“I’ll start,” offered the wife. She took out her list. It had many items on it. Enough to fill 3 pages, in fact. As she started reading the list of the little annoyances, she noticed that tears were starting to appear in her husband’s eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Nothing,” the husband replied, “keep reading your list.”
The wife continued to read until she had read all three pages to her husband. She neatly placed her list on the table and folded her hands over the top of it.
“Now, you read your list and then we’ll talk about the things on both of our lists,” She said happily.
Quietly the husband stated, “I don’t have anything on my list. I think that you are perfect the way that you are. I don’t want you to change anything for me. You are lovely and wonderful and I wouldn’t want to try and change anything about you.”
The wife, touched by his honesty and the depth of his love for her and his acceptance of her, turned her head and wept.
In life, there are enough times when we are disappointed, depressed and annoyed. We don’t really have to go looking for them. We have a wonderful world that is full of beauty, light and promise. Why waste time in this world looking for the bad, disappointing or annoying when we can look around us, and see the wondrous things before us?
一个男人与他的女朋友举行了一场盛大的结婚典礼。
所有的亲朋好友都来参加了他们的婚礼，见证他们的幸福。大家过得很愉快。
身着雪白婚纱的新娘楚楚动人，穿着黑色礼服的新郎英俊潇洒。大家都看得出来，他们彼此相爱。
数月后，妻子提议：“我刚在杂志上看到一篇文章，讲的是如何巩固夫妻感情。”她说：“我们各自在纸上罗列出对方的小缺点，然后一起找出解决的办法，从而使我们的婚姻生活更融洽。”
丈夫很赞成。于是，他们各自在房间里想对方的缺点。那天的余下时间，他们都在想这个问题，同时也把所想到的写了下来。
第二天早上，吃早餐时，他们决定谈谈彼此的缺点。
“我先来吧。”妻子说。她拿出单子，上面都写满了，足有三页纸。在念丈夫的小毛病时，她注意到他的眼角湿润了。
“怎么了？”她问道。“没什么，”丈夫答道，“继续念啊。”
妻子接着念。念完这三张纸后，她把单子整齐地放在桌上，两手交叉放在上面。
“现在，该你了。你念完后，我们就来谈谈这些缺点吧。”妻子开心地说道。
丈夫平静地说：“我什么也没写。我觉得现在的你就很完美了，你很可爱，很迷人，我不想让你为我改变什么。”
丈夫的诚实、包容以及他那深沉的爱，深深地触动了她，她转过头去哭了起来。
生活中，很多时候，我们都会感到失望、沮丧和厌烦，但我们不必刻意去寻找美丽、光明和希望，因为我们美好的世界里本身就有这些。当我们放眼四周，发觉一切都美好如新时，又为何要把光阴耗费在找寻不快、失落和烦恼上呢？
心灵小语
如果你的眼睛看得到美好，又怎么会介意那些小小的瑕疵呢？
记忆填空
1. Each of us will write a____of the things that we find a bit annoying with the other person. Then, we can talk about____we can fix them together and make our lives____together.
2. As she started__ the list of the little annoyances, she noticed that tears were starting to____in her husband’s eyes.
3. Why____time in this world looking for the__ , disappointing or annoying____we can look around us, and see the wondrous things before us?
佳句翻译
1. 丈夫的诚实、包容，以及他那深沉的爱深深地触动了她，她转过头去哭了起来。
译__________________________
2. 当我们放眼四周，发觉一切都美好如新时，又为何要把光阴耗费在找寻不快、失落和烦恼上呢？
译__________________________
短语应用
1. They thought about this question for the rest of the day and wrote down what they came up with.
come up with：想出；提出
造________________________
2. They decided that they would go over their lists.
go over：检查；审查
造________________________
生活中浪漫的插曲
Romantic Interlude
佚名 / Anonymous
It is the close of a busy and vexatious day — say half past five or six o’ clock of a winter afternoon. I have had a cocktail or two, and am stretched out on a divan in front of a fire, smoking. At the edge of the divan, close enough for me to reach her with my hands, sits a woman not too young, but still good-looking and well-dressed — above all, a woman with a soft, low-pitched, agreeable voice. As I snooze she talks — of anything, everything, all the things that women talk of: books, music, dress, men, other women. No politics. No business. No theology. No metaphysics. Nothing challenging and vexatious — but remember, she is intelligent; what she says is clearly expressed, and often picturesquely. I observe the fine sheen of her hair, the pretty cut of her frock, the glint of her white teeth, the arch of her eyebrow, the graceful curve of her arm. I listen to the exquisite murmur of her voice. Gradually I fall asleep — but only for an instant. At once, observing it, she raises her voice ever so little, and I am awake. Then to sleep again — slowly and charmingly down that slippery hill of dreams. And then awake again, and then asleep again, and so on.
I ask you seriously: could anything be more unutterably beautiful? The sensation of falling asleep is to me the most delightful in the world. I relish it so much that I even look forward to death itself with a sneaking wonder and desire. Well, here is sleep poetized and made doubly sweet. Here is sleep set to the finest music in the world. I match this situation against any that you call think of. It is only enchanting; it is also, in a very true sense, ennobling. In the end, when the lady grows prettily miffed and throws me out, I return to my sorrows somehow purged and glorified. I am a better man in my own sight. I have gazed upon the fields of asphodel. I have been genuinely, completely and unregrettably happy.
那是在繁忙、劳神的一天要结束的时候，大约是冬日下午的5点半或6点钟光景。我喝了一两杯鸡尾酒，抽着烟躺在壁炉前的长沙发上。在沙发的边缘，坐着一位不是很年轻的女人，离我很近，近得都能碰到我的手。她依然漂亮大方，穿着得体，最主要的是，她有娓娓动人的声音。我昏昏欲睡时，她在谈论着——所有女人喜爱谈论的一切事情：书籍、音乐、衣服、男人、别的女人。不过，没有政治、商业、神学、玄学，都是些没有挑战和玄机的东西。但请记住，她聪慧，她表达清晰，而且观点很独特。我观察了她：一头秀发健康亮泽，一袭长裙做工考究，洁白的牙齿，弯弯的眉毛，纤细的手臂。我倾听她高雅而轻柔的声音。渐渐地，我睡着了，但只是一会儿，她稍稍提高了声音，我就会立即醒来，继续观察。然后，慢慢地、甜蜜地进入梦境。然后再次醒来，再次睡去；反反复复。
我认真地问你：还有比这种更难以言表的事情吗？对我来说，睡着的感觉是世上最令人愉悦的事情。对于入睡的迷恋，甚至让我在空想和渴望中企盼死亡。啊，睡意就像诗一样，给我加倍的甜蜜。在人世间最美妙的旋律中，睡意来了。这种境界可以同你的任何想象相媲美。它只是迷人的，在每一个真实的感觉中，也是高贵的。最后，当那位女士变得嗔怒，扔下我时，我回到纯净而荣耀的悲伤。在我自己看来，我更优秀了。我凝视过开满水仙的田野，我曾享受过欢愉。我拥有过真实、彻底、没有遗憾的快乐。
心灵小语
一段甜蜜的小憩，一段温柔的耳语，只要善于发现，生命中处处充满浪漫的欢愉。
记忆填空
1. At the edge of the divan, close enough for me to____her with my hands, sits a____not too young, but still good-looking and well-dressed — above all, a woman with a soft, low-pitched, agreeable__ .
2. Gradually I fall____— but only for an instant. At once, observing it, she____her voice ever so little, and I am__ .
3. In the__ , when the lady grows prettily miffed and____me out, I return to my sorrows somehow purged and glorified.
佳句翻译