美国语文第五册 第264期:人类与动物(2)

搜索关注在线英语听力室公众号：tingroom，领取免费英语资料大礼包。

　　Now for the second distinction. Man, in all his operations, makes mistakes; animals make none. 现在，我们来谈谈第二个差异。就人类行为举止而言，凡夫俗子错误在所难免；

　　Did you ever hear of such a thing as a bird sitting on a twig¹ lamenting² over her half-finished nest and puzzling her little head to know how to complete it? 而动物不会犯错误。你是否听说栖息树枝上的小鸟哀叹自己尚未完工的巢穴，或是不知所措怎样将巢穴建好？

　　Or did you ever see the cells of a beehive in clumsy, irregular shapes, 你是否观察过那些拙笨、不规则的蜂房巢室，

　　or observe anything like a discussion in the little community, as if there were a difference of opinion among the architects? 是否留意在筑造蜂巢时，蜜蜂群体成员存在不同意见从而进行讨论？

　　The lower animals are even better physicians than we are; 与人类相比，低级动物不愧是更好的医生。

　　for when they are ill, they will, many of them, seek out some particular herb, which they do not, use as food, 动物生病时，它们大多寻找某些特殊药草，这类药草并非食用，

　　and which possesses a medicinal quality exactly suited to the complaint; 而是专门用作治病养伤，并且确实具有某种药物疗效；

　　whereas, the whole college of physicians will dispute for a century about the virtues³ of a single drug. 相反，就医用疗效来说，哪怕一种药物，整个医学院专家医生们完全可以喋喋不休地辩论上百年。

　　Man undertakes nothing in which he is not more or less puzzled; 人类做事总喜欢瞻前顾后，

　　and must try numberless experiments before he can bring his undertakings⁴ to anything like perfection; 他必须无数次躬身亲为，试图将事情做到近乎完善，

　　even the simplest operations of domestic life are not well performed without some experience; 然而，哪怕最简单的家庭生活缺乏实践，他亦无法做到称心如意。

　　and the term of man's life is half wasted before he has done with his mistakes and begins to profit by his lessons. 人类初涉某一事物，错误过失在所难免，每每开始从自身经验教训里终有所得，他的人生时光早已挥霍过半。

分享到：