迈入60岁 好多事你就不担心了

 　　There is a lot that is annoying, and even terrible, about aging. The creakiness of the body; the drifting of the memory; the reprising of personal history ad nauseam, with only yourself to listen.

　　变老有太多恼人和糟糕的事情：身体变差，记忆力下降，没完没了地重复个人的过去，并且只有你一个听众。

　　But there is also something profoundly liberating¹ about aging: an attitude, one that comes hard won. Only when you hit 60 can you begin to say, with great aplomb²: “I’m too old for this.”

　　不过变老还包含一种深刻的解放：获得一种得来不易的态度。只有到了60岁的时候，你才会开始泰然自若地说：“我太老了，这个不适合我。”

　　This line is about to become my personal mantra. I have been rehearsing it vigorously, amazed at how amply I now shrug³ off annoyances⁴ that once would have knocked me off my perch⁵.

　　这句话将会成为我的个人箴言。我拼命地练习着这句话，然后惊讶地发现，对于那些曾经打击过自己虚荣心的恼人之事，现在的我竟然已经不屑一顾了。

　　迈入60岁 好多事你就不担心了

　　A younger woman advised me that “old” may be the wrong word, that I should consider I’m too wise for this, or too smart. But old is the word I want. I’ve earned it.

　　一位比我小的女性建议我说，“老”这个字可能用得不对，应该换成我太“明智”或者太“聪明”了，这个不适合我。但是“老”是我想要的，是我争取到的。

　　And let’s just start with being an older woman, shall we? Let others feel bad about their chicken wings — and their bottoms, their necks and their multitude of creases⁶ and wrinkles. I’m too old for this. I spent years, starting before I was a teenager, feeling insecure about my looks.

　　先从作一个老女人开始吧？鸡翅胳膊，臀部，脖子，一层层的褶子和皱纹，这些东西让别人发愁去吧。我太老了，不在乎了。我已经花了太多时间忧心于自己的样貌，在进入青少年时期之前就开始了。

　　No feature was spared. My hairline: Why did I have to have a widow’s peak, at 10? My toes: too short. My entire body: too fat, and once, even, in the depths of heartbreak, much too thin. Nothing felt right. Well, O.K., I appreciated my ankles. But that’s about it

　　没有哪个部位能够幸免。我的发际线：为什么我才十岁就非得有个寡妇尖？我的脚趾头：太短。我的全身：太胖。然后有一次伤心至极时，我又嫌弃身体太单薄。总之没有一个地方是称心的。好吧，我对脚踝还挺满意，不过仅此而已。

　　What torture we inflict⁷ upon ourselves. If we don’t whip ourselves into loathing⁸, then mean girls, hidden like trolls under every one of life’s bridges, will do it for us.

　　我们在折磨着自己。如果不迫使自己厌恶自我，那么刻薄的女孩子们，就像一座座生命之桥下藏着的巨怪一样，会替我们来厌恶自己。

　　Even the vogue⁹ for strange-looking models is little comfort; those women look perfectly¹⁰, beautifully strange, in a way that no one else does. Otherwise we would all be modeling.

　　连古怪模特的潮流都带不来什么安慰；她们看上去完美无瑕，怪得那么美，怪得别人无法企及。要不然我们都可以去当模特了。

　　One day recently I emptied out an old trunk. It had been locked for years; I had lost the key and forgotten what was in there. But, curiosity getting the best of me on a rainy afternoon, I managed to pry¹¹ it open with a screwdriver¹².

　　最近有一天，我打开了一个旧箱子。因为把钥匙弄丢了，这个箱子被锁着很久，我也忘了里面装的都是些什么。不过，在一个下雨的午后，在好奇心的驱使下，我用螺丝刀成功地打开了箱子。

　　It was full of photographs. There I was, ages 4 to 40. And I saw for the first time that even when I was in the depths of despair about my looks, I had been beautiful.

　　箱子里面装满了我4岁到40岁的照片。我第一次发现，虽然对自己的长相曾深感绝望，可是曾经的我很美丽。

　　And there were all my friends; girls and women with whom I had commiserated¹³ countless¹⁴ times about hair, weight, all of it, doling¹⁵ out sympathy and praise, just as I expected it heaped upon me: beautiful, too. We were, we are, all beautiful. Just like our mothers told us, or should have. (Ahem.)

　　里面还有我所有朋友的照片。对于她们的头发、体重等，我曾无数次地表示同情，偶尔会给她们一些安慰和赞美。不过正如我所料，现在看来她们也很美丽。我们曾经、现在都很美丽。我们的母亲就是这么告诉我们的，或者应该这么告诉我们（嗯哼）。

　　Those smiles, radiant with youth, twinkled out of the past, reminding me of the smiles I know today, radiant with strength.

　　照片中的笑容，洋溢着青春的气息，提醒着自己今日我所知的笑容散发着一股力量。

　　Young(er) women, take this to heart: Why waste time and energy on insecurity? I have no doubt that when I’m 80 I’ll look at pictures of myself when I was 60 and think how young I was then, how filled with joy and beauty.

　　年轻的女性们，你们要铭记在心：为何要把时间和精力浪费在安全感的缺乏上？毫无疑问，当我80岁的时候看着自己60岁的照片时，我就会想到自己当年是多么的年轻，美丽和喜悦。

　　I’m happy to have a body that is healthy, that gets me where I want to go, that maybe sags¹⁶ and complains, but hangs in there. So maybe I’m too old for skintight jeans, too old for six-inch stilettos, too old for tattoos¹⁷ and too old for green hair.

　　我很高兴自己有着健康的身体，它让我能去自己想去的地方，或许它松松垮垮，偶有不适，不过还是坚持住了。所以可能我太老了，已经不适合穿紧身牛仔裤，不适合穿6寸的细高跟鞋，也不适合纹身，把头发染成绿色了。

　　Weight gain? Simply move to the looser end of the wardrobe, and stop hanging with Ben and Jerry. No big deal. Nothing to lose sleep over. Anyway, I’m too old for sleep, or so it seems most nights.

　　体重增加了？那就穿拿衣柜里的宽松款衣服好了，别整天跟本和杰瑞厮混（指Ben & Jerry's牌冰激凌——译注）。这没什么大不了。不值得为之辗转难眠。而且，我这把年纪不需要睡觉了，至少大多数的夜晚看起来是这样。

　　Which leaves me a bit cranky in the daytime, so it is a good thing I can now work from home. Office politics? Sexism? I’ve seen it all. Watching men make more money, doing less work. Reading the tea leaves as positions shuffle¹⁸, listening to the kowtow and mumble¹⁹ of stifled²⁰ resentment²¹.

　　睡眠减少会让我在白天有点烦躁，所以现在能在家办公还不错。办公室政治？性别歧视？我都见识过了。看着男人们干活少拿钱多。在人事变动时看着杯中的茶叶读解未来。听着唯唯诺诺、敢怒不敢言的低语。

　　I want to tell my younger colleagues that it doesn’t matter. Except the sexism, which, like poison ivy²², is deep-rooted: You weed the rampant²³ stuff, but it pops up again.

　　我想对比我小的同事们说，这些都不重要。只有性别歧视不一样，这东西就像毒漆藤，根深蒂固：它们遍地丛生，拔掉了也还会再冒出来。

　　What matters most is the work. Does it give you pleasure, or hope? Does it sustain your soul? My work as a climate activist²⁴ is the hardest and most fascinating I’ve ever done. I’m too old for the dark forces, for hopelessness and despair. If everyone just kept their eyes on the ball, and followed through each swing, we’d all be more productive, and not just on the golf course.

　　最重要的是工作。它让你感到快乐，或者有希望吗？它能滋养你的心灵吗？我目前是一名气候环境活动人士，这是我所做过的最艰难、也最让我着迷的工作。年纪大了，我已经没兴趣为黑暗势力服务，也无意做无望和让人绝望的工作。只要眼睛盯着球，每次挥杆都一个跟进动作，我们都会更有效率，不只是在高尔夫球场上。

　　The key to life is resilience, and I’m old enough to make such a bald statement. We will always be knocked down. It’s the getting up that counts. By the time you reach upper middle age, you have started over, and over again.

　　还原能力在生活中很关键，到了这个年纪，我大可以这么直白地讲。我们总有被生活击倒的时候，能重新站起来才有价值。等到了中年，你就会发现，自己已经把人生重来不止一次了。

　　And, I might add, resilience is the key to feeling 15 again. Which is actually how I feel most of the time.

　　我还可以再加上一点，还原能力是重新找回自己15岁时感觉的秘诀。实际上，我现在大部分时间都像活在15岁。

　　But I am too old to try to change people. By now I’ve learned, the very hard way, that what you see in someone at the beginning is what you get forevermore. Most of us are receptive to a bit of behavior modification²⁵. But through decades of listening to people complain about marriages or lovers, I hear the same refrains.

　　但年纪大了，我就不愿意费力去改变别人。付出大代价之后，我现在已经明白，你一开始看到一个人是什么样，他/她就永远是什么样。大多数人都能接受一些行为习惯的矫正。但这几十年听人们抱怨自己的婚姻或爱人，我听到永远是一样的内容。

　　I have come to realize that there is comfort in the predictability, even the ritualization, of relationship problems. They become a dance step; each partner can twirl through familiar moves, and do-si-do until the music stops.

　　我开始意识到，人际关系中的可预见性，甚至仪式化的东西，也会让人觉得舒服。它们变成了一种舞步，每个伴侣都以熟悉的动作舞蹈，绕步换位，直到音乐停止。

　　Toxic²⁶ people? Sour, spoiled people? I’m simply walking away; I have little fight left in me. It’s easier all around to accept that friendships have ebbs²⁷ and flows, and indeed, there’s something quite beautiful about the organic nature of love.

　　碰上毒舌、脾气不好和骄纵的人怎么办？直接走开，我已经没什么跟人斗的劲头了。接受友情有起有落这一点会好过很多，而且爱的有机本质也的确有它动人的地方。

　　I used to think that one didn’t make friends as one got older, but I’ve learned that the opposite happens. Sometimes, unaccountably, a new person walks into your life, and you find you are never too old to love again. And again. (See resilience.)

　　过去我认为人年纪大了就不会再交朋友，但我已经发现也不是这么回事。有时候，会有人莫名走进你的生活，然后你发现，自己并没有老到不能爱的那一天。而且还会有下一次（这也是还原能力）。

　　One is never too old for desire. Having entered the twilight²⁸ of my dating years, I can tell you it is much easier to navigate²⁹ the Scylla and Charybdis of anticipation³⁰ and disappointment when you’ve had plenty of experience with the shoals and eddies³¹ of shallow waters. Emphasis on shallow. By now, we know deep.

　　也不要说自己太老了，不该有什么欲望。我已经进入约会时光的晚期，可以负责任地告诉你，当你在浅水区见识了足够多的浅滩和漩涡，哪天要面对斯库拉(Scylla)和卡律布狄斯(Charybdis)这个级别的希望与失望起落时，会容易许多。把注意力放在浅水上。到如今，我们已经知道深水是什么样了。

　　Take a pass on bad manners, on thoughtlessness, on unreliability, on carelessness and on all the other ways people distinguish themselves as unappealing specimens³². Take a pass on your own unappealing behavior, too: the pining, yearning³³, longing³⁴ and otherwise frittering away of valuable brainwaves that could be spent on Sudoku, or at least a jigsaw³⁵ puzzle, if not that Beethoven sonata³⁶ you loved so well in college.

　　对于别人的不礼貌、欠考虑、不靠谱和粗心大意，以及所有令人生厌的品质，忽略它们吧。也改改自己一些讨人厌的习惯：执念、向往、强求和诸如此类浪费宝贵脑细胞的活动，这些脑细胞蛮可以用来玩数独，或至少能玩个拼图，如果不想听大学时最爱的贝多芬奏鸣曲的话。

　　My new mantra is liberating. At least once a week I encounter a situation that in the old (young) days would have knocked me to my knees or otherwise spun³⁷ my life off center.

　　我最新的箴言是解放自己。每周至少一次，我会遇到状况，放在以前（年轻的时候），它会让我崩溃，或让生活失去重心。

　　Now I can spot trouble 10 feet away (believe me, this is a big improvement), and I can say to myself: Too old for this. I spare myself a great deal of suffering, and as we all know, there is plenty of that to be had without looking for more.

　　如今，在离它十英尺远的地方，我就认出这类麻烦（相信我，这是个很大的进步），而且还能跟自己说：太老了，折腾不起。这让我少受很多折磨，而且我们都知道，就算你不自找麻烦，这种事也有一大堆在前面等着你呢。

　　If there can be such a thing as a best-selling app like Yo, which satisfies so many urges to boldly announce ourselves, I want one called 2old4this. A signature kiss-off to all that was once vexatious. A goodbye to all that has done nothing but hold us back. That would be an app worth having. But, thankfully, I’m too old to need such a thing.

　　既然这世上会有Yo这样满足很多人大声宣示自我需求的产品存在，还成为最畅销应用，那我也想要一个叫“2old4this”（年纪大了，用不着）的应用。把它作为一个标签，用来拒绝那些曾经让你大伤脑筋的东西，用来跟所有无所助益却又牵绊我们的事物说再见。这样的应用应该挺值拥有。但是，谢天谢地，我年纪大了，用不着了。

1 liberating   

解放，释放( liberate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Revolution means liberating the productive forces. 革命就是为了解放生产力。
• They had already taken on their shoulders the burden of reforming society and liberating mankind. 甚至在这些集会聚谈中，他们就已经夸大地把改革社会、解放人群的责任放在自己的肩头了。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）

2 aplomb   

n.沉着，镇静

参考例句：

• Carried off the difficult situation with aplomb.镇静地应付了困难的局面。
• She performs the duties of a princess with great aplomb.她泰然自若地履行王妃的职责。

3 shrug   

v.耸肩(表示怀疑、冷漠、不知等)

参考例句：

• With a shrug,he went out of the room.他耸一下肩，走出了房间。
• I admire the way she is able to shrug off unfair criticism.我很佩服她能对错误的批评意见不予理会。

4 annoyances   

n.恼怒( annoyance的名词复数 )；烦恼；打扰；使人烦恼的事

参考例句：

• At dinner that evening two annoyances kept General Zaroff from perfect enjoyment one. 当天晚上吃饭时，有两件不称心的事令沙洛夫吃得不很香。 来自辞典例句
• Actually, I have a lot of these little annoyances-don't we all? 事实上我有很多类似的小烦恼，我们不都有这种小烦恼吗？ 来自互联网

5 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

6 creases   

（使…）起折痕，弄皱( crease的第三人称单数 )； （皮肤）皱起，使起皱纹

参考例句：

• She smoothed the creases out of her skirt. 她把裙子上的皱褶弄平。
• She ironed out all the creases in the shirt. 她熨平了衬衣上的所有皱褶。

7 inflict   

vt.(on)把…强加给，使遭受，使承担

参考例句：

• Don't inflict your ideas on me.不要把你的想法强加于我。
• Don't inflict damage on any person.不要伤害任何人。

8 loathing   

n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢

参考例句：

• She looked at her attacker with fear and loathing . 她盯着襲擊她的歹徒，既害怕又憎恨。
• They looked upon the creature with a loathing undisguised. 他们流露出明显的厌恶看那动物。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 Vogue   

n.时髦，时尚；adj.流行的

参考例句：

• Flowery carpets became the vogue.花卉地毯变成了时髦货。
• Short hair came back into vogue about ten years ago.大约十年前短发又开始流行起来了。

10 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

11 pry   

vi.窥(刺)探，打听；vt.撬动(开，起)

参考例句：

• He's always ready to pry into other people's business.他总爱探听别人的事。
• We use an iron bar to pry open the box.我们用铁棍撬开箱子。

12 screwdriver   

n.螺丝起子；伏特加橙汁鸡尾酒

参考例句：

• He took a screwdriver and teased out the remaining screws.他拿出螺丝刀把其余的螺丝卸了下来。
• The electric drill can also be used as a screwdriver.这把电钻也可用作螺丝刀。

13 commiserated   

v.怜悯，同情( commiserate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She commiserated with the losers on their defeat. 她对失败的一方表示同情。
• We commiserated with the losers. 我们对落败者表示同情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

15 doling   

救济物( dole的现在分词 )； 失业救济金

参考例句：

• "What are you doling?'she once demanded over the intercom. 有一次他母亲通过对讲机问他：“你在干什么？ 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• Many scrollbars are quite parsimonious in doling out information to users. 很多滚动条都很吝啬，给用户传递的信息太少。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

16 sags   

向下凹或中间下陷( sag的第三人称单数 )； 松弛或不整齐地悬着

参考例句：

• The bed sags in the middle, and is uncomfortable. 床的中间往下塌，很不舒服。
• He sags his pants; doo rags and a stockin cap. 他穿着松弛的裤子。抹布一样的帽子。

17 tattoos   

n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 )；归营鼓；军队夜间表演操；连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青，文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 )；连续有节奏地敲击；作连续有节奏的敲击

参考例句：

• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
• His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 shuffle   

n.拖著脚走，洗纸牌；v.拖曳，慢吞吞地走

参考例句：

• I wish you'd remember to shuffle before you deal.我希望在你发牌前记得洗牌。
• Don't shuffle your feet along.别拖着脚步走。

19 mumble   

n./v.喃喃而语，咕哝

参考例句：

• Her grandmother mumbled in her sleep.她祖母含混不清地说着梦话。
• He could hear the low mumble of Navarro's voice.他能听到纳瓦罗在小声咕哝。

20 stifled   

（使）窒息， （使）窒闷( stifle的过去式和过去分词 )； 镇压，遏制； 堵

参考例句：

• The gas stifled them. 煤气使他们窒息。
• The rebellion was stifled. 叛乱被镇压了。

21 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

22 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

23 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

24 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

25 modification   

n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻

参考例句：

• The law,in its present form,is unjust;it needs modification.现行的法律是不公正的，它需要修改。
• The design requires considerable modification.这个设计需要作大的修改。

26 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

27 ebbs   

退潮( ebb的名词复数 )； 落潮； 衰退

参考例句：

• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。
• The new Russia steadily ebbs away drive out of Moscow. 驶离莫斯科愈来愈远以后，俄罗斯崭新的景象也逐渐消失。

28 twilight   

n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期

参考例句：

• Twilight merged into darkness.夕阳的光辉融于黑暗中。
• Twilight was sweet with the smell of lilac and freshly turned earth.薄暮充满紫丁香和新翻耕的泥土的香味。

29 navigate   

v.航行，飞行；导航，领航

参考例句：

• He was the first man to navigate the Atlantic by air.他是第一个飞越大西洋的人。
• Such boats can navigate on the Nile.这种船可以在尼罗河上航行。

30 anticipation   

n.预期，预料，期望

参考例句：

• We waited at the station in anticipation of her arrival.我们在车站等着，期待她的到来。
• The animals grew restless as if in anticipation of an earthquake.各种动物都变得焦躁不安，像是感到了地震即将发生。

31 eddies   

（水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Viscosity overwhelms the smallest eddies and converts their energy into heat. 粘性制服了最小的旋涡而将其能量转换为热。
• But their work appears to merge in the study of large eddies. 但在大旋涡的研究上，他们的工作看来却殊途同归。

32 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

33 yearning   

a.渴望的；向往的；怀念的

参考例句：

• a yearning for a quiet life 对宁静生活的向往
• He felt a great yearning after his old job. 他对过去的工作有一种强烈的渴想。

34 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

35 jigsaw   

n.缕花锯，竖锯，拼图游戏；vt.用竖锯锯，使互相交错搭接

参考例句：

• A jigsaw puzzle can keep me absorbed for hours.一副拼图就能让我沉醉几个小时。
• Tom likes to work on jigsaw puzzles,too.汤姆也喜欢玩拼图游戏。

36 sonata   

n.奏鸣曲

参考例句：

• He played a piano sonata of his own composition.他弹奏了一首自作的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• The young boy played the violin sonata masterfully.那个小男孩的小提琴奏鸣曲拉得很熟练。

37 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。