基礎被動語態

for two years in Hunan, China in the 1970s.

When I was in the first grade, the government

wanted to transfer me to a school for athletes,

they firmly believed there's only one sure way to happiness:

他們堅定地認為通往幸福的路
只有一條

It is not important if I like the job or not.

至於我喜不喜歡那個工作並不重要

But my dream was to become a Chinese opera singer.

但我的夢想卻是成為黃梅戲演員

An opera singer must start training young

so I tried everything I could to go to opera school.

我想盡了一切辦法
希望能去黃梅戲學校

Only my friends supported me, but they were kids,

只有朋友們支持我
但他們也是小孩

So at age 15, I knew I was too old to be trained.

十五歲時
我知道自己要學戲已經年紀太大

I was afraid that for the rest of my life

So I was determined to find another calling.

我暗下決心要為自己尋找另一個使命

I satisfied my hunger for parental advice

《傅雷家書》滿足了我對長輩教誨的期盼

from this book by a family of writers and musicians.["Correspondence in the Family of Fou Lei"]

寫書的傅家是一個作家、
音樂家薈萃的家庭

I found my role model of an independent woman

我從《簡愛》這本書中找到了
獨立女性的榜樣

when Confucian tradition requires obedience.["Jane Eyre"]

And I learned to be efficient from this book.["Cheaper by the Dozen"]

我從《效率專家爸爸》這本書中
學會高效率

And I was inspired to study abroad after reading these.

這幾本書燃起了我對出國深造的渴望

["Complete Works of Sanmao" (aka Echo Chan)] ["Lessons From History" by Nan Huaijin]

（《三毛全集》、
南懷瑾的《歷史的經驗》）

"The Good Earth" is about Chinese peasant life.

《大地》講的是中國農民的故事

That's just not convenient for propaganda. Got it.

真實得不方便用來做政治宣傳，
懂了吧

But the fifth commandment gave me an epiphany:

但十誡中的第五誡給了我靈感：

"You shall honor your father and mother."

and to restart my relationship with my parents.

Encountering a new culture also started my habit

For example, I found this map out of place at first

舉個例子，第一次看到這幅地圖時
我覺得它有些怪

because this is what Chinese students grew up with.

因為這才是中國大陸學生
從小到大使用的世界地圖

China doesn't have to be at the center of the world.

原來中國不一定非要位於
世界地圖中央

Comparative reading actually is nothing new.

It's a standard practice in the academic world.

such as comparative religion and comparative literature.

a more complete understanding of a topic.

So I thought, well, if comparative reading

我琢磨著，既然比較閱讀對研究有用

works for research, why not do it in daily life too?

為什麼不把它用於日常生活中呢？

["Benjamin Franklin" by Walter Isaacson]["John Adams" by David McCullough] --

（《本傑明•富蘭克林》、
《約翰•亞當斯》）

["Personal History" by Katharine Graham]["The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life," by Alice Schroeder]

（凱瑟琳·格雷厄姆的《個人歷史》、
巴菲特傳記《雪球》）

I also compare the same stories in different genres -- (Laughter)

我還把故事相同但
文體不同的書做對比

[Holy Bible: King James Version]["Lamb" by Chrisopher Moore] --

or similar stories from different cultures,

或對比那些來自不同文化的相似故事

as Joseph Campbell did in his wonderful book.["The Power of Myth" by Joseph Campbell]

象約瑟夫·坎貝爾在其傑作
《神話的力量》中所做的那樣

For example, both the Christ and the Buddha

For the Buddha, they are all psychological:

lust, fear and social duty -- interesting.

慾望、恐懼和社會責任 — 有意思

So if you know a foreign language, it's also fun

to read your favorite books in two languages.

把你喜歡的書的兩個語言版本
對比讀也很有意思

["The Way of Chuang Tzu" Thomas Merton]["Tao: The Watercourse Way" Alan Watts]

（托馬斯·默頓翻譯的《莊子》、
阿倫·瓦特翻譯的《道德經》）

Instead of lost in translation, I found there is much to gain.

人們常說翻譯總有缺失
我卻發現翻譯也可以帶來收穫

For example, it's through translation that I realized

"happiness" in Chinese literally means "fast joy." Huh!

原來中文「快樂」一詞的字面意思
可解為「快速歡樂」，呃！

"Bride" in Chinese literally means "new mother." Uh-oh.

中文「新娘」一詞的字面意思
可解為「新媽媽」，天啊！

Books have given me a magic portal to connect with people

I know I shall never feel lonely or powerless again.

Having a dream shattered really is nothing

compared to what many others have suffered.

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