139. What do you think is the most important room in a house?

Whereas others might feel ridiculous, I reckon the bathroom as the most important room in my house, even though other rooms such as the reading room or the sitting room are probably equally important.

First of all, the bathroom is the most important because it is highly visible to guests. We may be able to close off the bedroom to indicate that the room is"off-limits," but we cannot deny our visitors access to the bathroom. The most overlooked in general though it might be, the bathroom is a room which demands attention as much as possible. For example, it is absolutely an ugly design if the toilet is placed directly opposite the door, all too often the embarrassment happens when the door is accidentally unlocked. And it is the host to blame if the bathroom is dirty, smelly, or even scattered about in a mess.

The bathroom is very important because every family member will inevitably use that room, in which the most important part of family sanitations is located. Personal health of family member is no doubt superior to any other concerns. It should be spacious, bright, tidy, and above all, hygienic, and deserve frequent cleaning—in fact, the room we cannot clean too much, specifically, the toilet seat. Moreover, more than one bathroom are virtually needed, if possible. It is not only embarrassing or inconvenient but would also be absurd and irritating if someone knocks at the door when we are using the lavatory.

Another reason I put special emphasis upon bathroom came from my experiences. According to my conception, bathroom is not only for toileting, washing, and showering, but for reading as well. Don't be surprised, I have a very spacious and bright bathroom in my house, in which, an arm away from the stool is a small bookshelf, a little bit highly located on the wall to prevent books and newspapers from getting wet. I have already discovered that I have to spend more than 30 minutes a day in the bathroom, and that moment is so ideally quiet and easy to concentrate. Believe it or not, I learnt a computer programming language—Delphi—while I was sitting on the stool!

译文

139. 你认为房子里哪间房最重要？

尽管其他人也许觉得可笑，但我认为卫生间是我家里最重要的房间，虽然其他房间，像书房或起居室，可能也同样重要。

首先，卫生间最重要，因为它非常有可能被客人看到。我们或许能够把卧室的门关上，以示这个房间禁止进入，但我们不能拒绝让来访的客人使用卫生间。通常卫生间最易被遗忘，但它是一个需要特别注意的房间。比如，如果卫生间被安排在正对着门口的地方，那绝对是一个很丑陋的设计。当门恰好没有锁的时候，经常会出现尴尬。如果卫生间不干净，有臭味，或者甚至是乱七八糟，那就应该责怪主人了。

卫生间非常重要，因为每个家庭成员都不可避免地要使用那个房间，所以它是家庭卫生最重要部分之所在。家人的个人健康毫无疑问比其他事情更重要。所以卫生间应该宽敞、明亮、整洁，最重要的是卫生。卫生间应该经常清扫，事实上，这个房间怎么清扫都不过分，特别是马桶座圈。而且，实际上如果可能的话，需要一个以上的卫生间。如果我们在用卫生间的时候，有人敲门，那不仅让人尴尬或者不方便，而且还很可笑，使人不愉快。

我特别强调卫生间的另外一个原因来自于本人的经历。按照我的想法，卫生间不仅用来上厕所、盥洗、淋浴，还可以用于阅读。不要吃惊，我自己家里有一个非常宽敞明亮的卫生间，而在离马桶一臂之距的地方是一个小书橱，在墙上放得比较高，可以避免书报被弄湿。我已经发现我每天必须在卫生间待上半个多小时，而那个时候是如此完美地寂静，很容易集中精神。不管你信不信，计算机编程语言Delphi，就是我在上厕所时学会的。

Word List

• ridiculous ［riˈdikjələs］adj. 可笑的，荒唐的
• hygienic ［haiˈdʒi:nik］ adj. 卫生的
• specifically ［spiˈsifikəli］adv. 特定地，特别地
• visible ［ˈvizəbəl］ adj. 可以看见的
• indicate ［ˈindiˌkeit］ v. 表示
• inconvenient ［ˌinkənˈvi:njənt］adj. 不方便的
• off-limits ［ɔ:fˈlimits］ adj. 禁止进入的
• smelly ［ˈsmeli］ adj. 有臭味的
• absurd ［əbˈsə:d］ adj. 可笑的
• sanitation ［ˌsæniˈteiʃən］ n. 卫生
• irritating ［ˈiriˌteitiŋ］ adj. 令人不愉快的
• superior ［səˈpiəriə］ adj. 高于…的
• bookshelf ［ˈbukʃelf］ n. 书橱
• spacious ［ˈspeiʃəs］ adj. 宽敞的