多看一些励志的英文故事，为自己加油鼓劲的同时还能提高自己的英语水平，今天小编在这里为大家分享一些英语故事短文，欢迎大家阅读学习。
英语故事：快乐就是这么简单
Do you want to be happy? Of course you do, but according to new research, resting and relaxation are no way to go about it.
想要快乐吗?你当然想啦，不过最新研究显示，休息放松可不能让你快乐起来。
You're better off going to the theatre or exercising; even a visit to the library beats lounging around on the sofa.
你最好去剧院看场剧，或者去做运动，即使是去图书馆看书也比躺在沙发上无所事事要强。
Such were the findings of a joint study by the University of Sussex and the London School of Economics, which has come up with a list of 33 activities that make us happy.
这是苏塞克斯大学和伦敦经济学院共同研究的发现，从中还得出了一份清单，列出了33件可以让我们快乐的事。
One thing's for certain, texting and social media come at the bottom of the list, only increasing our happiness by a puny 0.45 per cent.
可以肯定的是，短信和社交媒体只能让我们的快乐感增加微不足道的0.45%，排在了列表的末尾。
But happiness doesn't have to come from other people. It can come from within - and connecting with the world around you.
但是快乐不一定是来自别人的，它还可以源于自身，与你周围的世界有着紧密的联系。
英语故事：园艺的快乐
A few years ago I went through a period of such severe depression that life didn't seem worth living. It was like permanent winter, so bleak and cold that the sun would never shine.
几年前，我曾有一段时间患了严重的抑郁症，生活于我几近无可眷恋。我感觉身处永久的严冬，连阳光也无法穿透刺骨的寒冷。
Then I saw snowdrops pushing through the freezing, iron-hard ground. I looked at them every day until I felt that if they could come back to life, then so could I.
后来我看到雪花莲从冰冷坚硬的泥土里钻出来了。我每天看着它们，心想，如果它们可以挺过这个寒冬，那我也可以。
Those green shoots gave me hope in a way that nothing else had.
唯独是这些绿色的嫩芽，用独特的方式给我带来了希望。
As spring came, I started to put in more and more plants, until the garden was ablaze with colour. Life was growing through my hands; gentle, peaceful, but, above all, optimistic. If I gave love, it was returned, a hundredfold.
春天来了，我开始不断地在花园里种各种花草，整个花园都充满了鲜艳的色彩。生命通过我的双手不断成长，迸发着柔和宁静、乐观向上的气息。我给它们的爱意，它们百倍地回报了我。
I could spend hours lost in gardening. The form of depressive illness I have is biological. It has affected generations of my family and follows no rhyme, reason nor circumstance. I can be depressed when the sun is shining or I am surrounded by a group of loving friends.
我陶醉在园艺中，不知不觉就会度过好几个小时。我患有的抑郁症是遗传性的，已经影响了我家里好几代人，无规律可循，原因不明，也不知道什么时候会发作。无论是阳光灿烂的时候，还是和一群好朋友在一起，我都有可能会郁郁寡欢。
Of course, fresh air and exercise help to alleviate depression, but for me gardening is more than that. It represents endurance as well as hope.
当然，呼吸新鲜空气和做运动能够减轻抑郁的症状，但对我来说，园艺不仅仅是一种治疗的手段。它代表着忍耐和希望。
At the end of the first garden I made stood a tree, huge and magnificent. It withstood freezing temperatures and gale-force winds. It bent but never broke.
在第一个花园的深处，我亲手种了一棵树，高大茂盛，经得住刺骨的严寒和凛冽的暴风，即使被吹弯了也从来没有折断过。
The leaves dropped until it looked no more than a stark skeleton, but it always, always came back to life. And so I learned that we may be battled and bruised, but hope is a living thing.
每次落叶纷飞，最后只剩下光秃秃的树枝，它总是可以恢复生机。从中我懂得了一个道理：我们会经受考验，会跌倒受伤，但希望是不灭的。
英语故事：孤岛上的故事
The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.
在一场船难中，唯一的生存者随着潮水，漂流到一座无人岛上。
He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him,
他天天激动地祈祷神救他能够早日离开此处，回到家乡。
and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
他还每天注视着海上有否可搭救他的人，但却是除了汪洋一片，什么也没有。
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.
后来，他决定用那片带他到小岛的木头造一个简陋的小木屋，以保护他在这险恶的环境中生存，并且保存他所有剩下的东西。
But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.
但有一天，在他捕完食物后，准备回小屋时，突然发现他的小屋竟然陷在熊熊烈火之中， 大火引起的浓烟不断向天上窜。
The worst had happened; everything was lost.
最悲惨的是：他所有的一切东西，在这一瞬间通通化为乌有了。
He was stunned with grief and anger. “God how could you do this to me!” he cried.
悲痛的他，气愤的对天呐喊着：神啊!你怎么可以这样对待我!顿时，眼泪从他的眼角中流出。
Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island.
第二天一早，他被一艘正靠近小岛的船只的鸣笛声所吵醒。
It had come to rescue him.
是的，有人来救他了。
“How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.
到了船上时，他问那些船员说：「你怎么知道我在这里?」
It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad.
「因为我们看到了信号般的浓烟。」他们回答说。 人在碰到困难时，很容易会沮丧。
But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.
不过无论受到折磨或者痛苦，都不用因此失去信心，因为上帝一直在我们心里面做着奇妙的工作。
Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.
记住：当下一次你的小木屋着火时，那可能只是上帝美妙恩典的表征而已。
For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves,God has a positive answer for it.
在所有我们所认为负面的事情，上帝都是有正面答案的。
什么才是真正的礼物?
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.- Eric Hoffer
世界上最难的算术题是如何清点我们的祝福。
According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet, he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher。
据传说，一个年轻的男子在漫游沙漠途中看到一泉如水晶般清澈而可口的水。水的味道非常甜美，于是他灌满了他的皮水壶，这样就可以带一些回去，送给曾经是他老师的部落长老。
After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart。
经过四天的旅程，他把水呈献给老人。老人深饮一口，和蔼地笑了笑，并深切感激学生赠予他甜美的水。年轻人怀着愉快的心情回到了村庄。
Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container。
后来，老师让他的另一个学生品尝水。学生吐了出来，说水太难喝了。它显然已经因为陈旧的皮革容器而变得不再新鲜。
The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"
学生质疑他的老师：“师父，水是臭的，你为什么要假装喜欢它?”
The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter."
老师回答说，“你只品尝了水的味道，我却是在品尝礼物的味道。水仅仅是装载善与爱之行为的容器，而没有什么东西比善与爱更甜美了。”
I think we understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it's a ceramic tray or a macaroni bracelet, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift。
我认为当我们从天真的孩子们那里收到爱的礼物时，能够最透彻地明白这个道理。无论它是一个陶瓷托盘或通心粉手镯，我们自然而恰当的反应是欣赏，并表示感激，因为我们喜欢礼物所包含的心意。
Gratitude doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart。
感恩并不总是自然而来的。不幸的是，大多数儿童和成人只看重被赠予的东西本身，而不是它体现的情谊。我们应该提醒自己，并教导我们的孩子，感情和对感激之情的表达是美丽而纯洁的。毕竟，发自内心给与的礼物才是真正的礼物。
