clearthe needs that drive us all课文翻译

现代大学英语精读

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The Needs That Drive Us All

课文翻译

The Needs That Drive Us All

推动我们所有人前进的需求

William Glasser

威廉

·

格拉瑟

All living creatures are driven by the basic need to stay alive and rep

roduce so that the species will continue. As creatures have evolved from s

imple to complex, they have developed additional basic needs.... Humans

not only need (1) to survive and reproduce, but also (2) to belong and lov

e, (3) to gain power, (4) to be free and (5) to have fun. All five needs are

built into our genetic structure as instructions for how we must attempt to

live our lives. All are important and must be reasonably satisfied if we are

to fulfill our biological destiny. I italicize the need for power because, un

like the other four needs that are shared to some extent by many higher an

imals, the way we continually struggle for power in every aspect of our li

ves seems uniquely human.

所有生物都被生存与繁衍这样的基本需求所驱使，

因而生物物种

得以不断延续。

随着生物由简单到复杂的进化，

他们同 时也产生了其

他的基本需求

……

人类不 仅需要（

1

）生存和繁衍，同时还需要（

2

）

归属与爱、（

3

）权力、（

4

）自由和（

5< /p>

）快乐。这五种需求已融入

到了我们的基因结构中，并指导我们必 须怎样试图过好自己的生活。

这五种需求都很重要，

如果我们要 过完一生，

这些需求就必须得到合

理的满足。

< br>我将对权力的需求写成斜体，

是因为其他四种需求是很多

高等动物共有的，

与之不同的是，

在生活的方方面面对权力的不 懈追

求似乎是人类所特有的需求。

We are also born with no choice but to feel pain when a need is frust

rated, and pleasure when it is satisfied. The quicker and more severe the f

rustration, the more pain we feel; the quicker and deeper the satisfaction, t

he more pleasure we experience.

我们生来就没有选择的余地，

当某种 需求未被满足时，

我们会感

到痛苦；而当某一种需求得到满足时 ，我们就会感到快乐。挫折来得

越快、越严重，就越觉得痛苦；满足感来得越快、越深切 ，我们就越

快乐。

Simple survival needs like hunger, thirst, and sexual desire are relati

vely clear-cut, and we quickly learn what particular discomfort is attached

to the denial of these basic needs. When we attempt to satisfy the non- ess

ential psychological needs, such as belonging, fun, freedom, and especiall

y power, we run into more difficulty.

简单的 生存需求，

诸如饥饿、口渴和性欲是相对明确的，我们很

快就能 发现不满足其中的某种需求会带来怎样的不适。

当我们试图去

满 足一些非基本的精神需求时，诸如归属感、乐趣、自由、特别是权

力时，我们碰到了更多 的麻烦。

The need for power is particularly difficult to satisfy because in man

y cultures the mores of the culture condemn those who openly strive for it

. Even politicians try to appear humble, emphasizing how much they wish

to serve and how little they want to tell us what to do.

对于权力的渴望尤其难以得到满足，

因为在许多文化背景下，

道

德标准会谴责那些公开追逐权力的人。

甚至政客们也会竭力装 出谦卑

的样子，

强调他们是多么希望服务于人民，

多么不想对人民发号施令。

But regardless of cultural prejudices, power itself is neither good nor

bad. In fact, if it were not for the need for power, our whole economy wo

uld crumble because almost all that is bought and sold, except for bare ne

cessities, is for the sake of power.

但是如果抛开文化偏见，我们就会发现权力本身并无好坏之分。

事实上，如果没有对权力的需求，我们的整个经济就会瘫痪，因为除

了简单的生活必需品 之外，

我们所购买和销售的其他物品都是为权力

而存在的。

When someone uses his power to help downtrodden people satisfy a

ny of their needs, especially to get some power, this use of power is huma

ne. But history records few examples of people like Martin Luther King, J

r., who used what power he had for the benefit of the powerless. Instead,

history is full of tyrants who used their power to hurt people, and the reas

on that so many of us see power as bad is that so many people have been i

ts victims. But even tyrants tend to talk about power as if it is bad. They p

reach the virtues of humility because the more people they can persuade t

o be humble, the more easily they can both preserve and add to the power

that they have.

当有人使用权力帮助受难的人满足他们的需求时，

特别是帮他们

获得一些权力的时候，这种权力的使用就是人道的。马丁

·

< br>路德

·

金运

用自己手中的权力帮 助那些无权力的人们获得利益，

但是历史上像马

丁

·

路德

·

金这样的例子并不 多见。与此相反，历史上到处都是运用手

中的权力去伤害他人的独裁者。

我们中的很多人之所以把权力看成是

坏事就是因为有许多人都成为了权力的牺牲 品。

但即使是独裁者们也

常常将权力说成是坏的。

他们常常宣扬谦卑的美德，

因为他们越是能

够说服更 多的人谦卑，就越容易维护并扩大自己的权力。

While it is easy to understand that people who strive for power may

become dominant and have a better chance to survive, most of us have dif

ficulty accepting that this need is written in our genes.

那些追逐权力的人可能成为主宰，

会有更好的机会生存，

这很容

易理解，

但我们大多数人还是很难接受这一事实

——

对权力的需求就

存在于我们的基因当中。

As I have mentioned, culturally we have been taught by those in po

wer to be humble. That their teachings have been largely accepted when

what they advocate is so obviously self-serving is a tribute to how effecti

ve they have been in getting their message across. But also, because we w

ant power so badly, we often support those who are stronger in the hope t

hat they will share a little of what they have with us. And if they are wise,

they do. Successful politicians are masters of this approach and the same

expertise is not unknown in business, higher education and even religion.

正如我所说的，

在文化上那些掌权的人已 经向我们灌输了谦卑的

美德。

虽然他们宣扬的东西显然是为了满 足他们自身的利益，

但其学

说已被大众广泛接受，

这一事实证明了他们对自己观点的宣扬是多么

有效。由于我们也迫切地需要权 力，我们常常支持那些较强的人，希

望他们会与我分享一点他们的权力。

如果他们明智的话，

他们会这样

做。成功的政治家熟练 地掌握了这一方法，在商界、高等教育界甚至

是宗教界也不乏类似的伎俩。

If you look around in any society, you cannot fail to see the all- perva

sive effect of this need. Families band together for power, but if they succ

eed in becoming very powerful, they tend in almost all cases to fight amo

ng themselves for the lion's share of what they have. Rather than go over

what seems so obvious, just ask yourself one question: Who do you know

is so completely satisfied with his life that he can go a week without com

plaining that someone has gotten in the way of what he wanted to do? Mo

st of us cannot get through a day without complaint; to be satisfied with h

ow others have treated us for a week would seem like an eternity.

如果你环顾周围，

你就会发现，不管在哪个社会，这种需求造成

的影响无处不在。

皇族为争取权力而结合在一起，

但是一旦他们成功

了并变得有权势，

家庭成员之间几 乎毫无例外地会去争夺他们所拥有

的最大份额。

暂不去回顾那些 看上去显而易见的事，

先问你自己这样