《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词3500》Unit96:美国心态—藐视权威

　　Unit 96
American Attitude -- Defying¹ Authority
In much of the world, authority is not challenged either out of respect or out of fear, sometimes, too, because a hierarch of rank has been fixed² for so long that people have been trained for generations never to challenge it.
In such countries children are not expected to question their teachers in school, and brilliant young scholars or inventive industrial geniuses are hapmered in technical research because they hesitate to disagree with their "superios". Clever researchers may be considered too young to have "any right" to present findings that contradict³ knowledge and wisdom of their elders.
The American is trained from childhood to question, analyze⁴, search. "Go look it up for yourself", a child will be told. School tasks are designed to demand the use of a wide range of materials. An assignment to "write a paper on the world's supply of sugar" will send even a young child in search of completely unfamiliar⁵ ideas. Even in the primary grades, children are taught to use libraries, and to search for new ideas. By the time they are 14, 15, and 16, many young scholars are making original and valuable contributions in all fields of science from astrophysics to oceanography. Industry is so aware of this resource that each year, through national competitions, it offers tremendous awards among teenagers in order to seek out (and later employ) the brilliant, inquiring minds which they find scattered⁶ across the country.
As seen by members of other nations, this emphasis on questioning and searching is bad for young people's "manners". Foreigners often feel great "lack of respect" in our youth. It is true that many do become rude and pressing. Foreign visitors are often surprised and frequently annoyed to find junior staff members "daring" to challenge older ones or argue points with them; they do not always like it when these young men make detailed⁷ but often revolutionary suggestions. One's own plans, reports of analyses may be looked through in detail -- perhaps even challenged -- by a young person. This is not to be considered a loss of face; nor is it a sign of "no confidence". Our whole approach to research is different. Your ideas are being looked at, not you yourself. To us the two are quite separate. This is the way our mind work. We are seeking facts; we are not challenging you as a person. So, too, even in social conversation you will find that people often argue, pick an idea apart, ask for your sources or challenge your conclusions. They do not mean to be rude; they are keenly interested and merely trying to explore the idea in greater depth.

1 defying   

不服从( defy的现在分词 )； 公然反抗； 蔑视； 向…挑战

参考例句：

• Yet Kissinger succeeded in defying an old Washington dictum that you can have in the capital visibility or influence,but not both. 在华盛顿有一条传统格言：要么抛头露面，要么得势弄权，二者不可兼得。基辛格却公然蔑视这种传统。
• He was a handsome, debonair, death-defying racing-driver. 他是一位英俊潇洒、风流倜傥、敢于挑战死神的赛车手。

2 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。

3 contradict   

vt.反驳，否认...的真实性，与...发生矛盾

参考例句：

• Young children should never contradict what their parents say.孩子们绝对不应顶撞父母。
• They contradict each other all the time.他们总是相互抵触。

4 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

5 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

6 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。