新視野大學英語第四冊第三版課文及翻譯

1、精選Unit 5Speaking Chinese in America在美國說中文Once, at a dinner on the Monterey Peninsula, California, my mother whispered to me confidentially: Sau-sau (brothers wife) pretends too hard to be a polite recipient! Why bother with such nominal courtesy? In the end, she always takes everything.有一次，在加州蒙特雷半島上

2、用餐時，我母親私下靜靜地對我說：“嫂嫂想做個彬彬有禮的客人，但是裝得太厲害了！何必費勁講究形式上的客套呢？到最終她還是什么都要。”My mother acted like a waixiao, an emigrant, no longer patient with old taboos and courtesies. To prove her point, she reached across the table to offer my elderly aunt from Beijing the last scallop from the garlic seafood dish, along

3、with the flank steak and the cucumber salad.我母親行事像個“外僑”，即一個移民國外的僑民，由于她已經(jīng)不耐煩老一套的禁忌和禮數(shù)了。為了證明她剛才的觀點，她手伸過桌子，把蒜香海鮮拼盤里的最終一個扇貝，連同牛腩排及黃瓜沙拉一起，遞給我從北京來的年長舅媽。Sau-sau frowned. Byao, zhenbyao! she cried, patting her substantial stomach. I dont want it, really I dont.嫂嫂皺起了眉頭，“不要，真不要！”她一邊大聲說一邊拍著自己已經(jīng)吃得很飽的肚子。我不要了，真的不

4、要了。Take it! Take it! my mother scolded in Chinese, as predictably as the lunar cycles.“拿去吧！拿去吧！”我母親用中文責怪道。預(yù)料到她就會這樣，就像月亮盈虧周期似的。Full, Im already full, Sau-sau muttered weakly, eying the scallop.“飽了，我已經(jīng)飽了，”嫂嫂低聲嘀咕著，眼睛卻瞟著扇貝。Ai! exclaimed my mother. Nobody wants it. It will only rot!“哎！”我母親感嘆著說，“沒人情愿吃，只能讓

5、它壞掉了！”Sau-sau sighed, acting as if she were doing my mother a favor by taking the scrap off the tray and sparing us the trouble of wrapping the leftovers in foil.嫂嫂嘆了口氣，從碟子上拿去了那個扇貝，就好像是幫了我母親一個大忙，并省去了我們用箔紙將剩菜打包的麻煩似的。My mother turned to her brother, an experienced Chinese magistrate, visiting us for t

6、he first time. In America, a Chinese person could starve to death. If you dont breach the old rules of etiquette and say you want it, they wont ask you again.我母親轉(zhuǎn)頭看著她兄長一位閱歷豐富的中國地方法官，這是他初次來看我們。她說：“在美國，一個中國人可能會餓死。要是你不打破老一套的禮數(shù)說你要吃，他們就不會再問你了?！盡y uncle nodded and said he understood fully: Americans take

7、things quickly because they have no time to be polite.我舅舅點點頭，說他完全理解：美國人待人接物快速迅捷，由于他們沒有時間客氣來客氣去。I read an article in The New York Times Magazine on changes in New Yorks little cultural colony of Chinatown, where the author mentioned that the interwoven configuration of Chinese language and culture re

8、nders its speech indirect and polite. Chinese people are so discreet and modest, the article started, that there arent even words for yes and no.我在紐約時報雜志上讀到過一篇文章，描述的是紐約市內(nèi)的中國城這一小塊文化聚居地的變遷。作者在文章中提到，中國語言與文化錯綜交織，使中文格外委婉和客套。中國人是如此“謹慎和虛心”，文章開頭寫道，以至于他們都沒有詞語來表達“是”和“不是”。Why do people keep fabricating these r

9、umors? I thought. They describe us as though we were a tribe of those little dolls sold in Chinatown tourist shops, heads moving up and down in contented agreement!我思考著，為什么人們會不斷地編造這樣的謠言呢？他們把我們描述得就像是唐人街旅游品商店里出售的一批小布娃娃。那些布娃娃的頭不停地上下晃動，好像對一切都心滿足足，完全贊同。As any child of immigrant parents knows, there is a

10、special kind of double bind attached to knowing two languages. My parents, for example, spoke to me in both Chinese and English; I spoke back to them in English.生于移民家庭的孩子都清楚，有一種特殊的兩難境地與說兩種語言的生活聯(lián)系在一起。比如我父母，他們和我說話時中文和英文都用，但我和他們說話時只用英文。Amy-ah! theyd scold me.“艾米啊！”他們會這樣責怪我。what? Id answer back.“怎么啦？”我會

11、回問道。Do not question us when we call, theyd scold in Chinese. Its not respectful.“我們叫你時，不要對我們反問，”他們會用中文訓斥道?！斑@是不禮貌的！”what do you mean?“你們什么意思？”Ai! Didnt we just tell you not to question? is If I consider my upbringing carefully, I find there was nothing discreet about the Chinese language I grew up wi

12、th, no censorship for the sake of politeness. My parents made everything abundantly clear in their consecutive demands: Of course you will become a famous aerospace engineer, they prodded. And yes, a concert pianist on the side.認真想想自己的成長過程，我發(fā)覺，我從小到大所接觸到的中文并不是什么特殊謹慎的語言，也不存在出于客氣而對所說的話進行認真檢查的現(xiàn)象。我父母向我提一

13、連串的要求時，總是把一切都表述得清清楚楚：“你當然會成為有名的航空工程師，”他們會鼓舞我說，“對了，你業(yè)余時間還要做音樂會的鋼琴師。”It seems that the more forceful proceedings always spilled over into Chinese: Not that way! You must wash rice so not a single grain is lost.好像更加強硬的事情總是通過中文傾瀉出來：“不能那樣！你淘米的時候，必需一粒都不漏?！盚aving listened to both Chinese and English, Im su

14、spicious of comparisons between the two languages, as I notice the reciprocal challenges they each present. English speakers say Chinese is extremely difficult because different words can be denoted by very subtle variations in tone. English is often bracketed with the label of inconsistency, a lang

15、uage of too many broken rules.由于始終同時聽著中英文兩種語言，故而我對它們之間的任何對比總是心存懷疑，由于我留意到它們各自都有對方所沒有的難點。說英文的人會認為中文極其難，由于中文用格外微妙的聲調(diào)變化就可以表示不同的詞語。而英文則經(jīng)常被認為缺乏全都性，由于英文具有太多不合規(guī)章的用法。Even more dangerous, in my view, is the temptation to view the gulf between different languages and behavior in translation. To listen to my mo

16、ther speak English, an outside spectator might make the deduction that she has no concept of the temporal differences of past and future or that she is gender blind because she refers to my husband as she. If one were not careful, one might also generalize that all Chinese people take an indirect ro

17、ute to get to the point. It is, rather, my mothers individual tendency to ornament her language and wander around a bit.在我看來，更危急的做法是，人們往往傾向于通過翻譯來理解不同語言和行為之間的差異。假如一個旁觀的外人聽我母親說英語，可能會得出結(jié)論，說她對過去和將來這樣的時間區(qū)分沒有概念，或者認為她對人的性別不加區(qū)分，由于她提到我丈夫時總是說“她”。假如一個人對此類現(xiàn)象不假思慮，他或許還會概括說，全部中國人都是通過委婉迂回的方式才能說到話題重點的。而實際上寵愛修飾和繞彎子只是

18、我母親個人的說話風格。I worry that the dominant society may see Chinese people from a limited perspective, hedging us in with the stereotype. I worry that the seemingly innocent stereotype may lead to actual intolerance and be part of the reason why there are few Chinese in top management positions, or in the

19、main judiciary or political sectors. I worry about the power of language: If one says anything enough times, it might become true, with or without malicious intent.我擔憂主流社會可能會從一個狹隘的角度、以一種成見看待中國人。我擔憂這種看似無害的成見實際會導致人們對中國人難以容忍，并成為中國人在高層管理職位或主要的司法及政府部門寥寥無幾的部分緣由。我擔憂語言的力氣，即假如一個人將一件事說了很多遍，無論其是否有惡意，這件事都會變成事實。

20、Could this be why the Chinese friends of my parents generation are willing to accept the generalization?這會不會就是我父母輩的中國伴侶情愿接受那些對中國人的簡潔概括的緣由呢？why are you complaining? one of them said to me. If people think we are modest and polite, let them think that. Wouldnt Americans appreciate such an honorary des

21、cription?“你為什么要埋怨呢？”他們中有人問我。“假如人們認為我們虛心禮讓，就讓他們那樣想好了。莫非美國人不寵愛這種贊譽性的話嗎？And I do believe that anyone would take the description as a compliment - at first. But after a while, it annoys, as if the only things that people heard one say were what had been filtered through the sieve of social niceties: Im

22、so pleased to meet you. Ive heard many wonderful things about you.我當然信任每個人在一開頭都會把這種描述的話當成贊揚。但過了一段時間，這種話就會讓人憤怒，就好像所聽到的只是些經(jīng)過微小的社交區(qū)分過濾后的言辭，諸如“很興奮生疏你，我聽到很多人都夸獎你”之類的話。These remarks are not representative of new ideas, honest emotions, or considered thought. Like a piece of bread, they are only the crust

23、of the interaction, or what is said from the polite distance of social contexts: greetings, farewells, convenient excuses, and the like. This generalization, therefore, is not a true composite of Chinese culture but only a stereotype of our exterior behavior.這些話不能表達什么新觀點，也不能傳達什么真實的情感或深思熟慮的想法。它們就像一片面

24、包，只是人們交往中最表層的東西，或社交場合下出于禮貌而說的一些話：問候、道別、順口的托詞，諸如此類。由此看來，那些對中國人的概括性評價并非是對中國文化成分的真實描述，而僅僅是對我們外在行為的一種成見而已。So how does one say yes and no in Chinese? my friends may ask carefully.“那么中文到底怎么表達是和不是呢？”我的伴侶或許會當心翼翼地問。At this junction, I do agree in part with The New York Times Magazine article. There is no one

25、 word for yes or no, but not out of necessity to be discreet. If anything, I would say the Chinese equivalent of answering yes or no is specific to what is asked.在這一點上，我的確在某種程度上同意紐約時報雜志的那篇文章。在中文里，沒有哪一個字特地用于表達“是”或“不是”，但這并非是由于需要保持謹慎。若的確有什么不同的話，那我會說中文里對應(yīng)的“是”或“不是”的表達通常是針對所問的具體內(nèi)容而定的。Ask a Chinese person

26、if he or she has eaten, and he or she might say chrle (eaten already) or meiyou (have not).假如你問一個中國人是否吃飯了，他（或她）會說“吃了”（已經(jīng)吃過）或“沒有”（沒有吃過）。Ask, Have you stopped beating your wife? and the answer refers directly to the proposition being asserted or denied: stopped already, still have not, never beat, hav

27、e no wife.你若問：“你停止打老婆了嗎？”他會直接就所斷定或所否認的假設(shè)進行回答：已經(jīng)停止了，還沒有，從來不打，沒有老婆。What could be clearer?還有什么能比這更明白的呢？Unit 4Achieving sustainable environmentalism實現(xiàn)可持續(xù)性進展的環(huán)保主義Environmental sensitivity is now as required an attitude in polite society as is, say, belief in democracy or disapproval of plastic surgery. B

28、ut now that everyone from Ted Turner to George H. W. Bush has claimed love for Mother Earth, how are we to choose among the dozens of conflicting proposals, regulations and laws advanced by congressmen and constituents alike in the name of the environment? Clearly, not everything with an environment

29、al claim is worth doing. How do we segregate the best options and consolidate our varying interests into a single, sound policy?在上流社會，對環(huán)境的敏感就猶如信仰民主、反對整容一樣，是一種不行或缺的態(tài)度。然而，既然從泰德特納到喬治W.H.布什，每個人都聲稱自己寵愛地球母親，那么，在由議員、選民之類的人以環(huán)境名義而提出的眾多的相互沖突的提案、規(guī)章和法規(guī)中，我們又該如何做出選擇呢？顯而易見，并不是每一項冠以環(huán)境愛護名義的事情都值得去做。我們怎樣才能分別出最佳選擇，并且把我

30、們各自不同的愛好統(tǒng)一在同一個合理的政策當中呢？There is a simple way. First, differentiate between environmental luxuries and environmental necessities. Luxuries are those things that would be nice to have if costless. Necessities are those things we must have regardless. Call this distinction the definitive rule of sane e

31、nvironmentalism, which stipulates that combating ecological change that directly threatens the health and safety of people is an environmental necessity. All else is luxury.有一種簡便的方法。首先要區(qū)分什么是環(huán)境鋪張品，什么是環(huán)境必需品。鋪張品是指那些無需人類付出代價就能擁有的給人奇特感受的東西。必需品則是指那些無論付出什么代價，都肯定要去擁有的東西。這一區(qū)分原則可以被稱為理性環(huán)保主義的至高原則。它規(guī)定，對那些直接威逼人類健

32、康與平安的生態(tài)變化實行應(yīng)對措施是環(huán)境愛護的必需品，而其他則都屬于鋪張品。For example, preserving the atmosphere - stopping ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect - is an environmental necessity. Recently, scientists reported that ozone damage is far worse than previously thought. Ozone depletion has a correlation not only with skin

33、cancer and eye problems, it also destroys the oceans ecology, the beginning of the food chain atop which we humans sit.例如，愛護大氣層阻擋臭氧損耗及把握溫室效應(yīng)是環(huán)境愛護的必需品。近來，科學家報告說臭氧層患病破壞的程度遠比我們從前認為的要嚴峻得多 。臭氧損耗不僅與皮膚癌及眼疾有關(guān)，而且它還會破壞海洋生態(tài)。而海洋生態(tài)是食物鏈的起點，人類則位于該食物鏈的頂端。The possible thermal consequences of the greenhouse effect ar

34、e far deadlier: melting ice caps, flooded coastlines, disrupted climate, dry plains and, ultimately, empty breadbaskets. The American Midwest feeds people at all corners of the atlas. With the planetary climate changes, are we prepared to see Iowa take on New Mexicos desert climate, or Siberia take

35、on Iowas moderate climate?溫室效應(yīng)所可能引發(fā)的熱效應(yīng)是格外具有毀滅性的：冰川溶化、海岸線被沉沒、氣候患病破壞、平原干枯，最終食物消逝殆盡。美國中西部地區(qū)的糧食供給著全世界。隨著全球氣候的變化，我們莫非預(yù)備看到衣阿華州變成新墨西哥州的沙漠氣候，而西伯利亞變成衣阿華州的溫存氣候嗎？Ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect are human disasters, and they are urgent because they directly threaten humanity and are not easily revers

36、ible. A sane environmentalism, the only kind of environmentalism that will strike a chord with the general public, begins by openly declaring that nature is here to serve human beings. A sane environmentalism is entirely a human focused regime: It calls upon humanity to preserve nature, but merely w

37、ithin the parameters of self-survival.臭氧損耗和溫室效應(yīng)是人類的災(zāi)難，而且是需要緊急處理的災(zāi)難，由于它們直接威逼到人類，且后果很難扭轉(zhuǎn)。理性環(huán)保主義唯一能夠引起公眾共鳴的環(huán)保主見首先公開聲明，自然是服務(wù)于人類的。理性環(huán)保主義是一種完全以人類為中心的思想。它號召人類愛護自然，但是是在人類自我生存得到保證的前提之下。Of course, this human focus runs against the grain of a contemporary environmentalism that indulges in overt earth worship.

38、Some people even allege that the earth is a living organism. This kind of environmentalism likes to consider itself spiritual. It is nothing more than sentimental. It takes, for example, a highly selective view of the kindness of nature, one that is incompatible with the reality of natural disasters

39、. My nature worship stops with the twister that came through Kansas or the dreadful rains in Bangladesh that eradicated whole villages and left millions homeless.當然，這種以人類為中心的主見與當下盛行的環(huán)保主義是格格不入的，后者已經(jīng)沉溺于對地球的公然崇拜。有的人甚至聲稱地球是一個活的生物體。這種環(huán)保主義寵愛把自己看作是神圣的，其實它只是感情用事而已。比如，在自然是否友善的問題上，當下的環(huán)保主義實行了高度選擇性的片面的觀點，而這種觀點與

40、自然造成的災(zāi)難這一現(xiàn)實是不相協(xié)調(diào)的。當龍卷風肆虐堪薩斯州，當瓢潑大雨攻擊孟加拉國，毀滅了整座整座的村莊，使幾百萬人失去家園的時候，我對自然的崇拜便停止了。A non-sentimental environmentalism is one founded on Protagorass idea that Man is the measure of all things. In establishing the sovereignty of man, such a principle helps us through the dense forest of environmental argume

41、nts. Take the current debate raging over oil drilling in a corner of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Environmentalist coalitions, mobilizing against a legislative action working its way through the US Congress for the legalization of such exploration, propagate that Americans should be p

42、reserving and economizing energy instead of drilling for it. This is a false either-or proposition. The US does need a sizable energy tax to reduce consumption. But it needs more production too. Government estimates indicate a nearly fifty-fifty chance that under the ANWR rests one of the five large

43、st oil fields ever discovered in America. It seems illogical that we are not finding safe ways to drill for oil in the ANWR.非感情用事的環(huán)保主義是建立在普羅泰哥拉的格言“人是萬物的尺度”的基礎(chǔ)上的。在建立人類權(quán)威的過程中，這條原則會掛念我們梳理各種錯綜簡單的關(guān)于環(huán)境愛護的爭議。就以當前關(guān)于是否在北極國家野生動物愛護區(qū)的某一角落開采石油的激烈爭辯為例吧。環(huán)保主義者聯(lián)盟動員人們反對目前正在試圖通過美國國會審議、使這一開采行為變得合法化的一項立法行動。他們散布說美國應(yīng)當愛護并且

44、節(jié)省能源而不是開采能源。這其實是一個錯誤的非此即彼的主見。美國的確需要征收高額的能源稅以削減能源消耗，但同時也需要生產(chǎn)更多的能源。政府的估測表明，在北極國家野生動物愛護區(qū)的地下隱藏著美國五大油田之一的可能性幾乎到達 50%。我們沒有查找平安的方法開采北極國家野生動物愛護區(qū)地下的石油，這看上去是不符合情理的。The US has just come through a war fought in part over oil. Energy dependence costs Americans not just dollars but lives. It is a bizarre sentimen

45、talism that would deny oil that is peacefully attainable because it risks disrupting the birthing grounds of Arctic caribou.美國剛剛經(jīng)受了一場戰(zhàn)斗，其部分緣由就是為了獵取石油。對能源的依靠使美國不但付出了金錢的代價，而且也付出了生命的代價。就由于可能破壞北美馴鹿的繁衍地而放棄能夠以和平手段獲得的石油，這是一種格外怪異的感情用事。I like the caribou as much as the next person. And I would be rather sorr

46、y if their mating patterns were disturbed. But you cant have your cake and eat it too. And in the standoff of the welfare of caribou versus reducing an oil reliance that gets people killed in wars, I choose people over caribou every time.我像別人一樣寵愛馴鹿。假如他們的交配模式受到干擾，我會感到格外圓滿。但是，魚和熊掌不能兼得。是要愛護馴鹿，還是要為了避開人們

47、在戰(zhàn)斗中喪生而削減對石油的依靠，面對這一僵局，我每次都會選擇人類而不是馴鹿。I feel similarly about the spotted owl in Oregon. I am no enemy of the owl. If it could be preserved at a negligible cost, I would agree that it should be - biodiversity is after all necessary to the ecosystem. But we must remember that not every species is need

48、ed to keep that diversity. Sometimes aesthetic aspects of life have to be sacrificed to more fundamental ones. If the cost of preserving the spotted owl is the loss of livelihood for 30,000 logging families, I choose the families (with their saws and chopped timber) over the owl.我對俄勒岡州的斑點貓頭鷹的態(tài)度也是一樣。

49、我絕不是仇視貓頭鷹。假如花很少的代價就可以愛護貓頭鷹，我會贊同它應(yīng)受愛護到底，生物多樣性對生態(tài)系統(tǒng)是格外必要的。但是，我們必需記住，保持生物多樣性并不意味著要留住每一種物種。有時候，為了更加根本的利益，我們不得不犧牲一部分生活中美的東西。假如為了愛護斑點貓頭鷹而讓三萬伐木工家庭失去生計，我會選擇伐木工家庭（包括他們的鋸子和砍伐的木材），而不是貓頭鷹。11 The important distinction is between those environmental goods that are fundamental and those that are not. Nature is our

50、 ward, not our master. It is to be respected and even cultivated. But when humans have to choose between their own well-being and that of nature, nature will have to accommodate.重要的是，我們要區(qū)分哪些東西對環(huán)境愛護是根本性的，哪些是非根本性的。自然受我們的監(jiān)護，而不是我們的仆人。我們應(yīng)當敬重自然，也可以開發(fā)利用自然。但是，假如人類必需在自身的福利和自然的福利之間作出選擇，自然則必需作出讓步。12 Humanity s

51、hould accommodate only when its fate and that of nature are inseparably bound up. The most urgent maneuver must be undertaken when the very integrity of humanitys habitat, e.g., the atmosphere or the essential geology that sustains the core of the earth, is threatened. When the threat to humanity is

52、 lower in the hierarchy of necessity, a more modest accommodation that balances economic against health concerns is in order. But in either case the principle is the same: protect the environment - because it is humanitys environment.只有當人類的命運與自然的命運密不行分時，人類才應(yīng)當作出讓步。當人類棲息地的完整性（比如大氣層或維持地球核心的基本地質(zhì)狀況）受到威逼時

53、，人類就必需馬上調(diào)整自己的行為。而當人類受到的威逼不大，不太需要對自己的行為進行調(diào)整時，恰當?shù)淖龇ㄊ瞧胶饪紤]經(jīng)濟方面和與之相對的健康方面的因素，以便作出適度的調(diào)整。但是，無論是哪種狀況，其遵循的原則是全都的：愛護環(huán)境，由于這是我們?nèi)祟惖沫h(huán)境。13 The sentimental environmentalists will call this saving nature with a totally wrong frame of mind. Exactly. A sane and intelligible environmentalism does it not for natures sak

54、e but for our own.感情用事的環(huán)保主義者會說這種挽救自然的思路是完全錯誤的。的確是這樣。理性、明確的環(huán)保主義愛護環(huán)境是為了人類自身，而不是為了自然。Unit3Fred Smith and FedEx: The vision that changed the world弗雷德史密斯與聯(lián)邦快遞：一個轉(zhuǎn)變了世界的創(chuàng)想Every night several hundred planes bearing a purple, white, and orange design touch down at Memphis Airport, in Tennessee. What precedes

55、 this landing are package pickups from locations all over the United States earlier in the day. Crews unload the planes cargo of more than half a million parcels and letters. The rectangular packages and envelopes are rapidly reshuffled and sorted according to address, then loaded onto other aircraf

56、t, and flown to their destinations to be dispersed by hand - many within 24 hours of leaving their senders. This is the culmination of a dream of Frederick W. Smith, the founder, president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of the FedEx Corp. - known originally as Federal Express -

57、the largest and most successful overnight delivery service in the world. Conceived when he was in college and now in its 28th year of operation, Smiths exquisite brainchild has become the standard for door-to-door package delivery.每天夜晚，在田納西州的孟菲斯機場，都有幾百架帶著白、紫、桔色圖案的飛機降落。而在每天此前的早些時候，這些飛機都在美國各地收集包裹。工作人員

58、從飛機上卸下的包裹及信件數(shù)量超過五十萬之巨。長方形的包裹和信封又在這里依據(jù)收件地址被快速整理分揀，然后裝載上其他飛機，飛往各自的目的地，在那兒再由人工投遞到這時很多郵件離開寄件人之手還不到 24 小時。這是弗雷德里克W史密斯的終極幻想，他就是聯(lián)邦快遞集團（最初為聯(lián)邦快遞）這一全球最大、最成功的隔夜送達服務(wù)企業(yè)的創(chuàng)始人、總裁、首席執(zhí)行官及董事會主席。如今，史密斯這一源于高校時代的妙想已在現(xiàn)實中經(jīng)營到了第 28 個年頭，并已成為包裹快遞入戶行業(yè)的標桿。Recognized as an outstanding entrepreneur with an agreeable and winning personality, Smith is held in high regard by his competitors as well as his employees and stockholders. Fred Smith was just 27 when he founded FedEx. Now, so many years later, hes still the captain of the ship. He attributes the success the company simply to leadership, somethin