10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times And Bad
Edited by Ben. Turn to ContentPage
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目录
Words & phrases
make gifts 制作礼物：手工制作礼物以赠送他人。
I like to make gifts for my friends and family during the holiday season.
在节日季节，我喜欢为我的朋友和家人制作礼物。
“God walks out of the room when you’re thinking about money.”
—Quincy Jones
Here’s a contemporary cultural phenomenon that drives me crazy.
You have a friend who knits beautiful scarves. Knitting is what he does to clear his mind and pass the time on his long train commute.
Words & phrases
knit:
v.编织，针织；织平针；（使）紧密结合；（骨头）愈合；皱紧，皱（眉）
n.编织的衣物，织物；编织法
Ferris wore a heavy knit sweater.
菲立斯穿着一件织得厚厚的毛衣。
knits:
n.针织品；皱痕（knit 的复数）
v.[纺]编织；皱紧；接合（knit 的第三人称单数）
This wool knits up well.
这种毛线很好织。
scarves: n.围巾；领带（scarf 的复数）；截面
They were warmly dressed in coats and scarves.
他们身着大衣，围着围巾，穿得暖暖和和。
knitting:
n.针织；编织物；[外科]骨愈合
v.编织；皱眉（knit 的 ing 形式）
She's knitting the baby a shawl.
她在给宝宝织一床小被子。
You have another friend who loves to bake cakes. Baking is what she does on nights and weekends to unwind after working at her stressful corporate job.
All three of you attend a birthday party. Your knitter friend gives the birthday girl the scarf he recently finished. It’s absolutely beautiful.
Words & phrases
unwind: v.放松，松弛；解开，展开
Shake the rope and let the coils unwind.
抖动绳索把绳圈展开。
corporate job 企业工作：指在大型公司或组织中从事的职业，通常包括在办公室环境中从事管理、行政、销售、市场营销等职位。
He decided to pursue a corporate job after graduating from university.
大学毕业后，他决定追求一份企业工作。
corporate:
adj.公司的；法人的；共同的，全体的
n.公司，集团
He lost his job in a corporate takeover.
他在一次公司收购中丢掉了工作。
knitter: n.编织者；编织机
She is showing me how to use a knitter.
她正在对我示？如何使用编织机。
scarf:
n.围巾，披巾，头巾；（嵌接的）斜面，斜嵌槽；鲸脂的切口
v.<美，非正式>狼吞虎咽地吃；嵌接，斜接（木材，金属）；切割（鲸）脂
Her scarf streamed behind her.
她的围巾在身后飘动。
What’s the standard reaction these days?
“You could sell this on Etsy!”
After the birthday girl opens her gifts, your baker friend serves her cake. Everyone is moaning in delight.
What do they all say?
感受
Etsy: 易集（手工艺品交易网站）
Etsy is a rapidly growing online marketplace for hand-made goods.
Etsy是一家快速增长的针对手工商品的在线市场。
moaning: v.呻吟；（物）发凄厉声；（非正式）抱怨；（诗、文）悲叹；（风）呼啸（moan 的现在分词）
I've had a bellyful of your moaning.
我已经听够了你的抱怨了。
delight:
n.高兴；令人高兴的人或物，乐事
v.使高兴；以……为乐
They all cackled with delight.
他们都高兴得嘎嘎地笑。
“You could start a bakery!”
We’re now trained to heap praise on our loved ones by using market terminology. The minute anybody shows any talent for anything, we suggest they turn it into a profession. This is our best compliment: telling somebody they’re so good at what they love to do they could make money at it.
We used to have hobbies; now we have “side hustles.” As things continue to get worse in America, as the safety net gets torn up, and as steady jobs keep disappearing, the free-time activities that used to soothe us and take our minds off work and add meaning to our lives are now presented to us as potential income streams, or ways out of having a traditional job.
Words & phrases
随着美国的情况继续恶化，随着安全网被撕得四分五裂，随着稳定的工作不断消失，过去用来抚慰我们、让我们不去想工作、为我们的生活增添意义的业余活动，现在成了我们潜在的收入来源，或者是传统工作之外的途径。
bakery: n.面包店；烘焙食品（如面包，蛋糕）
The smell is very familiar to everyone who lives near a bakery.
住在面包店附近的人都很熟悉这种气味。
heap praise 大加赞扬：表示高度赞扬或称赞某人或某事物。
I don't intend to mindlessly heap praise on Nausicaa.
我并没有刻意在堆积对《风之谷》的赞美。
minute:
n.分，分钟；片刻，一会儿，瞬间；时刻；一分钟的路程；分（角度单位，即六十分之一度）；会议记录；摘要，备忘录
adj.极小的，微小的；详细的，细致入微的
v.将（某事）写进会议记录；发送备忘录
The minute anybody shows any talent for anything, we suggest they turn it into a profession.
一旦有人在某方面表现出天赋，我们建议他们把它变成一种职业
compliment:
n.赞扬，称赞；问候，祝贺
v.赞美，恭维
Saying she's improved comes over as a backhanded compliment.
说她进步了是一种挖苦的恭维话。
side hustle 兼职工作：指在主要工作之外为了获得额外收入而进行的工作。
Many people have a side hustle to supplement their primary job income.
很多人都有兼职工作来补充他们主要工作的收入。
hustle:
v.推搡，硬挤；拼命干活；急速前进，奔忙；催促（某人）；<非正式>（常指非法地）兜售，取得；<美，非正式>拉客，卖淫
n.忙碌，熙熙攘攘；<美，非正式>欺诈行为；<美>卖力，努力
You'll have to hustle if you're to get home for supper.
你想回家吃晚饭的话，得赶紧走了。
tear up
1．损坏、移除或在某处开个口子；
2．在某个领域表现出色。
Dozens of miles of railway track have been torn up.
数十英里的铁轨已被拆除。
torn:
adj.犹豫的
v.撕碎，撕裂；撕破，划破；撕掉，扯掉（tear 的过去分词）
I've torn a calf muscle.
我拉伤了小腿肌肉。
soothe: v.使平静，安抚；减轻，缓和（疼痛）
He became as wild as a beast and no one could soothe him.
他变得像野兽一样狂野，没有人能抚慰他。
I’m so insanely lucky right now. I live the dream, in a sense, because I get paid to do what I would probably do anyway for free. But things can get very, very tricky when you turn the thing you love into the thing that keeps you and your family clothed and fed. Everyone who’s turned their passion into their breadwinning knows this is dangerous territory. One of the easiest ways to hate something you love is to turn it into your job: taking the thing that keeps you alive spiritually and turning it into the thing that keeps you alive literally.
You must be mindful of what potential impact monetizing your passions could have on your life. You might find that you’re better off with a day job.
When you start making a living from your work, resist the urge to monetize every single bit of your creative practice. Be sure there’s at least a tiny part of you that’s off-limits to the marketplace. Some little piece that you keep for yourself.
Words & phrases
每个把自己的激情变成养家糊口的人都知道这是一个危险的领域。
把让你在精神上活着的东西变成让你真正活着的东西。
你必须注意将你的激情货币化可能对你的生活产生的潜在影响。你可能会发现你最好有一份白天的工作。
确保你身上至少有一小部分是不受市场限制的。你自己留着的一小块。
insanely: adv.疯狂地；狂暴地；精神错乱地
Everyone is gibbering insanely, nerves frayed, as showtime approaches.
演出临近，人人疯狂地叽叽喳喳，神经紧张。
tricky adj.难对付的，棘手的；狡猾的，诡计多端的
It was a tricky problem but I think we've licked it.
这是一个棘手的问题，但我认为我们轻而易举地把它解决了。
feed and clothe one's family 养家活口
How can one demonstrate love for one's family if he is unable to feed and clothe and house them?
一个人如果不能让他的家人吃饱穿暖有房子住，怎么能表明他对家人的爱？
breadwinning
/ ˈbredˌwɪnɪŋ /养家糊口；挣饭吃的Men’s egos are very much tied to their careers and their breadwinning capabilities.
男子的自尊心与他们的职业和养家能力联系得相当紧密。
territory
/ ˈterətɔːri /n.领土，版图，领地；（美国、加拿大等的）准州；（某些国家划分的）地区；（某一动物或人想控制的）领地，地盘；（某人负责的）区域，地区；（具有某种特性的）地区，地方；（知识等的）领域，范围；（体育运动中的）防守区Carter's fourth album definitely moves into uncharted territory.
卡特的第四张专辑绝对进入了一个未被探索过的领域。
be mindful of 注意；留意；谨慎处理：提醒某人注意或谨慎处理某事。
Be mindful of your surroundings when walking alone at night.
晚上独自行走时要注意周围环境。
monetize
/ ˈmɑːnɪtaɪz /v.把……定为货币，使成为合法货币；铸造成货币；（通过网站访客）赚钱Do you actually want to monetize your blog?
你真的想利用你的博客来赚钱吗？
make a living from 以……为生：通过某种方式谋生或赚钱。
Making a living from their blog is the dream of most bloggers.
靠写博客维持生计是大部分博客作者的梦想。
off-limits: adj.禁止进入的，禁区的
The subject was ruled off-limits.
规定禁止谈论这个话题。
Times are always tough economically for artists and freelancers, so define the sort of lifestyle you want to live, budget for your expenses, and draw the line between what you will and won’t do for money.
And remember: If you want maximum artistic freedom, keep your overhead low. A free creative life is not about living within your means, it’s about living below your means.
“Do what you love!” cry the motivational speakers. But I think anybody who tells people to do what they love no matter what should also have to teach a money management course.
“Do what you love” + low overhead = a good life.
“Do what you love” + “I deserve nice things” = a time bomb.
Words & phrases
自由创造性的生活不是量入为出，而是量入为用。
freelancer
/ ˈfriːlænsər /n.自由职业者，特约人员He's a freelancer, so he can work anywhere.
他是一名自由职业者，所以在哪里工作都一样。
overhead
adv.在头顶上方，在空中
adj.头顶上的，在空中的，高架的；（驱动装置）顶置式的；经费的，管理费用的
n.<美>经常开支，营运费用（=<英>overheads）；（用于投影仪显示文字、图片等的）透明幻灯片；（尤指飞机的）顶舱
An eagle circled high overhead.
一只鹰在头顶上空盘旋。
motivational adj.动机的；激发性的；有关动机的；动机说明
What are your motivational triggers?
你的动机行为是什么？
“Do what you love!” cry the motivational speakers.
“做你喜欢做的事!”鼓舞人心的演说家喊道。
time:
n.
v.为……安排时间；把握（击球、射门等）的时机；为……计时，测定……所需的时间
conj.乘以
adj.定时的，定期的，分期的
The object you make is already a time bomb.
你做出来的东西迟早都会出问题。
“It’s always good to have a hobby where there’s no way to monetize it . . . So follow your dreams, but right up to the point where they become your job, and then run in the other direction.”
—David Rees
“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.”
—William Bruce Cameron
Words & phrases
right up 紧贴着：与某物非常接近或贴着。
The car was parked right up against the wall.
汽车紧贴着墙停放着。
right up to the point 直截了当地，不拐弯抹角地
She told him right up to the point that she was not interested in him.
她直截了当地告诉他她对他没兴趣。
Money is not the only measurement that can corrupt your creative practice. Digitizing your work and sharing it online means that it is subject to the world of online metrics: website visits, likes, favorites, shares, reblogs, retweets, follower counts, and more.
It’s easy to become as obsessed with online metrics as money. It can then be tempting to use those metrics to decide what to work on next, without taking into account how shallow those metrics really are. An Amazon rank doesn’t tell you whether someone read your book twice and loved it so much she passed it on to a friend. Instagram likes don’t tell you whether an image you made stuck with someone for a month. A stream count doesn’t equal an actual human being showing up to your live show and dancing.
What do clicks really mean in the grand scheme of things? All clicks have meant in the short term is that everything online is now clickbait, optimized for the short attention span. The quick hit.
Words & phrases
所有点击在短期内意味着，现在网上的一切都是标题党，针对短暂的注意力持续时间进行了优化。
practice
n.实践，实际操作；通常的做法，惯例；练习；练习课，固定的训练时间；（医生、律师或其他专业人士的）业务，事务所；诉讼手续，诉讼程序
v.练习；经常做，养成……的习惯；信奉（宗教）；（医生、律师等）执业，从业
best practice 最佳实践：经过研究和经验证明能够产生最佳结果的程序，被确定或建议为适合广泛采用的标准。
Hospitals should follow best practices to ensure patient safety.
医院应该遵循最佳实践以确保患者安全。
digitize
/ ˈdɪdʒɪtaɪz /vt.[计] 数字化If you can digitize books, go for it.
如果你能把这些书籍数字化，那么可以。
shallow
adj.浅的，不深的；肤浅的，浅薄的；（呼吸）浅的，微弱的；平缓的；靠近内线的
n.（海、湖或河的）浅水处，浅滩（shallows）
v.（使）变浅
He's a shallow, disagreeable man.
他是个浅薄、不友好的人
in the grand scheme of 在…的宏伟计划中
But how much is 300 pounds in the grand scheme of things?
但是300磅到底是一个什么概念呢？
But in the grand scheme of things, my accomplishments are relatively modest.
但和其他更厉害的事情相比，我的这些成就就显得相对平凡了。
clickbait
/ ˈklɪkbeɪt /n．点击诱饵：指网络上为吸引用户点击而设计的具有误导性或夸张性的标题或内容。The article's title was pure clickbait, but the content was actually informative.
这篇文章的标题纯粹是点击诱饵，但内容实际上很有信息量。
short attention span 注意力短暂：指一个人难以集中注意力，容易分心或失去兴趣的状态。
Children with short attention spans may have difficulty in school.
注意力短暂的孩子可能在学校里有困难。
I noticed a long time ago that there’s actually very little correlation between what I love to make and share and the numbers of likes, favorites, and retweets it gets. I’ll often post something I loved making that took me forever and crickets chirp. I’ll post something else I think is sort of lame that took me no effort and it will go viral. If I let those metrics run my personal practice, I don’t think my heart could take it very long.
If you share work online, try to ignore the numbers at least every once in a while. Increase the time between your sharing and receiving feedback. Post something and don’t check the response for a week. Turn off the analytics for your blog and write about whatever you want. Download a browser plug-in that makes the numbers disappear from social media.
When you ignore quantitative measurements for a bit, you can get back to qualitative measurements. Is it good? Really good? Do you like it? You can also focus more on what the work does that can’t be measured. What it does to your soul.
Words & phrases
你也可以更多地关注那些无法衡量的工作。它对你灵魂的影响。
crickets chirp 蟋蟀鸣叫：蟋蟀发出的尖锐、连续的声音。
The crickets chirp in the garden at night.
晚上蟋蟀在花园里鸣叫。
cricket
/ ˈkrɪkɪt /n.蟋蟀；板球（运动）The standard of professional cricket has never been lower.
职业板球的水平从来没这么低过。
chirp
/ tʃɜːrp /
v.（鸟）啁啾，（昆虫）唧唧叫； 轻松愉快地说，嘁嘁喳喳地说；抱怨；故意惹怒（某人）而说，奚落
n.吱吱声，唧唧声
The chirp came from a thick holly bush, bright with scarlet berries, and Mary thought she knew whose it was.
这啁啾声来自一丛茂密的冬青树，它结满了鲜红的浆果，十分明亮，玛丽以为她知道是谁的了。
lame
adj.瘸的，跛的，残疾的；（尤指借口或论据）站不住脚的，无说服力的；差劲的，拙劣的；<美，非正式>幼稚的，无能的（尤指社交方面）
v.使（人或动物）跛（瘸），使残废
n.金银锦缎
He was aware that she was lame in one leg.
他知道她有一条腿是瘸的。
go viral 迅速传播：指信息在社交媒体上迅速而频繁地传播，也可以指通过流言蜚语或作为对广播或广泛印刷发行的集体反应而传播。
Of course, not all ideas go viral, still influence is powerful.
当然不是所有主意都会传播开来，但是影响力的确是强大的。
viral
/ ˈvaɪrəl /
adj.病毒性的，病毒引起的；（与）利用病毒式营销手段（有关）的
n.互联网上迅速传播的图片（或视频、广告等）
A viral illness left her barely able to walk.
一场病毒引起的疾病使她走路十分困难。
every once in a while
/ ˈevri wʌns ɪn ə waɪl /有时但不经常，偶尔，不时地I like to treat myself to a massage every once in a while.
我喜欢偶尔给自己做个按摩。
quantitative
/ ˈkwɑːntəteɪtɪv /adj.数量的，量化的，定量的；（诗）由长短步组成的There is no difference between the two in quantitative terms.
两者在数量上毫无差别。
quantitative measurement 定量测量：一种通过数值表示的测量方法，用于评估某一特定变量的大小或数量。
The research team used quantitative measurement to analyze the data.
研究团队采用定量测量方法分析数据。
for a bit 片刻，一会儿：短暂的时间段，通常用于表示稍微停留或等待一段时间。
I'm going to rest for a bit before continuing my work.
我要休息片刻，然后继续工作。
qualitative
/ ˈkwɑːlɪteɪtɪv /adj.质量的，定性的，性质的There are qualitative differences between the two products.
这两种产品存在着质的差别。
qualitative measurement 定性测定
“No artist can work simply for results; he must also like the work of getting them.”
—Robert Farrar Capon
“Don’t make stuff because you want to make money—it will never make you enough money. And don’t make stuff because you want to get famous—because you will never feel famous enough. Make gifts for people—and work hard on making those gifts in the hope that those people will notice and like the gifts.”
—John Green
Words & phrases
in the hope that 希望：表示希望某事发生或达到某个目标。
He applied for the job in the hope that he would be selected.
他申请这份工作，希望能够被选中。
You know what success is, or at least you have your own definition of it. (Mine: when my days look how I want them to look.)
“Suckcess,” on the other hand, is success on somebody else’s terms. Or undeserved success. Or when something you think sucks becomes successful. Or when success or chasing after it just plain starts to suck.
“Suckcess” is what poet Jean Cocteau was referring to when he said, “There is a kind of success worse than failure.”
In his book The Gift, Lewis Hyde argues that art exists in both gift and market economies, but “where there is no gift, there is no art.” When our art is taken over by market considerations—what’s getting clicks, what’s selling—it can quickly lose the gift element that makes it art.
We all go through cycles of disenchantment and re-enchantment with our work. When you feel as though you’ve lost or you’re losing your gift, the quickest way to recover is to step outside the marketplace and make gifts.
Words & phrases
just plain 只是简单的，没有特别的装饰或修饰。
I like my coffee just plain, no sugar or cream.
我喜欢我的咖啡只是简单的，不加糖或奶油。
disenchantment:
/ ˌdɪsɪnˈtʃæntmənt /n.醒悟，清醒；不抱幻想The men have told him strikingly similar stories of disenchantment.
这些人向他叙述的觉醒故事惊人地相似。
re-enchantment: 复魅；再魅化
There’s nothing as pure as making something specifically for someone special. When my son Owen was five, he was obsessed with robots, so whenever I started hating myself and my work, I’d knock off for half an hour and make a robot collage out of tape and magazines. When I gave him the robot, he’d often turn right around and make a robot for me. We traded back and forth like that for a brief while until, as kids do, he dropped robots and became obsessed with something else. Those robots are still some of my favorite things I’ve ever made.
Try it: If you’re bummed out and hating your work, pick somebody special in your life and make something for them. If you have a big audience, make them something special and give it away. Or maybe even better: Volunteer your time and teach someone else how to make what you make and do what you do. See how it feels. See whether it puts you in a better place.
You never know when a gift made for a single person will turn into a gift for the whole world. Consider how many bestselling stories began their life as bedtime stories for specific children. A. A. Milne made up Winnie-the-Pooh for his son, Christopher Robin Milne. Astrid Lindgren’s bedridden daughter Karin asked her to tell a story about some girl named Pippi Longstocking. C. S. Lewis convinced J. R. R. Tolkien to turn the fantastical stories he told his children into The Hobbit. The list goes on and on.
Making gifts puts us in touch with our gifts.
Words & phrases
没有什么比为一个特别的人做一件特别的东西更纯粹的了。
knock off
1．停止做某事，尤指工作
I'm going to knock off early today and go to the movies.
我今天打算早点下班去看电影。
2．制作副本，通常是非法的
3．敲击或打击某物，使其倒下或破碎
collage
/ kəˈlɑːʒ /
n.抽象拼贴画（用报纸、布、压平的花等碎片拼合而成的）
vt.把…创作成拼贴画，拼贴
The illustrations make use of collage, watercolour, and other media.
这些插图用上了拼贴法、水彩以及其他的手法。
bum out 使人沮丧或失望
First, of course, the world can just wait patiently for November 2020 to roll around, at which point, American voters will presumably have come to their senses and be prepared to throw the bum out.
第一种，全世界可以耐心等到2020年11月，届时一切将重来。到那时，美国选民应该会回归理性，准备好把这个废物逐出门外。
bummed:
adj.不高兴的；烦恼的.
动词bum的过去式和过去分词形式
He bummed around the world for a year.
他在世界各地漫游了一年。
bum:
n.<英，非正式>屁股；<美，非正式>流浪汉，流浪乞丐；<非正式>迷恋某项活动者；<非正式>懒汉，游手好闲者
v.<英，非正式>讨，乞讨；<非正式>（漫无目的地）闲荡，漫游（bum around）；<非正式>（使）难过，使失望
adj.<非正式>蹩脚的，毫无用处的；<非正式>不合法的，无效的；<美，非正式>受伤的，受损的
This bum is an unemployed man in the slum.
这个流浪汉是贫民区的一个失业者。
bedtime:
n.就寝时间
adj.适于睡前的
Will you read me a bedtime story?
给我读个睡前故事好吗？
bedridden:
/ ˈbedrɪdn /adj.卧床不起的Lost your job, or bedridden for days?
没工作了，或者整天卧床不起？
fantastical: adj.奇异的，虚构的
It is fantastical, falsidical and deceitful.
它是虚幻的，虚假的，欺骗的。
go on and on 不停地说或持续发生，通常指令人厌烦或疲倦的情况
He can go on and on about his favorite topic.
他可以不停地谈论他最喜欢的话题。
puts us in touch with: 让我们联系到
in touch with: 与某人保持经常见面或交流的状态
I try to stay in touch with my old friends from college.
我尽力与我大学时的老朋友保持联系。
“What I’m really concerned about is reaching one person.”
—Jorge Luis Borges