2006年NPR美国国家公共电台六月-Choosing Life Over Career

（单词翻译）

No matter what the wages might be for a typical job after college, commentator¹ Dana Goldman has decided² they are not enough.

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I used to wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares about mowing³ my boss's lawn. Hours later, I'd find myself picking up dead mice in a windowless, centre-block room I shared with four co-workers. I'd fall asleep soon after arriving home, hoping for no more nightmares. But eight or ten or twelve hours of rest couldn't resolve my anxiety. So last year, I handed back my office key. I started marketing⁴ myself as someone who'd do just about anything for money as long as it was legal, ethical⁵ and part-time.

A two-day a week at teaching high school students gave me enough steady income to pay rents and health insurance. I loaned out my body for a clinical research study, copy-edited a friend's feminist⁶ Christian⁷ novel and wrote press releases on scientific discoveries. At moments, I felt in over my head like when nurses drew blood from my arms every ten minutes for twelve hours straight. For a few months, I worried about having enough money, but I've always been frugal⁸ and now I have even more motivation to spend and save thoughtfully.

So I use the library instead of going to the bookstore. I rent part of my friend's house and work a few hours a week at a local community garden in exchange for cheap organic produce. And I'm ready to drive my nine-year-old car to its grave rather than take out a car loan. Now, flipping⁹ through a clothes catalogue, I can't help noting that brand-name jeans just don't seem that different from the ones I get at the thrift¹⁰ store, paying less than I used to for a sandwich. Without a daily job to report to, I revel¹¹ in occasional two-hour weekday lunch with my mom and dad. Without a budget for eating out, I've learned to bake, and my 9 to 5 friends are always grateful to gather in my kitchen. "You're so much happier now", my best friend says. And that's true. After a few months away from my former job, my anxiety disappeared, as did the need for therapist and even escapist movies.

Someday, if I want to buy a house or have a kid, I know I'll need more money. Security will be more important then. I may need to trade in my odd jobs for work that's more stable or substantial. But for now, I'm doing things I love on my own terms and keeping my options open. Pocket changes are all I need to live happily and I don't want for anything I can't get at the grocery store. I'm beginning to understand that happiness and money are not always connected in the way I once thought. And for now at least, simplicity¹² can be everything.

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Commentator Dana Goldman lives and works, or not, in Atlanta. This is Morning Edition from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne. And I'm Steve Inskeep.

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nightmares : n.梦魇, 恶梦, 可怕的事物（night夜+mare鬼）
mow one's lawn : 给某人修剪草坪.
market oneself : 推销某人
feminist : n. 男女平等主义者, 女权扩张论者
frugal : adj. 节省的; 俭朴的; 量少的, 花钱少的
brand-name jeans : 品牌牛仔裤
revel in: 深爱, 酷爱; 纵情于, 沉湎于
therapist : n. 临床医学家
escapist : adj. 逃避现实的; n.逃避现实者

thrift store : 跳蚤市场，物美价廉，装修简易的商店，如上海的襄阳路市场。