Unit 1

New Words

WordsPhonetic symbolsChinese
fallacy/‘fæləsɪ/n. 谬论,谬误
pact/pækt/n. 协定;公约;条约;契约
shrewd/ʃruːd/n. 精明(的人);机灵(的人);adj. 精明的;狡猾的;机灵的;机敏的
well-off/‘wel’ɔ:f/adj. 富裕的;顺利的,走运的;繁荣昌盛的
dye/daɪ/n. (用于染衣服、头发等的)染料;染色;vt. 染;把…染上颜色;vi. 被染色
makeup/meɪkʌp/n.化妆品;组成,构造,结构;补充,补考
elite/eɪˈliːt/n.(社会)精英,中坚分子,上层人士;精华;adj.精英的,精锐的
radiant/‘reɪdɪənt/n. 光点;发光的物体;adj. 辐射的;容光焕发的;光芒四射的
counterpart/‘kaʊntəpɑːt/n. 副本;配对物;极相似的人或物,职务相当的人,职能相当的人
pearl/pɜːl/n. 珍珠;珍珠色;杰出者;珍品;vt. 使成珠状;用珍珠装饰;使呈珍珠色;vi. 采珍珠;成珍珠状;adj. 镶珍珠的;珍珠状的
banner/‘bænə/n. 横幅图片的广告模式;旗帜,横幅,标语
situated/‘sɪtjʊeɪtɪd/adj. 位于…的;处于…境遇的
expressway/ɪk’spresweɪ; ek-/n. (美)高速公路
venue/‘venjuː/n. 审判地;犯罪地点;发生地点;集合地点
luminous/‘luːmɪnəs/adj. 发光的;明亮的;清楚的;夜明的
stereo/ˈsterɪəʊ/n. 立体声;立体声系统;铅版;立体照片;adj. 立体的;立体声的;立体感觉的
pedal/‘ped(ə)l/n. 踏板;脚蹬子;vt. 骑(自行车);踩……的踏板;vi. 踩踏板;骑车;adj. 脚的;脚踏的
gum/gʌm/n. 口香糖=chewing gum;树胶;橡皮;vt. 用胶粘,涂以树胶;使…有粘性
staple/‘steɪp(ə)l/n. 主要产品;订书钉;主题;主食;vt. 把…分级;钉住;adj. 主要的,大宗生产的;常用的;纺织纤维的
distort/dɪ’stɔːt/vt. 扭曲;使失真;曲解;vi. 扭曲;变形
stump/stʌmp/n. 树桩;残余部分;假肢;vt. 砍伐;使为难;在…作巡回政治演说;vi. 笨重地行走;发表竞选演说
obesity/ə(ʊ)’biːsɪtɪ/n. 肥大,肥胖,肥胖症
explanatory/ɪk’splænə,t(ə)rɪ; ek-/adj. 解释的;说明的
underway/‘ʌndə’weɪ/n. [公路 水底通道;adj. 进行中的;起步的;航行中的
inference/‘ɪnf(ə)r(ə)ns/n. 推理;推论;推断
analytical/ænə’lɪtɪk(ə)l/adj. 分析的;解析的;善于分析的
conversion/kən’vɜːʃ(ə)n/n. 转换;变换;[金融 兑换;改变信仰
premature/‘premətjʊə/n. 早产儿;过早发生的事物;adj. 早产的;不成熟的;比预期早的
surpass/sə’pɑːs/vt. 超越;胜过,优于;非…所能办到或理解
premise/‘premɪs/n. 前提;上述各项;房屋连地基;vt. 引出,预先提出;作为…的前提;vi. 作出前提
tactic/‘tæktɪk/n. 策略,战略;adj. 按顺序的,依次排列的
flatter/‘flætə/vt. 奉承;谄媚;使高兴
flattery/‘flæt(ə)rɪ/n. 奉承;谄媚;恭维话
discern/dɪ’sɜːn/vt. 识别;领悟,认识;vi. 看清楚,辨别
crumble/‘krʌmb(ə)l/n. 面包屑;vt. 崩溃;弄碎,粉碎;vi. 崩溃;破碎,粉碎
flare/fleə/n. 加剧,恶化;底部展开;(鼻孔)张开的意思;闪光,闪耀;耀斑;爆发;照明弹;vt. 使闪耀;使张开;用发光信号发出;使外倾;vi. 闪耀,闪光;燃烧;突然发怒
proposition/prɒpə’zɪʃ(ə)n/n. [数 命题;提议;主题;议题;vt. 向…提议;向…求欢
petitioner/pə’tɪʃənɚ/n. 请愿人;诉愿人;(英)离婚案原告
axe/æks/n. 斧;vt. 削减;用斧砍
ingenious/ɪn’dʒiːnɪəs/adj. 有独创性的;机灵的,精制的;心灵手巧的
muscular/‘mʌskjʊlə/adj. 肌肉的;肌肉发达的;强健的
retort/rɪ’tɔːt/n. 反驳,顶嘴;曲颈瓶;vt. 反驳,反击;vi. 反驳,回嘴
drip/drɪp/n. 水滴,滴水声;静脉滴注;使人厌烦的人;vt. 使滴下;溢出,发出;vi. 滴下;充满;漏下
sarcasm/‘sɑːkæz(ə)m/n. 讽刺;挖苦;嘲笑
disclosure/dɪs’kləʊʒə/n. [审计 披露;揭发;被揭发出来的事情
orthodox/‘ɔːθədɒks/n. 正统的人;正统的事物;adj. 正统的;传统的;惯常的;东正教的
realm/relm/n. 领域,范围;王国
formulate/‘fɔːmjʊleɪt/vt. 规划,构想,制定(计划、制度、建议等);用公式表示;明确地表达
layman/‘leɪmən/n. 外行;门外汉;俗人;一般信徒
stainless/‘steɪnlɪs/adj. 不锈的;纯洁的,未被玷污的;无瑕疵的
incompetence/ɪn’kɒmpɪt(ə)ns/n. 无资格,不胜任;无能力;不适当;不熟练
accountability/ə,kaʊntə’bɪlɪtɪ/n. 有义务;有责任,负有责任,问责性;可说明性
petty/‘petɪ/adj. (问题、细节等)小的,琐碎的,不重要的;小气的,小心眼的,心胸狭窄的,只关注琐事的;小规模的
veto/‘viːtəʊ/n. 否决权;vt. 不同意,反对(某个计划或建议);否决(尤指他人或组织已赞同之事);禁止;vi. 否决;禁止
refute/rɪ’fjuːt/vt.驳倒,反驳(陈述或观点);驳斥,否认
hypothesis/haɪ’pɒθɪsɪs/n.假设,假说
hack/hæk/n. 雇佣文人;杂务人员;砍;vt. 砍,猛踢;vi. 砍,非法侵入(他人计算机系统)
stall/stɔːl/n. 货摊;畜栏;托辞;vt. 故意拖延;(使)(发动机或车辆) 停转;使陷于泥中;vi. 停止,停转;拖延
trigger/‘trɪgə/n. (枪的)扳机;[电子 触发器;制滑机;vt. 引发,引起;触发,激发;vi. 松开扳柄
hacker/‘hækə/n. 电脑黑客,企图不法侵入他人电脑系统的人
rivalry/‘raɪv(ə)lrɪ/n. 竞争;对抗;竞赛
partition/pɑː’tɪʃ(ə)n/n. 划分,分开;[数 分割;隔墙;隔离物;(房间或交通工具的)阻隔物;vt. [数 分割;分隔;区分;用阻隔物隔开(房间或交通工具)
loop/luːp/n. 环;圈;弯曲部分;翻筋斗;vt. 使成环;以环连结;使翻筋斗;vi. 打环;翻筋斗
plaza/‘plɑːzə/n.(市镇的) 广场;市场,(城市的)购物中心,商业区
overstate/əʊvə’steɪt/vt. 把…讲得过分,过分强调,夸张;夸大的叙述
prophet/‘prɒfɪt/n.预言者;(基督教、犹太教或伊斯兰教的)先知,神使
testify/‘testɪfaɪ/vt. 证明,证实;(通常指在法庭上)作证;vi. 作证;证明
testimony/‘testɪmənɪ/n. [法 证词,证言;证据
recount/rɪ’kaʊnt/n. 重算,重新计算,(尤指)重点选票;vt. 叙述
retention/rɪ’tenʃ(ə)n/n. 保留;扣留,滞留;记忆力;闭尿
retrieval/rɪ’triːvl/n. 检索;恢复,重新找回;取回;拯救
assault/ə’sɔːlt; ə’sɒlt/n. 攻击;袭击人身攻击,侵犯人身罪;vt. 攻击;袭击;vi. 袭击;动武
rape/reɪp/n. 强奸,掠夺;[园艺 油菜;葡萄渣;vt. 强奸;掠夺,抢夺;vi. 犯强奸罪
repel/rɪ’pel/vt. 击退;抵制;使厌恶;使不愉快
empirical/em’pɪrɪk(ə)l; ɪm-/adj. 经验主义的,以科学实验为根据的,完全根据经验的;实证的
obscure/əb’skjʊə/n. 某种模糊的或不清楚的东西;vt. 使…模糊不清,掩盖;隐藏;使难理解;adj. 昏暗的,朦胧的;晦涩的,不清楚的;隐蔽的;不著名的,无名的
incidence/‘ɪnsɪd(ə)ns/n. (尤指犯罪、疾病等的)发生率;影响;[光 入射;影响范围
periodic/,pɪərɪ’ɒdɪk/adj. 周期的;定期的
casino/kə’siːnəʊ/n. 俱乐部,赌场;娱乐场
slot/slɒt/n.(可投入东西的)狭长孔,狭槽;(一系列事件中为某事安排的)时间,空档;硬币投币口;vt. 跟踪;开槽于
threshold/‘θreʃəʊld; ‘θreʃ,həʊld/n.(某事开始发生或产生效果的)起始点,限度;门口,门槛
trillion/‘trɪljən/num. [数 万亿;adj. 万亿的
erroneous/ɪ’rəʊnɪəs; e-/adj. 错误的;不正确的
decay/dɪ’keɪ/n. 衰退,[核 衰减;腐烂,腐朽;vt. 使腐烂,使腐败;使衰退,使衰落;vi. 衰退,[核 衰减;腐烂,腐朽
watertight/‘wɔːtətaɪt/adj.)(论点、计划等)严密的,无懈可击的;(容器、屋顶、门等)不透水的,防水的,水密的

Phrases and expressions

  1. by virtue of 因为,由于,凭借
  2. factor sth. into sth. 把…计入,把…考虑在内
  3. attribute sth. to sb./sth. 把…归因于
  4. in reality 事实上,实际上
  5. come into play 开始发生作用,开始起作用
  6. in that 因为,由于
  7. call for 需要,使有必要;呼吁,要求
  8. play the odds 冒险,碰运气
  9. in a row 连续地
  10. be/get stuck on sth. 被…困住,被…难住
  11. subject to sth. 易经受…的,易受…影响的;取决于…的,有待于…的
  12. by virtue of 因为,由于,凭借
  13. factor sth. into sth. 把…计入,把…考虑在内
  14. attribute sth. to sb./sth. 把…归因于
  15. in reality 事实上,实际上
  16. come into play 开始发生作用,开始起作用
  17. in that 因为,由于
  18. call for 需要,使有必要;呼吁,要求
  19. play the odds 冒险,碰运气
  20. in a row 连续地
  21. be/get stuck on sth. 被…困住,被…难住
  22. subject to sth. 易经受…的,易受…影响的;取决于…的,有待于…的

Articles

A

Why do smart people

do dumb things?

为什么聪明人也会做蠢事?

图片

Para.1

Orthodox views prize intelligence and intellectual rigor highly in the modern realm of universities and tech industry jobs. One of the underlying assumptions of this value system is that smart people, by virtue of what they’ve learned, will formulate better decisions. Often this is true. Yet psychologists who study human decision making processes have uncovered cognitive biases common to all people, regardless of intelligence, that can lead to poor decisions in experts and laymen alike.

传统观念将智力和思维的缜密性看作现代大学领域和科技产业工作的重要素质。这一价值体系所隐含的前提是,聪明人借助自己丰富的学识会作出更高明的决定。在大多数情况下,确实如此。但是,研究人类决策过程的心理学家们却发现了每个人身上都常见的“认知偏差”。不管智力水平如何,这些认知偏差都会引导人们作出错误的决定,不论他们是专家还是门外汉。

Para.2

Thankfully these biases can be avoided. Understanding how and in what situations they occur can give you an awareness of your own limitations and allow you to factor them into your decision-making.

好在这些偏差是可以避免的。只要知道这些偏差如何及在何种情况下发生,你就能意识到自身的缺陷,并在决策过程中考虑到这些因素的影响。

Para.3

One of the most common biases is what is known as the fundamental attribution error. Through this people attribute the failures of others to character flaws and their own to mere circumstance, subconsciously considering their own characters to be stainless. “Jenkins lost his job because of his incompetence; I lost mine because of the recession.” It also leads us to attribute our own success to our qualifications, discounting luck, while seeing others’ success as the product of mere luck.

最常见的偏差之一就是通常所说的“基本归因错误”。犯这种错误的人会将别人的失败归因于性格缺陷,而将自己的失败仅仅归因于周遭环境,潜意识中认为自己的性格是完美无瑕的。“詹金斯丢掉了工作是因为他能力太差,我丢掉了工作则是因为经济衰退。”同样,这种偏差也会让我们将自己的成功归功于自身素质而不是运气,而将别人的成功仅仅看作是运气使然。

Para.4

In other words, we typically demand more accountability from others than we do from ourselves. Not only does this lead to petty judgments about other people, it also leads to faulty risk assessment when you assume that certain bad things only happen to others. For example, you might assume, without evidence, that the price of your house will go up even though 90 percent of them have dropped in price, because you yourself are more competent.

换句话说,我们通常要求别人承担更多的责任,而不是自己。这不仅导致我们心胸狭窄地对别人进行评价,也会由于假定某种坏事只会发生在别人身上而致使我们做出错误的风险评判。举一个例子,你可能会毫无根据地假定自己的房子会升值,哪怕周围百分之九十的房子都已经贬值了,因为你总认为自己的能力更强。

Para.5

Confirmation bias is sometimes found together with fundamental attribution error. This one has two parts. First, we tend to gather and rely upon information that only confirms our existing views. Second, we avoid or veto things that refute our preexisting hypotheses.

“确定性偏差”有时会和“基本归因错误”一并出现。这种偏差包含两部分:第一,我们往往只收集且只依赖对我们的已有观点起支持作用的信息;第二,我们回避或否认那些与自己之前所持的假设相左的信息。

Para.6

For example, imagine that you suspect your computer has been hacked. Every time it stalls or has a little error, you assume that it was triggered by a hacker and that your suspicions are valid. This bias plays an especially big role in rivalries between two opposing views. Each side partitions their own beliefs in a logic-proof loop, and claims their opponent is failing to recognize valid points. Outwitting confirmation bias therefore requires exploring both sides of an argument with equal diligence.

比如说,假设你怀疑自己的电脑受到了黑客攻击,那么它每次死机或出个小错,你都会认定是由黑客引起的,而且你认定自己的怀疑正确无误。这种偏差在两种敌对观点的对抗中会起到尤其重要的作用。每一方都会把自己的观点隔离出来,认为其在逻辑上无懈可击,并声称他们的对手忽略了某些要点。所以,要克服“确定性偏差”,就要以同样的努力认真探究论点的正反两面。

Para.7

Similar to confirmation bias is the overconfidence bias. In an ideal world, we could be correct 100 percent of the time we were 100 percent sure about something, correct 80 percent of the time we were 80 percent sure about something, and so on. In reality, people’s confidence vastly exceeds the accuracy of those judgments. This bias most frequently comes into play in areas where someone has no direct evidence and must make a guess - estimating how many people are in a crowded plaza, for example, or how likely it will rain. To make matters worse, even when people are aware of overconfidence bias, they will still tend to overstate the chances that they are correct. Confidence is no prophet and is best used together with available evidence. When witnesses are called to testify in a court trial, the confidence in their testimony is measured along with and against the evidence at hand.

与“确定性偏差”相类似的是“过度自信偏差”。在一个理想的世界,当我们百分之百地确信某件事时,我们就百分之百地正确;当我们百分之八十地确信某件事时,我们就百分之八十地正确,以此类推。但在现实中,人们的信心却大大超过了其判断的准确度。在一个人缺乏直接证据而必须要作出某种猜测的情况下,这一偏差就最有可能起作用,比如,估计一个拥挤的购物广场有多少人,或下雨的可能性有多大。更糟糕的是,即使人们意识到自己有过度自信的偏差,他们还是会高估自己的正确率。光靠自信是无法进行准确预测的,只有在切实证据的基础上,自信才能发挥最大的作用。当法庭传唤目击者出庭作证时,对他们证词的信任度是通过已经获取的相符或相反的证据来度量的。

Para.8

The availability bias is also related to errors in estimation, in that we tend to estimate what outcome is more likely by how easily we can recount an example from memory. Since the retention and retrieval of memories is biased toward vivid, sensational, or emotionally charged examples, decisions based on them can often lead to strange, inaccurate conclusions.

凭借回忆某一例证的难易程度来推测哪种结果更可能出现。由于记忆的留存和重拾会因为事件的生动与否、震撼程度和情感触动程度的不同而产生偏差,那么,基于这些记忆所作出的决定也往往会是奇怪或不准确的结论。

Para.9

In action this bias might lead someone to cancel a trip to, for example, the Canary Islands because of a report that the biggest plane crash in history happened there. Likewise some people might stop going out at night for fear of assault or rape.

在具体行为中,这种偏差可能会使某人取消比如前往加那利群岛的行程,因为有报道说,史上最惨重的空难就发生在那里。同样,人们也可能因惧怕遭到人身侵犯或者强暴而不敢再在晚上出门。

Para.10

Repelling the availability bias calls for an empirical approach to a particular decision, one not based on the obscured reality of vivid memory. If there is a low incidence of disaster, like only one out of 100,000 plane landings results in a crash, it is safe to fly to the Canary Islands. If one out of one million people who go out is assaulted, it is safe to go out at night.

要排除“可得性偏差”,就必须在作某一具体决定时,以实证方法所取得的证据为依据,而不是以与现实不太相符的某个鲜明的记忆为依据。如果灾难的发生率很低,比如飞机着陆过程中坠毁的可能性只有十万分之一,那么飞往加那利群岛就仍是安全的。如果人们外出只有百万分之一的几率遭到人身侵犯,那么夜晚出行也就仍是安全的。

Para.11

The sunk cost fallacy has a periodic application and was first identified by economists. A good example of how it works is the casino slot machine. Gamblers with a high threshold for risk put money into a slot machine hoping for a big return, but with each pull of the lever they lose some money playing the odds. If they have been pulling the lever many times in a row without success, they might decide that they had better keep spending money at the machine, or they will have wasted everything they already put in.

“沉没成本谬误”也时有发生,它最初是由经济学家发现的。其作用机理最好的例证就是赌场老虎机。赌徒们冒着高风险,把钱投入老虎机,期望能够得到很大的回报,但随着一次次拉动拉杆,他们也一次次把钱赌输了。如果他们多次连续拉动拉杆而没有一次成功,他们可能会决定最好还是继续把钱投入老虎机,否则他们之前投入的成本就悉数浪费了。

Para.12

The truth is that every pull of the lever has the same winning probability of nearly one in a trillion, regardless of how much money has been put in before - the previous plays were sunk costs.

而事实是,不论他们之前投入了多少钱,每一次拉动拉杆的成功几率都同样是极小的——之前投入的那些即为沉没成本。

Para.13

In everyday life this can lead people to stay in damaging situations because of how much they have already put in, stuck on the erroneous belief that the value of that time or energy they have invested will decay or disappear if they leave. The wisest course is to recognize the effects of the sunk cost fallacy and to leave a bad situation regardless of how much you have already invested.

在日常生活中,这种谬误会导致人们由于顾及之前所投入的成本,而持续停留在损失的状态中,同时困顿于一种错误的观念,即他们害怕自己一旦离开,之前所投入的时间和精力就会贬值或付诸东流。而最明智的办法则是,要充分认识沉没成本谬误导致的结果,离开糟糕的境况,不论之前已投入了多少。

Para.14

While there are still more biases, the key to avoiding them remains the same: When a decision matters, it is best to rely on watertight logic and a careful examination of the evidence and to remain aware that what seems like good intuition is always subject to errors of judgment.

尽管还有其他更多的偏差,避免这些偏差的关键其实都一样:当涉及重要决策时,最好是依靠严密的逻辑并仔细审查证据;同时,要保持警惕,那些看上去良好的直觉总是很容易导致判断失误。

B

图片

Why do smart people do dumb things?

为什么聪明人也会做蠢事?

图片

Para.1

Orthodox views prize intelligence and intellectual rigor highly in the modern realm of universities and tech industry jobs. One of the underlying assumptions of this value system is that smart people, by virtue of what they’ve learned, will formulate better decisions. Often this is true. Yet psychologists who study human decision making processes have uncovered cognitive biases common to all people, regardless of intelligence, that can lead to poor decisions in experts and laymen alike.

传统观念将智力和思维的缜密性看作现代大学领域和科技产业工作的重要素质。这一价值体系所隐含的前提是,聪明人借助自己丰富的学识会作出更高明的决定。在大多数情况下,确实如此。但是,研究人类决策过程的心理学家们却发现了每个人身上都常见的“认知偏差”。不管智力水平如何,这些认知偏差都会引导人们作出错误的决定,不论他们是专家还是门外汉。

Para.2

Thankfully these biases can be avoided. Understanding how and in what situations they occur can give you an awareness of your own limitations and allow you to factor them into your decision-making.

好在这些偏差是可以避免的。只要知道这些偏差如何及在何种情况下发生,你就能意识到自身的缺陷,并在决策过程中考虑到这些因素的影响。

Para.3

One of the most common biases is what is known as the fundamental attribution error. Through this people attribute the failures of others to character flaws and their own to mere circumstance, subconsciously considering their own characters to be stainless. “Jenkins lost his job because of his incompetence; I lost mine because of the recession.” It also leads us to attribute our own success to our qualifications, discounting luck, while seeing others’ success as the product of mere luck.

最常见的偏差之一就是通常所说的“基本归因错误”。犯这种错误的人会将别人的失败归因于性格缺陷,而将自己的失败仅仅归因于周遭环境,潜意识中认为自己的性格是完美无瑕的。“詹金斯丢掉了工作是因为他能力太差,我丢掉了工作则是因为经济衰退。”同样,这种偏差也会让我们将自己的成功归功于自身素质而不是运气,而将别人的成功仅仅看作是运气使然。

Para.4

In other words, we typically demand more accountability from others than we do from ourselves. Not only does this lead to petty judgments about other people, it also leads to faulty risk assessment when you assume that certain bad things only happen to others. For example, you might assume, without evidence, that the price of your house will go up even though 90 percent of them have dropped in price, because you yourself are more competent.

换句话说,我们通常要求别人承担更多的责任,而不是自己。这不仅导致我们心胸狭窄地对别人进行评价,也会由于假定某种坏事只会发生在别人身上而致使我们做出错误的风险评判。举一个例子,你可能会毫无根据地假定自己的房子会升值,哪怕周围百分之九十的房子都已经贬值了,因为你总认为自己的能力更强。

Para.5

Confirmation bias is sometimes found together with fundamental attribution error. This one has two parts. First, we tend to gather and rely upon information that only confirms our existing views. Second, we avoid or veto things that refute our preexisting hypotheses.

“确定性偏差”有时会和“基本归因错误”一并出现。这种偏差包含两部分:第一,我们往往只收集且只依赖对我们的已有观点起支持作用的信息;第二,我们回避或否认那些与自己之前所持的假设相左的信息。

Para.6

For example, imagine that you suspect your computer has been hacked. Every time it stalls or has a little error, you assume that it was triggered by a hacker and that your suspicions are valid. This bias plays an especially big role in rivalries between two opposing views. Each side partitions their own beliefs in a logic-proof loop, and claims their opponent is failing to recognize valid points. Outwitting confirmation bias therefore requires exploring both sides of an argument with equal diligence.

比如说,假设你怀疑自己的电脑受到了黑客攻击,那么它每次死机或出个小错,你都会认定是由黑客引起的,而且你认定自己的怀疑正确无误。这种偏差在两种敌对观点的对抗中会起到尤其重要的作用。每一方都会把自己的观点隔离出来,认为其在逻辑上无懈可击,并声称他们的对手忽略了某些要点。所以,要克服“确定性偏差”,就要以同样的努力认真探究论点的正反两面。

Para.7

Similar to confirmation bias is the overconfidence bias. In an ideal world, we could be correct 100 percent of the time we were 100 percent sure about something, correct 80 percent of the time we were 80 percent sure about something, and so on. In reality, people’s confidence vastly exceeds the accuracy of those judgments. This bias most frequently comes into play in areas where someone has no direct evidence and must make a guess - estimating how many people are in a crowded plaza, for example, or how likely it will rain. To make matters worse, even when people are aware of overconfidence bias, they will still tend to overstate the chances that they are correct. Confidence is no prophet and is best used together with available evidence. When witnesses are called to testify in a court trial, the confidence in their testimony is measured along with and against the evidence at hand.

与“确定性偏差”相类似的是“过度自信偏差”。在一个理想的世界,当我们百分之百地确信某件事时,我们就百分之百地正确;当我们百分之八十地确信某件事时,我们就百分之八十地正确,以此类推。但在现实中,人们的信心却大大超过了其判断的准确度。在一个人缺乏直接证据而必须要作出某种猜测的情况下,这一偏差就最有可能起作用,比如,估计一个拥挤的购物广场有多少人,或下雨的可能性有多大。更糟糕的是,即使人们意识到自己有过度自信的偏差,他们还是会高估自己的正确率。光靠自信是无法进行准确预测的,只有在切实证据的基础上,自信才能发挥最大的作用。当法庭传唤目击者出庭作证时,对他们证词的信任度是通过已经获取的相符或相反的证据来度量的。

Para.8

The availability bias is also related to errors in estimation, in that we tend to estimate what outcome is more likely by how easily we can recount an example from memory. Since the retention and retrieval of memories is biased toward vivid, sensational, or emotionally charged examples, decisions based on them can often lead to strange, inaccurate conclusions.

凭借回忆某一例证的难易程度来推测哪种结果更可能出现。由于记忆的留存和重拾会因为事件的生动与否、震撼程度和情感触动程度的不同而产生偏差,那么,基于这些记忆所作出的决定也往往会是奇怪或不准确的结论。

Para.9

In action this bias might lead someone to cancel a trip to, for example, the Canary Islands because of a report that the biggest plane crash in history happened there. Likewise some people might stop going out at night for fear of assault or rape.

在具体行为中,这种偏差可能会使某人取消比如前往加那利群岛的行程,因为有报道说,史上最惨重的空难就发生在那里。同样,人们也可能因惧怕遭到人身侵犯或者强暴而不敢再在晚上出门。

Para.10

Repelling the availability bias calls for an empirical approach to a particular decision, one not based on the obscured reality of vivid memory. If there is a low incidence of disaster, like only one out of 100,000 plane landings results in a crash, it is safe to fly to the Canary Islands. If one out of one million people who go out is assaulted, it is safe to go out at night.

要排除“可得性偏差”,就必须在作某一具体决定时,以实证方法所取得的证据为依据,而不是以与现实不太相符的某个鲜明的记忆为依据。如果灾难的发生率很低,比如飞机着陆过程中坠毁的可能性只有十万分之一,那么飞往加那利群岛就仍是安全的。如果人们外出只有百万分之一的几率遭到人身侵犯,那么夜晚出行也就仍是安全的。

Para.11

The sunk cost fallacy has a periodic application and was first identified by economists. A good example of how it works is the casino slot machine. Gamblers with a high threshold for risk put money into a slot machine hoping for a big return, but with each pull of the lever they lose some money playing the odds. If they have been pulling the lever many times in a row without success, they might decide that they had better keep spending money at the machine, or they will have wasted everything they already put in.

“沉没成本谬误”也时有发生,它最初是由经济学家发现的。其作用机理最好的例证就是赌场老虎机。赌徒们冒着高风险,把钱投入老虎机,期望能够得到很大的回报,但随着一次次拉动拉杆,他们也一次次把钱赌输了。如果他们多次连续拉动拉杆而没有一次成功,他们可能会决定最好还是继续把钱投入老虎机,否则他们之前投入的成本就悉数浪费了。

Para.12

The truth is that every pull of the lever has the same winning probability of nearly one in a trillion, regardless of how much money has been put in before - the previous plays were sunk costs.

而事实是,不论他们之前投入了多少钱,每一次拉动拉杆的成功几率都同样是极小的——之前投入的那些即为沉没成本。

Para.13

In everyday life this can lead people to stay in damaging situations because of how much they have already put in, stuck on the erroneous belief that the value of that time or energy they have invested will decay or disappear if they leave. The wisest course is to recognize the effects of the sunk cost fallacy and to leave a bad situation regardless of how much you have already invested.

在日常生活中,这种谬误会导致人们由于顾及之前所投入的成本,而持续停留在损失的状态中,同时困顿于一种错误的观念,即他们害怕自己一旦离开,之前所投入的时间和精力就会贬值或付诸东流。而最明智的办法则是,要充分认识沉没成本谬误导致的结果,离开糟糕的境况,不论之前已投入了多少。

Para.14

While there are still more biases, the key to avoiding them remains the same: When a decision matters, it is best to rely on watertight logic and a careful examination of the evidence and to remain aware that what seems like good intuition is always subject to errors of judgment.

尽管还有其他更多的偏差,避免这些偏差的关键其实都一样:当涉及重要决策时,最好是依靠严密的逻辑并仔细审查证据;同时,要保持警惕,那些看上去良好的直觉总是很容易导致判断失误。

Unit 2

New Words

WordsPhonetic symbolsChinese
rehearsal/rɪ’hɜːs(ə)l/n. 排演;预演;练习;训练;叙述
bald/bɔːld/vi. 变秃;adj. 秃顶的;光秃的;单调的;无装饰的
arrogant/‘ærəg(ə)nt/adj. 自大的,傲慢的
transient/‘trænzɪənt/n. 瞬变现象;过往旅客;候鸟;adj. 短暂的;路过的
affix/ə’fɪks/n. [语 词缀;附加物;vt. 粘上;署名;将罪责加之于
allotment/ə’lɒtm(ə)nt/n. 分配;分配物;养家费;命运
groom/gruːm/n. 新郎;马夫;男仆;vt. 整饰;推荐;喂马;刷洗(马等);vi. 打扮
grooming/‘grʊmɪŋ/n. 修饰
strand/strænd/n. 线;串;海滨;vt. 使搁浅;使陷于困境;弄断;使落后;vi. 搁浅
eclipse/ɪ’klɪps/n. 日蚀,月蚀;黯然失色;vt. 使黯然失色;形成蚀
magnify/‘mægnɪfaɪ/vt. 放大;赞美;夸大;vi. 放大;有放大能力
deficient/dɪ’fɪʃ(ə)nt/adj. 不足的;有缺陷的;不充分的
chronic/‘krɒnɪk/adj. 慢性的;长期的;习惯性的
inborn/‘ɪnbɔːn; ɪn’bɔːn/adj. 天生的;先天的
thigh/θaɪ/n. 大腿,股
accessory/ək’ses(ə)rɪ/n. 配件;附件;[法 从犯;adj. 副的;同谋的;附属的
violet/‘vaɪələt/n. 紫罗兰;堇菜;羞怯的人;adj. 紫色的;紫罗兰色的
outfit/‘aʊtfɪt/n. 机构;用具;全套装备;vt. 配备;供应;vi. 得到装备
aisle/aɪl/n. 通道,走道;侧廊
warfare/‘wɔːfeə/n. 战争;冲突
bronze/brɒnz/n. 青铜;古铜色;青铜制品;vt. 镀青铜于;vi. 变成青铜色,被晒黑;adj. 青铜色的;青铜制的
appliance/ə’plaɪəns/n. 器具;器械;装置
clay/kleɪ/n. [土壤 粘土;泥土;肉体;似黏土的东西;vt. 用黏土处理
adhere/əd’hɪə/vt. 使粘附;vi. 坚持;依附;粘着;追随
via/ˈvaɪə,ˈviːə/prep. 渠道,通过;经由
elasticity/elæ’stɪsɪtɪ; iː-; ɪ-/n. 弹性;弹力;灵活性
complexion/kəm’plekʃ(ə)n/n. 肤色;面色;情况;局面;vt. 使增添色彩
plaster/‘plɑːstə/n. 石膏;灰泥;膏药;vt. 减轻;粘贴;涂以灰泥;敷以膏药;使平服
cosmetic/kɒz’metɪk/n. 化妆品;装饰品;adj. 美容的;化妆用的
obsession/əb’seʃ(ə)n/n. 痴迷;困扰;[内科[心理 强迫观念
obsessed/əb’sest/adj. 着迷的;无法摆脱的
lipstick/‘lɪpstɪk/n. 口红;唇膏;vt. 涂口红;vi. 涂口红
perfume/‘pɜːfjuːm/n. 香水;香味;vt. 洒香水于…;使…带香味;vi. 散发香气
gorgeous/‘gɔːdʒəs/adj. 华丽的,灿烂的;极好的
homogeneous/,hɒmə(ʊ)’dʒiːnɪəs; -‘dʒen-/adj. 均匀的;[数 齐次的;同种的;同类的,同质的
conformity/kən’fɔːmɪtɪ/n. 一致,适合;符合;相似
appease/ə’piːz/vt. 使平息;使满足;使和缓;对…让步
prosecution/prɒsɪ’kjuːʃ(ə)n/n. 起诉,检举;进行;经营
outrage/‘aʊtreɪdʒ/n. 愤怒,愤慨;暴行;侮辱;vt. 凌辱,强奸;对…施暴行;激起愤怒
complement/‘kɒmplɪm(ə)nt/n. 补语;余角;补足物;vt. 补足,补助
subjective/səb’dʒektɪv/adj. 主观的;个人的;自觉的
addicted/ə’dɪktɪd/adj. 沉溺于某种(尤其是不良的)嗜好的;入了迷的,上了瘾的
biomedical/baɪə(ʊ)’medɪk(ə)l/adj. 生物医学的
physiological/,fɪzɪə’lɒdʒɪkəl/adj. 生理学的,生理的
corrode/kə’rəʊd/vt. 侵蚀;损害;vi. 受腐蚀;起腐蚀作用
criterion/kraɪ’tɪərɪən/n. (批评判断的)标准;准则;规范;准据[ 复数 criteria或criterions
sensual/‘sensjʊəl; -ʃʊəl/adj. 感觉的;肉欲的;世俗的;感觉论的
outgoing/‘aʊtgəʊɪŋ/n. 外出;流出;开支;adj. 对人友好的,开朗的;出发的,外出的;即将离职的;乐于助人的
esthetic/iːs’θetɪk/n. 美学;审美家;唯美主义者;adj. 审美的(=aesthetic);感觉的
scar/skɑː/n. 创伤;伤痕;vt. 伤害;给留下伤痕;vi. 结疤;痊愈
jealous/‘dʒeləs/adj. 妒忌的;猜疑的;唯恐失去的;戒备的
preface/ˈpref.ɪs/n. 前言;引语;vt. 为…加序言;以…开始;vi. 作序
naked/‘neɪkɪd/adj. 裸体的;无装饰的;无证据的;直率的
exempt/ɪg’zem(p)t; eg-/n. 免税者;被免除义务者;vt. 免除;豁免;adj. 被免除的;被豁免的
predominant/prɪ’dɒmɪnənt/adj. 主要的;卓越的;支配的;有力的;有影响的
underscore/ʌndə’skɔː/n. 底线,[计 下划线;vt. 强调;划线于…下
dietary/‘daɪət(ə)rɪ/n. 规定的食物;饮食的规定;食谱;adj. 饮食的,饭食的,规定食物的
capsule/ˈkæpsju:l/n. 胶囊;[植 蒴果;太空舱;小容器;vt. 压缩;简述;adj. 压缩的;概要的
meditation/medɪ’teɪʃ(ə)n/n. 冥想;沉思,深思
regiment/‘redʒɪm(ə)nt/n. 团;大量;vt. 把…编成团;严格地管制
hamper/‘hæmpə/n. 食盒,食篮;阻碍物;vt. 妨碍;束缚;使困累
stylish/‘staɪlɪʃ/adj. 时髦的;现代风格的;潇洒的
costume/kɒstjuːm/n. 服装,装束;戏装,剧装;vt. 给…穿上服装
galaxy/‘gæləksɪ/n. [天 星系;银河系(the Galaxy);一群显赫的人;三星智能手机品牌 2015年三星中国公布Galaxy的中文名称为“盖乐世”(Galaxy)
symphony/‘sɪmf(ə)nɪ/n. 交响乐;谐声,和声
majestic/mə’dʒestɪk/adj. 庄严的;宏伟的
bruise/bruːz/n. 擦伤;挫伤;青肿;vt. 使受瘀伤;使受挫伤;vi. 擦伤;受伤
collide/kə’laɪd/vt. 使碰撞;使相撞;vi. 碰撞;抵触,冲突
elicit/ɪ’lɪsɪt/vt. 抽出,引出;引起
barren/‘bær(ə)n/n. 荒地;adj. 贫瘠的;不生育的;无益的;沉闷无趣的;空洞
stumble/‘stʌmb(ə)l/n. 绊倒;蹒跚而行;vt. 使…困惑;使…绊倒;vi. 踌躇,蹒跚;失足;犯错
knit/nɪt/n. 编织衣物;编织法;vt. 编织;结合;vi. 编织;结合;皱眉
illuminate/ɪ’l(j)uːmɪneɪt/vt. 阐明,说明;照亮;使灿烂;用灯装饰;vi. 照亮
ethic/‘eθɪk/n. 伦理;道德规范;adj. 伦理的;道德的(等于ethical)
lure/l(j)ʊə/n. 诱惑;饵;诱惑物;vt. 诱惑;引诱
novelty/‘nɒv(ə)ltɪ/n. 新奇;新奇的事物;新颖小巧而廉价的物品
interwoven/,ɪntə’wəʊvən/v. 互相编织
fracture/‘fræktʃə/n. 破裂,断裂;[外科 骨折;vt. 使破裂;vi. 破裂;折断
saint/seɪnt/n. 圣人;圣徒;道德崇高的人;vt. 成为圣徒;adj. 神圣的
sentiment/‘sentɪm(ə)nt/n. 感情,情绪;情操;观点;多愁善感
embody/ɪm’bɒdɪ; em-/vt. 体现,使具体化;具体表达
embodiment/ɪm’bɒdɪmənt/n. 体现;化身;具体化
mortal/‘mɔːt(ə)l/n. 人类,凡人;adj. 凡人的;致死的;终有一死的;不共戴天的
degenerate/dɪ’dʒen(ə)rət/n. 堕落的人;vt. 使退化;恶化;vi. 退化;堕落;adj. 退化的;堕落的
checkpoint/‘tʃekpɒɪnt/n. 检查站,关卡
purify/‘pjʊərɪfaɪ/vt. 净化;使纯净;vi. 净化;变纯净
divine/dɪ’vaɪn/n. 牧师;神学家;vt. 占卜;预言;用占卜勘探;vi. 占卜;预言;使用占卜勘探矿;adj. 神圣的;非凡的;天赐的;极好的

Phrases and expressions

  1. excuse oneself 礼貌地告辞
  2. come up with 想出,提出(主意或答案等);拿出,提供(钱款)
  3. stick to sth. 遵守,信守,坚持;继续使用,继续做
  4. affix value to sth. 确定…的价值;认为…有价值
  5. in hopes of 怀有…希望
  6. reach out of 请求…的帮助;为…提供帮助
  7. become/beobsessed with sth./sb. (变得)对…迷恋;(变得)对…着迷
  8. voice an opinion on 表达对…的看法
  9. be addicted to 对…痴迷的,沉迷于…的;(吸毒)成瘾的,上瘾的
  10. on the rise 在增长,在增加
  11. be exempt from 被免除…,被豁免…
  12. distract (sb.) from sth. 分散(注意力),使分心
  13. stumble through/across/into, etc. 蹒跚而行,踉跄
  14. approve of 赞成,同意,赞许
  15. enquire about 询问,打听
  16. wear out 用坏,(使)磨损
  17. seek out 找出,找到
  18. from a ... perspective 从…角度
  19. be accountable to 对…负责

Articles

A

The confusing pursuit of beauty

令人困惑的对美的追求

图片

Para.1

If you’re a man, at some point a woman will ask you how she looks.

如果你是一位男士,肯定在某个时候会有女士问你她看起来怎么样。

Para.2

You must be careful how you answer this question. The best technique is to form an honest yet sensitive response, then promptly excuse yourself for some kind of emergency. Trust me, this is the easiest way out. No amount of rehearsal will help you come up with the right answer.

对于如何应对这个问题,你一定得小心。最好的对策就是给一个诚实但又谨慎的回答,然后借口有急事马上脱身。相信我,这是最简单的方法。对于她的这一问题,无论你事先练习多少次,都不会找到正确答案。

Para.3

The problem is that men do not think of their looks in the same way women do. Most men form an opinion of themselves in seventh grade and stick to it for the rest of their lives. Some men think they’re irresistibly desirable, and they refuse to change this opinion even when they grow bald and their faces visibly wrinkle as they age.

其原因是,男性和女性对外表的看法截然不同。大多数男性对自己外表的评价在七年级时就形成了,而且终生不变。有些男性认为自己有不可抗拒的魅力,即使随着年龄的增长,他们头发掉光了,脸上布满皱纹,他们仍然拒绝改变这种看法。

Para.4

Most men, I believe, are not arrogant about their looks. If the transient thought passes through their minds at all, they like to think of themselves as average-looking. Being average doesn’t bother them; average is fine. They don’t affix much value to their looks, or think of them in terms of aesthetics. Their primary form of beauty care is to shave themselves, which is essentially the same care they give to their lawns. If, at the end of his four-minute allotment of time for grooming, a man has managed to wipe most of the shaving cream out of the strands of his hair and isn’t bleeding too badly, he feels he’s done all he can.

我相信,大多数男性都不会对自己的相貌感到过分自傲。如果他们偶尔想到自己外表的话,他们愿意认为自己样貌中等。长相普通不会使他们有任何烦恼,因为普通就已经是很好了。男性不是特别注重自己的外貌,也不会从美学的角度去审视自己。他们的打扮方式主要就是刮刮胡子,就像打理自家草坪一样。对于一位男性来说,如果能花四分钟刮刮胡子,结束之后再把粘到头发上的剃须膏擦净,又没有出血太厉害,他就觉得自己已经尽心尽力了。

Para.5

Women do not look at themselves this way. If I had to guess what most women think about their appearance, it would be: “Not good enough.” No matter how attractive a woman may be, her perception of herself is eclipsed by the beauty industry. She has trouble thinking I’m beautiful, She magnifies the smallest imperfections in her body and imagines them as glaring flaws the whole world will notice and ridicule.

女性可不是这样看待自己的。如果非要我猜测大多数女性对自己的相貌是如何评价的话,那肯定是:“还不够好。”一位女士,无论她看起来多么吸引人,她对自己的看法总是由于受美容业的影响而蒙着一层阴影。要她认为“我很漂亮”是一件难事。她把身体上的极小的不完美之处加以放大,并且幻想这些缺点十分明显,以至于全世界的人都会注意到并且嘲笑她。

图片

Para.6

Why do women consider their looks so deficient? This chronic insecurity isn’t inborn, but created through the interaction of many complex psychological and societal factors, beginning with the dolls we give them as children. Girls grow up playing with dolls proportioned so that, if they were human, they would be seven feet tall and weigh 61 pounds, with tiny thighs and a large upper body. This is an absurd standard to live up to, especially when you consider the size of the doll’s waist, a relative measurement physically impossible for a living human to achieve. Contrast this absurd standard with that presented to little boys with their “action figures”. Most of the toys that young boys have played with were weird-looking, like the one called Buzz-Off that was part human, part flying insect. This guy was not a looker, but he was still extremely self-confident. You could not imagine him saying to the others, “Is this accessory the right shade of violet for this outfit?”

为什么女性会把自己的外貌想得这么差呢?这种长期的不安全感并不是与生倶来的,而是由许多复杂的心理和社会因素的相互作用造成的,从小时候大人们给她们买洋娃娃时就开始了。女孩成长过程中摆弄的洋娃娃,如果按照身材比例还原为真人大小的话,就会是 7 英尺高,61 英磅重,大腿纤细,上身丰满。要达到这样的标准是很荒唐的,尤其是当我们想想那种洋娃娃的腰围尺寸,就知道其相对尺寸对任何一个活人来说都是不可企及的。与女孩玩具的这种荒唐标准相比,小男孩们得到的“动作玩偶”却是完全不同的模样。大多数男孩的玩具都样貌古怪,例如那个叫作“蜜蜂侠”的玩偶,一半像人,一半像会飞的昆虫。这个玩偶尽管样子不好看,但仍然非常自信。你肯定无法想象他会问别人说:“这个配饰的紫罗兰色和这件外套配不配呢?”

图片

Para.7

But women grow up thinking they need to look like Barbie dolls or girls on magazine covers, which for most women is impossible. Nonetheless, the multibillion-dollar beauty industry, complete with its own aisle in the grocery store, is devoted to constant warfare on female self-esteem, convincing women that they must buy all the newest moisturizing creams, bronzing powders and appliances that promise to “stimulate and restore” their skin. I once saw an Oprah Show in which supermodel Cindy Crawford dispensed makeup tips to the studio audience. Cindy had all these middle-aged women apply clay masks and other “wrinkle-removing” products to their faces; she stressed how important it was to adhere to the guidelines, like applying products via the tips of their fingers to protect elasticity. All the women dutifully did this, even though it was obvious to any rational observer that, no matter how carefully they applied these products, they would never have Cindy Crawford’s face or complexion.

然而,女性在成长过程中却认为自己应该长得像芭比娃娃或杂志的封面女郎那样,这对大多数女性来说是不可能的。尽管如此,产值达几十亿美元的美容业,在超市化妆品销售专区的配合下,总是在不停地攻击着女性的自尊,使其相信自己只有购买最新的保湿面霜、古铜散粉,以及各种美容器具,才能“激发和恢复”肌肤活力。我曾经看过一期《奥普拉脱口秀》,在节目中,超级名模辛迪•克劳馥和演播室里的观众分享了自己的化妆秘诀。辛迪要求这些中年妇女在脸上敷上黏土面膜和其他去皱产品;她还强调一定要遵守这些方法,例如:往脸上涂抹这些产品时,要用指尖,这样可以保护皮肤的弹性。所有这些妇女都非常忠实地按照辛迪说的做了。可是对任何一个理智的旁观者来说,无论她们如何认真地使用这些产品,她们都不可能拥有辛迪那样的面容或肤色。

图片

Para.8

I’m not saying that men are superior. I’m just saying that you’re not going to get a group of middle-aged men to plaster cosmetics to themselves under the instruction of Brad Pitt in hopes of looking more like him. Men don’t face the same societal focus purely on physical beauty, and they’re encouraged to reach out to other characteristics to promote their self-esteem. They might say to Brad: “Oh yeah? Well, what do you know about lawn care, pretty boy?”

我并不是说男性优于女性。我的意思是你不可能让一群中年男子在布拉德•皮特的指导下把化妆品敷到自己脸上,期望自己能看起来更像布拉德。与女性不同,男性的外貌美不是社会所关注的唯一焦点。人们会鼓励男性借助其他特征来提升自尊。他们也许会对布拉德说:“是吗?那么帅哥,你对草坪维护又知道多少?”

Para.9

Of course women argue that they become obsessed with appearance as a reaction to pressure from men. The truth is that most men think beauty is more than just lipstick and perfume and take no notice of these extra details. I have never once, in more than 40 years of listening to men talk about women, heard a man say, “She had gorgeous fingernails!” To most men, little things like fingernails are all homogeneous anyway, and one woman’s flawless pink polish is exactly as invisible as another’s bare nails.

当然,女性会争辩说她们对外表的热衷追求是出于对来自男性的压力的一种反应。而事实是,大多数男性认为美丽不仅仅来自于口红和香水,而且他们也不会去注意这些额外的细节。四十多年来,我在听男性谈论女性时,从来没有一次听到过哪位男性这样说:“她的指甲真漂亮啊!”对大多数男性来说,像指甲这样小的东西看起来都一样,无论一个女士的指甲是用粉色指甲油涂得完美无瑕,还是光光的毫无修饰,男性都一概视而不见。

Para.10

By participating in this system of extreme conformity, women are actually opening themselves up to the scrutiny of other women, the only ones qualified to judge their efforts. What is the real benefit of working this hard to appease men who don’t notice when it only exposes women to prosecution from other women?

女性参与这种极端的从众行为,实际上是把自己置于其他女性的审视之下,因为只有那些女性才有资格评价她们所付出的努力。但是,如此费力地去取悦男性而他们却根本不会注意,同时又只是招致其他女性的指责,这样做究竟有什么好处呢?

Para.11

Anyway, to get back to my original point: If you’re a man, and a woman asks you how she looks, you can’t say she looks bad without receiving immediate and well-deserved outrage. But you also can’t shower her with empty compliments about how her shoes complement her dress nicely because she’ll know you’re lying. She has spent countless hours worrying about the differences between her looks and Cindy Crawford’s. Also,she suspects that you’re not qualified to voice a subjective opinion on anybody’s appearance. This may be because you have shaving cream in your hair and inside the folds of your ears.

不管怎样,言归正传:如果你是一位男性,当有女士问你她看起来怎么样时,你千万不能说她看起来很糟糕,那样肯定会使她立刻迁怒于你,这也是你咎由自取。但是,你也不能慷慨地大放空洞之词,赞美她的鞋子和裙子是多么相配,因为她知道你是在说谎。她已经花费了无数个小时发愁自己的容貌不能和辛迪•克劳馥的一样。而且,也许因为你的头发和耳廓上粘着剃须膏,她会怀疑你根本没有资格对任何人的外表给出主观评价。

图片

B

Making the choice to be truly beautiful

选择拥有真正的美丽

图片

Para.1

Extreme makeovers are all the rage these days, with too many people addicted to Botox injection parties and reality shows. Plastic surgery is on the rise. Many people are trying to match the extraordinary measures actors and actresses go through to look perfect on the screen. Yet, the shortcuts to create biomedical happiness by having surgery, taking supplements or dieting don’t usually fulfill their promise. Besides, beautiful people are not automatically happy people.

当今,过度追求相貌修整的风气无比盛行,太多的人沉迷于肉毒杆菌注射的宣讲会和真人秀,整容手术也日趋流行。许多人的做法堪比男女演员为了使自己在屏幕上看起来完美无瑕而采取的手段。为了获得生物医学标准下的幸福感,人们会走做整容手术、吃营养品、节食这样的捷径,但这些捷径并不总能实现它们所承诺的效果。而且,外表漂亮的人并不一定就幸福。

Para.2

Attaining the highest degree of your beauty is not about looking good during social interaction, or physiological perfection, and you can’t get there via technology. It’s a growth process, a transformation of self through awareness and learning. It’s about meaning, and being real. It’s an emotional and spiritual walk, and it requires faith fueled with liberal doses of loving kindness.

最大限度地实现你自己的美并不是指要让自己在社交时漂亮或在生理上完美,况且这些也不是通过技术就能实现的。美是一个成长的过程,是一种通过意识和学习而达到的自我改造。美在于生活的意义,在于真实。它是一个情感和精神的旅程,需要人有信念才能获得,而且这种信念的动力来自慷慨和充满爱心的善良。

Para.3

Every day, I have the delight and privilege of loving Richard, my husband, a real, human, emotionally accessible man. We’re about the same age, and our looks have corroded a bit over time. After almost 20 years, though, we have grown together in ways that go far deeper than the surface of our skin. Our life is lovely even if it doesn’t match the criterion of love in movie fantasies. We laugh together, we share the struggles of daily life together, and the thought that he might die before I do fills me with dread. All the muscle-bound male models in the world couldn’t replace my very own, sensual, outgoing friend. It took me 37 years to find him, and I’m not about to replace him with the so-called “esthetic perfection”.

能有幸每天爱着理查德,我感到很高兴。他是我丈夫,一个真实的、有人情味的、情感上可以靠近的人。我们年龄相仿,相貌已在岁月中有所消退。但近二十年来,我们共同成长,远超肌肤之表。尽管我们的生活不如虚幻的电影故事中描述的爱情生活那样,它却很美好。我们一起欢笑,一起分担日常生活的磕磕绊绊。如果想到他有可能先于我离世,我会充满恐惧。世界上任何一位肌肉发达的男模都不能取代我自己的这位性感、外向的伴侣。我花了 37 年时间才找到他,我决不会因为所谓的“审美标准上的完美”而另寻他人。

Para.4

I work as a psychotherapist, and clients come to my office every day scarred with emotional pain because their lives aren’t “perfect” enough. They feel inadequate, hopeless, and frustrated with jealousy because they can’t attain life as they see it on the big screen. It helps when I preface our sessions with the mention that tens of thousands of dollars go into every second of media they see, that stars have dozens of people devoted exclusively to making them look good (even when they’re naked), that the effort of maintaining their images is an exhausting, full-time job. The “beautiful” people in the media are under enormous pressure to maintain their looks, and for some reason, my clients don’t realize that they’re exempt from that predominant pressure.

我是一名心理理疗师。每天我都要接待许多客户,他们都是因为生活不够“完美”而倍受情感痛苦。由于无法获得大屏幕上所看到的那种生活,他们感到力不从心、绝望无助,并因嫉妒而陷于沮丧。给他们提供治疗时,如果在治疗开始前,我告诉他们,他们在媒体上所看到的每秒钟的图像都耗资数万,每个明星都有几十个人专门为其打理形象,使其外表悦目(甚至是裸体时也是如此),而且明星们保持形象是一件既费力又费时的事,这会对他们的治疗有所帮助。媒体上的俊男俏女们承受着保持形象的巨大压力,而我的客户却因某种原因,没有意识到他们有幸免受了这种强大的压力。

Para.5

I underscore that all the face creams, physical workouts, dietary fads, Prozac capsules and meditation regiments in the world aren’t going to make their lives, their bodies, or their mental state much better. In fact, they often hamper happiness by distracting from the things that lead to real inner beauty. Life is not about maintaining some young and stylish outward costume to hide behind. It’s about growing and deepening your soul.

我要强调的是,世界上所有的面霜、健身锻炼、饮食风尚、抗抑郁症的百忧解胶囊,乃至许多人在一起打坐冥思等等,都不能改善一个人的生活、身体或精神状况。事实上,这些方法还常常阻碍人们获得幸福,因为它们会使人分心,不去关注那些能带来真正内在美的事物。生活的意义不在于通过维持某种年轻时髦的外表来掩盖自己,而在于精神的成长和升华。

Para.6

The only way I know to develop my soul is through feelings. Witnessing natural phenomena - the star-lit galaxy, a centuries-old redwood, the symphony of birds’ songs in spring - stretches it, making me feel humble and majestic, all at the same time. Human relationships bruise, collide and comfort, teaching me maturity and passion. Love urges my soul to blossom and glow, affection elicits feelings of eternity, and so I learn to accept others as they are.

我所知道的唯一的精神升华的途径就是通过情感。亲眼目睹各种自然现象——星光闪烁的银河,几百年树龄的红杉木,春天里鸟儿的叫声汇成的交响乐——这些都使我的精神得以延伸,让我觉得自己既卑微又伟大。人际关系中的摩擦、冲突和安慰使我变得成熟并充满激情。爱情促使我的精神成长并焕发光彩,亲情激发了我对永恒的感受,因此我学会了接受他人的真实本色

Para.7

The humans in my life are not the barren, self-absorbed “beautiful people” of the screen. We’re ordinary, real, imperfect people. Together, we work hard stumbling through life, trying to be our best selves, knitting together families and friendships, and striving to illuminate the world with our personal ethics and aspirations.

我生活中的人都不是屏幕上那种思想平庸、迷恋自我的“美貌人士”。我们只是平凡的、实实在在的、有缺点的人。我们一起勤奋努力,患难与共,尽力完善自我,和家人及朋友紧密相处,努力用我们的个人道德和志向去照亮世界。

Para.8

We come from numerous backgrounds and we don’t always approve of each other’s decisions, but we care for each other the best we can. We struggle to be less self-indulgent, more compassionate and understanding. We try to resist the lure of novelty fads, the manipulations of advertising. We survive through social phenomena that we don’t agree with, through interwoven natural and unnatural disasters that take our loved ones and possessions, through fads and fancies that are often unhealthy. From each event, we learn, we stretch, we sometimes fracture, we process the emotional outcome, and we move on. These life events are the soul’s workout, and though we may groan and complain, we can feel the growth eventually.

我们来自各种不同的背景,而且有时意见相左,但是我们尽力互相关心。我们努力消除自己的任性,努力使自己更具同情心、更宽容。我们努力抗拒新奇事物的潮流的诱惑及广告的操纵。我们会经历自己并不赞同的社会现象,经历那些夺走我们所挚爱的人和财物的错综交织的自然及人为灾难,经历不良的时尚和幻想。但从每一例这样的事件中,我们都不断地学习、成长。我们有时也会发生分歧,也要处理分歧对感情所带来的影响,然后继续前行。这些人生经历是对我们心灵的历练。虽然我们会抱怨、发牢骚,我们终会感受到自己的成长。

Para.9

The secret is that this growth is visible to others, and the effort registers on one’s entire being. It becomes an authentic element that makes the spirit glow radiantly like that of a saint. Have you ever seen an elderly person like that, one whose wisdom shows in his eyes, and whose love is evident as he gently enquires about your health, or offers a brief sentiment that calms and affirms? The spirit that shines from within this person is true beauty, and it can’t be bought in a jar.

这其中的秘密就在于这种成长是他人可见的,而且这种努力在一个人的全身上下都能得到展现。它成了一种真实的存在,使一个人的精神像圣人那样光彩四溢。你是否见过这样一位老者,他眼睛里透射着智慧,当他温柔地询问你的健康,或以简短的抚慰让你感到平静和放心时,他对你的关爱是那样显露无遗?这样的老者内心所散发出的精神才是真正的美,这种美不是瓶瓶罐罐的化妆品所能买得到的。

Para.10

The miracle is that each of us has the total capacity to achieve this perspective, this fullest embodiment of the highest expression of soul, even as our mortal bodies wear out and degenerate.

神奇的是,尽管我们的肉体会老去并且衰退,我们每个人都完全有能力达到这个境界,即最大程度地展现最崇高的精神内涵。

Para.11

In other words, true beauty is not about looks. It’s about choices. As we move through life and grow through each of its checkpoints, we should seek out and build the kinds of experiences that reveal and purify our divine inner beauty. We must look at our own lives and decisions from a more valuable perspective than the media’s shallow eye.

换句话说,真正的美丽无关外貌,而在于选择。在人生的旅途中,每当我们经过一个节点,都应该寻找那些能够展示和净化我们神圣的内在美的人生体验,并且将它们积累下来。我们必须从一个更有价值的角度而非以媒体肤浅的眼光来看待自己的人生和决定。

Para.12

The decisions we make today affect the rest of our lives. We ourselves are ultimately the only people to whom we are accountable and for whom we are responsible. Each new decision we make can be a new resolution to build the beautiful future we long to have.

我们今天所作的决定会影响我们的余生。归根到底,我们自己才是唯一要对自己负责的人。我们所做的每一个新决定都可能表明了一个新决心,一个创造我们所渴望拥有的美好未来的决心。

Unit 3

New Words

WordsPhonetic symbolsChinese
rectangular/rek’tæŋgjʊlə/adj. 矩形的;成直角的
reshuffle/riː’ʃʌf(ə)l/n. 重新洗牌;改组;vt. 重新洗牌;改组;重作安排
disperse/dɪ’spɜːs/vt. 分散;使散开;传播;vi. 分散;adj. 分散的
exquisite/‘ekskwɪzɪt; ɪk’skwɪzɪt; ek-/n. 服饰过于讲究的男子;adj. 精致的;细腻的;优美的,高雅的;异常的;剧烈的
stockholder/‘stɒkhəʊldə/n. 股东;股票持有人
deduce/dɪ’djuːs/vt. 推论,推断;演绎出
clan/klæn/n. 宗族;部落;集团
juvenile/‘dʒuːvənaɪl/n. 青少年;少年读物;adj. 青少年的;幼稚的
invalid/ˈɪnvəlɪd;ɪnˈvælɪd/n. 病人;残疾者;vt. 使伤残;使退役;vi. 变得病弱;因病而奉命退役;adj. 无效的;有病的;残疾的
alloy/‘ælɒɪ/n. 合金;vt. 使成合金;使减低成色;vi. 易于铸成合金
skyline/‘skaɪlaɪn/n. 地平线;空中轮廓线;架空索;vt. 天空映衬出…的轮廓
terrain/təˈreɪn/n. [地理 地形,地势;领域;地带
radar/‘reɪdɑː/n. [雷达 雷达,无线电探测器
navigation/nævɪ’geɪʃ(ə)n/n. 航行;航海
revive/rɪ’vaɪv/vt. 使复兴;使苏醒;回想起;重演,重播;vi. 复兴;复活;苏醒;恢复精神
alumnus/ə’lʌmnəs/n. 男校友;男毕业生(alumna[ə’lʌmnə n. 女毕业生;女校友)
administrate/əd’mɪnɪstreɪt/vt. 管理;经营,实施
charter/‘tʃɑːtə/n. 宪章;执照;特许状;vt. 特许;包租;发给特许执照
disrupt/dɪs’rʌpt/vt. 破坏;使瓦解;使分裂;使中断;使陷于混乱;adj. 分裂的,中断的;分散的
draft/drɑːft/n. 汇票;草稿;选派;(尤指房间、烟囱、炉子等供暖系统中的)(小股)气流;vt. 起草;制定;征募;vi. 拟稿;绘样;作草图;adj. 初步画出或(写出)的;(设计、草图、提纲或版本)正在起草中的,草拟的;以草稿形式的;草图的
prototype/‘prəʊtətaɪp/n. 原型;标准,模范
region/‘riːdʒ(ə)n/n. 地区;范围;部位
quantify/‘kwɒntɪfaɪ/vt. 量化;为…定量;确定数量;vi. 量化;定量
elapse/ɪ’læps/n. 流逝;时间的过去;vi. 消逝;时间过去
interim/‘ɪnt(ə)rɪm/n. 过渡时期,中间时期;暂定;adj. 临时的,暂时的;中间的;间歇的
patriot/pætrɪət; ‘peɪt-/n. 爱国者
fuse/fjuːz/n. 保险丝,熔线;导火线,雷管;vt. 使融合;使熔化,使熔融;vi.融合;熔化,熔融
intermediary/,ɪntə’miːdɪərɪ/n. 中间人;仲裁者;调解者;媒介物;adj. 中间的;媒介的;中途的
hub/hʌb/n. 中心;毂;木片
streamline/‘striːmlaɪn/n. 流线;流线型;vt. 把…做成流线型;使现代化;组织;使合理化;使简单化;adj. 流线型的
disjointed/dɪs’dʒɒɪntɪd/adj. 脱节的;杂乱的;脱臼的
decentralize/di:’sentrə’laɪz/n. 分散;vt. 使分散;使分权;疏散;vi. 分散集权;疏散
stab/stæb/n. 刺;戳;尝试;突发的一阵;vt. 刺;刺伤;戳;刺穿;直入;vi. 刺;刺伤;戳;刺痛
frugality/fruː’gælɪtɪ/n. 俭省,节俭
gasoline/‘gæsəliːn/n. 汽油
precedent/‘presɪd(ə)nt/n. 先例;前例;adj. 在前的;在先的
dental/‘dent(ə)l/n. 齿音;adj. 牙科的;牙齿的,牙的
centralization/,sɛntrəlɪ’zeʃən/n. 集中化;中央集权管理
fixture/‘fɪkstʃə; -tjə/n. 设备;固定装置;固定于某处不大可能移动之物
trappings/‘træpɪŋz/n. 服饰,礼服;外部标志;马饰
courier/‘kʊrɪə/n. 导游;情报员,通讯员;送快信的人
forerunner/‘fɔːrʌnə/n. 先驱;先驱者;预兆
sphere/sfɪə/n. 范围;球体;vt. 包围;放入球内;使…成球形;adj. 球体的
retailer/‘riːteɪlə/n. 零售商;传播的人
velocity/vəˈlɒsəti/n. [力 速率;迅速;周转率
snapshot/‘snæpʃɒt/n. 快照,快相;急射,速射;简单印象;vt. 给…拍快照;vi. 拍快照
brew/bruː/n. 啤酒;质地;vt. 酿造;酝酿;vi. 酿酒;被冲泡;即将发生
merge/mɜːdʒ/vt. 合并;使合并;吞没;vi. 合并;融合
borough/‘bʌrə/n. 区;自治的市镇
ankle/‘æŋk(ə)l/n. 踝关节,踝
hound/haʊnd/n. 猎犬;卑劣的人;vt. 追猎;烦扰;激励
tease/tiːz/n. 戏弄;爱纠缠的小孩;挑逗者;卖弄风骚的女孩;vt. 取笑;戏弄;梳理;欺负;强求;使起毛;vi. 取笑
predecessor/‘priːdɪsesə/n. 前任,前辈
vocational/və(ʊ)’keɪʃ(ə)n(ə)l/adj. 职业的,行业的
bud/bʌd/n. 芽,萌芽;蓓蕾;vt. 使发芽;vi. 发芽,萌芽
verdict/‘vɜːdɪkt/n. 结论;裁定
premium/‘priːmɪəm/n. 额外费用;奖金;保险费;(商)溢价;adj. 高价的;优质的
stimulus/‘stɪmjʊləs/n. 刺激;激励;刺激物[ 复数 stimuluses或stimuli
magnitude/‘mægnɪtjuːd/n. 大小;量级;[地震 震级;重要;光度
adjacent/ə’dʒeɪs(ə)nt/adj. 邻近的,毗连的
partnership/‘pɑːtnəʃɪp/n. 合伙;[经管 合伙企业;合作关系;合伙契约
beverage/‘bev(ə)rɪdʒ/n. 饮料
multilateral/mʌltɪ’læt(ə)r(ə)l/adj. [数 多边的;多国的,多国参加的
brass/brɑːs/n. 黄铜;黄铜制品;铜管乐器;厚脸皮
orchestra/‘ɔːkɪstrə/n. 管弦乐队;乐队演奏处
reign/reɪn/n. 统治;统治时期;支配;vi. 统治;支配;盛行;君临
reigning/‘reɪnɪŋ/adj. 统治的;在位的;本届的;起支配作用的
royalty/‘rɒɪəltɪ/n. 皇室;版税;王权;专利税
decree/dɪ’kriː/n. 法令;判决;vt. 命令;颁布;注定;判决;vi. 注定;发布命令
quota/‘kwəʊtə/n. 配额;定额;限额
eligible/‘elɪdʒɪb(ə)l/n. 合格者;适任者;有资格者;adj. 合格的,合适的;符合条件的;有资格当选的
optical/‘ɒptɪk(ə)l/adj. 光学的;眼睛的,视觉的
vocal/‘vəʊk(ə)l/n. 声乐作品;元音;adj. 歌唱的;声音的,有声的;直言不讳的
sturdy/‘stɜːdɪ/n. 羊晕倒病;adj. 坚定的;强健的;健全的
stipulate/‘stɪpjʊleɪt/vt. 规定;保证;vi. 规定;保证;adj. 有托叶的
utilization/,juːtɪlaɪ’zeɪʃən/n. 利用,使用
turnover/‘tɜːnəʊvə/n. 翻覆;[贸易 营业额;流通量;半圆卷饼;失误;adj. 翻过来的;可翻转的
numerical/njuː’merɪk(ə)l/adj. 数值的;数字的;用数字表示的(=numeric)
expenditure/ɪk’spendɪtʃə; ek-/n. 支出,花费;经费,消费额
embed/ɪm’bed; em-/vt. 栽种;使嵌入,使插入;使深留脑中
reminiscence/remɪ’nɪs(ə)ns/n. 回忆;怀旧;引起联想的相似事物
scrub/skrʌb/n. 矮树;洗擦;擦洗者;矮小的人(或物);vt. 用力擦洗;使净化;vi. 擦洗;进行手臂消毒;adj. 矮小的;临时凑合的;次等的
diagnosis/,daɪəg’nəʊsɪs/n. 诊断
crowning/‘kraʊnɪŋ/n. 加冕;adj. 最高的;无比的

Phrases and expressions

  1. touch down (飞机等)降落,着陆
  2. hold sb./sth. in high regard 敬重,尊重
  3. pick on sb. 找…的茬;与…过不去;(尤指)不公正地责备
  4. be onto something 发现新事物,制作出有趣的事物
  5. take/have/make a stab at (doing) sth. 尝试(做)某事;试图(做)某事
  6. boil down to sth. (能)归结为
  7. from time to time 有时,间或
  8. in/within/over a span of 在…时间里
  9. go public (公司)公开发售股票,上市;公开,公之于众
  10. adjacent to 与…毗邻,与…相邻近
  11. a trace of 微量,少许,些许
  12. be eligible for 符合条件做某事,有资格享有某物
  13. be critical to 对…至关重要
  14. beat sb. down/beat down sb. 使某人颓丧,使某人沮丧
  15. lip service 口头上的好话,空头的应酬话
  16. remain committed to 始终致力于…
  17. be/become embedded in sth. 成为…的重要部分,融入…,根深蒂固于…;深嵌在…

Proper names

Articles

A

The vision

that changed the world

弗雷德·史密斯与联邦快递:

一个改变了世界的创想

图片

Para.1

Every night several hundred planes bearing a purple, white, and orange design touch down at Memphis Airport, in Tennessee. What precedes this landing are package pickups from locations all over the United States earlier in the day. Crews unload the planes’ cargo of more than half a million parcels and letters. The rectangular packages and envelopes are rapidly reshuffled and sorted according to address, then loaded onto other aircraft, and flown to their destinations to be dispersed by hand - many within 24 hours of leaving their senders. This is the culmination of a dream of Frederick W. Smith, the founder, president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of the FedEx Corp. - known originally as Federal Express - the largest and most successful overnight delivery service in the world. Conceived when he was in college and now in its 28th year of operation, Smith’s exquisite brainchild has become the standard for door-to-door package delivery.

每天夜晚,在田纳西州的孟菲斯机场,都有几百架带着白、紫、桔色图案的飞机降落。而在每天此前的早些时候,这些飞机都在美国各地收集包裹。工作人员从飞机上卸下的包裹及信件数量超过五十万之巨。长方形的包裹和信封又在这里依据收件地址被迅速整理分拣,然后装载上其他飞机,飞往各自的目的地,在那儿再由人工投递——到这时很多邮件离开寄件人之手还不到 24 小时。这是弗雷德里克·W·史密斯的终极梦想,他就是联邦快递集团(最初为联邦快递)这一全球最大、最成功的隔夜送达服务企业的创始人、总裁、首席执行官及董事会主席。如今,史密斯这一源于大学时代的妙想已在现实中经营到了第 28 个年头,并已成为包裹快递入户行业的标杆。

Para.2

Recognized as an outstanding entrepreneur with an agreeable and winning personality, Smith is held in high regard by his competitors as well as his employees and stockholders. Fred Smith was just 27 when he founded FedEx. Now, so many years later, he’s still the “captain of the ship”. He attributes the success the company simply to leadership, something he deduced from his years in the military, and from his family.

史密斯被公认为是一位和蔼可亲、性格迷人的杰出企业家。无论是他的竞争者、员工,还是他公司股票的持有人,都对他十分敬重。弗雷德·史密斯创建“联邦快递”时只有 27 岁。现在多年过去了,他仍然坐在“掌门人”的位置上。他将公司的成功简单地归因于领导力,而这一推论则来自于他的军旅生涯及其家庭的影响。

Para.3

Frederick Wallace Smith was born into a wealthy family clan on August 11, 1944 in Mississippi.His father died when he was just four years old. As a juvenile, Smith was an invalid, suffering from a disease that left him unable to walk normally. He was picked on by bullies, and he learned to defend himself by swinging at them with his alloy walking stick. Cured of the disease by the age of 10, he became a star athlete in high school, playing football, basketball, and baseball.

弗雷德里克·华莱士·史密斯 1944 年 8 月 11 日出生于密西西比州一个富裕的家族。他四岁时父亲就离世了。史密斯年少时被视为病残者,因为他得了一种病,使他无法正常行走。为此他常遭受坏孩子的侮辱捉弄,他学会了挥舞合金拐杖来保护自己。十岁时他的病治好了,到了高中他则成了学校里的体育明星,足球、篮球、棒球样样能行。

Para.4

Smith’s passion was flying. At 15, he was operating a crop-duster over the skyline of the Mississippi Delta, a terrain so flat that there was little need for radar navigation. As a student at Yale University, he helped revive the Yale flying club; its alumni had populated naval aviation history, including the famous “Millionaires’ Unit” in World War I. Smith administrated the club’s business end and ran a small charter operation in New Haven.

史密斯对飞行充满了激情。15 岁时,他就曾驾驶一架作物喷粉飞机在密西西比三角洲的天际翱翔,三角洲的地形平坦开阔,甚至都不需要雷达导航。在耶鲁大学上学时,他参与重建了耶鲁飞行倶乐部,在美国海军航空史的每个时期都有这一俱乐部出来的校友的身影,包括一战时期著名的“百万富翁飞行队”。史密斯负责管理俱乐部的事务,同时还在纽黑文经营一项小规模的租赁业务。

Para.5

With his study time disrupted by flying, his academic performance suffered, but Smith never stopped looking for his own “big idea”. He thought he had found it when he wrote a term paper for an economics class. He drafted a prototype for a transportation company that would guarantee overnight delivery of small, time-sensitive goods, such as replacement parts and medical supplies, to major US regions. The professor wasn’t impressed and told Smith he couldn’t quantify the idea and clearly it wasn’t feasible.

由于飞行打乱了学习时间,他的学业受到了影响,但史密斯从未停止寻找自己的“伟大想法”。在撰写一门经济学课程的学期论文时,他认为自己已经找到了它。他设计了一份运输企业的经营草案,该运输企业可以确保连夜递送小型或时间紧迫的货品到达美国的主要地区,如替换零件、医药用品等等。教授对这篇论文未予重视,他告诉史密斯说,他无法量化他的想法,并说这一想法明显不切合实际。

Para.6

However, Smith was certain he was onto something, even though several more years elapsed before he could turn his idea into reality. In the interim, he graduated from Yale in 1966, just as America’s involvement in the Vietnam War was deepening. Since he was a patriot and had attended officers’ training classes, he joined the Marines.

然而,史密斯确信自己已经发现了些什么,尽管又过了好几年他才得以把自己的想法付诸实施。在此期间,他于 1966 年从耶鲁大学毕业,那时正值美国在越战中越陷越深,而他是个充满爱国热情的人,又参加过士官训练课程,所以他加入了美国海军陆战队。

Para.7

Smith completed two tours in Vietnam, eventually flying more than 200 missions. “In the military, leadership means getting a group of people to subordinate their individual desires and ambitions for the achievement of organizational goals,” Smith says, fusing together his military and business experiences. “And good leadership has very measurable effects on a company’s bottom line.”

史密斯在越南战场上服役两期,完成了两百多次飞行任务。“在军队中,领导力意味着能使团队中所有成员将个人的期望与抱负置于从属地位,而以实现集体目标为重,”史密斯说道,这其中融合了他军旅生涯和经营管理的经验。“而优秀的领导力对控制一个公司的盈亏底线来说具有相当重要的作用。”

Para.8

Home from Vietnam, Smith became fascinated by the notion that if you connected all the points of a network through an intermediary hub, the streamlined efficient could be enormous compared to other disjointed, decentralized businesses, whether the system involved moving packages and letters or people and planes. He decided to take a stab at starting his own business. With an investment from his father’s company, as well as a chunk of his own inheritance, Smith bought his first delivery planes and in 1971 formed the Federal Express.

从越南战场回国后,史密斯开始执着于这样一个理念,即如果能将某个运输网络的各个节点通过一个中介枢纽相互连接,其效率较之其他各环节相互之间无联系的分散经营的模式来说要高出许多,不论这一系统所涉及的是运送包裹和信件还是人员和飞机。他决定放手一搏,创建自己的企业。史密斯用父亲公司的投资和他自己继承财产的一部分购买了第一架快递飞机,并于 1971 年创建了联邦快递。

Para.9

The early days were underscored by extreme frugality and financial losses. It was not uncommon for FedEx drivers to pay for gasoline for their vans out of their own pockets. But despite such problems, Smith showed concern for the welfare of his employees. Just as he recalled, even when they didn’t have the money, even when there weren’t couches in the office and electric typewriters, they still set the precedent to ensure a good medical and dental plan for their people.

最初的日子伴随着极度的拮据乃至财务损失。联邦快递公司的司机自己掏腰包为货车付汽油费的情况屡见不鲜。但是,尽管面对这样的问题,史密斯仍然为公司雇员的福利着想。正如他所回忆的那样,即使在他们公司没有钱、办公室没有沙发和打字机的情况下,他们仍然开辟先例,保证员工享受很好的医疗和牙齿保健福利。

Para.10

Along the way, FedEx pioneered centralization and the “hub and spoke” system, which has since been adopted by almost all major airlines. The phrase FedEx it has become a fixture in our language as much as Xerox or Google.

一路走来,联邦快递率先践行了集中调控和“轴辐式”空中交通系统。自它以后,该系统被几乎所有大航空公司所采纳。而“联邦快递一下”也成为了像“复印一下”或“谷歌一下”这样的固定说法,成为了我们的词汇。

Para.11

Smith says success in business boils down to three things. First, you need to have appealing product or service and a compelling strategy. Then you need to have an efficient management system. Assuming you have those things, leading a team is the single most important issue in running an organization today.

史密斯说生意上的成功归根结底就是三点:首先你需要一项吸引人的产品或服务以及一套制胜的战略;其次你需要一套高效的管理系统;在拥有这些之后,如何领导好一个团队就是当今经营一家公司最为重要的事了。

Para.12

Although Smith avoids the media and the trappings of public life, he is said to be a friendly and accessible employer. He values his people and never takes them for granted. He reportedly visits FedEx’s Memphis site at night from time to time and addresses sorters by name. For years he extended an offer to any courier with 10 years of service to come to Memphis for an “anniversary breakfast”. That embodies Fred Smith’s philosophy: People, Service, Profit (P-S-P). Smith says, “The P-S-P philosophy is like an unbroken circle or chain. There are no clearly definable points of entry or exit. Each link upholds the others and is, in turn, supported by them.” In articulating this philosophy and in personally involving himself in its implementation, Frederick Smith is the forerunner of the new sphere of leadership that success in the future will demand.

尽管史密斯回避媒体采访和公众生活的荣耀,但他却被称为是一位友善而平易近人的雇主。他重视自己的雇员,从不认为他们理所应当该为自己工作。有报道称,他会时不时在晚上造访联邦快递位于孟菲斯的基地,并且称名道姓地与包裹分拣人员打招呼。他会主动发邀请给任何一位已在公司服务十年的快递员,请他们到孟菲斯出席“周年庆典早餐”,这已经持续了很多年。而这其中包含了弗雷德•史密斯自己的哲学:人员,服务,利润(P-S-P)。史密斯说,“P-S-P 的哲学理念就好像一个不可分割的循环,没有清晰可辨的入口或出口,每一个环节都支持着其他环节,同时也反过来受其他环节支撑。”通过明确表达并亲身践行这一理念,弗雷德里克•史密斯已成为未来成功所必需的新领导领域的开拓者

B

Building the dream of Starbucks

霍华德•舒尔茨

创造“星巴克”之梦

图片

Para.1

Howard Schultz is not a household name to most North Americans, but those living in urban or suburban communities know his company: the specialty coffee retailer Starbucks. With impressive velocity, Starbucks has grown into the largest coffee roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in North America in a span of only a decade. By 2000, its coffee houses could be found in more than 3,000 locations worldwide; even President Bill Clinton was seen in a snapshot with a Starbucks brew in his hand. According to the US weekly magazine, Newsweek, Schultz’s merging of the three Cs - coffee, commerce and community - surely ranks as one of the ‘90s greatest retail successes.

霍华德•舒尔茨这个名字在北美并非家喻户晓,不过居住在城市或市郊社区的人都知道他的公司:特色咖啡零售商星巴克。区区十年间,星巴克已凭借惊人的速度成长为北美最大的咖啡豆烤制商和特色咖啡零售商。截至 2000 年,它旗下的咖啡店已经遍布世界三千多个角落。就连美国前总统比尔•克林顿也被人拍到手捧星巴克咖啡。根据美国杂志《新闻周刊》的报道,舒尔茨将“3C”概念——咖啡、商业和社区——融为一体,这已然使星巴克名列 20 世纪 90 年代最成功的零售商之列。

Para.2

Schultz was born in 1953 and grew up in an extremely poor section of the Brooklyn borough of New York City. His mother worked as a receptionist, and his father held a variety of jobs, none of which offered decent pay or medical insurance. When Schultz was seven, his father lost his job as a delivery driver when he broke his ankle in an accident. In the ensuing months, the family was literally too poor to put food on the table.

舒尔茨出生于 1953 年,在纽约市布鲁克林区一个极其贫困的街区长大。他母亲是一位前台接待员,父亲则从事过很多不同的工作,但其中没有哪一份工作给他支付过体面的酬劳或购买过医疗保险。舒尔茨七岁时,他父亲在一次事故中扭断了脚踝,失去了他当时做送货司机的工作。在接下来的几个月中,他们家真的是穷到了揭不开锅的地步。

Para.3

During his youth, Schultz was hounded by the shame of his family’s “working poor” status. He escaped the hot Brooklyn summer one year to attend camp, but would not return when he learned it was for low-income families. He was teased by boys in high school and ashamed to tell his girlfriend where he lived. The harsh memories of those early times stayed with him for the rest of his life.

青年时代的舒尔茨一直由于其家庭“穷困工人阶层”地位所蒙受的耻辱而备受精神折磨。有一年他逃离布鲁克林炎热的夏天去参加夏令营,但当他得知这个夏令营是专门为低收入家庭的学生开办的时候,就再也不愿意去参加了。中学时他遭受到了男孩子们的奚落,也羞于告诉女朋友自己住在哪里。这些早年痛苦的记忆一直伴随着他一生。

Para.4

Sports became an escape from the shame of poverty. Schultz earned an athletic scholarship to Northern Michigan University in 1975. He was the first person in his family to graduate from college as none of his predecessors had training beyond vocational school.

体育运动成了他逃避穷困这一耻辱的方式。1975 年,舒尔茨获得了北密歇根大学体育奖学金。他也是他家族中第一个从大学毕业的人,因为他的前辈中没有一个人接受过比职业学校培训更高的教育。

Para.5

The bud of inspiration for his phenomenal coffee business began growing in a 1983 visit to Milan, Italy. Schultz conceived of a new American way of life in the coffee bars of Milan. He sought to recreate such forums for people in the US to start their days or visit with friends. In 1987, at the age of 34, Schultz organized a group of investors and purchased the company that had formerly employed him, the Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle, which he restructured as the Starbucks Corporation.

舒尔茨令人瞩目的咖啡生意的最初灵感源于 1983 年他对意大利米兰的造访。在米兰的咖啡馆里,舒尔茨设想了一种新型的美国式生活方式。他寻求在美国重现那种米兰式的交往平台,使人们能以那种方式开始新的一天或与朋友小聚。1987 年,当舒尔茨 34 岁时,他组织了投资团队并购买下了他原先工作的公司,即西雅图的“星巴克咖啡公司”,将其重组为“星巴克集团”。

Para.6

The public verdict was overwhelmingly positive. Schultz’s premium coffee bars were an instant success, acting as a stimulus of rapid growth and expansion not only for Starbucks but also for the coffee industry around the world. In 1992, Starbucks became the first specialty coffee company to go public, affirming its magnitude and prospects.

公众的反映出奇地好。舒尔茨创建的高端咖啡厅立即获得了成功,这刺激了星巴克乃至全球整个咖啡产业的迅速成长和发展。1992 年,星巴克成为第一家公开上市的特色咖啡经营公司,确证了公司的发展规模和前景。

Para.7

Starbucks’ first major venture outside of the northwestern part of the nation was Chicago, where the company’s specialty sales division developed new business with department stores and established Starbucks coffee bars adjacent to the business sections in national bookstores. Starbucks also formed a partnership with PepsiCo to create and distribute a new ready-to-drink coffee-based beverage, and entered into a licensing agreement with Kraft Foods. As a company seeking to develop with a multilateral approach, Starbucks even developed a relationship with the music industry to sell Starbucks-tailored CDs of classical brass and orchestral music in the coffee bars.

星巴克迈出美国西北部进行投资的第一站是在芝加哥。在那里,公司分管特色销售的部门开创了与百货商店联手以及在国家书店毗邻营业区的地方开设星巴克咖啡吧的经营新渠道。同时,星巴克还和百事可乐公司建立了伙伴关系,研发并销售一款即开即饮的新型咖啡饮品,他们与卡夫食品公司也签订了一份许可协议。作为一家寻求与多方进行合作而发展的企业,星巴克甚至与音乐产业合作,在咖啡吧里销售为星巴克量身定做的古典铜管乐及管弦乐激光唱片。

Para.8

When Starbucks opened its first store in New York City, it was a homecoming for Schultz, but he did not act like the head of the reigning royalty of coffee he had become. The New York Times commented, “The soft-spoken Mr. Schultz has barely a trace of a New York accent and a timid, almost apologetic manner.”

星巴克在纽约开第一家分店对于舒尔茨来说是回归故里,但他并没有摆出一副咖啡行业王者的姿态。《纽约时报》评论说:“舒尔茨先生说话温和,几乎没有一丝纽约口音的痕迹,而且他举止腼腆,甚至谦卑。”

Para.9

Schultz has also attracted considerable attention with his unconventional employment policies. He wanted to give Starbucks’ employees both a philosophical and a financial stake in the business. He decreed that employees who worked the quota of 20 hours a week or more were eligible for medical, dental, and optical coverage as well as for stock options. At a time when other companies were trimming benefits as a cost-cutting measure, Schultz, who grew up in a family without any medical coverage, was vocal in his belief that genuinely caring about your employees is critical to building a sturdy workforce. “Service is a lost art in America,” he told The New York Times. “I think people want to do a good job, but if they are treated poorly they get beaten down. We want to provide our people with dignity and self-esteem, and we can’t do that with lip service.” Starbucks stipulates that every employee with at least half-time hours can receive health-care benefits. Schultz credits the utilization of such a benefits policy as the key to the company’s growth because it has given Starbucks a more dedicated workforce and an extremely high level of customer service. The chain also achieved a dramatically low turnover rate, half that of the average fast food business. This creates a significant numerical payoff for Starbucks, since each new employee represents an expenditure of $3,000 in recruiting and training costs and productivity losses.

舒尔茨与众不同的员工政策也引起了人们的广泛关注。他希望给星巴克的员工提供不仅是经营理念上的而且也是经济上的参与公司成败的机会。他规定,员工完成每周 20 小时的工作定额或超过这一定额,就有资格享受医疗、牙齿及眼部保健方面的福利,也能享受股票优先认购权。就在其他企业通过削减福利来节省成本之时,舒尔茨,虽然生长在一个没有任何医疗福利保障的家庭,却仍然坦言自己的信仰,即真诚地关心员工对建立一个坚实的员工队伍是至关重要的。“服务在美国是一门缺失的艺术,”他对《纽约时报》如此说道,“我相信人们愿意把工作做好,但如果遭受的待遇很差,他们就会受到打击。我们希望给予员工尊严与自尊,而这一点光靠动动嘴皮子是做不到的。”星巴克规定,每一位工时超过半工制的员工都能享受医疗保障福利。舒尔茨相信这一福利政策的切实施行是企业成长的关键,因为此举已使星巴克拥有了更加尽心尽力的工作团队以及至高水准的客户服务。这一连锁反应也使员工的流动率极低,几乎只有快餐行业平均流动率的一半。在经营数字上,这一政策则给星巴克带来了显著回报,因为每招募和培训一位新员工及其生产率损失所产生的费用就高达三千美元。

Para.10

Schultz has remained firmly committed to employee and community enrichment, a philosophy which is embedded in the very core of Starbucks’ business culture. He has never grown accustomed to success enough to forget his working-class roots. He dedicated his book to the memory of his father, whom he had once spoken harshly to and accused of a lack of ambition. They were words Schultz would regret the rest of his life, a reminiscence he wished he could scrub from his memory. His father received the diagnosis of lung cancer and died before his son became a millionaire. Schultz once told his audience that his crowning success was that “I got to build the kind of company that my father never got to work for.”

舒尔茨一直坚定地致力于员工及社区发展,这一理念已经根植于星巴克的核心企业文化当中。他从未因为太过习惯于成功而忘却自己劳动阶层的根基。他把自己的一本书献给了父亲以表纪念。他曾经对父亲说过尖刻的话,甚至曾指责他缺乏上进心,这些话让舒尔茨后悔终生,他期望能够将这些回忆从记忆中抹去。他的父亲被诊断出了肺癌,在儿子成为百万富翁之前就离去了。舒尔茨曾经告诉他的听众,他最重要的成功在于“我创立了一个我父亲从来都不曾有福气为之工作的那种企业。

Unit 4

New Words

WordsPhonetic symbolsChinese
democracy/dɪ’mɒkrəsɪ/n. 民主,民主主义;民主政治
congressman/‘kɑŋgrəsmən/n. 国会议员;众议院议员
constituent/kən’stɪtjʊənt/n. 成分;选民;委托人;adj. 构成的;选举的
segregate/‘segrɪgeɪt/vt. 使隔离;使分离;在…实行种族隔离
consolidate/kən’sɒlɪdeɪt/vt. 巩固,使固定;联合;vi. 巩固,加强
differentiate/,dɪfə’renʃɪeɪt/vt. 区分,区别;vi. 区分,区别
definitive/dɪ’fɪnɪtɪv/n. 限定词;adj. 决定性的;最后的;限定的
sane/seɪn/adj. 健全的;理智的;[临床 神志正常的
ecological/iːkə’lɒdʒɪk(ə)l; ek-/adj. 生态的,生态学的
ozone/‘əʊzəʊn/n. [化学 臭氧;新鲜的空气
deplete/dɪ’pliːt/vt. 耗尽,用尽;使衰竭,使空虚
depletion/dɪ’pliːʃn/n. 消耗;损耗;放血
correlation/,kɒrə’leɪʃ(ə)n; -rɪ-/n. [数 相关,关联;相互关系
ecology/ɪ’kɒlədʒɪ; e-/n. 生态学;社会生态学
thermal/‘θɜːm(ə)l/n. 上升的热气流;adj. 热的;热量的;保热的
atlas/‘ætləs/n. 地图集;寰椎
planetary/‘plænɪt(ə)rɪ/adj. 行星的
reversible/rɪ’vɜːsɪb(ə)l/n. 双面布料;adj. 可逆的;可撤消的;可反转的
chord/kɔːd/n. 弦;和弦;香水的基调
regime/reɪ’ʒiːm/n. 政权,政体;社会制度;管理体制
parameter/pə’ræmɪtə/n. 参数;系数;参量
overt/əʊ’vɜːt; ‘əʊvət/adj. 明显的;公然的;蓄意的
allege/ə’ledʒ/vt. 宣称,断言;提出…作为理由
incompatible/ɪnkəm’pætɪb(ə)l/n. 互不相容的人或事物;adj. 不相容的;矛盾的;不能同时成立的
dreadful/‘dredfʊl; -f(ə)l/adj. 可怕的;糟透的,令人不快的
eradicate/ɪ’rædɪkeɪt/vt. 根除,根绝;消灭
sovereignty/‘sɒvrɪntɪ/n. 主权;主权国家;君主;独立国
coalition/,kəʊə’lɪʃ(ə)n/n. 联合;结合,合并
legislative/‘ledʒɪslətɪv/n. 立法权;立法机构;adj. 立法的;有立法权的
legalization/,liɡəlɪ’zeʃən/n. [法 合法化;法律认可
propagate/prɒpəgeɪt/vt. 传播;传送;繁殖;宣传;vi. 繁殖;增殖
bizarre/bɪ’zɑː/adj. 奇异的(指态度,容貌,款式等)
caribou/‘kærɪbuː/n. 北美驯鹿
standoff/‘stændɒf/n. 和局;僵持;冷淡;平衡;adj. 冷淡的;有支架的
versus/‘vɜːsəs/prep. 对;与…相对;对抗
negligible/‘neglɪdʒɪb(ə)l/adj. 微不足道的,可以忽略的
ecosystem/‘iːkəʊsɪstəm/n. 生态系统
saw/sɔː/n. 锯子;谚语;vt. 看见;明白,了解;锯;锯成;锯开;vi. 锯;用锯;将某物锯成小块
chop/tʃɒp/n. 砍;排骨;商标;削球;(俚)丑人;vt. 剁碎;砍
timber/‘tɪmbə/n. 木材;木料
maneuver/mə’nʊvə/n. [军 机动;演习;策略;调遣;vt. [军 机动;演习;用计;调遣;vi.用计谋
habitat/‘hæbɪtæt/n. [生态 栖息地,产地
geology/dʒɪ’ɒlədʒɪ/n. 地质学;地质情况
hierarchy/‘haɪərɑːkɪ/n. 层级;等级制度
intelligible/ɪn’telɪdʒɪb(ə)l/adj. 可理解的;明了的;仅能用智力了解的
prairie/‘preərɪ/n. 大草原;牧场
debris/ˈdeɪbri:/n. 碎片,残骸
converge/kən’vɜːdʒ/vt. 使汇聚;vi. 聚集;靠拢;收敛
shrub/ʃrʌb/n. 灌木;灌木丛
vegetation/vedʒɪ’teɪʃ(ə)n/n. 植被;植物,草木;呆板单调的生活
mattress/‘mætrɪs/n. 床垫;褥子;空气垫
texture/‘tekstʃə/n. 质地;纹理;结构;本质,实质
plea/pliː/n. 恳求,请求;辩解,辩护;借口,托辞
preside/prɪ’zaɪd/vt. 管理;vi. 主持,担任会议主席
impair/ɪm’peə/vt. 损害;削弱;减少
marsh/mɑːʃ/n. 沼泽;湿地;adj. 沼泽的;生长在沼泽地的
crane/kreɪn/n. 吊车,起重机;鹤;vt. 用起重机起吊;伸长脖子;vi. 伸着脖子看;迟疑,踌躇
overpass/‘əʊvəpɑːs/n. 天桥;陆桥;vt. 超越;胜过;忽略
contaminate/kən’tæmɪneɪt/vt. 污染,弄脏
vulgar/‘vʌlgə/n. 平民,百姓;adj. 粗俗的;通俗的;本土的
zoological/,zuːə’lɒdʒɪk(ə)l; ,zəʊə-/adj. 动物学的;关于动物的
mutation/mjuː’teɪʃ(ə)n/n. [遗 突变;变化;元音变化
antelope/‘æntɪləʊp/n. 羚羊;羚羊皮革
graze/greɪz/n. 放牧;轻擦;vt. 放牧;擦伤;vi. 吃草;擦伤
prey/preɪ/n. 捕食;牺牲者;被捕食的动物;vi. 捕食;掠夺;折磨
slaughter/‘slɔːtə/n. 屠宰,屠杀;杀戮;消灭;vt. 屠宰,屠杀;杀戮;使惨败
invert/ɪn’vɜːt/n. 颠倒的事物;倒置物;倒悬者;vt. 使…转化;使…颠倒;使…反转;使…前后倒置;adj. 转化的
obedient/ə’biːdɪənt/adj. 顺从的,服从的;孝顺的
cord/kɔːd/n. 绳索;束缚;vt. 用绳子捆绑
repressive/rɪ’presɪv/adj. 镇压的;压抑的;抑制的
hunch/hʌn(t)ʃ/n. 预感;大块;肉峰;vt. 耸肩;预感到;弯腰驼背;vi. 隆起;向前移动
detach/dɪ’tætʃ/vt. 分离;派遣;使超然
detached/dɪ’tætʃt/adj. 分离的,分开的;超然的
concurrently/kən’kɝəntli/adv.同时发生地
inject/ɪn’dʒekt/vt. 注入;注射
entity/‘entɪtɪ/n. 实体;存在;本质
grease/griːs/n. 油脂;贿赂;vt. 涂脂于;贿赂
greasy/‘griːsɪ; -zɪ/adj. 油腻的;含脂肪多的;谄媚的
liquor/‘lɪkə/n. 酒,含酒精饮料;溶液;液体;烈酒;vt. 使喝醉;vi. 喝酒,灌酒
peel/piːl/n. 皮;v. 剥,剥落;削
repression/rɪ’preʃən/n. 抑制,[心理 压抑;镇压
mansion/‘mænʃ(ə)n/n. 大厦;宅邸
stroll/strəʊl/n. 漫步;闲逛;巡回演出;vt. 散步;闲逛;vi. 散步;闲逛;巡回演出
flap/flæp/n. 拍打,拍打声;神经紧张;[航 襟翼;vt. 拍打;扔;拉下帽边;飘动;vi. 拍动;神经紧张;鼓翼而飞;(帽边等)垂下
coexistence/‘koɪg’zɪstəns/n. 共存;和平共处;并立
subscribe/səb’skraɪb/vt. 签署;赞成;捐助;vi. 订阅;捐款;认购;赞成;签署
odor/‘əʊdə/n. 气味;名声
botanical/bə’tænɪkl n. 植物性药材;adj. 植物学的/
cavity/‘kævɪtɪ/n. 腔;洞,凹处
alienate/‘eɪlɪəneɪt/vt. 使疏远,离间;让与
intolerant/ɪn’tɒl(ə)r(ə)nt/adj. 无法忍受的;偏狭的
deplore/dɪ’plɔː/vt. 谴责;悲悼;哀叹;对…深感遗憾
numb/nʌm/vt. 使麻木;使发愣;使失去感觉;adj. 麻木的;发愣的
spice/spaɪs/n. 香料;情趣;调味品;少许;vt. 加香料于…;使…增添趣味
dweller/‘dwɛlɚ/n. 居民,居住者
humidity/hjʊ’mɪdɪtɪ/n. [气象 ]湿度;湿气

Phrases and expressions

  1. differentiate between 区分…;把…进行区分
  2. take on 呈现(某种特征、面貌等)
  3. run/go against the grain 与…格格不入;违反本性
  4. be incompatible with 与…不相容的;与…不能共存的
  5. come through 安然度过(困难或危险);(信息或消息等)传来
  6. in part 在某种程度上;部分地
  7. as ... as the next person/man 像其他人一样
  8. choose sth. over sth. else 优先选择(某物)而非(另一物)
  9. at a ... cost 以…的代价;花费…
  10. be bound up/together 联系在一起
  11. be in order 适宜,恰当;妥当,无误
  12. frame/state of mind 心情,心态
  13. converge with 与…相融合
  14. preside over sth. 掌管,领导
  15. be obedient to 顺从于,服从于,遵从于
  16. remold sb./sth. into 使…变成为
  17. disconnect sb./sth. from 使脱离,使不联系,使分开
  18. be tied to 和…联系在一起;依附于…
  19. lean (sth.) against/on sth. 斜靠在…;把…斜靠在
  20. peel (sth.) off (使)剥落,(使)脱落
  21. alienate sb. from sth. 使某人与…疏远,使某人感到与…格格不入
  22. be intolerant of 不能容忍
  23. plunge into 跳入,潜入(水中);(积极)投入,参与,卷入
  24. shut out sth./sb. 不让…进入,挡住

Articles

A

Achieving sustainable environmentalism

实现可持续性发展的环保主义

图片

Para.1

Environmental sensitivity is now as required an attitude in polite society as is, say, belief in democracy or disapproval of plastic surgery. But now that everyone from Ted Turner to George H. W. Bush has claimed love for Mother Earth, how are we to choose among the dozens of conflicting proposals, regulations and laws advanced by congressmen and constituents alike in the name of the environment? Clearly, not everything with an environmental claim is worth doing. How do we segregate the best options and consolidate our varying interests into a single, sound policy?

在上流社会,对环境的敏感就如同信仰民主、反对整容一样,是一种不可或缺的态度。然而,既然从泰德•特纳到乔治•W.H.布什,每个人都声称自己热爱地球母亲,那么,在由议员、选民之类的人以环境名义而提出的众多的相互矛盾的提案、规章和法规中,我们又该如何做出选择呢?显而易见,并不是每一项冠以环境保护名义的事情都值得去做。我们怎样才能分离出最佳选择,并且把我们各自不同的兴趣统一在同一个合理的政策当中呢?

Para.2

There is a simple way. First, differentiate between environmental luxuries and environmental necessities. Luxuries are those things that would be nice to have if costless. Necessities are those things we must have regardless. Call this distinction the definitive rule of sane environmentalism, which stipulates that combating ecological change that directly threatens the health and safety of people is an environmental necessity. All else is luxury.

有一种简便的方法。首先要区分什么是环境奢侈品,什么是环境必需品。奢侈品是指那些无需人类付出代价就能拥有的给人美好感受的东西。必需品则是指那些无论付出什么代价,都一定要去拥有的东西。这一区分原则可以被称为理性环保主义的至高原则。它规定,对那些直接威胁人类健康与安全的生态变化采取应对措施是环境保护的必需品,而其他则都属于奢侈品。

Para.3

For example, preserving the atmosphere - stopping ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect - is an environmental necessity. Recently, scientists reported that ozone damage is far worse than previously thought. Ozone depletion has a correlation not only with skin cancer and eye problems, it also destroys the ocean’s ecology, the beginning of the food chain atop which we humans sit.

例如,保护大气层——阻止臭氧损耗及控制温室效应——是环境保护的必需品。近来,科学家报告说臭氧层遭受破坏的程度远比我们先前认为的要严重得多。臭氧损耗不仅与皮肤癌及眼疾有关,而且它还会破坏海洋生态。而海洋生态是食物链的起点,人类则位于该食物链的顶端。

Para.4

The possible thermal consequences of the greenhouse effect are far deadlier: melting ice caps, flooded coastlines, disrupted climate, dry plains and, ultimately, empty breadbaskets. The American Midwest feeds people at all corners of the atlas. With the planetary climate changes, are we prepared to see Iowa take on New Mexico’s desert climate, or Siberia take on Iowa’s moderate climate?

温室效应所可能引发的热效应是非常具有毁灭性的:冰川融化、海岸线被淹没、气候遭受破坏、平原干涸,最终食物消失殆尽。美国中西部地区的粮食供养着全世界。随着全球气候的变化,我们难道准备看到衣阿华州变成新墨西哥州的沙漠气候,而西伯利亚变成衣阿华州的温和气候吗?

Para.5

Ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect are human disasters, and they are urgent because they directly threaten humanity and are not easily reversible. A sane environmentalism, the only kind of environmentalism that will strike a chord with the general public, begins by openly declaring that nature is here to serve human beings. A sane environmentalism is entirely a human focused regime: It calls upon humanity to preserve nature, but merely within the parameters of self-survival.

臭氧损耗和温室效应是人类的灾难,而且是需要紧急处理的灾难,因为它们直接威胁到人类,且后果很难扭转。理性环保主义——唯一能够引起公众共鸣的环保主张——首先公开声明,自然是服务于人类的。理性环保主义是一种完全以人类为中心的思想。它号召人类保护自然,但是是在人类自我生存得到保证的前提之下。

Para.6

Of course, this human focus runs against the grain of a contemporary environmentalism that indulges in overt earth worship. Some people even allege that the earth is a living organism. This kind of environmentalism likes to consider itself spiritual. It is nothing more than sentimental. It takes, for example, a highly selective view of the kindness of nature, one that is incompatible with the reality of natural disasters. My nature worship stops with the twister that came through Kansas or the dreadful rains in Bangladesh that eradicated whole villages and left millions homeless.

当然,这种以人类为中心的主张与当下盛行的环保主义是格格不入的,后者已经沉溺于对地球的公然崇拜。有的人甚至声称地球是一个活的生物体。这种环保主义喜欢把自己看作是神圣的,其实它只是感情用事而已。比如,在自然是否友善的问题上,当下的环保主义采取了高度选择性的片面的观点,而这种观点与自然造成的灾难这一现实是不相协调的。当龙卷风肆虐堪萨斯州,当瓢泼大雨袭击孟加拉国,毁灭了整座整座的村庄,使几百万人失去家园的时候,我对自然的崇拜便停止了。

Para.7

A non-sentimental environmentalism is one founded on Protagoras’s idea that “Man is the measure of all things.” In establishing the sovereignty of man, such a principle helps us through the dense forest of environmental arguments. Take the current debate raging over oil drilling in a corner of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Environmentalist coalitions, mobilizing against a legislative action working its way through the US Congress for the legalization of such exploration, propagate that Americans should be preserving and economizing energy instead of drilling for it. This is a false either-or proposition. The US does need a sizable energy tax to reduce consumption. But it needs more production too. Government estimates indicate a nearly fifty-fifty chance that under the ANWR rests one of the five largest oil fields ever discovered in America. It seems illogical that we are not finding safe ways to drill for oil in the ANWR.

非感情用事的环保主义是建立在普罗泰哥拉的格言“人是万物的尺度”的基础上的。在建立人类权威的过程中,这条原则会帮助我们梳理各种错综复杂的关于环境保护的争议。就以当前关于是否在北极国家野生动物保护区的某一角落开采石油的激烈争论为例吧。环保主义者联盟动员人们反对目前正在试图通过美国国会审议、使这一开采行为变得合法化的一项立法行动。他们散布说美国应该保护并且节约能源而不是开采能源。这其实是一个错误的非此即彼的主张。美国确实需要征收高额的能源税以减少能源消耗,但同时也需要生产更多的能源。政府的估测表明,在北极国家野生动物保护区的地下蕴藏着美国五大油田之一的可能性几乎到达 50%。我们没有寻找安全的方法开采北极国家野生动物保护区地下的石油,这看上去是不符合情理的。

Para.8

The US has just come through a war fought in part over oil. Energy dependence costs Americans not just dollars but lives. It is a bizarre sentimentalism that would deny oil that is peacefully attainable because it risks disrupting the birthing grounds of Arctic caribou.

美国刚刚经历了一场战争,其部分原因就是为了获取石油。对能源的依赖使美国不但付出了金钱的代价,而且也付出了生命的代价。就因为可能破坏北美驯鹿的繁衍地而放弃能够以和平手段获得的石油,这是一种十分怪异的感情用事。

Para.9

I like the caribou as much as the next person. And I would be rather sorry if their mating patterns were disturbed. But you can’t have your cake and eat it too. And in the standoff of the welfare of caribou versus reducing an oil reliance that gets people killed in wars, I choose people over caribou every time.

我像别人一样喜欢驯鹿。如果他们的交配模式受到干扰,我会感到非常遗憾。但是,鱼和熊掌不能兼得。是要保护驯鹿,还是要为了避免人们在战争中丧生而减少对石油的依赖,面对这一僵局,我每次都会选择人类而不是驯鹿。

Para.10

I feel similarly about the spotted owl in Oregon. I am no enemy of the owl. If it could be preserved at a negligible cost, I would agree that it should be - biodiversity is after all necessary to the ecosystem. But we must remember that not every species is needed to keep that diversity. Sometimes aesthetic aspects of life have to be sacrificed to more fundamental ones. If the cost of preserving the spotted owl is the loss of livelihood for 30,000 logging families, I choose the families (with their saws and chopped timber) over the owl.

我对俄勒冈州的斑点猫头鹰的态度也是一样。我绝不是仇视猫头鹰。如果花很少的代价就可以保护猫头鹰,我会赞同它应受保护——毕竟,生物多样性对生态系统是非常必要的。但是,我们必须记住,保持生物多样性并不意味着要留住每一种物种。有时候,为了更加根本的利益,我们不得不牺牲一部分生活中美的东西。如果为了保护斑点猫头鹰而让三万伐木工家庭失去生计,我会选择伐木工家庭(包括他们的锯子和砍伐的木材),而不是猫头鹰。

Para.11

The important distinction is between those environmental goods that are fundamental and those that are not. Nature is our ward, not our master. It is to be respected and even cultivated. But when humans have to choose between their own well-being and that of nature, nature will have to accommodate.

重要的是,我们要区分哪些东西对环境保护是根本性的,哪些是非根本性的。自然受我们的监护,而不是我们的主人。我们应该尊重自然,也可以开发利用自然。但是,如果人类必须在自身的福利和自然的福利之间作出选择,自然则必须作出让步。

Para.12

Humanity should accommodate only when its fate and that of nature are inseparably bound up. The most urgent maneuver must be undertaken when the very integrity of humanity’s habitat, e.g., the atmosphere or the essential geology that sustains the core of the earth, is threatened. When the threat to humanity is lower in the hierarchy of necessity, a more modest accommodation that balances economic against health concerns is in order. But in either case the principle is the same: protect the environment - because it is humanity’s environment.

只有当人类的命运与自然的命运密不可分时,人类才应该作出让步。当人类栖息地的完整性(比如大气层或维持地球核心的基本地质状况)受到威胁时,人类就必须立即调整自己的行为。而当人类受到的威胁不大,不太需要对自己的行为进行调整时,恰当的做法是平衡考虑经济方面和与之相对的健康方面的因素,以便作出适度的调整。但是,无论是哪种情况,其遵循的原则是一致的:保护环境,因为这是我们人类的环境。

Para.13

The sentimental environmentalists will call this saving nature with a totally wrong frame of mind. Exactly. A sane and intelligible environmentalism does it not for nature’s sake but for our own.

感情用事的环保主义者会说这种拯救自然的思路是完全错误的。的确是这样。理性、明确的环保主义保护环境是为了人类自身,而不是为了自然。

B

What nature is telling you

倾听自然诉说

Para.1

Let’s sit down here, all of us, on the open prairie, where we can’t see a highway or a fence, free from the debris of the city. Let’s have no blankets to sit on, but let our bodies converge with the earth, the surrounding trees and shrubs. Let’s have the vegetation for a mattress, experiencing its texture, its sharpness and its softness. Let us become like stones, plants, and trees. Let us be animals, think and feel like animals.

让我们在这儿坐下来吧,我们所有的人,就在这片广阔的草原上。在这里,我们看不见高速公路,看不见围栏,远离城市垃圾。我们不要铺毯子,就让我们的身体和大地、周围的树木及灌木来个亲密接触吧。让我们把草当垫子,感受它或许坚硬或许柔软的质地。让我们想象自己变成了石头、植物和树木,想象自己变成了动物,并像动物那样思考和感觉。

Para.2

This is my plea: Listen to the air. You can hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it. We feel it between us, as a presence presiding over the day. It is a good way to start thinking about nature and talking about it. To go further, we must rather talk to it, talk to the rivers, to the lakes, to the winds as to our relatives.

这就是我的请求:倾听空气。你们可以听见它,感觉它,闻到它,品尝它。我们可以感到它就在我们中间,作为一种实实在在的存在,主宰着每一天。这是一个好方式,我们可以就这样开始思考自然,谈论自然。如果再想好点的话,我们就不如和自然说话,也就是和江河说话,和湖泊说话,和风说话,就像我们和亲人说话一样。

Para.3

You have impaired our ability to experience nature in the good way, as part of it. Even here we are conscious that somewhere beyond the marsh and its cranes, somewhere out in those hills there are radar towers and highway overpasses. This land is so beautiful and strange that now some of you want to make it into a national park. You have not only contaminated the earth, the rocks, the minerals, all of which you call “dead” but which are very much alive; you have even changed the animals, which are part of us, changed them into vulgar zoological mutations, so no one can recognize them.

你们已经损坏了我们人类作为大自然的一部分以一种美好的方式体验大自然的能力。即使在这里,我们也知道,在沼泽地和栖息于此的鹤之外的某个地方,在远处山里的某个地方,就建有雷达塔和高速公路立交桥。这片土地如此美丽与奇特,以至于你们中的某些人想把它变成一座国家公园。你们已经污染了土地、岩石、矿物——这些都是被你们称为已经“死去”但其实是非常有生命活力的东西。不仅如此,就连属于我们一部分的动物,也被你们改造了。你们把它们变成了低级的基因变异动物,以至于没有人能再认识它们。

Para.4

There is power in an antelope, so you let it graze within your fences. But what power do you see in a goat or sheep, prey animals with no defenses, creatures that hold still while you slaughter them? There was great power in a wolf, even in a fox. You have inverted nature and turned these noble animals into miniature lap dogs. Nature is bound by your ropes and whips and is obedient to your commands. You can’t do much with a cat, so you fix it, alter it, declaw it, and even cut its vocal cords so that you can experiment on it in a laboratory without being disturbed by its cries.

羚羊是一种有力量的动物,因而你们把它圈养在栅栏里。但是,山羊或绵羊,这些没有自卫能力的猎物、这些悄无声息任凭你们宰杀的动物,你们在它们身上看到了什么力量?狼身上有巨大的力量,狐狸身上也同样有巨大的力量。你们违背自然,把这些高贵的动物变成了小型的可以放在腿上把玩的哈巴狗。自然被你们的绳索和鞭子所束缚,屈服于你们的命令。对猫,你们无能为力,所以你们就设法修理它们、改造它们,剪掉它们锋利的爪子,甚至切断它们的声带,这样你们就可以用猫在实验室做实验,而不会再受它们叫声的干扰。

Para.5

You have also made all types of wild birds into chickens - creatures with wings so impaired that they cannot fly. There are farms where you breed chickens for breast meat. Those birds are kept in low, repressive cages, forced to be hunched over all the time, which makes the breast muscles very big. One loud noise and the chickens go mad, killing themselves by flying against the walls of their cages. Having to spend all their lives stooped over makes an unnatural, crazy, no-good bird. It also makes unnatural, detached, no-good human beings.

所有的野生鸟类都被你们改造成了鸡禽——一种翅膀退化、根本不会飞的生物。你们有许多农场,专门用来词养鸡以提供鸡胸脯肉。这些鸡被关在狭窄压抑的笼子里,不得不一直弓着身体,这使它们的胸脯肌肉变得很大。如果突发一声巨响,鸡群会吓得发疯般乱跑,撞死在笼子壁上。一辈子都必须佝偻着背使得这些鸡变成了既不天然又不正常、毫无用处的禽类。同时,人类也变得很不自然、冷漠无情、残酷刻薄。

Para.6

That’s where you’ve fooled yourselves. You have not only altered, declawed, and deformed your winged and four-legged cousins; you have done it concurrently to yourselves. You inject Botox, or use plastic surgery, synthetic make-up and countless drugs. You have filtered and remolded humans into executives sitting in boardrooms, into office workers, into time-clock punchers. Your homes are filled with families disconnected from one another but tied to one great entity, television.

在这点上,你们愚弄了自己。你们对自己带翅膀的和长四条腿的近亲兄弟姐妹进行了改造,剪掉了它们的爪子,甚至让它们变得畸形。同时,你们也在对自己做这些事情。你们注射肉毒杆菌毒素,接受整容手术,使用人造化妆品和数不清的药物。你们把人类进行筛选和改造:有的人是坐董事会议室的高级管理人员,有的人是坐办公室的白领,有的人是每日要按考勤钟打卡的工人。在家里,每个家庭成员之间也没有联系,却都沉溺于一个大实体,那就是电视。

Para.7

“Watch the ashes, don’t smoke, you’ll stain the curtains. Watch the goldfish bowl. Don’t lean your head against the wallpaper; your hair may be greasy. Don’t spill liquor on that table: You’ll peel off its delicate finish. You should have wiped your boots; the floor was just cleaned. Don’t, don’t, don’t …” That is absurd! We weren’t made to endure this type of repression. You live in prisons which you have built for yourselves, calling them “homes”, offices, factories.

“小心烟灰,不要抽烟,否则你会熏脏窗帘。小心金鱼缸。不要把头靠在墙纸上,你的头发也许很油。不要把饮料洒在桌子上,你会把它精美的涂层弄掉。你应该先擦擦靴子,地板刚刚才打扫过。不要做这个,不要做那个,不要……”这太荒谬了!人类生下来不是忍受这种压抑的。你们住在自己亲手打造的监狱里,只不过你们把它们称之为“家”、办公室或工厂而已。

Para.8

Sometimes I think that even our pitiful small houses are better that your luxury mansions. Strolling a hundred feet to the outhouse on a clear wintry night, through mud or snow, that is one small link with nature. Or in the summer, in the back country, taking your time, listening to the humming of the insects or the flapping of birds’ wings, the sun warming your bones through the nodding branches of trees; you don’t even have that pleasure of coexistence with nature anymore.      

有时,我认为我们的寒酸小屋也比你们的奢华大厦要好。在一个晴朗的冬夜,踏着泥土或积雪,漫步一百英尺去上厕所,这是我们与自然之间的一个小小的接触。亦或是在夏天,在一个偏僻的乡村,悠闲地听着昆虫的嗡鸣或鸟儿拍打翅膀的声音,感受太阳透过随风摇摆的树枝暖暖地照在身上的感觉。可是你们却连体会那种与自然共处的快乐的机会都不再有。

Para.9

You subscribe to the belief that everything must be germ free. No smells! Not even the good, natural man and woman odors. Eradicate the smell from under your armpits, from your skin. Rub it out, and then spray some botanical odor on yourself, stuff you can spend a lot of money on,ten dollars an ounce,so you know this has to smell good. Why do you keep such a distance from your bodies’ functions,cavities and smells that you’ve alienated yourselves from the natural world,of which you are an integral part?

你们坚信任何东西都必须是无菌的。任何气味都不能有!包括男人、女人身上所散发的那些好闻的自然的体香。你们就是要除去腋窝下散发的气味,除去皮肤里散发的气味。味道去掉后,你们还要在身上撒上某种植物香水。这东西造价昂贵,一盎司十美元,所以你们相信它的气味肯定好。你们为什么要刻意远离自己身体的功能、体腔和气味,把自己从原本所属的自然世界疏离出去呢?

Para.10

I think you are so afraid and intolerant of the world around you.You deplore the natural world; you don’t want to see, feel, smell, or hear it. The feelings of rain and snow on your face, being numbed by an icy wind and warmed back up by a smoking fire,coming out of a hot sweat bath and plunging into a cold stream, these things are the spice of life, but you don’t want them anymore. 

我认为你们既十分害怕又不能容忍自己周围的世界。你们痛斥自然界,不愿看到、触到、闻到或听到关于它的任何点滴。雨或雪落在脸上的感觉,被刺骨的寒风冻僵后又在冒烟的火堆旁烤火暖和过来,洗一个热水澡后又跳入一条寒冷的小溪,所有这些都能给生活增添乐趣,但是你们却不再想要这些了。  

Para.11

You’re cage dwellers, living in boxes which shut out the hot humidity of the summer and the chill of winter, living inside a body that no longer has a scent. You’re hearing the noise form the hi-fi instead of listening to the sounds of nature. You’re watching actors on TV having a make-believe experience when you no longer experience anything for yourself. That’s your way. It’s no good.

你们把自己围在牢笼中,生活在封闭的盒子里,隔绝了夏天的酷热与潮湿,冬天的寒冷与战栗,只活在一个不再有任何自然气息的驱壳里;你们听着音响中播放的噪音而不是自然的声音;你们看着电视上演员上演编造的经历,而自己却不去做任何亲身体验。这就是你们的方法。实在太糟糕了。

Unit 5

New Words

WordsPhonetic symbolsChinese
peninsula/pɪ’nɪnsjʊlə/n. 半岛
confidential/kɒnfɪ’denʃ(ə)l/adj. 机密的;表示信任的;获信任的
confidentially/,kɒnfɪ’denʃ(ə)lɪ/adv. 秘密地;作为心腹话地
recipient/rɪ’sɪpɪənt/n. 容器,接受者;容纳者;adj. 容易接受的,感受性强的
nominal/‘nɒmɪn(ə)l/n. [语 名词性词;adj. 名义上的;有名无实的;[会计 票面上的
emigrant/‘emɪgr(ə)nt/n. 移民;侨民;adj. 移民的;移居的
taboo/tə’buː/n. 禁忌;禁止;vt. 禁忌;禁止;adj. 禁忌的;忌讳的
scallop/‘skɒləp; ‘skæləp/n. 扇贝,干贝;vt. 使成扇形;vi. 拾扇贝
garlic/‘gɑːlɪk/n. 大蒜;蒜头
flank/flæŋk/n. 侧面;侧翼;侧腹;vt. 守侧面;位于…的侧面;攻击侧面;vi. 侧面与…相接;adv. 在左右两边
cucumber/‘kjuːkʌmbə/n. 黄瓜
lunar/‘luːnə/adj. 月亮的,月球的;阴历的;银的;微亮的
mutter/‘mʌtə/n. 咕哝;喃喃低语;vt. 咕哝;抱怨地说;低声含糊地说;vi. 咕哝;喃喃自语
tray/treɪ/n. 托盘;文件盒;隔底匣;(无线电的)发射箱
foil/fɔɪl/n. 箔,金属薄片;衬托,烘托;叶形片;abbr. 面向文件的翻译语言(file-Oriented interpretive language);vt. 衬托;阻止,挡开;挫败;贴箔于
magistrate/‘mædʒɪstrət; -streɪt/n. 地方法官;文职官员;治安推事
breach/briːtʃ/n. 违背,违反;缺口;vt. 违反,破坏;打破
etiquette/‘etɪket; etɪ’ket/n. 礼节,礼仪;规矩
colony/‘kɒlənɪ/n. 殖民地;移民队;种群;动物栖息地
configuration/kən,fɪgə’reɪʃ(ə)n; -gjʊ-/n. 配置;结构;外形
fabricate/‘fæbrɪkeɪt/vt. 制造;伪造;装配
tribe/traɪb/n. 部落;族;宗族;一伙
censorship/‘sensəʃɪp/n. 审查制度;审查机构
consecutive/kən’sekjʊtɪv/adj. 连贯的;连续不断的
aerospace/‘eərəspeɪs/n. 航空宇宙;[航 航空航天空间
prod/prɒd/n. 刺针;刺棒;签子;vt. 刺,戳;刺激;vi. 刺;捅
proceeding/prəʊ’siːdɪŋ/n. 进行;程序;诉讼;事项
reciprocal/rɪ’sɪprək(ə)l/n. [数 倒数;互相起作用的事物;adj. 互惠的;相互的;倒数的,彼此相反的
denote/dɪ’nəʊt/vt. 表示,指示
bracket/‘brækɪt/n. 支架;括号;墙上凸出的托架;vt. 括在一起;把…归入同一类;排除
inconsistency/ɪnkən’sɪst(ə)nsɪ/n. 不一致;易变
gulf/gʌlf/n. 海湾;深渊;分歧;漩涡;vt. 吞没
spectator/spek’teɪtə/n. 观众;旁观者
deduction/dɪ’dʌkʃ(ə)n/n. 扣除,减除;推论;减除额
temporal/‘temp(ə)r(ə)l/n. 世间万物;暂存的事物;adj. 暂时的;当时的;现世的
ornament/‘ɔːnəm(ə)nt/n. 装饰;[建[服装] 装饰物;教堂用品;vt. 装饰,修饰
hedge/hedʒ/n. 对冲,套期保值;树篱;障碍;v. 用树篱笆围住;避免作正面答复
intolerance/ɪn’tɒl(ə)r(ə)ns; ɪn’tɒl(ə)rəns/n. (尤指对别人的意见)不宽容;偏狭
judiciary/dʒʊ’dɪʃ(ə)rɪ/n. 司法部;法官;司法制度;adj. 司法的;法官的;法院的
malicious/mə’lɪʃəs/adj. 恶意的;恶毒的;蓄意的;怀恨的
honorary/‘ɒn(ə)(rə)rɪ/n. 名誉学位;获名誉学位者;名誉团体;adj. 荣誉的;名誉的;道义上的
sieve/sɪv/n. [粮食[矿业] 筛子;滤网;不能保守秘密的人;vt. 筛;滤;vi. 筛;滤
nicety/‘naɪsɪtɪ/n. 精密;美好;细节;拘泥细节
crust/krʌst/n. 地壳;外壳;面包皮;坚硬外皮;vt. 盖以硬皮;在…上结硬皮 ;i. 结硬皮;结成外壳
composite/‘kɒmpəzɪt/n. 复合材料;合成物;菊科;vt. 使合成;使混合;adj. 复合的;合成的;菊科的
exterior/ɪk’stɪərɪə; ek-/n. 外部;表面;外型;外貌;adj. 外部的;表面的;外在的
junction/‘dʒʌŋ(k)ʃ(ə)n/n. 连接,接合;交叉点;接合点
torch/tɔːtʃ/n. 火把,火炬;手电筒;启发之物;vt. 用火炬点燃;vi. 像火炬一样燃烧
finalize/‘faɪn(ə)laɪz/vt. 完成;使结束;vi. 把最后定下来;定案
merger/‘mɜːdʒə/n. (企业等的)合并;并购;吸收(如刑法中重罪吸收轻罪)
emirate/‘emɪrət/n. 酋长国
detain/dɪ’teɪn/vt. 拘留;留住;耽搁
memorandum/memə’rændəm/n. 备忘录;便笺[ 复数 memorandums或memoranda
compile/kəm’paɪl/vt. 编译;编制;编辑;[图情] 汇编
graph/grɑːf; græf/n. 图表;曲线图;vt. 用曲线图表示
decimal/‘desɪm(ə)l/n. 小数;adj. 小数的;十进位的
exposition/ekspə’zɪʃ(ə)n/n. 博览会;阐述;展览会
certify/‘sɜːtɪfaɪ/v. 证明;保证
ribbon/‘rɪbən/n. 带;缎带;(勋章等的)绶带;带状物;勋表;vt. 把…撕成条带;用缎带装饰;vi. 形成带状
blue ribbonn. 蓝带程序;adj. (用于名词之前)最高的荣誉的,(选手)获冠军的,得第一名的;一流的;最棒的
convertible/kən’vɜːtɪb(ə)l/n. 有活动折篷的汽车;adj. 可改变的;同意义的;可交换的
parade/pə’reɪd/n. 游行;阅兵;炫耀;行进;阅兵场;vt. 游行;炫耀;列队行进;vi. 游行;炫耀;列队行进
commemorate/kə’meməreɪt/vt. 庆祝,纪念;成为…的纪念
briefing/‘briːfɪŋ/n. 简报;作战指示
kidnap/‘kɪdnæp/vt. 绑架;诱拐;拐骗
exasperated/ɪɡ’zæspəreɪtɪd/adj. 激怒的;恼火的
interrogation/ɪn,terə’geɪʃ(ə)n/n. 讯问;审问;[语 疑问句
nil/nɪl/n. 无,零
friction/‘frɪkʃ(ə)n/n. 摩擦,[力 摩擦力
reel/riːl/n. 蹒跚;眩晕;旋转;vt. 卷;使旋转;vi. 卷;眩晕;蹒跚地走;退缩
refund/ˈriːfʌnd/n. 退款;偿还,偿还额;vt. 退还;偿还;付还;vi. 退还;偿还,归还
parachute/‘pærəʃuːt/n. 降落伞;vi. 跳伞;空投
bull/bʊl/n. 公牛;看好股市者;粗壮如牛的人;胡说八道;印玺;vt. 企图抬高证券价格;吓唬;强力实现;vi. 价格上涨;走运;猛推;吹牛;adj. 大型的;公牛似的;雄性的
rating/‘reɪtɪŋ/n. 等级;等级评定;额定功率
sociologist/,səʊsɪ’ɒlədʒɪst/n. 社会学家
cohesion/kə(ʊ)’hiːʒ(ə)n/n. 凝聚;结合;[力 内聚力
reactionary/rɪ’ækʃ(ə)n(ə)rɪ/n. 反动分子;反动派;保守派;adj. 保守的,反动的;反动主义的;反对改革的
nominee/nɒmɪ’niː/n. 被任命者;被提名的人;代名人
climax/‘klaɪmæks/n. 高潮;顶点;层进法;极点
unification/,juːnɪfɪ’keɪʃ(ə)n/n. 统一;一致;联合
solidarity/,sɒlɪ’dærɪtɪ/n. 团结,团结一致
compartment/kəm’pɑːtm(ə)nt/n. [建 隔间;区划;卧车上的小客房;vt. 分隔;划分
compartmentalize/kɒmpɑːt’ment(ə)laɪz/vt. 划分,区分
convene/kən’viːn/vt. 召集,集合;传唤;vi. 聚集,集合
extract/ˈekstrækt/n. 汁;摘录;榨出物;选粹;vt. 提取;取出;摘录;榨取
groove/gruːv/n. [建 凹槽,槽;最佳状态;惯例;vt. 开槽于;vi. 形成沟槽
mute/mjuːt/n. 哑巴;弱音器;闭锁音;vt. 减弱……的声音;使……柔和;adj. 哑的;沉默的;无声的
tactful/‘tæktfʊl; -f(ə)l/adj. 机智的;圆滑的;老练的
courteous/‘kɜːtjəs/adj. 有礼貌的;谦恭的
glossary/‘glɒs(ə)rɪ/n. 术语(特殊用语)表;词汇表;专业词典
clarification/,klærɪfɪ’keɪʃ(ə)n/n. 澄清,说明;净化
mediate/‘miːdɪeɪt/vt. 调停;传达;vi. 调解;斡旋;居中;adj. 间接的;居间的
incorporate/ɪn’kɔːpəreɪt/vt. 包含,吸收;体现;把……合并;vi. 合并;混合;组成公司;adj. 合并的;一体化的;组成公司的

Phrases and expressions

  1. starve (sb./oneself) to death (使)饿死
  2. be attached to 与…有联系
  3. on the side 作为副业,作为兼职
  4. be suspicious of 感觉(某人或某事)不可信任;怀疑
  5. get/come to the point 切入主题
  6. wander around 离题;漫游,闲逛,漫步,游荡
  7. hedge...in with/by 包围,围住;以…限制某人(的自由、机会等)
  8. be representative of 有代表性的,代表…的
  9. if anything 如果有什么不同,如果有什么变化;甚至正相反,甚至还不如不说
  10. have an impact on/upon 对…产生作用或影响
  11. put sb. in charge (of sb./sth.) 让某人掌管,使某人负责
  12. close the/a deal 达成协议
  13. seal the/a deal 达成协议
  14. divert sth./sb. to 使转向,将某人的注意力转移到
  15. charge into/around/down, etc. 冲进,猛冲,冲向
  16. take a(n) ... approach to sth. 对…采用…方式或态度
  17. single sb. out 挑出,选出(某人)
  18. incorporate sth. into/in sth. 将…纳入…;将…并入…

Articles

A

Speaking Chinese in America

在美国说中文

图片

Para.1

Once, at a dinner on the Monterey Peninsula, California, my mother whispered to me confidentially: “Sau-sau (brother’s wife) pretends too hard to be a polite recipient! Why bother with such nominal courtesy? In the end, she always takes everything.”

有一次,在加州蒙特雷半岛上用餐时,我母亲私下悄悄地对我说:“嫂嫂想做个彬彬有礼的客人,但是装得太厉害了!何必费劲讲究形式上的客套呢?到最后她还是什么都要。”

Para.2

My mother acted like a waixiao, an emigrant, no longer patient with old taboos and courtesies. To prove her point, she reached across the table to offer my elderly aunt from Beijing the last scallop from the garlic seafood dish, along with the flank steak and the cucumber salad.

我母亲行事像个“外侨”,即一个移民国外的侨民,因为她已经不耐烦老一套的禁忌和礼数了。为了证明她刚才的观点,她手伸过桌子,把蒜香海鲜拼盘里的最后一个扇贝,连同牛腩排及黄瓜沙拉一起,递给我从北京来的年长舅妈。

Para.3

Sau-sau frowned. “B’yao, zhen b’yao!” she cried, patting her substantial stomach. I don’t want it, really I don’t.

嫂嫂皱起了眉头,“不要,真不要!”她一边大声说一边拍着自己已经吃得很饱的肚子。我不要了,真的不要了。

Para.4

“Take it! Take it!” my mother scolded in Chinese, as predictably as the lunar cycles.

“拿去吧!拿去吧!”我母亲用中文责备道。预料到她就会这样,就像月亮盈亏周期似的。

Para.5

“Full, I’m already full,” Sau-sau muttered weakly, eying the scallop.

“饱了,我已经饱了,”嫂嫂低声嘀咕着,眼睛却瞟着扇贝。

Para.6

“Ai!” exclaimed my mother. “Nobody wants it. It will only rot!”

“哎!”我母亲感叹着说,“没人愿意吃,只能让它坏掉了!”

Para.7

Sau-sau sighed, acting as if she were doing my mother a favor by taking the scrap off the tray and sparing us the trouble of wrapping the leftovers in foil.

嫂嫂叹了口气,从碟子上拿去了那个扇贝,就好像是帮了我母亲一个大忙,并省去了我们用箔纸将剩菜打包的麻烦似的。

Para.8

My mother turned to her brother, an experienced Chinese magistrate, visiting us for the first time. “In America, a Chinese person could starve to death. If you don’t breach the old rules of etiquette and say you want it, they won’t ask you again.”

我母亲转头看着她兄长——一位经验丰富的中国地方法官,这是他初次来看我们。她说:“在美国,一个中国人可能会饿死。要是你不打破老一套的礼数说你要吃,他们就不会再问你了。”

Para.9

My uncle nodded and said he understood fully: Americans take things quickly because they have no time to be polite.

我舅舅点点头,说他完全理解:美国人待人接物快速迅捷,因为他们没有时间客气来客气去。

Para.10

I read an article in The New York Times Magazine on changes in New York’s little cultural colony of Chinatown, where the author mentioned that the interwoven configuration of Chinese language and culture renders its speech indirect and polite. Chinese people are so “discreet and modest”, the article started, that there aren’t even words for “yes” and “no”.

我在《纽约时报杂志》上读到过一篇文章,描述的是纽约市内的中国城这一小块文化聚居地的变迁。作者在文章中提到,中国语言与文化错综交织,使中文十分委婉和客套。中国人是如此“谨慎和谦虚”,文章开头写道,以至于他们都没有词语来表达“是”和“不是”。

Para.11

Why do people keep fabricating these rumors? I thought. They describe us as though we were a tribe of those little dolls sold in Chinatown tourist shops, heads moving up and down in contented agreement!

我思索着,为什么人们会不断地编造这样的谣言呢?他们把我们描述得就像是唐人街旅游品商店里出售的一批小布娃娃。那些布娃娃的头不停地上下晃动,似乎对一切都心满意足,完全赞同。

Para.12

As any child of immigrant parents knows, there is a special kind of double bind attached to knowing two languages. My parents, for example, spoke to me in both Chinese and English; I spoke back to them in English.

生于移民家庭的孩子都清楚,有一种特殊的两难境地与说两种语言的生活联系在一起。比如我父母,他们和我说话时中文和英文都用,但我和他们说话时只用英文。

Para.13

“Amy-ah!” they’d scold me.

“艾米啊!”他们会这样责备我。

Para.14

“What?” I’d answer back.

“怎么啦?”我会回问道。

Para.15

“Do not question us when we call,” they’d scold in Chinese. “It’s not respectful.”

“我们叫你时,不要对我们反问,”他们会用中文训斥道。“这是不礼貌的!”

Para.16

“What do you mean?”

“你们什么意思?”

Para.17

“Ai! Didn’t we just tell you not to question?”

“哎!我们不是刚刚说过,叫你不要反问吗?”

Para.18

If I consider my upbringing carefully, I find there was nothing discreet about the Chinese language I grew up with, no censorship for the sake of politeness. My parents made everything abundantly clear in their consecutive demands: “Of course you will become a famous aerospace engineer, they prodded.” And yes, a concert pianist on the side.”

仔细想想自己的成长过程,我发现,我从小到大所接触到的中文并不是什么特别谨慎的语言,也不存在出于客气而对所说的话进行仔细检查的现象。我父母向我提一连串的要求时,总是把一切都表述得清清楚楚:“你当然会成为著名的航空工程师,”他们会鼓励我说,“对了,你业余时间还要做音乐会的钢琴师。”

Para.19

It seems that the more forceful proceedings always spilled over into Chinese: “Not that way! You must wash rice so not a single grain is lost.”

似乎更加强硬的事情总是通过中文倾泻出来:“不能那样!你淘米的时候,必须一粒都不漏。”

Para.20

Having listened to both Chinese and English, I’m suspicious of comparisons between the two languages, as I notice the reciprocal challenges they each present. English speakers say Chinese is extremely difficult because different words can be denoted by very subtle variations in tone. English is often bracketed with the label of inconsistency, a language of too many broken rules.

由于一直同时听着中英文两种语言,故而我对它们之间的任何对比总是心存怀疑,因为我注意到它们各自都有对方所没有的难点。说英文的人会认为中文极其难,因为中文用非常微妙的声调变化就可以表示不同的词语。而英文则常常被认为缺乏一致性,因为英文具有太多不合规则的用法。

Para.21

Even more dangerous, in my view, is the temptation to view the gulf between different languages and behavior in translation. To listen to my mother speak English, an outside spectator might make the deduction that she has no concept of the temporal differences of past and future or that she is gender blind because she refers to my husband as “she”. If one were not careful, one might also generalize that all Chinese people take an indirect route to get to the point. It is, rather, my mother’s individual tendency to ornament her language and wander around a bit.

在我在我看来,更危险的做法是,人们往往倾向于通过翻译来理解不同语言和行为之间的差异。如果一个旁观的外人听我母亲说英语,可能会得出结论,说她对过去和将来这样的时间区别没有概念,或者认为她对人的性别不加区分,因为她提到我丈夫时总是说“她”。如果一个人对此类现象不假思虑,他也许还会概括说,所有中国人都是通过委婉迂回的方式才能说到话题重点的。而实际上喜欢修饰和绕弯子只是我母亲个人的说话风格。

Para.22

I worry that the dominant society may see Chinese people from a limited perspective, hedging us in with the stereotype. I worry that the seemingly innocent stereotype may lead to actual intolerance and be part of the reason why there are few Chinese in top management positions, or in the main judiciary or political sectors. I worry about the power of language: If one says anything enough times, it might become true, with or without malicious intent.

我担心主流社会可能会从一个狭隘的角度、以一种成见看待中国人。我担心这种看似无害的成见实际会导致人们对中国人难以容忍,并成为中国人在高层管理职位或主要的司法及政府部门寥寥无几的部分原因。我担心语言的力量,即如果一个人将一件事说了很多遍,无论其是否有恶意,这件事都会变成事实。

Para.23

Could this be why the Chinese friends of my parents’ generation are willing to accept the generalization?

这会不会就是我父母辈的中国朋友愿意接受那些对中国人的简单概括的原因呢?

Para.24

“why are you complaining?” one of them said to me.” If people think we are modest and polite, let them think that. Wouldn’t Americans appreciate such an honorary description?”

“你为什么要抱怨呢?”他们中有人问我。“如果人们认为我们谦虚礼让,就让他们那样想好了。难道美国人不喜欢这种赞誉性的话吗?

Para.25

And I do believe that anyone would take the description as a compliment - at first. But after a while, it annoys, as if the only things that people heard one say were what had been filtered through the sieve of social niceties: I’m so pleased to meet you. I’ve heard many wonderful things about you.

我当然相信每个人在一开始都会把这种描述的话当成称赞。但过了一段时间,这种话就会让人恼怒,就好像所听到的只是些经过细微的社交区别过滤后的言辞,诸如“很高兴认识你,我听到许多人都夸奖你”之类的话。

Para.26

These remarks are not representative of new ideas, honest emotions, or considered thought. Like a piece of bread, they are only the crust of the interaction, or what is said from the polite distance of social contexts: greetings, farewells, convenient excuses, and the like. This generalization, therefore, is not a true composite of Chinese culture but only a stereotype of our exterior behavior.

这些话不能表达什么新观点,也不能传达什么真实的情感或深思熟虑的想法。它们就像一片面包,只是人们交往中最表层的东西,或社交场合下出于礼貌而说的一些话:问候、道别、顺口的托词,诸如此类。由此看来,那些对中国人的概括性评价并非是对中国文化成分的真实描述,而仅仅是对我们外在行为的一种成见而已。

Para.27

“So how does one say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in Chinese?” my friends may ask carefully.

“那么中文究竟怎么表达‘是’和‘不是’呢?”我的朋友也许会小心翼翼地问。

Para.28

At this junction, I do agree in part with The New York Times Magazine article. There is no one word for “yes” or “no”, but not out of necessity to be discreet. If anything, I would say the Chinese equivalent of answering “yes” or “no” is specific to what is asked.

在这一点上,我的确在某种程度上同意《纽约时报杂志》的那篇文章。在中文里,没有哪一个字专门用于表达“是”或“不是”,但这并非是因为需要保持谨慎。若的确有什么不同的话,那我会说中文里对应的“是”或“不是”的表达通常是针对所问的具体内容而定的。

Para.29

Ask a Chinese person if he or she has eaten, and he or she might say chrle (eaten already) or meiyou (have not).

如果你问一个中国人是否吃饭了,他(或她)会说“吃了”(已经吃过)或“没有”(没有吃过)。

Para.30

Ask, “Have you stopped beating your wife?” and the answer refers directly to the proposition being asserted or denied: stopped already, still have not, never beat, have no wife.

你若问:“你停止打老婆了吗?”他会直接就所断定或所否认的假设进行回答:已经停止了,还没有,从来不打,没有老婆。

Para.31

What could be clearer?

还有什么能比这更明了的呢?

B

Culture makes the business world go round

`\文化推动商业世界的运转``

Para.1

Edward Hall, a leader in the field of intercultural studies, famously said: “The single greatest barrier to business success is the one erected by culture.” Can cultural differences have as big an impact on international business ventures as financial planning and visionary leadership? The surprising answer is: Yes!

作为跨文化研究领域的领导者,爱德华霍尔曾说过一句名言:“商业成功的最大障碍是由文化竖立的障碍。”对国际企业来说,文化差异难道真的和财务规划及前瞻性领导有着同样大的影响吗?答案是出人意料的:的确如此!

Para.2

A good example is the role of relationships in business dealings. While relationships play only a minor role in US business culture, they play a major role in Asian, African, and Middle Eastern countries. In these cultures, in varying degrees, relationship building is like a torch that lights and guides the way for business to occur.

一个很好的例子,人际关系在生意往来中所起的作用。尽管人际关系在美国商业文化中作用不大,但在亚洲、非洲及中东国家却十分重要。在这些文化中,人际关系的经营在不同程度上就好像是照亮和引导生意征程的火炬。

Para.3

Let’s take the example of Kevin Johnston, a senior vice-president of a US company specializing in hospitality management. Kevin was put in charge of finalizing a merger with a company in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Virtually all of the complicated negotiations had been completed. What remained was a 3-day trip to the UAE for face-to-face meetings between the partners to sign the paperwork and close the deal.

让我们以美国一家酒店管理公司高级副总裁凯文?约翰斯顿的故事为例说明。凯文被指派负责敲定与阿拉伯联合酋长国(阿联酋)一家公司的合并事宜。几乎所有复杂的谈判均已完成,剩下的就是花三天时间前往阿联酋与对方面谈,以签署协议文件并完成整个交易。

Para.4

Kevin was determined that nothing would detain him from succeeding. He sent out a memorandum across his company, enthusiastically describing the planned merger with the UAE partners. Having compiled all the necessary documents and graphs, with every figure and decimal in place, and having prepared a thorough exposition certifying the quality of his company, he packed his briefcase and headed for the UAE.

凯文坚信,任何事情都不会阻碍他此行成功完成任务。他给公司上下发了一份备忘录,热情洋溢地描述了与阿联酋方面的这一合并计划。在他整理好了所有必备的文件和乃至数据及小数点都精确到位的各种图表,并准备了一份证明公司资质的详尽说明后,他就装好了公文包,奔赴阿联酋。

Para.5

Kevin arrived in the UAE excited to seal the deal. He was treated with extraordinary hospitality: an elaborate hotel, blue ribbon foods, elegant convertibles with drivers to tour the city, a parade of entertainment, and beautiful gifts to commemorate the visit. He tried repeatedly to bring out his files, open the conversation and get down to business. But, surprisingly, for the three days he spent in the UAE, none of his Emirate colleagues seemed ready to hear his financial briefing. Each time Kevin tried to speak about the deal, his prospective partners seemed to “kidnap” the conversation, diverting it to other topics. They would inquire about his health, his family or his views on education and other important issues.

凯文到了阿联酋,对于此行来完成这项交易感到兴奋无比。他受到了超规格的殷勤接待:奢华的宾馆、一流的佳肴、配有专职司机的优雅的敞篷车带他游览全城、接连不断的娱乐活动、精美的纪念品。他多次试图取出带来的文件资料,想打开话题谈生意,但奇怪的是,在他停留的三天里,阿联酋的同仁们却好像没有一个人愿意听他准备的财务情况简介。每当凯文试图谈及交易时,有望成为合作伙伴的对方似乎总是“绑架”谈话内容,岔开话题。他们会转而询问他的健康、他的家人,或他对教育和其他重要问题的看法。

Para.6

Upon leaving the UAE, Kevin felt exasperated and defeated. He hadn’t been able to receive the thorough interrogation of the materials for which he had so carefully prepared. His progress toward closing the deal was exactly where it was when he left the US: nil.

离开阿联酋时,凯文感到既恼火又丧气。对于自己精心准备的材料,他根本就无法获得对方的详细询问。至于完成这项交易的计划,则与他离开美国时毫无二致:零进展。

Para.7

The above case is a classic example of how a friction between different cultural expectations causes delay that, if not handled appropriately, will bring the deal to an abrupt end and leave both sides reeling. The substantial loss of revenue can never be refunded and can leave a struggling company falling without a parachute.

上述例子很经典,它说明了不同文化期望值之间的冲突会如何导致延误。这种延误若未能恰当处理的话,就会使一笔生意戛然中断,让双方都不知所措。所造成的巨大的收入损失永远无法弥补,甚至还会让一家在困境中挣扎的公司突然倒闭,就像没用降落伞从高空坠落一样,毫无缓冲。

Para.8

Kevin made the mistake of assuming that the “certifications” involved in sealing the deal were in his briefcase. He charged into the meetings like a bull. For many cultures, a person’s certifications are established not only by their accomplishments, their education and abilities, but also by more personal connections. In this case, the UAE partners wanted to know if Kevin was a good man, a family man, a trustworthy man. This type of rating establishes a trusting relationship for them. Had Kevin patiently taken the time to establish relationships, he would likely have been asked to share his carefully prepared documents and have closed the deal.

凯文错误地以为,生意成交只要靠自己公文包中的各种证明文件就行。他风风火火地去参加会谈,就像一头误打误撞的公牛。但对于很多文化来说,一个人确立自己的资质不仅要靠业绩、教育背景或个人能力,而且要靠更多的人际交往。在这一例子中,阿联酋合作伙伴很想知道的是,凯文是不是个好人,是不是个顾家和值得信赖的人。对他们而言,这种评判能够确立双方之间的信任关系。如果凯文当初能够花些时间耐心地去经营一下双方关系的话,他们也许就会让他介绍一下精心准备的材料并完成交易了。

Para.9

Sociologists agree that another key aspect influencing global business is the concept of face. Cross-cultural differences in the way we save face impact our perceptions of trust and respect, which in turn impact our relationships and group cohesion.

社会学家一致认为,影响国际商务的另一关键因素是“面子”。在“顾面子”的方式上,跨文化差异会影响我们对信任和尊重的看法,而这种看法反过来又会影响人们之间的关系和团队凝聚力。

Para.10

Take the example of Ann, a US manager who took a reactionary approach to cultural differences. Ann thought being a nominee for the leadership position with a sales team based in Singapore was a climax of her career. Ann tried to establish a working relationship with each team member. After a few weeks of working on team unification and solidarity, presenting guidelines, and offering sales advice, she carefully compartmentalized goals for each member of the sales team.

以一位叫安的美国经理为例。安对文化差异采取了一种保守策略。她被提名为一个设于新加坡的销售团队的领导,她将此看作自己事业的一个顶峰。安努力和每一位团队成员都建立良好的工作关系。她花了数周时间致力于建立团队的统一性与凝聚力、介绍工作原则、提出销售建议,之后她为销售团队的每位成员精心设定了分块目标。

Para.11

Later, when the team convened face-to-face for their first quarterly review meeting, Ann, after praising a Chinese team member, boldly criticized and questioned a Korean, trying to extract the exact reason why he was lagging so far behind on his goals. The meeting immediately lost its groove. The entire group became solemn and, for the rest of the meeting, remained polite but largely mute.

过了一段时间,在团队举行的面对面的首次季度工作总结例会上,安称赞了一位中国成员,而后毫不留情地批评并质询了一位韩国成员,试图找出他比别人落后许多的确切原因。会议立刻偏离了常规程序。整个团队变得严肃沉闷,而且在会议剩下的时间里,虽然大家都谦恭有礼,但大多数时候却沉默不言。

Para.12

Clearly, Ann was not familiar with the concept of saving face in other cultures. In US culture, saving face exists - but only minimally, and tactful but straightforward speech is highly valued. US managers routinely speak freely about someone else’s accomplishments or failures in open, public settings, such as during meetings. This is different in Asian cultures. Singling out an individual due to praise or criticism, a daily habit amongst American managers, may cause Asians to become uncomfortable or deeply embarrassed.

显然,安对其他文化中“顾面子”这一概念并不熟悉。在美国文化中,的确也存在着“顾面子”一说,但其影响微乎其微。更受推崇的是机智老练而又直截了当的谈话。美国经理人惯常于在公共场合,如在会议上,自由谈论其他人的成就或败绩。这和亚洲文化有所不同。对美国经理人来说,把某人单独挑出来予以夸奖或批评是日常性的做法,但对亚洲人来说,这样做会使他们觉得不自在或甚为尴尬。

Para.13

Ann needs to consider more culturally appropriate ways to support and motivate her team. Providing feedback, especially negative feedback, in more private settings will be helpful. Most of all, she should work on giving more courteous and supportive praise and encouragement, which will help move toward the unification and cohesion that high functioning teams need in order to be successful.

安需要考虑的是,要采取在文化上更加恰当的方式来支持和激发她的团队。如果要给成员提反馈意见,尤其是负面意见的话,那么在私人场合进行会更有帮助。最为重要的是,她应该努力给出一些更加客气、更具支持性的赞扬和鼓励,这样才能使团队更加团结,更加具有凝聚力,而这也是一个高效运作的团队取得成功所必需的。

Para.14

Around the world, deeper structures such as relationship building and face saving are embedded in the values, beliefs and behavior of a culture. They are much harder to understand than the glossary of terms in any culture’s language phrase book. The advice is: Always ask for clarification and seek new insights. For business success, it is essential to learn to mediate these deeper cultural differences. Though it may be a little complicated to incorporate them into your way of thinking and communicating, it is well worth the effort!

在世界各地,人际关系经营及颜面顾及这类更深层次的文化结构都是根植于该文化所具有的价值观、信仰和行为之中的。它们比任何一种文化的词语汇编里所列出的术语都更难理解。我的建议是:随时向对方询问,以得到一个明晰的解释和新的理解。为了取得商业成功,学会协调这些更深层次的文化差异是极其重要的。尽管将它们融入自己的思维方式和人际交往有点复杂,但这样的努力是非常值得的!

Unit 6

New Words

WordsPhonetic symbolsChinese
grid/grɪd/n. 网格;格子,栅格;输电网
commonwealth/‘kɒmənwelθ/n. 联邦;共和国;国民整体
rooster/‘ruːstə/n. 公鸡;狂妄自负的人
shepherd/‘ʃepəd/n. 牧羊人;牧师;指导者;vt. 牧羊;带领;指导;看管
weld/weld/n. 焊接;焊接点;vt. 焊接;使结合;使成整体;vi. 焊牢
welder/‘weldə/n. 焊接工
cabinet/‘kæbɪnɪt/n. 内阁;橱柜;展览艺术品的小陈列室;adj. 内阁的;私下的,秘密的
lubricate/‘luːbrɪkeɪt/vt. 使…润滑;给…加润滑油;vi. 润滑;涂油;起润滑剂作用
tract/trækt/n. 束;大片土地,地带;小册子
shutter/‘ʃʌtə/n. 快门;百叶窗;关闭物;遮板;vt. 为…装百叶窗;以百叶窗遮闭
liver/‘lɪvə/n. 肝脏;生活者,居民
copper/‘kɒpə/n. 铜;铜币;警察;adj. 铜制的;vt. 镀铜
mug/mʌg/n. 杯子;脸;苦读者;vt. 行凶抢劫;vi. 扮鬼脸,做怪相
brewery/‘brʊərɪ/n. 啤酒厂
racecourse/‘reɪskɔːs/n. 赛马场,跑马场;跑道
spinal/‘spaɪn(ə)l/n. 脊椎麻醉;adj. 脊髓的;脊柱的;针的;脊骨的;尖刺的
rib/rɪb/n. 肋骨;排骨;肋状物;vt. 戏弄;装肋于
ulcer/‘ʌlsə/n. [病理 溃疡;腐烂物;道德败坏
optic/‘ɒptɪk/n. 眼睛;镜片;adj. 光学的;视觉的;眼睛的
receptor/rɪ’septə/n. [生化 受体;接受器;感觉器官
martyr/‘mɑːtə/n. 烈士;殉道者;vt. 牺牲;折磨;杀害
patriotismn/‘peɪtrɪətɪz(ə)m/n. 爱国主义;爱国心,爱国精神
fort/fɔːt/n. 堡垒;要塞;(美)边界贸易站;vt. 设要塞保卫;vi. 构筑要塞
outpost/‘aʊtpəʊst/n. 前哨;警戒部队;边区村落
wrench/ren(t)ʃ/n. 扳手,扳钳;扭伤;痛苦;歪曲;猛扭;vt. 扭伤;猛扭;曲解;折磨;vi. 扭伤;猛扭;猛绞
screw/skruː/n. 螺旋;螺丝钉;吝啬鬼;vt. 旋,拧;压榨;强迫;vi. 转动,拧
levy/‘levɪ/n. 征收;征兵,征税;vt. 征收(税等);征集(兵等);发动(战争);vi. 征税;征兵
sovereign/‘sɒvrɪn/n. 君主;独立国;最高统治者;adj. 至高无上的;有主权的;拥有最高统治权的;不折不扣的;极好的
traverse/‘trævəs; trə’vɜːs/n. 穿过;横贯;横木;vt. 穿过;反对;详细研究;在…来回移动;vi. 横越;旋转;来回移动;adj. 横贯的
allegedly/ə’ledʒɪdlɪ/adv. 依其申述;据说,据称
wedge/wedʒ/n. 楔子;楔形物;导致分裂的东西;vt. 楔入;挤进;楔住;vi. 楔入;挤进
textile/‘tekstaɪl/n. 纺织品,织物;adj. 纺织的
mill/mɪl/n. 工厂;磨坊;磨粉机;制造厂;压榨机;vt. 搅拌;碾磨;磨细;使乱转;vi. 乱转;被碾磨
banknote/‘bæŋknot/n. 纸币
alien/‘eɪlɪən/n. 外国人,外侨;外星人;vt. 让渡,转让;adj. 外国的;相异的,性质不同的;不相容的
lightweight/‘laɪtweɪt/n. 轻量级选手;无足轻重的人;adj. 重量轻的;平均重量以下的
coupon/‘kuːpɒn/n. 息票;赠券;联票;[经 配给券
errand/‘er(ə)nd/n. 使命;差事;差使
telescope/‘telɪskəʊp/n. 望远镜;缩叠式旅行袋;vt. 压缩;使套叠;vi. 套叠;变短
twinkle/‘twɪŋk(ə)l/n. 闪烁;vt. 使闪耀;闪耀;vi. 闪烁;发亮
shaft/ʃɑːft/n. 拍杆;[机 轴;箭杆;杆状物;vt. 利用;在……上装杆
deductive/dɪ’dʌktɪv/adj. 演绎的;推论的;推断的
racket/‘rækɪt/n. 球拍;吵闹,喧闹;vt. 过着花天酒地的生活;vi. 过着花天酒地的生活
emancipate/ɪ’mænsɪpeɪt/vt. 解放;释放;使不受束缚
dock/dɒk/n. 码头;船坞;被告席;尾巴的骨肉部分;(Dock)程序坞;vt. 使靠码头;剪短;vi. 入船坞
symmetrical/sɪ’metrɪk(ə)l/adj. 匀称的,对称的
symmetrically/sə’mɛtrɪkli/adv. 对称地;平衡地;匀称地
Republican/rɪ’pʌblɪkən/n. 共和党人;adj. 共和党的,共和的
lordship/‘lɔːdʃɪp/n. 阁下;贵族身分(或权威);统治
rebellion/rɪ’beljən/n. 叛乱;反抗;谋反;不服从
mediator/‘miːdɪeɪtə/n. 调停者;传递者;中介物
feminist/‘femənɪst/n. 女权主义者;adj. 主张女权的
feminism/‘femɪnɪz(ə)m/n. 女权主义;女权运动;男女平等主义
obscene/əb’siːn/adj. 淫秽的;猥亵的;可憎的
dogma/‘dɒgmə/n. 教条,教理;武断的意见
insurgency/ɪn’sɜːdʒənsɪ/n. 叛乱;暴动;叛乱状态
displace/dɪs’pleɪs/vt. 取代;置换;转移;把…免职;排水
eject/ɪ’dʒekt/vt. 喷射;驱逐,逐出
coil/kɒɪl/n. 线圈;卷;vt. 盘绕,把…卷成圈;vi. 成圈状
distill/dɪs’tɪl/vt. 提取;蒸馏;使滴下;vi. 蒸馏;滴下;作为精华产生(=distil)
queer/kwɪə/n. 同性恋者;怪人;伪造的货币;vt. 搞糟;使陷于不利地位;adj. 奇怪的;同性恋的;不舒服的;心智不平衡的
colonize/‘kɑlənaɪz/vt. 将…开拓为殖民地;移于殖民地;从他地非法把选民移入;vi. 开拓殖民地;移居于殖民地
illiterate/ɪ’lɪt(ə)rət/n. 文盲;adj. 文盲的;不识字的;没受教育的
lash/læʃ/n. 鞭打;睫毛;鞭子;责骂;讽刺;vt. 鞭打;冲击;摆动;扎捆;煽动;讽刺;vi. 鞭打;猛击;急速甩动
detention/dɪ’tenʃ(ə)n/n. 拘留;延迟;挽留
execution/,eksɪ’kjuːʃ(ə)n/n. 执行,实行;完成;死刑
virgin/‘vɜːdʒɪn/n. 处女;adj. 处女的;纯洁的;未经利用的,处于原始状态的
judicial/dʒuː’dɪʃ(ə)l/adj. 公正的,明断的;法庭的;审判上的
transit/‘trænsɪt; ‘trɑːns-; -nz-/n. 运输;经过;vt. 运送;vi. 经过
pilgrim/‘pɪlgrɪm/n. 朝圣者;漫游者;(美)最初的移民;vi. 去朝圣;漫游
colonial/kə’ləʊnɪəl/n. 殖民地居民;adj. 殖民地的,殖民的
isle/aɪl/n. 岛;vt. 使成为岛屿;vi. 住在岛屿上
throne/θrəʊn/n. 王座;君主;王权;vt. 使登王位;vi. 登上王座
overthrow/əʊvə’θrəʊ/n. 推翻;倾覆;瓦解;vt. 推翻;打倒;倾覆
discriminatory/dɪ’skrɪmɪnɪ,t(ə)rɪ; dɪ,skrɪmɪ’neɪt(ə)rɪ/adj. 有辨识力的;差别对待的
ballot/‘bælət/n. 投票;投票用纸;投票总数;vt. 使投票表决;拉选票;vi. 投票;抽签决定
electoral/ɪ’lekt(ə)r(ə)l/adj. 选举的;选举人的
senate/‘senɪt/n. 参议院,上院;(古罗马的)元老院
commission/kə’mɪʃ(ə)n/n. 委员会;佣金;犯;委任;委任状;vt. 委任;使服役;委托制作
patent/‘pæt(ə)nt; ‘peɪt(ə)nt/n. 专利权;执照;专利品;vt. 授予专利;取得…的专利权;adj. 专利的;新奇的;显然的
chorus/‘kɔːrəs/n. 合唱队;齐声;歌舞队;vt. 合唱;异口同声地说;vi. 合唱;异口同声地说话
spatula/‘spætjʊlə/n. (调和、涂抹用)抹刀,小铲;[医 压舌板
sponge/spʌn(d)ʒ/n. 海绵;海绵状物;vt. 抹掉;用海绵擦拭;讨得;vi. 采集海绵;过寄生生活;海绵般地吸收
kidney/‘kɪdnɪ/n. [解剖 肾脏;腰子;个性
kidney bean/菜豆;四季豆;肾形豆/
transcribe/træn’skraɪb; trɑːn-/vt. 转录;抄写
midwife/‘mɪdwaɪf/n. 助产士;促成因素;vt. 助胎儿出生;促成
segregation/,segrɪ’geɪʃ(ə)n/n. 隔离,分离;种族隔离
trophy/‘trəʊfɪ/n. 奖品;战利品;纪念品;vt. 用战利品装饰;adj. 显示身份的;有威望的
trophy wife花瓶妻子(以青春和美貌为本钱的妻子)
iner/‘laɪnə/n. 班轮,班机;衬垫;画线者
hostage/‘hɒstɪdʒ/n. 人质;抵押品
tunnel/‘tʌnl/n. 隧道;坑道;洞穴通道;vt. 挖;在…打开通道;在…挖掘隧道;vi. 挖掘隧道;打开通道
solicitor/sə’lɪsɪtə/n. 律师;法务官;募捐者;掮客
ghost/gəʊst/n. 鬼,幽灵;vt. 作祟于;替…捉刀;为人代笔;vi. 替人代笔
pirate/ˈpaɪərət/n. 海盗;盗版;侵犯专利权者;vt. 掠夺;翻印;剽窃;vi. 做海盗;从事劫掠
quench/kwen(t)ʃ/vt. 熄灭,[机 淬火;解渴;结束;冷浸;vi. 熄灭;平息
appendix/ə’pendɪks/n. 附录;阑尾;附加物
artifact/‘ɑ:təˌfækt/n. 人工制品;手工艺品
bygone/‘baɪgɒn/n. 过去的事;adj. 过去的
epoch/‘iːpɒk; ‘epɒk/n. [地质 世;新纪元;新时代;时间上的一点
vigilant/‘vɪdʒɪl(ə)nt/adj. 警惕的;警醒的;注意的;警戒的
continuance/kən’tɪnjʊəns/n. 持续;停留;续篇;诉讼延期

Phrases and expressions

  1. off (the) grid 远离公共设施的,自给自足的;脱离电网的
  2. scrape by 勉强维持生活,勉强糊口
  3. extract sth. from sth. 从…中取出,从…中拔出;从…中提取,从…中提炼
  4. run errands 跑腿
  5. cater to sb./sth. 迎合,满足,投合
  6. make a racket 吵闹,喧闹
  7. emancipate sb. from sth. 使…摆脱,使…不受束缚
  8. (have) a say on/over sth. (有)发言权,(有)发言机会
  9. forbid sb. from doing sth. 禁止某人做某事,不准某人做某事
  10. keep house 做家务,料理家务
  11. eject sb. from sth. (尤指用武力)驱逐,赶出;强迫某人离职,罢免,剥夺…的成员资格
  12. coil sth. up with sth. 使…与…卷缠(或盘绕)在一起
  13. against one's will 违背某人的意愿
  14. run for 竞选,参加竞选
  15. look down on sb./sth. 轻视,瞧不起
  16. take up 开始从事(新的工作),开始担当(新的责任)
  17. a/the ghost of dth. 一点…,一丝…

Articles

A

图片

The weight men carry

男人背负的重担

Para.1

When I was a boy growing up off the grid in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the men I knew labored with their bodies from the first rooster crow in the morning to sundown. They were marginal farmers, shepherds, just scraping by, or welders, steelworkers, carpenters; they built cabinets, dug ditches, mined coal, or drove trucks, their forearms thick with muscle. They trained horses, stocked furnaces, made tires, stood on assembly lines, welding parts onto refrigerators or lubricating car engines. In the evenings and on weekends, they labored equally hard, working on their own small tract of land, fixing broken-down cars, repairing broken shutters and drafty windows. In their little free time, they drowned their livers in beer from cheap copper mugs at a bar near the local brewery or racecourse.

当我还是个小男孩时,我住在弗吉尼亚州一个偏远的地区,那时我所认识的男人们从清晨的第一声公鸡啼鸣一直劳作到日落。他们都是些不起眼的农民、牧羊人,勉强度日,或是焊接工、钢铁工或木匠;他们制作橱柜、挖掘沟渠、开采煤炭,或驾驶卡车,这使他们拥有肌肉结实的上臂。他们训练马匹、填塞炉膛、制造轮胎,站在装配线上将零件焊接到冰箱,或是给汽车发动机上润滑剂。到了傍晚或周末,他们也要同样辛苦地劳作,在自己的一小片土地上耕作,修理出了问题的汽车,修复坏掉的百叶窗和漏风的窗户。在仅剩的闲暇时间里,他们会在当地的啤酒作坊或赛马场附近的酒馆里用盛在廉价铜杯中的啤酒将自己灌得烂醉。

Para.2

The bodies of the men I knew were twisted and wounded in ways visible and invisible. Heavy lifting had given many of them spinal problems and appalling injuries. Some had broken ribs and lost fingers. Racing against conveyor belts had given some ulcers. Their ankles and knees ached from years of standing on concrete. Some had partial vision loss as the glow of the welding flame damaged their optic receptors. There were times, studying them, when I dreaded growing up. All around us, the fathers always seemed older than the mothers. Men wore out sooner, being martyrs of constant work. Only women lived into old age.

我所认识的那些男人的身躯遭受着种种看得见或看不也的扭曲和伤痛。搬运沉重的物品给他们很多人造成了脊柱病和可怕的伤痛。有些人断了肋骨,掉了手指。在传输带上不停地工作使他们有些人患了溃疡。他们的脚踝和膝盖由于经年累月站立在水泥地上疼痛不已。有些人由于焊接火光损伤视觉感官而遭受部分视觉缺失的折磨。有些时候,打量着他们,我会害怕长大。在我们周围的人中,父亲们看上去总是比母亲们要老。男人衰老得更早,长期遭受着因持续劳作带来的病痛。只有女人才活到年老。

Para.3

There were also soldiers, and so far as I could tell, they scarcely worked at all. But when the shooting started, many of them would die for their patriotism in fields and forts of foreign outposts. This was what soldiers were for - they were tools like a wrench, a hammer or a screw.

还有士兵也是男人的工作。据我所知,他们几乎不工作,但当战争一打响,他们很多人都会出于爱国热情而战死在疆场或异域前哨的堡垒前。这就是士兵的作用——他们就像工具,如同扳钳、锤子或螺丝一样。

Para.4

These weren’t the only destinies of men, as I learned from having a few male teachers, from reading books and from watching television. But the men on television - the news commentators, the lawyers, the doctors, the politicians who levied the taxes and the bosses who gave orders - seemed as remote and unreal to me as the figures in old paintings. I could no more imagine growing up to become one of these sophisticated people than I could imagine becoming a sovereign prince.

这些并非男人们唯一的归宿,我从曾经有过的几位男教师、从看书及看电视中认识到了这一点。但是,那些上电视的男人们——新闻评论员、律师、医生、课 征税款的政治家及发号施令的老板们——在我看来就像古老绘画上的人像,遥远而不真实。我不能想象自己长大会变成这些精明世故的人中的一员,就像我无法想象自己能变成一个权力至高无上的国君一样。

Para.5

A scholarship enabled me not only to attend college, a rare enough feat in my social circle, but even to traverse the halls of a historic university meant for the children of the rich. Here for the first time I met women who told me that men were guilty of having kept all the joys and privileges of the earth for themselves. I was puzzled, and demanded clarification. What privileges? What joys? I thought about the grim, wounded lives of most of the men back home. What had they allegedly stolen from their wives and daughters? The right to work five days a week, 12 months a year, for 30 or 40 years, wedged in tight spaces in the textile mills, or in the coal mines, struggling to extract every last bit of coal from the rock-hard earth? The right to die in war? The right to fix every leak in the roof, every gap in the fence? The right to pile banknotes high for a rich corporation in a city far away? The right to feel, when the lay-off came or the mines shut down, not only afraid but also ashamed?

一份奖学金使我得以上大学,这可是我社交圈子里极其难得的荣耀。不仅如此,它还让我能够穿行于为富人家的孩子打造的史上著名的大学殿堂里。就在这里,我生平头一次碰到女人告诉我说男人是有罪的,因为他们把地球上所有的欢乐和特权都据为己有。我被弄糊涂了,要求她们予以解释。什么特权?什么欢乐?我想到家乡大多数男人那种艰难严酷、伤痛累累的生活。人们所说的他们从妻子和女儿那里偷走的东西又能是些什么呢?难道是每周五天、每年十二个月,如此三四十年里挤缩在纺织厂狭小的空间里,或是在煤矿下挣扎着从岩石般坚硬的泥土中挖出最后一点煤的劳作的权力?战死疆场的权利?修缮屋顶上每条裂缝和围栏上每个断栏的权利?为一个遥远的城市某个富裕财团垒积钱钞的权利?在遭遇解雇或煤矿倒闭时感到既害怕又羞耻的权利?

Para.6

In this alien world of the rich, I was slow to understand the deep grievances of women. This was because, as a boy, I had envied them. Before college, the only people I had ever known who were interested in art or music or literature, the only ones who ever seemed to enjoy a sense of ease were the mothers and daughters. What’s more, they did not have to go to war. By comparison with the narrow, compartmentalized days of fathers, the comparatively lightweight work of mothers seemed expansive. They clipped coupons, went to see neighbors, or ran errands at school or at church. I saw their lives as through a telescope, all twinkling stars and shafts of light, missing the details that truly defined their days. No doubt, had I taken a more deductive look at their lives, I would have envied them less. I didn’t see, then, what a prison a house could be, since houses seemed to me brighter, handsomer places than any factory. As such things were never spoken of, I did not realize how often women suffered from men’s bullying. Even then I could see how exhausting it was for a mother to cater all day to the needs of young children. But, as a boy, if I had to choose between tending a baby and tending a machine, I think I would have chosen the baby.

在这样一个满是富人的陌生世界里,我在理解女人们深深的怨怒方面很是迟钝。这是因为,当我还是一个小男孩时,我就嫉妒过她们。在上大学之前,我所认识的唯一对艺术、音乐或文学有兴趣的人,唯一看上去能够享受一丝自在的一群人就是那些做母亲和女儿的人。而且,她们也不必去参加战争。与父亲们所遭受的狭隘的、封闭的日子相比,母亲们所承担的相对较轻的工作显得更加宽泛一些。她们剪用购物券,探访邻居,在学校或教堂跑跑腿。我仿佛是透过望远镜看到她们的生活,满是闪烁的星星和一缕缕光线,而漏掉了她们生活岁月的真实细节。毋庸置疑,如果我用更具理性的方式审视她们的生活,我就不会那么嫉妒她们了。可在那时,我实在看不出一幢房子能成为什么样的牢狱,因为房子在我看来比任何厂房都更亮堂、更体面。我也没有意识到女人是多么频繁地遭受男人的欺凌,因为这样的事情从未被提及过。即使在那时,我也能够看出一个母亲整日忙碌着应付年幼孩子们的需要是多么地辛苦。但是,作为男孩,如果我那时必须在照顾婴儿和照看机器之间作选择,我想我会选择照顾婴儿。

Para.7

So I was baffled when the women at college made a racket accusing me and my sex of having cornered the world’s pleasures. They demanded to be emancipated from the bonds of sexism. I think my bafflement has been felt by other boys (and by girls as well) who grew up in dirt-poor farm country, by the docks, in the shadows of factories - any place where the fates of men and women are symmetrically bleak and grim.

所以,当学校里的女性大吵大囔,谴责我和我所属的性别,说我们霸占着世间的欢乐时,我很困惑。她们要求从性别歧视的束缚中解放出来。我认为别的男孩(女孩也一样)也会有我这样的迷惑,只要他们成长于一贫如洗的农村,成长于码头边或工厂附近——成长于任何让男人和女人的命运同样苍白和严酷的地方。

Para.8

When the women I met at college thought about the joys and privileges of men, they didn’t see the sort of men I had known. These daughters of privileged, Republican men wanted to inherit their fathers’ power and lordship over the world. They longed for a say over their future. But so did I. The difference between me and these daughters was that they saw me, because of my sex, as destined from birth to become like their fathers, and therefore as an enemy to their desires. But I knew better. I wasn’t an enemy to their desires, in fact or in feeling. I was an ally in their rebellion. If I had known, then, how to tell them so, or how to be a mediator, would they have believed me? Would they have known?

当我在大学里遇到的那些女子们想到男人的享乐和特权时,她们并没有见过我以前认识的那些男人。这些特权阶层的、共和党男人的女儿们渴望继承她们父亲的权力和凌驾世界的贵族身份。她们渴望能对自己的未来拥有发言权。而我也渴望这样。我和这些女儿们之间的区别在于,她们看我时想到的是,我因为自己的性别而自出生起就注定可以成为像她们父亲那样的人,从而也是她们实现自己欲望的敌人。但我比她们更清楚,无论是事实上还是情感上,我都不是她们欲望的敌人。我是她们反抗行动的同盟者。如果那时我就知道如何把这些告诉她们,或如何在中间做一个调停人,她们会相信我吗?她们能够理解吗?

B

What does feminism really mean?

女权主义究竟是什么?

图片

Para.1

Imagine a world where skirts, makeup, and high heels are prohibited, where men are forbidden from giving gifts to women, where mothers ignore their children, and where marriage and dating are obscene. It sounds nightmarish, but this is the dogma many people have in mind when they hear the word “feminism”. Feminists, we’re told, hate men and want them dead. Or feminists want to switch places with men, so women can work all day and men can all stay home and keep house. Or maybe feminists want to be like men: dress identically, use the same toilets, compete in the same sports leagues. If this definition is true, it seems feminists would be the provocation for insurgencies across the whole of society, breaking routines, eradicating traditions and ruining everyone’s lives in the process!

当设想这样一个世界:在这里,短裙、化妆品和高跟鞋通通遭禁,男人们被禁止给女人送礼物,母亲们对她们的孩子全然不顾,而婚姻与约会更被视为下流。这听起来像是梦魇,却是很多人在听到“女权主义”这个词时而想到的教条。有人告诉我们说,女权主义者仇恨男人,希望他们都死掉。或者是女权主义者想要与男人互换位置,这样女人就可以成天工作,而男人则都呆在家里管理家务。又或者是女权主义者想要像男人一样:穿同样的衣服,用同样的马桶,在同样的运动联盟中比赛。如果这种定义是真的,那似乎女权主义者将会挑起全社会的暴乱,进而破除惯例,消灭传统,甚至在此过程中毁掉每个人的生命!

图片图片

Para.2

Fortunately, that’s not feminism! Feminists don’t believe that women are better than men or that women need to become or displace men. True, some feminists enjoy masculine pursuits like boxing, but they don’t want to eject men from society. Feminists have fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons. Their lives are just as coiled up with those they love as anyone else’s.

幸运的是,那并不是女权主义!女权主义者不相信女人比男人更优秀,抑或女人要成为男人或取代男人。诚然,一些女权主义者喜欢像拳击那样的男性所热衷的爱好,但她们并不想将男人从社会中驱逐出去。女权主义者也有父亲、兄弟、丈夫和儿子。她们的生活就像其他任何人一样,与她们所爱的人密不可分。

图片

Para.3

So, what do feminists believe? Distilled to its essence, feminism is the idea that men and women should have equal opportunities. A woman should be able to be a man’s boss if she is as capable as any other manager, or a man should be allowed to look after children if he has the interest and ability. Nobody should find the situation strange or call it “queer”. In other words, feminists believe in a world where no one feels colonized or oppressed because of the roles they fill.

那么,女权主义者究竟信仰什么?归根结底,女权主义指的是男人和女人应该拥有平等的机会。如果一个女人与其他任何经理一样能干,那她就可以做男人的老板;如果一个男人有照料孩子的兴趣和能力,那就应该允许他去照看孩子,没有人会觉得这种情况奇怪或称之为“怪异”。换句话说,女权主义者相信有这样一个世界,在那里,没有人会因其承担的角色而感到被奴役或受压制。

图片

Para.4

In some countries, gender equality remains far away. There are places where women aren’t allowed to participate in government or public life, where women are denied education and remain illiterate, and places where women have to keep their hair and faces hidden, or they will risk terrible lashes, detention, or even execution. There are places where young, virgin girls, with no judicial process to protect them, are forced to marry old men and bear children against their will. There are places where women are not allowed to drive a car or sit in the same section as men when using public transit.

在有些国家,性别平等还远未实现。有些地方不允许女性参与政府工作或公共生活,不让女性接受教育以致她们仍是文盲;有些地方女人必须遮盖住头发和面容,否则就要面临可怕的鞭笞、拘役甚至被处死。也有些地方,年幼的少女没有司法程序的保护,被迫嫁给年老的男子并违背她们的意愿生育孩子。还有些地方不允许女人开车或在乘坐公共交通工具时与男人坐在同一区域。

图片

Para.5

In comparison, in some other parts of the world, the rights of women have grown tremendously. In the United States, modern women live downright luxurious lives compared to the Pilgrims in colonial times. And in the British Isles, modern women are essentially equal to men compared to the time when the early kings sat upon their mighty thrones. Feminists, men as well as women, have fought hard to overthrow outdated discriminatory practices and win rights we now take for granted, such as girls attending school, women gaining the voting ballot and running in electoral races for the Senate, women owning property, women in sales earning equal commissions as men, and women choosing whether or not to marry or have children. These rights have given women control over their own lives while increasing vastly the number of people in the workforce who discover new ideas and patent new inventions. Can you imagine life without female scientists, inventors, doctors, teachers, and writers?

相比之下,在世界其他一些地方,女性的权利已大大提升。在美国,与殖民时期的朝圣者相比,现代女性过着极其奢侈的生活。在英伦诸岛,现代女性与早先国王的统治时期相比,基本上已与男性一切平等。女权主义者,不论是男性还是女性,都曾奋力消除陈旧的歧视性做法,以赢得我们现在认为是理所当然的权利,比如女孩有机会上学、女性获得投票权并参与参议院议员席位的竞选、女性拥有财产、女性销售员挣得同男性一样的提成、女性有权选择是否结婚或生子。这些权利使得女性能够左右自己的生活,并极大增加了能够找到新点子、申请新发明专利的劳动者的数量。你能想象没有女科学家、女发明家、女医生、女教师或者女作家的生活吗?

图片

Para.6

With all the progress of the last decades, it can be hard to see that there is still work to be done, or to remember what was so difficult before. Modern women may raise a chorus of complaints that there are no confident men left, and blame feminism. A modem man may long for the days when a wife would stay home with a spatula and a sponge, cooking kidney beans and steak for dinner, fascinated by his work stories. However, he would be forgetting the need to make enough money to support his household alone.

有了过去几十年的进步,人们会很难看出在女权主义方面还有什么工作要做,也很难记得以前有多么艰难。现代女性可能会齐声抱怨,说现今再也没有真正自信的男人了,并因此谴责女权主义。现代男性会渴望以前那样的日子,那时妻子呆在家里拿着锅铲和海绵围着锅台转,做芸豆和牛排晚餐,还会入迷地听他讲工作中的故事,而此时,他却忘记了自己需要单独赚足够的钱养家。

图片

Para.7

Truthfully, most of us are feminists to some degree. A man who believes that women should stick to working as transcribing secretaries or midwives and leave the “good” jobs to men with families is more feminist than a man who believes in strict segregation of the genders or who insists that a woman shouldn’t leave the house or speak to strangers. A “trophy wife” who does nothing but apply eye liner and lipstick and go to parties is still feminist enough to believe she shouldn’t be hostage to her husband, unable to go to the police if he attacks her for telling him “no” Many of us are feminist indeed; we work in blended groups of men and women, dividing tasks according to ability and interest, read books without caring about the gender of the author, and listen to female teachers as well as male ones with equal attention and respect.

说实话,我们中的大多数人在某种程度上都是女权主义者。如果一位男士认为女人都应该坚持做记录员或助产士,而把“好”工作留给需要养家的男人,那么,他与一名信奉严格的性别隔离制度或一名坚持认为女人不应该到外面或和陌生人说话的男性比起来,要更加具有女权意识。即使是一个只知道画眼线、涂唇膏和参加聚会而其他什么也不做的“花瓶太太”,她也具有足够的女权意识,认为自己不应该是丈夫的人质,不应该因对丈夫说“不”而遭到殴打也不敢报警。我们中很多人实际上都是女权主义者;我们在男女共事的团队中工作,依据各人的能力和兴趣分配任务,读书时不会在意作者的性别,听课时不论老师是女是男,我们都心怀敬意,认真听讲。

Para.8

Yet even the most feminist environments have barriers we need to tunnel through. For example, we might criticize successful female solicitors for not devoting enough time to their families, or look down on those women who stay home with children for not being ambitious enough to take up a career. We might look down on men who disobey female bosses for not being team players, or look down on other men who obey the same bosses for acting insufficiently masculine.

然而,哪怕是最具女权主义的环境也有我们尚需逾越的障碍。比如,我们可能会批评成功的女律师没有花足够的时间照顾家庭,或者歧视那些呆在家里照看孩子的女性,认为她们缺乏远大的志向去从事一份职业。我们可能会看不起那些不顺从女上司的男人,认为他们不具备团队意识;也可能会歧视另一些听从于这些女上司的男人,认为他们行为举止缺乏男子气。

Para.9

These seem like small problems, the lingering ghosts of greater issues, but they’re significant when they’re happening to you. Culture isn’t easy to change; even if you think a woman has every right to speak loudly and swear like pirates, you might have trouble imagining that any man would date her. Or you might have trouble relaxing around a man who is comfortable making less money than his female friends. Clearly, our thirst for equality must never be fully quenched. But feminism cannot become an appendix at the end of a history book, or an artifact of a bygone epoch. We must remain vigilant if we hope for a continuance of the rights of women.

这些看上去似乎只是小问题,是大问题的一些残留末节而已,但当它们真正发生在你本人身上时就是大问题了。文化是不容易改变的。即使你认为一个女人有足够的权利大声说话,可以像海盗那样咒骂,你可能仍然无法想象哪个男人会愿意与她约会;或者,当你面对一位即使赚钱比女性朋友要少却依然感觉舒坦的男人时,你可能仍然会不自在。显然,我们对平等的渴望永远也不可能完全得到满足。但是,女权主义不能只作为一本历史书最后的附录,或一件远古时代的手工艺品。如果我们希望女性的权利持续,我们就必须保持警觉。

Unit 7

New Words

WordsPhonetic symbolsChinese
density/‘densɪtɪ/n. 密度
triple/‘trɪp(ə)l/n. 三倍数;三个一组;vt. 使成三倍;vi. 增至三倍;adj. 三倍的;三方的
uranium/jʊ’reɪnɪəm/n. [化学 铀
monopoly/mə’nɒp(ə)lɪ/n. 垄断;垄断者;专卖权
fossil/‘fɒs(ə)l; -sɪl/n. 化石;僵化的事物;顽固不化的人;adj. 化石的;陈腐的,守旧的
treaty/‘triːtɪ/n. 条约,协议;谈判
particulates/pa’tikjuleits/n. 微粒;大气尘;微粒物质;空气中微小颗粒(particulate的复数形式)
poll/pəʊl/n. 投票;民意测验;投票数;投票所vt. 投票;剪短;对…进行民意测验;获得选票;vi. 投票;adj. 无角的;剪过毛的;修过枝的
insurgent/ɪn’sɜːdʒ(ə)nt/n. 叛乱者;起义者;adj. 叛乱的;起义的
extinct/ɪk’stɪŋkt; ek-/vt. 使熄灭;adj. 灭绝的,绝种的;熄灭的
indefinite/ɪn’defɪnɪt/adj. 不确定的;无限的;模糊的
wisp/wɪsp/n. 小捆;小束;vt. 把…卷成一捆;vi. 卷成一捆
hitherto/hɪðə’tuː; ‘hɪðətuː/adv. 迄今;至今
synthesis/‘sɪnθɪsɪs/n. 综合,[化学 合成;综合体
plateau/‘plætəʊ/n. 高原;稳定水平;托盘;平顶女帽;vi. 达到平衡;达到稳定时期
linear/‘lɪnɪə/adj. 线的,线型的;直线的,线状的;长度的
fusion/‘fjuːʒ(ə)n/n. 融合;熔化;熔接;融合物;[物 核聚变
confederation/kənfedə’reɪʃ(ə)n/n. 联盟;邦联;同盟
solar/‘səʊlə/adj. 太阳的;日光的;利用太阳光的;与太阳相关的;n. 日光浴室
glitter/‘glɪtə/n. 闪光;灿烂;vi. 闪光;闪烁
glittering/‘glɪtərɪŋ/adj. 闪闪发光的
intricate/‘ɪntrɪkət/adj. 复杂的;错综的,缠结的
gadget/‘gædʒɪt/n. 小玩意;小器具;小配件;诡计
fringe/frɪn(d)ʒ/n. 边缘;穗;刘海;vt. 加穗于;adj. 边缘的;附加的
apparatus/ˌæpəˈreɪtəs/n. 装置,设备;仪器;器官
combustion/kəm’bʌstʃ(ə)n/n. 燃烧,氧化;骚动
semiconductor/,semɪkən’dʌktə/n. [电子[物 半导体
transistor/træn’zɪstə; trɑːn-; -‘sɪ-/n. 晶体管(收音机)
rotary/‘rəʊt(ə)rɪ/n. 旋转式机器;[动力 转缸式发动机;adj. 旋转的,转动的;轮流的
turbine/‘tɜːbaɪn; -ɪn/n. [动力 涡轮;[动力 涡轮机
clockwise/‘klɒkwaɪz/adj. 顺时针方向的;adv. 顺时针方向地
counterclockwise/kaʊntə’klɒkwaɪz/adj. 反时针方向的;adv. 反时针方向
axis/‘æksɪs/n. 轴;轴线;轴心国
viable/‘vaɪəbl/adj. 可行的;能养活的;能生育的
slash/slæʃ/n. 削减;斜线;猛砍;砍痕;沼泽低地;vt. 猛砍;鞭打;严厉批评;大幅度裁减或削减;vi. 猛砍;严厉批评
clearing/‘klɪərɪŋ/n. 结算;空地;清扫
outflow/‘aʊtfləʊ/n. 流出;流出量;流出物;vi. 流出
excavation/ekskə’veɪʃ(ə)n/n. 挖掘,发掘
biomass/‘baɪə(ʊ)mæs/n. (单位面积或体积内的)[生态 生物量
standby/‘stæn(d)baɪ/n. 备用品;可信赖的人;adj. 备用的;adv. 备用地;待命地
ventilate/‘ventɪleɪt/vt. 使通风;给…装通风设备;宣布
diffuse/dɪ’fjuːz/adj. 弥漫的;散开的;vt. 扩散;传播;漫射;vi. 传播;四散
dioxide/daɪ’ɒksaɪd/n. 二氧化物
automation/ɔːtə’meɪʃ(ə)n/n. 自动化;自动操作
bulletin/‘bʊlɪtɪn/n. 公告,公报;vt. 公布,公告
hinge/hɪn(d)ʒ/n. 铰链,折叶;关键,转折点;枢要,中枢;v. 用铰链连接;依…为转移;给…安装铰链;(门等)装有蝶铰
unify/‘juːnɪfaɪ/vt. 统一;使相同,使一致
unified/‘ju:nifaid/adj. 统一的;一致标准的
supersonic/suːpə’sɒnɪk; sjuː-/n. 超音速;超声波;adj. 超音速的;超声波的
inaugurate/ɪ’nɔːgjʊreɪt/vt. 创新;开辟;开创;举行开幕典礼;举行就职典礼
collaboration/kəlæbə’reɪʃn/n. 合作;勾结;通敌
spike/spaɪk/n. 长钉,道钉;钉鞋;细高跟;vt. 阻止;以大钉钉牢;用尖物刺穿
equator/ɪ’kweɪtə/n. 赤道
riot/‘raɪət/n. 暴乱;放纵;蔓延;vt. 浪费,挥霍;vi. 骚乱;放荡
recur/rɪ’kɜː/vi. 复发;重现;采用;再来;循环;递归
consultancy/kən’sʌlt(ə)nsɪ/n. 咨询公司;顾问工作
turnout/‘tɜːnaʊt/n. 产量;出席者;参加人数;出动;清除;[公路 岔道
disclose/dɪs’kləʊz/vt. 公开;揭露
oracle/‘ɒrək(ə)l/n. 神谕;预言;神谕处;圣人
foretell/fɔː’tel/vt. 预言;预示;预告;vi. 预言;预示;预告
intrigue/ɪn’triːg/n. 阴谋;诡计;复杂的事;私通;vt. 用诡计取得;激起…的兴趣;vi. 私通;密谋
garment/‘gɑːm(ə)nt/n. 衣服,服装;外表,外观;vt. 给…穿衣服
intermittent/ɪntə’mɪt(ə)nt/adj. 间歇的;断断续续的;间歇性
animate/‘ænɪmeɪt/vt. 使有生气;使活泼;鼓舞;推动;adj. 有生命的
hoard/hɔːd/n. 贮藏物;vt. 贮藏;vi. 积聚钱财;贮藏货物
wholesale/‘həʊlseɪl/n. 批发;vt. 批发;vi. 批发;经营批发业;adj. 批发的;大规模的;adv. 大规模地;以批发方式
pistoln手枪;信号枪;vt. 用手枪射击
volatile/‘vɒlətaɪl/n. 挥发物;有翅的动物;adj. [化学 挥发性的;不稳定的;爆炸性的;反复无常的
dual/‘djuːəl/n. 双数;双数词;adj. 双的;双重的
infrastructure/‘ɪnfrəstrʌktʃə/n. 基础设施;公共建设;下部构造
livestock/‘laɪvstɒk/n. 牲畜;家畜
recipe/‘resɪpɪ/n. 食谱;[临床 处方;秘诀;烹饪法
excerpt/‘eksɜːpt/n. 摘录,引用;vt. 引用,摘录;vi. 摘录,引用
pamphlet/ˈpæmflɪt/n. 小册子
affluent/‘æflʊənt/n. 支流;富人;adj. 富裕的;丰富的;流畅的
piracy/‘paɪrəsɪ/n. 海盗行为;剽窃;著作权侵害;非法翻印
neutralize/‘nʊtrə’laɪz/vt. 抵销;使…中和;使…无效;使…中立;vi. 中和;中立化;变无效
dodge/dɒdʒ/n. 躲闪;托词;vt. 躲避,避开;vi. 躲避,避开
intersection/ɪntə’sekʃ(ə)n/n. 交叉;十字路口;交集;交叉点
councilor/‘kaʊnsələ/n. 顾问;评议员;参赞
legislator/‘ledʒɪsleɪtə/n. 立法者
bureaucratic/,bjɔːrə’krætɪk; ,bjʊərə’krætɪk/adj. 官僚的;官僚政治的
foresight/‘fɔːsaɪt/n. 先见,远见;预见;深谋远虑
subsidy/‘sʌbsɪdɪ/n. 补贴;津贴;补助金
appropriation/ə,prəʊprɪ’eɪʃ(ə)n/n. 拨款;挪用
militia/mɪ’lɪʃə/n. 民兵组织;自卫队;义勇军;国民军
coherent/kə(ʊ)’hɪər(ə)nt/adj. 连贯的,一致的;明了的;清晰的;凝聚性的;互相耦合的;粘在一起的
rupture/‘rʌptʃə/n. 破裂;决裂;疝气;vi. 破裂;发疝气;vt. 使破裂;断绝;发生疝
seam/siːm/n. 缝;接缝;vt. 缝合;接合;使留下伤痕;vi. 裂开;产生裂缝
discrepancy/dɪs’krep(ə)nsɪ/n. 不符;矛盾;相差
signpost/‘saɪnpəʊst/n. 路标;指示牌
non-profit/nɒn ‘prɔfit/adj. 非营利的
donor/‘dəʊnə; -nɔː/n. 捐赠者;供者;赠送人;adj. 捐献的;经人工授精出生的
syndrome/‘sɪndrəʊm/n. [临床 综合症状;并发症状;校验子;并发位
collision/kə’lɪʒ(ə)n/n. 碰撞;冲突;(意见,看法)的抵触;(政党等的)倾轧
soluble/‘sɒljʊb(ə)l/adj. [化学 可溶的,可溶解的;可解决的
staircase/‘steəkeɪs/n. 楼梯

Phrases and expressions

  1. factor sth. in / factor in sth. 把…计入
  2. be projected to do sth. 预计要
  3. on a ... scale …规模地,以…规模,在…范围内
  4. fill up (被)填满,(使)注满,(使)充满,(使)装满
  5. clear up 清理,收拾;解释,解决,解答;(天气)好转,转晴
  6. be derived from 源自,源于,从…中取得
  7. pose a risk to sth. 对…造成危险
  8. hinge on/upon sth. 依…而定,取决于…
  9. be upon sb. 即将来临
  10. calm down 恢复平静,恢复正常
  11. level off 变得平稳,保持平稳;趋于平坦,做水平运动
  12. be starved of sth. 缺乏…
  13. run out of sth. 用光…,耗尽…
  14. keep/hold sth. at bay 使(严重、危险或令人不快的)某事物无法接近,防止某结果产生
  15. rescue sth./sb/ from sth./sb. 挽救,营救
  16. get/be a recipe for sth. 可能会遭遇或造成某事(常指坏的结果)
  17. point to 表明(真相或重要性)
  18. on a collision course (因双方目标差异太大而)很可能发生冲突的,有可能导致严重争端的;朝着可能会碰撞的方向移动的,可能撞上的

Articles

A

The coming energy crisis

日益逼近的能源危机

Para.1

Two hundred years ago, the world experienced an energy revolution that launched the Industrial Age. Ever since then, with the rapid increase of population density, the industrialized world’s thirst for energy has more than tripled. Petroleum and natural gas are exploited as versatile and high quality energy products. Uranium is also tapped to fuel nuclear reactors and provide atomic energy.

两百年前,全球经历了一场能源革命,由此引发了工业时代的到来。从那时起,随着人口密度的迅速增加,工业国家对于能源的需求成倍成倍增加。石油和天然气被看作是用途多、质量好的能源产品而得到开发,而铀也得以开发,为核反应堆提供燃料并供应原子能源。

Para.2

Cheap energy is the lifeblood of human society. But there is a dark side to the near monopoly of non-renewable fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas, along with controversial uranium, to supply our growing energy demands. The supply of these fuels is physically limited, and their use threatens our health and environment. Multiple international treaties have been proposed to limit the use of fossil fuels for this very reason. Fears of global warming aside, burning fossil fuels releases chemicals and particulates that can cause breathing problems, cancer as well as brain and nerve damage. Nuclear energy, once hailed as “too cheap to meter”, has never been economically successful when all costs are factored in. Furthermore, public opinion polls show nuclear energy is too closely associated with disasters like the Chernobyl reactor meltdown and the Fukushima explosion, and with the danger that: rebel insurgents could do damage with the toxic waste. Inexpensive and seemingly abundant non-renewable energy from dead plants and extinct animals fueled the 20th century economy, but geologists, climatologists, environmentalists, and many others are warning that the honeymoon may soon be over.

廉价能源是人类社会的命脉。但是,对煤炭、石油、天然气这些不可再生的矿物燃料及有争议的铀进行近乎垄断地使用以满足我们日益增长的对能源的需求的做法有其危险的一面。这些燃料的供应实际上是有限的,并且,使用这些燃料对我们的健康和环境都造成威胁。正因如此,人们制定了众多的国际条约,以限制对矿物燃料的使用。除了造成全球变暖之外,矿物燃料在燃烧过程中还会释放出某些化学物质和微粒,引发呼吸系统疾病、癌症,并造成对大脑和神经的损伤。如果把所有代价都考虑进来的话,曾经被称颂为”便宜到无法计量”的核能从经济效益上来说则从未获得过成功。而且,民意调查显示,核能总被认为与灾难密切相关,例如切尔诺贝利核反应堆熔毁事件及福岛核电站爆炸事件。同时,核能还具有一种危险,就是叛乱分子可能利用其有毒废物制造伤害。死去的植物和动物所产生的价格低廉且看似充足的非再生能源推动了 20 世纪的经济发展,但地理学家、气候学家、环境学家以及其他许多人都在警告我们:这样美好的时光很快就要结束了。

Para.3

At some indefinite time in the near future, the last drop of oil, lump of coal or wisp of natural gas will be collected from the earth. The eventual depletion of fossil fuels that hitherto proved so reliable has left us with no choice but to prepare for a new age of energy synthesis. Most certainly, human demand for energy will not decrease or plateau but surge as world population grows to nine billion over the next 50 years. By the year 2020, world energy consumption is projected to show a linear increase of 50 percent.

在不久的将来的某个时候,地球上最后一滴石油、最后一块煤或最后一缕天然气将被开采。迄今为止一直被证明是稳定可靠的矿物燃料终将消失,这让我们别无选择,只能作好准备,迎接新的能源综合利用时代的到来。可以肯定,人类对能源的需求不会趋于减少或保持稳定,而是会随着世界人口在未来50年增长到 90亿而迅速增加。据预测,到2020年,全球的能源消耗将直线增长50%。

Para.4

How will we meet the sky-rocketing energy demands of the future? Until we perfect the technology of cold fusion, we’ll have to focus on the development and increased production of energy from renewable energy sources - sun, wind, water, and so on. While renewable energy sources are promising, an international confederation of scientists and engineers is working feverishly to overcome the various obstacles associated with these “new energy” technologies. The major challenge is to develop efficient and economically workable versions of these technologies.

我们怎样才能满足未来急剧增长的能源需求呢?在我们完善冷聚变技术之前,我们只能专注于开发太阳能、风能、水电能之类的可再生能源,并提高其产量。虽然可再生能源前景乐观,一个由科学家和工程师组成的国际联盟却正在积极工作,努力克服与这些”新兴能源”技术相关的各种障碍,其中最大的挑战就是如何使这些技术变得既高效又经济。

Para.5

Take solar energy for example. It is a good option because there is an unlimited supply of glittering sunlight. Making it work on a large scale, however, is much easier said than done. It would be cost prohibitive to take the intricate gadgets of solar energy from the fringe of “green” society to the mainstream for major world consumption. The solar apparatus itself is ready for many new business and consumer applications, but it is way too expensive to replace the old combustion machinery of gears and motors with new electronic technology of semiconductors and transistors on a global or even a national scale.

以太阳能为例。由于耀眼的太阳光能够提供源源不断的能源,所以它是个不错的选择。但是,大规模地使用太阳能却是说起来容易做起来难。把制造太阳能所需要的复杂零件从”环保”社会的边缘推广到主流社会,使之成为世界主要的消费性能源,其代价之高让人望而却步。太阳能设备本身已是技术成熟,可以使商业和消费者进行许多新型应用,但是,在全球或者即便是在全国范围内,用新型的半导体和晶体管电子技术取代老式的用齿轮和发动机驱动的燃烧设备,其成本实在太高。

Para.6

Wind power, which has been used effectively in some places for generations, is also rapidly growing in the energy market. The principle behind it is that wind converts rotary force into electricity by turning the blades of the turbine clockwise or counterclockwise around an axis. Unfortunately, wind power is very unreliable and its strength depends on local weather patterns, temperature, time of year, and location. In addition to this unreliability, wind power equipment is very expensive compared with other energy sources and won’t become a viable alternative until we can slash the costs significantly. Also, a “wind farm” requires enormous land clearing to produce significant amounts of energy.

风能在一些地方已经被几代人有效利用,目前在能源市场中也发展迅速。风能的原理是:风通过驱动涡轮机叶片按顺时针或逆时针方向绕着一个轴旋转,从而把转动时所产生的力转换成电能。不幸的是,风能非常不稳定,其强度取决于当地的天气模式、温度、季节以及地域。除了不稳定的因素之外,和其他能源相比,风能设备造价昂贵。除非我们能将其成本大大降低,否则风能就不会成为一个可行的替代能源。而且,一个”风能农场”需要大片空旷的土地才能生产大量能源。

Para.7

Hydroelectric power is another source of clean and renewable energy. It can be harnessed by controlling the natural outflow of water with different methods. The most popular is through dams, which, unfortunately, are no longer considered environmentally friendly. Most of the hydroelectric dams in the world are historically recent, but all reservoirs eventually will fill up with mud and require very expensive excavation to clear them up to become useful again.

水力电能是另外一种既干净又能再生的能源。人们可以通过不同方法来控制自然水流以进行发电。最普遍的方法是通过水坝,但不幸的是,建水坝已被认为是对环境不利的方法了。世界上大多数用于水力发电的大坝建造历史都不长,但是所有的水库最终都会被淤泥填塞,需要耗资巨大进行清淤才能使它们重新得到利用。

Para.8

Biomass energy derived from plant and animal matter is still another renewable source being considered as a standby replacement for fossil fuels. Organic waste in the form of dead trees, leaves, animal corpses and food processing waste exists in abundance and can be used to produce energy. However, there is no way to ventilate the direct burning of biomass as fuel without diffusing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. These gases can pose a risk to the ozone layer, increasing overall exposure of human beings to harmful UV rays from the sun. Besides, it takes time and money to collect and transport biomass in its raw form to a central point for processing into fuel, and the automation of such a process is too difficult. So, for the time being, biomass has too many costly drawbacks to be a workable alternative to fossil fuels.

动植物物质所产生的生物能源也是一种可再生能源,且被认为是矿物燃料的备用替代品。以死树、枯叶、动物尸体以及食品加工废料的形式存在的有机废物十分充足,可以被用来制造能源。然而,将生物质作为燃料直接燃烧,通风时必然会将二氧化碳及其他温室气体排放到大气中。这些气体会对臭氧层造成威胁,增加人们受到来自太阳的有害紫外线照射的危险。除此以外,将生物质以原始形态进行收集,并将它们运送到某个中心站加工处理成燃料,这一过程既耗时又耗财,而且对这一过程实现自动化非常困难。所以,在目前,生物质能源有太多高成本方面的缺点,不能成为矿物燃料可行的替代品。

Para.9

Although renewable energies are not yet economically competitive with fossil fuels, their price becomes more attractive when compared with the health and environmental costs associated with burning coal and oil. Perhaps the best solution to our growing energy challenges comes in a bulletin from the Union of Concerned Scientists: “Our society’s future success cannot hinge on one single solution. The answer instead must come from a family of diverse energy technologies that share a unified purpose -they do not deplete our natural resources or destroy our environment.” Despite the difficulties, it is important to remember that an energy crisis is approaching at supersonic speeds and will soon be upon us. In order to inaugurate a new era in energy, we must act quickly and work toward international collaboration to find the most effective solutions to our energy problems.

虽然从经济实惠方面来说,可再生能源没有矿物能源有竞争力,但是,与燃烧煤和石油所带来的健康及环境代价相比,它们的价格又变得较有吸引力了。也许,对于日益紧迫的能源挑战,最好的解决办法正如”忧思科学家联盟”所出的一份简报上所说的那样:”未来我们社会的成功不能依赖于某一单一的解决方案。相反,答案须来自一系列各种不同的能源技术。这些技术有一个共同目的:它们不会耗尽我们的自然资源,也不会破环我们的环境。”尽管困难重重,我们需要牢记的是,能源危机正以超音速逼近,即将来到我们面前。为了在能源领域开创一个新时代,我们必须赶快行动,努力寻求国际合作,以找到能源问题最有效的解决办法。

B

A worldwide food crisis

`\会有全球粮食危机吗?``

图片

Para.1

Historically, only local governments worried about a widespread food crisis, but today, a sharp spike in food prices and the resulting food crisis can quickly become a worldwide phenomenon. Recent droughts along the equator, and in Russia and Ukraine - two countries which account for one-fourth of world wheat exports - caused wheat prices to surge. Many worry the tight supply will cause inflationary prices. They fear the skyrocketing grain costs in 2007, which harshly struck the world’s poor and led to food riots, will recur.

当在历史上,只有地方政府才会担心大范围的粮食危机,而如今,粮食价格的急剧上涨及由此导致的粮食危机会很快成为一种全球现象。最近发生在赤道沿线、俄罗斯及乌克兰的干旱使小麦价格不断飆升——俄罗斯和乌克兰两国小麦出口总量占世界出口总量的四分之一。许多人担心小麦供应短缺会引发其价格膨胀,他们害怕 2007 年使世界穷人遭受重创并引发食品骚乱的飞涨的粮食价格会再次出现。

Para.2

Is their fear grounded? Consultancy firms measuring the status of commodities like wheat don’t think so. Stocks of wheat are at sufficiently high levels, and harvest turnout from other big producers like the US is expected to stay strong. So unlike in 2007, the supply situation isn’t desperate, meaning wheat prices should eventually calm down and level off.

他们的担心有根据吗?负责对像小麦这样的商品现状进行评估的咨询公司并不这样认为。目前小麦的储备非常充足,并且,重要农业生产国如美国等的农作物生产也有望十分强劲。所以,与 2007 年不同,现在粮食供应状况并不那样令人绝望,这也意味着小麦价格最终会恢复正常并平稳下来。

Para.3

However, this rosy picture provides only temporary security. The bigger picture discloses a reality not so optimistic. Though current prices aren’t as sky-high as in the panicked market of 2007, they’re still at higher levels than before and are likely to stay that way. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development sees the average prices of products classified as essential such as grains, vegetable oils, and dairy products rising for the next decade.

但是,这一美好的画面只能带来短暂的安心。更大的画面所揭示的现实不容乐观。虽然目前粮食价格没有达到 2007 年引起恐慌的市场上的那种天价,但和以前相比,价格仍然居高不下,而且很有可能维持这样。经济合作与发展组织认为,谷物、植物油和奶制品这些基本食品的平均价格在未来十年都将持续上涨。

Para.4

It doesn’t take an oracle to foretell that the fight to feed the world will be a huge challenge facing the global economy over the next 20 years. Food production is suffering from decades of neglect of agriculture, a period when the sector was starved of the resources and technology it needed to keep up with rising world demand. Though more and more people are intrigued by the issue and there is a growing global consensus about the need for reform in farming, we’re really only at the beginning of a long, expensive, process of repairing world agricultural practices. That means food prices will stay high over the next several years, as will the risk of dangerous price fluctuations like the current one with wheat.

未来20年,让世界上所有人都吃饱饭将是全球经济所面临的巨大挑战,这一点很明确,不需要通过行家来预言。由于过去几十年对农业的疏忽,粮食生产受到影响,而这几十年正是农业这一行业急需得到资源和技术支持以满足日益增长的世界需求的重要时期。虽然现在越来越多的人对这一问题表示出兴趣,对农业耕作进行改革的需要也获得全球越来越广泛的认同,但事实上,在修复全球农业作业这样一项耗时长、代价高的工作中,我们还只处于起步阶段。这也意味着,粮食价格在未来几年会居高不下,正如目前小麦价格波动所带来的风险也会居高不下一样。

Para.5

Food isn’t like garments or other products traded on world markets. The issue of food is filled with emotion. Intermittent uncertainty in food markets will animate people to act when they would otherwise remain calm. No country, for example, wants to run out of food or watch sky-high prices push people into poverty and malnourishment. That can lead to riots or even revolutions. When emotions are running high enough, grain exporters and importers may take extreme measures to prevent a shortage, like hoarding and panic-driven wholesale purchases. In other words, the overreaction of market players will act like a pistol to the head, creating a crisis when none should exist.

粮食这一商品和世界市场上交易的衣服或其他商品有所不同。粮食问题是充满感情色彩的。粮食市场时断时续的不确定性会促使人们采取行动,而这种不确定性如果涉及的是其他商品,人们则会保持冷静。比如,没有哪个国家希望出现粮食短缺,眼睁睁看着粮价飞涨而使人们陷入贫穷和营养不良的困境,因为这样会引发骚乱甚至革命。当人们的情绪积聚到足够高度的时候,粮食出口商和进口商就会采取一些极端的手段,以防止粮食出现短缺。比如,他们会囤积粮食及因恐慌而大批量购买等等。换句话说,市场操纵者如果反应过度,其作用就如同指向头部的手枪,会无中生有地制造危机。

Para.6

Will current prices stay high and volatile? Probably yes. There are enormous structural problems with the agriculture industry that have caused the great imbalance between supply and demand. These problems have a dual nature, one part of it on the production side, and the other on the consumption side.

目前的价格会一直居高不下且变化不定吗?很可能会的。农业产业结构方面存在的诸多问题已经引发了供求关系的巨大失衡。这些问题具有两面性,一个是生产方面的,另一个是消费方面的。

Para.7

On the production side, global funding for rural infrastructure or technological research to keep yields growing has been very small, well below what is needed to keep crises at bay and to meet our future food demands. But in the past, whenever economists predicted massive shortages, technological advances like higher-yield strains of wheat would overcome the difference and rescue civilizations from large-scale starvation.

在生产方面,全球用于乡村基础设施建设或农业技术研究以保持粮食产量持续增长的资金非常少,大大低于能够使我们避免危机、满足人类未来食品需求所必需的资金投入量。但是,在过去,一旦经济学家们预测会有大规模的粮食短缺,就会有像高产量小麦之类的技术进步来解决这一供需差异,使人类免受大规模挨饿之苦。

Para.8

On the consumption side, citizens of wealthier countries have grown accustomed to consuming more food than they need and eating more costly types of food like meat. This means more grain gets turned into livestock feed instead of food for people. Add in the new demand for bio-fuels, and you get a recipe for disaster. As an excerpt from a pamphlet by activist Peter Singer explains: “… the problem isn’t that we are producing too little food; rather we’re not eating the food we grow. Nearly 100 million tons of grain per year is turned into bio-fuel that goes into gas tanks. The problem is that we -the relatively affluent - have created a system of piracy where we consume four or five times as much food as would be possible if we were to actually eat the crops we grow directly.”

在消费方面,富裕国家的人们已经渐渐习惯了消耗比他们实际需求更多的食品,也习惯了吃肉等更加昂贵的食物。这就意味着更多的谷物要被变成家畜的词料而不是成为人们的粮食。再加上对生物燃料的新需求,灾难的发生就是可能的了。正如从活动家彼得.辛格的一个手册中所节选出来的一段话所表述的那样:“……问题不是我们生产的粮食太少,而是我们没有食用我们生产出来的粮食。每年几乎有一亿吨的谷物被转变成了油箱中的生物燃料。问题是我们——相对比较富裕的国家的人——已经创建了一种强盗体系,我们所消耗掉的粮食,与我们要是直接食用我们所生产的粮食比起来,可能是其四到五倍之多。”

Para.9

How can we neutralize this problem and dodge the future crisis? The solution lies at the intersection of money and time. Councilors, legislators and bureaucratic agencies of some countries like India and Senegal have had the foresight to realize this fact and are giving more subsidies to agriculture.

怎样才能化解这一问题并规避未来的风险呢?其解决办法就是通过金钱和时间的共同作用。印度、塞内加尔等一些国家的议员、立法人员及政府机构已经独具慧眼地认识到了这一事实,并且正在给予农业更多的资助。

Para.10

More than ever we need the appropriation of time and money away from the army and the militia and toward creating a coherent international plan to deal with hunger. We are about to rapture at the seams, with the world population expected to grow by 2.3 billion between 2009 and 2050. It is estimated that feeding a population of nine billion would require a 70 percent increase in global food production between 2007 and 2050. Why such a discrepancy? The rapidly growing population not only needs more basic foods, like grains, but also enjoys foods higher up on the food chain, like meat. They desire not only the basic essentials of life, but also more sophisticated technologies like automobiles that use bio-fuels!

我们现在比以往任何时候都需要把拨款和时间从军队和民兵建设方面转移到致力于创建一个有条理的解决饥饿问题的国际计划上来。我们就要在接缝处崩塌,面临食品供应与需求之间的巨大缺口,因为在 2009 到 2050 年之间,世界人口预计将增加 23 亿。而要让 90 亿人有饭吃估计需要将全球粮食产量在 2007 至 2050 年间提高 70%。为什么会有如此巨大的差异呢?因为快速增长的人口所需要的不仅是像谷物之类的基本食品,他们也要享用食物链上的高端食品,比如肉类食品。他们不仅渴望生活的必需品,也渴望享受高端的技术产品,比如使用生物燃料的汽车!

Para.11

All signposts point to the need for food production in developing countries to almost double. To achieve this goal, an enormous investment in agriculture from various sources is needed. Governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, agricultural scientists, private investors and charitable donors, all must partner together to build the capacity of the developing world to answer this tremendous need for food.

所有的迹象都表明,有必要把发展中国家的粮食产量翻一番。要实现这一目标,需要各方对农业进行大规模投资。政府机构、非营利机构、农业科学家、私人投资者以及慈善捐赠者都要合作起来,增强发展中国家的生产能力,以满足全球对粮食的巨大需求。

Para.12

While we may not be seeing all the symptoms of a food shortage syndrome yet, we must be clear-eyed in our on-going support of food production. The message is explicit: We are on a collision course. But the problem is soluble. Like climbing a staircase, we must do it carefully and consistently if we are to reach our goal and prevent a global food crisis.

也许,我们现在还看不到粮食短缺综合征的所有症状,但是,在对现行的粮食生产提供支持方面,我们必须目光准确。有一点很明确:我们即将面临一个大麻烦。但是,这个问题是可以解决的。如果我们要实现目标并预防全球性的粮食危机的话,和爬楼梯一样,我们必须谨慎而且坚持如一。

Unit 8

New Words

WordsPhonetic symbolsChinese
angel/‘eɪndʒ(ə)l/n. 天使;守护神;善人;vt. 出钱支持
obituary/ə(ʊ)’bɪtʃʊərɪ; -tʃərɪ; -tjʊərɪ/n. 讣告;adj. 讣告的;死亡的
seminar/‘semɪnɑː/n. 讨论会,研讨班
specimen/‘spesɪmɪn/n. 样品,样本;标本
assassin/ə’sæsɪn/n. 刺客,暗杀者
secular/‘sekjʊlə/n. 修道院外的教士,(对宗教家而言的) 俗人;adj. 世俗的;长期的;现世的;不朽的
oath/əʊθ/n. 誓言,誓约;诅咒,咒骂
graphic/‘græfɪk/adj. 形象的;图表的;绘画似的
brochure/‘brəʊʃə; brɒ’ʃʊə/n. 手册,小册子
leaflet/ˈliːflət/n. 小叶;传单
audio/‘ɔːdɪəʊ/adj. 声音的;[声 音频的,[声 声频的
batch/bætʃ/n. 一批;一炉;一次所制之量;vt. 分批处理
enclosure/ɪn’kləʊʒə; en-/n. 附件;围墙;围场
vapor/ˈveɪpə(r)/n. 蒸汽;烟雾;vt. 使……蒸发;使……汽化;vi. 蒸发;吹牛;沮丧
siege/siːdʒ/n. 围攻;包围;围城;不断袭击;长期努力;vt. 围攻;包围
boycott/‘bɒɪkɒt/n. 联合抵制;vt. 联合抵制;拒绝参加
incur/ɪn’kɜː/vt. 招致,引发;蒙受
wrath/rɒθ; rɔːθ/n. 愤怒;激怒
judicious/dʒʊ’dɪʃəs/adj. 明智的;头脑精明的;判断正确的
mastermind/‘mɑːstəmaɪnd/n. 优秀策划者;才子;vt. 策划
malpractice/mæl’præktɪs/n. 玩忽职守;不法行为;治疗不当
lawsuit/‘lɔːsuːt; -sjuːt/n. 诉讼(尤指非刑事案件);诉讼案件
sue/s(j)uː/vt. 控告;请求;vi. 控告;提出请求
passionate/‘pæʃ(ə)nət/adj. 热情的;热烈的,激昂的;易怒的
ministerial/mɪnɪ’stɪərɪəl/adj. 部长的;内阁的;公使的;牧师的
parliamentary/,pɑːlə’ment(ə)rɪ/adj. 议会的;国会的;议会制度的
sideline/‘saɪdlaɪn/n. 副业;球场边线;局外人的观点;vt. 迫使退出;adj. 倾斜的
revenge/rɪ’ven(d)ʒ/n. 报复;复仇;vt. 报复;替…报仇;洗雪;vi. 报仇;雪耻
kit/kɪt/n. 工具箱;成套工具;vt. 装备;vi. 装备
chronicle/‘krɒnɪk(ə)l/n. 编年史,年代记;记录;vt. 记录;把…载入编年史
expectancy/ɪk’spekt(ə)nsɪ; ek-/n. 期望,期待
life expectancy预期寿命;平均寿命
stalk/stɔːk/n. (植物的)茎,秆;(支持叶子、果实和花的)梗,柄;追踪;高视阔步;vt. 追踪,潜近;高视阔步;vi. 高视阔步地走;潜近,偷偷接近
condolence/kən’dəʊl(ə)ns/n. 哀悼;慰问
terminate/‘tɜːmɪneɪt/vt. 使终止;使结束;解雇;vi. 结束,终止;结果;adj. 结束的
questionnaire/ˌkwestʃəˈneə(r)/n. 问卷;调查表
strip/strɪp/n. 带;条状;脱衣舞;vt. 剥夺;剥去;脱去衣服;vi. 脱去衣服
stripped/strɪpt/adj. 剥去的
pajamas/pə’dʒɑːməz/n. 睡衣;宽长裤
retrospective/retrə(ʊ)’spektɪv/n. 回顾展;adj. 回顾的;怀旧的;可追溯的
infinity/ɪn’fɪnɪtɪ/n. 无穷;无限大;无限距
successor/sək’sesə/n. 继承者;后续的事物
antibiotic/,æntɪbaɪ’ɒtɪk/n. 抗生素,抗菌素;adj. 抗生的;抗菌的
vaccinate/‘væksɪneɪt/n. 被接种牛痘者;vt. 给…注射疫苗;vi. 接种疫苗
cape/keɪp/n. [地理 海角,岬;披肩
crusader/kruː’seɪdə/n. 改革者;十字军战士
cemetery/‘semɪtrɪ/n. 墓地;公墓
swamp/swɒmp/n. 沼泽;湿地;vt. 使陷于沼泽;使沉没;使陷入困境;vi. 下沉;陷入沼泽;陷入困境;不知所措
handset/‘hæn(d)set/n. 手机,电话听筒
subscription/səb’skrɪpʃ(ə)n/n. 捐献;订阅;订金;签署
thesis/‘θiːsɪs/n. 论文;论点 [复数 theses
indignant/ɪn’dɪgnənt/adj. 愤愤不平的;义愤的
activate/‘æktɪveɪt/vt. 刺激;使活动;使活泼;使产生放射性;vi. 激活;有活力
Catholic/kæθəlɪk/n. 天主教徒;罗马天主教;adj. 天主教的;宽宏大量的
patron/‘peɪtr(ə)n/n. 赞助人;保护人;主顾
ashore/ə’ʃɔː/adj. 在岸上的;在陆上的;adv. 在岸上;向岸
deport/dɪ’pɔːt/vt. 驱逐出境;举止;放逐
adherence/əd’hɪərəns/n. 坚持;依附;忠诚
tribute/‘trɪbjuːt/n. 礼物;[税收 贡物;颂词;(尤指对死者的)致敬,悼念,吊唁礼物
defendant/dɪ’fend(ə)nt/n. 被告;adj. 辩护的;为自己辩护的
tribunal/traɪ’bjuːn(ə)l; trɪ-/n. 法庭;裁决;法官席
denounce/dɪ’naʊns/vt. 谴责;告发;公然抨击;通告废除
outdate/,aʊt’deɪt/vt. 使过时;使废弃;使陈旧
outdated/aʊt’deɪtɪd/adj. 过时的;旧式的
vibrate/vaɪ’breɪt/vt. 使振动;使颤动;vi. 振动;颤动;摇摆;踌躇
agitate/‘ædʒɪteɪt/vt. 摇动;骚动;使…激动;vi. 煽动
agitation/ædʒɪ’teɪʃ(ə)n/n. 激动;搅动;煽动;烦乱
logo/‘lɒgəʊ; ‘ləʊgəʊ/n. 商标,徽标;标识语
trumpet/‘trʌmpɪt/n. 喇叭;喇叭声;vt. 吹喇叭;吹嘘;vi. 吹喇叭;发出喇叭般的声音
prosecute/‘prɒsɪkjuːt/vt. 检举;贯彻;从事;依法进行;vi. 起诉;告发;作检察官
animated/‘ænɪmeɪtɪd/adj. 活生生的;活泼的;愉快的
wax/waks/n. 蜡;蜡状物;vt. 给…上蜡;vi. 月亮渐满;增大;adj. 蜡制的;似蜡的
tentative/‘tentətɪv/n. 假设,试验;adj. 试验性的,暂定的;踌躇的
tentatively/‘tɛntətɪvli/adv. 暂时地;试验性地
commentary/‘kɒmənt(ə)rɪ/n. 评论;注释;评注;说明
tack/tæk/n. 大头钉;粗缝;行动方针;食物;vt. 附加;以大头针钉住;vi. 抢风航行;作文字形移动
superintendent/suːp(ə)rɪn’tend(ə)nt; sjuː-/n. 监督人;负责人;主管;指挥者
tickle/‘tɪk(ə)l/n. 胳肢;痒感;使人发痒、高兴的东西;vt. 使发痒;使高兴;使满足;vi. 觉得痒;(东西)使人发痒
flutter/‘flʌtə/n. 摆动;鼓翼;烦扰;vt. 拍;使焦急;使飘动;vi. 飘动;鼓翼;烦扰
dub/dʌb/n. 笨蛋;鼓声;vt. 配音;轻点;打击;授予称号
incidentally/ɪnsɪ’dent(ə)lɪ/adv. 顺便;偶然地;附带地
ignite/ɪg’naɪt/vt. 点燃;使燃烧;使激动;vi. 点火;燃烧
impetus/‘ɪmpɪtəs/n. 动力;促进;冲力
manuscript/‘mænjʊskrɪpt/n. [图情 手稿;原稿;adj. 手写的
incomprehensive/ɪn’kɒmprɪ’hensɪv/adj. 范围狭小的,范围不广的;理解不深的,没有理解力的
bewilder/bɪ’wɪldə/vt. 使迷惑,使不知所措
module/‘mɒdjuːl/n. [计 模块;组件;模数
skeleton/‘skelɪt(ə)n/n. 骨架,骨骼;纲要;骨瘦如柴的人;adj. 骨骼的;骨瘦如柴的;概略的
crown/kraʊn/n. 王冠;花冠;王权;顶点;vt. 加冕;居…之顶;表彰;使圆满完成
marvel/‘mɑːv(ə)l/n. 奇迹;vt. 对…感到惊异;vi. 感到惊讶
nucleus/‘njuːklɪəs/n. 核,核心;原子核
serial/‘sɪərɪəl/n. 电视连续剧;[图情 期刊;连载小说;adj. 连续的;连载的;分期偿还的
timely/‘taɪmlɪ/adj. 及时的;适时的;adv. 及时地;早
particle/‘pɑːtɪk(ə)l/n. 颗粒;[物 质点;极小量;小品词
retrieve/rɪ’triːv/n. [计 检索;恢复,取回;vt. [计 检索;恢复;重新得到;vi. 找回猎物

Phrases and expressions

  1. turn up (尤指意外地)到达,来到;(意外地)被找到,被发现
  2. put out 展示,张贴,公告
  3. alert sb. to sth. 提醒(某人)注意,引起(某人)重视
  4. lay siege to sth./sb. 向…展开攻势;开始包围,围攻
  5. follow suit 跟着做,仿效
  6. in the face of 面对
  7. stand/stay/remain on the sidelines 袖手旁观,置身事外
  8. get revenge (on sb.) for sth. 因为…报复(某人),因为…(向某人)复仇
  9. appeal to sb. to do sth. 恳请某人做某事,呼吁某人做某事
  10. be swamped by/with sth./sb. (工作、问题等)使…应接不暇,使…难以招架;挤满了…
  11. fight discrimination against sb. 竭力阻止对某人的歧视,反抗对某人的歧视
  12. in adherence to 遵守,信守
  13. come to life 变得更加真实,变得更生动有趣
  14. tack sth. up 把(纸等)钉在;把…别在(墙或板等上)
  15. dub sb./sth. as 把…称为…;给…起…的绰号
  16. marvel at/over 对…感到惊讶,钦佩,赞美
  17. feel strongly about sth. 对…感受强烈,对…深有感触

Articles

A

A meaningful life

有意义的人生

Para.1

The death of an angel of animal rights activism does not rate with that of a drugged-out rock star. So when Henry Spira died of cancer in September 1998, his death passed without notice, apart from a brief obituary in The New York Times. Yet Henry Spiral life tells us something important, not only about the modern animal movement, but about the possibility of an individual making a difference in the modern world.

一位动物权利保护运动的天使的去世还比不上一个沉溺于毒品的摇滚明星的死亡。所以,亨利.斯皮拉在 1998 年 9 月因癌症去世的消息根本没有引起公众的注意,只是《纽约时报》上刊登了一则简短的讣告。但是亨利.斯皮拉的一生让我们懂得了一些重要的东西,不仅关于现代动物权益保护运动,而且还有一个人改变现代社会的可能性。

Para.2

I first met Henry when he turned up at an adult education seminar I was giving at New York University. I offered a course on “Animal Liberation” that attracted about 20 students. One student was an unusual specimen, outside the regular aesthetic of an “animal person”. His clothes were untidy, and his hair uncombed. His language was so blunt and earthy that at times I thought I was listening to an assassin from a violent mob. Yet, I couldn’t help feeling intrigued with his direct way of speaking and his solemn, secular oath to help animals in need.

第一次见到亨利,是我在纽约大学教一个成人教育研修班时他前来听课。我开设了一门关于“动物解放”的课程,吸引了大约 20 名学生。其中一名学生很另类,完全和通常意义上“动物权利保护者”的形象背道而驰。他的衣着邋遢,头发也未曾梳理。他说话非常直率并且粗俗,有时我甚至认为,我好像是在听一个暴力团伙的杀手在讲话。但是,我情不自禁地被他那种直截了当的说话方式,还有他那庄重的、不是出于宗教目的要帮助处于困境中的动物的誓言吸引住了。

Para.3

I left New York soon after that, but one day got a call from Henry. He talked with me about his work. I knew that for over a century, the animal rights movement had been putting out graphic brochures, leaflets, and audio propaganda, alerting people to the dreadful experiments on animals. But in all that time, the number of animals used in experiments had risen from a small batch of a few hundred to more than 30 million. No activist had managed to stop a single experiment or improve the lives of animals living in tiny, constricted enclosures. Henry changed that. One of his earliest campaigns permanently closed down a laboratory conducting experiments with toxic vapor on about 60 rabbits.

在那之后,我很快就离开了纽约。但是有一天,我接到了亨利的电话。他和我聊起了他的工作。我知道,一个多世纪以来,动物权益运动的倡导者一直通过散发带图画的手册、传单以及音频宣传材料,来引起公众对那些可怕的动物实验的关注。但与此同时,用于实验的动物数量从原来区区几百骤增到三千多万。没有哪位活动家曾成功阻止过一项实验或改善了蜗居在狭小困笼中的动物的生活。亨利却改变了这一切。他早期的运动之一就是使一间用毒蒸汽在大约 60 只兔子身上做实验的实验室被永久关闭。

Para.4

Following that success, Henry rapidly moved on to bigger targets. He laid siege to Revlon over their use of rabbits to test cosmetics for potential eye damage, and exerted enough pressure to persuade them to put $750,000 into the search for alternatives. Having seen the boycott that Revlon had narrowly averted and being afraid of incurring similar wrath, Avon, Bristol-Myers and other major cosmetics corporations soon followed suit. Though it took 10 years for the research to achieve results, it was largely Henry’s public and judicious watchdog efforts that brought so many cosmetics corporations to where they now truthfully state their products are not tested on animals.

取得上述成功之后,亨利马上转向更大的目标。他谴责露华浓公司用兔子检测化妆品对眼睛可能造成的伤害。他还给露华浓施加了强大的压力,说服其投入 75 万美元进行研究,以寻找替代方法。雅芳、百时美及其他大型化妆品公司看到露华浓险些遭到抵制,担心自己也会招致同样的愤怒,所以很快也都纷纷效仿。虽然他们的研究历经 10 年才取得成果,但是正是亨利所作出的这种公开而又明智的监督,才使得这么多化妆品公司现在可以如实地说,他们的产品没有在动物身上进行实验。

Para.5

From decades spent working on the side of the weak and oppressed, Henry became efficient at masterminding campaigns. His victory over Revlon didn’t require wealth, legislators, or the help of big governments. He learned how to build public awareness campaigns, how to shape malpractice lawsuits to successfully sue large companies and how to build committed groups of supporters for the cause.

经过几十年为弱势及受压迫群体所做的抗争,亨利变得非常善于策划各种活动。他在与露华浓的抗衡中获胜,靠的不是财富、立法者或庞大的政府的帮助。他学会了如何发起能够唤醒公众意识的活动,如何开展渎职诉讼以便成功起诉大公司,以及如何为这一事业建立忠实的支持者团队。

Para.6

We often assume that society has become too big and too bureaucratic for individuals to make a difference. How could one individual, however humane and passionate, possibly bring about change in the face of powerful global corporations, ministerial indifference and complicated parliamentary rules?

我们经常认为社会已经变得太大、太官僚,从而个体不可能改变它。在面对强大的跨国公司、冷漠的执政部门和众多复杂的议会规则时,单单一个人,不管他多么具有人道主义,多么富有激情,又如何能促成改变呢?

Para.7

Henry’s life was dedicated to the cause of preventing suffering of innocent, helpless animals, especially those used in research. He didn’t stand on the sidelines or try to get revenge for the suffering he observed. Henry was practical. He acted. He appealed to the public and created publicity kits to help common people become activists.

亨利的一生都致力于阻止无辜又无助的动物遭受痛苦,尤其是那些被用于研究的动物。他没有袖手旁观,也没有试图为他所看到的苦难复仇。亨利是个很实际的人。他采取了行动。他向公众呼吁,并做了各种成套的宣传材料来帮助普通人成为积极的参与者。

Para.8

On April 21, 1996, I sent Henry a fax telling him I was thinking about writing a book to chronicle his life and work. I asked whether I could stay with him for a few days in June to talk about it.

1996 年 4 月 21 日,我给亨利发了一份传真,告诉他我正在考虑写一本记录其生平和事业的书。我问他我是否可以 6 月份过去和他待几天,以讨论这一事宜。

Para.9

Henry called that evening. He said he’d really like me to write the book, but he wasn’t sure he was still going to be around in late June. He explained that he’d been diagnosed with cancer, and asked whether I could come earlier.

当天晚上亨利就给我打了电话。他说他很愿意由我来写这本书,但是他不确定自己 6 月下旬是否还会活在世上。他解释说他已经被确诊得了癌症,所以问我能不能早点来。

Para.10

I was in New York six days later. Henry had lost a lot of weight, and lacked the energy I was used to seeing in him. His life expectancy was a matter of months. Death seemed to be stalking him.

6天后我就到了纽约。亨利瘦了很多,而且也没有了我以前在他身上看到的精力。他的生命只剩几个月了。死亡似乎正在向他逼近。

Para.11

The most remarkable thing about Henry, though, was the total absence of any sign of depression. Life had been good, he said, refusing to hear my sympathy and condolences. He said he’d done what he wanted to do and enjoyed it a lot. Why should he be depressed?

尽管如此,亨利最了不起的一点就是,你根本看不到他有一丝一毫的沮丧。他说他一直过得很好,因而拒绝听我说同情和安慰的话。他说,他做了自己想做的事,而且很享受所做的一切,为什么要感到沮丧呢?

Para.12

Henry’s life did not terminate in the time his doctors predicted. For the next two years he kept working, helping develop the material I needed for the book, through interviews and questionnaires. When I began writing, I never thought Henry would see a completed draft, but he lived to see the book on sale in a New York bookstore. Then, within a week, wearing his favorite striped pajamas, he died.

亨利的生命并没有像医生预言的那么快终止。在接下来的两年里,他一直坚持工作,通过采访和问卷调查的方式,帮助我准备写书需要的材料。在我开始动笔的时候,我从来没想到亨利能看到完整的初稿,但是他一直活到亲眼看到书在纽约的书店出售。然后,不到一个星期,他就去世了,当时身上穿着他最喜欢的条纹睡衣。

Para.13

One essential mark of living well is to be satisfied with one’s accomplishments when taking a retrospective look at life, and to be able to accept death and face infinity calmly. Henry’s life seemed to lack many of the things that most of us take for granted as essential to a good life. He never married, or had a long-term, live-in relationship. He had no children or successors. He never went to concerts, to the theater, or to fine restaurants. He didn’t bring antibiotics to the needy or vaccinate the poor. He was never called a hero like the caped crusaders of our comic books. There is no fancy stone for him at the cemetery after his death. He just cared for the weakest creatures in his society. What gave Henry Spira’s life depth and purpose? What did he - and others -find meaningful in the way he lived his life?

一个人活得好的一个根本标志就是,在他回首自己人生的时候,他对自己的成就感到满意,而且能够冷静地接受死亡、面对永恒。亨利的人生似乎缺少了我们大多数人想当然地认为美好人生所必须具备的很多东西。他一生未婚,也从未经历过长期的恋爱同居关系;他没有孩子或别的继承人;他从来不去音乐会、剧院或高级饭店;他也没有给生活艰难者带去抗生素或是给贫困者接种疫苗。他从来没有像我们的漫画书中那些披着斗篷的社会改革家那样被称为英雄。他死后墓地上也没有什么精致的墓碑。他只是关心社会中脆弱的生灵。是什么让亨利.斯皮拉的生活富有深度、目标明确呢?在他的这种生活中,他,以及其他人,又发现了什么有意义的东西呢?

B

A turning point of my life

我人生的转折点

Para.1

I wasn’t yet 30 years old and was working as a firefighter in New York City, in a firehouse completely swamped with calls. In the rare moments when we weren’t busy, I would make calls on our cordless phone handset or rush to our office to read Captain Gray’s subscription of the Sunday New York Times. Late one afternoon when I finally read the Book Review section, my blood began to boil. An article stated a thesis I took to be an offensive insult: William Butler Yeats, the Nobel Prize-winning light of the Irish Literary Renaissance, had risen above his Irishness and was now a universal poet. I grew indignant suddenly, and a deep-seated passion within me was activated.

我那时还不到30岁,是纽约市的一名消防员,我工作的消防站总是不断有求助电话进来。偶尔在我们不忙的时候,我会打打无绳电话,或是到办公室,看看格雷队长订的《纽约时报》周日版。一天下午晚些时候,当我最后读到书评栏时,我开始血液沸腾。一篇文章提出了一个在我看来带有侮辱性的观点:它说诺贝尔奖获得者威廉.巴特勒.叶芝,即点亮爱尔兰文学复兴之光的人,已经超越了其爱尔兰身份,是一名世界性的诗人。我突然感到愤怒,内心深处一种激情也被激发起来。

Para.2

There were few things I was more proud of than my Irish heritage. My ancestors were Catholic Irish farmers, fishermen and blue-collar workers, all of whom were patrons of literature. From the time my family came ashore on Ellis Island and faced the threat of being deported, we have fought discrimination against Irish immigrants. Ever since I first picked up a book of his poems, Yeats had been my favorite writer. He wrote his poetry in close adherence to his Irish sensibilities. His life was, in essence, a tribute to his homeland. So, it was offensive to think Irishness, no matter if it was psychological, social or literary, was something to rise above. I felt like my heritage was a defendant at a tribunal, and I had no choice but to protect it and denounce such an outdated prejudice.

很少有什么事情比我是爱尔兰后裔更让我感到骄傲的了。我的祖先是信仰天主教的爱尔兰人,他们做过农夫、渔民和蓝领工人,但是他们所有人都热爱文学。从我的家族登上埃利斯岛、面临被驱逐的威胁那一刻起,我们就一直在反抗对爱尔兰移民的歧视。自从我第一次拿起叶芝的诗集开始,他就一直是我最喜欢的作家。他创作的诗中有着深深的爱尔兰情怀。实际上,他的一生都在赞颂祖国。所以,不管是从心理的、社会的还是文学的角度,认为爱尔兰的身份是能够超越的,都是一种侮辱。我感觉自己继承的身份就像是成了法庭上的被告,我别无选择,只能保护它并谴责这样一种过时的偏见。

Para.3

Vibrating with agitation, I grabbed a piece of clean paper, one that had the logo of the Fire Department of the City of New York across the top. I began a letter, trumpeting my indignation to the editor of the Sunday Book Review, describing Yeats as he was: a writer fundamentally Irish in all he did and wrote.

我焦躁不安,全身颤动,于是抓起了一张干净的纸,那张纸的顶部印有纽约市消防局的标志。我开始给《周日书评》栏目的编辑写信,表达我的愤怒。我把叶芝描述为他本来的样子,即无论从行为还是从作品来看,他都是地地道道的爱尔兰作家。

Para.4

I don’t know why I felt I had to defend the world’s greatest poet(at least next to Homer and Shakespeare) from being “prosecuted”, or to compose a defense of Irish writing. I just knew that I had to write that letter, in the same way a priest has to pray, or a musician has to play an instrument.

我不知道为什么我觉得自己必须捍卫这位世界上最伟大的诗人(至少是仅次于荷马和莎士比亚的诗人),使其免于被“起诉”,或者为什么我要撰文捍卫爱尔兰文学。我只知道我必须写那封信,就像牧师必须祷告,或者音乐家必须演奏乐器一样。

Para.5

Until that point in my life I hadn’t written much of value - a few poems and short stories. But, like a beginning artist who longs to see his work come to life, becoming an animated Disney film, I understood that the more one draws, or writes, the better the end result will become. Realistically, I approached writing like waxing a car, thoroughly and repeatedly. So I wrote often to improve my writing skills. I tentatively sent material to various magazines and reviews, but no one had ever been willing to publish me.

在那个时刻之前,我没有写过多少有价值的东西——只有几首诗和几篇短篇故事而已。但是就像是一名刚刚起步的艺术家渴望看到他的作品焕发生命、被拍成迪士尼动画一样,我明白一个人画得越多,或写得越多,最后他的作品就会越好。所以,我采取了一种实际的策略,对待写作就像给汽车打蜡一样,我既细致认真又反复操练。我经常写,以提高自己的写作技能。我也尝试着把文稿寄给多家杂志社和书评专刊,但是没有人愿意发表我的作品。

Para.6

So it was an unexpected delight when the Times published my commentary. I suppose the editor decided to publish it because he was first attracted by the official nature of my stationery, and then by the strangeness of an inner city firefighter’s using refined language. I’d like to think, though, that the editor silently agreed with me.

所以,当《纽约时报》发表了我的评论,我欣喜若狂。我想编辑决定发表它,可能是因为他首先被我所用的信纸的正式性吸引了。其次,一名中心城区的消防员竟能使用文雅的语言或许也让他感到新奇。但是,我宁愿认为编辑默默地认同了我的观点。

Para.7

I received about 20 sympathetic and congratulatory letters from professors that I tacked up by the superintendent’s desk. These letters tickled me, making my heart flutter with the thought that I was not only a published writer but an opinion maker. I was suddenly dubbed as someone whose views mattered.

我收到了大概 20 封来自大学教授的表达同感或祝贺的信。我把它们订在了主管的桌子旁边。这些信让我快乐,让我激动不已,因为我想到,我不仅作品得以发表,而且我还是个观点制造者。突然间,我被称为拥有重要观点的人。

Para.8

Incidentally, I also received letters from True magazine and from The New Yorker, asking for interviews. It was the latter that ignited my career - the article titled “Fireman Smith” provided the impetus for a large publishing company to request a manuscript about my life.

出乎意料的是,我还收到了《真实》杂志和《纽约客》的来信,要求采访我。正是后者激发了我的事业——它刊登的题为《消防员史密斯》的文章使一家大型出版公司向我约稿,要我写一本关于自己人生的书。

Para.9

I had always subscribed to the belief that the work of firefighters was a worthy subject for a book, but it has received incomprehensive coverage so far. I was bewildered at first with little confidence in my ability to write a whole book. So, I began little by little writing one module at a time. I soon had the basic skeleton and framework for my book. The book went on to sell two million copies and was translated into 12 languages. In the following years, I wrote three more best-sellers, and last year published an autobiography.

我一直认为消防员的工作是个值得一写的题材,但是到目前为止却很少被写过。起初我很困惑,对于自己是否有能力写一本完整的书没有多少信心。所以,我开始一点一点地写,一次写一部分。很快,我对整本书有了基本的结构和框架。这本书最终卖出了 200 万册,并被译成了 12 种语言。在接下来的几年中,我又写了 3 本畅销书,去年还出版了一本自传。

Para.10

Being a writer had been far from my expectations; being crowned a best-selling author was almost unimaginable. How had it happened? I often found myself thinking about it, marveling at the inconsistency of my success and earlier failure. My thoughts always came back to the nucleus at the center of it all, that letter to The New York Times.

成为一名作家远远超出了我的预料。被冠以畅销书作者的称号更是几乎难以想象的。这一切都是如何发生的呢?我发现自己经常思考这个问题,惊叹于自己的成功和早期失败之间的反差。我的思绪总是会归结于其中最核心的部分——那封写给《纽约时报》的信。

Para.11

The clearest explanation is that I had found a subject I felt so strongly about that the writing was a natural consequence of that passion. I felt the same kind of passion when I began writing about firefighters and, later, a serial story about my mother. Whatever the subjects, they are always meaningful and timely because they represent the great values of human life - decency, honesty and fairness - subjects that burn within me as I write.

最清楚的解释就是,我发现了一个让我有强烈感触的题材,因此,写作就成为这种激情很自然的结果了。在我写关于消防员以及后来写关于我母亲的系列故事时,我都怀有同样的激情。不管题材是什么,它们总是有意义并且合时宜的,因为它们代表了人类生活中伟大的价值观——得体、诚实和公正。在我写作时,这些题材在我心中炙热如火。

Para.12

Over the years, all five of my children have come to me periodically with one dilemma or another. Should I go out for soccer or basketball? Should I take a job with this company or that one?

多年来,我的五个孩子会时不时地来问我一个又一个让他们进退两难的问题:我应该踢足球还是打篮球?我是到这家公司工作还是到那家?

Para.13

My answer is always the same: Think about your feelings deep down in your bones. Measure the heat of the fire there, for that is the passion that will flow through every particle of your being. Always find that passion. And, if you lose it, retrieve it and start again. Your education and your experience will guide you toward making a right decision, but your passion will always enable you to make a difference in whatever you do.

我的回答一直是相同的:想想你骨子深处的情感。估量一下那些情感的热度,因为那就是流淌于你身体每一部分的激情。任何时候都要找到那种激情。如果你失去了它,就要重新搜寻到它,然后再重新开始。你接受的教育和你的经验会引导你作出正确的决定,但是你的激情总是会使你在做任何事情时都成就非凡。

Para.14

That’s what I learned the day I stood up for Ireland’s greatest poet.

这就是那天我挺身而出为爱尔兰最伟大的诗人辩护时所学到的东西。