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你曾思考過這個(gè)問題嗎——何為中國(guó)人最富刺激性的品性？在語(yǔ)堂先生看來，“老滑俏皮”即是中國(guó)人最富刺激性的品性。老滑俏皮滲透于中國(guó)思想的整個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)，使中國(guó)人漸臻圓熟。

今日，《英文觀止》欄目將帶大家品讀中國(guó)人老猾俏皮的刺激性品性。

賞析批注

An old rogue is a man who has seen a lot of life, and who is materialistic, nonchalant, and skeptical of progress. At its best, this old roguery gives us mellowness and good temper, which in old men make many girls prefer them for husbands. For if life is worth anything, it is that it teaches a lesson of kindliness. The Chinese people have arrived at this point of view, not by having found any religious sanction for it, but from a profound observation and a knowledge of the vicissitudes of life.

1

An old rogue is a man who has seen a lot of life, and who is materialistic, nonchalant, and skeptical of progress.

rogue，指“調(diào)皮搗蛋的人”，e.g. The little rogue has his grandpa’s glasses on. 這個(gè)小淘氣鬼戴上了他爺爺?shù)难坨R。

materialistic，指“物質(zhì)主義的”，e.g. The pursuit of materialistic goals usually hinders the pursuit of happiness. 以追求物質(zhì)生活為目標(biāo)往往會(huì)阻礙我們對(duì)幸福的追求。

nonchalant，指“冷淡的”，e.g. I am amazed that you can be so nonchalant about the coming test when everyone else is so worried. 每個(gè)人都擔(dān)心即將來臨的考試時(shí)，你卻毫不在乎，真令我驚訝。

skeptical，指“懷疑的”，e.g. However, I encourage you to be skeptical about what I tell you. 但是，我鼓勵(lì)你們懷疑我所告訴你們的東西。

句子分析：此句是對(duì)俏皮者的解釋，通過who引導(dǎo)的兩個(gè)并列定語(yǔ)從句，即“who has seen a lot of life”和“who is materialistic, nonchalant, and skeptical of progress”，簡(jiǎn)明扼要地刻畫出俏皮者因經(jīng)歷了人生百味后，變得冷淡而又實(shí)利的形象。

本句譯為：俏皮者是一個(gè)人經(jīng)歷了許多人生的況味，變?yōu)閷?shí)利的、冷淡的、腐敗的行為。

2

At its best, this old roguery gives us mellowness and good temper, which in old men make many girls prefer them for husbands.

roguery，指“流氓行為”，e.g. It is not good to teach them to admire rogues by concealing their roguery. 要是掩蓋流氓的惡行，以教導(dǎo)他們敬佩流氓，可就不妙了。

mellow，指“圓潤(rùn)的”，e.g. I loved the mellow sound of the firm bow drawn across the strings.

我喜歡那繃緊的琴弓拉過琴弦時(shí)發(fā)出的柔美圓潤(rùn)的聲音。

句子分析：此句總體概述了俏皮者的優(yōu)點(diǎn) —— mellowness and good temper。由which引導(dǎo)的定語(yǔ)從句更加有力地證明了俏皮者的魅力，這些俏皮者具有和悅的脾氣，再加以豐富的人生經(jīng)驗(yàn)，使他們渾身散發(fā)著成熟的魅力。

本句譯為：就其長(zhǎng)處而言，俏皮人給你圓滑而和悅的脾氣，這就是使許多老頭兒能誘惑小姑娘的愛苗而嫁給他們的秘密。

3

For if life is worth anything, it is that it teaches a lesson of kindliness. The Chinese people have arrived at this point of view, not by having found any religious sanction for it, but from a profound observation and a knowledge of the vicissitudes of life.

sanction，指“認(rèn)可”，e.g. The government gave its sanction to what the society had done. 協(xié)會(huì)的工作得到了政府的認(rèn)可。

profound，指“知識(shí)淵博的”，e.g. An experienced teacher with profound knowledge is always welcome to his students. 知識(shí)淵博而又富有經(jīng)驗(yàn)的老師總是受學(xué)生歡迎的。

observation，指“觀察”，e.g. When experiments are to be made, one can’t rely too much upon the human senses to make accurate observation. 在做實(shí)驗(yàn)時(shí)，不能過分依靠人類的感覺去做精確的觀察。

vicissitude，指“變遷興衰”，e.g. Its meaning and the content have differently along with time vicissitude. 它的含義和內(nèi)容隨著時(shí)代的變遷而有所不同。

句子分析：此段話揭示了一種俏皮的人生觀?！癋or if life...a lesson of kindliness.”是由if引導(dǎo)的條件狀語(yǔ)從句，說明了俏皮的人生教會(huì)了人們和氣慈祥?！癟he Chinese people..., not by having..., but from...life.”是一個(gè)對(duì)比，闡明了中國(guó)人之所以能體會(huì)到俏皮的人生觀之奧妙，是因?yàn)樯願(yuàn)W廣博的觀察與人生的無限變遷。此等人生態(tài)度，滲透了中國(guó)思想的整個(gè)機(jī)構(gòu)。

本句譯為：假使人生值得什么，那就是拿和氣慈祥教了人們以一大教訓(xùn)。中國(guó)人之思想已體會(huì)了此中三昧，并非由于發(fā)覺了宗教上的善義，而是得自深?yuàn)W廣博的觀察與人生無限之變遷。