一生必读的5本书

 　　1.The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

　　卡勒德·胡赛尼 《追风筝的人》
　　Told against the backdrop of the changing political landscape of Afghanistan from the 1970s to the period following 9/11, The Kite Runner is the story of the unlikely and complicated friendship between Amir, the son of a wealthy merchant, and Hassan, the son of his father’s servant until cultural and class differences and the turmoil 1 of war tear them asunder 2. Hosseini brings his homeland to life for us in a way that post 9/11 media coverage 3 never could, showing us a world of ordinary people who live, die, eat, pray, dream, and love. It’s a story about the long shadows that family secrets cast across decades, the enduring love of friendship, and the transformative power of forgiveness.
　　故事发生在阿富汗的政治格局变化多端的背景下，从20世纪70年代到21世纪9.11事件后期。《追风筝的人》给我们讲述了一段关于两个人的不可思议的复杂友谊。阿米尔，一个富商的儿子；哈桑,他父亲的仆人的儿子。文化和阶级差别以及战争的动荡迫使他们分开。哈桑回到了自己的家乡生活，那段时间正是9.11事件后期，一段媒体从未涉及报道的时期。作品给我们展示了一个普通人的世界，他们是如何生存、死亡、吃饭、祈祷、梦想和爱的。这是一个关于跨越几十年的家族秘密的长长的投影,是关于持久的友谊之爱以及变革性力量的故事。
　　2.Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
　　露易丝·洛瑞 《数星星》
　　This Newbery award-winning novel tells the story of Annemarie Yohansen, a Danish girl growing up in World War II Copenhagen with her best friend, Ellen, who happens to be Jewish. When Annemarie learns about the horrors that the Nazis 4 are inflicting 5 on the Jewish people, she and her family stop at nothing to protect Ellen and her parents, as well as countless 6 other Jews. Lowry’s novel is a powerful reminder 7 that cultural and religious differences are no divide between true friends and that love shines all the brighter against the darkness of hatred 8.
　　这部小说荣获纽伯瑞文学奖。小说讲述的是第二次世界大战在哥本哈根长大的丹麦女孩安妮.约翰逊和她最好的朋友—— 一个犹太人艾伦的故事。当安玛丽得知纳粹对犹太人带来的惊骇惨剧时，她和她的家人不惜一切代价保护艾伦和她的父母，以及无数其他犹太人。劳里的小说强有力的提醒着我们，文化和宗教的差异并不是分裂真正朋友间的隔阂，并且爱可以把所有的光明带到黑暗的仇恨中，照亮他们。
　　3.Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
　　简·奥斯丁《傲慢与偏见》
　　The opening line of this classic novel, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife” is one of the most recognizable first lines of fiction. Yet Jane Austen’s most famous work is more than a comedy of manners about the marriage market and the maneuvers 9 of navigating 10 polite society in 19th-century England. Pride and Prejudice remains 11 one of the most enduring works of English Literature not because we find such rewarding pleasure in watching sparks fly between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy (though that’s certainly reason enough). Readers embrace the novel because Austen candidly 12 captures the human character with all of its beauties and its imperfections. Pride and Prejudice is a novel about overcoming differences of cast and class, about learning to laugh at life even when it’s grossly unfair, and about recognizing that loving someone often means accepting them in spite of rather than because of who they are.
　　这部经典小说的开场白，“英美凡是有钱的单身汉，总想娶位太太，这已经成了一条举世公认的真理”这已经成为辨识度最高的小说的开场白之一。然而，简·奥斯丁最著名的作品是一部反19世纪英格兰婚姻市场的繁杂习俗和跻身上流社会的众多手段的喜剧。《傲慢与偏见》仍是流传最久的英语文学作品之一，并不是因为我们看到伊丽莎白和达西先生之间擦出的爱情火花感到高兴（尽管这是一个充分的理由）。读者能够接受这部小说，是因为奥斯丁坦率地捕捉了人类性格的美与缺陷。《傲慢与偏见》是一部关于克服社会角色和阶级差异，关于笑着面对即便是非常不公平的生活，关于意识到爱一个人常常意味着接受他们，而不是因为他们的身份。
　　4.The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
　　S.E.辛顿 《局外人》
　　Hinton penned this novel when she was only 16 because she was tired of reading fluffy 13 romances. She wanted a story about the harsh realities of being a teenager in mid-20th century America, and since none existed, she wrote one herself. Told from the perspective of orphan 14 Ponyboy Kurtis, this multiple award-winning young adult novel tells the story of a group of rough, teenage boys on the streets of an Oklahoma town, struggling to survive and stick together amidst violence, peer pressure, and broken homes. The novel reminds us that growing up is never easy and that pain, loss, friendship, and love are universal experiences that both create and dissolve socio-economic boundaries.
　　辛顿写这部小说时只有16岁。因为她厌倦了读那些空洞的恋情。她想要一篇关于一名20世纪中期的美国青少年的残酷故事。而由于并没有这样的一个小说存在，所以她自己写了一篇。这部荣获多项大奖的青年小说，从孤儿波里博伊.柯蒂斯的角度讲述了一群在俄克拉荷马城大街上艰难生活的年轻人。他们挣扎着为生存而斗争，在暴力、来自同伴的压力和破碎的家庭中不断坚持的故事。这部小说提醒我们,成长绝非易事,而痛苦、损失、友谊和爱都是必经的也正是创建和消融社会经济界限的经历。
　　5.Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
　　路易莎·梅·阿尔科特 《小妇人》
　　A richly written novel with a cast of memorable 15 characters, Little Women invites us into the warm, comfortable home of a 19th-century American family. Everyone can find a character trait that resonates with them, whether Jo’s temper, Meg’s vanity, Amy’s mischievousness 16, or Beth’s shyness. The novel is a coming-of-age story that follows four sisters (the March girls) from girlhood to womanhood in Civil War America. Together they learn about the harsh realities of poverty, illness, and death, and how to dream, love, and laugh through it all. This is a heartwarming, timeless classic about the importance of family and the simple, home-spun comfort of never being alone.
　　一部浓墨重彩的小说，《小妇人》带我们来到温暖、舒适的19世纪的美国家庭的一间小屋。每个人都可以找到一个与他们产生共鸣的性格特征。无论是乔的暴躁脾气，梅格的贪慕虚荣，艾米的娇气俏皮还是贝斯的娇羞温顺。小说随着四姐妹在南北战争中从少女蜕变成成熟女性而发展。他们一起学会了接收贫穷，疾病、死亡。学会了如何充满梦想，如何爱，如何笑着看这一切。这是一个感人至深的,永恒的经典。道出了家庭的重要性，以及家里那简单淳朴从不会令人感到孤独的舒适。