By Murphy/王新倉(cāng)（譯）

◆語(yǔ)篇導(dǎo)讀

雖然我們常說(shuō)“一寸光陰一寸金，寸金難買寸光陰”，以此說(shuō)明時(shí)間的寶貴，但同時(shí)我們又在經(jīng)意或不經(jīng)意中肆意地?fù)]霍時(shí)間，那么，怎樣才能避免過(guò)度地浪費(fèi)時(shí)間呢？那就是把時(shí)間看成一種投資，多多關(guān)注其回報(bào)率，這樣我們寶貴的時(shí)間就不會(huì)被肆意浪費(fèi)掉了。

Think of how stingy you are with your money:if someone on the street asks for$10,you’re not giving it to him.There’s no way you’re giving a 30%tip for a normal dining experience.And so on.

And yet so many of us just waste randomly amounts of our time.We throw it away,every day.I know I do unless I’m careful.What helps me not to waste time is to see it as an investment,and to keep track of the returns I get for my investment.

This approach has led me to recognize that some things offer incredible immediate return on investment:a night spent learning a new song on my preferred instruments,for example,gives me a lifetime of being able to play that song.That’s an incredible return.Other investments are more like low-interest,high security,longterm investments:going to the gym,eating right,etc.Some,like reading good books,are kind of a combination of both.

But many activities are worthless from an investment perspective:whatever benefit they seem to give doesn’t last any longer than the activity itself.“Price is what you pay.Value is what you get.”— Warren Buffett.This applies to everything:money,relationships,time.Knowing this changes your life.

Of course,I’m not saying that spending time in the things like fun or entertainment is wasting it.Far from it,spending your time evenly in different areas of your life is an excellent investment,necessary for you to function properly,as eating or sleeping.

Think about all the things you do often and how you can do them better or faster (or stop doingthem).Use yourtime wisely.Try to create value and avoid causing any type of debt.Make yourtime a valuable property.This must be a good investment.

◆詞語(yǔ)積淀

stingy/'stind?i/adj.吝嗇的；小氣的

randomly/'r?nd?mli/adv. 任意地；隨便地

incredible/In'kred?bl/adj.難以置信的

combination/,k?mbI'neI??n/n.結(jié)合；聯(lián)合

perspective/p?'spektIv/n.觀點(diǎn)；看法

evenly/'i?vnli/adv.平滑地；均勻地

function/'f??k?n/v.運(yùn)行；起作用

◆典句賞析

1.There’s no way you’re giving a 30%tip for a normal dining experience.你不可能給出30%的小費(fèi)來(lái)?yè)Q取正常的用餐體驗(yàn)。

“There is no way...”是一個(gè)固定句型，意為“……沒(méi)門；……沒(méi)有辦法；……是不可能的”，后面可跟從句，也可跟動(dòng)詞不定式短語(yǔ)。

【即時(shí)嘗試】時(shí)間的飛逝是無(wú)法阻擋的。

2.What helps me not to waste time is to see it as an investment,and to keep track of the returns I get for my investment.幫助我不浪費(fèi)時(shí)間的方法是將它看成一種投資，記錄它能給我?guī)?lái)多少回報(bào)。

“What helps me not to waste time...”是名詞性從句，作整個(gè)句子的主語(yǔ)。主句的謂語(yǔ)是“be+動(dòng)詞不定式”結(jié)構(gòu)，表示計(jì)劃性的將來(lái)；keep track of是動(dòng)詞短語(yǔ)，意為“與……保持聯(lián)系；記錄”；“I get for my investment”是定語(yǔ)從句，先行詞是returns，關(guān)系詞已省略。

【即時(shí)嘗試】他也希望隨時(shí)知道你的進(jìn)步。

3.But many activities are worthless from an investment perspective:whatever benefit they seem to give doesn’t last any longer than the activity itself.但是有很多的活動(dòng)從投資的角度來(lái)說(shuō)是毫無(wú)價(jià)值的，無(wú)論它們似乎能帶來(lái)什么好處，都不會(huì)比活動(dòng)本身持續(xù)更久。

“whatever benefit they seem to give”是主語(yǔ)從句，whatever在從句中作賓語(yǔ)；last是及物動(dòng)詞，意為“持續(xù)”。

【即時(shí)嘗試】我確信我們的友誼會(huì)日久天長(zhǎng)。

譯文助讀

想想你在花錢上是多么吝嗇:如果有人在街上問(wèn)你要10美元，你是不會(huì)給的。你不可能給出30%的小費(fèi)來(lái)?yè)Q取正常的用餐體驗(yàn)。諸如此類的事情還有不少。

但是我們當(dāng)中的大部分人都肆意揮霍著時(shí)間，我們每天都在揮霍時(shí)間。除非我刻意留心，不然我還是會(huì)那樣做。幫助我不浪費(fèi)時(shí)間的方法是將它看成一種投資，記錄它能給我?guī)?lái)多少回報(bào)。

這種方法讓我認(rèn)識(shí)到有些東西會(huì)有不可思議的即刻回報(bào)。比如，花一個(gè)晚上的時(shí)間學(xué)會(huì)用我喜歡的樂(lè)器彈奏一首新的曲子，那我今后的一生中都能彈奏這首曲子。這是多么不可思議的回報(bào)。還有一些低利率、高安全性的長(zhǎng)期投資，比如：去健身房鍛煉、健康飲食，等等。還有一些算是兩者的結(jié)合，如閱讀有意義的書。

但是有很多的活動(dòng)從投資的角度來(lái)說(shuō)是毫無(wú)價(jià)值的：無(wú)論它們似乎能帶來(lái)什么好處，都不會(huì)比活動(dòng)本身持續(xù)更久?！澳愀冻龅氖莾r(jià)格，買來(lái)的是價(jià)值?！边@是沃倫·巴菲特的名言。這條定律適用于所有事物：金錢、關(guān)系、時(shí)間。知道這個(gè)會(huì)改變你的人生。

當(dāng)然，我不是說(shuō)花在諸如娛樂(lè)或消遣上的時(shí)間都是浪費(fèi)。與之不同的是，將你的時(shí)間均勻地花在你生活中的各個(gè)領(lǐng)域是一項(xiàng)很好的投資，比如吃飯或睡覺(jué)，這些貌似浪費(fèi)了的時(shí)間使你更好地發(fā)揮其他潛能所必需的投資。

想想你經(jīng)常做的事情，考慮你如何能將這些事做得更好或更快（或者不做了）。明智地利用你的時(shí)間。盡可能創(chuàng)造價(jià)值，從而避免產(chǎn)生各類債務(wù)。讓你的時(shí)間成為寶貴的財(cái)富，這絕對(duì)是一項(xiàng)很好的投資。