早上好!
今天这篇文章让我想到上小学中学的时候,班主任总是喜欢说:“你们可比你们上一届差多了!”而我们的下一届,下下一届,大概也会收到同样的评价。
真的是一代不如一代吗?
我觉得答案显然是否定的,否则,这个社会应该越变越差,现实显然不是这样的。只能说由于时代背景和流行风气的变化,每一代都有不同之处,而这种新兴的群体个性很难被上一代人所理解。
那为什么人们倾向于认为下一代不如上一代呢?是个值得探讨的话题~
btw,根据投票结果,90%的读者是有生词朗读的需求的,那我们就开始准备了,尽量这周推出!
今天的文章有一点难,尽量读一遍原文再看翻译哦~
Translation
Millennials ruining everything? It’s an age-old accusation
千禧一代毁了一切?这是一个由来已久的指责
By Dugan Arnett
If you’ve cracked a magazine or launched an Internet browser at any point in the past few years, you’re no doubt familiar with the rash of anti-millennial think-pieces, those pointed articles attempting to pin blame on the country’s most despised generation for various perceived societal shortcomings.
如果你在过去几年里曾经打开过一本杂志或是登录了一个互联网浏览器,那么你无疑会熟悉大量涌现的反千禧一代的思想,那些尖锐的文章试图因为那些可以感知到的社会问题而责备国家最受轻视的一代——千禧一代。
What you might not know, however, is that such rants have been around for quite some time — as in, dating back to at least the 1300s.
然而,你可能不知道的是,这样的大声斥责已经存在了相当长的一段时间——至少可以追溯到14世纪。
In a recent piece for The Conversation, a website for the academic and research communities to share news and views, Boston College professor Eric Weiskott points out that millennial bashing has actually been occurring in literature for hundreds of years.
波士顿大学教授埃里克·威斯科特(Eric Weiskott)在最近的一篇为“对话”网站而写的文章中指出,对千禧一代的抨击实际上已经在文学中发生了数百年。(“对话”是一个为学术和社群研究分享新闻和看法的网站)
“There’s [always been] rampant worry that society, as we knew it, was crumbling,” says Weiskott, an assistant professor of English who focuses on Medieval literature. “And that the people to blame for that were the youngest generation.”
研究中世纪文学的英语文学助理教授维斯科特(Weiskott)说,“从古至今,我们一直以来都担心社会已经摇摇欲坠的想法甚嚣尘上,而为其背锅的那些人就是最年轻的一代。”
Defined by Pew Research Center as those born after 1980, millennials have indeed been the target of some not-so-nice accusations, shouldering the blame for the alleged demise of — among a slew of other things — golf, running, napkins, soap, and marriage.
皮尤研究中心定义为1980年以后出生的人称为千禧一代,而这一代的确已经成为了那些不太友好的言论的靶子,承担了所谓的灭亡责任—— 在很多事情中包括但不限于高尔夫,跑步,用餐,肥皂剧和婚姻。
But take a peek back through the work of some medieval writers, Weiskott says, and you’ll see them expressing the very kinds of sentiments about younger generations.
威克斯特说,但是请看一些中世纪作家的作品,你会看到他们表达了关于年轻一代的各种各样的情感。
In the 15th century, for instance, the writer Thomas Malory opined about youngsters ruining sex by being too eager to jump into bed. A century earlier, famed medieval author Geoffrey Chaucer had fretted over the younger generation’s perceived negative influence on both communication and language.
比如在15世纪,托马斯·马洛礼认为年轻一代人毁灭了性爱,因为他们过于急切的想要上床;前推一个世纪即14世纪,著名的中世纪作家杰弗里·乔叟同样为年轻一代着急过,因为他们对交流与语言的负面影响。
New words
1. millennial [mi'leniəl]
adj. 千禧一代(美国1980-2000之间出生的人)
e.g. A lot of those jobs will be filled by less-experienced workers -- many of them millennials.
许多这些岗位将由经验较少的工作者——其中许多“千年”一代来填补。
2. accusation 英 [ækjʊ'zeɪʃ(ə)n] 美 [,ækju'zeʃən]
n. 控告,指控;谴责
e.g. The main accusation levelled against him was that he tried to avoid military service.
对他提出的主要指控是他想逃避兵役。
3. despised 英 [dɪ'spaɪzd] 美 [dɪ'spaɪzd]
adj. 受轻视的
e.g. I can never, ever forgive him. I despise him.
我永远,永远都不会原谅他。我鄙视他。
4. societal 英 [sə'saɪətəl] 美 [sə'saɪətl]
adj. 社会的
e.g. The Mayans, she argues, do indeed have an alarming message for us, as to why our efforts to solve problems – societal and personal – so often go wrong.
她认为,玛雅人的确给我们发来警告的信息,告诉我们为什么我们在社会和个人角度为解决问题所做的努力通常都有误。
5. rant 英 [rænt] 美 [rænt]
n. 痛骂;大声责骂
e.g. I've been in meetings where the CEO allowed himself to ramble, rant, and berate for a half hour straight.
我参加过这样的会议,总裁允许自己连续半小时地漫谈、咆哮、和严责。
6. bashing ['bæʃiŋ]
n. 猛击,抨击;
e.g. The key is not to be buzzword compliant or to join the trendy game of buzzword bashing.
关键是不要盲目的追随这些时髦的词汇或者加入抨击这种流行词汇的游戏中。
7. rampant 英 ['ræmp(ə)nt] 美 ['ræmpənt]
adj. 狂暴的
e.g. Inflation is rampant and industry in decline.
通胀势头严重,工业不断下滑。
8. crumble 英 ['krʌmb(ə)l] 美 ['krʌmbl]
vi. 崩溃;破碎,粉碎
e.g. Nix the anonymous letter; anyone would crumble under the weight of that humiliation.
千万不要写匿名信,任何人都不会承受住这样的侮辱而崩溃的。
9. medieval 英 [ˌmediˈi:vl] 美 [,midɪ'ivəl]
adj. 中世纪的
e.g. These spices were first brought to Italy from the East in medieval times.
这些香料最早是在中世纪时从东方被带到了意大利。
10. shoulder 英 ['ʃəʊldə] 美 ['ʃoldɚ]
vt. 肩负,承担
e.g. They shouldered the boat and took it down to the river.
他们把船扛在肩上抬到河里。
11. demise 英 [dɪ'maɪz] 美 [dɪ'maɪz]
n. 死亡,终止
e.g. Unfortunately, in our society, after age 25 or so, many folks begin to focus on any glitch in memory as evidence for its demise.
不幸的是,在我们的社会,在25岁左右或者更大些,许多人开始关注在记忆方面的任何故障作为其死亡的证据。
12. opine 英 [ə(ʊ)'paɪn] 美 [o'paɪn]
vi. 以为;想
e.g. It will ultimately deliver much more sense than many of those who currently opine about it.
历史终将证明,这一体系比目前许多人所以为的都要有道理得多。
Phrases
1.no doubt 毫无疑问
2.pin blame on 把责任归咎于
3.as in 就像在
4.a slew of 大量的
5.fret over 为…着急
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