21世纪大学英语课文课本翻译unit2.doc
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1、+-Unit 2 Book 3 What does the word feminist mean to you? A man-hating female who gets offended at common courtesy? Someone who insists that women can and should do everything men do? A person who sees womens strengths and abilities as different from mens, but equally valuable? Or someone whos sensit
2、ive to the unfair treatment that women have suffered for centuries and wants to correct it? The feminist movement has made great progress in ensuring women equal legal rights, but social critics in most countries agree that theres still a long way to go. The three texts in this unit explore some of
3、the difficulties that both men and women encounter along the road to equal rights. Text A challenges us to examine our priorities and attitudes more closely, while Texts B and C contemplate some of the complications of putting our visions of equal rights into practice in everyday life.The Titanic Pu
4、zzleShould a good feminist accept priority seating on a lifeboat?by Charles Krauthammer Youre on the Titanic II. It has just hit an iceberg and is sinking. And, as last time, there are not enough lifeboats. The captain shouts, “Women and children first!” But this time, another voice is heard: “Why w
5、omen?” Why, indeed? Part of the charm of the successful movie Titanic are the period costumes, the period extravagance, and the period prejudices. An audience can enjoy these at a distance. Oddly, however, of all the period attitudes in the film, the old maritime tradition of “women and children fir
6、st” enjoys total acceptance by modern audiences. Listen to the audience boo at the bad guys who try to sneak on the lifeboats with - or ahead of - the ladies. But is not grouping women with children a raging anachronism? Should not any self-respecting modern person, let alone feminist, object to it
7、as insulting to women? Yet its usage is as common today as it was in 1912. Consider these examples taken almost at random from recent newspapers: “The invaders gunned down the Indians, most of them women and children .” “As many as 200 civilians, most of them women and children, were killed .” “At t
8、he massacre in Ahmici 103 Muslims, including 33 women and children, were killed .” At a time when women fly combat aircraft and run multi-national corporations, how can one not wince when adult women are routinely classed with children? In Ahmici, it seems, 70 adult men were killed. And how many adu
9、lt women? Not clear. When things get serious, when blood starts to flow or ships start to sink, youll find them with the children. Children are entitled to special consideration for two reasons: helplessness and innocence. They have not yet acquired either the faculty of reason or the wisdom of expe
10、rience. Consequently, they are defenseless (incapable of fending for themselves) and blameless (incapable of real sin). Thats why we grant them special protection. In an emergency, it is our duty to save them first because they, helpless, have put their lives in our hands. And in wartime, they are s
11、upposed to be protected by special immunity because they can have threatened or offended no one. The phrase “women and children” attributes to women the same dependence and moral simplicity we find in five-year-olds. Such an attitude perhaps made sense in an era dominated by male privilege. Given th
12、e disabilities attached to womanhood in 1912, it was only fair that a new standard of gender equality not suddenly be proclaimed just as lifeboat seats were being handed out. That deference - a somewhat more urgent variation on giving up your seat on the bus to a woman - complemented and perhaps to
13、some extent compensated for the legal and social constraints placed on women at the time. But in our era of extensive social restructuring to grant women equality in education, in employment, in government, in athletics, what entitles women to the privileges - and reduces them to the status - of chi
14、ldren? Evolutionary psychologists might say that ladies-to-the-lifeboats is an instinct that developed to perpetuate the species: Women are indispensable child-bearers. You can repopulate a village if the women survive and only a few of the men, but not if the men survive and only a few of the women
15、. Women being more precious, biologically speaking, than men, evolution has conditioned us to give them the kind of life-protecting deference we give to that other seed of the future: kids. The problem with this kind of logic, however, is its depressing reductionism. Its like a serious version of th
16、e geneticists old joke that a chicken is just an eggs way of making another egg. But humans are more than just egg-layers. And traditional courtesies are more than just disguised survival strategies. So why do we say “women and children”? Perhaps its really “women for children.” The most basic paren
17、tal bond is maternal. Equal parenting is great, but women, from breast to cradle to reassuring hug, can nurture in ways that men cannot. And thus, because we value children, women should go second. The children need them. But kiddie-centrism gets you only so far. What if there are no children on boa
18、rd? You are on the Titanic III, and this time its a singles cruise. No kids, no parents. Now: Iceberg! Lifeboats! Action! Heres my scenario. The men, out of sheer irrational heroism, should let the women go first. And the women, out of sheer feminist self-respect, should refuse. Result? Stalemate. H
19、ow does this movie end? How should it end? Hurry, the ships going down. 泰坦尼克号之谜一位真正的女权主义者应该接受上救生船的优先权吗?查尔斯 克劳瑟莫 你在泰坦尼克II号轮上。它刚撞上一座冰山,正在下沉。像上一次一样,没有足够的救生船。船长喊道:“妇女和孩子们先上!”但这一次,人们听到了另一个声音:“为什么妇女先上?” 的确,为什么?大获成功的电影泰坦尼克号的部分魅力在于那个时代的服装,那个时代的奢华,和那个时代的偏见。时隔多年,观众能够欣赏这些东西。然而,奇怪的是,电影中的所有那个时代的观念中,“妇女和儿童优先”这一古老
20、的海事传统却被现代观众全盘接受了。听一听观众对那些试图同女士们一起-或抢在她们前面-偷偷溜上救生船的坏家伙发出的嘘声就知道了。 但是将妇女和儿童归为一类难道不是一种与时代极不相称的行为吗?难道任何一个自尊的现代人-更不用说女权主义者-不该视其为对女性的侮辱而加以反对吗? 然而如今这种做法仍像1912年时一样普遍。看看这些几乎是随意从最近的报纸上摘选的例子吧: “入侵者枪杀了印第安人,其中大多数为妇女和儿童” “200名平民被杀,其中大多数为妇女和儿童” “在阿米奇的大屠杀中,103名穆斯林被杀,其中包括33名妇女和儿童” 在一个妇女驾驶战斗机、经营跨国公司的时代,这种将成年妇女与儿童归为一类的
21、惯常做法,怎能不让人皱眉蹙额呢?在阿米奇好像也有70名成年男子被杀。那么有多少名成年妇女被杀呢?不清楚。在事态严重时,在鲜血开始流淌或者轮船开始沉没时,你就会发现她们是和孩子们算在一起的。 孩子们之所以有权享受特殊照顾有两个理由:无助和无辜。他们还不具备推理的能力或来自经验的智慧。所以,他们不能自卫(不能照料自己),无可指责(不可能真正犯罪)。这就是我们给予他们特殊保护的原因。在紧急情况下,我们有责任先救他们,因为他们软弱无助,已将生命交付于我们手中。在战时,他们应该受到特殊豁免权的保护,因为他们不可能会威胁或冒犯任何人。 “妇女和儿童”这句话将我们在五岁的孩子们身上看到的依赖性和道德上的单纯
22、也赋予了妇女。这样一种态度在男性特权占统治地位的时代也许还讲得通。考虑到1912年时妇女被视为软弱无能的情况,在安排救生船的座位时,确实不宜突然宣布一种性别平等的新标准。这种礼让-同在公共汽车上给女士让座一样,只不过更有点紧迫-对当时加在妇女身上的法律和社交限制是一种补充,或许在一定程度上是一种补偿。 但我们正在进行广泛的社会重组,在教育、就业、政府、管理、体育运动中给妇女以平等地位,在这样一个时代,是什么使妇女享有儿童的特权,并将她们贬至儿童的地位呢? 进化心理学家们也许会说女士上救生船是一种为繁衍物种而形成的本能:妇女是必不可少的生儿育女者。如果全部妇女和只有为数不多的男子幸存下来,一个村
23、庄可以重新人丁兴旺,但如果全部男子和只有为数不多的妇女幸存下来,情况则不然。因为从生物学的角度来讲妇女比男子更为珍贵,所以进化论的影响使我们把给予未来的另一颗种子-儿童的那份保护生命的礼让给予了她们。 然而,这种逻辑的问题在于它那种对妇女的简单贬低令人沮丧。这完全像遗传学家的那个老笑话-蛋要生蛋只有变成鸡-的一种翻版。但人类绝不仅仅是下蛋的鸡。传统的礼让绝不只是伪装掩盖下的生存策略。那我们为什么说“妇女和儿童”呢? 也许事实上是“妇女为了儿童”。最基本的亲情纽带来自于母亲。父母同等的养育固然伟大,但是妇女,从哺乳、抚育到安抚的拥抱,能够以男性做不到的方式养育子女。就这样,因为我们珍视孩子,所以
24、妇女就该位居其后。孩子们需要她们。 但是儿童中心论只能解释到这一步为止。如果船上没有孩子又会怎样呢?你现在是在泰坦尼克III号轮上,这次是一群未婚者的航游。没有孩子,没有父母。瞧!撞上了冰山!快上救生船!马上行动! 我的镜头设计是这样的:男士们出于完全非理性的英雄主义,应让女士们优先上船。而女士们出于纯粹女权主义者的自尊,应予以拒绝。 结果呢?僵局。这部电影怎么结局呢?它应该怎么结局呢?快,轮船正在下沉。 Unit 2 What does the word feminist mean to you? A man-hating female who gets offended at common
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