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The surprising purpose of travel
令人惊奇的旅行目的
It's 4:15 in the morning, and my alarm clock has just stolen away a lovely dream. I almost return back to sleep before my eye catches my packed suitcase and I groan, remembering that I'm going to the airport. The taxi is late and then lost, and I'm getting increasingly nervous that I'll miss my flight. I run in when we arrive, stagger through security and finally get to my gate. After all the trouble of this morning, my flight is canceled and I'm stuck in this terminal for the next 218 minutes, and my only consolation is a cup of complimentary airport coffee. This is traveling, a burdensome series of running and waiting, and after countless hours, finally getting there.
早晨四点一刻，闹钟把我从美梦中惊醒，要不是突然看见早已收拾好的行李箱，我几乎又要睡着。想起来还要去机场，我叹了口气。出租车来晚了，并且在途中迷了路，我越来越担心会赶不上飞机。出租车一到机场我就冲进去，跌跌撞撞通过安检处，终于，我来到了登机口。经历这一早所有的麻烦事，我乘坐的航班却被取消了。在接下来的 218 分钟里，我被困在了机场，唯一觉得安慰的是机场提供的一杯免费咖啡。这就是旅行，让人心烦的跑跑停停。最终，在不知经过多少小时之后，终于到达要去的地方。
Why do we travel? I don't mind the actual flying, the wonder of being airborne in a dense metal bird. The rest of the journey, however, can feel like a tedious lesson in the ills of modernity, from the predawn x-ray screening to the sad airport malls selling clusters of keepsakes. It's the result of a globalized world, and it sucks.
我们为什么要旅行？其实，我并不介意飞行本身，在这样一个密实的金属大鸟中飞行，让我感到很奇妙。然而，旅程其余的部分，从一大早 X 光检查到出售大堆纪念品的糟糕的机场商场，感觉就像是关于现代社会弊病的乏味课程。这是全球化的结果，它糟糕透了。
Sometimes, of course, we travel because we need to. Because in this digital age, there is still something important about the handshake at a business luncheon. Or eating mom's special food on Thanksgiving. Or seeing your girlfriend on your 2-year anniversary.
当然，有时候我们旅行是因为我们需要去旅行。因为即使在这个数字化时代，我们仍然有一些很重要的事情要去做，比如在商务午餐中与生意伙伴握手，或是在感恩节这天吃上妈妈特别准备的食物，或是在你和你女朋友的两周年纪念日这天去看她。
But most travel is decidedly optional. Only corporate travel, about 30% of trips over 50 miles, is truly compulsory. Instead, we travel because we want to, because the annoyances of the airport are offset by the thrill of being someplace new. Because work is stressful and our blood pressure is too high and we need a vacation somewhere tropical. Because home is boring. Because the flights are on sale. Because Paris is Paris.
但是大多数旅行是可去可不去的，在超过 50 英里的旅行中，只有 30%属于真正必需的商务旅行。我们旅行是因为我们想要去旅行，因为到一个新地方的兴奋和激动可以抵消在机场的各种烦心事；因为工作压力太大，我们的血压太高，我们要去热带地区度假；因为在家实在太无聊；因为航班都在打折；因为巴黎毕竟是巴黎。
