全新版大学英语综合教程2课文原文及翻译

Unit1 Howard Gardner, a professor of education at Harvard University, reflects on a visit to China and gives his thoughts on different approaches to learning in China and the West. 哈佛大学教育学教授霍华德·加德纳回忆其中国之行�阐述他对中西方不同的学习方 式的看法。 Learning, Chinese-Style Howard Gardner 1 For a month in the spring of 1987, my wife Ellen and I lived in the bustling eastern Chinese city of Nanjing with our 18-month-old son Benjamin while studying arts education in Chinese kindergartens and elementary schools. But one of the most telling lessons Ellen and I got in the difference between Chinese and American ideas of education came not in the classroom but in the lobby of the Jinling Hotel where we stayed in Nanjing. 中国式的学习风格 霍华德·加德纳 1987年春�我和妻子埃伦带着我们 18个月的儿子本杰明在繁忙的中国东部城市南京 住了一个月�同时考察中国幼儿园和 小学 小学生如何制作手抄报课件柳垭小学关于三违自查自纠报告小学英语获奖优质说课课件小学足球课教案全集小学语文新课程标准测试题 的艺术教育情况。然而�我和埃伦获得的有关中美 教育观念差异的最难忘的体验并非来自课堂�而是来自我们在南京期间寓居的金陵饭店的大 堂。 2 The key to our room was attached to a large plastic block with the room number on it. When leaving the hotel, a guest was encouraged to turn in the key, either by handing it to an attendant or by dropping it through a slot into a box. Because the key slot was narrow, the key had to be positioned carefully to fit into it. 我们的房门钥匙系在一块标有房间号的大塑料板上。酒店鼓励客人外出时留下钥匙� 可以交给服务员�也可以从一个槽口塞入钥匙箱。由于口子狭小�你得留神将钥匙放准位置 才塞得进去。 3 Benjamin loved to carry the key around, shaking it vigorously. He also liked to try to place it into the slot. Because of his tender age and incomplete understanding of the need to position the key just so, he would usually fail. Benjamin was not bothered in the least. He probably got as much pleasure out of the sounds the key made as he did those few times when the key actually found its way into the slot. 本杰明爱拿着钥匙走来走去�边走边用力摇晃着。他还喜欢试着把钥匙往槽口里塞。 由于他还年幼�不太明白得把钥匙放准位置才成�因此总塞不进去。本杰明一点也不在意。 他从钥匙声响中得到的乐趣大概跟他偶尔把钥匙成功地塞进槽口而获得的乐趣一样多。 4 Now both Ellen and I were perfectly happy to allow Benjamin to bang the key near the key slot. His exploratory behavior seemed harmless enough. But I soon observed an interesting phenomenon. Any Chinese staff member nearby would come over to watch Benjamin and, noting his lack of initial success, attempt to assist. He or she would hold onto Benjamin's hand and, gently but firmly, guide it directly toward the slot, reposition it as necessary, and help him to insert it. The "teacher" would then smile somewhat expectantly at Ellen or me, as if awaiting a thank you ─ and on occasion would frown slightly, as if considering us to be neglecting our parental duties. 我和埃伦都满不在乎�任由本杰明拿着钥匙在钥匙的槽口鼓捣。他的探索行为似乎并 无任何害处。但我很快就观察到一个有趣的现象。饭店里任何一个中国工作人员若在近旁� 都会走过来看着本杰明�见他初试失败�便都会试图帮忙。他们会轻轻握紧本杰明的手�直 接将它引向钥匙的槽口�进行必要的重新定位�并帮他把钥匙插入槽口。然后那位“老师” 会有所期待地对着我和埃伦微笑�似乎等着我们说声谢谢——偶尔他会微微皱眉�似乎觉得 我俩没有尽到当父母的责任。 5 I soon realized that this incident was directly relevant to our assigned tasks in China: to investigate the ways of early childhood education (especially in the arts), and to throw light on Chinese attitudes toward creativity. And so before long I began to introduce the key-slot anecdote into my discussions with Chinese educators. 我很快意识到�这件小事与我们在中国要 做的工作直接相关 �考察儿童早期教育 �尤其是艺术教育�的方式�揭示中国人对创造性 活动的态度。因此�不久我就在与中国教育工作者讨论时谈起了钥匙槽口一事。 TWO DIFFERENT WAYS TO LEARN 6 With a few exceptions my Chinese colleagues displayed the same attitude as the staff at the Jinling Hotel. Since adults know how to place the key in the key slot, which is the ultimate purpose of approaching the slot, and since the child is neither old enough nor clever enough to realize the desired action on his own, what possible gain is achieved by having him struggle? He may well get frustrated and angry ─ certainly not a desirable outcome. Why not show him what to do? He will be happy, he will learn how to accomplish the task sooner, and then he can proceed to more complex activities, like opening the door or asking for the key ─ both of which accomplishments can (and should) in due course be modeled for him as well. 两种不同的学习方式 我的中国同行�除了少数几个人外�对此事的态度与金陵饭店工作人员一样。既然大 人知道怎么把钥匙塞进槽口——这是处理槽口一事的最终目的� 既然孩子还很年幼�还没 有灵巧到可以独自完成要做的动作�让他自己瞎折腾会有什么好处呢�他很有可能会灰心丧 气发脾气——这当然不是所希望的结果。为什么不教他怎么做呢�他会高兴�他还能早些学 会做这件事�进而去学做更复杂的事�如开门�或索要钥匙——这两件事到时候同样可以 �也 应该�示范给他看。 7 We listened to such explanations sympathetically and explained that, first of all, we did not much care whether Benjamin succeeded in inserting the key into the slot. He was having a good time and was exploring, two activities that did matter to us. But the critical point was that, in the process, we were trying to teach Benjamin that one can solve a problem effectively by oneself. Such self-reliance is a principal value of child rearing in middle-class America. So long as the child is shown exactly how to do something ─ whether it be placing a key in a key slot, drawing a hen or making up for a misdeed ─ he is less likely to figure out himself how to accomplish such a task. And, more generally, he is less likely to view life ─ as Americans do ─ as a series of situations in which one has to learn to think for oneself, to solve problems on one's own and even to discover new problems for which creative solutions are wanted. 我俩颇为同情地听着这一番道理�解释道�首先�我们并不在意本杰明能不能把钥匙 塞进钥匙的槽口。他玩得开心�而且在探索�这两点才是我们真正看重的。但关键在于�在 这个过程中�我们试图让本杰明懂得�一个人是能够很好地自行解决问题的。这种自力更生 的精神是美国中产阶级最重要的一条育儿观。如果我们向孩子演示该如何做某件事——把钥 匙塞进钥匙的槽口也好�画只鸡或是弥补某种错误行为也好——那他就不太可能自行想方设 法去完成这件事。从更广泛的意义上说�他就不太可能——如美国人那样——将人生视为一 系列的情境�在这些情境中�一个人必须学会独立思考�学会独立解决问题�进而学会发现 需要创造性地加以解决的新问题。 TEACHING BY HOLDING HIS HAND 8 In retrospect, it became clear to me that this incident was indeed key ─ and key in more than one sense. It pointed to important differences in the educational and artistic practices in our two countries. 把着手教 回想起来�当时我就清楚地意识到�这件事正是体现了问题的关键之所在——而且不 仅仅是一种意义上的关键之所在。这件事 表 关于同志近三年现实表现材料材料类招标技术评分表图表与交易pdf视力表打印pdf用图表说话 pdf 明了我们两国在教育和艺术实践上的重要差异。 9 When our well-intentioned Chinese observers came to Benjamin's rescue, they did not simply push his hand down clumsily or uncertainly, as I might have done. Instead, they guided him with extreme facility and gentleness in precisely the desired direction. I came to realize that these Chinese were not just molding and shaping Benjamin's performance in any old manner: In the best Chinese tradition, they were ba zhe shou jiao ─ "teaching by holding his hand" ─ so much so that he would happily come back for more. 那些善意的中国旁观者前来帮助本杰明时�他们不是简单地像我可能会做的那样笨拙 地或是犹犹豫豫地把他的手往下推。相反�他们极其熟练地、温和地把他引向所要到达的确 切方向。我逐渐认识到�这些中国人不是简单地以一种陈旧的方式塑造、引导本杰明的行为� 他们是在恪守中国传统�把着手教�教得本杰明自己会愉快地要求再来一次。 10 The idea that learning should take place by continual careful shaping and molding applies equally to the arts. Watching children at work in a classroom setting, we were astonished by their facility. Children as young as 5 or 6 were painting flowers, fish and animals with the skill and confidence of an adult; calligraphers 9 and 10 years old were producing works that could have been displayed in a museum. In a visit to the homes of two of the young artists, we learned from their parents that they worked on perfecting their craft for several hours a day. 学习应通过不间断的精心塑造与引导而得以实现�这一观念同样适用于艺术。我们观 看了孩子们在教室里学习艺术的情景�他们的娴熟技艺令我们惊讶。年仅 5、6岁的孩子就 带着成人的那种技巧与自信在画花、画鱼和动物�9岁、10岁的小 书 关于书的成语关于读书的排比句社区图书漂流公约怎么写关于读书的小报汉书pdf 法家写出的作品满可以 在博物馆展示。有一次去两位小艺术家的家里参观�我们从孩子的父母处得知�他们每天练 习数小时以完善他们的技艺。 CREATIVITY FIRST? 11 In terms of attitudes to creativity there seems to be a reversal of priorities: young Westerners making their boldest departures first and then gradually mastering the tradition; and young Chinese being almost inseparable from the tradition, but, over time, possibly evolving to a point equally original. 创造力第一� 从对创造力的态度来说�优先次序似乎是颠倒了�西方的年轻人先是大胆创新�然后 逐渐深谙传统�而中国的年轻人则几乎离不开传统�但是�随着时间的推移�他们同样可能 发展到具有创新的境界。 12 One way of summarizing the American position is to state that we value originality and independence more than the Chinese do. The contrast between our two cultures can also be seen in terms of the fears we both harbor. Chinese teachers are fearful that if skills are not acquired early, they may never be acquired; there is, on the other hand, no comparable hurry to promote creativity. American educators fear that unless creativity has been acquired early, it may never emerge; on the other hand, skills can be picked up later. 美国人的立场可以概括起来这么说�我们比中国人更重视创新和自立。我们两种文化 的差异也可以从我们各自所怀的忧虑中显示出来。中国老师担心�如果年轻人不及早掌握技 艺�就有可能一辈子掌握不了�另一方面�他们并不同样地急于促进创造力的发展。美国教 育工作者则担心�除非从一开始就发展创造力�不然创造力就有可能永不再现�而另一方面� 技艺可于日后获得。 13 However, I do not want to overstate my case. There is enormous creativity to be found in Chinese scientific, technological and artistic innovations past and present. And there is a danger of exaggerating creative breakthroughs in the West. When any innovation is examined closely, its reliance on previous achievements is all too apparent (the "standing on the shoulders of giants" phenomenon). 但我并不想夸大其辞。无论在过去还是在当今�中国在科学、技术和艺术革新方面都 展示了巨大的创造力。而西方的创新突破则有被夸大的危险。如果仔细审视任何一项创新� 其对以往成就的依赖则都显而易见�“站在巨人肩膀之上”的现象�。 14 But assuming that the contrast I have developed is valid, and that the fostering of skills and creativity are both worthwhile goals, the important question becomes this: Can we gather, from the Chinese and American extremes, a superior way to approach education, perhaps striking a better balance between the poles of creativity and basic skills? 然而�假定我这里所说的反差是成立的�而培养技艺与创造力两者都是值得追求的目 标�那么重要的问题就在于�我们能否从中美两个极端中寻求一种更好的教育方式�它或许 能在创造力与基本技能这两极之间获得某种较好的平衡� Finding a way of teaching children to appreciate the value of money can be a problem. Yet the solution, David Owen suggests, is simple -- just open a bank. Easier said than done? Well, it turns out to be not quite so difficult as it sounds, as you'll discover in reading about the First National Bank of Dave. 设法教育孩子珍惜钱财会是件难事。然而�大卫·欧文说�方法也很简单——开个银 行就行。说来容易做起来难�其实�这事并没听上去那么难�你读一读戴夫第一国家银行的 故事就知道了。 Children and Money David Owen 1 Parents who decide that the time has come to teach their children about money usually begin by opening savings accounts. The kids are attracted at first by the notion that a bank will pay them for doing nothing, but their enthusiasm disappears when they realize that the interest rate is tiny and, furthermore, their parents don't intend to give them access to their principal. To a kid, a savings account is just a black hole that swallows birthday checks. 孩 子 与 金 钱 大卫·欧文 当家长觉得该教孩子们懂得如何对待金钱的时候�他们通常先为孩子开个储蓄账户。 刚开始的时候�孩子们颇感兴趣�因为他们想自己什么也不干银行还会付给他们钱�可当他 们明白利率小得很�而且父母也无意让他们动用本金时�他们的热情一下子就冷却了。对一 个孩子来说�一个储蓄账户只不过是一个吞没其生日礼金支票的黑洞。 2 Kid: "Grandma gave me twenty-five dollars!" Parent: "How nice. We'll put that check straight into your savings account." Kid: "But she gave it to me! I want it!" Parent: "Oh, it will still be yours. You just have to keep it in the bank so that it can grow." Kid (suspicious) : "What do you mean by 'grow'?" Parent: "Well, if you leave your twenty-five dollars in the bank for just one year, the bank will pay you seventy-five cents. And if you leave all of that in the bank for just one more year, the bank will give you another seventy-five cents plus two and a half more cents besides. That's called compound interest. It will help you go to college." 孩子�“奶奶给了我 25美金�” 家长�“太棒了。咱们把支票直接存到你的账户上去。” 孩子�“可这钱她是给我的�我要用�” 家长�“嗳�钱还是你的嘛。你只不过是要把钱放在银行里�好让它增多。” 孩子�狐疑地��“你说‘增多’是什么意思�” 家长�“哦�要是你把这 25美金在银行里放一年�银行就会付给你 75美分。要是你 连本带息在银行里再放一年�银行会再付给你 75 美分�另加 2.5 美分。这叫做复利。这钱 能帮你上大学。” 3 The main defect in such saving schemes is that there's nothing in them for the kids. College is a thousand years away, and they probably think they'd just as soon stay home anyway. Indeed, the true purpose of such plans is usually not to promote saving but to prevent consumption. (1) Appalled by what their children spend on candy and video games (or, rather, appalled by the degree to which their children's overspending seems to mimic their own), parents devise ways to lock up their children's resources. Not surprisingly, kids quickly decide that large sums aren't real money and that all cash should either be spent immediately or hidden in a drawer. 这类储蓄 计划 项目进度计划表范例计划下载计划下载计划下载课程教学计划下载 的主要缺陷在于�孩子本人一无所获。上大学还不知要过多少年�他们 或许会想他们宁愿呆在家里。实际上�这类计划的真正目的通常不是促进储蓄而是限制消费。 孩子们在糖果、电子游戏上的花费之大令家长们十分震惊�或者更确切地说�令他们吃惊的 其实是孩子们的超支行为与他们自己的相似程度��于是他们便设法让孩子们将钱存起来不 用。毋怪乎孩子们很快就认定�大额钱款不是实实在在的钱�有了现钱要么赶紧花掉�要么 藏在抽屉里。 4 To avoid this problem with my two children, I started my own bank. It's called the First National Bank of Dave. I set up an account for each child, using the same computer program I use to keep track of my checkbook. Because I wanted my kids' deposits to grow at a pace that would hold their attention, I offered an attractive interest rate-five per cent a month. (2) Compounded, that works out to an annual rate of more than 70 per cent. (No, I don't accept deposits from strangers.) Allowances are deposited automatically on the first day of each month. The kids can make other deposits, or withdrawals, whenever they like. 为了避免我的两个孩子产生这一问题�我开设了自己的银行�名叫戴夫第一国家银行。 我用 记录 混凝土 养护记录下载土方回填监理旁站记录免费下载集备记录下载集备记录下载集备记录下载 自己支票簿使用情况的同一个电脑程序给每个孩子开了一个账户。因为我希望孩子 存款增长的速度足以引起他们的注意�便给他们一个诱人的利率——月息 5厘。以复利计算� 年息达到 70%以上。�不�我不接受外来存款。�零花钱在每月第一天自动存入。孩子们也 可以把别的钱存进来�想存就存�想取就取。 5 The Bank of Dave, which has been in operation four years, instantly turned both my children into keen savers. My son still comes to me with change he has found on the floor of the car, saying, "And credit this today." Both kids' accounts grew so fast that after two years I had to roll back my monthly interest rate to three per cent. The kids protested when I announced the change, but they nodded solemnly when I explained that the law of supply and demand applies even to the supply of money. The kids help me calculate their interest -- a useful lesson in averaging and percentages. (3) I give them unlimited access to their funds, no questions asked, and I provide printed statements on demand. 戴夫银行经营了 4年�一下子就把我的两个孩 子变成了热心的储蓄者。至今我儿子在车里找到零钱仍会来找我说� “今天就把这个上账。” 两个孩子的存款增长很快�两年之后�我不得不将月利率降至 3厘。我宣布调低利率时两个 孩子反对�可当我解释说供求法则同样适用于货币供应后�两人严肃地点头赞同。两个孩子 帮我一起计算他们的利息——这可是学习计算平均值与百分比的颇为有用的一课。他们使用 自己的资金我不加任何限制�不作任何询问�我还根据要求随时提供打印的账单。 6 The high rate of interest is not the only attractive feature of the Bank of Dave. Equally important from the kids' point of view is that their accounts belong to them. When they save, they harvest the benefit; when they want to spend, they don't need permission. Children who have no control over their own funds have no incentive not to beg for money and then spend every dollar that comes into their hands. 高利率并非戴夫银行惟一诱人之处。在孩子看来同样重要的是�他们的存款属于他们 自己。他们存钱便会获利�他们想花钱也用不着获得许可。孩子对自己的钱没有自主权�就 没有什么东西激励他们不去伸手要钱�不把到手的钱花个光。 7 The way to help children become rational consumers is to give them more control, not less. Before we go on vacation, I'll usually give my kids an extra twenty bucks or so, which I deposit in their accounts. I tell them that they can spend the extra money on a T-shirt, save it, spend it before we leave, or do anything else they want with it -- but that while we are on vacation, they won't receive any additional pocket money from me (except in the form of communal purchases considered by custom to be vacation entitlements, such as candy, ice cream, movie tickets, and so on). Because any money they spend starts out as theirs, not mine, they think twice before throwing it away. In a souvenir store on Martha's Vineyard a couple of summers ago my son quietly studied the unpromising merchandise while a friend of his loudly cajoled his parents into paying five dollars for a toy gun, which fell apart almost before we got back to the car. My son ended up spending thirty-three cents for an unopened geode, which he later cracked open by hitting it with a hammer -- a good value, it seemed to me. If he had been spending my money instead of his, he undoubtedly would have wanted a toy gun instead. 帮助孩子们成为理性消费者的方法是�交给他们更多的�而不是更少的自主权。我们 去度假前�我通常额外多给孩子们 20块钱左右存在他们账户上。我告诉他们�他们可以在 我们出发前用这笔额外的钱买 T 恤衫、存起来�或者花掉�或随便他们派什么别的用场— —但在度假期间�他们就不会从我这儿再拿到任何额外的零用钱了�根据惯例被认为是度假 享受的共同消费除外�如糖果、冰淇淋、电影票等�。由于他们花费的任何一笔钱都是他们 自己的而不是我的�他们出手时就很谨慎。两年前的一个夏天�在玛莎葡萄园的一家纪念品 商店�我儿子一声不响地仔细察看那些不起眼的商品�他的一个朋友则吵着让父母花 5美金 买了一把玩具枪�可几乎还没等我们回到车上�枪就坏了。我儿子最后花了 33美分买了个 未打开的空心晶球�后来他用榔头把它砸了开来——我看这钱花得值得。要是他花的是我的 而不是他自己的钱�毫无疑问�他肯定也会要买一把玩具枪的。 8 "Children are instinctive capitalists. If given enough leeway, they quickly become shrewd managers of their own finances. When parents fail in their efforts at financial education, it's usually because for reasons of their own they have managed to make saving seem painful and dull. Money is fun, and it's almost entirely self-explanatory. (4) The only way to teach kids to adopt a long-term perspective is to give them a short-term incentive for doing so. 儿童是天生的资本家。只要给予足够的自由活动余地�他们很快就会成为精明的理财 者。如果家长的理财教育失败�那往往是因为他们出于自身的原因把存钱弄得似乎既痛苦又 无聊。金钱是有趣的�而且几乎完全是不讲自明的。教育孩子们看问题要有长远目光的惟一 途径�是让孩子们近期内便能尝到某种甜头�从而激励他们去那样做。 Unit2 Does being rich mean you live a completely different life from ordinary people? Not, it seems, if your name is Sam Walton. 有钱是否意味着过一种完全不同于普通人的生活�看来未必�如果你的名字叫萨 姆·沃尔顿。 THE RICHEST MAN IN AMERICA, DOWN HOME Art Harris 1 He put on a dinner jacket to serve as a waiter at the birthday party of The Richest Man in America. He imagined what surely awaited: a mansion, a "Rolls-Royce for every day of the week," dogs with diamond collars, servants everywhere. 美国乡巴佬首富 阿特·哈里斯 他穿上餐服准备到美国首富的生日聚会上去担任侍者。在他的想象里�他定然会看到� 豪宅�主人天天要坐的罗尔斯—罗伊斯轿车�戴着钻石颈圈的家犬�到处可见的仆人。 2 Then he was off to the house, wheeling past the sleepy town square in Bentonville, a remote Arkansas town of 9,920, where Sam Walton started with a little dime store that grew into a $6 billion discount chain called Wal-Mart. He drove down a country road, turned at a mailbox marked "Sam and Helen Walton," and jumped out at a house in the woods. 他动身前往那所宅邸�开着车穿过本顿维尔镇冷冷清清的市政广场。本顿维尔镇是阿 肯色州一个人口仅有 9,920的偏远小镇�萨姆·沃尔顿就在该镇从一个专卖廉价商品的小店 起家�逐渐发展成为价值 60亿美金资产的廉价连锁店沃尔玛公司。 侍者上了一条乡间车道� 转过一个标着“萨姆和海伦·沃尔顿”的信箱�在一幢林间住宅前跳下了车。 3 It was nice, but no palace. The furniture appeared a little worn. An old pickup truck sat in the garage and a muddy bird dog ran about the yard. He never spotted any servants. 房子还不错�但绝对不是宫殿。家具略显陈旧�一辆旧的轻便货车停在车库里�一条 土褐色的捕禽猎犬在院子里窜来窜去。根本没看见任何仆人的身影。 4 "It was a real disappointment," sighs waiter Jamie Beaulieu. “太令人失望了�”侍者杰米·鲍尤叹道。 5 Only in America can a billionaire carry on like plain folks and get away with it. And the 67-year-old discount king Sam Moore Walton still travels these windy back roads in his 1979 Ford pickup, red and white, bird dogs by his side, and, come shooting season, waits in line like everyone else to buy shells at the local Wal-Mart. 只有在美国�一个亿万富翁才能像普 通百姓一样�安稳地过着普普通通的日子。67 岁的廉价店大王萨姆·穆尔·沃尔顿仍然开 着他那辆红白两色的 1979年出厂的福特牌轻型货车穿行在弯弯曲曲的乡间小道上�身边坐 着他的捕禽猎犬。当狩猎季节来临时�他跟别人一样在当地的沃尔玛商店排队购买猎枪子弹。 6 "He doesn't want any special treatment," says night manager Johnny Baker, who struggles to call the boss by his first name as a recent corporate memo commands. Few here think of his billions; they call him "Mr. Sam" and accept his folksy ways. "He's the same man who opened his dime store on the square and worked 18 hours a day for his dream," says Mayor Richard Hoback. “他不要任何特殊待遇�” 夜班经理乔尼·贝克说�他费了好大的劲才如公司最近一 份备忘录所规定的那样对自己的老板以名相称。这里几乎没人去想他的亿万身价�他们称他 为萨姆先生�丝毫不以他的平民作风为怪。“他还是那个在市政广场开廉价店�为了自己的 梦想每天工作 18个小时的人�一点没变�”市长理查德·霍巴克说。 7 By all accounts, he's friendly, cheerful, a fine neighbor who does his best to blend in, never flashy, never throwing his weight around. 人人都说他为人友善�性情开朗�是个好邻居�他尽力与人们融洽相处�从不炫耀� 也从不盛气凌人。 8 No matter how big a time he had on Saturday night, you can find him in church on Sunday. Surely in a reserved seat, right? "We don't have reserved seats," says Gordon Garlington III, pastor of the local church. 无论他星期六晚上的夜生活过得多晚�星期日你还是能在教堂见到他。当然是坐在他 的包座上�对吗�“我们不设包座�”当地教堂牧师戈登·加林顿第三说。 9 So where does The Richest Man in America sit? Wherever he finds a seat. "Look, he's just not that way. He doesn't have a set place. At a church supper the other night, he and his wife were in back washing dishes." 那美国首富坐哪儿呢�哪儿有空位子就坐哪儿。“知道吗�他根本就不是那种人。他 没有包座。前几天晚上教堂举行晚餐会�他和太太一起在后面洗盘子。” 10 For 19 years, he's used the same barber. John Mayhall finds him waiting when he opens up at 7 a.m. He chats about the national news, or reads in his chair, perhaps the Benton County Daily Democrat, another Walton property that keeps him off the front page. It buried the Forbes list at the bottom of page 2. 19年来�为他理发的总是同一个师傅。约翰·梅霍早上七点开门会见到他等在门外。 他跟人闲聊国内新闻�或是坐在椅子里看报�没准是《本顿民主日报》�这是沃尔顿的又一 宗产业。这份报纸从来不让有关他的消息出现在头版上。 它将《福布斯》的富人排行榜塞 在第二版的报尾。 11 "He's just not a front-page person," a newspaper employee explains. “他压根儿不是那种爱上头版新闻的人�”一位报社雇员解释说。 12 But one recent morning, The Richest Man in America did something that would have made headlines anywhere in the world: He forgot his money. "I said, 'Forget it, take care of it next time, '" says barber Mayhall. "But he said. 'No, I'll get it,' and he went home for his wallet." 但最近有天早上�美国首富做了件在任何其他地方准会成为头条新闻的事�他忘了带 钱。“我说�‘没事�下次一起付吧�’”理发师梅霍说�“可他说�‘不行�我得回去拿�’就 回家去取钱包了。” 13 Wasn't that, well, a little strange? "No sir," says Mayhall, "the only thing strange about Sam Walton is that he isn't strange." 这一切�嗯�是不是有点怪�“一点也不�先生�”梅霍说�“萨姆·沃尔顿惟一不同 寻常的就是�他平平常常。” 14 But just how long Walton can hold firm to his folksy habits with celebrity hunters keeping following him wherever he goes is anyone's guess. Ever since Forbes magazine pronounced him America's richest man, with $2.8 billion in Wal-Mart stock, he's been a rich man on the run, steering clear of reporters, dreamers, and schemers. 然而�沃尔顿所到之处名人追星族紧跟不舍�他的平民习惯能保持多久�就很难说了。 自从《福布斯》杂志宣布他拥有价值 28亿的沃尔玛股票成为美国首富以后�他就成了一个 东躲西藏的富人�他得甩开记者、寻梦者�还有图谋不轨者。 15 "He may be the richest by Forbes rankings," says corporate affairs director Jim Von Gremp, "but he doesn't know whether he is or not -- and he doesn't care. He doesn't spend much. He owns stock, but he's always left it in the company so it could grow. But the real story in his mind is the success achieved by the 100,000 people who make up the Wal-Mart team." “他或许是《福布斯》排行榜的首富�”公司事务主管吉姆·冯·格雷姆普说�“但他 并不知道自己是不是首富——而且他也不在乎。他不怎么花钱。他是拥有股票�但他一直把 股票留在公司里好让公司发展。而他脑子里真正想着的是沃尔玛十万员工共同取得的成功。” 16 He's usually back home for Friday sales meetings, or the executive pep rally Saturday morning at 7 a.m., when Walton, as he does at new store openings, is liable to jump up on a chair and lead everyone in the Wal-Mart cheer: "Give me a W! Give me an A! Give me an L! Louder!" 他通常回来参加星期五的销售会议�或是星期六早晨 7点的行政人员鼓劲会�届时沃 尔顿会像分店新开张时那样�跳上椅子�带领大家呼喊沃尔玛公司口号�“给我一个W�给 我一个 A�给我一个 L�大声点�” 17 And louder they yell. No one admits to feeling the least bit silly. It's all part of the Wal-Mart way of life as laid down by Sam: loyalty, hard work, long hours; get ideas into the system from the bottom up, Japanese-style; treat your people right; cut prices and margins to the bone and sleep well at night. Employees with one year on board qualify for stock options, and are urged to buy all they can. 于是大家越喊越响。没有谁说这样做有点傻。这都是萨姆定下来的沃尔玛生活方式的 一部分�忠诚�勤勉�加班加点�从公司最底层起大家集思广益�日本管理方式�善待员工� 尽可能降低价格、减少利润�一夜安睡到天亮。员工进公司一年就有资格获得优先认股权� 并一再鼓励他们尽能力购买。 18 After the pep rally, there's bird hunting, or tennis on his backyard court. But his stores are always on his mind. One tennis guest managed to put him off his game by asking why a can of balls cost more in one Wal-Mart than another. It turned out to be untrue, but the move worked. Walton lost four straight games. 鼓劲会之后�大家一起去打野禽�或在他家后院打网球。但他的那些商店总搁在他的 心上。一位来打网球的客人为了分散他打球的注意力�故意问了一句为什么一筒网球在一家 沃尔玛商店卖得比别的一家沃尔玛商店贵。此话并非实情�但这一招却真管用。沃尔顿连输 四局。 19 Walton set up a college scholarship fund for employees' children, a disaster relief fund to rebuild employee homes damaged by fires, floods, tornadoes, and the like. He believed in cultivating ideas and rewarding success. 沃尔顿为员工子女设立了大学奖学基金�为房屋遭受火灾、洪水、龙卷风等破坏的员 工重建家园设立了灾难救助基金。他信奉广开思路、褒奖成功。 20 "He'd say, 'That fellow worked hard, let's give him a little extra,'" recalls retired president Ferold F. Arend, who was stunned at such generosity after the stingy employer he left to join Wal-Mart. "I had to change my way of thinking when I came aboard." “他会说�‘那人工作努力�奖励一下吧�’”退休的前任总裁费罗尔德·F·阿伦德 回忆道。他原先供职的雇主非常吝啬�所以离开那里加入沃尔玛公司之后�他对这种慷慨行 为深感震惊。“我加盟沃尔玛后�不得不改变自己的思维方式。” 21 "The reason for our success," says Walton, in a company handout, "is our people and the way they're treated and the way they feel about their company. They believe things are different here, but they deserve the credit." “我们之所以成功�”沃尔顿在公司宣传册上写道�“是由于我们的员工�是由于他们 所受到的待遇以及他们对公司的感情。他们认为这里与众不同�但是这种荣誉他们受之无 愧。” 22 Adds company lawyer Jim Hendren: "I've never seen anyone yet who worked for him or was around him for any length of time who wasn't better off. And I don't mean just financially, although a lot of people are. It's just something about him -- coming into contact with Sam Walton just makes you a better person." 公司律师吉姆· 亨德伦补充说�“我从没见过有谁为他工作或和他接触一段时间后而 不受益的。我不仅仅是指钱财方面�当然许多人是更富有了。我是说他的某种内在的东西— —与萨姆·沃尔顿交往会使你成为一个更健全的人。” Making the journey from log cabin to White House is part of the American Dream. But when Jimmy Carter was defeated in his attempt to gain a second term as President of the United States he found himself suddenly thrown out of the White House and back in his log cabin. This is how he coped. 从小木屋走向白宫是美国梦的一部分。可是�当吉米·卡特连任美国总统的努力失败 后�他发现自己一下子被赶出白宫�回到了自己的小木屋。本文叙述了他是如何应对的。 Unit3 This comedy centers around a proud father's attempts to help his children, attempts which somehow or other always end up embarrassing them. For the sake of fun it carries things to extremes, but nearly everyone can recognize something of themselves and their parents in it. 这出喜剧主要写一位为儿女感到自豪的父亲虽做出种种努力帮助子女�不知怎的�其 结果却总是令子女尴尬不已。出于搞笑的目的�故事情节作了极度夸张�但几乎人人都能从 中看到自己以及父母的影子。 Father Knows Better Marsh Cassady 1 CHARACTERS: FATHER; MOTHER; HEIDI, 14; DIANE, 17; SEAN, 16; RESTAURANT MANAGER, 20s; MRS. HIGGINS. SETTING: Various locations including a fast-food restaurant, the Thompson family dining room, and an office at a high school. AT RISE: As the lights come up, HEIDI enters and crosses Down Right to the edge of the stage. SEAN and DIANE enter and cross Down Left to the edge of the stage. They listen as HEIDI addresses the audience. 老爸英明 马什·卡萨迪 人物� 父亲�母亲�海蒂�14岁�黛安�17岁�肖恩�16岁�饭店经理�20多岁� 希金斯太太 场景� 快餐店�汤普森家餐厅�一所中学的办公室等 幕启� 随着灯光亮起�海蒂上�走至舞台右前方。肖恩与黛安上�走至舞台左前方。 海蒂对观众说话�两人倾听。 2 HEIDI: My dad's a nice man. Nobody could possibly believe that he isn't. Yet he's...well, he's always doing these stupid things that end up really embarrassing one or more of us kids. One time, see, my brother wanted to buy this guitar. Been saving money for it for a long time. Then he got a job at this fast-food place, OK? Waiting tables. It was Sean's first actual job, and he was real happy about it. He figured in two or three months he'd have enough money to buy exactly the kind of guitar he wanted. Mom and Dad were proud of him, and well, OK, he's my big brother, and he's always pulling these dumb things on me. But, well, I was proud of him too. You know what happened? I hate to tell you because: SEAN, DIANE and HEIDI: (In unison) Father knows better! 海蒂� 我老爸是个大好人。没人会相信他不好。可是他„„唉�他老是干那些蠢事� 弄得我们当儿女的到头来无地自容。瞧�我哥曾一度想买把吉他。他都积攒了好一阵子钱了。 后来他在这家快餐店找了份活�不错吧�当服务员。这是肖恩第一次正经打工�他真的挺开 心。他算计着�再过两三个月�他就能攒够钱买他想要的那把吉他了。老爸老妈都为他感到 骄傲。唔�是啊�他是大哥�老是要捉弄我。不过嘛�我也同样为他感到骄傲。你猜后来怎 么了�我都不想说这事�因为� 肖恩、黛安、海蒂��齐声�老爸英明� 3 (The lights come Up Left on the fast-food restaurant where SEAN works. It consists of a counter and couple of small tables. The MANAGER stands behind the counter. SEAN is busily cleaning the tables when FATHER walks in. ) MANAGER: Good evening, sir. May I help you? FATHER: Good evening. SEAN: (To himself) Oh, no! (He squats behind one of the tables trying to hide from FATHER. ) FATHER: I'm looking for the manager. MANAGER: That would be me, sir. FATHER: I'm Sam Thompson. My son works here. MANAGER: Oh, you're Sean's father. FATHER: Yes. It's his first job, you know. I just wanted to check that he's doing OK. MANAGER: Oh, fine. No problem. �左后方灯光亮起�肖恩打工的快餐店。有柜台和几张小桌子。经理站在柜台后面。 父亲进店时�肖恩正忙着擦桌子。� 经理� 晚上好�先生�能为您效劳吗� 父亲� 晚上好。 肖恩� �自言自语�噢�不��他在一张桌子后蹲下�欲躲过父亲的视线。� 父亲�我找经理。 经理� 我就是�先生。 父亲� 我是萨姆·汤普森。我儿子在这儿打工。 经理� 哦�您是肖恩的父亲。 父亲� 是啊。知道嘛�这是他第一次打工。我只想看看他干得怎么样。 经理� 噢�不错。没问题。 4 SEAN: (Spreading his hands, palms up, speaking to himself) What did I do to deserve this? Tell me what? FATHER: Hiring him was a good thing then? MANAGER: Well, yeah, I suppose so. SEAN: (Still to himself) Go home, Dad. Go home. Go home. FATHER: I'm sure he's a good worker but a typical teenager, if you know what I mean. MANAGER: (Losing interest) I wouldn't know. FATHER: He's a good boy. And I assure you that if there are any subjects that need to be addressed, Sean and I will have a man-to-man talk. MANAGER: I don't think that will be necessary... FATHER: Oh, no problem. I'm proud of my son. Very, very proud. And I just wanted you to know that I'll do anything I can to help him through life's dangerous sea. 肖恩� �双手摊开�掌心向上�自言自语�我干了什么了要受这份罪�倒是告诉我 啊� 父亲� 那么雇用他没错啦� 经理� 呃�对�我想是的。 肖恩� �仍然自言自语�回家去�老爸。回家去。回家去。 父亲� 我肯定他是一把干活的好手�可他也跟其他孩子一个样�明白我的意思吗� 经理� �不再有兴趣�我怎么知道。 父亲� 他是个好孩子。你放心�要是有什么问题需要解决的话�我和肖恩会开诚布 公谈一谈的。 经理� 我看没必要吧„„ 父亲� 噢�没事儿。我为我儿子感到骄傲�我为他深感骄傲。我只是想让你知道� 我将竭尽全力帮助他驶过人生的惊涛骇浪。 5 SEAN: (Standing up and screaming) Aaaargh! Aaaargh! Aaaaaaargh! FATHER: Son, I didn't know you were here. SEAN: It's where I work, Dad. FATHER: Of course. I mean, I didn't see you. SEAN: I can't imagine why. FATHER: Your manager and I were just having a nice chat. (DIANE enters Down Left just as HEIDI enters Down Right. They look at SEAN and FATHER. ) SEAN, DIANE, HEIDI: (In unison) Father, you know better than that. 肖恩� �站起身� 高声喊叫�唉�唉�唉� 父亲� 儿子�不知道你在这儿。 肖恩� 这是我打工的地方嘛�爸� 父亲� 那自然。我是说�刚才没看见你。 肖恩� 我真弄不明白。 父亲� 经理和我正聊得起劲呢。 �黛安从左前方上�海蒂自右前方上。两人看着肖恩和父亲。� 肖恩、黛安、海蒂��齐声�老爸�你这是干什么呀。 6 (The lights quickly fade to black and then come up a second or two later. SEAN stands alone at the Down Right edge of the stage. HEIDI and DIANE cross to Down Left edge of the stage. ) SEAN: If that sort of thing happened only once in a while, it wouldn't be so bad. Overall, I wouldn't want to trade my dad for anyone else's. He loves us kids and Mom too. But I think that's sometimes the problem. He wants to do things for us, things he thinks are good. But he needs to give them more thought because: SEAN, HEIDI and DIANE: (In unison) Father knows better! �灯光迅速暗下�片刻之后又亮起。肖恩独自站在舞台右前边。海蒂、黛安走至舞台 左前边。� 肖恩� 这类事要是偶尔发生一两次�那倒也没什么。总的来说�我是不肯把自己老 爸跟别人的老爸换的。他爱我们当子女的�也爱老妈。不过我想�有时问题就出在这儿。他 一心想帮助我们�他自以为在为我们做好事呢。可他应该多想想才对�因为� 肖恩、海蒂、黛安��齐声�老爸英明� 7 (The lights fade to black and come up on the Center Stage area where FATHER and the three children are seated around the dining room table. MOTHER enters carrying a dish, which she sets on the table. FATHER quickly rises and pulls out her chair. She sits. The family starts eating dinner. ) FATHER: I have a surprise for you, Diane. DIANE: (Knows it can't be good. ) You have... a surprise? MOTHER: Well, whatever it is, dear, don't keep us in suspense. FATHER: Well, you know, Dan Lucas and I work together? DIANE: Kyle's father? MOTHER: Don't interrupt, dear, your father is trying to tell you something. HEIDI: (Stage whisper to SEAN) Something Diane won't want to know, I'll bet. SEAN: (Whispering to HEIDI) Whatever would make you think that? MOTHER: Sean, dear. Heidi, sweetheart, don't distract your father. SEAN and HEIDI: (Simultaneously) Sorry, Mom. �灯光暗下�旋即又在舞台中央亮起。父亲与三个孩子围坐在餐桌旁。母亲端菜上� 把菜放在桌上。父亲迅速起身为她拉出椅子。母亲坐下。全家开始用餐。� 父亲� 我要给你一个惊喜�黛安。 黛安� �知道不会有好事�你要给我„„一个惊喜� 母亲� 哎�是什么事啊�亲爱的�别卖关子了。 父亲� 呃�你们知道�丹·卢卡斯和我是同事。 黛安� 凯尔的父亲� 母亲� 别插嘴�亲爱的�你父亲正有事要跟你们说呢。 海蒂� �与肖恩耳语�我敢肯定准是黛安不要听的事儿。 肖恩� �与海蒂耳语�你怎么会知道� 母亲� 肖恩�亲爱的。海蒂�宝贝儿�别打扰你们的父亲。 肖恩、海蒂��同时地�对不起�妈妈。 8 FATHER: Now then. As I was saying, I know how much you like young Kyle. DIANE: Father! FATHER: It's true, isn't it? Didn't I hear you tell your mother that you wish Kyle would ask you to the senior prom? SEAN: Uh-oh! HEIDI: Oops! MOTHER: Please, children, please. Your father is trying to speak. DIANE: (Through clenched teeth, the words are in a monotone and evenly spaced. ) Yes-I-said-that-why-are-you-asking? FATHER: Well then. DIANE: (Becoming hysterical)"Well then" what?! FATHER: What did I say? Did I say something wrong? HEIDI: (To SEAN) Not yet, he didn't. SEAN: (To HEIDI) But you know it's coming. MOTHER: Children, please. Do give your father the respect he deserves. HEIDI and SEAN: (Rolling their eyes) Yes, Mother. 父亲� 好吧。我说了�我知道你挺喜欢小凯尔。 黛安� 爸爸� 父亲� 是这么回事�对吗�我不是听你跟你妈说�你希望凯尔邀请你在高年级舞会 上跳舞吗� 肖恩� 喔� 海蒂� 哎哟� 母亲� 静一下�孩子们�静一下。你们父亲在说话呢。 黛安� �咬紧牙�一字一顿地�对�我�是�说�过�你�问�这�干�嘛� 父亲� 那就算了。 黛安� �歇斯底里地�什么算了� 父亲� 我说什么啦�我说错什么了吗� 海蒂� �对肖恩�这会儿还没有�还没说错什么。 肖恩� �对海蒂�等着吧�这就来了。 母亲� 静一下�孩子们。对父亲应该尊敬一点。 海蒂、肖恩��一边转着眼珠�是�妈妈。 9 FATHER: Well, today I saw Dan and asked if he'd like to go to lunch at that French restaurant on Third Street. You know the one, Mother. MOTHER: Well, yes, I believe I do. FATHER: My treat, I told him. And, of course, he was glad to accept. MOTHER: Why wouldn't he be? FATHER: (Somewhat surprised) Well, yes. DIANE: What-has-this-to-do-with me?! MOTHER: Diane, sometimes I just don't understand your behavior. I try my best. DIANE: (Very short with her) I'm sorry. MOTHER: Thank you, Diane. (To FATHER) Please do go on, dear. FATHER: As I said -- HEIDI: We know what you said, Daddy. FATHER: Er...uh, what's that? SEAN: She said,"We know what you said, Daddy." FATHER: Yes, yes, of course. MOTHER: Do get on with it, dear. I've made the most glorious dessert. An old recipe handed down to me by my great Aunt Hilda -- DIANE: Mother, please! MOTHER: Yes, dear? 父亲� 嗯�今天我见到丹时�问他想不想去第三街上的那家法国餐馆吃午饭。孩子 他妈�你是知道那家餐馆的。 母亲� 对�是啊�我知道。 父亲� 我请客�我对他说。当然�他挺乐意去了。 母亲� 他哪能不乐意呢� 父亲� �略为惊讶地�对�是啊。 黛安� 这�跟�我�有�什�么�关�系�呢� 母亲� 黛安�你的行为有时我真弄不懂。无论怎样我就是弄不懂。 黛安� �没好气地�那就抱歉了。 母亲� 多谢了�黛安。�对父亲�请说下去�亲爱的。 父亲� 我说过„„ 海蒂� 我们知道你说过什么�爸爸。 父亲� 嗯„„哦�你说什么� 肖恩�她说�“我们知道你说过什么�爸爸。” 父亲� 是啊�是啊�当然。 母亲� 快说吧�亲爱的。我做了特别好吃的甜点。是我姨祖母希尔达传下来的老配 方„„ 黛安� 妈妈�好了� 母亲� 怎么啦�宝贝� 10 (DIANE shakes her head and lets her body fall against the back of the chair. ) FATHER: At any rate, Dan's a nice guy. Never knew him well. Found we have a lot of the same interests. Our families, our community, global peace, human welfare. HEIDI: (Mumbling to herself) That narrows it down, all right. SEAN: Father? FATHER: Yes, son? SEAN: I do believe Diane would like to know the surprise. DIANE: (Breathing hard as if exhausted, she turns to SEAN, nodding her head up and down repeatedly.) Thank you, Sean. I owe you one. �黛安摇着头�身体仰靠在椅背上。� 父亲� 不管怎么说�丹人不错。过去我跟他不熟。发现我俩还有不少志趣相同之处。 家庭�社区�世界和平�人类幸福。 海蒂� �咕哝着自言自语�就要说到正题了。 肖恩� 爸爸� 父亲� 嗳�儿子� 肖恩� 我肯定黛安很想知道是什么惊喜。 黛安� �粗粗地喘气�好像精疲力竭的样子�她转向肖恩�连连点头�多谢了�肖 恩。我记着你的情。 11 FATHER: Well, yes. Here it is then. I told Dan of your interest in his son. DIANE: You what? MOTHER: Diane, what has come over you? I just don't understand the younger generation. Why back in my day -- DIANE: Mother, please! MOTHER: What, what? What? HEIDI: Mother, I believe she wants Father to continue. SEAN: (To himself) Get this over with, more likely. DIANE: Daddy, please, tell me. Now. Right away. What did you say, Daddy? Please. Tell me, what did you tell Mr. Lucas? Tell me, please. Please tell me. FATHER: Well, now, isn't this nice. It looks like my little scheme is a success. You're so eager to find out... makes a man feel as if it's all worthwhile. 父亲� 啊�对。我就说吧。我告诉丹�你对他儿子很感兴趣。 黛安� 你说什么� 母亲� 黛安�你怎么啦�我真不明白你们年轻人。唉�在我那个时候„„ 黛安� 妈�好啦� 母亲� 怎么啦�怎么啦�又怎么啦� 海蒂� 妈妈�我知道她想听爸爸说完。 肖恩� �自言自语�还不如说是快把这份罪受完算了。 黛安� 爸爸�请你告诉我。现在�马上告诉我。你说什么啦�爸爸�求你了�快说� 你跟卢卡斯先生说什么啦�请快告诉我。请快说。 父亲� 嗨�瞧�太妙了。看来我的小计策成功了。如今你急着想知道„„这可让人 觉得我做的这一切还真值。 12 HEIDI: (To SEAN) Can you believe this? SEAN: (To HEIDI) Oh, sure. Can't you? FATHER: Yes, well, I told him how much you liked young Kyle, and how you'd been wishing he'd ask you to the prom. DIANE: You didn't! Tell me you didn't! FATHER: Oh, yes. Anything for my children. DIANE: (Swallowing hard) And...and -- MOTHER: Diane, are you all right? DIANE: (She juts out her chin at MOTHER and quickly jerks her head around to face FATHER. ) Well...what did he say?! FATHER: Well, of course, being the sort of man he is -- frank, understanding, he said he'd speak to the young man, insist he give you a call. DIANE: (Angry scream! ) Whaaaaaat! SEAN and HEIDI: (Together) Father, you know better than that. FATHER: I do? Yes, yes, I guess I do. I've...done it again, haven't I? 海蒂� �对肖恩�你能相信吗� 肖恩� �对海蒂�啊�当然。你还不信� 父亲� 嗯�对了�我告诉他你是多么喜欢小凯尔�一心希望他邀你在班级舞会上跳 舞。 黛安� 你没这么说过�告诉我你没这么说过� 父亲� 说了�当然说了。只要为了我孩子好嘛。 黛安� �尽力忍住�那„„那„„ 母亲� 黛安�你没事吧� 黛安� �冲着母亲撅起下巴�很快扭头面对父亲�那„„他怎么说�� 父亲� 嗯�当然啦�以他的为人——坦率�善解人意�他说他会去跟小伙子说的� 一定让他给你打电话。 黛安� �愤怒地高喊�什——么� 肖恩、海蒂��齐声�老爸�你这是干什么呀。 父亲� 是吗�对�对�我想是。我又„„弄糟了�是吗� 13 (The lights quickly fade to black and then come up a second or two later. DIANE stands alone at the Down Right edge of the stage. HEIDI and SEAN enter Down Left and cross to the edge of the stage. ) DIANE: Can you imagine how humiliated I was? An honor student, class president. And Father was out asking people to have their sons call and ask me to the prom! But that's dear old dad. Actually, he is a dear. He just doesn't stop to think. And it's not just one of us who've felt the heavy hand of interference. Oh, no, all three of us live in constant dread knowing that at any time disaster can strike because: DIANE, HEIDI and SEAN: (Shouting in unison) Father knows better. �灯光迅速暗下�旋即重新亮起。黛安独自站在舞台右前边沿。海蒂、肖恩自左前方 上�走至舞台边。� 黛安� 你们能想象我觉得自己有多么丢人现眼吗�堂堂的优秀生�班主席。父亲竟 然去求别人叫他们的儿子打电话来邀我跳舞�可这就是我那可爱的老爸。他其实挺可爱的。 他就是不好好想一想。不止我一个人深受他横加干预之苦。哦,绝非我一个人�我们兄妹三 个整天提心吊胆�知道倒霉的事随时可能来临�因为� 黛安、海蒂、肖恩��齐声�老爸英明� 14 (The lights fade to black and quickly come up again Stage Left where there is an executive-type desk and chair and two other chairs. Behind the desk sits MRS. HIGGINS, in charge of admitting new students to Benjamin Harrison High School. HEIDI and FATHER sit in the other chairs. ) MRS.HIGGINS: So this is our new student, is it? FATHER: That's right. MRS.HIGGINS: What's your name, young lady? HEIDI: HEIDI Thompson. MRS.HIGGINS: I'm sure you'll find the students friendly. And the teachers more than willing to answer questions. FATHER: She is an exceptional young woman, you know. HEIDI: Daddy! �灯光暗下�旋即在舞台左侧重新亮起。舞台左侧摆放着一套办公桌椅和另两张椅子。 希金斯太太坐在办公桌旁办理本杰明·哈里森中学新生入学手续。海蒂和父亲坐在另外两张 椅子上。� 希金斯太太�你是我们新来的学生�是吗� 父亲� 是的。 希金斯太太�你叫什么名字�小姐� 海蒂� 海蒂·汤普森。 希金斯太太�我相信你一定会发现这里的同学们都挺友好。这里的老师也都乐意回答 问题。 父亲� 您知道�她是个出类拔萃的姑娘。 海蒂� 爸爸� 15 FATHER: Very, very bright. MRS.HIGGINS: Yes, now if we can get you to fill out -- FATHER: Don't know where she got her brains. Her mother, I suppose. Oh, I was bright enough. But nothing like HEIDI. All her teachers have told Mrs. Thompson -- that's her mother -- and me that she was just about the brightest -- MRS.HIGGINS: (Interrupts as she loses her patience, though trying to be pleasant) As I said, if you have proof of vaccinations -- FATHER: (Interrupts, carrying on with his line of thought) Besides being bright, she's very, very talented. HEIDI: (Twists her hands over and over in front of her chest. ) Please, Daddy, don't do this. FATHER: Well, of course I will, darling. I'm proud of you. Your mother and I are proud of you. (Turns back to MRS. HIGGINS. ) Why just last year, in her last year of junior high school, before we moved, Heidi placed first in the county in the annual spelling bee! Isn't that wonderful? And she plays the piano like an angel. An absolute angel. 父亲� 非常非常聪明� 希金斯太太�一定是的�现在你是不是能填一下„„ 父亲� 不知道她怎么会这么聪明。我想是她母亲的遗传。哦�我也不笨。可没法跟 海蒂比。教过她的老师都对汤普森太太�就是她妈�还有我说�她差不多是最聪明的一个„„ 希金斯太太��不耐烦地打断�但口气仍尽量和缓�我刚才说了�如果你有疫苗接种 证明„„ 父亲� �打断希金斯太太�沿着自己的思路讲下去�她不仅聪明�而且才华出众。 海蒂� �双手置于胸前�搓拧着�行了�爸爸�别说了。 父亲� 啊�宝贝儿�我当然要说。我为你感到骄傲。我和你妈都为你感到骄傲。�转 回身面向希金斯太太�嗳�就在去年�她初中最后一年�我们还没搬家的时候�海蒂在县里 每年一度的拼单词比赛中得了第一名�了不起吧�而且她钢琴也弹得美妙之极。简直就是仙 乐。 16 HEIDI: Daddy, please. Please, please. Daddy, I have to go to class. I want to go to class. Please let me go to class. FATHER: See what I mean? Such an eager learner. I can't imagine anyone's being more eager for knowledge than my Heidi. My little girl. MRS.HIGGINS: Yes, well, be that as it may -- HEIDI: Aaargh! Aaaaargh! Aaaargh! (DIANE and SEAN enter Down Right. They look at HEIDI, FATHER, and MRS. HIGGINS. ) HEIDI, DIANE and SEAN: (Shouting in unison) Daddy, you know better than that! FATHER: Er, uh, I do? (Curtain) 海蒂� 爸爸�行了。求求你了�求求你了。爸爸�我得上课去了。我要去上课。请 让我去上课吧。 父亲� 瞧见了没有�一个多么好学的学生。我想不出还有谁比我家海蒂更好学了。 我的好姑娘。 希金斯太太�是的�嗯�不过„„ 海蒂: 唉�唉�唉� �黛安、肖恩从右前方上。两人望着海蒂、父亲和希金斯太太。� 海蒂、黛安、肖恩��齐声喊�老爸�你这是干什么呀。 父亲� 呃�嗯�是吗� �幕落� Unlike the father in the play which began this unit, here we have a father who is far better at seeing things from his son's point of view. As Merton shows, however, this does not always come easy. 与本单元开始的那场戏里的那位父亲不同�这里我们读到的是一位颇能设身处地为儿 子着想的父亲。然而�正如默顿所描述的那样�要做到这点往往并非易事。 Unit4 Maia Szalavitz, formerly a television producer, now spends her time as a writer. In this essay she explores digital reality and its consequences. Along the way, she compares the digital world to the "real" world, acknowledging the attractions of the electronic dimension. 迈亚·塞拉维茨曾是电视制片人�目前从事写作。她在本文中探索了数字化世界及其 后果。与此同时�她将数字化世界与真实世界做了比较�承认电子空间自有其魅力。 A Virtual Life Maia Szalavitz 1 After too long on the Net, even a phone call can be a shock. My boyfriend's Liverpool accent suddenly becomes impossible to interpret after his easily understood words on screen; a secretary's clipped tone seems more rejecting than I'd imagined it would be. Time itself becomes fluid -- hours become minutes, or seconds stretch into days. Weekends, once a highlight of my week, are now just two ordinary days. 虚拟世界的生活 迈亚·塞拉维茨 在网上呆了太久�听到电话铃声也会吓一大跳。显示屏上看多了我男朋友那些一目了 然的文字�他的利物浦口音一下子变得难以听懂�而秘书的清脆快速的语调听上去比我想象 的要生硬。时间本身变得捉摸不定——几小时变成几分钟�或几秒钟延伸为几天。周末原本 是我一周的黄金时段�现在却不过是平平常常的两天。 2 For the last three years, since I stopped working as a television producer, I have done much of my work as a telecommuter. I submit articles and edit them via email and communicate with colleagues on Internet mailing lists. My boyfriend lives in England, so much of our relationship is also computer-assisted. 在我不再当电视制片人的这三年间�我的大部分工作都是在家里使用计算机终端进行 的。我通过电子邮件投稿和校订�利用互联网上的人名地址与同行交流。我男朋友住在英国� 因此两人的关系也在很大程度上借助于电脑维系。 3 If I desired, I could stay inside for weeks without wanting anything. I can order food, and manage my money, love and work. In fact, at times I have spent as long as three weeks alone at home, going out only to get mail and buy newspapers and groceries. I watched most of the endless snowstorm of '96 on TV. 我要是愿意的话�可以一连几个星期不出门而什么也不缺。我可以在网上订购食品、 网上理财、网上恋爱、网上工作。事实上我有时独自呆在家里长达三个星期�只偶尔出去拿 信、买报纸及日用品。1996年那一场接一场的暴风雪我大都是在电视上看到的。 4 But after a while, life itself begins to feel unreal. I start to feel as though I've become one with my machines, taking data in, spitting them back out, just another link in the Net. Others on line report the same symptoms. We start to feel an aversion to outside forms of socializing. We have become the Net critics' worst nightmare. 然而�一段时间之后�生活本身就显得不那么真实了。我开始觉得自己似乎与机器融 为一体了�我接收信息�再发送出去�就如同互联网的一个连接点。其他上网的人也谈到了 同样的症状。我们开始厌恶外面的社交方式。我们的状况成了批评互联网的人们最害怕见到 的一幕。 5 What first seemed like a luxury, crawling from bed to computer, not worrying about hair, and clothes and face, has become a form of escape, a lack of discipline. And once you start replacing real human contact with cyber-interaction, coming back out of the cave can be quite difficult. 一下床就上机�不再为发型、服饰、面部化妆烦心�起初看似高级的享受如 今却成为一种对生活的逃避�一种缺乏自律的表现。你一旦开始用网络交际取代人与人的真 实接触�要走出这种穴居状态就会相当困难。 6 I find myself shyer, more cautious, more anxious. Or, conversely, when suddenly confronted with real live humans, I get overexcited, speak too much, interrupt. I constantly worry if I am dressed appropriately, that perhaps I've actually forgotten to put on a skirt and walked outside in the T-shirt and underwear I sleep and live in. 我发现自己变得比以前怯生、谨慎、焦虑。或者�反过来�当我突然面对现实中活生 生的人时�会变得过于兴奋�说个不停�爱打断别人的讲话。我老是担心自己衣着是否得体� 担心自己会不会真的忘了穿裙子�只穿着夜间睡觉、白天活动的那件 T恤和内衣就出门了。 7 At times, I turn on the television and just leave it to talk away in the background, something that I'd never done previously. The voices of the programs are comforting, but then I'm jarred by the commercials. I find myself sucked in by soap operas, or needing to keep up with the latest news and the weather. "Dateline," "Frontline," "Nightline," CNN, New York 1, every possible angle of every story over and over and over, even when they are of no possible use to me. Work moves into the background. I decide to check my email. 有时我把电视机开着�让它作为背景声音一直响着�以前我从不这样做。电视节目中 的说话声让人感到宽慰�可那些广告又叫我心烦。我发现自己沉浸在肥皂剧里�或者不停地 收看最新的新闻报道和天气预报。一而再再而三地从“每日新闻”、“一线新闻”、 “夜间新 闻”、 有线新闻电视网、纽约一套上收看有关每一条新闻的各种不同视角的报道�尽管它们 对我毫无用处。工作成了次要的。我决定去看一下自己的电子信箱。 8 On line, I find myself attacking everyone in sight. I am bad-tempered, and easily angered. I find everyone on my mailing list insensitive, believing that they've forgotten that there are people actually reading their wounding remarks. I don't realize that I'm projecting until after I've been embarrassed by someone who politely points out that I've attacked her for agreeing with me. 在网上�我发现自己见谁攻谁。我脾气暴躁�动辄生气。我觉得我与之通信的每一个 人都麻木不仁�认为他们已经忘却还有人真会去读他们那些刻薄伤人的言辞。直到有人礼貌 地指出�她同意我的观点却遭到我的抨击时�我才意识到�自己是在以己度人�不由得深感 尴尬。 9 When I'm in this state, I fight my boyfriend as well, misinterpreting his intentions because of the lack of emotional cues given by our typed dialogue. The fight takes hours, because the system keeps crashing. I say a line, then he does, then crash! And yet we keep on, doggedly. 在这种精神状态下�我也和男朋友吵架�常因键出的对话缺乏情感暗示而误解他的本 意。由于系统常出故障�两人一争就是几个小时。我写一句�他回一句�接着系统失灵�可 我们俩还是锲而不舍地接着吵。 10 I'd never realized how important daily routine is: dressing for work, sleeping normal hours. I'd never thought I relied so much on co-workers for company. I began to understand why long-term unemployment can be so damaging, why life without an externally supported daily plan can lead to higher rates of drug abuse, crime, suicide. 以前我从未意识到日常的生活起居是多么重要�如穿戴整齐去上班�按时就寝。以前 我从未想过自己会那么依赖同事做伴。我开始理解为什么长时间的失业会那么伤人�为什么 一个人的生活缺少了外部支持的日常计划就会导致吸毒、犯罪、自杀率的增长。 11 To restore balance to my life, I force myself back into the real world. I call people, arrange to meet with the few remaining friends who haven't fled New York City. I try to at least get to the gym, so as to set apart the weekend from the rest of my week. I arrange interviews for stories, doctor's appointments -- anything to get me out of the house and connected with others. 为了恢复生活的平衡�我强迫自己回到真实世界中去。我给别人打电话�与所剩无几 的仍然住在纽约城的几个朋友安排见面。我至少设法去去健身房�以便使周末与工作日有所 不同。我安排采访好写报道�预约看医生——安排任何需要我出门与他人接触的活动。 12 But sometimes being face to face is too much. I see a friend and her ringing laughter is intolerable -- the noise of conversation in the restaurant, unbearable. I make my excuses and flee. I re-enter my apartment and run to the computer as though it were a place of safety. 但有时面对面地与人相处实在难以忍受。我与一位朋友见面�她那种响亮的笑声让人 忍无可忍——饭店里的噪杂谈话声也让人受不了。我找了个藉口逃之夭夭。我重新回到我的 公寓�冲向电脑�似乎那儿才是一个安全的地方。 13 I click on the modem, the once-annoying sound of the connection now as pleasant as my favorite tune. I enter my password. The real world disappears. 我点击鼠标�打开调制解调器�曾经听了就烦的连接声此刻听起来就如同最心爱的曲 子那么悦耳。我键入密码。真实世界转瞬便消逝了。 Thought you were safe sharing secrets with Internet friends? Wait for the doorbell... 你以为与网友分享秘密不会出事儿吗�等着门铃响起来吧„„ Mother's Mad About the Internuts Carol Sarler 1 Tap tap tappa tap-tap. It is the last sound to be heard before sleep. On especially bad days, it is the first sound to be heard in the morning. (1) It is the sound of the only lasting disagreement in a household that is otherwise peaceful. My daughter is hooked on the Internet and I think that it is mad, bad and dangerous. 母亲恨死了网虫 卡罗尔·萨尔勒 嗒嗒�嗒嗒�嗒�嗒。这是入睡前最后听到的声音。遇到特别糟糕的日子�早上一醒 来就听到这种声音。这是一个原本安宁的家庭中惟一持续不去的不和谐音。女儿沉迷于互联 网�我觉得这是一种疯狂的不端行为�而且凶险四伏。 2 She is in every other respect a sensible young woman. She graduated in the summer, she goes to work each day, she and her friends are on the phone all evening and she goes out with them at weekends. But on top of that she has lately started spending some two hours in intense communication with a computer. And I hate it. 她在别的哪个方面都不失为一个明事理的姑娘。她是夏天毕业的�天天上班�晚上和 朋友们在电话里聊天�周末和他们一起外出玩耍。但除此之外�近来她每天花两个小时光景 与电脑厮守在一起。对此我深恶痛绝。 3 This is not just fear of new technology. Of course, there is value in instant access to information banks worldwide and, of course, email is revolutionizing the way we correspond with each other. My mistrust is based on the fact that this use of the Internet is such a pale copy of the time-honored way in which people communicate with each other. (2) It leads to intimacy before acquaintance; it scatters secrets outwards, not inwards; and, most worrying of all, it is a vehicle for liars. 这不完全是对新科技的恐惧。当然�能随时获取全世界信息库中的信息是很有价值的� 电子邮件正在完全改变人们相互间通信联系的方式。我的不信任感是基于这样一个事实�使 用互联网通讯与人们传统的相互交流方式相比实在大为逊色。它使人们还未相识就已亲近� 它不能保守秘密反而扩散秘密�而最令人担心的是�它是撒谎人传播谎言的工具。 4 What frightens me is that my daughter rejects all this. The denial is there in the language she uses. "I 'met' Janet in January," she says, "and we've been 'friends' ever since." At other times, "I was 'talking' to Alex the other day and he 'said'..." "No, he didn't," I argue; friends are friends when, and only when, you have seen the whites of their eyes. She just rolls hers, skywards. 最令我心惊胆战的是女儿对我的一切规劝都拒之不理。这在她的言谈间流露无遗。“我 是一月份‘遇见’珍妮特的�”她说�“那以后我们就成了‘朋友’。” 有时�她又说“前几 天我和亚历克斯‘聊天’�他‘说’„„”“不对�他没有说�”我争辩道�只有当你亲眼见 过一个人之后�只有在那个时候�朋友才成其为朋友。她只是朝上翻了翻白眼。 5 Imagine this. When I was planning to go away for a few days last month, this intelligent 22-year-old announced a plan for a party, the guests to include a variety of Internuts who, coming as they would from all corners, would need to stay overnight. 你想象得到吗�上个月我正 打算外出数日的时候�这位聪明的 22岁的姑娘宣布打算举行一次聚会�客人包括各色网虫� 他们来自各地�还要在我家过夜。 6 Overnight? In my home, my home that contains everything I care about, rather high on the list being my daughter herself. 在我家里过夜�在这个有我珍爱的一切的家里�而女儿本身就是我的最珍爱的宝贝之 一。 7 She said: "Don't be silly." She said it would be quite all right, because the people she was planning to invite were those whom she had "known" for at least a year and whom she "knows" as well as any of her other friends that, on the whole, I tend to like. (3) I said, trying to be reasonable but not altogether succeeding, that in and among the things they "tell" each other on the tap-tap, a tendency to murder might just have been overlooked, might it not? 她说�“别傻。”她说不会有事的�因为她准备邀请的那些人都是“认识”了至少有一 年的�而且她“了解”他们�就像了解我总的来说比较喜欢的她的其他朋友一样。我说�他 们啪哒啪哒“讲”给互相听的事情中�杀人的倾向或许就被忽略了�难道这不可能吗�我说 这话时尽量想做到通情达理�但不完全成功。 8 The party did not happen. The row most certainly did. 聚会不了了之。但我和她确实大吵了一场。 9 When I say that if they are not nutters they are nerds, she tries to reason. Do I think she is a nerd? Absolutely not. Well, then, why should they be? Do I think she is a liar? Just as absolutely not. Seizing the initiative she moves over to the attack. 当我说那些人即使不是疯子也一定是些怪人时�她试图跟我争论。那我是不是觉得她 就是怪人一个�绝对不是。既然这样�那他们为什么会是怪人呢�我是不是觉得她就是个谎 言家�当然也不是。她抓住了主动权�开始反攻。 10 "You remember that favorite story of yours, the one about how the army captain and the woman whose book he discovered got to know one another solely through writing letters? And how she refused to send him a photograph because she felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like? Well, they hadn't seen each other either." She smiles her self-satisfied smile. Arguing with a daughter is always like that, so annoying. They always know where your weak points are, just where to slip in under your guard. “还记得你最喜欢的那个讲一个上尉和一个女人的故事吗�那个他看到那女的读过 的一本书便和她通过书信往来而认识的故事�记得吗�她拒绝给他寄照片�因为她认为如果 他真的喜欢她�她长得怎么样并不重要�瞧�他们俩也没见过面嘛。”她得意地笑了。跟女 儿争辩总是这个样�总是令你烦恼不堪。她们深知你的弱点�知道如何乘虚而入。 11 But I cannot clear it from my head, the worries refuse to go away. It is not that, as individuals, I have reason to believe they would lie. But they could. They could lie about their age, their state of mind or even their sex. Indeed, apparently in America it is common for men to tap-tap pretending to be women on the basis that they then get other women to communicate with far greater intimacy. 但我总是忘不了这个事儿�种种担忧萦绕心头。并不是说我有理由认为�他们作为个 人�一定会撒谎。但他们可能会撒谎。他们可能隐瞒自己的真实年龄、心态�甚至性别。的 确�在美国显然有不少上网的男人常常自称女人�认为藉此可使其他女人更无顾忌地与他们 讲知心话。 12 A thought occurs. The worst scenes my mind dreams up play like a horror movie. So I call a friend in Hollywood: has anyone thought of this for a movie plot? He laughs. There are five, to his knowledge alone, in development and one heading into production. (4) Needless to say, it is a new version of the old tale of innocents calling forth evil forces they cannot control, this time in the form of a visitor with the ever-handy axe packed in his luggage. 有一天我突然产生了一个想法。我脑子里虚构出来的最可怕的场景一幕接着一幕�就 像一部恐怖片。于是我给一个好莱坞的朋友打了个电话�有没有谁想过用这个题材构思一部 电影情节�他哈哈大笑。据他本人所知就有 5部正在酝酿之中�一部已经进入制作阶段了。 不用说�这又是一些无辜的人引出了邪恶的力量却又不能控制的老故事的翻版�这一次的邪 恶力量是以一位来客的面貌出现�但行囊中却藏着斧头�随时可以拿出来杀人。 13 So now, I say to my daughter, we just wait for life to imitate art and we're home and dry. And murdered in our beds. 于是�我对女儿说�我们就等着看生活去模仿艺术吧。我们现在安然无恙。谁知道什 么时候被谋杀在自己的卧床上。 14 She laughs. "See you in the morning, Mum. I'm just going upstairs to talk to my friends. Goodnight." Tap tappa tap-tap... 她大笑。“明天早上见�妈妈。我要上楼去跟朋友聊天了。晚安。”塔塔�塔塔�塔塔 塔„„ Unit5 Look at the following two sayings and then see if the story of Michael Stone bears out the points they make. The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it. -- Molière When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. -- Charles A. Beard 读一读以下两则名言�想一想迈克尔·斯通的故事是否印证了其间的道理。 障碍越是巨大�逾越它也就越感自豪。 ——莫里哀 只有天空漆黑时�你才可以看到星星。 ——查尔斯·A·比尔德 True Height David Naster 1 His palms were sweating. He needed a towel to dry his grip. The sun was as hot as the competition he faced today at the National Junior Olympics. The pole was set at 17 feet. That was three inches higher than his personal best. Michael Stone confronted the most challenging day of his pole-vaulting career. 真正的高度 大卫·纳史特 他手心在出汗。他需要用毛巾把握竿的手擦干。太阳火辣辣的�与他今天在全国少年 奥林匹克运动会上所面临的竞争一样热烈。 横杆升到了 17英尺。比他个人的最高纪录高出 3 英寸。迈克尔·斯通面临的是其撑竿跳高生涯中最具挑战性的一天。 2 The stands were still filled with about 20,000 people, even though the final race had ended an hour earlier. The pole vault is truly the highlight of any track and field competition. It combines the grace of a gymnast with the strength of a body builder. It also has the element of flying, and the thought of flying as high as a two-story building is a mere fantasy to anyone watching such an event. 尽管赛跑决赛一小时前就已经结束�看台上仍然观众满座�足有 20,000 人上下。撑 竿跳高确实是所有田径比赛中最精彩的项目。它融合了体操运动员的优雅与健美运动员的力 量。它还具有飞翔的特征�对观看该项目比赛的观众来说�飞跃两层楼的高度简直是一件不 可思议的事情。 3 As long as Michael could remember he had always dreamed of flying. Michael's mother read him numerous stories about flying when he was growing up. Her stories were always ones that described the land from a bird's-eye view. Her excitement and passion for details made Michael's dreams full of color and beauty. Michael had this one recurring dream. He would be running down a country road. As he raced between golden wheat fields, he would always outrun the locomotives passing by. It was at the exact moment he took a deep breath that he began to lift off the ground. He would begin soaring like an eagle. 迈克尔自从能记事起就一直梦想着飞翔。从小到大�母亲给迈克尔念过无数关于飞翔 的故事。她的故事总是从高空俯瞰描述大地。她对细节的激情和酷爱使得迈克尔的梦境色彩 缤纷、绚丽无比。迈克尔总是重复做着一个梦。他在乡间大路上飞奔。当他奔跑在金色的麦 田之间时�总是把开过的机车一路甩在身后。就在他深深吸上一口气的瞬间�他开始从地面 一跃而起�就像一头雄鹰那样开始翱翔。 4 Where he flew would always coincide with his mother's stories. Wherever he flew was with a keen eye for detail and the free spirit of his mother's love. His dad, on the other hand, was not a dreamer. Bert Stone was a hard-core realist. He believed in hard work and sweat. His motto: If you want something, work for it! 他飞越的都是母亲故事里描述的地方。无论他飞向何方�他都怀着母爱所赐予他的自 由精神�用敏锐的目光观察入微。可他的父亲却不是个梦想家。伯特·斯通是个彻头彻尾的 现实主义者。他信奉的是努力与苦干。他的格言是�要想有所收获�就得努力工作� 5 From the age of 14, Michael did just that. He began a very careful training program. He worked out every other day with weightlifting, with some kind of running work on alternate days. The program was carefully monitored by Michael's coach, trainer and father. Michael's dedication, determination and discipline was a coach's dream. Besides being an honor student and only child, Michael Stone continued to help his parents with their farm chores. Mildred Stone, Michael's mother, wished he could relax a bit more and be that "free dreaming" little boy. On one occasion she attempted to talk to him and his father about this, but his dad quickly interrupted, smiled and said, "You want something, work for it!" 从 14岁起�迈克尔就是这么做的。他开始按 非常周密的计划训练。他每隔一天进行举重训练�其它的日子做些跑步训练。训练计划由迈 克尔的教练、训练员兼父亲严加督导。迈克尔的投入、执着、自律正是每一个教练所梦寐以 求的。迈克尔在学校是位优秀生�在家是个独生子�但他仍帮助父母在自家的农场上干些杂 活。迈克尔的母亲米尔德里德·斯通希望他能更放松些�还是做那个“自由幻想”的小男孩。 有一次�她试图跟他及其父亲好好谈一下�可当父亲的马上就打断了她�笑着说�“要想有 所收获�就得努力工作�” 6 All of Michael's vaults today seemed to be the reward for his hard work. If Michael Stone was surprised, excited or vain about clearing the bar at 17 feet, you couldn't tell. As soon as he landed on the inflated landing mat, and with the crowd on its feet, Michael immediately began preparing for his next attempt at flight. He seemed unaware of the fact that he had just beaten his personal best by three inches and that he was one of the final two competitors in the pole-vaulting event at the National Junior Olympics. 迈克尔今天跃过的所有高度显然都是对他刻苦努力的回报。迈克尔·斯通在成功跃过 17 英尺的横杆时是感到惊讶、激动还是得意�人们无从知晓。迈克尔身体刚刚落在充气垫 上�观众还没坐下�他马上就开始准备下一次飞跃。他似乎并未意识到自己刚刚把个人最好 成绩提高了 3英寸�已经是全国少年奥林匹克运动会撑竿跳高项目最后两名决赛者之一。 7 When Michael cleared the bar at 17 feet 2 inches and 17 feet 4 inches, again he showed no emotion. As he lay on his back and heard the crowd groan, he knew the other vaulter had missed his final jump. He knew it was time for his final jump. Since the other vaulter had fewer misses, Michael needed to clear this vault to win. A miss would get him second place. Nothing to be ashamed of, but Michael would not allow himself the thought of not winning first place. 当迈克尔成功跃过 17英尺 2英寸和 17英尺 4英寸高度的横杆时�他仍没有流露出丝 毫感情。他仰面躺着�听到观众在叹息�他知道另一位撑竿跳运动员最后一跳没有成功。他 知道自己最后一跳的时刻到了。由于那位运动员失败次数较少�迈克尔这一跳只有成功才能 获胜。这一次跳不过就会使自己落到第二名。那也丝毫无愧�但迈克尔决不让自己产生哪怕 一丝与冠军无缘的念头。 8 He rolled over and did his routine of three finger-tipped push-ups. He found his pole, stood and stepped on the runway that led to the most challenging event of his 17-year-old life. 他翻了个身�照例指尖撑地做了三下俯卧撑。他找着了撑竿�站起身�踏上那引向其 17年生命中最具挑战性的一跃的跑道。 9 The runway felt different this time. It startled him for a brief moment. Then it all hit him like a wet bale of hay. The bar was set at nine inches higher than his personal best. That's only one inch off the National record, he thought. The intensity of the moment filled his mind with anxiety. He began shaking the tension. It wasn't working. He became more tense. Why was this happening to him now, he thought. He began to get nervous. Afraid would be a more accurate description. What was he going to do? He had never experienced these feelings. Then out of nowhere, and from the deepest depths of his soul, he pictured his mother. Why now? What was his mother doing in his thoughts at a time like this? It was simple. His mother always used to tell him when you felt tense, anxious or even scared, take deep breaths. 这一回�那跑道显得有些异样。刹那间�他感到一阵惊吓。一种惶惑不安的感觉向他 袭来。横杆升在高出他个人最高纪录 9英寸的高度。他想�这一高度与全国纪录只差 1英寸 了。这一刻紧张异常�他感到焦虑不安。他想摆脱紧张情绪。没有用。他更紧张了。在这种 时刻怎么会这样呢�他暗暗思忖着。他有点胆怯起来。说是恐惧也许更为恰当。怎么办�他 以前从来不曾有过这种感觉。这时�不知不觉地�在内心最深处�出现了他母亲的身影。为 什么是在这一刻�记忆中�母亲在这种时刻会怎样做呢�很简单。母亲过去总跟他说�当你 觉得紧张、焦虑、甚至害怕的时候�就深深地吸气。 10 So he did. Along with shaking the tension from his legs, he gently laid his pole at his feet. He began to stretch out his arms and upper body. The light breeze that was once there was now gone. He carefully picked up his pole. He felt his heart pounding. He was sure the crowd did, too. The silence was deafening. When he heard the singing of some distant birds in flight, he knew it was his time to fly. 于是他深深吸了一口气。在摆脱腿部肌肉紧张的同时�他轻轻地把撑竿放在脚边。他 开始舒展双臂和上身。刚才飘过一阵轻风�此刻消失了。他小心翼翼地拿起撑竿�只觉得心 怦怦在跳。他相信观众们的心也在怦怦跳动。场上鸦雀无声�令人透不过气来。当他听见远 处飞鸟啼鸣时�他知道�自己飞身起跃的时刻到了。 11 As he began sprinting down the runway, something felt wonderfully different, yet familiar. The surface below him felt like the country road he used to dream about. Visions of the golden wheat fields seemed to fill his thoughts. When he took a deep breath, it happened. He began to fly. His take-off was effortless. Michael Stone was now flying, just like in his childhood dreams. Only this time he knew he wasn't dreaming. This was real. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. The air around him was the purest and freshest he had ever sensed. Michael was soaring like an eagle. 他沿着跑道起跑冲刺�那感觉奇特无比�妙不可言�而又似曾相识。脚下的地面就好 似过去常常梦见的乡间大路。金色麦田的景象映现在他的脑海中。他深深吸了一口气�于是 奇迹发生了。他飞起来了。他的起跳轻松自如。迈克尔·斯通此刻就像儿时梦境中的那般在 飞行。不过这一次他知道自己不是在做梦。这一次他真的在飞。周围一切都似乎在缓缓移动。 他感到周围空气从未像这样纯净清新。如同一头雄鹰�迈克尔在翱翔。 12 It was either the eruption of the people in the stands or the thump of his landing that brought Michael back to earth. On his back with that wonderful hot sun on his face, he knew he could only see in his mind's eye the smile on his mother's face. He knew his dad was probably smiling too, even laughing. What he didn't know was that his dad was hugging his wife and crying. That's right: Bert "If You Want It, Work For It" Stone was crying like a baby in his wife's arms. He was crying harder than Mildred had ever seen before. She also knew he was crying the greatest tears of all: tears of pride. Michael was immediately surrounded by people hugging and congratulating him on the greatest accomplishment of his life. He later went on that day to clear 17 feet 6? inches: a National and International Junior Olympics record. 或许是看台上人们爆发出的欢呼声�或许是他着地时嘭的一声响使迈克尔回到现实之 中。他仰面躺着�明媚的骄阳映照着他的脸。他知道自己只能想象母亲的笑靥�他知道爸爸 或许也在微笑�甚或欢声大笑。他不知道的是�他爸爸正与妻子相拥而泣。没错�这位“要 想有所收获�就得努力工作”的伯特·斯通在妻子怀里孩子似地泪流满面。米尔德里德从没 见他那样哭过。她也知道�他流淌的是最难得的泪水�骄傲的泪水。迈克尔一下子被围住了� 人们拥抱他�祝贺他所取得的一生中最辉煌的成就。那天稍后�他接着越过了 17英尺 6英 寸半�创下了全国和世界少年奥林匹克撑杆跳高的新纪录。 13 With all the media attention and sponsorship possibilities, Michael's life would never be the same again. It wasn't just because he won the National Junior Olympics and set a new world record. And it wasn't because he had just increased his personal best by 9? inches. It was simply because Michael Stone is blind. 随着媒体的关注以及可能随之而来的各种赞助�迈克尔的生活肯定会不同以往。这不 仅仅是因为他获得了全国少年奥林匹克冠军并刷新了一项世界纪录,也不是因为他将自己的 最高纪录提高了 9英寸半,而是因为迈克尔·斯通是个盲人。 A chance encounter can sometimes make all the difference to whether hardship brings out the best in us or the worst. 磨难到底是能让我们显出内在的美德还是暴露出自身的缺陷�有时一次偶然的遭遇可 能会起到决定性的作用。 Fourteen Steps Hal Manwaring 1 They say a cat has nine lives, and I am inclined to think that possible since I am now living my third life and I'm not even a cat. 十四级台阶 哈尔·马纳林 人们都说猫有九条命�我也觉得这完全可能�因为我现在经历的是自己的第三次人生� 而我还不是猫呢。 2 My first life began on a clear, cold day in November, 1904, when I arrived as the sixth of eight children of a farming family. My father died when I was 15, and we had a hard struggle to make a living. I had to wait until the early years of my marriage before I really began to enjoy my first life. But then I was very happy, in excellent health, and quite a good athlete. My wife and I became the parents of two lovely girls. I had a good job in San Jose and a beautiful home in San Carlos. 我的第一次人生始于 1904年 11月一个晴朗、寒冷的日子�我来到世上�在一户农家 8个孩子中排行第 6。我 15岁那年父亲去世�为了生存�我们苦苦挣扎。我不得不等到成家 后才真正开始享受自己的第一次人生。那时我非常幸福�体格健壮�还是个运动好手。我和 妻子生有两个可爱的女孩。我在圣何塞有一份很好的工作�在圣卡洛斯有个温馨的家。 3 Life was a pleasant dream. 那时的生活就像是一场美梦。 4 Then the dream ended and became one of those horrible nightmares that cause you to wake in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. I began to suffer from a slowly progressive disease of the motor nerves, affecting first my right arm and leg, and then my other side. 接着美梦终止�变成了一场可怕的噩梦�令你夜半惊醒�出一身冷汗。我得了一种逐 渐恶化的进行性运动神经元病�一开始影响我的右臂右腿�后来又侵入身体的另一侧。 5 Thus began my second life.... 就这样我的第二次人生开始了„„ 6 In spite of my disease I still drove to and from work each day, with the aid of special equipment installed in my car. And I managed to keep healthy and optimistic, to a degree, because of 14 steps. 尽管疾病缠身�我还是借助车上安装的特殊设备每天开车上下班。在某种程度上�我 是由于 14级台阶才得以保持健康的心态与乐观的情绪的。 7 Crazy? Not at all. 无稽之谈�一点也不。 8 Our home was a split-level affair with 14 steps leading up from the garage to the kitchen door. Those steps were my yardstick, my challenge to continue living. (1) I felt that if the day arrived when I was unable to lift one foot up one step and then drag the other painfully after it -- repeating the process 14 times until, utterly spent, I would be through -- I could then admit defeat and lie down and die. 我们家住的是错层式的房子�从汽车间通往厨房门有 14级台阶。这些台阶是我衡量 自己的尺度�是我活下去的一个挑战。我觉得如果有一天我无法再抬起一只脚迈上一个台阶� 再痛苦地拖起另一只脚——将这个过程重复 14遍�直到精疲力竭爬上去——到那时我就会 服输并躺下死去。 9 So I kept on working, kept on climbing those steps. And time passed. The girls went to college and were happily married, and my wife and I were alone in our beautiful home with the 14 steps. 因此我坚持上班�坚持爬那些台阶。时光流逝。两个女儿上了大学�建立了美满的家 庭�只剩我和妻子守在我们那个有着 14级台阶的温馨的家里。 10 You might think that here walked a man of courage and strength. Not so. Here hobbled a bitterly disillusioned cripple, a man who held on to his sanity and his wife and his home and his job because of 14 miserable steps leading up to the back door from his garage. 你或许会以为�这里生活着一个勇敢坚强的男子汉。事实并非如此。这里一瘸一拐走 着的是一个幻想破灭、内心痛苦的跛子�一个靠着从汽车间通往后门的那 14级可怜的台阶 才没有失去理智、没有丢下妻室并坚持工作的男人。 11 As I became older, I became more disillusioned and frustrated. I'm sure that my wife and friends had some unhappy times when I chose to talk about my philosophy of life. (2) I believed that in this whole world I alone had been chosen to suffer. I had carried my cross now for nine years and probably would bear it for as long as I could climb those 14 steps. 随着年岁的增长�我变得日益失望和沮丧。我想�当我执意谈论自己的人生哲学时� 我的妻子和朋友一定都很难受。我认为在这整个世界里�就我一个人被选中去受苦受难。我 已经背了 9年的十字架�只要我还能爬上那 14级台阶�很可能我就要一路背负下去。 12 Then on a dark night in August, 1971, I began my third life. It was raining when I started home that night, beating down hard on the car as I drove slowly down one of the less-traveled roads. Suddenly the steering wheel jumped in my hands as one of the tires burst with a bang. I fought the car to a stop and sat there as the terrible nature of the situation swept over me. It was impossible for me to change that tire! Utterly impossible! 后来�1971 年 8 月一个漆黑的夜晚�我开始了自己的第三次人生。那天夜里我回家 时天正在下雨�我慢慢地开着车走在一条车辆稀少的路上�雨水哗哗拍打着车身。突然�方 向盘在我手里猛地一跳�一只车胎啪地一声爆了。我奋力停下车�呆坐着�心想�这下子麻 烦可大了。我没法自己去换轮胎�根本不可能� 13 A thought that a passing motorist might stop was dismissed at once. Why should anyone? I knew I wouldn't! Then I remembered that a short distance up a little side road was a house. I started the engine and drove slowly along until I came to the house. Lighted windows welcomed me as I pulled into the driveway and honked the horn. 开车路过的人会停下帮忙吗�我马上就把这个念头打消了。为什么别人要停下帮忙 呢�我知道我自己就不会。这时我想起前面不远处的一条小路上有幢房子。我发动了引擎� 慢慢地开到了那幢房子跟前。接着我把车开上了宅旁车道�按了按喇叭�迎接我的是窗口亮 起的灯光。 14 The door opened and a little girl stood there, peering at me. I rolled down the window and called out that I had a flat and needed someone to change it for me because I had a crutch and couldn't do it myself. 门开了�一个小女孩站在那儿朝我张望。我摇下车窗�大声说道�我有个轮胎爆了� 需要有人帮忙替我换一下�因为我要靠拐杖走路�自己干不了。 15 She went into the house and a moment later came out bundled in raincoat and hat, followed by a man who called a cheerful greeting. 她回到屋内�稍后裹着雨衣、戴着帽子又出来了�身后跟着个男的�愉快地跟我打招 呼。 16 I sat there comfortable and dry, and felt a bit sorry for the man and the little girl working so hard in the storm. Well, I would pay them for it. The rain seemed to be easing a bit now, and I rolled down the window to watch. It seemed to me that they were awfully slow and I was beginning to become impatient. I heard the little girl's voice from the back of the car. "Here's the jack-handle, Grandpa." She was answered by the murmur of the man's lower voice and the slow tilting of the car as it was jacked up. 我坐在车里�舒舒服服�淋不着一滴雨�而那男人和小女孩却在暴雨里干得那么辛苦� 我觉得有点过意不去。得了�我会酬谢他们的。这时�雨似乎小了一些�我摇下车窗看着。 我只觉得两人动作慢得出奇�我都开始有点不耐烦了。我听到车后传来小女孩的声音。“千 斤顶的柄�爷爷�拿好了。”那人轻轻地应了一声�车微微倾斜着被顶了起来。 17 There followed a long interval of noises and low conversation from the back of the car, but finally it was done. I felt the car bump as the jack was removed, and I heard the slam of the trunk lid, and then they were standing at my car window. 接着有好一会儿�我听到车后的响声和轻轻的说话声�最后总算换好了。我感觉到千 斤顶移开时车颠了一下�又听到后车厢盖啪地关上�接着两人就站在了我的车窗前。 18 He was an old man, bent and slightly built. The little girl was about eight or ten, I judged, with a merry face and a wide smile as she looked up at me. 那是位老人�身材瘦小�背有些弯。我看小女孩大约 8岁或 10岁�神情愉快�她抬 头望着我�满脸的笑容。 19 He said, "This is a bad night for car trouble, but you're all set now." 他说�“这种天气又是夜里�车出了问题可真够呛�不过现在都给你修好了。” 20 "Thanks," I said, "thanks. How much do I owe you?" “多谢了�”我说�“多谢。我该付你们多少呢�” 21 He shook his head. "Nothing. Cynthia told me you were on crutches. Glad to be of help. I know you'd do the same for me. There's no charge, friend." 他摇摇头。“什么也不要付。辛西娅跟我说你靠拐杖走路。很高兴能帮上忙。我知道 如果是我遇到这种情况你也会这样帮我的。不要钱�朋友。” 22 I held out a five-dollar bill. "No! I like to pay my way." 我拿出一张 5美元的钞票。“那不行�我不喜欢欠人家的情。” 23 He made no effort to take it and the little girl stepped closer to the window and said quietly, "Grandpa can't see it." 他没伸手来接�小女孩凑近车窗�轻声说道�“爷爷看不见。” 24 (3) In the next few frozen seconds the shame and horror of that moment penetrated, and I was sick with an intensity I had never felt before. A blind man and a child! Feeling with cold, wet fingers for bolts and tools in the dark -- a darkness that for him would probably never end until death. 刹那间�时间凝固了�我感到万分的羞愧和震惊。我从来没有这么难受过。一个盲人 和一个孩子�用又冷又湿的双手在黑暗中摸着那些螺栓和工具干活——对他来说�这黑暗很 可能永远不能驱散�直至他死亡。 25 They changed a tire for me -- changed it in the rain and wind, with me sitting in comfort in the car with my crutch. I don't remember how long I sat there after they said good night and left me, but it was long enough for me to search deep within myself and find some disturbing traits. 他俩替我换了一个轮胎——在风雨交加之中换着轮胎�而我则舒舒服服地倚着拐杖坐 在车里。我不记得他俩道别走后我在那儿坐了多久�但时间之长�足以让我内心深刻反省� 发现令自己深感不安的品行。 26 (4) I realized that I was filled to overflowing with self-pity, selfishness, and indifference to the needs of others. 我意识到我的自艾自怜、自私�以及对他人需求的冷漠�已到了无可复加的地步。 27 I sat there and said a prayer. I prayed for strength, for a greater understanding, for keener awareness of my shortcomings. 我坐在那里祷告。我祈求力量�祈求更多的理解�祈求对自己的缺点有更加深刻的认 识。 28 I prayed for blessings upon the blind man and his granddaughter. Finally I drove away, shaken in mind, humbled in spirit. 我祈祷上帝保佑那位盲人及其孙女。最后我开车离去�心灵上震撼巨大�精神上羞愧 难当。 29 I am trying now not only to climb 14 steps each day, but in my small way to help others. Someday, perhaps, I'll have the chance to help a blind man in equal difficulties -- someone as blind as I had been. 现在我不仅每天努力去爬那 14级台阶�而且尽我微薄之力去帮助他人。或许有一天� 我能有机会去帮助一个同样处于困境中的盲人——一个跟我过去一样瞎的盲人。 Unit6 Beginning Anew Muriel L. Whetstone 1 I dreaded Sundays. I began living for the weekend at 8:30 Monday mornings. I felt bitter towards my boss. (1) The thought of answering other people's telephones, typing other people's work and watching other people take credit for my ideas and opinions would throw me into week-long bouts of depression. I hated my job. I hated my life. I hated myself for not having the courage to change either one. 重新开始 穆丽尔·L·韦特斯通 我曾经惧怕星期天。那时我从星期一上午八点半开始就盼着周末。 我痛恨我的老板。 每当我想起给别人回电话、打字�看到我出的主意和见解却让别人去受益时�常常整个星期 都会闷闷不乐。我痛恨我的工作。我痛恨我的生活。我痛恨自己既没有勇气改换工作�也没 有勇气改变我的生活。 2 When most of my friends were planning college schedules and partying into the night, I was changing dirty diapers and walking the floor with a crying baby. At 19 years old I was the mother of two, and a pitifully young wife. Everything I did for years, every decision I made, was done with my family in mind. 当我的大多数的朋友都在计划上大学�欢聚至深更半夜时�我却在换脏尿布�抱着一 个哭闹的孩子在屋里走来走去。才 19岁�我就已经是两个孩子的母亲�一个可怜的小媳妇。 多年来不管我做什么或是作出什么决定�我总得考虑我的这个家。 3 And then I turned 29, and 30 was only a breath away. (2) How long could I live like this? Certainly not until I retired. I began to feel that if I didn't do something soon, something quickly, I would die of unhappiness. I decided to follow my childhood dream: I was going to get my undergraduate degree and become a full-time journalist. 一晃我就 29岁了�离 30岁仅一步之遥。这样的生活我能维持多久�肯定不会到我退 休之时。我开始觉得�如果我不早日有所作为�马上行动的话�我就会苦闷而死。我决定去 追寻儿时的梦想�我要拿到大学本科学位�做一个全职的记者。 4 I quit my job on one of my good days, a Friday. Almost at once I was filled with anxiety. What would I tell my husband and what would be his reaction? How would we pay our bills? I must be crazy, I thought. I was too old to begin again. I prayed, Lord, what have I done? I wondered if I was experiencing some sort of early mid-life crisis. Perhaps if I crawled back to my boss on my hands and knees and pleaded temporary madness, he'd give me my job back. I spent that entire weekend in the eye of an emotional storm. 我在我的一个美好的日子�一个星期五�辞去了工作。我的心中几乎马上充满了焦虑。 我怎么跟丈夫说呢�他会怎么反应呢�我们如何付家里那些账单呢�我真是疯了�我心想。 我已经不再年轻�没法从头开始了。我祈祷着�天哪�我都做了些什么呀�我怀疑自己是在 经历某种早期的中年生活危机。如果我爬回去跪倒在老板跟前�恳求他原谅我一时神志错乱� 或许他会让我复职。整个周末我都在忐忑不安中度过。 5 But while I was feeling uneasy about the bridge I'd just crossed, I also began to feel a renewed sense of hopefulness about the possibilities on the other side. I had had a long love affair with the written word that was separate and apart from any of my roles. What we shared was personal: It belonged to me and would always be mine despite anything going on outside of me. I wasn't quite sure what my journey would involve, but I was positive who would be at the other end.(3) I steeled myself to travel the road that would lead me to a better understanding of who I was and of what I wanted out of life. I shared my mixed feelings with my husband. He was as worried as I was, but he was also warmly supportive. And so I stepped off the bridge and onto the path, nervous but determined. I soon discovered that I loved to learn and that my mind soaked up knowledge at every opportunity. My decision at those times felt right. But sometimes, after realizing what was expected of me, I would be weighed down by self-doubt and uncertainty. 然而�就在我对刚刚跨越人生之桥的举动深感不安之际�我同时也开始感到希望的复萌�觉 得彼岸有种种机会在等着我。长久以来�我对与自己生活中的种种角色毫不相干的文字情有 独钟。我与文字之间有一种默契�它属于我自己�并将永远是我的�无论外面的世界发生什 么事情。我并不完全明白我的人生旅途中将要发生什么�但我对到达旅途终点之后的自己怀 有信心。我坚定地走下去�这条路将使我更好地了解自己�更好地认清自己生活的目的。我 向丈夫坦陈自己的复杂心绪。他和我一样担忧�但同时也热情支持我。于是我走下桥来�踏 上征途�紧张但却坚定。我很快发现�我热爱学习�利用一切机会汲取知识。这时候我会觉 得我的决定做对了。但有时�每当意识到别人对自己的期待时�我又会由于自我怀疑和对未 来捉摸不定而感到心情沉重。 6 I was older than a few of my instructors and nearly all of my classmates. I felt like an outsider practically that entire first semester. Finally I met a group of older female students who were, like me, making a fresh start. We began to share our experiences of returning to school, dealing with husbands, lovers, children and bills that had to be paid. Over time we have become sisters, supporting ourselves by encouraging and supporting one another. 我比个别教师年龄还大�几乎比所有的同班同学都大。差不多整整第一学期�我觉得 自己完全是个外人。终于我遇到了一些大龄女生�她们和我一样都在重新开始自己的生活。 我们开始交流自己重返校园的体验�谈论怎么与丈夫、男友相处�怎么带孩子�怎么应付各 种要付的账单等等。随着时间的推移�我们成了姐妹�通过相互鼓励�相互支持使自己获得 勇气和信心。 7 I eventually had to seek employment to help with expenses. In fact, I've had more jobs in the couple of years than I care to count. Many times I've had to stir a pot with one hand while holding a book with the other. More than a few times I've nearly broken under the pressure. I've shed tears on the bad days, but smiles are plentiful on the good ones. 我终于不得不找工作以贴补家用。事实上�在那两年里�我干过许许多多工作�连自 己也懒得记数了。我常常不得不一手炒菜�一手拿着书看。好多次过重的负担几乎要把我压 垮。在不顺利的日子里我哭泣流泪�但在顺利的日子里我也有许许多多欢笑。 8 However, I would not take back one tear or change one thing about the last couple of years. It hasn't been a snap: From the beginning I knew it would not be. (4) And it's not so much the results of the action that have reshaped me (although that's important, too) as it is the realization that I have within myself what it takes to do what I set out to do. I feel more in control these days and less like a flag on a breezy day, blowing this way or that depending on the wind. 然而�我不因流泪而后悔�也不想改变过去几年中发生的一切。这几年过得不容易� 从一开始我就知道不容易。此外�给我带来新的生活的�与其说是自己努力取得的结果 (虽 然这也很重要)�不如说是由于意识到自己具有潜在的能力可以做自己想做的事。如今我感 到自己更能主宰自己的命运�不再如风中的旗帜�随风飘荡。 9 I no longer dread Sundays, and Wednesdays are just as pleasant as Fridays. Now I get credit for my ideas, and my opinions are sought after. I love my new career. I love my life again. And I can clearly see a new woman waiting patiently just a little way down the road, waiting for me to reach her. 我不再惧怕星期天�星期三也如星期五一样愉快。现在我出了主意�功劳就是我的� 我讲的意见�别人认真聆听。我热爱自己的新工作。我重新热爱自己的生活。我清楚地看到� 在不远的前方�一个全新的女人正在耐心地等着我去与她拥抱。 Unit7 Some languages resist the introduction of new words. Others, like English, seem to welcome them. Robert MacNeil looks at the history of English and comes to the conclusion that its tolerance for change represents deeply rooted ideas of freedom. 有些语言拒绝引入新词。另一些语言�如英语�则似乎欢迎新词的引入。罗伯特·麦 克尼尔回顾英语的历史�得出结论说�英语对变化的包容性体现了根深蒂固的自由思想。 The Glorious Messiness of English Robert MacNeil 1 The story of our English language is typically one of massive stealing from other languages. That is why English today has an estimated vocabulary of over one million words, while other major languages have far fewer. 英语中绚丽多彩的杂乱无章现象 罗伯特·麦克尼尔 我们的英语的历史是典型的大量窃取其它语言的历史。正因为如此�今日英语的词汇 量据估计超过一百万�而其它主要语言的词汇量都要小得多。 2 French, for example, has only about 75,000 words, and that includes English expressions like snack bar and hit parade. The French, however, do not like borrowing foreign words because they think it corrupts their language. The government tries to ban words from English and declares that Walkman is not desirable; so they invent a word, balladeur, which French kids are supposed to say instead -- but they don't. 例如�法语只有约 75,000个单词�其中还包括像 snack bar�快餐店�和 hit parade�流 行唱片目录�这样的英语词汇。但法国人不喜欢借用外来词�因为他们认为这样会损害法语 的纯洁性。法国政府试图逐出英语词汇�宣称 Walkman�随身听�一词有伤大雅�因此他 们造了个新词 balladeur让法国儿童用——可他们就是不用。 3 Walkman is fascinating because it isn't even English. Strictly speaking, it was invented by the Japanese manufacturers who put two simple English words together to name their product. That doesn't bother us, but it does bother the French. Such is the glorious messiness of English. That happy tolerance, that willingness to accept words from anywhere, explains the richness of English and why it has become, to a very real extent, the first truly global language. Walkman 一词非常耐人寻味�因为这个词连英语也不是。严格地说�该词是由日本 制造商发明的�他们把两个简单的英语单词拼在一起来命名他们的产品。这事儿我们不介意� 法国人却耿耿于怀。由此可见英语中绚丽多彩的杂乱无章现象。这种乐意包容的精神�这种 不管源自何方来者不拒的精神�恰好解释了英语为什么会这么丰富�解释了英语缘何在很大 程度上第一个成了真正的国际语言。 4 How did the language of a small island off the coast of Europe become the language of the planet -- more widely spoken and written than any other has ever been? The history of English is present in the first words a child learns about identity (I, me, you); possession (mine, yours); the body (eye, nose, mouth); size (tall, short); and necessities (food, water). These words all come from Old English or Anglo-Saxon English, the core of our language. Usually short and direct, these are words we still use today for the things that really matter to us. 欧洲沿海一个弹丸小岛的语言何以会成为地球上的通用语言�比历史上任何一种其他 语言都更为广泛地被口头和书面使用�英语的历史体现在孩子最先学会用来表示身份�I, me, you�、所属关系�mine, yours�、身体部位�eye, nose, mouth�、大小高矮�tall, short�� 以及生活必需品�food, water�的词汇当中。这些词都来自英语的核心部分古英语或盎格鲁 �萨克逊英语。这些词通常简短明了�我们今天仍然用这些词来表示对我们真正至关重要的 事物。 5 Great speakers often use Old English to arouse our emotions. For example, during World War II, Winston Churchill made this speech, stirring the courage of his people against Hitler's armies positioned to cross the English Channel: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender." 伟大的演说家常常用古英语来激发我们的情感。例如�在二战 期间�温斯顿·丘吉尔作了如下的演讲来激励国民的勇气以抵抗屯兵英吉利海峡准备渡海作 战的希特勒的军队�“我们要战斗在海滩上�我们要战斗在着陆场上�我们要战斗在田野和 街巷�我们要战斗在群山中。我们决不投降。” 6 Virtually every one of those words came from Old English, except the last -- surrender, which came from Norman French. Churchill could have said, "We shall never give in," but it is one of the lovely -- and powerful -- opportunities of English that a writer can mix, for effect, different words from different backgrounds. Yet there is something direct to the heart that speaks to us from the earliest words in our language. 这段文字中几乎每个词都来自古英语�只有最后一个词——surrender 是个例外�来 自诺曼法语。丘吉尔原本可以说�“We shall never give in,”但这正是英语迷人之处和活力所 在�作家为了加强效果可以糅合来自不同背景的不同词汇。而演说中使用古英语词汇具有直 接拨动心弦的效果。 7 When Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 B.C., English did not exist. The Celts, who inhabited the land, spoke languages that survive today mainly as Welsh. Where those languages came from is still a mystery, but there is a theory. 尤利乌斯·凯撒在公元前 55年入侵不列颠时�英语尚不存在。当时不列颠的居民凯 尔特人使用的那些语言流传下来主要成了威尔士语。这些语言的起源至今仍是个不解之谜� 但有一种理论试图解开这个谜。 8 Two centuries ago an English judge in India noticed that several words in Sanskrit closely resembled some words in Greek and Latin. A systematic study revealed that many modern languages descended from a common parent language, lost to us because nothing was written down. 两个世纪前�在印度当法官的一位英国人注意到�梵文中有一些词与希腊语、拉丁语 中的一些词极为相似。系统的研究显示�许多现代语言起源于一个共同的母语�但由于没有 文字记载�该母语已经失传。 9 Identifying similar words, linguists have come up with what they call an Indo-European parent language, spoken until 3500 to 2000 B.C. These people had common words for snow, bee and wolf but no word for sea. So some scholars assume they lived somewhere in north-central Europe, where it was cold. Traveling east, some established the languages of India and Pakistan, and others drifted west toward the gentler climates of Europe. Some who made the earliest move westward became known as the Celts, whom Caesar's armies found in Britain. 语言学家找出了相似的词�提出这些语言的源头是他们称之为印欧母语的语言�这种 语言使用于公元前 3500年至公元前 2000年。这些人使用同样的词表达“雪”、“蜜蜂”和“狼”� 但没有表示“海”的词。因此有些学者认为�他们生活在寒冷的中北欧某个地区。一些人向 东迁徙形成了印度和巴基斯坦的各种语言�有些人则向西漂泊�来到欧洲气候较为温暖的地 区。最早西移的一些人后来被称作凯尔特人�亦即凯撒的军队在不列颠发现的民族。 10 New words came with the Germanic tribes -- the Angles, the Saxons, etc. -- that slipped across the North Sea to settle in Britain in the 5th century. Together they formed what we call Anglo-Saxon society. 新的词汇随日尔曼部落——盎格鲁、萨克逊等部落——而来�他们在 5世纪的时候越 过北海定居在不列颠。他们共同形成了我们称之为盎格鲁�萨克逊的社会。 11 The Anglo-Saxons passed on to us their farming vocabulary, including sheep, ox, earth, wood, field and work. They must have also enjoyed themselves because they gave us the word laughter. 盎格鲁�萨克逊人将他们的农耕词汇留传给我们�包括 sheep, ox, earth, wood, field 和 work等。他们的日子一定过得很开心�因为他们留传给我们 laughter一词。 12 The next big influence on English was Christianity. It enriched the Anglo-Saxon vocabulary with some 400 to 500 words from Greek and Latin, including angel, disciple and martyr. 下一个对英语产生重大影响的是基督教。基督教以 400至 500个希腊语、拉丁语词汇 丰富了盎格鲁�萨克逊词汇�如 angel�天使�, disciple�门徒� 和 martyr�殉难者�等。 13 Then into this relatively peaceful land came the Vikings from Scandinavia. They also brought to English many words that begin with sk, like sky and skirt. But Old Norse and English both survived, and so you can rear a child (English) or raise a child (Norse). Other such pairs survive: wish and want, craft and skill, hide and skin. Each such addition gave English more richness, more variety. 接着北欧海盗从斯堪的纳维亚来到了这块相对和平的土地。他们也给英语带来了许多 以 sk开头的词汇�如 sky 和 skirt。但古斯堪的纳维亚语和英语同时留传下来�因此你可以 说 rear a child�英语��也可以说 raise a child�斯堪的纳维亚语�。其他留传下来的这类同义 词组有�wish 和 want�craft 和 skill�hide 和 skin。每一个类似的词的增添都使英语更加 丰富�更加多样化。 14 Another flood of new vocabulary occurred in 1066, when the Normans conquered England. The country now had three languages: French for the nobles, Latin for the churches and English for the common people. With three languages competing, there were sometimes different terms for the same thing. For example, Anglo-Saxons had the word kingly, but after the Normans, royal and sovereign entered the language as alternatives. The extraordinary thing was that French did not replace English. Over three centuries English gradually swallowed French, and by the end of the 15th century what had developed was a modified, greatly enriched language -- Middle English -- with about 10,000 "borrowed" French words. 另一次新词的大量涌入发生在 1066年�诺曼人征服英国的时候。这时英国三种语言 并用�贵族使用法语�教会使用拉丁语�平民使用英语。由于三种语言相互竞争�有时同一 事物就出现了不同的名称。例如�盎格鲁�萨克逊语有 kingly一词�但诺曼人入侵后�royal 和 sovereign作为替代词进入了英语。不同寻常的是�法语没有取代英语。三个多世纪后� 英语逐渐吞并了法语�到 15世纪末�发展成为一种经过改进�大大丰富了的拥有一万多个 “借来”的法语词汇的语言——中古英语。 15 Around 1476 William Caxton set up a printing press in England and started a communications revolution. Printing brought into English the wealth of new thinking that sprang from the European Renaissance. Translations of Greek and Roman classics were poured onto the printed page, and with them thousands of Latin words like capsule and habitual, and Greek words like catastrophe and thermometer. Today we still borrow from Latin and Greek to name new inventions, like video, television and cyberspace. 大约在 1476年�威廉·卡克斯顿在英国制造了一台印刷机�由此掀起了一场信息传 播技术的革命。印刷术把欧洲文艺复兴运动中涌现的大量新思想传入英国。希腊罗马经典著 作的译文纷纷印成书册�成千上万的拉丁词�如 capsule �密封小容器�航天舱� 和 habitual �惯常的��希腊词�如 catastrophe �大灾难� 和 thermometer�温度计�等也随之涌入。 今天我们仍借用拉丁、希腊语命名新的发明创造�如 video, television 和 cyberspace�虚拟 空间�等。 16 As settlers landed in North America and established the United States, English found itself with two sources -- American and British. Scholars in Britain worried that the language was out of control, and some wanted to set up an academy to decide which words were proper and which were not. Fortunately their idea has never been put into practice. 随着移民在北美登陆并建立美国�英语出现了两个源头——美式英语和英式英语。英 国的学者担心英语会失控�有人想成立一个有权威的学会�决定哪些词汇合适�哪些词汇不 合适。幸运的是�他们的设想从未付诸实施。 17 That tolerance for change also represents deeply rooted ideas of freedom. Danish scholar Otto Jespersen wrote in 1905, "The English language would not have been what it is if the English had not been for centuries great respecters of the liberties of each individual and if everybody had not been free to strike out new paths for himself." 这种对变化的包容态度也体现了根深蒂固的自由精神。丹麦学者奥托·叶斯柏森在 1905年写道�“如果不是多少世纪以来英国人一向崇尚个人自由�如果不是人人都能自由地 为自己开拓新的道路�英语就不会成为今天的英语。” 18 I like that idea. Consider that the same cultural soil producing the English language also nourished the great principles of freedom and rights of man in the modern world. The first shoots sprang up in England, and they grew stronger in America. The English-speaking peoples have defeated all efforts to build fences around their language. 我喜欢这一观点。想想吧�孕育英语的文化土壤也同样为现今的世界培育了伟大的自 由精神及人权准则。最初的根芽在英国萌发�接着在美国生长壮大。英语国家的人民挫败了 种种意欲建立语言保护的企图。 19 Indeed, the English language is not the special preserve of grammarians, language police, teachers, writers or the intellectual elite. English is, and always has been, the tongue of the common man. 事实上�英语不是语法学家、语言卫道士、教师、作家或知识精英的特殊领地。英语 是�而且一向是�人民大众的语言。 Wondering whether all the time and effort spent learning English is worthwhile? Here are some good reasons why it is. 你怀疑费那么多时间和精力学英语是不是值得�本文列举充分理由说明完全值得。 The Role of English in the 21st Century Melvyn A. Hasman 1 The global spread of English over the last 40 years has been remarkable. (1)It is unparalleled in several ways: by the increasing number of users of the language; by its depth of penetration into societies; by its range of functions. 英语在 21世纪的作用 梅尔文·A·哈斯曼 在过去的 40多年间�英语在全球的传播引人瞩目。这一过程在几个方面都是前所未 有的�英语使用人数的增加�英语在不同社会渗透的深度�以及英语功用的广度。 2 Worldwide over 1.4 billion people live in countries where English has official status. One out of five of the world's population speaks some English. And at present one in five -- over one billion people -- are learning English. Over 70% of the world's scientists read English. About 85% of the world's mail is written is English. And 90% of all information in the world's electronic retrieval systems is stored in English. By 2010, the number of people who speak English as a second or foreign language will exceed the number of native speakers. This trend will certainly affect the language. 全世界有 14亿多人生活在英语享有官方地位的国家。世界人口的五分之一讲英语。 在目前就有五分之一的人——超过 10亿人——在学英语。全世界 70%以上的科学家阅读英 语。全世界约有 85%的邮件是用英语书写的。世界上各种电子检索系统 90%的信息用英语 储存。到 2010年�将英语作为第二语言或外语使用的人数将超过以英语为母语的人数。这 一趋势无疑会对英语产生影响。 3 English is used for more purposes than ever before. Vocabularies, grammatical forms, and ways of speaking and writing have emerged influenced by technological and scientific developments, economics and management, literature and entertainment. (2)What began some 1,500 years ago as a crude language, originally spoken by little known German tribes who invaded England, now covers the globe. 使用英语的目的比以往任何时候都多。英语的词汇�语法形式�以及说写方式演变深 受科技发展、经济状况�以及管理、文学、娱乐的影响。大约 1500年前�英语还只是那些 入侵英格兰的鲜为人知的日尔曼部落使用的一种粗俗的语言�如今它却遍及全球。 4 When Mexican pilots land their airplanes in France, they and the ground controllers use English. When German physicists want to alert the international scientific community to new discoveries, they first publish their findings in English. When Japanese executives conduct business with Scandinavian businessmen, they negotiate in English. When pop singers write their songs, they often use English. When demonstrators want to alert the world to their problems, they display signs in English. 墨西哥飞行员在法国降落飞机时�与地面控制人员用英语通话。德国物理学家要将新 发现通报国际科学界时�他们首先用英语发表他们的研究成果。日本经理与斯堪的纳维亚商 人做生意时�双方用英语谈判。流行歌手写歌时常常用英语。游行示威者要引起世界关注他 们的问题�就打着用英语书写的标语。 5 Three factors continue to contribute to this spread of English: English usage in science, technology and commerce; the ability to integrate vocabulary from other languages; and the acceptability of various English dialects. 有三个因素继续促进着英语的传播�英语在科 技、商务上的应用�英语融合其他语言词汇的能力�对各种不同的英语方言的认同。 6 In science, English replaced German after World War Ⅱ. (3)With this technical and scientific dominance came the beginning of overall dominance by the language, first in Europe and then globally. 在科学领域�英语在二战之后取代了德语。随着它在科技领域主导地位的确立�英语 先是在欧洲�继而在全球开始取得全面的主导地位。 7 Today, the information age has replaced the industrial age and has compressed time and distance. This is transforming world economies from industrial production to information-based goods and services. Ignoring geography and borders, the information revolution is redefining our world. In less than 20 years, information processing, once limited to the printed work, has given way to computers and the Internet. Computer-aided communication is closing the gap between spoken and written English. It encourages more informal conversational language and a tolerance for diversity and individual style. 今天�信息时代已经取代了工业时代�并缩短了时间和距离。这一情况正在改变世界 经济使其从工业生产转向以信息为基础的产品与服务。信息革命不再受地域与国界的限制� 正在重新界定我们的世界。在不到 20年的时间内�过去仅限于出版物的信息处理已经让位 于计算机和互联网。借助于计算机的通讯交际正在弥合英语口语与书面语之间的距离。它鼓 励人们使用更多非正式的会话语言�包容多样性和个人风格。 8 English, like many languages, uses a phonetic alphabet and fairly basic grammar. But most importantly, it has a large and extensive vocabulary, of which about 80% is foreign. It has borrowed and continues to borrow words from Spanish and French, Hebrew and Arabic, Hindi-Urdu and Bengali, Malay and Chinese, as well as languages from West Africa and Polynesia. This language characteristic makes it unique in history. 英语像许多语言一样使用语音字母以及比较基本的语法。但最重要的是�它拥有庞大 且覆盖面宽广的词汇�其中约有 80%是外来词。它从西班牙语和法语、希伯来语和阿拉伯 语、印地�乌尔都语和孟加拉语、马来语和汉语�以及西非和波利尼西亚等各种语言中曾经 借用过并继续借用各种词汇。这一特点使得它成为历史上独一无二的语言。 9 Finally, no English language central authority guards the standards of the language, therefore, many dialects have developed: American, British, Canadian, Indian, and Australian, to name a few. There is no standard pronunciation. But within this diversity is a unity of grammar and one set of core vocabulary. Thus, each country that speaks the language can introduce aspects of its own culture into the usage and vocabulary. 最后一点是�由于没有英语语言中央权威机构维护英语标准�因此形成了许多方言� 美国英语、英国英语、加拿大英语、印度英语和澳大利亚英语�就是众多的方言中的几种。 英语没有标准的发音。但在其多样性里存在一个统一的语法和一套核心词汇。这样�每一个 讲英语的国家都能将各自的文化融入英语的用法和词汇中。 10 However, the future is unpredictable. There has never been a language so widely spread or spoken by so many people as English. So, there are no examples to help us predict what happens to a language when it achieves genuine world status. 然而�英语的未来无从预测。从来没有一种语言像英语这样为这么多人如此广泛地传 播使用。因此�没有先例来帮助我们预测�当一种语言取得真正的国际性地位之后会发生什 么情况。 11 The world is in transition, and the English language will take new forms. The language and how it is used will change, reflecting new patterns of contact with other languages and the changing communication needs of people. 世界正处于变革之中�英语将会出现新的形式。英语及其使用将有所变化�将反映出 它与其他语言交往的新模式�以及变化中的人际交往需求。 12 English is ridding itself of its political and cultural associations as more people realize that English is not the property of only a few countries. Instead, it is a vehicle that is used globally. It belongs to whoever uses it for whatever purpose or need. 英语正在消除其自身的政治和文化的含义�因为越来越多的人认识到�英语不是少数 几个国家的财产。相反�它是一种全球通用的媒介。谁使用它�它就属于谁�不管用于何种 目的或需要。 13 There is no reason to believe that any one other language will appear within the next 50 years to replace English. However, it is possible that English will not remain unchallenged in the 21st century. Rather, a small number of languages may share in importance -- each with a special area of influence. For example, Spanish is rising because of expanding trade and the increase of the Latino population in the United States. This could create a bilingual English-Spanish region. 没有理由相信在未来 50 年内会出现任何其他一种语言取代英语。然而�英语在 21 世纪遭遇挑战的可能性不是不存在。少数几种语言倒是有可能与之分庭抗礼——各有其特殊 的影响地域。比如�由于贸易的扩展和美国国内拉丁美洲人口的增加�西班牙语的地位正在 上升。这可能产生出一个英语和西班牙语共存的双语地区。 14 A language shift, in which individuals change their language loyalties, is another possibility. These shifts are slow and difficult to predict. But within the next 50 years substantial language shifts could occur as economic development affects more countries. 改换语言�即人们放弃自己一向使用的语言改用其他语言�是另一种可能。这种改换 过程缓慢�难以预测。但在未来 50年内�随着经济发展对更多国家产生影响�重大的语言 改换可能会发生。 15 Because of these shifts in loyalties, more languages may disappear. Those remaining will rapidly get more native speakers. This includes English. 由于语言使用上的这些变动�更多的语言可能会消失。剩下来的语言将迅速为更多的 人作为母语使用�其中包括英语。 16 Universities using English as the medium of instruction will expand and rapidly create a generation of middle-class professionals. Economic development will only increase the middle class, a group that is more likely to learn and use English in jobs. 用英语讲课的大学将会增多�并迅速造就一代中产阶级专业人员。经济发展只会壮大 这个中产阶级�这一群体更有可能在工作中学习并使用英语。 17 (4)While languages such as English, German, and French have been international languages because of their governments' political power, this is less likely to be the case in the 21st century where economics and shifts in population will have more influence on languages. 虽然英语、德语和法语这些语言曾经凭着各自政府的政治力量而成为国际语言�这种 情况在经济和人口变化对语言的影响更大的 21世纪不太可能发生。 18 English has been an international language for only 50 years. If the pattern follows the previous language trends, we still have about 100 years before a new language dominates the world. However, this does not mean that English is replacing or will replace other languages as many fear. Instead, it may supplement or co-exist with languages by allowing strangers to communicate across language boundaries. It may become one tool that opens windows to the world, unlocks doors to opportunities, and expands our minds to new ideas. 英语成为国际语言至今仅有 50年。如果英语的发展沿袭以往的语言发展模式�那么 在一种新的语言主宰世界之前�英语仍可享有 100 年左右的主导地位。然而�这并不意味 着如许多人所担心的那样�英语正在或将会取代其他语言。相反�它可以作为其他语言的补 充�或与其他语言并存�让陌生人跨越语言障碍进行交际。它可能成为人们了解世界、开启 机遇大门、扩展思路、接纳新思想的一种工具。