The selection reveals six stages that most of us experience between the ages of eighteen and fifty.

　　The lobster grows by developing and shedding a series of hard，protective shells. Each time it expands from within，the confining shell must be sloughed off. It is left exposed and vulnerable until，in time，a new covering grows to replace the old.

　　With each passage from one stage of human growth to the next we，too，must shed a protective structure. We are left exposed and vulnerable――but also yeasty and embryonic again，capable of stretching in ways we hadn‘t known before. These sheddings may take several years or more. Coming out of each passage，though，we enter a longer and more stable period in which we can expect relative tranquillity and a sense of equilibrium regained……

　　Here is the briefest outline of the developmental ladder.

　　龍蝦。

　　蛻殼。

　　脫落。

　　出于變化中的，不安定的。

　　萌芽期的，不發(fā)達(dá)的。

　　平衡。

　　Pulling Up Roots

　　Before 18，the motto is loud and clear：“I have to get away from my parents.”But the words are seldom connected to action. Generally still safely part of our families，even if away at school，we feel our autonomy to be subject to erosion from moment to moment.

　　After 18，we begin Pulling Up Roots in earnest，College，military service，and short-term travels are all customary vehicles our society provides for the first round trips between family and a base of one‘s own. In the attempt to separate our view of the world from our family’s view，despite vigorous protestations to the contrary――“I know exactly what I want！”――we cast about for any beliefs we can call our own. And in the process of testing those beliefs we are often drawn to fads， preferably those most mysterious and inaccessible to our parents.

　　Whatever tentative memberships we try out in the world，the fear haunts us that we are really kids who cannot take care of ourselves. We cover that fear with acts of defiance and mimicked confidence. For allies to replace our parents，we turn to our contemporaries. They become conspirators. So long as their perspective meshes with our own，they are able to substitute for the sanctuary of the family. But that doesn‘t last very long. And the instant they diverge from the shaky ideals of“our group”，they are seen as betrayers. Rebounds to the family are common between the ages of 18 and 22.

　　The tasks of this passage are to locate ourselves in a peer group role，a sex role，an anticipated occupation，an ideology or world view. As a result，we gather the impetus to leave home physically and the identity to begin leaving home emotionally.

　　自治，自主。

　　易受侵害，常遭侵害。

　　斷言，主張。

　　想方設(shè)法尋求。

　　（一時(shí)流行的）時(shí)尚。

　　（徹底）試驗(yàn)。

　　裝出的自信。

　　求助于……作幫手。此處將狀語(yǔ)放在句首，以示強(qiáng)調(diào)。

　　觀點(diǎn)，看法。

　　緊密配合。

　　庇護(hù)。

　　分道，背馳。

　　彈回，返回。

　　背景、出身、社會(huì)地位等相同的人。

　　動(dòng)力，原動(dòng)力。

　　The Trying Twenties

　　The Trying Twenties confront us with the question of how to take hold in the adult world. Our focus shifts from the interior turmoils of late adolescence――“Who am I？”“What is truth？”――and we become almost totally preoccupied with working out the externals.“How do I put my aspirations into effect？”“What is the best way to start？”“Where do I go？”“Who can help me！”“How did you do it？”

　　In this period，which is longer and more stable compared with the passage that leads to it，the tasks are as enormous as they are exhilarating： To shape a Dream，that vision of ourselves which will generate energy，aliveness，and hope. To prepare for a lifework. To find a mentor if possible. And to form the capacity for intimacy，without losing in the process whatever consistency of self we have thus far mustered. The first test structure must be erected around the life we choose to try.

　　Doing what we“should”is the most pervasive theme of the twenties. The“shoulds”are largely defined by family models，the press of the culture，or the prejudices of our peers. If the prevailing cultural instructions are that one should get married and settle down behind one‘s own door，a nuclear family is born. If instead the peers insist that one should do one’s own thing，the 25-year-old is likely to harness himself onto a Harley-Davidson and burn up Route 66 in the commitment to have no commitments.

　　One of the terrifying aspects of the twenties is the inner conviction that the choices we make are irrevocable. It is largely a false fear. Change is quite possible，and some alteration of our original choices is probably inevitable.

　　Two impulses， as always，are at work. One is to build a firm，safe structure for the future by making strong commitments，to“be set.”Yet people who slip into a ready-made form without much self-examination are likely to find themselves locked in.

　　The other urge is to explore and experiment，keeping any structure tentative and therefore easily reversible. Taken to the extreme，these are people who skip from one trial job and one limited personal encounter to another，spending their twenties in the transient state.

　　Although the choices of our twenties are not irrevocable，they do set in motion a Life Pattern. Some of us follow the lock-in pattern，others the transient pattern，the wunderkind pattern，the caregiver pattern，and there are a number of others. Such patterns strongly influence the particular questions raised for each person during each passage……

　　Buoyed by powerful illusions and belief in the power of the will， we commonly insist in our twenties that what we have chosen to do is the one true course in life. Our backs go up at the merest hint that we are like our parents，that two decades of parental training might be reflected in our current actions and attitudes.

　　“Not me，”is the motto，“I‘m different.”

　　被接受，獲得承認(rèn)。

　　青春期內(nèi)心騷動(dòng)。

　　實(shí)現(xiàn)抱負(fù)。

　　既艱巨又令人振奮。

　　良師益友。

　　我們?cè)缫研纬傻挠^念。“We have thus far mustered”作定語(yǔ)，修飾“consistency of self”。

　　普遍性的。

　　此處指由一對(duì)年青夫婦構(gòu)成的小家庭。

　　 harness vi.套（馬），作者這里選用這個(gè)詞表達(dá)了他的喻意，（不愿受家庭束縛的青年人）被束縛在Harley-Davidson車（美國(guó)一汽車牌子）上；burn up燒光，燒盡；Route 66美國(guó)一條著名的高速公路。

　　不可改變的，不可取消的。

　　沖動(dòng)。

　　可反轉(zhuǎn)的，可逆的。

　　變換不定的，無(wú)常的。

　　少年得志者。wunderkind pattern這里指的是少年得志者洋洋得意、咄咄逼人的生活態(tài)度。

　　此處是一個(gè)作原因狀語(yǔ)的過(guò)去分詞短語(yǔ)，意思是“由于受強(qiáng)烈的幻覺(jué)的影響和過(guò)分相信意志力”。

　　“get sb‘s back up”是“使某人生氣”的意思。本句是套用這個(gè)成語(yǔ)而來(lái)。

　　Catch-30

　　Impatient with devoting ourselves to the“shoulds，”a new vitality springs from within as we approach 30. Men and women alike speak of feeling too narrow and restricted. They blame all sorts of things，but what the restrictions boil down to are the outgrowth of career and personal choices of the twenties. They may have been choices perfectly suited to that stage. But now the fit feels different. Some inner aspect that was left out is striving to be taken into account. Important new choices must be made，and commitments altered or deepened. The work involves great change，turmoil，and often crisis――a simultaneous feeling of rock bottom and the urge to bust out.

　　One common response is the tearing up of the life we spent most of our twenties putting together. It may mean striking out on a secondary road toward a new vision or converting a dream of“running for president”into a more realistic goal. The single person feels a push to find a partner. The woman who was previously content at home with children chafes to venture into the world. The childless couple reconsiders children. And almost everyone who is married，especially those married for seven years，feels a discontent.

　　If the discontent doesn‘t lead to a divorce，it will，or should，call for a serious review of the marriage and of each partner’s aspirations in their Catch-30 condition. The gist of that condition was expressed by a 29-year-old associate with a Wall Street law firm：

　　“I‘m considering leaving the firm. I’ve been there four years now；I‘m getting good feedback. but I have no clients of my own. I feel weak. If I wait much longer，it will be too late，too close to that fateful time of decision on whether or not to become a partner. I’m success-oriented. But the concept of being 55 years old and stuck in a monotonous job drives me wild. It drives me crazy now，just a little bit. I‘d say that 85 percent of the time I thoroughly enjoy my work. But when I get a screwball case， I come away from court saying，’What am I doing here？‘It’s a visceral reaction that I‘m wasting my time. I’m trying to find some way to make a social contribution or a slot in city government. I keep saying，‘There’s something more.‘”

　　Besides the push to broaden himself professionally，there is a wish to expand his personal life. He wants two or three more children.“The concept of a home has become very meaningful to me，a place to get away from trouble and relax. I love my son in a way I could not have anticipated. I never could live alone.”

　　Consumed with the work of making his own critical life-steering decisions，he demonstrates the essential shift at this age：an absolute requirement to be more self-concerned. The self has new value now that his competency has been proved.

　　His wife is struggling with her own age-30 priorities. She wants to go to law school，but he wants more children. If she is going to stay home，she wants him to make more time for the family instead of taking on even wider professional commitments. His view of the bind， of what he would most like from his wife，is this：

　　“I‘d like not to be bothered. It sounds cruel，but I’d like not to have to worry about what she‘s going to do next week. Which is why I’ve told her several times that I think she should do something. Go back to school and get a degree in social work or geography or whatever. Hopefully that would fulfill her，and then I wouldn‘t have to worry about her line of problems. I want her to be decisive about herself.”

　　The trouble with his advice to his wife is that it comes out of concern with his convenience，rather than with her development. She quickly picks up on this lack of goodwill：He is trying to dispose of her. At the same time，he refuses her the same latitude to be“selfish”in making an independent decision to broaden her horizons. Both perceive a lack of mutuality. And that is what Catch-3o is all about for the couple.

　　生命力，活力。

　　歸結(jié)起來(lái)是……

　　旁枝，副產(chǎn)品，結(jié)果。

　　這句話的意思是：在上個(gè)階段合適的選擇此時(shí)已經(jīng)不合適了。

　　內(nèi)心情感。

　　強(qiáng)烈欲望。

　　發(fā)現(xiàn)。

　　轉(zhuǎn)變，變化。

　　急于，焦躁。

　　要旨。

　　合伙人，同事。

　　反應(yīng)。

　　顧客；當(dāng)事人。

　　朝著……方向，確定……方向。此處合成“success-oriented”的意思是“渴望成功”，“努力爭(zhēng)取成功”。

　　奇特的情況，異常的情況。

　　位置，職位。

　　被……所充滿；為……所困擾。

　　權(quán)宜之計(jì)。

　　束縛

　　得悉。

　　處理，處置。

　　察覺(jué)，看出。

更多 英文美文、英語(yǔ)美文、英文短文、英語(yǔ)短文，請(qǐng)繼續(xù)關(guān)注 英語(yǔ)作文大全