标题: 今日英语--英语学习系列 [打印本页] 作者: 欣弃羁 时间: 08-10-27 10:20 标题: 今日英语--英语学习系列 Hi-English(
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一．今日话题
What
is
Happiness?
何谓幸福？
Because happiness is something most of us aim for, how we define it has important
implications for how we conduct our lives. To see why, compare these two competing
definitions of happiness:
1.
Happiness
is
all
about
minimising
pain
and
maximising
pleasure.
The underlying idea here is that there is a kind of mathematics of happiness. Imagine if on
our deathbeds we were able to add up all the moments of pleasure in our lives and then all
the moments of pain. The amount by which the pleasures exceeded the pains would tell us
how happy we were during our lives.
2.
Happiness
is
satisfaction
with
life
as
a
whole.
On the surface this looks like the same idea but actually it's completely different. Consider
the case of Clea Koff, a forensic anthropologist who spent nine years working in Rwanda,
digging up the remains of people killed in the 1994 genocide (Bergsma, In press). While
this was clearly a gruesome task that would have given most people nightmares,
afterwards she explained that the work was meaningful, which made it worthwhile. For
Koff, then, happiness was satisfaction that she had done the right thing with her life.
Pleasure
and
pain
The first definition of happiness is perhaps the one most associated with hedonism, and
one that is implicitly accepted by many people. But I think the second definition is much
better because it makes room for the idea that we give meaning to the things we do.
Happiness is not just a headlong charge towards whatever makes us feel pleasure, it is
about finding satisfaction in ourselves and in what we have done. Even when what we
have done has been painful, like Clea Koff's work.
What's
your
view?
Would you agree with either of these definitions, or does the answer lie somewhere in
between, or even elsewhere completely?
我们大多数人都不懈地追求着幸福，因而对于“幸福”的理解也会对我们的生活产生潜移默化的影响。为什
么呢？为了搞清楚其中奥妙，试比较一下两种对于“幸福”的不同定义：
1. 幸福就是将痛楚最小化，将快乐最大化。
这里的根本观点是幸福指数存在进行某种运算关系。想象生命垂危之时，将一生的美好叠加，悲伤堆
积。当美好的各个瞬间超越片片痛楚，这其中的运算之差，大概就能说明我们此生是何等幸福了。
2. 幸福就是对生活的种种感到满足。
乍一看，这个定义与前一观点几无差异，但实则不然。考虑下Clea Koff 的经历：作为一位法医学者，
她在卢旺达负责挖掘在1994 年种族灭绝中遇难者的遗体，在那里她度过了九年的工作生涯。显然，这项
令人毛骨悚然的任务足以使大多数人恶梦缠身。但是事后，她解释道，这项工作很有意义，值得去做。对
Koff 而言，她做了生命里正确的事情，对此的满足也就造就了她的幸福。
快乐与痛楚
关于“幸福”的第一个定义可能是与享乐主义最接近的了，同时也是大众下意识中最普遍接受的观点。
但就我个人而言，第二个定义更为精辟。它给了我们足够空间去为自己所做的事情赋予新的诠释与意义。
幸福并非一味盲目地追寻感官上的愉悦，而是尝试着在自身以及我们所做的事情中探寻满足感，甚至
当我们所经历的是场痛苦，就如Clea Koffd 的工作那样，我们也应如此。
你的看法呢？
你是否同意以上两种观点之一呢？或是介于两者之间？更或是你有着其它完全不同的见解呢？
Talking
'Bout
Love
大话爱情
Here, the collection of love-inspired quotes.
Compiled by Amy Zerello
You know how they say we only use 10 percent of our brains? I think we only use 10
percent of our hearts.
-- Owen Wilson in Wedding Crashers
There are a lot of things happening that show us that this, right now, is a time to love.
-- Stevie Wonder in People
I know love at first sight can work. It happened to my parents.
-- George Clooney on contactmusic.com
Lust is easy. Love is hard. Like is most important.
-- Carl Reiner on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Men fall in love with their eyes. Women fall in love with their ears.
-- Quoted by Dr. Phil McGraw on Dr. Phil
I am certainly not an authority on love because there are no authorities on love, just those
who've had luck with it, and those who haven't.
-- Bill Cosby
If the marriage needs help, the answer almost always is have more fun. Drop your list of
grievances and go ride a roller coaster.
-- Garrison Keillor on salon.com
Love is overrated. Biochemically no different than eating large quantities of chocolate.
-- Al Pacino in The Devil's Advocate
Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.
-- Paula Deen on the Food Network
If you have a boat and a happy marriage, you don't need another thing.
-- Ed McMahon in TV Guide
Here's the secret to a happy marriage: Do what your wife tells you.
-- Denzel Washington in New York Daily News
这里，爱情名言警句集。
知道他们说什么吗？说我们只用十分之一的大脑。
我觉得应该说是，我们只用了十分之一的心。
——欧文·威尔森
选自电影《婚礼傲客》
很多事实告诉我们：爱吧，就是现在。
——史蒂夫·旺达
选自《人物》杂志
就我知道，一见钟情确实不错。比如我父母就是。
——乔治·克鲁尼
来自contactmusic.com
欲望来的容易，爱情实属不易。而喜欢则最为珍贵。
——卡尔·雷纳
选自《艾伦·德杰尼勒斯》
男人爱上的是赏心悦目，而女人爱的则是甜言蜜语。
——菲尔.麦格劳
引自访谈节目《菲尔博士》
我当然不是什么爱情专家，因为爱情里没有专家，
只是有些人有幸拥有，有些人没那么幸运而已。
——比尔·考斯比
如果婚姻出现问题，那么答案多半是需要做点开心事。
把满腹委屈跑置脑后，开开心心坐趟过山车吧。
——葛瑞森·寇勒
来自salon.com
生理化学上来说，对爱情估计太高，无异于吃下太多巧克力。
——艾尔·帕西诺
选自电影《魔鬼代言人》
爱情总是盲目，但婚姻会让你擦亮眼睛。
——保拉·狄恩
选自《美味关系》
如果你有了条船和幸福的婚姻，那你就什么都不缺了。
——艾德·麦克马洪
摘自《电视指南》杂志
幸福婚姻的秘诀就是：听太太的话。
——丹泽尔·华盛顿
来自《纽约每日新闻》
What
is
Life
About?
生命是什么？
When you grieve you can so easily concentrate on death, or dying that you can forget the
purpose of life. Life
and
death
are
circular
friends
who
dance
with
each
other
day
in
day
out
…so what is my take on life?
L=
L
ove and to be loved
I
=
I
nspire a legacy which you can be proud of
F=
F
amily and friends and the human bonds that we create, share and experience
together
E=
E
njoy the rarest gift that we have been given life. You are given the chance to enjoy
the world, life has to be about love and enjoyment
That
is
my
take
-
what
would
your
L.I.F.E
acronym
stand
for?
当你觉得自己是如此轻易的将心思都集中在死亡或是垂死上时而感到悲伤，你会忘记了生命的目的。生死
不过是一对昼夜相拥而舞的朋友罢了。那么生命于我又是什么呢？
L 等于爱和被爱。
I 意味着产生灵感，留下一个你能为之骄傲的东西给后人。
F 是和我们一起创造，一起分享，一起经历风雨的家人，朋友和所有人脉。
E 表示要享受生命这个最为珍贵的礼物。你被赋予享受这个世界的机会，生命就是该与爱和快乐有关。
生命与我就是如此——你的LIFE 又代表着什么呢？
How
to
Wake
Up
with
Energy
Each
Morning
每天清早活力起床的小诀窍
Do you wake up in the morning feeling well-rested and energized? Or is the feeling you
have when the alarm clock goes off closer to the beginning stages of recovery from an allnight
bender?
Sometimes you can wake up feeling groggy, light headed, and exhausted, even though you
just got eight, nine, or even ten hours of sleep. It makes you wonder how you can get a
good night’s sleep and feel horrible the next morning, yet sometimes you only get a few
hours and wake up feeling great.
If this is happening to you, you need to make some changes to ensure a night of peaceful
slumber that will leave you feeling revved up and ready to go. Try these things to give
yourself a burst of morning energy and ensure you wake up feeling motivated and ready to
go.
Fix Your Diet: There are substances you consume every day in your diet that will have a
direct reflection upon how you feel the next morning. Caffeine is the biggest offender,
followed by sugar. In addition to causing highs and lows with your blood sugar, they affect
your body’s hormone production, which directly affects how well you sleep. Combined
together they make a cocktail that is surely guaranteed to kick your butt in the morning. If
you must drink coffee – and many of us must – make sure you only have it in the morning,
and try to limit it to one cup. Keep in mind that a Venti Starbucks is like having about
three cups of home brewed.
What you eat can affect your sleep as well. An old rule of thumb was to not eat after six
o’clock in the evening. Eat a light meal at night loaded with fresh veggies. It not only fits in
with healthy eating habits, but your body will sleep better if it is not burdened with
digesting a heavy meal.
Exercise: Some good aerobic exercise is not only great for your heart, lungs, and overall
health, but getting a dose of daily exercise will do two other things for you as well. It will
give you a burst of natural adrenalin during the day, helping to clear your head and boost
your energy levels. Your motivation level rises significantly when you are getting regular
exercise. It will also help you sleep more soundly at night. You do not have to get fancy
with your exercise, either. Go for a run or a brisk walk, or jump on the stair stepper for
half of an hour. Just try to get at least 30 to 60 minutes of exercise most days of the week.
This single positive change can do more for helping your sleep than any other thing you
can do.
Establish a Morning Routine: Rather than throwing the dice to decide what time you are
going to wake up each day, decide upon a set time that works well for you and stick to it.
Set your alarm clock so your body learns that it needs to wake up every day at a certain
time. You can actually train your body to wake up on its own after you have been doing
this for a while – you might notice you start waking up on your own one minute before the
alarm is supposed to sound. When this happens, your body has been programmed to wake
at a certain time.
Have an enjoyable morning routine
早晨起床时，你是否觉得自己休息得很好？是否觉得精力充沛？当你从彻夜狂欢中醒来，听到闹铃响起的
那一刻，你是否也有类似的感觉呢？
有的时候，即使你已经睡了八、九个小时，甚至是十个小时，早上起床时，你仍会觉得身子软弱无力，
伴随着轻微的头痛，整个人好象都虚脱了。这些迹象会迫使你开始思考：晚上明明睡得很香，为什么第二
天早上却如此疲乏？而有的时候，你只睡了几个小时，但醒来时却倍感清爽。
如果你有以上情况，那你只肖做些改变，保证你晚上睡得安稳，早上干劲十足。按照以下的建议，每
天清晨你都会感受到活力的爆发，自己是多么的充满激情，时刻准备着。
固定饮食：每天在你消耗的食物中都会存在一些特定的物质，这些物质直接影响你第二天早晨的精神
状态。其中，咖啡因是最厉害的物质，其次就是糖。除了导致血糖的上升和降低，它们还会影响人体内荷
尔蒙的产生，而荷尔蒙则是睡眠质量的关键所在。咖啡因和糖结合在一起形成的刺激物质保证让你第二天
清晨就变得萎靡不振。对于大多数人而言，咖啡是必备之物，所以如果你一定要喝咖啡，那么你只能在早
上喝，尽量只喝一杯。务必牢记：大杯的星巴克咖啡等于三杯家中所泡咖啡之量。
另外，饮食习惯也会影响你的睡眠质量。不要在晚上六点以后吃东西就是人们流传下来的一个老规矩。
晚上最好吃得清淡些，少肉多蔬菜。这不仅仅是健康的饮食习惯，如果你的身体没有承担消化不良之苦，
你会睡得更好。
多运动：有氧运动有益健康，不仅对你的心肺功能有好处，每天适量的运动还会对你产生其它的影响。
白天，运动可以让你自然产生大量的肾上腺素，使你的头脑清醒，焕发无限活力。当你在进行常规运动时，
你的积极性会迅速提升。同时，运动也会让你在夜晚睡得更香。当然，你也不需要为运动发狂，慢跑，轻
松的散步，或者半小时的跳台阶练习都可以视为运动，一次运动时间至少在30 分钟到60 分钟，天数则是
越多越好。这一改变是如此简单，却又是如此有效，没有任何事可以像它一样帮助你的睡眠了。
固定起床时间：与其让老天决定你什么时候起床，不如选一个适合自己的固定时间，并每天坚持按此
时间起床。调整好你的闹钟，长此以往，你的身体就会慢慢适应，做到每天在特定的时间醒来。事实上，
经过一段时间的训练后，你的身体就会自主自动地按时醒来。或许有一天，你会发现自己在闹钟响的一分
钟前就睁开眼睛准备起床了。如果发生这种情况，说明你的身体已经自行调整以适应固定的起床时间了。
另外，在早上加入一些轻松愉快的例行活动也是很重要的。或许你喜欢起床后稍微运动运动，或许你
喜欢看看报纸，再配上一杯清凉热茶，无论是什么，在你准备投入工作之前，做一些你喜欢的。
其实想让自己起床后感觉良好并不困难，只需要一些小小的改变就可以办到。去掉你的坏习惯，你就
可以摆脱早晨的一切不适。有那么几天，你确实会觉得起床后困乏无力，不想钻出被窝，这很正常，起来
后去工作便是了。要知道，坚持早上起床工作本身就是一个使你活力充沛的积极改变。
The
skinny
on
liquid
diets
流质膳食减肥
Have you ever tried a liquid diet? I'll admit, I did a few years ago when I wanted to lose a
couple pounds in a short amount of time. My conclusion? I like food too much to give it up.
It's hard to give up both the sensation of chewing and the taste of real food. What's more,
although I was getting an adequate amount of calories, it was hard to convince myself that
the chalky substance I just drank was dinner. So while I'm all for having a protein shake
for breakfast, I discovered that a full-on liquid diet isn't for me.
WebMD recently did an interesting article on liquid diets -- check it out if you're
considering one. The long and short of it? Liquid diets can be effective, but you have to be
careful to choose one that is not dangerously low in calories or nutrients.
What do you think about liquid diets?
你试过液态饮食节食么？我承认几年前当我想在很短时间减掉好几磅时尝试过。我的结论是？我太爱食物
了，根本无法戒掉。要戒掉咀嚼的感觉和真实食物的味道很难。更难的是，虽然我正获取的是合适分量的
卡路里，却很难让我自己相信这种我刚喝下去的白垩色物质就是我的正餐了。于是当我吃着完全是蛋白混
合饮料的早餐时，我发现这种完全流质的节食不适合我。
MD 网最近有篇关于流质膳食的有趣文章-- 如果你正考虑来一场流质膳食可以点击进入。这种减肥的时
间长短？流质膳食可能是有效的，但是在选择一个安全量的卡路里或营养的膳食上必须要小心。
你对流质膳食有什么想法？
所以，在观察他人做事的同时，你一定不能只模仿跟随别人的技巧，却不考虑这些是否适合你的生活。
你必须有一个整体的概念，然后比较系统地执行整个计划。