TED演讲:反英雄式人物(1)

 　　Literary critic Northrop Frye once observed that in our primitive¹ days, our literary heroes were, well, nearly gods, 文学评论家诺斯罗普·弗莱伊观察道，远古时代，我们的文学英雄几乎像神一样。

　　and as civilization advanced, they came down the mountain of the gods, 随着文明的发展，他们走下神坛，

　　so to speak, and became more human, more flawed, less heroic. 就是说，变得更具人性，更有弱点，更不像英雄。

　　From the divine heroes like Hercules, down the mountain below the miraculous² but mortal heroes such as Beowulf, 从赫居里斯这样的天神英雄，到传奇的人类英雄贝奥武夫、

　　the great leaders such as King Arthur, and the great but flawed heroes like Macbeth or Othello. 伟大的领袖亚瑟王、伟大但有弱点的英雄，如麦克白和奥赛罗。

　　Below even the unlikely but eventual³ heroes such as Harry⁴ Potter, Luke Skywalker, or Hiccup⁵, 再往下，不像英雄但最终成为英雄的哈利波特，天行者卢克，或驯龙记里的希卡普，

　　until we reach the bottom and meet the anti-hero. 最后，我们遇见在底部的“反英雄”。

　　Contrary to the sound, the anti-hero is not the villain⁶, not the antagonist⁷. 反英雄既不是恶棍，也不是公敌。

　　The anti-hero is actually the main character in some contemporary works of literature. 实际上还是一些当代文学作品中的主角。

　　Guy Montag in "Fahrenheit⁸ 451," Winston Smith in "1984,"  《华氏451度》的蒙塔格，《1984》的温斯顿·史密斯，

　　who unwittingly ends up challenging those in power, 他们在不知不觉中挑战了当权者——

　　that is, those who abuse their power to brainwash the populace to believe that the ills of society have been eliminated. 那些滥用权力对民众洗脑，说社会一切美好的人。

　　Ideally, those who challenge the establishment should be wise, confident, brave, physically⁹ strong, 在理想中，挑战强权的人应该智慧、自信、勇敢、强壮，

　　with a type of charisma¹⁰ that inpires followers¹¹. 并有激励跟随者的独特魅力。

　　The anti-hero, however, at best demonstrates a few underdeveloped traits, at worst, is totally inept¹². 然而，反英雄在一定范围内的确有几种发展不完全的特质，最糟糕的情况则完全是个笨蛋。

　　The story of the anti-hero usually unfolds something like this. 反英雄的故事通常都像这样展开。

1 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

2 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

3 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

4 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

5 hiccup   

n.打嗝

参考例句：

• When you have to hiccup,drink a glass of cold water.当你不得不打嗝时，喝一杯冷水就好了。
• How long did he hiccup?他打嗝打了多久？

6 villain   

n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因

参考例句：

• He was cast as the villain in the play.他在戏里扮演反面角色。
• The man who played the villain acted very well.扮演恶棍的那个男演员演得很好。

7 antagonist   

n.敌人，对抗者，对手

参考例句：

• His antagonist in the debate was quicker than he.在辩论中他的对手比他反应快。
• The thing is to know the nature of your antagonist.要紧的是要了解你的对手的特性。

8 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

10 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

11 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

12 inept   

adj.不恰当的，荒谬的，拙劣的

参考例句：

• Whan an inept remark to make on such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，怎么说这样不恰当的话。
• He's quite inept at tennis.他打网球太笨。