Lesson 5 The Libido for the Ugly
全文翻译
恋丑癖
H·L·门肯
1.数年前的一个冬天，我搭乘宾夕法尼亚铁路企业的一趟直列快车从匹兹堡出发，向东行驶一小时，穿过威斯特摩兰县的煤城和钢都。这个地方，我很了解。从孩提年代到长大成人，我以前常常经过这一带。但不知为什么我以前竟没发现这地方却是荒凉得这样可怕。这儿正是美国的工业中心，是其比较赚钱、最具美国工业特点的生产活动中心，是令美国这个世界上最富有、最伟大的国家感到骄傲和自豪的地方——然而这儿的景象却又丑陋得这样可怕，萧瑟荒凉得这样不堪忍受，以至于叫人的壮志抱负在这里成了让人毛骨悚然、让人压抑的笑话。这儿的财富不计其数，多得简直没办法想象——也是在这儿，大家的住所又是这样糟糕至极，连街头那些流浪的野猫也为之愧赧。
2.我所说的并不止是脏。钢城会比较脏，那是意料之中的事。我指的是放眼望去，所有房屋无一例外不是丑陋得让人痛苦厌恶，畸形古怪得叫人恶心。从东自由镇到格林斯堡，全程25英里。在这25英里的沿线上，从火车上放眼看去，没一幢房屋让双眼感到舒服和不难受的。有的房屋真是糟糕透顶，而这类房屋居然还是一些最矫饰的建筑——教堂、商店、仓库等。看到这类房屋，仿佛是看见了一张给子弹崩掉的可怕的脸一样，大家吓得快点闭上眼。其中有一些停留在脑海里一直挥之不去，甚至目前回想起来也还是非常恐怖：珍尼特西面的一座样子稀奇古怪的小教掌，像是一面光秃秃的、似有麻风散鳞的山坡上开出的一扇天窗；另一个荒凉小镇上的海外战争退伍军人总部，设在珍尼特过去不远的一个荒凉的小镇上；沿铁路线向东不远处的一座钢架，就像一个巨大的捕鼠器。但我回忆最多的还是那个总体印象——那种绵延不绝的丑陋恐怖。从匹兹堡到格林斯堡火车调车场，极目望去，没一幢像样的房屋。没一幢不是奇形怪状的，没一幢不是残破肮脏的。
3.尽管到处是工厂林立，粉尘弥漫，这一区域的自然景观并不羞。就地形而论，这儿是一条狭窄的河谷，一道道发来源于山间的深溪流淌其间。这儿虽然人口稠密，但看不出任何过分拥挤的征兆，即便在一些较大的城镇中，也还是有很多建筑的空间。而且鲜有以高密度排列的建筑楼群，几乎每一幢房子，无论大小，四周都还有空地。显而易见，假如当地能出几个稍有职业责任感或荣誉感的建筑师的话，他们准会借用地形优势紧挨山坡建造一些美观高雅的瑞士式山地小木屋——这种小木屋的屋顶设计为陡坡型，以利于冬天时排除顶上的积雪，宽度大于高度，是一种依山而建的低矮的小木屋。可是，他们事实上又是如何做的呢?他们以直立的砖房作为建房的模型，造出了一种用肮脏的护墙板围成的不伦不类的房子，屋顶窄而平，整个房屋架在单薄、滑稽的砖墙上。这类丑陋至极的房子成百上千地覆盖在一个个光秃秃的山坡上，像是某个空旷荒凉的坟场上竖起的一块块墓碑。这类房子高的一侧约有三四层，甚至五层楼那样高，而低的一侧则深深埋进了地下的烂泥潭。只有不到五分之一的房子是上下垂直的，大多数房子横七竖八，摇摇晃晃地架在地基上。每幢房子上都有一道道尘垢积成的印痕，从中隐约透出些湿疹痂一样的油漆斑痕。
4.偶尔也可以看到一两幢砖房，"可那是哪种砖啊!刚建成的时候，它的颜色像煎蛋，然而一经工厂排放出来的烟尘熏染，蒙上一层绿锈时，就变得像那早已门可罗雀的臭鸡蛋似的颜色了。有必要使用这种惊人的颜色吗?这就像把所有房子都建成直立式一样不必。如果是用红砖造房，即便在钢铁城镇中，年代越久越彰显尊贵气派。红砖即使被染得漆黑一片，也仍好看，特别是若用白石镶边，凹处烟垢一经雨水冲刷干净，红黑映衬，更觉悦目。可是在这威斯特摩兰县，大家却偏爱那种难看的尿黄色，于是才有了这世界上最丑陋不堪、最让人恶心的城镇和乡村。
5.在最后决定将这顶丑陋之最的桂冠封赠于威斯特摩兰县之前，我是经过了一番苦心探索和不断祈祷的。我自信我已见去世界上所有些最丑陋的城镇，它们全都是在美国。我目睹过日趋衰落的新英格兰区域的工业城镇，也目睹了犹他州、亚利桑那州和得克萨斯州的沙漠城市。我熟知纽瓦克、布鲁克林和芝加哥的街巷僻角，并曾到新泽西州的卡姆登和弗吉尼亚州的纽波特纽斯作过科学考察。我曾坐在普尔曼卧车里，游览了衣阿华州和堪萨斯州那些阴暗荒凉的村落与佐治亚州那些乌烟瘴气的海滨渔村。我到过康涅狄格州的布里奇港，还去过洛杉矶市。然而，在世界上其他任何地方，无论是在国内还是海外，我还从未见过任何东西能与那些坐落在从匹兹堡调车场到格林斯堡路段宾夕法尼亚铁路沿线的村庄相比。无论是颜色还是式样，它们都是独一无二的。仿佛有哪些对人类怀着深仇大恨、能力超常的鬼才，花尽心思，动员地狱里的鬼斧神工，才造出这类奇丑无比的房子来。这类房子丑陋怪诞，回头看去，简直就像恶魔一般。大家没办法想象单凭人的力量怎么样能造出这样可怕的东西来，更难想象的是居然还有人类栖居其中并在那里生儿育女，繁殖人类。
6.这类房子之所以这样丑陋，难道是由于该河谷区域住了一群愚蠢迟钝、麻木不仁、缺少爱美之心的外地人吗?若果真这样，那为什么他们没在我们的故土上建造同样丑恶的房子来呢?事实上，在欧洲根本找不到类似丑陋的房子—英国的某些破败的区域或许会有。整个欧洲国内几乎找不出一个丑陋的村落。那儿的农民，不管有多穷，总会挖空心思将我们的居室修得美观高雅，即使是在西班牙也是这样。而在美国的乡村和小城镇里，大家一直倾向于追求丑陋，特别在那个威斯特摩兰河谷区域，那儿的大家对丑的追求几乎已达到狂热的程度。假如说纯粹是由于他们的愚昧无知而造出了如此让人毛骨悚然的杰作，这真是让人很难置信。
7.美国某些阶层的人群当中好像确实存在着一种颇为强烈的爱丑之欲，正如其他一些不那样信奉基督教的阶层的人当中存在着一种爱美之心一样。普通美国中下层家庭家里的贴墙纸一般破坏了整个住宅的美观大方，这决不可以归咎于选择和购买者的粗枝大叶，也不可以归咎于墙纸制造商的低俗的幽默感。那些贴墙纸上的丑陋图案显然能让具备某种心理的人获得真的的快乐。它们以某种很难理解的方法满足了此类人的某种晦涩、很难明示的心理需要。大家对这种丑陋图案的赏析，就同某些人对教条主义神学和埃德加·A格斯特的诗歌的迷恋一样，让人费解而又不足为奇。
8.因此，我猜想,绝大部分住在威斯特摩兰县的正直诚实的人，特别是其中的那些地道的美国人，确实是真心赏析他们所居住的房子并引以为豪。他们完全可以用相同的钱建造出比他们目前的房屋要好得多的房子，却宁可要他们目前这种丑陋不堪的房子。可以一定的是，国外战争退伍军人组织选择将总部设在那样一幢丑陋的大楼上绝对不是迫于无奈，由于铁路沿线多的是闲置未用的建筑，而且很多建筑都比他们那幢大楼要好得多。他们假如想的话，也完全可以自己建造一幢像样点的大楼。然而，他们却精心选择了那幢用护墙板造起来的丑陋的大楼，而且选定之后还任由它破败沦落到目前这副田地。他们喜欢的就是目前这副丑怪样：假如附近修建大所像帕台农神殿那样好看的房屋，他们必然会恼怒。同样地，前面提到的那个形如捕鼠器的钢架运动场的设计建造者们也是特意选择这种样式的。在费心设计并建成那个运动场之后，他们又不可思议地在建筑平顶上加盖了一个小棚屋，并刷上极其显眼的黄色油漆，使整幢建筑丑陋得独一无二。如此就使得整个建筑看着仿佛是一个胖女性带了一副黑眼圈，又或者是一位长老会牧师忽然咧嘴俗而笑一样，让人很难忍受。但他们就喜欢如此的成效。
9.这里就涉及到一个常常被心理学家忽略了的问题，即恋丑僻，一种将世界变得丑不可耐的欲望。这种爱好的发源地就是美国。美国这个大熔炉炼就了一个新的种族，他们像仇视真理一样地仇视美。这种怪癖产生的根源值得进一步研究，其背后势必有其成因，其产生和进步一定遵守某些生物学规律，而不可以只看成是上帝创造出来的。那样,准确地说，这类规律到底是什么呢?为何它们在美国比在其他任何地方更为泛滥呢?这个问题还是让那些诚实的无薪大学教师从社会病理学角度的去攻克吧。
训练答案
Ⅱ.
A.
1.All the houses were ugly.
The houses look like bricks set on end.They were made of clapboards,with narrow,low-pitched roofs.And the whole house is setup on thin brick piers.All the houses are streaked with grime and many of them are not even perpendicular but they lean this way and that.
The writer suggests a chalet-type house for the hillsides.A chalet with high-pitched roof,to throw off the heavy winter snows,but still essentially a low and clinging building,wider than it was tall.According to the writer,the house has the most loathsome color.The color of a fried egg when and after some time they take on the color of uremic yellow.
The writer thinks the houses in European countries that most of the foreigners came from are graceful and charming.
His description of the immigrants is not fair.He overstated that these immigrants,coming from Westmoreland Valley,are eager to show ugliness.This statement is obviously beyond the fact.
3.Mencken doesn't believe that mere ignorance was the reason for such ugliness. He believes on certain levels of the American race,there seems to be a great passion for the ugly.Ugliness seems to give some sort of satisfaction to this type of mind.Mencken,however,doesn't understand why they have such tastes.
4.He thinks dogmatic theology and Guest's poetry are obscure and unintelligible,just like the ghastly designs of the wallpaper.
5.Strictly speaking,no.Most of them were most probably U.S.citizens of European origin,with perhaps a few recent immigrants from Europe.
6.He suggested in the last paragraph that a great deal More study of the etiology of this madness be needed and we should find out the root and the causes behind the love for ugliness
No.He is only implying in a sarcastic tone,that he doesn't understand why so many Americans seem to love ugliness for its own sake.He doesn't understand the psychology of these people who lust to make the world intolerable.He thinks these people have a diseased mind.
7.No,I don't agree.He makes sharp contrast between the architectures in American village and the habitations where foreigners come from,and he applied figures of speech like ridicule,sarcasm,irony etc.to laugh at architects' design in America.But those statement and comments are somewhat subjective and overstated.I think the ugliness of this region may due to the lack of long-ter corporate planning and the layout,but the individual architect may be not that ugly itself.
B.
1.Mencken deliberately uses the word"libido",a special term in psychoanalysis,in his title to create the impression that his description and analysis has some scientific foundation.
2.Paragraph 1 mainly displays how the author is shocked by the ugliness of Westmoreland.Paragraph 1 is developed by contrasting the great wealth of this region to the abominable human habitations seen everywhere.The last two sentences bring home to readers that ugliness is not due to poverty,but to something innate in the American character—a love of ugliness for its own sake,or,as the title says,the libido for the ugly.
3.For example,Mencken exaggerates that every house in sight is revoltingly monstrous,which is strongly subjective,emotional and a little bit overstated.
4.Mencken refers to other towns and villages in America,to the villages of Europe and to the Parthenon in order to emphasize the ugliness of Westmoreland County.He means to say Westmoreland is the ugliest spot on earth and the United States as a whole is uglier than Europe.
5.The satirical power of the author's attack in this essay is not only a result of his choice of words,of his diction,but also his masterly employment of the various rhetoric means such as metaphors,similes,hyperboles and so on.
1)Examples can be found in many places,including“And one and all they are streaked in grime,with dead and eczematous patches of paint peeping through the streaks",where metaphor is used to compare the patches of paint to dried-up scales formed by a skin disease.
2)Another example can be found in Para.2,"the headquarters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars at another forlorn town,a steel stadium like a huge rat-trap somewhere further down the line”,where simile and ridicule are used to depict the ugly image of the building.
Examples may be also referred to the part of "literary style and rhetoric devices".
6.So far as the point which the author wanted to make is concerned,all the metaphors,similes and hyperboles are used appropriately and effectively.
7.For example,sarcasm is used in the sentence “Obviously,if there were architects,of any professional sense or dignity in the region,More examples may be referred to the part of “"literary style and rhetoric devices"
they would have perfected a chalet to hug the hillsides."
8.Mencken uses a lot of figures of speech like hyperboles,sarcasm ridicule did irony to exaggerate and taunt the jeer in the essay.
Combined with rhetoric means such as metaphors,similes,the satirical power of the author's attack in this essay is well achieved.
Ⅲ.
1.This dreadful scene makes all human endeavors to advance and improve their lot appear as a ghastly,saddening joke.
2.The country itself is pleasant to look at,despite|the sooty dirt spread by the innumerable mills in this region.
3.The model they followed in building their houses was a brick standing upright./All the houses they built looked like bricks standing upright.
4.These brick-like houses were made of shabby,thin wooden boards and their roofs were narrow and had little slope.
5.When the brick is covered with the black soot of the mills it takes on the color of a rotten egg.
6.Red brick,even in a steel town,looks quite respectable with the passing of time./Even in a steel town,old red bricks still appear pleasing to the eye.
7.I have given Westmoreland the highest award for ugliness after having done a lot of hard work and research and after continuous praying.
8.They show such fantastic and bizarre ugliness that,in looking back,they become almost fiendish and wicked./When one looks back at these houses whose ugliness is so fantastic and bizarre,one feels they must be the work of the devil himself.
9.It is hard to believe that people built such horrible houses just because they did not know what beautiful houses were like.
10.People in certain strata of American society seem definitely to hunger after ugly things;while in other less Christian strata,people seem to long for things beautiful.
11.These ugly designs,in some way that people cannot understand,satisfy the hidden and unintelligible demands of this type of mind.
12.The place where this psychological attitude is found is the United States.
IV.
A.
1.express:a fast,direct train,making few sTOPs
2.roll:travel in a wheeled vehicle
3.revolting:disgusting
4.downright:completely
5.yard:a railway center where trains are made up,serviced,switched from track to track,etc.
6.streak:mark with streaks
7.sightly:pleasant to the sight
8.pullman:a railroad car with private compartments or seats that can be made up into berths for sleeping.It is so-called after the U.S.inventor,George.M.Pullman.
whirl:to move,go,drive etc.swiftly
9.save:except;but
10.pull:drawing force,appeal
11.yield:surrender,give into
12.positive:complete,absolute,out-and-out
13.put down :attribute
14.impossible:not capable of being endured,used,agreed to,etc.,because disagreeable or unsuitable;hard to tolerate
B.
1.profitable
2.dwellings,homes
3.refer to
4.wound,hurt
5.absurd,ridiculous
6.exactly upright,vertical
7.unsafely,insecurely
8.unfriendly,hostile
9.insensitive,without feelings
10.hateful or disgusting things
11.spoil the appearance of,disfigure;carelessness,oversight
12.building
13.causes
C.
1.dirt指的是诸如泥土、灰尘、粪便、垃圾等不清洗和肮脏的东西。
filth表示让人厌恶的垃圾或废物。
soot指由媒、石油、木头等不完全燃烧而形成的一种黑色的、主要由炭粒构成的物质。
grime指黑色脏物或煤灰，尤指附着或深嵌在一个表面上的污垢。
2.love指“深情的爱”,常用于祖国、亲友或异性等方面。
passion指压倒性的强烈情绪，尤指爱、恨、怒，如：have apassion for music酷爱音乐。
lust指强烈的欲望和需要感官满足，特别是性欲望。
libido是弗洛伊德心理剖析学说中的精神动力，通指精神动力的一种基本形式，包括积极的、爱的本能。
D.
hideous,terrible,awful,repulsive,repugnant,ghastly,revolting.appalling desolation iniolerably bleak,forlorn,abominable,filth,dirty,ugliness,revolting monstrousness,horrible,leprous,hideousness,misshapen,/shabby,uncomely,grime,dingy,decaying,swinishly,eczematous patches,shocking,uremic yellow,loathsome,unlovely decomposing gloomy,God-forsaken,malarious,grotesqueries of ugliness,diabolical,frightful,abominations,putrid,horror,deface,ghastly,depravity,etc.
V.
A.
1.The cultural diversity of Shanghai Expo is the richest ever seen on earth.
2.The poverty of that region is beyond imagination.)
3.Don't ask him about his father's death in the car accident;don't even allude to it.
4.On the vast expanses of wildermess there is not a single tree in sight.
5.Despite severe natural catastrophe,people in the stricken areas still believe in love and the future.
6.On the whole your report is well-written,but there is stillplenty of room for improvement.
7.I've made up my mind not to buy a car as I prefer to ride a bike in the city.
8.Many children's love of Internet games borders upon craziness.
B.
1.大多数房子横七竖八，摇摇晃晃地架在地基上。
2然而，在世界上其他任何地方，无论是在国内还是海外，我还从未见过任何东西能与那些坐落在从匹兹堡调车场到格林斯堡路段宾夕法尼亚铁路沿线的村庄相比。
3.大家没办法想象单凭人的力量怎么样能造出这样可怕的东西来，更难想象的是居然还有人类栖居其中并在那里生儿育女，繁殖人类。
4.假如说纯粹是由于他们的愚昧无知而造出了如此让人毛骨悚然的杰作，这真是让人很难置信。
5.普通美国中下层家庭家里的贴墙纸一般破坏了整个住宅的美观大方，这决不可以归咎于选择和购买者的粗枝大叶，也不可以归咎于墙纸制造商的低俗的幽默感。
6.那些贴墙纸上的丑陋图案显然能让具备某种心理的人获得真的的快乐。
7.在费心设计并建成那个运动场之后，他们又不可思议地在建筑平顶上加盖了一个小棚屋，并刷上极其显眼的黄色油漆，使整幢建筑丑陋得独一无二。
8.如此就使得整个建筑看着仿佛是一个胖女性带了一副黑眼圈，又或者是一位长老会牧师忽然咧嘴而笑一样，让人很难忍受。但他们就喜欢如此的成效。
9.美国这个大熔炉炼就了一个新的种族，他们像仇视真理一样地仇视美。
10.这种怪癖产生的根源值得进一步研究。
C.
See the translation of the text.
VI.
1.This piece of description is objective and realistic.It intends to describe this particular Middle Eastern bazaar for those who have never visited one.
2.The writer applied spatial order to organize the paragraphs.There is a TOPic sentence and a central idea supported by relevant details in each paragraph.The bazaar is described in terms of sight,sound,smell and so on.
3.and 4.The description is very vivid and effective,which is achieved by descriptions on what the author sees,hears and smells in the markets at length.Figures of speech are also employed by the author in some places to make the description more interesting.
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