英语议论文：大西洋到底有多宽

 　　Separated by Civilization: Trans-Atlantic Impasse¹ (1)

　　The war in Iraq has made the Atlantic seem wider. But really it has had the effect of a magnifying glass, bringing older and more fundamental differences between Europe and the United States into focus. (2)

　　These growing divisions? over war, peace, religion, sex, life and death? amount to a philosophical² dispute about the common origins of European and American civilization. Both children of the Enlightenment, the United States and Europe clearly differ about the nature of this inheritance and about who is its better custodian³. (3)

　　Start with religion. The United States is experiencing a revival⁴ of the Christian⁵ faith in many areas of civic⁶ and political life, while in Europe the process of secularization⁸ continues unabated. (4)Today the United States is the most religious-minded society of the Western democracies. In a 2003 Harris poll (5) 79 percent of Americans said they believed in God, and more than a third said they attended a religious service once a month or more. Numerous polls have shown that these figures are much lower in Western Europe. In the United States a majority of respondents in recent years told pollsters that they believed in angels, while in Europe the issue was apparently⁹ considered so preposterous¹⁰ (6) that no one even asked the question.

　　Terms that President George W. Bush has used, like "crusade" and "axis¹¹ of evil," and Manichaean exclusions¹² like his observation that anyone who is not on our side is on the side of the terrorists, reveal the assumption of a religious mantle¹³ by a secular⁷ power, which in Europe has become unthinkable. (7) Was it not, perhaps, this same sense of religious infallibility that seduced¹⁴ senior members of the Bush administration into leading their country into a war with Iraq on the basis of information that has turned out to be false? (8)

　　Another reason for Europe's alienation¹⁵ from the United States is harder to define, but for want of a better term, I call it American narcissism¹⁶ (9).

　　When American troops in Iraq mistakenly shoot an Arab journalist or reduce half of a village to rubble¹⁷ in response to the explosion of a roadside bomb, there will inevitably¹⁸ be a backlash (10). Only a fool would maintain that an occupying power could afford many such mistakes, even if it is under constant threat of suicide attacks. The success of an occupation policy — however temporary it is meant to be — depends on the occupier's ability to convince the population, by means of symbolic¹⁹ and material gestures, that it is prepared to admit to mistakes.

　　In its use of the language of power the Bush administration has created the opposite impression, and not just in Iraq. The United States apparently cannot be wrong about anything, nor does it have to apologize to anybody. In many parts of the world people have come to believe, fairly or not, that Americans regard the life of their countrymen as infinitely²⁰ more valuable than the lives of any other of the earth's inhabitants.

　　Of course, even in Europe only a pacifist minority denies the existence of necessary, unavoidable, justified²¹ wars. (11) The interventions²³ in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan (12) were supported by many European nations, even if some took a long time to make up their minds. European soldiers took part in those wars and continue to play a part in the peacekeeping aftermath (13).

　　What arouses European suspicion, though, is the doctrine²⁴ of just, preemptive wars Bush has outlined. Anyone who claims to be waging a preventive war in the cause of justice is confusing either a particular or a partisan²⁵ interest with the interests of humanity. A president who makes such a claim would be arrogating²⁶ the right to be the ultimate arbiter²⁷ of war and peace and to stand in judgment²⁸ over the world. (14) From there it is but a short step to dismissing a basic insight of the Enlightenment, namely that human judgment and decisions are fallible by their very nature. This fallibility cannot be annulled²⁹ or ameliorated by any political, legal or religious authority. The same argument goes for the death penalty. (15)

　　Animosity (16) isn't the only feature of the trans-Atlantic relationship. Europe is rightly envious³⁰ of America's multicultural³¹ society. There can be no doubt that the United States has produced the World's most varied³² and integrative culture, and it is no accident that it is the only one to have a worldwide appeal.

　　But the American multicultural model also generates an illusion. Since Americans really have come from all over the world, in the United States it is easy to believe that you can know and understand the world without ever leaving the country. Those who were born and brought up in America forget that these people "from all over the world" first had to become Americans? a condition that new immigrants generally accept with enthusiasm? before they could celebrate their cultural otherness. (17)

　　The impressive integrative power of American society seems to generate a kind of obliviousness³³ to the world, a multicultural unilateralism. (18) The result is a paradox³⁴: a fantastically tolerant and flexible society that has absorbed the whole world, yet has difficulty comprehending the world beyond its borders.

　　These differences and irritations³⁵ add up to a substantial disagreement on the joint³⁶ origins of American and European civilization. Europeans think that Americans are on their way to betraying some of the elementary tenets of the Enlightenment, establishing a new principle in which they are "first among unequals." (19)

　　And Washington accuses Europe of shirking its international responsibilities, and thus its own human rights inheritance.

　　Unfortunately, we cannot expect the news media in the United States or Europe to present a nuanced20 views of this dispute. In (20) years of traveling back and forth³⁷ between Germany and America I have become convinced that news broadcasts usually confirm their audiences' views: in Europe, about America, the "cowboy nation," and in the United States, about Europe, the "axis of weasels (21)."

　　These disagreements will be influenced but cannot be resolved by the American presidential election in November. The divisions are too deep, and Europe cannot meet the United States halfway³⁸ on too many issues? the separation between church and state, the separation of powers, respect for international law, the abolition³⁹ of the death penalty--without surrendering its version of its Enlightenment inheritance (22).

　　On other contentious⁴⁰ issues the United States feels as strongly: the universality of human rights and the need to intervene -- if the United Nations is unable to act -- when there is genocide or ethnic⁴¹ cleansing⁴², or when states are failing. (23)

　　So are we standing⁴³ on the threshold of a new understanding or a new historic divide, comparable to the evolutionary⁴⁴ split that occurred when a group of pioneer hominids thousands of years ago turned their backs forever on their African homeland? (24)

　　So far it has usually been the Americans who have had to remind the Europeans of these common origins, which the Europeans, in turn, have so often betrayed. Maybe this time it is up to the Europeans to remind the Americans of the promises of the Enlightenment that the Unite States seems to have forgotten.

　　(1). impasse：僵局。

　　(2). 但实际上这场战争具有放大镜的效果，让欧洲和美国之间由来已久的、更为根本的区别凸显出来。

　　(3). 美国和欧洲均为启蒙运动的后代，但它们对这份遗产的性质以及谁才是其最佳继承人的看法显然不同。child：后代/深受某种影响的人；the Enlightenment：启蒙运动，指18世纪欧洲以推崇“理性”、怀疑教会权威和封建制度为特点的文化思想运动；custodian：原意是“保管人”，这里指遗产的继承人。

　　(4). secularization：世俗化；unabated：不减弱的，不衰退的。

　　(5). Harris Poll：哈里斯民意测验，在美国很有权威性。

　　(6). preposterous：荒谬的，愚蠢的。

　　(7). 布什总统使用着“十字军东征”、“邪恶轴心”之类的词儿，奉行不在我们这边，就在恐怖主义那边的排他主义，这都反映了一个世俗政权继承了宗教衣钵的架势，而这种架势在欧洲是不可思议的。manichaean/;m*n!#ki:2n/：二元论者的，非此即彼的；mantle：（作为权力标志的）衣钵。

　　(8). infallibility：绝对可靠性,下文中的fallibility则指“不可靠性”；seduce：引诱。

　　(9). narcissism：自我陶醉，自恋。

　　(10). backlash：强烈反应。

　　(11). 当然，甚至在欧洲也只有少数的和平主义者否认存在着必要的、难以避免的正义战争。pacifist：和平主义者，反战主义者。

　　(12). Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan：波斯尼亚、科索沃、阿富汗，1995年、1999年和2001年，以美国为首的北约曾对这三个地区或国家进行军事干预或占领。

　　(13). aftermath：指战争结束后的一个时期。

　　(14). 而引起欧洲疑虑的是布什提出的先发制人的正义战争理论。任何人宣称自己是以正义的名义发动一场预防性战争都是在混淆个人或党派的利益与整个人类的利益。作此言论的总统都是僭取了对战争与和平的最终仲裁权，并操纵对整个世界的裁判。preemptive：先发制人的；partisan：党派的；arrogate：僭取；arbiter：裁决人，决定者。

　　(15). 这种犯错误的必然性并不会因为任何政治、法律或宗教的权力而消除或得到改善。这一论断同样适用于死刑（多年来，美国的死刑制度一直受到来自欧洲的压力，欧洲委员会每年都以报告的形式呼吁美国废除死刑——编者注）。annul/2#n7l/：废除，取消；ameliorate：改良，改善。

　　(16). animosity：（尤指表现于行动的）仇恨，敌意。

　　(17). 那些在美国出生并长大的人忘了这些“来自全世界”的人们首先必须变成美国人（新移民通常积极热情地接受此条件），然后才能庆祝他们自己的文化相异性。otherness：另一性，不同性。

　　(18). obliviousness：忽视；multicultural unilateralism：多元文化的单边主义。

　　(19). tenet/#ti:net/：信条，宗旨；“first among unequals”：“在不平等人群里的上等人”，这是对美国人信仰里的“人生而平等”的极大讽刺。

　　(20). nuanced/#nj u:#4:nst/：细致入微的。

　　(21). “鼬鼠轴心”，这是美国媒体给反对美国出兵伊拉克的法、德两国冠以的称号。鼬鼠在美俚中是“推诿责任的人、小人”之意。

　　(22).如果不放弃其（指欧洲）关于启蒙运动遗产的看法。

　　(23). 在其他有争议的问题上美国同样毫不退让：人权的普遍性，以及——当出现种族灭绝和清洗行为或国家摇摇欲坠之时——干预的必要性（如果联合国无法采取行动的话）。contentious：引起争议的。

　　(24). 因此，我们是否站在了一个新的理解或一个新的历史性的分界线的门槛上，而其意义可与千万年前一批类人猿的先驱永远地告别了他们的非洲故土、开始向人类进化相媲美？hominid：人科的动物。

　　阅读感评

　　我们常说“东西方文明”或“中西文化”，似乎包括欧美及其他一些具有“犹太—基督教传统”的国家的“西方”是一个整体（按当前学界时髦的提法是“共同体”），铁板一块，难以撼动。然而事实是，现在中外各种媒体却时时在提醒我们：欧洲与美国正在分道扬镳。据说这发端于1989年的冷战结束，在巴尔干半岛危机和“9?11”恐怖袭击后进一步表面化，而到了美国入侵伊拉克后，“大西洋就显得更加宽广无边了”。

　　记得我去年参加“世界启蒙大会”时，注意到有一个议题是“跨大西洋的启蒙：旧世界的遗产和新世界的观念”（the Trans-atlantic Enlightenment：Old World Legacies⁴⁵ and New World Ideas）。不可否认，欧洲的遗产和美洲的观念必然会有渊源关系；但是，一个大西洋的距离以及当时欧洲与新大陆之间自然、社会条件的迥异，“启蒙”在那片蛮荒之地是足以变化出让当事人都吃惊的变体的，更不用提到了两、三个世纪之后的今天了。就在那次大会上，甚至还有学者组织了一个研讨会，“Is there a European Culture?” 在他们看来，不用说“西方”，即使是“欧洲”诸国也是各说各的话，差异很明显。

　　当然，学者在研讨会上的讨论也不能全信，因为当今的学术有时为了逻辑性常常会把问题简单化，而且为了提出一种独特的理论或观点往往还会走极端。由此看来，在欧美之间穿梭来回的这位德国作家Peter Schneider的看法可能会更中肯些。

　　他认为，虽然欧洲和美国均为“启蒙运动”的后代，但它们对于这笔遗产的性质以及谁是最佳继承人各执一词。它们在战争与和平、宗教、性、生与死方面观点相悖，而且越走越远。接着，作者在属于当前热点的几大方面对美国和欧洲各自的观点进行对比：在宗教上，美国的基督教信仰正在复兴，而欧洲却越来越世俗化。由此引申，以布什为首的美国人比较热衷“二元对立”，将自己的事业看作“十字军东征”，而反对他的任何人均属“邪恶轴心”，欧洲人对此觉得有些不可思议。第二个方面是作者所谓的“美国式的孤芳自赏”，即美国人认为自己不会犯错误，而且认为美国人的生命要比地球上其他人的生命珍贵得多，因此他们从不认错或道歉，而且一旦受到攻击，便会疯狂地报复；美国宣扬“先发制人”的战争的合理合法性，而欧洲人质疑美国人的动机，认为这很容易把一己的利益与整个人类的利益相混淆，导致美国总统自封为世界战争与和平的最后仲裁者这样的后果。说到底，欧洲人对此持不同看法的理由是人人都难免犯错误，没有什么永远正确的“神”或“权威”，其实这正是“启蒙思想”的一个核心原则。在美国人所谓的“多元文化”上，作者坦言美国创造了世界上最多样、最有凝聚力的文化，而且是唯一的一个具有世界性魅力的文化。然而，作者也清醒地认识到，美国的多元文化是有条件的，即你要先承认美国的价值观，也就是说，美国人对“他者”容忍的前提是你首先要“崇美”，否则就要以所谓的“un-Americanness”予以调查甚至剥夺你的自由，如20世纪50年代的麦卡锡主义直至前几年对美籍华人科学家李文和的间谍指控以及近年来对在美阿拉伯人的防范与歧视等等都是佐证。最后，在美国愈演愈烈的单边主义问题上，欧洲人认为应该在国际关系中提倡谈判协商与妥协，而美国人认为人权是普遍性的，干预是必须的。总之，欧美相互指责，美国人说欧洲人逃避责任，是“axis of weasels”；而欧洲人却说美国人背离了启蒙思想的理念，是“cowboy nation”。（牛仔会引起以下联想：reckless，arrogant，oblivious to the world。）

　　文明如同文化，是个相当大的话题，我们不妨给它分分类，如政治文明、经济文明、日常生活文明、文学艺术文明，等等。显然，以上涉及的欧洲与美国（其实主要是美国与所谓“旧欧洲”的代表——法国与德国）的分歧属于政治文明的范畴，而在这个范畴里，“西方”作为一个整体确实显示了分崩离析的迹象。美国人现在大多采取攻势，而欧洲则处于守势。但是，文明在这里到底扮演了多重要的角色呢？

　　众所周知，面对一场政治冲突时，人们可能采取的对策不外乎三种：谈判解决、动用武力、接受失败。美国与欧洲在处理国际政治问题时的分歧可以简单地用以下的“两分法”来展示：Power vs. Weakness, Armed Intervention²² vs. Negotiation⁴⁶, Unilateral Action vs. Multilateral Consultation，而这些分歧其实与西方的文明传统并没有太直接的关系，直接有关的是美国与欧洲目前所面临的“形势”，换句话说，是“形势”或许还有因此而来的对“利益”的考虑才迫使他们做出抉择。美国在冷战后完全可以凭借其强大的军事和经济实力，按“丛林原则”一意孤行而绝少有较大的风险，而欧洲就不一样了。二战以后，德、英、法各国均不同程度地受到削弱，他们不可能完全凭自己的力量称霸，因此类似“欧盟”这样的“妥协产物”就成了他们主要追求的目标，这与二战前显著不同。文明通常“无国界”，具有稳定性；政治则往往局限在一个国家里面，反复无常。所以，我在此要借用文明的声音为文明申冤：近年来我受够了“替罪羊”、“出气筒”的角色，我是无辜的！

　　这里有两个悖论很有趣，不妨特别提出来让大家看个明白。一是原文提到的崇尚“多元化”、“全球化”的美国，却对外部世界的声音置若罔闻，执行单边主义；美国社会崇尚容忍与灵活性，但对国界之外的“不同社会”的态度和政策均僵化。二是美国总统口口声声说自己的国家是“democracy”，偏偏就是他对联合国安理会的“democratic decision”毫不理会，甚至称后者“irrelevant”。美国人号称自己是解放者（liberator），给伊拉克人送去民主，但在联合国的舞台上他们就显得很不民主。难怪有学者说，美国人的这个做法致使人类社会倒退了至少一个时代！

　　2003年，美国学者Robert Kagan在其著作Of Paradise and Power：America and Europe in the New World Order里宣称，美国是世界上最“modern”的国家，而欧洲国家是最“postmodern（后现代的）”的，但他并未做进一步阐释。也许在他看来，modern即意味着强大并崇尚武力，而postmodern意味着拒绝使用武力吧。最早提出后现代理论、并有着为数最多的后现代理论家和文学作品的美国却把这个the most postmodern nation的桂冠拱手献出或拒绝接受，这大概也算是个不大不小的悖论吧。

1 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

2 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

3 custodian   

n.保管人，监护人；公共建筑看守

参考例句：

• Benitez believes his custodian is among the top five in world football.贝尼特斯坚信他的门将是当今足坛最出色的五人之一。
• When his father died his uncle became his legal custodian.他父亲死后，他叔叔成了他的法定监护人。

4 revival   

n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振

参考例句：

• The period saw a great revival in the wine trade.这一时期葡萄酒业出现了很大的复苏。
• He claimed the housing market was showing signs of a revival.他指出房地产市场正出现复苏的迹象。

5 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

6 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

7 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

8 secularization   

n.凡俗化，还俗，把教育从宗教中分离

参考例句：

• But secularization of modernity society made the two prerequisites impossibility. 然而现代社会的世俗化使得这两个前提不复存在。 来自互联网
• So heart will be also inadvertently been secularization of. 以至于心也在不经意间被俗化了。 来自互联网

9 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

10 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

11 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。

12 exclusions   

n.不包括的项目：如接受服务项目是由投保以前已患有的疾病或伤害引致的，保险公司有权拒绝支付。；拒绝( exclusion的名词复数 )；排除；被排斥在外的人（或事物）；排外主义

参考例句：

• This is a trifle compared with the important exclusions. 比之其它重要的排除，这只是一件小事。 来自辞典例句
• For detailed exclusions, please refer to each policy's terms and conditions. 具体的免赔责任请详见条款。 来自互联网

13 mantle   

n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红

参考例句：

• The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。

14 seduced   

诱奸( seduce的过去式和过去分词 )； 勾引； 诱使堕落； 使入迷

参考例句：

• The promise of huge profits seduced him into parting with his money. 高额利润的许诺诱使他把钱出了手。
• His doctrines have seduced many into error. 他的学说把许多人诱入歧途。

15 alienation   

n.疏远；离间；异化

参考例句：

• The new policy resulted in the alienation of many voters.新政策导致许多选民疏远了。
• As almost every conceivable contact between human beings gets automated,the alienation index goes up.随着人与人之间几乎一切能想到的接触方式的自动化，感情疏远指数在不断上升。

16 narcissism   

n.自我陶醉，自恋

参考例句：

• Those who suffer from narcissism become self-absorbed.自恋的人会变得自私。
• The collective narcissism of the Kerouac circle is ultimately boring.凯鲁亚克和他周围人物的集体自我陶醉欲最终使人厌烦不已。

17 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

18 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

19 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

20 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

21 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

22 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

23 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

24 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

25 partisan   

adj.党派性的；游击队的；n.游击队员；党徒

参考例句：

• In their anger they forget all the partisan quarrels.愤怒之中，他们忘掉一切党派之争。
• The numerous newly created partisan detachments began working slowly towards that region.许多新建的游击队都开始慢慢地向那里移动。

26 arrogating   

v.冒称，妄取( arrogate的现在分词 )；没来由地把…归属（于）

参考例句：

• It often refers to a bunch of party-approved village apparatchiks arrogating ownership rights for themselves. 在中国，这通常代表一群当局委派的官员将产权据为己有。 来自互联网

27 arbiter   

n.仲裁人，公断人

参考例句：

• Andrew was the arbiter of the disagreement.安德鲁是那场纠纷的仲裁人。
• Experiment is the final arbiter in science.实验是科学的最后仲裁者。

28 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

29 annulled   

v.宣告无效( annul的过去式和过去分词 )；取消；使消失；抹去

参考例句：

• Their marriage was annulled after just six months. 他们的婚姻仅过半年就宣告取消。
• Many laws made by the former regime have been annulled. 前政权制定的许多法律被宣布无效。 来自《简明英汉词典》

30 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。

31 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。

32 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

33 obliviousness   

参考例句：

• Her obliviousness of what was happening in Germany seems extraordinary. 真没想到她对德国正在发生的事情居然一无所知。 来自柯林斯例句

34 paradox   

n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物)

参考例句：

• The story contains many levels of paradox.这个故事存在多重悖论。
• The paradox is that Japan does need serious education reform.矛盾的地方是日本确实需要教育改革。

35 irritations   

n.激怒( irritation的名词复数 )；恼怒；生气；令人恼火的事

参考例句：

• For a time I have forgotten the worries and irritations I was nurturing before. 我暂时忘掉了过去积聚的忧愁和烦躁。 来自辞典例句
• Understanding God's big picture can turn irritations into inspirations. 明了神的蓝图，将使你的烦躁转为灵感。 来自互联网

36 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。

37 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。

38 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

39 abolition   

n.废除，取消

参考例句：

• They declared for the abolition of slavery.他们声明赞成废除奴隶制度。
• The abolition of the monarchy was part of their price.废除君主制是他们的其中一部分条件。

40 contentious   

adj.好辩的，善争吵的

参考例句：

• She was really not of the contentious fighting sort.她委实不是好吵好闹的人。
• Since then they have tended to steer clear of contentious issues.从那时起，他们总想方设法避开有争议的问题。

41 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

42 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

43 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

44 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

45 legacies   

n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症

参考例句：

• Books are the legacies that a great genius leaves to mankind. 书是伟大的天才留给人类的精神财富。 来自辞典例句
• General legacies are subject to the same principles as demonstrative legacies. 一般的遗赠要与指定数目的遗赠遵循同样的原则。 来自辞典例句

46 negotiation   

n.谈判，协商

参考例句：

• They closed the deal in sugar after a week of negotiation.经过一星期的谈判，他们的食糖生意成交了。
• The negotiation dragged on until July.谈判一直拖到7月份。