Unit 8 Money新编大学英语第二版第二册课文翻译.doc

Unit8MoneyTime Spent Agonizing over Money1 Within hours of a recent major stock market drop, I telephoned my Ford dealer and ordered the station wagon that I test-drove the day before. As my friends not so subtly pointed out, the Dow Jones Industrial Average didnt have much to do with my financial situation and shouldnt affect my purchase. Besides, my old car had caused me headaches for months. 2 Still, I spent the evening asking myself: Could I afford a new car? Should I be saving instead of spending? Would we need to cut back on vacations? 3 On the list of items people worry about, money is almost always at the top. 4 A study in the Wall Street Journal found that 70 percent of the public lives from paycheck to paycheck. Mortgage debt has increased 300 percent since 1975, and consumer bankruptcies are at an all-time high. Most marriages that fail list financial problems as a contributing factor. 5 When the Dow fell 554 points last October, millions of people lost billions of dollars, on paper anyway. There was expert anxiety on Wall Street and old-fashioned worry on Main Street. Our reaction confirmed what we already knew: We are a people consumed by financial stress.*A “Raw Material” 6 As the Bible tells us, worrying about moneyor anything else for that matterwont do us any good. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Jesus asked. “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow? They do not labor or spin.” 7 In my heart, I aspire to be like those lilies. But in my head, I feel a need to hoard. 8 It is an unusual person who can live free from financial stress, or who can spend money on others as easily as he spends it on himself. 9 Thomas Edison was one of that rare breed. Had the great inventor stored his money, he would have died a wealthy man. His first successful invention netted him $40,000, a huge sum in 1869. During his lifetime, he patented 1,093 inventions, yet he departed the world penniless. 10 Years later, his son Charles recalled his fathers approach to money: “He considered it a raw material, like metal, to be used rather than amassed, and so he kept plowing his funds back into new objects. Several times he was all but bankrupt. But he refused to let dollar signs govern his actions.” 11 John Wesley was the same. The founder of Methodism had the highest earned income in 18th century England, but he gave it all away. His philosophy about money was simple: “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.”*Root of Evil? 12 Money may not be the root of all evil, but if it keeps us up at night, it has become way too important in our lives. 13 That was the lesson of Leo Tolstoys tale “Elias”, which told of a rich farm couple who lost all their money and were forced to take jobs as servants. 14 A guest one day asked the wife if she was miserable being poor, especially in light of the great wealth she had once enjoyed. The womans answerthat she was happier than ever beforesurprised the visitor. 15 “When we were rich, my husband and I had so many cares that we had no time to talk to one another, or to think of our souls, or to pray to God,” the wife explained. “We lay awake at night worrying, lest the ewes should lie on their lambs, and we got up again and again to see that all was well. Now, when my husband and I wake in the morning, we always greet each other in love and harmony. We live peacefully, having nothing to worry about.” 16 For most of us, financial security is an elusive goal. No matter how much we have, its not enough. Kahlil Gibran put it this way: “The fear of need, when the pantry is full, is the thirst that can not be satisfied.” 17 When the stock market falls, we can panic, hoard, and worry if we have enough. Or we can take a deep breath and remember: Money is merely a raw material to be plowed back into something else.把时间花在为钱苦恼上1 最近一次股市大跌后的几个小时内，我就打电话给我的福特汽车商，订购了我前一天试开过的旅行车。正如我的朋友明确指出的那样，道琼斯工业平均指数与我的财政状况并无多大关系，不应该影响我买车。而且，我那旧车已经使我头疼了好几个月了。2 但我还是整个晚上再问自己：我能买得起新车吗？我是不是应该存钱而不是花钱？我们是不是有必要减少度假的时间？3 在人们一系列的烦恼中，钱总是名列前茅。4 一项华尔街日报的研究发现百分之七十的公共其工资收入仅够开销，毫无剩余。自1975年以来按揭借债增加了百分之三百，而且消费者破产达到有史以来最高。经济问题被列为导致大多数婚姻失败的一个因素。5 当去年十月道琼斯工业平均下跌554点的时候，数百万损失了几亿美元，至少在理论上是这样。华尔街的金融专家们在忧虑，小城镇里的思想守旧也在忧虑。我们的反应也证实了我们已有的看法：我们是深受经济压力折磨的人。钱只是“原材料”6 正像圣经告诫我们的那样，担心钱或诸如此类的事不会给我们带来任何好处。耶稣曾经问道：“你们有谁能够考忧虑使自己的生命演唱哪怕一小时？”“你们为什么要为衣服烦恼呢？看见天夜里的百合花是怎么生长的嘛？他们重不耕田纺纱“7 尽管我的内心渴望像百合花那样生活。单位的头脑路却敢要需要出场囤积。8 能够不受经济困扰而生活的人，或者能把钱花在别人身上那么自在的人，都是不寻常的人。9 托马斯.爱迪生就是这种男的人。如果这位大发明家把它的钱积蓄起来，去世的时候就会使一个达芙文。他的 第一项成功发明是他静的四万美元，这在1869年是一笔巨款。他一生中，获得了1.93项发明专利，然而，在他离开这个世界的时候却生物分文。10 多年以后，他的日子查尔斯回忆起自己的父亲对钱的态度是说：“他把钱堪称是原材料，就像金属一样是给人用的，而不是给人囤积的，因此他一直把自己的基金重新投资到新的项目中去。有好几次他几近破产，但他决不让签主宰他的行动。“11 约翰卫斯理也一样。这位卫斯理会的创始人在18C的英国收入最高，但他把自己的收入都给了别人。他的金钱哲学很简单:“尽量挣，尽量省，尽量给。“钱是万恶之源吗？12 钱也许并不是万恶之源，但如果他是我们夜里不能寐，那他在我们生活中就过于重要了。13 这也是列夫托尔斯泰在他创作的伊莱亚斯故事中所告诫的。故事讲述了一对经营农场富有的夫妇，他们失去了所有的钱，不得不去当佣人。14 一天有位客人问这位妻子，他是不是应为贫穷而痛苦，尤其是考虑到他曾拥有巨大的财富。夫人的回答是他比以前更幸福，这是客人很吃惊。15 “当我们富有的时候，我丈夫和我有那么多令人烦恼的事，以至于我们没时间交谈或想象我们心灵深处火上上帝祈祷”妻子解释道，我们晚上躺在床上彻夜难眠在担心，唯恐模样压在小羊身上，于是我们一次又一次的起床，以确保一切平安.现在当我和丈夫醒来的时候，我们都要互相问候，恩爱和谐，我们生活安宁无忧无虑。“、16 对我们大多数人来说，经纪上的安全感是难以达到的目标，不管我们恩拥有都是，总是觉得不够，卡利尔纪伯伦是这样说的：“即便是粮食漫长，但对贫穷的恐惧会成为多积蓄难于满足的渴望。“17 当故事下跌时，即使我们拥有足够的财富，依然会恐慌，担忧，囤积。或者，我们深深地吸口气并记住：钱只是一种原材料，用来投资其他方面的Elias: A Parable*At one time the elderly couple had been the wealthiest in the region; now they were merely servants who had nothing but each other. 1 In the Province of Oufa there lived a man named Elias. His father died a year after he married, and left him a poor man. At that time Eliass property consisted only of seven mares, two cows, and twenty sheep, but now that he had become master he began to better himself. He and his wife worked hard from morning till night for thirty years, growing richer each year.2 Elias had two sons and a daughter, all of whom he duly married off. In the days of his poverty his sons had worked with him; but when they became rich, they began to indulge in foolish pleasures. One of them, in particular, began to drink to excess. Eventually the elder of the two was killed in a fight, and the other one, because he disobeyed his father, was turned out.3 Elias turned him out, but at the same time he gave him a house and cattle. His own wealth was thus diminished in proportion.4 Soon afterwards his sheep became infected with disease, and many of them died. Next, there was a year of drought, when no hay grew, so that many cattle starved to death during the following winter. Then the Khirgizes came and stole the best of his horses, and his property was diminished even more. By the time he had reached his seventieth year, all the property left to him consisted of the clothes on his body and his wife, Sham Shemagi, who was as old as himself. The son whom he had turned out had gone to a distant land, and his daughter was dead; so that there was no one left to help the old people.5 However a former neighbor of theirs, named Muhamedshah, felt sorry for them. He was neither rich nor poor, but lived plainly and was a respectable man. Remembering the days when he had been a guest in the house of Elias, he asked the couple to come and live with him and do some work for him if they liked. Elias thanked his good neighbor, and went with his old wife to live in the service of Muhamedshah. At first it grieved them to do so; but in time they got used to it, and settled down to live there and to work as much as their strength permitted.6 It suited their master to have them in his service, since the old people had been in authority themselves, and so knew how to do things. Moreover, they were never lazy, but worked the best they knew. Yet Muhamedshah used to feel sorry to see people formerly so high in the world now reduced to such a difficult situation.7 One day some of Muhamedshahs friends came to visit him. When the guests learned that Elias, once the wealthiest man in the region, was merely a servant of the host, they were so surprised that they asked the couple about their former life.8 “Old man,” said one of the guests, “tell me whether it grieves younow as you look upon usto remember your former fortunes and your present life of misery?”9 Elias smiled and answered: “If I were to speak to you of our happiness or misery you might not believe me. You should rather ask my wife. She has both a womans heart and a womans tongue, and will tell you the whole truth about that matter.”10 Then the guest called to the old woman who was seated behind the curtain: “Tell me, old woman, what you think concerning your former happiness and your present misery.”11 And Sham Shemagi answered from behind the curtain: “This is what I think concerning them. I lived with my husband for fifty yearsseeking happiness, and never finding it; but now, although we live as servants, and this is only the second year since we were left poor, we have found true happiness, and desire no other.”12 Both the guests and their host were surprised at thisthe latter, indeed, so much so that he rose to his feet to draw aside the curtain and look at the old woman. There she sather hands folded in front of her, and a smile upon her face, as she gazed at her old husband and he smiled back at her in return. Then she went on: “I am telling you the truth, I am not joking. For half a century we sought happiness and never found it so long as we were rich; yet now that we have nothingnow that we have come to live among humble folkwe have found such happiness as could never be exceeded.” 13 “Where, then, does your happiness lie?” asked the guest.14 “When we were rich my husband and I had so many cares that we had no time to talk to one another, or think of our souls, or pray to God. If guests were with us we were fully occupied in thinking how to entertain them. Moreover, when guests had arrived we had their servants to look after. In addition, we constantly worried lest a wolf kill one of our fowls or calves, or thieves drive off the horses. We lay awake at night worrying, lest the ewes should lie on their lambs, and we got up again and again to see that all was well. When we retired to rest, we would find ourselves filled with fresh anxieties as to how to get fodder for the winter, and so on. Moreover, my husband and I could never agree. He would say that a thing must be done in this way, and I that it must be done in that; and so we would begin to quarrel. The life led us only from worry to worry, but never to happiness.”15 “But how is it now?” asked the guest.16 “Now,” replied the old woman, “when my husband and I rise in the morning, we always greet each other in love and harmony. We live peacefully, having nothing to worry about. Our only care is how best to serve the master. We work according to our strength, and with a good will, so that the master profits from our work. Then, when we come in, we find dinner and supper ready for us. Whenever it is cold we have fuel to warm us and sheepskin coats to wear. Moreover, we have time to talk to one another, to think about our souls, and to pray to God. For fifty years we sought happinessbut only now have we found it.”17 The guests burst out laughing, but Elias cried: “Do not laugh, good sirs. This is no joke, but the truth. We have revealed it to younot for our own diversion, but for your good.”18 Then the guests ceased to laugh, and became thoughtful.伊莱亚斯：一则寓言一对老夫妇从前是这个地区最富有的，现在他们成了仆人，一无所有，只好相依为命。1 乌法省住着以为名叫伊莱亚斯的人。婚后一年他父亲就去世了，他沦为了穷人。那时伊莱亚斯的全部财产仅为七匹母马，二头牛和二十只羊，但他既然当家作主了，便开始改善自己的境况。他和妻子从早到晚拼命干活，整整三十年，逐年富裕了起来。2 伊莱亚斯有两个儿子和一个女儿，他都恰如其分地给他们办了婚事。在他贫困的时，两个儿子与他一起干活；但富裕时，他们就开始沉迷于荒唐的玩乐之中。特别是其中一个开始酗酒。最终，长子在斗殴中丧命，次子由于违背父命而被赶出家门。3 伊莱亚斯在把儿子赶出家门的同时还给了他房子和牛。这样他的财富就相应的地减少了。4 不久他的羊染上了疾病，死了许多。接着是一年大旱，寸草不长，结果那年冬天饿死了许多牛。然后，来了吉尔吉斯人，偷走了他最好的马屁，他的财产就更少了。到他七十岁的时候，他还剩有的全部家当就只有他身上穿的衣服以及他的老伴儿，萨姆萨玛姬，她也同他一样老了。被赶出去的儿子已远走他乡，女儿去世了，所以没人能帮助这对老人了。5 不过他们以前的以为邻居，名叫穆罕默德，很同情他们。他家境小康，生活朴素，受人尊敬。他想起了在伊莱亚斯家做客的日子，就邀请老夫妇来他家和他同住，如果愿意，帮他干点活儿。伊莱亚斯谢过这位好邻居，就和老伴搬过来做了穆罕默德的仆人。起先落到这一地步他们感到悲哀，不过一段时间之后也渐渐地习惯了，安心的住下来了，尽其所能地劳动。6 因为老夫妇曾经是主人，知道怎么干活，所以穆罕默德有他们服侍自己，感到称心如意。再者，他们从来不偷懒，只是尽量把事情做得尽善尽美。到时穆罕默德看到他们从当初那么高的的地位沦落到如此困境，常常感到十分惋惜。7 一天，穆罕默德的几个朋友来他家做客。当他们知道伊莱亚斯曾是这一带最富有的人，而现在仅是主人的佣人时，感到十分吃惊，便询问起老夫妻以前的生活。8 “老人家，”一位客人问道，“眼下，在你瞧着我们的时候，想想以前曾经拥有过的财富，看看现在悲惨的生活，你是不是很悲伤？”9 伊莱亚斯笑着回答：“如果要我来回答你哲哥关于快乐还是悲哀的问题，你也许不会相信我。你还是问问我的妻子吧。她既有女人的心肠，又有女人的口才，会如实告诉你们的。”10 于是这位客人就坐在帘子后面的老妇大声询问：“老太太，请你告诉我，你对以前的幸福生活和现在的悲惨境况有什么想法？”11 萨姆萨玛姬从帘子后面回答道：“我是这么认为的：原先，我和丈夫一起生活了五十年，一直在寻求幸福却未能找到；而现在，尽管我们身为仆人，这也是我么沦为穷人的第二年，但我们已经找到了正真的幸福，没有别的奢望了。”12 客人们和主人听了萨姆的话都很吃惊，特别是主人，他惊讶的起身拨开帘子望着老妇。她坐在那儿，双手交叉抱在胸前，面带微笑，凝视着年迈的丈夫，丈夫也以微笑回报，然后她接着说：“我是在说实话，并没有开玩笑。半个世纪了，我们都在群球幸福，而只要我们有钱，我们就难以找到；而现在我们一贫如洗，与下人生活在一起，我们却找到了无与伦比的幸福。”13 “那么，你们的幸福体香在哪里呢？”客人又问。14 “当我们富有的时候，我丈夫和我有那么多的事要操心，以至于没有时间交谈、或想想我们心灵深处、或向上帝祈祷。如果有客人和我们一起，我们就完全忙着考虑如何宽带他们。而且，客人到来了，我们还得照顾他们的仆人。不仅如此，我们还成天担心狼会咬死鸡鸭和牛犊，担心窃贼盗走马匹。我们晚上躺在床上，彻夜难眠地在担心，唯恐母羊压在了小羊羔的身上，于是，我们一次次的起床，已确保一切平安。等我们上床休息时，发现又有其他的事情要操心，比如怎么弄到过冬的饲料啦，等等。此外，我和丈夫总是意见相左。他会说这件事必须要这样做，而我说必须那样做，于是我们就开始争吵。这种生活只能使我们整日忧心忡忡，毫无幸福可言。”15 “那么现在呢？”客人问道。16 “现在”，老妇回答道，“当我和丈夫早晨醒来的时候，我们都要互相问候，恩爱和睦。我们生活得安宁，无忧无虑。我们唯一关心的是怎样尽心的把主人伺候好。我们尽心尽意，量力而行，这样，主人能从我们的劳动中获益。还有，我们进门就会发现饭菜都替我们准备好了。天气一冷，我们就可以烤火暖身，有羊皮衣服可穿。而且我们有时间相互交谈，思考我们的灵魂深处，并向上帝祈祷。我们五十年苦苦寻求，直到现在才找到幸福。”17 客人哄堂大笑，伊莱亚斯叫道：“不要笑，高尚的先生们。这决非玩笑，而是事实。我们向您们披露这些，不是给自己解闷的，而是为了你们好啊。”18 于是客人们停止了笑声，陷入了沉思。A Letter to God1 The housethe only one in the entire valleysat on the crest of a low hill. From this height one could see the river and, next to the corral, the field of ripe corn dotted with the kidney-bean flowers that always promised a good harvest. 2 The only thing the earth needed was a rainfall, or at least a shower. Throughout the morning Lenchowho knew his fields intimatelyhad done nothing else but scan the sky toward the northeast.3 “Now were really going to get some water, woman.”4 The woman, who was preparing supper, replied:5 “Yes, God willing.”6 The oldest boys were working in the field, while the smaller ones were playing near the house, until the woman called to them all:7 “Come for dinner.”8 It was during the meal that, just as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall. In the northeast huge mountains of clouds could be seen approaching. The air was fresh and sweet.9 The man went out to look for something in the corral for no other reason than to allow himself the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body, and when he returned he exclaimed:10 “Those arent raindrops falling from the sky, theyre new coins. The big drops are ten-centavo pieces and the little ones are fives.” 11 With a satisfied expression he looked at the field of ripe corn with its kidney-bean flowers, draped in a curtain of rain. But suddenly a strong wind began to blow and together with the rain very large hailstones began to fall. These truly did resemble new silver coins. The boys, exposing themselves to the rain, ran out to collect the frozen pearls.12 “Its really getting bad now,” exclaimed the man. “I hope it passes quickly.”13 It did not pass quickly. For an hour the hail rained on the house, the garden, the hillside, the cornfield, on the whole valley. The field was white, as if covered with salt. Not a leaf remained on the trees. The corn was totally destroyed. The flowers were gone from the kidney-bean plants. Lenchos soul was filled with sadness. When the storm had passed, he stood in the middle of the field and said to his sons:14 “A plague of locusts would have left more than this. The hail has left nothing: This year we will have no corn or beans.”15 That night was a sorrowful one:16 “All our work, for nothing!” 17 “Theres no one who can help us!”18 “Well all go hungry this year.” 19 But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God.20 “Dont be so upset, even though this seems like a total loss. Remember, no one dies of hunger!” 21 “Thats what they say: no one dies of hunger.”22 All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in ones conscience.23 Lencho was an ox of a man, working like an animal in the fields, but still he knew how to write. The following Sunday, at daybreak, after having convinced himself that there is a protecting spirit, he began to write a letter which he himself would carry to town and place in the mail.24 It was nothing less than a letter to God.25 “God,” he wrote, “if you dont help me, my family and I will go hungry this year. I need a hundred pesos in order to resow the field and to live until the crop comes, because the hailstorm.”26 He wrote “To God” on the envelope, put the letter inside, and, still troubled, went to town. At the post office he placed a stamp on the letter and dropped it into the mailbox.27 (How do you think the story will go?)28 One of the employees, who was a postman and also helped at the post office, went to his boss laughing heartily and showed him the letter to God. Never in his career as postman had he known that address. The postmastera fat, amiable fellowalso broke out laughing, but almost immediately he turned serious and, tapping the letter on his desk, commented:29 “What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter. To believe the way he believes. To hope with the confidence that he knows how to hope with. Starting up a correspondence with God!”30 So, in order not to destroy that wonderful example of faith, revealed by a letter that could not be delivered, the postmaster came up with an idea: answer the letter. But when he opened it, it was evident that to answer it