Summary: Learn Chinese with ChineseClass101! Don't forget to stop by ChineseClass101.com for more great Chinese Language Learning Resources! -------Lesson Dialog------- ----Simplified ---- 爱情？面包？ 爱情和面包总被拿来比较，“两者选哪个”的问题就跟“老妈和老婆掉水里你要救谁”一样的烂。 为什么不能两个都不要？因为这是违反人类天性的。人都在寻找幸福感，幸福感又有各种层次。吃饱喝足很幸福，父慈子孝很幸福，事业有成也很幸福。相比吃饱喝足，爱情和事业可以让你获得高层次的幸福。为什么呢？因为爱情和事业比咸鱼白菜难得。人就是这么犯贱，越难得的东西越想要，天意就是那么弄人，越想要的东西越得不到，越得不到又越想要……所以一旦得到，就幸福得无可救药。 为什么不能两个都要？因为鱼与熊掌不可兼得，螃蟹与柿子不可通吃。我们不是电脑，没有双核处理器，也不能多任务操作。专注一样必然忽略另一样。当然，这还得看你如何定义事业和爱情。如果有个工作或者工作稳定就叫做事业有成，如果有个老婆有个老公偶尔吵架但不至于离婚就叫做爱情美满，那你就算只是486，也将会非常非常幸福。但若对生活和生命还有些要求，你就会明白，那些所谓事业家庭两得意的，要不就是事业上只有二三流成就，要不就是家里有个绝望主妇或绝望主夫。 从小听着“为某某事业奋斗终身”的口号长大，却从来没听人说过为爱情奋斗终身。是啊，听起来多不成熟，又不是青春期屁孩，讲什么爱不爱。尽管爱是恒久不变的人类共同情感，但只有大事业才值得拿出来讨论拿出来号召，只有大事业才能不断推进人类进步。或许正因为不论出身、智商、财富，爱情都可以发生且都可以达到极致，不像伟大的某某事业那样对人们有莫高的要求，所以大家就认为爱不值一提了。“为了个女人，命都没了多没出息！”“谈恋爱谈到千古留名有什么用？”可人生又不是拿来用的，更不是为了填饱肚子。如果人生一世就是为了填饱肚子而活着，那就省事了，直接自杀吧。反正活着是为了继续活着，人又难逃一死。但是对于很多人来说，活这一遭，总要做点什么，经历点什么，留下点什么，证明自己存在过。司马迁是一条路，孟姜女何尝不是？任何事做到极致都很精彩。 父母期待孩子有出息，潜台词就是要孩子事业有成。没有父母说这话的时候是希望他们爱情有成的。当然也有父母特别是妈妈，觉得女儿的人生最要紧的就是嫁得好，但这种父母是不会对孩子说“你要有出息”的，因为他们也不觉得这是有出息，只是有出路。是啊是啊，儿女情长是上不得台面的，爱情就是要输给面包的。丈夫在外奋斗，妻子就该在家守候。只要他是个好军人好领导好老板好下属，管他是不是好丈夫好父亲。你可以追求你的事业，我不该捍卫我的爱情。 爱情与面包这个问题我曾在课上问过学生（一群十八岁左右的孩子），结果大半学生都毫不犹豫的说“面包”。语气是那么的理所当然，我都得替家长们欣慰。这样听话温顺的一群花骨朵，高考怎能不状元，国家怎能不富强。 ----English---- Love? Bread? People often compare love and bread. And the question, "Which one will you pick?" is just as silly as being forced to choose between a wife and mother trapped in a hypothetically raging river. Why can't you have both? Because this is against human nature. People are always in search of happiness, and there are different levels of happiness. Being able to eat is a sort of happiness. So is having a harmonious family and being accomplished at work. But if you compare these to the pleasures of eating, you'll see they're considered a much higher grade. And why is this? It's because the feeling of achievement at love and work is scarcer. People always conduct themselves lovely. Heaven made our reaches to exceed our grasps. The more we want something, the less we can get it, and the more we can't get something, the more we want it...which makes actually getting something incomparably satisfying. And why can't you have both? The answer is that you can't fish and hunt at the same time, nor eat crab and persimmon at once. We aren't computers with dual-core processors. We also can't multitask. So if we concentrate on one thing, we invariably neglect something else. Of course, this also depends on one's attitude towards career and love life. If you think having a steady job is an accomplishment and consider having an un-divorced spouse a form of marital bliss, then you're a bit like a Pentium-486 and you'll be really happy. But if you want more out of life, then you'll understand. Among our so-called "professional households," it is a sad truth that if the career isn't second-rate then the family relations almost certainly are. Since childhood, we are constantly told to "Struggle all your lives for something." But one never hears anyone tell you to struggle your entire life for love. It might sound a bit immature to mention this. But although love is one of the eternal emotions that binds humanity together, it seems to be only business that gets wrapped up with these sorts of slogans, and only talk of great affairs that pushes us forward. Perhaps this is because love is indifferent to our circumstances and whether we are wealthy or successful in business, whereas great affairs are different. And so no one thinks love is worth mentioning because it can happen to anyone. And as the sayings goes, "For a man to care about women is to have no ambition in life," and "What use will love do in recording your name for posterity?" But life [...]
