Flora之声-英语美文晨读

The main thing is just to try to be nice …

最重要的是和善待人…

Justresolve to shine, constantly and steadily, like a warm lamp in the corner,and people will want to move towards you in order to feel happy, and to read things more clearly.
下定决心，持续地，稳定地发光，就像温暖的角落里的灯，为了获得愉悦，以及更加清晰的视野，人们会逐渐走向你。

You will be bright and constant in a world of dark and flux, and this will save you the anxiety of other, ultimately less satisfying thingslike ‘being cool’, ‘being more successful than everyone else’ and ‘being very thin’.
在一个黑暗多变的世界里，散发光芒、持之以恒能够让你避开焦虑和其他的负面情绪，以及不那么令人满意的结果，比如“变得冷淡”，“比别人更成功”和“很消瘦”。

Always remember that, nine times out of ten, you probably aren’t having a full-on nervous breakdown – you just need a cup of tea and a biscuit.
永远要记着，在大多数情况下人其实并不会完全精神崩溃——你需要的只是一杯茶和一块饼干。

You’d be amazed how easily and repeatedly you can confuse the two. Get a big biscuit tin.
你会吃惊地发现，将二者混淆是一件反复且容易的事情。去拿一个大的饼干盒吧。

Always pick up worms off the pavement and put them on the grass.
把人行道上的虫子捡起来放回草地上。

They’re having a bad day, and they’re good for the earth or something.
它们这一天过得很糟糕，但它们对地球或别的什么环境有益。

Baby, see as many sunrises and sunsets as you can.
宝贝，尽可能多地看日出日落。

Always run across roads to smell the roses.

穿过马路闻一闻香气四溢的玫瑰。

Alwaysbelieve you can change the world – even if it’s only a tiny bit, because every tiny bit needed someone who changed it.
永远相信你可以改变世界——即使只是一分一毫，因为每一点点变化都需要有人来进行。

Think of yourself as a silver rocket – use loud music as your fuel;books like maps and co-ordinates for how to get there.

把自己想象成一枚银色火箭——用震耳欲聋的音乐作燃料；用诸如地图和坐标之类的书籍指引到达那里。

Host extravagantly, love constantly,danceincomfortableshoes,talk to Daddy and Nancy about me every day and never, ever start smoking.

慷慨大方地宴请他人，爱己爱人，穿舒适的鞋子跳舞，每天和爸爸、南希谈论一下妈妈，而且永远，永远不要抽烟。

It's four in the morning, the end of December

那是凌晨四点 正值十二月末

I'm writing you now just to see if you're better

我起来给你写信只关心你是否安好

New York is cold, but I like where I'm living

纽约很冷 但我喜欢我住的地方

There's music on Clinton Street all through the evening.

整夜都有音乐飘荡在克林顿街

I hear that you're building your little house deep in the desert

我听说你正在沙漠深处筑造你的小屋

You're living for nothing now, I hope you're keeping some kind of record.

而今你一无所有地生活 我希望你能保留一些回忆

Yes, and Jane came by with a lock of your hair

是的 简带回来你的一绺头发

She said that you gave it to her

她说是你送给她的

That night that you planned to go clear

那晚你打算了无牵挂地离去

Did you ever go clear?

你真的做到了吗

Ah, the last time we saw you, you looked so much older

啊 我们最后一次见你时你看上去苍老了许多

Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder

你那件著名的蓝雨衣破烂地搭在肩上

You'd been to the station to meet every train

你一次次去车站迎接每一辆火车

And you came home without Lili Marlene

最终仍没能带着莉莉·玛琳一同归来

And you treated my woman to a flake of your life

你对待我的女人如同你生命中的浮光掠影

And when she came back she was nobody's wife.

当她回来时 她已不再是任何人的妻子

Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth

好吧 我看见你站在那儿 玫瑰含在嘴边

One more thin gypsy thief

像一个瘦瘦的吉普赛小偷

Well I see Jane's awake --

好吧 当我看到简从睡梦中醒来

She sends her regards.

嘴巴里嘟囔着发出问候

Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes

是的 我对你能驱散她眼前的烦恼表示感谢

I thought it was there for good so I never tried.

我觉得这样就很好 我也不愿再尝试

And Jane came by with a lock of your hair

简带回来你的一绺头发

She said that you gave it to her

I take myself on dates.

我跟自己去约会：

I go to the movies alone. I wander museums alone. I eat meals alone (and yes, that means I resist all temptation to scroll through Instagram while waiting for my meal).

我独自看电影，独自在博物馆闲逛，独自吃饭 (是的，这意味着在等待饭菜上来时，我抵制住了所有刷Instagram的诱惑)。

I sit in coffee shops and journal alone.

我坐在咖啡馆里，独自写着日志。

I take the train and go to new towns and walk around alone.

我一个人乘火车，前往新的城镇，然后独自在那里四处走走玩玩。

I realize this may sound super dorky. You're probably thinking that I must be pretty weird and very lonely. Interestingly enough, I was way more lonely before I started spending time alone.

我意识到也许这听起来超级蠢。你很可能会想，我肯定十分怪异、非常寂寞。有趣的是，我在开始独自生活前是更加孤单的。

The feeling like I needed to be around people all the time to take a deep breath -- that was loneliness.

那种就像我需要一直跟别人待在一起才能做深呼吸的感觉，是孤单。

The feeling of complete anxiety and fear when a boyfriend broke up with me -- that was loneliness.

男朋友跟我分手，那种极为焦虑恐慌的感受，是寂寞。

But this? This is peace. This is fun. This is what self-esteem is built of.

但现在呢？这是平静，是趣味，是构建自信心的基础。

Here's how I learned to spend time alone.

以下是我学会独处的方法。

1. I just did it. And let go of trying to look "cool".

1. 我只是一个人独处，并不去想怎么尽量看起来酷。

2. Make a list of your favorite things. And don't wait for anyone.

2. 列出你最爱的事然后去做，不用等待别人跟你一起去践行。

3. Schedule It. And don't cancel on yourself.

3. 按时完成，不要取消与自己的约会。

For the past year, I've been single by choice. Not by circumstance. Not because no one will ask me out or I can't find anyone eligible.

过去一年中，我选择保持单身。这不是因为环境因素，不是因为没人约我出去或是我不能找到合适人选。

It's hard for some people to believe that I am choosing not to date, and I often get weird looks and confused grunts from my old aunt and college friends alike.

有些人很难相信我选择不去约会。大姨和大学同学们老是对我投以怪异的眼神和不解地咕哝。

Why would someone voluntarily choose to stay single? To spend time alone? Aren't I missing out on life by not going on Tinder dates? What if The One is out there but I don't catch him because I'm too busy staying single?

为什么会有人愿意保持单身?愿意独自一人消磨时光?没有继续在Tinder(网络交友平台)上相亲的我，难道不是错过了生活的乐趣吗?要是我命中注定的另一半就在Tinder上，但我因为忙着保持单身而错过了他，那怎么办?

I'm not the slightest bit embarrassed to say out loud that I've been dating myself and it's been the most nurturing, sustainable, and non-anxiety inducing relationship I've ever had.

大声说出我正和自己相约，一点也不让我尴尬，而且它是我所有的关系中最滋养人、最持久也最不会引发焦虑的。

There's no waiting to be texted back (or obsessing about if my text is too flirty, too needy, too wordy), and there's no feeling like another person just doesn't understand me.

我不需要等待他人的回复(或是费神考虑我的短信是否太过轻浮、太过心切或是冗长啰嗦)，我也不会再有那种“别人永远无法明白我”的感觉了。

That doesn't mean I don't plan on dating other people in future -- I definitely do. But I know now that the relationship I've built with myself is a model for the elationship I want to be in.

这不意味着我将来不打算谈恋爱(我当然会谈啦)。可我如今明白，与自己建立的这种关系是我想要与另一半相处的模式。

I'm kind and patient and gentle and loving and orgiving of myself. I lau

In a cold winter, a couple had to move out from the luxury villa because of bankruptcy.

一个寒冷的冬天，一对夫妇因为破产，不得不从豪宅里搬出。

The husband worked day and night to support the family but with no care of his wife.

丈夫日夜辛勤工作以维持家庭开支，但没有时间关心妻子。

So she thought, "He doesn't love me any more, he just cares hisbusiness, not me".

于是，妻子暗自想道：“他不再爱我了，他只在乎生意，而不在意我了。”

One day, she began to take a bath, he stopped her at the door, "Let me take it first, okay?"

一天，妻子准备去洗澡，可丈夫在门口叫住了她，“让我先洗，好么?”

"Why not let me shower first," she asked.

“为什么不让我先洗呢?”，她问。

"I was tired, sweetie, you take it later, okay?"

“因为我很累，宝贝，你等下再洗，好么?”

Shewas totally depressed.

妻子对此情绪非常低落。

On a morose day, she found nothing to do and turned on his computer, a few words blurred her eyes- it was his diary:

一天，妻子无所事事，郁郁寡欢，于是她启动了丈夫的电脑。上面的几行字让她泪眼矇眬，她看到的是他的日记：

Today, I was quite sad, she asked me why I was always taking the bath first, and I said to her, I was exhausted.

今天我很难过，她问我，为什么总是我先洗澡，我对她说因为我太累了，想先洗。

She was unhappy, in her mind, I treated her not as well as usual, but how can I do?

她心里不高兴，觉得我对她不像从前那么好了。但是我该怎么做呢?

I was not as rich as before! We moved to the small apartment, there was only a shower at the bathroom, it was so cold to take a shower in such a freezing winter.

我不再像以前那么富有！我们搬到了一个小公寓，只有一个沐浴间，在如此寒冷的冬天淋浴真是冻死人了。

But I found that if one person took the shower first, the room could get a little warmer, so every time I rushed to the bathroom first. I was thinking that, when she took the shower, the room would get warmer, at least 1℃, 2℃ or 3℃........

但我发现，如果一个人先洗的话，浴室内就会暖和一些，所以每次我都第一个抢着去浴室。我想，等她进去浴室时，至少暖和一两度吧。

Now I can't give her comfortable life, bring her to the luxury restaurant, buy expensive dresses for her, but at least, I can give her "1℃" love.

现在，我不能给她舒适的生活、带她去高级餐厅、给她买漂亮的衣服，但至少我还能给她一摄氏度的爱情。

The art of living is to know when to hold fast and when to let go. For life is a paradox: it enjoins us to cling to its many gifts even while it ordains their eventual relinquishment.

生活的艺术在于懂得什么时候追求，什么时候放弃。因为生活就是一个矛盾体：它要我们紧紧抓住它赐予我们的生命之礼，然后最终又让它们从我们手中跑掉。

The rabbis of old put it this way: “A man comes to this world with his fist clenched, but when he dies, his hand is open.”

老先生们说：“人们紧握着拳头来到这个世界上，离开这个世界时却摊开了双手。”

Surely we ought to hold fast to life, for it is wondrous, and full of a beauty that breaks through every pore of God’s own earth.

当然我们应该紧紧把握生活，因为它美妙得不可思议，充满了从上帝的每个毛孔里蹦出来的美。

We know that this is so, but all too often we recognize this truth only in our backward glance when we remember what was and then suddenly realize that it is no more.

我们都清楚这一点，但我们常常只有在回首往事时才会想起过去，才会突然意识到过去永远地消逝了，才会承认这个道理。

We remember a beauty that faded, a love that waned. But we remember with far greater pain that we did not see that beauty when it flowered, that we failed to respond with love when it was tendered.

我们都记得美的褪去，爱的老去。但我们更痛苦地记得美正艳时，我们却没有发现；爱正浓时，我们却没有回应。

Here then is the first pole of life’s paradoxical demands on us: Never too busy for the wonder and the awe of life. Be reverent before each dawning day. Embrace each hour. Seize each golden minute.

这就是生活对我们自己自相矛盾要求的第一步：永远不要因为忙碌而忽略了它的奇妙和庄严。对即将到来的每一天，我们都要心怀敬意，拥抱每一小时，抓住每一分钟。

Hold fast to life... but not so fast that you cannot let go. This is the second side of life’s coin, the opposite pole of its paradox: we must accept our losses, and learn how to let go.

抓住生活，但不要抓得太紧，以至你放不下手。生活像硬币一样也有另一面，也是生活矛盾的另一极：我们必须接受放弃，并且学会怎样让它过去。

This is not an easy lesson to learn, especially when we are young and think that the world is ours to command, that whatever we desire with the full force of our passionate being can, nay, will, be ours.

学会这些并非易事。特别是年少轻狂的时候，我们自认为是世界的主宰者，认为只要充满激情地全力追求，就可以得到一切。

But then life moves along to confront us with realities, and slowly but surely this truth dawns upon us.

然而，事实并非如此。只有在面对种种现实时，我们才会渐渐明白这个道理。

At every stage of life we sustain losses—and grow in the process. We begin our independent lives only when we emerge from the womb and lose its protective shelter.

在人生的各个阶段，我们都会蒙受损失——并且在这一过程中成长。只有在脱离母体、失去庇护所时，我们才会开始独立的生活。

We enter a progression of schools, then we leave our mothers and fathers and our childhood homes. We get married and have children and then have to let them go.

我们不断地升学，接着又离开父母，离开儿时的故乡。继而，我们结婚生子，然后又放手让自己的子女出去闯荡。

We confront the death of our parents and our spouses. We face the gradual or not so gradual waning of our strength.

随着父母和配偶的相继离世，我们也逐渐或者很快衰老。

And ultimately, as the parable of the open and closed hand suggests, we must confront the inevitability of our own demise, losing ourselves as it were, all that we were or dreamed to be.

最终，正如双手张开与紧握这一寓言所说，我们必须面对自身的死亡，失去原来的自我，失去我们拥有过或者憧憬过的一切。

Ieatsunshine

Spittheseedsintothegutters
Devourtheblocksinshoes notmadeforheavywalking

Ismilewhenthedogsbark

我吸食阳光
把种子吐在沟壑里

我吞食着街道

用我那并不坚固的鞋
我微笑 当犬在吠叫

Ismileevenlouder

Pullthreadsofawarenessfrommyshirt

Drawimaginarydoorsinthesky

Walkthrough themanddisappear

即使犬吠声再大 依然要保持微笑

无意识的把线头从衬衫中扯拉出来

在天空中画一扇想象中的门

走进去 然后消失

LifeisathriftstorethatIaminsideof

Browsingtheshirts,pants

Baldheadsofmannequins

withchipsintheirplasticfleshmeatgrinders

生活就像一个旧物店铺

我在这样的铺子里

浏览着衬衫，裤子

秃头的服装模特

以及含有碎屑的塑料碎肉机

Stereoswithonespeaker

andabrokentapedeck

Suitswithnobottoms

Potswithnotops

只有一只喇叭的立体声音响和坏了的磁带

没有纽扣的套装

没有盖子的壶

Dust

Dust

Dust

Oldpaperbacksand

themanyshoesofthedead

Ipurchasenothing

灰尘

灰尘

灰尘

老旧的出版物
许许多多已故主人的鞋子

我什么都不买

Itisgoodtoabstainsometimes
Itisbettertobehungry, lonely

soberandwanting
Itkeepsamanmovingforward

有时候放弃才是好的选择

最好是保持饥饿，孤独，冷静，期待，