、农夫，将昨天与明天相比，使得论证更加生动形象。
好文妙译
在起跑线上
“我们正在阅读一本不知道多少页数的书的第一章的第一节…”
我不知道这段文字是谁写的，但我一直很喜欢用它来提醒自己：未来操之在我。我们可以掌握神秘而不可知的未来，从中创出我们所能想象的任何东西，一如雕刻家可以将一块没有形状的石头刻成雕像一样。
我们每个人都像是一个农夫。如果我们种下好种子，就会有丰收。如果种子不好而且田里杂草丛生，虽会有点儿收成但却派不上多大用场。而如果我们什么都不种，就根本不会有任何收获。
不管怎样，我希望未来会比过去更好。我不希望在未来再犯下那些充斥在历史中的错误。关心未来吧，因为我们的余生都要在未来中度过。往昔已经一去不复返了，而且是静止的，任凭我们怎么努力都不能改变它了。而未来就在我们眼前，而且是动态的，我们的任何行为都会影响到它。
词汇斟酌
infinite a. 无穷的，无限的
mysterious a. 神秘的，难以理解的
hazy a. 朦胧的，烟雾弥漫的，模糊的
sculptor n. 雕刻家
static a. 静止的，停止的
dynamic a. 有活力的，动态的
endeavor vt.& n. 尽力，努力，尝试
佳句临摹
①【注释】be concerned about关心……
【临摹】People are more and more concerned about the traffic of big city.人们越来越关注大城市的交通。
②【注释】we can do是插入语，有助于变化句式
【临摹】What explanation do you suppose the teacher could give? 你想老师会如何解释？(do you suppose插入成分)
思如泉涌
Ideal is the beacon. Without ideal, there is no secure direction; without direction, there is no life. 理想是指路明灯。没有理想，就没有坚定的方向。没有了方向，生活也就失去了意义。
Life is long if you know how to use it.如能善于利用，生命乃长。
来源：新浪教育