第一篇：美國(guó)人的性格分析與交往經(jīng)驗(yàn)總結(jié)

美國(guó)人的性格分析與交往經(jīng)驗(yàn)總結(jié)

Iowa State University

Major： statistics

現(xiàn)在就開(kāi)始吧。對(duì)我個(gè)人來(lái)說(shuō)，我一直贊成的觀點(diǎn)就是，在美國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)，生活，最關(guān)鍵之一是要做到和很多美國(guó)人成為朋友。然而據(jù)我觀察，咱們大部分中國(guó)人似乎不怎么熱衷于和美國(guó)人交朋友。理由嘛，無(wú)非是什么沒(méi)什么共同話題，沒(méi)什么生活交集等等，我個(gè)人認(rèn)為這些理由只對(duì)那些整天呆在寢室里頭玩游戲或是瘋狂學(xué)習(xí)的宅男宅女們適用，如果你不是那類(lèi)人，那對(duì)不起，這只能說(shuō)明你沒(méi)有那膽量去結(jié)識(shí)新環(huán)境里的朋友。

其實(shí)，美國(guó)人遠(yuǎn)比很多中國(guó)人想象得好處得多。我來(lái)分析分析他們的性格吧。

美國(guó)人是很熱情友好的一類(lèi)人，學(xué)校里，不少情況下，我們不搭理他們美國(guó)人，他們卻會(huì)主動(dòng)和你打招呼，向你問(wèn)好，甚至找你說(shuō)話。如果你真心想和他們交往的話，在這個(gè)時(shí)候，你可以隨便和他們多說(shuō)兩句話，不用去留心說(shuō)錯(cuò)話問(wèn)錯(cuò)問(wèn)題，因?yàn)樗麄冃睦锩婷靼?，畢竟?duì)于他們來(lái)說(shuō)，我們是外國(guó)人，語(yǔ)言上的誤解是小問(wèn)題。如果你初次和美國(guó)人交往問(wèn)錯(cuò)了話，只用陪個(gè)笑便了事！繼續(xù)后面的話題。如果談得來(lái)的話，臨別之際就主動(dòng)找他/她要個(gè)聯(lián)系方式。和 美國(guó)人交往，body language 很重要，當(dāng)然也得有些許技巧（尤其是初次交往），最主要的是讓他們看得起你。要想真正達(dá)到效果，首先應(yīng)該是，坐的端行得正，尤其是對(duì)于咱們亞洲男生，相比而言體格上本來(lái)就顯得不夠健壯，所以更需要讓自己顯得像個(gè)紳士。說(shuō)話時(shí)眼睛要注視著對(duì)方，一是表現(xiàn)自己對(duì)他人的尊重，二是表現(xiàn)自己的自信，當(dāng)然，也別刻意把自己弄得得像個(gè)當(dāng)兵的或是注視他人的時(shí)候只是不停得注視，因?yàn)槟菢右矔?huì)讓他們覺(jué)得你太死板。總之，自然點(diǎn)總是非常好，從美國(guó)電視劇上面學(xué)學(xué)也會(huì)有幫助的（這里面有些東西是只可意會(huì)不可言傳的）。第二重要的是，說(shuō)話口氣可以沒(méi)有美國(guó)人那么好，但說(shuō)話聲音要盡量顯得洪亮，才能顯示你的優(yōu)雅的氣質(zhì)（我說(shuō)的第二點(diǎn)對(duì)于男女都適用?。?/p>

美國(guó)人性格張揚(yáng)，喜歡說(shuō)話，喜歡讓很多人知道自己的想法。還有就是大部分人還是很喜歡了解些緋聞的，憑我的經(jīng)驗(yàn)來(lái)判斷，一些小秘密別和美國(guó)人交流地太多，因?yàn)檎f(shuō)不準(zhǔn)哪天他不注意就全說(shuō)出去了哈哈。

很大一部分美國(guó)人非常樂(lè)于助人，這不止是很多美國(guó)基督教徒的性格，準(zhǔn)確地說(shuō)應(yīng)該是美國(guó)人民的性格。

很大一部分美國(guó)人膽大心細(xì)，不是像國(guó)內(nèi)很多人想象的那樣笨。

美國(guó)人直爽，他們喜歡把自己的想法說(shuō)出來(lái)，不喜歡佯裝對(duì)某一事物的喜好。

大部分美國(guó)人性格都很溫和，他們沒(méi)有像很多亞洲人那樣有聚眾打架的習(xí)慣。美國(guó)人在“人不犯我我不犯人”這點(diǎn)做得挺好。因?yàn)榇蚣芊甘略诿绹?guó)可不是什么簡(jiǎn)單的批評(píng)警告，而是坐牢和開(kāi)除學(xué)籍。

美國(guó)人生性固執(zhí)，有些觀點(diǎn)一旦形成，很難改變他/她的觀點(diǎn)，所以就算你和他/她關(guān)系比較，也要避免和他/她去爭(zhēng)執(zhí)一些大道理。如果真遇到這樣的尷尬，答案是很容易解決。你只用和他/她說(shuō)讓他/她看看某些著作，歷史資料或教科書(shū)啥就行了。

美國(guó)人以自我為中心--這個(gè)不能片面理解成為自私，最正確的理解應(yīng)該是：他想讓別人知道自己能解決什么別人解決不了的問(wèn)題。當(dāng)你有什么問(wèn)題難以解決而去咨詢(xún)一個(gè)和你交往不怎么太深的美國(guó)朋友，他也會(huì)給你提供幫助，因?yàn)樵谒麄冃闹?，他們覺(jué)得幫助別人是一個(gè)表現(xiàn)自我的大好機(jī)會(huì)。如果從另一方面理解，你可以說(shuō)，美國(guó)人很自負(fù)，他們總認(rèn)為別人比不上他或是不該超過(guò)他。有些美國(guó)人甚至?xí)羞@樣奇怪的想法：我有能力當(dāng)教授，只是不想去做那個(gè)職業(yè)。。

美國(guó)人喜歡熱鬧；他們喜歡性格開(kāi)朗，愛(ài)說(shuō)話的人。當(dāng)你和好幾個(gè)美國(guó)人一起學(xué)習(xí)交流的時(shí)候，如果不主動(dòng)制造點(diǎn)“噪音”，就很有可能會(huì)被他們誤人為膽小鬼。對(duì)于咱們來(lái)說(shuō)，和他們交往多說(shuō)話，沒(méi)有壞處，磨刀不誤砍柴工嘛，煉了英語(yǔ)又增進(jìn)了友情，而且不會(huì)太耽誤事的，何樂(lè)而不為呢？

美 國(guó)人有很強(qiáng)“領(lǐng)地意識(shí)”，也許是因?yàn)闆](méi)發(fā)育好有狼性吧（just kidding lol），當(dāng)你把一個(gè)美國(guó)人請(qǐng)到家玩，你和你的室友們不必有這些擔(dān)心：1.乘你不注意到處亂看，到處亂翻你的東西；2.對(duì)家里面的他們認(rèn)為稀奇古怪的東西有無(wú)限的好奇心；有親身經(jīng)驗(yàn)告訴過(guò)我：有一次我把一個(gè)和我玩得不錯(cuò)的美國(guó)人叫到我家里面吃飯，客廳里面擺滿了很多奇怪的東西，正準(zhǔn)備吃飯的時(shí)候，突然來(lái)了個(gè)電話：是我的另一個(gè)朋友來(lái)我這還書(shū)的，于是出去了5分鐘，當(dāng)我回來(lái)的時(shí)候，驚奇得發(fā)現(xiàn)，那個(gè)“傻大個(gè)”還是站在廚房里面什么都沒(méi)做。。就連客廳里面那么多奇奇怪怪的屬于我室友的東西問(wèn)都不問(wèn)一句。

美國(guó)人的記性很好，他們中大多數(shù)人能記住你對(duì)他做過(guò)的每一個(gè)好事或他對(duì)你做過(guò)的每一個(gè)好事，當(dāng)然也能記得住你做過(guò)的一些他認(rèn)為不合適的事情，他對(duì)你做的一些不合適的事情等等。

和美國(guó)女生交往，不管交情怎樣，千萬(wàn)別問(wèn)她體重——我的一個(gè)美國(guó)朋友對(duì)我說(shuō)過(guò)，他從來(lái)都沒(méi)問(wèn)過(guò)他女朋友的體重，因?yàn)槊绹?guó)女生對(duì)這個(gè)很敏感。年長(zhǎng)的女性，對(duì)年齡比較敏感，莫問(wèn)（大家小學(xué)就該學(xué)過(guò)了）。

很多美國(guó)學(xué)生邏輯思維比較縝密，數(shù)學(xué)能力不見(jiàn)得比亞洲人差。尤其是學(xué)理科的美國(guó)人。數(shù)字是有活力，有激情的，真正熱愛(ài)理科的美國(guó)學(xué)生，比學(xué)文科的美國(guó)更顯得外向，并且更有音樂(lè)天賦。而缺點(diǎn)是生活上面可能不夠檢點(diǎn)。

學(xué)純文科的美國(guó)人是比較內(nèi)向的，他們相對(duì)學(xué)理科的來(lái)說(shuō)缺少音樂(lè)音樂(lè)天賦，與人交往能力上明顯不如學(xué)理科的。不過(guò)優(yōu)點(diǎn)心地更顯善良外加沒(méi)有很多不良嗜好（以上為親自觀察分析總結(jié)）。

如果你想在校園里結(jié)識(shí)些非常優(yōu)秀的美國(guó)人，請(qǐng)你選擇那些讀雙學(xué)位的20歲以上的美國(guó)學(xué)生（我刻意提到年齡，因?yàn)檫@個(gè)很重要），最好是一文一理。他們不僅學(xué)習(xí)好，而且有很強(qiáng)的交往能力外加非常優(yōu)秀的音樂(lè)體育細(xì)胞。當(dāng)然，生活習(xí)慣也很好（相對(duì)固定的起居時(shí)間外加整潔的室內(nèi)環(huán)境布局）。

美國(guó)人不見(jiàn)得會(huì)偏科，他們中不少有很多特長(zhǎng)。在美國(guó)，光一個(gè)學(xué)習(xí)好不能代表的什么。尺有所短寸有所長(zhǎng)。只要有點(diǎn)特長(zhǎng)，都會(huì)有展現(xiàn)自我能力的機(jī)會(huì)

美國(guó)人喜歡表?yè)P(yáng)，當(dāng)你和美國(guó)朋友交往時(shí)，很多情況下，你只要稍微向他們提到點(diǎn)表?yè)P(yáng)的詞句都能讓他們倍感高興。這一點(diǎn)我還真想告訴那些準(zhǔn)備赴美讀研的朋友們，如果你們當(dāng)了助教，你們會(huì)接觸到很多美國(guó)學(xué)生，當(dāng)你遇到美國(guó)學(xué)生做不好題目的時(shí)候，你得鼓勵(lì)他，而不是批評(píng)他們做得不好。如果你那樣做的話，你最終可能會(huì)吃不好兜著走（不做過(guò)多解釋?zhuān)?說(shuō)幾個(gè)本人了解到的幾個(gè)文化上不一樣的地方吧： 1.美國(guó)人和亞洲人（棒子除外）相比來(lái)說(shuō)，更顯高傲。他們不知道什么叫客氣，如果你邀請(qǐng)其中一位美國(guó)佬到你家做客吃飯，別按中國(guó)人一貫的作法：端茶遞水外加盛菜盛飯。飯做好了后你唯一需要做的就是，宣布開(kāi)飯。剩下的全是他自己做。你的那些中國(guó)人的作法會(huì)讓那些習(xí)慣了自己的事情自己做的美國(guó)人感到別扭，甚至誤解自己的好意。還有就是當(dāng)美國(guó)人拒絕了什么東西的時(shí)候，別以為他是在和你客氣，千萬(wàn)別學(xué)很多中國(guó)人的傳統(tǒng)作法——硬塞給他（that may cause a big trouble）。2.子曰：“其恕乎，己所不欲勿施于人”這句話可是咱們中國(guó)人乃至很多中國(guó)以外的東亞人都知道的名言，這話是在教導(dǎo)我們，自己不想要的，不喜歡的東西，別和別人“分享”。偏偏這么簡(jiǎn)單易懂的道理，在美國(guó)就不靈了。。我遇到過(guò)很多次了。我和幾個(gè)美國(guó)哥們每周都有課題要聚到一起完成，于是我們就決定了大家聚一起，輪流或一起做飯。有一次輪到吃中西合璧的美味了，我于是做了點(diǎn)拿手的炒飯，帶到了我朋友那。吃飽后，我看大家都一致夸我的炒飯好吃，于是就對(duì)他們說(shuō)： “你們?nèi)绻氲脑?，就再帶點(diǎn)回去吧”?？善渲幸粋€(gè)人的話問(wèn)得讓我很無(wú)語(yǔ)：“你是不是不想要這些了呢？如果不想要的話我就帶點(diǎn)回去把”。第一次聽(tīng)到這個(gè)感到的是吃驚。。（在中國(guó)，能問(wèn)出這樣的問(wèn)題的人除了一些不會(huì)說(shuō)話的成年人和一些不懂事的小孩子外，沒(méi)有別人了。。說(shuō)出那樣的話會(huì)受到嚴(yán)重鄙視的）。類(lèi)似的事情發(fā)生過(guò)好幾次，我一直用孔夫子的那句話告訴咱們中國(guó)人的看法。后來(lái)，和他們的交流了幾次我才知道，他們那樣說(shuō)沒(méi)有任何看不起你的意思，而是出于其他考慮：1.真的喜歡你給他的東西，2.不希望自己喜歡的東西浪費(fèi)。

3.不能隨便問(wèn)美國(guó)朋友的收入（越年長(zhǎng)越不能問(wèn)）。不過(guò)咱們中國(guó)人計(jì)算能力好，如果你真想知道的話，可以問(wèn)你的美國(guó)朋友每周多少小時(shí)工作，工作地點(diǎn)每小時(shí)的 payment如何。大致計(jì)算下就行了（大部分美國(guó)人在說(shuō)話技巧方面不精，你那樣婉轉(zhuǎn)得問(wèn)，他們不會(huì)明白你的真實(shí)用意的）。4.“謙虛使人進(jìn)步，驕傲使人失敗”這句名言在美國(guó)也不生效了。因?yàn)樵诿绹?guó)人眼里，悶頭悶?zāi)X埋頭苦干的人會(huì)受到他們的尊重，但不是器重。美國(guó)人更器重那些有表現(xiàn)力的人，比如好口才或有很強(qiáng)的音樂(lè)體驗(yàn)才能的人。就算你沒(méi)什么特長(zhǎng)加上學(xué)習(xí)成績(jī)也不夠超群，只要你能經(jīng)?！袄p著”帶你課的老師或?qū)煟咸喜唤^地說(shuō)自己努力方向，自己的所謂“成果”，照樣能留給老師很好的印象。

5.和美國(guó)人交往千萬(wàn)別把自己弄得八面玲瓏，兩面三刀，因?yàn)檫@是絕對(duì)吃不開(kāi)的。八面玲瓏是會(huì)給美國(guó)人留下個(gè)不靠譜的不好的形象，兩面三刀則會(huì)讓你陷入更多的麻煩。6.在沒(méi)有調(diào)查清楚前，別把那些有過(guò)不良記錄的美國(guó)人當(dāng)成壞茬，因?yàn)樵诿绹?guó)，法律是非常嚴(yán)格的。過(guò)分嚴(yán)格的法律，偶爾也會(huì)適得其反。比如說(shuō)，我認(rèn)識(shí)的美國(guó)人中，就有一個(gè)蹲過(guò)牢的，大家也許會(huì)問(wèn)，他因?yàn)槭裁炊琢舜罄?？要知道他可是朋友們公認(rèn)的很遵紀(jì)守法的人！蹲大牢的原因很簡(jiǎn)單：在不知情的情況下來(lái)到一個(gè)湖邊沙灘上躺了一會(huì)（那片沙灘屬于私人領(lǐng)地，但沒(méi)有任何標(biāo)示）。如果你和一些美國(guó)人交往深了，如果你問(wèn)他們不良記錄方面怎么樣，他們中肯定會(huì)有不少人會(huì)抱怨式地回答你，并且那些回答往往是讓你感到無(wú)比吃驚的！說(shuō)到這，我還是得說(shuō)，在美國(guó)還是得注意了，不要對(duì)那些未知區(qū)域太過(guò)好奇并跑進(jìn)去玩耍，那樣不僅不安全，而且還有可能不明不白地被cops抓了。。當(dāng)然，更不能隨便進(jìn)入那些不認(rèn)識(shí)的人的房間。

7.亞洲人學(xué)生里面有很多人對(duì)作弊不持否定態(tài)度，而美國(guó)人很鄙視作弊的人，美國(guó)學(xué)生中有很多都是很遵紀(jì)守法的，勸大家別和美國(guó)學(xué)生討論作弊這個(gè)話題（作弊被逮在美國(guó)學(xué)校里面輕則掛科加信譽(yù)記錄扣分，重則開(kāi)除學(xué)籍，該回哪回哪去?。?！

8.當(dāng)今的絕大多數(shù)美國(guó)人絕對(duì)不是馬克.吐溫的小說(shuō)《百萬(wàn)富翁》中的那群崇拜金錢(qián)的勢(shì)利小人，而是一群看重勞動(dòng)致富，艱苦樸素（這里面主要說(shuō)的是不追求奢靡與過(guò)分的浪費(fèi)）的實(shí)實(shí)在在的本分人，我問(wèn)過(guò)很多美國(guó)人，對(duì)那些開(kāi)著豪華跑車(chē)的中國(guó)人什么看法，他們大部分很冷淡的回答：“他們花的是他們父母的錢(qián)”，那一聽(tīng)就是鄙夷的口吻。所以現(xiàn)在新來(lái)美國(guó)的年輕本科生們，我真心勸誡你們別在美國(guó)炫富，你越炫越會(huì)受到更多美國(guó)人的鄙夷。亞洲的富二代炫富的比例明顯高于歐美，這就是差別。這是一個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)上差距問(wèn)題，但我個(gè)人覺(jué)得這更是個(gè)文化問(wèn)題吧！

9.有一個(gè)誤區(qū)需要和大家說(shuō)明：“美國(guó)人是守時(shí)的”這個(gè)說(shuō)法不對(duì)。準(zhǔn)確的說(shuō)法應(yīng)該是，他們很少會(huì)上課遲到（美國(guó)學(xué)校里面的學(xué)生中有那么一部分，他們一看時(shí)間發(fā)現(xiàn)要遲到了就直接翹課，干干脆脆），錯(cuò)過(guò)重要會(huì)議或和很重要人物見(jiàn)面（導(dǎo)師，醫(yī)生/護(hù)士等）時(shí)間。而和美國(guó)朋友交往的時(shí)候，他們對(duì)時(shí)間的把握并不好，這是美國(guó)人（主要是大學(xué)生）的通病。他們很多太過(guò)自信，總是容易高估自己的實(shí)力——本來(lái)安排好的計(jì)劃總是會(huì)出現(xiàn)很多閃失。各位中國(guó)朋友們，當(dāng)你收到美國(guó)人的短信說(shuō)什么“in a bit(等一會(huì))”，那就意味著他還有別的事，再給他一個(gè)小時(shí)時(shí)間吧！

好了，這些是本人親自實(shí)踐思考總結(jié)的，希望能對(duì)已經(jīng)在美國(guó)，或準(zhǔn)備赴美的留學(xué)的朋友有所幫助，相信自己，有時(shí)最好的朋友只不過(guò)是因?yàn)橐淮纹胀ǖ恼勗捳J(rèn)識(shí)的。加油！

第二篇：性格與交往

性格與交往

我很有幸能上到“人與交往”這門(mén)課，能學(xué)習(xí)到趙老師在人際交往中的各種技巧。我想這對(duì)我以后的人生都會(huì)產(chǎn)生深遠(yuǎn)的影響，也能夠讓我更快的走向成功。在這里，我主要想對(duì)“性格與交往”這個(gè)話題談?wù)勛约旱囊恍┛捶ǎ胁粚?duì)的地方還請(qǐng)趙老師指正。

古希臘哲學(xué)家伯拉圖有個(gè)著名的論題“性格即命運(yùn)”。在日常生活中我們也常常說(shuō)“要把握好自己的命運(yùn)”，但如果我們不懂得不了解自己的性格，就很難能夠真正去把握自己的命運(yùn)，正如司機(jī)開(kāi)車(chē)一樣，如果他不了解自己所開(kāi)的車(chē)的特點(diǎn)，就很難駕馭這部車(chē)。另外，在工作和生活中，我們常常接觸各種各樣的人，只有了解每個(gè)人的性格特點(diǎn)，才能更好地與人交往，提高自己的社交能力。因此，解讀自己和他人的性格，對(duì)我們的婚姻、家庭、事業(yè)、生意、工作、子女教育等各方面都非常重要。首先讓我們來(lái)看看人際交往的特點(diǎn)。人際交往是個(gè)體的基本需要，在以競(jìng)爭(zhēng)和合作為重要特征之一的現(xiàn)代社會(huì)，人際關(guān)系交往具有三個(gè)顯著特點(diǎn)：第一，人性化。這在四川汶川地震就表現(xiàn)出來(lái)了。震后，我們的口號(hào)是救人是第一位的，其他都是次要的，這說(shuō)明我們對(duì)人性的肯定。第二，文明化。俗話說(shuō)：男女搭配，干活不累。其實(shí)我認(rèn)為男女搭配，男人受罪。什么原因呢？因?yàn)槿绻斩Y貌、禮儀的話，應(yīng)該女士?jī)?yōu)先。比如說(shuō)，電梯來(lái)了，應(yīng)該是女士先進(jìn)去，出來(lái)時(shí)候應(yīng)該是女士先出來(lái)，這個(gè)規(guī)定在國(guó)外就是我們講的禮儀；還有男女之間談戀愛(ài)，談著談著要吃飯，吃完飯埋單了，你不能說(shuō)女士?jī)?yōu)先，應(yīng)該要男朋友先付；還有上次新聞報(bào)道說(shuō)，塔利班抓了一幫人作為人質(zhì)，男男女女都有，結(jié)果女的一個(gè)沒(méi)死，男的死了好幾個(gè)，那是男士?jī)?yōu)先。所有不好的地方男的優(yōu)先，好的東西那就是女士?jī)?yōu)先。所以，人家都講文明的話，男人才真正最累。因?yàn)槟信g，女人是弱者，男人應(yīng)該尊重女人。這一點(diǎn)做到了，人際關(guān)系就可以得到很大的改善。第三，多元化?，F(xiàn)在的社會(huì)是多元化的，我們要善于寬容人、理解人。例如在T臺(tái)上走貓步，有的女人穿著開(kāi)叉開(kāi)得很高的旗袍。就有人有意見(jiàn)，認(rèn)為太不像話了。其實(shí)這個(gè)人講得就不對(duì)，因?yàn)槲覀兪窃谡故痉b，你不要老注意人家某個(gè)部位就完了。還有人說(shuō)，有人每天早上在那哇啦哇啦唱滬劇太難聽(tīng)了。只要他不在你家門(mén)口唱，在花園里唱，與你何關(guān)呢？所以，多元化的社會(huì)一定要尊重對(duì)方的價(jià)值觀、對(duì)方的生活方式、對(duì)方的文化理念。從心理學(xué)角度來(lái)說(shuō)，就是要善于寬容別人，心胸越大，事業(yè)才能做大，我們的道路才越寬。

人際交往不是單純的知識(shí)信息的交流，而是全面的心靈對(duì)話和人性的融貫過(guò)程，強(qiáng)調(diào)的是尊重個(gè)性、理解差異、求得溝通并協(xié)調(diào)活動(dòng)。

一個(gè)人對(duì)另一個(gè)人的影響不是僅靠語(yǔ)言完成的，而是靠性格完成的。下面是人際交往中的黃金準(zhǔn)則。

（一）人際關(guān)系的沖突多以自我為中心，多站在對(duì)方的角度看問(wèn)題。

（二）聽(tīng)比說(shuō)更重要。

（三）盡可能幫助別人，不圖回報(bào)。

（四）平常心看功利。

（五）給自己和別人都留下人際距離。

（六）有意識(shí)培養(yǎng)增進(jìn)人際吸引的個(gè)性特征。有了以上六點(diǎn)，我們?cè)谝院蟮娜穗H交往中肯定能從容應(yīng)對(duì)了。雖然這些準(zhǔn)則我們每個(gè)人都爛熟于心，但是真正能做到的又有多少人呢？我想，即使能做到其中一半的人也不會(huì)太多?，F(xiàn)在是一個(gè)權(quán)利意識(shí)發(fā)達(dá)的時(shí)代。很多人為滿足自己的欲求，他們會(huì)主張所有對(duì)他們好的權(quán)利，對(duì)于會(huì)損害自己權(quán)益的事，一件也不會(huì)做。

那我們?cè)鯓硬拍芘囵B(yǎng)好的性格呢？第一，要建立自信心，確認(rèn)自己是有價(jià)值的人，而且讓人了解。世間沒(méi)有十全十美的人，有之，也非天生的，而是人為的。第二，培養(yǎng)主動(dòng)真誠(chéng)交往的態(tài)度。在人際交往中，我們往往覺(jué)得別人不關(guān)心自己，或不尊重自己，卻很少反省自身，問(wèn)問(wèn)自己對(duì)別人怎樣。這種單向性思維輕易導(dǎo)致交往中一廂情愿的傾向，并輕易對(duì)挫折做出錯(cuò)誤的歸因。人際交往本質(zhì)上是一個(gè)互動(dòng)的過(guò)程，但許多時(shí)候互動(dòng)鏈的運(yùn)行需要有人激發(fā)。事實(shí)上，許多交際成功的人往往會(huì)主動(dòng)激發(fā)，開(kāi)啟人際互動(dòng)鏈。即他們往往首先向別人發(fā)出友好的信號(hào)，主動(dòng)關(guān)心別人，主動(dòng)幫助別人，主動(dòng)與人打招呼??正像我們前面提到的那樣，“我敬人，人自會(huì)敬我”，他們以此打開(kāi)了人際交往的局面。第三，鍛煉提高人際交往能力技巧。練習(xí)自我表達(dá)的能力，尤其是個(gè)人意見(jiàn)與才能的表達(dá)。學(xué)會(huì)聽(tīng)取別人意見(jiàn)并尊重團(tuán)體決議，先能與人和諧相處，然后才有可能培養(yǎng)出感情。第四，塑造良好的個(gè)人形象，增進(jìn)個(gè)人魅力。社會(huì)交往中，個(gè)體的知識(shí)水平與涵養(yǎng)直接影響著交往的效果，良好的個(gè)人形象應(yīng)從點(diǎn)滴開(kāi)始，從善如流，“勿以善小而不為，勿以惡小而為之”。人與人的交往，是思想、能力與知識(shí)及心理的整體作用，哪一方面的欠缺都會(huì)影響人際關(guān)系的質(zhì)量。有的人在人際交往中存在社交懼怕、膽怯、羞怯、自卑、冷漠、孤獨(dú)、封閉、猜疑、自傲、嫉妒等不良心理，都不易建立良好的人際關(guān)系。心理學(xué)研究表明，初次交往中，良好的社交形象會(huì)給對(duì)方留下深刻的印象，而隨著交往的深入，學(xué)識(shí)更占主導(dǎo)地位。因此我們要注重個(gè)性培養(yǎng)，拓展自己的內(nèi)涵。最后，多參與社會(huì)活動(dòng)，不必希求立即得到回報(bào)。參與活動(dòng)的價(jià)值在于學(xué)習(xí)社會(huì)能力，并借此讓別人認(rèn)識(shí)并了解你。

卡耐基說(shuō)過(guò):“一個(gè)人事業(yè)的成功 , 只有百分之十五是由于他的專(zhuān)業(yè)技術(shù),另外百分之八十五要靠人際關(guān)系和處世的技巧”。培養(yǎng)良好的性格，掌握人際交往技巧對(duì)我們的人生之路有決定意義。從我做起，從小事做起，一起構(gòu)建和諧的人際關(guān)系。

這篇論文本應(yīng)該多反映自己對(duì)于“性格與交往”的看法。然而本人文采有限，知識(shí)淺薄，大多內(nèi)容為拾其牙慧，稍加自己的見(jiàn)解，若有不足，敬請(qǐng)老師見(jiàn)諒。

第三篇：The_American_Character_美國(guó)人的性格

The American Character 美國(guó)人的性格(Bradford Smith 布拉德福德·史密斯)摘自：英語(yǔ)泛讀教程

The following is part of an essay taken from Bradford Smith's book, Why We Behave Like Americans.Success as a goal and materialism, according to Smith, are among the underlying factors that make up the American character.以下節(jié)選自布拉德福德所著《為什么我們的舉止象美國(guó)人》里的一篇文章。據(jù)布拉德福德所說(shuō)，目標(biāo) 為成功和物質(zhì)享樂(lè)主義，構(gòu)成美國(guó)人性格的內(nèi)在因素。

When visitors from abroad undertake to describe the American Character, the results are frequently puzzling to Americans.“All Americans are Puritans;that's what's wrong with them,” says one.“They're always thinking about enjoying themselves,” says another.“They spend too much time at work,” a distinguished visitor tells us.“They don't know how to play.” “Americans don't know what work is, ” retorts another.“ Their machines do it all.” “American women are shameless sirens.” － “No, they're prudes.” “The children here are wonderful － outgoing and natural.” － “Natural as little beasts.They have no manners, no respect for their elders.” 要是讓國(guó)外來(lái)客描述美國(guó)人的性格，結(jié)果常常令美國(guó)人感到奇怪。一個(gè)人說(shuō)：“所有的美國(guó)人都是清教徒；所以他們與眾不同?！绷硪粋€(gè)人說(shuō)：“他們總是想方設(shè)法讓自己開(kāi)心?！币晃蛔鹳F的客人告訴我們：“他們花在工作上的時(shí)間太多。他們不懂如何玩樂(lè)?！绷硪粋€(gè)人反駁說(shuō)：“他們不懂什么是工作。因?yàn)闄C(jī)器替他們做了一切。”“美國(guó)女人是不知廉恥的，妖艷而危險(xiǎn)的女人?！?-“不，她們假正經(jīng)?！薄斑@里的孩子真好－－外向，自然?！?---“象小小的野獸一樣自然。他們沒(méi)禮貌，不尊敬長(zhǎng)輩?！?/p>

There is, of course, no single pattern of American character any more than there is a single English or Turkish or Chinese character.Personality in America is further complicated by our diverse racial and cultural origins, by successive waves of immigration from all parts of the world, by our regional diversities.It is complicated by several hundred varieties of religious belief with their varying impact on the believers.It is further diversified by the generation to which the person belongs － first generation immigrant, second generation child of immigrants, and on down the line.當(dāng)然，世上既沒(méi)有單一模式的美國(guó)人性格，也沒(méi)有單一的英國(guó)人性格或土耳其人性格或是中國(guó)人性格。個(gè)性的定義在美國(guó)變得更為復(fù)雜，因?yàn)槲覀冇胁煌姆N族和文化背景，因?yàn)閬?lái)自世界各地連續(xù)不斷的移民浪潮，因?yàn)槲覀儏^(qū)域的多樣性。個(gè)性的定義變得復(fù)雜，因?yàn)閹装俜N不同的宗教信仰及其對(duì)各自的信奉者的影響不同。個(gè)性的定義也由于每個(gè)人所處的年代不同而趨多樣化 －－第一代是移民，第二代是移民的孩子，一直照此延續(xù)下去。

The temptation is strong to lump all Americans together.Yet those who look a little deeper are puzzled by the seeming contradictions in American life.It is true that Americans as a whole work hard.But they also play hard.They spend more time and money in traveling, camping, hunting, watching sports, drinking, smoking, going to movies, watching television and reading newspapers and magazines than any other people in the world.Yet they also spend more money on churches, social services, hospitals and all kinds of charities.They are always in a hurry, yet they spend more time relaxing.They are at the same time sensitive to the rights of the individual and habitual conformist.They worship 1 bigness yet idealize the little man, whether he be the small business man as opposed to the big one or the plain citizen as opposed to the big wheel.強(qiáng)大的吸引力把眾多的美國(guó)人聚集在了一起。然而那些想再了解深入一點(diǎn)的人弄不懂美國(guó)人生活中各種似乎自相矛盾的東西。的確，美國(guó)人總體上工作努力。但他們也拼命地玩。他們?nèi)ヂ糜?、露營(yíng)、打獵、看體育比賽、喝酒、抽煙、看電影電視、讀報(bào)紙雜志，花的時(shí)間和金錢(qián)比世界任何地方的人都多。而他們還把更多的時(shí)間花在教會(huì)、社會(huì)服務(wù)、醫(yī)院和各種各樣的慈善活動(dòng)上。他們總是忙來(lái)忙去，又總是花更多的時(shí)間休閑。他們十分在乎個(gè)人的權(quán)利，又習(xí)慣于墨守陳規(guī)。他們崇拜大人物，也把小人物理想化，不論他是和大商人形成對(duì)照的小商人，還是和大權(quán)在握的人形成對(duì)照的平民百姓。

Success as a Goal 成功作為目標(biāo)

One thing almost everyone is agreed on, including Americans, is that they place a very high valuation upon success.Success does not necessarily mean material rewards, but recognition of some sort － preferably measurable.If the boy turns out to be a preacher instead of a business man, that's all right.But the bigger his church and congregation, the more successful he is judged to be.包括美國(guó)人在內(nèi)幾乎每一個(gè)人都會(huì)贊同的一點(diǎn)是，美國(guó)人極為看重成功。成功不一定是物質(zhì)上的回報(bào)，而是得到某種認(rèn)可，最好是可以衡量的那種。如果一個(gè)男孩后來(lái)沒(méi)有從商，而是做了布道的教士，那也沒(méi)什么。但是他的教堂規(guī)模越大，教堂會(huì)眾越多，別人就認(rèn)為他越成功。

A good many things contributed to this accent on success.There was the Puritan belief in the virtue of work, both for its own sake and because the rewards it brought were regarded as signs of God's love.There was the richness of opportunity in a land waiting to be settled.There was the lack of a settled society with fixed ranks and classes, so that a man was certain to rise through achievement.好多事情都說(shuō)明，成功是美國(guó)人生活的重點(diǎn)。清教徒相信工作帶來(lái)的好處，既有工作本身的樂(lè)趣，還因?yàn)楣ぷ鞯幕貓?bào)是上帝之愛(ài)的體現(xiàn)。一片富饒的土地到處都是機(jī)遇，等待著人們到來(lái)。在一個(gè)不固守陳規(guī)的社會(huì)，沒(méi)有嚴(yán)格的等級(jí)和階級(jí)，這樣人就一定能通過(guò)成功提升自己的社會(huì)地位。

There was the determination of the immigrant to gain in the new world what had been denied to him in the old, and the part of his children an urge to throw off the immigrant onus by still more success and still more rise in a fluid, classless society.Brothers did not compete within the family for the favor of the parents as in Europe, but strove for success in the outer world, along paths of their own choosing.凡是舊的世界拒絕給的，移民決心都要在新的世界得到。對(duì)于他的后代而言，要擺脫作為移民的負(fù)擔(dān)，只有在一個(gè)靈活自由的無(wú)階級(jí)社會(huì)里取得更多的成功，升至更高的地位。他們的兄弟之間不象歐洲人那樣為獲得父母的歡心而相互 傾軋，他們都在外面的世界 沿著各自選擇的道路為成功而奮力拚搏。

The English anthropologist, Geoffrey Gorer, sees the whole situation in Freudian terms.Europe is the father rejected by every immigrant who turned his back on his own culture in order to make a new life in America.The immigrant's struggle for success never ends, because there is no limit to the possible goal.The second generation child, in turn, rejects the alien parents because they cannot measure up to American standards.The only way he can soften the blow is to achieve a still greater success.All over America the lawyers, 2 doctors, professors and politicians with Italian, Irish, German or Polish names testify to the urgency of this drive.英國(guó)的人類(lèi)學(xué)家杰弗里·戈羅爾用弗羅伊德的說(shuō)法來(lái)解釋這一切。歐洲是被所有的移民拋棄的父親，移民為了在美國(guó)過(guò)上新生活，背離了自己的文化。移民為了要成功從未停止過(guò)奮斗，因?yàn)槟繕?biāo) 的內(nèi)容沒(méi)有限制。同樣，第二代移民拒絕接受移民過(guò)來(lái)的父母，因?yàn)楹笳邿o(wú)法適應(yīng)美國(guó)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。他能減輕壓力的唯一方式，就是取得更大的成功。在整個(gè)美國(guó)，有意大利人、愛(ài)爾蘭人、德國(guó)人或波蘭人名字的律師、醫(yī)生、教授和政治家，都能證明這種成功欲望的強(qiáng)烈。

Not to strive, not to take advantage of the opportunities in such a world, not to succeed where success was so available － these things naturally became a sort of crime against the state.To develop the resources of a new country required energetic people, bent upon using their energies － not only for the rewards that would result to themselves, but even more important, to the community.So material success in the United States is not looked upon as selfish.Its results are seen to have communal value.要是不奮斗，不利用這個(gè)世界的各種機(jī)會(huì)去成功而不能成功---這些無(wú)疑都是對(duì)國(guó)家的一種犯罪。開(kāi)發(fā)一個(gè)新國(guó)家的各種資源，需要精力充沛的人不遺余力地發(fā)揮他們的充沛精力---不僅僅是為了他們會(huì)得到的回報(bào)，更重要的是給社會(huì)帶來(lái)的回報(bào)。所以在美國(guó)，沒(méi)有人把物質(zhì)上的成功看成是自私的。成功的果實(shí)被看作具有全民共享的價(jià)值。

Ford, Carnegie, Rockefeller built great fortunes for themselves.But they also built an economy which has brought a great deal of material well-being, higher health standards and better educational opportunities to millions of Americans.This is how it looks to us, anyway, from inside.福特、卡耐基、洛克菲勒，都為自己創(chuàng)造了極大的財(cái)富。但他們也建立起一種經(jīng)濟(jì)，既可以帶來(lái)許多物質(zhì)上的幸福，更高的健康水平，也可以給上千萬(wàn)的美國(guó)人創(chuàng)造更好地受教育的機(jī)會(huì)。無(wú)論怎樣，這就是成功的內(nèi)涵。

A society which values competition so highly is inevitably an aggressive one, even though the laws carefully limit the forms aggression may take.It has a toughness about it which is good for the muscle tone of the economy but hard on some individuals.In our pioneering days this aggressiveness was essential to survival.Now it can be a menace to society.The factory worker who reaches a dead end and sees himself stuck in the same job year after year may take out his aggressive feelings in race hatred or fighting management, or he may even turn it against himself by way of alcoholism, proneness to accident, or neurotic behavior.一個(gè)如此注重競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的社會(huì)必定是攻擊性的社會(huì)，盡管法律嚴(yán)格限制各種攻擊形式。這種對(duì)攻擊的嚴(yán)格限制對(duì) 完善經(jīng)濟(jì)的肌體有益，但對(duì)某些個(gè)人卻過(guò)于嚴(yán)格。在拓荒時(shí)代，這種攻擊性是生存所必需的，但現(xiàn)在可能是一種對(duì)社會(huì)的威脅。走投無(wú)路、常年被同一工作所困的工人可能會(huì)將這樣的攻擊性用于種族仇恨或反對(duì)管理，或 開(kāi)始酗酒、滋事、神經(jīng)質(zhì)、和自己過(guò)不去。

Since a high regard is felt for success, the rewards are high.Money is rarely cherished for itself in America;it is rather a symbol and a tool.As a man's status rises, the demands upon him also increase.He is expected to give liberally to the hundreds of voluntary associations which nourish and minister to the community.Look at the Who's Who entry for 3 any prominent business man, and you are likely to find him involved in an amazing number of committees and associations organized for the public good.既然高度注重成功，回報(bào)也就很高。在美國(guó)，人們很少看重金錢(qián)本身，它更多的是一種標(biāo)志，一種工具。當(dāng)一個(gè)人的地位提高，人們對(duì)他的要求也相應(yīng)提高。成百上千各種各樣的志愿者協(xié)會(huì)有益于社會(huì)并服務(wù)于社會(huì)，人們期望他能慷慨捐錢(qián)給這些協(xié)會(huì)。你去看看《名人錄》，隨便找一個(gè)知名商人的條目，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)他參加的公益性委員會(huì)和協(xié)會(huì)多得令人吃驚。

This striving for success and prestige, according to psychologists, is a way of overcoming fears and a sense of inner emptiness.In a mobile society an energetic person can hardly help matching himself against others and seeing how far he can go.這種為成功和名望而奮斗的心理，按心理學(xué)家的說(shuō)法，是一種克服恐懼和內(nèi)心空虛感的方式。在一個(gè)時(shí)刻變化著的社會(huì)，一個(gè)有進(jìn)取精神的人難免會(huì)拿自己與別人相比，知道自己能達(dá)到的目標(biāo)是什么。

Such a system is fine for those who have it in them to succeed.It is not so good for the mediocre.The fear of failure, the fear of competitors, the loss of self esteem － these arouse tensions that some people cannot handle.In their turn they produce an excessive craving for love.So love and success are linked.Gorer believes that most Americans by the time they are adolescents have confused two ideas: to be successful is to be loved, and to be loved is to be successful.Mothers help to impose the pattern by showing affection and admiration when their children do well at school and by withholding affection when they fail.這種思維方式對(duì)于那些本來(lái)就這樣想的人是有利的。但對(duì)不求上進(jìn)的人卻沒(méi)什么好處。害怕失敗，害怕競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，喪失自尊---都導(dǎo)致了一些人無(wú)力應(yīng)付的緊張情緒。然后，這種緊張情緒就產(chǎn)生了對(duì)愛(ài)的極度渴望。因此愛(ài)和成功是密不可分的。戈羅爾認(rèn)為，許多美國(guó)人在少年時(shí)期就被兩個(gè)問(wèn)題困擾：成功就是要得到愛(ài)，要得到愛(ài)就要成功。母親們把這個(gè)模式成功地灌輸給孩子：孩子們?cè)趯W(xué)校里表現(xiàn)好，她們就對(duì)他們顯示出無(wú)限的疼愛(ài)和喜愛(ài)；孩子們要是做得不好，她們就拒絕給予關(guān)愛(ài)。

Since there are no limits of class, inherited occupation or education to hold a child back, there are, in theory, no limits to what he can achieve.Consequently there is no point at which he can say: “There, I've done it.From now on all I have to do is to hold on.” Since any boy can, in theory, become President, striving is a moral obligation.Achievement, not class, is the standard by which men are judged.There is little or no glory attached to being born wealthy or privileged;the real test is how far you climb from where you started.既然沒(méi)有階級(jí)限制、世襲職業(yè)或教育來(lái)阻礙孩子的發(fā)展，所以從理論上說(shuō)，他所能取得的成就也沒(méi)有限制。如果他說(shuō)：“哦，我已經(jīng)做到了。從現(xiàn)在起我要做的就是繼續(xù)保持，”這樣的話毫無(wú)意義。因?yàn)?，理論上，任何孩子都可以做總統(tǒng)，奮斗是一種道德上的義務(wù)。評(píng)價(jià)人的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是成功而不是階級(jí)。不論出身豪門(mén)還是出身顯赫，都沒(méi)有什么可炫耀的；真正的考驗(yàn)就是：從你的起點(diǎn)你能爬多高。

Americans love work.It is meat and drink to them.In recent years they have learned how to play, but they make work of that too.If it's skiing, they throw themselves at it with an effort that would kill a horse.If it's a vacation, they travel five or six hundred miles a day, take in the sights at sixty miles an hour, pause only long enough to snap pictures, and then discover what it was they went to see when they get home and look at the photographs.美國(guó)人熱愛(ài)工作。工作就是他們的命根子。近年來(lái)他們已經(jīng)學(xué)會(huì)玩，但是將玩也當(dāng)成了工作。要是去滑 4 雪，他們就在雪地上猛沖，那樣子連馬都會(huì)累死。如果去度假，他們就每天開(kāi)車(chē)五六百公里，以每小時(shí)60英里的速度觀光，沿途只停下來(lái)拍些快照。然后，發(fā)現(xiàn)了自己要看的東西是怎么一回事，就打道回府，回去看照片。

Until very recently there has always been a great deal of work to do in this country, a great deal that needed doing.At the beginning men of all sorts and conditions had to pitch in.The preacher had to fell trees and plough fields.The teacher, the doctor and the magistrate had to shoulder guns for the common defense.The farmer made his own tools, harness, household equipment.He was blacksmith, carpenter, tinsmith, brewer and veterinary all rolled into one, as his wife was spinster, weaver and doctor.直到最近，這個(gè)國(guó)家還總是有許多事要做，還有許多事情必須要做。以前不管什么人都工作得很辛苦。傳教士要伐樹(shù)、犁田。教師、醫(yī)生，還有地方法官得扛著槍當(dāng)民兵。農(nóng)場(chǎng)主自己動(dòng)手做工具、馬鞍和家用器具。他集鐵匠、木匠、白鐵匠、啤酒釀造者和獸醫(yī)于一身。他的妻子既是紡紗工、織布工，又是醫(yī)生。

Americans still like to be handy at all things.College professors go in for making furniture or remodeling an old house in the country.Bankers don aprons and become expert barbecue chefs.Nearly everyone knows how to use tools, make simple repairs to plumbing or electrical fixtures, refinish furniture or paint a wall.Far from being thought a disgrace if he performs these “menial” tasks, a man is thought ridiculous if he does not know how to perform them.美國(guó)人仍然喜歡什么都學(xué)著做。大學(xué)教授喜歡做家具或是改造鄉(xiāng)下的老房子。銀行家穿上圍裙，就成了專(zhuān)業(yè)的燒烤廚師。幾乎每一個(gè)人都懂得使用工具，懂得簡(jiǎn)單的下水道或電力裝置的修理，還會(huì)修家具，刷墻。做這些“粗活”絕不會(huì)讓人認(rèn)為不體面，不會(huì)做才是讓人覺(jué)得不可思議呢。

Along with this urge to be jack-of-all-trades goes a willingness to change from one occupation to another.It surprises no one in America when the banker's son becomes a farmer or vice versa.Or when a college professor shifts into industry, or a young man who starts out with a truck purchased on credit ends up running an enterprise with fleets of trucks spanning several states.President Truman was a farmer, an operator of a haberdashery and an army officer before he turned to law and politics.James Bryant Conant, first a chemist, then President of Harvard University, resigned this highest post in the academic world to become High Commissioner and then Ambassador to Germany.與這種成為萬(wàn)事通愿望并存的是變換職業(yè)的愿望。在美國(guó)，不管是銀行家的兒子當(dāng)了農(nóng)場(chǎng)主還是農(nóng)場(chǎng)主的兒子做了銀行家，都不會(huì)讓人吃驚。更不用說(shuō)大學(xué)教授轉(zhuǎn)行干上了實(shí)業(yè)。一個(gè)年輕人靠一輛貸款買(mǎi)來(lái)的卡車(chē)起家，后來(lái)當(dāng)上了公司的老板，擁有卡車(chē)車(chē)隊(duì)，行駛在好幾個(gè)州。杜魯門(mén)總統(tǒng)經(jīng)營(yíng)過(guò)農(nóng)場(chǎng)，開(kāi)過(guò)男裝店，當(dāng)過(guò)陸軍軍官，后來(lái)才轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)法律和政治。詹姆斯·布萊恩特·克蘭特原先是化學(xué)家，后來(lái)?yè)?dān)任哈佛大學(xué)的校長(zhǎng)，辭去了這個(gè)學(xué)術(shù)界的最高職位后擔(dān)任了高級(jí)公共事務(wù)官員，后被任命為駐德大使。

“For a European,” writes Andre Maurois, “l(fā)ife is a career;for an American, it is a succession of hazards.” 安德魯·莫里斯寫(xiě)道“對(duì)于歐洲人來(lái)說(shuō)，生活是生命的歷程，而對(duì)于美國(guó)人，生活就是一個(gè)接一個(gè)的危險(xiǎn)?！?/p>

A single individual can be at once an intellectual, a Boy Scout leader, a business man, a 5 sportsman, a dabbler in music or painting, a nature-lover, and one who does many of his own household chores.An employer, he may go hunting with his own or someone else's employees.A shopkeeper, he may run for local office and be on familiar terms with professional men and government officials.He will live on several levels which in other countries might be separated by class distinctions.一個(gè)人可以同時(shí)是知識(shí)分子，童子軍首領(lǐng)，商人，運(yùn)動(dòng)健將，音樂(lè)繪畫(huà)的愛(ài)好者，熱愛(ài)大自然的人，做大部分家務(wù)的人。當(dāng)老板的也許會(huì)和自己的或別人的雇員一起打獵。經(jīng)營(yíng)商店的可能會(huì)競(jìng)選當(dāng)?shù)氐恼毼唬煜?zhuān)業(yè)人士和政府官員。他可以同時(shí)位于別的國(guó)家也許會(huì)用等級(jí)的概念來(lái)劃分的不同社會(huì)階層。

The emphasis on success and achievement, coupled as it is with a desire to be loved and admired, leads to a critical dilemma of personality.To succeed one must be aggressive;to be liked, one must be easy-going and friendly.強(qiáng)調(diào)成功和成就，再加上要得到愛(ài)和贊賞的強(qiáng)烈愿望，會(huì)導(dǎo)致個(gè)性發(fā)展的兩難境地：要成功，人就必須好斗；要?jiǎng)e人喜歡自己，人就得寬容、友好。

One way out of the difficulty is to acquire groups of friends － lodge brothers, members of the same church, a veteran's organization － towards whom you are pledged in friendship.Having thus acquired assured friends, you can practice your aggression on those who don't belong.This pattern explains to some extent the suspicion or hostility towards those of other races or religions.走出困境的一個(gè)辦法就是有成群的朋友---會(huì)社支部的會(huì)員，同一教堂的成員，退伍軍人組織---他們一定會(huì)給你友誼。有了這些可以信賴(lài)的朋友，你就可以對(duì)那些不在朋友之列的人表現(xiàn)出你的攻擊力。這種模式也或多或少地解釋了，為什么會(huì)對(duì)其他的種族或教會(huì)的人持懷疑敵視的態(tài)度。

Materialism 物質(zhì)享樂(lè)主義

The men and women who staked everything on America were for the most part poor.They struggled hard, went without, and saved in order to build up a business or buy a farm of their own.The freedom to own rather than the freedom to vote was the magnet that drew the majority of them across oceans.Naturally enough they put a high value upon the land or the business they acquired through their own efforts.把賭注都押在美國(guó)的男男女女絕大多數(shù)是窮人。他們努力掙扎，忍氣吞聲，努力存錢(qián)，目的就是做點(diǎn)買(mǎi)賣(mài)，買(mǎi)個(gè)屬于自己的農(nóng)場(chǎng)。像磁鐵一般吸引著他們大多數(shù)人遠(yuǎn)涉重洋的，是擁有財(cái)產(chǎn)的自由而不是投票的自由。所以他們很看重靠自己的努力得來(lái)的土地和做的買(mǎi)賣(mài)。

In contrast with this natural acquisitiveness of the new arrivals, the American attitude toward money is quite different.As the German psychologist Hugo Munsterberg observed, the American “prizes the gold he gets primarily as an indication of his ability....It is, therefore, fundamentally false to stigmatize the American as a materialist, and to deny his idealism....The American merchant works for money in exactly the sense that a great painter works for money －” as a mark of appreciation for his work.和初來(lái)者自然的獲取思想相比，美國(guó)人對(duì)錢(qián)的態(tài)度是很不一樣的。就象德國(guó)心理學(xué)家休格·愛(ài)斯特伯格所指出的，美國(guó)人“很看重他挖到的金子，主要是因?yàn)榻鹱邮撬哪芰Φ捏w現(xiàn)……因此把美國(guó)人定義為物質(zhì)享樂(lè)主義者而否認(rèn)他的理想主義，從根本上就是錯(cuò)誤的……美國(guó)的商人為錢(qián)工作，偉大的畫(huà)家為錢(qián)繪 6 畫(huà)，意義是完全一樣的——”，都是是對(duì)自己的工作欣賞的標(biāo)志。

The acquisition of money is important as the clearest proof of success, though there are other acceptable proofs － prominence, public notice, good works, fame.But the retention of money is not important at all.Indeed, it may be frowned upon if it keeps the owner from living well, subscribing generously to a long list of charities, and providing for members of the family who may have been less fortunate.獲得金錢(qián)是重要的，因?yàn)殄X(qián)最能證明成功。當(dāng)然還有人們可以接受的其他的證明---卓越，公眾矚目，工作優(yōu)秀，名聲，等等。但是存錢(qián)并不重要。事實(shí)上，錢(qián)的主人留著錢(qián)，不過(guò)好日子，不慷慨地捐款給大串的慈善機(jī)構(gòu)，不接濟(jì)家里沒(méi)錢(qián)的人，人們也會(huì)不喜歡。

So the materialism that strikes a visitor to America is not that of loving and hoarding wealth;it is a love of making and consuming wealth.It is probably a middle-class rather than a distinctively American phenomenon, for most Americans are middle-class.所以，到美國(guó)的人感到震驚的不是物質(zhì)享樂(lè)主義的愛(ài)財(cái)和守財(cái)，而是美國(guó)人的既喜歡賺錢(qián)又喜歡花錢(qián)。這可能不是美國(guó)人特有的性格，而是中產(chǎn)階級(jí)才有的現(xiàn)象，因?yàn)榇蠖鄶?shù)美國(guó)人都是中產(chǎn)階級(jí)。

America has been blessed with a rich supply of raw materials.It learned during the depression that even a rich country can become impoverished if it fails to use its wealth to benefit the majority.And it does not propose to make that error again.A sizable portion of what it produces goes overseas, including agricultural and industrial machinery sent with the hope that standards of production and consumption can be raised in other parts of the world too.上天賦予美國(guó)豐富的自然資源。但在大蕭條時(shí)期美國(guó)人懂得了，如果一個(gè)國(guó)家不把財(cái)富造福社會(huì)，再富有也會(huì)遭受貧困。它再也不會(huì)重蹈覆轍。美國(guó)生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品相當(dāng)一部分到了國(guó)外，其中有工農(nóng)業(yè)用的機(jī)械設(shè)備，就是希望世界其他地方的生產(chǎn)水平和消費(fèi)水平能得到提高。

There is no denying the fact that the high level of production does lead to a high level of material comfort, and that Americans are mighty fond of having things that are new, shine, softly padded, conveniently arranged, efficient, and so far as may be, effortless.The bread comes already sliced so that the housewife need not exert herself to slice it.It used to be that when she put the bread in the toaster, she had to turn it once to toast both sides.Then came the toaster which did both sides at once, then the toaster which popped the toast out when it was done, so that she did not have to turn a handle to raise it.Soon, no doubt, there will be a toaster which butters the toast, cuts it in quarters, and puts it on a plate.Perhaps there is one even now.無(wú)法否認(rèn)這樣一個(gè)事實(shí)：高水平的生產(chǎn)一定會(huì)帶來(lái)高水平的物質(zhì)享受，所以美國(guó)人非常喜歡把東西做得新穎、光亮，有柔軟的襯墊，使用 起來(lái)方便，這樣就可以不費(fèi)氣力。買(mǎi)回來(lái)的面包已經(jīng)切好片，主婦就省得再切。以前她把面包放進(jìn)烤面包機(jī)，還要翻轉(zhuǎn)一次面包，才能烤另一面。于是就有了可以同時(shí)烤兩面的烤面包機(jī)，烤完了還會(huì)把烤的面包送出來(lái)。所以她不必轉(zhuǎn)手柄就能拿到烤面包。過(guò)不久，肯定會(huì)有更新的烤面包機(jī)，可以把烤面包涂上黃油，切成四分之一塊，然后放到盤(pán)子上。說(shuō)不定現(xiàn)在就已經(jīng)有這樣的烤面包機(jī)了。

Food comes ready-cooked and frozen, vegetables already washed.Floor wax must be 7 self-polishing, pens write for years without having to be filled.Storm windows change to summer screens at a touch.Heat is thoroughly automatic, and air conditioning keeps the house equally comfortable in summer.Automation now promises to put a final end to all drudgery, even to building in the controls which will keep the machines from making mistakes.食物買(mǎi)的時(shí)候是煮熟的、冰凍的，蔬菜是已經(jīng)洗干凈的。地板蠟肯定是自動(dòng)上光的，鋼筆寫(xiě)上幾年都不用上墨水。輕輕一按，防暴風(fēng)雪的窗子就變成了夏天的屏幕。暖氣是自動(dòng)的，冷氣使房子即使在夏天也一樣舒適。自動(dòng)化現(xiàn)在可以讓人再也不用做單調(diào)乏味的工作，自動(dòng)裝置用在控制器中，機(jī)器再也不會(huì)出錯(cuò)。

Why is it that, having created a world in which he could live without raising a hand or taking a step, the American habitually seeks ways of letting off steam? His towns are full of bowling alleys, golf clubs, tennis courts, clubs, lodges, churches and associations into which he pours energy both physical and mental.The labor-saving gadgets, the love of comfort turn out to be ways of saving his time and energy for something else.美國(guó)人創(chuàng)造了一個(gè)不用舉手投足就能過(guò)得舒舒服服的世界，為什么還是習(xí)慣于用各種方式放松自己呢？他們住的地方到處都是保齡球館，高爾夫俱樂(lè)部，網(wǎng)球場(chǎng)，俱樂(lè)部，房子，教堂，以及各種可以讓他們?nèi)硇耐度氲膮f(xié)會(huì)。他們制造省時(shí)省力的小器具，喜歡舒適，就是為了節(jié)約時(shí)間和精力做其他的事情。

(2476 words)The Influence of the Frontier 邊疆的影響

The special quality of American culture arises from what the American land and climate did to men who brought with them the glories and the burdens of European culture.Released from the feudal restraints which still clung to ownership even in the seventeenth century, they were driven by long hunger to possess land of their own.The hazards of settling that land － taking it from the Indian by treaty or battle, struggling through trackless forests to find it, hewing out homes and raising crops with nothing but a few simple tools, dying sometimes in battle or from weather or hunger － these hazards quickly changed into Americans the Europeans who survived.It was struggle that shaped the American spirit.美國(guó)文化的特殊性質(zhì)來(lái)自美國(guó)的土地和氣候?qū)θ说挠绊懀@些人帶到美國(guó)的，既有歐洲文化輝煌 的一面和也有其落后的一面。從十七世紀(jì)封建所有制桎梏中解脫出來(lái)后，他們渴望擁有自己的土地。他們要得到那片夢(mèng)想的土地就要冒各種各樣的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)--通過(guò)協(xié)商或戰(zhàn)斗的方式從印地安人那里得到土地；或者跋涉人跡罕至的森林找到土地；用簡(jiǎn)陋的工具砍樹(shù)蓋房開(kāi)荒種地；有時(shí)會(huì)死在戰(zhàn)斗中，有時(shí)死于天災(zāi)或饑餓---這些危險(xiǎn)很快地把活下來(lái)的歐洲人改變成美國(guó)人。正是努力拚搏造就了美國(guó)精神。

The frontier experience, so strong in its impact, so harsh a teacher, brought new traits to the fore.The hard conditions of the daily life made for crudeness in manners.The competition for favorable land(or later for gold), the need to kill in order to stay alive, the absence of law and order made men touch, brutal sometimes, and quick to resort to brute strength.This violence has continued in such aspects of our life as gangsterism, race riots, corrupt politics, union racketeering and the violent political attack.邊疆的經(jīng)驗(yàn)影響很大，象一位非常嚴(yán)厲的教師，突出了一些新的特點(diǎn)。日常生活的艱苦使人的態(tài)度也粗 魯起來(lái)。而他們?yōu)榱艘粔K好土地爭(zhēng)得你死我活（后來(lái)爭(zhēng)的是金子），必須殺人才能活下來(lái)，沒(méi)有法律和秩序，人變得粗暴殘忍，動(dòng)不動(dòng)就使用暴力。這種暴力還繼續(xù)存在于我們生活中的各個(gè)方面，比如盜匪、種族騷亂、政治腐敗、有組織的敲詐勒索、暴力性政治攻擊。

Hard as the life was, it also offered great riches, sometimes for a small return.Hence the “get rich quick” philosophy － the belief that hard work and a little luck would turn all things into gold.Traders got rich furs from the Indians for mere trinkets.Out of the earth came gold, silver, oil －other than the shower of gold Zeus rained down upon Danae.Then came the robber barons to make vast fortunes by manipulating railroads, and finally the gambling in stocks which affected everyone until the Wall Street collapse in 1929.盡管生活曾如此艱難，還是提供了大量的財(cái)富，有時(shí)只要付出很少的代價(jià)。于是有了“快速致富”的人生哲學(xué)---相信努力工作加上一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)運(yùn)氣就能把一切都變成金子。做買(mǎi)賣(mài)的人用廉價(jià)的小首飾從印地安人那兒買(mǎi)到了值錢(qián)的毛皮。地里可以挖出金子，銀子，石油---而不是宙斯在達(dá)那厄下的金雨。搶劫頭目靠著操縱鐵路發(fā)了橫財(cái)，再有就是在股票上的賭博，影響了所有的人，直到1929年華爾街股市崩潰。

But the frontier fostered positive traits too.It encouraged energetic activity and dignified labor with the hands.It made of the independent, self-reliant farmer a symbol which still influences our national life.It produced a resourceful, inquisitive, practical-minded type, able to turn his hand to any sort of work, preferring to govern himself in small, easily adaptable to a new environment, relatively free of class distinctions, full of optimism and faith in the country which had rewarded him so well.但是邊疆也培養(yǎng)了好的品質(zhì)。它鼓勵(lì)積極行動(dòng)，尊重用雙手勞動(dòng)。它使獨(dú)立自主、自力更生的農(nóng)場(chǎng)主成為一個(gè)象征，至今仍影響著我們國(guó)家的生活。它造就了隨機(jī)應(yīng)變、愛(ài)鉆研、想法實(shí)際的性格，能做任何工作，喜歡從小事做起，容易適應(yīng)新的環(huán)境，相對(duì)不受階級(jí)劃分的影響，對(duì)讓他得到好的回報(bào)的國(guó)家充滿樂(lè)觀主義和信心。

All these traits live on, one way or another, in the contemporary American.The frontier has not disappeared with the spanning of the continent, or the end of homesteading.As a matter of fact, the government still has lands for homesteading which it disposes of at the rate of forty thousand to fifty thousand acres a year.More important, the pioneer spirit is deeply embedded in the American's concept of himself.所有這些品質(zhì)還以這樣或那樣的形式存在于當(dāng)代美國(guó)人身上。邊疆沒(méi)有隨著大陸的聯(lián)合或自耕農(nóng)場(chǎng)的消失而消失。實(shí)際上，政府仍有土地用于自耕農(nóng)場(chǎng)，每年大約賣(mài)掉四五萬(wàn)英畝。更為重要的是，開(kāi)拓精神已經(jīng)深深地根植于美國(guó)人的自我概念中。

The American Creed 美國(guó)人的信條

What then are the ideas or beliefs that shape American character? 那么是什么樣的思想或信念塑造了美國(guó)人的性格呢？

Says George Satayana: “This national faith and morality are vague in idea, but inexorable in spirit;they are the gospel of work and the belief in progress.” 喬治·沙塔亞納說(shuō)：“民族的信仰和道德在觀念上是含糊的，但在精神上有不可阻擋的力量；它們是工作的原則，是對(duì)進(jìn)步的信念?！?/p>

Clyde Kluckhohn finds implicit in the American creed a faith in the rational, a need for moralistic rationalization, an optimistic conviction that rational effort counts, faith in the individual and his rights, the cult of the common man(not only as to his rights, but as to his massed political wisdom), the high valuation put on change and progress, and on pleasure consciously pursued as a good.克萊德·克魯克恩認(rèn)為，美國(guó)人的信條中含有堅(jiān)信理性，對(duì)道德合理化的需要，對(duì)理 性的努力重要這一點(diǎn)抱樂(lè)觀態(tài)度和深信不疑，堅(jiān)信個(gè)人及其權(quán)利，崇拜普通人（不僅崇拜他的權(quán)利，也崇拜他積累的政治智慧），高度評(píng)價(jià)改革和進(jìn)步，有意識(shí)地把善作為一種快樂(lè)來(lái)追求。

Equally strong is the American's faith in his institutions.The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution lay down the fundamental principles of self-government with such clarity and finality that we are prone to regard them as an American invention, or at any rate as principles and rights which are peculiarly ours.These hallowed documents provide us with basic principles which, thanks to their deistic background, are presented as coeval with creation and incapable of being questioned or upset.Therefore we do not have to agonize over basic principles;they are given us, once for all.同樣，美國(guó)人篤信自己的制度?！丢?dú)立宣言》和《憲法》用明確和結(jié)論式的語(yǔ)言記載下自治政府的基本原則，所以我們就很容易把它們當(dāng)成是美國(guó)人的發(fā)明，至少是 看成我們獨(dú)有的原則和權(quán)利。這些被視為神圣的文獻(xiàn)能給我們提供基本的原則，由于它們的自然神論的背景，所以人們認(rèn)為它們和創(chuàng)造性處于同一時(shí)代，不會(huì)受到質(zhì)疑，也不會(huì)被推翻。因此我們無(wú)需為基本原則感到痛苦；這些原則 被賜給我們，能伴我們到永遠(yuǎn)。

The lack of reflectiveness which observers find in us arises partly from this conviction that our goals are set and do not need to be debated;we have only to work hard in order to reach them.To create, to build － to clear a new field, sink a new mine, start a new civic organization, develop a new business － this is what Americans admire.This is what they dream of.Like all creators, they are suspicious of critics.觀察者們發(fā)現(xiàn)，我們?nèi)狈λ伎迹@部分原因是認(rèn)為我們的目標(biāo)是既定的，無(wú)須再討論；我們只要努力達(dá)到目標(biāo)即可。創(chuàng)造，建設(shè)---開(kāi)辟一個(gè)新領(lǐng)域，挖掘新礦，建立新的市民組織，發(fā)展一項(xiàng)新的事業(yè)---這才是美國(guó)人崇拜的。也是他們夢(mèng)寐以求的。與所有的創(chuàng)造者一樣，他們不信任批評(píng)家。

For this reason, and because they are active participants rather than passive observers, they feel obliged to defend the country against any outside censures, no matter how bitterly they attack its shortcomings themselves.De Tocqueville, much as he admired the United States, found this patriotism irritating.If you stop praising them, he complains, the Americans fall to praising themselves.What he observed, of course, was part of the love and be loved pattern which in spite of its naivete has obvious advantages over the hate and be hated regimen which has determined so much of human history.基于這個(gè)原因，也因?yàn)樗麄兪欠e極的參與者而不是消極的觀察家，他們覺(jué)得有義務(wù)使國(guó)家不受外界責(zé)難，盡管他們自己抨擊起國(guó)家毫不留情。德托奎葉爾雖然十分崇拜美國(guó)，但覺(jué)得美國(guó)人的愛(ài)國(guó)主義讓人難以忍受。他抱怨說(shuō)，如果你停止對(duì)他們的贊美，美國(guó)人就會(huì)自己夸自己。他所看到的當(dāng)然就是愛(ài)與被愛(ài)模式的部分表現(xiàn)，雖然這個(gè)模式缺乏智慧，但比對(duì)人類(lèi)歷史產(chǎn)生重大影響的恨與被恨的制度有顯而易見(jiàn)的長(zhǎng)處。

Humor 幽默

The sense of humor is often the most revealing aspect of a culture.Surely humor has never been valued more highly in any civilization than in this one.Will Rogers is venerated as a national hero for his pungent, earthy comment on the American scene － for his gift of making Americans see what is ridiculous in themselves.Mark Twain, in many ways our most representative writer, is admired not so much because of his skill at picturing American life as for his humor.It is part of the optimism of our outlook that we prefer comedy to tragedy, and that the funny men get top billing and top salaries on television.幽默感常常最能體現(xiàn)一種文化真正的一面。無(wú)疑，幽默從來(lái)沒(méi)有象在美國(guó)文化中這樣重要。維爾·羅杰斯被尊為民族英雄就是因?yàn)樗杂哪姆绞綄?duì)美國(guó)社會(huì)生活尖銳而且樸實(shí)的批評(píng)---因?yàn)樗奶觳庞哪屆绹?guó)人看到了自己的荒唐可笑之處。馬克·吐溫，從各個(gè)方面來(lái)說(shuō)都是最能代表美國(guó)的作家，人們欽佩他善于描繪美國(guó)人生活的技巧，但更佩服他的幽默。我們喜歡喜劇甚于悲劇，搞笑演員上演節(jié)目最多，在電視臺(tái)的工資最高，這能部分地說(shuō)明我們的樂(lè)觀的處世態(tài)度。

Humor is the great reliever of tension, the counterbalance to the dash and roar of our fastpaced industrialized life with its whirring machines, traffic snarls and frayed tempers.Humor shows these very things to us in such a way that we can laugh about them.幽默能很好地消除緊張，調(diào)節(jié)我們繁忙的工業(yè)化生活的快節(jié)奏。這種工業(yè)化的生活中，機(jī)器飛轉(zhuǎn)，車(chē)輛轟鳴，人心浮躁。幽默讓我們以笑的方式看待生活中這些不開(kāi)心的事。

Nothing is too sacred for the comic transformation;in fact, the more sacred the topic, the stronger the impact.Jokes about the minister are legion.Says the parishioner to the minister who explains that while shaving he was thinking about his sermon and cut his chin: “You should have been thinking about you chin and cut the sermon.” 沒(méi)有什么東西過(guò)于神圣，因而不能改編成喜??；實(shí)際上，越是神圣的話題，給人的影響也越大。關(guān)于牧師的笑話數(shù)不勝數(shù)。牧師說(shuō)刮胡子的時(shí)候他想著布道所以劃破了下巴，于是教區(qū)的居民說(shuō)：“你應(yīng)該想著自己的下巴，劃掉布道辭?！?/p>

That tensions exist in the home life, however, the humorist loves to point out.No joke has the changes rung on it more frequently than that of the woman driver who is usually pictured sitting in the midst of a wrecked car.(“Didn't you see me signal that I'd changed my mind?”)Men probably wreck far more cars than women, but it satisfies the male ego to think that women have not yet mastered the machine.家庭生活中存在的矛盾，幽默者最喜歡指出這些。最違背常理的笑話，是一位女司機(jī)坐在一輛撞得一塌糊涂的汽車(chē)?yán)?。（“難道你沒(méi)看見(jiàn)我發(fā)信號(hào) 表示我已經(jīng)改變主意了嗎？”）男人可能撞壞的汽車(chē)比女人撞壞得多得多，但是想到女人連車(chē)都不會(huì)開(kāi)，就能滿足男性的自尊。

The shop which advertised that it would “Oil sewing machines and adjust tension in the home for $1” had already relieved the tension through humor once the unintentional double-entendre was recognized.商店的廣告上寫(xiě)“縫紉機(jī)上油，調(diào)節(jié)家中的緊張氣氛，收費(fèi)一美元”，一旦看出廣告中 不經(jīng)意中造成的雙關(guān)語(yǔ)，這個(gè)商店已經(jīng)用幽默緩解了緊張。

A popular variant of the dominant female is the mother-in-law.Year after year the jokes about her continue － evidence not so much of any serious tension as of the Freudian implications －projection of marital friction onto an associated but less immediate object, seeing in the wife's mother the inevitable approach of the mate's old age and hence one's own.悍婦的一種流行變體是丈母娘。年復(fù)一年，關(guān)于她的笑話層出不窮——與其說(shuō)是證明有什么矛盾，不如說(shuō)是證明弗洛伊德的觀點(diǎn)——婚姻矛盾在相關(guān)的但不那么直接的對(duì)象上的反映，在妻子的母親身上看到了配偶以及自身老年的到來(lái)的不可避免。

Humor reveals our attitude toward children － our love of their innocently wise comments on life, our delight in the evidences they give of being fully formed individuals with rights and spunk of their own, even to the point of talking back to their parents.(Says the little girl at the table, urged by her mother to eat up her broccol: “I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it.”)幽默顯示我們對(duì)孩子的態(tài)度——我們喜歡他們對(duì)生活天真睿智的評(píng)價(jià)，我們喜歡他們是全面發(fā)展的個(gè)體，有自己的權(quán)利意識(shí)和勇氣，甚至能反駁自己的父母。（小女孩坐在飯桌邊，媽媽強(qiáng)迫她吃完花椰菜，她說(shuō)：“我說(shuō)它是菠菜，我恨死它了。”）

Can psychiatry help to overcome the frustrations of life? “There's nothing wrong with the average person that a good psychiatrist can't exaggerate,” said the comedian, thus confirming our suspicions and making it a little easier for us to put up with ourselves.精神療法能有助于克服生活中不稱(chēng)心的事嗎？“普通人的一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)小問(wèn)題到了負(fù)責(zé)任的精神病醫(yī)生那里，就被夸大?！被輪T說(shuō)的話證實(shí)了我們的懷疑，使我們寬容自己容易了一些。

The thirst for humor drives advertisers to resort to it, in the hope of catching an audience long since jaded by all the other appeals.“You die － we do the rest,” an undertaker advertises.What welcome relief from the usual unctuousness of his kind!

人們渴望幽默，促使廣告商利用這一點(diǎn)，以期長(zhǎng)時(shí)間吸引觀眾，而對(duì)其他廣告都不感興趣?！澳闳ニ馈Ｏ碌慕唤o我們”，是殯儀館的廣告。平常這類(lèi)廣告虛情假意，現(xiàn)在多么受人歡迎，令人輕松！

American humor, in short, confirms the importance of mating and the family, the high status of women and children, the pace and tension of life, and above all the love of humor itself as an approach to life more to be prized than riches, a gift to be cherished and applauded.The minister uses it in his sermons, the doctor in his healing, the lawyer in his pleading, the teacher in his teaching.About the worst thing we can say of a man is that he has no sense of humor.For humor is regarded as an essential part of “the American way.” 總之，美國(guó)人的幽默強(qiáng)調(diào)婚姻和家庭的重要性，婦女兒童的地位，生活的節(jié)奏和緊張，并且首要的是強(qiáng)調(diào)熱愛(ài)幽默本身，將其看成一種生活態(tài)度，比財(cái)富更珍貴；看成一種天賦，值得珍視和為之喝彩。牧師布道，醫(yī)生治病，律師辯護(hù)，教師講課，都離不開(kāi)幽默。我們對(duì)一個(gè)人最差的評(píng)語(yǔ)，就是他沒(méi)有幽默感。因?yàn)橛哪徽J(rèn)為“美國(guó)方式”最重要的方面。

It helps to equalize, and we believe in equality.It is often a symbol of freedom, for it permits the common man to speak freely of his leaders;it helps him cut them down to size.It deflates stuffed shirts.It allows us to look at ourselves in perspective, for when we laugh 12 at ourselves we have surmounted our shortcomings.And in a land where new contacts are always being made, humor provides a quickly available emotional unity － not subtle or regional but universal, one which lets us feel immediately at home anywhere.It is the grammar of confidence, the rhetoric of optimism, the music of brotherhood.幽默可以讓大家平等，而我們相信平等。幽默常常是自由的象征，因?yàn)樗梢允估习傩諢o(wú)所顧忌 地跟領(lǐng)導(dǎo)說(shuō)話；幽默使他能把領(lǐng)導(dǎo)降低到與自己平等的地位。幽默讓自命不凡的人無(wú)地自容。幽默讓我們能透視自己，因?yàn)樽猿熬褪强朔约旱娜秉c(diǎn)。我們總是要和新人打交道，幽默就提供了快速有效的情感上的和諧——不是微妙的，也不是地域性的，而是普遍的，讓我們很快在任何地方都無(wú)拘無(wú)束。幽默是自信的法則，是樂(lè)觀主義的修辭，是友誼的音樂(lè)。

What is an American? 美國(guó)人是什么？

“I can't make you out,” Henry James has Mrs.Tristram say to the American, “whether you are very simple or very deep.” This is a dilemma which has often confronted Europeans.Usually they conclude that Americans are childish.But one cannot accurately call one society mature, another immature.Each has its own logic.亨利·詹姆斯讓特里斯瑞姆太太對(duì)美國(guó)人說(shuō)，“我真搞不懂你，是太幼稚還是太深沉。”這是歐洲人經(jīng)常碰到的難題。通常他們的結(jié)論就是美國(guó)人很孩子氣?？墒菦](méi)人能說(shuō)準(zhǔn)確地說(shuō)一個(gè)社會(huì)成熟，另一個(gè)社會(huì)不成熟。每一個(gè)社會(huì)都有自己的邏輯。

What is it then that makes Americans recognizable wherever they go? It is not, we hope, the noisy, boasting, critical, money-scattering impression made by one class of tourists.The only thing to be said in their defense is that, released from the social restraints which would make them act very differently at home, they are bent on making the most of this freedom.那么是什么東西使得美國(guó)人無(wú)論走到哪里都能被人認(rèn)出來(lái)呢？我們希望，不是一種美國(guó)游客給人留下的印象，吵吵嚷嚷，自吹自擂，挑三 拈四，揮金如土。唯一可以為他們開(kāi)脫的說(shuō)法是：一旦脫離了使他們?cè)趪?guó)內(nèi)以非常不同的方式行事的種種社會(huì)約束，他們就下定決心充分享受這種自由。

Americans carry with them an appearance which is more a result of attitude than of clothing.This attitude combines a lack of class consciousness, a somewhat jaunty optimism and an inquisitiveness which in combination look to the European like naivete.Also a liking for facts and figures, an alertness more muscular and ocular than intellectual, and above all a desire to be friendly.(Let us, for the moment, leave out of the picture such stigmata as gum chewing, too much smoking, and an urge to compare everything with Kansas City or Keokuk.)

美國(guó)人有一種外觀，與其說(shuō)是衣著的結(jié)果，不如說(shuō)是態(tài)度的結(jié)果。這種態(tài)度中，有對(duì)階級(jí)的不屑，有洋洋得意的樂(lè)觀主義，還有一種求知欲，加在一起就被歐洲人認(rèn)為是幼稚淺薄的人。還有，他們喜歡用事實(shí)和數(shù)字說(shuō)話，雖然身手敏捷，但頭腦相對(duì)遲鈍，最重要的是他們喜歡結(jié)交朋友。（讓我們暫時(shí)不去想他們嚼口香糖，抽香煙太多的樣子，還有他們總是把每一樣?xùn)|西都和美國(guó)的堪薩斯城比一比的欲望。）

To boil it down to the briefest summary, American characteristics are the product of response to an unusually competitive situation combined with unusual opportunity.歸根結(jié)底，最簡(jiǎn)潔地說(shuō)，美國(guó)人的性格，就是對(duì)具有非常機(jī)遇的非常競(jìng)爭(zhēng)環(huán)境作出反應(yīng)的結(jié)果。

Americans are a peculiar people.They work like mad, then give away much of what they earn.They play until they are exhausted, and call this a vacation.They live to think of themselves as tough-minded business men, yet they are push-overs for any hard luck story.They have the biggest of nearly everything including government, motor cars and debts, yet they are afraid of bigness.They are always trying to chip away at big government, big business, big unions, big influence.They like to think of themselves as little people, average men, and they would like to cut everything down to their own size.Yet they boast of their tall buildings, high mountains, long rivers, big state, the best country, the best world, the best heaven.They also have the most traffic deaths, the most waste, the most racketeering.美國(guó)人是一個(gè)與眾不同的民族。他們拼命地工作，然后花掉了大量辛苦賺來(lái)的錢(qián)。他們玩得筋疲力盡，并稱(chēng)之為度假。他們向來(lái)把自己想成硬心腸的商人，可是任何不幸的故事都會(huì)使他們受騙。幾乎所有最大的東西他們都有 ：政府，汽車(chē)和債務(wù)，可他們害怕龐大。所以他們總是要想辦法除去大的政府，大的買(mǎi)賣(mài)，大的團(tuán)體，大的影響力。他們?cè)敢獍炎约嚎闯墒切∪宋?，平平常常的人，喜歡一切都是平等的。他們吹噓自己的高樓大廈，高山，大河，吹噓自己是大國(guó)，是最好的國(guó)家，是最好的世界，最好的天堂。同時(shí)，他們的車(chē)禍最多，浪費(fèi)最多，騙子也最多。

When they meet, they are always telling each other, “Take it easy,” then they rush off like crazy in opposite directions.They play games as if they were fighting a war, and fight wars as if playing a game.They marry more, go broke more often, and make more money than any other people.They love children, animals, gadgets, mother, work, excitement, noise, nature, television shows, comedy, installment buying, fast motion, spectator sports, the underdog, the flag, Christmas, jazz, shapely women and muscular men, classical recordings, crowds, comics, cigarettes, warm houses in winter and cool ones in summer, thick beefsteaks, coffee, ice cream, informal dress, plenty of running water, do-it-yourself, and a working week trimmed to forty hours or less.美國(guó)人一見(jiàn)面就對(duì)彼此說(shuō)：“放輕松點(diǎn)，”然后就向相反的方向狂奔。他們做游戲象打仗一樣，打起仗來(lái)象做游戲。跟任何人相比，他們結(jié)婚次數(shù)更多，離婚的頻率更高，賺的錢(qián)更多。他們愛(ài)孩子，愛(ài)動(dòng)物，愛(ài)小玩藝，愛(ài)母親，愛(ài)工作，愛(ài)激動(dòng)，愛(ài)吵吵嚷嚷，愛(ài)大自然，愛(ài)看電視節(jié)目，愛(ài)看喜劇，買(mǎi)東西喜歡分期付款，喜歡快節(jié)奏，愛(ài)買(mǎi)票看體育比賽，同情弱者，熱愛(ài)國(guó)旗，愛(ài)過(guò)圣誕節(jié)，聽(tīng)爵士樂(lè)，愛(ài)看身材好的女子和肌肉發(fā)達(dá)的男人，愛(ài)收藏經(jīng)典唱片，愛(ài)湊熱鬧，看連環(huán)畫(huà)，抽煙，喜歡房子冬暖夏涼，愛(ài)吃切得厚厚的牛排，愛(ài)喝咖啡，吃冰淇淋，穿著隨便，喜歡自來(lái)水一直淌著，一切自己動(dòng)手，一周工作時(shí)間限制在40小時(shí)以?xún)?nèi)。

They crowd their highways with cars while complaining about the traffic, flock to movies and television while griping about the quality and the commercials, go to church but don't care much for sermons, and drink too much in the hope of relaxing － only to find themselves stimulated to even bigger dreams.他們一邊抱怨交通擁擠，一邊把車(chē)都擠到高速公路上；一邊抱怨影視質(zhì)量不好，商業(yè)化氣息太濃，卻成群結(jié)隊(duì)地去看電影電視；常去教堂卻不大關(guān)心布道，酒喝得太多，為的是要放松——結(jié)果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)酒精使他們更想入非非。

There is of course, no typical American.But if you added them all together and then divided 14 by 226 000 000 they would look something like what this chapter has tried to portray.當(dāng)然沒(méi)有典型的美國(guó)人。但是如果你把他們加在一起，然后用226 000 000來(lái)除，他們的樣子就象這一章要描述的。

(1816 words)

Information Related to the Text

1)Culture notes:

1)Materialism: It is a general view about what actually exists.Put bluntly, the view is just this: Everything that actually exists is material, or physical.Many philosophers and scientists now use the terms `material' and `physical' interchangeably.Characterized in this way, as a doctrine about what exists, materialism is an ontological, or a metaphysical view;it is not just an epistemological view about how we know or just a semantic view about the meaning of terms.2)Puritan: It was the name given in the 16th century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the doctrines and structure of the church;they wanted to purify their national church by eliminating every shred of Catholic influence.In the 17th century many Puritans emigrated to the New World, where they sought to found a holy Commonwealth in New England.Puritanism remained the dominant cultural force in that area into the 19th century.Most of American puritans held ideas in the mainstream of Calvinistic thought.In addition to believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total depravity of man, and the complete dependence of human beings on divine grace for salvation, they stressed the importance of personal religious experience.During the whole colonial period Puritanism had direct impact on both religious thought and cultural patterns in America.In the 19th century its influence was indirect, but it can still be seen at work stressing the importance of education in religious leadership and demanding that religious motivations be tested by applying them to practical situations.3)Boy Scout of America(BSA): It was incorporated on February 8, 1910, and charted by Congress in 1916.Its purpose is to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal fitness.15 4)Sigmund Freud:(1856-1939), The inventor of modern psychology and psychoanalysis, changed the way we all think about ourselves, our language, and our culture.Drawing upon both nineteenth-century science and nineteenth-century Romanticism, Freud created a description of the mind that emphasizes the major role played by unconscious drives, particularly those of sexuality.His theories, which struck many contemporaries as sordid and threatening, represents the most recent democratization or leveling of the old hierarchical conception of mind.5)Andre Maurois: Biographer, novelist, essayist, children's writer.Maurois is best known for his vivid, romantic style biographies of such authors as Shelley, Byron, Balzac, Proust and others.The Quest for Proust is considered by many his finest biography.2)Language notes:

1)The temptation is strong to lump all Americans together.Lump sb./sth.（together）: put or consider people or things together.e.g.We've lumped all the advanced students into a single class.2)A good many things contributed to this accent on success.Contribute to sth.: increase sth., add to sth.;help to cause sth.e.g.Her work has contributed enormously to our understanding of this difficult subject.Does smoking contribute to lung cancer?

3)The second generation child, in turn, rejects the alien parents because they cannot measure up to American standards.Measure up（to sth.）: reach the standard required or expected.e.g.The discussion didn't measure up to my expectations.4）America has been blessed with a rich supply of raw materials.Be blessed with sth/sb: be fortunate in having sth/sb.e.g.He is blessed with excellent health.Information Related to the Text 1)Culture notes:

1)The Declaration of Independence: Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson's most enduring monument.Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people.The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new;16 its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers.What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in “self-evident truths” and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.2)Alexis de Tocqueville:(1805-1859)An aristocratic Frenchman.He studied law in Paris and worked as a substitute judge in Versailles before coming to the U.S.In 1839 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a representative of Valognes and later to the Constituent Assembly and Legislative Assembly.He briefly served as minister of foreign affairs.He came to the U.S.in 1831--when he was only 25 years old--and later wrote Democracy in America, a two-volume study of the American people and their political institutions.The book is frequently quoted by journalists and politicians.The book deals with issues like religion, the press, money, class structure, racism, the role of government, the judicial system, etc.--issues that are just as relevant today as they were then.Democracy in America has undergone several periods of popularity throughout the century, but it's never been as popular as it is now.Scores of colleges around the country use the text in political science and history courses, and historians consider it one of the most comprehensive and insightful books ever written about the U.S.3)Mark Twain:(Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910)An American icon.Books like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn define two sides of an imagined American childhood while Huckleberry Finn and The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson continue to expose the wounds of racism in American society.Although he first began to wear his famous white suit in public in 1906, just a few years before his death, that is the most familiar image of Mark Twain for people throughout the world.He was--still is--the cigar-smoking humorist-sage whose very name inspires smiles: “As Mark Twain said....” But Mark Twain's life and career were more varied and complex than most people realize.He was a printer and journalist, steamboat pilot, gold and silver miner, a newspaper editor, author, and publisher.He was also deeply involved in American political and cultural issues, and an active participant in several anti-imperialist movements.4)Henry James: Like Howells and Clemens, James was also a prolific American writer.Apart from writing fiction, James made important contributions to the genre of literary theories, especially through his famous essay, “The Art of Fiction,” 1884.In his treatment of subject matter, James felt that no aspect of life should be excluded.James's style of writing is magnificent and his canvas is broadthe violence which is the least pleasant aspects of American society.Americans are beginning to realize that this terrible problem of poverty is their problem and not just their government's.It has been said that an individual American is generous, but that American nation is mean.The US is reputed to be a classless society.There is certainly not much social snobbery and job snobbery.The manual worker is usually quite at ease in any company.This is partly explained by the fact that all income groups go together to the same schools.Americans are far more race conscious than they are class conscious.美國(guó)人的性格

大部分美國(guó)人精力充沛，充滿熱情．他們寧愿自律，而不愿受制于人．他們以獨(dú)立行事和有權(quán)做出自己的決定而自豪。他們做事采取主動(dòng)，即使這樣做存在風(fēng)險(xiǎn)也在所不惜．他們有勇氣，不會(huì)輕易屈服．他們寧愿在任何地方干任何工作，而不愿失業(yè)．他們不愿受政府的救助.普通美國(guó)人一生中換九到十次工作.美國(guó)人熱情友好, 其程度并非外國(guó)人想得那樣表面化.人們認(rèn)為美國(guó)人易動(dòng)感情.當(dāng)在典禮上看見(jiàn)國(guó)旗,當(dāng)參加慶祝美國(guó)光榮歷史的游行時(shí),他們可能會(huì)熱淚盈眶.與家人團(tuán)圓,與朋友相聚,也會(huì)讓他們十分激動(dòng).他們喜歡穿著得體，即使這種“得體”無(wú)異于奢華炫耀.他們喜歡自吹自擂,盡管多數(shù)情況下只是說(shuō)說(shuō)而已.他們有時(shí)會(huì)嘲笑自己,會(huì)嘲笑自己的國(guó)家,甚至有時(shí)候會(huì)自責(zé),但是始終有著強(qiáng)烈的愛(ài)國(guó)之心.他們對(duì)日常事情所知甚廣,對(duì)他們所在的城市和州深為關(guān)切。然而,有時(shí)候外國(guó)人會(huì)抱怨說(shuō),美國(guó)人對(duì)外面的世界漠不關(guān)心,一無(wú)所知.美國(guó)人酷愛(ài)豪華的氣派.他們的摩天大廈,橋梁和水壩往往十分雄壯宏偉,這與美國(guó)的自然奇觀之壯美和恢弘相得益彰.賺錢(qián)和擁有稱(chēng)得上過(guò)多的奢侈品,是不是美國(guó)人唯一的目標(biāo)呢?大部分美國(guó)人肯定會(huì)予以否認(rèn),盡管他們將通過(guò)辛勤勞動(dòng)而積攢的錢(qián)財(cái)而自豪.在美國(guó),90%的人生活富足,期待更美好的未來(lái).美國(guó)的生活水平依然在世界上名列前茅,盡管現(xiàn)在還有10%的美國(guó)人生活在政府劃定的“貧困線”以下.這些貧困雖然得到政府的救助,但是他們對(duì)未來(lái)不抱太多希望。正是這些“社會(huì)下層階級(jí)”和利用他們的人引發(fā)了大部分的**,而這成為了美國(guó)社會(huì)最另人不快的一面.美國(guó)人開(kāi)始意思到，這個(gè)嚴(yán)重的問(wèn)題是他們自身的問(wèn)題,而不僅僅是政府的問(wèn)題。據(jù)說(shuō),美國(guó)人作為個(gè)體是慷慨的,但是美國(guó)作為一個(gè)民族則是吝嗇的.人們普遍認(rèn)為,美國(guó)是一個(gè)不分階級(jí)的國(guó)家.的確,美國(guó)對(duì)人們的社會(huì)地位和不同工作不帶任何勢(shì)利的看法.體力勞動(dòng)者在任何場(chǎng)合都很自在.不同收入檔次的群體可以在同一所學(xué)校上課,這個(gè)事實(shí)多少可以說(shuō)明這一點(diǎn).與其說(shuō)美國(guó)人具有階級(jí)意識(shí),還不如說(shuō)他們具有種族意識(shí).

第四篇：The American Character 美國(guó)人的性格

The American Character 美國(guó)人的性格(Bradford Smith 布拉德福德·史密斯)

The following is part of an essay taken from Bradford Smith's book, Why We Behave Like Americans.Success as a goal and materialism, according to Smith, are among the underlying factors that make up the American character.以下節(jié)選自布拉德福德所著《為什么我們的舉止象美國(guó)人》里的一篇文章。據(jù)布拉德福德所說(shuō)，目標(biāo) 為成功和物質(zhì)享樂(lè)主義，構(gòu)成美國(guó)人性格的內(nèi)在因素。沒(méi)

When visitors from abroad undertake to describe the American Character, the results are frequently puzzling to Americans.“All Americans are Puritans;that's what's wrong with them,” says one.“They're always thinking about enjoying themselves,” says another.“They spend too much time at work,” a distinguished visitor tells us.“They don't know how to play.” “Americans don't know what work is, ” retorts another.“ Their machines do it all.” “American women are shameless sirens.” － “No, they're prudes.” “The children here are wonderful － outgoing and natural.” － “Natural as little beasts.They have no manners, no respect for their elders.” 要是讓國(guó)外來(lái)客描述美國(guó)人的性格，結(jié)果常常令美國(guó)人感到奇怪。一個(gè)人說(shuō)：“所有的美國(guó)人都是清教徒；所以他們與眾不同?！绷硪粋€(gè)人說(shuō)：“他們總是想方設(shè)法讓自己開(kāi)心?！币晃蛔鹳F的客人告訴我們：“他們花在工作上的時(shí)間太多。他們不懂如何玩樂(lè)。”另一個(gè)人反駁說(shuō)：“他們不懂什么是工作。因?yàn)闄C(jī)器替他們做了一切?！薄懊绹?guó)女人是不知廉恥的，妖艷而危險(xiǎn)的女人。”--“不，她們假正經(jīng)。”“這里的孩子真好－－外向，自然。”----“象小小的野獸一樣自然。他們沒(méi)禮貌，不尊敬長(zhǎng)輩。”

There is, of course, no single pattern of American character any more than there is a single English or Turkish or Chinese character.Personality in America is further complicated by our diverse racial and cultural origins, by successive waves of immigration from all parts of the world, by our regional diversities.It is complicated by several hundred varieties of religious belief with their varying impact on the believers.It is further diversified by the generation to which the person belongs － first generation immigrant, second generation child of immigrants, and on down the line.當(dāng)然，世上既沒(méi)有單一模式的美國(guó)人性格，也沒(méi)有單一的英國(guó)人性格或土耳其人性格或是中國(guó)人性格。個(gè)性的定義在美國(guó)變得更為復(fù)雜，因?yàn)槲覀冇胁煌姆N族和文化背景，因?yàn)閬?lái)自世界各地連續(xù)不斷的移民浪潮，因?yàn)槲覀儏^(qū)域的多樣性。個(gè)性的定義變得復(fù)雜，因?yàn)閹装俜N不同的宗教信仰及其對(duì)各自的信奉者的影響不同。個(gè)性的定義也由于每個(gè)人所處的年代不同而趨多樣化 －－第一代是移民，第二代是移民的孩子，一直照此延續(xù)下去。

The temptation is strong to lump all Americans together.Yet those who look a little deeper are puzzled by the seeming contradictions in American life.It is true that Americans as a whole work hard.But they also play hard.They spend more time and money in traveling, camping, hunting, watching sports, drinking, smoking, going to movies, watching television and reading newspapers and magazines than any other people in the world.Yet they also spend more money on churches, social services, hospitals and all kinds of charities.They are always in a hurry, yet they spend more time relaxing.They are at the same time sensitive to the rights of the individual and habitual conformist.They worship bigness yet idealize the little man, whether he be the small business man as opposed to the big one or the plain citizen as opposed to the big wheel.強(qiáng)大的吸引力把眾多的美國(guó)人聚集在了一起。然而那些想再了解深入一點(diǎn)的人弄不懂美國(guó)人生活中各種似乎自相矛盾的東西。的確，美國(guó)人總體上工作努力。但他們也拼命地玩。他們?nèi)ヂ糜?、露營(yíng)、打獵、看體育比賽、喝酒、抽煙、看電影電視、讀報(bào)紙雜志，花的時(shí)間和金錢(qián)比世界任何地方的人都多。而他們還把更多的時(shí)間花在教會(huì)、社會(huì)服務(wù)、醫(yī)院和各種各樣的慈善活動(dòng)上。他們總是忙來(lái)忙去，又總是花更多的時(shí)間休閑。他們十分在乎個(gè)人的權(quán)利，又習(xí)慣于墨守陳規(guī)。他們崇拜大人物，也把小人物理想化，不論他是和大商人形成對(duì)照的小商人，還是和大權(quán)在握的人形成對(duì)照的平民百姓。

Success as a Goal 成功作為目標(biāo)

One thing almost everyone is agreed on, including Americans, is that they place a very high valuation upon success.Success does not necessarily mean material rewards, but recognition of some sort － preferably measurable.If the boy turns out to be a preacher instead of a business man, that's all right.But the bigger his church and congregation, the more successful he is judged to be.包括美國(guó)人在內(nèi)幾乎每一個(gè)人都會(huì)贊同的一點(diǎn)是，美國(guó)人極為看重成功。成功不一定是物質(zhì)上的回報(bào)，而是得到某種認(rèn)可，最好是可以衡量的那種。如果一個(gè)男孩后來(lái)沒(méi)有從商，而是做了布道的教士，那也沒(méi)什么。但是他的教堂規(guī)模越大，教堂會(huì)眾越多，別人就認(rèn)為他越成功。

A good many things contributed to this accent on success.There was the Puritan belief in the virtue of work, both for its own sake and because the rewards it brought were regarded as signs of God's love.There was the richness of opportunity in a land waiting to be settled.There was the lack of a settled society with fixed ranks and classes, so that a man was certain to rise through achievement.好多事情都說(shuō)明，成功是美國(guó)人生活的重點(diǎn)。清教徒相信工作帶來(lái)的好處，既有工作本身的樂(lè)趣，還因?yàn)楣ぷ鞯幕貓?bào)是上帝之愛(ài)的體現(xiàn)。一片富饒的土地到處都是機(jī)遇，等待著人們到來(lái)。在一個(gè)不固守陳規(guī)的社會(huì)，沒(méi)有嚴(yán)格的等級(jí)和階級(jí)，這樣人就一定能通過(guò)成功提升自己的社會(huì)地位。

There was the determination of the immigrant to gain in the new world what had been denied to him in the old, and the part of his children an urge to throw off the immigrant onus by still more success and still more rise in a fluid, classless society.Brothers did not compete within the family for the favor of the parents as in Europe, but strove for success in the outer world, along paths of their own choosing.凡是舊的世界拒絕給的，移民決心都要在新的世界得到。對(duì)于他的后代而言，要擺脫作為移民的負(fù)擔(dān)，只有在一個(gè)靈活自由的無(wú)階級(jí)社會(huì)里取得更多的成功，升至更高的地位。他們的兄弟之間不象歐洲人那樣為獲得父母的歡心而相互 傾軋，他們都在外面的世界 沿著各自選擇的道路為成功而奮力拚搏。

The English anthropologist, Geoffrey Gorer, sees the whole situation in Freudian terms.Europe is the father rejected by every immigrant who turned his back on his own culture in order to make a new life in America.The immigrant's struggle for success never ends, because there is no limit to the possible goal.The second generation child, in turn, rejects the alien parents because they cannot measure up to American standards.The only way he can soften the blow is to achieve a still greater success.All over America the lawyers, doctors, professors and politicians with Italian, Irish, German or Polish names testify to the urgency of this drive.英國(guó)的人類(lèi)學(xué)家杰弗里·戈羅爾用弗羅伊德的說(shuō)法來(lái)解釋這一切。歐洲是被所有的移民拋棄的父親，移民為了在美國(guó)過(guò)上新生活，背離了自己的文化。移民為了要成功從未停止過(guò)奮斗，因?yàn)槟繕?biāo) 的內(nèi)容沒(méi)有限制。同樣，第二代移民拒絕接受移民過(guò)來(lái)的父母，因?yàn)楹笳邿o(wú)法適應(yīng)美國(guó)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。他能減輕壓力的唯一方式，就是取得更大的成功。在整個(gè)美國(guó)，有意大利人、愛(ài)爾蘭人、德國(guó)人或波蘭人名字的律師、醫(yī)生、教授和政治家，都能證明這種成功欲望的強(qiáng)烈。

Not to strive, not to take advantage of the opportunities in such a world, not to succeed where success was so available － these things naturally became a sort of crime against the state.To develop the resources of a new country required energetic people, bent upon using their energies － not only for the rewards that would result to themselves, but even more important, to the community.So material success in the United States is not looked upon as selfish.Its results are seen to have communal value.要是不奮斗，不利用這個(gè)世界的各種機(jī)會(huì)去成功而不能成功---這些無(wú)疑都是對(duì)國(guó)家的一種犯罪。開(kāi)發(fā)一個(gè)新國(guó)家的各種資源，需要精力充沛的人不遺余力地發(fā)揮他們的充沛精力---不僅僅是為了他們會(huì)得到的回報(bào)，更重要的是給社會(huì)帶來(lái)的回報(bào)。所以在美國(guó)，沒(méi)有人把物質(zhì)上的成功看成是自私的。成功的果實(shí)被看作具有全民共享的價(jià)值。

Ford, Carnegie, Rockefeller built great fortunes for themselves.But they also built an economy which has brought a great deal of material well-being, higher health standards and better educational opportunities to millions of Americans.This is how it looks to us, anyway, from inside.福特、卡耐基、洛克菲勒，都為自己創(chuàng)造了極大的財(cái)富。但他們也建立起一種經(jīng)濟(jì)，既可以帶來(lái)許多物質(zhì)上的幸福，更高的健康水平，也可以給上千萬(wàn)的美國(guó)人創(chuàng)造更好地受教育的機(jī)會(huì)。無(wú)論怎樣，這就是成功的內(nèi)涵。

A society which values competition so highly is inevitably an aggressive one, even though the laws carefully limit the forms aggression may take.It has a toughness about it which is good for the muscle tone of the economy but hard on some individuals.In our pioneering days this aggressiveness was essential to survival.Now it can be a menace to society.The factory worker who reaches a dead end and sees himself stuck in the same job year after year may take out his aggressive feelings in race hatred or fighting management, or he may even turn it against himself by way of alcoholism, proneness to accident, or neurotic behavior.一個(gè)如此注重競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的社會(huì)必定是攻擊性的社會(huì)，盡管法律嚴(yán)格限制各種攻擊形式。這種對(duì)攻擊的嚴(yán)格限制對(duì) 完善經(jīng)濟(jì)的肌體有益，但對(duì)某些個(gè)人卻過(guò)于嚴(yán)格。在拓荒時(shí)代，這種攻擊性是生存所必需的，但現(xiàn)在可能是一種對(duì)社會(huì)的威脅。走投無(wú)路、常年被同一工作所困的工人可能會(huì)將這樣的攻擊性用于種族仇恨或反對(duì)管理，或 開(kāi)始酗酒、滋事、神經(jīng)質(zhì)、和自己過(guò)不去。

Since a high regard is felt for success, the rewards are high.Money is rarely cherished for itself in America;it is rather a symbol and a tool.As a man's status rises, the demands upon him also increase.He is expected to give liberally to the hundreds of voluntary associations which nourish and minister to the community.Look at the Who's Who entry for any prominent business man, and you are likely to find him involved in an amazing number of committees and associations organized for the public good.既然高度注重成功，回報(bào)也就很高。在美國(guó)，人們很少看重金錢(qián)本身，它更多的是一種標(biāo)志，一種工具。當(dāng)一個(gè)人的地位提高，人們對(duì)他的要求也相應(yīng)提高。成百上千各種各樣的志愿者協(xié)會(huì)有益于社會(huì)并服務(wù)于社會(huì)，人們期望他能慷慨捐錢(qián)給這些協(xié)會(huì)。你去看看《名人錄》，隨便找一個(gè)知名商人的條目，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)他參加的公益性委員會(huì)和協(xié)會(huì)多得令人吃驚。

This striving for success and prestige, according to psychologists, is a way of overcoming fears and a sense of inner emptiness.In a mobile society an energetic person can hardly help matching himself against others and seeing how far he can go.這種為成功和名望而奮斗的心理，按心理學(xué)家的說(shuō)法，是一種克服恐懼和內(nèi)心空虛感的方式。在一個(gè)時(shí)刻變化著的社會(huì)，一個(gè)有進(jìn)取精神的人難免會(huì)拿自己與別人相比，知道自己能達(dá)到的目標(biāo)是什么。

Such a system is fine for those who have it in them to succeed.It is not so good for the mediocre.The fear of failure, the fear of competitors, the loss of self esteem － these arouse tensions that some people cannot handle.In their turn they produce an excessive craving for love.So love and success are linked.Gorer believes that most Americans by the time they are adolescents have confused two ideas: to be successful is to be loved, and to be loved is to be successful.Mothers help to impose the pattern by showing affection and admiration when their children do well at school and by withholding affection when they fail.這種思維方式對(duì)于那些本來(lái)就這樣想的人是有利的。但對(duì)不求上進(jìn)的人卻沒(méi)什么好處。害怕失敗，害怕競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手，喪失自尊---都導(dǎo)致了一些人無(wú)力應(yīng)付的緊張情緒。然后，這種緊張情緒就產(chǎn)生了對(duì)愛(ài)的極度渴望。因此愛(ài)和成功是密不可分的。戈羅爾認(rèn)為，許多美國(guó)人在少年時(shí)期就被兩個(gè)問(wèn)題困擾：成功就是要得到愛(ài)，要得到愛(ài)就要成功。母親們把這個(gè)模式成功地灌輸給孩子：孩子們?cè)趯W(xué)校里表現(xiàn)好，她們就對(duì)他們顯示出無(wú)限的疼愛(ài)和喜愛(ài)；孩子們要是做得不好，她們就拒絕給予關(guān)愛(ài)。

Since there are no limits of class, inherited occupation or education to hold a child back, there are, in theory, no limits to what he can achieve.Consequently there is no point at which he can say: “ There, I've done it.From now on all I have to do is to hold on.” Since any boy can, in theory, become President, striving is a moral obligation.Achievement, not class, is the standard by which men are judged.There is little or no glory attached to being born wealthy or privileged;the real test is how far you climb from where you started.既然沒(méi)有階級(jí)限制、世襲職業(yè)或教育來(lái)阻礙孩子的發(fā)展，所以從理論上說(shuō)，他所能取得的成就也沒(méi)有限制。如果他說(shuō)：“哦，我已經(jīng)做到了。從現(xiàn)在起我要做的就是繼續(xù)保持，”這樣的話毫無(wú)意義。因?yàn)?，理論上，任何孩子都可以做總統(tǒng)，奮斗是一種道德上的義務(wù)。評(píng)價(jià)人的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是成功而不是階級(jí)。不論出身豪門(mén)還是出身顯赫，都沒(méi)有什么可炫耀的；真正的考驗(yàn)就是：從你的起點(diǎn)你能爬多高。

Americans love work.It is meat and drink to them.In recent years they have learned how to play, but they make work of that too.If it's skiing, they throw themselves at it with an effort that would kill a horse.If it's a vacation, they travel five or six hundred miles a day, take in the sights at sixty miles an hour, pause only long enough to snap pictures, and then discover what it was they went to see when they get home and look at the photographs.美國(guó)人熱愛(ài)工作。工作就是他們的命根子。近年來(lái)他們已經(jīng)學(xué)會(huì)玩，但是將玩也當(dāng)成了工作。要是去滑雪，他們就在雪地上猛沖，那樣子連馬都會(huì)累死。如果去度假，他們就每天開(kāi)車(chē)五六百公里，以每小時(shí)60英里的速度觀光，沿途只停下來(lái)拍些快照。然后，發(fā)現(xiàn)了自己要看的東西是怎么一回事，就打道回府，回去看照片。

Until very recently there has always been a great deal of work to do in this country, a great deal that needed doing.At the beginning men of all sorts and conditions had to pitch in.The preacher had to fell trees and plough fields.The teacher, the doctor and the magistrate had to shoulder guns for the common defense.The farmer made his own tools, harness, household equipment.He was blacksmith, carpenter, tinsmith, brewer and veterinary all rolled into one, as his wife was spinster, weaver and doctor.直到最近，這個(gè)國(guó)家還總是有許多事要做，還有許多事情必須要做。以前不管什么人都工作得很辛苦。傳教士要伐樹(shù)、犁田。教師、醫(yī)生，還有地方法官得扛著槍當(dāng)民兵。農(nóng)場(chǎng)主自己動(dòng)手做工具、馬鞍和家用器具。他集鐵匠、木匠、白鐵匠、啤酒釀造者和獸醫(yī)于一身。他的妻子既是紡紗工、織布工，又是醫(yī)生。

Americans still like to be handy at all things.College professors go in for making furniture or remodeling an old house in the country.Bankers don aprons and become expert barbecue chefs.Nearly everyone knows how to use tools, make simple repairs to plumbing or electrical fixtures, refinish furniture or paint a wall.Far from being thought a disgrace if he performs these “menial” tasks, a man is thought ridiculous if he does not know how to perform them.美國(guó)人仍然喜歡什么都學(xué)著做。大學(xué)教授喜歡做家具或是改造鄉(xiāng)下的老房子。銀行家穿上圍裙，就成了專(zhuān)業(yè)的燒烤廚師。幾乎每一個(gè)人都懂得使用工具，懂得簡(jiǎn)單的下水道或電力裝置的修理，還會(huì)修家具，刷墻。做這些“粗活”絕不會(huì)讓人認(rèn)為不體面，不會(huì)做才是讓人覺(jué)得不可思議呢。

Along with this urge to be jack-of-all-trades goes a willingness to change from one occupation to another.It surprises no one in America when the banker's son becomes a farmer or vice versa.Or when a college professor shifts into industry, or a young man who starts out with a truck purchased on credit ends up running an enterprise with fleets of trucks spanning several states.President Truman was a farmer, an operator of a haberdashery and an army officer before he turned to law and politics.James Bryant Conant, first a chemist, then President of Harvard University, resigned this highest post in the academic world to become High Commissioner and then Ambassador to Germany.與這種成為萬(wàn)事通愿望并存的是變換職業(yè)的愿望。在美國(guó)，不管是銀行家的兒子當(dāng)了農(nóng)場(chǎng)主還是農(nóng)場(chǎng)主的兒子做了銀行家，都不會(huì)讓人吃驚。更不用說(shuō)大學(xué)教授轉(zhuǎn)行干上了實(shí)業(yè)。一個(gè)年輕人靠一輛貸款買(mǎi)來(lái)的卡車(chē)起家，后來(lái)當(dāng)上了公司的老板，擁有卡車(chē)車(chē)隊(duì)，行駛在好幾個(gè)州。杜魯門(mén)總統(tǒng)經(jīng)營(yíng)過(guò)農(nóng)場(chǎng)，開(kāi)過(guò)男裝店，當(dāng)過(guò)陸軍軍官，后來(lái)才轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)法律和政治。詹姆斯·布萊恩特·克蘭特原先是化學(xué)家，后來(lái)?yè)?dān)任哈佛大學(xué)的校長(zhǎng)，辭去了這個(gè)學(xué)術(shù)界的最高職位后擔(dān)任了高級(jí)公共事務(wù)官員，后被任命為駐德大使。

“For a European,” writes Andre Maurois, “l(fā)ife is a career;for an American, it is a succession of hazards.” 安德魯·莫里斯寫(xiě)道“對(duì)于歐洲人來(lái)說(shuō)，生活是生命的歷程，而對(duì)于美國(guó)人，生活就是一個(gè)接一個(gè)的危險(xiǎn)?！?/p>

A single individual can be at once an intellectual, a Boy Scout leader, a business man, a sportsman, a dabbler in music or painting, a nature-lover, and one who does many of his own household chores.An employer, he may go hunting with his own or someone else's employees.A shopkeeper, he may run for local office and be on familiar terms with professional men and government officials.He will live on several levels which in other countries might be separated by class distinctions.一個(gè)人可以同時(shí)是知識(shí)分子，童子軍首領(lǐng)，商人，運(yùn)動(dòng)健將，音樂(lè)繪畫(huà)的愛(ài)好者，熱愛(ài)大自然的人，做大部分家務(wù)的人。當(dāng)老板的也許會(huì)和自己的或別人的雇員一起打獵。經(jīng)營(yíng)商店的可能會(huì)競(jìng)選當(dāng)?shù)氐恼毼?，熟悉?zhuān)業(yè)人士和政府官員。他可以同時(shí)位于別的國(guó)家也許會(huì)用等級(jí)的概念來(lái)劃分的不同社會(huì)階層。

The emphasis on success and achievement, coupled as it is with a desire to be loved and admired, leads to a critical dilemma of personality.To succeed one must be aggressive;to be liked, one must be easy-going and friendly.強(qiáng)調(diào)成功和成就，再加上要得到愛(ài)和贊賞的強(qiáng)烈愿望，會(huì)導(dǎo)致個(gè)性發(fā)展的兩難境地：要成功，人就必須好斗；要?jiǎng)e人喜歡自己，人就得寬容、友好。

One way out of the difficulty is to acquire groups of friends － lodge brothers, members of the same church, a veteran's organization － towards whom you are pledged in friendship.Having thus acquired assured friends, you can practice your aggression on those who don't belong.This pattern explains to some extent the suspicion or hostility towards those of other races or religions.走出困境的一個(gè)辦法就是有成群的朋友---會(huì)社支部的會(huì)員，同一教堂的成員，退伍軍人組織---他們一定會(huì)給你友誼。有了這些可以信賴(lài)的朋友，你就可以對(duì)那些不在朋友之列的人表現(xiàn)出你的攻擊力。這種模式也或多或少地解釋了，為什么會(huì)對(duì)其他的種族或教會(huì)的人持懷疑敵視的態(tài)度。

Materialism 物質(zhì)享樂(lè)主義

The men and women who staked everything on America were for the most part poor.They struggled hard, went without, and saved in order to build up a business or buy a farm of their own.The freedom to own rather than the freedom to vote was the magnet that drew the majority of them across oceans.Naturally enough they put a high value upon the land or the business they acquired through their own efforts.把賭注都押在美國(guó)的男男女女絕大多數(shù)是窮人。他們努力掙扎，忍氣吞聲，努力存錢(qián)，目的就是做點(diǎn)買(mǎi)賣(mài)，買(mǎi)個(gè)屬于自己的農(nóng)場(chǎng)。像磁鐵一般吸引著他們大多數(shù)人遠(yuǎn)涉重洋的，是擁有財(cái)產(chǎn)的自由而不是投票的自由。所以他們很看重靠自己的努力得來(lái)的土地和做的買(mǎi)賣(mài)。

In contrast with this natural acquisitiveness of the new arrivals, the American attitude toward money is quite different.As the German psychologist Hugo Munsterberg observed, the American “prizes the gold he gets primarily as an indication of his ability....It is, therefore, fundamentally false to stigmatize the American as a materialist, and to deny his idealism....The American merchant works for money in exactly the sense that a great painter works for money －” as a mark of appreciation for his work.和初來(lái)者自然的獲取思想相比，美國(guó)人對(duì)錢(qián)的態(tài)度是很不一樣的。就象德國(guó)心理學(xué)家休格·愛(ài)斯特伯格所指出的，美國(guó)人“很看重他挖到的金子，主要是因?yàn)榻鹱邮撬哪芰Φ捏w現(xiàn)……因此把美國(guó)人定義為物質(zhì)享樂(lè)主義者而否認(rèn)他的理想主義，從根本上就是錯(cuò)誤的……美國(guó)的商人為錢(qián)工作，偉大的畫(huà)家為錢(qián)繪畫(huà)，意義是完全一樣的——”，都是是對(duì)自己的工作欣賞的標(biāo)志。

The acquisition of money is important as the clearest proof of success, though there are other acceptable proofs － prominence, public notice, good works, fame.But the retention of money is not important at all.Indeed, it may be frowned upon if it keeps the owner from living well, subscribing generously to a long list of charities, and providing for members of the family who may have been less fortunate.獲得金錢(qián)是重要的，因?yàn)殄X(qián)最能證明成功。當(dāng)然還有人們可以接受的其他的證明---卓越，公眾矚目，工作優(yōu)秀，名聲，等等。但是存錢(qián)并不重要。事實(shí)上，錢(qián)的主人留著錢(qián)，不過(guò)好日子，不慷慨地捐款給大串的慈善機(jī)構(gòu)，不接濟(jì)家里沒(méi)錢(qián)的人，人們也會(huì)不喜歡。

So the materialism that strikes a visitor to America is not that of loving and hoarding wealth;it is a love of making and consuming wealth.It is probably a middle-class rather than a distinctively American phenomenon, for most Americans are middle-class.所以，到美國(guó)的人感到震驚的不是物質(zhì)享樂(lè)主義的愛(ài)財(cái)和守財(cái)，而是美國(guó)人的既喜歡賺錢(qián)又喜歡花錢(qián)。這可能不是美國(guó)人特有的性格，而是中產(chǎn)階級(jí)才有的現(xiàn)象，因?yàn)榇蠖鄶?shù)美國(guó)人都是中產(chǎn)階級(jí)。

America has been blessed with a rich supply of raw materials.It learned during the depression that even a rich country can become impoverished if it fails to use its wealth to benefit the majority.And it does not propose to make that error again.A sizable portion of what it produces goes overseas, including agricultural and industrial machinery sent with the hope that standards of production and consumption can be raised in other parts of the world too.上天賦予美國(guó)豐富的自然資源。但在大蕭條時(shí)期美國(guó)人懂得了，如果一個(gè)國(guó)家不把財(cái)富造福社會(huì)，再富有也會(huì)遭受貧困。它再也不會(huì)重蹈覆轍。美國(guó)生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品相當(dāng)一部分到了國(guó)外，其中有工農(nóng)業(yè)用的機(jī)械設(shè)備，就是希望世界其他地方的生產(chǎn)水平和消費(fèi)水平能得到提高。

There is no denying the fact that the high level of production does lead to a high level of material comfort, and that Americans are mighty fond of having things that are new, shine, softly padded, conveniently arranged, efficient, and so far as may be, effortless.The bread comes already sliced so that the housewife need not exert herself to slice it.It used to be that when she put the bread in the toaster, she had to turn it once to toast both sides.Then came the toaster which did both sides at once, then the toaster which popped the toast out when it was done, so that she did not have to turn a handle to raise it.Soon, no doubt, there will be a toaster which butters the toast, cuts it in quarters, and puts it on a plate.Perhaps there is one even now.無(wú)法否認(rèn)這樣一個(gè)事實(shí)：高水平的生產(chǎn)一定會(huì)帶來(lái)高水平的物質(zhì)享受，所以美國(guó)人非常喜歡把東西做得新穎、光亮，有柔軟的襯墊，使用 起來(lái)方便，這樣就可以不費(fèi)氣力。買(mǎi)回來(lái)的面包已經(jīng)切好片，主婦就省得再切。以前她把面包放進(jìn)烤面包機(jī)，還要翻轉(zhuǎn)一次面包，才能烤另一面。于是就有了可以同時(shí)烤兩面的烤面包機(jī)，烤完了還會(huì)把烤的面包送出來(lái)。所以她不必轉(zhuǎn)手柄就能拿到烤面包。過(guò)不久，肯定會(huì)有更新的烤面包機(jī)，可以把烤面包涂上黃油，切成四分之一塊，然后放到盤(pán)子上。說(shuō)不定現(xiàn)在就已經(jīng)有這樣的烤面包機(jī)了。

Food comes ready-cooked and frozen, vegetables already washed.Floor wax must be self-polishing, pens write for years without having to be filled.Storm windows change to summer screens at a touch.Heat is thoroughly automatic, and air conditioning keeps the house equally comfortable in summer.Automation now promises to put a final end to all drudgery, even to building in the controls which will keep the machines from making mistakes.食物買(mǎi)的時(shí)候是煮熟的、冰凍的，蔬菜是已經(jīng)洗干凈的。地板蠟肯定是自動(dòng)上光的，鋼筆寫(xiě)上幾年都不用上墨水。輕輕一按，防暴風(fēng)雪的窗子就變成了夏天的屏幕。暖氣是自動(dòng)的，冷氣使房子即使在夏天也一樣舒適。自動(dòng)化現(xiàn)在可以讓人再也不用做單調(diào)乏味的工作，自動(dòng)裝置用在控制器中，機(jī)器再也不會(huì)出錯(cuò)。

Why is it that, having created a world in which he could live without raising a hand or taking a step, the American habitually seeks ways of letting off steam? His towns are full of bowling alleys, golf clubs, tennis courts, clubs, lodges, churches and associations into which he pours energy both physical and mental.The labor-saving gadgets, the love of comfort turn out to be ways of saving his time and energy for something else.美國(guó)人創(chuàng)造了一個(gè)不用舉手投足就能過(guò)得舒舒服服的世界，為什么還是習(xí)慣于用各種方式放松自己呢？他們住的地方到處都是保齡球館，高爾夫俱樂(lè)部，網(wǎng)球場(chǎng)，俱樂(lè)部，房子，教堂，以及各種可以讓他們?nèi)硇耐度氲膮f(xié)會(huì)。他們制造省時(shí)省力的小器具，喜歡舒適，就是為了節(jié)約時(shí)間和精力做其他的事情。

(2476 words)Culture notes: 1)Materialism: It is a general view about what actually exists.Put bluntly, the view is just this: Everything that actually exists is material, or physical.Many philosophers and scientists now use the terms `material' and `physical' interchangeably.Characterized in this way, as a doctrine about what exists, materialism is an ontological, or a metaphysical view;it is not just an epistemological view about how we know or just a semantic view about the meaning of terms.2)Puritan: It was the name given in the 16th century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the doctrines and structure of the church;they wanted to purify their national church by eliminating every shred of Catholic influence.In the 17th century many Puritans emigrated to the New World, where they sought to found a holy Commonwealth in New England.Puritanism remained the dominant cultural force in that area into the 19th century.Most of American puritans held ideas in the mainstream of Calvinistic thought.In addition to believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total depravity of man, and the complete dependence of human beings on divine grace for salvation, they stressed the importance of personal religious experience.During the whole colonial period Puritanism had direct impact on both religious thought and cultural patterns in America.In the 19th century its influence was indirect, but it can still be seen at work stressing the importance of education in religious leadership and demanding that religious motivations be tested by applying them to practical situations.3)Boy Scout of America(BSA): It was incorporated on February 8, 1910, and charted by Congress in 1916.Its purpose is to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal fitness.4)Sigmund Freud:(1856-1939), The inventor of modern psychology and psychoanalysis, changed the way we all think about ourselves, our language, and our culture.Drawing upon both nineteenth-century science and nineteenth-century Romanticism, Freud created a description of the mind that emphasizes the major role played by unconscious drives, particularly those of sexuality.His theories, which struck many contemporaries as sordid and threatening, represents the most recent democratization or leveling of the old hierarchical conception of mind.5)Andre Maurois: Biographer, novelist, essayist, children's writer.Maurois is best known for his vivid, romantic style biographies of such authors as Shelley, Byron, Balzac, Proust and others.The Quest for Proust is considered by many his finest biography.

第五篇：林黛玉性格分析

林黛玉是《紅樓夢(mèng)》中的一號(hào)女主角。她天生麗質(zhì)，兩彎罥煙眉，一雙含露目，更兼具動(dòng)靜交融的柔弱氣息。她雖才華橫溢，卻心底狹窄，與人常存芥蒂。特別是在與寶玉的愛(ài)情互動(dòng)中，她一直在使小性子，鬧別扭，活脫脫一個(gè)古代版的“野蠻女友”。

黛玉的野蠻女友表現(xiàn)

黛玉對(duì)寶玉常常是處處苛刻，容不得一絲玩笑之言。她的野蠻女友行徑可用以下八個(gè)字概括：無(wú)理取鬧,胡攪蠻纏。

例如，《紅樓夢(mèng)》第十八回中寫(xiě)到，黛玉懷疑寶玉把自己贈(zèng)送的香袋給了別人，但寶玉珍藏衣內(nèi)，黛玉自悔莽撞，未見(jiàn)皂白，就剪了香袋，低頭一言不發(fā)。寶玉道：“你也不用剪，我知道你是懶待給我東西。我連這荷包奉還，何如？“說(shuō)著，擲向他懷中便走。黛玉見(jiàn)如此，越發(fā)氣起來(lái)，聲咽氣堵，又汪汪的滾下淚來(lái)，拿起荷包來(lái)又剪。寶玉見(jiàn)他如此，忙回身?yè)屪。Φ溃骸昂妹妹茫埩怂T！”不想黛玉將剪子一摔，拭淚說(shuō)道：“你不用同我好一陣歹一陣的，要惱，就撂開(kāi)手。這當(dāng)了什么?！闭f(shuō)著，賭氣上床，面向里倒下拭淚。禁不住寶玉上來(lái)“妹妹”長(zhǎng)“妹妹”短賠不是。在香袋這件事上，黛玉對(duì)寶玉原本不信任，誤會(huì)解除后又不肯認(rèn)個(gè)錯(cuò)，反而因?yàn)閷氂竦囊粫r(shí)賭氣話而更加來(lái)勁，如此糾結(jié)折騰，不僅苦了寶玉，也苦了自己。

在《紅樓夢(mèng)》第二十回中，寶玉去了寶釵那里，黛玉冷笑說(shuō)：“我說(shuō)呢，虧在那里絆住，不然早就飛了來(lái)了?！睂氂裥Φ溃骸爸辉S同你玩，替你解悶兒。不過(guò)偶然去他那里一趟，就說(shuō)這話?！绷主煊竦溃骸昂脹](méi)意思的話！去不去管我什么事，我又沒(méi)叫你替我解悶兒?？稍S你從此不理我呢！”說(shuō)著，便賭氣回房去了。寶玉忙跟了來(lái)，問(wèn)道：“好好的又生氣了？就是我說(shuō)錯(cuò)了，你到底也還坐在那里，和別人說(shuō)笑一會(huì)子。又來(lái)自己納悶。”林黛玉道：“你管我呢！”寶玉笑道：“我自然不敢管你，只沒(méi)有個(gè)看著你自己作踐了身子呢?！绷主煊竦溃骸拔易髹`壞了身子，我死，與你何干！“寶玉道：“何苦來(lái)，大正月里，死了活了的?！绷主煊竦溃骸捌f(shuō)死！我這會(huì)子就死！你怕死，你長(zhǎng)命百歲的，如何？”寶玉笑道：“要象只管這樣鬧，我還怕死呢？倒不如死了干凈?！摈煊衩Φ溃骸罢橇?，要是這樣鬧，不如死了干凈?！摈煊竦倪@些舉止，完全是在胡攪蠻纏，且不說(shuō)寶玉與寶釵是表親關(guān)系，就是平時(shí)有些來(lái)往，黛玉也常常抓住不放，故意曲解寶玉的話，惹得大家都不痛快。而每每遇此，寶玉免不了“打疊起千百樣的款語(yǔ)溫言來(lái)勸慰”。

《紅樓夢(mèng)》第二十二回中，眾人看戲見(jiàn)到一位九歲的小旦，鳳姐說(shuō)：“這個(gè)孩子扮上活象一個(gè)人?！北娙硕疾碌搅?，偏偏湘云不藏話，直接出口“倒象林妹妹的模樣”。寶玉忙向湘云使眼色，但這事最終還是傳到黛玉的耳中。寶玉去找黛玉，剛到門(mén)口，就被黛玉推了出來(lái)。寶玉大惑不解。黛玉說(shuō)你們“拿我比戲子取笑 ”。寶玉說(shuō)他并沒(méi)有比，也沒(méi)有笑。黛玉說(shuō)：“你還要比？你還要笑？你不比不笑，比人比了笑了的還利害呢！”寶玉無(wú)話可說(shuō)了。黛玉又道:“這一節(jié)還恕得。再你為什么又和云兒使眼色 ? 這安的是什么心 ? 莫不是他和我玩，他就自輕自賤了？他原是公侯的小姐，我原是貧民的丫頭，他和我頑，設(shè)若我回了口，豈不他自惹人輕賤呢。是這主意不是？這卻也是你的好心，只是那一個(gè)偏又不領(lǐng)你這好情，一般的也惱了。你又拿我作情，倒說(shuō)我小性?xún)?，行?dòng)肯惱。你又怕他得罪了我，我惱他。我惱他，與你何干？他得罪了我，又與你何干？”

黛玉此言未免太過(guò)不近情理，原本寶玉給湘云使眼色就是為了避免黛玉受到傷害，但做了之后反而惹來(lái)黛玉的更多猜疑，實(shí)在是落得兩面不是人。

黛玉無(wú)理取鬧的根源是自卑情結(jié)

黛玉在與寶玉相處中，經(jīng)常無(wú)理取鬧，蠻不講理。表面上看，這是因?yàn)轺煊袷且粋€(gè)小心眼的人，平時(shí)愛(ài)使個(gè)小性子；但深層次看，這是因?yàn)樗龑?duì)愛(ài)情沒(méi)有安全感，渴望占據(jù)寶玉的全部心思。由此，黛玉一旦感覺(jué)失去了寶玉的關(guān)注，就會(huì)焦慮不安，失去了平日的氣度和理智，對(duì)寶玉斤斤計(jì)較，事事苛責(zé)。再進(jìn)一步說(shuō)，黛玉愛(ài)情焦慮的根源是自己內(nèi)心深處無(wú)法克制的自卑感。

在心理學(xué)上，自卑情結(jié)是指?jìng)€(gè)體的一種軟弱、無(wú)能、低劣或自感不如別人的復(fù)合心態(tài)。它使人自我評(píng)價(jià)偏低，時(shí)常自愧無(wú)能，自怨自艾，悲觀失望。奧地利心理學(xué)家阿德勒（Adler）認(rèn)為，自卑感起源于童年時(shí)期的弱小和無(wú)助，加上器質(zhì)性的缺陷和社會(huì)性挫傷，會(huì)使人形成一種復(fù)雜的情結(jié)。從黛玉的出身來(lái)看，她是姑蘇才子林如海與賈敏的女兒，林如海是前科探花，升至蘭臺(tái)寺大夫，又被欽點(diǎn)為揚(yáng)州巡鹽御史，而賈敏是榮國(guó)府中賈母的女兒，賈政的親妹妹。由此，黛玉本是出身“鐘鳴鼎食之家，詩(shī)書(shū)翰墨之族”的大家閨秀。但母親賈敏在黛玉幼年時(shí)就離世了，賈母念其孤苦，便接來(lái)榮國(guó)府撫養(yǎng)?？蓻](méi)多久父親林如海也病故了，黛玉就長(zhǎng)住在榮國(guó)府。對(duì)于皇親國(guó)戚又是高官厚祿的榮國(guó)府，黛玉是“步步留心，時(shí)時(shí)在意，不肯輕易多說(shuō)一句話，多行一步路，惟恐被人恥笑了他去”?？傊痪湓挘娜嘶h下的日子不好過(guò)。

雖然林黛玉深得賈母的喜愛(ài)和賈寶玉的呵護(hù)，但畢竟是外孫女，身份上比不得孫女的“四春”，而在外戚中，林黛玉又比不得擁有百萬(wàn)家富的薛寶釵，甚至比不上同是父母早亡的史湘云，盡管她也只是賈母的侄孫女，卻還有叔叔嬸嬸來(lái)?yè)狃B(yǎng)。對(duì)于林黛玉來(lái)說(shuō)，除了榮國(guó)府，她舉目無(wú)親，萬(wàn)一出了岔子得不到榮國(guó)府的撫育，她將走投無(wú)路。凡此種種，都使得黛玉不得不謹(jǐn)小慎微，變得敏感而自卑。如《紅樓夢(mèng)》第二十六回中，黛玉想到“雖說(shuō)是舅母家如同自己家一樣，到底是客邊。如今父母雙亡，無(wú)依無(wú)靠，現(xiàn)在他家依棲。如今認(rèn)真淘，也覺(jué)沒(méi)趣”。此外，黛玉早年是父母的掌上明珠，而后卻是寄人籬下的孤兒，這一落差感也時(shí)刻傷害著黛玉的自尊，令她更加消極看待自己。黛玉的自卑情結(jié)使她常常表現(xiàn)得孤高疏離、多疑脆弱。愛(ài)情是一種平衡結(jié)構(gòu)，其核心成分是自信?？杀氖?，黛玉帶著滿腹的自卑展開(kāi)了與寶玉的愛(ài)情。這使得她看自己極端不自信，看寶玉極端不信任，使原本甜美的愛(ài)情變成了折騰彼此的怨情。

黛玉的自卑情結(jié)還使她對(duì)自己的言行極度敏感，生怕別人看低。如在《紅樓夢(mèng)》第三回中，眾人初見(jiàn)黛玉，見(jiàn)她有不足之癥便詢(xún)問(wèn)為何只服藥卻不療治，黛玉道：“我自來(lái)是如此，從會(huì)吃飲食時(shí)便吃藥，到今日未斷??”黛玉的答非所問(wèn)和“自來(lái)如此”，可以略微看出黛玉怕被眾人輕視的高姿態(tài)。在《紅樓夢(mèng)》第七回中，周瑞家的挺吩咐給黛玉帶來(lái)了宮制堆紗新巧的假花兒，黛玉看了便問(wèn)道：“還是單送我一人的，還是別的姑娘們都有呢？”周瑞家的道：“各位都有了，這兩枝是姑娘的了?！摈煊窭湫Φ溃骸拔揖椭?，別人不挑剩下的也不給我?！边@話一出，黛玉的敏感可見(jiàn)一斑，她深怕自己受到別人的輕視而不斷揣摩別人的言行，事實(shí)上，最輕視黛玉的恰恰是她自己，她的自卑使她深陷抑郁的泥潭，很難體會(huì)到生活的樂(lè)趣，也使得她與寶玉的愛(ài)情之路走的異常曲折。

黛玉是抑郁型人格障礙患者

自卑的人常常情不自禁地夸大自己的缺陷，總愛(ài)拿自己的短處比別人的長(zhǎng)處相比，不能冷靜地分析自己所受的挫折，不能正確地對(duì)待自己的過(guò)失，不能認(rèn)真地思考別人對(duì)自己的期望，也不能客觀地理解別人對(duì)自己的評(píng)價(jià)。其久而久之，就很容易形成憂郁性人格障礙。在心理學(xué)上，抑郁型人格障礙癥(depressed personality disorder)屬于情感型人格障礙(affective personality disorder)的一種，也被稱(chēng)為情緒低落性人格障礙，多見(jiàn)于女性。其臨床表現(xiàn)為精神不振，寡言少語(yǔ)，過(guò)分擔(dān)憂，容易發(fā)怒，自感負(fù)擔(dān)沉重，精力不濟(jì)，對(duì)任何事情都感到困難重重、無(wú)能為力和難以預(yù)料結(jié)局，對(duì)生活的看法充滿悲觀愁情，成天抱怨命運(yùn)，而林黛玉就是這類(lèi)的典型代表。

例如，在《紅樓夢(mèng)》第二十三回，黛玉在回房途中，只聽(tīng)唱道：“則為你如花美眷，似水流年??”林黛玉聽(tīng)了這兩句，不覺(jué)心動(dòng)神搖。又聽(tīng)道：“你在幽閨自憐“等句，亦發(fā)如醉如癡，站立不住，便一蹲身坐在一塊山子石上，細(xì)嚼”如花美眷，似水流年“八個(gè)字的滋味．忽又想起前日見(jiàn)古人詩(shī)中有”水流花謝兩無(wú)情“之句，再又有詞中有”流水落花春去也，天上人間“之句，又兼方才所見(jiàn)《西廂記》中”花落水流紅，閑愁萬(wàn)種"之句，都一時(shí)想起來(lái)，湊聚在一處，仔細(xì)忖度，不覺(jué)心痛神癡，眼中落淚。再如，在《紅樓夢(mèng)》第二十七回中，黛玉所吟唱的“儂今葬花人笑癡，他年葬儂知是誰(shuí)”，“一朝春盡紅顏老，花落人亡兩不知”。在這里，黛玉不僅是在傷景，更是由景及人，想到了自己的悲苦身世和處境。

縱觀《紅樓夢(mèng)》全局，黛玉對(duì)愛(ài)情的焦慮本是可以理解的。一方面，她并非是寶玉婚姻的最佳人選。除了她之外，寶玉還可選擇素有“金玉良緣”之稱(chēng)的薛寶釵，及有“金麒麟”之稱(chēng)的史湘云。她們兩個(gè)一個(gè)是有才有貌有家世，另一個(gè)也是才貌雙全并性情溫和，兩人都深得賈府長(zhǎng)輩的喜愛(ài)，對(duì)黛玉構(gòu)成了極大的威脅。另一方面，寶玉自小成長(zhǎng)于女兒堆里，雖與黛玉最為親近，卻也有些心性未定，愛(ài)與其他人打打鬧鬧，而黛玉性格偏靜，容易胡思亂想，卻礙于女孩的矜持和自尊，不便與寶玉一再提起，因而更加焦慮不堪。而黛玉表達(dá)焦慮的方式就是與寶玉鬧別扭，耍性子，三日一小鬧，五日一大鬧，到頭來(lái)把自己鬧成了一個(gè)地地道道的抑郁癥患者。

情感小貼士：做個(gè)進(jìn)退自如的野蠻女友

隨著社會(huì)的多元化，男女性性別角色不再拘于一格，男性會(huì)越來(lái)越忍受女性的生硬蠻橫，女性越來(lái)越希望男性會(huì)變得溫柔體貼。但凡是都有一個(gè)分寸火候，偶爾野蠻一把，戀人之間還可能覺(jué)得回味無(wú)窮；但沒(méi)完沒(méi)了地折騰，任何戀人都會(huì)敬而遠(yuǎn)之的。黛玉作為古代版的“野蠻女友”，給今人最大的啟示是：戀人之間小打小鬧，收發(fā)自如，是愛(ài)之流露，但大打大鬧，沒(méi)完沒(méi)了，則是愛(ài)之施虐。由此，怎樣，怎樣做一個(gè)做個(gè)進(jìn)退自如的野蠻女友，有下邊幾條建議：

一、小事大鬧大事小鬧

在戀愛(ài)當(dāng)中，蠻橫無(wú)理雖然折騰，卻可能給戀愛(ài)雙方帶來(lái)某種樂(lè)趣，起到維持愛(ài)情的新鮮感和緊張感的作用。但是面對(duì)關(guān)于感情的重要事件時(shí)，戀人一定要保持理智，識(shí)得大體，此時(shí)耍性子相威脅往往給人不會(huì)做人不會(huì)處世的印象，反而弄巧成拙。

二、鬧過(guò)就忘 不算總賬

女孩子在戀愛(ài)中耍些小性子可以，但要過(guò)了就忘，不揪住不放。古人云，過(guò)猶不及，女孩子的鬧騰也是如此。其實(shí)，每個(gè)人都有自己的脾性，偶爾的折騰和別扭無(wú)可厚非，也算得人之常情。但是頻繁折騰胡鬧是任誰(shuí)也吃不消的，人的容忍是有限度的，所以耍小性子也要適時(shí)適度，這其實(shí)也是為了保護(hù)自己。

三、愛(ài)要自信更要坦誠(chéng)

愛(ài)情中的自信不僅有利于完善自我，更能推動(dòng)愛(ài)情的長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)發(fā)展，給與攜手未來(lái)的勇氣和信心。而耍性子，其實(shí)是隱秘的抗議行為，以求將心中的不滿發(fā)泄出來(lái)，期望尋求關(guān)注。但是，與其耍性子讓對(duì)方猜心思，不如直接明了的說(shuō)出不滿，以自己的坦誠(chéng)換取對(duì)方的包容，而不要以鬧別扭來(lái)獲取對(duì)方的縱容。