大学英语教材西方文化读本翻译整理

Unit1

根据传说，伏羲生于中国西部，出生之前在其母腹中孕育了

12

年。

伏羲教会了人类打猎、捕鱼、 驯养野兽、饲养家禽。伏羲制定了人类

的嫁娶制度，

教会人们劈 柴取火和烹煮食物；

他还通过龟背上的裂纹

创立了八卦，

这些八卦成为数学、

医学、

占卜学和风水的基 础。

此外，

伏羲还创造了中华民族的图腾龙，

< br>被认为是中国历史上第一个真正的

统治者。

Fuxi was born in the west part of China and, according to legend, he was

carried

in

his

mother’s

womb

for

twelve

years

before

birth.

He

taught

people how to hunt, fish, domesticate animals and tend their flocks. He

instituted marriage and taught people how to devise tools to split wood,

kindle fire and cook food. He devised the Trigrams, which evolved from

markings

on

tortoise

shells.

These

trigrams

served

as

the

basis

for

mathematics,

medicine,

divination

and

geomancy.

Furthermore,

he

created

the

Chinese

dragon

as

the

totem

of

the

nation

and

was

considered as the first real ruler.

Unit2

儒家的

创始人是孔子（公元前

551

—

479

）

，他提出了一套道德规范，

基于五种美德：仁、义、礼、智、信。其中“仁”被认为是他的哲学

理念的基石，代表着 忠诚、孝道

(filial piety)

、宽容和善良。他还 提倡

人与人之间和谐相处、

按照行为规范标准建立生活社区。< /p>

他的追随者

之一孟子

(

< br>公元前

372-289)

不断地向统治者们游说，试图说 服他们修

身养德，为人典范，以仁政赢得人民的尊重。

Confucius

(551

—

479

BC)

was

the

founder

of

Confucianism.

He

advocated

a

set

of

moral

code

on

basis

of

five

merits:

benevolence,

righteousness,

propriety,

wisdom

and

trustworthiness.

Among

them,

benevolence was considered as the cornerstone of his philosophy, which

stands

for

faithfulness,

filial

piety,

tolerance

and

kindness.

He

also

requested

people

to

keep

in

good

harmony

with

each

other

and

establish a community ruled by standard manners and behavior. One of

his followers, Mencius (372-289BC), repeatedly tried to convince rulers

that

the

ruler

should

cultivate

moral

perfection

in

order

to

set

a

good

example to the people and the ruler who governed benevolently would

earn the respect of the people.

Unit3

“送别”是唐诗里常见的主题。通过赠诗给一个即将离别的友人，诗

人常常表达自己的 悲伤之情。

送别诗里常用的意象

(image)

有音乐、

酒

和柳枝。

音乐是送 别仪式必不可少的部分。

音乐通常由琵琶等古典乐

器演奏，旋律 优美而悲伤。在这种场合，喝酒也是必要的。也许这是

因为酒能够让人得到安慰，

忘却生活中的烦恼以及与友人离别的愁绪。

送别的另一个风俗便是为友 人送上柳枝。因为“柳”和“留”同音。

通过这种方式，诗人就表达了让友人永远留下来 的愿望。

‘

Parting’ was a common theme in Tang poetry. By writing a poem to a

friend who was leaving, the poet usually showed his sorrow and sadness.

Images frequently used in a parting poem included music, liquor and a

willow

twig.

Music

was

an

important

section

of

the

parting

ceremony.

The

music,

which

was

often

melodious

and

sorrowful,

was

played

by

traditional

instruments

such

as

‘Pipa’.

Drinking

liquor

was

also

a

necessary part on these occasions. Perhaps it was because liquor could

console people and help them forget troubles in life and the sadness of

parting

from

a

friend.

Another

custom

was

giving

a

willow twig

to

the

leaving friend, since

‘willow’ in Ch

inese has the same

pronunciation of

that of ‘stay’. In this way, the poem expressed his wish that his friend stay

with him forever.

《红楼梦》

（

Dream of the Red Chamber

）是中国文学“四

大名著”之一。它写于

18

世纪中叶，并被认为 是中国文学中

的杰作

(master piece)

以及中国小说史上的顶峰。许多学者都

致力于该作品的研究，

而这个研究领域也被称作

“红学”

(Redology)

。

人们 通常认为该小说反映了作者曹雪芹自

己的经历以及他家族的兴衰。该书的优秀之处不仅在于它的

< /p>

情节和人物塑造

(characterization)

，同时也在于它对当时社会

生活结构的精确、细节的描写。几个世纪以来，小说中的许

多词句已经融入了中国人的日常语言。由此可见该书经久不

衰的魅力。

A Dream of Red Mansions is one of the ‘Four Great Classical Novels’ of

Chinese literature. It was written in the middle of the 18th century and

considered as a masterpiece of Chinese literature as well as the peak of

Chinese fiction. Many scholars are devoted to the study of this novel and

the field of study is known as ‘Redology’. The novel is usually

thought to

be reflecting the experience of the author Cao Xueqin and the rise and

decline

of

his

own

family.

It

is

remarkable

for

not

only

its

plot

and

characterization, but also its precise and detailed observation of the life

and social structures of that time. For centuries, a huge number of words

and expressions from the novel have already been incorporated into the

daily

language

of

Chinese

people,

which

demonstrates

the

ever-lasting

charm of the book.

Unit4

1

）

中国古 代教育在中国文化中起着举足轻重的作用。

中国古代教

育最早可 以追溯到周朝中后期诸子百家的教育思想。

古代中国的教育

给人 们提供了一个平等的发展机会，

即使出身贫寒的人也有可能步入

仕途。春秋时期，伟大的教育家孔子打破“学在官府”的陈规。私人

学堂盛行。

不同的学派通过学堂传播他们的思想主张，

出现了百家争

鸣的局面。

1) Education played a vital role in ancient Chinese culture. The origin of

ancient

Chinese

education

dates

back

to

the

educational

ideas

of

the

“Hundred

Schools

of Thought”

in

the

middle

and

late

Zhou

Dynasty.

It

provided

people

equal

chance

for

development.

Individuals

from

even

the humblest backgrounds could rise to higher level. In the Spring and

Autumn Period, Confucius, the great educator, broke the rule of learning

at the government hall. Private schools prevailed and many scholars of

different schools of thought spread their teaching in this way and this led

to the flourishing and contending of hundreds of schools.

）孔子既是教育家又是哲学家。他的思想理论规范影响着人们的伦

理、道德、生活等方方面面。孔子思想的特征之一是他十分强调教育

与 学习。在思与学的关系上，他认为学思并重。他认为，

“学而不思

则罔，思而不学则殆。

”对孔子来说，道德教育是最重要的。孔子的

< br>目的是培养举止优雅、言谈得体、遇事周全的谦谦君子。

2) Confucius was an educator as well as a philosopher. His thoughts and

theories

had

impact

on

people

in

many

aspects

such

as

ethics,

moral

principles and rules of life. One of the features of Confucius’ thoughts is

his

emphasis

on

education

and

learning.

In

the

relationship

between

learning

and

thinking,

he

believed

.that

learning

and

thinking

were

equally important. He believed that,

“Learning without thought is labor

lost;

thought

without

learning

is

perilous.”

He

considered

moral

education the most important. Confucius’s goal was to create gentlemen

who

would

carry

themselves

with

grace,

speak

correctly,

and

demonstrate integrity in all things.

Unit5

沈括

< br>是宋朝的著名官员、军事将领。他的不朽名著《梦溪笔谈》

(Dream Pool Essays)

记载了包括地质学、天文学、活字印刷（

movable

type printing

）