历史英雄名人演讲 第109期:拉塞尔·贝克在康乃迪克学院的演讲:三种方法让你生活更美好

 　　5.Three Ways to Have a Better Life

　　5.三种方法让你生活更美好

　　Bend down once in a while and smell a flower.

　　偶尔弯下腰闯一闻花香。

　　Listen once in a while. It's amazing what you can hear. On a hot summer day in the country you can hear the corn growing, the crack of a tin roof buckling¹ under the power of the sun. In a real old-fashioned parlor² silence so deep you can hear the dust settling on the velveteen settee, you might hear the footsteps of something sinister³ gaining on you, or a heart-stoppingly beautiful phrase from Mozart you haven't heard since childhood, or the voice of somebody---now gone-whom you loved. Or sometime when you're talking up a storm so brilliant, so charming that you can hardly believe how wonderful you are, pause just a moment and listen to yourself. It's good for the soul to hear yourself as others hear you, and next time maybe, just maybe, you will not talk so much, so loudly, so brilliantly, so charmingly, so utterly⁴ shamelessly foolishly.

　　有时注意倾听一下，你会惊讶于自己听到的声音。在乡下酷热的夏日，你会听到玉米生长的声音，锡铁屋顶在阳光的暴晒下发出的破裂声。在老式的客厅里，万籁俱寂之中，你会听到灰尘落在棉绒沙发上的声音，也可能会听到某种邪恶的脚步声在向你逼近，或者一节只是在小时候听过的关得令人窒息的莫扎特的乐曲，或者某个已经逝去、但你却深爱着的人的声音。有时，当你口若悬河、滔滔不绝、自我感觉超好的时候，停下来片刻，听听你自己的声音。听听自己的声音，就像他人听你说话时那样，这对于心灵的修养是有好处的。这样，你以后也许——只是也许——就不会这样口若悬河、滔滔不绝、卖弄聪明、自以为美，就不会如此厚颜无耻、蠢不可及了。

　　Turn off the TV once or twice a month and pick up a book. It will ease your blood pressure. It might even wake up your mind, but if it puts you to sleep you're still a winner. Better to sleep than have to watch that endless parade of body bags the local news channel marches through your parlor.

　　一个月里关上电视一次或两次，用这些时间看点书，这会舒缓你的血压，甚至可能唤醒你的头脑，但这如果让你昏昏欲睡，你还是个赢家。睡觉也比看当地新闻频道永无止境、毫无意义的电视节目要好。

1 buckling   

扣住

参考例句：

• A door slammed in the house and a man came out buckling his belt. 房子里的一扇门砰地关上，一个男子边扣腰带边走了出来。
• The periodic buckling leaves the fibre in a waved conformation. 周期性的弯折在纤维中造成波形构成。

2 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

3 sinister   

adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的

参考例句：

• There is something sinister at the back of that series of crimes.在这一系列罪行背后有险恶的阴谋。
• Their proposals are all worthless and designed out of sinister motives.他们的建议不仅一钱不值，而且包藏祸心。

4 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。