另外一种治疗失眠症的捷径是参加体育锻炼，比如，园艺活动、游泳、打网球、打高尔夫球、滑雪等等，或是做一些消耗体力的工作。德莱塞就是这样做的。当德莱塞还是一个正在奋斗的年轻作家时，他总是为了失眠而焦虑不安，便在纽约中央铁路公司找了一份切割工的工作。经过一天的钉钉子和铲沙砾工作后，德莱塞感到极其疲惫，吃饭都很难坚持足够长的时间。
如果我们感到很疲惫，就算是在走路，也会入睡的。举个例子：我13岁时，父亲要将一车肥猪运往密苏里州的圣桥城，因为他有两张免费的火车票，就带我一起去了。在那之前，我从未到过一个人口在四千人以上的镇子。当我来到了这个人口达六千人的圣桥城时，我激动万分。看到六层高楼和电车，我惊愕极了。时至今日，当我闭上眼睛，电车仍然历历在目。当我经历了人生中最刺激和兴奋的一天后，父亲和我坐上回家的火车。火车到站时已经是凌晨两点，我们不得不步行四英里回到农场。我感到非常疲惫，几乎是边走边睡。我过去经常骑着马就睡着了。这些往事到现在我还记忆犹新。
当一个人感到非常疲惫时，就算是雷鸣声或面临战争的恐怖和危险，他都可以安然入睡。著名的神经科医师福斯特?肯尼迪博士对我说，1918年，英国第五军退军时，他亲眼目睹筋疲力尽的士兵昏迷般地倒地而睡，即使拨弄他们的眼皮，也无法醒来。他说他注意到，所有熟睡的人的眼球都是向上翻的。“从那以后，”肯尼迪医士说，“当我睡不着时，我就把眼球往上翻，一会儿我就开始打哈欠，并感到非常困倦了。这是一种不受自我支配的条件反射。”
没有人可以用不睡觉的方法来自杀的，从来没有。无论一个人的意志多顽强，都逃不过自然的力量。我们可以长时间不吃东西，不喝水，但是我们绝对不能长时间不睡觉。
说到自杀，我就想起一个事例来，那出自亨利?林克所著的《人类的再发现》一书。林克博士是心理社团的副团长，他经常会与一些心理焦虑和沮丧的人交谈。在《消除恐惧与忧虑》那一章中，他谈到了一个想要自杀的人。林克博士明白争辩只会让事情更糟，所以他对这个人说：“如果你选择了这条自杀之路，那你至少要勇敢一些。绕着街区一直跑，跑到累死为止。”
这个人真的这样做了，他试了很多次，每次都会感到舒服一些，这种感觉只表现在心理上，而不是身体上。到了第三天晚上，林克博士终于达到了他的最初目的——这个人非常疲惫地像一块圆木似的睡着了（身体上的放松）。之后，他加入了体育俱乐部，开始参加竞技运动。不久，他再次感到心情愉悦，并希望好好地活下去。
记忆填空
1. After the most thrilling and exciting _______ of my life, Father and I took a train back to Ravenwood, Missouri. Arriving there at two o’clock in the _______ , we had to_______four miles home to the farm. I was so exhausted that I slept and dreamed as I walked. I have often _______while riding horseback.
2. No man ever committed suicide by refusing to _______ and no one ever will. Nature would force a man to sleep in spite of all his _______ power. Nature will let us go _______ food or water far longer than she will let us go without sleep.
佳句翻译
1. 如果我们感到很疲惫，就算是在走路，也会入睡的。
2. 无论一个人的意志多顽强，都逃不过自然的力量。
3. 他再次感到心情愉悦，并希望好好地活下去。
短语应用
1. She was depressed and worried and had difficulty in going to sleep.
have difficulty in：对……有困难；在某方面有困难
2. If you have trouble sleeping, get hold of Dr. Fink’s book, Release from Nervous Tension, which I have mentioned earlier.
get hold of：抓住；得到；把握
为金钱付出的代价
Life in a Violin Case
亚历山大?布洛奇 / Alexander Bloch
In order to tell what I believe, I must briefly sketch something of my personal history.
The turning point of my life was my decision to give up a promising business career and study music. My parents, although sympathetic, and sharing my love of music, disapproved of it as a profession. This was understandable in view of the family background. My grandfather had taught music for nearly forty years at Springhill College in Mobile and, though much beloved and respected in the community, earned barely enough to provide for his large family. My father often said it was only the hardheaded thriftiness of my grandmother that kept the wolf at bay. As a consequence of this example in the family, the very mention of music as a profession carried with it a picture of a precarious existence with uncertain financial rewards. My parents insisted upon college instead of a conservatory of music, and to college I went quite happily, as I remember, for although I loved my violin and spent most of my spare time practicing, I had many other interests.
Before my graduation from Columbia, the family met with severe financial reverses and I felt it my duty to leave college and take a job. Thus was I launched upon a business career-which I always think of as the wasted years.
Now I do not for a moment mean to disparage business. My whole point is that it was not for me. I went into it for money, and aside from the satisfaction of being able to help the family, money is all I got out of it. It was not enough. I felt that life was passing me by. From being merely discontented I became acutely miserable. My one ambition was to save enough to quit and go to Europe to study music. I used to get up at dawn to practice before I left for “down-town”, distracting my poor mother by bolting a hasty breakfast at the last minute. Instead of lunching with my business associates, I would seek out some cheap cafe, order a meager meal and scribble my harmony exercises. I continued to make money, and finally, bit by bit, accumulated enough to enable me to go abroad. The family being once more solvent, and my help no longer necessary, I resigned from my position and, feeling like a man released from jail, sailed for Europe. I stayed four years, worked harder than I had ever dreamed of working before and enjoyed every minute of it.
“Enjoyed” is too mild a word. I walked on air. I really lived. I was a free man and I was doing what I loved to do and what I was meant to do.
If I had stayed in business I might be a comparatively wealthy man today, but I do not believe I would have made a success of living. I would have given up all those intangibles, those inner satisfactions that money can never buy, and that are too often sacrificed when a man’s primary goal is financial success.
When I broke away from business it was against the advice of practically all my friends and family. So conditioned are most of us to the association of success with money that the thought of giving up a good salary for an idea seemed little short of insane. If so, all I can say is “Gee, it’s great to be crazy.”
Money is a wonderful thing, but it is possible to pay too high a price for it.
我必须先对自己的经历作个简短的介绍，以便说明我的信仰。
放弃前途远大的商业生涯，转而学习音乐，这成为了我人生的转折点。虽然我的父母和我一样热爱音乐，但他们不同意我以音乐为生。从我的家庭背景来看，这一点是可以理解的。我的祖父在莫比尔的斯普林希尔学院从事了长达40年的音乐教学，虽然深受全院师生的喜爱与尊敬，但微薄的收入仅能勉强维持一家人的生活。父亲常说，如果不是祖母精打细算，勤俭持家，一家人早就喝西北风了。结果便是，在我们的家里，只要提及音乐这个职业，大家的眼前就会浮现出那种收入朝不保夕的苦日子。父母不让我上音乐学院，坚持让我上大学，于是我上了大学——我还记得自己当时很开心，因为我虽然热爱小提琴，并将大部分业余时间用来练琴，但我对其他许多事也很感兴趣。
在我从哥伦比亚大学毕业之前，家中出现了经济危机，我觉得自己有责任退学找工作。于是，我投身商界，不过我总觉得那些日子简直是在浪费生命。