1. She is a colleague of mine, quiet and beautiful, who speaks slowly in an undertone. What she says often strikes a responsive chord to make the addressee wonder how and when she managed to see things through.
她是我的一位同事，美丽而安静，说话也是慢声细语的。她的话总能说到人的心里去，使得对方总在想，什么时候就被她给看透了呢。
2. She hasn't achieved much for her to be proud, nor has she imperfections subject to criticism. She married the one she loves though he is a man of the common run. They lead an uneventful, regular life with such routine as a daily gymnastic session, an afternoon nap, and a weekend family outing. She never makes extra demands on her child's studies.
她的成就虽不足以让她夸耀，却也无可挑剔。她嫁给了她的所爱，一个普通的男人，日子过得波澜不惊；每天都会午睡，做健美操，生活得很有规律；一到周末全家人就一起出去旅行；她对孩子的学习成绩没有太高的要求。
3. As to her colleagues, she doesn't feel envy at those who have won honors, nor does she show contempt for those who have made mistakes. She looks with cold eyes on those who are mean and snobbish, but never allows herself to be annoyed, for she is sure they don't have a good frame of mind nor will they come to a good end. She is extremely clever with a mind as clear as a mirror. It's always my belief she's quite capable of making her life much more fruitful, but she has made no effort in that direction. By contrast, many people around her have done all they can to scrape a decent living without being able to come up to their expectations.
对于同事，她从不嫉妒他们取得的荣誉，也从不鄙薄那些犯错误的人；她冷眼看待势利小人，从不因为他们而烦恼，因为她认为那些没有好心态的人不会有好结果。她聪明绝顶，我相信她有能力使她的人生更加精彩，然而她却没刻意去做。相反，她周围的很多人使尽了浑身解数要过上像样的生活，却都不能所愿。

4. A rare chance brought us together in a conversation. I was told her life had been greatly influenced by what her father said to her. That was when she studied at junior middle school. Her weak constitution prevented her from attending any physical exercises. On the other hand, she did so well in her studies that she always came out first in examinations. An occasional failure to achieve the top in any of the subjects would cause a severe self-criticism, which showed how strong her desire was to outshine others.
一次难得的机会让我们有了一次交谈，她告诉我她父亲的一句话对她的一生有着重要的影响。那时她还在上初中，体质不好，无法参加体育运动。但在学习方面她却是出类拔萃的，偶尔一门功课没得第一都会令她自责，这表明她有多么强烈的愿望想超越其他人。
5. Her father told her it was most suitable for her not to target on excellence but to do just well enough. She followed his advice faithfully. The result was quite rewarding. She not only acquired good marks on each subject without much effort but also regained strength to keep a good constitution. She made plans for enrolling at an ordinary college when she graduated high school. As she was not burdened with worries, she was at her best during the entrance examinations. Her good performance entitled her to enter a prestigious university. Upon graduation she found a job suited to her special training in a medium-sized city instead of a great metropolis, only because it was convenient for her and her parents to take care of each other. That's all she told me about herself. Her narration went on unhurriedly just as she did in pursuing her smooth course of life...
父亲告诉她，对她而言，不必事事追求优秀，做到良好即可。她听从了父亲的话，结果非常有效。她轻松地保持每门功课都良好，同时体质也恢复到了良好的状态。高中毕业考大学时，她给自己定位于一所普通大学。由于没有了压力，她发挥出自己的最佳状态，结果以优异的成绩考入一所重点大学。毕业时，她在一座中等城市而不是大都市里找了一份和自己专业对口的工作，这样她和父亲互相照顾起来很方便。她向我娓娓道来，就如她那不急不缓般筑就的顺畅人生一样......
6. Such a life draws little attention of writers or playwrights because it is too colorless to be the theme of a story or a play. They are more interested in sharp contrasts: a successful career resulting in family break-up; splendor casting a shadow of depravity; happiness being closely followed by death, etc. In short, every good thing is always accompanied by something bad or faulty.
如此的人生故事往往不被小说家或剧作家看好，因为这不能使他们的作品跌宕起伏。他们更感兴趣的是尖锐的冲突：事业有成却家庭破裂，辉煌背后隐藏着堕落，幸福也总是被死亡尾随，等等。总之，每件好事都会有厄运相随。
7. So is life, unfortunately—it seems oddly unbalanced. When a person excels in a particular aspect, he is always weak hopelessly in another. Or rather, precisely because he has an irretrievable shortcoming, he is determined to achieve excellence in some other aspect.
生活何尝不是这样，难以平衡。一个人如果在某一方面非常优秀，那么他在其他方面往往就毫无优势。或者，正因为他不可弥补的缺憾使得他在一些方面更加奋进而取得成就。
8. In this light we can say a life that's fairly well led is actually perfect. If all aspects of a person's life—his career, his love affair, his personality, his mentality and physique—attain a fairly good level, it is really the most satisfactory, isn't it?
就此我们可以说，良好的生活状态其实就是完美的。如果一个人的事业、爱情、个性、心境、体魄等人生的各个方面都达到良好，那谁还能说他的人生不完美呢？