Genius Sacrificed for Failure

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2024年1月26日发(作者：)

Translation

1. At the sight of the general walking towards him, he got to his feet at once and

saluted.

2. "What is this money for?" "It's for helping those children who have lost the chance

of schooling to come back to school again."

3. The knock at my door last night sent me quivering with fright.

4. I can assure you that he is a most reliable person.

5. Everybody hopes that he will take over as dean of the department when Mr. Martin

retires.

6. She tried her best to hide her feelings, but her eyes betrayed her longing for the

prize.

7. It is said that people will get skin cancer if they are exposed to the sun too much.

Genius Sacrificed for Failure

by William N. Brown

Para 1 During my youth in America's Appalachian mountains, I learned that

farmers preferred sons over daughters, largely because boys were better at heavy

farm labour. With only 3% of Americans in agriculture today, brain has

supplanted brawn, yet cultural preferences, like bad habits, are easier to make

than break. But history warns repeatedly of the tragic cost of dismissing too

casually the gifts of the so-called weaker sex.

[summary] In America's Appalachian mountains, the author learned that farmers

traditionally preferred sons over daughters because boys were better at heavy farm

labour.

1. During my youth in America's Appalachian Mountains, I learned that farmers

preferred sons over daughters, largely because boys were better at heavy farm labour.

American's Appalachian mountains: a mountain range in East North America

extending 2 400 km from South Quebec Province in Canada to North Alabama in the

US

prefer (sth. over / to sth.): to choose sth. rather than sth. else; like sth. Better

[note] When we talk about general preference, we use

“prefer doing sth.”When we talk about preference in a specific situation, we use

prefer to do sth. When we talk about two things, we use prefer doing sth. to doing sth.

/ prefer sth. to sth.

Do you like swimming? Yes, but I prefer sailing.

Can I give you a lift? No, thanks, I prefer to walk.

I prefer sailing to swimming.

be better at: (comparative of be good at) to be greater in excellence or higher in

quality than another of the same class, set, or kind.

2. With only 3% of Americans in agriculture today, brain has supplanted brawn,

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yet cultural preferences, like bad habits, are easier to make than break.

[paraphrase] In today's America, only 3% of Americans are in agriculture. People

work by means of intelligence, not by physical strength.

brain has supplanted brawn:

supplant: (fml) to displace and substitute for (another)

brawn: muscular strength and power

It's a job needing brain rather than brawn.

cultural preferences: traditionally biased opinion in favor of something or some type

of people.

3. But history warns repeatedly of the tragic cost of dismissing too casually the gifts

of the so-called weaker sex.

[paraphrase] But history warns repeatedly that if we ignore the talent of the female,

so-called weaker sex, we will pay for that.

warn: to make aware in advance of actual or potential harm, danger, or evil; give sb

notice of sth, esp. possible danger or unpleasant consequences; inform sb in advance

of what may happen

She has been warned of the danger of driving the car in that state.

They warned her that if she did it again she would be sent to prison.

The police warned them off the posted property.

They called and warned me that they might be delayed.

[synonyms] warn caution forewarn

These verbs mean to give someone notice of and put the person on guard against

actual or possible danger or risk.

Warn, the most inclusive, implies well-timed notice that causes a person to be alert,

vigilant, or wary:

Caution often suggests a warning that calls for the use of circumspection or prudence,

as in avoiding unpleasant consequences:

The Secretary of State cautioned that terrorism would be countered by retaliatory

action.

Forewarn intensifies the sense of advance notice:

Forewarned is forearmed.

dismiss: to end the employment or service of; discharge; to direct or allow to leave

He was dismissed for insubordination.

The chairman dismissed the meeting.

gift: a talent, an endowment, an aptitude, or a bent.

He is a man of many gifts.

He has a gift for poetry.

the weaker sex / fair sex: It refers to females. The term presupposes that women are

weaker than men and is thus considered as carrying undertones of sex discrimination.

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Para 2 About 150 years ago, a village church vicar in Yorkshire, England, had

three lovely, intelligent daughters but his hopes hinged entirely on the sole male

heir, Branwell, a youth with remarkable talent in both art and literature.

大约在150年以前，在英国的约克郡有个乡村牧师，他有三个聪明伶俐的女儿，

然而他却把毕生的希望全都寄托在他唯一的儿子勃兰威尔身上。这个年轻人在艺术与文学方面有着非凡的天赋。

[summary] Mr. Bronte invested all his hopes in his son, not his three daughters.

About 150 years ago, a village church vicar in Yorkshire, England, had three lovely,

intelligent daughters but his hopes hinged entirely on the sole male heir, Branwell, a

youth with remarkable talent in both art and literature.

hinge: to consider or make (something) dependent on something else; predicate

sole: one and only; single

Para 3 Branwell's father and sisters hoarded their pennies to pack him off to

London's Royal Academy of Arts, but if art was his calling, he dialled a wrong

number. Within weeks he hightailed it home, a penniless failure.

勃兰威尔的父亲和姐妹们拿出家里所有的积蓄把他送到英国皇家艺术学校深造。但是，如果把艺术作为他人生的目标的话他显然选错了方向。短短几周不到，他迅速离开学校返回家中，失败得毫无价值。

ll's father and sisters hoarded their pennies to pack him off to London's

Royal Academy of Arts, but if art was his calling, he dialed a wrong number.

[paraphrase] Branwell's father and sisters set aside all their earning to send him to

London's Royal Academy of Arts, but although the boy took art as his career, he didn't

know how to approach it in the right way, i.e. he made a wrong choice.

hoard their pennies: to save every penny. The verb hoard indicates the thrifty life the

family led in order to save every penny.

hoard: to gather,save or accumulate

to pack him off to: to send him to (preparing the luggage and providing fare for him)

pack:

1) to fold, roll, or combine into a bundle; wrap up

2) put sth into a container for transport or storing; fill with sth.

He takes a packed lunch to work every day.

The show played to packed houses.

[idioms]

pack one's bags: (prepare to) leave

pack sth away:

pack in:

pack sb. off:

pack up:

London's Royal Academy of Arts: principal British art organization, located in

London, established for the purpose of improving and encouraging painting, sculpture,

and architecture in Great Britain. It was founded in 1768 by king George Ⅲ. The

academy society has a large collection of valuable works of art, including the Taddei

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Tondo by Michelangelo, as well as the diploma works of nearly all the Royal

Academicians. The art schools of the academy are now open to post-graduate

students.

2. Within weeks he hightailed it home, a penniless failure.

[paraphrase] A few weeks later, he ran back home like a defeated dog in a great hurry.

hightail it: to escape, run quickly

They hightailed it from the danger zones.

I hightailed it all this way.

hightail: v. (colloq.) to hurry

I hightailed out of there.

Para 4 Hopes still high, the family landed Branwell a job as a private tutor,

hoping this would free him to develop his literature skills and achieve the success

and fame that he deserved. Failure again.

家人对他依旧抱有很高的期望，他们为他找了份私人家教的工作，希望这能使他有足够自由发展的空间，提高写作技巧，最后获得他本应获得的成功和名誉。但又一次以失败告终。

still high, the family landed Branwell a job as a private tutor, hoping this

would free him to develop his literature skills and achieve the success and fame that

he deserved.

the family landed Brawnwell a job ...: The family found Brawnwell a job. The verb

land implies the job was not a happy one for Brawnwell.

land: (colloq.) to find, to get

free sb. to do: not to controlled by obligation or the will of another

deserve: to be worthy of; merit

Para 5 For years the selfless sisters squelched their own goals, farming

themselves out as teachers and governesses in support of their increasingly

indebted brother, convinced that the world must eventually recognise his genius.

As failures multiplied, Branwell turned to alcohol, then opium, and eventually

died as he had lived: a failure. So died hope in the one male ── but what of the

three anonymous sisters?

1. For years the selfless sisters squelched their own goals, farming themselves out as

teachers and governesses in support of their increasingly indebted brother, convinced

that the world must eventually recognise his genius.

squelch their own goals: to sacrifice their own ambitions

farming themselves out: going out to work for a wage

farm out: to send out or delegate to be done by other

convince: to bring by the use of argument or evidence to firm belief or a course of

action

cf. convince persuade

2. As failures multiplied, Branwell turned to alcohol, then opium, and eventually died

as he had lived: a failure.

[paraphrase] Branwell failed again and again, and he addicted to alcoholic drink. He

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died a failure just as he was a failure when he was alive.

multiply: to increase the amount, number, or degree of.

turn to something / doing something: 1) to direct one's attention to and begin to do it

regularly.

2) go to sb / sth for help, advice, etc.

[idioms]

as it turned out: as was shown or proved by later events

turn round and do sth.: to say or do sth that displeases sb.

turn against: to become unfriendly or hostile towards sb.

turn away: to refuse to allow sb to enter a place; refuse to give help or support to sb.

turn down: to reject or refuse to consider

turn sth in: to give back sth that one no longer needs; return sth.

turn off: to leave one road in order to travel on another

3. So died hope in the one male --- but what of the three anonymous sisters?

[paraphrase] so the hope in the sole son overturned, but how about his three sisters

who write anonymously?

Para 6 During Branwell's last years, the girls published a book of poetry at their

own expense (under a pseudonym, for fear of reviewers' bias against females).

Even Branwell might have snickered: they sold only 2 copies.

在勃兰威尔最后的几年里，三姐妹自费出版了一部诗集（用的是笔名，怕引起评论家的性别歧视），但只售出了两本。可能连勃兰威尔也暗地里嘲笑过此事。

1. For years the selfless sisters squelched their own goals, farming themselves out as

teachers and governesses in support of their increasingly indebted brother,

convinced that the world must eventually recognise his genius.

at one's own expense: with sb's own paying

[idioms]

at the expense of sth.: with loss or damage to sth.

no expense spared: with no regard for the cost

for fear of: in case; to avoid the danger of sth happening

We spoke in whispers for fear of waking the baby.

She was afraid to say anything to them for fear of hurting their feelings.

[idioms]

for fear of/that-clause: because of anxiety about, in order that ... should not occur

He left an hour early for fear of missing of his train.

She worried for fear (that) the child would be hurt.

in fear of: anxious about

They are in fear of more heavy rain tomorrow.

without fear or favour: fairly, justly

In this company, promotions are given without fear or favour.

in fear and trembling

2. Even Branswell might have snickered: they sold only 2 copies.

[paraphrase] Even Branswell might have laughed at them for the fact that they had

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only sold two copies of their book.

snicker: v. to laugh secretly

snicker at sb.: to laugh at sb. secretly

snicker to oneself: to laugh secretly

Para 7 Undaunted, they continued in their spare time, late at night by candlelight,

to pour out their pent-up emotion, writing of what they knew best, of women in

conflict with their natural desires and social condition ── in reality, less fiction

than autobiography! And 19th century literature was transformed by Anne's

Agnes Grey, Emily's Wuthering Heights, and Charlotte's Jane Eyre.

然而她们并没有因此而灰心丧气，在闲暇时她们仍是不停地写，时常写到深夜。在微弱的烛光里不停地写，尽情地宣泄着被压抑的情感，写她们最能够体会的关于女人的东西-- 即女人的自然欲望与世俗的抵触与矛盾-- 都很现实，没有自传那么夸张，脱离实际。这三姐妹的作品：安的《艾格尼斯格雷》，爱米丽的《呼啸山庄》和夏洛特的《简爱》，在19世纪的文坛引起轩然大波。

Undaunted, they continued in their spare time, late at night by candlelight, to pour out

their pent-up emotion, writing of what they knew best, of women in conflict with their

natural desires and social condition --- in reality, less fiction than autobiography!

pour out: (cause sth to ) be expressed freely (and fully)

When he realized we know the truth the whole story came pouring out.

She poured out her troubles to me over a cup of coffee.

[idioms]

pour oil on the flames: to make a bad situation worse

pour oil on troubled waters: (try to ) calm a disagreement, violent dispute, etc.

pour scorn on: to speak of sb / sth with contempt

pent-up: (of feelings) not expressed; repressed

She still had a lot of pent-up anger to release.

He poured out a lot of pent-up frustration.

in conflict with: in opposition or disagreement; be incompatible; clash

Your statement is in conflict with the rest of the evidence.

Your duty is in conflict with your desires.

less fiction than autobiography: The books they wrote were more like stories of their

own experiences and life, than made up stories about imaginary people and events.

Para 8 But years of sacrifice for Branwell had taken their toll. Emily took ill at

her brother's funeral and died within 3 months, aged 29; Anne died 5 months

later, aged 30; Charlotte lived only to age 39. If only they had been nurtured

instead of sacrificed.

长年累月为勃兰威尔劳累奔波终于使她们付出了代价，爱米丽在他兄弟的葬礼上病倒了，三个月后去世，死时才29岁；安在五个月后也去世了，年仅30岁；而夏洛特只活了39岁。 要是她们也像她们的兄弟一样被呵护，培养，而不只是付出和牺牲的话，就不会出现这样的悲剧了。

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1. But years of sacrifice for Branwell had taken their toll.

[paraphrase] But years of hard work had had a destructive effect on the health of the

three sisters.

take their toll: to cause loss, damage, etc.

The war took a heavy toll of human life.

Every year at Christmas drunken driving takes its toll.

2. If only they had been nurtured instead of sacrificed.

: used to express a wish with reference to present or future time

If only they would tell me what they've decided.

If only I were 10 years younger.

sacrifice: v. to give up of sth, usu in return for sth more important or valuable

Her husband's pride was a small thing to sacrifice for their children's security.

She made many sacrifices to get Amy a good education.

Para 9 No one remembers Branwell's name, much less his art or literature, but

the Bronte sisters' tragically short lives teach us even more of life than of

literature. Their sacrificed genius cries out to us that in modern society we must

value children not for their physical strength or gender, as we would any mere

beast of burden, but for their integrity, strength, commitment, courage-spiritual

qualities abundant in both boys and girls.

没人记得勃兰威尔是谁，更别提他的文学艺术成就，然而他的姐妹却留给了后人很多人生道理，其价值甚至超过文学本身。她们的牺牲提醒我们在现代我们不能从体力和性别来估价孩子，就像我们估价任何干重活的牲口一样，我们要看中他们的诚实，坚强，专注和勇气——男孩、女孩双方的精神世界是否丰富。

one remembers Branwell's name, much less his art or literature, but the Bronte

sisters' tragically short lives teach us even more of life than of literature.

much less: certainly not

He's too shy to ask a stranger the time, much less speak to a room full of people.

I didn't even see him, much less speak to him.

2. Their sacrificed genius cries out to us that in modern society we must value

children not for their physical strength or gender, as we would any mere beast of

burden, but for their integrity, strength, commitment, courage --- spiritual qualities

abundant in both boys and girls.

[paraphrase] Their sacrificed genius tells us forcefully that we must value children not

for their physical strength or gender, as we would value animals such as horses, and

cattle that do physical work for us, but for their integrity, strength, commitment,

courage ── spintual qualites, abundant in both boys and girls.

as we would any mere beast of burden: As we would value animals such as horses,

and cattle that do physical work for us.

spiritual qualities: quality when applied to people is a countable noun for denoting a

person's upbringing, characteristics and attributes. For example, The two candidates

share many of the same qualities: generosity, modesty and integrity. Quality is used as

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an uncountable noun with reference to the grade of excellence or the standard of

something. For example, The material is of poor quality.

abundant: occurring in or marked by abundance; plentiful.

We have abundant proof of his guilt.

Our country is abundant in natural resources.

cry out: to tell sb. forcefully; call out loudly in words, exclaim

The danger of death on the highway cries out for careful driving.

He cried out for mercy.

The monkeys cry out shrilly when they see danger.

Para 10 Patrick Bronte fathered Branwell, but more important, he fathered

Anne, Emily and Charlotte. Were he alive today he would surely urge us to put

away our passé prejudices and avoid his own tragic and irrevocable error of

putting all of his eggs in one male basket!

勃朗特培养了勃兰威尔，更重要的是他的三个女儿，要是今天他仍然活着的话，他一定会鼓励世人抛开腐朽观念，以免重蹈他的覆辙。象他那样孤注一掷造成了无可挽回的过失。

k Bronte fathered Branwell, but more important, he fathered Anne, Emily and

Charlotte.

father: v. to procreate (offspring) as the male parent.

She claims Mark fathered her child.

He fathered at least three children by the wives of other men.

2. Were he alive today he would surely urge us to put away our passé prejudices and

avoid his own tragic and irrevocable error of putting all of his eggs in one male

basket!

urge: to force or drive forward or onward; impel; to entreat earnestly and often

repeatedly; exhort.

He urged her to rest.

When my old friend Brian urged me to accept a cigarette, it was more than I could

bear.

to put away our passé prejudices: to cast away our old prejudices against females.

Passé is a French word meaning past.

irrevocable: impossible to retract or revoke

The president declared an irrevocable decision.

The old picture reminds him of his irrevocable yesterday.

putting all of his eggs in one male basket: putting all his hopes on his son. The

expression is derived from the saying putting all one's eggs in one basket, which

means to depend entirely on the success of one scheme, plan, etc.

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本文标签： 艺术姐妹学校人生女人