TED演讲:失落了的民主辩论艺术(2)

 　　We'll all be better off if good music is played rather than terrible music. 有好音乐听，我们的生活更美好

　　But Peter, Aristotle doesn't agree with you that that's the reason. 但是，彼得，亚里士多德的理由跟你的很不一样

　　That's all right.  当然这没有关系

　　Aristotle had a different reason for saying the best flutes² should go to the best flute¹ players. 关于为什么要把最好的笛子分给最好的笛手，亚里士多德有另外一个理由

　　He said, that's what flutes are for to be played well. 他说：那是笛子存在的意义，是被完美地吹奏

　　He says that to reason about just distribution of a thing, 他说，为了探讨如何公平地分配一样东西

　　we have to reason about, and sometimes argue about, the purpose of the thing, or the social activity 我们必须先探讨这一事物或社会活动存在的目的和意义

　　in this case, musical performance.  在这里，是音乐演奏的目的和意义

　　And the point, the essential nature,  而音乐演奏的本质目的

　　of musical performance is to produce excellent music. 是为了创造出美妙的音乐

　　It'll be a happy byproduct that we'll all benefit. 我们要是碰巧都能从中受益，那是个皆大欢喜的结果

　　But when we think about justice, Aristotle says, 但是论及公平正义，亚里士多德说

　　what we really need to think about is the essential nature of the activity in question 我们必须思考的是所涉及问题的根本实质

　　and the qualities that are worth honoring and admiring and recognizing. 以及哪些品质是真正值得尊重，值得称赞，值得认可的

　　One of the reasons that the best flute players should get the best flutes 把最好的笛子分给最好的笛手，理由之一在于

　　is that musical performance is not only to make the rest of us happy, 音乐演奏的目的不仅在于取悦听众，

　　but to honor and recognize the excellence³ of the best musicians. 更在于尊重并认可杰出音乐家的高超技艺

　　Now, flutes may seem ... the distribution of flutes may seem a trivial case. 当然，分配笛子这种事可能看起来微不足道

　　Let's take a contemporary example of the dispute about justice. 让我们来看一个当代关于公平公正的争论

　　It had to do with golf.  是关于高尔夫球的

　　Casey Martin -- a few years ago, Casey Martin -- did any of you hear about him? 几年以前，凯西.马丁有人听说过他吗？

　　He was a very good golfer, but he had a disability. 他是一名非常出色的高尔夫球手，但他有一项残疾

　　He had a bad leg, a circulatory problem,  他有条腿不好，血液循环方面的问题

　　that made it very painful for him to walk the course. 导致他很难在球场上自如行走

　　In fact, it carried risk of injury.  不仅如此，他还很容易因此受伤

　　He asked the PGA, the Professional Golfers' Association, 他请求PGA，也就是职业高尔夫协会

　　for permission to use a golf cart in the PGA tournaments. 准许他在职业锦标赛上，使用高尔夫球车代步

　　They said, "No. Now that would give you an unfair advantage." 这个请求被驳回了，理由是：“这样做有失公平”

　　He sued, and his case went all the way to the Supreme⁴ Court, believe it or not,  马丁为此上告法院，案子一路上诉到最高法院，信不信由你，

　　the case over the golf cart,  为了区区一部高尔夫球车

　　because the law says that the disabled must be accommodated, 法律规定残疾人士必须得到适当的照顾优待

　　provided the accommodation does not change the essential nature of the activity. 但这种优待必须在不改变活动本质的前提下

1 flute   

n.长笛；v.吹笛

参考例句：

• He took out his flute, and blew at it.他拿出笛子吹了起来。
• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。

2 flutes   

长笛( flute的名词复数 )； 细长香槟杯（形似长笛）

参考例句：

• The melody is then taken up by the flutes. 接着由长笛奏主旋律。
• These flutes have 6open holes and a lovely bright sound. 笛子有6个吹气孔，奏出的声音响亮清脆。

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 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。