You may think this is easy, this “be Who You Really Are” business, but it’s the most challenging thing you’ll ever do in your life. In fact, you may never get there. Few people do. Not in one lifetime. Not in many.

So why try? Why enter the fray¹? Who needs it? Why not simply play life as if it were what it apparently² is anyway—a simple exercise in meaninglessness leading to nowhere in particular, a game you can’t lose no matter how you play; a process that leads to the same result, ultimately, for everyone? You say there is no hell, there is no punishment, there is no way to lose, so why bother trying to win? What is the incentive³, given how difficult it is to get where You say we re trying to go? Why not take our good-natured time and just relax about all this God-stuff, and “being Who You Really Are.

My, we are frustrated⁴ aren’t we...

Well, I get tired of trying, trying, trying, only to have You come here and tell me how hard it’s all going to be, and how only one in a million makes it anyway.

Yes, I see that you do. Let Me see if I can help. First, I would like to point out that you already have taken your “good-natured time” about it. Do you think this is your first attempt at this?

I have no idea.

It doesn’t seem as if you’ve been here before?

Sometimes.

Well, you have. Many times.

How many times?

Many times.

That’s supposed to encourage me?

It’s supposed to inspire you.

How so?

First, it takes the worry out of it. It brings in the “can’t fail” element you just talked about. It assures you that the intention is for you not to fail. That you’ll get as many chances as you want and need. You can come back again and again and again. If you do get to the next step, if you evolve to the next level, it’s because you want to, not because you have to.

You don’t have to do anything! If you enjoy life at this level, if you feel this is the ultimate for you, you can have this experience over and over and over again! In fact, you have had it over and over again—for exactly that reason! You love the drama. You love the pain. You love the “not knowing,” the mystery, the

点击收听单词发音  

1 fray
v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗
参考例句：
Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？ Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

2 apparently
adv.显然地；表面上，似乎
参考例句：
An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。 He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 incentive
n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机
参考例句：
Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。 He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

4 frustrated
adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧
参考例句：
It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。 The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 suspense
n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑
参考例句：
The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。 The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

6 insanity
n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐
参考例句：
In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。 He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

7 killing
n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财
参考例句：
Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。 Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 justified
a.正当的，有理的
参考例句：
She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。 The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

9 hostility
n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争
参考例句：
There is open hostility between the two leaders.两位领导人表现出公开的敌意。 His hostility to your plan is well known.他对你的计划所持的敌意是众所周知的。

10 offender
n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者
参考例句：
They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。 The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

11 determined
adj.坚定的；有决心的
参考例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。 He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

12 immediate
adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的
参考例句：
His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。 We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

13 defense
n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩
参考例句：
The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。 The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 duels
n.两男子的决斗( duel的名词复数 )；竞争，斗争
参考例句：
That's where I usually fight my duels. 我经常在那儿进行决斗。” 来自英语晨读30分（初三） Hyde Park also became a favourite place for duels. 海德公园也成了决斗的好地方。 来自辞典例句

15 hypocrisy
n.伪善，虚伪
参考例句：
He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。 He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。

16 blasphemy
n.亵渎，渎神
参考例句：
His writings were branded as obscene and a blasphemy against God.他的著作被定为淫秽作品，是对上帝的亵渎。 You have just heard his blasphemy!你刚刚听到他那番亵渎上帝的话了！

17 abortion
n.流产，堕胎
参考例句：
She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。 A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

18 judgments
判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判
参考例句：
A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。 He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

19 abrogated
废除（法律等）( abrogate的过去式和过去分词 )； 取消； 去掉； 抛开
参考例句：
The president abrogated an old law. 总统废除了一项旧法令。 This law has been abrogated. 这项法令今已取消。

20 follower
n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒
参考例句：
He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。 Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。

21 rigid
adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的
参考例句：
She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。 The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

22 justifiable
adj.有理由的，无可非议的
参考例句：
What he has done is hardly justifiable.他的所作所为说不过去。 Justifiable defense is the act being exempted from crimes.正当防卫不属于犯罪行为。

23 acting
n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的
参考例句：
Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。 During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

24 imperatives
n.必要的事( imperative的名词复数 )；祈使语气；必须履行的责任
参考例句：
Nixon, however, had other imperatives. 但尼克松另有需要。 来自辞典例句 There could be some cultural imperatives in there somewhere! 在公共传播那里，在某些方面，可能有更迫切的文化需要！ 来自互联网

25 purely
adv.纯粹地，完全地
参考例句：
I helped him purely and simply out of friendship.我帮他纯粹是出于友情。 This disproves the theory that children are purely imitative.这证明认为儿童只会单纯地模仿的理论是站不住脚的。

26 perfectly
adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地
参考例句：
The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。 Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

27 entity
n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物
参考例句：
The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。 As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

28 adherence
n.信奉，依附，坚持，固着
参考例句：
He was well known for his adherence to the rules.他因遵循这些规定而出名。 The teacher demanded adherence to the rules.老师要求学生们遵守纪律。

29 offenses
n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势
参考例句：
It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》 Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

30 demons
n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念
参考例句：
demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼 He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

31 demonstrations
证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威
参考例句：
Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。 The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

32 ridicule
v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄
参考例句：
You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。 Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。

33 yardsticks
比较或衡量的标准，尺度( yardstick的名词复数 )
参考例句：
Your success in life can be measured by many yardsticks. 你在生活方面的成功是可以用许多标准来衡量的。 Common yardsticks for measuring success are cost, choice, performance, and security. 判断一个操作系统是否成功的通用尺度包括成本、普及度、性能和安全性。

34 precisely
adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地
参考例句：
It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。 The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

35 embarking
乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事
参考例句：
He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。 The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

36 embarked
乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事
参考例句：
We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。 She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

37 awareness
n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智
参考例句：
There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。 Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

38 joyful
adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的
参考例句：
She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。 They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

39 drudge
n.劳碌的人；v.做苦工，操劳
参考例句：
I feel like a real drudge--I've done nothing but clean all day!我觉得自己像个做苦工的--整天都在做清洁工作！ I'm a poor,miserable,forlorn drudge;I shall only drag you down with me.我是一个贫穷，倒运，走投无路的苦力，只会拖累你。