(完整版)Unit6AFrenchFourth课文翻译综合教程四

1、Unit6AFrenchFourthCharlesTrueheart1 Alongaboutthistimeeveryyear,asIndependenceDayapproaches,IpullanoldAmericanflagoutofabottomdrawerwhereitisfoldedawayfoldedinasquare,Iadmit,nottheregulationtriangle.I'vehaditalongtimeandhavealwaysflownitoutsideonJuly4.HereinParisithangsfromafourth-floorbalconyvi

2、siblefromthestreet.I'veneverseenanyonelookup,butinmymind'seyeanAmericantouristmaynoticeitandsmile,andaFrenchpasserbymayberemindedofthedateandtheoccasionthatpromptitsappearance.Ihopeso.2 Formyexpatriatedfamily,too,theflagismeaningful,inpartbecausewedon'tdoanythingelsetocelebratetheFourth.

3、Peopledon'thavebarbecuesinParisapartments,andmostotherAmericansIknowwhohavesettledheresuppresssuchoutwardsignsoftheirheritageortheygobackhomeforthesummertorefuel.3 Ourchildrenthinktheflag-hangingisacoolthing,andIlikeitbecauseitgivesusafewmomentsoffamilyQ&Aaboutourcitizenship.MywifeandIhavebe

4、enawayfromtheUnitedStatesfornineyears,andourchildrenareelevenandnine,soAmericanhistoryismostlysomethingtheyhavelearnedorhaven'tlearnedfromtheirparents.July4isoneofthetimeswhentheAmericaninmefeelsatwingeofuneaseaboutthegreatlacunaeinourchildren'sunderstandingofwhotheyareandispromptedtotrytofi

5、llthegaps.It'salsoatime,oneamongmany,whenmythoughtsturnmoregenerallytothecostsandbenefitsofraisingchildreninaforeignculture.4 LouiseandHenryspeakFrenchfluently;theyaretaughtinFrenchatschool,andmostoftheirfriendsareFrench.Theymovefromlanguagetolanguage,seldommixingthemup,withouteffortorevenawaren

6、ess.Thisisawonderfulthing,ofcourse.Andourphysicalseparationfromournativelandisnotmuchofanissue.MywifeandIaregratefuleverydayforallthatourchildrenarenotexposedto.Americanschoolshootingsareagoodobjectlessonforourchildreninthefolliesofthesocietyweholdatadistance.5 Naturally,wealsowanttoremindthemofreas

7、onstotakeprideinbeingAmericanandtotrytoconveytothemwhatthatmeans.Itisadifficultthingtodofromafar,andthedistanceseemsmorethanjustamatterofmiles.IsometimesthinkthatthestorieswetellthemmustseemlikeAesop's(orLaFontaine's)fables,mythswithnofixedplaceinspaceortime.Still,connectionscanbemade,lesson

8、slearned.6 Lastsummerwespentaweekwithmybrotherandhisfamily,wholiveinConcord,Massachusetts,andwetookthechildrentotheNorthBridgetogivethemaglimpseoftheAmericanRevolution.Wehappenedtorunacrossareenactmentoftheskirmishthatlaunchedthewar,witheveryonedressedupinthree-corneredhatsandcottonbonnets.Thisproba

9、blyonlyconfirmedtoourgoggle-eyedkidsthemake-believequalityofAmericanhistory.7 Sixmonthslater,whenwewererecallingtheexperienceatthefamilydinnertablehere,IaskedLouisewhattheRevolutionhadbeenabout.Shethoughtthatithadsomethingtodowiththemanwhorodehishorsefromtowntotown.“Ah”,Isaid,satisfactionswellinginm

10、ybreast,“andwhatwasthatman'sname?”“Gulliver?”Louisereplied.Henry,forhispart,knewthattheRevolutionwasbetweentheBritishandtheAmericans,andthoughtthatitwasprobablyaboutslavery.8 Aswepursuedthisconversation,though,welearnedwhatthechildrenknewinstead.LouisetoldusthattheFrenchRevolutioncameattheendoft

11、heEnlightenment,whenpeoplelearnedalotofideas,andonewasthattheydidn'tneedkingstotellthemwhattothinkordo.Onanotheroccasion,whenHenryaskedwhatmakesapersona“junior”ora“II”ora“III”,LouisehelpedmeanswerbybringingupkingslikeLouisQuatorzeandQuinzeandSeize;HenryripostedwithHenryVIII.9 Ican'tsayIworry

12、muchaboutourchildren'sEuropeanframeofreference.TherewillbeplentyoftimeforthemtolearnAmerica'spitifullybriefhistoryandtofindoutwhoThomasJeffersonandFranklinRooseveltwere.AlreadytheyknowagreatdealmorethanIwouldhavewishedaboutBillClinton.10 Ifallofthisresonateswithme,itmaybebecausemyfamilymoved

13、toParisin1954,whenIwasthree,andIwasenrolledinFrenchschoolsformostofmygrade-schoolyears.Idon'tremembermuchinstructioninAmericanstudiesatschoolorathome.IdorememberthatmymothertookmeoutofschooloneafternoontoseethemovieOklahoma!Icanrecallwhatafarawayplaceitseemed:allthatsunshineandsquaredancingandsu

14、rreyswithfringeontop.ThesinisterJudFrypersonifiedevilforquitesometimeafterward.CowboysandIndianswereanAmericanclichethathadalreadyreachedParisthroughthemovies,andIaskedagrandparenttosendmeaDavyCrocketthatsothatIcouldliveoutthatfairytaleagainstthebackdropofgraypostwarMontparnasse.11 Althoughmychildre

15、narelivinginthesameplaceatroughlythesametimeintheirlives,theirexperienceasexpatriatesisverydifferentfrommine.TheparticularnarrativesofAmericanhistoryaside,AmericancultureisnottheirsalonebutthatoftheirFrenchclassmates,too.Themusictheylistentoiseither“American”or“European,”butitisoftenhardtotellthedif

16、ference.InmydaylittleFrenchkidslookedlikenothingotherthanlittleFrenchkids;butLouiseandHenryandtheirclassmatesdressmuchastheirpeersintheUnitedStatesdo,thoughwithperhapslessLands'Endfleeciness.WhenIreturnedtovisittheUnitedStatesinthe1950s,itwasafive-dayoceancrossingforamonth'shomeleaveeverytwo

17、years;nowweflyoverforaweekortwo,althoughnotveryoften.Virtuallyeveryimaginableproductavailabletomychildren'sAmericancousinsisnowobtainablehere.12 IftimeandglobalizationhavemadeFrancemuchmoreliketheUnitedStatesthanitwasinmyyouth,thenIcanconcludeacoupleofthings.Ontheonehand,ourchildrenareconfrontin

18、gamuchlessjarringculturaldividethanIdid,andtheyhavemoreaccesstotheirnativeculture.Re-entry,whenitcomes,islikelytobesmoother.Ontheotherhand,theyarelessthanfullyimmersedinatrulyforeignworld.ThatexperiencenolongerseemspossibleinWesterncountriesasaddevelopment,inmyview.在法国庆祝美国独立日查尔斯特鲁哈特1 每年差不多到了独立日日益临近的

19、时候，我都会把一面折叠好的旧的美国国旗从底层抽屉里取出我承认我折叠国旗不是官方规定的三角形，而是正方形。我拥有这面国旗很长时间了，每年到了7月4日我总是把它挂出来。身处巴黎的我把它挂在四楼的阳台上，在马路上都看得到。虽然我没见过有人抬头看它一眼，但在我脑海中，我想象着美国游客或许会注意到它并莞尔一笑，而法国路人会从中想起促使这面国旗出现的相关日期和原因。诚愿如此。2 对我们这个旅居国外的家庭来说，这面国旗之所以意义深远，部分是因为我们没有其他任何活动来庆祝独立日。巴黎人不在公寓里烧烤，我认识的大多数在此定居的美国人并不张扬他们的这种传统，他们宁可回国消夏来为自己加油打气。3 我的孩子们觉得悬挂

20、国旗很酷，我也喜欢这种做法，因为它让我们家有机会就我们的公民身份问答一番。我们夫妻离开美国长达9年，两个孩子一个11岁一个9岁，所以美国历史对他们来说，很大程度上要么是从父母那里已经学到的知识，要么是还没学到的知识。每到类似7月4日这样的日子，我的美国心便感到忐忑不安，因为孩子们对他们身份的认同存在巨大的空白，所以我想尽力填补这些空白。这也是很多场合中的一个，让我的思想更全面地考虑在异国文化氛围中养育子女的利与弊。4 路易丝和亨利法语都说得很流利。学校里使用法语教学，他们的朋友大多数是法国人。他们在法语和英语之间切换自如，不费吹灰之力，极少把两种语言搞混。这当然很棒。我们远离故国，相隔千山万水

21、，也不是什么问题。每天我们夫妻俩都为儿女不用面对的一切坏事而心怀感激。美国校园枪战对我们孩子来说是避之不及的社会愚蠢行为的极好反面教材。5 当然了，我们也希望能提醒他们身为美国人而自豪的原因，想方设法告诉他们这样做意义何在。在远离祖国的情况下这样做不容易，距离并不是和祖国相隔有多远的问题。有时我想我们给孩子们讲的故事听起来一定很像伊索寓言或拉封丹寓言，都是些没有确凿时间地点的神话。但无论如何，毕竟还能做点联系，学点东西。6 去年夏天，我们和我弟弟一家在一起度过了一周，他们住在马萨诸塞州的康科德城。我们带孩子们参观北桥，让他们看一眼美国独立战争的遗址。我们碰巧赶上了一个表演，表演重现了触发大战的

22、小规模战斗的情景。演出中男士都戴着三角帽，而女士戴着有带子的帽子。这也许恰恰让这些瞪大眼睛的孩子们加深了美国历史虚幻性的印象。7 6个月后，我们吃饭时在饭桌上回忆起参观的情景，我问路易丝美国独立战争是怎么一回事。她认为这和一个人骑着马从一个镇子跑到另一个镇子有关。“啊，”我回答道，满意之情在心中油然而生，接着问道：“这个人叫什么名字？”“格列佛？”路易丝答道。至于亨利，他知道独立战争是英国人和美国人打仗，而且打仗也许是为了奴隶制。8 然而当我们进一步讨论这个话题，我们知道小孩子们都掌握了哪些知识。路易丝告诉我们法国大革命发生在启蒙运动末期，那时人们已经懂得很多道理，其中一个道理就是人们不需要国王告诉大家该想什么、该做什么。还有一次，亨利问为什么要在一个人名字后面加上“小”，或者加上“二世”，或者“三世"，路易丝帮我回答了这个问题，举了路易十四、路易十五和路易十六几位国王的例子，亨利立刻机敏地回以亨利八世的例子。9 我不能说我很担心对孩子们凡事都以欧洲作为参照系有多少担忧。让他们学习美国短得可怜的历史，了解托马斯杰斐逊、富兰克林罗斯福是谁来日方长。他们现在对比尔克林顿的了解已经比我希望的要多了。10 如果说我对这一切产生