英語美文欣賞(帶翻譯)

PAGEPAGE4Friendsor'Enemies?'WhenIwasyounger,myDadusedtotellme:"Boysdon'twanttobeyourfriend."Hethenlefttheresttomyimagination.Atthetime,Ididn'tagree.Ithought:Icancrackagoodjoke,Iknowhowtoshootahoop,andI'macheerfulperson(butnotinanannoyingway).Whatkindofboywouldn'twanttobearoundthatkindofgirl?Turnsout,myDadwasright.Nottobeall"SamanthaBrick"aboutit,butinmyexperience,single,heterosexualmenaren'tactivelylookingforanexclusivelyplatonicrelationshipwithawomantheyfindsexuallyattractive.Thisofcourseisnotarevolutionaryconcept.Infact,itseemsprettynaturaltome.Now,Iwillbethefirsttosaythatitisreallyandtrulythemostwonderfulthingintheworldiftheattractionismutual.ButthePowersThatBeseemtoliketoplaythesecomplicatedlittlematinggameswithhumanswheretheguywewanttore-enactscenesfrom9?Weekswithseesourattractivenesslevelasakintothatofadiscardeddishcloth,andthemostphysicalwecouldseeourselvesbeingwiththeguywhoactuallylikesusisagameofpingpongoveranespeciallylongtable.Allofwhichmeansthatsomeoneusuallyendsupgettingrejected.I'msureI'mnotalonewhenIsayIhavestruggledwiththescenariowhereIamnotinterestedinamanromantically,butIwanttokeephimasafriendbecauseheisfunnyandIenjoyhiscompany,orhehasshownhimselftobethatrarespecimenknownas"anice,genuineperson,"orhesimplydoesn'tmentionhistherapistineveryothersentence.Ratherthanstringhimalongandgivehimhope,Ifeelcompelledtosomehowcommunicatetohimsoonerratherthanlaterthatwe'lljustbestayingfriends,nothingmore.Otherwise,IthinkIambeingunfairtohim.Whyshouldhewastehisromanticstaminaonmewhenthereareloadsofothersinglewomenouttherewhomightfallinstantlyinlovewithhim?Thethingis,itcansometimesbetrickytorejectamanandkeephimasafriend.Iftheoperationisnotexecutedcarefully,youmayendupcreatinga"menemy."Itrequiresacertainamountofskilltobeabletoturndownaman'ssexualadvancesorromanticgesturesandthengethimtoagreetomeetyouforblueberrypancakesthefollowingweekendandchataboutthelatestWoodyAllenfilm.Somemenaren'tsatisfiedwithjustthat.I'mnotclearwhy.What'ssobadaboutfriendship?Everyoneneedsbuddies.ButI'veseenmenreactpoorlyorsimplyfalloffthefaceoftheearth.Igetit--theirfeelingsarehurt.Noneofuslikesgettingrejected.Butinmyexperience,somemenfinditespeciallysoul-crushing.IamonlybringingallofthisupbecauseIrecentlyhadtogothroughthisscenarioagain.Ihadspentsometimecultivatingafriendshipwithamanwho,inmydefense,Ithoughtwasgay.SoIdidn'tseetheharminhimbuyingmetheoccasionalfalafel,oracceptinganinvitationtoseeafilmwithhim.Isn'tthatwhatfriendsarefor?Butamutualfriendshedlightonhissexualorientation(straight)andsuggestedthathisintentions--andattentions--weren'tplatonic.Hehadnever"madethemoves"butnowitwasallcrystalclear--thatexplainsthewayhehadlookedatmethattimethetahinisaucedribbleddownmychin!Sincehehadclearlybeentootimidtoexpresshisfeelings,IthoughtIwouldbecleverthistimeandsubtlymentionthedatesIhadbeengoingon,focusingontheoneguyIwaskindofkeenon,sothathewouldknowthatIwas"unavailable"forheavypettingandthosesortsofactivities,butthatIwasavailableforthingslikerollerskating,falafel-eatingandshootingthebreeze.Doesn'tthatsoundnice?Thatway,hewouldknownnottotrytoleaninforakiss,andIwouldn'thavetopulltheStevieWonderdanceanddodgehimwenthewentforit.Itwaslikepre-rejection,yetIwassparinghisfeelingsbecausehedidn'tevenhavetoputhimselfoutthere!IreallythoughtIwasbeingbrilliant.Itbackfired,ofcourse.Saidmanendedupsendingmeanemailrantaccusingmeofbeinginsensitivebytalkingaboutothermenwhenhehad"feelingsforme."AsifIampsychic,bytheway,justbecauseIamawoman!HowwasIsupposedtoknowthat?Ithinkinhismindweweredating.Inmymind,hewasmynewgayBFF.Intheend,Igotmadathimforgettingmadatme,andnowthefriendshiphasended.AndIhavecreatedyetanother"menemy."Look,Ihavealsotriedthedirectthing:"Ireallylikeyou,butonlyasafriend,"butyoucanonlydothatwhentheguyhasmadehisintentionsclear,andinmyexperience,theyeithercopeokay(thoughrarelydoIfeelmuchenthusiasmforfriendshipafterthat),ortheyreallydon'tcopewell.Ialsotriedthethingwhereyoumakethemthinktheyarerejectingyou,butitgetsquiteconfusingandonlyworksiftheguyisn'tverysharp,andwhywouldI--oryou--behangingoutwithsomeonenotthatsharpinthefirstplace?Asweallremember,BillyCrystal'scharactersaysmenandwomencan'tbefriendsinWhenHarryMetSallybecausethesexstuffgetsintheway.Idohavesingle,male,heterosexualfriendswithwhomIhaveaneasy,non-romanticrapport,butIhonestlydon'tknowiftheywouldwalkawayifIwassprawlednakedonabedcallingouttothem.Imaynotbeeverybody'scupoftea,butsometimes,Iwonderiftheywonder.AndtheymaywonderifIwonder.Ifso,Ihopethey'llkeepittothemselves.被拒后：朋友亦或敵人？那時我并不以為然，認(rèn)為憑自己的幽默詼諧，灌籃嫻熟，開朗活潑的性格，又有那一個男孩不喜歡在這樣的女孩身邊呢？但結(jié)果證明父親是對的。對此不需要太自戀（SamanthaBrick，自由專欄女作家曾寫過為什么女人恨我等文章，有英版芙蓉姐姐之稱），但以我的經(jīng)驗(yàn)來說，單身異性戀男士在他們認(rèn)為極具吸引力的女性身上并不想只是尋求一份簡單的柏拉圖式的關(guān)系。當(dāng)然這一概念并沒有什么開創(chuàng)性，事實(shí)上在我看來再自然不過了。首先我要說的是兩情相悅的確是世界上最為美妙事。但上帝卻好似很喜歡玩這種復(fù)雜的配對游戲，要么是通過九個半周的交往后，我們想與之確定關(guān)系的男孩認(rèn)為我們的吸引力指數(shù)同丟棄的抹布不相上下，要么就是我們對中意我們的男孩不起化學(xué)反應(yīng)，兩人總是像隔著一長長的桌臺打乒乓球一般。結(jié)果都是以另一方被拒而告終。有些異性我雖然不想和他交往，但很想和他做朋友，因?yàn)樗哪溨C，有他陪在身邊我會很開心,或者他友好善良并且為人真誠（這一類人可是稀缺性品種），或者是他不是每隔一句便提起他的理療師。我敢說這種情形你也經(jīng)歷過吧。我認(rèn)為有必要對他說明白我們之間只會是朋友這種關(guān)系這么簡單，僅此而已。說這些話宜早不宜晚，而不是將他帶在身邊給他希望。不然對他來說是不公平的。外面那么多單身女性，她們或許會對他一見鐘情，為什么要讓他白白浪費(fèi)精力放在我身上呢？但有時在拒絕一位男士后要想和他保持朋友關(guān)系，這種情況頗為棘手。如果處理不當(dāng)，結(jié)果是你可能會結(jié)下梁子。要想拒絕異性的追求或是一些曖昧舉動，同時還要讓他同意下一周他依然可以和你會面，邊品嘗藍(lán)莓煎餅邊談?wù)撐榈习瑐悎?zhí)導(dǎo)的電影，這的確需要一定的技巧。有些男士對此不以為意。我不清楚他們的原因，做朋友難道不好嗎？每個人都有自己的朋友呀。但是我確實(shí)見到有些男性在被拒絕后反應(yīng)很糟糕，有的甚至好似在地球蒸發(fā)了一樣再也沒見到他的面。我明白--他們受傷了。沒有人喜歡被別人拒絕。根據(jù)我的經(jīng)驗(yàn)甚至有些男士認(rèn)為被拒讓人精神崩潰。提起這些是因?yàn)樽罱揖陀龅搅诉@種情況。前段時間我和位異性發(fā)展著朋友關(guān)系，我起初一直以為他是同性戀。所以他時不時給我買三明治，或是邀請我去看電影，我都沒覺得有什么問題。朋友不就是做這些嗎？但朋友間是需要彼此都明白各人的性取向的（他是異性戀）還要暗示對方他的想法意圖并不是柏拉圖之類。他從未做出曖昧舉動，但事實(shí)上，他看我臉上有芝麻醬的眼神就已經(jīng)說的很明白了。他有些膽怯還沒有袒露對我的感情，所以我想這次我可以聰明些向他委婉的提下我最近一直和某個男生在交往，并對這個我頗為動心的男生十分用心。不用說他就明白戀人間得耳鬢廝磨不屬于我和他，而類似滑冰，吃吃三明治呀，或閑聊呀我都沒問題。我這樣做是不是還不錯呀？這樣他就明白不要試著前傾身子去吻我，我也不會用以要學(xué)史蒂威·旺達(dá)舞蹈為借口來躲避他的不軌舉動。在他未向我表白前我就已然拒絕他了，我認(rèn)為這招妙哉。當(dāng)然結(jié)果是事與愿違。此男再給我發(fā)送的郵件中激昂痛罵我多么沒有感情：明知道他對我的情意卻當(dāng)著他的面談?wù)撈渌猩?。僅僅因?yàn)槲沂桥?，好像我就是神?jīng)病一樣。我哪知道這些呀？我認(rèn)為在他心里我們就一直在約會，而在我心里卻把他當(dāng)做可以做一輩子的同性戀朋友。最后，因?yàn)樗麑ξ疑鷼?，我也對他動了氣，友情也就戛然而止了。我又結(jié)下了一段梁子。你瞧，我也試過用較為直接的方式回絕男生，“我真的很喜歡你，但只是出于朋友間的喜歡而已。”這招僅適用于當(dāng)此男表明了他的感情時候。在我經(jīng)驗(yàn)中，有些男生反應(yīng)還可以（盡管隨后我覺得他同我做朋友的熱情度大打折扣），有些男生對此應(yīng)對得不是太好。還有一招我也用過，就是讓他們感覺是他們在拒絕你，這招頗具有迷惑性且對象僅適用于頭腦不是很敏捷的男生。但話又說回來，我怎么會和一個頭腦不靈光的男生交往呢？我們都會記得在當(dāng)哈利遇上莎莉這部電影中比利克里斯托扮演的角色曾說：男人和女人從來不會是朋友，因?yàn)椤澳信袆e”。我的確有一些單身異性戀的男性朋友，我和他們之間也處的輕松隨意，無關(guān)乎風(fēng)月，但我真的不知道要是我懶洋洋赤身裸體于床上，大聲喚著他們，他們是否會決然走開呢？我或許不是每個人的菜，但有時我想他們是否會考慮我是不是他們喜歡的類型，或許他們也會想我會不會有同樣的念頭。如果是這樣的話，希望他們緘口不提保密于心吧。LivingWithMyTeenageGeniusASHERsonCameronsitsathislaptopcompletinganassignmentforhismathsdegreecourseAlisonThompsonisbusyhelpingherdaughterEmmagetdressed.10BiggestPuzzlesofHumanEvolutionNOBODYwouldmistakeahumanforachimpanzee,yetwesharemoreDNAthanmiceandratsdo.Howcanthatbe?Advancesingenomicsarestartingtounravelthemystery.Lineupthegenomesofhumansandchimpssidebysideandtheydifferbylittlemorethan1percent.Thatmaynotseemlikemuch,butitequatestomorethan30millionpointmutations.Around80percentofour30,000genesareaffected,andalthoughmosthavejustoneortwochanges(Gene,vol346,p215),thesecanhavedramaticeffects.TheproteinmadebythehumangeneFOXP2,whichhelpsustospeak,differsfromitschimpcounterpartbyjusttwoaminoacids,forexample.AndsmallchangesinthemicrocephalinandASPMgenesmayunderliebigdifferencesinbrainsizebetweenhumansandchimps.Butproteinevolutionisonlypartofwhatmakesushuman.Alsocriticalarechangesingeneregulation-whenandwheregenesareexpressedduringdevelopment-saysJamesNoonanofYaleThenthere'sgeneduplication.Thiscangiverisetofamiliesofgenesthatdiversifyandtakeonnewfunctions,saysEvanEichlerattheUniversityofWashingtoninSeattle.Hislabhasidentifieduniquelyhumangenefamiliesthataffectmanyaspectsofourbiology,fromtheimmunesystemtobraindevelopment.Hesuspectsthatgeneduplicationhascontributedtotheevolutionofnovelcognitivecapacitiesinhumans,butatacost:greatersusceptibilitytoneurologicaldisorders.CopyingerrorsmeanwholechunksofDNAhavebeenaccidentallydeleted.OtherchunksfindthemselvesinnewlocationswhenmobilegeneticelementsjumparoundthegenomeorvirusesintegratethemselvesintoourDNA.Thehumangenomecontainsmorethan26,000oftheseso-calledINDELs,manylinkedwithdifferencesingeneexpressionbetweenhumansandchimps(MobileDNA,vol2,p13).Evenacompletecatalogueofgeneticdifferenceswillnotsolvethemystery.Muchofwhatmakesushumaniscultural,passedfromgenerationtogenerationbylearning,saysAjitVarkiattheUniversityofCalifornia,SanDiego.What'smore,hesays,Theco-evolutionofgenesandcultureisamajorforceinhumanevolution,famouslyleavingthedescendentsofdairyfarmersabletodigestmilkprotein,forexample.Tocrackthemysteryofhumanuniquenessweneedtoknowhowgenomesbuildbodiesandbrain