第三版新視野大學(xué)英語第二冊課文翻譯

第三版新視野大學(xué)英語第二冊課文翻譯Unit1AnimpressiveEnglishlessonIfIamtheonlyparentwhostillcorrectshischild'sEnglish,thenperhapsmysonisright.Tohim,Iamatediousoddity:afatherheisobligedtolistentoandamanabsorbedintherulesofgrammar,whichmysonseemsallergicto.IthinkIgotseriousaboutthisonlyrecentlywhenIranintooneofmyformerstudents,freshfromanexcursiontoEurope."Howwasit?"Iasked,fullofearnestanticipation.Shenoddedthreeorfourtimes,searchedtheheavensfortherightwords,andthenexclaimed,"Itwas,like,whoa!"Andthatwasit.ThecivilizationofGreeceandthegloryofRomanarchitecturewerecapturedinacondensednon-statement.Mystudent's"whoa!"wasexceededonlybymyhead-shakingdistress.TherearemanydifferentstoriesaboutthedownturnintheproperuseofEnglish.Surelystudentsshouldbeabletodistinguishbetweentheir/there/they'reorthedistinctivedifferencebetweencomplimentaryandcomplementary.Theyunfairlybearthebulkofthecriticismfortheseknowledgedeficitsbecausethereisasensethattheyshouldknowbetter.Studentsarenotdumb,buttheyarebeingmisledeverywheretheylookandlisten.Forexample,signsingrocerystorespointthemtothestationary,eventhoughtheactualstationeryitems—pads,albumsandnotebooks—arenotnaileddown.Friendsandlovedonesoftenproclaimthey'vejustatewhen,infact,they'vejusteaten.Therefore,itdoesn'tmakeanysensetocriticizeourstudents.7Blameforthescandalofthislanguagedeficitshouldbethrustuponourschools,whichshouldbesettinghighstandardsofEnglishlanguageproficiency.Instead,theyonlyteachalittlegrammarandevenlessadvancedvocabulary.Moreover,theyoungerteachersthemselvesevidentlyhavelittleknowledgeofthesevitalstructuresoflanguagebecausetheyalsowentwithoutexposuretothem.Schoolsfailtoadequatelyteachtheessentialframeworkoflanguage,accurategrammarandpropervocabulary,whiletheyshouldtaketheresponsibilityofpushingtheyoungontothepathofcompetentcommunication.8Sincegrammarisboringtomostoftheyoungstudents,Ithinkthatitmustbehandleddelicately,stepbystep.ThechancecamewhenonedayIwasdrivingwithmyson.Aswesetoutonourtrip,henoticedabirdinjerkyflightandsaid,"It'sflyingsounsteady."Icarefullyasked,"Myson,howisthebirdflying?""What'swrong?DidIsayanythingincorrectly?"Hegotlost."Great!Yousaidincorrectlyinsteadofincorrect.Weuseadverbstodescribeverbs.Therefore,it'sflyingsounsteadilybutnotsounsteady."9Curiousaboutmycorrection,heaskedmewhatanadverbwas.Slowly,Isaid,"It'sawordthattellsyousomethingaboutaverb."Itledtohisaskingmewhataverbwas.Iexplained,"Verbsareactionwords;forexample,Daddrivesthetruck.Driveistheverbbecauseit'sthethingDadisdoing."10Hebecameattractedtotheideaofactionwords,sowelistedafewmore:fly,swim,dive,run.Then,outofhisowncuriosity,heaskedmeifotherwordshadnamesfortheiruseandfunctions.Thisledtoadiscussionofnouns,adjectives,andarticles.Withinthespanofa10-minutedrive,hehadlearnedfromscratchtothemajorpartsofspeechinasentence.Itwaspainlesslearningandgreatfun!11Perhaps,languageshouldbelookeduponasaroadmapandavaluablepossession:oftenstudytheroadmap(checkgrammar)andtuneupthecarengine(adjustvocabulary).Learninggrammarandagoodvocabularyisjustlikedrivingwitharoadmapinawell-conditionedcar.12Theroadmapprovidestheframeworkandguidanceyouneedforyourtrip,butitwon'ttellyouexactlywhattreesorflowersyouwillsee,whatkindofpeopleyouwillencounter,orwhattypesoffeelingsyouwillbeexperiencingonyourjourney.Here,thevocabularymakesthejourney'struecolorscomealive!Agoodvocabularyenablesyoutoenjoywhateveryouseeasyoudrivealong.Equippedwithgrammarandagoodvocabulary,youhaveflexibilityandexcellentcontrol.Whiletheroadmapguidesyourjourneytoyourdestination,anexcellentvehiclehelpsyoutofullyenjoyallofthesights,soundsandexperiencesalongtheway.13Effective,precise,andbeneficialcommunicationdependsupongrammarandagoodvocabulary,thetwoessentialassetsforstudents,buttheyarenotbeingtaughtinschools.14Justthismorning,mysonandIwereeatingbreakfastwhenIattemptedtoaddmilktomytea."Dad,"hesaid,"IfIwereyou,Iwouldn'tdothat.It'ssour."15"Ohmy!"Isaid,swellingwithpridetowardmyson,"That'sagrammaticallyperfectsentence.Youusedwereinsteadofwas."16"Iknow,Iknow,"hesaidwithalongagreeablesigh."It'sthesubjunctivemood."17Iwas,like,whoa!Translation一堂難忘的英語課如果我是唯一一個還在糾正小孩英語的家長，那么我兒子也許是對的。對他而言，我是一個乏味的怪物：一個他不得不聽其教誨的父親，一個還沉湎于語法規(guī)則的人，對此我兒子似乎頗為反感。我覺得我是在最近偶遇我以前的一位學(xué)生時，才開始對這個問題認(rèn)真起來的。這個學(xué)生剛從歐洲旅游回來。我滿懷著誠摯期待問她：“歐洲之行如何？”她點(diǎn)了三四下頭，絞盡腦汁，苦苦尋找恰當(dāng)?shù)脑~語，然后驚呼：“真是，哇！”沒了。所有希臘文明和羅馬建筑的輝煌居然囊括于一個濃縮的、不完整的語句之中！我的學(xué)生以“哇！”來表示她的驚嘆，我只能以搖頭表達(dá)比之更強(qiáng)烈的憂慮。關(guān)于正確使用英語能力下降的問題，有許多不同的故事。學(xué)生的確本應(yīng)該能夠區(qū)分諸如their/there/they're之間的不同，或區(qū)別complimentary跟complementary之間顯而易見的差異。由于這些知識缺陷，他們承受著大部分不該承受的批評和指責(zé)，因?yàn)檩浾撜J(rèn)為他們應(yīng)該學(xué)得更好。學(xué)生并不笨，他們只是被周圍所看到和聽到的語言誤導(dǎo)了。舉例來說，雜貨店的指示牌會把他們引向stationary（靜止處）,雖然便箋本、相冊、和筆記本等真正的stationery（文具用品）并沒有被釘在那兒。朋友和親人常宣稱They'vejustate。實(shí)際上，他們應(yīng)該說They'vejusteaten。因此，批評學(xué)生不合乎情理。對這種缺乏語言功底而引起的負(fù)面指責(zé)應(yīng)歸咎于我們的學(xué)校。學(xué)校應(yīng)對英語熟練程度制定出更高的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)?？上喾?，學(xué)校只教零星的語法，高級詞匯更是少之又少。還有就是，學(xué)校的年輕教師顯然缺乏這些重要的語言結(jié)構(gòu)方面的知識，因?yàn)樗麄冞^去也沒接觸過。學(xué)校有責(zé)任教會年輕人進(jìn)行有效的語言溝通，可他們并沒把語言的基本框架——準(zhǔn)確的語法和恰當(dāng)?shù)脑~匯——充分地傳授給學(xué)生。因?yàn)檎Z法對大多數(shù)年輕學(xué)生而言枯燥且乏味，所以我覺得講授語法得一步一步、注重技巧地進(jìn)行。有一天機(jī)會來了。我跟兒子開車外出。我們出發(fā)時，他看到一只小鳥飛得很不穩(wěn)，就說：“它飛的不穩(wěn)?！?It'sflyingsounsteady.)我小心翼翼地問：“兒子，鳥怎么飛?”“有問題嗎？我說得不對嗎？(DidIsayanythingincorrectly?)”他一頭霧水?！疤昧耍阏f的是incorrectly而不是incorrect。我們用副詞來描述動詞。所以，要用unsteadily來描述鳥飛，而不是unsteady?！彼麑ξ业募m正很好奇，就問我什么是副詞。我慢慢解釋道：“副詞是用來修飾動詞的詞?！边@又導(dǎo)致了他詢問我什么是動詞。我解釋說：“動詞是表示行為的詞，例如：爸爸開卡車?！_’是動詞，因?yàn)樗前职衷谧龅氖隆！?他開始對表示行為的詞產(chǎn)生興趣，所以我們又羅列了幾個動詞：“飛行”、“游泳”、“跳水”、“跑步”。然后，他又好奇地問我，其他的詞有沒有說明它們的用法和功能的名稱。這就引發(fā)了我們對名詞、形容詞和冠詞的討論。在短短十分鐘的駕駛時間內(nèi)，他從對語法一無所知到學(xué)會了句子中主要詞語的詞性。這是一次毫無痛苦而又非常有趣的學(xué)習(xí)經(jīng)歷。也許，語言應(yīng)該被看成是一張路線圖和一件珍品：我們要常常查看路線圖（核對語法）和調(diào)整汽車的引擎（調(diào)節(jié)詞匯）。學(xué)好語法和掌握大量的詞匯就好比拿著路線圖在車況良好的車?yán)锺{駛。2路線圖為你的旅行提供所需的基本路線和路途指南，可是它不會告訴你一路上你究竟會看見什么樹或什么花，你會遇見什么樣的人，或會有什么樣的感受。這里，詞匯會使你的旅途變得五彩繽紛、栩栩如生。大量的詞匯讓你享受到開車途中所見的點(diǎn)點(diǎn)滴滴。借助語法和豐富的詞匯，你就有了靈活性，掌控自如。路線圖會把你帶到目的地，而一臺好車卻能讓你完全陶醉于旅途的所有景色、聲音及經(jīng)歷之中。3對學(xué)生來說，有效、準(zhǔn)確且富有成效的溝通技能取決于語法和詞匯這兩大有利條件，可是學(xué)校并沒有教他們這些。4就在今天早上，我跟兒子吃早飯時，我想把牛奶加入我的茶里?！鞍职郑彼f，“如果我是你的話，我不會這樣做。牛奶會變酸。（IfIwereyou,Iwouldn'tdothat.It'ssour.）”5“哦，上帝！”我滿懷著無比的驕傲說道，“這是一句語法完全正確的句子。你用了were而不是was。16“我知道，我知道，”他愉悅地舒了口氣，“這是虛擬語氣！7這下輪到我“哇！”了。Unit2Thehumanities:Outofdate?Whenthegoinggetstough,thetoughtakeaccounting.Whenthejobmarketworsens,manystudentscalculatetheycan'tmajorinEnglishorhistory.Theyhavetostudysomethingthatbooststheirprospectsoflandingajob.Thedatashowthatasstudentshaveincreasinglyshoulderedtheever-risingcostoftuition,theyhavedefectedfromthestudyofthehumanitiesandtowardappliedscienceand"hard"skillsthattheybetwillleadtoemployment.Inotherwords,acollegeeducationismoreandmoreseenasameansforeconomicbettermentratherthanameansforhumanbetterment.Thisisatrendthatislikelytopersistandevenaccelerate.Overthenextfewyears,aslabormarketsstruggle,thehumanitieswillprobablycontinuetheirlongslideinsuccession.Therealreadyhasbeenanearly50percentdeclineintheportionofliberalartsmajorsoverthepastgeneration,anditislogicaltothinkthatthetrendisboundtocontinueorevenaccelerate.Oncethedominantpillarsofuniversitylife,thehumanitiesnowplaylittleroleswhenstudentstaketheircollegetours.Thesedays,labsaremorevividandcompellingthanlibraries.Here,pleaseallowmetostandupforandpromotethetruevaluethatthehumanitiesaddtopeople'slives.Sinceancienttimes,peoplehavespeculatedaboutthemysteryofthoseinnerforcesthatdrivesomepeopletogreatnessandotherstoself-destruction.Thisinnerdrivehasbeencalledmanythingsoverthecenturies.Thefamouspsychologist,SigmundFreud,calleditthe"unconsciousmindor,morefamiliarly,"instinct".Fromthebeginningoftime,thisinneraspectofourbeing,thisdrivethatcanbeconstructiveordestructive,hascapturedourimagination.Thestoriesofthisamazingstrugglehaveformedthebasisofculturestheworldover.Historians,architects,authors,philosophersandartistshavecapturedthewords,imagesandmeaningsofthisinnerstruggleintheformofstory,music,myth,painting,architecture,sculpture,landscapeandtraditions.Thesemenandwomendevelopedartistic"languages"thathelpusunderstandtheseaspirationsandalsoeducategenerations.Thisfertilebodyofworkfromancienttimes,theveryfoundationofcivilization,formsthebasisofstudyofthehumanities.Studyingthehumanitiesimprovesourabilitytoreadandwrite.Nomatterwhatwedoinlife,wewillhaveahugeadvantageifwecanreadcomplexideasandunderstandtheirmeaning.Wewillhaveabrightcareerifwearethepersonintheofficewhocanwriteaclearandelegantanalysisofthoseideas!Studyingthehumanitiesmakesusfamiliarwiththelanguageofemotionandthecreativeprocess.Inaninformationeconomy,manypeoplehavetheabilitytoproduceausefulproductsuchasanewMP3player.Yet,veryfewpeoplehavetheabilitytocreateaspectacularbrand:theiPod.Mostimportantly,studyingthehumanitiesinvestsuswithgreatinsightandself-awareness,therebyreleasingourcreativeenergyandtalentinapositiveandconstructivemanner.Perhapsthebestargumentinfavorofthehumanitiesisthescopeofpossibilitiesthatarewidelyopentous.DidyouknowthatJamesCameron,world-famousdirectorofthemovie,Titanic,graduatedwithadegreeinthehumanities?SodidSallyRide,thefirstwomaninspace.SodidactorsBruceLee,GwynethPaltrow,ReneeZellwegerandMattDamon.Dr.HaroldVarmus,whowonaNobelPrizeforMedicine,studiedthehumanities.EvenMichaelEisner,ChairmanoftheDisneyCompany,majoredinthehumanities.Famouspeoplewhostudiedthehumanitiesmakealonglistindeed.It'seasytoseethatthehumanitiescanprepareusformanydifferentcareersandjobswecanundertake,whethermedicine,business,scienceorentertainment.Ifwestudyonlymathematics,it'slikelywewillbeacandidateonlyforjobsasamathematician.Ifweincludestudyingthehumanities,wecanmakebreakthroughsonmanybarriersandarelimitedonlybyoureffortandimagination.Ofcourse,nowadays,ifwestudythehumanitiesalone,weareliabletomissmanyopportunities.Eachoneofusneedstobecomeastechnicallyandprofessionallyskilledaspossibletohelpmeettheneedsofmodernlife.Infact,increasinglyapairingoftechnicalknowledgeandinnerinsightisseenastheidealintheestablishmentofacareer.IfIweretheDeanofAdmissionsatamedicalschoolandtwopeopleappliedtoourschool,bothhavingtherequiredbasicscientificcourses,oneaphilosophymajorandtheothersolelyapre-medstudent,thephilosophyapplicantwouldbechosen.10Insummary,thehumanitieshelptocreatewell-roundedhumanbeingswithinsightandunderstandingofthepassions,hopesanddreamscommontoallhumanity.Thehumanities,theancienttimelessreservoirofknowledge,teachustoseethingsdifferentlyandbroadenourhorizons.Theyareasusefulandrelevantinourmodernageastheyhavealwaysbeen.Doesn'titmakesensetospendsometimeinthecompanyofthehumanities,ouroutstandingandremarkabletreasureofknowledge?WhoknowshowfamousYOUmightbecome!Translation人文學(xué)科：過時了嗎？當(dāng)形勢變得困難時，強(qiáng)者會去選學(xué)會計。當(dāng)就業(yè)市場惡化時，許多學(xué)生估算著他們不能再主修英語或歷史。他們得學(xué)一些能改善他們就業(yè)前景的東西。數(shù)據(jù)顯示，隨著學(xué)生肩負(fù)的學(xué)費(fèi)不斷增加，他們已從學(xué)習(xí)人文學(xué)科轉(zhuǎn)向他們相信有益于將來就業(yè)的應(yīng)用科學(xué)和“硬”技能。換言之，大學(xué)教育越來越被看成是改善經(jīng)濟(jì)而不是提升人類自身的手段。這種趨勢可能會持續(xù)，甚至有加快之勢。在未來幾年內(nèi)，由于勞動力市場的不景氣，人文學(xué)科可能會繼續(xù)其長期低迷的態(tài)勢。在上一代大學(xué)生中，主修文科的學(xué)生數(shù)跌幅已近50%。這種趨勢會持續(xù)、甚至加速的想法是合情合理的。人文學(xué)科曾是大學(xué)生活的重要支柱，而今在學(xué)生們的大學(xué)游中卻只是一個小點(diǎn)綴?，F(xiàn)在，實(shí)驗(yàn)室要比圖書館更栩栩如生、受人青睞。在這兒，請允許我為人文學(xué)科給人們的生活所增添的真實(shí)價值進(jìn)行支持和宣傳。自古以來，人們一直在思索人類自身具有什么神奇的內(nèi)力使一些人變得崇高偉大，而使另一些人走向自我毀滅。幾個世紀(jì)以來，這股內(nèi)力被稱作很多東西。著名的心理學(xué)家西格蒙德?弗洛伊德稱之為“潛意識”，或更為人熟知的“本能”。從一開始，人類這股可以是建設(shè)性也可以是毀滅性的內(nèi)在驅(qū)動力，就令我們心馳神往。這些驚人的、充滿內(nèi)心掙扎的故事形成了世界文化的基礎(chǔ)。歷史學(xué)家、建筑師、作家、哲學(xué)家和藝術(shù)家們以故事、音樂、神話、繪畫、建筑、雕刻、風(fēng)景畫和傳統(tǒng)的形式，捕捉到了這些撞擊心靈的文字、形象及內(nèi)涵。這些男男女女創(chuàng)造出了具有藝術(shù)性的“語言”，幫助我們了解人類的這些強(qiáng)烈愿望，并用以教育一代又一代人。從古時起開始的這些充滿想象的大量作品，正是文明的底蘊(yùn)，它奠定了人文研究的基礎(chǔ)。學(xué)習(xí)人文學(xué)科會提高我們的閱讀和寫作能力。無論我們這一生中從事什么職業(yè)，如果我們能讀懂復(fù)雜的思想并理解它們的內(nèi)涵，我們都會受益匪淺。如果我們是在辦公室里能對這些思想寫出既明確又簡潔的分析的人，我們會有光明的職業(yè)前景。學(xué)習(xí)人文學(xué)科會讓我們熟悉表達(dá)情感的語言及進(jìn)行創(chuàng)造的過程。在信息經(jīng)濟(jì)中，很多人都有能力創(chuàng)造出一個如新的MP3播放器那樣的有用產(chǎn)品。然而，僅有很少的人具有能力創(chuàng)造出一個如iPod那樣的精彩品牌。最重要的是，學(xué)習(xí)人文學(xué)科使我們具有偉大的洞察力和自我意識，從而以積極和建設(shè)性的方式來發(fā)揮我們的創(chuàng)造力和才藝。也許，支持人文學(xué)科的最好論點(diǎn)是，人文學(xué)科為我們提供了廣闊的機(jī)會。你知道世界聞名的電影《泰坦尼克號》的導(dǎo)演詹姆斯?卡梅隆拿的是人文學(xué)科的學(xué)位嗎？第一個登上太空的女宇航員薩利，賴德拿的也是人文學(xué)科的學(xué)位。還有電影演員李小龍、格溫妮絲?帕特洛、蕾妮,齊薇格及馬特?達(dá)蒙，也都如此。獲諾貝爾醫(yī)學(xué)獎的哈羅德，瓦慕斯博士也學(xué)過人文學(xué)科。甚至迪士尼公司的總裁邁克爾，艾斯納也主修人文學(xué)科。學(xué)習(xí)人文學(xué)科的有名人士確實(shí)可以列出一長串。顯而易見，人文學(xué)能為我們從事許多不同的職業(yè)做準(zhǔn)備，不管是醫(yī)學(xué)、商務(wù)、科學(xué)或娛樂。如果我們僅學(xué)習(xí)數(shù)學(xué)，我們很可能只能申請數(shù)學(xué)家之類的工作。如果我們還學(xué)了人文學(xué)科，那我們就能突破許多障礙，只要我們愿意付出努力，敢于想象。當(dāng)然，在當(dāng)下，如果我們單學(xué)人文學(xué)科，可能會失去很多機(jī)會。我們每個人都需要盡可能變得技能化、職業(yè)化，以滿足現(xiàn)代生活的需要。事實(shí)上，技術(shù)知識和內(nèi)在洞察力的結(jié)合越來越被看成是建立職業(yè)生涯的理想搭配。如果我是某個醫(yī)學(xué)院的招生部主任，有兩個人同時申請我們學(xué)校，這兩個人都學(xué)過基礎(chǔ)的科學(xué)課程，一個主修哲學(xué)，另一個僅是醫(yī)學(xué)院的預(yù)科生，我會選擇那位哲學(xué)專業(yè)的申請者。0總之，人文學(xué)科幫助造就全面發(fā)展的人，這些人具有洞察力，并理解全人類共有的激情、希望和理想。人文學(xué)科，這個古老、永恒的知識儲蓄庫，教我們?nèi)绾我圆煌姆绞娇创挛铮瑫r也拓寬我們的視野。在現(xiàn)代社會中，人文學(xué)科一如既往地同生活息息相關(guān)，也發(fā)揮著重要作用。我們在學(xué)習(xí)中花一些時間與人文學(xué)科——我們杰出、非凡的知識寶藏——相伴，這難道不是明智的嗎？誰知道你將來會變得多有名氣呢！Unit5Spendorsave—Thestudent'sdilemma1DoyoufeelasconfusedandmanipulatedasIdowiththisquestion,"ShouldIspendorshouldIsave?"Ithinkthatthemessageswegetfromourenvironmentseemtodefycommonsenseandcontradicteachother.Thegovernmenttellsustospendorwe'llnevergetoutoftherecession.Atthesametime,theytellusthatunlesswesavemore,ourcountryisingravedanger.Banksofferhigherinterestratessoweincreasesavings.Thenthesamebankssenduscreditcardofferssowecanspendmore.2Here'sanotherfamiliarexample:Ifwedon'tpayourcreditcardbillontime,wegetdemanding,nastyemailsfromthecreditcardcompanysayingsomethinglike:"Yourfailuretopayisunacceptable.Payimmediatelyoryou'llbeintrouble!"Then,assoonaswepay,wegetafollow-upemailinacharmingtonetellingushowvaluableacustomerweareandencouragingustoresumespending.Whichdepictioniscorrect:afailingconsumerintroubleoravaluedcustomer?Thegapbetweenthesetwomessagesisenormous.3Theparadoxisthateverydaywegettwosetsofmessagesatoddswitheachother.Oneisthe"permissive"perspective,"Buy,spend,getitnow.Youneedthis!"Theotherwecouldcallan"uprightmessage,whichurgesus,"Workhardandsave.Suspendyourdesires.Avoidluxuries.Controlyourappetiteformorethanyoutrulyneed."Thismessagecomestousfrommanysources:fromschool,fromparents,evenfrompoliticalfiguresreferringto"traditionalvalues".Hardwork,familyloyalty,andthecapacitytopostponedesiresarecoreAmericanvaluesthathavemadeourcountrygreat.4Buttheoppositemessage,advertising'spermissivemessage,isinescapable.Thoughsometimesdisguised,themessagesareeverywherewelook:onTV,inmoviesonprintedmediaandroadsigns,instores,andonbusses,trainsandsubways.Advertisementsinvadeourdailylives.Weareconstantlysurroundedbythemessagetospend,spend,spend.Someonerecentlysaid,"Theonlytimeyoucanescapeadvertisingiswhenyou'reinyourbedasleep!"5It'sbeencalculatedthatbytheageof18,theaverageAmericanwillhaveseen600,000ads;bytheageof40,thetotalisalmostonemillion.Eachadvertisementisdoingitsutmosttoinfluenceourdiversebuyingdecisions,fromthebreakfastcerealweeattowhichcruiselinewewilluseforourvacation.Thereisnoshortageofideasandthingstobuy!Now,ofcourse,wedon'trememberexactlywhattheproductswere,buttheessentialmessageiscementedintoourconsciousness,"It'sgoodtosatisfyyourdesires.Youshouldhavewhatyouwant.Youdeservethebest.So,youshouldbuyit—now!"Afamousadvertisementsaiditperfectly,"Iloveme.I'magoodfriendtomyself.Idowhatmakesmefeelgood.Iderivepleasurefromnicethingsandfeelnourishedbythem.Iusedtoputthingsoff.Notanymore.TodayI'llbuynewskiequipment,lookatnewcompactcars,andbuythatcameraI'vealwayswanted.Ilivemydreamstoday,nottomorrow."6Whathappensaswetakeinthesecontradictorybutexplicitmessages?Whatarethepsychologicalandsocialconsequencesofthiscampaigntocontrolourspendinghabits?Ononehand,wewantmorethingsbecausewewanttosatisfyourmaterialappetite.Mostofusderivepleasurefromtreatingourselves.Ontheotherhand,alittlevoiceinsideusechoesthoseuprightmessages:"Watchout,takestockofyourlife,don'tletyourattentiongetscattered.Postponeyourdesires.Don'tfallintodebt.Wait!Retaincontroloveryourownlife.Itwillmakeyoustronger.7Anyway,manyoftheskillsyouneedasasuccessfulstudentcanbeappliedtoyourfinances.Consideryourfinancialwell-beingasakeyingredientofyouruniversityeducationasmoneyworriesareextremelystressfulanddistracting.Theycanmakeyoufeelterribleandhinderyourabilitytofocusonyourprimeobjective:successfullycompletingyoureducation.8Howcanyoubeasmartandeducatedconsumer?Manyschools,communityorganizations,andevensomebanksofferfinancialliteracyclasses.Considerconsultingwithyourschool'sfinancialaidofficeorseekinputfromyourparentsorotherrespectedadultsinsettingupabudget.Anadditionaloptionisfindingapartnertohelpyoustayontrackandfindpleasureintheadministrationofyourownfinancialaffairs.Mostimportantly,ifyoufindyourselfgettingintofinancialtrouble,don'tletyouregogetinyourway;urgentlygethelpwithtacklingyourproblembeforeitspinsoutofcontrolandlandsyouinlegaltroubles.9Allthiswillhelpyoubecomeaneducatedconsumerandsaver.Asyoulearntobalancespendingandsaving,youwillbecomethecaptainofyourownship,steeringyourlifeinasuccessfulandproductivedirectionthroughthechoppywaters.Translation花錢還是存錢，學(xué)生進(jìn)退維谷你是不是跟我一樣對“我應(yīng)該花錢還是存錢”這個問題感到困惑，且有被操縱的感覺？我覺得我們從生活的環(huán)境里所獲得的信息似乎是有違常識、互相矛盾的。政府告訴我們要花錢，否則我們將永遠(yuǎn)走不出衰退；與此同時，他們又告訴我們，除非我們節(jié)省更多的錢，否則我們的國家會處于嚴(yán)重危險之中。銀行提供較高的利率以增加儲蓄。然后，同樣是這些銀行又提供信用卡讓我們可以花更多的錢。這里還有一個大家熟悉的例子：如果我們不按時支付信用卡賬單，我們會收到從信用卡公司發(fā)來的類似這樣的令人討厭的催繳賬單的電子郵件：不還款是不可接受的。請立即繳付，否則后果自負(fù)！之后，一旦還款，我們就會收到一封跟進(jìn)的電子郵件，語氣和藹可親，說我們是多么寶貴的客戶，并鼓勵我們繼續(xù)花錢。到底哪一個描述是正確的？有麻煩的失敗消費(fèi)者還是寶貴的客戶？這兩者之間可是天壤之別！自相矛盾的情況還有，我們每天都收到彼此相左的兩種信息。一種從“縱容”的角度，讓我們“買東西，花錢，現(xiàn)在就得到它。你需要這個！”另外一種，我們可稱之為“正直”的信息，它力勸我們：“努力工作，把錢存起來?？刂颇愕挠灰I奢侈品，不要垂涎那些你并不真正需要的東西?！边@類信息來源甚多，有學(xué)校方面的，有家長方面的，甚至還來自提及傳統(tǒng)價值觀的政治人物。艱苦創(chuàng)業(yè)，忠于家庭、能推遲欲望是美國價值觀的核心，它使我們的國家變得強(qiáng)大。但相反的信息，即那些縱容人們不斷花錢的廣告，無所不在。雖然此類信息有時經(jīng)過了喬裝打扮，但仍隨處可見，電視、電影、印刷媒介和路牌、商店，及公共汽車、火車和地鐵上，比比皆是。廣告侵入了我們的日常生活。我們時時被包圍在花錢，花錢，花錢的信息中。最近有人說：“唯一可以逃脫廣告的時候是當(dāng)在床上睡著時！”據(jù)計算，普通的美國人到18歲時，會看過60萬則廣告；到40歲時，看過的廣告總數(shù)近百萬。每個廣告都在盡最大努力影響我們形形色色的購買決定——從我們吃的早餐麥片到我們的假期將使用哪條郵輪線路。決不會缺少怎么花錢和買什么東西的廣告！現(xiàn)在，我們當(dāng)然不能確切地記得廣告上的產(chǎn)品，但重要的信息已凝聚在我們的意識里：“要滿足你的愿望。你應(yīng)該擁有你想要的。你應(yīng)該得到最好的。所以，你應(yīng)該買下它——現(xiàn)在！”一個著名的廣告詮釋得很完美：“我愛自己。我是自己的好朋友。我做讓我感覺舒服的事。我從精美的東西里得到樂趣，并感覺到它們給我的滋養(yǎng)。我過去常想著等一下再買，現(xiàn)在再也不會了。今天，我會購買全新的滑雪裝備，看看新型的小巧靈便的轎車，買下那臺我一直想要的相機(jī)。我今天就要實(shí)現(xiàn)我的夢想，不會等到明天?！碑?dāng)我們接受這些相互矛盾但很明確的信息時，會有什么事情發(fā)生呢？這種控制我們花錢習(xí)慣的宣傳活動會造成什么心理和社會上的影響呢？一方面，我們希望買更多的東西，來滿足我們的物質(zhì)欲望。我們中的大多數(shù)通過善待自己來得到樂趣。與此同時，我們身體里面有一個微弱的聲音與那些正直的信息在共鳴：“當(dāng)心，要掂量掂量自己的生活，不要讓注意力分散。推遲欲望。不要陷入債務(wù)。要等待！保留對自己生活的控制權(quán)。這會讓你更堅強(qiáng)?！笨傊?，一個成功的學(xué)生所需要的很多技能可以應(yīng)用到你的財務(wù)中去。把良好的財務(wù)狀況看成是大學(xué)教育中的一個關(guān)鍵因素，因?yàn)閷疱X的擔(dān)憂會讓人倍感壓力，并讓人分心。它們會讓你感覺很糟糕，并阻止你專注首要目標(biāo)，即成功完成學(xué)業(yè)。怎樣才能成為一個聰明、有相關(guān)知識的消費(fèi)者呢？許多學(xué)校、社區(qū)組織，甚至一些銀行都提供金融掃盲班。可以考慮向?qū)W校的財務(wù)援助辦公室咨詢， 或向父母或其他值得尊敬的成年人請教如何建立一個預(yù)算方案。另外一個選擇是找一個合作伙伴來幫你保持良好的財務(wù)狀況，并在管理自己的金融事務(wù)中找到樂趣。最重要的是，如果你發(fā)現(xiàn)自己正陷入財務(wù)困境，不要讓你的自大妨礙你，在情況變得失控并惹上法律麻煩前，趕緊尋求幫助來解決問題。這一切都將幫助你成為一個擁有相關(guān)知識的消費(fèi)者和儲蓄者。學(xué)會了如何平衡支出和儲蓄，你就會成為你自己的船長，駕駛著你的生活之船，乘風(fēng)破浪，駛向成功和富有。Unit6Doorcloser,areyou?Thenexttimeyou'redecidingbetweenrivaloptions,onewhichisprimaryandtheotherwhichissecondary,askyourselfthisquestion:WhatwouldXiangYudo?XiangYuwasaChineseimperialgeneralinthethirdcenturyBCwhotookhistroopsacrosstheZhangRiveronaraidintoenemyterritory.Tohistroops'astonishment,heorderedtheircookingpotscrushedandtheirsailingshipsburned.Heexplainedthathewasimposingonthemanecessityforattainingvictoryovertheiropponents.Whathesaidwassurelymotivating,butitwasn'treallyappreciatedbymanyofhisloyalsoldiersastheywatchedtheirvesselsgoupinflames.ButthegeniusofGeneralXiangYu'sconvictionwouldbevalidatedbothonthebattlefieldandinmodernsocialscienceresearch.GeneralXiangYuwasarareexceptiontothenorm,aveteranleaderwhowashighlyrespectedforhismanyconquestsandwhoachievedthesummitofsuccess.HeisfeaturedinDanAriely'senlighteningnewpublication,PredictablyIrrational,afascinatinginvestigationofseeminglyirrationalhumanbehavior,suchasthetendencyforkeepingmultipleoptionsopen.Mostpeoplecan'tmarshalthewillforpainfulchoices,notevenstudentsattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT),whereDr.Arielyteachesbehavioraleconomics.Inanexperimentthatinvestigateddecision-making,hundredsofstudentscouldn'tbeartolettheiroptionsvanish,eventhoughitwascleartheywouldprofitfromdoingso.Theexperimentrevolvedaroundagamethateliminatedtheexcusesweusuallyhaveforrefusingtoletgo.Intherealworld,wecanalwayssay,"It'sgoodtopreserveouroptions."Wantagoodexample?Ateenagerisexhaustedfromsoccer,ballet,piano,andChineselessons,butherparentswon'tstopanyoneofthembecausetheymightcomeinhandysomeday!Intheexperimentsessions,studentsplayedacomputergamethatprovidedcashbehindthreedoorsappearingonthescreen.Therulewasthemoremoneyyouearned,thebetterplayeryouwere,givenatotalof100clicks.Everytimethestudentsopenedadoorbyclickingonit,theywoulduseuponeclickbutwouldn'tgetanymoney.However,eachsubsequentclickonthatdoorwouldearnafluctuatingsumofmoney,withonedooralwaysrevealingmoremoneythantheothers.Theimportantpartoftherulewaseachdoorswitch,thoughhavingnocashvalue,wouldalsouseuponeofthe100clicks.Therefore,thewinningstrategywastoquicklycheckallthedoorsandkeepclickingontheonewiththeseeminglyhighestrewards.Whileplayingthegame,studentsnoticedamodifiedvisualelement:Anydoorleftun-clickedforashortwhilewouldshrinkinsizeandvanish.Sincetheyalreadyunderstoodthegame,theyshouldhaveignoredthevanishingdoors.Nevertheless,theyhurriedtoclickonthelesserdoorsbeforetheyvanished,tryingtokeepthemopen.Asaresult,theywastedsomanyclicksrushingbacktothevanishingdoorsthattheylostmoneyintheend.Whywerethestudentssoattachedtothelesserdoors?Theywouldprobablyprotestthattheywereclingingtothedoorstokeepfutureoptionsopen,but,accordingtoDr.Ariely,thatisn'tthetruefactor.Insteadoftheexcusetomaintainfutureoptionsopen,underneathitallthestudents'desirewastoavoidtheimmediate,thoughtemporary,painofwatchingoptionsclose."Closingadooronanoptionisexperiencedasaloss,andpeoplearewillingtopayabigpricetoavoidtheemotionofloss,"Dr.Arielysays.Intheexperiment,thepricewaseasilymeasuredinlostcash.Inlife,thecorrespondingcostsareoftenlessobvioussuchaswastedtimeormissedopportunities."Sometimesthesedoorsareclosingtooslowlyforustoseethemvanishing,"Dr.Arielywrites."Wemayworkmorehoursatourjobswithoutrealizingthatthechildhoodofoursonsanddaughtersisslippingaway."0So,whatcanbedonetorestorebalanceinourlives?Oneanswer,Dr.Arielysays,istoimplementmoreprohibitionsonoverbooking.Wecanworktoreduceoptionsonourown,delegatingtaskstoothersandevengivingawayideasforotherstopursue.Hepointstomarriageasanexample,"Inmarriage,wecreateasituationwherewepromiseourselvesnottokeepoptionsopen.Weclosedoorsandannouncetootherswe'vecloseddoors."Sinceconductingthedoorexperiment,Dr.Arielysayshehasmadeaconsciousefforttolessenhisload.Heurgestherestofustoresignfromcommittees,pruneholidaycardlists,rethinkhobbiesandrememberthelessonsofdoorcloserslikeXiangYu.2Inotherwords,Dr.Arielyisencouragingustodiscardthosethingsthatseemtohaveoutwardmeritinfavorofthosethingsthatactuallyenrichourlives.Wearenaturallyprejudicedtobelievethatmoreisbetter,butDr.Ariely'sresearchprovidesadoseofrealitythatstronglysuggestsotherwise.3Whatpricedowepayfortryingtohavemoreandmoreinlife?Whatpleasureandsatisfactioncanbederivedfromfocusingourenergyandattentioninamoreconcentratedfashion?Surely,wewillhaveourrespectiveanswers.14Considertheseimportantquestions:Willwehavemorebyalwaysincreasingoptionsorwillwehavemorewithfewer,carefullychosenoptions?Whatdoorsshouldwecloseinordertoallowtherightwindowsofopportunityandhappinesstoopen?Translation“關(guān)門者”，你是嗎？下次你要在兩個難于取舍的、主要的和次要的選擇之間做決定時，不妨問自己這樣一個問題：項(xiàng)羽會怎么做？項(xiàng)羽是公元前三世紀(jì)中國古代王朝的一位將軍。他帶領(lǐng)他的部隊橫渡漳河，突襲進(jìn)入了敵方的領(lǐng)地。他下令砸鍋燒船，令他的部隊大為震驚。他解釋道，他強(qiáng)加給他們的是戰(zhàn)勝對手的必要舉措。他所說的無疑十分鼓舞士氣，但當(dāng)他那許多忠誠的士兵眼睜睜地看著他們的船只在火焰中被焚毀時，他們并不贊成他的做法。不過項(xiàng)羽將軍的這種砸鍋焚船的做法所顯示出的天賦，在戰(zhàn)場上和現(xiàn)代社會科學(xué)研究中都將得到肯定。項(xiàng)羽將軍是一個罕見的不墨守成規(guī)的人，他是一位經(jīng)驗(yàn)豐富的領(lǐng)袖，由于他征戰(zhàn)無數(shù)并達(dá)到了成功的頂峰，他深受尊敬。4丹?阿雷利極富啟迪性的新書《可預(yù)見的非理性》對項(xiàng)羽作了專題介紹。這本書對看似非理性的人類行為，譬如人類總想留住多項(xiàng)選擇機(jī)會的傾向，進(jìn)行了引人入勝的調(diào)查。大多數(shù)人都不能整理自己的思路來做痛苦的選擇，麻省理工學(xué)院上阿雷利博士行為經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)這門課的學(xué)生也不例外。在調(diào)查作決策的一項(xiàng)實(shí)驗(yàn)中，幾百名學(xué)生都不能忍受眼睜睜看著他們的選擇機(jī)會消失，即使他們很清楚這樣做對他們有利。實(shí)驗(yàn)是圍繞著一個游戲展開的，這個游戲排除了我們通常不肯放手的借口。在現(xiàn)實(shí)世界里，我們總會說：“保留我們的選擇機(jī)會是對的。”想要一個好的例子嗎？一個十多歲的女孩被足球、芭蕾舞、鋼琴、中文課給累得筋疲力盡，但她的父母不會讓她停止任何一項(xiàng)活動，理由是它們有一天可能會派上用場！在這個實(shí)驗(yàn)里，學(xué)生要玩一個電腦游戲:在電腦屏幕上會顯示三扇門，每扇門后都會提供一些現(xiàn)金。該游戲的規(guī)則是每個人都只能點(diǎn)擊100次，你點(diǎn)擊獲取的錢越多，你就玩得越好。學(xué)生每點(diǎn)擊一次打開一扇門，他們會用掉一個點(diǎn)擊數(shù)，但卻不會得到任何錢。然而，隨后接著在那扇門上的每次點(diǎn)擊都會掙得數(shù)額不等的錢，三扇門顯示的錢總有一扇比另外兩扇多。這個游戲規(guī)則的重點(diǎn)是雖然每次換門沒有金錢回報，可還是會用掉一次點(diǎn)擊數(shù)。所以，制勝戰(zhàn)略是要迅速查看所有的門，然后只點(diǎn)擊那扇似乎是錢最多的門。在玩游戲時，學(xué)生們注意到了一個視覺上的變化：如果有片刻沒點(diǎn)擊某扇門，那扇門就會慢慢縮小并消失。由于他們已了解了游戲規(guī)則，他們本應(yīng)對要消失的門不予理睬。然而，在它們消失以前，他們卻迫不及待地去點(diǎn)擊那些變小的門，試圖讓它們開啟著。結(jié)果是，他們在匆忙回去點(diǎn)擊那些快消失的門時浪費(fèi)了很多點(diǎn)擊數(shù)以至于最后輸了錢。為什么學(xué)生對那些變小的門如此依戀呢？他們可能會爭辯說，他們緊抓住這些門是為將來多留一些機(jī)會。但是，據(jù)阿雷利博士說，這不是真正的原因。在他們?yōu)閷矶嗔粢恍C(jī)會的借口背后反映出的是所有的學(xué)生都不堪目睹眼前的選擇機(jī)會被剝奪，盡管這種痛苦是臨時的。阿雷利博士說：“每閉上一扇選擇之門就如同經(jīng)受了一次損失，人們寧愿付出很大的代價，也要避免情感的失落?！痹趯?shí)驗(yàn)中，損失很容易用丟失的現(xiàn)