On Study(论学习)

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