Why does everything seem so much more simple and dreamy in the days gone by? Maybe it was lack of technology that forced us to be more personal or maybe the slower pace of life that left you with time to 'stop and smell the roses?'

為什么在過去的日子里，一切都顯得那么簡(jiǎn)單和夢(mèng)幻？也許是缺乏迫使我們更加個(gè)人化的科技，或者是以前更加慢節(jié)奏的生活使你可以“停下腳步、細(xì)嗅薔薇”。

I always hear my elders talking about how simpler times were when there weren’t phones in everyone’s hands and the only entertainment they had was sitting around listening to radio talk shows. However, were these times as great as we think they were? Do they owe their enchantment to their distance in time?

我經(jīng)常聽到老人們談?wù)摦?dāng)人人手中都沒有手機(jī)時(shí)生活是多么地簡(jiǎn)單，那時(shí)他們唯一的娛樂就是坐在一起聽廣播。但是，這些時(shí)日真的如我們想象的那么美好嗎？是否只是因?yàn)榫嚯x產(chǎn)生美呢？

I recently watched a movie entitled Midnight in Paris (2011). In this fantasy film, the main character gets lost in the streets of Paris and at the stroke of midnight, a vintage vehicle pulls up, the passengers encourage him to get in and he is transported to the 1920s, the era he has always romanticized.

我最近觀看了一部2011年的電影《午夜巴黎（Midnight in Paris）》。在這部奇幻電影中，主角迷失在了巴黎的街頭，而當(dāng)午夜鐘聲敲響時(shí)，一輛老式的汽車停了下來，車上的乘客鼓勵(lì)主角上車，最終他被送回了20世紀(jì)20年代——一個(gè)他總認(rèn)為浪漫非常的年代。

During his journey to the past, he realizes the people living in his 'golden age,' long for the ages before theirs.

在主角重返過去的旅途中，他發(fā)現(xiàn)生活在他的“黃金時(shí)代”里的人們卻非常渴望他們之前的人的時(shí)代。

Using 'The Roaring 20s' as an example, in an age of sustained economic prosperity and cultural edginess, things were not as pretty as the pictures of flappers and cocktail parties we all have painted in our minds.

以“咆哮的二十年代”為例，那個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)持續(xù)繁榮和文化躁動(dòng)的時(shí)代，并不像我們心中描繪的時(shí)髦女郎、雞尾酒舞會(huì)那么美好。

As the populations in cities grew, crime and political corruption became more acceptable and even reached into the nation’s congress, and organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan began to form.

隨著城市人口的增長(zhǎng)，犯罪和政治腐敗變得更加可以接受，甚至美國(guó)國(guó)會(huì)也出現(xiàn)了這些問題，例如3K黨等組織也開始出現(xiàn)。

Same goes for our parents and grandparents, who believe they lived in a better, simpler time. Forgetting all the hardships they faced and how, maybe, they are only remembering what and how they want to feel about the past.

我們的父母和祖父母?jìng)円惨粯?，他們相信曾?jīng)的生活更好、更簡(jiǎn)單。他們忘記了過去的艱辛，也許想要記住的只是自己心中希望感受到的那個(gè)“過去”。

Today things are growing and changing faster than ever. We have a world of knowledge literally at our fingertips; we have the ability to travel, move to new places and achieve things people in the past, and even our own parents, could never dream of.

如今，事情的發(fā)展和變化比任何時(shí)候都要快。在我們指尖真真正正有一個(gè)知識(shí)的世界；我們有能力旅行、有能力搬到新的地方、有能力實(shí)現(xiàn)過去的人，甚至是我們的父母，想都不會(huì)想的事情。

Although I find myself thinking of what it must have been like to live 'the simple life,' I still think today is better than all the yesterdays.

盡管我發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在想“簡(jiǎn)單的生活”是什么樣子，但是我仍然認(rèn)為今天比所有的昨天都更加美好。

Next time you hear someone saying they wished they didn’t live in these times, ask them about their travels or how they are able to talk with friends who live far away or in other countries.

當(dāng)你下次聽到有人說不希望生活在現(xiàn)今時(shí)代的時(shí)候，問問他們過去是怎么出行的，或者問問他們是如何與生活在外地或外國(guó)的朋友交談的。

While the past is something we should all treasure and learn from, I consider the present my golden age.

雖然我們應(yīng)該珍惜并反思過去，但是我認(rèn)為當(dāng)下才是我的黃金時(shí)代。