Passage Thirty-two (The Young Generation)

   Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true. It has never been truer than it is today. The young are better educated. They have a lot more money to spend and enjoy more freedom. They grow up more quickly and are not so dependent on their parents. They think more for themselves and do not blindly accept the ideals of their elders. Events which the older generation remembers vividly¹ are nothing more than past history. This is as it should be. Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it. Today the difference is very marked indeed.

   The old always assume that they know best for the simple reason that they have been around a bit longer. They don’t like to feel that their values are being questioned or threatened. And this is precisely² what the young are doing. They are question the assumptions of their elders and disturbing their complacency. Office hours, for instance, are nothing more than enforced slavery. Wouldn’t people work best if they were given complete freedom and responsibility? And what about clothing? Who said that all the men in the world should wear drab grey suits and convict haircuts? If we ruin our minds to more serious matters, who said that human differences can best be solved through conventional politics or by violent means, who said that human difference can best be solved through conventional politics or by violent means? Why have the older generation so often used violence to solve their problems? Why are they so unhappy and guilt-ridden in their personal lives, so obsessed³ with mean ambitions and the desire to amass⁴ more and more material possessions? Can anything be right with the rat-race? Haven’t the old lost touch with all that is important in life?

   These are not questions the older generation can shrug⁵ off lightly. Their record over the past forty years or so hasn’t been exactly spotless. Traditionally, the young have turned to their elders for guidance. Today, the situation might be reversed. The old—if they are prepared to admit it—could learn a thing or two from their children. One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment⁶ is not ‘sinful’. Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of life. It is surely not wrong to enjoy your work and enjoy your leisure; to shed restricting inhibitions. It is surely not wrong to live in the present rather than in the past or future. This emphasis on the present is only to be expected because the young have grown up under the shadow of the bomb: the constant threat of complete annihilation. This is their glorious heritage. Can we be surprised that they should so often question the sanity⁷ of the generation that bequeathed it?

 

1.        Which of the following features in the young is NOT mentioned?

[A]. Better educated.             [B]. More money and freedom.

[C]. Independence.               [D]. Hard work.

2.        What so the young reject most?

[A]. Values.                    [B]. The assumption of the elders.

[C]. Conformity⁸.                [C]. Conventional ideas.

3.        Why do the young stress on the present?

[A]. They have grown up under the shadow of the bomb.

[B]. They dislike the past.

[C]. They think the present world is the best.

[D]. They are afraid of destruction.

4.        What can the old learn from the young generation?

[A]. Enjoyment is not sinful.               [B]. People should have more leisure time.

[C]. Men might enjoy life.                 [D]. One should enjoy one’s work.

 

Vocabulary

1.       reminder                       使共回想起某事的东西，提示者

2.       complacency                    自鸣得意，自满情结

3.       take leave                       擅自，任意，随意

           I took leave to consider this matter settled.   请原谅我认为这事已经解决了。

4.       conformity                      与……一致，遵从

5.       guilt                           有罪，内疚

6.       ridden                         （ride 的过去分词）受……支配的，受……压迫

7.       guilt-ridden                     负罪感

8.       amass                          积累，积聚

9.       a rat-race                       激烈的竞争

10.   shrug off                        对……耸肩表示不屑一理，轻视，摆脱

11.   spotless                        无污点的，纯洁的

12.   shed                           摆脱，抛弃

13.   annihilate                       歼灭

14.   bequeath                        赠送，把……传给后代

15.   sanity                          头脑清醒健全

 

难句译注

1.       convict haircut.  Convict 义：罪犯。罪犯和短发两字合在一起为“囚犯理的发式”。但在这里其含义根据上下文决定。前面讲到“谁说世界上所有的男人都应穿浅灰色的西装”，后面只能译成“剪成像罪犯似的短发呢”。本义有haircut义：修理整齐的短发。整齐划一表示绅士派的工作人中作风正派，认真负责，一丝不苟的精神。作者用了convict罪犯一字表示讽刺：“罪犯也是整齐划一的短发跟绅士们的要求一样，难道他们也是作风正派，认真负责，一丝不苟吗？”

 

写作方法与文章大意

这是一篇论及“代沟”的文章。主要采用对比手法，一开始就提出了一个老问题：“老人们经常说年轻人不是从前那样了。这一评语代代相传，永远是对的，而今天比以前任何时候更正确。”下面几段就论述他们之不同点以及对比老少两代人的态度。

 

答案祥解

1.        D. 艰苦工作。这在第一段中第四句“青年一代受了更好教育，有大量的钱话，有更多的自由。他们成长的很快，不那么依赖于父母，他们独立思考得更多，不盲目接受老一代的理想……。”

A. 受更好的教育。       B. 更多的钱和自由。      C. 独立性。这三项均提及到。

2.        C. 顺从。第二段集中讲到这一点。“因为老人们经常认为自己懂得多，理由就是他们经历得多。他们不喜欢自己的价值观受到怀疑或威胁。而这正是青年在做的。他们对老人们的设想提出疑问，打乱他们的自鸣得意。他们甚至敢于怀疑老一代创造了世界上可能最佳的社会。他们最反对的莫过于顺从。例如：他们说办公时间就是强制奴役，如果人们完全自由，绝对负责，他们的工作不会更好吗？而穿衣呢？谁说世界上所有的男人都该穿单调的灰色西装和剪成像罪犯似的短发？……。”这些词语都表示他们最反对的东西是遵从，“一致性”。所以

A. 价值。      B. 长者的设想。      D. 传统习俗观念。都是具体的某一点。

3.        A. 他们在炸弹的阴影下成长。第三段倒数第四句起“由于年轻人是在炸弹战争的阴影下成长壮大：在不断受到全面歼灭的威胁之下，所以也只能期望他们重视目前。这是他们的光荣遗产。他们经常询问赠给他们遗产的这代人的头脑是否清醒。对此我们能表示惊讶吗？”遗产指的是第二段的种种问题所体现出来的东西，如：“谁说人类之差异能通过常规政策或暴力手段予以很好的解决？为什么老一代人常用暴力来解决他们的问题？为什么他们（老一代）个人生活那么不愉快。老有负罪感？为什么老纠缠于要积聚越来越多的物质财富？……。”

B. 他们不喜欢过去。        C. 他们认为现世界是最好的。      D. 他们害怕破坏。

4.        A. 享受不是犯罪。这在第三段中间“老年人——如果他们准备承认的话——可以从他们的孩子们那里学到一两件事。他们能学的最大的课堂之一是享受不是犯罪。”“享受”是人可适用于生活各个方面的原则。从工作中获得乐处，享受闲暇时间，肯定不是错误。抛弃约束限制，生活在现在而不是生活在过去肯定也不是错。

B. 人们应有更多的闲暇。    C. 人可以享受生活。     D. 一个人应当享受工作。

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