参考译文1. 课文一2. 课文二Text 1 The English Reserve and Politeness It seems to many people that the British are extremely polite and difficult to make friends with. Hopefully the following passage will help you to have a better understanding of the British character. To other Europeans, the best known quality of the British is reserve. A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers, does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited. It is difficult to get to know a reserved person; he never tells you anything about himself, and you may work with him for years without ever knowing where he lives, how many children he has, and what his interests are. English people tend to be like that. If they are making a journey by bus, they will do their best to find an empty seat; if by train, an empty compartment. If they have to share the compartment with a stranger, they may travel many miles without starting a conversation. If a conversation does start, personal questions like How old are you? or even What is your name? are not easily asked. Questions like Where did you buy your watch? or What is your salary? are almost impossible. Similarly, conversation in Britain is in general quiet and restrained and loud speech is considered ill-bred. This unwillingness to communicate with others is an unfortunate quality in some ways, since it tends to give the impression of coldness, and it is true that the English (except perhaps in the North) are not noted for their generosity and hospitality. On the other hand, they are perfectly human behind their barrier of reserve, and may be quite pleased when a friendly stranger or foreigner succeeds for a time in breaking the barrier down. Closely related to English reserve is English modesty. Within their hearts, the English are perhaps no less conceited than anybody else, but in their relations with others they value at least a show of modesty. Self-praise is felt to be ill-bred. If a person is, let us say, very good at tennis, and someone asks him if he is a good player, he will seldom reply Yes, because people will think him conceited. He will probably give an answer like, Im not bad, or Well, Im very keen on tennis. This self-deprecation is typically English, and, mixed with their reserve, it often produces a sort of general air of indifference which appears to foreigners difficult to understand and even irritating. The famous English sense of humor is similar. Its starting point is self-deprecation, and its great enemy is conceit. Its ideal is the ability to laugh at oneself at ones own faults, ones own failures and embarrassments, even at ones own ideals. The criticism, He has no sense of humor, is very commonly heard in Britain, where humor is so highly prized. A sense of humor is an attitude to life rather than the mere ability to laugh at jokes. This attitude is never cruel or disrespectful or malicious. The English do not laugh at a cripple or a madman, a tragedy or an honorable failure. Sympathy or admiration for artistic skill are felt to be stronger than laughter. Like a sense of humor, sportsmanship is an English ideal which not all Englishmen live up to. It must be realized that sport in its modern form is almost entirely a British invention. Boxing, association football, tennis and cricket were all first organized and given rules in Britain. Rules are the essence of sport, and sportsmanship is the ability to practise a sport in obedience to its rules, while also showing generosity to ones opponent and good temper in defeat. Moreover, sportsmanship as an ideal is applied to life in general. One of the most elementary rules of life is never hit a man when hes downin other words, never take advantage of another persons misfortune. English school-boys often show this sense of sportsmanship to a surprisingly high degree in their relations with each other. Another feature in Britain is politeness. On the whole British habits of politeness are very informal. All politeness is based on the elementary rule of showing consideration for others, and acknowledging the consideration they show to you. Excuse me is used as an advance apology for troubling somebody, as when passing in front of him or interrupting his conversation, or when putting a question to a stranger. Sorry expresses regret for an accidental disturbance or breach of manners. It also takes the place of no when you cannot agree to a request or an implied request like May I borrow your pen? or Do you know the time? or Have you any size seven shoes? Pardon? is the polite way of asking somebody to repeat what he has said. In Britain, except at school, please is no longer used in asking permission to speak, and the phrase No, please, so common abroad, would sound most unusual in Britain itself. Yes, please is the commonest use of the word, and is the opposite of No, thank you when replying to an of