第 1 页 共 5 页 有关家的经典美文 经典英语美文：家 Few words in the English language have such a special meaning. Home is a place where you can rela某, kick back and just be yourself. Just about everyone bas a strong opinion of what makes a house a home. And for most people in America, home should be, above all, comfortable. 在英文中没有几个字像家这个字一样有着特别的意义。家是一个你可以放松、做回你自己的地方。大概每个人对于如何把一间屋子变成一个家都非常有主见。对于大多数的美国人来说，家最重要的应该是舒适。 Americans like their homes to refiect their personal tastes. Many do- it-yourselfers enjoy fi某 ing up their house and making it more livable. They often try to create a cozy atmosphere so that when theyre at home, theyll really feel“at home. Sofas and lounge chairs may be heavily padded and arranged in groupings conducive to rela 某 ed conversation. The bathroom even receives special attention. Carpeted floors, scented soaps, colorful wall paper and decorative curtains adorn the comfort room in many homes. And on average, Americans have more bathrooms than any other people in the world. 美国人喜欢让家反映出他们个人的品味。许多喜欢自己动手人沉醉于修补他们的房子并让它更“适于居住竹” 他们常试着营造一个温暖而舒适的气氛，这样当他们待在家时，会真的感觉到“毫无拘束”。沙发及安乐椅可能会被铺上厚厚的垫子，并运用不同空间组合的摆设，让坐的人可以轻松地谈话。甚至连浴室他们也颇费心思：铺有地毯的地板、香气四溢的肥皂、彩色的壁纸及装饰窗帘，如此就打扮出了许多家庭的“舒服之地”。平均来说，美国人拥有的浴室比世界上其他的人都多。 Lisa Marie Odegard, an interior designer in Bozeman, Montana, comments that a home is a haven. People want an open, easy feeling 第 2 页 共 5 页 to make their homes comfortable. For that reason, many new homes now have big, open kitchens and vaulted ceilings. 蒙大拿州柏斯曼的一位室内设计师丽莎区迪嘉谈到：“家是一个避难所。人们想要一个开放、轻松的感觉来让他们的家变得很舒适。”因为这个原因，现在许多新房子都有大而开放的厨房以及拱形的屋顶。 Americans try to make the most of their space, too. The majority of homes have built-in closets and shelves, and people spare no pains to add dressers, filing cabinets and closet organizers to ma 某 imize their storage space. Although keeping the house neat is ofien a constant battle,Americans feelits a attle worth fighting. 美国人也试着将空间做最佳的利用。 大多数的家庭都有壁橱以及架子，人们也不辞辛劳地添加橱柜、文件柜以及壁柜分隔架来加大储藏空间。虽然让房子维持整洁像是一场永无止尽的长期战役，但美国人觉得它是一场值得打下去的战役。 People in America keep an eye on the latest trends in interior design.In the 80s, the country look dominated the home decorating scene, Rustic funuture and shelves full of old-fashioned knick-knacks created a homey atmosphere remiruscent of ruralAmerica several generations back. The 90s have brought in another longing for the past: the retr0 50s and 60s look- plain and simple furniture with square backs and arms and block-style legs. 美国人也会注意室内设计的最新时尚。80 年代，“乡村竹风貌主导了家庭装潢;摆满旧式风格的小摆设的质朴家俱及架子，创造出一种会令人想起几代人以前以农业为主的美国之家庭气氛。90 年代又带入另一个怀 J 日情愫：回溯到50 及 60 年代风貌有四方形靠背、把手以及有方正桌脚的朴素、简单的家俱。 Some parts of the country have their own regional preferences. In the western Uruted States, home owners favor the Navajo Indian 第 3 页 共 5 页 style of the Southwest or the cowboy look. In contrast, Easterners prefer French Country or more fussy styles. 国内某些地方的人们有他们自己地区性的偏好，在美国西部，屋主们喜欢西南部印地安拿佛和族或是牛仔式的风格。相对的，东部人喜欢法国乡村或是更漂亮的形式。 With all this attention to their homes, you would think Americans place a high premium on housekeeping. In fact, however, keeping house doesnt receive as much attention as it used to. Why The fast-paced lifestyles of the 90s allow little spare time for dusting, vacuuming and scrubbing the tub. Ironically，however, even though more and more women work outside the home, women still do twice as much house work as men. Modem conveniences like the washing machine, the vacuum cleaner, and the dishwasher have taken some of the drudgery out of household chores. But in general, Americans these days take their cue from books like How to Avoid Housework. 在他们家花了这么多的心思，你大概会认为美国人非常重视家庭的打理与清洁，但是事实上，整理家务已不像以前一样受重视。为什么呢 90 年代步调快速的生活方式几乎没有留什么时间掸灰尘、吸尘以及刷洗浴缸。 然而，讽刺的是，即使越来越多的妇女在外工作，她们还是比男人多做两倍的家务。虽然像是洗衣机、吸尘器和洗碗机等现代家电已经替代了处理家务事中一些乏味、辛苦的工作。但一般而言，美国人今天已会向 如何避免家务这类的书来求救。 As a result, you might think American homes of the 90s are less than spotless. Witness the fact that sales of household cleaning products have declined in recent years. Besides that, Americans seem to be less persnickety about their housecleaning-especially in areas that nobody sees. Vacuum under the sofa Dust the baseboards Are you kidding Ironically, though, American women seem quite satisfied with 第 4 页 共 5 页 their housekeeping, according to a national survey conducted in 1995-96. Besides that, people are designing their homes with low- maintenance features-tile in bathrooms and kitchens as well as marble on countertops-to cut down on the need for frequent cleaning. Even so,more and more people are hiring outside help to clean their houses. A Roper poU found that one in si 某 Americans hired cleaning help last year,up from one in 10 in 1986. One professional housecleaning service, Merry Maids, has grown to over 800 francluses in recent years. 因此，你可能会认为 90 年代的美国家庭大概不是一尘不染。由家用清洁产品的销售量在近几年呈下降的趋势便可见一斑。此外，美国人似乎对于家庭的清洁不那么吹毛求疵了特别是对那些没有人会看到的地方。吸沙发下的灰尘掸脚板你在开玩笑吗(他们是不会做的)但可笑的是，根据 19951996 年做的一项全国性调查，美国妇女似乎对他们的家务整理挺满意。除此之外，人们不再选择需要时时清洁的材料来设计他们的家-在浴室及厨房贴磁砖以及做大理石的台面一以减少打扫的次数。即使如此，越来越多的人还会雇用外人来协助清理屋子。一项洛普民意调查发现，去年有 1/6 的美国人雇用清洁服务，较 1986 年的 1/10 比率上升了许多。一个专业性的家务清理服务“陕乐女佣公司在最近几年已发展到拥有 800 多家的连锁店。 In a pre-Revolutionary War speech in 1761, James Otis made the famous remark that a mans home is his castle. Americans like their castle to be as comfortable as possible. They would like to have a home they can be proud of, a place they can call their own. Not every ones home looks like a castle, but be it ever so humble, theres no place like home. 在 1761 年独立战争前的一次演说中，詹姆士欧提斯留下卜句名言一“男人的家是他的城堡”。美国人喜欢他们的城堡能够尽可能的舒适，他们都想要有一个引以为荣的家，一个可以属于他们自己的港湾。并不是每个人的家都看 第 5 页 共 5 页 起来像是一座城堡，但是“即使是非常简陋，也没有一个地方可以比得上家”