PBS高端访谈:独自旅游 自由相伴

JUDY WOODRUFF: You may be planning a summer vacation, trying to coordinate¹ schedules with friends and family, but maybe there's another way, even a better way, to take a vacation. People are traveling alone in record numbers. Tonight, New York Times travel writer Stephanie Rosenbloom shares her Humble² Opinion on why heading off by yourself rewards you with more than just a new destination.

STEPHANIE ROSENBLOOM, The New York Times: I'm a travel reporter. When people discover this, they often begin telling me about the places they have longed to go. Many say things like, I would love to see Portugal or Rome, but I don't have anyone to go with. My response? So what? You should travel alone. One year, my editor sent me to Paris to explore the city by myself. That was the assignment. On my own, thousands of miles from home, I could slow down. I began to really pay attention, to soak³ up all of the marvelous⁴, everyday things I miss when talking with or tending to companions, the way sunlight fell through the trees onto the green chairs in the Luxembourg Gardens, the sound of rain on awnings⁵ outside a cafe. I was able to zero in on these details because there was no one to distract⁶ me, no one to tell me to hurry along, to stop lingering⁷ on the quiet street near Balzac's House. Travel alone, and you have the freedom to pursue⁸ your particular interests. You can develop your aesthetic⁹ sense at your own pace. You can explore art and design shops, places that may inspire a new hobby or a creative endeavor¹⁰, even how you want to spend the rest of your life. Alone, I can step outside my comfort zone, like the day I took myself to a tea ceremony in Tokyo. I can be reflective. I can climb a hill in Florence on an autumn afternoon and consider how I'm living my life and how I want to live it in the future, a process that can get inhibited¹¹ when other people are around. Now, maybe you're thinking, that's all well and good, but won't it get lonely? We can't outrun loneliness. If it's going to come, it will come, even if we're at party surrounded by familiar faces. Besides, if you enjoy meeting people, take a vacation alone. Seriously. Strangers tend to be more willing to strike up a conversation when you're on your own. And, these days, there are so many opportunities to connect with locals and fellow travelers, be it through a cooking class, an architectural walking tour, or a peer-to-peer dining Web site. And here's a little more food for thought: If, like me, you happen to be a woman traveling alone, you're exercising a hard-won right. For years, women in my hometown of New York City didn't have the right to walk into a restaurant and eat lunch alone, let alone travel by themselves. Every time I go it alone, I'm doing something that countless¹² women before me fought to be able to do. So, don't wait for the right friend to coordinate his or her schedule with yours, or for the love of your life to come along. Buy the plane ticket. Book the hotel. Travel alone.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Good advice, Stephanie Rosenbloom, even for a stay-at-home vacation.

朱蒂·伍德拉夫：暑假去哪里，你可能正在计划，你试着与朋友和家人协调日程安排，但也许还有另外一种方式，甚至可以说是更好的方式，来安排你的假期。独自旅行的人数创历史新高。今晚，《纽约时报》旅行作家史蒂芬妮·罗森布鲁姆在《管见所及》栏目分享了自己的观点，她认为独自旅行远比到达一个新的目的地让你收获更多。

史蒂芬妮·罗森布鲁姆，《纽约时报》：我是一名旅行记者。当人们知道后，他们常会告诉我，那些他们长久以来梦寐以求的旅行目的地。很多人说，我很想去葡萄牙或罗马看看，但是没人陪我去。我的回答是，那又怎么样？你应该独自旅行。有一年，我的编辑派我去了巴黎，让我孤身一人，探索这个城市。那是我当时的作业。就我自己，离家几千英里，我可以放慢脚步。我开始真正注意一些事情，我沉浸在周围所有的奇妙中，那些日常事物，都在交谈或陪伴中错过：卢森堡公园里阳光透过树林，照在绿色的椅子上；咖啡馆外雨点打在雨棚上发出噼啪的响声。我可以把这些细节搞清楚，因为没有人打扰我，没有人催我快点走，不要再在巴尔扎克家附近安静的街道上徘徊。 独自旅行，你有追求自己特殊兴趣的自由。你可以按照自己的节奏，发展你的审美感官。你可以在艺术品与设计品商店以及场所中探寻，这些地方可以激发你新的爱好，让你进行创造性尝试，甚至让你思考如何度过余生。独自一人，我可以走出我的舒适区，就像那天我自己去了东京的一个茶道。我可以反省自身。我可以在一个秋天的下午，爬上佛罗伦萨的一座小山，想想我是如何过着我的生活，以及我将来想要如何生活，而这些过程如果有其他人在场，都会受到抑制。现在，也许你在想，这一切都很好，但不会寂寞吗？我们无法超越孤独。如果它要来，它就会来，即使我们身处聚会当中，周围都是熟悉的面孔。此外，如果你喜欢和人见面，就单独去度假。说真的。当你独自一人时，陌生人往往更愿意与你交谈。现在，与当地人和驴友联系的机会很多，无论是通过烹饪课，建筑游还是对等餐饮网站。这里有一点值得思考的东西：如果像我一样，你碰巧是一个独自旅行的女人，那么你就是在行使一个来之不易的权利。多年来，在我的家乡纽约，女人曾经没有权利独自走进一家餐馆，独自享用午餐，更不用说独自旅行了。每次我独自一人，我都在做着，此前无数女人努力争取去做的事情。所以不要等待朋友和你的时间相协调，更不要等待你热爱的生活出现。买张机票。订个酒店。独自旅行。

朱蒂·伍德拉夫：好建议，史蒂芬妮·罗森布鲁姆，即使是在家中度假。

1 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 soak   

n.浸，湿透，喝醉；vt.使…湿透，浸泡在液体中，浸洗，吸入，使某人喝醉，向某人敲竹杠；vi.浸入液体，渗透，感化（某人），无节制地喝酒

参考例句：

• Let the clothes soak for a few hours in soapy water.让衣服在肥皂水中泡几小时。
• The oil will soak into the wood.油会渗进木头里。

4 marvelous   

adj.奇迹般的，惊人的，了不起的

参考例句：

• It'seems to me a most marvelous book.这本书我觉得奥妙之至。
• I congratulate you on this marvelous opportunity.恭喜你获得这样一个极好的机会。

5 awnings   

篷帐布

参考例句：

• Striped awnings had been stretched across the courtyard. 一些条纹雨篷撑开架在院子上方。
• The room, shadowed well with awnings, was dark and cool. 这间屋子外面有这篷挡着，又阴暗又凉快。

6 distract   

vt.分散注意力，转移注意力，使分心

参考例句：

• Don't distract my attention.不要分散我的注意力。
• It was all a ploy to distract attention from his real aims.那纯粹是障眼法,用以分散人们对他真正意图的注意力。

7 lingering   

a.拖延的，依依不舍的

参考例句：

• a painful and lingering death 痛苦而拖延时日的死亡
• Unemployment and lingering disease cooperated to make his family broken. 失业加上长期的疾病，使他倾家荡产。

8 pursue   

vt.继续，从事；追赶，追踪；追求

参考例句：

• He began to pursue an easy and comfortable life.他开始追求安逸舒适的生活。
• This is the path that we shall continue to pursue.这是我们要继续走的道路。

9 aesthetic   

adj.美学的，审美的，有美感

参考例句：

• My aesthetic standards are quite different from his.我的审美标准与他的大不相同。
• The professor advanced a new aesthetic theory.那位教授提出了新的美学理论。

10 endeavor   

vt.／n.努力，尽力，尝试

参考例句：

• Thereupon,we knew,our endeavor was valuable.于是，我们知道，我们的努力是有价值的。
• We endeavor to make our customers satisfied.我们力图使顾客都满意。

11 inhibited   

a.拘谨的，拘束的

参考例句：

• Boys are often more inhibited than girls about discussing their problems. 男孩子往往不如女孩子敢于谈论自己的问题。
• Having been laughed at for his lameness,the boy became shy and inhibited. 那男孩因跛脚被人讥笑，变得羞怯而压抑。

12 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。