圣诞节用英语怎么写泛读教程_第三册_U5_Models_for_Understanding_History_翻译

2021年1月21日发(作者：comrade)
Models for Understanding History

Underlying
every
textbook
and
every
historical
work
are
a
set
of
often
un-acknowledged assumptions about how history works. Everyone who writes, reads,
or
thinks
about history has
a
“model”
in
their
mind
which helps
them
t
o
interpret
and assemble the facts of history. These “models” can be sorted into three broad
catego ries.(
基本上所有的课本和历史相关的作品都是一系列常常不被承认的关于历史怎样
发展 的假设。
每个写历史、
读历史或是思考历史的人在脑海中都有一个模型，
用以帮助他们
说明和收集历史的真相。这些模型可以被分为三大类。
)

Model
A
is
the
dominant
model
for
historians
in
the
20
th

century.
There
is
a
widespread and almost unshakable belief that the history of mankind is a record of
progress and that future prospects are bright. There are a number of comforting
implications
that
come
with
adopting
this
view.
It’s
very
flattering
to
oneself
and
one’s
contemporaries,
since
by
implication
everyone
currently
alive
has
made
progress
over
all
those
folks
who
are
dead.
It
also
allows
one
to
face
the
future
with optimism, since as more time passes, more progress will be made. One can see
this model clearly in the 19
th
century German historians such as Hegel, who saw all
of history leading up to its fulfillment in the unified German state of Bismarck with
Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm. There is a great deal of American history written to fit
this
mold,
too.
Those
who
believe
in
an
“evolving”
Constitution
see
all
change
as
positive
and
therefore,
the
more
time,
the
more
changes,
the
better
our
Constitution
will
be.
（模型A
对于
20
世纪历史学家是最重要的。有一个广泛而基本固定
的看法，< br>人类的历史是一个进步的记录，
而且未来的前景是光明的。
很多令人欣慰的结果伴
随着这种看法产生。
由于当前活着的人已经使进步超过了那些死去的人，
这使人及其同辈感< br>到荣幸。它让人们乐观地面对将来，当更多的时间过去，会有更多的进步产生。人们可以通
过19
世纪海格尔等德国历史学家同当时的德国皇帝一起见证了历史导致德国在俾斯麦岛实
现 统一的历史，
清楚地看到这个模型。
也有很多美国历史按照这个模型被书写。
那些相信
“逐
步发展”的宪法的人，乐观地看待所有的变化，因而，时间越多，改变越多，我们的宪法会
更完善。
）


But
there
are
other
models.
And
the
question
is
not
which
model
is
most
comforting and reassuring, but which best fits the facts.
（然而也有其他的模型。并且
问题不在于哪个模型是最令人安慰放心的， 而是哪个最符合事实。
）


Many
of
the
Greek
and
Roman
historians
subscribed
to
Model
B.
They
looked
back
in
the
past
and
saw
a
“golden
age”
with
fewer
problems
than
their
own.
It
seemed
to
them
that
things
were getting
worse
over time and
that
the prospects
for
the
future
were
grim.
There
is
a
certain
sense
in
which
this
model
fits
the
outl
ines of Scripture. We certainly haven’t risen above the level of our first parents,
Adam
and
Eve,
so
the
broad
line
from
Paradise
can
only
trend
downward.
On
the
other
hand,
one
can
definitely
trace
progress
and
improvement
through
God’s
covenants
with
Noah,
Abraham,
Moses,
and
their
fulfillment
in
Jesus.
But
against
this, one must weigh the prophecies of Revelation which predict widespread war and
tribulation prior to Jesus’ return.
（很多希腊和罗马的历史学家赞同模型
B
。他们 回望过
去，看到了一个比自己这个时代问题更少的“黄金时期”
。似乎在他们看来，随着时间的 推
移事物会变得更糟，未来的前景令人沮丧。有一点可以确定，这个模型符合圣经的概述。我
们 当然不可能超过我们的第一代父母亚当和夏娃的水平，所以来自天堂的宽广接线只能下
降。另一方面，我 们可以通过上帝与
Noah,
Abraham,
Moses
的约定以及他 们对耶稣的影
响清楚地记述进程和进步。
但是相反，
人们必须衡量被披露的预言所预示 的广泛的战争和苦
难的时期，直到耶稣的回归。
）


In truth, history is complicated. It is more complicated than the simple lines in
Model A and Model B. It more closely resembles Model C. Periods of accomplishment
are
followed
by
periods
of
decay.
In
fact,
“progress”
is
mostly
a
myth.
There
is
nothing inevitable about it. The idea that the simple passage of time will allow things
to improve flies in the face of experience. If you let time pass, will the dishes get
washed, will rooms get cleaned, or will your car run better? The truth is that things
deteriorate and decay with age.
（事实上，历史是复杂的 。它比模型
A
和模型
B
的简单
描述更为复杂。它更接近于模型
C
。紧接着辉煌时期的是衰落时期。实际上，
“进步”基本
上是个神话。
这 是不可避免的。
实践的简单推移会使事物改进的想法与经验不符。
如果你让
时间流逝，
餐盘会被清洗吗，
房间会被打扫吗，
你的汽车会形式的更好吗？真相是事物会随
着时间的推移恶化、衰退。
）


The periods of progress and achievement are the exceptions and not the rule.
There are remarkable periods scattered through history in which a group of men or
a generation seem (perhaps supernaturally?) empowered to reverse the trends and
to make remarkable achievements. Sometimes it is in literature, sometimes it is in
science,
sometimes
it
is
in
politics,
sometimes
it
is
in
art
or
music.
But
inevitably,
after a period of achievement, a long, slow period of decay sets in.
（进步和成就的时期
是例外，
而非规则。
非凡 的时期分布在历史的进程中，
在那些时期一组人或者一代人似乎
【也
许是超自然】被赋 予扭转趋势并取得非凡成就的力量。它有时在文学中，有时在科学中，有
时在政治中，有时在艺术或音乐 中。但无法避免的是，一个辉煌的时期之后，一个漫长的衰
退的时期就会开始。
）


With
this
in
mind,
an
analysis
of
the
history
of
political
institutions
can
be
a
little unsettling. The Greek city- states, in a burst of creativity around eight or nine
hundred
years
before
Christ,
created
a
variety
of
city
constitutions
that
served
them admirably for generations. But over time, the cities seemed to become more
and
more
unworkable
and
their
leaders
became
corrupt.
Eventually,
most
of
the
Greek
cities
were
ruled
by
tyrants.
They
ended
by
being
conquered
first
by
the
Macedonian
armies
of
Alexander,
and
then
by
the
Romans.
The
Romans
likewise
created an admirable republic about 500 B.C. But over time it developed more and
more
problems,
and
eventually
succumbed
to
the
military
dictators
who
called
themselves Emperors and gods.
（抱 着这种想法，一个对于政治机构历史的分析会有些不
稳定。希腊城邦在公元前
8
或9
世纪突然产生，创造了各种城市结构，很好地提供给后代