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1Unit1Warm-upquestions:1.Inyouropinion,whatdoes“lock”standfor?2.WhatdoyouthinkofpersonalsafetyandsecurityofpropertyinChina?3.WhatkindsofsafeguardsdopeopleuseinChina?TheLandoftheLockYearsagoinAmerica,itwascustomaryforfamiliestoleavetheirdoorsunlocked,dayandnight.Inthisessay,Greeceregretsthatpeoplecannolongertrusteachotherandhavetoresorttoelaboratesecuritysystemstoprotectthemselvesandtheirvaluables.Althoughtheauthoriswritinghisopinion,heusesmanyexamplestoreinforcehisideasandtoprovehisthesis.几年前在美国，许多美国家庭的门通常都是日夜不上锁的。在本文中，格林遗憾地指出人们已经不再彼此信任，不得不求助于各种复杂的安全设备来保护自身及其贵重物品。作者在提出自己观点的同时，举出了大量的事例来证实和强调自己的观点。[1]InthehousewhereIgrewup,itwasourcustomtoleavethefrontdooronthelatchatnight.Idon’tknowifthatwasalocaltermorifitisuniversal;“onthelatch”meantthedoorwasclosedbutnotlocked.Noneofuscarriedkeys;thelastoneintheeveningwouldcloseup,andthatwasit.在我长大成人的家里，我们的习惯是晚上把前门闩上。我不知道这是个地区用语还是普遍的说法；“闩着门”的意思是关着门但却不上锁。我们都不带钥匙;晚上最后进来的人会把门关上，如此而已。[2]Thosedaysareover.Inruralaswellasincities,doorsdonotstayunlocked,evenforpartofanevening.那样的日子已经一去不复返了。现在不管是城市还是乡村，门不再是不上锁了，甚至天一黑门就要上锁。[3]Suburbsandcountyareasare,inmanyways,evenmorevulnerablethanwell-patrolledurbanstreets.Statisticsshowthecrimeraterisingmoredramaticallyinthoseallegedlytranquilareasthanincities.Atanyrate,theeraofleavingthefrontonthelatchisover.郊区及乡村地区在很多方面比巡视得很严密的城市街道还要容易出事。统计数字表明在那些据称是平静的地区，犯罪率的上升较之城市还要显著。不管怎么说，晚上闩着前门的日子己经结束了。[4]Ithasbeenreplacedbylocks,securitychains,electronicalarmsystemsandtripwireshookeduptoapolicestationorprivateguardfirm.Manysuburbanfamilieshaveslidingglassdoorsontheirpatios,withsteelbarselegantlybuiltinsonoonecanprythedoorsopen.门闩己经被锁、安全链、电子报警系统以及与警局或私人保镖公司相连的报警线所取代，许多郊区家庭在庭院里都装有滑动的玻璃门，很别致地装有暗藏的钢门，这样就没人能撬开门了。[5]Itisnotuncommon,inthemostpleasantofhomes,toseepastedonthewindowssmallnoticesannouncingthatthepremisesareundersurveillancebythissecurityforceorthatguardcompany.在很多漂亮的家里，经常能见到窗户上张贴着图案显示本宅受某保安部队或某保镖公司的监护。[6]ThelockisthenewsymbolofAmerica.Indeed,arecentpublic-serviceadvertisementbyalargeinsurancecompanyfeaturednotactuarialchartsbutapictureofachild’sbicyclewithnow-usualpadlockattachedtoit.锁是美国的新的象征。确实，最新的一家保险公司的公益广告显示的不是数据表格而是一幅画，画面上有一辆儿童自行车，其上挂着一把现在常见的挂锁。[7]Theadpointedoutthat,yes,itistheinsurancecompaniesthatpayforthestolengoods,butwhoisgoingtopayforwhatthenewatmosphereofdistrustandfearisdoingtoourwayoflife?WhoisgoingtomakethepsychicpaymentfortransformationofAmericafromtheLandoftheFreetothelandoftheLock?诚然，广告显示的是保险公司会为你失窃的东西负责，但是又有谁会补偿这种不信任和恐惧的气氛给我们生活方式带来的改变呢?谁来补偿美国由自由大陆转变为上锁的大陆所造成的心理损失呢?[8]Forthatiswhathashappened.WehavebecomesousedtodefendingourselvesagainstthenewatmosphereofAmericalife,sousedtoputtingupbarriers,thatwehavenothadtimetothinkaboutwhatitmaymean.情况就是这样。我们已经非常习惯于保护自己不受美国生活新气氛的影响，习惯于围起屏障，却没有时间去考虑这一切意味着什么。2[9]Forsomereasonwearesatisfiedwhenwethinkwearewellprotected;itdoesnotoccurtoustoaskourselves:Whyhasthishappened?Whyarewehavingtobarricadeourselvesagainstourneighborsandfellowcitizens,andwhen,exactly,didthisstarttotakeoverourlives?出于某种原因，当我们受到良好的保护时，我们自会心满意足；却从没想过问问自己:为什么会这样?为什么一定要在我们自己与邻居和同胞之间设立屏障呢?而且，我们的生活受制于这一现象，究竟是从何时开始的呢?[10]Andithastakenover.Ifyouworkforamediumtolarge-sizecompany,chancesarethatyoudon’tjustwanderinandoutofwork.Youprobablycarrysomekindofaccesscard,electronicorotherwise,thatallowsinandoutofyourplaceofwork.Maybethefrontguardofthedeskknowsyourfaceandwillwaveyouinmostdays,butthefactremainsthatthebusinessyouworkforfeelsthreatenedenoughtokeepoutsidersawayviathese“keys”.的确这一现象已经控制了我们的生活。如果你在一家大中型公司工作，你很有可能不能随便出入公司。你可能要携带某种电了或非电子的出入卡，才能进出工作单位。也许前台的保安认识你，平时挥挥手就让你进去了，但是事实仍然是你所供职的单位觉得受到了威胁，要通过这样一些“钥匙”挡住外来者。[11]Itwasn’talwayslikethis.Evenadecadeago,mostprivatebusinesseshadapolicyoffreeaccess.Itsimplydidn’toccurtomanagersthattheproperthingtodowastodistrustpeople.在过去是不曾这样的。就在10年前，大多数私人企业都是允许自由出入的。经理们从没想过怀疑别人是正常行为。[12]Lookattheairports.Parentsusedtotakechildrenouttodeparturegatestowatchplaneslandandtakeoff.That’sallgone.Airportsarenolongeraplaceofeducationandfun;theyarethemostsophisticatedofsecuritysites.看看机场吧。过去父母经常带着孩子们到出站口去看飞机降落和起飞。这样的日子已经一去不复返了。机场不再是教育和娱乐的地方，而是高精尖的安全营地。[13]WithelectronicX-rayequipment,weseemfinallytohavefiguredoutawaytoholdtheterrorists,realandimagined,atbay;itwassucharelieftosolvethisproblemthatwedidnotthinkmuchaboutwhatsuchastateofaffairssaysaboutthequalityofourlives.Wenowpassthroughtheseelectronicfriskerswithoutsomuchasasidewayglance;themachinesandwhattheystandforhavewon.通过X光设备，我们似乎最终找到了遏制真实的和想象中的恐怖分子的办法;解决这样的问题使我们松了一口气，以至于我们不去考虑这种情况对我们的生活质量意味着什么。我们现在无需侧目而视地通过电了检测仪；机器以及他们所代表的东西取得了胜利。[14]Businessmen,inincreasingnumbers,arepurchasingnewmachinesthathookuptothetelephoneandanalyzeacaller’svoice.Themachinesaresupposedtotellthebusinessman,withasmallmarginoferror,whetherhisfriendorclientistellinglies.越来越多的商人都在购买一种新型机器，它与电话机连在一起就能分析出打电活者的声音。人们认为这种设备能在很小的误差范围内，判断出他的朋友或客户是否在撒谎。[15]Allthisisbeingdoneinthenameof“security”;thatiswhatwetellourselves.Wearefearful,andsowedevisewaystolockthefearout,andthat,wedecide,iswhatsecuritymeans.所有这一切都是以“安全”的名义进行的；我们对自己就是这么告诫的。我们恐惧，因此我们想出办法把恐惧锁在外面，我们认为，这样就安全。[16]Butno;withallthis“securit