英语专业晨读美文-哲理篇 2 Peeling Away Artifice

[00:01.72]Peeling Away Artifice¹ for the Pure Original
[00:05.55]Sarah came running in. "Look what I found.
[00:10.10]"Over the top of the paper I was reading came a crispy,
[00:13.55]crumbling long object that caused me to jump.
[00:17.05]It was a snake skin that had been shed by one of our many garden snakes.
[00:21.10]"Isn't it beautiful?" said my wide-eyed seven-year-old daughter.
[00:26.02]I stared at the organic wrapper and thought to myself that
[00:29.30]it really wasn' t that beautiful,
[00:31.27]but I have learned never to appear nonchalant or jaded² with children.
[00:35.65]Everything they see for the first time
[00:37.72]is elementary to their sense of beauty and creativity;
[00:41.22]they see only merit and excellence³ in the world until educated otherwise.
[00:46.47]"Why does it do this?" Sarah asked.
[00:49.42]Robert, ever the comedian⁴, said:
[00:52.27]"We have a naked snake in our garden!"
[00:54.67]I also try to customize every opportunity to teach my children that
[00:59.16]there is almost always something beyond the obvious;
[01:02.11]that there is something else going on besides
[01:04.41]what they see in front of them.
[01:06.16]"Snakes shed their skin because they need to renew themselves.
[01:10.42]"I explained. As is so often the case in my family,
[01:13.60]the original subject leads to another and another,
[01:16.98]until we are discussing something quite different.
[01:20.05]"Why do they need to renew themselves?" Sarah asked.
[01:23.54]Robert quipped:"Because they don't like
[01:26.50]who they are and they want to be someone else."
[01:29.02]Sarah and I politely ignored her brother.
[01:31.86]I suddenly remembered an article on this page many years ago
[01:35.36]where the writer was expressing her concept of renewal⁵.
[01:39.08]She used layers of paper over a wall to describe
[01:42.36]how we hide our original selves,
[01:44.88]and said that by peeling away those layers one by one,
[01:48.48]we see the underlying⁶ original beneath.
[01:51.77]"We often need to shed our skins,
[01:54.17]those coatings and facades⁷ that we cover ourselves with.
[01:57.45]"I said to my now absorbed daughter.
[02:00.19]"We outgrow⁸ some things and find other stuff unwanted or unnecessary.
[02:04.99]This snake no longer needs this skin.
[02:08.06]It is probably too stiff and crinkly for him,
[02:11.01]and he probably doesn't think he looks as smart in it as he once did.
[02:14.62]Like buying a new suit."
[02:16.81]Of course, I'm sure this explanation won't sit well
[02:20.20]with bonafide naturalists⁹.
[02:21.95]But Sarah was getting the point.
[02:24.03]As we talked, I knew that she began to comprehend, albeit¹⁰ slightly,
[02:28.84]that renewal is part of progress;
[02:31.47]that we need to take a good look at ourselves,
[02:33.76]and our rooms and schoolwork and creativity and spirituality,
[02:38.57]and see what we need to keep and what we need to cast off.
[02:42.40]I was careful to point out that this is a natural process,
[02:45.90]not one to be forced.
[02:47.98]"Snakes don't peel off their skin when they feel like it.
[02:51.80]"I explained.
[02:53.01]"It happens as a natural consequence of their growth."
[02:56.72]"I see, Dad." said Sarah and jumped off my lap,
[03:00.12]grabbed the snakeskin, and ran off.
[03:02.20]I hoped she would remember this.
[03:04.16]That often, in order to find our real selves
[03:06.79]underneath the layers of community and culture with which
[03:10.29]we cloak ourselves year after year,
[03:12.36]we need to start examining these layers.
[03:15.76]We need to gently peel some away,
[03:18.38]as we recognize them to be worthless, unnecessary, or flawed;
[03:22.86]or at best, store the discarded ones
[03:26.37]as mementoes of our promotion¹¹ to a better vitality¹² or spirit.

 

1 artifice   

n.妙计，高明的手段；狡诈，诡计

参考例句：

• The use of mirrors in a room is an artifice to make the room look larger.利用镜子装饰房间是使房间显得大一点的巧妙办法。
• He displayed a great deal of artifice in decorating his new house.他在布置新房子中表现出富有的技巧。

2 jaded   

adj.精疲力竭的；厌倦的；（因过饱或过多而）腻烦的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• I felt terribly jaded after working all weekend. 整个周末工作之后我感到疲惫不堪。
• Here is a dish that will revive jaded palates. 这道菜简直可以恢复迟钝的味觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

4 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

5 renewal   

adj.(契约)延期，续订，更新，复活，重来

参考例句：

• Her contract is coming up for renewal in the autumn.她的合同秋天就应该续签了。
• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。

6 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

7 facades   

n.（房屋的）正面( facade的名词复数 )；假象，外观

参考例句：

• Terraces of asphalt are placed by the building's south and west facades. 沥青露台位于建筑的南面和西面。 来自互联网
• Preserving historic buildings or keeping only their facades (or fronts) grew common. 保存历史建筑或是保持它们普通的正面增长。 来自互联网

8 outgrow   

vt.长大得使…不再适用；成长得不再要

参考例句：

• The little girl will outgrow her fear of pet animals.小女孩慢慢长大后就不会在怕宠物了。
• Children who walk in their sleep usually outgrow the habit.梦游的孩子通常在长大后这个习惯自然消失。

9 naturalists   

n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者

参考例句：

• Naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value. 自然学者对于不同性状决定生物的属的含义上，各有各的见解。 来自辞典例句
• This fact has led naturalists to believe that the Isthmus was formerly open. 使许多自然学者相信这个地蛱在以前原是开通的。 来自辞典例句

10 albeit   

conj.即使；纵使；虽然

参考例句：

• Albeit fictional,she seemed to have resolved the problem.虽然是虚构的，但是在她看来好象是解决了问题。
• Albeit he has failed twice,he is not discouraged.虽然失败了两次，但他并没有气馁。

11 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

12 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。