全新版大学英语综合教程3课后习题翻译总结

时间:2024.3.27

我们的计算机系统出了毛病,但我觉得问题比较小。

We have a problem with the computer system, but I think it is fairly .

父亲去世时我还小,不能独立生活。就在那时,家乡的父老接过了养育我的责任。

My father died when I was too young to live on my own. The people of my hometown took over responsibility for my upbringing .

这些玩具必得在得到严格的安全要求后才可出售给儿童。

The toys have to meet strict safety before they can be sold to children.

作为新闻和舆论的载体,广播和电视补充了而不是替代了报纸。 Radio and television have replaced the newspaper as carriers of new an opinion.

至于这本杂志,它刊载世界各地许多报纸杂志上文章的摘要。 this magazine, it is a of articles from many newspapers and magazines around the word.

虽然受到全球金融危机后果的巨大影响,但是我们仍然相信我们能面对挑战,克服危机。

Though greatly affected by the consequence of the global financial crisis, we are still that we can face up to the challenge and overcome the crisis.

在持续不断的沙尘暴的威胁下,我们被迫离开我们喜爱的村庄,搬迁到新的地方。

Under of constant sand storms, we were cherished village and move to the new .

根据最近的网上调查,许多消费者说他们也许会有兴趣考虑购买电视广告中播放的产品。

According to a recent online survey, a lot of consumers say they may be to consider buying products shown in TV commercials. 看到卡车司机把受污染的废弃物倒在河边,老人家马上向警方报告。 Having a truck driver dumping contaminated waste the river, the old man reported to the police at once.

一些科学家坚信人们总会有一天会喜欢转基因农作物,因为它们能够提高产量,帮助发展中国家战胜饥荒和疾病。

Some scientists hold to the firm like genetically modified crops someday since they can increase yields and help combat hunger and disease in the developing world.

无论在城市还是在农村,因特网正在改变人们的生活方式。

The internet is changing the way people live, no matter whether they are in or 和大公司相比,中小公司更容易受到全球经济危机的威胁。 and small companies more to the threat of the global economic crisis than large ones.

关于期末论文,教授要求我们先分析失业图表,然后对国家经济发展提供批判性的见解。

With regard to our term papers, the professor asked us to the of unemployment first, and then provide critical on the nation’s economic development.

他从来也没有想到他们队会以大比分赢得那场篮球赛。 him that their team would win the basketball match .

回顾二十年的中学教学,我把我的成功归结为耐心、才能和对知识的不断追求。

my twenty years’ teaching in high school, I attributed my success to patience, talent, and the constant pursuit of knowledge.

奶奶想当然地认为粮价要涨,所以买了许多大米。

Grandma a lot of rice.

我可以给你引用几个例子来说明她现身科学的精神。

I can you several 20世纪xx年代中国一些经济特区开始迅速发展起来。

The 1980s the start of the development of some special economic zones in China.

两国关系的紧张部分是由最近的间谍事件引起的

Tension between two countries stemmed from the latest spy affair

彼得已在一家律师事务所当了多年律师,你可考虑请他做你的律师,当你需要援助的时,由他代你行事。

Peter has worked in a law firm for many years. You can consider having him as your lawyer to act when you need legal help.

这座红房子在参天古树的映衬下十分夺目。

The red house sky.

我的新工作薪酬很高,但是其他方面我并不满意。

The salary satisfied. 两条溪流的水在我们村子附近汇合了

The water of the two streams near our village.

我们不应该嘲笑别人的宗教信仰。

We should not at other people’s religious beliefs.

这间房间的窗帘同家具的风格不太协调。

The curtains of the room are not quite with the style of furniture.

医学专家就克隆人是否应该被允许以及对社会有何潜在影响展开了辩论。

Medical experts debated whether the

permitted and what its effects on society might be.

当地百分之八十五的人拥有全职工作,只有百分之三的人称自己没有工作。

Eighty-five percent of the people in the local area in employment only 3% describe themselves as unemployed.

我国相关部门将加快立法,保护农民工的权益。

The departments concerned in China will speed up to protect rights of migrant workers.

近年来一些心理学家试图从生物学的观点理解智力。

In recent years, some psychologists have tried to explain intelligence from a biological standpoint.

世界金融危机对该国的出口工业产生了巨大的影响。在仅仅六个月的时间里,而多工厂迫于情势而关门歇业。

The global financial crisis has had a huge impact on that country’s export industry. In six months, many factories have closed down


第二篇:全新版大学英语综合教程4课后习题翻译总结


1. 多尔蒂先生和他的家人目前正在农场忙于秋收。

Mr. Doherty and his family are currently engaged in getting the autumn harvest in on the farm.

2. 我们不能低估敌人,他们装备了最先进的武器。

We must not underestimate the enemy. They are equipped with the most sophisticated weapons.

3. 菲儿已三个月没有找到工作了,正变得越来越绝望。

Having being cut of a job for 3 months, Phil is getting increasingly desperate.

4. 作为项目经理,山姆办事果断,工作效率高,且判断准确。

Sam as the project manager, is decisive efficient, and accurate in his judgment.

5. 既然已经证实这家化工厂是污染源,村委会决定将其关闭,为此损失了一百个工作岗位。

Since the chemical plant was identified as the source of solution, the village neighborhood committee decided to close it down at the cost of 100 jobs.

1. 空气中有一种不寻常的寂静,只有远处响着大炮的声音。

There was an unusual quietness in the air, except for the sound of artillery in the distance.

2. 在某些非洲国家城市的扩展已引起生活水平相当大的下降和社会

问题的增多。

The expansion of urban areas in some African countries has been causing a significant fall in living standards and an increase in social problem.

3. 研究表明大气中的二氧化碳的含量与全球温度密切相关。

The research shows that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are closely correlated with global temperatures.

4. 最近公共汽车的车辆行驶频率已有改善,从15分钟缩短到12分钟一班。

The frequency of the bus service has been improved from 15 to 12 minutes recently.

5. 那位跳水运动员立在跳水板边沿,只等教练发出信号便会立刻跳下。

The diver stood on the edge of diving board, poised to jump the signal from the coach.

1. 尽管在此次紧急迫降中,飞机跑道不够长,但经验老道的飞行员 还是让飞机滑行了很短一段时间后就停了下来。

Despite the inadequate length of the airstrip in this emergency landing, the veteran pilot managed to stop the plane after taxiing for only a short while.

2. 在记者反复追问下,该影星终于说漏了嘴,承认自己做过两次整

容、手术。

Grilled by the reporters, the movie star eventually blurted (out) that she had undergone two plastic surgeries.

3. 我们有技术,我们的合作伙伴有资金。一起干,我们就掌握了未来。

We have the technology and our partner has the capital. Working together, we’ll have the future in our hands.

4. 要是我实现知道你会带这么多朋友回家,我会好好准备的。你看,我现有的食品和饮料连小吃一顿都不大够。

If I had known beforehand that you would bring so many friends home, I would have made better preparations. You see, I have barely enough food and drinks for a snack.

5. 当人们得知地震灾区将要建造结构更牢固的校舍时,纷纷慷慨解囊。

People gave generously upon learning that new school rooms with stronger structures were to be built in the earthquake-stricken area.

1. 因为约翰不看好欧洲经济,所以把资产转移到了欧洲以外的其他地方。

Due to his pessimistic outlook on the European economy, John has moved his assets from Europe to elsewhere.

2. 我喜欢雇佣年轻人。他们愿意学习,而且忠于职守。

I like hiring young people. They are earnest learners and committed to work.

3. 玛丽和她那些以自己孩子为中心的女友们不同,更在意个人成长。 Unlike her girl friends who center their lives on their children, Mary cares more about her personal growth.

4. 有一大批同事和你意见不和,这是怎么回事?

Why is that a considerable number of colleagues are at odds with you?

5. 中国政府出台了一系列政策以加强同发展中国家的合作。

The Chinese government has introduced a variety of policies to strengthen cooperation with developing countries.

1. 他们正在探索医学研究的心领域,试图治疗那些目前还无药可治的疾病。

They are exploring the new frontiers of medical science in an attempt to find remedies for incurable diseases/ cures for diseases that are beyond remedy so far.

2. 我的数学老师威尔逊女士不仅教学方法独特,而且她从不试图往

我脑子里硬塞知识。

Her unique teaching methods apart, Ms Wilson, my math teacher, never tried to cram knowledge into my head.

3. 中央电视台的定时天气预报使得我们旅行时不管走到哪儿都能知道天启的变化。

The regular weather forecast by the Central TV Station keeps us up with the changes of weather wherever we go on a trip.

4. 可怕的爆炸引起了一场大火,并造成这栋大楼部分倒塌。

The appalling explosion started a big fire and caused the partial collapse of the building.

5. 在现代社会里,浪费时间的方式比以往任何时候都要多,各种各样的娱乐消遣正在吞噬我们宝贵的时间。

In the modern world, there are more ways than ever to waste away time, and all kinds of distractions are eating into our precious time.


第三篇:全新版大学英语综合教程3课文原文及翻译


unit 1 Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream Life

In America many people have a romantic idea of life in the countryside. Many living in towns dream of starting up their own farm, of living off the land. Few get round to putting their dreams into practice. This is perhaps just as well, as the life of a farmer is far from easy, as Jim Doherty discovered when he set out to combine being a writer with running a farm. Nevertheless, as he explains, he has no regrets and remains enthusiastic about his decision to change his way of life. 在美国,不少人对乡村生活怀有浪漫的情感。许多居住在城镇的人梦想着自己办个农场,梦想着靠土地为生。很少有人真去把梦想变为现实。或许这也没有什么不好,因为,正如吉姆·多尔蒂当初开始其写作和农场经营双重生涯时所体验到的那样,农耕生活远非轻松自在。但他写道,自己并不后悔,对自己作出的改变生活方式的决定仍热情不减。

Mr. Doherty Builds His Dream Life

Jim Doherty

1 There are two things I have always wanted to do -- write and live on a farm. Today I'm doing both. I am not in E. B. White's class as a writer or in my neighbors' league as a farmer, but I'm getting by. And after years of frustration with city and suburban living, my wife Sandy and I have finally found contentment here in the country.

多尔蒂先生创建自己的理想生活

吉姆·多尔蒂

有两件事是我一直想做的――写作与务农。如今我同时做着这两件事。作为作家,我和E·B·怀特不属同一等级,作为农场主,我和乡邻也不是同一类人,不过我应付得还行。在城市以及郊区历经多年的怅惘失望之后,我和妻子桑迪终于在这里的乡村寻觅到心灵的满足。

2 It's a self-reliant sort of life. We grow nearly all of our fruits and vegetables. Our hens keep us in eggs, with several dozen left over to sell each week. Our bees provide us with honey, and we cut enough wood to just about make it through the heating season.

这是一种自力更生的生活。我们食用的果蔬几乎都是自己种的。自家饲养的鸡提供鸡蛋,每星期还能剩余几十个出售。自家养殖的蜜蜂提供蜂蜜,我们还自己动手砍柴,足可供过冬取暖之用。

3 It's a satisfying life too. In the summer we canoe on the river, go picnicking in the woods and take long bicycle rides. In the winter we ski and skate. We get excited about sunsets. We love the smell of the earth warming and the sound of cattle lowing. We watch for hawks in the sky and deer in the cornfields.

这也是一种令人满足的生活。夏日里我们在河上荡舟,在林子里野餐,骑着自行车长时间漫游。冬日里我们滑雪溜冰。我们为落日的余辉而激动。我们爱闻大地回暖的气息,爱听牛群哞叫。我们守着看鹰儿飞过上空,看玉米田间鹿群嬉跃。

4 But the good life can get pretty tough. Three months ago when it was 30 below, we spent two miserable days hauling firewood up the river on a sled. Three months from now, it will be 95 above and we will be cultivating corn, weeding strawberries and killing chickens. Recently, Sandy and I had to retile the back roof. Soon Jim, 16 and Emily, 13, the youngest of our four children, will help me make some long-overdue improvements on the outdoor toilet that supplements our indoor plumbing when we are working outside. Later this month, we'll spray the orchard, paint the barn, plant the garden and clean the hen house before the new chicks arrive.

但如此美妙的生活有时会变得相当艰苦。就在三个月前,气温降到华氏零下30度,我们辛苦劳作了整整两天,用一个雪橇沿着河边拖运木柴。再过三个月,气温会升到95度,我们就要给玉米松土,在草莓地除草,还要宰杀家禽。前一阵子我和桑迪不得不翻修后屋顶。过些时候,四个孩子中的两个小的,16岁的吉米和13岁的埃米莉,会帮着我一起把拖了很久没修的室外厕所修葺一下,那是专为室外干活修建的。这个月晚些时候,我们要给果树喷洒药水,要油漆谷仓,要给菜园播种,要赶在新的小鸡运到之前清扫鸡舍。

5 In between such chores, I manage to spend 50 to 60 hours a week at the typewriter or doing reporting for the freelance articles I sell to magazines and newspapers. Sandy, meanwhile, pursues her own demanding schedule. Besides the usual household routine, she oversees the garden and beehives, bakes bread, cans and freezes, drives the kids to their music lessons, practices with them, takes organ lessons on her own, does research and typing for me, writes an article herself now and then, tends the flower beds, stacks a little wood and delivers the eggs. There is, as the old saying goes, no rest for the wicked on a place like this -- and not much for the virtuous either. 在这些活计之间,我每周要抽空花五、六十个小时,不是打字撰文,就是为作为自由撰稿人投给报刊的文章进行采访。桑迪则有她自己繁忙的工作日程。除了日常的家务,她还照管菜园和蜂房,烘烤面包,将食品装罐、冷藏,开车送孩子学音乐,和他们一起练习,自己还要上风琴课,为我做些研究工作并打字,自己有时也写写文章,还要侍弄花圃,堆摞木柴、运送鸡蛋。正如老话说的那样,在这种情形之下,坏人不得闲――贤德之人也歇不了。

6 None of us will ever forget our first winter. We were buried under five feet of snow from December through March. While one storm after another blasted huge drifts up against the house and barn, we kept warm inside burning our own wood, eating our own apples and loving every minute of it.

我们谁也不会忘记第一年的冬天。从12月一直到3月底,我们都被深达5英尺的积雪困着。暴风雪肆虐,一场接着一场,积雪厚厚地覆盖着屋子和谷仓,而室内,我们用自己砍伐的木柴烧火取暖,吃着自家种植的苹果,温馨快乐每一分钟。

7 When spring came, it brought two floods. First the river overflowed, covering much of our land for weeks. Then the growing season began, swamping us under wave after wave of produce. Our freezer filled up with cherries, raspberries, strawberries, asparagus, peas, beans and corn. Then our canned-goods shelves and cupboards began to grow with preserves, tomato juice, grape juice, plums, jams and jellies. Eventually, the basement floor disappeared under piles of potatoes, squash and pumpkins, and the barn began to fill with apples and pears. It was amazing.

开春后,有过两次泛滥。一次是河水外溢,我们不少田地被淹了几个星期。接着一次是生长季节到了,一波又一波的农产品潮涌而来,弄得我们应接不暇。我们的冰箱里塞满了樱桃、蓝莓、草莓、芦笋、豌豆、青豆和玉米。接着我们存放食品罐的架子上、柜橱里也开

始堆满一罐罐的腌渍食品,有番茄汁、葡萄汁、李子、果酱和果冻。最后,地窖里遍地是大堆大堆的土豆、西葫芦、南瓜,谷仓里也储满了苹果和梨。真是太美妙了。

8 The next year we grew even more food and managed to get through the winter on firewood that was mostly from our own trees and only 100 gallons of heating oil. At that point I began thinking seriously about quitting my job and starting to freelance. The timing was terrible. By then, Shawn and Amy, our oldest girls were attending expensive Ivy League schools and we had only a few thousand dollars in the bank. Yet we kept coming back to the same question: Will there ever be a better time? The answer, decidedly, was no, and so -- with my employer's blessings and half a year's pay in accumulated benefits in my pocket -- off I went.

第二年我们种了更多的作物,差不多就靠着从自家树林砍斫的木柴以及仅仅100加仑的燃油过了冬。其时,我开始认真考虑起辞了职去从事自由撰稿的事来。时机选得实在太差。当时,两个大的女儿肖恩和埃米正在费用很高的常春藤学校上学,而我们只有几千美金的银行存款。但我们一再回到一个老问题上来:真的会有更好的时机吗?答案无疑是否定的。于是,带着老板的祝福,口袋里揣着作为累积津贴的半年薪水,我走了。

9 There have been a few anxious moments since then, but on balance things have gone much better than we had any right to expect. For various stories of mine, I've crawled into black-bear dens for Sports Illustrated, hitched up dogsled racing teams for Smithsonian magazine, checked out the Lake Champlain "monster" for Science Digest, and canoed through the Boundary Waters wilderness area of Minnesota for Destinations.

那以后有过一些焦虑的时刻,但总的来说,情况比我们料想的要好得多。为了写那些内容各不相同的文章,我为《体育画报》爬进过黑熊窝;为《史密森期刊》替参赛的一组组狗套上过雪橇;为《科学文摘》调查过尚普兰湖水怪的真相;为《终点》杂志在明尼苏达划着小舟穿越美、加边界水域内的公共荒野保护区。

10 I'm not making anywhere near as much money as I did when I was employed full time, but now we don't need as much either. I generate enough income to handle our $600-a-month mortgage payments plus the usual expenses for a family like ours. That includes everything from music lessons and dental bills to car repairs and college costs. When it comes to insurance, we have a poor man's major-medical policy. We have to pay the first $500 of any medical fees for each member of the family. It picks up 80% of the costs beyond that. Although we are stuck with paying minor expenses, our premium is low -- only $560 a year -- and we are covered against catastrophe. Aside from that and the policy on our two cars at $400 a year, we have no other insurance. But we are setting aside $2,000 a year in an IRA.

我挣的钱远比不上担任全职工作时的收入,可如今我们需要的钱也没有过去多。我挣的钱足以应付每月600美金的房屋贷款按揭以及一家人的日常开销。那些开销包括了所有支出,如音乐课学费、牙医账单、汽车维修以及大学费用等等。至于保险,我们买了一份低收入者的主要医疗项目保险。我们需要为每一位家庭成员的任何一项医疗费用支付最初的500美金。医疗保险则支付超出部分的80%。虽然我们仍要支付小部分医疗费用,但我们的保险费也低--每年只要560美金--而我们给自己生大病保了险。除了这一保险项目,以及两辆汽车每年400美金的保险,我们就没有其他保险了。不过我们每年留出2000美元入个人退休金账户。

11 We've been able to make up the difference in income by cutting back without appreciably lowering our standard of living. We continue to dine out once or twice a month, but now we patronize local restaurants instead of more expensive places in the city. We still attend the opera and ballet in Milwaukee but only a few times a year. We eat less meat, drink cheaper wine and see fewer movies. Extravagant Christmases are a memory, and we combine vacations with story assignments...

我们通过节约开支而又不明显降低生活水准的方式来弥补收入差额。我们每个月仍出去吃一两次饭,不过现在我们光顾的是当地餐馆,而不是城里的高级饭店。我们仍去密尔沃基听歌剧看芭蕾演出,不过一年才几次。我们肉吃得少了,酒喝得便宜了,电影看得少了。铺张的圣诞节成为一种回忆,我们把完成稿约作为度假的一部分??

12 I suspect not everyone who loves the country would be happy living the way we do. It takes a couple of special qualities. One is a tolerance for solitude. Because we are so busy and on such a tight budget, we don't entertain much. During the growing season there is no time for socializing anyway. Jim and Emily are involved in school activities, but they too spend most of their time at home.

我想,不是所有热爱乡村的人都会乐意过我们这种生活的。这种生活需要一些特殊的素质。其一是耐得住寂寞。由于我们如此忙碌,手头又紧,我们很少请客。在作物生长季节,根本就没工夫参加社交活动。吉米和埃米莉虽然参加学校的各种活动,但他俩大多数时间也呆在家里。

13 The other requirement is energy -- a lot of it. The way to make self-sufficiency work on a small scale is to resist the temptation to buy a tractor and other expensive laborsaving devices. Instead, you do the work yourself. The only machinery we own (not counting the lawn mower) is a little three-horsepower rotary cultivator and a 16-inch chain saw.

另一项要求是体力――相当大的体力。小范围里实现自给自足的途径是抵制诱惑,不去购置拖拉机和其他昂贵的节省劳力的机械。相反,你要自己动手。我们仅有的机器(不包括割草机)是一台3马力的小型旋转式耕耘机以及一架16英寸的链锯。

14 How much longer we'll have enough energy to stay on here is anybody's guess -- perhaps for quite a while, perhaps not. When the time comes, we'll leave with a feeling of sorrow but also with a sense of pride at what we've been able to accomplish. We should make a fair profit on the sale of the place, too. We've invested about $35,000 of our own money in it, and we could just about double that if we sold today. But this is not a good time to sell. Once economic conditions improve, however, demand for farms like ours should be strong again.

没人知道我们还能有精力在这里再呆多久--也许呆很长一阵子,也许不是。到走的时候,我们会怆然离去,但也会为自己所做的一切深感自豪。我们把农场出售也会赚相当大一笔钱。我们自己在农场投入了约35,000美金的资金,要是现在售出的话价格差不多可以翻一倍。不过现在不是出售的好时机。但是一旦经济形势好转,对我们这种农场的需求又会增多。

15 We didn't move here primarily to earn money though. We came because we wanted to improve the quality of our lives. When I watch Emily collecting eggs in the evening, fishing with Jim on the river or enjoying an old-fashioned picnic in the orchard with the entire family, I know we've found just what we were looking for.

但我们主要不是为了赚钱而移居至此的。我们来此居住是因为想提高生活质量。当我看着埃米莉傍晚去收鸡蛋,跟吉米一起在河上钓鱼,或和全家人一起在果园里享用老式的野

餐,我知道,我们找到了自己一直在寻求的生活方式。

Donna Barron describes how American family life has changed in recent years. She identifies three forces at work. What are they? Read on to find out. Then ask yourself whether similar forces are at work within China. Will family life here end up going in the same direction? 唐娜·巴伦描述了美国家庭生活近几年来的变化。她指出有三种力量在起作用。是哪三种力量?请读本文。读后问一下自己,同样的力量在中国是否也在起作用。中国的家庭生活最终是否会朝着同一个方向变化?

American Family Life: The Changing Picture

Donna Barron

1 It's another evening in an American household.

美国家庭生活:变化中的景象

唐娜·巴伦

这是美国家庭一个寻常的傍晚。

2 The door swings open at 5:30 sharp. "Hi, honey! I'm home!" In walks dear old Dad, hungry and tired after a long day at the office. He is greeted by Mom in her apron, three happy children, and the aroma of a delicious pot roast.

门在5:30准时推开。“嗨,亲爱的!我回来了!”亲爱的老爸走了进来,他在办公室上了一天的班,肚子饿了,人也累了。迎接他的是系着围裙的妈妈,3个快乐的孩子以及炖肉诱人的香味。

3 After a leisurely meal together, Mom does the dishes. That, after all, is part of her job. The whole family then moves to the living room. There everyone spends the evening playing Scrabble or watching TV.

全家人从容地吃完饭后,妈妈就刷洗碗碟。反正这是她的活。接着全家人聚在起居室。一个晚上大家玩玩牌,看看电视。

4 Then everyone is off to bed. And the next morning Dad and the kids wake up to the sounds and smells of Mom preparing pancakes and sausages for breakfast.

随后各自上床睡觉。第二天早上,爸爸和孩子们在妈妈准备早餐发出的声响和薄饼、香肠散发的香味中醒来。

5 (1) What? You say that doesn't sound like life in your house? Well, you're not alone. In fact, you're probably in the majority. 什么?你说那听起来不像你府上的生活?其实,不仅仅是你一个人这么想。事实上,大多数人很可能都跟你一样这么想的。

6 At one time in America, the above household might have been typical. You can still visit such a home -- on television. Just watch reruns of old situation comedies. (2) Leave it to Beaver,

for example, shows Mom doing housework in pearls and high heels. Dad keeps his suit and tie on all weekend. But the families that operate like Beaver Cleaver's are fewer and fewer. They're disappearing because three parts of our lives have changed: the way we work, the way we eat, and the way we entertain ourselves. Becoming aware of the effects of those changes may help us improve family life.

上面描述的家庭可以说在美国曾一度相当典型。如今你仍能见到这样的家庭――不过得在电视里。只要看一看那些重播的情景剧老片子。例如,《交给比弗吧》一剧中妈妈带着珍珠项链、穿着高跟鞋做家务。爸爸整个周末都穿着西装,戴着领带。但像比弗·克立弗那样的家庭越来越少了。那样的家庭正在消失,因为我们生活中的三个部分发生了变化:我们的工作方式,餐饮方式以及娱乐方式。了解这些变化所带来的影响也许有助于我们改善家庭生活。

7 Let's look first at the changes in the way we work. Today the words "Hi, honey! I'm home!" might not be spoken by dear old Dad. Dear old Mom is just as likely to be saying them. A generation ago, most households could get along on one paycheck -- Dad's. Mom stayed home, at least until the children started school. But today, over half the mothers with young children go to work. An even greater percentage of mothers of older children are in the workforce. And the number of single-parent homes has mushroomed in the last thirty years.

我们先来看一下我们工作方式的变化。今天,“嗨,亲爱的,我回家了!”这句话可能不是出自亲爱的老爸之口。亲爱的老妈也同样可能说这句话。在上一代,大多数家庭可以靠一份工资――爸爸的工资――维持。妈妈呆在家里,至少在孩子上学前是如此。但今天,一半以上有幼儿的母亲外出工作。在职人员中有大孩子的母亲的比例更高。而单亲家庭的数量在过去30年中急剧增长。

8 These changes in work have affected children as well as parents. When only Dad went out to work, children came home from school to Mom. (In TV situation comedies, they came home to Mom and home-baked cookies) Today, we'll find them at an after-school program or a neighbor's house. Or they may come home to no one at all. In every community, children are caring for themselves until their parents return from work. Are these children missing out on an important part of childhood? Or are they developing a healthy sense of self-reliance? These are questions that Mrs. Cleaver never had to deal with.

工作方面的这些变化影响着家长以及孩子。当父亲一人外出上班时,孩子们放学回家有妈妈在。(在情景电视剧里,他们回家有妈妈在,还有家里做的饼干)如今,我们会在晚托班或邻居家里见到他们。要不他们就回到空无一人的家。在各社区,孩子们都自己照管自己,直到父母下班回家。这些孩子会不会失去童年时期本应有的一些重要的东西?还是会因此培养起一种健康的自立意识?这些问题是克立弗太太过去从来不用操心的。

9 In addition, Dad and now Mom are often gone from home longer than ever. Not too long ago, most men worked close to home. The office or factory was just downtown. Dad often walked to work or hitched a ride with a friendly neighbor. But no more.

此外,爸爸,如今还有妈妈,在外的时间常常比以往任何时候都长。不多久前,大多数男人还就近工作。办公室或者工厂就在市区。爸爸经常走着去上班,或者顺路搭友好邻居的车。但现在不一样了。

10 Today's working men and women are commuters. They travel distances to work that would have made their parents gasp. Commutes of forty-five minutes or an hour are common. Workers travel on buses, subways, and crowded highways. Many leave their suburban homes at dawn and don't return until dark. No running home for lunch for today's commuter.

今天的上班男女都是坐车来回的。他们上班距离之远会让他们的父母惊讶得倒抽一口凉气。45分钟或1小时的车程是常见的。上班族坐公共汽车、地铁,或开车行驶在交通拥挤的公路上。不少人一清早就离开位于郊区的家,一直要到天黑了才回来。今天的通勤族不再赶回家吃午饭。

11 And speaking of lunch, there's been a second big change in American family life. If both parents are away from home for long hours, who's whipping up those delicious meals in the kitchen? The answer, more and more, is nobody.

说起午饭,那正是美国家庭生活的第二大变化。要是父母都长时间不在家,那谁在厨房里忙着准备美味的菜肴呢?越来越多听到的回答是没有人做饭。

12 These days, few people have time to shop for and prepare "home-style" meals. The Cleavers were used to dinners of pot roast or chicken. Potatoes, salad, and vegetables went with the main course, with pie or cake for dessert. But this kind of meal takes several hours to fix. People can't spend hours in the kitchen if they get home at 5:30.

如今,很少人有时间采购、烹制“家常”饭菜。克立弗一家常常吃炖肉或炖鸡,除主菜外还有土豆、色拉、蔬菜,甜食是馅饼或蛋糕。但烧这种饭菜要花几个小时。要是人们5:30才回到家,就无法在厨房里呆上几个小时。

13 So what do working families eat? They choose meals that are easy to prepare or are already prepared. Fast food, takeout, and heat-and-serve dishes make up much of the modern American diet. Dad may arrive home with a bag of Big Macs and shakes. Mom may phone out for Chinese food or ask the local pizza parlor to deliver. And more and more people rely on microwaves to thaw frozen food in minutes.

那么双职工家庭吃什么呢?他们选择容易烹制或已经烹制好的食品。快餐,外卖食物,加热即食的菜肴构成了当今美国食谱的很大一部分。爸爸可能带回家一大包巨无霸汉堡包和饮料。 妈妈可能电话定购中国菜,或让附近的比萨店外送。越来越多的人依赖微波炉在几分钟内把冷冻食品解冻。

14 One consequence of these quickly prepared meals is that families spend less time dining together. And classic fast foods, like hamburgers and fries, are meant to be eaten on the run, not slowly enjoyed at the dinner table. The modern family no longer shares the evening meal. As a result, it no longer shares the day's news... or the feeling of togetherness.

这些烹制简易的菜肴造成的后果之一是,一家人一起坐下吃饭的时间少了。传统的快餐,如汉堡包,炸薯条,是让人匆匆忙忙吃的,而不是坐在餐桌旁慢慢享用的。现代家庭不再一起享用晚餐。其结果是,大家不再相互交流一天的事,也感觉不到合家团聚的气氛。

15 Finally, what about after dinner? Is the family evening at least something the Cleavers could relate to?

最后一点,晚饭之后又如何?晚上的家居生活总该跟克立弗家多少有几分相似了吧?

16 Not a chance.

没有丝毫相似之处。

17 We don't have to look outside the home to see the changes. The modern American family entertains itself in ways the Cleavers would never have dreamed of.

我们不必走出家门去看有什么变化。当今美国家庭的娱乐方式是克立弗家无从想像的。

18 Thirty years ago, families gathered around a radio each evening. Later, television took over. Most families had just one set, which they watched together. Today, television and computers bring a dizzying array of entertainment into the home. Cable television provides everything from aerobics classes to Shakespeare. VCRs expand the choices even more. (3) If there's nothing good on network TV or cable, the video store offers the best and worst of Hollywood: recent movies, cartoons, "adult" films, exercise programs, travel, sports, how-to tapes. Computer games, which make viewers part of the action, also provide excitement. Players can compete in the Olympics, search out aliens, or wipe out entire civilizations on their little screens.

三十年前,家家户户每天晚上围坐着听收音机。后来电视机取而代之。大多数家庭只有一台电视机,全家人一起收看。如今,电视机和电脑将多得令人眩目的娱乐活动带入家庭。有线电视播出的节目从有氧操到莎士比亚戏剧无所不有。录像机更是扩大了选择性。要是网络电视或有线电视没有中意的节目,录像制品商店可提供好莱坞制作的品质迥异的各种节目:新近发行的电影、动画片、"成人"电影、体育锻炼节目、旅游、体育以及入门指南录像带。让收看人参与其间的电脑游戏也提供了相当的刺激。游戏者能在奥运会上施展身手,寻找外星人,或者在小小的屏幕上摧毁整个文明国家。

19 With all these choices, it makes sense to own more than one television set. The two-or-more-TV family used to be rare. (4) Nowadays, Dad might want to rent an action movie when Mom's cable shopping service is on. Or Junior is playing a let's-blow-up-Saturn video game while Sis wants to see The Simpsons. Why not invest in several sets? Then each family member can enjoy himself or herself in peace.

有了那么多的选择,拥有一台以上的电视机也就合乎情理了。过去很少有人家拥有一台以上电视机。如今,妈妈在看她的有线电视销售服务节目的时候,爸爸可能想租一部动作片。而在女儿想看《辛普森一家》时,儿子却在玩《让我们炸毁土星》的电子游戏。何不多买几台呢?那样每一个家庭成员都可以互不干扰地看各自喜爱的节目。

20 What's wrong with this picture of today's family?

当今家庭的这一景象有何弊端呢?

21 Only this. Today's Cleavers spend their evenings in front of their separate TV screens. Then they go to bed. The next morning, they rush off to their separate jobs (work and school). They come home at separate times. They eat separately. Finally, they return to their separate TV screens for another evening's entertainment. During all these times, when do they talk to each other or even see each other? When are they a family?

只有一个弊端。今天的克立弗一家晚上各自守着自己的电视机。随后他们各自上床。第二天早上,他们匆匆忙忙各奔各的岗位(上班或上学)。他们在各自不同的时间回家。他们分头吃饭。最后,他们又各自回到自己的电视机前,各自进行晚上的娱乐活动。在所有这些时段当中,他们什么时候相互交谈或见面呢?家人什么时候才相聚呢?

22 Certain realities of modern life cannot change. One is the need, in most families, for both parents to bring home a paycheck. Another is the distance many of us must travel to work or to school. But must everything change? And must we lose the family structure in the process?

现代生活的某些现实无法改变。其一是大多数家庭需要父母两个人的工资收入。其二是许多人必得去较远处上班或上学。可是,非得为此改变一切吗?我们非得在这一过程中丧失原有的家庭结构吗?

23 No one is suggesting that we go back to the 1950s. The Cleaver household was a fantasy even then, not reality. But we might borrow one important lesson from the Cleavers. It is that family life is just as important as work or play. If we agree, we'll find ways of spending more time together. We'll find things to share. And then there will be something right with the picture.

没有人说我们应该回到五十年代去。克立弗家庭即使在当时也只是虚构而非现实。但我们或许能从这一人家获得一个重要的借鉴,即家庭生活和工作、娱乐同样重要。如果我们同意这一看法,我们就能设法找到更多时间聚在一起。我们就能找到共同的兴趣。那样的话,我们家庭生活的情景就颇为美妙了。

unit 2 The Freedom Givers

In 2004 a center in honor of the "underground railroad" opens in Cincinnati. The railroad was unusual. It sold no tickets and had no trains. Yet it carried thousands of passengers to the destination of their dreams.

20xx年,一个纪念“地下铁路”的中心将在辛辛那提州成立。这条铁路不同寻常,它不出售车票,也无火车行驶。然而,它将成千上万的乘客送往他们梦想中的目的地。

The Freedom Givers

Fergus M. Bordewich

1 A gentle breeze swept the Canadian plains as I stepped outside the small two-story house. Alongside me was a slender woman in a black dress, my guide back to a time when the surrounding settlement in Dresden, Ontario, was home to a hero in American history. As we walked toward a plain gray church, Barbara Carter spoke proudly of her great-great-grandfather, Josiah Henson. "He was confident that the Creator intended all men to be created equal. And he never gave up struggling for that freedom."

给人以自由者

弗格斯·M·博得威奇

我步出这幢两层小屋,加拿大平原上轻风微拂。我身边是一位苗条的黑衣女子,把我带回到过去的向导。那时,安大略省得雷斯顿这一带住着美国历史上的一位英雄。我们前往一座普普通通的灰色教堂,芭芭拉·卡特自豪地谈论着其高祖乔赛亚·亨森。“他坚信上帝要所有人生来平等。他从来没有停止过争取这一自由权利的奋斗。”

2 Carter's devotion to her ancestor is about more than personal pride: it is about family honor. For Josiah Henson has lived on through the character in American fiction that he helped inspire: Uncle Tom, the long-suffering slave in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Ironically, that character has come to symbolize everything Henson was not. A racial sellout unwilling to stand up for himself? Carter gets angry at the thought. "Josiah Henson was a man of principle," she said firmly.

卡特对其先辈的忠诚不仅仅关乎一己之骄傲,而关乎家族荣誉。因为乔赛亚·亨森至今仍为人所知是由于他所激发的创作灵感使得一个美国小说人物问世:汤姆叔叔,哈丽特·比彻·斯陀的小说《汤姆叔叔的小屋》中那个逆来顺受的黑奴。具有讽刺意味的是,这一人物所象征的一切在亨森身上一点都找不到。一个不愿奋起力争、背叛种族的黑人?卡特对此颇为愤慨。“乔赛亚·亨森是个有原则的人,”她肯定地说。

3 I had traveled here to Henson's last home -- now a historic site that Carter formerly directed -- to learn more about a man who was, in many ways, an African-American Moses. After winning his own freedom from slavery, Henson secretly helped hundreds of other slaves to escape north to Canada -- and liberty. Many settled here in Dresden with him.

我远道前来亨森最后的居所――如今已成为卡特曾管理过的一处历史遗迹――是为了更多地了解此人,他在许多方面堪称黑人摩西。亨森自己摆脱了黑奴身份获得自由之后,便秘密帮助其他许多黑奴逃奔北方去加拿大――逃奔自由之地。许多人和他一起在得雷斯顿这一带定居了下来。

4 Yet this stop was only part of a much larger mission for me. Josiah Henson is but one name on a long list of courageous men and women who together forged the Underground Railroad, a secret web of escape routes and safe houses that they used to liberate slaves from the American South. Between 1820 and 1860, as many as 100,000 slaves traveled the Railroad to freedom. 但此地只是我所承担的繁重使命的一处停留地。乔赛亚·亨森只是一长串无所畏惧的男女名单中的一个名字,这些人共同创建了这条“地下铁路”,一条由逃亡线路和可靠的人家组成的用以解放美国南方黑奴的秘密网络。在1820年至1860年期间,多达十万名黑奴经由此路走向自由。

5 In October 2000, President Clinton authorized $16 million for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center to honor this first great civil-rights struggle in the U. S. The center is scheduled to open in 2004 in Cincinnati. And it's about time. For the heroes of the Underground Railroad remain too little remembered, their exploits still largely unsung. I was intent on telling their stories. 20xx年10月,克林顿总统批准拨款1600万美元建造全国“地下铁路”自由中心,以此纪念美国历史上第一次伟大的民权斗争。中心计划于20xx年在辛辛那提州建成。真是该建立这样一个中心的时候了。因为地下铁路的英雄们依然默默无闻,他们的业绩依然少人颂扬。我要讲述他们的故事。

6 John Parker tensed when he heard the soft knock. Peering out his door into the night, he recognized the face of a trusted neighbor. "There's a party of escaped slaves hiding in the woods in Kentucky, twenty miles from the river," the man whispered urgently. Parker didn't hesitate. "I'll go," he said, pushing a pair of pistols into his pockets.

听到轻轻的敲门声,约翰·帕克神情紧张起来。他开门窥望,夜色中认出是一位可靠的邻居。“有一群逃亡奴隶躲在肯塔基州的树林里,就在离河20英里的地方,”那人用急迫的口气低语道。帕克没一点儿迟疑。“我就去,”他说着,把两支手枪揣进口袋。

7 Born a slave two decades before, in the 1820s, Parker had been taken from his mother at age eight and forced to walk in chains from Virginia to Alabama, where he was sold on the slave market. Determined to live free someday, he managed to get trained in iron molding. Eventually he saved enough money working at this trade on the side to buy his freedom. Now, by day, Parker worked in an iron foundry in the Ohio port of Ripley. By night he was a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, helping people slip by the slave hunters. In Kentucky, where he was now headed, there was a $1000 reward for his capture, dead or alive.

20年前,即19世纪20年代,生来即为黑奴的帕克才8岁就被从母亲身边带走,被迫拖着镣铐从弗吉尼亚走到阿拉巴马,在那里的黑奴市场被买走。他打定主意有朝一日要过自由的生活,便设法学会了铸铁这门手艺。后来他终于靠这门手艺攒够钱赎回了自由。现在,帕克白天在俄亥俄州里普利港的一家铸铁厂干活。到了晚上,他就成了地下铁路的一位“乘务员”,帮助人们避开追捕逃亡黑奴的人。在他正前往的肯塔基州,当局悬赏1000美元抓他,活人死尸都要。

8 Crossing the Ohio River on that chilly night, Parker found ten fugitives frozen with fear. "Get your bundles and follow me, " he told them, leading the eight men and two women toward the river. They had almost reached shore when a watchman spotted them and raced off to spread

the news.

在那个阴冷的夜晚,帕克渡过俄亥俄河,找到了十个丧魂落魄的逃亡者。“拿好包裹跟我走,”他一边吩咐他们,一边带着这八男二女朝河边走去。就要到岸时,一个巡夜人发现了他们,急忙跑开去报告。

9 Parker saw a small boat and, with a shout, pushed the escaping slaves into it. There was room for all but two. As the boat slid across the river, Parker watched helplessly as the pursuers closed in around the men he was forced to leave behind.

帕克看见一条小船,便大喝一声,把那些逃亡黑奴推上了船。大家都上了船,但有两个人容不下。小船徐徐驶向对岸,帕克眼睁睁地看着追捕者把他被迫留下的两个男人围住。

10 The others made it to the Ohio shore, where Parker hurriedly arranged for a wagon to take them to the next "station" on the Underground Railroad -- the first leg of their journey to safety in Canada. Over the course of his life, John Parker guided more than 400 slaves to safety.

其他的人都上了岸,帕克急忙安排了一辆车把他们带到地下铁路的下一“站”――他们走向安全的加拿大之旅的第一程。约翰·帕克在有生之年一共带领400多名黑奴走向安全之地。

11 While black conductors were often motivated by their own painful experiences, whites were commonly driven by religious convictions. Levi Coffin, a Quaker raised in North Carolina, explained, "The Bible, in bidding us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, said nothing about color."

黑人去当乘务员常常是由于本人痛苦的经历,而那些白人则往往是受了宗教信仰的感召。在北卡罗来纳州长大的贵格会教徒利瓦伊·科芬解释说:“《圣经》上只是要我们给饥者以食物,无衣者以衣衫,但没提到过肤色的事。”

12 In the 1820s Coffin moved west to Newport (now Fountain City), Indiana, where he opened a store. Word spread that fleeing slaves could always find refuge at the Coffin home. At times he sheltered as many as 17 fugitives at once, and he kept a team and wagon ready to convey them on the next leg of their journey. Eventually three principal routes converged at the Coffin house, which came to be the Grand Central Terminal of the Underground Railroad.

在19世纪20年代,科芬向西迁移前往印第安纳州的新港(即今天的喷泉市),在那里开了一家小店。人们传说,逃亡黑奴在科芬家总是能得到庇护。有时他一次庇护的逃亡者就多达17人,他还备有一组人员和车辆把他们送往下一段行程。到后来有三条主要路线在科芬家汇合,科芬家成了地下铁路的中央车站。

13 For his efforts, Coffin received frequent death threats and warnings that his store and home would be burned. Nearly every conductor faced similar risks -- or worse. In the North, a magistrate might have imposed a fine or a brief jail sentence for aiding those escaping. In the Southern states, whites were sentenced to months or even years in jail. One courageous Methodist minister, Calvin Fairbank, was imprisoned for more than 17 years in Kentucky, where he kept a log of his beatings: 35,105 stripes with the whip.

科芬经常由于他做的工作受到被杀的威胁,收到焚毁他店铺和住宅的警告。几乎每一个乘务员都面临类似的危险――或者更为严重。在北方,治安官会对帮助逃亡的人课以罚金,

或判以短期监禁。在南方各州,白人则被判处几个月甚至几年的监禁。一位勇敢的循道宗牧师卡尔文·费尔班克在肯塔基州被关押了17年多,他记录了自己遭受毒打的情况:总共被鞭笞了35,105下。

14 As for the slaves, escape meant a journey of hundreds of miles through unknown country, where they were usually easy to recognize. With no road signs and few maps, they had to put their trust in directions passed by word of mouth and in secret signs -- nails driven into trees, for example -- that conductors used to mark the route north.

至于那些黑奴,逃亡意味着数百英里的长途跋涉,意味着穿越自己极易被人辨认的陌生地域。没有路标,也几乎没有线路图,他们赶路全凭着口口相告的路线以及秘密记号――比如树上钉着的钉子――是乘务员用来标示北上路线的记号。

15 Many slaves traveled under cover of night, their faces sometimes caked with white powder. Quakers often dressed their "passengers," both male and female, in gray dresses, deep bonnets and full veils. On one occasion, Levi Coffin was transporting so many runaway slaves that he disguised them as a funeral procession.

许多黑奴在夜色掩护下赶路,有时脸上涂着厚厚的白粉。贵格会教徒经常让他们的“乘客”不分男女穿上灰衣服,戴上深沿帽,披着把头部完全遮盖住的面纱。有一次,利瓦伊·科芬运送的逃亡黑奴实在太多,他就把他们装扮成出殡队伍。

16 Canada was the primary destination for many fugitives. Slavery had been abolished there in 1833, and Canadian authorities encouraged the runaways to settle their vast virgin land. Among them was Josiah Henson.

加拿大是许多逃亡者的首选终点站。那儿1833年就废除了奴隶制,加拿大当局鼓励逃亡奴隶在其广阔的未经开垦的土地上定居。其中就有乔赛亚·亨森。

17 As a boy in Maryland, Henson watched as his entire family was sold to different buyers, and he saw his mother harshly beaten when she tried to keep him with her. Making the best of his lot, Henson worked diligently and rose far in his owner's regard.

还是孩子的亨森在马里兰州目睹着全家人被卖给不同的主人,看到母亲为了想把自己留在她身边而遭受毒打。亨森非常认命,干活勤勉,深受主人器重。

18 Money problems eventually compelled his master to send Henson, his wife and children to a brother in Kentucky. After laboring there for several years, Henson heard alarming news: the new master was planning to sell him for plantation work far away in the Deep South. The slave would be separated forever from his family.

经济困顿最终迫使亨森的主人将他及其妻儿送到主人在肯塔基州的一个兄弟处。在那儿干了几年苦工之后,亨森听说了一个可怕的消息:新主人准备把他卖到遥远的南方腹地去农庄干活。这名奴隶将与自己的家人永远分离。

19 There was only one answer: flight. "I knew the North Star," Henson wrote years later. "Like the star of Bethlehem, it announced where my salvation lay. "

只有一条路可走:逃亡。“我会认北斗星,”许多年后亨森写道。“就像圣地伯利恒的救星一样,它告诉我在哪里可以获救。”

20 At huge risk, Henson and his wife set off with their four children. Two weeks later, starving and exhausted, the family reached Cincinnati, where they made contact with members of the Underground Railroad. "Carefully they provided for our welfare, and then they set us thirty miles on our way by wagon."

亨森和妻子冒着极大的风险带着四个孩子上路了。两个星期之后,饥饿疲惫的一家人来到了辛辛那提州,在那儿,他们与地下铁路的成员取得了联系。“他们为我们提供了食宿,非常关心,接着又用车送了我们30英里。”

21 The Hensons continued north, arriving at last in Buffalo, N. Y. There a friendly captain pointed across the Niagara River. "'Do you see those trees?' he said. 'They grow on free soil.'" He gave Henson a dollar and arranged for a boat, which carried the slave and his family across the river to Canada.

亨森一家继续往北走,最后来到纽约州的布法罗。在那儿,一位友善的船长指着尼亚加拉河对岸。“‘看见那些树没有?’他说,‘它们生长在自由的土地上。’”他给了亨森一美元钱,安排了一条小船,小船载着这位黑奴及其家人过河来到加拿大。

22 "I threw myself on the ground, rolled in the sand and danced around, till, in the eyes of several who were present, I passed for a madman. 'He's some crazy fellow,' said a Colonel Warren."

“我扑倒在地,在沙土里打滚,手舞足蹈,最后,在场的那几个人都认定我是疯子。‘他是个疯子,’有个沃伦上校说。”

23 "'Oh, no! Don't you know? I'm free!'"

“‘不,不是的!知道吗?我自由了!’”

Jesse Jackson, a well-known leader of black Americans, reviews the progress they have made in recent years. Despite this, he argues, there is still much left to be done before they enjoy full equality.

著名美国黑人领袖杰西·杰克逊回顾了近几年来民权运动所取得的成就。成绩固然不少,但他指出,要享受完全的平等权利,仍有许多工作要做。

The Dream, the Stars and Dr. King

Jesse Jackson

1 Last week in Memphis, we commemorated the death of Dr. Martin Luther King. He was struck down 27 years ago -- not a dreamer, but a man of action. We have come a long way since then, in part as a fruit of his labors.

梦想、星辰与金博士

杰西·杰克逊

上个星期在孟菲斯,我们纪念马丁·路德·金博士逝世。27年前他被击倒了――不是作为一个梦想家,而是作为一个实干家。从那以后,我们取得了巨大进展,其中一部分是他努力的结果。

2 In less than 30 years, as schools opened and ceilings lifted, a large African American middle class has been created. High school graduation rates, even intelligence test results, grow closer between whites and blacks with each passing year.

在不到30年的时间内,由于兴办学校、种种限制被取消,一个为数众多的非洲裔美国中产阶级得以形成。白人与黑人的高中毕业率,甚至智力测试成绩,也都一年比一年更接近。

3 The civil-rights movement that Dr. King led also helped women gain greater opportunity. The same laws that guarantee equal opportunity for African Americans apply to women, to other minorities, to the disabled. (1) Our society benefits as fewer of its people have their genius suppressed or their talents wasted.

金博士领导的民权运动也帮助妇女获得更多的机会。保障非洲裔美国人平等机会的法律同样适用于妇女、其他少数民族以及残疾人。如今天才遭受压抑、才华被浪费的人数减少了,我们的社会因此而受益。

4 We have come a long way -- but we have far to go. Commission after commission, report after report, show that systematic discrimination still stains our country.

我们取得了巨大进展――但我们还有大量的工作要做。一个个委员会的调查,一份份的报告都表明,蓄意的歧视依然玷污我们的国家。

5 African Americans have more difficulty obtaining business loans, buying homes, getting hired. Schools and housing patterns are still largely separate and unequal. Women still face glass ceilings in corporate offices. Ninety-seven percent of the corporate CEOs of the Fortune 500 are

white men. That does not result from talent being concentrated among males with pale skin. 非洲裔美国人在商业贷款、购房、就业方面遇到更多的困难。学校与居住格局在很大程度上仍黑白分隔,无平等可言。妇女在企业管理阶层的发展仍面临着无形的限制。财富杂志500强企业名录中97%的首席执行官是男性白人。这并不是白肤色男士具有才能优势的结果。

6 (2)Today, Dr. King's legacy -- the commitment to take affirmative actions to open doors and opportunity -- is under political assault. Dr. King worked against terrible odds in a hopeful time. America was experiencing two decades of remarkable economic growth and prosperity. It was assumed, as the Kerner Commission made clear, that the "growth dividend" would enable us to reduce poverty and open opportunity relatively painlessly. But the war on poverty was never fought; instead, the dividend and the growth were squandered in the jungles of Vietnam.

今天,金博士的遗产――采取积极行动打开大门、提供机会的承诺――正受到政治上的攻击。金博士在一个充满希望的时代冲破重重困难奋力斗争。美国当时正经历着持续20年的令人惊叹的经济增长与繁荣。正如克纳调查委员会所清楚表明的那样,当时人们认为,“增长红利”会使我们相对来说较为容易地减少贫困、创造机会。但从来不曾发起过消除贫困的战争,相反,那些红利、那些经济增长,都被耗在了越南的丛林之中。

7 Three decades later, the country is more prosperous but the times are less hopeful. Real wages for working people have been declining for 20 years. People are scared for good reason, as layoffs rise to record levels even in the midst of a recovery.

30年之后,国家更加繁荣昌盛,但时势不再那么充满希望。劳动者的实际工资连续20年一路下跌。人们有充分的理由感到恐惧,因为即使在经济复苏之时,下岗人数仍达到创纪录的高度。

8 In this context, prejudice flourishes, feeding on old hates, keeping alive old fears. What else could explain the remarkably dishonest assault on affirmative-action programs that seek to remedy stubborn patterns of discrimination?

在这种情形之下,政治上掠夺成性者利用宿怨和往昔的恐惧变得越发猖獗。不然如何解释对积极行动计划如此颠倒是非的攻击呢?该计划旨在疗治歧视这一痼疾。

9 House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a history professor, sets the tone by simply erasing history. The Washington Post reported: "Gingrich dismissed the argument that those who benefit from affirmative action, commonly African Americans, have been subjected to discrimination over a period of centuries. That is true of virtually every American, Gingrich said, noting that the Irish were discriminated against by the English, for example."

众议院议长纽特·金里奇,一位历史教授,以完全抹杀历史的方式定下了基调。《华盛顿邮报》报道说:“对于受益于积极行动计划的人――通常是非洲裔美国人――几个世纪以来遭受歧视的论点,金里奇拒不接受。金里奇说,几乎每一个美国人都曾受到歧视。他举例说,爱尔兰人曾受到英国人的歧视。”

10 As Roger Wilkins writes in a thoughtful essay in the Nation magazine, this is breathtakingly dishonest for a history professor. Blacks have been on the North American continent for nearly 375 years. For 245 of those, the country practiced slavery. For another 100 or so, segregation was enforced throughout the South and much of the North, often policed by home-grown terrorists. We've had only 30 years of something else, largely the legacy of the struggle led by Dr. King.

正如罗杰·威尔金斯在《国家》杂志上发表的一篇颇具思想深度的文章中所写的那样,对一位历史教授而言,这是骇人听闻的欺骗。黑人来到北美大陆将近375年了。其中的245年中,美国实行奴隶制。在另外大约100年间,南方各州及北方大部分地区实行种族隔离,通常由地方恐怖分子监督实施。我们只有30年免受奴役、隔离的历史,而这在很大程度上是金博士所领导的斗争的产物。

11 The media plays up the "guilt" African Americans supposedly suffer about affirmative action. I can tell you this. Dr. King felt no guilt when special laws gave us the right to vote. He felt no guilt about laws requiring that African Americans have the opportunity to go to schools, to enter universities, to compete for jobs and contracts. This supposed guilt is at best a luxurious anxiety of those who now have the opportunity to succeed or fail.

媒体渲染了所谓非洲裔美国人对于积极行动心怀“愧疚”的说法。我可以告诉你。当特别法令赋予我们投票权时,金博士没有丝毫愧疚。对于那些规定非洲裔美国人有上学、读大学、参与就业竞争与赢得合同竞争的平等机会的法律,金博士没有丝毫愧疚。这种臆想的愧疚充其量是那些业已获得成功或失败的机会的人过分装模作样的忧虑罢了。

12 If Dr. King were alive today, he would be 66, younger than Senator Bob Dole who suggests that discrimination ended "before we were born." Unlike Dole, Dr. King would be

working to bring people together, not drive them apart.

如果金博士仍在人世,他今年66岁,比声称“早在我们出生之前”歧视就不再存在的参议员鲍伯·多尔更年轻。不同于多尔的是,金博士会致力于团结人民,而不是分裂人民。

13 (3) Modern-day conservatives haven't a clue about what to do with an economy that is generating greater inequality and reducing the security and living standards of more and more Americans. So they seek to distract and divide.

今天的经济正造成更大的不平等,并使越来越多的美国人安全感减少、生活水准降低;对于如何应对目前的这种经济形势,当今的保守分子一无所知。于是他们试图分散人们的注意力,分裂人民。

14 As Dole reaffirmed his abandonment of affirmative action, fellow Republican Senator Phil Gramm of Texas called for more cuts from the poor.

正当多尔重申摒弃积极行动计划时,得克萨斯州同样属于共和党的参议员菲尔·格拉姆呼吁进一步削减对穷人的帮助。

15 As we head into this troubling time, we would do well to remember Dr. King's legacy. No matter how desperate things were, no matter how grave the crisis, no matter how many times his dreams were shattered, Dr. King refused to grow bitter. (4) Men and women, he taught, "have the capacity to do right as well as wrong, and [our] history is a path upward, not downward. It's only when it is truly dark that you can see the stars."

我们正进入这样一个多难的时期,此时此刻我们最好记取金博士的遗训。无论情况多么糟糕,无论危机多么严重,无论梦想多少次破碎,金博士都决不会怨恨失望。他教导说,人, 无论是男是女,“既有能力做好事,也有能力做坏事,而我们的历史的道路是向上走的,不是向下走的。 只有在天空漆黑的时候,你才能望见星星。”

unit 3 The Land of the Lock

Years ago in America, it was customary for families to leave their doors unlocked, day and night. In this essay, Greene regrets that people can no longer trust each other and have to resort to elaborate security systems to protect themselves and their possessions.

许多年前,在美国,家家户户白天黑夜不锁门是司空见惯的。在本文中,格林叹惜人们不再相互信任,不得不凭借精密的安全设备来保护自己和财产。

The Land of the Lock

Bob Greene

1 In the house where I grew up, it was our custom to leave the front door on the latch at night. I don't know if that was a local term or if it is universal; "on the latch" meant the door was closed but not locked. None of us carried keys; the last one in for the evening would close up, and that was it.

锁之国

鲍伯·格林

小时候在家里,我们的前门总是夜不落锁。我不知道这是当地的一种说法还是大家都这么说;"不落锁"的意思是掩上门,但不锁住。我们谁都不带钥匙;晚上最后一个回家的人把门关上,这就行了。

2 Those days are over. In rural areas as well as in cities, doors do not stay unlocked, even for part of an evening.

那样的日子已经一去不复返了。在乡下,在城里,门不再关着不锁上,哪怕是傍晚一段时间也不例外。

3 Suburbs and country areas are, in many ways, even more vulnerable than well-patroled urban streets. Statistics show the crime rate rising more dramatically in those allegedly tranquil areas than in cities. At any rate, the era of leaving the front door on the latch is over.

在许多方面,郊区和农村甚至比巡查严密的城市街道更易受到攻击。统计显示,那些据称是安宁的地区的犯罪率上升得比城镇更为显著。不管怎么说,前门虚掩不落锁的时代是一去不复返了。

4 It has been replaced by dead-bolt locks, security chains, electronic alarm systems and trip wires hooked up to a police station or private guard firm. Many suburban families have sliding glass doors on their patios, with steel bars elegantly built in so no one can pry the doors open. 取而代之的是防盗锁、防护链、电子报警系统,以及连接警署或私人保安公司的报警装置。郊区的许多人家在露台上安装了玻璃滑门,内侧有装得很讲究的钢条,这样就没人能把门撬开。

5 It is not uncommon, in the most pleasant of homes, to see pasted on the windows small notices announcing that the premises are under surveillance by this security force or that guard company. 在最温馨的居家,也常常看得到窗上贴着小小的告示,称本宅由某家安全机构或某个保安公司负责监管。

6 The lock is the new symbol of America. Indeed, a recent public-service advertisement by a large insurance company featured not charts showing how much at risk we are, but a picture of a child's bicycle with the now-usual padlock attached to it.

锁成了美国的新的象征。的确,一家大保险公司最近的一则公益广告没有用图表表明我们所处的危险有多大,而是用了一幅童车的图片,车身上悬着如今无所不在的挂锁。

7 The ad pointed out that, yes, it is the insurance companies that pay for stolen goods, but who is going to pay for what the new atmosphere of distrust and fear is doing to our way of life? Who is going to make the psychic payment for the transformation of America from the Land of the Free to the Land of the Lock?

广告指出,没错,确是保险公司理赔失窃物品,但谁来赔偿互不信任、担心害怕这种新氛围对我们的生活方式所造成的影响呢?谁来对美国从自由之国到锁之国这一蜕变作出精神赔偿呢?

8 For that is what has happened. We have become so used to defending ourselves against the new atmosphere of American life, so used to putting up barriers, that we have not had time to think about what it may mean.

因为那就是现状。我们已经变得如此习惯于保护自己不受美国生活新氛围的影响,如此习惯于设置障碍,因而无暇考虑这一切意味着什么。

9 For some reason we are satisfied when we think we are well-protected; it does not occur to us to ask ourselves: Why has this happened? Why are we having to barricade ourselves against our neighbors and fellow citizens, and when, exactly, did this start to take over our lives?

出于某种原因,当我们觉得防范周密时就感到心满意足;我们没有问过自己:为什么会出现这种情况?为什么非得把自己与邻居和同住一城的居民相隔绝,这一切究竟是从什么时候开始主宰我们生活的?

10 And it has taken over. If you work for a medium- to large-size company, chances are that you don't just wander in and out of work. You probably carry some kind of access card, electronic or otherwise, that allows you in and out of your place of work. Maybe the security guard at the front desk knows your face and will wave you in most days, but the fact remains that the business you work for feels threatened enough to keep outsiders away via these "keys."

这一切确是主宰了我们的生活。如果你在一家大中型公司上班,你上下班很可能不好随意进出。你可能随身带着某种出入卡,电子的或别的什么的,因为这卡能让你进出工作场所。也许前台的保安认识你这张脸,平日一挥手让你进去,但事实明摆着,你所任职的公司深感面临威胁,因此要借助这些“钥匙”不让外人靠近。

11 It wasn't always like this. Even a decade ago, most private businesses had a policy of free access. It simply didn't occur to managers that the proper thing to do was to distrust people.

这一现象并非向来有之。即使在十年前,大多数私营公司仍采取自由出入的做法。那时管理人员根本没想到过恰当的手段是不信任他人。

12 Look at the airports. Parents used to take children out to departure gates to watch planes

land and take off. That's all gone. Airports are no longer a place of education and fun; they are the most sophisticated of security sites.

且看各地机场。过去家长常常带孩子去登机口看飞机起飞降落。这种事再也没有了。机场不再是一个有趣的学习场所;它们成了拥有最精密的安全检查系统的场所。

13 With electronic X-ray equipment, we seem finally to have figured out a way to hold the terrorists, real and imagined, at bay; it was such a relief to solve this problem that we did not think much about what such a state of affairs says about the quality of our lives. We now pass through these electronic friskers without so much as a sideways glance; the machines, and what they stand for, have won.

凭借着电子透视装置,我们似乎终于想出妙计让恐怖分子无法近身,无论是真的恐怖分子还是凭空臆想的。能解决这一问题真是如释重负,于是我们不去多想这种状况对我们的生活质量意味着什么。如今我们走过这些电子搜查器时已经看都不看一眼了,这些装置,还有它们所代表的一切已经获胜。

14 Our neighborhoods are bathed in high-intensity light; we do not want to afford ourselves even so much a luxury as a shadow.

我们的居住区处在强光源的照射下;我们连哪怕像阴影这样小小的享受也不想给自己。

15 Businessmen, in increasing numbers, are purchasing new machines that hook up to the telephone and analyze a caller's voice. The machines are supposed to tell the businessman, with a small margin of error, whether his friend or client is telling lies.

越来越多的商人正购置连接在电话机上、能剖析来电者声音的新机器。据说那种机器能让商人知道他的朋友或客户是否在撒谎,其出错概率很小。

16 All this is being done in the name of "security"; that is what we tell ourselves. We are fearful, and so we devise ways to lock the fear out, and that, we decide, is what security means. 所有这一切都是以“安全”的名义实施的:我们是这么跟自己说的。我们害怕,于是我们设法把害怕锁在外面,我们认定,那就是安全的意义。

17 But no; with all this "security," we are perhaps the most insecure nation in the history of civilized man. What better word to describe the way in which we have been forced to live? What sadder reflection on all that we have become in this new and puzzling time?

其实不然;我们虽然有了这一切安全措施,但我们或许是人类文明史上最不安全的国民。还有什么更好的字眼能用来描述我们被迫选择的生活方式呢?还有什么更为可悲地表明我们在这个令人困惑的新时代所感受到的惶恐之情呢?

18 We trust no one. Suburban housewives wear rape whistles on their station wagon key chains. We have become so smart about self-protection that, in the end, we have all outsmarted ourselves. We may have locked the evils out, but in so doing we have locked ourselves in.

我们不信任任何人。郊区的家庭主妇在客货两用车钥匙链上挂着防强暴口哨。我们在自我防卫方面变得如此聪明,最终聪明反被聪明误。我们或许是把邪恶锁在了门外,但在这么做的同时我们把自己锁在里边了。

19 That may be the legacy we remember best when we look back on this age: In dealing with the unseen horrors among us, we became prisoners of ourselves. All of us prisoners, in this time of our troubles.

那也许是我们将来回顾这一时代时记得最牢的精神遗产:在对付我们中间无形的恐惧之时,我们成了自己的囚徒。在我们这个问题重重的时代,所有的人都是囚徒。

Many people in America own handguns. Some, like Gail Buchalter, buy a gun for self-defense. Others, like her friends, refuse to do so because they think that guns cause more problems than they solve. Gail used to share her friends' views, but eventually changed her mind. Read what she has to say and decide whether she made the right choice.

在美国,许多人拥有手枪。有人为了自卫买枪,如盖尔·巴卡尔特。另外一些人则拒绝这么做,比如她的许多朋友,因为他们认为,枪支引发的问题比解决的更多。以前盖尔与她的朋友们持有相同的观点,但后来她改变了看法。读一读她所说的一切,并判定她的选择是否明智。

Why I Bought A Gun

Gail Buchalter

1 I was raised in one of Manhattan's more desirable neighborhoods. My upper-middle-class background never involved guns. If my parents felt threatened, they simply put another lock on the door.

我为什么买枪

盖尔·巴卡尔特

我在曼哈顿一个相当不错的社区长大。我的中上阶级的社会背景从来与枪支无涉。我的父母要是觉得有威胁存在,他们仅仅是在门上再加把锁。

2 By high school, I had traded in my cashmere sweaters for a black arm band. I marched for Civil Rights, shunned Civil Defense drills and protested the Vietnam war. It was easy being 18 and a peacenik. I wasn't raising an 11-year-old child then.

高中时,我用一件开司米羊毛衫跟人换了个黑色的臂章。我参加人权游行,反对国防演习,抗议越南战争。作为妙龄18的少女,当一名反战分子,真是轻松自在。那时我还没有一个11岁的孩子要抚养。

3 (1) Today, I am typical of the women whom gun manufactures have been aiming at as potential buyers -- and one of the millions who have taken the plunge.

时至今日,我成了一个典型的被枪支制造商看重并视为其潜在买主的那种女人--成了成千上万个采取这种行动的人中的一员。

4 I began questioning my pacifist beliefs one Halloween night in Phoenix, where I had moved when I married. I was almost home when another car nearly hit mine head-on. With the speed of a New York cabbie, I rolled down my window and screamed curses as the driver passed. He instantly made a U-turn, almost climbing on my back bumper. By now, he and his two friends

were hanging out of the car windows, yelling that they were going to rape, cut and kill me.

一个万圣节的晚上,在我婚后移居的凤凰城,我开始怀疑自己的和平主义信条。一辆车与我的车差点迎头相撞时,我几乎都到家了。我以纽约城出租车司机的敏捷,快速摇下车窗高声咒骂那位开车的。他当即掉转车头,几乎撞上我的车后保险杠。这时,他和两个同伴从车窗伸出头来,嚷嚷着要强奸我,砍我,杀了我。

5 I already had turned into our driveway when I realized my husband wasn't home. I was trapped. The car had pulled in behind me. I drove up to the back porch and got into the kitchen,

where our dogs stood waiting for me. The three men spilled out of their car and into our yard. 我开进车道才想起丈夫不在家。这下我进退两难。那辆车尾随着跟了进来。我把车开到后门廊停下,冲进厨房,我家的那两条狗站在那儿等我。那三个家伙从汽车里一拥而出,进了院子。

6 My heart was pumping. I grabbed the collars of Jack, our 200-pound Irish wolfhound, and his 140-pound malamute buddy, Slush. Then I kicked open the back door -- I was so scared that I became aggressive -- and actually dared the three creeps to keep coming. With the dogs, the odds had changed in my favor, and the men ran back to the safety of their car, yelling that they'd be back the next day to blow me away. Fortunately, they never returned.

我的心怦怦直跳。我抓起杰克和斯露西的颈圈――一条是200磅重的爱尔兰狼狗,另一条是它的伙伴,140磅重的北极犬。随后我一脚踢开后门――我吓坏了,变得暴躁好斗――事实上我要激那三人过来。有狗相助,局势变得对我有利,他们退回安全的车里,嚷嚷着说要明天来宰了我。总算幸运,他们没再露面。

7 A few years and one divorce later, I headed for Los Angeles with my 3-year-old son, Jordan (the dogs had since departed). When I put him in preschool a few weeks later, the headmistress noted that I was a single parent and immediately warned me that there was a rapist in my new neighborhood.

几年后,我离了婚,带着3岁的儿子乔丹前往洛杉矶(那两条狗也死了)。几个星期后我送他去幼儿园,老师发现我是个单身母亲,马上提醒我,我刚搬入的居住区里有个强奸犯。

8 I called the police, who confirmed this fact. The rapist followed no particular pattern. Sometimes he would be waiting in his victim's house; other times he would break in while the person was asleep. Although it was summer, I would carefully lock my windows at night and then lie there and sweat in fear. Thankfully, the rapist was caught, but not before he had attacked two more women.

我给警察局打了个电话,他们证实了这一情况。那个强奸犯没有什么特别的作案规律。有时他在受害者家里等候,有时他趁人入睡时潜入。当时正是夏天,可夜间我还是谨慎地锁住窗户,然后躺在床上,吓得浑身是汗。谢天谢地,那个强奸犯被逮捕了,可那是在他又强暴了两名女子之后。

9 Soon the papers were telling yet another tale of senseless horror. Richard Bamirez, who became known as "The Walk-In Killer," spent months crippling and killing before he was caught.

(2) His alleged crimes were so brutal, his desire to inflict pain so intense, that I began to question

my beliefs about not taking human life under any circumstances. The thought of taking a human life disgusts me, but the idea of being someone's victim is worse. And how, I began to ask myself, do you talk pacifism to a murderer or a rapist?

不久,报纸上又报道起另一个丧心病狂的恐怖人物的事来。此人名叫理查德·巴米里,人称“入室杀手”,被抓获前,一连几个月残害、杀死他人。据称他的犯罪行为非常野蛮,他加害于人的欲望非常强烈,这使我开始对自己在任何情况下决不杀人的信念产生了怀疑。取人性命的想法令我憎恨,但成为他人受害者的念头更可怕。我开始问自己,你怎么跟一个杀人犯或强奸犯来谈论和平呢?

10 Finally, I decided that I would defend myself, even if it meant killing another person. (3) I realized that the one-sided pacifism I once so strongly had advocated could backfire on me and worse, on my son. Reluctantly, I concluded that I had to insure the best option for our survival. My choices: to count on a cop or to own a pistol.

最后,我决定要自我防卫,哪怕这意味着杀死他人。我意识到,自己曾积极提倡的一厢情愿的和平主义会为害自身,更糟的是,会为害我的儿子。于是我极不情愿地决定:为了我们的生存,我必须确保有一个最佳选择方案。我的选择:依靠警察,或拥有一支枪。

11 I called a man I had met a while ago who, I remembered, owned several guns. He told me he had a Smith & Wesson 38 Special for sale and recommended it, since it was small enough for me to handle yet had the necessary stopping power.

我给不久前认识的一个人打电话,我记得他有好几支枪。他告诉我,他有一支史密斯-韦森0.38口径特种枪要出售,建议我买下,因为那支枪小巧好使,又有必要的威慑力。

12 I bought the gun. That same day, I got six rounds of special ammunition with plastic tips that explode on impact. These are not for target practice; these are for protection.

我买下了枪。在同一天,我弄到了6发包着塑料头、一撞击就崩碎的特别的子弹。这些子弹不是打靶练习用的,是防身用的。

13 For about $50, I also picked up a metal safety box. Its push-button lock opens with a touch if you know the proper combination, possibly taking only a second or two longer than it does to reach into a night-table drawer. Now I knew that my son, Jordan, couldn't get his hands on it while I still could.

花了大约50美元,我还买了个金属安全盒。如果知道正确的暗码,它的按钮式锁一碰就开,大概比伸手去床头柜抽屉取他只慢一两秒钟。我知道儿子乔丹拿不到它,但我拿得到。

14 When I brought the gun home, Jordan was fascinated by it. He kept picking it up, while I nervously watched. But knowledge, I believe, is still our greatest defense. And since I'm in favor of education for sex, AIDS and learning to drive, I couldn't draw the line at teaching my son about guns.

我把枪拿回家,乔丹兴奋得不得了。他不停地拿起来看,我紧张地瞧着。但我相信,知识仍是我们最有力的防范手段。由于我主张对孩子进行性知识教育,艾滋病知识教育,以及让孩子学会开车,我不能不赞成教儿子关于枪的知识。

15 Next, I took the pistol and my son to the target range. I rented a 22-caliber pistol for Jordan.

(A .38 was too much gun for him to handle.) I was relieved when he put it down after 10 minutes -- he didn't like the feel of it.

随后,我携枪带儿子去射击场。我给乔丹租了一支0.22口径的手枪。(0.38口径的他摆弄不了。)10分钟后他放下了枪,我不禁松了口气――他不喜欢握枪的感觉。

16 But that didn't prevent him from asking me if he should use the gun if someone broke into our house while I wasn't home. I shouted "no!" so loud, we both jumped. I explained that, if someone ever broke in, he's young and agile enough to leap out the window and run for his life. 但他并不因此不来问我,如果我不在家时有人闯入,他能不能用枪。我大喝一声“不行!”,喊声响得把我们都吓得跳了起来。我解释说,要是真有人闯入,他人小,又灵活,完全可以跳窗逃生。

17 Today he couldn't care less about the gun. Every so often, when were watching television in my room, I practice opening the safety box, and Jordan times me. I'm down to three seconds. I'll ask him what's the first thing you do when you handle a gun, and he looks at me like I'm stupid, saying: "Make sure it's unloaded. But I'm not to touch it or tell my friends about it." Jordan's already bored with it all.

如今他对那支枪早没了兴趣。两人在我的卧室一起看电视时,我常常练习开启安全盒,乔丹替我计时。我已经快到只需要3秒钟了。我会问他,拿枪时第一件要做的事是什么,他像看傻瓜似的看着我,说:“要看看子弹是不是没上膛。不过我是不会去碰它,也不会跟朋友们说的。”乔丹对枪已经厌倦了。

18 I, on the other hand, look forward to Mondays -- "Ladies' Night" at the target range -- when I get to shoot for free. I buy a box of bullets and some targets from the guy behind the counter, put on the protective eye and ear coverings and walk through the double doors to the firing lines.

而我则盼着每个星期一――射击场的“女士专场”――我可以免费练习射击。我在柜台上买一盒子弹,几个靶子,戴上护眼罩和护耳罩,穿过双层门,来到射击区。

19 Once there, I load my gun, look down the sights of the barrel and adjust my aim. I fire six rounds into the chest of a life-sized target hanging 25 feet away. As each bullet rips a hole through the figure drawn there, I realize I'm getting used to owning a gun and no longer feeling faint when I pick it up. The weight of it has become comfortable in my hand. And I am keeping my promise to practice. Too many people are killed by their own guns because they don't know how to use them.

到了那儿,我把子弹装上膛,看着枪管上的瞄准器调整瞄准方向。我对着25英尺开外的真人大小的靶子的胸部连发6弹。随着一发发子弹洞穿对面画着的图像,我意识到,自己正在习惯拥有枪支,拿枪时不再害怕了。枪的重量在手上已觉得挺舒服。我坚持练习。太多的人由于不知如何使用枪而死在自己的枪下。

20 It took me years to decide to buy a gun, and then weeks before I could load it. It gave me nightmares.

我花了好多年才决定买枪,又花了好几个星期才学会把子弹装上膛。枪让我恶梦不断。

21 One night I dreamed I woke up when someone broke into our house. I grabbed my gun and sat waiting at the foot of my bed. Finally, I saw him turn the corner as he headed toward me. He was big and filled the hallway -- an impossible target to miss. I didn't want to shoot, but I knew my survival was on the line. (4) I wrapped my finger around the trigger and finally squeezed it, simultaneously accepting the intruder's death at my own hand and the relief of not being a victim. I woke up as soon as I decided to shoot.

一天夜晚,我梦见自己醒来,发现有人闯进屋子。我一把抓起枪,坐在床脚处等着。最后我看着他拐过墙角朝我走来。他很高大,把过道都堵住了――根本不可能击不中。我不想开枪,但我知道生死在此一搏。我手指扣住扳机,最后用力一扣,准备在亲手结束侵入者性命的同时庆幸自己没有成为牺牲品。就在我决定开枪时我醒了。

22 I was tearfully relieved that it had only been a dream.

我如释重负,不由得热泪长流,幸亏这只是个梦。

23 I never have weighed the consequences of an act as strongly as I have that of buying a gun -- but, then again, I never have done anything with such deadly consequences. Most of my friends refuse even to discuss it with me. They believe that violence leads to violence.

我从来没有像在买枪一事上对某种行为的后果如此反复权衡――可是,我也从来没做过后果如此严重的事。我的大多数朋友甚至不肯跟我谈论这事。他们认为,暴力只能导致暴力。

24 They're probably right.

他们或许是对的。

unit 4 The Watery Place

It was just an error, a stupid error, the kind anyone could make. Only now Earth is never going to have another visitor from space. Not ever.

这仅仅是一个错误,一个愚蠢的错误,那种人人都可能犯的错误。只是从今往后再也不会有太空客前来访问地球了。再也不会了。

The Watery Place

Issac Asimov

1 We're never going to have visitors from space. No extraterrestrials will ever land on Earth -- at least, any more.

水 乡

伊萨克·阿西莫夫

我们不会再有太空游客前来了。外星人将不会登陆地球――至少是再也不会了。

2 I'm not just being a pessimist. As a matter of fact, extraterrestrials have landed. I know that. Space ships are crisscrossing space among a million worlds, probably, but they will never come here. I know that, too. All on account of a ridiculous error.

我这不是悲观。事实上,外星人登陆过地球。这个我知道。在宇宙的千百万颗星球当中穿梭往来的太空飞船可能有许多,可它们永远不会再来我们这儿了。这我也知道。而这一切都是由于一个荒唐的错误导致的。

3 I'll explain.

且听我解释。

4 It was actually Bart Cameron's error and you'll have to understand about Bart Cameron. He's the sheriff at Twin Gulch, Idaho, and I'm his deputy. Bart Cameron is an impatient man and he gets most impatient when he has to work up his income tax. You see, besides being sheriff, he also owns and runs the general store, he's got some shares in a sheep ranch, he's got a kind of pension for being a disabled veteran (bad knee) and a few other things like that. Naturally, it makes his tax figures complicated.

这实际上是巴特·卡默伦的错,所以你得对巴特·卡默伦这人有所了解。他是爱达荷州特温加尔奇的治安官,我是他的副手。巴特·卡默伦是个脾气暴躁的人,到了他不得不整理个人应缴多少所得税时更是容易光火。你想,他除了当治安官,还经营着一家杂货铺,并拥有一家牧羊场的股份,同时还享有残疾退伍军人(膝盖受过伤)津贴,以及其他某些类似的津贴。这样一来他的个人所得税计算起来自然就变得复杂。

5 It wouldn't be so bad if he'd let a taxman work on the forms with him, but he insists on doing it himself and it makes him a bitter man. By April 14, he isn't approachable. 要是他让税务人员帮他填表就不至于那么糟糕,可他非得要自己填,于是填得他牢骚满腹。每年到

了4月14日,他就变得难以接近。

6 So it's too bad the flying saucer landed on April 14, 1956.

那个飞碟在19xx年4月14日这一天登陆真是大错特错。

7 I saw it land. My chair was backed up against the wall in the sheriff's office, and I was looking at the stars through the windows and wondering if I ought to knock off and hit the sack or keep on listening to Cameron curse real steady as he went over his columns of figures for the hundred twenty-seventh time.

我是看着它降落的。当时我的椅子背靠着治安官办公室的墙,我正望着窗外的星星,琢磨着是不是该下班去睡觉,还是继续听卡默伦骂个不停,他正在第127次核对他在税单上填写的一栏栏数字。

8 It looked like a shooting star at first, but then the track of light broadened into two things that looked like rocket exhausts and the thing came down without a sound.

一开始像是颗流星,可接着那轨迹越来越亮,变成两个光点,就像是火箭喷出的气流,那个东西一点没出声就着落了。

9 Two men got out.

两个人走了出来。

10 I couldn't say anything or do anything. I couldn't choke or point; I couldn't even bug my eyes. I just sat there.

我没法说话,也无法做事。喉部肌肉僵直,也没法用手示意,甚至眼睛都没法瞪大。我就那么呆坐着。

11 Cameron? He never looked up.

卡默伦?他压根儿就没抬起过头。

12 There was a knock on the door. It opened and the two men from the flying saucer stepped in. I would have thought they were city fellows if I hadn't seen the flying saucer land. They wore gray suits, with white shirts and dark red-brown ties. They had on black shoes and black hats. They had dark complexions, black wavy hair and brown eyes. They had very serious looks on their faces and were about five foot ten apiece. They looked very much alike.

有敲门声。门开了,飞碟上的那两个人走了进来。要不是我看着飞碟降落,我还会以为他们就是镇上的人。两人身着灰套装、白衬衣,戴着深红棕色的领带。他们穿着黑皮鞋,戴着黑帽子,肤色黑黑的,卷曲的头发黑黑的,眼睛呈棕色。两人神情严肃,身高都在5.10英尺左右,看上去非常相象。

13 God, I was scared.

天哪,我害怕极了。

14 But Cameron just looked up when the door opened and frowned. He said, "What can I do for you, folks?" and he tapped his hand on the forms so it was obvious he hadn't much time.

可卡默伦只是在门开的那会儿略一抬头,皱了皱眉头。 “有什么事吗,伙计?”他边说边用手拍着税单,显然正忙着呢。

15 One of the two stepped forward. He said, "We have had your people under observation a long time." He pronounced each word carefully and all by itself.

那两人中的一个走上前说道:“我们对你们的人已经观察很久了。”他说话时小心翼翼一字一顿的。

16 Cameron said, "My people? All I got's a wife. What's she been doing?"

卡默伦说:“我们的人?我只有老婆一个人。她干什么来着?”

17 The fellow in the suit said, "We have chosen this locality for our first contact because it is isolated and peaceful. We know that you are the leader here."

穿西装的那人说:“我们选择此地作为第一接触点,因为这里偏僻安静。我们知道您是这里的首领。”

18 "I'm the sheriff, if that's what you mean, so spit it out. What's your trouble?"

“我是治安官,这是你要说的吧,有什么话就直说, 你们遇到什么麻烦了?”

19 "We have been careful to adopt your mode of dress and even to assume your appearance. We have also learned your language."

“我们非常谨慎,沿用了你们的衣着模式,甚至采用了你们的外貌。我们还学习了你们的语言。”

20 You could see the light break in on Cameron. He said, "You guys foreigners?" Cameron didn't go much for foreigners, never having met many outside the army, but generally he tried to be fair.

你可以看到卡默伦脸上开始现出领悟的神情。他说:“你俩是外国人?”卡默伦不怎么喜欢外国人,退伍后就没怎么见过外国人,不过总的来说他尽力做到为人公正。

21 The man from the saucer said, "Foreigners? Indeed we are. We come from the watery place your people call Venus."

飞碟来人说:“外国人?正是如此。我们来自你们称之为金星的水乡。”

22 Cameron never blinked an eye. He said, "All right. This is the U.S.A. We all got equal rights regardless of race, color, or nationality. I'm at your service. What can I do for you?"

卡默伦连眼也没眨一下便说:“好吧。这里是美国。我们这儿不论种族、肤色、国籍,一律平等。我为你们效劳。你们有何贵干?”

23 "We would like to have you make immediate arrangements for the important men of your U.S.A., as you call it, to be brought here for discussions leading to your people joining our great organization."

“我们希望您马上与贵国,即你们所说的美国的要人联系,前来此地商讨加入我们组织的事宜。”

24 Slowly, Cameron got red. "Our people join your organization. We're already part of the U.N. and God knows what else. And I suppose I'm to get the President here, eh? Right now? In Twin Gulch? Send a hurry-up message?" He looked at me, as though he wanted to see a smile on my face, but I couldn't as much as fall down if someone had pushed the chair out from under me. 卡默伦的脸色渐渐涨红。“我们加入你们的组织。我们已经是联合国的成员了,天知道还有别的什么。我想是让我把总统找来,呃?就现在?前来特温加尔奇?要我送去一封加快信?”他看了看我,似乎想在我脸上看到一丝笑意,可此刻若有人从我身后把椅子抽开,我也不会摔倒在地。

25 The saucer man said, "Speed is desirable."

飞碟来人说:“事不宜迟。”

26 "You want Congress, too? The Supreme Court?"

“你们想不想要国会也来?还有最高法院?”

27 "If they will help, sheriff."

“那也无妨,治安官。”

28 And Cameron really went to pieces. He banged his income tax form and yelled, "Well, you're not helping me, and I have no time for wise guys who come around, especially foreigners. If you don't get the hell out of here straight away, I'll lock you up for disturbing the peace and I'll never let you out."

这下卡默伦真的气坏了。他把税单向桌上重重地一摔,叫道:“好啊,你们跟我添乱,我可没时间跟你们这些自作聪明的人纠缠,尤其是外国人。要是你们不马上从这里滚出去,我就以扰乱治安罪把你们关起来,永远不放你们出来。”

29 "You wish us to leave?" said the man from Venus.

“您是要我们离开?”金星人问。

30 "Right now! Get the hell out of here and back to wherever you're from and don't ever come back. I don't want to see you and no one else around here does."

“这就走!滚出去,滚回你们老家去,别再回来。我不想见到你们,这儿谁都不想见到你们。”

31 The two men looked at each other.

那两人对望了一眼。

32 Then the one who had done all the talking said, "I can see in your mind that you really wish, with great intensity, to be left alone. It is not our way to force ourselves or our organization on people who do not wish us or it. We will respect your privacy and leave. We will not return. We will put a warning around your world and none will enter."

一直作为发言人的那人于是说:“看得出您确实极其不愿受到打搅。我们从不愿将我们自己或我们组织的意见强加于无意接受者。我们尊重您的私人自由,马上离开。我们将不

再返回。我们会在你们地球周围发布警告,不再会有人前来。”

33 Cameron said, "Mister, I'm tired of this garbage, so I'll count to three -- "

卡默伦说:“先生,够了,别再胡说八道了,我要开始数3――”

34 They turned and left, and I just knew that everything they said was so. I was listening to them, you see, which Cameron wasn't, because he was busy thinking of his income tax, and it was as though I could hear their minds, know what I mean? I knew that there would be a kind of fence around earth, keeping others out.

那两人转身离去,我当然知道他们说的句句是实话。你知道,我一直在听他们说,卡默伦可没有,他一心只想着他的税单,而且我似乎知道了他们脑子里在想什么,你明白我的意思吗?我知道地球周围会竖起一道屏障,使他人无法进入。

35 And when they left, I got my voice back -- too late. I screamed, "Cameron, for God's sake, they're from space. Why'd you send them away?"

他们走了之后,我才能又开口说话――已经太迟了。我高声叫起来:“天哪,卡默伦,他们是从太空来的。你为什么要赶他们走?”

36 "From space!" He stared at me.

“从太空来的!”他两眼瞪着我。

37 I yelled, "Look!" I don't know how I did it, he being twenty-five pounds heavier than I, but I heaved him to the window by his shirt collar.

我大喝一声:“你看!”我到现在都不明白是怎么一回事,他比我重了25英磅,可我竟然扯着他的衣领把他拽到了窗前。

38 He was too surprised to resist and when he recovered his wits enough to make like he was going to knock me down, he caught sight of what was going on outside the window and the breath went out of him.

他震惊之下都没有反抗,等他回过神来想要把我击倒时,正好看见窗外的情景,顿时气都喘不出来了。

39 They were getting into the flying saucer, those two men, and the saucer sat there, large, round, shiny and kind of powerful, you know. Then it took off. It went up easy as a feather and a red-orange glow showed up on one side and got brighter as the ship got smaller till it was a shooting star again, slowly fading out.

他们正在进入飞碟,就是那两人,飞碟就在那儿,知道吗,大大的, 圆圆的,亮晶晶的,挺有气势的。接着飞碟起飞了。它轻轻巧巧地上升,像根羽毛似的,一侧发出一道桔红色的光芒,那光越来越强烈,飞碟变得越来越小,最后重新变成一颗流星渐渐消失。

40 And I said, "Sheriff, why'd you send them away? They had to see the President. Now they'll never come back."

我说:“治安官,你什么要赶他们走?他们要见总统。这下他们再也不会回来了。”

41 Cameron said, "I thought they were foreigners. They said they had to learn our language.

And they talked funny."

卡默伦说:“我当他们是外国人。他们说的,要学我们的语言。而且他们说的话莫名其妙。”

42 "Oh, fine. Foreigners."

“哼,得了,还外国人呢。”

43 "They said they were foreigners and they looked Italian. I thought they were Italian." “他们说自己是外国人,两人看上去像是意大利人。我以为他们是意大利人。”

44 "How could they be Italian? They said they were from the planet Venus. I heard them. They said so."

“他们怎么会是意大利人呢?他们说他们是从金星来的。我听见的。他们是这么说的。”

45 "The planet Venus." His eyes got real round.

“金星。”他的眼睛瞪得越发圆了。

46 "They said it. They called it the watery place or something. You know Venus has a lot of water on it."

“他们是这么说的。他们把它叫做水乡什么的。要知道,金星上多的是水。”

47 But you see, it was just an error, a stupid error, the kind anyone could make. Only now Earth is never going to have another Venusian visit us. That dope, Cameron, and his income tax! 所以你瞧,这仅仅是个错误,一个愚蠢的错误,那种人人都可能犯的错误。只是从今往后地球上再也不会有任何金星人来访了。卡默伦这个笨蛋,还有他那该死的税单!

48 Because he whispered, "Venus! When they talked about the watery place, I thought they meant Venice!"

只听他嘀咕道:“金星!他们说水乡的时候,我还以为他们指的是威尼斯呢!”

Is there life on other planets? Not on those surrounding our sun, it seems. But what of other stars? Do they have planets capable of supporting life? This article sets out to explore the possibilities.

其他行星上是否有生命存在?太阳周围的那些行星上似乎没有。但在其他星系呢?它们是否拥有能维持生命的行星?本文试图探索这种可能性。

Is There Life on Planets Circling Other Stars?

Isaac Asimov

1 There is probably no life of our type in the solar system outside Earth itself. But is there life on planets circling other stars?

绕其他恒星运行的行星上有生命吗?

伊萨克·阿西莫夫

除了地球,在太阳系或许没有类似我们这样的生命的存在。可是,环绕其他恒星运行的星球上有生命吗?

2 Before we can really try to answer that, we have to ask if there are planets circling other stars. Over five hundred years ago, Nicholas of Cusa took it for granted that there were. Modern astronomers think he is likely to have been right, for if our solar system was formed from a cloud of dust and gas that automatically formed planets, that should be true of many other stars as well, and even, perhaps, of nearly all stars.

在试图回答这个问题之前,我们得问一下是否有行星环绕其他恒星运行。五百多年前,库萨的尼古拉斯想当然地认为是有的。现代天文学家认为他很可能是对的,因为如果我们的太阳系在由尘埃和气体组成的云团生成的同时也自动生成了若干行星的话,那么其它许多恒星,甚至可能几乎所有恒星,也应该如此。

3 But that is risky reasoning. It would be much better if one star, aside from our own sun, were actually found to have a planetary system. Unfortunately, even with our present-day instruments, we can't see any planets circling other stars. Such a planet would be 4.4 light-years away, even if it were circling the very nearest star, and it would be shining only by the reflected light of that star, so that it would not deliver enough light to be seen at that distance. There is an answer, however. Sirius B was discovered by Bessel because its gravitational pull was forcing Sirius A to move in a wavy line, not because it was seen through a telescope. Might a planet, or group of planets, do the same for the stars they circle?

但这只是大胆的推理。如果能在太阳系以外真的发现一颗有行星系统的恒星,那这一推理就有根据多了。很遗憾,即使借助于当今的先进仪器,我们还是没法看到任何行星环绕其他恒星运行。哪怕环绕着距离我们最近的恒星运行,这种行星也将会远在4.4光年以外,而且由于行星仅仅依靠恒星的反射而发光,因此它发出的光在如此之远处是不可能被看见的。不过,答案还是有的。贝塞尔发现天狼B星不是通过望远镜看见的,而是由于其引力作用使得天狼A星呈波浪形运行。会不会有一颗行星,或一组行星,对它们所环行的恒星产生同样的作用呢?

4 In theory, yes, though the effect would be extremely small. (1) The best chance for detecting a planet outside our solar system is to choose a star that is very close to us so that we can measure any deviation from its path most accurately. It should also be small, so that a planet could affect its motion sufficiently, and the planet itself would have to be very large to produce a sizable effect. 这在理论上是成立的,尽管其作用将是极其微小的。探测太阳系外行星最有可能的机会是选择一颗离我们相当近的恒星,这样我们就能非常精确地测量其运行轨道的任何偏离。这颗恒星要小,这样行星就能明显地影响其运行,而那颗行星一定要相当之大,足以对其产生相当的影响。

5 The Dutch-American astronomer Peter Van de Kamp investigated nearby small stars for just that purpose. He felt that he had detected tiny irregularities in the motion of nearby stars such as 61 Cygni, Lalande 21185, and, in particular, Barnard's Star. In addition to being very near us, Barnard's Star is quite small and Van de Kamp thought that from its motion he had detected a Jupiter-sized planet circling it. He found similar large planets in connection with the other stars he

studied. But his work was at the very edge of what his instruments could detect, and later astronomers since have decided that his results were not reliable. 荷兰裔美国天文学家彼得·范德肯普为此观测了附近的小恒星。他认为自己观测到了附近恒星运行的细微的异常之处,如天鹅座61,拉兰德21185,尤其是巴纳德恒星。巴纳德恒星不仅与地球距离相当接近,而且比较小。彼得·范德肯普认为,他在该恒星的运行过程中发现有一颗与木星一样大小的行星环绕其运行。他发现同样大小的行星与他所研究的其他恒星也有这种联系。但他的研究超出了他的器材所能观测的范围,后来的天文学家认定,他的研究结果并不可靠。

6 On the other hand, in the last couple of years some bright stars have been found to be surrounded by bands of dust. It is hard to avoid thinking these might be asteroid belts, and where asteroids exist, larger planets ought to exist, too. Nevertheless, we still have not actually observed any planets circling other stars, and must be satisfied with reasoning they are very likely to exist just the same.

在另一方面,近年来发现有一些光线强烈的恒星为尘埃团所环绕。人们不禁要猜测,这些尘埃团可能是小行星带,而小行星带存在之处,也应该有较大的行星存在。然而,我们尚未能真正观测到任何环绕其他恒星运行的行星,只能推测它们是有可能存在的。

7 If, however, there are planets circling most stars, what does that tell us about the possibility of life on those planets?

然而,即使大多数恒星都有行星环绕运行,这与行星上是否可能存在生命又有什么联系呢?

8 Life certainly can't exist on any world that is part of another planetary system, just as it cannot exist on any world in our own planetary system. The planet has to be suitable for life. 生命当然不会在别的行星系的任何一个星球上存在,正如生命并不存在于我们的行星系中的任何一颗星球上一样。有生命存在的行星必须拥有适合生命存在的条件。

9 For one thing, a planet would have to have a reasonably stable orbit. (2) If it had an erratic orbit, there might be times when its temperature would rise above the boiling point of water or, at other times, drop below Antarctic temperatures, and there would not be much chance of finding life as we know it. What's more, a planet would have to be massive enough to hold on to an atmosphere and an ocean, but not so massive that it collected hydrogen and helium.

首先,这样的行星要有相对固定的运行轨道。如果运行轨道不定,很可能行星的温度时而会高于水的沸点,时而又会低于南极气温,那样就不太有可能找到我们所熟悉的生命。还有,这样的行星必须具有相当规模,足以保持住大气层以及大片水面,但又不能过于巨大,不然会积聚氢气和氦气。

10 (3) But even assuming that a planet is the right size and has the proper chemical composition and a stable orbit neither too far from its star nor too close, so that its temperature is at all times in the range of liquid water (as is true of Earth except for the polar regions), a great deal would still depend on the kind of star it was revolving about. Stars that are much more massive than the sun, for instance, would not be very apt to have such planets; their lives on the

main sequence are too short. After all, here on Earth, organisms as advanced as primitive shellfish did not appear until life had existed on the planet for 3 billion years. If that is the normal rate of evolution, then a planet circling a star such as Sirius could never have life advanced beyond the simplest form of bacterial life, for after a mere half-billion years, Sirius would become a red giant and destroy the planet.

但是即使假定有一颗行星,它的大小正好,化学成分适宜,运行轨道稳定,与恒星的距离既不太远也不太近,气温始终保持在液态水温的范围之内(正如地球上极地以外地区的温度一样),那儿是否存在生命,在很大程度上仍得取决于它所围绕运转的是什么样的恒星。例如,远比太阳巨大的恒星不太可能拥有这类行星;在主星序中它们的生命过于短暂。在我们的地球上,即便像原始壳类动物这样的生物也直到生命在地球上出现了30 亿年后才刚刚进化而成。如果这是正常的进化速度,那么一颗环绕着像天狼星这样的恒星运行的行星顶多只能进化到像细菌这样的最简单的生命体,因为只需5亿年时间,天狼星就会成为一颗红巨星将该行星毁灭。

11 Furthermore, if a star is very small and dim, a planet must be very close to it to get enough light and heat to support life as we know it. But at that close distance, tidal effects would cause the planet to face only one side to the sun, so that half the planet would be too hot and half too cold. 再者,如果一颗恒星又小又暗,行星要获得足够的光和热以维持我们所熟悉的生命,就必须与该恒星靠得相当近。但距离过近,潮汐作用就会导致其一面朝向恒星,这样该行星的一半球体会过于炎热,另一半则太冷。

12 In other words, we need stars about the size of our sun.

换言之,我们需要大小接近于我们的太阳的恒星。

13 Then again, such stars cannot be part of close binaries or in other regions where there would be too much energetic radiation from surrounding stars. Suppose we decide that only one out of three hundred stars has a chance of possessing a planet that would be hospitable to our kind of life, and only one out of three hundred of such stars has a planet of the right size, chemical composition, and temperature to actually support life. That might still mean the existence of millions of life-bearing planets scattered among the stars.

可是,这类恒星还不能是相邻的双星中的一颗,也不能处于周围恒星能量辐射活动过于强烈的区域。我们不妨假定,300颗恒星中只有一颗有可能拥有适宜于类似地球生命的行星,300颗这类恒星中只有一颗星大小合适,有着适宜的化学构成与温度以真正维持生命。那仍可能意味着星际间散布着数百万颗蕴含生命的行星。

14 However, what are the chances that on one of these planets intelligent life has developed, capable of developing a technology like ours?

可是,在这些行星当中,出现具有智慧的生命,能够发展类似于地球的科技文明的可能性又有多大?

15 There are no optimistic answers to that question. After all, Earth had to exist for 4.6 billion

years before a life form appeared that was capable of developing technology.

对这一问题没有乐观的回答。应该记住,地球在形成了46亿年之后方出现了能发展科技的生命体。

16 Even if the chances of its happening are small, it might still be that thousands of technologies have developed among the stars, but then there's a still more difficult question: How long would such technologies endure?

即使这一情形发生的可能性很小,星际间仍可能已经出现了成千上万种科技文明,但这就引发了一个更难以回答的问题:这些科技文明会持续多久?

17 Intelligent beings, as they learn to dispose of great sources of energy, might use them for self-destructive purposes. Certainly, now that mankind has developed advanced technologies, we have begun to use them in ruinous wars and are in the process of destroying our environment with them. If this is typical, then the universe might be full of life-bearing planets that have not yet achieved a technology, and equally full of others that have already achieved an advanced technology and have destroyed themselves. There would be only a very, very few besides ourselves who had achieved the technology and had not yet had time to destroy themselves.

具有智慧的生命在学会大量运用能源之后,或许会把能源用于自毁目的。的确,人类在发展了先进的科技之后,已经开始将其用于毁灭性的战争,我们也正在运用这些技术破坏自己的生存环境。如果这一情形具有典型性,那么宇宙之中既可能充满了无数尚未发展科技文明的有生命的行星,同样也可能有着许多业已拥有先进科技、并已自我毁灭的其他行星。除了地球之外,有为数极少的行星可能也已经发展了科技,但还没来得及将自身摧毁。

18 In about 1950, the Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi asked the question: Where are they? What he meant was, if the stars are rich in technologies, why hasn't some alien life form reached us? (4) (We can't count wild tales of flying saucers and ancient astronauts, because the evidence in their favor is extremely weak.)

大约在19xx年,意大利裔美国物理学家安里克·费米问道:它们在何方?他的意思是,如果星际间充满了科技文明,何以没有外星人前来造访?(我们不能把那些有关飞碟和古代太空人的荒诞传说当真,因为能对此加以证实的证据微乎其微。)

19 Perhaps aliens have not appeared because the distances between the stars is too great to cross, or they have reached us and decided to let us develop in peace, or have failed to appear for any number of other reasons. We can't be sure that simply because no alien is here, there are no aliens somewhere out there.

也许外星人尚未现身是由于星际间距离太遥远,或是他们曾经造访并决定任由人类自行发展,或是由于种种其他原因未能前来。我们不能仅仅因为外星人没有在我们这里出现,便断言他处并无外星人。

unit 5 Writing Three Thank-You Letters

Alex Haley served in the Coast Guard during World War ll. On an especially lonely day to be at sea -- Thanksgiving Day -- he began to give serious thought to a holiday that has become, for many Americans, a day of overeating and watching endless games of football. Haley decided to celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving by writing three very special letters.

亚历克斯·黑利二战时在海岸警卫队服役。出海在外,时逢一个倍感孤寂的日子――感恩节,他开始认真思考起这一节日的意义。对许多美国人而言,这个节日已成为大吃大喝、没完没了地看橄榄球比赛的日子。黑利决定写三封不同寻常的信,以此来纪念感恩节的真正意义。

Writing Three Thank-You Letters

Alex Haley

1 It was 1943, during World War II, and I was a young U. S. coastguardsman. My ship, the USS Murzim, had been under way for several days. Most of her holds contained thousands of cartons of canned or dried foods. The other holds were loaded with five-hundred-pound bombs packed delicately in padded racks. Our destination was a big base on the island of Tulagi in the South Pacific.

写三封感谢信

亚利克斯·黑利

那是在二战期间的19xx年,我是个年轻的美国海岸警卫队队员。我们的船,美国军舰军市一号已出海多日。多数船舱装着成千上万箱罐装或风干的食品。其余的船舱装着不少五百磅重的炸弹,都小心翼翼地放在垫过的架子上。我们的目的地是南太平洋图拉吉岛上一个规模很大的基地。

2 I was one of the Murzim's several cooks and, quite the same as for folk ashore, this Thanksgiving morning had seen us busily preparing a traditional dinner featuring roast turkey. 我是军市一号上的一个厨师,跟岸上的人一样,那个感恩节的上午,我们忙着在准备一道以烤火鸡为主的传统菜肴。

3 Well, as any cook knows, it's a lot of hard work to cook and serve a big meal, and clean up and put everything away. But finally, around sundown, we finished at last.

当厨师的都知道,要烹制一顿大餐,摆上桌,再刷洗、收拾干净,是件辛苦的事。不过,等到太阳快下山时,我们总算全都收拾停当了。

4 I decided first to go out on the Murzim's afterdeck for a breath of open air. I made my way out there, breathing in great, deep draughts while walking slowly about, still wearing my white cook's hat.

我想先去后甲板透透气。我信步走去,一边深深呼吸着空气,一边慢慢地踱着步,头上仍戴着那顶白色的厨师帽。

5 I got to thinking about Thanksgiving, of the Pilgrims, Indians, wild turkeys, pumpkins, corn

on the cob, and the rest. 我开始思索起感恩节这个节日来,想着清教徒前辈移民、印第安人、野火鸡、南瓜、玉米棒等等。

6 Yet my mind seemed to be in quest of something else -- some way that I could personally apply to the close of Thanksgiving. It must have taken me a half hour to sense that maybe some key to an answer could result from reversing the word "Thanksgiving" -- at least that suggested a verbal direction, "Giving thanks."

可我脑子里似乎还在搜索着别的事什么――某种我能够赋予这一节日以个人意义的方式。大概过了半个小时左右我才意识到,问题的关键也许在于把Thanksgiving这个字前后颠倒一下――那样一来至少文字好懂了:Giving thanks。

7 Giving thanks -- as in praying, thanking God, I thought. Yes, of course. Certainly.

表达谢意――就如在祈祷时感谢上帝那样,我暗想。对啊,是这样,当然是这样。

8 Yet my mind continued turning the idea over.

可我脑子里仍一直盘桓着这事。

9 After a while, like a dawn's brightening, a further answer did come -- that there were people to thank, people who had done so much for me that I could never possibly repay them. The embarrassing truth was I'd always just accepted what they'd done, taken all of it for granted. Not one time had I ever bothered to express to any of them so much as a simple, sincere "Thank you." 过了片刻,如同晨曦初现,一个更清晰的念头终于涌现脑际――要感谢他人,那些赐我以诸多恩惠,我根本无以回报的人们。令我深感不安的实际情形是,我向来对他们所做的一切受之泰然,认为是理所应当。我一次也没想过要对他们中的任何一位真心诚意地说一句简单的谢谢。

10 At least seven people had been particularly and lastingly helpful to me. I realized, swallowing hard, that about half of them had since died -- so they were forever beyond any possible expression of gratitude from me. The more I thought about it, the more ashamed I became. Then I pictured the three who were still alive and, within minutes, I was down in my cabin.

至少有七个人对我有过不同寻常、影响深远的帮助。令人难过的是,我意识到,他们中有一半已经过世了――因此他们永远也无法接受我的谢意了。我越想越感到羞愧。最后我想到了仍健在的三位,几分钟后,我就回到了自己的舱房。

11 Sitting at a table with writing paper and memories of things each had done, I tried composing genuine statements of heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to my dad, Simon A. Haley, a professor at the old Agricultural Mechanical Normal College in Pine Bluff, Arkansas; to my grandma, Cynthia Palmer, back in our little hometown of Henning, Tennessee; and to the Rev. Lonual Nelson, my grammar school principal, retired and living in Ripley, six miles north of Henning.

我坐在摊着信纸的桌旁,回想着他们各自对我所做的一切,试图用真挚的文字表达我对他们的由衷的感激之情:父亲西蒙·A·黑利,阿肯色州派因布拉夫那所古老的农业机械师范学院的教授;住在田纳西州小镇亨宁老家的外祖母辛西娅·帕尔默;以及我的文法学校校长,退休后住在亨宁以北6英里处的里普利的洛纽尔·纳尔逊牧师。

12 The texts of my letters began something like, "Here, this Thanksgiving at sea, I find my thoughts upon how much you have done for me, but I have never stopped and said to you how much I feel the need to thank you -- " And briefly I recalled for each of them specific acts performed on my behalf.

我的信是这样开头的:“出海在外度过的这个感恩节,令我回想起您为我做了那么多事,但我从来没有对您说过自己是多么想感谢您――”我简短回忆了各位为我所做的具体事例。

13 For instance, something uppermost about my father was how he had impressed upon me from boyhood to love books and reading. In fact, this graduated into a family habit of after-dinner quizzes at the table about books read most recently and new words learned. My love of books never diminished and later led me toward writing books myself. So many times I have felt a sadness when exposed to modern children so immersed in the electronic media that they have little or no awareness of the marvelous world to be discovered in books.

例如,我父亲的最不同寻常之处在于,从我童年时代起,他就让我深深意识到要热爱书籍、热爱阅读。事实上,这一爱好渐渐变成一种家庭习惯,晚饭后大家围在餐桌旁互相考查近日所读的书以及新学的单词。我对书籍的热爱从未减弱,日后还引导我自己撰文著书。多少次,当我看到如今的孩子们如此沉迷于电子媒体时,我不由深感悲哀,他们很少,或者根本不了解书中所能发现的神奇世界。

14 I reminded the Reverend Nelson how each morning he would open our little country town's grammar school with a prayer over his assembled students. I told him that whatever positive things I had done since had been influenced at least in part by his morning school prayers. 我跟纳尔逊牧师提及他如何每天清晨和集合在一起的学生做祷告,以此开始乡村小学的一天。我告诉他,我后来所做的任何有意义的事,都至少部分地是受了他那些学校晨祷的影响。

15 In the letter to my grandmother, I reminded her of a dozen ways she used to teach me how to tell the truth, to share, and to be forgiving and considerate of others. I thanked her for the years of eating her good cooking, the equal of which I had not found since. Finally, I thanked her simply for having sprinkled my life with stardust.

在给外祖母的信中,我谈到了她用了种种方式教我讲真话,教我与人分享,教我宽恕、体谅他人。我感谢她多年来让我吃到她烧的美味菜肴,离开她后我从来没吃过那么可口的菜肴。最后,我感谢她,因为她在我的生命中撒下美妙的遐想。

16 Before I slept, my three letters went into our ship's office mail sack. They got mailed when we reached Tulagi Island.

睡觉前,我的这三封信都送进了船上的邮袋。我们抵达图拉吉岛后都寄了出去。

17 We unloaded cargo, reloaded with something else, then again we put to sea in the routine familiar to us, and as the days became weeks, my little personal experience receded. Sometimes, when we were at sea, a mail ship would rendezvous and bring us mail from home, which, of course, we accorded topmost priority.

我们卸了货,又装了其它物品,随后我们按熟悉的常规,再次出海。 一天又一天,一星期又一星期,我个人的经历渐渐淡忘。我们在海上航行时,有时会与邮船会合,邮船会带给我们家信,当然这是我们视为最紧要的事情。

18 Every time the ship's loudspeaker rasped, "Attention! Mail call!" two hundred-odd shipmates came pounding up on deck and clustered about the two seamen, standing by those precious bulging gray sacks. They were alternately pulling out fistfuls of letters and barking successive names of sailors who were, in turn, shouting back "Here! Here!" amid the pushing. 每当船上的喇叭响起:“大伙听好!邮件点名!”200名左右的水兵就会冲上甲板,围聚在那两个站在宝贵的鼓鼓囊囊的灰色邮袋旁的水手周围。两人轮流取出一把信,大声念收信水手的名字,叫到的人从人群当中挤出,一边应道:“来了,来了!”

19 One "mail call" brought me responses from Grandma, Dad, and the Reverend Nelson -- and my reading of their letters left me not only astonished but more humbled than before.

一次“邮件点名”带给我外祖母,爸爸,以及纳尔逊牧师的回信――我读了信,既震惊又深感卑微。

20 Rather than saying they would forgive that I hadn't previously thanked them, instead, for Pete's sake, they were thanking me -- for having remembered, for having considered they had done anything so exceptional.

他们没有说他们原谅我以前不曾感谢他们,相反,他们向我致谢,天哪,就因为我记得,就因为我认为他们做了不同寻常的事。

21 Always the college professor, my dad had carefully avoided anything he considered too sentimental, so I knew how moved he was to write me that, after having helped educate many young people, he now felt that his best results included his own son.

身为大学教授的爸爸向来特别留意不使用任何过于感情化的文字,因此, 当他对我写道,在教了许许多多的年轻人之后,他认为自己最优秀的学生当中也包括自己的儿子时,我知道他是多么地感动。

22 The Reverend Nelson wrote that his decades as a "simple, old-fashioned principal" had ended with schools undergoing such swift changes that he had retired in self-doubt. "I heard more of what I had done wrong than what I did right," he said, adding that my letter had brought him welcome reassurance that his career had been appreciated.

纳尔逊牧师写道,他那平凡的传统校长的岁月随着学校里发生的如此迅猛的变化而结束,他怀着自我怀疑的心态退了休。“说我做得不对的远远多于说我做得对的,” 他写道,接着说我的信给他带来了振奋人心的信心:自己的校长生涯还是有其价值的。

23 A glance at Grandma's familiar handwriting brought back in a flash memories of standing alongside her white rocking chair, watching her "settin' down" some letter to relatives. Character by character, Grandma would slowly accomplish one word, then the next, so that a finished page would consume hours. I wept over the page representing my Grandma's recent hours invested in expressing her loving gratefulness to me -- whom she used to diaper!

一看到外祖母那熟悉的笔迹,我顿时回想起往日站在她的白色摇椅旁看她给亲戚写信

的情景。外祖母一个字母一个字母地慢慢拼出一个词,接着是下一个词,因此写满一页要花上几个小时。捧着外祖母最近花费不少工夫对我表达了充满慈爱的谢意,我禁不住流泪――从前是她给我换尿布的呀。

24 Much later, retired from the Coast Guard and trying to make a living as a writer, I never forgot how those three "thank you" letters gave me an insight into how most human beings go about longing in secret for more of their fellows to express appreciation for their efforts.

许多年后,我从海岸警卫队退役,试着靠写作为生,我一直不曾忘记那三封“感谢”信是如何使我认识到,大凡人都暗自期望着有更多的人对自己的努力表达谢意。

25 Now, approaching another Thanksgiving, I have asked myself what will I wish for all who are reading this, for our nation, indeed for our whole world -- since, quoting a good and wise friend of mine, "In the end we are mightily and merely people, each with similar needs." First, I wish for us, of course, the simple common sense to achieve world peace, that being paramount for the very survival of our kind.

现在,感恩节又将来临,我自问,对此文的读者,对我们的祖国,事实上对全世界,我有什么祝愿,因为,用一位善良而且又有智慧的朋友的话来说,“我们究其实都是十分相像的凡人,有着相似的需求。”当然,我首先祝愿大家记住这一简单的常识:实现世界和平,这对我们自身的存亡至关重要。

26 And there is something else I wish -- so strongly that I have had this line printed across the bottom of all my stationery: "Find the good -- and praise it."

此外我还有别的祝愿――这一祝愿是如此强烈,我将这句话印在我所有的信笺底部:“发现并褒扬各种美好的事物。”

Thanksgiving, like Spring Festival, brings families back together from across the country. Waiting for her children to arrive, Ellen Goodman reflects on the changing relationship between parents and children as they grow up and leave home, often to settle far away.

如同春节那样,散居各处的美国人到感恩节就回家团聚。埃伦·古德曼在等待着子女回家的同时,思索着当子女长大离家,常常在远方定居之后,父母与子女关系的不断变化。

Where Is Home?

Ellen Goodman

1 "The kids are coming home for the holiday."

何处是家?

埃伦·古德曼

“孩子们要回家过节了。”

2 My friend announces this as we swap recipes and plans for Thanksgiving.

我们在相互交流着感恩节的菜单和节日安排时,我的朋友郑重其事地这么说。

3 I stop; amused for a moment at the language we now share. "When," I ask, "did we become the people who call their adult children, 'the kids'?"

我愣了一下,不由对我俩用词相同感到有趣。“从什么时候起,”我问道,“咱们成了把长大成人的子女叫做‘孩子’的人?”

4 We laugh briefly at the passage of time, at thoughts of our own mothers who still refer to us as 'the girls,' and then she pauses.

想到时光流逝,想到我们自己的母亲仍把我们叫做 “丫头”,我俩不由得笑出声来,随后她止住了笑。

5 "When," asks my old friend, "did our kids become the people who come home only at holidays?" There is a moment as bittersweet as cranberry sauce. “从什么时候起,”我的老朋友问道,“我们的孩子成了到节假日才回家的人?”两人心头一时又酸又甜。

6 (1)This is the week when our friends bring in the younger generation, eagerly harvesting them from bulging airports. We noisily arrange children, nieces, nephews, cousins around tables, placing them like good china that we take out for special occasions.

这个星期是我们的朋友们将小辈带回家的时候,是急切地把子女从人满为患的机场接回去的时候。 我们忙乱地安排子女,侄子侄女,堂兄弟表姐妹什么的在餐桌旁一一就坐,就跟摆放在特殊场合才偶尔一用的精美餐具似的。

7 These energetic offspring do not come over the river and through the woods anymore. They struggle past check-in counters and wrestle their gear into stuffed overhead bins. They migrate back on airlines whose owners pray with their overbooked hearts that the weather will hold.

这些精力旺盛的后辈不再穿林过河而来。他们挤过检票处,使劲地把行李塞进座位上方满满的行李箱。他们搭乘着民航客机飞回家,那些公司心里想着客满的航班,祈祷着好天气持续下去。

8 (2)It is a testimony to the joyful pull of family that Americans saturated the air and highways this week to return to the place they no longer live but nevertheless call home. To get home for the holidays.

这个星期美国人挤满飞机和公路,都想回到他们已不再居住,却仍称之为家的地方。这证明了家庭具有能给人带来喜悦的吸引力的一个明证。 回家去过节。

9 Yet my old friend has touched, however delicately, on that other truth about a country scattered over generations and geography. We have gone from family life as everyday, from knowing every sock in our children's drawers and every frown on their faces, to welcoming them home to designated guest rooms.

但我的老朋友很微妙地触及了另外一个事实,即这个国家一代又一代的人散布在天南地北。我们的家庭生活原本平平淡淡,没有变化,连孩子抽屉里的袜子,他们脸上任何一道不悦神情都一清二楚,现在却要迎接他们回家,把他们安置在指定的客房里。

10 We have visitation rights in each other's lives now, say my friend, a mother in 617 who looks forward to greeting the children from 415 and 011. We keep in touch, we catch up, we say hellos and goodbyes. But we are still trying to learn how to compress "quality time" into small quantities.

我们相互拥有探视权,我的朋友说。她是位母亲,住在电话区号为617的地方,盼望着迎接分别住在区号为415和011地区的子女回家。我们保持联系,我们互通信息,我们相互问好,再依依道别。但我们仍试图学会如何把团圆的“美好时光”压缩的短些,但相聚的次数要多些。

11 My friend is not complaining. Neither of us longs to return to those wonderful yesterdays. The nests that once felt empty now feel roomy.

我的朋友并没有抱怨。我们谁都无意退回到那美好的往昔。一度显得空落落的老巢如今显得宽宽敞敞。

12 More to the point we raised our children to look over the horizons. We told them, the world is yours, go for it. One by one, they went for it, to 305 and 215 and 406. It is, after all, the American way.

更重要的是,我们把子女养育成人,是要他们眺望远方。我们跟他们说,世界是你们的,去拥有这个世界。他们一个个去拥有世界了,有的去了305,有的去了215,有的去了506。毕竟,这就是美国的生活方式。

13 So we email and travel and are grateful at how much easier it is to keep in touch -- at least virtual touch -- today than when our parents were young. We take joy in the "kids" creating their own lives.

于是我们收发电子邮件,我们旅行,想到如今保持联系――至少是虚拟的联系――要比我们自己父母年轻时便捷得多,不由心存感激。我们为孩子们创建自己的生活而深感欢欣。

14 Yet at times an unpatriotic thought crosses our minds. Is this American way, this long-distance family, an odd tradition as unique to our people as Thanksgiving?

然而,偶尔我们脑子里会掠过一个不那么爱国的念头。难道这就是美国方式,家庭成员相距如此遥远,这种与感恩节同样独特的不同寻常的国民传统?

15 We are a nation of movers, founded by people on pilgrimages, populated by those who were willfully or forcibly uprooted. Our national mythology is based on the lure of kicking out and starting fresh. (3)We moved west and west again on a promise of the last best place, which turned out to be just a way station.

我们是一个迁徙者的国度,由清教徒前辈移民创立,有意或被迫离乡背井者曾在这里居住。我们的民族神话建立在离开家园,重新开始这一诱惑之上。我们西进再西进,期待得到最后那片最好的土地,而那却只是路上一个小站而已。

16 Even Robert Frost's most familiar and most American definition -- "home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in" -- has another subtext, Home is not where you stay.

就连罗伯特·弗罗斯特那最为人所知,最美国化的定义――“家就是那个当你不得不前往时,他们必须接纳你的所在”――也带有其潜台词,家不是羁留之所。

17 From the middle of the age spectrum, my friend and I have seen elders move from house to condo, north to south, aging sunbirds still migrating. On the other side of the generational

sandwich we watch our children's words. They are "coming home" on Tuesday and "going back home" on Sunday.

作为中年人,我和朋友见过年长者从独立的住宅搬入公寓套间,从北方迁往南方,老了的太阳鸟仍迁徙不已。在一代又一代人的夹层的另一端,我们留意着自己子女的用词。他们星期二“回家来”,星期天 “回家去”。

18 Today many Americans find it hard to answer the question "Where are you from?" Do we all hold dual citizenship? Does the national concern about weaker family ties say less about our feelings than about our geography?

今天,许多美国人觉得难以回答“你是哪儿人”这个问题。我们是否都拥有双重籍贯?国民对越发薄弱的家庭纽带的关注难道更着眼于地域,而非我们的情感?

19 These questions hang lightly in the November air as we turn the subject from comings and goings of children to the advantages and disadvantages of chestnuts in the stuffing. This is the time, after all, of celebrating reunion, not musings about separation.

这些问题在11月的气氛中并不显得重要,我们的话题从子女归来转到火鸡填料里加栗子的好处与缺陷。毕竟这是欢庆团圆之时,不是默想离别痛苦的时候。

20 "The kids" are coming home. It is not the scarcity of food that brings us back to this full table. It is each other. And somewhere between the turkey and pies we settle down to savor togetherness.

“孩子们”就要回家了。把我们带回摆满食物的餐桌旁的,不是食品匮乏,而是我们彼此。在享用火鸡与馅饼的间隙,我们定下心来品味团圆的温馨。

21 (4)Over this Thanksgiving holiday and in this restless country, we stop and feast on family. 在这个人们流动不停的国度里,整个感恩节期间我们始终留在家中享受天伦之乐。

unit 6 The Last Leaf

When Johnsy fell seriously ill, she seemed to lose the will to hang on to life. The doctor held out little hope for her. Her friends seemed helpless. Was there nothing to be done?

约翰西病情严重,她似乎失去了活下去的意志。医生对她不抱什么希望。朋友们看来也爱莫能助。难道真的就无可奈何了吗?

The Last Leaf

O. Henry

1 At the top of a three-story brick building, Sue and Johnsy had their studio. "Johnsy" was familiar for Joanna. One was from Maine; the other from California. They had met at a cafe on Eighth Street and found their tastes in art, chicory salad and bishop sleeves so much in tune that the joint studio resulted.

最后一片叶子

欧·亨利

在一幢三层砖楼的顶层,苏和约翰西辟了个画室。“约翰西”是乔安娜的昵称。她们一位来自缅因州,一位来自加利福尼亚。两人相遇在第八大街的一个咖啡馆,发现各自在艺术品味、菊苣色拉,以及灯笼袖等方面趣味相投,于是就有了这个两人画室。

2 That was in May. In November a cold, unseen stranger, whom the doctors called Pneumonia, stalked about the district, touching one here and there with his icy fingers. Johnsy was among his victims. She lay, scarcely moving on her bed, looking through the small window at the blank side of the next brick house.

那是5月里的事。到了11月,一个医生称之为肺炎的阴森的隐形客闯入了这一地区,用它冰冷的手指东碰西触。约翰西也为其所害。她病倒了,躺在床上几乎一动不动,只能隔着小窗望着隔壁砖房那单调沉闷的侧墙。

3 One morning the busy doctor invited Sue into the hallway with a bushy, gray eyebrow. 一天上午,忙碌的医生扬了扬灰白的浓眉,示意苏来到过道。

4 "She has one chance in ten," he said. "And that chance is for her to want to live. Your little lady has made up her mind that she's not going to get well. Has she anything on her mind?

“她只有一成希望,”他说。“那还得看她自己是不是想活下去。你这位女朋友已经下决心不想好了。她有什么心事吗?”

5 "She -- she wanted to paint the Bay of Naples some day," said Sue. “她――她想有一天能去画那不勒斯湾,”苏说。

6 "Paint? -- bosh! Has she anything on her mind worth thinking about twice -- a man, for instance?"

“画画?――得了。她有没有别的事值得她留恋的――比如说,一个男人?”

7 "A man?" said Sue. "Is a man worth -- but, no, doctor; there is nothing of the kind."

“男人?”苏说。“难道一个男人就值得――可是,她没有啊,大夫,没有这码子事。”

8 "Well," said the doctor. "I will do all that science can accomplish. But whenever my patient begins to count the carriages in her funeral procession I subtract 50 per cent from the curative power of medicines." After the doctor had gone Sue went into the workroom and cried. Then she marched into Johnsy's room with her drawing board, whistling a merry tune.

“好吧,”大夫说。“我会尽一切努力,只要是科学能做到的。可是,但凡病人开始计算她出殡的行列里有几辆马车的时候,我就要把医药的疗效减去一半。”大夫走后,苏去工作室哭了一场。随后她携着画板大步走进约翰西的房间,口里吹着轻快的口哨。

9 Johnsy lay, scarcely making a movement under the bedclothes, with her face toward the window. She was looking out and counting -- counting backward.

约翰西躺在被子下几乎一动不动,脸朝着窗。她望着窗外,数着数――倒数着数!

10 "Twelve," she said, and a little later "eleven"; and then "ten," and "nine"; and then "eight" and "seven," almost together.

“12,”她数道,过了一会儿“11”,接着数“10”和“9”;再数“8”和“7”,几乎一口同时数下来。

11 Sue looked out of the window. What was there to count? There was only a bare, dreary yard to be seen, and the blank side of the brick house twenty feet away. An old, old ivy vine climbed half way up the brick wall. The cold breath of autumn had blown away its leaves, leaving it almost bare.

苏朝窗外望去。外面有什么好数的呢?外面只看到一个空荡荡的沉闷的院子,还有20英尺开外那砖房的侧墙,上面什么也没有。一棵古老的常青藤爬到半墙高。萧瑟秋风吹落了枝叶,藤上几乎光秃秃的。

12 "Six," said Johnsy, in almost a whisper. "They're falling faster now. Three days ago there were almost a hundred. It made my head ache to count them. But now it's easy. There goes another one. There are only five left now."

“6”,约翰西数着,声音几乎听不出来。“现在叶子掉落得快多了。三天前差不多还有100片。数得我头都疼。可现在容易了。又掉了一片。这下子只剩5片了。”

13 "Five what, dear? "

“5片什么,亲爱的?”

14 "Leaves. On the ivy vine. When the last one falls I must go, too. I've known that for three days. Didn't the doctor tell you?"

“叶子。常青藤上的叶子。等最后一片叶子掉了,我也就得走了。三天前我就知道会这样。大夫没跟你说吗?”

15 "Oh, I never heard of such nonsense. What have old ivy leaves to do with your getting well? Don't be so silly. Why, the doctor told me this morning that your chances for getting well real soon were ten to one! Try to take some soup now, and let Sudie go and buy port wine for her sick child."

“噢,我从没听说过这种胡说八道。常青藤叶子跟你病好不好有什么关系?别这么傻。对了,大夫上午跟我说,你的病十有八九就快好了。快喝些汤,让苏迪给她生病的孩子去买些波尔图葡萄酒来。”

16 "You needn't get any more wine," said Johnsy, keeping her eyes fixed out the window. "There goes another. No, I don't want any soup. That leaves just four. I want to see the last one fall before it gets dark. Then I'll go, too. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of thinking. I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves." “你不用再去买酒了,”约翰西说道,两眼一直盯着窗外。“又掉了一片。不,我不想喝汤。这一下只剩下4片了。我要在天黑前看到最后一片叶子掉落。那时我也就跟着走了。我都等腻了。也想腻了。我只想撇开一切, 飘然而去,就像那边一片可怜的疲倦的叶子。”

17 "Try to sleep," said Sue. "I must call Behrman up to be my model for the old miner. I'll not be gone a minute."

“快睡吧,”苏说。“我得叫贝尔曼上楼来给我当老矿工模特儿。我去去就来。”

18 Old Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground floor beneath them. He was past sixty and had a long white beard curling down over his chest. Despite looking the part, Behrman was a failure in art. For forty years he had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it. He earned a little by serving as a model to those young artists who could not pay the price of a professional. He drank gin to excess, and still talked of his coming masterpiece. For the rest he was a fierce little old man, who mocked terribly at softness in any one, and who regarded himself as guard dog to the two young artists in the studio above.

老贝尔曼是住在两人楼下底层的一个画家。他已年过六旬,银白色蜷曲的长髯披挂胸前。贝尔曼看上去挺像艺术家,但在艺术上却没有什么成就。40年来他一直想创作一幅传世之作,却始终没能动手。他给那些请不起职业模特的青年画家当模特挣点小钱。他没节制地喝酒,谈论着他那即将问世的不朽之作。要说其他方面,他是个好斗的小老头,要是谁表现出一点软弱,他便大肆嘲笑,并把自己看成是楼上画室里两位年轻艺术家的看护人。

19 Sue found Behrman smelling strongly of gin in his dimly lighted studio below. In one corner was a blank canvas on an easel that had been waiting there for twenty-five years to receive the first line of the masterpiece. She told him of Johnsy's fancy, and how she feared she would, indeed, light and fragile as a leaf herself, float away, when her slight hold upon the world grew weaker. Old Behrman, with his red eyes plainly streaming, shouted his contempt for such foolish imaginings.

苏在楼下光线暗淡的画室里找到了贝尔曼,他满身酒味刺鼻。屋子一角的画架上支着一张从未落过笔的画布,在那儿搁了25年,等着一幅杰作的起笔。苏把约翰西的怪念头跟他说了,并说约翰西本身就像一片叶子又瘦又弱,她害怕要是她那本已脆弱的生存意志再软下去的话,真的会凋零飘落。老贝尔曼双眼通红,显然是泪涟涟的,他大声叫嚷着说他蔑视

这种傻念头。

20 "What!" he cried. "Are there people in the world foolish enough to die because leafs drop off from a vine? I have never heard of such a thing. Why do you allow such silly ideas to come into that head of hers? God! This is not a place in which one so good as Miss Johnsy should lie sick. Some day I will paint a masterpiece, and we shall all go away. Yes."

“什么!”他嚷道。“世界上竟然有这么愚蠢的人,因为树叶从藤上掉落就要去死?我听都没听说过这等事。你怎么让这种傻念头钻到她那个怪脑袋里?天哪!这不是一个像约翰西小姐这样的好姑娘躺倒生病的地方。有朝一日我要画一幅巨作,那时候我们就离开这里。真的。”

21 Johnsy was sleeping when they went upstairs. Sue pulled the shade down, and motioned Behrman into the other room. In there they peered out the window fearfully at the ivy vine. Then they looked at each other for a moment without speaking. A persistent, cold rain was falling, mingled with snow. Behrman, in his old blue shirt, took his seat as the miner on an upturned kettle for a rock.

两人上了楼,约翰西已经睡着了。苏放下窗帘,示意贝尔曼去另一个房间。在那儿两人惶惶不安地凝视着窗外的常青藤。接着两人面面相觑,哑然无语。外面冷雨夹雪,淅淅沥沥。贝尔曼穿着破旧的蓝色衬衣, 坐在充当矿石的倒置的水壶上,摆出矿工的架势。

22 When Sue awoke from an hour's sleep the next morning she found Johnsy with dull, wide-open eyes staring at the drawn green shade.

第二天早上,只睡了一个小时的苏醒来看到约翰西睁大着无神的双眼,凝望着拉下的绿色窗帘。

23 "Pull it up; I want to see," she ordered, in a whisper.

“把窗帘拉起来;我要看,”她低声命令道。

24 Wearily Sue obeyed.

苏带着疲倦,遵命拉起窗帘。

25 But, Lo! after the beating rain and fierce wind that had endured through the night, there yet stood out against the brick wall one ivy leaf. It was the last on the vine. Still dark green near its stem, but with its edges colored yellow, it hung bravely from a branch some twenty feet above the ground.

可是,瞧!经过一整夜的急风骤雨,竟然还存留一片常青藤叶,背靠砖墙,格外显目。这是常青藤上的最后一片叶子。近梗部位仍呈暗绿色,但边缘已经泛黄了,它无所畏惧地挂在离地20多英尺高的枝干上。

26 "It is the last one," said Johnsy. "I thought it would surely fall during the night. I heard the wind. It will fall today, and I shall die at the same time."

“这是最后一片叶子,”约翰西说。“我以为夜里它肯定会掉落的。我晚上听到大风呼啸。今天它会掉落的,叶子掉的时候,也是我死的时候。”

27 The day wore away, and even through the twilight they could see the lone ivy leaf clinging to its stem against the wall. And then, with the coming of the night the north wind was again loosed.

白天慢慢过去了,即便在暮色黄昏之中,他们仍能看到那片孤零零的常青藤叶子,背靠砖墙,紧紧抱住梗茎。尔后,随着夜幕的降临,又是北风大作。

28 When it was light enough Johnsy, the merciless, commanded that the shade be raised. 等天色亮起,冷酷无情的约翰西命令将窗帘拉起。

29 The ivy leaf was still there.

常青藤叶依然挺在。

30 Johnsy lay for a long time looking at it. And then she called to Sue, who was stirring her chicken soup over the gas stove.

约翰西躺在那儿,望着它许久许久。接着她大声呼唤正在煤气灶上搅鸡汤的苏。

31 "I've been a bad girl, Sudie," said Johnsy. "Something has made that last leaf stay there to show me how wicked I was. It is a sin to want to die. You may bring me a little soup now, and some milk with a little port in it and -- no; bring me a hand-mirror first, and then pack some pillows about me, and I will sit up and watch you cook."

“我一直像个不乖的孩子,苏迪,”约翰西说。“有一种力量让那最后一片叶子不掉,好让我看到自己有多坏。想死是一种罪过。你给我喝点汤吧,再来点牛奶,稍放一点波尔图葡萄酒――不,先给我拿面小镜子来,弄几个枕头垫在我身边,我要坐起来看你做菜。”

32 An hour later she said:

一个小时之后,她说:

33 "Sudie, some day I hope to paint the Bay of Naples."

“苏迪,我真想有一天去画那不勒斯海湾。”

34 The doctor came in the afternoon, and Sue had an excuse to go into the hallway as he left. 下午大夫来了,他走时苏找了个借口跟进了过道。

35 "Even chances," said the doctor, taking Sue's thin, shaking hand in his.

“现在是势均力敌,”大夫说着,握了握苏纤细颤抖的手。

36 "With good nursing you'll win. And now I must see another case I have downstairs. Behrman, his name is -- some kind of an artist, I believe. Pneumonia, too. He is an old, weak man, and the attack is acute. There is no hope for him; but he goes to the hospital today to be made more comfortable."

“只要精心照料,你就赢了。现在我得去楼下看另外一个病人了。贝尔曼,是他的名字――记得是个什么画家。也是肺炎。他年老体弱,病来势又猛。他是没救了。不过今天他去了医院,照料得会好一点。”

37 The next day the doctor said to Sue: "She's out of danger. You've won. The right food and care now -- that's all."

第二天,大夫对苏说:“她脱离危险了。你赢了。注意饮食,好好照顾,就行了。”

38 And that afternoon Sue came to the bed where Johnsy lay and put one arm around her. 当日下午,苏来到约翰西的床头,用一只手臂搂住她。

39 "I have something to tell you, white mouse," she said. "Mr. Behrman died of pneumonia today in the hospital. He was ill only two days. He was found on the morning of the first day in his room downstairs helpless with pain. His shoes and clothing were wet through and icy cold. They couldn't imagine where he had been on such a terrible night. And then they found a lantern, still lighted, and a ladder that had been dragged from its place, and some scattered brushes, and a palette with green and yellow colors mixed on it, and -- look out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didn't you wonder why it never fluttered or moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it's Behrman's masterpiece -- he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell."

“我跟你说件事,小白鼠,”她说。“贝尔曼先生今天在医院里得肺炎去世了。他得病才两天。发病那天上午人家在楼下他的房间里发现他疼得利害。他的鞋子衣服都湿透了,冰冷冰冷的。他们想不出那么糟糕的天气他夜里会去哪儿。后来他们发现了一个灯笼,还亮着,还有一个梯子被拖了出来,另外还有些散落的画笔,一个调色板,和着黄绿两种颜色,――看看窗外,宝贝儿,看看墙上那最后一片常青藤叶子。它在刮风的时候一动也不动,你没有觉得奇怪吗?啊,亲爱的,那是贝尔曼的杰作――最后一片叶子掉落的那天夜里他画上了这片叶子。”

He did not trust the woman to trust him. And he did not trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.

他不敢相信这个女人居然会信任自己。他也不认为这个女人就不信任自己。不过,现在他不想失去别人对自己的信任。

Thank You, Ma'm

Langston Hughes

1 She was a large woman with a large purse that had everything in it but a hammer and nails. It was about eleven o'clock at night, dark, and she was walking alone, when a boy ran up behind her and tried to snatch the purse. The strap broke with the sudden single tug the boy gave it from behind. (1) But the boy's weight and the weight of the purse combined caused him to lose his balance. Instead of taking off full blast as he had hoped, the boy fell on his back on the sidewalk and his legs flew up. The large woman simply turned around and kicked him right square in his blue-jeaned sitter. Then she reached down, picked the boy up by his shirtfront, and shook him violently.

谢谢您,太太

兰斯顿·休斯

她是个大块头女人,拎着个大包,里边除了榔头钉子什么都有。大约夜晚11点光景,

夜深天黑,她孤身一人正走着,一个男孩从她身后猛地窜出,想一把夺去她的包。男孩从后面一记猛拉,包带断裂了。自身的体重加上皮包的重量使得男孩失去了平衡。他非但没有像原先希望的那样飞速逃离,反而两脚朝天仰面摔倒在人行道上。大块头女人一转身,一脚踢在他穿着蓝布牛仔裤的屁股上。接着她俯身拽住他的衣襟把他拖起来猛摇。

2 After that the woman said, "Pick up my pocketbook, boy, and give it here."

3 She still held him tightly. But she bent down enough to permit him to stoop and pick up her purse. Then she said, "Now ain't you ashamed of yourself?"

4 Firmly gripped by his shirtfront, the boy said, "Yes'm."

5 The woman said, "What did you want to do it for?"

6 The boy said, "I didn't aim to."

7 By that time two or three people passed, stopped, turned to look, and some stood watching. 之后那女人吩咐道:“捡起我的钱包, 孩子,把它拿过来。”

她仍紧紧地拽着他。 不过她略微弯下腰,好让他俯身捡包。接着她质问道:“你害不害臊?”

男孩被拽住衣襟,回答说:“是的,太太。”

女人问:“你这么做是想要干什么?”

男孩说:“没想干什么。”

这时,有两三个过路人停下来,转过身来瞧,还有人站在一边看。

8 "If I turn you loose, will you run?" asked the woman.

9 "Yes'm," said the boy.

10 "Then I won't turn you loose," said the woman. She did not release him.

11 "Lady, I'm sorry," whispered the boy.

12 "Um-hum! Your face is dirty. I got a great mind to wash your face for you. Ain't you got nobody home to tell you to wash your face?'

13 "No'm," said the boy.

14 "Then it will get washed this evening," said the large woman, starting up the street, dragging the frightened boy behind her.

“要是我松开手,你会不会逃?” 那女人问。

“会的,太太。”男孩说。

“那我就不松手,”那女人说。她没有放开他。

“我错了,夫人。”男孩低声说。

“唉! 你的脸这么脏。我很想给你洗洗脸。你家里就没人让你好好洗脸吗?” “没,太太。”男孩说。

“既然这样,今晚你的脸得好好洗洗,”大块头女人一边说着,一边拖着惊惶失措的男孩沿着街道大步走去。

15 He looked as if he were fourteen or fifteen, frail and thin in tennis shoes and blue jeans. 16 The woman said, "You ought to be my son. I would teach you right from wrong. Least I can do right now is to wash your face. Are you hungry?'

17 "No'm," said the boy, "I just want you to turn me loose."

18 "Was I bothering you when I turned that corner?" asked the woman.

19 "No'm."

20 "But you put yourself in contact with me," said the woman. "(2) If you think that contact is not going to last awhile, you got another thought coming. When I get through with you, sir, you are going to remember Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones."

他看上去十四五岁,穿着网球鞋和蓝布牛仔裤,显得又瘦又弱。

女人说:“你该做我的儿子。我会教你分清是非。我现在能做的起码是把你的脸给洗洗。 你饿不饿?”

“不饿,太太,”男孩说, “我只想要你放了我。”

“我拐弯的时候碍着你没有?”女人问。

“没有,太太。”

“可你是自己惹上我的,”女人说。 “要是你以为咱俩的事儿马上就完了,那你可就想错了。小伙子,等我跟你完了这事以后, 你就会记住我露埃拉·贝茨·华盛顿·琼斯太太的。”

21 Sweat popped out on the boy's face and he began to struggle. Mrs. Jones stopped, jerked him around in front of her, put a half-nelson about his neck and continued to drag him up the street. When she got to her door, she dragged the boy inside, down a hall, and into a large furnished room at the rear of the house. She switched on the light and left the door open. The boy could hear other roomers laughing and talking in the large house. Some of their doors were open, too, so he knew

he and the woman were not alone. The woman still had him by the neck in the middle of her room. 汗珠从男孩的脸上冒了出来。他开始挣扎。琼斯太太停下来,一把将他拽到身前,扣住他的颈脖,拉着他继续往前走。她到了家门口,把男孩拽进屋,走过过道,来到屋子后部一间有家具的大房间。她打开灯,让门敞开着。男孩听见大房子里其他房客在说笑。有的房门也开着。因此他知道除了他和这个妇人还有别人在。他们到了房间中央,那女人仍拽着他的脖子。

22 She said, "What is your name?"

23 "Roger," answered the boy.

24 "Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face," said the woman, turning him loose -- at last. Roger looked at the door -- looked at the woman -- looked at the door -- and went to the sink.

25 "Let the water run until it gets warm," she said. "Here's a clean towel."

26 "You gonna take me to jail?" asked the boy, bending over the sink.

她开口道:“你叫什么名字?”

“罗杰,”男孩回答说。

“这样吧,罗杰,你去那边水池洗一洗脸,”那女人说着,终于松开了他――罗杰望望门,――望望那女人――又望望门,最后朝水池走去。

“让水流一流,等到水热起来,”她说。 “这是条干净毛巾,拿着。”

“你要送我去坐大牢?”男孩在水池前弯下身,问道。

27 "Not with that face, I would not take you nowhere," said the woman. "Here I am trying to get home to cook me a bite to eat, and you snatch my pocketbook! Maybe you ain't been to your supper either, late as it be. Have you?"

28 "There's nobody home at my house," said the boy.

29 "Then we'll eat," said the woman. " I believe you're hungry -- or been hungry -- to try to snatch my pocketbook!"

30 "I want a pair of blue suede shoes," said the boy.

31 "Well, you didn't have to snatch my pocketbook to get some suede shoes," said Mrs. Luella Bares Washington Jones. "You could of asked me."

32 "Ma'm?"

“就你这样脏的脸,我哪儿也不送你去,”那女人说。“我一心想着赶紧回家弄点吃的,你却来抢我的钱包! 虽说已经这么晚了,恐怕你也还没吃晚饭,是吧?”

“我家里没人,”男孩说。

“那咱们吃饭吧,”女人说。“我想你是饿了,饿了好一会儿了,所以想要抢我的钱包!” “我想要双蓝色绒面革皮鞋,”男孩说。

“是这样,你用不着为绒面革皮鞋就抢我的钱包,”露埃拉·贝茨·华盛顿·琼斯太太说。“你本可以问我要的。”

“什么,太太?”

33 The water dripping from his face, the boy looked at her. There was a long pause. A very long pause. (3) After he had dried his face and not knowing what else to do, dried it again, the boy turned around, wondering what next. The door was open. He would make a dash for it down the hall. He would run, run, run!

男孩望着她,水从脸上滴落下来。 一阵长时间的沉默。很长很长的沉默。男孩擦干脸,不知如何是好,就又擦了一把,随后他转过身,不知道接下来会怎么样。门开着,他真想一下子冲到过道。他真想奔啊,奔出去!

34 The woman was sitting on the daybed. After a while, she said, "I were young once and I wanted things I could not get."

女人坐在长沙发上。过了片刻,她说:“我也年轻过,也想得到自己得不到的东西。”

35 There was another long pause. The boy's mouth opened. Then he frowned, not knowing he frowned.

又是一阵长时间的沉默。男孩的嘴张了张。接着又皱起了眉头,他没意识到自己在皱眉头。

36 The woman said, "Um-hum! You thought I was going to say but, didn't you? You thought I was going to say, but I didn't snatch people's pocketbooks. Well, I wasn't going to say that." Pause. Silence. "I have done things, too, which I would not tell you, son -- neither tell God, if He didn't already know. Everybody's got something in common. Sit you down while I fix us something to eat. You might run that comb through your hair so you will look presentable."

女人说:“呃!你以为我是要说 ‘但是’,对吗? 你以为我是要说,‘但是我没抢人家钱包’。嗯,我根本没想说那些。”停顿。沉默。“我也做过一些事情,这些事我不想跟你说,孩子,也不想跟上帝说,如果上帝还不知道的话。凡人都有一些共同的地方。你坐下来,我来给咱倆弄点吃的。你可以用那把梳子梳梳头,看上去也好像个样儿。”

37 In another corner of the room behind a screen was a gas plate and an icebox. Mrs. Jones got up and went behind the screen. The woman did not watch the boy to see if he was going to run now, nor did she watch her purse, which she left behind her on the bed. But the boy took care to sit on the far side of the room, away from the purse, where he thought she could easily see him out of the corner of her eye if she wanted to. (4) He did not trust the woman to trust him. And he did not

trust the woman not to trust him. And he did not want to be mistrusted now.

房间的另一角,在屏风后面,有个煤气灶和一个冰箱。琼斯太太起身走到屏风后面。女人没留意男孩有没有想逃,也没去留意她留在沙发上的钱包。可男孩特地坐到离钱包远远的房间的另一头,坐在一个他觉得如果她想瞧,用眼角的目光就能看到的地方。他不敢相信这个女人居然会信任自己。他也不认为这个女人就不信任自己。不过,他现在不想失去别人对自己的信任。

38 She heated some beans and ham and set the table. The woman did not ask the boy anything about where he lived, or his folks, or anything else that would embarrass him. Instead, as they ate, she told him about her job in a hotel beauty shop that stayed open late, what the work was like, and how all kinds of women came in and out, blondes, redheads and Spanish. Then she cut him half of her ten-cent cake.

她热了些豆子和火腿肉,摆好了餐具。女人没有问男孩住哪儿,家里有什么人,或别的会让他尴尬的事。相反,他们一面吃着饭,她一面告诉他自己在一家酒店的美容院上班,美容院关门很晚,告诉他美容院工作的情况,告诉他有各种各样的女人进进出出,有金发碧眼的,有红头发的,还有讲西班牙语的。接着她把自己用十美分买的蛋糕切了一半给他。

39 "Eat some more, son," she said.

“再吃点,孩子,”她说。

40 When they finished eating, she got up and said, "Now here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And, next time, do not make the mistake of grabbing hold of my pocketbook nor nobody else's -- because shoes got by devilish ways will burn your feet. I got to get my rest now. But from here on in, son, I hope you will behave yourself."

两人吃完后,她站起身来说:“好了,这10美元你拿着,去给自己买双蓝色绒面革皮鞋。下一次,可别再干傻事,抢我的钱包或别的什么人的钱包――因为用穷凶极恶的办法搞来的鞋是要烫你脚的。现在我得休息了。不过,从今往后,孩子,我希望你规矩一点。”

41 She led the way down the hall to the front door and opened it. "Good night! Behave yourself, boy!" she said, looking into the street as he went down the steps.

她领着他走过过道,来到前门,把门打开。“再见! 要走正道啊,孩子!” 男孩走下台阶,她一面说一面望着街道。

42 The boy wanted to say something other than "Thank you, ma'm," to Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones, but although his lips moved, he couldn't even say that, as he turned at the foot of the steps and looked up at the large woman in the door. Then she shut the door.

男孩想对露埃拉·贝茨·华盛顿·琼斯太太说些别的什么,而不是 “谢谢您,太太”,可当他下了台阶转过身来仰面望着门口这个大块头女人的时候,他的嘴唇动了动,却连这句话也没说出口。随后,女人把门关上。

unit 7 Life of a Salesman

Making a living as a door-to-door salesman demands a thick skin, both to protect against the weather and against constantly having the door shut in your face. Bill Porter puts up with all this and much, much more.

干挨家挨户上门推销这一营生得脸皮厚,这是因为干这一行不仅要经受风吹日晒,还要承受一次又一次的闭门羹。比尔 · 波特忍受着这一切,以及别的种种折磨。

Life of a Salesman

Tom Hallman Jr.

1 The alarm rings. It's 5:45. He could linger under the covers, listening to the radio and a weatherman who predicts rain. People would understand. He knows that.

一个推销员的生活

小汤姆 · 霍尔曼

闹钟响了。是清晨5:45。他可以在被子里再躺一会儿,听听无线电广播。天气预报员预报有雨。人们会理解的。这点他清楚。

2 A surgeon's scar cuts across his lower back. The fingers on his right hand are so twisted that he can't tie his shoes. Some days, he feels like surrendering. But his dead mother's challenge echoes in his soul. So, too, do the voices of those who believed him stupid, incapable of living independently. All his life he's struggled to prove them wrong. He will not quit.

3 And so Bill Porter rises.

他的下背有一道手术疤痕。他右手的手指严重扭曲,连鞋带都没法系。有时,他真想放弃不干了。可在他内心深处,一直回响着已故老母的激励, 还有那些说他蠢,说他不能独立生活的人的声音。他一生都在拚命去证明他们错了。他决不能放弃不干。

于是比尔·波特起身了。

4 He takes the first unsteady steps on a journey to Portland's streets, the battlefield where he fights alone for his independence and dignity. He's a door-to-door salesman. Sixty-three years old.

And his enemies -- a crippled body that betrays him and a changing world that no longer needs him -- are gaining on him.

他摇摇晃晃迈出了去波特兰大街的头几步,波特兰大街是他为独立与尊严而孤身搏杀的战场。他是个挨家挨户上门推销的推销员,今年63岁。他的敌人――辜负他的残疾的身体和一个不再需要他的变化着的世界――正一步一步把他逼向绝境。

5 With trembling hands he assembles his weapons: dark slacks, blue shirt and matching jacket, brown tie, tan raincoat and hat. Image, he believes, is everything.

他用颤抖的双手收拾行装:深色宽松裤,蓝衬衣和与之相配的茄克衫,褐色领带,土褐色雨衣和帽子。在他看来,形象就是一切。

6 He stops in the entryway, picks up his briefcase and steps outside. A fall wind has kicked up. The weatherman was right. He pulls his raincoat tighter.

7 He tilts his hat just so. 他在门口停了一下,提起公文包,走了出去。秋风骤起,冷飕飕的。天气预报员说得没错。他将雨衣裹裹紧。

他把帽子往一侧微微一斜。

* * *

8 On the 7:45 bus that stops across the street, he leaves his briefcase next to the driver and finds a seat in the middle of a pack of bored teenagers.

9 He leans forward, stares toward the driver, sits back, then repeats the process. His nervousness makes him laugh uncontrollably. The teenagers stare at him. They don't realize Porter's afraid someone will steal his briefcase, with the glasses, brochures, order forms and clip-on tie that he needs to survive.

在街对面停靠的7:45那班公共汽车上,他把公文包放在司机身旁,在一群没精打采的十几岁的孩子当中找了个位子坐下。

他身子往前一倾,盯着司机那儿望,然后靠着椅背坐下,接着他又反复这个过程。他心情紧张,控制不住自己而笑出声来。那些孩子望着他。他们不明白,波特是担心有人偷他的包,包里有他生存不可缺少的眼镜,宣传小册子,定单,以及可用别针别上的领带。

10 Porter senses the stares. He looks at the floor.

11 His face reveals nothing. In his heart, though, he knows he should have been like these kids, like everyone on this bus. He's not angry. But he knows. His mother explained how the delivery had been difficult, how the doctor had used an instrument that crushed a section of his brain and caused cerebral palsy, a disorder of the nervous system that affects his speech, hands and walk.

波特意识到了小孩子在盯着他看。他把目光转向车厢地板。

他脸上没有流露出任何神情。但在他心里,他知道自己本该和这些孩子一样,和车上其他所有人一样。他并不生气。但他心里明白。他母亲解释说生他时难产,医生使用了某种器械,损坏了他大脑的一部分,导致了大脑性麻痹,一种影响他说话,手部活动以及行走的神经系统的紊乱。

12 Porter came to Portland when he was 13 after his father, a salesman, was transferred here.

He attended a school for the disabled and then Lincoln High School, where he was placed in a class for slow kids.

13 But he wasn't slow.

波特13岁那年随着当推销员的父亲工作调动来到波特兰。他上了一个残疾人学校,后来就读林肯高级中学,在那儿他被编入慢班。

但他并不笨。

14 His mind was trapped in a body that didn't work. Speaking was difficult and took time. People were impatient and didn't listen. He felt different -- was different -- from the kids who rushed about in the halls and planned dances he would never attend.

他由于身体不能正常运行而使脑子不能充分发挥其功能。他说话困难,而且慢。别人不耐烦,不听他说。他觉得自己不同于――事实上也确实不同于――那些在过道里东奔西跑的孩子,那些孩子安排的舞会他永远也不可能参加。

15 What could his future be? Porter wanted to do something and his mother was certain that he could rise above his limitations. With her encouragement, he applied for a job with the Fuller Brush Co. only to be turned down. He couldn't carry a product briefcase or walk a route, they said. 他将来会是个什么样子呢?波特想做些事,母亲也相信他能冲破身体的局限。在她的鼓励之下,他向福勒牙刷公司申请一份工作,结果却遭到拒绝。他不能提样品包,也不能跑一条推销线路,他们说。

16 Porter knew he wanted to be a salesman. He began reading help wanted ads in the newspaper. When he saw one for Watkins, a company that sold household products door-to-door, his mother set up a meeting with a representative. The man said no, but Porter wouldn't listen. He just wanted a chance. The man gave in and offered Porter a section of the city that no salesman wanted.

波特知道自己想当推销员。他开始阅读报纸上的招聘广告。他看到沃特金斯,一家上门推销家用物品的公司要人,他母亲就跟其代理人安排会面。那人说不行,可波特不予理会。他就是需要一个机会。那人让步了,把城里一个其他推销员都不要的区域派给了他。

17 It took Porter four false starts before he found the courage to ring the first doorbell. The man who answered told him to go away, a pattern repeated throughout the day.

波特一开始四次都没敢敲门,第五次才鼓起勇气按了第一户人家的门铃。开门的那人让他走开,这种情形持续了一整天。

18 That night Porter read through company literature and discovered the products were guaranteed. He would sell that pledge. He just needed people to listen.

19 If a customer turned him down, Porter kept coming back until they heard him. And he sold. 当晚,波特仔细阅读了公司的宣传资料,发现产品都是保用的。他要把保用作为卖点。只要别人肯听他说话就成。

要是客户回绝波特,拒绝倾听他的介绍,他就一再上门。就这样他将产品卖了出去。

20 For several years he was Watkins' top retail salesman. Now he is the only one of the company's 44,000 salespeople who sells door-to-door.

21 The bus stops in the Transit Mall, and Porter gets off.

他连着几年都是沃特金斯公司的最佳零售推销员。如今他是该公司44000名推销员中惟一一个上门推销的人。

公共汽车在公交中转购物中心站停下,波特下了车。

22 His body is not made for walking. Each step strains his joints. Headaches are constant visitors. His right arm is nearly useless. He can't fully control the limb. His body tilts at the waist; he seems to be heading into a strong, steady wind that keeps him off balance. At times, he looks like a toddler taking his first steps.

23 He walks 10 miles a day.

他的身体不适合行走。每走一步关节都疼。头疼也是习以为常的事。他的右臂几乎没用。他不能完全控制这只手臂。他的身体从腰部开始前倾,看上去就像是顶着一股强劲的吹个不停的风迈步向前,风似乎要把他刮倒。有时他看上去就像是个刚刚学步的孩童。 他每天要走10英里的路程。

24 His first stop today, like every day, is a shoeshine stand where employees tie his laces. Twice a week he pays for a shine. At a nearby hotel one of the doormen buttons Porter's top shirt button and slips on his clip-on tie. He then walks to another bus that drops him off a mile from his territory.

25 He left home nearly three hours ago.

像平日一样,他今天的第一站是个擦鞋摊,这里的雇员替他系好鞋带。他每周请他们擦两次鞋。附近一家旅馆的门卫替他扣上衬衣最上面一粒纽扣,戴上用别针别上的领带。随后他步行去搭乘另一部巴士,在距离他的推销区域一英里处下车。

他是差不多3个小时前从家里动身的。

* * *

26 The wind is cold and raindrops fall. Porter stops at the first house. This is the moment he's been preparing for since 5:45 a.m. He rings the bell.

27 A woman comes to the door.

风冷雨淋。波特在第一户人家门前停了下来。这是他从5:45分开始就为之准备的时刻。他按了门铃。

一位妇人开了门。

28 "Hello."

29 "No, thank you, I'm just preparing to leave."

30 Porter nods.

31 "May I come back later?" he asks.

32 "No," says the woman.

33 She shuts the door.

34 Porter's eyes reveal nothing.

35 He moves to the next house.

36 The door opens.

37 Then closes.

“你好。”

“不,多谢了。我这就要出门。”

波特点点头。

“那我过会儿来,可以吗?”他问。

“不用了,”那妇人回答道。

她关上了门。

波特眼里没有流露丝毫神情。

他转向下一个人家。

门开了。

随即又关上。

38 He doesn't get a chance to speak. Porter's expression never changes. He stops at every home in his territory. People might not buy now. Next time. Maybe. No doesn't mean never. Some of his best customers are people who repeatedly turned him down before buying.

他连开口说话的机会都没有。波特的表情从不改变。他敲开自己推销区内的每一个家门。人们现在可能不买什么。也许下一次会买。现在不买不等于永远不买。他的一些老客户都是那些多次把他拒之门外而后来才买的人。

39 He makes his way down the street.

40 "I don't want to try it."

41 "Maybe next time."

42 "I'm sorry. I'm on the phone right now."

43 "No."

他沿着街道往前走。

“我不想试用这个产品。”

“也许下次试一试。”

“对不起。我在打电话。”

“不要。”

44 Ninety minutes later, Porter still has not made a sale. But there is always another home. 45 He walks on.

46 He knocks on a door. A woman appears from the backyard where she's gardening. She often buys, but not today, she says, as she walks away.

47 "Are you sure?" Porter asks.

48 She pauses.

49 "Well..."

90分钟之后,波特仍没能卖出一件物品。不过,下面有的是人家。

他继续向前走。

他敲响一扇门。一位正在拾掇花园的妇女从后院走了出来。她常常买他的东西,不过今天不买,她说着走开了。

“你真的不买什么?”波特问。

她迟疑了一下。

“那么??”

50 That's all Porter needs. He walks as fast as he can, tailing her as she heads to the backyard. He sets his briefcase down and opens it. He puts on his glasses, removes his brochures and begins his sales talk, showing the woman pictures and describing each product.

波特要的就是这一迟疑。他尽可能快步上前,跟着她朝后院走去。他放下公文包,打了开来。他戴上眼镜,拿出产品介绍小册子,开始推销,给那位妇人看图片,详细介绍每一个产品。

51 Spices?

52 "No."

53 Jams?

54 "No. Maybe nothing today, Bill."

55 Porter's hearing is the one perfect thing his body does. Except when he gets a live one. Then the word "no" does not register.

调料?

“不要。”

果酱?

“不要。恐怕今天不要什么,比尔。”

波特的听觉是他身上惟一没有一点毛病的功能。只有当他察觉对方有可能买他东西的时候才会发生例外。这个时候,他是听不见“不”字的。

56 Pepper?

57 "No."

58 Laundry soap?

59 "Hmm."

60 Porter stops. He smells blood. He quickly remembers her last order.

61 "Say, aren't you about out of soap? That's what you bought last time. You ought to be out right about now."

62 "You're right, Bill. I'll take one."

胡椒粉?

“不要。”

洗衣皂?

“嗯。”

波特停了下来。他嗅到了猎物。他很快记起了她上次的订单。

“对了,你肥皂差不多用完了吧?你上次买的就是这个。现在该差不多用完了。” “没错,比尔。我买一块。”

* * *

63 He arrives home, in a rainstorm, after 7 p.m. Today was not profitable. He tells himself not to worry. Four days left in the week.

64 At least he's off his feet and home.

65 Inside, an era is preserved. The telephone is a heavy, rotary model. There is no VCR, no cable.

66 His is the only house in the neighborhood with a television antenna on the roof.

晚上7点过后,他在暴风雨中回到了家。今天没赚钱。他跟自己说别着急。这个星期

还有4天呢。

至少他回到了家,不用再站立了。

屋内,俨然是保存完好的一个旧时代。电话是笨重的拨盘式的那种。没有录像放映机,没有有线电视。

他家是附近惟一一家屋顶上支着电视接收天线的人家。

67 He leads a solitary life. Most of his human contact comes on the job. Now, he heats the oven and slips in a frozen dinner because it's easy to fix.

68 The job usually takes him 10 hours.

69 He's a weary man who knows his days -- no matter what his intentions -- are numbered. 70 He works on straight commission. He gets no paid holidays, vacations or raises. Yes, some months are lean.

他过着离群索居的生活。他跟别人的来往大都限于工作上。他打开了烤炉,放了一盒冷藏食品进去,因为这样做饭方便。

他的工作通常要花去他10个小时。

他身心疲惫,知道来日无多了――不管他愿不愿意。

他的收入完全依靠佣金。他没有带薪假期,没有度假,也没有加薪。的确,有些月份收入相当微薄。

71 In 1993, he needed back surgery to relieve pain caused from decades of walking. He was laid up for five months and couldn't work. He was forced to sell his house. The new owners, familiar with his situation, froze his rent and agreed to let him live there until he dies.

19xx年,他需要作背部手术,以减轻数十年行走引起的疼痛。他卧床五个月,无法工作。他被迫出售房子。房子的新主人了解他的处境,冻结了他的房租,并答应让他在有生之年继续住在那里。

72 He doesn't feel sorry for himself.

73 The house is only a building. A place to live, nothing more.

74 His dinner is ready. He eats at the kitchen table and listens to the radio. The afternoon mail brought bills that he will deal with later this week. The checkbook is upstairs in the bedroom. 75 His checkbook.

他并不因此自悲自怜。

房子只不过是个建筑物。一个住的地方。仅此而已。

晚饭好了。他在厨房的桌子旁吃饭,边吃边听着收音机。下午的邮差送来了他的账单,这些账单他将在这个星期后几天支付。支票簿在楼上卧室里。

他的私人支票簿。

76 He types in the recipient's name and signs his name.

77 The signature is small and scrawled.

78 Unreadable.

79 But he knows.

80 Bill Porter.

81 Bill Porter, salesman.

他用打字机打上收款人的名字,随后签上名。

签名小小的,字迹潦草。

难以辨认。

可他认得出来。

比尔·波特。

推销员比尔·波特。

82 From his easy chair he hears the wind lash his house and the rain pound the street outside his home. He must dress warmly tomorrow. He's sleepy. With great care he climbs the stairs to his bedroom.

83 In time, the lights go off.

84 Morning will be here soon.

他坐在安乐椅上,只听得呼啸的大风猛烈地冲击着他的屋子,大雨击打着屋外的街面。明天他得穿得暖和些。他觉得睏了,他小心翼翼地爬上楼就寝。

没过一会儿,灯就灭了。

早晨很快就会来临。

When children take up ways of making a living that differ greatly from their parents, differences in outlook can easily arise. This is what Alfred Lubrano found. Brought up in the family of a building worker, education led him to develop different interests and ambitions from his father. Here he writes about how this affected their relationship.

当子女的谋生方式与父母大相径庭时,很容易产生观念上的差异。 这正是艾尔弗雷德·卢布拉诺的发现。他在一个建筑工人的家庭里长大,他所受的教育使他产生了不同于父亲的兴趣与抱负。他在本文中叙述了这一差异如何影响着他们的父子关系。

Bricklayer's Boy

Alfred Lubrano

1 My father and I were both at the same college back in the mid 1970s. While I was in class at Columbia, he was laying bricks not far up the street, working on a campus building.

砖瓦匠的儿子

艾尔弗雷德·卢布拉诺

二十世纪七十年代中期,我和父亲同在一所大学里。我在哥伦比亚大学上学,他在同一条街不远的地方砌砖,在校园的一处建筑工地上干活。

2 Sometimes we'd hook up on the subway going home, he with his tools, I with my books. We didn't chat much about what went on during the day. My father wasn't interested in Dante, I wasn't up on arches. We'd share a New York Post and talk about the Mets.

有时我俩一起坐地铁回家,他提着工具,我拿着书本。我俩不怎么聊白天的事。我父亲对但丁没有兴趣,我也不懂拱门什么的。我俩看一份《纽约邮报》,谈论大都会棒球队的比赛情况。

3 My dad has built lots of places in New York City he can't get into: colleges, apartments, office towers. He makes his living on the outside. Once the walls are up, a place takes on a

different feel for him, as if he's not welcome anymore. It doesn't bother him, though. For my father, earning the cash that paid for my entry into a fancy, bricked-in institution was satisfaction enough.

(1) We didn't know it then, but those days were the start of a branching off, a redefining of what it means to be a workingman in our family. Related by blood, we're separated by class, my father and I. Being the white-collar son of a blue-collar man means being the hinge on the door between two ways of life.

我爸爸建造了纽约市的许多他进不去的建筑:大学,公寓,办公大楼。他在建筑物的外面谋生。一旦高墙耸起,这建筑给他的感受就变了,他好像不再受到欢迎。不过他对此并不在意。对我父亲来说,挣点钱好让我进入一所高档的、用砖墙围起来的大学就读就挺满足了,就像他自己进去一样。当时我俩并未意识到这一点,但那就是我们之间开始拉开距离的日子,是开始在家庭内部重新界定劳动者的意义的日子。我们父子俩血脉相连,却分属不同的阶级。作为一个蓝领工人的白领儿子,就等于是两种不同生活方式之间的大门上的铰链。

4 It's not so smooth jumping from Italian old-world style to U.S. yuppie in a single generation. Despite the myth of mobility in America, the true rule, experts say, is rags to rags, riches to riches. Maybe 10 percent climb from the working to the professional class. My father has had a tough time accepting my decision to become a mere newspaper reporter, a field that pays just a little more than construction does. He wonders why I haven't cashed in on that multi-brick education and taken on some lawyer-lucrative job. After bricklaying for thirty years, my father promised himself I'd never lay bricks for a living. He figured an education would somehow rocket me into the upwardly mobile, and load some serious money into my pockets. (2) What he didn't count on was his eldest son breaking blue-collar rule No. 1: Make as much money as you can, to pay for as good a life as you can get.

仅在一代人的时间里,从旧的意大利生活方式一跃而成为美国的雅皮士不是件容易事。虽说美国有社会阶层上下流动的神话,专家们却指出,真实的情况是,穷者穷,富者富。或许有百分之十的人从工人阶级爬到专业技术阶层。我父亲好不容易才接受了我当一名普通报纸记者的决定,因为这个行当的收入只略高于建筑业。他不明白,我为什么不利用他砌砖赚钱付学费让我获得的大学教育,找一份诸如律师那种收入丰厚的工作。我父亲砌了30年的墙,他发誓不让我靠砌墙谋生。他以为我受过教育就能一步登天加入向上流社会流动的行列,并赚上大把大把的钞票把衣袋装得鼓鼓的。他没有想到的是,他的大儿子打破了蓝领规则的第一条:赚尽可能多的钱,过尽可能好的生活。

5 He'd tell me about it when I was nineteen, my collar already fading to white. I was the college boy who handed him the wrong wrench on help-around-the-house Saturdays. "You better make a lot of money," my blue-collar handy dad warned. "You're gonna need to hire someone to hammer a nail into a wall for you." 我19岁时他就跟我这么说了,那时我的衣领已经开始变白。我是在大学念书的儿子,星期六在家里帮忙时递给他的扳手总是不对。“你最好赚好多好多钱,”我的手巧的蓝领父亲告诫道。“你将来连墙上钉个钉子也要雇人帮忙。”

6 In 1980, after college and graduate school, I was offered my first job, on a daily paper in Columbus, Ohio. I broke the news in the kitchen, where all the family business is discussed. My mother wept as if it were Vietnam. My father had a few questions: "Ohio? Where the hell is

Ohio?"

19xx年,我读了大学又读了研究生毕业后,俄亥俄州哥伦比亚市的一份日报给了我第一个工作。我在厨房里说了这事,因为家里的事都是在厨房里谈论的。我母亲哭了,好像是去越南打仗似的。我父亲问了几个问题:“俄亥俄?俄亥俄到底在哪儿?”

7 I said it's somewhere west of New York City, that it was like Pennsylvania, only more so. I told him I wanted to write, and these were the only people who'd take me.

我说是在纽约城西面一个地方,就像宾夕法尼亚州一样,只是更往西。我跟他说我想写作,只有他们肯给我这份工作。

8 "Why can't you get a good job that pays something, like in advertising in the city, and write on the side?"

“为什么你就不能找个收入高一点的好工作呢,比如在纽约做广告,边工作边写作?”

9 "Advertising is lying," I said. "I wanna tell the truth."

“广告是撒谎,”我说。“我要报道事实。”

10 "The truth?" the old man exploded, his face reddening as it does when he's up twenty stories in high wind. "What's truth?" I said it's real life, and writing about it would make me happy. "You're happy with your family," my father said, spilling blue-collar rule No. 2. "That's what makes you happy. After that, it all comes down to dollars and cents. What gives you comfort besides your family? Money, only money."

“事实?”老头气炸了,脸涨得通红,就像他顶着狂风站在20层楼高的地方。“什么是事实?”我说就是真实的生活,报道真实的生活会使我幸福。“你跟家人一起就是幸福,”我父亲说,无意中道出了蓝领规则的第二条。“那才是让你幸福的东西。除了这,一切都归结为美元、金钱。除了你的家还有什么给你安慰?钱,只有钱。”

11 During the two weeks before I moved, he reminded me that newspaper journalism is a dying field, and I could do better. No longer was I the good son who studied hard. I was hacking people off.

临行前的两个星期里,他提醒我说,报纸新闻是个行将消亡的行当,我完全可以有个更好的前程。我不再是那个用功听话的孩子。我让人大失所望.

12 One night, though, my father brought home some heavy tape and that clear, plastic bubble stuff you pack your mother's second-string dishes in. "You probably couldn't do this right," my father said to me before he sealed the boxes and helped me take them to UPS. "This is what he wants," my father told my mother the day I left for Columbus. "What are you gonna do?" after I said my good-byes, my father took me aside and pressed five $100 bills into my hands. "It's okay," he said over my weak protests. "Don't tell your mother."

可是,一天晚上,我父亲带回家一些粗胶纸和透明的塑料泡沫材料,就是人家用来装母亲的备用餐具的那种。“看来你做不了这个事,”父亲对我说。接着他封好箱子并帮我把箱子拿到联邦快运公司。“这是他要做的事,”我动身去哥伦比亚那天,父亲对母亲说。“你有什么办法呢?”我道别后,父亲把我拉到一边,往我手里塞了5张100元的票子。我稍微推辞了一下。他就说,“拿着吧, 别告诉你妈就是了。”

13 When I broke the news about what the paper was paying me, my father suggested I get a part-time job to supplement my income. "Maybe you could drive a cab." Once, after I was chewed out by the city editor for something trivial, I made the mistake of telling my father during a visit home. "They pay you nothin', and they push you around too much in that business," he told me, the rage building. "Next time, you gotta grab the guy by the throat and tell him he's a big jerk." 当我跟他们说了报社给我多少薪水时,父亲建议我找个兼职以弥补工资的不足。“也许你可以开出租车。”有一次,为了件小事我被本地新闻编辑责骂,我犯了个错,回家时把这事跟父亲讲了。“他们简直就不付你什么工钱,把你差来差去,欺人太甚了,”他跟我说着,火气就上来了。“下一次,你要卡着那家伙的脖子,告诉他,他是个大混蛋。”

14 My father isn't crazy about his life. He wanted to be a singer and actor when he was young, but his Italian family expected money to be coming in. (3) My dad learned a trade, as he was supposed to, and settled into a life of pre-scripted routine.

我父亲对自己的生活并不心满意足。他年轻时想当歌唱家和演员,可他的意大利家庭等着钱用。爸爸就像家人期望的那样,学了一门手艺,过上了一种预先设计好的生活。

15 Although I see my dad infrequently, my brother, who lives at home, is with the old man every day. Chris has a lot more blue-collar in him than I do, despite his management-level career. Once in a while he'll bag a lunch and, in a nice wool suit, meet my father at a construction site and share sandwiches.

我虽然不经常见到爸爸,但我弟弟住在家里,天天和老爸在一起。克里斯虽然身为管理人员,却比我更像蓝领。他不时地会装上一袋午餐,穿着考究的毛料西装,在建筑工地上与父亲相会,跟他一起吃三明治。

16 It was Chris who helped my dad most when my father tried to change his life several months ago. My dad wanted a civil-service bricklayer foreman's job that wouldn't be so physically demanding. There was a written test that included essay questions about construction work. My father hadn't done anything like it in forty years. Every morning before sunrise, Chris would be ironing a shirt and my father would sit at the kitchen table and read aloud his practice essays on how to wash down a wall, or how to build a tricky corner. Chris would suggest words and approaches.

几个月前,当父亲想改变一下自己的生活时,是克里斯给了父亲最大的帮助。父亲想当行政部门砌砖工人的领班,这活儿对体力的要求不是太高。想做这份工作,要参加笔试,回答有关建筑工作的一些问题。父亲有40年没做过这样的事情了。每天太阳还没有出来,克里斯在一边熨烫衬衣,父亲坐在厨房餐桌旁,大声朗读他练习写的怎么洗刷墙壁,怎么砌一个难砌的墙角的回答。克里斯则提出建议,用什么词儿,如何回答。

17 It was so hard for my dad. He had to take a prep course in a junior high school three nights a week after work for six weeks. At class time, the outside men would come in, twenty-five construction workers squeezing themselves into little desks. Tough blue-collar guys armed with No. 2 pencils leaning over and scratching out their practice essays, cement in their hair, tar on their pants, their work boots too big and clumsy to fit under the desks.

这真是难为了老父。一连6个星期,他下班后每星期3个晚上得去一所初中上培训班。

上课的时候,这些常年在外面干活的人走进教室,25个建筑工人,一个个挤坐在小小的桌椅里。干重活的蓝领工人握着2号铅笔,趴在桌子上费力地书写他们练习回答的文字,头发里沾着水泥,裤子上蹭着沥青,工作靴又笨又重,小桌子下面都放不大下。

18 "Is this what finals felt like?" my father would ask me on the phone. "Were you always this nervous?" I told him yes. I told him writing's always difficult. He thanked Chris and me for the coaching, for putting him through school this time. My father thinks he did okay, but he's still awaiting the test results. (4) In the meantime, he takes life the blue-collar way, one brick at a time. “期终考试是不是都这样?”父亲在电话里会问我。“你以前也一直这么紧张吗?”我跟他说是的。我跟他说写文章向来不容易。他感谢我和克里斯辅导他,帮助他这次完成了学业。父亲觉得自己考得不错,不过他还在等考试成绩出来。与此同时,他继续他的蓝领生活,一步一个脚印。

19 When we see each other these days, my father still asks how the money is. Sometimes he reads my stories; usually he likes them, although he recently criticized one piece as being a bit sentimental.

如今,我俩见面时,父亲仍要问我挣多少钱。有时他读我写的报道;他通常还喜欢,不过最近他批评我的一篇报道有点感情用事。

20 During one of my visits to Brooklyn not long ago, he and I were in the car, on our way to buy toiletries, one of my father's weekly routines. "You know, you're not as successful as you could be," he began, blue-collar blunt as usual. "You paid your dues in school. You deserve better restaurants, better clothes." Here we go, I thought, the same old stuff. I'm sure every family has five or six similar big issues that are replayed like well-worn videotapes. I wanted to fast-forward this thing when we stopped at a red light.

不久前我回布鲁克林,和他坐在车里,去买化妆用品。这是父亲每星期要干的事情。“我说,你是可以干得好一些的,”他又开始了,还是蓝领风格直来直去。“你读书时挺卖力。你理应上好一点的饭店,穿好一点的衣裳。”又来了,我心想,又是老一套。我敢肯定每家人家都有那么5、6个类似的经常争论的大问题,就像反复放了多遍老掉牙的录像带。我们在一个红灯前停下时,我想着要把这事快快带过去。

21 Just then my father turned to me, solemn and intense. "I envy you," he said quietly. "For a man to do something he likes and get paid for it -- that's fantastic." He smiled at me before the light changed, and we drove on. To thank him for the understanding, I sprang for the deodorant and shampoo. For once, my father let me pay.

就在那时,父亲转身看着我,满脸严肃认真。“我羡慕你,”他轻声道。“一个人能做自己喜欢做的事,还能挣钱――真是好极了。”他对着我微笑,变绿灯了,我们继续往前开。为了感谢他的理解,我冲上前去,买了除臭剂和香波,这一次父亲总算让我付了钱。

unit 8 A Clone Is Born

Cloning offers the possibility of making exact copies of ourselves. Should this be allowed? What benefits and dangers may cloning bring?

克隆技术使我们有可能分毫不差地复制自己。这一技术是否应该获准应用?克隆技术会带来什么裨益与危险?

A Clone Is Born

Gina Kolata

1 On July 5, 1996, at 5:00 p.m., the most famous lamb in history entered the world. She was born in a shed, just down the road from the Roslin Institute in Roslin, Scotland, where she was created. And yet her creator, Ian Wilmut, a quiet, balding fifty-two-year-old embryologist, does not remember where he was when he heard that the lamb, named Dolly, was born. He does not even recall getting a telephone call from John Bracken, a scientist who had monitored the pregnancy of the sheep that gave birth to Dolly, saying that Dolly was alive and healthy and weighed 6.6 kilograms.

克隆生命诞生了

吉纳·科拉泰

19xx年7月5日下午5点,有史以来最出名的小羊羔问世了。它出生在苏格兰罗斯林镇的罗斯林研究院所在的那条路上的一个小棚里,这只羊羔是在该研究院创造出来的。而它的创造者伊恩·威尔莫特,一位正在谢顶的文质彬彬的52岁的胚胎学家,却不记得自己是在什么地方听到这头名叫多利的羊问世的消息的。他甚至不记得曾接到约翰· 布拉肯的电话,这位对产下多利的那头羊的整个妊娠过程进行监察的科学家在电话上说多利健康存活,体重6.6千克。

2 No one broke open champagne. No one took pictures. Only a few staff members from the institute and a local veterinarian who attended the birth were present. Yet Dolly, who looked for all the world like hundreds of other lambs that dot the rolling hills of Scotland, was soon to change the world.

没有人打开香槟酒庆贺。没有人拍照留影。只有研究院的几位员工,以及接生的一位当地兽医在场。然而,多利,这头与苏格兰起伏的山丘上散布着的千百头其他的羊毫无异样的小羊羔,很快就改变了世界。

3 When the time comes to write the history of our age, this quiet birth, the creation of this little lamb, will stand out. The world is a different place now that she is born.

当后人编写我们这一时代的历史的时候,这一平静的降生,这头小羊羔的问世,将会引人注目。世界因它降生而从此改变。

4 Dolly is a clone. She was created not out of the union of a sperm and an egg but out of the genetic material from an udder cell of a six-year-old sheep. Wilmut fused the udder cell with an egg from another sheep, after first removing all genetic material from the egg. The udder cell's genes took up residence in the egg and directed it to grow and develop. The result was Dolly, the identical twin of the original sheep that provided the udder cells, but an identical twin born six years later.

多利是头克隆羊。它不是精卵结合的产物,而是由取自一头六龄羊的乳腺细胞的基因材料生成的。威尔莫特先将取自另一头羊的卵子中的所有基因材料取出,再将该卵子与这一乳腺细胞融合。乳腺细胞的基因在该卵子中安营扎寨,令其生长发育。其结果就是多利羊,即与提供乳腺细胞的那头羊一模一样的孪生羊,只是这头孪生羊晚出生了6年。

5 Until Dolly entered the world, cloning was the stuff of science fiction. It had been raised as a possibility decades ago, then dismissed, something that serious scientists thought was simply not going to happen anytime soon. Now it is not fantasy to think that someday, perhaps decades from now, but someday, you could clone yourself and make tens, dozens, hundreds of genetically identical twins. Nor is it science fiction to think that your cells could be improved beforehand, genetically engineered to add some genes and remove others. 在多利羊问世之前,克隆技术不过是科学幻想的故事。几十年前有人提出这种可能性,后来遭到摒弃,严肃的科学家那时认为克隆在近期根本不可能实现。现在这已不再是幻想,几十年之后,或许有朝一日你可以克隆自己,造出数十个,数百个,上千个基因完全相同的孪生的兄弟。事先改进你的细胞,运用基因工程注入某些基因,剔除某些基因,这样的事也不再是科学幻想。

6 True, it was a sheep that was cloned, not a human being. But there was nothing exceptional about sheep. Even Wilmut, who made it clear that he was opposed to the very idea of cloning people, said that there was no longer any theoretical reason why humans could not clone themselves, using the same methods he had used to clone Dolly. "There is no reason in principle why you couldn't do it." But, he added, "All of us would find that offensive."

没错,克隆的是头羊,而不是人。但羊并没有任何独特之处。甚至明确表示反对克隆人的威尔莫特也称,理论上,没有理由说人类不能使用与克隆多利羊同样的手段来克隆人类本身。“原则上没有不能这么做的理由。”但他补充说,“我们都会认为这样做令人厌恶。”

7 We live in a time when we argue about pragmatism and compromises in our quest to be morally right. But cloning forces us back to the most basic questions that have plagued humanity since the dawn of recorded time: What is good and what is evil? And how much potential for evil can we tolerate to obtain something that might be good? Cloning, with its possibilities for creating our own identical twins, brings us back to the ancient sins of vanity and pride; the sins of Narcissus, who so loved himself, and of Prometheus, who, in stealing fire, sought the powers of God. So before we can ask why we are so fascinated by cloning, we have to examine our souls

and ask, What exactly so bothers many of us about trying to make an exact copy of our genetic selves? Or, if we are not bothered, why aren't we?

我们生活在这样一个时代,人们为了追求道德的完善对实用主义和妥协折衷的问题争论不休。而克隆技术迫使我们回到有史以来一直困扰人类的那些最本质的问题:何者为善,何者为恶?为了获得可能有益的东西,我们对邪恶的隐患能容忍到何种程度?克隆技术以其创造与我们自身完全一样的孪生兄弟的可能性,将我们带回到种种古老的罪孽:虚荣傲慢;那喀索斯式的自恋罪,以及普罗米修斯的罪孽,他以盗火来谋求上帝的权力。因此,我们在扪心自问为什么对克隆技术如此着迷之前,不得不首先审视自己的心灵,问一问:究竟是什么东西使得我们中的许多人对于尝试复制与自身基因完全等同的孪生兄弟那么不安?或者,如果我们并没有感到不安,其原因又是什么?

8 We want children who resemble us. Even couples who use donor eggs or donor sperm, search catalogs of donors to find people who resemble themselves. Several years ago, a poem by Linda Pastan, called "To a Daughter Leaving Home," was displayed on the walls of New York subways. It read:

Is it my own image

I love so

in your face?

I lean over your sleep,

Narcissus over

his clear pool,

ready to fall in --

to drown for you

if necessary.

Yet if we so love ourselves, reflected in our children, why is it so terrifying to so many of us to think of seeing our exact genetic replicas born again, identical twins years younger than we? Is it one thing for nature to form us through a genetic lottery, and another for us to take complete control, abandoning all thoughts of somehow, through the mixing of genes, having a child who is like us, but better? Normally, when a man and a woman have a child together, the child is an unpredictable mixture of the two. We recognize that, of course, in the old joke in which a beautiful but dumb woman suggests to an ugly but brilliant man that the two have a child. Just think of how wonderful the baby would be, the woman says, with my looks and your brains. Aha, says the man. But what if the child inherited my looks and your brains?

我们希望子女像我们自己。即使是采用捐赠卵子或捐赠精子的夫妇也要查找精子捐献人名录,以发现与自己相像的人。若干年前,琳达· 帕斯坦写的一首题为《致离家的女儿》的诗曾出现在纽约地铁的墙上,诗中写道:

难道是我自己的形象

映在你的脸上

使我如此爱恋?

我俯视着安睡的你

就像那喀索斯俯视着

他那一潭清水,

随时准备跳下去――

如有必要

为你沉溺

然而,如果我们如此爱恋在子女身上映现出来的自我,那为什么我们当中有这么多人,一想到将目睹与我们完全一样的基因复制品、比自己年轻许多的双胞胎降生的时候,就会感到如此惊恐?难道大自然通过基因的任意组合将我们造就是一回事,而由我们自己实施全面控制,摈弃一切随意的念头,通过基因组合造就一个与我们相似但更为完美的孩子则又是另外一回事?当男女一起生育孩子时,孩子往往是两个人基因的不可预料的组合。显然,一个老笑话表明我们已经认识到了这一点。这个笑话说的是一位漂亮但蠢笨的女人向一个丑陋但才华横溢的男人建议两人一起生一个孩子。想一想吧,那女人说,孩子拥有我的容貌、你的大脑那将会多么出色。啊,那男人说,可要是孩子继承了我的容貌你的大脑呢?

9 Cloning brings us face-to-face with what it means to be human and makes us confront both the privileges and limitations of life itself. It also forces us to question the powers of science. Is there, in fact, knowledge that we do not want? Are there paths we would rather not pursue?

克隆技术使我们直接面对做人的意义这个问题,使我们直接面对生命本身的特权与限制。克隆技术也迫使我们对科学的力量提出质疑。是不是有些知识我们真的不要去获取?有一些路我们宁愿不去探寻?

10 The time is long past when we can speak of the purity of science, divorced from its consequences. If any needed reminding that the innocence of scientists was lost long ago, they need only recall the comments of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the genius who was a father of the atomic bomb and who was transformed in the process from a supremely confident man, ready to follow his scientific curiosity, to a humbled and troubled soul, wondering what science had let loose.

我们奢谈科学的纯洁性,将科学与其后果分离的时代早已过去。如果有谁还需要提醒,科学家的纯真早已丧失,他们只要回想一下J·罗伯特·奥本海默的话。奥本海默是一位天才,他是原子弹的缔造者之一。他在追求科学的过程中,从一个极其自信、随时准备跟着科学好奇心走的人,逐渐变成了一个谦恭困惑的人,他不知道科学放出了什么妖魔。

11 Before the bomb was made, Oppenheimer said, "When you see something that is technically sweet you go ahead and do it." After the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in a chilling speech delivered in 1947, he said: "The physicists have known sin; and this is a knowledge which they cannot lose."

在原子弹造出之前,奥本海默说:“当你看到某个技术完美的东西时,你就毫不犹豫地去实现它。”原子弹投在广岛、长崎之后,他在19xx年发表的一则令人毛骨悚然的演说中指出:“物理学家们已经尝到过罪孽的滋味,这种滋味他们无法忘记。”

12 As with the atom bomb, cloning is complex, multi-layered in its threats and its promises. It offers the possibility of real scientific advances that can improve our lives and save them. In medicine, scientists dream of using cloning to reprogram cells so we can make our own body parts for transplantation. Suppose, for example, you needed a bone marrow transplant. Some deadly forms of leukemia can be cured completely if doctors destroy your own marrow and replace it with healthy marrow from someone else. But the marrow must be a close genetic match to your own. If not, it will lash out at you and kill you. Bone marrow is the source of the white blood cells of the immune system. If you have someone else's marrow, you'll make their white blood cells.

And if those cells think you are different from them, they will attack.

如同原子弹一样,克隆技术带来的威胁与希望是复杂的、 多层面的。它提供了改善生活、拯救生命的真正科学进步的可能性。在医学上,科学家梦想着运用克隆技术改编细胞的编码指令程序,这样我们就可以制造出我们自己身体的某些部分进行移植。比如说,假定你需要进行骨髓移植。如果医生摧毁你自身的骨髓,用他人的健康骨髓来取代,某些致命的白血病就能得到彻底的医治。但骨髓的属型必须与你自己的相匹配。不然的话,移植的骨髓就会向你发起进攻,置你于死地。骨髓是免疫系统的白细胞的来源。如果你获得别人的骨髓,你就会造出别人的白细胞。如果这些白细胞认定你与它们不同,它们就会发起进攻。

13 But suppose, instead, that scientists could take one of your cells -- any cell -- and merge it with a human egg. The egg would start to divide, to develop, but it would not be permitted to divide more than a few times. Instead, technicians would bathe it in proteins that direct primitive cells, embryo cells, to become marrow cells. What started out to be a clone of you could grow into a batch of your marrow -- the perfect match.

不过,可以有别的办法。假定科学家能够用你自身的某个细胞――任何一个细胞――将它与人的卵细胞融合。卵细胞开始分裂,生长,但你可以控制它,只让它分裂若干次。技术人员将它置于蛋白质当中,指令原始细胞,即胚胎细胞,长成骨髓细胞。开始时本可以克隆你的东西却可以长成一批你的骨髓――与你完美相配的骨髓。

14 More difficult, but not inconceivable, would be to grow solid organs, like kidneys or livers, in the same way.

更为困难,但并非不可思议的,是以同样的方法长成完整的器官,如肾脏或肝脏。

15 Another possibility is to create animals whose organs are perfect genetic matches for humans. If you need a liver, a kidney, or even a heart, you might be able to get one from a specially designed pig clone.

另一种可能性是生成器官与人类基因完全吻合的动物。如果你需要肝脏,肾脏,甚至心脏,你或许能从一头特别设计的克隆猪身上获得。

16 The possibilities are limitless, scientists say, and so, some argue, we should stop focusing on our hypothetical fears and think about the benefits that cloning could bring.

科学家称克隆技术蕴藏着无穷的可能性,因此,有人争辩说,我们不应该喋喋不休地谈论种种假设的恐惧,而去想一想克隆技术能够带来的裨益。

Laurence Tribe used to be against human cloning. However, the arrival of Dolly the sheep led him to have second thoughts on the matter.

劳伦斯·特赖布过去反对克隆人。然而,多利羊的问世促使他重新思考这一问题。

Second Thoughts on Cloning

Laurence H. Tribe

1 Some years ago, long before human cloning became a near-term prospect, I was among those who urged that human cloning be assessed not simply in terms of concrete costs and benefits, but in terms of what the technology might do to the very meaning of human reproduction, child

rearing and individuality. I leaned toward prohibition as the safest course.

关于克隆的再思考

劳伦斯·H·特赖布

几年前,在克隆人还远未成为一种近期前景的时候,我和一些人一起,极力主张对人类克隆的评判不仅仅要考虑到具体的代价与裨益,而且要考虑到这一技术将会对人类繁殖、孩子的抚养以及对人的个性的真实意义会带来什么影响。我倾向于禁止克隆人,认为此乃最为安全可靠的方针。

2 (1) Today, with the prospect of a renewed push for sweeping prohibition rather than mere regulation, I am inclined to say, "Not so fast."

时至今日,眼看着新一轮要求对克隆人全面禁止而非简单规范的呼声即将再起,我倒想说:“慢一点来。”

3 When scientists announced in February that they had created a clone of an adult sheep -- a genetically identical copy named Dolly, created in the laboratory from a single cell of the "parent" -- fierce debate arose over the pros and cons of trying to clone a human being.

当科学家于2月宣布他们缔造了一头由成年羊克隆而成的克隆羊――这头羊名叫多利,是从其“母体”的一个单细胞在实验室里缔造的基因完全一样的复制品――时,对克隆人的利弊掀起了一场激烈的争论。

4 People spoke of the plight of infertile couples; the grief of someone who has lost a child whose biological "rebirth" might offer comfort; the prospect of using cloning to generate donors for tissues and organs; the possibility of creating genetically enhanced clones with a particular talent or a resistance to some dread disease.

有人说到不育夫妇的苦境,说到人们失子之悲痛,而生物再生可能给他们带来安慰;说到利用克隆技术产生组织与器官捐赠人的可能性;说到缔造强化基因克隆人的可能性,这些人可以拥有某种特别的才能或能抵御某些凶疾的能力。

5 But others saw a nightmarish and decidedly unnatural interference with human reproduction. California enacted a ban on human cloning, and the President's National Bioethics Advisory Commission recommended making the ban nationwide. 而有人则看到了对人类繁殖的可怕的完全违背自然的干与。加利福尼亚州通过了克隆人禁止令,而总统的全国生物伦理顾问委员会则建议将这一禁令推向全国。

6 That initial debate has cooled, however, and many in the scientific field now seem to be wondering what all the fuss was about.

然而,最初的论争渐渐平息,科学界不少人现在似乎诧异,当初那么大惊小怪是为哪般。

7 They are asking whether human cloning isn't just a small step beyond what we are already doing with artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, fertility enhancing drugs and genetic manipulation. That casual attitude is sure to give way before long to yet another wave of prohibitionist outrage -- a wave that I no longer feel comfortable riding.

他们问道,克隆人技术不就是比我们已经在做的人工授精、试管婴儿、增强授精药物、

基因控制等往前再走了一小步吗?这种不以为然的态度不用多久肯定会让位于另一波禁止主义的狂潮,――本人对这波狂潮深感不安,无意做个弄潮儿。

8 I certainly don't subscribe to the view that whatever technology permits us to do we ought to do. Nor do I subscribe to the view that the Constitution necessarily guarantees every individual the right to reproduce through whatever means become technically possible.

我当然不赞同那种认为只要技术能办到的,我们什么都该做的观点。我也不赞同那种认为宪法一定要保障每一个人有通过任何可能的科技手段进行繁殖的权利。

9 Rather, my concern is that the very decision to use the law to condemn, and then outlaw, patterns of human reproduction -- especially by appealing to vague notions of what is "natural" -- is at least as dangerous as the technologies such a decision might be used to control.

相反,我的担心是,用法律的手段谴责并进而禁止人类某些繁殖模式的决定本身――尤其是藉助于什么是“自然”这一模糊观念――是危险的,其危险性不亚于这种决定可能用去控制的那些技术。

10 Human cloning has been condemned by some of its most articulate opponents as the ultimate embodiment of the sexual revolution, separating sex from the creation of babies and treating gender and sexuality as socially constructed.

克隆人被某些最雄辩的反对者谴责为性革命的最极端的表现――即把性与生育孩子相分离,把性别与性行为视为一种社会概念。

11 But to ban cloning as furthering what some see as culturally distressing trends may, in the end, lend support to strikingly similar objections to surrogate motherhood.

然而,认为克隆技术会促进某些人所认为的文化上令人忧虑的倾向而加以禁止最终可能会导致反对代孕的呼声得以增强,而这种反对与对克隆人的反对又是何等惊人的相似。

12 Equally scary, when appeals to the natural, or to religious laws, lead to the criminalization of some method for creating human babies, we must come to terms with the inevitable: the prohibition will not be airtight.

同样可怕的是,当诉诸自然的,或宗教的法则导致追究某些生育方式的刑事责任时,我们就必须面对一种必然的局面:这种禁止不可能做到滴水不漏。

13 (2) Just as was true of bans on abortion and on sex outside marriage, bans on human cloning are bound to be hard to enforce. And that, in turn, requires us to think in terms of a class of potential outcasts -- people whose very existence society will have chosen to label as a misfortune and, in essence, to condemn.

就像禁止人工流产和婚外性行为一样,禁止克隆人肯定难以实施。而这一情况反过来要求我们考虑一个可能产生的社会弃儿阶层――那些社会将其存在视为不幸并实质上加以谴责的人们。

14 One need only think of the long struggle to overcome the stigma of "illegitimacy" for the children of unmarried parents. (3) How much worse might be the plight of being judged morally incomplete by virtue of one's man-made origin?

人们只要想一想为了消除非婚生孩子的“不法”污名所进行的长期努力就会明白。由于一个人的人工出生而被判为道德欠缺的苦境将是何等难熬?

15 There are some black markets (in drugs, for instance) that may be worth risking when the evils of legalization would be even worse. But when what we prohibit takes the form of human beings, the stakes become enormous.

当合法化的弊端更为严重得多的情况下,我们可以冒点风险,允许有些黑市(例如毒品)存在。可是,当我们所要禁止的是人的时候,这个风险就会变得非常巨大。

16 There are few evils as grave as that of creating a caste system, one in which an entire category of persons, while perhaps not labeled untouchable, is treated as not fully human.

人为制造一种等级制度,其中整整一类人,即使未必标上贱民二字,却被当成不完整的人加以对待,还有什么弊端比这更为严重呢?

17 And even if one could enforce a ban on cloning, or at least insure that clones would not be a mistreated caste, the social costs of prohibition could still be high. For the arguments supporting a rigid prohibition of cloning are most likely to rest on, and reinforce, the notion that it is unnatural and wrong to cut the conventional links between marriage and the creation and upbringing of new life.

而即使能对克隆技术实施禁止,或至少确保克隆人不是遭受歧视的等级,禁止的社会代价仍将是巨大的。因为支持严令禁止克隆人的论点极有可能基于并强化一个观点,即:割断通常的传统上神圣的异性结合与新生命的缔造与养育之间的联系是违背自然的和错误的。

18 Moreover, a society that bans acts of human creation for no better reason than that their particular form defies nature and tradition is a society that risks cutting itself off from vital experimentation, thus losing a significant part of its capacity to grow. (4) If human cloning is to be banned, then, the reasons had better be far more compelling than any thus far advanced.

而且,一个社会仅仅由于某一特定的创造人类生命的方式与自然及传统相杵就禁止这种行为,那么这个社会就有可能中断必要的实验,从而丧失其相当一部分发展能力。因此,如果要禁止克隆人,其理由应比任何已经提出的更为充分迫切得多才成。

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全新版大学英语综合教程3课文原文和翻译

unit1MrDohertyBuildsHisDreamLifeInAmericamanypeoplehavearomanticideaoflifeinthecountrysideManylivingintow...

全新版大学英语综合教程3课文翻译

ChineseTranslationsofTextsAUnits18第一单元生活方式的改变课文A在美国不少人对乡村生活怀有浪漫的情感许多居住在城镇的人梦想着自己办个农场梦想着靠土地为生很少有人真去把梦想变为现实...

全新版大学英语综合教程3课文翻译

英语课文翻译13568第一单元生活方式的改变在美国不少人对乡村生活怀有浪漫的情感许多居住在城镇的人梦想着自己办个农场梦想着靠土地为生很少有人真去把梦想变为现实或许这也没有什么不好因为正如吉姆多尔蒂当初开始其写作...

全新版大学英语综合教程3课文原文

THERICHESTMANINAMERICADOWNHOMEArtHarris1HeputonadinnerjackettoserveasawaiteratthebirthdaypartyofTheRichestManinAmer...

全新版大学英语综合教程3课文原文及翻译完整版

unit1MrDohertyBuildsHisDreamLifeInAmericamanypeoplehavearomanticideaoflifeinthecountrysideManylivingintow...

全新版大学英语综合教程3课文背诵翻译

Units16第一单元生活方式的改变课文A12我想不是所有热爱乡村的人都会乐意过我们这种生活的这种生活需要一些特殊素质其一是耐得住寂寞由于我们如此忙碌手头又紧我们很少请客在作物生长季节根本就没工夫参加社交活动吉...

全新版大学英语综合教程3课文翻译

全新版大学英语综合教程3课文翻译AppendChineseTranslationsofTextsAUnits18参考译文第一单元生活方式的改变课文A在美国不少人对乡村生活怀有浪漫的情感许多居住在城镇的人梦想着自...

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全新版大学英语综合教程3课文总结(34篇)