Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

The New Year is a time for resolutions.

新年是下決心的時候，

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

Mentally, at least, most of us could compile formidable lists of 'dos' and 'don'ts'.

至少在大多數人的心里會編排出一份“應做什么”和“不應做什么”的令人生畏的單子。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

The same old favorites recur year in year out with monotonous regularity.

相同的決心以單調的規律年復一年地出現。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

We resolve to get up earlier each morning,

我們決心每天早晨起得早些；

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

eat less, find more time to play with the children, do a thousand and one jobs about the house,

吃得少些；多花點時間與孩子們一起做游戲；做大量的家務；

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

be nice to people we don't' like, drive carefully, and take the dog for a walk every day.

對不喜歡的人友善一些；小心駕車；每天都要帶著狗散步；等等。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

Past experience has taught us that certain accomplishments are beyond attainment.

以往的經驗告訴我們有些事是辦不到的。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

If we remain inveterate smokers, it is only because we have so often experienced the frustration that results from failure.

如果我們煙癮大，戒不掉，那是因為屢戒屢敗，失去信心。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

Most of us fail in our efforts at self-improvement because our schemes are too ambitious and we never have time to carry them out.

我們大多數人想自我完善卻遭到失敗，這是因為我們的規劃過于宏大，而又根本沒有時間去實施。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

We also make the fundamental error of announcing our resolutions to everybody so that we look even more foolish when we slip back into our bad old ways.

我們還犯有一個根本性的錯誤，即把我們的決心向大家宣布。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

Aware of these pitfalls, this year I attempted to keep my resolutions to myself.

這樣一旦滑回到那些老習慣上去，我們在別人的眼里會顯得更加難堪。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

I limited myself to two modest ambitions: to do physical exercise every morning and to read more of an evening.

我深知這些問題，于是，今年我對自己的計劃要嚴加保密，只給自己定下兩項適中的任務；每天早上鍛煉身體，每天晚上多看點書。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

An all-night party on New Year's Eve provided me with a good excuse for not carrying out either of these new resolutions on the first day of the year,

新年除夕舉辦的一次通宵晚會，使我理直氣壯地在新年頭一天免去了這兩項任務。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

but on the second, I applied myself assiduously to the task.

不過，新年第二天，我全力以赴地照著去做了。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

The daily exercises lasted only eleven minutes and I proposed to do them early in the morning before anyone had got up.

早鍛煉一共只有11分鐘，我打算在別人起床之前進行。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

The self-discipline required to drag myself out of bed eleven minutes earlier than usual was considerable.

這就要求我比平時早11分鐘把自己從床上拽起來，這種自我約束是很艱苦的。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

Nevertheless,I managed to creep down into the living room for two days before anyone found me out.

不過開頭兩天我還是成功地躡手躡腳地來到樓下起居室，被誰也沒發現。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

After jumping about on the carpet and twisting the human frame into uncomfortable positions,

我在地毯上跳來蹦過去，扭曲身子，擺出各種姿勢，弄得渾身不舒服，

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

I sat down at the breakfast table in an exhausted condition.

然后坐到桌邊吃早飯，一副筋疲力盡的樣子。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

It was this that betrayed me.

正是這副模樣泄露了我的秘密。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

The next morning the whole family trooped in to watch the performance.

第二天早晨全家人結隊來到起居室看我表演。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

That was really unsettling,

這真叫人不好意思，

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

but I fended off the taunts and jibes of the family good-humouredly and soon everybody got used to the idea.

但我心平氣和地頂住全家人的嘲笑和奚落。不久，大家對我習以為常了，

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

However, my enthusiasm waned.

而這時我的熱情卻減退了。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished.

我花在鍛煉上的時間逐漸減少，

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

Little by little the eleven minutes fell to zero.

慢慢地從11分鐘減到了零。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

By January 10th, I was back to where I had started from.

到了1月10日，我恢復了原來的作息時間。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

I argued that if I spent less time exhausting myself at exercises in the morning,

我辯解說，早晨少耗費精力鍛煉，

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

I would keep my mind fresh for reading when I got home formwork Resisting the hypnotizing effect of television, I sat in my room for a few evenings with my eyes glued to book.

晚上下班回家看書時頭腦更清醒些。有幾天晚上，我極力擺脫了電視的誘惑，坐在自己的房間里，兩眼盯在書上。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

One night, however, feeling cold and lonely,

可是，有一天夜里，我感到又冷又孤單，