新标准大学英语3重点课文翻译(共25页).docx

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1、精选优质文档-倾情为你奉上Unit 1-1Catching crabs1In 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, studying late, a

2、nd 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 one wanted the h

3、umiliation 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 faces with pride,

4、 like medals proving their diligence. 2But 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 quieter, less im

5、pressive 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 a local level.

6、 We all saw him ending up in the Senate or in Congress one day. But most people were either looking 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

7、 settle down with a family, a mortgage and some hope of promotion. 3I went home at Thanksgiving, 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 wha

8、t everyone else was thinking of doing. 4My father was watching me but saying nothing. Late in the evening, he invited me to his study. We sat down and he poured us a drink. 5So? he said. 6Er . so what? 7So what do you really want to do? he asked. 8My father was a lawyer, and I had always assumed he

9、wanted me to go to law school, and follow his path through life. So I hesitated. 9Then I replied, I want to travel, and I want to be a writer. 10This was not the answer I thought he would expect. Travel? Where? A writer? About what? I braced myself for some resistance to the idea. 11There was a long

10、 silence. 12Interesting idea, he said finally. 13There was another long silence. 14I kind of wish Id done that when I was your age. 15I waited. 16You 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 really enjoy now, because if

11、you dont, you wont be successful later. 17So how do I do this? 18He 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. 19It was a small motor boat, moored ten minutes away, and

12、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. 20There was no surf on the coastal waters at that time of day, so it was a smooth half-hour ride unt

13、il 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. 21We waited a while, then my father stood up and said, Give me a hand with this, and we hauled up the crab cage onto the deck. 22Crabs fascinated me.

14、 They were so easy to catch. It wasnt just that they crawled into such an obvious trap, through a small hole in the 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. 23The cage was brimmi

15、ng with dozens of soft shell crabs, piled high on top of each other. Why dont they try to escape? I wondered aloud to my father. 24Just 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. 25And we watched. The cr

16、ab climbed up the mesh towards the lid, and sure enough, just as it reached the top, one of its fellow crabs 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. 26Now watch! said my father. Hes starting to

17、get bored with this game. 27Not only did the crab give up its lengthy struggle to escape, but it actually began to help stop other crabs trying to escape. Hed finally chosen an easy way of life. 28Suddenly I understood why my father had suggested catching crabs that morning. He looked at me. Dont ge

18、t pulled back by the others, he said. Spend some time figuring out who you are and what you want 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

19、you have. Try to figure out where 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. 29He paused. 30So you want to travel? he asked. 31Yes, I repl

20、ied. 32Better get you a passport. And you want to be a writer? 33I think so. 34Interesting choice. Weve never had a writer in the family, he said. 35My father started the motor and we set off back home. 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

21、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

22、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

23、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。 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

24、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。 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。

25、螃蟹让我着迷，它们太容易抓了。 不仅仅是因为它们顺着篓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

26、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。”

27、 “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。 Unit3-1How we listen1We all listen to music according 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

28、on three separate planes. For lack of a better terminology, one might name these: (1) the 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 t

29、o be had of the way in which we listen. 2The simplest way of listening to music is to 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

30、something else and absent-mindedly bathes in the sound. A kind of brainless but attractive state of mind is engendered by the mere sound appeal of the music. 3The surprising thing is that many people who consider themselves qualified music lovers abuse that plane in listening. They go to concerts in

31、 order to lose themselves. They use music as a consolation or an escape. They enter an ideal world where one doesnt have to think of the realities of everyday life. Of course they arent thinking about the music either. Music allows them to leave it, and they go off to a place to dream, dreaming beca

32、use of and apropos of the music yet never quite listening to it. 4Yes, 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 music, a very important one, but it does not const

33、itute the whole story. 5The 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 Stravinsky himself proclaim that his music was an o

34、bject, 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. Heaven knows it is difficult enough to say precisel

35、y 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. 6Listen, if you can, to the 48 fugue themes of Bach2s Well-Tempered

36、 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 describe it to your complete satisfaction. Yes, you wi

37、ll certainly know whether it is a gay theme or a sad one. You will be able, in other words, 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;

38、is it fatefully sad or smilingly sad? 7Let us suppose that you are fortunate and can describe 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

39、 for himself the specific expressive quality of a theme or, similarly, an entire piece of 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. 8The third plane on which music exists is the sheerly musical plane. Besides the pleasur

40、able sound of music and the expressive feeling that it gives off, music does exist in terms of the notes themselves and of their manipulation. Most listeners are not sufficiently conscious of this third plane. 9It is very important for all of us to become more alive to music on its sheerly musical p

41、lane. After all, an actual musical material is being used. The intelligent listener must 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

42、 order to follow the line of the composers thought, know something of the principles of musical form. Listening to all of these elements is listening on the sheerly musical plane. 10Let me repeat that I have split up mechanically the three separate planes on which we listen merely for the sake of gr

43、eater 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 instinctively. 11Perhaps an analogy with what happens to us when we visit the theater will make this inst

44、inctive 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 reactions. 12The expressive plane in the t

45、heater would be derived from the feeling that you get from what is happening on the stage. You are moved to pity, excitement, or gaiety. It is this general feeling, generated aside from the particular words being spoken, a certain emotional something which exists on the stage, that is analogous to t

46、he expressive quality in music. 13The plot and plot development is equivalent to our sheerly musical plane. The playwright creates and develops a character in just the same way that a composer creates and develops a theme. According to the degree of your awareness of the way in which the artist in e

47、ither field handles his material will you become a more intelligent listener. 14It is easy enough to see that the theatergoer never is conscious of any of these elements separately. He is aware of them all at the same time. The same is true of music listening. We simultaneously and without thinking listen on all three planes. 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