全新版大学英语第二版第五册课文翻译

The Truth About Lying Judith Viorst

1. I've been wanting to write on a subject that intrigues and challenges me: the subject of lying. I've found it very difficult to do. Everyone I've talked to has a quite intense and personal but often rather intolerant point of view about what we can — and can never never — tell lies about. I've finally reached the conclusion that I can't present any ultimate conclusions, for too many people would promptly disagree. Instead, I'd like to present a series of moral puzzles, all concerned with lying. I'll tell you what I think about them. Do you agree?

关于说谎的真相 朱迪斯?维奥斯特

我一直想写一个令我深感兴趣的话题：关于说谎的问题。我觉得这个题目很难写。所有我交谈过的人都对什么事情可以说谎—— 什么事情绝对不可以说谎—— 持有强烈的、常常不容别人分说的个人意见。最后我得出结论，我不能下任何定论，因为这样做就会有太多的人立即反对。我想我还是提出若干都与说谎有关的道义上的难题吧。我将向读者阐明我对这些难题的个人看法。你们觉得对吗？

Social Lies

2. Most of the people I've talked with say that they find social lying acceptable and necessary. They think it's the civilized way for folks to behave. Without these little white lies, they say, our relationships would be short and brutish and nasty. It's arrogant, they say, to insist on being so incorruptible and so brave that you cause other people unnecessary embarrassment or pain by compulsively assailing them with your honesty. I basically agree. What about you?

社交性谎言

和我交谈过的大多数人都说，他们认为旨在促进社会交际的谎言是可以接受的，也是必要的。他们认为这是一种文明的行为。他们说，要不是这类无关紧要的谎言，人与人之间的关系就会变得粗野不快，无法持久。他们说，如果你要做到十二分正直、十二分无畏，不由自主地用你的诚实使他人陷入不必要的窘境或痛苦之中，这只能说你是傲慢自大。对此，我基本赞同。你呢？

3. Will you say to people, when it simply isn't true, \like your new hairdo,\\

你会不会跟人说：“我喜欢你的新发型，”“你气色好多了，”“见到你真高兴，”“我玩得很尽兴，”而实际上根本不是这么回事儿？

4. Will you praise hideous presents and homely kids?

你会不会对令人憎厌的礼物，或相貌平平的孩子称赞有加？

5. Will you decline invitations with \— so sorry we can't come,\

你婉辞邀请时会不会说“那天晚上我们正好没空—— 真对不起，我们不能来，”而实际上你是宁肯呆在家里也不想跟某某夫妇一起进餐？

6. And even though, as I do, you may prefer the polite evasion of \reallycooked up a storm \of \soup\— which tastes like warmed-over coffee — \

虽然像我那样，你也想用 “太丰盛了”这种委婉的托辞，而不是盛赞“那

汤味道好极了”(其实味同重新热过的咖啡)，但如果你必须赞美那汤，你会说它鲜美吗?

7. There's one man I know who absolutely refuses to tell social lies. \that game,\that saying nice things to someone doesn't cost anything is, \— it destroys your credibility.\bought, but you don't ask his frank opinion unless you want frank, and his silence at those moments when the rest of us liars are muttering, \it lovely?\is, for the most part, eloquent enough. My friend does not indulge in what he calls \false praise and mellifluous comments.\says that social lying is lying, that little white lies are still lies. And he feels that telling lies is morally wrong. What about you?

我认识一个人，他完全拒绝说这类社交性谎言。“我不会那一套，”他说，“我生来就不会那一套。”讲到对人家说几句好听的话并不失去什么，他的回答是：“不对，当然有损失—— 那会损害你的诚信度。”因此你不问他，他不会对你刚买来的画发表意见，但除非你想听老实话，否则你也不会去问他的真实想法。当我们这些说谎者轻声称赞着“多美啊”的时候，他的沉默往往是极能说明问题的。我的这位朋友从来不讲他所说的“奉承话、虚假的赞美话和动听话”。别人说些无伤大雅的谎言，他则不。他说社交性谎言还是谎言，无关紧要的小小谎言还是谎言。他认为说谎不合道德。你呢？

Peace-Keeping Lies

8. Many people tell peace-keeping lies: lies designed to avoid irritation or argument, lies designed to shelter the liar from possible blame or pain; lies (or so it is rationalized) designed to keep trouble at bay without hurting anyone.

息事宁人的谎言

不少人为了息事宁人而说谎：那种意在避免生气或争吵的谎言，意在使说谎者免受可能的责备或烦恼的谎言；意在(或据认为理应)不伤害他人而又能帮助避免麻烦的谎言。

9. I tell these lies at times, and yet I always feel they're wrong. I understand why we tell them, but still they feel wrong. And whenever I lie so that someone won't disapprove of me or think less of me or holler at me, I feel I'm a bit of a coward, I feel I'm dodging responsibility, I feel...guilty. What about you?

我有时也说这种谎，不过我总觉得不该说。我知道为什么要说这种谎，但说这种谎终究不对。每当我为了不让别人讨厌自己、看轻自己、或冲着自己嚷嚷而说谎时，我总觉得自己有点像个懦夫，觉得自己是在逃避责任，觉得??愧疚。你呢？

10. Do you, when you're late for a date because you overslept, say that you're late because you got caught in a traffic jam?

你由于睡过头赴约会迟到了，会不会说是因为碰上堵车才晚到的？

11. Do you, when you forget to call a friend, say that you called several times but the line was busy?

你忘了给朋友打电话，会不会谎称打过好几次，可电话老占线？

12. Do you, when you didn't remember that it was your father's birthday, say that his present must be delayed in the mail?

你忘了父亲的生日，会不会说寄给他的礼物准是给耽搁了？

13. And when you're planning a weekend in New York City and you're not in the mood to visit your mother, who lives there, do you conceal — with a lie, if you must — the fact that you'll be in New York? Or do you have the courage — or is it the cruelty? — to say, \— I don't plan on seeing you\

你打算去纽约市度周末，但又不想去看望住在那里的母亲，你会——必要的话用谎言——隐瞒你将到纽约的事实，还是会勇敢地——或者说狠心地——说：“我要来纽约，可是抱歉，我不打算来看望你”？

14. (Dave and his wife Elaine have two quite different points of view on this very subject. He calls her a coward. She says she's being wise. He says she must assert her right to visit New York sometimes and not see her mother. To which she always patiently replies: \change. We get along much better when I lie to her.\

(戴夫和妻子伊莱恩正是在这个问题上有两种颇不相同的观点。他称她为懦夫。她说自己处理这事是明智的。他说她应该维护自己有的时候去纽约但不去看望母亲的权利。对此她总是耐心地回答说：“我们何必无谓地争吵呢？我母亲年纪大了，不会改了。我对她说个谎，我们相处得就更好。”)

15. Finally, do you keep the peace by telling your husband lies on the subject of money? Do you reduce what you really paid for your shoes? And in general do you find yourself ready, willing and able to lie to him when you make absurd mistakes or lose or break things?

最后一点，你会不会在钱的问题上对丈夫说谎，以求太平？你会不会少报买鞋子的钱？你出了什么荒唐的错误或丢失了物品打碎了器皿时是不是常常想对他撒谎，而且会对他撒谎？

16. \confessing every dumb thing that you did to your husband. But after a couple of years of that,\Laura, \

“过去我往往不切实际地以为亲密关系的一个组成部分就是把自己做的每件蠢事都如实告诉丈夫。可这么过了几年之后，”劳拉说，“我就改了主意!”

17. And having changed her mind, she finds herself telling peacekeeping lies. And yes, I tell them too. What about you?

改主意后，她在不知不觉中说谎话求太平了。没错，我也说这种谎。你呢？ Protective Lies

18. Protective lies are lies folks tell — often quite serious lies — because they're convinced that the truth would be too damaging. They lie because they feel there are certain human values that supersede the wrong of having lied. They lie, not for personal gain, but because they believe it's for the good of the person they're lying to. They lie to those they love, to those who trust them most of all, on the grounds that breaking this trust is justified.

保护性谎言

保护性谎言就是因为人们认为事实真相危害性太大而说的谎言，这类谎言通常事关重大。他们说谎，因为他们认为，人的某些价值观念压倒了说谎这一错误行为本身。他们说谎不是为个人私利，而是因为他们相信，那是为他们对之说谎的人好。他们对自己所爱的人撒谎，对最信任自己的人撒谎，就是因为他们认为

这样做是有正当理由的。

19. They may lie to their children on money or marital matters. 他们会在金钱或婚姻问题上对子女说谎。

20. They may lie to the dying about the state of their health. 他们会对垂死者隐瞒真实病情。

21. They may lie to their closest friend because the truth about her talents or son or psyche would be — or so they insist — utterly devastating.

他们会对密友说谎，因为关于其才能、其爱子或其精神状态的实话会——不妨说他们坚持这么认为——使其身心受到极大伤害。

22. I sometimes tell such lies, but I'm aware that it's quite presumptuous to claim I know what's best for others to know. That's calledplaying God . That's called manipulation and control. And we never can be sure, once we start to juggle lies, just where they'll land, exactly where they'll roll.

有时我也说这种谎，可我明白，声称自己懂得什么事他人应该知道，这未免太自以为是了。这无异于充当上帝。这无异于操纵和控制他人。而我们一旦开始玩起谎言戏法，就再也无法知道谎言何时会收场，究竟会滑向何方。

23. And furthermore, we may find ourselves lying in order to back up the lies that are backing up the lie we initially told.

而且，我们会不知不觉地为了圆先前说的谎言而说谎。

24. And furthermore — let's be honest — if conditions were reversed, we certainly wouldn't want anyone lying to us.

而且——我们不妨直说——如果情形倒过来，我们当然不愿意别人对自己说谎。

25. Yet, having said all that, I still believe that there are times when protective lies must nonetheless be told. What about you?

不过，话虽如此，我还是觉得有时保护性谎言还非说不可。你呢？ Trust-Keeping Lies

26. Another group of lies are trust-keeping lies, lies that involve triangulation, with A (that's you) telling lies to B on behalf of C (whose trust you'd promised to keep). Most people concede that once you've agreed not to betray a friend's confidence, you can't betray it, even if you must lie. But I've talked with people who don't want you telling them anything that they might be called on to lie about.

信守承诺的谎言

另一类谎言是信守承诺的谎言，涉及三方的谎言，即A（你）为了C（你答应为其信守承诺者）而对B说谎。大多数人承认，一旦你答应不背叛朋友的信任，你就不能背叛，哪怕你必须说谎。但我与之交谈过的人中也有人不想听那些他们也许得为之说谎的事。

27. \for other people.\she absolutely doesn't want to know about it.

“我不为自己说谎，”弗兰说，“我也不愿为别人说谎。”她承认，这就意味着如果她最好的朋友有风流韵事的话，她绝对不想知道。

28. \“你是说，”她最好的朋友问，“你会出卖我？”