Lesson Nine The Trouble with Television 电视的毛病 The Trouble with Television 要摆脱电视的影响是困难的。 It is difficult to escape the influence of television. 假如统计的平均数字适用于你的话，那么你到20岁的时候就至少看过2万个小时的电视了，从那以后每生活10年就会增加1万小时。 If you fit the statistical averages， by the age of 20 you will have been exposed to at least 20，000 hours of television. You can add 10，000 hours for each decade you have lived after the age of 20. 笔起看电视，美国人只有在工作和睡眠上花时间更多。 The only things Americans do more than watch television are work and sleep. 稍微计算一下，使用这些时间的一部分能够做些什么。 Calculate for a moment what could be done with even a part of those hours. 听说一个大学生仅用5000小时就可以获得学士学位。 Five thousand hours， I am told， are what a typical college undergraduate spends working on a bachelor's degree. 在1万个小时内你能学成一个天文学家或工程师，流利掌握几门外语。 In 10，000 hours you could have learned enough to become an astronomer or engineer. You could have learned several languages fluently. 如果你感兴趣的话，你可能读希腊原文的荷马史诗或俄文版的陀思妥耶夫斯基的作品；如果对此不感兴趣，那你可以徒步周游世界，撰写一本游记。 If it appealed to you， you could be reading Homer in the original Greek or Dostoyevsky in Russian. If it didn't， you could have walked around the world and written a book about it. 电视的毛病在于它分散了人们的注意力。 The trouble with television is that it discourages concentration. 生活中几乎一切有趣的、能给人以满足的事都需要一定的建设性的、持之以恒的努力。 Almost anything interesting and rewarding in life requires some constructive， consistently applied effort. 即使是我们中间那些最迟钝、最没有天才的人也能做出一些事来，而这些事使那些从来不在任何事情上专心致志的人感到像是奇迹一般。 The dullest， the least gifted of us can achieve things that seem miraculous to those who never concentrate on anything. 但电视鼓励我们不做出任何努力，它向我们兜售即时的满足，它给我们提供娱乐，使我们只想娱乐，让时间在毫无痛苦中消磨掉。 But Television encourages us to apply no effort. It sells us instant gratification. It diverts us only to divert， to make the time pass without pain. 电视节目的多样化成了一种麻醉剂而不是促进思考的因素。 Television's variety becomes a narcotic ， nor a stimulus. 它那系列的、多变的画面引着我们跟着它走。 Its serial， kaleidoscopic exposures force us to follow its lead. 观众无休无止地跟着导游游览：参观博物馆30分钟，看大教堂30分钟，喝饮料30分钟，然后上车去下一个参观点，只是电视的特点是时间分配以分秒计算，而所选择的内容却多为车祸和人们的互相残杀。 The viewer is on a perpetual guided tour： 30 minutes at the museum， 30 at the cathedral， 30 for a drink， then back on the bus to the next attraction —-except on television.， typically， the spans allotted arc on the order of minutes or seconds， and the chosen delights are more often car crashes and people killing one another. 总之许多电视节目取代了人类最可贵的一种才能，即主动集中自己的注意力，而不是被动地奉送注意力。 In short， a lot of television usurps one of the most precious of all human gifts， the ability to focus your attention yourself， rather than just passively surrender it. 吸引并抓住人们的注意力是大多数电视节目安排的主要目的，它加强了电视是有利可图的广告的载体的作用。 Capturing your attention —and holding it—is the prime motive of most television programming and enhances its role as a profitable advertising vehicle. 节目安排使人生活在无休止的恐惧之中，唯恐抓不住人们的注意力——不管是什么人的注意力都担心。 Programmers live in constant fear of losing anyone's attention—anyone's. 避免造成这一局面的最有把握的办法就是使一切节目都保持简短，不要使任何人的注意力过于集中而受到损害，而要通过多样化、新奇性、动作和行动不断地提供刺激。 The surest way to avoid doing so is to keep everything brief， not to strain the attention of anyone but instead to provide constant stimulation through variety， novelty， action and movement. 很简单，电视的运作原则就是迎合观众的注意力跨度短这一特点。 Quite simply， television operates on the appeal to the short attention span. 这只是最简单的解决办法，但它逐渐被看作是电视这一宣传媒体特定的，内在固有的性质，是必须履行的职责，似乎是司令萨尔诺夫或另一个令人敬畏的电视创始人给我们传下了刻有铭文的石碑，命令电视上出现的一切节目均不得使观众需要片刻以上的注意力。 It is simply the easiest way out. But it has come to be regarded as a given， as inherent in the medium itself； as an imperative， as though General Sarnoff， or one of the other august pioneers of video， had bequeathed to us tablets of stone commanding that nothing in television shall ever require more than a few moments' Concentration. 要是运用得恰当，这倒也无可厚非。 In its place that is fine. 如此出色地把使人忘却现实的娱乐作为大规模推销工具加以包装，谁又能反对这样一种宣传媒介呢？ Who can quarrel with a medium that so brilliantly packages escapist entertainment as a mass-marketing tool？ 但是我看到了它的价值现已充斥于这个国家及其生活之中。 Rut I see its values now pervading this nation and its life. 认为快速思维和快餐食品一样影响着生活节奏很快、性情急躁的公众，这已成了时髦的看法。 It has become fashionable to think that， like fast food， fast ideas are the way to get to a fast-moving， impatient public. 在新闻方面，我认为这种做法不能进行很好的交流。 In the case of news， this practice， in my view， results in inefficient communication. 我怀疑电视每晚的新闻节目真正能够被人吸收和理解的有多少。 I question how much of television's nightly news effort is really absorbable and understandable. 其中许多被形象地描述为“机关枪不连贯地点射”。 Much of it is what has been aptly described as “machine-gunning with scraps.” 我认为这种技术是与连贯性作对的。 I think the technique fights coherence. 我认为它最终会使事情变得枯燥乏味、无足轻重（除非伴以恐怖的画面），因为任何一件事，如果你对它几乎一无所知，那么它差不多总会是枯燥乏味、使人觉得无足轻重的。 I think it tends to make things ultimately boring and dismissible （unless they are accompanied by horrifying pictures） because almost anything is boring and dismissible if you know almost nothing about it. 我认为，电视迎合观众注意力跨度短的做法不仅会造成交流不畅，而且还会降低文化水平。 I believe that TV's appeal to the short attention span is not only inefficient communication but decivilizing as well. 想一想电视要达到的那些极不慎重的原则吧：必须避免复杂性，用视觉刺激来代替思考，语言的精确早已是不合时宜的要求。 Consider the casual assumptions that television tends to cultivate： that complexity must be avoided， that visual stimulation is a substitute for thought， that verbal precision is an anachronism. 它可能已过时，但我所受的教育告诉我思想就是语言，是按准确的语法规则组织起来的。 It may be old-fashioned， but I was taught that thought is words， arranged in grammatically precise 在美国存在着读写能力的危机。 There is a crisis of literacy in this country. 据一项研究估计，约有3000万美国成年人是“功能性文盲”。他们的读写能力无法回答招聘广告，或读懂药瓶上的说明。 One study estimates that some 30 million adult Americans are “functionally illiterate” and cannot read or write well enough to answer the want ad or understand the instructions on a medicine bottle. 能读写可能算不上是一项不可剥夺的人权，但是我们学识渊博的开国元勋们并不感到它是不合理的或者甚至是达不到的。 Literacy may not be an inalienable human right， but it is one that the highly literate Founding Fathers might not have found unreasonable or even unattainable. 从统计数字上看，我们的国家不仅未达到人人能读写的程度，而且离这一目标越来越远。 We are not only not attaining it as a nation， statistically speaking， but we are falling further and further short of attaining it. 尽管我不会天真到认为电视是造成这一情况的原因，但我却相信它起了一定的作用，是有影响的。 And， white I would not be so simplistic as to suggest that television is the cause， 1 believe it contributes and is an influence. 美国的一切：社会结构、家庭组织形式、经济、在世界上的地位，都变得更为复杂，而不是相反。 Everything about this nation —the structure of the society， its forms of family organization， its economy， its place in the world— has become more complex， not less. 然而其占主导地位的传播媒介，全国联系的主要方式，却在人类存在的问题上推销简单的解决方式，而这些问题通常是没有简单的解决方式的。 Yet its dominating communications instrument， its principal form of national linkage， is one that sells neat resolutions to human problems that usually have no neat resolutions. 在我的心目中，那30秒钟一个的商业广告：一位家庭主妇因选对了牙膏而感到幸福的那小小的戏剧性场面就是这一切的象征。电视已使这极其成功的艺术形式成为我们文化不可缺少的一个部分了。 It is all symbolized in my mind by the hugely successful art form that television has made central to the culture，the 30-second commercial： the tiny drama of the earnest housewife who finds happiness in choosing the right toothpaste. 在人类历，几时曾有这样多的人共同把自己这样多的业余时间奉送给一件玩具，一项大众娱乐？ When before in human history has so much humanity collectively surrendered so much of its leisure to one toy， one mass diversion？ 几时曾有一个国家使自己整个地置于商品推销媒介的摆布之下？ When before has virtually an entire nation surrendered itself whole-sale to a medium for selling？ 几年前，耶鲁大学的法学教授小查尔斯？L？布莱克写道：“……被喂食本身并不是件琐碎小事。” Some years ago Yale University law professor Charles L. Black. Jr.，wrote：“…… forced feeding on trivial fare is not itself a trivial matter-” 我认为我们这个社会正在强行被喂食。 I think this society is being forced-fed with trivial fare， 我担心这一做法对我们的思维习惯，对我们的语言、我们努力的极限度及对复杂情况的兴趣等方面所造成的影响，这一点我们还只是极模糊地意识到。 and I fear that the effects on our habits of mind， our language， our tolerance for effort， and our appetite for complexity are only dimly perceived. 就算我的看法不对，用怀疑和批判的眼光来分析这个问题，来考虑如何抵制它，也不会有任何害处。 If I am wrong， we will have done no harm to look at the issue skeptically and critically，to consider how we should be resisting it. I hope you will join with me in doing so.
今天教务老师给大家收集整理了自考本科高级英语教材，自考本科高级英语相当于英语几级的相关问题解答，还有免费的自考历年真题及自考复习重点资料下载哦，以下是全国我们为自考生们整理的一些回答，希望对你考试有帮助！09年十月的 自考 英语教育(独立本科段) 科目与指定书籍2009年下半年河北省高等教育自学考试课程与时间安排表050206英语教育(独立本科段)的考试时间10月24日上午0600高级英语7681教育政策与法规6763素质教育概论10月24日下午0795综合英语(二)0830现代语言学6764新课程背景下的教学策略10月25日上午0833外语教学法3708中国近现代史纲要10月25日下午0603英语写作3709马克思主义基本原理概论英语教育专业的开考科目:考试科目马克思主义政治经济学原理毛泽东思想概论素质教育概论第二外语第二外语第二外语高级英语英语写作翻译口译与听力英美文学选读英语科技文选现代语言学外语教学法听力口语综合英语毕业论文及答辩这些书你可以到石家庄的红旗大街河北省教育考试院图书超市去买，那里所有的自考书籍都有。从火车站你坐107直达河北省教育考试院站下车就可以了。英语专业自考本科段教材专业代码：01C1502专业名称：英语课程代码课程名称教材名称出版社版本作者00087英语翻译英汉翻译教程外语教学与研究出版社1999年版庄绎传00600高级英语高级英语外语教学与研究出版社2000年版王家湘张中载00603英语写作英语写作辽宁大学出版社1999年版杨俊峰00604英美文学选读英美文学选读外语教学与研究出版社1999年版张伯香00795综合英语综合英语外语教学与研究出版社2000年版徐克容00831英语语法现代英语语法外语教学与研究出版社2000年版李基安00832英语词汇学英语词汇学外语教学与研究出版社1999年版张维友00839第二外语大学俄语简明教程高等教育出版社1995年版张宝岑钱晓惠00840第二外语初级日语\初级日语教与学北京大学出版社2006年版\2007年版赵华敏00841第二外语简明法语教程商务印书馆1990/1年版孙辉00842第二外语新编大学德语外语教学与研究出版社2002年版朱建华03708中国近现代史纲要中国近现代史纲要2008年版王顺生李捷03709马克思主义基本原理概论马克思主义基本原理概论2008年版卫兴华赵家祥10014水平考试水平考试自学辅导航空工业出版社2006年版余志远10015水平考试英语听力上、下册外语教学与研究出版社1999年版何其莘王敏金利民夏玉和10016水平考试英语口语自学教程外语教学与研究出版社95年版96年版余志远10017欧洲文化入门欧洲文化入门外语教学与研究出版社1992年版王佐良祝珏李品伟高厚10064口译与听力现代汉译英口译教程外语教学与研究出版社2004年版吴冰10065口译与听力英语高级听力外语教学与研究出版社1992年版何其莘王敏金利民俞涓高级财务会计应如何复习？自考本科,高级财务会计应如何复习?高级财务会计最重要的是所得税会计，企业合并会计。这2部分内容有一点深度和难度，需要多化时间来掌握。建议重点安排时间把这2部分吃透。学好了这两部分，不仅考自考有好处。对以后考cpa也是有好处的，不管是自考还是考研还是会计师考试还是cpa考试，企业合并肯定是必考大题！学好企业合并，需要充分掌握长期股权投资，合并日会计处理，资产负债表日会计处理，抵消分录等等。另外的章节，如衍生金融，外汇，租赁，通货膨胀会计也应适当关注，理解掌握。破产清算会计考的可能较小，毕竟都不喜欢破产吧，呵呵。个月时间，把书看懂，重在理解，理解了原理，分录什么的自然会了。在理解的基础上适当练习吧祝你考试成功自考英语本科中的《高级英语》比较难，该怎样复习才能通过考试呀？自?高级英语在英语本科中不是很难的，关键是要多看书，一般应该看3遍。有很多题目是书上的东西，没有什么窍门，只有去看透教材。另外，不要把希望寄托在一些复习材料上，北大燕园什么的用处都不大。以前的真题应该做一遍。当然，你参加英语自考，应该有很好的英语基础，我就不多说怎样学习英语了，呵呵。自考/成考有疑问、不知道自考/成考考点内容、不清楚当地自考/成考政策，点击底部咨询官网老师，免费领取复习资料：
lesson3 使用暴力 Lesson Three The Use of Force 他们是我的新病人，我所知道的只有名字，奥尔逊。 They were new patients to me， all I had was the name， Olson. 请您尽快赶来，我女儿病得很重。 “Please come down as soon as you can， my daughter is very sick.” 当我到达时，孩子的母亲迎接了我，这是一位看上去惊恐不安的妇人，衣着整洁却一脸忧伤的神色她只是说，这位就是医生吗？ When I arrived I was met by the mother， a big startled looking woman， very clean and apologetic who merely said， Is this the doctor？ 然后带我进了屋。 And let me in. 在后面，她又说到，请你一定要原谅我们，医生，我们让她呆在厨房里，那儿暖和，这里有时很潮湿。 In the back， she added. You must excuse us， doctor， we have her in the kitchen where it is warm. It is very damp here sometimes. 在厨房的桌子旁边，这个孩子穿得严严实实的，坐在她父亲的腿上。 The child was fully dressed and sitting on here father's lap near the kitchen table. 他父亲试图站起来，但我向他示意不用麻烦，然后我脱下外套开始检查。 He tried to get up， but I motioned for him not to bother， took off my overcoat and started to look things over. 我能够觉察出他们都很紧张，而且用怀疑的眼光上下打量着我。 I could see that they were all very nervous， eyeing me up and down distrustfully. 在这种情形下，他们通常不会提供太多的情况，而是等着我告诉他们病情，这就是为什么他们会在我身上花3美元。 As often， in such cases， they weren't telling me more than they had to， it was up to me to tell them； that's why they were spending three dollars on me. 这个孩子用她那冷漠而镇定的目光目不转睛地盯着我，脸上没有任何表情。 The child was fairly eating me up with her cold， steady eyes， and no expression on her face whatever. 她纹丝不动，内心似乎很平静。这是一个非常惹人喜爱的小东西，外表长得象小牛一样结实。 She did not move and seemed， inwardly， quiet； an unusually attractive little thing， and as strong as a heifer in appearance. 但是她的脸发红，而且呼吸急促，我知道她在发着高烧。 But her face was flushed， she was breathing rapidly， and I realized that she had a high fever. 她长着一头漂亮浓密的金发，就像刊登在广告插页上和周日报纸图片版上的那些孩子一样。 She had magnificent blonde hair， in profusion. One of those picture children often reproduced in advertising leaflets and the photogravure sections of the Sunday papers. 她发烧已经3天了，她父亲开口说，我们不知道是什么原因。 She's had a fever for three days， began the father and we don't know what it comes from. 我太太给她吃了一些药，你知道，大家都是这样做的，可这些药根本不管用，而且，附近有很多人都生了病，所以我们想请您给她检查一下，然后告诉我们是怎么一回事。 My wife has given her things， you know， like people do， but it don't do no good. And there's been a lot of sickness around. So we tho't you'd better look her over and tell us what is the matter. 像医生们经常做的那样，我问了个问题，想以此来猜测一下病症所在。 As doctors often do I took a trial shot at it as a point of departure. Has she had a sore throat？ 父母两人一起回答说，没有……没有，她说她的嗓子不疼。 Both parents answered me together， No…No， she says her throat don't hurt her. 你嗓子疼吗？母亲又问了一下孩子。 Does your throat hurt you？ Added the mother to the child. 女孩的表情没有任何变化，而她的目光却一直没有从我的脸上移开。 But the little girl's expression didn't change nor did she move her eyes from my face. 你看过她的嗓子了吗？ Have you looked？ 我想看，孩子的母亲说，但看不见。 I tried to， said the mother but II couldn't see. 这个月碰巧她上学的那个学校已经有好几例白喉病。虽然到目前为止没有人说出这件事，但很显然，我们心里都想到了。 As it happens we had been having a number of cases of diphtheria in the school to which this child went during that month and we were all， quite apparently， thinking of that， though no one had as yet spoken of the thing. 好了，我说，我们先看看嗓子吧。 Well， I said， suppose we take a look at the throat first. 我以医生特有的职业方式微笑着，叫着孩子的名字。我说，来吧，玛蒂尔达，张开嘴，让我看一下你的嗓子。 I smiled in my best professional manner and asking for the child's first name I said， come on， Mathilda， open your mouth and let's take a look at your throat. 没有任何反应。 Nothing doing. 哦，来吧，我劝道，张大你的嘴，让我看看。看，我说着把两只手伸开，我的手里没有东西，张大嘴，让我看看。 Aw， come on， I coaxed， just open your mouth wide and let me take a look. Look， I said opening both hands wide， I haven't anything in my hands. Just open up and let me see. 他是一个多好的人呀，她的母亲插话道。你看他对你多好呀，来，听话。他不会伤害你的。 Such a nice man， put in the mother. Look how kind he is to you. Come on， do what he tells you to. He won't hurt you. 听到这里我狠狠地咬了咬牙，要是他们没用“伤害”这个词，我也许能做点什么，但是我没有着急或恼怒，而是慢声细语地说着话，一边再次靠近这个孩子。 As that I ground my teeth in disgust. If only they wouldn't use the word “hurt” I might be able to get somewhere. But I did not allow myself to be hurried or disturbed but speaking quietly and slowly I approached the child again. 我刚将椅子拉近一点，突然，她像猫一样双手本能地朝我的两眼抓去，我差一点被她抓到。 As I moved my chair a little nearer suddenly with one catlike movement both her hands clawed instinctively for my eyes and she almost reached them too. 好在她只是打掉了我的眼镜，虽然眼镜没有碎，但已落到了离我几英尺远的厨房地板上。 In fact she knocked my glasses flying and they fell， though unbroken， several feet away from me on the kitchen floor. 父母两人都非常尴尬，充满歉意，你这个坏孩子，母亲一边说，一边抓着她，并摇晃着她的一只手，你看看你做的事。这么一个好人。 Both the mother and father almost turned themselves inside out in embarrassment and apology. You bad girl， said the mother， taking her and shaking here by one arm. Look what you've done. The nice man… 看在上帝的份上，我打断了她的话，请不要再在她面前说我是一个好人。 For heaven's sake， I broke in. Don't call me a nice man to her. 我来是看看她的嗓子，也许她患了白喉，而且很可能会死于这种病。 I'm here to look at her throat on the chance that she might have diphtheria and possibly die of it. 但这一切她都不在乎，看这儿，我对女孩说，我们想看看你的嗓子，你不小了，应该明白我说的话，你是自己张开嘴呢，还是我们帮你张开？ But that's nothing to her. Look here， I said to the child， we're going to look at your throat. You're old enough to understand what I'm saying. Will you open it now by yourself or shall we have to open it for you？ 她仍然一动不动，甚至连表情都没有任何变化。 Not a move. Even her expression hadn't changed. 但是她的呼吸却越来越急促。 Her breaths， however， were coming faster and faster. 接着一场战役开始了，我不得不这样做。 Then the battle began. I had to do it. 由于她的自我保护，我必须检查一下她的嗓子。 I had to have a throat culture for her own protection. 可是我首先告诉家长这完全取决于他们。 But first I told the parents that it was entirely up to them. 我说明了其危险性，但同时提出只要他们承担责任我就不会坚持做这次喉咙检查。 I explained the danger but said that I would not insist on a throat examination so long as they would take the responsibility. 如果你不按大夫说的去做，你就要去医院了，母亲严厉地警告她。 If you don't do what the doctor says you'll have to go to the hospital， the mother admonished her severely. 是吗？我只好暗自笑了笑。毕竟我已经喜欢上了这个野蛮的小东西，但却看不起这对父母。 Oh yeah？ I had to smile to myself. After all， I had already fallen in love with the savage brat， the parents were contemptible to me. 在接下来的“战斗”中他们越来越难堪，被摧垮了，直至精疲力竭。而这个女孩由于恐惧，她对我的抗拒达到了惊人的地步。 In the ensuing struggle they grew more and more abject， crushed， exhausted while she surely rose to magnificent heights of insane fury of effort bred of her terror of me. 父亲尽了的努力，他块头很大，然而事实上他面对着的是他的女儿，由于对她的所作所为感到愧疚和担心伤到她，他每次在我几乎就要成功了的关键时刻放开了她，我真恨不得杀了他。 The father tried his best， and he was a big man but the fact that she was his daughter， his shame at her behavior and his dread of hurting her made him release her just at the critical times when I had almost achieved success， till I wanted to kill him. 可是，因为又担心她真会患上白喉，尽管他自己就快昏到了，他又告诉我继续，继续，而她的母亲在我们的身后走来走去，忧愁万分地抖着双手。 But his dread also that she might have diphtheria made him tell me to go on， go on though he himself was almost fainting， while the mother moved back and forth behind us raising and lowering her hands in an agony of apprehension. 把她放在你的大腿上，我命令道，抓住她的两个手腕。 Put her in front of you on your lap， I ordered， and hold both her wrists. 然而他刚一动手，女孩就尖叫了一声。 But as soon as he did the child let out a scream. 别这样，你会弄疼我的。 Don't， you're hurting me. 放开我的手，放手，我告诉你。 Let go of my hands. Let them go I tell you. 接着她发出可怕的歇斯底里的尖叫，住手！住手！你会弄死我的！ Then she shrieked terrifyingly， hysterically. Stop it！ Stop it！ You're killing me！ 你觉得她受得了吗？医生！她母亲说。 Do you think she can stand it， doctor！ Said the mother. 你出去，丈夫对他的妻子说，你想让她死于白喉吗？ You get out， said the hu******************and to his wife. Do you want her to die of diphtheria？ 来吧，抓住她，我说道。 Come on now， hold her， I said. 接着我用左手掰住女孩的头，并试图将木制的压舌板伸进她的嘴里。 Then I grasped the child's head with my left hand and tried to get the wooden tongue depressor between her teeth. 她紧咬着牙绝望地反抗着！ She fought， with clenched teeth， desperately！ 而此时我也变得狂怒了——对一个孩子。 But now I also had grown furious-at a child. 我试图让自己不要发脾气，但却做不到，我知道怎样去检查她的嗓子。 I tried to hold myself down but I couldn't. I know how to expose a throat for inspection. 我尽了的努力。当我终于把木制的压舌板伸到最后一排牙齿的后面时，她张开了嘴，然而只是一瞬间，我还来不及看她又把嘴闭上了，没等我把它取出来，她的臼齿已经紧紧咬住了压舌板，并把压舌板咬成了碎片。 And I did my best. When finally I got the wooden spatula behind the last teeth and just the point of it into the mouth cavity， she opened up for an instant but before I could see anything she came down again and gripped the wooden blade between her molars. She reduces it to splinters before I could get it out again. 你不害臊吗？妈妈朝她大声训斥道。你在大夫面前这样不觉得害臊吗？ Aren't you ashamed， the mother yelled at her. Aren't you ashamed to act like that in front of the doctor？ 给我拿一把平柄的勺子什么的，我对母亲说。 Get me a smooth-handled spoon of some sort， I told the mother. 我们还要接着做下去。 We're going through with this. 孩子的嘴已经流血了。 The child's mouth was already bleeding. 她的舌头破了，还在歇斯底里地大叫着。 Her tongue was cut and she was screaming in wild hysterical shrieks. 也许我应该停下来，过一个多小时再回来无疑这样会好一些。 Perhaps I should have desisted and come back in an hour or more. No doubt it would have been better. 但我已经看到至少两个孩子因为这种情况而被疏忽了，躺在床上死去，我感到我必须现在进行诊断，否则就再没有机会了。 But I have seen at least two children lying dead in bed of neglect in such cases， and feeling that I must get a diagnosis now or never I went at it again. 然而最糟糕的是，我也失去了理智，我本可以在盛怒之下将女孩的嘴扒开来享受其中的快乐，向她发起进攻真是一件乐事，我的脸也因此而发热。 But the worst of it was that I too had got beyond reason. I could have torn the child apart in my own fury and enjoyed it. It was a pleasure to attack her， my face was burning with it. 在这种时候，谁都会叮咛自己，无论这个可恶的小鬼做出任何愚蠢的举动，也要违背她的意愿来保护她。 The damned little brat must be protected against her own idiocy， one says to one's self at such times. 这样做也是为了保护其他孩子，同时这也是一种社会需要，事实也确是如此。 Others must be protected against her. It is a social necessity. And all these things are true. 然而由于释放体内能量的欲望而产生的一种盲目的无法控制的狂怒和一种成年人的羞耻感，使我一直坚持到最后。 But a blind fury，a feeling of adult shame， bred of a longing for muscular release are the operatives. One goes on to the end. 在最后失去理性的“战斗”中，我控制了女孩的脖子和下巴，我强行将沉重的银勺从她的牙后面伸到嗓子直到她作呕。 In the final unreasoning assault I overpowered the child's neck any jaws. I forced the heavy silver spoon back of her teeth and down her throat till she gagged. 果然，两个扁桃体上有着一层膜状物。她勇敢地反抗就是为了不让我发现她的这个秘密，她至少隐瞒了3天嗓子疼，并对父母撒谎，都是为了逃避这样一个结果。 And there it was – both tonsils covered with membrane. She had fought valiantly to keep me from knowing her secret. She had been hiding that sore throat for three days at least and lying to her parents in order to escape just such an outcome as this. 现在，她真的狂怒了，在这以前她一直处于守势，但是现在她开始进攻了。 Now truly she was furious. She had been on the defensive before but now she attacked， Tried to get off her father's lap and fly at me while tears of defeat blinded her eye.
第十个人 Lesson Ten The Tenth Man 就在第二天下午3点（闹钟上的时间），一个军官走进了牢房。这是他们几星期以来见到的第一位军官。他非常年轻，甚至小胡子的形状也显示出他不够老练，左边的胡子剃得重了点。 It was at three the next afternoon （alarm clock time） that an officer entered the cell； the first officer they had seen for weeks – and this one was very young， with inexperience even in the shape of his mustache which he had shaved too much on the left side. 他就像一个初次登台领奖的小学生一样窘迫不安，他说起话来粗鲁无礼，似乎要显示一种他并不具备的力量。 He was as embarrassed as a schoolboy making his first entry on a stage at a prize-giving， and he spoke abruptly so as to give the impression of a strength he did not possess. 他说道：“昨天夜间城里发生了几起谋杀，一名军事长官的副手、一位中士和一个骑自行车的女孩被杀。”他又说道：“我们不在乎女孩的死。法国男人杀死法国女人不关我们的事。” He said， “There were murders last night in the town. The aide-de-camp of the military governor， a sergeant and a girl on a bicycle.” He added， “We don't complain about the girl. Frenchmen have our permission to kill Frenchwomen.” 很明显他事先仔细斟酌了他的讲话，但他的嘲弄做过了头，他的表演也很业余。 He had obviously thought up his speech carefully beforehand， but the irony was overdone and the delivery that of an amateur actor： 整个场面就像手势字谜游戏那样矫饰做作。 the whole scene was as unreal as a charade. 他接着说道：“你们知道自己为什么来这里，你们在这里好吃好喝，过着舒适的日子，而我们的人却在工作和战斗。不过现在你们必须付出代价了。不要怪我们，要怪你们自己的杀人凶手。我的命令是集中营里每十个人要有一个被枪决。你们有多少人？”“报数。”他厉声喝道人们闷闷不乐地照办了。“28，29，30.”人们知道不用数他也知道人数，这不过是他玩的把戏中不可省略的一句台词…… He said， “You know what you are here for， living comfortably， on fine rations， while our men work and fight. Well， now you've got to pay the hotel bill. Don't blame us. Blame your own murderers. My orders are that one man in every ten shall be shot in this camp. How many of you are there？” He shouted sharply， “Number off，” and sullenly they obeyed， “…… twenty-eight， twenty-nine， thirty.” They knew he knew without counting. This was just a line in his charade he couldn't sacrifice. 他说道：“那么，你们的名额是三个，我们并不关心是哪三个人。你们可以自己选择。死刑于明天早上7点执行。” He said， “Your allotment then is three. We are quite indifferent as to which three. You can choose for yourselves. The funeral rites will begin at seven tomorrow morning.” 他玩的把戏结束了，人们可以听到他的脚步响亮地敲击着沥青路渐渐远去。 The charade was over： they could hear his feet striking sharply on the asphalt going away. 查维尔忽然很想知道他打的手势是什么字。要他们猜的是不是“夜间”，“姑娘”，“旁边”或“30”。不，不是。谜底肯定是“人质”。 Chavel wondered for a moment what syllable had been acted —“night，”“girl，”“aside，” or perhaps “thirty，” but it was of course the whole word—“hostage. ” 牢房里很长时间没人说话。后来一个叫克拉夫的阿尔萨斯人开口道：“好了，我们有人自愿吗？” The silence went on a long time， and then a man called Krogh， an Alsatian， said， “Well， do we have to volunteer？” “废话。”一个职员说道。他是一个上了年纪的戴着夹鼻眼镜的老头。他接着说道：“没人会自愿，我们必须抽签。除非有人认为应按年龄决定——最老的先死。” “Rubbish，” said one of the clerks， a thin elderly man in pince-nez， “nobody will volunteer. We must draw lots.” He added， “Un-less it is thought that we should go by ages —the oldest first. ” “不，不行。”另一个人说道，“那不公平。” “No， no，” one of the others said， “that would be unjust. ” “这是自然规律。” “It's the way of nature.” “那算什么自然规律。”又一个人说道，“我有个女儿，5岁时就死了。” “Not even the way of nature，” another said. “1 had a child who died when she was five……” “我们必须抽签。”市长坚定地说。 “We must draw lots，” the mayor said firmly. “只有这样才公正。”他坐在那里，双手依然紧贴在肚子上，遮挡着他的怀表，但是整个牢房里都能听见怀表清脆的滴答声。 “It is the only fair thing.” He sat with his hands still pressed over his stomach， hiding his watch， but all through the cell you could hear its blunt tick lock tick. 他接着又说道：“由未婚者抽签，已婚者除外，他们有责任。” He added， “On the unmarried. The married should not be included. They have responsibilities… “哈，哈！”皮埃尔说道，“我们明白了。为什么已婚者就应逃脱？他们的事儿已经做完了。当然，你结婚了吧？” “Ha， ha，” Pierre said， “we see through that. Why should the married get off？ Their work's finished. You， of course， are married？” “我的妻子不在了。”市长说，“我现在是未婚，你呢？” “I have lost my wife，” the mayor said， “I am not married now. And you…” “结了。”皮埃尔答道。 “Married，” Pierre said. 市长开始解下怀表。发现皮埃尔处境安全，他似乎更坚信作为怀表的主人自己必定是下一个牺牲者。 The mayor began to undo his watch； the discovery that his rival was safe seemed to confirm his belief that as the owner of time he was bound to be the next victim. 他环顾了每一个人，然后选择了查维尔。也许是因为只有他穿着西服背心适合戴表链。他说道：“查维尔先生，我想让你替我拿着怀表，万一……” He looked from face to face and chose Chavel， perhaps because he was the only man with a waistcoat fit to take the chain. He said， “Monsieur Chavel， I want you to hold this watch for me in case…” “你找别人吧！”查维尔说，“我还没结婚呢。” “you'd better choose someone else，” Chavel said. “I am not married.” 那个老职员又开口了，“我结婚了，我有权说话。 The elderly clerk spoke again. He said， “I'm married. I've got the right to speak. 我们正把一切引向歧途。这不是我们最后一次抽签。如果这儿有一个特权阶层——那些最终将活着的人，大家想想，牢房里会是什么样子。你们其他人很快就会痛恨我们。你们害怕，而我们将不再担心。“ We are going the wrong way about all this. Everyone must draw lots. This isn't the last draw we shall have， and picture to yourselves what it will be like in this cell if we have a privileged class —the ones who are left to the end. The rest of you will soon begin to hate us. We shall be left out of your fear. . . “ “他说得对。”皮埃尔说。 “He's right，” Pierre said. 市长重新握紧了怀表，说道：“就照你们的主意办。要是能够这样征税的话……”他做了个绝望的手势。 The mayor refastened his watch. “Have it your own way，” he said. “But if the taxes were levied like this…” He gave a gesture of despair. “我们如何抽签？”克拉夫问道。 “How do we draw？” Krogh asked. 查维尔答道：“最快的办法就是从一只鞋里抽出画有记号的纸条。” Chavel said， “The quickest way would be to draw marked papers out of a shoe. . .” 克拉夫轻蔑地说：“那么快干吗？对于我们当中几个人来说这可是最后一次赌博了。我们蛮可以享受一番。我提议赌抛硬币。” Krogh said contemptuously， “Why the quickest way？ This is the last gamble some of us will have. We may as well enjoy it. I say a coin.” “这不好。”那个职员说，“抛硬币不是一个公平、合理的办法。” “It won't work，” the clerk said. “You can't get a even chance with a coin.” “惟一的办法就是抽签。”市长说道。 “The only way is to draw，” the mayor said. 职员开始为抽签做准备，为此他牺牲了一封家信。 The clerk prepared the draw， sacrificing for it one of his letters from home. 他很快地看了一遍信，然后把它撕成30张小纸条。 He read it rapidly for the last time， and then tore it into thirty pieces. 他用铅笔在其中三张上画上十字，然后把每张纸条都叠上。 On three pieces he made a cross in pencil， and then folded each piece. 他接着说：“克拉夫的鞋。”大家把纸条放在地下搅乱，然后装进了鞋子里。 “Krogh's got the biggest shoe，” he said. They shuffled the pieces on the floor and then dropped them into the shoe. “我们按姓氏的字母顺序抽签。”市长说。 “We'll draw in alphabetical order，” the mayor said. “从Z开始抽。”查维尔说道。他的安全感开始动摇了。他急切想喝点什么，用手指从嘴唇上撕下一小块干皮。 “Z first，” Chavel said. His feeling of security was shaken. He wanted a drink badly. He picked at a dry piece of skin on his lip. “就按你说的办。”卡车司机说道，“有人排在维尔森前面吗？我先抽。” “As you wish，” the lorry driver said. “Anybody beat Voisin？ Here goes. 他用手在鞋子里小心地掏，就像是要掏到他心里想要的那张。 “He thrust his hand into the shoe and made careful excavations as though he had one particular scrap of paper in mind. 他抽出一张，打开，怔怔地看着，然后说了声：“完了。”他坐下来，摸出一支香烟放到嘴里，却忘了点火。 He drew one out， opened it， and gazed at it with astonishment. He said， “This is it.” He sat down and felt for a cigarette， but when he got it between his lips he forgot to light it. 查维尔心中充满了巨大而又令他感到羞耻的快乐。 Chavel was filled with a huge and shameful joy. 看来自己得救了。剩下二十九个人抽签，而只有两张带有记号的纸条。 It seemed to him that already he was saved —twenty - nine men to draw and only two marked papers left. 抽中死签的可能性突然变得对他有利，从10比1变成了14比1.经营蔬菜水果的商人也抽了一张，然后漫不经心、毫无表情地示意自己平安无事。 The chances had suddenly grown in his favor from ten to one to—fourteen to one： the greengrocer had drawn a slip and indicated carelessly and without pleasure that he was safe. 的确，从抽第一张签时人们就忌讳任何喜形于色的表现，一个人不能以任何宽慰的举动去嘲弄注定要死的人。 Indeed from the first draw any mark of pleasure was taboo： one couldn't mock the condemned man by any sign of relief. 查维尔胸中有一种隐隐约约的不安——还不是恐惧，像是一种压抑感。 Again a dull disquiet —ii couldn't yet be described as a fear—exended its empire over Chavel's chest. 当第六个人抽到空白纸条时，他发现自己在打哈欠；当第十个人——就是大家称作雅维耶的那个人抽完签后，他的心中又充满了某中怨愤的情绪。现在抽中死签的机会同开始时一样了。 It was like a constriction： he found himself yawning as the sixth man drew a blank slip， and a sense of grievance nagged at his mind when the tenth man bad drawn—it was the one they called Janvier—and the chances were once again the same as when the draw started. 有的人抽出他们手指碰到的第一张纸条；有的人似乎怀疑命运企图将某一张纸条强加于他们，所以他们刚刚从鞋里抽出一张，就又扔回去，再另换一张。 Some men drew the first slip which touched their fingers； others seemed to suspect tha t fate was trying to force on them a particular slip and when they bad drawn one a little way from the shoe would let it drop again and choose another. 时间过得很慢，令人难以置信。那个叫做维尔森的人靠墙坐着，嘴里叼着仍未点燃的香烟，对一切都不再在意。 Time passed with incredible slowness， and the man called Voisin sat against the wall with the unlighted cigarette in his mouth paying them no attention at all. 就在生存的机会逐渐变小，抽中死签的可能性达到八分之一时，一个叫做勒诺特的上年纪的职员抽中了第二张死签。 The chances had narrowed to one in eight when the elderly clerk —his name was Lenotre—drew the second slip. 他清了清喉咙，戴上夹鼻眼镜，好像要确认自己没有看错。“喂，维尔森先生，我能加入吗？”他带着淡淡的微笑说道。 He cleared his throat and put on his pince-nez as though he had to make sure he was not mistaken. “Ah， Monsieur Voisin，” he said with a thin undecided smile， “May I join you？” 令人难以琢磨的机会再次以绝对对查维尔有利的优势朝他走来，抽中死签的可能性只有十五分之一，可他这次却没有丝毫欣慰，他被普通百姓所具有的勇气所震撼，他想让这一切尽快结束，就像一副扑克玩得太久了，他只希望有人离开牌桌，结束牌局。 This time Chavel felt no joy even though the elusive odds were back again overwhelmingly in his favor at fifteen to one； he was daunted by the courage of common men. He wanted the whole thing to be over as quickly as possible： like a game of cards which has gone on too long， he only wanted someone to make a move and break up the table. 勒诺特在维尔森身边靠墙坐下，他翻过纸条，背面是信中的一点内容，“是你妻子的？”维尔森问道。“是我女儿的。”勒诺特答道，“请原谅。”他起身走到自己的铺盖处，抽出一本便笺，回到维尔森身边开始写起来。他不慌不忙，认认真真地写下一串纤细而清晰的字迹。 。 Lenotre， sitting down against the wall next to Voisin， turned the slip over： on the back was a scrap of writing. Your-wife？“ Voisin said. “My daughter，” Lenotre said. “Excuse me.” He went over to his roll of bedding and drew out a writing pad. Then he sat down next to Voisin and began to write， carefully， without hurry， a thin legible hand. 这时中死签的概率又回到了10比1. The odds were back to ten to one. 从那时起，对查维尔来说，抽中死签的可能性似乎以一种不可避免的可怕趋势发生着变化。 From that point the odds seemed to move toward Chavel with a dreadful inevitability： 9比1，8比1，抽中死签的可能性好像指向了他。 nine to one， eight to one； they were like a pointing finger. 剩下的人抽得越来越快，越来越随便。 The men who were left drew more quickly and more carelessly： 在查维尔看来，他们似乎都知道了某种秘密，知道他会抽到死签。 they seemed to Chavel to have some inner information —to know that he was the one. 轮到他抽签时，只剩下了3张纸，留给他的机会这么少，在他看来真是不公平。 When his time came to draw there were only three slips left ， and it appeared to Chavel a monstrous injustice that there were so few choices left for him. 他从鞋中抽出一张，接着又认定这是同伴的意志强加给他的，一定有十字。于是他把它放回去，另抽了一张。 He drew one out of the shoe and then feeling certain that this one had been willed on him by his companions and contained the penciled cross he threw it back and snatched another. “律师，你偷看了。”剩下的两个人中有一个大声说道，但另一个让他安静下来。 “You looked， lawyer，” one of the two men exclaimed， but the other quieted him. “他没有偷看，他抽到的是有记号的。” “He didn't look. He's got the marked one now.” “不，不。”查维尔把纸条扔到地上，开始大叫：“我从来就没有同意，你们不能让我替别人去死。” “No，” Chavel said， “no.” He threw the slip upon the ground and cried， “I never consented to the draw. You can't make me die for the rest of you. . . ” 大家惊讶地看着他，但并没有敌意。 They watched him with astonishment but without enmity. 他是一个出身高贵的人。人们没有用自己的标准去衡量他，因为他属于一个别人难以理解的阶层。人们甚至没有把他的行为与胆怯联系起来。 He was a gentleman. They didn't judge him by their own standards： he belonged to an unaccountable class and they didn't at first even attach the idea of cowardice to his actions. “听我说，”查维尔一边哀求，一边举起那张纸条。大家既惊奇又好奇地看着他。“谁接受这张纸条，我就给他10万法郎。” “Listen，” Chavel implored them. He held out the slip of paper and they all watched him with compassionate curiosity. “I'll give a hundred thousand francs to anyone who'll take this.” 他快速移动着小步地从一个人面前走到另一个人面前，朝每一个人展示那张小纸条，好像是拍卖会上的服务员。 He took little rapid steps from one man to another， showing each man the bit of paper as if he were an attendant at an auction. “10万法郎。”他恳求道。人们感到震惊，同样又感到一丝怜悯：他是他们之中惟一的有钱人，这是与众不同之处。 “A hundred thousand francs，” he implored， and they watched him with a kind of shocked pity： he was the only rich man among them and this was a unique situation. 人们无法去比较，只能认定这就是他那个阶层的特点，这犹如一个在异国港口下船就餐的旅游者能从一个碰巧与他同桌的狡猾商人身上总结出该国的国民性格。 They had no means of comparison and assumed that this was a characteristic of his class， just as a traveler stepping off the liner at a foreign port for luncheon sums up a nation's character forever in the wily businessman who happens to share the table with him.
五选三课程，要根据你自己的规划和爱好。看你将来的发展了。但是无论选择哪三门，建议楼主一定选择高英。通过学习高英，你的英语水平会大幅度提升。高英并不难（不到六级水平）如果将来想从事翻译的话，那就再选《翻译》和《口译与听力》。说实话，《口译与听力》是这里面最难的。考试时，类似于交替传译，需要极好的口语水平。而写作最简单。英美文学选读内容庞杂，但是对于语言学学生而言，是必修的课程。综上所述，如果楼主想简单通过，那么就选：高英、翻译、写作。
英语翻译相对简单，高级英语是主干课程，学分多，也比较难。
可以一起考。但高级英语是专业英语，学分高，比较难。而英语翻译相对简单一点。另外注意两者的考试时间，避免发生时间冲突。
自考英语本科需要考的科目：3708中国近代史纲要、0603英语写作、5844国际商务英语、0831英语语法、0087英语翻译、9420高级英语（1）、9447高级英语（2）、0602口译与听力、0840日语、3709马克思主义基本原理概论、0832英语词汇学、0094外贸函电、0833外语教学法、0604英美文学选读、0795综合英语（二）
可以一起考。1、如果要学士学位的话，不要免考英语二课程，或者用PETS三级代替，考试时间是一样的，要提前安排好，避免考试时时间冲突。
lesson4 自己选择死亡方式 Lesson Four Die as You Choose 制定关于安乐死的法律已经到了不能再回避的地步。 The need for laws on euthanasia cannot be dodged for much longer. 在世界上某个较小的国家里，安乐死被医疗机构普遍接受，每年都有数千例公开实施。 In one of the world's smaller countries， mercy-killing is accepted by the medical establishment and openly practiced a few thousand times each year. 而在某个世界大国，安乐死虽然经常受到医疗机构的公开谴责，每年却以数倍于此的次数秘密实施，且从未公之于众。 In one of the world's biggest countries， euthanasia is condemned by the medical establishment， secretly practiced many times more often， and almost never comes to light. 但是，在上述那个国家有医生因为实施安乐死而在监狱里服刑呢？ Which of these countries has a mercy-killing doctor now languishing in its jails？ 是在小国荷兰。荷兰制定了有关安乐死的法律，能有效地管理它。 It is the small one， Holland， which has rules for euthanasia and so can police it effectively. 那位荷兰的医生违反了他国家的规定。 The Dutch doctor broke his country's rules. 有关安乐死的问题在所有国家都存在，决不仅出现在美国这个禁止安乐死的大国。 There is a moral here for all the countries， and not just for the big death-forbidding country， America. 目前美国正再次展开有关安乐死的辩论。 Right now it is going over the arguments about euthanasia once again. 美国医学协会会刊1月份发表了一封非同寻常的来信。一位医生在信中宣称自己按照病人的意愿，杀死了一位身患癌症的20岁女孩。 In January the Journal of the American Medical Association published a bizarre letter， in which an anonymous doctor claimed to have killed a 20-year-old cancer patient at her own request. 这件事引起了一场辩论，而这场辩论将轰轰烈烈地持续到秋季，那时加利福尼亚州可能会就一项使安乐死合法化的法律进行投票表决。 This started a debate that will rumble on into the autumn， when Californians may vote on a proposed law legalizing euthanasia. 这封信可能是为了起到引发争论的效果，内容并不可信。 The letter was probably written for polemical impact. It is scarcely credible. 是作者自己在信中声称他（或她）第一次与那位得了癌症的病人见面，听到病人说出5个字——“让我去死吧”——然后就杀了她。 It's author claims that he met the cancer patient for the first time， heard five words from her – “Let's get this over with” – then killer her. 即使是极端的安乐死支持者也不赞成在这种情况下采取如此做法。 Even the most extreme proponents of euthanasia do not support such an action in those circumstances. 然而，医疗上出现的可怕事件如洪水猛兽一般，并不比安乐死的情况更好。它们无疑会在英美以及其他国家中继续肆虐，几乎成了令人恐怖的常规。 Yet medical monstrosities that are hardly any better undoubtedly continue， almost as a matter of macabre routine， in America， Britain and many other countries. 一些医生私下透露他们有时会故意杀死病人，这样的情况非常普遍，令人担忧。 It is disturbingly easy to find doctors who will say， in private， that they sometimes kill patients on purpose. 多数医生说他们知道其他医生也有同样的行为，但是因为即使在病人乞求他们的时候，医生也几乎不能与病人公开讨论安乐死，因此医生往往倾向于仅在要死的人处于垂危昏迷之际而无法表达是否同意安乐死时，才结束其生命。 Most say that know somebody else who does. But because they can rarely discuss euthanasia openly with patients – even when those patients beg them for it – doctors tend to kill only when the dying are too far gone to consent. 由于自愿要求安乐死受到禁止，就只能由医生自行作出决定了，病人会在夜间受到药物注射而非自愿地离开人世。 Thus， because voluntary euthanasia is taboo， a doctor makes the decision himself – and the patient is killed involuntarily in the night with a syringe. 这是不使安乐死公开的代价。 That is one price of keeping euthanasia secret. 如果所有形式的安乐死都是错误的，那就应该统统列入禁止之列。 If all forms of mercy-killing are wrong， they should remain taboo. 可情况果真如此吗？ But are they？ 许多人都认为依靠医学技术来延续生命带给人的痛苦是令人悲哀、可憎可恶的，完全不顾人的尊严，因此被动的安乐死——让病人自行死亡——被人们普遍接受。 Because many people accept that it is sad， undignified and gruesome to prolong the throes of death will all the might of medical technology， passive euthanasia – letting patients die – is widely accepted. 美国大多数州都有关于“活遗嘱”的法规，为医生提供保护。如果医生没有尽力救助曾声明不想延续生命的病人，不会为此受到起诉。 Most American states have “living – will” legislation that protects doctors from prosecution if they do not try to save someone who has said he does not want life prolonged. 主动的安乐死——杀死病人——却依然争论颇多。 Active euthanasia – killing – remains controversial. 将人杀死与让人死亡之间的界线还能维持多久呢？ How long can the distinction between killing and letting die hold out？ 正如因未履行某种职责受到处罚一样，人也可能因干了某事而不受责难。 Just as there can be culpable omissions， so too can there be blameless acts. 让我们从道德伦理著作中举例说明。假定一个人会从某个孩子的死亡中获益，当这个孩子在浴缸中撞伤头部而失去知觉时，那个人视而不见，任其溺水身亡。 Suppose – to take an example from the moral philosophy books – that a man stands to gain from the death of a certain child. The child strikes his head in the bath and falls unconscious. The man sits down and watches him drown. 虽然这个人什么都没有做，但他并不能因此开脱罪责。 The fact that the man has performed no action does not excuse him. 同样，再假设为了缩短而不是延长死亡到来的时间，医生终止某种治疗是无可指责的做法，那么如果这位医生使用足够的镇痛剂致使病人死亡，他就一定大错特错吗？ Similarly， suppose that a doctor does no wrong by withholding some treatment in order that death should come sooner rather than later. Is he then necessarily wrong if he administers enough painkillers to kill？ 这位医生采取了某种行动，而不是未尽某种职责，这会使他有罪吗？ Does the fact that the doctor performed an action， rather than an omission， condemn him？ 许多医生一直在为解除病人临终前的痛苦而奋斗着。他们认为在病人请求安乐死时，根本无法截然区分被动与主动的安乐死。 Many doctors working on the battlefield of terminal suffering think that only squeamishness demands a firm difference between passive and active euthanasia on request. 他们赞成医生杀死病人的理由是：医生的职责之一就是使病人免遭痛苦，这是医生所做的全部事情，而杀死病人则是做到这一点的惟一办法。 Their argument for killing goes like this： one of a doctor's duties is to prevent suffering； sometimes that is all there is left for him to do， and killing is the only way to do it. 这个观点并不新颖。当希波克拉底为医生制定信条的时候，曾明确禁止安乐死，而多数其他希腊医生和思想家都不赞成这一禁令。 There is nothing new in this view. When Hippocrates formulated his oath for doctors， which explicitly rules out active killing， most other Greek doctors and thinkers disagreed with his ban. 前事不忘，后事之师。 Let the past be a guide. 有人认为死亡的时间是上帝安排的，任何人不得缩短他人的生命，然而假如一位病人的人生观使其接受安乐死，那么人们不禁要问：为什么其他人还要用不同的宗教观念去干预其死亡呢？ Some people believe that the time of death is appointed by God and that no man should put the clock back on another. Yet if a patient's philosophical views embrace euthanasia， it is not clear why the religious objections of others should intrude on his death. 另一个令人担忧问题是，有关安乐死的法律体系允许医生在规定的情况下按照垂死病人的请求实施安乐死，就可能为杀人首开先例，从而危害社会。 Another worry is that a legal framework for euthanasia， permitting a doctor to comply with a dying man's request in a prescribed set of circumstances， might pose dangers for society by setting a precedent for killing. 这个问题取决于社会。 That depends on the society. 尽管有不同意见，荷兰对建立这样的法律体系已经准备就绪。 Holland， arguably， is ready for it. 当年就是荷兰医生英勇无比地顶住了压力，拒绝参与使安乐死声名狼藉的纳粹用人体进行医学实验的暴行，这恐怕不是巧合。 It is probably no coincidence that it was Dutch doctors who most heroically resisted pressure to join in the Nazi medical atrocities that have given euthanasia its worst name. 这些医生对个人自由坚定不移的尊重使他们没有杀害渴望活下去的健康人。今天正是同样的精神又使他们去帮助不愿活下去的垂危病人。 The same tenacious respect for individual liberty that stopped them killing healthy people， who did not want to die， now lets them help dying people who do. 与之相反，西德在未来相当长的时间里都无法使任何形式的安乐死合法化。 West Germany， by contrast， will not be able to legalize any form of euthanasia for a long time to come. 由于历史的阴影反对安乐死的力量异常强大，在那些近年来自由意志的传统未受任何干扰的国家里，为自愿安乐死制定有限的规定并不会使人们产生太多的恐惧。 Opposition is too fierce， because of the shadow of the past. Countries with an uninterrupted recent libertarian tradition have less to fear from setting some limited rules for voluntary euthanasia. 拒绝讨论这个问题会使情况更加糟糕。 By refusing to discuss it， they usher in something worse.
Lesson Nine The Trouble with Television 电视的毛病 The Trouble with Television 要摆脱电视的影响是困难的。 It is difficult to escape the influence of television. 假如统计的平均数字适用于你的话，那么你到20岁的时候就至少看过2万个小时的电视了，从那以后每生活10年就会增加1万小时。 If you fit the statistical averages， by the age of 20 you will have been exposed to at least 20，000 hours of television. You can add 10，000 hours for each decade you have lived after the age of 20. 笔起看电视，美国人只有在工作和睡眠上花时间更多。 The only things Americans do more than watch television are work and sleep. 稍微计算一下，使用这些时间的一部分能够做些什么。 Calculate for a moment what could be done with even a part of those hours. 听说一个大学生仅用5000小时就可以获得学士学位。 Five thousand hours， I am told， are what a typical college undergraduate spends working on a bachelor's degree. 在1万个小时内你能学成一个天文学家或工程师，流利掌握几门外语。 In 10，000 hours you could have learned enough to become an astronomer or engineer. You could have learned several languages fluently. 如果你感兴趣的话，你可能读希腊原文的荷马史诗或俄文版的陀思妥耶夫斯基的作品；如果对此不感兴趣，那你可以徒步周游世界，撰写一本游记。 If it appealed to you， you could be reading Homer in the original Greek or Dostoyevsky in Russian. If it didn't， you could have walked around the world and written a book about it. 电视的毛病在于它分散了人们的注意力。 The trouble with television is that it discourages concentration. 生活中几乎一切有趣的、能给人以满足的事都需要一定的建设性的、持之以恒的努力。 Almost anything interesting and rewarding in life requires some constructive， consistently applied effort. 即使是我们中间那些最迟钝、最没有天才的人也能做出一些事来，而这些事使那些从来不在任何事情上专心致志的人感到像是奇迹一般。 The dullest， the least gifted of us can achieve things that seem miraculous to those who never concentrate on anything. 但电视鼓励我们不做出任何努力，它向我们兜售即时的满足，它给我们提供娱乐，使我们只想娱乐，让时间在毫无痛苦中消磨掉。 But Television encourages us to apply no effort. It sells us instant gratification. It diverts us only to divert， to make the time pass without pain. 电视节目的多样化成了一种麻醉剂而不是促进思考的因素。 Television's variety becomes a narcotic ， nor a stimulus. 它那系列的、多变的画面引着我们跟着它走。 Its serial， kaleidoscopic exposures force us to follow its lead. 观众无休无止地跟着导游游览：参观博物馆30分钟，看大教堂30分钟，喝饮料30分钟，然后上车去下一个参观点，只是电视的特点是时间分配以分秒计算，而所选择的内容却多为车祸和人们的互相残杀。 The viewer is on a perpetual guided tour： 30 minutes at the museum， 30 at the cathedral， 30 for a drink， then back on the bus to the next attraction —-except on television.， typically， the spans allotted arc on the order of minutes or seconds， and the chosen delights are more often car crashes and people killing one another. 总之许多电视节目取代了人类最可贵的一种才能，即主动集中自己的注意力，而不是被动地奉送注意力。 In short， a lot of television usurps one of the most precious of all human gifts， the ability to focus your attention yourself， rather than just passively surrender it. 吸引并抓住人们的注意力是大多数电视节目安排的主要目的，它加强了电视是有利可图的广告的载体的作用。 Capturing your attention —and holding it—is the prime motive of most television programming and enhances its role as a profitable advertising vehicle. 节目安排使人生活在无休止的恐惧之中，唯恐抓不住人们的注意力——不管是什么人的注意力都担心。 Programmers live in constant fear of losing anyone's attention—anyone's. 避免造成这一局面的最有把握的办法就是使一切节目都保持简短，不要使任何人的注意力过于集中而受到损害，而要通过多样化、新奇性、动作和行动不断地提供刺激。 The surest way to avoid doing so is to keep everything brief， not to strain the attention of anyone but instead to provide constant stimulation through variety， novelty， action and movement. 很简单，电视的运作原则就是迎合观众的注意力跨度短这一特点。 Quite simply， television operates on the appeal to the short attention span. 这只是最简单的解决办法，但它逐渐被看作是电视这一宣传媒体特定的，内在固有的性质，是必须履行的职责，似乎是司令萨尔诺夫或另一个令人敬畏的电视创始人给我们传下了刻有铭文的石碑，命令电视上出现的一切节目均不得使观众需要片刻以上的注意力。 It is simply the easiest way out. But it has come to be regarded as a given， as inherent in the medium itself； as an imperative， as though General Sarnoff， or one of the other august pioneers of video， had bequeathed to us tablets of stone commanding that nothing in television shall ever require more than a few moments' Concentration. 要是运用得恰当，这倒也无可厚非。 In its place that is fine. 如此出色地把使人忘却现实的娱乐作为大规模推销工具加以包装，谁又能反对这样一种宣传媒介呢？ Who can quarrel with a medium that so brilliantly packages escapist entertainment as a mass-marketing tool？ 但是我看到了它的价值现已充斥于这个国家及其生活之中。 Rut I see its values now pervading this nation and its life. 认为快速思维和快餐食品一样影响着生活节奏很快、性情急躁的公众，这已成了时髦的看法。 It has become fashionable to think that， like fast food， fast ideas are the way to get to a fast-moving， impatient public. 在新闻方面，我认为这种做法不能进行很好的交流。 In the case of news， this practice， in my view， results in inefficient communication. 我怀疑电视每晚的新闻节目真正能够被人吸收和理解的有多少。 I question how much of television's nightly news effort is really absorbable and understandable. 其中许多被形象地描述为“机关枪不连贯地点射”。 Much of it is what has been aptly described as “machine-gunning with scraps.” 我认为这种技术是与连贯性作对的。 I think the technique fights coherence. 我认为它最终会使事情变得枯燥乏味、无足轻重（除非伴以恐怖的画面），因为任何一件事，如果你对它几乎一无所知，那么它差不多总会是枯燥乏味、使人觉得无足轻重的。 I think it tends to make things ultimately boring and dismissible （unless they are accompanied by horrifying pictures） because almost anything is boring and dismissible if you know almost nothing about it. 我认为，电视迎合观众注意力跨度短的做法不仅会造成交流不畅，而且还会降低文化水平。 I believe that TV's appeal to the short attention span is not only inefficient communication but decivilizing as well. 想一想电视要达到的那些极不慎重的原则吧：必须避免复杂性，用视觉刺激来代替思考，语言的精确早已是不合时宜的要求。 Consider the casual assumptions that television tends to cultivate： that complexity must be avoided， that visual stimulation is a substitute for thought， that verbal precision is an anachronism. 它可能已过时，但我所受的教育告诉我思想就是语言，是按准确的语法规则组织起来的。 It may be old-fashioned， but I was taught that thought is words， arranged in grammatically precise 在美国存在着读写能力的危机。 There is a crisis of literacy in this country. 据一项研究估计，约有3000万美国成年人是“功能性文盲”。他们的读写能力无法回答招聘广告，或读懂药瓶上的说明。 One study estimates that some 30 million adult Americans are “functionally illiterate” and cannot read or write well enough to answer the want ad or understand the instructions on a medicine bottle. 能读写可能算不上是一项不可剥夺的人权，但是我们学识渊博的开国元勋们并不感到它是不合理的或者甚至是达不到的。 Literacy may not be an inalienable human right， but it is one that the highly literate Founding Fathers might not have found unreasonable or even unattainable. 从统计数字上看，我们的国家不仅未达到人人能读写的程度，而且离这一目标越来越远。 We are not only not attaining it as a nation， statistically speaking， but we are falling further and further short of attaining it. 尽管我不会天真到认为电视是造成这一情况的原因，但我却相信它起了一定的作用，是有影响的。 And， white I would not be so simplistic as to suggest that television is the cause， 1 believe it contributes and is an influence. 美国的一切：社会结构、家庭组织形式、经济、在世界上的地位，都变得更为复杂，而不是相反。 Everything about this nation —the structure of the society， its forms of family organization， its economy， its place in the world— has become more complex， not less. 然而其占主导地位的传播媒介，全国联系的主要方式，却在人类存在的问题上推销简单的解决方式，而这些问题通常是没有简单的解决方式的。 Yet its dominating communications instrument， its principal form of national linkage， is one that sells neat resolutions to human problems that usually have no neat resolutions. 在我的心目中，那30秒钟一个的商业广告：一位家庭主妇因选对了牙膏而感到幸福的那小小的戏剧性场面就是这一切的象征。电视已使这极其成功的艺术形式成为我们文化不可缺少的一个部分了。 It is all symbolized in my mind by the hugely successful art form that television has made central to the culture，the 30-second commercial： the tiny drama of the earnest housewife who finds happiness in choosing the right toothpaste. 在人类历，几时曾有这样多的人共同把自己这样多的业余时间奉送给一件玩具，一项大众娱乐？ When before in human history has so much humanity collectively surrendered so much of its leisure to one toy， one mass diversion？ 几时曾有一个国家使自己整个地置于商品推销媒介的摆布之下？ When before has virtually an entire nation surrendered itself whole-sale to a medium for selling？ 几年前，耶鲁大学的法学教授小查尔斯？L？布莱克写道：“……被喂食本身并不是件琐碎小事。” Some years ago Yale University law professor Charles L. Black. Jr.，wrote：“…… forced feeding on trivial fare is not itself a trivial matter-” 我认为我们这个社会正在强行被喂食。 I think this society is being forced-fed with trivial fare， 我担心这一做法对我们的思维习惯，对我们的语言、我们努力的极限度及对复杂情况的兴趣等方面所造成的影响，这一点我们还只是极模糊地意识到。 and I fear that the effects on our habits of mind， our language， our tolerance for effort， and our appetite for complexity are only dimly perceived. 就算我的看法不对，用怀疑和批判的眼光来分析这个问题，来考虑如何抵制它，也不会有任何害处。 If I am wrong， we will have done no harm to look at the issue skeptically and critically，to consider how we should be resisting it. I hope you will join with me in doing so.