复旦大学研究生英语第二册课文翻译(5)

会赞同一位欧洲教练近来发表的观点，“只要你还活着为胜利而庆贺，就应该得到报酬。体育比赛中没有伦理道德的位置。”

这只是一种极端的愤世嫉俗的态度。我坚信当今绝大多数的观众观看奥运比赛是为了看到一种“纯洁”的胜利，如马克·斯比兹获得的7枚金牌，美国曲棍球队在1980年奥运会上的处子演出中大爆冷门，以及本届比赛中人们期待已久的卡尔·刘易斯的表现。

这才是真正的奥林匹克运动。

8

I have a few things in my mind which I have often longed to say for the instruction of the young; for it is in one’s tender early years that such things will best take root and be most enduring and most valuable.

Always obey your parents when they are present. This is best policy in the long run, because if you don’t they will make you. Most parents think they know better than you do, and you can generally benefit more by accepting that idea than you can by acting on your own judgment.

Be respectful to your superiors, also to friends, acquaintances and people around you. If a person offends you, and you are in doubt as to whether it was intentional or not, do not resort to extreme measures; simply watch your chance and hit him back later. That will be sufficient. If you shall find that he had not intended any offense, come out frankly and confess yourself in the wrong when you struck him; acknowledge it like a man and say you didn’t mean to. Always avoid violence. In this age of charity and kindliness, the time has gone by for violence.

Translation of Text

取悦他人的艺术

——给儿子的一封信

切斯特菲尔德爵士

1747年10月16日于伦敦

亲爱的儿子：

取悦他人是一门很有必要掌握、但又是很难学会的艺术。它几乎无法被归纳成为几条规则；你本人敏锐的意识和观察能力所能教会你的将比我传授予你的更多。“以其人之道还治其人之身”据我所知是万无一失的取悦方法。仔细观察别人哪些做法令你高兴，或许你如法炮制也会令其愉快。如果别人对你的幽默、情趣和不足所给予的恭维和关注，令你高兴，那么毫无疑问，你给予他们相同的恭