英语翻译电子书

2021年1月25日发(作者：二十年以前)

Textbook



Intensive English Reading


Compiled by z.w.z.


for

Candidates

Applying for

Doctor
’
s Degree

in the Art Academy of China





September 1, 2010





Contents

Unit 1 Text 1 The Paradox of Knowledge ---------------- Page
3

Page 8

Unit
2 Text
16

Page 21
Unit
3 Text
28

Unit
4 Text
Page 30

Text
2
Tyranny
of
the
Urgent
----------------------

1
The
Virtues
of
Ambition
--------------------
Page
Text 2 Three Days to See ----------------------------

1
The
West
Unique,
Not
Universal
--------Page
24
Text 2 What I Have Lived For -------------------- Page

1
Philosophy
and
Art
----------------------------
Text 2 Chopin
—
The Beautiful Soul of Music---- Page 39






Art
Theory ------------------------------------------------ Page 41

Translation
Exercises -----------------------------------Page 46


Songs---------------------------- ---------------------------
Page 48




Unit 1

Text 1 The Paradox of Knowledge

Skeptical Inquirer,
Sept-Oct, 1995
by Lee Loevinger

Main theme: As knowledge about nature expands, so does ignorance, and ignorance
may increase more than its related knowledge.

1.
The
greatest
achievement
of
humankind
in
its
long
evolution
from
ancient
hominoid
ancestors
to
its
present
status
is
the
acquisition
and
accumulation
of
a
vast
body
of knowledge about itself, the world, and the universe. The products of this
knowledge are all those things that, in the aggregate, we call
including
language,
science,
literature,
art,
all
the
physical
mechanisms,
instruments, and structures we use, and the physical infrastructures on which
society relies. Most of us assume that in modern society knowledge of all kinds
is continually increasing and the aggregation of new information into the corpus
of our social or collective knowledge is steadily reducing the area of ignorance
about ourselves, the world, and the universe. But continuing reminders of the
numerous
areas
of
our
present
ignorance
invite
a
critical
analysis
of
this
assumption.

2. In the popular view, intellectual evolution is similar to, although much more
rapid than, somatic evolution. Biological evolution is often described by the
statement that
embryo,
in
its
development
from
a
fertilized
ovum
into
a
human
baby,
passes
through
successive stages in which it resembles ancestral forms of the human species. The
popular view is that humankind has progressed from a state of innocent ignorance,
comparable
to
that
of
an
infant,
and
gradually
has
acquired
more
and
more
knowledge,
much as a child learns in passing through the several grades of the educational
system. Implicit in this view is an assumption that phylogeny resembles ontogeny,
so that there will ultimately be a stage in which the accumulation of knowledge
is essentially complete, at least in specific fields, as if society had graduated
with all the advanced degrees that signify mastery of important subjects.

3. Such views have, in fact, been expressed by some eminent scientists. In 1894
the great American physicist Albert Michelson said in a talk at the University of
Chicago:

While
it
is
never
safe
to
affirm
that
the
future
of
Physical
Science
has
no
marvels
in store even more astonishing than those of the past, it seems probable that most
of the grand underlying principles have

been firmly established and that further
advances are to be sought chiefly in the rigorous application of these principles
to
all
the
phenomena
which
come
under
our
notice
....
The
future
truths
of
Physical
Science ate to be looked for in the sixth place of decimals.

4.
In
the
century
since
Michelson's
talk,
scientists
have
discovered
much
more
than
the refinement of measurements in the sixth decimal place, and none is willing to
make a similar statement today. However, many still cling to the notion that such
a
state
of
knowledge
remains
a
possibility
to
be
attained
sooner
or
later.
Stephen
Hawking,
the
great
English
scientist,
in
his
immensely
popular
book
A
Brief
History
of Time (1988), concludes with the speculation that we may
theory
that

be
the
ultimate
triumph
of
human
reason--for
then
we
would
know
the
mind
of
God.
Paul
Davies,
an
Australian
physicist,
echoes
that
view
by
suggesting
that
the
human
mind
may
be
able
to
grasp
some
of
the
secrets
encompassed
by
the
title
of
his
book
The
Mind
of
God
(1992).
Other
contemporary
scientists
write
of

of
everything,
meaning
theories
that
explain
all
observable
physical
phenomena, and Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg, one of the founders of the current
standard model of physical theory, writes of his Dreams of a Final Theory (1992).

5. Despite the eminence and obvious yearning of these and many other contemporary
scientists,
there
is
nothing
in
the
history
of
science
to
suggest
that
any
addition
of data or theories to the body of scientific knowledge will ever provide answers
to all questions in any field. On the contrary, the history of science indicates
that increasing knowledge brings awareness of new areas of ignorance and of new
questions to be answered.

6. Astronomy is the most ancient of the sciences, and its development is a model
of other fields of knowledge. People have been observing the stars and other
celestial bodies since the dawn of recorded history. As early as 3000 B.C. the
Babylonians recognized a number of the constellations.

7.
During
the
first
five
thousand
years
or
more
of
observing
the
heavens,
observation
was confined to the narrow band of visible light. In the last half of this century
astronomical observations have been made across the spectrum of electromagnetic
radiation, including radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays,
and
from
satellites
beyond
the
atmosphere.
It
is
no
exaggeration
to
say
chat
since
the end of World War II more astronomical data have been gathered than during all
of the thousands of years of preceding human history.

8.
However,
despite
all
improvements
in
instrumentation,
increasing
sophistication
of analysis and calculation augmented by the massive power of computers, and the
huge aggregation of data, or knowledge, we still cannot predict future movements
of
planets
and
other
elements
of
even
the
solar
system
with
a
high
degree
of
certainty.
Ivars
Peterson,
a
highly
trained
science
writer
and
an
editor
of
Science
News,
writes
in his book Newton's Clock (1993) that a surprisingly subtle chaos pervades the
solar system. He states:

In one way or another the problem of the solar system's stability has fascinated
and tormented asrtonomers and mathematicians for more than 200 years. Somewhat to
the embarrassment of contemporary experts, it remains one of the most perplexing,
unsolved
issues
in
celestial
mechanics.
Each
step
toward
resolving
this
and
related
questions has only exposed additional uncertainties and even deeper mysteries.

9.
Similar
problems
pervade
astronomy.
The
two
major
theories
of
cosmology,
general
relativity
and
quantum
mechanics,
cannot
be
stated
in
the
same
mathematical
language,
and
thus
are
inconsistent
with
one
another,
as
the
Ptolemaic
and
Copernican
theories
were in the sixteenth century, although both contemporary theories continue to be
used, but for different calculations. Oxford mathematician Roger Penrose, in The
Emperors New Mind (1989), contends that this inconsistency requires a change in
quantum theory to provide a new theory he calls

……

10. The progress of biological and life sciences has been similar to that of the
physical
sciences,
except
that
it
has
occurred
several
centuries
later.
The
theory
of
biological
evolution
first
came
to
the
attention
of
scientists
with
the
publication
of
Darwin's
Origin
of
Species
in
1859.
But
Darwin
lacked
any
explanation
of
the
causes
of
variation
and
inheritance
of
characteristics.
These
were
provided
by
Gregor
Mendel,
who
laid
the
mathematical
foundation
of
genetics
with
the
publication of papers in 1865 and 1866.

11. Medicine, according to Lewis Thomas, is the youngest science, having become
truly
scientific
only
in
the
1930s.
Recent
and
ongoing
research
has
created
uncertainty about even such basic concepts as when and how life begins and when
death occurs, and we are spending billions in an attempt to learn how much it may
be
possible
to
know
about
human
genetics.
Modern
medicine
has
demonstrably
improved
both our life expectancies and our health, and further improvements continue to
be
made
as
research
progresses.
But
new
questions
arise
even
more
rapidly
than
our
research
resources
grow,
as
the
host
of
problems
related
to
the
Human
Genome
Project
illustrates.

12. From even such an abbreviated and incomplete survey of science as this, it
appears that increasing knowledge does not result in a commensurate decrease in
ignorance, but, on the contrary, exposes new lacunae in our comprehension and
confronts us with unforeseen questions disclosing areas of ignorance of which we
were not previously aware.

13.
Thus
the
concept
of
science
as
an
expanding
body
of
knowledge
that
will
eventually encompass or dispel all significant areas of ignorance is an illusion.
Scientists and philosophers are now observing that it is naive to regard science
as a process that begins with observations that are organized into theories and
are
then
subsequently tested by
experiments.
The
late Karl
Popper,
a
leading
philosopher of science, wrote in The Growth of Scientific Knowledge (1960) chat
science
starts
from
problems,
not
from
observations,
and
chat
every
worthwhile
new
theory raises new problems. Thus there is no danger that science will come to an
end because it has completed its task, clanks to the

14. At least since Thomas Kuhn published The Structure of Scientific Revolutions
(1962),
it
has
been generally
recognized
that
observations
are
the
result
of
theories (called paradigms by Kuhn and other philosophers), for without theories
of
relevance
and
irrelevance
there
would
be
no
basis
for
determining
what
observations to make. Since no one can know everything, to be fully informed on
any subject (a claim sometimes made by those in authority) is simply to reach a
judgment that additional data are not important enough to be worth the trouble of
securing or considering.

15. To carry the analysis another step, it must be recognized that theories are
the
result
of
questions
and
questions
are
the
product
of
perceived
ignorance.
Thus
it
is
chat
ignorance
gives
rise
to
inquiry
chat
produces
knowledge,
which,
in
turn,
discloses new areas of ignorance. This is the paradox of knowledge: As knowledge
increases so does ignorance, and ignorance may increase more than its related
knowledge.

16. My own metaphor to illustrate the relationship of knowledge and ignorance is
based on a line from Matthew Arnold:
The
dark
chat
surrounds
us,
chat,
indeed,
envelops
our
world,
is
ignorance.
Knowledge is the illumination shed by whatever candles (or more technologically
advanced
light
sources)
we
can
provide.
As
we
light
more
and
more
figurative
candles,
the area of illumination enlarges; but the area beyond illumination increases
geometrically. We know chat there is much we don't know; but we cannot know how
much
there
is
chat
we
don't
know.
Thus
knowledge
is
finite,
but
ignorance
is
infinite,
and the finite cannot ever encompass the infinite.

17. This is a revised version of an article originally published in COSMOS 1994.
Copyright 1995 by Lee Loevinger.







Text 2 Tyranny of the Urgent

Charles E. Hummel

Have you ever wished for a thirty-hour day? Surely this extra time
would relieve the tremendous pressure under which we live. Our lives
leave
a
trail
of
unfinished
tasks. Unanswered
letters,
unvisited
friends,
unwritten
articles, and
unread
books
haunt
quiet
moments
when we
stop
to
evaluate. We desperately need relief.

But
would
a
thirty-
hour
day
really
solve
the
problem? Wouldn’t
we
soon be just as
frustrated as
we
are now
with our twenty-four allotment?
A mother
’s work is never finished, and neither is that of any student,
teacher,
minister,
or
anyone
else
we
know. Nor
will
the
passage
of
time
help
us
catch
up. Children
grow
in
number
and
age
to
require
more
of
our
time. Greater experience in profession and church brings more exacting
assignments. So we find ourselves working more and enjoying it less.


JUMBLED PRIORITIES…


When we stop to evaluate, we realize that our dilemma goes deeper
than
a
shortage
of
time;
it
is
basically
the
problem
of
priorities. Hard
work does not hurt us. We all know what it is to go full speed for long
hours, totally involved in an important task. The resulting weariness
is matched by a sense of achievement and joy. Not hard work, but doubt
and misgiving, produce anxiety as we review a month or year and become
oppressed
by
the
pile
of
unfinished
tasks. We
sense
uneasily
that
we
may
have failed to do the important. The winds of people’s demands have
driven us onto a reef of frustration. We confess, quite apart from our
sin
s,
“We
have
left
undone
those
things
which
we
ought
to
have
done;
and
we have done those things which we ought not to have done.”

Several years ago an experienced cotton mill manager said to me,
“Your
greatest
danger
is
letting
the
urgent
things
crowd

out
the
important.”

He
didn’t
realize
how
hard
his
maxim
hit.

It
often
returns
to
haunt
and
rebuke
me
by
raising
the
critical
problem
of
priorities.

We live in constant tension between the urgent and the important.
The problem is that the important task rarely must be done today or even
this week. Extra hours of prayer and Bible study, a visit with the
non-Christian
friend,
careful
study
of
an
important
book:
these
projects
can
wait. But
the
urgent
tasks
call
for
instant
action---endless
demands
pressure every hour and day.


A man’s home is no longer his castle; it is no longer a place from
urgent tasks because the telephone breaches the walls with imperious
demands. The momentary appeal of these tasks seems irresistible and
important, and th
ey devour our energy. But in the light of time’s
perspective their deceptive prominence fades; with a sense of loss we
recall
the
important
task
pushed
aside. We
realize
we’ve
become
slaves
to the tyranny of the urgent.


CAN YOU ESCAPE…….?


Is there any escape from this pattern of living? The answer lies
in the life of our Lord. On the night before He died, Jesus made an
astonishing claim. In the great prayer of John 17 He said, “ I have
finished the work which Thou gavest me to do” (verse 4).


How
could
Jesus
use
the
word
“finished”? His
three
-year
ministry
seemed
all
too
short.

A
prostitute
at
Simon’s
banquet
had
found
forgiveness
and
a
new
life,
but
many
others
still
walked
the
street
without
forgiveness and a new life. For every ten withered muscles that had
flexed
into
health,
a
hundred
remained
impotent. Yet
on
that
last
night,
with many useful tasks
undone and urgent
human needs unmet,
the Lord had
peace; He knew He had finished God’s work.

The Gospel records show that Jesus worked hard. After describing
a busy day Mark writes, “That evening at sundown, they brought to Him
all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the whole city was
gathered about the door. And He healed many who were sick with various
diseases, and cast
out many demons” (1:32
-34).

On another occasion the demand of the ill and maimed caused Him to
miss supper and to work so late that His family thought He was beside
Himself (Mark 3:21). One day after a strenuous teaching session, Jesus
and His discip
les went out in a boat. Even a storm didn’t awaken Him
(Mark 4:37-38). What a picture of exhaustion.

Yet His life was never feverish; He had time for people. He could
spend
hours
talking
to
one
person,
such
as
the
Samaritan
women
at
the
well.
His
life
showed
a
wonderful
balance,
a
sense
of
timing. When
His
brothers
wanted
Him
to
go
to
Judea,
He
replied,
“My
time
has
not
yet
come”
(John
7:6). Jesus did not ruin His gifts by haste. In
The Discipline and
Culture
of
the
Spiritual
Life
,
A.E.
Whiteham
observes;
“Here
in
this
Man
is adequate purpose…inward rest, that gives an air of leisure to His
crowded
life:
above
all
there
is
in
this
Man
a
secret
and
a
power
of
dealing
with
the
waste- products
of
life,
the
waste
of
pain,
disappointment,
enmity,
death---turning
to
divine
uses
the
abuses
of
man,
transforming
arid
places
of pain to fruitfulness, triumphing at last in death and making a short
life of thirty years or so, abruptly cut off, to be a ‘finished’ life.
We
cannot
admire
the
poise
and
beauty
of
this
human
life,
and
then
ignore
the things that made it.”



WAIT FOR INSTRUCTIONS…



What was the secret of Jesus’ work? We find a clue following
Mark’s account of Jesus’ busy day. Mark observes that “….in the
morning,
a
great
while
before
day,
He
rose
and
went
out
to
a
lonely
place,
and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35). Here is the secret of Jesus’ life
and work for God:
He prayerfully waited for His Father’s instructions

and
for
the
strength
to
follow
them.

Jesus
had
no
divinely-drawn
blueprint;
H
e
discerned
the
Father’s
will
day
by
day
in
a
life
of
prayer.
By this means He warded off the urgent and accomplished the important.


Lazarus’s
death
illustrates
this
principle. What
could
have
been
more important than the urgent message from Mary an
d Martha, “Lord, he
whom you love is ill” (John 11:3)? John records the Lord’s response
in these paradoxical words: “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and
Lazarus. So when He heard that he was ill, He stayed two days longer in
the
place
where
He
was”

(verses
5-6).

What
was
the
urgent
need?
Obviously it was to prevent the death of this beloved brother. But the
important thing from God’s point of view was to raise Lazarus from the
dead. So
Lazarus
was
allowed
to
die. Later
Jesus
revived
him
as
a
sign
of His magnificent claim, “I am the resurrection and the life: he who
believes in Me though he die, yet shall he live” (verse 25).


We may wonder why our Lord’s ministry was so short, why it could
not
have
lasted
another
five
or
ten
years,
why
so
many
wretched
sufferers
were
left
in
their
misery. Scripture
gives
not
answer
to
these
questions,
and
we
leave
them
in
the
mystery
of
G
od’s
purposes. But
we
do
know
that
Jesus’ prayerful waiting for God’s instructions freed Him from the
tyranny of the urgent. It gave Him a sense of direction, set a steady
pace
and
enabled
Him
to
do
every
task
God
assigned. And
on
the
last
night
He coul
d say, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.”


DEPENDENCE MAKES YOU FREE…


Freedom from the tyranny of the urgent is found in the example and
promise of our Lord. At
the end of
a vigorous debate
with the Pharisees
in Jerusalem, Jesus
said
to those
who believed
in Him: “If
you continue
in My Word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and
the truth will make
you free… Truly,
truly, I say to you, everyone who
commits sin is a slave to sin…So if the Son makes you free,
you will be
free indeed” (John 8:31
-36).


Many of us have experienced Christ’s deliverance from the penalty
of sin. Are we letting Him free us from the tyranny of the urgent? He
points
the
way:
“If
you
continue
in
My
Word.”
This
is
the
way
to
freedo
m.
Through prayerful meditation on God’s Word we gain His perspective.


P.T. Forsyth once said, “The worst sin is prayerlessness.” We
usually
think
of
murder,
adultery,
or
theft
as
among
the
worst. But
the
root of all sin is self-sufficiency---independence from God. When we
fail
to
wait
prayerfully
for
God’s
guidance
and
strength
we
are
saying,
with our actions, if not our lips, that we do not need Him. How much of
our service is characterized by “going it alone”?

The
opposite
of
such
independence
is
prayer
in
which
we
acknowledge
our need for God’s instruction and supply. Concerning a dependent
relationship with God, Donald Baillie says: “Jesus lived His life in
complete
dependence
upon
God,
as
we
all
ought
to
live
our
lives. But
such
dependence
does
not
destroy
human
personality. Man
is
never
so
truly
and
fully
personal
as
when
he
is
living
in
complete
dependence
upon
God. This
is how personality comes into its own. This is humanity at its most
personal.”

Prayerful waiting on God is indispensable to effective service.
Like the time-out in a football game, it enables us to catch our breath
and fix new strategy. As
we wait for
directions, the Lord
frees us from
the
tyranny
of
the
urgent. He
shows
us
the
truth
about
Himself,
ourselves,
and our tasks. He impresses on our minds the assignments He want us to
undertake. The
need itself is
not the call;
the call must
come form the
God
who
knows
our
limitation. “The
Lord
pities
those
who
fear
Him. For
He knows our frame; He remembers tha
t we are dust” (Psalm 103:13
-14).
It is not God who loads us until we bend or crack with an ulcer, nervous
breakdown,
heart
attack,
or
stroke.

These
come
from
our
inner
compulsions coupled with the pressure of circumstances.


EVALUATE…


The
modern
businessman
recognizes
this
principle
of
taking
time
out
for evaluation. When Greenwalt was president of DuPont, he said, “One
minute
spent
in
planning
saves
three
or
four
minutes
in
execution.” Many
salesmen
have
revolutionized
their
profits
by
setting
aside
Friday
afternoon
to
plan
carefully
the
major
activities
for
the
coming
week. If
an executive is too busy to stop and plan, he may find himself replaced
by another man who takes time to plan. If the Christian is too busy to
stop,
take
spiritual
inventory,
and
receive
his
assignments
from
God,
he
becomes a slave to the tyranny of the urgent. He may work day and night
to
achieve
much
that
seems
significant
to
himself
and
others,
but
he
will
not finish the work God has for him to do.

A
quiet
time
of
meditation
and
prayer
at
the
start
of
the
day
refocuses our relationship with God. Recommit yourself to His will as
you think of the hours that follow. In these unhurried moments list in
order of priority the tasks to be done, taking into account commitments
already
made. A
competent
general
always
draws
up
his
battle
plan
before
he
engages
the
enemy;
he
does
not
postpone
basic
decisions
until
the
firing
starts. But he is also prepared to change his plans if an emergency
demands
it. So
try
to
implem
ent
the
plans
you
have
made
before
the
day’s
battle
against
the
clock
begins.

But
be
open
to
any
emergency
interruption or unexpected person who may call.

You may also
find it
necessary
to resist the temptation to accept an
engagement
when
the
invitation
first
comes
over
the
telephone. No
matter
how clear the calendar may look at the moment, ask for a day or two to
pray
for
guidance
before
committing
yourself.

Surprisingly
the
engagement often appears less important after the pleading voice has
become silent. If you can withstand the urgency of the initial moment,
you will be in a better position to weigh the cost and discern whether
the task is God’s
will for you.

In addition to your daily quiet time, set aside one hour a week for
spiritual inventory. Write an evaluation of the past, record anything
God may be teaching you, and plan objectives for the future. Also try
to reserve most of one day each month for a similar inventory of longer
range. Often
you
will
fail. Ironically,
the
busier
you
get
the
more
you
need
this
time
of
inventory,
but
the
less
you
seem
to
be
able
to
take
it.
You become like the fanatic, who, when unsure of his direction, doubles
his speed. And frenetic service for God can become an escape from God.
But when you prayerfully take inventory and plan your days, it provides
fresh perspective on your work.


CONTINUE THE EFFORT…


Over
the
years
the
greatest
continuing
struggle
in
the
Christian
life
is the effort to make adequate time for daily waiting on God, weekly
inventory,
and
monthly
planning.

Because
this
time
for
receiving
marching
orders
is
so
important,
Satan
will
do
everything
he
can
to
squeeze
it
out. Yet
we
know
from
experience
that
only
by
this
means
can
we
escape
the tyranny of the urgent. This is how Jesus succeeded. He did not
finish all the urgent tasks in Palestine or all the things He would have
liked to do, but He did finish the work which God gave Him to do. The
only alternative to frustration is to be sure that we are doing what God
wants. Nothing
substitutes
for
knowing
that
this
day,
this
hour,
in
this
place
we
are
doing
the
will
of
the
Father. Then
and
only
then
can
we
think
of
all
the
other
unfinished
tasks
with
equanimity
and
leave
them
with
God.

Sometime ago Simba bullets killed a young man, Dr Paul Carson. In
the providence of God, his life’s work was finished. Most of us will
live
longer
and
die
more
quietly,
but
when
the
end
comes,
what
could
give
us greater joy than being sure that we have finished the work God gave
us to do? The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ makes this fulfillment
possible. He
has
promised
deliverance
from
the
sin
and
the
power
to
serve
God
in
the
tasks
of
His
choice. The
way
is
clear. If
we
continue
in
the
Word of our Lord, we are truly His disciples. And He will free us from
the
tyranny
of
the
urgent,
free
us
to
do
the
important,
which
is
the
will
of God.


Copyright
1967
by
Intervarsity
Christian
Fellowship.

Reprinted
by
permission
of
InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Il 60515

A Discussion of Tyranny of the Urgent

It seems to me that perfection of means and confusion of goals seem to
characterize

our age.
---Albert Einstein

The good is often the enemy of the best.
----Unknown


1.

Define the word “urgent” as used in the
Tyranny of the Urgent
.
_______________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________
_______________________________ ________________________________
______________ _________________________________________________< br>_______________________________________________ ________________
______________________________ _______________


2.

Define
the
word
“important”
as
used
in
the
Tyranny
of
the
Urgent.
_________________________________ ______________________________
________________ _______________________________________________
_________________________________________________ ______________
________________________________ _______________________________
_______________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________


3.

In the space below, jot down the thoughts that most impressed you
from
your
reading
of
Tyranny
of
the
Urgent
.

__________________ _____________________________________________
_ __________________________________________________ ____________
__________________________________ _____________________________
_________________ ______________________________________________
__________________________________________________ _____________
_________________________________ ____________















Unit 2

Text 1 The Virtues of Ambition

Joseph Epstein

Joseph
Epstein
(1937-),
noted
essayist,
short
story
author
and
novelist,
was
born
in
Chicago
and
grew up in Rogers Park. He then attended the University of Chicago and is now a prominent member
of
the
literature
faculty
at
Northwestern
University.
He
won
the
1998
Harold
Washington
Literary
Award for the most prominent men or women of letters in Chicago.


1.

Ambition
is
one
of
those
Rorschach
words:
define
it
and
you
instantly
reveal a

great deal about yourself
. Even that most neutral of works,
Webster's, in its seventh New Collegiate Edition,
gives itself away
,
defining ambition first and foremost as
fame,
or
power.
Ardent
immediately
assumes
a
heat
incommensurate
with
good sense and stability
, and rank, fame, and power have come under
fairly heavy attack for at least a century. One can, after all,
be
ambitious for the public good, for the alleviation of
suffering, for
the
enlightenment
of
mankind
,
though
there
are
some
who
say
that
these
are precisely the ambitious people most to be distrusted.

2.
Surely ambition is behind dreams of glory
, of wealth, of love, of
distinction
,
of accomplishment,
of pleasure, of
goodness.
What life
does
with
our
dreams
and
expectations

cannot,
of
course,
be
predicted.
Some
dreams,
begun
in
selflessness,
end
in
rancor;
other
dreams,
begun
in
selfishness,
end
in
large-heartedness.
The
unpredictability
of
the
outcome of dreams is no reason to cease dreaming
.

3. To
be
sure,
ambition,
the
sheer
thing

unalloyed
by
some
larger
purpose
than merely clambering up
, is never a pretty
prospect
to ponder.
As
drunks
have
done
to
alcohol,
the
single-minded
have
done
to
ambition--given
it
a
bad
name
.
Like
a
taste
for
alcohol,
too,
ambition
does not always allow for easy satiation
. Some people cannot handle
it;
it
has
brought
grief
to
others,
and
not
merely
the
ambitious
alone.
Still, none of this seems a sufficient cause for
driving ambition
under the counter
.

4.

What
is
the
worst
that
can
be
said ---that
has
been
said--about
ambition?
Here
is
a
(surely)
partial
list:
To
begin
with,
it,
ambition,
is
often
antisocial,
and
indeed
is
now
outmoded,
belonging
to
an
age
when individualism was more valued and useful than it is today. The
person
strongly
imbued
with
ambition
ignores
the
collectivity;
socially
detached,
he
is
on
his
own
and
out
for
his
own.
Individuality
and ambition are firmly linked.
The ambitious individual, far from
identifying himself and his
fortunes with the group, wishes to rise
above it
. The ambitious man or woman sees the world as a battle;
rivalrousness
is
his
or
her
principal
emotion:
the
world
has
limited
prizes to offer, and he or she is determined to get his or hers.
Ambition is, moreover, jesuitical; it can
argue those possessed by
it into believing
that what they want for themselves is good for
everyone
--that
the
satisfaction
of
their
own
desires
is
best
for
the
commonweal.
The
truly
ambitious
believe
that
it
is
a
dog-eat-dog
world
,
and
they are distinguished by wanting to be the dogs that do the
eating
.


5.
From
here
it
is
but
a
short
hop
to
believe

that
those
who
have
achieved
the
common
goals
of
ambition--money,
fame,
power--have
achieved
them
through corruption
of a greater or lesser degree, mostly a greater.
Thus all politicians in
high places
, thought to be ambitious, are
understood
to
be,
ipso
facto,
without
moral
scruples.
How
could
they
have
such
scruples--a
weighty
burden
in
a
high
climb--and
still
have
risen as they have?

6. If
ambition
is
to
be
well
regarded,
the
rewards
of
ambition--wealth,
distinction, control over one's destiny--must be considered worthy
of the sacrifices made
on ambition's behalf
. If the tradition of
ambition
is
to
have
vitality,
it
must
be
widely
shared;
and
it
especially
must
be
esteemed
by
people
who
are
themselves
admired,
the
educated
not
least

among
them.
The
educated
not
least
because,
nowadays more than ever before, it is they who have usurped the
platforms
of
public
discussion
and
wield
the
power
of
the
spoken
and
written word in newspapers, in magazines, on television. In an odd
way,
it
is
the
educated
who
have
claimed
to
have
given
up
on
ambition
as
an
ideal.
What
is
odd
is
that
they
have
perhaps
most
benefited
from
ambition--if not always their own then that of their parents and
grandparents.
There is a heavy note of hypocrisy in this
; a case of
closing
the
barn
door
after
the
horses
have
escaped--with
the
educated
themselves astride them.

7.
Certainly people do not seem less interested in success and its
accoutrements
now
than
formerly
.
Summer
homes,
European
travel,
BMWs--the
locations
place
names
and
name
brands
may
change,
but
such
items
do
not
seem
less
in
demand
today
than
a
decade
or
two
years
ago.
What has happened is that people cannot own up to their dreams, as
easily and openly as once they could,
lest they be thought pushing,
acquisitive, vulgar
.
Instead we are treated to fine pharisaical
spectacles,
which
now
more
than
ever
seem
in
ample
supply
:
The
revolutionary lawyer
quartered
in the $$250,000 Manhattan luxurious
apartment; the critic of American materialism with a Southampton
summer home; the publisher of radical books who takes his meals in
three-star
restaurants;
the
journalist
advocating
participatory
democracy
in all phases of life
, whose own children are enrolled in
private
schools.
For
such
people
and
many
more
perhaps
not
so
egregious, the proper formulation is,

refrain from appearing ambitious.

8. The attacks on ambition are many and come from various angles;
its
public
defenders
are
few
and
unimpressive,
where
they
are
not
extremely unattractive
.
As a result, the support for ambition as a
healthy
impulse,
a
quality
to
be
admired
and
inculcated
in
the
young,
is probably lower than it has ever been in the United States
. This
does not mean that ambition is
at an end
, that people no longer feel
its
stirrings
and
prompting
,
but
only
that,
no
longer
openly
honored,
it
is
less
often
openly
professed.
Consequences
follow
from
this,
of
course,
some
of
which
are
that
ambition
is
driven
underground,
or
made
sly, or perverse. It can also be forced into vulgarity,
as witness
the blatant pratings of its contemporary promoters
. Such, then, is
the way things
stand: on
the
left angry critics, on the right obtuse
supporters, and in the middle, as usual, the majority of earnest
people trying to
get on in life
.

9. Many people are naturally
distrustful of ambition
, feeling that it
represents something intractable in human nature. Thus John Dean
entitled
his
book
about
his
involvement
in
the
Watergate
affair
during
the
Nixon
administration
blind
Ambition
as
if
ambition
were
to
blame
for

his
ignoble
actions,
and
not
the
constellation
of
qualities
that
make
up
his
rather
shabby
character.
Ambition,
it
must
once
again
be
underscored,
is morally a two-sided street
.
Place next to John Dean
Andrew Carnegie
, who,
among other philanthropic acts
, bought the
library
of
Lord
Acton,
at
a
time
when
Acton
was
in
financial
distress,
and assigned its custodianship to Acton, who never was told who his
benefactor was. Need much more be said on the subject than that,
important
though
ambition
is,
there
are
some
things
that
one
must
not
sacrifice to it?

10.
But
going
at
things
the
other
way,
sacrificing
ambition
so
as
to
guard
against
its
potential
excesses
,
is
to
go
at
things
wrongly.
To
discourage
ambition
is
to
discourage
dreams
of
grandeur
and
greatness.
All
men
and
women
are
born,
live,
suffer,
and
die;
what
distinguishes
us
one
from
another
is
our
dreams,
whether
they
be
dreams
about
worldly
or unworldly things
, and what we do to make them come about.

11. It may seem an exaggeration to say that ambition is the linchpin of
society,
holding many of its disparate elements together
, but it is
not
an
exaggeration
by
much.
Remove
ambition
and
the
essential
elements of society seem to fly apart
. Ambition,
as opposed to
mere
fantasizing about desires, implies work and discipline to achieve
goals,
personal
and
social,
of
a
kind
society
cannot
survive
without.
Ambition is intimately connected with family, for men and women not
only work partly for their families; husbands and wives are often
ambitious
for
each
other,
but
harbor
some
of
their
most
ardent
ambitions for their children. Yet to have a family nowadays--with
birth
control
readily
available,
and
inflation
a
good
economic
argument
against
having
children-- is
nearly
an
expression
of
ambition
in itself. Finally, though ambition was once the domain chiefly of
monarchs
and
aristocrats,
it
has,
in
more
recent
times,
increasingly
become the domain of the middle classes. Ambition and futurity--a
sense of building for tomorrow--are inextricable. Working, saving,
planning--these,
the
daily
aspects
of
ambition--have
always
been
the
distinguishing marks of a rising middle class. The attack against
ambition is not
incidentally
an attack on the middle class and what
it stands for. Like it or not, the middle class has done much of
society's work in America; and it, the middle class, has from the
beginning
run on
ambition.

12. It is not difficult to imagine a world
shorn of
ambition. It would
probably
be
a
kinder
world:
without
demands,
without
abrasions,
without
disappointments.
People
would
have
time
for
reflection.
Such
work
as
they
did
would
not
be
for
themselves
but
for
the
collectivity.
Competition
would
never
enter
in.
Conflict
would
be
eliminated,
tension become a thing of the past. The stress of creation would be
at an end. Art would no longer be troubling, but purely celebratory
in
its
functions.
The
family
would
become
superfluous

as
a
social
unit
with all its former power for bringing about neurosis drained away.
Longevity would be increased, for fewer people would die of heart
attack or stroke caused by tumultuous endeavor. Anxiety would be
extinct. Time would stretch on and on, with ambition long departed
from the human heart.

13. Ah, how
unrelievedly
boring life would be!


Text 2 Three Days to See

Helen Keller

All of us have read thrilling stories in which the hero had only a
limited and specified time to live. Sometimes it was as long as a year;
sometimes as short as twenty-four hours, but always we were interested
in discovering just how the doomed man chose to spend his last days or
his last hours. I speak, of course, of free men who have a choice, not
condemned criminals whose sphere of activities (
活动范围
) is strictly
delimited.
Such stories set up thinking, wondering what we should do under
similar
circumstances.
What
associations
should
we
crowd
into
those
last
hours as mortal beings? What happiness should we find in reviewing the
past, what regrets?
Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each
day
as
if
we
should
die
tomorrow.
Such
an
attitude
would
emphasize
sharply
the values of life. We should live each day with
a gentleness, a vigor,
and a keenness of appreciation
which are often lost when time stretches
before us in the constant
panorama
of more days and months and years to
come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the
epicurean
(Devoted to
the pursuit of pleasure; fond of good food, comfort, and ease.
爱享乐的：追求享乐的
)
motto

of
“Eat, drink, and be merry,” most people would be
chastened
by the
certainty of
impending
death.
Most of us take life for granted. We know that one day we must die,
but
usually
we
picture
that
day
as
far
in
the
future,
when
we
are
in
buoyant

health, death is all but

(Nearly; almost) unimaginable. We seldom think
of
it.
The
days
stretch
out
in
an
endless
vista
.
So
we
go
about
our
petty
tas
k, hardly aware of our
listless
attitude towards life.
The same
lethargy
(
lethargic),
I am afraid, characterizes the use of
our faculties and senses(
五官
). Only the deaf appreciate
（
To admire greatly;
value.
欣赏；重视）
hearing,
only
the
blind
realize
the

manifold

blessings
that
lie
in
sight.
Particularly
does

this
observation
apply
to
those
who
have
lost sight and hearing in adult life. But those who have never suffered
impairment

of
sight
or
hearing
seldom
make
the
fullest
use
of
these
blessed
faculties.
Their
eyes
and
ears
take
in
all
sights
and
sound
hazily,

without
concentration, and with little appreciation. It is the same old story(
常
说
)
of not being grateful for what we conscious of health until we are
ill.

这与常说的不失去不懂得珍贵，不生病不知道健康可贵的道理是一样的。

I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were
stricken(struck, struck/stricken) blind and deaf for a few days at some
time
during
his
early
adult
life.
Darkness
would
make
him
more
appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound.

黑暗
将使他更珍惜光明；沉寂将教他知道声音的乐趣。

Now and then I have tested my seeing friends to discover what they
see. Recently I was visited by a very good friend who had just returned
from a long walk in the woods, and I asked her what she had observed.
“
Nothing in particular,
” she replied.
I might have been incredulous
had I
not been accustomed to such responses,
for long ago I became
convinced that the seeing see little.

How was it possible, I asked myself, to walk for an hour
through
the
woods and see nothing
worthy of note(
词组

值得注意的
,
显著的
nothing of note)
?
I
who
cannot
see
find
hundreds
of
things
to
interest
me
through
mere
touch.
I feel the
delicate ‘symmetry
(symmetric)
of a leaf. I pass my hands
lovingly about the smooth skin of a silver
birch(
白桦树
),
or the rough
s
haggy (rough/// covered with, or resembling long rough hair or wool.)

Bark(
树皮
)The tough outer covering of the woody stems and
roots of trees,
)
of a pine. In spring I touch the branches of trees
hopefully
in search of

a bud
, the first sign of awakening Nature after
her winter’s sleep
. I feel the delightful,
velvety texture(
象天鹅绒
的
,
柔软的
)
of
a
flower,
and
discover
its
remarkable
convolutions(part
of sth folded or coiled);
and something of the miracle of Nature is
revealed to me. Occasionally (Now
and
then;
from time to time.
偶然地
),
if I am very fortunate,
I place my
hand gently
in a small
tree and feel
the happy quiver of a bird in full song. I am delighted to have cool
waters
of
a

brook
(A
brook
is
a
small
body
of
water,
usually
a
small
river,
running through countryside or through a flat land.) rush through my
open
fingers.
To
me
a
lush
(Luxurious;
opulent:)
carpet
of
pine
needles
or
spongy grass
is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.
To me the
pageant
of seasons(spectacular procession or celebration///
Colorful)
is
a
thrilling

and
unending
drama,
the
action
of
which
streams
through
my
finger
tips(
剧中的人物动作从我的指尖流过
).
At
times
my
heart
cries
out with longing to see all these things(
我的心不时在呐喊，带着对光明的渴望
).
If
I
can
get
so
much
pleasure
from
mere
touch,
how
much
more
beauty
must
be revealed by sight. Yet, those who have eyes apparently see little.
The
panorama
of color and action fill the world is taken for granted
.
It is human, perhaps, to appreciate little that which we have and to
long
for
that
which
we
have
not,

but
it
is
a
great
pity
that
in
the
world
of light the gift of sight is used only as a mere convenience rather
than as a means of adding fullness to life.
Oh, the things that I should see if I had the power of sight for
three days!















Unit 3

Text 1 The West Unique, Not Universal

MODERNITY IS NOT ENOUGH

1. In
recent
years
Westerners
have
reassured
themselves
and
irritated
others
by
expounding
the
notion
that
the
culture
of
the
West
is
and
ought
to be the culture of the world. This conceit takes two forms. One is
the Coca-colonization thesis. Its proponents claim that Western, and
more specifically American, popular culture is enveloping the world:
American
food,
clothing,
pop
music,
movies,
and
consumer
goods
are
more
and more enthusiastically embraced by people on every continent. The
other has to do with modernization. It claims not only that the West
has
led
the
world
to
modern
society,
but
that
as
people
in
other
civilizations
modernize
they
also
westernize,
abandoning
their
traditional values, institutions, and customs and adopting those that
prevail in the West. Both theses project the image of an emerging
homogeneous,
universally
Western
world--and
both
are
to
varying
degrees
misguided, arrogant, false, and dangerous.


2. Advocates
of
the
Coca-colonization
thesis
identify
culture
with
the
consumption
of
material
goods.
The
heart
of
a
culture,
however,
involves
language,
religion,
values,
traditions,
and
customs.
Drinking
Coca-Cola
does not make Russians think like Americans any more than eating sushi
makes
Americans
think
like
Japanese.
Throughout
human
history,
fads
and
material
goods
have
spread
from
one
society
to
another
without
significantly altering the basic culture of the recipient society.
Enthusiasms
for
various
items
of
Chinese,
Hindu,
and
other
cultures
have
periodically
swept
the
Western
world,
with
no
discernible
lasting
spillover.
The
argument
that
the
spread
of
pop
culture
and
consumer
goods
around
the
world
represents
the
triumph
of
Western
civilization
depreciates the strength of other cultures while trivializing Western
culture
by
identifying
it
with
fatty
foods,
faded
pants,
and
fizzy
drinks.
The essence of Western culture is the Magna Carta, not the Magna Mac.


3. The
modernization
argument
is
intellectually
more
serious
than
the
Coca-colonization
thesis,
but
equally
flawed.
The
tremendous
expansion
of
scientific
and
engineering
knowledge
that
occurred
in
the
nineteenth
century
allowed
humans
to
control
and
shape
their
environment
in
unprecedented
ways.
Modernization
involves
industrialization;
urbanization; increasing levels of literacy, education, wealth, and
social
mobilization;
and
more
complex
and
diverse
occupational
structures. It
is
a revolutionary
process comparable to
the shift
from
primitive
to
civilized
societies
that
began
in
the
valleys
of
the
Tigris
and Euphrates, the Nile, and the Indus about 5000 B.C. The attitudes,
values, knowledge, and culture of people in a modern society differ
greatly from
those
in
a
traditional society.
As the first
civilization
to modernize, the West is the first to have fully acquired the culture
of
modernity.
As
other
societies
take
on
similar
patterns
of
education,
work,
wealth,
and
class
structure,
the
modernization
argument
runs,
this
Western culture will become the universal culture of the world.


4.

That
there
are
significant
differences
between
modern
and
traditional
cultures
is
beyond
dispute.
A
world
in
which
some
societies
are highly modern and others still traditional will obviously be less
homogeneous than
a
world
in
which all societies are comparably
modern.
It does not necessarily follow, however, that societies with modern
cultures
should
be
any
more
similar
than
are
societies
with
traditional
cultures. Only
a
few
hundred
years ago all societies were
traditional.
Was that world any less homogeneous than a future world of universal
modernity
is
likely
to
be?
Probably
not.

China
.
.
.
was
assuredly
closer to the France of the Valois,
the
China
of
Mao
Tse- tung
is
to
the
France
of
the
Fifth
Republic.''(
Fernand
Braudel,
On
History
,
Chicago:
University
of
Chicago
Press,
1980, p. 213.)
Modern societies have much in common, but they do not
necessarily merge
into homogeneity.
The
argument that
they do
rests on
the assumption
that
modern
society
must approximate
a single type, the
Western type; that modern civilization is Western civilization, and
Western
civilization
is
modern
civilization.
This,
however,
is
a
false
identification.
Virtually
all
scholars
of
civilization
agree
that
Western civilization emerged in the eighth and ninth centuries and
developed
its
distinctive
characteristics
in
the
centuries
that
followed. It did not begin to modernize until the eighteenth century.
The West, in short, was Western long before it was modern.

CAN THE REST COPY THE WEST?

1. To
Modernize,
must
non-Western
societies
abandon
their
own
cultures
and
adopt
the
core
elements
of
Western
culture?
From
time
to
time
leaders
of
such
societies
have
thought
it
necessary.
Peter
the
Great
and
Mustafa
Kemal
Ataturk
were
determined
to
modernize
their
countries
and
convinced
that doing so meant adopting Western culture, even to the point of
replacing traditional headgear with its Western equivalent. In the
process,
they
created

countries,
unsure
of
their
cultural
identity. Nor did Western cultural imports significantly help them in
their pursuit of modernization. More often, leaders of non-Western
societies
have
pursued
modernization
and
rejected
westernization.
Their
goal is summed up in the phrases ti-yong (Chinese learning for the
fundamental
principles,
Western
learning
for
practical
use)
and
woken,
yosei
(Japanese
spirit,
Western
technique),
articulated
by
Chinese
and
Japanese
reformers
of
a
century
ago,
and
in
Saudi
Arabia's
Prince
Bandar
bin Sultan's comment
in 1994 that
or
high- tech
'things.'
But
intangible
social
and
political
institutions
imported
from
elsewhere
can
be
deadly
--
ask
the
Shah
of
Iran
.
.
.
Islam
is for us not just a religion but a way of life. We Saudis want to
modernize but not necessarily westernize.
Saudi
Arabia,
and,
to
a
lesser
degree,
Iran
have
become
modern
societies
without becoming Western societies. China is clearly modernizing, but
certainly not westernizing.


2. Interaction and borrowing between civilizations have always taken
place, and with modern means of transportation and communication they
are
much
more
extensive.
Most
of
the
world's
great
civilizations,
however,
have
existed
for
at
least
one
millennium
and
in
some
cases
for
several. These civilizations have a demonstrated record of borrowing
from other civilizations in ways that enhance their own chances of
survival. China's absorption of Buddhism from India, scholars agree,
failed to produce the
Sinification
of
Buddhism.
The
Chinese
adapted
Buddhism
to
their
purposes
and
needs.
The
Chinese
have
to
date
consistently
defeated
intense
Western efforts to Christianize them. If at some point they do import
Christianity,
it
is
more
than
likely
that
it
will
be
absorbed
and
adapted
in
such
a
manner
as
to
strengthen
the
continuing
core
of
Chinese
culture.


3. Similarly,
in
past
centuries
Muslim
Arabs
received,
valued,
and
used
their

inheritance
for
essentially
utilitarian
reasons.
Being
mostly interested in borrowing certain external forms or technical
aspects, they knew how to disregard all elements in the Greek body of
thought that would conflict with 'the truth' as established in their
fundamental
Koranic
norms
and
precepts.
Japan
followed
the
same
pattern.
In the seventh century Japan imported Chinese culture and made the

on
its
own
initiative,
free
from
economic
and
military
pressures,
to
high
civilization.

the
centuries
that
followed,
periods
of
relative
isolation
from
continental
influences
during
which
previous borrowings were sorted out and the useful ones assimilated
would
alternate
with
periods
of
renewed
contact
and
cultural
borrowing.
In similar fashion, Japan and other non-Western societies today are
absorbing
selected
elements
of
Western
culture
and
using
them
to
strengthen their own cultural identity. It would, as Braudel argues,
almost
to think that the
singular
for
centuries
in
the
world's
great
civilizations.
(
Adda
B.
Bozeman,

Virginia Quarterly Review
, Winter , p. 7; William
E. Naff,
of
Japan,
Comparative Civilizations Review
,
Fall 1985-Spring
1986,
p.
222;
Braudel,
On History
, pp. 212-213. )




Text 2 What I Have Lived For

William Russell

Bertrand
Arthur
William
Russell
(b.1872
-
d.1970)
was
a
British
philosopher,
logician,
essayist,
and
social
critic,
best
known
for
his
work
in
mathematical
logic
and
analytic
philosophy.
Along
with
G.E.
Moore,
Russell
is
generally
recognized
as
one of the founders of analytic philosophy. Along with Kurt G?del, he is also
regularly credited with being one of the two most important logicians of the
twentieth century.


Three passions, simple but
overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the
longing
for
love,
the
search
for
knowledge,
and
unbearable
pity
for
the
suffering
of mankind. These passions, in a
wayward course, over a deep ocean of
anguish,
3)
4)
2)
1)
reaching to the very
verge of despair.

I have sought love, first, because it brings
ecstasy- ecstasy so great that I
would often have
sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I
have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness-that terrible loneliness in
which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold
8)
7)
6)
5)
unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of
9)
10)
love I have seen, in a mystic
miniature, the
prefiguring vision of the heaven
that
saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might
seem too good for human life, this is what-at last-I have found.

With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the
hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to
12)
11)
apprehend the
Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A
13)
little of this, but not much, I have achieved.

Love
and
knowledge,
so
far
as
they
were
possible,
led
upward
toward
the
heavens.
But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in
my
heart.
Children
in
famine,
victims
tortured
by
oppressors,
helpless
old
people
a hated burden to their pain make a
mockery of what human life should be. I long
to
alleviate the evil, but I can't, and I too suffer.

This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it
again if the chance were offered me.


Vocabulary

1) overwhelmingly [
]
adv.
不可抵抗地

2) unbearable [
] a.
无法忍受的

3) wayward [
] a.
任性的

4) anguish [
] n.
痛苦，苦恼

5) verge [
] n.
边缘

6) ecstasy [
] n.
入迷


7) sacrifice [
] n.
牺牲


8) unfathomable [
] adj.
深不可测的


9) miniature [
] n.
缩图，缩影

10) prefigure [
] v.
预示


11) saint [
] n.
圣人

12) apprehend [
] v.
领会，理解

16)
15)
14)
13) Pythagorean [
14) oppressor [
15) mockery [
16) alleviate [


] a.
毕达哥拉斯的

] n.
压迫者

] n.
嘲笑

] v.
使（痛苦）易于忍受，减轻













Unit 4

Text 1 Philosophy and Art

FROM
Dialectical Materialism (A. Spirkin)

Chapter 1. Philosophy As A World-View And A Methodology


Philosophy,
science
and
art
differ
principally
according
to
their
subject-matter and also the means by which they reflect, transform and
express it. In a certain sense, art, like
philosophy, reflects reality in
its
relation
to
man,
and
depicts
man,
his
spiritual
world,
and
the
relations
between individuals in their interaction with the world.

We live not in a primevally pure world, but in a world that is known and
has
been
transformed,
a
world
where
everything
has,
as
it
were,
been
given
a

angle
a
world
permeated
with
our
attitudes
towards
it,
our
needs,
ideas,
aims,
ideals,
joys
and
sufferings,
a
world
that
is
part
of
the
vortex
of
our
existence.
If
we
were
to
remove
this

factor
from
the
world,
its sometimes inexpressible, profoundly intimate relationship with man,
we
should
be
confronted
by
a
desert
of
grey
infinity,
where
everything
was
indifferent
to
everything
else.
Nature,
considered
in
isolation
from
man,
is for man simply nothing, an empty abstraction existing in the shadowy
world
of
dehumanised
thought.
The
whole
infinite
range
of
our
relationships
to the world stems from the sum-total of our interactions with it. We are
able
to
consider
our
environment
rationally
through
the
gigantic
historical
prism
of
science,
philosophy
and
art,
which
are
capable
of
expressing
life
as a tempestuous flood of contradictions that come into being, develop,
are resolved and negated in order to generate new contradictions.

No
scientifically,
let
alone
artistically,
thinking
person
can
remain
deaf
to the wise voice of true philosophy, can fail to study it as a vitally
necessary
sphere
of
culture,
as
the
source
of
world-view
and
method.
Equally
true is the fact that no thinking and emotionally developed person can
remain indifferent to literature, poetry, music, painting, sculpture and
architecture. Obviously, one may be to some extent indifferent to some
highly
specialised
science,
but
it
is
impossible
to
live
an
intellectually
full
life
if
one
rejects
philosophy
and
art.
The
person
who
is
indifferent
to
these
spheres
deliberately
condemns
himself
to
a
depressing
narrowness
of outlook.