这是一篇积累词汇和短语表达的笔记。所用材料为 TED 演讲 —— How to Discover Your Authentic Self – at Any Age | Bevy Smith 。

原来是用纸笔记这样的笔记，但通常记过不会再回顾。后来是放到 Anki 卡片里面，但过程略繁琐，卡片的形式不够灵活，而且同一来源的卡片是分散的。现在开始试试做这样的笔记，方便统一回顾。有需要时可以把部分放进 Anki 里。

形式为一段第一句是引用，余下部分是引用部分涉及的点，列表为这个点的延伸（释义、例句等）。

Part 1

late bloomer

大器晚成的人

表达自己表面光鲜，但并不是真的快乐：

I was really living what most people considered a dream life.

I was jet-setting to fashion shows; I was receiving free designer clothes;

I was double-kissing my way across the globe.

And, you know, it was everything that I ever wanted it to be, and then one day I realized I was only pretending to be happy.

double-kiss 狭义只意大利人见面时给的双颊吻面礼。这句话形容自己很社交吃香，全球忙不停。

形容恐惧做出改变

But I couldn’t blow up my good life in my prime earning years, right?

blow up sth

• destroy sth

引入一个话题：

Which leads me to lessons my mother Lolly taught me.

Lolly’s No.1 lesson: don’t settle

settle 安定下来、满足于现状

Now I’m aware that my well-paying, glamorous career is not exactly the humdrum, “I hate my job” stereotype that most people equate with settling. But it was a settle for me.

humdrum

• adj. tedious; boring and ordinary, and having no variety or interest

equate sth with sth

• to consider that two thing are similar or connected

I wouldn’t trade that for the safe and settled version 表达不想过安稳生活

前面讲她过上的冒险的生活，甚至还破产了，尽管这种生活很 scary，但她并不想换成一个安全稳定的版本

表达打破常规，反对权威

buck the system and go against the status quo

buck the system

• oppose rules or authority

• buck

  • to oppose something in a direct way

the status quo

• the state of a situation as it is

Part 2

And invariably, people will ask, “Where do you get your confidence?”

人们质疑那些想冒险的人

invariably

• always;

• And invariably, people will … 表达人们对某种情况的普遍反应

Now some people mean it as a compliment, but very often it’s shady, and it’s a silent judgment.

Now 用在句首有时 = while

my mama is the epitome of a grown-ass woman

the epitome of sth

• the best possible example of something

she married, but she kept her maiden name

keep her maiden name

• 指婚后保留原姓氏

then my mother had my sister Stephanie and I back-to-back

back-to-back

• happening one after another

接连生了我姐姐和我

she refused to be beholden to my dad for money.

refuse to be beholden to 拒绝依附于

be beholden to sb

• feeling you have a duty to someone because they have done something for you; under a moral obligation to someone;

• Some people feel so uncomfortable being beholden to others that they try not to accept assistance from anyone out of worry over what they’d have to do in return.

  • She wanted to be independent and beholden to no one.

  • beholden to 的否定形式指独立、不靠别人施惠

She made Sunday dinner. It was an extravaganza, but that’s all she did.

extravaganza 盛会

the virtues of going your own way

走自己的路

I believe today at the age of 94, my mom is still carving out ways to find, and determine, and define her own version of happiness.

carve out (= carve)

• to develop a career or position for yourself by working hard

• If you carve a career or a niche for yourself, you succeed in getting the career or the position that you want by your own efforts.

• carve out a way 开路

she maintains her home exactly as she sees fit

see fit

• If you see fit to do something, you think it is good or necessary to do it

maintain her glamour, her sex appeal

魅力、性感

Part 3

I really hope some of that rubs off on me

rub off on

• If a quality or characteristic that someone has rubs off, other people begin to have it because they have been with that person and learnt it from them

• His enthusiasm is starting to rub off on the rest of us.

• Her positive attitude rubbed off on other people. [=other people began to have a positive attitude from being around her]

rub 本意是擦、蹭，这里是抽象的“蹭到一点榜样的美好品质”

Black don’t crack

指黑人不容易长皱纹

People of African descent tend to wrinkle less with age than people with fairer skin.

the time when women were really coy about their age

shy

“Oh, a lady never tells her age.” My mom never subscribed to that.

never subscribe to 表达对某种观念绝不认同

• if you subscribe to an idea, you agree with it or support it

  • subscribe to the view/belief/theory etc

You may not tell your age, but your hands and your neck will. So make peace with aging, or prepare for an entire wardrobe of gloves and turtlenecks.

make peace with aging

• 坦然面对衰老 （have a fear of aging 害怕衰老）

wardrobe

• Someone’s wardrobe is the total collection of clothes that they have.

turtleneck

• 高领毛衣
• = turtleneck sweater

Settling is very insidious. It keeps us dancing on this string, waiting for this elusive, better day to miraculously appear.

insidious

• an insidious change or problem spreads gradually without being noticed, and causes serious harm;
• If something is slowly and secretly causing harm, it’s insidious — like the rumors no one seems to listen to until suddenly someone’s reputation is ruined.

miraculous

• very good, completely unexpected, and often very lucky

(等待虚幻的好日子奇迹般自动出现好像是在说我)

Now thanks to Lolly’s tutelage, that’s not my story.

tutelage

• instruction; tuition

In fact, I take each day as it comes but I try to make it better than the last.

坦然面对、过好每一天的生活哲学

I’m single, but I’m always ready to mingle.

mingle

• to move around and talk to other people at social event

Part 4

I keep multiple revenue streams.

有多种收入来源

Because I don’t settle. What that means is that I also don’t second-guess my decisions, and I’m also not worried about my future because I’m firmly rooted in the present.

决定后就不再犹豫、后悔；活在当下

Settling is a really sinister thing. It will keep you up at night tossing and turning

sinister

• adj. make you feel that something bad or evil might happen;

tossing and turning 辗转反侧

trying to answer that age-old question of “Is that all there is?”

Is that all there is? 表达“这就是生活的全部了吗”，就这么活了吗

answer the question of “…?”

age-old

• adj.  having existed for a very long time

these values were instilled in me

灌输价值观

parents work hard to develop, or instill, positive beliefs and values in their children.

but alas, I am a late bloomer in all regards.

唉

在各方面

I didn’t start out my career with a toxic attitude.

start out

• to begin your life or profession in a particular way or place 一个新阶段的开始

the fashion industry

began to feel burned out

I was burdened by these personas that I had created that were allegedly going to help me progress in my career.

persona

• the way you behave when you are with other people or in a particular situation; the public image you present to the world 类似于人设

I thought that being snarky was a good career move.

snarky

• adj.  criticize sb in an unkind way 刻薄的

career move 职业策略（猜的

in my dream montage

montage 蒙太奇

• n. a mixture of different things

I’m actually limber and happy right now.

limber

• able to move and bend easily; flexible

前面提到了瑜伽

angst

• n. anxiety; 焦虑

a little self-help ritual

ritual

• n. 仪式； something that you do regularly and in the same way each time

比如把对自己说的否定句改成肯定句可以视作 self-help ritual

Part 5

When you see someone having something that you believe you deserve, you take a note. You ask yourself a few questions.

Is it something that you really want?

Perhaps that person is better suited than you are for that.

Is the universe conspiring for you to have that?

两个问句表达 是你内心真的想要，还是其他外界因素让你想要

conspire 合谋

be honest with who you are and where you’re at in life. Once you do that, you take a deep breath and you say, “Their wins have nothing to do with my worthiness.”

就是说不要因为别人的成就贬低你自己啊，每个人都是独一无二的，每个人想要的东西也不一样。想清楚之后你就可以真诚地祝贺对方了，然后 Instantly you feel like a better human being.

You’ve extended grace to someone else.

大意是“向他人传达善意”

grace

• n. approval or kindness, especially (in the Christian religion) that is freely given by God to all humans

And I believe that when you remove malice from your heart, not only do you feel better, you look better.

注意 not only 后的语序

I think you lose your frown lines and your wrinkles lessen, and your age spots disspear.

frown lines 皱眉纹；age spots 老年斑

lessen 是动词

you lose your frown lines

your wrinkles lessen

your age spots disspear

I believe it’s better than Botox.

botox

• n. 肉毒杆菌，肉毒素
• Botox 是注射用肉毒素的商标名

意思是说 extending grace 的美容效果比打肉毒素还好。

So one of my favorite notes is from Willie Shakespeare: “To thine own self be true.”

To thine own self be true

• Be true to your own self （不习惯古英语语序）

• thine  =  your

• 忠于自己

the first line of defense is always “Be your most authentic self.” And I believe in that.

I believe that nobody can be you but you, so you might as well show up and show out.

你是你唯一的责任人，只有你有权决定你是谁。

as well 不妨

show up and show out

• to attend a place and make an impression on the people there

• show out
  • to make a strong impression

直译“你不妨现身现身”，意思大概是让真实的你出来？

Part 6

But here’s the quandary that the bard never put forth. What if you don’t really know who you are because you suppressed your inner self? What if you squelch that?

quandary

• dilemma

bard

• poet, 诗人 ( literary or old-fashioned )

• (the Bard or the Bard of Avon) Shakespeare

put forth

• to state or offer an idea, opinion,plac etc 这里是指“提出一个情况”

suqelch

• forcefully silence or suppress

what if 后面的句子用动词原形 present simple

You’ve suppressed the best parts of you because you took on these other identities and these personas in an effort to make your life better.

为了让生活更好，扮演其他角色，社会期望你是的角色

take on

• accept some work or responsibility
• I can’t take on any more work at the moment.

Because, you know, we all buy into some things about what we’re supposed to be doing and who we’re supposed to be.

buy into

• to start to do something that a lot of other people are doing, or to believe something that a lot of other people believe
• to believe in, especially wholeheartedly or uncritically

认可或接受被灌输的、外界或社会宣称的理念或价值观

to excavate to dig up (your inner self)

excavate = dig

dig up

• If you dig up something, you remove it from the ground where it has been buried or planted.

终于点题了 her is the inner/authentic self of the speaker

But the way I found her was with three questions.

Who am I at my core?

How am I being perceived?

How would I like to be perceived?

别人如何看待我 vs. 我希望别人如何看待我

At my core I’m looking to authentically connect with people.

I don’t like a cursory interaction, and I do not believe in networking.

I like an authentic connection.

就是说她喜欢紧密的深交，而不是泛泛之交

authentic connection vs. cursory interaction or networking

• authentic

  • genuine

• cursory

  • hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough

• networking

  • the practice of meeting other people involved in the same kind of work, to share information, support each other etc;
  • the activity of meeting and talking to people to exchange information and advice about work or interests
  • 建立的是互相利用互惠的关系，而非知心朋友

Part 7

Little Brown Bevy is a nerdy girl, and so I let my nerdy pursuits come out to play.

let one’s … come out to play

• 释放某种天性

pursuits

• interest; hobby

• literary pursuits 文学爱好

I learned how to be alone without being lonely.

与自己独处

My spirit shifted.

常用，指一个人内在焕然一新

with no bravado 没有虚张声势

bravado

• a swaggering show of courage;

• Picture a cowboy bursting through saloon doors in an old western, and you can picture bravado

• behaviour that is deliberately intended to make other people believe you are brave and confident

an award-winning radio and TV host

I’m vibrant and boisterous, AKA loud

精力充沛、活泼吵闹的

I’ve got a pep in my high heel, red-bottom step.

pep

• informal physical energy

step

• foot movement; way someone walks

穿红色高跟鞋让我振奋（所谓“战靴”）

And I’ve got a tell-it-like-it-is approach to life that’s always dosed with a ladle of love.

tell-it-like-it-is

• 直言不讳

I’ve got a … approach to life

• 采取什么样的生活方式

a ladle of

• 一勺; ladle = spoon

I’m a late bloomer. And that’s OK. Because I’m right on time. Because it gets greater later.

Because it gets greater later.

• 这句话的发音 becauzei~gets…

• 是说大器晚成越晚越好呢，还是说虽然大器晚成但以后会越来越好呢