双语阅读：十件小时候讨厌长大后喜欢的礼物
摘要： 成年人一定都经历过对某些东西小时候十分讨厌，但成年之后却十分喜欢：蔬菜、小睡、无糖的玉米片。没有什么地方的改变会比圣诞节更明显
A sure sign of adulthood is loving the things we hated as kids: vegetables, naps, and sugarless corn flakes. And now here is our evolving taste more evident than on Christmas, when we delight in gifts that our childhood selves would have thrown out the window. Here are the top 10 presents everyone hates as kids, but loves as adults:
1. Socks 袜子
When you’re a kid, receiving underwear on Christmas is akin to finding coal in one’s stocking. But as an adult, you can never have too many pairs, especially if they’re cable knit or decorated with fun patterns (and goodness knows we lose too many of them in the wash).
成年人一定都经历过对某些东西小时候十分讨厌，但成年之后却十分喜欢：蔬菜、小睡、无糖的玉米片。没有什么地方的改变会比圣诞节更明显，当我们还是孩子的时候会把喜欢的礼物抛向窗外。这里有10种圣诞礼物是我们小的时候会讨厌但长大了却十分喜欢的。
当你是一个孩子的时候, 在圣诞节会寻找袜子在里面发现内衣之类的礼物，但作为成年人，你不可能有太多双，特别是有着编制或者装饰的样式。(天之道我们失去了多少清洗它们的乐趣)
2. Board games 棋牌游戏
十件小时候讨厌长大后喜欢的礼物
At the risk of revealing our age, kids these days define board games as the things people played with before iPads were invented. And even when we were children, we’d bust out the special edition Monopoly sets only when it was raining outside and there was nothing showing on TV. But give us our very own Cranium or Settlers today, and you’ll be guaranteed an invite for New Year’s Eve.
在这个日趋透明的时代，孩子们对棋盘游戏的定义是在平板电脑被发明之前的事情了，甚至是当我们是孩子的时候，除非外面下雨或是电视当播放了其他的画面，我们才会去破解经典版的游戏。但在我们“抛头颅洒热血”的今天，就会想在除夕夜被邀请一起游戏。
3. Vouchers and gift cards 券、礼品卡
Nothing says FAIL like giving an 8-year-old a $100 voucher to Takashimaya. But we’ll happily accept one during an office-wide Christmas gift exchange, thank you very much.
没人会说给一个8岁的孩子100元是不对的。但我们更乐意接受一个让大家在圣诞夜交换礼物的邀请,并且会非常感谢。
4. Clothes 衣服
As children, we were far more likely to get excited over the boxes our clothes came in than in the clothes themselves. But if you know your friend’s taste and size, clothes are a pretty safe bet. Who knows? A slouchy sweater, a soft knit, or an oversized cardigan could become your friend’s next office staple.
当我们还是小孩子的时候,更让我们兴奋的只是礼物的漂亮包装而非礼物本身。但是如果你知道你朋友的口味和尺寸,衣服是可以肯定的。谁知道呢?或许懒散的毛衣,柔软的针织,一个超大号的开襟羊毛衫就会成为你朋友的办公室主要着装了。
5. Pajamas 睡衣
Unless those pajamas were patterned with My Little Pony, our 8-year-old selves couldn’t be less thrilled with sleepwear. But as adults, we’re more than ready to upgrade from baggy T-shirts to the desperately cute (and well-crafted) jammies.
在我8岁的时候，睡衣上有小马驹的图案是我不得不激动的。但作为成年人,我们则更喜欢非常可爱宽松的T恤和精心设计的优质的睡衣。
6. Food 食物
We will never say no to a gift of food, even if it’s our fifth log of cake in two weeks. Now that home cooking and artisanal desserts are in style, you can release your inner Martha Stewart by baking adorable Christmas treats and gifting them to your entire office. (Bonus points for including handwritten cards.)
我们永远不会说什么关于食物的礼物，即使你已经在这两周内消化了第五块蛋糕了。以现在家庭烹饪和手工甜点的风格,你可以释放你内心的玛莎?斯图尔特,设计可爱的圣诞宴,赠送你的同事们。(手写卡更会为你加分哦)
7. Pillows, blankets, or bedsheets 枕头、毯子、床单
Generally, you only give pillows and blankets to babies, but we’ve definitely received boring, non-My Little Pony, non-Star Wars bedsheets as a present… and have been less than impressed. After a couple of decades, though, we’ve concluded that true love is a set of Egyptian Cotton sheets with a thread count of 1000.
一般来说,你只给婴儿枕头和毯子,我们也确实收到过无聊的小马驹,战争床单作为礼物，还有很多甚至我们都没什么印象的。二十年后,我们得出的结论是,真正的爱是线程数为1000的埃及棉床单。
8. Bags 包
We’re torn on this one. On the one hand, what 8-year-old girl would say “NO” to a backpack with her favourite Disney characters on it? On the other hand, based on our own memories of childhood, that 8-year-old girl would appreciate an actual toy based on those Disney characters over the more practical knapsack. Nowadays, we’re far easier to please. You don’t even need to get us something with buckles. A simple canvastote bag is enough to make us excited for Monday morning again.
我们现在的背包。一个8岁女孩会说她不喜欢迪斯尼人物的背包吗?另一方面,基于我们自己的童年的回忆,8岁女孩比起迪斯尼人物的玩具更喜欢带有这些人物的背包。现在,我们要简单得多。你甚至不需要给我们一些扣子。一个简单的帆布大手提袋足以在周一早上让我们兴奋了。
9. Stuffed animals 毛绒玩具
Stuffed animals are a hit or miss with kids. If they love your present, they’ll insist on taking it everywhere, including the toilet. The reality is, though, that they’ll disregard all of their other plush toys, meaning your present has a 99 percent chance of ending up in the bottom of their toy box. But now, queue at McDonald’s for three hours to give us the coveted Happy Meal Hello Kitty du jour, and we’ll immediately make it the queen of all our existing plush toys.
毛绒动物玩具是看你送的礼物成功与否的标志。如果他们喜欢你的礼物,他们会坚持把它无处不在,包括厕所。但现实是,他们会无视他们所有的其他毛绒玩具,意味着你现在有99%的机会在他们的玩具盒的底部。但是现在,在麦当劳排队3个小时给我们梦寐以求的开心乐园餐,我们会立关注她所有的玩具。
10. Books 书
In a perfect world, all kids would love to read. But let’s face it, only the most exceptional children would pay more attention to their awesome new books than to their awesome new Batman Lego sets. But with adults, you’ve got options. In addition to buying someone a novel, you can get them a cookbook, a hardcover “behind the scenes” guide to their favourite film, or a book of photography for their living room table. Just don’t buy anyone self-help books. You don’t want them to get the wrong idea.
在完美的世界里,所有的孩子都爱读。但是让我们面对现实吧,只有最杰出的孩子会更加注意他们的新书多过他们的新蝙蝠侠集。但随着我们的成长,你会有选择。除了购买一些人的小说,可以送给他们一个食谱、他们最喜欢电影的“幕后花絮”、摄影集等，可放置在客厅桌子上。只是不要购买励志的书，因为不一定他们的想法一定是对的。
来自内心的礼物
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.- Eric Hoffer
According to legend, a young man while roaming the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet, he filled his leather canteen so he could bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.
世界上最难的算术题是如何清点我们的祝福。
据传说，一个年轻的男子在漫游沙漠途中看到一泉如水晶般清澈而可口的水。水的味道非常甜美，于是他灌满了他的皮水壶，这样就可以带一些回去，送给曾经是他老师的部落长老。
After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.
经过四天的旅程，他把水呈献给老人。老人深饮一口，和蔼地笑了笑，并深切感激学生赠予他甜美的水。年轻人怀着愉快的心情回到了村庄。
Later, the teacher let another student taste the water. He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale because of the old leather container.
后来，老师让他的另一个学生品尝水。学生吐了出来，说水太难喝了。它显然已经因为陈旧的皮革容器而变得不再新鲜。
The student challenged his teacher: "Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"
学生质疑他的老师：“师父，水是臭的，你为什么要假装喜欢它?”
The teacher replied, "You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift. The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be sweeter."
老师回答说，“你只品尝了水的味道，我却是在品尝礼物的味道。水仅仅是装载善与爱之行为的容器，而没有什么东西比善与爱更甜美了。”
I think we understand this lesson best when we receive innocent gifts of love from young children. Whether it's a ceramic tray or a macaroni bracelet, the natural and proper response is appreciation and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.
我认为当我们从天真的孩子们那里收到爱的礼物时，能够最透彻地明白这个道理。无论它是一个陶瓷托盘或通心粉手镯，我们自然而恰当的反应是欣赏，并表示感激，因为我们喜欢礼物所包含的心意。
Gratitude doesn't always come naturally. Unfortunately, most children and many adults value only the thing given rather than the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and teach our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude. After all, gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.
感恩并不总是自然而来的。不幸的是，大多数儿童和成人只看重被赠予的东西本身，而不是它体现的情谊。我们应该提醒自己，并教导我们的孩子，感情和对感激之情的表达是美丽而纯洁的。毕竟，发自内心给与的礼物才是真正的礼物。