Is Envy Good for You?

Anne Zouroudi

It’s a familiar, if uncomfortable, feeling. Your best friend announces she’s engaged to the handsome doctor she’s been dating, and the congratulatory hug you offer lacks genuine warmth.1. congratulatory: 祝賀的；genuine: 真正的，真誠(chéng)的。Your friend’s made the team for Saturday’s big game, and you take a certain pleasure in telling him you can’t be there to watch him play. Something nasty’s gnawing at your stomach, and you smile through gritted teeth as that voice in your head asks,2. nasty: 惡心的，骯臟的；gnaw: 咬，侵蝕；gritted: 摩擦作響的。why them and not you?

Envy is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, a flaw of character we like to keep firmly in the closet.3. Seven Deadly Sins: 七宗罪，天主教教義中人的七項(xiàng)惡行，包括色欲、貪食、貪婪、懶惰、憤怒、妒忌和傲慢； flaw: 缺點(diǎn)；keep...in closet: 隱藏，保密。And it’s hardly surprising that we keep our envy secret. How ungracious is it, after all, not to be looking forward with delight to your day as your best friend’s bridesmaid?4. 畢竟，不去快樂地期盼著為好友做伴娘的那一天是多么無(wú)禮的事情??！ungracious:無(wú)禮貌的，沒規(guī)矩的；bridesmaid: 伴娘。And who but a total louse would hope your friend might suffer some injury, so you can take his place on the team?5. louse: 虱子，喻卑鄙的人；take one’s place:取代某人。

We all know the fairytale of Cinderella, where a downtrodden girl makes good.6. Cinderella: 灰姑娘；downtrodden: 受壓迫的；make good: 成功。What stands between Cinderella and her happy-ever-after are two manifestations of the bitterest envy—her step-sisters, bent on bagging her Prince Charming for themselves.7. manifestation: 表現(xiàn)；bitter: 充滿仇恨（或不滿）的；bag: v. （用計(jì)謀）獲取，搶占；Prince Charming: 白馬王子。

In history, musical prodigy Mozart shared the limelight with Antonio Salieri, a composer who in his lifetime had far more success than Mozart.8. prodigy: 奇才；Mozart: 莫扎特（1756—1 7 9 1），歐洲古典主義音樂作曲家；limelight: 聚光燈；Antonio Salieri: 安東尼奧·薩列里（1750—1825），是與莫扎特同時(shí)代的杰出音樂家。但一個(gè)由來(lái)已久的傳說(shuō)使得人們認(rèn)為，他是一個(gè)才能不及莫扎特、妒忌心重的作曲家，并且設(shè)計(jì)害死了音樂天才莫扎特。Yet Salieri was so eaten with envy over what he saw as Mozart’s effortless talent, he’s rumored to have seen Mozart off with a fatal dose of poison.9. rumor: 謠傳；see off: 送行，送別；fatal dose: 致死劑量。

An extreme case, maybe. But from childhood complaints of, “It’s not fair!” to the sniping of of fice politics and the back-biting on a girls’night out,10. sniping: 誹謗；back-biting: 誹謗。envy is everywhere. It seems to be in our nature to resent11. resent: 怨恨。others’ gifts and good fortune, especially if we see them as undeserved advantages.

你是否曾因?yàn)楹糜押透吒粠浗Y(jié)婚而忿忿不平？又是否因看到朋友率領(lǐng)球隊(duì)過(guò)關(guān)斬將而怨恨萬(wàn)分？你會(huì)去參加他們的婚禮，觀看他們的比賽嗎？這種郁悶的心情每個(gè)人都曾經(jīng)歷過(guò)，它就是妒忌。這種心理會(huì)對(duì)我們有怎樣的影響？在心生妒忌之情時(shí)，我們?cè)撊绾稳プ瞿兀?/p>

Envy raises its ugly head when we focus on what we want that we don’t possess now, and at a more intense level, we may even wish for and take pleasure in someone losing what we have coveted.12. raise its ugly head:（某種風(fēng)氣）抬頭，（尤指不好的東西）出現(xiàn)；intense: 強(qiáng)烈的；covet: 垂涎，覬覦。Feelings of unfairness and the hostility that sometimes goes with it are part of being human, but when you focus on your lack or your de ficiencies—when you compare yourself and your life unfavorably with your friend, your work-colleague or your love-rival—you can only perpetuate your darker emotions.13. 人生在世難免會(huì)感到不平，有時(shí)會(huì)產(chǎn)生敵意，但如果你過(guò)分關(guān)注你的缺失和不足，過(guò)分地把自己和你的朋友、同事還有情敵相比較，你的負(fù)面情緒便永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)消失。hostility: 敵意；de ficiency:缺陷，不足；unfavorably: 不合適地，不利地；love-rival: 情敵；perpetuate: 使長(zhǎng)存，保持。And that makes you feel bad.

So is there a solution? Is there anything you can do to quash the most ungenerous of emotions?14. quash: 制止，平息；ungenerous: 心胸狹隘的。

Well, why not turn envy on its head, and make it the spur you need for self-improvement?15. turn sth. on its head: 反過(guò)來(lái)，完全改變；spur: 鼓舞，激勵(lì)。The ultimate weapon against envy is not to compete where you can’t shine16. shine: 出類拔萃，表現(xiàn)突出。, but to do your absolute best where you can.

Start by making peace with17. make peace with: 與……講和。yourself, and accept the gifts which make you unique. Make a pact18. make a pact: 做個(gè)約定，達(dá)成協(xié)議。with yourself to be the best you can be. Then pinpoint the circumstances and qualities in others that trigger your envy.19. pinpoint: 查明；trigger: 引發(fā)。Is it someone’s singing voice, their work promotion, their new car? Envy shows us the things we’d like to have—so draft20. draft: 起草。a plan to earn what’s important to you. Sign up for a night-class. Start a training program. Forego a treat or two,21. forego: 放棄；treat: 請(qǐng)客。and start saving for what you want.

And aim for genuine pleasure in the achievements and good fortune of others. Cheer on22. cheer on: 鼓勵(lì)，為……加油。your friend when he scores that goal.Enjoy your best friend’s wedding day. Then go out and do something special, and make yourself wonderfully proud of you.