33. How to deal with a gift of money?
It seems not a difficult decision for me. But if I was given the gift of money in different time, I would have different answers.
If I was given the money when I was in my high school, I would buy a ticket to a concert. I had been longing for attending concerts of famous artists to enjoy those transcendent pieces such as saxophone of Kenny G. , rock and roll of Cuijian, and romantic songs of Luo Dayou. Unfortunately I just was not able to afford those exorbitant prices. The given amount should be better if it is enough for several tickets so that I could take along my best friends, whose situations were much similar to mine.
If I was given the money when I was in the university, I would buy a fine piece of jewelry, and give it to my girl friend as a casual present, for we might enjoy a certain concert, but hardly could it be permanently impressive. Memories are always not reliable. We tend to simply forget anything— at best, memories are somewhat distorted—if time past long enough. But if I bought my girl friend a piece of jewelry, not costly though it might be, it would be a perfect reminder, being never changed.
If I was given the money recently, it would only make me feel funny. I don't want to go to concerts anymore, because I became more and more reluctant to present in crowd public places, and besides, I have bought a super Hi-Fi which always brings me identical pleasure. And I don't want to buy any jewelry either, for it is meaningless for a man who is now solitary. Nevertheless, if I was forced to accept some money as a gift—it hardly happens—I might buy some books, after all, reading always makes me relaxed and amazed.
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33. 如何处理作为礼物的一笔钱？
这对我来说似乎不是个困难的决定。但是假如有人在不同的时间送钱给我做礼物，我会有不同的答案。
如果我上高中的时候有人送给我钱，我将会去买一张音乐会的票。我一直渴望去听一场著名音乐家的音乐会，去欣赏那些杰出的曲目，比如肯尼基的萨克斯管、崔健的摇滚、罗大佑的浪漫歌曲。不幸的是我负担不起那昂贵的票价。赠送的钱数如果能买得起几张票那就更好了，这样我就可以带着我最好的朋友们去，他们的情况和我的类似。
如果我上大学的时候有人送给我钱，我会买一件漂亮的珠宝首饰，然后把它作为一件普通的礼物送给我的女友，因为我们可以一起欣赏一场音乐会，但是这不太可能留下永久的印象。记忆不总是可靠的。我们倾向于忘掉任何事——起码记忆会有些扭曲——如果经过的时间很长的话。但是，如果我给我的女友买一件珠宝首饰，尽管它不是很贵，但它将是个永远的回忆，永远都不会变。
如果最近送给我钱，那只会让我觉得滑稽。我再也不想去听音乐会了，因为我越来越不愿意去那些拥挤的公众场所，此外，我已经买了一套非常棒的立体声音响，可以一直带给我同等的快乐。我也不想买任何的珠宝了，因为这对一个现在单身的男人来说毫无意义。然而，如果我被迫接受一些钱作为礼物——那几乎不会发生——我可能会买些书，毕竟读书总是能让我放松和感到惊叹。
Word List
- longing for 渴望
- transcendent ［trænˈsendənt］ adj. 卓越的，出众的
- saxophone ［ˈsæksəˌfəun］ n.萨克斯管（铜管类乐器）
- exorbitant price 过高的价格
- reliable ［riˈlaiəbəl］ adj. 可靠的，可信赖的
- at best 至多
- identical ［aiˈdentikəl］ adj. 同一的，同样的
- solitary ［ˈsa:litəri］ adj. 孤独的，单身的