The American Character 美国人的性格（大全5篇）

第一篇：The American Character 美国人的性格

The American Character 美国人的性格(Bradford Smith 布拉德福德·史密斯)

The following is part of an essay taken from Bradford Smith's book, Why We Behave Like Americans.Success as a goal and materialism, according to Smith, are among the underlying factors that make up the American character.以下节选自布拉德福德所著《为什么我们的举止象美国人》里的一篇文章。据布拉德福德所说，目标 为成功和物质享乐主义，构成美国人性格的内在因素。没

When visitors from abroad undertake to describe the American Character, the results are frequently puzzling to Americans.“All Americans are Puritans;that's what's wrong with them,” says one.“They're always thinking about enjoying themselves,” says another.“They spend too much time at work,” a distinguished visitor tells us.“They don't know how to play.” “Americans don't know what work is, ” retorts another.“ Their machines do it all.” “American women are shameless sirens.” － “No, they're prudes.” “The children here are wonderful － outgoing and natural.” － “Natural as little beasts.They have no manners, no respect for their elders.” 要是让国外来客描述美国人的性格，结果常常令美国人感到奇怪。一个人说：“所有的美国人都是清教徒；所以他们与众不同。”另一个人说：“他们总是想方设法让自己开心。”一位尊贵的客人告诉我们：“他们花在工作上的时间太多。他们不懂如何玩乐。”另一个人反驳说：“他们不懂什么是工作。因为机器替他们做了一切。”“美国女人是不知廉耻的，妖艳而危险的女人。”--“不，她们假正经。”“这里的孩子真好－－外向，自然。”----“象小小的野兽一样自然。他们没礼貌，不尊敬长辈。”

There is, of course, no single pattern of American character any more than there is a single English or Turkish or Chinese character.Personality in America is further complicated by our diverse racial and cultural origins, by successive waves of immigration from all parts of the world, by our regional diversities.It is complicated by several hundred varieties of religious belief with their varying impact on the believers.It is further diversified by the generation to which the person belongs － first generation immigrant, second generation child of immigrants, and on down the line.当然，世上既没有单一模式的美国人性格，也没有单一的英国人性格或土耳其人性格或是中国人性格。个性的定义在美国变得更为复杂，因为我们有不同的种族和文化背景，因为来自世界各地连续不断的移民浪潮，因为我们区域的多样性。个性的定义变得复杂，因为几百种不同的宗教信仰及其对各自的信奉者的影响不同。个性的定义也由于每个人所处的年代不同而趋多样化 －－第一代是移民，第二代是移民的孩子，一直照此延续下去。

The temptation is strong to lump all Americans together.Yet those who look a little deeper are puzzled by the seeming contradictions in American life.It is true that Americans as a whole work hard.But they also play hard.They spend more time and money in traveling, camping, hunting, watching sports, drinking, smoking, going to movies, watching television and reading newspapers and magazines than any other people in the world.Yet they also spend more money on churches, social services, hospitals and all kinds of charities.They are always in a hurry, yet they spend more time relaxing.They are at the same time sensitive to the rights of the individual and habitual conformist.They worship bigness yet idealize the little man, whether he be the small business man as opposed to the big one or the plain citizen as opposed to the big wheel.强大的吸引力把众多的美国人聚集在了一起。然而那些想再了解深入一点的人弄不懂美国人生活中各种似乎自相矛盾的东西。的确，美国人总体上工作努力。但他们也拼命地玩。他们去旅游、露营、打猎、看体育比赛、喝酒、抽烟、看电影电视、读报纸杂志，花的时间和金钱比世界任何地方的人都多。而他们还把更多的时间花在教会、社会服务、医院和各种各样的慈善活动上。他们总是忙来忙去，又总是花更多的时间休闲。他们十分在乎个人的权利，又习惯于墨守陈规。他们崇拜大人物，也把小人物理想化，不论他是和大商人形成对照的小商人，还是和大权在握的人形成对照的平民百姓。

Success as a Goal 成功作为目标

One thing almost everyone is agreed on, including Americans, is that they place a very high valuation upon success.Success does not necessarily mean material rewards, but recognition of some sort － preferably measurable.If the boy turns out to be a preacher instead of a business man, that's all right.But the bigger his church and congregation, the more successful he is judged to be.包括美国人在内几乎每一个人都会赞同的一点是，美国人极为看重成功。成功不一定是物质上的回报，而是得到某种认可，最好是可以衡量的那种。如果一个男孩后来没有从商，而是做了布道的教士，那也没什么。但是他的教堂规模越大，教堂会众越多，别人就认为他越成功。

A good many things contributed to this accent on success.There was the Puritan belief in the virtue of work, both for its own sake and because the rewards it brought were regarded as signs of God's love.There was the richness of opportunity in a land waiting to be settled.There was the lack of a settled society with fixed ranks and classes, so that a man was certain to rise through achievement.好多事情都说明，成功是美国人生活的重点。清教徒相信工作带来的好处，既有工作本身的乐趣，还因为工作的回报是上帝之爱的体现。一片富饶的土地到处都是机遇，等待着人们到来。在一个不固守陈规的社会，没有严格的等级和阶级，这样人就一定能通过成功提升自己的社会地位。

There was the determination of the immigrant to gain in the new world what had been denied to him in the old, and the part of his children an urge to throw off the immigrant onus by still more success and still more rise in a fluid, classless society.Brothers did not compete within the family for the favor of the parents as in Europe, but strove for success in the outer world, along paths of their own choosing.凡是旧的世界拒绝给的，移民决心都要在新的世界得到。对于他的后代而言，要摆脱作为移民的负担，只有在一个灵活自由的无阶级社会里取得更多的成功，升至更高的地位。他们的兄弟之间不象欧洲人那样为获得父母的欢心而相互 倾轧，他们都在外面的世界 沿着各自选择的道路为成功而奋力拚搏。

The English anthropologist, Geoffrey Gorer, sees the whole situation in Freudian terms.Europe is the father rejected by every immigrant who turned his back on his own culture in order to make a new life in America.The immigrant's struggle for success never ends, because there is no limit to the possible goal.The second generation child, in turn, rejects the alien parents because they cannot measure up to American standards.The only way he can soften the blow is to achieve a still greater success.All over America the lawyers, doctors, professors and politicians with Italian, Irish, German or Polish names testify to the urgency of this drive.英国的人类学家杰弗里·戈罗尔用弗罗伊德的说法来解释这一切。欧洲是被所有的移民抛弃的父亲，移民为了在美国过上新生活，背离了自己的文化。移民为了要成功从未停止过奋斗，因为目标 的内容没有限制。同样，第二代移民拒绝接受移民过来的父母，因为后者无法适应美国标准。他能减轻压力的唯一方式，就是取得更大的成功。在整个美国，有意大利人、爱尔兰人、德国人或波兰人名字的律师、医生、教授和政治家，都能证明这种成功欲望的强烈。

Not to strive, not to take advantage of the opportunities in such a world, not to succeed where success was so available － these things naturally became a sort of crime against the state.To develop the resources of a new country required energetic people, bent upon using their energies － not only for the rewards that would result to themselves, but even more important, to the community.So material success in the United States is not looked upon as selfish.Its results are seen to have communal value.要是不奋斗，不利用这个世界的各种机会去成功而不能成功---这些无疑都是对国家的一种犯罪。开发一个新国家的各种资源，需要精力充沛的人不遗余力地发挥他们的充沛精力---不仅仅是为了他们会得到的回报，更重要的是给社会带来的回报。所以在美国，没有人把物质上的成功看成是自私的。成功的果实被看作具有全民共享的价值。

Ford, Carnegie, Rockefeller built great fortunes for themselves.But they also built an economy which has brought a great deal of material well-being, higher health standards and better educational opportunities to millions of Americans.This is how it looks to us, anyway, from inside.福特、卡耐基、洛克菲勒，都为自己创造了极大的财富。但他们也建立起一种经济，既可以带来许多物质上的幸福，更高的健康水平，也可以给上千万的美国人创造更好地受教育的机会。无论怎样，这就是成功的内涵。

A society which values competition so highly is inevitably an aggressive one, even though the laws carefully limit the forms aggression may take.It has a toughness about it which is good for the muscle tone of the economy but hard on some individuals.In our pioneering days this aggressiveness was essential to survival.Now it can be a menace to society.The factory worker who reaches a dead end and sees himself stuck in the same job year after year may take out his aggressive feelings in race hatred or fighting management, or he may even turn it against himself by way of alcoholism, proneness to accident, or neurotic behavior.一个如此注重竞争的社会必定是攻击性的社会，尽管法律严格限制各种攻击形式。这种对攻击的严格限制对 完善经济的肌体有益，但对某些个人却过于严格。在拓荒时代，这种攻击性是生存所必需的，但现在可能是一种对社会的威胁。走投无路、常年被同一工作所困的工人可能会将这样的攻击性用于种族仇恨或反对管理，或 开始酗酒、滋事、神经质、和自己过不去。

Since a high regard is felt for success, the rewards are high.Money is rarely cherished for itself in America;it is rather a symbol and a tool.As a man's status rises, the demands upon him also increase.He is expected to give liberally to the hundreds of voluntary associations which nourish and minister to the community.Look at the Who's Who entry for any prominent business man, and you are likely to find him involved in an amazing number of committees and associations organized for the public good.既然高度注重成功，回报也就很高。在美国，人们很少看重金钱本身，它更多的是一种标志，一种工具。当一个人的地位提高，人们对他的要求也相应提高。成百上千各种各样的志愿者协会有益于社会并服务于社会，人们期望他能慷慨捐钱给这些协会。你去看看《名人录》，随便找一个知名商人的条目，就会发现他参加的公益性委员会和协会多得令人吃惊。

This striving for success and prestige, according to psychologists, is a way of overcoming fears and a sense of inner emptiness.In a mobile society an energetic person can hardly help matching himself against others and seeing how far he can go.这种为成功和名望而奋斗的心理，按心理学家的说法，是一种克服恐惧和内心空虚感的方式。在一个时刻变化着的社会，一个有进取精神的人难免会拿自己与别人相比，知道自己能达到的目标是什么。

Such a system is fine for those who have it in them to succeed.It is not so good for the mediocre.The fear of failure, the fear of competitors, the loss of self esteem － these arouse tensions that some people cannot handle.In their turn they produce an excessive craving for love.So love and success are linked.Gorer believes that most Americans by the time they are adolescents have confused two ideas: to be successful is to be loved, and to be loved is to be successful.Mothers help to impose the pattern by showing affection and admiration when their children do well at school and by withholding affection when they fail.这种思维方式对于那些本来就这样想的人是有利的。但对不求上进的人却没什么好处。害怕失败，害怕竞争对手，丧失自尊---都导致了一些人无力应付的紧张情绪。然后，这种紧张情绪就产生了对爱的极度渴望。因此爱和成功是密不可分的。戈罗尔认为，许多美国人在少年时期就被两个问题困扰：成功就是要得到爱，要得到爱就要成功。母亲们把这个模式成功地灌输给孩子：孩子们在学校里表现好，她们就对他们显示出无限的疼爱和喜爱；孩子们要是做得不好，她们就拒绝给予关爱。

Since there are no limits of class, inherited occupation or education to hold a child back, there are, in theory, no limits to what he can achieve.Consequently there is no point at which he can say: “ There, I've done it.From now on all I have to do is to hold on.” Since any boy can, in theory, become President, striving is a moral obligation.Achievement, not class, is the standard by which men are judged.There is little or no glory attached to being born wealthy or privileged;the real test is how far you climb from where you started.既然没有阶级限制、世袭职业或教育来阻碍孩子的发展，所以从理论上说，他所能取得的成就也没有限制。如果他说：“哦，我已经做到了。从现在起我要做的就是继续保持，”这样的话毫无意义。因为，理论上，任何孩子都可以做总统，奋斗是一种道德上的义务。评价人的标准是成功而不是阶级。不论出身豪门还是出身显赫，都没有什么可炫耀的；真正的考验就是：从你的起点你能爬多高。

Americans love work.It is meat and drink to them.In recent years they have learned how to play, but they make work of that too.If it's skiing, they throw themselves at it with an effort that would kill a horse.If it's a vacation, they travel five or six hundred miles a day, take in the sights at sixty miles an hour, pause only long enough to snap pictures, and then discover what it was they went to see when they get home and look at the photographs.美国人热爱工作。工作就是他们的命根子。近年来他们已经学会玩，但是将玩也当成了工作。要是去滑雪，他们就在雪地上猛冲，那样子连马都会累死。如果去度假，他们就每天开车五六百公里，以每小时60英里的速度观光，沿途只停下来拍些快照。然后，发现了自己要看的东西是怎么一回事，就打道回府，回去看照片。

Until very recently there has always been a great deal of work to do in this country, a great deal that needed doing.At the beginning men of all sorts and conditions had to pitch in.The preacher had to fell trees and plough fields.The teacher, the doctor and the magistrate had to shoulder guns for the common defense.The farmer made his own tools, harness, household equipment.He was blacksmith, carpenter, tinsmith, brewer and veterinary all rolled into one, as his wife was spinster, weaver and doctor.直到最近，这个国家还总是有许多事要做，还有许多事情必须要做。以前不管什么人都工作得很辛苦。传教士要伐树、犁田。教师、医生，还有地方法官得扛着枪当民兵。农场主自己动手做工具、马鞍和家用器具。他集铁匠、木匠、白铁匠、啤酒酿造者和兽医于一身。他的妻子既是纺纱工、织布工，又是医生。

Americans still like to be handy at all things.College professors go in for making furniture or remodeling an old house in the country.Bankers don aprons and become expert barbecue chefs.Nearly everyone knows how to use tools, make simple repairs to plumbing or electrical fixtures, refinish furniture or paint a wall.Far from being thought a disgrace if he performs these “menial” tasks, a man is thought ridiculous if he does not know how to perform them.美国人仍然喜欢什么都学着做。大学教授喜欢做家具或是改造乡下的老房子。银行家穿上围裙，就成了专业的烧烤厨师。几乎每一个人都懂得使用工具，懂得简单的下水道或电力装置的修理，还会修家具，刷墙。做这些“粗活”绝不会让人认为不体面，不会做才是让人觉得不可思议呢。

Along with this urge to be jack-of-all-trades goes a willingness to change from one occupation to another.It surprises no one in America when the banker's son becomes a farmer or vice versa.Or when a college professor shifts into industry, or a young man who starts out with a truck purchased on credit ends up running an enterprise with fleets of trucks spanning several states.President Truman was a farmer, an operator of a haberdashery and an army officer before he turned to law and politics.James Bryant Conant, first a chemist, then President of Harvard University, resigned this highest post in the academic world to become High Commissioner and then Ambassador to Germany.与这种成为万事通愿望并存的是变换职业的愿望。在美国，不管是银行家的儿子当了农场主还是农场主的儿子做了银行家，都不会让人吃惊。更不用说大学教授转行干上了实业。一个年轻人靠一辆贷款买来的卡车起家，后来当上了公司的老板，拥有卡车车队，行驶在好几个州。杜鲁门总统经营过农场，开过男装店，当过陆军军官，后来才转学法律和政治。詹姆斯·布莱恩特·克兰特原先是化学家，后来担任哈佛大学的校长，辞去了这个学术界的最高职位后担任了高级公共事务官员，后被任命为驻德大使。

“For a European,” writes Andre Maurois, “life is a career;for an American, it is a succession of hazards.” 安德鲁·莫里斯写道“对于欧洲人来说，生活是生命的历程，而对于美国人，生活就是一个接一个的危险。”

A single individual can be at once an intellectual, a Boy Scout leader, a business man, a sportsman, a dabbler in music or painting, a nature-lover, and one who does many of his own household chores.An employer, he may go hunting with his own or someone else's employees.A shopkeeper, he may run for local office and be on familiar terms with professional men and government officials.He will live on several levels which in other countries might be separated by class distinctions.一个人可以同时是知识分子，童子军首领，商人，运动健将，音乐绘画的爱好者，热爱大自然的人，做大部分家务的人。当老板的也许会和自己的或别人的雇员一起打猎。经营商店的可能会竞选当地的政府职位，熟悉专业人士和政府官员。他可以同时位于别的国家也许会用等级的概念来划分的不同社会阶层。

The emphasis on success and achievement, coupled as it is with a desire to be loved and admired, leads to a critical dilemma of personality.To succeed one must be aggressive;to be liked, one must be easy-going and friendly.强调成功和成就，再加上要得到爱和赞赏的强烈愿望，会导致个性发展的两难境地：要成功，人就必须好斗；要别人喜欢自己，人就得宽容、友好。

One way out of the difficulty is to acquire groups of friends － lodge brothers, members of the same church, a veteran's organization － towards whom you are pledged in friendship.Having thus acquired assured friends, you can practice your aggression on those who don't belong.This pattern explains to some extent the suspicion or hostility towards those of other races or religions.走出困境的一个办法就是有成群的朋友---会社支部的会员，同一教堂的成员，退伍军人组织---他们一定会给你友谊。有了这些可以信赖的朋友，你就可以对那些不在朋友之列的人表现出你的攻击力。这种模式也或多或少地解释了，为什么会对其他的种族或教会的人持怀疑敌视的态度。

Materialism 物质享乐主义

The men and women who staked everything on America were for the most part poor.They struggled hard, went without, and saved in order to build up a business or buy a farm of their own.The freedom to own rather than the freedom to vote was the magnet that drew the majority of them across oceans.Naturally enough they put a high value upon the land or the business they acquired through their own efforts.把赌注都押在美国的男男女女绝大多数是穷人。他们努力挣扎，忍气吞声，努力存钱，目的就是做点买卖，买个属于自己的农场。像磁铁一般吸引着他们大多数人远涉重洋的，是拥有财产的自由而不是投票的自由。所以他们很看重靠自己的努力得来的土地和做的买卖。

In contrast with this natural acquisitiveness of the new arrivals, the American attitude toward money is quite different.As the German psychologist Hugo Munsterberg observed, the American “prizes the gold he gets primarily as an indication of his ability....It is, therefore, fundamentally false to stigmatize the American as a materialist, and to deny his idealism....The American merchant works for money in exactly the sense that a great painter works for money －” as a mark of appreciation for his work.和初来者自然的获取思想相比，美国人对钱的态度是很不一样的。就象德国心理学家休格·爱斯特伯格所指出的，美国人“很看重他挖到的金子，主要是因为金子是他的能力的体现……因此把美国人定义为物质享乐主义者而否认他的理想主义，从根本上就是错误的……美国的商人为钱工作，伟大的画家为钱绘画，意义是完全一样的——”，都是是对自己的工作欣赏的标志。

The acquisition of money is important as the clearest proof of success, though there are other acceptable proofs － prominence, public notice, good works, fame.But the retention of money is not important at all.Indeed, it may be frowned upon if it keeps the owner from living well, subscribing generously to a long list of charities, and providing for members of the family who may have been less fortunate.获得金钱是重要的，因为钱最能证明成功。当然还有人们可以接受的其他的证明---卓越，公众瞩目，工作优秀，名声，等等。但是存钱并不重要。事实上，钱的主人留着钱，不过好日子，不慷慨地捐款给大串的慈善机构，不接济家里没钱的人，人们也会不喜欢。

So the materialism that strikes a visitor to America is not that of loving and hoarding wealth;it is a love of making and consuming wealth.It is probably a middle-class rather than a distinctively American phenomenon, for most Americans are middle-class.所以，到美国的人感到震惊的不是物质享乐主义的爱财和守财，而是美国人的既喜欢赚钱又喜欢花钱。这可能不是美国人特有的性格，而是中产阶级才有的现象，因为大多数美国人都是中产阶级。

America has been blessed with a rich supply of raw materials.It learned during the depression that even a rich country can become impoverished if it fails to use its wealth to benefit the majority.And it does not propose to make that error again.A sizable portion of what it produces goes overseas, including agricultural and industrial machinery sent with the hope that standards of production and consumption can be raised in other parts of the world too.上天赋予美国丰富的自然资源。但在大萧条时期美国人懂得了，如果一个国家不把财富造福社会，再富有也会遭受贫困。它再也不会重蹈覆辙。美国生产的产品相当一部分到了国外，其中有工农业用的机械设备，就是希望世界其他地方的生产水平和消费水平能得到提高。

There is no denying the fact that the high level of production does lead to a high level of material comfort, and that Americans are mighty fond of having things that are new, shine, softly padded, conveniently arranged, efficient, and so far as may be, effortless.The bread comes already sliced so that the housewife need not exert herself to slice it.It used to be that when she put the bread in the toaster, she had to turn it once to toast both sides.Then came the toaster which did both sides at once, then the toaster which popped the toast out when it was done, so that she did not have to turn a handle to raise it.Soon, no doubt, there will be a toaster which butters the toast, cuts it in quarters, and puts it on a plate.Perhaps there is one even now.无法否认这样一个事实：高水平的生产一定会带来高水平的物质享受，所以美国人非常喜欢把东西做得新颖、光亮，有柔软的衬垫，使用 起来方便，这样就可以不费气力。买回来的面包已经切好片，主妇就省得再切。以前她把面包放进烤面包机，还要翻转一次面包，才能烤另一面。于是就有了可以同时烤两面的烤面包机，烤完了还会把烤的面包送出来。所以她不必转手柄就能拿到烤面包。过不久，肯定会有更新的烤面包机，可以把烤面包涂上黄油，切成四分之一块，然后放到盘子上。说不定现在就已经有这样的烤面包机了。

Food comes ready-cooked and frozen, vegetables already washed.Floor wax must be self-polishing, pens write for years without having to be filled.Storm windows change to summer screens at a touch.Heat is thoroughly automatic, and air conditioning keeps the house equally comfortable in summer.Automation now promises to put a final end to all drudgery, even to building in the controls which will keep the machines from making mistakes.食物买的时候是煮熟的、冰冻的，蔬菜是已经洗干净的。地板蜡肯定是自动上光的，钢笔写上几年都不用上墨水。轻轻一按，防暴风雪的窗子就变成了夏天的屏幕。暖气是自动的，冷气使房子即使在夏天也一样舒适。自动化现在可以让人再也不用做单调乏味的工作，自动装置用在控制器中，机器再也不会出错。

Why is it that, having created a world in which he could live without raising a hand or taking a step, the American habitually seeks ways of letting off steam? His towns are full of bowling alleys, golf clubs, tennis courts, clubs, lodges, churches and associations into which he pours energy both physical and mental.The labor-saving gadgets, the love of comfort turn out to be ways of saving his time and energy for something else.美国人创造了一个不用举手投足就能过得舒舒服服的世界，为什么还是习惯于用各种方式放松自己呢？他们住的地方到处都是保龄球馆，高尔夫俱乐部，网球场，俱乐部，房子，教堂，以及各种可以让他们全身心投入的协会。他们制造省时省力的小器具，喜欢舒适，就是为了节约时间和精力做其他的事情。

(2476 words)Culture notes: 1)Materialism: It is a general view about what actually exists.Put bluntly, the view is just this: Everything that actually exists is material, or physical.Many philosophers and scientists now use the terms `material' and `physical' interchangeably.Characterized in this way, as a doctrine about what exists, materialism is an ontological, or a metaphysical view;it is not just an epistemological view about how we know or just a semantic view about the meaning of terms.2)Puritan: It was the name given in the 16th century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the doctrines and structure of the church;they wanted to purify their national church by eliminating every shred of Catholic influence.In the 17th century many Puritans emigrated to the New World, where they sought to found a holy Commonwealth in New England.Puritanism remained the dominant cultural force in that area into the 19th century.Most of American puritans held ideas in the mainstream of Calvinistic thought.In addition to believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total depravity of man, and the complete dependence of human beings on divine grace for salvation, they stressed the importance of personal religious experience.During the whole colonial period Puritanism had direct impact on both religious thought and cultural patterns in America.In the 19th century its influence was indirect, but it can still be seen at work stressing the importance of education in religious leadership and demanding that religious motivations be tested by applying them to practical situations.3)Boy Scout of America(BSA): It was incorporated on February 8, 1910, and charted by Congress in 1916.Its purpose is to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal fitness.4)Sigmund Freud:(1856-1939), The inventor of modern psychology and psychoanalysis, changed the way we all think about ourselves, our language, and our culture.Drawing upon both nineteenth-century science and nineteenth-century Romanticism, Freud created a description of the mind that emphasizes the major role played by unconscious drives, particularly those of sexuality.His theories, which struck many contemporaries as sordid and threatening, represents the most recent democratization or leveling of the old hierarchical conception of mind.5)Andre Maurois: Biographer, novelist, essayist, children's writer.Maurois is best known for his vivid, romantic style biographies of such authors as Shelley, Byron, Balzac, Proust and others.The Quest for Proust is considered by many his finest biography.

第二篇：The_American_Character_美国人的性格

The American Character 美国人的性格(Bradford Smith 布拉德福德·史密斯)摘自：英语泛读教程

The following is part of an essay taken from Bradford Smith's book, Why We Behave Like Americans.Success as a goal and materialism, according to Smith, are among the underlying factors that make up the American character.以下节选自布拉德福德所著《为什么我们的举止象美国人》里的一篇文章。据布拉德福德所说，目标 为成功和物质享乐主义，构成美国人性格的内在因素。

When visitors from abroad undertake to describe the American Character, the results are frequently puzzling to Americans.“All Americans are Puritans;that's what's wrong with them,” says one.“They're always thinking about enjoying themselves,” says another.“They spend too much time at work,” a distinguished visitor tells us.“They don't know how to play.” “Americans don't know what work is, ” retorts another.“ Their machines do it all.” “American women are shameless sirens.” － “No, they're prudes.” “The children here are wonderful － outgoing and natural.” － “Natural as little beasts.They have no manners, no respect for their elders.” 要是让国外来客描述美国人的性格，结果常常令美国人感到奇怪。一个人说：“所有的美国人都是清教徒；所以他们与众不同。”另一个人说：“他们总是想方设法让自己开心。”一位尊贵的客人告诉我们：“他们花在工作上的时间太多。他们不懂如何玩乐。”另一个人反驳说：“他们不懂什么是工作。因为机器替他们做了一切。”“美国女人是不知廉耻的，妖艳而危险的女人。”--“不，她们假正经。”“这里的孩子真好－－外向，自然。”----“象小小的野兽一样自然。他们没礼貌，不尊敬长辈。”

There is, of course, no single pattern of American character any more than there is a single English or Turkish or Chinese character.Personality in America is further complicated by our diverse racial and cultural origins, by successive waves of immigration from all parts of the world, by our regional diversities.It is complicated by several hundred varieties of religious belief with their varying impact on the believers.It is further diversified by the generation to which the person belongs － first generation immigrant, second generation child of immigrants, and on down the line.当然，世上既没有单一模式的美国人性格，也没有单一的英国人性格或土耳其人性格或是中国人性格。个性的定义在美国变得更为复杂，因为我们有不同的种族和文化背景，因为来自世界各地连续不断的移民浪潮，因为我们区域的多样性。个性的定义变得复杂，因为几百种不同的宗教信仰及其对各自的信奉者的影响不同。个性的定义也由于每个人所处的年代不同而趋多样化 －－第一代是移民，第二代是移民的孩子，一直照此延续下去。

The temptation is strong to lump all Americans together.Yet those who look a little deeper are puzzled by the seeming contradictions in American life.It is true that Americans as a whole work hard.But they also play hard.They spend more time and money in traveling, camping, hunting, watching sports, drinking, smoking, going to movies, watching television and reading newspapers and magazines than any other people in the world.Yet they also spend more money on churches, social services, hospitals and all kinds of charities.They are always in a hurry, yet they spend more time relaxing.They are at the same time sensitive to the rights of the individual and habitual conformist.They worship 1 bigness yet idealize the little man, whether he be the small business man as opposed to the big one or the plain citizen as opposed to the big wheel.强大的吸引力把众多的美国人聚集在了一起。然而那些想再了解深入一点的人弄不懂美国人生活中各种似乎自相矛盾的东西。的确，美国人总体上工作努力。但他们也拼命地玩。他们去旅游、露营、打猎、看体育比赛、喝酒、抽烟、看电影电视、读报纸杂志，花的时间和金钱比世界任何地方的人都多。而他们还把更多的时间花在教会、社会服务、医院和各种各样的慈善活动上。他们总是忙来忙去，又总是花更多的时间休闲。他们十分在乎个人的权利，又习惯于墨守陈规。他们崇拜大人物，也把小人物理想化，不论他是和大商人形成对照的小商人，还是和大权在握的人形成对照的平民百姓。

Success as a Goal 成功作为目标

One thing almost everyone is agreed on, including Americans, is that they place a very high valuation upon success.Success does not necessarily mean material rewards, but recognition of some sort － preferably measurable.If the boy turns out to be a preacher instead of a business man, that's all right.But the bigger his church and congregation, the more successful he is judged to be.包括美国人在内几乎每一个人都会赞同的一点是，美国人极为看重成功。成功不一定是物质上的回报，而是得到某种认可，最好是可以衡量的那种。如果一个男孩后来没有从商，而是做了布道的教士，那也没什么。但是他的教堂规模越大，教堂会众越多，别人就认为他越成功。

A good many things contributed to this accent on success.There was the Puritan belief in the virtue of work, both for its own sake and because the rewards it brought were regarded as signs of God's love.There was the richness of opportunity in a land waiting to be settled.There was the lack of a settled society with fixed ranks and classes, so that a man was certain to rise through achievement.好多事情都说明，成功是美国人生活的重点。清教徒相信工作带来的好处，既有工作本身的乐趣，还因为工作的回报是上帝之爱的体现。一片富饶的土地到处都是机遇，等待着人们到来。在一个不固守陈规的社会，没有严格的等级和阶级，这样人就一定能通过成功提升自己的社会地位。

There was the determination of the immigrant to gain in the new world what had been denied to him in the old, and the part of his children an urge to throw off the immigrant onus by still more success and still more rise in a fluid, classless society.Brothers did not compete within the family for the favor of the parents as in Europe, but strove for success in the outer world, along paths of their own choosing.凡是旧的世界拒绝给的，移民决心都要在新的世界得到。对于他的后代而言，要摆脱作为移民的负担，只有在一个灵活自由的无阶级社会里取得更多的成功，升至更高的地位。他们的兄弟之间不象欧洲人那样为获得父母的欢心而相互 倾轧，他们都在外面的世界 沿着各自选择的道路为成功而奋力拚搏。

The English anthropologist, Geoffrey Gorer, sees the whole situation in Freudian terms.Europe is the father rejected by every immigrant who turned his back on his own culture in order to make a new life in America.The immigrant's struggle for success never ends, because there is no limit to the possible goal.The second generation child, in turn, rejects the alien parents because they cannot measure up to American standards.The only way he can soften the blow is to achieve a still greater success.All over America the lawyers, 2 doctors, professors and politicians with Italian, Irish, German or Polish names testify to the urgency of this drive.英国的人类学家杰弗里·戈罗尔用弗罗伊德的说法来解释这一切。欧洲是被所有的移民抛弃的父亲，移民为了在美国过上新生活，背离了自己的文化。移民为了要成功从未停止过奋斗，因为目标 的内容没有限制。同样，第二代移民拒绝接受移民过来的父母，因为后者无法适应美国标准。他能减轻压力的唯一方式，就是取得更大的成功。在整个美国，有意大利人、爱尔兰人、德国人或波兰人名字的律师、医生、教授和政治家，都能证明这种成功欲望的强烈。

Not to strive, not to take advantage of the opportunities in such a world, not to succeed where success was so available － these things naturally became a sort of crime against the state.To develop the resources of a new country required energetic people, bent upon using their energies － not only for the rewards that would result to themselves, but even more important, to the community.So material success in the United States is not looked upon as selfish.Its results are seen to have communal value.要是不奋斗，不利用这个世界的各种机会去成功而不能成功---这些无疑都是对国家的一种犯罪。开发一个新国家的各种资源，需要精力充沛的人不遗余力地发挥他们的充沛精力---不仅仅是为了他们会得到的回报，更重要的是给社会带来的回报。所以在美国，没有人把物质上的成功看成是自私的。成功的果实被看作具有全民共享的价值。

Ford, Carnegie, Rockefeller built great fortunes for themselves.But they also built an economy which has brought a great deal of material well-being, higher health standards and better educational opportunities to millions of Americans.This is how it looks to us, anyway, from inside.福特、卡耐基、洛克菲勒，都为自己创造了极大的财富。但他们也建立起一种经济，既可以带来许多物质上的幸福，更高的健康水平，也可以给上千万的美国人创造更好地受教育的机会。无论怎样，这就是成功的内涵。

A society which values competition so highly is inevitably an aggressive one, even though the laws carefully limit the forms aggression may take.It has a toughness about it which is good for the muscle tone of the economy but hard on some individuals.In our pioneering days this aggressiveness was essential to survival.Now it can be a menace to society.The factory worker who reaches a dead end and sees himself stuck in the same job year after year may take out his aggressive feelings in race hatred or fighting management, or he may even turn it against himself by way of alcoholism, proneness to accident, or neurotic behavior.一个如此注重竞争的社会必定是攻击性的社会，尽管法律严格限制各种攻击形式。这种对攻击的严格限制对 完善经济的肌体有益，但对某些个人却过于严格。在拓荒时代，这种攻击性是生存所必需的，但现在可能是一种对社会的威胁。走投无路、常年被同一工作所困的工人可能会将这样的攻击性用于种族仇恨或反对管理，或 开始酗酒、滋事、神经质、和自己过不去。

Since a high regard is felt for success, the rewards are high.Money is rarely cherished for itself in America;it is rather a symbol and a tool.As a man's status rises, the demands upon him also increase.He is expected to give liberally to the hundreds of voluntary associations which nourish and minister to the community.Look at the Who's Who entry for 3 any prominent business man, and you are likely to find him involved in an amazing number of committees and associations organized for the public good.既然高度注重成功，回报也就很高。在美国，人们很少看重金钱本身，它更多的是一种标志，一种工具。当一个人的地位提高，人们对他的要求也相应提高。成百上千各种各样的志愿者协会有益于社会并服务于社会，人们期望他能慷慨捐钱给这些协会。你去看看《名人录》，随便找一个知名商人的条目，就会发现他参加的公益性委员会和协会多得令人吃惊。

This striving for success and prestige, according to psychologists, is a way of overcoming fears and a sense of inner emptiness.In a mobile society an energetic person can hardly help matching himself against others and seeing how far he can go.这种为成功和名望而奋斗的心理，按心理学家的说法，是一种克服恐惧和内心空虚感的方式。在一个时刻变化着的社会，一个有进取精神的人难免会拿自己与别人相比，知道自己能达到的目标是什么。

Such a system is fine for those who have it in them to succeed.It is not so good for the mediocre.The fear of failure, the fear of competitors, the loss of self esteem － these arouse tensions that some people cannot handle.In their turn they produce an excessive craving for love.So love and success are linked.Gorer believes that most Americans by the time they are adolescents have confused two ideas: to be successful is to be loved, and to be loved is to be successful.Mothers help to impose the pattern by showing affection and admiration when their children do well at school and by withholding affection when they fail.这种思维方式对于那些本来就这样想的人是有利的。但对不求上进的人却没什么好处。害怕失败，害怕竞争对手，丧失自尊---都导致了一些人无力应付的紧张情绪。然后，这种紧张情绪就产生了对爱的极度渴望。因此爱和成功是密不可分的。戈罗尔认为，许多美国人在少年时期就被两个问题困扰：成功就是要得到爱，要得到爱就要成功。母亲们把这个模式成功地灌输给孩子：孩子们在学校里表现好，她们就对他们显示出无限的疼爱和喜爱；孩子们要是做得不好，她们就拒绝给予关爱。

Since there are no limits of class, inherited occupation or education to hold a child back, there are, in theory, no limits to what he can achieve.Consequently there is no point at which he can say: “There, I've done it.From now on all I have to do is to hold on.” Since any boy can, in theory, become President, striving is a moral obligation.Achievement, not class, is the standard by which men are judged.There is little or no glory attached to being born wealthy or privileged;the real test is how far you climb from where you started.既然没有阶级限制、世袭职业或教育来阻碍孩子的发展，所以从理论上说，他所能取得的成就也没有限制。如果他说：“哦，我已经做到了。从现在起我要做的就是继续保持，”这样的话毫无意义。因为，理论上，任何孩子都可以做总统，奋斗是一种道德上的义务。评价人的标准是成功而不是阶级。不论出身豪门还是出身显赫，都没有什么可炫耀的；真正的考验就是：从你的起点你能爬多高。

Americans love work.It is meat and drink to them.In recent years they have learned how to play, but they make work of that too.If it's skiing, they throw themselves at it with an effort that would kill a horse.If it's a vacation, they travel five or six hundred miles a day, take in the sights at sixty miles an hour, pause only long enough to snap pictures, and then discover what it was they went to see when they get home and look at the photographs.美国人热爱工作。工作就是他们的命根子。近年来他们已经学会玩，但是将玩也当成了工作。要是去滑 4 雪，他们就在雪地上猛冲，那样子连马都会累死。如果去度假，他们就每天开车五六百公里，以每小时60英里的速度观光，沿途只停下来拍些快照。然后，发现了自己要看的东西是怎么一回事，就打道回府，回去看照片。

Until very recently there has always been a great deal of work to do in this country, a great deal that needed doing.At the beginning men of all sorts and conditions had to pitch in.The preacher had to fell trees and plough fields.The teacher, the doctor and the magistrate had to shoulder guns for the common defense.The farmer made his own tools, harness, household equipment.He was blacksmith, carpenter, tinsmith, brewer and veterinary all rolled into one, as his wife was spinster, weaver and doctor.直到最近，这个国家还总是有许多事要做，还有许多事情必须要做。以前不管什么人都工作得很辛苦。传教士要伐树、犁田。教师、医生，还有地方法官得扛着枪当民兵。农场主自己动手做工具、马鞍和家用器具。他集铁匠、木匠、白铁匠、啤酒酿造者和兽医于一身。他的妻子既是纺纱工、织布工，又是医生。

Americans still like to be handy at all things.College professors go in for making furniture or remodeling an old house in the country.Bankers don aprons and become expert barbecue chefs.Nearly everyone knows how to use tools, make simple repairs to plumbing or electrical fixtures, refinish furniture or paint a wall.Far from being thought a disgrace if he performs these “menial” tasks, a man is thought ridiculous if he does not know how to perform them.美国人仍然喜欢什么都学着做。大学教授喜欢做家具或是改造乡下的老房子。银行家穿上围裙，就成了专业的烧烤厨师。几乎每一个人都懂得使用工具，懂得简单的下水道或电力装置的修理，还会修家具，刷墙。做这些“粗活”绝不会让人认为不体面，不会做才是让人觉得不可思议呢。

Along with this urge to be jack-of-all-trades goes a willingness to change from one occupation to another.It surprises no one in America when the banker's son becomes a farmer or vice versa.Or when a college professor shifts into industry, or a young man who starts out with a truck purchased on credit ends up running an enterprise with fleets of trucks spanning several states.President Truman was a farmer, an operator of a haberdashery and an army officer before he turned to law and politics.James Bryant Conant, first a chemist, then President of Harvard University, resigned this highest post in the academic world to become High Commissioner and then Ambassador to Germany.与这种成为万事通愿望并存的是变换职业的愿望。在美国，不管是银行家的儿子当了农场主还是农场主的儿子做了银行家，都不会让人吃惊。更不用说大学教授转行干上了实业。一个年轻人靠一辆贷款买来的卡车起家，后来当上了公司的老板，拥有卡车车队，行驶在好几个州。杜鲁门总统经营过农场，开过男装店，当过陆军军官，后来才转学法律和政治。詹姆斯·布莱恩特·克兰特原先是化学家，后来担任哈佛大学的校长，辞去了这个学术界的最高职位后担任了高级公共事务官员，后被任命为驻德大使。

“For a European,” writes Andre Maurois, “life is a career;for an American, it is a succession of hazards.” 安德鲁·莫里斯写道“对于欧洲人来说，生活是生命的历程，而对于美国人，生活就是一个接一个的危险。”

A single individual can be at once an intellectual, a Boy Scout leader, a business man, a 5 sportsman, a dabbler in music or painting, a nature-lover, and one who does many of his own household chores.An employer, he may go hunting with his own or someone else's employees.A shopkeeper, he may run for local office and be on familiar terms with professional men and government officials.He will live on several levels which in other countries might be separated by class distinctions.一个人可以同时是知识分子，童子军首领，商人，运动健将，音乐绘画的爱好者，热爱大自然的人，做大部分家务的人。当老板的也许会和自己的或别人的雇员一起打猎。经营商店的可能会竞选当地的政府职位，熟悉专业人士和政府官员。他可以同时位于别的国家也许会用等级的概念来划分的不同社会阶层。

The emphasis on success and achievement, coupled as it is with a desire to be loved and admired, leads to a critical dilemma of personality.To succeed one must be aggressive;to be liked, one must be easy-going and friendly.强调成功和成就，再加上要得到爱和赞赏的强烈愿望，会导致个性发展的两难境地：要成功，人就必须好斗；要别人喜欢自己，人就得宽容、友好。

One way out of the difficulty is to acquire groups of friends － lodge brothers, members of the same church, a veteran's organization － towards whom you are pledged in friendship.Having thus acquired assured friends, you can practice your aggression on those who don't belong.This pattern explains to some extent the suspicion or hostility towards those of other races or religions.走出困境的一个办法就是有成群的朋友---会社支部的会员，同一教堂的成员，退伍军人组织---他们一定会给你友谊。有了这些可以信赖的朋友，你就可以对那些不在朋友之列的人表现出你的攻击力。这种模式也或多或少地解释了，为什么会对其他的种族或教会的人持怀疑敌视的态度。

Materialism 物质享乐主义

The men and women who staked everything on America were for the most part poor.They struggled hard, went without, and saved in order to build up a business or buy a farm of their own.The freedom to own rather than the freedom to vote was the magnet that drew the majority of them across oceans.Naturally enough they put a high value upon the land or the business they acquired through their own efforts.把赌注都押在美国的男男女女绝大多数是穷人。他们努力挣扎，忍气吞声，努力存钱，目的就是做点买卖，买个属于自己的农场。像磁铁一般吸引着他们大多数人远涉重洋的，是拥有财产的自由而不是投票的自由。所以他们很看重靠自己的努力得来的土地和做的买卖。

In contrast with this natural acquisitiveness of the new arrivals, the American attitude toward money is quite different.As the German psychologist Hugo Munsterberg observed, the American “prizes the gold he gets primarily as an indication of his ability....It is, therefore, fundamentally false to stigmatize the American as a materialist, and to deny his idealism....The American merchant works for money in exactly the sense that a great painter works for money －” as a mark of appreciation for his work.和初来者自然的获取思想相比，美国人对钱的态度是很不一样的。就象德国心理学家休格·爱斯特伯格所指出的，美国人“很看重他挖到的金子，主要是因为金子是他的能力的体现……因此把美国人定义为物质享乐主义者而否认他的理想主义，从根本上就是错误的……美国的商人为钱工作，伟大的画家为钱绘 6 画，意义是完全一样的——”，都是是对自己的工作欣赏的标志。

The acquisition of money is important as the clearest proof of success, though there are other acceptable proofs － prominence, public notice, good works, fame.But the retention of money is not important at all.Indeed, it may be frowned upon if it keeps the owner from living well, subscribing generously to a long list of charities, and providing for members of the family who may have been less fortunate.获得金钱是重要的，因为钱最能证明成功。当然还有人们可以接受的其他的证明---卓越，公众瞩目，工作优秀，名声，等等。但是存钱并不重要。事实上，钱的主人留着钱，不过好日子，不慷慨地捐款给大串的慈善机构，不接济家里没钱的人，人们也会不喜欢。

So the materialism that strikes a visitor to America is not that of loving and hoarding wealth;it is a love of making and consuming wealth.It is probably a middle-class rather than a distinctively American phenomenon, for most Americans are middle-class.所以，到美国的人感到震惊的不是物质享乐主义的爱财和守财，而是美国人的既喜欢赚钱又喜欢花钱。这可能不是美国人特有的性格，而是中产阶级才有的现象，因为大多数美国人都是中产阶级。

America has been blessed with a rich supply of raw materials.It learned during the depression that even a rich country can become impoverished if it fails to use its wealth to benefit the majority.And it does not propose to make that error again.A sizable portion of what it produces goes overseas, including agricultural and industrial machinery sent with the hope that standards of production and consumption can be raised in other parts of the world too.上天赋予美国丰富的自然资源。但在大萧条时期美国人懂得了，如果一个国家不把财富造福社会，再富有也会遭受贫困。它再也不会重蹈覆辙。美国生产的产品相当一部分到了国外，其中有工农业用的机械设备，就是希望世界其他地方的生产水平和消费水平能得到提高。

There is no denying the fact that the high level of production does lead to a high level of material comfort, and that Americans are mighty fond of having things that are new, shine, softly padded, conveniently arranged, efficient, and so far as may be, effortless.The bread comes already sliced so that the housewife need not exert herself to slice it.It used to be that when she put the bread in the toaster, she had to turn it once to toast both sides.Then came the toaster which did both sides at once, then the toaster which popped the toast out when it was done, so that she did not have to turn a handle to raise it.Soon, no doubt, there will be a toaster which butters the toast, cuts it in quarters, and puts it on a plate.Perhaps there is one even now.无法否认这样一个事实：高水平的生产一定会带来高水平的物质享受，所以美国人非常喜欢把东西做得新颖、光亮，有柔软的衬垫，使用 起来方便，这样就可以不费气力。买回来的面包已经切好片，主妇就省得再切。以前她把面包放进烤面包机，还要翻转一次面包，才能烤另一面。于是就有了可以同时烤两面的烤面包机，烤完了还会把烤的面包送出来。所以她不必转手柄就能拿到烤面包。过不久，肯定会有更新的烤面包机，可以把烤面包涂上黄油，切成四分之一块，然后放到盘子上。说不定现在就已经有这样的烤面包机了。

Food comes ready-cooked and frozen, vegetables already washed.Floor wax must be 7 self-polishing, pens write for years without having to be filled.Storm windows change to summer screens at a touch.Heat is thoroughly automatic, and air conditioning keeps the house equally comfortable in summer.Automation now promises to put a final end to all drudgery, even to building in the controls which will keep the machines from making mistakes.食物买的时候是煮熟的、冰冻的，蔬菜是已经洗干净的。地板蜡肯定是自动上光的，钢笔写上几年都不用上墨水。轻轻一按，防暴风雪的窗子就变成了夏天的屏幕。暖气是自动的，冷气使房子即使在夏天也一样舒适。自动化现在可以让人再也不用做单调乏味的工作，自动装置用在控制器中，机器再也不会出错。

Why is it that, having created a world in which he could live without raising a hand or taking a step, the American habitually seeks ways of letting off steam? His towns are full of bowling alleys, golf clubs, tennis courts, clubs, lodges, churches and associations into which he pours energy both physical and mental.The labor-saving gadgets, the love of comfort turn out to be ways of saving his time and energy for something else.美国人创造了一个不用举手投足就能过得舒舒服服的世界，为什么还是习惯于用各种方式放松自己呢？他们住的地方到处都是保龄球馆，高尔夫俱乐部，网球场，俱乐部，房子，教堂，以及各种可以让他们全身心投入的协会。他们制造省时省力的小器具，喜欢舒适，就是为了节约时间和精力做其他的事情。

(2476 words)The Influence of the Frontier 边疆的影响

The special quality of American culture arises from what the American land and climate did to men who brought with them the glories and the burdens of European culture.Released from the feudal restraints which still clung to ownership even in the seventeenth century, they were driven by long hunger to possess land of their own.The hazards of settling that land － taking it from the Indian by treaty or battle, struggling through trackless forests to find it, hewing out homes and raising crops with nothing but a few simple tools, dying sometimes in battle or from weather or hunger － these hazards quickly changed into Americans the Europeans who survived.It was struggle that shaped the American spirit.美国文化的特殊性质来自美国的土地和气候对人的影响，而这些人带到美国的，既有欧洲文化辉煌 的一面和也有其落后的一面。从十七世纪封建所有制桎梏中解脱出来后，他们渴望拥有自己的土地。他们要得到那片梦想的土地就要冒各种各样的风险--通过协商或战斗的方式从印地安人那里得到土地；或者跋涉人迹罕至的森林找到土地；用简陋的工具砍树盖房开荒种地；有时会死在战斗中，有时死于天灾或饥饿---这些危险很快地把活下来的欧洲人改变成美国人。正是努力拚搏造就了美国精神。

The frontier experience, so strong in its impact, so harsh a teacher, brought new traits to the fore.The hard conditions of the daily life made for crudeness in manners.The competition for favorable land(or later for gold), the need to kill in order to stay alive, the absence of law and order made men touch, brutal sometimes, and quick to resort to brute strength.This violence has continued in such aspects of our life as gangsterism, race riots, corrupt politics, union racketeering and the violent political attack.边疆的经验影响很大，象一位非常严厉的教师，突出了一些新的特点。日常生活的艰苦使人的态度也粗 鲁起来。而他们为了一块好土地争得你死我活（后来争的是金子），必须杀人才能活下来，没有法律和秩序，人变得粗暴残忍，动不动就使用暴力。这种暴力还继续存在于我们生活中的各个方面，比如盗匪、种族骚乱、政治腐败、有组织的敲诈勒索、暴力性政治攻击。

Hard as the life was, it also offered great riches, sometimes for a small return.Hence the “get rich quick” philosophy － the belief that hard work and a little luck would turn all things into gold.Traders got rich furs from the Indians for mere trinkets.Out of the earth came gold, silver, oil －other than the shower of gold Zeus rained down upon Danae.Then came the robber barons to make vast fortunes by manipulating railroads, and finally the gambling in stocks which affected everyone until the Wall Street collapse in 1929.尽管生活曾如此艰难，还是提供了大量的财富，有时只要付出很少的代价。于是有了“快速致富”的人生哲学---相信努力工作加上一点点运气就能把一切都变成金子。做买卖的人用廉价的小首饰从印地安人那儿买到了值钱的毛皮。地里可以挖出金子，银子，石油---而不是宙斯在达那厄下的金雨。抢劫头目靠着操纵铁路发了横财，再有就是在股票上的赌博，影响了所有的人，直到1929年华尔街股市崩溃。

But the frontier fostered positive traits too.It encouraged energetic activity and dignified labor with the hands.It made of the independent, self-reliant farmer a symbol which still influences our national life.It produced a resourceful, inquisitive, practical-minded type, able to turn his hand to any sort of work, preferring to govern himself in small, easily adaptable to a new environment, relatively free of class distinctions, full of optimism and faith in the country which had rewarded him so well.但是边疆也培养了好的品质。它鼓励积极行动，尊重用双手劳动。它使独立自主、自力更生的农场主成为一个象征，至今仍影响着我们国家的生活。它造就了随机应变、爱钻研、想法实际的性格，能做任何工作，喜欢从小事做起，容易适应新的环境，相对不受阶级划分的影响，对让他得到好的回报的国家充满乐观主义和信心。

All these traits live on, one way or another, in the contemporary American.The frontier has not disappeared with the spanning of the continent, or the end of homesteading.As a matter of fact, the government still has lands for homesteading which it disposes of at the rate of forty thousand to fifty thousand acres a year.More important, the pioneer spirit is deeply embedded in the American's concept of himself.所有这些品质还以这样或那样的形式存在于当代美国人身上。边疆没有随着大陆的联合或自耕农场的消失而消失。实际上，政府仍有土地用于自耕农场，每年大约卖掉四五万英亩。更为重要的是，开拓精神已经深深地根植于美国人的自我概念中。

The American Creed 美国人的信条

What then are the ideas or beliefs that shape American character? 那么是什么样的思想或信念塑造了美国人的性格呢？

Says George Satayana: “This national faith and morality are vague in idea, but inexorable in spirit;they are the gospel of work and the belief in progress.” 乔治·沙塔亚纳说：“民族的信仰和道德在观念上是含糊的，但在精神上有不可阻挡的力量；它们是工作的原则，是对进步的信念。”

Clyde Kluckhohn finds implicit in the American creed a faith in the rational, a need for moralistic rationalization, an optimistic conviction that rational effort counts, faith in the individual and his rights, the cult of the common man(not only as to his rights, but as to his massed political wisdom), the high valuation put on change and progress, and on pleasure consciously pursued as a good.克莱德·克鲁克恩认为，美国人的信条中含有坚信理性，对道德合理化的需要，对理 性的努力重要这一点抱乐观态度和深信不疑，坚信个人及其权利，崇拜普通人（不仅崇拜他的权利，也崇拜他积累的政治智慧），高度评价改革和进步，有意识地把善作为一种快乐来追求。

Equally strong is the American's faith in his institutions.The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution lay down the fundamental principles of self-government with such clarity and finality that we are prone to regard them as an American invention, or at any rate as principles and rights which are peculiarly ours.These hallowed documents provide us with basic principles which, thanks to their deistic background, are presented as coeval with creation and incapable of being questioned or upset.Therefore we do not have to agonize over basic principles;they are given us, once for all.同样，美国人笃信自己的制度。《独立宣言》和《宪法》用明确和结论式的语言记载下自治政府的基本原则，所以我们就很容易把它们当成是美国人的发明，至少是 看成我们独有的原则和权利。这些被视为神圣的文献能给我们提供基本的原则，由于它们的自然神论的背景，所以人们认为它们和创造性处于同一时代，不会受到质疑，也不会被推翻。因此我们无需为基本原则感到痛苦；这些原则 被赐给我们，能伴我们到永远。

The lack of reflectiveness which observers find in us arises partly from this conviction that our goals are set and do not need to be debated;we have only to work hard in order to reach them.To create, to build － to clear a new field, sink a new mine, start a new civic organization, develop a new business － this is what Americans admire.This is what they dream of.Like all creators, they are suspicious of critics.观察者们发现，我们缺乏思考，而这部分原因是认为我们的目标是既定的，无须再讨论；我们只要努力达到目标即可。创造，建设---开辟一个新领域，挖掘新矿，建立新的市民组织，发展一项新的事业---这才是美国人崇拜的。也是他们梦寐以求的。与所有的创造者一样，他们不信任批评家。

For this reason, and because they are active participants rather than passive observers, they feel obliged to defend the country against any outside censures, no matter how bitterly they attack its shortcomings themselves.De Tocqueville, much as he admired the United States, found this patriotism irritating.If you stop praising them, he complains, the Americans fall to praising themselves.What he observed, of course, was part of the love and be loved pattern which in spite of its naivete has obvious advantages over the hate and be hated regimen which has determined so much of human history.基于这个原因，也因为他们是积极的参与者而不是消极的观察家，他们觉得有义务使国家不受外界责难，尽管他们自己抨击起国家毫不留情。德托奎叶尔虽然十分崇拜美国，但觉得美国人的爱国主义让人难以忍受。他抱怨说，如果你停止对他们的赞美，美国人就会自己夸自己。他所看到的当然就是爱与被爱模式的部分表现，虽然这个模式缺乏智慧，但比对人类历史产生重大影响的恨与被恨的制度有显而易见的长处。

Humor 幽默

The sense of humor is often the most revealing aspect of a culture.Surely humor has never been valued more highly in any civilization than in this one.Will Rogers is venerated as a national hero for his pungent, earthy comment on the American scene － for his gift of making Americans see what is ridiculous in themselves.Mark Twain, in many ways our most representative writer, is admired not so much because of his skill at picturing American life as for his humor.It is part of the optimism of our outlook that we prefer comedy to tragedy, and that the funny men get top billing and top salaries on television.幽默感常常最能体现一种文化真正的一面。无疑，幽默从来没有象在美国文化中这样重要。维尔·罗杰斯被尊为民族英雄就是因为他以幽默的方式对美国社会生活尖锐而且朴实的批评---因为他的天才幽默让美国人看到了自己的荒唐可笑之处。马克·吐温，从各个方面来说都是最能代表美国的作家，人们钦佩他善于描绘美国人生活的技巧，但更佩服他的幽默。我们喜欢喜剧甚于悲剧，搞笑演员上演节目最多，在电视台的工资最高，这能部分地说明我们的乐观的处世态度。

Humor is the great reliever of tension, the counterbalance to the dash and roar of our fastpaced industrialized life with its whirring machines, traffic snarls and frayed tempers.Humor shows these very things to us in such a way that we can laugh about them.幽默能很好地消除紧张，调节我们繁忙的工业化生活的快节奏。这种工业化的生活中，机器飞转，车辆轰鸣，人心浮躁。幽默让我们以笑的方式看待生活中这些不开心的事。

Nothing is too sacred for the comic transformation;in fact, the more sacred the topic, the stronger the impact.Jokes about the minister are legion.Says the parishioner to the minister who explains that while shaving he was thinking about his sermon and cut his chin: “You should have been thinking about you chin and cut the sermon.” 没有什么东西过于神圣，因而不能改编成喜剧；实际上，越是神圣的话题，给人的影响也越大。关于牧师的笑话数不胜数。牧师说刮胡子的时候他想着布道所以划破了下巴，于是教区的居民说：“你应该想着自己的下巴，划掉布道辞。”

That tensions exist in the home life, however, the humorist loves to point out.No joke has the changes rung on it more frequently than that of the woman driver who is usually pictured sitting in the midst of a wrecked car.(“Didn't you see me signal that I'd changed my mind?”)Men probably wreck far more cars than women, but it satisfies the male ego to think that women have not yet mastered the machine.家庭生活中存在的矛盾，幽默者最喜欢指出这些。最违背常理的笑话，是一位女司机坐在一辆撞得一塌糊涂的汽车里。（“难道你没看见我发信号 表示我已经改变主意了吗？”）男人可能撞坏的汽车比女人撞坏得多得多，但是想到女人连车都不会开，就能满足男性的自尊。

The shop which advertised that it would “Oil sewing machines and adjust tension in the home for $1” had already relieved the tension through humor once the unintentional double-entendre was recognized.商店的广告上写“缝纫机上油，调节家中的紧张气氛，收费一美元”，一旦看出广告中 不经意中造成的双关语，这个商店已经用幽默缓解了紧张。

A popular variant of the dominant female is the mother-in-law.Year after year the jokes about her continue － evidence not so much of any serious tension as of the Freudian implications －projection of marital friction onto an associated but less immediate object, seeing in the wife's mother the inevitable approach of the mate's old age and hence one's own.悍妇的一种流行变体是丈母娘。年复一年，关于她的笑话层出不穷——与其说是证明有什么矛盾，不如说是证明弗洛伊德的观点——婚姻矛盾在相关的但不那么直接的对象上的反映，在妻子的母亲身上看到了配偶以及自身老年的到来的不可避免。

Humor reveals our attitude toward children － our love of their innocently wise comments on life, our delight in the evidences they give of being fully formed individuals with rights and spunk of their own, even to the point of talking back to their parents.(Says the little girl at the table, urged by her mother to eat up her broccol: “I say it's spinach, and I say the hell with it.”)幽默显示我们对孩子的态度——我们喜欢他们对生活天真睿智的评价，我们喜欢他们是全面发展的个体，有自己的权利意识和勇气，甚至能反驳自己的父母。（小女孩坐在饭桌边，妈妈强迫她吃完花椰菜，她说：“我说它是菠菜，我恨死它了。”）

Can psychiatry help to overcome the frustrations of life? “There's nothing wrong with the average person that a good psychiatrist can't exaggerate,” said the comedian, thus confirming our suspicions and making it a little easier for us to put up with ourselves.精神疗法能有助于克服生活中不称心的事吗？“普通人的一点点小问题到了负责任的精神病医生那里，就被夸大。”滑稽演员说的话证实了我们的怀疑，使我们宽容自己容易了一些。

The thirst for humor drives advertisers to resort to it, in the hope of catching an audience long since jaded by all the other appeals.“You die － we do the rest,” an undertaker advertises.What welcome relief from the usual unctuousness of his kind!

人们渴望幽默，促使广告商利用这一点，以期长时间吸引观众，而对其他广告都不感兴趣。“你去死——剩下的交给我们”，是殡仪馆的广告。平常这类广告虚情假意，现在多么受人欢迎，令人轻松！

American humor, in short, confirms the importance of mating and the family, the high status of women and children, the pace and tension of life, and above all the love of humor itself as an approach to life more to be prized than riches, a gift to be cherished and applauded.The minister uses it in his sermons, the doctor in his healing, the lawyer in his pleading, the teacher in his teaching.About the worst thing we can say of a man is that he has no sense of humor.For humor is regarded as an essential part of “the American way.” 总之，美国人的幽默强调婚姻和家庭的重要性，妇女儿童的地位，生活的节奏和紧张，并且首要的是强调热爱幽默本身，将其看成一种生活态度，比财富更珍贵；看成一种天赋，值得珍视和为之喝彩。牧师布道，医生治病，律师辩护，教师讲课，都离不开幽默。我们对一个人最差的评语，就是他没有幽默感。因为幽默被认为“美国方式”最重要的方面。

It helps to equalize, and we believe in equality.It is often a symbol of freedom, for it permits the common man to speak freely of his leaders;it helps him cut them down to size.It deflates stuffed shirts.It allows us to look at ourselves in perspective, for when we laugh 12 at ourselves we have surmounted our shortcomings.And in a land where new contacts are always being made, humor provides a quickly available emotional unity － not subtle or regional but universal, one which lets us feel immediately at home anywhere.It is the grammar of confidence, the rhetoric of optimism, the music of brotherhood.幽默可以让大家平等，而我们相信平等。幽默常常是自由的象征，因为它可以使老百姓无所顾忌 地跟领导说话；幽默使他能把领导降低到与自己平等的地位。幽默让自命不凡的人无地自容。幽默让我们能透视自己，因为自嘲就是克服自己的缺点。我们总是要和新人打交道，幽默就提供了快速有效的情感上的和谐——不是微妙的，也不是地域性的，而是普遍的，让我们很快在任何地方都无拘无束。幽默是自信的法则，是乐观主义的修辞，是友谊的音乐。

What is an American? 美国人是什么？

“I can't make you out,” Henry James has Mrs.Tristram say to the American, “whether you are very simple or very deep.” This is a dilemma which has often confronted Europeans.Usually they conclude that Americans are childish.But one cannot accurately call one society mature, another immature.Each has its own logic.亨利·詹姆斯让特里斯瑞姆太太对美国人说，“我真搞不懂你，是太幼稚还是太深沉。”这是欧洲人经常碰到的难题。通常他们的结论就是美国人很孩子气。可是没人能说准确地说一个社会成熟，另一个社会不成熟。每一个社会都有自己的逻辑。

What is it then that makes Americans recognizable wherever they go? It is not, we hope, the noisy, boasting, critical, money-scattering impression made by one class of tourists.The only thing to be said in their defense is that, released from the social restraints which would make them act very differently at home, they are bent on making the most of this freedom.那么是什么东西使得美国人无论走到哪里都能被人认出来呢？我们希望，不是一种美国游客给人留下的印象，吵吵嚷嚷，自吹自擂，挑三 拈四，挥金如土。唯一可以为他们开脱的说法是：一旦脱离了使他们在国内以非常不同的方式行事的种种社会约束，他们就下定决心充分享受这种自由。

Americans carry with them an appearance which is more a result of attitude than of clothing.This attitude combines a lack of class consciousness, a somewhat jaunty optimism and an inquisitiveness which in combination look to the European like naivete.Also a liking for facts and figures, an alertness more muscular and ocular than intellectual, and above all a desire to be friendly.(Let us, for the moment, leave out of the picture such stigmata as gum chewing, too much smoking, and an urge to compare everything with Kansas City or Keokuk.)

美国人有一种外观，与其说是衣着的结果，不如说是态度的结果。这种态度中，有对阶级的不屑，有洋洋得意的乐观主义，还有一种求知欲，加在一起就被欧洲人认为是幼稚浅薄的人。还有，他们喜欢用事实和数字说话，虽然身手敏捷，但头脑相对迟钝，最重要的是他们喜欢结交朋友。（让我们暂时不去想他们嚼口香糖，抽香烟太多的样子，还有他们总是把每一样东西都和美国的堪萨斯城比一比的欲望。）

To boil it down to the briefest summary, American characteristics are the product of response to an unusually competitive situation combined with unusual opportunity.归根结底，最简洁地说，美国人的性格，就是对具有非常机遇的非常竞争环境作出反应的结果。

Americans are a peculiar people.They work like mad, then give away much of what they earn.They play until they are exhausted, and call this a vacation.They live to think of themselves as tough-minded business men, yet they are push-overs for any hard luck story.They have the biggest of nearly everything including government, motor cars and debts, yet they are afraid of bigness.They are always trying to chip away at big government, big business, big unions, big influence.They like to think of themselves as little people, average men, and they would like to cut everything down to their own size.Yet they boast of their tall buildings, high mountains, long rivers, big state, the best country, the best world, the best heaven.They also have the most traffic deaths, the most waste, the most racketeering.美国人是一个与众不同的民族。他们拼命地工作，然后花掉了大量辛苦赚来的钱。他们玩得筋疲力尽，并称之为度假。他们向来把自己想成硬心肠的商人，可是任何不幸的故事都会使他们受骗。几乎所有最大的东西他们都有 ：政府，汽车和债务，可他们害怕庞大。所以他们总是要想办法除去大的政府，大的买卖，大的团体，大的影响力。他们愿意把自己看成是小人物，平平常常的人，喜欢一切都是平等的。他们吹嘘自己的高楼大厦，高山，大河，吹嘘自己是大国，是最好的国家，是最好的世界，最好的天堂。同时，他们的车祸最多，浪费最多，骗子也最多。

When they meet, they are always telling each other, “Take it easy,” then they rush off like crazy in opposite directions.They play games as if they were fighting a war, and fight wars as if playing a game.They marry more, go broke more often, and make more money than any other people.They love children, animals, gadgets, mother, work, excitement, noise, nature, television shows, comedy, installment buying, fast motion, spectator sports, the underdog, the flag, Christmas, jazz, shapely women and muscular men, classical recordings, crowds, comics, cigarettes, warm houses in winter and cool ones in summer, thick beefsteaks, coffee, ice cream, informal dress, plenty of running water, do-it-yourself, and a working week trimmed to forty hours or less.美国人一见面就对彼此说：“放轻松点，”然后就向相反的方向狂奔。他们做游戏象打仗一样，打起仗来象做游戏。跟任何人相比，他们结婚次数更多，离婚的频率更高，赚的钱更多。他们爱孩子，爱动物，爱小玩艺，爱母亲，爱工作，爱激动，爱吵吵嚷嚷，爱大自然，爱看电视节目，爱看喜剧，买东西喜欢分期付款，喜欢快节奏，爱买票看体育比赛，同情弱者，热爱国旗，爱过圣诞节，听爵士乐，爱看身材好的女子和肌肉发达的男人，爱收藏经典唱片，爱凑热闹，看连环画，抽烟，喜欢房子冬暖夏凉，爱吃切得厚厚的牛排，爱喝咖啡，吃冰淇淋，穿着随便，喜欢自来水一直淌着，一切自己动手，一周工作时间限制在40小时以内。

They crowd their highways with cars while complaining about the traffic, flock to movies and television while griping about the quality and the commercials, go to church but don't care much for sermons, and drink too much in the hope of relaxing － only to find themselves stimulated to even bigger dreams.他们一边抱怨交通拥挤，一边把车都挤到高速公路上；一边抱怨影视质量不好，商业化气息太浓，却成群结队地去看电影电视；常去教堂却不大关心布道，酒喝得太多，为的是要放松——结果却发现酒精使他们更想入非非。

There is of course, no typical American.But if you added them all together and then divided 14 by 226 000 000 they would look something like what this chapter has tried to portray.当然没有典型的美国人。但是如果你把他们加在一起，然后用226 000 000来除，他们的样子就象这一章要描述的。

(1816 words)

Information Related to the Text

1)Culture notes:

1)Materialism: It is a general view about what actually exists.Put bluntly, the view is just this: Everything that actually exists is material, or physical.Many philosophers and scientists now use the terms `material' and `physical' interchangeably.Characterized in this way, as a doctrine about what exists, materialism is an ontological, or a metaphysical view;it is not just an epistemological view about how we know or just a semantic view about the meaning of terms.2)Puritan: It was the name given in the 16th century to the more extreme Protestants within the Church of England who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in reforming the doctrines and structure of the church;they wanted to purify their national church by eliminating every shred of Catholic influence.In the 17th century many Puritans emigrated to the New World, where they sought to found a holy Commonwealth in New England.Puritanism remained the dominant cultural force in that area into the 19th century.Most of American puritans held ideas in the mainstream of Calvinistic thought.In addition to believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total depravity of man, and the complete dependence of human beings on divine grace for salvation, they stressed the importance of personal religious experience.During the whole colonial period Puritanism had direct impact on both religious thought and cultural patterns in America.In the 19th century its influence was indirect, but it can still be seen at work stressing the importance of education in religious leadership and demanding that religious motivations be tested by applying them to practical situations.3)Boy Scout of America(BSA): It was incorporated on February 8, 1910, and charted by Congress in 1916.Its purpose is to provide an educational program for boys and young adults to build character, to train in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and to develop personal fitness.15 4)Sigmund Freud:(1856-1939), The inventor of modern psychology and psychoanalysis, changed the way we all think about ourselves, our language, and our culture.Drawing upon both nineteenth-century science and nineteenth-century Romanticism, Freud created a description of the mind that emphasizes the major role played by unconscious drives, particularly those of sexuality.His theories, which struck many contemporaries as sordid and threatening, represents the most recent democratization or leveling of the old hierarchical conception of mind.5)Andre Maurois: Biographer, novelist, essayist, children's writer.Maurois is best known for his vivid, romantic style biographies of such authors as Shelley, Byron, Balzac, Proust and others.The Quest for Proust is considered by many his finest biography.2)Language notes:

1)The temptation is strong to lump all Americans together.Lump sb./sth.（together）: put or consider people or things together.e.g.We've lumped all the advanced students into a single class.2)A good many things contributed to this accent on success.Contribute to sth.: increase sth., add to sth.;help to cause sth.e.g.Her work has contributed enormously to our understanding of this difficult subject.Does smoking contribute to lung cancer?

3)The second generation child, in turn, rejects the alien parents because they cannot measure up to American standards.Measure up（to sth.）: reach the standard required or expected.e.g.The discussion didn't measure up to my expectations.4）America has been blessed with a rich supply of raw materials.Be blessed with sth/sb: be fortunate in having sth/sb.e.g.He is blessed with excellent health.Information Related to the Text 1)Culture notes:

1)The Declaration of Independence: Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is at once the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and Jefferson's most enduring monument.Here, in exalted and unforgettable phrases, Jefferson expressed the convictions in the minds and hearts of the American people.The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new;16 its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers.What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in “self-evident truths” and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.2)Alexis de Tocqueville:(1805-1859)An aristocratic Frenchman.He studied law in Paris and worked as a substitute judge in Versailles before coming to the U.S.In 1839 he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies as a representative of Valognes and later to the Constituent Assembly and Legislative Assembly.He briefly served as minister of foreign affairs.He came to the U.S.in 1831--when he was only 25 years old--and later wrote Democracy in America, a two-volume study of the American people and their political institutions.The book is frequently quoted by journalists and politicians.The book deals with issues like religion, the press, money, class structure, racism, the role of government, the judicial system, etc.--issues that are just as relevant today as they were then.Democracy in America has undergone several periods of popularity throughout the century, but it's never been as popular as it is now.Scores of colleges around the country use the text in political science and history courses, and historians consider it one of the most comprehensive and insightful books ever written about the U.S.3)Mark Twain:(Samuel Langhorne Clemens, 1835-1910)An American icon.Books like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn define two sides of an imagined American childhood while Huckleberry Finn and The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson continue to expose the wounds of racism in American society.Although he first began to wear his famous white suit in public in 1906, just a few years before his death, that is the most familiar image of Mark Twain for people throughout the world.He was--still is--the cigar-smoking humorist-sage whose very name inspires smiles: “As Mark Twain said....” But Mark Twain's life and career were more varied and complex than most people realize.He was a printer and journalist, steamboat pilot, gold and silver miner, a newspaper editor, author, and publisher.He was also deeply involved in American political and cultural issues, and an active participant in several anti-imperialist movements.4)Henry James: Like Howells and Clemens, James was also a prolific American writer.Apart from writing fiction, James made important contributions to the genre of literary theories, especially through his famous essay, “The Art of Fiction,” 1884.In his treatment of subject matter, James felt that no aspect of life should be excluded.James's style of writing is magnificent and his canvas is broadthe violence which is the least pleasant aspects of American society.Americans are beginning to realize that this terrible problem of poverty is their problem and not just their government's.It has been said that an individual American is generous, but that American nation is mean.The US is reputed to be a classless society.There is certainly not much social snobbery and job snobbery.The manual worker is usually quite at ease in any company.This is partly explained by the fact that all income groups go together to the same schools.Americans are far more race conscious than they are class conscious.美国人的性格

大部分美国人精力充沛，充满热情．他们宁愿自律，而不愿受制于人．他们以独立行事和有权做出自己的决定而自豪。他们做事采取主动，即使这样做存在风险也在所不惜．他们有勇气，不会轻易屈服．他们宁愿在任何地方干任何工作，而不愿失业．他们不愿受政府的救助.普通美国人一生中换九到十次工作.美国人热情友好, 其程度并非外国人想得那样表面化.人们认为美国人易动感情.当在典礼上看见国旗,当参加庆祝美国光荣历史的游行时,他们可能会热泪盈眶.与家人团圆,与朋友相聚,也会让他们十分激动.他们喜欢穿着得体，即使这种“得体”无异于奢华炫耀.他们喜欢自吹自擂,尽管多数情况下只是说说而已.他们有时会嘲笑自己,会嘲笑自己的国家,甚至有时候会自责,但是始终有着强烈的爱国之心.他们对日常事情所知甚广,对他们所在的城市和州深为关切。然而,有时候外国人会抱怨说,美国人对外面的世界漠不关心,一无所知.美国人酷爱豪华的气派.他们的摩天大厦,桥梁和水坝往往十分雄壮宏伟,这与美国的自然奇观之壮美和恢弘相得益彰.赚钱和拥有称得上过多的奢侈品,是不是美国人唯一的目标呢?大部分美国人肯定会予以否认,尽管他们将通过辛勤劳动而积攒的钱财而自豪.在美国,90%的人生活富足,期待更美好的未来.美国的生活水平依然在世界上名列前茅,尽管现在还有10%的美国人生活在政府划定的“贫困线”以下.这些贫困虽然得到政府的救助,但是他们对未来不抱太多希望。正是这些“社会下层阶级”和利用他们的人引发了大部分的**,而这成为了美国社会最另人不快的一面.美国人开始意思到，这个严重的问题是他们自身的问题,而不仅仅是政府的问题。据说,美国人作为个体是慷慨的,但是美国作为一个民族则是吝啬的.人们普遍认为,美国是一个不分阶级的国家.的确,美国对人们的社会地位和不同工作不带任何势利的看法.体力劳动者在任何场合都很自在.不同收入档次的群体可以在同一所学校上课,这个事实多少可以说明这一点.与其说美国人具有阶级意识,还不如说他们具有种族意识.

第三篇：美国人的性格分析与交往经验总结

美国人的性格分析与交往经验总结

Iowa State University

Major： statistics

现在就开始吧。对我个人来说，我一直赞成的观点就是，在美国学习，生活，最关键之一是要做到和很多美国人成为朋友。然而据我观察，咱们大部分中国人似乎不怎么热衷于和美国人交朋友。理由嘛，无非是什么没什么共同话题，没什么生活交集等等，我个人认为这些理由只对那些整天呆在寝室里头玩游戏或是疯狂学习的宅男宅女们适用，如果你不是那类人，那对不起，这只能说明你没有那胆量去结识新环境里的朋友。

其实，美国人远比很多中国人想象得好处得多。我来分析分析他们的性格吧。

美国人是很热情友好的一类人，学校里，不少情况下，我们不搭理他们美国人，他们却会主动和你打招呼，向你问好，甚至找你说话。如果你真心想和他们交往的话，在这个时候，你可以随便和他们多说两句话，不用去留心说错话问错问题，因为他们心里面明白，毕竟对于他们来说，我们是外国人，语言上的误解是小问题。如果你初次和美国人交往问错了话，只用陪个笑便了事！继续后面的话题。如果谈得来的话，临别之际就主动找他/她要个联系方式。和 美国人交往，body language 很重要，当然也得有些许技巧（尤其是初次交往），最主要的是让他们看得起你。要想真正达到效果，首先应该是，坐的端行得正，尤其是对于咱们亚洲男生，相比而言体格上本来就显得不够健壮，所以更需要让自己显得像个绅士。说话时眼睛要注视着对方，一是表现自己对他人的尊重，二是表现自己的自信，当然，也别刻意把自己弄得得像个当兵的或是注视他人的时候只是不停得注视，因为那样也会让他们觉得你太死板。总之，自然点总是非常好，从美国电视剧上面学学也会有帮助的（这里面有些东西是只可意会不可言传的）。第二重要的是，说话口气可以没有美国人那么好，但说话声音要尽量显得洪亮，才能显示你的优雅的气质（我说的第二点对于男女都适用！）

美国人性格张扬，喜欢说话，喜欢让很多人知道自己的想法。还有就是大部分人还是很喜欢了解些绯闻的，凭我的经验来判断，一些小秘密别和美国人交流地太多，因为说不准哪天他不注意就全说出去了哈哈。

很大一部分美国人非常乐于助人，这不止是很多美国基督教徒的性格，准确地说应该是美国人民的性格。

很大一部分美国人胆大心细，不是像国内很多人想象的那样笨。

美国人直爽，他们喜欢把自己的想法说出来，不喜欢佯装对某一事物的喜好。

大部分美国人性格都很温和，他们没有像很多亚洲人那样有聚众打架的习惯。美国人在“人不犯我我不犯人”这点做得挺好。因为打架犯事在美国可不是什么简单的批评警告，而是坐牢和开除学籍。

美国人生性固执，有些观点一旦形成，很难改变他/她的观点，所以就算你和他/她关系比较，也要避免和他/她去争执一些大道理。如果真遇到这样的尴尬，答案是很容易解决。你只用和他/她说让他/她看看某些著作，历史资料或教科书啥就行了。

美国人以自我为中心--这个不能片面理解成为自私，最正确的理解应该是：他想让别人知道自己能解决什么别人解决不了的问题。当你有什么问题难以解决而去咨询一个和你交往不怎么太深的美国朋友，他也会给你提供帮助，因为在他们心中，他们觉得帮助别人是一个表现自我的大好机会。如果从另一方面理解，你可以说，美国人很自负，他们总认为别人比不上他或是不该超过他。有些美国人甚至会有这样奇怪的想法：我有能力当教授，只是不想去做那个职业。。

美国人喜欢热闹；他们喜欢性格开朗，爱说话的人。当你和好几个美国人一起学习交流的时候，如果不主动制造点“噪音”，就很有可能会被他们误人为胆小鬼。对于咱们来说，和他们交往多说话，没有坏处，磨刀不误砍柴工嘛，炼了英语又增进了友情，而且不会太耽误事的，何乐而不为呢？

美 国人有很强“领地意识”，也许是因为没发育好有狼性吧（just kidding lol），当你把一个美国人请到家玩，你和你的室友们不必有这些担心：1.乘你不注意到处乱看，到处乱翻你的东西；2.对家里面的他们认为稀奇古怪的东西有无限的好奇心；有亲身经验告诉过我：有一次我把一个和我玩得不错的美国人叫到我家里面吃饭，客厅里面摆满了很多奇怪的东西，正准备吃饭的时候，突然来了个电话：是我的另一个朋友来我这还书的，于是出去了5分钟，当我回来的时候，惊奇得发现，那个“傻大个”还是站在厨房里面什么都没做。。就连客厅里面那么多奇奇怪怪的属于我室友的东西问都不问一句。

美国人的记性很好，他们中大多数人能记住你对他做过的每一个好事或他对你做过的每一个好事，当然也能记得住你做过的一些他认为不合适的事情，他对你做的一些不合适的事情等等。

和美国女生交往，不管交情怎样，千万别问她体重——我的一个美国朋友对我说过，他从来都没问过他女朋友的体重，因为美国女生对这个很敏感。年长的女性，对年龄比较敏感，莫问（大家小学就该学过了）。

很多美国学生逻辑思维比较缜密，数学能力不见得比亚洲人差。尤其是学理科的美国人。数字是有活力，有激情的，真正热爱理科的美国学生，比学文科的美国更显得外向，并且更有音乐天赋。而缺点是生活上面可能不够检点。

学纯文科的美国人是比较内向的，他们相对学理科的来说缺少音乐音乐天赋，与人交往能力上明显不如学理科的。不过优点心地更显善良外加没有很多不良嗜好（以上为亲自观察分析总结）。

如果你想在校园里结识些非常优秀的美国人，请你选择那些读双学位的20岁以上的美国学生（我刻意提到年龄，因为这个很重要），最好是一文一理。他们不仅学习好，而且有很强的交往能力外加非常优秀的音乐体育细胞。当然，生活习惯也很好（相对固定的起居时间外加整洁的室内环境布局）。

美国人不见得会偏科，他们中不少有很多特长。在美国，光一个学习好不能代表的什么。尺有所短寸有所长。只要有点特长，都会有展现自我能力的机会

美国人喜欢表扬，当你和美国朋友交往时，很多情况下，你只要稍微向他们提到点表扬的词句都能让他们倍感高兴。这一点我还真想告诉那些准备赴美读研的朋友们，如果你们当了助教，你们会接触到很多美国学生，当你遇到美国学生做不好题目的时候，你得鼓励他，而不是批评他们做得不好。如果你那样做的话，你最终可能会吃不好兜着走（不做过多解释）.说几个本人了解到的几个文化上不一样的地方吧： 1.美国人和亚洲人（棒子除外）相比来说，更显高傲。他们不知道什么叫客气，如果你邀请其中一位美国佬到你家做客吃饭，别按中国人一贯的作法：端茶递水外加盛菜盛饭。饭做好了后你唯一需要做的就是，宣布开饭。剩下的全是他自己做。你的那些中国人的作法会让那些习惯了自己的事情自己做的美国人感到别扭，甚至误解自己的好意。还有就是当美国人拒绝了什么东西的时候，别以为他是在和你客气，千万别学很多中国人的传统作法——硬塞给他（that may cause a big trouble）。2.子曰：“其恕乎，己所不欲勿施于人”这句话可是咱们中国人乃至很多中国以外的东亚人都知道的名言，这话是在教导我们，自己不想要的，不喜欢的东西，别和别人“分享”。偏偏这么简单易懂的道理，在美国就不灵了。。我遇到过很多次了。我和几个美国哥们每周都有课题要聚到一起完成，于是我们就决定了大家聚一起，轮流或一起做饭。有一次轮到吃中西合璧的美味了，我于是做了点拿手的炒饭，带到了我朋友那。吃饱后，我看大家都一致夸我的炒饭好吃，于是就对他们说： “你们如果想的话，就再带点回去吧”。可其中一个人的话问得让我很无语：“你是不是不想要这些了呢？如果不想要的话我就带点回去把”。第一次听到这个感到的是吃惊。。（在中国，能问出这样的问题的人除了一些不会说话的成年人和一些不懂事的小孩子外，没有别人了。。说出那样的话会受到严重鄙视的）。类似的事情发生过好几次，我一直用孔夫子的那句话告诉咱们中国人的看法。后来，和他们的交流了几次我才知道，他们那样说没有任何看不起你的意思，而是出于其他考虑：1.真的喜欢你给他的东西，2.不希望自己喜欢的东西浪费。

3.不能随便问美国朋友的收入（越年长越不能问）。不过咱们中国人计算能力好，如果你真想知道的话，可以问你的美国朋友每周多少小时工作，工作地点每小时的 payment如何。大致计算下就行了（大部分美国人在说话技巧方面不精，你那样婉转得问，他们不会明白你的真实用意的）。4.“谦虚使人进步，骄傲使人失败”这句名言在美国也不生效了。因为在美国人眼里，闷头闷脑埋头苦干的人会受到他们的尊重，但不是器重。美国人更器重那些有表现力的人，比如好口才或有很强的音乐体验才能的人。就算你没什么特长加上学习成绩也不够超群，只要你能经常“缠着”带你课的老师或导师，滔滔不绝地说自己努力方向，自己的所谓“成果”，照样能留给老师很好的印象。

5.和美国人交往千万别把自己弄得八面玲珑，两面三刀，因为这是绝对吃不开的。八面玲珑是会给美国人留下个不靠谱的不好的形象，两面三刀则会让你陷入更多的麻烦。6.在没有调查清楚前，别把那些有过不良记录的美国人当成坏茬，因为在美国，法律是非常严格的。过分严格的法律，偶尔也会适得其反。比如说，我认识的美国人中，就有一个蹲过牢的，大家也许会问，他因为什么蹲了大牢？要知道他可是朋友们公认的很遵纪守法的人！蹲大牢的原因很简单：在不知情的情况下来到一个湖边沙滩上躺了一会（那片沙滩属于私人领地，但没有任何标示）。如果你和一些美国人交往深了，如果你问他们不良记录方面怎么样，他们中肯定会有不少人会抱怨式地回答你，并且那些回答往往是让你感到无比吃惊的！说到这，我还是得说，在美国还是得注意了，不要对那些未知区域太过好奇并跑进去玩耍，那样不仅不安全，而且还有可能不明不白地被cops抓了。。当然，更不能随便进入那些不认识的人的房间。

7.亚洲人学生里面有很多人对作弊不持否定态度，而美国人很鄙视作弊的人，美国学生中有很多都是很遵纪守法的，劝大家别和美国学生讨论作弊这个话题（作弊被逮在美国学校里面轻则挂科加信誉记录扣分，重则开除学籍，该回哪回哪去！）！

8.当今的绝大多数美国人绝对不是马克.吐温的小说《百万富翁》中的那群崇拜金钱的势利小人，而是一群看重劳动致富，艰苦朴素（这里面主要说的是不追求奢靡与过分的浪费）的实实在在的本分人，我问过很多美国人，对那些开着豪华跑车的中国人什么看法，他们大部分很冷淡的回答：“他们花的是他们父母的钱”，那一听就是鄙夷的口吻。所以现在新来美国的年轻本科生们，我真心劝诫你们别在美国炫富，你越炫越会受到更多美国人的鄙夷。亚洲的富二代炫富的比例明显高于欧美，这就是差别。这是一个经济上差距问题，但我个人觉得这更是个文化问题吧！

9.有一个误区需要和大家说明：“美国人是守时的”这个说法不对。准确的说法应该是，他们很少会上课迟到（美国学校里面的学生中有那么一部分，他们一看时间发现要迟到了就直接翘课，干干脆脆），错过重要会议或和很重要人物见面（导师，医生/护士等）时间。而和美国朋友交往的时候，他们对时间的把握并不好，这是美国人（主要是大学生）的通病。他们很多太过自信，总是容易高估自己的实力——本来安排好的计划总是会出现很多闪失。各位中国朋友们，当你收到美国人的短信说什么“in a bit(等一会)”，那就意味着他还有别的事，再给他一个小时时间吧！

好了，这些是本人亲自实践思考总结的，希望能对已经在美国，或准备赴美的留学的朋友有所帮助，相信自己，有时最好的朋友只不过是因为一次普通的谈话认识的。加油！

第四篇：美国人演讲稿

汽车文化篇：

关键词：美国汽车工业发展史、汽车外形设计文化、汽车对于美国家庭的意义、汽车文化及北美车展、汽车与好莱坞

尊敬的各位嘉宾下午好，今天很高兴在这里与大家见面，诚挚的感谢武汉中央文化区的邀请在这里与大家一起分享美国的汽车文化。从社会学、文学、还是美国200年的历史来看，汽车包含了一种永不改变内涵:不断追求美好生活并为之奋斗，不达目的绝不罢休!对美国人来说汽车就像一个无法离开的朋友、伙伴、家人或者是自己最钟爱的情人。加拿大哲学家马歇尔·麦克卢汉就这样评说美国的汽车文化“”美国是一个坐在汽车上的国家”汽车更像人生成长的标志。在这里希望可以带给让大家一个最真实，最美国的汽车公路文化。

OK！让我们先来了解一下美国的汽车工业发展史。美国汽车工业发展史

19世纪末，美国的经济已经达到了比较高的水平，工业生产开始处于世界前列，钢铁和石油化工等工业的发展为汽车工业的创造了条件。1908年，福特汽车推出了著名的T型车，这种售价不足500美元的汽车使得美国一个普通工人用一年工资就可以购买到。福特的T型车战略使汽车成为真正意义上的大众交通工具。1913年，福特公司首先在生产中使用流水线装配汽车，这给汽车工业带来革命性变化，美国随即出现了普及汽车的高潮。

汽车外形设计文化

传统的美国本土品牌汽车都是又高又大，个性张扬，极尽奢华，彪悍如悍马，狂野如JEEP，奢华如凯迪拉克，气派如林肯，这些鲜明风格的形成，代表着来自于最纯正的美国汽车设计理念。美国汽车的设计理念不仅体现了美国的民族精神、社会文化，反映了美国人的价值观、生活态度和行为方式，主要体现在以下几个方面：

美国广阔而富饶的国土，造就了美国人豪迈、自由和奔放的性格。美国人历来认为，美国的历史就是一部不断迁徙和移居的历史，美国历史发展进程重要的原动力就是来 自于大规模的垦荒和流动，从最早东岸的定居点到后来西部大开发，概莫如此。不难想象，对于粗犷张扬、崇尚自由的西部牛仔来说，高大张扬的汽车自然成为他门的最爱。第二次世界大战后，美国汽车工业迅速恢复生产，大车身、大发动机、多附件、高车速都是典型的美国车标志性符号。拿它们在朋友面前显摆也是一种功能—炫耀财富。石油危机后，美国消费者的本性又恢复如前，依然迷恋那些大气缸车和豪华车。随着时代的进步现在的美国汽车越来越重视汽车的设计和制造理念上更要重视环保、节能方向的发展。汽车对于美国家庭的意义

汽车几乎与美国人的一生相伴，从十几岁起，大多数的美国人就学会了驾车。在美国，一本驾照、一张信用卡，记录了个人的详细信息。人们每天驾车去上班，周末驱车去旅行、度假；年轻人的谈情说爱也要借助汽车空间，有的美国人就是在汽车后座上呱呱落地，降 临到人间的。对美国人来说，汽车就是朋友、伙伴、家人，或者就是情人。许多人更新的汽车是一辆比一辆大，动力也是一辆比一辆强。看看美国的停车位，比欧洲最大的这位还要大上一号。许多人家的住宅，往往最大的地方都是让给汽车的。因此在美国到处都是大型车。而且，美国人还特别喜欢开车，在火车、飞机、汽车三种交通工具中，汽车通常是外出旅行的首选。因此每到夏天，就是美国人开始开着汽车周游美国享受夏季假期的美好时光。在美国平均每个家庭的汽车保有量已达到2.96辆，加州的汽车数量甚至超过了该州人口总数。

汽车文化及北美车展

美国著名车展北美车展至今已经有近百年的历史，是当今国际五大车展之一，也是美 国创办历史最长的车展之一。由底特律汽车经销商协会主办。创办于1907 年，起先叫做“ 底特律车展”，是世界最早的汽车展览之一，1957年，欧洲车厂加入车展，首次出现了沃尔沃、奔驰、保时捷的身影，获得了美国民众的高度重视，底特律车展的“王旗”正式树起。从1965年起，展览转到Cobo会议展览中心。1989年底特律车展更名为“北美国际汽车展”，简称北美车展，每年一月办展。北美车展上所展产品大都是各种新颖、离奇、古怪的概念车。概念车体现的是厂家的设计能力和创新意识，因此，成了厂家理念和意识的“风向标”。

汽车与好莱坞

汽车在人们日常生活中的地位是如此重要，以至于如果在一部美国出品的电影中没有汽车出现，就失去了起码的真实性。汽车在美国电影中成为一种不可或缺的元素。好莱坞商业电影中，外形俊朗的男主角身边总有一辆与之相配的爱车，就美国的类型片而言，以汽车本身作为题材的电影并不少，其中不乏精品，如史泰隆的《生死极速》和近来风头正劲的《汽车总动员》、《疯狂金龟车》等，它们的主题包含着叛逆、成长和传承。当然其中最为人知的当属《速度与激情》系列，这部典型的汽车题材电影街头风格十足，充满了张扬的个性，纯净的雄性魅力、强劲的引擎轰鸣，肆无忌惮地宣泄着男性对机械力量的顶礼膜拜，无不刺激着人们的肾上腺素不断分泌。与非主流的汽车题材相比，汽车更适合做配角，尤其是在警匪片中，只是主题中去掉了许多说教。在这些弘扬英雄主义的影片中，汽车是决不可或缺的元素，没有汽车，我们的英雄如何救美？如何凸显他们正义凛然的宽广胸怀，让美女死心塌地？与当今日趋精致、小品般的香港警匪片相比，没有宏大的汽车追逐场面就构不成美国的警匪片。《绝地战警》中惊世骇俗的汽车追逐场面的壮观，《偷天换日》中的minicooper在下水道中躲闪腾挪的精巧，让人怀疑美国每年生产几百万部汽车的目的就是为了毁坏它们，男主角只要坐进汽车就变成了“破坏之王”。汽车在影像中往往成为男性的图腾，在警匪片中能够从满是弹孔、伤痕累累的汽车中走下的才是真正的百战英雄。这也说明美国制造是值得大家信赖的。

人文地理篇：

关键词：66号公路、汽车与文学

66号公路

说到美国的汽车文化，那么66号公路则是最具有代表性的。66号公路横穿三个时区、八州是美国第一条串联起美国东西海岸的公路。1926年开始建设，直到1938年才宣告完工，1985年消失在公路地图上，宣布退役。1990年以历史66号公路的名义回归地图。见证着美国西部开拓历史。其历史价值不只是段公路史，也成为美国现代化的缩影。拥有浓厚美国文化气息的66号公路有着无数的传奇故事。66号公路的起点是芝加哥终点至洛杉矶。沿途有很多美丽的特色景点，如圣路易斯西进之门，黄石国家地理公园、俄克拉荷马红土地、石华林公园、新墨西哥州的特色印第安小店、参观66号公路博物馆领略美国西部自由、奔放、刚毅的牛仔文化。

汽车与文学

在约翰·斯坦贝克的小说《愤怒的葡萄》中，这条公路被称作“母亲路”。于是这个名字就被沿用了。最后，66号公路在1952年又被美国66号公路组织非正式地命名为The Will Rogers Highway。向这位幽默作家致敬的牌子至今还竖立在在加州的圣莫尼卡。

由迪士尼动画公司的动画片「汽车总动员」，描述在一个拟人化的世界里，所有汽车都会说话、思考，有喜怒哀乐，主角「闪电麦坤」是个赛车界的新秀，想要在即将到来、于加州举行的匹斯托杯大赛中一展身手，不料因为一场意外，误打误撞地来到位在「66号公路」上的没落小镇「油车水」(Radiator Springs)，开启了「闪电麦坤」奇异的生命旅程。汽车总动员发挥了寓教于乐的功能，不仅让观众思考繁忙生活中的生命意义，也因这部电影 的上映，再度唤醒了世界对于66号公路的向往。

第五篇：美国人的生活习惯

美国人的生活习俗

■美国人性格外向，直爽热情，美国人不拘小节，在绝大多数情况下，不论男女老幼、地位高低，即使是与人首次见面通常都直呼对方的名字，与人见面时，常常不握手，只说一声“Hello”而已。

■美国的政府、企业均是5天工作制（five days a week），星期六（Saturday）、星期日（Sunday）休息。公定假日有元旦、华盛顿诞辰纪念日、阵亡将士纪念日、独立纪念日、劳动节、哥伦布日、退伍军人节、感恩节和圣诞节。

■美国人的时间观念很强，各种活动通常都是正点开始，约会迟到被认为是不礼貌的（impolite），一般情况下，美国人谈话不谈论个人问题，如婚姻、收入、职业等。

■在美国，家庭成员、朋友间传统上都要在圣诞节互送礼物。美国人在接受礼物时，通常都会当场打开礼物，赞扬一番，在美国人看来，接受礼物后放在一边，就是不礼貌的，是对礼品的不屑一顾。美国人不注重礼物的价值，但却十分讲究礼物的包装。

■在美国，几乎所有的场合，只要有服务性项目就必须准备好小费（fee）。即使是请人帮忙开一下门、叫一辆出租车，也需要付小费。在大城市里，给旅馆看门人、服务员和衣帽寄存处的服务员的小费，一般不低于一美元（one dollar）。在餐馆用餐，付饭钱的15%作小费，是全美共同遵守的标准。

■美国人大多喜爱鲜艳的颜色，即明朗、活泼、亮丽的色彩，对红（red）、蓝（blue）、白（white）三色特别有好感，美国国旗即由这三色组成。美国人不喜欢黑色（black），它是丧葬、失望和晦气的象征。美国中学生的课余活动（After-school Activities 在美国，中学生放学后通常有半小时左右的时间完成作业。除此之外，老师会要求学生定期写读书报告（report），例如：传记（biography）、动物故事（animal stories）、科幻小说（science fiction）、推理小说（mystery fiction）、历史事件（historic events）、家族史（family history）等。老师只是给读书报告搭个框架（outline），具体选题（topic）由学生自己来定。比如写“传记”，学生可以根据自己的爱好，或写林肯总统（President Lincoln），或写第一位登月宇航员（astronaut）、科学家（scientist）、体育明星（sports star）、歌手（singer）等一些有影响的人物。学生确定了选题后，通常需要到图书馆（library）阅读书籍收集资料。

虽然没有过多的家庭作业，但孩子也不是“放鸭子”。有组织的课外活动是十分丰富的，如游泳（swimming）、球类（ball games）、体操（gymnastics）、溜冰（roller-skating）等体育活动；钢琴（piano）、小提琴（violin）等乐器；芭蕾（ballet）、踢踏舞（tap dance）、绘画（painting）、唱歌（singing）、棋类（chess）以及男女童子军（boy scouts, girl scouts）等活动。每个社区（community）都有这样的青少年活动中心（youth center）。家长可以根据孩子的特点（character）和爱好（hobby），有选择地让他们参加某项活动。

美国孩子从12岁到法定工作年龄之前，会在课余、周末或假期里干些零活（odd jobs），挣些小钱。女孩子帮助亲朋或邻里照看小孩（babysitting）、打扫卫生（cleaning）等；男孩子则会每天清晨把当天报纸送到各家各户门口（delivering the newspapers），也会帮助街坊割草（mowing the lawn）、修饰庭院（renovating the yard）。这不仅让他们学会自己挣零用钱（pocket money），更能培养他们独立自主（independent）和社交的能力（social skills）。儿童节由来

每当“六一”国际儿童节的时候，孩子们都兴高采烈地欢度着自己的节日。那一张张笑脸，一阵阵歌声，都充满了幸福和快乐。但是你是否知道这“六一”节的来历？是否知道当年确定儿童节的时候，是因为世界上有无数的少年儿童在战争中被夺去了幼小的生命。

那是在第二次世界大战期间，1942年6月，德国法西斯枪杀了捷克利迪策村16岁以上的男性公民140余人和全部婴儿，并把妇女和90名儿童押往集中营。村里的房舍、建筑物均被烧毁，好端端的一个村庄就这样被德国法西斯给毁了

为了悼念利迪策村和全世界所有在法西斯侵略战争中死难的儿童，反对帝国主义战争贩子虐杀和毒害儿童，保障儿童权利，1949年11月国际民主妇女联合会在莫斯科召开执委会，正式决定每年6月1日为全世界少年儿童的节日，即国际儿童节。

新中国成立后，中央人民政府政务院于1949年12月23日作出决定，规定6月1日为新中国的儿童节，同时宣布废除旧中国国民党政府1931起实行的4月4日为儿童节的规定。

目前，各国政府普遍关注儿童的未来，保护儿童的权益。联合国1990年通过的《儿童权利公约》，我国是参与制定国和签约国之一。在批准《儿童权利公约》的同一年，我国颁布了《中华人民共和国未成年人保护法》，这对维护少年儿童的权益起到了积极的作用。

为切实保障儿童健康成长，中国立法、司法、政府各有关部门以及社会团体都建立了相应的机构。在全国人民代表大会和中国人民政治协商会议内分别设有负责妇女儿童保障的立法和监督机构。国务院下设的妇女儿童工作委员会，负责协调和推动政府有关部门做好维护儿童权益的保障工作，为儿童办实事。

日本：一年三次儿童节

日本是世界上庆祝儿童节次数最多的国家，他们一年要庆祝三次儿童节，而且庆祝方式十分有意思，充满了浓浓的日本风情。

3月3日女孩节

这个节日是专门为日本的小女孩设立的，每到这一天，家中有女儿的父母会在家里设置一个陈列台，台上放上穿着日本和服的漂亮女娃娃玩偶，作为给自己女儿的节日礼物。

5月5日男孩节

为了祝福家中的男孩健康、快乐，这一天日本家家户户都会用纸或布做成色彩鲜艳、形状像鲤鱼的彩带，然后把这些彩带串在竹竿上，并和金色的风车绑在一起，挂在屋顶上。之所以这样做，是因为日本人相信鲤鱼最有精神和活力，希望家中的男孩都像鲤鱼那样，因此这一天又称为“鲤鱼日”。

同时，日本的父母这一天也会在家里放置玩偶，但却都是武士装扮，样子很可怕。11月15日“七五三”儿童节

在日本习俗里，三岁、五岁和七岁是小朋友特别幸运的三个年纪，所以每年的这一天，会专门为这三个年纪的孩子热闹地庆祝一番。

这一天，小朋友会穿上最好的传统和服，还会背上一个画了松树、乌龟或鹤等图案的小纸袋，纸袋里装满了父母买的糖果和玩具。穿戴整齐后，父母会带小朋友上日本神社，祈求并感谢神明给小朋友带来健康和快乐。

母亲节（Mother's Day）

母亲节是一个感谢母亲的节日。在美国、加拿大和一些其他国家，每年5月的第二个星期天就是母亲节。在其他一些国家的日期并不一样。母亲们在这一天通常会收到礼物。康乃馨被视为献给母亲的花。父亲节(Father's Day)朔源

当我们小的时候，是父亲用自行车驮着我们兜风，是父亲陪着我们在公园里玩耍，是父亲帮助我们解决了第一个数学难题，又是父亲教会我们区分对与错。

那么在父亲节，我们是不是应该为自己的父亲做点什么，感谢他这些年来对我们的鼓励和支持呢？ 父亲节的想法是一位叫Sonora Smart Dodd 的女士在1909年提出来的。她想以一个特殊的日子来纪念自己的父亲。因为当年母亲在生第六个孩子的时候去世了，是父亲含辛茹苦地把六个孩子抚养长大。所以，Dodd 认为应该选一天来纪念勇敢、无私和爱意融融的父亲们。由于她的父亲生于6月19日，所以她就选1910年的6月19日作为第一个日子，纪念自己的父亲。直到1924年，美国总统Calvin Coolidge 萌生了在国家范围内庆祝父亲节的想法。最后，在1966年，每年6月份的第三个星期天终于被定为父亲节。

而我国的父亲节起源，要追溯到国民时代。民国三十四年的八月八日，上海闻人所发起了庆祝父亲节的活动，市民立即响应，热烈举行庆祝活动。抗日战争胜利后，上海市各界名流仕绅，联名请上海市政府转呈中央政府，定“爸爸”谐音的八月八日为全国性的父亲节。

有许多方式可以用来表达我们对父亲的爱戴和感激。可以送给他一张问候的贺卡，也可以送给美丽的花朵„„ 南瓜灯的传说

至于南瓜灯，Jack-o'-lantern，也有一个传说，吝啬的爱尔兰酒鬼Jack骗魔鬼爬进了苹果树的树洞，然后迅速在树干上刻了一个神圣的十字，困住了魔鬼。Jack逼着魔鬼起誓永远不再追索、或以任何其他方式谋取他的灵魂，这才把魔鬼放了出来。然而这却挡不住死亡的来临。Jack死后，由于酗酒、吝啬和欺诈，他未被允许进入天堂。而由于魔鬼的誓言，Jack也不能进入地狱。“那么我去哪里呢？” Jack不知所措地问。“哪儿来的回哪儿去！”魔鬼恶狠狠地回答。回去的路冷风四起，黑暗无边。魔鬼从地狱之火拣了一块烧得通红的火炭扔给他。为了照路又不被风吹灭，Jack将火炭放进了他手里拿着的大头菜中。Jack就这样举着他的“灯笼”寻找自己在地球上的存身之处。后来苏格兰人模仿他，挖空大头菜，放入蜡烛做灯笼；爱尔兰人用大头菜或用土豆做灯笼；英格兰人则用甜菜。后来他们移民到美国，发现了一个更好用的灯笼──南瓜灯！这个故事其实是在告诫人们，无论什么情形，都不要和魔鬼做交易。

Halloween costumes 万圣节服装（Halloween costumes）同样是万圣节的一个关键词。人们会穿着精心准备的服装参加万圣节舞会。传统的万圣节服装是恶魔（devils）、吸血鬼（vampires）、骷髅（skeletons）、幽灵（ghosts）、女巫（witches）。近几年，服装也出现科幻色彩，如外星人（aliens）和超人（superheroes）。同时流行文化也在万圣节服装上有所呈现，出现了在万圣节穿得像总统，运动员等。

Halloween Parade 万圣节大游行（Halloween Parade）源于1973年，刚开始只是一位面具制作家兼木偶操作师Ralph Lee的简单想法。当时他带着几个小孩在社区内办了一次小型的万圣节游行。第二年，纽约剧院邀请他将此构想带上大街，开始了一年一度的大游行。

现在，纽约市的万圣节大游行堪称是纽约格林威治村的盛事。每年大约有三万名化装的游行者和近二百万人前来观赏。阵容庞大的游行队伍里，随处可见各式各样的奇异装扮。大游行每年都会搭配不同的主题，比如环保、艾滋病等。

Apple bobbing

咬苹果（Apple bobbing）是万圣节的一个传统游戏。在游戏中，人们把盆子或桶盛满水，并把苹果放在水中。因为苹果的密度比水小，所以会漂浮在水面上。然后，参加游戏的人在不用手的情况下去咬苹果，谁先咬到，谁就是优胜者。在玩游戏的过程中，为了防止人们用手接触苹果，通常会把双手绑在背后。

Jack-o'-lantern “杰克灯”（Jack-o'-lantern）也叫南瓜灯，是万圣节的重要道具。人们制作的南瓜灯通常都有一双邪恶的眼睛和一张大嘴，并且从中透出飘忽不定的烛光。它的做法也极为简单。将南瓜（pumpkin）掏空，然后在外面刻上笑眯眯的眼睛和大嘴巴，再在瓜中插上一支蜡烛（candle），把它点燃。为了欢迎万圣节，当夜幕降临后，孩子们就会穿上五颜六色的化妆服（costume），戴上千奇百怪的面具（mask），提上一盏“杰克灯”跑出去玩。感恩节

感恩节（Thanksgiving Day）是美国和加拿大共有的节日，原意是为了感谢印第安人，后来人们常在这一天感谢他人。自1941年起，感恩节是在每年11月的第四个星期四在这一天起将休假两天，都要和自己的家人团聚，不管多忙都是如此。感恩节在每年11月22－28日之间，感恩节是美国国定假日中最地道、最美国式的节日（holiday），加拿大的感恩节则起始于1879年，是在每年11月第二个星期一，与美国的哥伦布日相同。

感恩节的传统主菜

每逢感恩节，美国人必有肥嫩的鸡可吃。火鸡是感恩节的传统主菜。它原是栖息于北美洲的野禽，后经人们大批饲养，成为美味家禽，每只可重达四五十磅。现在仍有些地方设有猎场，专供人们在感恩节前射猎，有兴趣的人到猎场花些钱，就能亲自打上几只野火鸡回家。使节日更富有情趣。

火鸡的吃法也有一定讲究。它需要整只烤出，鸡皮烤成深棕色，肚子里还要塞上许多拌好的食物，如碎面包等。端上桌后，由男主人用刀切成薄片分给大家。然后由各人自己浇上卤汁，洒上盐，味道十分鲜美。

感恩节的传统菜谱

感恩节的传统菜谱包括：Cornbread（玉米面包）、English Cheese Pie（英国奶酪派）、Venison（鹿肉）、Ducks & Geese（鸭和鹅）、Wild Turkey（野生火鸡）、Garlic and Onions（大蒜和洋葱）、Pumpkin Pudding（南瓜布丁）、Indian Pudding（印地安布丁）。总统放生火鸡仪式

每年一度的总统放生火鸡仪式始于1947年杜鲁门总统当政时期，但实际上这个传统仪式可以追溯到美国内战林肯总统当政的时期。1863年的一天，林肯的儿子泰德突然闯入内阁会议请求赦免一只名叫杰克的宠物火鸡，因为这只被送进白宫的火鸡，即将成为人们的圣诞节大餐。感恩节购物与黑色星期五

感恩节购物已经成为了美国人的习俗。从感恩节到圣诞节这一个月，美国零售业总销售额能占到全年的1/3强，是各个商家传统的打折促销旺季。疯狂的购物月从感恩节的次日（星期五）开始，这一天即被称为Black Friday（黑色星期五）。之所以叫这个名字，据说是因为周五这天一大早，所有人都要摸着黑冲到商场排队买便宜货，这种行为有个非常形象的说法，叫Bird of getting up early.（早起的鸟儿）。在外国“感恩节”和中国的春节一样重要！Babel, Tower of 巴别塔

The Tower of Babel, described in the Old Testament(Genesis 11: 1-9), was started by descendants of Noah on the plain of Shinar in Babylonia.The builders intended the tower to reach into heaven and make a name for them.God, however, was not pleased with the people, because they were disobeying the command given to Noah to fill the earth.The people's pride was leading them into rebellion against God, just as those people whom God had just destroyed by the Flood in Noah's time.To keep them from bringing greater punishment on themselves in 5 the near future, God stopped the building by confusing the language of the people, causing them to be scattered throughout the earth.The place where people built the tower is called Babel, so the tower is referred as the Tower of Babel.Today, the word “babel” in English means a scene of confusion, disorder, or noise from many different voices.巴别塔（Tower of Babel），也称通天塔。据《圣经·旧约·创世纪》第十一章中记载：诺亚方舟之后的幸存者繁衍了众多的后代，他们来到了巴比伦尼亚的示拿（Shinar）平原，准备在这个地方为自己建造一座通天塔。上帝觉得他们狂妄自大，十分不满，于是施法弄乱了人类的语言，让他们说不同的语言。这样一来，由于语言不通，人与人之间感情无法交流，思想难以统一，猜疑与争吵就此出现，通天塔也就未能建成。人们离开了巴比伦尼亚，到世界不同的地方生活。因此此处的城市名叫巴别（Babel），因而塔名取作巴别塔。现在babel一词用来指喧闹、混乱的场面。“apple of(one's)eye, the ” 掌上明珠

“The apple of one's eye” means someone's favorite or beloved person or thing, for example “His youngest son was the apple of his eye.” This idea comes from the ancient view that eyes are a very precious part of the body, and the pupil of the eye is shaped like an apple.The phrase is used several times in the English translation of the Bible from the early 1600s, often talking about God's love for the nation of Israel: “He that touches you touches the apple of his eye.”(Zechariah 2:8)

The apple of one's eye比喻最钟爱的人或物。例如，His youngest son was the apple of his eye（他的小儿子是他的掌上明珠）。这个说法来自古人的观念，由于眼睛是人身体中非常珍贵的部分，而瞳孔的形状像苹果，人们遂以the apple of one's eye这个词组来表示特别宝贵的人或物。这个短语在17世纪初英文翻译版的《圣经》中出现过几次，常用来形容上帝对以色列的钟爱。apple pie 苹果馅饼

Apple pie is made from pastry filled in the center with pieces of apple.The traditional shape is usually as big and round as a large plate, and about two to three centimeters high.Apple pie is usually considered to be a symbol of American culture.“As American as apple pie” is a saying meaning that something is typically American.For example, “Football and baseball are as American as apple pie” means that they were invented by Americans and played and watched everywhere in this country.The phrase “apple pie” is often part of other phrases such as “apple-pie order” which means well-arranged, perfect order.苹果馅饼就是以苹果为主要馅料的圆形馅饼，上下都有皮，烤成焦黄色。苹果馅饼是美国家喻户晓的糕饼，因此有人说苹果馅饼是美国的标志，人们常用它来表示典型或者纯粹的美国传统。英语中有些词组就显示了apple pie在美国人生活中的重要角色和文化特征。比如人们常说：as American as apple pie，这个词组的意思是像苹果馅饼一样具有美国特色；再比如apple-pie order是整齐、井然有序的意思，因为据说在每周开始的时候，有的美国家庭主妇习惯烤制七个苹果馅饼，整齐地放在食品架子上面，每天吃一个，有条不紊，因此apple-pie order 就有了整齐而有秩序的意思。

“All roads lead to Rome” 条条大路通罗

The saying “All roads lead to Rome” means simply that all paths or activities lead to the center of things.This saying comes from the days of the Roman Empire, when Rome ruled over most of the known world.The roads built at that time were for military use, so all the empire's roads started from the capital city, Rome, and spread out to cover the whole empire.The long highways were important for maintaining both the stability and the expansion of the empire.The Romans became famous for, among other things, their 80,000 kilometers of hard-surface highways.The saying “All roads lead to Rome” came into use in the 1100s as a metaphor, with the meaning that all different methods will still produce the same result.公元前3世纪，罗马帝国统一了整个亚平宁半岛。公元前1世纪，罗马城成为地跨亚、非、欧三洲，罗马帝国的政治、经济和文化中心。罗马帝国为了加强其统治，修建了以罗马城为中心，通向四面八方的大道。这些大道为巩固罗马帝国的统治和其扩张发挥了巨大作用。道路系统是以罗马城为中心向四周放射的，所以走任何一条大路都能到达罗马城。现在，这个成语比喻的是，通过不同方法可以得到同一个结果。

Aladdin's lamp 阿拉丁神灯

Aladdin's lamp is a famous lamp in one of the stories in The Thousand and One Nights.The story is about a poor young man named Aladdin, who helps a magician get a wonderful oil lamp from a dangerous magic cave.The magician tries to cheat Aladdin, so Aladdin keeps the lamp himself.He soon finds that a bad-tempered genie lives inside the lamp and must obey whoever holds the lamp.With the genie's help, Aladdin becomes a rich and powerful man and is able to marry the beautiful Princess Badroulbadour.The magician finally gets the lamp back by tricking the princess, who does not know how important the lamp is.Aladdin discovers that a ring left by the magician when he was cheating Aladdin controls a less powerful but more polite genie.With the help of this genie, Aladdin is able to get his wife and the lamp back.阿拉丁和神灯的故事取自童话集《一千零一夜》（又称《天方夜谭》）。

阿拉丁是一个贫穷的少年。有一天，一个魔法师雇用阿拉丁到一个山洞去取一盏油灯，那实际上一盏神灯，一旦拥有了它，就会要什么有什么。在这个过程中，魔法师欺骗了阿拉丁，并企图置他于死地，阿拉丁成功地死里逃生，并得到了神灯。借助于神灯的魔力，阿拉丁战胜了艰险，和美丽的公主白狄奴·卜多鲁结了婚。魔法师得知阿拉丁还活着，就从不知道神灯秘密的卜多鲁公主手里把神灯骗走。后来，经过曲折的过程，阿拉丁又把神灯收回，并从此和妻子一起过上了幸福的生活。

Air Jordan 飞人乔丹（1963—）

Air Jordan is a nickname for Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players of all time.Michael Jordan was born in 1963 in Brooklyn, New York.In 1984, he went to play for the Chicago Bulls.He went on to win six 7 championships during his time with the team(1991-1993, 1996-1998).His height of 6 feet 6 inches(198 centimeters)led to his nickname “Air Jordan” because he often seemed to be flying through the air when he leaped up to make a basket.He retired twice from the Chicago Bulls, first in 1993 and then in 1999.He came out of retirement again for a short time to play for the Washington Wizards, but retired from basketball for the third and final time in 2003.His popularity with fans has helped basketball become one of the world's most popular spectator sports.Today the name “Air Jordan” is also often used to refer to the popular brand of basketball shoes named after Jordan.飞人乔丹是球迷们对迈克尔·乔丹的昵称。迈克尔·乔丹是美国杰出的篮球运动员。他1963年出生在纽约市。从他1984年加入芝加哥公牛队到1998年为止，乔丹率领该队六次赢得NBA总冠军，11次被评为NBA最佳球员，10次荣获“得分王”称号。虽然他曾在1993年和1999年两次宣布退役，但其后又重返赛场。在2003年他正式宣布退役。他身高1.98米，当他跃起扣篮时身体就像在空中飞行，极具弹跳能力，球艺出众，因而被称为“飞人乔丹”。如今Air Jordan也是一个以乔丹名字命名的球鞋的品牌名。

AIDS 艾滋病

AIDS, or Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, is a human viral disease.It damages the body's immune system, and gradually takes away its ability to defend itself against infection and disease.AIDS is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus(HIV).People infected with HIV are open to infections that are harmless in healthy people, but can prove fatal in them as their immune systems are greatly weakened.HIV transmission can come through sex, blood transfusion, childbirth or breastfeeding.There is no cure for AIDS, but new drugs have been invented to help lengthen and improve the quality of life for people with AIDS.艾滋病的全称为获得性免疫缺陷综合征（Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome），是一种致命的传染病。它是人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）造成的人体免疫系统的病变。在多数情况下，HIV缓慢地攻击并破坏人体抵抗病疫的系统（即免疫系统），使得受感染的人容易得病、并最终死亡。AIDS是HIV感染的最后阶段。艾滋病通过性接触、血液接触或母婴途径传染。目前，对于艾滋病还没有有效的治疗药物或免疫的疫苗，但是通过服药治疗可延长艾滋病人生命并可改善他们的生命质量。Aesop 伊索

Aesop is said to be a slave who lived in Greece in the 6th century BC.He has been remembered for his wonderful stories, called fables.He used animal characters to show human behavior and to teach a lesson, or a moral, about that behavior.One of his most popular tales, for example, is “The Tortoise and the Hare,” with the moral “It is not just speed that wins the race.”

Aesop's fables spread throughout the world by word of mouth, retold for hundreds of years.Eventually they were written down and have been translated into many languages.相传伊索是生活在公元前6世纪的一个希腊奴隶，擅长讲故事。现在的《伊索寓言》是后人根据口头流传的寓言以及陆续发现的古希腊寓言传抄本编订的。《伊索寓言》大多是动物故事，其中的《狼与小羊》 《狮子与野驴》等用豺狼、狮子等凶恶的动物比喻人间的权贵，揭露他们的专横和残暴，反映了平民或奴隶的思想感情；《乌龟与兔》《牧人与野山羊》等总结了人们的生活经验，教人处世和做人的道理。伊索寓言形式短小精悍，比喻恰当，形象生动，对许多欧洲文学大师的创作产生了深远的影响。Achilles' heel 阿喀琉斯之踵

An Achilles' heel is a fatal weakness in overall strength that can lead to one's downfall or death.In Greek mythology, Achilles was the greatest Greek warrior in the Trojan War.He was the son of Peleus, king of Thessaly and the goddess Thetis.When he was a baby, his mother submerged him in the River Styx to make him immortal, all except for the heel that she held to dip him into the waters.Achilles fought many battles during the 10-year Trojan War and finally killed Memnon, the king of the Ethiopians.As Achilles led the Greeks to the walls of Troy, he died from a heel wound caused by an arrow shot by Paris, the prince of Troy.阿喀琉斯之踵比喻致命的弱点。在希腊神话中，阿喀琉斯是色萨利密尔弥东人的国王珀琉斯和海中仙女忒提斯的儿子。在特洛伊战争中，他是阿伽门农的军队中最伟大、最勇猛的战士。阿喀琉斯一出生，她母亲就捏着他的脚后跟，把他全身都浸入冥河水中，传说冥河水可以让人永生，故而阿喀琉斯周身获得了保护，造就了一副刀枪不入的钢铁之躯，只有脚后跟除外。阿喀琉斯出征特洛伊，为希腊军队立下了巨大的功勋。后来特洛伊王子帕里斯得到神示，用毒箭射中阿喀琉斯的脚后跟，才使他丧命。