精彩英语故事20

PAGE精彩英语故事20我的网络情缘Ihavefrequentedthesamechatlineformorethan3yearsnowandhavemadesomewonderfulonlinefriendships.However,IhadbecomeboredwiththetypicalchatandtheInternetalltogether.So,Idecidedtotakeabreak.我常到网上同一个聊天室聊天，至今已有三年多了，在那儿认识了一些很不错的网友。但我已厌倦了这种聊天和上网，于是决意歇歇鼓。Afteraboutaweekofbeingoffline,Ireturnedlateonenighttocheckmail.There,inmyboxwasanemailfromaladyfriendIhadmetinchat.Shewasgoingonandonaboutamanthathadrecentlyenteredtheroomandhowhewassupposedlythe"male1)incarnate"ofmyself.AnyonewhoknowsmealsoknowsthatIamabitofa"character".Mysenseofhumorisoneofa2)warped3)dementednature.Thethoughtoffindinganyonewhodoesn'tbecomeannoyedinstantlyisachore.Muchlessamanthatsharedthesame.Icompletely4)discreditedtheemailandwentaboutmybusiness.罢网了大约一周后，一天晚上我上网查邮件。信箱里有封“伊妹儿”是我的一位女聊友寄来的。她滔滔不绝地谈起最近来聊天室的一个男子，她说那人就像是我的“男性版”。认识我的人都知道我小小也算个“角儿”，有一种不入流的幽默感。想找到一个不会立即给惹恼的人还真不容易。同类的男性更是少之又少。我对那封邮件压根不置可否，自顾自忙去了。Laterthatnight,Ifoundmyselfwanderingthenet.ItwasthenIranacrossaphotogallerythatprovedtobequiteentertaining.AsIclickedfromonepicturetothenext,Iranacrossonegentleman'sphoto.Iwas5)stunnedbyhispresence.Approximately10minuetshadgonebywhenIfinallytoremyselfawayfromthephotoanddecidedtoventureintochat.There,Ifoundthewomanwhohadsentmetheemailearlierthatweek.She6)proceededtotellmeallaboutthisman."Youjusthavetomeethim,"shesaid,7)rantingonandonabouthowmuchwewerealike.Ilaughedatherthinkingitwasamusing."No,Iamserious!Youhavegottotalktohim."IfinallyagreedthatIwouldmakeefforttodosolateronandleftthechatquickly.Again,findingmyselfstaringatthis8)anonymousphotoIhadfoundearlier.当天晚些时候，我又到网上去漫游，发现了一个还挺逗乐的相片库。我一张张地点击下去，当看到一位男士的照片时，顿感眩晕。十分钟过去了，我花了好大的劲才放开那张照片，并决定斗起胆子去聊天。聊天室里有那周早些时候给我发了邮件的女聊友。她过来跟我谈到了关于这名男子的一切情况。“你一定要会一会他，”她说道，长篇激昂地讲说着我们是如何相似。我终于同意以后会找机会聊一聊，就匆匆地离开了聊天室。再次返回去凝视此前看到的无名人士照片。Approximately4hourslater,Iventuredbackintothechat.Onlytofindafewfriendstalkingaboutdailyevents.Then,allofasuddenoutofnowhere,anewnameentered,9)ramblingonandonaboutbeingthepresentmentofmadness.IquicklyspokeupandtoldthestrangerthattitlehadalreadybeentakenbymyselfasIlaughed.Hewassilentforafewmoments.ItwasthenIreceiveda"whisper"fromhim."SoYOUarethewomanIhaveheardsoverymuchabout."Irepliedbysaying,"Iseemyreputation10)precedesme."ItwasthenInoticedhisside11)barphoto(thisparticularroomhasasidebaroptionforthosewishingtopostphotosofthemselves).IalmostfellfrommychairwhenIrealizedIwastalkingtothemaninthephoto.ThephotoIhadfoundearlierthatdaywhilesurfing.Afterseveralhoursin"whisper"mode,weoptedtoentermypersonalchatroom.Wefoundoneanothertobeinteresting.Nottomention,wethoroughlyenjoyedourconversation.“人生之不如意十有八九……很多时候你会觉得无聊难过，什么也提不起你的兴趣，什么也不能让你怒火上升。人间的确有真爱。真爱难以言传，罕有而珍贵。我们就是其中一对幸运的情侣。”真的，是最最幸运的俩人了。大约过了四个钟头，我回到聊天室。只看到有几个朋友在扯家常。接着突然冒进来了一个新名字，大谈疯人疯语。我飞快地发言，大笑着告诉这个陌生者该名字已被我取了。他沉默良久。然后我接到他的一个“私聊”信息：“那么说你就是那个我久仰大名的人了。”我回答说：“我看我是名过其实了。”就在那时我注意到他侧边的照片（这间聊天室的侧栏可以让人自愿上传照片）。看了聊天对象的照片，我差点从椅子上摔下来。正是我当天在网上看到的那一张。“私聊”了几小时，我们转入我开的私人聊天室。我们都觉得彼此有趣。不用多说，我们完完全全地享受着谈话的乐趣。Sincethen,ourrelationshiphasgrowntremendously.Evengoingsofarastoadmitourlovetooneanother.Webothagreethisseemscrazy.Thesortofthingyoureadaboutinabook.Ithardlyseemsreal.Neitherofuswaslookingwhenfateledustooneanother.Neitherofuswasinneedoflove.Hell,neitherofusbelievedinlove,especiallyonlinelove12)priortoourfindingoneanother.Webothwantsobadlytobetogether.Tolearn,tolove,andtoexperiencewhatthishastooffer.Itissimplyamazing.Somuchfornotseekinglove,eh自此之后，我们的关系就突飞猛进。甚至发展到相互吐露了爱意。我们俩都觉得这太疯狂了。就跟在书上读到的似的，超乎现实。在双方不经意的时候，缘份将我们连在了一起。原本我们双方都没有渴望爱情。我们原来并不相信有爱情，尤其不信网恋，在我们找到彼此之前。现在我们是多么地希望能相依相守。去学习，去爱，去体会其中带来的欢乐。简直太神奇了。对爱止步？还是就此住手吧。Itwasasifwehadbeentwolonglostloversbeingreunitedafteralongtrip.Ithinkheputitbestwhenhesaid...我们仿佛失散多年的恋人，在分别已久后再相遇。我想这一切用他说过的话来描述最合适不过了……"Lifeisfullofshit...lotsofit.Andtherearemanyatimeswhenyoumayfeelstuck/boredanditseemsthatthere'snothinglefttoholdyourinterestsoranythingthatdoesn't13)pissyouoff.Well,thereissuchathingastruelove.It'sthere,it'sindescribableandfewareblessedwithit.Weareoneoftheluckycouples."研究称每天睡眠不足6小时易早逝不久前，科研人员研究发现一些睡眠时间不足与早逝之间存在联系的确切证据。研究人员表示，每天睡眠时间不足6小时将增加早逝风险。Peoplewhosleepfewerthansixhoursanightaremorelikelytodieearly,researchershavefoundinastudytheyclaimprovides'unequivocalevidence'ofalinkbetweensleepdeprivationandprematuredeath.研究发现，与夜晚睡眠6至8小时的人相比，夜晚睡眠不足6小时的人在65岁之前早逝的可能性较前者高出12%。Theydiscoveredthatpeoplewhosleptforlessthansixhourseachnightwere12percentmorelikelytodieprematurely-beforetheageof65-thanthosewhoslepttherecommendedsixtoeighthoursanight.由英国华威大学和意大利那不勒斯市的费德里克二世大学联合组成的研究团队在分析了16个研究项目之后得出了以上结论。项目共涉及130万人。TheteamfromtheUniversityofWarwickandFedericoIIUniversityMedicalSchoolinNaplesanalysed16studiesinvolvingatotalof1.3millionpeo研究人员指出，此前的研究显示，睡眠不足与心脏病、高血压、肥胖、Ⅱ型糖尿病和高胆固醇有关联。Theypointedoutthatpreviousstudieshadshownthatsleepdeprivationwasassociatedwithheartdisease,highbloodpressure,obesity,type2diabetes,andhighcholesterol.但除此之外，研究人员还发现睡眠与早逝之间也存在莫大关系。However,theresearchersalsofoundthatsleepingtoomuchwaslinkedtoanearlydeath.那些夜晚睡眠时间超过9小时的人早逝的可能性增加30%。研究刊登在《睡眠》周刊上。Thosewhosleptformorethanninehoursanightwere30percentmorelikelytodieearly,theresearchpublishedinthejournalSleepfound.然而，上周《睡眠》周刊上一篇研究报告的结论则与之背道而驰，该报告则称，夜晚睡眠10小时甚至更长的人更有可能活到100岁。Thatdirectlycontradictsresearchpublishedinthesamejournallastweekwhichsuggestedthatpeoplewhosleptfortenhoursorlongeranightweremorelikelytoliveto100.这种结论的根据在于，长寿者身体健康，睡得更香。Thiswasthoughttobebecausepeoplewholivedintoextremeoldagewerehealthierandthereforesleptbetter.然而，参与最新研究的专家并不认同这种观点。他们认为，睡眠过长是潜在疾病的征兆，比如抑郁或体力下降，一些癌症也与睡眠过长有关。However,theauthorsofthelatestresearchcontradictedthisandsuggestedthatlongsleepwasasignofunderlyingillnessessuchasdepressionandlowlevelsofphysicalactivity.Somecancerisalsoassociatedwithsleepingforlonger.华威大学睡眠、健康和社会项目负责人佛朗西斯科·卡帕斯奥教授说：“睡眠过短可能是疾病产生的原因，但睡眠过长却更有可能是存在疾病的指示器。”ProfessorFrancescoCappuccio,leaderoftheSleep,HealthandSocietyProgrammeattheUniversityofWarwickandConsultantPhysicianattheUniversityHospitalsCoventryandWarwickshireNHSTrust,said:"Whilstshortsleep“在现代社会，人们的平均睡眠时间逐渐缩短，这种情况在全职工作人员身上更常见，这可能归因于长时间工作和轮班所形成的社会压力。另一方面，我们的健康状况恶化常常伴随着睡眠时间的延长。”"Modernsocietyhasseenagradualreductionintheaverageamountofsleeppeopletake,andthispatternismorecommonamongfull-timeworkers,suggestingthatitmaybeduetosocietalpressuresforlongerworkinghoursandmoreshift-work.Ontheotherhand,thedeteriorationofourhealthstatusisoftenaccompaniedbyanextensionofoursleepingtime.“长期坚持每晚睡眠6至8小时可能最有益于健康。持续睡眠时间的长短应被视为另外一种行为风险因素，或者风险标志。它受环境影响，可能通过教育、辅导以及改善工作环境等提高公众健康水平的途径而被改变。”"Consistentlysleepingsixtoeighthourspernightmaybeoptimalforhealth.Thedurationofsleepshouldberegardedasanadditionalbehaviouralriskfactor,orriskmarker,influencedbytheenvironmentandpossiblyamenabletochangethroughbotheducationandcounsellingaswellasthroughmeasuresofpublichealthaimedatfavourablemodificationsofthephysicalandworkingenvironments."潘多拉的盒子是怎么一回事?潘多拉是希腊神话中第一个尘世女子。普罗米修斯（Prometheus）盗天火给人间后，主神宙斯（Zeus）为惩罚人类，命令神用黏土塑成一个年轻美貌、虚伪狡诈的姑娘，取名“潘多拉”（Pandora），意为“具有一切天赋的女人”。并给了她一个礼盒，然后将她许配给普罗米修斯的弟弟埃庇米修斯（Epimetheus，意为“后知”）。埃庇米修斯不顾禁忌地接过礼盒，潘多拉趁机打开它，于是各种恶习、灾难和疾病立即从里面飞出来。盒子里只剩下惟一美好的东西：希望。但希望还没来得及飞出来，潘多拉就将盒子永远地关上了。后来Pandora'sbox，“潘多拉的盒子”就被用来比喻造成灾害的根源。Pandora'sbox是很多人都知道的故事，周星驰的经典电影《大话西游之月光宝盒》英文译名就被翻译成了AChineseOdysseyPartOne:Pandora'sBox。里面有一句现在很多人都会背的台词“月光宝盒是宝物，你把他扔掉会污染环境。唉，要是砸到小朋友那怎么办？就算没有砸到小朋友砸到那些花花草草也是不对的呀！”这句话用英语就被说成“Pandora’sBoxisatreasure.You’llpollutetheenvironment.You’llhurtkids.Iftherearenokids,itisbadtohurtplants.”一个选择,会改变你的生活OneChoiceThatWillChangeYourLife【英文原文】ThiseveningImetafriendatalocalbar.Shebroughtherlaptopalongsoshecouldshowmesomeofherlatestdigitalartdesigns.Aswechattedandscrolledthroughherartwork,thelaptopsuddenlystartedmakinganunhealthybuzzingnoise,thenthescreenflickeredonandoffandthencutoffcompletely.Andaswebothstaredatoneanotherindismay,thefunkysmelloffriedcomputercircuitsconsumedournostrils.Igrabbedthelaptopoffthebartoinspectitandtheprobleminstantlyrevealeditself.Thebottomofthelaptopwassoakingwetandanempty,spiltwaterglassrestedagainstthesideofherpursejustbehindwherethelaptopwassitting.Inthemidstofuschattingandshiftingthelaptop’s17inchscreenbackandforth,wesomehowspiltaglassofwaterthatthebartenderhadinadvertentlyplacedbehindthescreen,whichwasoutofourview.Whenlifethrowsusnastycurveballslikethis,ittypicallydoesn’tmakeanysensetous,andournaturalemotionalreactionmightbetogetextremelyupsetandscreamobscenitiesatthetopofourlungs.Buthowdoesthishelpourdilemma?Obviously,itdoesn’t.Thesmartest,andoftentimeshardest,thingwecandointhesekindsofsituationsistobemoretemperedinourreactions.Towanttoscreamobscenities,buttowiserandmoredisciplinedthanthat.Torememberthatemotionalrageonlymakesmattersworse.Andtorememberthattragediesarerarelyasbadastheyseem,andevenwhentheyare,theygiveusanopportunitytogrowstronger.Everydifficultmomentinourlivesisaccompaniedbyanopportunityforpersonalgrowthandcreativity.Butinordertoattainthisgrowthandcreativity,wemustfirstlearntocontrolouremotions.Wemustrecognizethatdifficultiespasslikeeverythingelseinlife.Andoncetheypass,allwe’releftwithareouruniqueexperienceswitheachotherandthiscrazyworld,andthelessonswe’velearnedalongtheway.Lifeisshort.Ourthoughtssteerourreality.Wealreadyknowthis.Thechoiceisourstomake.【中文译文】今天傍晚，我在当地的一个酒吧遇到了一个朋友。她随身带了个笔记本电脑，来给我看她最新的数字艺术设计。就在我们谈论和浏览她的作品时，电脑突然发出了一阵不正常的嗡嗡声，随后屏幕不停的闪烁，直至完全关机。我们诧异地盯着对方，却闻到了一股难闻的焦味。我抓起了电脑，走出酒吧。一检查，问题马上就明了了。电脑的底部被浸湿了，水杯翻倒在了她的钱包旁，里面的水全翻了出来，而恰巧那电脑就放在钱包的前面。我们谈论时反复地移动那17寸的屏幕，就这样打翻了服务生送来的一杯水，他无意地放在了屏幕的后面，这也是我们没有预料到的。当生活给我们出类似于这种棘手的难题时，对我们来说根本不算什么，我们自然的情绪反应可能会感到非常沮丧，想要声嘶力竭地尖叫。但这样会帮我们脱离困境吗？显然不会。在这些情况下，我们只需在反应中锻炼自己，这也是最聪明，通常也是最难的事。与其出口污言，不如使自己变的更明智，更具约束力。留有狂怒的情绪只会使事情变得更糟，而记住这些不幸的遭遇却不像它们本身那么糟，反而是一个让我们变得更坚强的机会。在我们的生命中，每个艰难时刻都伴有一个自我成长和创造的机会，但我们必须首先要学会控制自己的情绪，这样才能把握住这个机会。必须承认，困难是我们生命中的一个个过客，就像其他东西一样。一旦经历过这些困难，我们拥有的不仅是和他人以及这个疯狂世界的独特的经历，还有从中学到的教训。生命是短暂的，我们的思想掌控着现实的生活。我们早就知道了这点。选择，由我们自己做。让梦想照进现实Takeanonlinepersonalityorstrength/weaknesstest.ThisonefromDr.MartinSeligmanisworld-renowned.Youhavetoregister,butthat'sfree。做一份网上的性格或者优点/缺点测试。有份马丁•塞利格曼博士的测试卷闻名于世。你需要注册一下，但它是免费的。Investalittletimeinsomedailyjournaling.Justletthepenrollasyouenvisagewhatyourperfectday,thenweek,thenyearwouldlooklike.Idon'tmeanthedown-time(althoughthere'splentyofpeoplewho'veturnedapassionfortravelintoasolidincome)。每天花点时间写日记。动起笔来想象一下你完美的一天、然后是周、然后是年是怎样的。我并不是指非工作状态时间(虽然多数人会把对旅游的激情转变到有稳固收入的激情上)Bythispointyoushouldbestartingtogetalittleexcited.Eventheactofthinkingabouthowcoolitwouldbetoactuallylovewhatyoudoshouldgetthemotivationaljuicesflowing.Butifyou'restillreallynotsurewhatyou'dliketodo-orperhapsyoufeellikethere'ssomanythingstochoosefrom-thentrythis。此刻你应该会有点兴奋吧。就算是想到能做自己真正热爱的事情如此之棒，并且能够自由发挥你的激情，也会激动不已。但是如果你仍不知道你想做什么——或者是有那么多事情，不知如何选择——那么尝试下下面的方法。Findacleanpieceofpaperandapen.Writedownthenumbers1-10.Thinkbackoverpastweeks,months,evenyears-whichevents/activitiesstandoutasbeingjoyousorexcitingforyou?Ifyoucan'tthinkofanything,considerthoseeventsyoureactedtoinotherswithexcitement,evenjealousy.Youmightliketoconsiderthefollowingcategoriesasamemory-joggerorjustforideas:•Travel•Creativity•Socialconnection•Helpingothers•Makingdeals•Re-sellinggoods•Teaching拿一张白纸和一支笔。写下数字1到10。回想一下在过去几周、几月，甚至几年的时间里，令你充满欢乐或兴奋的事情、活动等。如果你实在想不到任何事情，那么可以考虑那些别人跟你说的令你感到兴奋，甚至妒忌的事情。也许下面的这些目录能唤起你的记忆或是仅仅作为点子：•旅游•创造力•社交•帮助他人•做交易•货物再出售•教学Thelongandshortofitisthatyouwanttohighlightthosetimeswhenyoufeelmostalive.Whatmakesyoufeelcreative,happy,free,asenseofbelonging?这份清单的长短在于当你感觉充满生机的时候，你想要着重突出那些时光的程度。什么事情会让你感到有创造力、快乐、自由、并且有归属感呢？Nowthatyouhaveyourpassioninmindit'stimetostartmakingithappen.Thisisactuallytheeasiestpartoftheprocesssofar.Rememberbacktothestartofthisarticle?You'vealreadycommittedtosettingaside30minutesperdaytoworkonyourpassion,sosetthetimerandgetstarted.Trynottoworrytoomuchabouthowyoucanturnitintomoney,justfocusonaction.And,ifyouhaveseveralpossiblepassionsinmind,thenchooseoneandstartwiththat.Committoitfor21daysandthendecideifyou'dliketokeepgoingorstartafresh。现在你已经有了将这些事情付诸于行动的激情。这是目前为止最简单的部分。还记得文章开头所说的吗？你已经每天腾出30分钟时间来引发你的激情，所以计时，开始吧。不要过于担心你要如何将此转为现金，先关注于行动上。而且，如果你脑子里有几个可能的激情点存在，那么选择一个并且着手行动。坚持21天，然后决定你想继续还是开始一个新的激情点。Here'showyoumightfillthat30minutes：以下是你如何度过那30分钟的建议：Writeaboutyourpassion,whatyoulikeaboutit,whatcomeseasytoyou,whereyou'dliketoimproveyourskills写下你的激情，你喜欢它什么，什么会令你感觉简单，你哪里可以改进你的技能。Researchtheworkofotherswhoareeffectivelyusingyourpassionintheirlives调查其他人是如何有效使用你选择的激情点的。Teachittosomeoneelse教给他人Readaboutit理解它Studydifferentmethodsofdoingit学习用不同的方法去做Createavisionboardofwhatyourlifewilllooklikewhenyou'redoingit当你着手做的时候想象一个你期望的生活的愿景板Dothisdiligentlyandsoonerorlateryou'llfeelreadytotakethenextstep:offeringadiscountedversionofyourservice,applyingforafreelanceposition,sharingyourknowledgewithsomeonewhocanhelpyougetahead.Thiscouldbethemomentwhenthatpart-timepassionsuddenlyreallydoesseemlikesomethingthatmightonedayreplaceyourfulltimeincome.Soonasyoumakethatfirstmeaslydollarfromityou'llhavetheimmediateexcitementofknowingthatifyoucanmake$1,youcanmake$100,then$1,000.Yougettheidea.Ayearfromnow(orlessifyou'renotsuchascaredy-catlikeIwas)youjustmightnotbeimaginingthatlovin'themorningscenarioanymore.You'llbelivingit。坚持勤快地做，不久之后你会发觉你已经准备好进入下一阶段：降低你所做事情的标准，运用到一个自由职业者岗位上，与那些可以帮助你取得进步的人分享收获。在这个时刻，你那部分时间的激情就像某些事情，也许在未来某一天能够取代你的全职工作的收入。一旦你从中赚取了第一笔微不足道的收入，并且当你知道你会赚取1美元，100美元，1000美元时，你会激动不已。你已经领会了。一年之后(也许会更短，如果你不是像我一样的胆小鬼的话)，那种热爱在早晨起床的场景不会只是个幻想了。你每天都会那样生活。为自己的进步而快乐和自豪Allowyourselftobehappyandproudofyourprogress【英文原文】Toooftenwearehardonourselvesandfeelbadaboutourlackofprogress.Wefeelguiltythatwe’vemissedacoupleofworkouts,orthatourprogressonourgoalhasstalled,orthatweslippedupandatesomereallyfatteningstuff.Butthat’slookingattheglassashalfempty,andit[...]Toooftenwearehardonourselvesandfeelbadaboutourlackofprogress.Wefeelguiltythatwe’vemissedacoupleofworkouts,orthatourprogressonourgoalhasstalled,orthatweslippedupandatesomereallyfatteningstuff.Butthat’slookingattheglassashalfempty,anditisalmostguaranteedtohinderyourprogresstowardsyourgoal.Lookattheglassashalffull—lo