Fear Is Not a Good Excuse恐惧不足好借口

Peggy Frezon　任新超

If there was a way to avoid exercise，I found it. Aerobics1？ Bad knees. Personaltrainer？ Too expensive. Tread -mill2？ No room.

“Theres one exercise I bet you cantgive up，”my husband challenged.“Walking.Its free， easy， and you dont needany special equipment.”

But I had an excuse： fear.

I used to take walks. Putting on mysneakers and hitching3 a leash4 to myspunky5 little spaniels6 collar， wed hitthe pavement7 together. Kellys tailwaved like a flag. Walking with my dog，exercise was actually enjoyable until oneday when Kelly and I were walkingthrough a park near my neighborhood.

如果有辦法避免运动，我找到了。有氧运动？对膝盖不好。私人教练？太贵了。跑步机？没有地方放。

“我敢打赌有一种锻炼你不会放弃。”我丈夫质疑道，“走路。它免费、简单，而且你不需要任何特殊设备。”

但我有个借口：恐惧。

我以前经常散步。我穿上运动鞋，将牵引绳钩在我那只活蹦乱跳的小西班牙猎犬的项圈上，然后一起上街。凯莉的尾巴像一面旗帜一样挥舞。和我的狗一起散步时，锻炼其实令人很愉快，直到有一天凯莉和我在我家附近的公园散步时为止。

She wandered at the end of her leashalong a bank that sloped8 down toward ariver. Watching her happily， I didnt noticeanyone else around us until an alarming，huge shape appeared： a dog big enough toeclipse9 the sun， ears flat， teeth bared.

Im not usually afraid of dogs. Butwhen I saw that huge， vicious-looking creaturerunning straight toward us， I almostjumped in the river.

In the large， grassy openness therewasnt even a little tree to shield10 us. Mygrip tightened on Kellys leash， my mindfilled with fear that my lovely pooch wouldsoon serve as an appetizer11 for themonster. The dog rushed down. I froze interror. But Kelly yanked ahead. She wasntafraid at all.

Then， in the distance， a young manwearing a hoodie sweatshirt whistled. Thedog hesitated12， turned and ran back toits owner.

它沿着一条朝着河倾斜的河堤，在牵引绳的一端徘徊。我开心地看着它，没有注意到周围的任何人，直到一个令人恐惧的，巨大的身影出现：一只大到足以遮住太阳，耸拉着耳朵，龇着牙齿的狗。

我通常不怕狗。但是当我看到那个巨大、长相凶残的生物径直朝我们跑来时，我差点跳进了河里。

在长满草的大开阔地带，甚至连掩护我们的一棵小树也没有。我紧紧抓住凯莉的牵引绳，脑子里充满了恐惧，担心我可爱的小狗很快就会成为这个庞然大物的开胃菜。那只狗冲了下来。我吓得浑身僵硬。但是凯莉拉着牵引绳向前，它一点也不怕。

然后，远处一个穿着连帽衫的年轻人吹了口哨。那只狗犹豫了一下，转身，然后又跑回到主人身边。

I was safely home in my easy chairbefore my breathing returned to normal. Ifdangerous dogs roamed the park， they couldbe anywhere. I lifted Kelly onto my lap.“Nomore walks for us， girl.” With that， Idfound an excuse to avoid exercise again.

Over the next few weeks I attempted aworkout DVD， but plopped back down onthe couch before working up a sweat. Thoseladies didnt inspire me to get moving.Before long my clothes started to feel tightagain. While Kelly could run around in thebackyard， that didnt solve my fitness needs.Maybe walking was the best exercise， but Iwas too afraid to face the possibility ofmeeting another dangerous dog.

One Saturday as I sat working at mydesk， Kelly lay on the sofa， staringwistfully13 out the window. Was she missingthe walks， the change of scenery， and thehappiness of playing outside？ I got up andjoined her at the window. Neighborhoodchildren jumped off a school bus. A womanwith a stroller14 passed by. The scene didntlook as dangerous as I imagined.

在我的呼吸恢复正常之前，我已经安全地回家坐在安乐椅上了。如果危險的狗在公园里游荡，它们可能在任何地方。我把凯莉抱到膝盖上。“我们不能再散步了，姑娘。”于是，我又找了个借口不做运动。

在接下来的几个星期里，我尝试跟练了一个锻炼的DVD，但在汗流浃背之前就扑通一声倒在沙发上。那些女士（DVD 中的）并没有激励我动起来。不久我又开始觉得衣服紧了。虽然凯莉可以在后院跑来跑去，但这并不能解决我的健身需求。也许散步是最好的锻炼，但我太害怕了，不敢面对遇上另一只危险的狗的可能性。

一个星期六，当我坐在办公桌前工作时，凯莉懒洋洋地躺在沙发上，渴望地盯着窗外。它是否在想念散步、风景的变化，和在外玩耍的快乐？我起身和它一起待在窗前。附近的孩子们从校车上跳下。一个推着婴儿车的女士经过。这一幕看起来没有我想象的那么危险。

Day after day Kelly continued to stare，on the edge of the couch. I felt as sleepy asshe looked. Although I didnt like exercise，my body began to feel the effects ofimmobility15. Heavy. Tired. Sluggish16. Iglanced at the door. Something in Kellysdeep， brown eyes urged17 me to get outside，for myself as much as for her. Maybe wedtry a short walk again.

Kelly jumped like a toy on a spring asI snapped18 on her leash. I looked up anddown the street twice before going out thedoor. “Just one spin around the block，”Isaid as Kelly marched beside me.

Peering between houses and behindparked cars， I listened for threatening19snarls. This is no way to walk， I thought，ready to turn back. Kelly， however，trotted20 eagerly ahead， pulling me alongbehind her， unconcerned about what mightlie around the corner. She wasnt lettingthat close call21 in the park prevent herfrom enjoying her walk. In fact， when wehad encountered that huge dog shed facedit bravely， ready to use whatever strengthshe had to run him off. Didnt I have atleast as much might22 and courage as mylovely pooch？

凯莉在沙发边上日复一日地盯着外面。我和它看起来一样昏昏欲睡。虽然我不喜欢运动，但我的身体开始感到不运动的影响。沉重、疲劳、迟钝。我瞥了一眼门。凯莉深棕色的眼睛里有什么东西在催促我走出去，既是为了我自己，也是为了它。也许我们可以试着再走一小段路。

我啪地扣上牵引绳的时候，凯莉像弹簧上的玩具一样跳起来。我来回看了街道两遍，然后才走出了门。“就绕着街区转一圈。”凯莉在我旁边快步走时，我说。

我费力地盯着房子之间和停着的车后，倾听威胁性的咆哮声。我想，这条路走不过去，于是准备掉头。然而凯莉却急切地向前跑，把我甩在它身后，毫不在乎拐角处可能会有什么。它没有让公园里那次险遭意外的情况妨碍它散步。事实上，当我们遇到那只大狗时，它勇敢地面对它，准备用全力把它赶走。我难道没有至少像我可爱的小狗那样的力量和勇气吗？

I moved ahead. Staying alert23 to mysurroundings， I could notice a potential24situation before a problem arose. If needbe， I could change directions or cross thestreet. I even could grab my cell phone ifI really needed help.

Then， from behind， I heard thescratching of paws on the pavement. Everymuscle in my body tensed25， my fearrealized. A loose dog—coming right at us.

I spun around. The terrifying dogstood about ankle high. Long， brown furfell from a red bow on the top of its head.A little pink collar surrounded its neck.Four tiny paws scampered26 at our feet.“Yip！ ”it barked.

Fear quickly disappeared as Ilaughed out loud. Kelly sniffed27 theminiature dog. The pup gave one last yipand left， and we continued on our way.

我向前走。我保持对周围环境的警惕，那样可以在问题出现之前发现潜在的情况。如果有需要的话，我可以换个方向或者过马路。如果我真的需要帮助，我甚至可以拿起手机。

然后，我听到背后人行道上有爪子的刮擦声。我身体的每一块肌肉都绷紧了，我的恐惧变成了现实。一条没系绳的狗正朝我们跑来。

我转过身来。那只可怕的狗大约有脚踝高。长长的棕色的毛从它头顶的红色蝴蝶结上落下。脖子上围着一个粉红色的小项圈。四只小爪子在我们脚下蹦蹦跳跳。“嘤！”它叫了起来。

当我放声大笑时，恐惧很快消失了。凯莉嗅了嗅那只小型狗。小狗尖叫了最后一声就走了，我们继续向前走。

When we got home I hung the leashin the hall， and Kelly stared up at me withher soft， wide eyes. “Well go out againtomorrow，”I promised， patting her head.Maybe I was still afraid of loose dogs， butthat wouldnt stop me from taking my walk.With exercise， just like in life， hurdles28may appear larger than they truly are. And，although I may be expecting an obstacle29the size of a Great Dane， often I find itsonly the size of a Pomeranian.

當我们到家时，我把牵引绳挂在门厅里。凯莉用它温和的大眼睛盯着我。“我们明天再出去。”我拍了拍它的头，答应了它。也许我还是害怕那些没系绳的狗，但这并不能阻止我散步。像在生活中一样，通过锻炼，难关可能实际上比看起来要小。而且，虽然我可能以为障碍的大小相当于一只（体型庞大的）大丹犬，但我经常发现它只有一只博美犬的大小。

（英语原文选自院chickensoup.com）