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Doctor of Blahology 小改变，大不同

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Dinah is nursing a mug of coffee in the kitchen when Harold, her roommate, comes flying in from his morning run:  戴娜在厨房慢慢喝着咖啡，她的室友哈洛德正好晨跑完飞奔进来：

D: How do you go running like that, morning after morning – don’t you get sick of it?

你怎么能每天那样晨跑──难道你不厌烦吗？

H: How could I? I vary my route each week, so I always see something new. But there’s one thing that’s always the same –

怎么会？我每个礼拜改变路线，所以我都会看到新的东西。但是有一件事是不变的──

D: I’m moping in the kitchen when you get back. I’ve got a serious case of the blahs. Maybe a vacation would cure me.

你回来时我都在厨房擦地板。我有严重的无聊症，也许休个假可以把我治好。

H: Maybe what you really need are minor changes in your life to freshen things up a bit.

也许你真正需要的是在生活中来点小改变，变得有生气一点。

D: But everything just looks so dull. I wouldn’t know where to start –

但是每件事看来都那么无聊，我不知道要从哪里开始…

H: We could start by tweaking our quarters. Move the lamps around to change the atmosphere; you could flex your creative muscles and paint a mural on the wall.

我们可以从改变住的地方开始。移动台灯的位置来改变气氛；你可以在墙上画张壁画，发挥你的创意。

D: When would I find the time? I’m just too busy.

我怎么找得到时间？我就是太忙了。

H: Dinah, that’s the difference between living well and just living. Meeting deadlines and doing chores isn’t what life is all about. You need to make time to enjoy yourself.

戴娜，那就是生活过得好和过得去的差别。赶截止日和做家里的杂事可不是生活的全部。你需要找时间享受生活。

D: So where do I start, Dear Abby?

那我应该从何处着手呢，亲爱的艾比[注]？

H: Well, variety is the spice of life. So let’s start by spicing up your morning routine: tomorrow it’s herbal tea for you!

嗯，变化是生活中的调剂。我们就从你早上的例行事项做点改变开始：明天喝药草茶吧！

[注]：美国报纸上回答读者来信的专栏作家。

Vocabulary

单词发音

nurse [nɝs] v. 慢慢喝; 啜饮  to consume slowly, especially in order to conserve

mug [mʌg] n.（有柄）大杯子；一大杯的量

vary [ˋvɛrɪ] v. 使不同；变更；修改

mop [mɑp] v. 用拖把拖洗

blah [blɑ] adj. 枯燥的; 单调的; 乏味的; n. 空话，大话，废话

freshen [ˋfrɛʃən] up  使…变得焕然一新

dull [dʌl] adj. 乏味的，单调的，令人生厌的

tweak [twik] v. 稍稍调整（机器、系统等）

quarter [ˋkwɔrtɚ] n.(军人、水手、仆人的)住处，宿舍

flex one’s muscles 显示力量(尤指表示警告或自豪) to use or increase your influence or power

meet deadline 赶期限

variety [vəˋraɪətɪ] n. 多样化，变化

spice up 增添情趣，增添趣味  make more interesting or flavorful

Sentence of the Day

He's on the straight and narrow.

他做事中规中矩。

on the straight and narrow 诚实道德的生活方式

课文朗读

课文讲解

A week later, Harold sees Dinah in the living room, with her morning tea, after his run:  一个礼拜后，哈洛德晨跑完，看到戴娜在客厅中喝着早茶。

H: Dinah, What are you doing?

戴娜！你在干嘛？

D: Varying my morning routine; instead of sitting in the kitchen, I’m enjoying our bay windows.

改变我早上的例行事项：我没有坐在厨房里。而是坐在凸窗边享受。

H: Whew – for a moment I thought you’d had a relapse into the doldrums!

呼──我刚刚还以为你又无精打采了。

D: No, I’m happy to say that I’m in remission. Getting started on a new project is just what I need – I expect themural will be finished by the end of the month.

才不是。我很高兴地说我正在康复中。我正需要开始进行一个新的计划──我希望能在月底前完成壁画。

H: But that’s not all you did, Dinah. In order to make time for that, you overhauled your schedule.

但是你做的不只这样而已，戴娜。妳为了挪出时间做那件事，而修改了妳的时间表。

D: Doing less over-time at the office is definitely a welcome relief.

减少在办公室加班绝对是个乐于接受的放松方式。

H: And the perfect fix for a simple case of the blahs. Luckily, you didn’t have doldrums complexus as I did a few years back.

也是个可以解决无聊症的完美办法。你很幸运没有得到我前几年患的「无精打采症」。

D: You’re making that up!

这是你捏造的吧！

H: Only the name – I was once so bored and listless that it took a 180-drgree lifestyle change to cure it.

只有这个词是──我曾经觉得无聊和无精打采，所以将生活方式作了一百八十度的改变，就为了治愈这种病。

D: That’s why you traveled to Europe?

那是你去欧洲旅行的原因？

H: Right. I took a leave of absence, packed my bags and slummed around the continent for six months. I came back completely re-invigorated.

没错。我休了个假，打包行李，然后在欧陆过了六个月的苦日子，回来后元气完全恢复。

D: All it takes is the correct dosage of change to chase the blahs away.

只要改变得法，就可以把无聊赶走。

－by Sandra Walker

Vocabulary

单词发音

bay window 凸窗

whew [hwju] int. 感叹词（表示惊讶、失望、厌恶等）哟，唷

for a moment 片刻，一会儿；霎时之间

relapse [rɪˋlæps] n. 旧病复发

doldrums [ˋdɔldrəmz] n. 忧闷；意志消沉

remission [rɪˋmɪʃən] n.〔疾病的〕减轻; 缓解（期）

mural [ˋmjʊrəl] n. 壁画；壁饰

overhaul [͵ovɚˋhɔl] v. 彻底检修，大修

fix [fɪks] n. 解决方案(或措施)

complexus [kəm'plɛksəs] n.【医】并发症 a complication

listless [ˋlɪstlɪs] adj. 无精打采的，倦怠的；百无聊赖的

leave of absence 准假(尤指准予离开公职或军务者)

slum [slʌm] v. 体验下层社会的生活

invigorated [ɪnˋvɪgə͵retɪd] adj. 生气勃勃的；精力充沛的

chase away 赶走,驱逐  force to go away

Sentence of the Day

She turned over a new leaf.

她洗心革面，重新做人。

turn over a new leaf 重新开始；改过自新