华东师范大学英语综合班下学期期末考试翻译1An Image or a Mirage

Unit 1 An Image or a Mirage There is a distinct difference between a winning image and mirage. A mirage is an illusion, and in your quest for a winning image, you must be capable of identifying such mirages. 成功的形象和象之间有明显的区别。表象是一种虚假的现象，要想寻求成功的形象，你必须有够识别这类表象。 One of a common misread image stems from what people think about eye contact. How many times have you heard, “You can tell he’s an honest man because he looks you straight in the eye.” Evidently, many people must believe that a dishonest man feels so ashamed that he’s not telling the truth that he can’t even face them directly. But what about an honest individual who is too shy to look straight at you? Furthermore, a good con artist knows that many people judge integrity by the way one looks at them, so he deliberately includes eye contact in his act. Because you can’t count on eye contact as an infallible test, you should never use it to evaluate another person’s honesty. Nonetheless, since most people do judge others by this criterion, be sure that you always look them squarely in the eye. 有一种形象常被误识，其根源在于人们对目光接触的看法。“他直视你的眼睛，一定是个老实人。”这类话你不知听过多少遍了。显然，许多人一定认为，不老实的人说假话会感到惭愧，甚至不敢面对别人。可是假如一个老实人因为怕羞而不敢直视你呢？再说，骗人的老手知道，人们通常判断一个人是否诚实，主要看这个人如何打量他们，所以他会故意把目光接触纳入其行为。因为你不能指望靠眼神接触来做出绝对可靠的判断，那么你最好别用这个办法评价别人是否诚实。不过，既然大多数人的确都用这个判断他人，你一定要经常直视他们的眼睛。 Evaluating a man’s honest by the way he looks at you makes no more sense than judging his integrity by the way your dog or cat reacts to him. Yet how many times have you heard a dog’s master say, “That’s interesting ——Thor doesn’t take to strangers very often. He’s a good judge of human nature, and the fact that he’s friendly with you tells me some good things about you.” Once when I was in the house of a prospect, his cat, Tiger, look such a liking to me that he sat on my shoulder during my entire sales presentation. When I was finished, my prospect’s wife said, “Mr. Shook, Tiger only does that with members of our immediate family. You must be a very honest person for her to be so friendly to you.” 根据对方是否注视你的眼睛来评判他人，与根据你的狗或猫对来客的反映来判断这位客人的人品一样，都是毫无道理的。可是你不止一次的听到狗主人这样说：“真有意思！——索尔是不大喜欢陌生人的。他判断人品很在行。他对你友好，这让我知道你身上有优点。”有一次，我来到一个可能成为我客户的人的家中，他的猫“虎仔”对我如此的欢喜，在我对产品经行推销的整个过程中，它竟然一直趴在我肩上。我讲完之后，女主人说道：“舒克先生，虎仔对我们自家人才会这样。一定是因为你为人忠厚，它才对你那么友好。” The truth of the matter was that I refrained from pushing the cat off because I was afraid she’d rip my suit or scratch my eyes out. However, I replied, “Yes, ma’am, Tiger obviously has some kind of instinct that enables her to accurately judge humans. She sure is a good judge of character.” Even though Tiger happened to be right in my case, I personally put very little faith in an animal’s instinctual ability to judge people. I’d say his reactions have more to do with odors and body movement. 其实，当时我没把那只猫推开，是因为担心它会撕破我的衣服或抓出我的眼珠。但我却回答说：“是呀，夫人，虎仔显然具有某种本能能对人经行准确的判断。它的确善于判断人品。”虽然，对于我的情况来说，虎仔碰巧判断正确，但我个人并不相信动物具有判断人类的本能。依我看，动物对人做出的反映更多是与人的体味和身体动作有关。 Some people judge another person by the way he or she shakes hands. A good, strong grip represents character, while a “dead fish” handshake is a bad sign. I, too, dislike the flabby handshake with no life to it, but I am careful not to use it as a basis of for judging an individual. Again, it’s too easy for a con artist to put a hearty handshake into his act. Though you should give a firm handshake so you’ll immediately create a good impression, don’t place too much weight on the next fellow’s grip, it don’t tell you anything concrete about him. 有些人根据他人的握手方式来判断对方。得体而有力度的握手表现一个人的个性，而“死鱼”般软绵绵的握手方式则不是好迹象。我也不喜欢握手时那种软弱无力毫无生气的样子，但却谨慎小心，不把它作为判断人的标准。早说，骗人的老手在与人握手时很容易装出热情有力的样子。虽说握手时你应该用力，这样就立刻给对方一个良好的印象，但下次有人握紧你的手时，你别太当真，因为这并不能告诉你关于他的具体情况。 There’s certain clean-cut appearance that creates an honest image. For example, a blond, blue-eyed young man with a boyish grin and a look that typifies the boy-next-door. All-American type will almost always inspire confidence in others. There is no logical reason for placing such blind faith in a man simply because of the way he looks, yet most people do make such quick judgments. Conversely, the seedy man with dark oily skin, greasy black hair, and a moustache is not considered honest-looking. Similarly, a woman may have the looks which are usually associated with those of a streetwalker, whereas a high-priced call girl may look refined and refreshing. Naturally, clothes and —— in the case of women —— cosmetics, have a great deal to do with such aforementioned appearances, but unfortunately a person’s natural look, over which he or she has little control, play an important part in the judgments most people will make. I pity the hard-working, honest salesman who was born with the looks that make people automatically think, ”He’s not the kind of man I’d want to buy a used car from!” On the other hand, a very devious individual may look like the type you can trust. How can you be sure that the hitchhiker who looks so clean-cut is any less dangerous than the one who, because of his appearance, looks like a risk? And how can you be sure that this one really is a risk? The point is that we are most often being completely unreasonable in making such snap decisions. 某些整洁秀丽的外表会塑造诚实的形象。譬如，金发碧眼的年轻人，面带稚笑、一脸典型的邻家男孩的表情，这种地道的美国人的特征几乎总能激起别人的信赖。单凭外表盲目相信别人，从逻辑上讲毫无道理。然而，大多数人的确就这样草率判断别人。相反、皮肤油黑、毛发油腻、留着小胡须、脏兮兮的男人，不会被认为看上去老实。同样，某个女人的长相可能让你联系到街头妓女，而开价很高的应召女郎看上去可能会显得娴静清新。以上所谈的外表问题自然与着装——如果是女性的话——与化妆品有很大的关系。但不幸的是，不为人所控制的、与生俱来的外貌在大多数人的判断中起着重要的作用。我很同情那些勤奋而又老实的推销员。他们天生的那副面貌让人不由自主地这样想：“这种人的二手车我可不想买！”另一方面，一个阴险的人也许看上去像那种可信之人。仅仅因为外表，你怎能判断一个看上去像危险分子的搭车人，比一个整洁清秀的搭车人更危险吗？你怎能肯定这个人就一定是个危险人物呢？问题在于，我们往往毫无道理地草率做出这样的决定。 On a larger scale，voters often react favorably to a politician simply because of his clean-cut appearance. His opponent is often judged negatively because he has not been blessed with natural looks that generate trust. This kind of judgment is erroneous, and the consequences can produce devastating result. Granted, many people vote for a candidate strictly because of political issues, but the clean-cut image can tip the scales in favor of the wrong man in a close election. 更大范围上来讲，选民们往往仅因为某个政客的外表整洁清秀而对他做出有利的反应。其竞争对手经常被否决，则是因为上苍没有赐给他取信于人的外表。这种判断是错误的，其后果可能是灾难性的。诚然，许多选民投票选某位候选人完全出于政治原因，但在势均力敌的选举中，整洁清秀的形象可能会有利于不该当选之人，从而使他占据上风。 We make snap judgments about people on the basis of how they express themselves. To revert to politics, many voters judge a candidate’s ability by the way he makes a public speech. But though a candidate may be an effective speaker, he may not be capable of doing the job for which he is running. I know many highly talented men who simply have not developed an ability to speak well in public, but who are excellent in communicating with others on a one-to-one basis. The ability to express yourself strongly is always important, but we are too often wrongly impressed by the man who comes across as eloquent, since it is always possible that this virtue is only ”skin-deep”. Yet it is easy to imagine a politician with a clean-cut look and a magnetic speaking voice romping all over his unassuming but better qualified opponent. He wins solely because his image is convincing. 我们常常根据一个人的表达能力而做出轻率的判断。再回到政治话题上来，许多选民仅仅根据候选人公开演讲的方式就对他的能力做出判断。然而，一个候选人可能非常善于演说，他却未必胜任其所竞选的职位。我认识许多才能杰出的人物，他们只是尚未培养出在公共场合演讲的才能，但在与别人一对一的交流中却表现极为出色。充分表达己见的能力固然重要，但我们对那些让人感觉善于辞令的人，往往产生错误的印象，因为很多情况下这种优点仅仅只是“表面现象”而已。不难想象，一位外表整洁清秀、讲话娓娓动听的政客会轻而易举战胜一位不张扬却更为合格的对手。他之所以取胜仅仅是因为其形象令人信服。 After many years of interviewing and hiring salesmen, I have reached the conclusion that the man with the glib tongue doesn’t necessarily because the top producer. Though there is a definite advantage in having a “natural” selling personality, more often than not the salesman with good working habits, proper motivation, and commitment is the one who becomes the best in his company. Too often, the sales manager who hires salesmen simply because of their extroverted and flamboyant personalities will have a high turnover. 经过多年面试和聘用销售人员之后，我得出这样的结论：油嘴滑舌的人未必是顶级的生财人。“天生”就会做生意的人固然有一定的优势，但很多时候，具有良好的工作习惯、正当动机和奉献精神的那种推销员却成了公司里最出色的人。通常，如果销售经理聘用一些性格外向而善于炫耀自己的销售人员，就会造成人员变动率的上升。 Another influencing factor is the effect produced on the listener by the sound of a name. At some time or another, we’ve all been guilty of hastily forming an unwarranted opinion when we hear a “winning name” as opposed to a “losing” on. Hollywood recognized this fact long ago when the studios began changing the stars’ real names. One of my favorite movie lines is James Bond’s response to Pussy Galore, the heroine in the movie Goldfinger. Meeting her for the first time, he can only exclaim. “I must be dreaming!” Had her name been Harriett Finkelstein, the audience would never have been able to appreciate one of the screen’s all-time great names! Yet, no matter how great a name is, using it as a criterion in evaluating character is just a illogical as determining a person’s value by a handshake. 姓名的听觉效果对听者产生的效应也是一个重要的因素。有时，我们听到一个相对于“难听”而言的“动听”名字，就匆忙形成毫无根据的看法，这实在是惭愧。好莱坞制片厂很久以前就意识到这一点，于是便改影星的真实姓名时，我最喜欢的一句台词，就是电影《金手指》中詹姆斯-邦德对女主角Pussy Galore说的话。初次遇见她时，他不禁惊叹道：“我一定是在做梦吧！”假如女主角的名字叫做Harriet Finkelstein，观众恐怕将永远欣赏不到银幕上最叫座的那样一个盛名。然而，不管一个人的名字多么了不起，以此为标准去评价一个人的个性，和以握手方式评定一个人的价值一样，同样不合逻辑。 The beautiful, sexy redhead isn’t always the best bed partner, not is the big, strong man, whom we usually expect to be hero, always braver than the small, frail man on the battlefield. Likewise, there is no sound reason for believing that out-of-town attorney or consultant is any more of an expert than the local man. Just because your dentist has to book you six months in advance does not automatically mean that he does the best root-canal work. Nor will the insurance agent who drives a Mercedes necessarily give you better service than the agent who drives a ford sedan. Having to go through a main switchboard, a receptionist, and a private secretary before you get to speak with your attorney is no indication of his legal abilities. I also hope you don’t withdraw all your savings from Fourth Bank and deposit them with Third Bank just because their new home office building is several stories taller. It is equally unreasonable to assume that a hospital-clean restaurant serves the best food. True, all these factors are nice window dressing, and they shouldn’t be completely ignored, but other more important factors must be considered before you make any final decisions about those with whom you’ll do business. 漂亮性感的红发女郎未必就是床笫之欢的最佳搭档，高大健壮的男人也未必如此。然而，我们往往认为这种男人个个都是战场上的英雄，总比那些瘦小的男人更加勇猛。同样，认为外地律师或顾问比本地的更专业，理由也欠妥。仅仅因为你看牙医得提前半年预约，未必表明他最擅长口腔业务。开梅赛德斯车的保险代理提供给你的服务未必比开福特车的更为周到。在与你的律师通话前，先打总机，再找接线员，然后找私人秘书，并不能说明这个律师打官司的能力。我还希望你们不要因为第三银行新建的总部办公大楼比第四银行的高出几层，就把全部存款从第四银行转入第三银行。认为清洁卫生的餐馆提供美味佳肴也同样没有道理。确实，所有这些因素都是漂亮的门面装饰，不能完全忽视。不过，在你最终抉择生意伙伴之前，必须要考虑到比之更为重要的其他因素。 Many images are only mirages that we are have been conditioned to accept as the real thing. So don’t be fooled the next time somebody tells you that Truman Blue is a great guy because of his wonderful smile, the way he looks people straight in the eye when he talks to them, his firm handshake, and his remarkable rapport with pets! 许多形象只不过是表面现象，我们却习惯上把它们当作真实情况去接受。下次，有人对你说：杜鲁门-布鲁是个了不起的家伙，因为他笑容可掬，与人交流直视对方眼睛，和人握手很有力度，而且对宠物极有感情。这时你可别上当受骗噢！ 文档已经阅读完毕，请返回上一页！