英语听力短文：生活理论半对半

英语听力短文：生活理论半对半 【The 50-Percent Theory of Life 生活理论半对半 】 The 50-Percent Theory of Life I believe in the 50-percent theory. Half the time things are better than normal; the other half, they re worse. I believe life is a pendulum swing. It takes time and experience to understand what normal is, and that gives me the perspective to deal with the surprises of the future. Lets benchmark the parameters： yes, I will die. Ive dealt with the deaths of both parents, a best friend, a beloved boss and cherished pets. Some of these deaths have been violent, before my eyes, or slow and agonizing. Bad stuff, and it belongs at the bottom of the scale. Then there are those high points： romance and marriage to the right person; having a child and doing those Dad things like coaching my sons baseball team, paddling around the creek in the boat while hes swimming with the dogs, discovering his compassion so deep it manifests even in his kindness to snails, his imagination so vivid he builds a spaceship from a scattered pile of Legos. But there is a vast meadow of life in the middle, where the bad and the good flip-flop acrobatically. This is what convinces me to believe in the 50-percent theory. One spring I planted corn too early in a bottomland so flood-prone that neighbors laughed. I felt chagrined at the wasted effort. Summer turned brutal-the worst heat wave and drought in my lifetime. The air-conditioned died; the well went dry; the marriage ended; the job lost; the money gone. I was living lyrics from a country tune-music I loathed. Only a surging Kansas City Royals team buoyed my spirits. Looking back on that horrible summer, I soon understood that all succeeding good things merely offset the bad. Worse than normal wouldnt last long. I am owed and savor the halcyon times. The reinvigorate me for the next nasty surprise and offer assurance that can thrive. The 50-percent theory even helps me see hope beyond my Royals recent slump, a field of struggling rookies sown so that some year soon we can reap an October harvest. For that on blistering summer, the ground moisture was just right, planting early allowed pollination before heat withered the tops, and the lack of rain spared the standing corn from floods. That winter my crib overflowed with corn-fat, healthy three-to-a-stalk ears filled with kernels from heel to tip-while my neighbors fields yielded only brown, empty husks. Although plantings past may have fallen below the 50-percent expectation, and they probably will again in the future, I am still sustained by the crop that flourishes during the drought. 译文： 生活理论半对半 我信奉对半理论。生活时而无比顺畅，时而倒霉透顶。我觉得生活就像来回摆的钟摆。读懂生活的常态需要时间和阅历，而读懂它也练就了我面对未来的生活态度。 让我们确定一下好坏的标准：是的，我注定会死去。我已经经历了双亲，一位好友，一位敬爱的老板和心爱宠物的死亡。有些突如其来，近在眼前，有些却缓慢痛苦。这些都是糟糕的事情，它们属于最坏的部分。 生活中也不乏高潮：坠入爱河缔结良缘；身为人父养育幼子，诸如训练指导儿子的棒球队，当他和狗在小河中嬉戏时摇桨划船，感受他如此强烈的同情心-即使对蜗牛也善待有加，发现他如此丰富的想象力-即使用零散的乐高玩具积木也能堆出太空飞船。 但在生活与最坏部分之间有一片巨大的中间地带，其间各种好事坏事像耍杂技一样上下翻滚，轮番出现。这就是让我信服对半理论的原因。 有一年奏，我在一块洼地上过早地种上了玉米。那块地极易遭到水淹，所以邻居们都嘲笑我。我为浪费了精力而感到懊恼。没想到夏天更为残酷-我经历了最糟糕的热浪和干旱。空调坏了，进干了，婚姻破裂了，工作丢了，钱也没有。我正经历着某首乡村歌曲中描绘的情节，我讨厌这种音乐，只有刚出道不久的堪萨斯皇家棒球队能鼓舞我的精神。 回首那个糟糕的夏天，我很快就明白了，所有后来出现的好事只不过与坏事相互抵消。比一般情况糟糕的境遇不会延宕过久；而太平时光是我应得的，我要尽情享受，它们为我注入活力以应对下一个险情，并确保我能够兴旺发达。对半理论甚至协助我在堪萨斯皇家棒球队最近的低潮中看到希望-这是一快艰难行进的新手们耕耘的土地，只要播种了，假以时日我们就能够收获十月的金秋。 那个夏天天气酷热，地而湿度适宜，提早播种就能够在热浪打蔫植尖之前完成授粉，同于干旱更没有爆发洪水，产在田里的玉米得以保存。所以那个冬天我的粮仓堆满了玉米-丰满，健康，一颗三穗且从头到脚都是饱满的玉米粒的玉米穗-而我的邻居们收获的仅仅晒黑的空壳。 即使过去的播种可能没有达到50%的收获期望，而且将来也可能是这样，但我仍然能靠着在旱季繁茂生长的庄稼而生存下去。 【What is Your Recovery Rate? 你的恢复速率是多少？】 What is Your Recovery Rate? What is your recovery rate? How long does it take you to recover from actions and behaviors that upset you? Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks? The longer it takes you to recover, the more influence that incident has on your actions, and the less able you are to perform to your personal best. In a nutshell, the longer it takes you to recover, the weaker you are and the poorer your performance. You are well aware that you need to exercise to keep the body fit and, no doubt, accept that a reasonable measure of health is the speed in which your heart and respiratory system recovers after exercise. Likewise the faster you let go of an issue that upsets you, the faster you return to an equilibrium, the healthier you will be. The best example of this behavior is found with professional sportspeople. They know that the faster they can forget an incident or missd opportunity and get on with the game, the better their performance. In fact, most measure the time it takes them to overcome and forget an incident in a game and most reckon a recovery rate of 30 seconds is too long! Imagine yourself to be an actor in a play on the stage. Your aim is to play your part to the best of your ability. You have been given a scr ipt and at the end of each sentence is a ful stop. Each time you get to the end of the sentence you start a new one and although the next sentence is related to the last it is not affected by it. Your job is to deliver each sentence to the best of your ability. Dont live your life in the past! Learn to live in the present, to overcome the past. Stop the past from influencing your daily life. Dont allow thoughts of the past to reduce your personal best. Stop the past from interfering with your life. Learn to recover quickly. Remember： Rome wasnt built in a day. Reflect on your recovery rate each day. Every day before you go to bed, look at your progress. Dont lie in bed saying to you, “I did that wrong.” “I should have done better there.” No. look at your day and note when you made an effort to place a full stop after an incident. This is a success. You are taking control of your life. Remember this is a step by step process. This is not a make-over. You are undertaking real change here. Your aim： reduce the time spent in recovery. The way forward? Live in the present. Not in the precedent. 译文： 你的恢复速率是多少？ 你的恢复速率是多少？你需要多长时间才能从让你烦恼的行为中恢复？几分钟？几小时？几天？几星期？你需要的恢复时间越长，那个事件对你的影响越大，你也就越不能做到。简言之，你的恢复时间越长，你就越软弱，你的表现也就越差劲。 你充分意识到，要保持身体健康你需要锻炼，并且你无疑会接受，你的心脏和呼吸系统在锻炼后的恢复速度是衡量健康的一个合理尺度。同样，你越快摆脱使你烦恼的问题，越快恢复平静，你就越健康。此类行为的典范是专业运动员。他们知道，越快忘记一件事或失去的机会而好好比赛，他们的发挥就越好。实际上，绝大部分运动员会佰自己克服并忘记比赛中一个事件所需的时间，而且绝大部分人都认为30秒的恢复时间太长了！ 想象自己是一位站在舞台上的戏剧赏。你的目标是尽全力扮演好你的角色。你已经拿到了剧本，而剧本中的每句话都以句号结尾。每次你念到一个句子的末尾，你就会开始一个新的句子。即使下一句和上一句相关联，但并不受它的影响。你的工作是尽力说好每句台词。 不要生活在过去！要学会生活在现在，学会克服过去；不要让过去影响你的日常生活；不要让过去的思想妨碍你做到；不要让过去干扰你的生活；学会快速恢复。 记住，罗马不是一日建成的。每天都反思自己的恢复速率；每天上床睡觉前，都看看自己的进步；不要躺在床上对自己说：“我那个做错了。”“我应该做到更好。”不要那样做；回想自己的一天，并注意努力给某个事件画上句号的时刻。这就是一个成功，你在控制自己的生活。记住这是一个循序渐进的过程。这不是简单的修修补补。你正在实行的是真正的改变，你的目标是减少用在恢复上的时间。 将来该怎么做呢？ 生活在现在，而不是从前。 【Clear Your Mental Space 清理心灵的空间 】 Clear Your Mental Space Think about the last time you felt a negative emotion-like stress, anger, or frustration. What was going through your mind as you were going through that negativity? Was your mind cluttered with thoughts? Or was it paralyzed, unable to think? The next time you find yourself in the middle of a very stressful time, or you feel angry or frustrated, stop. Yes, thats right, stop. Whatever youre doing, stop and sit for one minute. While youre sitting there, completely immerse yourself in the negative emotion. Allow that emotion to consume you. Allow yourself one minute to truly feel that emotion. Dont cheat yourself here. Take the entire minute-but only one minute-to do nothing else but feel that emotion. When the minute is over, ask yourself, “Am I wiling to keep holding on to this negative emotion as I go through the rest of the day?” Once youve allowed yourself to be totally immersed in the emotion and really fell it, you will be surprised to find that the emotion clears rather quickly. If you feel you need to hold on to the emotion for a little longer, that is OK. Allow yourself another minute to feel the emotion. When you feel youve had enough of the emotion, ask yourself if youre willing to carry that negativity with you for the rest of the day. If not, take a deep breath. As you exhale, release all that negativity with your breath. This exercise seems simple-almost too simple. But, it is very effective. By allowing that negative emotion the space to be truly felt, you are dealing with the emotion rather than stuffing it down and trying not to feel it. You are actually taking away the power of the emotion by giving it the space and attention it needs. When you immerse yourself in the emotion, and realize that it is only emotion, it loses its control. You can clear your head and proceed with your task. Try it. Next time youre in the middle of a negative emotion, give yourself the space to feel the emotion and see what happens. Keep a piece of paper with you that says the following： Stop. Immerse for one minute. Do I want to keep this negativity? Breath deep, exhale, release. Move on! This will remind you of the steps to the process. Remember; take the time you need to really immerse yourself i