If this were the last day of your life, how would you spend it? | A conversation
Beaverton, OR
United States
This conversation is closed.
If this were the last day of your life, how would you spend it?
It just occurred to me today that finishing my most urgent project at work wouldn't be on my to do list.
I would love to read some thoughts or stories.
...After reading some responses, it seems that most people would do what they always wanted to do and take care of things that they value most.
But why wouldn't we do these things in the first place, regardless of how long we have left?
I don't mean it as a rhetorical question - it would be interesting to read some thoughts.
Closing Statement from Arkady Grudzinsky
I'd like to thank everyone who participated in this conversation.
Lots of interesting thoughts and perspectives.
Perhaps, most notable conclusions:
1. At the end, we focus on what matters most for us, and for most people it's people we love - most people would spend time with family, friends, write letters, etc.
2. It should not matter whether we live the last day of our life or not.
Perhaps, we should just do what we do any other day, like having a cup of nice tea, and enjoy the moment.
It's hard to summarize everything that was said here - worth reading.在這裡我們收集了一些中國成語的英譯，為了讓妳查閱的方便，我們採用筆劃的方式來讓妳查詢。比如說，妳想知道「忠言逆耳」英文怎麼說，妳就先要知道「忠」是八劃，然後就到八劃的地方去找，就對了。希望這些成語對妳有幫助！
Happy learning
一朝被蛇咬，十年怕草繩
Once bitten, twice shy.
一言既出，駟馬難追
A word spoken is past recalling.
to fall in love at first sight
一箭雙鵰/一舉兩得
Kill two birds with one stone.
一寸光陰一寸金
Time is money.
一失足成千古恨
The error committed on impulse may turn out to be
the sorrow of a whole life.
一將功名萬古枯
What millions died that Caesar might be great.
一年之計在於春，一日之計在於晨
Plan your year in spring and your day at dawn.
一人難稱百人意
You cannot please everyone.
Never make two bites of a cherry.
一白遮三醜
A white complexion is powerful enough to hide seven
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
John is a person who always works with undivided
attention.
These people are cut from the same cloth./are
tarred with the same brush.
His words just leapt to the eye. Do you need
me to explain it?
His business has gone off without a hitch.
You have to make good use of time. After all, every
time counts.
I am happy to know that all have ended in smoke
about him.
The outcome of the election just bit the dust.
His comment on the current affairs always hits
the right nail on the head.
The accounts don't seem to be as clear as crystal.
That boy is always going her own way. He
won't listen to his parents' advice.
My son's schoolwork has gone to pot. He really
lets me down.
His performance at school really comes as a bombshell.
He never goes back on his word. He is as good
as his word.
Don't always do things by fits and snatches.
You should know that it is impossible to make
it at one stroke.
I really have no idea what to do. Now I am at
my wit's end.
If you stand here looking down at the city. The wonderful
scene will be in full view.
What you said is all Greek to me.
He treats everyone across the board.
These twins look as like as two peas.
He does everything on the spur of the
to have a hair-breadth escape
Compared with mine, his was simply a drop in the
Life is but a dream.
人生自古誰無死
Death comes to all men.
人生百歲古來稀
It is seldom that a man lives to be a hundred years
Man can conquer nature.
人不可貌相
Appearances are often deceptive./ Never judge a look
by its cover.
人生而平等
All men are created equal.
How many people are there in the stadium? Believe
it or not, a sea of faces
It's hamun nature for me to help those who
need help.
Don't echo others' words. Sometimes you've
got to find out the truth.
Regretful to say, when the master was absent,
his mansion was dead.
He is cruel enoug he's really
a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Always remember what I say to you. Opinion rules
the world. (Fling dirt enought and some will stick.)
十年風水輪流轉
Every dog has its day.
The show just leaves nothing to be desired.
We have winning the game in the bag.
I am writing in hot haste to let you know
that I will be there on time.
That politician claimed that he had nothing to
do with that scandal.
A:Can you do me a favor? B:Sorry, my spirit is
willing, but my flesh is weak.
He tried to stem the tide, but in vain.
Do in Rome as the Romans do.
It actually gave a vivid picture of cut the quick.
(leave an indelible impression)
Don't talk to me now because I am greatly upse
now. (with one's heart going pitapat)
He was in a great fury ( in
terribly furious) and swore to get even with
the opposite(跟對方報復).
After the quake, the buildings went to rock and
In fact, she dances and sings all weathers.
(her mill goes with all winds.)
三思而後行
Look before you leap.
三句不離本行
to talk shop
三個臭皮匠勝過一個諸葛亮
Two heads are better than one.
This guy is at me(找我碴) time after
time.( time and time again.)
You'd better hold your peace, or you'll ask
for trouble.
to hang by a hair thread / at the critical time
A good nail does not fear the hammer. (steeled
gone through fire and water)
It only happens once in a blue moon. (It chances
in an hour that happens not in seven years.)
The unexpected always happens.
It's said that the new executive will go the whole
hog (reform in a big way.)
The two articles are much of muchness ( be alike
with minor difference ; There's not a pin to choose between the
two ) in appearance and quality.
You really blow your own trumpet.
( overshoot oneself)
They are so delicious that I ate my fill.
( have [take] one's fill.)
The big project finally came off with honors
( come thoough with flying colors).
He who canot play the fool is not a wise man.
Rome was not built in a day.
Finding your lost contact lens is just like looking
for a needle in a haystack.
at the end of one's resources
山中無老虎，猴子稱大王
Among the blind the one-eyed is king./When the cat's
away, the mice will pay.
Make a mountain out of a molehill. ( fuss about
a break a butterfly
on a wheel )
小洞不補，大來吃苦
A stitch in time saves nine.
小不忍則亂大謀
Patience is a virtue.
工欲善其事，必先利其器
You cannot make bricks without straw.
己所不欲勿施於人
Do unto others as you would be done.
The benevolent have no enemy.
工欲善其事必先利器
You cannot make bricks without straw.
Better late than never./ It's never too late to mend.
上氣不接下氣
I got out of breath when I climbed those
He always keeps book at his elbow.
(keep close to)
He always talks nine words at once. (rattle
He often speaks with his tongue in his cheek.
( say one thing and mean another )
A honey tongue, a heart of gall. ( be nasty-
Bees that have honey in their mouths have stings in their tails.
Out of sight, out of mind. (Far from eye, far
from heart. Long absent, soon forgotten. Seldom seen, soon forgotten.)
to take French leave
不要不自量力
Don't put a quarter into a pint pot.
不要厚此薄彼
Don't make fish of one and flesh of another.
Take the bull by the horns.
不戰而屈人之兵
The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without
不入虎穴焉得虎子
How can one obtain tiger-cubs without entering the
tiger's lair.
不經一事，不長一智
Experience is the mother of wisdom.
不舍畫夜(24小時)
Some convenience stores offer around the clock
Your little brother is a pain in the neck.
I really don't know why she is always as
proud as a peacock.
His deep-rooted bad habits are simply beyond
He is often absent-minded and dozed off in
spite of himself in class.
If he does so, he really goes beyond his
depth. No one can beat that guy. (bite off more than one
Although he has failed several times, he still keeps
his chin up. (
figh hang stick to one's color)
John is really heedless of consequences.
I believe some day he will ask for trouble.
Take my advice into consideration. Don't
know chalk from cheese.
To improve your studies, you got to be
not above asking questions.
He is good at speech. He often speaks
impromptu.
You should believe that the judge held
the scales even.
I came across an old friend
of mine in a department store. (
meet...accidentally/unexpectedly/by chance/by accident)
You are really a thick-skinned and gate-crasher.
Don't be envious. Ill-gotten money
comes easily and goes easily too.
Do you see eye to eye with
him on that plan?
The teacher often takes the trouble to
instruct his pupils.
But the conspirators leave no avenue unexplored
to re-establish contact with Britain.
He just did the work by hook or by crook.
Did you see that plane? It seems that it just vanished
from sight.
It's implite for one to be as quiet/silent/still
as a mouse and left.
Bring a cow to the hall and she will run
to the byre. (Give him enough rope and he will hang himself.)
to have an old head on young shoulders
Although she is 20, she was still wet behind the
ears in some ways.
天無絕人之路
God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.
天下烏鴉一般黑
Crows are black all over the world.
天無絕人之路
God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb./ When one
door shuts another opens.
天助自助者
Heaven helps those who help themselves.
天有不測風雲，人有旦夕禍福
It is the unexpected that always happens.
These two ideas just fit like a glove.
I'll find him to the ends of the earth.
(out-of-the- the uttermost part of the earth)
It's a matter of course
to respect our elders. ( it goes without saying that...)
to recommend one's own person
心正不怕雷打
A good conscience is a soft pillow.
He did all this of his own accord.
You look absent-minded;
what's wrong?
The little boy sat there smiling, as happy as
I don't know what to do. I just burned the candle
at both ends.
He was in black despair
when he failed in the joint examination.(down in the bushes/in the dumps/lose
A burned child dreads the fires.
(Once bitten, twice shy)
No matter what he said, I have the peace
of mind. (have an easy conscience)
He did it just on the impulse of the moment.
My heart sings with joy
because I receive over 300 letters a week from people around the world
John is frank and out spoken,
so I prefer to remain with him.
You can eat to your heart's content.
He often carry fire in one hand and water
in the other.
Standing here feel on top of the world.
化干戈為玉帛
Bury the tomahwak(hatchet).
The benevolent have no enemy.
今日事今日畢
Never put off till tomorrow what may be done today.
The pen is mightier than the sword.
His composition is wide of the mark. ( beside
the point )
As to the business, he often cuts loose from old
ties. ( turn one's back on one's own flesh and blood )
Don't bother her, or you'll pour oil on
the flame.
The car was so seriously damaged that it was torn
to pieces. ( rip apart)
Fighting with him is just courage without
discipline . (brute courage)
This kind of mall can be found here and
there and everywhere. (right and left)
No one knows where the shoe pinches like
the wearer.
A good Jack makes a good Jill.
I know I'll set a fox to keep the geese
if I take him for a good friend.
I am really proud
of myself. ( take pride
Now he knows that his days are numbered.
(not to be The sands are running out.)
That couple are really hand
and (in) glove with each other. (be finger and glove with)
They got divorced for he thinks his wife was
unstable as water. (as ch A woman's
mind and winter wind change off.)
The rebels were in deep water
and oppressed every day.
The police are now looking into the case, and I suppose,
the truth will out soon. (
Murder is out Truth lies at the bottom of a well.)
What you bought yesterday is actually not
worth a dump.
I'm now doing my homework, so I can't
be in two places at once.
Every minute counts.
分道揚標鑣
They have already gone separate ways.
(part company)
It is John who helps me weather the storm.
(escape/go/get off scot- bear a charmed life)
Forget about it. Don't strain at gnat.
He needs money lately. (look at b skin a flint)
You got to practice what one practices.
( set a good example for others)
to set a thief to catch a thief
He is a person who bites the hand that
feeds one.
To wait at ease till the enemy is exhausted.
to fight against longer odds
I think it is better for you to render/return
good for evil .
以其人之道還治其人之身
Set a thief to catch a thief.
以子之矛，攻子之盾
to turn a person's battery against himself
Willows are weak yet they bind other wood.
(Soft and fair goes far.)
A bad compromise is better than a good
What you do is throw a straw against the
wind. (run one's head
Whether the
pitcher strikes the stone or the stone strikes the pitcher, it is bad
for the pitcher.)
All is vanity.
四海之內皆兄弟
All are brothers within the four seas.
These folks come from in all directions
( length and breadth)
I don't know where J in my mind, he is
a person who is here today and gone tomorrow.
Keep some extra money for a fainy day.
not know A from B / an illiterate
失敗為成功之母
Failure is the mother of success.
失之毫釐，差之千里
A miss is as good as a mile.
只要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針
Little strokes fell great oaks.
to recommend one's own person
That weird-looking person really makes
my hair stand on end. ( make one creep all
make one's flesh creep)
to hit a person when he's down
Strike while the iron is hot.(Make hay while the sun
is shining.)
He often bullies you. I really take up
the cudgel for you.
Let's stay here in order not to wake a
sleeping dog. (wake a sleeping lion/woof)
犯錯是人之常情，寬恕是超凡的
T to forgive divine.
只要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針
Little strokes fell great oaks.
to waste your breath on him
生於憂患，死於安樂
Adversity spurs vitality, while comfort breeds sloth
The general's name will be always remembered and eternally
Don't take others' money without rhyme
or reason. (without provocation)
He did quite well, but I still think his is one
equal terms with her.
What an amazing thing! He should make
a smashing hit in short a time. (beat t
come t skyrocket to fame)
He is a person easy to get along with.
( have a taking way with one have the
common touch)
Don't take everyting for granted. It's better for
you to lay up against a rainy day. (prepare
prepare for a rainy day)
I hate to tell you that your plan is a
slip betwixt cup and the lip.
His sacrifice for the country set us in
a melting mood.
Don't put the cart before the horse.
Would you like to play with me again? No, I'd rather
play second fiddle.
He lived a plain life and smacked his
Switzerland is like Utopia,
which I always dream of visiting.
Don't be so depressed. It's not Doomsday.
John is no better than Peter. They are just Tweedledum
and Tweedledee. (be as six of one and
half a dozen of the other)
A: Jimmy will invite you to dinner tonight? B: No,
I don't think so. I will take it half in doubt.
( take with a grain of salt)
I couldn't find her. It seemed that her whereabouts
sank into oblivion.
It appears that everything goes well with
The situation is already order of the
day. (par for the course)
She was already tongue-tied,
and didn't what to do. (lose one' stunned and speechless)
He is a person who sees no further than
He is not a guy worthy of our trust. He often goes
back on his word. (blow hot and cold)
He is a learned person. His tongue is
the pen of a ready writer.
Through his hard work, he finally came
to the fore.
John towers above the rest
in math. ( out of the common run)
His excellent performance at that play is without
precedent in history.
His cruelty to animals make our hair stand
What he did really took my breath away.
Because of a blast, that new house just committed
to the flames.
Nessie says it is alive and kicking
under different names By Sussy.
John always pulls rank on others.
He is a successful business who started
from scratch.
to bear hardship without complaint
As you make your bed so you must lie on it.
to make a rod for one's own back
to shift for oneself
自掃門前雪
After us the deluge.
the return of a prodigal
先下手為強
Offence is the best defence.
to share one's joys and sorrows
act according to circumstances
more brave than wise
Good watch prevents misfortune.
有志者事竟成
Where there is a will, there is a way.
有錢能使鬼推磨
Money makes the world go around. /Money talks.
有其父必有其子
Like father, like son.
江山易改本性難移
The child is father of the man.
江山易改本性難移
A leopard cannot change it's spots.
Not a single miss in a hundred times.
She expects us to jump through hoops for
百聞不如一見
To see is to believe. (Seeing is believing.)
吃得苦中苦，方為人上人
If you wish to be the best man, you must be prepared
to suffer the bitterest of the bitter.
每人一生中皆有得意之日
Every dog has his day.
色是假，美是空
Charm is deceitful, and beauty empty.
吉人自有天相
The good are protected by Heaven. / All's wel that
ends well.
The mayor finally got his way with the city
如人飲水冷暖自知
Only the wearer knows where the shoes pain.
吃得苦中苦，方為人上人
No gain without pain.
早起的鳥兒有蟲吃
The early bird catches the worm.
a fantastic garb
Honest advice is unpleasant to the ear
to distinguish right from wrong
Happy is he who is content
He who feels contented is rich
知人知面不知心
It's easy to know men's faces, but not their hearts.
知己知彼百戰百勝
Know your enemy and know yourself.
castles in the air
the gold rule
a fantastic garb
to distinguish right fromwrong
like bamboo shoots after a spring shower
After a storm comes a calm.
秀才不出門能知天下事
A scholor does not step outside his gate, yet he knows
the happenings under the sun.
事實勝於雄辯
Facts are most convincing.
來得容易去得快
Easy come, easy go.
金玉其外敗絮其中
All that glitters is not gold.
兔子不吃窩邊草
The fox preys farthest from his hole.
若要人不知除非己莫為
If you would not be known to do anything,
never do it.
沒有笑臉不出門
A man without a smiling face must not
open a shop.
虎父無虎子
Like father, like son.
往者不可諫，來者猶可追
A mill cannot grind with the water that
Grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
&Survival of the fittest,& describes
the runners finishing the marathon races.
Birds of a feather flock together.
The nurse was with the patient day and night.
英雄所見略同
Great minds think alike.
Complaining is of little(no) avail. It is
better for you to take action now.
姻緣天註定
Marriages are made in heaven.
to make the best of a bad bargain
a niche in the temple of fame
to act as guide to a tiger
to put all one's egg in one basket
A brave man will not shrink from dangers.
to turn over a new leaf
a fly in the ointment
to run counter
to go through fire and water
to have one foot in the grave
風聲鶴唳，草木皆兵
to apprehend danger in every sound
活到老學到老
It's never too late to learn./ Live and
前事不忘後事之師
Remember the past and it will guide your
星星之火可以燎原
A single spark can start a prairie fire.
待人寬容如待己
Live and let live.
Learn to walk before you run.
The salesmen were working at cross purposes
with their supervisor.
病從口入禍從口出
Illness comes in by mouth and comes out by it.
a smile to hide one's hate
留得青山在，不怕沒柴燒
Where there's life there's hope
to fish in the air
to look for a needle in a bundle of hay
差之毫釐失之千里
A miss is as good as a mile
Let the dead bury their dead.
to sacrifice one's life to preserve one's virtue complete
殺雞焉用牛刀
Take not a musket to kill a butterfly
A good appetite is a good sauce.
black sheep
家醜不可外揚
Don't wash your dirty linen in public.
alternate weakness with severity
The outside sees the best of the game.
to have a bad time
All roads lead to Rome.
眾志成城/團結就是力量
Union is strenth.
疾風知勁草
Adversity reveals genius.
旁觀者清，當局者迷
Lookers-on see most of the game.
莫在太歲頭上動土
Let sleeping dogs lie.
He always treats his boss cap in hand.
to leap out of one's skin
The early bird catches the worm.
欲速則不達
Haste makes waste
欲速則不達
More haste, less speed.
欲加之罪，何患無辭
Give a dog a bad/an ill name and hang him.
to fish in troubled waters
penny-wise and poundfoolish
習慣成自然
once a use forever a custom
掛羊頭賣狗肉
cry up wine and sell vinegar
貧無立錐之地
as poor as a church mouse
雪中送炭真君子/患難見真情
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
to give loose to one's fancy
Two heads are better than one.
to live from hand to mouth
情人眼裏出西施
Love is blind.
All the girls liked Kevin, but he had eyes only
冤家宜解不宜結
Better remove enmity than contract it.
眼不見為淨
Out of sight, out of mind.
A slip of the tongue can sometimes land you
in trouble.
Sometimes you have to learn to be in my shoes.
智者千慮，必有一失
Homer sometimes nods.
勝不驕敗不餒
to be not elated by success nor disturbed by failure
Riches and honors come from heaven.
A wise man is free from perplexities.
無風不起浪
There is no smoke without fire. (Where there is smoke,
there is fire.)
to paint the lily
to fish in troubled waters
to cut one's coat according to one's cloth/ make both
ostensible obedience
跑了和尚跑不了廟
The monk may run away, but the temple can't run with
the lords of creation
萬事開頭難
Everything is difficult at the start
not a single miss in a thousand times.
to hit a person when he's down
P walls have ears.
開夜車/挑燈夜戰
Burn the midnight oil.
He always opens his heart to his spouse when
he has a problem.
Dog does not eat dog.
One kindness is the price of another.
to enrich oneself at others expense
置之死地而後生
Put the troops in death ground and they
will live.
道高一尺魔高一丈
While the priest climbs a foot, the devil
climbs ten.
預防勝於治療
Prevention is better than cure.
新官上任三把火
New brooms sweep clean.
塞翁失馬焉知非福
Misfortune might be a blessing in disguise.
路遙知馬力日久見人心
A distant journey tests the strength of
a horse and a long task proves the character of a man.
a drop in the bucket
Judge none blessed before his death.
歲月不饒人
Time and tide wait for no man.
經驗即良師
Experience is the teacher.
The police crackdown on speeding is just a drop
in the ocean in solving Taiwan's traffic problems.
Diligence can make up for lack of intelligence.
to die a natural death (to die in one's bed)
There is no contending against odds.
to cast pearls before swine
Misfortunes never come single.
飽食終日無所事事
to eat the bread of idleness
慷他人之慨
to be free with other's money
遠親不如近鄰
Distant kinsmen mean less than close neighbors. /
A near neighbor is better than a distant cousin.
種瓜得瓜種豆得豆
You must reap what you have sown. / As you sow, so
shall you reap.
After joy comes sadness.
說曹操到曹操就到
Talk of the devil and the devil comes.
團結就是力量
Union is strength.
需要為發明之母
Necessity is the mother of invention.
滿招損，謙受益
Haug humility receives benefits.
He that does evil shall find evil.
惡事傳千里
Bad news travels quickly.
Practice makes perfect.
a fabian policy
to get water from a flint
the survival of the fittest
A cornered animal is a dangerous foe.
Every little makes a mickle.
Every little helps.
Money can move even the gods.
謀事在人成事在天
Man proposes and God disposes.
學問無捷徑
There is no royal road/shortcut to learning.
Opportunity seldo knocks twice.
The weakest goes to the wall.
to look one way and row another
in everyone's mouth
to kick against the pricks
to give the last measure of devotion
聰明反被聰明誤
to suffer for one's wisdom
to harp on the same string
Courtesy on one side cannot last long.
full of courtesy, full of craft
He was talking at the top of his voice.
What's done cannot be undone./There is no use crying
over spilt milk.
轉石不生苔
A rolling stone gathers no moss.
to convert defeat into victory
beyond one's grasp
關公門前耍大刀
There's no need to teach a fish to swim.
嚴以責己寬以待人
to be severe with oneself and lenient with others
a heart of steel
to be guided by destiny
Pride goes before a fall.