I believe in the 50-percent theory. Half the time things are better than normal; the other half, they are worse. I believe life is a pendulum（钟摆） swing. It takes time and experience to understand what normal is, and that gives me the perspective to deal with the surprises of the future.
Let's benchmark the parameters: Yes, I will die. I've dealt with the deaths of both parents, a best friend, a beloved boss and cherished pets. Some of these deaths have been violent, before my eyes, or slow and agonizing（苦恼的） . Bad stuff, and it belongs at the bottom of the scale.
Then there are those high points: romance and marriage to the right person; having a child and doing those Dad things like coaching my son's baseball team, paddling around the creek（小溪） in the boat while he's swimming with the dogs, discovering his compassion so deep it manifests（表明） even in his kindness to snails, his imagination so vivid he builds a spaceship from a scattered pile of Legos.
But there is a vast meadow of life in the middle, where the bad and the good flip-flop acrobatically. This is what convinces me to believe in the 50-percent theory.
One spring I planted corn too early in a bottomland so flood-prone that neighbors laughed. I felt chagrined（苦恼的，失望的） at the wasted effort. Summer turned brutal -- the worst heat wave and drought in my lifetime. The air-conditioner died, the well went dry, the marriage ended, the job lost, the money gone. I was living lyrics from a country tune -- music I loathed. Only a surging Kansas City Royals team, bound for their first World Series, buoyed（支撑，鼓励） my spirits.
Looking back on that horrible summer, I soon understood that all succeeding good things merely offset the bad. Worse than normal wouldn't last long. I am owed and savor the halcyon（宁静的） times. They reinvigorate（使复兴） me for the next nasty surprise and offer assurance that I can thrive. The 50 percent theory even helps me see hope beyond my Royals' recent slump, a field of struggling rookies sown so that some year soon we can reap an October harvest.
Oh, yeah, the corn crop? For that one blistering summer, the ground moisture was just right, planting early allowed pollination（授粉） before heat withered the tops, and the lack of rain spared the standing corn from floods. That winter my crib overflowed with corn -- fat, healthy three-to-a-stalk ears filled with kernels from heel to tip -- while my neighbors' fields yielded only brown, empty husks.
Although plantings past may have fallen below the 50-percent expectation, and they probably will again in the future, I am still sustained by the crop that flourishes during the drought.
相关单词：pendulum
pendulum解释：n.摆，钟摆
pendulum例句：
The pendulum swung slowly to and fro.钟摆在慢慢地来回摆动。
He accidentally found that the desk clock did not swing its pendulum.他无意中发现座钟不摇摆了。
相关单词：parameters
parameters解释：因素，特征； 界限； （限定性的）因素( parameter的名词复数 )； 参量； 参项； 决定因素
parameters例句：
We have to work within the parameters of time. 我们的工作受时间所限。
See parameters.cpp for a compilable example. This is part of the Spirit distribution. 可编译例子见parameters.cpp.这是Spirit分发包的组成部分。
相关单词：agonizing
agonizing解释：adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)
agonizing例句：
I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死
相关单词：creek
creek解释：n.小溪，小河，小湾
creek例句：
He sprang through the creek.他跳过小河。
People sunbathe in the nude on the rocks above the creek.人们在露出小溪的岩石上裸体晒日光浴。
相关单词：compassion
compassion解释：n.同情，怜悯
compassion例句：
He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。
相关单词：snails
snails解释：n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )
snails例句：
I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：scattered
scattered解释：adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的
scattered例句：
Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。
相关单词：chagrined
chagrined解释：adj.懊恼的，苦恼的v.使懊恼，使懊丧，使悔恨( chagrin的过去式和过去分词 )
chagrined例句：
I was most chagrined when I heard that he had got the job instead of me. 当我听说是他而不是我得到了那份工作时懊恼极了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
He was [felt] chagrined at his failure [at losing his pen]. 他为自己的失败 [遗失钢笔] 而感到懊恼。 来自辞典例句
相关单词：brutal
brutal解释：adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的
brutal例句：
She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。
相关单词：lyrics
lyrics解释：n.歌词
lyrics例句：
music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。
相关单词：tune
tune解释：n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整
tune例句：
He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。
相关单词：loathed
loathed解释：v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的过去式和过去分词 )；极不喜欢
loathed例句：
Baker loathed going to this red-haired young pup for supplies. 面包师傅不喜欢去这个红头发的自负的傻小子那里拿原料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
Therefore, above all things else, he loathed his miserable self! 因此，他厌恶不幸的自我尤胜其它！ 来自英汉文学 - 红字
相关单词：buoyed
buoyed解释：v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神
buoyed例句：
Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：offset
offset解释：n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿
offset例句：
Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。
相关单词：savor
savor解释：vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味
savor例句：
The soup has a savor of onion.这汤有洋葱味。
His humorous remarks added a savor to our conversation.他幽默的话语给谈话增添了风趣。
相关单词：halcyon
halcyon解释：n.平静的，愉快的
halcyon例句：
He yearned for the halcyon day sof his childhood.他怀念儿时宁静幸福的日子。
He saw visions of a halcyon future.他看到了将来的太平日子的幻境。
相关单词：slump
slump解释：n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌
slump例句：
She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。
相关单词：blistering
blistering解释：adj.酷热的；猛烈的；使起疱的；可恶的v.起水疱；起气泡；使受暴晒n.[涂料] 起泡
blistering例句：
The runners set off at a blistering pace. 赛跑运动员如脱缰野马般起跑了。
This failure is known as preferential wetting and is responsible for blistering. 这种故障称为优先吸湿，是产生气泡的原因。 来自辞典例句
相关单词：pollination
pollination解释：n.授粉
pollination例句：
The flowers get pollination by insects.这些花通过昆虫授粉。
Without sufficient pollination,the growth of the corn is stunted.没有得到充足的授粉，谷物的长势就会受阻。
相关单词：withered
withered解释：adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式
withered例句：
The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。
相关单词：standing
standing解释：n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的
standing例句：
After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
相关单词：overflowed
overflowed解释：溢出的
overflowed例句：
Plates overflowed with party food. 聚会上的食物碟满盘盈。
A great throng packed out the theater and overflowed into the corridors. 一大群人坐满剧院并且还有人涌到了走廊上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：kernels
kernels解释：谷粒( kernel的名词复数 )； 仁； 核； 要点
kernels例句：
These stones contain kernels. 这些核中有仁。
Resolving kernels and standard errors can also be computed for each block. 还可以计算每个块体的分辨核和标准误差。
