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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
固执的认定我们只有置身与他人之中，才能完整。我们必须依附于他人，来寻求慰藉、舒适和安全感。
Ironically, most of us crave more intimacy and companionship than we can bear. We begrudgeourselves, our spouses, and our partners’ sufficient physical and emotional breathing room, andthen bemoan the suffocation of our relationships. 可笑的是，我们大多数人所渴求的亲昵关系，已经超出了自己的承受能力。我们吝啬于给自己、伴侣和伙伴足够的空间，使其身心受到限制，然后，又对我们之间令人窒息的关系感到悲哀。
To point out these facts is not to suggest we should abandon all our close ties. 把这些实时指出来，并不是建议我们抛弃所有的亲密关系。
Medical surveys show that the majority of elderly people who live alone, yet maintain frequentcontact with relatives and friends, rate their physical and emotional well- being as “excellent”.
医学调查证明，大多数老人独居，但与其亲朋好友保持密切的联系，其身心健康的程度是“良好”。
Just as an apple a day kept the doctor away when they were young, an active social calendarappears to severe the same purpose now,
就像在他们年轻的时候，每天吃一个苹果不用看医生一样，一个积极的社交活动能产生同样的效果。
But we need to befriend and enjoy ourselves as well. 但是，我们需要在友好待人的同时，享受独处的乐趣。
We must relearn to be alone. Instead of planting our solitude with dream
blossoms, we choke thespace with continuous music and chatter to which we do not even listen. It is simply there to fill thevacuum. We can’t stand the silence, because silence includes thinking. And if we thought, wewould have to face ourselves.
我们必须重新学会独处，用永不停歇的音乐和漫不经心地聊天来充斥所有的空闲时间，而不培植孤独，让梦之花绽放。我们不能忍受寂静，仅仅只是想填满那个空白，因为，寂静包含了思考，如果我们思考，则必须面对自己。
Let us learn, then, from those in search of what they have been able to find and hold: peace ofmind, gentles of heart, calmness of spirit, daily joy.
让我们想探索者学习吧!然后发现他们尚未发现和思考的东西：平和的心境、温和的性格、冷静的灵魂和平淡的快乐。
Who have come to understand that to know and to love and to be of value to others , they firstmust know and love and value themselves; that to find their way in the world, they have to startby finding themselves.
要懂得如何去理解和热爱他人，对他人有价值，必须先了解自己，珍爱自己。要找到属于自己的道路，就必须从了解自我开始。
[美联英语]双语阅读：享受独处
