world to eat, to stay alive as long as we possibly can."
a seagull never speaks back to the council flock, but it was jonathan's voice raised. "irresponsibility? my brothers!" he cried, "who is more responsible than a gull who finds and follows a meaning, a higher purpose for life? for a thousand years we have 8)scrabbled after fish heads, but now we have a reason to live -- to learn, to discover, to be free! give me one chance, let me show you what i've found..."
the flock might as well have been stone.
"the 9)brotherhood is broken," the gulls 10)intoned together, and with one accord they solemnly closed their ears and turned their backs upon him.
jonathan seagull spent the rest of his days alone, but he flew way out beyond the far cliffs. his one sorrow was not 11)solitude, it was that other gulls refused to believe the glory of flight that awaited them; they refused to open their eyes and see.
he learned more each day. he learned that a 12)streamlined high-speed dive could bring him to find the rare and tasty fish that schooled ten feet below the surface of the ocean: he no longer needed fishing boats and 13)stale bread for survival. he learned to sleep in the air, setting a 14)course at night across the 15)offshore wind, covering a hundred miles from sunset to sunrise. with the same inner control, he flew through heavy sea-fogs and climbed above them into dazzling clear skies... in the very times when every other gull stood on the ground, knowing nothing but mist and rain. he learned to ride the high winds far inland, to dine there on delicate insects.
what he had once hoped for the flock, he now gained for himself alone; he learned to fly, he was not sorry for the price that he had paid. jonathan seagull discovered that 16)boredom and fear and anger are the reasons that a gull's life is so short, and with these gone from his thought, he lived a long and fine life indeed.
海鸥乔纳森●利文斯顿（下）
乔纳森着陆的时候，海鸥们正聚集在一起开会，它们显然已经聚集了好一会儿了。实际上它们正等待着。
“海鸥乔纳森·利文斯顿！站到中间来！”长者的话音仿佛是在举行最高仪式。站在中间只代表两种意思：极度耻辱或极度荣耀。因为荣耀而站在中间是海鸥们宣布重要领导人的方式。
当然了，乔纳森想道，一定是早上出去觅食的鸥群看到我破的记录了！可我不需要荣耀啊。我也不想当什么领导。我只想和大家分享我的新发现，想给大家展示一个新天地。
他走到前面。
“海鸥乔纳森·利文斯顿，”长者说道，“站到中间来，将你的耻辱示以众人！”
犹如当头一棒。乔纳森的膝盖发软，羽毛耷了下来，他的耳朵轰轰地响。因为耻辱？不可能啊！我打破了记录！他们怎么不明白！他们弄错了，他们弄错了！
“……因他不顾后果、不负责任的行为，”严肃的声音说道，“他有辱我们鸥族的尊严和传统……”
因为耻辱站到中间意味着他被驱逐出鸥群，被遗弃到远处的悬崖上孤独地过活。
“……总有一天，海鸥乔纳森·利文斯顿，你将明白到不负责任是不可取的。生活不可知也无从可知，我们来到这世上仅为了吃，以及尽量活下去。”
海鸥是不能驳斥委员会的，可乔纳森的声音响起来：“不负责任？天啊！”他大声地说：“作为志在发现并追随生命更高尚意义的一只海鸥，有什么比这更负责呢？一千年来，我们只是胡乱地抢夺鱼吃，但现在我们有了生存的理由--去学习、去发现、去寻找自由！给我一个机会吧，我会让你们看看我的发现……”
鸥群依然不为所动。
“你不再是我们中的一员了，”海鸥们一齐说道，他们全体木然地合上耳朵，掉过背去对着乔纳森。
从此海鸥乔纳森就孤零零地生活了，他飞开，飞得比远处的悬崖更远。他感到悲伤的不是孤独，而是其他海鸥拒不相信有飞行的荣耀在前方等待着他们；他们不愿睁开眼睛看。
每天他都学到更多飞行技巧。他发现，用一个改良后的高速俯冲姿势能找到潜伏在海底十英尺处珍罕而味美的鱼群：他再也不必为了生存求助于那些渔船的老面包了。他练习在空中睡眠，在夜间逆海风急行，从日落到日出之间跨越一百英里的路程。以同样的内力，他飞过海上弥漫的大雾，飞越到顶上眩目而清澈的天空中……与此同时，别的海鸥还只能站在地面上，只知道雾和雨。乔纳森还学会御风高飞，飞入远远的内陆，吃到古灵精怪的昆虫。
他曾为鸥群所寄予的希望，全都独自实现了；他学会了飞翔，从不为其中付出的代价感到过后悔。海鸥乔纳森发现，厌倦、恐惧与愤怒正是海鸥们短寿的原因所在，而因为乔纳森没有这些体会，他活到了高龄并且生活得很滋润。
注释：
1) flock v. (禽畜的)群集，成群结队
2) foremost a. 最重要的
3) breakthrough n. 突破
4) sag v. 松弛，下垂
5) solemn a. 严肃的，庄严的
6) cast out of 赶出
7) unknowable a. 不能知道的
8) scrabble v. 摸索，扒寻
9) brotherhood n. 兄弟情谊
10) intone v. （以拖长的声音）吟咏
11) solitude n. 孤独
12) streamlined a. 最新型的，改进的
13) stale a. 不新鲜的
14) course n. 急行
15) offshore a. 离岸的
16) boredom n. 厌倦
★★《2003年03月号-第39期-disc02-04》★★
instruction for life
生活的忠告
1. give people more than they expect and do it 1)cheerfully;
给别人比他们期许的更多，并欣喜地去做；
2. don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all you want;
不要轻信你听到的每件事，不要花光你的所有，不要想睡多久就睡多久；
3. when you say, "i love you", mean it;
无论何时说“我爱你”，请真心实意；
4. when you say, "i'm sorry", look the person in the eye;
在说“对不起”的时候，请看对方的眼睛；
5. believe in love at first sight;
相信一见钟情；
6. never laugh at anyone's dreams;
不要嘲笑他人的梦想；
7. love deeply and 2)passionately. you might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely;
深情热烈地爱，也许你会受伤，但这是使人生完整的唯一方法；
8. in disagreements, fight fairly. no 3)name-calling;
用一种公平磊落的方法解决争议，不要冒犯；
9. talk slowly but think quickly;
慢慢地说，但要迅速地想；
10. when you lose, don't lose the lesson;
如果失败，别忘了汲取教训；
11. remember the three r's: respect for self; respect for others; responsibility for all your actions;
记住三个“尊”：尊重自己；尊重别人；对自己的行为负责；
12. don't let a little 4)dispute injure a great friendship;
不要让一场小小的争端毁了一段伟大的友谊；
13. when you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it;
无论何时你发现自己做错了，竭尽所能去弥补，动作要快；
14. smile when picking up the phone. the caller will hear it in your voice;
在你打电话的时候微笑，因为对方能感觉到；
15. spend some time alone;
找点时间，单独呆会儿；
16. open your arms to change but don't let go of your values;
坦然接受改变，但不要摒弃你的个人理念；
17. read more books and watch less tv;
多看点书，少看点电视；
18. live a good, honorable life. then when you get older and think back, you'l