SAT伟大文献,考来考去,就是那几个话题,就是那几个作者。之前我们已经帮同学们总结过,截止到目前为止考得最多的话题和作者。知道SAT最常考的话题是有哪些,最常考的作者有哪些人,尽管有助于我们了解对手,降低紧张和恐惧,却并不能保证我们在SAT考试实战中遇到伟大文献时可以读懂文章,做对题目。

战胜伟大文献,最终还是要靠强大的文本细读能力。今天就我们选了最常考的一位作者,对其文章选段进行逐句精析,以此来说明,SAT伟大文献到底难在哪里。

绕不过去的美国本土思想家

我们今天选的作者是大卫·梭罗。

梭罗考过两次。一次是16年5月亚太卷(即OG6),另一次是16年11月北美卷,以后肯定还会考。为什么我们敢这样断言?


今天的美国比欧洲大陆更加发达昌盛,但是从整个现代历史的角度来看,美国在思想方面的成就不能和欧洲大陆媲美。以对人类文明发展的贡献来看,潘恩、梭罗、爱默生无法和洛克、伏尔泰,孟德斯鸠、埃德蒙·伯克比肩。不过潘恩、梭罗、爱默生是土生土长的美国人,是美国历史上最拿得出手的思想家。

而SAT毕竟是美国高考,不是世界高考,不能考太多英国人、法国人的文章,也要照顾到美国思想史的面子。College Board聘请去命题的应该是美国人,命题人对梭罗美国本土作家大概会有一种“敝帚自珍”的情感。所以别的作者我们不敢说,潘恩、梭罗、爱默生肯定还会再考

16年5月亚太卷考的片段选自Resistance to Civil Government,16年11月北美卷考的片段选自Slavery in Massachusetts,这两篇文章在“梭罗在线”上也被列为梭罗的Major Essays的前两篇:

SAT阅读:梭罗阅读文章分析

16年5月考的片段并不是Resistance to Civil Government最有名的一段,今天我们要逐句讲解的片段,是Resistance to Civil Government开头的一段,也是这篇文章最有名的片段

I heartily accept the motto, “That government is best which governs least”; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe – “That government is best which governs not at all”; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient. The objections which have been brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government. The standing army is only an arm of the standing government. The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure.

只有一个自然段,但是我们会把这个自然段分成六个部分详细分析。

第一部分

I heartily accept the motto, “That government is best which governs least”; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically.

✨注解1:

That government is best which governs least.=That government which governs least is best.

✨注解2:

句中best的意思是most appropriate, advantageous, or well advised

✨注解3:

act up to:实行;履行

第一部分翻译:

我衷心赞同这样一句格言——“最适当的政府就是管得最少的政府”。

第二部分:

Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe – “That government is best which governs not at all”; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.

✨注解4:

That government is best which governs not at all. = That government which does not govern at all is best.

第二部分翻译:

如果真的实现了按照这句话来组织政府,那最后一定会达到另一句话所说的效果。那句话就是:“最适当的政府就是什么都不管的政府”(这句话我也赞同)。只要人们有所准备,(按照这句话去组织政府),他们就会得到一个什么都不管的政府(最适当的政府)。

第三部分:

Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.

✨注解5:

at best是一个idiom,意思是“最多,充其量”(even when considered in the most positive way)

✨注解6:

第一个but副词,意思是only;第二个but是连词,表示转折。

✨注解7:

expedient是名词,意思是“应急的手段;权宜之计”“a means of attaining an end, especially one that is convenient but considered improper or immoral”,这是《牛津》的释义。

但是如果我们就查到这里,把“expedient”翻译成“权宜之计”,就不能完全理解梭罗的意思。要精准理解这句话,我们还需要查一下《韦氏》,《韦氏》的释义是“something done or used to achieve a particular end usually quickly or temporarily”,请特别注意释义中的temporarily。

从这个temporarily,可以看出梭罗说“most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient”,是在抱怨和批评政府不是temporal的。梭罗的意思是,所有政府本应该是expedient的(有问题就临时成立一个政府,解决了问题政府就应该马上撤销),结果现在的各种政府都是inexpedient(解决了问题以后没有撤销)的。用当代英语白话说,梭罗的意思其实是:

The governments don’t govern as they should because they stick around after they’re no longer needed. Once there’s peace in the land the government should disband until there’s unrest, but it doesn’t, it sticks around and mucks up normal affairs.

第三部分翻译:

要知道,政府这个东西,在最好的情况下也应该只是个权宜之计的产物,是应急用的,应完急就应该解散撤销(有需要再重新临时建起来)。但是实际情况是怎么样呢,大部分政府通常、所有政府有时候都是应完急却没有解散撤销。这是不对的。

第四部分:

The objections which have been brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government.

✨注解8:

they指the objections.

weighty的意思是“极其严肃的;十分重要的”(of great seriousness and importance).

prevail的意思是“占优势,占上风;获胜”prove more powerful than opposing forces; be victorious.

第四部分翻译:

(有些人主张国家应该保持一支常备军。另外有些人就提出了一些理由表示反对。)这些反对意见数量很多,也十分重要,在国家是不是应该保持一支常备军的争论中,应该占上风。我赞同这些反对意见。反对国家保持一支常备军的那些理由,也可以用来反对“国家应该保持一个常设的、长期不解散的政府”这样的观点。(政府不应该长期不解散。)

第五部分

The standing army is only an arm of the standing government. The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it.

第五部分翻译:

常备军是政府的一个分支,而政府是人民选择执行自己意愿的一种组织模式,(政府和常备军具有同样的弱点):即有可能出现这种情况,人民没有能通过政府这种组织模式实现自己的意愿,政府这种本来应该为人民服务的组织模式却被(少数当权者)滥用了。(常设的军队有可能被滥用,常设的政府也同样可能被滥用。)

第六部分

Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure.

✨注解9:
witness这里是一种特殊用法,仅可用祈使语气;意思是“瞧瞧,看看(用于证明前面论述的正确性)”look at (used to introduce a fact illustrating a preceding statement).

补充例句:

The nuclear family is a vulnerable institution—witness the rates of marital breakdown.

补充例句翻译:

只有父母小孩的家庭是一种脆弱的组织形式——看看(那种家庭)婚姻破裂的比率就知道了。would not have是虚拟语气。

第六部分翻译:

看看目前正在进行的美墨战争吧,就是这样一个例子:相对少数人把一个常设的(没有及时解散的)政府当成了他们的工具(谋取私利)。如果不存在一个常设的政府,(那么就必须临时建一个政府,就此次是否出兵组织专门的全民公投来决定出兵不出兵),而美国人民是肯定一开始就不会同意出兵的,公投肯定通不过 ,那仗就根本打不起来。因为有一个常设的政府,少数人才有机会直接以这个政府为工具,代人民决策出兵了(这就是常设政府的坏处)。

由以上一个自然段的逐句解析,我们可以略微感受到伟大文献中的单词古雅生僻、句法少见、句间省略多、论证逻辑隐晦,各种因素导致其难度显著高于其他种类的文本。梭罗的这段话看两遍,也不知道他是在反对政府的standing的,大有人在。


在这里补充介绍一个背景知识,为什么梭罗有底气拿常设政府和常设军队来类比,提出政府应该是临时的,而不应该常设呢?原来,在梭罗写这篇文章的1849年,美国的军队确实不是常设的。美国《宪法》明文规定,禁止政府在和平时期养一支常设军队。

所以美国的军队是1775年建立,到了1783年打完了仗就解散。1792年再组建,1796年又解散。1812年再次组建,后来又解散。1846年为了打美墨战争又组建了,1848年解散。直到19世纪末20世纪初,美国才成立常设的军队;到1917年,美国全国常设军队人数也才只有10万人。

彩蛋

你们要的Encore来了,又是汉密尔顿,最后给大家加一个彩蛋。


下面一段文字是帅哥汉密尔顿写的,大家知道,他是比较主张中央政府权力大一些、各州权力小一些的。请读下面这段话,然后回答:汉密尔顿是赞成还是反对美国保有一支常设的军队?

A tolerable expertness in military movements is a business that requires time and practice. It is not a day, or even a week, that will suffice for the attainment of it. To oblige the great body of the yeomanry, and of the other classes of the citizens, to be under arms for the purpose of going through military exercises and evolutions, as often as might be necessary to acquire the degree of perfection which would entitle them to the character of a well-regulated militia, would be a real grievance to the people, and a serious public inconvenience and loss.

✨注解9:

evolution n.队形变换;位置变换 (a pattern of movements or manoeuvres)

grievance n.不公的对待,这种不公的对待会引起对象的抱怨或抗议、反抗(a real or imagined wrong or other cause for complaint or protest, especially unfair treatment)

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