《新編英語(yǔ)教程》第 4 冊(cè)的課文

1、新編英語(yǔ)教程（修訂版）第四冊(cè) Unit 1 見(jiàn)教材P1This year its going to be different  今年會(huì)有所不同Will Stanton (U.S.)威爾.斯坦頓（美國(guó)）New Years resolutions are like anything elseyou get out of them what you put in. Judging from results of other years, I had never put enough in, but this year was going to be different. I read bo

2、oks on self-improvement before I wrote my list. Find some beauty in everything. Make the other fellow feel important. About thirty like that. Pretty clearly, anyone who followed my collection of rules would be blessed with a richer life, boundless love from his family, and the admiration of the comm

3、unity. I could hardly wait until New Years Day. 新年計(jì)劃和其他任何事物一樣你付出多少，你就收獲多少。從往年的結(jié)果來(lái)看，我就從來(lái)沒(méi)有付出過(guò)，但是今年將有所不同。我讀了一些關(guān)于自我提高的書(shū)，并作了記錄：要發(fā)現(xiàn)各種事物的美；要讓對(duì)方感覺(jué)到自己受到尊重，大約有三十條。很顯然，任何人，只要遵循我搜集的這些規(guī)則，都會(huì)享有更加豐富的人生，都會(huì)從家庭中獲得無(wú)盡的關(guān)愛(ài)，都會(huì)受到社區(qū)居民的尊重。我?guī)缀跗炔患按匾^(guò)新年了。 When I came downstairs Maggie, my wife, was at the kitchen sink. I tipto

4、ed over and kissed her on the back of the neck. (Resolution No. 1: Be spontaneous in showing affection.) She shrieked and dropped a cup. “Dont ever sneak up on me like that again!” she cried. 我下了樓梯，妻子Maggie正在廚房的洗滌槽旁邊。我躡手躡腳地走了過(guò)去，朝她的后頸吻了一下。（新年計(jì)劃的第一條：要主動(dòng)表示關(guān)心。）她尖叫一聲，把一個(gè)茶杯摔倒地上，對(duì)我大聲嚷道“再也不要悄悄地走到我身后啦！” “You

5、re looking lovely this morning,” I said. (A sincere compliment is worth its weight in gold. )“你今天上午看起來(lái)非?？蓯?ài)，”我說(shuō)。（新年計(jì)劃：真誠(chéng)的贊美像金子一樣寶貴。）“Look,” she said, “it wasnt my idea to stay out until four a.m.” “要知道，”她說(shuō)，“并不是我想要在外邊待到凌晨四點(diǎn)的。”I took some aspirin and coffee into the living room. Id just started reading

6、 the paper when Sammy, our five-year-old, came in. He was wearing the watch hed received for Christmas. “Say, Dad,” he said, “what makes a watch run?” 我拿了一些阿司匹林和咖啡來(lái)到客廳。我剛要開(kāi)始讀報(bào)，就在這時(shí)，五歲的兒子Sammy進(jìn)來(lái)了。他正戴著手表，那是他收到的圣誕禮物。他說(shuō)：“爸爸，是什么讓這個(gè)表轉(zhuǎn)起來(lái)的呢？” In the old days I would have told him to ask his mother. Instead,

7、 I got a pencil and drew a sketch of the escapement mechanism. (Always encourage your childs curiosity.) It took about fifteen minutes, and Sammy wandered off several times, but I kept calling him back. “There,” I said, “thats what makes your watch run.” 要是在以前，我會(huì)讓兒子去問(wèn)他媽媽，而這次我拿了一支鉛筆，給他畫(huà)了一張手表的擒縱結(jié)構(gòu)圖。（新

8、年計(jì)劃：要時(shí)刻鼓勵(lì)孩子的好奇心。）畫(huà)圖大約用了十五分鐘，在此期間Sammy有幾次走開(kāi)，但我都把他叫了回來(lái)?！澳憧矗蔽艺f(shuō)，“就是這個(gè)讓表轉(zhuǎn)起來(lái)的。” “Then how come it doesnt?” he asked. “那表為什么又停了呢？”他又問(wèn)道。His brother Roy walked by. “You have to wind it,” said Roy. Sammy wound it and held it to his ear. He smiled. “Roy sure is smart,” he said. 這時(shí)他的哥哥Roy經(jīng)過(guò)?！澳阋o表上發(fā)條才行，”Roy說(shuō)。Sa

9、mmy 上了發(fā)條，又拿到耳朵上聽(tīng)。他笑了，說(shuō)：“Roy真聰明?！監(jiān)ur daughter Gretchen came in with her doll, Mrs. Robinson. “Good morning, Gretchen,” I said. “Happy New Year, Mrs. Robinson.” (Meet your child at his own level. ) 我們的女兒Gretchen抱著她的玩偶Robinson夫人進(jìn)來(lái)了，我說(shuō):“早上好，Gretchen；新年快樂(lè)，Robinson夫人?！保ㄐ履暧?jì)劃：要在孩子的層面上和他們交流。）“It isnt either

10、happy,” said Gretchen. “Mrs. Robinson is sick. Probably a coronary.”“她一點(diǎn)都不快樂(lè)，”Gretchen說(shuō)，“Robinson夫人病了，可能得了冠狀動(dòng)脈血栓癥。”“Why dont you take her to see Dr. Sammy?” I suggested. “He can use his new doctors kit.”“你為什么不帶她去看Sammy醫(yī)生呢？”我建議，“他會(huì)用他的新醫(yī)藥箱給她看病。”The phone rang, and I answered it. It was a friend of our

11、 daughter Kit. “Happy New Year, Marilyn,” I said. “What have you been doing over the holidays?” (Show an interest in your children's friends.) She said she hadnt been doing anything much. “Come now, a pretty girl like you,” I said jovially“Ill bet the fellows are swarming around .Whats that? Yes

12、, of course you can speak to Kit. Certainly.” 電話鈴響了，我接聽(tīng)了電話，是我女兒Kit的一個(gè)朋友打來(lái)的。“新年快樂(lè)，Marilyn,”我說(shuō)，“假期里，你一直在做什么呢？”（新年計(jì)劃：要多多關(guān)注你孩子的朋友。）她說(shuō)沒(méi)做什么?！暗昧税桑衲氵@樣漂亮的女孩子，”我很輕松地說(shuō)到，“我敢說(shuō)你身邊追求你的男孩子成群成隊(duì)的 什么？好的，你當(dāng)然可以和Kit通話?！盞it was in her room with the record player going very loud. I rapped on the door. She called out somet

13、hing, and I went in. She was in her pajamas. “I didnt say you could come in!” she yelled, grabbing a robe and holding it in front of her. At fourteen, she has become extremely aware of being female. Kit正在自己的房間，唱片機(jī)的聲音非常響。我敲敲她的房門，她咕咕噥噥不知道說(shuō)了些什么，于是我就進(jìn)去了。她正穿著睡衣?！拔覜](méi)有說(shuō)你可以進(jìn)來(lái)！”她大聲喊道，隨手抓起一件浴巾搭在胸前。小丫頭十四歲了，已經(jīng)完全

14、意識(shí)到了自己的性別。 “Im sorry. I couldnt understand you,” I said apologetically. To ease the situation, I picked up her brand-new sweater from the floor and put it over a chair. “很抱歉，我剛才沒(méi)有明白你的意思，”我向她道歉。為了緩解尷尬氣氛，我撿起了她掉在地上的新毛衣，搭在了椅子上。 “I was going to pick it up,” she said defensively. “You dont always put your

15、 things away.” “我正要撿起來(lái)的，”她解釋說(shuō)，“你也不總是收拾東西的。”There was a series of shrieks down the hall. I found Gretchen in tears. Roy and Sammy were about to perform open-heart surgery on Mrs. Robinson with a scout knife. “She told us Mrs. Robinson was sick,” Roy said.走廊那頭傳來(lái)幾聲尖叫，我走過(guò)去（譯者加注），發(fā)現(xiàn)Gretchen正在大哭。原來(lái)Roy和Sam

16、my正要拿一把童子軍佩刀給她的玩偶Robinson夫人做開(kāi)胸手術(shù)?！八龑?duì)我們說(shuō)Robinson夫人生病了，”Roy說(shuō)。I suggested that they carve something for their mother- like a salad spoon.(Encourage creativity in the young. ) 我建議Roy和Sammy用刀給他們的媽媽刻點(diǎn)東西，比方說(shuō)一把沙拉勺子。（新年計(jì)劃：要鼓勵(lì)孩子們的創(chuàng)造力。）In the kitchen, Maggie wanted to know what was wrong with Gretchen. “Mrs. R

17、obinson had a coronary,” I told her. 廚房里，Maggie想知道Gretchen出了什么事。“Robinson夫人得了冠狀動(dòng)脈血栓癥，”我告訴她。 “I know youre not feeling your best after last night,” she said, “but Im getting a little tired of these smart remarks. Would you mind taking the garbage out?” “我知道你從昨天晚上到現(xiàn)在心情都不好(氣都不順)，”她說(shuō)，“但是我現(xiàn)在有點(diǎn)討厭這些花言巧語(yǔ)了。你

18、介意把這些垃圾送出去嗎？” “Id be happy to,” I said. (The most trivial chore can prove rewarding if approached with zest.) “我很樂(lè)意效勞，”我說(shuō)。（新年計(jì)劃：如果滿腔熱情，即使是最瑣碎的小事也可能會(huì)非常有意義。） “Do you have to be so sarcastic?” she said. “你非得這樣挖苦人嗎？”她說(shuō)。It seemed that my resolutions werent working the way the books had said. I didnt quit

19、, though. I helped the boys build a snowman-only Sammy got his feet wet and Roy lost his mittens and they went inside. I played jacks with Gretchen, but she said I didnt do it right. I struck up a conversation with Kit, trying to establish some kind of rapport. I touched on hippies, pop music, datin

20、g, morality and so on. She contributed very little. Anybody else would have thrown in the sponge, but I kept trying. For example, Maggie always dreads taking down the Christmas tree, so I thought Id do it for her. (Take over one of your wifes chores, shell love you for it. ) 似乎我制定的這些新年計(jì)劃并沒(méi)有像書(shū)本上講的那樣有

21、效，但是我沒(méi)有放棄。我?guī)蛢鹤觽兌蚜艘粋€(gè)雪人，只是Sammy把鞋子弄濕了，而Roy把他的連指手套弄丟了，最后他們都回室內(nèi)了。我和Gretchen一起玩拋石子游戲，但是她說(shuō)我的玩法不對(duì)。我還和Kit一起聊天，試圖在父女之間建立某種良好關(guān)系。我談到了嬉皮士、流行音樂(lè)、約會(huì)、道德、等等，然而她很少說(shuō)話。要是換了別人，早就放棄了，但是我沒(méi)有。例如，Maggie總是很害怕拆卸圣誕樹(shù)，所以我覺(jué)得我應(yīng)該替她做這件事。（新年計(jì)劃：幫妻子做一件家務(wù)，她會(huì)因此更加愛(ài)你。） I was about two thirds done when Maggie came in. “Oh, no!” she cried. “I

22、 wanted it left up for the party tonight. Cant you just sit and watch a football game? Please? Its what you usually do on New Years.” 當(dāng)我做到大約三分之二的時(shí)候，Maggie進(jìn)來(lái)了?！芭叮灰?！”她大聲嚷道，“我留著它，就是為了給今天晚上的派對(duì)用的。你能不能坐下來(lái)看看球賽呀？求求你了，那才是你新年時(shí)最喜歡做的事呀！” “ This year is different,” I said. “今年將有所不同，”我說(shuō)?！癥es, isnt it?” She

23、shook her head. “I swear I dont know. The kids have been impossible all day. I found the boys whittling on my best salad spoon, and then they had the nerve to say you suggested it. And Kit has been in a poisonous mood. She said that Marilyn phoned and you didnt tell her. And that you cross-examined

24、Marilyn about her boyfriends.” “是嗎？”她搖了搖頭?！拔业谜f(shuō)我不知道今年有什么不同，孩子們一整天都不正常，我發(fā)現(xiàn)兒子們?cè)谝稽c(diǎn)點(diǎn)地削我那把最好的沙拉勺子，而且他們居然說(shuō)是你建議他們那樣做的。Kit的情緒也很不好，她說(shuō)Marilyn打電話來(lái)，你沒(méi)有告訴她，而且你還盤(pán)問(wèn)Marilyn關(guān)于男朋友的事。” “Hold it!” I said. “I was only making small talk.” By now the kids were in the room, drawn by the commotion. “不要說(shuō)了！”我說(shuō)，“我只是和她閑聊了幾句?！边@時(shí)孩

25、子們都來(lái)到了這個(gè)房間，他們都是被我們的吵鬧聲吸引過(guò)來(lái)的。 “You never bothered with small talk before. Why start now?”“可是你以前從來(lái)都不費(fèi)心和孩子們閑聊的呀。為什么現(xiàn)在開(kāi)始了呢？”“Because its New Years,” I said. I explained to the assembled gathering about the books and the resolutions and what Id been trying to accomplish. Silence. The kids stood there loo

26、king uneasily at each other. “A man wants to improve himself,” I said. “He wants to be a better husband, a better father-”   “因?yàn)檫@是我制定的新年計(jì)劃，”我說(shuō)。我把全家人召集到一起，給他們解釋我看過(guò)的那些書(shū)，我制定的新年計(jì)劃，以及我想要達(dá)到的目標(biāo)。他們都沉默了。孩子們坐在那里，惶恐不安地互相看著。“一個(gè)男人想要提升自己，”我說(shuō)，“他想要做一個(gè)更稱職的丈夫，一個(gè)更稱職的爸爸” “We all want to be better,” Maggie said. “E

27、xcept that when youre so considerate it doesnt seem natural. If the kids do something and you get mad, they know where they stand.But when youre so even-tempered” “我們都想變得更好，”Maggie說(shuō)，“只是你一下子變得這么體貼，好像很不自然。如果孩子們做了什么事情，你暴跳如雷，那他們就會(huì)知道自己錯(cuò)了。但是，你一下子脾氣變得這么好，” “Yeah,” Kit said. “You didnt say a word about my c

28、lothes on the floor. You just smiled. It made me sick.”“對(duì)呀，”Kit說(shuō)，“以前我的衣服掉在地上，你一句話都不說(shuō)，而你現(xiàn)在只是笑一笑，這讓我很不舒服。” Roy said, “I been in more trouble today .” Roy說(shuō)：“今天我也感到很別扭。” Gretchen said, “I think it was better when you didnt play jacks.”Gretchen說(shuō)：“我覺(jué)得你還是沒(méi)有和我一起玩拋石子游戲時(shí)，更好一些?！?“And yelled,” Sammy said, “and

29、said damitall.” “還有大喊大叫，”Sammy也說(shuō)，“還有你罵人?！?“All right,” I snarled. “I make every effort to be a good father, and this is the thanks I get. The fact is, you dont deserve the father youve got. " “好啦，”我很生氣地說(shuō)到，“我盡一切努力想做一個(gè)好爸爸，但這就是我得到的結(jié)果。事實(shí)上，你們不配有我這樣的爸爸?！盜 was illustrating my points with gestures.“You

30、re the ones whod better start making resolutions. Like doing your homework, cleaning your rooms, letting the spoons alone. And when I tell you to do something, jump!” 我連說(shuō)帶比劃地解釋我的觀點(diǎn)。“你們最好也制定自己的新年計(jì)劃。比方說(shuō)，寫(xiě)作業(yè)，打掃房間，不要亂動(dòng)勺子。還有，我讓你們做什么，你們要馬上去做?！盜 reached out to steady a lamp I had brushed with my sleeve. “F

31、urthermore-” At this moment, I realized suddenly that the atmosphere had changed. The kids were sprawled on the floor, relaxed. I turned to Maggie. 我伸手去扶我用袖子不小心撞倒的臺(tái)燈?！斑€有，”就在這時(shí)，我突然發(fā)現(xiàn)家里的氣氛一下子全變了，孩子們亂七八糟地坐在地板上放松著。我轉(zhuǎn)向Maggie，問(wèn)她。 “Why is everybody smiling? Whats the big joke?”“為什么都在笑？有什么好笑的呢？” “No joke, ”

32、she said. “Were just happy to have you back again. ”“沒(méi)什么，”她說(shuō)，“我們只是很高興，你又做回了原來(lái)的自己?！苯Y(jié)束Unit 2見(jiàn)教材P21 Englishes英語(yǔ)的文體      Randolph Quirk （U.S.） 倫道夫.夸克（英國(guó)） Of course a scale of styles exists in all our use of English. Each of us works not just with one English but with many Englis

33、hes, and the wider the range of our life and the more various the contacts we have, the wider and suppler must be our command over a range of English styles, each of witch we know how to use consistently. A haphazard knowledge of several styles may be worse than useless if we do not know the type of

34、 occasion on which each is appropriate, or if we do not know when we are sliding from one to another. We do not say, “It was extremely gracious of you to invite me, Lady Jones, and Ive had bags of fun ”,because “bags of fun” does not mix with “extremely gracious”, and because to use an expression li

35、ke “bags of fun,” we should need to know Lady Jones well enough to be addressing he by first name. 毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，我們使用的英語(yǔ)中存在程度不同的文體差異。我們每個(gè)人工作中使用的不是一種英語(yǔ)文體，而是多種文體。我們的生活圈子越大，接觸的范圍越廣，那么我們對(duì)各種文體的駕馭也就必須更加靈活廣泛，我們要知道怎樣做到文體運(yùn)用前后一致。如果不知道每種問(wèn)題所適用的情景類型，或者不知道文體在悄悄地轉(zhuǎn)換，那么我們只是草草了解幾種文體，其后果與其說(shuō)是無(wú)用，還不如說(shuō)是更糟糕。我們通常不會(huì)說(shuō)，“It was extremel

36、y gracious of you to invite me, Lady Jones, and I have had bags of fun,” 因?yàn)閎ags of fun 不能與extremely gracious搭配。另外，我們要使用bags of fun這樣的詞語(yǔ)，那我們就應(yīng)該和Lady Jones 非常熟悉，可以直呼其名才可以。  It is notwe must never tire of insistingthat bags of fun can be labelled “bad” or “slovenly” English, “a lazy substitute for

37、 thought”. “Bags of fun” is no more a lazy substitute for thought in its appropriate setting than is “extremely gracious”in the setting that is appropriate for this expression. As we have seen repeatedly, it is the height of naivety to go round with a single yardstick, measuring English as “good” or

38、 “bad”. Take the opening suggested earlier for an informal letter: “My dear Frank, it was awfully nice to get your note the other day.” Here are the words that would greatly pleased the receiver with their warmth and friendliness, yet they include awfully, get and nice, three words which have been c

39、ondemned so often that many people cannot write them without having a slight feeling of guilty. They have been called “slovenly” and even “meaningless”. Such an attitude is plainly ridiculous and can do nothing but harm to the good use of English.這并不是說(shuō)我們絕對(duì)不能厭倦這種堅(jiān)持bags of fun是“糟糕的”或“錯(cuò)誤的”英語(yǔ)表達(dá)式，它也不是“胡亂

40、想出來(lái)的表達(dá)式”。如果在適當(dāng)?shù)那榫持?，bags of fun 就不是胡亂想出來(lái)的，就像這里使用地非常恰當(dāng)?shù)膃xtremely gracious一樣。正如我們一再看到的，處處用一把標(biāo)尺來(lái)衡量英語(yǔ)表達(dá)式是“好”是“壞”，這種做法幼稚之極。我們以一封平信的開(kāi)頭為例，My dear Frank, it was awfully nice to get your note the other day。這其中有些詞很能讓人感覺(jué)到溫暖和友誼，但是，其中的awfully，get和 nice三個(gè)詞常常受到批評(píng)，我們?cè)S多人在用時(shí)內(nèi)心不可能沒(méi)有一點(diǎn)內(nèi)疚。它們被看作是“邋遢的”、甚至是“沒(méi)有意義的”用法，這樣的態(tài)度完全

41、荒謬，這只會(huì)有害于我們正確使用英語(yǔ)。  But it would be equally ridiculous to reverse the judgement just as flatly. It is the type of judgement that is wrong: it is not merely that the judgement is faulty in this particular instance. If we were studying a review and found the comment “This is an awfully nice book,

42、” our reaction to the words in this situation might well be to call them slovenly and meaningless. We do not want merely polite noises in a review: we want some precise observations about the books content and quality. Equally, however, we should disapprove of the English used if we were greeted by

43、a party with the words, “I apprehend an atmosphere of spontaneous delight with your arrival,” whereas “Awfully nice to see you here” would strike us as just right. 但是，如果完全改變這種判斷，也同樣荒謬。錯(cuò)的是判斷的類型，也就是說(shuō)，并不只是在這個(gè)特定情景中的判斷錯(cuò)了。假設(shè)我們研究一則英語(yǔ)書(shū)評(píng)，發(fā)現(xiàn)其中有這樣的句子“This is an awfully nice book”，面對(duì)這個(gè)情境中使用的這些詞，我們的反映很可能是認(rèn)為這些詞很草

44、率，也沒(méi)有意義。我們不想看到書(shū)評(píng)中只有華麗的語(yǔ)言，我們更想看到的是對(duì)書(shū)的內(nèi)容和質(zhì)量所作的點(diǎn)評(píng)。同樣，如果在一個(gè)舞會(huì)上，有朋友這樣和我們打招呼時(shí)，說(shuō)“I apprehend an atmosphere of spontaneous delight with your arrival，”那我們也不會(huì)贊同這樣的說(shuō)法，但是我們完全接受“Awfully nice to see you here”這樣的表達(dá)方式。結(jié) 束 見(jiàn)教材P32美國(guó)英語(yǔ)和英國(guó)英語(yǔ)是兩種語(yǔ)言，還是一種語(yǔ)言？           

45、   作者：倫道夫.夸克（英國(guó)）；阿爾伯特.馬克沃達(dá)特（美國(guó)） American Voice: 美國(guó)與英國(guó)地理相隔，這種狀況將會(huì)導(dǎo)致北美洲總有一天會(huì)出現(xiàn)一種新的語(yǔ)言，它不同于英國(guó)未來(lái)的語(yǔ)言，就像現(xiàn)代荷蘭語(yǔ)、丹麥語(yǔ)和瑞典語(yǔ)不同于德語(yǔ)，以及它們彼此之間互不相同一樣。Quirk: 嗯，Albert（簡(jiǎn)稱Al），這是Noah Webster對(duì)英語(yǔ)的未來(lái)所持有的觀點(diǎn)?，F(xiàn)在看來(lái)，的確如此，鑒于語(yǔ)言變化的速度，那一天的到來(lái)已經(jīng)為時(shí)不遠(yuǎn)了。盡管如此，在我看來(lái)，Webster提出的那些詞現(xiàn)在似乎還沒(méi)有成為現(xiàn)實(shí)的跡象。畢竟，Webster是在1800左右寫(xiě)到這些詞的，而現(xiàn)在是一百六十多年以后，

46、我們?cè)诤茌p松地聊這個(gè)話題。Marckwardt: 當(dāng)然了，Randolph；但是公平地來(lái)說(shuō)，Webster在1828年的時(shí)候已經(jīng)修正了他在這個(gè)問(wèn)題上的觀點(diǎn)，他說(shuō)我們兩個(gè)國(guó)家在本質(zhì)上講的是相同的語(yǔ)言，而且他還指出，這一點(diǎn)非常重要，我相信你也會(huì)贊同，他說(shuō)我們兩個(gè)國(guó)家有必要將這些相同永遠(yuǎn)保持下去。Quirk：是的，的確如此。從那以后，這一直是我們兩個(gè)國(guó)家中那些有責(zé)任感的公民的共同目標(biāo)，但是，我發(fā)現(xiàn)其實(shí)我一直都有發(fā)現(xiàn)世界上許多地方的教師很擔(dān)心英語(yǔ)的這兩種變體，他們不知道應(yīng)該教授哪一種。你遇到過(guò)這樣的問(wèn)題嗎？Marckwardt: 嗯，是的，這也是我所不贊成的?，F(xiàn)在人們似乎都在很嚴(yán)肅地看待My Fair

47、 Lady中講到的那個(gè)笑話，它說(shuō)到有些美國(guó)人已經(jīng)多年不講英語(yǔ)了。Quirk：是的，但是如果你說(shuō)你在講英語(yǔ)，那為什么你們國(guó)家的一些人卻不承認(rèn)這一事實(shí)，而談?wù)摗懊勒Z(yǔ)”（the American Language）呢？畢竟，The American Language 是H.L.Mencken那本很有名的書(shū)的名字。Marckwardt: 嗯，我不知道他們不承認(rèn)這一事實(shí)。記得，Menchen是在1919年給他的那本書(shū)命名的。那時(shí)，第一次世界大戰(zhàn)剛剛結(jié)束，那也許是美國(guó)人有史以來(lái)第一次那么大規(guī)模地了解到英國(guó)人講的英語(yǔ)和美國(guó)人講的英語(yǔ)是兩種不同的變體。就像Webster早期的觀點(diǎn)一樣，Mencken認(rèn)為這兩種

48、變體正漸行漸遠(yuǎn)，但是就像Webster一樣，Mencken大約在1936年時(shí)對(duì)這個(gè)問(wèn)題又有了新的觀點(diǎn)。Quirk：但是，他的書(shū)名沒(méi)有變化，如果你不把你們那種形式的英語(yǔ)叫做the American Language的話，那么當(dāng)你想把你們的語(yǔ)言和我們這種變體加以區(qū)分時(shí)，你怎么稱呼它呢 ？Marckwardt: 我個(gè)人總是傾向于使用the American English這個(gè)詞，我認(rèn)為the American English 是一種變體（variety），而不是方言（dialect）。稱其為一種變體更恰當(dāng)，因?yàn)楫吘乖谖覀儍蓢?guó)的語(yǔ)言中有很多種方言，所以稱其為“方言”可能會(huì)誤導(dǎo)他人。Quirk：我完全贊

49、同這種處理方式。有件事讓我很困惑，就是Americanism（美式英語(yǔ)用法）這個(gè)詞。你知道，我們?cè)谟?guó)常常說(shuō)到這個(gè)詞，在你們美國(guó)，這被看作是一個(gè)不禮貌的，或者表示優(yōu)越感的詞嗎 ？Marckwardt: 一點(diǎn)也不，我們?cè)诿绹?guó)把那些美國(guó)獨(dú)有的用法稱作是Americanism，而且美國(guó)詞典中也是這樣標(biāo)注的。Quirk：Al，我可以再問(wèn)你一個(gè)問(wèn)題嗎？當(dāng)你們說(shuō)American English時(shí)，你們也把the English of Canada和 the English of the United States都包括在內(nèi)嗎 ？Marckwardt: American這個(gè)詞總是給美國(guó)人帶來(lái)很多麻煩。你知道

50、，我們實(shí)際上是只用American這一個(gè)詞來(lái)指代美國(guó)的人和物，但與此同時(shí)，這個(gè)詞也可以指整個(gè)美洲大陸，因此雖然the English of Canada和 the English of the United States之間有一些差異，但是并不很多，所以我們用American English這個(gè)詞來(lái)涵蓋兩者，或者涵蓋整個(gè)北美洲的英語(yǔ)似乎也完全可以?，F(xiàn)在我來(lái)問(wèn)你一個(gè)類似的問(wèn)題，你們?cè)谟?guó)怎么稱呼你們的那種英語(yǔ)變體呢？Quirk：嗯，對(duì)于我們來(lái)說(shuō)，這個(gè)問(wèn)題好像也不那么容易，而且毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)也沒(méi)有那么多的共識(shí)。畢竟，我們不像你們那樣有實(shí)際動(dòng)機(jī)非要找到一個(gè)專門的術(shù)語(yǔ)。English這個(gè)詞和不列顛諸島上人口

51、最稠密的地區(qū)England是一致的。而且，你知道的，當(dāng)你們美洲殖民地獨(dú)立以后，我們并沒(méi)有成為一個(gè)新的民族，而且對(duì)于很多英國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)，這個(gè)問(wèn)題根本就不存在，我們的語(yǔ)言就叫做英語(yǔ)。Marckwardt: 嗯，我們的也是。Quirk：但是，我現(xiàn)在很高興地要說(shuō)，近年來(lái)，我們逐漸意識(shí)到世界上有多種英語(yǔ)變體，我們英國(guó)人的視野也更加開(kāi)闊，而且我認(rèn)為我們英國(guó)人中說(shuō)British English的也更加普遍。你知道，我們也存在著命名問(wèn)題，British這個(gè)詞本身就提出了一個(gè)問(wèn)題，因?yàn)樗c英聯(lián)邦（the Commonwealth）常常聯(lián)系在一起，因此British English可以指受英國(guó)政治影響之下的任何一種形

52、式的英語(yǔ)。反過(guò)來(lái)，我認(rèn)為這個(gè)問(wèn)題正逐漸得到解決，因?yàn)槲覀儸F(xiàn)在越來(lái)越多地說(shuō)到“澳大利亞英語(yǔ)”、“新西蘭英語(yǔ)”、“印度英語(yǔ)”，等等。這就使得British English可以非常清楚地指代the English of the British Isles。Marckwardt: 現(xiàn)在，你們用什么來(lái)指稱一個(gè)英國(guó)特有的用法呢？我們用Americanism，你們會(huì)說(shuō)某個(gè)用法屬于Briticism嗎 ？Quirk：不，這個(gè)詞非常少用。我認(rèn)為Briticism或Anglicism可能只對(duì)于研究英語(yǔ)的語(yǔ)言學(xué)家有價(jià)值，而對(duì)于普通的英國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)，這樣的兩個(gè)詞只會(huì)讓他們茫然。他們甚至?xí)J(rèn)為Briticism這個(gè)概念會(huì)讓

53、人有點(diǎn)兒不舒服。Marckwardt: 我完全可以理解。但是現(xiàn)在我們絕對(duì)不可以讓這場(chǎng)關(guān)于如何稱呼這兩種英語(yǔ)變體的討論失控。很顯然，我們不想給人造成這樣的印象：我們這兩種英語(yǔ)之間只有差異。Quirk：事實(shí)上會(huì)的，尤其是當(dāng)其他所有人似乎在討論這個(gè)問(wèn)題時(shí)，他們往往只關(guān)注差異。Marckwardt: 是的，我不知道為什么會(huì)是這樣。我認(rèn)為這些差異非常小，所以對(duì)于英國(guó)人和美國(guó)人來(lái)說(shuō)，唯一值得關(guān)注的就是兩者之間的差異，而不是相似之處。當(dāng)然，無(wú)論多小，差異都是非常重要的。我們以人際稱呼為例，我們兩個(gè)已經(jīng)相識(shí)十幾年了，如果我們以除名字之外的任何方式來(lái)稱呼對(duì)方的話，都會(huì)顯得非常別扭，非常做作。Quirk：嗯，我認(rèn)

54、為，從某種程度上說(shuō)，那是對(duì)的。說(shuō)實(shí)話，我認(rèn)為如果我們是在做與綜藝節(jié)目有關(guān)的事情時(shí)，那么BBC會(huì)允許我們自主決定以名字稱呼彼此。但是在一個(gè)教育性的，更為嚴(yán)肅的節(jié)目，就像我們現(xiàn)在這樣的，我認(rèn)為BBC還是希望我們僅僅以姓氏相稱，就是Marckwardt和Quirk。在這方面，你怎么看？Marckwardt: 在美國(guó)，我認(rèn)為如果是在非常重要的場(chǎng)合，我們以“教授”相互稱呼對(duì)方；如果在不太正式的場(chǎng)合，我們會(huì)說(shuō)“先生”，但是在這兩種場(chǎng)合，我們也都可以稱呼姓氏。但是，在美國(guó)僅僅用姓氏相稱會(huì)導(dǎo)致一種非常錯(cuò)誤的印象，會(huì)令我們顯得很疏遠(yuǎn)。Quirk：對(duì)于這種狀況，我并不感到吃驚，因?yàn)樵谟?guó)也是如此。只用姓氏相稱，許

55、多人都容易誤解。我認(rèn)為主要在倫敦和英國(guó)南部地區(qū)以姓氏相稱被看作是禮貌隨和的表現(xiàn)，所以你看在這個(gè)方面，英國(guó)用法和美國(guó)用法之間并沒(méi)有明顯的不同，許多用法是相互重疊的。美國(guó)人使用trade這個(gè)詞，隨之在英美之間出現(xiàn)了一個(gè)輕微的，但是又讓很多人困惑的差異。當(dāng)聽(tīng)到一個(gè)美國(guó)朋友說(shuō)他在某家商店或其他地方trade時(shí)，我明顯感到短暫的驚異。在我們看來(lái)，這就像是說(shuō)他正在把物品賣給商家而不是購(gòu)買。無(wú)論如何，給人的感覺(jué)就是他絕不僅僅是在柜臺(tái)與柜臺(tái)之間徘徊買東西，幾乎就像是他在和商家討價(jià)還價(jià)。Marckwardt：這恰恰就是我們對(duì)這個(gè)詞的用法。畢竟，美國(guó)在整個(gè)十九世紀(jì)都是一個(gè)邊緣國(guó)家，大片國(guó)土還沒(méi)有開(kāi)發(fā)，因此有些地方

56、沒(méi)有銀行，也可能沒(méi)有最基本的商業(yè)機(jī)構(gòu)shops，就像你們所說(shuō)的。對(duì)于店主來(lái)說(shuō)，在這些地方做生意的唯一方式就是接受顧客所能夠提供的農(nóng)副產(chǎn)品、手工制品或野物，然后作為回報(bào)，把一定量的讓顧客感興趣的任何商品交給他們。所以，你看，to trade逐漸和to shop獲得了完全相同的意義，因?yàn)槟蔷褪侨藗冊(cè)?jīng)的支付方式。Quirk：是的，你知道，英國(guó)人所說(shuō)的to trade與普通的購(gòu)物客有明顯的不同。Marckwardt：是的，這就是為什么人們?cè)谂l(fā)店門口看到的Sold Only To the Trade這樣的英國(guó)英語(yǔ)表達(dá)式讓許多美國(guó)人感到不解的原因。Quirk：是的，你非常了解這個(gè)表達(dá)式的意義，對(duì)吧？它

57、的意思是說(shuō)本店只向其他商家出售商品，事實(shí)上它的意思完全等同于美國(guó)人所說(shuō)的Wholesale Only，當(dāng)然我們?cè)谟?guó)也用這種表達(dá)式。Marckwardt：最近，我在英國(guó)一個(gè)分類廣告上看到有職位招聘一欄，上邊寫(xiě)到Shop and Store Staff。 Quirk：哦，那有什么好奇怪的呢？你們美國(guó)不也是既有Shop也有Stores嗎？難道不是嗎？Marckwardt：是的，這兩個(gè)詞在美國(guó)的用法很不同。泛泛地講，我們所說(shuō)的store就是你們所說(shuō)的shop。在美國(guó)，一個(gè)商人如果想讓他的店顯得優(yōu)雅脫俗，他會(huì)把他的store稱作是shop。但是，和你們一樣，我們通常不用store這個(gè)詞來(lái)指稱一個(gè)只存貨不售貨的地方。你看我們兩種英語(yǔ)變體之間在這里存在很多重疊之處。Quirk：我想我有必要在這里強(qiáng)調(diào)一下：雖然我們英國(guó)人在表達(dá)“shop”的意義時(shí)，向美國(guó)人那樣越來(lái)越多地使用了“store”，但是與此同時(shí)我們并