"A commonplace criticism of American culture is its excessive preoccupation with material goods and corresponding neglect of the human spirit. Americans, it is alleged, worship only "the almighty dollar". We scramble to "keep up with the Joneses". The love affair between Americans and their automobiles has been a continuing subject of derisive commentary by both foreign and domestic critics. Americans are said to live by quantitative ethic. Bigger is better, whether in bombs or sedans. The classical virtues of grace, harmony, and economy of both means and ends are lost on most Americans. As a result, we are said to be swallowing up the world's supply of natural resources, which are irreplaceable. Americans constitute 6 percent of the world's population but consume over a third of the world's energy. These are now familiar complaints. Indeed, in some respects Americans may believe the "pursuit of happiness" to mean the pursuit of material things".

　　評(píng)：本段文章語(yǔ)氣嚴(yán)肅，用詞精致，論證嚴(yán)密，內(nèi)部連接自然，一氣呵成。若要譯好，很多翻譯方法都要用到。有兩個(gè)考點(diǎn)：其一，“We scramble to 'keep up with the Joneses' (我們盲目地追逐時(shí)尚，或我們一味地人云亦云)”;其二，“The classical virtues O{grace, harmony, and economy Of both means and ends are lost on most Americans(溫文爾雅，與人為善、量入為出曾經(jīng)是美國(guó)的傳統(tǒng)美德，而如今在多數(shù)美國(guó)人身上已難覓蹤影)”。光看括號(hào)里的參考譯文，就知道是幾種翻譯原則和翻譯方法的結(jié)合。再如，“…excessive preoccupation with material goods and corresponding neglect O{the human spirit”(過分地?zé)嶂杂谖镔|(zhì)享受而相應(yīng)地忽略了人文精神)等等�？梢姡�要使譯文神形兼?zhèn)�，的確要?jiǎng)右环�腦筋。