英語晨讀精華 Week 8 Dav 4 Who Moved Mv Cheese 誰動了我的奶酪
Who Moved My Cheese
本篇選自廣為流傳的很有意思的暢銷書：《誰動了我的奶酪》
從前，在一個遙遠的地方，住著四個小家伙。為了填飽肚子和享受樂趣，他們每天在不遠處的一座奇妙的迷宮里跑來跑去，在那里尋找一種叫做“奶酪”的黃橙橙、香噴噴的食物..
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The book by Dr Spencer Johnson that Who moved my cheese features four imaginary characters: “Sniff” and “Scurry” (who are mice) and two little people “Hem” and “Haw”. Cheese is a metaphor for what makes you happy—this is the cheese of life (a good job, health, spiritual peace of mind, a loving relationship) dealing with anticipating, adapting and enjoying change and to be always ready for new changes.
The story goes that the four little characters ran through a maze (the organization) daily, looking for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. Sniff and Scurry used their instincts and a simple trial-and-error method, while Hem and Haw used their brains, filled with many beliefs and emotions but also learning from past experiences, developing more complicated methods. This often made their lives complicated and challenging.
The lessons Haw learned which we could use are:
1. Laugh at your own folly—then you can let go and quickly move on.
2. Keep life simple (don’t overanalyze or overcomplicate things).
3. Envision yourself (in realistic detail) finding something better.
4. Learn from mistakes made in the past and learn to deal with change.
5. Do not overcomplicate matters or confuse yourself with fearful beliefs.
6. Notice when little changes began so that you would be better prepared for the big change that might be coming.
7. If you do not adapt in time, you might as well not adapt at all.
8. The biggest inhibitor to change lies within yourself and nothing gets better until you change.
9. There is always new cheese out there, whether you recognize it at the time or not, and you are rewarded with it when you go past your fear and enjoy the adventure.
10. Some fear should be respected as it keep you out of real danger — most of our fears are often irrational and keep us from changing when we need to.
11. Change is often a blessing in disguise, as it leads us to finding better cheese.
[注釋]：
Spencer Johnson: （作家）斯賓塞·約翰遜
imaginary: having existence only in the imagination; unreal 想象的，虛構的
metaphor: 隱喻
maze: a graphic puzzle, the solution of which is an uninterrupted path through an intricate pattern
of line segments from a starting point to a goal 迷宮
instinct: an innate capability or aptitude 本能
trial-and-error: 嘗試后矯正
complicated: containing intricately combined or involved parts 復雜的
folly: an act or instance of foolishness 荒唐事，傻念頭
overanalyze or overcomplicate: 分析過度或過度復雜化
envision: to picture in the mind; imagine 想象，預想
inhibitor: one that inhibits, as a substance that retards or stops a chemical reaction 抑制劑
adventure: to engage in hazardous activities; take risks 冒險
disguise: appearance that misrepresents the true character of something 偽裝
