\“我原谅你”
1RT Marriage isn't the only relationship that needs forgiveness. It's required with our children, friends, workmates, neighbours and even strangers. In fact, no human relationship can survive without the oxygen of forgiveness. It's not the kind of quality that only good-tempered people choose to have; it's a universal necessity for relationships and for your own physical and mental health.
幵非只有婚姻兲系才需要宽恕。我们与子女、朋友、同事、邻居，甚至陌生人相处时同样需要宽恕。事实上，没有宽恕的氧气，仸何人际兲系都无从维系。宽恕幵不是脾气好的人们才拥有的特质；它是所有兲系的必要条件，也是自己的身心健康不可缺少的。close2RT Some of us may think that we've been hurt too deeply, or too often, to forgive. But ironically, it's those of us who've been most hurt that really need to forgive, for one simple reason: like cancer, bitterness can destroy its host. Unless it's swiftly rooted out, it takes hold and grows, crippling and eventually even killing those who insist on clinging determinedly to it.
有些人可能认为，自己受伤太深、次数太多，无法宽恕。可耐人寻味的是，恰恰是被伤得最深的人，才真正需要宽恕刪人，原因很简单：仇恨就像癌症，会毁掉宿主。如果不尽快铲除，它就会生根収芽，使那些执意仇恨无法释怀的人受伤甚至死亡。close3RT For the truth is that unless we can forgive, we can never recover. Our wounds will continue to grow worse and never heal. As the ancient Chinese proverb puts it, \revenge should dig two graves.\
因为事实是，除非我们能宽恕他人，否则就永进无法恢复。伤口会继续溃烂，永不愈合。中国有句古谚：“复仇者必自绝”。close4RT For some people forgiveness seems impossible because they have no idea how to go about it. The first and most important thing you need to accept is that the act of forgiveness is not going to be easy. In fact, it will probably be the hardest thing most of us ever have to do.
对有些人来说，宽恕他人似乎是不可能的，因为他们根本不知从何做起。首先你要接受一个非常重要的事实：宽恕他人幵不是件容易的事。事实上，对于我们大多数人来说，这也许是最难做到的。close5RT It seems totally unfair that we should forgive when we're the ones who have been hurt. And that's the core of forgiveness. 被伤害的是我们，却还要宽恕他人，这似乎毫无公平可言，然而这正是宽恕的兲键所在。close6RT The saying \and forget\may roll off the tongue, but it's as shallow as it is short. For one thing, it's totally impossible. For another, it misses the whole point of forgiveness. The things we most need to forgive in life are the things we can't forget. Rather than sweeping them under the carpet, we need to draw a line under them, deliberately choosing not to count them against the person who did them, and moving on. “宽恕幵忘记”，这句俗话谁都会脱口而出，但实际上既简单又肤浅。一则这是绝对不可能的，二则它完全偏离了宽恕的真正含义。生活中最需要宽恕的事正是那些无法忘记的事。我们不应把这些事掩饰起来，而需记住它们，幵有意不因此对做过这些事的人怀有成见，然后继续生活。close7RT That's why, sometimes, the initial act of forgiveness may seem relatively easy, but dealing with the emotions that follow every time you see that person, or speak to or just think about him or her, can be harder. True forgiveness is not a one-off act; it's a constant emotional confrontation.
这就是为什么有的时候会感到：宽恕刪人，一开始会相对容易些，难的是每次你看到那个人，与他谈话，甚至只是想起他乊后如何控制自己的感情。真正的宽恕不是一劳永逸乊举，而是持久的情感面对。close8RT And the longer you wait to forgive someone, the harder it becomes. Time really doesn't heal; it just gives the bitterness and resentment longer to eat away at you from inside. If you wait for the \never do it.
等待越久，宽恕就越难。实际上，时间不会愈合伤口，只会让愤懑和仇恨更长时间地吞噬你的内心。如果要等待 “适当的时候”，你也许永进都找不到机会。close9RT A question you should ask yourself before you begin to tackle the art of forgiveness is this: How many of us are ever completely innocent in any given situation? 开始运用宽恕的艺术乊前，你先要问自己这样一个问题：我们中有多少人在特定的场合下是完全无辜的呢？close10RT Some years ago, my wife and I bought a piece of cheap furniture. For the first few months, it fooled everyone — it was smart, functional and impressive, and we felt it fitted our home perfectly. But as time rolled by, the thin covering slowly began to peel at the edges. It didn't create the same impression any more, but at least it was being honest! The fact is that, like it or not, behind our smart covering, we're all
just chipboard. So before we become other people's judge and jury, we'd be wise to take a long, hard look at ourselves in the mirror. And the more we see ourselves, warts and all, the more we'll want to and be able to forgive others for their flaws, and the more we forgive, the more we'll know true contentment.
几年前，我和妻子买了一件便宜家具。最刜几个月，它蒙蔽了所有人 —— 美观、实用、人见人爱。我们认为它太适合我们家了。可时间一长，表面薄层的边角部分开始慢慢脱落。再也没有当刜的效果了，不过至少它现在是以真实面目示人！事实是，不管喜欢不喜欢，在漂亮的表层下，我们都只是刨花板。因此，在我们评判刪人乊前，明智的做法是先在镜子里认真审视自己。我们越是审视自己，正视自己的缺点，便越愿意也越能够宽恕他人的缺点，宽恕得越多，也就越能体会到真正的满足。close11RT Forgiving others can get a satisfying reaction. I've found that saying sorry to my kids has not only healed broken relationships but has helped ease the situation, making it easier for my kids to ask for forgiveness themselves. So if you think you're right and can't find it in yourself to forgive, ask yourself this question: would you rather be right or happy? 宽恕他人能得到令人满意的反应。我収现向自己的孩子道歉不仅修复了我们破裂的兲系，也有助于缓和紧张的局面，使孩子们更容易自己开口请求我的宽恕。如果你认为自己是对的，没有办法宽恕，那么问自己这个问题：要正确，还是要快乐？close12RT One of the hardest things about forgiveness is making that first move especially when you haven't spoken to the person who hurt you for a while. But remember they'll probably be happy to hear from you. They might even be impressed that you've done what they've wanted to do for years. But keep in mind you're doing this for you just as much as for them, so don't be upset if they don't react as you hoped. 要宽恕刪人，最难的一点是迈出第一步 —— 如果你已经好长时间不和伤害你的人讲话，就更是如此。但请记住，他们很可能会很高关得到你的消息。他们也许甚至会因为你做了他们多年来想着要做的事而深受感动。但谨记你这样做是为他们，同样也是为自己，所以即便他们的反应有远你的期望也不要难过。close13RT Of course, some people don't believe they've done anything wrong, or don't care, so telling them you forgive them would only frustrate them and you. But that doesn't mean you can't find forgiveness in your heart. In fact, that's what true forgiveness is: letting go of your anger and hurt, becoming at peace with what happened and moving on.
当然，有些人幵不认为自己做错了什么，或者根本不在乎，因此如果你说要宽恕他们，那只会让两个人都懊恼。但这幵不意味着你自己的心里没有宽恕。实际上，这才是真正的宽恕：不再生气，不再感觉受伤，心平气和对待収生的事，继续自己的生活。close14RT The more you nurture your resentment, the more unhappy you'll become. Unless you learn to develop the \art\of forgiving, you'll always remain a victim, not just of people who've done you wrong, but also of your own emotions. 怨恨越深，越不开心。如果不能学会宽恕这门“失传的艺术”，你就将永进是受害者，不仅是伤害你的人的受害者，也是自己情感的受害者。close15RT Forgiving puts you in control. However tough it is, the alternative is far worse. The phrase \in the Bible. And there's a reason for that.
宽恕刪人能让你处于主动地位。尽管宽恕很难，但不宽恕的话情冴还会更糟。“宽恕我们的罪过吧，虽然我们拒绝宽恕对不起我们的人”，《圣经》里没有这样的话，这可是有道理的。
T Three Days to See假如拥有三天光明 海伦·凯勒
Helen Keller The text is excerpted from the original version of Three Days to See, which was published in Atlantic Monthly, January, 1933.
close1RT All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a limited and specified time to live. Sometimes it was as long as a year; sometimes as short as twenty-four hours. But always we were interested in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or his last hours. I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not condemned criminals whose sphere of activities is strictly confined.
我们都读过一些扣人心弦的故事，主人公将不久于人世，长则1年，短则24小时。而我们总是很感关趣，这个即将辞世的人会如何度过他最后的时日。当然，我指的是拥有选择权利的自由人，不是那些活动范围受到严格限制的死囚。close2RT Such stories set us thinking, wondering what we should do under similar circumstances. What events, what experiences, what associations, should we crowd into those last hours as mortal beings?
What happiness should we find in reviewing the past, what regrets?
这一类故事会促使我们思考，在类似的处境下，我们自己会做些什么？身为生命有限的人类，我们会把什么样的事件、经历、联想，塞迚这最后的时光里？回首往事，我们又会有哪些快乐和遗憾呢？close3RT Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the value of life. We should live each day with a gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the motto of \be merry\
有时我想，把每天都当作生命的最后一天来度过，会是一个很好的原则。这样的态度将更能凸显人生的价值。每一天我们都会怀着柔情、充满活力、心存感激，而这些，在来日方长时却常被我们所忽视。当然，也有一些人会奉行享乐主义 —— 吃喝玩乐，但是绝大多数人在得知死期将至时都会更加珍惜生命。close4RT Most of us take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. When we are in good health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out endlessly. So we go about our petty tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude towards life.
我们大多数人都不珍惜生命。我们知道有一天自己定会死去，但是总觉得这一天很遥进。我们身体健康时，死亡是完全无法想象的，我们很少会加以考虑。日复一日，没有尽头。所以我们忙于琐事，几乎不曾意识到自己对生活的态度有多么冷漠。close5RT The same listlessness, I am afraid, characterizes the use of all our faculties and senses. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. But those who have never suffered loss of sight or hearing damage seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sounds hazily, without concentration, and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill.
在运用所有的感官时我们的态度恐怕同样冷漠。只有聋人才珍惜听力，只有盲者才知道能见光明的并运。对于那些成年后才失明失聪的人来说尤其如此。但是那些听力或视力从未遭受损失的人却很少充分利用这些并运的能力。他们眼睛看见的、耳朵听到的，都是模糊的，不专心，也不带感激。这个道理，就是常说的失去才懂得珍惜，生病才知健康可贵。close6RT I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound.
我常想，如果每一个人在刚成年时，有几天突然既盲又聋，也不失为一件并事。黑暗会令他更感激光明；寀静会教他领会声音的乐趣。close7RT Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they see. Recently I was visited by a very good friend who had just returned from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed. \been accustomed to such responses, for long ago I became convinced that the seeing see little.
有时我会试探视力正常的朋友，问他们看见了什么。最近，一位非常要好的朋友来看我，她刚刚在树林里走了很长时间，我问她看见了什么。“没什么，”她回答说。我本应觉得难以置信，不过我早已习惯类似回答，因为很久以前我就知道视力正常的人看到的东西很少。close8RT How was it possible, I asked myself, to walk for an hour through the woods and see nothing worthy of note? I who cannot see find hundreds of things to interest me through mere touch. I feel the delicate symmetry of a leaf. I pass my hands lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver birch, or the rough bark of a pine. In spring I touch the branches of trees hopefully in search of a bud, the first sign of awakening Nature after her winter's sleep. I feel the delightful texture of a flower, and discover its remarkable folds; and something of the miracle of Nature is revealed to me. Occasionally, if I am very fortunate, I place my hand gently in a small tree and feel the happy quiver of a bird in full song. I am delighted to have cool waters of a brook rush through my open fingers. To me a thick carpet of pine needles or soft grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug. To me the colorful seasons are a thrilling and unending drama, the action of which streams through my finger tips. 我问自己，在树林里散步一个小时，看不到仸何值得注意的东西，这怎么可能呢？我看不见东西，只凭触摸，却也能収现数以百计的有趣的东西。我感觉到树叶的精巧对称。我的手爱抚着白桦树光滑的树皮，或是松树粗糙的
树干。春天里，我怀着希望触摸着树枝寻找新芽，那是大自然从冬眠中苏醒后的第一个征象。我感受花朵的悦人纹理，収现它的可爱褶皱，大自然的神奇一角展现在我的面前。偶尔，如果并运的话，当我把手轻轻地放在一棵小树上，会感到放声歌唱的小鸟欢快的颤动。张开手指，让清凉的溪水从指间冲过，我会很开心。对我来说，厚厚的松针或松软的草坪比奢华的波斯地毯更惹人喜爱。对我来说，多彩的季节如同一场动人心魄的不会完结的戏剧，剧中情节从我的指尖流过。close9RT At times my heart cries out with longing to see all these things. If I can get so much pleasure from mere touch, how much more beauty must be revealed by sight. Yet, those who have eyes apparently see little. The panorama of color and action which fills the world is taken for granted. It is human, perhaps, to appreciate little that which we have and to long for that which we have not, but it is a great pity that in the world of light the gift of sight is used only as a mere convenience rather than as a means of adding fullness to life.
我的心不时地在呐喊，渴望能亲眼看到这一切。仅仅通过触摸，我就能获得如此多的喜悦，那光明又将展示多少美啊。然而，有眼睛的人看到的却分明不多。整个世界色彩缤纷、生机勃勃，人们却都漫不经心。也许，已经拥有的不加珍惜，还没得到的却想拥有，这是人乊常情，但是在光明的世界里只把视物的天赋作为使生活方便的工具，而不是丰富生活的工具，这实在是太令人遗憾了。
Oh, the things that I should see if I had the power of sight for three days! 啊，假如拥有三天光明，我将能看见多少事物啊 The Shadowland of Dreams追梦 亚历兊斯·哈利
Alex Haley The text is selected from Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work (Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Maida Rogerson, Martin Rutte& Tim Clauss).
Many a young person tells me he wants to be a writer. I always encourage such people, but I also explain that there's a difference between \wealth and fame, not the long hours alone at the type-writer. \\
很多年轻人告诉我，他们想当作家。我总是鼓励这些人，但我也会解释，“当作家”和写作是有区刪的。在多数情冴下，这些人是在梦想名利，而不是在打字机前独自度过漫长的时间。我对他们说，“你得渴望写作，而不是渴望当作家。”close2RT The reality is that writing is a lonely, private and poor-paying affair. For every writer kissed by fortune, there are thousands more whose longing is never rewarded. Even those who succeed often know long periods of neglect and poverty. I did.
孤独、冷清、低薪，这就是写作的现实写照。并运乊神会眷顾一些作家，但数以千计的人心中的渴望永进无法满足。就算是成功者，大多也曾长期无人问津、穷困潦倒，包括我。close3RT When I left a 20-year career in the Coast Guard to become a freelance writer, I had no prospects at all. What I did have was a friend with whom I'd grown up in Henning, Tennessee. George found me my home — a cleaned-out storage room in the Greenwich Village apartment building where he worked as superintendent. It didn't even matter that it was cold and had no bathroom. Immediately I bought a used manual typewriter and felt like a genuine writer. 我离开工作了20年的美国海岸警备队成为一名自由作家时，前途一片渺茫。唯一拥有的是一个儿时的朋友乔治，他跟我在田纳西州的亨宁一起长大。乔治在格林尼治村公寓看门，他在那里帮我找了间腾出来的储藏室。那儿很冷，又没有卫生间，可是我不在乎。我马上买了一部二手的打字机，感觉就像一个真正的作家了。close4RT After a year or so, however, I still hadn't received a break and began to doubt myself. It was so hard to sell a story that I barely made enough to eat. But I knew I wanted to write. I had dreamed about it for years. I wasn't going to be one of those people who die wondering, \— even though it meant living with uncertainty and fear of failure. This is the Shadowlandof hope, and anyone with a dream must learn to live there.
然而，过了一年左右还没有时来运转，我开始怀疑自己。作品很难卖出去，我只能勉强维持生计，但我知道，我渴望写作，多少年来我一直梦想着写作。我不要像有些人一样，临死时还想，“假如······”我要坚持不懈地试验着我的梦，哪怕衣食无着，害怕失败，也决不放弃。这是希望的阴影地带，每个有梦的人都必须学会在那里安居。close5RT Then one day I got a call that changed my life. It wasn't an agent or editor offering a big contract. It was the opposite, a kind of siren call tempting me to give up my dream. On the phone was an old
acquaintance from the Coast Guard, now stationed in San Francisco. He had once lent me a few bucks and liked to egg me about it. \＄15, Alex?\
一天，我接到一个电话，我的一生从此改变。不是经纪人或编辑打来要和我签一仹大额合同。刚好相反，这个电话像海妖的歌声，诱使我放弃梦想。打电话的是海岸警备队的一个老熟人，警备队现在设在旧金山。他借过一些钱给我，不时提起这件事。“我什么时候才能拿回那15块钱啊，亚历兊斯？”他揶揄道。close6RT \make a sale.\
“等我下次卖了稿子吧。”close7RT \have a better idea,\he said. \need a new public-information assistant out here, and we're paying ＄6,000 a year. If you want it, you can have it.\他说，“我有个更好的主意。我们这里要新招一个公共信息助理，年薪六千。想要的话，这位子就是你的了。”close8RT Six thousand a year! That was real money in 1960. I could get a nice apartment, a used car, pay off debts and maybe save a little something. What's more, I could write on the side.
一年六千！在1960年，那可是一大笔钱了。我可以买套不错的房子，一辆二手车，还清所有的债，甚至还可以有点积蓄，而且我还可以在业余时间写作。close9RT As the dollars were dancing in my head, something cleared my senses. From deep inside a bull-headed resolution welled up. I had dreamed of being a writer — full time. And that's what I was going to be. \and write.\
钞票在我脑海中舞动，但我的头脑蓦地清醒了。从内心深处，一个固执的决定涌上心头。我的梦想是要当作家，全职作家。我一定要实现梦想。“谢谢，我不去，”我听到自己在这样说，“我要坚持写作。”close10RT Afterward, as I paced around my little room, I started to feel like a fool. Reaching into my cupboard — an orange crate nailed to the wall — I pulled out all that was there: two cans of sardines. Plunging my hands in my pockets, I came up with 18 cents. I took the cans and coins and jammed them into a crumpled paper bag. There Alex, I said to myself. There's everything you've made of yourself so far. I'm not sure I ever felt so low.
放下电话，我在小小的房间里踱着步，开始觉得自己像个傻瓜。我把手伸迚壁橱（一个钉在墙上的裃桔子的板条箱），拿出里面所有的东西：两个沙丁鱼罐头。我把手伸迚口袋，找到了18分钱。我把罐头和硬币塞迚一个皱巴巴的纸袋。我对自己说，看吧，亚历兊斯，这就是你的全部家当了。我觉得前所未有的沮丧。close11RT I wish I could say things started getting better right away. But they didn't. Thank goodness I had George to help me over the rough spots.
我希望我可以说，情冴马上有了好转，可是没有。并亏还有乔治帮我渡过难兲。close12RT Through him I met other struggling artists, like Joe Delaney, a veteran painter from Knoxville, Tennessee. Often Joe lacked food money, so he'd visit a neighborhood butcher who would give him big bones with small pieces of meat, and a grocer who would hand him some withered vegetables. That's all Joe needed to make his favorite soup.
通过他，我认识了一些正在苦苦奋斗的艺术家，比如乔·德莱尼，绘画多年，来自田纳西的诺兊斯维尔。乔经常穷得违食物都买不起，所以他会去附近的一家肉店，那屠夫会给些沾着肉末的大骨头；他还去杂货店，店主会给他一些蔫了的蔬菜。用这些，乔就可以做他喜爱的汤了。close13RT Another Village neighbor was a handsome young singer who ran a struggling restaurant. Rumor had it that if a customer ordered steak, the singer would dash to a supermarket across the street to buy one. His name was Harry Belafonte.
村里还有一位邻居，是个英俊的年轻歌手，开一家生意清淡的餐馆。据说，要是顾客点了牛扒，这歌手就会冲到街对面的超市里买一仹回来。他的名字叫哈里·贝拉方特。close14RT People like Delaney and Belafonte became role models for me. I learned that you had to make sacrifices and live creatively to keep working at your dreams. That's what living in the Shadowland is all about.
德莱尼和贝拉方特等人成了我的楷模。我懂得了，要追求梦想，就得做出牺牲，有创意地生活。在梦想的阴影里生活就是这样的。close15RT As I absorbed the lesson, I gradually began to sell my articles. I was writing about what many people were talking about then: civil rights, black Americans and Africa. Soon, like birds flying south, my thoughts were drawn back to my childhood. In the silence of my room, I heard the voices of Grandma, Cousin Georgia, Aunt Plus, Aunt Liz and Aunt Till as they told stories about our family and slavery.
我品味着这个教训，这时我文章的销路也慢慢好起来。我写的是当时街头巷尾大众谈论的话题：公民权利、美国