这篇美文是罗伯特·弗罗斯特的《The Road Not Taken》(未选择的道路),以描写人生中选择的困惑和决策为主题。通过描述自己在一片黄色的森林中面对两条分岔路的选择,作者表达了在人生旅途中做出决定的难题,以及选择对人生产生的重大影响。美文如下:

The Road Not Taken

未选择的路

Author: Robert Frost

罗伯特·弗罗斯特

Two roads perged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

黄色的森林里分出两条路,

很抱歉我不能同时去涉足,

我久久地站着,看着一条路,

直到它消失在丛林深处。

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

然后我选择了另一条,同样美丽,

或许它更有优势一些,

因为草地更绿更少人行走。

不过说实话,两条路都已经

被走过了,差不多一样破旧。

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

那天早上,两条路都铺满了

没有人行走的树叶。

哦,我留着第一条路以备将来!

不过,我知道路径延续下去,

我也许再也回不来了。

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads perged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

年复一年,我将轻叹地

讲述这段经历:

黄色的森林里分出两条路,

而我——

我选择了人迹更少的那一条,

而那造就了我今天的一切差异。