你今天me time了吗？ | 有声双语

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If you’ve ever traveled with other people, chances are you’ve had to make compromises. When you want to get up early to watch the sunrise, for example, your friends may argue that getting enough sleep is more important. And when you want to try the exotic food, your friends might say it looks weird and drag you to a Chinese restaurant instead.

如果你与他人出游，很有可能需要迁就彼此。打个比方，当你想早起看日出时，你的朋友或许觉得睡觉更重要。当你想尝试异国风情的食物时，你的朋友或许会觉得那有点奇怪，而将你拉去了一家中餐馆。

This is probably why more people these days are choosing to travel alone. According to reports on holiday habits from the Association of British Travel Agents, the percentage of people in the UK who take solo trips has been increasing, from 6 percent in 2011, to 12 percent in 2017, and to 15 percent in 2018. Most of these people said they choose to travel alone because this allows them to “do what they want”.

这或许是越来越多的人选择独自旅行的原因。据英国旅行社协会关于度假习惯的报告显示，独自出游的英国人比例正在上升，从2011年的6%，到2017年的12%，再增至2018年的15%。这其中，大多数人表示，他们选择独自出游，是因为这能令他们“做自己想做的事”。

In fact, traveling alone is only a part of a recent trend of people wanting to take more time alone – or what’s called “me time”.

事实上，近来人们希望拥有更多独处时光（所谓的“私人专属时间”）成为了一种趋势，而独自出游只是其中的一小部分罢了。

“Imagine yourself as a full jug of water and everything and everyone else that demands your attention is an empty glass. When you provide what is needed to them you are draining your own water supply,” editor Nicole Lyons wrote for mental health social network PsychCentral. “But how are you refilling your jug? This is where your ‘me time’ comes in.”

“想象你自己是一壶满满的水，其余所有需要你关注的人和事都是一个空玻璃杯。当你给予它们所需的关注时，你也正消耗着自身的水量，”编辑妮可·里昂在心理健康社交网站“心理中心”上如此写道。“但你要如何补充自己水壶中的水量呢？这时候就需要‘私人专属时间’了。”

However, it’s still quite a common belief that those who do things alone are losers and that they’re alone simply because they don’t have anybody to be with. But why can’t people just be enough for themselves?

但仍有许多人认为，独自做事的人都是失败者，他们孤身一人，仅仅是因为没人想和他们在一起。但为什么人们不能满足于独自一人呢？

The now Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle once wrote on her blog in 2016 about how she enjoyed taking herself out to dinner and traveling alone.

如今的苏塞克斯公爵夫人梅根·马克尔2016年曾在其博客中称，自己十分享受一个人出门吃晚餐以及旅行的时光。

“It’s not easy. But it’s important,” she wrote. “To be present and to power through the feelings that waffle through your head and heart of loneliness and boredom. Let that stuff go. Enjoy it alone.”

“这并非易事。但这十分重要，”她写道。“要在孤独厌倦之感席卷身心时直面一切并激励自己前行。将那种感觉抛诸脑后。享受独处时光。”

以上内容英文部分来自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一 727期

本文英文音频由我报外籍编辑Joe Willets朗读