发布时间 : 星期一 文章新世纪大学英语-综合教程4-课文翻译更新完毕开始阅读257315e31b5f312b3169a45177232f60ddcce7f4
取的动物就没有了。至于贵族们其他的消遣项目，比如赌博、决斗和战争，人们可以轻而易举地从危险驾驶、吸食毒品和毫无理性的暴力行为中找到同样的乐趣。工作者很少从事暴力活动，他们可以把自己的“敌对心理”用在工作上，不管是工匠的体力活，还是科学家、艺术家的脑力活。“敌对心理”在脑力劳动中的作用可以在“紧紧咬住问题”这个短语里得到恰如其分的表达。close
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stripping down to bare happiness
1.\do all the things you like it's just that you don't like the same things anymore. Some of the old habits seem so wasteful and unsatisfying, you really lose your taste for them. So you still have everything you want—you just don't want as much.\“我们讨论的是简化生活，而不是物质匮乏，”我的朋友萨拉解释说，“你可以做任何你喜欢的事情，只是你不再喜欢同样的事情而已。一些旧的习惯看上去是那样的浪费又不能令人满意，你真的对它们失去了兴趣。所以你仍然拥有你需要的每一件东西——只不过不想要那么多罢了
stripping down to bare happiness
1.\do all the things you like it's just that you don't like the same things anymore. Some of the old habits seem so wasteful and unsatisfying, you really lose your taste for them. So you still have everything you want—you just don't want as much.\“我们讨论的是简化生活，而不是物质匮乏，”我的朋友萨拉解释说，“你可以做任何你喜欢的事情，只是你不再喜欢同样的事情而已。一些旧的习惯看上去是那样的浪费又不能令人满意，你真的对它们失去了兴趣。所以你仍然拥有你需要的每一件东西——只不过不想要那么多罢了。”
2.When I first met them, Sara and Michael were a two-career couple with a home of their own, and a large boat bought with a large loan. What interested them in a concept called voluntary simplicity was the birth of their daughter and a powerful desire to raise her themselves. Neither one of them was willing to jam what they considered the most important part of their life into the brief time before work and the tired hours afterward. 当我第一次遇见他们时，萨拉和迈克尔夫妇双双从业，拥有自己的住宅和用一大笔贷款购置的一条大船。正是女儿的出世和一种他们想亲自抚养她的强烈欲望，使得他们对一种叫做“自愿简朴”的理念产生了兴趣。他们俩谁都不愿意把他们视为生活中最重要的部分仅仅压缩在上班前的一小段时间和下班后已疲惫不堪的那几个小时。
.\and things get more expensive, the only answer is to work harder in order to earn more money. It's not the only answer,\“许多人认为，因为有了孩子而且东西越来越贵，唯一的办法就是更加努力地工作以便挣更多的钱。其实这并不是唯一的办法，”迈克尔坚持说
4.The couple's decision was to trade two full-time careers for two half-time careers, and to cut back on consumption. They decided to spend their money only on things that contributed to their m
ajor goal: the construction of a world where family and friendship, work and play, are all of a piece— a world, moreover, that doesn't waste the Earth's resources. 这对夫妻的决定是把两份全职工作业换成两份兼职工作，并且削减开支。他们决定只把钱花在有助于实现他们的主要目标的东西上：构建一个把家庭和友谊、工作和娱乐融为一体的生活天地，而且还是一个不浪费地球资源的生活天地。
5.Today they live in the same suburban community in a handsome, energy-efficient home they designed themselves. Small by most standards, it's easy to clean, furnish, maintain and heat. The first floor, one large room, has a kitchen area along one wall, a wood table and chairs for dining, a living area defined by a comfortable couch and a wood stove, and a corner work area. Upstairs are their bedrooms, an office that serves both Sara and Michael, and a bathroom. The whole house is bright and light and in harmony with its surroundings. Soon there will be a solar greenhouse outside the front door.
现在他们还在原来的那个近郊社区，住在一幢自己设计的、漂亮而节能的房子里。按许多标准来看，房子虽然小了点，却容易清扫、布置、维修和供暖。一层是个大房间，厨房靠墙，摆着一张木餐桌和吃饭用的几把椅子；一张舒适的长沙发和一个柴炉就把日常起居的范围圈定了；角落是工作区。楼上是他们的卧室、一个萨拉和迈克尔共用的办公室和一间浴室。整幢房子明亮简洁，同周围环境十分和谐。很快，前门外还要建一个太阳能温室。
6.How can a couple with two part-time jobs afford to build their own house, own a car and share a small boat with another couple all without a loan? How can they maintain a standard of living that provides everything they want? Don't they miss what they do without? 一对只有兼职工作的夫妻怎么会有钱建造自己的房子、拥有一辆汽车并同另一对夫妻共享一艘小船，而且所有这一切都不曾贷款呢？他们如何能够维持足以提供他们想要的一切的那样一种生活水平呢？他们难道不会怀念缺乏的一些东西吗？
7.Both Sara and Michael insist that they're delighted to be free of expensive junk —bathroom cabinets full of cosmetics and medicines they never needed, kitchen cabinets crowded with items that just went to waste. The one closet that Sara shares with Michael easily holds their basic clothes, many of them well-made classic styles from L. L. Bean. \ away,\Michael have a clear idea of what they really need.
萨拉和迈克尔都坚持认为，他们很高兴摆脱了那些昂贵东西：（浴室）药柜里满满的从来不用的化妆品和药品；堆放在厨房厨柜里的只会浪费掉的各种东西。萨拉和迈克尔共用的那个衣柜很容易装下他们必需的一些衣物，其中许多是出自L·L·比恩公司的做工精细的经典款式。“我不断地把东西送给别人，”萨拉解释道。通过筛选和丢弃并凭借他们对所拥有的东西的了解，萨拉和迈克尔清楚地知道他们到底真正需要什么。
8.They don't have a dishwasher; the few dishes they own wouldn't fill one. They don't own a clothes dryer; wet clothes drying indoors in winter eliminate the need for a humidifier.
Sara's dark hair is short, so she doesn't need a hairdryer or electric curlers. Their front yard is wooded, so they don't need a lot of fancy tools to take care of it. They don't own a TV, so they aren't constantly saturated with images of new (and unnecessary) temptations.
他们没有洗碟机，他们家那几只碟子根本装不满一台洗碟机。他们没有烘干机；冬天把湿衣服晾在室内也就不需要增湿器了。萨拉的黑发很短，所以用不着吹风机或电动卷发夹。他们的前院长满了树，所以他们不需要很多昂贵的工具。他们没有电视机，所以他们脑子里不会经常出现种种新的（而且是不必要的）诱惑物的图像。
9.They've exchanged the expenses of work in the commuter age- the extra car, the cost of gasoline, the business suits and the babysitting fees- for time to pay attention to the quality of their lives. They've given up paper products, processed foods, expensive hobbies, first-run movies,
restaurants, and paying for the services of others. In return, they enjoy home cooking, family picnics, library books, participation in community arts programs, thrift shops, an active YMCA membership, and do-it-yourself projects.
他们节省了通勤时代上下班必须支付的开支：另外的一辆车、汽油费、职业装和保姆费，换来的则是时间——用于关注生活质量的时间。他们已不再使用纸产品、吃加工食品、享受昂贵的嗜好、观看首映电影、上餐馆以及付钱接受别人的服务。取而代之的是他们所喜爱的自己烹饪、家庭野餐、到图书馆借书、参加社区艺术活动、逛廉价旧货店、拥有积极的基督教青年会会员身份，以及自己动手做事。
.\ culture goes on forever,\\ could afford. Money really wasn't the reason we changed. We did it for our own personal satisfaction, and for anyone thinking of simplifying life, there's only one basic rule: 'If it isn't satisfying, don't do it.'\
“那种不断想获得更多东西的愿望是我们这个文化的一个重要组成部分，而且还会永远继续下去，”萨拉说。“但是你赚1万5千美元还是5万美元并不重要。这世上总有许多你希望自己能买得起的东西。钱真的不是导致我们改变的原因。我们这样做是为了个人的满足。对于任何一个想简化生活的人来说，基本规则只有一条：如果一件事不能令人满意，那就索性不要去做。”
11.Sara and Michael lent me their copy of 99 Ways to a Simple Lifestyle, a handbook of practical suggestions that can be applied to anyone's living situation. I read it carefully, giving myself high marks in some areas, surprised at my socially sanctioned irrational behavior in others. 萨拉和迈克尔借给我一本手册——《营造简朴生活方式的99种方法》，里面全是适用于任何生活状况的实用可行的建议。我仔细地阅读了，在一些方面我给自己打了高分，同时也惊讶于我身上存在的其他一些被社会所认可的不理智行为。
12.That night, accompanying my daughter on a shopping trip, I came across an inexpensive hand towel that matched our kitchen wallpaper, and a pair of \hen I stood in the parking lot, $11 poorer and no happier than I had been before, I felt like a child, helpless in the face of my own impulses. 那天晚上，陪女儿去购物时，碰巧看见一条和我们的厨房墙纸颜色匹配而价钱又不贵的手巾和一双漂亮得难以抵挡其诱惑的“特价”鞋。当我站在停车场时，感觉自己花了11美元之后并没有比之前更加开心，那时我觉得自己就像个孩子，面对自己的一时冲动竟会不由自主
13.It is a world of illusion, this shopping merry-go-round we ride, but with all the action and excitement, it's sometimes hard to find the resolve and the courage to dismount.
我们乘坐的这只购物旋转木马，其实是一个幻觉世界，但由于它的动感和刺激，有时我们很难找到决心和勇气从马上下来。
T Two Truths to Live By Alexander M. Schindler
The text is taken from Reader's Digest.
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1RT The art of living is to know when to hold fast and when to let go.
An ancient man said long ago: \A man comes to this world with his fist clenched, but when he dies, his hand is open.\
人生的两条真理
亚历山大·M·辛德勒
人生的艺术就是要懂得收与放。正如古人所言：“一个人出生时拳头紧握，过世时却松手而去。”close
2RT Surely we ought to hold fast to life, for it is wonderful, and full of
a beauty. We know that this is so, but all too often we recognize this
truth only in our backward glance when we remember what it was and then suddenly realize that it is no more.
当然，我们应该紧紧把握人生，因为它既神奇，又美丽。我们都懂得这个道理。可是我们却常常在回首往事时才突然觉醒，意识到其中之美，可为时已晚，一切都时过境迁。close
3RT We remember a beauty that faded, a love that withered. But we
remember with far greater pain that we did not see that beauty when it flowered, that we failed to respond with love when it was tendered.
我们记起的是褪色的美、消逝的爱。但是这种记忆中却饱含了苦涩，我们痛惜没有在美丽绽放的时候注意到它，没有在爱情到来的时候做出回应。close
4RT A recent experience re-taught me this truth. I was hospitalized
following a severe heart attack and had been in intensive care for several days. It was not a pleasant place.
我自己最近的一个经历又令我悟出了这其中的道理。剧烈的心脏病发作以后我被送进了医院的重症监护病房。那地方可不是好呆的。close