新视野大学英语读写教程【第三版】第二册课文原文与翻译
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Unit1
TextAAnimpressiveEnglishlesson
一堂难忘的英语课
1IfIamtheonlyparentwhostillcorrectshischild'sEnglish,thenperhapsmysonisright.Tohim,Iamatediousoddity:afatherheisobligedtolistentoandamanabsorbedintherulesofgrammar,whichmysonseemsallergicto.
如果我是唯一一个还在纠正小孩英语的家长,那么我儿子也许是对的。对他而言,我是一个乏味的怪物:一个他不得不听其教诲的父亲,一个还沉湎于语法规则的人,对此我儿子似乎颇为反感。
2IthinkIgotseriousaboutthisonlyrecentlywhenIranintooneofmyformerstudents,freshfromanexcursiontoEurope.
"Howwasit?"Iasked,fullofearnestanticipation.
我觉得我是在最近偶遇我以前的一位学生时,才开始对这个问题认真起来的。这个学生刚从欧洲旅游回来。我满怀着诚挚期待问她:“欧洲之行如何?”
3Shenoddedthreeorfourtimes,searchedtheheavensfortherightwords,andthenexclaimed,"Itwas,like,whoa!"她点了三四下头,绞尽脑汁,苦苦寻找恰当的词语,然后惊呼:
“真是,哇!”
4Andthatwasit.ThecivilizationofGreeceandthegloryofRomanarchitecturewerecapturedinacondensednon-statement.Mystudent's"whoa!"wasexceededonlybymyhead-shakingdistress.
没了。所有希腊文明和罗马建筑的辉煌居然囊括于一个浓缩的、不完整的语句之中!我的学生以叹,我只能以摇头表达比之更强烈的忧虑。
“哇!”来表示她的惊
5TherearemanydifferentstoriesaboutthedownturnintheproperuseofEnglish.Surelystudentsshouldbeabletodistinguishbetweentheir/there/they'reorthedistinctivedifferencebetweencomplimentaryandcomplementary.Theyunfairlybearthebulkofthecriticismfortheseknowledgedeficitsbecausethereisasensethattheyshouldknowbetter.
关于正确使用英语能力下降的问题,有许多不同的故事。学生的确本应该能够区分诸如和指责,因为舆论认为他们应该学得更好。
their/there/they
之’间re的不同,
或区别complimentary跟complementary之间显而易见的差异。由于这些知识缺陷,他们承受着大部分不该承受的批评
6Studentsarenotdumb,buttheyarebeingmisledeverywheretheylookandlisten.Forexample,signsingrocerystorespointthemtothestationary,eventhoughtheactualstationeryitems—pads,albumsandnotebooks—arenotnaileddown.Friendsandlovedonesoftenproclaimthey'vejustatewhen,infact,they'vejusteaten.Therefore,itdoesn'tmakeanysensetocriticizeourstudents.
学生并不笨,他们只是被周围所看到和听到的语言误导了。举例来说,杂货店的指示牌会把他们引向处),虽然便笺本、相册、和笔记本等真正的ate。实际上,他们应该说
stationary(静止
They’vejust
stationery(文具用品并没有被钉在那儿。朋友和亲人常宣称
They’vejusteaten。因此,批评学生不合乎情理。
7Blameforthescandalofthislanguagedeficitshouldbethrustuponourschools,whichshouldbesettinghighstandardsofEnglishlanguageproficiency.Instead,theyonlyteachalittlegrammarandevenlessadvancedvocabulary.Moreover,theyoungerteachersthemselvesevidentlyhavelittleknowledgeofthesevitalstructuresoflanguagebecausetheyalsowentwithoutexposuretothem.Schoolsfailtoadequatelyteachtheessentialframeworkoflanguage,accurategrammarandpropervocabulary,whiletheyshouldtaketheresponsibilityofpushingtheyoungontothepathofcompetentcommunication.
对这种缺乏语言功底而引起的负面指责应归咎于我们的学校。学校应对英语熟练程度制定出更高的标准。可相反,学校只教零星的语法,高级词汇更是少之又少。还有就是,学校的年轻教师显然缺乏这些重要的语言结构方面的知识,
因为他们过去也没接触过。学校有责任教会年轻人进行有效的语言沟通,可他们并没把语言的基本框架——准确的语法和恰当的词汇——充分地传授给学生。
8Sincegrammarisboringtomostoftheyoungstudents,Ithinkthatitmustbehandleddelicately,stepbystep.ThechancecamewhenonedayIwasdrivingwithmyson.Aswesetoutonourtrip,henoticedabirdinjerkyflightandsaid,"It'sflyingsounsteady."Icarefullyasked,"Myson,howisthebirdflying?""What'swrong?DidIsayanythingincorrectly?"Hegotlost.
"Great!Yousaidincorrectlyinsteadofincorrect.Weuseadverbstodescribeverbs.Therefore,it'sflyingsounsteadilybutnot
sounsteady."
因为语法对大多数年轻学生而言枯燥且乏味,所以我觉得讲授语法得一步一步、注重技巧地进行。有一天机会来了。
我跟儿子开车外出。我们出发时,他看到一只小鸟飞得很不稳,就说:
“它飞的不稳。”(It’sflyingsounsteady).我小
心翼翼地问:“儿子,鸟怎么飞?”“有问题吗?我说得不对吗?(DidIsayanythingincorrectly?)”他一头雾水。“太好了,你说的是incorrectly而不是incorrect。我们用副词来描述动词。
所以,要用unsteadily来描述鸟飞
,而不是unsteady。”
9Curiousaboutmycorrection,heaskedmewhatanadverbwas.Slowly,Isaid,"It'sawordthattellsyousomethingaboutaverb."Itledtohisaskingmewhataverbwas.Iexplained,"Verbsareactionwords;forexample,Daddrivesthetruck.Driveistheverbbecauseit'sthethingDadisdoing."
他对我的纠正很好奇,就问我什么是副词。我慢慢解释道:动词。我解释说:“动词是表示行为的词,例如:爸爸开卡车。
“副词是用来修饰动词的词。”这又导致了他询问我什么是
‘开’是动词,因为它是爸爸在做的事。”
10Hebecameattractedtotheideaofactionwords,sowelistedafewmore:fly,swim,dive,run.Then,outofhisowncuriosity,heaskedmeifotherwordshadnamesfortheiruseandfunctions.Thisledtoadiscussionofnouns,adjectives,andarticles.Withinthespanofa10-minutedrive,hehadlearnedfromscratchtothemajorpartsofspeechinasentence.Itwaspainlesslearningandgreatfun!