可能能解决那些最棘手的问题。因此，我们应该考虑那些在家里解决不了的问题，而不是琢磨那些奶油甜点。

The larger lesson, though, is that our thoughts are saturated with the familiar. The brain is a space of near infinite possibility, which means that it spends a lot of time and energy choosing what not to notice. As a result, creativity is traded away for efficiency; we think in finite, literal prose, not symbolic verse. A bit of distance, however, helps loosen the cognitive

chains that imprison us, making it easier to mingle the new with the old; the mundane is grasped from a slightly more abstract perspective. According to research, the experience of an exotic culture endows us with a valuable open-mindedness, making it easier to realize that even a trivial thing can have multiple meanings. Consider the act of leaving food on the plate: In China, this is often seen as a compliment, a signal that the host has provided enough to eat. But in America the same act is a subtle insult, an indication that the food wasn't good enough to finish.

但更应该知道的是我们的思想被熟悉的东西所充满。大脑是一个几乎具有无限可能性的空间，这就意味着它花了大量的时间和精力选择不去注意什么。因此，我们牺牲创造力来换取效率。我们以字义明确的散文方式思考，而非以具有象征意义的诗歌方式思考。然而，一点的距离就可以帮助我们放松禁锢我们认知的链条，使新旧思想的结合更容易，对平淡无奇的事情可从更抽象的角度加以认知。有研究指出，体验异国文化可以赋予我们宝贵的开放性思维，使我们更容易明白即使是微不足道的事物也可以有多种意义。想一想把食物剩在盘子里这个行为：在中国，这通常被看成是一种赞美，说明主人提供了足够的食物。但是在美国，同样的行为却暗含侮辱，表明食物不够好，人们不愿意吃完。 Such multicultural contrasts mean that seasoned travelers are open to ambiguity, willing to realize that there are decidedly different (and equally valid) ways of interpreting the world. This, in turn, allows them to expand

the circumference of their “cognitive inputs\first answers and initial guesses.

这种多元文化对比说明，经验丰富的旅行者会接受对事物的多样性解读，他们欣然认识到对这个世界可以有截然不同（但却同样有效）的方式进行解释。这也从而让他们扩大了“认知输入”的范围，因为他们拒绝仅仅满足于他们的最初答案和先前的猜测。

Of course, this mental flexibility doesn't come from mere distance, a simple change in latitude and longitude. Instead, this renaissance of creativity appears to be a side effect of difference: We need to change cultures, to experience the disorienting diversity of human traditions. The same facets of foreign travel that are so confusing (Do I tip the waiter? Where is this train taking me?) turn out to have a lasting impact, making us more creative because we're less insular. We're reminded of all that we don't know, which is nearly everything; we're surprised by the constant stream of surprises. Even in this globalized age, we can still be amazed at all the earthly things that weren't included in the Lets Go guidebook and that certainly don't exist back home.

当然，这种思维的灵活性不仅仅来自纯粹的距离变化，即简单的经纬度的变化。相反，这种创造力的复兴似乎是差异所带来的副产品：我们需要处于不同的文化中，体验人类传统中纷繁复杂的多样性。在国外旅行中让人迷惑的同一个方面的问题（如我该给服务生小费吗？火车要把我带到哪里？），产生了一种持久的影响，使我们更加具有创造性，因为我们不再那么视野狭隘了。我们了解了我们不知道的东西，而这些东西几乎涵盖了一切；我们对接连不断的惊喜感到惊奇。即使在这个全球化的时代，我们仍然会对所有未包括在《旅行指南》中的、平常的东西感到惊奇，而这些东西在自己家中也不存在。

So, let's not pretend that travel doesn't have its drawbacks, or that we endure jet lag for pleasure. We don't spend 10 hours lost in the Louvre because we like it, and the view from the top of Machu Picchu probably

doesn't make up for the trouble of lost luggage. (More often than not, I need a vacation after my vacation.) We travel because we need to, because distance and difference are the secret cornerstones of creativity. When we get home, home is still the same. But something in our mind has been changed, and that changes everything.

当然，我们也并不是假装旅行没有缺点，或是说我们忍受飞行时差综合反应只是为了消遣。在卢浮宫我们迷路十个小时，那不是因为我们喜欢迷路。我们站在马丘比丘古城遗址顶端俯瞰的风景可能也并不能弥补我们丢失行李的麻烦。（通常，我在假期结束后还需要一个休假。）我们旅行是因为我们需要旅行，因为距离与差异是创造力的秘密基石。我们回家后，家还是那个家，但是我们的思维已经有所改变，而这就可以改变一切。

课文B

Traveling solo - A blessing overall! 独自旅行——总体来说是好事

So you're ready to travel. Pick a place, any place. Let's say you've always wanted to go to China. You've seen pictures of the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square. You've always been fascinated with Chinese aesthetics and culture, with red, fragrant temples and venerable statues. You have a chunk of money saved and extra vacation time earned. Now is the time to go!

现在你准备去旅行，挑一个地方，任何地方都可以。比如你一直想去中国，你已经看过了长城、紫禁城、天安门广场的照片。你一直被中国的美学艺术和文化所深深吸引，那里有香烟缭绕的红色寺庙，有庄严的塑像。你早就省下了一笔钱，挤出了点时间，现在，该出发了！ But maybe you haven't traveled much. You've never been to an exotic place where you can't speak the language or read the signs. A place where you'll have to do all the research for yourself, find hotels, get yourself around, buy locomotive or bus tickets, order your own food. You must

figure all of this out while looking at the unfamiliar notation which you see wherever you look or go.

但也许你以前旅行不多。你从来没去过异国他乡，你不会讲当地语言，也看不懂任何标志。在这里，你得亲自研究所有的事情，自己找旅店，自己到处逛，自己买火车票或汽车票，自己点餐。所有这一切，无论你身处何处，你都得盯着那些不熟悉的符号自己搞定。

So now you're ready to realize your dream to explore China, and find, for yourself, the soul of the country. Unfortunately, right from the onset, none of your friends share that dream. Your sister is pregnant and can't travel. Your best friend just got a new job and can't take time off. So what do you do? You could ask everyone you know - friends, acquaintances, co-workers. You could join a tour. Or, you could go alone.

所以，现在你整装待发，去实现探索中国的梦想，亲自去发现这个国家的灵魂所在。但是不幸的是，刚一开始就没有朋友分享你的梦想。你姐姐怀孕了，不能去旅行；你最好的朋友刚刚找到新工作，没办法休假。你该怎么办呢？你可能会询问认识的每一个人——朋友，熟人，同事。你可以参团旅游。或者，你也可以自己一个人去。

To travel alone is a difficult decision for anyone, though especially for women. For me, it came naturally. I made that trip to China, and then zigzagged on a multinational excursion through Indonesia, Thailand, England and France.

对于任何人来说，独自旅行都是一个艰难的决定。对女性来说尤其如此。而对我而言，这个决定却再自然不过。我先去了中国，然后再辗转到了印度尼西亚、泰国、英国和法国，经历了一次多国之旅。 But the reactions I've gotten, from people I know, fellow travelers, and especially, from the natives of the countries I've visited, showed me that solo traveling is strange, and even considered inconceivable or reckless by many people. People ask me if the isolation makes me sad or even if I'm more susceptible to violent or dangerous situations.