As food is to the body, so is learning to the mind. Our bodies grow and muscles develop with the intake of adequate nutritious food. Likewise, we should keep learning day by day to maintain our keen mental power and expand our intellectual capacity. Constant learning supplies us with inexhaustible fuel for driving us to sharpen our power of reasoning, analysis, and judgment. Learning incessantly is the surest way to keep pace with the times in the information age.
【註解】
As food is to the body, so is learning to the mind.
學習對心靈(的重要性),如同食物對身體(的重要性)。 So引導的從句用部分倒裝結構
intake of adequate nutritious food.攝取足夠的營養物質
likewise 同樣的
day by day 日復一日的
maintain 維持,保持
keen mental power 敏銳的精神力
expand our intellectual capacity擴大我們的智力儲備
inexhaustible fuel取之不竭的燃料
sharpen強化
reasoning推導,推理
incessantly不停地
is the surest way 最確切的方式
keep pace with the times 跟上時代的步伐
information age 信息時代
Once learning stops, vegetation sets in. It is a common fallacy to regard school as the only workshop for the acquisition of knowledge. On the contrary, learning should be a never-ending process, from the cradle to the grave. With the world ever changing so fast, the cease from learning for just a few days will make a person lag behind. What's worse, the animalistic instinct dormant deep in our subconsciousness will come to life, weakening our will to pursue our noble ideal, sapping our determination to sweep away obstacles to our success and strangling our desire for the refinement of our character. Lack of learning will inevitably lead to the stagnation of the mind, or even worse, its fossilization. Therefore, to stay mentally young, we have to take learning as a lifelong career.
【註解】
vegetation 植被;單調的生活
set in 開始
fallacy 謬論
acquisition 學得,獲得
cradle 搖籃
grave 墳墓
lag 掉隊
animalistic 動物的
instinct 本能
dormant 靜止的,休眠的,冬眠的
subconsciousness 潛意識
weakening our will 削弱我們的意志
pursue 追求
noble ideal 崇高的理想
sap 削弱
sweep away obstacle 掃除障礙
strangle our desire 扼殺我們的慾望
refinement 精鍊,改善
inevitably 不可避免的
stagnation 停滯
fossilization 石化,僵化
a lifelong career 一生的事業