访谈录 2009-11-08&11-11 叛逆，怪癖，伯克利

So last week I spoke¹ at my old school, UC Berkeley. The city is as delightful² as ever, a mix of fall leaves, bright sun and tramp feces. But now thinking back to my arrival there as a freshman³ 25 years ago. I realized this city had not only transformed me politically, but reinforced my growing cynicism concerning the nature of true rebellion.

I was a punk in high school and embraced left-wing dogma, for it impressed teachers and won me extra credit. As a teen, it also got me attention, relevance⁴ and a chance to get lucky with hippie chicks. That last desire was never achieved and I blame that on my retainer. But when I got to Cal, I saw what true subversion⁶ was, and it wasn't the subversives⁷ at Berkeley. See, rebellion means nothing when it's turned into a personal identity. Dipping yourself in tattoo⁸ ink and getting 10 nipple rings, these are not markers of rebellion but markers of conformity⁹. The engineering major with back acne was far more bad ass¹⁰ than the coffee house commie.

Berkeley embraced subversives and they were often called "eccentrics", even if it was a real mental illness. And I'm pretty certain the folks they lauded¹¹ for their non-conformity would die alone with no one there to tell them how cool their suffering was. And so in 1983, I realized that a true rebel blends in, embraces discipline, hard work and clean pants. I cut my hair. I started tanning. It seemed the opposite of heroin¹² chic⁵. I also took up the banjo, just to keep it real.

So if you're starting college now, my friends, I suggest you do the same. And if you disagree with me, then you're probably a racist¹³.

 

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

3 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

4 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

5 chic   

n./adj.别致(的)，时髦(的)，讲究的

参考例句：

• She bought a chic little hat.她买了一顶别致的小帽子。
• The chic restaurant is patronized by many celebrities.这家时髦的饭店常有名人光顾。

6 subversion   

n.颠覆，破坏

参考例句：

• He was arrested in parliament on charges of subversion for organizing the demonstration.他因组织示威活动在议会上被以颠覆破坏罪名逮捕。
• It had a cultural identity relatively immune to subversion from neighboring countries.它的文化同一性使它相对地不易被邻国所颠覆。

7 subversives   

n.颠覆分子( subversive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They put him on the pan for coddling subversives. 他们批判他纵容颠覆分子。 来自互联网
• The subversives attempted to line more people up against the government. 颠覆分子们企图让更多的人反对政府。 来自互联网

8 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

9 conformity   

n.一致，遵从，顺从

参考例句：

• Was his action in conformity with the law?他的行动是否合法？
• The plan was made in conformity with his views.计划仍按他的意见制定。

10 ass   

n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人

参考例句：

• He is not an ass as they make him.他不象大家猜想的那样笨。
• An ass endures his burden but not more than his burden.驴能负重但不能超过它能力所负担的。

11 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

12 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

13 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。