温馨夜读II PART1 2.The Best Time of My Life

 

[00:00.74]2.The Best Time of My Life

[00:06.07]It was June 15, and in two days I would be turning thirty. 

[00:10.64]I was insecure about entering a new decade of my life and feared that my best years were now behind me.

[00:17.94]My daily routine included going to the gym for a workout before going to work. 

[00:22.84]Every morning I would see my friend Nicholas at the gym. 

[00:26.33]He was seventy-nine years old and in terrific shape. 

[00:29.92]As I greeted Nicholas on this particular day, 

[00:33.62]he noticed I wasn’t full of my usual vitality¹ and asked if there was anything wrong. 

[00:39.92]I told him I was feeling anxious about turning thirty. 

[00:43.19]I wondered how I would look back on my life once I reached Nicholas’s age, 

[00:48.10]so I asked him, “What was the best time of your life?”

[00:51.47]Without hesitation², Nicholas replied, “Well, Joe, this is my philosophical³ answer to your philosophical question:

[01:00.18]“When I was a child in Austria and everything was taken care of for me and I was nurtured⁴ by my parents, 

[01:07.15]that was the best time of my life.

[01:09.98]“When I was going to school and learning the things I know today, that was the best time of my life.

[01:17.39]“When I got my first job and had responsibilities and got paid for my efforts, that was the best time of my life.

[01:25.77]“When I met my wife and fell in love, that was the best time of my life.

[01:30.89]“The Second World War came, and my wife and I had to flee Austria to save our lives. 

[01:36.88]When we were together and safe on a ship bound for North America, that was the best time of my life.

[01:44.61]“When we came to Canada and started a family, that was the best time of my life.

[01:50.40]“When I was a young father, watching my children grow up, that was the best time of my life.

[01:57.95]“And now, Joe, I am seventy-nine years old. 

[02:01.56]I have my health, I feel good and I am in love with my wife just as I was when we first met. 

[02:08.45]This is the best time of my life.”

1 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

2 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

3 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

4 nurtured   

养育( nurture的过去式和过去分词 )； 培育； 滋长； 助长

参考例句：

• She is looking fondly at the plants he had nurtured. 她深情地看着他培育的植物。
• Any latter-day Einstein would still be spotted and nurtured. 任何一个未来的爱因斯坦都会被发现并受到培养。