(完整版)Unit-9-What-is-happiness课文翻译
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Unit 9 What Is HappinessKey to the ExercisesText comprehensionI.AII.1. T;2. F;3. F;4. T;5. F.III.1. He means that one is given the right to pursue happiness, but does not know what it is.2. Because he believes that commercial advertising not only fails to satisfy our desires, but more importantly it creates them, and it creates them faster than any man's budget can satisfy them. Such insatiability makes people unhappy.3. Because he thinks that the products and pursuits advertised on the front pages of women's magazines are dreamlike and can't be fulfilled.4. He set two extremes according to Thoreau, the low level and the high level. The former refers to possession for its own sake or in competition with the rest of the neighborhood, while the latter refers to active discipline of heightening one's perception of what is enduring in nature. To find balance is to save time and effort on the low levels and spend on the high.5. The inherent right is not happiness itself, but lies in the pursuit of happiness, in the pursuit of what is life-engaging and life-revealing, i.e. in the idea of becoming.IV.1. Jonathan Swift seemed to share this view when he criticized this idea of happiness as the state of being completely controlled by deception …2. The active exercise or training to improve one's understanding of what is of lasting value would have been Thoreau's idea of the high levels, i.e. spiritual happiness.Structural analysis of the textPart 1 (Para. 1, 2): The author points out that when we are not sure what happiness is, we tend to be misled by the idea that we can buy our way to it.Part 2 (Para. 3, 4, 5, 6): The author offers a number of examples to show how this misconception of happiness gives rise to the “happiness-market”in a highly commercialized society (the United States).Part 3 (Para. 7, 8, 9): The author suggests striking a balance between what Thoreau called the low levels and the high levels.Part 4 (Para. 10): The author gives his understanding of happiness, in the light of theFounding Fathers' belief that it is “in the idea of becoming”.VocabularyI. Phrase1. un-American: not typical of the attitudes, ways of life, etc., that are approved of or considered normal in the US2. commercialism: the activities or attitudes of people who think that making a profit ismoreimportant than anything else; emphasis on the maximizing of profit 商业主义3. for that matter: it is also true that …(The phrase “for that matter”is used to emphasize that sth., though mentioned second, is also true, important, or relevant as what has been mentioned earlier.) 就此而论,在这方面, 同样4. face: aspect 方面5. in nature: essentially 事实上,本质上II.1. perpetual;2. functions;3. inherent;4. cited;5. approaching;6. flawless;7. vaguely;8. disciplining.III. Word derivationFill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.1. pursuit2. deception3. dedication4. commercial5. patriotic6. fictional7. disapproval8. starvingIV.1. C;2. B;3. D;4. B;5. D;6. A;7. C;8. D.V. Synonym / Antonym1. hugely —Synonym: enormously, tremendously;deliberately —Antonym: unintentionally, accidentally2. Synonym: perfect, spotless3. Antonym: inhale4. Antonym: impartial, unbiased5. Antonym: imbalance6. Synonym: have, own7. Synonym: fixed, stationary, quietVI. Prefix / SuffixWrite in each space one word that has the same stem as underlined in each given word.1. contain obtain2. concede precede3. compel repel4. suspend depend5. include conclude6. insist consistascend 7. descend8. evolve revolveGrammar ExercisesI. Complete the sentences below with suitable pronouns.1. yourself;2. You / We; you / we3. you / one / we4. it5. one another6. They / We7. myself8. yourself9. it10. I; We; They; us; They; it; weII.There; There; There; There; There;It; there; There; It; there.ThereIII. Replace the underlined parts in the following sentences with non-finite clauses or verbless clauses.1. While flattered, …2. …whether to go upstairs or to follow …3. Whenever possible, …4. …if left untreated.5. …if ready.6. Though no swimmer, …7. Once over the pass, …8. Whether by accident or by design, …IV.1. Once;2. Though;3. If;4. when;5. whether;6. Unless;7. Before;8. After.V.1. c;2. b;3. b;4. c;8. d.7. d; 6. d; 5. a;TranslationI.1. 广告是一项主要产业,它的存在与其说是为了满足人们的欲望;不如说是为了激发他们的欲望——而且是以超出任何人的收入所能承受的速度激发这些欲望。
三年级英语下册的第九单元和第十单元课文的翻译Unit9-a“孩子,起来,做个有出息的人!”虽然母亲已经过世,但她的话依然清晰地在我脑海中回响,就如我在孩提时代听到的一样。
她心里也许是为我好,但那时依我看来,她那毫不温柔的为母之道就如同用竹条鞭笞一般严厉。
“天哪!”我叫道:“我已经是个有出息的人了。
我有权晚点起床了。
”“要是有什么我不能忍受的东西,那就是逃兵。
”她的声音在我脑海中回响,让我无法拒绝,于是我从床上爬了起来。
我的父亲在婚后5年就过世了。
他死后,我母亲没有钱。
她要抚养三个孩子,还有一身的债务。
当时母亲刚上大学,却不得不辍学去找工作。
几个月后,我们失去了房子,母亲一无所有,只有支离破碎的生活残局等着她去收拾。
我那奄奄一息的精神失常的祖母不得不被送往疯人院,而我们也只能寄居于她弟弟艾伦的家中。
最终,母亲找到了一份超市售货员的工作,每周工资10美元。
虽然母亲期望我能成为百万富翁,但她很清楚我的能力,在这一点上,她从不欺骗自己。
因此,从我很小的时候起,她就鼓励我向文字工作的方向发展。
母亲的家庭与文字素有渊源。
最显著的证据就是我母亲最年长的堂兄埃德温。
他是《纽约时报》的执行编辑,因报道古巴导弹危机而声名大噪。
她常用埃德温的例子来告诉我一个有雄心的人能走多远,即使他没什么天赋。
“埃德温?詹姆士虽然打字速度比较快,但他并不比其他人聪明,你看,他现在多么功成名就,”我母亲总是一遍又一遍地说。
她早就认定我有文字天赋,从那时起,她就有了目标,她的整个生命便开始围绕着帮助我开发天赋而运转。
虽然很穷,她还是为我们订了一套适合中高级水平读者阅读的读物。
每个月都会有一本书邮寄过来,价值39美分。
然而,我感兴趣的却是报纸。
我贪婪地汲取每一条消息:骇人听闻的罪行、可怕的事故、在遥远地区发生的战争对人们犯下的令人发指的罪行,以及不得不背井离乡的难民的消息。
警察贪污以及凶手死于电椅的报道令我着迷。
1947年,我从约翰斯?霍普金斯大学毕业,向《巴尔的摩太阳报》应聘警事记者一职。
Unit 9 What Is Happiness?The right to pursue happiness is issued to Americans with their birth certificates, but no one seems quite sure which way it runs. It may be we are issued a hunting license but offered no game. Jonathan Swift seemed to think so w hen he attacked the idea of happiness as “the possession of being well-deceived,” the felicity of being “a fool among knaves.” For Swift saw society as Vanity Fair, the land of false goals.自从呱呱坠地,美国人就被赋予了追求幸福的权利,但似乎没人确信幸福究竟在哪里。
正如它发给我们狩猎证,却不给我们提供猎物。
乔纳森•斯威福特似乎持此观点,他抨击幸福的想法是“鬼迷心窍的上当,”是“骗子堆中的傻瓜”的自鸣得意。
因为他视社会为虚妄目标聚集的名利场。
It is, of course, un-American to think in terms of fools and knaves. We do, however, seem to be dedicated to the idea of buying our way to happiness. We shall all have made it to Heaven when we possess enough.当然用傻子、骗子这样的字眼来形容是不合美国的人的风俗习惯的,然后我们似乎确实沉溺于用金钱购买幸福的想法:只要有足够的钱,我们百年后就能上天堂。
Unit 9 What is happiness课文翻译综合教程二嗨,伙计们!今天我们来聊聊一个让人们心驰神往的话题——幸福。
幸福是什么?这个问题可难倒了不少人。
有人说幸福就是拥有一份高薪工作,有人说幸福就是拥有一个美满的家庭,还有人说幸福就是拥有健康的身体。
到底什么是真正的幸福呢?让我们来看看第一个小节。
1.1 幸福的定义。
幸福这个词儿听起来就很美好,让人想起了阳光、沙滩和冰淇淋。
幸福到底是什么呢?其实,幸福就是一个感觉,一种让你感到满足、快乐和安心的感觉。
这种感觉可能来自于你的工作、家庭、朋友或者爱好。
幸福是一个非常主观的概念,每个人都有自己的幸福标准。
我们来看看第二个小节。
2.1 幸福与金钱的关系。
有些人认为,只要有钱,就能买到幸福。
可是,事实真的是这样吗?让我们来举个例子吧。
有一个人,他拥有了全世界所有的财富,但是他却感到非常孤独和空虚。
因为他发现,金钱买不到真正的友谊和爱情。
金钱虽然重要,但它并不是幸福的全部。
现在,我们来到了第三个小节。
3.1 幸福的来源。
幸福到底来自哪里呢?其实,幸福来自于我们内心的满足感。
当我们对自己的生活感到满意时,我们就会感到幸福。
而这种满足感往往来自于我们的工作、家庭和朋友。
比如说,当你在工作中取得了成就感,当你和家人朋友共度美好时光时,你就会感到幸福。
我们来看看第四个小节。
3.2 如何追求幸福。
如何才能追求到幸福呢?我们要明确自己的幸福标准。
每个人都有自己的梦想和期望,只有明确了自己想要的东西,才能更好地去追求。
我们要努力实现自己的目标。
没有付出就没有收获,只有通过努力工作,才能让自己的生活更加美好。
我们要学会珍惜眼前的幸福。
有时候,我们总是把目光放在远方,却忽略了身边的美好。
我们要学会感恩,珍惜当下的每一刻。
幸福是一个非常主观的概念,每个人都有自己的幸福标准。
金钱虽然重要,但它并不是幸福的全部。
真正的幸福来自于我们内心的满足感,来自于我们的工作、家庭和朋友。
LessonNineHappiness课文解释Lesson Nine HappinessBranko Bugarski 布兰科・巴加斯基Learning Guide人人追求幸福,可什么是幸福呢?本文作者认为幸福不是目的,不是终点,而是一个过程,是以积极的工作为他人的幸福做出贡献,从而感到自身的价值的过程。
一、词汇Naturally ['n?t?(?)r?l?] adv 当然,自然地cf. nature [?neit??] n natural adj. [?n?t??r?l]Miserable adj (人,心情)悲哀的,(生活等)不幸的cf. misery ['m?z(?)r?] Hell n 地狱what the hell (表示不在乎、无可奈何、气恼、不耐烦等)究竟,到底in hell 究竟(用以加强语气)to hell with [口]让。
见鬼去吧go to the hell 去死吧;下地狱Movie n 电影Star n 明星Clearly adv 清楚地,明确地Dishonest adj 不正当的,不诚实的cf. honest adj. honesty nMeans n 手段,方法( 单复数同形) a means, many means Lottery n 摸奖Winnings n 赢得的利益,奖金cf. win, (won, won), winnerAlone adj. 只有,仅仅cf. lonely adj. 孤独寂寞的Worthless adj. 没有价值的,没有用的cf. worth prep, adj.cf. worthyWorthwhile adj. 有价值的,值得做的Self-esteem n 自尊心Well adv. 相当地Productive adj. 有成果的,有成效的cf. produce v 生产,产生product n 产品production nproductivity n 生产力fool v 欺骗,哄骗Obtain v 获得,得到1Capable adj. 能干的,有才华的cf. be capable ofHighly-paid adj. 工资高的,高薪的Entertainer n (娱乐节目的)表演者,艺人cf. entertain v 招待,款待entertainment n 消遣,娱乐,款待Outwardly adv. 表面上cf. outward adj n 外表的inward adj. n 内部的Contribute v (to)出钱(力,主意等);贡献cf. contribution nmake contribution to 对?.做贡献Expose v ( to ) 揭穿,接发,揭露暴漏cf. exposure nCheat n 骗子Cheat v 欺骗Long-term adj. 长期的,长远的=long -runHonesty n 诚实Honestly adv 诚实地,老实地Process n 过程v 处理continuous adj. 不断的,连续的,继续的cf. continue v 继续continual adj. 经常发生的,老是发生的Continuously adv 不断地,连续地,继续地Dr. (doctor的缩写)博士External adj. 外部的cf. internal adj. 内部的circumstance n 环境,情况cf. under (in)?..circumstance 在?.情况下Unfulfilled adj. 没有成就感的cf. fulfill v 履行;实现;满足;使结束(等于fulfil)Missing adj. 缺少的,找不到的(主动消失) cf. lost adj. 被丢失的Welfare n 福利,幸福Create v 创造cf. creature n 生物,人,大型动物creation n 创造creative adj 创造性的Challenge v (对某人的能力)挑战Set v 制定,确定Short-term adj. 短期的Obvious adj. 明显的,清楚的2Act v 装出,装做Far adv. 很二、课文分析Page 197 Para. 11. Many people think that when they become rich and successful, happiness will naturally follow. 许多人认为当他们有钱、成功时,幸福自然就会来临。
Unit 9 What Is Happiness?John Ciardi(abridged)The right to pursue happiness is issued to Americans with their birth certificates, but no one seems quite sure which way it runs. It may be we are issued a hunting license but offered no game. Jonathan Swift seemed to think so when he attacked the idea of happiness as “the possession of being well-deceived,” the felicity of being “a fool among knaves.” For Swift saw society as Vanity Fair, the land of false goals.It is, of course, un-American to think in terms of fools and knaves. We do, however, seem to be dedicated to the idea of buying our way to happiness. We shall all have made it to Heaven when we possess enough.And at the same time the forces of American commercialism are hugely dedicated to making us deliberately unhappy. Advertising is one of our major industries, and advertising exists not to satisfy desires but to create them —and to create them faster than any man’s budget can satisfy them. For that matter, our whole economy is base d on a dedicated insatiability. We are taught that to possess is to be happy, and then we are made to want. We are even told it is our duty to want. It was only a few years ago, to cite a single example, that car dealers across the country were flying banners that read "You Auto Buy Now." They were calling upon Americans, as an act approaching patriotism, to buy at once, with money they did not have, automobiles they did not really need, and which they would be required to grow tired of by the time the next year’s models were released.Or look at any of the women’s magazines. There, as Bernard DeVoto once pointed out, advertising begins as poetry in the front pages and ends as pharmacopoeia and therapy in the back pages. The poetry of the front matter is the dream of perfect beauty. This is the baby skin that must be hers. These, the flawless teeth. This, the perfumed breath she must exhale. This, the sixteen-year-old figure she must display at forty, at fifty, at sixty, and forever.Once past the vaguely uplifting fiction and feature articles, the reader finds the other face of the dream in the back matter. This is the harness into which Mother must strap herself in order to display that perfect figure. These, the chin straps she must sleep in. This is the salve that restores all, this is her laxative, these are the tablets that melt away fat, these are the hormones of perpetual youth, these are the stockings that hide varicose veins.Obviously no half-sane person can be completely persuaded either by such poetry or by such pharmacopoeia and orthopedics. Yet someone is obviously trying to buy the dream as offered and spending billions every year in the attempt. Clearly the happiness-market is not running out of customers, but what are they trying to buy?The idea "happiness," to be sure, will not sit still for easy definitions: the best one can do is to try to set some extremes to the idea and then work in toward the middle. To think of happiness as acquisitive and competitive will do to set the materialistic extreme. To think of it as the idea one senses in, say, a holy man of India will do to set the spiritual extreme. That holy man’s ideal of happiness is in needing nothing from outside himself. In wanting nothing, he lacks nothing. He sits immobile, rapt in contemplation, free even of his own body.7 Or nearly free of it. If devout admirers bring him food, he eats it; if not, he starves indifferently. Why be concerned? What is physical is an illusion to him. Contemplation is his joy and he achieves it through a fantastically demanding discipline, the accomplishment of which is itself a joy within him.But, perhaps because I am Western, I doubt such catatonic happiness, as I doubt the dreams of the happiness-market. What is certain is that his way of happiness would be torture to almost any Western man. Yet these extremes will still serve to frame the area within which all of us must find some sort of balance. Thoreau —a creature of both Eastern and Western thought — had his own firm sense of that balance. His aim was to save on the low levels in order to spend on the high.Possession for its own sake or in competition with the rest of the neighborhood would have been Thoreau’s idea of the low levels. The active discipline of heightening o ne’s perception of what is enduring in nature would have been his idea of the high.10 What he saved from the low was time and effort he could spend on the high. Thoreau certainly disapproved of starvation, but he would put into feeding himself only as much effort as would keep him functioning for more important efforts.Happiness is never more than partial. There are no pure states of mankind. Whatever else happiness may be, it is neither in having nor in being, but in becoming. What the Founding Fathers declared for us as an inherent right, we should do well to remember, was not happiness but the pursuit of happiness. What they might have underlined, could they have foreseen the happiness-market, is the cardinal fact that happiness is in the pursuit itself, in the meaningful pursuit of what is life-engaging and life-revealing, which is to say, in the idea of becoming. A nation is not measured by what it possesses or wants to possess, but by what it wants to become.什么是幸福追求幸福是美国人与生俱来被赋予的权利,但是似乎没有人确切地知道怎样到达幸福。
What is happiness追求幸福是美国人与生俱来被赋予的权利,但是似乎没有人确切地知道怎样到达幸福。
这就像是我们有猎物执照却无猎可捕一样。
当乔纳森·斯威夫特抨击这种“着迷于被欺骗的状态”,这种成为“白痴中的傻瓜”的快乐感觉时,他也是这样想的。
斯威夫特把整个社会看做一个名利场,一片充满虚幻目标的土地。
当然,站在傻瓜和白痴的角度看问题是非美国式思维,然而,我们似乎已经现身于用金钱购买幸福的想法中了,(我们以为)当我们拥有的足够多时,我们便一定可以去往天堂。
与此同时,美国实利主义正在很大程度上致使我们不幸福。
广告业是我们的主要商业之一,然而它的存在绝不是满足欲望,而是在刺激欲望的产生--而且它让欲望产生的速度远超出我们挣钱满足欲望的速度,正因如此,我们的整个经济都建立在奋不顾身的贪婪之上。
我们被告知幸福就是拥有,然后再让我们产生欲望。
我们甚至被告知需求就是我们的责任。
举个例子,仅几年前,全国上下的汽车销售行就全都挂满飘扬的横幅,上面写着“你该买辆车了。
”它们在号召美国人这种爱国行为,让他们用还未到手的钱来购买本不需要的车,并在第二年新款车发布时厌恶它。
或者说,再来看看女性杂志吧。
这里,像伯纳德·德沃托曾经提出的,开始的前几页是首诗,结束的几页变成了处方书和治疗方法。
开始时的诗歌是绝世佳人的美梦。
她拥有婴儿般的皮肤,洁白如玉的牙齿,芳香的气息。
不管她40,50,60岁都有着16岁的身材。
一旦看过这些模糊的却令人振奋的虚构及特写,读者马上就看到结尾她美梦的另一面。
为了保持完美身材,这些母亲不得不用带子把自己束缚住,这是她们不得不在睡觉前佩戴的枕颌带,那是她们的万能药膏,这是她们的泻药,这是她们溶解脂肪的药片,那是她们永葆青春的激素,这是她们掩盖静脉曲张时要穿的长袜。
很明显,没人会很痴狂地完全相信书上的诗情画意或被给出的处方啊整形外科啊完全说服,但每年还是有人有意花上亿去尝试买梦。
Unit 9 What Is HappinessKey to the ExercisesText comprehensionI.AII.1. T;2. F;3. F;4. T;5. F.III.1. He means that one is given the right to pursue happiness, but does not know what it is.2. Because he believes that commercial advertising not only fails to satisfy our desires, but more importantly it creates them, and it creates them faster than any man’s budget can satisfy them. Such insatiability makes people unhappy.3. Because he thinks that the products and pursuits advertised on the front pages of women’s magazines are dreamlike and can’t be fulfilled.4. He set two extremes according to Thoreau, the low level and the high level. The former refers to possession for its own sake or in competition with the rest of the neighborhood, whil e the latter refers to active discipline of heightening one’s perception of what is enduring in nature. To find balance is to save time and effort on the low levels and spend on the high.5. The inherent right is not happiness itself, but lies in the pursuit of happiness, in the pursuit of what is life-engaging and life-revealing, i.e. in the idea of becoming.IV.1. Jonathan Swift seemed to share this view when he criticized this idea of happiness as the state of being completely controlled by deception …2. The active exercise or training to improve one’s understanding of what is of lasting value would have been Thoreau’s idea of the high levels, i.e. spiritual happiness. Structural analysis of the textPart 1 (Para. 1, 2): The author points out that when we are not sure what happiness is, we tend to be misled by the idea that we can buy our way to it.Part 2 (Para. 3, 4, 5, 6): The author offers a number of examples to show how this misconception of happiness gives rise to the “happiness-market” in a highl y commercialized society (the United States).Part 3 (Para. 7, 8, 9): The author suggests striking a balance between what Thoreau called the low levels and the high levels.Part 4 (Para. 10): The author gives his understanding of happiness, in the light of the Founding Fathers’ belief that it is “in the idea of becoming”.VocabularyI. Phrase1. un-American: not typical of the attitudes, ways of life, etc., that are approved of or considered normal in the US2. commercialism: the activities or attitudes of people who think that making a profit is moreimportant than anything else; emphasis on the maximizing of profit 商业主义3. for that matter: it is also true that … (The phrase “for that matter” is used to emphasize that sth., though mentioned second, is also true, important, or relevant as what has been mentioned earlier.) 就此而论,在这方面, 同样4. face: aspect 方面5. in nature: essentially 事实上,本质上II.1. perpetual;2. functions;3. inherent;4. cited;5. approaching;6. flawless;7. vaguely;8. disciplining.III. Word derivationFill in the blanks with the appropriate forms of the given words.1. pursuit2. deception3. dedication4. commercial5. patriotic6. fictional7. disapproval8. starvingIV.1. C;2. B;3. D;4. B;5. D;6. A;7. C;8. D.V. Synonym / Antonym1. hugely — Synonym: enormously, tremendously;deliberately — Antonym: unintentionally, accidentally2. Synonym: perfect, spotless3. Antonym: inhale4. Antonym: impartial, unbiased5. Antonym: imbalance6. Synonym: have, own7. Synonym: fixed, stationary, quietVI. Prefix / SuffixWrite in each space one word that has the same stem as underlined in each given word.1. contain obtain2. concede precede3. compel repel4. suspend depend5. include conclude6. insist consist7. descend ascend8. evolve revolveGrammar ExercisesI. Complete the sentences below with suitable pronouns.1. yourself;2. You / We; you / we3. you / one / we4. it5. one another6. They / We7. myself8. yourself9. it10. I; We; They; us; They; it; weII.There; There; There; There; There;It; there; There; It; there.ThereIII. Replace the underlined parts in the following sentences with non-finite clauses or verbless clauses.1. While flattered, …2. … whether to go upstairs or to follow …3. Whenever possible, …4. … if left untreated.5. … if ready.6. Though no swimmer, …7. Once over the pass, …8. Whether by accident or by design, …IV.1. Once;2. Though;3. If;4. when;5. whether;6. Unless;7. Before;8. After.V.1. c;2. b;3. b;4. c;5. a;6. d;7. d;8. d.TranslationI.1. 广告是一项主要产业,它的存在与其说是为了满足人们的欲望;不如说是为了激发他们的欲望——而且是以超出任何人的收入所能承受的速度激发这些欲望。
Unit 9 What Is Happiness?The right to pursue happiness is issued to Americans with their birth certificates, but no one seems quite sure which way it runs. It may be we are issued a hunting license but offered no game. Jonathan Swift seemed to think so w hen he attacked the idea of happiness as “the possession of being well-deceived,” the felicity of being “a fool among knaves.” For Swift saw society as Vanity Fair, the land of false goals.自从呱呱坠地,美国人就被赋予了追求幸福的权利,但似乎没人确信幸福究竟在哪里。
正如它发给我们狩猎证,却不给我们提供猎物。
乔纳森•斯威福特似乎持此观点,他抨击幸福的想法是“鬼迷心窍的上当,”是“骗子堆中的傻瓜”的自鸣得意。
因为他视社会为虚妄目标聚集的名利场。
It is, of course, un-American to think in terms of fools and knaves. We do, however, seem to be dedicated to the idea of buying our way to happiness. We shall all have made it to Heaven when we possess enough.当然用傻子、骗子这样的字眼来形容是不合美国的人的风俗习惯的,然后我们似乎确实沉溺于用金钱购买幸福的想法:只要有足够的钱,我们百年后就能上天堂。
And at the same time the forces of American commercialism are hugely dedicated to making us deliberately unhappy. Advertising is one of our major industries, and advertising exists not to satisfy desires but to create them —and to create them faster than any man’s budget can satisfy them. For that matter, our whole economy is based on a dedicated insatiability. We are taught that to possess is to be happy, and then we are made to want. We are even told it is our duty to want. It was only a few years ago, to cite a single example, that car dealers across the country were flying banners that read "You Auto Buy Now." They were calling upon Americans, as an act approaching patriotism, to buy at once, with money they did not have, automobiles they did not really need, and which they would be required to grow tired of by the time the next year’s models were released.同时,美国的商业主义却又殚精竟虑故意使我们得不到幸福。
广告是我们的支柱产业之一,其存在不是为了满足欲望。
而是为了制造欲望——其制造速度之快,使我们的腰包应接不暇。
就此而言,我们的整个经济是基于一种无法自拔的贪求无厌。
我们受到的教育是“占有却为幸福”,然后我们就被迫产生贪欲。
我们甚至被告知欲望是我们的义务。
引用一个简单的例子为证:仅仅几年前,全国的汽车销售商还打着“你应该立即购买汽车”的横幅。
他们号召美国人民:作为一种爱国主义行为,他们应该立即按揭购买他们并不真正需要的汽车,并且在次年新款汽车发布后他们会对原来这些汽车心生厌倦。
Or look at any of the women’s magazines. There, as Bernard De V oto once pointed out, advertising begins as poetry in the front pages and ends as pharmacopoeia and therapy in the back pages. The poetry of the front matter is the dream of perfect beauty. This is the baby skin that must be hers. These, the flawless teeth. This, the perfumed breath she must exhale. This, thesixteen-year-old figure she must display at forty, at fifty, at sixty, and forever.或者任意浏览一本女性杂志。
正如伯尔纳德•德•渥托曾经指出的那样,这些杂志开头几页的广告诗情画意,而最后则以类似药典和治疗手册结尾。
前者是完美美女的梦想:这该是她婴儿般的股肤,这些是她无瑕的牙齿,这该是她呼出的香气,这该是她能保持到40、50、60 岁甚至永远的16 岁少女般的身材。
Once past the vaguely uplifting fiction and feature articles, the reader finds the other face of the dream in the back matter. This is the harness into which Mother must strap herself in order to display that perfect figure. These, the chin straps she must sleep in. This is the salve that restores all, this is her laxative, these are the tablets that melt away fat, these are the hormones of perpetual youth, these are the stockings that hide varicose veins.一旦读完这些隐约让人振奋的小说和专题文章,读者在杂志最后几页就会发现梦想的真相:这是家庭主妇必须得系上的背带,以展现其完美身材。
这些是她睡觉时必须带上的颚带。
这是可以恢复青春的药剂和装备,这是她减肥用的缓泻药,这些是消化脂肪的药片,这些是使外表年轻的荷尔蒙,这些是掩盖静脉曲张的长袜。
Obviously no half-sane person can be completely persuaded either by such poetry or by such pharmacopoeia and orthopedics. Yet someone is obviously trying to buy the dream as offered and spending billions every year in the attempt. Clearly the happiness-market is not running out of customers, but what are they trying to buy?显而易见,即使心智不健全的人也不会完全相信这些诗境或是这些药典和矫正术。
然后有人显然正在竭力购买这些广告所兜的美梦,并为此每年耗资数十亿美元。
这种幸福市场无疑不会无人问津,但他们购买的究竟是什么呢?The idea "happiness," to be sure, will not sit still for easy definitions: the best one can do is to try to set some extremes to the idea and then work in toward the middle. To think of happiness as acquisitive and competitive will do to set the materialistic extreme. To think of it as the idea one senses in, say, a holy man of India will do to set the spiritual extreme. That holy man’s ideal of happiness is in needing nothing from outside himself. In wanting nothing, he lacks nothing. He sits immobile, rapt in contemplation, free even of his own body.7 Or nearly free of it. If devout admirers bring him food, he eats it; if not, he starves indifferently. Why be concerned? What is physical is an illusion to him. Contemplation is his joy and he achieves it through a fantastically demanding discipline, the accomplishment of which is itself a joy within him.诚然,给“幸福”这一概念下定义远非易事:最好是尽量为这一概念确立一些极限,然后将两者折中。