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On Telling the Truth 论讲真话
The Victorians, realizing that the greatest Happiness accorded to man is that provided by a happy marriage, endeavoured to pretend that all their marriages were happy. We, for our part, admitting the fact that no feat of intelligence and character is so exacting as that required of two people who desire to live permanently together on a basis of amity, are obsessed by the problem of how to render the basic facts of cohabitation simpler and more reasonable, in order that unhappy marriages may less frequently result. The Victorians would have considered it 'painful' or 'unpleasant' were one to point out that only four marriages out of every ten are anything but forced servitudes. We ourselves start from this very assumption and try to build from it a theory of more sensible relations between the sexes. Of all forms of arrant untruthfulness Victorian optimism
appears to me to have been the most cowardly and the most damaging.
Truth, therefore, is an attitude of the mind. lt is important, if one does not wish to inconvenience and to bore one's friends, not to tell lies. But it is more important not to think lies, or to slide into those mechanical and untruthful habits of thought which are so pleasant and so easy as descents to mental ineptitude. The victorian habit of mind (which I consider to have been a bad habit of mind) was unduly preoccupied by what was socially and morally convenient. Convenience is, however, in all affairs of life, an execrable test of value. One should have the courage to think uncomfortably, since it is only by rejecting the convenient that one can come to think the truth. Not, after all, that there is any such thing as truth. At best we can approach to some relative approximation. On the other hand, there is surely such a thing as untruth. One is generally aware when one has said something, or acted in some way which has left on other people an impression
not strictly in accordance with the facts. One is generally aware, also. when one has thrust aside an inconvenient thought and slid into its place another thought which is convenient. One's awareness in the former case is in general more acute than in the latter, since we are more on the look-out for the lies we utter than for those we merely think. In fact, however, it is the untruthful thought which is the more vicious of the two. Spoken lies are invariably tiresome and may actually be dishonest. But continuous lying in the mind, a disease to which the Anglo-Saxon is peculiarly exposed, spells the destruction of human thought and character.
New words and expressions 生词短语
(改正)Victoria (1837-1901)
前期是 unrest, alarm.
后期 growing prosperity
industrialism 工业革命 free trade 自由贸易
Britain was named workshop of the world.
cession of Hongkong to U.K.
cession 割让
opium war 鸦片战争
critical realism 批判现实主义
made big fortune=made good money
Charles Dickens
hard times 艰难时事
middle class 中产阶级
The Tale of Two Cities 双城记
Oliver Twist 雾都孤儿
Vanity Fair 名利场
status 地位
rank 头衔
乔治。艾里奥特
Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte
Jane Eyre 简爱
Wuthering Heights 呼啸山庄
Michelle
Gone with the wind 飘
submit to 屈服于
destined fate 注定的命运
turn against her fate 与她的命运对抗
self-portrait 自画像
tuberculosis 肺结核
sorrow 悲痛
simplified version 简写版
original 原著
accordvt.给予
grant同意，给予
grant sb. sth.
He was accorded the permission to enter the
library.
to accord the guest a warm welcome.
endowvt.(二十课)
for one’s part就某人而言
in terms of ourselves
on the part of us
For our part, we have no objection.
my objection 我的反对意见(24 课)
amityn.友善
harmony,
concordnational concord 民族团结
our family members are/ live in amity/
harmony/ concord.
obsessvt.使烦恼
I’m obsessed with too much assignment.
vexv.使烦恼
annoy vt.使苦恼
irrtatevt.激怒
I’m bored. 我烦了。
obsessvt.迷住
I’m obsessed with sb.
I’m obsessed with the idea of becoming a
millionaire.
rendervt.致使，给予
A serious illness rendered him rather weak.
(render: 致使)
render thanks to sb. 答谢(render: 给予)
render sb. a favor 给某人帮个忙
render sth. Inter Enghlish 翻译
render a role 扮演一个角色
he renders a role in the movie.
to interpret a role
to play a role
servituden.奴役
He is/ was in servitude. 他没自由
sex n.性别
male/ female
weaker, fair, gentle / strong, rougher, sterner
half the sky 半边天
sex appeal 性感
bad egg坏蛋
dirty dog
arranta.纯粹的(否定意义)
sheer
arrant nonsense 一派胡言，
out and out
he is out and out hooligan.
cowardlya.怯懦的
coward 胆小鬼，懦夫
chicken
craven
you two are fighting and finally you cry
craven.
Spare me 饶了我
spineless adj.
spine
shrinking
shrink 缩水
knee 膝盖
weak kneed
fainthearted 胆小的
slide into不知不觉得陷入
I slide into the bad habit of smoking.
I slide into the bad habit of rising late.
I’m a late riser.
early riser 早起的人
slip into
inconveniencevt.打扰
trouble 打搅
bore
bother
Probably I trouble you for a minute.
ineptituden. 笨拙的
servitude n. 奴隶状态
-tude 是名词后缀
ept 聪明灵活的
clumsy 笨拙的
competence n. 能力
competentadj.
incompetent无能的
bungling 笨拙的
unduly ad.过分地
excess
extreme 极度
moderate 不过量的
immoderate 过量的
modest
inmodest
overmuch
due 准时
The train is due at severn o’clock.
My book is out. 我的书到期了。
passport 护照
renew it 续借，续签
execrablea.恶劣的，令人讨厌的
contemptible 令人讨厌的
coarse 粗俗的
debased 下贱的，卑鄙的
ignoble 不光彩的
abject 卑鄙的
at best充其量
average student 中等生
at most
at least 至少
rejectvt.丢弃 后跟 habit or idea
discard 后跟 sth. concrete discard the old
clothes
toss toss up 硬币
abandon
I’m abandoned by the girl.
dump 抛弃
I’m dumped.
I’m rejected.
I’m abandoned.
The relation broke up 关系断了
approxiamationn.近似
approxiamate adj.
he is approxiamately an average student.
approciamately=about
acutea.敏锐的
he has acute eyes.他目光敏锐
eagle eye
bat eye 瞎眼
observant eye
decerning eyes
look-outn.警戒
on the look-out for the bad habit
look-outn.守望员
on the alert
alert 警报
on the guard 小心
vicious a.恶毒的
thrustvt.猛然推开
thrust my Enghlish aside
cast aside
thrust one’s way through the
crowd 挤出人群
elbow one’s way
thrust five yuan into my hand 塞给我五元钱
thrusting 盛气凌人
expose vt.暴露
Girls don’t want to expose themselves in the
sun.
suntanned 被太阳晒黑的
be expose to 暴露在
Students should be exposed to more
reading。学生应该多读书。
spellvt.导致，带来
lead to
result in
invite
incur
Pride spells failure.骄兵必败
Sloth spells failure.懒惰生出恶果。
Spell n. 咒语
I’m spellbound. 我被迷住了
Anglo-Saxonn. 盎 格 鲁 - 撒 克 逊 人
(449-1066)
Roman Empire falls
retreat 撤退
Celtic 凯尔特人
Notes on the text 课文注释
第一句：The Victorians, realizing that the greatest Happiness accorded to man is that
provided by a happy marriage(后置定语), endeavoured to pretend that all their marriages
were happy.(主提)
Victorians:那个时代的人们
endeavour=try 尽力，尝试
make effects
accorded to man=given to man
save fighting 拳击
mental enjoyment 思想的幸福
第二句： for our part, admitting the fact that no featWe,(技巧)of intelligence and character
is so exacting as that required of two people who desire to live permanently together on a
basis of amity, are obsessed by the problem of how to render the basic facts of cohabitation
simpler and more reasonable, in order that unhappy marriages may less frequently result.
render=make
cohabitation 同住
live in sin(罪过)
abbot 方丈
feat 壮举，技巧
exacting 精确无误，毫厘不差
intelligence=mental work
shoulder the burden 肩负责任
in order that (表目的)以便于
result 产生
hand in hand beggars 手牵手的乞丐(沿街乞讨的乞丐)
改句型：we admitted that ……..so we were obsessed……
第三句：The Victorians would have considered it 'painful' or 'unpleasant' were one to point
out that only four marriages out of every ten are anything but forced servitudes.
虚拟语气，因为猜测。
if one were to point out……倒装句型
four marriages out of every ten 十分之四
anything but 除去
arranged marriage 包办婚姻 red veil 红纱
第四句：We ourselves start from this very assumption and try to build from it a theory of
more sensible relations between the sexes. (开始论述)
very 修饰名词，是强调词
on the very day, I met the girl. 就在这一天，我见了那个女孩。
On the very morning 就是那天早晨
from=based on
sensible=reasonable 合理的
第五句：Of all forms of arrant untruthfulness Victorian optimism appears to me to the most
cowardly and the most damaging.
optimism 乐观派，乐观主义(主语)
have been 过去完成式，
damaging 危害严重的
介词短语前置句
Victorian optimism appears to me to have been the most cowardly and the most damaging of
all forms of arrant untruthfulness.
truthful 真实的，说真话的 untruthful 爱说谎的，不真实的
to face reality 面对现实my family is well off/ honeyed.
第二段第一句：Truth, therefore, is an attitude of the mind.(观点更鲜明)
truth 说真话
an attitude of the mind 可替换为 a state of mind 精神状态
mental age 心理年龄 moral decay 道德败坏
第二句： is important, if one does not wish to inconvenience and to bore one's friends, not tolt
tell lies.(进一步说明)
第三句：But it is more important not to think lies, or to slide into those mechanical and
untruthful habits of thought which are so pleasant and so easy as descents to mental
ineptitude.
think=imagine
slide into 滑进去，陷进去 mechanical 机械的
conscious 有意识的unconscious 无意识的
descent 产物，后代mental ineptitude 不动脑筋bar 单杠
第四句：The victorian habit of mind (which I consider to have been a bad habit of mind) was
unduly preoccupied by what was socially and morally convenient.
the Victorian habit of mind 维多利亚时期人们的思维习惯
preoccupied 占领(满脑子都是)
unduly=improperly 不太恰当 convenient 有利的
socially and morally 对社会建设和道德建设 robbery n.抢夺，抢掠 stability 稳定
第五句：Convenience is, however, in all affairs of life, an execrable test of value. One should
have the courage to think uncomfortably, since it is only by rejecting the convenient that one
can come to think the truth.
in all affairs of life 在社会的各个方面test of value 对价值的衡量 execrable 恶劣的
第六句：One should have the courage to think uncomfortably, since it is only by rejecting the
convenient that one can come to think the truth.
rejecting 抛弃掉
第三段：Not, after all, that there is any such thing as truth.(倒装句型)At best we can approach to some relative approximation. On the other hand, there is surely such a thing as untruth.(开始论述)One is generally aware when one has said something, or acted in some way which has left on other people an impression not strictly in accordance with the facts.
(第二个论点)One is generally aware, also. when one has thrust aside an inconvenient thought and slid into its place another thought which is convenient. One's awareness in the former case is in general more acute than in the latter, since we are more on the look-out for the lies we utter than for those we merely think. In fact, however, it is the untruthful thought which is the more vicious of the two. Spoken lies are invariably tiresome and may actually be dishonest. But continuous lying
in the mind, a disease to which the Anglo-Saxon is peculiarly exposed, spells the destruction of human thought and character.
after all 毕竟，归根到底
at best 充其量approach=get close to 没有绝对，只有相对而言。
on the other hand 另一方面前面对应词组：on the one hand
aware=clearin some way 以某种方式
leave an impression on sb.给某人留下印象
left on other people an impression 介词短语提前，因为 impression 后有定语，避免歧义
in accordance with 与……一致
elegance n.高雅，典雅thrust aside=reject
slide into 滑到
acute 敏锐utter=tell
vicious 危害严重的 disease lying in the mind
be exposed to 暴露在……下spells=bring about 带来，招致
biographer 传记作者 diplomat 外交家
Henry Moore
Faulkner
Russell
Bacon
Hemingway
Gissing
O.Henry
Gilbert
Jack London
Maugham
stream of consciousness 意识流
loose in struture 结构松散
Faulkner
a film maker
Pulitzer prize
Quotations of Chairman Mao
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