The English Reserve and Politeness 翻译 英语泛读教程 3高等教育出版社.docx

1、The English Reserve and Politeness 翻译 英语泛读教程 3高等教育出版社参考译文1. 课文一2. 课文二Text 1 The English Reserve and Politeness It seems to many people that the British are extremely polite and difficult to make friends with. Hopefully the following passage will help you to have a better understanding of the British

2、 character. To other Europeans, the best known quality of the British is reserve. A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers, does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited. It is difficult to get to know a reserved person; he never tells you anything about himself, and y

3、ou may work with him for years without ever knowing where he lives, how many children he has, and what his interests are. English people tend to be like that. If they are making a journey by bus, they will do their best to find an empty seat; if by train, an empty compartment. If they have to share

4、the compartment with a stranger, they may travel many miles without starting a conversation. If a conversation does start, personal questions like How old are you? or even What is your name? are not easily asked. Questions like Where did you buy your watch? or What is your salary? are almost impossi

5、ble. Similarly, conversation in Britain is in general quiet and restrained and loud speech is considered ill-bred. This unwillingness to communicate with others is an unfortunate quality in some ways, since it tends to give the impression of coldness, and it is true that the English (except perhaps

6、in the North) are not noted for their generosity and hospitality. On the other hand, they are perfectly human behind their barrier of reserve, and may be quite pleased when a friendly stranger or foreigner succeeds for a time in breaking the barrier down. Closely related to English reserve is Englis

7、h modesty. Within their hearts, the English are perhaps no less conceited than anybody else, but in their relations with others they value at least a show of modesty. Self-praise is felt to be ill-bred. If a person is, let us say, very good at tennis, and someone asks him if he is a good player, he

8、will seldom reply Yes, because people will think him conceited. He will probably give an answer like, Im not bad, or Well, Im very keen on tennis. This self-deprecation is typically English, and, mixed with their reserve, it often produces a sort of general air of indifference which appears to forei

9、gners difficult to understand and even irritating. The famous English sense of humor is similar. Its starting point is self-deprecation, and its great enemy is conceit. Its ideal is the ability to laugh at oneself at ones own faults, ones own failures and embarrassments, even at ones own ideals. The

10、 criticism, He has no sense of humor, is very commonly heard in Britain, where humor is so highly prized. A sense of humor is an attitude to life rather than the mere ability to laugh at jokes. This attitude is never cruel or disrespectful or malicious. The English do not laugh at a cripple or a mad

11、man, a tragedy or an honorable failure. Sympathy or admiration for artistic skill are felt to be stronger than laughter. Like a sense of humor, sportsmanship is an English ideal which not all Englishmen live up to. It must be realized that sport in its modern form is almost entirely a British invent

12、ion. Boxing, association football, tennis and cricket were all first organized and given rules in Britain. Rules are the essence of sport, and sportsmanship is the ability to practise a sport in obedience to its rules, while also showing generosity to ones opponent and good temper in defeat. Moreove

13、r, sportsmanship as an ideal is applied to life in general. One of the most elementary rules of life is never hit a man when hes downin other words, never take advantage of another persons misfortune. English school-boys often show this sense of sportsmanship to a surprisingly high degree in their r

14、elations with each other. Another feature in Britain is politeness. On the whole British habits of politeness are very informal. All politeness is based on the elementary rule of showing consideration for others, and acknowledging the consideration they show to you. Excuse me is used as an advance a

15、pology for troubling somebody, as when passing in front of him or interrupting his conversation, or when putting a question to a stranger. Sorry expresses regret for an accidental disturbance or breach of manners. It also takes the place of no when you cannot agree to a request or an implied request

16、 like May I borrow your pen? or Do you know the time? or Have you any size seven shoes? Pardon? is the polite way of asking somebody to repeat what he has said. In Britain, except at school, please is no longer used in asking permission to speak, and the phrase No, please, so common abroad, would so

17、und most unusual in Britain itself. Yes, please is the commonest use of the word, and is the opposite of No, thank you when replying to an offer. A bare yes or no is considered very rude in this case. Similarly, a polite request does not begin with I want or I think, but with a phrase like Will (or

18、Would, Can, Could) you please.? or Would you mind.? When the request is granted, and at any time when you are receiving something, however obviously you are entitled to it, you are always expected to say Thank you. British people do not readily ask each other to do anything that would involve real i

19、nconvenience: they prefer to wait for such service to be offered, rather than ask for it. If they do ask, then the request is accompanied by an implied apology like, I dont really like asking you, but. or, I know the trouble Im causing you, but would you mind.? and so on. Similarly it is often polit

20、e to refuse an offer of service by means of such a reply as, Oh! please dont bother, followed by an explanation of why you can do without it. In fact, without being conscious of it, British people sometimes make offers purely out of politeness, not really expecting them to be accepted, and offers of

21、 this kind are refused with the same politeness. If you are invited into a persons home, there are other questions to consider. For instance, what time should you arrive? If it is a social occasion, not a business one, it is not polite to arrive early. Your hostess will be preparing for you, and wil

22、l be most embarrassed if you arrive before she is quite ready. Ten minutes late is excellent. Half an hour late is excessive and requires apologies. Then too, the British are rather particular about table manners. The main thing is: to sit up straight, copy everyone else, gaily asking what to do if

23、you are not sure, and keep the conversation going. What time should you leave? There are no rules, but it is most impolite to stay too late, as it implies a lack of consideration for your hosts. If it is simply an invitation to an evening meal and conversation, you will probably take your leave betw

24、een ten and eleven oclock. If you have been asked to stay for several days, you will conform as far as possible to the routine of the house, and your hostess will be very pleased if you give her a bunch of flowers, specially bought, before you leave. Politeness towards women is less observed today t

25、han it used to be. It is still considered polite to give up ones seat to a woman who is standing, to open doors for her, help her alight from the bus, carry things for her, protect her from the traffic, and so on, and the maxim Ladies first is well known. But now that women are the equals of men in

26、having the vote, taking paid employment and receiving higher education, they receive much less consideration than formerly, for the whole basis of politeness towards women is the feeling that they need protection. The same principle applies to old people. If they are respected in Britain, it is beca

27、use they are felt to be in need of protection and support. Old age and seniority alone do not command authority among the British, in fact modern life has been developing so fast that old people often appear tiresome and out of date. Thus, We need some young blood is often heard in organizations whe

28、re the energy and modern methods of younger men are felt to be more likely to succeed than the long but partly irrelevant experience of older ones. The wisest of the older generation realize this. They either make an effort to remain young in heart and keep pace4 with the times or else they let youn

29、ger men take their place. It follows that mature Europeans have no desire to grow old or to look older than they are. Women especially, for reasons of sexual attraction, long to stay young and there is no greater compliment to a mature woman than to be told How young you look! On the other hand, if

30、a womans hairstyle, make-up and clothes reveal an obvious effort to look artificially young, she is said to look common, and is regarded with disapproval. (1528 words) TOP 课文一英国人的谨慎和礼貌 在许多人看来，英国人极为礼貌，同他们交朋友很难。但愿下列文字能够帮助你更好地了解英国人的性格特点。 对于其他欧洲人来说，英国人最著名的特点是“谨慎”。一个谨慎的人不太会和陌生人聊天，不会流露出太多的情感，并且很少会兴奋。要了解一个

31、谨慎的人并非易事；他从不告诉你有关他自己的任何事，也许你和他工作了几年，却连他住在哪儿，有几个孩子，兴趣是什么，都不知道。英国人就有类似的倾向。如果乘公共汽车去旅行，他们会尽量找一个没人坐的位子；如果是乘火车，他们会找一个没人的单间。如果他们不得不与陌生人共用一个单间时，那么即使火车驶出了很多英里，他们也不会开口交谈。一旦谈起来的话，他们不会轻易问及像“你多大年龄？”或者甚至“你叫什么名字？”等私人问题。像“你的手表是在哪儿买的？”或者“你的收入是多少？”这样的问题几乎不可想象。同样，在英国，人们交谈时一般声音都很轻、很有节制，大声谈话会被视为没有教养。 在某种程度上，不愿意与他人交流是一种不

32、幸的品质，因为它可能会给人造成态度冷淡的印象。而事实上，英国人（也许除了北方人）并不以慷慨和好客而著称。而另一方面，虽然谨慎使他们不易与人沟通,但他们内心还是很有人情味的。如果一个陌生人或外国人友善地将这种隔阂打破那么一会儿，他们可能会满心欢喜。 与英国人的谨慎紧密相连的品质是英国式的谦逊。在内心深处，英国人可能比任何人都高傲，但是当他们与别人相处时，他们十分看重谦逊的品质，至少要表现出谦虚的样子。自我标榜会被认为没有教养。让我们假设，有一个人非常擅长打网球，但如果有人问他是否是个优秀选手时，他很少会说“是”，不然，人们会认为他很高傲。他可能会作出类似这样的回答，“不算太差，”或者“嗯，我非常喜欢网球。”这样的自我贬低是典型的英国式的。而且当这一品质与他们的谨慎混合在一起时，常常形成一种漠然的气氛，这在外国人看来难于理解，甚至令人恼火。 著名的英国人的幽默感也是大同小异。它的出发点是自我贬低，它的最大对手是高傲，它的理想境界是自嘲的能力嘲笑自己的错误、自己的失败