-
Unit 1
享受幽默——是什么使人开怀？
[1]
The joy of
laughing at a funny story is
universal
, probably as old
as language itself.
But, what
is it that makes a story or a joke
funny?
1
听了一个有趣的
故事会发笑、很开心，古今中外都一样。这一现象或许同语言本身一样悠久。那么，到底是什
么东西会使一个故事或笑话让人感到滑稽可笑的呢？
[2]
As one who has enjoyed
humor since I first
recognized
it,
I've
made an
attempt
to
explain and
discuss
humor
with
students
in
such
diverse
cultures
as
Latin
America
and
China
.
I've
done
some
serious
thinking
about funny
stories
. It has been
a
labor
of love
!
2
我是第一次辨识出幽默便喜欢上它的人
，因此我曾
试图跟学生议论和探讨幽默
。
< br>这些学生文化差异很大，有来
自拉丁美洲的，也有来自中国的
。我还
认真地思考过一些滑稽有趣的故事
。这么做完全是<
/p>
出于自己的喜好
。
[3]
Why is it that several students in a
class will
fall out of their chairs
laughing
after I tell
a joke
while the rest of the students look as
if I've just read the weather report?
Obviously
some
people
are
more
sensitive
to
humor
than
others
.
And,
we
recognize
that
some
people
tell
jokes
very
well
while others
struggle
to say something
funny
.
We've all heard
people say,
tell one well, and I can
never
remember
them.
Some people
have a
better
sense
of humor than
others
just
as
some
people
have
more
musical
talent,
mathematical
talent,
etc.
than
others.
A
truly
funny
person
has
a
joke
for
every
occasion
,
and
when
one
is
told,
that
triggers
an
entire
string
of
jokes
from
that
person's
memory
bank
.
A
humorless
person
is not likely to be the most popular
person in a group.
It
is
reasonable
to
say
that
the
truly
humorous
individual
is
not
only
well
liked
,
but
is
often
the
focus
of
attention in any
gathering
.
3
为什么听我讲完一个笑话后，班上有些学生会
笑得前仰后合
，
而其他学生看上去就像刚听我读了天
气预报一样
呢
？显然，有些人
对幽默比
别人更敏感
。而且，我们也发现有的人很
善于讲笑话
，而有的人要
想说一点有趣的事却
要费好大的劲<
/p>
。
我们都听人说过这样的话：
“我喜欢笑
话，
但我讲不好，
也总是记不住。
”<
/p>
有些人
比别人更有幽默感
，
就像有些人更具有音乐、数学之类的才能一样。一个真正风趣的人
在任何场合
都有笑话可讲
，而且讲了一个笑话，
就会
从他记忆里引出一连串的笑话
。一个缺乏幽默感的人
不可能成
为一群人中最受欢迎的人
。
一个真正有幽默感的
人不仅受人喜爱
，而且
在任何聚会上也往往是人们注意
的焦点
。这么说是有道理的。
[4]
Even
some
animals
have
a
sense
of
humor.
My
wife's
mother
often
visited
us
for
extended
stays.
She
normally
didn't
like
dogs,
but
she
fell
in
love
with
Blitzen
—
a
female
Lab
we
had,
and
the
relationship
was
mutual
（
相互的）
.
Even
when
young,
Blitzen
would
tease
Grandma
by
very
selectively
carrying
one of her bedroom
slippers into the living room
where
Grandma sat in her favorite, comfortable
chair.
Blitzen
pr
anced
（
蹦来跳去
）
just
beyond
the reach of
Grandma
until Grandma
was
tempted
to
leave
her
chair
to
get
the
slipper
from
Blitzen.
When
Grandma
left
her
chair,
Blitzen
would quickly jump
into the chair,
flashing
her
Lab
smile
from
sparkling
（闪烁的）
brown eyes
which
clearly said,
Aha
, I fooled
you again.
4
甚至有些动物也具有幽默感。我岳母
从前
经常来我们家，并能住上很长一段时间
。通常她不喜欢狗，
但却很喜
欢布利茨恩—我们养过的一条拉布拉多母猎犬。而且，她们的这种喜欢是相互的
。布利茨恩在很小的时候就
常常戏
弄外祖母
，当外祖母坐在起居室里她最喜欢的那张舒适的椅子上时，布利茨恩就
故意把她卧室
里的一只拖鞋叼到起
居室
，并
在外祖母
刚好够不到的地方蹦来跳去
，
一直逗到外祖母忍不住站起来去拿
那只拖鞋
。外祖母从椅子上一起
来，布利茨恩就迅速跳上那椅子
，
从它那闪亮的棕色眼睛里掠过一丝拉布拉多式的微笑
，无疑是
在说：
“啊哈，你
又上了我的当。
”<
/p>
[5]
Typical jokes or humorous
stories
have a three-part
anatomy
（结构）
that is easily
recognized
.
First
is
the
SETUP
(or
setting
),
next
is
the
BODY
(or
story
line),
and
these
are
followed
by
the PUNCH LINE
(an
unexpected or surprise ending) which will
make the joke funny if it
contains
some
humor
.
Usually
all three parts are
present
, and each must be
clearly
presented
.
It
helps
if the
story/joke teller
uses
gestures
and language which
are
well-known
to the
audience
.
[N]
[N]
[N]
5
典型的笑话或幽默故事
由明显的三部分构成
。第一部分是铺垫（即背景）
< br>，接下来是主干部分（即故事情节）
，
随后便是妙语（即
一个出人意料或令人惊讶的结尾）
。
如果这个妙语含有一定的幽
默成分，这个笑话便会很有趣
。
通常笑话都包含这三部分，而且
每部分都必须交代清楚
。如果讲故事或说笑话的人
使用听众都熟
悉的手势和语言，
则有助于增强效果
。
[6]
Humor, as a
form
of entertainment, can
be
analyzed
in
order to discover what makes a funny story
or joke seem funny
.
Here, for example, are
some
of the most
common
types of
humor
. They
range
from the
most
obvious
humor to the more
subtle
（微妙含蓄的）
types.
6
我们可以对幽默这种娱乐形式，
进行分析，从而发现究竟是什么使一个有趣的故事或笑话令人发笑
。举例来
说，
最常见的幽默有以下几种
，包括了
从最显而易见的幽默到比较微妙含蓄的幽默。
[7]
Its language is simple,
direct, and often
makes fun of
another person or group
.
Slap-stick
was and is
the
technique
of
the
stand-up
（单人的）
comedian
and
the
clown
.
It
appeals
to
all
ages
and
all
cultures.
Nearly
every
English-speaking
comedian
in
this
century has
used the
following
joke in one
form
or another.
One man asks another,
I saw
you with last night?
The other replies,
lies
in
the fact
that the second man is saying that his wife is not
a other words, she is not a
refined
（优雅的）
woman.
The
joke is
no less
funny because it is so
often
used.
The audience
knows
in advance
what will be
said
, because it is
classic
humor, and any
audience
values
it even more
because of
its
familiarity
.
7
滑稽剧
”是最明显的幽默。它语言简单、直截了当，
常常以取笑他人为乐
。说笑打闹这种形式
过去是、现在
仍
然是滑稽说笑演员和小丑的惯用技巧
。它
为不同年龄、不同文化背景的人们所喜爱
。几乎本世纪的每个讲英语的滑
稽说笑演员都曾
以这样或那样的方式说过下面这则笑话
。一位男士问另一位男士：
“昨晚我看到的那位和你在一起
的贵妇是谁？”那位男士回答道：
“那可不是什么贵妇，那是我老婆。
< br>”这个笑话的幽默之处在于第二位男士说他的
妻子不是一位贵妇，也就是说她不是
一个高雅的女人。这个笑话并没有因为经常讲而变得不再那么好笑。由于这是
一个经典笑
话，观众
都知道要说什么
，而且因为大家
对这个笑话很熟悉而更加珍爱它。
[8]
Chinese
cross-talk
（
相声）
is
a
special
type
of
slap-stick
in
which
two
Chinese
comedians
humorously
discuss topics such as
burea
ucrats
（官僚主义者）
, family
problems, or other
personal
topics
.
Cross-talk can
be heard
anywhere
from small
village
stages to the
largest Beijing
theatres
,
and
to
radio
and
television.
It
is
clearly
a
traditional
form
of
humor
well
understood
by
Chinese
people.
8
中国的相声
是一种特殊的滑稽剧
。
< br>相声中两名中国喜剧演员
幽默地谈论诸如官僚主义者、家庭问题或其他一
些有关个人的话题
。相声
随处都能听到，无论是
在乡村的小舞台上，还是在北京最大的剧院里
，抑或在广播、电视
上。它显然是
中国人家喻户晓的一种传统的幽默形式。
[9]
A PLAY ON WORDS is not so obvious as
slap-stick, but it is funny
because of
misused
or
misunderstood
language
.
My
favorite
example
is
the
story
of
three
elderly
gentlemen
traveling
by
train
in
England.
As the train
slowed
for a
stop
the first man asked,
?
second,
We know that
older
people often do not hear things
clearly, so the misunderstanding of both Wednesday
(for Wembley) and
thirsty (for
Thursday)
makes a nice
setup
for the
punch line
delivered
by the
third man
.
9
“俏皮话”不像滑稽剧那样浅显，它是
因语言的误用或误解
而引人发笑。我特别喜欢的一个例子是三位年长的
绅士在英国乘火车旅行的
故事。当火车慢慢停下来时，第一位绅士问道：
“这是
Wemb
ley
(
温布利
)
< br>吗？”
“不，
”第
二位绅士说：
“是
Thursday
(
星期四
)
。
”
“我也是，
”第三位说道，
“让我们下车喝杯啤酒
吧。
”我们知道上了年纪的
人往往耳背，
因此会把
Wembley
（温布利）
听成了
Wednesday
（星期三）
，
把
Thursday
（星期四）
听成了
thirsty
（渴
了）
，这样一来
就为第三位老人的妙语做好了铺垫
。
[10]
The famous
Chinese
cartoonist
and
humorist
Ding Cong is a
master
of word play.
In one of
his
funny
cartoons
,
a
teacher
says,
come
you
completely
copied
somebody
else's
homework?
The
young
student
replies,
didn't
completely
copy
it.
My
name
on
the
page
is
different.
In
another
classic
Ding
Cong
cartoon,
an
irritated
（生气的）
father
asks,
me,
what's
one
plus
two?
The
son
says,
The
impatient
father then says,
altogether
are
how many, you
idiot
?
The son
proudly answers,
Whether these stories
are cartoons
[N]
[N]
[N]
or jokes,
told by a
slap-stick
comedian or a
cross-talking
team
, they
appeal
to people everywhere as
funny
stories
because
they
have
a
note
of
reality
to
them
,
and
the
unexpected
punch
line
is
quite
funny.
10 <
/p>
著名的中国漫画家和幽默家丁聪便是一位俏皮话大师。在他的一幅幽默漫画中，一位老师说
：
“你为什么一字
不改地抄别人的作业？”那位年轻的学生回答
道：
“我没有一字不改地抄。我把作业上的名字改成自己的了。
”在丁
聪的另一幅经典漫画里，一位生气的父亲问道：
“告诉我
，
1
加
2
等于
几？”儿子说：
“我不知道。
”这位不耐烦的父
亲接着说道：
“比方说，
你、
你妈妈和我，
我们加起来一共是几个，
傻瓜？”
儿子得意地回答道：
“是三个傻瓜。
”
这
些故事无论是漫画还是笑话，
是由演滑稽剧的喜剧演员说还是由搭档的相声演员讲
，都
为
各地人们所喜爱
。人们喜
爱这些有趣的故事，因为它们
贴近现实生活
，而且里面那些出人意料的妙语十分有趣。
[11]
PUNS
are
even more subtle forms of word
play
.
They
use
the
technique
of
similar
sounding
words
or
alternative
meanings of the
same word
.
Puns
are thought by some critics to be the
lowest
form of
humor
,
but
I
disagree
with
require
more
subtle
and
sophisticated
（巧妙复杂的）
language
skills
than most humor
forms
, but even
the very young can use them in their
simpler
forms
.
For example,
the
riddle
（谜语）
trick
question
（脑筋急转弯）
often uses a pun in the setup
, the
story line, or,
more often, the punch
line.
Puns are the first type of humor
I learned, and at about 5 years of age
I
remember
hearing
the
following
riddle.
One
person
asks,
is
black
and
white
and
red
all
over?
The
other
person usually cannot answer the riddle, so says,
answer?
The
riddler
replies,
pronounced
the same as
meanings
are clearly
different.
11
双关语是
一种更微妙的俏皮话
。它
使用的技巧是利用发音相似的词或同
一个词的不同意思
。
有些批评家认为双
关语是最低级的幽默
，但我不同意这种观点。
双关语与其他形式
的幽默相比需要更细微、更
巧妙（复杂）
的语言技
巧
；然而，
简单的双关语甚至很小的孩子也能利用<
/p>
。例如，
谜语或脑筋急转弯问题常使用双关语做铺垫
、制造故事
情节，而且更多地是用在妙语部分。双关语是我最早懂得的幽默。
记得大约在五岁时我听到了下面这个谜语。一个
人问：
“什么东
西整个儿是黑的、白的和红的？”另外一个人通常猜不出来，于是问道：
“我不猜了。是
什么呀？”
出谜语的人回答：
“是报纸。
”如果你知道在英语中“
red
（红色）
”和“
read
（读）
”的读音一
样但意思完全不同，
答案就很明显了。
[12]
DOUBLE
ENTENDRES
(French for double
meanings)
are special
variations
of puns in which
words or
phrases
have double
meanings
.
Frequently
the two meanings are very different, and
one is quite
proper
while
the
second
is
often,
but
not
always,
vulgar
（粗俗的）
.
I
like
the
somewhat
mild
story
of
a
school
teacher
and
a
principal
of
a
high
school
who
are
concerned
because
some
boys
and
girls
have
been
seen
kissing on the school
playground.
The teacher says to the
students,
to stop kissing on the school
playground.
Hearing some
laughter
, she
senses
her
message
was not
altogether
clear, so she
adds,
our
noses
.
This
clarification
（解释）
, of
course,
does nothing
to
correct
the first
statement
and
the double meaning of the joke becomes
even more
laughable
.
12
DOUBLE
ENTENDRES
（法语中的“一语双关”
）是双关语的
特殊形式
,
其
中的词或短语有双重意思
。两个意
思往往很不相同，
一个比较恰当，另一个往往比较粗俗—但并不总是这样
。我喜欢那个关于一
位中学教师和校长因
看见学生在学校操场上接吻而感到担心的故事。故事
并不过火
。那位教师对学生们说；
“我和校长已经决定
停止在
学校操场上接吻。
”听到笑声，她意识到她没有把意思表
达清楚，于是补充说：
“我的意思是不能再在我们的鼻子下
面发
生接吻这样的事了。
”当然，
这个解释并没有纠正她的第一句话
，反而使这个笑话的双重含义变得更加好笑。
[13]
Some
professional humorists think
too much
of today's humor is not very
intelligent
or
sophisticated
.
They
dislike the
suggestive
（挑逗的）
or
vulgar
language used too frequently
, and
they feel that most humorists are not
very
creative
.
It
is true that some of today's humor is rather
shocking
,
but
I
don't
think
humor
is
to
be
blamed
for
that
.
Humor
is
alive
and
well,
and
it
will
persist
simply
because
there
are
funny
things
happening
every
day.
Some
humorous
people
see
and
hear
these
funny
things and
are able to make
them into funny,
entertaining
jokes and stories
.
(1,346 words)
13
一些专业的幽默家认为
如今的幽默大多缺乏智慧，不够巧妙
。他
们
不喜欢在幽默中过多使用有色情意味或粗俗
的语言
，而且觉得大多数幽默家缺乏创造性。的确，现在有些幽默令人震惊，但我认为
这不是幽默的过错
。幽默本
身是活泼健康的，它
还会继续生存下去，只因为每天都有有趣的事情发生
。一些有幽默感的人会
看到听到这些有趣
的事情，并
把它们编成妙趣横生、令人开心的
笑话和故事
。
[
N]
Unit 2
便笺的力量
On my first job as sports editor for
the Montpelier (Ohio)
Leader
Enterprise
, I didn't get a
lot of
fan mail,
so I was
intrigued
（吸引）
by a letter that was
dropped
on my desk one
morning.
1
我当体育编辑，最早是为蒙比利埃（俄亥俄州）的《企业导报
》工作，当时我很少收到体育迷的来信。因
此，一天早晨放在我桌上的一封来信把我吸引
住了。
[2]
When I
opened it, I read:
It was
signed
by
Don
Wolfe,
the
sports
editor.
Because
I
was
a
teenager
(being
paid
the
grand
total
of
15
cents
[N]
[N]
a
column
inch
),
his
words
couldn't
have
been
more
inspiring
.
I
kept
the
letter
in
my
desk
drawer
[N]
until it got
rag-eared
（破旧的）
.
Whenever I
doubted I had the
right
stuff
（材料）
to be a writer
,
I would
reread
Don's note
and feel confident again.
2
打开来信，我看到了下面的话：<
/p>
“关于老虎队的述评很不错，再接再厉。
”签名的是体育编辑堂?
沃尔夫。当
时我只是一个十几岁的小伙子（为每一专栏写一英寸文字，稿酬总计达
15
美分）
，因此他的话最鼓舞人心了。我把
这封信一直放在书桌的抽屉里，
后来它的边角都卷起来了。
每当我
怀疑自己不是当作家的料
时，
重温一下堂的便笺，
就又会树起信心来。
[N]
[3]
Later,
when
I
got
to
know
him,
I
learned
that
Don
made
a
habit
of
writing
a
quick,
encouraging
[N]
word
to people
in all
walks of
life
（各行各业）
.
he told me,
3
后来，我逐渐对堂有所了解，知道
给各行各业的人写快捷而鼓舞人心的便笺是他养成的习惯
。他告
诉我说：
“当我使别人充满信心时，我也感觉好极了。
”
[N]
[4]
Not
surprisingly
,
he
had a
body
of
friends as big as
nearby
Lake Erie
.When he died last
year
[N]
at 75,
the paper was
flooded
with calls and
letters
from people who
had been
recipients
of
his
spirit-
lifting
words.
4
<
/p>
因此毫不奇怪，
他的朋友圈子就像附近的伊利湖那么大
。去年他去世了，享年
75
岁。
< br>电话与悼函像潮水般
涌向报社
，都来自于
曾经得到过他激励（文字）的人们
。
[5]
Over the
years, I've
tried to
copy
the
example
of Don and other
friends
who care enough to
write
uplifting
comments
, because I think
they
are on to
something
important
.
In a
world too often cold
and
unr
esponsive
（无动于衷的）
,
such
notes
bring
warmth
and
reassurance
（安慰）
.
We
all
need
a
boost
[N]
from time to
time
, and
a few lines of
praise have been known to turn around a
day
, even a life.
5
多年
来，我
努力效仿堂以及我的其他朋友，他们关心别人，常写一些鼓舞人心的话语
，因为我觉得，
他们
这样做是很有意义的
。
在这样一个惯于冷漠、无动于衷的世界上，这种便笺给人们带来了温
暖和安慰
。我们都
时不
时地需要鼓励<
/p>
，
大家知道几行赞扬的话会改变一个人的一天，甚至一生
。
[6]
Why,
then, are there so few
upbeat
（激励人心的，乐观的）
note writers?
My guess is
that
many
[N]
who
shy
away from
the
practice
are too
self-conscious
.
They're afraid they'll
be
misunderstood
,sound
sentimental
or
insincere
.
Also,
writing
takes
time;
it's
far
easier
to
pick
up
the
phone
.
6
那么，这些激励人心的便笺的作者
为什么寥若晨星呢？我猜想
很多人回避写，是因为他们太看重人们的看
< br>法
。他们担心
会被误解，怕别人觉得他们自作多情或者言
不由衷
。还有，写也要花时间，
远不如打电话方便。
[7]
The
drawback
with
phone calls, of course, is that they don't last.
A note
[N]
[N]
attaches
more
importance
to
our
well-
wishing
.
It is a matter of
record
, and
our words can be
read more than once,
savored
（品味）
and treasured.
7
当然打电话的缺点是：说过的话留
不住。而一张便笺
使我们的良好意愿显得更加珍贵
。便笺是白纸
黑字记
录在案的东西，而且
我们写下的字可以反复阅读，细细品
味并珍藏起来
。
[8]
Even
though
note
writing
may
take
longer
,
some
pretty
busy
people
do
it,
including
George
Bush.
Some
[N]
[N]
say he
owes
much of his
success in
politics
to his
ever-ready
pen
. How?
Throughout his career he
has
followed up
virtu
ally
（差不多，实际上）
every contact with a
cordial
(
诚挚友好的
)
response
—
a
[N]
compliment, a
line
of praise or a
nod
of thanks.
His notes
go
not
only to friends and
associates
,
but
to
casual
acquaintances
and
total
strangers
—
like
the
surprised
person who
got
a warm pat on the
back
for lending Bush an
umbrella.
8
尽管写便笺会多花一些时间，但一些非常忙的人也在这么做，
其中包括乔治?布什。有人说，他
政治上的成
功在很大程度上归
功于他那枝随时准备写字的笔
。这是怎么回事呢？在他整个职业生涯中，
每次与人们接触之后，
他几乎都随后写封信，内容亲切
——一句赞美之辞，一行表扬的话，或一段感谢语。
他不仅写给朋友和同事，还写
给萍水相逢的人以及完全陌生的人
——比如
那
位借伞给他的人，后来收到他热情的赞扬信
，感到很惊讶。
[9]
******
Even
top corporate
（公司）
managers, who
have mostly
af
fected
（倾向于，受影响的）
styles
of
leadership
that can be
characterized
only as
tough
（强硬的）
, cold
and
aloof
（脱离群众的，疏
远的）
, have begun to learn the lesson,
and
earn
the
benefits
, of writing notes
[N]
that
lift
people
up
.
Former Ford
chairman Donald Peterson,
who is
largely
credited
（信任，归功于）
for
turning
the company
around
in the
1980s
,
made it a
practice
to write positive
messages to
[N]
associates
every
day.
just
scribble
（乱涂乱写）
them
on
a
memo
pad
（备忘录）
or
the
corner
of a letter and
pass
them
along
,
those
you
spend doing something to
boost
（鼓舞）
the
people who work for you.
9
那些
通常做作的公司高层经理们，
其领导作风只能被形容为强硬、冷漠、脱离群众
。甚至这些人也开始
学
习写便笺去鼓舞人心，且从
中获益匪浅
。唐纳德?彼得森，福特公司的前主席，
把每天写便
笺鼓励同事当作一件日
常工作
。
该公司
在
80
年代时走出低谷取得成功主要是他的功劳
。
“我只不过
匆匆地在备忘录或信的角上写一些鼓舞<
/p>
人心的话，然后传递出去
，
”他说道。<
/p>
“每天最重要的一段时间，就是
鼓舞那些为你工作的人
的那
10
分钟。
”
[10]
observed
,
genuinely
（真正地）
like have no idea how we feel about
them.
Too
often
we
think,
I
haven't
said
anything
critical
;
why
do
I
have
to
say
something
positive?
We
forget
that
human
beings
need
positive
reinforcement
—
in
fact,
we
thrive
on
（取得进步，获得成功）
it!
10
“太多的时候，
”他发表自己的看法说，
“那些我们真正喜
欢的人并不知道我们是怎么看待他们的。太多的
时候，我们会以为，我并没有说过什么批
评的话，为什么非得去说好话呢？我们
忘了，人类需要正面的肯定或鼓励
——事实上，我们靠这个取得进步，获得成功！
”
[N]
[11]
What
does
it
take
to
write
letters
that
lift
spirits
and
warm
hearts?
Only
a
willingness
to
express
our appreciation.
The most successful
practitioners
include what I
call the four
writing.
11
怎
样才能写出振奋精神、温暖人心的信呢？只要我们怀有要表示感激之情的心愿。写这种便笺的高手都具
有我所谓的
“４
S
”技巧。
[12]
1)
They are
sincere
. No one wants false
praise.
12
１）真诚。没人要听虚假的赞美。
[13]
2)
They are
usually short
.
If you can't
say what you want to say in three sentences,
you're
[N]
probably
straining
.
13
２）简短。如果不能用三句话
表达出你的意思，你很可能过火了，写得太长。
[14]
3)
They are
specific
.
Complimenting
a business
colleague by telling him
too
vague
;
investment
strategy
precise
.
14
３）具体。赞扬一位业务伙伴
“演讲
精彩”太笼统含糊；告诉他“关于沃伦?巴菲特的投资策略讲得很精
彩”才是一语中的。
[15]
4)
They are
spontaneous
.
This
gives them the
freshness
and
enthusiasm
that will
linger
in
the reader's mind long afterward.
15
４
）自然。这使得便笺充满了生气，洋溢着热情，并使读者的心灵长久地感受这种生气和热情。
[16]
It's
difficult to be spontaneous when you have to hunt
for letter-writing
materials
, so I keep
paper,envelopes
and
stamps
close
at
hand,
even
when
I
travel.
Fancy
stationery
isn't
necessary;
it's
the thought that counts.
16
当你非得到处找写信用品时，
写出来的东西就难以自然，因此我总是把纸、信封和邮票放在手边，甚至在旅
行时也是如
此。信封信笺不需要很花哨，
重要的是要表达的思想
。
[17]
So,
who
around
you
deserves
a
note
of
thanks
or
approval?
A
neighbor,
your
librarian,
a
relative,
your
mayor
, your mate, a teacher,
your doctor?
You don't need to be
poetic
.
If you
need a reason,
look for a
milestone
,
the
anniversary of a special event you
shared
, or a birthday or holiday.
For
the last 25 years, for
example, I've prepared an annual Christmas letter
for
long-distance
friends,
and I often add a
handwritten word of thanks or congratulations.
Acknowledging
some success
or good
fortune that has happened
during the year seems particularly appropriate
considering the spirit of the
Christmas
season.
17
那么，你周围又有谁值得你写便笺表示感谢或鼓励呢？一位邻居？为你服务的那位图书馆管理员？
一位亲
戚？你的市长？你的伙伴？一位教师？你的医生？你不必富有诗意。如果你需要一
个写的理由，就找一个生活中的
重要事件，例如
你们共同参加的
某个特殊事件的周年纪念日
、生日或者节日。例如，过去的
25
年里，我总是为远
方的朋友每年准备一张圣诞卡，而且常常在上
面亲笔写上一句感谢或祝贺的话。
鉴于圣诞节的氛围，就一年来所取
得的成功与得到的好运特意表示谢忱似乎是最恰到好处的。
[18]
Be
generous
with your praise.
Superlatives
（最高级）
like
make us all feel good. Even if
your praise is a little
ahead
of reality
,
remember that
expectations
are
[N]
often the
parents
of dreams
fulfilled
.
18
不
要吝啬你的赞美之言。像“最了不起的”
、
“最聪明的”
、
“最漂亮的”这种
最高级的表达法
——使大家都感
到高兴。即使
你的赞美之词稍稍
超前了一点也没关系
，记住，
梦想的实现往往孕育于期望之中<
/p>
。
[19]
Today
I
got
a
warm,
complimen
tary
（称赞的）
letter
from
my
old
boss
and
mentor
,
Norman
Vincent
Peale.
His
little
note
to
me
was
full
of
uplifting
phrases
,
and
it
sent
me
to
my
typewriter
to
compose
a few
overdue
（过期的）
letters of my own
.
I
don't know if they will
make anybody else's day
, but
they made mine.
As my friend
Don Wolfe said,
making others feel good
about themselves makes me feel
good
too
.
(978 words)
19
今天，我收到了以前的老板和
精神导师
诺曼?文森特?皮尔的一封温暖的
赞扬
信。
这张小小的便笺上满是鼓舞
人心的词句
，
这促使我坐到了打字机前来完成几封我
早就
该写的信
。
我不知
道这些信
会不会使别人的一天别有意义
，
但是，对我自己确实如此。正如我的朋友堂?沃尔夫所说的：
使别人充满信心，也就使
我自己感觉很好。
Unit 3
从文化角度看性别角色
Over
the past few decades,
it has been
proven
innumerable
（无数的）
times
that the
various
types of
behavior, emotions, and interests that
constitute
（组成，建立）
being
masculine
and feminine
are
patterned
by both
heredity
and
culture
.
In the
process of growing up, each child
learns hundreds
of
culturally
patterned
details
of behavior that become
incorporated
（吸收，体现）
into
its
gender
identity
.
Some of
this learning takes place directly.
In
other words, the child is told
by
others
how
to
act
in
an
appropriately
feminine
or
masculine
way.
Other
details
of
gender
behavior
are taught
unconsciously
, or
indirectly
, as
the culture provides different images,<
/p>
aspirations
（向往
的目标）
, and adult models
for girls
and boys.
1
在过去的几十年里，
已经无数次地证
实了这样一个事实
：
构成男子阳刚之气和女子阴柔之气
的各种不同类
型的行为、情感、和兴趣都
既是遗
传又是文化熏陶的结果
。
在成长的过程中
，每个孩子
学会了细微的行为举止，数
量之多数以百计，
这一切都带有文化的烙印，
成了他们性别特征的一部分
。
有些行为举止是直接学到的。
也就是说，
别人教孩子
如何恰如其分地行事
,
男有男的规矩
,
女有女的标准
。
另一些跟性别有关的具体举止是
无意识地或
间
接地学会的
，因为
文化为女孩子和男
孩子提供的形象、向往的目标以及成人的榜样各不相同
。
[2]
Recently,
for
example,
a
study
of
American
public
schools
showed
that
there
is
a
cultural
bias
in
education that
favors
boys over
girls
.
According to the
researchers,
the bias is
unintentional
and
unconscious
, but
it is there and it is
influencing
the lives of
millions of
schoolchildren
every
year.
Doctors David and Myra Sadker
videotaped classroom teachers in order to study
sex-related
bias
in research showed that many teachers
who thought they were
nonsexist
were
amazed
to
[N]
see
how
biased
they
appeared
on
videotape.
From
nursery
school
to
postgraduate
（<
/p>
博士后的）
courses,
teachers
were
shown
to
call
on
males
in
class
far
more
than
on
female
students
.
This
has
a
tremendous
impact
on
the
learning
process
for,
in
general,
those
students
who
become
active
classroom
participants
[N]
develop
more
positive
attitudes and go on to higher
achievement
.
As a
matter of fact, in the late
[N]
1960s, when many of the
best all-women's colleges
in
the
northeastern
United States
opened their
doors
to
male
students
,
it
was
observed
by
professors
and
women
students
alike
that
the
boys
were
[N]
over
the classroom
discussions
and that
active
participation
by
women students had
diminished
noticeably
.
A
similar
subordina
tion
（处于次要地位）
of
female to male students has also
been
observed in law and medical school classrooms in
recent years.
2
例如，最近对美国公立学校的一项研究显示，在教育中
存在一种男孩比女孩更受偏爱的文化偏见
。据研究
人员反映，
这种偏爱是无意的、不知不觉的
，
但它确实存在，并每年都在影响着数百万计学生的生活
。为了研究在
教育中存在的性别偏爱，
戴维?赛德克博士和迈拉?赛德克博士夫妇录制
了教师在课堂上课的情形。
他们的研究显示，
许多自认为无性别
偏爱的教师惊奇地发现，
从录像带上看他们竟是那么偏心
。从幼
儿园到研究生课程，都可以看到
教师们
请男生回答问题的次数远
比女生多
。
这对学习过程有着巨大的影响
，因为总的来说，
那些积极的课堂活动参
与者对学习更加乐观
有信心，并能在今后取得更大的成就
。事实上，在
20
世纪
60
年代末期，当美国东北部多所最
好的女子学院
向男生开放
之后，教授们和女学
生们都发现男孩们正在
“接管”课堂讨论
，而
< br>女生积极参与的程度则
明显下降
。近年来，在法学院和医
学院的课堂上也发现了类似的情况：与男生相比女生处于次要的地位。
[3]
Research
done by the Sadkers showed that sometimes teachers
unknowingly
prevented
girls from
participating
as
actively
as
boys
in
class
by
assigning
（分配，布置）
them
different
tasks
in
accordance
（一致，和谐）
with
stereotyped
（老套，模式化的）
gender
roles.
For
instance,
one
teacher
conducting
a
science
class
with
nursery
school
youngsters,
continually
had
the
little
boys
perform
the
scientific
[N]
while
the girls were given the task of
putting
the
materials
away
.
Since
hands-on
[N]
work
with
classroom
materials
is
a
very
important
aspect
of
early
education
,
the
girls
were
thus
being
deprived
of a
vital
learning
experience that would
affect
their
entire
lives
.
3
赛德克夫妇所做的研究显示，教师
有时候会
按照固有的性别模式给女孩子和男孩子布置不同的任务
，这样
便
不知不觉地使女孩子不能像男孩子一样积极地参与
。例如，有位教师在给幼儿园的孩子上自然科学课时，
不断地
让小男孩去操作科学“实验”
，而让女孩子只是做一些安放材料的工作
。既然
使用课堂材料动手操作是早期教育的
一个重要方面
，这些女孩子就这样
被剥夺了重要的学习经历
，这会影响到她们今后的整个人生
。
[4]
Another
dimension
of
sex-biased
education
is
the
typical
American
teacher's
assumption
that
boys
will do better in the
while girls are
expected
to have
better
verbal
（语言的）
and
reading
skills.
As
an
example
of
a
self-
fulfilling
（自我实现的）
prophecy
（预言）
,
American boys do,
indeed
,
develop reading problems, while girls, who
are
superior
to
boys in
[N]
math
up to
the age of
nine
,
fall behind
from then on.
But
these are
cultural
, not
genetic
[N]
patterns
.
In
Germany,
for
example,
all
studies
are
considered
and
it
is
girls
who
develop
reading problems.
And in
Japan,
where early education
appears
to be
nonsexist
,
both girls and
boys do
equally
well in
reading.
4
美国教师中一个具有代表性的想法是，
男孩擅长数学和自然科学，这些学科都是“难懂的”
、
“适合
于男性
的”
，而女孩会在语言和阅读技能上比男孩强。
这是教育中性别偏见的另一种表现。结果美国的男孩们确实在阅读
上出了
问题，而
在数学方面女孩尽管在九岁以前一直比男孩强
，但
此后却落在了他们后面
。这成了预言自我应验的
一个例子。然而这些特征是文化造成的，而非遗传的原因。例如，在德国，读书学习都被看作是“适合于男性 的”
，
于是在阅读上有问题的便是女孩子了。
< br>而在日本，
由于早期教育似乎不分性别
，
女孩和男孩在阅读上就旗鼓相当。
[5]
The different attitudes
associated
with the
educational
process
for
girls and boys begin at
home.
One
study,
for
example,
showed
that
when
preschoolers
were
asked
to
look
at
a
picture
of
a
house
and tell how far away from the house
they were
permitted
to go,
the boys
indicated
a
much
wider
area
than
the
girls,
who
generally
pointed
out
a
very
limited
area
close
to
the
home.
Instead
of
being
encouraged
to
develop
intellectual
curiosity
and
physical
skills
that
are
useful
in
dealing
with
the
outside
world,
as boys
are, girls
are filled with
fears
of the world outside
the home and with the
desire
to
[N]
[N]
be
approved
of for
their
obedience
to
rules.
These lessons
carry over
from
the
home to the classroom, where girls
are generally observed to be more
dependent
on the teacher,
more
concerned
with
the
form
and
neatness
of
their
work
than
with
its
content
,
and
more
anxious
about
being
[N]
analytical
, or
original
.
Thus,
through the
educational process that
occupies
most of the child's
waking hours, society
reinforces
its
[N]
established
values and turns out
each
sex in its
traditional
and
expected mold
.
(722 words)
5
在教育过程中对女孩和男孩的不同态度始于家庭。例如，有一
项研究显示了这样一种情况：让学龄前儿童
看一幢房子的图片，然后要他们说出家里允许
他们走开多远，这时男孩所指的范围要比女孩大得多，女孩指出的范
围很有限，而且离家
很近。女孩们不像男孩那样
受到鼓励去发展求知欲和动手能力，尽管这些正是与外部世界
打交
道时有用的
；对女孩灌输的结果是：
对自己家外面的世界充满了恐惧，且期望别人对自己的优良品格和循规蹈矩的
服从精神
加以认可
。这类教诲从家庭一直延续到课堂。于是，在课堂里我们常常可以看到女孩们更
依赖教师，
更注
重作业的形式和整洁而非内容，更在乎她们所给
的答案是否“正确”而不在乎智力方面的独立自主以及分析能力和
创造能力的提高
。
教育过程占据了孩子除睡眠以外的大部分时间
，
社会则通过这一过程加强了它固有的价值观，并
按其传统的
、期望的模式造就了不同性别的人。
Unit 4
关于创造力的培养——鼓励孩子思考
Creativity is the
key
to a
brighter
future,
say education and business experts.
Here is how schools
and
parents can
encourage
this
vital
skill in
children.
1
教育界和商业界的专家们说
,
具有创
造性是通向光明前程的关键
。
本文将介绍一下学校和家长如何才
能鼓
励孩子发展这一至关重要的能力。
[2]
If Dick Drew had
listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a
product
that we now think of
[N]
as
practically
(
几乎，实际上
)
essential
:
masking
tape
.
Drew
worked
for
the
Minnesota
Manufacturing
（生产）
and Mining Company, better known as 3M.
At work he
developed
a
sticky-side
subst
ance
（黏
胶）
strong
enough to
hold
things
together
.
But his
boss told him not to
pursue
（继续，从事）
the
[N]
idea.
Finally,
using his own time, Drew
perfected
the
tape, which now is used everywhere by many
people.
And his former
company learned from its mistake:Now 3M encourages
people to spend 15 percent
of their
work time just thinking and developing new ideas.
2
如果
1925
年迪克?德鲁听从了他老板的意见，也许我们就不会有遮护胶带这种用品
了。现在我们几乎
离不开它。德鲁当时就职于“明尼苏达制造和矿业公司”
，通常称为
3M
公司。在工作中，他研
制了一种用于胶带有
黏性那面的物质，
黏性很强，能使物体粘在
一起
。但是老板却不让他做进一步的研究。最后德鲁只好利用自己的时
< br>间改进了这种胶带。这种胶带现已被人们广泛使用。而他原来工作过的
3M
公司也从自己的失误中吸取了教训：现
在该公司鼓励员工抽出
15%
的工作时间专门用来开动脑筋搞创新。
[3]
It
is
a
strategy
that
more
and
more
companies
are
employing
and
one
that
experts
around
the
country
[N]
say we
ought to be
following with
our children, both at home and at
school.
The feeling is that
if
we teach them to think creatively,
they will
be better able to
function
in tomorrow's
society
.
3
现在这种策略已被越来越多的公司
所采用，而且全国各地的专家认为，对待孩子也应仿效这种做法，无论
是在家里还是在学
校。他们认为，如果我们教育孩子进行创造性思维，
他们就能在明天的社会中更好地发挥
作用。
[4]
Creativity's
benefits
reach
beyond
music
and
art.
Successful
students
and
adults
are
the
ones
who
discover
a number of ways to
approach
problems.
4
<
/p>
受益于创造性的不只限于音乐和艺术领域。能取得成功的学生和成人都是
< br>那些会寻求各种办法解决问题的
人。
[5]
Creativity
is
not
something one is
just
born
with
,
nor is it
necessarily
a
characteristic
of high
[N]
intelligence
.
Just because a person is highly
intelligent does not mean that he uses it
creatively.
Creativity is
the
matter
of
using
the
resources
one
has
to
produce
original
ideas
that are
[N]
good
for something.
5
创造性并非与生俱来
，
也不一定就是高智慧的特征
。一个人智力高并不意
味着他必然能创造性地发挥才智。
创造性是
指能利用已有的资源
想出新点子，而这些点子有助于解决某方面的问题
。
[6]
Unfortunately,
schools
have
not
tended
to
promote
creativity.
With
strong
emphasis
on
test
scores
and the development of reading, writing
and mathematical skills
, many
educators
sacrifice
（牺
牲）
creativity
for
correct
answers
.
The
result
is
that
children
can
give
back
information
but
can't
recognize
ways
to
apply
it
to
new
situations
.
They
may
know
their
multiplication
tables,
for
example,
[N]
but
they
are unable to
apply
them to
story
problems
.
6
<
/p>
遗憾的是，学校还没有想到要促使学生发挥创造性。许多教育者十分
看重考试分数，强调阅读、写作和数
学能力，往往因追求正确的答案而牺牲了对创造性
的培养
。其结果是，孩子们能够
反馈所学的知识，却不知道如何
灵活地应用知识
。比如，他们可能熟记乘法表，却
不会用它来解决数学应用题
。
[7]
In
some
schools,
however,
educators
are
recognizing
the
problem
and
are
developing
new
approaches
to teaching which should encourage
creativity in their students
.
Some teachers are
combining
the
[N]
basics
with
activities
where
the
students
must
use
their
imagination
.
For
example,
instead
of
simply
asking
WHEN Columbus discovered the New World, teachers
might ask students to think about what would
have happened if his trip had taken him
to New York first instead of to the Caribbean
area.
With that
question,
students would have to use what they know about
Columbus, what they know about New York, and
what they know about the Caribbean.
Teachers feel that even if the answers
seem silly, it's OK, that
sometimes
being silly is an
essential
step
toward
creativity
.
In the classroom
as well as at home,
[N]
children must
have the
right
to
have crazy thoughts
, experts say.
Then
it
is up
to
parents and
teachers to work with the children to
develop
those thoughts into
workable
ideas
.
The best
strategy
is to
encourage children by asking them questions,
meanwhile praising their ideas and new
thoughts.
Experts say that
it is important to
create an
atmosphere
in which there is
no
risk
in being
creative
—
a place
where wild ideas are
honored
and
valued
, never
scorned
or
dismissed
.
7
<
/p>
然而，在有些学校里，教育者们
正逐渐认识到这一问题，并致力于
研究能启发学生创造性的新的教学方法
。
一些教师
把基础知识和要求学生发挥想象力的活动结合起来
。比如，教师不再简单地问
学生哥伦布何时发现了新大
陆，他们可能让学生思考如果哥伦布首先到达的不是加勒比地
区而是纽约，情况会是如何。要回答这一问题，学生
必须应用自己掌握的关于哥伦布、纽
约和加勒比地区的知识。教师们认为即便学生的回答会很可笑，也毫无关系，
这也许是通
向创造性的重要一步
。专家认为，在课堂以及在家里，必须
允许
孩子们有些荒唐的念头
。
家长和教师们
则有责任和孩子共同努力，使那些念头成为切实可行的建议
。最好的办法是通过提问来鼓
励孩子，同时对他们的想
法和新点子表示赞赏。专家认为必须
创
造一个可以自由发挥创造力的氛围，一个尊重和赞赏而不是鄙视或不理会荒
诞想法的环境
。
[8]
There are things that parents can do at
home to encourage
can
involve
children
in
decision making if the
problem is
appropriate
,
asking the child for
suggestions.
Parents can
help their children to
understand
the
consequences
of
various
decisions
.
Parents should also
encourage their children to talk out
loud about things they are doing
.
Thinking
and
language
skills
are
closely
related
.
Talking
out
loud
improves
language
skills
and
thinking
skills.
8
在家里，家长可以做一些鼓励孩子
发挥创造力的事情。如果
遇到合适的问题，家长可以就该问题征求孩子
< br>的意见，让他们参与决策
。家长可以帮助孩子
了解不同的
决策将会带来的各种后果
。家长还应
鼓励孩子大声谈论他
们正在做的事情
。思维能力和语言能力是紧密相关的。
大声地谈论有助于提高语言能力和思维能力
。
[9]
Having
a
sense
of
humor
is
also
important
in
helping
to
develop
creativity
in
a
child.
When
parents
show
a sense of humor,
children can
see creativity in its
purest form
.
By
its
nature
, humor
crosses
conventional boundaries
and
breaks patterns
.
Creativity often does the same.