新概念英语第四册课文及翻译及详解:新概念英语第四册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson11

【课文】

　　First listen and then answer the following question.

　　听录音，然后回答以下问题。

　　What, according to the author, is the best way to overcome the fear of death as you get older?

　　Some old people are oppressed by the fear of death. In the young there is a justification for this feeling. Young men who have reason to fear that they will be killed in battle may justifiably feel bitter in the thought that they have been cheated of the best things that life has to offer. But in an old man who has known human joys and sorrows, and has achieved whatever work it was in him to do, the fear of death is somewhat abject and ignoble. The best way to overcome it -- so at least it seems to me -- is to make your interests gradually wider and more impersonal, until bit by bit the walls of the ego recede, and your life becomes increasingly merged in the universal life. An individual human existence should be like a river -- small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being. The man who, in old age, can see his life in this way, will not suffer from the fear of death, since the things he cares for will continue. And if, with the decay of vitality, weariness increases, the thought of rest will be not unwelcome. I should wish to die while still at work, knowing that others will carry on what I can no longer do, and content in the thought that what was possible has been done.

　　BERTRAND RUSSELL How to grow old from Portraits from Memory

　　【New words and expressions 生词和短语】

　　oppress v. 忧郁，压抑

　　justification n. 正当理由

　　justifiably adv. 无可非议地

　　cheat v. 欺骗

　　abject adj. 可怜的

　　ignoble adj. 不体面的，可耻的

　　impersonal adj. 超脱个人感情影响的

　　ego n. 自我

　　receded v. 退去

　　increasing adv. 日益，不断

　　passionately adv. 激昂地

　　painlessly adv. 毫无痛苦地

　　vitality n. 精力

　　weariness n. 疲惫感

　　【课文注释】

　　1.oppress，压迫，使担心、使烦恼。

　　①To oppress people means to treat them cruelly.压迫、压制。

　　例句：The people are oppressed by the military goverment.

　　人民受军政府的压迫。

　　②make (sb) feel worried, uncomfortable or unhappy.使担心、使烦恼。

　　例句：It was not just the weather which oppressed her.

　　让她郁闷的不仅仅是天气。

　　2.in the young，在年轻人身上。

　　the+形容词表示一类人，后面动词用复数形式，比如：

　　the old 老年人

　　the rich 有钱人

　　the disabled 残疾人

　　这种用法相比起the old/rich/disabled people更地道。

　　3.Young men who have reason...that life has to offer.这个句子较长，其中有3个that。第一个that引到一个宾语从句that...battle，是fear的宾语。第二个that引导一个同位语从句that they...to offer，说明thought的内容。第三个that引导一个定语从句that life has to offer，修饰things。

　　4.cheat of...，从……那里骗取……。

　　①If someone cheats you out of something, they get it from you by behaving dishonestly. 　　例句：He was cheated (out) of his rightful inheritance.

　　他依法应得的遗产被人骗走了。

　　②If someone cheats on their husband, wife, or partner, they have a sexual relationship with another person. 不忠于妻子、丈夫或情人.

　　例句：I'd found Philippe was cheating on me and I was angry and hurt.

　　我发现菲利普对我不忠，我很生气也很受伤。

　　5.whatever work it was in him to do，他所能做的任何工作。

　　6.so at least it seems to me，这里一个插入语，用了倒装语序，自然的语序是at least it seems so to me。在英语中适当的使用插入语可以使文章显得更有文采^^

　　7.bit by bit，一点一点地。

　　bit by bit=little by little

　　例句：He saved money bit by bit until he have enough to buy a car.

　　他一点儿一点儿攒钱直到够买一辆汽车。

　　例句：Little by little the snow disappeared.

　　雪渐渐消失。

　　8.merge，合并，融合。

　　①If one thing merges with another, or is merged with another, they combine or come together to make one whole thing. You can also say that two things merge, or are merged.

　　例句:The two marching columns moved closer and finally merged.

　　行进中的两路纵队越走越近，终于合成一路。

　　②商业上的兼并。

　　例句：The bank merged with its major rival.

　　该银行与其主要对手合并了。

　　9.recede，渐渐退去或远去。

　　例句：As the tide receded we were able to look for shells.

　　潮水退去，我们就能寻找贝壳了。

　　10.carry on，继续进行。

　　例句：We'll carry on as arranged and they can do their worst.

　　我们还按我们的计划办事，他们想怎么使坏就随他们便吧。

　　例句：After his death, his children will certainly carry on his career.

　　百年之后，他的孩子一定会继承他的事业。

　　【参考译文】

　　有些老年人因为怕死而感到烦恼。青年人有这种感觉是情有可原的。有理由害怕自己会死在战场上的年轻人，想到自己被剥夺了生活所能给予的最美好的东西时，感到痛苦，这是可以理解的。可是老年人已经饱尝了人间的甘苦，一切能做的都做了，如果怕死，就有点儿可怜又可鄙。克服怕死的办法 -- 至少在我看来是这样 -- 就是逐渐使自己的兴趣更加广泛，逐渐摆脱个人狭小的圈子，直到自我的围墙一点一点地倒塌下来，自己的生活慢慢地和整个宇宙的生活融合在一起。个人的存在应该像一条河流，开始很小，被紧紧地夹在两岸中间，接着热情奔放地冲过巨石，飞下瀑布。然后河面渐渐地变宽，两岸后撤，河水流得平缓起来，最后连绵不断地汇入大海，毫无痛苦地失去了自我的存在。上了年纪的人这样看待生命，就不会有惧怕死亡的心情了，因为自己关心的一切事件都会继续下去。 再者，随着精力的衰退，老年人的疲惫会增长，有长眠的愿望未尝不是一件好事情，我希望工作到死为止，明白了有人会继续我的未竟事业，想到能做的事都做了，也就坦然了。

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