新視野大學(xué)英語讀寫教程2 第二冊 原文翻譯 uint1-5.doc

Unit1 aAmericans believe no one stands still. If you are not moving ahead, you are falling behind. This attitude results in a nation of people committed to researching, experimenting and exploring. Time is one of the two elements that Americans save carefully, the other being labor. We are slaves to nothing but the clock, it has been said. Time is treated as if it were something almost real. We budget it, save it, waste it, steal it, kill it, cut it, account for it; we also charge for it. It is a precious resource. Many people have a rather acute sense of the shortness of each lifetime. Once the sands have run out of a persons hourglass, they cannot be replaced. We want every minute to count. A foreigners first impression of the US is likely to be that everyone is in a rushoften under pressure. City people always appear to be hurrying to get where they are going, restlessly seeking attention in a store, or elbowing others as they try to complete their shopping. Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country. Working time is considered precious. Others in public eating-places are waiting for you to finish so they, too, can be served and get back to work within the time allowed. You also find drivers will be abrupt and people will push past you.You will miss smiles, brief conversations, and small exchanges with strangers. Dont take it personally. This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else wasting it beyond a certain appropriate point. Many new arrivals in the States will miss the opening exchanges of a business call, for example. They will miss the ritual interaction that goes with a welcoming cup of tea or coffee that may be a convention in their own country. They may miss leisurely business chats in a restaurant or coffee house. Normally, Americans do not assess their visitors in such relaxed surroundings over extended small talk; much less do they take them out for dinner, or around on the golf course while they develop a sense of trust. Since we generally assess and probe professionally rather than socially, we start talking business very quickly. Time is, therefore, always ticking in our inner ear. Consequently, we work hard at the task of saving time. We produce a steady flow of labor-saving devices; we communicate rapidly through faxes, phone calls or emails rather than through personal contacts, which though pleasant, take longerespecially given our traffic-filled streets. We, therefore, save most personal visiting for after-work hours or for social weekend gatherings. To us the impersonality of electronic communication has little or no relation to the significance of the matter at hand. In some countries no major business is conducted without eye contact, requiring face-to-face conversation. In America, too, a final agreement will normally be signed in person. However, people are meeting increasingly on television screens, conducting teleconferences to settle problems not only in this country but alsoby satelliteinternationally. The US is definitely a telephone country. Almost everyone uses the telephone to conduct business, to chat with friends, to make or break social appointments, to say Thank you, to shop and to obtain all kinds of information. Telephones save the feet and endless amounts of time. This is due partly to the fact that the telephone service is superb here, whereas the postal service is less efficient. Some new arrivals will come from cultures where it is considered impolite to work too quickly. Unless a certain amount of time is allowed to elapse, it seems in their eyes as if the task being considered were insignificant, not worthy of proper respect. Assignments are, consequently, given added weight by the passage of time. In the US, however, it is taken as a sign of skillfulness or being competent to solve a problem, or fulfill a job successfully, with speed. Usually, the more important a task is, the more capital, energy, and attention will be poured into it in order to get it moving.美國人認(rèn)為沒有人能停止不前。如果你不求進(jìn)取，你就會落伍。這種態(tài)度造就了一個投身于研究、實(shí)驗(yàn)和探索的民族。時間是美國人注意節(jié)約的兩個要素之一，另一要素是勞力。人們一直說：“只有時間才能支配我們?！比藗兯坪醢褧r間當(dāng)作一個差不多是實(shí)實(shí)在在的東西來對待。我們安排時間、節(jié)約時間、浪費(fèi)時間、擠搶時間、消磨時間、縮減時間、對時間的利用作出解釋；我們還要因付出時間而收取費(fèi)用。時間是一種寶貴的資源，許多人都深感人生的短暫。時光一去不復(fù)返。我們應(yīng)當(dāng)讓每一分鐘都過得有意義。外國人對美國的第一印象很可能是：每個人都匆匆忙忙常常處于壓力之下。城里人看上去總是在匆匆地趕往他們要去的地方，在商店里他們焦躁不安地指望店員能馬上來為他們服務(wù)，或者為了趕快買完東西，用肘來推搡他人。白天吃飯時人們也都匆匆忙忙，這部分地反映出這個國家的生活節(jié)奏。人們認(rèn)為工作時間是寶貴的。在公共用餐場所，人們都等著別人盡快吃完，以便他們也能及時用餐，你還會發(fā)現(xiàn)司機(jī)開車很魯莽，人們推搡著在你身邊過去。你會懷念微笑、簡短的交談以及與陌生人的隨意閑聊。不要覺得這是針對你個人的，這是因?yàn)槿藗兌挤浅Ｕ湎r間，而且也不喜歡他人“浪費(fèi)”時間到不恰當(dāng)?shù)牡夭?。許多剛到美國的人會懷念諸如商務(wù)拜訪等場合開始時的寒暄。他們也會懷念那種一邊喝茶或喝咖啡一邊進(jìn)行的禮節(jié)性交流，這也許是他們自己國家的一種習(xí)俗。他們也許還會懷念在飯店或咖啡館里談生意時的那種輕松悠閑的交談。一般說來，美國人是不會在如此輕松的環(huán)境里通過長時間的閑聊來評價(jià)他們的客人的，更不用說會在增進(jìn)相互間信任的過程中帶他們出去吃飯，或帶他們?nèi)ゴ蚋郀柗蚯?。既然我們通常是通過工作而不是社交來評估和了解他人，我們就開門見山地談?wù)?。因此，時間老是在我們心中滴滴答答地響著。因此，我們千方百計(jì)地節(jié)約時間。我們發(fā)明了一系列節(jié)省勞力的裝置；我們通過發(fā)傳真、打電話或發(fā)電子郵件與他人迅速地進(jìn)行交流，而不是通過直接接觸。雖然面對面接觸令人愉快，但卻要花更多的時間，尤其是在馬路上交通擁擠的時候。因此，我們把大多數(shù)個人拜訪安排在下班以后的時間里或周末的社交聚會上。就我們而言，電子交流的缺乏人情味與我們手頭上事情的重要性之間很少有或完全沒有關(guān)系。在有些國家，如果沒有目光接觸，就做不成大生意，這需要面對面的交談。在美國，最后協(xié)議通常也需要本人簽字。然而現(xiàn)在人們越來越多地在電視屏幕上見面，開遠(yuǎn)程會議不僅能解決本國的問題，而且還能通過衛(wèi)星解決國際問題。美國無疑是一個電話王國。幾乎每個人都在用電話做生意、與朋友聊天、安排或取消社交約會、表達(dá)謝意、購物和獲得各種信息。電話不但能免去走路之勞，而且還能節(jié)約大量時間。其部分原因在于這樣一個事實(shí)：美國的電話服務(wù)是一流的，而郵政服務(wù)的效率則差一些。有些初來美國的人來自文化背景不同的其他國家，在他們的國家，人們認(rèn)為工作太快是一種失禮。在他們看來，如果不花一定時間來處理某件事的話，那么這件事就好像是無足輕重的，不值得給予適當(dāng)?shù)闹匾暋?因此，人們覺得用的時間長會增加所做事情的重要性。但在美國，能迅速而又成功地解決問題或完成工作則被視為是有水平、有能力的標(biāo)志。通常情況下，工作越重要，投入的資金、精力和注意力就越多，其目的是“使工作開展起來”。Uint1 bDo you think studying in a different country is something that sounds very exciting?Are you like many young people who leave home to study in another country thinking you will have lots of fun? Certainly, it is a new experience, which brings the opportunity to discover fascinating things and a feeling of freedom. In spite of these advantages, however, there are also some challenges you will encounter. Because your views may clash with the different beliefs, norms, values and traditions that exist in different countries, you may have difficulty adjusting to a new culture and to those parts of the culture not familiar to you. This is called culture shock. At least four essential stages of adjustment occur during culture shock. The first stage is called the honeymoon. In this stage, you are excited about living in a different place, and everything seems to be marvelous. You like everything, and everybody seems to be so nice to you. Also, the amusement of life in a new culture seems to have no ending. Eventually, however, the second stage of culture shock appears. This is the hostility stage. You begin to notice that not everything is as good as you had originally thought it was. You become tired of many things about the new culture. Moreover, people dont treat you like a guest anymore. Everything that seemed to be so wonderful at first is now awful, and everything makes you feel distressed and tired. Usually at this point in your adjustment to a new culture, you devise some defense mechanisms to help you cope and to protect yourself against the effects of culture shock. One type of coping mechanism is called repression. This happens when you pretend that everything is acceptable and that nothing bothers you. Another type of defense mechanism is called regression. This occurs when you start to act as if you are younger than you actually are; you act like a child. You forget everything, and sometimes you become careless and irresponsible. The third kind of defense mechanism is called isolation. You would rather be home alone, and you dont want to communicate with anybody. With isolation, you try to avoid the effects of culture shock, or at least thats what you think. Isolation is one of the worst coping mechanisms you can use because it separates you from those things that could really help you. The last type of defense mechanism is called rejection. With this coping mechanism, you think you dont need anybody. You feel you are coping fine alone, so you dont try to ask for help. The defense mechanisms you utilize in the hostility stage are not helpful. If you only occasionally use one of these coping mechanisms to help yourself survive, that is acceptable. You must be cautious, however. These mechanisms can really hurt you because they prevent you from making necessary adjustments to the new culture. After you deal with your hostile feelings, recognition of the temporary nature of culture shock begins. Then you come to the third stage called recovery. In this stage, you start feeling more positive, and you try to develop comprehension of everything you dont understand. The whole situation starts to become more favorable; you recover from the symptoms of the first two stages, and you adjust yourself to the new norms, values, and even beliefs and traditions of the new country. You begin to see that even though the distinction of the culture is different from your own, it has elements that you can learn to appreciate. The last stage of culture shock is called adjustment. In this stage, you have reached a point where you actually feel good because you have learned enough to understand the new culture. The things that initially made you feel uncomfortable or strange are now things that you understand. This acquisition of understanding alleviates much of the stress. Now you feel comfortable; you have adjusted to the new culture. Culture shock is not something you can avoid when living in a foreign country. It does not seem like a very helpful experience when you are going through its four stages. However, when you have completely adjusted to a new culture you can more fully enjoy it. You learn how to interact with other people, and you learn a considerable amount about life in a culture that is not your own. Furthermore, learning about other cultures and how to adjust to the shock of living in them helps you learn more about yourself.你認(rèn)為在異國留學(xué)是一件聽上去非常令人興奮的事情嗎？ 你會像許多離家去另一個國家學(xué)習(xí)的年輕人一樣感覺很有趣嗎？ 這當(dāng)然是一種嶄新的經(jīng)歷，它會給你帶來機(jī)會，讓你發(fā)現(xiàn)許多迷人的東西，獲得一種自由感。然而，盡管有這些好處，你也會遇到挑戰(zhàn)。因?yàn)槟愕挠^點(diǎn)可能會與存在于不同國家的不同信念、準(zhǔn)則、價(jià)值觀念和傳統(tǒng)發(fā)生沖突。你也許會感到很難去適應(yīng)一種新的文化以及該文化中你不熟悉的那些部分。這就是“文化沖擊”。人們經(jīng)歷文化沖擊的過程至少包括四個主要階段。第一階段叫做“蜜月期”。在這一階段，你會感到生活在一個不同國度里很興奮，而且每一樣?xùn)|西看上去都妙不可言。你什么都喜歡，而且好像每個人都對你很好。另外，新的文化中的生活樂趣好像是無窮無盡的。然而，文化沖擊的第二階段終究會出現(xiàn)，這就是“敵對期”。你開始注意到并不是每樣?xùn)|西都像你原先認(rèn)為的那樣好。你會對新的文化里的許多東西感到厭倦。此外，人們也不再把你當(dāng)作一個客人來對待了。所有最初看上去非常美好的東西現(xiàn)在變得讓人討厭了，而且每一樣?xùn)|西都使你感到苦惱和厭倦。通常，在你適應(yīng)一種新文化的這一階段中，你會想出一些防衛(wèi)性的辦法來幫助你應(yīng)付難關(guān)，保護(hù)自己免受文化沖擊的影響。其中一種辦法叫做“壓抑法”。當(dāng)你假裝所有的東西都可以接受，沒有什么東西令你感到煩惱的時候，你就是在運(yùn)用壓抑法。另一種防衛(wèi)性辦法稱做“倒退法”。當(dāng)你的行為舉止開始顯得比你實(shí)際年齡要小的時候，你就是在運(yùn)用這種辦法。這時，你的行為舉止像一個小孩。你把什么都忘掉了，而且有時你會變得粗心大意，不負(fù)責(zé)任。第三種防衛(wèi)性辦法叫做“孤立法”。你寧可一個人呆在家里，不想和任何人交流。你想把自己封閉起來以避免文化沖擊的影響，至少你是這樣認(rèn)為的。孤立法也許是人們用來對付文化沖擊的最糟糕的辦法之一，因?yàn)槟惆涯切┠苷嬲龓椭愕臇|西和你隔離開來了。最后一種防衛(wèi)性辦法叫做“排斥法”。這一辦法讓你覺得自己不需要任何人幫助。你覺得你可以獨(dú)自把事情處理好，所以你就不想求助于人。你在敵意階段使用的這些辦法并不能解決問題。如果你僅僅是偶爾運(yùn)用一下其中一個應(yīng)付辦法來幫助你生存下去，這也無妨。但是你必須謹(jǐn)慎。這些辦法可能會真的使你受到傷害，因?yàn)樗鼈儠璧K你對新的文化作出必要的調(diào)整。在克服了自己的敵對情緒后，你就會開始認(rèn)識到文化沖擊的短暫性。然后你就會步入被稱為“恢復(fù)期”的第三階段。在這個階段，你開始變得積極起來，而且你會努力去理解所有你不理解的東西。整個形勢開始變得對你有利了，你會從前面兩個階段出現(xiàn)的癥狀中恢復(fù)過來。而且你開始使自己適應(yīng)新的準(zhǔn)則、新的價(jià)值觀念，乃至這個新的國家的各種信念和傳統(tǒng)。你開始明白，雖然這種新的文化的特點(diǎn)和你自己國家的文化特點(diǎn)有所不同，但其中也必定有值得你學(xué)習(xí)和欣賞的東西。文化沖擊的最后一個階段被稱為“適應(yīng)期”。在這個階段，你真正達(dá)到了感覺良好的境界，因?yàn)槟阋呀?jīng)學(xué)到了很多東西，已經(jīng)能理解這種新的文化了。最初使你感到不舒服或陌生的東西，現(xiàn)在已成了你能理解的東西。這種理解會減輕你的許多壓力?，F(xiàn)在你感到自在了，你已經(jīng)適應(yīng)了新的文化。文化沖擊是生活在異國他鄉(xiāng)的人無法避免的東西。當(dāng)你在經(jīng)歷文化沖擊的這四個階段時，它似乎并不是一件有益的事。然而，當(dāng)你完全適應(yīng)了某一種新的文化時，你會更加充分地喜愛這種文化的。你學(xué)會了如何和他人交流，而且還了解了不同文化背景下人們的大量生活情況。此外，了解其他各種文化，以及懂得當(dāng)你身處其中時如何去適應(yīng)所受到的沖擊，可以幫助你更好地了解自己。Uint2 a Nikolai Petrovich Anikin was not half as intimidating as I had imagined he would be. No, this surely was not the ex-Soviet coach my father had shipped me out to meet. But Nikolai he was, Petrovich and all. He invited me inside and sat down on the couch, patting the blanket next to him to get me to sit next to him. I was so nervous in his presence. You are young, he began in his Russian-style English. If you like to try for Olympic Games, I guess you will be able to do this. Nagano Olympics too soon for you, but for 2002 in Salt Lake City, you could be ready. Yes, why not? he replied to the shocked look on my face. I was a promising amateur skier, but by no means the top skier in the country. Of course, there will be many hard training sessions, and you will cry, but you will improve. To be sure, there were countless training sessions full of pain and more than a few tears, but in the five years that followed I could always count on being encouraged by Nikolais amusing stories and sense of humor. My friends, they go in the movies, they go in the dance, they go out with girls, he would start. But I, he would continue, lowering his voice, I am practice, practice, practice in the stadium. And by the next year, I had cut 1-1/2 minutes off my time in the 15-kilometer race! My friends asked me, Nikolai, how did you do it? And I replied, You go in the movies, you go in the dance, you go out with girls, but I am practice, practice, practice. Here the story usually ended, but on one occasion, which we later learned was his 25th wedding anniversary, he stood proudly in a worn woolen sweater and smiled and whispered, And I tell you, I am 26 years old before I ever kiss a girl! She was the woman I later marry. Romantic and otherwise, Nikolai knew love. His consistent good humor, quiet gratitude, perceptivity, and sincerity set an Olympic standard for love that I continue to reach for, even though my skiing days are over. Still, he never babied me. One February day I had a massive headache and felt quite fatigued. I came upon him in a clearing, and after approximately 15 minutes of striding into the cold breeze over the white powder to catch him, I fussed, Oh, Nikolai, I feel like I am going to die. When you are a hundred years old, everybody dies, he said, indifferent to my pain. But now, he continued firmly. Now must be ski, ski, ski.And, on skis, I did what he said. On other matters, though, I was rebellious. Once, he packed 10 of us into a Finnish bachelors tiny home for a low-budget ski camp. We awoke the first morning to find Nikolai making breakfast and then made quick work with our spoons while sitting on makeshift chairs around a tiny card table. When we were finished, Nikolai stacked the sticky bowls in front of my sole female teammate and me, asserting, Now, girls do dishes! I threw my napkin on the floor and swore at him, Ask the damn boys! This is unfair. He never asked this of me again, nor did he take much notice of my outburst. He saved his passion for skiing. When coaching, he would sing out his instructions keeping rhythm with our stride:Yes, yes, one-two-three, one-two-three. A dear lady friend of my grandfather, after viewing a copy of a video of me training with Nikolai, asked, Does he also teach dance?In training, I worked without rest to correct mistakes that Nikolai pointed out and I asked after each pass if it was better. Yes, its OK. But the faster knee down, the better. But is it fast enough? Id persist. Finally he would frown and say, Billion times you make motionthen be perfect, reminding me in an Ive-told-you-a-billion-times tone, You must be patient. Nikolais patience and my hard work earned me a fourth-place national ranking heading into the pre-Olympic season, but then I missed the cut for the 2002 Olympics. Last summer, I returned to visit Nikolai.He made me tea. and did the dishes! We talked while sitting on his couch. Missing the Olympic Team the previous year had made me pause and reflect on what I had gainednot the least of which was a quiet, indissoluble bond with a short man in a tropical shirt. Nikolai taught me to have the courage, heart, and discipline to persist, even if it takes a billion tries. He taught me to be thankful in advance for a century of life on earth, and to remind myself every day that despite the challenges at hand, Now must be love, love, love.尼克萊彼得羅維奇安尼金一點(diǎn)都不像我想象的那么嚇人。不，他不可能是我父親特地送我來見的那位前蘇聯(lián)教練。可他的確是尼克萊彼得羅維奇安尼金本人。他請我進(jìn)門，在沙發(fā)上坐下，又拍了拍身邊的墊子，讓我坐在他旁邊。在他面前，我真的很緊張?！澳氵€年輕，”他的英語帶著俄語口音：“如果你愿意試著向奧林匹克運(yùn)動會進(jìn)軍，我想你能行。長野奧運(yùn)會來不及參加了，但你可以準(zhǔn)備參加2002年鹽湖城奧運(yùn)會?！?“完全可以，不是嗎？”看到我臉上驚愕的表情，他又說道。我那時是一個很有前途的業(yè)余滑雪運(yùn)動員，但在國內(nèi)決不是頂尖選手?！爱?dāng)然，你需要進(jìn)行很多艱苦的訓(xùn)練，你會哭鼻子，但你一定會進(jìn)步的?！?的確，后來我經(jīng)歷了無數(shù)痛苦的訓(xùn)練，還為此流了不少眼淚。但在后來的五年里，我總能從尼克萊講的有趣故事和他的幽默感中得到鼓勵。他開始總是說：“我的朋友們常去看電影