温馨夜读 PART1 04 The Meaning Of Life 生命的意义

 

[00:00.93]The Meaning Of Life 生命的意义

[00:05.52]Once upon a time there was a young man who used to meditate¹ all day about the meaning of life.

[00:13.72]Most of the time he was pondering about the most important thing in life, 

[00:18.87]because he thought the gravity of important issues 

[00:22.03]could more easily lead people beyond the exterior² of existence,

[00:26.19]and disclose to them the reason of things.

[00:29.69]No matter how long he meditated³ and observed, he could get no result.

[00:34.61]To clear his doubts, he decided⁴ to go and see an old sage⁵,

[00:39.09]who lived alone in a far away forest.

[00:42.16]When he finally met the old man,

[00:44.57]the sage asked him what brought him there.

[00:47.30]The young man replied he was searching for the most precious deed

[00:51.46]one person could do to get close to God.

[00:54.52]“What did you do on your way here?” asked the sage.

[00:58.02]The young man thought he did not get the question, and repeated his demand.

[01:03.38]Then the sage asked again: “What did you do on your way here?”

[01:07.43]“I toiled,” said the young man, “because the road up the hill was very steep.

[01:13.22]I gasped⁶ and felt very thirsty.

[01:16.29]But I made an effort to patiently endure that troubled walking.”

[01:20.22]“What did you do next?”

[01:22.19]“I meditated, as I do every day.

[01:25.04]Today I pondered about imperturbability⁷, that can be both a virtue⁸ and a fault.”

[01:31.38]“What did you do next?”

[01:33.23]“I helped an old man by taking his bundle of wood to his place.

[01:37.72]This meant a long detour⁹ on my route, but he was too weak for that burden.”

[01:42.97]“What did you do next?”

[01:45.05]The young man hesitated, then admitted: “I sat on a stone for a moment,

[01:50.95]and played with a marble that my father gave me when I left school.

[01:55.33]I apologize for wasting my time like that.”

[01:58.50]“What action made you feel lighter¹⁰?” asked the old man.

[02:02.11]The young man, puzzled, looked at the sage.

[02:05.18]“Please answer my question”, the young man said,

[02:08.45]“I came to you with a demand.”

[02:10.75]The sage repeated, as if he had not heard this last objection:

[02:15.02]“What action made you feel lighter?”

[02:17.53]“Playing with the marble,” said the confused young man,

[02:21.47]“I was really free and happy; I had no thoughts, no worries.”

[02:26.61]“That was the best time today,” said the sage, “when you yielded to play.”

[02:31.64]“Play is a light yet serious activity, because then God is near you.

[02:36.78]You go beyond the surface of existence in the very same moment as you rise above it.”

1 meditate   

v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想

参考例句：

• It is important to meditate on the meaning of life.思考人生的意义很重要。
• I was meditating,and reached a higher state of consciousness.我在冥想，并进入了一个更高的意识境界。

2 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

3 meditated   

深思，沉思，冥想( meditate的过去式和过去分词 )； 内心策划，考虑

参考例句：

• He meditated for two days before giving his answer. 他在作出答复之前考虑了两天。
• She meditated for 2 days before giving her answer. 她考虑了两天才答复。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

6 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 imperturbability   

n.冷静；沉着

参考例句：

• The imperturbability of the mountains hung upon him like a suit of armor. 高山的宁静象一套盔甲似的罩在他的身上。
• You must want imperturbability more than you want approval, control and security. 你必须想要不受侵扰的安宁大于想要赞同、控制和安全。

8 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

9 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

10 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。