2019 年 6 月CATTI 英语一级笔译实务真题练习

14:59~16:06

There was a time when people used to read only for their own pleasure. The traditional pleasures of reading are more complex than just enjoyment. They involve patience, solitude, contemplation. And therefore the books that are most at risk from our attention are those that require a bit of effort. we need a certain type of silence, an ability to filter out the noise. Such a state is increasingly elusive in our over-networked culture, in which every rumor and mundanity is blogged and tweeted. Today, it seems it is not contemplation we seek but an odd sort of distraction masquerading as being in the know. Why? Because of the illusion that illumination is based on speed, that it is more important to react than to think, that we live in a culture in which something is attached to every bit of time.

       以前，人们读书只是为了享受阅读的乐趣。这种传统的阅读之乐不只是一种愉悦，还包含了耐心、独处和思考之乐。正因如此，最不容易获得读者关注的，往往是那些读起来有些吃力的书，需要我们达到一种内心的平静，过滤掉周围的噪音。这种平静状态离我们越来越远了，尤其是在网络文化高度发展的今天，人们恨不得把所有家长里短、鸡毛蒜皮都发到网上。大家似乎不再思考，而是以一种奇怪的方式分散着精力，谓之曰活在当下。为什么呢，因为有这么一种错觉，认为真相建立在时效之上，认为快速反应比认真思考更重要。在这个时代，每一分每一秒都充斥着大量信息。

Ironically, but not coincidentally, reading has begun fading from our culture at the very moment that its importance to that culture is finally being established.many theorists believe that the downturn in reading could result in the modern world's cultural and political decline. These days, however, after spending hours reading e-mails and fielding phone calls in the office, tracking stories across countless websites, people find it difficult to quiet down and read a book.

       不无讽刺意味的是，人们终于认识到了读书对文化生活的重要性，但阅读正在慢慢淡出我们的文化生活。不少理论家认为，阅读减少可能导致现代世界文化、政治衰退。但如今，人们在办公室花好几个小时看邮件、接电话，浏览海量网页，跟踪各类轶事，已经很难静下心来读书了。

"A mode of thinking is being lost," laments Neil Postman, whose book, "Amusing Ourselves to Death," is a warning about the consequences of a falloff in reading. Optimists hold that the widespread notion that it is in decline is an oversimplification, citing statistics showing that books, the oldest form of print, seem to be doing reasonably well and that publishers, in fact, are churning out more and more of books. According to Postman, American politics, religion, athletics, art, education are all transformed into "show business".

        “人们正在失去一种思考模式，”尼尔·博斯特曼（Neil Postman）哀叹道。他是《娱乐至死》（Amusing Ourselves to Death）一书的作者，书中警告了放弃读书可能带来的后果。有人保持乐观，认为读书减少这种广为传播的论调其实把问题过度简化了，并援引数据显示，书籍这种最古老的印刷读物其实发展势头良好，实际上，出版商正在推出越来越多的书籍。而博斯特曼则认为，美国的政治、宗教、体育、艺术、教育都在朝着“娱乐表演”的方向演进。

Ah, but are those books actually being read? Not, in many cases, from cover to cover. In a society where professional success now requires acquaintance with masses of esoteric information, books are often purchased to be consulted, not read. About 15% of the new titles in "Books in Print" are scientific or technical books. Fiction and general-interest nonfiction works would seem to be designed to be read, but lately these books also serve other functions. Their authors often employ them as routes to movie contracts or to tenure or to the intellectual renown. Their publishers increasingly see these books not as collections of sentences and paragraphs that might be clarified and sharpened but as product that must be publicized and marketed so the balance sheets of the large conglomerates they now work for might tilt in the right direction. Reading still plays and, for the foreseeable future, will continue to play, a crucial role in our society. Nevertheless, there is no getting around the fact that reading's role has diminished and likely will continue to shrink.

        那么，这么多书，真的有人读么？如果是从头读到尾的话，怕是没有多少。当今社会，要想获得职业成功，需要大量涉猎各类艰深的内容。很多时候，书买回来是用来检索的，而不是阅读的。新发行的实体书有15%左右都是科技书，小说和一般类非虚构作品本来应做阅读之用，现在也有了别的用途。这些书的作者往往拿着作品去换取影视签约、高官厚禄或学术声望。出版商也不再视书籍为荟萃妙句佳篇的经典，而是必须出版发行的商品，为的是让自己所在的大公司多多盈利。但是，不论现在还是可以预见的未来，阅读都将在社会中发挥重要的作用，阅读正在减少并将持续减少的事实是我们绕不过去的。