The other night I had a conversation with a young woman who had a number of decisions ahead of her, one of which was whether she should go to grad school or travel the world.
　　不久前的一個晚上，我和一個年輕女孩聊天，她有很多事情拿不定主意，其中一個是她不知道是去研究所工作還是環游世界。

　　I told her to travel. Hands down. No excuse. Just go.
　　我告訴她應該去旅行。放下手頭的一切。沒有任何理由，去旅游吧。

　　She sighed. “Yeah, but…”
　　她嘆了口氣。“是的，但是……”

　　Never were more fatal words spoken.
　　但接下來，她并沒有再說出什么致命性的話。

　　Yeah, but… what about debt?
　　是的，但是……欠的錢怎么辦呢？

　　Yeah, but… what about my job?
　　是的，但是……工作呢？

　　Yeah, but… what about my boyfriend (or dog or car or whatever)?
　　是的，但是……我的男朋友呢（或小狗，汽車以及其他的東西）？

　　“Yeah, but…” is pernicious. Because it makes it sound like we have the best of intentions when really we are just too scared to do what we should. It allows us to be cowards, while sounding noble.
　　“是的，但是……”這句話很不好。聽起來就好像我們很多美好的想法沒有實現只是因為顧慮太多。 這句話聽起來冠冕堂皇，其實只不過表明我們是懦夫。

　　Most people I know who waited to travel the world never did. Be careful of the yeah-but. The yeah-but will kill your dreams. I was so stirred by this conversation that I shared it with a group of about thirty young adults last night, many who were asking these very questions.
　　我認識的大多數人都有環游世界的愿望，卻一直沒有付諸行動。當心“是的，但是...” 這句話，它會扼殺你很多夢想。這次聊天在我心中掀起很大波瀾，昨晚我跟一群30歲左右的年輕人說起這個話題，他們當中很多人問的也是這些問題。

　　When you get older, life seems to just sort of happen to you. Your youth is a time of total empowerment. You get to do what you want. As you mature and gain new responsibilities, you have to be very intentional about making sure you don’t lose sight of what’s important. So if you still have a reasonable amount of control over your circumstances，you should do what really matters. Because life won’t always be just about you.
　　隨著年紀的增大，人生似乎愈來愈帶著幾分宿命的味道。年少的時光是唯一一段自己可以完全做主的時光。你可以做任何你想做的事。隨著你逐漸成熟，不斷扛起新的責任，你得時刻提醒自己不要忘了什么才是重要的。因此，如果你的生活仍然有一部分能夠自由支配的話，應該去做那些重要的事情。因為生活不會永遠只屬于你一個人。

　　During early adulthood your worldview is still being formed. It’s important to steward this time — to give yourself opportunities to grow. A good way to do that is to travel.
　　剛成年時，你的世界觀仍在形成期。如何管理這段時期非常重要，要給自己一個成長的機會。一個好辦法就是去旅游。

　　There are three reasons to travel while you’re young:
　　為什么要在年輕的時候去旅行，這里有3個理由：

　　1. Traveling teaches you to live an adventure
　　1、旅游會使你的生活變得冒險刺激

　　When you look back on your life, you will have moments of which you are proud and maybe a few you regret. It’s likely that the following won’t be on the latter list:
　　當你回顧人生，你會有很多值得驕傲的時刻，可能也有一些會讓你遺憾。希望這些不會出現在你遺憾的清單上：

　　Bicycled across the Golden Gate Bridge.
　　騎自行車穿越金門大橋。

　　Appeared on Italian TV.
　　出現在意大利電視臺上。

　　Hiked a Mayan ruin.
　　徒步走在瑪雅廢墟上。

　　Learned Spanish in three months.
　　三個月內學會西班牙語。

　　Toured Europe by train.
　　坐火車游歐洲。

　　They’re not on mine (fun fact: I’ve done all of the above).
　　至少我不會覺得遺憾（很高興，這些我全都做過了）。

　　You should take the time to see the world and taste the fullness of life. It’s worth whatever investment or money or sacrifice of time required on your part. It’s not about being a tourist. It’s about experiencing true risk and adventure so you don’t have to live in fear for the rest of your life.
　　你應該花時間去看看這個世界，體驗完整的人生。對你來說，花再多的錢和時間都是值得的。這不僅僅是要做一個旅行者，而是為了體驗真正的冒險，這樣你的余生將不會有遺憾。

　　2. Traveling helps you encounter compassion
　　2、旅游會使你心懷憐憫之心

　　In your youth, you will make choices that will define you. The disciplines you begin now will be with you for the rest of your life. Traveling will change you like little else can. It will put you in places that will force you to care for issues that are bigger than you.
　　年輕的時候，你做什么決定都取決于你自己。你應該從現在起就開始控制你的行為，這將會伴隨你的余生。就像其他東西一樣，旅游會改變你。它會帶你去到那些地方，迫使你關心那些比你自己的世界更廣闊的事情。

　　If you go to southeast Asia, you may encounter the slave trade. If eastern Europe, you may see the effects of genocide and religious persecution. If Haiti, you’ll witness the the ugly side Western paternalism.
　　如果你去東南亞，你可能會遇到奴隸交易；去東歐，你會看到種族滅絕和宗教迫害；而在海地，你會親眼目睹到西方家長作風的丑陋面。

　　You will begin to understand that the world is both a big and small place. You will have a new-found respect for the pain and suffering that over half of the world takes for granted on a daily basis. And you will feel more connected to your fellow human beings in a deep and lasting way. You will learn to care.
　　你會開始明白，這個世界說大也大，說小也小。你會對這世界上一半以上的人們每天所遭受的習以為常的痛苦和磨難產生深切的同情，也會感受到和你的人類同胞之間更加持久而深厚的聯系。你會學會關愛。

　　3. Traveling allows you to get some culture
　　3、旅游會增長你的文化知識

　　While you’re still young, you should get cultured. Get to know the world and the magnificent people that fill it.
　　年輕的時候應該博采眾長。多了解這個世界，多向杰出的人們學習。

　　There’s nothing quite like walking alongside the Coliseum or seeing Michelangelo’s David in person. I can describe the city of San Juan and its amazing beaches and historic sites to you, but you really have to see it for yourself to experience it. You can read all the books in the world about the Great Wall of China or The Louvre , but being there is a different story.
　　沒有什么能比得上在大戲院周邊漫步或觀賞米開朗基羅的杰作《大衛》雕像了。我可以向你描述波多黎各的圣胡安以及它那令人嘆為觀止的海灘和古跡，但你真的應該自己親身體會一下。你可能讀遍了世界上關于中國的長城和法國盧浮宮的書，但身臨其境又是另外一種感受。

　　The world is a stunning place, full of outstanding works of art. See this while you’re still young. Do not squander this time, because you will never have it again.
　　這個世界是令人驚嘆的，到處都是讓人嘆服的藝術品。趁著你還年輕好好看看這世界。不要浪費時間，因為青春真的一去就不會再來了。

　　You won’t always be young, and life won’t always be just about you. So travel and experience the world for all it’s worth. You will become a person of culture, adventure and compassion.
　　你不會永遠年輕，你的生活中也不會永遠只是你自己。現在就去旅行吧，盡情體驗這個世界，因為它值得你去了解。你會成為一個博學多識、富于冒險精神和同情心的人。

　　其實學習新概念英語也是一種旅游，可以學到很多基礎且實用的知識。如果你不能即刻啟程，那就先來學習新概念吧。

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