《纽约客》精读 猫猫特辑| 第四期 论猫猫的优越性

「《纽约客》精读 」选取The New Yorker杂志的片段，介绍文章背景、精讲单词、词组和句式。这是一个固定栏目，更新频率为每周两次。「猫猫特辑」将不定期出现。

本期选段来自文章Defence of Cats, 刊登于1934年，作者Wolcott Gibbs是《纽约客》一名编辑，擅长幽默文风。一日，他读到一篇采访，受访人是一位作家+记者+爱狗人士，采访中有大量诋毁猫猫的言论，认为猫猫不像狗狗那样忠诚、不会从河中救出小孩，也不会学习表演鼻子顶球。这篇Defence of Cats正是用来反驳这位爱狗人士。

Cats vs. Dogs

Dogs, like all weak and sentimental characters, are highly susceptible to suggestion, and they, too, have come to accept this unfortunate conception of themselves. They have been quite willing to learn foolish tricks and run pointless errands, forfeiting their dignity and diffusing their personalities, until the average dog today is a sorry creature, functioning adequately neither as a guest in the house nor a servant.

Cats, on the other hand, have character and independence. They are realists, and they understand perfectly their position in domestic life, which is decorative and nothing else. Cats don’t work, and I suspect they look on dogs, who do, as scum.

Words

1. are highly susceptible to suggestion

susceptible adj. 易受影响/感染的

likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing

常用结构 be susceptible to sth.

e.g. Are children less susceptible to coronavirus?

孩子更不易感冠状病毒吗？

suggestion n. (心理)暗示

the action of calling up an idea in someone's mind by associating it with other things

这里的suggestion不是建议，而是暗示。

2. unfortunate conception of themselves

conception n. 看法、认知

the way in which something is perceived or regarded

conception有多层词意

1）受孕、孕育: premarital conception 未婚先孕

2）构思，包含概念、看法、认知的意思

a product's conception and launch 产品的构思和上线

3. forfeiting their dignity 

forfeit v. 丧失、被剥夺

lose or be deprived of (property or a right or privilege) as a penalty for wrongdoing

forfeit常见于法律语境，forfeit assets 剥夺财产

forfeiture 名词形式，没收、充公之意，the forfeiture of criminal assets 犯罪所得资产的没收

4. diffusing their personalities

diffuse v. 扩散、传播

spread over a wide area or between a large number of people

diffuse作为动词，是在人群中扩散、传播、散布之意。作形容词，意思为分散的、不清晰的(not concentrated, lacking clarity or conciseness)。

两类词性的意思结合能更好理解diffuse their personalities的含义，狗狗的个性容易随着与外部环境融合，性情不会很尖锐，diffuse这里可以翻译成「模糊」。

5. they look on dogs, who do, as scum

look on: 看待

regard in a specified way

who do: dogs do (work)

对应前面的Cats don't work

scum n. 可鄙、可怜之人

a worthless or contemptible person

scum还是很粗鲁的，真实语境中的运用远比字典定义来得更具攻击性和侮辱性。Scum本义有灰尘的意思，就是「渣渣」的概念。

最近scum是热门词汇，川普在推特上说，

“New York was lost to looters, thugs, Radical Left, and all others forms of Lowlife & Scum.”

「纽约被抢劫者、恶棍、激进左派和其他各种形式的低等生物和渣渣夺走。」

这也不是他第一次用这个词。

“human scum” 「人渣」

当然咯，口吐芬芳就得遭他人的芬芳。

这不，Trump最近也被一位国会议员称为scum。

Phrases

1. learn fool tricks and run pointless errands

学习愚蠢的雕虫小技、为毫无意义的差事跑腿

errand n. 差事

a short journey undertaken in order to deliver or collect something

run an errand是常用搭配

2. a sorry creature

一种可怜/可悲的生物

3. functioning adequately neither as a guest in the house nor a servant

（狗狗在家里的地位）既不足以成为客人，也不是仆人

4. have character and independence

（猫猫）有品格和独立性

character n. 品格、刚毅、骨气

strength and originality in a person's nature

5. understand perfectly their position in domestic life

非常明白它们在家庭生活中的地位

Sentences

1. They have been quite willing to learn foolish tricks and run pointless errands, forfeiting their dignity and diffusing their personalities, until the average dog today is a sorry creature, functioning adequately neither as a guest in the house nor a servant.

这个句子虽然看起来长，动词短语层层嵌套，但实际上句式工整、层级分明，从内容和形式上都进行了划分。

核心层级：learn foolish tricks and run pointless errands与the average dog is a sorry creature

修饰层级：两个现在分词结构, forfeiting their diginity and diffusing their peronalities 与 functioning adequately...丧失自尊和模糊个性，作为学愚蠢技能和跑无聊差事的结果。既不足以成为客人，又不是仆人的尴尬境地，解释a sorry creature的地位。

核心层级内容，都用形象、简单的语言。修饰层级的内容，语言和概念都更抽象。这样的句式设置，搭配和分工明确：核心简洁易懂，传递句意；修饰内容补充信息、提升思想高度。

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