佛罗里达州的一位读者写信来抱怨说：“如果我偷走了价值五分钱的商品，我就是一个贼，但是，如果我偷走了别人妻子的爱，却能安然无恙。”显然，他有悲伤的记忆。
这种误解在很多人心中普遍存在——爱情像商品一样，可以被“偷走”。事实上，很多州已经颁布了法律，允许索取“情感转让”损失费。
但是，爱情不是商品，真正的情感不可能买卖、交易或者偷走。它是一种自愿行为，是情感的一种转变，是个人思想的一种变革。
当一个人的丈夫或妻子被另一个人“偷走”，其实，丈夫或妻子被偷的条件已经成熟，已经准备偏向新的伴侣。这个“爱的劫匪”只不过是拿走了正等着人来拿，想被人拿走的东西而已。
我们总是把人像商品一样对待。我们甚至说孩子“属于”他们的父母，但是，谁也不属于任何人。孩子只是托给父母照管，而且，如果他们的父母不能很好地对待他们，州政府有权利剥夺他们对孩子的监护权。
年轻的时候，我们大多数人都经历过恋人被更有魅力和吸引力的人夺走的痛苦经历。那时，我们对这个插足者痛恨不已。但是，随着年龄慢慢增长，我们就会意识到，恋人从一开始就不属于我们，导致决裂的不是插足者，而是两人之间缺乏真正的感情。
从表面看来，很多婚姻的破裂似乎是因为“第三者”插足。然而，这不过是一种心理上的幻觉。女人或男人，只不过是为解除名存实亡的婚姻找的一个借口罢了。
心灵小语
爱情其实是个很脆弱的东西，它是需要两个人细心维护的。当曾发誓相爱的两个人，开始接受新的爱情，并不是因为有第三者的插入，而是那两个人的爱情已经破裂了。牢固的爱情不会因为有第三个人的存在而破灭。只有爱情已经破灭，第三者才能插进来。
记忆填空
1. But____is not a commodity; the real thing cannot be bought, sold, traded or stolen. It is an act of the____, a turning of the emotions, a____ in the climate of the personality.
2. We tend to treat persons like__ . We even speak of children “belonging” to their__ . But nobody “belongs” to____else. Children are entrusted to their parents, and____their parents do not treat them properly, the state has a____to remove them from their parents’trusteeship.
佳句翻译
1. 这种误解在很多人心中普遍存在——爱情像商品一样，可以被“偷走”。
译__________________________
2. 导致决裂的不是插足者，而是两人之间缺乏真正的感情。
译__________________________
3. 女人或男人，只不过是为解除名存实亡的婚姻找的一个借口罢了。
译__________________________
短语应用
1. We tend to treat persons like goods.
tend to：常常；倾向于；注意；关心
造________________________
2. ...but the lack of a real relationship.
lack of：没有；不够；不足；缺乏
造________________________
男人不要装聋
Husband Should Hear,Wife Shouldn’t Take It Seriously
佚名 / Anonymous
Picture the scene. Other Half and I, sprawled out in front of the television. A fleeting sensation of domestic happiness passes over me and all my troubles vanish quickly.
I look over at Other Half and feel a great dollop of affection.
“I love you.” I say. Not too loud, mind, there’ s a plot developing and I don’ t want to miss anything.
Other Half doesn’ t move a muscle.
“Hmm?” he murmurs.
I said, “I love you.”
Other Half heroically tears his eyes away from the screen.
“Hmm?” he repeats.
“You’ re getting deaf in your old age,” I pronounce loudly and clearly.
He hears that.
“Thanks.” he says. And then mutters something.
“What?” I say.
“I said,” he shouts, loud enough for the neighbors to hear, “You talk too quietly.”
What I want to know is how does an innocent declaration of love turn into yet another battle of our perennial !
“No, You’ re the One Who’ s Deaf.”
I wouldn’ t mind, but I’ m utterly convinced that Other Half’ s deafness is selective. When I mention a subject close to his manly heart — namely, sport, engine valves or something — and he hears it all, clear as a bell.
And am I the only one who has experienced the following conversation?
Me (excited): “What time shall we leave tonight?”
Other Half (anxious): “Leave for where tonight?”
Me (weary): “To the theatre. I told you three weeks ago. And then again two weeks ago. And I repeated it yesterday. Each time louder than the last.”
Other Half: “I don’ t remember you telling me.”
Me (very clearly): “That’ s because you never listen!”
Other Half: “I listen to everything you say. You must have just forgotten to tell me.”
Me (Beautifully pronouced, with choice semaphore): “I want a divorce.”
You see? A nice trip to the theatre reduced to marital disintegration in minutes.
How come when we were “courting” he heard everything I said? Now I have to practically climb inside his ear to get the same response. Has he, like so many other Other Halves, simply learned the art of switching off when The Wife talks for longer than her allotted time? When I’ m recounting the latest development of “Finding The Right Shoes For That Dress,” does he just see me, mouthing incoherently at him, while secretly picturing what he is really interested in?
My friend from work has exactly the same problem with her husband. He forgets little things such as friends’ weddings, because he insists she never told him about them. This is after she’ s shown him her new outfit, shown him the present and even bought him a new tie to wear for it.
Her answer? She waits for his adamant declaration that she definitely didn’ t tell him and then she says quietly, “One day I’ ll say something important.”
Invariably, her husband smiles at this. As far as he’ s concerned, his point is proved. He never hears her punch-line, which she delivers as she walks out of the room.
“Like when I’ m leaving you for my toy boy.”
Hear, hear!
有这样一幅场景画面：我和我的伴侣坐在电视机前看节目。一种短暂而强烈的家庭幸福感袭遍全身，我所有的烦恼很快消失了。
我转过头深情地望着我的另一半，有一股强烈的感情产生。
“我爱你。”我说。我的声音并不很高。注意，节目的情节正在发展，我不想错过任何一个细节。
我的伴侣没有任何反应。
“嗯？”他咕哝道。
“我爱你。”我又对他说。
另一半英雄般地将视线从荧屏上挪开。
“什么？”他又问道。
“等你上了年纪，耳朵会变聋的。”我大声而清晰地说道。这次，他听到了。
“谢谢。”他说。之后又嘀咕了些什么。
“你说什么？”我问。
“我说，”他喊道，那声音高得邻居都能听到，“你说话时声音太小了。”
我搞不懂，一句真诚的爱情表白怎么就变成了我们的另一场常年发生的战争！
“胡说，你才是聋子。”
我并不介意，不过，我坚信他的聋是具有选择性的。当我提到一个与他的男子气概相符的话题时，也就是运动、发动机阀门什么的，他就能全部听得清清楚楚。
是否只有我经历过下面这样的交谈呢？
我（兴奋地）：“今天晚上我们什么时候动身啊？”
另一半（着急地）：“今天去哪儿？”
我（厌倦地）：“去影院啊。我三个星期前就跟你说过了。两个星期前又跟你说了一次。昨天我还跟你重复了一遍呢。每次说的时候声音都比上一次的高。”
另一半：“我怎么不记得你跟我说过啊。”
我（十分清楚地）：“那是因为你从来都没有听。”
另一半：“你说的每一件事我都听到了，一定是你忘记告诉我了。”
我（优雅地用精选的语句宣布）：“我要和你离婚。”
你都明白了吗？一次美妙的影院之行却在几分钟内引发了导致婚姻瓦解的矛盾。
怎么他在追求我的时候对我说的每句话都能听得一清二楚，而现在我需要贴在他的耳朵边上，他才会有相同的反应？他是不是也和其他另一半一样，在妻子唠叨的时间过长时，听力系统会自动关闭？是不是在我对他讲 “如何搭配服饰与鞋子”的最新内容时，他只是一脸无奈苦相地看着我，其实正在偷偷地想自己真正感兴趣的事情？
我的同事与她的丈夫之间也存在着这样的问题。他总忘记一些小的事情，如朋友的婚礼，他坚持说这是因为妻子没有告诉他。而她当时对她丈夫讲这件事的时候，还给他看了自己的新衣服、要送的礼物，甚至还给他买了参加婚礼的新领带。
她有什么反应呢？她干脆等丈夫坚决地声明妻子没有将此事告诉给他后，平静地说：“总有一天，我会告诉你一件重要的事情。”
老样子，她的丈夫对此只是一笑。对他而言，这正证实了他的说法。她走出房门的时候，留给他一句话：“比如，我离开你要去找我的情人。”当然，这句重要的话他是听不到的。
听听，听啊！
心灵小语
忽视你的爱人，终有一天也会被爱人忽视，甚至抛弃。学会关心你的爱人，就像婚前一样，这样你们的爱情才不会因失去维护而凋零。
记忆填空