(来源：英语杂志 http://www.EnglishCN.com)

　　新概念三Lesson 26介绍了流浪汉简朴的生活和无忧无虑的心境。现代社会快节奏的生活方式总是压得我们喘不过气来，有的时候真想逃遁到小岛上去忘记一切烦恼！其实有些时候烦恼真的是自找的啊……本期给大家讲述一个很有哲理的寓言故事。

　　Someone entitled "How to worry" tells about the clock that had a nervous breakdown. A new clock placed on the shelf was ticking two ticks to the second as any good clock should tick. Then it began to calculate how many times it was going to have to tick. "Two ticks to the second means 120 ticks per minute. That's 7200 ticks per hour, 172,800 ticks per day, 1,209,600 per week for 52 weeks, and a total of 62,899,200 per year." Horrified, the clock had a nervous breakdown。

　　有人给这个故事取了个名字——“烦恼的方式”：这是一个得了神经衰弱的时钟的故事。架子上摆了一个新时钟，它每秒比其他正常时钟多“嘀嗒”一次。然后，它开始计算它到底要“嘀嗒”多少次呢？“一秒‘嘀嗒’一次的话，一分钟就是120次，一个小时7200次，一天172,800次，一周1,209,600次，一年有52周，共62,899,200次！”被这可怕的计算结果吓到，可怜的时钟得了神经衰弱。

　　The clock was taken to a psychiatrist who asked, "Clock, what's your trouble?" "Oh, doctor," the clock complained, "I have to tick so much. I have to tick two ticks a second and 120 ticks per minute and 7200 ticks per hour, and ..." "Hold it," the psychiatrist cut in, "How many ticks do you have to tick at a time?" "Oh, I just have to tick one tick at a time," was the reply. "Then let me make a suggestion," replied the doctor. "You go home and try ticking one tick at a time. Don't even think about the next tick until its time. Just tick one tick at a time. Can you do that?" "Of course, I can" said the clock now happy and revived。

　　时钟被带到精神病医生面前，医生问它：“时钟，你哪里不舒服啊？”时钟抱怨道：“医生，我的工作量太大了，你看，我一秒‘嘀嗒’一次的话，一分钟就是120次，一个小时7200次，一天……”“停！”医生打断时钟的解释“你告诉我你每秒到底需要‘嘀嗒’几次？”时钟回答：“啊~我只需要‘嘀嗒’一次。”医生给时钟开出了治疗建议：“你现在回家，每秒只需‘嘀嗒’一次。在下一次‘嘀嗒’前不要去想工作的事儿。你可以做到么？”“当然！”时钟信心满满地回答。后来，这位时钟朋友生活得很快乐，很有活力。

　　This story teaches us three things: why people worry, the futility of worry, and how to overcome worry。

　　这个故事告诉我们三件事：为什么人们会感到烦恼，烦恼是徒劳无功的，如何摆脱烦恼。

　　Why people worry:

　　We worry when in our minds we try to bite off more than we can chew. The clock is bothered about how many ticks it will have to make in one year rather than focusing on the ticking it needs to do today, this very minute. Similarly, we should not worry about so many things "'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?'". We try to handle too many things on our minds when we worry about the future, about the tomorrows of our life that are so uncertain。

　　为什么人们会感到烦恼：

　　我们会感到烦恼是因为我们试着去完成超出我们能力范围的东西。时钟不去担忧它每天、每分钟该做的事，而是担忧到底一年中它需要完成哪些任务。同样，我们不需要去担心这么多事，“要吃什么？”“要喝什么？”“要穿什么？”……当我们想到未来的时候，我们总是试着去处理太多的事情。然而未来的生活是如此不可确定。

　　The futility of worry:

　　In the story of the clock we see that worry does not solve problems. Rather, it is counterproductive. As the clock experienced, and this can diminish the person's life span。

　　烦恼是徒劳无功的：

　　从时钟的故事中我们可以发现一个道理：烦恼是解决不了问题的。恰恰相反，它甚至会让事情事倍功半。同时钟的经历一样，烦恼会有损人们的身体健康。

　　How to overcome worry:

　　We overcome worry by living in the present moment, focusing on what we need to do today, knowing that we can figure out how to cross tomorrow's bridge when we get there. To focus on the present and not on the future!

　　如何摆脱烦恼：

　　我们只有活在当下才能摆脱烦恼。我们应该专注于今天要做的事，当明天到来时再去思考如何度过。活在当下吧！不要为明天的不确定烦恼！