美国语文第五册 第288期:泼冷水的艺术(4)

 　　He did not deny that it was beautiful; but he instantly fastened upon a small crack in it that nobody had observed; 他不否认那创意挺好，但只死死盯住那东西内部的某道细缝，而其他人均未留意那道裂缝。

　　and upon that crack he would dilate¹ whenever the work was discussed in his presence. 后来，只要出席讨论那桩创新，他总会不厌其烦地尽力夸张那点瑕疵，

　　Indeed, he did not see the work, but only the crack in it. 当然，除却那道裂缝，他并不关注事情本身，

　　That flaw,—that little flaw,—was all in all to him. 那个缺陷——毕竟微不足道，可对他来说，瑕疵意味一切。

　　The cold-water pourers are not all of one form of mind. 泼冷水人心态各异。

　　Some are led to indulge in this recreation from genuine timidity. 有的人由于真正胆怯，不由自主地陷入或沉湎这类娱乐消遣，

　　They really do fear that all new attempts will fail. 他们确实内心恐惧所有创新尝试势必遭遇失败，

　　Others are simply envious² and ill-natured. 而其他人则仅仅出于嫉妒或心存不良。

　　Then, again, there is a sense of power and wisdom in prophesying⁴ evil. 那么，世上是否存在一种预言邪恶的力量与智慧？

　　Moreover, it is the safest thing to prophesy³, 此外，看来预言最为安全妥当，

　　for hardly anything at first succeeds exactly in the way that it was intended to succeed. 因为几乎没有任何创意伊始就能获得大获成功，究其成功方式，初衷甚或结局，大多大相径庭。

　　Again, there is the lack of imagination which gives rise to the utterance⁵ of so much discouragement. 再来看看，由于想象力匮乏引起气馁情绪的普遍存在。

　　For an ordinary man, it must have been a great mental strain 对一位普通人来说，冒险行为无疑将承受巨大的精神负担，

　　to grasp the ideas of the first projectors⁶ of steam and gas, electric telegraphs, and pain-deadening chloroform. 那种来自攫取最初创意灵感的压力。诸如蒸汽与燃气、电报或用作麻醉剂的氯仿，

　　The inventor is always, in the eyes of his fellow-men, somewhat of a madman; and often they do their best to make him so. 在旁观者看来，创新者多少难免走火入魔，他们往往更是不遗余力地促使冒险家抓狂。

1 dilate   

vt.使膨胀，使扩大

参考例句：

• At night,the pupils dilate to allow in more light.到了晚上，瞳孔就会扩大以接收更多光线。
• Exercise dilates blood vessels on the surface of the brain.运动会使大脑表层的血管扩张。

2 envious   

adj.嫉妒的，羡慕的

参考例句：

• I don't think I'm envious of your success.我想我并不嫉妒你的成功。
• She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。

3 prophesy   

v.预言；预示

参考例句：

• He dares to prophesy what will happen in the future.他敢预言未来将发生什么事。
• I prophesy that he'll be back in the old job.我预言他将重操旧业。

4 prophesying   

v.预告，预言( prophesy的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. 凡男人祷告或是讲道（道或作说预言下同）若蒙着头，就是羞辱自己的头。 来自互联网
• Prophesying was the only human art that couldn't be improved by practice. 预言是唯一的一项无法经由练习而改善的人类技术。 来自互联网

5 utterance   

n.用言语表达，话语，言语

参考例句：

• This utterance of his was greeted with bursts of uproarious laughter.他的讲话引起阵阵哄然大笑。
• My voice cleaves to my throat,and sob chokes my utterance.我的噪子哽咽，泣不成声。

6 projectors   

电影放映机，幻灯机( projector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Energy projectors fired and peeled off the ships' armor in a flash. 能量投射器开火然后在一阵闪光后剥离了飞船的装甲。
• All classrooms equipped with computers, projectors, video and audio booth, broadcasting equipment. 全部教室配备电脑、投影仪、视频展台和音响、广播设备。