Words of Wisdom for the Modern Age

现代智语


IN This ARTICLE: Wisdom today means something different for the young, modem¹ Western generation.

本文简介：对今天西方的年轻一代来说，智慧别有一番含义。

[1] Wisdom of the ancients always served civilisation² well. In the age of the TV sitcom³ , witty⁴ New York repartee⁵ and the instant one-liner, Western wisdom in the modern sense can mean something more like the dialogue from an American sitcom. Here's sampling of the some of the wittier⁶ one-lines circulating through Western society circles these days:

[2] I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow is not looking good either.

[3] 1 love deadlines. I especially like the wooshing sound they make as they go flying by.

[4] Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to get along without it.

[5] Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue.

[6] Needing someone is like needing a parachute. If they aren't there the first time, chances are you won't be needing them again.

[7] On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.

[8] You are slower than a herd⁷ of turtles stampeding through peanut butter.

古人的智慧对文明总是大有裨益。在电视情景喜剧、纽约式的机智问答和即兴的单句俏皮话大行其道的时代，现代意义上的西方智慧更像是一出美国情景喜剧里对白之类的东西。以下是近来在西方社会流传的一些具有代表性的单句睿语：

我每天只能取悦一个人。今天轮不到你。明天看上去也不太妙。

我喜欢最后期限。我尤其喜欢它们飞驰而过时发出的嗖嗖声。

告诉我你需要什么，然后我会告诉你没有它怎么过。

接受这一事实－－有时你是在雕像上随意排泄的鸽子，有时你是那倒霉的雕像。

需要某个人就像需要一顶降落伞。如果他们第一时间不在场，你就可能再也没有需要他们的机会了。

在生活的键盘上，始终要把一个手指按在“退出”键上。

你比一群在花生酱中乱窜的海龟还要慢。

[9] Do not meddle⁸ in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup⁹.

[10] Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.

[11] Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

[12] Don't be irreplaceable--if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

[13] Eat one live frog the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.

[14] Everything can be filed under miscellaneous.

[15] You are always doing something marginal when the boss drops by your desk.

[16] When confronted by a difficult problem you can solve it more easily by reducing it to the question "how would adventure star Indiana Jones handle this?"

[17] I don't have an attitude problem. you have a perception problem.

不要插手凶龙恶兽的事，因为你是松脆的，而被涂上番茄酱后味道好极了。

每个人在别人眼中都是怪物。

千万别和白痴争论。他们会把你拉低到和他们同等的水平，再用经验击败你。

切勿成为不可替代的人－－如果没人能取代你，你便无法得到提升。

如果早晨第一件事就是吃一只活青蛙，那么余下的一天便不会有更糟的事发生了。

每件东西都可归入杂项。

老板偶然来到你的办公桌时，你总是在做一些无关紧要的事。

碰到难题时，把它简化成这样一个问题——“惊险片明星印第安那·琼斯会怎样处理？”－－你就能比较容易地解决它了。