【每天读一点英文：生而为赢Born to Win英文经典短文】gnuhpc注释版: The 50-Percent Theory of Life 生活理论半对半

The 50-Percent Theory of Life

I believe in the 50-percent theory. Half the time things are better than normal; the other half, they are worse. I believe life is a pendulum (['pen·du·lum || 'pendʒələm /-jʊl-]n.  钟摆, 摇锤) swing. It takes time and experience to understand what normal is, and that gives me the perspective to deal with the surprises of the future.

 

Let’s benchmark (检测) the parameters: yes, I will die. I’ve dealt with the deaths of both parents, a best friend, a beloved boss and cherished pets. Some of these deaths have been violent, before my eyes, or slow and agonizing('ag·o·niz·ing || 'ægənaɪzɪŋ]adj.  令人苦闷的; 令人痛苦难忍的; 令人烦恼的). Bad stuff, and it belongs at the bottom of the scale.

 

Then there are those high points: romance and marriage to the right person; having a child and doing those Dad things like coaching my son’s baseball team, paddling around the creek( [kriːk]n.  小河, 溪; 小湾, 小港) in the boat while he’s swimming with the dogs, discovering his compassion so deep it manifests even in his kindness to snails, his imagination so vivid he builds a spaceship from a scattered pile of Legos(乐高积木).

 

But there is a vast meadow（[mead·ow || 'medəʊ]n.  草地; 牧场） of life in the middle, where the bad and the good flip-flop acrobatically（但在生活最好与最坏部分之间有一片巨大的中间地带，其间各种好事坏事像耍杂技一样上下翻滚，轮番出现。）. This is what convinces me to believe in the 50-percent theory.

 

One spring I planted corn too early in a bottomland （ [;'bɑtəmlænd]   n. 洼地，滩地，泛滥地） so flood-prone that neighbors laughed. I felt chagrined（adj. 失望的，灰心的） at the wasted effort. Summer turned brutal---the worst heat wave and drought in my lifetime. The air-conditioned died; the well went dry; the marriage ended; the job lost; the money gone. I was living lyrics from a country tune---music I loathed（[ləʊð]v.  厌恶; 憎恶）. Only a surging Kansas City Royals team buoyed（ v.  使浮起; 鼓励; 支撑） my spirits.

 

Looking back on that horrible summer, I soon understood that all succeeding good things merely offset（抵销） the bad. Worse than normal wouldn’t last long. I am owed and savor the halcyon（[hal·cy·on || 'hælsɪən]adj.  平静的; 幸福美好的; 宁静的） times. The reinvigorate(使再振作) me for the next nasty surprise and offer assurance that can thrive. The 50-percent theory even helps me see hope beyond my Royals’ recent slump, a field of struggling rookies sown so that some year soon we can reap([rɪːp]v.  收割) an October harvest.

 

For that on blistering(酷热的) summer, the ground moisture was just right, planting early allowed pollination( n.  授粉) before heat withered the tops, and the lack of rain spared the standing corn from floods. That winter my crib overflowed (充满) with corn---fat, healthy three-to-a-stalk (n. 茎，梗) ears filled with kernels from heel to tip---while my neighbors’ fields yielded only brown, empty husks(n.  外壳; 无价值之物; 皮) .

 

 

Although plantings past may have fallen below the 50-percent expectation , and they probably will again in the future, I am still sustained by the crop that flourishes during the drought.

 

1.pendulum n. 摆,钟摆

例句：
The pendulum of the clock in my room is a bear.
我房间的钟摆是小熊形状的。

2.parameter n. 参数,参量

例句：
We have to work within the parameters of time and budget.
我们工作受时间和财力所限.

3.paddle n. 桨,划桨,明轮翼 v. 划桨,戏水,抚弄

例句：
She lay at the side of the pool and paddled in the water with her fingers.
她躺在池子边上，用手指玩水。

4.bottomland n.<美>(河边)低洼地,滩地(洪水受淹地)

例句：
The crops flourished in the rich bottomland.
作物在肥沃的河岸低地生长繁茂。

5.buoy n. 浮标,浮筒,救生圈 v. 使...浮,支撑

例句：
We felt buoyed up by the good news.
我们觉得这个好消息很令人鼓舞。

6.halcyon n. 想像中的一种鸟,形同翠鸟,翠鸟 adj. 宁静的,平稳的

例句：
Those were the halcyon days of Athens (fifth century BC) when she produced her finest poetry and drama, architecture and sculpture.
公元5世纪为雅典的太平盛世。雅典最优秀的诗歌、戏剧、建筑和雕刻均产生于这一时期。

7.reinvigorate vt.使再活跃, 使恢复生气, 使重新振作, 使恢复精神

例句：
We shall adopt various forms to set free and reinvigorate the state-owned medium and small-sized enterprises, standardize the operations and pay attention to the actual effect.
采取多种形式放开搞活国有中小企业，规范操作，注重实效。

8.blistering adj.使起疱的,恶毒的; 激烈的

例句：
The runners set off at a blistering pace.
赛跑者以极高的速度起跑。

9.pollination n. 授粉

例句：
Fertilization resulting from pollination among flowers of the same plant.
同系交配在同株植物的不同花朵上进行的摄粉作用

10.kernel n. 核心,中心,精髓

例句：
The edible kernel of a nut.
核仁坚果的可食的仁。

1.It takes time and experience to understand what normal is, and that gives me the perspective to deal with the surprises of the future.

【参考译文】读懂生活的常态需要时间和阅历，而读懂它也练就了我面对未来的生活态度。

【结构解析】“normal”指的是“normal life”，"that"指“to understand what normal is”。

2.discovering his compassion so deep it manifests even in his kindness to snails, his imagination so vivid he builds a spaceship from a scattered pile of Legos.

【参考译文】感受他如此强烈的同情心-即使对蜗牛也善待有加，发现他如此丰富的想象力-即使用零散的乐高玩具积木也能堆出太空飞船。

【结构解析】“it manifests”前面省略了"that"，“he builds”前面也省略了“that”，两个句子都是"so...that"结构。