wolfenstein自考综合英语二上册课文翻译与详解

2021年1月13日发(作者：刁包)
综合英语(二)上册课文
翻译及详解
Lesson One
Twelve Things l Wish They Taught at School


Carl Sagan
Learning Guide

俗话 说：“活到老，学到老。”人的一生就是不断学习、不断丰富和充实
自己的过程。青少年阶段，尤其是中 学阶段，无疑是学习的最佳时期。中学教育的重点应
放在什么地方？美国著名科学家和科普作家萨根批评 中学只抓各个学科具体内容的做法，
他认为中学要注重对青少年的宏观教育，使他们建立起唯物的世界观 和宇宙观，使他们能
够正确对待自己，关心周围的世界——人类生存的环境和自己的地球同胞。
1 I attended junior and senior high school, public institutions in New York and
New Jersey, just after the Second World War. It seems a long time ago. The
facilities and the skills of the teachers were probably well above average for the United
States at that time. Since then, I've learned a great deal. One of the most important
things I've learned is how much there is to learn, and how much I don't yet know.
Sometimes I think how grateful I would be today if I had learned more back then about
what really matters. In some respects that education was terribly narrow; the only
thing I ever heard in school about Napoleon was that the United States made the
Louisiana Purchase from him. (On a planet where some 95% of the inhabitants are
not Americans, the only history that was thought worth teaching was American
history. ) In spelling, grammar, the fundamentals of math, and other vital subjects, my
teachers did a pretty good job. But there's so much else I wish they'd taught us.
④
②③
①
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① The facilities and skills of the teachers were probably well above
average for the United States at that time.
学校的设施、教师的水平在当时的美国大大高于一般的水平。
above/ average：高于或低于一般的标准水平。well：adv 相当地，大
大地
The facilities and skills of the teachers were perhaps much better
than those in most schools in….
② …..how much I don't yet know.
我所学到的最重要的一点，就是要学的东西实在太多，而我还没有学
到的东西也太多了。


how much I don't know up till now.
③ Sometimes I think how grateful I would be today if I had learned more
back then about what really matters.

激。

有时候，我想那时要是能多学点真正的东西，今天我会多么地心存感

I would be grateful today if I had learned more at high school about
things that are really important.
④ On a planet where some 95% of the inhabitants are not Americans, the
only history that was thought worth teaching was American history.
在一个约95%的居民不是美国人的星球上，学校当局 认为只有美国历
史才值得讲授（这里作者委婉地批评了美国教育部门的狭隘与偏见）
where some 95% of the inhabitants are not Americans：是定语从句，
修饰a planet
that was thought worth teaching：也是定语从句，修饰the only history
The population of the US accounts for only about 5% of that of the
world. But in my high school days school taught American history only because
it was thought that the history of other countries was not important for
Americans to learn.

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2 Perhaps all the deficiencies have since been rectified. It seems to me there
are many things (often more a matter of attitude and perception than the simple
memorization of facts) that the schools should teach — things that truly would be
useful in later life, useful in making a stronger country and a better world, but useful
also in making people happier. Human beings enjoy learning. That's one of the few
things that we do better than the other species on our planet. Every student should
regularly experience the Aha!— when something you never understood, or
something you never knew was a mystery, becomes clear.
3 So here's my list:

① Perhaps all the deficiencies have since been rectified.
或许该教而没教的缺陷自那以后已经得以纠正。

④
③
②
①
deficiencies：缺乏，缺少，不足
Perhaps schools have overcome all the shortcomings and improved
greatly since I left school.
② ...often more a matter of attitude and perception than the simple
memorization of facts...
（该教的）主要是态度问题、认识问题，而不是简单的对事实记忆的
问题。
matter：（讨论、考虑等问题）
more + 名词+ than + 名词：与其说……不如说是……
Students should not merely be taught facts to memorize, but they
should also be taught to cultivate their ability to judge what is happening around
them and take the right attitude towards this.
③ That's one of the few things that we do better than the other species on
our planet.
这是我们人类比这个地球上其他物种做得好得多的为数有限的几件事
中的一件。
In most things man's fellow creatures on earth are better, but in
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learning man does better.
④ Every student should regularly experience the
something you never understood, or thing you never knew was a mystery,
becomes clear.
每个学生都应该经常体验一下说出：“啊，原来是这么一回事！”时的感
受——也就是你以往不懂的或是不知道自己不懂的事情，一下子变得豁然开朗时
的感受。
Students should be constantly learning new things so that they can
experience the joy of learning and of discovering things they didn't know or
understand before.
Pick a difficult thing and learn it well.
4 The Greek philosopher Socrates said this was one of the greatest
of human joys,and it is. While you learn a little bit about many subjects,
make sure you learn a great deal about one or two. It hardly matters
what the subject is, as long as it deeply interests you, and you place it in
its broader human context. After you teach yourself one subject, you
become much more confident about your ability to teach yourself another. You
gradually find you've acquired a key skill. The world is changing so rapidly that you
must continue to teach yourself throughout your life. But don't get trapped by the first
subject that interests you, or the first thing you find yourself good at. The world is full
of wonders, and some of them we don't discover until we're all grown up. Most of
them, sadly, we never discover.

① But don't get trapped by the first subject that interest you, or the first
thing you find yourself good at.

②
①

But you shouldn't limit your study to anything that attracts you
immediately or anything you first find yourself good at
② The world is full of wonder, and some of them we don't discover until
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we are all grown up. Most of them sadly, we never discover.

这个世界充满奇妙的事物， 有些我们完全长大成人之后就会发现；很
遗憾，大部分我们一辈子也发现不了。

为了强调，宾语some of them及Most of them都挪到了主语和动词的
前面。

The world is full of wonderful things, and even adults can only find out
some of them.
Don't be afraid to ask
5 Many apparently naive inquiries like why grass is green, or why the Sun is
round, or why we need 55,000 nuclear weapons in the world — are really deep
questions. The answers can be a gateway to real insights. It's also important to
know, as well as you can, what it is that you don't know, and asking questions is the
way. To ask
knowledge and patience on the part of the answerer. And don't confine your
learning to schoolwork. Discuss ideas in depth with friends. It's much braver to ask
questions even when there's a prospect of ridicule than to suppress your questions
and become deadened to the world around you.

①The answers can be a gateway to real insights.
③
②
①

对这些问题的回答很可能会使你对事物有深刻的理解。
gateway to：通向……的路径；获得……的手段。

You'll possibly give a deep understanding of things while trying to find
answers to those stupid questions.
② And don't confine your learning to schoolwork.


不要把自己的学习局限于课堂。

Don't limit your learning to schoolwork.
③ It's much braver to ask questions even when there's a prospect of
ridicule than to suppress your questions and become deadened to the world
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around you.

明知会引起嘲笑而提问要比把问题埋在心里、对周围的一切麻木不仁
要勇敢得多。
deaden sb to sth ：使某人对……不敏感。
become deadened to sth ：对……变得不敏感或麻木不仁。

Asking questions when you know that you might be laughed at
requires courage. But this is braver than keeping your questions to yourself
and gradually become unable to notice what is happening around you.
Listen carefully.
6 Many conversations are a kind of competition that rarely leads to discovery on
either side. When people are talking, don't spend the time thinking about what you're
going to say next. Instead, try to understand what they're saying, what experience is
behind their remarks, what you can learn from or about them. Older people have
grown up in a world very different from yours, one you may not know very well. They,
and people from other parts of the country and from other nations, have important
perspectives that can enrich your life.

① Many conversations are a kind of competition that rarely leads to
discovery on either side.
很多情况下人们谈话时，总是争相表现自己，这类交谈对双方都无

②
①
多大益处。

Often, when people talk they show off: they try to show they are
smarter, or that they know more than the person they are talking to; this
kind of conversation gives you useful information or understanding.
② try to understand…..what you can learn from or about them.
而是设法搞懂他们 说的是什么，什么样的经历才使得他们说这些
话，你从这些话中你能学到什么，你对说这些话的人又能了 解到什么情况等。
这里作者使用了排比的手法：用三个what引出的从句作
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understand的宾语。

try to learn something from what they say, or try to find out the
kind of person they are.


Everybody makes mistakes.
7 Everybody's understanding is incomplete. Be open to correction, and learn to
correct your own mistakes. The only embarrassment is in not learning from your
mistakes.
Know your planet.
8 It's the only one we have. Learn how it works. We're changing the atmosphere,
the surface, the waters of the Earth, often for some short-term advantage when the
long- term implications are unknown. The citizens of any country should have at least
something to say about the direction in which we're going. If we don't understand the
issues, we abandon the future.

① ...often for some short-term advantage when the long term implications
are unknown.
往往为了短期的利益，在尚不了解的长远影响的情况下。
③
②
①

often for some quick profit now, when you don't know possible harm or
danger might arise in the future.
②The citizens of any country should have at least something to say about
the direction in which we are doing.
任何一个国家的公民至少对我们人类要走向何处有发言权。

All people in the world have the right at least to express their views on
the future of our planet.
③ If we don't understand the issues, we abandon the future.
如果我们不能理解这些问题，我们就是放弃未来。
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If we don't realize the seriousness of the problems we are facing,
there'll be no hope for the human race.


Science and technology.
9 You can't know your planet unless you know something about science and
technology. School science courses, I remember, concentrated on the unimportant
parts of science, leaving the major insights almost untouched. The great discoveries in
modern science are also great discoveries of the human spirit. For example,
Copernicus showed that — far from being the center of the universe, about which the
Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars revolved in clockwise homage — the Earth
is just one of many small worlds. This is a deflation of our pretensions, to be sure,
but it is also the opening up to our view of a vast and awesome universe. Every high
school graduate should have some idea of the insights of Copernicus, Newton,
Darwin, Freud, and Einstein. (Einstein's special theory of relativity, far from being
obscure and exceptionally difficult, can be understood in its basics with no more than
first-year algebra, and the notion of a rowboat in a river going upstream and
downstream. )

① This is a deflation of our pretensions, to be sure....
这当然煞了我们 人类的自命不凡的傲气，但是同时（哥白尼的学说）
①
也开阔了我们的眼界，使我们看到一个漫 无边际、令人敬畏的宇宙。
Undoubtedly, to accept the fact that the earth is not the center of the
universe is to shatter the importance of human beings.
Don't spend your life watching TV.
10 You know what I'm talking about.
Culture.
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11 Gain some exposure to the great works of literature, art and music. If such
a work is hundreds or thousands of years old and is still admired, there is probably
something to it. Like all deep experiences, it may take a little work on your part to
discover what all the fuss is about. But once you make the effort, your life has
changed; you've acquired a source of enjoyment and excitement for the rest of your
days. In a world as tightly connected as ours is, don't restrict your attention to
American or Western culture. Learn how and what people elsewhere think. Learn
something of their history, their religion, their viewpoints.

① Gain some exposure to the great works of literature, art and music.
感受一下文艺、艺术和音乐名篇的熏陶。

④
③
①②
exposure to：接触……，感受……的熏陶，受到……的影响。
Read the great works of literature, and get to know art and music and
gain some insight into the profound thoughts in them.
②If such a work is hundreds or thousands of years old and is still admired,
there is probably something to it.
既然一部作品以存在了几百年或是几千年，今天仍然受到赞赏，那么
大概它确实是有些名堂。
If a work was brought out hundreds or thousands of years ago and is
still appreciated, there must be something special in it.
③ ...it may take a little work on your part to discover what all the fuss is
about.
要搞清楚人们到底为什么对这些作品还如此热衷，你就得下点功夫，
一切感人至深的经历莫不如此。
you have to make some effort to find out why people admire and are
crazy about those works of the past.
④ In a world as tightly connected as ours is, don't restrict your attention to
American or Western culture.
In our age, countries and regions are closely related; what happens
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in one country or region can affect others. Therefore we should not only study
American culture and Western culture. We should also pay attention to other
cultures---Asian, African and Latin American.


Compassion.
12 Many people believe that we live in an extraordinarily selfish time. But there is
a hollowness, a loneliness that comes from living only for yourself. Humans are
capable of great mutual compassion, love, and tenderness. These feelings, however,
need encouragement to grow.
13 Look at the delight a one- or two-year- old takes in learning, and you see how
powerful is the human will to learn. Our passion to understand the universe and our
compassion for others jointly provide the chief hope for the human race.

① Our passion to understand the universe and our compassion for others
jointly provide the chief hope for the human race.
我们有渴望了解宇宙的热忱，我们有对他人的同情心，人类的希望主
①
要寄托于此。

We have a strong desire for learning and we are kind and tender
towards one another. With these two fine qualities, the human race will have a
bright future./ The hope for the human race lies mainly in our enthusiasm
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about the universe and our profound sympathy for others.













Lesson Two
Icons


Learning Guide

提起一位获得诺贝尔奖的华人物理学家的名字，今天的青少年恐怕很多人会感到陌
生，无话可说，可是谈 起当红歌星、球星，他们则是津津乐道。当今国内外的明星大腕被
少男少女们一个个奉为偶像。君不见， 追星族们为求得偶像的签名，可以在瓢泼大雨中等
待半天，为一睹偶像的风采，可以大打出手破门而入。 三四十年前青年人崇拜的科学家和
英雄人物已被视为昨日黄花，中外都是如此。这种价值观的变化引起了 社会学家和教育家
的忧虑，他们指出星们、腕儿们只不过是媒体尤其是电视炒作的产物。

Heroes and Cultural Icons

Gary Gosggarian
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Abraham
Lincoln


Martin Luther
Jacqueline
King Jr.
Kennedy

Onassis




Rosa Parks
Helen Keller
1 If you were asked to list ten American heroes and heroines, you would probably
name some or all of the following: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Daniel
Boone, Martin Luther King Jr., Amelia Earhart, Susan B. Anthony, Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis, Helen Keller, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Rosa Parks. If next
you were asked to list people who are generally admired by society, who somehow
seem bigger than life, you might come up with an entirely different list. You might, in
fact, name people who are celebrated for their wealth and glamour rather than their
achievements and moral strength of character. And you would not be alone,
because pollsters have found that people today do not choose political leaders who
shape history for their
fashion models, professional athletes, and even comic book and cartoon characters.
In short media icons.

① If next you were……, who somehow seem bigger than life, you might
come up with an entire different list.
如果有人请你列举在社会上受到普遍赞赏、貌似非凡的人，你所列举
②
①
的恐怕是完全 不同的人。


who somehow appear distinguished from ordinary people.
②And you would not be alone, because pollsters have found that people
today do not choose political leaders who shape history for their
精选

Admired
仅是你一个人提出的这些人，民意调查发现，今天人们不再选择创造
过历史的政治领袖为他们“最钦佩的人物”。



And many other people would list the same kind of people as their
Most .


2 By definition, heroes and heroines are men and women distinguished by
uncommon courage, achievements, and self-sacrifice made most often for the benefit
of others — they are people against whom we measure others. They are men and
women recognized for shaping our nation's consciousness and development as well
as the lives of those who admire them. Yet, some people say that ours is an age
where true heroes and heroines are hard to come by, where the very ideal of heroism
is something beyond us — an artifact of the past. Some maintain that because the
Cold War is over and because America is at peace our age is essentially an unheroic
one. Furthermore, the overall crime rate is down, poverty has been eased by a strong
and growing economy, and advances continue to be made in medical science.
④
③
②
①
Consequently, bereft of cultural heroes, we have latched onto cultural icons — media
superstars such as actors, actresses, sports celebrities, television personalities, and
people who are simply famous for being famous.

① By definition, heroes and heroines are men and women distinguished
by uncommon courage achievements, and self-sacrifice made most often for
the benefit of others.
就定义而言，英雄之所 以与众不同是因为他们有非凡的勇气、取得卓
⑤
越的成就、常常为他人的利益而作出牺牲。
by definition：按定义
be distinguished by：由于……而有别（于……）
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heroes and heroines are people who are different from other people
because of their unusual courage, achievements and the sacrifices they make
in the interests of others.
② ...they are people against whom we measure others.
他们是我们评价别人的标准。



they've become a sort of standard; we judge others by what they do
and what they are.
③ Yet ,some people say that ours is an age where true heroes and
heroines are hard to come by, where the very ideal of heroism is something
beyond us--an artifact of the past.
可是有人说，我们的时代是很难出现真正英雄的时代，英雄主义这一
概念本身我们就很 难理解——它已经成为历史。
ours：是名词性代词，作为宾语从句的主语。
where引出两个定语从句，修饰an age。
come by：找到 be beyond sb ：为某人所不能理解；对某人来说太
难。



Yet, some people say that we are living in a new age .In this age
heroes and heroines are rare, and heroism is only something people admire
but do not practice. Heroic and noble conduct is a thing of the past.
④ Consequently, bereft of cultural heroes, we have latched onto cultural
icon.
因此，缺少了本民族（即本民族的文化）英雄，我们就迷上了通俗文
化偶像。
consequently是副词，其连接词的作用，将本句与上句连接起来。
bereft：（正式）失去，缺少。



As a result, when we no longer have national heroes to admire and
worship, we have become crazy about cultural icons…As a result, since there
were no cultural heroes for us to admire, we began to admire cultural icons.
⑤ ...who are simply famous for being famous.
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仅仅因为有名而成名的那些人。



who are well- known just because they are frequently seen in public,
so that a lot of people know them or know about them (not because they
possess unusually fine qualities or because they have made great
contributions to society).


3 Cultural icons are harder to define, but we know them when we see them.
They are people who manage to transcend celebrity, who are legendary, who
somehow manage to become mythic. But what makes some figures icons and others
mere celebrities? That's hard to answer. In part, their lives have the quality of a
story. For instance, the beautiful young Diana Spencer who at 19 married a prince,
bore a king, renounced marriage and the throne, and died at the moment she found
true love. Good looks certainly help. So does a special indefinable charisma, with
the help of the media. But nothing be comes an icon more than a tragic and early
death — such as Martin Luther King Jr. , John F. Kennedy, and Princess Diana.

① They are people who manage to transcend celebrity, who are
legendary, who somehow manage to become mythic.
他们超越了名流，成为传奇式人物，甚至在某种程度是神话式的人物。
③④
②
①



Cultural icons make themselves more famous than celebrities; they
inspire great admiration; and to a certain degree, they become important
people.
② In part, their lives have the quality of a story.
部分原因是他们的生平带有传奇故事的特点。
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in part：partly, not completely 部分地。



Part of the reason is that their lives are unusual, full of ups and
downs like people in legends or myths.
③ Good looks certainly help.
漂亮的长相当然有用。



Attractive appearance is surely very useful in the making of an icon.
④ So does a special indefinable charisma, with the help of the media.
另外，在媒体的炒作下某种难以描述的、特殊的个人魅力也起作用。



A particular great charm that is hard to define also proves useful.
The media help to impress people with it.

Being Somebody
Donna Wool folk Cross
4 One hundred years ago, people became famous for what they had achieved.
Men like J.P. Morgan, E. H. Harriman and Jay Gould were all notable achievers. So
were Thomas Edison, Mark Twain, and Susan B. Anthony.

5 Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day. Today's celebrities,
however, often do not become known for any enduring achievement. The people we
most admire today are usually those who are most highly publicized by the media.

① Their accomplishments are still evident in our own day.
①②



Today we still see or feel what they achieved in the past.
② Today's celebrities, however, often do not become known for any
enduring achievement.



But, today, people often do not become famous because they've
achieved something ( a great book, an invention, a discovery, a way of
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thinking, etc. ) that will last or influence people for a long time.


6 In 1981, a Gallup poll revealed that Nancy Reagan was the nation's
admired year before, that distinction went to President Carter's wife,
Rosalynn. In fact, the wife of the current president is always one of the nation's most
admired women. Today's celebrities, as the writer Daniel Boorstin says, are
well-known for their well-knownness.

① The year before, that distinction went to President Carter's wife,
Rosalynn.
①



The year before, the title/honour was given to President Carter’s
wife, Rosalynn./The year before, President Carter's wife, Rosalynn, won the
honour.


7 To become such a celebrity, one needs luck, not accomplishment. As Boorstin
says, The hero was distinguished by his accomplishment; the celebrity by his image
or trademark. The hero created himself; the celebrity is created by the media. The
hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name.

① The hero was distinguished by his accomplishment; the celebrity by his
image or trademark.
英雄因其成就而出众，而名流则因其形象或者说是其特征而出名。
②③
①



The hero was different from ordinary people because of what he had
achieved the celebrity differs from ordinary people merely because he is
well- known.
② The hero created himself the celebrity is created by the media.
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The hero was admired for what he had hone for society the
celebrity bursts onto the scene through the work of the media.
③ The hero was a big man; the celebrity is a big name.
英雄是了不起的人物，名流是了不起的名声。



the hero was an outstanding man with excellent qualities the
celebrity is an average person with an enviable reputation.


8 There is another distinction: heroes inspire respect; celebrities inspire envy.
Few of us believe we could be another Jonas Salk or Eleanor Roosevelt, but we could
be another TV star like Telly Savalas or Suzanne Somers. Except for the attention
they get from the media, these people are exactly like us.

① Heroes inspire respect; celebrities inspire envy.
②
①



Another way to distinguish heroes and celebrities is that people
respect heroes and envy celebrities.
② Except for the attention they get from the media, these people are
exactly like us.
要是没有媒体的关注，这些人和我们完全一样。



If the media didn't give them so much attention, they wouldn’t be any
different from ordinary people.


9 The shift from hero- worship to celebrity-worship occurred around the turn of the
century. It was closely tied to the rise of new forms of media— first photography, and
later moving pictures, radio and television. For the first time, Americans could see and
recognize their heroes. Previously, men like Gould and Harriman, whose names
everyone knew, could easily have passed through a crowd without being recognized.
②
①
The reproduction of photos in newspapers turned famous people into celebrities
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whose dress, appearance, and personal habits were widely commented upon. Slowly,
the focus of public attention began to shift away from knowing what such people did to
knowing what they looked like.

① Previously, men like Gould and Harriman , whose names everyone
knew, could easily have passed through a crowd without being recognized.
以前，像古尔德和哈里曼这样家喻户晓的人完全可能穿过人群而没被
人认出来。
whose names everyone knew：非限制性定语从句，修饰Gould and
Harriman。
being recognized：动名词的被动形势。



In the past , when famous men like Gould and Harriman walked
through a crowd , it was quite possible that people don’t recognize them ,
though everyone knew of them.
② The reproduction of photos in newspapers turned famous people into
celebrities whose dress , appearance ,and personal habits were widely
commented upon.
现在报纸上能刊登照片，这使名人成为名流，他们的衣着、外貌和体
态举止都成为人们评论的对象。



When famous people’s photos appeared in newspapers , their
outward features—their appearance , their clothes , and the way they carried
themselves—began to attract public attention and get talked about , In this way
these famous people gradually became celebrities.


10 The shift was accelerated by the arrival of moving pictures. Between 1901 and
1914, 74 percent of the magazine articles about famous people were about political
leaders, inventors, professionals, and businessmen. After 1922, however, most
articles were about movie stars.
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11 With the arrival of television, the faces of the stars became as familiar as
those we saw across the breakfast table. We came to know more about the lives of
the celebrities than we did about most of the people we know personally. Less than
seventy years after the appearance of the first moving pictures, the shift from
hero-worship to celebrity-worship was complete.

① With the arrival of television….
电视的出现
②
①



Because we now have television…
② ...than we did about most of the people we know personally.
多于对我们认识的多数人的了解。
than we did：比较从句，did 代表knew。
people we know personally：指我们常见并有接触的人（相对于那些我
们只是在媒体上见过的名流）





than we know about most of the people we actually know.
12 Today an appearance on a television talk show is the ultimate proof of
making itmisleading. Celebrities do
not appear on such a program because of an actual desire — or ability — to talk, but
simply to gain recognition, and prove, merely by showing up, that they are


① Today an appearance on a television talk show is the ultimate proof of

今天在电视台的一个脱口秀节目上一露脸就绝对能证明你在美国“一
②
①
举成名” 。
精选




Today, if you are invited as a guest on a TV talk show ,you definitely
have proved yourself successful in America.
② Celebrities do not appear on such a program because of an actual
desire—or ability—to talk , but simply to gain recognition , and prove , merely
by showing up,that they are
名流在这样的节目中出场，并不是因为他们真想说些什么，或是口才
很棒，而纯属为了 出名，并通过（在荧屏上）露脸，证明他们是“重要人物”。



Celebrities often appear on talk shows, not because they really want
to talk, or because they have something to say, but simply because they want
to become famous and to show that they are important.


13 Being a guest on a talk show does not require qualities of wit, eloquence,
brilliance, insight, or intelligence. A former talent coordinator for
says that when he would ask a scheduled guest,
host about?
says, usually meant,
thought and I have nothing to say of any interest to anyone anywhere.

14 Most hosts are grateful just to get someone who will fill the room
with sound. One talk show coordinator comments,
who is sure to talk no matter what. Ten seconds of silence appears very awkward on
television; thirty seconds is disastrous. A guest who's got to stop to think about
everything he says before he opens his mouth is a ratings nightmare.

① Most hosts are grateful just to get someone who will fill the room with
sound.
多数主持人只要有人说话，让演播室老有声音就很满意。
②
①



Most hosts are more than happy as long as the guests keep talking.
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② ...a ratings nightmare.



If a guest on a talk show always hesitates to talk about everything,
the program will get a very bad rating.


15 This kind of attitude rewards smooth, insincere talk, and makes hesitancy look
like stupidity.
16
coordinator.
be dragging his bottom in the ratings.








Lesson Three
Go-Go Americans


Alison R. Lanier
Learning Guide

如果矜持是英国人突出的特性，我们则可以用“风风火火”来概括美国人典型的特点。
他们好像整天在忙 忙碌碌，匆匆去上班，匆匆用午饭，匆匆返回工作；他们没有耐心，脾
气急，爱发火，不耐烦排队；他们 谈公事开门见山，没有客套话，直截了当切入话题；他
们喜爱快餐，大量使用节省劳力的家用电器，钟情 电子通讯设施；他们办事不拘形式，讲
精选

速度，重效率等等。这一切皆源于他们对生命之短促的紧迫感，视时间为生命的价值观。

1 Americans believe no one stands still. If you are not moving ahead, you are
falling behind. This attitude results in a nation of people committed to researching,
experimenting and exploring. Time is one of the two elements that Americans save
carefully, the other being labor.
③
②
①

① If you are not moving ahead , you are falling behind.
Life is a race and everyone in it keeps moving forward . If you stay
where you are , you are being left behind.
② This attitude results in a nation of people committed to researching ,
experimenting and exploring.
这种不进则退的观念使得整个民族都觉得有责任去研究、实验和探索。
be committed to：决心或承诺。
With this attitude Americans feel urged to work hard at finding new
ways to make life better through researching, experimenting and exploring.
③ Time is one of the two elements that Americans save carefully, the
other being labor.


时间是美国人努力节省的两种东西之一，另一样是劳力。
Americans are often thought to be a squandering (
浪费的
) nation. But
they do work hard at saving two things—time and labour.
精选

2 are slaves to nothing but the clock,Time is
treated as if it were something almost tangible. We budget it, save it, waste it,
steal it, kill it, cut it, account for it; we also charge for it. It is a precious commodity.
④
③
①②
Many people have a rather acute sense of the shortness of each lifetime. Once the
sands have run out of a person's hourglass, they cannot be replaced. We want every
minute to count.

①


我们只是受时钟的支配。
Time is the only thing that decides what we do or not do in the tine
⑤
available to us./Our schedule determines what we do in a particular period of
time .
② Time is treated as if it were something almost tangible.


对待时间简直就像它是看得见、摸得着的东西一样。
Americans treat time as if it were something solid , which you can
seize and control .
③ Many people have a rather acute sense of the shortness of each
lifetime.


许多人深感人的一生之短促。
Many people are keenly aware that life is short .
④ Once the sands（have run out of a person's hourglass , they cannot be
replaced.
一旦岁月的沙粒从人的沙漏里流光，那是无法弥补的。
----Time lost will return no more /Once a day in our life is gone , it will never
come back to us .
⑤ We want every minute to count.
我们想让每一分钟都发挥作用。
count：有价值，又重要意义。
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We want to use every minute effectively ./We want to make good use
of every minute.


3 A foreigner's first impression of the U.S. is likely to be that everyone is in a
rush — often under pressure. City people appear always to be hurrying to get where
they are going, restlessly seeking attention in a store, elbowing others as they try to
complete their errands. Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in
this country. Working time is considered precious. Others in public eating places are
waiting for you to finish so they too can be served and get back to work within the time
allowed. Each person hurries to make room for the next person. If you don't, waiters
will hurry you.

① A foreigner's first impression of the U.S. is likely to be that everyone is
in a rush—often under pressure.
外国人对美国的最初印象往往是：人们都是匆匆忙忙，也就是说他们经
③
②①
常有压力。
What a foreigner in the U.S. first notices is perhaps the fact that
everyone is in a hurry—often urged by the need to be doing something .
② Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country.
Eating breakfast and lunch as quickly as possible shows partly how
fast we do things here in the U.S.
③ If you don't, waiters will hurry you.





你要是不赶快，服务员就要催你。

If you don't eat quickly enough, the waiter will urge you to.
4 You also find drivers will be abrupt and that people will push past you. You
①②
精选

will miss smiles, brief conversations, small courtesies with strangers. Don't take it
personally. This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else


① You also find drivers will be abrupt and that people will push past you.
④
③

You also find that drivers will be rude and that people will walk past
you quickly without paying any attention to you.
② you will miss smiles, brief conversations, small courtesies with
strangers.



在这里，你看不到对陌生人的微笑、和他们简短的谈话以及起码的客套。

To foreigners' disappointment
，
Americans don't usually smile at
them, or start talking with them even briefly, or act politely, for example, say
hello to them.( They are too busy to get their own business done. )
③ Don't take it personally.



这种表现不是针对个人的。

Don't feel upset because this is their way with strangers. It is not
directed against any particular person. They treat all strangers in the same way.
④ This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone
else

这是因为人们极为珍视时间，别 人浪费他们的时间超过了一定礼貌许可
的限度，他们就会感到愤恨。

They dislike people taking up much of their time to the point of
impoliteness/discourtesy./they dislike people impolitely taking up much of their
time.


5 This view of time affects the importance we attach to patience. In the
American system of values, patience is not a high priority. Many of us have what
might be called We begin to move restlessly about if we feel time is
④
③
①②
精选

slipping away without some return — be this in terms of pleasure, work value, or rest.
⑤
Those coming from lands where time is looked upon differently may find this matter
of pace to be one of their most difficult adjustments in both business and daily life.

① This view of time affects the importance we attach to patience.

这种时间观影响了我们对耐心的重视。按照美国的价值观标准，耐心
并没有排在很高的地位。

As we value time highly we don’t think patience is a great virtue.
② In the American system of values, patience is not a high priority.

In the American set of values, patience is not regarded as of much
importance.
③ Many of us have what might be called



我们当中很多人都很容易“发火”。

We are impatient. We easily lose our temper/get angry/flare up.
④ We begin to move restlessly about if we feel time is slipping away
without some return—be this in terms of pleasure, work value, or rest.

只要我们感到消耗了时间而没有回报，我们就开始烦躁不安地走来走
去——无论是在娱乐、在 工作还是在休息，我们都是如此。

Whether we are playing, working or resting, we become impatient if
we find our time is being wasted by someone who keeps us waiting or prevents
us from doing what we have planned to do.
⑤ Those coming from lands where time is looked upon differently may
find this matter of pace to be one of their most difficult adjustments in both
business and daily life.

来自时间观大相径庭的国家的人，可能会发现无论 是在公务方面还是
日常生活中，（在美国）节奏是最难以适应的方面之一。

If you come from countries where people don't value time as much as
we do, you will probably find that the problem of pace/tempo is the most difficult
thing to get used to either in business or in daily life.
精选



6 Many newcomers to the States will miss the opening courtesies of a
business call, for example. They will miss the ritual socializing that goes with a
welcoming cup of tea or coffee that may be traditional in their own country. They
may miss leisurely business chats in a cafe or coffee house. Normally, Americans do
not assess their visitors in such relaxed surroundings over prolonged small talk; much
less do they take them out for dinner, or around on the golf course while they develop
a sense of trust and rapport. Rapport to most of us is less important than performance.
④
③
②
①
We seek out evidence of past performance rather than evaluate a business
⑤
colleague through social courtesies. Since we generally assess and probe
professionally rather than socially, we start talking business very quickly.

① Many newcomers to the States will miss the opening courtesies of a
business call, for example.

For example, a business call here will not begin with excessive
welcoming remarks and small talk, which many foreigners like and which a
welcoming cup of tea or coffee that may be traditional in their own country.

They will not be received with a show of welcome, courtesy, or
friendliness, including a cup of tea or coffee which perhaps is customary in their
home country.
② They may miss leisurely business chats in a café or coffee house.

They may feel disappointed when their American partners do not talk
business with them in an informal and unhurried way in a café or coffee house.
③ Normally, Americans do not assess their visitors in such relaxed
surroundings over prolonged small talk; much less do they take them out for
dinner, or around on the golf course while they develop a sense of trust and
rapport.
精选


一般情况下，美国人不会在这种轻松的环境，通过长时间的闲聊来评
价他们的（生意上的）来访者。

Usually, Americans do not try to estimate their visitors’value through
lengthy, leisurely chats in a cafe or a coffee house; they certainly do not take
them out for dinner, or to a place of recreation simply in order to develop a
sense of trust in them and friendly relations with them.
④ We seek out evidence of past performance rather than evaluate a
business colleague through social courtesies.

我们通过调查生意伙伴过去的业绩而不是通过社交活动来评价他们。
rather than：而不，与其……不如……。意思与instead of 或 in place
of 相似，但起连接词的作用，连接平行的结构。

We don't judge a business partner by the way he behaves socially.
Instead, we find out what he has previously achieved.
⑤ Since we generally assess and probe professionally rather than
socially, we start talking business very quickly.

由于我们总的来说是从专业的角度而不是从社交的角度来评价（我 们
的合作伙伴），来探索（生意的可能性），我们很快就谈正事。

Since we generally evaluate the worth of our business partner by his
professional skills and competence instead of his social abilities, we do not
waste time in socializing, but start talking business right away.


7 Most Americans live according to time segments laid out in engagement
calendars. These calendars may be divided into intervals as short as fifteen minutes.
We often give a person two or three (or more) segments of our calendar, but in the
business world we almost always have other appointments following hard on the heels
of whatever we are doing. Time is therefore always ticking in our inner ear.

③
②
①
精选

① Most Americans live according to time segments laid out in
engagement calendars:



多数美国人是按照活动日程表所制定的时间段来生活的。

Most Americans plan their time carefully and follow a strict schedule.
② ...but in the business world we almost always have other appointments
following hard on the heels of whatever we are doing.

可是在商界里，不管我们正在干什么，差不多总是紧接着有其他已经
安排好的活动在等着我们。

.. but a businessman’s schedule is always crowded. We almost
always have one appointment right after another with no interval/break in
between.
③ Time is therefore always ticking in our inner ear.



因此时间就像时钟一样无时无刻不在我们的内耳嘀嗒嘀嗒地响着。

The clock is forever reminding us of the shortness of life and urging us
to seize the day and the hour.


8 As a result we work hard at the task of saving time. We produce a steady flow
of labor-saving devices; we communicate rapidly through telexes, phone calls or
memos rather than through personal contacts, which though pleasant, take longer —
especially given our traffic-filled streets. We therefore save most personal visiting for
after work hours or for social weekend gatherings.

① As a result we work hard at the task of saving time...
③
②
①



因而我们努力节省时间。

Therefore we try our best to wok out ways of saving time.
② ...we communicate rapidly through telexes, phone calls or memos
rather than through personal contacts, which though pleasant, take
精选

longer—especially given our traffic-filled streets.

especially given our traffic- filled streets：特别是考虑到我们车辆拥挤
的街道。
given：（介词）考虑到…… given that 可以看成是连接词，引出条件
从句。

...personal contacts are pleasant, but they take more time. So we
prefer to exchange information, news, ideas, or whatever quickly through
telexes, phone calls or memos—especially when the streets are full of traffic
and it takes a long time to get from one place to another.
③ We therefore save most personal visiting for after work hours or for
social weekend gatherings.

因此我们把具体的拜访活动，都安排在工作之外的时间，或是周末的
社交聚会。

Most of our business is carried on through
visit our business partners or colleagues only in off-duty hours, or meet them at
weekend parties.


9 To us the impersonality of electronic communication has little or no relation to
the importance of the matter at hand. In some countries no major business is carried
on without eye contact, requiring face-to-face conversation. In America, too, a final
agreement will normally be signed in person. However, people are meeting
increasingly on television screens, conducting
not only in this country but also — by satellite — internationally. An increasingly high
percentage of normal business is being done these days by voice or electronic device.
③
②
①
Mail is slow and uncertain and is growing ever more expensive.

① To us the impersonality of electronic communication has little or no
精选

relation to the importance of the matter at hand.

我们觉得，电子通讯无需人与人之间直接接触，所处理的事并不因此
而不重要。

The fact that a matter is dealt with through electronic communication
instead of through personal contacts doesn’t mean that it is not important./The
way a matter is dealt with—whether through electronic communication or
personal contacts—has nothing to do with its importance.
② An increasingly high percentage of normal business is being done
these days by voice or electronic devices.

今天通过声音或是电子设施来处理日常公务的比例越来越高。 is
being done：现在进行时的被动形式。

More and more normal business being carried on through such
electronic devices as the telephone, teleconference, telex, fax and E-mail.
③ Mail is slow and uncertain...

The postal system is not always reliable. Your mail might be delayed
or even get lost...


10 The U.S. is definitely a telephone country. Almost everyone uses the
telephone to conduct business, to chat with friends, to make or break social
engagements, to say their
①
Telephones save your feet and endless amounts of time. This is due partly to the
fact that the telephone service is good here, whereas the postal service is less
efficient. Furthermore, the costs of secretarial labor, printing, and stamps are all
soaring. The telephone is quick. We like it. We can do our business and get an answer
in a matter of moments. Furthermore, several people can confer together without
moving from their desks, even in widely scattered locations. In a big country that, too,
is important.
②
精选


① Telephones save your feet and endless amounts of time.



使用电话你不必跑腿，还省了你大量时间。

When you use the telephone ,you don't have to move, and it saves a
lot of time.
② Furthermore,the costs of secretarial labor, printing, and stamps are all
soaring.



再说，雇秘书、印材料、买邮票的费用都在猛涨。

Furthermore, secretarial labour, printing, and stamps cost more than
prices of such things are rising quickly.


11 Some new arrivals will come from cultures where it is considered impolite to
work too quickly. Unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, it seems in
their eyes as if the task being considered were insignificant, not worthy of proper
respect. Assignments are thus felt to be given added weight by the passage of time.
③
②
①
In the U.S. , however, it is taken as a sign of competence to solve a problem, or fulfill
④
a job successfully, with rapidity. Usually, the more important a task is, the more
capital, energy, and attention will be poured into it in order to

① Unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, it seems in their
eyes as if the task being considered were insignificant, not worthy of proper
respect.

要是不泡上一定的时间，他们就觉得好像当前考虑的事情不够重要，
不足以引起重视。

They seem to think that the more time a task is allowed to complete,
the more important it is.
② Assignments are thus felt to be given added weight by the passage of
精选

time.



因此，事情花的时间越多，人们就越感到它重要。

The more time spent in doing an assignment, the more important the
assignment seems to be./Matters are considered esp. important only when a lot
of time has been spent dealing with them.
③ In the U. S.,however, it is taken as a sign of competence to solve a
problem, or fulfill a job successfully, with rapidity.

然而，在美国很快解决问题或很快地胜利完成任务，是一个人有能力
的表现。

But in the U.S. , if you solve a problem, or finish a job successfully and
quickly, it shows that you are competent(it does not show the job is not
important, or it hasn't been given much attention).
④ Usually, the more important a task is, the more capital, energy, and
attention will be poured into it in order to

一般说来，项目越重要，为了让工程“启动起来”，投入的资金、精力以
及对它的关注也就越多。

Usually, important tasks are given more money, energy and attention
so that they can proceed smoothly and get done in the shortest possible time.










Lesson Four
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Take Over
, Bos'n!


Oscar Schisgall
Learning Guide

一艘失事船只的10 名幸存水手在救生艇上漂流了20天，水手们干渴难忍，三副因不
许他们碰艇上最后一小壶淡水，成了众 矢之的，尤其是副水手长，对他是更是恨之入骨。
为了保住那壶水，3天来，他没有合眼，一直把枪口对 准了其他水手，不许他们轻举妄动。
他明白，那点水是10个人活下去的动力。他疲乏至极，就在他倒下 之际，他低声说：
水手长，接过去!后来……

1 Hour after hour I kept the gun pointed at the other nine men.
①
From the lifeboat's stern, where I'd sat most of the twenty days of
our drifting, I could keep them all covered. If I had to shoot at
such close quarters, I wouldn't miss. They realized that. Nobody
jumped at me. But in the way they all glared I could see how they'd come to hate my
guts.

① From the lifeboat's stern, where I'd sat most of the twenty days of our
drifting, I could keep them all covered.
从救生艇的尾部，我可以把他们全纳入我的射程之内，在我们漂浮的20
③
②< br>天里，大部分时间我都坐在船尾。

For most of the twenty days while the lifeboat was drifting, I had sat at
the back where I could shoot every one of them.
② If I had to shoot at such close quarters. I wouldn't miss.
要是我不得不开枪的话，离这么近他们谁也逃不掉。

If I had to shoot when they were so near (when any of them attempted
to jump at the canteen), I would hit my target without fail
精选

③ But in the way they all glared I could see how they'd come to hate my
guts.
不过从他们瞪着我的那副神态，我能看出来他们对我已是恨之入骨。

They all looked at me angrily; from their expressions I knew that they
hated me very much.


2 Especially Barrett, who'd been bos'n's mate; Barrett said in his harsh, cracked
voice, Y-you can't hold out forever! You're half asleep
now!

① “Y-you can't hold out forever! You're half asleep now!”
你……你不可能这样坚持下去。
①

You can't hold out forever! You're so sleepy that you’ll doze off any
minute.


3 I didn't answer. He was right. How long can a man stay awake? I hadn't dared
to shut my eyes in maybe seventy-two hours. Very soon now I'd doze off, and the
instant that happened they'd jump on the little water that was left.

① I hadn't dared to shut my eyes in maybe seventy-two hours.
②
①

So for about seventy-two hours I didn't dare to have a wink of sleep (I
was fully aware what would happen if I dozed off).
② Very soon now I'd doze off, and the instant that happened they'd jump
on the little water that was left.
我很快就会打盹，只要我一打盹，他们就会向剩下的那点水扑过来。
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I knew I could no longer keep my eyes open. I'd fall asleep in no time.
The moment I shut my eyes they'd rush to get the little water left in the canteen.


4 The last canteen lay under my legs. There wasn't much in it after twenty days.
Maybe a pint. Enough to give each of them a few drops. Yet I could see in their
bloodshot eyes that they'd gladly kill me for those few drops. As a man I didn't count
any more. I was no longer third officer of the wrecked Montala. I was just a gun that
kept them away from the water they craved. And with their tongue swollen and their
cheeks sunken, they were half crazy.

① Yet I could see in their bloodshot eyes that they'd gladly kill me for
those few drops.
不过我可以从他们那充满血丝的眼睛里看 出，为了那几滴水他们会毫不
②
①
犹豫地把我宰了。

The expression in their red and swollen eyes told me that they'd
readily kill me to get a few drops of the water.
② As a man I didn't count any more. I was no longer third officer of the
wrecked Montala.
作为人，我不再有什么价值，我不再是蒙难的“ 蒙塔拉”号的三副；这会
儿，我只不过是一杆枪，不让他们喝到梦寐以求的水的一杆枪。

Now they no longer looked upon me as a human being (To them I was
merely a gun that prevented them from drinking the water and, therefore, they’d
gladly get rid of me.)


5 The way I judged it, we must be some two hundred miles east of Ascension.
Now that the storms were over, the Atlantic swells were long and easy, and the
①②
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morning sun was hot — so hot it scorched your skin. My own tongue was thick
enough to stop my throat. I'd have given the rest of my life for a single gulp of
water.

① The way I judge it, we must be some two hundred miles east of
Ascension.
根据我的判断，我们很可能是在阿森松岛以东两百英里左右。
④
③

I didn't know where we were, but my knowledge and experience as a
sailor told me were about two hundred miles east of Ascension Island, a remote
island in the south Atlantic Ocean.
② Now that the storms were over, the Atlantic swells were long and easy,
and the morning sun was hot-so hot it scorched your skin.
风暴已经过去，大西洋上波浪平稳，上午的阳光无比灼热，热得把你的
皮肤烤疼。

Now the sea was still, and the boat drifted gently up and down on the
Atlantic Ocean, and the hot morning sun was burning and made our skin hot
and painful.
③ My own tongue was thick enough to stop my throat.
我自己的舌头也粗得能把嗓子堵死。

My tongue was swollen and it almost blocked my throat completely,
making it difficult for me to swallow .
④ I'd have given the rest of my life for a single gulp of water.
我早就用下半辈子的生命换取了一口水。

I would have exchanged my life for a drink of water./I would have
given up my life to have a few drops of water(if I weren’t thinking of the life of
the others).


6 But I was the man with the gun — the only authority in the boat — and I knew
①
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this: once the water was gone we'd have nothing to look forward to but death. As
long as we could look forward to getting a drink later, there was something to live for.
We had to make it last as long as possible. If I'd given in to the curses, we'd have
emptied the last canteen days ago. By now we'd all be dead.

① But I was the man with the gun-the only authority in the boat -and I
knew this: once the water was gone we'd have nothing to look forward to but
death.
但是我是惟一有枪的人，此时枪是船上惟一的权威，我明白一旦那点水< br>③
②
喝光，我们除了死亡，再也没有别的东西可盼望的了。

But with the gun I was the only man who was in control in the boat. I
was keenly aware of the situation: the water had been keeping us going. If it
were drunk, we'd have nothing to crave for. When our hope was dead, we'd all
die, too
② As long as we could look forward to getting a drink later, there was
something to live for.
只要我们一直盼着待会儿还能喝上一口水，我们就有了活下去的目标。

As long as we were eagerly expecting a drink of water, we'd try to stay
alive to achieve our goal.
③ If I'd given in to the curses，we'd have emptied the last canteen days
ago.
我要是因为他们的诅咒和谩骂而屈服，好几天之前最后一壶水就会喝得
精光。

If I hadn't held out against their curses, we'd have drunk all the water
many days ago.


7 The men weren't pulling on the oars. They'd stopped that
long ago, too weak to go on. The nine of them facing me were a pack of bearded,
②
①
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ragged, half- naked animals, and I probably looked as bad as the rest. Some sprawled
over the gunwales, dozing. The rest watched me as Barrett did, ready to spring the
instant I relaxed.

① The men weren’t pulling on the oars.
③

The men had stopped rowing the boat; it was drifting.
② The nine of them facing me were a pack of bearded, ragged, half-naked
animals...
面对着我的那九个人是一群胡子拉扎、衣衫褴褛、衣不遮体的野兽。

I had before me a group of nine unreasonable, half crazy savages to
deal with.
③ The rest watched me as Barrett did, ready to spring the instant I
relaxed.

The other men watched me the way Barrett watched me ,and they
were ready to jump at the canteen the moment I stopped watching them and
holding the guns on them.


8 When they weren't looking at my face they looked at the canteen under my legs.
9 Jeff Barrett was the nearest one. A constant threat. The bos'n's mate was a
heavy man, bald, with a scarred and brutal face. He'd been in a hundred fights, and
they'd left their marks on him.
10 Barrett had been able to sleep — in fact, he'd slept through most of the night
— and I envied him that. His eyes wouldn't close. They kept watching me, narrow and
dangerous.

11 Every now and then he jeered at me in that hoarse, broken voice:
12
13 ration the rest of the water tonight.
①
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14
15

① “We'll ration the rest of the water tonight.




“Tonight, we’ll each be allowed to have a gulp of the remaining water.”
16 Couldn't he understand that if we waited until night the few drops wouldn't be
sweated out of us so fast? But Barrett was beyond all reasoning. His mind had
already cracked with thirst. I saw him begin to rise, a calculating look in his eyes. I
aimed the gun at his chest — and he sat down again.

① Couldn't he understand that if we waited until night the few drops
wouldn't be sweated out of us so fast?
难道他不明白要是我们等到天黑，我们喝下去的那几滴水就不会那么快
④
②③
①
变成汗流掉吗？

As a sailor, he should understand that if we drunk the water at night
when it was cool it would last longer in our bodies.
② But Barrett was beyond all reasoning.

He had almost lost his sense because of thirst.
③ His mind had already cracked with thirst.
口渴已经使他失去了理智。

He had already lost control of himself because of thirst.
④ I saw him begin to rise, a calculating look in his eyes.
我看到他开始站起身来，目光露出一种老谋深算的神色。

It seemed as if Barrett could no longer wait. He was obviously thinking
of how to deal with Synder.

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17 I'd grabbed my gun on instinct, twenty days ago, just before running for the
lifeboat. Nothing else would have kept Barrett and the rest away from the water.

18 These fools — couldn't they see I wanted a drink as badly as any of them? But
I was in command here — that was the difference. I was the man with the gun, the
man who had to think. Each of the others could afford to think only of himself; I had to
think of them all.

19 Barrett's eyes kept watching me, waiting. I hated him. I hated him all the more
because he'd slept. As the boat rose and fell on the long swells, I could feel sleep
creeping over me like paralysis. I bent my head. It filled my brain like a cloud. I was
going, going...

① I could feel sleep creeping over me like paralysis.
我觉着困倦之意渗透了全身，使我浑身无力。
②
①

I was so sleepy that I felt weak all over.
② It filled my brain like a cloud. I was going, going...
瞌睡使我的脑子如坠云里雾里。




I was almost overcome by sleepiness. I was becoming unconscious.
20 Barrett stood over me, and I couldn't even lift the gun. In a vague way I could
guess what would happen. He'd grab the water first and take his drop. By that time
the others would be screaming and tearing at him, and he'd have to yield the canteen.
Well, there was nothing more I could do about it.

① By that time the others would be screaming and tearing at him, and
①
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he’d have to yield the canteen.

As soon as Barrett grabbed the water, the others would start shouting
and striking him, and seize the canteen from him.


21 I whispered,
22 Then I fell face down in the bottom of the boat. I was asleep before I stopped
moving...
23 When a hand shook my shoulder, I could hardly raise my head. Jeff Barrett's
hoarse voice said,

24 Somehow I propped myself up on my arms, dizzy and weak. I looked at the
men, and I thought my eyes were going. Their figures were dim, shadowy; but then I
realized it wasn't because of my eyes. It was night. The sea was black; there were
stars overhead. I'd slept the day away.

① I looked at the men, and I thought my eyes were going.
②
①

When I looked the men, I realized that my eyesight was declining.
② I slept the day away.
我把白天睡过去了。




I slept all day.
25 So we were in our twenty-first night adrift — the night in which the tramp
Croton finally picked us up — but now, as I turned my head to Barrett there was no
sign of any ship. He knelt beside me, holding out the canteen, his other hand with the
gun steady on the men.

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26 I stared at the canteen as if it were a mirage. Hadn't they finished that pint of
water this morning? When I looked up at Barrett's ugly face, it was grim. He must have
guessed my thoughts.

27 holding off
these apes all day.
— you — you sure get to see things
different, don't you?

① “I've been holding off these apes all day.
我一直都防备着这帮笨蛋不让他们靠近。
②
①

“I've been keeping these savages away from the water all day.”
② “When you're boss-man,” he added, “in command and responsible for
the rest-you- you sure get to see things different, don't you?”
“当你成了主事的人，”他接着说，“你负起了责任，你要对他人负责的时
侯，你，你看 问题肯定就不一样了，对不？”

When you are in the position of leadership and responsible for the
survival of others, you are sure to see things differently as you have to think not
only of yourself, but of others as well.










Lesson Five
Are you Giving Your Kids Too Much?


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benjamin Spock

Learning Guide

天下的父母哪个不疼爱自己的孩子？天下的父母又有哪个不望子成龙、盼 女成凤？一
个普遍存在的错误观念是：给孩子的越多，越能体现对孩子的爱；相当多的家长对孩子的物质要求不愿说“不”。殊不知孩子最需要的是父母对他们的关心和爱护，无节制地满足孩
子的物质 愿望不利于他们的健康成长，也不是他们的愿望。有时孩子的哭闹仅仅是发出信
号，请求家长规定界限。 家长应该让孩子从小就学习如何面对回绝、挫折和失败。


1 While traveling for various speaking engagements, I frequently
stay overnight in the home of a family and am assigned to one of the
children's bedrooms. In it, I often find so many playthings that there's almost no room
- for my small toilet kit. And the closet is usually so tightly packed with clothes that I
can barely squeeze in my jacket.

① While traveling for various speaking engagements, I frequently stay
overnight in the home of a family and am assigned to one of the children's
bedrooms.
在我应邀到各地演说时，经常在别人家过夜，往往被安排到这家孩 子的
③
②
①
一间卧室。

On my speaking tour, I often stay in the house of a family for the night
and I am given one of the children’s bedrooms.
② no room
没有地方放我小小的洗漱用品包。

for my small toilet kit.
③ And the closet is usually so tightly packed with clothes that I can barely
squeeze in my jacket.
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而且衣橱一般也是挂满了衣服，我连一件夹克也塞不进去了。

in .



The closet is usually so full of clothes that I can hardly put my jacket
2 I'm not complaining, only making a point. I think that the tendency to give
children an overabundance of toys and clothes is quite common in American families,
and I think that in far too many families not only do children come to take their parents'
generosity for granted, but also the effects of this can actually be somewhat harmful to
children.

① I think that the tendency to give children an overabundance of toys and
clothes is quite common in American families, and I think in far too many
families not only do children come to take their parents' generosity for granted,
but also the effects of this can actually be somewhat harmful to children.
我觉着给孩子过多的玩具和服 装是美国家庭普遍的倾向。我还认为，在
①
太多太多的家庭里，这样做的结果不仅让孩子们认为 父母对他们的大方理所当
然，而且实际上还会对孩子有一定程度的负面影响。

I think in American families it is quite common for parents to give
children many more toys and clothes than they need. In a lot of families,
children do not feel grateful and do not value what they get. What’s more, to
some extent, this can harm children.


3 Of course, I'm not only thinking of the material possessions children are given.
①
Children can also be overindulged with too many privileges - for example, when
parents send a child to an expensive summer camp that the parents can't really
afford.

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① Children can also be overindulged with too many privileges.
孩子们还往往享受过多的特殊待遇，比如家长把孩子送往实际上超过他
们经济能力的、收 费颇高的夏令营。

for example, when parents send a child to an expensive summer
camp that parents can't really afford.


4 Why parents give their children too much, or give things they can't afford? I
believe there are several reasons.

5 One fairly common reason is that parents overindulge their children out of a
sense of guilt. Parents who both hold down full-time jobs may feel guilty about the
amount of time they spend away from their children and may attempt to compensate
by showering them with material possessions.

① Parents who both hold down full-time jobs may feel guilty about the
amount of time they spend away from their children and may attempt to
compensate by showering them with material possessions.
都要全日上班而且还要努力保住工作的父母，会因许多时间不在孩子 的
①
身边而可能感到内疚。于是他们给孩子买大量东西，作为弥补。

Parents who both have full-time jobs are too busy to spend much time
with their children. They regret this, so they buy a lot of things for their kids to
make up for their frequent absence.


6 Other parents overindulge because they want their children to have everything
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they had while growing up, along with those things the parents
yearned for but didn't get. Still others are afraid to say no to their
children's endless requests for toys for fear that their children will feel
unloved or will be ridiculed if they don't have the same playthings their friends
have.

① Still others are afraid to say no to their children’s endless requests for
toys for fear that their children will feel unloved or will be ridiculed if they don’t
have the same playthings their friends have.
还有的家长不愿拒绝孩子的没完没了的买玩具的要求，生怕他们觉得家
①
长不爱 他们，或唯恐他们因为没有小朋友们一样的玩具而遭到嘲笑。

There are also parents who are unwilling to deny their children any
toys they ask for. They are afraid that their children will think their parents don’t
love them or that they will be laughed at by their friends if they don’t have the
same playthings their friends have.


7 Overindulgence of a child also happens when parents are unable to stand up to
their children's unreasonable demands. Such parents vacillate between saying no
and giving in - but neither response seems satisfactory to them. If they refuse a
request, they immediately feel a wave of remorse for having been so strict or
ungenerous. If they give in, they feel regret and resentment over having been a
pushover. This kind of vacillation not only impairs the parents' ability to set limits, it
also sours the parent-child relationship to some degree, robbing parents and their
children of some of the happiness and mutual respect that should be present in
healthy families.

① Such parents vacillate between saying no and giving in.
这类家长举棋不定，对 孩子的无理要求，不知道是该回绝还是该满足，
②
①
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觉得这两者都不理想。

but neither response seems satisfactory to them.
② This kind of vacillation not only impairs the parents' ability to set limits, it
also sours the parent-child relationship to some degree, robbing parents and
their children of some of the happiness and mutual respect that should be
present in healthy families.
这种举棋不定的态度使家长下不了决心给孩子规定界限， 同时也一定程
度地影响家长和孩子之间的关系，使他们享受不到健康家庭本应有的欢乐和相互
尊 重。

This kind of vacillation somewhat harms the relationship between
parents and children, preventing them from fully enjoying the happiness and
mutual respect that normally exist in healthy families.


8 But overindulging children with material things does little to lessen parental
guilt (since parents never feel that they've given enough), nor does it make children
feel more loved (for what children really crave is parents' time and attention).
②
①
Instead, the effects of overindulgence can be harmful. Children may, to some degree,
become greedy, self-centered, ungrateful and insensitive to the needs and feelings of
others, beginning with their parents. When children are given too much, it undermines
their respect for their parents. In fact, the children begin to sense that a parent's
unlimited generosity is not right. The paradoxical result may be that these children
will push further, unconsciously hoping that, if they push too hard, they will force their
parents into setting limits.

① But overindulging children too many material things does little to lessen
③
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parental guilt.
可是过分满足孩子的物质要求并不能减轻家长的内疚感。

But giving children too many material things doesn’t help much in
relieving parents of their feelings of guilt...
② Instead, the effects of overindulgence can be harmful. Children may, to
some degree, become greedy, self- centered, ungrateful and insensitive to the
needs and feelings of others, beginning with their parents.
相反，宠爱反而有害，孩子们可能会变得贪婪、以自我为中心、 忘恩负
义，对他人（首先是父母）的需要和感情毫不乎。

This overindulgence may turn children into greedy people. They might
think too much about themselves and too little about others. They might take for
granted what other people do for them and neglect to say
might become indifferent to/care nothing about the needs and feelings of
people around them, first of all, those of their parents./ Children may become
more or less greedy, selfish, unappreciative and didn’t care about what other
people need and how they feel; first of all, what their parents need and how
their parents feel.
③ The paradoxical result may be that these children will push further,
unconsciously hoping that, if they push too hard, they will force their parents
into setting limits.
这些孩子就会得寸进尺，下意识地希望 过分些会迫使父母给他们的要求
规定界限，这种结果看似（与父母的意图）矛盾，却有道理。

Because parents satisfy every request their children make, their
children may ask for more and more. When children do so, they are actually,
without knowing it, trying to make their parents set limits on what they demand.
Such a result is quite natural and reasonable though it is not what parents
expect.


9 Also, overindulged children are not as challenged as children with fewer
①
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