美国语文第五册 第263期:人类与动物(1)

 　　The chief difference between man and the other animals consists in this, 人类与动物区别在于：

　　that the former has reason, whereas the latter have only instinct; 前者具有理性，而后者唯有本能，

　　but, in order to understand what we mean by the terms reason and instinct, 不过为了弄清我们所说的理性与本能的定义，

　　it will be necessary to mention three things in which the difference very distinctly appears. 在此，有必要阐述三点人与动物之间的显见差异。

　　Let us first, to bring the parties as nearly on a level as possible, consider man in a savage¹ state, 首先，让我们将人类与动物尽可能置于同一范畴比较，

　　wholly occupied, like the beasts of the field, in providing for the wants of his animal nature; 与兽类雷同，完全处于野蛮状态下的人类，就动物生存性需要而言，人类与动物无异；

　　and here the first distinction that appears between them is the use of implements³. 这里，人类与动物关键差异在于工具的使用。

　　When the savage provides himself with a hut or a wigwam for shelter, or that he may store up his provisions, 当原始人出于自身考虑，搭建茅舍或者棚屋以遮风避雨，甚至存贮食物，

　　he does no more than is done by the rabbit, the beaver⁴, the bee, and birds of every species. 其实，人类行为绝非具有超越野兔、海狸、蜜蜂或任何鸟类的本能意义。

　　But the man can not make any progress in this work without tools; 如果没有工具，在原始生存环境下，人类不会获取任何进步；

　　he must provide himself with an ax even before he can cut down a tree for its timber; 当原始人为获取木头而砍伐树木前，他必须准备刀斧之类工具；

　　whereas these animals form their burrows⁵, their cells, or their nests, with no other tools than those with which nature has provided them. 而动物打算挖建洞穴、筑造蜂巢、或垒搭鸟窝，无法利用自然界物件造出可供自己使用的工具。

　　In cultivating the ground, also, man can do nothing without a spade or a plow⁶; 如果没有木锹或铧犁，人类无法耕作或翻整土地；

　　nor can he reap what he has sown till he has shaped an implement² with which to cut down his harvest. 甚而无法收获播种的庄稼，除非他事先做出某种可以收割庄稼的工具。

1 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

2 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

3 implements   

n.工具( implement的名词复数 )；家具；手段；[法律]履行（契约等）v.实现( implement的第三人称单数 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• Primitive man hunted wild animals with crude stone implements. 原始社会的人用粗糙的石器猎取野兽。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• They ordered quantities of farm implements. 他们订购了大量农具。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

5 burrows   

n.地洞( burrow的名词复数 )v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的第三人称单数 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• The intertidal beach unit contains some organism burrows. 潮间海滩单元含有一些生物潜穴。 来自辞典例句
• A mole burrows its way through the ground. 鼹鼠会在地下钻洞前进。 来自辞典例句

6 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。