英语美文欣赏15
个性的价值被高估了
Have you ever thought about what your own personality is like?
你有没有想过，你自己的个性到底是怎样的？
If you are asked to describe yourself with three words, which three words
would you choose?
如果让你用3个词来概括你自己，你会选择哪3个单词？
Or, do you actually have no idea what your own personality is like?
还是说，其实你自己并不清楚自己的个性是怎样的？
Are you actually a person with no personality?
或者你其实是个没有什么个性的人？
But then again, is personality really so important?
但是，话说回来，个性这个东西真的那么重要吗？
Kenya Hara, a leading design personality in Japan, once said:
日本的设计大师原研哉有一句名言：
The value of personality, as well as the explicit expression of likes and dislikes,
have been unnecessarily overestimated.
个性的价值，以及明确表达喜欢、不喜欢的态度，都被不必要地高估了。
It is a good thing that we live in a society where all people are free to express
their desires.
我们身处一个所有人都能自由表达其欲望的社会，这是一件好事。
But freedom can also bring confusion.
但自由也会带来迷失。
What some people are really seeking is not to enjoy the freedom itself, but to
force others to see their freedom.
有些人真正在寻求的已经不是享受自由本身，而是强行让别人看见自己的
自由。
For example, “I want to eat Mac Donald’s” and “Mac Donald’s will do mean to eat Mac Donald’s.
例如，“我想吃麦当劳”和“麦当劳就行”表达的本来都是去吃麦当劳。
But it seems that the former embodies a person’s independence, while the la reflects the lack of assertiveness.
但似乎前者体现了一个人的独立，而后者体现的是没主见。
However, is this really necessary?
然而，这样做真的有必要吗？
Is one’s daily performance of independence with a variety of acts not an
embodiment of being not independent?
每天用各种行为强行表现自己的独立，难道不恰好就是不独立的表现？
An independent person will indeed have a personality, but a person with personality may not necessarily be independent.
一个独立的人的确会是有个性的，但一个有个性的人可并不一定有多独
立。
They might just be a slave of vanity, craving the attention of others every day.
他们或许只是虚荣心的奴隶罢了，每天渴求着别人的注意力。
What do you really need, freedom and independence, or a tag that hangs on you?
你真正需要的东西，是自由和独立本身，还是一个挂在身上的标签？
It seems that most people have not figured out this issue.
很多人似乎并没有把这个问题想清楚。
自己的人生，只有自己能安排
On a bench in Regen’s Park, London, on October 7, 1970, a young man studying for MBA degree at London Business School met an Irish girl who first arrived in London.
1970年的10月7日，在伦敦摄政公园的一个长椅上，一位在伦敦商学院
读MBA的小伙子，遇见了一位初到伦敦的爱尔兰姑娘。
The young man was about to graduate from the business school and become a nine-to-fiver.
男生马上要从商学院毕业，眼看着就要过上“朝九晚五”的生活了。
As a matter of fact, he was going to become an engineer at Chrysler Corporation.
事实上，他正要去汽车公司克莱斯勒做一名工程师。
However, his life trajectory was about to change because of the girl in front of him.
然而，他的这个人生轨迹即将因为眼前的这个女孩而改变。
The two of them fell in love at first sight and married a year later.
他们两人一见钟情，并在一年后结婚了。
Normally, they would probably each get a stable job and live a middle-class life day in and day out.
按照正常的生活轨迹，他们大概会各自找一份安定的工作，然后过着每天
千篇一律的中产阶级生活。
But they think they want more freedom in their life.
但他们觉得，自己还没过够自由自在的生活。
As a result, the young couple bought a small car a year later and started an
