英语PK台 第360期:平衡适度也是另一种优质人生

 　　1. She is a colleague of mine, quiet and beautiful, who speaks slowly in an undertone. What she says often strikes a responsive chord to make the addressee wonder how and when she managed to see things through.

　　她是我的一位同事，美丽而安静，说话也是慢声细语的。她的话总能说到人的心里去，使得对方总在想，什么时候就被她给看透了呢。

　　2. She hasn't achieved much for her to be proud, nor has she imperfections subject to criticism. She married the one she loves though he is a man of the common run. They lead an uneventful, regular life with such routine as a daily gymnastic session, an afternoon nap, and a weekend family outing. She never makes extra demands on her child's studies.

　　她的成就虽不足以让她夸耀，却也无可挑剔。她嫁给了她的所爱，一个普通的男人，日子过得波澜不惊；每天都会午睡，做健美操，生活得很有规律；一到周末全家人就一起出去旅行；她对孩子的学习成绩没有太高的要求。

　　3. As to her colleagues, she doesn't feel envy at those who have won honors, nor does she show contempt for those who have made mistakes. She looks with cold eyes on those who are mean and snobbish¹, but never allows herself to be annoyed, for she is sure they don't have a good frame of mind nor will they come to a good end. She is extremely clever with a mind as clear as a mirror. It's always my belief she's quite capable of making her life much more fruitful, but she has made no effort in that direction. By contrast, many people around her have done all they can to scrape a decent living without being able to come up to their expectations.

　　对于同事，她从不嫉妒他们取得的荣誉，也从不鄙薄那些犯错误的人；她冷眼看待势利小人，从不因为他们而烦恼，因为她认为那些没有好心态的人不会有好结果。她聪明绝顶，我相信她有能力使她的人生更加精彩，然而她却没刻意去做。相反，她周围的很多人使尽了浑身解数要过上像样的生活，却都不能所愿。

　　4. A rare chance brought us together in a conversation. I was told her life had been greatly influenced by what her father said to her. That was when she studied at junior middle school. Her weak constitution prevented her from attending any physical exercises. On the other hand, she did so well in her studies that she always came out first in examinations. An occasional failure to achieve the top in any of the subjects would cause a severe self-criticism, which showed how strong her desire was to outshine others.

　　一次难得的机会让我们有了一次交谈，她告诉我她父亲的一句话对她的一生有着重要的影响。那时她还在上初中，体质不好，无法参加体育运动。但在学习方面她却是出类拔萃的，偶尔一门功课没得第一都会令她自责，这表明她有多么强烈的愿望想超越其他人。

　　5. Her father told her it was most suitable for her not to target on excellence² but to do just well enough. She followed his advice faithfully. The result was quite rewarding. She not only acquired good marks on each subject without much effort but also regained³ strength to keep a good constitution. She made plans for enrolling⁴ at an ordinary college when she graduated high school. As she was not burdened with worries, she was at her best during the entrance examinations. Her good performance entitled her to enter a prestigious⁵ university. Upon graduation she found a job suited to her special training in a medium-sized city instead of a great metropolis⁶, only because it was convenient for her and her parents to take care of each other. That's all she told me about herself. Her narration⁷ went on unhurriedly just as she did in pursuing her smooth course of life...

　　父亲告诉她，对她而言，不必事事追求优秀，做到良好即可。她听从了父亲的话，结果非常有效。她轻松地保持每门功课都良好，同时体质也恢复到了良好的状态。高中毕业考大学时，她给自己定位于一所普通大学。由于没有了压力，她发挥出自己的最佳状态，结果以优异的成绩考入一所重点大学。毕业时，她在一座中等城市而不是大都市里找了一份和自己专业对口的工作，这样她和父亲互相照顾起来很方便。她向我娓娓道来，就如她那不急不缓般筑就的顺畅人生一样......

　　6. Such a life draws little attention of writers or playwrights⁸ because it is too colorless to be the theme of a story or a play. They are more interested in sharp contrasts: a successful career resulting in family break-up; splendor⁹ casting a shadow of depravity; happiness being closely followed by death, etc. In short, every good thing is always accompanied by something bad or faulty.

　　如此的人生故事往往不被小说家或剧作家看好，因为这不能使他们的作品跌宕起伏。他们更感兴趣的是尖锐的冲突：事业有成却家庭破裂，辉煌背后隐藏着堕落，幸福也总是被死亡尾随，等等。总之，每件好事都会有厄运相随。

　　7. So is life, unfortunately—it seems oddly unbalanced. When a person excels in a particular aspect, he is always weak hopelessly in another. Or rather, precisely¹⁰ because he has an irretrievable shortcoming, he is determined¹¹ to achieve excellence in some other aspect.

　　生活何尝不是这样，难以平衡。一个人如果在某一方面非常优秀，那么他在其他方面往往就毫无优势。或者，正因为他不可弥补的缺憾使得他在一些方面更加奋进而取得成就。

　　8. In this light we can say a life that's fairly well led is actually perfect. If all aspects of a person's life—his career, his love affair, his personality, his mentality¹² and physique—attain a fairly good level, it is really the most satisfactory, isn't it?

　　就此我们可以说，良好的生活状态其实就是完美的。如果一个人的事业、爱情、个性、心境、体魄等人生的各个方面都达到良好，那谁还能说他的人生不完美呢？

1 snobbish   

adj.势利的，谄上欺下的

参考例句：

• She's much too snobbish to stay at that plain hotel.她很势利，不愿住在那个普通旅馆。
• I'd expected her to be snobbish but she was warm and friendly.我原以为她会非常势利，但她却非常热情和友好。

2 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

3 regained   

复得( regain的过去式和过去分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• The majority of the people in the world have regained their liberty. 世界上大多数人已重获自由。
• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise. 她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。

4 enrolling   

v.招收( enrol的现在分词 )；吸收；入学；加入；[亦作enrol]( enroll的现在分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They lashed out at the university enrolling system. 他们猛烈抨击大学的招生制度。 来自辞典例句
• You're enrolling in a country club, Billy. 你是注册加入乡村俱乐部了，比利。 来自辞典例句

5 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

6 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

7 narration   

n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体

参考例句：

• The richness of his novel comes from his narration of it.他小说的丰富多采得益于他的叙述。
• Narration should become a basic approach to preschool education.叙事应是幼儿教育的基本途径。

8 playwrights   

n.剧作家( playwright的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We're studying dramatic texts by sixteenth century playwrights. 我们正在研究16 世纪戏剧作家的戏剧文本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hung-chien asked who the playwrights were. 鸿渐问谁写的剧本。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

9 splendor   

n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌

参考例句：

• Never in his life had he gazed on such splendor.他生平从没有见过如此辉煌壮丽的场面。
• All the splendor in the world is not worth a good friend.人世间所有的荣华富贵不如一个好朋友。

10 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。

11 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。