时间:2018-11-30 作者:英语课 分类:英语专业晨读美文


英语课

[00:02.64]Rebellion ≠ Independence

[00:05.45]It's a pretty standard failing of the young

[00:09.32]to assume that disagreement is a demonstration 1 of independence.

[00:12.98]But that can lead to a fallacious intellectual shortcut 2:

[00:16.89]I don't actually have to understand the situation

[00:19.77]in order to triumphantly 3 prove

[00:21.67]that I'm independent of my parents;

[00:23.61]all I have to do is to disagree with them.

[00:26.53]In fact, real independence requires coming to

[00:30.25]understand a situation and then making your decision

[00:33.31]without reference to how your parents may have decided 4.

[00:36.11]Sometimes that means you find yourself agreeing with them.

[00:40.01]Every generation of young people feels a need to

[00:43.37]rattle the bars and to make changes,

[00:45.85]and to rebel against their parents.

[00:48.11]This is usually healthy, but it can become pathological.

[00:51.76]However, the most common and obvious manifestations 5

[00:56.21]are usually unimportant in the long run,

[00:58.57]in things like taste in clothing and music,

[01:01.15]and part of the appeal for the young

[01:03.56]is precisely 6 the fact that their parents disapprove 7.

[01:06.24]So we had the flappers in the 1920s.

[01:09.31]In the 1930s young people were dealing 8 with the Depression

[01:13.34]and didn't have the luxury of doing this kind of thing,

[01:16.26]and in the 1940s there was the war.

[01:18.87]But in the 1950s we had greasers,

[01:21.75]and in the 1960s there were hippies.

[01:24.12]In the 1970s hippiedom led to the freaks,

[01:27.91]and that kind of thing hasn't stopped happening.

[01:30.55]Modern kids are into strange hair styles,

[01:33.86]weird hair colors, tattoos 9 and body piercing,

[01:36.77]and among the greatest appeal of all those things

[01:39.92]is the simple fact that their parents disapprove.

[01:42.98]The 1950s also saw the beatniks.

[01:45.84]Beatniks were non-conformists.

[01:48.32]They were independent; they were into cool

[01:50.93]and jazz and obscure poetry and modern art.

[01:54.05]And there was an amazing degree of uniformity

[01:57.06]amongst them in styles of clothing,

[01:59.20]and in ways of talking, and in attitudes and values;

[02:03.32]it was almost like there was some official

[02:06.24]“non-conformist” way of dressing 10

[02:08.09]and an official “non-conformist” set of attitudes

[02:11.22]and values to which these “non-conformists”

[02:13.84]all closely conformed.

[02:15.29]There was a lot of ridicule 11 about

[02:17.59]their presumption 12 of “nonconformity”.

[02:19.43]The beatniks were lampooned 13 quite a lot by Mad Magazine,

[02:23.39]for instance. Because, of course,

[02:25.87]it was not the case that they were non-conformists.

[02:28.57]They just conformed to a different standard.

[02:31.01]That basic drive to rebel,

[02:34.01]and to prove rebellion by doing things parents condemn 14,

[02:37.15]is something most of us outgrow 15 eventually.

[02:40.29]But that isn't really independence.

[02:42.87]If you can do those things,

[02:44.72]it proves that you are free—in the sense of

[02:47.61]not being externally constrained 16.

[02:49.54]It doesn't mean you are free inside your head.

[02:52.34]Real independence means making your own decisions

[02:55.80]about things without being unduly 17 influenced by

[02:59.19]what others think you should decide.

[03:00.99]For example, a woman who chooses

[03:03.46]to be a wife-and-mother is liberated 18.

[03:05.75]A woman who is forced into that role is not.

[03:08.94]What's critical is who made the decision,

[03:11.86]not what decision was made.

[03:13.65]That's what most of us learn as we mature,

[03:16.74]as we outgrow youthful rebellion:

[03:18.97]I can agree with others and retain my independence,

[03:22.37]as long as I am the one making the decision.

[03:25.40]It isn't demeaning, or a sign of slavery,

[03:28.31]to feel respect for the achievements of others,

[03:31.57]as long as it is you who evaluates

[03:33.69]what they did and decides that it is worthy 19 of respect.

[03:36.88]Being independent doesn't require you to

[03:39.68]automatically reject and condemn everything

[03:42.21]ever done by “dead white males”,

[03:44.45]or indeed to automatically reject anything whatever.

[03:48.06]In fact, you are just as much an intellectual slave

[03:52.47]if you automatically oppose everything

[03:54.30]that a certain “other” thinks and does as you are

[03:57.69]if you automatically support and agree.

[03:59.64]For when you automatically oppose them,

[04:02.35]you still let them control your position.



1 demonstration
n.表明,示范,论证,示威
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
2 shortcut
n.近路,捷径
  • He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
  • If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。
3 triumphantly
ad.得意洋洋地;得胜地;成功地
  • The lion was roaring triumphantly. 狮子正在发出胜利的吼叫。
  • Robert was looking at me triumphantly. 罗伯特正得意扬扬地看着我。
4 decided
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
5 manifestations
n.表示,显示(manifestation的复数形式)
  • These were manifestations of the darker side of his character. 这些是他性格阴暗面的表现。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • To be wordly-wise and play safe is one of the manifestations of liberalism. 明哲保身是自由主义的表现之一。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
6 precisely
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
7 disapprove
v.不赞成,不同意,不批准
  • I quite disapprove of his behaviour.我很不赞同他的行为。
  • She wants to train for the theatre but her parents disapprove.她想训练自己做戏剧演员,但她的父母不赞成。
8 dealing
n.经商方法,待人态度
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
9 tattoos
n.文身( tattoo的名词复数 );归营鼓;军队夜间表演操;连续有节奏的敲击声v.刺青,文身( tattoo的第三人称单数 );连续有节奏地敲击;作连续有节奏的敲击
  • His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的胳膊上刺满了花纹。
  • His arms were covered in tattoos. 他的双臂刺满了纹身。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 dressing
n.(食物)调料;包扎伤口的用品,敷料
  • Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
  • The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。
11 ridicule
v.讥讽,挖苦;n.嘲弄
  • You mustn't ridicule unfortunate people.你不该嘲笑不幸的人。
  • Silly mistakes and queer clothes often arouse ridicule.荒谬的错误和古怪的服装常会引起人们的讪笑。
12 presumption
n.推测,可能性,冒昧,放肆,[法律]推定
  • Please pardon my presumption in writing to you.请原谅我很冒昧地写信给你。
  • I don't think that's a false presumption.我认为那并不是错误的推测。
13 lampooned
v.冷嘲热讽,奚落( lampoon的过去式和过去分词 )
  • His cartoons mercilessly lampooned the politicians of his time. 他的漫画毫不留情地嘲讽了他那个年代的政治人物。
  • He was lampooned for his political views. 他的政治观点使他成了受奚落的对象。 来自辞典例句
14 condemn
vt.谴责,指责;宣判(罪犯),判刑
  • Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他,而有些人谴责他。
  • We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。
15 outgrow
vt.长大得使…不再适用;成长得不再要
  • The little girl will outgrow her fear of pet animals.小女孩慢慢长大后就不会在怕宠物了。
  • Children who walk in their sleep usually outgrow the habit.梦游的孩子通常在长大后这个习惯自然消失。
16 constrained
adj.束缚的,节制的
  • The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服,他觉得不得不接受。
  • I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。
17 unduly
adv.过度地,不适当地
  • He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
  • He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。
18 liberated
a.无拘束的,放纵的
  • The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进,解放了那座城市。
  • The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应,释放出氧气。
19 worthy
adj.(of)值得的,配得上的;有价值的
  • I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
  • There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。
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