读书三境界

袁利荣

    ①读书有三境界：“吞”“啃”“品”。

    ②“吞”乃生吞活剥，囫囵吞枣——是充满饥饿感的青春发奋的标志。虽然广收博采难免盲目，进食过速导致腹胀——但这个过程毕竟是日后学富五车、满腹经纶的必不可少的前奏。古今中外有许多人都是进入中年后凭“反刍”青春岁月里的泛读而成名成家的。“吞”虽为知识积累的必经之途，但毕竟是读书的低级阶段。

    ③“啃”乃咀嚼消化，强行吸收——是志存高远的人生必经的头昏脑涨、寝食不安的砥砺智慧的夜路。咬烂磨碎骨头，获取钙质，这当然谈不上享受——但却是峥嵘人生必须付出的艰辛。“为伊消得人憔悴”是任何一位学有所成的人都不能蠲（juān）免的里程。“啃”是在“吞”之基础上的知性提高——这是将死的知识化为活的血肉的过程。

    ④“品”乃焚香沐浴，如饮醍醐（tíhú，比喻使人彻底醒悟的智慧）——是成熟聪颖的心灵与星空的娓娓絮语。月下折枝、花前怜玉、豁然贯通的人生不胜惋惜地告别了青春光阴——庄严地踏上了奉献岁月。浮躁尽除，功利淡化，读书成了颐养灵性的乐事——默然回首，天机消溶于慧心。“品”是在“啃”之基础上悟性升华——这是进入人生创造之园的门票。

    ⑤读书人多如牛毛，但大多数都停留在第一境界，仅少数不甘人生庸碌者可进入第二境界。进入第三境界，非志强智达者不能。但能进入第三境界者，必是成功地穿越了第一与第二境界的人。“吞”至其博，“啃”至其深，“品”至其灵性——若无博与深，则灵性无其根本。

    ⑥举凡大家鸿儒，书读到“品”的份上后，往往将“吞”“啃”“品”三字当成进一步治学的相济并用的三种方法：“吞”文字，“啃”新意，“品”韵致。或者是：泛读的“吞”之，精读的“啃”之，需细细体悟的则“品”之。

    ⑦对一般的读书人而言，不谈三境界，如能将“吞”“啃”“品”三宇当作对待不同读物的不同阅读方法：用于消遣的书“吞”，有用的书“啃”，启心益智的书不妨“品”——那么，人生同样会受益无穷。

    I was ten when I first sat with my grandmother behind the cashier（收银台）in her general store.____ I quickly learned the importance of treating customers politely and saying “thank you.”

    At first I was paid in candy.____ I worked every day after school, and during the summer and on weekends and holidays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. My father helped me set up a bank account.____ 

    By the time I was 12, my grandmother thought I had done such a good job that she promoted me to selling cosmetics（化妆品）. I developed the ability to look customers directly in the eye. Even though I was just a kid, women would ask me such things as “ What color do you think I should wear?” I took a real interest in their questions and was able to translate what they wanted into makeup（化妆）ideas.____

    The job taught me a valuable lesson: to be a successful salesperson, you didn't need to be a Rocket scientist—you needed to be a great listener.____ Except they are no longer women purchasing cosmetics from me; instead, they are kids who tell me which toys they would like to see designed and developed.

A. Later I received 50 cents an hour.

B. Before long, she let me sit there by myself.

C. I ended up selling a record amount of cosmetics.

D. Today I still carry that lesson with me: I listen to customers.

E. My grandma's trust taught me how to handle responsibility.

F. Soon I found myself looking more beautiful than ever before.

G. Watching my money grow was more rewarding than anything I could have bought.