From the Beginning of Youth

Leave yesterday to history and resolve to begin fresh each new day daring to make dreams become a reality.

將昨日留給歷史，滿懷信心地迎接每個新日子的到來，努力將夢想變為現實。

■起點

The Beginning

◎Deng M. T.

In the beginning, all things are hopeful. We prepare ourselves to start a new. Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in the first moment: our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our innocence.

In order to start, we must make a decision. The decision is a commitment to daily self-cultivation. We must make a strong connection to our inner selves. Outside matters are superfluous（superfluous[sju:'p?:flu?s]a. 過剩的；多余的，不必要的） . Alone and naked, we negotiate all of life's travails. Therefore, we alone must make something of ourselves, transforming ourselves into the instruments for experiencing the deepest spiritual essence of life.

Once we make our decision, all things will come to us. Auspicious（auspicious[?:'spi??s]a. 吉兆的，吉利的；興盛的，幸運的） signs are not a superstition, but a confirmation. They are a response. It is said that if one chooses to pray to a rock with enough devotion, even that rock will come alive. In the same way, once we choose to commit ourselves to spiritual practice, even the mountains and valleys will reverberate（reverberate[ri'v?:b?reit]v.（使）回響，（使）反射） to the sound of our decision.

美麗語錄

It's time to start living the life you've imagined.

是時候開始過自己想要的生活了。

在起點，所有的一切都充滿希望。我們準備重新開始。雖然我們的目的是前方奇妙的旅程，但我們的一切希望——樂觀、信念、決心和純真，都包含在開始的那一刻。

為了開始，我們必須做好決定。這一決定是我們日常自我修養的一種承諾。我們要將它與自己的內心建立一種密切的關聯。除此之外的事都是多余的。我們終生勞碌，最終孤獨而赤裸地離去。因此，我們必須有所作為，那樣可以引導我們去體會生活中最深層的精神實質。

一旦我們下定決心，所有的事情就會接連不斷地發生。吉兆并非迷信，而是對事情的肯定預測，是事物的反應。據說，若有人虔誠地向巖石祈禱，巖石都會被賦予生命。同樣，若我們堅定自己的精神之旅，即使高山和峽谷也會回應我們堅定的呼聲。

■青春物語

Man's Youth

◎Thomas Wolfe

Man's youth is a wonderful thing: it is so full of anguish（anguish[???ɡwi?]n. 極度的痛苦；苦惱） and of magic and he never comes to know it is, until it has gone from him forever. It is the thing he can't bear to lose, it is the thing whose passing he watches with infinite sorrow and regret, it is the thing whose loss he must lament forever, and it is the thing whose loss he really welcomes with a sad and secret joy, the thing he would never willingly relive again, if it could be restored to him by any magic.

Why is this? The reason is that the strange and bitter miracle of life is nowhere else so evident as in our youth. And what is the essence of that strange and bitter miracle of life which we feel so poignantly（poignantly['p?ign?ntli]ad. 令人辛酸地；強烈地；尖刻地） , so unutterably, with such a bitter pain and joy, when we are young? It is this: that being rich, we are so poor; that being mighty, we can yet have nothing; that seeing, breathing, smelling, tasting all around us the wealth and glory of this earth, feeling with an intolerable certitude that the whole structure of the enchanted life—the most fortunate, wealthy, good, and happy life that any man has ever known—is ours—is ours at once, immediately and forever, the moment that we choose to take a step, or stretch a hand—we yet know that we can really keep, hold, take, and possess forever—nothing. All passes; nothing lasts: the moment that we put our hand upon it, it melts away like smoke, is gone forever, and the snake is eating at our heart again; we see then what we are and what our lives must come to.

美麗語錄

After all your pains and tears, look at the rainbow of your life. It's totally worth it.

所有的傷痛、眼淚過后，看看生命中的彩虹，一切的一切都是那么的值得。

人的青春奇妙無窮，充滿痛楚，充滿魔力。青春年少時不知青春為何物，無奈青春一去不復返時才恍然醒悟：青春是誰也不愿失去的東西；眼睜睜看著青春流逝，無限的感傷和遺憾涌上心頭；青春的流逝是人們心中永遠的痛；青春的流逝讓人們或大悲或竊喜；即便魔力可以還以青春，人們也不愿再次經歷那些流逝的青春歲月。

為何如此呢？因為青春時代的生活充滿了奇特的、心酸的、不平凡的事。青春年少的我們懷著或悲或喜的心情，強烈而又不可名狀地體味著那些生活的奇特辛酸史時，我們可曾想過它的本質？它的本質就是：我們富足殷實，卻無比貧窮；我們力大無窮，卻一無所有；世間的富貴榮華比比皆是，看到，聞到，嘗到，甚至可以呼吸到。那份堅信再也無法隱藏了，真真切切感受到整個生活都已陶醉……只要我們向前邁步，努力奮斗，那么人類所知道的最幸運、最富有、最美好、最幸福的生活便立刻屬于我們了，而且將永遠屬于我們，雖然我們知道，其實我們留不住、抓不著、拿不走也無法占有什么。一切就如過眼云煙，轉瞬即逝。我們一伸手，它便像云煙般消失不見了。于是，痛苦再一次啃噬我們的心，我們看到了自己的真面目，明白了未來的生活將何去何從。

A young man is so strong, so mad, so certain, and so lost. He has everything and he is able to use nothing. He hurls the great shoulder of his strength forever against phantasmal（phantasmal[f?n't?zm?l]a. 幻影的；幽靈的；空想的） barriers, he is a wave whose power explodes in lost mid-oceans under timeless skies, he reaches out to grip a fume of painted smoke; he wants all, feels the thirst and power for everything, and finally gets nothing. In the end, he is destroyed by his own strength, devoured by his own hunger, impoverished by his own wealth. Thoughtless of money or the accumulation of material possessions, he is none the less defeated in the end by his own greed.

And that is the reason why, when youth is gone, every man will look back upon that period of his life with infinite sorrow and regret. It is the bitter sorrow and regret of a man who knows that once he had a great talent and wasted it, of a man who knows that once he had a great treasure and got nothing from it, of a man who knows that he had strength enough for everything and never used it.

青年人非常強壯、狂熱、自信，卻很容易迷失茫然；他擁有一切，卻又無法把握；他身強體壯，想要沖破虛幻的障礙，卻像海浪般無力地消失在無邊無際的大海中央；他伸出雙手想要抓住色彩斑斕的云煙，他想得到一切，渴望主宰一切，可到頭來依舊兩手空空，一無所獲；最后，他被自己的力量打敗，被自己的饑餓吞噬，因自己的財富而窮困。他對金錢和財富的積累不以為意，最終必將因為貪念而毀。

這就是為什么當青春消逝，回首過往時，每個人的心中總會充滿無限的憂傷和遺憾。曾經杰出的才能，卻白白浪費了；曾經殷實的財富，卻被揮霍一空；曾經滿身的本領，卻未好好利用——一個明白了這些道理的人，回憶起青春時代，總會充滿憂傷和懊悔。

■年輕人

Youth

◎Aristotle

To begin with the Youthful type of character. Young men have strong passions, and tend to gratify them indiscriminately（indiscriminately[indi'skrim?nitli]ad. 不加選擇地；隨意地） . They are changeable and fickle in their desires, which are violent while they last, but quickly over: their impulses are keen but not deep-rooted, and are like sick people's attacks of hunger and thirst. They are hot-tempered, and quick-tempered, and apt to give way to their anger; bad temper often gets the better of them, for owing to their love of honour they cannot bear being slighted, and are indignant if they imagine themselves unfairly treated. While they love honour, they love victory still more; for youth is eager for superiority over others, and victory is one form of this. They love both more than they love money, which indeed they love very little, not having yet learnt what it means to be without it—this is the point of Pittancus, remark about Amphiaraus. They look at the good side rather than the bad, not having yet witnessed many instances of wickedness. They trust others readily, because they have not yet often been cheated.

美麗語錄

Something that we used to think would last forever in our lives, had actually vanished in a second before we realized it ... This is youth.

我們總以為生命中有些東西永遠不會消失，可它總是在我們意識到之前便轉瞬即逝了……這就是青春。

首先討論一下年輕人的性格特征。年輕人激情似火，而且經常不假思索就予以滿足。他們的愿望變化莫測、反復無常，來時強烈無比，去時轉瞬即逝。他們極易沖動，但并非根深蒂固，就像病人遭到饑渴的侵襲一樣。他們熱情似火、性情暴躁，常常管不住自己的脾氣。他們珍惜榮譽，他們無法忍受被人忽視，因此，一旦發現自己遭遇不公平的對待，便會義憤填膺。他們珍惜榮譽，但他們更愛勝利。因為年輕人總喜歡勝人一籌，而勝利就是一種絕好的表現方式。他們鐘愛榮譽和勝利要多過金錢，他們之所以不在意金錢，是因為他們還未明白缺少金錢意味著什么——庇塔喀斯就是這樣評論安菲阿勞斯的。他們未曾親眼目睹過多少邪惡之事，所以他們總是看到事物好的一面，而非不好的那一面。他們全心全意相信別人，只因為他們很少上當受騙。

他們面色紅潤，大自然好像用了過多的葡萄酒來溫暖他們的血液；除此之外，他們沒有遇過多少挫折。他們總是在期盼中度日，而不是在回憶中緬懷；因為期盼意味著未來，而回憶意味著過去。未來還有很長的日子等著年輕人，過去的歲月只是微小的一部分。一個人來到世上的第一天，他沒有什么能回憶的事情，他能做的只有期盼未來。

They are sanguine（sanguine['s??ɡwin]a. 樂觀的；血色好的，紅潤的） ; nature warms their blood as though with excess of wine; and besides that, they have as yet met with few disappointments. Their lives are mainly spent not in memory but in expectation; for expectation refers to the future, memory to the past, and youth has a long future before it and a short past behind it: on the first day of one's life one has nothing at all to remember, and can only look forward.

They are easily cheated, owing to the sanguine disposition just mentioned. Their hot tempers and hopeful dispositions make them more courageous than older men are; the hot temper prevents fear, and the hopeful disposition creates confidence; we cannot feel tear so long as we are feeling angry, and any expectation of good makes us confident.

They are shy, accepting the rules of society in which they have been trained, and not yet believing in any other standard of honor. They have exalted notions, because they have not yet been humbled by life or learnt its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things and that means having exalted notions. They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning; and whereas reasoning leads us to choose what is useful, moral goodness leads us to choose what is noble.

They are fonder of their friends, intimates, and companions than older men are, because they like spending their days in the company of others, and have not yet come to value either their friends or anything else by their usefulness to themselves. All their mistakes are in the direction of doing things excessively and vehemently（vehemently['vi:im?ntli]ad. 激烈地，強烈地；熱切地） . They disobey Chilon's precept by overdoing everything, they love too much and hate too much, and the same thing with everything else. They think they know everything, and are always quite sure about it; this, in fact, is why they overdo everything ... They are ready to pity others, because they think everyone an honest man, or anyhow better than he is: they judge their neighbor by their own harmless natures, and so cannot think he deserves to be treated in that way. They are fond of fun and therefore witty, wit being well-bred insolence.

他們容易上當受騙，只因上面提到的精力旺盛的脾性。火一般的熱情、滿懷希望的天性讓他們比老年人更有膽量。如火的熱情讓他們不知恐懼，希望的天性讓他們自信滿滿。我們感到憤怒的時候，便全然不知淚水，而對美好事物的憧憬又讓我們充滿自信。

他們是害羞的，順其自然地遵守社會慣例，卻不相信任何榮譽標準。他們有著崇高的理想，因為生活還未教會他們如何謙卑，如何理解那些必要的束縛。再者，他們滿懷希望的天性，讓他們以為自己和日月無異——這就是他們所謂的崇高理想。他們寧可做一些高尚之事，也不做有用之事。他們的生活多由道德感觀操控，而非理智。盡管理智指引我們去做有用之事，道德品質則指引我們去做高尚之事。

和老年人相比，他們更喜歡自己的朋友、密友和伙伴，因為有人相伴的日子才是他們的最愛，而且不論是朋友或是其他東西，都不以其實用性作為價值的判斷標準。他們所犯的錯，都是因為做事過度或者過猛。他們不遵守齊隆法則，凡事做得太過頭，他們不是愛得太深，就是恨得太多，做其他事也是如此。他們總覺得自己無所不知，而且自信滿滿。實際上，這就是他們行事過頭的癥結所在……他們隨時準備著同情別人，因為他們覺得每個人都是誠實的，或者要比自己的為人好——他們用自己的善良本性來判斷鄰里，總覺得自己不該得到這樣的對待。他們喜歡玩樂，因而非常機智幽默——這就是一種低調的傲慢。

■在探索中成長

Growing in the Middle Ground

◎Anne Phipps

I believe that my beliefs are changing. Nothing is positive. Perhaps I am in a stage of metamorphosis which will one day have me emerging complete, sure of everything. Perhaps I shall spend my life searching.

Until this winter, I believed in outward（outward['autw?d]a. 外表的，表面的；外界的） things, in beauty as I found it in nature and art. Beauty passed, swift and sure, from the outside to the inside, bringing intense emotion. I felt a formless faith when I rode through summer woods, when I heard the counterpoint of breaking waves, when I held a flower in my hand. There was the same inspiration from art—here and there, in flashes—in seeing for the first time the delicacy of a white jade vase, or the rich beauty of a rug, in hearing a passage of music played almost perfectly, in watching Markova dance Giselle, most of all in reading. Other people's consciousness, their sensitivity to emotion, color, sound, their feeling for form, instructed me. The necessity for beauty I found to be the highest good, the human soul's greatest gift. It was not, I felt, all.

This winter I came to college. The questions put to me changed. Lists of facts and "who dragged whom how many times around the walls of what" lost importance. Instead I was asked eternal questions: What is Beauty? What is Truth? What is God? I talked about faith with other students. I read St. Augustine and Tolstoy. I wondered if I hadn't been worshiping（worshiping['w?:?ip??]v. 崇拜（worship的現在分詞）；做禮拜；熱愛；愛慕） around the edges. Nature and art were the edges, an inner faith was the center. I discovered, really discovered, that I had a soul. Just sitting in the sun one day, I realized the shattering meaning of St. Augustine's statement that the sun and the moon, all the wonders of nature, are not God's "first works", but second to the spiritual works.

美麗語錄

Life is not always what we want it to be. We fight. We cry. And sometimes, we give up. But in our hearts, we know it's still love.

生活有時不盡如人意。我們掙扎、哭泣，有時甚至放棄。但內心要始終充滿愛。

我堅信自己的信仰一直在改變。凡事無絕對。或許，我還在發育階段，總有一天我會發育完全，從而堅信一切。或許，我將要用一生的時間去探尋。

這個冬季以前，我信仰外界的事物，相信從大自然和藝術中發現的美。可美總是轉瞬即逝，留下的只是無盡感傷。當我騎馬穿過夏日的叢林，當我側耳傾聽浪花翻滾的聲音，當我手持一朵鮮花時，我就能感覺到一種無形的信念。藝術也能帶來同樣的靈感，它無所不在，稍縱即逝——就像我第一次看見一個精美的白玉花瓶或一塊華麗的地毯，聽到一段演奏得近乎完美的音樂，看到馬爾科娃在《吉賽爾》中的優美舞姿，我都能感覺到這種靈感。然而，這種靈感絕大部分源自閱讀。他人的思想，他們對于情感、顏色、聲音的敏感，以及對形式的感知，都能給我以啟迪。我發現，對美的需求是人類最崇高的舉動，是人類靈魂最偉大的天賦。可我覺得，它并非一切。

I had, up till then, perceived spiritual beauty, only through the outward; it had come into me. Now, I am groping（groping[gr?up??]v. 探索，探求（grope的現在分詞）） towards an inner spiritual consciousness that will be able to go out from me. I am lost in the middle ground; I am learning.

今年冬天，我上大學了。我所面臨的問題也改變了。很多事實和那些“多少次誰拉著誰圍繞著哪面墻徘徊”早已不再重要。相反，一些永恒的問題開始困擾著我：什么是美？什么是真理？什么是上帝？我曾和其他學生討論過信仰的問題。我讀過圣·奧古斯丁與托爾斯泰的著作。我想知道，自己是否一直徘徊在信仰的邊緣。自然和藝術都是邊緣，內心的信仰才是核心。我發現了，真的發現了，自己擁有一個靈魂。有一天，當我坐在陽光下時，我終于明白了圣·奧古斯丁說過的那句話：太陽和月亮，所有自然界的奇跡，都不是上帝的“初作”，而是精神上的二次創造。

直到那一刻，我才能看透外界事物，欣賞到精神上的美。那種美已然住進我心里。現在，我正在通往內心精神世界的道路上摸索前行著。我迷失在探索之中。我正在學習。

■面對人生的十字路口

The Fork in the Road

◎Florence Scovel Shinn

Every day there is a necessity of choice (a fork in the road). "Shall I do this, or shall I do that? Shall I go, or shall I stay?" Many people do not know what to do. They rush about letting other people make decisions for them, then regret having taken their advice.

There are others who carefully reason things out. They weigh and measure the situation like dealing in groceries（groceries['gr?us?riz]n. 雜貨店（grocery的名詞復數）） , and are surprised when they fail to obtain their goal.

There are still other people who follow the magic path of intuition and find themselves in their Promised Land in the twinkling of an eye.

Intuition is a spiritual faculty high above the reasoning mind, but on the path is all that you desire or require. So choose ye this day to follow the magic path of intuition.

In most people it is a faculty which has remained dormant. So we say, "Awake though that sleeps. Wake up to your leads and hunches（hunches[h?nt?iz]n. 直覺，預感（hunch的名詞復數）） !"

美麗語錄

Make up your mind to act decidedly and take the consequences. No good is ever done in this world by hesitation.

下定決心，果斷行動，并承擔后果。在這個世界上，猶豫不決成就不了任何事。

我們每天都要面臨不同的選擇（面對人生的十字路口）。“是該這樣，還是該那樣？我是該走還是該留？”許多人都很茫然不知所措，所以他們急著讓別人為自己拿主意，接著再為聽了他人的意見而后悔。

一些人總是小心翼翼地為未來計劃著。他們就像經營雜貨店那樣經營著自己的未來。可是，當他們無法達到自己的目標時，往往又會驚嘆不已。

還有一些人會跟著直覺走，發現自己轉眼之間就到了夢想中的天堂。

直覺，是一種高于理性思想的本能。然而，只有當你充滿強烈欲望或迫切需求時，這種本能才會顯現出來。所以，相信你的直覺，跟著感覺走吧！

但是，大多數人身上的這種本能都還未被喚醒。所以，我們要說：“喚醒沉睡的直覺吧，喚醒心中的巨人吧！”

Now it is necessary for you to make a decision, you face a fork in the road. Ask for a definite unmistakable lead, and you will receive it.

So we find we have success through being strong and very courageous in following spiritual law.

A well-known man, who has become a great power in the financial world, said to a friend, "I always follow intuition and I am luck incarnate."

Inspirations are the most important thing in life. People come to truth meetings for inspiration. I find the right word will start divine（divine[di'vain]a. 天賜的；神圣的；非凡的，天才的） activity operating in their affairs.

In every act prompted by fear lies the germ of its own defeat.

現在，你必須做出選擇，你面對著人生的十字路口。向你的直覺索要一個確定答案吧！然后，勇敢地接受它！

于是我們發現，成功路上有了直覺相伴，我們變得更加強大，更加勇敢了。

一位金融界的知名成功人士對他的朋友說：“我一直跟著感覺走，我是一個幸運兒。”

靈感是人的一生中最重要的東西。人們往往會產生靈感。有了靈感，人們在工作時就能如魚得水，得心應手了。

無論何時，都不要懼怕，因為它會在你心底生根發芽。

■生活的不確定性

The Uncertainty Principle

◎Adam Khan

Two sailors ran into each other in a pub. Over a few beers, one of the men told the other about his last voyage: "After a month at sea," he said, "we discovered our masts had been eaten through by termites! Almost nothing left of them."

"That's terrible," said the second sailor.

"That's what I thought at first too," the first sailor said, "but it turned out to be good luck. As soon as we took the sails down to fix the masts, we were hit by a squall so suddenly and so hard, it would surely have blown us over if our sails were up at the time."

"How lucky!"

"That's exactly what I thought at the time, too. But because our sails were down, we couldn't steer ourselves, and because of the wind, we were blown onto a reef. The hole in the hull was too big to fix. We were stranded."

"That is bad luck indeed."

"That's what I thought, too, when it first happened. But we all made it to the beach alive and had plenty to eat. But now here's the real kicker: while we were on the island whining about our terrible fate, we discovered a buried treasure!"

名人語庫

We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.

~Martin Luther King

我們必須接受失望，因為它是有限的；但千萬不可失去希望，因為它是無窮的。

——馬丁·路德·金

兩名水手在一間酒吧里偶遇對方。幾瓶啤酒下肚后，其中一個人向另一個說起了他的最后一次航行：“在海上的一個月后，”他說，“我們發現我們的桅桿都被白蟻啃透了！它們幾乎啃得一干二凈，什么都沒有留下。”

“這真是太可怕了。”另一個水手說。

“我最開始也是這么想的，”第一個水手說，“但它原來卻是幸運的事兒呢。正當我們把帆拿下來，準備修復桅桿時，突然遭受到一股強勁的陣風，如果我們的帆當時還掛在上面的話，它肯定會將我們都吹走的。”

“多么幸運啊！”

“我當時也是這么想的。但因為我們的帆都取下來了，我們不能引導自己的方向，而且因為這陣大風，我們都被吹到了礁石上。船體上的洞太大而無法修復。所以我們被困住了。”

“那還是運氣不好。”

“那時我也是這么想的。但我們到海灘上的所有人都活著，還有足夠的東西吃。而這里才是真正棒的地方：當我們在島上抱怨命運的可怕時，我們卻發現了埋藏的寶藏！”

As this story illustrates, you don't know if an event is "good" or "bad" except maybe in retrospect, and even then you don't really know because life keeps going. The story's not over yet. Just because something hasn't turned out to be an advantage yet doesn't mean it is not ever going to.

Therefore, you can simply assume whatever happens is "good".

I know that sounds awfully airy-fairy, but it's very practical. If you think an event is good, it's easy to maintain a positive attitude. And your attitude affects your health, it affects the way people treat you and how you treat others, and it affects your energy level. And those can help pave the way for things to turn out well. A good attitude is a good thing. And a bad attitude does you no good at all.

So get in the habit of saying "That's good!" Since you don't know for sure whether something will eventually work to your advantage or not, you might as well assume it will. It is counterproductive to assume otherwise. Think about it.

If someone ahead of you in line at a store is slowing everything down, say to yourself, "That's good!" They may have saved you from getting into an accident when you get back in your car. Or maybe, because you slowed down, you might meet a friend you would have missed. You never know.

The truth is, life is uncertain. And even that can work to your advantage.

這個故事說明，一個事件是“好事”還是“壞事”你并不知道，也許只有在回想起來時才明白；因為生活總會繼續下去，所以你根本無從得知它的好壞。這個故事還沒有結束。因為有些事情還沒有被證明是好事，但這并不意味著它永遠都不是好事。

因此，你可以簡單地假設，無論發生什么，它都是“好事”。

我知道這聽起來像是空談，但它的確很奏效。如果你認為一件事是好事，你就很容易保持積極的態度。你的態度會影響你的健康，會影響人們對你的方式以及你對待他人的方式，它會影響你的能量高度。那些能幫你鋪平道路，讓事情變好。一個好態度是件好事。糟糕的態度對你毫無益處。

所以，養成說“那很好”的習慣。既然你不確定某件事是否最終會對你有利，你不妨假設它會。否則的話，它會適得其反。想一想。

如果商店里排在你前面的人慢下來時，對自己說：“那很好！”他們可能因此在你返回車里時救你脫離一場交通意外。或者，因為你放慢速度，你可能會遇到一個本會錯過的朋友。你永遠不知道會發生什么。

事實是，生活是不確定的。而且甚至常常充滿了好運。

■人生如筷

Life as Chopsticks

◎Steven Porter

Chopsticks . Right now, millions of people are digging into their food with two sticks that have stood the test of time as a utensil for humans, even when countless thousands of other tools, gadgets and products haven't. But what's so special about them?

What can we learn from mere chopsticks?

Personally, I have used them all my life, but it was only recently I realized the depth of influence they had in many people's way of life. They teach us the importance of:

Simplicity. They can come in all kinds of colors and sizes but essentially they are just two long sticks. There's hardly anything more simple than two bits of wood being pushed together. With new technology being released everyday and adverts bombarding us with the need to be able to do more with less, multi-tasking and multiple-use devices, it is sort of refreshing to still have something which has just one use—simply to eat. Chopsticks are a living example that simplicity simply works, and we don't need to keep developing, improving and fixing things all the time.

名人語庫

Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step a time.

~Mark Twain

習慣就是習慣，誰也不能將其扔出窗外，只能一步一步地引它下樓。

——馬克·吐溫

筷子。現如今，當無數的工具、器具和產品都已被時間淘汰時，只有筷子經受住了時間的考驗，成千上萬的人用它來夾取食物。然而，它究竟有什么特別之處？

從這簡單的筷子中，我們可以學到什么？

就我個人而言，我一生都在使用筷子，但直到最近，我才意識到它深深地影響了許多人的生活方式。它教會了我們許多重要的事：

簡單。雖然筷子顏色各異，長短不同，但實質上它們就是兩根長棍。沒有什么比兩根靠在一起就能使用的木棍更簡單的東西了。在科技日新月異的今天，鋪天蓋地的廣告告訴我們應該使用那些事半功倍的多功能設備，筷子卻仍舊保持著單一的用途——只是用來吃飯，這真是讓人覺得不同尋常啊。筷子這個活生生的例子說明：簡簡單單的東西照樣能派上用場，我們并不需要總是不斷地改善、發展、革新。

Versatility. Chopsticks can be used for picking up all kinds of food; meat, vegetable, rice, even the bones from fish, because by nature, their simplicity means that they are adaptable. Instead of aiming for a niche in an attempt to find a "gap in the market", or to fill a hole that probably doesn't need filling, they cater to a wide range purposes. Imagine being like chopsticks in this way, able to appeal to many people because you are useful, without worrying about being "more innovative" or "better" in anyway. They just do what they are made to do; they just are.

Aim. If you've ever tried using them, you know that you can't get what you want by just haphazardly stabbing at the plate. To be able to get what you want, you have to aim for it. There's no way you can pick up everything in one go. Know what you want, and just do it. Sometimes, a little bit of focus makes the difference between failure and success.

Practice. Using chopsticks doesn't come naturally. You have to learn to use them and practice it. But how will you learn? Should you just read about it? Most would agree that there's no better way to practice than to look at the delicious food in front of you and tell yourself that you can't have any until you can use the chopsticks to get it. In real life, you can read in books as much as you like about all the things you want to do, but it will just amount to dreams and theory if you don't try actually doing it. Don't just watch others eating, put yourself out there and give the chopsticks a go.

Slowing Down. A common health tip is to try to eat with chopsticks when you can. Why? Because it slows you down and allows your stomach to tell your brain you're full before you overeat. Eating with chopsticks is a slower process, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes we need to slow down and take things one step at a time, break it down at each stage so that we have time to think, to realize that we're actually full and that we don't have to keep charging full speed through life.

多樣化。筷子可以用來夾取各種各樣的食物，如肉類、蔬菜、米飯，甚至是魚骨頭，因為它們簡單的本質就意味著它們的適應性夠強。它們能滿足各種廣泛的要求，而不是只瞄準于彌補某些“市場空白”，或者填充那些可能沒必要填充的空洞。想象一下筷子的哲學：有自己的用途且無須擔心被“革新”或被“改善”，所以深受人們喜愛。筷子只是做了它應該做的，筷子就是筷子。

目標。如果你曾試過用筷子吃飯，你就知道在餐盤上隨意亂戳是夾不到你想要的東西的。你必須瞄準目標。你不可能一次性夾到所有東西。認清你要什么，然后去做。有時，成功與失敗的區別就在于那一點點的準確性。

不斷實踐。沒人生來就會使用筷子。你必須學著使用它們并不斷練習。然而，你該怎樣學呢？僅僅只是閱讀說明書嗎？絕大多數人都認可，最好的練習方法是盯著你面前的美食，然后告訴自己不用筷子夾到它就沒法吃。在我們的現實生活中，你可以從書中閱讀到任何你想要做的事情，但是如果你不試著將其付諸實踐，它也就僅僅只是夢想和理論。不要只是看著別人吃，自己也要去拿雙筷子，自己去試試。

放慢節奏。一個眾所周知的健康秘訣就是盡可能使用筷子吃飯。為什么？因為它會讓你放慢節奏，在你吃撐之前，你的胃會告訴你的大腦你已經吃飽了。用筷子吃飯是個緩慢的過程，但這未必是一件壞事。有時候，我們需要放慢腳步，凡事要一步一步，在每個階段停頓一下，這樣我們就有時間去思考，意識到我們其實已經飽了，我們不應該總是保持高速度的生活。

Sometimes it's nice to enjoy each morsel of life as it comes.

有時候，享受生活的一點一滴是很美好的事。

■從零開始

We'e Just Beginning

◎Charles F. Kattering

"We are reading the first verse of the first chapter of a book whose pages are infinite ..."

I do not know who wrote these words, but I have always liked them as a reminder that the future can be anything we want to make it. We can take the mysterious, hazy future and carve out of it anything that we can imagine, just as a sculptor carves a statue from a shapeless stone.

We are all in the position of the farmer. If we plant a good seed, we reap a good harvest. If our seed is poor and full of weeds, we reap a useless crop. If we plant nothing at all, we harvest nothing at all.

I want the future to be better than the past. I don't want it contaminated by the mistakes and errors with which history is filled. We should all be concerned about the future because that is where we will spend the remainder of our lives.

The past is gone and static. Nothing we can do will change it. The future is before us and dynamic. Everything we do will affect it. Each day brings with it new frontiers, in our homes and in our businesses, if we will only recognize them. We are just at the beginning of the progress in every field of human endeavor.

美麗語錄

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and love today.

我不害怕明天，因為我經歷過昨天，又熱愛今天。

“我們正在讀一本書的第一章第一行，而這本書有無數頁……”

我不知道這句話是誰寫的，可我很喜歡。它提醒著我們，未來是由自己創造的，一切皆有可能。我們可以把神秘的、不可知的未來塑造成我們想象中的任何一種樣子，就像雕塑家把一尊未成形的石頭刻成雕像。

我們就像是農夫。如果我們播下良種，必將獲得豐收。然而，如果播下劣種，或田間雜草叢生，我們收獲的就是無用的莊稼。沒有耕耘就不會有收獲。

我希望未來比過去更加美好。我希望未來不再重蹈歷史的錯誤與過失。我們應該專注于未來，因為我們的余生都將在未來中度過。

往昔已逝，靜如止水，我們無力改變它。未來就在眼前，生機勃勃，我們所做的一切都會影響它。如果我們意識到這些，無論是工作還是家庭，我們都能開拓一片新天地。在人類致力開拓的每一個領域里，我們正好站在進步的起跑點上。

■兩條路

The Two Roads

◎John Ruskin

It was New Year's Night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his mournful eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were floating like white lilies on the surface of a clear calm lake. Then he cast them on the earth, where few more hopeless people than himself now moved towards their certain goal—the tomb（tomb[tu:m]n. 墓；葬身之地；死亡） . He had already passed sixty of the stages leading to it, and he had brought from his journey nothing but errors and remorse. Now his health was poor, his mind vacant, his heart sorrowful, and his old age short of comforts.

He looked towards the sky and cried painfully, "O youth, return! O my father, place me once more at the entrance to life, and I'll choose the better way!" But both his father and the days of his youth had passed away.

The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he recalled the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads—one leading to a peaceful, sunny place, covered with flowers, fruits and resounding with soft, sweet songs; the other leading to a deep, dark cave, which was endless, where poison flowed instead of water and where devils and poisonous snakes hissed and crawled.

美麗語錄

Life's greatest regret, than the wrong insist, and easily give up.

人生最大的遺憾，莫過于錯誤的堅持和輕易的放棄。

那是一個新年夜。一位老人站在窗前，他那憂傷的雙眼眺望著深遠蔚藍的天空。繁星就像是漂浮在平靜、清澈湖面上的朵朵白百合。接著他的目光投向地面，此刻，沒有人比他更絕望，因為他正一步步邁向自己的最終歸宿——墳墓。他已經走過通向墳墓的六十級臺階，除了過錯和悔恨，他什么都沒有得到。如今，他體弱多病，精神空虛，心情沮喪，人到晚年無所慰藉。

他仰望星空，痛苦地大聲喊道：“噢，回來吧，青春！噢，父親，請再次把我帶到人生的岔路口吧！我會選擇一條更好的道路！”然而，他的父親和他的青春一起消逝不見了。

青春的日子如夢一般出現在他眼前。老人想起了父親將他帶到人生岔路口的莊嚴時刻——一條路通往寧靜的、陽光明媚的世界，那里滿是鮮花和水果，還有甜美輕柔的歌聲回蕩在空中；另一條路通往一個深沉、黑暗、看不到盡頭的洞穴，那里流淌著的不是水，而是毒液，毒蛇一邊爬，一邊發出嘶嘶聲。

He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness. These were the days of his wasted life; he saw a star fall from the sky and disappeared, and this was the symbol of himself. His remorse, which was like a sharp arrow, struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood, who entered on life together with him. But they had made their way to success and were now honored and happy on this New Year's night.

The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents' early love for him. They had taught him and prayed to God for his good. But he chose the wrong way. With shame and grief he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father live. His darkened eyes were full of tears, and with a despairing（despairing[di'sp??ri?]a. 感到絕望的；表現絕望的） effort, he burst out a cry: "Come back, my early days! Come back!" And his youth did return, for all this was only a dream which he had on New Year's Night. He was still young though his faults were real; he had not yet entered the deep, dark cave, and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land.

Those who still linger（linger['li?g?]v. 徘徊；緩慢消失；磨蹭；茍延殘喘） on the entrance of life, hesitating to choose the bright road, remember that when years are passed and your feet stumble on the dark mountains, you will cry bitterly, but in vain: "O youth, return! Oh give me back my early days!"

他看見黑暗中掠過縷縷亮光，就像是自己揮霍掉的往昔。他看見一顆星星從天邊隕落，消失不見，那就是他的化身。他的悔恨，就像一把利箭，深深地刺進他的心臟。于是，他想起了和自己一同邁入人生的兒時好友。可是，他們找到了通往成功的道路。在這個新年夜，他們備受尊敬，幸福無比。

高高的教堂鐘樓上傳來了鐘聲，這聲音讓他回想起父母早年對他的疼愛。他們教育他，祈求上帝保佑他。可是，他選擇了一條錯誤的路。羞愧和悲傷讓他不敢仰望父親所在的天堂。他那雙黯淡的眼睛噙滿了淚水，他絕望地嘶喊道：“回來吧！我的往昔！回來吧！”

他的青春真的回來了，所有的這一切只是一個夢，一個在新年夜所做的夢。他依舊年輕，雖然他犯的錯是真實存在的；他也沒有走進那個深幽、黑暗的洞穴；他依舊可以自由行走在那條通往寧靜的、陽光明媚的世界的道路上。

那些仍舊徘徊在人生岔路口，猶豫著該不該選擇光明之路的人們，請你們記住，當青春不再，你的雙腳跌絆在黑暗的山間時，你會痛苦地呼喊著：“噢，青春，回來吧！把我的往昔還給我！”但這一切已是徒然。

■有感于青春常在

On the Feeling of Immortality in Youth

◎William Hazilitt

No young man believes he will ever die. It was a saying of my brother's, and a fine one.

There is a feeling of eternity in youth, which makes us amend for everything.

To be young is to be as one of the immortal Gods.

One half of time indeed is flown—the other half remains in store for us with all its countless treasures, for there is no line drawn, and we see no limit to our hopes and wishes.

We make the coming age our own—the vast, the unbounded（unbounded[?n'baundid]a. 無限的；無節制的；不受控制的） prospect lies before us.

Death, old age is words without a meaning that pass by us like the idea air which we regard not.

Others may have undergone, or may still be liable to them—we "bear a charmed life", which laughs to scorn all such sickly fancies. As in setting out on delightful journey, we strain our eager gaze forward—bidding the lovely scenes at distance hail!

美麗語錄

Don't let the sadness of your past and the fear of your future ruin the happiness of your present.

別讓過去的悲催和未來的憂慮，毀掉自己當下的快樂。

年輕人不相信自己會死。這是我哥哥說的一句話，也算得上一句金玉良言。

青春有種永生之感，它能彌補一切。

永葆年輕就像是成為一尊不朽的神明。

誠然，生命的一半已然消逝——而保留下的另一半將給我們帶來無盡的財富，對此我們懷著無限的希望和企盼。

未來的日子掌握在我們自己手中——眼前展現一片無限遼闊的前景。

死亡，衰老，這些毫無意義的字眼，我們只當耳旁風那樣聽過便忘了。

這一切，也許其他人早已經歷，抑或正在承受——我們的生活備受祝福，所以面對這些脆弱的想法，只須一笑置之。就像踏上一段愉快的旅程，我們極目遠眺——向著遠處的美景歡呼。

前進的路上，看見的是無限的山水美景和不斷涌現的新目標。

因此，生命伊始，讓我們的志趣自由馳騁，自由尋求一切滿足的機會。

And see no end to the landscape, new objects presenting themselves as we advance.

So, in the commencement of life, we set no bounds to our inclinations, nor to the unrestricted opportunities of gratifying them.

We have as yet found no obstacle, no disposition to flag; and it seems that we can go on so forever.

We look round in a new world, full of life, and motion, and ceaseless progress; and feel in ourselves all the vigor and spirit to keep pace with it, and do not foresee from any present symptoms how we shall be left behind in the natural course of things, decline into old age, and drop into the grave.

It is the simplicity, and as it were abstractedness of our feelings in youth, that identifies us with nature, and deludes us into a belief of being immortal like it.

Our short lives connexion with existence we fondly flatter ourselves is an indissoluble and lasting union—a honeymoon that knows neither coldness, jar, nor separation.

As infants smile and sleep, we are rocked in the cradle of our wayward fancies, and lulled into security by the roar of the universe around us—we quaff（quaff[kwɑ:f]v. 狂飲，痛飲） the cup of life with eager haste without draining it, instead of which it only overflows the more objects press around us, filling the mind with their magnitude and with the strong of desires that wait upon them, so that we have no room for the thoughts of death.

然而，我們未曾碰上障礙，也未曾感到疲憊。看樣子我們可以永遠前進，直到永遠。

我們環視這個嶄新的世界——生機盎然、日新月異、進取不斷。我們深感自己活力四射、精神奕奕，可以跟上宇宙的腳步。眼前也沒有跡象表明，在大自然的發展過程中，我們會落伍，會老去，會死去。

年輕時單純率真，也就是天真無知，讓我們誤以為自己與大自然無異，并相信自己能和它一樣永恒不朽。

我們一相情愿地把自己在世上的短暫停留當作永恒不變、千古永存的結合——就像沒有冷淡、爭執和離別的蜜月。

我們就躺在自己用幻想編織而成的搖籃里，像嬰兒那般微笑入睡。世間萬物發出的聲音就像是催眠曲般哄著我們安然入眠。我們渴望地、急切地飲著生命之杯里的美酒，可杯中的美酒怎么也喝不干，反而永遠那樣滿滿欲溢。森羅萬象和種種欲望占據了一切，就連死亡我們都無暇去想。

■人生處處是轉角

Always Changing

◎Anonymous

Please excuse me if I'm a little pensive today.

Mark is leaving, and I'm feeling kind of sad.

You probably don't know Mark, but you might be lucky enough to know someone just like him. He's been the heart and soul of the office for a couple of year combining exemplary（exemplary[iɡ'zempl?ri]a. 典型的；示范的；懲戒性的） professional skills with a sweet nature and gentle disposition. He's never been all that interested in getting credit for the terrific work he does. He just wants to do his job, and to do it superbly（superbly[sju:'p?:bli]ad. 莊重地；華美地；極好地；上等地） well.

And now he's moving on to an exciting new professional opportunity. It sounds like it could be the chance of a lifetime, and we're genuinely, sincerely pleased for him. But that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye to a dear friend and trusted colleague.

Life has a way of throwing these curve balls at us. Just when we start to get comfortable with a person, a place or a situation, something comes along to alter the recipe. A terrific neighbor moves away. Someone in the family graduates. A child finds new love and loyalties through marriage. The family's principle bread-winner（bread-winner['bredwin?(r)]n. 養家糊口的人） is laid off.

名人語庫

Growth and change are the law of all life. Yesterday's answers are inadequate for today's problems—just as the solutions of today will not fill the needs of tomorrow.

~Franklin Roosevelt

生長與變化是一切生命的法則。昨日的答案不適用于今日的問題——正如今天的方法不能解決明天的需求。

——富蘭克林·羅斯福

如果我今天有點憂郁，請原諒我。

馬克要走了，我感到有些難過。

你可能不認識馬克，但如果你認識像他那樣的人，你可就走運了。好幾年來，他都是辦公室里的核心和靈魂人物，專業技能堪稱模范，態度和藹，性格溫和。他的工作表現十分出色，卻對于爭風邀功從無興趣。他只想做他的工作，并能出色地完成。

而現在，他要向一份令人振奮的新職邁進。這聽起來就像一個千載難逢的機會，我們也真心誠摯地替他高興。但是，那并沒使我們跟這樣一位親愛的朋友、信任的同事告別來得容易些。

生活用它的方式不斷向我們拋出曲線球。當我們剛開始與某人融洽相處，或是適應一個地方或一種情境時，某事就發生了，并改變了這種境況。很棒的鄰居要搬家了。某個家庭成員要畢業了。孩子們找到新歡，通過婚姻找到忠誠。家庭的支柱失業了。

Our ability to cope with change and disruption determine to a great degree, our peace, happiness and contentment in life.

But how do we do that? Philosophers have considered the question for centuries and their responses have been varied. According to the author of the Biblical book of Ecclesiaste, comfort can be found in remembering that "to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven." Kahlil Gibran urged his listeners to "let today embrace the past with remembrance, and the future with longing".

A friend of mine who works for the government is fond of reminding his fellow bureaucrats that "survivabi-lity depends upon adaptability". And then there's Chris, the California surf-rat, who once told me that the answer to life's problems can be summed up in four words: "Go with the flow".

"It's like surfing," Chris explained. "You can't organize the ocean. Waves just happen. You ride 'em where they take you, then you paddle back out there and catch the next one. Sure, you're always hoping for the perfect wave where you can get, like, you know, totally tubular. But mostly you just take 'em the way they come. It's not like you're trying to nail Jell-O to a tree, you know?"

I'm not exactly sure, but I think Chris was saying that life is a series of events—both good and bad. No matter how deft（deft[deft]a. 靈巧的；熟練的；巧妙的） your organizational skill there will always be life-influencing factors over which you have no control. The truly successful person expects the unexpected, and is prepared to make adjustments should the need arise—as it almost always does.

我們應付變化和混亂的能力，在很大程度上決定了我們生活的安寧、幸福和滿意度。

但我們應該怎么做？哲學家們已經思考這個問題好幾個世紀了，而他們的回答各有不同。根據《圣經·舊約全書·傳道書》的作者，人們可以通過記住“大千世界，萬物皆有時”來獲得安慰。而卡里·紀伯倫也曾敦促他的聽眾去“讓今日用記憶擁抱過去，用渴望擁抱未來”。

我一個在政府工作的朋友喜歡提醒他那幫官僚同事“生存取決于適應性”。還有克里斯，加利福尼亞州的一位沖浪愛好者，他曾告訴我說，生活中所有問題的答案都可以總結為四個字——“順其自然”。

“就像沖浪，”克里斯解釋道，“你無法掌控大海。波浪隨時都可能蕩起。你乘浪而行，任隨它領你前行，然后，你伏身于沖浪板往回，接而踏乘下一個浪。當然，你總會希望等到那個完美的浪頭，就像你知道的那種滾筒浪。但大多數情況，也就是隨波逐流，這并不是什么登天難事，知道嗎？”

我不太確定，但我想克里斯是在說生活是由一連串事件組成的——其中有好也有壞。無論你的組織技能有多嫻熟，總會有些你無法控制的因素在影響你的生活。真正的成功者能夠預計意料之外的事，并準備好在必要時做出調整——這種情況總是發生。

That doesn't mean you don't keep trying to make all your dreams come true. It just means that when things come up that aren't exactly in your plan, you work around them—and then you move on. Of course, some bumps along the road of life are easier to take than others. A rained-out picnic, for example, is easier to cope with than the sudden death of a loved one. But the principle is the same.

"Change, indeed, is painful, yet ever needful," said philosopher Thomas Carlyle. "And if memory have its force and worth, so also has hope."

We're going to miss Mark, just like you'll miss that graduate, that neighbor or that newlywed（newlywed['nju:li?wed]n. 新婚的人） . But rather than dwell on the sadness of our parting, we'll focus on our hopes for a brighter future—for him, and for us. And then we'll go out and do everything we can to make that future happen.

Until our plans change—again.

那并不意味著你不需要不斷努力使你的夢想成真。它只是說，當計劃之外的事發生時，你得去應付，然后繼續前行。當然，人生沿途出現的一些波折要比另一些容易處理。比如，因為下雨要取消野餐，總比自己所愛的人突然去世更容易應付。但原則是相同的。

“的確，改變會給人帶來痛苦，但改變卻是永遠必需的。”哲學家托馬斯·卡萊爾說道，“而且，如果記憶擁有力量和價值，那么希望也同樣擁有。”

我們會想念馬克，就像你會想念畢業離家的孩子、那位搬走的鄰居或那新婚的兒女一樣。但我們與其沉湎于離別帶來的悲傷，不如把期望專注于一個更光明的未來——為他，也為我們自己。然后，我們將走出去，盡我們所能，去實現夢想中的未來。

直到我們的計劃——再次改變。