走在奔三的路上：30岁女人该学会的7堂人生课

 　　A proper quarterlife crisis involves a certain amount of disillusionment, ennui¹, boredom², fear, anxiety, and growing pains. But those terrifying sounding emotions are the ones that get all the press-how about giving that “growing” some props³ for once?

　　25岁以后，几乎每个人都会经历自我怀疑、情绪不稳、迷茫未来的阶段，这叫做1/4生命危机症候群。1/4生命危机表现为心理的幻灭感，对生活感到倦怠、无聊、恐惧和焦虑的一系列成长烦恼。但正是这些听起来可怕的情绪问题带来了所有的压力：我们如何才能为这些成长烦恼找到情绪支撑和慰藉呢？

　　You Know What Friendship Is

　　友情到底是什么

　　In high school or college, friendship was mostly a matter of geography-who you had classes with or who lived down the hall or joined the same club. Out in the real world for a while, you’ve learned that real friendship is made of tougher and-and dare we say it-better stuff. (Although just wait until you’re in your thirties and everyone’s getting married and having kids…that’s when the real test comes.)在高中或者大学时代，友情其实就是建立在地域之上的：和你一起上课，和你同宿舍，或一起参加了某个社团。而在社会上，你会发现友情的建立会更加困难，甚至会更加物质化。（等你到了30岁，结了婚有了孩子，这才是真正考验友情的时候。）Sunscreen Is Important

　　防晒霜很重要

　　Right around age twenty-five, you start to be able to tell who wears sunscreen and who’s a sun-worshipper-the sunscreeners still have dewy, youthful skin, while the tanners have the beginnings of crows-feet and brown spots. Which group do you want to be in?

　　当你到了25岁左右，你开始能分辨谁擦了防晒霜，谁爱晒太阳了。擦了防晒霜的女人都有一脸水嫩年轻肌肤，而那些爱把皮肤晒成棕褐色的人脸上就开始鱼尾纹和雀斑横生了。你会加入到哪个队列中去呢？

　　You Don't Know Everything

　　你不会通晓一切

　　Ever heard that saying, “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” College makes you feel like you’ve got it all figured out, and that blinds you to the truth-which is that you know so little, you can’t even comprehend how little you know. Luckily, the real world is quite handy at disabusing⁵ you of the notion that you’re a twenty-two-year-old font of wisdom. At work, in relationships… the more experience you get, the more you realize how much more you still have to learn.

　　经常听到人说：“没文化真可怕”。大学文凭让你感觉自己博学多才，而恰恰是这样的想法蒙蔽了真相：其实你什么都不懂，你甚至都还未意识到这一点。幸运地是，这个现实的世界会非常乐意让你明白：你只是个有着22岁头脑的小女孩。在工作中，在恋爱关系中，你经历得越多，你就会越发意识到自己还有那么多东西需要学习。

　　You Can’t Pull Off Every Trend

　　你不可能驾驭所有的流行趋势

　　Skinny jeans, thigh-high boots, hippie headbands, crop tops-you can't win'em all. You’ve learned which ones work and that it's okay to abstain⁶ from the ones that don't.

　　紧身牛仔裤，长筒高跟鞋，嬉皮士头巾以及露脐上衣，你不可能都适合。你需要发现哪种风格适合你，然后明智地丢掉剩下的衣服。

　　Living with Five Roommates Is Terrible

　　和五个朋友合住很恐怖

　　It isn’t one totally awesome⁷ continuous bohemian girl-power slumber⁸ party. It’s just a pain in the ass⁴. You’ve resolved that you’ll share your next apartment with only one other roommate.

　　波西米亚风的睡衣派对不会一直进行着。一群女孩合住一屋实在令人头疼。你必须下定决心，下一次换住处，只能跟一个室友分享公寓。

　　Your Degree is Meaningless

　　文凭一文不值

　　All those hours you fretted⁹ about your major and wondering if it was marketable enough, if your GPA was high enough, and if your extracurriculars were impressive enough…and now you know that most employers just want to see that you’ve completed something. Who cares if it’s a degree in drama or basket-weaving or P.E.? Nobody cares about the particulars of what you did in college, only that you went and finished.

　　大学里，你花了大部分的时间纠结自己的专业课将来是否能很吃香，或者自己的GPA是否够高，社团工作是否做得很赞……而你现在明白了，所有企业看重的是你真正有过什么成就。谁会在乎你是学戏剧还是篮球、家政还是体育呢？没人会关心你的大学细节，他们只关心你参加和完成了的工作。

　　Everyone Compromises

　　每个人都会向现实妥协

　　So you thought you’d ride the powerful wave of your idealism into a job where you’d change the world and find glory? Sometimes you have to take a job because you need health insurance. Sometimes you make the sensible, safe decision instead of the one that you’re passionate¹⁰ about. Sometimes you make allowances in your righteous ideology¹¹ to account for the fact that quite often, life is just about getting through the day. Congratulations-you’re human.

　　是不是认为自己会乘着理想主义的浪潮投身于事业，改变世界找寻成就的光辉？但是现在，你会为了医疗保险而接受某份工作，你会做出很理智而保守的决定，不再随性而定。你会客观公正地让步，因为你明白了人生中最寻常的事实：生活就是度过每一天。恭喜你，你成为了真正的社会人！

 

1 ennui   

n.怠倦，无聊

参考例句：

• Since losing his job,he has often experienced a profound sense of ennui.他自从失业以来，常觉百无聊赖。
• Took up a hobby to relieve the ennui of retirement.养成一种嗜好以消除退休后的无聊。

2 boredom   

n.厌烦，厌倦，乏味，无聊

参考例句：

• Unemployment can drive you mad with boredom.失业会让你无聊得发疯。
• A walkman can relieve the boredom of running.跑步时带着随身听就不那么乏味了。

3 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

4 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

5 disabusing   

v.去除…的错误想法( disabuse的现在分词 )；使醒悟

参考例句：

• They are also of interest in disabusing our minds of the tyranny of certain facile generalizations. 它们还可以使我们的头脑摆脱某些轻率的结论的束缚。 来自辞典例句

6 abstain   

v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免

参考例句：

• His doctor ordered him to abstain from beer and wine.他的医生嘱咐他戒酒。
• Three Conservative MPs abstained in the vote.三位保守党下院议员投了弃权票。

7 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

8 slumber   

n.睡眠，沉睡状态

参考例句：

• All the people in the hotels were wrapped in deep slumber.住在各旅馆里的人都已进入梦乡。
• Don't wake him from his slumber because he needs the rest.不要把他从睡眠中唤醒，因为他需要休息。

9 fretted   

焦躁的，附有弦马的，腐蚀的

参考例句：

• The wind whistled through the twigs and fretted the occasional, dirty-looking crocuses. 寒风穿过枯枝，有时把发脏的藏红花吹刮跑了。 来自英汉文学
• The lady's fame for hitting the mark fretted him. 这位太太看问题深刻的名声在折磨着他。

10 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。

11 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。