英语名篇诵读 怀旧

Nostalgia¹

怀旧

Ben Macintyre(本·麦金太尔)

There is a vital distinction between memory and nostalgia . Memory is the link between

past and present, but nostalgia, by definition, disparages² the present; it evokes³ a time no

longer attainable⁴, an idealised , romanticised past that was better, and now irretrievably

gone. Nostalgia therefore comes freighted with disappointment. It is no longer the vice⁵ of the

aged⁶, but a national pastime . It was almost as if we looked backward with nostalgia because we

could not look forward with hope.

Nostalgia is, in the end, a seductive and sentimental⁷ fib . As an idealised picture, it

exists outside memory, and often in opposition⁸ to it; it is not history, but a deliberate, self-

comforting distortion . In a globalised , fast-moving world, much modern nostalgia evokes

an anti-technological arcadia , a longing⁹ for simplicity¹⁰ and community.

Nostalgia is an emotional comfort blanket, but it is also an illusion. It is the self-inflicted

sadness caused by revisiting a bright imagined past that makes the present seem all the duller.

History tells us how life was; nostalgia merely reflects how we wish it had been. The two aspects

of the past should not be confused.

回忆与怀旧截然不同。回忆联结着过去和现在，而怀旧则意味着鄙视现在。怀旧让人

想念无法挽回的过去，一个理想化、浪漫化、优于现在、一去不复返的年代。因此怀旧总

是伴随着失望。怀旧不再是老年人的恶癖，而是大众普遍的消遣。我们留恋地回望过去，

好像是因为我们不能怀着希望展望未来。

说到底，怀旧是诱人而多愁善感的无害小谎。作为一种理想化的图景，怀旧存在于回

忆之外，常与回忆相抵触。怀旧不是历史，而是一种有意的自我慰藉式的歪曲。在全球化

快节奏的世界上，许多现代人的怀旧唤起了一种反技术的对世外桃源的向往，对淳朴生活

的渴望。

怀旧是一种情感的安慰罩，但也是一种幻觉。怀旧是一种强加给自己的悲伤，因重游

想象中的美好过去，使现在的生活黯然失色。历史告诉我们生活的真实面目；怀旧表现的

只是我们希望生活呈现的样子。过去的这两种面貌不应混淆。

1 nostalgia   

n.怀乡病，留恋过去，怀旧

参考例句：

• He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
• I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌，心中充满了怀旧之情。

2 disparages   

v.轻视( disparage的第三人称单数 )；贬低；批评；非难

参考例句：

• A prudent traveller never disparages his own country. 聪明的旅行者从不贬低自己的国家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She often aggrandises herself and disparages her colleagues. 她经常吹嘘自己而贬低同事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

4 attainable   

a.可达到的，可获得的

参考例句：

• They set the limits of performance attainable. 它们确定着可达到的运行限度。
• If objectives are to be meaningful to people, they must be clear, attainable, actionable, and verifiable. 如果目标对人们是具有意义的，则目标必须是清晰的，能达到的，可以行动的，以及可供检验的。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

7 sentimental   

adj.多愁善感的，感伤的

参考例句：

• She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
• We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

10 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。