雙語閱讀：十件小時(shí)候討厭長大后喜歡的禮物

　　摘要：　成年人一定都經(jīng)歷過對(duì)某些東西小時(shí)候十分討厭，但成年之后卻十分喜歡：蔬菜、小睡、無糖的玉米片。沒有什么地方的改變會(huì)比圣誕節(jié)更明顯

　　A sure sign of adulthood is loving the things we hated as kids: vegetables, naps, and sugarless corn flakes. And now here is our evolving taste more evident than on Christmas, when we delight in gifts that our childhood selves would have thrown out the window. Here are the top 10 presents everyone hates as kids, but loves as adults:

　　1. Socks 襪子

　　When you’re a kid, receiving underwear on Christmas is akin to finding coal in one’s stocking. But as an adult, you can never have too many pairs, especially if they’re cable knit or decorated with fun patterns (and goodness knows we lose too many of them in the wash).

　　成年人一定都經(jīng)歷過對(duì)某些東西小時(shí)候十分討厭，但成年之后卻十分喜歡：蔬菜、小睡、無糖的玉米片。沒有什么地方的改變會(huì)比圣誕節(jié)更明顯，當(dāng)我們還是孩子的時(shí)候會(huì)把喜歡的禮物拋向窗外。這里有10種圣誕禮物是我們小的時(shí)候會(huì)討厭但長大了卻十分喜歡的。

　　當(dāng)你是一個(gè)孩子的時(shí)候, 在圣誕節(jié)會(huì)尋找襪子在里面發(fā)現(xiàn)內(nèi)衣之類的禮物，但作為成年人，你不可能有太多雙，特別是有著編制或者裝飾的樣式。(天之道我們失去了多少清洗它們的樂趣)

　　2. Board games 棋牌游戲

十件小時(shí)候討厭長大后喜歡的禮物

　　At the risk of revealing our age, kids these days define board games as the things people played with before iPads were invented. And even when we were children, we’d bust out the special edition Monopoly sets only when it was raining outside and there was nothing showing on TV. But give us our very own Cranium or Settlers today, and you’ll be guaranteed an invite for New Year’s Eve.

　　在這個(gè)日趨透明的時(shí)代，孩子們對(duì)棋盤游戲的定義是在平板電腦被發(fā)明之前的事情了，甚至是當(dāng)我們是孩子的時(shí)候，除非外面下雨或是電視當(dāng)播放了其他的畫面，我們才會(huì)去破解經(jīng)典版的游戲。但在我們“拋頭顱灑熱血”的今天，就會(huì)想在除夕夜被邀請(qǐng)一起游戲。

　　3. Vouchers and gift cards 券、禮品卡

　　Nothing says FAIL like giving an 8-year-old a 0 voucher to Takashimaya. But we’ll happily accept one during an office-wide Christmas gift exchange, thank you very much.

　　沒人會(huì)說給一個(gè)8歲的孩子100元是不對(duì)的。但我們更樂意接受一個(gè)讓大家在圣誕夜交換禮物的邀請(qǐng),并且會(huì)非常感謝。

　　4. Clothes 衣服

　　As children, we were far more likely to get excited over the boxes our clothes came in than in the clothes themselves. But if you know your friend’s taste and size, clothes are a pretty safe bet. Who knows? A slouchy sweater, a soft knit, or an oversized cardigan could become your friend’s next office staple.

　　當(dāng)我們還是小孩子的時(shí)候,更讓我們興奮的只是禮物的漂亮包裝而非禮物本身。但是如果你知道你朋友的口味和尺寸,衣服是可以肯定的。誰知道呢?或許懶散的毛衣,柔軟的針織,一個(gè)超大號(hào)的開襟羊毛衫就會(huì)成為你朋友的辦公室主要著裝了。

　　5. Pajamas 睡衣

　　Unless those pajamas were patterned with My Little Pony, our 8-year-old selves couldn’t be less thrilled with sleepwear. But as adults, we’re more than ready to upgrade from baggy T-shirts to the desperately cute (and well-crafted) jammies.

　　在我8歲的時(shí)候，睡衣上有小馬駒的圖案是我不得不激動(dòng)的。但作為成年人,我們則更喜歡非?？蓯蹖捤傻腡恤和精心設(shè)計(jì)的優(yōu)質(zhì)的睡衣。

　　6. Food 食物

　　We will never say no to a gift of food, even if it’s our fifth log of cake in two weeks. Now that home cooking and artisanal desserts are in style, you can release your inner Martha Stewart by baking adorable Christmas treats and gifting them to your entire office. (Bonus points for including handwritten cards.)

　　我們永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)說什么關(guān)于食物的禮物，即使你已經(jīng)在這兩周內(nèi)消化了第五塊蛋糕了。以現(xiàn)在家庭烹飪和手工甜點(diǎn)的風(fēng)格,你可以釋放你內(nèi)心的瑪莎?斯圖爾特,設(shè)計(jì)可愛的圣誕宴,贈(zèng)送你的同事們。(手寫卡更會(huì)為你加分哦)

　　7. Pillows, blankets, or bedsheets 枕頭、毯子、床單

　　Generally, you only give pillows and blankets to babies, but we’ve definitely received boring, non-My Little Pony, non-Star Wars bedsheets as a present… and have been less than impressed. After a couple of decades, though, we’ve concluded that true love is a set of Egyptian Cotton sheets with a thread count of 1000.

　　一般來說,你只給嬰兒枕頭和毯子,我們也確實(shí)收到過無聊的小馬駒,戰(zhàn)爭床單作為禮物，還有很多甚至我們都沒什么印象的。二十年后,我們得出的結(jié)論是,真正的愛是線程數(shù)為1000的埃及棉床單。

　　8. Bags 包

　　We’re torn on this one. On the one hand, what 8-year-old girl would say “NO” to a backpack with her favourite Disney characters on it? On the other hand, based on our own memories of childhood, that 8-year-old girl would appreciate an actual toy based on those Disney characters over the more practical knapsack. Nowadays, we’re far easier to please. You don’t even need to get us something with buckles. A simple canvastote bag is enough to make us excited for Monday morning again.

　　我們現(xiàn)在的背包。一個(gè)8歲女孩會(huì)說她不喜歡迪斯尼人物的背包嗎?另一方面,基于我們自己的童年的回憶,8歲女孩比起迪斯尼人物的玩具更喜歡帶有這些人物的背包。現(xiàn)在,我們要簡單得多。你甚至不需要給我們一些扣子。一個(gè)簡單的帆布大手提袋足以在周一早上讓我們興奮了。

　　9. Stuffed animals 毛絨玩具

　　Stuffed animals are a hit or miss with kids. If they love your present, they’ll insist on taking it everywhere, including the toilet. The reality is, though, that they’ll disregard all of their other plush toys, meaning your present has a 99 percent chance of ending up in the bottom of their toy box. But now, queue at McDonald’s for three hours to give us the coveted Happy Meal Hello Kitty du jour, and we’ll immediately make it the queen of all our existing plush toys.

　　毛絨動(dòng)物玩具是看你送的禮物成功與否的標(biāo)志。如果他們喜歡你的禮物,他們會(huì)堅(jiān)持把它無處不在,包括廁所。但現(xiàn)實(shí)是,他們會(huì)無視他們所有的其他毛絨玩具,意味著你現(xiàn)在有99%的機(jī)會(huì)在他們的玩具盒的底部。但是現(xiàn)在,在麥當(dāng)勞排隊(duì)3個(gè)小時(shí)給我們夢(mèng)寐以求的開心樂園餐,我們會(huì)立關(guān)注她所有的玩具。

　　10. Books 書

　　In a perfect world, all kids would love to read. But let’s face it, only the most exceptional children would pay more attention to their awesome new books than to their awesome new Batman Lego sets. But with adults, you’ve got options. In addition to buying someone a novel, you can get them a cookbook, a hardcover “behind the scenes” guide to their favourite film, or a book of photography for their living room table. Just don’t buy anyone self-help books. You don’t want them to get the wrong idea.

　　在完美的世界里,所有的孩子都愛讀。但是讓我們面對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)吧,只有最杰出的孩子會(huì)更加注意他們的新書多過他們的新蝙蝠俠集。但隨著我們的成長,你會(huì)有選擇。除了購買一些人的小說,可以送給他們一個(gè)食譜、他們最喜歡電影的“幕后花絮”、攝影集等，可放置在客廳桌子上。只是不要購買勵(lì)志的書，因?yàn)椴灰欢ㄋ麄兊南敕ㄒ欢ㄊ菍?duì)的。

　　來自內(nèi)心的禮物

　　The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.- Eric Hoffer

　　According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet, he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.

　　世界上最難的算術(shù)題是如何清點(diǎn)我們的祝福。

　　據(jù)傳說，一個(gè)年輕的男子在漫游沙漠途中看到一泉如水晶般清澈而可口的水。水的味道非常甜美，于是他灌滿了他的皮水壺，這樣就可以帶一些回去，送給曾經(jīng)是他老師的部落長老。

　　After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.

　　經(jīng)過四天的旅程，他把水呈獻(xiàn)給老人。老人深飲一口，和藹地笑了笑，并深切感激學(xué)生贈(zèng)予他甜美的水。年輕人懷著愉快的心情回到了村莊。

　　Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container.

　　后來，老師讓他的另一個(gè)學(xué)生品嘗水。學(xué)生吐了出來，說水太難喝了。它顯然已經(jīng)因?yàn)殛惻f的皮革容器而變得不再新鮮。

　　The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"

　　學(xué)生質(zhì)疑他的老師：“師父，水是臭的，你為什么要假裝喜歡它?”

　　The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter."

　　老師回答說，“你只品嘗了水的味道，我卻是在品嘗禮物的味道。水僅僅是裝載善與愛之行為的容器，而沒有什么東西比善與愛更甜美了。”

　　I think we understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it's a ceramic tray or a macaroni bracelet, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.

　　我認(rèn)為當(dāng)我們從天真的孩子們那里收到愛的禮物時(shí)，能夠最透徹地明白這個(gè)道理。無論它是一個(gè)陶瓷托盤或通心粉手鐲，我們自然而恰當(dāng)?shù)姆磻?yīng)是欣賞，并表示感激，因?yàn)槲覀兿矚g禮物所包含的心意。

　　Gratitude doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.

　　感恩并不總是自然而來的。不幸的是，大多數(shù)兒童和成人只看重被贈(zèng)予的東西本身，而不是它體現(xiàn)的情誼。我們應(yīng)該提醒自己，并教導(dǎo)我們的孩子，感情和對(duì)感激之情的表達(dá)是美麗而純潔的。畢竟，發(fā)自內(nèi)心給與的禮物才是真正的禮物。