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第一單元 Hello, America and American!
第八部分 AMERICAN VALUES
俗話說：“不撞南墻不回頭。”——人一旦有一種想法，如果他本人的價值觀不根本改變，就很難讓他改變他的行為和語言。價值觀直接影響人類的思維，而思維又是語言的靈魂，語言（包括肢體語言）是思維的載體，從這個意義上講，學習一個民族的語言一定要了解并掌握該民族的價值觀。美國人對自由的執著追求是眾人皆知的，但他們究竟如何理解自由呢？我們用兩個單元來向大家闡述這個問題。下面是一個在華居住若干年的普通美國人對自由價值觀的看法及其在不同領域的表現
Individualism (a)
全文鏈接：http://dipan.kekenet.com/blog-911842-68039
What’s up? I’m Parsons. Nice to meet you (well sort of meet you). Anyway, I greet you with words and gifts and gifts of words. And the truth of American values! I’m going to give you the skinny on all aspects of American values, while also giving you the reasons straight up. Why so blunt? Cause hearing the truth is the best way to learn. In my humble individual opinion, the best students are the ones who feel free to ask any question to their instructor, no matter how embarrassing, foolish, or personal. The best teachers will have an answer to every question no matter how out-there or obscure. Well, at least the teacher should have a good enough imagination so they can make something up.
l skinny ['skini] n. 機密情報；內部消息；小道消息; adj. 皮的；皮包骨的；緊身的；小氣的
l in my humble individual opinion 就我個人的一點淺薄的認識來說
First I would like to address where American values come from. From oppression comes the need for freedom. From inequality comes the need for equality. The forefathers of the US were all oppressed and abused. They were great men like Washington, Pane, Adams, Hancock and many more. Their families had fled Europe to seek religious freedom. Some fled to escape Europe’s class system. All were sick of being oppressed. Because of their poor situation, when they revolted and became free in 1776, they stood by their idealistic concepts. Our modern day values sprout from the dreams and hopes of our ancestors who had to fight to be free. They fought and died so we wouldn’t have to. Legally our values come from the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Socially American values come from the human feeling of what is best for the individual. Only if you first take care of yourself, can you then start to care for others. (Sort of like the instructions on an airplane). America’s original statement was a call to all the world, “Give us your weak and your weary,” the USA is still a nation of immigrants.
l Constitution and Bill of Rights 憲法和人權法
l American values come from the human feeling of what is best for the individual. 美國的價值觀來自于什么樣的狀態是最有利于個人的
l Give us your weak and your weary 給予所有弱小勢力以保護
Because of this, the USA was once called a melting pot, where all cultures come together and mutate into one. However, we have augmented that phrase. Now we say America is a “Tossed Salad of cultures,” because when you boil things together the individuality is corrupted, but the USA goes to extreme lengths so that its immigrants can keep as much from their old culture as they like. However, once you immigrate to the USA you are an American, with American values.
l a melting pot 大熔爐
l Tossed Salad of cultures 像混在一起的沙拉一樣的文化
l However, once you immigrate to the USA you are an American, with American values. 盡管移民們的獨特文化可以留存，但是，仍然會受到美國價值觀的感染，最后變為美國的價值觀。
Above all else, be yourself! All American values sprout from that one idea. Individualism is the first freedom as well as the most important American value. The American political system is based on being free to have individual ideals, individual religions, individual cultures, and the ever-important freedom to speak your individual opinion. American legal and social values are such that if there are 100 men in a room and 99 of them are guilty criminals, but we can’t figure out which one is the innocent one, our values dictate that we let them all go free. This is done to protect the rights of the one innocent individual. That is a pretty heavy concept. America is serious about the rights of the individual. Check out this case:
l be yourself 做自己，在美國是非常重要的
l 用100個人中99個是罪犯的例子，來說明individualism的重要性
l check out this case = for example
The individual’s right to vote as they like is so strong, that－get this: when you are voting for a leader or governor or even president, they leave a space on the official ballot form for people to write in other candidates names. You can write in your mom’s name if you like. If enough people write in the same name that person would win. (Mom for president!)
l 選舉投票充分尊重個人的意愿
Not only does being a nation of individuals define the United States in legal terms, but it is a cool title we are proud of. In the US, being different is a great thing to be. People respect the person in a group who can be the most different and interesting. The importance of standing out is reinforced with several positive American idioms such as: “You are such an individual!” or “He is heads above the rest,” or “I noticed her from a mile away.” However, by far, my favorite idiom that is charged by being a true individual is one related to one of my hobbies －music. “He marches to the beat of his own drum.” This image really tells you a lot about a person. They don’t follow along to the weak pop music of the moment, which is famous for only a few days. Nor do they quickly follow trends; they make their own music and decisions. Writing this makes me want to be more of an individual, and go out and buy a drum to play!
l 與中國“中庸”的價值觀所不同，美國更加強調一個人的個性和在群體中的與眾不同
l 夸贊他人十分有個性的句子：
l You are such an individual!
l He is heads above the rest.
l I noticed her from a mile away.
l He marches to the beat of his own drum.
At the root of American individualism is a wanting, no, a yearning to be famous. Every American wants his or her “15 minutes of fame”. We all want to be recognized and praised, and being famous is like being praised for just being yourself. America gets its modern culture and most of its culture and values from TV and movies, so having a mega-star status is the best way to feel one has succeeded as an individual. All American guys secretly want to be Brad Pitt, I know that I do. And it is easy to see that all local gals openly hope to look like Jennifer Lopez. We love the movies so much that we say, “There is no business like show business.” Hollywood affects our culture, language and every other aspect of our lives.
