TED | 读书能打开心灵之窗

北极光翻译 2023-11-03

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How books can open your mind

读书能打开心灵之窗

So I was trained to become a gymnast for two years in Hunan, China in the 1970s. When I was in the first grade, the government wanted to transfer me to a school for athletes, all expenses paid.But my tiger mother said, "No." My parents wanted me to become an engineer like them. After surviving the Cultural Revolution, they firmly believed there's only one sure way to happiness: a safe and well-paid job. Itis not important if I like the job or not.

七十年代时我在中国湖南练过两年体操。七十年代时我在中国湖南练过两年体操。当我上小学一年级时，政府想让我转学去体校，当我上小学一年级时，政府想让我转学去体校，一切免费。我那位虎妈说“不行”。我父母希望我长大象他们一样当工程师。我父母希望我长大象他们一样当工程师。作为文革的幸存者，他们坚定认为获得幸福的唯一可靠途径是一个安定高薪的工作，至于我喜不喜欢那个工作并不重要。

But my dream was to become a Chinese opera singer. That is me playing my imaginary piano. An opera singer must start training young to learn acrobatics, so I tried everything I could to go to opera school. I even wrote to the school principal and the host of a radio show. But no adults liked the idea. No adults believed I was serious. Only my friends supported me, but they were kids, just as powerless as I was. So at age15, I knew I was too old to be trained. My dream would never come true. I was afraid that for the rest of my life some second-class happiness would be the best I could hope for.

但我的梦想是成为黄梅戏演员。那是我在弹假想的钢琴。戏曲演员必须从小开始学身段功夫，戏曲演员必须从小开始学身段功夫，我想尽了一切办法想去黄梅戏学校，甚至写信给戏校校长和一个电台节目主持人。但没有一个大人喜欢那个主意，没有一个大人相信我是认真的。只有我的小伙伴们支持我，但他们也是小孩，和我一样无能为力。十五岁时，我知道自己要学戏已经年纪太大，我的梦想已不再可能实现。我担心在余下的一生里，自己的命就是得到些二流幸福而已。自己的命就是得到些二流幸福而已。

But that's so unfair. So I was determined to find another calling. Nobody around to teach me? Fine. I turned to books.

老天不公啊！我暗下决心要为自己寻找另一个使命。周围无人赐教？没什么大不了，我从书中学习。

I satisfied my hunger for parental advice from this book by a family of writers and musicians. ["Correspondence in the Family of Fou Lei"]

《傅雷家书》满足了我对长辈教诲的期盼，写书的傅家是一个作家、音乐家荟萃的家庭。

I found my role model of an independent woman when Confucian tradition requires obedience. ["Jane Eyre"]

我从《简爱》这本书中找到了独立女性的榜样，尽管儒家传统教人听话顺从。

And I learned to be efficient from this book. ["Cheaper by the Dozen"]

我从《效率专家爸爸》这本书中学会高效率。

And I was inspired to study abroad after reading these.

这几本书燃起了我对出国深造的渴望。

["Complete Works of Sanmao" (aka Echo Chan)] ["Lessons From History" by Nan Huaijin]

（《三毛全集》、南怀瑾的《历史的经验》）