新視野大學(xué)英語讀寫教程(第二版)第四冊課文及翻譯

TheTemptationofaRespectableWomanMrs.Barodawasalittleannoyedtolearnthatherhusbandexpectedhisfriend,Gouvernail,uptospendaweekortwoontheplantation.Gouvernail'squietpersonalitypuzzledMrs.Baroda.Afterafewdayswithhim,shecouldunderstandhimnobetterthanatfirst.Sheleftherhusbandandhisguest,forthemostpart,alonetogether,onlytofindthatGouvernailhardlynoticedherabsence.Thensheimposedhercompanyuponhim,accompanyinghiminhisidlewalkstothemilltopressherattempttopenetratethesilenceinwhichhehadunconsciouslycoveredhimself.Butithardlyworked."Whenishegoing-yourfriend?"sheonedayaskedherhusband."Formypart,Ifindhimaterriblenuisance.""Notforaweekyet,dear.Ican'tunderstand;hegivesyounotrouble.""No.Ishouldlikehimbetterifhedid—ifheweremorelikeothers,andIhadtoplansomewhatforhiscomfortandenjoyment."Gastonpulledthesleeveofhiswife'sdress,gatheredhisarmsaroundherwaistandlookedmerrilyintohertroubledeyes."Youarefullofsurprises,"hesaidtoher."EvenIcannevercountuponhowyouaregoingtoactundergivenconditions.Hereyouare,"hewenton,"takingpoorGouvernailseriouslyandmakingafussabouthim,thelastthinghewoulddesireorexpect.""Fuss!"shehotlyreplied."Nonsense!Howcanyousaysuchathing!Fuss,indeed!But,youknow,yousaidhewasclever.""Soheis.Butthepoorfellowisrundownbytoomuchworknow.That'swhyIaskedhimheretotakearest.""Youusedtosayhewasamanofwit,"shesaid,stillannoyed."Iexpectedhimtobeinteresting,atleast.I'mgoingtothecityinthemorningtohavemyspringdressesfitted.LetmeknowwhenMr.Gouvernailisgone;untilthattimeIshallbeatmyaunt'shouse."Thatnightshewentandsataloneuponabenchthatstoodbeneathanoaktreeattheedgeofthewalk.Shehadneverknownherthoughtstobesoconfused;likethebatsnowaboveher,herthoughtsquicklyflewthiswayandthat.Shecouldgathernothingfromthembutthefeelingofadistinctnecessitytoleaveherhomeinthenextmorning.Mrs.Barodaheardfootstepscomingfromthedirectionofthebarn;sheknewitwasGouvemaiLShehopedtoremainunnoticed,butherwhitegownrevealedhertohim.Heseatedhimselfuponthebenchbesideher,withoutasuspicionthatshemightobjecttohispresence."Yourhusbandtoldmetobringthistoyou,Mrs.Baroda,"hesaid,handingheralengthofsheerwhitefabricwithwhichshesometimescoveredherheadandshoulders.Sheaccepteditfromhimandletitlieinherlap.Hemadesomeroutineobservationsupontheunhealthyeffectofthenightbreezeatthatseason.Thenashisgazereachedoutintothedarkness,hebegantotalk.Gouvernailwasinnosenseashyman.Hisperiodsofsilencewerenothisbasicnature,buttheresultofmoods.WhenhewassittingtherebesideMrs.Baroda,hissilencemeltedforthetime.Hetalkedfreelyandintimatelyinalow,hesitatingvoicethatwasnotunpleasanttohear.HetalkedoftheoldcollegedayswhenheandGastonhadbeenbestfriends,ofthedaysofkeenambitionsandlargeintentions.Now,alltherewasleftwithhimwasadesiretobepermittedtoexist,withnowandthenalittlebreathofgenuinelife,suchashewasbreathingnow.Hermindonlyvaguelygraspedwhathewassaying.Hiswordsbecameameaninglesssuccessionofverbs,nouns,adverbs,andadjectives;sheonlydrankinthetonesofhisvoice.Shewantedtoreachoutherhandinthedarknessandtouchhim-whichshemighthavedoneifshehadnotbeenarespectablewoman.Thestrongerthedesiregrewtobringherselfnearhim,thefurther,infact,didshemoveawayfromhim.Assoonasshecoulddosowithoutanappearanceofbeingrude,shepretendedtoyawn,rose,andlefthimtherealone.Mrs.Barodawasgreatlytemptedthatnighttotellherhusband—whowasalsoherfriend—ofthisfoolishnessthathadseizedher.Butshedidnotyieldtothetemptation.Besidesbeinganuprightandrespectablewomanshewasalsoaverysensibleone.WhenGastonarosethenextmorning,hiswifehadalreadydeparted,withoutevensayingfarewell.Aporterhadcarriedhertrunktothestationandshehadtakenanearlymorningtraintothecity.ShedidnotreturnuntilGouvernailwasgonefromunderherroof.Therewassometalkofhavinghimbackduringthesummerthatfollowed.Thatis,Gastongreatlydesiredit;butthisdesireyieldedtohishonorablewife'svigorousopposition.However,beforetheyearended,sheproposed,whollyfromherself,tohaveGouvernailvisitthemagain.Herhusbandwassurprisedanddelightedwiththesuggestioncomingfromher."Iamglad,mydear,toknowthatyouhavefinallyovercomeyourdislikeforhim;trulyhedidnotdeserveit.""Oh,"shetoldhim,laughingly,afterpressingalong,tenderkissuponhislips,"Ihaveovercomeeverything!Youwillsee.ThistimeIshallbeverynicetohim."ー個正派女人受到的誘惑得知丈夫請了他的朋友古韋內(nèi)爾來種植園小住一兩周,巴羅達太太有點不快。古韋內(nèi)爾生性沉默,這令巴羅達太太頗為不解。在ー起待了幾天,她仍感到對他很陌生。她只得大部分時間讓丈夫陪著客人,但發(fā)現(xiàn)自己不在場幾乎并未引起古韋內(nèi)爾的注意。而后她執(zhí)意要陪他散步到磨坊去,試圖打破他這種并非有意的沉默,但仍不奏效。"你的朋友，他什么時候走?"有一天她問丈夫，"我覺得他太討厭了。""還不到ー周呢,親愛的。我真不明白，他并沒給你添麻煩呀。""是沒有。他要是真能添點麻煩，我倒喜歡他ー些了。真希望他能像別人ー樣,那樣我倒可以做點什么使他過得舒心。"加斯頓拉了拉妻子的衣袖,雙手摟著她的腰，快樂地望著她那充滿困惑的眼睛。"你可真讓人吃驚,"他說,"我都說不準你什么時候會怎么做。瞧你對古韋內(nèi)爾頂真的樣子,對他那么大驚小怪,這可是他最不希望的。""大驚小怪!"她急急回道,"瞎說,你怎么這么說!大驚小怪,真是!但你可說過他挺聰明的。""他是聰明。但工作太多,這可憐的家伙累垮了,所以我オ請他來這兒休息ー陣。""你常說他是個風(fēng)趣的人,"太太仍在生氣,"我以為他至少該風(fēng)趣點。明早我進城去試春裝。古韋內(nèi)爾走了你告訴我。他走之前我就住姑媽家。"那晚她獨自一人坐在路邊橡樹下的長凳上,思緒從未這么亂過,就像頭頂飛著的蝙蝠ー樣，忽東忽西。她理不出絲毫頭緒，只感到有一點很明確:她必須第二天一早就離開這里。巴羅達太太聽到從谷倉那邊傳來了腳步聲,她知道那是古韋內(nèi)爾。她不想讓他看見自己,但她的白色長袍泄露了蹤跡。他在她身旁的長凳上坐下，絲毫不曾想到她可能會反對他坐在那兒。"您丈夫要我把這個帶給您，巴羅達太太，"說著，他遞上一塊白色紗巾,這是她有時用來做披肩的。她接了過來,放在腿上。他照例說了些諸如這個季節(jié)的夜風(fēng)對身體不好之類的話。后來,望著茫茫夜色,他開始談了起來。古韋內(nèi)爾可不是個靦腆的人。他的沉默寡言決非天性,而是情緒使然。坐在巴羅達太太身邊,他的沉默暫時消失了。他以低沉遲緩的嗓音親切而無拘束地娓娓而談，談他在大學(xué)里與加斯頓是好朋友，談那時曾雄心勃勃,志向髙遠。而現(xiàn)在他只求能生存,只是偶爾オ體驗到ー絲真正的生活的氣息，就像此刻。巴羅達太太只是模模糊糊地感到他在說些什么。他的話變成了一串毫無意義的動詞、名詞、副詞和形容詞:她陶醉在他的聲音里。她想在夜色里伸出手去觸摸他-要不是個正派女子,她真會這么做。她越想靠近他，結(jié)果卻越往后退。為使自己不顯得失禮,她借機假裝打了個哈欠,起身離開了他。那晩，巴羅達太太很想把自己的一時荒唐告訴丈夫一也是她的朋友,但還是忍住了。她是個正派體面的女人,也是個非常明智的女人。第二天早晨加斯頓起床時，妻子已經(jīng)走了,也沒有跟他道別。腳夫把她的箱子送到火車站,她搭早班車進的城。直到古韋內(nèi)爾離開后她オ回去。那年夏天,他們有時會談到再請古韋內(nèi)爾來種植園一事。也就是說，加斯頓很希望這樣,但經(jīng)不住他那品行高潔的妻子的強烈反對。然而，快到年底時，妻子主動提出邀請古韋內(nèi)爾再來。聽到妻子的建議,丈夫真是又驚又喜。"我真高興，親愛的,你終于不再討厭他了。說真的，他不應(yīng)該使你覺得討厭。""噢,"她笑著,在他唇上印了長長的溫柔的ー吻，"我一切都已經(jīng)克服了！你會看到的,這次我會對他很好。CharlieChaplinHewasborninapoorareaofsouthLondon.Heworehismother'soldredstockingscutdownforanklesocks.Hismotherwastemporarilydeclaredmad.DickensmighthavecreatedCharlieChaplin'schildhood.ButonlyCharleChaplincouldhavecreatedthegreatcomiccharacterof"theTramp",thelittlemaninragswhogavehiscreatorpermanentfame.Othercountries一France,Italy,Spain,evenJapanandKorea一haveprovidedmoreapplause(andprofit)whereChaplinisconcernedthanthelandofhisbirth.ChaplinquitBritainforgoodin1913whenhejourneyedtoAmericawithagroupofperformerstodohiscomedyactonthestagewheretalentscoutsrecruitedhimtoworkforMackSennett,thekingofHollywoodcomedyfilms.Sadtosay,manyEnglishpeopleinthe1920'sand1930'sthoughtChaplin'sTrampabit,well,"crude".Certainlymiddle-classaudiencesdid;theworking-classaudiencesweremorelikelytoclapforacharacterwhorevoltedagainstauthority,usinghiswickedlittlecanetotripitup,oraimingtheheelofhisbootforawell-placedkickatitsbroadrear.Allthesame,Chaplin'scomicbeggardidn'tseemallthatEnglishorevenworkingclass.Englishtrampsdidn'tsporttinymoustaches,hugepantsortailcoats:EuropeanleadersandItalianwaitersworethingslikethat.Thenagain,theTramp'squickeyeforaprettygirlhadacoarsewayaboutitthatwasconsidered,well,notquitenicebyEnglishaudiences-that'showforeignersbehaved,wasn'tit?Butforoverhalfofhisscreencareer,ChaplinhadnoscreenvoicetoconfirmhisBritishnationality.Indeed,itwasaheadacheforChaplinwhenhecouldnolongerresistthetalkingmoviesandhadtofind"therightvoice"forhisTramp.Hepostponedthatdayaslongaspossible:inModernTimesin1936,thefirstfilminwhichhewasheardasasingingwaiter,hemadeupanonsenselanguagewhichsoundedlikenoknownnationality.HelatersaidheimaginedtheTramptobeacollege-educatedgentlemanwho'dcomedownintheworld.Butifhe'dbeenabletospeakwithaneducatedaccentinthoseearlyshortcomedymovies,it'sdoubtfulifhewouldhaveachievedworldfame.AndtheEnglishwouldhavebeensuretofindit"odd".NoonewascertainwhetherChaplindiditonpurposebutthishelpedtobringabouthishugesuccess.Hewasanimmenselytalentedman,determinedtoadegreeunusualevenintheranksofHollywoodstars.Hishugefamegavehimthefreedom一and,moreimportantly,themoney一tobehisownmaster.Healreadyhadtheurgetoexploreandextendatalenthediscoveredinhimselfashewentalong."Itcan'tbeme.Isthatpossible?Howextraordinary,"ishowhegreetedthefirstsightofhimselfastheTramponthescreen.Butthatshockrousedhisimagination.Chaplindidn'thavehisjokeswrittenintoascriptinadvance;hewasthekindofcomicwhousedhisphysicalsensestoinventhisartashewentalong.LifelessobjectsespeciallyhelpedChaplinmake"contact"withhimselfasanartist.Heturnedthemintootherkindsofobjects.Thus,abrokenalarmclockinthemovieThePawnbrokerbecamea"sick"patientundergoingsurgery;bootswereboiledinhisfilmTheGoldRushandtheirsoleseatenwithsaltandpepperlikeprimecutsoffish(thenailsbeingremovedlikefishbones).Thisphysicaltransformation,plustheskillwithwhichheexecuteditagainandagain,aresurelythesecretsofChaplin'sgreatcomedy.Healsohadadeepneedtobeloved—andacorrespondingfearofbeingbetrayed.Thetwowerehardtocombineandsometimes一asinhisearlymarriages—thecollisionbetweenthemresultedindisaster.Yeteventhispainfully-boughtself-knowledgefounditswayintohiscomiccreations.TheTrampneverloseshisfaithintheflowergirlwho'llbewaitingtowalkintothesunsetwithhim;whiletheothersideofChaplinmakesMonsieurVerdoux,theFrenchwifekiller,intoasymbolofhatredforwomen.It'sarelieftoknowthatlifeeventuallygaveCharlieChaplinthestablehappinessithadearlierdeniedhim.InOonaO'NeillChaplin,hefoundapartnerwhosestabilityandaffectionspannedthe37yearsagedifferencebetweenthemthathadseemedsothreateningthatwhentheofficialwhowasmarryingthemin1942,turnedtothebeautifulgirlof17who'dgivennoticeoftheirweddingdateandsaid,"Andwhereistheyoungman?"—Chaplin,then54,hadcautiouslywaitedoutside.AsOonaherselfwasthechildofalargefamilywithitsownproblems,shewaswell-preparedforthebattlethatChaplin'slifebecameasunfoundedrumorsofMarxistsympathiessurroundedthemboth—and,lateron,shewasthecenterofrestinthequarrelsthatChaplinsometimessparkedintheirownlargefamilyoftalentedchildren.ChaplindiedonChristmasDay1977.Afewmonthslater,acoupleofalmostcomicbody-thievesstolehisbodyfromthefamilyburialchamberandhelditformoney:thepolicerecovereditwithmoreefficiencythanMackSennett'sclumsyKeystoneCopswouldhavedone.Butonecan'thelpfeelingChaplinwouldhaveregardedthisstrangeincidentasafittingmemorial—hiswayofhavingthelastlaughonaworldtowhichhehadgivensomany.查理?卓別林他出生在倫敦南部的ー個貧困地區(qū),他所穿的短襪是從媽媽的紅色長襪上剪下來的。他媽媽一度被診斷為精神失常。狄更斯或許會創(chuàng)作出查理?卓別林的童年故事,但只有查理?卓別林才能塑造出了不起的喜劇角色"流浪者"，這個使其創(chuàng)作者聲名永駐的衣衫襤褸的小人物。就卓別林而言，其他國家,如法國、意大利、西班牙，甚至日本和朝鮮，比他的出生地給予了他更多的掌聲（和更多的收益）。卓別林在1913年永久地離開了英國,與一些演員ー起啟程到美國進行舞臺喜劇表演。在那里，他被星探招募到好萊塢喜劇片之王麥克?塞納特的旗下工作。3不幸的是,20世紀二三十年代的很多英國人認為卓別林的"流浪者"多少有點"粗俗"。中產(chǎn)階級當然這樣認為;勞動階級倒更有可能為這樣ー個反抗權(quán)勢的角色拍手喝彩:他以頑皮的小拐杖使絆子，或把皮靴后跟對準權(quán)勢者寬大的臀部一踢。盡管如此,卓別林的喜劇乞丐形象并不那么像英國人,甚至也不像勞動階級的人。英國流浪者并不留小胡子，也不穿肥大的褲子或燕尾服:歐洲的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人和意大利的侍者オ那樣穿戴。另外，流浪漢瞟著漂亮女孩的眼神也有些粗俗，被英國觀眾認為不太正派——只有外國人オ那樣,不是嗎?而在卓別林大半的銀幕生涯中，銀幕上的他是不出聲的,也就無法證明他是英國人。4事實上，當卓別林再也無法抵制有聲電影,不得不為他的流浪者找"合適的聲音"時,那確實令他頭痛。他盡可能地推遲那一天的到來:1936的《摩登時代》是第一部他在影片里發(fā)聲唱歌的電影，他扮演一名侍者,操著編造的胡言亂語，聽起來不像任何國家的語言。后來他說,他想像中的流浪漢是一位受過大學(xué)教育,但已經(jīng)家道敗落的紳士。但假如他在早期那些短小喜劇電影中能操一口受過教育的人的口音，那么他是否會聞名世界就值得懷疑了，而英國大也肯定會覺得這很"古怪"。雖然沒有人知道卓別林這么干是不是有意的，但是這促使他獲得了巨大的成功。5他是ー個有巨大才能的人，他的決心之大甚至在好萊塢明星中也是十分少見的。他的巨大名聲為他帶來了自由,更重要的是帶來了財富,他因此得以成為自己的主人。隨著事業(yè)的發(fā)展,他感到了一種沖動要去發(fā)掘并擴展自己身上所顯露的天才。當他第一次在銀幕上看到自己扮演的流浪漢時,他說："這不可能是我。那可能嗎?瞧這角色多么與眾不同啊!而這種吃驚喚起了他的想像。卓別林并沒有把他的笑料事先寫成文字。他是那種邊表演邊根據(jù)身體感覺去創(chuàng)造藝術(shù)的喜劇演員。沒有生命的物體特別有助于卓別林發(fā)揮自己藝術(shù)家的天賦。他會將這些物體發(fā)揮成其他東西。因此，在《當鋪老板》中，ー個壞鬧鐘變成了正在接受手術(shù)的"病人";在《淘金記》中,靴子被煮熟,靴底蘸著鹽和胡椒被吃掉,就像上好的魚片（鞋釘就像魚骨那樣被剔除）。這種對具體事物的發(fā)揮轉(zhuǎn)化，以及他ー次又一次做出這種轉(zhuǎn)化的技巧,正是卓別林偉大喜劇的奧秘。他也深切地渴望被愛，同時相應(yīng)地害怕遭到背叛。這兩者很難結(jié)合在ー起，有時這種沖突導(dǎo)致了災(zāi)難，就像他早期的幾次婚姻那樣。然而即使是這種以沉重代價換來的自知之明也在他的喜劇創(chuàng)作中得到了表現(xiàn)。流浪漢始終沒有失去對賣花女的信心，相信她正等待著與自己共同走進タ陽之中;而卓別林的另一面使他的《凡爾杜先生》，一個殺了妻子的法國人，成為了仇恨女人的象征。令人寬慰的是,生活最終把他先前沒能獲得的穩(wěn)定的幸福給了卓別林。他找到了沃娜?奧尼爾?卓別林這個伴侶。她的穩(wěn)定和深情跨越了他們之間37歲的年齡差距。他們的年齡差別太大,以致當1942年他們要結(jié)婚時，新娘公布了他們的結(jié)婚日期后,為他們辦理手續(xù)的官員問這位漂亮的17歲姑娘;"那年輕人在哪兒?"ーー當時已經(jīng)54歲的卓別林一直小心翼翼地在外面等候著。由于沃娜本人出生在ー個被各種麻煩困擾的大家庭，她對卓別林生活中將面臨的挑戰(zhàn)也做好了充分準備，因為當時有毫無根據(jù)的流言說他倆是馬克思主義的同情者。后來在他們自己的有那么多天才孩子的大家庭中，卓別林有時會引發(fā)爭吵，而她則成了安寧的中心。卓別林死于1977年圣誕節(jié)。幾個月后，幾個近乎可笑的盜尸者從他的家庭墓室盜走了他的尸體以借此詐錢。警方追回了他的尸體，其效率比麥克?塞納特拍攝的啟斯東喜劇片中的笨拙警察要高得多。但是人們不禁會感到，卓別林一定會把這ー奇怪的事件看作是對他的十分恰當?shù)募o念ーー他以這種方式給這個自己曾帶來這么多笑聲的世界留下最后的笑聲。LongingforaNewWelfareSystemAwelfareclientissupposedtocheat.Everybodyexpectsit.Facedwithsharingadinnerofrawpetfoodwiththecat,manypeopleinwheelchairsIknowbleedthesystemforafewextradollars.Theytellthegovernmentthattheyaregettingtwohundreddollarslessthantheirrealpensionsotheycangetalittleextrawelfaremoney.Or,theytellthecaseworkerthatthelandlordraisedtherentbyahundreddollars.Ihaveoptedtolivealifeofcompletehonesty.Soinstead,Igooutanddrumupsomebusinessanddrawcartoons.IeventellwelfarehowmuchImake!Oh,I'mtemptedtogetpaidunderthetable.ButevenifIyieldedtothattemptation,bigmagazinesarenotgoingtogetinvolvedinsomestickysituation.Theykeepmyrecords,andthatinformationgoesrightintothegovernment'scomputer.Veryhigh-profile.AsawelfareclientI'mexpectedtobowbeforethecaseworker.Deepdown,caseworkersknowthattheyarebeingmadefoolsofbymanyoftheirclients,andtheyfeeltheyareentitledtohaveclientsbowtothemascompensation.I'mnotbeingbitter.Mostcaseworkersbeginascollege-educatedliberalswithhighideals.Butafterafewyearsinasystemthatpracticallyrequirespeopletolie,theybecomeliketheoneIshallcall"Suzanne",adetectiveinshorts.NotlongafterChristmaslastyear,Suzannecametoinspectmyapartmentandsawsomenewposterspastedonthewall."Where'dyougetthemoneyforthose?"shewantedtoknow."Friendsandfamily.""Well,you'dbetterhaveareceiptforit,byGod.Youhavetoreportanydonationsorgifts."Thiswasmycuetobeg.Instead,Italkedback."Igotacigarettefromsomebodyonthestreettheotherday.DoIhavetoreportthat?""WellI'msorry,butIdon'tmaketherules,Mr.Callahan."Suzannetriestolecturemeaboutrepairstomywheelchair,whichisalwaysbreakingdownbecausewelfarewon'tspendthemoneymaintainingitproperly."Youknow,Mr.Callahan,I'veheardthatyouputalotmoremilesonthatwheelchairthanaverage."OfcourseIdo.I'manactiveworker,notavegetable.Iliveneardowntown,soIcangetaroundinawheelchair.Iwonderwhatshe'dthinkifshesuddenlybrokeherhipandhadtocrawltowork.Governmentcutsinwelfarehaveresultedinhungerandsufferingforalotofpeople,notjustme.Butpeoplewithspinalcordinjuriesfeltthecutsinauniqueway:Thegovernmentstoppedtakingcareofourchairs.Eachtimeminebrokedown,lostascrew,neededanewrollerbearing,thebrakewouldn'twork,etc.,andIcalledSuzanne,Ihadtoendurealittlelecture.Finally,she'dsay,"Well,ifIcanfindtimetoday,I'llcallthemedicalworker."Shewassupposedtonotifythemedicalworker,whowouldcertifythattherewasaproblem.Thenthemedicalworkercalledthewheelchairrepaircompaniestogetthecheapestbid.Thenthemedicalworkeralertedthemainwelfareofficeatthestatecapital.TheyconsideredthematterfordayswhileIlayinbed,unabletomove.Finally,ifIwaslucky,theycalledbackandapprovedtherepair.WhenwelfarelearnedIwasmakingmoneyonmycartoons,Suzannestarted"visiting"everyfortnightinsteadofeverytwomonths.Shelookedintoeverycornerinsearchofunreportedappliances,ormaids,oraroastpigintheoven,oranewhelicopterparkedoutback.Sheneverfoundanything,buttherewasalwaysathickpileofformstofilloutattheendofeachvisit,accountingforeverypenny.Thereisnoprovisioninthelawforagradualshiftawayfromwelfare.Iamanindependentbusinessman,slowlybuildingupmymarket.It'simpossibletojumpoffwelfareandsuddenlybemakingtwothousanddollarsamonth.ButIwouldlovetobeabletopayforsomeofmylivingandnothavetogothroughanembarrassingsituationeverytimeIneedasparepartformywheelchair.Thereneedstobealawyerwhocanactasachampionfortherightsofwelfareclients,becausethesystemsoeasilylendsitselftoabusebythewelfaregiversaswellasbytheclients.WelfaresentSuzannetolookaroundinmyapartmenttheotherdaybecausethechemistsaidIwasusingalargerthanusualamountofmedicalsupplies.Iwas,indeed:theholethathasbeensurgicallycuttodrainurinehadchangedsizeandtheconnectiontomyurinebagwasleaking.Whileshewastakingnotes,myphonerangandSuzanneansweredit.Thecallerwasastatesenator,whichscaredSuzannealittle.WouldIsitonthegovernor'scommitteeandtrytodosomethingaboutthethousandsofwelfareclientswho,likeme,couldearnpartoralloftheirownlivingsiftheywereallowedtodoso,onestepatatime?Hell,yes,Iwould!Somedaypeoplelikemewillthriveunderanewsystemthatwillencouragethem,notseektoconvictthemofcheating.Theywillbefreetodeveloptheirtalentswithoutguiltorfear—orjustholdagood,steadyjob.渴望新的福利救濟制度人人都覺得福利救濟對象是在騙人。我認識的許多坐輪椅的人面臨與寵物貓分吃生貓食的窘境,都會向福利機構(gòu)多榨取幾美元。為了能領(lǐng)到ー點額外的福利款,他們告訴政府說他們實際上少拿了200美元的養(yǎng)老金,或告訴社會工作者,說房東又提高了100美元的房租。我選擇了過ー種完全誠實的生活，因此我不會那樣做，而是四處找活,攬些畫漫畫的活。我甚至還告訴福利機構(gòu)我賺了多少錢!噢,私下里領(lǐng)ー筆錢當然對我也挺有吸引力,但即使我抗不住這種誘惑，我投稿的那些大雜志也不會去給自己惹麻煩。他們會保留我的記錄,而這些記錄會直接進入政府的電腦。真是態(tài)度鮮明，毫不含糊。作為一名福利救濟對象，我必須在社會工作者面前卑躬屈膝。社會工作者心里知道許多救濟對象在欺騙他們,因此他們覺得,作為補償，他們有權(quán)讓救濟對象向他們點頭哈腰。我并不是故意感到忿忿不平。大多數(shù)社會工作者剛開始時都是些大學(xué)畢業(yè)生，有理想，而且思想開明?？墒窃谶@個實際上是要人撒謊的系統(tǒng)里干了幾年后,他們就變得與那個叫蘇珊娜的人ー樣了一ー個穿運動短褲的偵探。去年圣誕節(jié)，蘇珊娜到我家來了解情況,看到墻上貼著新的宣傳畫，便問:"你從哪兒弄到錢來買這些?""朋友和家人。""那么，你最好要張收據(jù)，真的，你接受任何捐獻或禮物都要報告。"她這是在暗示我:得哀求她了。但是我卻將她頂了回去。"那天在馬路上有人給我ー根煙，我也得報告嗎?""對不起，卡拉漢先生，可是規(guī)定不是我制訂的。"蘇珊娜試圖就修理輪椅的問題訓(xùn)斥我。由于福利部門不愿意花錢好好地修理，所以它總是壞。"您是知道的,卡拉漢先生,我聽說您的那臺輪椅比一般人用得多得多。"我當然用得多,我是個工作很積極的人，又不是植物人。我住在鬧市區(qū)附近，可以坐著輪椅到處走走。我真想知道如果她突然摔壞臀部，不得不爬著去上班時,是什么感受。政府削減福利開支已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致許多人挨餓受苦，我只是其中之一。但這種削減對脊柱傷殘的人士更有特別的影響:政府已經(jīng)不管我們的輪椅了。每次我的輪椅壞了,掉了螺絲,需要換軸承，或剎車不靈等，我都打電話給蘇珊娜,但每次都要挨訓(xùn)。她最后總會說：好吧，如果今天我能抽出時間的話，我會找醫(yī)務(wù)人員的。她該通知醫(yī)務(wù)人員，由他來證明問題確實存在,然后打電話給各家輪椅維修公司，拿到最低的報價。接著醫(yī)務(wù)人員就通知州府的福利總部,他們再花幾天時間考慮這件事。而這期間我只能躺在床上，動彈不得。最后，如果我幸運的話,他們會給我回電話，同意維修。當福利部門獲悉我畫漫畫賺錢時，蘇珊娜就開始每兩個星期"拜訪"我一次,而不是每兩個月オー次了。她尋遍每個角落,想找出我未上報的電器，或者是女仆、烤爐里的烤豬、停在房后新買的直升飛機什么的。她從來都是ー無所獲，但最后我總要填厚厚的ー疊表格，說明每一分錢的來歷。如何逐漸脫離福利照顧，這在法律條款中沒有明確規(guī)定。我是一個獨立的生意人,正在慢慢建立起自己的市場。要脫離福利救濟,一下子做到每月能掙2,000美元是不可能的。但我很想自己負擔部分生活費用，不必在每次需要為輪椅買點配件時都去尷尬地求人。真需要有一位律師來捍衛(wèi)福利救濟對象的權(quán)利，因為這ー福利體制不僅容易使救濟對象濫用權(quán)カ，也很容易使福利提供者濫用權(quán)カ。前幾天，由于藥劑師說我使用的醫(yī)療用品超出常量，于是福利部門派蘇珊娜到我的住所調(diào)查。我確實多用了,因為外科手術(shù)所造的排尿孔的大小改變了，于是尿袋的連接處發(fā)生滲漏。她正做著記錄,我家的電話鈴響了。蘇珊娜接聽了電話,是一位州議員打來的,這使她慌了一下。數(shù)以千計像我這樣的福利救濟對象,如果允許的話,可以慢慢地負擔自己的一部分甚至全部生活費用,對此,我會不會在州政府的委員會里嘗試做點兒什么呢?還用說嗎?我當然會!總有一天，像我這樣的福利救濟對象將在ー種新的福利制度下過上好日子，這種制度不是要千方百計證明福利救濟對象在欺騙,而是要鼓勵他們自立。他們將能自由地、毫無愧疚、毫不擔憂地發(fā)揮他們的オ干,或擁有一份穩(wěn)定的好工作。TheTelecommunicationsRevolutionAtransformationisoccurringthatshouldgreatlyboostlivingstandardsinthedevelopingworld.Placesthatuntilrecentlyweredeafanddumbarerapidlyacquiringup-to-datetelecommunicationsthatwillletthempromotebothinternalandforeigninvestment.ItmaytakeadecadeformanycountriesinAsia,LatinAmerica,andEasternEuropetoimprovetransportation,powersupplies,andotherutilities.Butasingleopticalfiberwithadiameteroflessthanhalfamillimetercancarrymoreinformationthanalargecablemadeofcopperwires.Byinstallingopticalfiber,digitalswitches,andthelatestwirelesstransmissionsystems,aparadeofurbancentersandindustrialzonesfromBeijingtoBudapestaresteppingdirectlyintotheInformationAge.Aspider'swebofdigitalandwirelesscommunicationlinksisalreadyreachingmostofAsiaandpartsofEasternEurope.Allthesedevelopingregionsseeadvancedcommunicationsasawaytoleapoverwholestagesofeconomicdevelopment.Widespreadaccesstoinformationtechnologies,forexample,promisestocondensethetimerequiredtochangefromlabor-intensiveassemblyworktoindustriesthatinvolveengineering,marketing,anddesign.Moderncommunications"willgivecountrieslikeChinaandVietnamahugeadvantageovercountriesstuckwitholdtechnology".Howfastthesenationsshouldpushaheadisamatterofdebate.ManyexpertsthinkVietnamisgoingtoofarbyrequiringthatallmobilephonesbeexpensivedigitalmodels,whenitisdesperateforanyphones,period."Thesecountrieslackexperienceinweighingcostsandchoosingbetweentechnologies,"saysoneexpert.Still,there'slittledisputethatcommunicationswillbeakeyfactorseparatingthewinnersfromthelosers.ConsiderRussia.Becauseofitsstrongeducationalsysteminmathematicsandscience,itshouldthriveintheinformationage.Theproblemisitsnationalphonesystemisarustingantiquethatdatesfromthe1930s.Tolickthisproblem,Russiaisstartingtoinstallopticalfiberandhasastrategicplantopump$40billionintovariouscommunicationsprojects.Butitseconomyisstuckinrecessionanditbarelyhasthemoneytoevenscratchthesurfaceoftheproblem.ComparethatwiththemainlandofChina.Overthenextdecade,itplanstopoursome$100billionintotelecommunicationsequipment.Inaway,China'sbackwardnessisanadvantage,becausetheexpansionoccursjustasnewtechnologiesarebecomingcheaperthancopperwiresystems.Bytheendof1995,eachofChina'sprovincialcapitalsexceptforTibetwillhavedigitalswitchesandhigh-capacityopticalfiberlinks.Thismeansthatmajorcitiesaregettingthebasicinfrastructuretobecomemajorpartsoftheinformationsuperhighway,allowingpeopletologontothemostadvancedservicesavailable.TelecommunicationsisalsoakeytoShanghai'sdreamofbecomingatopfinancialcenter.Toofferpeakperformanceinprovidingtheelectronicdataandpaperlesstradingglobalinvestorsexpect,ShanghaiplanstelecommunicationsnetworksaspowerfulasthoseinManhattan.Meanwhile,Hungaryalsohopestojumpintothemodernworld.Currently,700,000Hungariansarewaitingforphones.TopartiallyovercometheproblemoffundsandtospeedtheimportofWesterntechnology,Hungarysolda30%stakeinitsnationalphonecompanytotwoWesterncompanies.Tofurtherreducethewaitinglistforphones,HungaryhasleasedrightstoaDutch-Scandinaviangroupofcompaniestobuildandoperatewhatitsayswillbeoneofthemostadvanceddigitalmobilephonesystemsintheworld.Infact,wirelessisoneofthemostpopularwaystogetaphonesystemupfastindevelopingcountries.It'scheapertobuildradiotowersthantostringlinesacrossmountainridges,andbusinesseseagerforreliableservicearewillingtoacceptasignificantlyhigherpricetagforawirelesscall—thefeeistypicallytwotofourtimesasmuchasforcallsmadeoverfixedlines.WirelessdemandandusagehavealsoexplodedacrosstheentirewidthandbreadthofLatinAmerica.Forwirelessphoneserviceproviders,nowhereisbusinessbetterthaninLatinAmerica—havinganoperationthereislikehavinganendlesspileofmoneyatyourdisposal.BellSouthCorporation,withoperationsinfourwirelessmarkets,estimatesitsannualrevenueperaveragecustomeratabout$2,000ascomparedto$860intheUnitedStates.That'spartlybecauseLatinAmericancustomerstalktwotofourtimesaslongonthephoneaspeopleinNorthAmerica.Thailandisalsoturningtowireless,asawaytoallowThaistomakebetteruseofallthetimetheyspendstuckintraffic.Anditisn'tthateasytocallorfaxfromtheoffice:thewaitinglistforphonelineshasfromonetotwomillionnamesonit.Somobilephoneshavebecometherageamongbusinesspeople,whocanremainincontactdespitethetrafficjams.Vietnamismakingoneoftheboldestleaps.Despiteaperpersonincomeofjust$220ayear,allofthe300,000linesVietnamplanstoaddannuallywillbeopticalfiberwithdigitalswitching,ratherthancheapersystemsthatsendelectronsovercopperwires.Bygoingfornext-generationtechnologynow,Vietnamesetelecommunicationsofficialssaythey'llbeabletokeeppacewithanyoneinAsiafordecades.Forcountriesthathavelaggedbehindforsolong,thetemptationtomoveaheadinonejumpishardtoresist.Anddespitethemistakesthey'llmake,they'llpersist—sothatonedaytheycancruisealongsideAmericansandWesternEuropeansontheinformationsuperhighway.電信革命!ー個將會大大提高發(fā)展中國家生活水準的轉(zhuǎn)變正方興未艾。一些不久前還是信息閉塞的地方正在快速獲得最新的通信技術(shù),這將促進當?shù)貙鴥?nèi)外投資的吸納。亞洲、拉丁美洲和東歐的許多國家也許需要io年的時間來改善其交通、電カ供應(yīng)和其他公用設(shè)施。但是單單ー根直徑小于半毫米的光纖電纜就可以比由銅絲制成的粗電纜負載更多的信息。由于安裝了光纖電纜、數(shù)字轉(zhuǎn)換器和最新的無線傳輸系統(tǒng),從北京到布達佩斯的ー系列城區(qū)和エ業(yè)區(qū)正在直接跨入信息時代。一個蛛網(wǎng)般的數(shù)字和無線通信網(wǎng)絡(luò)已經(jīng)伸展到亞洲的大部分地區(qū)和東歐的部分地區(qū)。2所有這些發(fā)展中地區(qū)都把先進的通信技術(shù)看作一種能跨越經(jīng)濟發(fā)展諸階段的方法。例如,信息技術(shù)的廣泛應(yīng)用有望縮短從勞動密集型的組裝工業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)向涉及工程、營銷、設(shè)計等產(chǎn)業(yè)所需的時間?，F(xiàn)代通信技術(shù)將使像中國、越南那樣的國家與那些困于舊技術(shù)的國家相比擁有巨大的優(yōu)勢。這些國家應(yīng)以多快的速度向前發(fā)展是人們爭論的一個問題。許多專家認為,越南在目前急需電話的情況下,卻要求所有的移動電話都必須是昂貴的數(shù)字型電話的做法就是太超前了。一位專家說，"這些國家缺乏估算成本和選擇技術(shù)的經(jīng)驗。"然而毋庸爭辯，通信技術(shù)將是區(qū)分贏家和輸家的關(guān)鍵因素?？匆豢炊砹_斯的情況吧。由于其堅實的數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)教育基礎(chǔ),它應(yīng)該在信息時代有繁榮的發(fā)展。問題是,它的國內(nèi)電話系統(tǒng)是ー堆生了銹的20世紀30年代的老古董。為了解決這ー問題，俄國已經(jīng)開始鋪設(shè)光纖電纜,并制定了投入400億美元建設(shè)多種通信工程的戰(zhàn)略計劃。但是由于其經(jīng)濟陷于低迷，幾乎沒有資金來著手解決最基本的問題。與俄國相比，在未來10年中，中國大陸計劃對通信設(shè)備投入1,000億美元。從某種意義上說,中國的落后成了一種有利因素，因為這ー發(fā)展正好發(fā)生在新技術(shù)比銅線電纜系統(tǒng)更便宜的時候。到1995年底，中國除了西藏以外的省會都將有數(shù)字轉(zhuǎn)換器和高容量的光纖網(wǎng)。這意味著其主要城市正獲得必需的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施，成為信息高速公路的主要部分,使人們能夠進入系統(tǒng),獲得最先進的服務(wù)。通信工程也是上海實現(xiàn)其成為一流金融中心這ー夢想的關(guān)健。為了能給國際投資者提供其所期望的電子數(shù)據(jù)和無紙化交易的出色服務(wù),上海計劃建設(shè)與曼哈頓的網(wǎng)絡(luò)同樣強大的遠程通信網(wǎng)絡(luò)。與此同時，匈牙利也希望躍入互聯(lián)網(wǎng)世界。目前有70萬匈牙利人等著裝電話。為了部分地解決資金問題,加速輸入西方技術(shù),匈牙利將國有電話公司30%的股權(quán)出售給了兩家西方公司。為進ー步減少電話待裝戶,匈牙利已將權(quán)利出租給一家荷蘭ー斯堪的納維亞企業(yè)集團，來建造并經(jīng)營ー個據(jù)說是世界上最先進的數(shù)字移動電話系統(tǒng)。事實上，無線方式是在發(fā)展中國家快速建起電話系統(tǒng)的最受歡迎的方式之一。建造無線電發(fā)射塔要比翻山越嶺架設(shè)線路更便宜。而且，急切想得到可靠服務(wù)的企業(yè)樂于花費可觀的高價來換取無線電話ー-通常是固定線路電話資費的二至四倍。整個拉丁美洲對無線通信的需求和使用已急速增加。對于無線電話服務(wù)商來說,沒有任何地方的業(yè)務(wù)比拉丁美洲更好了一