今年的年度詞“有毒”？

There’s only one month left of 2018. If you could pick a single word to describe the year, which would you choose?

2018年只剩下一個月了。如果要選一個詞來形容這一年，你會選哪個詞呢?

This year the Oxford Dictionary has gone with “toxic”, its “word of the year”.

今年，《牛津詞典》將“有毒”選為了2018年年度詞。

The word toxic has become a “descriptor for 2018’s most talked about topics” and it “has been used in an array of contexts, both in its literal and more metaphorical senses”, according to the Oxford Dictionaries website.

“Toxic”一詞成為了“2018年諸多熱議話題的形容詞”，并且“被用于一系列語境之中，包括字面義及引申義，”《牛津詞典》官網(wǎng)如此表示。

Defined as “poisonous” and first appearing in English in the mid-17th century, “toxic” is still often used to describe chemicals and substances like plastics. It has been frequently used in heated discussions on the environment in our communities and society. For example, phrases like “toxicity of plastics” and “toxicity of air” have been used repeatedly in recent years.

“Toxic”意為“有毒”，17世紀(jì)中期首次在英語中出現(xiàn)，如今仍時常被用于形容塑料等化學(xué)品。在團(tuán)體和社會熱議的環(huán)境問題中，該詞被頻繁使用。比如，“塑料的毒性”以及“空氣的毒性”等說法近年來反復(fù)出現(xiàn)。

But now the word is being used metaphorically. Workplaces, schools, cultures, relationships and stress are being called “toxic” today. Used in this way, “toxic” means an invisible detrimental circumstance. For example, the Me Too Movement, an online campaign that supports women against harassment, puts the spotlight on “toxic masculinity”, which may hurt women physically or mentally.

而如今，這個詞語的意思被引申了。工作場合、學(xué)校、文化、人際關(guān)系以及壓力如今都被稱為“有毒”。在這種語境之下，“toxic”指的是隱形且有害的處境。比如，在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上聲援女性抵制騷擾的“Me Too”運(yùn)動中，“有毒的男子氣概”或許會對女性造成生理和心理上的傷害，成為了關(guān)注焦點(diǎn)。

So, if there is much that is “toxic” today, what can we do to restore our moral integrity?

既然如今“有毒”的事情這么多，那么我們?nèi)绾尾拍鼙Ｗ∽约旱牡赖虏偈啬?

It is difficult to answer this question, but we can find guidance in the example of people from the past. One was the famous Song poet Zhou Dunyi (1017-1073). In his poem Ode to the Lotus Flower, he compared himself to the lotus flower which “grows in mud without being contaminated by it”. Here Zhou declared his determination to stay away from evil and corruption.

這個問題很難回答，但我們可以從古人身上獲得指引。其中之一便是宋朝著名詩人周敦頤。在其所著的《愛蓮說》一文中，他將自己比作“出淤泥而不染”的荷花，表明了自己遠(yuǎn)離奸邪腐敗的決心。

But perhaps you can’t see yourself as a person like Zhou Dunyi, and are still confused about how to stay free of toxicity. These words of US author Leo Buscaglia (1924-1988) may help: “The easiest thing to be in the world is you, and the most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position”.

但你或許覺得自己無法成為周敦頤這樣的人，并且仍對如何擺脫這些有毒之事感到困惑。美國作家里奧·巴斯卡力的這席話或許會有所幫助：“這個世界上最簡單的事是做你自己，最難的事是成為他人眼中的你自己。不要讓他人將你置于如此的處境。”