新概念英语第4册-第15部分
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ol。 In the breaking and remaking; in the timing; interweaving; beginning afresh; the writer es to discern things in his material which were not consciously in his mind when he began。 This organic process; often leading to moments of extraordinary self…discovery; is of an indescribable fascination。 A blurred image appears; he adds a brushstroke and another; and it is gone; but something was there; and he will not rest till he has captured it。 Sometimes the yeast within a writer outlives a book he has written。 I have heard of writers who read nothing but their own books; like adolescents they stand before the mirror; and still cannot fathom the exact outline of the vision before them。 For the same reason; writers talk interminably about their own books; winkling out hidden meanings; super…imposing new ones; begging response from those around them。 Of course a writer doing this is misunderstood: he might as well try to explain a crime or a love affair。 He is also; incidentally; an unforgivable bore。
This temptation to cover the distance between himself and the reader; to study his image in the sight of those who do not know him; can be his undoing: he has begun to write to please。
A young English writer made the pertinent observation a year or two back that the talent goes into the first draft; and the art into the drafts that follow。 For this reason also the writer; like any other artist; has no resting place; no crowd or movement in which he may take fort; no judgment from outside which can replace the judgment from within。 A writer makes order out of the anarchy of his heart; he submits himself to a more ruthless discipline than any critic dreamed of; and when he flirts with fame; he is taking time off from living with himself; from the search for what his world contains at its inmost point。
JOHN LE CARRE What every writer wants from Harper's
New words and expressions 生词和短语
confess
v。 承认
inspiration
n。 灵感
Kashmir
n。 克什米尔
interweave
v。 交织
afresh
adv。 重新
discern
v。 辨明,领悟
indescribable
adj。 无法描述的
blur
v。 使。。。模糊不清
yeast
n。 激动
fathom
v。 领悟,彻底了解
interminably
adv。 没完没了地
winkle
v。 挖掘
incidentally
adv。 顺便说一下
pertinent
adj。 中肯的
flirt
v。 调情
inmost
adj。 内心深处
参考译文
我的认识的作家寥寥无几,然而凡是我所认识和尊敬的作家,都立即承认在他们动笔时,不清楚要写什么,怎么写。他们心中只在一个或两个角色。他们处于急切不安的状态,而被当作是灵感。他们无不承认,一旦“旅程”开始,“目的地”常有急剧的变化。据我所知,有位作家花了9个月的时间写了一部关克什米尔的小说,后来却把整个故事背景换成了苏格兰高地。我从未听说过任何一位作家像我们在学校那样,动笔前先列什么提纲。作家在剪裁修改、构思时间、穿插情节、以至从头重写的过程中,会领悟到素材中很多东西是他刚动笔时所未意识到的。这种有机的加工过程往往达到不寻常自我发现的境界,具有难以言表的构思魅力。一个朦胧的形象出现在作家的脑海里,他左添一笔,右添一笔,形象反而消逝了;可是,好像还有什么东西存在着,不把它捕捉到,作家是不会罢休的。有时,一个作家一本书写完了,但兴奋仍不消散。我听说一些作家,除了自己的书外,别的书一概不读,犹如希腊神话中那位漂亮的少年,站在镜前,不能辨认自身的真面目。由于这个原因,作家喋喋不休地谈论自己的书,挖掘其隐晦的含义,询问周围人的反应。作家如此行事当然被人误解。他还不如给人讲一个犯罪案件或一个恋爱故事。顺便说一句,他也是个不可饶恕的令人厌烦的人。
这种企图消除自己和读者之间距离的作法,企图用不了解自己的人的观点来研究自己塑造的形象的作法,会导致作家的毁灭,因为他已经开始为取悦他人而写作了。
一两年前,一位年轻的英国作家发表了中肯的看法。他说,初稿是才华,以后各稿是艺术。也是由于这个原因,作家同任何艺术家一样,找不到可休息的场所,找不到伙伴和活动使自己得到安逸。任何局外人的判断也比不上他内心的正确判断。一旦作家从内心的紊乱中理出头绪,就应该按任何评论家想像不到的无情规范约束自己写作;当他沽名钓誉时,他就脱离了自我生活,脱离了对自己灵魂最深处世界的探索。
Lesson 39
Waves
海浪
First listen and then answer the following question。
听录音,然后回答以下问题。
What false impression does an ocean were convey to the observer?
Waves are the children of the struggle between ocean and atmosphere; the ongoing signatures of infinity。 Rays from the sun excite and energize the atmosphere of the earth; awakening it to flow; to movement; to rhythm; to life。 The wind then speaks the message of the sun to the sea and the sea transmits it on through waves an ancient; exquisite; powerful message。
These ocean waves are among the earth's most plicated natural phenomena。 The basic features include a crest (the highest point of the wave); a trough (the lowest point); a height (the vertical distance from the trough to the crest); a wave length (the horizontal distance between two wave crests); and a period (which is the time it takes a wave crest to travel one wave length)。
Although an ocean wave gives the impression of a wall of water moving in your direction; in actuality waves move through the water leaving the water about where it was。 If the water was moving with the wave; the ocean and everything on it would be racing in to the shore with obviously catastrophic results。
An ocean wave passing through deep water causes a particle on the surface to move in a roughly circular orbit; drawing the particle first towards the advancing wave; then up into the wave; then forward with it and then as the wave leaves the particles behind back to its starting point again。
From both maturity to death; a wave is subject to the same laws as any other 'living' thing。 For a time it assumes a miraculous individuality that; in the end; is reabsorbed into the great ocean of life。
The undulating waves of the open sea are generated by three natural causes: wind; earth movements or tremors; and the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun。 Once waves have been generated; gravity is the force that drives them in a continual attempt to restore the ocean surface to a flat plain。
from World Magazine (BBC Enterprises)
New words and expressions 生词和短语
signature
n。 签名,标记
infinity
n。 无穷
ray
n。 光线
energize
v。 给与。。。能量
rhythm
n。 节奏
transmit
v。 传送
exquisite
adj。 高雅的
phenomena
n。 现象
crest
n。 浪峰
trough
n。 波谷
vertical
adj。 垂直的
horizontal
adj。 水平的
actuality
n。 现实
catastrophic
adj。 大灾难的
particle
n。 微粒
maturity
n。 成熟
undulate
v。 波动,形成波浪
tremor
n。 震颤
gravitational
adj。 地心吸力的
参考译文
海浪是大海和空气相斗的产物,无限的一种不间断的标志。太阳光刺激了地球的大气层,并给予它能量;阳光使空气开始流动,产生节奏,获得生命。然后,风把太阳的住处带给了大海,海洋用波浪的形式传递这个信息 一个源过流长、高雅而有力的信息。
这些海浪属于地球上最复杂的自然现象。它们的基本特征包括浪峰(波浪的最高点)、波谷(最低点)、浪高(从波谷到浪峰的垂直距离)、波长(两个浪峰间的水平距离)和周期(海峰走过一个波长所需的时间)。虽然,海浪给人的印象是一堵由水组成的墙向你压过来,而实际上,浪从水中移过,而水则留在原处。如果水和浪一起移动的话,那么大海和海里所有的东西就会向岸边疾涌过来,带来明显的灾难性后果。
穿过深水的海浪使水面上的一个微粒按照一种近乎圆形的轨道移动,先把微粒拉向前移动的海浪,然后推上波浪,随着波浪移动,然后 当波浪把微粒留在身后时 又回到出发点。
从成熟到消亡,波浪和其他任何“活动中”的东西一样,都受制于共同的法则。一度它获得非凡的个性,但最终又被重新融进生命的大洋。
公海上起伏的波浪是由3个自然因素构成的:风、地球的运动或震颤和月亮、太阳的引力。一旦波浪形成,地球引力是持续不断企图使海面复原为平面的力量。
Lesson 41
Training elephants
训练大象
First listen and then answer the following question。
听录音,然后回答以下问题。
At what point does the training of a captive wild elephant begin?
Two main techniques have been used for training elephants; which we may respectively the tough and the gentle。 The former method simply consists of setting an elephant to work and beating him until he does what is expected of him。 Apart from moral considerations this is a stupid method of training; for it produces a resentful animal who at a later stage may well turn man…killer。 The gentle method requires more patience in the early stages; but produces a cheerful; good…tempered elephant who will give many years of loyal service。
The first essential in elephant training is to assign to the animal a single mahout who will be entirely responsible for the job。 Elephants like to have one master just as dogs do; and are capable of a considerable degree of personal affection。 There are even stories of half…trained elephant calves who have refused to feed and pined to death when by some unavoidable circumstance they have been deprived of their own trainer。 Such extreme cases must probably be taken with a grain of salt; but they do underline the general principle that the relationship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful training。
The most economical age to capture an elephant for training is between fifteen and twenty years; for it is then almost ready to undertake heavy work and can begin to earn its keep straight away。 But animals of this age do not easily bee subservient to man; and a very time man; and a very firm hand must be employed in the early stages。 The captive elephant; still roped to a tree; plunges and screams every time a man approaches; and for several days will probably refuse all food through anger and fear。 Sometimes a tame elephant is tethered nearby to give the wild one confidence; and in most cases the captive gradually quietens down and begins to accept its food。 The next stage is to get the elephant to the training establishment; a ticklish business which is achieved with the aid of two tame elephants roped to the captive on either side。
When several elephants are being trained at one time; it is customary for the new arrival to be placed between the stalls of two captives whose training is already well advanced。 It is then left pletely undisturbed with plenty of food and water so that it can absorb the atmosphere of its new home and see that nothing particularly alarming is happening t