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[英语综合] 10位颇具影响却从未活过的人物

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发表于 2014-3-31 17:19:26 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
We have done numerous lists of people and things that have had a great influence on man and they are always popular, so today we are presenting another list of influential people – but this time, they are people who never existed. There were hundreds of people to choose from, so this has been a fun list to compile. We hope you agree with our choices, but if you don’t, feel free to use the comments to tell us who you would have put here instead.
关于对人类影响巨大的人和物,我们已经列举过很多次,这些列表总是备受欢迎,所以今天我们要展示另外一系列有影响的人物——不过这一次,他们都是些从未存在过的人物。可供我们选择的人物成千上万,事实上汇编这一列表非常有趣。我们希望您能赞同我们的选择,不过假如您不赞同,欢迎在评论里告诉我们您想把谁加入其中。
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10.圣诞老人(Santa Claus)

What child has not been frightened into behaving thanks to the ever-present youthful fear of Santa not providing come Christmas? Almost all western children were told by their parents that Santa would leave them nothing if they misbehaved. I speak from experience when I say that it was one of the most effective methods of stopping tantrums! Funnily enough, though, the fear always dissipates on Christmas Eve as you just know that Santa will be coming – even if you did slip up a few times.

多亏了一个永远奏效的恐吓用语:圣诞老人在圣诞节不会来了,还有哪个孩子在表现不好的时候没被它吓过呢?几乎所有西方国家的孩子都曾经被父母告知,如果他们行为不端圣诞老人就不会留给他们任何东西。我根据自己说这句话的经验断定,它是阻止孩子发脾气的最有效的方法之一!不过特别有趣的是,这种害怕总会在圣诞夜消散,因为你知道圣诞老人一定会来的——即使你确实犯了几次错误。

9.芭比(Barbie)

As Barbie has progressed from a pretty young woman to whom all girls could aspire, to something often verging on the likeness of a harlot, one can wonder whether it was Barbie influencing children, or children influencing Barbie. There are certainly many similarities. Barbie has depicted almost every possible female lifestyle choice and I think there can be no doubt that she has been at the start of the path many women have taken in life.

随着芭比从一位可爱的年轻女子发展成为万千女孩崇拜的对象,而且经常与妓女的形象打擦边球,人们开始怀疑到底是芭比在影响孩子们,还是孩子们在影响芭比。当然二者之间有很多相似之处。芭比已经描绘出几乎所有可能的女性生活方式,我认为毫无疑义的是:她一直存在于众多女性人生之路的起点。

8.罗宾汉(Robin Hood)

This could potentially lead to a debate about whether Hood existed or not, but I am of the opinion that he did not. Therefore, he is listed as my number eight on the list. I am sure we have all heard someone justifying theft because the victim is wealthy – and where did this justification come from? Not just the principles of redistribution of wealth that many of us live under in Western Society (read envy taxes) but the fact that to this day, we are all raised believing Robin Hood was a hero – when, in fact, he was a thief. Stealing is almost always wrong, and just because Robin Hood gave the proceeds of his crimes to poor people, it is not a valid justification. As for the previously mentioned taxes, there is every reason for us to believe that the majority of people accept these taxes because of their prior belief in the false morality of the Robin Hood story.

这有可能引发一场关于罗宾汉是否存在的争论,但是我的观点是他不存在。因此,他就成为我列表中的八号人物。我相信大家都听到过有人为盗窃辩护,只因为被偷的人很富有——这种理由是哪里来的?在西方社会(请阅读嫉妒税)里我们中的很多人生活在重新分配财富的原则之下,不仅如此,现在还有一个事实:我们的成长教育使我们相信罗宾汉是一位英雄——然而,事实上,他是一个窃贼。偷盗总归是错的,难道仅仅因为罗宾汉把赃物分给了穷人?这个理由无效。至于上面提到的税收,我们有理由相信多数派之所以接受该税收,原因是他们之前就信仰罗宾汉故事里错误的道德观。

7.牛仔(Cowboys)

This is one for the boys obviously! Even in remote New Zealand where I grew up, all the boys played "Cowboys and Indians". The cowboy was a great hero with a shining gun who represented the morality of Western ideals: manliness, defense of justice, protection of women and children. No doubt many now cringe at the lack of political correctness involved in the game and stereotype, but kids aren’t politically correct (thank God) and certainly won’t be hindered because of it. The influence of the Cowboy movie genre is indisputable an immense one. Oh – and for those who say "but cowboys are real!" – yes – but this is about the concept – not about a specific person – just as we might say Santa existed as St Nicholas, the concept is bigger than any one person.

很显然这个是专门为男孩们列进来的!即使在我的故乡——遥远的新西兰,男孩们也都会扮演“牛仔和印第安人”。牛仔是一位带着闪亮手枪的大英雄,他代表了西部典范的美德:男子气概,捍卫正义,保护妇女和儿童。毫无怀疑,现在许多牛仔由于缺乏竞技和模式化形象方面的政治正确性而感到难堪,但是孩子们在政治上也不正确(谢天谢地),当然也不会因此而被阻碍扮演牛仔。牛仔题材的电影影响力非常大,这一点也是无可争议的。噢——对于这些说“但是牛仔真实存在呀!”的人而言——是的——不过这是关于概念——不是关于一个特定的人——正如我们会说圣诞老人曾以圣尼古拉(St Nicholas)的身份存在,概念的范围要比某一个人大得多。

6. 万宝路牛仔(The Marlboro Man)

How many men reading this list who smoke, are smoking cigarettes with filters? Venturing a guess I would say all of them. Before the Marlboro Man campaign began, "real men" didn’t smoke cigarettes with filters – they were for women. The aim of the Marlboro Man campaign was primarily to get men smoking filtered marlboro cigarettes. The influence of the campaign is abundantly clear today. The campaign is considered to be one of the best in all history. According to Wikipedia, it transformed a feminine campaign, with the slogan ‘Mild as May’, into one that was masculine, in a matter of months.

看这个列表的烟民中有多少正在抽有过滤嘴的香烟呢?大胆猜测一下,我会说所有人都是。在万宝路牛仔运动开始之前,“真正的男人”不吸带有滤嘴的香烟——它们是为女性设计的。万宝路牛仔运动的目的主要是让男性吸带有滤嘴的万宝路香烟。这场运动的影响在今天看来十分明显。它还被认为是有史以来最杰出的运动之一。根据维基百科提供的信息,它把一场口号是“像五月的天气一样温和”的女性运动,转变成一场男性运动,而仅仅花了几个月时间。

5. 铆工罗西(Rosie the Riveter)

And now another for the girls! Rosie the Riveter may not be a familiar name, but her picture certainly is. Rosie the Riveter told women that they can do anything – and they did! Rosie managed to motivate an entire generation of working-age women to get out of the home and in to factories to help the war effort. This is probably one of the most influential events of the Second World War. Once the floodgates of women working were open, they would never be closed again. All women working in traditional male jobs have Rosie to thank.

现在又是一个为女孩们列进来的人物。铆工罗西或许不是一个为人耳熟的名字,不过她的图片肯定众人皆知。铆工罗西告诉女性她们可以做任何事情——她们确实那样做了!罗西成功地动员一整代的工龄女性走出家门走进工厂为战争做后备工作。这有可能是二战期间最有影响的事件之一。一旦女性工作的水闸打开了,它们就再也不能被关闭。所有从事传统男性职业的女性应该感谢罗西。

4. 代达罗斯和伊卡洛斯(Daedalus and Icarus)

In a short 24 hours, you can fly from one side of the planet to another. This (one of man’s greatest achievements) may never have happened if it had not been for the mythological characters Daedalus and Icarus. The story tells of Daedalus building mechanical wings for his son Icarus and ever since the tale was told, man has lusted after the ability to take the sky and fly. This eventually came true and the entire planet is a changed place as a consequence of it.

在短短24小时之内,你就可以从地球的一边飞到另一边。如果没有代达罗斯和伊卡洛斯这些神话人物,这(人类最伟大的成就之一)可能永远也不会实现。这个故事讲了代达罗斯为儿子伊卡洛斯做了一副手工操作的翅膀,自从这个故事流传下来,人们就一直贪恋乘风而飞的能力。最终,它实现了,所带来的结果是整个地球发生了翻天覆地的变化。

3. 勇敢的小火车头(The Little Engine That Could)

The moral of this children’s tale is that self-belief, optimism, and hard work result in achievement – of even the most difficult tasks. The book first appeared in a slightly different version to today, in 1906. It has been regarded by many as a metaphor for the "American Dream". The popularity of this book may also be a contributing factor to the huge number of self-help and "positive thinking" seminars and books that we see today.

这个儿童故事的寓意在于自我信念,乐观,以及辛勤工作才有回报——甚至是面对最困难的任务。1906年,此书问世,版本与今天的略有不同。这本书被很多人视为“美国梦”的象征。我们今天看到了许多关于励志自助和“积极思考”的研讨会和书籍,对于它们的出现,此书的名气也可能是一个促进因素。

2. 老大哥(Big Brother)

A relatively modern addition to this list, Big Brother has been a influence in so many social protests that he has to be included here. His name comes up every time a government passes a restrictive law or a law which seems to remove aspects of our eternal freedoms. Everyone recognizes his face, everyone knows what he stands for, and everyone is terrified of the potential for our own lives to be governed by our own version of the fictional character. Big Brother was, of course, created by George Orwell for his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

给这个列表添加一个相对现代化的人物,老大哥在众多社会抗议中都有重大影响,所以他必须被包含其中。每当政府通过一项限制性法律或者一项似乎要除去我们永久自由权的法律时,他的名字就会被提及。每个人认识他的面孔,每个人知道他代表什么,而且每个人都害怕一种可能性,即这一虚构角色会出现我们自己的版本里,进而统治我们的生活。

1. 罗密欧与朱丽叶(Romeo and Juliet)

Not only can Romeo and Juliet be blamed for much of our ideas of the "perfect relationship" – I think it can also be blamed for a high percentage of divorces. Couples going in to marriage seek the ideal of a relationship based entirely on passion and romance, and when that romance dims (as so often is the case) they feel cheated and believe the marriage has failed. When in reality, passionate romance is not required for a healthy marriage – while respect, love, and charity is. Romeo and Juliet have much to answer for!

罗密欧与朱丽叶要受到责怪,不仅因为我们 “完美感情”的想法很多都是由此而生——我认为他们被责怪还因为他们造成了高离婚率。走进婚姻殿堂的情侣们追求的理想是:一种完全基于激情和浪漫的关系,而当浪漫逐渐暗淡下来(通常都是这样的),他们感觉受骗了,就认为婚姻失败了。而在现实中,充满激情的浪漫对于一个健全的婚姻而言并不是必需的——而尊重,爱以及宽容才是。罗密欧与朱丽叶需要付的负责太多了!

原文标题:Top 10 Influential People Who Never Lived
原文作者:Jamie Frater
原文来源:listverse.com
译者: 心若兰的一亩三分地
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