学生翻译练习材料

学生翻译练习材料学生翻译练习材料 Passage1Technically it beginsnext week Actually it beganwith theepic sighof reliefthat couldbe sensedall over the U S right afterLabor Day Even beforeit arrives Americans alwaysmanage to get intoautumn And nowonder It iseasily the most habitableseason of the year Indeed autumn deserves a hymn and it has receivedfar lesstribute thanit deserves True some mixednotices havee inover thecenturies Horace slanderedautumn as a dead period harvest season of the Goddessof Death He wasdead wrong of course for asOvid noted once hegot hismind offsex autumn is cum formossisimusannus the fairestseason of the year Had helived a little later Horace mighthave foundout from the U S census Bureauthat thedeath rateis usuallylower in autumn than in winterand spring Why Science doesn t know but it is quitepossible that the will to liveis strongerin thefall Conversely the willto mayhemweakens nobody has ever worriedabout aLong HotAutumn So autumnis ablatantly vitalseason contrary to the allegationof sorrowfulpets whomisconstrue themessage ofdying leaves A morerealistic poet Archibald MacLeish says that Autumn is the Americanseason In Europethe leavesturn yellowor brownand fall Here theytake fireon the trees andhang thereflaming Life too we think is capableof takingfire inthis country of creatingbeauty neverseen Autumn is also theauthentic seasonof renewal Yale LecturerWilliam Zinsserhit the nail squarely The wholenotion ofNew Year s Dayas thetime offresh starts and boldresolutions isfalse In truththat timeis autumn Popular pleasureshows itself in thosehastening steps and brightenedsmiles encounteredass theair growsnippier Some psychiatristshave patientswho growalmost alarmedat howcongenial theysuddenly feel Autumn is a friendliertime Passage2There isa timein everyman s educationwhen hearrives atthe conviction that envyis ignorance that imitationis suicide that hemust takehimself forbetter for worse as hisportion that thoughthe wideuniverse isfull of good no kernelof nourishingcorn cane to him butthrough histoil bestowedonthatplot ofground whichis givento himto till The powerwhich residesin himis newin nature and nonebut he knows what that iswhich hecan do nor doesheknowuntil he has tried Not fornothing oneface one character one fact makes muchimpression onhim and anothernone This sculpturein thememory is not withoutpre established harmony The eyewas placedwhere oneray shouldfall that it might testifyof thatparticular ray We buthalf expressourselves and areashamed ofthat divineidea whicheach ofus represents It maybe safelytrusted asproportionate and ofgoodissues so itbe faithfullyimparted but Godwill not have his work mademanifest bycowards A manis relievedand gaywhen he has puthis heartinto hiswork and done hisbest but what hehassaid ordone otherwise shall givehim nopeace It isa deliverancewhich doesnot deliver In theattempt hisgenius desertshim no musebefriends no invention no hope Trust yourself every heartvibrates tothat ironstring Aept theplace thedivine providencehas foundfor you the societyof yourcontemporaries the connectionof events Great menhave alwaysdone so and confidedthemselves childliketo thegenius of their age betraying theirperception thatthe absolutelytrustworthy wasseated attheir heart working through their hands predominating in all theirbeing And weare nowmen and mustaept in the highestmind the same transcendentdestiny and notminors andinvalids in a protectedcorner not cowardsfleeing before a revolution but guides redeemers and benefactors obeying theAlmighty effort and advancingon Chaosand theDark Passage3The20th century the centuryof metamythsand ofmegadeaths spawned falsenotions of total control derived fromarrogant assertionsaepted realityas God ordained had givenway to the secularfanatic increasingly inclinedto usurpGod in the effortto constructheaven onearth increasingly inclinedto usurpGod in the effortto constructheaven onearth subordinating not only naturebut humanityitself tohis ownutopian vision In thecourse of the century this visionwas pervertedinto the most costlyexercise ofpolitical hubrisin mankind s history the totalitarianattempt tocreate coerciveutopias All ofreality on theobjective levelof socialorganization andon thesubjective levelof personalbeliefs was tosubject to doctrinal controlemanating froma singlepolitical center The pricepaid inhuman livesfor thisexcess isbeyond prehension Adding themall up somewhere between167million and175million individualhuman beingswere deliberatelyextinguished throughpolitically motivatedcarnage the scores of millions of soldiersand civilianskilled in the century s wars the furtherscoresof millions killedin theconcentration camps gulags forced collectivization ethnic transplanting and killingfields decreedby self deified dictators The tensofmillions that weekilled becausethey wereperceived for racialor socialreasons as unworthyof livingwithin theearthly utopia and themany millionsmore thatwere coercedinto livingwithin thesesystems all testifyto thehypnotic appealof themetamyths ofNazism andmunism thatpostulated the end ofhistory and the attainmentof perfection within utopiasoftotalcontrol Passage4But it hasn t happened Yes young Americansare energetic ambitions enterprising and good but theirtalents andinterests andmoney thrustthem notinto booksand ideas and historyand civics but intowhole otherream and other consciousness A differentsocial lifeand adifferent mentallife haveformed amongthem Technology hasbred it but theresult doesn t tallywith thefulsome descriptionof digitalempowerment global awareness and virtualmunities Instead ofopening youngAmerican mindsto thestores ofcivilization andscience andpolitics technology hascontracted theirhorizon to themselves to thesocial scenearound them Young peoplehave neverbeen sointensely mindfulof andpresent to one another so enabledin adolescentcontact Teen imagesand songs hot gossipand games and youth to youth municationsso longerlimited bytime orspace wrapthem upinagenerational cocoonreaching all the wayinto theirbedrooms The autonomyhas acost the morethey attend to themselves the lessthey rememberthe pastand envisiona future They havealltheadvantages of modernity anddemocracy but whenthe giftsof lifelead tosocial joys not intellectuallabor the mindsof theyoung plateauat age18 this ishappening allaround us The fontsof knowledgeare everywhere but therising generationis campedin thedesert passing stories pictures tunes and textsback andforth living offthe thrillof peerattention Meanwhile their intellectsrefuse thecultural andcivic inheritancethat hasmade uswhat weare upto now Passage5The internationaldimension sothe currentmalaise indicatethat itcannot be attributed toan Americanfailure ofnerve Bourgeois societyseems everywhereto haveused upits storeof constructiveideas It haslost boththe capacityand the willtoconfront thedifficulties thatthreaten tooverwhelm it The politicalcrisis ofcapitalism reflectsa generalcrisis ofwestern culture which revealsitselfina pervasivedespair ofunderstanding thecourse ofmodern historyor ofsubjecting itto rationaldirection Liberalism the politicaltheory of the ascendantbourgeoisie long agolost thecapacity toexplain eventsin the world of the welfarestare and the multinationalcorporation nothing hastaken itsplace Politically bankrupt liberalism isintellectually bankruptas well The scienceithasfostered once confidentof theirability todispel thedarkness of the ages no longerprovide satisfactoryexplanations ofthe phenomenathey professto elucidate Neoclassical economictheory cannotexplain thecoexistence ofunemployment andinflation sociology retreats from theattempt tooutline ageneral theoryofmodernsociety academic psychologyretreatsfrom the challengeof Freudinto themeasurement oftrivia The naturalsciences having madeexaggerated claimsfor themselves now hastento announcethat scienceoffers nomiracle curesfor social problems Passage6Light hadbroken on the longprimeval darknessofthe world Now as thesparks crackedupward and soared awayto disappearinto thegreat abyssofthenight as theyellow andorange flameswinged theirtapering andwavering beautyup into the blackvoid the bondsbetween those who belongedto each other in these smallintimate munities sharing thesame conditions problems andpleasures oflife became evermore deeplyestablished andenriched as theirstorytelling began about thecharacters ofthe animalsthey hunted the dangers excitements enjoyments of their discovering and theirnew waysof dealingwith them the qualities serious andfunny oftheirown charactersand thoseoftheirrades the awesomemillion manifoldstories whichslowly wentintotheestablishment ofhuman customsand cultures grew aboutthe sharedfire nowblazing withlife atthe center the source of utilityin thedaytime andoffort pleasure and thedelights andglories ofimagination atnight In somesuch contextof hearthand home in somesuch ways were bornthe basicsentiments ofhuman civilization were primaryand enduringvalues ofhuman custom the primaryideals ofhuman natureestablished And insuch ways too they havelong continuedthroughout thewhole ofhuman history Passage7It isodd towatch withwhat feverishardor theAmericans pursueprosperity andhow theyare evertormented by the shadowysuspicion that they maynothavechosen theshortest routetogetit Americans cleaveto thingsof thisworld as if assuredthattheywill neverdie and yetare insuch arush tosnatch anythat ewithin theirreach asifexpecting tostop livingbefore they have relishedthem They clutcheverything buthold nothingfast andsolose gripas theyhurry aftersome newdelight An Americanwill builda housein whichto passhis oldage andsell itbefore theroof ison he willplant agarden andrent itjust as thetreesare inginto bearing he willclear afield and leave othersto reapthe harvest he willtake upa professionandleaveit settle inone placeand soongo offelsewhere withhis changingdesires If hisprivate businessallows hima moment s relaxation hewillplunge atonce intothe whirlpoolof polities Then if atthe endof ayear crammedwith workhehasalittlespare time his restlesscuriosity goeswith himtraveling upand downthe vastterritories ofthe UnitedStates Thus hewill travelfive hundredmiles ina few days asa distractingfrom hishappiness Death stepsintheend andstops himbefore hehas growntired ofhis futilepursuit ofthat pletefelicity whichalways escapeshim Passage8It isa miraclethat New York worksat all The wholething isimplausible Every timethe residentsbrush theirteeth millionsofgallons ofwater must be drawnfrom theCatskills and the hillsof Westchester What a young manin Manhattanwrites aletter tohis girlin Brooklyn the lovemessage getsblown toher though a pneumatictube pfft just likethat The subterraneansystem oftelephone cables power lines steam pipes gas mains and sewerpipes isreason enoughto abandon the island tothegods andthe weevils Every timean incisionis madeinthepavement the noisysurgeons exposeganglia thatare tangledbeyond belief By rightsNew Yorkshould havedestroyed itselflong ago from panicor fireor riotingor failureof somevital supplyline in its circulatorysystem orfrom somedeep labyrinthineshort circuit Long agothe cityshould haveexperienced aninsoluble trafficsnarl atsome impossiblebottleneck It should have perishedof hungerwhen foodlines failedfor a fewdays It shouldhave beenwiped outby aplague startingin itsslums orcarried inby ship s rats It shouldhave beenoverwhelmed bythe seathat licksat iton everyside The workersin itsmyriad cellsshouldhavesuumbed tonerves from thefearful pullof smoke fog thatdrifts overevery fewdays fromJersey blotting outall lightat noonand leavingthe highoffices suspended men gropingand depressed andthesense ofworld s end It shouldhave beentouched inthe headbytheAugust heatand goneoff itsrocker Passage9As thismillennium dawns New YorkCity is themost important city intheworld the unofficialcapital ofpla Earth But beforewe NewYorkers beetoo fullof ourselves itmightbe worthwhileto glanceat dilapidatedKaifeng incentral China Kaifeng an ancientcity alongthe mud clogged YellowRiver was byfar themostimportantcityintheworld in1000 And ifyou ve neverheard ofit that sauseful warningfor Americans as theChinese headlineabove putsit inalanguage for the futurethat manymore Americansshould startlearning glory isas ephemeralas smokeand clouds Today Kiafengis grimyand poor not even the provincialcapital andso minorit lackseven anairport Its sadstate onlyunderscores howfortunes change In the11th century when itwas thecapital ofSong DynastyChina its populationwas morethan onemillion In contrast London s population then was about15 000 An ancient17 foot paintedscroll now inthe PalaceMuseum inBeijing show thebustle andprosperity of ancient Kaifeng Hundreds ofpedestrians jostleeachotheron thestreets camels carrymerchandises infromtheSilk Road and teahousesand restaurantsdo athriving business Kaifeng s statureattracted peoplefrom allover theworld including hundredsof Jews Even today there aresome peoplein Kaifengwho looklike otherChinese butwho considerthemselves Jewishanddonot eatpork As Iroamed theKaifeng area asking local people whysuch an international centerhad sunkso low I encounteredplenty ofenvy ofNewYork One mansaid he was arrangingto besmuggled intothe U S illegally by payinga gang 25 000 but manylocalpeopleinsisted thatChina isonthecourse tobounce backand recoverits historicrole asworld leader China isbooming now said WangRuina a youngpeasant womanontheoutskirts oftown Give usa fewdecades and we ll catchup with the U S even passit Passage10Although arthistorians havespent decadesdemystifying Van Gogh s legend they havedone littleto diminishhis vastpopularity Auction pricesstill soar visitors overpopulateVan Goghexhibitions and TheStarry Nightremains ubiquitouson dormitoryand kitchenwalls So pleteis VanGogh s globalapotheosis thatJapanese touristsnow makepilgrimages toAuvers tosprinkle theirrelative s asheson hisgrave What aountsfor theendless appealof VanGosh myth It hasat leasttwo deepand powerfulsources At themost primitivelevel it providesa satisfyingand nearlyuniversal revengefantasy disguisedas thestory ofheroic sacrificeto art Anyone whohaseverfelt isolatedand unappreciatedcan identifywith VanGogh andhope not only fora spectacularredemption butalso toput criticsand doubtingrelatives toshame At thesame time the mythoffers analluringly simplistionception ofgreat artas theproduct not ofparticular historicalcircumstances andthe artist s painstakingcalculations but ofthena ve andspontaneous outpouringsof amad holy fool The gapingdiscrepancy betweenVanGogh s long suffering lifeand hisremarkable posthumousfame remainsa greatand undeniablehistorical irony But thenotion that he was an artisticidiot savantis quicklydispelled byeventhemost glancingexamination ofthe artist s letters It alsomustbedropped afteracquainting oneselfwiththerudimentary factsof VanGogh s familybackground upbringing and earlyadulthood Passage11A fewjerks aroundevery businessoffice haveruined whatused to beaperfectly pleasantand harmlessworkplace activity by betweenmen and women In anywork placewhere thereare men andwomen there isinevitably arelationship establishedbetween themthat isdifferent fromthe relationshipbetween theworkers aofthesamesex There isnothing vulgaror sexistabout it Men aremenandwomen arewomen It makeswork moreinteresting andit s toobad we re beingasked to behave asif we re allasexual The averageman doesn t lustafter everywoman hesees who s attractiveto him If thereare thoughtsthat etohimunbidden he suppressesthose asquickly andsurely asany inclinationhe mighthave toshoplift anattractive pieceof merchandiseinastore I wasstanding atthe elevatorontheseventh floorof mybuilding whenayoungwoman camealong noted thatI hadalready pushedthe DOWNbutton shesmiled nodded andstood nearme She was attractive andwearing whatI perceivedto bea newand quiteshort dress I alikeyour dress I saidand thenI pausedand added What thereis ofit I don t knowwhether that sapliment oran insult she laughed It seemsto meatthattime to be aninoffensive man woman bitof conversationlike tenthousand othersI ve hadovertheyears butI gotthinking afterwardsthat it sthesort ofthing Iprobably shouldn t sayanymore Passage12As theyears wentby hewas tobe foundseldom inthe waysof men He couldbe temptedto eout ofhis houseonly bya gameof chessorthechance of an argument He lovedto sethis brainagainst another s He waswidely readnow notonlyin history but inphilosophy andscience and hewasaskilful controversialist quick logical and incisive But hehad good humour andkindliness though hetook avery humanpleasure invictory he didnot exultinitto yourmortification When hefirst cametothe island hewasabig brawny fellow with thickblack hairand ablack beard of a powerful physique but graduallyhis skinbecame paleand waxy he grewthin andfrail It wasan oldcontradiction inthemostlogical ofmen that thoughaconvinced andimpetuous materialist he despisedthe body he lookedupon itasavile instrumentwhich hecould forceto dothe spirit s bidding Neither illnessnor lassitudeprevented himfrom goingonwithhiswork For fourteenyears hetoiled unremittingly He madethousands andthousands ofnotes He sortedand classifiedthem He hadhis subjectat hisfinger ends and atlast wasready tobegin He satdown towrite He died The bodythathe the materialist had treatedso contumeliouslytook itsrevenge onhim That vastaumulation ofknowledge islost forever Vain wasthat ambition surely notan ignobleone to sethis namebeside thoseof Gibbonand Mommsen His memoryis treasuredinthehearts ofafewfriends fewer alas as theyears passon andtotheworldheisunknown indeath as hewas in life And yetto mehis lifewasasuess The patternis goodand plete He didwhathewanted and hedied whenhis goalwasinsight andnever knewthe bitternessof anend achieved Passage13Research shows that girls in single parent familiesare at greater risk for precocioussexuality teenage marriage teen pregnancy nonmarital birth and divorcethan aregirlsintwo parent families and thatthis istrue regardlessof raceor