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American Attitude—Defying Authority 美國心態——藐視權威

導讀

在世界上大多數國家，人們不敢或不愿去招惹權威，更別說挑戰他們了。而美國人從小就訓練孩子去提問、分析、探索。由此，他們養成了一種心態：不會因為你是某一領域的權威，就無條件地相信或接受你的思想或做法。這也許解釋了為什么美國擁有那么多項創造發明和革新成果。

In much of the world, authority is not challenged either out of respect or out of fear, sometimes, too, because a hierarchy of rank has been fixed for so long that people have been trained for generations never to challenge it.

在世界上大部分地方，或出于尊敬，或出于恐懼，沒有人去挑戰權威，有時可能是因為長久以來固定下來的長幼尊卑的秩序使得一代又一代的人養成了從不去質疑權威的習慣。

In such countries children are not expected to question their teachers in school, and brilliant young scholars or inventive industrial geniuses are hampered in technical research because they hesitate to disagree with their “superiors.” Clever researchers may be considered too young to have“any right” to present findings that contradict knowledge and wisdom of their elders.

在這樣的國家里，孩子不會去質問學校里的老師，而才華橫溢的年輕學者或善于發明創造的實業界天才由于不愿表達與“前輩”的不同意見而在技術研究方面受到牽制。頭腦靈活的研究者可能會被認為太年輕而“無權”展示其與前輩的知識和智慧相左的研究結果。

The American is trained from childhood to question, analyze and search. “Go look it up for yourself, ” a child will be told. School tasks are designed to de mand the use of a wide range of materials. An assignment to “write a paper on the world's supply of sugar” will send even a young child in search of completely unfamiliar ideas. Even in the primary grades, children are taught to use libraries, and to search for new ideas. By the time they are 14, 15, and 16, many young scholars are making original and valuable contributions in all fields of science from astrophysics to oceanography. Indus try is so aware of this resource that each year, through national competitions, it offers tremendous awards among teenagers in order to seek out (and later employ) the brilliant, inquiring minds which they find scattered across the country.

美國人則從小就訓練孩子去提問、分析、探索。“自己去查一查”，他們總是這樣對孩子說。學校設計的作業常常需要用到各種各樣的材料。為了完成一項“寫一篇關于全球食糖供應的論文”的任務，一個小孩子可能會去搜尋那些完全陌生的概念。即使是小學生也要學習利用圖書館去搜索一些新知識。到他們14歲、15歲或16歲的時候，許多年輕學者已經能在從天體物理學到海洋學的各科學領域做出有獨創性并有價值的貢獻了。實業界深深了解這個未開發的資源，每年都搞全國性競賽，給青少年提供巨額獎金，以發現（以后雇用）散布于全國的有才華并喜歡探究的人才。

As seen by members of other nations, this emphasis on questioning and searching is bad for young people's “manners.” Foreigners often feel great “lack of respect” in our youth. It is true that many do become rude and pressing. Foreign visitors are of ten surprised and frequently annoyed to find junior staff members “daring” to challenge older ones or argue points with them; they do not always like it when these young men make detailed but often revolutionary suggestions. One's own plans, reports of analyses may be looked through in detail—perhaps even challenged—by a young person. This is not to be considered a loss of face; nor is it a sign of “no confidence.”Our whole approach to research is different. Your ideas are being looked at, not you yourself. To us the two are quite separate. This is the way our mind works. We are seeking facts; we are not challenging you as a person. So, too, even in social conversation you will find that people often argue, pick an idea apart, ask for your sources or challenge your conclusions. They do not mean to be rude; they are keenly interested and merely trying to explore the idea in greater depth.

在其他國家的人看來，強調提問和探索對青年人的“舉止”非常不利。外國人常感到我們的年輕人“不夠恭敬”。的確有些年輕人行為魯莽，咄咄逼人。國外訪客發現年輕職員“敢于”向年長者提出異議并與之爭論問題時，總是感到震驚和不悅。當這些年輕人逐條提出完全革新化的建議時，他們并不總能欣然接受。個人的計劃、分析報告可能會被仔細查閱，也許還會被質疑，而查閱和質疑者卻是一個晚輩。這不應被看作有失顏面，也不是對你“缺乏信心”的標志。我們的整個研究方法是不同的。考查的是你的思想，而非你自身。對我們而言，兩者是完全分開的。這就是我們頭腦運作的方式。我們在探究事實，不是在向你個人發出挑戰。因此，即便在社交談話時，你也會發現人們常常爭論剖析一個想法，問問出處，質疑結論。他們并非故意無禮，而只是頗感興趣，想要進一步地探究這個想法罷了。

Cloze 選詞填空

As seen 1 members of other nations, this emphasis 2 questioning and searching is bad for young people's “manners.” 3 often feel great “lack of respect” in our youth. It is 4 that many do become rude and pressing. Foreign visitors are of ten 5 and frequently annoyed to find junior staff members “daring”to 6 older ones or argue points with them; they do not always like it 7 these young men make detailed 8 often revolutionary suggestions.

Key

1. by 2. on 3. Foreigners 4. true 5. surprised 6. challenge

7. when 8. but

Translation Practices 翻譯練習

The American is trained from childhood to question and analyze, search. “Go look it up for yourself, ” a child will be told. School tasks are designed to demand the use of a wide range of materials. An assignment to “write a paper on the world's supply of sugar” will send even a young child in search of completely unfamiliar ideas. Even in the primary grades, children are taught to use libraries, and to search for new ideas.

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Key

美國人則從小就訓練孩子去提問、分析、探索。“自己去查一查”，他們總是這樣對孩子說。學校設計的作業常常需要用到各種各樣的材料。為了完成一項“寫一篇關于全球食糖供應的論文”的任務，一個小孩子可能會去搜尋那些完全陌生的概念。即使是小學生也要學習利用圖書館去搜索一些新知識。