Unit 3
What Is Friendship?
When we approach the notion of friendship, our first problem is that there is a lack of
socially acknowledged criteria for what makes a person a friend. In one setting, we may describe someone as a friend; in another, the label may seem less appropriate. Therefore, people tend to have a very thin understanding of what friendship really means. To help us understand what friendship really means, we need to review some classical views of friendship.
One classical view of friendship is provided by Aristotle, the famous ancient Greek
philosopher. Aristotle distinguishes between what he believes to be genuine friendships and two other forms: one based on mutual usefulness, the other on pleasure. So, according to Aristotle, we may find three kinds of friendship:
Friendship based on utility. Utility is an impermanent thing: it changes according to circumstances. When the ground for friendship disappears, the friendship also breaks up.
Friendships of this kind seem to occur most frequently between the elderly, because at their age what they want is not pleasure but utility. Friendships based on utility are also frequently found among those in middle or early life who are pursuing their own advantage. Such persons do not spend much time together, because sometimes they do not even like one another, and therefore feel no need of such an association unless they are mutually useful. They take pleasure in each other’s company only in so far as they have hopes of advantage from it.
Friendship based on pleasure. Friendship between the young is thought to be grounded on pleasure, because the lives of the young are regulated by their feelings, and their chief interests are in their own pleasure and the opportunity of the moment. As they grow up,
however, their tastes change too, so that they are quick to make and to break friendships. That is why they fall in and out of friendship quickly, changing their attitude often, even within the same day.
Friendship based on goodness. Perfect friendship is based on goodness. Only the friendship of those who are good, and similar in their goodness, is perfect. The conduct of good men is the same or similar. It is between good men that both love and friendship are chiefly found and in the highest form. Such for as the saying goes, true friends must go through trials and tribulations together. And no two persons can accept each other and become friends until each has proved to the other that he is worthy of love, and so won his trust. The wish for friendship may develop rapidly, but true friendship does not.
Another classical view of friendship can be found in the writings of Cicero, an ancient Roman statesman and orator. According to Cicero, true friendship is only possible between good men. He further defines “the good” as “those whose actions and lives leave no question as to their honor, purity, equity, and liberality; who are free from greed, lust, and violence; and who have the courage of their convictions.” The friendship between good men, based on virtue, does offer material benefits, but it does not seek them. All human beings are bonded together in a
community of shared reason. Therefore, in friendships and relationships, those who possess any superiority must regard themselves as equals of those who are less fortunate. It is virtue that creates and preserves true friendship.
Thus, we may see that the traditional idea of friendship is made up of three components: Friends must enjoy each other’s company; they must be useful to one another; and they must share a commitment to the good. According to the classical views, virtuous friends are bound together, as the recognize each other’s moral
excellence. To perceive a friend, therefore, is to perceive oneself; and to know a friend is to know oneself. Each can be said to provide a mirror in which the other may see himself. Through networks of such virtuous friends, we can develop a shared idea of good and pursue it together. Friendship of this kind is necessarily involves conversations about well-being and of what might be involved in living the good life.
什么是友谊?
1 我们探讨友谊这个概念时,遇到的第一个问题是,没有社会公认的择友标准。在某一情境下,我们会把某个人称为朋友;然而,情境一旦变迁,朋友这个称呼就显得没那么贴切了。因此,人们对友谊的真谛的理解往往是非常肤浅的。为了帮助我们理解友谊的真正含义,我们需要回顾有关友谊的几种传统的看法。
2 一种传统的友谊观在古希腊著名的哲学家亚里士多德的著作里得以阐述。他将自己心目中真正的友谊同另外两种友谊截然分开。这两种友谊分别是:基于互利的友谊;基于愉悦的友谊。因此,根据亚里士多德的观点,我们可以将友谊分为三类:
3 建立在功利之上的友谊。功利并非永恒,它依照环境而变化。友谊的根基一旦消失,友谊也随之破灭。这类友谊似乎在老人之间最为常见,因为上了年纪的人需要的不是愉悦而是实用。基于功利的友谊也同样存在于追逐个人利益的中年人和青年人中。这些人不会在一起消磨时光,因为他们有时甚至不喜欢对方,因而觉得除非可以互相利用,否则没有交往的必要。只有当他们认为彼此有希望相互利用的时 候,才会乐于呆在一起。 4 建立在愉悦之上的友谊。年轻人之间的友谊常被看作是建立在愉悦基础之上的,因为年轻人的生活受感情支配,他们感兴趣的主要是自己的快乐和眼前的重要机会。然而,他们的情趣随着自己日渐成长也会变化,他们交友容易,分手也干脆。年轻人的态度变化无常,甚至一日数变,难怪他们的友谊总是迅速地开始,又匆匆地结束。 5 建立在美德之上的友谊。完美无瑕的友谊立足于美德。只有那些品德高尚而且拥有相似美德的人之间建立的友谊才是最完美的。品行高尚的人,其行为是相同的,或者是类似的。爱和友谊多半在品行高尚的人之间发生,而且以最高雅的形式出现。这种友谊是罕见的,需要时间,需要交往。常言道,真正的朋友必须同甘共苦,历经风雨。只有当两个人互相证明自己值得爱并获得对方的信任之后,彼此方能接受对方为朋友。交友的意愿可能倏忽而至,但真正的友谊却要慢慢培养。
6 另一种传统的友谊观可以在古罗马政治家、演说家西塞罗的著作里找到。西塞罗认为,真正的友谊只能在好人之间发生。他进而将”好人”定义为”那些行为和生活无损于自己的荣誉、纯洁、公平和开明的人;那些摆脱了贪婪、欲念和暴力的人;那些敢于依照自己的信念说话和做事的人。”好人之间建立的这种友谊立足于美德,它确实可以带来物质利益,但决不以追求物质利益为目标。人类生活在以共同的理想为基础的社会。因此,在处理朋友关系和其他人际关系时,优越于他人的人必须平等地对待那些没那么幸运的人。美德创造友谊,美德使友谊之树常青。
7 我们由此可以看出,传统的友谊观由三个要素构成:朋友以相伴为乐;朋友必须彼此受益;彼此都有志于崇高的事业。这些传统的友谊观告诉我们,两个品德高尚的朋友是永不分离的,因为彼此认同对方的高尚品德。因此,认识朋友就是认识自我,了解朋友就是了解自我。可以说朋友就好比是一面镜子,每个人都可以从朋友身上看清自己。置身于品德高尚的
朋友之中,我们会对美德达成共识,共同为之不遗余力。这样的友谊是永恒的,因为朋友应该具备的一切品质都凝结在这种友谊关系中。
Unit 4
My Greatest Olympic Prize 我最珍贵的奥林匹克奖
[1]It was the summer of 1936. The Olympic Games were being held in Berlin. Because Adolf Hitler childishly insisted that his performers were members of a \feelings were at an all-time high.
[2] I wasn't too worried about all this. I'd trained, sweated and disciplined myself for six years, with the Games in mind. While I was going over on the boat, all I could think about was taking home one or two of those gold medals. I had my eyes especially on the running broad jump. A year before, as a sophomore at the Ohio State, I'd set the world's record of 26 feet 8 1/4 inches. Nearly everyone expected me to win this event.
[3] I was in for a surprise. When the time came for the broad-jump trials, I was startled to see a tall boy hitting the pit at almost 26 feet on his practice leaps! He turned out to be a German named Luz Long. I was told that Hitler hoped to win the jump with him.
[4] I guessed that if Long won, it would add some new support to the Nazis' \(Aryansuperiority) theory. After all, I am a Negro. Angry about Hitler's ways, I determined to go out there and really show Der Fuhrer and his master race who was superior and who wasn't.
[5] An angry athlete is an athlete who will make mistakes, as any coach will tell you. I was no exception. On the first of my three qualifying jumps, I leaped from several inches beyond the takeoff board for a foul. On the second jump, I fouled even worse. \this?\
[6] Walking a few yards from the pit, I kicked disgustedly at the dirt. Suddenly I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to look into the friendly blue eyes of the tall German broad jumper. He had easily qualified for the finals on his first attempt. He offered me a firm handshake.
[7] \a German twist to it.
\\\
\mastered a bit of American slang. \
\
1936年夏天。奥林匹克运动会在柏林举行。由于阿道夫·希特勒幼稚地坚持他的选手是“优等民族”的成员,民族主义情绪空前高涨。
我对这一切并不太担心。六年来,我心里想着这次奥运会,一直在坚持刻苦训练,从严要求
自己。我乘船来时,就一心想带一两块金牌回家。我特别想在急行跳远项目上夺取金牌。一年前,我在俄亥俄州上大学二年级时,就创下了26英尺81/4英寸的世界纪录。几乎所有的人都认为我会赢得这项赛事。
然而,事情出乎我的意料。到了急行跳远预选赛时,我吃惊地看见一个高个儿小伙子试跳时就落在了沙坑将近26英尺的地方!原来他是个德国人,名叫卢茨·隆格。有人告诉我,希特勒就希望靠他来获得跳远冠军。
我心想,如果隆格获胜,那势必给纳粹的“优等民族“(雅利安人优异)论调增加新的佐证。毕竟,我是个黑人。我很气个过希特勒的那一套,决心显一显身手,着实让“元首大人”和他的优等民族看看谁优谁劣。
任何一个教练员都会对你说.运动员一生气就会犯错误。我也不例外。预赛三跳中的第一跳,我踏过起跳板几英寸犯了现。第二跳时,则犯规更严重。“难道我从3000英里外跑到这儿就为了这个结局?”我痛苦地想道,“为了在预赛里就犯规出局丢自己的丑吗?” 我从沙坑里走出几码远,气愤地踢着沙土。忽然,我感到有一只手搭在我的肩膀上。我转过脸去,瞧见了那个高个子德国跳远运动员一双友好的蓝眼睛。他头一跳就轻松地取得了决赛资格。他主动用力地握了握我的手。 “杰西·欧文斯,我叫卢茨·隆格。我想我们以前没见过面。”他英语说得不错,尽管带一点德国味儿。
“认识你很高兴,”我说。随后,我竭力想掩饰自已的不安,便又说道:“你怎么样?” “我很好。问题是:你怎么样?” “你的意思是?”我问道。
“一定有什么困扰着你,”他说——显得很得意,外国人掌握了一点美国俚语都会这样。“你就是闭着眼睛也能进入决赛。” “相信我,这我知道,”我对他说--能跟别人说这话,心里觉得好受些。
[8] For the next few minutes we talked together. I didn't tell Long what was \he seemed to understand my anger, and he took pains to reassure me. Although he'd been schooled in the Nazi youth movement, he didn't believe in the Aryan-supremacy business any more than I did. We laughed over the fact that he really looked the part, though. An inch taller than I, he had a lean, muscular frame, clear blue eyes, blond hair and a strikingly handsome face. Finally, seeing that I had calmed down somewhat, he pointed to the take-off board.
[9] \making your take-off from there? You'll be sure not to foul, and you certainly ought to jump far enough to qualify. What does it matter if you're not first in the trials? Tomorrow is what counts.\
[101 Suddenly all the tension seemed to leave my body as the truth of what he said hit me. Confidently, I drew a line a full foot behind the hoard and proceeded to jump from there. I qualified with almost a foot to spare.
[11] That night I walked over to Luz Long's room in the Olympic village to thank him. I knew that if it hadn't been for him I probably wouldn't be jumping in the finals the following day. We sat and talked for two hours--about track and field, ourselves, the world situation, a dozen other