国家地理:为什么旅行是一项基本的人类活动(2)

We are an adaptive species. We can tolerate brief periods of forced sedentariness. A dash of self-delusion helps.

我们是适应力强的物种。我们能够忍受短时间无法移动。一点自我催眠是有帮助的。

We're not grounded, we tell ourselves. We're merely between trips, like the unemployed¹ salesman in between opportunities.

我们告诉自己并没有被禁足，只是处于两次旅程之间，就像失业的销售员只是在等待下一个机会。

We pass the days thumbing though old travel journals and Instagram feeds. We gaze at souvenirs. All this helps. For a while.

我们靠翻阅旧旅行日志和滑Instagram动态消磨日子。我们盯着旅游纪念品出神。这些都有帮助，至少一阵子。

The travel industry is hurting. So are travelers.

旅游业受到重创，旅人也很痛苦。

"I dwelled so much on my disappointment that it almost physically² hurt," Paris-based journalist Joelle Diderich told me recently, after canceling five trips last spring.

住在巴黎的记者乔埃乐·迪德里奇，光是去年春天就取消了五个行程，她跟我说：“我一直沉溺于失望当中，几乎连身体都真的痛起来了。”

My friend James Hopkins is a Buddhist³ living in Kathmandu.

我的朋友詹姆斯·霍普金斯是住在尼泊尔加德满都的佛教徒。

You'd think he'd thrive during the lockdown, a sort-of mandatory⁴ meditation⁵ retreat. For a while he did.

想象中他在封城期间应该可以怡然自得，就像参加一次不能不去的禅修避静。有一阵子他确实如此。

But during a recent Skype call, James looked haggard and dejected.

但是我最近一次跟詹姆斯Skype通话时，他看起来憔悴低落。

He was growing restless, he confessed, and longed "for the old 10-countries-a-year schedule." Nothing seemed to help, he told me.

他坦承自己越来越坐立不安，想念“之前一年跑十个国家的行程表。”他说似乎做什么都无济于事。

"No matter how many candles I lit, or how much incense⁶ I burned, and in spite of living in one of the most sacred places in South Asia, I just couldn't change my habits."

“不管点多少蜡烛或烧多少香，就算是住在南亚数一数二的神圣地方，我还是改变不了习惯。”

When we ended our call, I felt relieved, my grumpiness validated⁷. It's not me; it's the pandemic.

跟他聊完后，我松了口气，觉得我的躁动不安有理有据：问题不在我，而是疫情。

But I also worried. If a Buddhist in Kathmandu is going nuts, what hope do the rest of us stilled souls have?

但同时我也感到忧虑。假使连加德满都的佛教徒都快抓狂，我们这些不安于室的凡夫俗子还能有什么希望？

1 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

2 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

3 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

4 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

5 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。

6 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

7 validated   

v.证实( validate的过去式和过去分词 )；确证；使生效；使有法律效力

参考例句：

• Time validated our suspicion. 时间证实了我们的怀疑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The decade of history since 1927 had richly validated their thesis. 1927年以来的十年的历史，充分证明了他们的论点。 来自辞典例句