网络课堂之美语思维(5)讲解录音和笔记

第八部分 AMERICAN VALUES

俗话说：“不撞南墙不回头。”——人一旦有一种想法，如果他本人的价值观不根本改变，就很难让他改变他的行为和语言。价值观直接影响人类的思维，而思维又是语言的灵魂，语言（包括肢体语言）是思维的载体，从这个意义上讲，学习一个民族的语言一定要了解并掌握该民族的价值观。美国人对自由的执着追求是众人皆知的，但他们究竟如何理解自由呢？我们用两个单元来向大家阐述这个问题。下面是一个在华居住若干年的普通美国人对自由价值观的看法及其在不同领域的表现

Individualism (a)

全文链接：

What’s up? I’m Parsons. Nice to meet you (well sort of meet you). Anyway, I greet you with words and gifts and gifts of words. And the truth of American values! I’m going to give you the skinny on all aspects of American values, while also giving you the reasons straight up. Why so blunt? Cause hearing the truth is the best way to learn. In my humble individual opinion, the best students are the ones who feel free to ask any question to their instructor, no matter how embarrassing, foolish, or personal. The best teachers will have an answer to every question no matter how out-there or obscure. Well, at least the teacher should have a good enough imagination so they can make something up.

l skinny ['skini] n. 机密情报；内部消息；小道消息; adj. 皮的；皮包骨的；紧身的；小气的

l in my humble individual opinion 就我个人的一点浅薄的认识来说

First I would like to address where American values come from. From oppression comes the need for freedom. From inequality comes the need for equality. The forefathers of the US were all oppressed and abused. They were great men like Washington, Pane, Adams, Hancock and many more. Their families had fled Europe to seek religious freedom. Some fled to escape Europe’s class system. All were sick of being oppressed. Because of their poor situation, when they revolted and became free in 1776, they stood by their idealistic concepts. Our modern day values sprout from the dreams and hopes of our ancestors who had to fight to be free. They fought and died so we wouldn’t have to. Legally our values come from the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Socially American values come from the human feeling of what is best for the individual. Only if you first take care of yourself, can you then start to care for others. (Sort of like the instructions on an airplane). America’s original statement was a call to all the world, “Give us your weak and your weary,” the USA is still a nation of immigrants.

l Constitution and Bill of Rights 宪法和人权法

l American values come from the human feeling of what is best for the individual. 美国的价值观来自于什么样的状态是最有利于个人的

l Give us your weak and your weary 给予所有弱小势力以保护

Because of this, the USA was once called a melting pot, where all cultures come together and mutate into one. However, we have augmented that phrase. Now we say America is a “Tossed Salad of cultures,” because when you boil things together the individuality is corrupted, but the USA goes to extreme lengths so that its immigrants can keep as much from their old culture as they like. However, once you immigrate to the USA you are an American, with American values.

l a melting pot 大熔炉

l Tossed Salad of cultures 像混在一起的沙拉一样的文化

l However, once you immigrate to the USA you are an American, with American values. 尽管移民们的独特文化可以留存，但是，仍然会受到美国价值观的感染，最后变为美国的价值观。

Above all else, be yourself! All American values sprout from that one idea. Individualism is the first freedom as well as the most important American value. The American political system is based on being free to have individual ideals, individual religions, individual cultures, and the ever-important freedom to speak your individual opinion. American legal and social values are such that if there are 100 men in a room and 99 of them are guilty criminals, but we can’t figure out which one is the innocent one, our values dictate that we let them all go free. This is done to protect the rights of the one innocent individual. That is a pretty heavy concept. America is serious about the rights of the individual. Check out this case:

l be yourself 做自己，在美国是非常重要的

l 用100个人中99个是罪犯的例子，来说明individualism的重要性

l check out this case = for example

The individual’s right to vote as they like is so strong, that－get this: when you are voting for a leader or governor or even president, they leave a space on the official ballot form for people to write in other candidates names. You can write in your mom’s name if you like. If enough people write in the same name that person would win. (Mom for president!)

l 选举投票充分尊重个人的意愿

Not only does being a nation of individuals define the United States in legal terms, but it is a cool title we are proud of. In the US, being different is a great thing to be. People respect the person in a group who can be the most different and interesting. The importance of standing out is reinforced with several positive American idioms such as: “You are such an individual!” or “He is heads above the rest,” or “I noticed her from a mile away.” However, by far, my favorite idiom that is charged by being a true individual is one related to one of my hobbies －music. “He marches to the beat of his own drum.” This image really tells you a lot about a person. They don’t follow along to the weak pop music of the moment, which is famous for only a few days. Nor do they quickly follow trends; they make their own music and decisions. Writing this makes me want to be more of an individual, and go out and buy a drum to play!

l 与中国“中庸”的价值观所不同，美国更加强调一个人的个性和在群体中的与众不同

l 夸赞他人十分有个性的句子：

l You are such an individual!

l He is heads above the rest.

l I noticed her from a mile away.

l He marches to the beat of his own drum.

At the root of American individualism is a wanting, no, a yearning to be famous. Every American wants his or her “15 minutes of fame”. We all want to be recognized and praised, and being famous is like being praised for just being yourself. America gets its modern culture and most of its culture and values from TV and movies, so having a mega-star status is the best way to feel one has succeeded as an individual. All American guys secretly want to be Brad Pitt, I know that I do. And it is easy to see that all local gals openly hope to look like Jennifer Lopez. We love the movies so much that we say, “There is no business like show business.” Hollywood affects our culture, language and every other aspect of our lives.

l 美国个人主义价值观的根本是对于“名”的渴望

l 15 minutes of fame 迅速成名

l mega-star 巨星

l 好莱坞影响了美国的文化、语言和生活的方方面面

Since this is my 15 minutes of fame (longer if you read slowly), I will tell you a little about myself as an individual. I am Professor Christopher Alexander Parsons, AKA (also known as) Mr. Magic. I have been teaching and learning in China for 8 years. Whenever possible I show off my individual style through my humorous writings in novels and textbooks. I enjoy sharing my inspiring music with as many friends as possible. I play the guitar and harmonica a little, but I excel at the four-stringed bass. I believe the bass connects the drums to the rest of the band. Plus the soothing sounds of the bass puts people into a relaxed state of mind. When I am not jamming with my buds, I like to clown around with my amazing magic tricks. I am still seeking my 15 minutes of fame from my English teaching TV shows and my old radio DJ stint on EZ FM.

l excel at 在某方面很突出

l puts people into a relaxed state of mind 使人们身心放松

I was born in New York, but have lived in many cities across the USA and the world. For most of my adult life I have traveled to and worked in many great countries, studying keen languages and taking part in diverse cultures. I believe that teaching is caring professionally, and feel that most people can learn by teaching. If you are learning a language, try teaching the new words you learn to a friend of an equal or lower level. Think about it, when you teach a subject, be it language or science, you gain a new prospective on it. Plus, when a student takes a test and gets an 85%, that is pretty good, but if the teacher takes the test they must get 100%! If you get a 100% on a test, or close to it, we say you “aced the test”. Teachers should ace all the tests!

l 美国人最常用于炫耀的话题之一，便是“旅游”

l 最好的学习方式，就是把学到的东西教与他人

l aced the test 彻底打败了考试

During my writing career I have written eight novels and textbooks, one for every year I have been in China. Most of my stories are about friendship, fighting hatred and prejudice, and funny chubby magic people. The English textbooks are about Office English, Real American English and Mastering the English job interview.

l 作者介绍他自己的作品

To be more of an individual, I wear cowboy hats, I show off my very big nose, wear colorful vests, and try to be as playful as a purple ape (because I was born in the year of the monkey). My favorite color is green, and my favorite number is 59. I wear glasses, like most bookworms, but I also love sports and some dancing when I am in the mood. I know that knowledge is power and I am willing to share that power with good listeners. In my ever-dwindling free time, I am into creating art with my true friends most of all. And I believe that beyond a shadow of a doubt that Art Will Outlast Hatred.

l 作者介绍他自己的多彩生活

l playful 幽默的

l bookworm 书虫

l when I am in the mood 当我有心情的时候

第二单元 Individualism Means Choice!

GUIDANCE：

在本单元中，同学们将要对热门话题：校园暴力进行讨论；感受拉瑞·金（Larry King）与美国前总统克林顿（Clinton）先生的对话魅力；领略美国前总统 CLlinton 先生在作国情咨文时的演讲风采；体会航空*的职业辛酸；了解美国更多的“个人自由”观念。

第一部分 Warm Up

LET’S GET HEATED

Dialogue 1

B 的房客给 B 带来了很多麻烦，A 对 B 表示同情，并建议 B 直接找房客谈一谈。

A：Are things still going badly with your houseguest?

B： ⑴ It’s getting worse. Now ⑵ he’s eating me out of house and home. I’ve tried talking to him but it all goes in one ear and out the other. He makes himself at home, which is fine. But what really ⑶ gets me is that yesterday he walked into the living room ⑷ in the raw and I had company over! ⑸ That was the last straw.

A：Jim, I really think *you’re beating around the ⑹ bush with this guy. *I know he used to be your best friend in college, but I really think it’s time to lay down the law.

B：You’re right. Everything is probably going to come to a head tonight. I’ll keep you informed.

【词句解析】
⑴ It’s getting worse.：重读 worse，表示心中很郁闷。

⑵ He’s eating me out of house and home：美国俚语，意思是“把屋里所有的东西都吃光了”。

⑶ get me：这是口语的不完整说法，应为“gets me angry”。在口语中，双方的交流在没有完整语法的情况下，也一样能完成，这要靠人的共通性。

You get me. 你问住我了。（当有人问你一些比较尴尬的问题时，可以用这句来回答）

⑷ in the raw：这里的意思是“裸体”。

⑸ That was the last straw：美国俚语，意思是“That was all I could tolerate—我再不能忍受了”。

⑹ bush：意思是“矮树丛”。

【思维解析】
1． You’re beating around the bush

这是美国的俚语，意思是说“你太含蓄了”。事实上，美国人是非常外向型的，但也有含蓄的。多数美国人对含蓄持否定态度，因为他们认为那样会使本来很复杂的社会变得更复杂。

中国认为沉默是金，最高境界是话外有话，弦外有音。美国人会觉得沉默寡言的人是freak，美国人很喜欢的一句话：wear your heart on your sleeves （把你的心戴在你的袖子上），美国人更喜欢直接去表达自己的感情。美国人喜欢调动所有的细胞去表达自己的感情，中国人更偏向笑不露齿，把语言和感情割裂开来，这样是很不好的。例如：I am happy.（请练习有感情的说这句话）

2. I know he used to be your best friend in college, but I really think it’s time to lay down the law

这句话很好地体现美国人做事的原则，我们中国也有类似的理念，如：“亲兄弟，明算帐”，但我们在执行时，就和美国人有本质的差别。

中国人总是原则很强，但是真的做的时候就不好说了，中国人比较看重钱。 美国人在任何时候总是在强调: “you are on your own and I am on my own.”，尽管是兄弟，我们还都是独立的个体，需要充分的互相尊重。可能在钱上的体现还好，但是美国人在individual freedom上会特别的独立。中国人会比较爱把自己的意识强加于他人，觉得这是为他人好。

Dialogue 2

A 从 B（Karen）黝黑的皮肤上猜测她一定去晒太阳了。而 A 却在图书馆里渡过了周末。

A：Hey, Karen. Look like ⑴ you got some Sun this weekend.

B：(2) Yeah? I guess so. I spent the weekend at beach.

A：That’s great. Where did you stay?

B：Some friends of my parents live out there, and they invited me there.

A：⑶ So, what did you do ⑷ out there? I mean besides ⑸ bask in the sun, obviously.

B：I ⑹ jogged ⑺ up and down the beach and played volleyball. You know I never realized how hard it is to run on sand. I couldn’t ⑻ get through a whole game before I had to sit down.

A：Not to mention cooler. Did you go swimming?

B：I wanted to, but the water is too cold, and I just wetted in up to my knees.

A：It all sounds so relaxing. I wish I could get away to the beach like that.

B：It looks like you could use it. ⑼ *Don’t tell me you spent the weekend in the library again.

【词句解析】
⑴ You got some sun：美国习语，意思是“你被太阳晒黑了”，美语的这种表达方式有点象汉语中的“老头晒太阳”。

⑵ Yeah? ：声调往上挑，表示怀疑，相当于说“真的？”。

⑶ So：重读，音调向下，表示后面还有话。

⑷ out there：意思是“那儿”。这和语法是不一致的，语法中there和here之前，是不能在前面加介词的。但是，在口语中，我们确实这么用。语法跟着口语走，不可能是先有语法，我们再去说话。而且， “介词+there/here” 这种用法也增加了口语中的明确范围感。在口语中，there 前面还可以加 in, around, up 和 down。

例如：I work here. 我在这里工作。 I work in here. 我在这块儿工作。

口语永远是根据意思来的，意思最重要，不要被语法所捆住。

⑸ bask in the sun：美国习语，意思是“晒太阳”，注意：介词是in，而不是 under。因为宇宙中没有“下”，而“in”表达在阳光里的感觉。

⑹ jog：意思是“慢跑”，与 run 的区别在后者更加职业化，前者是随意性的。多数美国人都是 jogger。

⑺ up and down the beach：这个词组不要翻成“在海滩上上下下地…”，而是“来来往往”的意思。

⑻ get through：意思是“完成”。Through 在口语中用的很多，本意是“从头到未来一遍”，在不同的场合可以翻成不同的意思，如：go through life 翻成“经历生活”。

⑼ Don’t tell me：美语惯用法，意思相当于“I can’t believe it”。

思维解析：

Don’t tell me you spent the weekend in the library again.

这句话体现出中美在生活理念上的差异性。一个人整天把时间都花在读书上时，美国人会认为“you are sick”。美国人的价值观是“work hard and play hard”。

美国大学里最崇拜的人，不是学习最好的，反而是最能折腾最能玩的人。美国人也不太会去比家里的经济状况，或者谁长得好看，他们比较喜欢比谁会玩，谁最个性，大家就会比较喜欢。

Bill Gates虽然很富有，但是很多人不喜欢他，因为他戴个眼镜，是一个bookworm,虽然他的富有让大家觉得他很成功，但是并没有很多美国人去崇拜他。

Dialogue 3

本对话节选自电影《You’ve got a mail 网络情缘》，Tom Hanks主演的。

Kathleen 在网上结识了一个朋友，她在和Joe 谈论这个网友的情况，Joe 其实就是那个网友，但他假装不知…

Kathleen: ⑴What?

Joe: What happened with that ⑵guy at the ⑶café?

Kathleen: nothing

Joe: ⑷But you’re crazy about him?

Kathleen: ⑸Yes, I am.

Joe: Why don’t you ⑹run off with him? What are you waiting for?

Kathleen: I don’t actually know him.

Joe: Really?

Kathleen: I only know him through the … you are not gonna believe this.

Joe: Oh, let me guess. Through the ⑺internet?

Kathleen: Yes.

Joe: Hmm.“You’ve got mail.”

⑴ What? ：这里表示没听清楚，声音向里收，发[з]的音

⑵ guy：意思相当于“person”、“man”等，男女都可以用，有些同学担心该词有贬义，其实没有贬义，是个中性词。

⑶ café：意思是“咖啡馆”。该词是西班牙语，由于美国的西班牙人和拉丁人很多，美语中出现了许多西班牙的外来语，如：amigo（朋友）、macho（猛男）、bingo（一种赌博游戏）等。

⑷ But you’re crazy about him? ：口语中的问句不一定要提前助动词，但一定要用升调，即：But you’re crazy about him? ↗

⑸ Yes, I AM：I AM 的重读表示十分肯定的语气。

⑹ run off：意思是“不停的干某事”。

⑺ Internet：意思是“互联网”，有一个类似的词“intranet”是“局域网”的意思。

思维解析：

从整段来看，Joe 虽然没有直接告诉Kathleen 他就是她的internet partner，但我们还是可以从“what happened with that guy at the café?”、 “but you’re crazy about him?”和“why don’t you run off with him? What are you waiting for?”这些问话中感受到他问话的直接性，因为这些都是Kathleen 的隐私。通常问别人的隐私是不礼貌的，但 Joe对Kathleen 十分在意，所以就频繁地询问她对internet partner 的看法，这表明一个人对另一个人有意思了。

美国人对隐私是很忌讳的。在美国，可能两个人都已经约会了几次了，却连对方的last name都不知道。