多维教程 探索课文+翻译.doc

Unit 1 travel language旅行通用语The Academie Francasie has for decades been the watchdog over the French language. A few years ago, French sensitivity to the influx of English words became so great that law for the purification of French was adopted. The law covers even technical applications. For example, in theory, it is now compuslory in France to refer to the Boeing 747 as a gros-porteur, leasing as credit-bail, etc. the list is very long and detailed and applies to all facets of life. Mr. Chirac, the French President, might well expand on this list and come up with some new French terms for words such as internet or byte stream just to name a couple. The mind boggles at what the world might face. 数十年来，法兰西语言研究院一直捍卫着法语的尊严。几年前，由于法国人对英语词汇的入侵非常敏感，该机构颁布了净化法语的法律，其内容甚至涉及专业术语。就拿波音747 (Boeing747)来说吧，现在法国人必须用法语词gros-porteur；表示出租的leasing也变成了credit-bail。此类例子不胜枚举，触及生活的方方面面。法国总统希拉克很可能会继续加大力度，直至连英特网internet和字节流(信息组)byte stream之类的词也找到相应的法语新词。哎，真不知未来的法语会变成什么样。Unfortunately (or perhaps not), the English language is not so protected. Quite apart from the unforgivable deviations from the kings English prevlent in America, where honour is commonly written as honor and night as nite, many well-tested has also been give new meanings, making communication somewhat difficult. For example, the boot of a car has become to be called a trunk a word reserved in England for the main part of a tree. The bonnet is a hood, good old nappies are diapers, and a babys matinee jacket is a vest. Its obvious that the two countries are indeed separated by what once was a common language! From an American point of view, of course, it could be argued that the British speak English with a speech deficiency. 不幸的是(或许并非不幸)，英语没有受到如此的保护。在美国，随处可见严重偏离英国标准英语的美式英语。“honour”普遍被写成“honor”，“night”也变成了“nite”。许多词意广为人知的英式英语单词被赋予新的解释，交流也变得有些困难。比如说，汽车的行李箱 “boot”变成了“trunk”(一个在英国指代树干的单词)；引擎盖“bonnet”变成了“hood”(英式英语中的风帽)；老式婴儿尿布“nappy”变成了“diaper”(英式英语中的菱格花纹织物)；婴儿小外套“matineejacket”也变成了“vest”(英国的内衣汗衫)。显而易见，两国英语曾同出一源，而如今却将两国彼此隔离。当然了，按美国人的观点，是英国人的语言表达出了问题。Even worse English, however, is in use. Anyone who travels in foreign countries and observes it on menus and posters, in hotels, and indeed in everyday life can testify that what used to be the kings lingo has become in these places but a poor relation thereof. Allow me to elaborate. 实际使用中，甚至还有更糟的英语呢!只要你在外国旅游并注意一下菜单、海报、旅店、甚至当地日常生活中的英语，就可以证明过去的标准用语在这些地方已变得不伦不类，让我详例如下：The travel writer Perrot Phillips has taken pains to highlight some of his experiences, which I feel should not be withheld from a wider readership. He refers to a Dutch bulb catalogue which promised customers a speedy execution and to an East Berlin cloakroom sign that requested guests to please hung yourself here. One hopes that nobody took the advice literally. 旅行作家波洛菲利浦曾不惜笔墨地渲染自己的几番经历，我觉得该有更多的读者了解一下。他提及某份荷兰的灯泡目录，上面对用户承诺有“a speedy execution快速处死(毫无疑问，想表达的应是“送货及时”)。此外，东柏林的一个衣帽间告示要求客人“please hang yourself here”请在这儿吊死自己(本想说的是“将衣帽挂在这儿”)。只希望没人会真的从字面上去理解。To these I can add some of my own experiences, encountered in long years of traveling the world. There was, for example, the observation in an Ostend novelty shop that revolting new ideas were being marketed, and the boast of some Bombay bakers that we are No. 1 loafers, best values in whole town. 我还可以补充一些多年周游世界时的亲身经历。例如，奥斯坦德的一家精品店正在宣扬其货品立意新颖，却用了“revolting new ideas”，即“令人作呕的立意”。孟买的几家糕饼屋也鼓吹自己是“No.1 loafers”，目口头号游手好闲者，可是其本意是要宣称自己的糕饼全市第一。I realized how far Christinanity had come when I read in Hong Kong the following call by a dentist: The teeth they are extracted here by the latest Methodists. 我并不知道基督教影响如此之广，直到我在香港看到一位牙医的宣传：“我们由最新的循道宗信徒拔牙”，这儿的“Methodists”(循道宗信徒)显然应改为“methods”，即“方法”。I fear it can not be answered with certainty whether these actually illustrate a progressive use of English or are simply reflections of local usages. I feel quite strongly, however, that the Haifa Medical Association should have prevented one of its members from claiming on his brass plate that he is a Specialist in Women and Other Diseases. 恐怕没人能确定这些误用实际上是体现了英语的普及还是仅仅反映了局限于地方的习惯用法。但可以确定的是，海法医学会绝对应该阻止其会员挂这样的铜招牌：“妇女及其它疾病的专家”。Hotels seem to revel in their multilingual signs. One supposes these signs were designed to facilitate the use of modern services in otherwise sterile and barely functional establishments. Nevertheless, the unsuspecting guests confronted in a Brussels hotel with the following instruction for the use of the life (elevator) might well prefer to walk: To move the life, push button to wishing floor. If the cabin should enter more persons, each one should push number of wishing floor. Driving is then going alphabetically by natural order. Button retaining pressed position shows received command for visiting station. The less sophisticated notice in Istanbul (To call room service, please to open door and call ROOM SERVICE) at least does not confront the guest with electronics that might not always work. . 看来旅店对多语种告示颇为青睐，希望它们会有利于人们更好地使用现代化设施。没有它们，旅店就会显得沉闷而缺乏效率。然而，在布鲁塞尔的一家旅店中，这条电梯告示只会令毫无防范的房客更愿意爬楼梯：“使用电梯时，请按要去楼层的按钮。若更多人进入电梯，请分别按各自要去楼层的按钮。电梯会按楼层的字母顺序，依次送客。没复位的按钮显示着接收到的要去楼层的指令”。伊斯坦布尔的一则旅店告示则没这么复杂：“想要客房服务时，请开门喊叫客房服务”。至少那儿的客人不用对付也许经常失灵的电子设备。In Turkey, the delight in straight talk expresses itself in the by-now-famous Ankara brochure which advises, Visit our restaurant where you can eat Middle East foods in an European Ambulance. A note on a Swiss menu that Our wines leave nothing to hope for was equally inviting. 在土耳其，人们对于“直言不讳”的喜爱在一个已远近闻名的安卡拉导游册中得到了充分体现。导游册这样招揽顾客：“来我们餐馆吧，你会在欧洲救护车中享用中东风味美食”(显然这儿的救护车“ambulance”应为氛围“ambience”)。而另一家瑞士餐馆的菜单也同样吸引人：“我们的葡萄酒绝人他念”。(“our wines leave nothing to hope for一语双关，可本意显然是“我们的葡萄酒美味绝伦”)。Eastern European courtesies have never left the once grand hotels of the former Austro-Hungarian empire. A notice in the hotel rooms that the honoured guests are invited to take advantage of the chamber maids from 12-14 oclock might, however, result in some unplanned traffic jams. A recent Moscow exhibitions announcement drew attention to a showing of 300 paintings by Russian artists, most of whom were executed in the last ten years hardly a welcoming thought to the occasional visitor. 在东欧，奥匈帝国时期的老牌大旅馆从未放弃过礼节。一则旅馆房间告示上写着“诚邀尊贵的客人在12点到14点之间占客房女服务员的便宜”(take advantage of the chambermaids)。然而，这可能造成意外的交通阻塞。最近的一次莫斯科画展也未必能让偶尔光顾者欣然前往，根据其告示，“画展将展出俄罗斯艺术家的300幅作品，他们中的大部分人在过去十年中已被处死了”。A Bangkok laundrys advertisement to the visiting public (Leaving your clothes here and enjoy yourself) could also be seen as a invitation to extracurricular activities in that Far Eastern capital of fun. 曼谷一家洗衣房的广告词邀请来访的顾客“留下你的衣服，尽情享受吧!”就像是鼓励人们在这座远东娱乐首府干些出格之事。In Rome, a laundry advertised a similar invitation: Ladies, leave your clothes here and spend the afternoon having a good time. 罗马也有类似的邀请，一家洗衣房广而告之：“女士们，留下你们的衣服，尽情享受这个下午吧!”It should not surprise the traveller that nightspots advertise their wares in Europe in many and diverse language. The German preoccupation with Majorca led a Munich nightclub to copy a trilingual Palma announcement that dancing was going on in what is indeed a surprising way. The notice read, Baile! Baile! Baile! in Spanish, Tanz! Tanz! Tanz! in German, and Balls! Balls! Balls! in what was meant to be English. We are spared the upper Bavarian version of the activity. 若在欧洲的夜总会看到用多种语言撰写的广告，游客们也不应吃惊。在德国，人们对马略卡舞极为痴迷，以至于慕尼黑的一家夜总会直接借用了帕尔马的一则三语告示，只是内容令人骇异。告示上印着“舞会”的西班牙语Baile! Baile! Baile!”，德语“Tanz! Tanz! Tanz!”，还有那所谓的英语“Balls! Balls! Balls!。(只可惜他们没考虑到Balls还有另一层意思：男性生殖器官。)还好，我们也因此躲过了学跳这种上流巴伐利亚人的舞蹈。The Black Forest Germans, on the other hand, are known to be rather prudish in their outlook, but is it really necessary to post a sign: It is strictly forbidden on our Black Forest camping site that people of different sexes, for example men and women, live together in one tent unless they are married with each other for that purpose. 与此形成对照的是黑森林区的德国人。众所周知，他们谨慎、守礼，但好像也不需要写这样的告示呀：“黑森林宿营地严禁不同性别的人，比如说男人和女人，共居一顶帐篷内，除非他们已为此目的结婚。”I am told that for the otherwise unsuspecting tourist, the following sign proved a real crowd puller. Parrot Phillips claims it to be true that in an Austrian hotel room he found the sign: If service required, give two strokes to the maid and three to the valet. 我还听说一则波洛菲利浦声称真实的告示，成功地吸引了许多原本并无他意的游客。那是在奥地利，他发现一家旅店的房间告示写着：“若需要服务，请抚摸女仆两下，洗衣工三下。”(其实此处的“stroke”应为“打铃”之意。)There are undoubtedly more and varied versions of the use of English, unprotected as our language is from the interference of emerging and ambitious entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, I prefer seeing English develop as the lingua franca around the world rather than being suffocated for the sake of so-called purity by some ill-advised legislative process. 毫无疑问，由于刻意进取的企业家大量涌现，不加防范的英语会有越来越多的版本。不过，在我看来，与其为了保持英语所谓的纯洁性而让不明智的立法将其扼杀，还不如任其发展成世界各国的通用语。Unit 2 Lies and Truth谎言与真理What is truth? and the opposite question that goes with it: what makes a lie? Philosophers, teachers, and religious leaders from all cultures and periods of history have offered many answers to these questions. Among Euro-North-American writers, there is general agreement on two points. The first is that what we call a lie must be told intentionally that is, if someone tells an untruth but they believe it to be true, we dont consider them a liar. The second point is that practically everyone lies, and lies frequently. But there the agreement ends. 什么是真理?或反之，什么又是谎言?对这两个问题，古往今来各国众多的哲学家、教育者及宗教领袖的答案各不相同，而在北美及欧洲的作家圈中却存在着两点共识：第一，撒谎应当是一种故意行为。换言之，如果你的话与事实相背，而你自己却没意识到，那就不算撒谎。第二，其实每个人都撒谎，而且是频繁地撒谎。但这种共识到此为止。One rather extreme point of view is that lying is always bad and that we should try to find ways avoid doing it. The reason is that lying hurts not only the listener, but also the liar. Each lie makes the next one easier to tell, and the liar comes not only to disrespect herself, but to mistrust others, whom she believes will lie as easily as she. In a society, where lying is common, trust becomes impossible, and without trust, cooperation can not exist. Furthermore, by lying to people, we remove their power to make important choices about how to spend money, what future career to take, what medical treatment to take. 有些人比较极端，他们认为撒谎总是有害的，因此人们应尽量设法避免撒谎。其理由是撒谎既伤害了别人，也伤害了撒谎者自己。如果撒过一次谎，第二次就变得容易了。长此以往，撒谎者不仅会丧失自尊，而且也不再相信别人。在他们看来，别人和自己一样常常撒谎。对一个社会来说，若撒谎成了家常便饭，信任也就无从谈起。而缺乏信任，就不会有合作。此外，谎言还会剥夺人们某些重要的选择权，比如如何消费，如何择业，或是选择何种医疗方案。Toward the opposite extreme is the position that although some lies are evil, many others are not in fact, they are necessary to hold our society together. We lie in harmless ways to protect others feelings and to better our relationship. These are not lies that try to hurt others. We laugh at the bosss joke which we have heard before and which she doesnt tell very well; we pretend interest in a friends story of something uninteresting that happened to him. If someone asks us a question that is very personal and is none of their business, we may lie in response. Sometimes we lie to protect the reputation or even the life of another person. On a larger scale, government may protect national security by lying. 与此完全对立的观点认为：尽管有些谎言有害，但是许多别的谎言却无害。不仅如此，它们甚至是社会安定的必要因素。为了顾及他人的感觉，增进人际关系，我们会本着不伤害别人的原则而撒些无害的谎言。老板的笑话以前早听过，说得也很蹩脚，但我们仍会开怀大笑。朋友说些无趣的私事，我们却假装很感兴趣。碰上涉及个人隐私而且与其无关的问题，我们会编个谎话搪塞过去。有时为了保护他人的名誉甚至生命，我们同样会撒谎。往大里说，政府也会为国家安全而撒谎。Each person seems to have some point at which they draw the line between an acceptable lie and a bad lie. Obviously, this point varies from individual to individual and from culture to culture. A sometimes painful part of growing up is realizing that not everyone shares your own individual definition of honesty. Your parents and your culture may teach you that liars suffer, but as you go through life, you find that often they dont: in fact, dishonest people often seem to prosper more than honest ones. What are you to do with this realization? It may make your moral beliefs look weak and silly in comparison, and you may begin to question them. It takes a great deal of strength and courage to continue living an honest life in the face of such reality. 每个人似乎都有某种标准来界定可以接受的谎言与恶意的谎言，这个标准显然因人而异，也因文化而异。在成长过程中，你有时会痛苦地发现，人们对诚实的定义不尽相同。家庭和文化也许教导你：撒谎者终将自食苦果。但随着生活经历的增加，你会发现他们往往并不吃亏。实际上，撒谎者似乎比诚实者往往更飞黄腾达。意识到这个问题之后，你怎么办呢?相形之下，你的道德信仰似乎不堪一击，而且显得很愚蠢，你自己也可能开始提出质疑。面对这样的现实仍坚守诚信需要非凡的力量和勇气。There are many ways to categorize lies, but here is a fairly simple one: 划分谎言的方法很多，下面是比较简单的一种：Little white lies: This is our name for lies that we consider harmless and socially acceptable. They are usually told to protect the liar or the feelings of the listener. Most of them would be considered social lies, and they include apologies and excuses: I tried to call you, but your line was busy. Youre kidding! You dont look like youve gained a pound. Some people, however, would consider it acceptable to lie to save themselves from responsibility in a business transaction: After I got home, I noticed that it was broken, so Im returning it and would like my money back. 善意的小谎言：我们认为这类谎言无害，在社交中也为人接受，其目的通常是保护撒谎者或听者的情感。其中大多数被认为是社交谎言，比如某些致歉和辩解：“我想给你打电话，但总占线”，“开玩笑吧，根本看不出你重了一磅”。然而，还有些人认为逃避商业交易中的责任也可以成为撒谎的理由：“到家后我才发现这是坏的，所以我想退货，请把钱还我。”Occasionally a little white lie may have a very profound effect on the lives of the listeners, and may even backfire. Author Stephanie Ercsson tells of the well-meaning U.S. Army sergeant who told a lie about one of his men who had been killed in action. The sergeant reported the man as missing in action, not killed, so that the military would continue sending money to the dead mans family every month. What he didnt consider was that because of his lie, the family continued to live in that narrow space between hope and loss, always watching for the mail or jumping when the telephone or the doorbell rang. They never were able to go through the normal process of sorrowing for, and then accepting, the death of their father and husband. The wife never remarried. Which was worse, the lie or the truth? Did the sergeant have the right to do what he did to them? 有时，这类“小谎言”也会对别人的生活产生巨大的影响，甚至可能适得其反。史蒂芬尼埃里克森的书中就有一个例子：一位士兵在战争中阵亡，其上司一位美军中土却出自好意地谎称他“在战斗中失踪了”。于是，军方每月都给其家属寄一笔钱。可中士没有想到的是，自己的谎言却令阵亡者一家始终在希望与失望间苦苦挣扎，他们眼巴巴地盼信，电话铃和门铃总会让他们一跃而起。他们永远没有机会在悲痛过后接受失去父亲或丈夫的现实，士兵的妻子再也没有结婚。在这个例子中，哪一个更糟?谎言还是真话?那位中士有权对他们这样做吗?What we really mean when we call an untruth a little white lie is that we think it was justifiable. Into this category fall many of the lies told within the walls of government. A person may lie to government, or a government official may lie to the public, and believe that by doing so, he becomes a hero. Clearly, however, one persons little white lie is another persons dirty lie. That brings us to the second category: 当我们称假话为“善意小谎言”时，我们真正的意图是告诉别人：撒谎情有可原。政界就有许多这类谎言，个人会对政府撒谎，政府官员也会对公众撒谎，他们都认为那是一种英雄行为。但显而易见，某些人的“善意谎言”对他人来说则是“恶意的谎言”，这也就是我们要说的第二类谎言：Dirty lies: There are lies told with intent to harm the listener or a third party and to benefit the liar. Into this category fall the lies of some dishonest salespersons, mechanics, repairmen; husbands or wives who are having an affair with someone else; teenagers who lie to get out of the house in order to do things that their parents would die if they knew about it; drug addicts who beg family members for money to support their habit. Dirty lies my be told to improve one persons reputation by destroying anothers, to hurt a colleagues chances of promotion so that the liar will be advanced. 恶意的谎言：这类谎言的目的是故意伤害听者或第三方，自己由此获利。撒这种谎的人有不诚实的销售员、机械师、维修工；有不忠的妻子或丈夫；有为了离家干些让父母知道会 发疯的事而说谎的少年；还有乞求家里人给钱买毒品的瘾君子。恶意撒谎者会为了自己的 名誉而损害他人名誉，为了自己的前途而去破坏同事的晋升机会。Lies of omission: Some people believe that lying covers not only what you say, but also what you choose not to say. If youre trying to sell a car that burns a lot of oil, but the buyer dont ask about that particular feature, is it a lie not to tell them? In the United States, a favorite place to withhold the truth is on peoples income tax returns. The government considers this an unquestionable lie, and if caught, these people are severely punished. If omission can be lying, history books are great liars. Until recently, most U.S. history textbooks painted Christopher Columbus purely as a hero, the man who discovered America, and had nothing to say about his darker side. Moreover, most Native American and African-American contributors to science, technology, invention, literature, art, discovery, and other areas of civilization used to be omitted form childrens schoolbooks. Many people considered this a lie, and todays history books usually mention at least some of it, though not as much as some people might like. 隐瞒事实：有些人认为谎言不光涉及说出的话，还涉及故意不说出的话。你想卖的车很耗油，但买主没问这方面的事，那厶隐瞒这个事实算不算撒谎呢?在美国，人们最爱在个人收入报税单上撒这种谎。在政府看来，隐瞒个人收入是不折不扣的谎言，一旦发现会给予严厉惩罚。但如果隐瞒真相算撒谎，历史书就是头号大骗子。一直以来，美国的大部分历史课本都将克里斯托弗哥伦布描述成一位纯粹的英雄、美洲大陆的发现者，对他的阴暗面却只字不提。此外，尽管美国原住民(印第安人)及美国黑人在科学技术、发明与发现、文学艺术和人类文明的其它领域有重大贡献，孩子们的教科书中过去对他们的名字却少有提及。许多人认为这就是撒谎。虽然如今的历史课本还不尽如人意，但至少对他们还是提到了一些。False promises: This category is made up of promises that the promiser knows are false, that he has no intention of keeping even as the world leave his lips. While some are fairly harmless and social, others are taken more seriously and can hurt the listener: Ill never do it again, I promise. Advertisers and politicians suffer from terrible stereotypes because of the false promises of some of their number: Lose 50 pounds in two weeks. Read my lips: No new taxes. Probably everyone would agree that if we make a promise but have no intention of keeping it, we lie. But what if we really do plan to keep it, and then something happens to prevent it? Consider the journalist who promises not to indentify his resources, but then is pressured by his newspaper or by the law. How far should he go to keep his word? If he breaks his promise, is he dishonest? 虚假的承诺：这类谎言由诺言组成，只是承诺人在信誓旦旦时就没打算守信。它们的有些是出于社交目的，也没什么危害，但有些却会伤害那些较真的人，比如有人会说“我保证再也不干这种事了”，但结果却没做到。广告商和政治家们也会承诺“两周内减肥50磅”或是“相信我，不会再增加新的税收。”这类虚假的诺言令他们的同行背上了许多骂名。可能每个人都同意食言是撒谎行为，但若真地有心守信却因故食言又怎么办呢?比如说一位记者，他承诺不泄露消息来源，但却因此承受了报社或法律的压力，他该怎么办?在信