英语沙龙：No More Heroes?

No More Heroes?

Many articles have appeared in recent years,

claiming that there are no more heroes in the Western world.

The authors say that,

particularly in Europe and North America,

the young now refuse to admire anyone;

that we are living in a world too well informed,

too curious and critical for hero worship.

The press, books, and television

keep showing us the faults of the public figures

who could become today’s stars,

until we lose faith

and start looking for defects in any person who seems worthy¹ of respect.

In a neighbor or a statesman,

we try to discover the weaknesses, failures,

or ugly motives² that are surely hiding behind his noblest actions.

Is it true that we know too much?

Were our ancestors lucky to be only partly informed?

Those who read the first biographies of Charlemagne,

George Washington, Joan of Arc,

or other great men and women of the past

were not told that their hero had bad breath or disliked his mother;

they only found a description of his great accomplishments³

and their admiration⁴ was strengthened.

In fact, early biographers didn’t hesitate

to make up an admirable story or two about their hero.

The man who wrote the first biography of Washington,

for instance, invented the cherry tree;

he admitted later that there was no truth in it,

but he said that it was in character

and that it would give young men a good example to follow.

His readers didn’t seem to object;

the book was reprinted eighty times —

a tremendous success in those days.

Modern biographers do not invent such stories,

they respect the facts,

as indeed they should.

But we pay a price for their truthfulness⁵,

for in their efforts to show “the whole person,”

they tell us more than we really need to know about private lives,

family secrets, and human weaknesses.

The true greatness of a fine man is often forgotten in the display;

and people lose not only their admiration for him,

but their willingness to trust any other “star” completely.

1 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

2 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

3 accomplishments   

n.造诣；完成( accomplishment的名词复数 )；技能；成绩；成就

参考例句：

• It was one of the President's greatest accomplishments. 那是总统最伟大的成就之一。
• Among her accomplishments were sewing,cooking,playing the piano and dancing. 她的才能包括缝纫、烹调、弹钢琴和跳舞。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

5 truthfulness   

n. 符合实际

参考例句：

• Among her many virtues are loyalty, courage, and truthfulness. 她有许多的美德，如忠诚、勇敢和诚实。
• I fired a hundred questions concerning the truthfulness of his statement. 我对他发言的真实性提出一连串质问。