2008年专四阅读翻译

　　TEXT D

　　Public speaking fills most people with dread. Humiliation is the greatest fear; self-exposure and failing to appeal to the audience come a close second. Women hate it most, since girls are pressurized from an early age to be concerned with appearances of all kinds.

　　Most people have plenty of insecurities, and this seems like a situation that will bring them out. If you were under pressure to be perfect, you are terrified of failing in the most public of ways.

　　While extroverts will feel less fear before the ordeal, it does not mean they will necessarily do it better. Some very shy people manage to shine. When I met the British comedian Julian Clary, he was shy and cautious, yet his TV performances are perfect.

　　In fact, personality is not the best predictor of who does it well. Regardless of what you are like in real life, the key seems to be to act yourself.

　　Actual acting, as in performing the scripted lines of a character other than yourself, does not do the job. While politicians may limit damage by having carefully rehearsed, written scripts to speak from, there is always a hidden awareness among the audience that the words might not be true.

　　Likewise, the incredibly perfect speeches of many American academics are far from natural. You may end up buying their book on the way out, but soon afterwards, it is much like fast food, and you get a nameless sense that you’ve been cheated.

　　Although, as Earl Spencer proved at his sister Princess Diana’s funeral, it is possible both to prepare every word and to act naturally. A script rarely works and it is used to help most speakers.

　　But, being yourself doesn’t work either. If you spoke as if you were in your own kitchen, it would be too authentic, too unaware of the need to communicate with an audience.

　　I remember going to see British psychiatrist R. D. Laing speak in public. He behaved like a seriously odd person, talking off the top of his head. Although he was talking about madness and he wrote on mental illness, he seemed to be exhibiting rather than explaining it.

　　The best psychological place from which to speak is an unselfconscious self-consciousness, providing the illusion of being natural. Studies suggest that this state of “flow”, as psychologists call it, is very satisfying.

　　95. Women hate public speaking most mainly because of ______.

　　A. their upbringing very early on. B. their inability to appeal to the audience.

　　C. their sense of greater public pressure. D. their sense of greater humiliation.

　　96. “this” in Paragraph Two refers to ______.

　　A. insecurity. B. sense of failure. C. public speaking. D. pressure.

　　97. Which of the following is NOT the author’s viewpoint?

　　A. Acting like performers spoils the message in a speech.

　　B. Perfection of scripts is necessary in making good impressions.

　　C. Acting naturally means less dependence on the prepared script.

　　D. There should be a balance between actual acting and acting naturally.

　　98. What is the author’s view on personality?

　　A. Personality is the key to success in public speaking.

　　B. Extroverts are better public speakers.

　　C. Introverts have to learn harder to be good speakers.

　　D. Factors other than personality ensure better performance.

　　99. The author implies that while speaking R. D. Laing ______.

　　A. was both too casual and authentic. B. was acting like a performer.

　　C. was keeping a good balance. D. was aware of his audience.

　　100. In the last paragraph the author recommends that ______.

　　A. you forget about your nervousness. B. you feel natural and speak naturally.

　　C. you may feel nervous, but appear naturally. D. you may imagine yourself to be natural.

　　这是一篇科普方面的文章。文章阐述了很多人害怕在众人面前演讲的原因，及演讲成功的关键在于尽可能地表现自然。

　　演讲使很多人望而却步。首先是因为害羞，其次是害怕在众人面前露面且担心不能吸引听众。(95) 女人尤其讨厌演讲，因为女孩子从小就感受到各种公开露面的压力。

　　(96) 很多人都有较强的不安全感，这项活动似乎可以引发人们的不安全感。如果你事事要求完美，那么你就会害怕在人们面前失败。

　　(98) 性格外向的人在这种折磨下比性格内向的人感受到的恐惧要小些，但这并不意味着他们一定会比性格内向的人做得更好。有些很害羞的人也能成功得使自己脱颖而出。当我见到英国喜剧演员Julian Clary时，他显得害羞而谨慎，然而他的电视剧是却无可挑剔。

　　(98) 事实上，性格并不能最准确地预测出一个人能否成功。不管你在生活中是什么样子的，成功的秘诀似乎就是尽可能地表现自然。

　　(97) 像真正的演员那样表演，就像是在念别人的台词而不是你自己的台词一样，往往是行不通的。政治家会通过认真彩排来降低失败的风险，然而即使你照着写好的发言稿念，听众心里始终会对你所说的话的真实性存有疑问。

　　(97) 同样地，许多美国学者的完美地不可思议的演讲都极不自然。你可能会在听完演讲后买他们的书，但是很快，你会有一种莫名的上当受骗的感觉，就像吃完快餐食品后的感觉一样。

　　尽管，Earl Spencer在他的妹妹戴安娜王妃的葬礼上的表现证明准备充分而又表现自然是可能的。(97) 但是稿子很少能起作用，它只是大多数演讲者的拐杖而已。

　　但是，表现自然同样行不通。如果你表现地好像在自家的厨房里说话那样，那样就过于真实了，而忘记了同听众进行交流。

　　我还记得那次去听英国精神病学家R. D. Laing演讲时的情景。(99) 当他即兴发言的时候表现地好像个十足的怪人。尽管他那天谈论的是有关疯狂的话题，而且他的文章写的是精神病，他看起来就像是在表演而不是在进行解释。

　　(100) 演讲时的最佳心理状态是无意识的自我意识，从而获得表现自然的幻觉。研究显示，这种被心理学家称之为“流动”的状态是最令人满意的。

　　▼ 试题分析

　　95. C) 细节题。(Lines 2~3, Para.1) Women hate it most, since girls are pressurized from an early age to be concerned with appearances of all kinds. 女人最讨厌演讲，因为女孩子从小就感受到各种公开露面的压力。

　　96. C) 推段题。(Line 1, Para.2)Most people have plenty of insecurities, and this seems like a situation that will bring them out. 很多人都有较强的不安全感，这似乎是造成这种局面的原因。根据上下文，指示代词this指代本篇主题：公开演讲。

　　97. B) 推断题。

　　①(Lines 1~2, Para. 5)Actual acting, as in performing the scripted lines of a character other than yourself, does not do the job. 像真正的演员那样表演，就像是在念别人的台词而不是你自己的台词一样，往往是行不通的。

　　②(Para.6)Likewise, the incredibly perfect speeches of many American academics are far from natural. You may end up buying their book on the way out, but soon afterwards, it is much like fast food, and you get a nameless sense that you’ve been cheated. 同样地，许多美国学者的完美地不可思议的演讲都极不自然。你可能会在听完演讲后买他们的书，但是很快，你会有一种莫名的上当受骗的感觉，就像吃完快餐食品后的感觉一样。

　　听完许多完美地不可思议的演讲后往往会有一种莫名的上当受骗的感觉。

　　③(Line 2, Para. 7)A script rarely works and it is used to help most speakers. 但是稿子很少能起作用，它只是大多数演讲者的拐杖而已。综合以上，可以推断出即使是精心准备的演讲也不一定能够博得听众的好感。

　　98. D) 推断题。本题采用排除法。

　　①(Line 1, Para.4)In fact, personality is not the best predictor of who does it well. 事实上，性格并不能最准确地预测出一个人能否成功。A可以排除。

　　②(Lines 1~2, Para.3)While extroverts will feel less fear before the ordeal, it does not mean they will necessarily do it better. Some very shy people manage to shine. 性格外向的人在这种折磨下比性格内向的人感受到的恐惧要小些，但这并不意味着他们一定会比性格内向的人做得更好。有些很害羞的人也能成功得使自己脱颖而出。B和C可以排除。

　　99. B) 推断题。(Para.9) He behaved like a seriously odd person, talking off the top of his head. Although he was talking about madness and he wrote on mental illness, he seemed to be exhibiting rather than explaining it. 当他即兴发言的时候表现地好像个十足的怪人。尽管他那天谈论的是有关疯狂的话题，而且他的文章写的是精神病，他看起来就像是在表演而不是在进行解释。因此R.D. Laing在演讲时更多搜是在表演，是在作秀。

　　100.D) 推断题。(Line1, Para.10) The best psychological place from which to speak is an unselfconscious self-consciousness, providing the illusion of being natural. 演讲时的最佳心理状态是无意识的自我意识，从而获得表现自然的幻觉。

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