Sometimes, a young fellow on an airplane could hardly be prevailed upon to give up his seat by the window when he was fascinated by the sights outside. How could he abandon the privilege of appreciating the essence of the sky those floating clouds? The distant ones seemed an old friend being seen off while the nearer ones appeared available within a grasp. Only when they were touching his shoulders could he realize that he himself was fleeting in the wind. He then used his imagination to interpret them. They were lions or foxes, doves or hawks,haunting his mind, firing his inspiration. When dusk approached, the clouds were bordered with a kind of splendor that sharply differed from the impression given by any oil painting.The curious young fellow might have fixed his eyes on all those fantasies until the brief journey came to an end. However, his enthusiasm might also have dissipated after a five minute observation： he could read the moldy newspapers inside instead of the fresh scene outside： he could close his eyes and ears to the goings, taking a nap, oblivious of the sights that once moved him.
It might not be so dangerous to lose interest in the shapes of flying clouds, but it is worrying to see that a certain group of young individuals are losing their youthful vigor, little by little,before the so called "formulated lifestyle." They consider that every day is a repetition of the other day: hence the process appears dry, dull, and "lacking humor." It is clear that an indispensable glow has vanished in the spiritual world of such young people.
Facing the early Greek sculptures that had an Egyptian odor, or reading the Chinese poems written by some Japanese poets since the year 700A. D. , we do not regard them as mere counterfeit but appraise their values in history of arts. A sensible amateur will tell you the chronological order of calligraphers ChuSuiliang and Ou-yang-Xun and will reveal the differences between Cezanne and Picasso. Even if the originators and the imitators might have had "many things in common",their style remained independent and unique because the master pieces that had survived the ordeals of time had dyed every detail with some experience that would never reappear. The stars declare their new positions at every moment; the sun changes his smile throughout the daytime. Seeing the clouds full of individuality, how could a man insist that the delicate factors of history repeat themselves? We may say it is nothing but those subtleties can help a virtuoso to tell forged pieces from the genuine one. A work of art (say, painting or sculpture, novel or music) strikes our soul and, brings us the information that time and space fly so quickly though we sometimes do not notice it. We look back on the places where we roamed aimlessly, on the time killed in meaningless joy, then we compare the very thing that over whelms us at the moment and question ourselves. How much have we taken and how much given heretofore? Should we make this world more civilized to justify the name "paragon of animals?" Every masterpiece of art is unique and every lost flake of cloud is irrevocable. "Botanists show no bias on cypress, palm,pine and birch" (Taine:Philosophic de Art) We also have the reason to describe every witty spirit in the sky with the same passion, to embrace every morning in our life with equal energy,even though we may find it plain or dull at a time. When all mountains are made low and all seas filled with stones, when icebergs loom the soil and all marvels are turned into fossils, when we human beings live on a different planet under a different sun beam, we are still encouraged by the notion that the wonderful variations in the universe were, are, and will be going on all the time. The cerulean firmament decorated with imaginary clouds and the noble human race armed with lively arts are both beauties of the world.
Life will be earnest if we find art "worth seeing." We are endowed with the ability to see and we have to cherish it. Observe the infinitesimal space time and understand the mystery of the infinite, we will then catch the essence of "being young."
简 评
飞机窗外的浮云会让你联想到什么?生活是一成不变的吗?你能感受地球的'脚步，听见宇宙的心跳吗?
本文作者似一位理性的哲人，凭借驰骋的思维，细腻的情感，敏锐的感知力和深邃的洞察力，带着我们上天入地，谈古论今，畅游艺术的海洋，追寻故人的足迹，为我们铺开了一幅斑斓、动人的画卷。
这篇散文文风豪迈，气度非凡，线条轻灵，笔锋犀利，无论是遣词造句还是内涵寓意都给人炉火纯青的感觉，是一篇不可多得的精品。
让我们和作者一起，用心去体会身旁的一草一木，一举一动，领略流动的历史，观察变迁的世界，认识生活的真谛，培养善感的心灵吧!相信这种生活态度和理念会让我们的生命焕发新的光彩。
(点评教师：时丽娜)
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