谨以此文，献给正值青春的莘莘学子！
YOUTH
Samuel Ullman
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind;
It is not a matter of rosy1 cheeks, red lips and supple knees;
It is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor2 of the emotions;
It is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a temperamental3 predominance4 of courage over timidity5, of the appetite6 for adventure over the love of ease.
This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of twenty.
Nobody grows old merely7 by a number of years.
We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle8 the skin, but to give up enthusiasm9 wrinkles the soul.
Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether sixty or sixteen, there is in every human being’s heart the lure10 of wonders, the unfailing child-like appetite of what’s next, and the joy of the game of living.
In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless11 station;
So long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the infinite12, so long are you young.
When the aerials13 are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism14 and the ice of pessimism15, then you’ve grown old, even at twenty, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch the waves of optimism16, there is hope you may die young at eighty.
词汇积累：
1. rosy /’rəʊzɪ/ 蔷薇色的，玫瑰红色的；美好的；乐观的；涨红脸的；
2. vigor/’vɪgə/ 活力；精力
3. temperamental /,temp(ə)rə’ment(ə)l/ 喜怒无常的；性情的；易兴奋的
4. predominance /prɪ’dɒmɪnəns/ 优越；卓越
5. timidity/tɪ’mɪdətɪ/ 胆怯，胆小；羞怯
6. appetite /’æpɪtaɪt/ 食欲；嗜好
7. merely /’mɪəlɪ/ 仅仅，只不过；只是
8. wrinkle /’rɪŋkl/ 起皱纹
9. enthusiasm/ɪnˈθju:zɪæzəm/ 热心，热忱，热情
10. lure/l(j)ʊə/ 诱惑；饵；诱惑物
11. wireless /ˈwʌɪəlɪs/ 无线的；无线电的
12. infinite /’ɪnfɪnət/ 无限的，无穷的；无数的；极大的
13. aerials/’ɛrɪəl/ 天线
14. cynicism /’sɪnɪsɪz(ə)m/ 玩世不恭，愤世嫉俗；犬儒主义；冷嘲热讽
15. pessimism /’pesɪmɪz(ə)m/ 悲观，悲观情绪；厌世主义
16. optimism /’ɒptɪmɪz(ə)m/ 乐观；乐观主义
接下来，我们来看一下中文翻译的不同版本吧！
《青春》青春
王佐良 译
青春不是年华，而是心境；
青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而是深沉的意志，恢宏的想象，炙热的感情；
青春是生命的深泉在涌流。
青春气贯长虹，勇锐盖过怯弱，进取压倒苟安。如此锐气，二十后生而有之，六旬男子则更多见。
年岁有加，并非垂老，理想丢弃，方堕暮年。
岁月悠悠，衰微只及肌肤；热忱抛却，颓废必致灵魂。忧烦，惶恐，丧失自信，定使心灵扭曲，意气如灰。
无论年届花甲，抑或二八芳龄，心中皆有生命之欢乐，奇迹之诱惑，孩童般天真久盛不衰。
人人心中皆有一台天线，只要你从天上人间接受美好、希望、欢乐、勇气和力量的信号，你就青春永驻，风华常存。
一旦天线下降，锐气便被冰雪覆盖，玩世不恭、自暴自弃油然而生，即使年方二十，实已垂垂老矣；
然则只要树起天线，捕捉乐观信号，你就有望在八十高龄告别尘寰时仍觉年轻。
青春
黄志坚 译
青春，并非年轻岁月，而是一种心态；青春的特征，并非粉颊、朱唇、柔肢，而是毅力、激情、创意；青春是生命涌泉的清澈、激扬。
青春，是指超越怯懦、勇气如虹，不图安逸、敢闯敢试。毅力若此，花甲多胜弱冠。年岁递增，非必老化；背弃理想，方陷残年。
岁月留痕，只及肌肤；激情不再，皱起心灵。忧惧自卑，终致身心佝偻、精神萎靡。
无论年少或年长，当怀好奇的诱导，像孩子般总渴求着：接下来的进展及驰骋人生的欢乐。
人人皆有心灵的感官，只要感受源源来自人间与穹苍的启发，感应有关美好、希望、激情、勇毅和能力的信息，你就会朝气勃勃、青春无限。
