维吉尼亚·英曼·波斯特雷尔是一位具有广泛自由主义或古典自由主义观点的美国政治和文化作家。她是巴斯夏奖的获得者。
On the Net, the bell curve reclaims its tails. The uncommon is as accessible as the common. The very fragmentation of the Internet allows us to find ourselves in other people - and to know that we are not alone.
在网上，钟形曲线收回它的尾巴。不寻常的事物和普通事物一样容易接近。互联网的碎片化让我们发现自己置身于他人之中，并且知道我们并不孤单。
We are material creatures who spend much of our lives on material pursuits (even building a cathedral or writing a novel requires stone and mortar or paper and ink).
我们是物质动物，我们的生活大部分时间都花在物质追求上（甚至建造一座大教堂或写一部小说都需要石头和灰泥或纸和墨水）。
In the fall of 1978, I left the religious, conservative, biracial, slow-paced culture of South Carolina for the secular, liberal, multi-ethnic, intense culture of Princeton University. Like most immigrants, I was looking for a better life in a place I only half understood.
1978年秋天，我离开了南卡罗来纳州宗教、保守、种族、步调缓慢的文化，为普林斯顿大学的世俗、自由、多族裔、激烈的文化服务。和大多数移民一样，我在一个我只理解一半的地方寻找更好的生活。
By binding image and desire, glamour gives us pleasure, even as it heightens our yearning. It leads us to feel that the life we dream of exists, and to desire it even more.
通过把形象和欲望结合起来，魅力给我们带来了快乐，尽管它增加了我们的渴望。它使我们感觉到我们梦想的生活是存在的，并且更加渴望它。
Storage problems make neon signs the most ephemeral of commercial arts.
存储问题使霓虹灯成为最短暂的商业艺术。
The low point for neon came in 1982, when Holiday Inn did away with its signature 'Great Sign,' replacing the neon extravaganza with a forgettable green plastic box.
霓虹灯的低谷出现在1982年，当时假日酒店（Holiday Inn）取消了标志性的“大招牌”，用一个令人遗忘的绿色塑料盒取代了霓虹灯的盛宴。
Neon signs don't consume much power, but they look like they do. A cousin of fluorescent lighting, neon is actually quite energy efficient. A neon tube glows coolly when high-voltage, low-amperage electrical power excites the gas within it.
霓虹灯虽然耗电不多，但看起来确实如此。霓虹灯是荧光灯的近亲，实际上相当节能。当高电压、低电流的电能激发霓虹管内的气体时，霓虹管就会发出冷光。
The elements that create glamour are not specific styles - bias-cut gowns or lacquered furniture - but more general qualities: grace, mystery, transcendence. To the right audience, Halle Berry is more glamorous commanding the elements as Storm in the X-Men movies than she is walking the red carpet in a designer gown.
创造魅力的要素不是特定的风格——斜裁长袍或上漆家具——而是更一般的品质：优雅、神秘、超越。对于合适的观众来说，哈莉·贝瑞在《X战警》电影中扮演风暴的角色比穿着名牌礼服走在红地毯上更迷人。