The Value of Silence
Guidance for Reciting
Not a word does the cloud-kissing mountain say，yet everyone looks up at her in admiration. Not a moment would the fly stop humming，yet everyone means to keep it silent forever.
D uring the happiest moments of love or friendship，we are silent. In extremes of worry and preoccupation，words come with difficulty. The value of silence can be measured by what we can gain from it，and we know that the greatest thoughts are conceived and born in silence. We must therefore fight for silence and work hard to gain it in order to make it a presence rather than an absence，a fullness rather than an emptiness.
Notes
1.preoccupation [7pri（：）Ckju5peiFEn] n. 先入成见，偏见
2.conceive [kEn5si：v] v. 构思，以为，怀孕
沉默的价值
诵读导言
高耸入云的大山一言不发，可谁不带着敬佩的神情仰首静观？出入尘土的苍蝇嗡嗡地叫个不停，可谁不想一拍子叫它永远沉默？
在享受爱情和友情最开心的时候，我们沉默无语；在最忧心忡忡和全神贯注的时候，我们哑口无言。从沉默中收获的东西显示出它的价值，众所周知，最伟大的思想是在沉默中孕育而生的。所以，我们必须为沉默而奋斗，拥有而不是缺少沉默，沉有所思而不是沉无所思。
口语点津
俗话说“雄辩是银，沉默是金”（Speech is silver，silence is gold.），“寡言为智”（A still tongue makes a wise head.）。可是要注意的是：虽然沉默，但要有你的主见（Be still，and have your will.）要“恰当地开口，否则就明智地缄口”（Speak fitly，or be silent wisely.），因为“发言者播种，静默者收获”（He that speaks sows，and he that holds his peace gathers.）。
读后札记：
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