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Lesson 41 Illusions of Pastoral Peace 宁静田园生活的遐想 The quiet life of the country has never appealed to me. City bornand city bred, I have always regarded the country as something you look atthrough a train window, or something you occasionally visit during the weekend.Most of my friends live in the city, yet they always go into raptures at themere mention of the country. Though they extol the virtues of the peacefullife, only one of them has ever gone to live in the country and he was back intown within six months. Even he still lives under the illusion that countrylife is somehow superior to town life. He is forever talking about the friendlypeople, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace ofliving. Nothing can be compared, he maintains, with the first cock crow, thetwittering of birds at dawn, the sight of the rising sun glinting on the treesand pastures. This idyllic pastoral scene is only part of the picture. Myfriend fails to mention the long and friendless winter evenings in front of theTV ---- virtually the only form of entertainment. He says nothing about thepoor selection of goods in the shops, or about those unfortunate people whohave to travel from the country to the city every day to get to work. Whypeople are prepared to tolerate a four-hour journey each day for the dubiousprivilege of living in the country is beyond me. They could be saved so muchmisery and expense if they chose to live in the city where they rightly belong. | 
