新标准大学英语综合教程2课文翻译U5R1Word编辑版.docVIP

学 海 无 涯 PAGE PAGE 1 ? Leisure inactivities – or how to relax and do nothing 闲暇无为——或如何歇着无所事事 1 Centuries ago people didnt have much free time, because everyone was working too hard. In Britain in the 19th century, people had more time off, but the Victorians thought relaxing and doing nothing was a sin. So to avoid temptation, they invented football, rugby and cricket. People took up more gentle leisure activities like bird-watching, gardening and trainspotting, and it was even possible simply to watch a sport and give the impression that you were actually doing something useful. 数百年前，人们没有多少空闲时间，因为人人都在辛苦劳作。在19世纪的英国，人们有了较多闲暇，可是维多利亚时代的人认为歇着无所事事是一种罪过。于是为了避免诱惑，他们发明了足球、橄榄球和板球。人们开始从事更温和的休闲活动，如观鸟、园艺、收集火车头号码。他们甚至可能只是观看一项运动，给人一种有事可做的印象。 2 One instance of this is cricket, which is a peculiar game with weird rules, where nothing happens for five days, at the end of which the players often decide to call it a draw. And everyone, players and spectators, feel perfectly fulfilled by this non-event. Its a good example of what we can now call a leisure inactivity. 其中一个例子是板球。这是一种规则怪异的奇特游戏，如果五天之内毫无进展，玩家往往就会决定双方战平。而无论是玩家还是观众，人人都对这毫无结果的比赛感到心满意足。这是个我们现在可以称之为闲暇无为的好例子。 3 Gradually over the years, leisure inactivities have involved even less interaction. In the 1990s a new leisure creature evolved, one who thinks that lying on the sofa watching sport or DVDs on the television is the most exciting inactivity they can manage. This is the couch potato. 近年来，闲暇无为中的互动逐渐变得更少了。在20世纪90年代，一个新的休闲物种进化成功，它认为躺在沙发上看电视体育节目或数码影碟是它们能做到的最令人兴奋的无为了。这就是沙发土豆。 4 So who wants to be a couch potato? Well, as a matter of fact, many people do, and for understandable reasons. Maybe its your one day off in the week. Maybe you just got back from work or school. Maybe youre tired and just want to chill. For the couch potato, every activity is too much trouble, and laziness is an art form. 那么，谁想当沙发土豆呢？好吧，事实上，许多人都想，理由也是可以理解的。也许今天你休息，也许你刚下班或放学。也许你累了，只想放松。对沙发土豆来说，任何活动都太麻烦，懒散是一门艺术。 5 How do you become a couch potato? Its