On Telling the Truth 论讲真话

The Victorians, realizing that the greatest Happiness accorded to man is that provided by a happy marriage, endeavoured to pretend that all their marriages were happy. We, for our part, admitting the fact that no feat of intelligence and character is so exacting as that required of two people who desire to live permanently together on a basis of amity, are obsessed by the problem of how to render the basic facts of cohabitation simpler and more reasonable, in order that unhappy marriages may less frequently result. The Victorians would have considered it 'painful' or 'unpleasant' were one to point out that only four marriages out of every ten are anything but forced servitudes. We ourselves start from this very assumption and try to build from it a theory of more sensible relations between the sexes. Of all forms of arrant untruthfulness Victorian optimism

appears to me to have been the most cowardly and the most damaging.

Truth, therefore, is an attitude of the mind. lt is important, if one does not wish to inconvenience and to bore one's friends, not to tell lies. But it is more important not to think lies, or to slide into those mechanical and untruthful habits of thought which are so pleasant and so easy as descents to mental ineptitude. The victorian habit of mind (which I consider to have been a bad habit of mind) was unduly preoccupied by what was socially and morally convenient. Convenience is, however, in all affairs of life, an execrable test of value. One should have the courage to think uncomfortably, since it is only by rejecting the convenient that one can come to think the truth. Not, after all, that there is any such thing as truth. At best we can approach to some relative approximation. On the other hand, there is surely such a thing as untruth. One is generally aware when one has said something, or acted in some way which has left on other people an impression

not strictly in accordance with the facts. One is generally aware, also. when one has thrust aside an inconvenient thought and slid into its place another thought which is convenient. One's awareness in the former case is in general more acute than in the latter, since we are more on the look-out for the lies we utter than for those we merely think. In fact, however, it is the untruthful thought which is the more vicious of the two. Spoken lies are invariably tiresome and may actually be dishonest. But continuous lying in the mind, a disease to which the Anglo-Saxon is peculiarly exposed, spells the destruction of human thought and character.

New words and expressions 生词短语

(改正)Victoria (1837-1901)

前期是 unrest, alarm.

后期 growing prosperity

industrialism 工业革命 free trade 自由贸易

Britain was named workshop of the world.

cession of Hongkong to U.K.

cession 割让

opium war 鸦片战争

critical realism 批判现实主义

made big fortune = made good money

Charles Dickens

hard times 艰难时事

middle class 中产阶级

The Tale of Two Cities 双城记

Oliver Twist 雾都孤儿

Vanity Fair 名利场

status 地位

rank 头衔

乔治。艾里奥特

Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte

Jane Eyre 简爱

Wuthering Heights 呼啸山庄

Michelle

Gone with the wind 飘

submit to 屈服于

destined fate 注定的命运

turn against her fate 与她的命运对抗

self-portrait 自画像

tuberculosis 肺结核

sorrow 悲痛

simplified version 简写版

original 原著

accordvt.给予

grant同意，给予

grant sb. sth.

He was accorded the permission to enter the

library.

to accord the guest a warm welcome.

endowvt.(二十课)

for one’s part就某人而言

in terms of ourselves

on the part of us

For our part, we have no objection.

my objection 我的反对意见(24 课)

amityn.友善

harmony,

concordnational concord 民族团结

our family members are/ live in amity/

harmony/ concord.

obsessvt.使烦恼

I’m obsessed with too much assignment.

vexv.使烦恼

annoy vt.使苦恼

irrtatevt.激怒

I’m bored. 我烦了。

obsessvt.迷住

I’m obsessed with sth./ sb.

I’m obsessed with the idea of becoming a

millionaire.

rendervt.致使，给予

A serious illness rendered him rather weak.

(render: 致使)

render thanks to sb. 答谢(render: 给予)

render sb. a favor 给某人帮个忙

render sth. Inter Enghlish 翻译

render a role 扮演一个角色

he renders a role in the movie.

to interpret a role

to play a role

servituden.奴役

He is/ was in servitude. 他没自由

sex n.性别

male/ female

weaker, fair, gentle / strong, rougher, sterner

half the sky 半边天

sex appeal 性感

bad egg坏蛋

dirty dog

arranta.纯粹的(否定意义)

sheer

arrant nonsense 一派胡言，

out and out

he is out and out hooligan.

cowardlya.怯懦的

coward 胆小鬼，懦夫

chicken

craven

you two are fighting and finally you cry

craven.

Spare me 饶了我

spineless adj.

spine

shrinking

shrink 缩水

knee 膝盖

weak kneed

fainthearted 胆小的

slide into不知不觉得陷入

I slide into the bad habit of smoking.

I slide into the bad habit of rising late.

I’m a late riser.

early riser 早起的人

slip into

inconveniencevt.打扰

trouble 打搅

bore

bother

Probably I trouble you for a minute.

ineptituden. 笨拙的

servitude n. 奴隶状态

-tude 是名词后缀

ept 聪明灵活的

clumsy 笨拙的

competence n. 能力

competentadj.

incompetent无能的

bungling 笨拙的

unduly ad.过分地

excess

extreme 极度

moderate 不过量的

immoderate 过量的

modest

inmodest

overmuch

due 准时

The train is due at severn o’clock.

My book is out. 我的书到期了。

passport 护照

renew it 续借，续签

execrablea.恶劣的，令人讨厌的

contemptible 令人讨厌的

coarse 粗俗的

debased 下贱的，卑鄙的

ignoble 不光彩的

abject 卑鄙的

at best充其量

average student 中等生

at most

at least 至少

rejectvt.丢弃 后跟 habit or idea

discard 后跟 sth. concrete discard the old

clothes

toss toss up 硬币

abandon

I’m abandoned by the girl.

dump 抛弃

I’m dumped.

I’m rejected.

I’m abandoned.

The relation broke up 关系断了

approxiamationn.近似

approxiamate adj.

he is approxiamately an average student.

approciamately = about

acutea.敏锐的

he has acute eyes.他目光敏锐

eagle eye

bat eye 瞎眼

observant eye

decerning eyes

look-outn.警戒

on the look-out for the bad habit

look-outn.守望员

on the alert

alert 警报

on the guard 小心

vicious a.恶毒的

thrustvt.猛然推开

thrust my Enghlish aside

cast aside

thrust one’s way through the

crowd 挤出人群

elbow one’s way

thrust five yuan into my hand 塞给我五元钱

thrusting 盛气凌人

expose vt.暴露

Girls don’t want to expose themselves in the

sun.

suntanned 被太阳晒黑的

be expose to 暴露在

Students should be exposed to more

reading。学生应该多读书。

spellvt.导致，带来

lead to

result in

invite

incur

Pride spells failure.骄兵必败

Sloth spells failure.懒惰生出恶果。

Spell n. 咒语

I’m spellbound. 我被迷住了

Anglo-Saxonn. 盎 格 鲁 - 撒 克 逊 人

(449-1066)

Roman Empire falls

retreat 撤退

Celtic 凯尔特人

Notes on the text 课文注释

第一句：The Victorians, realizing that the greatest Happiness accorded to man is that

provided by a happy marriage(后置定语), endeavoured to pretend that all their marriages

were happy.(主提)

Victorians:那个时代的人们

endeavour = try 尽力，尝试

make effects

accorded to man = given to man

save fighting 拳击

mental enjoyment 思想的幸福

第二句： for our part, admitting the fact that no featWe,(技巧)of intelligence and character

is so exacting as that required of two people who desire to live permanently together on a

basis of amity, are obsessed by the problem of how to render the basic facts of cohabitation

simpler and more reasonable, in order that unhappy marriages may less frequently result.

render = make

cohabitation 同住

live in sin(罪过)

abbot 方丈

feat 壮举，技巧

exacting 精确无误，毫厘不差

intelligence = mental work

shoulder the burden 肩负责任

in order that (表目的)以便于

result 产生

hand in hand beggars 手牵手的乞丐(沿街乞讨的乞丐)

改句型：we admitted that ……..so we were obsessed……

第三句：The Victorians would have considered it 'painful' or 'unpleasant' were one to point

out that only four marriages out of every ten are anything but forced servitudes.

虚拟语气，因为猜测。

if one were to point out……倒装句型

four marriages out of every ten 十分之四

anything but 除去

arranged marriage 包办婚姻 red veil 红纱

第四句：We ourselves start from this very assumption and try to build from it a theory of

more sensible relations between the sexes. (开始论述)

very 修饰名词，是强调词

on the very day, I met the girl. 就在这一天，我见了那个女孩。

On the very morning 就是那天早晨

from = based on

sensible = reasonable 合理的

第五句：Of all forms of arrant untruthfulness Victorian optimism appears to me to the most

cowardly and the most damaging.

optimism 乐观派，乐观主义(主语)

have been 过去完成式，

damaging 危害严重的

介词短语前置句

Victorian optimism appears to me to have been the most cowardly and the most damaging of

all forms of arrant untruthfulness.

truthful 真实的，说真话的 untruthful 爱说谎的，不真实的

to face reality 面对现实my family is well off/ honeyed.

第二段第一句：Truth, therefore, is an attitude of the mind.(观点更鲜明)

truth 说真话

an attitude of the mind 可替换为 a state of mind 精神状态

mental age 心理年龄 moral decay 道德败坏

第二句： is important, if one does not wish to inconvenience and to bore one's friends, not tolt

tell lies.(进一步说明)

第三句：But it is more important not to think lies, or to slide into those mechanical and

untruthful habits of thought which are so pleasant and so easy as descents to mental

ineptitude.

think = imagine

slide into 滑进去，陷进去 mechanical 机械的

conscious 有意识的unconscious 无意识的

descent 产物，后代mental ineptitude 不动脑筋bar 单杠

第四句：The victorian habit of mind (which I consider to have been a bad habit of mind) was

unduly preoccupied by what was socially and morally convenient.

the Victorian habit of mind 维多利亚时期人们的思维习惯

preoccupied 占领(满脑子都是)

unduly = improperly 不太恰当 convenient 有利的

socially and morally 对社会建设和道德建设 robbery n.抢夺，抢掠 stability 稳定

第五句：Convenience is, however, in all affairs of life, an execrable test of value. One should

have the courage to think uncomfortably, since it is only by rejecting the convenient that one新概念第二册

can come to think the truth.

in all affairs of life 在社会的各个方面test of value 对价值的衡量 execrable 恶劣的

第六句：One should have the courage to think uncomfortably, since it is only by rejecting the

convenient that one can come to think the truth.

rejecting 抛弃掉

第三段：Not, after all, that there is any such thing as truth.(倒装句型)At best we can approach to some relative approximation. On the other hand, there is surely such a thing as untruth.(开始论述)One is generally aware when one has said something, or acted in some way which has left on other people an impression not strictly in accordance with the facts.

(第二个论点)One is generally aware, also. when one has thrust aside an inconvenient thought and slid into its place another thought which is convenient. One's awareness in the former case is in general more acute than in the latter, since we are more on the look-out for the lies we utter than for those we merely think. In fact, however, it is the untruthful thought which is the more vicious of the two. Spoken lies are invariably tiresome and may actually be dishonest. But continuous lying

in the mind, a disease to which the Anglo-Saxon is peculiarly exposed, spells the destruction of human thought and character.

after all 毕竟，归根到底

at best 充其量approach = get close to 没有绝对，只有相对而言。

on the other hand 另一方面前面对应词组：on the one hand

aware = clearin some way 以某种方式

leave an impression on sb.给某人留下印象

left on other people an impression 介词短语提前，因为 impression 后有定语，避免歧义

in accordance with 与……一致

elegance n.高雅，典雅thrust aside = reject

slide into 滑到

acute 敏锐utter = tell

vicious 危害严重的 disease lying in the mind

be exposed to 暴露在……下spells = bring about 带来，招致

biographer 传记作者 diplomat 外交家

Henry Moore

Faulkner

Russell

Bacon

Hemingway

Gissing

O.Henry

Gilbert

Jack London

Maugham

stream of consciousness 意识流

loose in struture 结构松散

Faulkner

a film maker

Pulitzer prize

Quotations of Chairman Mao