年轻一代生活睿语

 　　Words of Wisdom for the Modern Age

　　IN This ARTICLE: Wisdom today means something different for the young, modem¹ Western generation.

　　Wisdom of the ancients always served civilisation² well. In the age of the TV sitcom³ , witty⁴ New York repartee⁵ and the instant one-liner, Western wisdom in the modern sense can mean something more like the dialogue from an American sitcom. Here’s sampling of the some of the wittier⁶ one-lines circulating through Western society circles these days:

　　I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow is not looking good either.

　　I love deadlines. I especially like the wooshing sound they make as they go flying by.

　　Tell me what you need, and I’ll tell you how to get along without it.

　　Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue.

　　Needing someone is like needing a parachute. If they aren’t there the first time, chances are you won’t be needing them again.

　　On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.

　　You are slower than a herd⁷ of turtles stampeding through peanut butter.

　　Do not meddle⁸ in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup⁹.

　　Everybody is somebody else’s weirdo.

　　Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

　　Don’t be irreplaceable--if you can’t be replaced, you can’t be promoted.

　　Eat one live frog the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.

　　Everything can be filed under miscellaneous.

　　You are always doing something marginal when the boss drops by your desk.

　　When confronted by a difficult problem you can solve it more easily by reducing it to the question "how would adventure star Indiana Jones handle this?"

　　I don’t have an attitude problem. you have a perception problem.

　　本文简介：对今天西方的年轻一代来说，智慧别有一番含义。

　　古人的智慧对文明总是大有裨益。在电视情景喜剧、纽约式的机智问答和即兴的单句俏皮话大行其道的时代，现代意义上的西方智慧更像是一出美国情景喜剧里对白之类的东西。以下是近来在西方社会流传的一些具有代表性的单句睿语：

　　我每天只能取悦一个人。今天轮不到你。明天看上去也不太妙。

　　我喜欢最后期限。我尤其喜欢它们飞驰而过时发出的嗖嗖声。

　　告诉我你需要什么，然后我会告诉你没有它怎么过。

　　接受这一事实--有时你是在雕像上随意排泄的鸽子，有时你是那倒霉的雕像。

　　需要某个人就像需要一顶降落伞。如果他们第一时间不在场，你就可能再也没有需要他们的机会了。

　　在生活的键盘上，始终要把一个手指按在“退出”键上。

　　你比一群在花生酱中乱窜的海龟还要慢。

　　不要插手凶龙恶兽的事，因为你是松脆的，而被涂上番茄酱后味道好极了。

　　每个人在别人眼中都是怪物。

　　千万别和白痴争论。他们会把你拉低到和他们同等的水平，再用经验击败你。

　　切勿成为不可替代的人--如果没人能取代你，你便无法得到提升。

　　如果早晨第一件事就是吃一只活青蛙，那么余下的一天便不会有更糟的事发生了。

　　每件东西都可归入杂项。

　　老板偶然来到你的办公桌时，你总是在做一些无关紧要的事。

　　碰到难题时，把它简化成这样一个问题——“惊险片明星印第安那·琼斯会怎样处理?”--你就能比较容易地解决它了。

　　不是我的态度有问题，而是你的感觉有问题。

1 modem   

n.调制解调器

参考例句：

• Does your computer have a modem?你的电脑有调制解调器吗？
• Provides a connection to your computer via a modem.通过调制解调器连接到计算机上。

2 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

3 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。

4 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

5 repartee   

n.机敏的应答

参考例句：

• This diplomat possessed an excellent gift for repartee.这位外交官具有卓越的应对才能。
• He was a brilliant debater and his gift of repartee was celebrated.他擅长辩论，以敏于应答著称。

6 wittier   

机智的，言辞巧妙的，情趣横生的( witty的比较级 )

参考例句：

7 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

8 meddle   

v.干预，干涉，插手

参考例句：

• I hope he doesn't try to meddle in my affairs.我希望他不来干预我的事情。
• Do not meddle in things that do not concern you.别参与和自己无关的事。

9 ketchup   

n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司

参考例句：

• There's a spot of ketchup on the tablecloth.桌布上有一点番茄酱的渍斑。
• Could I have some ketchup and napkins,please?请给我一些番茄酱和纸手巾？