精美英文欣赏:放松心情 Lighten Up(下)

The next step is to understand the link between your expectations and your frustration¹ level.

第二步是要了解你的期望和挫折感水平之间的联系。

Whenever you expect something to be a certain way and it isn't,

当你期待某件事以特定方式发生而事实并非如此，

you are upset and you suffer. On the other hand, when you let go of your expectations,

你会不安和痛苦。相反，当你不去想太多你的期望，

when you accept life as it is, you are free.

当你接受生活就是这样，你会自由自在。

To hold on is to be serious and uptight². To let go is to lighten³ up.

紧紧抓住会严肃和焦虑，而放手就心情轻松愉快。

A good exercise is to try to approach a single day without expectations.

一个很好的锻炼方法是尝试没有预期的一天。

Don't expect people to be friendly. When they're not,

不要指望别人对你友好，当他们不是，

you won't be surprised or bothered. If they are, you will be delighted.

你不会惊讶或烦恼。如果他们是，你将会很高兴。

Don't expect your day to be problem free. Instead,

不要指望你的一天是没有问题的。相反地，

as problems come up, remind yourself, "Ah, another hurdle⁴ to overcome."

当问题出现了，提醒自己：“啊，这只是另一个需要克服的障碍。”

As you approach your day in this manner you will notice how beautiful life can be.

当你用这种方式来度过你的一天，你会发现生活可以如此美丽。

Rather than fighting against life, you will be dancing with it.

你会跟着生活翩翩起舞，而不是与生活对抗。

Pretty soon, with practice, you will lighten up your entire life.

通过练习，你很快就会能让自己的生活焕发新光彩。

And when you lighten up, life is a lot more fun.

当你放松，生活会更加有趣。

1 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

2 uptight   

adj.焦虑不安的，紧张的

参考例句：

• He's feeling a bit uptight about his exam tomorrow.他因明天的考试而感到有点紧张。
• Try to laugh at it instead of getting uptight.试着一笑了之，不要紧张。

3 lighten   

vt./vi.减轻，变轻；照亮，变亮

参考例句：

• The sky began to lighten after the storm.暴风雨后天空开始放晴。
• They decided to lighten taxes.他们决定减轻税收。

4 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。