英语沙龙：The Two Drives in Man

The Two Drives in Man

Man is, at one and the same time,

a solitary¹ being and a social being.

As a solitary being,

he attempts to protect his own existence

and that of those who are closest to him,

to satisfy his personal desires,

and to develop his innate² abilities.

As a social being,

he seeks to gain the recognition and affection

of his fellow human beings,

to share in their pleasures,

to comfort them in their sorrows,

and to improve their conditions of life.

Only the existence of these varied³,

frequently conflicting, strivings accounts

for the special character of a man,

and their specific combination determines the extent

to which an individual can achieve

and in an inner balance

and can contribute to the well-being⁴ of society.

It is quite possible that the relative strength of these two drives is,

in the main, fixed⁵ by inheritance.

But the personality that finally emerges

is largely formed by the environment

in which a man happens to find himself during his development,

by the structure of the society in which he grows up,

by the tradition of that society,

and by its evaluation⁶ of particular types of behavior.

The abstract concept “society” means to the individual human being

the sum total of his direct

and indirect relations to his contemporaries

and to all the people of earlier generations.

The individual is able to think, feel, strive, and work by himself;

but he depends so much upon society —

in his physical, intellectual,

and emotional existence —

that it is impossible to think of him,

or to understand him,

outside the framework of society.

It is “society” which provides man with food, clothing,

a home, the tools of work, language, the forms of thought,

and most of the content of thought;

his life is made possible through the labor⁷

and accomplishments⁸ of the many millions past and present

who are all hidden behind the small word “society”.

1 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

2 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

3 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

4 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

5 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

6 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

8 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》