新概念英语第四册Lesson5课程翻译

Lesson 5 Youth青年

First listen and then answer the following question：

听录音，然后回答以下问题。

How does the writer like to treat young people？

People are always talking about 'the problem of youth'。 If there is one —— which I take leave to doubt —— then it is older people who create it， not the young themselves。 Let us get down to fundamentals and agree that the young are after all human beings —— people just like their elders。 There is only one difference between an old man and a young one： the young man has a glorious future before him and the old one has a splendid future behind him： and maybe that is where the rub is。

When I was a teenager， I felt that I was just young and uncertain —— that I was a new boy in a huge school， and I would have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as a problem。 For one thing， being a problem gives you a certain identity， and that is one of the things the young are busily engaged in seeking。

I find young people exciting。 They have an air of freedom， and they not a dreary commitment to mean ambitions or love of comfort。 They are not anxious social climbers， and they have no devotion to material things。 All this seems to me to link them with life， and the origins of things。 It's as if they were， in some sense， cosmic beings in violent and lovely contrast with us suburban creatures。 All that is in my mind when I meet a young person。 He may be conceited， ill—mannered， presumptuous or fatuous， but I do not turn for protection to dreary cliches about respect of elders —— as if mere age were a reason for respect。 I accept that we are equals， and I will argue with him， as an equal， if I think he is wrong。

【参考译文】

人们总是在谈论“青年问题”。如果这个问题存在的话 —— 请允许我对此持怀疑态度 —— 那么，这个问题是由老年人而不是青年人造成的。让我们来认真研究一些基本事实：承认青年人和他们的长辈一样也是人。老年人和青年人只有一个区别：青年人有光辉灿烂的前景，而老年人的辉煌已成为过去。 问题的症结恐怕就在这里。

我十几岁时，总感到自己年轻，有些事拿不准 —— 我是一所大学里的一名新生，如果我当时真的被看成像一个问题那样有趣，我会感到很得意的。因为这至少使我得到了某种承认，这正是年轻人所热衷追求的。

我觉得年轻人令人振奋，无拘无束。他们既不追逐卑鄙的名利，也不贪图生活的舒适。他们不热衷于向上爬，也不一味追求物质享受。在我看来，所有这些使他们与生命和万物之源联系在了一起。从某种意义上讲，他们似乎是宇宙人，同我们这些凡夫俗子形成了强烈而鲜明的对照。每逢我遇到年轻人，脑子里就想到这些年轻人也许狂妄自负，举止无理，傲慢放肆，愚昧无知，但我不会用应当尊重长者这一套陈词滥调来为我自己辨护，似乎年长就是受人尊敬的理由。我认为我和他们是平等的。如果我认为他们错了，我就以平等的身份和他们争个明白。

1。leave n。允许

2。fundamentals n。基本原则

3。glorious adj。光辉灿烂的

例句：The prophet foretold a glorious future for the young ruler。

那先知预言这年轻的统治者会有辉煌的前程。

4。splendid adj。灿烂的

例句：We have a splendid national culture。

我们有灿烂的民族文化。

5。rub n。难题

6。identity n。身份

例句：He confessed his real identity to his wife。

他向妻子坦白了他的真实身份。

7。dreary adj。 沉郁的

例句：Addressing envelopes all the time is dreary work。

成天给信封写地址是一种沉闷单调的工作。

8。commitment n。信奉

例句：I have learned that the path to happiness starts with commitment and personal responsibility。

我已经知道自己承担责任和义务才是通向幸福生活的起点。

9。mean adj。 吝啬，小气

10。devotion n。热爱

例句：They told of his devotion to duty。

他们谈到了他忠于职守。

11。suburban adj。 见识不广的，偏狭的

12。conceited adj。 自高自大的

例句：Don't grow conceited over your successes。

你不要因为成功而变得自高自大。

13。presumptuous adj。自以为是的，放肆的

例句：It is too presumptuous of him to do so。

他这样做太放肆了。

14。fatuous adj。愚蠢的

例句：A fatuous and self—indulgent ruler wouldn't spend much time reading and replying to memorials。

一个昏君是不会用多少时间来批复奏疏的。

15。cliche n。陈词滥调

例句：He preluded with some cliche。

他一开场便是老生常谈。

1。People are always talking about 'the problem of youth'。

参考翻译：人们总是在谈论“青年问题”。

讲解：always通常带有感情色彩，表示高兴，气愤，抱怨等，可以通过上下文语境来判断。

2。If there is one —— which I take leave to doubt —— then it is older people who create it， not the young themselves。

参考翻译：如果这个问题存在的话 —— 请允许我对此持怀疑态度 —— 那么，这个问题是由老年人而不是青年人造成的。

讲解：which I take leave to doubt是定语从句，修饰one（指的是Problem）。is……，not……，这种形式可以换成：Not……But……

3。Let us get down to fundamentals and agree that the young are after all human beings —— people just like their elders。

参考翻译：让我们来认真研究一些基本事实：承认青年人和他们的长辈一样也是人。

讲解：after all毕竟，无论如何

例句：You should take care of her，after all she is your relative。

你应该照顾她，毕竟她是你的亲戚。

4。and I would have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as a problem。

参考翻译：如果我当时真的被看成像一个问题那样有趣，我会感到很得意的。

讲解：would have been虚拟语气

与过去事实相反的虚拟语气通常用would have 过去分词来表示。

5。For one thing， being a problem gives you a certain identity， and that is one of the things the young are busily engaged in seeking。

参考翻译：因为这至少使我得到了某种承认，这正是年轻人所热衷追求的。

讲解：for one thing，for another一方面，另一方面

例句：We lost the game because， for one thing， our opponents were quite strong and， for another， our teamwork was poor。

这场球打输了，一方面是由于对方实力较强，另一方面也是因为我们没有配合好。

engage in使从事于，参加

例句：He was engaged in a barren argument with Paul。

他在同保罗作无用的争论。

6。They have an air of freedom， and they not a dreary commitment to mean ambitions or love of comfort。

参考翻译：我觉得年轻人令人振奋，无拘无束。他们既不追逐卑鄙的`名利，也不贪图生活的舒适。他们不热衷于向上爬，也不一味追求物质享受。

讲解：air在这里不是空气的意思，而是抽象的，表示自由的气氛，味道，感觉等等。

7。 All this seems to me to link them with life， and the origins of things。 It's as if they were， in some sense， cosmic beings in violent and lovely contrast with us suburban creatures。

参考翻译：在我看来，所有这些使他们与生命和万物之源联系在了一起。

讲解：in contrast with与…完全不同

例句：Chinese banks will announce record profits for 2007 in coming weeks in contrast with their global counterparts， which have been forced into large write—offs in the wake of the credit crisis。

未来数周中国各家银行将发布2007年创纪录的利润，这与其外国同行形成鲜明的对比——在信贷危机之后，外国银行被迫进行了大笔减记。

1。If there is one —— which I take leave to doubt —— then it is older people who create it， not the young themselves。

如果这个问题存在的话 —— 请允许我对此持怀疑态度 —— 那么，这个问题是由老年人而不是青年人造成的。

2。Let us get down to fundamentals and agree that the young are after all human beings —— people just like their elders。

让我们来认真研究一些基本事实：承认青年人和他们的长辈一样也是人。

3。and I would have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as a problem。

如果我当时真的被看成像一个问题那样有趣，我会感到很得意的。

4。For one thing， being a problem gives you a certain identity， and that is one of the things the young are busily engaged in seeking。

因为这至少使我得到了某种承认，这正是年轻人所热衷追求的。

5。 It's as if they were， in some sense， cosmic beings in violent and lovely contrast with us suburban creatures。

从某种意义上讲，他们似乎是宇宙人，同我们这些凡夫俗子形成了强烈而鲜明的对照。