IN This ARTICLE: Wisdom today means something different for the young, modem Western generation.

本文簡介：對今天西方的年輕一代來說，智慧別有一番含義。

[1] Wisdom of the ancients always served civilisation well. In the age of the TV sitcom , witty New York repartee and the instant one-liner, Western wisdom in the modern sense can mean something more like the dialogue from an American sitcom. Here's sampling of the some of the wittier one-lines circulating through Western society circles these days:

[2] I can only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow is not looking good either.

[3] 1 love deadlines. I especially like the wooshing sound they make as they go flying by.

[4] Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to get along without it.

[5] Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue.

[6] Needing someone is like needing a parachute. If they aren't there the first time, chances are you won't be needing them again.

[7] On the keyboard of life, always keep one finger on the escape key.

[8] You are slower than a herd of turtles stampeding through peanut butter.

古人的智慧對文明總是大有裨益。在電視情景喜劇、紐約式的機智問答和即興的單句俏皮話大行其道的時代，現代意義上的西方智慧更像是一出美國情景喜劇里對白之類的東西。以下是近來在西方社會流傳的一些具有代表性的單句睿語：

我每天只能取悅一個人。今天輪不到你。明天看上去也不太妙。

我喜歡最后期限。我尤其喜歡它們飛馳而過時發出的嗖嗖聲。

告訴我你需要什么，然后我會告訴你沒有它怎么過。

接受這一事實--有時你是在雕像上隨意排泄的鴿子，有時你是那倒霉的雕像。

需要某個人就像需要一頂降落傘。如果他們第一時間不在場，你就可能再也沒有需要他們的機會了。

在生活的鍵盤上，始終要把一個手指按在“退出”鍵上。

你比一群在花生醬中亂竄的海龜還要慢。

[9] Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

[10] Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.

[11] Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

[12] Don't be irreplaceable--if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

[13] Eat one live frog the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day.

[14] Everything can be filed under miscellaneous.

[15] You are always doing something marginal when the boss drops by your desk.

[16] When confronted by a difficult problem you can solve it more easily by reducing it to the question "how would adventure star Indiana Jones handle this?"

[17] I don't have an attitude problem. you have a perception problem.

不要插手兇龍惡獸的事，因為你是松脆的，而被涂上番茄醬后味道好極了。

每個人在別人眼中都是怪物。

千萬別和白癡爭論。他們會把你拉低到和他們同等的水平，再用經驗擊敗你。

切勿成為不可替代的人--如果沒人能取代你，你便無法得到提升。

如果早晨第一件事就是吃一只活青蛙，那么余下的一天便不會有更糟的事發生了。

每件東西都可歸入雜項。

老板偶然來到你的辦公桌時，你總是在做一些無關緊要的事。

碰到難題時，把它簡化成這樣一個問題――“驚險片明星印第安那?瓊斯會怎樣處理?”--你就能比較容易地解決它了。

不是我的態度有問題，而是你的感覺有問題。