Don‘t Cry Over Spilt Milk

Okay, who here has never made a mistake?

好吧，这是谁从未犯错？

The answer is, of course, no one.

答案当然是没人。

Mistakes are not just a fact of life, they are an important part of the learning process. However, regretting our mistakes day in and day out is not healthy. We need to learn from them and then move on.

错误不仅是生活中的事实，而且是学习过程中的重要组成部分。但是，日复一日地后悔我们的错误是不健康的。我们需要向他们学习，然后继续前进。

But do not take my word for it. One of America’s most famous and influential writers and thinkers, Ralph Waldo Emerson, said it much better than I can.

但是，请不要相信我。拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson）是美国最著名，最有影响力的作家和思想家之一，他说的比我好得多。

Before we hear his famous statement, let’s talk about some words he used in it.

在我们听到他的著名言论之前，让我们谈谈他在其中使用的一些单词。

When Emerson says “blunders and absurdities,” he simply means mistakes. To do something filled with peaceful feelings is to do something “serenely.” However, to be “encumbered” is the opposite. This means to be heavy and loaded down with things. To Emerson, those “things” are past mistakes, or as he calls them “your old nonsense.”

当爱默生说“错误和荒谬”时，他仅表示错误。做些充满和平感的事情就是“安静地”做某事。但是，被“阻碍”是相反的。这意味着沉重的负担。对艾默生而言，这些“东西”是过去的错误，或者被他称为“您的废话”

Now, here’s Bryan Lynn reading Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous quote.

现在，这里是布莱恩·林恩（Bryan Lynn）在阅读拉尔夫·沃尔多·爱默生（Ralph Waldo Emerson）的名言。

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.”

“每天完成它。您已经尽力了。毫无疑问，一些错误和荒谬悄悄蔓延。尽快将它们忘记。明天是新的一天。您应该安详地开始，并且要有高昂的精神，以至于无法忍受您过去的胡言乱语。”

To this day, many people use this quote to remind themselves not to dwell in the past. When we dwell on something, we think about it constantly. It becomes a distraction and keeps us from moving forward.

时至今日，许多人使用此引述来提醒自己不要沉迷于过去。当我们专注于某些事物时，我们会不断地思考它。它变得分心，使我们无法前进。

Now, this famous quote is useful, but it is a bit long. Perhaps you would rather use a shorter, food-related idiom to help you move on and forget your past mistakes.

现在，这个著名的引用很有用，但是有点长。也许您宁愿使用一个简短的，与食物有关的习语来帮助您继续前进，并忘记过去的错误。

In that case you can say, “Don’t cry over spilt milk.”

在这种情况下，您可以说：“不要为溢出（打翻）的牛奶而哭泣。”

Well, you broke my heart (broke my heart),

好吧，你伤了我的心

When you said ‘goodbye’ (said goodbye)

当您说“再见”时

But now the milk’s been spilt and you’re going to cry.

但是现在牛奶已经倒了，你要哭了。

Early in the morning, you’re going to know that I was right...oh yeah...

清晨，您将知道我是对的...哦，是的...

When we “cry over spilt milk,” we are upset or sad about something bad we have done that cannot be undone. This is another way of saying, “What’s done is done. You cannot change the past. So stop thinking about it.” If you spill milk, you cannot gather it back up and put it back in the container.

当我们“为溢出（打翻）的牛奶哭泣”时，我们对所做的无法挽回的坏事感到沮丧或悲伤。这是另一种说法，“已经完成了。您无法改变过去。因此，不要再考虑了。” 如果您打翻牛奶，则无法将其收集起来并放回容器中。

We usually use the expression this way: “There's no use crying over spilled milk.” “Spilled” or “spilt” are both okay. Some say, this expression was first used in the mid-1600s in England. Back then, the expression was “no weeping for shed milk.”

我们通常以这种方式使用该表达方式：“对打翻的牛奶哭泣是没有用的。” “Spilled”或“spilt”都可以。有人说，这种说法最早是在1600年代中期在英格兰使用的。当时的表达是“不为流下的牛奶而哭泣”。

If old quotes and food expressions are still not working for you, there are other ways to state this idea.

如果旧的表述和食物表达方式仍然不适合您，则可以使用其他方法来表达此想法

Let’s say past regrets continue to trouble your boss. You can use a word we heard earlier – dwell. You might tell your boss: “Don’t dwell on the past. You cannot change it, so why worry about it? You must move on and look toward the future.”

假设过去的遗憾继续困扰着您的老板。您可以使用我们之前听到的一个单词-"dwell"。您可以告诉老板：“不要沉迷于过去。您无法更改它，那么为什么要担心它呢？您必须继续前进，展望未来。”

This is all very polite. And the word “dwell” works well here as it is somewhat formal. It’s good for a pep talk with your boss.

这一切都是很有礼貌的。“dwell”一词在这里用得很好，因为它有点正式。与老板进行鼓舞士气的谈话是一件好事。

But what if one of your close friends is having the same kind of problem? What if this friend has been stuck in the past for far too long? They need a very different type of pep talk. It may be time for you to tell your friend, “Get over it!”

但是，如果您的一位密友遇到同样的问题怎么办？如果这个朋友过去被困了太久怎么办？他们需要一种非常不同的鼓舞士气的讲话。您可能是时候告诉您的朋友“克服它！”

Now, this could sound rude. After all, it is a wake-up call, a warning to change for the better. And those can be hard for people to hear and accept. But if someone has been crying over spilt milk for months, or even years, a wake-up call is necessary.

现在，这话听起来很粗鲁。毕竟，这是一个唤醒电话，警告要变得更好。这些可能很难让人听进去和接受。但是，如果有人因打翻的牛奶而哭泣了几个月甚至几年，那么就必须要有一个叫醒服务。

Words in This Story

blunder 美 [ˈblʌndər]  n. 愚蠢（或粗心）的错误 v. 犯大错
absurdity 美 [əbˈsɜːrdəti]  n. 荒谬；谬论；荒谬的言行
serenely 美 [səˈriːnli] adv. 安详地；沉着地；宁静地
encumber 美 [ɪnˈkʌmbər] vt. 阻塞；妨害；拖累
opposite 美 [ˈɑːpəzɪt]adj. 相反的；对面的；对立的 n. 对立面；反义词 prep. 在…的对面 adv. 在对面
nonsense 美 [ˈnɑːnsens,ˈnɑːnsns] n. 胡说；废话 adj. 荒谬的 int. 胡说！
crept in (creep in )悄悄混进,渐渐产生
constantly 美 [ˈkɑːnstəntli] adv. 不断地；时常地
distraction 美 [dɪˈstrækʃn] n. 注意力分散；消遣；心烦意乱
upset vt. 使心烦；颠覆；扰乱 vi. 翻倒 adj. 心烦的；混乱的；弄翻的 n. 混乱；翻倒；颠覆
gather  美 [ˈɡæðər] vt. 收集；收割；使…聚集；使…皱起 vi. 聚集；化脓；皱起 n. 聚集； 
expression 美 [ɪkˈspreʃn]  n. 表现，表示，表达；表情，脸色，态度；
dwell 美 [dwel]  vi. 居住；存在于；细想某事
stuck in [stick] in 美 [stɪk] vt. 刺，戳；伸出；粘贴 vi. 坚持；伸出；粘住

regret – 美[rɪˈɡret] 感到遗憾; 惋惜; 懊悔 v. to feel sad or sorry about (something that you did or did not do)
quote – 美[kwoʊt] 引用; 引述; 举例说明; 开价 n. something that a person says or writes that is repeated or used by someone else in another piece of writing or a speech
distraction 美[dɪˈstrækʃn] 分散注意力的事; 使人分心的事; – n. an object that directs one's attention away from something else
idiom – 美[ˈɪdiəm] 习语; 成语; 惯用语; n. an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own
polite – adj. having or showing good manners or respect for other people : socially correct or proper
formal – 美[ˈfɔːrml] 适合正式场合的; 正规的; 庄重的; 正式的; 合乎规矩的;adj. requiring proper clothing and manners
pep talk – n. a usually brief, intense, and emotional talk designed to influence or encourage someone
rude – adj. not having or showing concern or respect for the rights and feelings of other people : not polite
wake-up call – n. something that serves to alert a person to a problem, danger, or need