雙語美文：朋友

朋友一生一起走，那些日子不再有，一句話一輩子，一生情一杯酒，周華健的這首朋友相信勾出許多小夥伴的回憶，接下來小編給大家帶來這篇雙語美文：朋友，大家一起來欣賞吧。

"A friend walk in when the rest of the world walks out."

"別人都走開的時候，朋友仍與你在一起。”

Sometimes in life,

有時候在生活中，

You find a special friend;

你會找到一個特別的朋友;

Someone who changes your life just by being part of it.

他只是你生活中的一部分內容，卻能改變你整個的生活。

Someone who makes you laugh until you can‘t stop;

他會把你逗得開懷大笑;

Someone who makes you believe that there really is good in the world.

他會讓你相信人間有真情。

Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked door just waiting for you to open it.

他會讓你確信，真的有一扇不加鎖的門，在等待着你去開啓。

This is Forever Friendship.

這就是永遠的友誼。

when you‘re down,

當你失意，

and the world seems dark and empty,

當世界變得黯淡與空虛，

Your forever friend lifts you up in spirits and makes that dark and empty world

suddenly seem bright and full.

你真正的朋友會讓你振作起來，原本黯淡、空虛的世界頓時變得明亮和充實。

Your forever friend gets you through the hard times,the sad times,and the confused times.

你真正的朋友會與你一同度過困難、傷心和煩惱的時刻。

If you turn and walk away,

你轉身走開時，

Your forever friend follows,

真正的朋友會緊緊相隨，

If you lose you way,

你迷失方向時，

Your forever friend guides you and cheers you on.

真正的朋友會引導你，鼓勵你。

Your forever friend holds your hand and tells you that everything is going to be okay.

真正的朋友會握着你的手，告訴你一切都會好起來的。

And if you find such a friend,

如果你找到了這樣的朋友，

You feel happy and complete,

你會快樂，覺得人生完整，

Because you need not worry,

因爲你無需再憂慮。

Your have a forever friend for life,

你擁有了一個真正的朋友，

And forever has no end.

永永遠遠，永無止境。

　　雙語英文：富人們花掉多少才滿足?

For the wealthy, 2007 was the year that bigger was better -- from yachts and incomes to personal staff and art collections.

In 2008, the rich are likely to be uttering a new mantra -- downsizing.

The fallout from the debt-market crisis, along with growing concerns about inequality and the environment, are likely to usher in a year of moderation for the rich. Don't worry: Conspicuous consumption won't disappear.

Yet the recent surge in the population of millionaires and billionaires is likely to slow, at least in the near term. Buzzwords like 'mass luxury' and 'exclusive' are likely to be replaced by terms like 'authenticity' and 'sustainability.' In 2008, the rich will strive to be more down to earth, even as they take off in their new G550 private jets.

'I think there is increased anxiety among the wealthy,' says Peter White, a New York-based counselor to rich families. 'But I also think there is a greater understanding of the interconnectedness of things, that what they do in their individual lives can have broader implications.'

Here are some of the most likely trends among the super-rich for 2008.

Conventional wisdom today says the wealthy are exempt from the forces of economic gravity. Luxury real-estate sales are booming, say real-estate agents, even as the rest of the housing market craters. Neiman Marcus is outshining Wal-Mart. The rich will continue to spend, we're told, because they're receiving the lion's share of the nation's wealth and income growth.

This has held true -- so far. The rich (especially the super-wealthy) will fare better than the broader consumer, since they have more of a financial cushion. Yet because so much of today's wealth is tied to financial markets, the wealthy will feel the effects of any dramatic decline in stock markets, hedge funds and private equity. One key issue: Mergers and acquisitions -- the main drivers of big wealth -- could die down with tighter credit.

The rich have also been funding their lifestyles with debt -- from art loans and jumbo mortgages to jet financing. So if credit contracts further, high-end spending also will shrink.

Gregory D. Curtis, chairman of Greycourt & Co., a Pittsburgh-based wealth-advisory firm, says he knows several wealthy families who already have been burned by investments linked to subprime lending. 'The wealthy may have a bigger cushion between themselves and the wolf at the door,' he says. 'But they're not immune.'

The runaway prices for art, wine, vintage cars and other collectibles are sure to slow next year. The bubble may not pop, per se, since there is so much demand from the newly rich in China, Russia, the Middle East and Latin America. And so far, prices of collectibles have held firm. Yet the markets have become so overrun with financial speculators -- with art becoming the new 'non-correlated asset' and wine becoming the ultimate liquidity event -- that there's bound to be a correction. Look for price drops of 10% or more for some of the secondary artists and wine makers that rely on American buyers.

Private-jet makers are all touting their new 'green' programs, helping the wealthy ease their consciences about burning 600 gallons of fuel to fly to Florida. Carbon-offset programs will grow in popularity, along with efforts to reduce the number of jets flying empty on return trips.

Green-friendly homes, or eco-mansions, will also make headlines, oxymoron or not. Look for more solar-powered home theaters, drought-averse (yet expensive) gardens and indoor bowling alleys made from recycled wood chips.

With the presidential election casting a spotlight on inequality, the rich will feel more like targets. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama vow to raise certain taxes on the wealthy and liberal billionaires like Warren Buffett and Bill Gross have said the rich don't pay their share.

Whether it's out of enlightened self-interest or self-preservation, the rich may tilt left in 2008 in an effort to damp the growing populist streak in American politics. As Mr. Gross, who made his money in the bond market, put it in a blog post earlier this year, 'Now is the time, long overdue in fact, to admit that for the rich, for the mega-rich of this country, that enough is never enough, and it is therefore incumbent upon government to rectify today's imbalances.'

Any mere millionaire today can buy a Bentley, Hatteras yacht or Gucci bag. Yet how many people can say they've been to outer space?

Experience and access are quickly becoming new status symbols for the wealthy. The most prized experiences have an educational or altruistic bent, which help deflect populist criticism. Rather than buying another house or Swiss watch, the rich are trekking with penguins at the South Pole, having lunch with Nelson Mandela in South Africa or visiting a village in Bhutan to help build a school.

The final frontier in conspicuous consumption: space. In the end it's all about quality dinner conversation, and a rare trip aboard the space station will always outshine stories of another yachting trip to Greece.

對富人而言，2007年是“越大越好”的一年，無論是遊艇、收入、員工數量還是藝術藏品都是如此。

2008年，富人們可能會轉向另外一面──收斂。

債券市場危機的影響以及對貧富差距和環境問題的重視可能會讓富人低調一些。不過不用擔心：炫耀性消費不會消失。

不過，近來百萬富翁和億萬富翁人數增加的速度有所放緩。“貨真價實”、“歷久彌新”可能會取代“奢華”和“專享”這樣的詞藻。2008年，儘管富人可以坐上新的G550私人飛機，但他們的姿態可能降得更低。

爲富有家庭提供諮詢服務的彼得•懷特(Peter White)說，我認爲富人中間的焦慮情緒在增加。但我也認爲，他們對事情的相互關聯性──也就是個人生活中的所作所爲可能產生的廣泛影響──認識得更深刻了。

以下是2008年中超級富人中最有可能出現的一些趨勢。

當今的傳統想法認爲，富人不會受到經濟引力的影響。房地產經紀機構稱，即便其他房屋市場銷售低迷，豪華房地產項目的銷售一派繁榮。Neiman Marcus的光彩遠遠蓋過沃爾瑪(Wal-Mart)。我們聽說，富人們仍在大筆花錢，因爲美國財富和收入增長的一大部分都流入了他們的腰包。

迄今爲止，情況的確是這樣的。富人(尤其是超級富翁)的情況要比普通消費者好很多，因爲他們更有財力承受經濟不景氣的影響。不過，因爲當今的富人多同金融市場關係密切，他們也會感受到股市、對衝基金或私人資本運營基金大幅下跌的影響。一個關鍵問題是：作爲創造鉅富的主要推動力的併購交易可能會因信貸緊縮而減少。

富人的生活也離不開舉債，諸如藝術品貸款、大額抵押貸款和飛機融資等等。因此一旦信貸進一步緊縮，高端支出也會收縮。

廣告爲富人提供諮詢服務的機構Greycourt & Co.的董事長格里高利•柯迪斯(Gregory D. Curtis)說，他知道有幾位富豪家庭已經因與次級貸款有關的投資而陷入了困境。富人面對外部兇險可能是有更多的保護層，但也並非萬無一失。

藝術品、佳釀、豪車和其它收藏品價格的飆升勢頭明年肯定會放緩。不過，泡沫可能不會破裂，因爲來自中國、俄羅斯、中東和拉丁美洲的新富人羣需求旺盛。迄今爲止，收藏品的價格一直堅挺。不過在投機者的推動下，市場漲幅已經過高，當藝術品成爲新的“非關聯資產”、葡萄酒成爲最後的事關流動性的事件後，市場註定就要進行調整了。一些主要依*美國買家的二流藝術品和葡萄酒的價格可能會下跌10%甚至更多。

私人飛機制造商都在鼓吹他們新的“綠色”產品，希望富翁們打消對飛往佛羅里達需要耗費600加侖燃油的顧慮。碳補償計劃及減少飛機返程空載的努力將越來越受到歡迎。

生態房屋也會受到重視，既可能是推崇，也可能是貶低。還會出現更多的太陽能家庭影院、抗旱花園(不過價格不菲)以及用可回收木材製作的室內保齡球道。

隨着總統大選頻頻涉及貧富差距問題，富人可能越來越感到會成爲衆矢之的。希拉里•克林頓(Hillary Clinton)和巴拉克•奧巴馬(Barack Obama)都承諾要提高富人的稅率，而沃倫•巴菲特(Warren Buffett)和比爾•格羅斯(Bill Gross)等億萬富翁表示，富人目前的稅率跟他們的財富不相稱。

不知是否出於內心深處的自利或自我防護的本能，爲對抗美國政壇甚囂塵上的民粹主義潮流，富人們在2008年可能會變得比較“左”。從債市發家的格羅斯今年早些時候在博客中寫道，現在是承認美國富人和超級富人們從不會滿足的時候了，事實上早就應該承認這點了。因此，政府對修正目前的不平衡狀況義不容辭。

任何一位百萬富翁現在都能買得起賓利車、Hatteras遊艇或是Gucci手包。但有幾個人能說他們曾到太空一遊?

能進入各種場所或參加門檻很高的活動正迅速成爲衡量富人身份的新標誌。最值得讚賞的經歷會是教育或公益活動，這將有助於抵禦來自民粹主義者的批評。富人可能會在南極圈與企鵝同行、在南非與納爾遜•曼德拉(Nelson Mandela)共進午餐，或是訪問不丹的村莊幫助他們新建學校，這一切的代價只是取消再買一棟住宅或是一塊瑞士名錶的計劃。

炫耀性消費的最後陣地是太空。畢竟，所有的一切都是爲了餐桌上的談資，而空間站的難得經歷總是比又乘遊艇到希臘暢遊一次的話題來得更體面。