大学英语精读第5册15课文全文翻译.docx
《大学英语精读第5册15课文全文翻译.docx》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《大学英语精读第5册15课文全文翻译.docx(16页珍藏版)》请在冰豆网上搜索。
大学英语精读第5册15课文全文翻译
大学英语精读第5册和第6册全文课文翻译
AKindofSermon
ItisprobablyeasierforteachersthanforstudentstoappreciatethereasonswhylearningEnglishseemstobecomeincreasinglydifficultoncethebasicstructuresandpatternsofthelanguagehavebeenunderstood.Studentsarenaturallysurprisedanddisappointedtodiscoverthataprocesswhichoughttobecomesimplerdoesnotappeartodoso.
Itmaynotseemmuchconsolationtopointoutthattheteacher,too,becomesfrustratedwhenhiseffortsappeartoproducelessobviousresults.Hefindsthatstudentswhowereeasytoteach,becausetheysucceededinputtingeverythingtheyhadbeentaughtintopractice,hesitatewhenconfrontedwiththevastuntouchedareaofEnglishvocabularyandusagewhichfallsoutsidethescopeofbasictextbooks.Heseesthemstrugglingbecausethelanguagetheythoughttheyknewnowappearstoconsistofabewilderingvarietyofidioms,clichédandacceptedphraseswithdifferentmeaningsindifferentcontexts.ItishardtoconvincethemthattheyarestillmakingprogresstowardsfluencyandthattheirEnglishiscertaintoimprove,giventimeanddedication.
Insuchcircumstancesitishardlysurprisingthatsomegiveupindisgust,whileothersstillwaithopefullyfortheteachertogivethemthesameconfidentguidancehewasabletoofferthematfirst.Theteacher,forhispart,frequentlyreducedtotryingtoexplaintheinexplicable,maytakerefugeinquotingproverbstohiscolleaguessuchas:
"Youcanleadahorsetowaterbutyoucan'tmakehimdrink”or,morerespectfullyiflessgrammatically:
”Itain’twhatyousay,It'sthewaythatyousayit."Hisstudentsmightfeelinclinedtocounterthesewith:
"ThemoreIlearn,thelessIknow."
Ofcoursethisisnottrue.Whatbothstudentsandteachersareexperiencingistherecognitionthatthemorecomplexstructuresoneencountersinalanguagearenotasvitaltomakingoneselfunderstoodandsohavealessimmediatefieldofapplication.Forthesamereason,fromtheteacher'spointofview,selectingwhatshouldbetaughtbecomesamoredifficulttask.Itismucheasiertogetfoodofanykindthantochoosethedishyouwouldmostliketoeatonagivendayfromavastmenu.
Definingtheproblemiseasierthanprovidingthesolution.OnecansuggestthatstudentsshouldspendtwoorthreeyearsinanEnglish-speakingcountry,whichamountstowashingone'shandsofthem.Fewstudentshavethetimeorthemoneytodothat.Itisoftensaidthatwidereadingisthetimeorthemoneytodothat.Itisoftensaidthatwidereadingisthebestalternativecourseofactionbutevenhereitisnecessarytomakesomekindofselection.Itisnousetellingstudentstogotothelibraryandpickupthefirstbooktheycomeacross.Myownadvicetothemwouldbe:
"readwhatyoucanunderstandwithouthavingtolookupwordsinadictionary(butnotwhatyoucanunderstandataglance);readwhatinterestsyou;readwhatyouhavetimefor(magazinesandnewspapersratherthannovelsunlessyoucanreadthewholenovelinaweekorso);readtheEnglishwrittentoday,not200yearsago;readasmuchasyoucanandtrytorememberthewayitwaswrittenratherthanindividualwordsthatpuzzledyou."Andinsteadof"read",Icouldjustaswellsay"listento."
Myadvicetoteacherswouldbesimilarinaway.Iwouldsay"It'snogoodthinkingthatanythingwilldo,orthatalllanguageisuseful.It'snogoodrelyingonstudentstoexpressthemselveswithouttherighttoolsforexpression.It'sstillyourdutytochoosethebestpathtofollownearthetopofthemountainjustasitwastoproposeapracticableshort-cutawayfromthebeatentrackinthefoothills.Andifthepathyouchooseistooovergrowntomakefurtherprogress,thewholepartywillhavetogobackandyouwillhavetochooseanotherroute.Youarestillthepaidguideandexpertandthereisawaytothetopsomewhere."
TheFifthFreedom
MorethanthreecenturiesagoahandfulofpioneerscrossedtheoceantJamestownandPlymouthinsearchoffreedomstheywereunabletofindintheirowncountries,thefreedomsofwestillcherishtoday:
freedomfromwant,freedomfromfear,freedomofspeech,freedomofreligion.Todaythedescendantsoftheearlysettlers,andthosewhohavejoinedthemsince,arefightingtoprotectthesefreedomsathomeandthroughouttheworld.
Andyetthereisafifthfreedom-basictothosefour-thatweareindangeroflosing:
thefreedomtobeone'sbest.St.Exuperydescribesaragged,sensitive-facedArabchild,hauntingthestreetsofaNorthAfricantown,asalostMozart:
hewouldneverbetrainedordeveloped.Washefree?
"Noonegraspedyoubytheshoulderwhiletherewasstilltime;andnoughtwillawakeninyouthesleepingpoetormusicianorastronomerthatpossiblyinhabitedyoufromthebeginning."Thefreedomtobeone'sbestisthechanceforthedevelopmentofeachpersontohishighestpower.
HowisitthatweinAmericahavebeguntolosethisfreedom,andhowcanweregainitforournation'syouth?
Ibelieveithasstartedslippingawayfromusbecauseofthreemisunderstandings.
First,themisunderstandingofthemeaningofdemocracy.TheprincipalofagreatPhiladelphiahighschoolisdriventocryforhelpincombatingthenotionthatitisundemocratictorunaspecialprogramofstudiesforoutstandingboysandgirls.Again,whenagoodindependentschoolinMemphisrecentlyclosed,somethoughtfulcitizensurgedthatitbetakenoverbythepublicschoolsystemandusedforboysandgirlsofhighability,whatithaveentrancerequirementsandgiveanadvancedprogramofstudiestosuperiorstudentswhowereinterestedandabletotakeit.Theproposalwasrejectedbecauseitwasundemocratic!
Thus,coursesaregearedtothemiddleoftheclass.Thegoodstudentisunchallenged,bored.Theloaferreceiveshispassinggrade.Andthelackofanoutstandingcoursefortheoutstandingstudent,thelackofastandardwhichaboyorgirlmustmeet,passesfordemocracy.
Thesecondmisunderstandingconcernswhatmakesforhappiness.Theaimsofourpresent-daycultureareavowedlyeaseandmaterialwell-being:
shorterhours;ashorterweek;morereturnforlessaccomplishment;moresoftsoapexcusesandfewerhonest,realisticdemands.Inourschoolsthisisreflectedbythevanishinghickorystickandtheemergingpsychiatrist.Thehickorystickhaditsfaults,andthepsychiatristhashisstrengths.Buthickorystickhaditsfaults,andthepsychiatristhashisstrengths.Butthetrendisclear.Toutcomprendrec'esttoutpardoner(Tounderstandeverythingistoexcuseeverything).Dowereallybelievethatoursofteningstandardsbringhappiness?
Isitoursoundandconsideredjudgmentthatthetoughersubjectsoftheclassicsandmathematicsshouldbethrownaside,assuggestedbysomeeducators,fordoll-playing?
SmallwonderthatCharlesMalik,LebanesedelegateattheU.N.,writes:
"ThereisintheWest"(intheUnitedStates)"ageneralweakeningofmoralfiber.(Our)leadershipdoesnotseemtobeadequatetotheunprecedentedchallengesoftheage."
Thelastmisunderstandingisintheareaofvalues.Herearesomeofthemostinfluentialtenetsofteachereducationoverthepastfiftyyears:
thereisnoeternaltruth;thereisnoabsolutemorallaw;thereisnoGod.Yetallofhistoryhastaughtusthatthedenialoftheseultimates,theplacementofmanorstateatthecoreoftheuniverse,resultsinaparalyzingmassselfishness;andthefirstsignsofitarealreadyfrighteninglyevident.
ArnoldToynbeehassaidthatallprogress,alldevelopmentcomefromchallengeandaconsequentresponse.Withoutchallengethereisnoresponse,nodevelopment,nofreedom.Sofirstweowetoourchildrenthemostdemanding,challengingcurriculumthatiswithintheircapabilities.Michelangelodidnotlearntopaintbyspendinghistimedoodling.Mozartwasnotanaccomplishedpianistattheageofeightastheresultorspendinghisdaysinfrontofatelevisionset.LikeEveCurie,likeHelenKeller,theyrespondedtothechallengeoftheirlivesbyadisciplinedtraining:
andtheygainedanewfreedom.
Thesecondopportunitywecangiveourboysandgirlsistherighttofailure."Freedomisnotonlyaprivilege,itisatest,"writesDeNouy.Whatkindofatestisit,whatkindoffreedomwherenoonecanfail?
ThedayispastwhentheUnitedStatescanaffordtogivehighschooldiplomastoallwhositthroughfouryearsofinstruction,regardlessofwhetheranyvisibleresultscanbediscerned.Weliveinanarrowedworldwherewemustbealert,awaketorealism;andrealismdemandsastandardwhicheithermustbemetorresultinfailure.Thesearehardwords,buttheyarebrutallytrue.Ifwedepriveourchildrenoftherighttofailwedeprivethemoftheirknowledgeoftheworldasitis.
Finally,wecanexposeourchildrentothebestvalueswehavefound.Byrelatingourlivestotheevidencesoftheages,byjudgingourphilosophyinthelightofvaluesthathistoryhasproventruest,perhapsweshallbeabletoproducethat"ringingmessage,fullofcontentandtruth,satisfyingthemind,appealingtotheheart,firingthewill,amessageonwhichonecanstakehiswholelife."Thisisthemessagethatcouldmeanjoyandstrengthandleadership--freedomasopposedtoserfdom.
YourKeytoaBetterLife
Themostimportantpsychologicalofthiscenturyisthediscoveryofthe"self-image."Whetherwerealizeitornot,eachofuscarriesaboutwithusamentalblueprintorpictureofourselves.Itmaybevagueandill-definedtoourconsciousgaze.Infact,itmaynotbeconsciouslyrecognizableatall.Butitisthere,completedowntothelastdetail.Thi