《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词3500》Unit 9 放飞心情

　　Unit 09
Lighten¹ Up
These days, it seems that almost all of us have something to worry about.
People are frustrated² and uptight³ about almost everything -- being five minutes late, having someone else show up five minutes late, being stuck in traffic, witnessing someone look at us wrong or say something wrong, paying bills, waiting in line, overcooking a meal, making an honest mistake -- you name it, we all become upset over it.
The root cause for being upset is our unwillingness⁴ to accept life as being different, in any way, from our expectations. Very simply, we want things to be a certain way but they are not a certain way.
Life is simply as it is. Perhaps Benjamin Franklin said it best: "Our limited perspective⁵, our hopes and fears become our measure of life, and when circumstances do not fit our ideas, they become our difficulties." We spend our lives wanting things, people and events to be just as we want them to be -- and when they are not, we fight and we suffer.
How do we reduce this suffering?
The first step in recovering from a bad mood is to admit that you have a problem. You have to want to change, to become more easygoing. You have to see that your own state of heart is largely⁶ of your own creation⁷ -- it is composed of the way you set up your life and the way you react to it.
The next step is to understand the link between your expectations and your frustration⁸ level. Whenever you expect something to be a certain way and it isn't, you are upset and you suffer. On the other hand, when you let go of your expectations, when you accept life as it is, you are free. To hold on is to be serious and uptight. To let go is to lighten up.
A good exercise is to try to approach a single day without expectations. Don't expect people to be friendly. When they're not, you won't be surprised or bothered. If they are, you will be delighted. Don't expect your day to be problem free. Instead, as problems come up, remind yourself, "Ah, another hurdle⁹ to overcome."
As you approach your day in this manner you will notice how beautiful life can be. Rather than fighting against life, you will be dancing with it. Pretty soon, with practice, you will lighten up your entire life. And when you lighten up, life is a lot more fun.

1 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。

2 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 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。

4 unwillingness   

n. 不愿意，不情愿

参考例句：

• Her unwillingness to answer questions undermined the strength of her position. 她不愿回答问题，这不利于她所处的形势。
• His apparent unwillingness would disappear if we paid him enough. 如果我们付足了钱，他露出的那副不乐意的神情就会消失。

5 perspective   

n.视角，观点，想法

参考例句：

• You can get a perspective of the whole city from here.从这里你可以看到城市的全景。
• We may get a clear perspective of the people's happy lives.我们知道人民对幸福生活的展望。

6 largely   

adv.大部分，主要地

参考例句：

• It is largely dependent on the weather.这多半取决于天气情况。
• Their conclusions were largely founded on guesswork.他们的结论大部份基于猜测。

7 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

8 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。

9 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。