The Souls of Black Folk — Page 8

English → Chinese Full Text Level 8/10

The would-be black savant was confronted by the paradox that the knowledge his people needed was a twice-told tale to his white neighbors, while the knowledge which would teach the white world was Greek to his own flesh and blood.

这位渴望成为黑人学者的人面临着一个悖论：他的族人所需要的知识，对他的白人邻居来说不过是老生常谈，而那些能够启迪白人世界的知识，对他自己的骨肉同胞来说却如同天书。

The innate love of harmony and beauty that set the ruder souls of his people a-dancing and a-singing raised but confusion and doubt in the soul of the black artist; for the beauty revealed to him was the soul-beauty of a race which his larger audience despised, and he could not articulate the message of another people.

那种使他族人中粗朴的灵魂翩翩起舞、放声歌唱的对和谐与美的天生热爱，在这位黑人艺术家的灵魂中却只激起困惑与疑虑；因为向他显现的美，是一个被他的更广大受众所鄙视的种族的灵魂之美，而他又无法传达另一个民族的心声。

This waste of double aims, this seeking to satisfy two unreconciled ideals, has wrought sad havoc with the courage and faith and deeds of ten thousand thousand people,—has sent them often wooing false gods and invoking false means of salvation, and at times has even seemed about to make them ashamed of themselves.

这种双重目标的耗损，这种试图同时满足两种无法调和的理想的追求，已经对亿万人民的勇气、信仰与行动造成了深重的破坏——使他们常常追随虚假的神灵，乞求错误的救赎之道，有时甚至似乎使他们即将对自身感到羞耻。

Away back in the days of bondage they thought to see in one divine event the end of all doubt and disappointment; few men ever worshipped Freedom with half such unquestioning faith as did the American Negro for two centuries.

早在奴役时代，他们便期望在某一神圣的时刻看到一切疑惑与失望的终结；世上几乎没有人能以美国黑人两个世纪以来那般毫无保留的虔诚来崇拜自由。

To him, so far as he thought and dreamed, slavery was indeed the sum of all villainies, the cause of all sorrow, the root of all prejudice; Emancipation was the key to a promised land of sweeter beauty than ever stretched before the eyes of wearied Israelites.

在他的思想与梦想中，奴隶制确实是一切罪恶的总和，一切悲伤的根源，一切偏见的根本；解放则是通往应许之地的钥匙，那片土地比疲惫的以色列人眼前所展现的一切都更加美好。

Vocabulary

这位: zhè wèi — This (person); polite measure word for people.
渴望: kě wàng — To eagerly long for; to yearn deeply.
成为: chéng wéi — To become; to turn into something.
黑人: hēi rén — Black person; person of African descent.
学者: xué zhě — Scholar; learned academic person.
面临: miàn lín — To face; to confront a situation or challenge.
悖论: bèi lùn — Paradox; a self-contradictory statement or situation.
族人: zú rén — Fellow tribe or ethnic group members.
需要: xū yào — To need; to require something.
知识: zhī shi — Knowledge; information and understanding acquired.
白人: bái rén — White person; person of European descent.
邻居: lín jū — Neighbor; person living nearby.
来说: lái shuō — From the perspective of; speaking for.
不过: bù guò — Merely; only; nothing more than.
老生常谈: lǎo shēng cháng tán — Cliché; same old talk repeated endlessly.
能够: néng gòu — To be able to; capable of doing something.
启迪: qǐ dí — To enlighten; to inspire or illuminate the mind.
世界: shì jiè — World; the entire earth or universe.
自己: zì jǐ — Oneself; self; one's own.
骨肉: gǔ ròu — Flesh and blood; one's own kin or family.
同胞: tóng bāo — Compatriots; fellow countrymen or kinsmen.
却: què — Yet; but; however (contrastive adverb).
如同: rú tóng — Just like; as if; similar to.
天书: tiān shū — Heavenly script; something completely incomprehensible.
使: shǐ — To cause; to make something happen.
粗朴: cū pǔ — Rough and simple; unrefined but authentic.
灵魂: líng hún — Soul; spirit; inner essence of a person.
翩翩起舞: piān piān qǐ wǔ — To dance gracefully and lightly; elegant dancing.
放声歌唱: fàng shēng gē chàng — To sing out loudly; to sing at full voice.
和谐: hé xié — Harmony; peaceful coexistence; pleasant agreement.
美: měi — Beauty; beautiful; aesthetic excellence.
天生: tiān shēng — Innate; born with; naturally gifted.
热爱: rè ài — To love passionately; deep ardent affection.
艺术家: yì shù jiā — Artist; person skilled in the arts.
激起: jī qǐ — To arouse; to stir up feelings or reactions.
困惑: kùn huò — Confused; perplexed; feeling of puzzlement.
疑虑: yí lǜ — Doubt; misgiving; feeling of uncertainty or worry.
因为: yīn wèi — Because; for the reason that.
显现: xiǎn xiàn — To appear; to manifest; to become visible.
被: bèi — Passive marker; used to indicate passive voice.
广大: guǎng dà — Vast; wide; large in scope or number.
受众: shòu zhòng — Audience; recipients of a message or broadcast.
鄙视: bǐ shì — To despise; to look down on with contempt.
种族: zhǒng zú — Race; ethnic group; racial category.
之美: zhī měi — The beauty of; beauty belonging to something.
无法: wú fǎ — Unable to; incapable of; no way to.
传达: chuán dá — To convey; to communicate; to pass along.
另: lìng — Another; other; a different one.
民族: mín zú — Ethnic group; nation; people sharing common culture.
心声: xīn shēng — Inner voice; heartfelt feelings or thoughts.
双重: shuāng chóng — Dual; double; twofold in nature or purpose.
目标: mù biāo — Goal; objective; target to be achieved.
耗损: hào sǔn — To deplete; to wear down; to consume resources.
试图: shì tú — To attempt; to try to do something.
同时: tóng shí — Simultaneously; at the same time.
满足: mǎn zú — To satisfy; to fulfill a need or desire.
调和: tiáo hé — To reconcile; to harmonize conflicting elements.
理想: lǐ xiǎng — Ideal; dream; perfect aspiration or goal.
追求: zhuī qiú — To pursue; to strive after an ideal or goal.
已经: yǐ jīng — Already; by now; having occurred before.
亿万: yì wàn — Hundreds of millions; countless vast numbers.
人民: rén mín — The people; citizens of a country collectively.
勇气: yǒng qì — Courage; bravery; boldness to face difficulty.
信仰: xìn yǎng — Belief; faith; deeply held religious conviction.
行动: xíng dòng — Action; to act; to take steps toward something.
造成: zào chéng — To cause; to result in; to bring about.
深重: shēn zhòng — Profound and severe; deeply serious damage or harm.
破坏: pò huài — To damage; to destroy; to cause harm.
常常: cháng cháng — Often; frequently; on a regular basis.
追随: zhuī suí — To follow; to pursue; to go after someone.
虚假: xū jiǎ — False; fake; not genuine or truthful.
神灵: shén líng — Deity; divine spirit; supernatural being.
乞求: qǐ qiú — To beg; to implore; to seek desperately.
错误: cuò wù — Wrong; mistaken; an error or mistake.
救赎: jiù shú — Redemption; salvation; deliverance from wrongdoing.
之道: zhī dào — The way of; path or method of something.
有时: yǒu shí — Sometimes; occasionally; at certain times.
甚至: shèn zhì — Even; going so far as; to the extent of.
似乎: sì hū — It seems; apparently; as if something is true.
即将: jí jiāng — About to; on the verge of happening soon.
自身: zì shēn — Oneself; one's own self or being.
感到: gǎn dào — To feel; to sense; to experience an emotion.
羞耻: xiū chǐ — Shame; disgrace; feeling of humiliation.
早在: zǎo zài — As early as; long before a particular time.
奴役: nú yì — Slavery; enslavement; subjugation through force.
时代: shí dài — Era; age; period in history.
便: biàn — Then; thereupon; as a result (formal adverb).
期望: qī wàng — To hope; to expect; to anticipate earnestly.
某一: mǒu yī — A certain; some particular (unspecified) one.
神圣: shén shèng — Sacred; holy; divine and revered.
时刻: shí kè — Moment; point in time; an instant.
一切: yī qiè — Everything; all things; the whole of something.
疑惑: yí huò — Doubt; bewilderment; state of being confused.
失望: shī wàng — Disappointed; disillusioned; hope not fulfilled.
终结: zhōng jié — To end; conclusion; final termination of something.
几乎: jī hū — Almost; nearly; very close to being.
世纪: shì jì — Century; a period of one hundred years.
以来: yǐ lái — Since; from a certain point up to now.
那般: nà bān — Like that; in that manner; to that degree.
毫无保留: háo wú bǎo liú — Without any reservation; completely and wholeheartedly.
虔诚: qián chéng — Devout; pious; sincere and deeply reverent.
崇拜: chóng bài — To worship; to adore; to venerate deeply.
自由: zì yóu — Freedom; liberty; being free from constraint.
思想: sī xiǎng — Thought; ideology; a system of ideas.
梦想: mèng xiǎng — Dream; cherished aspiration; something longed for.
奴隶制: nú lì zhì — Slavery; the institution of enslaving people.
确实: què shí — Indeed; truly; certainly without doubt.
罪恶: zuì è — Evil; sin; morally wicked wrongdoing.
总和: zǒng hé — Sum total; aggregate of all parts combined.
悲伤: bēi shāng — Sadness; grief; deep sorrow and heartache.
根源: gēn yuán — Root cause; origin; fundamental source of something.
偏见: piān jiàn — Prejudice; bias; unfair preconceived opinion.
根本: gēn běn — Fundamental; basic; at the root level.
解放: jiě fàng — Liberation; emancipation; freedom from oppression.
则: zé — Then; in that case (formal conjunctive particle).
通往: tōng wǎng — Leading to; heading toward a destination.
应许之地: yīng xǔ zhī dì — The Promised Land; land of divine promise.
钥匙: yào shi — Key; a device for unlocking something.
土地: tǔ dì — Land; earth; territory or ground.
疲惫: pí bèi — Exhausted; weary; extremely tired out.
以色列人: Yǐ sè liè rén — Israelites; the people of ancient or modern Israel.
眼前: yǎn qián — Before one's eyes; in front; immediately visible.
展现: zhǎn xiàn — To display; to unfold; to show clearly.
更加: gèng jiā — Even more; increasingly; to a greater degree.
美好: měi hǎo — Beautiful and good; wonderful; splendid and fine.

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