像總統(tǒng)那樣讀書: 奧巴馬最愛的8本小說
作者:滬江英語
來源:互聯(lián)網(wǎng)
2015-08-14 10:29
"Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison托妮?莫里森《所羅門之歌》
“Song of Solomon” ends up on many to-read book lists because of the author's 1993 Nobel Prize for literature, and because the book itself won the prestigious National Book Critics Fiction award in 1977.?
《所羅門之歌》出現(xiàn)在很多閱讀清單上,因為它的作者獲得了1993年的諾貝爾文學獎,并且該書本身也獲得了1977年的著名的美國國家書評獎。
易詞解詞(BY 摩西)
Solomon n. 所羅門(男子名);所羅門(古以色列國王大衛(wèi)之子,以智慧著稱);大智者,聰明人。閃族語言構(gòu)詞法中有大量的3-consonant consonantal roots,即三個輔音字母作為有關(guān)系的名詞動詞形容詞的詞根,通過添加元音或雙寫輔音等功能實現(xiàn)語法功能。比如s-l-m這個組合表示順從、和平,于是Islam伊斯蘭是“順從上帝的旨意”,Solomon所羅門是“順從的”,shalom是“您好”,而Jerusalem耶路撒冷是“和平之基石”。
Somewhat like the James Joyce classic “Ulysses”, this book combines historical elements, free association, and unanswerable questions in the life of its main character. Beginning with a suicide and a black child's birth into a Michigan hospital, Morrison explores the complicated role of black family life, its heritage and its possible future.
有點像詹姆斯·喬伊斯的經(jīng)典《尤利西斯》,這本書融合了歷史元素、自由聯(lián)想以及無法回答的問題,展現(xiàn)了主角的生活。莫里森以自殺和在密歇根大學醫(yī)院出生的黑人小孩開始,探討了復雜角色的黑人家庭生活、遺產(chǎn)以及可能的未來。
"Self-Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson拉爾夫·瓦爾多·愛默生《自立》
Although essays aren't as popular as when Emerson was alive in the mid-1800's, this essay has become one of the author's most notable achievements.Emerson's philosophy as expressed in “Self-Reliance” embraced a combination of non-conformity to social trends. Also a great believer in the 'light within', Emerson gives continual nods to a divine Providence while holding fast to man's inherent goodness, and the necessity of holding to one's own convictions despite the inclinations and pressures of the crowd.
盡管這些散文不像19世紀中葉愛默生活著時那么流行,但是這部散文是作者最輝煌的成就之一。如《自立》中表達的那樣,愛默生的哲學將非整合融入到了社會趨勢中。他也是‘靈性之光’的虔誠信徒,盡管面臨壓力,他仍堅信神圣天意掌管了人性固有的閃亮,以及堅定自己的信念。
"For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway厄內(nèi)斯特海明威《喪鐘為誰鳴》
One of Hemingway's most celebrated novels, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” is an adventure story of almost mythic proportions. The protagonist, a teacher named Robert Jordan, finds love and battle in the Spanish Civil War. Pilar, one of the most influential and passionate characters (though not the love interest), displayed the 'Everyman' fierce peasant spirit and embodied the name of the author's fishing vessel.?
《喪鐘為誰鳴》是海明威最著名的小說之一,講述的是一個帶有神話色彩的冒險故事。主人公是一個叫羅伯特·喬丹的老師,在西班牙內(nèi)戰(zhàn)中經(jīng)歷斗爭找到了真愛。皮拉爾是其中最有影響力和充滿激情的人物(雖然不是愛慕對象),他展示了“普通人”強烈的農(nóng)民精神,呈現(xiàn)了作者的漁船的名字。
易詞解詞(BY 摩西)
novel adj. 新奇的;異常的,n. 小說。拉丁詞根nov-表示新的,與new同源,后綴-el指小,因此novel的字面意思就是“new short stories”,最初指作家薄伽丘等的短篇故事小說集,是與之前的稱謂Romance相對。
"The Federalist" by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay亞歷山大·漢密爾頓,詹姆斯·麥迪遜和約翰·杰伊《聯(lián)邦黨人文集》
This book is made of a series of essays on the validity and necessity of the United States Constitution, though it is more commonly referred to as the Federalist Papers. The reasoning behind political phrases in common use today, such as “checks and balances” and “bill of rights”, are worked out in 85 numbered works
這本書由一系列關(guān)于美國憲法的有效性和重要性的文章構(gòu)成,盡管它通常被稱為《聯(lián)邦黨人文集》?,F(xiàn)在普遍使用的政治短語的背后,例如“相互制衡”和“人權(quán)法案”,來收錄于這85篇作品里。