精美英文欣赏:论礼仪

On Etiquette¹

Etiquette to society is what apparel is to the individual.

Without apparel men would go in shameful² nudity which

would surely lead to the corruption³ of morals;

and without etiquette society would be in a pitiable state and the necessary intercourse⁴

between its members would be interfered⁵ with by needless offences and troubles.

If society were a train, the etiquette would be the rails

along which only the train could rumble⁶ forth⁷;

if society were a state coach, the etiquette would be the wheels and axis⁸,

on which only the coach could roll forward.

The lack of proprieties⁹ would make the most intimate friends turn to

be the most decided¹⁰ enemies and the friendly or allied¹¹ countries declare war against each other.

We can find many examples in the history of mankind.

Therefore I advise you to stand on ceremony

before anyone else and to take pains not to do anything against etiquette

lest you give offences or make enemies.

论礼仪

礼仪之于社会犹如衣着之于个人。人若不穿衣服，就会一丝不挂，令人耻笑，必然导致道德败坏，社会要是没有礼仪，就会陷入可悲的境地，而社会成员之间所必需的交往就会被无谓的冲突和纠纷所干扰。假定社会是一列火车，礼仪就好比轨道，火车只能沿着它隆隆前进。假定社会是一辆贵宾车，礼仪就好比轮子与轴，马车只有靠它们才能滚滚前进。缺了礼节，最亲密的朋友会变成死敌，友好或结盟的国家会兵戎相见。我们可以从人类历史上找到许多这种例子。因此我劝你对于任何人都要讲究礼仪，并且尽力不做违背礼仪的事，以免冒犯他人或者树敌。

威廉·黑兹利特

1 etiquette   

n.礼仪，礼节；规矩

参考例句：

• The rules of etiquette are not so strict nowadays.如今的礼仪规则已不那么严格了。
• According to etiquette,you should stand up to meet a guest.按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。

2 shameful   

adj.可耻的，不道德的

参考例句：

• It is very shameful of him to show off.他向人炫耀自己，真不害臊。
• We must expose this shameful activity to the newspapers.我们一定要向报社揭露这一无耻行径。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 intercourse   

n.性交；交流，交往，交际

参考例句：

• The magazine becomes a cultural medium of intercourse between the two peoples.该杂志成为两民族间文化交流的媒介。
• There was close intercourse between them.他们过往很密。

5 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 rumble   

n.隆隆声；吵嚷；v.隆隆响；低沉地说

参考例句：

• I hear the rumble of thunder in the distance.我听到远处雷声隆隆。
• We could tell from the rumble of the thunder that rain was coming.我们根据雷的轰隆声可断定，天要下雨了。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

9 proprieties   

n.礼仪，礼节；礼貌( propriety的名词复数 )；规矩；正当；合适

参考例句：

• "Let us not forget the proprieties due. "咱们别忘了礼法。 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡
• Be careful to observe the proprieties. 注意遵守礼仪。 来自辞典例句

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。