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.
【注解】
As food is to the body, so is learning to the mind.
学习对心灵(的重要性),如同食物对身体(的重要性)。 So引导的从句用部分倒装结构
intake of adequate nutritious food.摄取足够的营养物质
likewise 同样的
day by day 日复一日的
maintain 维持,保持
keen mental power 敏锐的精神力
expand our intellectual capacity扩大我们的智力储备
inexhaustible fuel取之不竭的燃料
sharpen强化
reasoning推导,推理
incessantly不停地
is the surest way 最确切的方式
keep pace with the times 跟上时代的步伐
information age 信息时代
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.
【注解】
vegetation 植被;单调的生活
set in 开始
fallacy 谬论
acquisition 学得,获得
cradle 摇篮
grave 坟墓
lag 掉队
animalistic 动物的
instinct 本能
dormant 静止的,休眠的,冬眠的
subconsciousness 潜意识
weakening our will 削弱我们的意志
pursue 追求
noble ideal 崇高的理想
sap 削弱
sweep away obstacle 扫除障碍
strangle our desire 扼杀我们的欲望
refinement 精炼,改善
inevitably 不可避免的
stagnation 停滞
fossilization 石化,僵化
a lifelong career 一生的事业