2011年6月13日 星期一

讀者文摘專輯第一集(17則)

Ask Aunty
Dear Aunty,
My son and his wife have a rule for their kids: You get all A’s or you’re grounded. They’re only 10 and 13, do their homework and try their best, but I see the pressure on them and I worry about what it’s doing to them. Should I speak up?      Grade C Granddad
Dear granddad,
The Prime Rule of Grandparenting: Don’t meddle in the way your kids raise their kids. But you are allowed one pass at sharing wisdom. At some mellow moment, tell the daddy and mummy that experts say to set high standards, reward achievement but not to punish poor performance. Say your piece, then zip it. Your job is to let your grandkids know you think they’re A+.  (RD2011, April, p. 133)
親愛的張阿姨:
我兒子跟他老婆給他們的孩子們訂了一條規矩:每科成績都要得「甲」,否則禁足。孩子們才10歲和13歲,都很努力做功課,力求達到標準;但我看得到他們承受的壓力,擔心這個壓力對他們造成不良影響。我應該出面講話嗎?                 小時候老是得丙的阿公 敬上
親愛的阿公:
「阿公帶孫守則」第一條:不要插手兒女們教養孩子的方式;不過你可以跟他們分享人生的智慧。選擇適當的時機告訴他們,說專家建議對孩子要求可以從嚴,達到標準者給予獎勵,但表現差的不要動輒處罰。如此講過一遍後就不要再開口;你的任務是讓你的孫子們了解,在你心目中他們永遠是最棒的。  (RD2011, 4月號, 133)




Tips About Colds

   1. Sleep deprivation and chronic stress make you more susceptible. Take a nap!

   2. Everyone thinks that if you get cold, it means your immune system was weak or run-down. That’s just a myth. Cold symptoms are caused by your immune reaction to the presence of a cold virus, so people with active immune systems are more prone to having symptoms.

   3. Have ‘prudent paranoia’, one pediatrician told me. Don’t worry about touching an ATM, but if you shake hands with somebody with a cold, wash your hands.

   4. The hands are the conveyors of cold viruses, and your nose and eyes are major portals of entry into the body. So keep your hands off your face.  (RD2011, August, p.18)

認識感冒
一、    睡眠不足和長期的壓力會使人容易感冒。睡個覺吧!
二、    大家都認為感冒是因為人的免疫系統弱化或不佳;這是個神話(迷思)。感冒的各種症狀是人的免疫系統對病毒入侵所產生的反應,因此免疫系統較強的人較容易出現嚴重的症狀。
三、    一位小兒科醫生告訴我,要有「危機意識」。你可以不用擔心觸摸提款機後會被傳染;但是與感冒的人握手之後一定要洗手。
      四、  手是攜帶感冒病毒的媒介,而你的鼻子和眼睛則是病毒入侵身體的主要入口;因此避免用手摸臉。  (RD2011, 8月號, 18頁)


 
   On Forgiveness
To forgive is good. But sometimes I want to stay mad.
I’m not against forgiveness; I have forgiven people for rudeness as well as for deep misunderstandings and have done so without holding on to hard feelings. What I deplore is the propaganda about forgiveness. No longer an option, forgiveness is an edict. Forgiving so democratically cheapens the very act. A long-standing grudge suggests that we hold certain standards, that we respect ourselves enough to reject bad behavior. Failure to forgive can be just as righteous, just as honorable, as forgiveness itself.  (RD2011, May, p113)
論饒恕
   饒恕是件好事,但有時我寧可保持憤恨。
   我不反對饒恕。我曾經饒恕過冒犯我的人,也饒恕過對我深懷偏見的人;之後不再有任何憤恨。但我無法苟同的是,饒恕變成一種教條 —— 無從選擇,只能從命。鄉愿式的濫用結果,貶低了饒恕本身的價值。一個持久的憤恨適足以顯示我們對某些價值觀的堅持,也顯示我們與邪惡行為誓不兩立的態度。拒絕饒恕可以跟饒恕本身一樣的正當與高貴。  (RD2011, 5月號, 113)










   Laughs
Three men were at a bar discussing coincidences. The first man said, “My wife was reading A Tale of Two Cities and she gave birth to twins.”
   “That’s funny,” said the second man, “my wife was reading The three Musketeers and she gave birth to triplets.”
   “Good grief,” shouted the third man, “I have to rush home!”
   “Why?” asked the others.
   “When I left the house, my wife was reading Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves!”  (RD2011, July, p.144)
笑 譚
   三個人在酒吧裡討論巧合的事情。第一個人說:「我太太正在讀《雙城記》時,生了一對雙胞胎。」
   第二個人說:「說來奇怪,我太太正在讀《三個毛瑟兵》時,生下了三胞胎。」
   第三個人大叫:「糟了,我必須馬上趕回家。」
   其他兩人問道:「為甚麼?
   「剛才我出門時,我太太正在讀《阿里巴巴與四十大盜》!  (RD2011, 7月號, 144)




Ear Full
Dear Aunty,
My co-worker brags all day long. Her husband spoils her with expensive gifts. Her kids get high grades in advanced-placement classes. She takes incredible vacations to wonderful places. She has to top everyone. I’ve tried to steer conversations to other topics, but she goes on and on. What can be done to shut her up?    Ear Full
Dear Ear, bragging usually masks insecurity. You can’t steer or stop your colleague. The more unappreciated she feels, the more she’ll boast. So just agree with her – yes, she has brilliant kids and an amazing marriage – and walk away.  (RD2011, July, p.133)
耳朵被塞爆了
親愛的張阿姨
我有個同事整天吹噓,說她老公如何經常買貴重的禮物寵她,說她的孩子在資優班名列前茅,說她在許多美妙的地方度妙不可言的假。總而言之, 她甚麼都要贏別人o  我一直想辦法轉換話題,但她老是說個不停。是否有辦法讓她閉嘴?         耳朵被塞爆的人敬上
親愛的耳朵:
吹噓通常是在掩飾不安全感,妳不可能改變或阻止她的。她越對生活不滿,會越吹噓得厲害。所以就順她的口氣 比如說:是是,妳的孩子超級聰明,妳的婚姻棒透了 然後調頭走開。  (RD2011, 7月號, 133)

 
消失的馬雅文明

Civilization
   Today’s world could go the way of Maya. The critical point is that environmental suicide is a slow and protracted process. Unfortunately, political leaders in almost any society – primitive or sophisticated – have little incentive to address problems that are unlikely to manifest themselves for a hundred years or more. As the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009 made clear, rhetorical pleas to ‘save the planet’ for future generations are insufficient to overcome the conflicts over economic distribution between the rich and poor countries that exists in the here and now. We love our grandchildren. But our great-great-grandchildren are harder to relate to.  (RD2011, July, p.142)
文明的隱憂
   今日的世界可能會步馬雅文明的後塵;關鍵點是目前正在進行的「環境自殺」是個緩慢、漫長的過程。不幸的是,絕大多數國家(無論落後或先進)的政治領袖都不想談這些問題,他們認為這些問題在一百年內甚至一百年後不會顯露出來。但是200912月在哥本哈根舉行的聯合國氣候變遷研討會的結果已經很清楚,所有講得天花亂墜的「為後代子孫拯救地球」的呼籲根本不足以解決當今富國與窮國之間經濟利益分配的衝突。我們口口聲聲說愛子孫;但對於稍遠一點的子孫卻漠不關心。  (RD2011, 7月號, 142)

Sound Smarter
 
   If you are a master of grammar, does that make you masterful or masterly? If you are pushy or bullying about it, you’re masterful. Masterful refers to being a superior, usually in a domineering way. Masterly refers to the skills of a master of a profession or trade (“she gave a masterly performance”). Easy way to remember: A masterful grammar teacher might very well be full of himself.  (RD2011, July, p.28)
正確用字
   如果你是一位文法 master (「專家」),那麼你會表現 masterful (「專橫」)還是 masterly (「專業」)? 假如你自以為是、恃強欺弱,那就是「專橫」;而「專業」則是指你在某一行業裡的技能及擅長(例如「她作了一場專業的演出」)。有一個幫助記憶的簡易方法:一個專橫(masterful)的文法老師很可能老是膨脹 (full of) 自己。  (RD2011, 7月號, 28)

Deep Roots
Remember Mighty Mouse? Turns out, the cartoon hero’s super strength has some etymological merit to it: Muscle comes from the 14th-century Latin musculus – literally “little mouse,” a diminutive form of mus (“mouse”). The term was coined because some muscles resemble a mouse.  (RD2011, July, p.27)
追根究柢
   記得太空飛鼠嗎? 這個卡通主角的超大力量居然在語源學裡發揮了某些作用:英文裡的muscle(肌肉)來自14世紀的拉丁文musculus,其字面的意思是「小老鼠」,也就是mus(老鼠)加上表示「小」的字尾 –culus。之所以用這個字是因為有些肌肉的形狀確實很像老鼠。  (RD2011, 7月號, 27)

  Stay on Top of Technology
You don’t have to be an early adopter or jump on acquiring the latest gadget, but years of eschewing new technology can make you seem like a dinosaur, or worse, just plain slow to grasp new things. These days, technology isn’t just a luxury. Many items are functional and helpful, and don’t have to be expensive. (RD2011, June, p.102)
     要跟得上科技的發展
你不一定要搶先使用或搶購最新的產品,但太久不接觸新的科技,會讓你像一隻恐龍般(也許更糟),對新事物的瞭解與掌握更加遲鈍。這年頭,科技不再是奢侈品;許多產品功能都很強,對我們很有用處,而且不一定很貴。 (RD2011, 6月號, 102)

  Father’s Day
On the first Sunday in September, dads across the country have permission to breakfast in bed and hog the TV remote all day long. The first official Father’s Day was observed in the US in 1910 and came about when a woman called Sonora Dodd insisted on a day to honor her beloved father, a Civil War veteran who managed to raise six kids by himself. (RD2011, June, p. 143)
父親節
     每年九月的第一個星期日,全美國的爸爸們都享有在床上用早餐以及整天霸佔電視遙控器的特權。美國第一個正式的父親節於1910年訂定,起因是一位名叫蘇娜拉.鐸德的女士堅持每年要有一天來紀念她的父親;這位父親是參加過南北戰爭的老兵,並且獨力撫養他的六個子女長大。 (RD2011, 6月號, 143)

  A Word Is Born - Snollygoster
From time to time, the Oxford English Dictionary reintroduces a word that’s been lost for years. The most recent example is snollygoster, meaning a shrewd, unprincipled person – particularly a politician. Popular in the 19th century, it fell into disuse, only to reappear in recent years. Who knows, there might be a few snollygosters knocking around the halls of parliament. (RD2011, June, p.29)
新字Snollygoster 的誕生
     三不五時,牛津英文字典會重新引進一個佚失多年的字;最近的一個是snollygoster,意思是「奸詐、沒品的人」,尤指奸詐、沒品的政客。此字在19世紀時頗為流行,但一度佚失,近年才復出。搞不好目前已經有一些snollygoster們正在國會殿堂裡面撒野呢。 (RD2011, 6月號, 29)

 ●  Eat Food
 This is easier said than done, especially when 17,000 new products show up in the supermarket each year, all vying for your food dollar. But most of these items don’t deserve to be called food – I call them edible food-like substances. They’re highly processed concoctions, consisting mostly of ingredients that no normal person would keep in the pantry. Today much of the challenge of eating well comes down to choosing real food and avoiding industrial novelties.  (RD2011, June, p. 88)
吃「正港」的食物
     此事說起來容易,做起來可難了;尤其是每年有17,000種新產品在各地的超市上架,每樣產品都在覬覦你的食物預算。不過,這些東西絕大部分都不配稱為「食物」- 我稱之為「類似食物的可食物品」。他們都是高度加工過的大雜燴,其大多數的成分都不是一個正常人會買來儲存在食物櫃裡的。在目前講究吃出健康的挑戰下,更必須慎選「真正」的食物,避免吃下稀奇古怪的工業製品。 (RD2011, 6月號, 88)

  Laughs
A grandpa left a gift for his soldier grandson, instructing him to open it only during a very fierce battle. While in gun battle, his grandson opened the gift. In it was written, “Run, my child, run!” (RD2011, June, p.144)
笑 譚
     有一個祖父送給他當兵的孫子一個錦囊,並且囑咐他只有在遇到最險惡的戰況時才可以打開來看。在一次激烈的槍戰中,孫子打開了錦囊,裡面寫的妙計是:「溜! 孩子,快溜! (RD2011, 6月號, 144)

Stop Eating Before You Are Full
     The Japanese have a saying – hara hachi bu – counseling people to stop eating when they are 80 percent full. The Ayurvedic tradition in India advises eating until you are 75 percent full; the Chinese specify 70 percent; and the prophet Muhammad described a full belly as one that contained one third food, one third liquid, and one third air – in other words, nothing. Also the French may have something to teach us. To say “I’m hungry” you say “J’ai faim” – “I have hunger” – and when you are finished you do not say you are full, but “Je n’ai plus faim” – “I have no more hunger”. (RD2011, June, p.90)
知所節制
     日本有諺語說︰「はら はちぶ (腹八分)」,意思是說人吃八分飽就該停止。印度的「阿育吠陀」傳統醫學勸人吃飯只要七分半(75%)飽;中國人則說七分飽即可;先知穆罕默德認為所謂吃飽是肚子裡有1/3食物、1/3羹湯、和1/3空氣(空腹)。 另外,法國人也許可教我們一些觀念;他們餓的時候說「J’ai faim(我餓了);而餐後他們並不說「我吃飽了」,而是說「Je n’ai plus faim(我不餓了)(RD2011, 6月號, 90)

Take Care of Yourself
     Being frugal should not be hazardous to your well-being. Rather, it should improve your mental outlook and physical health. Cooking at home, a frugality mainstay, is typically healthier and less expensive than the often high calorie, high fat, and high sodium meals from restaurants. But don’t just stop there. Make sure you go to the doctor for regular health screenings and push the exercise as much as possible to control weight, and build stamina and strength. (RD2011, June, p. 102)
善待自己
     人要節儉,但不應因此損及自己的生活品質。詳言之,節儉應該以提升心靈境界與有助身體健康為原則。例如,節儉的第一要務 - 在家自己煮飯 - 不但省錢,而且比較健康。餐廳的餐食不但貴,而且含有高熱量、高油脂、高鈉鹽。除此之外,務必記得按時看醫生做健康檢查,並強迫自己多運動,一方面可以減重,一方面增進活力與生命力。 (RD2011, 6月號, 102)

Tainan Duxiaoyue Noodle
     Duxiaoyue Noodle was created by Hong Yu Tou, a fisherman in his youth. Forced to remain on land for much of summer and autumn due to frequent typhoons, Hong turned to noodles to make a living. This dish places great emphasis on the quality of its minced pork mixture, a recipe closely guarded and passed on strictly to male descendant of the family. (RD2011, June, p. 84)
台南度小月擔仔麵
    度小月擔仔麵是洪芋頭先生創立的;他年輕時是個漁夫,由於夏秋兩季多颱風,無法出海捕魚,因此他利用這段淡季(台語稱淡季為「小月」)改賣擔仔麵,以維持生計度過難關。這項美食最注重肉燥的品質,其獨特的家傳配方絕不外傳,而且嚴格規定只傳子、不傳女。 (RD2011, 6月號, 84)

A Quandary
Dear Aunty,
I love my boyfriend dearly, but it seems that we don’t share the same values. I want to have kids; he doesn’t. I’m religious, he’s an atheist. Everyone tell me to drop him. But I know he loves me and respect my beliefs. Should I follow my heart?                             Valentine Quandary
Dear Quandary, how much are you willing to sacrifice for this love? Children? God? Those are big issues. Love between incompatible people is cute only in the movies. Maybe this guy would make a better friend than a life partner. Leave your heart open for someone with whom you can share your values and your entire self. (RD2011, June, p.134)
徬徨的戀人
請問張阿
    我很愛我的男友,但我倆似乎沒有共同的價值觀。我希望有小孩,而他不想;我是虔誠的教徒,而他是個無神論者。大家都勸我離開他,但我知道他愛我,並且尊重我的信仰。請問我應該照我的心意下決定嗎?                            徬徨的戀人 敬上
親愛的「徬徨」:
   我不知道你願意為這個感情犧牲多少:小孩? 上帝? 這些都非常重要。兩個不搭調的人之間的愛情,只有在電影裡面才會感覺良好。也許這個男的比較適合當朋友,而不適合當終身伴侶。讓妳的心扉保持敞開,找到一個跟妳有相同的價值觀、能夠全部接納妳的男人吧! (RD2011, 6月號, 134)

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