翔之舞

一部经典的电影犹如杯中酒，历经的时光越久，味儿就越香醇。品酒，实则是品人生。

关于卓别林的故事以前听过许多，但是百闻不如一见。当看见他在《摩登时代》中精湛的表演后，隐藏在内心深处的心弦被悄然拨动。它的黑白银幕犹如一面明镜，看它，实则是在看我们自己，看这个踏着飞轮狂奔的世界……他的滑稽表演让我惊叹不同的时代竟有着如此相似的故事，每一次的捧腹大笑都会刺痛我敏感的神经。其实我们仍处于“摩登时代”中，很久的未来也仍会如此……

社会前进的脚步几乎从未为因为战争，饥饿和贫穷的阻挠而停息过。我们曾为蒸汽机的诞生高声喝彩，曾为福特汽车的流水线而惊喜，曾为电脑的问世而痴狂。在这一次又一次大提速的光环之下，似乎人们的幸福指数并没有大幅度增长，甚至在一些情况下有成反比的势头。

电影中的流浪汉看似一无所有，穷困潦倒的他成为了工业化进程中的牺牲品。当他的精神受到扭曲做出疯狂之举时，博来的是阵阵嘲笑，而其人性的光辉却在一次次的窘迫境遇中闪耀。他的正义感让他在不经意间成为警察心中的英雄；他的富怜悯心驱使他为保护孤女而甘当替罪羊。曾经的他也曾满足于衣食无忧的狱中生活，而当他和失去父亲和兄妹的孤女相识时，他对生活的理解又加深了一步。“家”成为了他们心中最为美好的字眼，成为了他们在社会底层挣扎和奋斗的共同目标。当孤女找寻到一处破烂至极被人遗弃的小屋时，她欢欣地称之为家。“这并非是白金汉宫”，孤女有些紧张地解释到。当他们因为这份幸运而快乐地相拥时，再富丽堂皇的宫殿也会黯然失色……即便再华丽的装潢又怎能买来这份淳朴的快乐呢？他们最终靠着自己的勤劳双手，创造了属于自己的幸福生活。她的温暖慰藉，倾心鼓励让他一展歌喉，博得大众的喜爱。当警方介入，企图带走孤女时，他们又那么义无反顾地选择了一同走在羊肠小道上开始新的旅程。

前方的路途艰险吗？答案是肯定的。

未来之路遥远吗？这也是一定的。

他们会幸福吗？我在大家的掌声中找到了答案。

上周读了一位美国学者眼中的中国，他为以上海为代表的拜金主义而感叹惋惜。其实无论是旧金山还是巴拉瑞特的淘金热都在以其现代的升级版本继续上演着。我曾偶遇一位商界成功人士，我却不能从他的眼中体察出快乐二字；也曾听工作了好些年的白领姐姐讲述办公室的政治学；还被哲学系的悉大学生逼问“What is happiness?”他们都在雾蒙蒙的现代社会寻求着幸福的真谛。

关于幸福，我有一些肤浅的理解：幸福，是比快乐更高层次的词--幸福着，一定快乐着，而快乐着却不一定幸福着（物质的充裕可以带来快乐的感觉，而幸福感是金钱买不来的）；幸福的源泉是爱—对自然的爱，对人类的爱，对生活的爱；幸福是一个个美好的瞬间激发的心灵的愉悦感；幸福往往并非是一个人的事儿；幸福有着极强的感染力；幸福是需要用勤劳和智慧努力争取的；幸福不是人生列车的终点，它存在于旅途中……

流浪汉和孤女是幸福的！我们呢，是否也处在幸福之中？

“Let her go!” How I wish to shout out aloud in front of him. Although I have never met him in person, I know he is ruining her life.

She is just like a graceful butterfly. Her mild temper, soft voice, and fair skin make her a natural beauty. Her fortitude, resilience and amicability have won her boundless admiration and appreciation. In many people’s eyes, she is a lucky star.

When she was at the age of eighteen, she was in love, deeply in love with him. Being a man of passion, he fell for her madly. Thus, the seed of love was sowed. They both watered that tiny seed with tenderness and care. Through their joint effort, their love mellowed with the elapsing of time.

After graduation, geographic distance was in their way. He gave her an ever-lasting promise—a promise she strongly believed in and held dear of. Thus no external force shall do them apart. She waited for seven years in order to finally be with him. Seven years for a woman like her is the golden period of her life. Being an embodiment of a persevering butterfly, she flied over hills and traveled through thick forest without the slightest thought of giving up in the midst of harsh journey.

Eventually, her wish is fulfilled. He could embrace his lady butterfly with a joyful heart. Unpredictably, his love weaves a dense net, holding her tightly inside. He was captivated by on-line games. Beaten into a loser one night, he smashed a window with her presence and did not even apologize for that insolent conduct. When she cooked a fabulous dinner for him, he growled at her saying he shouldn’t be forced to have dinner with her. Alas, what a lover he is!

When love becomes bondage, it turns the lovers into haters by confining them into suffocating atmosphere. The fierce love between them has set an infuriating wild fire which might never be put out. Her wings tend to snap into pieces by the one who she deeply loves. Being an idealist, her dream has shattered into pieces accompany her running tears. Sadly, he chooses to love her in the cruelest way……

How I wish to see her smile once again! She shouldn’t deserve such a treatment and be cornered like this. How he cherished her! If he truly loves her, he should let her go and give her freedom. Fly once again, lady butterfly! Be brave enough to embrace the big blue sky!

If F. Scott Fitzgerald were alive, he would be amazed to find his fictional story when loosely adapted has regained strength and vitality which enables us to inhale the fresh air given out by a time-honored literary work. The first extreme close-up depicting the baby Benjamin’s innocent yet aging facial expression has dexterously introduced “The curious case” by providing a strong visual impact. While everyone is leading a normal life, Benjamin’s (Brad Pitt) biological clock is clicking backwards which resonates with the heart-broken clocker maker’s weird clock. His father discarded him on the very first day of birth. Fortunately, the forlorn ugly-looking baby was adopted by the kind-hearted Queenie pouring enormous motherly affection and gradually enriched his life through the encounter with childhood playmate Daisy (Cate Blanchett). Daisy’s crystal heart remained unchanged and later devoted herself to dancing despite the abrupt accident. The later acquaintance with the married middle-class woman Elizabeth, and the free-willed Captain Mike not doubt expanded Benjamin’s horizon and deepened his understanding of life.

The ending of the movie did respect the law of nature by artistically depicting the flickering life of Daisy racing with Death in the hospital and the withering blossoms of the babbling Benjamin. However, Daisy’s word “Something’s last” echoed within the hearts of the people who are in love and who are loved. The story has broken human being’s fantasy towards immortality, however, it has also waved a rainbow which reveals love knows no boundaries. Flincher’s excellent filming technique add meaningful connotation to the color and hue of the screen which interweaved with Daisy’s daughter’s narration.  

Dream fascinates us. The connotation of this word has far transcended its simple spelling. Dream, together with some other words such as love, can be considered as eternal topics that forever radiate unique brilliance and mystery. People harbor beautiful dreams, pursue worthy dreams, and hold fast to enchanting dreams. Dream is the internal force that guides our way, shape our thinking and influence our behavior. Indeed, the concept of dream is rather important. From my perspective, once we cease to dream, we cease to live. Whenever a dream withers away, the beauty of life might gradually fade away. Fortunately, the magic power of dream casts an enduring spell on a majority of the human beings.

I have heard many interesting stories at the English Corner which prompted me to reflect on the essence of dreams. What struck me greatly was the speech delivered by a seven-year-old boy named Jerry. Despite his young age, he was by no means timid. “I want to be a scientist.” Jerry made an announcement to the world with enormous enthusiasm. His eyes sparkled while uttering that sentence. Everyone on the scene could tell when he said that he truly meant it. As a little kid, he sincerely believed in the power lying within an individual being, and he eagerly aspired to make his contribution to the world so as to facilitate people’s living and enrich people’s lives. It seems that at the early stage of life, a lot of children possess big dreams. Some of the most popular dreams are movie stars, astronauts, athletes, CEOs, etc. Some adults overlook those ambitious dreams and even laugh at the unrealistic aspect of the fanciful dreams. However, the dreams kept by the children are rather sincere and naïve. As a matter of fact, the dreaming process has witnessed the growing path of the youngsters and endowed them with endless power and passion. The seemingly unreachable dreams actually propel the development of the children by offering them limitless opportunities and perpetual fascinations. Jerry’s words had aroused a spiritual resonance within the hearers’ hearts and a burst of warm applause broke out vehemently.

When we grow up, the meaning of dreams changes subtly but surely. We tend to cast off the legendary feature of dreams and tailor them to meet our own demands. Some of the dreams once entirely beyond reach have become more tangible and more realistic. David thought that his dream is to get “an M.A. degree”, while Iris revealed that her dream is to “find a job”. The good side of keeping those dreams is that once you set your heart and soul to them, it is highly likely to realize them. Here, the dreams in this context may be defined as goals. Generally speaking, compared with dreams, goals are more attainable. Once a person put effort on it with persistence and fortitude, the goal shall be within the reach of its possessor one day or another. For instance, both David and Iris’s goals are rather realistic. Following the natural path of life, they will fulfill their heartfelt wishes in the near future. But a negative side pops up. Whenever the dreams have been gratified, the dreamers who have just lost their dreams may feel rejoiced in the first place, then they might find they are empty-handed, lamenting at the loss of dreams while anticipating the upcoming new ones.

While holding conservative dreams on the one hand, the grown-ups have more colorful ones on the other hand. It is said that the human beings are mostly voracious dreamers who always desire enormously while always hoping for the best. Dove’s dream was to become a chemist and hacker even though he confessed that there is a long way to go. Compared with Dove’s dream Hoffman’s dream is much more romantic. He kept such a wonderful dream “Travel abroad, especially Berlin.” This dream had profound connotations. In other words, the sentence itself is a puzzle which few people could understand and solve. Luckily, I can read between the lines and dig into the deeper meaning embedded within the single utterance. It is the embodiment of a passionate vow, an affectionate aspiration, and an unceasing pursuit. Thus the holy flame of love has been ignited and passed on with the lapsing of time.

In a sense, we are mortals who believe in the immortality of dreams. When a blossom of dream flourishes, the fragrance permeates our everyday life and flies on the wings of imagination. The delicate petals sing in chorus while bathing in the warmth of sunshine. When the busy bees fall in love with honey, we indulge ourselves in the wonderland of dreams. The magic power of dream stirs the ingredients of our lives and adds a unique seasoning to enhance the flavor. If you ever want to be a first-class chef, you’d better taste dream at the very beginning. Then, the charm of dream shall reveal itself step by step……

What is your dream?

Sherry: Pass the IELTS.

Cindy: earn a lot of money.

Daisy: be a successful business woman

Joy: To be an interpreter

Jerry: to be a scientist

Iris: Find a job (at this moment)

Hoffman: Travel abroad, especially Berlin.

Zhang: To experience different kinds of life.

David: a M. A. degree. David

Bonny: oversea study

Dove: Chemistry and Hacker

Paul: I want to be a writer.

Jason: oversea journey

童年的色调是怎样的呢？我觉得以白色来形容它是再合适不过的了，纯真而淡雅，如同绽放在盛夏的一朵栀子花。它如同一朵白色的小浪花，荡漾在绿叶簇拥的海洋中，翻滚着，跳跃着，似夏怀中的弄潮儿。

那时的孩子大都有一颗水晶的心灵，都向往着梦幻般的童话世界。大自然在他们眼中是一位神奇的魔术师，他身披隐身的斗篷，只需轻轻挥舞一下魔棒，一片神奇的天地便会展现在孩子们眼前。瞧，那绿毯般的草丛里身手敏捷的蚱蜢正在进行着跳高比赛；路边的小池塘中，一群黒溜溜的小蝌蚪摇摆着尾巴急切地寻找妈妈的影踪；篱笆旁，几朵牵牛花沐浴着朝阳，在微风中翩翩起舞……

放学回家的路上，我总爱轻声哼着小曲，放眼四方。遇到一簇“酸酸草”，我总爱停下来摘上那么几片儿，用凉开水涮涮，再把新绿的叶子含在口中，用牙齿轻轻一咬，一股酸溜溜的汁水便会渗到口中，回味无穷。倘若发现游泳池对面的小花园里的胭脂花开得正艳，我也会经不住诱惑采上那么几朵，胭脂花最妙之处在于它是多功能的装饰品，可以戴在头上当头花，还可以用手将花柄尾部轻轻掰开（不要伤及花蕊的茎），做成吊坠耳环。

我的最爱还是那洁白的栀子花，但似乎它也不单单是我的偏爱，如果我出手太晚就连花骨朵的芳踪都无法寻觅了。摘花是有诀窍的，一爬，二采，三跑。首先我得爬上那个足有半身高的花台，其次我要及时发现目标利索地采摘目标，再次我必须要有机敏的反映能力，对突发情况作出正确判断，必要时采取金蝉脱壳计。本来最初几年采花并不需要这么偷偷摸摸的，完全可以光明正大地采上那么几朵，宝贝般地捧在手心，后来不知道为何住在花台旁的大叔为何突然开始实施严格管制，我和小伙伴的寻花梦眼看着就要化为泡影了。这时我们及时召开了一次讨论会，经过周密的分析，大家一致认为那花并不是大叔家养的，我们也有权利成为花儿的主人。这么一来，我采花自然是名正言顺的了。其实我并不是个贪心的孩子，只要能采上那么三两朵我便很是满足了。回到家我把花骨朵放在搪瓷杯里养着，每天都跑到阳台上去瞅上几眼。花儿总会越开越绚烂，此刻我的心情会一天胜于一天。见证花儿的成长是一片悠悠飘荡在心中的快乐云朵，舒缓地踱着步子――那白色的馨香从此永驻心间。