高级英语二册Pub_Talk_and_the_King’s_English

1 L3. Pub Talk and the King’s English(酒吧闲谈与标准英语)

Henry Fairlie (亨利·费尔利)

1. Conversation is the most sociable of all human activities. And it is

an activity only of humans. However intricate the way in which

animals communicate with each other, they do not indulge in anything

that deserves the name of conversation.

人类的一切活动中，闲谈是最具交际性的sociable（主题句），也是人类特有的。而动物之间的信息交流，无论其方式何等复杂intricate，也是称不上交际的。

1. And it is an activity only of humans. (para1) 并且它是人类特有的一种活动。

And conversation is an activity which is found only among human

being．

Sociable [ˈsoʊʃəbl] adj.随和的，好交际的，友善的 friendly or agreeable,eapecially in an

easy,informal way(用书）

intricate (adj) : hard to follow or understand because full of puzzling parts，details，or

relationships错综复杂的；难以理解的，难懂的

Indulge: 任凭自己沉溺于……；耽于to allow yourself to have or do sth that you like,eapecially

1 Pub Talk and the King’s English(酒吧闲谈与标准英语)

Henry Fairlie (亨利·费尔利)

1. Conversation is the most sociable of all human activities. And it is an

activity only of humans. However intricate the way in which animals

communicate with each other, they do not indulge in anything that deserves

the name of conversation. 人类的一切活动中，闲谈是最具交际性的，也是人类特有的。而动物之间的信息交流，无论其方式何等复杂，也是称不上交际的。

2. The charm of conversation is that it does not really start from anywhere,

and no one has any idea where it will go as it meanders or leaps and sparkles

or just glows. The enemy of good conversation is the person who has

“something to say.” Conversation is not for making a point. Argument may

often be a part of it, but the purpose of the argument is not to convince.

There is no winning in conversation. In fact, the best conversationalists are

Paraphrase:

1. And it is an activity only of humans. (para 1)

并且它是人类特有的一种活动。

1．And conversation is an activity which is found only among

human being．

2. Conversation is not for making a point. (para 2)

交谈并不是为了表明一种看法。

2．Conversation is not for persuading others to accept our idea or

point of view．

3. In fact, the best conversationalists are those who are prepared to

lose. (para 2)

实际上，最好的交谈者，是那些准备输的人。

3．In fact a person who really enjoys and is skilled at conversation

will not argue to win or force others to accept his point of view．

4. Bar friends are not deeply involved in each other's lives. (para 3)

酒吧友人没有深层次地涉及彼此的生活。

4．People who meet each other for a drink in the bar of a pub are

not intimate friends for they are not deeply absorbed or engrossed

in each other’s lives．

5. it could still go ignorantly on (para 6)

酒肆闲谈与标准英语

1 人类的一切活动中，只有闲谈最宜于增进友谊，而且是人类特有的一种

活动。动物之间的信息交流，不论其方式何等复杂，也是称不上交谈的。

2 闲谈的引人人胜之处就在于它没有一个事先定好的话题。它时而迂回流淌，

时而奔腾起伏，时而火花四射，时而热情洋溢，话题最终会扯到什么地方去谁也

拿不准。要是有人觉得“有些话要说”，那定会大煞风景，使闲聊无趣。闲聊不是为了进行争论。闲聊中常常会有争论，不过其目的并不是为了说服对方。闲聊之中是不存在什么输赢胜负的。事实上，真正善于闲聊的人往往是随时准备让步的。也许他们偶然间会觉得该把自己最得意的奇闻轶事选出一件插进来讲一讲，但一转眼大家已谈到别处去了，插话的机会随之而失，他们也就听之任之。

3 或许是由于我从小混迹于英国小酒馆的缘故吧，我觉得酒瞎里的闲聊别有韵

味。酒馆里的朋友对别人的生活毫无了解，他们只是临时凑到一起来的，彼此并

无深交。他们之中也许有人面临婚因破裂，或恋爱失败，或碰到别的什么不顺心

的事儿，但别人根本不管这些。他们就像大仲马笔下的三个火枪手一样，虽然日

夕相处，却从不过问彼此的私事，也不去揣摸别人内心的秘密。

4 有一天晚上的情形正是这样。人们正漫无边际地东扯西拉，从最普通的凡人

俗事谈到有关木星的科学趣闻。谈了半天也没有一个中心话题，事实上也不需要

有一个中心话题。可突然间大伙儿的话题都集中到了一处，中心话题奇迹般地出

现了。我记不起她那句话是在什么情况下说出来的——她显然不是预先想好把那

句话带到酒馆里来说的，那也不是什么非说不可的要紧话——我只知道她那句话

是随着大伙儿的话题十分自然地脱口而出的。

5 “几天前，我听到一个人说‘标准英语’这个词语是带贬义的批评用语，指的是人们应该尽量避免使用的英语。”

6 此语一出，谈话立即热烈起来。有人赞成，也有人怒斥，还有人则不以为然。

最后，当然少不了要像处理所有这种场合下的意见分歧一样，由大家说定次日一