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  3. Sep. 11 delivered both a shock and a surprise—the attack, and our response to it—and we can argue forever over which mattered mo

Sep. 11 delivered both a shock and a surprise—the attack, and our response to it—and we can argue forever over which mattered mo

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问题     Sep. 11 delivered both a shock and a surprise—the attack, and our response to it—and we can argue forever over which mattered more. There has been so much talk of the goodness that erupted that day that we forget how unprepared we were for it. We did not expect much from a generation that had spent its middle age examining all the ways it failed to measure up to the one that had come before—all fat, no muscle, less a beacon to the world than a bully, drunk on blessings taken for granted.
    It was tempting to say that Sept. 11 changed all that, just as it is tempting to say that every hero needs a villain, and goodness needs evil as its grinding stone. But try looking a widow in the eye and talking about all the good that has come of this. It may not be a coincidence, but neither is it a partnership; good does not need evil, we owe no debt to demons, and the attack did not make us better. It was an occasion to discover what we already were. "Maybe the purpose of all this," New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said at a funeral for a friend, "is to find out if America today is as strong as when we fought for our independence or when we fought for ourselves as a Union to end slavery or as strong as our fathers and grandfathers who fought to rid the world of Nazism". The terrorists, he argues, were counting on our cowardice. They’ve learned a lot about us since then. And so have we.
    For leading that lesson, for having more faith in us than we had in ourselves, for being brave when required and rude where appropriate and tender without being trite, for not sleeping and not quitting and not shrinking from the pain all around him, Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of the World, is TIME’s 2001 Person of the Year.
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答案 “9?11”事件既令人感到震惊，也令人感到意外。震惊的是攻击事件本身，意外的是我们对事件的反应。至于说这两者哪个更为重要，人们也许永远会争论下去。对于当天一下子涌现出来的可歌可泣的事迹，我们已经谈得不少了。在一片谈论声中，我们居然忘了，面对这些令人敬佩的行为我们当时是多么意外。因为我们本来就没有对这代美国人抱有多大期望。他们的中年是在自叹不如的心境中度过的，他们和上一代美国人比来比去，总感到自己望尘莫及。他们虚浮有余，坚实不足，根本谈不上是世界的灯塔，倒却是横行的恶霸，沉醉于福荫之中，总觉得受之无愧。我们也许会脱口而出地说，是“9?11”事件改变了这一切，正如我们会脱口而出地说，英雄需要有恶棍来陪衬，善良需要有邪恶来砥砺。但当你望着“9?11”死难者遗孀的双眼时，你难道还能侃侃而谈“9?11”事件所引发的好处吗?不错，善恶并存也许确非巧合，但它们也绝非相互依存的伙伴：善用不着恶陪伴左右，我们并不亏欠魔鬼，“9?11”事件也没有把我们变成更好的人。它只是一次机会，我们不过借此发现了自己的本色。纽约市市长朱利安尼在朋友的葬礼中说得好：“也许这一切的目的就是要考验一下，看看今日的美国是否仍像当年为争取独立而战时那样坚强，是否仍像当年为结束奴隶制而团结奋战时那样坚强，是否仍像当年我们的父辈为消灭纳粹而战时那样坚强。”他认为，恐怖主义者就指望我们会胆怯。但自“9?11”事件以来，他们想必对我们已有所了解。当然我们对自己也有了不少认识。 由于朱利安尼在这次考验中堪称表率，由于他对我们的信心远胜于我们对自己的信心，由于他该勇敢时就勇敢，该鲁莽时就鲁莽，他温情流露，但绝非应景之俗套，由于他不分昼夜，不停工作，虽被痛苦包围，却能勇敢面对，因此这位“天下第一市长”当选为2001年《时代周刊》的年度风云人物。
解析 1．both a shock and a surprise：both…and…可以译为“既……又……”。即“既令人感到震惊，也令人感到意外”。
2．the attack，and our response to it：震惊的是the attack(攻击本身)，意外的是our response to it(我们对事件的反应)。
3．and：这里如将and翻译成“和”、“并且”是非常不妥的。应该考虑句子间，或句子中各部分之间的承前启后，这与衔接相关。可以译为“至于说”。
4．goodness：英文中，无论是人，是事，是行动，是感情，是情操，是道德，只要是好的，goodness统统可以囊括其中。因此，the goodness that erupted that day可译为“当天一下子涌现出来的人性中好的一面”或“当天一下子涌现出来的可歌可泣的事迹”。
5．so…that…：这个句型时下最常用的译法是“如此……以致于”，这是典型的英语句型，偶尔借用一下未尝不可，但不见得只有这么一个译法，如在中间可以使用“但”衔接。或稍加梳理，译成参考译文的形式。
6．it：有人理解为“9?11”事件本身，这是错误的，应该解读为goodness。
7．We did not expect much from a generation：作者实际在解释为何美国人当时会如此意外。这种自然的连贯常常不受语言文化差异的影响，翻译时可以什么都不加，或者加上“因为”(因为我们本来就没有对这代美国人抱有多大期望。)
8．all the ways：可以译为“在许多方面”或“比来比去”。
9．all fat，no muscle：这两个词组的最基本意思是insubstantial，分开看，all fat可指虚弱、没有实质内容、看似强大、实不中用等意思，而no muscle则从另一面说同样的内容，如不坚实、不牢靠、无力量等。所以此处可译成“虚浮有余，坚实不足”。
10．tempting：此处tempting相当于easy，如译成“我们十分想说”，实际上是无法摆脱tempting的束缚。
11．goodness needs evil as its grinding stone：grinding stone本义是“磨刀石”，但在本句中是比喻用法。如果保留原文的形象——“善也要恶来作为磨刀石”，不容易懂。假使略加转换，译成“善良需要有邪恶来砥砺”，似乎更好些。砥和砺均为磨刀石之意，目前多采取其比喻意义。
12．But try looking a widow in the eye and talking about all the good that has come of this：应该区别look somebody in the eye和look into the eyes of somebody。前者是一个成语，eye总是用单数，字面意思后还有隐藏的意思；后者只是文字的随意组合，只有字面意思。这句话的隐藏含义是，你看着寡妇的眼睛，还说得出那种话吗?(How can you honestly say this when talking to a widow?)
13．Union：在南北战争时期，北方常常被称为是Union，而北方的军队被称为the Union Army，因为这个军队战斗的目的就是要保留南北为一体的国家实体。作者实际把两个意思混在一起了(We fought as a union and we fought for the Union)。
14．And so have we：美国人也对自己有所认识(And so have we learned a lot about us)。
15．For leading that lesson：that lesson指美国人真正认识了自己，也使恐怖分子认识了美国。leading that lesson则应理解为这位市长在证明美国人到底是什么样人的过程中堪称表率。
16．Mayor of the World：“全球市长”或“世界市长”似乎不太恰当。其实作者这里所指的是世界上最好的市长，所以可以考虑译成“世界第一市长”、“全球第一市长”、“天下第一市长”。
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