搜索
TheDeclineofNeatness行为标准的蜕化ByNormanCousinsAnyonewithapassionforhanginglabelsonpeopleorthingsshouldhavelittledifficultyinrecognizingthatanapttagforourtimeisthe“UnkemptGeneration”.任何一个喜欢给别人或事物贴标签的人应该不难发现我们这个时代合适的标签是“邋遢的一代”。Iamnotreferringsolelytocollegekids.Thesloppinessvirushasspreadtoallsectorsofsociety,Peoplegotoallsortsoftroubleandexpensetolookuncombed,unshaved.unpressed.3我说这话不仅仅是针对大学生。邋遢这种病毒已经蔓延到社会各个部分。人们刻意呈现一幅蓬头散发、边幅不修、衣着不整的形象。Thesymbolofthetimesisbluejeans—notjustbluejeansingoodconditionbutjeansthatarefrayed,torn,discolored.Theydon'tgetthatwaynaturally.Noonewantsbluejeansthatarecrisplycleanorspankingnew.如今时代潮流的象征是穿蓝色牛仔裤--不是完好的牛仔裤，而是打磨过的，撕裂开的，和褪色了的牛仔裤。正常穿着磨损很难达到上述效果。没有人喜欢穿干净崭新的牛仔裤。Manufacturersrecognizeabigmarketwhentheyseeit,andtheycompetewithoneanothertoofferjeans（thataremadetolookasthoughthey'vejustbeendiscardedbyclumsyhousepaintersaftertenyearsofwear.）生产商意识到这将是个潜力巨大的市场，于是展开了激烈地竞争，生产出的牛仔裤好像是笨拙的油漆工人穿了十年之后扔掉的一样。Themorefadedandseeminglyancientthegarment-thehigherthecost.Disheveledisinfashion;neatnessisobsolete.衣服看上去越褪色越旧，成本越高。时下流行的是衣冠不整，服饰整洁已不合时宜。Nothingiswrongwithcomfortableclothing.It'sjustthatcurrentusageismorereflectiveofaslavishconformitythanadesireforease.穿着追求舒适原本并无过错。问题是目前人们的着装习惯与其说是为了寻求舒适，倒不如说盲目追求单调一致。Nogenerationhasstrainedharderthanourstoaffectacasual,relaxed,coollook;nonehassucceededmorespectacularlyinlookingasthoughithadbeenstampedoutbycookiecutters.6没有哪一代人像我们这一代这样努力装出一付随便、轻松、酷的样子，没有哪一代人如此出奇成功地塑造出看出犹如饼干模子压出来一样的形象。Theattempttoavoidanyappearanceofbeingwellgroomedorevenneathasaqualityofdesperation(处心积虑)aboutitandsug-gestsacalculatedandphonydeprivation.7这种避免服饰考究、衣着整洁形象的努力真是煞费苦心，显出故意装出的虚假穷酸相。Weshun(avoid)conventionality,butweputonauniformtodoit.8Anappearanceofalienationisthetriumphantgoal,tobepursuedinoversizesweatersandmuddysneakers.我们避免落入俗套，但是我们却穿上制服来实现该目标。树立标新立异的形象是最终目标，为了成功塑造这种形象，各个都穿上了超大号的毛衣和沾满泥巴的运动鞋。Slovenlyspeechcomesoffthesamespool.10Vocabulary,likebluejeans,isbeingdrainedofcoloranddistinction.言语杂乱如出一辙。词汇就象蓝色牛仔裤正失去色彩和特性。Acompletesentenceineverydayspeechisasrareasaman'stieintheswankPoloLoungeoftheBeverlyHillsHotel.日常生活中很难听到一句完整的句子，就好像贝弗利山庄酒店的豪华水球休闲厅里很难见到打领带的绅士。Peoplecommunicateinchopped-upphrases,relyingongruntsandchantsofyouknoworImeantocoverupadamnableincoherence.人们在交流的时候，说的话老是支离破碎，全靠“你知道吧”“我是说”等口头禅来掩盖该死的语无伦次Neatnessshouldbenolessimportantinlanguagethanitisindress.Butspewandsprawlaretakingover.。其实语言利落和穿衣整洁一样重要。但现在肆意辱骂和衣着懒散之风却尘嚣日上。TheEnglishlanguageisoneofthegreatestsourcesofwealthintheworld.Inthemidstofaccessibleriches,wearelinguisticpaupers(beggars).英语是世界最大的语言财富之一。富饶的语言资源触手可及，我们却宁愿成为语言的乞丐。Violenceinlanguagehasbecomealmostascasualasthepossessionofhandguns.Thecuriousnotionhastakenholdthatemphasisincommunicationisimpossiblewithouttheincessantuseoffour-letterwords.(crap,damn,slut，shit,fuck,)语言粗野几乎就象拥有枪支一样随便。这种古怪的观念已经根深蒂固，以至于有些人在言谈中必需借助连篇脏话才能表达自己的想法。SomescreenwritersopenlyadmitthattheyarecarefulnottoturninscriptsthataredevoidoffoullanguagelesttheclassificationofficeimposethecurseofaG(general)rating15.很多电影剧本作家都坦白说他们会尽量避免递交上的剧本中没有一些污言秽语，以防电影分级办公室把该剧本定为G级电影片。（这对电影来说无疑是施加了紧箍咒）Motion-pictureexhibitorshaveastrongpreferencefortheR(restricted)rating,probablyonthetheoryofforbiddenfruit.16电影院老板非常偏爱R级电影，很可能是根据禁果理论。(G,PG(parentalguidance)PG-13,R,NC-17)Hencewritersandproducershaveeveryincentivetoemploytastelesslanguageandgoryscenes.因此剧本作家和制片人总是不遗余力地在影片中加入低俗的对白和血腥的镜头。Theeffectistofosterattitudesofcasualnesstowardviolenceandbrutalitynotjustinentertainmentbutineverydaylife.结果势必导致人们不仅对影视作品中的血腥暴力无动于衷，就连日常生活中出现了类似事件，很多人也会漠然处之。Peoplearenotasuncomfortableastheyoughttobeabouttheglamorizationofhumanhurt.民众在看到歌颂宣扬暴力残杀的画面时，并没有表现出应有的不安和同情。Theabilitytoreactinstinctivelytosufferingseemstobeatrophying.民众看到别人痛苦时本能的同情反应功能似乎日益萎缩。Youngsterssittransfixedinfrontoftelevisionormotion-picturescreens,munchingpopcornwhilehumanbeingsarebatteredormutilated.青少年们呆坐在电视机或者电影荧屏前，一边惬意地嚼着爆米花，一边悠哉悠哉地看着屏幕上残暴的搏击和凶杀画面。Nothingismoreessentialineducationthanrespectforthefrailtyofhumanbeings;17nothingismorecharacteristicoftheagethanmindlessviolence.在教育方面培养对人的脆弱性的意识比其它一切都重要，但是如今随意施暴却成了这个时代的特征。EverythingIhavelearnedabouttheeducationalprocessconvincesmethatthenotion（idea）thatchildrencanoutgrowcasualattitudestowardbrutalityiswrong.18通过我自己对教育过程的研究和观察，我确信那种认为孩子长大便会放弃对暴行持无所谓态度的想法是错误的。Countonit:ifyousaturateyoungmindswithmaterialsshowingthathumanbeingsarefitsubjectsfordebasementordismembering,theresultwillbedesensitizationtoeverythingthatshouldproducerevulsionorresistance.绝对是真的：如果经常给这些年轻人灌输一些人类可以被用来进行肢解和辱没的思想，结果势必会使得他们对一些本该产生抵抗或排斥的行为麻木不仁。Thefirstaimofeducationistodeveloprespectforlife,justasthehighestexpressionofcivilizationisthesupremetendernessthatpeoplearestrongenoughtofeelandmanifesttowardoneanother.教育的首要目的就是要教育大家尊重生命，正如人类文明的最高体现就是人与人之间都能感受到并表现出无微不至的关爱。Ifsocietyisbreakingdown,asittoooftenappearstobe,itisnotbecausewelackthebrainpowertomeetitsdemandsbutbecauseourfeelingsaresodulledthatwedon'trecognizewehaveaproblem.有时社会好像要崩溃了一样，如果果真如此，原因绝不是我们缺乏先进的智慧满足社会的需求，反而是因为我们思想麻木根本没有意识到自身存在的问题。Untidinessindress,speechandemotionsisreadilyconnectedtohumanrelationship