02 Heal the Children, Heal the World (B)拯救儿童，拯救世界 (B)

I used to think that I was unique in feeling that I was without a childhood. I believed that indeed there were only a handful people with whom I could share those feelings. When I recently met with Shirley Temple Black, the great child star of the 1930s and 40s, we said nothing to each other at first. We simply cried together, for she could share a pain with me that only others like my close friends Elizabeth Taylor and McCauley Culkin knew.

I do not tell you this to gain your sympathy but to impress upon you my first important point—it is not just Hollywood child stars that have suffered from a nonexistent childhood. Today, it's a universal calamity, a global catastrophe. Childhood has become the great casualty of modern-day living. All around us we are producing scores of kids who have not had the joy, who have not been accorded the right, who have not been allowed the freedom, or knowing what it's like to be a kid.

Today children are constantly encouraged to grow up faster, as if this period known as childhood is a burdensome stage, to be endured and ushered through, as swiftly as possible. And on that subject, I am certainly one of the world's greatest experts.

Ours is a generation that has witnessed the abrogation of the parent-child covenant. Psychologists are publishing libraries of books detailing the destructive effects of denying one's children, the unconditional love that is so necessary to the healthy development of their minds and character. And because of all the neglect, too many of our kids have, essentially, to raise themselves. They are growing more distant from their parents, grandparents and other family members, as all around us the indestructible bond that once glued together the generations, unravels.

This violation has bred a new generation; Generation O let us call it, which has now picked up the torch from Generation X. The O stands for a generation that has everything on the outside—wealth, success, fancy clothing and fancy cars, but an aching emptiness on the inside.

我曾以为只是我自己有这种没有童年的感觉。我认为，只有极少数人可以与我一起分担那种感觉。最近，当我遇到二十世纪三四十年代的童星秀兰·邓波儿的时候，一见面我们没有说任何话，只是一起哭泣。因为她能理解我的痛苦，而这些痛苦以前只有我最亲密的朋友伊丽莎白·泰勒和麦考利·卡尔金才能体会到。

说这些并不是想博得你们的同情，只是想让你们知道我要讲的第一件重要的事情--不只是好莱坞的童星们才会遭受没有童年的痛苦。如今，它已成为一种普遍的灾难，全世界的灾难。童年已经成为了现代生活的牺牲品。我们身边有很多小孩，他们不曾拥有快乐，不曾得到应有的权利，不曾获得自由。他们甚至不知道，作为一个孩子究竟应该是怎样的。

今天，人们鼓励孩子们快点长大，好像这个被称作“童年”的时期是一个麻烦的阶段，是一个长期的需要指引的过程，越快结束越好。在这个问题上，我无疑是世界上最专业的人士之一。

我们是见证了父母与子女之间的盟约被废除的一代人。心理学家们在许多书里都详细地陈述了如果不给孩子爱会带来什么负面影响。无条件的爱对孩子们思想和性格的健康发展是十分必要的。由于人们忽视了所有这些问题，很多孩子从根本上必须自己照顾自己，这导致他们与自己的父母、祖父母和其他家庭成员的关系越来越疏远，也导致曾经把几代人都联系在一起的、坚不可摧的凝聚力瓦解了。

这种违背常理的行为造就了新一代人，让我们称之为“O时代”的人，他们接过了“X时代”人的火炬，拥有一切外在的东西——财富、成就、精美的服装和豪车，但内心却很空虚。

单词解析 Word Analysis

unique[juː'niːk] adj．独特的；稀罕的

例 We all have unique skills and gifts.

我们都有独特的技能和天赋。

sympathy ['sɪmpəθɪ] n． 同情；慰问；赞同

例 I feel sympathy for those who are involved in the war.

我对那些战争中的人表示同情。

universal[juːnɪ'vɜːs(ə)l] adj．普遍的；通用的

例 This chart will illustrate how universal these concepts are.

这个表格将展示这些概念有多普遍通用。

catastrophe [kə'tæstrəfɪ] n． 大灾难；大祸

例 A catastrophe is around the corner.

一场大灾难即将来临。

abrogation ['æbrə'geʃən] n． 废除；取消

例 The president announced the abrogation of the regulation.

主席宣布了这则条例的废除。

covenant ['kʌv(ə)nənt] n． 契约；盟约

例 Covenant in Israel becomes the basis of social ethnics.

在以色列，契约成为最基本的社会道德规范。

indestructible[ɪndɪ'strʌktɪb(ə)l] adj．不可毁灭的；坚不可摧的

例 He tries to convince us that the soul is immortal and indestructible.

他试图说服我们灵魂是永恒且不能毁灭的。

语法知识点 Grammar Points

① I used to think that I was unique in feeling that I was without a childhood.

这个句子中有一个结构“used to do”，表示“过去常常做某事”。需要区分几个较为相似的结构：be used to do，表示“被用来做……”; get used to doing，表示“习惯于”。

例 He used to play basketball when he was young.

他年轻的时候常常打篮球。

Wood is often used to make desks and chairs.

木头常常被用来制作桌椅。

He isn't used to eating Chinese food.

他不习惯吃中餐。

② It is not just Hollywood child stars that have suffered from a nonexistent childhood.

这个句子中有一个结构“suffer from”，表示“遭受；忍受”。

例 How long have you been suffering from the headache?

你头痛有多久了？

③ They are growing more distant from their parents, grandparents and other family members, as all around us the indestructible bond that once glued together the generations, unravels.

这个句子中有一个结构“be distant from”，表示“远离”。

例 The moon is distant from the earth.

月亮和地球距离很远。

④ Generation O let us call it, that has now picked up the torch from Generation X.

这个句子中有一个结构“pick up”，在这里表示“捡起，拾起”。pick up还有“接某人；通过学习或经历获得”的意思。

例 He picked up the broken pieces of glass.

他捡起了玻璃碎片。

The bus picked up three commuters at the bus stop.

公共汽车在公交站载送了三个通勤者。

I picked up French when I was in France.

我在巴黎学习了法语。

经典名句 Famous Classics

1. The office of the scholar is to cheer, to raise, and to guide men by showing them facts amidst appearances.

学者的工作就是通过向大众提示存在于现象中的事实来鼓舞大众、教育大众、引导大众。（爱默生）

2. Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.

爱情不在于相互凝视，而在于共同往外朝一个方向看。（圣埃格·楚佩里）

3. Life is made up of sobs, sniffles and smiles with sniffles predominating.

人生是由呜咽、抽泣和微笑组成的，而在三者之中，抽泣处于支配地位。（欧·亨利）

4. If you have great talents, industry will improve them; if you have but moderate abilities, industry will supply their deficiency.

如果你有天赋，勤勉会使其更加完善；如果你能力一般，勤勉会补足缺陷。（雷诺兹）

5. A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.

只要一个人还有追求，他就没有老。直到后悔取代了梦想，一个人才算老。

读书笔记

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