Reference Translation of Exercise 7 -- Translating Prose

青春不只是年華，而是一種心態；它與玫瑰般的臉頰，紅潤的嘴唇和靈活的雙腿並無關聯，而是只堅定的意志，豐富的想像力，以及無窮的激情；青春是生命深處湧出的一股清泉。

Youth is not entirely a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple (pliable; flexible) (nimble; agile) knees; it is a temper (characteristic) of the will, a quality of imagination, and a vigor of emotion; it is the freshness of the deep spring of life.

歲月會使肌膚佈滿皺紋，但放棄激情會讓我們的心靈佈滿皺紋。憂鬱、懷疑、猜忌、恐懼和沮喪 – 都會磨損我們的精神，讓心靈受到挫折。

Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, doubt, self-distrust (envy), fear and despair – these bow the heart and turn the spirit back to dust.

青春意味著勇氣占了膽怯的上風，對刺激的冒險的喜愛勝過安逸的生活。擁有這種品性的六十歲的老人，往往多於二十歲的小伙子。沒有人會僅僅因年齡增長而變老，人們變老往往是因為放棄了自己的理想。

Youth means the temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite of adventure over the love (indulgence) of ease. Regrettably, this often exists in a man of sixty (sixties) more than in a boy of twenty (twenties). Nobody grows old by merely living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.

我們因信任而變得年輕，因多疑而變得衰老；因自信而年輕，因恐懼而衰老；因充滿希望而年輕，因心懷沮喪而衰老。

You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubts; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair.