Lesson 37 On Telling the Truth 論講真話
The Victorians, realizing that the greatest Happiness accorded to man is that provided by a happy marriage, endeavoured to pretend that all their marriages were happy. We, for our part, admitting the fact that no feat of intelligence and character is so exacting as that required of two people who desire to live permanently together on a basis of amity, are obsessed by the problem of how to render the basic facts of cohabitation simpler and more reasonable, in order that unhappy marriages may less frequently result. The Victorians would have considered it 'painful' or 'unpleasant' were one to point out that only four marriages out of every ten are anything but forced servitudes. We ourselves start from this very assumption and try to build from it a theory of more sensible relations between the sexes. Of all forms of arrant untruthfulness Victorian optimism
appears to me to have been the most cowardly and the most damaging.
Truth, therefore, is an attitude of the mind. lt is important, if one does not wish to inconvenience and to bore one's friends, not to tell lies. But it is more important not to think lies, or to slide into those mechanical and untruthful habits of thought which are so pleasant and so easy as descents to mental ineptitude. The victorian habit of mind (which I consider to have been a bad habit of mind) was unduly preoccupied by what was socially and morally convenient. Convenience is, however, in all affairs of life, an execrable test of value. One should have the courage to think uncomfortably, since it is only by rejecting the convenient that one can come to think the truth. Not, after all, that there is any such thing as truth. At best we can approach to some relative approximation. On the other hand, there is surely such a thing as untruth. One is generally aware when one has said something, or acted in some way which has left on other people an impression
not strictly in accordance with the facts. One is generally aware, also. when one has thrust aside an inconvenient thought and slid into its place another thought which is convenient. One's awareness in the former case is in general more acute than in the latter, since we are more on the look-out for the lies we utter than for those we merely think. In fact, however, it is the untruthful thought which is the more vicious of the two. Spoken lies are invariably tiresome and may actually be dishonest. But continuous lying in the mind, a disease to which the Anglo-Saxon is peculiarly exposed, spells the destruction of human thought and character.
New words and expressions 生詞短語
（改正）Victoria (1837-1901)
前期是 unrest, alarm.
後期 growing prosperity
industrialism 工業革命 free trade 自由貿易
Britain was named workshop of the world.
cession of Hongkong to U.K.
cession 割讓
opium war 戰爭
critical realism 批判現實主義
made big fortune = made good money
Charles Dickens
hard times 艱難時事
middle class 中產階級
The Tale of Two Cities 雙城記
Oliver Twist 霧都孤兒
Vanity Fair 名利場
status 地位
rank 頭銜
喬治。艾里奧特
Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte
Jane Eyre 簡愛
Wuthering Heights 呼嘯山莊
Michelle
Gone with the wind 飄
submit to 屈服於
destined fate 註定的命運
turn against her fate 與她的命運對抗
self-portrait 自畫像
tuberculosis 肺結核
sorrow 悲痛
simplified version 簡寫版
original 原著
accordvt.給予
grant同意，給予
grant sb. sth.
He was accorded the permission to enter the
library.
to accord the guest a warm welcome.
endowvt.（二十課）
for one’s part就某人而言
in terms of ourselves
on the part of us
For our part, we have no objection.
my objection 我的反對意見（24 課）
amityn.友善
harmony,
concordnational concord 民族團結
our family members are/ live in amity/
harmony/ concord.
obsessvt.使煩惱
I’m obsessed with too much assignment.
vexv.使煩惱
annoy vt.使苦惱
irrtatevt.激怒
I’m bored. 我煩了。
obsessvt.迷住
I’m obsessed with sth./ sb.
I’m obsessed with the idea of becoming a
millionaire.
rendervt.致使，給予
A serious illness rendered him rather weak.
(render: 致使)
render thanks to sb. 答謝（render: 給予）
render sb. a favor 給某人幫個忙
render sth. Inter Enghlish 翻譯
render a role 扮演一個角色
he renders a role in the movie.
to interpret a role
to play a role
servituden.奴役
He is/ was in servitude. 他沒自由
sex n.性別
male/ female
weaker, fair, gentle / strong, rougher, sterner
half the sky 半邊天
sex appeal 性感
bad egg壞蛋
dirty dog
arranta.純粹的(否定意義)
sheer
arrant nonsense 一派胡言，
out and out
he is out and out hooligan.
cowardlya.怯懦的
coward 膽小鬼，懦夫
chicken
craven
you two are fighting and finally you cry
craven.
Spare me 饒了我
spineless adj.
spine
shrinking
shrink 縮水
knee 膝蓋
weak kneed
fainthearted 膽小的
slide into不知不覺得陷入
I slide into the bad habit of smoking.
I slide into the bad habit of rising late.
I’m a late riser.
early riser 早起的人
slip into
inconveniencevt.打擾
trouble 打攪
bore
bother
Probably I trouble you for a minute.
ineptituden. 笨拙的
servitude n. 奴隸狀態
-tude 是名詞後綴
ept 聰明靈活的
clumsy 笨拙的
competence n. 能力
competentadj.
incompetent無能的.
bungling 笨拙的
unduly ad.過分地
excess
extreme 極度
moderate 不過量的
immoderate 過量的
modest
inmodest
overmuch
due 準時
The train is due at severn o’clock.
My book is out. 我的書到期了。
passport 護照
renew it 續借，續簽
execrablea.惡劣的，令人討厭的
contemptible 令人討厭的
coarse 粗俗的
debased 卑鄙的
ignoble 不光彩的
abject 卑鄙的
at best充其量
average student 中等生
at most
at least 至少
rejectvt.丟棄 後跟 habit or idea
discard 後跟 sth. concrete discard the old
clothes
toss toss up 硬幣
abandon
I’m abandoned by the girl.
dump 拋棄
I’m dumped.
I’m rejected.
I’m abandoned.
The relation broke up 關係斷了
approxiamationn.近似
approxiamate adj.
he is approxiamately an average student.
approciamately = about
acutea.敏鋭的
he has acute eyes.他目光敏鋭
eagle eye
bat eye 瞎眼
observant eye
decerning eyes
look-outn.警戒
on the look-out for the bad habit
look-outn.守望員
on the alert
alert 警報
on the guard 小心
vicious a.惡毒的
thrustvt.猛然推開
thrust my Enghlish aside
cast aside
thrust one’s way through the
crowd 擠出人羣
elbow one’s way
thrust five yuan into my hand 塞給我五元錢
thrusting 盛氣凌人
expose vt.暴露
Girls don’t want to expose themselves in the
sun.
suntanned 被太陽曬黑的
be expose to 暴露在
Students should be exposed to more
reading。學生應該多讀書。
spellvt.導致，帶來
lead to
result in
invite
incur
Pride spells failure.驕兵必敗
Sloth spells failure.懶惰生出惡果。
Spell n. 咒語
I’m spellbound. 我被迷住了
Anglo-Saxonn. 盎 格 魯 - 撒 克 遜 人
（449-1066）
Roman Empire falls
retreat 撤退
Celtic 凱爾特人
Notes on the text 課文註釋
第一句：The Victorians, realizing that the greatest Happiness accorded to man is that
provided by a happy marriage（後置定語）, endeavoured to pretend that all their marriages
were happy.（主提）
Victorians:那個時代的人們
endeavour = try 盡力，嘗試
make effects
accorded to man = given to man
save fighting 拳擊
mental enjoyment 思想的幸福
第二句： for our part, admitting the fact that no featWe,（技巧）of intelligence and character
is so exacting as that required of two people who desire to live permanently together on a
basis of amity, are obsessed by the problem of how to render the basic facts of cohabitation
simpler and more reasonable, in order that unhappy marriages may less frequently result.
render = make
cohabitation 同住
live in sin（罪過）
abbot 方丈
feat 壯舉，技巧
exacting 精確無誤，毫釐不差
intelligence = mental work
shoulder the burden 肩負責任
in order that （表目的）以便於
result 產生
hand in hand beggars 手牽手的乞丐（沿街乞討的乞丐）
改句型：we admitted that …… we were obsessed……
第三句：The Victorians would have considered it 'painful' or 'unpleasant' were one to point
out that only four marriages out of every ten are anything but forced servitudes.
虛擬語氣，因為猜測。
if one were to point out……倒裝句型
four marriages out of every ten 十分之四
anything but 除去
arranged marriage 包辦婚姻 red veil 紅紗
第四句：We ourselves start from this very assumption and try to build from it a theory of
more sensible relations between the sexes. （開始論述）
very 修飾名詞，是強調詞
on the very day, I met the girl. 就在這一天，我見了那個女孩。
On the very morning 就是那天早晨
from = based on
sensible = reasonable 合理的
第五句：Of all forms of arrant untruthfulness Victorian optimism appears to me to the most
cowardly and the most damaging.
optimism 樂觀派，樂觀主義（主語）
have been 過去完成式，
damaging 危害嚴重的
介詞短語前置句
Victorian optimism appears to me to have been the most cowardly and the most damaging of
all forms of arrant untruthfulness.
truthful 真實的，説真話的 untruthful 愛説謊的，不真實的
to face reality 面對現實my family is well off/ honeyed.
第二段第一句：Truth, therefore, is an attitude of the mind.（觀點更鮮明）
truth 説真話
an attitude of the mind 可替換為 a state of mind 精神狀態
mental age 心理年齡 moral decay 道德敗壞
第二句： is important, if one does not wish to inconvenience and to bore one's friends, not tolt
tell lies.（進一步説明）
第三句：But it is more important not to think lies, or to slide into those mechanical and
untruthful habits of thought which are so pleasant and so easy as descents to mental
ineptitude.
think = imagine
slide into 滑進去，陷進去 mechanical 機械的
conscious 有意識的unconscious 無意識的
descent 產物，後代mental ineptitude 不動腦筋bar 單槓
第四句：The victorian habit of mind (which I consider to have been a bad habit of mind) was
unduly preoccupied by what was socially and morally convenient.
the Victorian habit of mind 維多利亞時期人們的思維習慣
preoccupied 佔領（滿腦子都是）
unduly = improperly 不太恰當 convenient 有利的
socially and morally 對社會建設和道德建設 robbery n.搶奪，搶掠 stability 穩定
第五句：Convenience is, however, in all affairs of life, an execrable test of value. One should
have the courage to think uncomfortably, since it is only by rejecting the convenient that one
can come to think the truth.
in all affairs of life 在社會的各個方面test of value 對價值的衡量 execrable 惡劣的
第六句：One should have the courage to think uncomfortably, since it is only by rejecting the
convenient that one can come to think the truth.
rejecting 拋棄掉
第三段：Not, after all, that there is any such thing as truth.（倒裝句型）At best we can approach to some relative approximation. On the other hand, there is surely such a thing as untruth.（開始論述）One is generally aware when one has said something, or acted in some way which has left on other people an impression not strictly in accordance with the facts.
（第二個論點）One is generally aware, also. when one has thrust aside an inconvenient thought and slid into its place another thought which is convenient. One's awareness in the former case is in general more acute than in the latter, since we are more on the look-out for the lies we utter than for those we merely think. In fact, however, it is the untruthful thought which is the more vicious of the two. Spoken lies are invariably tiresome and may actually be dishonest. But continuous lying
in the mind, a disease to which the Anglo-Saxon is peculiarly exposed, spells the destruction of human thought and character.
after all 畢竟，歸根到底
at best 充其量approach = get close to 沒有絕對，只有相對而言。
on the other hand 另一方面前面對應詞組：on the one hand
aware = clearin some way 以某種方式
leave an impression on sb.給某人留下印象
left on other people an impression 介詞短語提前，因為 impression 後有定語，避免歧義
in accordance with 與……一致
elegance n.高雅，典雅thrust aside = reject
slide into 滑到
acute 敏鋭utter = tell
vicious 危害嚴重的 disease lying in the mind
be exposed to 暴露在……下spells = bring about 帶來，招致
biographer 傳記作者 diplomat 外交家
Henry Moore
Faulkner
Russell
Bacon
Hemingway
Gissing
y
Gilbert
Jack London
Maugham
stream of consciousness 意識流
loose in struture 結構鬆散
Faulkner
a film maker
Pulitzer prize
Quotations of Chairman Mao
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