河海大學研究生英語一 UnitThe Role of Science Fiction_第1頁
河海大學研究生英語一 UnitThe Role of Science Fiction_第2頁
河海大學研究生英語一 UnitThe Role of Science Fiction_第3頁
河海大學研究生英語一 UnitThe Role of Science Fiction_第4頁
河海大學研究生英語一 UnitThe Role of Science Fiction_第5頁
已閱讀5頁,還剩1頁未讀, 繼續(xù)免費閱讀

下載本文檔

版權(quán)說明:本文檔由用戶提供并上傳,收益歸屬內(nèi)容提供方,若內(nèi)容存在侵權(quán),請進行舉報或認領(lǐng)

文檔簡介

1、Unit 16 The Role of Science Fiction The year 1972 was marked by this publication of a controversial book. The Limits to Growth. This study of the worlds future, done by a team of MIT scientists with the aid of computer “models” of the future of our society, forecast a planetwide disaster unless huma

2、nkind sharply 大幅;嚴厲地; 明確地; 鋒利地; 突然地;limits its population growth and consumption of natural resources.1972年為世人所矚目的一件事就是出版了一本頗有爭議的書增長的極限。這一有關(guān)世界前景的研究,是由麻省理工學院一組科學家借助模擬未來社會的電腦“模型”進行的,預言了人類若不大幅度限制人口增長和自然資源消耗,就會出現(xiàn)全球性的災(zāi)難。Most people were caught by surprise when the book came out. Many refus

3、ed to believe that disaster is possible, probable, inevitable-if we dont change our mode of running Spaceship Earth. But science fiction people were neither surprised nor outraged虐待、侵害、觸犯;引起的義憤,激怒( outrage的過去式和過去分詞 ); . The study was really old news to them. Theyd been making their own “models”

4、 of tomorrow and testing them all their lives.該書問世時大多數(shù)人吃了一驚。許多人拒絕相信存在發(fā)生災(zāi)難的可能性、蓋然性、必然性倘使我們不改變對“地球飛船”的管理方式的話。但科幻小說家及其讀者卻既不驚訝,也不憤慨。事實上,這項研究對他們來說已不是什么新鮮事了。他們畢生都在制作自己的未來世界“模型”,并付諸試驗。For what the scientists attempted with their computer model is very much like the thing that science fiction writers and re

5、aders have been doing for decades. Instead of using a computer to “model” a future world society, science fiction writers have used their human imaginations. This gives the writers some enormous advantages.因為科學家們試圖用電腦模型實現(xiàn)的事與科幻小說作家及其讀者數(shù)十年來所做的非常相象。科幻小說作家并不依靠電腦來“模擬”一個未來世界,而是憑借人類的想象力。這給了作家某些極為有利的條件。One

6、of the advantages is flexibility.有利條件之一就是靈活性。Science fiction writers are not in the business of predicting the future. They do something much more important. They try to show the many possible futures that lie open to不設(shè)防的、易于;愿意接收;開放的、公開的 us.科幻小說作家的職責不在預言未來,他們做的比這重要得多。他們試圖展現(xiàn)許多可能出現(xiàn)在我們面前的前景。For there i

7、s not simply a future, a time to come thats inevitable. Our future is built, bit by bit, minute by minute, by the actions of human beings. One vital role of science fiction is to show what kinds of future might result from certain kinds of human actions. 因為并非只有一種前途,一種時代會不可避免地降臨人間。我們的未來世界是由人類用自身的行動一點

8、一滴地、一分一秒地創(chuàng)造起來的。科幻小說的一個重要作用,便是揭示人類某幾種行為的結(jié)果會形成哪幾種未來世界。To communicate the ideas, the fears and feel of all infinite 無限的,無窮的; 無數(shù)的 possible futures, science fiction writers lean heavily on another of their advantages: the art of fiction.為了展示對可能出現(xiàn)的無窮多的未來世界的種種構(gòu)想、恐懼和希望、形式和感受,科幻小說作家在很大程度上依賴他們另一個有利條

9、件:虛構(gòu)藝術(shù)。For while a scientists job has largely ended when hes reduced his date to tabular 制成表的or graph 直線圖、曲線圖、坐標圖form, the work of a science fiction writer is just beginning. His task is to convey the human story: the scientific basis for the possible future of his story is merely the background. Pe

10、rhaps “merely” is too limiting a word. Much of science fiction consists of precious 非常little except the background, the basic idea, the gimmick騙人的玩意,花招;噱頭. But the best of science fiction, the stories that make a lasting impact of generations of readers, are stories about people. The people may be n

11、onhuman. They may be robots or other types of machines. But they will be people, in the sense that human readers can feel for them, share their joys and sorrows, their dangers and their ultimate successes.科學家把資料用表格或圖表形式表現(xiàn)出來時,他的工作幾乎算完成了,而對科幻小說作家來說,他的工作則剛剛開了個頭。他的任務(wù)是要講述與人有關(guān)的故事:充當他故事中可能出現(xiàn)的那個未來的科學依據(jù),僅僅是個

12、背景資料。也許“僅僅”這個詞的局限性還太大了。許多科幻小說除了背景情況,主要構(gòu)想和新奇的玩意兒外幾乎空無他物。但科幻小說中的上乘之作,即能對幾代讀者產(chǎn)生持久影響的作品,都是寫人的故事。書中人物也許不是人類,可能是機器人或者其他類型的機械裝置。但作為人的讀者會同情它們,分享它們的喜怒哀樂,為它們遭遇危險而擔憂,為它們終于成功而慶幸。從這個意義上說,它們應(yīng)該算是人。The art of fiction has not changed much since prehistoric times. The formula for telling a powerful story has remained

13、 the same: create a strong character, a person of great strengths, capable of deep emotions and decisive action. Give him weakness. Set him in conflict with another powerful characteror perhaps with nature. Let his exterior conflict be the mirror of the protagonists 主人公、主角own interior conflict, the

14、clash of his desires, his own strength against his own weakness. And there you have a story. Whether its Abraham offering his only son to God, or Paris bringing ruin to Troy over a women, or Hamlet and Claudius playing their deadly game, Faust seeking the worlds knowledge and powerthe stories that s

15、tand out顯眼、醒目;杰出、突出 in the minds of the readers are those whose characters are unforgettable.自史前以來,編故事的藝術(shù)并無多大變化。講個引人入勝的故事仍然沿用老一套:塑造一個性格堅強的人物,一個勇猛無比、感情豐富、行為果斷的人物。給他配上一個弱點,使他與另一名強者或與自然發(fā)生沖突。讓主人公的外部沖突反映出自己的內(nèi)心沖突,反映出他的各種欲望之間的沖突,自身優(yōu)點與弱點之間的沖突。這樣你的故事就編好了。不管故事說的是亞伯拉罕把獨生子獻給上帝,或帕里斯因一女子而使特洛伊遭受滅頂之災(zāi),還是講哈姆雷特與克勞狄斯圖謀

16、置對方于死地,浮士德對人世間的知識和權(quán)力的不斷追求凡是深印在讀者腦際的故事都塑造了使人難以忘懷的人物。To show other worlds, to describe possible future societies and the problems lurking 存在而不為人知、隱藏ahead, is not enough. The writer of science fiction must show these worlds and these futures affect human beings. And something much more important: he mu

17、st show how human beings can and do literally create these future worlds. For our future is largely in our own hands. It doesnt come blindly rolling out(大量)制造、生產(chǎn) of the heavens; it is the joint product of the actions of billions of human bings. This is a point thats easily forgotten in the rush 突進、突

18、然猛沖;急需、急欲;匆促、急忙of headlines and the hectic 興奮的、緊張的;亂哄哄的、繁忙的badgering 煩擾of everyday life. But its a point that science fiction makes constantly: the future belongs to uswhatever if is . We make it, our actions shape tomorrow. We have the brains and guts 勇氣、決心to build paradise ( or at least try). Trag

19、edy is when we fail, and the greatest crime of all is when we fail even to try.只展示別的世界,描述可能形成的未來社會和潛在的問題是不夠的??苹眯≌f作家必須指出這些社會、這些前景如何影響人類。比這項工作還重要得多的是,他必須揭示人類能夠而且確實在創(chuàng)造這些未來世界。因為我們的前途主要掌握在我們自己手里。前途不是憑空從天上掉下來的,它是億萬人的行動共同造就的產(chǎn)物。在匆忙瀏覽報紙大標題時,在忙得焦頭爛額的日常生活中,這一點是很容易被遺忘的。但這是科幻小說堅持試圖說明的問題:未來屬于我們不管它是什么樣子。我們創(chuàng)造未來,我們的

20、行動塑造明天。我們有才智有勇氣去建造天堂(至少可以試試)。如果我們失敗了,那將是一場悲?。蝗欢热粑覀冞B試也不試一下,那就是最大的悲哀了。Thus science fiction stands as a bridge between science and art, between the engineers of technology and the poets of humanity. Never has such a bridge been more desperately 迫切地needed.因此,科幻小說是溝通科學和藝術(shù)的橋梁,是連接精通工藝的工程師與深諳人性的詩人的橋梁。過去從未像

21、現(xiàn)在這樣迫切地需要這么一座橋梁。Writing is the British Journal New Scientist, the famed poet and historian Robert Graves said in 1972,” Technology is now warring make /wage war against(on/upon/against)與開戰(zhàn)、進犯;與戰(zhàn)斗openly against the crafts, and science covertly 暗地里、秘密地against poetry.”著名詩人與歷史學家羅伯特·格雷夫斯于1972年在英國新科學

22、家雜志上撰文說:“如今工業(yè)技術(shù)和手工在明爭,科學則與詩歌在暗斗?!盬hat Graves is expressing is the fear that many people have: technology has already allowed machines to replace human muscle power; now it seems that machines such as electronic computers might replace human brainpower. And he goes even further, criticizing science o

23、n the grounds 根據(jù)、理由that truly human endeavors such as poetry have a power that scientists cant recognize.格雷夫斯的話道出了不少人都懷有的恐懼心理:工業(yè)技術(shù)已使機器代替了人的體力;現(xiàn)在諸如電子計算機之類的機器似乎可以取代人的智力了。他甚至走得更遠,竟批判起科學來,其根據(jù)是,真正的人類活動諸如詩歌創(chuàng)作等具有科學家無法認識的威力。Apparently Graves sees scientists as a sober審慎的、嚴肅的、莊重的、冷靜的、穩(wěn)重的, plodding 緩步或重步(尤指很困

24、難及很吃力地走)phalanx 一批(群)人、團體、集團of soulless thinking machines, never making a step that hasnt been carefully thought out in advance. 顯而易見,格雷夫斯把科學家視為外表嚴肅、動作緩慢、沒有靈魂的思維機器,未經(jīng)事先深思熟慮從不邁出一步。But as a historian, Graves should be aware that James Clerk Maxwells brilliant insight about electromagnetism電磁(學)the gue

25、ss that visible light is only one small slice of the spectrum of electromagnetic energy, a guess that forms the basis for electronics technologywas an intuitive leap into the unknown. Maxwell had precious little evidence to back up his guess. The evidence came later. The list of wild jumps of intuit

26、ion made by these supposedly stolid無動于衷的、不為所動的、感情麻木的、遲鈍的, humorless scientists is long indeed.但作為歷史學家,格雷夫斯應(yīng)該知道,詹姆斯·克拉克·麥克斯韋爾關(guān)于電磁的獨到見解即可見光僅是電磁能光譜的一小部分這一猜想,該猜想為電子技術(shù)打下了基礎(chǔ)是憑直覺深入未知世界的。麥克斯韋爾幾乎沒有絲毫依據(jù)來證實他的猜想。證據(jù)是后來找到的。那些被認為感覺遲鈍、不茍言笑的科學家憑著直覺闖進了未知世界,這樣的例子真可謂不勝枚舉。Scientists are human bings! They are j

27、ust as human, intuitive, and emotional as anyone else. But most people dont realize this. They dont know scientists, any more than they know much about science.科學家也是人! 他們與別人完全一樣,也有人性,也有直覺,也有感情。但大多數(shù)人并沒有意識到這一點。他們不了解科學家,對科學也知之甚少。Today most people still tend to hold scientists in awen敬畏;v使敬畏;. After all

28、, scientists have brought us nuclear weapons, modern medicines, space flight, and underarm 腋窩deodorants防臭劑. Yet at the same time, we see scientists derided 嘲笑、愚弄as fuzzybrained不清醒的、笨的 eggheads書呆子 or as coldly ruthless, emotionless makers of monsters. Scientists are a minority group, and like most mi

29、norities theyd largely hidden from the publics sight, tucked away in ghettos某些階層、集體的聚居區(qū)、少數(shù)人居住地、貧民區(qū)laboratories, campuses, field sites out in the desert or on pacific atolls珊瑚島.今天,大多數(shù)人對科學家仍然敬而遠之。然而,科學家畢竟給我們帶來了核武器、現(xiàn)代醫(yī)學、宇宙航行以及除臭劑。但與此同時,我們看到科學家被譏為頭腦混亂的書呆子,或被嘲為冷酷無情的怪物制造家。科學家是一個少數(shù)群體,與大多數(shù)少數(shù)群體一樣,他們往往避開公眾視線,

30、藏身于他們自己的聚居區(qū)內(nèi)實驗室、校園、沙漠中或太平洋珊瑚島上的野外工作場地。Before the public can understand and appreciate what science can and cannot do, the people must get to see and understand the scientists themselves. Get to know their work, their aims, their dreams, and their fears.人們先得觀察、了解科學家本身,然后才會懂得什么是科學能辦到的,什么是科學無法辦到的。要了解科學

31、家的工作和目的、他們的夢想、他們的憂慮。Science fiction can help to explain what science and scientists are all about to the nonscientists. It is no accident that several hundred universities and public schools are now offering science fiction courses and discovering that these classes are a meeting ground for the scie

32、ntistengineers and the humanists. Science and fiction. Reason and emotion.科幻小說有助于向不從事科學工作的人解釋科學是怎么一回事,科學家是干什么的。幾百所大學和公立中學都開設(shè)了科幻小說課程。發(fā)現(xiàn)這些課是科學家、工程師和人文主義者聚會的場所,出現(xiàn)這種情況決非偶然??茖W和小說可以打通,理智和感情能夠交融。The essence of the scientific attitude is that the human mind can succeed in understanding the universe. By taki

33、ng thought, men can move mountainsand have. In this sense, science is an utterly humanistic pursuit, the glorification of human intellect over the puzzling, chaotic, and often frighting darkness of ignorance.科學態(tài)度實質(zhì)上就是認為人腦能夠認識宇宙,人動腦筋、想辦法便能移山倒海實際上人類已經(jīng)這樣做了。從這個意義上說,科學是純粹人文主義的追求,是頌揚人類智力戰(zhàn)勝由于愚昧無知而造成的迷惘、混亂和

34、恐懼。Much of science fiction celebrates 頌揚、稱頌、褒揚this spirit. Very few science fiction stories picture humanity as a passive species, allowing the tidal forces of nature to flow unperturbed. The heroes of science fiction storiesthe gods of the new mythologystruggle manfully 勇敢地、堅定地against the darkness,

35、 whether its geological doom for the whole planet or the evil of grasping 貪婪的、貪心的politicians. They may not always win. But they always try.許多種幻小說歌頌這種精神。很少有科幻小說把人類描繪成消極被動的物種,聽任自然力像潮水般肆意流動而不加限制。科幻小說的主人公們新神話故事中的眾神無論面對全球性山崩地裂的厄運,還是面對貪得無厭的政客的罪惡行徑,都挺身而出,勇敢地與黑暗勢力作斗爭。他們不一定總會成功,但他們總是盡力而為。Perhaps, however, th

36、e most important aspect of science fictions role in the modern world is best summed up in a single word: change.然而,科幻小說在現(xiàn)代社會所起作用最重要的方面,也許可以用一個詞來貼切地加以概括:變化。After all, science fiction is the literature of change. Each and every story preaches from the same gospel教訓、教義;信仰、信條: tomorrow will be different from today, violently different perhaps.說到底,科幻小說是描寫變化的文學作品。每篇小說都宣揚同一個信條:明天與今天不一樣,也許大不一樣。Science fiction very clearly shows that changeswhether good or b

溫馨提示

  • 1. 本站所有資源如無特殊說明,都需要本地電腦安裝OFFICE2007和PDF閱讀器。圖紙軟件為CAD,CAXA,PROE,UG,SolidWorks等.壓縮文件請下載最新的WinRAR軟件解壓。
  • 2. 本站的文檔不包含任何第三方提供的附件圖紙等,如果需要附件,請聯(lián)系上傳者。文件的所有權(quán)益歸上傳用戶所有。
  • 3. 本站RAR壓縮包中若帶圖紙,網(wǎng)頁內(nèi)容里面會有圖紙預覽,若沒有圖紙預覽就沒有圖紙。
  • 4. 未經(jīng)權(quán)益所有人同意不得將文件中的內(nèi)容挪作商業(yè)或盈利用途。
  • 5. 人人文庫網(wǎng)僅提供信息存儲空間,僅對用戶上傳內(nèi)容的表現(xiàn)方式做保護處理,對用戶上傳分享的文檔內(nèi)容本身不做任何修改或編輯,并不能對任何下載內(nèi)容負責。
  • 6. 下載文件中如有侵權(quán)或不適當內(nèi)容,請與我們聯(lián)系,我們立即糾正。
  • 7. 本站不保證下載資源的準確性、安全性和完整性, 同時也不承擔用戶因使用這些下載資源對自己和他人造成任何形式的傷害或損失。

最新文檔

評論

0/150

提交評論