高尔夫球、沙子、咖啡与人生

⊙ By Jess Lively

翻译：蓝蓝

高尔夫球、沙子、咖啡与人生

⊙ By Jess Lively

翻译：蓝蓝

你经常有事情太多、时间太少、日子太快、生活太忙的焦虑吗？来，深呼吸，别被千头万绪的生活吓着了，先从找到你的“高尔夫球”开始吧！

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he picked up a large, empty jar and filled it with golf balls.

He asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor picked up a box of2)pebbles and poured it into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a3)unanimous yes.

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured them into the jar, filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things∶family, children, health, friends, and favorite4)passions. Things, that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the things that matter, like your job, house, and car. The sand is everything else—the small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all of your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. So pay attention to the things that are5)critical to your happiness. Take care of the golf balls first. Set your6)priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One student raised her hand and asked what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.”

一名教授在哲学课的学生面前摆出几样东西。开始上课了，教授拿起一个大大的空罐子，往里面装满高尔夫球。

他问大家罐子满不满，学生们都说满了。

教授拿起一盒鹅卵石，把石头倒进罐子里。他轻轻地摇了摇罐子，鹅卵石便滚到高尔夫球之间的空隙里去了。

他又问大家罐子满不满，学生们都说满了。

教授接着拿起一盒沙子，把沙子倒进罐子里。自然，沙子填满了剩下的空隙。

他再次问大家罐子满不满，学生们一致表示已经满了。

然后，教授从讲台底下拿出了两杯咖啡，将咖啡全倒进罐子里，这下连沙子之间的小缝隙都被填满了。学生们不禁哄堂大笑。

“现在，”教授说，“我希望你们能认识到这么一点——这个罐子就象征着你们的人生。高尔夫球就是那些重要的事情：家庭、孩子、健康、朋友，以及你们最热爱的东西。哪怕你们失去了其他的一切，人生里只剩下这些事情，你们的人生依然是充实完整的。鹅卵石就是那些要紧的事情，比如工作、房子、车子。沙子就是剩下的其他事情——各种小事。”

“如果你们先把沙子倒进罐子，里面就没有空间再装鹅卵石或者高尔夫球了——人生也是如此。如果将所有的时间和精力都花在小事上，你就没有办法顾及那些对你来说真正重要的东西。所以，要将重点放在那些和你的幸福息息相关的事情上。首先处理好‘高尔夫球’，确定你的优先项。剩下的那些，不过是‘沙子’而已。”

一名学生举起手来，问教授咖啡代表着什么。

教授笑着回答：“我很高兴你问到了这一点。这只是告诉你们，无论生活看起来有多充实忙碌，你们总能腾出点时间来，和朋友喝上一杯咖啡呢。”

1) golf [ɡɒlf] n. 高尔夫球

2) pebble [΄peb(ə)l] n. 卵石，石子

3) unanimous [juː΄nænIməs] adj. 全体一致的，无异议的

4) passion [΄pæʃ(ə)n] n. 强烈爱好

5) critical [΄krItIk(ə)l] adj. 紧要的，关键性的

6) priority [praI΄ɒrItI] n. 优先度

无论是produce、stuff还是room，都是大家早就学过的单词了。但是，如果认真读读文中的句子，你会发现之前学过的词义在这里解释不通。事实上，英语学习者遇到的很多常用“生词”，并不是因为大家没见过，而是因为它们在实际对话中可以表达各种不同的含义。比如这里的produce，你能够通过上下文推测出它的含义吗？那么stuff和room呢？大家可以先根据语境对生词进行推测，再用词典找到最合适的词义，对照译文加深理解——通过这样的方法，你的词汇量就会慢慢累积起来咯！