1、 新标准大学英语综合教程 3 课文与翻译1 / 25Unit 1-1Catching crabs1 In the fall of our final year, our mood changed. The relaxed atmosphere of the preceding summer semester, the impromptu ball games, the boating on the Charles River, the late-night parties had disappeared, and we all started to get our heads down, st
2、udying late, and attendance at classes rose steeply again. We all sensed we were coming to the end of our stay here, that we would never get a chance like this again, and we became determined not to waste it. Most important of course were the final exams in April and May in the following year. No on
3、e wanted the humiliation of finishing last in class, so the peer group pressure to work hard was strong. Libraries which were once empty after five oclock in the afternoon were standing room only until the early hours of the morning, and guys wore the bags under their eyes and their pale, sleepy fac
4、es with pride, like medals proving their diligence. 2 But there was something else. At the back of everyones mind was what we would do next, when we left university in a few months time. It wasnt always the high flyers with the top grades who knew what they were going to do. Quite often it was the q
5、uieter, less impressive students who had the next stages of their life mapped out. One had landed a job in his brothers advertising firm in Madison Avenue, another had got a script under provisional acceptance in Hollywood. The most ambitious student among us was going to work as a party activist at
6、 a local level. We all saw him ending up in the Senate or in 抓螃蟹 大学最后一年的秋天，我们的心情变了。 刚刚过去的夏季学期的轻松氛围、即兴球赛、查尔斯河上的泛舟以及深夜晚会都不见了踪影，我们开始埋头学习，苦读到深夜，课堂出勤率再次急剧上升。 我们都觉得在校时间不多了，以后再也不会有这样的学习机会了，所以都下定决心不再虚度光阴。 当然，下一年四五月份的期末考试最为重要。 我们谁都不想考全班倒数第一，那也太丢人了，因此同学们之间的竞争压力特别大。 以前每天下午五点以后，图书馆就空无一人了，现在却要等到天快亮时才会有空座，小伙子们熬夜熬
7、出了眼袋，他们脸色苍白，睡眼惺忪，却很自豪，好像这些都是表彰他们勤奋好学的奖章。还有别的事情让大家心情焦虑。 每个人都在心里盘算着过几个月毕业离校之后该找份什么样的工作。 并不总是那些心怀抱负、成绩拔尖的高材生才清楚自己将来要做什么，常常是那些平日里默默无闻的同学早早为自己下几个阶段的人生做好了规划。 有位同学在位于麦迪逊大道他哥哥的广告公司得到了一份工作，另一位同学写的电影脚本已经与好莱坞草签了合约。 我们当中野心最大的一位同学准备到地方上当一新标准大学英语综合教程 3 课文与翻译2 / 25Congress one day. But most people were either look
8、ing to continue their studies, or to make a living with a white-collar job in a bank, local government, or anything which would pay them enough to have a comfortable time in their early twenties, and then settle down with a family, a mortgage and some hope of promotion. 3 I went home at Thanksgiving
9、, and inevitably, my brothers and sisters kept asking me what I was planning to do. I didnt know what to say. Actually, I did know what to say, but I thought theyd probably criticize me, so I told them what everyone else was thinking of doing. 4 My father was watching me but saying nothing. Late in
10、the evening, he invited me to his study. We sat down and he poured us a drink. 5 “So?“ he said. 6 “Er . so what?“ 7 “So what do you really want to do?“ he asked. 8 My father was a lawyer, and I had always assumed he wanted me to go to law school, and follow his path through life. So I hesitated. 9 T
11、hen I replied, “I want to travel, and I want to be a writer.“ 10 This was not the answer I thought he would expect. Travel? Where? A writer? About what? I braced myself for some resistance to the idea. 11 There was a long silence. 12 “Interesting idea,“ he said finally. 个政党活动家，我们都预料他最终会当上参议员或国会议员。 但
12、大多数同学不是准备继续深造，就是想在银行、地方政府或其他单位当个白领，希望在 20 出头的时候能挣到足够多的薪水，过上舒适的生活，然后就娶妻生子，贷款买房，期望升职，过安稳日子。 感恩节的时候我回了一趟家，兄弟姐妹们免不了不停地问我毕业后有什么打算，我不知道该说什么。 实际上，我知道该说什么，但我怕他们批评我，所以只对他们说了别人都准备干什么。 父亲看着我，什么也没说。 夜深时，他叫我去他的书房。 我们坐了下来，他给我们俩各倒了杯饮料。 “怎么样？”他问。 “啊，什么怎么样？” “你毕业后到底想做什么？”他问道。 父亲是一名律师，我一直都认为他想让我去法学院深造，追随他的人生足迹，所以我有点儿
13、犹豫。过了会儿我回答说：“我想旅行，我想当个作家。” 我想这不是他所期待的答案。新标准大学英语综合教程 3 课文与翻译3 / 2513 There was another long silence. 14 “I kind of wish Id done that when I was your age.“ 15 I waited. 16 “You have plenty of time. You dont need to go into a career which pays well just at the moment. You need to find out what you real
14、ly enjoy now, because if you dont, you wont be successful later.“ 17 “So how do I do this?“ 18 He thought for a moment. Then he said, “Look, its late. Lets take the boat out tomorrow morning, just you and me. Maybe we can catch some crabs for dinner, and we can talk more.“ 19 It was a small motor bo
15、at, moored ten minutes away, and my father had owned it for years. Early next morning we set off along the estuary. We didnt talk much, but enjoyed the sound of the seagulls and the sight of the estuary coastline and the sea beyond. 20 There was no surf on the coastal waters at that time of day, so
16、it was a smooth half-hour ride until my father switched off the motor. “Lets see if we get lucky,“ he said, picked up a rusty, mesh basket with a rope attached and threw it into the sea. 21 We waited a while, then my father stood up and said, “Give me a hand with this,“ and we hauled up the crab cag
17、e onto the deck. 22 Crabs fascinated me. They were so easy to catch. It wasnt just that they crawled into such an obvious trap, through 旅行？去哪儿旅行？当作家？写什么呀？我做好了遭到他反对的心理准备。 接着是一段长长的沉默。 “这想法有点意思， ”他最后说。 接着又是一段长长的沉默。 “我真有点希望自己在你这个年纪时能做这些事儿。” 我在等他把话说完。 “你还有很多时间，不必急于进入一个暂时报酬高的行业。 你现在要搞清楚自己真正喜欢什么，如果你弄不清楚，以后
18、就不可能成功。” “那我该怎么办？” 他想了一会儿。 然后他说道：“瞧，现在太晚了。 我们明天早晨乘船出海去，就我们两个。 也许我们能抓点螃蟹当晚餐，我们还可以再谈谈。” 那是一艘小小的机动船，停泊在离我们家约十分钟路程的地方，是好些年前父亲买的。 次日清晨，我们沿着港湾出发，一路上没说多少话，只是默默地欣赏着海鸥的叫声，还有港湾沿岸和远处大海的景色。 在这个时候沿海水域没什么风浪，船平稳地航行了半个小时之后父亲把船停了下来。 他说：“咱们在这儿试试运气吧，”然后抓起一个系上绳子的生了锈的网状篓子抛到海里。 新标准大学英语综合教程 3 课文与翻译4 / 25a small hole in th
19、e lid of the basket, but it seemed as if they couldnt be bothered to crawl out again even when you took the lid off. They just sat there, waving their claws at you. 23 The cage was brimming with dozens of soft shell crabs, piled high on top of each other. “Why dont they try to escape?“ I wondered al
20、oud to my father. 24 “Just watch them for a moment. Look at that one, there! Hes trying to climb out, but every time the other crabs pull him back in,“ said my father. 25 And we watched. The crab climbed up the mesh towards the lid, and sure enough, just as it reached the top, one of its fellow crab
21、s reached out, clamped its claw onto any available leg, and pulled it back. Several times the crab tried to defy his fellow captives, without luck. 26 “Now watch!“ said my father. “Hes starting to get bored with this game.“ 27 Not only did the crab give up its lengthy struggle to escape, but it actu
22、ally began to help stop other crabs trying to escape. Hed finally chosen an easy way of life. 28 Suddenly I understood why my father had suggested catching crabs that morning. He looked at me. “Dont get pulled back by the others,“ he said. “Spend some time figuring out who you are and what you want
23、in life. Look back at the classes youre taking, and think about which ones were most productive for you personally. Then think about whats really important to you, what really interests you, what skills you have. Try to figure out 我们等了一会儿，父亲站起来对我说，“来帮我一把。” 于是我们一起将蟹篓子拽上了甲板。螃蟹让我着迷，它们太容易抓了。 不仅仅是因为它们顺着篓
24、盖上的小孔爬进一个再明显不过的陷阱，更因为即便盖子打开了，它们似乎也懒得从里面爬出来，只会趴在那儿冲你挥动着蟹钳。篓子里挤满了几十只软壳螃蟹，一只压着一只，堆得老高。 “它们为什么不逃走啊？”我满腹狐疑地问父亲。 “你先观察一下，看那只螃蟹，那儿！它想爬出去，但每次都被同伴拽了回去，”父亲说。 我们接着观察。 那只螃蟹顺着网眼向顶盖攀援，每当它爬到顶盖时，果然就会有另一只螃蟹举起蟹钳夹住它的腿把它拽下来。这只螃蟹尝试了好几次想挣脱它的狱中同伴，但都没能成功。“快看！”父亲说。 “它开始对这种游戏感到不耐烦了。” 那只螃蟹不仅放弃了漫长的逃亡之战，而且还帮着把其他想逃跑的螃蟹拽下来。 它最终选择
25、新标准大学英语综合教程 3 课文与翻译5 / 25where you want to live, where you want to go, what you want to earn, how you want to work. And if you cant answer these questions now, then take some time to find out. Because if you dont, youll never be happy.“ 29 He paused. 30 “So you want to travel?“ he asked. 31 “Yes,“ I
26、 replied. 32 “Better get you a passport. And you want to be a writer?“ 33 “I think so.“ 34 “Interesting choice. Weve never had a writer in the family,“ he said. 35 My father started the motor and we set off back home. 了一种轻松的活法。 我忽然明白了父亲为什么提议早上来抓螃蟹。 他看着我说：“你可别被别人拽下来哦。 花点时间想想你是哪一类人，你这一生希望得到什么，回顾一下你在大学
27、修的课程，想想有哪些课对你个人来说最有益。 然后再想想什么对你最重要，什么最使你感兴趣，你有什么技能。 琢磨一下你想在哪里生活，你想去哪里，想挣多少钱，想做什么样的工作。如果你现在不能回答这些问题，你就得花点时间去找出答案。 你不这样做的话，永远都不会幸福的。” 他停顿了一下。 “你想去旅行？”他接着问我。 “对，”我回答说。 “那就去申请护照吧。你想当作家？” “对。” “有趣的选择，我们家还没出过作家呢，”他说。 我父亲发动了马达，我们返航回家。 新标准大学英语综合教程 3 课文与翻译6 / 25Unit3-1How we listen1 We all listen to music ac
28、cording to our separate capacities. But, for the sake of analysis, the whole listening process may become clearer if we break it up into its component parts, so to speak. In a certain sense we all listen to music on three separate planes. For lack of a better terminology, one might name these: (1) t
29、he sensuous plane, (2) the expressive plane, (3) the sheerly musical plane. The only advantage to be gained from mechanically splitting up the listening process into these hypothetical planes is the clearer view to be had of the way in which we listen. 2 The simplest way of listening to music is to
30、listen for the sheer pleasure of the musical sound itself. That is the sensuous plane. It is the plane on which we hear music without thinking, without considering it in any way. One turns on the radio while doing something else and absent-mindedly bathes in the sound. A kind of brainless but attrac
31、tive state of mind is engendered by the mere sound appeal of the music. 3 The surprising thing is that many people who consider themselves qualified music lovers abuse that plane in listening. They go to concerts in order to lose themselves. They use music as a consolation or an escape. They enter a
32、n ideal world where one doesnt have to think of the realities of everyday life. Of course they arent thinking about the music 我们是怎样听音乐的 我们都按照各自不同的能力来听音乐。 但为了便于分析，如果把听的整个过程分成几个组成部分，那么这个过程会更清晰一些。 从某种意义上来说，我们听音乐有三个不同的层次。 由于缺乏更好的术语，我们姑且把它们命名为：（1）感官层次；（2 ）表现层次；（3 ）纯音乐层次。 把听的过程机械地分割为以上三个假想的层次，唯一的好处是让我们更清楚
33、地了解自己是怎样听音乐的。听音乐最简单的方式是为了去获取乐声带来的纯粹的愉悦感，这是音乐的感官层次。 在这个层次上，我们只是听音乐，不做任何思考。 我们打开收音机，一边做着其他的事情，一边心不在焉地沉浸在音乐中。 乐声本身的魅力带我们进入一种无需思考的美妙心境。 令人意外的是，许多自认为是合格的音乐爱好者在听音乐时过多地使用了这一层次。 他们去听音乐会是为了忘却自我。 他们把音乐当成一种慰藉，一种逃避，由此他们进入了一个可以忘却日常生活的理想世界。 当然，他们新标准大学英语综合教程 3 课文与翻译7 / 25either. Music allows them to leave it, and
34、they go off to a place to dream, dreaming because of and apropos of the music yet never quite listening to it. 4 Yes, the sound appeal of music is a potent and primitive force, but you must not allow it to usurp a disproportionate share of your interest. The sensuous plane is an important one in mus
35、ic, a very important one, but it does not constitute the whole story. 5 The second plane on which music exists is what I have called the expressive one. Here, immediately, we tread on controversial ground. Composers have a way of shying away from any discussion of musics expressive side. Did not Str
36、avinsky himself proclaim that his music was an “object“, a “thing“, with a life of its own, and with no other meaning than its own purely musical existence? This intransigent attitude of Stravinskys may be due to the fact that so many people have tried to read different meanings into so many pieces.
37、 Heaven knows it is difficult enough to say precisely what it is that a piece of music means, to say it definitely, to say it finally so that everyone is satisfied with your explanation. But that should not lead one to the other extreme of denying to music the right to be “expressive“. 6 Listen, if
38、you can, to the 48 fugue themes of Bach2s Well-Tempered Clavichord. Listen to each theme, one after another. You will soon realize that each theme mirrors a different world of feeling. You will also soon realize that the more beautiful a theme seems to you the harder it is to find any word that will
39、 describe it to your complete satisfaction. Yes, you will 也没有在思考音乐。 音乐允许他们离开现实，到另一个地方去做梦，因为音乐而做梦，做有关音乐的梦，却从没有真正欣赏过音乐。的确，乐声的魅力是一种强大而原始的力量，但是你不该让它占据你过多的兴趣空间。 感官层次是音乐的一个重要层次，非常重要，但并不是音乐的全部。 音乐存在的第二个层次就是我所说的表现层次。 一提到这个问题，我们马上就进入到一个颇具争议的领域。 作曲家总是设法避开有关音乐表现方面的讨论。 斯特拉温斯基不是曾经声称他的音乐是一个“物体”，是一件有自我生命的“东西”，除了纯音
40、乐性的存在之外没有任何别的含意吗？斯特拉温斯基这种不妥协的态度可能源于这样的一个事实：有那么多的人尝试着从众多的音乐作品中读出完全不同的含意。 确实，要准确地说出一部音乐作品的含意已经很难了，要肯定并确定地说出来，还要使每个人对你的解释都感到满意，是难上加难。 但我们不该因此走到另一个极端，不能去剥夺音乐“表现”的权利。 可能的话，你不妨听听巴赫的平均律钢琴曲集中的 48 个新标准大学英语综合教程 3 课文与翻译8 / 25certainly know whether it is a gay theme or a sad one. You will be able, in other word
41、s, in your own mind, to draw a frame of emotional feeling around your theme. Now study the sad one a little closer. Try to pin down the exact quality of its sadness. Is it pessimistically sad or resignedly sad; is it fatefully sad or smilingly sad? 7 Let us suppose that you are fortunate and can des
42、cribe to your own satisfaction in so many words the exact meaning of your chosen theme. There is still no guarantee that anyone else will be satisfied. Nor need they be. The important thing is that each one feels for himself the specific expressive quality of a theme or, similarly, an entire piece o
43、f music. And if it is a great work of art, dont expect it to mean exactly the same thing to you each time you return to it. 8 The third plane on which music exists is the sheerly musical plane. Besides the pleasurable sound of music and the expressive feeling that it gives off, music does exist in t
44、erms of the notes themselves and of their manipulation. Most listeners are not sufficiently conscious of this third plane. 9 It is very important for all of us to become more alive to music on its sheerly musical plane. After all, an actual musical material is being used. The intelligent listener mu
45、st be prepared to increase his awareness of the musical material and what happens to it. He must hear the melodies, the rhythms, the harmonies, the tone colors in a more conscious fashion. But above all he must, in order to follow the line of the composers thought, know something of the principles o
46、f musical 赋格主题。 依次地、一个个地听听其中的每一个主题，你很快就会意识到每个主题都反映了一个不同的情感世界，你很快也会意识到你越觉得某个主题美妙，就越难找到令你完全满意的字眼来描述它。 是的，你当然知道那个主题是欢快的还是悲伤的。 换句话说，你能够在脑海中勾勒出那个主题的情感框架。 那么就更仔细地听一下这个悲伤的主题吧，要明确悲伤的性质。 是悲观厌世的悲伤，还是无可奈何的悲伤？是时运不济的悲伤，还是强颜欢笑的悲伤？ 假设你很幸运，能用许多词句充分表达你对选中主题的确切理解。 但这仍然无法保证其他人对你的理解都感到满意，他们也完全没有必要感到满意。 重要的是，每个人能亲自感受某个主
47、题的表现力，或以同样的方式去感受一部完整的音乐作品独特的表现力。 如果是一部伟大的音乐作品，就别指望每次去听它都能给你带来相同的感受。 音乐存在的第三个层次是纯音乐层次。 除了令人愉悦的乐声及其所表现的情感之外，音乐也因其音符本身以及对音符的处理而存在。 多数听众都没有充分认识到音乐的这第三个层次。 对我们所有人来说，更加充新标准大学英语综合教程 3 课文与翻译9 / 25form. Listening to all of these elements is listening on the sheerly musical plane. 10 Let me repeat that I have
48、 split up mechanically the three separate planes on which we listen merely for the sake of greater clarity. Actually, we never listen on one or the other of these planes. What we do is to correlate themlistening in all three ways at the same time. It takes no mental effort, for we do it instinctivel
49、y. 11 Perhaps an analogy with what happens to us when we visit the theater will make this instinctive correlation clearer. In the theater, you are aware of the actors and actresses, costumes and sets, sounds and movements. All these give one the sense that the theater is a pleasant place to be in. They constitute the sensuous plane in our theatrical react
