25) inanimate a. 死气沉沉的，没生命的

26) inhabit v. 存在于

27) cultivate v. 培养

28) principled a. 原则性强的

29) ruthlessness n. 无情

30) bullying a. 欺凌人的

31) hierarchy n. 等级

32) immediate a. 直接的

33) secondary a. 次等的，二等的

★★《2003年07月号-第41期-disc02-03》★★

the big rocks

one day an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to 1)drive home a point, used an 2)illustration those students will never forget.

as he stood in front of the group of high-powered over-achievers he said, "okay, time for a quiz.” then he pulled out a one-3)gallon, wide-mouthed 4)mason jar and set it on the table in front of him.

he then produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. when the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "is the jar full?"

everyone in the class said, "yes."

he replied, "really?"

he reached under the table and pulled out a 5)bucket of 6)gravel, then dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rocks.

he asked the group once more, "is the jar full?"

by this time the class was on to him. "probably not," one of them answered.

"good!" he replied.

he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. he started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. once more he asked the question, "is the jar full?"

"no!" the class shouted.

once again he said, "good!"

then he grabbed a 7)pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the 8)brim. then he looked at the class and asked, "what is the point of this illustration?"

one eager student raised her hand and said, "the point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in!"

"good answer, but no," the speaker replied, "that's not my point. the truth this illustration teaches us is: if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all. what are the 'big rocks" in your life? in my life they are my children... my wife... my loved ones... my education... my dreams... charities and worthy causes... teaching or mentoring others... doing things that i love... time for myself... my health... remember to put these big rocks in first or you'll never get them in at all."

if you 9)sweat the little stuff then you'll fill your life with little things to worry about that don't really matter, and you'll never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).

大石块

一天，一名时间管理专家在对一群学习商业的学生讲话时，为了论证一个论点，他用了一个令学生们永远难忘的表述方式。

站在这群出类拔萃的学生面前，他说：“来，做个小测试。”他拿出一个一加仑的广口玻璃瓶，放在他们面前的桌上。

接着他拿出一小堆拳头大小的石块，小心翼翼、一块一块地放进瓶子里。等石块装满到瓶子，再也塞不下时，他问：“瓶子满了吗？”

大家都说：“满了。”

他问∶“真的满了吗？”

他伸手到桌下提出一桶碎石，将碎石倒进瓶子里，摇晃瓶子让碎石漏进石块的间隙里去。

他又问学生：“瓶子装满了吗？”

这时学生们领悟过来了。“可能还没满吧!”一个学生回答说。

“好！”他说道。

他伸手从桌底下拎出了一桶沙，把沙往瓶子里倒，沙子塞满了石块与碎石的缝隙，他又一次问：“满了吗？”

“没满！”全班学生大声回答。

再一次，他说道：“好!”

然后他又拿出一大罐水往瓶子里倒，一直倒到水升到瓶口高。他看着学生们问：“这个演示说明了什么？”

一个学生急忙举手说：“说明了：不管时间安排得多紧，只要你想办法，总是可以见缝插针地做更多的事情。”

“回答得好，不过，”专家说：“这不是我想说的。这个例子告诉我们一个事实：如果你不是先放大石块，以后它们就永远摆不进去。你生活中的“大石块”是什么呢？在我的生活中，那就是我的孩子、妻子、所爱的人、学习、梦想、善行和有价值的事业、教导他人、做我喜欢做的事、留给自己的时间、健康，等等。要记住，必须先放“大石块”，否则它们永远放不进去。”

如果你奔忙于琐事，那么这些无关紧要的小事就会充斥你的生活，让你成天操心，你就永远没办法腾出有质量的时间来处理你的大事和要事（大石块）。

注释:

1) drive home 使人理解

2) illustration n. 例证

3) gallon n. 加仑

4) mason jar有金属螺盖的玻璃瓶

5) bucket n. 水桶

6) gravel n. 石砾

7) pitcher n. 带柄的大水罐

8) brim n. （杯，碗的）边

9) sweat v. 费力地操作

★★《2003年07月号-第41期-disc02-04》★★

the millionaire next door

twenty years ago we began studying how people become wealthy. 1)initially, we did it just as you might imagine: by surveying people in so-called up-scale neighbourhoods across the country. in time, we discovered something odd: many people who live in expensive homes and drive 2)luxury cars do not actually have much wealth. then, we discovered something even odder: many people who have a great deal of wealth do not even live in up-scale neighbourhoods.

what is so 3)profound about these discoveries? just this: most people have it all wrong about wealth in america. wealth is not the same as income. if you make a good income each year and spend it all, you are not getting wealthier. you are just living high. wealth is what you 4)accumulate, not what you spend. how do you become wealthy? here, too, most people have it wrong. it is seldom luck or 5)inheritance or advanced degrees or even intelligence that enables people to amass fortunes. wealth is more often the result of a lifestyle of hard work, perseverance, planning, and most of all, self-discipline.

ask the average american to define the term "wealthy", most would give the same definition found in webster's. "wealthy" to them refers to people who have an 6)abundance of material 7)possessions. we define "wealthy" differen