TED演讲：为什么健康的生活方式几乎把我害死(1)

 　　I've spent the last decade subjecting myself to pain and humiliation¹, hopefully for a good cause, which is self-improvement. 过去的10年时间，我一直处于悲伤和羞辱中，期待着有一个好的理由改变自己，这个理由就是自我提高。

　　And I've done this in three parts. So first I started with the mind. 于是我从三方面开始做起，首先从心智开始。

　　And I decided³ to try to get smarter by reading the entire Encyclopedia⁴ Britannica from A to Z -- or, more precisely⁵, from "a-ak" to "Zywiec." 我决定试着让自己聪明点，比如阅读大英百科全书，从头到尾通读，更确切的说是从第一个词"a-ak"读到最后一个词"Zywiec"。

　　And here's a little image of that. And this was an amazing year. 现在已经没什么太大印象了。这是不可思议的一年。

　　It was really a fascinating journey. It was painful at times, especially for those around me. 整个过程很吸引人。有时也很痛苦，尤其对我身边的人来说更是如此。

　　My wife started to fine me one dollar for every irrelevant⁶ fact I inserted into conversation. So it had its downsides. 每当我在谈话时加入一些在大英百科全书中读到的与谈话无关的事实时，我妻子就会罚我一美元。所以说这也有不好的一面。

　　But after that, I decided to work on the spirit. 但这之后，我决定在精神层面上做些文章。

　　As I mentioned last year, I grew up with no religion at all.  就像我去年提到的那样，我从小就没有宗教信仰。

　　I'm Jewish, but I'm Jewish in the same way the Olive Garden is Italian. Not really. 我是犹太人，像美式Olive Garden餐厅里做的意大利餐那样，我不像传统的犹太人。真的不像。

　　But I decided to learn about the Bible and my heritage by actually diving in and trying to live it and immerse myself in it. 但是我决定去了解一下圣经和犹太传统文化，通过真正进入到其中，让自己完全融入到那个环境中去。

　　So I decided to follow all the rules of the Bible.  所以我决定遵循圣经的所有条例。

　　And from the Ten Commandments to growing my beard -- because Leviticus says you cannot shave. 从十戒到蓄起胡须--因为《利未记》要求人们不许剔除胡须。

　　So this is what I looked like by the end. Thank you for that reaction. 所以这就是我最后的样子，谢谢你们对此的反应。

　　I look a little like Moses, or Ted² Kaczynski. I got both of them.  我看起来有点像摩西或是泰德·卡钦斯基，都挺像的。

　　So there was the topiary there. And there's the sheep. 这张修剪了一下。这就是那只羊。

1 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

2 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

3 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。

4 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

5 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

6 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。