Unit6AFrenchFourth課文翻譯綜合教程四

1、Unit6AFrenchFourth課文翻譯綜合教程四Unit6AFrenchFourth課文翻譯綜合教程四5/5Unit6AFrenchFourth課文翻譯綜合教程四Unit6AFrenchFourthCharlesTrueheart1Alongaboutthistimeeveryyear,asIndependenceDayapproaches,IpullanoldAmericanflagoutofabottomdrawerwhereitisfoldedawayfoldedinasquare,Iadmit,nottheregulationtriangle.Ivehaditalongtimea

2、ndhavealwaysflownitoutsideonJuly4.HereinParisithangsfromafourth-floorbalconyvisiblefromthestreet.Iveneverseenanyonelookup,butinmymindseyeanAmericantouristmaynoticeitandsmile,andaFrenchpasserbymayberemindedofthedateandtheoccasionthatpromptitsappearance.Ihopeso.2Formyexpatriatedfamily,too,theflagismea

3、ningful,inpartbecausewedontdoanythingelsetocelebratetheFourth.PeopledonthavebarbecuesinParisapartments,andmostotherAmericansIknowwhohavesettledheresuppresssuchoutwardsignsoftheirheritageortheygobackhomeforthesummertorefuel.3Ourchildrenthinktheflag-hangingisacoolthing,andIlikeitbecauseitgivesusafewmo

4、mentsoffamilyQ&Aaboutourcitizenship.MywifeandIhavebeenawayfromtheUnitedStatesfornineyears,andourchildrenareelevenandnine,soAmericanhistoryismostlysomethingtheyhavelearnedorhaventlearnedfromtheirparents.July4isoneofthetimeswhentheAmericaninmefeelsatwingeofuneaseaboutthegreatlacunaeinourchildrenunders

5、tandingofwhotheyareandispromptedtotrytofillthegaps.Itsalsoatime,oneamongmany,whenmythoughtsturnmoregenerallytothecostsandbenefitsofraisingchildreninaforeignculture.4LouiseandHenryspeakFrenchfluently;theyaretaughtinFrenchatschool,andmostoftheirfriendsareFrench.Theymovefromlanguagetolanguage,seldommix

6、ingthemup,withouteffortorevenawareness.Thisisawonderfulthing,ofcourse.Andourphysicalseparationfromournativelandisnotmuchofanissue.MywifeandIaregratefuleverydayforallthatourchildrenarenotexposedto.Americanschoolshootingsareagoodobjectlessonforourchildreninthefolliesof5thesocietyweholdatadistance.Natu

7、rally,wealsowanttoremindthemofreasonstotakeprideinbeingAmericanandtotrytoconveytothemwhatthatmeans.Itisadifficultthingtodofromafar,andthedistanceseemsmorethanjustamatterofmiles.IsometimesthinkthatthestorieswetellthemmustseemlikeAesops(orLaFontaines)fables,mythswithnofixedplaceinspaceortime.Still,con

8、nectionscanbemade,lessonslearned.6Lastsummerwespentaweekwithmybrotherandhisfamily,wholiveinConcord,Massachusetts,andwetookthechildrentotheNorthBridgetogivethemaglimpseoftheAmericanRevolution.Wehappenedtorunacrossareenactmentoftheskirmishthatlaunchedthewar,witheveryonedressedupinthree-corneredhatsand

9、cottonbonnets.Thisprobablyonlyconfirmedtoourgoggle-eyedkidsthemake-believequalityofAmericanhistory.7Sixmonthslater,whenwewererecallingtheexperienceatthefamilydinnertablehere,IaskedLouisewhattheRevolutionhadbeenabout.Shethoughtthatithadsomethingtodowiththemanwhorodehishorsefromtowntotown.“Ah”,Isaid,s

10、atisfactionswellinginmybreast,“andwhatwasthatmansname?”“Gulliver?Louise”replied.Henry,forhispart,knewthattheRevolutionwasbetweentheBritishandtheAmericans,andthoughtthatitwasprobablyaboutslavery.8Aswepursuedthisconversation,though,welearnedwhatthechildrenknewinstead.LouisetoldusthattheFrenchRevolutio

11、ncameattheendoftheEnlightenment,whenpeoplelearnedalotofideas,andonewasthattheydidntneedkingstotellthemwhattothinkordo.Onanotheroccasion,whenHenryaskedwhatmakesapersona“junior”ora“II”ora“III”,LouisehelpedmeanswerbybringingupkingslikeLouisQuatorzeandQuinzeandSeize;HenryripostedwithHenryVIII.9IcansaytI

12、worrymuchaboutourchildrenEuropeansframeofreference.TherewillbeplentyoftimeforthemtolearnAmericaspitifullybriefhistoryandtofindoutwhoThomasJeffersonandFranklinRooseveltwere.AlreadytheyknowagreatdealmorethanIwouldhavewishedaboutBillClinton.10Ifallofthisresonateswithme,itmaybebecausemyfamilymovedtoPari

13、sin1954,whenIwasthree,andIwasenrolledinFrenchschoolsformostofmygrade-schoolyears.IdontremembermuchinstructioninAmericanstudiesatschoolorathome.IdorememberthatmymothertookmeoutofschooloneafternoontoseethemovieOklahoma!Icanrecallwhatafarawayplaceitseemed:allthatsunshineandsquaredancingandsurreyswithfr

14、ingeontop.ThesinisterJudFrypersonifiedevilforquitesometimeafterward.CowboysandIndianswereanAmericanclichthathadalreadyreachedParisthroughthemovies,andIaskedagrandparenttosendmeaDavyCrocketthatsothatIcouldliveoutthatfairytaleagainstthebackdropofgraypostwarMontparnasse.11Althoughmychildrenarelivingint

15、hesameplaceatroughlythesametimeintheirlives,theirexperienceasexpatriatesisverydifferentfrommine.TheparticularnarrativesofAmericanhistoryaside,AmericancultureisnottheirsalonebutthatoftheirFrenchclassmates,too.Themusictheylistentoiseither“American”or“European,”butitisoftenhardtelltothedifference.Inmyd

16、aylittleFrenchkidslookedlikenothingotherthanlittleFrenchkids;butLouiseandHenryandtheirclassmatesdressmuchastheirpeersintheUnitedStatesdo,thoughwithperhapslessLandsEndfleeciness.WhenIreturnedtovisittheUnitedStatesinthe1950s,itwasafive-dayoceancrossingforamonthshomeleaveeverytwoyears;nowweflyoverforaw

17、eekortwo,althoughnotveryoften.VirtuallyeveryimaginableproductavailabletomychildrensAmericanscousinisnowobtainablehere.12IftimeandglobalizationhavemadeFrancemuchmoreliketheUnitedStatesthanitwasinmyyouth,thenIcanconcludeacoupleofthings.Ontheonehand,ourchildrenareconfrontingamuchlessjarringculturaldivi

18、dethanIdid,andtheyhavemoreaccesstotheirnativeculture.Re-entry,whenitcomes,islikelytobesmoother.Ontheotherhand,theyarelessthanfullyimmersedinatrulyforeignworld.ThatexperiencenolongerseemspossibleinWesterncountriesasaddevelopment,inmyview.在法國(guó)慶賀美國(guó)獨(dú)立日查爾斯特魯哈特1每年差不多到了獨(dú)立日日趨鄰近的時(shí)候，我都會(huì)把一面折疊好的舊的美國(guó)國(guó)旗從基層抽屜里拿出我認(rèn)可

19、我折疊國(guó)旗不是官方規(guī)定的三角形，而是正方形。我擁有這面國(guó)旗很長(zhǎng)時(shí)間了，每年到了7月4日我老是把它掛出來(lái)。身處巴黎的我把它掛在四樓的露臺(tái)上，在馬路上都看獲得。固然我沒(méi)見(jiàn)過(guò)有人仰頭看它一眼，但在我腦海中，我想象著美國(guó)旅客或許會(huì)注意到它并莞爾一笑，而法國(guó)路人會(huì)從中想起促進(jìn)這面國(guó)旗出現(xiàn)的有關(guān)日期和原由。誠(chéng)愿這樣。對(duì)我們這個(gè)旅居外國(guó)的家庭來(lái)說(shuō)，這面國(guó)旗之因此意義深遠(yuǎn)，部分是由于我們沒(méi)有其他任何活動(dòng)來(lái)慶賀獨(dú)立日。巴黎人不在公寓里燒烤，我認(rèn)識(shí)的大多半在此定居的美國(guó)人其實(shí)不張揚(yáng)他們的這類(lèi)傳統(tǒng)，他們寧愿歸國(guó)消夏來(lái)為自己加油打氣。我的孩子們感覺(jué)懸掛國(guó)旗很酷，我也喜愛(ài)這類(lèi)做法，由于它讓我們家有時(shí)機(jī)就我們的公民身份問(wèn)

20、答一番。我們夫婦走開(kāi)美國(guó)長(zhǎng)達(dá)9年，兩個(gè)孩子一個(gè)11歲一個(gè)9歲，因此美國(guó)歷史對(duì)他們來(lái)說(shuō)，很大程度上要么是從父親母親那邊已經(jīng)學(xué)到的知識(shí)，要么是還沒(méi)學(xué)到的知識(shí)。每到近似7月4日這樣的日子，我的美國(guó)心便感覺(jué)局促不安，由于孩子們對(duì)他們身份的認(rèn)可存在巨大的空白，因此我想全力填充這些空白。這也是好多場(chǎng)合中的一個(gè)，讓我的思想更全面地考慮在異國(guó)文化氣氛中養(yǎng)育子女的利與弊。路易絲和亨利法語(yǔ)都說(shuō)得很流暢。學(xué)校里使用法語(yǔ)教課，他們的朋友大多半是法國(guó)人。他們?cè)诜ㄕZ(yǔ)和英語(yǔ)之間切換自如，不費(fèi)吹灰之力，很少把兩種語(yǔ)言搞混。這自然很棒。我們遠(yuǎn)離故國(guó)，相隔千山萬(wàn)水，也不是什么問(wèn)題。每日我們夫婦倆都為子女不用面對(duì)的全部壞事而心胸感

21、謝。美國(guó)校園槍?xiě)?zhàn)對(duì)我們孩子來(lái)說(shuō)是避之不及的社會(huì)愚笨行為的極好反面教材。自然了，我們也希望能提示他們身為美國(guó)人而驕傲的原由，想方想法告訴他們這樣做意義安在。在遠(yuǎn)離祖國(guó)的狀況下這樣做不簡(jiǎn)單，距離其實(shí)不是和祖國(guó)相隔有多遠(yuǎn)的問(wèn)題。有時(shí)我想我們給孩子們講的故事聽(tīng)起來(lái)必定很像伊索寓言或拉封丹寓言，都是些沒(méi)有確實(shí)時(shí)間地址的神話。但不論怎樣，畢竟還可以做點(diǎn)聯(lián)系，學(xué)點(diǎn)東西。昨年夏季，我們和我弟弟一家在一同度過(guò)了一周，他們住在馬薩諸塞州的康科德城。我們帶孩子們觀光北橋，讓他們看一眼美國(guó)獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的舊址。我們剛巧追上了一個(gè)表演，表演重現(xiàn)了觸發(fā)大戰(zhàn)的小規(guī)模戰(zhàn)斗的情形。演出中男士都戴著三角帽，而女士戴著有帶子的帽子。這或

22、許恰好讓這些瞪大眼睛的孩子們加深了美國(guó)歷史空幻性的印象。76個(gè)月后，我們吃飯時(shí)在飯桌上回想起觀光的情形，我問(wèn)路易絲美國(guó)獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)是怎么一回事。她以為這和一個(gè)人騎著馬從一個(gè)鎮(zhèn)子跑到另一個(gè)鎮(zhèn)子有關(guān)。“啊，”我回答道，滿意之情在心中油但是生，接著問(wèn)道：“這個(gè)人叫什么名字？”“格列佛？”路易絲答道。至于亨利，他知道獨(dú)立戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)是英國(guó)人和美國(guó)人打仗，并且打仗或許是為了奴隸制。但是當(dāng)我們進(jìn)一步議論這個(gè)話題，我們知道兒童子們都掌握了哪些知識(shí)。路易絲告訴我們法國(guó)大革命發(fā)生在啟發(fā)運(yùn)動(dòng)末期，那時(shí)人們已經(jīng)懂得好多道理，此中一個(gè)道理就是人們不需要國(guó)王告訴大家該想什么、該做什么。還有一次，亨利問(wèn)為何要在一個(gè)人名字后邊加上“小”，或許加上“二世”，或許“三世，路易絲幫我回答了這個(gè)問(wèn)題，舉了路易十四、路易十五和路易十六幾位國(guó)王的例子，亨利馬上機(jī)警地回以亨利八世的例子。我不可以說(shuō)我很擔(dān)憂對(duì)孩子們凡事都以歐洲作為參照系有多少擔(dān)憂。讓他們學(xué)習(xí)美國(guó)短得可憐的歷史，認(rèn)識(shí)托馬斯杰斐遜、富蘭克林羅斯福是誰(shuí)改日方長(zhǎng)。他們此刻對(duì)照爾克林頓的認(rèn)識(shí)已經(jīng)比我希望的要多了。假如說(shuō)我對(duì)這全部產(chǎn)生共識(shí)，