=事实上，那些说自己“非常幸福”的人所占的比例自20世纪70年
代早期以来一直稳 中有降——尽管20世纪40年代出生的人的收入在
他们的工作生涯中平均增长了116%。
can find similar data for most developed countries.
=你可以在大多数发达国家找到相似的数据。

Para. 3
1. The relationship between happiness and technology has been an eternal
subject for social critics and philosophers since the advent of the
Industrial Revolution.
=自工业革命出现以来，幸福与技术之间的关系一直是社会批评家和
哲学家们长期研究的课题。
2. But it’s been left largely unexamined by economists and social
scientists.
=然而，这个课题基本上还没有受到经济学家和社会科学家们的关注。
3. The truly groundbreaking work on the relationship between prosperity
and well-being was done by the economist Richard Easterlin, who in
1974 wrote a famous paper entitled “Does Economic Growth Improve the
Human Lot?”
=经济学家理查德•伊斯 特林在经济繁荣和幸福的关系方面进行了具
有开拓性的研究，并于1974年发表了一篇题为“经济增长 改变人类
命运吗？”的著名论文。
6

4. Easterlin showed that when it came to developed countries, there was
no real correlation between a nation’s income level and its citizens’
happiness.
=伊斯特林表明，就发达国家而言，一个国家的收入和国民的幸福之
间并没有真正的相互关系。
5. Money, Easterlin argued, could not buy happiness ----- at least not after
a certain point.
=伊斯特林认为，金钱买不到幸福——至少 金钱达到了一定程度以后
是如此。
6. Easterlin showed that though poverty was strongly correlated with
misery, once a country was solidly middle-class, getting wealthier did not
seem to make its citizens any happier.
=伊斯特林表明，尽管贫穷与苦难密不可分，但是，一个国家一旦达
到稳定的中产阶级水平，更富有一些似乎就不会使其国民感到更多的
幸福了。

Para. 4
1. This seems to be close to a universal phenomenon.
=这近乎是一种普遍现象。
2. In fact, one of happiness scholars’ most important insights is that
people adapt very quickly to good news.
7

=事实上，研究幸福的学者们最重要的 观点之一是：人们对好消息很
快便习以为常。
3. Take lottery winners for example. One famous study showed that
although winners were very, very happy when they won, their extreme
excitement quickly evaporated, and after a while their moods and sense of
well-being were indistinguishable from what they had been before the
victory. =拿彩票中奖者为例吧。一项重要的研究表明，尽管彩票中奖者中奖
时会感到非常非常幸福，可这类 兴奋很快就消逝了。一段时间之后，
他们的心情和幸福感与中奖之前并没什么区别。

Para. 5
1. So, too, with technology: no matter how dramatic a new innovation is,
no matter how much easier it makes our lives, it is very easy to take it for
granted.
=人们对待技术的 态度也是一样的：无论一种新事物多么引人注目，
也无论它使我们的生活变得多么舒适，人们很快就会认 为这是理所当
然的事情。
2. You can see this principle at work in the world of technology every
day, as things that once seemed miraculous soon become common and,
worse, frustrating when they don’t work perfectly.
8

=在技术世界里，你每天 都会看到这一原则在发挥作用。曾经一度被
视为非常神奇的东西很快就变的习以为常，更糟的是，当这些 东西运
转不正常时，还会令人沮丧。
3. It’s hard, it turns out, to keep in mind what things were like before the
new technology came along.
=事实表明，要把新技术问世之前的情形牢记在心原来是如此困难！

Para. 6
1. Does our fast assimilation of technological progress mean, then, that
technology makes no difference?
=那么，我们对新技术的快速吸收是否意味着技术没有发挥什么作用
呢？
2. No. It just makes the question of technology’s impact, for good or ill,
more complicated.
=不，决非如此。不论好坏，这只是把技术对人类的影响的问题变得
更复杂而已。
3. Let’s start with the downside.
=让我们先从负面影响谈起吧。
4. There are certain ways in which technology makes life obviously
worse.
=在某些方面，技术显然使得生活更加糟糕了。
5. Telemarketing, traffic jams, and identity theft all come to mind.
9

=譬如，我们马上会想到电话推销、交通阻塞以及身份资料失窃等情
况。
6. These are all phenomena that make people consciously unhappy.
=这些都是让人们明显意识到不幸福的现象。
7. But for the most part, modern critiques of technology have focused not
so much on specific, bad technologies as the impact of technology on our
human relationships.
=可是 ，现代的技术评论文章多半都没有把焦点集中在具体的、有害
的技术本身上，而是集中在技术对人际关系 的影响上。

Para. 7
1. Privacy has become increasingly fragile in a world of linked databases.
=在数据库联网的世界里，隐私变得越来越脆弱。
2. In many workplaces, technologies like keystroke monitoring and full
recordings of phone calls make it easier to watch workers.
=在许多工作场所，诸如按键 监控和电话全程录音之类的技术使得对
员工的监视变得更加容易了。
3. The notion that technology disrupts relationships and fractures
community gained mainstream prominence as an attack on television.
=技术扰乱了人际关系，破坏了社区交往——这样的观念成为人们攻
击电视时的主要焦点。
10

4. Some even say that TV is chiefly responsible for the gradual isolation
of Americans from each other.
=有些人甚至说，电视是美国人逐渐相互疏远的罪魁祸首。
5. Similarly, the harmful effects of the Internet, which supposedly further
isolates people from what is often called “the real world”.
=同样也有人认为，互联网的负面影响进一步使人们远离了我们常说
的“真实世界”。

Para. 8
1. This broad criticism of technology’s impact on relationships is an
interesting one and is especially relevant to the question of happiness,
because one of the few things we can say for certain is that the more
friends and the closer relationships people have, the happier they tend to
be.
=这种广义上关 于技术影响人际关系的批评颇有趣味，尤其与幸福的
问题密切相关，因为我们真正有把握说清楚的事情没 有几件，但其中
之一是：人们的朋友越多，关系越密切，就越幸福。

Para. 9
1. Today, technological change is so rappid that when you buy something,
you do so knowing that in a few months there’s going to be a better,
11

faster version of the product, and that you’re going to be stuck with the
old one.
=今天的技术变化异常神速，购买某种产品时你就知道，在过几个 月，
比这个产品性能更好、运作更快捷的款式就会问世，而你却不得不继
续使用旧款式的产品。
2. Someone else, in other words, has it better.
=换句话说，别人买到的产品要比你的好。
3. It’s as if disappointment were built into acquisition from the very
beginning.
=这种失望感仿佛从你开始购买这件产品时就已经深深植入你的认知
系统中了。

Para. 10
1. Daily stress, an annoying sense of disappointment, fear that the
government knows a lot more about you than you would like it to -----
these are obviously some of the ways in which technology reduces
people’s sense of well-being.
=日常生活的压力、一种令 人烦恼的失望感、对政府知晓你的情况超
出你所希望的程度而造成的恐惧感——这些显然都是技术降低了 人
们幸福感的几个方面。
2. But the most important impact of technology on people’s sense of
well-being is in the field of health care.
12

=然而，技术对人们的幸福感的最重要的影响体现在医疗保健方面。
3. Before the Industrial Revolution, two out of every three Europeans
died before the age of 30.
=工业革命以前，每三个欧洲人中就有两个的寿命不足30岁。
4. Today, life expectancy for women in Western Europe is almost 80
years, and it continues to increase.
=而今天，西欧妇女的寿命差不多是80岁，而且还会继续提高。
5. The point is obvious: the vast majority of people are happy to be alive,
and the more time they get on earth, the better off they feel they’ll be.
=道理很明了：绝大多数人很乐意活下去，他们在地球上生活的时间
越长感觉就越好。
6. But until very recently, life for the vast majority of people was nasty,
rough, and short.
=但是，就在不久前，绝大多数人还过着龌龊不堪、牲口不如的生活，
而且寿命非常短暂。
7. Technology has changed that, at least for people in the rich world.
=技术改变了这一状况，至少对于富裕国家的人们来说情况是如此。
8. As much as we should worry about the rising cost of health care and
the problem of the uninsured, it’s also worth remembering how valuable
for our spirits as well as our bodies are the benefits that medical
technology has brought us.
13

=我们在为医疗保健费用的提高和没有参加保险的人们的问题担忧的
同时，同样也应该记住，医疗技术所带给我们的身体和精神上的好处
是多么有价值。

Para. 11
1. On a deeper level, what the technological improvement of our health
and our longevity emphasizes is a paradox of any discussion of happiness
on a national or a global level: even though people may not be happier,
even though they are wealthier and possess more technology, they’re still
as hungry as ever for more time.
=从更深层次上来说，我们在健康和 长寿方面所取得的进步却强调了
在国家和全球层面讨论幸福问题的一个自相矛盾的说法：即使人们不会更幸福，即使他们更加富裕并拥有更多技术，他们还会像以前那样
渴望长寿。
2. It’s like that old joke: the food may not be so great, but we want the
portions to be as big as possible.
=这就像那个古老的笑话一样：食品也许并不好，可我们都想让自己
得到的那一份尽量大一些。
Fame

Fame is very much like an animal chasing its own tail who, when he captures it, does not know
what else to do but to continue chasing it. Fame and the exhilarating celebrity that accompanies it,
force the famous person to participate in his or her own destruction. Ironic isn’t it?
声誉就像一直不断追逐自己尾巴的动物,当抓住自己的尾巴时,它 也不知道除了继续追逐之外
他还能做什么. 声誉和令人兴奋的名望相伴,促使着名人们走向毁灭.很讽刺,不是么?
14

Those who gain fame most often gain it as a result of possessing a single talent or skill: singing,
dancing, painting, or writing, etc. The successful performer develops a style that is marketed
aggressively and gains some popularity, and it is this popularity that usually convinces the
performer to continue performing in the same style, since that is what the public seems to want
and to enjoy. But in time, the performer becomes bored singing the same songs in the same way
year after year, or the painter becomes bored painting similar scenes or portraits, or the actor is
tired of playing the same character repeatedly. The demand of the public holds the artist hostage to
his or her own success, fame. If the artist attempts to change his or her style of writing or dancing
or singing, etc., the audience may turn away and look to confer fleeting fickle fame on another and
then, in time, on another, and so on and so on.
那些声名鹊起的人通常是因为他们具有某项天赋或者掌握了某样技能:唱歌,跳舞,绘画 或者
写作等.一个成功的表演者因为发展了一种激进的市场表演风格而倍受欢迎.也正是这种名气
促使他保持着这种表演艺术.因为这是观众想要的和喜欢的.但是到最后,歌手会因为年复一
年的唱着 同样的歌而感到厌烦.画家会因为一直画着同样的风景和肖像而感到无趣.演员会因
为长期表演同样的角 色而感到厌倦.公众的需求掌握着艺术家们的获得声誉与否的关键.如果
艺术家们想要去改变他们书法风 格,唱腔或者舞步等的时候,观众们就有可能离开,把那些转
瞬即逝的名誉授予他人.然后接着,给另一 个再另一个再另一个…….
Who cannot recognize a Tennessee Williams play or a novel by John Updike or Ernest
Hemingway or a poem by Robert Frost or W.H. Auden or T.S. Eliot? The same is true of painters
like Monet, Renoir, Dali or Picasso and it is true of movie makers like Hitchcock, Fellini,
Spielberg, Chen Kai-ge or Zhang Yimou. Their distinctive styles marked a significant change in
the tradition forms and granted them fame and fortune, but they were not free to develop other
styles or forms because their audience demanded of each of them what they originally presented.
Hemingway cannot even now be confused with Henry James or anyone else, nor can Frost be
confused with Yeats, etc. The unique forms each of them created, created them. No artist or
performer can entirely escape the lure of fame and its promise of endless admiration and respect,
but there is a heavy price one must pay for it.
谁不认识田纳西.威廉斯的戏剧约翰•厄普代克和欧纳斯特.海明 威的小说罗伯特.弗罗斯特
W.H.奥登和托.史.艾略特的诗歌?同样的还有画家莫奈,雷诺阿,达利 或者毕加索,还有电影制
作节家希契科克, 费里尼,斯皮尔伯格,陈凯歌或者张艺谋.他们与众不同的 风格标志着传统形
式的重大变革,从而授予他们声望和财富.但是他们没有发展其他风格或模式的自由, 因为他
们的观众需要的是他们最先呈现的形式.即使现在,海明威还被混淆为亨利•詹姆斯或者其他的什么人;弗洛斯特也没有被混淆为耶茨.他们创造的独一无二的风格成就了他们.没有任何
一个艺 术家或表演者能够完全逃脱声誉的诱惑,因为声誉能给他们带来无止境的赞美和尊重.
但是想要获得声誉 就一定要付出沉重的代价.

Fame brings celebrity and high regard from adoring and loyal fans in each field of endeavor and it
is heady stuff. A performer can easily come to believe that he or she is as good as his or her press.
But most people, most artists do not fain fame and fortune. What about those performers who fail,
or anyone who fails? Curiously enough, failure often severs as its own reward for many people! It
brings sympathy from others who are delighted not to be you, and it allows family and friends to
lower their expectations of you so that you need not compete with those who have more talent and
who succeed. And they find excused and explanations for your inability to succeed and become
famous: you are too sensitive, you are not interested in money, you are not interested in the power
15

that fame brings and you are not interested in the loss of privacy it demands, etc.—all excused, but
comforting to those who fail and those who pretend not to notice the failure.
在每个领域里, 声望都能够带来名气, 能够在那些满怀崇敬之心的忠实的粉丝里受到高度关
注.但是它是是个容易使人沉醉的东西. 一个表演 者很容易相信自己的成就与舆论者称赞一
样.但是很多人,很多艺术家并没有获得声誉和财富.那些失败 者的表演者,或者其他失败了的
人呢?说来也奇怪,对于很多人来说,失败却常常是对他们的失败的补偿 .它招来那些庆幸自己
不是你的人的怜悯; 它使得你的家人,朋友降低对你的期望,从而你不必再与那 些比你有天赋,
比你成功的人攀比.他们为你不能成功成名的无能寻找各种各样的借口和解释: 你太容 易受
伤,你对金钱不感兴趣,你不屑于那些伴随名誉而来的权利,你也不喜欢因为出名而使隐私受
到侵犯,等等. 所有的借口,只是为了安慰是那些失败了的人,或者那些假装不在意失败的人罢
了.

History has amply proven that some failure for some people at certain times in their lives does
indeed motivate them to strive even harder to succeed and to continue believing in themselves.
Thomas Wolfe, the American novelist, had his first novel Look Homeward, Angel rejected 39
times before it was finally published and launched his career and created his fame. Beethoven
overcame his tyrannical father and grudging acceptance as a musician to become the greatest,
most famous musician in the world, and Pestalozzi, the famous Italian educator in the 19th century,
failed at every job he ever had until he came upon the idea if teaching children and developing the
fundamental theories to produce a new form of education. Thomas Edison was thrown out of
school in fourth grade, at about age 10, because he seemed to the teacher to be quite dull and
unruly. Many other cases may be found of people who failed and used the failure to motivate them
to achieve, to succeed, and to become famous. But, unfortunately, for most people failure is the
end of their struggle, not the beginning. There are few, if any, famous failures.
历史已经充分 证明了有些人在他们生命的某些时间里遭遇的失败确实会激励他们为取得成
功而更加努力奋斗并且继续相 信自己. 美国小说家托马斯沃.尔夫的第一篇小说<向家乡看
吧,安琪儿>被拒绝了39次才最终得以 发表,从而开启了他的事业,为他创造了名誉.贝多芬不
向他专横的父亲低头,也忍气吞声的做过乐师, 但他最终还是成为了举世闻名的音乐家. 十九
世纪意大利著名的教育家裴斯塔洛齐在他决定从事儿童教 育事业并且为之建立起一套新的
基本教育体系之前, 在各行各业一无所成. 托马斯.爱迪生在十岁读四年级的时候因为被老
师认为愚笨任性而逐出学校. 另外,也有很多最初失败的人以失败为动力,发愤图强,最终取得
成功. 但是, 很不幸, 对于很多人来说失败就是他们奋斗的终点,而不是起点.成功的失败者
即使有,也很少.
Well then, why does anyone want fame? Do you? Do you want to be known to many people and
admired by them? Do you want the money that usually comes with fame? Do you want the media
to notice everything you do or say both in public and in private? Do you want them hounding you,
questioning you and trying to undo you? In American politics it is very obvious that to be famous
is to be the target of everyone who disagrees with you as well as of the media. Fame turns all the
lights on and while it gives power and prestige, it takes the you out of you: you must be what the
public thinks you are, not what you really are or could be. The politician, like the performer, must
please his or her audiences and that often means saying things he does not mean or does not
believe in fully. No wonder so few people trust politicians. But we have not answered the question
at the beginning of this paragraph: why does anyone want fame? Several reasons come to mind: to
demonstrate excellence in some field; to gain the admiration and love of many others; to be the
16

one everyone talks about; to show family and friends you are more than they thought you were.
Probably you can list some other reasons, but I think these are reasonably common.
那么为什么每个人都渴望拥有名誉呢?你渴望么?你渴望许多人都知道你,赞赏你么? 你渴望
那些伴随名誉而来的金钱么?你希望被媒体关注你做的每一件事么?不论是公共场合或者是
私底下.你希望被他们不停地跟踪,不停地询问不停地骚扰么?很明显, 在美国政坛, 出名就会
成为那些反对你人的目标,也会成为媒体的目标. 声誉给你带来所有的光环,同时赋予你权利
和威望,也让你变得不像原来的自己.你必须成为公众心目中的你,而不是真实的你和可能的
你 .政治家也像表演者一样, 必须讨好自己的观众.这就意味着他们只能说一些不是他们本意
或者他们也不完全相信的话. 所以相信政治家的人很少也就不足为奇了. 但是我们还没有回
答本段开始提出的问题:为什么每个人都渴望名誉呢? 我突然想到几个原因: 为了在某些领
域彰显卓越; 为了赢得别人的赞美和喜爱; 为了成为每个人谈到的话题; 又或者为了向亲人
和朋友证明自己能够超乎他们的想象. 或许你也可列举其他的原因,但是我认为通常都是这
些原因.
Is it possible to be famous and to remain true to yourself, the real you? Perhaps, but one is hard
pressed to come up with the names of those who have done their thing their way and succeed in
the fame game. Many political dissident around the world, in particular, Dawn Aung Suu Kyi of
Burma, is a rare exception to the rule that says maintaining unpopular views or unpopular attitudes
or approaches in any field will destroy you. The famous Irish writer Oscar Wilde, a very
successful writer of stories, poems and plays, was known for his most unusual clothing and
eccentric behavior, social and sexual. This behavior him to the attention of the mother of a young
man Oscar was intimate with and she accused him. He was furious about this and sued the young
man’s mother which led to a trial and imprisonment for two years. He remained true to himself
and paid a heavy price for it by being ostracized and defamed.
如果成名,是否还有可能保持最真实的自己呢? 也许可能, 但是一个人很难即能够以自己的
方式做自己喜欢做的事,又在名利场上取得成功. 对于世界上很多持不同政见的的政界人员
来说, 一直说一些在任何领域都不受欢迎的观点或者态度是一件违反政界规则的事情. 但是
缅甸的黎明翁山苏姬是个罕见的例外. 著名的爱尔兰作家奥斯卡.王德尔是一个很成功的小
说家诗人和剧作家. 他因他最与众不同的服装古怪的行为反常的社会观和性观念而闻名.
但是他的举止让他好朋友的母亲感到反感,从而被告上了法庭. 他为此感到怒不可歇,并控告
这位母亲. 如此一来,他也因此遭受了两年的审讯和关押. 他保持了最真实的自己,但是却为
此付出了沉重的代价,受到社会排斥,声名尽毁.

Time magazine of June 17, 1996 devoted a good deal of its issue to discussing people(25 in
America) who are the most influential in the country in their opinion. They added a short essay on
who are the most powerful people in America and no one on the first list appeared on the second
list, and strangely enough, none of the people on either list was described as famous, although I
think several surely are. Can we really distinguish influential people and powerful people from
those who are famous? Maybe, but their list of influence people included Jerry Seinfeld the
comedian and TV star, Courtney Love the singer and drug addict whose fame has come largely
through her husband Kurt Cobain, the guitarist who committed suicide, and the list includes Oprah
Winfrey the talk show host and Calvin Klein the clothing designer. All of these people are famous,
but I believe, not very influential in the same that they change the way most of us think or act. In
Time magazine’s list we find a Supreme Court justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, who is no more
influential or powerful than any of the other 8justices. President Clinton is not considered
17

influential (?) but is considered powerful! You decide if you think famous and influential and
powerful are closely related, or different.
.1996年6月17日, <时代>杂志投入了大量的版面来讨论谁是民众心里对美国最具影响力的
人. 他们对那位美国最有影响力的人物补充了一篇小传记. 但是那些在第一份名单中出现的
人没有一个出现在第二份名单里面. 不可思议的是出现在两份名单中的人没有一个可以称
得上出名,尽管我认为其中有些人确有声誉. 但是 我们真的能够区别出那些著名的人物谁是
有影响力的人谁是有权力的人吗？也许,但他们那份有影响力的 人的名单中包括喜剧演员和
电视明星杰瑞•桑菲尔德以及科特尼．洛芙,她是一名歌手,也是一个吸毒者 ,并且她是因为她
的丈夫而出名的.她的丈夫科特.柯本是一名吉他手, 死于自杀. 除此以外,这份名单也包括脱
口秀节目的主持人奥普拉•温弗瑞,和服装设计师卡尔文.克莱恩. 所有的这些人物都是有名
的,但是我相信,他们对改变我们的思维方式和行为习惯并没有多大影响力. 在<时代>杂志名
单里面我们还发现一位高级法院的法官桑德拉.奥康纳. 他比不比其他法官影响力大,也并不
比其他法官权力大. 别人并不认为克林顿总统有影响力,但是他们认为他有权力. 知名度影
响力和权力是联系紧密还是根本就不同,是由你来决定的.
I believe that fame and celebrity, influence and power, success and failure, reality and illusion are
all somehow neatly woven into a seamless fabric we laughingly call reality. I say to those who
desperately seek fame and fortune, celebrity: good luck. But what will you do when you have
caught your tail, your success, your fame? Keep chasing it? If you do catch it, hang on for dear life
because falling is not as painful as landing. See you soon famous and almost famous, wayfarers on
this unbright, nonlinear planet.
我相信声誉和名望, 影响和权力,成功与失败,真实和虚幻都以某种方式灵活的编织成一张细
密的绸布, 我们笑称为”现实”的那张布. 我对那些拼命地寻求声誉名望与财富的人说: 祝
你好运. 但是当你抓住了你的尾巴,也就是你的成功和声望的时候,你将要怎么做? 如果你真
的抓住了它, 就拼命地抓住吧,因为掉落并不像攀登一样痛苦. 希望很快看见你成名,或者是
快要成名, 在这颗光明的行星上成句辉煌的旅程.




T Work, Labor, and Play
Wystan H. Auden
This text is taken from The Little, Brown Reader (Third Edition), edited by Marcia
Stubbs and Sylvan Barnet. Little, Brown and Company. 1983.
close
1
RT So far as I know, Miss Hannah Arendt was the first person to
define the essential difference between work and labor. To be happy, a
man must feel, firstly, free and, secondly, important. He cannot be
really happy if he is compelled by society to do what he does not enjoy
18

doing, or if what he enjoys doing is ignored by society as of no value or
importance. In a society where slavery in the strict sense has been
abolished, whether what a man does has social value depends on
whether he is paid money to do it, but a laborer today can rightly be
called a wage slave. A man is a laborer if the job society offers him is of
no interest to himself but he is compelled to take it by the necessity of
earning a living and supporting his family.

工作、劳动和玩耍


威斯坦·H·奥登
就我所知，汉娜·阿伦特小姐是界定工作和劳动之间本质区别的第一人。一个人要想 快乐，第一要有自由感，
第二要确信自己有价值。如果社会迫使一个人去做他自己不喜欢的事，或者说， 他所喜欢做的事被社会忽
视，看作没有价值或不重要，那他就不会真正快乐。在一个严格意义上已废除奴 隶制的社会里，一个人做
的事情是否具有社会价值取决于他是否为完成此项工作得到了报酬。然而，今天 的劳动者可以被称为名副
其实的工资奴隶。如果社会给一个人提供一份他本人不感兴趣的工作，他出于养 家糊口的需要不得已才从
事这项工作，那这个人就是一个劳动者。close
2
RT The opposite to labor is play. When we play a game, we enjoy
what we are doing, otherwise we should not play it, but it is a purely
private activity; society could not care less whether we play it or not.
与劳动相对的是玩耍。玩游戏时，我们能从中得到乐趣，否则就不会 玩这个游戏。但这完全是一种私人的
活动，我们玩不玩这个游戏社会是不会关注的。close
3
RT Between labor and play stands work. A man is a worker if he is
personally interested in the job which society pays him to do; what
from the point of view of society is necessary labor is from his own point
of view voluntary play. Whether a job is to be classified as labor or work
depends, not on the job itself, but on the tastes of the individual who
undertakes it. The difference does not, for example, coincide with the
difference between a manual and a mental job; a gardener or a cobbler
may be a worker, a bank clerk a laborer. Which a man is can be seen
from his attitude toward leisure. To a worker, leisure means simply the
hours he needs to relax and rest in order to work efficiently. He is
therefore more likely to take too little leisure than too much; workers
die of heart attacks and forget their wives' birthdays. To the laborer, on
the other hand, leisure means freedom from compulsion, so that it is
natural for him to imagine that the fewer hours he has to spend
laboring, and the more hours he is free to play, the better.
处在劳动和玩耍之 间的是工作。如果一个人对社会为他支付报酬的工作感兴趣，他就是一个工作者。从社
会角度看是必需的 劳动在他自己看来却是自愿的玩耍。一个职位是劳动还是工作，并不取决于这个职位本
身，而是取决于占 据这个职位的个人自己的情趣。这种差异与体力劳动和脑力劳动之间的差异并不吻合。
19

譬如，一个园丁或者鞋匠也许就是一个工作者，而一个银行职员则可能是一个劳动者。一 个人是工作者还
是劳动者可以从他对闲暇的态度上看出来。对于一个工作者来说，闲暇不过是他需要放松 、休息从而进行
有效工作的几个小时，所以，他可能只有少量的闲暇，而不会有大量的空闲。工作者可能 会死于心脏病，
并会忘记自己妻子的生日。而对于劳动者来说，闲暇就意味着摆脱强制，所以，他自然会 想象：他不得不
花费在劳动上的时间越少，而自由自在地玩耍的时间越多，那才越好。close
4
RT What percentage of the population in a modern technological
society are, like myself, in the fortunate position of being workers? At a
guess I would say sixteen per cent, and I do not think that figure is
likely to get bigger in the future.
在一个现代化的技术社会里，总人口中有多大比例的人能够像我一样有 幸成为工作者呢？我估计大概有
16％，而且，我认为这个数字将来也不会增加。close
5
RT Technology and the division of labor have done two things: by
eliminating in many fields the need for special strength or skill, they
have made a very large number of paid occupations which formerly
were enjoyable work into boring labor, and by increasing productivity
they have reduced the number of necessary laboring hours. It is
already possible to imagine a society in which the majority of the
population, that is to say, its laborers, will have almost as much leisure
as in earlier times was enjoyed by the aristocracy. When one recalls
how aristocracies in the past actually behaved, the prospect is not
cheerful. Indeed, the problem of dealing with boredom may be even
more difficult for such a future mass society than it was for
aristocracies. The latter, for example, ritualized their time; there was a
season to shoot grouse, a season to spend in town, etc. The masses are
more likely to replace an unchanging ritual by fashion which changes as
often as possible in the economic interest of certain people. Again, the
masses cannot go in for hunting, for very soon there would be no
animals left to hunt. For other aristocratic amusements like gambling,
dueling, and warfare, it may be only too easy to find equivalents in
dangerous driving, drug-taking, and senseless acts of violence.
Workers seldom commit acts of violence, because they can put their
aggression into their work, be it physical like the work of a smith, or
mental like the work of a scientist or an artist. The role of aggression in
mental work is aptly expressed by the phrase getting one's teeth into
a problem
技术和劳动的分工成就了两件事：通 过在许多领域取消了特别才能和技术的需要，把过去本来令人愉快的
大量受雇职业的工作变成了令人厌倦 的劳动；通过提高生产力，缩短了劳动所需的时间。已经可以想象出
这样一个社会：其人口的大多数，也 就是其中的劳动者们，将会享受到早期贵族们才能享受到的几乎同样
多的休闲。当人们回想起过去贵族们 的举止行为时，前景并非乐观。的确，在未来这样一个大众社会里，
人们要解决“无聊”这个问题，也许 比过去的贵族们要困难得多。后者（贵族们）把他们的时间都仪式化了，
譬如，有打松鸡的季节，有在城 镇消磨的季节等等。广大民众更有可能以时尚来取代一成不变的仪式，而
时尚将会为了某些人的经济利益 频繁地变化。再者，广大民众也不会再去狩猎，因为，要不了多久可供猎
20

取的动物就没有了。至于贵族们其他的消遣项目，比如赌博、决斗和战争，人们可以轻而易举地从危险 驾
驶、吸食毒品和毫无理性的暴力行为中找到同样的乐趣。工作者很少从事暴力活动，他们可以把自己的 “敌
对心理”用在工作上，不管是工匠的体力活，还是科学家、艺术家的脑力活。“敌对心理”在脑力劳 动中的作
用可以在“紧紧咬住问题”这个短语里得到恰如其分的表达。close
Play the Audio

stripping down to bare happiness
1.
do all the things you like it's just that you don't like the same things anymore. Some of the old h
abits seem so wasteful and unsatisfying, you really lose your taste for them. So you still have ever
ything you want—you just don't want as much.
“我们讨论的是简化 生活，而不是物质匮乏，”我的朋友萨拉解释说，“你可以做任何你喜欢
的事情，只是你不再喜欢同样的 事情而已。一些旧的习惯看上去是那样的浪费又不能令人满
意，你真的对它们失去了兴趣。所以你仍然拥 有你需要的每一件东西——只不过不想要那么
多罢了

stripping down to bare happiness
1.
do all the things you like it's just that you don't like the same things anymore. Some of the old h
abits seem so wasteful and unsatisfying, you really lose your taste for them. So you still have ever
ything you want—you just don't want as much.
“我们讨论的是简化 生活，而不是物质匮乏，”我的朋友萨拉解释说，“你可以做任何你喜欢
的事情，只是你不再喜欢同样的 事情而已。一些旧的习惯看上去是那样的浪费又不能令人满
意，你真的对它们失去了兴趣。所以你仍然拥 有你需要的每一件东西——只不过不想要那么
多罢了。”

I first met them, Sara and Michael were a two-career couple with a home of their own, an
d a large boat bought with a large loan. What interested them in a concept called voluntary simp
licity was the birth of their daughter and a powerful desire to raise her themselves. Neither one of t
hem was willing to jam what they considered the most important part of their life into the brief t
ime before work and the tired hours afterward.
当我第一次遇见他们时，萨拉和迈克尔夫妇双双从业，拥有自己的住宅和用 一大笔贷款购置
的一条大船。正是女儿的出世和一种他们想亲自抚养她的强烈欲望，使得他们对一种叫做 “自
愿简朴”的理念产生了兴趣。他们俩谁都不愿意把他们视为生活中最重要的部分仅仅压缩在
上班前的一小段时间和下班后已疲惫不堪的那几个小时。

.and things get more expensive, the only answer
is to work harder in order to earn more money. It's not the only answer,
“许多人认为，因为有了孩子而且东西越来越贵，唯一的办法就是更 加努力地工作以便挣更
多的钱。其实这并不是唯一的办法，”迈克尔坚持说

couple's decision was to trade two full-time careers for two half-time careers, and to cut bac
k on consumption. They decided to spend their money only on things that contributed to their m
21

ajor goal: the construction of a world where family and friendship, work and play, are all of a pie
ce— a world, moreover, that doesn't waste the Earth's resources.
这对夫妻的决定是把两份全职工作业换成两份兼职工作，并且削减开支。他 们决定只把钱花
在有助于实现他们的主要目标的东西上：构建一个把家庭和友谊、工作和娱乐融为一体的 生
活天地，而且还是一个不浪费地球资源的生活天地。

they live in the same suburban community in a handsome, energy-efficient home they des
igned themselves. Small by most standards, it's easy to clean, furnish, maintain and heat. The first
floor, one large room, has a kitchen area along one wall, a wood table and chairs for dining, a l
iving area defined by a comfortable couch and a wood stove, and a corner work area. Upstairs are
their bedrooms, an office that serves both Sara and Michael, and a bathroom. The whole house is
bright and light and in harmony with its surroundings. Soon there will be a solar greenhouse ou
tside the front door. < br>现在他们还在原来的那个近郊社区，住在一幢自己设计的、漂亮而节能的房子里。按许多标
准来看 ，房子虽然小了点，却容易清扫、布置、维修和供暖。一层是个大房间，厨房靠墙，
摆着一张木餐桌和吃 饭用的几把椅子；一张舒适的长沙发和一个柴炉就把日常起居的范围圈
定了；角落是工作区。楼上是他们 的卧室、一个萨拉和迈克尔共用的办公室和一间浴室。整
幢房子明亮简洁，同周围环境十分和谐。很快， 前门外还要建一个太阳能温室。

can a couple with two part-time jobs afford to build their own house, own a car and share a
small boat with another couple all without a loan? How can they maintain a standard of living that
provides everything they want? Don't they miss what they do without?
一对只有兼职工作的夫妻怎么会有钱建造自己的房子、拥有一辆汽车并同另一对 夫妻共享一
艘小船，而且所有这一切都不曾贷款呢？他们如何能够维持足以提供他们想要的一切的那样< br>一种生活水平呢？他们难道不会怀念缺乏的一些东西吗？

Sara and Michael insist that they're delighted to be free of expensive junk —bathroom ca
binets full of cosmetics and medicines they never needed, kitchen cabinets crowded with items tha
t just went to waste. The one closet that Sara shares with Michael easily holds their basic clo
thes, many of them well-made classic styles from L. L. Bean.
away,
Michael have a clear idea of what they really need.
萨拉和迈克尔都坚持认为，他们很高兴摆 脱了那些昂贵东西：（浴室）药柜里满满的从来不用的
化妆品和药品；堆放在厨房厨柜里的只会浪费掉的 各种东西。萨拉和迈克尔共用的那个衣柜很容
易装下他们必需的一些衣物，其中许多是出自L·L·比恩 公司的做工精细的经典款式。“我不
断地把东西送给别人，”萨拉解释道。通过筛选和丢弃并凭借他们对 所拥有的东西的了解，萨拉
和迈克尔清楚地知道他们到底真正需要什么。

don't have a dishwasher; the few dishes they own wouldn't fill one. They don't o
wn a clothes dryer; wet clothes drying indoors in winter eliminate the need for a humidifier.

Sara's dark hair is short, so she doesn't need a hairdryer or electric curlers. Their front yard is woo
ded, so they don't need a lot of fancy tools to take care of it. They don't own a TV, so they aren't
constantly saturated with images of new (and unnecessary) temptations.
22

他们没有洗碟机，他们家那几只碟子根本装不满一台洗碟机。他们没有烘干机；冬天把湿 衣
服晾在室内也就不需要增湿器了。萨拉的黑发很短，所以用不着吹风机或电动卷发夹。他们
的 前院长满了树，所以他们不需要很多昂贵的工具。他们没有电视机，所以他们脑子里不会
经常出现种种新 的（而且是不必要的）诱惑物的图像。

've exchanged the expenses of work in the commuter age- the extra car, the cost of gas
oline, the business suits and the babysitting fees- for time to pay attention to the quality of t
heir lives. They've given up paper products, processed foods, expensive hobbies, first-run movies
,
restaurants, and paying for the services of others. In return, they enjoy home cooking, family p
icnics, library books, participation in community arts programs, thrift shops, an active YMCA m
embership, and do-it-yourself projects.
他们节省了通勤时代上下班必须支付的开支：另外的一辆车、汽油费、职业装 和保姆费，换
来的则是时间——用于关注生活质量的时间。他们已不再使用纸产品、吃加工食品、享受昂
贵的嗜好、观看首映电影、上餐馆以及付钱接受别人的服务。取而代之的是他们所喜爱的自
己烹 饪、家庭野餐、到图书馆借书、参加社区艺术活动、逛廉价旧货店、拥有积极的基督教
青年会会员身份， 以及自己动手做事。

. culture goes on forever,

could afford. Money really wasn't the reason we changed. We did it for our own personal satisfact
ion, and for anyone thinking of simplifying life, there's only one basic rule: 'If it isn't satisfying, do
n't do it.'
“那种不 断想获得更多东西的愿望是我们这个文化的一个重要组成部分，而且还会永远继续
下去，”萨拉说。“但 是你赚1万5千美元还是5万美元并不重要。这世上总有许多你希望自
己能买得起的东西。钱真的不是导 致我们改变的原因。我们这样做是为了个人的满足。对于
任何一个想简化生活的人来说，基本规则只有一 条：如果一件事不能令人满意，那就索性不
要去做。”

and Michael lent me their copy of 99 Ways to a Simple Lifestyle, a handbook of practi
cal suggestions that can be applied to anyone's living situation. I read it carefully, giving myself hi
gh marks in some areas, surprised at my socially sanctioned irrational behavior in others.
萨拉和迈克尔借给我一本手册——《营造简朴生活方式的99种方法》，里面全是适用于任何
生 活状况的实用可行的建议。我仔细地阅读了，在一些方面我给自己打了高分，同时也惊讶
于我身上存在的 其他一些被社会所认可的不理智行为。

night, accompanying my daughter on a shopping trip, I came across an inexpensive hand t
owel that matched our kitchen wallpaper, and a pair of
hen I stood in the parking lot, $$11 poorer and no happier than I had been before, I felt like
a child, helpless in the face of my own impulses.
那天晚 上，陪女儿去购物时，碰巧看见一条和我们的厨房墙纸颜色匹配而价钱又不贵的手巾
和一双漂亮得难以抵 挡其诱惑的“特价”鞋。当我站在停车场时，感觉自己花了11美元之
后并没有比之前更加开心，那时我 觉得自己就像个孩子，面对自己的一时冲动竟会不由自主

23

is a world of illusion, this shopping merry-go-round we ride, but with all the action and excit
ement, it's sometimes hard to find the resolve and the courage to dismount.
我们乘坐的这只购物旋转木马，其实是一个幻觉世界，但由于它的动感和刺激，有时我们很
难找 到决心和勇气从马上下来。
T Two Truths to Live By
Alexander M. Schindler
The text is taken from Reader's Digest.
close
1
RT The art of living is to know when to hold fast and when to let go.
An ancient man said long ago: A man comes to this world with his fist
clenched, but when he dies, his hand is open.
人生的两条真理


亚历山大·M·辛德勒
人生的艺术就是要懂得收与放。正如古人所言：“一个人出生时拳头紧握，过世 时却松手而去。”close
2
RT Surely we ought to hold fast to life, for it is wonderful, and full of
a beauty. We know that this is so, but all too often we recognize this
truth only in our backward glance when we remember what it was and
then suddenly realize that it is no more.
当然，我们应该紧紧把握人生，因为它既神奇，又美丽。我们都懂得这个道理。可是我们却常常在回首往
事时才突然觉醒，意识到其中之美，可为时已晚，一切都时过境迁。close
3
RT We remember a beauty that faded, a love that withered. 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.
我们记起的是褪色的美、消逝的爱。但是这种记忆中却 饱含了苦涩，我们痛惜没有在美丽绽放的时候注意
到它，没有在爱情到来的时候做出回应。close
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RT A recent experience re-taught me this truth. I was hospitalized
following a severe heart attack and had been in intensive care for
several days. It was not a pleasant place.
我自己最近的一个经历又令我悟出了这其中的道理。剧烈的心脏病发作以后我被送进了医院的重症监护病
房。那地方可不是好呆的。close
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5
RT One morning, I had to have some additional tests. The required
machines were located in a building at the opposite end of the hospital,
so I had to be wheeled across the courtyard in a chair. As we emerged
from our unit, the sunlight hit me. That's all there was to my experience.
Just the light of the sun. And yet how beautiful it was — how warming;
how sparkling; how brilliant!
一天上午，我要接受几项辅助检查。因为检查 的器械在医院另一侧的一座楼内，所以我只能坐在轮椅上让
人推着穿过庭院才能到达那里。就在从病房里 出来的那一刻，阳光正照在我身上。我所感觉到的就只有这
阳光，它如此美丽，如此温暖，如此璀璨和辉 煌！close
6
RT I looked to see whether anyone else relished the sun's golden
glow, but everyone was hurrying to and fro, most with eyes fixed on the
ground. Then I remembered how often I, too, had been indifferent to
the grandeur of each day, too preoccupied with petty and sometimes
even mean concerns to respond to the great beauty of it all.
我看看周围是否有人也沉醉在这金色的阳 光中，然而，人人却来去匆匆，大都目不斜视，双眼只盯着地面。
这时我想到自己平常又何尝不是往往对 身边的美景视而不见而沉湎于日常细小的、有时甚至是低俗的琐事
之中呢！close
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RT The insight gleaned from that experience is really as
commonplace as was the experience itself: life's gifts are precious —
but we are too careless of them.
从这次经历中所获得 的顿悟就像这个经历本身一样，并无什么奇特之处：生活的恩赐是宝贵的，只是我们
对此太掉以轻心罢了 。close
8
RT 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 respectful before
each dawning day. Embrace each hour. Seize each golden minute.
那么人生给我们的第 一个矛盾的真理就是：不要因为太过忙碌而错过了人生的美好和壮丽。虔诚地迎接每
一个黎明的到来。把 握每一个小时，抓住宝贵的每一分每一秒。close
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RT 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.
紧紧把握住人生，但 不要紧得放不开。这是生活的另一面，是矛盾体的另一极：我们必须接受损失，学会
放手。close
10
RT 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 passion can, and will be ours. But then
life moves along to confront us with realities, and slowly but surely this
second truth dawns upon us.
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< /p>

做到这一点并不容易，尤其是当我们还年轻，自以为世界在我们的掌握之中，只要满腔热情 、全力以赴地
去渴求，我们就能得到我们想要的东西，而且一定能得到！但是，生活在继续，它要我们去 面对现实，慢
慢地也是实实在在地，生活让我们懂得了第二个真理。close
11
RT At every stage of life we sustain losses — and grow in the
process. We begin our independent lives only when we come to this
world. We enter 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. We confront the death of our parents and our spouses.
We face the gradual or not so gradual weakening of our own strength.
And ultimately, we must confront the inevitability of our own death,
losing ourselves, as it were, all that we were or dreamed to be.
在人生的每个阶段，我们都会承受损失 —— 我们也会在这个过程中成长起来。我们只 有在来到这个世界
上时才开始了独立的生命。我们要进各级学校；继而告别父母和儿时的家庭，然后结婚 生子，再就是不得
不让孩子们远走高飞。我们遭遇父母和爱人的死亡，还要面临自己或快或慢的衰老。我 们最终不得不面对
自己不可避免的死亡。就这样，我们失去了自我，也失去了自己曾经拥有过的或梦想过 的一切。close
12
RT But why should we be reconciled to life's contradictory demands?
Why fashion things of beauty when beauty is short-lived? Why give our
heart in love when those we love will ultimately be torn from our grasp?
但是，我们为什么会心甘情愿地服从于人生中这种矛盾的需求呢？既然明明知道美的东西 转眼即逝，我们
为什么还要去创造那些美好的东西？既然明明知道自己所爱的人最终会离我们而去，我们 为什么还要倾心
地去爱呢？close
13
RT In order to resolve this paradox, we must seek a wider
perspective, viewing our lives as through windows that open on
eternity. Once we do that, we realize that though our lives are finite,
our deeds on earth weave a timeless pattern. < br>要破解这个矛盾，我们就必须寻找一个更加广阔的视角，像透过可以通向永恒的窗户那样来审视我们的生< br>命。做到了这一点，我们就会知道，我们的生命虽然有限，可我们在地球上的行为却在编织着一个不受时< br>间限制的图案。close
14
RT Life is never just being. It is becoming, a relentless flowing on.
Our parents live on through us, and we will live on through our children.
The institutions we build endure, and we will endure through them. The
beauty we fashion cannot be dimmed by death. Our flesh may perish,
our hands will wither, but the beauty and goodness and truth they
create live on for all time to come.
生命绝不仅 仅是静止的存在。它是一股不断变化的、不屈不挠的奔流。我们的父母通过我们使生命得到延
续，我们又 通过我们的子女使生命得到延续。我们所确立的习俗制度会历久长存，我们自己也会在其中得
到永生。我 们所崇尚的美不会因为我们的死亡而暗淡。我们的肉体会腐朽，我们的双手会枯萎，但我们用
双手创造的 美、善和真将永存不朽。close
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15
RT Don't spend and waste your lives accumulating objects that will
only turn to dust and ashes. Pursue not so much the material as the
ideal, for ideals alone invest life with meaning and are of enduring
worth.
不要把生命耗费在聚敛财物上，这些财物终究会变为 尘埃，化为乌有。与其追求物质，还不如追求理想，
因为只有理想才能使生命充满意义，只有理想才具有 永存的价值。close
16
RT Add love to a house and you have a home. Add righteousness to
a city and you have a community. Add truth to a pile of red brick and
you have a school. Add justice to the far-flung round of human
endeavor and you have civilization. Put them all together, elevate them
above their present imperfections, add to them the vision of
humankind redeemed, forever free of need and conflict and you have a
future lighted with the radiant colors of hope.
给房子赋予爱你就有了家。让一座城市充 满道义，你就有了一个社区。在一堆红砖里赋予真理你就有了学
校。在人们长期的努力奋斗中加上正义， 你就有了文明。把这一切都聚集起来，加以提升，使之超越现存
的缺陷，再加上人类对得到拯救的憧憬， 永远无求无争，那么你将会有一个闪耀着希望绚烂光彩的未来。
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