中年和老年

威廉·萨默塞特·毛姆是英国著名的小说家、剧作家，毛姆一生坚持以英法等国为题材创作了大量短篇小说，在20世纪英国短篇小说史中，占据了重要的地位。今天我们要讲的片段是毛姆的散文《论中年和老年》（Middle Age, Old Age）中的中年选段。在毛姆眼中，人生遇上中年危机到底该如何度过呢？中年时期相比于青年时期，又有哪些优势呢？人生在世，别人的看法对个人的影响有多大呢？希望学完本节内容，大家除了保持与外界的部分趋同，还能学会自己跟自己和解，发展自己的独一无二的个性。

But middle age has its compensations. Youth is bound hand and foot with the shackles of public opinion. Middle age enjoys freedom. I remember that when I left school I said to myself: "Henceforward I can get up when I like and go to bed when I like." That of course was an exaggeration, and I soon found that the trammeled life of the civilized man only permits of a modified independence. Whenever you have an aim you must sacrifice something of freedom to achieve it. But by the time you have reached middle age you have discovered how much freedom it is worthwhile to sacrifice in order to achieve any aim that you have in view. When I was a boy I was tortured by shyness, and middle age has to great extent brought me a relief from this. I was never of great physical strength and long walks used to tire me, but I went through them because I was ashamed to confess my weakness. I have now no such feeling and I save myself much discomfort. I always hated cold water, but for many years I took cold baths and bathed in cold seas because I wanted to be like everybody else. I used to dive from heights that made me nervous. I was mortified because I played games worse than other people. When I did not know a thing I was ashamed to confess my ignorance. It was not till quite late in life that I discovered how easy it is to say: "I don't know." That is what makes youth unhappy, the vehement anxiety to be like other people, and that is what makes middle age tolerable, the reconciliation with oneself.

▍生词好句

compensation: n. 补偿

shackle: n. 束缚；桎梏

henceforward: adv. 自此以后；从今以后

exaggeration: n. 夸张；夸大之词

trammel: vt. 束缚；拘束（过去分词“trammeled”）

modified independence: 修正后的独立（本节可理解为“相对的自由”）

sacrifice: vt. 牺牲

be tortured by: 饱受……折磨

confess: vt. 承认；坦白

mortify: vt. 抑制

ignorance: n. 无知

vehement: adj. 激烈的

reconciliation: n. 和解