1、自考本科英语课文翻译Unit 1 Cultural Differences文化差异In 1993, I had my first opportunity to visit Russia as a representative of the University of California. I was there to provide some technical assistance in the area of agricultural labor management. “Russians are a very polite people,” I had been tutored bef
2、ore my arrival. One of my interpreters, once I was there, explained that a gentleman should pour the lemonade (a type of juice) for the ladies and show other courtesies to them.1993年,我作为加利福尼亚大学的代表，有了我的第一个访问俄罗斯的机会。我在该地区的农业劳动管理区提供一些技术援助。“俄罗斯人是很有教养的人,”我在来访之前就被这样教导过。我一到那儿，我的一位翻译员就对我解释说,一作为一个绅士应该为女士们倒柠檬汁
3、(一种果汁)并且向他们展示其它的礼貌礼仪。 Toward the end of my three-week trip I was invited by my young Russian host and friend Dmitri Ivanovich and his lovely wife Yielena out to dinner. At the end of a wonderful meal Yielena asked if I would like a banana. I politely declined and thanked her, and explained I was mos
4、t satisfied with the meal. But the whole while my mind was racing: “What do I do? Do I offer her a banana even though they are as close to her as they are to me? What is the polite thing to do?” 就在我这三周的旅行快要结束的时候，我被我的朋友，一位年轻的俄罗斯东道主，季米特里伊万诺维奇和他美丽的妻子Yielena邀请去吃晚饭。在一顿美餐的最后，Yielena问我是否想要一个香蕉。我礼貌地拒绝了并向她表示
5、感谢,说明我非常满意这顿饭。但是我满脑子都在想:“我该怎麽办?我需要拿一根香蕉给她吗？即使香蕉离她比离我要近。什么是有礼貌的做法呢?”“Would you like a banana?” I asked Yielena.“Yes,” she smiled, but made no attempt to take any of the three bananas in the fruit basket. “What now?” I thought.“Which one would you like?” I fumbled.“你想要一根香蕉吗?”我问Yielena。“是的,”她笑了笑,但是并没有从
6、水果篮里拿出任何一根香蕉。“现在该怎么办?”我不禁想到。“你想要哪一个?”我支支吾吾地说道。 “That one,” she pointed at one of the bananas. So all the while thinking about Russian politeness I picked the banana Yielena had pointed at and peeled it half way and handed it to her. Smiles in Yielena and Dmitris faces told me I had done the right th
7、ing. After this experience I spent much time letting the world know that in Russia, the polite thing is to peel the bananas for the ladies. Sometime during my third trip I was politely disabused of my notion. 那只 ,”她指着其中一根香蕉。我心里满心想着俄罗斯的礼节，因此我拿起了Yielena 指过的香蕉，把香蕉皮剥了一半递给她。Yielena和季米特里微笑的脸,似乎告诉我，我做了正确的事
8、情。经历过这事以后，我不断地告诉其他人，让他们都知道在为女士们剥香蕉是很有有礼貌的事情。我的观点在我第三次访问俄罗斯的时候被人客气地打消了。“Oh no, Grigorii Davidovich,” a Russian graciously corrected me. “In Russia, when a man peels a banana for a lady it means he has a romantic interest in her.” How embarrassed I felt. And here I had been proudly telling everyone ab
9、out this tidbit of cultural understanding.“哦，不是的,古尔维奇”一位俄罗斯人好心地纠正了我。“在俄罗斯,当一个男人为一位女士剥香蕉，这意味着他对她的感兴趣。”我当时感到多么尴尬啊！在这里,我曾自豪地告诉每个人这是我对文化的理解。 Certain lessons have to be learned the hard way. Some well meaning articles and presentations on cultural differences have a potential to do more harm than good an
10、d may not be as amusing. They present, like my bananas, too many generalizations or quite a distorted view.一定要努力地学习一些课程。一些对文化差异有好处的文章和演示，有可能弊大于利,可能也不是很有趣。他们，就像我的香蕉观点一样，表现出的过多的是结论或者是相当歪曲的看法。 Some often-heard generalizations about the Hispanic culture include: Hispanics need less personal space, make
11、less eye contact, touch each other more in normal conversation, and are less likely to participate in a meeting. Generalizations are often dangerous, and especially when accompanied by recommendations such as: move closer when talking to Hispanics, make more physical contact, dont expect participati
12、on, and so on. 一些常常听到的有关于西班牙文化的概括包括：西班牙人需要更少的个人空间,尽可能少的眼神接触，相互接触时应该用正常的谈话,而不愿意参加一个会议。概况性的东西通常是危险的，尤其是当伴有建议性时，如：与西班牙人谈话时，靠近些，做更多的身体接触，别指望参与其中，等等。 Differences between people within any given nation or culture are much greater than differences between groups. Education, social standing, religion, perso
13、nality, belief structure, past experience, affection shown in the home, and a myriad of other factors will affect human behavior and culture. 任何特定民族或特定文化内部的人们之间的差异常常是是大于群体之间的差异的。教育、社会地位、宗教信仰、性格、信念、阅历、家庭的爱以及其它无数因素都会影响人的行为和文化。 Sure there are differences in approach as to what is considered polite and
14、appropriate behavior both on and off the job. In some cultures “yes” means, “I hear you” more than “I agree.” Length of pleasantries and greetings before getting down to business, level of tolerance for being around someone speaking a foreign (not-understood) language, politeness measured in terms o
15、f gallantry or etiquette (e.g., standing up for a woman who approaches a table, yielding a seat on the bus to an older person, etc.) and manner of expected dress are all examples of possible cultural differences and traditions. 的确有一些不同的方法，不管在工作上还是工作外，都会被认为是礼貌和恰当的行为。在某些文化中，“是”表示的是“我听你的”而不是“我赞同你”。进入正题
16、前寒暄和客套长度，被说着外国（听不懂）语言的人所围绕而可以忍耐的程度，以礼貌或礼仪来衡量一个人的礼节（例如，为女士给拉开椅子，或者是在公车上为老人让位，等等。)，并且能在任何可能的文化差异和传统下都能很好地着装打扮。 In Mexico it is customary for the arriving person to greet the others. For instance, someone who walks into a group of people eating would say provecho (enjoy your meal). In Chile, women ofte
17、n greet both other women and men with a kiss on the cheek. In Russia women often walk arm in arm with their female friends. Paying attention to customs and cultural differences can give someone outside that culture a better chance of assimilation or acceptance. Ignoring these can get an unsuspecting
18、 person into trouble. 在墨西哥，刚到的人要给其他人问好是一种习俗。比如，一个人走进来，碰到一群正在吃饭的人时，他会说provecho(祝您们用餐愉快)。在智利，女性通常以在其他女性或男性的脸颊上一吻来打招呼。在俄罗斯，妇女们经常与她们的女性朋友手挽手一起走。注重其他国家的习俗和文化差异可以让外来的人更好地融入或被接受。无视这些差异可以给一个毫无防备的人带来麻烦。There are cultural and ideological differences and it is good to have an understanding about a cultures cus
19、toms and ways. Aaron Pun, a Canadian ODCnet correspondent, wrote: “In studying cross-cultural differences, we are not looking at individuals but a comparison of one ethnic group against others. Hence, we are comparing two bell curves and generalizations cannot be avoided.” Another correspondent expl
20、ained the human need to categorize. True and true, but the danger comes when we act on some of these generalizations, especially when they are based on faulty observations. Acting on generalizations about such matters as eye contact, personal space, touch, and interest in participation can have seri
21、ous negative consequences.由于存在文化和意识形态上的差异，所以了解一种文化中的习惯和生活方式是有好处的。加拿大的ODCnet网站记者阿伦庞写道：“在研究跨文化差异中，我们不是研究个体，而是进行不同民族之间的比较，因此我们是在比较两个正态分布的曲线，所以概括是难免的。”另一名记者解释说，人们需要对事物进行分类描述。这些说法都是完全正确的，但是当我们按照这些概括性结论行事，而这些结论又是来自错误的观察是，危险就降临了。如果我们根据眼睛对视、人体间距离、身体接触和参与的兴趣等一类事物所作的一般推论来决定我们的行为，就可能产生严重的负面结果。Unit 2 The land o
22、f the lock 上锁的大陆 In the house where i grow up, it was our custom to leave the front door on the latch at night. I dont know if that was a local term or if is universal;on the latchmeant the door was closed but not locked . None of us carried keys ; the last one in for the evening would close up,and
23、that was it.在我长大成人的家里，我们的习惯是晚上把前门闩上。我不知道这是个地区用语还是普遍的说法；“闩着门”的意思是关着门但却不上锁。我们都不带钥匙；晚上最后进来的人会把门关上，如此而巳。 Those days are over. In rural areas as well as in cities, doors do not stay unlocked,even for part of an evening.那样的日子已经一去不复返了。现在不管是城市还是乡村，门不再是不上锁了，甚至天一黑门就要上锁。 Suburbs and country areas are, in many
24、ways, even more vulnerable than well-patrolled urban streets. Statistic show the crime rate rising more dramatically in those allegedly tranquil areas than in cities. At any rate, the era of leaving the front door on the latch is over. 在很多方面，郊区及乡村地区甚至比巡视得很严密的城市街道还要容易出事。统计数字表明，在那些据称是平静的地区，犯罪率的上升较之城市还
25、要显著。不管怎么说，晚上闩着前门的日子已经结束了。 It has been replaced by locks , security chains, electronic alarm system and trip wires hooked up to a police station or private guard firm. Many suburban families have sliding glass doors on their patios,with steel bars elegantly built in so no one can pry the doors open.门
26、闩已经被防盗锁，安全链、电子报警系统以及与警局或私人保镖公司相连的报警线所取代。许多郊区家庭在庭院里都装有滑动的玻璃门，很别致地装有暗藏的钢闩，这样就没人能橇开门了。It is not uncommon, in the most pleasant of homes, to see pasted on the windows decals announcing that the premises are under surveillance by this security force or that guard company.这很正常，在很多漂亮的家里，经常能见到窗户上张贴着图案显示本宅受某
27、保安部队或某保镖公司的监护。The lock is a new symbol of American. Indeed ,a recent public-service advertisement by a large insurance company featured not actuarial charts but a picture of a childs bicycle with the now-usual padlock attached to it. 锁成了美国的新的象征。的确，一家打保险公司最近的一则公益广告没有用图表表明我们所处的危险有多大，而是用了一幅童车的图片，车身上悬挂着
28、如今无所不在的挂锁。The ad pointed out that,yes,it is the insurance companies that pay for stolen goods, but who is going to pay for what the new atmosphere of distrust and fear is doing to our way of life?who is going to make the psychic payment for the transformation of American from the land of the free to
29、 the land of the lock？诚然，广告显示的是保险公司会为你失窃的东西负责，但是又有谁会补偿这种不信任和恐惧的气氛给我们生活方式带来的改变呢，谁来补偿美国由自由大陆转变为上锁的大陆所造成的心理损失呢？For that is what has happened.We have become so used to defending ourselves against the new atmosphere of America life,so used to putting up barriers,that we have not had time to think about w
30、hat it may mean. 情况就是这样。我们已经非常习惯于保护自己不受美国生活新气氛的影响，习惯于围起屏障，却没有时间去考虑这一切意味着什么。For some reason we are satisfied when we think we are well protected; it does not occur to us to ask ourselves: Why has this happened? Why are we having to barricade ourslves against our neighbors and fellow citizens,and when
31、,exactly,did this start to take over our lives? 出干某种原因，当我们受到良好的保护时，我们自会心满意足；却从没想过问问自己：为什么会这样，为什么一定要在我们自己与邻居和同胞之间设立屏障呢，而且，我们的生活受制于这一现象，究竟是从何时开始的呢?And it has taken over.If you work for a medium-to large-size company, chances are that you dont just wander in and out of work.You probably carry some kind
32、 of acccess card, electronic or otherwise,that allows in and out of your place of work.Maybe the front guard of the desk knows your face and will wave you in most days,but the fact remains that the business you work for feels threatened enough to keep outsiders away via these “keys”. 的确这一现象已经控制了我们的生活。如果你在家大中型公司工作，你很有可能不能随便出入公司。你可能要携带某种电子或非电子的出入卡，才能进出工作单位。也许前台的保安认识你，平时挥挥手就让你进去了，但是事实仍然是你所供职的单位觉得受到了威胁，要通过这样一些“钥匙”挡住外来者。It wasnt always like this.Even a decade ago,most private businesses had a policy of free access.It simply didnt o
