💬 新概念英语第三册

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

The New Year is a time for resolutions.

新年是下决心的时候，

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

至少在大多数人的心里会编排出一份“应做什么”和“不应做什么”的令人生畏的单子。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

相同的决心以单调的规律年复一年地出现。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

We resolve to get up earlier each morning,

我们决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；多花点时间与孩子们一起做游戏；做大量的家务；

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

对不喜欢的人友善一些；小心驾车；每天都要带着狗散步；等等。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

以往的经验告诉我们有些事是办不到的。

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.

如果我们烟瘾大，戒不掉，那是因为屡戒屡败，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.

我们大多数人想自我完善却遭到失败，这是因为我们的规划过于宏大，而又根本没有时间去实施。

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.

我们还犯有一个根本性的错误，即把我们的决心向大家宣布。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

这样一旦滑回到那些老习惯上去，我们在别人的眼里会显得更加难堪。

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.

我深知这些问题，于是，今年我对自己的计划要严加保密，只给自己定下两项适中的任务；每天早上锻炼身体，每天晚上多看点书。

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,

新年除夕举办的一次通宵晚会，使我理直气壮地在新年头一天免去了这两项任务。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

不过，新年第二天，我全力以赴地照着去做了。

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.

早锻炼一共只有11分钟，我打算在别人起床之前进行。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

这就要求我比平时早11分钟把自己从床上拽起来，这种自我约束是很艰苦的。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

不过开头两天我还是成功地蹑手蹑脚地来到楼下起居室，被谁也没发现。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

我在地毯上跳来蹦过去，扭曲身子，摆出各种姿势，弄得浑身不舒服，

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

然后坐到桌边吃早饭，一副筋疲力尽的样子。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

It was this that betrayed me.

正是这副模样泄露了我的秘密。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

第二天早晨全家人结队来到起居室看我表演。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

That was really unsettling,

这真叫人不好意思，

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.

但我心平气和地顶住全家人的嘲笑和奚落。不久，大家对我习以为常了，

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

However, my enthusiasm waned.

而这时我的热情却减退了。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished.

我花在锻炼上的时间逐渐减少，

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

Little by little the eleven minutes fell to zero.

慢慢地从11分钟减到了零。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

到了1月10日，我恢复了原来的作息时间。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

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

我辩解说，早晨少耗费精力锻炼，

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.

晚上下班回家看书时头脑更清醒些。有几天晚上，我极力摆脱了电视的诱惑，坐在自己的房间里，两眼盯在书上。

Lesson 50 New Year resolutions

One night, however, feeling cold and lonely,

可是，有一天夜里，我感到又冷又孤单，