给未来的自己

1、给未来的自己When Charles Lee handed me the small red notebook in 1974， he changed my life. “ While you are traveling ， you should keep notes on the things you see and do ，”he explained.I was 20 years old， a junior in college ， spending a semester at the University of London. Charles was a retired travelin

2、g salesman. I was staying with him in his cottage in Kendal， located in the Lake District of northern England.1 It was a one-week homestay2 the university arranged for us before classes began.“ You are young and doing a lot of exciting things ，” Charles said. “ It seems as though you will always rem

3、ember these things ， but I promise ， you will forget them if you don t write them down. ”I took his advice. I wrote in the notebook every day during the homestay. Back in London ， I recorded weekend trips to Wales，Yorkshire， 3 France， and Spain. I commented on my classes， professors， and classmates.

4、 I contrasted my life at a small college in western Nebraska with my wandering through the streets of London ， my introduction to life in a big city ， my initial travels outside the United States.4 I tracked5 ideas I had about my life and my future.When I wrote in the notebook ， I struggled with a s

5、ense of my audience and purpose. Who would read this ？ Were these writings just for me ， or did I want others to read them ？ Was I recording events and ideas just as a prompt6 to memory ， or was there some larger purpose for this daily exercise ？I developed a sense of vision7 for the task. I was rec

6、ording events ， thoughts ， words that were important to my life. I imagined a future me sitting down to read the pages. I wondered what it would feel like to read those words later. I wondered where I would be ， what my life would be like.I filled the notebook Charles gave me. I bought a new one and

7、 filled it. Then another and another. I continued writing in notebooks for four decades. By that time ， they filled two boxes in my garage.I had reread some of the journals. Specific volumes had provided me with the background I needed for dozens of articles for magazines and newspapers.8 But I had

8、never read them all.Recently， I decided to bring my collection of notebooks into my office and replay my life. As I opened the first box ， I suddenly became nervous. Would I like the former me portrayed on those pages ？ There was a risk in opening that first notebook. I did it anyway.Charles had bee

9、n right. I remembered the big events ， the central happenings ， but on each page were details I hadn t retained9.The pages revealed highlights from collegeclasses and stories about roommates and friends.10 I read anxious comments Id written as Id launched my teaching career， learned to write lesson

10、plans ， assigned grades for student work ， and solved discipline problems.11 I reflected on my coming marriage ， then the wedding ， and eventually the proud moments when I held each of our three daughters. I recounted more trips returning to Europe ， teaching in South America ， taking a photo safari

11、 in Africa ， exploring Greenland.12 I relived memories of trails hiked ， rivers paddled13 ， mountains climbed ， dreams shared.The writings in those journals framed14 my life. I hadn t written every day. I often skipped a few days or even weeks ， but I always picked up the writing when it felt import

12、ant. Journals went with me when I traveled ， and I often wrote in them at school when my own students were writing. I modeled the behavior I wanted my students to perform.15 I encouraged them to keep journals of their own ， passing on the lesson Charles had given me.These writings formed a continuou

13、s thread through events in my life ， a connection between my own past ， present ， and future.16 They gave me the chance to record my life ， sort out17 my thoughts and emotions ， play with ideas ， see patterns and themes in my experience ， decide what was important to me and what was not.It took seve

14、ral long evenings to read through the notebooks ， taking me on a retrospective tour spanning 42 years.18 As I read， I could recall sitting on a bench in Trafalgar Square in London， in our apartment in Peru ， on a mountaintop in Wyoming ， 19 writing to the future me. It was then I realized ： I am now

15、 the person I was writing to throughout those years.1. cottage : ?l村小屋；Kendal:肯德尔，是英格兰湖区 南部的一个小镇； Lake District ： 英格兰湖区， 位于英格兰西 北海岸，因其湖光山色和湖畔诗人（尤其是华兹华斯）而闻 名。2. homestay : 寄宿家庭， 为外国留学生提供住房和基本生活设施的服务。寄宿家庭在发达国家已经有很长时间历史，主要是为了帮助外国留学生解决住宿问题，提高外语水平，更好地融入当地社会3. Wales： 威尔士，位于英国西南部，东临英格兰； Yorkshire： 约克郡，位于英格

16、兰东北部，是英国重要的文化 之乡。4. 我在伦敦街头漫无目的的闲逛、 我第一次在大城市中 的生活以及我走出美国的最初几次旅行我把当下的生 活与之前在内布拉斯加州西部一所很小的大学中的生活做 了对比。 Nebraska： 内布拉斯加州，美国中西部大平原区的 一个州。5. track ： 跟踪（表现或进展情况） 。6. prompt ： 提示，提醒。7. vision ： 构想，远见。8. 某几本特定的日记还为我的数十篇报刊投稿提供了 所需的背景材料。 volume ：（书的）一本，一册。此处指代 作者这些年来写满的很多个日记本。9. retain ： 记住。10. reveal ： 展现，显露； highlight ：最突出（精彩）的 场面。11. 我读着自己刚刚步入教师行列时写下的种种焦虑： 学习写教学计划、给学生作业打分，还有解决纪律问题。 launch ： 开始从事； assign： 分配，分派。12. recount: 叙述，描述；safari:（尤指在非洲的）野 外观兽旅行； Greenland ： 格陵兰， 全境大部分在北极圈内， 气候寒冷，隔海峡与冰岛和加拿大两国相望。13. paddle ： 用桨划（小船） 。14. fram