在《向大师学英文——边欣赏边思考边应用（2）》中,我欣赏了林语堂先生用英文创作的《生活的艺术》一书中有关“阅读的艺术”的第二段。其中谈到阅读可以激发人们思考，让读者处于客观角度去审视生活。此段中我最欣赏的英文词汇是"contemplative mood", If you think deeply, you may get into the contemplative mood.
继续欣赏林语堂先生《生活的艺术》一书中有关“阅读的艺术”的第三段。
先看译文：
据我的意见，宋朝苏东坡的好友诗人黄山谷所说的话实在是一个读书目的的最佳表达。他说：“三日不读书，便觉语言无味，面目可憎。” 他的意思是人如果读书即会有风韵，富风味。这即是读书的唯一目的。唯有抱着这个目的去读书，方可称为了解读书的艺术。一个人并不是为了要使心智进步而读书，因为读书之时如怀着这个念头，则读书的乐趣变完全丧失了。有这样想法的人必定会和自己说，我必须读莎士比亚，我必须读索福克勒斯(Sophocles), 我必须读伊里奥特博士（Dr. Eliot）的全部著作，以便我可以成为一个有学问的人。我以为这个人永远不会成为有学问者。他必在某天的晚上出于勉强的去读莎士比亚的《哈姆莱特》（Hamlet），放下书时，将好像是从一个噩梦中苏醒一般。其实，他除了可说一声已经读过这本书之外，井未得到什么益处。凡是以出于勉强的态度去读书的人，都是些不懂读书艺术的人。这类抱着求知目标而读书，其实等于一个参议员在发表意见之前的阅读旧案和报告书。这是在搜寻公事上的资料，而不得谓之读书。
再看英文原著：
The best formular for the object of reading, in my opinion, was stated by Huang Shanku, a Sung peot and a friend of Su TungP'o. He said,"A Scholar who hasn't read anything for three days feels that his talk has no flavor (becomes insipid), and his own face becomes hateful to look at (in the mirror)." What he means, of course, is that reading gives a man a certain charm and flavor, which is the entire object of reading, and only reading with this object can be called an art. One doesn't read to "improve one's mind," because when one begins to think of improving his mind, all the pleasure of reading is gone. He is the kind of person who says to himself:"I must read Shakespeare, and I must read Sophocles, and I must read the entire Five Foot Shelf of Dr. Eliot, so I can become the educated man." I'm sure that man will never become educated. He will force himself one evening to read Shakespeare's Hamlet and come away, as if from a bad dream, with no greater benefit than that he is able to say that he has "read" Hamlet. Anyone who reads a book with a sense of obligation does not understand the art of reading. This type of reading with a business purpose is in no way different from a senator's reading up files and reports before he makes a speech. It is asking for business advice and information, and not reading at all.
本段积累到的词汇：insipid
我读过之后的思考：如果只是为了考试读书，为了工作读资料，或者为了让别人以为自己有学问而硬着头皮被动的读书，常常会伴随着痛苦的感受，所以这在林先生看来，与真正的享受阅读，是格格不入的。反过来说，就算是为了考试，为了工作，为了增长知识和提升认知，如果在阅读过程中能够自得其乐，主动思考，有所收获，而不是带着被迫的情绪，我想也算是小小感受一下阅读的艺术吧。
书籍就像是精神营养，进入大脑后经过思考加工（消化、吸收）就会有新的思想产生，同时也会淘汰一些不再认同的理念，这一思想的新陈代谢产生的结果变成了读者的一部分，它们通过读者的语言、文字、表情、体态以及眼神表现出来。所以我们就可以从这些方面判断一个人的精神营养状况如何，也就是整体气质如何。
我的应用：
I don't want to talk with someone whose words is insipid, as if from a bad dream .
