英语短文-英汉英语美文：说人闲话要三思而后行

‘

Kids are struggling,

’

says Ms. Fandl, who oversees

an after-school program at Community Presbyterian Church in

Delhi, Calif.

‘

They

’

re looking for answers.

’

凡德尔说，

孩子们无所适从，

他们在寻找答案。

她在加 州

Delhi

市的社区基督教长老会

( Community Presbyterian Church)

负责一项

She suggests that

before they say something

to or about

someone else, they should ask themselves:

‘

Is it kind? Is it

true? Is it necessary?

’

她建议孩子 们在对别人说什么或议论别人时，

先问自己三个问

题：这么说是 善意的吗？是实情吗？有必要吗？

These three questions have been around for centuries,

attributed to Socrates and Buddhist teachings, and linked to

the

tenets

of

Christianity

and

the

Jewish

prohibition

on

‘

lashon

hara,

’

or

evil

language.

But

now,

in

an

age

of

cultural shrillness and unrestrained rumor-mongering on the

Internet, these three questions (or variations of them) are

finding

new

adherents.

In

schools,

workplaces,

churches,

therapy groups -- and at kitchen tables -- the questions are

being used to temper one of the uglier human impulses.

这

三

个

问

题

是

数

百

年

来

的

智

慧

结

晶

，

包

含

着

苏

格

拉

底

< br>(Socrates)

、佛教和基督教的教诲，以及犹太人关于“邪恶的舌头”< /p>

(lashon hara)

的戒条。然而，在当今这个崇尚刻薄 文化的时代，在

这个可以通过互联网肆无忌惮传播流言的时代，

这三个问题

（或由此

衍生的东西）有了新的实际应用意义。在学 校、工作场所、教堂、治

疗组织──甚至在家中的餐桌旁──三原则都可以用来抑制人类 较

为丑恶的本性之一。

In Hartford, Conn., Trinity College recently held an

event

at

which

students

and

faculty

discussed

derogatory

language

and

the

power

behind

the

kind/true/necessary

mantra.

In

Chicago,

Empower

Public

Relations

issued

a

company-wide

ban

on gossip, firing three employees who violated the policy in

2007.

In Boulder,

Colo., Samuel Avital,

a

well-known mime

artist

who

studied

with

Marcel

Marceau,

incorporates

into

his

performances and teachings the idea that every word we utter

should pass through

‘

three gates,

’

each with a gatekeeper

asking . . . well, you know the three questions.

在康涅狄格州的哈特福德市，

(Trinity

College )

最近举行了一个活动，

让学生和老师一起讨论刻薄话的问题，

以及坚

守善意

/

真实

/

必要三原则的意义。芝加哥一家公关公司

Empower

Public

Relation s

在全公司范围禁止传播流言，并自

2007

< br>年来开除

了三名违反禁令的员工。

在科罗拉多州

Boulder

市，

师从法国世界级

?马叟

(Marcel Marceau)

的滑稽剧演员塞缪尔?阿维

塔

(Samuel Avita l)

也在表演中融入并表达了这一理念，即嘴里说出

的每个字都 要经过“三道门”

，每道门都要经过一个问题的考验……

至于是 哪些问题就无需重复了吧。

Though

it

is

gaining

traction,

this

antigossip

push

can

sound quaint, especially in a nation that nonchalantly lost

millions

of

hours

in

productivity

last

month

chattering

about

Tiger Woods. But kind/true/necessary proponents say that the

very

pervasiveness

of

trash

talk

makes

it

even

more

imperative

that we deal with the issue.

虽然反对流言蜚语的努力正得到越来越多的关注，

但这种举动

听上去有点古怪，尤其是在美国这个地方：

2009

年

12

月，大家热情

洋溢地讨论老虎?伍兹

(Tiger

Woo ds)

的桃色新闻，

耽搁了数百万小时

的工作时间而不自知。不过，善意

/

真实

/

必要三原则的支持者表示，

说闲话的普遍性愈加表明我们应 对这一问题的紧迫性和必要性。

, an advocacy group created to combat

‘

verbal violence,

’

has amassed a long list of well-known

advisers,

including

Tom

Cruise,

John

McCain

and

Barry

Diller.

The group asks all of us to take a pledge that includes the

following:

‘

I will try to replace words that hurt with words

that encourage, engage and enrich.

’

非盈利组织

的创办宗旨是对抗

“语言暴力”

，

并已召集很多知名人士作为组织的咨询顾问，包括影星汤姆?克鲁斯

(Tom Cruise)

、参议员约翰?麦凯恩

(John McCai n)

和媒体巨子巴里?

迪勒

(Barr y

Diller)

。该组织号召每个人都作出如下保证：我要 尽量

不说伤人的话，而是说一些鼓励、支持和正面的话。

This

message

is

also

taught,

along

with

the

three

questions,

at

St.

Joseph

’

s

Episcopal

School

in

Boynton

Beach,

Fla.

‘

It

’

s always around fifth grade when students start

calling each other names,

’

says Mary Aperavich, director of