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谈一场恋爱就像读一本新书Startinganewbookisarisk,justlikefallinginlove.Youhavetocommittoit.Youopenthepagesknowingalittlebitaboutitmaybe,fromthebackorfromablurbonthefront.Butwhoknows,right?Thosebitsandpiecesaren’talwaysright.读一本新书恰似坠入爱河，是场冒险。你得全身心投入进去。翻开书页之时，从序言简介直至封底你或许都知之甚少。但谁又不是呢？字里行间的只言片语亦不总是正确。Sometimespeopleadvertisethemselvesasonethingandthenwhenyougetdeepintoityourealizethatthey’resomethingcompletelydifferent.Eithertherewassomegoodmarketingattachedtoaterriblebook,orthestorywasonlyexplainedinasuperficialwayandonceyoureachthemiddleofthebook,yourealizethere’ssomuchmoretothisbookthananyonecouldhaveevertoldyou.有时候你会发现，人们自我推销时是一种形象，等你再深入了解后，他们又完全是另一种模样了。有时拙作却配有出色的市场推销，故事的叙述却流于表面，阅读过半后，你方才发觉：这本书真是出乎意料地妙不可言，这种感受只要靠自己去感悟！Youstartoffslow.Thestoryisbeginningtounfold.You’reunsure.It’sabigcommitmentluggingthistomearound.Maybethisbookwon’tbethatgreatbutyou’llfeelguiltyaboutputtingitdown.Maybeit’llbesoawfulyou’llkeephate-readingorjustsetitdownimmediatelyandneverpickitupagain.Ormaybeyou’llcomebacktoitsomenight,drunkorlonely—needingsomethingtofillthetime,butitwon’tbeanybetterthanitwaswhenyoufirststartedreadingit.你慢慢翻页，故事开始缓慢展开，而你却依旧心存犹疑。阅读这样的巨著需要百分之百的投入。或许它并不是你想象中的伟大的作品，奈何半途弃读会使你觉得不安。又或许，故事真的很烂，你要么咬牙苦读下去，要么立刻放弃束之高阁。抑或某个酒醉或孤寂的夜晚，你又重新捡起这本书来——但只为打发时光。不管怎样，它并没有比你初次阅读时好多少。Maybeyou’rewornout.You’vereadtonsofbooksbefore.SomewerejustlightweightsonaKindleorNook,nobigdealreally.OtherswereInfiniteJest-styleburdens,heavyonyourbackorinyourpurse.Weighingyoudownallthetime.Maybeyou’vetakensometimeofffromreadingbecausethelastfewbooksyoureadjustweren’tworthit.Dotheyevenwritenew,greatworksofliteratureanymore?Maybethattimeyoufellinlovewithabookbeforewilljustneverhappenforyouagain.Maybeit’saonceinalifetimefeelingandyou’renevergonnafinditagain.或许你已疲惫至极。你曾阅览无数，有些无足轻重无甚重要，而有些却像荒诞讽刺的包袱，沉重地压在你背上或藏在你行囊里，随时都可能压垮你。或许因为上次读的书索然无味，你已暂时避开阅读时光。还会有优秀的新文学作品么？只怕等你再次恋上一本书前，那优秀的新作品永远也不会出现罢。或许这真的就是千年等一回、除却巫山不是云了。Orsomethingexcitingcouldhappen.Maybethiswillbecomeyournewfavoritebook.That’salwaysapossibilityright?That’sthebeautyofrisk.Therewardcouldactuallybeworthit.Youinvestyourtimeandyourbrainpowerinthewordsandwhatyougetbackisempathyandanewunderstandingandpurewonder.当然，生活总会有新鲜事发生，你也会有新的爱书。一切总有可能，不是吗？这正是冒险的魅力。得到的也大抵物有所值吧。你在字里行间播撒时间和心思，自然便可收获新的感悟、理解与遐思。Howcouldsomeonepossiblyknowyoulikethis?Somestranger,someauthor,somecharacter.It’slikethey’reseeinginsideyoursoul.Thisbookexistedinsidesomebookstore,onashelf,maybehandledbyotherpeopleandreallyitwasjustwaitingforyoupickitupandcrackthespine.Itwaswaitingtospeaktoyou.Tosay,“Youarenotalone.”怎会有人知道你喜欢它呢？某个陌生人、作者，抑或书中的某个角色。他们似乎能看透你的心思。这本书，它陈列在某隅书店的书架上、它经人辗转，真的就像是在等你捧起翻阅，等着向你低语：“我会伴你左右。”Youjustwantmoreofthestory.Youwanttokeepreading,maybeeverythingthisauthor’severwritten.Youwishitwouldneverend.Thecloseritgetstothesmallersideofthepages,thesloweryouread,wantingtosavoritall.Thisbookisnowoneofyourfavoritesforever.Youwillalwayswishyoucouldgobacktoneverhavingreaditandpickitupfreshagain,butalsoyouknowyou’rebetterforhavingthisclose,insideyou,coveringyourheartandmind.你渴望更多故事，你继续阅读，甚至搜集这位作者以往所有作品。你希望故事永远延续。书页越翻越薄，你也越读越慢，心里想着要细细含英咀华。此刻，它确定无疑就是你永恒的至爱了。你总想一读再读，每次捧起它都感觉新奇如初，而你也明白：因为内心深处的每一缕思绪都与它这般亲密，你已变得更加美好。Onceyougetindeepenough,youknowyoucouldneverputthisbookdown.情动至深那刻，你便知道自己再也将它割舍不下了。来自内心的礼物Thehardestarithmetictomasteristhatwhichenablesustocountourblessings.-EricHoffer世界上最难的算术题是如何清点我们的祝福。Accordingtolegend,ayoungmanwhileroamingthedesertcameacrossaspringofdeliciouscrystal-clearwater.Thewaterwassosweet,hefilledhisleathercanteensohecouldbringsomebacktoatribalelderwhohadbeenhisteacher.据传说，一个年轻的男子在漫游沙漠途中看到一泉如水晶般清澈而可口的水。水的味道非常甜美，于是他灌满了他的皮水壶，这样就可以带一些回去，送给曾经是他老师的部落长老。Afterafour-dayjourneyhepresentedthewatertotheoldmanwhotookadeepdrink,smiledwarmlyandthankedhisstudentlavishlyforthesweetwater.Theyoungmanreturnedtohisvillagewithahappyheart.经过四天的旅程，他把水呈献给老人。老人深饮一口，和蔼地笑了笑，并深切感激学生赠予他甜美的水。年轻人怀着愉快的心情回到了村庄。Later,theteacherletanotherstudenttastethewater.Hespatitout,sayingitwasawful.Itapparentlyhadbecomestalebecauseoftheoldleathercontainer.后来，老师让他的另一个学生品尝水。学生吐了出来，说水太难喝了。它显然已经因为陈旧的皮革容器而变得不再新鲜。Thestudentchallengedhisteacher:Master,thewaterwasfoul.Whydidyoupretendtolikeit?学生质疑他的老师：“师父，水是臭的，你为什么要假装喜欢它？”Theteacherreplied,Youonlytastedthewater.Itastedthegift.Thewaterwassimplythecontainerforanactofloving-kindnessandnothingcouldbesweeter.老师回答说，“你只品尝了水的味道，我却是在品尝礼物的味道。水仅仅是装载善与爱之行为的容器，而没有什么东西比善与爱更甜美了。”Ithinkweunderstandthislessonbestwhenwereceiveinnocentgiftsoflovefromyoungchildren.Whetherit'saceramictrayoramacaronibracelet,thenaturalandproperresponseisappreciationandexpressedthankfulnessbecausewelovetheideawithinthegift.我认为当我们从天真的孩子们那里收到爱的礼物时，能够最透彻地明白这个道理。无论它是一个陶瓷托盘或通心粉手镯，我们自然而恰当的反应是欣赏，并表示感激，因为我们喜欢礼物所包含的心意。Gratitudedoesn'talwayscomenaturally.Unfortunately,mostchildrenandmanyadultsvalueonlythethinggivenratherthanthefeelingembodiedinit.Weshouldremindourselvesandteachourchildrenaboutthebeautyandpurityoffeelingsandexpressionsofgratitude.Afterall,giftsfromtheheartarereallygiftsoftheheart.感恩并不总是自然而来的。不幸的是，大多数儿童和成人只看重被赠予的东西本身，而不是它体现的情谊。我们应该提醒自己，并教导我们的孩子，感情和对感激之情的表达是美丽而纯洁的。毕竟，发自