Unit 2
Unit 2
Table of Contents
Audio
Text&Translation
"Never put off till tomorrow," exhorted Lord Chesterfield in 1749, "what you can do today." That the elegant earl never got around to marrying his son's mother and had a bad habit of keeping worthies like Dr. Johnson cooling their heels for hours in an anteroom attests to the fact that even the most well-intentioned men have been postponers ever. Quintus Fabius Maximus, one of the great Roman generals, was dubbed "Cunctator" (Delayer) for putting off battle until the last possible vinum break.' Moses pleaded a speech defect to rationalize his reluctance to deliver Jehovah's edict to Pharaoh. Hamlet, of course, raised procrastination to an art form.
“今日事，今日毕。”切斯特菲尔德勋爵于一七四九年如是告诫。然而，这位风雅的伯爵始终未能与其子之母完婚，且有让约翰逊博士这等名士在接待室苦等数小时的陋习。凡此种种，恰恰印证了一个事实：即便是用心最良苦之人，自古以来也难免有拖延之习。罗马名将昆图斯·费边·马克西姆斯，便因其惯于拖延战事，非到最后饮酒小憩不得已之时绝不出兵，而获“拖延者”（Cunctator）之称。摩西也曾以口吃为由，为自己不愿向法老传达耶和华的旨意而辩解。至于哈姆雷特，更是将拖延演绎成了一种艺术。
The world is probably about evenly divided between delayers and do-it-nowers. There are those who prepare their income taxes in February, prepay mortgages and serve precisely planned dinners at an ungodly 6:30 p.m. The other half dine happily on leftovers at 9 or 10, misplace bills and file for an extension of the income tax deadline. They seldom pay credit-card bills until the apocalyptic voice of Diners threatens doom from Denver. They postpone, as Faustian encounters, visits to barbershop, dentist or doctor.
世人大概可以均分为两类：一类是拖延成性者，另一类则是雷厉风行者。 有些人二月份便报妥税款，提前清偿按揭，并在反常的傍晚六点半准时奉上精心筹备的晚餐。而另一半人则乐于在九、十点钟才享用残羹剩饭，常常找不到账单，所得税申报也总要申请延期。他们信用卡账单往往拖到最后，直到丹佛“大来”信用卡公司那带着末日审判意味的催款声响起，才不得不支付。至于理发、看牙医或就医这类仿佛浮士德式契约般的赴约，他们更是能拖则拖。
Yet for all the trouble procrastination may incur, delay can often inspire and revive a creative soul. Jean Kerr, author of many successful novels and plays, says that she reads every soup-can and jam-jar label in her kitchen before settling down to her typewriter. Many a writer focuses on almost anything but his task—for example, on the Coast and Geodetic Survey of Maine's Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor, stimulating his imagination with names like Googins Ledge, Blunts Pond, Hio Hill and Burnt Porcupine, Long Porcupine, Sheep Porcupine and Bald Porcupine islands.
然而，尽管拖延可能带来诸多麻烦，它却常常能激发创作灵感，令创意复苏。多产作家琼·克尔就坦言，她在伏案写作前，会把厨房里所有汤罐和果酱瓶上的标签都读个遍。许多作家在写作时，注意力几乎会投向任何与任务无关的事物——譬如，缅因州法兰西人湾和巴尔港的海岸与大地测量报告，诸如古金斯礁、布朗茨塘、海奥山以及那些名为焦土豪猪、长豪猪、绵羊豪猪和秃顶豪猪的岛屿，无不激发着他的创作灵感。
From Cunctator's day until this century, the art of postponement had been virtually a monopoly of the military ("Hurry up and wait"), diplomacy and the law. In former times, a British proconsul faced with a native uprising could comfortably ruminate about the situation with Singapore Sling in hand. Blessedly, he had no nattering Telex to order in machine guns and fresh troops. A U.S. general as late as World War II could agree with his enemy counterpart to take a sporting day off, loot the villagers' chickens and wine and go back to battle a day later. Lawyers are among the world's most addicted postponers. According to Frank Nathan, a nonpostponing Beverly Hills insurance salesman, "The number of attorneys who die without a will is amazing."
自费边·马克西姆斯时代直至本世纪，拖延之术几乎为军界（奉行“赶快行动，然后等着”）、外交界和法律界所垄断。昔日，一位英国总督面对土著起义，尚可手持一杯新加坡司令鸡尾酒，从容思忖对策。庆幸的是，那时没有喋喋不休的电传机催他调拨机关枪和增援部队。迟至二战时期，一位美国将军仍可与敌方将领约定休战一日，各自逍遥，搜刮村民的鸡和酒，翌日再战。律师堪称世上最嗜拖延的群体之一。据比弗利山庄一位从不拖延的保险推销员弗兰克·内森所言：“律师死后未立遗嘱者，数量之多，令人咋舌。”
Even where there is no will, there is a way. There is a difference, of course, between chronic procrastination and purposeful postponement, particularly in the higher echelons of business. Corporate dynamics encourage the caution that breeds delay, says Richard Manderbach, Bank of America group vice president. He notes that speedy action can be embarrassing or extremely costly. The data explosion fortifies those seeking excuses for inaction—another report to be read, another authority to be consulted. "There is always," says Manderbach, "a delicate edge between having enough information and too much."
即便没有遗嘱（意愿），也总有办法（拖延）。当然，习惯性拖延与有目的的推迟之间存在差异，尤其在商界高层更是如此。美国银行集团副总裁理查德·曼德巴赫指出，企业动态本身就助长了那种会导致拖延的谨慎作风。他认为，行动过速可能令人难堪，或代价高昂。数据爆炸也为那些想方设法不作为的人提供了口实——总有读不完的报告，总有咨询不完的权威。曼德巴赫说：“在信息充足与信息过量之间，总存在着一条微妙的界线。”
His point is well taken. Bureaucratization, which flourished amid the growing burdens of government and the greater complexity of society, was designed to smother policymakers in blankets of legalism, compromise and reappraisal—and thereby prevent hasty decisions from being made. The centralization of government that led to Watergate has spread to economic institutions and beyond, making procrastination a worldwide way of life. Many languages are studded with phrases that refer to putting things off—from the Spanish mañana to the Arabic bukrail mishmish (literally "tomorrow in apricots," more loosely "leave it for the soft spring weather when the apricots are blooming").
他的观点颇有见地。官僚化在政府负担日增和社会日趋复杂的背景下滋生蔓延，其初衷便是将决策者裹在法条主义、妥协折衷和反复评估的层层束缚之中，以防草率决策。导致水门事件的政府集权化，如今已蔓延至经济等各个领域，使得拖延之风席卷全球。许多语言中都有指代拖延的说法——从西班牙语的“mañana”（明天再说）到阿拉伯语中的“bukrail mishmish”（字面意为“杏子熟的明天”，引申为“待到春和景明、杏花烂漫之时再说”）。
Academe also takes high honors in procrastination. Bernard Sklar, a University of Southern California sociologist who churns out three to five pages of writing a day, admits that "many of my friends go through agonies when they face a blank page. There are all sorts of rationalizations: the pressure of teaching, responsibilities at home, checking out the latest book, looking up another footnote."
学术界在拖延方面也是“名列前茅”。南加州大学社会学家伯纳德·斯克拉每日笔耕不辍，能写三至五页，但他承认：“我的许多朋友在面对白纸时都备受煎熬。他们总有各种各样的借口：教学压力大、家务缠身、要查阅最新书籍、要核对另一条脚注等等。”
Psychologists maintain that the most assiduous procrastinators are women, though many psychologists are (at $50-plus an hour) pretty good delayers themselves. Dr. Ralph Greenson, a U.C.L.A. professor of clinical psychiatry (and Marilyn Monroe's one-time shrink), takes a fairly gentle view of procrastination. "To many people," he says, "doing something, confronting, is the moment of truth. All frightened people will then avoid the moment of truth entirely, or evade or postpone it until the last possible moment." To Georgia State Psychologist Joen Fagan, however, procrastination may be a kind of subliminal way of sorting the important from the trivial. "When I drag my feet, there's usually some reason," says Fagan. "I feel it, but I don't yet know the real reason."
心理学家认为，最易养成拖延积习的是女性，尽管许多心理学家（收费每小时五十美元以上）自己也深谙拖延之道。加州大学洛杉矶分校临床精神病学教授拉尔夫·格林森博士（曾为玛丽莲·梦露的心理医生）对拖延持一种较为温和的看法。他说：“对许多人而言，采取行动、直面问题，便是‘真相时刻’。所有心怀恐惧之人，要么会完全逃避这一时刻，要么会设法躲闪或将其推迟至最后一刻。”然而，在佐治亚州立大学心理学家乔恩·费根看来，拖延或许是一种潜意识中区分轻重缓急的方式。费根说：“当我磨磨蹭蹭的时候，通常事出有因。我能感觉到，但尚不清楚真正的原因。”
In fact, there is a long and honorable history of procrastination to suggest that many ideas and decisions may well improve if postponed. It is something of a truism that to put off making a decision is itself a decision. The parliamentary process is essentially a system of delay and deliberation. So, for that matter, is the creation of a great painting, or an entree, or a book, or a building like Blenheim Palace, which took the Duke of Marlborough's architects and laborers 15 years to construct. In the process, the design can mellow and marinate. Indeed, hurry can be the assassin of elegance. As T.H. White, author of Sword in the Stone, once wrote, time "is not meant to be devoured in an hour or a day, but to be consumed delicately and gradually and without haste." In other words, pace Lord Chesterfield, what you don't necessarily have to do today, by all means put off until tomorrow.
事实上，拖延的历史源远流长，不乏光彩，这表明许多想法和决策若能加以推迟，反而可能更臻完善。推迟做决定本身就是一种决定，这已近乎老生常谈。议会程序本质上就是一个拖延和审议的体系。同理，一幅杰作的诞生，一道主菜的烹制，一部著作的完成，或如布伦海姆宫那般耗费马尔伯勒公爵的建筑师与工匠十五载光阴方才建成的宏伟建筑，其过程亦是如此。在此过程中，设计得以酝酿成熟，更臻完美。的确，仓促行事往往会扼杀优雅。正如《石中剑》作者T.H.怀特曾写道，时间“并非让你在一小时或一天内狼吞虎咽，而是需要你从容不迫、细细品味、慢慢消磨。”换言之，且慢赞同切斯特菲尔德勋爵的观点，那些今日不必急于完成之事，尽可留待明日再办。
Summary&Mindmap
English Summary The article explores the multifaceted nature of procrastination, acknowledging its commonality across history and different types of people. While often viewed negatively, the text highlights that delay can also foster creativity, lead to more considered decisions in complex environments like corporations and government, and even has a historical precedent in military and diplomacy. It contrasts "delayers" with "do-it-nowers," examines psychological motivations for procrastination, and ultimately suggests that purposeful postponement can be beneficial, allowing ideas to mature and preventing hasty actions, thereby challenging the simple maxim to "never put off till tomorrow what you can do today."
中文概括 本文深入剖析了“拖延”这一行为。文章开篇引用“今日事今日毕”的格言，随即指出其倡导者自身亦是拖延者，并列举历史名人佐证拖延的普遍性。作者将人分为“拖延者”与“立即行动者”，探讨了拖延在创作、军事、外交、法律、商业、政府及学术界的表现与影响。文章进一步分析了拖延的心理成因，并区分了消极拖延与有益的“刻意推迟”，认为后者能孕育更佳决策与优雅成果，最终巧妙反驳了开篇的格言。
Analysis
"That the elegant earl never got around to marrying his son's mother and had a bad habit of keeping worthies like Dr. Johnson cooling their heels for hours in an anteroom attests to the fact that even the most well-intentioned men have been postponers ever."
- 中文解释： 这句话的主语是一个由 "That" 引导的超长名词性从句，一直到 "anteroom" 结束。这个从句描述了两件事：第一，“那位优雅的伯爵（指切斯特菲尔德勋爵）始终未能抽出时间与他儿子的母亲结婚”；第二，“他还有一个坏习惯，就是让像约翰逊博士这样的名流显贵在接待室里苦等数小时”。“Cooling their heels” 是一个习惯用语，意为“（因等待而）感到不耐烦、焦急或无聊”，这里指让他们白白等候。“attests to the fact that”意为“证明了这样一个事实”，即“即使是最善意的人，也向来都是拖延者”（even the most well-intentioned men have been postponers ever）。“ever”在这里强调“自始至终，一向如此”。整句话结构复杂，通过列举切斯特菲尔德勋爵自身的拖延行为，来讽刺性地印证“再好心的人也会拖延”的观点。
"They seldom pay credit-card bills until the apocalyptic voice of Diners threatens doom from Denver."
- 中文解释： 这句话描绘了拖延者支付账单的情景。“apocalyptic voice” 指“末日般的声音”或“带来厄运的声音”，这里用夸张和比喻的手法形容催款通知的严厉和警告的严重性。“Diners” 特指 “Diners Club”（大来信用卡公司），是早期著名的信用卡品牌之一，其总部位于丹佛（Denver）。因此，“the apocalyptic voice of Diners threatens doom from Denver” 形象地指“直到丹佛的大来信用卡公司发出带着末日审判般意味的催款警告，威胁要带来毁灭性后果时”，他们（拖延者）才“几乎不”（seldom）会去支付信用卡账单。这句话通过生动的比喻和特定文化背景（Diners Club），强调了拖延者不见棺材不落泪的付款习惯。
"Many a writer focuses on almost anything but his task—for example, on the Coast and Geodetic Survey of Maine's Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor, stimulating his imagination with names like Googins Ledge, Blunts Pond, Hio Hill and Burnt Porcupine, Long Porcupine, Sheep Porcupine and Bald Porcupine islands."
- 中文解释： “Many a writer” 是一种略显正式的表达，意为“许多作家”。这句话的核心意思是“许多作家会专注于除本职工作（写作任务）之外的几乎任何事情”。破折号后面的内容是具体的例子，说明作家们会如何分心：例如，他们可能会研究“缅因州法兰西人湾和巴尔港的海岸与大地测量报告”（Coast and Geodetic Survey of Maine's Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor）。通过接触这些报告中诸如“古金斯暗礁、布朗茨池塘、海奥山以及烧焦豪猪岛、长豪猪岛、羊豪猪岛和秃头豪猪岛”等地名来“激发他们的想象力”（stimulating his imagination）。这些地名本身奇特有趣，可能为写作提供灵感，但也可能仅仅是拖延写作的一种方式。此句通过列举一个非常具体且略显古怪的例子，生动展现了作家们为逃避主要任务而寻找替代性关注点的拖延行为。
"In former times, a British proconsul faced with a native uprising could comfortably ruminate about the situation with Singapore Sling in hand."
- 中文解释： “In former times” 指“在过去/从前”。“a British proconsul” 指“一位英国的总督或地方行政长官”（通常指在殖民地的）。当这位总督“面临当地土著起义”（faced with a native uprising）时，他可以“手里端着一杯新加坡司令鸡尾酒”（with Singapore Sling in hand），“悠闲舒适地反复思索”（comfortably ruminate about）当前的局势。“Singapore Sling” 是一种著名的鸡尾酒，在此象征着殖民官员悠闲、从容不迫的生活方式。这句话通过描绘殖民地官员在危机面前仍能慢条斯理地品酒思考的画面，暗示了过去时代由于通讯和交通不便，决策者拥有更多时间和空间来从容应对，甚至拖延处理紧急事务。
"Bureaucratization, which flourished amid the growing burdens of government and the greater complexity of society, was designed to smother policymakers in blankets of legalism, compromise and reappraisal—and thereby prevent hasty decisions from being made."
- 中文解释： “Bureaucratization”指“官僚化过程或官僚主义作风”。这句话的主干是“Bureaucratization... was designed to smother policymakers... and thereby prevent hasty decisions”。“which flourished amid the growing burdens of government and the greater complexity of society” 是一个非限制性定语从句，修饰“Bureaucratization”，指出官僚化是在“政府负担日益加重和社会日益复杂化”的背景下兴盛起来的。核心动词短语“smother policymakers in blankets of legalism, compromise and reappraisal”运用了生动的隐喻：“blankets”意为“毯子”，这里指代繁琐的程序和规则；“legalism”（本本主义/法律条文主义）、“compromise”（妥协）和“reappraisal”（重新评估）是官僚体系的典型特征。整个短语形象地表示官僚化旨在“用层层叠叠的本本主义、无休止的妥协和反复的重新评估来‘窒息’或‘包裹’决策者”，其目的是“从而防止仓促做出决定”（thereby prevent hasty decisions from being made）。这句话揭示了官僚化的双重性：它虽然拖沓，但其设计初衷是为了通过程序化的制约来避免草率决策。
"Many languages are studded with phrases that refer to putting things off—from the Spanish mañana to the Arabic bukrail mishmish (literally 'tomorrow in apricots,' more loosely 'leave it for the soft spring weather when the apricots are blooming')."
- 中文解释： 这句话指出“许多语言中都点缀着（studded with）指代拖延的短语”。“studded with” 形象地表示“遍布着，镶嵌着”。随后列举了两个例子：从西班牙语的“mañana”（明天，引申为拖延）到阿拉伯语的“bukrail mishmish”。括号内解释了这个阿拉伯语短语的字面意思：“明天在杏子（成熟）时”，并给出了更宽泛的引申义：“把它留到杏子盛开的柔和春日天气再说吧”。这句话通过跨文化语言现象，说明拖延行为及其表达的普遍性，并用具体的异国短语及其生动的字面和引申含义增加了趣味性和文化色彩。
"To Georgia State Psychologist Joen Fagan, however, procrastination may be a kind of subliminal way of sorting the important from the trivial."
- 中文解释： “To Georgia State Psychologist Joen Fagan” 指“然而，在佐治亚州立大学心理学家乔恩·费根看来”。这句话的核心观点是：“拖延可能是一种下意识的（subliminal）区分重要与琐碎事务的方式”。“Subliminal” 指“潜意识的，下意识的”，意味着这种区分过程并非有意识的理性分析，而是在意识层面之下发生的。这句话为拖延行为提供了一种相对积极的心理学解释，认为它可能并非纯粹的懒惰或逃避，而是一种内在的、自动的优先级排序机制。
"In other words, pace Lord Chesterfield, what you don't necessarily have to do today, by all means put off until tomorrow."
- 中文解释： “In other words” 意为“换句话说”。“pace Lord Chesterfield” 中的 “pace” 是一个源自拉丁文的词，常用于书面语，表示“恕我直言（尽管切斯特菲尔德勋爵可能不这么认为）”或“请切斯特菲尔德勋爵原谅（我要提出不同看法了）”。它用在礼貌地表示与某位权威人士意见相左的场合。紧接着的 “what you don't necessarily have to do today, by all means put off until tomorrow” 则是对文章开头切斯特菲尔德勋爵格言的直接反驳和戏仿，意为：“那些你今天并非必须要做的事情，务必推到明天再做。” “by all means” 强调“一定要，尽一切办法”。这句话作为文章的结尾，巧妙地总结了作者对拖延的更细致入微的看法，即并非所有拖延都是坏事，有时推迟反而是明智的。