Hobbies

原文

a gifted American psychologist has said, 'Worry is a spasm of the emotion; the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.' It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition. The stronger the will, the more futile the task. One can only gently insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp. And if this something else is rightly chosen, if it really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swiftly, the old undue grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair begins.

The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of the first importance to a public man. But this is not a business that can be undertaken in a day or swiftly improvised by a mere command of the will. The growth of alternative mental interests is a long process. The seeds must by carefully chosen; they must fall on good ground; they must be sedulously tended, if the vivifying fruits are to be at hand when needed.

To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: 'I will take an interest in this or that.' Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet get hardly any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like; you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes: those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to hard week's sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball or Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or business man, who has beer working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the weekend.

As for the unfortunate people who can command everything they want, who can gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire -- for them a new pleasure, a new excitement if only an additional satiation. In vain they rush frantically round from place to place, trying to escape from avenging boredom by mere clatter and motion. For them discipline in one form or another is the most hopeful path.

It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human being are divided into two classes: first, one. Of these the former are the majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fortune's of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and modest forms. But Fortune's favoured children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays, when they come, are grudged as enforced as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation. Yet to both classes, the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those work is their pleasure are those who and most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.

--WINSTON CHURCHLL Painting as a Pastime--

译文

一位才华横溢的美国心理学家曾说：“担心是一种情感的痉挛；心灵抓住某事而不肯放手。”在这种状态下，与心灵争辩是徒劳的。意志越坚强，任务就越无益。只有温和地向它的痉挛握持中注入别的东西。如果这个别的东西选择得当，如果它确实伴随着另一个兴趣领域的光芒，那么渐渐地，而且往往相当迅速地，原有的过度紧握就会放松，恢复和修复的过程就开始了。

培养一种爱好和新形式的兴趣，因此对一位公众人物来说，是头等重要的政策。但这不是一朝一夕就能完成的事，也不能仅凭意志的命令仓促安排。发展备选的精神兴趣是一个漫长的过程。种子必须仔细挑选；它们必须落在沃土上；必须悉心照料，这样，当需要时，充满活力的果实才会应手。

要真正快乐和安全，人们应该至少有两三种爱好，而且必须是真正的爱好。到了晚年才说：“我要对这个或那个产生兴趣”，这是没有用的。这种尝试只会加剧精神努力的紧张。一个男人或许能获得与日常工作无关的许多知识，却几乎得不到任何益处或解脱。做自己喜欢的事是没有用的；你必须喜欢你做的事。从广义上说，人类可分为三类：那些被劳累至死的人，那些在漫长的一周辛劳和努力之后，期待周六下午踢足球或打棒球的人。对于那位六天来一直为严肃事务工作或忧虑的政客、专业人士或商界人士来说，邀请他们在周末为琐事操心或烦恼也是无济于事的。

至于那些不幸的人，他们能掌控一切所欲，能满足每一个心血来潮，并几乎拿到每一个渴望之物——对他们来说，新鲜的快乐、新鲜的刺激充其量只是额外的满足而已。他们疯狂地从一个地方跑到另一个地方，试图以单纯的喧闹和行动逃脱无情的无聊，却徒劳无功。对他们而言，某种形式的纪律是最有希望的途径。

还可以说，理性的、勤奋的、有用的芸芸众生可分为两大类：第一类……其中，前者占大多数。他们有自己的补偿。办公室或工厂里的漫长时光，不仅带来维持生计的手段，还带来对快乐的强烈渴望，即使是最简单、最朴素的形式。但命运的宠儿属于第二类。他们的生活是一种自然的和谐。对他们来说，工作时间从不够长。每一天都像假日，而当普通假日来临时，却被视为对一种引人入胜的职业的强制性中断。然而，对这两类人来说，需要一种备选的视角、一种氛围的改变、一种努力的转移，都是必不可少的。事实上，很可能正是那些视工作为乐趣的人，最需要定期将它从头脑中驱散的手段。

——温斯顿·丘吉尔《绘画作为消遣》

词汇表

worry

名词, 动词

英:/ˈwʌri/

美:/ˈwɜːri/

定义

1. 担心 - A state of anxiety or unease, often about something with an uncertain outcome.

例子: Constant worry about finances can affect your health.

例子: She couldn't sleep due to worry over her exam results.

2. 使担忧 - To feel or express anxiety (as a verb).

例子: Don't worry about the small details; focus on the big picture.

例子: The news worried him for days.

近义词

anxiety: 强调更持久的情绪状态，而 'worry' 可能更具体地指向具体事件。

concern: 更中性，常用于积极语境，如关心他人；'worry' 则更负面。

fret: 更口语化，暗示反复的焦虑；'worry' 更通用。

反义词:

calm, peace, relief

用法

常用于日常对话中描述心理状态，常见搭配如 'worry about' 或 'cause worry'，在正式语境中可能用于心理学或文学。

形式:

复数: worries, 过去式: worried, 现在分词: worrying, 形容词形式: worried (担心的)

关键句型 "The + comparative adjective, the + comparative adjective"

定义

此句型用于表达两种事物之间的相互比较，强调一个变化导致另一个变化，通常结构为：The + comparative adjective + noun/subject, the + comparative adjective + noun/predicate。例如，文章中的 "The stronger the will, the more futile the task." 根据《牛津现代英语语法》，这种句型显示因果关系，突出程度上的相关性，是一种常见的英语表达方式，用于描述正比或反比关系。

它帮助学习者展示事物间的动态联系，让句子更富有表现力。

用法

此句型常用于讨论生活中的平衡、影响或趋势，如在文章中描述意志力和任务 futility 之间的关系。规则：第一个 the + comparative 引导从句或短语，第二个 the + comparative 引导主句或后续部分。比较级形式如 stronger, more futile 由形容词的比较级构成。

在语法体系中，它属于比较结构的一部分，与简单比较句（如 "A is bigger than B"）不同，此句型强调相互依赖。横向比较：与 "As ... as" 结构相比（如 "As strong as"），它更侧重于比例关系；与 "The more, the better" 类似，但更灵活，可以用于具体语境。与条件句（如 "If A, then B"）的联系在于，都表达因果，但此句型更简洁，直接显示结果的程度变化。例如，在文章中，它连接了个人努力与无效性的主题。

跨语法点联系：学生可将此与副词比较级结合（如 "The harder you work, the more you achieve"），或扩展到其他句型中，建立更广泛的表达能力。

注意事项

学生常犯的错误包括： misuse 比较级形式，如用原级代替（如 "The strong the will" 而非 "The stronger"）；或不平衡结构，导致句子不完整（如遗漏第二个 "the"）。纠正建议：练习时，确保两个部分对称，并使用适当的比较级。另一个常见偏误是过度泛化，将其用于非比较语境。

例如：

错误示例：The fast the car, the arrive early.  // 错误：缺少动词和正确结构。
正确示例：The faster the car, the earlier you arrive.  // 正确：完整表达相互关系。

在文章语境中，学生需注意上下文的逻辑，确保比较是合理的。

练习

原创例子：假设你在讨论学习语言时可以说："The more you practice, the better your pronunciation gets." 学生可以替换关键词，如将 "practice" 换成 "read books"，变成 "The more you read books, the wider your vocabulary becomes." 这能帮助你在日常生活中应用，例如在健身场景中说："The harder you train, the stronger you get."

通过替换练习，学生能加深对句型的掌握，并将其融入个人经历中。

额外内容

背景知识：这种句型起源于古英语的比较表达，常见于文学和演讲中，如丘吉尔的文章用于强调生活哲理。对比分析：与中文的 "越...越..." 结构类似（如 "意志越强，任务越徒劳"），但英语更依赖语法形式而非词汇。相比法语的类似表达，英语版本更简洁，便于初学者。在文化背景上，它常用于激励或警示，如在自我提升书籍中，帮助学生理解努力与结果的平衡。