The English Reserve and Politeness 翻译 英语泛读教程 3（高等教育出版社） - 图文

参考译文1. 课文一 2. 课文二 Text 1 The English Reserve and Politeness It seems to many people that the 课文一 英国人的谨慎和礼貌 在许多人看来，英国人极为礼貌，British are extremely polite and difficult to make friends with. Hopefully the following passage will help you to have a better understanding of the British character. 同他们交朋友很难。但愿下列文字能够帮助你更好地了解英国人的性格特点。 对于其他欧洲人来说，英国人最著名的特点是“谨慎”。一个谨慎的人不太会和陌生人聊天，不会流露出太多的情感，并且很少会兴奋。要了解一个谨慎的人并非易事；他从不告诉你有关他自己的任何事，也许你和他工作了几年，却连他住在哪儿，有几个孩子，兴趣是什么，都不知道。英国人就有类似的倾向。如果乘公共汽车去旅行，他们会尽量找一个没人坐的位子；如果是乘火车，他们会找一个没人的单间。如果他们不得不与陌生人共用一个单间时，那么即使火车驶出了很多英里，他们也不会开口交谈。一旦谈起来的话，他们不会轻易问及像“你多大年龄？”或者甚至“你叫什么名字？”等私人问题。像“你的手表是在哪儿买的？”或者“你的收入是多少？”这样的问题几乎不可想象。同样，在英国，人们交谈时一般声音都很轻、很有节制，大声谈话会被视为没有教养。 To other Europeans, the best known quality of the British is \reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers, does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited. It is difficult to get to know a reserved person; he never tells you anything about himself, and you may work with him for years without ever knowing where he lives, how many children he has, and what his interests are. English people tend to be like that. If they are making a journey by bus, they will do their best to find an empty seat; if by train, an empty compartment. If they have to share the compartment with a stranger, they may travel many miles without starting a conversation. If a conversation does start, personal questions like \or even \asked. Questions like \your watch?\almost impossible. Similarly, conversation in Britain is in general quiet and restrained and loud speech is considered ill-bred. This unwillingness to communicate with others is an unfortunate quality in some ways, since it tends to give the 在某种程度上，不愿意与他人交流是一种不幸的品质，因为它可能会给impression of coldness, and it is true that 人造成态度冷淡的印象。而事实上，the English (except perhaps in the North) 英国人（也许除了北方人）并不以慷are not noted for their generosity and hospitality. On the other hand, they are perfectly human behind their barrier of reserve, and may be quite pleased when a a time in breaking the barrier down. Closely related to English reserve is 慨和好客而著称。而另一方面，虽然谨慎使他们不易与人沟通,但他们内心还是很有人情味的。如果一个陌生人或外国人友善地将这种隔阂打破那friendly stranger or foreigner succeeds for 么一会儿，他们可能会满心欢喜。 English modesty. Within their hearts, the English are perhaps no less conceited than 与英国人的谨慎紧密相连的品质anybody else, but in their relations with 是英国式的谦逊。在内心深处，英国others they value at least a show of modesty. 人可能比任何人都高傲，但是当他们Self-praise is felt to be ill-bred. If a 与别人相处时，他们十分看重谦逊的person is, let us say, very good at tennis, 品质，至少要表现出谦虚的样子。自and someone asks him if he is a good player, 我标榜会被认为没有教养。让我们假he will seldom reply \设，有一个人非常擅长打网球，但如will think him conceited. He will probably 果有人问他是否是个优秀选手时，他give an answer like, \not bad,\or \很少会说“是”，不然，人们会认为他很高傲。他可能会作出类似这样的I'm very keen on tennis.\self-deprecation is typically English, and, 回答，“不算太差，”或者“嗯，我mixed with their reserve, it often produces 非常喜欢网球。”这样的自我贬低是a sort of general air of indifference which 典型的英国式的。而且当这一品质与他们的谨慎混合在一起时，常常形成appears to foreigners difficult to understand and even irritating. similar. Its starting point is self-deprecation, and its great enemy is 一种漠然的气氛，这在外国人看来难 The famous English sense of humor is 于理解，甚至令人恼火。 conceit. Its ideal is the ability to laugh at oneself —at one's own faults, one's own 著名的英国人的幽默感也是大同failures and embarrassments, even at one's 小异。它的出发点是自我贬低，它的own ideals. The criticism, \has no sense 最大对手是高傲，它的理想境界是自of humor,\嘲的能力—嘲笑自己的错误、自己的Britain, where humor is so highly prized. A 失败和窘境，甚至自己的理想。在英sense of humor is an attitude to life rather 国，人们非常看重幽默感，常常能听than the mere ability to laugh at jokes. This 到“他一点幽默感都没有”这样的批attitude is never cruel or disrespectful or 评。幽默感是一种对生活的态度而并malicious. The English do not laugh at a cripple or a madman, a tragedy or an 非仅仅是开玩笑的能力。这种态度决非残酷、不敬或是怀有恶意的。英国honorable failure. Sympathy or admiration 人不会嘲笑一个跛子或者疯子，也不for artistic skill are felt to be stronger than laughter. 会嘲笑一个悲剧或者一次可敬的失败。同情心或者对艺术技巧的崇敬比 Like a sense of humor, sportsmanship 嘲笑的份量重得多。 is an English ideal which not all Englishmen live up to. It must be realized that sport in its modern form is almost entirely a British invention. Boxing, association football, tennis and cricket were all first organized and given rules in Britain. Rules 同幽默感一样，运动员精神是英国are the essence of sport, and sportsmanship 式的理想，这一点并非所有的英国人都做得到。必须认识到，现代形式的is the ability to practise a sport in obedience to its rules, while also showing 运动几乎都是英国人发明的。拳击、generosity to one's opponent and good temper 英式足球、网球以及板球都是在英国in defeat. Moreover, sportsmanship as an 首次组织并且制定出规则的。规则是ideal is applied to life in general. One of 运动的精髓，运动员精神是指按照规the most elementary rules of life is \则从事体育运动的能力，同时也表现hit a man when he's down\在对对手的慷慨大度，以及失败后的never take advantage of another person's 良好心态。此外，运动员精神作为一misfortune. English school-boys often show 种理想模式也普遍适用于日常生活。其中最基本的生活规则之一就是“不this sense of sportsmanship to a surprisingly high degree in their relations 打跌倒的人”。换言之，就是不要利用别人的不幸。英国的男孩子常常在with each other. Another feature in Britain is 相互交往中把这种运动员精神表现得politeness. On the whole British habits of 淋漓尽致。 politeness are very informal. All politeness is based on the elementary rule of showing consideration for others, and acknowledging the consideration they show to you. \ apology for troubling somebody, as when passing in front of him or interrupting his 英国人的另一特点就是礼貌。总的英国式的礼貌习惯都不很正式。conversation, or when putting a question to 来说，a stranger. \expresses regret for an 所有的礼貌都是建立在这样的基本原则之上：为别人着想，同时也认可别accidental disturbance or breach of manners. It also takes the place of \when 人对你的关心。在麻烦别人时，如：you cannot agree to a request or an implied 从某人前面经过，或者打断某人的谈request like \I borrow your pen?\or \话，或者向陌生人请教问题时，要先you know the time?\说“对不起”，为给对方带来的不便seven shoes?\\is the polite way of 预先道歉。“抱歉”一词表示对意外asking somebody to repeat what he has said. 打扰或者违反礼仪的歉意。如果有人In Britain, except at school, \is no 提出或者暗示某个要求，如：“我可longer used in asking permission to speak, 以借你的钢笔吗嘛？”或者“现在几and the phrase \点了？”或者“还有七码的鞋吗？”，abroad, would sound most unusual in Britain 而你无法满足这种要求时，也要说“抱itself. \歉”而不是“不”。“请原谅？”是of the word, and is the opposite of \用来要求别人重复所说内容时的礼貌thank you\when replying to an offer. A bare 说法。在英国，除了在学校，人们在yes or no is considered very rude in this 请求发言时，不再用“请”这个词。case. Similarly, a polite request does not 在国外非常普遍的词组“不，请”，begin with \在英国本土听起来却会很别扭。“好a phrase like \的，请”，是最常用的说法，它与人you please...?\or \you mind...?\When 们拒绝帮助时通常所说的：“不，谢the request is granted, and at any time when 谢”的意思正好相反。单单一个是或you are receiving something, however always expected to say \ 不是在这种情况下被视为非常无礼。者“我认为”开头，而是用“你能不能??？”或者“你是否介意??？”这样的措辞。当你的要求被满足，当obviously you are entitled to it, you are 同样，礼貌的要求不会以“我想”或 British people do not readily ask each other to do anything that would involve 你收到某一物品时，不管你怎样受之real inconvenience: they prefer to wait for 无愧，你永远应当说声“谢谢”。 such service to be offered, rather than ask for it. If they do ask, then the request is accompanied by an implied apology like, \ don't really like asking you, but...\or, \ know the trouble I'm causing you, but would you mind...?\often polite to refuse an offer of service by means of such a reply as, \ 如果事情确实很麻烦，英国人一般don't bother,\followed by an explanation of 不会要求别人去做：他们情愿等待有why you can do without it. In fact, without 人提供这样的服务，而不会主动提出being conscious of it, British people sometimes make offers purely out of 要求。如果他们确实提出要求，那么要求中会含有歉意，例如：“我不是politeness, not really expecting them to be 真的想麻烦你，但是???”或者“我清楚我给你带来的麻烦，但是如果你accepted, and offers of this kind are refused with the same politeness. If you are invited into a person's home, there are other questions to consider. For instance, what time should you arrive? If it is a social occasion, not a business one, it is not polite to arrive early. Your hostess will be preparing for you, and will be most embarrassed if you arrive before she is quite ready. Ten minutes late is excellent. Half an hour late is excessive and requires apologies. Then too, the 不介意??？”等等。同样，在拒绝别人的服务时，礼貌的说法往往是这样：“哦！请别费心，”接着解释你为什么自己能够处理。实际上，人们没有意识到，英国人常常是出于礼貌而提供帮助，他们并不真的希望自己的提议被接受；当然，这样的提议也会以同样的礼貌被婉言谢绝。 British are rather particular about table 如果你被邀请到某人家中做客，还manners. The main thing is: to sit up 有另外的问题需要考虑。例如，你应straight, copy everyone else, gaily asking 当什么时候到达？如果这是个社交活what to do if you are not sure, and keep the 动而不是商业活动，提早到是不礼貌conversation going. What time should you 的。女主人也许正在为你的到来做准leave? There are no rules, but it is most 备，如果在她还没有完全准备好之前impolite to stay too late, as it implies a 你就到了，这会令人非常尴尬。迟到lack of consideration for your hosts. If it 十分钟是绝好的选择。迟到半小时就is simply an invitation to an evening meal 超过底线，并且需要道歉了。而且，and conversation, you will probably take 英国人也非常讲究餐桌礼仪。关键问your leave between ten and eleven o'clock. 题是：坐直身体，照着别人的样子去If you have been asked to stay for several 做。如果你没有把握，可以愉快地向days, you will conform as far as possible to 别人请教，并且将谈话进行下去。什the routine of the house, and your hostess 么时候应该离开呢？这没有定规，但will be very pleased if you give her a bunch 是呆到很晚总是不礼貌的，因为这就of flowers, specially bought, before you leave. Politeness towards women is less observed today than it used to be. It is still considered polite to give up one's seat to a woman who is standing, to open 意味着对主人不够体谅。如果只是邀请你吃晚饭和聊天的话，在十点到十一点之间离开即可。如果你被挽留再多逗留几日，你得尽可能地遵从这个家庭的生活习惯。离开之前，如果你特别为女主人买一束献花的话，她会doors for her, help her alight from the bus, 非常高兴。 carry things for her, protect her from the traffic, and so on, and the maxim \ first\is well known. But now that women are the equals of men in having the vote, taking paid employment and receiving higher education, they receive much less consideration than formerly, for the whole basis of politeness towards women is the feeling that they need protection. The same principle applies to old people. If they are respected in Britain, it is because they are felt to be in need of protection and support. Old age and seniority alone do not command authority among the British, in fact modern life has been developing so fast that old people often appear tiresome and out of date. Thus, \need some young blood\is often heard in organizations where the energy and modern methods of younger men are felt to be more likely to succeed than the long but partly 对女士的礼貌如今看得不像以前那样重。但是给一位站着的女士让座，为她开门，帮她下车，为她拿东西，保护她避开车辆等仍被视为一种礼貌。“女士优先”的格言是很出名的。但现在由于女士和男士一样平等地享有选举权，受雇用以及接受更高等教育的权利，她们受到的照顾比以前少得多，因为对女士的礼貌是建立在对她们的同情心基础之上的──即她们需要保护。

irrelevant experience of older ones. The wisest of the older generation realize this. 这一原则同样适用老年人。如果他They either make an effort to remain young 们在英国受到尊敬，那是因为别人认in heart and keep pace4 with the times or 为他们需要保护和扶持。单单年老和else they let younger men take their place. 有资历在英国并不享有权威，实际上， It follows that mature Europeans 现代生活发展得如此迅速，老年人常have no desire to grow old or to look older 常会显得麻烦人和落伍。于是，在一than they are. Women especially, for reasons 些机构，与年长者漫长却不相关的工of sexual attraction, long to \作经历相比，年轻人旺盛的精力和现代方法被认为更有可能成功，由此，and there is no greater compliment to a mature woman than to be told \人们常常可以听到“我们需要一些新鲜血液”的说法。老一辈中最明智的look!\hairstyle, make-up and clothes reveal an 人意识到了这一点，他们要么努力保obvious effort to look artificially young, 持年轻的心态，跟上时代的步伐，否she is said to \common,\and is regarded 则就让位于年轻的一代。 with disapproval. (1528 words) TOP 因而，成熟的欧洲人都不想变老，或者不愿意变得看上去比自己的实际年龄老。特别是女士，为了保持性吸引力，更渴望“永葆青春”。对于成熟女性来说，没有比“你看上去好年轻！”更好的赞扬。另一方面，如果一个女士在发型、化妆以及服饰方面明显地追求人为的年轻，人们会认为她“看上去很庸俗，”而对她的做法持否定态度。 返回 Text 2 Does Anybody Really Care? 课文二 真的有人关心吗？ This cry of despair is more common 这一绝望的呼喊比我们想象than we may realize. Some of us speak these 的更为普遍。我们中的一些人很少用words rarely; others say them every 这类词，但也有一部分人每天都在这day─silently or aloud. To hear the cry for 样说──默默地或大声地。要想听到求help requires extra-sensitive perception. 助的呼喊必须具有异常敏锐的感知能We can hear it only if we listen with the 力。正如西奥多·瑞克入木三分的话third ear, a trenchant phrase of Theodore 指出的那样：只有当我们用第三只耳Reik. 倾听时，才会听到这样的呼喊。 For example, I often visited a Negro 例如：我经常去一家养老院看friend in a home for the elderly. The place 望一位黑人朋友。这个地方经过严格was sterilized and the environment was 消毒，环境洁净无菌。我的朋友年纪sterile. My friend was old, dispirited, and 很大，精神很消极，他不想再活在这he wanted to die. He often said, \a lost 个世上。他常说：“我是荒草地里一ball in the tall weeds.%unfulfilled. He knew that if he had been white, he could have been a successful 只被丢弃的球。”他觉得自己一无所长。他知道，如果自己是白人的话，一定早已是一位成功的专业人士。professional man. \think about this every “我每天都在想这个问题，”他告诉day of my life,\我。谁会关心一个曾为哥伦比亚市中this Negro workman who had helped erect many 心拔地而起的众多大楼出过力的黑人buildings in downtown Columbus? Hardly anyone. 工人呢？几乎没有人。 We have been remiss both in caring for and caring about the elderly. Perhaps 我们一直疏忽了对老年人的they suggest too strongly our own morality, 关心和照顾。或许他们极强地说明了the guilt we may deservedly or undeservedly 我们的道德观，我们会对自己年迈的feel about our own aging parents. The Great 双亲感到内疚，不管这种内疚是恰当Society needs a more creative approach to 还是不恰当。对这些被冠之以金色年what are euphemistically called the golden 代的老年人，社会需要采取更为积极years. The program of the First Community 有效的态度。哥伦比亚俄亥俄第一社Village in Columbus, Ohio, and other similar 区村庄项目以及其它类似的中心，也centers may be a happy augury of things to 许是一个可喜的征兆，预示着新事物come. 的到来。 Edna St. Vincent Millay once said, \ world, I cannot hold thee close enough!\To care for people is to wish to be close to 伊迪纳·圣·文森特·米雷曾说：them, in their presence, to penetrate the “啊，世界！我无论怎么紧紧握住你mask we all wear. It is interesting that our 都不会太紧。”关心他人就是表示愿意与人接近，当面穿透我们人人都戴comments about communication with other people include such expressions as \were 的假面具。有趣的是，我们对自己与very close,\\was deeply touched,\\was 他人交往的评价包括这样几条：“我greatly affected.\ 们关系密切”，“我深受感动”，“他 To care deeply for persons is to see 被深深地打动。” them not as plumbers, scientists, clerks,

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