Unit1 passage A
The English character
Too the Europeans, the best known quality of the British is \
A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers, does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited. It is difficult to get to know a reserved person; he never tells you anything about himself, and you may work with him for years without ever knowing where he lives, how many children he has, and what his interests are. English people tend to be like that. If they are making a journey by bus, they will do their best to find an empty seat; if by train, an empty compartment. If they have to share the compartment with a stranger, they may travel many miles without starting a conversation. If a conversation does start, personal questions like \name?\\is your salary?\are almost impossible. Similarly, conversation in Britain is in general quiet and restrained and loud speech is considered ill-bred. This unwillingness to communicate with others is an unfortunate quality in some ways, since it tends to give the impression of coldness, and it is true that the English (except perhaps in the North) are not noted for their generosity and hospitality. On the other hand, they are perfectly human behind their barrier of reserve, and may be quite pleased when a friendly stranger or foreigner succeeds for a time in breaking the barrier down.
Closely related to English reserve is English modesty. Within their hearts, the English are perhaps no less conceited than anybody else, but in their relations with others they value at least a show of modesty. Self-praise is felt to be ill-bred. If a person is, let us say, very good at tennis, and someone asks him if he is a good player, he will seldom reply \because people will think him conceited. He will probably give an answer like, \\and, mixed with their reserve, it often produces a sort of general air of indifference which appears to foreigners difficult to understand and even irritating.
The famous English sense of humor is similar. Its starting point is
self-deprecation, and its great enemy is conceit. It’s ideal is the ability to laugh at oneself —at one's own faults, one's own failures and embarrassments, even at one's own ideals. The criticism, \commonly heard in Britain, where humor is so highly prized. A sense of humor is an attitude to life rather than the mere ability to laugh at jokes. This attitude is never cruel or disrespectful or malicious. The English do not laugh at a cripple or a madman, a tragedy or an honorable failure. Sympathy or admiration for artistic skill are felt to be stronger than laughter.
Like a sense of humor, sportsmanship is an English ideal which not all Englishmen live up to. It must be realized that sport in its modern form is almost entirely a British invention. Boxing, association football, tennis and cricket
were all first organized and given rules in Britain. Rules are the essence of sport, and sportsmanship is the ability to practise a sport in obedience to its rules, while also showing generosity to one's opponent and good temper in defeat. Moreover, sportsmanship as an ideal is applied to life in general. One of the most elementary rules of life is \hit a man when he's down\other words, never take advantage of another person's misfortune. English school-boys often show this sense of sportsmanship to a surprisingly high degree in their relations with each other.
译文：
对于其他欧洲人来说，英国人最著名的特点是“谨慎”。一个谨慎的人不太会和陌生人聊天，不会流露出太多的情感，并且很少会兴奋。要了解一个谨慎的人并非易事；他从不告诉你有关他自己的任何事，也许你和他工作了几年，却连他住在哪儿，有几个孩子，兴趣是什么，都不知道。英国人就有类似的倾向。如果乘公共汽车去旅行，他们会尽量找一个没人坐的位子；如果是乘火车，他们会找一个没人的单间。如果他们不得不与陌生人共用一个单间时，那么即使火车驶出了很多英里，他们也不会开口交谈。一旦谈起来的话，他们不会轻易问及像“你多大年龄？”或者甚至“你叫什么名字？”等私人问题。像“你的手表是在哪儿买的？”或者“你的收入是多少？”这样的问题几乎不可想象。同样，在英国，人们交谈时一般声音都很轻、很有节制，大声谈话会被视为没有教养。
在某种程度上，不愿意与他人交流是一种不幸的品质，因为它可能会给人造成态度冷淡的印象。而事实上，英国人（也许除了北方人）并不以慷慨和好客而著称。而另一方面，虽然谨慎使他们不易与人沟通,但他们内心还是很有人情味的。如果一个陌生人或外国人友善地将这种隔阂打破那么一会儿，他们可能会满心欢喜。
与英国人的谨慎紧密相连的品质是英国式的谦逊。在内心深处，英国人可能比任何人都高傲，但是当他们与别人相处时，他们十分看重谦逊的品质，至少要表现出谦虚的样子。自我标榜会被认为没有教养。让我们假设，有一个人非常擅长打网球，但如果有人问他是否是个优秀选手时，他很少会说“是”，不然，人们会认为他很高傲。他可能会作出类似这样的回答，“不算太差，”或者“嗯，我非常喜欢网球。”这样的自我贬低是典型的英国式的。而且当这一品质与他们的谨慎混合在一起时，常常形成一种漠然的气氛，这在外国人看来难于理解，甚至令人恼火。
著名的英国人的幽默感也是大同小异。它的出发点是自我贬低，它的最大对手是高傲，它的理想境界是自嘲的能力—嘲笑自己的错误、自己的失败和窘境，甚至自己的理想。在英国，人们非常看重幽默感，常常能听到“他一点幽默感都没有”这样的批评。幽默感是一种对生活的态度而并非仅仅是开玩笑的能力。这种态度决非残酷、不敬或是怀有恶意的。英国人不会嘲笑一个跛子或者疯子，也不会嘲笑一个悲剧或者一次可敬的失败。同情心或者对艺术技巧的崇敬比嘲笑的份量重得多。
同幽默感一样，运动员精神是英国式的理想，这一点并非所有的英国人都做得到。必须认识到，现代形式的运动几乎都是英国人发明的。拳击、英式足球、网球以及板球都是在英国首次组织并且制定出规则的。规则是运动的精髓，运动员精神是指按照规则从事体育运动的能力，同时也表现在对对手的慷慨大度，以及失败后的良好心态。此外，运动员精神作为一种理想模式也普遍适用于日常生活。其中最基本的生活规则之一就是“不打跌倒的人”。换言之，就是不要利用别人的不幸。英国的男孩子常常在相互交往中把这种运动员精神表现得淋漓尽致。
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