So What's So Bad About Being So-So?
Lisa Wilson Strick
The other afternoon I was playing the piano when my seven-year-old walked in. He stopped and listened for a while, then said: "You don't play that thing very well, do you, Mom?"
No, I don't. My performance would make any serious music student weep, but I don't care. I've enjoyed playing the piano badly for years.
I also enjoy singing badly and drawing badly. I'm not ashamed of my incompetence in these areas. I do one or two other things well and that should be enough for anybody. But it gets boring doing the same things over and over. Every now and then it's fun to try something new.
Unfortunately, doing things badly has gone out of style. It used to be a mark of class if a lady or a gentleman sang a little, painted a little, played the violin a little. You didn't have to be good at it; the point was to be fortunate enough to have the leisure time for such pursuits. But in today's competitive world we have to be "experts" even in our hobbies.
You can't tone up your body by pulling on your gym shoes and jogging around the block a couple of times anymore. Why? Because you'll be laughed off the street by the "serious runners" — the ones who run twenty miles or more a week in their sixty-dollar running suits and fancy shoes. The shoes are really a big deal. If you say you're thinking about taking up almost any sport, the first thing the "serious" types will ask is what you plan to do about shoes. Leather or canvas? What type of soles? Which brand? This is not the time to mention that the gym shoes you wore in high school are still in pretty good shape. As far as sports enthusiasts are concerned, if you don't have the latest shoes you are hopelessly committed to embarrassing yourself.
The runners aren't nearly so snobbish as the dancers, however. In case you didn't know, "going dancing" no longer means putting on a pretty dress and doing a few turns around the dance floor with your favorite man on Saturday night. "Dancing" means squeezing into tights and leg warmers, then sweating through six hours of warm-ups, five hours of ballet and four hours of jazz classes. Every week. Never tell anyone that you "like to dance" unless this is the sort of activity you enjoy.
Have you noticed what this is doing to our children? "We don't want that nerd on our soccer team," I overheard a ten-year-old complain the other day. "He doesn't know a goal kick from a head shot." As it happens, the "nerd" that the boy was talking about was my son, who did not — like some of his friends — start soccer instruction at age three. I'm sorry, Son, I guess I blew it. In my day, when we played baseball, we expected to give a little instruction to the younger kids who didn't know how to play. It didn't matter if they were terrible; we weren't out to slaughter the other team. Sometimes we didn't even keep score. To us, sports were just a way of having a good time.
I don't think kids have as much fun as they used to. Competition keeps getting in the way. The daughter of a neighbor is a nervous wreck worrying about getting into the best tennis school. "I was a late starter," she told me, "and I only get to practice five or six hours a week, so my technique may not be up to their standards." The child is nine. She doesn't want to be a tennis player when she grows up; she wants to be a nurse. I asked what she likes to do for fun in her free time. She seemed to think it was an odd question. "Well, I don't actually have a lot of free time," she said. "Homework and tennis and piano lessons kind of eat it all up. I have piano lessons three times a week now, so I have a good shot at getting into the all-state orchestra."
Ambition, drive and the desire to excel are all great within limits, but I don't know where the limits are anymore. I know a woman who's been complaining for years that she hasn't got the time to study a foreign language. I've pointed out that an evening course in French or Italian would take only a couple of hours a week, but she keeps putting it off. I suspect that what she hasn't got the time for is to become completely fluent within one year — and that any lower level of accomplishment would embarrass her. Instead she spends her evenings watching TV and tidying up her closets — occupations at which no particular expertise is expected.
I know lots of other people, too, who avoid activities they might enjoy because they lack the time or the energy to tackle them "seriously." It strikes me as so silly. We are talking about recreation. I have nothing against self-improvement. But when I hear a teenager muttering "practice makes perfect" as he grimly makes his four-hundred-and-twenty-seventh try at hooking the basketball into the net left-handed, I wonder if some of us aren't improving ourselves right into the insane asylum.
I think it's time we put a stop to all this. For sanity's sake, each of us should vow to take up something new this week — and to make sure we never master it completely. Sing along with grand opera. Make peculiar-looking objects out of clay. I can tell you from experience that a homemade cake still tastes pretty good even if it doesn't look perfect. The point is to enjoy being a beginner again; to rediscover the joy of creative fooling around. If you find it difficult, ask any two-year-old to teach you. Two-year-olds have a gift for tackling the impossible with enthusiasm; repeated failure hardly discourages them at all.
As for me, I'm getting a little out of shape, so I'm looking into golf. A lot of people I know enjoy it, and it doesn't look too hard. Given a couple of lessons, I should be stumbling gracelessly around the golf course and playing badly in no time at all.
New Words
so-so
a.& ad.(infml) neither very bad(ly) nor very good/well 不好也不坏的（地）
mom
n. （美口）妈妈
incompetence
n. the lack of skill or ability to do a task successfully 不胜任，不称职
competence
n. skill or ability to do a task successfully 能力；称职
boring
a. dull and uninteresting 乏味的；令人厌倦的
leisure
n. time free from work or other duties; spare time 闲暇
gym
n. (infml) (=gymnasium) a room or hall with apparatus for physical exercise 体操馆；健身房
gym shoe
n. 体操鞋，球鞋
sole
n. the bottom part of a shoe or sock 鞋底；袜底
a. being the only one; belonging to one and no others 唯一的；独占的
enthusiast
n. a person who is very interested in sth. 热衷于…的人
squeeze
vt. 1. force or press (sb. or sth. into a small space) 硬塞，硬挤
2. press firmly from two sides 挤压，榨
n. 1. an act of pressing in from two sides 挤压，榨
2. tight economic circumstances 经济困难；拮据
tights
n. ［复］女用（连）裤袜
leg warmers
n. ［复］暖腿套
warm-up
n. an act or a period of preparation for physical exercise, a performance, etc. 准备活动；准备练习
overhear
vt. hear (sb., a conversation, etc.) without the knowledge of the speaker(s); hear by chance 偷听到；无意中听到
goal kick
n. 球门球
slaughter
vt. 1. kill (an animal), esp. for food; kill (people or animals) violently and in large numbers 屠宰；屠杀
2. (infml) defeat (sb.) badly in sports or games （口）使惨败
wreck
n. 1. (usu. sing) (infml) a person whose health, esp. mental health, has been seriously damaged 受到严重损害的人
2. a ship lost at sea; a plane, car, etc. which is badly damaged in an accident 遇难船只；失事飞机等的残骸
vt. cause (a ship) to be destroyed; (fig.) destroy, ruin 造成（船舶等）失事；（喻）破坏
orchestra
n. a (usu. large) group of people playing various musical instruments together 管弦乐队
limit
n. (oft. pl.) the greatest extent of sth. that is possible or allowed 限度；范围
vt. keep within a certain size, amount, number, area, or place; restrict 限制；限定
limited
a. small in amount, power and not able to increase 有限的
tidy
vt. make (sb. or sth.) neat or in order 使整洁，使整齐
a. neat and in order; liking things to be neatly arranged 整洁的；爱整洁的
recreation
n. an activity done for enjoyment when one is not working 消遣，娱乐
self-improvement
n. improvement of one's character, mind, etc., by one's own efforts 自我改进，自我修养
grimly
ad. in a determined manner 坚定地；不屈地
insane
a. 1. 精神病患者的；为疯人而设的
2. (of people or their acts) mad （患）精神病的；精神失常的
asylum
n. 收容所；精神病院
insane asylum
n. a mental hospital 精神病院
sanity
n. the state of having a normal healthy mind; the state of being sensible or reasonable; good sound judgement 神智健全；清醒，明智
opera
n. 歌剧
peculiar-looking
a. 奇形怪状的
peculiar
a. 1. odd, strange 奇特的，古怪的
2. (to) belonging, relating only (to a particular person, place or time) 独有的，特有的
clay
n. 黏土
homemade
a. made at home, rather than in a shop or factory 家制的；做得简单粗糙的
discourage
vt. take away (sb.'s) confidence or (sb.'s) hope of doing sth. 使泄气，使灰心
stumble
vi. 1. walk in a clumsy way 跌跌撞撞地走
2. speak or perform with many mistakes or hesitations 结结巴巴地说话
gracelessly
ad. not attractively or elegantly; in a clumsy manner 不优美地，笨拙地
grace
n. 1. elegance in movement or behaviour 优美；风度
2. kindness; willingness to do what is right 善意；体谅
graceful
a. 1. (of movement or shape) attractive to see 优美的
2. (of a speech or feeling) suitably and pleasantly expressed 优雅的；得体的
gracious
a. polite, kind and pleasant, esp. to people of a lower social position 亲切的，和蔼的
Phrases and Expressions
tone up
make (one's body) stronger, fitter, etc. 使更强壮，使更健康
pull on
put (sth.) on by pulling 穿上，戴上
a big deal
sth. important 了不起的事，大事
take up
start to learn or practice (a hobby) 开始从事
in good shape
in good condition 处于良好状况
be committed to
care a lot about (a cause, one's job. etc.); be loyal to (a particular ideal) 献身于，忠诚于
squeeze into
force or press into a narrow or restricted space 硬塞进…，硬挤入…
as it happens
(used before saying sth. surprising) actually; in fact 碰巧，偶然
blow it
（俚）把这事弄得一团糟
keep score
（在比赛中）记分
get in the way (of sth./of -ing); get in sb.'s way
prevent or interfere with sth.; prevent sb. from doing sth.; block sb.'s progress 妨碍；挡道
kind of
(infml) somewhat; to some extent （口）有点儿；可以这么说
eat up
use (sth.) in large quantities 消耗；用完
have a shot at
(infml) attempt to do (sth.) （口）尝试；试着去做（某事）
put off
delay (doing sth.) 推迟；拖延
tidy up
make (sb./oneself/sth.) neat and orderly 整理，收拾
put a stop to
ensure that a process, habit, etc., ends and will not be repeated 制止，使停止
make sth. out of
construct, create or prepare sth. by combining materials or putting parts together 用…做出…
fool around
behave in a manner that isn't serious; waste time; do sth. just for fun （口）闲荡，混日子
out of shape
not fit 处于不良的（健康）状况
in no time
very quickly 立刻，马上
Proper Names
Lisa Wilson Strick
莉莎·威尔逊·斯特里克（女子名）
参考资料：