1、急于求成的社會(huì)Quick Fix Society詹妮特曼德?tīng)柛甑滤固笿anet Mendell Goldstein我和老公在西弗吉尼亞州度了一周的假，剛回來(lái)。My husband and I just got back from a week's vacation in West Virginia.不用說(shuō)，我們迫不及待地想到那里，于是便走了賓夕法尼亞收費(fèi)高速公路和幾條州際公路。Of course, we couldn t wait to get there, so we took the Pennsylvania Turnpike and a couple of interstates

2、.“看哪，那些美麗的農(nóng)場(chǎng)！ ”老公高聲喊道，田園景色以每小時(shí)五十五英里的速度在我們身邊滑過(guò)。"Look at those gorgeous farms!" my husband exclaimed as pastoral scenery slid by us at 55 mph.“你看見(jiàn)那些奶牛了嗎？”可是，每小時(shí)五十五英里的速度，很難看清任何東西。美麗的農(nóng)場(chǎng)像移動(dòng)的綠色棋盤(pán)，成群的奶牛在后視鏡里縮成了幾個(gè)小黑點(diǎn)。“ Did you see those cows?” But at 55 mph, it's difficult to see anything; the

3、 gorgeous farms look like moving green checkerboards, and the herd of cows is reduced to a few dots in the rear-view mirror.四個(gè)小時(shí)里，我們唯一真正的樂(lè)趣就是數(shù)出口的標(biāo)志，還有就是想再次停車時(shí)會(huì)有什么樣的感覺(jué)。For four hours, our only real amusement consisted of counting exit signs and wondering what it would feel like to hold still again.的確

4、，去那里看上去沒(méi)多少快樂(lè)，事實(shí)上根本就沒(méi)一點(diǎn)兒快樂(lè)。Getting there certainly didn't seem like half the fun; in fact, getting there wasn't any fun at all.所以，該回費(fèi)城外的家的時(shí)候，我堅(jiān)持要換條路走。 So, when it was time to return to ourhome outside of Philadelphia, I insisted that we take a different route.我建議說(shuō)： “咱們?nèi)タ疾煲幌罗r(nóng)村吧。 ”結(jié)果，我們返程的兩天里滿是

5、新鮮的經(jīng)歷。“ Let's explore that countryside”,I suggested. The two days it took us to make the return tripwere filled with new experiences.我們游覽了內(nèi)戰(zhàn)時(shí)的一個(gè)戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)，站在了一座小山上。一百二十五年前，也是一個(gè)七月炎熱的下午，一萬(wàn)五千名南部邦聯(lián)的士兵曾努力想攻占它，不想他們當(dāng)中有一半人在徒勞的嘗 試中身亡。We toured a Civil War battlefield and stood on the little hill that fifteen tho

6、usand Confederate soldiers had tried to take on another hot July afternoon, one hundred and twenty-five years ago, not knowing that half of them would get killed in the vain attempt.我們駕車緩慢地駛過(guò)賓夕法尼亞安靜的德國(guó)城的主要街道，將速度降至每小時(shí)二十英里，以免和去趕集的馬匹和馬車擠在一起。We drove slowly through main streets of sleepy Pennsylvania Du

7、tch towns, slowing to twenty miles an hour so as not to crowd the horses and horse carriages on their way to market.在縣城的博物館里，我們欣賞了玩具火車和老式汽車；在工廠的直銷商店里（購(gòu)物） ，省了 七成的錢(qián)。We admired toy trains and antique cars in county museums and saved 70 percent in factory outlets.在農(nóng)戶的自助餐廳里，我們飽飽地吃了一頓香料沙拉和家庭自制面包，而后便在外邊閑逛，

8、享受著陽(yáng)光， 欣賞著臥在陽(yáng)光里的成群奶牛這時(shí)可不是小黑點(diǎn)了。 We stuffed ourselves with spicy salads and homemade bread in an "all-you-can-eat" farmhouse restaurant, then wandered outside to enjoy the sunshine and the herds of cows no little dots this time lying in it.我們回到家里，恢復(fù)了精力，也恢復(fù)了活力，還又一次受到教育。這回到那兒的確是快樂(lè)啊。And We retu

9、rned home refreshed, revitalized, and reeducated. This time, getting there had been the fun.毫無(wú)特色的收費(fèi)高速公路和州際公路成了我們?cè)S多人的專門(mén)選擇，這是為什么呢？Why is it that the featureless turnpikes and interstates are the routes of choice for so many of us?大家為什么不試著放慢速度，去考察一下農(nóng)村呢？Why doesn't everybody try slowing down and exp

10、loring the countryside?可是，越來(lái)越多的情況是，快車道看來(lái)成了我們要走的唯一道路。But more and more, the fast lane seems to be the only way for us to go.實(shí)際上，大多數(shù)美國(guó)人總是匆匆忙忙而且不光是在從甲地趕到乙地這樣的事上。In fact, most Americans are constantly in a hurry and not just to get from Point A to Point B.我們的國(guó)家已經(jīng)變成了一個(gè)追求速戰(zhàn)速?zèng)Q的國(guó)家不止在一個(gè)方面。Our country has bec

11、ome a nation in search of the quick fix in more ways than one.不要將來(lái)，只求現(xiàn)在：從前，美國(guó)人明白“好事多磨”的道理。我們從每次的收入里拿出一小部分，以備不時(shí)之需。Now instead of later: Americans understood the principle of deferred gratification （被推遲的 滿足 ）. We put a little of each paycheck away "for a rainy day".如果我們想要一個(gè)新沙發(fā)，或者在湖邊的小屋里過(guò)上一周，

12、我們就為此攢些錢(qián)。銀行則會(huì)提供特別的圣誕購(gòu)物儲(chǔ)蓄賬戶和度假儲(chǔ)蓄賬戶幫我們渡過(guò)難關(guān)。If we wanted a new sofa or a week at a lakeside cabin, we saved up for it, and the banks helped us out by providing special Christmas Club and Vacation Club accounts.如果我們住在鄉(xiāng)下，地方合適，就種下玉米和豆子，耐心地等待著收獲。If we lived in the right part of the country, we planted corn

13、 and beans and waited patiently for the harvest.如果我們想要瘦一些，我們就少吃一些最喜愛(ài)的食物，耐心地等著磅秤降下來(lái)，一次降一磅。If we wanted to be thinner, we simply ate less of our favorite foods and waited patiently for the scale to drop, a pound at a time.可是現(xiàn)在，我們沒(méi)有這份耐心了。我們不攢錢(qián)了，而是去貸款；我們用信用卡去買家具、去度假旅行眼下要放松，以后再付錢(qián)。But today we aren't

14、so patient. We take out loans instead of making deposits, or we use our credit card to get that furniture or vacation trip relax now, pay later.我們買食品也像買衣服一樣， 都是已經(jīng)弄好的， 現(xiàn)成的。 We buy our food, like our clothing, ready-made and off the rack.如果我們急著要減輕體重，就試用最新的神奇套餐，它保證能在十天之內(nèi)減去十磅, 除非我們很有錢(qián)，可以去做吸脂手術(shù)。And If we

15、're in a hurry to lose weight, we try the latest miracle diet, guaranteed to take away ten pounds in ten days . unless we're rich enough to afford liposuction.不要緩慢，只求快速：我們不但現(xiàn)在就要，我們甚至不想被動(dòng)地等待。Faster instead of slower: Not only do we want it now; we don't even want to be kept waiting for it

16、.這種急躁、 “討厭等待”的普遍心態(tài)已經(jīng)影響了我們生活的各個(gè)層面。This general impatience, the "I-hate-to-wait" attitude, has infected every level of our lives.我們用二十秒從自動(dòng)取款機(jī)里取出二十元錢(qián)，而不會(huì)去銀行排隊(duì)（等候） 。Instead of standing in line at the bank, we withdraw twenty dollars in as many seconds from an automatic teller machine.而后我們拿著這快速

17、取出的錢(qián)去一家快捷的便利商店（為什么在超市里排隊(duì)呢？） ，購(gòu)買已經(jīng)全部包好、隨時(shí)可放進(jìn)微波爐的速凍晚餐, 除非我們不介意等那么長(zhǎng)時(shí)間買些快餐來(lái)代替。Then we take our fast money to a fast convenience store (why wait in line at the supermarket?), where we buy a frozen dinner all wrapped up and ready to be put into the microwave . unless we don't care to wait even that lo

18、ng and pick up some fast food instead.假如吃了快餐感覺(jué)不適，我們趕緊去藥箱里找藥，為了你猜對(duì)了找點(diǎn)快速鎮(zhèn)痛劑（藥） 。And If our fast meal doesn't agree with us, we hurry to the medicine cabinet for you guessed it some fast relief我們喜歡快照， 于是就購(gòu)買寶麗來(lái) （拍立得） 照相機(jī)。 We like fast pictures, so we buy Polaroid cameras.我們喜歡快捷的娛樂(lè)，于是便用錄像機(jī)將最喜愛(ài)的電視節(jié)目錄制

19、下來(lái)。We like fast entertainment, so we record our favorite TV show on the VCR.我們也喜歡能快速傳送的信息，例如電腦屏幕上閃現(xiàn)的消息、從你的傳真機(jī)傳到我的傳真機(jī)上的文件、 “目擊者新聞”節(jié)目里九十秒快速時(shí)事報(bào)道，以及濃縮成“二百年難忘瞬間”的歷史。We like our information fast, too: messages flashed on a computer screen, documents faxed from your telephone to mine, current events in 90-

20、second bursts on Eyewitness News, history reduced to "Bicentennial Minutes".作為象征， “美國(guó)之鷹”正在為“郵政速遞”飛翔。有誰(shuí)還敢讓美國(guó)多等一晚上？Symbolically, the American eagle now flies for Express Mail. How dare anyone keep America waiting longer than overnight?不要透徹，只求膚淺：而且，我們甚至不想徹底了解一個(gè)事物。Superficially instead of thor

21、oughly: What's more, we don't even want all of it.以前，我們仔細(xì)閱讀經(jīng)典小說(shuō)或最新暢銷書(shū)的每一個(gè)詞，而現(xiàn)在，由于越快就越好，我們讀濃縮版的書(shū)，或者把書(shū)的錄音磁帶放進(jìn)汽車的錄音機(jī)里，在上班的路上收聽(tīng)。 Once, we lingered over every word of a classic novel or the latest best seller. Today, since faster is better, we read the condensed version or put a tape of the book

22、into our car's tape player to listen to on the way to work.要么就是去買克利夫筆記 ，尤其當(dāng)我們是學(xué)生時(shí)。這樣我們就根本不用去閱讀原書(shū)了。Or we buy the Cliff's Notes, especially if we are students, so we don't have to deal with the book at all.以前，我們聆聽(tīng)貝多芬第五交響曲的每一個(gè)音符。而現(xiàn)在，我們沒(méi)有那個(gè)時(shí)間了；作為代替，我們可以從古典音樂(lè)精華片斷 CD 上欣賞那段“噠噠噠嘟”主旋律的二十六秒長(zhǎng)的片段， C

23、D 上還有九十九個(gè)同樣著名樂(lè)曲的選段。Once, we listened to every note of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Today, we don't have the time;instead, we can enjoy 26 seconds of that famous "da-da-da-DUM" theme and 99 other musical excerpts almost as famou s on our Greatest Moments of the Classic CD.畢竟，既然有人已經(jīng)選擇

24、出最優(yōu)秀的部分，為我們省去了的麻煩，干嘛還要浪費(fèi)四十五分鐘去聽(tīng)整首曲子呢？ After all, why waste 45 minutes listening to the whole thing when someone else has saved us the trouble of picking out the best parts?像讀者文摘這樣的雜志上的文章，到我們手里時(shí)已經(jīng)被縮簡(jiǎn)了。因?yàn)橛辛私袢彰绹?guó)報(bào) ，簡(jiǎn)要報(bào)道的新聞比以前更簡(jiǎn)單了。Our magazine articles come to us pre-digested in Reader's Digest. Our

25、news briefings, thanks to USA Today, are more brief than ever.甚至我們的人際關(guān)系也被壓縮了。我們不再每天花很多時(shí)間陪伴我們的親人，而是代之以所謂的“寶貴時(shí)光” ，但這種時(shí)間往往根本就是沒(méi)時(shí)間。Even our personal relationships have become compressed. Instead of devoting large parts of our days to our loved ones, we replace them with something called "quality ti

26、me", which, more often than not, is no time at all.在我們匆匆忙忙地看書(shū)，再去聽(tīng)音樂(lè)、讀新聞、與人交往的同時(shí)，我們沒(méi)有認(rèn)識(shí)到，我們是在依照“冰山原理”過(guò)日子僅僅注意了冰山的頂端，而忽視了隱蔽在水面下的那九分之八的部分。As we rush from book to music to news item to relationship, we do not realize that we are living our lives by the iceberg principle paying attention only to the

27、top and ignoring the 8 /9 that lies just below the surface.現(xiàn)在就干的欲望，立刻干完的欲望，對(duì)待生活浮光掠影的欲望，這一切都是從什么時(shí)候開(kāi)始的？我們?yōu)槭裁慈绱舜掖颐γΦ厝ス?jié)省時(shí)間？When did it all begin, this urge to do it now, to get it over with, to skim the surface of life? Why are we in such a hurry to save time?我們要用省下的時(shí)間去干什么呢？?jī)H僅是為了急急忙忙地去節(jié)省更多的時(shí)間嗎？And What are we going to do with all the time we save besides, of course, rushing out to save some more time?令人悲哀的事實(shí)是，我們不懂得怎樣利用省下的時(shí)間，因?yàn)槲覀兯?/p>