新标准大学英语综合教程3课文与翻译
I said.
2 The problem seems to be exactly that. Why should we in
种迷狂——人们狂热地进行着岁末的庆祝活动。 我说的是岁末。
China refer to the week between December 24 and 31 as the end 2. 问题就出在这儿。 为什么我们中国人要把of the year when ours (according to the lunar calendar) is at 12月24日到31日这一周作为岁末来庆祝，而我least a month away?
3 We do so apparently because Christmas and New Year
have become global festivals, not because they (especially 3. 我们这么做，显然是因为圣诞节和元旦已经Christmas) are essentially Western in nature and spirit, but 成了全球性的节日，并不是因为它们（尤其是圣because we can relax during those few days.
4 Nevertheless, some scholars and students have expressed
concern over the increasing influence of Christmas on oriental, 4. 但是，圣诞节对于东方文化，尤其是中国文particularly Chinese, culture. Their fears may be justified to a 化的影响与日俱增，对此，一些学者和学生们表certain extent. In fact, we Chinese do seem to attach a lot more 示担忧。 从某种程度上讲，他们的忧虑是有道理time and attention to Christmas today than we did even a couple 的。 的确，与几十年前相比，现在中国人花在圣of decades ago.
诞节上的时间和精力似乎要多很多。
诞节）在本质上和精神上主要代表了西方文化，而是因为在这几天里我们能好好放松一下。 们自己的岁末（按照阴历）至少还有一个月才到呢？
5 For good or bad, the world has possibly undergone more 5. 不管是好是坏，世界在过去二十多年间所经changes in the past two decades than it did in the past two 历的变化可能比过去两百年间所经历的还要多。 centuries. We have used more resources, burnt more fuel, 为了让彼此间联系得更紧密，营造出一个真正的caused more pollution and killed off more animals and plants as 地球村，我们消耗了更多的资源，烧掉了更多的we have come closer to each other to form a truly global village. 能源，造成了更多的污染，灭杀了更多的动植物。 Television, we thought, was the last Unit ing factor till we got a 过去，我们一直把电视看作是连接全世界的终极feel for the Internet.
6 All these changes have made us take a different look at the
world beyond and our home within. Nothing comes without a 6. 所有这些变化都让我们用另外一种眼光来看rider in this global market. If we want to be part of the dazzle 待外面的世界以及我们自己的家园。 在这个全球and comfort that the West is known for, we had better accept 市场中，得到任何东西都是要付出代价的。 如果some of its anomalies, too. This is not to say that festivals mean 我们想拥有西方世界那著名的眩目而舒适的生something else to the West.
活，我们也必须接受西方文化中的一些异常事物。 当然，这并不是说节日对于西方人来说有着不同
7 Be it on the mainland or in the highly developed West or in 的意义。 the poorest of societies, a festival carries the same meaning.
People across the world celebrate them with their family and 7. 不管是在中国大陆，还是在高度发达的西方friends. The basic concept is the same too, sharing a feast or a 国家，抑或是世界上最贫穷的社会，节日承载着humble meal (with a few drinks in some societies like ours and 相同的意义。 世界各地的人们和家人、朋友一起the West).
庆祝节日。 节日的基本概念是一样的，就是大家分享一顿盛宴或是一餐便饭（在西方或是我们的
8 We celebrate an occasion to vent our feelings, to relax and 国家里，人们会小酌几杯）。 enjoy a break from the everyday skulduggery that life in these
times has become. It's apparently no different from the break 8. 我们庆祝节日，是为了释放情感，放松身心，our ancestors enjoyed from the mundane affairs of their daily 是为了从现代生活的尔虞我诈中摆脱出来，得到lives.
片刻的安宁。 显然，这和我们的祖先从日常俗事手段，直到我们了解了互联网，才发现事实并非如此。
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新标准大学英语综合教程3课文与翻译
9 Most of the world follows the Gregorian calendar, including 中寻求解脱是一回事儿。 us, in their day-to-day lives. So the festivals and special events
in that calendar are bound to influence us. That we, like many 9. 世界上多数国家在日常生活中采用格列高利
中国也是如此。 所以这个历法中的节日和特South, Southeast Asian, Middle East and perhaps some 历，
而我们，和许多南亚、indigenous American people, follow the lunar calendar for our 殊事件注定会影响到我们。东南亚、中东，或许还有一些美国土著居民一样，festivals is a different matter altogether.
根据阴历来过节，而这又完全是另外一回事儿了。 10 We cannot afford to be left untouched by the festive spirit
of the West, which doesn't mean we follow the West blindly. 10. 对于西方的节日气氛无动于衷，这我们做不
但这也并不意味着我们要盲目跟风。 西方文Not everything about their culture may be good, but decadence 到，
is not the sole preserve of the West. No culture in the world is 化不全都是好的，但同时，颓废的东西也不是西方文化所独有的。 世界上没有一种文化能免于颓free of decadence and that includes Chinese culture.
废，中国文化也不例外。
11 So the problem is not Western culture, or what we
generally associate with it. The problem is those who are 11. 所以，问题并不在于西方文化，也不在于那
问题blinded by everything Western. We have to find out why more 些我们通常和西方文化联系在一起的东西。 为什么越来and more Chinese, especially the youngsters, feel at one with 出在那些唯西方马首是瞻的人身上。
Western festivals as much as they do with the Chinese ones. But 越多的中国人，尤其是中国的年轻人，对于西方thankfully our festivals have lost none of their charm. And here 节日和中国节日一样怡然自得，我们应该找出其
好在我们自己的节日并没有失去它们is where the alarm bells sounded by scholars and students come 中的原因。in.
12 I can understand the zeal of these people. They want to
他们想保护我们conserve our culture, and that definitely doesn't make them what 12. 我能够理解这些人的热情。
we generally refer to as conservatives. They have a point. But 的文化，就这点而言，他们绝对不是我们通常所they, or for that matter anybody else, cannot save any society 说的保守派。 他们的观点有一定的道理。 但是
在这件事情上，他们和其他人一样，无法使任何from the influence of a world getting smaller by the day.
社会免受日益变小的世界的影响。
13 So instead of trying to shut our eyes and ears to Western
festivals, we should accept the goodness they offer and practise 13. 所以，我们不应该对西方的节日视而不见、
what they stand for. And let's not forget that Jesus was not born 充耳不闻，相反，我们应该取其精华，去实践这 我们不要忘了，耶稣诞生in the West but the East (the Middle East, to be precise), and he 些节日所倡导的德行。
于东方（确切地说，是中东），而不是在西方，preached love for mankind and help for the poor.
我们也应该记住他要我们热爱全人类，扶贫助弱。
的风采。 而正是在这一刻，我们的学者和学生们敲响了警钟。
Unit 8-3 Day of the Dead 亡灵节 1 It may seem strange to imagine that a \ 想象一下这个世界上有一个―节日‖是庆祝\Nevertheless, that is exactly what happens in Mexico ―死亡‖的，这似乎有点儿怪。 但是在墨西哥，50 / 64
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