[推荐]Simplify Your Life （2）

Simplify Your Life
简化你的生活

注：以下摘自 旺旺英语网站

【17】Eventually her impossible schedule led to anxiety attacks『（疾病等的）发作；（工作等的）开始、着手』, which forced her to prioritize『把事情按优先顺序排好』and limit her volunteer work to the Girl Scouts and PTA. Now the family sits down to dinner together every night. Petit is there to help with homework, and she says, “It’s great to get to know my husband again.”

【17】她的那些难以实施的计划最终导致忧虑的开始，迫使她依主次安排活动。使她把志愿工作限定在女童子军和学生家长和学生的联谊会上。 现在家人每晚坐下来一起吃晚餐。柏蒂辅导孩子做功课，并且她说：“能再次了解我丈夫真是太好了。”

【18】“No is a two-letter word that can free up many hours a week,” says Elaine St. James. Say it gently but immediately, offering a brief explanation, such as “I just don’t have time.” Avoid giving detailed excuses—the other person is likely to see a way you actually could fit in the request.

【18】“不”是两个字母的词它却能让你在一周内节省出很多时间。和颜悦色但要马上说“不”，做简单的解释，比如说：“我只是没时间。”避免做详细的解释，因为其它的人也许能看出来你真的合适做这件事。

4.Don’t Save Pennies and Waste Hours

不要为了节省几个便士而浪费数个小时

【19】Most of us are taught to watch『小心；留意』money, but not to value『重视；珍视』time,” says Andrea Van Steenhouse, author of A Woman’s Guide to a Simpler Life. “As a result, we may not even think about how much irreplaceable『不能调换的』time we waste to save a few pennies.” Is it worth it to wander『闲逛；徘徊』through a giant discount『折扣；打折扣』mart, searching for picture hangers, when the neighborhood hard ware-store owner would point to them immediately? To wait for takeout『外卖』at the restaurant when delivery is available for a small tip? Rather than dismiss『不考虑；抛弃』the idea with the words “I can’t afford that,” it may pay to think twice.

【19】《妇女简化生活指南》一书的作者安德烈亚·范·斯延豪斯 说：“我们大部分人都被教导要节俭，而不是珍惜时间。结果是：我们也许没考虑为了节省几便士，浪费了多少无法挽回的光阴。”当邻居五金店的老板能马上拿给你要买的画框时，你是否还值得在大的打折市场走来走去。当只需一点小费就可送货上门时，你是否还要排队等候外卖食品。不是让你放弃“我负担不起”的想法，而是让你三思是否值得去做.

5.Encourage Your Kids to Help

鼓励孩子们帮忙

【20】Stephanie Culp is a productivity consultant『咨询者；顾问』in Temecula, Calif., and author of You Can Find More Time for Yourself Every Day. Her golden rule for families: except for babies, no one is exempt from『免除』housework. Three to four-year-olds can fill Rover’s bowl or fetch the baby’s diapers. Five- to seven- year- olds can set tables, make beds, sweep walks. Children eight to 12 can weed, dust, take out the trash. Let kids know in advance『事先；预先』what’s expected of them. Posting a rotating『轮流；轮换』chore list that spells out『详细说明』who does what prevents squabbles『争吵；口角』such as “It’s not my turn to clear the table.”

【20】斯蒂法妮·卡而普是加利福尼亚州Temecula的生产顾问和《每天你能为你找出更多的时间》一书的作者。她关于家庭方面的金玉良言是除了婴儿以外，人人都得做家务。三岁到四岁的孩子能给家人盛饭或取婴儿的尿布。五岁到七岁的孩子能摆桌子、铺床叠被、扫扫人行道。八岁到十二岁的孩子能除草、打扫灰尘和出去倒垃圾。让孩子事先知道他们应做什么，贴一张谁该做什么的家务表，可避免像这样的争吵“不该我收拾桌子” 　

【21】Be prepared to reduce expectations at first—a poorly made bed is a lot better than one left unmade. But if the bed- making is particularly pathetic『乏味的；令人生厌的』, it may be a sabotage maneuver『策略；花招』. Stick to your guns, says Culp. If you give in, your child, having savored『滋味；趣味』the victory of upward delegation『委派；授权』, may use the same tactic『战术；策略；手法』to get out of other chores.

【21】最初不要对孩子期望太高，被子叠得不好也要比不去叠强得多。但如果被子叠得特别糟，也许是故意的。卡而普说，要坚持你的立场，如果你让步的话，你的孩子尝到了抵抗上方授权的甜头，会用同样的方法对付你而不做其它的家务。

6.Turn Off the Tube

关上电视机

【22】Americans average 16 hours a week watching TV, making it the nation’s dominant『占优势的；支配的』leisure 『空闲的；业余的』activity. “Yet it’s a pastime few see as important or even enjoyable,” says John P. Robinson, director of the Americans’ Use of Time Project at the University of Maryland. “Life would be simpler for a lot of people if they could reclaim『回收利用』even a third of the time they spend semihypnotized『着迷的；恍惚的』in front of the tube.”

【22】美国马里兰州州立大学研究美国人如何合理地支配时间的项目负责人约翰·皮·鲁滨逊说：美国人平均每周看电视16小时，这标志着电视已成为这个民族的一种主要娱乐活动。“然而很少有人把这种消遣看成是重要的或是能给人带来快乐的。如果大部分人能把他们昏昏沉沉地消磨在看电视上的1/3时间抽出来的话，生活会变得更简单了. 　

【23】Robinson and other experts suggest families schedule activities before consulting a TV guide. Decide what programs to watch, tape them and promptly『迅速的；立即的』turn off the set after replaying. Have certain times—during meals, on Sunday afternoons—when TV is never allowed.

【23】鲁滨逊和其他专家建议先制订家庭活动计划，然后再看电视报，决定看什么节目。把要看的节目录下来。放完录像后马上关上电视机。某些时候决不允许看电视棗吃饭时和周日下午。

【24】The payoff『收益』for all this simplifying? You’ll free up time to do what you love most, whether it’s playing with the kids, gardening or traveling. Nothing could be simpler.

【24】这样做的结果就是一切变简单了。你有时间做你最想做的事，比如说和孩子们一起做游戏，做做园艺或出去旅游。这是最简单不过的事情了。

注：以上摘自 旺旺英语网站

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