双语有声阅读：施爱者和被爱者

First of all, love is a joint¹ experience between two persons but the fact that it is a joint experience does not mean that it is a similar experience of the two people involved. There are the lover and the beloved, but these two come from different countries. Often the beloved is only a stimulus² for all the stored uplove which has lain quiet within the lover for a long time hitherto. And somehow every lover knows this. He feels in his soul that his love is a solitary³ thing. He comes to know a new, strange loneliness and it is this knowledge which makes him suffer. So there is only one thing for the lover to do. He must house hislove within himself as best he can; he must create for himself a whole new inward world - a world intense and strange, complete in himself. Let it be added here that this lover about whom we speak need not necessarily be a young man saving for a wedding ring this lover can be a man, woman, child, or indeed any human creature on this earth.

 

Now, the beloved can also be of any description. The most outlandish people can be the stimulus for love. A man may be a doddering great grandfather and still love only a strange girl he saw in the streets of Cheehaw one afternoon two decades past. The preacher may love a fallen woman. The beloved may be treacherous,greasy headed, and given to evil habits. Yes, and the lover may see this as clearly as anyone else - but that does not affect the evolution of his love one whit⁴. A most mediocre⁵ person can be the object of a lovewhich is wild, extravagant⁶, and beautiful as the poison lilies in the swamp. A good man may be the stimulus for a love both violent and debased, or a jabbering⁷ madman may bring about in the soul of someone a tender and simple idyll. Therefore, the value and quality of any love is determined⁸ solely⁹ by the lover himself.

 

It is for this reason that most of us would rather love than be loved. Almost everyone wants to be the lover. And the curt¹⁰ truth is that, in a deep secret way, the state of being beloved is intolerable to many. The beloved fears and hates the lover, and with the best of reasons. For the lover is forever trying to strip bare his beloved. The lover craves¹¹ any possible relation with the beloved, even if this experience can cause him only pain.

 

爱，首先是两个人之间共同的一种经历。但是，这并不意味着相关的两个人的经历是相似的。其中，一方是施爱者，另一方则是被爱者。他们两个来自不同的世界。通常，被爱者只是一个刺激因素，激发起施爱者长期隐藏在心底的爱。而每一位施爱者都明白这一点。在灵魂深处，他感到他的爱是孤独的。他会逐渐地认识到一种新奇而又陌生的孤寂。而且，正是这一认识使他忍受痛苦。因此，施爱者只有惟——种选择。他 必须尽可能地把爱珍藏在心底。他必须自己创造一个全新的内心世界--个深切、陌生而却完整的世界。需要补充说明的是，我们谈论的施爱者未必是一个为买结婚戒指而储蓄的年轻 人——他可能是男人、女人或者是孩子，甚或是世界上任何一个人。

 

当然，被爱者也同样可能是任何类型的人。最怪异的人可能会激起爱的涟漪。一位步屐蹒跚的曾祖父可能依旧爱恋着二十年前的一个下午在街头见到的一位陌生女郎。一位牧师也许会爱上一个堕落的女人。被爱者也可能奸诈、油头滑脑，而且沉溺于各种恶习。的确，施爱者对此可能像其他人一样了解得一清二楚。但是，这丝毫不影响他的爱情的进展。一个很平凡的人可能成为一个疯狂、放纵而美丽的爱的对象，就像沼泽地里的毒百合;一个善良的人可能激发起一种粗暴而有损人格的爱；或者一个语无伦次的疯子也可能使某个人充满温柔而纯朴的浪漫情怀。因此，任何一种爱的价值和品质只能取决于施爱者本身。

 

正是基于这一原因，我们当中的大多数人宁愿去爱而不是被人所爱。几乎每个人都想成为爱的给予者。而事实上，对许多人来说，处于被爱的情形在内心深处是难以承受的。被爱者总是害怕进而憎恨施爱者，而这种心理的产生有其充分的理由。 因为，施爱者总是在试图不断地使被爱者尊严无存。他总是企盼能够与被爱者建立任何可能的某种关系，即使这一经历结果只能给他招致痛苦。

 

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 stimulus   

n.刺激，刺激物，促进因素，引起兴奋的事物

参考例句：

• Regard each failure as a stimulus to further efforts.把每次失利看成对进一步努力的激励。
• Light is a stimulus to growth in plants.光是促进植物生长的一个因素。

3 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

4 whit   

n.一点，丝毫

参考例句：

• There's not a whit of truth in the statement.这声明里没有丝毫的真实性。
• He did not seem a whit concerned.他看来毫不在乎。

5 mediocre   

adj.平常的，普通的

参考例句：

• The student tried hard,but his work is mediocre. 该生学习刻苦，但学业平庸。
• Only lazybones and mediocre persons could hanker after the days of messing together.只有懒汉庸才才会留恋那大锅饭的年代。

6 extravagant   

adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的

参考例句：

• They tried to please him with fulsome compliments and extravagant gifts.他们想用溢美之词和奢华的礼品来取悦他。
• He is extravagant in behaviour.他行为放肆。

7 jabbering   

v.急切而含混不清地说( jabber的现在分词 )；急促兴奋地说话；结结巴巴

参考例句：

• What is he jabbering about now? 他在叽里咕噜地说什么呢？
• He was jabbering away in Russian. 他叽里咕噜地说着俄语。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

10 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

11 craves   

渴望，热望( crave的第三人称单数 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• The tree craves calm but the wind will not drop. 树欲静而风不止。
• Victory would give him a passport to the riches he craves. 胜利将使他有机会获得自己梦寐以求的财富。