【文章內容簡介】 imple petition for a fixed amount of food determined by the physical environment, because the environment that determines our evolution is no longer essentially physical. Our environment is chiefly conditioned by the things we believe. Morocco and California are bits of the Earth in very similar latitudes, both on the west coasts of continents with similar climates, and probably with rather similar natural resources. Yet their present development is wholly different, not so much because of different people even, but because of the different thoughts that exist in the minds of their inhabitants. This is the point I wish to emphasize. The most important factor in our environment is the state of our own minds. 注釋： essentially：本質上，基本上 bits of： 小塊的 ，少量的 mental outlook：世界觀 語法： ☆ because the environment that determines our evolution is no longer essentially physical 后面省略了 enviroment 6 譯文： 不過，我們當中人與人、 群體 與 群體 的競爭任然在持續(xù)，而且同以往一樣激烈。但人與人的競爭不像生物學中所看到的過程那么簡單。它不是為 取得自然環(huán)境中一定量的食物而進行的簡單競爭，因為決定我們進化的環(huán)境 基本 上 已不再是自然環(huán)境。 我們的環(huán)境主要是由我們所相信的事物所制約 。摩洛哥和加州 這兩塊土地 緯度極為相近，都位于氣候相似的大陸的西海岸，甚至連自然資源也十分相似，然而它們目前的發(fā)展卻完全不同，這不全是因為人的不同，而是因為存在于其居民頭腦中的思想不同。這就是我要強調的觀點。我們的環(huán)境作重要因素是我們自身的思想狀態(tài)。 It is well known that where the white man has invaded a primitive culture the most destructive effects have e not from physical weapons but from ideas. Ideas are dangerous. The Holy office knew this full well when it caused heretics to be burned in days gone by. Indeed, the concept of free speech only exists in our modem society because when you are inside a munity you are conditioned by the conventions of the munity to such a degree that it is very difficult to conceive of anything really destructive. It is only someone looking on from outside that can inject the dangerous thoughts. I do not doubt that it would be possible to inject ideas into the modern world that would utterly destroy us. I would like to give you an example, but fortunately I cannot do so. Perhaps it will suffice to mention the nuclear bomb. Imagine the effect on a reasonably advanced technological society, one that still does not possess the bomb, of making it aware of the possibility, of supplying sufficient details to enable the thing to be constructed. Twenty or thirty pages of information handed to any of the major world powers around the year 1925 would have been sufficient to change the course of world history. It is a strange thought, but I believe a correct one, that twenty or thirty pages of ideas and information would be capable of turning the presentday world upside down, or even destroying it. I have often tried to conceive of what those pages might contain, but of course I cannot do so because I am a prisoner of the presentday world, just as all of you are. We cannot think outside the particular patterns that our brains are conditioned to, or, to be more accurate, we can think only a very little way outside, and then only if we are very original. 注釋： cause=make in days gone by：在過去的日子里 in days to e：在未來的日子里 look on：觀望 the effect on：對 … 的影響 reasonably： very well， considerably：相當?shù)兀浅５? turn…upside down ：把 … 完全翻個個，完全顛倒 … . Be conditioned by/to：受 … 制約 語法： ☆ It is well known that where the white man has invaded a primitive culture the most destructive effects have e not from physical weapons but from ideas. Ideas are where 引導的從句，可以改為用 if 引導。在引文中 where 引導的從句有時可以改為用 if 引導。如： where there is a will， there is a way= if there is a will， there is a way 有志者事竟成 ☆ Imagine the effect on a reasonably advanced technological society, one that still does not possess the bomb, of making it aware of the possibility, of supplying sufficient details to enable the thing to be imagine… 引導的是一個祈使句， one 代指society， one that still does not possess the bomb 作 society 的同位語，而 of making it aware of the possibility 和 of supplying sufficient details to enable the thing to be effect 的后置定語 。 ☆ It is a strange thought, but I believe a correct one 是省略句，原句為 It is a strange thought, but I believe it is a correct one ☆ we can think only a very little way outside, and then only if we are very ： 我們只能略微超越一些進行思考，而且我們還得具有非凡獨創(chuàng)性才行 。 Only if… ：只有 … 譯文： 人們都知道，在白人入侵原始文化之處，最具毀滅性的后果不是來自有形的武器而是來自思想 。思想是很危險的。宗教法庭深知這一點，因此它從來主張將異教徒燒死 。言論自由之所以只存在于現(xiàn)代社會，是因為身居社團中的你受其習俗 制約 之深，以致極難構想出真正具有毀滅力的東西。只有旁觀者才能注入危險的思想。我相信有可能給現(xiàn)代社會注入終將把人類毀滅掉的思想。我 很愿意 舉一個例子給你瞧瞧，幸虧我不能這樣做。 7 或許提及核彈就已足夠。 設想有那么一 個任未擁有原子彈的、技術上相當先進的社會，如果讓它知道這種可能性并為其制造提供 足夠的細節(jié)，其后果會是怎樣 。在 1925 年前后只要向任何一個列強提交 20 或 30 頁的資料就足以改變世界歷史的進程。這是一種古怪的想法，但我相信其正確性，就是說 20 或 30 頁的思想和資料能把現(xiàn)今的世界來個兜底翻，甚至把它摧毀。我常在想象這些頁里可能包含些什么內容，但我當然做不到這一點，因為我是當今世界的囚犯，就像你們大家一樣，我們不能超越制約我們大腦的特定模式去進行思考，或者更準確地說， 我們只能略微超越一些進行思考，而且我們還得具有非凡 獨創(chuàng)性才行 。 詞組： Nuclear power：核大國； 核能 ， 核動力 Lesson 58 Painting as a Pastime A gifted American psychologist has said, 39。Worry is a spasm of the emotion。 the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.39。 It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition. The stronger the will, the more futile the task. One can only gently insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp. And if this something else is rightly chosen, if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swiftly, the old undue grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair begins. 注釋 ： the mind： the person will：意志 let him rot：任其自生自滅 語法 ： ☆ The stronger the will, the more futile the task 省略句，完整的句子是： The stronger the will is, the more futile the task is，其中， the task 代指前面的 argue with the mind。 ? One can only gently insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp 中 its 代指 mind（ 思維 ）， grasp：抓住不放 ☆ if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest 中， it 代指 this something else， attend：輔助，可以譯為：如果這個別的什么東西通過別 一個 領域興趣 的啟迪 而得到輔助 譯文 ： 一位天才的美國心理學家曾經(jīng)說過：“煩惱是感情的發(fā)作，此時腦子糾纏住了某種東西又不肯松手?！痹谶@種情況下，你又和頭腦爭吵讓它松手是無濟 于事的。這種意志越是強烈，這種嘗試越是徒勞。你只能緩和而巧紗地讓