第一篇：The_American_Character_美國人的性格

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

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人》里的一篇文章。據(jù)布拉德福德所說，目標 為成功和物質(zhì)享樂主義，構(gòu)成美國人性格的內(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.” 要是讓國外來客描述美國人的性格，結(jié)果常常令美國人感到奇怪。一個人說：“所有的美國人都是清教徒；所以他們與眾不同?！绷硪粋€人說：“他們總是想方設法讓自己開心?！币晃蛔鹳F的客人告訴我們：“他們花在工作上的時間太多。他們不懂如何玩樂。”另一個人反駁說：“他們不懂什么是工作。因為機器替他們做了一切?！薄懊绹耸遣恢異u的，妖艷而危險的女人?！?-“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。他們沒禮貌，不尊敬長輩?！?/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.當然，世上既沒有單一模式的美國人性格，也沒有單一的英國人性格或土耳其人性格或是中國人性格。個性的定義在美國變得更為復雜，因為我們有不同的種族和文化背景，因為來自世界各地連續(xù)不斷的移民浪潮，因為我們區(qū)域的多樣性。個性的定義變得復雜，因為幾百種不同的宗教信仰及其對各自的信奉者的影響不同。個性的定義也由于每個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.強大的吸引力把眾多的美國人聚集在了一起。然而那些想再了解深入一點的人弄不懂美國人生活中各種似乎自相矛盾的東西。的確，美國人總體上工作努力。但他們也拼命地玩。他們?nèi)ヂ糜巍⒙稜I、打獵、看體育比賽、喝酒、抽煙、看電影電視、讀報紙雜志，花的時間和金錢比世界任何地方的人都多。而他們還把更多的時間花在教會、社會服務、醫(yī)院和各種各樣的慈善活動上。他們總是忙來忙去，又總是花更多的時間休閑。他們十分在乎個人的權(quán)利，又習慣于墨守陳規(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照的小商人，還是和大權(quán)在握的人形成對照的平民百姓。

Success as a Goal 成功作為目標

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.包括美國人在內(nèi)幾乎每一個人都會贊同的一點是，美國人極為看重成功。成功不一定是物質(zhì)上的回報，而是得到某種認可，最好是可以衡量的那種。如果一個男孩后來沒有從商，而是做了布道的教士，那也沒什么。但是他的教堂規(guī)模越大，教堂會眾越多，別人就認為他越成功。

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.好多事情都說明，成功是美國人生活的重點。清教徒相信工作帶來的好處，既有工作本身的樂趣，還因為工作的回報是上帝之愛的體現(xiàn)。一片富饒的土地到處都是機遇，等待著人們到來。在一個不固守陳規(guī)的社會，沒有嚴格的等級和階級，這樣人就一定能通過成功提升自己的社會地位。

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。對于他的后代而言，要擺脫作為移民的負擔，只有在一個靈活自由的無階級社會里取得更多的成功，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.英國的人類學家杰弗里·戈羅爾用弗羅伊德的說法來解釋這一切。歐洲是被所有的移民拋棄的父親，移民為了在美國過上新生活，背離了自己的文化。移民為了要成功從未停止過奮斗，因為目標 的內(nèi)容沒有限制。同樣，第二代移民拒絕接受移民過來的父母，因為后者無法適應美國標準。他能減輕壓力的唯一方式，就是取得更大的成功。在整個美國，有意大利人、愛爾蘭人、德國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，不利用這個世界的各種機會去成功而不能成功---這些無疑都是對國家的一種犯罪。開發(fā)一個新國家的各種資源，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得到的回報，更重要的是給社會帶來的回報。所以在美國，沒有人把物質(zhì)上的成功看成是自私的。成功的果實被看作具有全民共享的價值。

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)造了極大的財富。但他們也建立起一種經(jīng)濟，既可以帶來許多物質(zhì)上的幸福，更高的健康水平，也可以給上千萬的美國人創(chuàng)造更好地受教育的機會。無論怎樣，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.一個如此注重競爭的社會必定是攻擊性的社會，盡管法律嚴格限制各種攻擊形式。這種對攻擊的嚴格限制對 完善經(jīng)濟的肌體有益，但對某些個人卻過于嚴格。在拓荒時代，這種攻擊性是生存所必需的，但現(xiàn)在可能是一種對社會的威脅。走投無路、常年被同一工作所困的工人可能會將這樣的攻擊性用于種族仇恨或反對管理，或 開始酗酒、滋事、神經(jīng)質(zhì)、和自己過不去。

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，回報也就很高。在美國，人們很少看重金錢本身，它更多的是一種標志，一種工具。當一個人的地位提高，人們對他的要求也相應提高。成百上千各種各樣的志愿者協(xié)會有益于社會并服務于社會，人們期望他能慷慨捐錢給這些協(xié)會。你去看看《名人錄》，隨便找一個知名商人的條目，就會發(fā)現(xiàn)他參加的公益性委員會和協(xié)會多得令人吃驚。

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，按心理學家的說法，是一種克服恐懼和內(nèi)心空虛感的方式。在一個時刻變化著的社會，一個有進取精神的人難免會拿自己與別人相比，知道自己能達到的目標是什么。

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.這種思維方式對于那些本來就這樣想的人是有利的。但對不求上進的人卻沒什么好處。害怕失敗，害怕競爭對手，喪失自尊---都導致了一些人無力應付的緊張情緒。然后，這種緊張情緒就產(chǎn)生了對愛的極度渴望。因此愛和成功是密不可分的。戈羅爾認為，許多美國人在少年時期就被兩個問題困擾：成功就是要得到愛，要得到愛就要成功。母親們把這個模式成功地灌輸給孩子：孩子們在學校里表現(xiàn)好，她們就對他們顯示出無限的疼愛和喜愛；孩子們要是做得不好，她們就拒絕給予關(guān)愛。

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.既然沒有階級限制、世襲職業(yè)或教育來阻礙孩子的發(fā)展，所以從理論上說，他所能取得的成就也沒有限制。如果他說：“哦，我已經(jīng)做到了。從現(xiàn)在起我要做的就是繼續(xù)保持，”這樣的話毫無意義。因為，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。評價人的標準是成功而不是階級。不論出身豪門還是出身顯赫，都沒有什么可炫耀的；真正的考驗就是：從你的起點你能爬多高。

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.美國人熱愛工作。工作就是他們的命根子。近年來他們已經(jīng)學會玩，但是將玩也當成了工作。要是去滑 4 雪，他們就在雪地上猛沖，那樣子連馬都會累死。如果去度假，他們就每天開車五六百公里，以每小時60英里的速度觀光，沿途只停下來拍些快照。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，這個國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、犁田。教師、醫(yī)生，還有地方法官得扛著槍當民兵。農(nóng)場主自己動手做工具、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.美國人仍然喜歡什么都學著做。大學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，就成了專業(yè)的燒烤廚師。幾乎每一個人都懂得使用工具，懂得簡單的下水道或電力裝置的修理，還會修家具，刷墻。做這些“粗活”絕不會讓人認為不體面，不會做才是讓人覺得不可思議呢。

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.與這種成為萬事通愿望并存的是變換職業(yè)的愿望。在美國，不管是銀行家的兒子當了農(nóng)場主還是農(nóng)場主的兒子做了銀行家，都不會讓人吃驚。更不用說大學教授轉(zhuǎn)行干上了實業(yè)。一個年輕人靠一輛貸款買來的卡車起家，后來當上了公司的老板，擁有卡車車隊，行駛在好幾個州。杜魯門總統(tǒng)經(jīng)營過農(nóng)場，開過男裝店，當過陸軍軍官，后來才轉(zhuǎn)學法律和政治。詹姆斯·布萊恩特·克蘭特原先是化學家，后來擔任哈佛大學的校長，辭去了這個學術(shù)界的最高職位后擔任了高級公共事務官員，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·莫里斯寫道“對于歐洲人來說，生活是生命的歷程，而對于美國人，生活就是一個接一個的危險?！?/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.一個人可以同時是知識分子，童子軍首領，商人，運動健將，音樂繪畫的愛好者，熱愛大自然的人，做大部分家務的人。當老板的也許會和自己的或別人的雇員一起打獵。經(jīng)營商店的可能會競選當?shù)氐恼毼唬煜I(yè)人士和政府官員。他可以同時位于別的國家也許會用等級的概念來劃分的不同社會階層。

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.強調(diào)成功和成就，再加上要得到愛和贊賞的強烈愿望，會導致個性發(fā)展的兩難境地：要成功，人就必須好斗；要別人喜歡自己，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.走出困境的一個辦法就是有成群的朋友---會社支部的會員，同一教堂的成員，退伍軍人組織---他們一定會給你友誼。有了這些可以信賴的朋友，你就可以對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，為什么會對其他的種族或教會的人持懷疑敵視的態(tài)度。

Materialism 物質(zhì)享樂主義

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，目的就是做點買賣，買個屬于自己的農(nóng)場。像磁鐵一般吸引著他們大多數(shù)人遠涉重洋的，是擁有財產(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的土地和做的買賣。

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.和初來者自然的獲取思想相比，美國人對錢的態(tài)度是很不一樣的。就象德國心理學家休格·愛斯特伯格所指出的，美國人“很看重他挖到的金子，主要是因為金子是他的能力的體現(xiàn)……因此把美國人定義為物質(zhì)享樂主義者而否認他的理想主義，從根本上就是錯誤的……美國的商人為錢工作，偉大的畫家為錢繪 6 畫，意義是完全一樣的——”，都是是對自己的工作欣賞的標志。

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.獲得金錢是重要的，因為錢最能證明成功。當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。但是存錢并不重要。事實上，錢的主人留著錢，不過好日子，不慷慨地捐款給大串的慈善機構(gòu)，不接濟家里沒錢的人，人們也會不喜歡。

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，到美國的人感到震驚的不是物質(zhì)享樂主義的愛財和守財，而是美國人的既喜歡賺錢又喜歡花錢。這可能不是美國人特有的性格，而是中產(chǎn)階級才有的現(xiàn)象，因為大多數(shù)美國人都是中產(chǎn)階級。

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.上天賦予美國豐富的自然資源。但在大蕭條時期美國人懂得了，如果一個國家不把財富造福社會，再富有也會遭受貧困。它再也不會重蹈覆轍。美國生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品相當一部分到了國外，其中有工農(nóng)業(yè)用的機械設備，就是希望世界其他地方的生產(chǎn)水平和消費水平能得到提高。

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.無法否認這樣一個事實：高水平的生產(chǎn)一定會帶來高水平的物質(zhì)享受，所以美國人非常喜歡把東西做得新穎、光亮，有柔軟的襯墊，使用 起來方便，這樣就可以不費氣力。買回來的面包已經(jīng)切好片，主婦就省得再切。以前她把面包放進烤面包機，還要翻轉(zhuǎn)一次面包，才能烤另一面。于是就有了可以同時烤兩面的烤面包機，烤完了還會把烤的面包送出來。所以她不必轉(zhuǎn)手柄就能拿到烤面包。過不久，肯定會有更新的烤面包機，可以把烤面包涂上黃油，切成四分之一塊，然后放到盤子上。說不定現(xiàn)在就已經(jīng)有這樣的烤面包機了。

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.食物買的時候是煮熟的、冰凍的，蔬菜是已經(jīng)洗干凈的。地板蠟肯定是自動上光的，鋼筆寫上幾年都不用上墨水。輕輕一按，防暴風雪的窗子就變成了夏天的屏幕。暖氣是自動的，冷氣使房子即使在夏天也一樣舒適。自動化現(xiàn)在可以讓人再也不用做單調(diào)乏味的工作，自動裝置用在控制器中，機器再也不會出錯。

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.美國人創(chuàng)造了一個不用舉手投足就能過得舒舒服服的世界，為什么還是習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，高爾夫俱樂部，網(wǎng)球場，俱樂部，房子，教堂，以及各種可以讓他們?nèi)硇耐度氲膮f(xié)會。他們制造省時省力的小器具，喜歡舒適，就是為了節(jié)約時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.美國文化的特殊性質(zhì)來自美國的土地和氣候?qū)θ说挠绊?，而這些人帶到美國的，既有歐洲文化輝煌 的一面和也有其落后的一面。從十七世紀封建所有制桎梏中解脫出來后，他們渴望擁有自己的土地。他們要得到那片夢想的土地就要冒各種各樣的風險--通過協(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；用簡陋的工具砍樹蓋房開荒種地；有時會死在戰(zhàn)斗中，有時死于天災或饑餓---這些危險很快地把活下來的歐洲人改變成美國人。正是努力拚搏造就了美國精神。

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)驗影響很大，象一位非常嚴厲的教師，突出了一些新的特點。日常生活的艱苦使人的態(tài)度也粗 魯起來。而他們?yōu)榱艘粔K好土地爭得你死我活（后來爭的是金子），必須殺人才能活下來，沒有法律和秩序，人變得粗暴殘忍，動不動就使用暴力。這種暴力還繼續(xù)存在于我們生活中的各個方面，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富，有時只要付出很少的代價。于是有了“快速致富”的人生哲學---相信努力工作加上一點點運氣就能把一切都變成金子。做買賣的人用廉價的小首飾從印地安人那兒買到了值錢的毛皮。地里可以挖出金子，銀子，石油---而不是宙斯在達那厄下的金雨。搶劫頭目靠著操縱鐵路發(fā)了橫財，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)。它鼓勵積極行動，尊重用雙手勞動。它使獨立自主、自力更生的農(nóng)場主成為一個象征，至今仍影響著我們國家的生活。它造就了隨機應變、愛鉆研、想法實際的性格，能做任何工作，喜歡從小事做起，容易適應新的環(huán)境，相對不受階級劃分的影響，對讓他得到好的回報的國家充滿樂觀主義和信心。

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代美國人身上。邊疆沒有隨著大陸的聯(lián)合或自耕農(nóng)場的消失而消失。實際上，政府仍有土地用于自耕農(nóng)場，每年大約賣掉四五萬英畝。更為重要的是，開拓精神已經(jīng)深深地根植于美國人的自我概念中。

The American Creed 美國人的信條

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：“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，是對進步的信念?！?/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·克魯克恩認為，美國人的信條中含有堅信理性，對道德合理化的需要，對理 性的努力重要這一點抱樂觀態(tài)度和深信不疑，堅信個人及其權(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），高度評價改革和進步，有意識地把善作為一種快樂來追求。

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，美國人篤信自己的制度?！丢毩⑿浴泛汀稇椃ā酚妹鞔_和結(jié)論式的語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成是美國人的發(fā)明，至少是 看成我們獨有的原則和權(quán)利。這些被視為神圣的文獻能給我們提供基本的原則，由于它們的自然神論的背景，所以人們認為它們和創(chuàng)造性處于同一時代，不會受到質(zhì)疑，也不會被推翻。因此我們無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。

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?，而這部分原因是認為我們的目標是既定的，無須再討論；我們只要努力達到目標即可。創(chuàng)造，建設---開辟一個新領域，挖掘新礦，建立新的市民組織，發(fā)展一項新的事業(yè)---這才是美國人崇拜的。也是他們夢寐以求的。與所有的創(chuàng)造者一樣，他們不信任批評家。

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.基于這個原因，也因為他們是積極的參與者而不是消極的觀察家，他們覺得有義務使國家不受外界責難，盡管他們自己抨擊起國家毫不留情。德托奎葉爾雖然十分崇拜美國，但覺得美國人的愛國主義讓人難以忍受。他抱怨說，如果你停止對他們的贊美，美國人就會自己夸自己。他所看到的當然就是愛與被愛模式的部分表現(xiàn)，雖然這個模式缺乏智慧，但比對人類歷史產(chǎn)生重大影響的恨與被恨的制度有顯而易見的長處。

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。無疑，幽默從來沒有象在美國文化中這樣重要。維爾·羅杰斯被尊為民族英雄就是因為他以幽默的方式對美國社會生活尖銳而且樸實的批評---因為他的天才幽默讓美國人看到了自己的荒唐可笑之處。馬克·吐溫，從各個方面來說都是最能代表美國的作家，人們欽佩他善于描繪美國人生活的技巧，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，在電視臺的工資最高，這能部分地說明我們的樂觀的處世態(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，機器飛轉(zhuǎn)，車輛轟鳴，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.” 沒有什么東西過于神圣，因而不能改編成喜??；實際上，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)。牧師說刮胡子的時候他想著布道所以劃破了下巴，于是教區(qū)的居民說：“你應該想著自己的下巴，劃掉布道辭。”

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，是一位女司機坐在一輛撞得一塌糊涂的汽車里。（“難道你沒看見我發(fā)信號 表示我已經(jīng)改變主意了嗎？”）男人可能撞壞的汽車比女人撞壞得多得多，但是想到女人連車都不會開，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“縫紉機上油，調(diào)節(jié)家中的緊張氣氛，收費一美元”，一旦看出廣告中 不經(jīng)意中造成的雙關(guān)語，這個商店已經(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。年復一年，關(guān)于她的笑話層出不窮——與其說是證明有什么矛盾，不如說是證明弗洛伊德的觀點——婚姻矛盾在相關(guān)的但不那么直接的對象上的反映，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.”)幽默顯示我們對孩子的態(tài)度——我們喜歡他們對生活天真睿智的評價，我們喜歡他們是全面發(fā)展的個體，有自己的權(quán)利意識和勇氣，甚至能反駁自己的父母。（小女孩坐在飯桌邊，媽媽強迫她吃完花椰菜，她說：“我說它是菠菜，我恨死它了?！保?/p>

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心的事嗎？“普通人的一點點小問題到了負責任的精神病醫(yī)生那里，就被夸大?！被輪T說的話證實了我們的懷疑，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，以期長時間吸引觀眾，而對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，美國人的幽默強調(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，并且首要的是強調(diào)熱愛幽默本身，將其看成一種生活態(tài)度，比財富更珍貴；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，教師講課，都離不開幽默。我們對一個人最差的評語，就是他沒有幽默感。因為幽默被認為“美國方式”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，因為它可以使老百姓無所顧忌 地跟領導說話；幽默使他能把領導降低到與自己平等的地位。幽默讓自命不凡的人無地自容。幽默讓我們能透視自己，因為自嘲就是克服自己的缺點。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拘無束。幽默是自信的法則，是樂觀主義的修辭，是友誼的音樂。

What is an American? 美國人是什么？

“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美國人說，“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)論就是美國人很孩子氣?？墒菦]人能說準確地說一個社會成熟，另一個社會不成熟。每一個社會都有自己的邏輯。

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人無論走到哪里都能被人認出來呢？我們希望，不是一種美國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。唯一可以為他們開脫的說法是：一旦脫離了使他們在國內(nèi)以非常不同的方式行事的種種社會約束，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.)

美國人有一種外觀，與其說是衣著的結(jié)果，不如說是態(tài)度的結(jié)果。這種態(tài)度中，有對階級的不屑，有洋洋得意的樂觀主義，還有一種求知欲，加在一起就被歐洲人認為是幼稚淺薄的人。還有，他們喜歡用事實和數(shù)字說話，雖然身手敏捷，但頭腦相對遲鈍，最重要的是他們喜歡結(jié)交朋友。（讓我們暫時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東西都和美國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，最簡潔地說，美國人的性格，就是對具有非常機遇的非常競爭環(huán)境作出反應的結(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.美國人是一個與眾不同的民族。他們拼命地工作，然后花掉了大量辛苦賺來的錢。他們玩得筋疲力盡，并稱之為度假。他們向來把自己想成硬心腸的商人，可是任何不幸的故事都會使他們受騙。幾乎所有最大的東西他們都有 ：政府，汽車和債務，可他們害怕龐大。所以他們總是要想辦法除去大的政府，大的買賣，大的團體，大的影響力。他們愿意把自己看成是小人物，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，是最好的國家，是最好的世界，最好的天堂。同時，他們的車禍最多，浪費最多，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.美國人一見面就對彼此說：“放輕松點，”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，賺的錢更多。他們愛孩子，愛動物，愛小玩藝，愛母親，愛工作，愛激動，愛吵吵嚷嚷，愛大自然，愛看電視節(jié)目，愛看喜劇，買東西喜歡分期付款，喜歡快節(jié)奏，愛買票看體育比賽，同情弱者，熱愛國旗，愛過圣誕節(jié)，聽爵士樂，愛看身材好的女子和肌肉發(fā)達的男人，愛收藏經(jīng)典唱片，愛湊熱鬧，看連環(huán)畫，抽煙，喜歡房子冬暖夏涼，愛吃切得厚厚的牛排，愛喝咖啡，吃冰淇淋，穿著隨便，喜歡自來水一直淌著，一切自己動手，一周工作時間限制在40小時以內(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.當然沒有典型的美國人。但是如果你把他們加在一起，然后用226 000 000來除，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.美國人的性格

大部分美國人精力充沛，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，即使這樣做存在風險也在所不惜．他們有勇氣，不會輕易屈服．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.普通美國人一生中換九到十次工作.美國人熱情友好, 其程度并非外國人想得那樣表面化.人們認為美國人易動感情.當在典禮上看見國旗,當參加慶祝美國光榮歷史的游行時,他們可能會熱淚盈眶.與家人團圓,與朋友相聚,也會讓他們十分激動.他們喜歡穿著得體，即使這種“得體”無異于奢華炫耀.他們喜歡自吹自擂,盡管多數(shù)情況下只是說說而已.他們有時會嘲笑自己,會嘲笑自己的國家,甚至有時候會自責,但是始終有著強烈的愛國之心.他們對日常事情所知甚廣,對他們所在的城市和州深為關(guān)切。然而,有時候外國人會抱怨說,美國人對外面的世界漠不關(guān)心,一無所知.美國人酷愛豪華的氣派.他們的摩天大廈,橋梁和水壩往往十分雄壯宏偉,這與美國的自然奇觀之壯美和恢弘相得益彰.賺錢和擁有稱得上過多的奢侈品,是不是美國人唯一的目標呢?大部分美國人肯定會予以否認,盡管他們將通過辛勤勞動而積攢的錢財而自豪.在美國,90%的人生活富足,期待更美好的未來.美國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,但是他們對未來不抱太多希望。正是這些“社會下層階級”和利用他們的人引發(fā)了大部分的**,而這成為了美國社會最另人不快的一面.美國人開始意思到，這個嚴重的問題是他們自身的問題,而不僅僅是政府的問題。據(jù)說,美國人作為個體是慷慨的,但是美國作為一個民族則是吝嗇的.人們普遍認為,美國是一個不分階級的國家.的確,美國對人們的社會地位和不同工作不帶任何勢利的看法.體力勞動者在任何場合都很自在.不同收入檔次的群體可以在同一所學校上課,這個事實多少可以說明這一點.與其說美國人具有階級意識,還不如說他們具有種族意識.

第二篇：The American Character 美國人的性格

The American Character 美國人的性格(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人》里的一篇文章。據(jù)布拉德福德所說，目標 為成功和物質(zhì)享樂主義，構(gòu)成美國人性格的內(nèi)在因素。沒

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.” 要是讓國外來客描述美國人的性格，結(jié)果常常令美國人感到奇怪。一個人說：“所有的美國人都是清教徒；所以他們與眾不同?！绷硪粋€人說：“他們總是想方設法讓自己開心?！币晃蛔鹳F的客人告訴我們：“他們花在工作上的時間太多。他們不懂如何玩樂。”另一個人反駁說：“他們不懂什么是工作。因為機器替他們做了一切。”“美國女人是不知廉恥的，妖艷而危險的女人?！?-“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。他們沒禮貌，不尊敬長輩。”

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.當然，世上既沒有單一模式的美國人性格，也沒有單一的英國人性格或土耳其人性格或是中國人性格。個性的定義在美國變得更為復雜，因為我們有不同的種族和文化背景，因為來自世界各地連續(xù)不斷的移民浪潮，因為我們區(qū)域的多樣性。個性的定義變得復雜，因為幾百種不同的宗教信仰及其對各自的信奉者的影響不同。個性的定義也由于每個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.強大的吸引力把眾多的美國人聚集在了一起。然而那些想再了解深入一點的人弄不懂美國人生活中各種似乎自相矛盾的東西。的確，美國人總體上工作努力。但他們也拼命地玩。他們?nèi)ヂ糜?、露營、打獵、看體育比賽、喝酒、抽煙、看電影電視、讀報紙雜志，花的時間和金錢比世界任何地方的人都多。而他們還把更多的時間花在教會、社會服務、醫(yī)院和各種各樣的慈善活動上。他們總是忙來忙去，又總是花更多的時間休閑。他們十分在乎個人的權(quán)利，又習慣于墨守陳規(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照的小商人，還是和大權(quán)在握的人形成對照的平民百姓。

Success as a Goal 成功作為目標

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.包括美國人在內(nèi)幾乎每一個人都會贊同的一點是，美國人極為看重成功。成功不一定是物質(zhì)上的回報，而是得到某種認可，最好是可以衡量的那種。如果一個男孩后來沒有從商，而是做了布道的教士，那也沒什么。但是他的教堂規(guī)模越大，教堂會眾越多，別人就認為他越成功。

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.好多事情都說明，成功是美國人生活的重點。清教徒相信工作帶來的好處，既有工作本身的樂趣，還因為工作的回報是上帝之愛的體現(xiàn)。一片富饒的土地到處都是機遇，等待著人們到來。在一個不固守陳規(guī)的社會，沒有嚴格的等級和階級，這樣人就一定能通過成功提升自己的社會地位。

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。對于他的后代而言，要擺脫作為移民的負擔，只有在一個靈活自由的無階級社會里取得更多的成功，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.英國的人類學家杰弗里·戈羅爾用弗羅伊德的說法來解釋這一切。歐洲是被所有的移民拋棄的父親，移民為了在美國過上新生活，背離了自己的文化。移民為了要成功從未停止過奮斗，因為目標 的內(nèi)容沒有限制。同樣，第二代移民拒絕接受移民過來的父母，因為后者無法適應美國標準。他能減輕壓力的唯一方式，就是取得更大的成功。在整個美國，有意大利人、愛爾蘭人、德國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，不利用這個世界的各種機會去成功而不能成功---這些無疑都是對國家的一種犯罪。開發(fā)一個新國家的各種資源，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得到的回報，更重要的是給社會帶來的回報。所以在美國，沒有人把物質(zhì)上的成功看成是自私的。成功的果實被看作具有全民共享的價值。

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)造了極大的財富。但他們也建立起一種經(jīng)濟，既可以帶來許多物質(zhì)上的幸福，更高的健康水平，也可以給上千萬的美國人創(chuàng)造更好地受教育的機會。無論怎樣，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.一個如此注重競爭的社會必定是攻擊性的社會，盡管法律嚴格限制各種攻擊形式。這種對攻擊的嚴格限制對 完善經(jīng)濟的肌體有益，但對某些個人卻過于嚴格。在拓荒時代，這種攻擊性是生存所必需的，但現(xiàn)在可能是一種對社會的威脅。走投無路、常年被同一工作所困的工人可能會將這樣的攻擊性用于種族仇恨或反對管理，或 開始酗酒、滋事、神經(jīng)質(zhì)、和自己過不去。

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，回報也就很高。在美國，人們很少看重金錢本身，它更多的是一種標志，一種工具。當一個人的地位提高，人們對他的要求也相應提高。成百上千各種各樣的志愿者協(xié)會有益于社會并服務于社會，人們期望他能慷慨捐錢給這些協(xié)會。你去看看《名人錄》，隨便找一個知名商人的條目，就會發(fā)現(xiàn)他參加的公益性委員會和協(xié)會多得令人吃驚。

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，按心理學家的說法，是一種克服恐懼和內(nèi)心空虛感的方式。在一個時刻變化著的社會，一個有進取精神的人難免會拿自己與別人相比，知道自己能達到的目標是什么。

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.這種思維方式對于那些本來就這樣想的人是有利的。但對不求上進的人卻沒什么好處。害怕失敗，害怕競爭對手，喪失自尊---都導致了一些人無力應付的緊張情緒。然后，這種緊張情緒就產(chǎn)生了對愛的極度渴望。因此愛和成功是密不可分的。戈羅爾認為，許多美國人在少年時期就被兩個問題困擾：成功就是要得到愛，要得到愛就要成功。母親們把這個模式成功地灌輸給孩子：孩子們在學校里表現(xiàn)好，她們就對他們顯示出無限的疼愛和喜愛；孩子們要是做得不好，她們就拒絕給予關(guān)愛。

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.既然沒有階級限制、世襲職業(yè)或教育來阻礙孩子的發(fā)展，所以從理論上說，他所能取得的成就也沒有限制。如果他說：“哦，我已經(jīng)做到了。從現(xiàn)在起我要做的就是繼續(xù)保持，”這樣的話毫無意義。因為，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。評價人的標準是成功而不是階級。不論出身豪門還是出身顯赫，都沒有什么可炫耀的；真正的考驗就是：從你的起點你能爬多高。

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.美國人熱愛工作。工作就是他們的命根子。近年來他們已經(jīng)學會玩，但是將玩也當成了工作。要是去滑雪，他們就在雪地上猛沖，那樣子連馬都會累死。如果去度假，他們就每天開車五六百公里，以每小時60英里的速度觀光，沿途只停下來拍些快照。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，這個國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、犁田。教師、醫(yī)生，還有地方法官得扛著槍當民兵。農(nóng)場主自己動手做工具、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.美國人仍然喜歡什么都學著做。大學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，就成了專業(yè)的燒烤廚師。幾乎每一個人都懂得使用工具，懂得簡單的下水道或電力裝置的修理，還會修家具，刷墻。做這些“粗活”絕不會讓人認為不體面，不會做才是讓人覺得不可思議呢。

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.與這種成為萬事通愿望并存的是變換職業(yè)的愿望。在美國，不管是銀行家的兒子當了農(nóng)場主還是農(nóng)場主的兒子做了銀行家，都不會讓人吃驚。更不用說大學教授轉(zhuǎn)行干上了實業(yè)。一個年輕人靠一輛貸款買來的卡車起家，后來當上了公司的老板，擁有卡車車隊，行駛在好幾個州。杜魯門總統(tǒng)經(jīng)營過農(nóng)場，開過男裝店，當過陸軍軍官，后來才轉(zhuǎn)學法律和政治。詹姆斯·布萊恩特·克蘭特原先是化學家，后來擔任哈佛大學的校長，辭去了這個學術(shù)界的最高職位后擔任了高級公共事務官員，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·莫里斯寫道“對于歐洲人來說，生活是生命的歷程，而對于美國人，生活就是一個接一個的危險。”

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.一個人可以同時是知識分子，童子軍首領，商人，運動健將，音樂繪畫的愛好者，熱愛大自然的人，做大部分家務的人。當老板的也許會和自己的或別人的雇員一起打獵。經(jīng)營商店的可能會競選當?shù)氐恼毼唬煜I(yè)人士和政府官員。他可以同時位于別的國家也許會用等級的概念來劃分的不同社會階層。

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.強調(diào)成功和成就，再加上要得到愛和贊賞的強烈愿望，會導致個性發(fā)展的兩難境地：要成功，人就必須好斗；要別人喜歡自己，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.走出困境的一個辦法就是有成群的朋友---會社支部的會員，同一教堂的成員，退伍軍人組織---他們一定會給你友誼。有了這些可以信賴的朋友，你就可以對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，為什么會對其他的種族或教會的人持懷疑敵視的態(tài)度。

Materialism 物質(zhì)享樂主義

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，目的就是做點買賣，買個屬于自己的農(nóng)場。像磁鐵一般吸引著他們大多數(shù)人遠涉重洋的，是擁有財產(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的土地和做的買賣。

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.和初來者自然的獲取思想相比，美國人對錢的態(tài)度是很不一樣的。就象德國心理學家休格·愛斯特伯格所指出的，美國人“很看重他挖到的金子，主要是因為金子是他的能力的體現(xiàn)……因此把美國人定義為物質(zhì)享樂主義者而否認他的理想主義，從根本上就是錯誤的……美國的商人為錢工作，偉大的畫家為錢繪畫，意義是完全一樣的——”，都是是對自己的工作欣賞的標志。

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.獲得金錢是重要的，因為錢最能證明成功。當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。但是存錢并不重要。事實上，錢的主人留著錢，不過好日子，不慷慨地捐款給大串的慈善機構(gòu)，不接濟家里沒錢的人，人們也會不喜歡。

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，到美國的人感到震驚的不是物質(zhì)享樂主義的愛財和守財，而是美國人的既喜歡賺錢又喜歡花錢。這可能不是美國人特有的性格，而是中產(chǎn)階級才有的現(xiàn)象，因為大多數(shù)美國人都是中產(chǎn)階級。

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.上天賦予美國豐富的自然資源。但在大蕭條時期美國人懂得了，如果一個國家不把財富造福社會，再富有也會遭受貧困。它再也不會重蹈覆轍。美國生產(chǎn)的產(chǎn)品相當一部分到了國外，其中有工農(nóng)業(yè)用的機械設備，就是希望世界其他地方的生產(chǎn)水平和消費水平能得到提高。

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.無法否認這樣一個事實：高水平的生產(chǎn)一定會帶來高水平的物質(zhì)享受，所以美國人非常喜歡把東西做得新穎、光亮，有柔軟的襯墊，使用 起來方便，這樣就可以不費氣力。買回來的面包已經(jīng)切好片，主婦就省得再切。以前她把面包放進烤面包機，還要翻轉(zhuǎn)一次面包，才能烤另一面。于是就有了可以同時烤兩面的烤面包機，烤完了還會把烤的面包送出來。所以她不必轉(zhuǎn)手柄就能拿到烤面包。過不久，肯定會有更新的烤面包機，可以把烤面包涂上黃油，切成四分之一塊，然后放到盤子上。說不定現(xiàn)在就已經(jīng)有這樣的烤面包機了。

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.食物買的時候是煮熟的、冰凍的，蔬菜是已經(jīng)洗干凈的。地板蠟肯定是自動上光的，鋼筆寫上幾年都不用上墨水。輕輕一按，防暴風雪的窗子就變成了夏天的屏幕。暖氣是自動的，冷氣使房子即使在夏天也一樣舒適。自動化現(xiàn)在可以讓人再也不用做單調(diào)乏味的工作，自動裝置用在控制器中，機器再也不會出錯。

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.美國人創(chuàng)造了一個不用舉手投足就能過得舒舒服服的世界，為什么還是習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，高爾夫俱樂部，網(wǎng)球場，俱樂部，房子，教堂，以及各種可以讓他們?nèi)硇耐度氲膮f(xié)會。他們制造省時省力的小器具，喜歡舒適，就是為了節(jié)約時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.

第三篇：美國人的性格分析與交往經(jīng)驗總結(jié)

美國人的性格分析與交往經(jīng)驗總結(jié)

Iowa State University

Major： statistics

現(xiàn)在就開始吧。對我個人來說，我一直贊成的觀點就是，在美國學習，生活，最關(guān)鍵之一是要做到和很多美國人成為朋友。然而據(jù)我觀察，咱們大部分中國人似乎不怎么熱衷于和美國人交朋友。理由嘛，無非是什么沒什么共同話題，沒什么生活交集等等，我個人認為這些理由只對那些整天呆在寢室里頭玩游戲或是瘋狂學習的宅男宅女們適用，如果你不是那類人，那對不起，這只能說明你沒有那膽量去結(jié)識新環(huán)境里的朋友。

其實，美國人遠比很多中國人想象得好處得多。我來分析分析他們的性格吧。

美國人是很熱情友好的一類人，學校里，不少情況下，我們不搭理他們美國人，他們卻會主動和你打招呼，向你問好，甚至找你說話。如果你真心想和他們交往的話，在這個時候，你可以隨便和他們多說兩句話，不用去留心說錯話問錯問題，因為他們心里面明白，畢竟對于他們來說，我們是外國人，語言上的誤解是小問題。如果你初次和美國人交往問錯了話，只用陪個笑便了事！繼續(xù)后面的話題。如果談得來的話，臨別之際就主動找他/她要個聯(lián)系方式。和 美國人交往，body language 很重要，當然也得有些許技巧（尤其是初次交往），最主要的是讓他們看得起你。要想真正達到效果，首先應該是，坐的端行得正，尤其是對于咱們亞洲男生，相比而言體格上本來就顯得不夠健壯，所以更需要讓自己顯得像個紳士。說話時眼睛要注視著對方，一是表現(xiàn)自己對他人的尊重，二是表現(xiàn)自己的自信，當然，也別刻意把自己弄得得像個當兵的或是注視他人的時候只是不停得注視，因為那樣也會讓他們覺得你太死板?？傊?，自然點總是非常好，從美國電視劇上面學學也會有幫助的（這里面有些東西是只可意會不可言傳的）。第二重要的是，說話口氣可以沒有美國人那么好，但說話聲音要盡量顯得洪亮，才能顯示你的優(yōu)雅的氣質(zhì)（我說的第二點對于男女都適用！）

美國人性格張揚，喜歡說話，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)驗來判斷，一些小秘密別和美國人交流地太多，因為說不準哪天他不注意就全說出去了哈哈。

很大一部分美國人非常樂于助人，這不止是很多美國基督教徒的性格，準確地說應該是美國人民的性格。

很大一部分美國人膽大心細，不是像國內(nèi)很多人想象的那樣笨。

美國人直爽，他們喜歡把自己的想法說出來，不喜歡佯裝對某一事物的喜好。

大部分美國人性格都很溫和，他們沒有像很多亞洲人那樣有聚眾打架的習慣。美國人在“人不犯我我不犯人”這點做得挺好。因為打架犯事在美國可不是什么簡單的批評警告，而是坐牢和開除學籍。

美國人生性固執(zhí)，有些觀點一旦形成，很難改變他/她的觀點，所以就算你和他/她關(guān)系比較，也要避免和他/她去爭執(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/她說讓他/她看看某些著作，歷史資料或教科書啥就行了。

美國人以自我為中心--這個不能片面理解成為自私，最正確的理解應該是：他想讓別人知道自己能解決什么別人解決不了的問題。當你有什么問題難以解決而去咨詢一個和你交往不怎么太深的美國朋友，他也會給你提供幫助，因為在他們心中，他們覺得幫助別人是一個表現(xiàn)自我的大好機會。如果從另一方面理解，你可以說，美國人很自負，他們總認為別人比不上他或是不該超過他。有些美國人甚至會有這樣奇怪的想法：我有能力當教授，只是不想去做那個職業(yè)。。

美國人喜歡熱鬧；他們喜歡性格開朗，愛說話的人。當你和好幾個美國人一起學習交流的時候，如果不主動制造點“噪音”，就很有可能會被他們誤人為膽小鬼。對于咱們來說，和他們交往多說話，沒有壞處，磨刀不誤砍柴工嘛，煉了英語又增進了友情，而且不會太耽誤事的，何樂而不為呢？

美 國人有很強“領地意識”，也許是因為沒發(fā)育好有狼性吧（just kidding lol），當你把一個美國人請到家玩，你和你的室友們不必有這些擔心：1.乘你不注意到處亂看，到處亂翻你的東西；2.對家里面的他們認為稀奇古怪的東西有無限的好奇心；有親身經(jīng)驗告訴過我：有一次我把一個和我玩得不錯的美國人叫到我家里面吃飯，客廳里面擺滿了很多奇怪的東西，正準備吃飯的時候，突然來了個電話：是我的另一個朋友來我這還書的，于是出去了5分鐘，當我回來的時候，驚奇得發(fā)現(xiàn)，那個“傻大個”還是站在廚房里面什么都沒做。。就連客廳里面那么多奇奇怪怪的屬于我室友的東西問都不問一句。

美國人的記性很好，他們中大多數(shù)人能記住你對他做過的每一個好事或他對你做過的每一個好事，當然也能記得住你做過的一些他認為不合適的事情，他對你做的一些不合適的事情等等。

和美國女生交往，不管交情怎樣，千萬別問她體重——我的一個美國朋友對我說過，他從來都沒問過他女朋友的體重，因為美國女生對這個很敏感。年長的女性，對年齡比較敏感，莫問（大家小學就該學過了）。

很多美國學生邏輯思維比較縝密，數(shù)學能力不見得比亞洲人差。尤其是學理科的美國人。數(shù)字是有活力，有激情的，真正熱愛理科的美國學生，比學文科的美國更顯得外向，并且更有音樂天賦。而缺點是生活上面可能不夠檢點。

學純文科的美國人是比較內(nèi)向的，他們相對學理科的來說缺少音樂音樂天賦，與人交往能力上明顯不如學理科的。不過優(yōu)點心地更顯善良外加沒有很多不良嗜好（以上為親自觀察分析總結(jié)）。

如果你想在校園里結(jié)識些非常優(yōu)秀的美國人，請你選擇那些讀雙學位的20歲以上的美國學生（我刻意提到年齡，因為這個很重要），最好是一文一理。他們不僅學習好，而且有很強的交往能力外加非常優(yōu)秀的音樂體育細胞。當然，生活習慣也很好（相對固定的起居時間外加整潔的室內(nèi)環(huán)境布局）。

美國人不見得會偏科，他們中不少有很多特長。在美國，光一個學習好不能代表的什么。尺有所短寸有所長。只要有點特長，都會有展現(xiàn)自我能力的機會

美國人喜歡表揚，當你和美國朋友交往時，很多情況下，你只要稍微向他們提到點表揚的詞句都能讓他們倍感高興。這一點我還真想告訴那些準備赴美讀研的朋友們，如果你們當了助教，你們會接觸到很多美國學生，當你遇到美國學生做不好題目的時候，你得鼓勵他，而不是批評他們做得不好。如果你那樣做的話，你最終可能會吃不好兜著走（不做過多解釋）.說幾個本人了解到的幾個文化上不一樣的地方吧： 1.美國人和亞洲人（棒子除外）相比來說，更顯高傲。他們不知道什么叫客氣，如果你邀請其中一位美國佬到你家做客吃飯，別按中國人一貫的作法：端茶遞水外加盛菜盛飯。飯做好了后你唯一需要做的就是，宣布開飯。剩下的全是他自己做。你的那些中國人的作法會讓那些習慣了自己的事情自己做的美國人感到別扭，甚至誤解自己的好意。還有就是當美國人拒絕了什么東西的時候，別以為他是在和你客氣，千萬別學很多中國人的傳統(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人乃至很多中國以外的東亞人都知道的名言，這話是在教導我們，自己不想要的，不喜歡的東西，別和別人“分享”。偏偏這么簡單易懂的道理，在美國就不靈了。。我遇到過很多次了。我和幾個美國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，于是就對他們說： “你們?nèi)绻氲脑?，就再帶點回去吧”。可其中一個人的話問得讓我很無語：“你是不是不想要這些了呢？如果不想要的話我就帶點回去把”。第一次聽到這個感到的是吃驚。。（在中國，能問出這樣的問題的人除了一些不會說話的成年人和一些不懂事的小孩子外，沒有別人了。。說出那樣的話會受到嚴重鄙視的）。類似的事情發(fā)生過好幾次，我一直用孔夫子的那句話告訴咱們中國人的看法。后來，和他們的交流了幾次我才知道，他們那樣說沒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。

3.不能隨便問美國朋友的收入（越年長越不能問）。不過咱們中國人計算能力好，如果你真想知道的話，可以問你的美國朋友每周多少小時工作，工作地點每小時的 payment如何。大致計算下就行了（大部分美國人在說話技巧方面不精，你那樣婉轉(zhuǎn)得問，他們不會明白你的真實用意的）。4.“謙虛使人進步，驕傲使人失敗”這句名言在美國也不生效了。因為在美國人眼里，悶頭悶腦埋頭苦干的人會受到他們的尊重，但不是器重。美國人更器重那些有表現(xiàn)力的人，比如好口才或有很強的音樂體驗才能的人。就算你沒什么特長加上學習成績也不夠超群，只要你能經(jīng)?！袄p著”帶你課的老師或?qū)?，滔滔不絕地說自己努力方向，自己的所謂“成果”，照樣能留給老師很好的印象。

5.和美國人交往千萬別把自己弄得八面玲瓏，兩面三刀，因為這是絕對吃不開的。八面玲瓏是會給美國人留下個不靠譜的不好的形象，兩面三刀則會讓你陷入更多的麻煩。6.在沒有調(diào)查清楚前，別把那些有過不良記錄的美國人當成壞茬，因為在美國，法律是非常嚴格的。過分嚴格的法律，偶爾也會適得其反。比如說，我認識的美國人中，就有一個蹲過牢的，大家也許會問，他因為什么蹲了大牢？要知道他可是朋友們公認的很遵紀守法的人！蹲大牢的原因很簡單：在不知情的情況下來到一個湖邊沙灘上躺了一會（那片沙灘屬于私人領地，但沒有任何標示）。如果你和一些美國人交往深了，如果你問他們不良記錄方面怎么樣，他們中肯定會有不少人會抱怨式地回答你，并且那些回答往往是讓你感到無比吃驚的！說到這，我還是得說，在美國還是得注意了，不要對那些未知區(qū)域太過好奇并跑進去玩耍，那樣不僅不安全，而且還有可能不明不白地被cops抓了。。當然，更不能隨便進入那些不認識的人的房間。

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

8.當今的絕大多數(shù)美國人絕對不是馬克.吐溫的小說《百萬富翁》中的那群崇拜金錢的勢利小人，而是一群看重勞動致富，艱苦樸素（這里面主要說的是不追求奢靡與過分的浪費）的實實在在的本分人，我問過很多美國人，對那些開著豪華跑車的中國人什么看法，他們大部分很冷淡的回答：“他們花的是他們父母的錢”，那一聽就是鄙夷的口吻。所以現(xiàn)在新來美國的年輕本科生們，我真心勸誡你們別在美國炫富，你越炫越會受到更多美國人的鄙夷。亞洲的富二代炫富的比例明顯高于歐美，這就是差別。這是一個經(jīng)濟上差距問題，但我個人覺得這更是個文化問題吧！

9.有一個誤區(qū)需要和大家說明：“美國人是守時的”這個說法不對。準確的說法應該是，他們很少會上課遲到（美國學校里面的學生中有那么一部分，他們一看時間發(fā)現(xiàn)要遲到了就直接翹課，干干脆脆），錯過重要會議或和很重要人物見面（導師，醫(yī)生/護士等）時間。而和美國朋友交往的時候，他們對時間的把握并不好，這是美國人（主要是大學生）的通病。他們很多太過自信，總是容易高估自己的實力——本來安排好的計劃總是會出現(xiàn)很多閃失。各位中國朋友們，當你收到美國人的短信說什么“in a bit(等一會)”，那就意味著他還有別的事，再給他一個小時時間吧！

好了，這些是本人親自實踐思考總結(jié)的，希望能對已經(jīng)在美國，或準備赴美的留學的朋友有所幫助，相信自己，有時最好的朋友只不過是因為一次普通的談話認識的。加油！

第四篇：美國人演講稿

汽車文化篇：

關(guān)鍵詞：美國汽車工業(yè)發(fā)展史、汽車外形設計文化、汽車對于美國家庭的意義、汽車文化及北美車展、汽車與好萊塢

尊敬的各位嘉賓下午好，今天很高興在這里與大家見面，誠摯的感謝武漢中央文化區(qū)的邀請在這里與大家一起分享美國的汽車文化。從社會學、文學、還是美國200年的歷史來看，汽車包含了一種永不改變內(nèi)涵:不斷追求美好生活并為之奮斗，不達目的絕不罷休!對美國人來說汽車就像一個無法離開的朋友、伙伴、家人或者是自己最鐘愛的情人。加拿大哲學家馬歇爾·麥克盧漢就這樣評說美國的汽車文化“”美國是一個坐在汽車上的國家”汽車更像人生成長的標志。在這里希望可以帶給讓大家一個最真實，最美國的汽車公路文化。

OK！讓我們先來了解一下美國的汽車工業(yè)發(fā)展史。美國汽車工業(yè)發(fā)展史

19世紀末，美國的經(jīng)濟已經(jīng)達到了比較高的水平，工業(yè)生產(chǎn)開始處于世界前列，鋼鐵和石油化工等工業(yè)的發(fā)展為汽車工業(yè)的創(chuàng)造了條件。1908年，福特汽車推出了著名的T型車，這種售價不足500美元的汽車使得美國一個普通工人用一年工資就可以購買到。福特的T型車戰(zhàn)略使汽車成為真正意義上的大眾交通工具。1913年，福特公司首先在生產(chǎn)中使用流水線裝配汽車，這給汽車工業(yè)帶來革命性變化，美國隨即出現(xiàn)了普及汽車的高潮。

汽車外形設計文化

傳統(tǒng)的美國本土品牌汽車都是又高又大，個性張揚，極盡奢華，彪悍如悍馬，狂野如JEEP，奢華如凱迪拉克，氣派如林肯，這些鮮明風格的形成，代表著來自于最純正的美國汽車設計理念。美國汽車的設計理念不僅體現(xiàn)了美國的民族精神、社會文化，反映了美國人的價值觀、生活態(tài)度和行為方式，主要體現(xiàn)在以下幾個方面：

美國廣闊而富饒的國土，造就了美國人豪邁、自由和奔放的性格。美國人歷來認為，美國的歷史就是一部不斷遷徙和移居的歷史，美國歷史發(fā)展進程重要的原動力就是來 自于大規(guī)模的墾荒和流動，從最早東岸的定居點到后來西部大開發(fā)，概莫如此。不難想象，對于粗獷張揚、崇尚自由的西部牛仔來說，高大張揚的汽車自然成為他門的最愛。第二次世界大戰(zhàn)后，美國汽車工業(yè)迅速恢復生產(chǎn)，大車身、大發(fā)動機、多附件、高車速都是典型的美國車標志性符號。拿它們在朋友面前顯擺也是一種功能—炫耀財富。石油危機后，美國消費者的本性又恢復如前，依然迷戀那些大氣缸車和豪華車。隨著時代的進步現(xiàn)在的美國汽車越來越重視汽車的設計和制造理念上更要重視環(huán)保、節(jié)能方向的發(fā)展。汽車對于美國家庭的意義

汽車幾乎與美國人的一生相伴，從十幾歲起，大多數(shù)的美國人就學會了駕車。在美國，一本駕照、一張信用卡，記錄了個人的詳細信息。人們每天駕車去上班，周末驅(qū)車去旅行、度假；年輕人的談情說愛也要借助汽車空間，有的美國人就是在汽車后座上呱呱落地，降 臨到人間的。對美國人來說，汽車就是朋友、伙伴、家人，或者就是情人。許多人更新的汽車是一輛比一輛大，動力也是一輛比一輛強?？纯疵绹耐＼囄唬葰W洲最大的這位還要大上一號。許多人家的住宅，往往最大的地方都是讓給汽車的。因此在美國到處都是大型車。而且，美國人還特別喜歡開車，在火車、飛機、汽車三種交通工具中，汽車通常是外出旅行的首選。因此每到夏天，就是美國人開始開著汽車周游美國享受夏季假期的美好時光。在美國平均每個家庭的汽車保有量已達到2.96輛，加州的汽車數(shù)量甚至超過了該州人口總數(shù)。

汽車文化及北美車展

美國著名車展北美車展至今已經(jīng)有近百年的歷史，是當今國際五大車展之一，也是美 國創(chuàng)辦歷史最長的車展之一。由底特律汽車經(jīng)銷商協(xié)會主辦。創(chuàng)辦于1907 年，起先叫做“ 底特律車展”，是世界最早的汽車展覽之一，1957年，歐洲車廠加入車展，首次出現(xiàn)了沃爾沃、奔馳、保時捷的身影，獲得了美國民眾的高度重視，底特律車展的“王旗”正式樹起。從1965年起，展覽轉(zhuǎn)到Cobo會議展覽中心。1989年底特律車展更名為“北美國際汽車展”，簡稱北美車展，每年一月辦展。北美車展上所展產(chǎn)品大都是各種新穎、離奇、古怪的概念車。概念車體現(xiàn)的是廠家的設計能力和創(chuàng)新意識，因此，成了廠家理念和意識的“風向標”。

汽車與好萊塢

汽車在人們?nèi)粘Ｉ钪械牡匚皇侨绱酥匾?，以至于如果在一部美國出品的電影中沒有汽車出現(xiàn)，就失去了起碼的真實性。汽車在美國電影中成為一種不可或缺的元素。好萊塢商業(yè)電影中，外形俊朗的男主角身邊總有一輛與之相配的愛車，就美國的類型片而言，以汽車本身作為題材的電影并不少，其中不乏精品，如史泰隆的《生死極速》和近來風頭正勁的《汽車總動員》、《瘋狂金龜車》等，它們的主題包含著叛逆、成長和傳承。當然其中最為人知的當屬《速度與激情》系列，這部典型的汽車題材電影街頭風格十足，充滿了張揚的個性，純凈的雄性魅力、強勁的引擎轟鳴，肆無忌憚地宣泄著男性對機械力量的頂禮膜拜，無不刺激著人們的腎上腺素不斷分泌。與非主流的汽車題材相比，汽車更適合做配角，尤其是在警匪片中，只是主題中去掉了許多說教。在這些弘揚英雄主義的影片中，汽車是決不可或缺的元素，沒有汽車，我們的英雄如何救美？如何凸顯他們正義凜然的寬廣胸懷，讓美女死心塌地？與當今日趨精致、小品般的香港警匪片相比，沒有宏大的汽車追逐場面就構(gòu)不成美國的警匪片?！督^地戰(zhàn)警》中驚世駭俗的汽車追逐場面的壯觀，《偷天換日》中的minicooper在下水道中躲閃騰挪的精巧，讓人懷疑美國每年生產(chǎn)幾百萬部汽車的目的就是為了毀壞它們，男主角只要坐進汽車就變成了“破壞之王”。汽車在影像中往往成為男性的圖騰，在警匪片中能夠從滿是彈孔、傷痕累累的汽車中走下的才是真正的百戰(zhàn)英雄。這也說明美國制造是值得大家信賴的。

人文地理篇：

關(guān)鍵詞：66號公路、汽車與文學

66號公路

說到美國的汽車文化，那么66號公路則是最具有代表性的。66號公路橫穿三個時區(qū)、八州是美國第一條串聯(lián)起美國東西海岸的公路。1926年開始建設，直到1938年才宣告完工，1985年消失在公路地圖上，宣布退役。1990年以歷史66號公路的名義回歸地圖。見證著美國西部開拓歷史。其歷史價值不只是段公路史，也成為美國現(xiàn)代化的縮影。擁有濃厚美國文化氣息的66號公路有著無數(shù)的傳奇故事。66號公路的起點是芝加哥終點至洛杉磯。沿途有很多美麗的特色景點，如圣路易斯西進之門，黃石國家地理公園、俄克拉荷馬紅土地、石華林公園、新墨西哥州的特色印第安小店、參觀66號公路博物館領略美國西部自由、奔放、剛毅的牛仔文化。

汽車與文學

在約翰·斯坦貝克的小說《憤怒的葡萄》中，這條公路被稱作“母親路”。于是這個名字就被沿用了。最后，66號公路在1952年又被美國66號公路組織非正式地命名為The Will Rogers Highway。向這位幽默作家致敬的牌子至今還豎立在在加州的圣莫尼卡。

由迪士尼動畫公司的動畫片「汽車總動員」，描述在一個擬人化的世界里，所有汽車都會說話、思考，有喜怒哀樂，主角「閃電麥坤」是個賽車界的新秀，想要在即將到來、于加州舉行的匹斯托杯大賽中一展身手，不料因為一場意外，誤打誤撞地來到位在「66號公路」上的沒落小鎮(zhèn)「油車水」(Radiator Springs)，開啟了「閃電麥坤」奇異的生命旅程。汽車總動員發(fā)揮了寓教于樂的功能，不僅讓觀眾思考繁忙生活中的生命意義，也因這部電影 的上映，再度喚醒了世界對于66號公路的向往。

第五篇：美國人的生活習慣

美國人的生活習俗

■美國人性格外向，直爽熱情，美國人不拘小節(jié)，在絕大多數(shù)情況下，不論男女老幼、地位高低，即使是與人首次見面通常都直呼對方的名字，與人見面時，常常不握手，只說一聲“Hello”而已。

■美國的政府、企業(yè)均是5天工作制（five days a week），星期六（Saturday）、星期日（Sunday）休息。公定假日有元旦、華盛頓誕辰紀念日、陣亡將士紀念日、獨立紀念日、勞動節(jié)、哥倫布日、退伍軍人節(jié)、感恩節(jié)和圣誕節(jié)。

■美國人的時間觀念很強，各種活動通常都是正點開始，約會遲到被認為是不禮貌的（impolite），一般情況下，美國人談話不談論個人問題，如婚姻、收入、職業(yè)等。

■在美國，家庭成員、朋友間傳統(tǒng)上都要在圣誕節(jié)互送禮物。美國人在接受禮物時，通常都會當場打開禮物，贊揚一番，在美國人看來，接受禮物后放在一邊，就是不禮貌的，是對禮品的不屑一顧。美國人不注重禮物的價值，但卻十分講究禮物的包裝。

■在美國，幾乎所有的場合，只要有服務性項目就必須準備好小費（fee）。即使是請人幫忙開一下門、叫一輛出租車，也需要付小費。在大城市里，給旅館看門人、服務員和衣帽寄存處的服務員的小費，一般不低于一美元（one dollar）。在餐館用餐，付飯錢的15%作小費，是全美共同遵守的標準。

■美國人大多喜愛鮮艷的顏色，即明朗、活潑、亮麗的色彩，對紅（red）、藍（blue）、白（white）三色特別有好感，美國國旗即由這三色組成。美國人不喜歡黑色（black），它是喪葬、失望和晦氣的象征。美國中學生的課余活動（After-school Activities 在美國，中學生放學后通常有半小時左右的時間完成作業(yè)。除此之外，老師會要求學生定期寫讀書報告（report），例如：傳記（biography）、動物故事（animal stories）、科幻小說（science fiction）、推理小說（mystery fiction）、歷史事件（historic events）、家族史（family history）等。老師只是給讀書報告搭個框架（outline），具體選題（topic）由學生自己來定。比如寫“傳記”，學生可以根據(jù)自己的愛好，或?qū)懥挚峡偨y(tǒng)（President Lincoln），或?qū)懙谝晃坏窃掠詈絾T（astronaut）、科學家（scientist）、體育明星（sports star）、歌手（singer）等一些有影響的人物。學生確定了選題后，通常需要到圖書館（library）閱讀書籍收集資料。

雖然沒有過多的家庭作業(yè)，但孩子也不是“放鴨子”。有組織的課外活動是十分豐富的，如游泳（swimming）、球類（ball games）、體操（gymnastics）、溜冰（roller-skating）等體育活動；鋼琴（piano）、小提琴（violin）等樂器；芭蕾（ballet）、踢踏舞（tap dance）、繪畫（painting）、唱歌（singing）、棋類（chess）以及男女童子軍（boy scouts, girl scouts）等活動。每個社區(qū)（community）都有這樣的青少年活動中心（youth center）。家長可以根據(jù)孩子的特點（character）和愛好（hobby），有選擇地讓他們參加某項活動。

美國孩子從12歲到法定工作年齡之前，會在課余、周末或假期里干些零活（odd jobs），掙些小錢。女孩子幫助親朋或鄰里照看小孩（babysitting）、打掃衛(wèi)生（cleaning）等；男孩子則會每天清晨把當天報紙送到各家各戶門口（delivering the newspapers），也會幫助街坊割草（mowing the lawn）、修飾庭院（renovating the yard）。這不僅讓他們學會自己掙零用錢（pocket money），更能培養(yǎng)他們獨立自主（independent）和社交的能力（social skills）。兒童節(jié)由來

每當“六一”國際兒童節(jié)的時候，孩子們都興高采烈地歡度著自己的節(jié)日。那一張張笑臉，一陣陣歌聲，都充滿了幸福和快樂。但是你是否知道這“六一”節(jié)的來歷？是否知道當年確定兒童節(jié)的時候，是因為世界上有無數(shù)的少年兒童在戰(zhàn)爭中被奪去了幼小的生命。

那是在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)期間，1942年6月，德國法西斯槍殺了捷克利迪策村16歲以上的男性公民140余人和全部嬰兒，并把婦女和90名兒童押往集中營。村里的房舍、建筑物均被燒毀，好端端的一個村莊就這樣被德國法西斯給毀了

為了悼念利迪策村和全世界所有在法西斯侵略戰(zhàn)爭中死難的兒童，反對帝國主義戰(zhàn)爭販子虐殺和毒害兒童，保障兒童權(quán)利，1949年11月國際民主婦女聯(lián)合會在莫斯科召開執(zhí)委會，正式?jīng)Q定每年6月1日為全世界少年兒童的節(jié)日，即國際兒童節(jié)。

新中國成立后，中央人民政府政務院于1949年12月23日作出決定，規(guī)定6月1日為新中國的兒童節(jié)，同時宣布廢除舊中國國民黨政府1931起實行的4月4日為兒童節(jié)的規(guī)定。

目前，各國政府普遍關(guān)注兒童的未來，保護兒童的權(quán)益。聯(lián)合國1990年通過的《兒童權(quán)利公約》，我國是參與制定國和簽約國之一。在批準《兒童權(quán)利公約》的同一年，我國頒布了《中華人民共和國未成年人保護法》，這對維護少年兒童的權(quán)益起到了積極的作用。

為切實保障兒童健康成長，中國立法、司法、政府各有關(guān)部門以及社會團體都建立了相應的機構(gòu)。在全國人民代表大會和中國人民政治協(xié)商會議內(nèi)分別設有負責婦女兒童保障的立法和監(jiān)督機構(gòu)。國務院下設的婦女兒童工作委員會，負責協(xié)調(diào)和推動政府有關(guān)部門做好維護兒童權(quán)益的保障工作，為兒童辦實事。

日本：一年三次兒童節(jié)

日本是世界上慶祝兒童節(jié)次數(shù)最多的國家，他們一年要慶祝三次兒童節(jié)，而且慶祝方式十分有意思，充滿了濃濃的日本風情。

3月3日女孩節(jié)

這個節(jié)日是專門為日本的小女孩設立的，每到這一天，家中有女兒的父母會在家里設置一個陳列臺，臺上放上穿著日本和服的漂亮女娃娃玩偶，作為給自己女兒的節(jié)日禮物。

5月5日男孩節(jié)

為了祝福家中的男孩健康、快樂，這一天日本家家戶戶都會用紙或布做成色彩鮮艷、形狀像鯉魚的彩帶，然后把這些彩帶串在竹竿上，并和金色的風車綁在一起，掛在屋頂上。之所以這樣做，是因為日本人相信鯉魚最有精神和活力，希望家中的男孩都像鯉魚那樣，因此這一天又稱為“鯉魚日”。

同時，日本的父母這一天也會在家里放置玩偶，但卻都是武士裝扮，樣子很可怕。11月15日“七五三”兒童節(jié)

在日本習俗里，三歲、五歲和七歲是小朋友特別幸運的三個年紀，所以每年的這一天，會專門為這三個年紀的孩子熱鬧地慶祝一番。

這一天，小朋友會穿上最好的傳統(tǒng)和服，還會背上一個畫了松樹、烏龜或鶴等圖案的小紙袋，紙袋里裝滿了父母買的糖果和玩具。穿戴整齊后，父母會帶小朋友上日本神社，祈求并感謝神明給小朋友帶來健康和快樂。

母親節(jié)（Mother's Day）

母親節(jié)是一個感謝母親的節(jié)日。在美國、加拿大和一些其他國家，每年5月的第二個星期天就是母親節(jié)。在其他一些國家的日期并不一樣。母親們在這一天通常會收到禮物?？的塑氨灰暈楂I給母親的花。父親節(jié)(Father's Day)朔源

當我們小的時候，是父親用自行車馱著我們兜風，是父親陪著我們在公園里玩耍，是父親幫助我們解決了第一個數(shù)學難題，又是父親教會我們區(qū)分對與錯。

那么在父親節(jié)，我們是不是應該為自己的父親做點什么，感謝他這些年來對我們的鼓勵和支持呢？ 父親節(jié)的想法是一位叫Sonora Smart Dodd 的女士在1909年提出來的。她想以一個特殊的日子來紀念自己的父親。因為當年母親在生第六個孩子的時候去世了，是父親含辛茹苦地把六個孩子撫養(yǎng)長大。所以，Dodd 認為應該選一天來紀念勇敢、無私和愛意融融的父親們。由于她的父親生于6月19日，所以她就選1910年的6月19日作為第一個日子，紀念自己的父親。直到1924年，美國總統(tǒng)Calvin Coolidge 萌生了在國家范圍內(nèi)慶祝父親節(jié)的想法。最后，在1966年，每年6月份的第三個星期天終于被定為父親節(jié)。

而我國的父親節(jié)起源，要追溯到國民時代。民國三十四年的八月八日，上海聞人所發(fā)起了慶祝父親節(jié)的活動，市民立即響應，熱烈舉行慶?；顒??？谷諔?zhàn)爭勝利后，上海市各界名流仕紳，聯(lián)名請上海市政府轉(zhuǎn)呈中央政府，定“爸爸”諧音的八月八日為全國性的父親節(jié)。

有許多方式可以用來表達我們對父親的愛戴和感激?？梢运徒o他一張問候的賀卡，也可以送給美麗的花朵?? 南瓜燈的傳說

至于南瓜燈，Jack-o'-lantern，也有一個傳說，吝嗇的愛爾蘭酒鬼Jack騙魔鬼爬進了蘋果樹的樹洞，然后迅速在樹干上刻了一個神圣的十字，困住了魔鬼。Jack逼著魔鬼起誓永遠不再追索、或以任何其他方式謀取他的靈魂，這才把魔鬼放了出來。然而這卻擋不住死亡的來臨。Jack死后，由于酗酒、吝嗇和欺詐，他未被允許進入天堂。而由于魔鬼的誓言，Jack也不能進入地獄?！澳敲次胰ツ睦锬?？” Jack不知所措地問?！澳膬簛淼幕啬膬喝?！”魔鬼惡狠狠地回答?；厝サ穆防滹L四起，黑暗無邊。魔鬼從地獄之火揀了一塊燒得通紅的火炭扔給他。為了照路又不被風吹滅，Jack將火炭放進了他手里拿著的大頭菜中。Jack就這樣舉著他的“燈籠”尋找自己在地球上的存身之處。后來蘇格蘭人模仿他，挖空大頭菜，放入蠟燭做燈籠；愛爾蘭人用大頭菜或用土豆做燈籠；英格蘭人則用甜菜。后來他們移民到美國，發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個更好用的燈籠──南瓜燈！這個故事其實是在告誡人們，無論什么情形，都不要和魔鬼做交易。

Halloween costumes 萬圣節(jié)服裝（Halloween costumes）同樣是萬圣節(jié)的一個關(guān)鍵詞。人們會穿著精心準備的服裝參加萬圣節(jié)舞會。傳統(tǒng)的萬圣節(jié)服裝是惡魔（devils）、吸血鬼（vampires）、骷髏（skeletons）、幽靈（ghosts）、女巫（witches）。近幾年，服裝也出現(xiàn)科幻色彩，如外星人（aliens）和超人（superheroes）。同時流行文化也在萬圣節(jié)服裝上有所呈現(xiàn)，出現(xiàn)了在萬圣節(jié)穿得像總統(tǒng)，運動員等。

Halloween Parade 萬圣節(jié)大游行（Halloween Parade）源于1973年，剛開始只是一位面具制作家兼木偶操作師Ralph Lee的簡單想法。當時他帶著幾個小孩在社區(qū)內(nèi)辦了一次小型的萬圣節(jié)游行。第二年，紐約劇院邀請他將此構(gòu)想帶上大街，開始了一年一度的大游行。

現(xiàn)在，紐約市的萬圣節(jié)大游行堪稱是紐約格林威治村的盛事。每年大約有三萬名化裝的游行者和近二百萬人前來觀賞。陣容龐大的游行隊伍里，隨處可見各式各樣的奇異裝扮。大游行每年都會搭配不同的主題，比如環(huán)保、艾滋病等。

Apple bobbing

咬蘋果（Apple bobbing）是萬圣節(jié)的一個傳統(tǒng)游戲。在游戲中，人們把盆子或桶盛滿水，并把蘋果放在水中。因為蘋果的密度比水小，所以會漂浮在水面上。然后，參加游戲的人在不用手的情況下去咬蘋果，誰先咬到，誰就是優(yōu)勝者。在玩游戲的過程中，為了防止人們用手接觸蘋果，通常會把雙手綁在背后。

Jack-o'-lantern “杰克燈”（Jack-o'-lantern）也叫南瓜燈，是萬圣節(jié)的重要道具。人們制作的南瓜燈通常都有一雙邪惡的眼睛和一張大嘴，并且從中透出飄忽不定的燭光。它的做法也極為簡單。將南瓜（pumpkin）掏空，然后在外面刻上笑瞇瞇的眼睛和大嘴巴，再在瓜中插上一支蠟燭（candle），把它點燃。為了歡迎萬圣節(jié)，當夜幕降臨后，孩子們就會穿上五顏六色的化妝服（costume），戴上千奇百怪的面具（mask），提上一盞“杰克燈”跑出去玩。感恩節(jié)

感恩節(jié)（Thanksgiving Day）是美國和加拿大共有的節(jié)日，原意是為了感謝印第安人，后來人們常在這一天感謝他人。自1941年起，感恩節(jié)是在每年11月的第四個星期四在這一天起將休假兩天，都要和自己的家人團聚，不管多忙都是如此。感恩節(jié)在每年11月22－28日之間，感恩節(jié)是美國國定假日中最地道、最美國式的節(jié)日（holiday），加拿大的感恩節(jié)則起始于1879年，是在每年11月第二個星期一，與美國的哥倫布日相同。

感恩節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)主菜

每逢感恩節(jié)，美國人必有肥嫩的雞可吃。火雞是感恩節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)主菜。它原是棲息于北美洲的野禽，后經(jīng)人們大批飼養(yǎng)，成為美味家禽，每只可重達四五十磅?，F(xiàn)在仍有些地方設有獵場，專供人們在感恩節(jié)前射獵，有興趣的人到獵場花些錢，就能親自打上幾只野火雞回家。使節(jié)日更富有情趣。

火雞的吃法也有一定講究。它需要整只烤出，雞皮烤成深棕色，肚子里還要塞上許多拌好的食物，如碎面包等。端上桌后，由男主人用刀切成薄片分給大家。然后由各人自己澆上鹵汁，灑上鹽，味道十分鮮美。

感恩節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)菜譜

感恩節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)菜譜包括：Cornbread（玉米面包）、English Cheese Pie（英國奶酪派）、Venison（鹿肉）、Ducks & Geese（鴨和鵝）、Wild Turkey（野生火雞）、Garlic and Onions（大蒜和洋蔥）、Pumpkin Pudding（南瓜布?。?、Indian Pudding（印地安布?。？偨y(tǒng)放生火雞儀式

每年一度的總統(tǒng)放生火雞儀式始于1947年杜魯門總統(tǒng)當政時期，但實際上這個傳統(tǒng)儀式可以追溯到美國內(nèi)戰(zhàn)林肯總統(tǒng)當政的時期。1863年的一天，林肯的兒子泰德突然闖入內(nèi)閣會議請求赦免一只名叫杰克的寵物火雞，因為這只被送進白宮的火雞，即將成為人們的圣誕節(jié)大餐。感恩節(jié)購物與黑色星期五

感恩節(jié)購物已經(jīng)成為了美國人的習俗。從感恩節(jié)到圣誕節(jié)這一個月，美國零售業(yè)總銷售額能占到全年的1/3強，是各個商家傳統(tǒng)的打折促銷旺季。瘋狂的購物月從感恩節(jié)的次日（星期五）開始，這一天即被稱為Black Friday（黑色星期五）。之所以叫這個名字，據(jù)說是因為周五這天一大早，所有人都要摸著黑沖到商場排隊買便宜貨，這種行為有個非常形象的說法，叫Bird of getting up early.（早起的鳥兒）。在外國“感恩節(jié)”和中國的春節(jié)一樣重要！Babel, Tower of 巴別塔

The Tower of Babel, described in the Old Testament(Genesis 11: 1-9), was started by descendants of Noah on the plain of Shinar in Babylonia.The builders intended the tower to reach into heaven and make a name for them.God, however, was not pleased with the people, because they were disobeying the command given to Noah to fill the earth.The people's pride was leading them into rebellion against God, just as those people whom God had just destroyed by the Flood in Noah's time.To keep them from bringing greater punishment on themselves in 5 the near future, God stopped the building by confusing the language of the people, causing them to be scattered throughout the earth.The place where people built the tower is called Babel, so the tower is referred as the Tower of Babel.Today, the word “babel” in English means a scene of confusion, disorder, or noise from many different voices.巴別塔（Tower of Babel），也稱通天塔。據(jù)《圣經(jīng)·舊約·創(chuàng)世紀》第十一章中記載：諾亞方舟之后的幸存者繁衍了眾多的后代，他們來到了巴比倫尼亞的示拿（Shinar）平原，準備在這個地方為自己建造一座通天塔。上帝覺得他們狂妄自大，十分不滿，于是施法弄亂了人類的語言，讓他們說不同的語言。這樣一來，由于語言不通，人與人之間感情無法交流，思想難以統(tǒng)一，猜疑與爭吵就此出現(xiàn)，通天塔也就未能建成。人們離開了巴比倫尼亞，到世界不同的地方生活。因此此處的城市名叫巴別（Babel），因而塔名取作巴別塔?，F(xiàn)在babel一詞用來指喧鬧、混亂的場面。“apple of(one's)eye, the ” 掌上明珠

“The apple of one's eye” means someone's favorite or beloved person or thing, for example “His youngest son was the apple of his eye.” This idea comes from the ancient view that eyes are a very precious part of the body, and the pupil of the eye is shaped like an apple.The phrase is used several times in the English translation of the Bible from the early 1600s, often talking about God's love for the nation of Israel: “He that touches you touches the apple of his eye.”(Zechariah 2:8)

The apple of one's eye比喻最鐘愛的人或物。例如，His youngest son was the apple of his eye（他的小兒子是他的掌上明珠）。這個說法來自古人的觀念，由于眼睛是人身體中非常珍貴的部分，而瞳孔的形狀像蘋果，人們遂以the apple of one's eye這個詞組來表示特別寶貴的人或物。這個短語在17世紀初英文翻譯版的《圣經(jīng)》中出現(xiàn)過幾次，常用來形容上帝對以色列的鐘愛。apple pie 蘋果餡餅

Apple pie is made from pastry filled in the center with pieces of apple.The traditional shape is usually as big and round as a large plate, and about two to three centimeters high.Apple pie is usually considered to be a symbol of American culture.“As American as apple pie” is a saying meaning that something is typically American.For example, “Football and baseball are as American as apple pie” means that they were invented by Americans and played and watched everywhere in this country.The phrase “apple pie” is often part of other phrases such as “apple-pie order” which means well-arranged, perfect order.蘋果餡餅就是以蘋果為主要餡料的圓形餡餅，上下都有皮，烤成焦黃色。蘋果餡餅是美國家喻戶曉的糕餅，因此有人說蘋果餡餅是美國的標志，人們常用它來表示典型或者純粹的美國傳統(tǒng)。英語中有些詞組就顯示了apple pie在美國人生活中的重要角色和文化特征。比如人們常說：as American as apple pie，這個詞組的意思是像蘋果餡餅一樣具有美國特色；再比如apple-pie order是整齊、井然有序的意思，因為據(jù)說在每周開始的時候，有的美國家庭主婦習慣烤制七個蘋果餡餅，整齊地放在食品架子上面，每天吃一個，有條不紊，因此apple-pie order 就有了整齊而有秩序的意思。

“All roads lead to Rome” 條條大路通羅

The saying “All roads lead to Rome” means simply that all paths or activities lead to the center of things.This saying comes from the days of the Roman Empire, when Rome ruled over most of the known world.The roads built at that time were for military use, so all the empire's roads started from the capital city, Rome, and spread out to cover the whole empire.The long highways were important for maintaining both the stability and the expansion of the empire.The Romans became famous for, among other things, their 80,000 kilometers of hard-surface highways.The saying “All roads lead to Rome” came into use in the 1100s as a metaphor, with the meaning that all different methods will still produce the same result.公元前3世紀，羅馬帝國統(tǒng)一了整個亞平寧半島。公元前1世紀，羅馬城成為地跨亞、非、歐三洲，羅馬帝國的政治、經(jīng)濟和文化中心。羅馬帝國為了加強其統(tǒng)治，修建了以羅馬城為中心，通向四面八方的大道。這些大道為鞏固羅馬帝國的統(tǒng)治和其擴張發(fā)揮了巨大作用。道路系統(tǒng)是以羅馬城為中心向四周放射的，所以走任何一條大路都能到達羅馬城?，F(xiàn)在，這個成語比喻的是，通過不同方法可以得到同一個結(jié)果。

Aladdin's lamp 阿拉丁神燈

Aladdin's lamp is a famous lamp in one of the stories in The Thousand and One Nights.The story is about a poor young man named Aladdin, who helps a magician get a wonderful oil lamp from a dangerous magic cave.The magician tries to cheat Aladdin, so Aladdin keeps the lamp himself.He soon finds that a bad-tempered genie lives inside the lamp and must obey whoever holds the lamp.With the genie's help, Aladdin becomes a rich and powerful man and is able to marry the beautiful Princess Badroulbadour.The magician finally gets the lamp back by tricking the princess, who does not know how important the lamp is.Aladdin discovers that a ring left by the magician when he was cheating Aladdin controls a less powerful but more polite genie.With the help of this genie, Aladdin is able to get his wife and the lamp back.阿拉丁和神燈的故事取自童話集《一千零一夜》（又稱《天方夜譚》）。

阿拉丁是一個貧窮的少年。有一天，一個魔法師雇用阿拉丁到一個山洞去取一盞油燈，那實際上一盞神燈，一旦擁有了它，就會要什么有什么。在這個過程中，魔法師欺騙了阿拉丁，并企圖置他于死地，阿拉丁成功地死里逃生，并得到了神燈。借助于神燈的魔力，阿拉丁戰(zhàn)勝了艱險，和美麗的公主白狄奴·卜多魯結(jié)了婚。魔法師得知阿拉丁還活著，就從不知道神燈秘密的卜多魯公主手里把神燈騙走。后來，經(jīng)過曲折的過程，阿拉丁又把神燈收回，并從此和妻子一起過上了幸福的生活。

Air Jordan 飛人喬丹（1963—）

Air Jordan is a nickname for Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of all time.Michael Jordan was born in 1963 in Brooklyn, New York.In 1984, he went to play for the Chicago Bulls.He went on to win six 7 championships during his time with the team(1991-1993, 1996-1998).His height of 6 feet 6 inches(198 centimeters)led to his nickname “Air Jordan” because he often seemed to be flying through the air when he leaped up to make a basket.He retired twice from the Chicago Bulls, first in 1993 and then in 1999.He came out of retirement again for a short time to play for the Washington Wizards, but retired from basketball for the third and final time in 2003.His popularity with fans has helped basketball become one of the world's most popular spectator sports.Today the name “Air Jordan” is also often used to refer to the popular brand of basketball shoes named after Jordan.飛人喬丹是球迷們對邁克爾·喬丹的昵稱。邁克爾·喬丹是美國杰出的籃球運動員。他1963年出生在紐約市。從他1984年加入芝加哥公牛隊到1998年為止，喬丹率領該隊六次贏得NBA總冠軍，11次被評為NBA最佳球員，10次榮獲“得分王”稱號。雖然他曾在1993年和1999年兩次宣布退役，但其后又重返賽場。在2003年他正式宣布退役。他身高1.98米，當他躍起扣籃時身體就像在空中飛行，極具彈跳能力，球藝出眾，因而被稱為“飛人喬丹”。如今Air Jordan也是一個以喬丹名字命名的球鞋的品牌名。

AIDS 艾滋病

AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, is a human viral disease.It damages the body's immune system, and gradually takes away its ability to defend itself against infection and disease.AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus(HIV).People infected with HIV are open to infections that are harmless in healthy people, but can prove fatal in them as their immune systems are greatly weakened.HIV transmission can come through sex, blood transfusion, childbirth or breastfeeding.There is no cure for AIDS, but new drugs have been invented to help lengthen and improve the quality of life for people with AIDS.艾滋病的全稱為獲得性免疫缺陷綜合征（Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome），是一種致命的傳染病。它是人類免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）造成的人體免疫系統(tǒng)的病變。在多數(shù)情況下，HIV緩慢地攻擊并破壞人體抵抗病疫的系統(tǒng)（即免疫系統(tǒng)），使得受感染的人容易得病、并最終死亡。AIDS是HIV感染的最后階段。艾滋病通過性接觸、血液接觸或母嬰途徑傳染。目前，對于艾滋病還沒有有效的治療藥物或免疫的疫苗，但是通過服藥治療可延長艾滋病人生命并可改善他們的生命質(zhì)量。Aesop 伊索

Aesop is said to be a slave who lived in Greece in the 6th century BC.He has been remembered for his wonderful stories, called fables.He used animal characters to show human behavior and to teach a lesson, or a moral, about that behavior.One of his most popular tales, for example, is “The Tortoise and the Hare,” with the moral “It is not just speed that wins the race.”

Aesop's fables spread throughout the world by word of mouth, retold for hundreds of years.Eventually they were written down and have been translated into many languages.相傳伊索是生活在公元前6世紀的一個希臘奴隸，擅長講故事?，F(xiàn)在的《伊索寓言》是后人根據(jù)口頭流傳的寓言以及陸續(xù)發(fā)現(xiàn)的古希臘寓言傳抄本編訂的?！兑了髟⒀浴反蠖嗍莿游锕适?，其中的《狼與小羊》 《獅子與野驢》等用豺狼、獅子等兇惡的動物比喻人間的權(quán)貴，揭露他們的專橫和殘暴，反映了平民或奴隸的思想感情；《烏龜與兔》《牧人與野山羊》等總結(jié)了人們的生活經(jīng)驗，教人處世和做人的道理。伊索寓言形式短小精悍，比喻恰當，形象生動，對許多歐洲文學大師的創(chuàng)作產(chǎn)生了深遠的影響。Achilles' heel 阿喀琉斯之踵

An Achilles' heel is a fatal weakness in overall strength that can lead to one's downfall or death.In Greek mythology, Achilles was the greatest Greek warrior in the Trojan War.He was the son of Peleus, king of Thessaly and the goddess Thetis.When he was a baby, his mother submerged him in the River Styx to make him immortal, all except for the heel that she held to dip him into the waters.Achilles fought many battles during the 10-year Trojan War and finally killed Memnon, the king of the Ethiopians.As Achilles led the Greeks to the walls of Troy, he died from a heel wound caused by an arrow shot by Paris, the prince of Troy.阿喀琉斯之踵比喻致命的弱點。在希臘神話中，阿喀琉斯是色薩利密爾彌東人的國王珀琉斯和海中仙女忒提斯的兒子。在特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭中，他是阿伽門農(nóng)的軍隊中最偉大、最勇猛的戰(zhàn)士。阿喀琉斯一出生，她母親就捏著他的腳后跟，把他全身都浸入冥河水中，傳說冥河水可以讓人永生，故而阿喀琉斯周身獲得了保護，造就了一副刀槍不入的鋼鐵之軀，只有腳后跟除外。阿喀琉斯出征特洛伊，為希臘軍隊立下了巨大的功勛。后來特洛伊王子帕里斯得到神示，用毒箭射中阿喀琉斯的腳后跟，才使他喪命。