| 第 1 页：美文阅读1 |
| 第 2 页：美文阅读2 |
| 第 3 页：词汇释义 |
| 第 4 页：难句解析 |
引言：
回首那个糟糕的夏天，我很快就明白了，所有后来出现的好事只不过与坏事相互抵消。比一般情况糟糕的境遇不会延宕过久；而太平时光是我应得的，我要尽情享受，它们为我注入活力以应对下一个险情，并确保我可以兴旺发达。
The 50-Percent Theory of Life
I believe in the 50-percent theory. Half the time things are better than normal; the other half, they are worse. I believe life is a pendulum swing. It takes time and experience to understand what normal is, and that gives me the perspective to deal with the surprises of the future.
我信奉对半理论。生活时而无比顺畅，时而倒霉透顶。我觉得生活就像来回摆的钟摆。读懂生活的常态需要时间和阅历，而读懂它也练就了我面对未来的生活态度。
Let’s benchmark the parameters: yes, I will die. I’ve dealt with the deaths of both parents, a best friend, a beloved boss and cherished pets. Some of these deaths have been violent, before my eyes, or slow and agonizing. Bad stuff, and it belongs at the bottom of the scale.
让我们确定一下好坏的标准：是的，我注定会死去。我已经经历了双亲，一位好友，一位敬爱的老板和心爱宠物的死亡。有些突如其来，近在眼前，有些却缓慢痛苦。这些都是糟糕的事情，它们属于最坏的部分。
Then there are those high points: romance and marriage to the right person; having a child and doing those Dad things like coaching my son’s baseball team, paddling around the creek in the boat while he’s swimming with the dogs, discovering his compassion so deep it manifests even in his kindness to snails, his imagination so vivid he builds a spaceship from a scattered pile of Legos.
生活中也不乏高潮：坠入爱河缔结良缘；身为人父养育幼子，诸如训练指导儿子的棒球队，当他和狗在小河中嬉戏时摇桨划船，感受他如此强烈的同情心-即使对蜗牛也善待有加，发现他如此丰富的想象力-即使用零散的乐高玩具积木也能堆出太空飞船。
But there is a vast meadow of life in the middle, where the bad and the good flip-flop acrobatically. This is what convinces me to believe in the 50-percent theory.
但在生活最好与最坏部分之间有一片巨大的中间地带，其间各种好事坏事像耍杂技一样上下翻滚，轮番出现。这就是让我信服对半理论的原因。
