1 If I am the only parent who still corrects his child's English, then perhaps my son is right. To him, I am a tedious oddity: a father he is obliged to listen to and a man absorbed in the rules of grammar, which my son seems allergic to.

如果我是唯一一个还在纠正小孩英语的家长，那么我儿子也许是对的。对他而言，我是一个乏味的怪物：一个他不得不听其教诲的父亲，一个还沉湎于语法规则的人，对此我儿子似乎颇为反感。

2 I think I got serious about this only recently when I ran into one of my former students, fresh from an excursion to Europe.

How was it? I asked, full of earnest anticipation.

我觉得我是在最近偶遇我以前的一位学生时，才开始对这个问题认真起来的。这个学生刚从欧洲旅游回来。我满怀着诚挚期待问她： “欧洲之行如何？ ”

3 She nodded three or four times, searched the heavens for the right words, and then exclaimed, It was, like, whoa! 她点了三四下头，绞尽脑汁，苦苦寻找恰当的词语，然后惊呼： “真是，哇！ ”

4 And that was it. The civilization of Greece and the glory of Roman architecture were captured in a condensed non-statement. My student's whoa! was exceeded only by my head-shaking distress.

没了。所有希腊文明和罗马建筑的辉煌居然囊括于一个浓缩的、不完整的语句之中！我的学生以叹，我只能以摇头表达比之更强烈的忧虑。 “哇！ ”来表示她的惊

5 There are many different stories about the downturn in the proper use of English. Surely students should be able to distinguish between their/there/they're or the distinctive difference between complimentary and complementary. They unfairly bear the bulk of the criticism for these knowledge deficits because there is a sense that they should know better. 关于正确使用英语能力下降的问题，有许多不同的故事。学生的确本应该能够区分诸如 their/there/they 之'间re的不同，

或区别 complimentary 跟 complementary 之间显而易见的差异。由于这些知识缺陷，他们承受着大部分不该承受的批评和指责，因为舆论认为他们应该学得更好。

6 Students are not dumb, but they are being misled everywhere they look and listen. For example, signs in grocery stores point them to the stationary, even though the actual stationery items — pads, albums and notebooks — are not nailed down. Friends and loved ones often proclaim they've just ate when, in fact, they've just eaten. Therefore, it doesn't make any sense to criticize our students. 学生并不笨，他们只是被周围所看到和听到的语言误导了。举例来说，杂货店的指示牌会把他们引向

处），虽然便笺本、相册、和笔记本等真正的 stationery ( 文具用品 ) 并没有被钉在那儿。朋友和亲人常宣称

stationary （静止

They've just

ate。实际上，他们应该说 They ' vejust eaten。因此，批评学生不合乎情理。

7 Blame for the scandal of this language deficit should be thrust upon our schools, which should be setting high standards of English language proficiency. Instead, they only teach a little grammar and even less advanced vocabulary. Moreover, the younger teachers themselves evidently have little knowledge of these vital structures of language because they also went without exposure to them. Schools fail to adequately teach the essential framework of language, accurate grammar and proper vocabulary, while they should take the responsibility of pushing the young onto the path of competent communication.

对这种缺乏语言功底而引起的负面指责应归咎于我们的学校。学校应对英语熟练程度制定出更高的标准。可相反，学校只教零星的语法，高级词汇更是少之又少。还有就是，学校的年轻教师显然缺乏这些重要的语言结构方面的知识，

因为他们过去也没接触过。学校有责任教会年轻人进行有效的语言沟通，可他们并没把语言的基本框架 —— 准确的语法和恰当的词汇 —— 充分地传授给学生。

8 Since grammar is boring to most of the young students, I think that it must be handled delicately, step by step. The chance came when one day I was driving with my son. As we set out on our trip, he noticed a bird in jerky flight and said, It's flying so unsteady. I carefully asked, My son, how is the bird flying? What's wrong? Did I say anything incorrectly? He got lost.

Great! You said incorrectly instead of incorrect. We use adverbs to describe verbs. Therefore, it's flying so unsteadily but not

so unsteady.

因为语法对大多数年轻学生而言枯燥且乏味，所以我觉得讲授语法得一步一步、注重技巧地进行。有一天机会来了。

我跟儿子开车外出。我们出发时，他看到一只小鸟飞得很不稳，就说： “它飞的不稳。 ”（ It 's flying so unsteady）. 我小

心翼翼地问： “儿子，鸟怎么飞 ?”“有问题吗？我说得不对吗？（ Did I say anything incorrectly? ）”他一头雾水。 “太好了，

你说的是 incorrectly 而不是 incorrect 。我们用副词来描述动词。所以，要用 unsteadily 来描述鸟飞，而不是 unsteady。”

9 Curious about my correction, he asked me what an adverb was. Slowly, I said, It's a word that tells you something about a verb. It led to his asking me what a verb was. I explained, Verbs are action words; for example, Dad drives the truck. Drive is the verb because it's the thing Dad is doing.

他对我的纠正很好奇，就问我什么是副词。我慢慢解释道：

动词。我解释说： “动词是表示行为的词，例如：爸爸开卡车。 “副词是用来修饰动词的词。 ”这又导致了他询问我什么是

‘开 '是动词，因为它是爸爸在做的事。 ”

10 He became attracted to the idea of action words, so we listed a few more: fly, swim, dive, run. Then, out of his own curiosity, he asked me if other words had names for their use and functions. This led to a discussion of nouns, adjectives, and articles. Within the span of a 10-minute drive, he had learned from scratch to the major parts of speech in a sentence. It was painless learning and great fun!

他开始对表示行为的词产生兴趣，所以我们又罗列了几个动词： “飞行 ”、“游泳 ”、“跳水 ”、“跑步 ”。然后，他又好奇地

问我，其他的词有没有说明它们的用法和功能的名称。这就引发了我们对名词、形容词和冠词的讨论。在短短十分钟的驾驶时间内，他从对语法一无所知到学会了句子中主要词语的词性。这是一次毫无痛苦而又非常有趣的学习经历。

11 Perhaps, language should be looked upon as a road map and a valuable possession: often study the road map (check grammar) and tune up the car engine (adjust vocabulary). Learning grammar and a good vocabulary is just like driving with a road map in a well-conditioned car.

也许，语言应该被看成是一张路线图和一件珍品：我们要常常查看路线图（核对语法）和调整汽车的引擎（调节词汇）。

学好语法和掌握大量的词汇就好比拿着路线图在车况良好的车里驾驶。

12 The road map provides the framework and guidance you need for your trip, but it won't tell you exactly what trees or flowers you will see, what kind of people you will encounter, or what types of feelings you will be experiencing on your journey. Here, the vocabulary makes the journey's true colors come alive! A good vocabulary enables you to enjoy whatever you see as you drive along. Equipped with grammar and a good vocabulary, you have flexibility and excellent control. While the road map guides your journey to your destination, an excellent vehicle helps you to fully enjoy all of the sights, sounds and experiences along the way.

路线图为你的旅行提供所需的基本路线和路途指南，可是它不会告诉你一路上你究竟会看见什么树或什么花，你会遇见什么样的人，或会有什么样的感受。这里，词汇会使你的旅途变得五彩缤纷、栩栩如生。大量的词汇让你享受到开车途中所见的点点滴滴。借助语法和丰富的词汇，你就有了灵活性，掌控自如。路线图会把你带到目的地，而一台好车却能让你完全陶醉于旅途的所有景色、声音及经历之中。

13 Effective, precise, and beneficial communication depends upon grammar and a good vocabulary, the two essential assets for students, but they are not being taught in schools.

对学生来说，有效、准确且富有成效的沟通技能取决于语法和词汇这两大有利条件，可是学校并没有教他们这些。

14 Just this morning, my son and I were eating breakfast when I attempted to add milk to my tea. Dad, he said, If I were you, I wouldn't do that. It's sour.

就在今天早上，我跟儿子吃早饭时，我想把牛奶加入我的茶里。

牛奶会变酸。（ If I were you, I wouldn 't do that. It ） ”'s sour. “爸爸， ” 他说， “如果我是你的话，我不会这样做。

15 Oh my! I said, swelling with pride toward my son, That's a grammatically perfect sentence. You used were instead of was.

“哦，上帝！ ”我满怀着无比的骄傲说道， “这是一句语法完全正确的句子。你用了 were 而不是 was。 ”

16 I know, I know, he said with a long agreeable sigh. It's the subjunctive mood.

“我知道，我知道， ”他愉悦地舒了口气， “这是虚拟语气！ ”

17 I was, like, whoa!

这下轮到我 “哇！ ”了。

Text B The great journey of learning 伟大的学习之旅

1 Malcolm X was an African-American civil rights activist, religious leader, writer, and speaker. Born in 1925, he was mysteriously assassinated in 1965. By the time of his death, his own telling of his life story, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, had been widely known. He was born Malcolm Little into a poor household. Later, he took the name Malcolm X after joining

an organization called the Nation of Islam, a religious group that had changed major practices and beliefs of mainstream Islam to apply more specifically to the condition of African-American people in the United States in the early 1960s.

马尔科姆 ·艾克斯是一位非裔美国民权活动家、宗教领袖、作家和演说家。他生于 1925 年， 1965 年被神秘地暗杀。在

他去世之前，他对自己生平的自述 ——《马尔科姆 ·艾克斯自传》已闻名遐迩。他出生于一个贫民家庭，取名马尔科姆 ·利特尔。后来，他加入了一个叫 “伊斯兰民族 ”的组织，之后改名为马尔科姆 ·艾克斯。 “伊斯兰民族 ”是个宗教团体，它改

变了美国主流伊斯兰教的一些主要的习俗和信仰，使之更适用于 19 世纪 60 年代早期非裔美国人的特定情况。

2 Malcolm X learned about the Nation of Islam while in prison for committing criminal acts such as theft. Because he was poorly educated, he felt inadequate to teach his new beliefs to others. As a young man, he could sketch his thoughts with poor grammar and little vocabulary using the simple, unsophisticated language of people on the street. As an adult, when he tried to inform people about his new beliefs at a rally, he found that he didn't have the adequate communication skills he needed. In his own words, he wasn't even functional.

马尔科姆 ·艾克斯因当时犯有诸如偷窃等罪而入狱。他在监狱里得知了 “伊斯兰民族 ”组织。由于没有受过良好的教育，

他在向别人传授他的新信仰时感到力不从心。作为一名年轻人，他可以用草根语言来概述自己的想法，语言简单、粗浅、语法差劲，且词汇贫乏。可作为一名成年人，当他在大型公众集会上向人们阐述他的新信仰时，他发觉自己缺少

了所需的语言交流技能。用他自己的话说，他 “甚至没有这个功能 ”。

3 In a bid to increase his knowledge and improve his skills, desperate Malcolm X devised a scheme. He turned to books, believing this would be beneficial. However, when he tried to read serious books on his own, he was distressed as he didn't know most of the words. They might as well have been in Chinese, he wrote. He skipped all the words he didn't know and

then would end up with no clue as to what the book was about. I became frustrated, Malcolm X wrote in his autobiography, speaking of his inadequate language skills.

为了增长知识，提高沟通技能，深陷绝望的马尔科姆 ·艾克斯为自己制定了一个计划。他决定求助于书籍，相信书会使

他受益匪浅。可是当他试图阅读一些严肃的书本时，他不禁倍感苦恼，因为大部分的词他都不认识。他写道： “这些书

还不如是用中文写的。 ”他跳过了所有不认识的词，可是最终他全然不知这本书里写了什么。马尔科姆 ·艾克斯在他的自

传里谈到他贫乏的语言技能时是这样写的： “我变得沮丧起来。 ”

4 Malcolm X's considerable frustration at his inability to read and write launched him on a quest to overcome his deficiencies. He said, I saw that the best thing I could do was get hold of a dictionary — to study, to learn some words. And he was lucky enough to reason also that he should try to improve his handwriting. It was sad. I couldn't even write in a straight line, he told us. These ideas together moved him to appeal to the prison authorities for some paper and pencils.

由于无法阅读和写作所遭受的巨大挫折促使马尔科姆 ·艾克斯开始探索如何攻克自己的语言缺陷。他说： “我明白我所能做的就是弄到一本词典来学习，学一些单词。 ”他也幸运地意识到应该尝试去改进他的书写。他告诉我们： “令人伤心的是我甚至不能把英文书写得整齐。 ”这些想法促使他向狱管请求，要了一些纸和铅笔。

5 For the first two days, Malcolm X just skimmed through the pages of the dictionary trying to negotiate his way through its unfamiliar format. He told us of his amazement at how closely related the words seemed. How moist could be the root of moisture, and advisable and advisory had the same root word! I didn't know which words I needed to learn, he said, finally, just to start some kind of action, I began copying. In his slow, careful, crude handwriting, Malcolm X copied everything on the first full page of the dictionary into a notebook. He even copied the quotation marks! This took him one full day. After that, he read everything he had written aloud. Over and over aloud, to myself, I read my own handwriting. Malcolm recalled. He also logged important things that happened every day. Repetition helped move him from basic literacy toward true proficiency.

头两天，马尔科姆 ·艾克斯只是很快地浏览了一下词典，试图在这不熟悉的格式里寻找出他自己的应付方法。他告诉我

们，他对这些单词之间的密切关系感到诧异。 moist 怎么会是 moisture 的词根； advisable 跟 advisory 竟是同根词！ “我

都不知道哪些单词我需要学， ”他说， “最后，为了有所行动，我开始抄写词典。 ”马尔科姆 ·艾克斯用他缓慢、仔细、蹩脚的书写，把词典的第一页全都抄写在一个笔记本上，他甚至把引号也抄了。这花了他整整一天的时间。在此之后，

他高声朗读所有抄写下来的东西。 “我一遍又一遍地给自己大声朗读自己抄写的东西。 ”马尔科姆回忆道。他还把每天发生的重要事情记录下来。重复朗读帮助他从一个仅有一些基础文化知识的人变成真正精通语言的人。

6 Malcolm X depicted how the next morning when he woke up, he kept thinking about the words he had copied and read aloud and about the acquisition of the knowledge he was pursuing. It was a marvelous feeling. He felt immensely proud.

马尔科姆 ·艾克斯描述了他第二天醒来时，是如何努力回忆他抄写和朗读过的单词及他苦苦追求所获的知识。这是一种神奇的感觉，他感到无比自豪。

7 He was so fascinated that he went on copying the dictionary's next page. Once again, he awoke, proud and energized. With every succeeding page he copied and read aloud, Malcolm X found he was learning and remembering more and more words. With each successive day, his confusion diminished.

他对此如此着迷以至于他又继续抄写词典的下一页。又一次，他醒来时感到骄傲且精力充沛。随着不断抄写和朗读，马尔科姆 ·艾克斯发现自己在学到东西，也记住了越来越多的单词，他的困惑也逐日减少。

8 As Malcolm X's word base broadened, he began to better understand the books he read. It was the first time in his life this had ever happened, Anyone who has read a great deal can imagine the new world that opened. From then until he left that prison, his concentration was focused on reading. He was so absorbed in it. Months passed without his even thinking about being in prison. In fact, up to then, I never had been so truly free in my life.

随着马尔科姆 ·艾克斯的词汇量不断扩大，他开始能更好地理解所阅读的书了。这种现象在他的一生中从未发生过。 “任何一个阅读广泛的人都能想象那个开启了的新世界。 ”从那时起到他离开那个监狱，他一直专注于阅读，被它深深吸引。数月过去了，他竟然没感到自己在坐牢。 “事实上，在这之前，我从没如此真正地感受过生活的自由。 ”

9 I knew right there in prison that reading had changed forever the course of my life, Malcolm X wrote. He described how

one day a writer telephoned him from London for an interview. The interviewer asked Malcolm X what college he had graduated from as he could write so fluently. He told the Englishman that his own personal university was books.

“就是在监狱里我意识到阅读永远地改变了我的人生轨迹， ”马尔科姆 ·艾克斯写道。他描述了有一天一位作家从伦敦打

电话来采访他。那位作家问马尔科姆 ·艾克斯，他文笔那么流畅，是从什么大学毕业的。马尔科姆告诉那位英国人他的大学是 “书本 ”。

10 Malcolm X's life is a wonderful example of the profound effect of learning a language. He was born into a world full of poverty and ignorance. However, as he acquired knowledge, his horizons expanded. He had left behind the narrow, ignorant world of his youth to join the world community of thoughts and actions ever since he started with his great journey of learning English in prison.

马尔科姆 ·艾克斯的一生成功地创造了一个通过语言学习而深刻改变人生的光辉典范。他出生于贫穷、无知的世界。可是，知识开阔了他的眼界。从他在监狱里踏上伟大的英语学习之旅起，他就离开了青年时代狭窄、无知的世界，加入到有思想、有作为的世界之中。

Unit 2

Text A The humanities: Out of date?

人文学科：过时了吗？

1 When the going gets tough, the tough take accounting. When the job market worsens, many students calculate they can't major in English or history. They have to study something that boosts their prospects of landing a job.

当形势变得困难时，强者会去选学会计。当就业市场恶化时，许多学生估算着他们不能再主修英语或历史。他们得学一些能改善他们就业前景的东西。

2 The data show that as students have increasingly shouldered the ever-rising cost of tuition, they have defected from the study of the humanities and toward applied science and hard skills that they bet will lead to employment. In other words, a college education is more and more seen as a means for economic betterment rather than a means for human betterment. This is a trend that is likely to persist and even accelerate.

数据显示，随着学生肩负的学费不断增加，他们已从学习人文学科转向他们相信有益于将来就业的应用科学和能。换言之，大学教育越来越被看成是改善经济而不是提升人类自身的手段。这种趋势可能会持续， “硬 ”技

甚至有加快之势。

3 Over the next few years, as labor markets struggle, the humanities will probably continue their long slide in succession. There already has been a nearly 50 percent decline in the portion of liberal arts majors over the past generation, and it is logical to think that the trend is bound to continue or even accelerate. Once the dominant pillars of university life, the humanities now play little roles when students take their college tours. These days, labs are more vivid and compelling than libraries.

在未来几年内，由于劳动力市场的不景气，人文学科可能会继续其长期低迷的态势。在上一代大学生中，主修文科的学生数跌幅已近 50%。这种趋势会持续、甚至加速的想法是合情合理的。人文学科曾是大学生活的重要支柱，而今在学生们的大学游中却只是一个小点缀。现在，实验室要比图书馆更栩栩如生、受人青睐。

4 Here, please allow me to stand up for and promote the true value that the humanities add to people's lives. Since ancient times, people have speculated about the mystery of those inner forces that drive some people to greatness and others to

self-destruction. This inner drive has been called many things over the centuries. The famous psychologist, Sigmund Freud, called it the unconscious mind or, more familiarly, instinct.

在这儿，请允许我为人文学科给人们的生活所增添的真实价值进行支持和宣传。自古以来，人们一直在思索人类自身

具有什么神奇的内力使一些人变得崇高伟大，而使另一些人走向自我毁灭。几个世纪以来，这股内力被称作很多东西。

著名的心理学家西格蒙德 ·弗洛伊德称之为 “潜意识 ”，或更为人熟知的 “本能 ”。

5 From the beginning of time, this inner aspect of our being, this drive that can be constructive or destructive, has captured our imagination. The stories of this amazing struggle have formed the basis of cultures the world over. Historians, architects, authors, philosophers and artists have captured the words, images and meanings of this inner struggle in the form of story, music, myth, painting, architecture, sculpture, landscape and traditions. These men and women developed artistic languages that help us understand these aspirations and also educate generations. This fertile body of work from ancient times, the very foundation of civilization, forms the basis of study of the humanities.

从一开始，人类这股可以是建设性也可以是毁灭性的内在驱动力，就令我们心驰神往。这些惊人的、充满内心挣扎的故事形成了世界文化的基础。历史学家、建筑师、作家、哲学家和艺术家们以故事、音乐、神话、绘画、建筑、雕刻、

风景画和传统的形式，捕捉到了这些撞击心灵的文字、形象及内涵。这些男男女女创造出了具有艺术性的 “语言 ”，帮助我们了解人类的这些强烈愿望，并用以教育一代又一代人。从古时起开始的这些充满想象的大量作品，正是文明的底蕴，它奠定了人文研究的基础。

6 Studying the humanities improves our ability to read and write. No matter what we do in life, we will have a huge advantage if we can read complex ideas and understand their meaning. We will have a bright career if we are the person in the office who can write a clear and elegant analysis of those ideas!

学习人文学科会提高我们的阅读和写作能力。无论我们这一生中从事什么职业，如果我们能读懂复杂的思想并理解它们的内涵，我们都会受益匪浅。如果我们是在办公室里能对这些思想写出既明确又简洁的分析的人，我们会有光明的职业前景。

7 Studying the humanities makes us familiar with the language of emotion and the creative process. In an information economy, many people have the ability to produce a useful product such as a new MP3 player. Yet, very few people have the ability to create a spectacular brand: the iPod. Most importantly, studying the humanities invests us with great insight and self-awareness, thereby releasing our creative energy and talent in a positive and constructive manner.

学习人文学科会让我们熟悉表达情感的语言及进行创造的过程。在信息经济中，很多人都有能力创造出一个如新的

播放器那样的有用产品。然而，仅有很少的人具有能力创造出一个如 iPod 那样的精彩品牌。最重要的是，学习人文学 MP3

科使我们具有伟大的洞察力和自我意识，从而以积极和建设性的方式来发挥我们的创造力和才艺。

8 Perhaps the best argument in favor of the humanities is the scope of possibilities that are widely open to us. Did you know that James Cameron, world-famous director of the movie, Titanic, graduated with a degree in the humanities? So did Sally Ride, the first woman in space. So did actors Bruce Lee, Gwyneth Paltrow, Renee Zellweger and Matt Damon. Dr. Harold Varmus, who won a Nobel Prize for Medicine, studied the humanities. Even Michael Eisner, Chairman of the Disney Company, majored in the humanities. Famous people who studied the humanities make a long list indeed. It's easy to see that the humanities can prepare us for many different careers and jobs we can undertake, whether medicine, business, science or entertainment. If we study only mathematics, it's likely we will be a candidate only for jobs as a mathematician. If we include studying the humanities, we can make breakthroughs on many barriers and are limited only by our effort and imagination.

也许，支持人文学科的最好论点是 ,人文学科为我们提供了广阔的机会。你知道世界闻名的电影《泰坦尼克号》的导演

詹姆斯 ·卡梅隆拿的是人文学科的学位吗？第一个登上太空的女宇航员萨利 ·赖德拿的也是人文学科的学位。还有电影演

员李小龙、格温妮丝 ·帕特洛、蕾妮 ·齐薇格及马特 ·达蒙，也都如此。获诺贝尔医学奖的哈罗德 ·瓦慕斯博士也学过人文

学科。甚至迪士尼公司的总裁迈克尔 ·艾斯纳也主修人文学科。学习人文学科的有名人士确实可以列出一长串。显而易见，人文学能为我们从事许多不同的职业做准备，不管是医学、商务、科学或娱乐。如果我们仅学习数学，我们很可

能只能申请数学家之类的工作。如果我们还学了人文学科，那我们就能突破许多障碍，只要我们愿意付出努力，敢于想象。

9 Of course, nowadays, if we study the humanities alone, we are liable to miss many opportunities. Each one of us needs to become as technically and professionally skilled as possible to help meet the needs of modern life. In fact, increasingly a

pairing of technical knowledge and inner insight is seen as the ideal in the establishment of a career. If I were the Dean of Admissions at a medical school and two people applied to our school, both having the required basic scientific courses, one a philosophy major and the other solely a pre-med student, the philosophy applicant would be chosen.

当然，在当下，如果我们单学人文学科，可能会失去很多机会。我们每个人都需要尽可能变得技能化、职业化，以满足现代生活的需要。事实上，技术知识和内在洞察力的结合越来越被看成是建立职业生涯的理想搭配。如果我是某个医学院的招生部主任，有两个人同时申请我们学校，这两个人都学过基础的科学课程，一个主修哲学，另一个仅是医学院的预科生，我会选择那位哲学专业的申请者。

10 In summary, the humanities help to create well-rounded human beings with insight and understanding of the passions, hopes and dreams common to all humanity. The humanities, the ancient timeless reservoir of knowledge, teach us to see things differently and broaden our horizons. They are as useful and relevant in our modern age as they have always been. Doesn't it make sense to spend some time in the company of the humanities, our outstanding and remarkable treasure of knowledge? Who knows how famous YOU might become!

总之，人文学科帮助造就全面发展的人，这些人具有洞察力，并理解全人类共有的激情、希望和理想。人文学科，这个古老、永恒的知识储蓄库，教我们如何以不同的方式看待事物，同时也拓宽我们的视野。在现代社会中，人文学科

一如既往地同生活息息相关，也发挥着重要作用。我们在学习中花一些时间与人文学科 —— 我们杰出、非凡的知识宝藏 ——

相伴，这难道不是明智的吗？谁知道你将来会变得多有名气呢！

Text B What college brings us? 大学给我们带来了什么？

1 The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation. There has been a general consensus that all high school graduates ought to go to college because college will help them get a job, earn more money, become better people, and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don't go. However, given the huge cost of attending a university and the shrinking job market, should we not re-examine the case for college?

受大学教育已毫无疑问被不只一代人接受了。普遍的共识是所有的高中毕业生都应该上大学，因为大学会帮他们找到

工作，挣更多钱，成为 “更好的 ”人，并学会如何做一个比那些不上大学的人更负责的公民。可是，看看上大学的昂贵费用和日益萎缩的就业市场，难道我们不应该重新审视一下是否应该上大学这个问题吗？

2 The reality is that college has never been magical for everyone. Now that close to half our high school graduates are attending college, those who don't fit the pattern are becoming more numerous. Excess college graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis.

现实情况是大学并不是对每个人都有神奇的作用。由于近一半的高中毕业生都上了大学，那些不适合大学模式的人也变得更多了。过多的大学毕业生在卖鞋和开出租车。

3 Some adventuresome educators and campus watchers have openly begun to suggest that we revise our attitudes and reform the system. College may not be the best, the proper or even realistic place for every young person after the completion of high school. Critics suggest we may have been looking at all those surveys and statistics upside down through the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences.

一些富有探索精神的教育家和校园观察者已开始公开建议我们改变看法，改革大学体系。他们觉得大学并不是对每个完成高中学业的年轻人来说都是最好的、适宜的、甚至现实的地方。批评家暗示，我们可能是凭借自己记忆中那段大学经历的玫瑰色光环，把所有的调查和统计都看颠倒了。

4 Many students confirm that they feel compelled to go to college because of pressure from parents and teachers and stay there because it seems to be an alternative to a far worse fate. They quiver at the thought of the army or a dead-end job, and almost anything is better than staying at home. Potential college graduates say that they don't want to work solely for the money and that they want to do work that matters. Their motive is to help people and save the world, but the numbers are stacked against them. Not only are there not sufficient jobs in the world-saving fields, but in the current slowdown it has become evident that there never are enough promising jobs, presumably never will be, that require a higher education.

很多学生都证实：他们觉得不得不上大学是因为来自父母和老师的压力，呆在大学也是因为这似乎是能逃避更糟的命运的唯一选择。他们想到参军或做没前途的工作就不寒而栗，又觉得做任何事都比呆在家强。有潜力的大学毕业生说他们不想 “只为赚钱 ”而工作，他们想做有意义的工作。他们的动机是帮助别人，拯救世界，但形势并不乐观。不但在那些拯救世界的领域里没有足够的工作，而且很显然在当今经济衰退的情况下，那些要求有高等学历的有前途的工作从来就不够，可能永远都不会够。

5 Let's acknowledge the facts. The New York Times reports close to 80 percent of new jobs can be performed by someone without a college degree. The US Department of Education estimates that only 62 percent of those enrolled in four-year institutions had earned a bachelor's degree six years later! This dilemma means that 38 percent have likely wasted time and accumulated debt! In addition, in the US, the cost of college has risen tenfold over the last 30 years, a ratio that is three times as much as general inflation over the same time period. It is clear, from an objective point of view, that many more students should be attending technical schools or two-year colleges to prepare for the jobs that will actually be available to them.

让我们来承认这些事实。《纽约时报》报道近八成的新工作可以由那些没有大学学历的人来做。美国教育部估计在四年

制大学的学生中只有 62%的人六年以后能拿到学士学位。这种窘境意味着 38%的学生都浪费了时间，积累了债务。另外，美国的大学费用在过去的三十年内涨了十倍，这个比例是同期通货膨胀的三倍。从客观上来说已很清楚，更多的

学生应该上技校或两年制学院，为他们能找到的工作做准备。

6 Of course, for many jobs a higher education is absolutely necessary and required. So, for some people, obtaining a bachelor's degree is but the first step of lifelong learning. For them, a university degree is essential.

当然，对许多工作而言，高等教育学历是不可或缺的。所以，对一些人来说，拿到学士学位只是终生学习的第一步。

对他们而言，大学学位是必不可少的。

7 There is little doubt that attending college has the potential of exposing young people to new ideas and relationships and helps promote their critical thinking skills. It also accords them a relatively safe environment for experimentation and exploration. Nevertheless, many college graduates report that what they learned on campus was better described as personal rather than academic development. Likewise, they report that the real value of college has more to do with developing their identity and practicing social skills than anything to do with the college curriculum. If you accept that the prime reason for going to college

is to provide a period for pure learning and maturation of a young person, the decision is made easy as it becomes a question of affordability for the individual student.

毫无疑问，上大学能让年轻人接触新思想，建立新关系，且有助于提高他们的批判性思维能力。大学还为他们提供了一个相对安全的环境让他们从事实验和探索。然而，很多大学毕业生反映，他们在校园所学的东西，与其被称为学术发展，不如说是个人的发展。同样地，他们说大学的真实价值与发展他们的个人特质及社会技能更密切相关，而并非与课程有关。如果你认同这一看法，同意上大学的首要原因是为了给年轻人提供一段纯粹的学习和成长成熟的时间，那么做这个决定会很容易，因为是否上大学仅决定于个人是否有能力承担大学的费用。

8 Whatever college graduates want to do, most of them are going to have to adjust. During the upcoming years, according to the US Department of Labor, the biggest demand will be for jobs that do not need a university degree. Those students who have gone to college to become urban planners, editors, and college professors will have a hard time to find jobs related to what they have learned. They may well find that the only jobs available are sales agents, carpenters, mechanics or cable installers. In fact, having a university degree may be a barrier to getting these jobs. On the other hand, students who have graduated in

specialized fields often find that they have learned a lot of things in classrooms that they will never use. One gloomy architecture student, who had already designed and built houses, said, I don't want to appear cynical. It's more the degree you need, not the breadth of knowledge you learn getting it.

无论大学毕业生想从事什么工作，大多数人都不得不进行调整。据美国劳工部报告称，在未来几年里，劳动力市场最大的工作需求并不要求大学学位。对于那些上大学是为今后成为城市规划者、编辑和大学教授的学生来说，会很难找到与他们所学相关的工作。他们可能发现唯一有空缺的工作是销售代理、木工、机械师或电缆安装工。事实上，有大学学位可能会成为找这些工作的绊脚石。在另一方面，从专门领域毕业的学生常发现他们在课堂上学到的很多东西永

远也用不上。一位已从事过设计和造房的建筑专业的学生沮丧地说： “我不想显得愤世嫉俗。但人们更看重的是你的学

位，而不是你在拿学位过程中所学的渊博知识。 ”

9 College is an outstanding place for that rare breed, those young adults who love learning for its own sake, who would literally rather read than bother to eat, and who like nothing better than writing research papers. But they are a minority, even at the famous colleges which attract and recruit the intellectually oriented.

大学对那些凤毛麟角、为学习而学习的年轻人来说是一个重要的地方。真的，他们甚至宁可读书，也不愿费心去吃东西，他们最喜欢做的莫过于撰写科研论文。但他们毕竟是少数，即使在那些吸引和招收注重学术研究人才的著名学府也是如此。

10 In brief, our high school graduates need to evaluate the college equation more closely and critically, calculate it as a consumer product, and decide if the value proposal is worth the very large investment each student and family must make.

简言之，高中毕业生需要更仔细审慎地评估上大学的综合因素，要把上大学作为一个消费品来核算，然后决定上大学这个价值主张是不是值得每个学生及家庭进行大手笔投资。

Unit 3

Text A Journey through the odyssey years

奥德赛岁月之旅

1 Most of us know about the phases of life which we label to parallel different age groups and life stages: childhood,

adolescence, adulthood, and old age. We think of infancy before childhood and middle age before old age, with each unique phase bringing its own peculiar set of challenges. These challenges can be overcome by acquainting ourselves with them, such as the child's need to learn, the adult's need to find the right career and build a family, and the senior's need for support and good health care.

我们大多数人都知道，根据不同的年龄和生活阶段，人生可与此平行划分为童年、青春期、成年和老年这四个阶段。我们把这些阶段想象为婴儿在童年之前，中年在老年之前，每个阶段都会面临一系列特有的挑战，如孩子对学习的需要，成人对找到合适的职业生涯和建立一个家庭的需要，以及年长者对得到帮助和良好医疗保健的需要。通过对它们的充分了解，我们就可以战胜这些挑战。

2 Interestingly, ideas about the stages of life are changing. 有趣的是，关于人生阶段的观念正在发生变化。

3 In previous times, people didn't have a solid idea of childhood as being separate from adulthood. A hundred years ago,

no one thought of adolescence. Until recently it was understood as a norm that their induction to adulthood was completed as soon as they graduated from college. They would now find a sensible job which would lead to a career. Then during this career they would start a family, ideally before they turned 30.

在先前的年代，人们并没有一种固有的把童年和成年分开的想法。一百年前，谁也没有想到过青春期。直到最近，

人们还很自然地认为：只要他们一从大学毕业，他们的成人入门阶段就结束了。他们就会找到一份把他们引入职业生涯的合适的工作。然后在此职业生涯期间，他们会成家，三十岁之前成家更为理想。

4 Today we have an equivalent need to recognize a new phase of life that comes after high school graduation, continues through college, and then leads to starting a family and having a career, the so-called odyssey years. Recent trends show radical changes as young people are following a different agenda. They take breaks from school, live with friends and often return to living with their parents. Similarly, they fall in and out of love, quit one job and try another or even shift to a new career. So, we need to recognize this new stage, the odyssey years, which many now consider to be an unavoidable stage in reaching adulthood.

今天，我们同样需要认识一个新的人生阶段：从高中毕业到上大学，然后到成家立业，即所谓的奥德赛岁月。由于年轻人正按照一种不同的模式生活，最近的趋势出现了根本性的变化。他们从学校休学，与朋友同住，也常回去与

父母同住。同样，他们恋爱又失恋，辞掉一份工作又去寻找新的，甚至改行。因此，我们需要认识这个新阶段 —— 奥德赛岁月。现在许多人认为这是步入成年之前的一个难以回避的阶段。

5 People who were born prior to the 60s or 70s in the last century tended to frame their concept of adulthood based upon achieving certain accomplishments: moving away from home, becoming financially independent, finding the right spouse and starting a family. But that emphasis on stability did not remain static. Today, young people are unlikely to do the same. During the odyssey years, a high proportion of young people are delaying marriage, child bearing, and even employment.

出生于上个世纪 60 年代或 70 年代之前的人们往往会将成年的概念基于是否取得了某些成就：从父母家搬走，经

济上独立，找到合适的配偶并组织家庭。但是，对稳定的强调并没能保持不变。今天，年轻人不太可能仿效他们的父母。在奥德赛岁月中，相当比例的年轻人都推迟结婚、生子，甚至推迟就业。

6 The odyssey years can saddle young people with enormous pressure to move forward quickly. As the sole heir and focus

of their parents' expectations, hopes and dreams, some react with rebellious and prideful attitudes and behavior toward their parents. They often resent the pressure they're feeling and keep a distance from their parents or even run away from home.

Their confusion comes from the difficulties to make parents understand them and the fluid journey of discovery they need in

this phase of their lives. To get away from this confusion and upset, many young people resort to computer games, iPod, iPhone,

or iPad to help distract them from their pain and stress.

奥德赛岁月使年轻人承受了巨大的压力，迫使他们快速往前冲。作为他们父母唯一的继承人和所有期望、希望和梦想的聚焦，有些年轻人以叛逆和桀骜不驯的行为和态度对待父母。他们往往憎恨他们所感到的压力，并同他们的父母保持距离，甚至离家出走。他们的困惑源于很难让家长了解他们，也源于这段需要进行自我探索的、不确定的人生

之旅。为了逃避困惑和不安，许多年轻人诉诸电脑游戏， iPod， iPhone 或 iPad，以帮助分散他们的痛苦和压力。

7 Likewise, their parents are feeling more anxious. They may make allowances for a transition phase from student life to adult life, but they get upset when they see the transition of their grown children's lives moving away from their expectations and stretching five years to seven years, and beyond. The parents don't even detect a clear sense of direction in their children's lives. They look at them and see the things that are being delayed.

同样，他们的父母更是着急。虽然他们理解从学生到成年需要一个过渡阶段，但看到他们已成年子女的过渡阶段的生活与他们的期望渐行渐远，过渡阶段延至五年，七年，甚至更长时，他们感到生气。父母甚至不能清楚地觉察到他们孩子未来生活的方向，只能看着他们，看着要做的事被拖延着。

8 It's hard to predict what's next. New guidelines haven't been established yet, and everything seems to give way to a less permanent version of itself. There's been a shift in the status and balance of power between the genders, too. More women are getting degrees than men. Male wages have remained stable over the past decades, while female wages have boomed.

接下来会如何发展很难预测。新的准则还没有建立，一切似乎都被一个不确定的版本所取代。两性之间地位和权力的平衡也有了转变。取得学位的女性比男性更多。男性的工资在过去的几十年里一直停滞不前，而女性的工资却出现激增。

9 Apart from anything else, this has had an implicit effect on courtship. Educated women can get many of the things they want, such as security, accomplishment, and identity without marriage. However, both genders are having a harder time finding suitable mates to build their lives with. Considering all of this, it's beneficial to know that even though graduates are delaying many things after college, surveys show they still hold highly traditional aspirations. For example, this contemporary generation rates parenthood even more highly than previous generations did!

别的不说，这对择偶产生了不言而喻的影响。即使未婚，受过教育的妇女仍可以得到很多她们想要的东西，如安全感，成就感，和认同感。不过，不论男女都更难找到合适的伴侣来一同建立他们的生活。在讨论这一切时，有助于让大家知道，即使毕业生离开大学后推迟了做很多事，调查结果显示，他们仍持有很传统的愿望。例如，当今的一代比以前的几代对如何扮演好父母的角色有着更高的要求。

10 This new phase will likely grow similar trends toward delaying marriage down with a career and family.

more pronounced in the coming years. Nations around the world have witnessed and spending more years than ever shifting between higher education and settling

这一新阶段在未来几年可能更明显。世界各国都目睹了相似的趋势，人们推迟结婚，花更多年的时间徘徊在接受高等教育和建立职业生涯及家庭之间。

11 Nevertheless, graduates shouldn't be deceived into thinking they can back off simply because things have become more difficult. A large number of people chasing relatively fewer opportunities can create strong competitive pressure. So, from the

outset, keep your r suméprofessionalé and up-to-date.

然而，毕业生不应误认为因情况已变得更困难，他们就可以放弃。大批的人努力角逐相对较少的机会，这会导致强大的竞争压力。所以，从一开始你就要将个人简历写得很专业，并做到随时更新。

12 To reinforce this essential message, success moving through the odyssey years will come to those who don't expect to achieve their goals right away but know that they must have the strength, capacity and confidence to endure over the long term. If you're a little late with your goals, don't feel like a failure! Stay strong, be positive, and keep focused! Someday you will look back and wonder at the vast changes as you passed through the odyssey years.

要强化这一重要信息：顺利度过奥德赛岁月的将是那些不急于即刻实现目标的人 —— 但这些人知道他们必须保持

实力、能力、信心去度过这段较长的岁月。如果你的目标起步稍晚了点，不要认为自己是个失败者！意志坚定，态度积极，并集中精力！有一天，你会回头审视，并对奥德赛岁月给你带来的巨大改变感到惊叹。

Text B Finding my way back home

找寻我的回家之路

1 Dear Dad, I wrote, I want to come home from my exile. After many hours of thinking as I sat by the side of a busy

highway, I tore the page in half and crushed it into a small ball. I'd started this letter many times but would always fall into

despair. I wanted to go home — home to my parents and sisters, but I would always hesitate ?asI didn'tfeasibleknow. if it w

“亲爱的爸爸， ”我写道， “我想结束我的流放，回家！ ”我坐在一条繁忙的高速公路旁想了很久，还是把纸撕成了两

半，并捏成了一个小球。这封信我已写了好多次开头，但每次都以绝望而告终。我想回家 —— 回到有我父母和姐妹的

家，但我总是犹豫不决 ?? 不知回家之路是否行得通。

2 I had run away from home after finishing high school. My parents had insisted I go to college; our family code demanded it but I was tired of school. I hated it. I was determined not to go. And, besides, my father was too strict with me. The allowance he gave me was pitiful. I had multiple jobs to do around the farm. I hated the work, finding it hollow and dull! I was miserable.

高中毕业后我离家出走了。因为父母坚持要我去上大学，我家的家规要求我这么做，但我厌倦了学校。我憎恨学校，坚决不肯上大学。再说，父亲对我太严厉，给我的零花钱少得可怜。在农场我还得干各种各样的活。我讨厌这样的工作，发现它既没意思又单调乏味！我很痛苦。

3 There had been a fight between my father and me. Like a volcano erupting, I snapped. I threw some things into a bag and left angrily. My father shouted after me, If you leave, don't come back! My mother cried and I have seen her grief and tears a hundred times during sleepless nights.

我和父亲之间曾有过一次激烈的争吵。

我父亲在我背后高喊： “要走，就不要回来！我突然发怒，犹如火山爆发。我把一些东西塞入一个袋子后，

” 母亲哭了，多少次不眠之夜，我都看到了她的悲痛和泪水。愤然离开了。

4 The letter had to be written.

但这封信还得写。

5 Dear Dad,

亲爱的爸爸：

6 It's been more than a year now. I've traveled east to west. I've had a series of jobs, mostly manual labor, as a waiter in a

banquet hall, as a maintenance man in a dairy plant, and once as a deck hand on a commercial fishing boat. None of them amounted to very much. Always the same question: How much education have you got? They always want college graduates for the good jobs.

离家出走一年多了。我从东到西，干过一连串的活儿，主要是体力活儿。我在宴会厅当过服务生，在乳制品厂做

过维修，在商业捕鱼船上打过杂。没有一件工作是有价值的。他们总是问同样的问题： “你的学历是什么？ ”他们总是想要大学毕业生来干体面一点儿的工作。

7 Dad, I want to affirm this: You and Mother were right about everything. I know now that the work on the farm didn't hurt me. I've met many people since I've been away; some were refined and others very coarse. I didn't know what home meant until I'd been away for a few months. My awareness has changed. I'm convinced I can't be away from my family any more.

爸爸，我要明确地说，您和妈妈过去所做的一切都是对的。我现在知道在农场打工对我没有害处。离家出走后，我碰到过很多人，有的有教养，有的很粗俗。离家几个月后我才知道什么是家。我的想法变了，我确信我再也不能离开家了。

8 I want to come home and bond with my family again. I'd like to go to college and learn how to be an organic farmer, and then, if you'll let me, maybe I could farm with you.

我想回家，想和家人聚在一起。我要上大学，学做一个种植有机作物的农民。然后，如果您同意，也许我可以留在农场跟着您干。

9 I'm on the road now, so you can't answer me by letter. But in a few days, I'll be passing by the farm at night. And, Dad, I'm asking you to allow me to come home to demonstrate that you've forgiven me by leaving the porch light on. If there is no light on, I'll resign myself to your decision and just keep on going. I'll understand.

我现在在回家的路上，所以您不能给我回信。但就在这几天，我会在晚上途经家里的农场。爸爸，我请求您让我回家，请把门廊的灯打开，表明您已经原谅了我。如果我没看到灯亮，我会遵从您的决定，继续上路。我会理解。

10 Please give my love to Mother and the girls.

请代我问候母亲和姐妹们。

11 Love,

爱您，

12 Your son

您的儿子

13 Overnight, I tried to sleep on the grass by the road, but sleep did not come. I wondered what my little sisters were

doing and what wonderful food my mother was cooking.

整整一个晚上，我想要在路边的草地上入睡，但就是睡不着。我想啊想，想小妹妹们在做什么，想我妈妈又在做什么美味佳肴。

14 I couldn't bear my restless thoughts any longer. I roused myself and started down the long road home. But was it still my home?

我再也不能忍受那些焦虑不安的思念了。我振作起来，踏上了回家的漫漫之路。但它仍然是我的家吗？

15 A police car stopped and the deputy offered me a ride. It was good to have someone to talk with. Where're you going,

son? he asked. Somehow, he reminded me of my own father.

一辆警车停了下来，车上的那位巡警让我搭了一程。有人说话的感觉真好。他问： “去哪儿，孩子？ ”不知为什么，

他让我不禁地想起了父亲。

16 A long silence. Home, I said.

沉默好一阵之后，我说： “回家。 ”

17 Where have you been?

“你去哪儿了？ ”

18 He seemed truly interested. There was real integrity in his face. 他好像真的很感兴趣，脸上写满了真诚。

19 All over, I said.

“四处走了走。 ”我说。

20 Been away from home long?

“离家很久了吧？ ”

21 A year, one month and two days. I said.

“一年一个月零两天。 ”我说。

22 He didn't look at me, but he smiled, and I knew he understood. 他没有看我，但他微笑着，我知道他懂。

23 You're a fine boy, he said.

“你是一个好孩子， ”他说。

24 Then he told me about his own two sons, My older son ran away from home two years ago He looked away and then said, I hope someday somebody will be nice to him, too.

–two years and15 days.

然后他告诉我他自己的两个儿子的情况。 “我的大儿子两年前离家出走，已经两年零十五天了。 ”他扭过头去，然

后又说： “我希望有一天也有人会待他好。 ”

25 Two days later, I was on the road within 50 miles of home. A big truck with a cargo trailer slowed and stopped. I ran and got in from the heat. The air-conditioning felt good.

两天后，我离家不到五十英里了。一个带有货运拖车的大卡车慢慢地开过来并停了下来。我赶紧跑过去上了车，摆脱酷热，吹着空调的感觉真好。

26 Somewhat later rain began to fall, slowly at first, and then hard enough to soak the earth. I drifted off to sleep and woke feeling refreshed.

不一会儿，开始下起雨来，起先很小，接着便是瓢泼大雨，足以浇透整个大地。我迷迷糊糊地睡着了，醒来时神清气爽。

27 We were nearing my family's farm. I was awake and alert. Would there be a light shining on the porch? It was torture to look and I couldn't bear to do it. Suddenly, we were there. I surrendered myself to my fate!

我们正在一点一点地接近我家的农场，我顿时清醒和警觉起来 :门廊上会有一盏灯亮着吗？每看一眼就好似一种折

磨，我简直受不了了。刹那间，我们到了。我只能听天由命，任凭命运摆布了！

28 The truck driver smiled and said, Look at that, would you! Just like in a fairy tale! That house there, the one just over there! Four bamboo cane chairs are sitting on the porch, with lighted lamps in every one of them, and an old man, as still as a statue, is out there with a flashlight aimed toward the road. AND, the porch light is on, too!

卡车司机微笑着说： “快看那，你还不赶快看！就像活生生的童话一样！看那边的那个房子，就是那边的那个！那门廊上放着四把竹藤椅，每把椅子上面都有亮着的灯。有位老人站在外面，丝毫不动，像一尊雕像一样，他正举着手

电朝道路方向照呢！重要的是：门廊的灯也亮着！ ”

Unit 4

Text A College sweethearts

大学情侣

1 I smile at my two lovely daughters and they seem so much more mature than we, their parents, when we were college

sweethearts. Linda, who's 21, had a boyfriend in her freshman year she thought she would marry, but they're not together anymore. Melissa, who's 19, hasn't had a steady boyfriend yet. My daughters wonder when they will meet The One, their

great love. They think their father and I had a classic fairy-tale romance heading for marriage from the outset. Perhaps, they're right but it didn't seem so at the time. In a way, love just happens when you least expect it. Who would have thought that Butch and I would end up getting married to each other? He became my boyfriend because of my shallow agenda: I wanted a cute boyfriend!

我微笑着看着我那两个可爱的女儿，她们似乎比她们的父母还是大学情侣那会儿更为成熟。琳达， 21 岁，在大学

一年级交过一个男友，她曾以为会跟那个男孩结婚，但他们已不再来往了。梅丽莎， 19 岁，还没有一个固定的男友。

我的女儿不知何时才能遇到她们的那个 “唯一 ”，她们伟大的爱。她们认为她们的父亲和我有着一段经典的、童话般的浪漫史，从一开始就直奔婚姻的殿堂。也许，她们是正确的，但在那时似乎并不是那么回事。在某种程度上，爱神恰恰在你最没准备时来临。谁曾想到，布奇和我最终会结婚呢？他之所以成为我男友，只是因为当时我那肤浅的打算：

我要找一个可爱的男友！

2 We met through my college roommate at the university cafeteria. That fateful night, I was merely curious, but for him I think it was love at first sight. You have beautiful eyes, he said as he gazed at my face. He kept staring at me all night long. I really wasn't that interested for two reasons. First, he looked like he was a really wild boy, maybe even dangerous. Second, although he was very cute, he seemed a little weird.

我们通过我的大学室友介绍在大学食堂相识。在那个命中注定的夜晚，我只是好奇，但对他而言，我认为是一见钟

情。他凝视着我的脸，说： “你有一双美丽的眼睛。 ”他整个晚上一直盯着我。我真的对他没那么感兴趣，其原因有二。

首先，他看起来就像是一个野小子，甚至还有些危险。其次，虽然他很可爱，却似乎有点怪异。

3 Riding on his bicycle, he'd ride past my dorm as if by accident and pretend to be surprised to see me. I liked the attention but was cautious about his wild, dynamic personality. He had a charming way with words which would charm any girl. Fear came over me when I started to fall in love. His exciting bad boy image was just too tempting to resist. What was it that attracted me? I always had an excellent reputation. My concentration was solely on my studies to get superior grades. But for what? College is supposed to be a time of great learning and also some fun. I had nearly achieved a great education, and graduation was just one semester away. But I hadn't had any fun; my life was stale with no component of fun! I needed a boyfriend. Not just any boyfriend. He had to be cute. My goal that semester became: Be ambitious and grab the cutest boyfriend I can find.

他骑着自行车经过我的宿舍，装作与我 “偶遇 ”，看到我时还假装惊讶。我喜欢被重视的感觉，但对他的野性和充满

活力的个性却小心谨慎。他很会说话，这会迷倒任何女孩。当我开始爱上他时，恐惧向我袭来。他那令人激动的

子形象 ”简直太诱人了。究竟是什么吸引了我？我，一直口碑极好。为了获得优异的成绩，我的注意力只专注在自己的

学习上。但又怎么样呢？大学应该是学习的好时间，可也应该有一些乐趣。我已几乎达成了伟大的教育目标，离毕业

只有一学期之遥了。但我却还没有享受过任何乐趣，我的生活乏味，没有一点新鲜感！我需要一个男朋友，当然不是

任何男朋友。他必须很可爱。于是我那个学期的目标就成为：雄心勃勃，抓住一个我能找到的最可爱的男友。

“坏小

4 I worried what he'd think of me. True, we lived in a time when a dramatic shift in sexual attitudes was taking place, but I was a traditional girl who wasn't ready for the new ways that seemed common on campus. Butch looked superb! I was not immune to his personality, but I was scared. The night when he announced to the world that I was his girlfriend, I went along with him. And then I suddenly thought: Oh my gosh! Am I his girlfriend? How did that happen? Then he whispered sweet words in my ear and said, I'm going to marry you one day and I will be a lawyer. You will see.

我担心他会怎么看我。不错，我们生活在一个性观念正在发生戏剧性转变的时代，但我是一个传统的女孩，对在校园里似乎常见的新方式还没有心理准备。布奇看上去很出色！我对他的个性毫无免疫力，但我对此很害怕。那天晚上

当他向大家宣布我是他女友时，我是同意的。但我随后突然清醒： “噢，我的天哪！我是他女友吗？这是怎么回事？ ”

紧接着，他在我耳边低声地甜言蜜语： “有一天我要娶你，我会成为一名律师。你会看到这一天的。 ”

5 I was laughing inside and said to myself, I'd never marry this guy. He's a rebel without a good future. He's my boyfriend

because I hate my boring student life. I just want to have fun.

我笑着对自己说： “我绝不会嫁给这个家伙。他是一个没有前途的叛逆者。他是我男朋友，只因为我恨枯燥的学生生活。我只想得到乐趣而已。 ”

6 Sure enough, the following month, I found out he had failed all his courses. Consequently, he was going to be expelled from the university. To my disgust, he seemed resigned to his fate. I knew there was hope, so I led him to the college secretary for reconsideration.

果然，一个月后，我发现他所有的课程都不及格。因而，他将被大学除名。令我厌恶的是，他似乎屈从了自己的命运。我知道还有希望，所以我让他去学院的秘书那儿进行复议。

7 You are going to graduate with a BA in political science from UPenn and proceed to the College of Law, I told him, lodging an appeal on his behalf, which was approved. Butch was granted reconsideration. And, once we became steadies, he coordinated his studies and social life, passing all of his classes. He eventually studied law.

我告诉他： “你要先从宾夕法尼亚大学拿到政治学学士学位，然后进入法律学院。 ”我以他的名义递交了呈请书，结果被批准了。校方同意复议布奇的情况。我们的男女朋友关系一经确定，他就协调了他的学习和社交生活，结果各门

课都通过了。他最终学了法律。

8 Despite Butch's somewhat wild character, at his core, he is always a perfect gentleman and deserves a lot of credit for that. True, he'd sometimes take the liberty of displaying his love by planting a kiss on my lips right in front of my astonished friends who watched and disapproved. But the truth is we had a pure and responsible relationship for seven full years. Sitting by the palm trees, hand in hand, we would listen to romantic songs, watch the sunset, and weave dreams of being together with children of our own, forever.

尽管布奇的性格有点野，但他在骨子里却是一个完美的绅士，这值得高度赞扬。的确，他有时会在我朋友面前亲吻我的嘴，擅自表达他的爱。我的朋友看到了很惊讶，也很不以为然。但事实上，我们在整整七年的恋爱关系中一直是纯洁和负责的。我们坐在棕榈树下，手牵着手，听着浪漫的歌曲，观赏着日落，编织着和我们自己的孩子在一起的美梦，一直到永远。

9 Two years passed in a blur. One day, Butch took me by surprise as he knelt down and proposed marriage holding a dozen red roses! Filled with deep emotion, I confessed my love for him, How roooomaaaantic!! Then my brain woke up from fantasy land. I cried out, Good heavens. No! We're too young to tie the knot. We haven't even graduated from college yet! I really loved him but was pessimistic about our chances for success.

两年糊里糊涂地过去了。一天，布奇出其不意地手捧着一打红玫瑰跪下向我求婚。我心中充满了深情，也坦诚了对

他的爱： “太太太太太浪漫了！！ ”可我随即从幻想中惊醒。我大喊出来： “天哪。不！我们现在结婚还太早了。我们甚至还没有大学毕业呢！ ”我真的很喜欢他，但我对我们感情修成正果的机率却持悲观态度。

10 We married five years later.

五年后，我们结了婚。

11 Our faithful journey of love and learning took us down rocky roads of hardship and on smooth easy-going highways. It is a long, romantic, sometimes crazy, love story that sums up a 29-year long honeymoon together as a couple who are still madly in love with each other. Our love commenced with a casual attraction but bloomed into a mature love and rich life.

我们忠实的爱和学习之旅带我们走过艰难崎岖的岩石路，走上平坦易行的公路。它是一个永久、浪漫，有时又疯狂

的爱情故事。它诠释了一对仍在疯狂地爱着对方的夫妇如何一起度过了 29 年之久的蜜月。我们的爱从漫不经心的互相吸引开始，但最终却发展出成熟的爱情和富足的生活。

Text B Saving the date 恋爱预留日

1 Every day I anxiously wait for you to get to class. I can't wait for us to smile at each other and say good morning. When

you arrive only seconds before the lecture commences, I'm indifferent to anything but your arrival. Instead of reviewing my lesson, I anticipate your footsteps and listen for your voice. Today is one of your late days, but I don't mind because after a month of denying the impulse to ask you out, today I'm feeling bold. Today I'm inclined to act.

每天我都焦急地等你来上课。我迫不及待地等待我们的互相微笑，互问早安。你在离上课仅几秒前才出现，在那之前，我对任何东西都无动于衷，只会注意你的到来。我不温习功课，却期待着你的脚步声，期待听到你的声音。今天

你又来晚了 ,但我不介意，因为在想约你出去的冲动被克制了一个月之后，今天我感觉大胆多了。今天，我要采取行动。

2 I know dating has changed dramatically in recent years, and for many women, asking men out isn't daring. But because of my traditional upbringing, the simple notion of asking you out seems abnormal. Growing up, I heard the clear message: Men

must take the initiative

and make contact. They should call, ask and pay for the date. However, during my years at the

university, I've learned otherwise. Many of my women friends have put a spark in their social lives by taking the initiative with men. My girlfriends reckon that it's essential for women to participate more actively in the dating process. I can't be idle and

wait, my former roommate once said. Hard as it is, if I want to date, I have to ask guys out!

我知道约会方式近年来有了显著的改变，对许多女性来说，邀请男性出去已不是什么大胆的举动。但是，因为我所受的传统教育，邀请你出去这一简单的概念似乎非同寻常。从小到大，这一信息很明确：男性必须主动出击，联络女性。他们应该打电话，要求约会，并支付约会的费用。然而，在大学这么些年，我了解到的并非如此。我的许多女性朋友通过主动提出与男性交往，让她们的社交生活迸出了火花。我的女性朋友都认为，女性必须更多地参与约会的过程。 “我不能无所事事、一味等待， ”我的前室友曾说。 “虽然这很难，但如果我想约会，我必须邀请男人出去！

”

3 More women are taking the initiative and invite men out, and many men say they view this new phenomenon with approval. They are relieved that dating no longer solely depends on their willingness and courage to take the first step. Then why am I so nervous?

更多的女性在争取主动，在邀请男性出去。许多男性说他们认同这一新现象。他们都松了一口气，约会不再仅仅取决于男性自己的意愿和勇气来踏出第一步。那么，我为什么还这么紧张？

4 I tell myself to relax since dating is more casual today. A college date means anything from studying together to simply having leisure time together like watching a film. Most of my peers prefer casual dating because it's cheaper and comfortable. Students have fewer anxiety attacks when they ask somebody to play tennis than when they plan a formal occasion.

我告诉自己要放松，因为如今的约会要比以往来得轻松。一个大学的约会可以是两个人一起做任何事，从一起学习

到一起共度闲暇时间，如看电影。我的同龄人大多喜欢非正式的约会，因为它花费更少，且舒适。学生邀请人打网球要比他们计划一个正式场合的约会更感轻松。

5 As an added bonus, casual dating also encourages people to forge healthy friendships prior to starting romantic relationships. Young people can relax and get to know each other more easily this way. For example, my roommate and her boyfriend were friends for four months before their chemistry clicked. They went out often with a bunch of mutual friends.

They alternated paying the dinner check. He was like any other friend, my roommate said laughing. Another friend of mine believes casual dating improves people's social lives, allowing them to circulate in wider social circles. When she wants to let a guy know she is interested, she'll say, Hey, let's go get a yogurt. or How about a cup of tea?

非正式约会的额外好处是，它鼓励人们在开始浪漫的关系前，先建立起健康的友谊。这样，年轻人可以更容易放松

心情和了解对方。例如，我的室友和她的男友在他们来电之前做了四个月的普通朋友。他们经常与一群共同的朋友出

去。他们轮流买单。 “他就像任何其他的朋友一样， ”我的室友笑着说。另一位朋友认为，非正式约会能改善人们的社

会生活，使他们周旋于更广泛的社交圈。当她想要让一个男人知道她对他很感兴趣时，她会说： “嘿，我们去喝一杯酸奶吧 ”或“来一杯茶如何？ ”

6 Who pays for it? It's not as easy as it used to be because the traditional rules of courtship are undergoing major changes. Preliminary statistics also affirm this. A plurality of young men say women should chip in and help pay after a few dates. An

almost equal percentage of women offer to pay for themselves, even on a first date. But widespread confusion still exists. The new rules have yet to be clarified.

可谁来买单？这可不如以前那么容易了，因为求爱的传统规则正在发生重大变化。初步统计的数字也证明了这一点。众多的青年男子说，在约会几次后，女性应该帮着一同买单。几乎相等百分比的女性要求自己买单，哪怕是第一次约会。但巨大的困惑仍然存在，新规则还有待澄清。

7 My own past dates have taught me some things. Either going Dutch or allowing my date to pay can be a definite challenge. One date whipped out his wallet on our first date before I could suggest otherwise. During an after-dinner walk, he proceeded to tell me he was romantically interested in me. After I explained I was more interested in friendship, he seemed unhappy. He explained that since I'd accepted his paying for my dinner, he'd assumed I was interested in romance. He seemed angry with himself for treating me. I regretted allowing him to.

我自己过去的约会教会了我一些东西。 “各付各的 ”或是让我的约会对象买单可以说都是绝对的挑战。有一个约会对

象在我们第一次约会时，还没等我提出相左的建议，就掏出了钱包。在晚餐后散步时，他告诉我他想跟我谈恋爱。当

我解释我对做朋友更感兴趣时，他似乎感到不快。他解释说，因为我接受了他请我吃晚餐，所以他认为我会跟他恋爱。

他似乎对请我吃饭一事很生自己的气，而我也很后悔让他这么做。

8 Another date frowned when I hastily opened my purse, pulled out my wallet, and offered to go Dutch. I asked politely,

How much do I owe you? He said, Uh, uh, you really don't owe me anything, but if you insist ? He looked embarrassed. To him, my gesture of offering to pay had conveyed a message of rejection.

另一个约会对象，在我急忙打开钱包掏出钱，并提出各付各的时，他皱起了眉头。我客气地问道： “我欠你多少钱？ ”

他说： “嗯，嗯，你真的不欠我什么，但如果你坚持 ??”他显得极为尴尬。对他而言，我要付钱的行动已传达了他被拒绝的信息。

9 Everyone seems confused as they try to clarify the new rules of dating. Who should ask whom out? Who should pay and when? So, while I do think dressing up and going out on traditional, formal dates is a blast, I thrive on casual dating because it has brought a valuable dimension to my social life. With casual dating, there's less pressure and more equality. I can give roses as well as receive them! Casual dating is worthwhile because it works.

在试图搞清约会的新规则时，每个人似乎都感到困惑。谁应请谁出去？谁应付钱？什么时候付？所以，穿着正式地去一个传统、正式的约会是一种乐趣，但我还是乐意去非正式的约会，因为它给我的社交生活带来了有价值的一面。因为是非正式约会，压力较小，且更平等。我可以送别人玫瑰，别人也可以送我！非正式约会值得去做，因为它管用。虽然我认为

10 So here I am, waiting. No magic formula guarantees he will say yes. I just have to relax, be myself and ask him out in a no-nonsense manner.

所以，我在这里等待着。没有神奇的方案可以确保他会说邀请他出去。 “好的 ”。我得放松，做我自己，并用一种没有废话的方式

11 He finally arrives. Sliding into his desk, he pats my shoulder and asks, Hi, what's up?

他终于到了。在悄悄地溜到他的书桌时，他拍拍我的肩膀，说： “嗨，早上好啊！ ”

12 Good morning, I answer cautiously. With a knot in the pit of my stomach, I conquer my fear and ask, Hey, how about lunch after class on Friday?

“早上好， ”我谨慎地回答。因为紧张，我的心紧揪着，可是我征服了恐惧，问道：

餐，怎么样？ ” “嘿，这个周五下课后一起吃午

13 You mean after the midterm? he says with barely concealed enthusiasm. I'd love to go to lunch with you. “你的意思是期中考试后吗？ ”他用难以掩饰的热情说： “我很愿意和你一起吃午餐。 ”

14 Thrilled and smiling broadly, I confirm, Well then, we'll save the date! Yes, we will! he replies cheerfully.

我很激动，笑得很开心，并跟他确认： “那，我们就定了那天啦！ ”“好，就那样！ ”他兴高采烈地回答。

Unit 5

Text A Spend or save — The student's dilemma

花钱还是存钱，学生进退维谷

1 Do you feel as confused and manipulated as I do with this question, Should I spend or should I save? I think that the

messages we get from our environment seem to defy common sense and contradict each other. The government tells us to spend or we'll never get out of the recession. At the same time, they tell us that unless we save more, our country is in grave danger. Banks offer higher interest rates so we increase savings. Then the same banks send us credit card offers so we can spend more.

你是不是跟我一样对 “我应该花钱还是存钱 ”这个问题感到困惑，且有被操纵的感觉？我觉得我们从生活的环境里所获得的信息似乎是有违常识、互相矛盾的。政府告诉我们要花钱，否则我们将永远走不出衰退；与此同时，他们又

告诉我们，除非我们节省更多的钱，否则我们的国家会处于严重危险之中。银行提供较高的利率以增加储蓄。然后，同样是这些银行又提供信用卡让我们可以花更多的钱。

2 Here's another familiar example: If we don't pay our credit card bill on time, we get demanding, nasty emails from the credit card company saying something like: Your failure to pay is unacceptable. Pay immediately or you'll be in trouble! Then, as soon as we pay, we get a follow-up email in a charming tone telling us how valuable a customer we are and encouraging us to resume spending. Which depiction is correct: a failing consumer in trouble or a valued customer? The gap between these two messages is enormous.

这里还有一个大家熟悉的例子：如果我们不按时支付信用卡账单，我们会收到从信用卡公司发来的类似这样的令人讨厌的催缴账单的电子邮件：不还款是不可接受的。请立即缴付，否则后果自负！之后，一旦还款，我们就会收到一封跟进的电子邮件，语气和蔼可亲，说我们是多么宝贵的客户，并鼓励我们继续花钱。到底哪一个描述是正确的？有麻烦的失败消费者还是宝贵的客户？这两者之间可是天壤之别！

3 The paradox is that every day we get two sets of messages at odds with each other. One is the permissive perspective, Buy, spend, get it now. You need this! The other we could call an upright message, which urges us, Work hard and save. Suspend your desires. Avoid luxuries. Control your appetite for more than you truly need. This message comes to us from many sources: from school, from parents, even from political figures referring to traditional values. Hard work, family loyalty, and the capacity to postpone desires are core American values that have made our country great.

自相矛盾的情况还有，我们每天都收到彼此相左的两种信息。一种从 “纵容 ”的角度，让我们 “买东西，花钱，现在

就得到它。你需要这个！ ”另外一种，我们可称之为 “正直 ”的信息，它力劝我们： “努力工作，把钱存起来。控制你的欲

望，不要买奢侈品，不要垂涎那些你并不真正需要的东西。 ”这类信息来源甚多，有学校方面的，有家长方面的，甚至还来自提及传统价值观的政治人物。艰苦创业，忠于家庭、能推迟欲望是美国价值观的核心，它使我们的国家变得强大。

4 But the opposite message, advertising's permissive message, is inescapable. Though sometimes disguised, the messages are everywhere we look: on TV, in movies on printed media and road signs, in stores, and on busses, trains and subways. Advertisements invade our daily lives. We are constantly surrounded by the message to spend, spend, spend. Someone recently said, The only time you can escape advertising is when you're in your bed asleep!

但相反的信息，即那些纵容人们不断花钱的广告，无所不在。虽然此类信息有时经过了乔装打扮，但仍随处可见，

电视、电影、印刷媒介和路牌、商店，及公共汽车、火车和地铁上，比比皆是。广告侵入了我们的日常生活。我们时

时被包围在花钱，花钱，花钱的信息中。最近有人说： “唯一可以逃脱广告的时候是当在床上睡着时！ ”

5 It's been calculated that by the age of 18, the average American will have seen 600,000 ads; by the age of 40, the total is almost one million. Each advertisement is doing its utmost to influence our diverse buying decisions, from the breakfast cereal we eat to which cruise line we will use for our vacation. There is no shortage of ideas and things to buy! Now, of course, we don't remember exactly what the products were, but the essential message is cemented into our consciousness, It's good to satisfy your desires. You should have what you want. You deserve the best. So, you should buy it — now! A famous advertisement said it perfectly, I love me. I'm a good friend to myself. I do what makes me feel good. I derive pleasure from nice things and feel nourished by them. I used to put things off. Not anymore. Today I'll buy new ski equipment, look at new compact cars, and buy that camera I've always wanted. I live my dreams today, not tomorrow.

据计算，普通的美国人到 18 岁时，会看过 60 万则广告；到 40 岁时，看过的广告总数近百万。每个广告都在尽最

大努力影响我们形形色色的购买决定 —— 从我们吃的早餐麦片到我们的假期将使用哪条邮轮线路。决不会缺少怎么花

钱和买什么东西的广告！现在，我们当然不能确切地记得广告上的产品，但重要的信息已凝聚在我们的意识里： “要满

足你的愿望。你应该拥有你想要的。你应该得到最好的。所以，你应该买下它 —— 现在！ ”一个著名的广告诠释得很完

美：“我爱自己。我是自己的好朋友。我做让我感觉舒服的事。我从精美的东西里得到乐趣，并感觉到它们给我的滋养。

我过去常想着等一下再买，现在再也不会了。今天，我会购买全新的滑雪装备，看看新型的小巧灵便的轿车，买下那

台我一直想要的相机。我今天就要实现我的梦想，不会等到明天。 ”

6 What happens as we take in these contradictory but explicit messages? What are the psychological and social

consequences of this campaign to control our spending habits? On one hand, we want more things because we want to satisfy our material appetite. Most of us derive pleasure from treating ourselves. On the other hand, a little voice inside us echoes those upright messages: Watch out, take stock of your life, don't let your attention get scattered. Postpone your desires. Don't fall

into debt. Wait! Retain control over your own life. It will make you stronger.

当我们接受这些相互矛盾但很明确的信息时，会有什么事情发生呢？这种控制我们花钱习惯的宣传活动会造成什么心理和社会上的影响呢？一方面，我们希望买更多的东西，来满足我们的物质欲望。我们中的大多数通过善待自己

来得到乐趣。与此同时，我们身体里面有一个微弱的声音与那些正直的信息在共鸣： “当心，要掂量掂量自己的生活，

不要让注意力分散。推迟欲望。不要陷入债务。要等待！保留对自己生活的控制权。这会让你更坚强。 ”

7 Anyway, many of the skills you need as a successful student can be applied to your finances. Consider your financial well-being as a key ingredient of your university education as money worries are extremely stressful and distracting. They can make you feel terrible and hinder your ability to focus on your prime objective: successfully completing your education.

总之，一个成功的学生所需要的很多技能可以应用到你的财务中去。把良好的财务状况看成是大学教育中的一个关键因素，因为对金钱的担忧会让人倍感压力，并让人分心。它们会让你感觉很糟糕，并阻止你专注首要目标，即成功完成学业。

8 How can you be a smart and educated consumer? Many schools, community organizations, and even some banks offer financial literacy classes. Consider consulting with your school's financial aid office or seek input from your parents or other respected adults in setting up a budget. An additional option is finding a partner to help you stay on track and find pleasure in the administration of your own financial affairs. Most importantly, if you find yourself getting into financial trouble, don't let your ego get in your way; urgently get help with tackling your problem before it spins out of control and lands you in legal troubles.

怎样才能成为一个聪明、有相关知识的消费者呢？许多学校、社区组织，甚至一些银行都提供金融扫盲班。可以考虑向学校的财务援助办公室咨询，或向父母或其他值得尊敬的成年人请教如何建立一个预算方案。另外一个选择是找一个合作伙伴来帮你保持良好的财务状况，并在管理自己的金融事务中找到乐趣。最重要的是，如果你发现自己正

陷入财务困境，不要让你的自大妨碍你，在情况变得失控并惹上法律麻烦前，赶紧寻求帮助来解决问题。

9 All this will help you become an educated consumer and saver. As you learn to balance spending and saving, you will become the captain of your own ship, steering your life in a successful and productive direction through the choppy waters.

这一切都将帮助你成为一个拥有相关知识的消费者和储蓄者。学会了如何平衡支出和储蓄，你就会成为你自己的船长，驾驶着你的生活之船，乘风破浪，驶向成功和富有。

Text B A $3,000 dictionary 价值三千美元的字典

1 I remember a day some years back on one of the first days of a new semester in college. People were tossing balls, passing out catalogs, and handing out free stuff. I was completely charmed by all the activity. After all, a major feature of college life is limited finances. Free stuff is like gold and I felt entitled to my share!

我记得那是几年前的一天，是大学的新学期刚开学的日子。人们正在忙着扔球，分发目录，发放免费的东西。我完全被这些活动吸引了。毕竟大学生活的主要特点就是只能利用有限的资金，所以免费的东西就像金子一样，我觉得我理所当然也有份！

2 I moved closer to scout out the situation. In my mind, I heard my mother issue her famous line: There is no such thing as free stuff!, as the student behind the table urged me to receive a brand-new dictionary. My mom's voice was quickly filtered out as I reached out to claim my gift. I was handed a form instead. Once I completed the credit card application, I was told, I would receive a free dictionary. With the confidence that a probe of my finances would reveal the sheer weakness of my profile, I completed the form and submitted it.

我走近前去察看详情。当桌子背后的那位学生怂恿我去领一本免费的全新的字典时，我的脑海里仿佛听到了母亲

的那句名言： “世上绝没有免费的东西。 ”母亲的声音随着我伸手去索要礼物很快就被过滤掉了。然而递给我的不是字典却是一张表格。我被告知，一旦填写信用卡申请表，就会收到一本免费的字典。我确信对我财产状况的调查会暴露

我在财务上的不足，所以我填了表格，并把它交了。

3 To my sheer amazement, plastic freedom made its way into my mailbox a few weeks later. At first, I was shocked that these huge credit card corporations trusted me, a struggling student holding two minimum wage part-time jobs and paying monthly installments on a purchased computer. But the credit card company seemed to know more than I did, so I accepted the card and decided it was perfect to develop my own credit like so many had done before me.

令我十分惊奇的是，信用卡竟在几个星期后寄到了我的邮箱。起初，我感到震惊，这些庞大的信用卡公司竟然信任我这个在经济上苦苦挣扎的学生，我只持有两份拿最低工资的兼职工作，每月还在分期支付之前所买的电脑。但这家信用卡公司似乎比我更了解自己，所以我接受了信用卡，并认为它是让我建立自己的信用的绝佳机会，就如许多人已在我之前就这么做的那样。

4 My first purchases were tame: a T-shirt, vitamins, or a CD as if I hadn't had the card. Soon, however, I began to buy things that I wanted. With my artificial sense of security, I bought a guitar, a fishing rod and a hunting rifle, long-stem roses for my girlfriend, a brand-new wardrobe, a sophisticated new calculator, and countless other trifles I felt I absolutely needed. I began to accumulate debt.

我最初买的东西平淡无奇：一件 T 恤衫，一点维生素，或一盘光碟，没有信用卡时我也买这些。然而，很快我就开始买我想要的东西了。有了信用卡给我的那份虚假的安全感，我买了一把吉他，一根钓竿，一支猎枪，给我女朋友

的长茎玫瑰，一个全新的衣柜，一个精密的新计算器，和无数其他我觉得 “非要不可 ”但却是毫无价值的东西。我开始累积债务了。

5 Making matters worse, I lost one part-time job and with it my output of funds grew ever smaller, like those now long-dead roses. I began taking cash advances just to eat. There was barely enough money from my paychecks to cover basic ongoing living expenses, and satisfying the minimum monthly payment on the card was impossible. Now, the principal balance doubled due to late payment penalties and other sanctions that the credit card issuer imposed in accordance with the contract.

更糟的是，我失去了一份兼职工作，这样我能使用的资金就如那些凋零的玫瑰一样，越来越少。我开始为了吃饭而预支现金。我的薪水勉强够维持基本生活费，我无法还信用卡的每月最低支付额。现在，由于信用卡发行公司按照合同规定对逾期还款进行了罚款，再加上其他惩处，我所欠余额增加了一倍。

6 Usually, I'm not a person who takes things too seriously. I always see the positive side of negative situations, but the gravity of my credit card debt crisis had left me in despair. My parents provided the tuition for school, so I believed it was my responsibility to take care of everything else in my life. I owed them more than I could possibly imagine, specifically their vision of a boy becoming a truly autonomous man. Now, I was letting them, and myself, down. Every time my mom called to

chat, she always asked if I needed money. I knew her heart would break if I had said Yes, so I shrugged it off and hid everything from her.

通常情况下，我不是一个把什么都太当回事的人。我总会在消极的情况下看到积极的一面，但我严重的信用卡债务危机使我感到绝望。我的父母为我提供了学费，所以我认为照料好我生活中的其他一切是我的责任。我欠他们的比我能想象的更多，说得明确些，我辜负了他们盼望一个男孩能成为一个真正有自主能力的男人的期望。现在，我让他

们和我本人失望了。每次我妈妈打电话来跟我闲聊，总会问我是否需要钱。我知道如果我说 “是 ”，她的心会碎掉的，所以我装作满不在乎，对她隐瞒了一切。

7 I began to lose interest in many activities in which I'd become involved. Friends would call and invite me for dinner, but my finances would prohibit any expenses, so I'd decline every time. I would manufacture excuses for why I always said No to their offers. My dirty little secret began to tear at my emotional stability. Soon, calls from friends became more infrequent, meeting new people was out of the question, and my mom began exclaiming she didn't know why she even bothered to call me. A simple matter of credit card debt caused me to drive everything I cared about from my life. I felt emotionally crippled and financially bankrupt!

我开始对我以往热衷的很多活动失去兴趣。朋友们打电话来邀请我去吃饭，但我的财务状况使我不能花任何钱，

所以我每次都拒绝。我会编造借口来解释为什么我对他们的提议总是说 “不 ”。我那见不得人的小秘密开始扰乱自己的情绪。不久，朋友的电话变少了，也不可能结识新朋友，我妈妈也开始感叹她不知为什么还要费心给我打电话。信用

卡债务这一简单的事件让我不得不将我所在乎的一切都从我的生活中驱逐出去。我已精神崩溃，且财务破产！

8 After graduation, I finally explained my financial distress to my mother. It had been several years since my awful money issues began, so I believed the wound to be fairly well healed, but the blend of disgust and emotion I felt when I explained my credit card debt was torture. I choked on every word, and I hesitated on the number. I felt physical pain when I looked her in the eye. There was nothing more terrifying to me than exemplifying a parent's nightmare. The time had come to move toward a solution. At that moment, I felt the negativity I had brought into my life began to dissolve.

毕业后，我终于向母亲解释了我的财务困境。我那可怕的金钱问题从开始至今已好几年了，所以我以为伤口愈合得相当不错了，但是当我向母亲解释我的信用卡债务时，对自己的厌恶感和所感到的尴尬合并成一种折磨。我哽咽着说出每一个字，并迟疑地扳出具体数字。当我看着她的眼睛时，我感到了身体上的痛苦。对我而言，没有什么比成为父母噩梦的实例更可怕。是解决问题的时候了。在那一刻，我觉得我给生活带来的消极面开始消散。

9 Recently I learned that I'm not an isolated case, not the only college student to suffer from credit card chaos. In a time of sky-high tuition costs, many students fall to the temptation of easily accessible credit cards. They are left with tremendous amounts of debt before their lives have even truly begun.

最近我才知道，我不是一个孤立的事件，不是唯一遭受信用卡之苦的大学生。在学费高昂的时代，很多学生都会受到轻而易举就可获得的信用卡的诱惑。在他们的生活甚至还没真正开始之前，他们已债台高筑。

10 Credit card is not the criminal. However, there is a suspicion that credit card companies have provided students with access to debt, knowing it has the potential to ruin their future. To remedy this situation, the screening procedures must become more severe, and college campuses should be free of credit card marketers. If this does not change, many students, like myself, will suffer the consequences of the illusion of a seemingly free but staggeringly expensive $3,000 dictionary.

信用卡无罪。然而，令人怀疑的是信用卡公司明知债务有可能断送学生的未来，却为他们提供了债务缠身的通道。为了改变这种情况，信用审查程序必须变得更加严格，大学校园不准有信用卡营销。如果这个不改变，很多学生就会像我一样，遭受看似免费但却高达 3,000 美元的字典的假象所带来的后果。

Unit 6

Text A Door closer, are you?

“关门者 ”，你是吗？

1 The next time you're deciding between rival options, one which is primary and the other which is secondary, ask yourself

this question: What would Xiang Yu do?

下次你要在两个难于取舍的、主要的和次要的选择之间做决定时，不妨问自己这样一个问题：项羽会怎么做？

2 Xiang Yu was a Chinese imperial general in the third century BC who took his troops across the Zhang River on a raid

into enemy territory. To his troops' astonishment, he ordered their cooking pots crushed and their sailing ships burned.

项羽是公元前三世纪中国古代王朝的一位将军。他带领他的部队横渡漳河，突袭进入了敌方的领地。他下令砸锅烧船，令他的部队大为震惊。

3 He explained that he was imposing on them a necessity for attaining victory over their opponents. What he said was

surely motivating, but it wasn't really appreciated by many of his loyal soldiers as they watched their vessels go up in flames. But the genius of General Xiang Yu's conviction would be validated both on the battlefield and in modern social science research. General Xiang Yu was a rare exception to the norm, a veteran leader who was highly respected for his many conquests and who achieved the summit of success.

他解释道，他强加给他们的是战胜对手的必要举措。他所说的无疑十分鼓舞士气，但当他那许多忠诚的士兵眼睁睁地看着他们的船只在火焰中被焚毁时，他们并不赞成他的做法。不过项羽将军的这种砸锅焚船的做法所显示出的天赋，在战场上和现代社会科学研究中都将得到肯定。项羽将军是一个罕见的不墨守成规的人，他是一位经验丰富的领袖，由于他征战无数并达到了成功的顶峰，他深受尊敬。

4 He is featured in Dan Ariely's enlightening new publication, Predictably Irrational, a fascinating investigation of seemingly irrational human behavior, such as the tendency for keeping multiple options open. Most people can't marshal the

will for painful choices, not even students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where Dr. Ariely teaches behavioral economics. In an experiment that investigated decision-making, hundreds of students couldn't bear to let their options vanish, even though it was clear they would profit from doing so.

丹 ·阿雷利极富启迪性的新书《可预见的非理性》对项羽作了专题介绍。这本书对看似非理性的人类行为，譬如人类总想留住多项选择机会的倾向，进行了引人入胜的调查。大多数人都不能整理自己的思路来做痛苦的选择，麻省理工学院上阿雷利博士行为经济学这门课的学生也不例外。在调查作决策的一项实验中，几百名学生都不能忍受眼睁睁看着他们的选择机会消失，即使他们很清楚这样做对他们有利。

5 The experiment revolved around a game that eliminated the excuses we usually have for refusing to let go. In the real world, we can always say, It's good to preserve our options. Want a good example? A teenager is exhausted from soccer, ballet, piano, and Chinese lessons, but her parents won't stop any one of them because they might come in handy some day!

实验是围绕着一个游戏展开的，这个游戏排除了我们通常不肯放手的借口。在现实世界里，我们总会说：

们的选择机会是对的。 ”想要一个好的例子吗？一个十多岁的女孩被足球、芭蕾舞、钢琴、中文课给累得筋疲力尽，但

她的父母不会让她停止任何一项活动，理由是它们有一天可能会派上用场！ “保留我

6 In the experiment sessions, students played a computer game that provided cash behind three doors appearing on the screen. The rule was the more money you earned, the better player you were, given a total of 100 clicks. Every time the students opened a door by clicking on it, they would use up one click but wouldn't get any money. However, each subsequent click on that door would earn a fluctuating sum of money, with one door always revealing more money than the others. The important part of the rule was each door switch, though having no cash value, would also use up one of the 100 clicks. Therefore, the winning strategy was to quickly check all the doors and keep clicking on the one with the seemingly highest rewards.

在这个实验里，学生要玩一个电脑游戏 :在电脑屏幕上会显示三扇门，每扇门后都会提供一些现金。该游戏的规则是每个人都只能点击 100 次，你点击获取的钱越多，你就玩得越好。学生每点击一次打开一扇门，他们会用掉一个点击数，但却不会得到任何钱。然而，随后接着在那扇门上的每次点击都会挣得数额不等的钱，三扇门显示的钱总有一

扇比另外两扇多。这个游戏规则的重点是虽然每次换门没有金钱回报，可还是会用掉一次点击数。所以，制胜战略是要迅速查看所有的门，然后只点击那扇似乎是钱最多的门。

7 While playing the game, students noticed a modified visual element: Any door left unclicked for a short while would shrink in size and vanish. Since they already understood the game, they should have ignored the vanishing doors. Nevertheless, they hurried to click on the lesser doors before they vanished, trying to keep them open. As a result, they wasted so many clicks rushing back to the vanishing doors that they lost money in the end. Why were the students so attached to the lesser doors? They would probably protest that they were clinging to the doors to keep future options open, but, according to Dr. Ariely, that isn't the true factor.

在玩游戏时，学生们注意到了一个视觉上的变化：如果有片刻没点击某扇门，那扇门就会慢慢缩小并消失。由于他们已了解了游戏规则，他们本应对要消失的门不予理睬。然而，在它们消失以前，他们却迫不及待地去点击那些变小的门，试图让它们开启着。结果是，他们在匆忙回去点击那些快消失的门时浪费了很多点击数以至于最后输了钱。为什么学生对那些变小的门如此依恋呢？他们可能会争辩说，他们紧抓住这些门是为将来多留一些机会。但是，据阿雷利博士说，这不是真正的原因。

8 Instead of the excuse to maintain future options open, underneath it all the students' desire was to avoid the immediate, though temporary, pain of watching options close. Closing a door on an option is experienced as a loss, and people are willing to pay a big price to avoid the emotion of loss, Dr. Ariely says. In the experiment, the price was easily measured in lost cash. In life, the corresponding costs are often less obvious such as wasted time or missed opportunities.

在他们为将来多留一些机会的借口背后反映出的是所有的学生都不堪目睹眼前的选择机会被剥夺，尽管这种痛苦

是临时的。阿雷利博士说： “每闭上一扇选择之门就如同经受了一次损失，人们宁愿付出很大的代价，也要避免情感的

失落。 ”在实验中，损失很容易用丢失的现金来衡量。在生活中，相应的损失就往往没那么明显，如浪费时间，错过机

会。

9 Sometimes these doors are closing too slowly for us to see them vanishing, Dr. Ariely writes. We may work more hours at our jobs without realizing that the childhood of our sons and daughters is slipping away.

“有时候，这些门是慢慢关闭的，我们没有看到它们在悄然消失， ”阿雷利博士写道： “我们可能花很多时间在工作上，却没有意识到我们子女的童年正在悄悄溜走。 ”

10 So, what can be done to restore balance in our lives? One answer, Dr. Ariely says, is to implement more prohibitions on overbooking. We can work to reduce options on our own, delegating tasks to others and even giving away ideas for others to pursue. He points to marriage as an example, In marriage, we create a situation where we promise ourselves not to keep options open. We close doors and announce to others we've closed doors.

那么，我们可以做些什么让我们的生活恢复平衡呢？阿雷利博士说，一个办法是制止更多的超额预约。我们可以

自己减少选择，将任务委派给其他人，甚至放弃一些点子，让其他人去做。他用婚姻作为例子： “在婚姻中，我们承诺不保留选择机会，我们就创造了获得最佳选择的有利局面。我们关上可选择的门，并告诉别人我们已作出选择。 ”

11 Since conducting the door experiment, Dr. Ariely says he has made a conscious effort to lessen his load. He urges the rest of us to resign from committees, prune holiday card lists, rethink hobbies and remember the lessons of door closers like Xiang Yu.

阿雷利博士说，自从进行了这个点击门的实验，他已经有意识地努力减轻自己的负担。他敦促我们辞去委员会的工作，删减送节日贺卡的名单，重新思考兴趣爱好，并记住像项羽那样的关门者给我们的启示。

12 In other words, Dr. Ariely is encouraging us to discard those things that seem to have outward merit in favor of those things that actually enrich our lives. We are naturally prejudiced to believe that more is better, but Dr. Ariely's research provides a dose of reality that strongly suggests otherwise.

换言之，他是鼓励我们放弃那些似乎只有表面价值的东西，而去追求那些能真正丰富我们生活的东西。我们很自然、很偏执地相信选择越多越好，但阿雷利博士的研究却强有力地告诉我们事实并非如此。

13 What price do we pay for trying to have more and more in life? What pleasure and satisfaction can be derived from

focusing our energy and attention in a more concentrated fashion? Surely, we will have our respective answers.

我们想在生活中得到越来越多选择的代价是什么？我们能从更集中的精力和注意力中获得什么样的喜悦和满足？当然，我们每个人都会有自己的答案。

14 Consider these important questions: Will we have more by always increasing options or will we have more with fewer, carefully chosen options? What doors should we close in order to allow the right windows of opportunity and happiness to open?

试想一下这些重要的问题：怎么做会使我们获得更多，是不断增加选择，还是只保持少数精心挑选的选择？我们应关闭什么门，以便让机会和幸福之窗打开？

Text B When enough is enough 知足常乐

1 Recently, I rushed into a Gap store to buy a pair of jeans. A salesperson asked if she could help. I want a pair of jeans — 32-28, I said in haste. 不久前，我冲进一家

Gap 店去买一条牛仔裤。店员问我是否要她帮忙。 “我想要一条牛仔裤，

32-28 码的， ”我匆匆

地说。

2 Do you want slim fit, easy fit, relaxed fit, baggy, or extra baggy? she ventured. Do you want stone-washed, acid-washed, button-fly or regular-fly, faded or regular?

“您想要紧身的，合身的，休闲的，宽松的，还是特大宽松的？ ”她试探地问道。 “您想要石磨的还是漂染的？纽扣门襟还是拉链门襟？褪色的还是普通的？ ”

3 I stopped. I didn't have a hint, not the remotest idea of what she had asked, so I said, I just want regular jeans. You know –the kind that used to be the only kind. 我停了下来。我在她所问的问题中没得到任何暗示，也对这些问题毫无所知，所以我说：

仔裤。你知道的，曾经是唯一的那种。 ” “我只想买一条普通的牛

4 She pointed in the right direction. The trouble was, with all those options distributed in front of me, I wasn't sure what I wanted. So, I tried on pair after pair of jeans for almost two hours — trying to decide. It wasn't a big decision, little depended on my choice, but I was convinced that one pair had to be just right for me.

她指了指右边。麻烦的是，看着所有摆在我面前的牛仔裤，我不知该选哪一条。于是，为了作出选择，我就一条一条地试穿，足足试了将近两个小时。这并不是一项重大的决定，因这不取决于我的选择，但我确信，有一条牛仔裤必定适合我。

5 The jeans I chose were fine, but this simple transaction provoked a strong reaction in me. Buying a new pair of pants shouldn't render someone a wreck! Purchasing jeans was once an easy choice; now it's become a complex decision.

我选择的牛仔裤还不错，但这桩简单的买卖却引起了我强烈的反应。买一条新裤子不应该让人感到疲惫不堪的！购买牛仔裤曾经是一件很容易的事，现在它却变成了一个复杂的决策过程。

6 Choices in modern life have increased tremendously. A typical store in 1900 had only a few dozen categories with one or two options per category. Modern supermarkets have 50,000 to 60,000 items in thousands of categories. Looking for hair-care products? There are more than 350 types of shampoo and conditioners. Need a painkiller? There are almost 100 options. Toothpaste, anyone? You have 40+ types to choose from!

现代生活中的选择已大幅增加。 1900 年的时候，一个商店一般只有几十种类别，每种类别只有一到两种选择。现

代的超市在几千种类别里，有 50,000 至 60,000 件物品。寻找护发产品吗？有超过 350 种的洗发水和护发素。需要止痛

药吗？有近 100 个选项。有人要牙膏吗？你有 40 多种可选择！

7 It's true that enforced restrictions with very limited or no choices make life unbearable, and having options does increase our sense of liberation and control. However, my jeans purchase highlights a different problem. As options increase out of control, people often begin to feel their life is crashing down on them. They are overloaded, overwhelmed and feel their life growing vacant without meaning.

确实，在强行限制的生活中，非常有限的选择或毫无选择让人难以忍受，而有选择无疑可增加我们的自由感和控制感。然而，我购买牛仔裤的经历却突显了一个不同的问题。随着选择失控般地增加，人们常常开始感到他们的生活正在崩溃。他们不堪重负，不知所措，觉得他们的生活在变得空虚而没有意义。

8 We all rely on common sense to guide us, and the implication is that increasing choice should always increase happiness. Surprisingly, the opposite is true. Scientists verify that an overabundance of choice tends to bring a subtraction in well-being and happiness.

我们都靠常识来指导我们，常识告诉我们越来越多的选择应不断增加幸福感。令人惊讶的是，事实正好相反。科

学家证实，过多的选择往往会削弱我们的健康和快乐。

9 The measure of happiness in the US has been going downhill. The proportion of the population describing itself as very happy has declined by five percent, approximately 14 million Americans.

在美国 , 人们的幸福感已经下滑。认为自己 “非常高兴 ”的人口比例已下降 5％，将近一千四百万人。

10 Of course, no one believes that a single factor explains this, but accumulating evidence from psychological research indicates that the explosion of choice and tremendous increases in material possessions play a primary role.

当然，没人相信这可以用单一因素来解释。不过，日益增多的心理学研究证据表明，选择的爆炸性增长和物质财富的大量增加是主要的原因。

11 Increasing expectations seem to be part of the problem. The penetrating message of modern times seems to be: The more we control our own fate, the more we expect to control it. The more we have, the more we want to have! We expect to be able to have a life that is fulfilling, exciting and sometimes even selfish! We transfer our high expectations to our property, our residences, and our families –expecting them to be outstanding and beautiful. 不断增加的期望值似乎也是问题的一部分。现代社会的精辟言论似乎是： “我们越控制我们自己的命运，我们就越

希望控制它。我们拥有的越多，我们想要的就更多！ ”我们期望我们的生活充实、令人兴奋，有时甚至是自私的！我们

把高度期望转移到了我们的财产，我们的住房和我们的家庭 —— 希望他们都出色、漂亮。

12 Some people believe they should never have to settle for things that are just good enough. Their trademark is that

they expect and accept only the best. Researchers call this group maximizers. Their thoughts are dominated by an ever-increasing desire for more and a focus on the highest quality. Studies show that maximizers are less optimistic, more dissatisfied with, and more depressed about their lives than others who are willing to settle for slightly less.

有些人认为，他们决不应该接受只是 “足够好 ”。他们的特征是只要和只接受最好的。研究人员称这一组人为化追求者 ”。他们的思想被日益膨胀的意愿所支配：希望得到更多和注重最高质量。研究表明，与那些愿意接受少一点的人相比，最大化追求者对他们的生活不那么乐观，也有更多的不满和更多的压抑。 “最大

13 I have a friend who makes going out to dinner a nightmare. He struggles to select a dish, going in a circular motion between one option and another, trying to find the best option. Some students behave the same way looking for jobs as they worry excessively concerning which job option to choose lest they overlook the perfect job!

我有一个朋友把出去吃晚餐变成了一场噩梦。他会为了决定挑选哪一道菜而冥思苦想，在选项之间不断绕圈子，

想找到最佳选择。有些学生在寻找工作时也是一样，因为他们过分地担心该选择哪一份工作，唯恐忽视了那份 “完美 ” 的工作！

14 We are told we're in the driver's seat, when it comes to organizing and planning our lives. If we fail, it's our own fault and can only accuse ourselves. It is unhealthy to combine overwhelming expectations and options, plus a tendency to blame ourselves for failures.

说到组织和规划我们的生活，我们被告知我们是坐在 “驾驶座 ”上。如果我们失败了，这是我们自己的过错，只能

指责自己。过多的期望和过多的选择，加上总是把失败归咎于自己，对我们是有害不利的。

15 The success of 21st-century life turns out to be a bitter-sweet controversy and paradox. People have what they say they want. They're floating in a vast ocean of choices and material goods but finding they're still unfulfilled. Enough is never enough.

二十一世纪生活的成功变成了一个苦乐参半的争议和悖论。人们有了他们自己说想要的东西。他们正漂浮在一个充满选择和物质产品的汪洋大海里，但他们仍不满足。够了永远都不够。

16 Let's pause and angle a bright light from the past into our modern times. Over 2,000 years ago, the famous Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, prescribed: Be content with whatsoever you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you. And he added this precaution: He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.

让我们稍作停顿，把过去的一盏明灯转照到我们现代。两千年前，中国著名的哲学家老子指出：

不殆，可以长久。 ”他补充了这个警示：知足者常乐。 “知足不辱，知止

17 Use your college years to stir your heart and renew your life. Withstand the pressure of too many choices to acquire more than you need. Specify what truly matters to you and what does not. Learn when enough is enough, and you will trace a path of contentment throughout your life.

用你的大学四年激活你的心扉，更新你的生活。不要为了追求自己不需要的而去做过多的选择。明确自己真正在意和不在意的是什么。学会知足常乐，这样你的一生都会常乐久安。

Unit 7

Text A Woman at the management level

女性管理者

1 When Monica applied for a job as an administrative assistant in 1971, she was asked whether she would rather work for a

male or a female attorney. I immediately said a man, she says. I felt that a male-boss/female-employee relationship was more natural, needing no personal accommodation whatsoever. But 20 years later, when she was asked the same question, she said, I was pleasantly surprised that female bosses are much more accessible to their employees; they're much more sensitive and intimate with their employees.

当莫妮卡 1971 年申请一个行政助理的工作时，有人问她想与男律师共事还是与女律师共事。 “我马上说想与男律

师共事， ”她说。 “我认为男老板和女雇员的关系更自然，丝毫不需互相调整。 ”但 20 年后，有人问她同样的问题时，

她说： “令我感到惊喜的是，对员工来说，女上司更容易接近，她们更能理解人，与员工更亲密。 ”

2 Female bosses today are still finding they face subtle resistance. There is still a segment of the population, both men and, surprisingly, women who report low tolerance for female bosses. The growing presence of female bosses has also provoked two major questions that revolve around styles: Do men and women manage differently, and, if so, is that a good thing?

今天的女上司仍然发现，她们面临着不易察觉的阻力。还是有一部分人 —— 有男性，令人惊讶的是还有女性 —— 说很难忍受为女性工作。女上司的不断涌现，也引出了与工作方式有关的两个主要问题：男人和女人管理风格不同吗？如果有不同，是一件好事吗？

3 Monica is disposed to think so, on both counts. Now a 40-year-old mother of four, she is president of a public sector

labor union with 45,000 members. Relations with my employees are probably different from those of male managers preceding me, she says. I know what it's like to have to call and say my kid got the mumps so I won't be coming in. I have a more flexible style — not soft, just more understanding. The man who is Monica's assistant agrees, She tends to delegate more and is always looking for a consensus. People are happy and flourish because they have an input into decisions and they are not mere bystanders; their energies are harnessed. On the other hand, consensus takes longer.

莫妮卡对这两个问题都持肯定的意见。莫妮卡现在 40 岁，有四个孩子，并且是一位拥有 45,000 名成员的公共部门

工会的主席。 “我与员工的关系可能跟在我之前的前任男性主管不同， ”她说。 “我知道当有人不得不打电话来说孩子得

了腮腺炎而不能来上班是一种什么样的状况。我的风格更灵活，这不是软弱，只是多了一点理解。 ”莫妮卡的男助理表

示赞成： “她往往放权更多，并总是寻求共识。大家都很开心，也有成就感，因为他们参与了决策，而不是单纯的旁观

者。他们的能量得到了利用。当然从另一方面看，通过协商而达成一致意见需要的时间要长一些。 ”

4 So, are the differences symbolic or real? Plausible studies suggest that men are typically hierarchical, goal-oriented and feel entitled. Women, by contrast, manage diplomatically, and share power. That point of view is often challenged and argued.

Some proclaim that men and women of similar backgrounds, experience and aspirations basically manage in the same way. This view is echoed by younger women, especially those who have encountered little gender discrimination. That was certainly the lesson for Nicole. When her father died of a heart attack, she was an employee at a petroleum products export company. She quit and took over her family's 160-acre fruit farm in St. David's County. On her first day in the field, a worker called her darling. He was trying to test me. I was shaking with anger, says Nicole, now 34. I stood erect and said, 'You wouldn't

have called my father darling and you're not going to take that liberty with me. If you do, I'll fire you.'

那么，这种差异是象征性的还是实质性的呢？可靠的研究指出，男人通常有等级观念，以目标为导向，喜欢有权

力的感觉。相反，女人则是灵活变通的，愿意分享权力。这一观点往往受到质疑和争论。有人宣称，有类似的背景、

经验和抱负的男女，基本上管理方式相同。那些年轻女性，特别是很少遭受性别歧视的女性，也是这样认为的。妮可

尔无疑从中得到了教训。当她的父亲因心脏病去世时，她是一家石油产品出口公司的雇员。她辞了职，接管了她家在

圣大卫县 160 英亩的果园。她第一天出现在果园时，一名工人称她为 “亲爱的 ”。 “他是想试探我。我气得发抖， ”现年

34 岁的妮可尔说。 “我挺直腰板站在那里跟他说： ‘你不会称我父亲亲爱的，所以你也没有权利这样称呼我。如果你再这样做，我会解雇你。 '”

5 When women work for women, a different dynamic often takes over. Susan, a cashier in a Toronto auction house, says that she has explored friendships with some of her female bosses and feels she can rely on them more. While women may feel

more at ease with a female boss, men often have to make concessions to the new working styles. Brian, a marine biologist, says, It took me a couple of years before I felt comfortable enough to relax around a female manager. In fact, my relations with her were much more businesslike.

当女性为女上司工作时，往往会用一种不同的工作和交流方式。苏珊是多伦多一家拍卖行的收银员，她说，她与一些女上司建立起了友谊，她感到她们更能够依靠。虽然女性可能会觉得与女上司相处时更自然，男性却往往不得不

作出改变以适应女上司新的工作方式。海洋生物学家布赖恩说： “我花了几年时间才能在与女经理共事时感到轻松自如。

事实上，之前我与她的关系更多只是一种务实的工作关系。 ”

6 To some extent, the male-female differences come down to conflicting styles. One female vice-president discussed the

time she burst into tears during a meeting. Men think that tears are a nuclear weapon in a conventional war. They take exception to a woman crying, inferring that she's feeling unhappy or violated. The men failed to understand that what prompted her tears was not hurt but genuine rage. When we cry, it's because we have all this valid rage that has no appropriate release, she says. Women cry; men get relief by going on with the offense or by veiling their feelings to appear composed.

从某种程度上说，男女之间的差异归根结底是工作方式的冲突。一位女副总裁谈到她在一次会议上忍不住落泪的经历时说： “男人认为女人的眼泪就是常规战争中的核武器。他们对女人的哭泣很不满，认为她们是感觉不愉快或受到

了侵犯。 ”男人不明白，促使她掉泪的不是因为受到伤害，而是真正的愤怒。 “我们哭泣是因为我们所有这一切合理的愤怒没有适当的地方释放， ”她说。 “女人通过哭来释放情绪，男人通过继续冒犯或掩盖自己的情绪以显示镇定自若来

释放情绪。 ”

7 Deborah, president of a firm with its headquarters in Toronto, says that even if men do understand, they sometimes react differently to the identical information and to her cooperative management style.

德博拉是一家总部在多伦多的公司的总裁，她表示，即使男人明白是怎么回事，有时他们对同样的信息、对她的合作型管理风格也会有不同的反应。

8 Deborah says that her authority is sometimes undermined by perceptions about her gender. It stems from the whole social context of traditional roles for men and women, she says. Mom would tell you to do things, but perhaps you wouldn't take as much notice as when Dad told you to do things. Men also have a stronger urge to control, she says.

德博拉说，她的权威有时因性别观念作祟而受到损害。 “这源于整个社会对男性和女性的传统角色的界定， ”她说。

“妈妈会让你做事情，但也许你不会像爸爸让你做事情那样在意。男人也有更强的控制欲。 ”她说。

9 For female bosses, the great expectation of some female employees is one more obstacle. Junior women assume a female boss will promote them more quickly than a man would. But, they also expect female bosses to be more self-sufficient. They ask, 'Why can't you scan your own stuff?' or 'Why can't you do your own filing?' says one senior female executive.

对女上司来说，一些女员工过高的期望是另一个障碍。职位较低的女员工认为女上司会比男上司更迅速地提拔她

们。但是，她们也希望女上司能揽下更多的事。一位资深的女主管说： “她们会问， ‘为什么你不能自己扫描文件？ '或 ‘为什么你不能自己整理文件？ '”

10 On the other hand, there is no dispute that a few decades ago they would rarely have had a female boss in the workplace. Nina, a management consultant says she's vaguely optimistic. I'm looking forward to the day, before I die, when

we recognize that the best management styles will be composed of the best that both genders bring to the table ... Well, she pauses, maybe not before she dies, perhaps in her daughter's lifetime.

另一方面，几十年前人们工作的地方几乎不可能有女上司，这一点毫无争议。管理顾问尼娜说自己审慎乐观。 “我期待某一天，在我临死之前，我们会意识到最好的管理风格是由男女双方带来的最佳组合 ??”嗯，她停顿了一下，可能不是在她去世之前，也许在她女儿的有生之年会实现吧。

Text B A proud homemaker 自豪的家庭主妇

1 When hearing the word housewife, what comes to your mind? For many people, it's a picture of domestic discontent. Critics

of the housewife style in the 1950s seem to find it disgusting that a woman should make it her life's work to raise children, clean dishes, and make homemade meals, creating a healthy, happy home. Are we so afraid of going backward that we're too quick to condemn a different lifestyle?

当听到 “家庭主妇 ”这个词时，你想到的是什么？对许多人而言， “家庭主妇 ”的形象就是对家务琐事充满抱怨不满。

19 世纪 50 年代的家庭主妇毕生的工作就是养孩子，洗盘子，做饭，创建一个健康、快乐的家庭，批评家对这样的生活极其反感。我们是不是因为太害怕倒退而过快地去谴责不同的生活方式呢？

2 I remember my own working days before I settled down as a full-time homemaker. For the duration of time that I was working full time, I came home late, heated up a prepackaged dinner for my family, and busied myself with housework until crawling into bed each night, exhausted. My calendar overflowed with little quality time for family or myself. I experienced the same situation growing up in a household with two working parents. My childhood was spent fussing over daily household tasks, trying to keep control before all the work could be compounded and get out of control. I appreciate my parents' hard work, but a childhood only lasts a short while before it's gone forever. I can't in good conscience let my children look back and wish we had spent less time folding wrinkled clothes and more time together as a family.

我记得我自己工作的那会儿，那是在我安心当全职家庭主妇以前的事。在我干全职工作的那段期间，我回家很晚，为我的家人加热了包装食品作为晚餐后，就忙于家务，每天晚上直到疲惫不堪才爬上床。我的日程表排得满满的，几

乎没有全心照顾家人或自己的宝贵时间。我生长在一个父母是双职工的家庭，所以我的成长经历了类似的情况。为努力使情况不恶化或失控，我的童年是在紧张忙碌的家庭事务中度过的。我感谢我父母的辛劳，但童年只是人生一个瞬间，一去不复返。扪心自问，我不能让我的孩子们回头看时，后悔当初没有少花点时间折叠打皱的衣服，而有更多的时间陪伴家人就好了。

3 From my time in the workforce, I know how tiring and stressful a 9 to 5 grind can be. I love being able to support my husband when he comes home from work, yawning and exhausted. I get extra joy knowing that arriving to a clean, relaxing house and having a delicious meal are therapy for his stress. Even more importantly, he did many fragments of my job when I was away on business trips: He took care of the house, the children and every detail. So, he knows that my job as a housewife is a tough, demanding 24/7 job. This joint understanding and respect makes our current arrangement a joy to live with and a good example for our children.

在我工作的那段时间，我了解到朝九晚五的苦差事是何等劳累和紧张。我很高兴在我的丈夫打着呵欠、疲惫不堪地下班回家时能给他支持。当我知道回到一个干净舒适的家和吃上美味佳肴能舒缓他的压力时，我感到格外的喜悦。更重要的是，当我之前出差离家时，他帮我做过许多零碎的家务：照料房子、照看孩子、关注一切细枝末节。正因为

此，他了解到家庭主妇是一个要每周干 7 天每天干 24 小时的艰苦且要求高的工作。这种共同的理解和尊重，使我们目前的生活充满了喜悦，也为我们的孩子树立了一个很好的榜样。

4 When I first converted to being a housewife, unemployment was embarrassing. However, now I know it's wrong to think of a housewife as anything but challenging and important. My daily life is comprised of making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for my family, vacuuming the interior of the household, doing laundry and dishes, taking care of the lawn and garden, and working on my journalism skills. My life resembles the 1950s conservative housewife in the modern world, but I don't feel an ounce of discontent. Cooking, for example, is one of my passions, and I can include hobby into my daily life. Every day, I reject packaged meals full of preservatives and unhealthy ingredients in favor of good, oven-cooked vegetables and protein. I enjoy

the process of cooking as well as the result. My loved ones have more energy, better moods, and we've lost some weight in the process. Furthermore, I finish my work early and can spend time in the evenings sitting on the couch talking with my family or playing board games rather than bouncing around cleaning.

当刚开始转换角色成为家庭主妇时，我感到了失业的尴尬。不过，现在我知道那种认为家庭主妇的工作一点都不具挑战性和重要性的想法是大错特错的。我的日常生活包括为我的家人准备早餐、午餐和晚餐，打扫房间，洗衣服，

刷碗，照料草坪和花园，并努力提高新闻工作所需的技能。我的生活就像现代版的 20 世纪 50 年代保守家庭主妇的生活，但我不觉得有丝毫不满。例如，烹饪是我所热衷的，我可以把业余爱好用到我的日常生活中。每天，我拒绝使用

含防腐剂和不健康成分的包装食物，而是做健康的、用炉子烧熟的蔬菜和蛋白质食物。我喜欢烹饪的过程，也享受自己做的菜。我的亲人有更多的精力，更好的心情，在此过程中，我们的体重也有所下降。此外，我早早地完成了我的工作后，就可以在晚上有时间坐在沙发上与我的家人说话或玩棋盘游戏，而不是跳上跳下地做清洁工作。

5 Of course, I don't receive an income for my hours of hard work, but my husband and I are a team, and we decided democratically that we would rather enjoy living a life with more family time and less money. We've had to trim the unnecessary things and learn to tolerate living without. Trying to explain the difference of income and lifestyle to our children

was a particularly difficult episode. Fortunately, I have kept a part-time job writing for medical periodicals to supplement our income.

当然，我的辛勤工作没有任何收入，但我和我丈夫是一个团队，我们通过协商决定，我们宁愿少一点钱，但要与家人有多一点在一起的时间享受生活。我们已削减了不必要的开支，学习忍受没有丰富物质的生活。给孩子们解释收入降低和生活方式改变是件特别困难的事。幸运的是，我还保留了一份给医学期刊撰稿的兼职工作，用来贴补我们的收入。

6 Some critics of our lifestyle think that I'm unique in enjoying my home life, but it's not the case. Overseas, millions of people work from home while still caring for the family. Women in Europe and Asia exert themselves to have a career and still love being housewives. It's becoming too common to substitute househusbands for housewives around the world as more women join the workforce.

一些批评我们这种生活方式的人们认为，我享受这种家庭生活只是个个例，但事实并非如此。海外数以百万计的

人在家工作的同时，还照顾着家庭。欧洲和亚洲的妇女奋发向上，她们有事业，但仍然喜爱当家庭主妇。在世界各地，随着更多的妇女成为职业女性， “家庭主夫 ”替代 “家庭主妇 ”这一现象变得极其普通。

7 Why is it so common to think that women are oppressed and discontented when working to provide for their families' happiness? Must everyone receive happiness in the same way, working long hours outside the home? I am revolted by the notion that I must be depressed or unfulfilled because my husband and I have chosen to live in a more old-fashioned setting. I don't suggest that this is the only way, or even the best way, to manage every family. However, I swear that it's the best lifestyle for me and my family. Every day, I work harder than I did at my old job and I find that I have more happiness and dignity than I did before. Consider this: In the future, when a woman answers that she is a housewife, you should avoid discrimination and

give her a high five instead of showing pity or giving her a boring glance.

为什么这么多人认为，妇女在为她们的家庭幸福而工作时，一定是受到压制和感到不满的呢？每个人都必须以同

样的方式 —— 在外面工作很长时间 —— 来获得幸福吗？有人认为我肯定很压抑或没有成就感，因为我丈夫和我选择了一种更过时的生活方式，这样的想法让我感到很震惊。我不是在暗示这是经营家庭的唯一的方法，我更不是说这是最

好的方式。不过，我发誓，对我和我的家庭来说这是最好的生活方式。我日益努力，也发现自己比以前更幸福，更有尊严。记住，以后当一个女人回答她是一位家庭主妇时，你不应歧视她，要与她击掌喝彩，而不要显露怜悯之情或以让人厌烦的眼光看她。

Unit 8

Text A Animals or children? — A scientist's choice

动物还是孩子？ —— 一位科学家的选择

1 I am the enemy! I am one of those cursed, cruel physician scientists involved in animal research. These rumors sting, for I

have never thought of myself as an evil person. I became a children's doctor because of my love for children and my supreme desire to keep them healthy. During medical school and residency, I saw many children die of cancer and bloodshed from injury

— circumstances against which medicine has made great progress but still has a long way to go. More importantly, I also saw children healthy thanks to advances in medical science such as infant breathing support, powerful new medicines and surgical techniques and the entire field of organ transplantation. My desire to tip the scales in favor of healthy, happy children drew me to medical research.

我就是那个敌人！我就是那些被人诅咒的、残忍的、搞动物实验的医生科学家之一。这些谣言刺痛了我，因为我从来没想到自己是一个邪恶的人。我成为一位儿科医生，因为我爱孩子，也因为我的最大愿望是让他们保持健康。在

医学院学习和住院医生实习时，我看到了许多儿童死于癌症和受伤流血 —— 虽然对此医学正取得很大进步，但远非完善。更重要的是，我还看到孩子们能保持健康得益于医学的进步，如婴儿呼吸支持器，功效强大的新药物和外科手术技术及整个器官移植领域的发展。我希望孩子们健康快乐，这促使我从事医学研究。

2 My accusers have twisted the truth into a fable and cast me as the devil. They claim that I have no moral compass, that I torture innocent animals for the sole purpose of career advancement, and that my experiments have no relevance to medicine. Meanwhile, an uncaring public barely watches, convinced that the issue has no significance, and publicity-conscious senators and politicians increasingly give way to the lobbying of animal rights activists.

控诉我的人把真相歪曲成一则神话，并把我描写成恶魔。他们声称我没有道德界限，我折磨那些无辜动物的唯一目的就是为了自己的职业升迁，而我的实验根本与医药毫不相关。与此同时，无动于衷的公众几乎不闻不问，相信这个议题毫无意义，而具有宣传意识的参议员和政治家们却对动物权利活动家的游说不断作出让步。

3 We, in medical research, have also been unbelievably uncaring. We have allowed the most extreme animal rights protesters to creep in and frame the issue as one of animal fraud and hatred. We have persisted in our belief that a

knowledgeable public would consent to the importance of animal research for public health. Perhaps we have been mistaken in not responding to the emotional tone of the argument. Perhaps we should have responded to those sad slogans and posters of animals by waving equally sad posters of children dying of cancer or external wounds.

我们这些从事医学研究的人也显得令人难以置信的冷漠。我们允许最极端的动物权利活动家渐渐侵入，任凭他们把此类研究诬陷为 “动物欺诈 ”和对动物的仇恨。我们一直坚信，有知识的公众会赞同动物研究对公众健康的重要性。也许我们的错误是没有对这场争论的感性基调作出反应。也许我们早应该挥动着儿童死于癌症或外伤的同样令人伤心的海报，来回应那些关于动物受害的伤感标语及海报。

4 In the animal rights forum, much is made of the volume of pain these animals experience in the name of medical science. Activists deny that we are trying to help and say it is evidence of our evil and cruel nature. A more reasonable argument, however, can be advanced in our defense. Life is often cruel to animals and human beings. Teenagers are flung from trucks and suffer severe head injuries. Young children barely able to walk find themselves at the bottom of swimming pools while a parent

is occupied with something else. From everyday germs to gang violence, no life is free of pain. Physicians hoping to relieve the eternal suffering of these tragedies have only three choices: 1) create an animal model of the problem to understand the process and test new therapies; 2) experiment on human beings (some experiments will succeed, most will fail); or 3) leave medical knowledge static, hoping that accidental discoveries will lead us forward.

动物权利论坛大肆宣扬我们如何以医学的名义使这些动物经受巨大的痛苦。动物权利活动家们否认我们正在努力帮助人类，并说这是我们邪恶和残忍本性的证据。然而，一个更合理的论点可用来为我们进行辩护。生活往往对动物和人类都是残酷的。青少年被甩到卡车外，导致头部严重受伤。还不太会走路的孩子们溺水沉到游泳池底部时，他们的家长正忙于其他事务。从常见的的细菌侵害到帮派的暴力，没有谁能不受伤害。医生们希望能永远减轻这些悲剧带

给人们身体上的痛苦，他们只有三个选择： 1）用动物做实验，以了解整个医疗过程和测试新的疗法 ; 2）进行人体实验

（一些实验会成功，大多数会失败） ; 3）让对医疗知识的了解处于停滞状态，希望偶然的发现会带领我们向前。

5 Some animal rights activists would suggest an optional fourth choice, claiming that computer models can create animal experiments, thus omitting actual experiments. Computers can imitate the effects of well-understood principles on complex systems, as in the application of the laws of physics to airplane and automobile design. However, when the principles themselves are in question, as is the case with the complex biological systems of human life under study, computer modeling alone is of little value.

一些动物权利活动家会提出第四个选项，他们声称计算机可以模拟动物实验，这样就可省去真实的实验过程。计

算机可以模拟一些为人所熟知的原理在复杂系统中的应用效果，就如物理规律在飞机和汽车设计中的应用那样。然而，当原理本身有问题时，就跟正处于研究阶段的复杂的生物系统的情况一样，仅靠计算机模拟成效甚微。

6 One of the terrifying effects of arresting the use of animals in medical research is that the impact will not be felt for years or even decades. Drugs to cure infection will remain undiscovered, surgical and diagnostic techniques will remain undeveloped, and fundamental biological processes that might have been understood will remain mysteries. There is the danger that quick decisions by well-meaning politicians will create resolution to diplomatically satisfy the small minority of loud protestors while the consequences and damaging impact of those decisions will not be apparent until long after.

阻止用动物来进行医学研究的可怕后果之一是，其影响要到几年甚至几十年后才能被人知晓：治愈感染的新药物将无法被发现，外科手术和诊断技术将得不到发展，那些有可能被发掘的基本生物学进程将是未解之谜。危险的是，那些善意的政治家匆忙作出决定后拿出的解决方案只是策略性地满足了那一小部分大声疾呼的示威者，这些决定的后果和造成的破坏性影响要很久才会显现。

7 Fortunately, most of us enjoy good health, and the agony of watching one's child die has become a rare experience. Yet our good fortune should not make us unappreciative. Protection from serious sickness and drugs to combat heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke are all based on animal research. Most complex surgical procedures such as heart or hip surgery and organ transplantation surgeries were initially developed in animals. Techniques to replace defective genes, the cause of so much disease, as well as the development of synthetic organs are presently undergoing animal studies. These studies, and any subsequent advances, will effectively end if animal research is severely restricted.

幸运的是，我们大多数人都享有健康的体魄，眼睁睁地看着孩子死亡之苦已不多见。然而，对于能够享受健康或享受医学进步能带来的健康我们不应该不心存感激。对严重疾病的预防和用于心脏病、高血压和中风的药物都基于对动物的研究。大多复杂的外科手术，如心脏或髋关节手术、器官移植手术最初都是在动物实验中进行的。取代导致众多疾病的缺陷基因的技术，以及人造器官的发展，目前正处于动物实验研究阶段。如果动物研究严格受限，这些研究和其后的任何进展都将彻底地宣告结束。

8 In America today, death has become an event isolated from our daily existence. As a doctor who has watched many children die and seen their parents' infinite grief, I am particularly angered by any minute expression of caring for the suffering of creatures and so little for sick and dying human beings. People are too protected from the reality of human life and death and what it means.

在今天的美国，死亡已经成为我们日常生活中孤立少见的事。作为一个看见过许多儿童死亡和他们父母悲痛至极的医生，我感到特别愤怒的是，有人对动物的痛苦表达入微，但对生病和生命垂危的人却冷漠无情。人们受到了太多的保护 ,以至于他们感觉不到现实世界里的生与死，也感觉不到其所代表的真实意义。

9 Make no mistake, however. I would never advocate needless cruel treatment of animals. The animal rights movement has made a contribution in making us more aware of animals' needs and the need to search harder for suitable alternatives. But

if the more radical members of this movement are successful in threatening further research, their efforts will bring about a tragedy that will cost many lives. Hence the real question is whether an uncaring majority can be aroused to protect its future against a loud, but misdirected, minority.

但别搞错，我从来不提倡对动物实行不必要的残忍对待。动物权利运动使我们更加意识到动物应有的权利，以及努力寻找合适替代品的需要。但是，如果有更多的动物权利运动的激进分子成功地阻止了进一步的研究，那他们的努力会造成以许多人的生命为代价的悲剧。因此，真正的问题是我们能否唤起大多数漠不关心的民众来保护动物实验的将来，以反对嗓门挺大、但却是被误导的那一小部分人。

Text B The right to live — A dog's account

生存的的权利 —— 一只狗的独白

1 When I was a puppy, I made you laugh and you called me your child. Despite the chewed shoes and pillows, I became

your best friend. Whenever I was bad, you'd shake your finger at me and ask, How could you? Then you'd give in and roll me over on the rug for a rub.

当我是一只小狗狗时，我逗你笑，你称我为你的孩子。尽管我啃坏了家里的鞋子和枕头，我仍是你最好的朋友。

每当我使坏的时候，你会对我摇摇你的手指，问我： “你怎么能这样？ ”然后你就会让步，把我翻过来放在地毯上揉一揉。

2 My housetraining took a long time because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together until there were no more stains. I remember nights, sleeping in your bed listening to your dreams, and believing that I'd been provided with a royal life. We rotated between long walks to the park, car rides, and stops for ice cream.

因为你忙不过来，训练我在指定地点大小便花了很长时间，但我们一起度过了这一关，直到屋内没有便溺污渍为

止。我记得那些夜晚，我睡在你的床上，听着你的梦想，并相信我一直过着皇室般的生活。我们重复轮换着做这些事：

漫步去公园，坐车，停下来买冰淇淋。

3 Gradually, the rhythm of life changed as you lagged behind, spending more time at work and searching for a human mate.

I waited patiently, comforted you through heartbreaks and disappointments, never scolded your bad decisions, and leaped happily when you came home or fell in love.

渐渐地，由于你花了更多的时间在工作和寻找伴侣上，造成的拖拉改变了我们的生活节奏。我耐心地等待着，在你伤心和失望时给予安慰，我从来不指责你做出的糟糕决定；当你回家或恋爱时，我为你欢呼雀跃。

4 Your new wife wasn't a dog person, but I still welcomed her and showed her affection. I was happy because you were happy. When you reproduced — when your babies came along, I shared your excitement. I loved their little fingers and toes, and wanted to raise them, too. Only you both worried I might hurt them, so I was shoved into another room or my dog cage.

你的新婚妻子不是 “爱狗人士 ”，但我仍然欢迎她，并对她示好。我高兴是因为你高兴。当你生儿育女，宝宝来临时，我和你一样激动。我爱他们小小的手指和脚趾，也想照料他们。但是你们俩担心我会伤害到他们，把我硬塞入另

一个房间或我的狗窝。

5 As they grew, I became their friend. They buried their hands up to their wrists in my fur and pulled themselves up on unsteady legs, investigating my ears and squeezing my muscles. I loved everything about them, especially the touch of their clumsy fingers and thumbs. I would have defended them with my very life.

他们慢慢长大，我成了他们的朋友。他们喜欢把整个手都埋在我的毛下，并摇摇晃晃地站立起来，检查我的耳朵，挤压我的肌肉。我爱他们的一切，尤其是他们用笨拙的手指和拇指触摸时的感觉。我甚至会用我的生命捍卫他们。

6 I'd sneak into their beds, listening to their worries and secret dreams. Together we waited for the sound of your car in the driveway. There had been a time when you kept a photo of me in your wallet. But slowly, I went from being your dog to just the dog, and you deducted all the money you spent on me from your budget.

我会偷偷溜进他们的被窝，倾听他们的烦恼和秘密的梦想。我们一起等待着你驾车回来在房前车道上的声音。曾

经一度，你把我的照片放在你的钱包里。但慢慢地，我从 “你的狗 ”变成了 “那条狗 ”，你从预算中减去了所有用在我身上的钱。

7 Suddenly, you had a career opportunity in telecommunications in another city and you all moved to a third-story apartment that didn't allow pets. Our rural life in the suburbs was over. On the eve of your departure, there was no internal debate — the jury had already decided. You'd made the right decision for your family, but I remember a time when I was part of your family.

突然，你在另一个城市有了一个在电信领域工作的机会，你和你的家人要搬到一个不许养宠物的三层楼高的公寓

去了。我们在郊区的乡村生活结束了。你们离开的前一天，家里没有内部的辩论 —— 陪审团已经做出决定。你为你的 “家庭 ”作出了正确的决定，然而，我还记得，曾几何时，我还是你家庭的一员。

8 I was excited about riding with the family in the van until we arrived at the animal shelter. It smelled of strange species

of dogs and cats, of hell and hopelessness. You filled out the paperwork and said, I know you will find a good home for her. But they weren't enthusiastic, knowing how difficult it is to discharge old dogs.

我与家人坐在面包车上，曾一度兴奋不已，直到我们到达了动物收容所。那儿有陌生的狗和猫的味道，我感到如

地狱般地绝望。你填写了资料，并说： “我知道你们会为她找到一个好的家。 ”但他们并不热情，因为他们知道要送走一条年老的狗是多么的困难。

9 Your son cried, No, Daddy! Please don't let them take my dog! I worried what lesson she'd learned about friendship and loyalty, love and responsibility, and respect for a living organism. You patted my head goodbye, avoiding my eyes and refusing to take my collar and walking rope with you, the last symbols of our relationship.

你的儿子哭喊道： “不，爸爸，请不要让他们带走我的狗！ ”我担心他在友谊和忠诚，爱心和责任，以及如何尊重一个活的生命方面学到了什么。你拍拍我的头，跟我告别，却避开了我的眼睛，并拒绝带走剩下的最后象征我们关系的颈圈与遛狗绳。

10 The two nice ladies were as attentive to us in the shelter as they were expected. They fed us, but I had lost my appetite and was experiencing a famine of hope. At first, whenever anyone passed my pen, I rushed to the front, hoping that you had changed your mind about ditching me or that this was all a bad dream. Later, I hoped it would at least be someone who cared, who might scratch my chin and love me again. Eventually, I retreated to a corner and waited for the countdown of my days.

那两位好心的女士，如同人们期望的一样，在收容所里细心地照顾着我们。她们给我们喂吃的，但我没有胃口，正经历着希望的饥荒。起先，每当有人经过我的栏圈，我就会奔到前面，希望你改变了抛弃我的打算，希望这只是一

场噩梦而已。后来，我希望至少会是某个在乎我的人，他会轻挠我的下巴，重新爱我。最终，我退缩到了一个角落里，等待我生命的倒计时。

11 I heard her footsteps at the end of the day and I padded along the corridor after her to a separate room. She placed me on the table, rubbed her hand down my spine and told me not to worry. She gently placed a tight rubber band around my leg as a tear ran down her cheeklicked her hand in the same way I used to comfort you as she slid the needle into my vein. As I felt the cool injection coursing through my body, I lay down sleepily, looked into her kind eyes and emitted a low cry, How could you?

那天夜幕降临之前，我听到了她的脚步声。我沿着走廊轻轻地跟她走到一个单独的房间。她把我抱到桌上，用手

顺着我的脊椎揉搓着，告诉我不用担心。当她轻轻地用一根很紧的橡皮带扎住了我的腿时 ,一滴泪水顺着她的脸颊流了下来。当她把针推入我的静脉时，我舔了舔她的手，就像过去常常安慰你时那样。当我觉得冰凉的注射剂在体内流动，我昏昏沉沉地躺了下来，看着她那双善良的眼睛，喃喃低鸣： “你怎么能这样？ ”

12 Perhaps she took the cue from my sad eyes because she whispered, I'm so sorry. She patted my head and explained

that I would waken in a better place where I wouldn't be ignored, abused or abandoned — a place of love and light. With my last fraction of energy, I tried to convey to her with a quick move of my tail that my How could you? was not meant for her. It was for you, my master. I will think of you and wait for you forever, hoping everyone in your life will continue to love you and show you never-ending loyalty as I did. Goodbye. 也许她从我哀怨的眼神中得到暗示，因为她低声说： “我很抱歉。 ”她拍了拍我的头，并解释说，我醒来时会在一

个更好的地方，一个我不会再受忽略、遭虐待或被遗弃的地方，一个有关爱和光明的地方。我用尽全身最后一丝力气，

向她快速地摇了摇尾巴，想让她知道我的这句 “你怎么能这样？ ”并不是对她说的。我是对你说的，我的主人。我会永远怀念你，永远等待你，我只希望你生活中的每个人都将继续爱你，并像我那样，永远忠诚。别了。

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新世纪英语二级 课文 中英翻译U1-U8 textA&B_if you accept that the prime reason for going to c

Unit 1

Text A An impressive English lesson 一堂难忘的英语课