【美联英语】双语阅读：享受独处

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美联英语提供：享受独处

It scares us more than anything except death ，being alone.

享受独处除了了死亡，我们最害怕的就是孤独。

Our fear of aloneness is so ingrained that given the choice ofbeing by ourselves or being with others we opt for safety innumbers, even at the expense of lingering in painful, boring, ortotaling unredeeming company. And yet more of us than ever are alone.

以至于让我们选择是独处还是跟别人一起时，我们会选择后者以寻求安全感，甚至不惜付出如此多的代价：长久的痛苦、烦闷或完全无益的陪伴。然而，现在，我们却感受到了从未感受过的强烈孤独。

While many Americans have their solo lifestyles thrust on them people ,people go away-a hugeand growing population is choosing to be alone.

当许多美国人开始单身生活时- 因为身边的人去世或者离开-一个日益增加的庞大人群开始选择独身。

In 1955, one in ten U.S. households consisted of one person. By 1999, the proportion was one inthree. Single men and women accounted for 38.9 million of the nation’s 110.5 million households.

1955年，美国家庭有1/10 的单亲家庭。到1999年，这个比例扩大到1/3.在这个国

家里，110 000 000个家庭中单亲家庭占了38 900 000 。

By 1999, single parents with children under the age of eighteen made up 27.3 percent of thenation’s 70.9 million family households.

到1999年，带着一个18岁以下小孩的单亲家庭已经占到了这个国家70 900 000 个家庭的27.3%

Meanwhile, many more Americans are discovering. In less than three decades, the number ofdivorced men and women has more than quadrupled- to a total of 18.3 million in 1996, comparedto 4.3 million in 1970.

同时更多的美国人离婚了。不到三十年之间，离婚的人数增加为原来的4倍- 到1996 年这一数字已经达到18 300 000 ，而1970年只有4 300 000人。

Never before in American history has living alone been the predominant lifestyle.

独居史无前例地成为美国主流的生活方式。

Nonetheless, we persist in the conviction that a solitary existence Is the harshest penalty life canmete out. We loathe being alone- anytime, anytime, anywhere, for whatever reason. Fromchildhood we’re conditioned to accept that when alone we instinctively ache for company.

然而，我们坚持认为，独居是组残酷的生活方式。我们讨厌独处-无论何时何地，出于何种原因。我们从孩提时就习惯认同，独处时的我们会本能地渴望有人陪伴，认为孤独者都是渴望加入群体生活，而非欣然独处的。

Alone, we squander life by rejecting its full potential and wasting its remaining promises. Alone, weaccept that experiences unshared are barely worthwhile, that

sunsets viewed singly are not asspectacular, that time spent apart is fallow and pointless.

独处时，我们是在拒绝生命丰富多彩可能，并耗费生命存留的希望，是在浪费生命。我们认为，无人分享的经历毫无价值、一个人看到的日出并非那么壮观，一个人度过的时光是多么的无生趣和毫无意义。

And so we grow old believing we are nothing by ourselves, steadfastly shunning the opportunitiesfor self-discovery and personal growth that solitude could bring us.

于是，当我们年老时，就认为自己无关紧要而倔强地逃避。殊不知这正是我们发现自我和个人成长的机会。

We have ever coined a word for hose who prefer to be by themselves: antisocial, as if they wereenemies of society. They are viewed as friendless, suspect in a world that goes around in twos ormore and is wary of solitary travelers.

对于那些宁愿独居的人，我们甚至给他们扣上“反社会”的头衔，好像他们是社会的公敌，他们被人们认为是缺少朋友、怀疑这个世界的人。那些结伴同行者警惕地盯着这些独行的旅行者。

People who need people are threatened by people who don’t. The idea of seeking contentmentalone is heretical, for society steadfastly decrees that our completeness lies in others. Instead, wecling to each other for solace, comfort, and safety.

依赖于他人的人受到独立的人的威胁，独立寻求满足的想法被视为异端。因为这个社会