新概念第四册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson46


　　【课文】

　　Punctuality is a necessary habit in all public affairs in civilized society. Without it, nothing could ever be brought to a conclusion; everything would be in state of chaos. Only in a sparsely-populated rural community is it possible to disregard it. In ordinary living, there can be some tolerance of unpunctuality. The intellectual, who is working on some abstruse problem, has everything coordinated and organized for the matter in hand. He is therefore forgiven if late for a dinner party. But people are often reproached for unpunctuality when their only fault is cutting things fine. It is hard for energetic, quick-minded people to waste time, so they are often tempted to finish a job before setting out to keep an appointment. If no accidents occur on the way, like punctured tires, diversions of traffic, sudden descent of fog, they will be on time. They are often more industrious, useful citizens than those who are never late. The over-punctual can be as much a trial to others as the unpunctual. The guest who arrives half an hour too soon is the greatest nuisance. Some friends of my family had this irritating habit. The only thing to do was ask them to come half an hour later than the other guests. Then they arrived just when we wanted them.

　　If you are citing a train, it is always better to be comfortably early than even a fraction of a minted too late. Although being early may mean wasting a little time, this will be less than if you miss the train and have to wait an hour or more for the next one; and you avoid the frustration of arriving at the very moment when the train is drawing out of the station and being unable to get on it. An even harder situation is to be on the platform in good time for a train and still to see it go off without you. Such an experience befell a certain young girl the first time she was traveling alone.

　　She entered the station twenty minutes before the train was due, since her parents had impressed upon her that it would be unforgivable to miss it and cause the friends with whom she was going to stay to make two journeys to meet her. She gave her luggage to a porter and showed him her ticket. To her horror he said that she was two hours too soon. She felt in her handbag for the piece of paper on which her father had written down all the details of the journey and gave it to the porter. He agreed that a train did come into the station at the time on the paper and that it did stop, but only to take on mail, not passengers. The girl asked to see a timetable, feeling sure that her father could not have made such a mistake. The porter went to fetch one and arrive back with the station master, who produced it with a flourish and pointed out a microscopic 'o' beside the time of the arrival of the train at his station; this little 'o' indicated that the train only stopped for mail. Just as that moment the train came into the station. The girl, tears streaming down her face, begged to be allowed to slip into the guard's van. But the station master was adamant: rules could not be broken and she had to watch that train disappear towards her destination while she was left behind.

　　【课文翻译】

　　准时是文明社会中进行一切社交活动时必须养成的习惯。不准时将一事无成，事事都会陷入混乱不堪的境地。只有在人口稀少的农村，才可以忽视准时的习惯。在日常生活中人们可以容忍一定程度的不准时。一个专心钻研某个复杂问题的知识分子，为了搞好手头的研究，要把一切都协调一致，组织周密。因此，他要是赴宴迟到了会得到谅解。但有些人不准时常常因为掐钟点所致，他们常常受到责备，精力充沛、头脑敏捷的人极不愿意浪费时间，因此他们常想做完一件事后再去赴约。要是路上没有发生如爆胎、改道、突然起雾等意外事故，他们决不会迟到。他们与那些从不迟到的人相比，常常是更勤奋有用的公民。早到的人同迟到的人一样令人讨厌。客人提前半小时到达是令人讨厌的。我家有几个朋友就有这有令人恼火的习惯。唯一的办法就是请他们比别的客人晚来半小时。这样，他们可以恰好在我们要求的时间到达。

　　如果赶火车，早到总比晚到好，哪怕早到一会儿也好。虽然早到可能意味着浪费一点时间，但这比误了火车等上一个多小时坐下班车浪费的时间要少，而且可以避免那种正好在火车驶出站时赶到车站，因上不去车而感到的沮丧。更难堪的情况是虽然及时赶到站台上，却眼睁睁地看着那趟火车启动，把你抛下。一个小姑娘第一次单独出门就碰到了这种情况。

　　在火车进站20分钟前她就进了车站。因为她的父母再三跟她说，如果误了这趟车，她的东道主朋友就得接她两趟，这是不应该的。她把行李交给搬运工并给他看了车票。搬运工说她早到了两个小时，她听后大吃一惊。她从钱包里摸出一张纸条，那上面有她父亲对这次旅行详细说明，她把这张纸条交给了搬运工。搬运工说，正如纸条所说，确有一趟火车在那个时刻到站，但它只停站装邮件，不载旅客。姑娘要求看到时刻表，因为她相信父亲不能把这么大的事弄错。搬运工跑回去取时刻表，同时请来了站长。站长拿着时刻表一挥手，指着那趟列车到站时刻旁边一个很小的圆圈标记。这个标记表示列车是为装邮件而停车。正在这时，火车进站了。女孩泪流满面，央求让她不声不响地到押车员车厢里去算了。但站长态度坚决，规章制度不能破坏，姑娘只得眼看那趟火车消逝在她要去的方向而撇下了她。

　　【词汇】

　　punctuality n. 准时

　　rural adv. 农村的

　　disregard v. 不顾，无视

　　intellectual n. 知识分子

　　abstruse adj. 深奥的

　　coordinate v. 协调

　　reproach v. 责备

　　puncture v. 刺破(轮胎)

　　diversion n. 改道，绕道

　　trial n. 讨厌的事，人

　　fraction n. 很小一点儿

　　flourish n. 挥舞(打手势)

　　microscopic adj. 微小的

　　adamant adj. 坚定的，不动摇的

　　【重点词汇讲解】

　　【disregard】

　　英英：give little or no attention to

　　例句：

　　1. Please disregard the mess and sit right here.

　　请不顾凌乱状态，就坐在这儿吧。

　　2. The boy's failure was due to continued disregard of his studies.

　　这孩子不及格是由于他经常不重视功课的原故。

　　3. Her actions manifested a complete disregard for personal safety.

　　她的行动表明她全然不顾个人安危。

　　【abstruse】

　　例句：

　　1. Einstein's theory of relativity is very abstruse .

　　爱因斯坦的相对论非常难懂。

　　2. Lu Xun's works are very abstruse. You must read between the lines.

　　鲁迅的著作非常深奥难解，你必须从字里行间去仔细体会。

　　【coordinate】

　　英英：bring order and organization to

　　例句：

　　1. Coordinate labour relations and gradually improve the living standards of the workers.

　　协调劳动关系，逐步提高劳动者的生活水平。

　　2. We should have established a rescue center or a system that can coordinate our resources.

　　我们应该建立了救援中心或一个系统，能够协调我们的资源。

　　3. Communication was essential if we were to coordinate our protests and complaints.

　　如果我们要协调抗议和控诉活动，交流信息是必不可少的。

　　【reproach】

　　英英：express criticism towards

　　例句：

　　1. Do not reproach yourself, it was not your fault.

　　不要责备你自己，这不是你的过错。

　　2. I have nothing either to hope or fear, and nothing to reproach him with.

　　我既没有什么奢望，也没有什么担心，更没有什么要责备他的地方。

　　3. It is illegal to reproach Jesus Christ or the holy ghost.

　　责备耶稣基督或圣灵是违法的。

　　【trial】

　　例句：

　　1. Character can not be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthed.

　　性格不可能在安逸和平静中得以发展，只有通过艰难和困苦的磨炼才能使内心坚定，视野开阔，雄心振奋，从而达到成功的目的。

　　2. His blindness is a great trial to him.

　　眼睛瞎对他来说是非常麻烦的事。

　　【fraction】

　　例句：

　　1. It remains a fraction of its former size.

　　它目前的规模只有以前的一小部分。

　　2. The cost of copying a disk of software or a tape of music is a fraction of the cost of the product.

　　事实上，复制一个软件光盘或者一盘音乐磁带的成本，只是这个产品的整个成本的一小部分。

　　【adamant】

　　例句：

　　1. She was adamant in refusing to comply with his wishes.

　　她固执地拒绝按他的意愿办。

　　2. Most officials are adamant that the policy remains in place.

　　很多官员在迟疑是否要保留这项政策。

　　【常用短语】

　　【bring to a cnoclusion】结束

　　【in hand】手头的

　　【in good time for】及时的

　　【impress upon】使牢记

　　【break the rule】违反规定

　　【课文】

　　First listen and then answer the following question.

　　听录音，然后回答以下问题。

　　Who, according to the author, are 'Fortune's favoured children'?

　　A gifted American psychologist has said, 'Worry is a spasm of the emotion; the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.' It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition. The stronger the will, the more futile the task. One can only gently insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp. And if this something else is rightly chosen, if it really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swiftly, the old undue grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair begins.

　　The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of the first importance to a public man. But this is not a business that can be undertaken in a day or swiftly improvised by a mere command of the will. The growth of alternative mental interests is a long process. The seeds must be carefully chosen; they must fall on good ground; they must be sedulously tended, if the vivifying fruits are to be at hand when needed.

　　To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: 'I will take an interest in this or that.' Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet get hardly any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like; you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes: those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual labourer, tired out with a hard week's sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball or Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or business man, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the weekend.

　　As for the unfortunate people who can command everything they want, who can gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire -- for them a new pleasure, a new excitement if only an additional satiation. In vain they rush frantically round from place to place, trying to escape from avenging boredom by mere clatter and motion. For them discipline in one form or another is the most hopeful path.

　　It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human being are divided into two classes: first,those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the former are the majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fortune's favoured children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays, when they come, are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation. Yet to both classes, the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those work is their pleasure are those who and most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.

　　WINSTON CHURCHLL Painting as a Pastime

　　【New words and expressions 生词和短语】

　　gifted adj. 有天才的

　　psychologist n. 心理学家

　　spasm n. 一阵(感情)发作

　　futile adj. 无用的

　　insinuate v. 便潜入，暗示

　　convulsive adj. 起痉挛的

　　illumination n. 启发，照明

　　undue adj. 不造当的

　　grip n. 紧张

　　recuperation n. 休息

　　improvise v. 临时作成

　　sedulously adv. 孜孜不倦地

　　vivify v. 使生气勃勃

　　aggravate v. 加剧

　　trifling adj. 微小的

　　gratify v. 便满意

　　caprice n. 任性

　　satiation n. 满足

　　frantically adv. 狂乱地

　　avenge v. 替…报复

　　boredom n. 厌烦

　　clatter n. 喧闹的谈话

　　sustenance n. 生计

　　appetite n. 欲望

　　grudge v. 怨恨

　　absorbing adj. 引人入胜的

　　banish v. 排除，放弃

　　【课文注释】

　　1.catch hold of 抓住……

　　let ... go 放掉……

　　2.The stronger the will, the more futile the task 这种意志越是强烈，这种尝试越是徒劳。

　　futile adj.无用的

　　例句：Pace considers attempts at timing futile.

　　贝斯认为企图控制时间是无效的。

　　It is futile to attempt to convince him that certain things are simply undoable.

　　使他相信某事情是完全不可为的是无用的尝试。

　　3.insinuate v.使潜入，暗示

　　例句： What are you insinuating?

　　你旁敲侧击，究竟指得是什么?

　　Are you insinuating that I am a liar?

　　你绕来绕去是否暗指我在撒谎?

　　He insinuated his doubt of her ability.

　　他暗示了他对她能力的怀疑。

　　4. undue adj.不适当的，过度的

　　例句：I didn't want to show undue excitement.

　　我不想表现出过分的激动。

　　Don't give undue deference to the opinions and feelings of others.

　　不要对他人的意见和感情给予过分的尊重。

　　He used it to discourage any undue sense of danger.

　　他这样做是为了制止任何不适当的危机感

　　5.aggravate

　　例句：vt. 恶化

　　Scratching can aggravate the rash.

　　搔痒会使疹子发炎。

　　The Europeans' appeasement policy towards irrational regimes would only

　　aggravate the hidden dangers.

　　欧洲国家对非理性政权的绥靖政策,只会让潜在危机恶化。

　　The lack of rain aggravated the already serious shortage of food.

　　干旱少雨使原本就很严重的粮食短缺问题更加严重。

　　6.those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death劳累至死的人，忧虑至死的人，无聊至死的人

　　7.tired out with疲惫，精疲力尽

　　例句：She was tired out with wonder and marvelling.

　　一整天的猎奇把她累坏了。

　　He was tired out with mountain climbing.

　　他因爬山而筋疲力竭。

　　8.gratify v. 使满足, 使高兴

　　例句：Now that she has a job in France she can gratify her desire to see Europe.

　　既然现在她在法国工作，那就可以满足她游览欧洲的愿望了。

　　I was gratified to see how much my birthday present was appreciated.

　　看到我的生日礼物受到极大的赞赏，我感到高兴。

　　9.lay their hands on得到......抓到......

　　10.Fortune's favoured children 中的Fortune指“命运女神”

　　11.banish vt.

　　① 驱逐，流放

　　例句：His lies caused his wife to banish him from the house.

　　他因说谎而被老婆驱逐出家门。

　　The sound of doctrine rings out daily in order to banish various curiosities about this

　　world.

　　一种主义的声响日以夜继，千日不绝，用以驱逐人们对这个世界的种种好奇与揣测!

　　②消除

　　例句：You can banish that idea from your mind.

　　你能消除心中的那种念头。

　　The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.

　　医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。

　　【参考译文】

　　一位天才的美国心理学家曾经说过：“烦恼是感情的发作，此时脑子纠缠住了某种东西又不肯松手。”在这种情况下，你又和头脑争吵让它松手是无济于事的。这种意志越是强烈，这种尝试越是徒劳。你只能缓和而巧纱地让另一种东西进入痉挛僵持的头脑中。如果选得合适，而且的确受到别的领域的情趣的启迪，那么渐渐地，往往也是很顺利地，原先不适当的紧张就会松弛下来，恢复和修整的过程就会开始。

　　因此，对一个从事社会活动的人来说，培养一种业余爱好和各种新的兴趣是关等重要的做法。但这并非一日之功，也不是单凭意志一蹴而就的事。精神上多种情趣的培养是一个长期的过程。要想在需要的时候可随手摘取充满生机的果实，那就必然从选良种做起，然后将其植入肥沃的土地，还需要勤勉地护理。

　　一个人要想真正感到幸福和平安，至少应有两三种爱好，而且都比较实际。到了晚年才开始说：“我会对这些人或那个人发生兴趣”，已没有用了。这种愿望只能加剧精神紧张。一个人可能会获得与其日常工作无关的某些课题的渊博知识，而没有从中得到什么实益或宽慰。干你所喜欢的事是没有用的，你得喜欢你所干的事。泛泛地说，人可以分为3类：劳累至死的人、忧虑至死的人、无聊至死的人。对于流汗出力干了一周苦活的体力劳动者来说，让他们在星期六下午再踢足球或打垒球是不合适的;同样，对于为严肃的公务操劳或烦恼了6天的政界人士、专业人员、商人来说，在周未再让他们为琐事而动脑子和忧虑也是无益的。

　　至于那些能任意支配一切的“可怜的人”，他们能够恣意妄为，能染指一切追求的目标。对这种人来说，多一种新的乐趣、多一种新的刺激只是增加一分厌腻而已。他们到处奔乱跑，企图以闲聊和乱窜来摆脱无聊对他们的报复，但这是徒劳的。对他们来说，用某种形式的纪律约束他们一下才能有希望使他们走上正道。

　　也可以这样说，理智的，勤劳的、有用的人可以分为两类：第一类是他分清工作是工作，娱乐是娱乐的人;第二类人的工作和娱乐是一回事。这两类人当中，第一类人是大多数，他们能够得到补偿。在办公室或工厂里长时间工作给他们带来了酬劳，这不仅是谋生的手段，而且还带来了寻找乐趣的强烈欲望，那怕是最简单的、最低等的乐趣。但是，命运之神的宠儿是第二类人，他们的生活是一种自然的和谐，对他们来说，工作时间总不会太长，每天都是假日，而通常的假期来到，他们却惋惜这假期强制打断了他们埋头从事的工作。然而对这两种人来说，都需要换一换脑子，改变一下气氛，转移一下注意力，这是不可缺少的。说实在的，把工作当作享受的那些人最需要每隔一段时间把工作从头脑中撇开。