英语专业晨读美文-文化篇 15 Rebellion and Independe

[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 demonstration¹ of independence.
[00:12.98]But that can lead to a fallacious intellectual shortcut²:
[00:16.89]I don't actually have to understand the situation
[00:19.77]in order to triumphantly³ 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 decided⁴.
[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 manifestations⁵
[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 precisely⁶ the fact that their parents disapprove⁷.
[01:06.24]So we had the flappers in the 1920s.
[01:09.31]In the 1930s young people were dealing⁸ 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, tattoos⁹ 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 dressing¹⁰
[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 ridicule¹¹ about
[02:17.59]their presumption¹² of “nonconformity”.
[02:19.43]The beatniks were lampooned¹³ 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 condemn¹⁴,
[02:37.15]is something most of us outgrow¹⁵ 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 constrained¹⁶.
[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 unduly¹⁷ 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 liberated¹⁸.
[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 worthy¹⁹ 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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）

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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 )

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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

参考例句：

• 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。