While on screen he was making millions laugh on TV's biggest show, Matthew Perry was locked in a painful cycle of addiction, and a battle with demons that stemmed from a damaged childhood.
在荧幕前，马修·佩里能在最大型的电视节目里逗得上百万观众捧腹大笑，而自己却陷入戒断又上瘾的痛苦循环，也一直与童年创伤带来的心魔作斗争
a damaged childhood 指「破碎的童年，有创伤的童年」

In 1986, after moving to Los Angeles, Matthew Perry was convinced fame would wash all his problems away.
1986年搬到洛杉矶之后，马修·佩里坚信只要成为名人，自己所有的问题就都能烟消云散。
convince是个及物动词convince sb that…, convince sb of sth指「使…确信…，使…信服…」
wash away 本义是「冲走，冲掉」，喻指「消除」不愉快的情绪、想法、记忆等等，相当于get rid of sth。

"I yearned for it more than any other person on the face of the planet," he wrote in his candid memoir last year.       
“我比地球上任何一个人都更渴望成名”，他在去年出版的自传中坦诚地写道。
"I needed it. It was the only thing that would fix me. I was certain of it."
“我需要成名，这是唯一能治好我的事，我当时十分确信这一点。”
yearn (for sb / sth) / yearn to do sth 为动词短语，表示「渴望...，渴求...」，相当于want sth very much。
近义词还有：long for sth / long to do sth, crave sth, hunger for sth, covet sth等等。[写作推荐]
yearning 为名词，表示「渴望，向往」，相当于a strong and emotional desire。介词搭配为：a yearning for sb / sth。
more than anything 指「比任何事物都更...」。
candid [ˈkændɪd]  为形容词，指「坦诚的，率直的，直言不讳的」，相当于frank。这个词可以形容物，也可以形容人。
memoir 指「回忆录」，与memory同根。

Perry would eventually get his wish, becoming one of the six central stars of the most beloved sitcom of the past 30 years.
佩里最终实现了自己的愿望，成为了过去三十年里最受大众喜爱的情景喜剧中的六大主演之一。
Stardom as the sharp-witted Chandler Bing on Friends also brought fortune — in the form of $1.1m an episode — and a string of glamorous girlfriends.
在《老友记》中出演风趣幽默的钱德勒·宾一角还给他带来了好运——包括110万美元一集的片酬，和光彩夺目的女友们。
get one’s wish 指「实现某人的愿望」。
beloved 为形容词，指「深受喜爱的」。既可以形容物，也可以形容人。
sitcom 指situation comedy，指「情景喜剧」。
string [strɪŋ] 作动词，本义是「细绳，线」，a string of sth引申为「一连串，一系列...」
stardom 指「明星」这一地位或者说身份。
shoot to / rise to stardom 便表示「走红」。
sharp-witted 形容思维或反应「敏捷的，机智的」

Yet behind the scenes, Perry's struggles to keep his personal life and health on the rails only seemed to grow.
但在荧屏背后，佩里一直在艰难地让自己的私人生活与身体健康保持正轨，但这变得越来越难。

In his autobiography, Perry traced his insecurities — as well as his comic talents — back to a childhood that was split between his divorced parents, but in which he felt a sense of abandonment from both.
在自传中，他将自己的不安全感以及喜剧天赋追溯到童年。父母离异后，他的童年被撕碎，一分为二，然而他感觉父母双方都抛弃了他。
autobiography 指「自传」。
split 作动词，指「撕裂」。注意其动词变形为split-split-split。be split 便指「被撕裂」。
split 也可作不及物动词，A and B split (up) 便指「A和B分手，A和B离婚」。

His mother was a Canadian beauty queen-turned-journalist who served as press secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. His father was a US actor who starred in adverts for Old Spice aftershave.
佩里的母亲曾是选美冠军，后来成为了加拿大前总理皮埃尔·特鲁多的新闻秘书。父亲则是一名美国演员，曾出演Old Spice须后水广告。

Pierre Trudeau 是加拿大的前总理，是加拿大现任总理Justin Trudeau的父亲。正因为Matthew的母亲做过Pierre的新闻秘书，因此Matthew还认识Justin Trudeau。
在Jimmy Show里，Matthew还说自己揍过后来成为了总理的Justin。
2017年的愚人节，Justin还发推说要重新比试一番。
而Matthew 回复说：算了算了，现在您有一支军队了。

serve as sth指「担任…」。
adverts 和 advertisements一样，指「广告」。
aftershave 刮胡子之后用的「润肤液，须后水」。
star 此处为动词，sth stars sb 指「...由...担任主演」
sb stars in sth 则表示「某人在...担任主演」。
cast 同样可以表示选角。我们常说某部电影「卡司强大」，这里的卡司就是cast 的音译，指一部电影的全体演员。
cast 作动词时，便表示「选角」，相当于choose the actors。

Most of Perry's upbringing was in Ottawa, Canada, but he said he was a "latchkey kid" because his mother's job "just meant I spent a great deal of time alone".
佩里从小在加拿大渥太华长大，但他称自己小时候是“钥匙儿童”，因为母亲的工作性质决定了“自己大多数时间都是一个人”。
"Accordingly I learned to be funny — pratfalls, quick one liners, you know the drill — because I had to be," he said.
“因此我变成了一个幽默的人，总是搞怪，说俏皮话，你们知道我这些套路的。我不得不这样。”
upbringing 为不可数名词，指「培育，教养」，来自于动词短语bring sb up。
Most of sb's upbringing was in ... 某人从小在...长大。
latchkey 是「钥匙」的意思，latchkey kid 挂钥匙的儿童，指父母都在上班、放学回家后不得不自行开门，然后独自待在家的孩子。
pratfall [ˈprætfɔːl] prat本来是「傻瓜」的意思，pratfall像傻瓜一样摔了个跤，表示「出丑，洋相」
one liner 指「俏皮话，风趣的话」(a short joke or funny remark)。
drill [drɪl]  作名词，指「惯常的步骤，常规，程序」
You know the drill 和I know the drill