化食物為力量

A Slice of Happiness

Roger： Hey May！ ①Mind if I bend your ear for a minute？

May： Sure. What is it？

Roger： I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been sitting by yourself these days. I mean， the cafeteria is a pretty big place. So why are you all the way over here in no-man’s land？ Why not come over and sit with us？

May： I’m…I’m just not in the mood to be around anyone right now.

Roger： Is everything alright？

May： No！ Everything is most certainly not alright.

Roger： Well， whatever’s got you down， I’m sure it’s not worth 1）isolating yourself from the group.

May： What’s so great about groups anyway？ Why do we have to be part of the group？ ②All I wanted was a break from the constant 2）bragging and complaining and jibberjabber that goes on day in and day out around this place. No， scratch that. Not just this place， it’s everywhere you look！

Roger： What are you talking about？

May： I’m talking about happy people being happy， while sad sacks like me try to balance the 3）scales by bringing the happy people down to their level and knocking them down a peg.

Roger： Don’t you think that’s a pretty 4）cynical view of things？

May： Look， I didn’t want to be Debbie Downer， so I decided to 5）spare you guys the sobstory of how my acting dreams were 6）dashed against the 7）proverbial rocks of rejection. So， instead， I 8）retreated to this quiet little corner of the lunchroom to enjoy my meal in peace. Now， if you don’t mind， I’d like to get back to eating my feelings. And hopefully these three giant slices of pizza will help me carve out a momentary slice of happiness for myself， in an otherwise depressing world.

Roger： Don’t take this the wrong way， but I think you may have a serious problem on your hands. And this is a problem that neither you nor any of us is 9）equipped to handle alone.

May： Please don’t say therapy， because I swear， if you do， I’m out the door.

Roger： I care about you. And I wouldn’t be so worried if I didn’t care so much. ③You were there for me when I was dealing with my own personal demons last year， so you can bet that I’m gonna help you through this rough patch， no matter what it takes.

May： You think you can somehow revive my 10）dead-end acting career？ Because I don’t think I can take anymore letdowns. And if I hear one more “We’ll call you” from a casting director， ④I might just blow a gasket.

Roger： Well， binging on reheated cafeteria pizza is not the answer to what ails you.

May： I know. But at least it dulls the pain of disappointment for a spell.

Roger： Yeah， but， I mean， there’s gotta be a better way…

羅杰：嘿，玫。可以和你聊會兒嗎？

玫：當然。怎么了？

羅杰：我不禁發現這些天來你都是獨自一人坐著。我的意思是這自助餐廳這么大，為什么你偏要跑到這個偏僻的角落？為什么不過來和我們坐在一起呢？

玫：我……我現在只想一個人待著。

羅杰：一切都還好吧？

玫：不！一切當然都不好。

羅杰：嗯，不管是什么讓你這么失落，我都確信它不值得你把自己從群體中孤立起來。

玫：不管怎樣，群體有什么好的呢？為什么我們一定要處于群體當中呢？我只想逃離這個整天充斥著吹噓、埋怨和胡言亂語的地方。不，我剛說錯了，不只是這個地方，我所見的地方都讓我討厭。

羅杰：你在說什么呢？玫：我說的是快樂的人自然是快樂的，而像我這樣的悲劇人物則通過貶低他們，滅他們的威風來平衡一下心理了。

羅杰：你不覺得你對事物的看法相當地憤世嫉俗嗎？

玫：喂，我不想成為黛比·唐娜（注：指一個人特別消極，喜歡說喪氣話打擊別人），掃大家的興，所以我決定不拿我的演員夢被眾所周知的頑固阻礙給擊碎了的傷心故事來煩大家。相反地，我退到餐廳的一個安靜的小角落，靜靜地享受我的午餐。如果你不介意的話，現在我又要回去品嘗我的悲傷了。希望這三大塊比薩餅能在這個令人沮喪的世界里給我帶來片刻的幸福。

羅杰：不要通過這種錯誤的方式（來排遣憂傷）。但我覺得你可能正面臨著嚴重的問題。這個問題你我都沒有能力單獨解決。

玫：請不要再說什么心理治療了，因為我發誓如果你這樣做的話，我就離開這里。

羅杰：我關心你。如果我不這么關心你的話，我就不會這么著急了。去年在我遭遇個人不幸時，你一直在我身邊。所以你可以確信我將會幫助你渡過難關，不管付出什么代價。

玫：你認為你可以重振我那毫無出路的演員生涯嗎？因為我覺得我再也無法承受更多的失望了。如果我再聽見選角導演說“我們會打電話通知你”這種話，我會勃然大怒的。

羅杰：嗯，沉溺在加熱的自助餐廳比薩餅也不能解決煩擾你的問題呀。

玫：我知道。但至少它能暫時緩解失望帶來的傷痛。

羅杰：是的，但是，我的意思是，一定還有更好的辦法的……

Smart Sentences

① Mind if I bend your ear for a minute？

可以和你聊會兒嗎？

bend sb.’s ear： talk to sb.， perhaps annoyingly， but usually about an important matter（講得某人厭煩，與某人談要事）。例如：

He was fed up with people bending his ear about what a wonderful job he had.

人們不停地跟他說他有一個很好的工作，他煩得不行。

② All I wanted was a break from the constant bragging and complaining and jibber-jabber that goes on day in and day out around this place.

我只想逃離這個整天充斥著吹噓、埋怨和胡言亂語的地方。

jibber-jabber： quick and unintelligible talks（急促而含混不清的話）。例如：

On weekends， I have to leave the house and get away from my mother-inlaw’s non-stop jibber-jabber.

周末我一定得離開家，擺脫我岳母喋喋不休的嘮叨。

③ You were there for me when I was dealing with my own personal demons last year， so you can bet that I’m gonna help you through this rough patch， no matter what it takes.

去年在我遭遇個人不幸時，你一直在我身邊。所以你可以確信我將會幫助你渡過難關，不管付出什么代價。

rough patch： a time full of problems（倒霉時期，艱難階段）。例如：

Mary and I went through a rough patch， but we finally worked things out and now we’re happily married.

我與瑪麗的關系經歷了一個艱難時期，但我們最終解決了問題，現在我們的婚姻很幸福。

④ I might just blow a gasket.

我會勃然大怒的。

blow a gasket： react furiously to sth. or sb.， to the point of losing one’s control（發脾氣，勃然大怒）。例如：

Okay， Mom， don’t blow a gasket. It’s just a tiny scratch on the car.

好了，媽，別發火，車子只不過有一個小刮痕。