hsk 5 lesson 17 with pinyin and English translation

Lesson 17   在最美好的时刻离开    

Ending at the Best Moment

Zài zuì měihǎo de shíkè líkāi
在最美好的时刻离开    
Ending at the Best Moment

Wǒ nǎinai shuōguò:

我奶奶说过:

My grandma said: 

“Rénmen yīnggāi zài zuì měihǎo de shíhòu líkāi.”

“人们应该在最美好的时候离开。”

"People should leave at the best time."

Yīnwèi zhège rèn zhī ér huòdé nuò bèi'ěr jiǎng de, bùshì wǒ nǎinai, 

因为这个认知而获得诺贝尔奖的,不是我奶奶,

It was not my grandmother who won the Nobel Prize for this recognition, 

ér shì xīnlǐ xué jiā Dānní'ěr. Kǎ nèi màn.

而是心理学家丹尼尔.卡內曼。

but the psychologist Daniel Kahneman.

Tā jiāng zhè yī xiànxiàng mìngmíng wèi “fēng zhōng dìnglǜ”: 

他将这一现象命名为“峰终定律”: 

He named this phenomenon the "Peak-End Law": 

Wǒmen duì shìwù de jìyì jǐn zài gāofēng hé jiéwěi, 

我们对事物的记忆仅在高峰和结尾,

Our memory of things is only at the peak and end, 

ér shìqíng de jīngguò duì jìyì jīhū méiyǒu yǐngxiǎng.

而事情的经过对记忆几乎没有影响。

and the course of events has almost no effect on memory.

Gāofēng zhīhòu, 

高峰之后,

After the peak, 

zhōngdiǎn chūxiàn dé yuè xùnsù, 

终点出现得越迅速,

the faster the end appears, 

zhè jiàn shì liú gěi wǒmen de yìnxiàng jiù yuè shēnkè.

这件事留给我们的印象就越深刻。

the more impressive this incident will leave us.

Dà bùfèn rén bù lǐjiě zhè yī dìnglǜ.

大部分人不理解这一定律。

Most people do not understand this law.

Bǐrú shuō wèile yī chǎng xìjù yǎnchū, 

比如说为了一场戏剧演出,

For example, for a theater performance, 

wǒmen huì tóurù hěnduō shíjiān, zhǔnbèi fúzhuāng, 

我们会投入很多时间,准备服装、

we invest a lot of time in preparing costumes, 

huàzhuāng, dàojù, wǔtái měishù, yǐ chuàngzào liánghǎo de xiàoguǒ, 

化妆、道具、舞台美术, 以创造良好的效果,

makeup, stage property, and stage art in order to create a good effect 

zhēngqǔ jǐ guānzhòng liú xià yīgè hǎo de yìnxiàng, 

争取给观众留下一个好的印象,

and strive to leave a good impression on the audience, 

què chángcháng hūshì jiéshù tuìchǎng shí de zhǔnbèi.

却常常忽视结束退场时的准备。

but we often ignore the preparations for the end of the exit.

Yǎnchū kāishǐ shí rénmen rènwéi hěn yǒu mèilì, 

演出开始时人们认为很有魅力,

At the beginning of the show, people thought it was very attractive, 

dànshì zāogāo de jiéjú huì jǐ rén liú xià nányǐ wàngjì de huài yìnxiàng.

但是糟糕的结局会给人留下难以忘记的坏印象。

but a bad ending would leave an unforgettable bad impression.

Yǒu yīcì, 

有一次,

Once, 

wǒ qù cānjiā yīgè hūnlǐ, 

我去参加一个婚礼,

I went to a wedding. 

qián sān gè xiǎoshí gǎnjué dōu hěn hǎo, 

前三个小时感觉都很好,

The first three hours felt good, 

zhǐ zài zuìhòu yīgè xiǎoshí gǎndào wúliáo.

只在最后一个小时感到无聊。

but I felt bored only in the last hour.

Sān gè xiǎoshí kuàilè jiǎn yīgè xiǎoshí wúliáo děngyú liǎng gè xiǎoshí kuàilè, 

三个小时快乐减一个小时无聊等于两个小时快乐,

Three hours of happiness minus one hour of boredom equals two hours of happiness, 

yě jiùshì shuō, 

也就是说,

In other words

wǒ yúkuài de dùguòle liǎng gè xiǎoshí.

我愉快地度过了两个小时。

that is, I spent two hours happily.

Dànshì, wǒ de jìyì bìng bùshì zhèyàng jìsuàn de.

但是,我的记忆并不是这样计算的。

However, my memory is not calculated like this.

Rúguǒ wǒ cānjiā lìngwài yīcì huódòng, 

如果我参加另外一次活动,

If I participated in another event, 

zhǐ zài nàlǐ dài yīgè xiǎoshí, 

只在那里待一个小时,

stayed there for only an hour 

zǎozǎo de gàobié, 

早早地告别,

and said goodbye early, 

wǒ què xiǎngshòule mǎn mǎn 60 fēnzhōng de kuàilè.

我却享受了满满60分钟的快乐。

I would have enjoyed a full 60 minutes of happiness.

Yǔ dì yī cì xiāng bǐ, 

与第一次相比,

Compared with the first time, 

dì èr cì de jùhuì liú gěi wǒ de yìnxiàng gēng wèi měihǎo.

第二次的聚会留给我的印象更为美好。

the second gathering left me with a better impression.

Kàn diànyǐng yěshì rúcǐ.

看电影也是如此。

The same goes for watching movies.

Yī bù diànyǐng, 

一部电影,

A movie, 

kāishǐ suīrán jùqíng píngpíng chángcháng, 

开始虽然剧情平平常常,

although the plot is mediocre at the beginning, 

rúguǒ zuìhòu bàn gè xiǎoshí néng shǐ wǒmen gǎndòng, 

如果最后半个小时能使我们感动,

if the last half an hour can move us, 

wǒmen yīrán huì xiàng biérén tuījiàn tā.

我们依然会向别人推荐它。

we will still recommend it to others.

Xiāngfǎn, 

相反,

On the contrary, 

rúguǒ zài qiánbàn gè xiǎoshí jiù bǎ jùqíng de chuàngzào lì biǎoxiàn dé lín dī lí jìn zhì, 

如果在前半个小时就把剧情的创造力表现得淋滴离尽致,

if the creativity of the plot is shown in the first half an hour,

jiéwěi què fēicháng pǔtōng, 

结尾却非常普通,

but the ending is very ordinary, 

nàme, guānzhòng duì zhè bù diànyǐng de píngjià jiù kěndìng bù hǎo, 

那么, 观众对这部电影的评价就肯定不好,

then the audience's evaluation of this movie is definitely not good, 

shènzhì huì shuō zhè shì yī bù “làn piàn” 

甚至会说这是一部 “烂片”

and they will even say that this is a "bad movie."  

zuòwéi diànshì jiémù zhǔchí rén, 

作为电视节目主持人,

"As a TV host, 

wǒ zài gōngzuò zhōng chángcháng huì yùnyòng “fēng zhōng dìnglǜ”.

我在工作中常常会运用 “峰终定律”。

I often use the "peak-to-end law" in my work.

Lìrú, 

例如,

For example, 

zuò jiémù shí, 

做节目时,

when doing a program, 

yǔ kāimù shì xiāng bǐ, wǒmen nìngkě bǎ gèng duō de jīnglì jízhōng zài bìmù shì shàng, 

与开幕式相比, 我们宁可把更多的精力集中在闭幕式上,

we would rather focus more on the closing ceremony than the opening ceremony, 

zhèyàng kěyǐ jiāqiáng guānzhòng duì jiémù de yìnxiàng.

这样可以加强观众对节目的印象。

so that we can strengthen the audience's impression of the program.

Suīrán hěnduō rén bìng bù liǎojiě “fēng zhōng dìnglǜ”, 

虽然很多人并不了解“峰终定律”,

Although many people do not understand the "peak-end law", 

dànshì, tāmen néng cóng jīngyàn zhōng tǐhuì zhè zhǒng zuòfǎ de zhòngyào xìng.

但是, 他们能从经验中体会这种做法的重要性。

they can understand the importance of this approach from experience.

Gǎibiān zì “guǎngzhōu rìbào”, zuòzhě: Āi kǎtè. Féng. Xī shī háo sēn, chénxiǎochuān yì

改编自《广州日报》,作者:埃卡特。冯。希施豪森,陈晓川译

Adapted from "Guangzhou Daily", author: Ecate.  Feng.  Hirschhausen, translated by Chen Xiaochuan

Full Translation:    

Ending at the Best Moment

My grandma said:  "People should leave at the best time." It was not my grandmother who won the Nobel Prize for this recognition, but the psychologist Daniel Kahneman. He named this phenomenon the "Peak-End Law": 

Our memory of things is only at the peak and end, and the course of events has almost no effect on memory. After the peak, the faster the end appears, the more impressive this incident will leave us. Most people do not understand this law.

For example, for a theater performance, we invest a lot of time in preparing costumes, makeup, stage property, and stage art in order to create a good effect and strive to leave a good impression on the audience, but we often ignore the preparations for the end of the exit. At the beginning of the show, people thought it was very attractive, but a bad ending would leave an unforgettable bad impression.

Once, I went to a wedding, the first three hours felt good, but I felt bored only in the last hour. Three hours of happiness minus one hour of boredom equals two hours of happiness, In other words that is, I spent two hours happily. However, my memory is not calculated like this.

If I participated in another event, stayed there for only an hour and said goodbye early, I would have enjoyed a full 60 minutes of happiness. Compared with the first time, the second gathering left me with a better impression.

The same goes for watching movies. A movie, although the plot is mediocre at the beginning, if the last half an hour can move us, we will still recommend it to others.

On the contrary, if the creativity of the plot is shown in the first half an hour, but the ending is very ordinary, then the audience's evaluation of this movie is definitely not good, and they will even say that this is a "bad movie."  "As a TV host, I often use the "peak-to-end law" in my work.

For example, when doing a program, we would rather focus more on the closing ceremony than the opening ceremony, so that we can strengthen the audience's impression of the program. Although many people do not understand the "peak-end law", they can understand the importance of this approach from experience.

HSK 5 lesson 17 audio with pinyin and English translation 👇

#hsk5 #hsk5上 #hsk5StandardCourseTextbook #hsk5TextBook #hsk5Lesson17