unit3 Rats_and_Men_汉英翻译

Rats and Men 人与鼠

“Insoluble Problems” ---S.I. Hayakawa早川

“难以解释的问题”—早川

[1] Professor N.R.F. Maier 迈耶of the University of Michigan performed a series of experiments several years ago in which “neurosis”神经官能症 is induced 诱导in rats. The rats are first trained to jump off the edge of a platform at one of two doors. If the rat jumps to the right, the door holds fast（firmly）, and it bumps its nose and falls into a net; if it jumps to the left, the door opens, and the rat finds a dish of food. When the rats are well trained to this reaction, the situation is changed. The food is put behind the other door, so that in order to get their reward犒赏 they now have to jump to the right instead of to the left.(Other changes, such as marking the two doors in different ways, may also be introduced by the experimenter.) If the rat fails to figure out （come to understand by thinking）the new system, so that each time it jumps it never knows whether it is going to get food or bump its nose, it finally gives up and refuses to jump at all. At this stage, Dr. Maier says, “many rats prefer to starve rather than make a choice.” 几年前，密歇根大学的迈耶教授在老鼠身上开展了一系列有关神经官能症的实验。首先，研究人员放一块平板，并训练老鼠从上面跳下来。如果老鼠跳向右边的门，门会打到老鼠的鼻子并且老鼠也掉到了网里；如果老鼠跳向左边的门，门会打开，老鼠会找到一些食物。当老鼠已经熟练了这种训练模式，，研究人员做了一些改变。研究人员把食物放到了右边，老鼠如果从右边跳才能得到犒赏。（研究人员也做了一些别的变动，如用不同的方式标记门。）在这种情况下，老鼠如果没能适应新的训练系统，那么每次它跳的时候它就无法判断是会得到食物还是会被打到鼻子，最后，它就放弃了并且再也不会跳了。在这种情况下，一些老鼠宁愿饿着吃不到东西也不愿意从平板的任何一边跳下来。

[2]Next, the rats are forced to make a choice, being driven to it by blasts of air强大的气流 or an electric shock. “Animals which are induced 被迫to respond in the insoluble problem situation,”says Dr. Maier, “settle down to a specific reaction (such as jumping solely at the left-hand door) which they continue to execute regardless of consequences… The reasons chosen under these conditions becomes fixated…Once the fixation appears, the animal is incapable of learning an adaptive response in this situation”. When a reaction to the left-hand door is thus fixated, the right-hand door may be left open so that the food is plainly visible. Yet the rat, when pushed, continues to jump to the left, becoming more panicky each time. When the experimenter persists in forcing the rat to make choices, it may go into convulsions抽搐, racing around wildly, injuring its claws, bumping into chairs and tables, then going into a state of violent trembling, until it falls into a coma. In this passive state, it refuses to eat, refuses to take any interest in anything; it can be rolled up into a ball or suspended in the air by its legs ----the rat has ceased to care what happens to it. It has had a “nervous breakdown.”

接下来，老鼠会被强大的气流和电击逼着往下跳。迈耶教授说到：“当动物们被逼着对难以解决的问题做出反应时，它们会不顾后果的反复的做出一种特殊的反应（比如，老鼠这时总是从左边的门跳下去。）?在这些情况下做出的选择都是固定的。一旦这种固定的情况出现，动物就无法做出适应性反应。”一旦从左边门跳下去的后果确定下来，研究人员就会一直打开右边的门，让食物一目了然。然后被推着反复跳向左边门的老鼠每次都会恐慌不安。当研究人员坚持让老鼠在这种情况下做出选择，老鼠可能会抽搐，失控的的奔跑，弄伤自己的爪子，在桌椅上下跳个不停，然后会剧烈的发抖直到它成功的昏了过去。在这种消极的心理状态下，老鼠不再进食，不再对任何事物表现出兴趣；老鼠

会蜷缩成一团或者用爪子把自己挂在空中----这老鼠已经不关注发生在它身上的事了。这老鼠已经：“精神崩溃”了。

[3]It is the “insolubility” of the rat’s problem that leads to its nervous breakdown, and, and Dr. Maier shows in his studies of disturbed 遭困扰的，心理失常的children and adults, rats and human beings seem to go through pretty much the same stages. First, they are trained to make habitually a given choice when confronted by a given (certain)problem; secondly, they get a terrible shock when they find that the conditions have changed and that the choice doesn’t produce the expected results; third, whether through shock, anxiety, or frustration, they may fixate on执着于 the original choice and continue to make that choice regardless of consequences; fourth, they sullenly 很不高兴refuse to act at all; fifth, when by external compulsion they are forced to make a choice, they again make the one they were originally trained to make ----and again get a bump on the nose; finally , even with the goal visible in front of them, to be attained simply by making a different choice, they go crazy out of frustration. They tear around 撕抓wildly; they sulk愠怒，生闷气 in corners and refused to eat: bitter辛酸怀恨, cynical不信任一切, disillusioned心灰意冷, they cease to care what happens to them.

正是问题的“难以解释性”了造成老鼠的精神奔溃，并且迈耶教授在他的有关心理失常的儿童和成年人的研究中表明，在整个实验过程中，人类和老鼠所经历的阶段几乎是一样的。首先，训练受试者对一个确定的问题作出习惯性的选择；其次，他们发现在实验环境发生了变化，他们得到了惩罚，并且他们原先的选择并不能得到预期的结果（如得到食物）；然后，经过了惊吓，焦虑，或者沮丧这些心理变化时，受试者有可能不顾后果的坚持做出他们最初的选择；再次，受试者不愿意做出任何选择；最后，当外界的压迫让他们做出反应时，他们依旧会做出训练时的那个习惯性的选择---当然再一次的打到鼻子。这一系列实验的结果就是，即使得到预期的结果只需要做一个不同的选择，受试者却依然陷入了沮丧失望的情绪。他们会疯狂的撕抓，在角落里生闷气，不再进食：他们不信任一切，心酸怀恨，心灰意冷，也不再关注发生在他们身上的事了。

[4]Is this an exaggerated picture? It hardly seems so. The pattern recurs throughout human life, from the small tragedies of the home to the world-shaking tragedies among nations. In order to cure her husband’s faults坏毛病, a wife may nag 数落him. His faults get worse, so she nags him some more. Naturally his faults get worse still---and she nags him even more. Governed受摆布, like the rat, by a fixated reaction to the problem of her husband’s faults, she can meet it only in one way. The longer she continues, the worse it gets, until they are bother nervous wrecks神经上备受折磨/疲惫不堪的人.

这难道是夸张的一幕吗？恐怕不是。从每个小家庭的吵吵闹闹到国家间惊天动地的大事，这一幕总是在人们的生活中重演。为了改掉丈夫的坏毛病，妻子就数落他。然后丈夫的这些毛病变得更糟，妻子的数落也越来越多。自然而然的，丈夫的毛病愈演愈烈，妻子的数落越来越多。对于丈夫的毛病这个确定的问题，妻子就像一只受摆布的老鼠一样，只能用一种方法去“解决”。数落的越久，问题越严重，知道夫妻俩都成为疲惫不看的人。

[5]Again, white people in a northern city, deploring厌恶 the illiteracy and high crime rate among Negroes, segregate them, persecute them (it is well known that the police are almost always tougher粗暴 on Negro suspects than on whites), and deny them opportunities for employment and advancement. The denial of opportunity perpetuates（cause…last)the illiteracy and the high crime rate, which in turn perpetuate the segregation, persecution, and denial of opportunity. The search for a way to break up this vicious circle, taxes 使负重荷，使受压力the best minds among those interested in orderly social change: city councilmen市议员, educators, urban planners规划者, Negro organizations, as well as state governments and federal authorities.

此外，美国北部城市的白人厌恶黑人，为文盲太多和过高的犯罪率。白人就隔离迫害黑人（众所周知的就是警察对黑人疑犯要比白人疑犯更粗暴），拒绝给黑人就业和提升的机会。白人的拒绝造成

了并导致了更多的文盲和更高的犯罪率，而更多的文盲和更高的犯罪率又让白人继续隔离，迫害黑人和拒绝给他们发展的机会。为了寻找打破这些恶性循环的办法，那些致力于有序的社会变化的人（如：市议员，教育家，规划者，黑人组织，还有国家和联邦组织）承受着巨大的压力。

[6]To cite another example, students trying to express themselves in writing may write poorly. In order to improve their writing, says the English teacher, I must teach them the fundamentals基础知识 of grammar, spelling, and punctuation. By thus placing excessive emphasis on grammar and mechanics技术性细节 while ignoring the students’ ideas, the teacher quickly destroys student interest in writing. That interest destroyed, the students write even more poorly. Thereupon the teacher redoubles his dose练习量 of grammar and mechanics. The students become increasingly bored and rebellious. Such students fill the ranks of “remedial English” classes in high school and college.

另一个例子。学生们也许用写作表达自己的想法时会写的不好。为了提高学生的写作水平，英语老师说，我一定得给教给他们基础的语法知识，拼写，和发音。基于这一点，老师就会在教授学生语法知识和技术性细节上花大工夫，却忽略了学生的想法，这样老师很快的扼杀了学生对写作的兴趣。兴趣被扼杀了，学生们的写作就更糟糕了。接着，英语老师就会让学生完成加倍的语法知识和技术性细节的练习题。而学生们就会越来越疲于应对和逆反。这样的学生在高中和大学的英语辅导班里到处都是。

[7]Again, a nation, believing that the only way to secure peace and dignity is through armed strength, may embark on推行 a huge armaments program扩军计划. The program arouses the fears of neighboring nations, so that they too increase their armaments军备； 武器装备； [复]军事力量； 军队 to march those of the first nation. Anxiety and tension increase加剧，升温. It is clear, the first nation declares, that we shall continue to feel anxious about our national security so long as we are not adequately prepared for all emergencies; we must therefore double our armaments. This naturally makes the neighboring nations even more anxious, so that they too double their armaments. Anxiety and tension increase even more. It is clear, the first nation declares, that our mistake has been to underestimate our defense needs. This time we must be sure to be sufficiently armed保证有充分武力 to preserve peace. We must triple 再加一倍our armaments….

再举一个例子。一个笃信只有通过军事力量才能维护和平和尊严的国家很有可能推行大规模的扩军计划（我们暂且称该国为A国）。A国的扩军计划会让它的周边国家感到惊恐不安，然后增加自己的军备以保持与A相当的军事力量。焦虑紧张的形势加剧了。显然，接着就是A国会宣布他们依然为自己的国家安全担心因为他们并未对所有的突发事件做足准备，他们一定要加倍扩大军备。这自然会引起周边国家的焦虑，并是他们做出同样的举动。形势似乎有点剑拔弩张了。显然，A国就会说他们犯了一个错误---低估了自己的防备需要，这次我们必须保证有充分武力去保卫和平，我们必须要把军备扩充翻一番….

[8]Of course these instances are oversimplified, but it is often because of vicious circles of this kind that we are unable to get at认清 or do anything about 处理the conditions that lead to disaster. The pattern is frequently recognizable易识别的; the goal may be in sight, attainable by a mere change in methods. Nevertheless, governed by fixated reactions, the rat “cannot” get food, the wife “cannot” cure her husband’s faults, Negro will have to wait two or three generations “until the time is ripe” for social changes, and we “cannot afford” to stop devising发明 and manufacturing weapons so deadly致命的 that they cannot be used without destroying civilization itself.

当然以上的例子是被过度简化的，但常常就是这种我们无法认清的恶性循环和我们没法处理的情况就会带来灾难。这种模式是易识别的；我们可能只需要在方法上作一些小小的改变，就能实现“近在眼前”的目标。然而，受制于固定的后果模式，老鼠吃不到食物，妻子改不掉丈夫的坏毛病，黑人

可能还要花两三代人的时间去等一个社会改变所需要的“成熟时机”，我们也“耽搁不起”停止发明和生产武器，这种武器专门是用来对付我们人类自己的。

[9]There is, however, and important different between the insolubility of the rat’s problems and the insolubility of human problems. Dr. Maier’s rats were driven to their nervous breakdowns by problems more complicated than would naturally occur in a rat’s environment鼠在自然状态下. But human breakdowns are ordinarily caused by problems that human beings themselves have created; problems of religious and ethical belief道德信仰; problems of money and credit 贷款and mortgages抵押 and trust funds托管基金 and stock-market fluctuations股市涨跌; problems of man-made custom and etiquette礼节 and social organization and law.

然而，在老鼠的不可解释的问题和人的不可解释的问题中有一个重要的差别。在迈耶博士的实验中，使老鼠精神崩溃的问题远比老鼠在自然环境中遇到的要复杂的多。但通常使人类精神崩溃的问题都是源于人类自己；宗教和道德信仰的问题；贷款，抵押，托管基金，和股市涨跌的问题；约定俗称的风俗礼节和社会组织法律的问题。

[10]Rats can hardly be blamed for not being able to solve problems set for them by Dr. Maier; there are limits to a rat’s powers of abstraction. But there are no known limits to be human capacity to abstract and organize and make use of abstractions. Hence, if human beings find problems insoluble because of fixated reactions----if they are frustrated because they can respond in only one way, regardless of context前因后果 or circumstances环境 , to certain symbolically defined situations某些以符号来界定的情形 ---they are functioning at less than full human capacity没有发挥出人的全部能力. They can be said, in Korzybski’s 科尔奇布斯基的suggestive意味深长的 phrase, to be “copying模仿 animals” in their reactions. Wendell Johnson summarized this idea aptly贴切地 when he said, “To a mouse, cheese is cheese; that’s why mouse traps work.” How do these fixations固定反应 occur in human beings? （1365）

不能责怪鼠解决不了麦耶博士为它们设下的难题；因为鼠的抽象能力有限。但人类的抽象能力、组织和利用抽象的能力是无限的。因此，如果人由于固定反应而认为难题不可解决——如果人受挫折只是由于对某些以符号来界定的形势，不论其前因后果或出于环境只能采取一种反应的话——那么，人便没有充分发挥出其全部人的能力。如科尔奇布斯基所说的意味深长的话：此时，人在做出反应这一点上是在“模仿动物”。对此，温德尔·约翰逊有一贴切的归纳：“对鼠而言，奶酪就是奶酪；这就是捕鼠器能捕鼠的原因。”可这种固定反应是如何在人类中发生的呢?

Supplementary Reading

[1] In the 1940s, psychologist Abraham Maslow recognized that workers perform as they do in order to satisfy a wide variety of needs. He realized that these needs would have to be classified to explain motion. The model he worked out is called Maslow’s ladder. Two principles underlie this model: A human being is an animal with many needs, and only those needs not yet fully satisfied cause a person to act. When needs on a lower level are satisfied, at least in part, the rung above becomes a goal a person will strive to reach. With these principles in mind, let us now take a look at each set of needs depicted in the model.

[2] All the basic drives that sustain life—food, clothing and shelter—are called physiological needs. A person must satisfy these needs before pursuing any other objective. Most people, of course, strongly desire more than the minimum level of satisfaction required for survival:They want three meals a day instead of one and a house instead of a hut.

[3] The physiological needs are readily satisfied in modern societies by money. Even the few pennies earned by nineteenth-century laborers were strong motivation to people who had not eaten for several days. They would suffer almost any abuse to collect them and live another day.

[4] People have a strong desire to feel protected. Usually this means protection against loss of the physical necessities, the idea of cushion against misfortune. Once more, money will effectively satisfy this level of need. Even today few peole succeed in earning enough money to feel completely secure. This is why the classical theory of motivation held on so long.

[5] Business now does a reasonably good job of meeting the worker’s demands for safety. Wages are high enough to allow most workers to save for a rainy day. Guaranteed job security, pension plans, health insurance, life insurance, and employer contributions to Social Security are all examples of direct satisfaction of safety needs.

[6] Humans are social animals. Their desires to associate with others and to be loved by others are nearly as strong as their will to survive. Indeed, even when the need for safety is not totally satisfied, people begin feeling social needs.

[7] This is the first level of needs that money cannot readily satisfy.As the Hawthorne Studies clearly

showed, workers’ desire to be accepted by co-workers could motivate them more strongly than the desire to earn more money. Furthermore, workers need no impetus from management to seek satisfaction of their social needs. It is this drive that gives rise to the informal organization.

[8] People need to feel self-esteem, a sense of personal worth derived from their competence, achievement, or independence. They also need the respect of others, a respect based on a recognition of their competence rather than on friendship (a social need). The need for esteem is closely tied to the idea of status.

[9] Status is one’s rank in comparison with others in the same social group. A person with high status is one who is well regarded by friends and associates. Several factors can give a person high status in society. These include wealth, social standing, advanced education, and a prestigious occupation. We are all familiar with status symbols such as a Cadillac or a mansion. Since these familiar symbols of status all cost money, it is common to mistake a striving for status as a drive to accumulate wealth. While earning a million dollars may indeed bestow status on an individual, a person motivated by esteem needs seeks the status, not the money.

People in business often seek satisfaction of their esteem needs by pursuing a promotion. To some individuals, the status conferred by the title “vice-president” is more important than the salary that also

comes with the job. Of course, people also manifest the need for esteem when they seek one of the occupations that our society holds in high esteem, such as physician, writer, artist, actor, university professor, lawyer, or musician.

[ 10 ] Maslow defined the need for self-realization as \desire to become more what one is, to become everything one is capable of\to be done in order to feel complete as a person to fulfill a personal philosophy. It is a higher level need than the one for esteem because the person involved already feels that he or his work is worthwhile and respected. Such people find their work intrinsically interesting and satisfying.

[ 11 ] Relatively few people ever reach the stage where they are dominated by the need for self-realization. There is a tendency to think that only a Schweitzer or an Einstein is in this position. Maslow felt, however, that everyone is capable of feeling this need to some degree.

[ 12 ] Maslow's ladder is a convenient way to classify human needs. But if you see it as a simple step at a time procedure, you make a serious mistake.

It is not necessary for a person to satisfy each level of need completely before being motivated by a higher level. In our society, the majority of people have reached at least the fourth rung of needs. Thus, in real life nearly all needs are interacting within the individual. In other words, all five need levels operate in an individual at once, and he will actively strive to improve his position on all five rungs simultaneously.

[ 13 ] There is another factor to be considered as needs work out in real life. As people partially satisfy each need, they tend to require more of it for full satisfaction. This is known as the phenomenon of rising expectations. It partially explains why workers today are unhappy with their earnings even though earnings have never been higher. A starving factory worker of the 1800s was overjoyed to earn enough to buy an extra potato. A factory worker today becomes angry if he cannot afford steak.

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