每日英语 · 2026-10-29
A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: / Its loveliness increases; it will never / Pass into nothingness
John Keats · Endymion · 1818 · 长诗《恩底弥翁》第一卷开篇前三行
译文
美的事物是永恒的喜悦：它的可爱与日俱增，永远不会消逝于虚无。
语法
- 主干很简单：A thing of beauty（主语）+ is（系动词）+ a joy（表语），for ever 是状语。“a thing of beauty”是“a/an + 名词 + of + 抽象名词”结构，等于 a beautiful thing，但更庄重、更有诗意，类似 a man of courage（有勇气的人）、a matter of importance（重要的事）。
- 冒号和分号的分工：冒号后面是对前一句的解释说明（为什么是永恒的喜悦）；分号连接两个关系紧密的独立分句 Its loveliness increases 和 it will never pass into nothingness，不用 and 也能并列。注意 will never / Pass 是诗歌的跨行（enjambment），读的时候要连起来：will never pass into nothingness。
词汇
-
loveliness /ˈlʌvlinəs/ n.
可爱，美好（lovely 的名词形式）
搭配：the loveliness of nature / sheer loveliness
We were struck by the loveliness of the mountain lake.
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increase 动词 /ɪnˈkriːs/，名词 /ˈɪŋkriːs/ v. / n.
增加，增长（句中为不及物动词）
搭配：increase by 10% / an increase in sales / be on the increase
The number of users increased by 20% last year.
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pass into /pɑːs ˈɪntuː/ phr. v.
变成，进入（某种状态）
搭配：pass into history / pass into legend / pass into common use
The word has passed into everyday English.
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nothingness /ˈnʌθɪŋnəs/ n.
虚无，不存在
搭配：fade into nothingness / a sense of nothingness
The sound slowly faded into nothingness.
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for ever /fər ˈevə(r)/ adv.
永远（英式常分写为 for ever，美式多写 forever）
搭配：last for ever / for ever and ever
Good habits can stay with you for ever.
笔记
小练习：用“a/an + 名词 + of + 抽象名词”改写 a very important matter 和 a wise man。（答案：a matter of great importance / a man of wisdom）