Unit6AFrenchFourth课文翻译综合教程四

1、Unit6AFrenchFourth课文翻译综合教程四Unit6AFrenchFourth课文翻译综合教程四5/5Unit6AFrenchFourth课文翻译综合教程四Unit6AFrenchFourthCharlesTrueheart1Alongaboutthistimeeveryyear,asIndependenceDayapproaches,IpullanoldAmericanflagoutofabottomdrawerwhereitisfoldedawayfoldedinasquare,Iadmit,nottheregulationtriangle.Ivehaditalongtimea

2、ndhavealwaysflownitoutsideonJuly4.HereinParisithangsfromafourth-floorbalconyvisiblefromthestreet.Iveneverseenanyonelookup,butinmymindseyeanAmericantouristmaynoticeitandsmile,andaFrenchpasserbymayberemindedofthedateandtheoccasionthatpromptitsappearance.Ihopeso.2Formyexpatriatedfamily,too,theflagismea

3、ningful,inpartbecausewedontdoanythingelsetocelebratetheFourth.PeopledonthavebarbecuesinParisapartments,andmostotherAmericansIknowwhohavesettledheresuppresssuchoutwardsignsoftheirheritageortheygobackhomeforthesummertorefuel.3Ourchildrenthinktheflag-hangingisacoolthing,andIlikeitbecauseitgivesusafewmo

4、mentsoffamilyQ&Aaboutourcitizenship.MywifeandIhavebeenawayfromtheUnitedStatesfornineyears,andourchildrenareelevenandnine,soAmericanhistoryismostlysomethingtheyhavelearnedorhaventlearnedfromtheirparents.July4isoneofthetimeswhentheAmericaninmefeelsatwingeofuneaseaboutthegreatlacunaeinourchildrenunders

5、tandingofwhotheyareandispromptedtotrytofillthegaps.Itsalsoatime,oneamongmany,whenmythoughtsturnmoregenerallytothecostsandbenefitsofraisingchildreninaforeignculture.4LouiseandHenryspeakFrenchfluently;theyaretaughtinFrenchatschool,andmostoftheirfriendsareFrench.Theymovefromlanguagetolanguage,seldommix

6、ingthemup,withouteffortorevenawareness.Thisisawonderfulthing,ofcourse.Andourphysicalseparationfromournativelandisnotmuchofanissue.MywifeandIaregratefuleverydayforallthatourchildrenarenotexposedto.Americanschoolshootingsareagoodobjectlessonforourchildreninthefolliesof5thesocietyweholdatadistance.Natu

7、rally,wealsowanttoremindthemofreasonstotakeprideinbeingAmericanandtotrytoconveytothemwhatthatmeans.Itisadifficultthingtodofromafar,andthedistanceseemsmorethanjustamatterofmiles.IsometimesthinkthatthestorieswetellthemmustseemlikeAesops(orLaFontaines)fables,mythswithnofixedplaceinspaceortime.Still,con

8、nectionscanbemade,lessonslearned.6Lastsummerwespentaweekwithmybrotherandhisfamily,wholiveinConcord,Massachusetts,andwetookthechildrentotheNorthBridgetogivethemaglimpseoftheAmericanRevolution.Wehappenedtorunacrossareenactmentoftheskirmishthatlaunchedthewar,witheveryonedressedupinthree-corneredhatsand

9、cottonbonnets.Thisprobablyonlyconfirmedtoourgoggle-eyedkidsthemake-believequalityofAmericanhistory.7Sixmonthslater,whenwewererecallingtheexperienceatthefamilydinnertablehere,IaskedLouisewhattheRevolutionhadbeenabout.Shethoughtthatithadsomethingtodowiththemanwhorodehishorsefromtowntotown.“Ah”,Isaid,s

10、atisfactionswellinginmybreast,“andwhatwasthatmansname?”“Gulliver?Louise”replied.Henry,forhispart,knewthattheRevolutionwasbetweentheBritishandtheAmericans,andthoughtthatitwasprobablyaboutslavery.8Aswepursuedthisconversation,though,welearnedwhatthechildrenknewinstead.LouisetoldusthattheFrenchRevolutio

11、ncameattheendoftheEnlightenment,whenpeoplelearnedalotofideas,andonewasthattheydidntneedkingstotellthemwhattothinkordo.Onanotheroccasion,whenHenryaskedwhatmakesapersona“junior”ora“II”ora“III”,LouisehelpedmeanswerbybringingupkingslikeLouisQuatorzeandQuinzeandSeize;HenryripostedwithHenryVIII.9IcansaytI

12、worrymuchaboutourchildrenEuropeansframeofreference.TherewillbeplentyoftimeforthemtolearnAmericaspitifullybriefhistoryandtofindoutwhoThomasJeffersonandFranklinRooseveltwere.AlreadytheyknowagreatdealmorethanIwouldhavewishedaboutBillClinton.10Ifallofthisresonateswithme,itmaybebecausemyfamilymovedtoPari

13、sin1954,whenIwasthree,andIwasenrolledinFrenchschoolsformostofmygrade-schoolyears.IdontremembermuchinstructioninAmericanstudiesatschoolorathome.IdorememberthatmymothertookmeoutofschooloneafternoontoseethemovieOklahoma!Icanrecallwhatafarawayplaceitseemed:allthatsunshineandsquaredancingandsurreyswithfr

14、ingeontop.ThesinisterJudFrypersonifiedevilforquitesometimeafterward.CowboysandIndianswereanAmericanclichthathadalreadyreachedParisthroughthemovies,andIaskedagrandparenttosendmeaDavyCrocketthatsothatIcouldliveoutthatfairytaleagainstthebackdropofgraypostwarMontparnasse.11Althoughmychildrenarelivingint

15、hesameplaceatroughlythesametimeintheirlives,theirexperienceasexpatriatesisverydifferentfrommine.TheparticularnarrativesofAmericanhistoryaside,AmericancultureisnottheirsalonebutthatoftheirFrenchclassmates,too.Themusictheylistentoiseither“American”or“European,”butitisoftenhardtelltothedifference.Inmyd

16、aylittleFrenchkidslookedlikenothingotherthanlittleFrenchkids;butLouiseandHenryandtheirclassmatesdressmuchastheirpeersintheUnitedStatesdo,thoughwithperhapslessLandsEndfleeciness.WhenIreturnedtovisittheUnitedStatesinthe1950s,itwasafive-dayoceancrossingforamonthshomeleaveeverytwoyears;nowweflyoverforaw

17、eekortwo,althoughnotveryoften.VirtuallyeveryimaginableproductavailabletomychildrensAmericanscousinisnowobtainablehere.12IftimeandglobalizationhavemadeFrancemuchmoreliketheUnitedStatesthanitwasinmyyouth,thenIcanconcludeacoupleofthings.Ontheonehand,ourchildrenareconfrontingamuchlessjarringculturaldivi

18、dethanIdid,andtheyhavemoreaccesstotheirnativeculture.Re-entry,whenitcomes,islikelytobesmoother.Ontheotherhand,theyarelessthanfullyimmersedinatrulyforeignworld.ThatexperiencenolongerseemspossibleinWesterncountriesasaddevelopment,inmyview.在法国庆贺美国独立日查尔斯特鲁哈特1每年差不多到了独立日日趋邻近的时候，我都会把一面折叠好的旧的美国国旗从基层抽屉里拿出我认可

19、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日我老是把它挂出来。身处巴黎的我把它挂在四楼的露台上，在马路上都看获得。固然我没见过有人仰头看它一眼，但在我脑海中，我想象着美国旅客或许会注意到它并莞尔一笑，而法国路人会从中想起促进这面国旗出现的有关日期和原由。诚愿这样。对我们这个旅居外国的家庭来说，这面国旗之因此意义深远，部分是由于我们没有其他任何活动来庆贺独立日。巴黎人不在公寓里烧烤，我认识的大多半在此定居的美国人其实不张扬他们的这类传统，他们宁愿归国消夏来为自己加油打气。我的孩子们感觉悬挂国旗很酷，我也喜爱这类做法，由于它让我们家有时机就我们的公民身份问

20、答一番。我们夫妇走开美国长达9年，两个孩子一个11岁一个9岁，因此美国历史对他们来说，很大程度上要么是从父亲母亲那边已经学到的知识，要么是还没学到的知识。每到近似7月4日这样的日子，我的美国心便感觉局促不安，由于孩子们对他们身份的认可存在巨大的空白，因此我想全力填充这些空白。这也是好多场合中的一个，让我的思想更全面地考虑在异国文化气氛中养育子女的利与弊。路易丝和亨利法语都说得很流畅。学校里使用法语教课，他们的朋友大多半是法国人。他们在法语和英语之间切换自如，不费吹灰之力，很少把两种语言搞混。这自然很棒。我们远离故国，相隔千山万水，也不是什么问题。每日我们夫妇俩都为子女不用面对的全部坏事而心胸感

21、谢。美国校园枪战对我们孩子来说是避之不及的社会愚笨行为的极好反面教材。自然了，我们也希望能提示他们身为美国人而骄傲的原由，想方想法告诉他们这样做意义安在。在远离祖国的状况下这样做不简单，距离其实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必定很像伊索寓言或拉封丹寓言，都是些没有确实时间地址的神话。但不论怎样，毕竟还可以做点联系，学点东西。昨年夏季，我们和我弟弟一家在一同度过了一周，他们住在马萨诸塞州的康科德城。我们带孩子们观光北桥，让他们看一眼美国独立战争的旧址。我们刚巧追上了一个表演，表演重现了触发大战的小规模战斗的情形。演出中男士都戴着三角帽，而女士戴着有带子的帽子。这或

22、许恰好让这些瞪大眼睛的孩子们加深了美国历史空幻性的印象。76个月后，我们吃饭时在饭桌上回想起观光的情形，我问路易丝美国独立战争是怎么一回事。她以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，满意之情在心中油但是生，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，并且打仗或许是为了奴隶制。但是当我们进一步议论这个话题，我们知道儿童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发运动末期，那时人们已经懂得好多道理，此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，亨利问为何要在一个人名字后边加上“小”，或许加上“二世”，或许“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，亨利马上机警地回以亨利八世的例子。我不可以说我很担忧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，认识托马斯杰斐逊、富兰克林罗斯福是谁改日方长。他们此刻对照尔克林顿的认识已经比我希望的要多了。假如说我对这全部产生共识，