难句分析：
难句1 Alateral move that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress promoted me to abandon my relatively high profile career although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming “I wanted to spend more time with my family”.
［分析］此句主干是“a lateral move promoted me to...”。其中that hurt my pride and blocked my professional progress是a lateral move的定语，although, in the manner of a disgraced government minister, I covered my exit by claiming “I wanted to spend more time with my family”是状语，其中逗号之间的in the manner of a disgraced government minister是插入语。
［译文］一次平级的人事调动伤了我的自尊心，并阻断了我的事业发展，这促使我放弃自己地位较高的职业，尽管就像面子扫尽的政府部长那样，我也掩饰说“我只想与家人更多的呆在一起”。
难句2 Curiously, some twoandahalf years and two novels later, my experiment in what the Americans term “downshifting”has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality.
［分析］此句主干是“... my experiment... has turned my tired excuse into an absolute reality”。注意其谓语是一个turn sth. into sth.的结构。前面两个逗号之间的是时间状语。
［译文］奇怪的是，大约两年半的时间我写完两部小说后，我这个被美国人称为“放慢生活节奏”的试验，却使我老掉牙的借口变成了现实。
难句3 I have discovered, as perhaps Kelsey will after her muchpublicized resignation from the editorship of She after a buildup of stress, that abandoning the doctrine of “juggling your life”, and making the alternative move into “downshifting”brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status.
［分析］此句中I have discovered是主句的主谓结构，that abandoning the doctrine of “juggling your life”, and making the alternative move into “downshifting”brings with it far greater rewards than financial success and social status是主句的宾语，其中abandoning the doctrine of “juggling your life”, and making the alternative move into “downshifting”为该宾语从句的主语，brings为谓语。as perhaps Kelsey will after her muchpublicized resignation from the editorship of She after a buildup of stress既是伴随状语，又是插入语，其主语为Kelsey，谓语为will，而after her muchpublicized resignation from the editorship of She after a buildup of stress是本插入语中的时间状语。
［译文］我已经发现（由于压力过大，凯茜已公开宣称辞去《她》杂志编辑的职务，在这之后她也许会有同样发现），放弃“忙忙碌碌”的生活哲学，转而过一种“放慢生活节奏”的生活所带来的回报，比经济成功和社会地位更有价值。
难句4 Downshifting—also known in America as “voluntary simplicity”—has, ironically, even bred a new area of what might be termed anticonsumerism.
［分析］此句主干是“Downshifting has bred a new area...”，破折号之间的是插入结构，ironically也是插入语，可放在句首，what相当于thought which。
［译文］具有讽刺意味的是，“放慢生活节奏”——在美国也称“甘愿简朴”——甚至孕育了一个崭新的、可称之为反消费主义的生活方式。
难句5 For the women of my generation who were urged to keep juggling through the ’80s, downshifting in the mid’90s is not so much a search for the mythical good life—growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one—as a personal recognition of your limitations.
［分析］此句主干是“... downshifting in the mid’90s is not...”。其中who were urged to keep juggling through the ’80s是修饰the women of my generation的定语从句。growing your own organic vegetables, and risking turning into one既是插入语，又是the mythical good life的同位语。本句中not so much A（a search for the mythical good life）as B（a personal recognition of your limitations）的句式含义，即“与其说是A，不如说是B”。
［译文］对我们这一代女性来说，整个80年代我们曾被迫忙碌地生活，90年代中期的简化生活与其说是寻找那种自己种有机蔬菜并试图与之合一的神话般美好生活，还不如说是对我们自身局限性的认识。
文章类型：人文科学——生活态变的转变
本文的主题是慢节奏（downshifting）的生活方式。作者以第一人称的口吻叙述了自身生活方式转变的过程，谈及慢节奏的生活方式在美国的发展情况，并剖析了这种现象背后的原因。
