Detailed Analysisof the Text

1.      It’s been said that raising a child effectively takes a village: Well, as you mayhave noticed, our American village is not in very good shape. (Para. 2)

There is an old saying that it takes the collective effort of awhole village to raise a child properly, that is, the whole village isresponsible for the healthy upbringing of a child.

our American village is not in very good shape: Note that the speaker is talking about any traditional American village?He is using the word village in a metaphorical sense, taking it tomean the country.

1. 2.      We’ve got guns, drugs, two wars,fanatical religions, a slime-based popular culture, and some politicians who—alittle restraint here—aren’t what they might be. (Para. 2)

Someof the problems of the United States the author mentioned in the sentence:

Guns: meaning the lack of gun control andthe atrocious crimes due to easy access to firearms

Drugs: referringto drug abuse and drug-related crimes

two wars: the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq

fanatical religions: referring to extreme fundamentalist sects and cult religions.

a slime-based popular culture: culture that employs sex and violence to appeal to people's basestinstincts

some politicians: The speaker probablywants to say “some politicians who are loathsome and disgusting”, but he checkshimself and decides to use understatement; “who… aren't what they might be” isless offensive and more effective than blunt accusation.

a little restrainthere: 我这里也许应该说得稍稍克制一点（不要太刻薄）

The speaker says this toshow that he is making a conscious effort not to be too outspoken.

Note that anunderstatement can not only have a humorous effect when used properly, it canalso very often be stronger than a plain matter-of-fact statement. Compare:

I don’t know how to describehim. Let me put it this way: honesty is not his strong point.

Before long, she discoveredthat the man she married was not what she thought he was.

Note:We can sense that the author is deeply concerned about socialproblems and the situation the country is in; politically his attitude is verycritical on many issues. He can be classified as a liberal, knows it and isproud of it. He is also witty and his lecture will not be pompous.

1. 3.      To merely survive in this American village and to win a place inthe entering class has taken a lot of grit on your part. So, yes,congratulations to all. (Para. 2)

You need to have alot of courage and determination to survive in this country and manage to entercollege. You have done both. Therefore I congratulate you.

1. 4.  Questions on Paragraphs 3-4:

2. 1)     Is the author disappointed with all American universities?

No, he says that one can get a terrific education in the UnitedStates, and the university the students have entered has all the essential ingredientsfor success students could hope for. But having obtained the opportunity to geta good education does not mean they are sure to get it.

1. 2)     So why can’t the students just go on as before, work hard, listento the teachers, and so on?

The speaker emphasizes the idea that true education is notsomething that will be presented to you on a platter. You must strive for it.You must fight.

1. 3)     The speaker asks the students to fight, but fight what? Fight who?

Fight those problems he mentioned just now? Yes. But there’s more.More importantly he asks them to fight the “institution”, because

all institutions have rules, traditions, systems, and principlesthat might impede students’ creative thinking. He will develop his ideas in thefollowing paragraphs.

1. 5.  …and occasionally even to piss off someadmirable people. (Para. 4)

… and occasionally even to offend some admirable people, likelearned professors and fine school leaders because you do not agree and feelyou must defy their authority and stick to your views.

        topiss off: (impolite) to annoy sb.very much 使人发火；使生气

Notice the speaker’s choice of words. He is sometimes deliberatelyusing words and expressions that will bring him closer to the students.

1. 6. I came to college with few resources, but one of them was anunderstanding, however crude, of how I might use my opportunities there. (Para. 5)

I came to college without much money (financial resources) or abilitiesand qualities that would help me succeed in college.

to hatch plans: to make plans,usually in a secret way秘密炮制(Remember that hatch’s primary meaning refers to hatching eggs.)

1. 7.  I was about to go off to college, a feat noone in my family had accomplished in living memory. (Para. 5)

As far as I orother living members of my family are aware, no one else in our family had ever been admitted to a university(I am the first college student in our family)

feat: an act or achievement thatshows courage, strength , or skill功夫；绝技；成就；业绩

1. 8.    My father compressed his brow and blew twin streams of smoke, dragonlike, from his magnificent nose. (Para. 5)

compressed his brow: to knit his brow orfrown

blew two streams of smoke, dragonlike, from his magnificent nose: The speaker’s father blew smoke through his nose, thus “twostreams”. Smokers sometimes also blow rings of smoke from their mouth.

dragonlike: like a dragon. Dragon is an imaginary fire-spitting animal.

magnificent nose: Magnificent mostlikely in size. The speaker is joking about his father’s big nose.

1. 9.    My father had some experience with lawyers, and with policemen,too; he was not well-disposed toward either. (Para. 5)

The speaker’s father wasnot well-disposed to lawyers and policemen. because he must have had someunpleasant experience with them before.The speaker does not say what kind of experience that is, but wecan assume that his father had most likely violated some rule or regulationpunishable by law.

1. 10.  That was not uncommon. My father detonated a lot. (Para. 6)

My father had a pretty hot temper. He blew up often.

1. 11.  We were rich kids minus the money. (Para. 6)

The speaker’s fatherreminds his son that he and his brother are poor, but he chooses to use thehumorous expression “rich minus the money” to protect his dignity, implyingthat his sons are just as rich as the rich children in many ways, and money isthe only thing they lack.

 

1. 12.  Then I had better study literature,unless I had inside information to the effect that reincarnation wasn't justhype, and I'd be able to attend college thirty or forty times. (Para. 6)

Everybody knows thereis no such nonsense as reincarnation unless I have some secret information thatthere is. (The speaker’s father of course is being sarcastic.)

1. 13.  What my father told me that evening was true in itself, and italso contains the germ of an idea about what a university education should be.(Para. 7)

What my father toldme that evening was quite true， and it could develop into a full understanding of the meaning of auniversity education.

1. 14.  They have it wrong. (Para. 7)

They have all got itwrong. / They have all failed to grasp the essence of a university education.

1. 15.  Education has one salient enemy in present-day America, and thatenemy is education. (Para. 8)

This sentence doesnot seem to make sense, but we know that when the speaker says that education’sobvious (noticeable) enemy in the US today is education, he is using the second‘education’ to refer to the way universities are currently run which in hisopinion is based on the wrong understanding of the proper aims of education.

1. 16.  … university education is a means to an end. For students, thatend is a good job. Students want the credentials …. They want the certificatethat will give them access to Wall Street, or entrance into law or medical orbusiness school. (Para. 8)

We often hear thateducation is a means to an end. But the question is to what end? The speaker’sanswer is: for students, that end is a good job, and a good job means a jobthat will bring power and money, and to get a good job, you must have goodcredentials or certificate or diploma. This is one of the most serious problemsof education in the speaker’s opinion. We probably must redefine education notas a means to an end, but an end itself.

1. 17.  And how can we blame them? America values power and money, bigplayers with big bucks. (Para. 8)

The speaker is rightthat a nation’s education reflects the basic values of the whole society. TheAmerican society values money and power. Thorstein Veblen, a well-known Americaneconomist once said bitterly that America is a country in which half of thepopulation are busy making money, while the other half are busy breedingmoney-makers.

player: A "player" iscontemporary slang and means someone who is highly successful in the area beingdiscussed - or just in general.  玩家

18.   Students come tocollege with the goal of a diploma in mind—what happens in between,… is oftenof no deep and determining interest to them. (Para. 8)

what happens in between: What happens between the time they enter college and the timethey graduate, that is, the time they spend in school

1. 19.  … they live with their prospects for success. (Para. 9)

… they live with their hopes of success in the future. They do notlive in the present.

1. 20.  If universities stopped issuing credentials, half of the clientswould be gone by tomorrow morning, with the remainder following fast behind.(Para. 9)

the clients: the students

the remainder: the other half

1. 21.  The idea that the courses you take should be the primary objectiveof going to college is tacitly considered absurd. (Para. 9)

tacitly: expressed orunderstood without being said directly暗中地；不明言地；默示地

1. 22.  The work they are compelled to do to advance…is, broadly speaking,scholarly work… this work has precious little to do with the fundamentals ofteaching. (Para. 10)

The professors arebusy with their own business too. They have no choice. If they want to get on,they must get tenure, promotion, raises, outside offers. They call themscholarly work, but it actually has very little to do with the real purpose ofteaching.

1. 23.  The public senses this disparity and so thinks of the professors'work as being silly or beside the point. (Para. 10)

The public is well awareof the difference between the professors’ so-called scholarly work and thefundamentals of teaching. Therefore the public thinks that professor’s scholarlywork is either silly or irrelevant.

1. 24.  But the public also senses that because professors don't payfull-bore attention to teaching they don't have to work very hard—they'vecreated a massive feather bed for themselves and called it a university. (Para. 10)

Because professors donot give much attention to teaching, the public therefore thinks that they donot have to work hard. The university is therefore a big comfortable featherbed professors have created for themselves.

full-bore: a. (informal) moving or operating with thegreatest power           

attention:全神贯注

1. 25.  This is radically false. (Para. 11)

radically: fundamentally, completely

1. 26.  Scholarship, even if pretentious and almost unreadable, isnonetheless labor-intensive. (Para. 11)

Professors are notlazy. They work hard. Their scholarly work may be hard to read because theywant to make readers feel they are more learned and successful than they reallyare. But it has taken them a lot of effort.

labor-intensive: 需要耗费大量劳力的；劳动密集型的

1. 27.  These essays are honest: their footnotes reflect real reading,real assimilation, and real dedication. (Para. 11)

他们的论文都是实实在在的：它们的注释都反映出他们的确认真阅读了大量的材料，吸收掌握了大量的东西，真正体现了对学术研究的献身精神。

1. 28.  Shoddy work—in which the author cheats, cuts corners, copies fromothers—is quickly detected. (Para. 11)

shoddy work：粗制滥造的作品

cut corners: to not do a job asthoroughly as you should so as to finish it quickly or save money  偷工减料

1. 29.  … that the results have almost no practical relevance to thestudents,… is a central element in the tragicomedy that is often academia. (Para.11)

The speaker thinksthat the academia (高等学府的学术界) is a tragicomedy (悲喜剧) mainly because of this. On the one hand its scholarship reflectsreal dedication, serious research, and tremendous effort; on the other hand, itis really of very little use to students….

have no practical relevance to: have no practical use to; does not have much connection with sb.’sneeds or interests.

1. 30.  The students and the professors have made a deal: neither of themhas to throw himself heart and soul into what happens in the classroom. (Para.12)

throw oneself into: to devote one’s energy to

heart and soul: whole-heartedly

1. 31.  The students write their abstract, over-intellectualized essays;the professors grade the students for their capacity to be abstract andover-intellectual—and often genuinely smart. (Para. 12)

We can see here that the speaker thinks that students’ papers aretoo abstract and pretentious.

1. 32.  For their essays can be brilliant, in a chilly way; they can alsobe clipped off the Internet, and often are. (Para. 12)

It does not mean thatthe students’ papers are usually stupid. No, the speaker says they can actuallyoften be smart or even brilliant, but he hastens to add, only in a chilly way,meaning in a cold, aloof, passionless way. Notice how he likes to impress youngstudents with the importance of being passionate.

1. 33.  … no one wants to invest too much in them—for life is elsewhere.The professor saves his energies for the profession, while the student saveshis for friends, social life, volunteer work, making connections, and gettingin position to clasp hands on the true grail, the first job. (Para. 13)

The professor saveshis energies for the profession. Here the word profession refers to hisscholarly work, not to his teaching.

clasp one’s hands onsth.: to hold sth. tightly

Note: The speaker knows that we can’t say either the professor or thestudent is evil or has committed any crime, but he feels sorry that like all smartpeople, they are prone to (likely to) look into matters to see how they mightgo about buttering their toast (improve their living standard, make more money,enjoy a better life materially).

1. 34. … when I suggested that this behavior mightbe grounds for sending the student on a brief vacation. I was, you might say,discomfited, and showed up to class for a while with my cell phone jiggered todial 911 with one touch. (Para. 14)

send sb. on a brief vacation: 让某人去度个假（这里指罚他停学一段时间）

Thespeaker is continuing his joke here.

1. 35. Throwing a student out of college… is almost impossible. Thestudent will sue your eyes out.(Para.14)

We might ask thespeaker here whether he thinks it would be a good thing if it were easy for theschool to throw a student out.

1. 36. One kid I knew (and rather liked) threatened on his blog tomince his dear and esteemed professor (me) with a samurai sword for the crimeof having taught a boring class. (The class was a little boring—I had a damned cold—but the punishment seemed a bitsevere.) (Para. 14)

The story the speaker tells the audience here is hilarious, butnot to be taken seriously. In the United States，university students do write about their professors on their blogs—and write evaluations of their courses, critiquing theirprofessors' teaching skills. So a student could have criticized the speaker forteaching a boring class and the speaker might defend himself by saying that hehad a cold. But the story is basically all fantasy. The speaker's serious pointmay be that students expect professors to entertain them; the professors whoare good entertainers receive high evaluations, but the criterion issuperficial. Less flashy teachers who think deeply can be the ones from whomthe students learn the most. 

37. I was, you might say, discomfited, and showed up to class for awhile with my cell phone jiggered to dial 911 with one touch. (Para.14)

The speaker is continuing his joke here.

For “discomfited” and“jiggered to dial 911,” see the Notes to the Text and the Vocabulary List.

1. 38. You'll find that cheating is common as well. As far as I candiscern, the student ethos goes like this: … it's okay to go ahead and takeadvantage.(Para. 15)

The fact thatcheating is rampant bothers the speaker and he is analyzing the reasons why itis so. It is interesting to note that liberals often tend to emphasize socialfactors rather than individual responsibility, the responsibility of the individualinvolved.

discern: to recognize or find out after studying sth. and thinking about it觉察

ethos: a set of attitudes and beliefs typical of a group of people 信条；精神特质

1. 8.    The Internet is amok with services selling term papers and thoseservices exist, capitalism being what it is, because people purchase thepapers—lots of them. (Para. 15)

amok with: running amok with sth., running wild, uncontrollable

capitalism being what it is: as it is natural under capitalism 这就是资本主义；资本主义就是资本主义（Under capitalism, people strive/struggle to meet market demands inorder to obtain profit）

1. 40. One of the reasons professors sometimes look the other waywhen they sense cheating is that it sends them into a world of sorrow. (Para.16)

look the other way: pretend not to see

1. 41. A friend of mine had the temerity to detect cheating on thepart of a kid who was the nephew of a well-placed official in an Arabgovernment complexly aligned with the U.S. (Para.16)

temerity: excessive confidenceand boldness; confidence and courage to do sth. dangerous and risky鲁莽

The student theprofessor caught cheating turned out to be the nephew of a foreign dignitary, a“princeling” you might say, and he comes from a country that is very closelyrelated to the US.

1. 42. Blacklimousines pulled up in front of his office and disgorgeddecorously suited negotiators. (Para.16)

These were obviouslyofficials from that country’s embassy sent to negotiate with the professorabout this case. The whole thing had become a tough diplomatic issue.

1. 43. Did my pal fold? Nope, he's not the type. But he did not enjoythe process. (Para.16)

Did my friend backdown? No, he is not the type of person who will easily give up his principlesunder pressure. But he did not like the experience he had to endure.

This again is aninteresting anecdote, but not a very good example, because the student involvedis too special.

1. 44. What colleges generally want are… so they may rise and enhancethe rankings of the university. (Para. 17)

well-rounded students: 全面发展的学生

Notice that thespeaker is not using the expression approvingly. He thinks that students shoulddo their utmost to pursue their interests rather than try to meet all of theuniversity’s demands

civic leaders: 公众领导人；政府官员

people who know what the system demands:那些知道这个社会体制需要的人

（people who know）how to keep matters light (那种知道）如何让天下太平（不给教授们和学校领导制造麻烦）的人

so they may rise and enhance the rankings of the university: 以便他们能不断提升，让学校排名提前。

Notice that thespeaker uses the word ‘brilliant’ sarcastically. He obviously does not sharethe view that the chief responsibility of professors is to enhance the rankingsof the university.

1. 45. In a culture where the major anddetermining values are monetary, what else could you do? How else would youlive if not by getting all you can, succeeding all you can, making all you can?(Para. 18)

In this paragraph,the speaker argues that all of these problems in education are caused by thefact that the dominant culture makes money its chief value.

The second sentenceis a parallel structure that shows the speaker’s strong disapproval of thissituation. The three phrases really mean the same thing. The repetition is foremphasis.

1. 46. The idea that a universityeducation really should have no substantial content, should not be about whatJohn Keats was disposed to call Soul-making, is one that you might thinkprofessors and university presidents would be discreet about. (Para. 19)

Professors andpresidents do not think the content of the courses really matters much, becausethey are soon forgotten anyway. It shouldn’t be about soul-making either.

The speaker issurprised that professors and presidents are actually by and large quite frankabout what they think are the aims of education. They do not hide their viewsbecause they do not feel embarrassed.

soul-making: moral cultivation,character-building, and intellectual development

discreet: careful about keeping/preventingsomething from being known or noticed by many people  言语谨慎的，说话小心不让人抓辫子的

1. 47. This view informed an addressthat Richard Brodhead gave to thesenior class at Yale before he departed to become president of Duke. (Para. 19)

to inform an address: to influence a speech, to run through a speech

他的报告里可以看到这种观点的影响。

1. 48. Brodhead… seems to take as his educational touchstone the Duke ofWellington’s precept that the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fieldsof Eton. (Para. 19)

touchstone: a standard that isused for testing or judging other things 试金石

1. 49. Brodhead suggests that… and will only hazily recollect… Paradise Lost. (Para. 19)

how to do the problem sets: how to do the sets of problems 怎么做那几套题

will only hazily recollect: will only vaguely remember

1. 50. All right, there's nothing wrongwith this as far as it goes—after all, the student who writes abrilliant forty-page thesis in a hard week has learned more than a little abouther inner resources. (Para. 20)

The speaker says thatfor Brodhead the legacy of students’ college years will be a legacy ofdifficulties overcome. The speaker agrees that there is some truth in that.Students who have handled tough tasks will have learned how to deal withdifficulties and therefore will also have more confidence. But he cannot acceptthe view that the content of courses does not matter at all. 

inner resources: This refers to such qualitiesas courage, confidence, and determination as opposed to knowledge and concreteskills.

1. 51. On the evidenceof this talk, no. (Para. 21)

The speaker isreferring to the talk he is giving. The speaker believes that it is utterlynecessary to help students figure out whether the stuff they're reading is trueor false and make them open to having their lives changed, but he is fullyaware that this is a fraught, controversial activity.

1. 52. This kind of perspective-altering teaching and learning cancause the things which administrators fear above all else: trouble, arguments,bad press, etc. (Para. 21)

The speaker believesthat true education should aim at giving students new perspectives. This isvery much in line with our emphasis on creative and critical thinking.

1. 53. So, if you wantan education, the odds aren't with you: … (Para. 22)

Therefore if you wantan education, that is, what the speaker thinks is a true education, the oddsare not in your favor. (你成功的机会不大)

odds: possibilities of somethinghappening

1. 54. … the otherstudents, who've doped out the way the place runs,… (Para. 22)

to dope out: (phrasal v. US) tofigure out

the way the place runs: the way a university runs

1. 55. … the student-services people are trying to keep everyonecontent… (Para. 22)

      the student-services people: peopleemployed to provide services for students (These include academic advising,career and life development, health and wellness, financial aid, psychological counseling, etc.)

1. 56. The development office is already scanning you for futuredonations. (Para. 22)

development office: The university officein charge of the growth of the university. To make the school grow, money isneeded, therefore the office is already scanning (carefully examining) thestudent for possible future donations.

1. 57.So why make trouble… delights for you. (Para. 23)

In this paragraph,the speaker points out to the audience that，as students, they have two alternatives. One is to go along, tofollow the crowd. In this way everybody will be happy. Professors can pursuepure thought, students can enjoy their impure pleasures, and student-services peoplecan impose fewer prohibitions and provide newer delights.

to assert : to demand that other people accept and respect (one’s authority)

Notice the antithesis (pure and impure) and the rhythm (fewer andnewer).

1. 58. …You'll have adriveway of your own. (Para. 23)

…You’ll have your own house and a private car.

1. 59. You'll also, if my father and Iare right, be truly and righteously screwed. (Para. 24)

Truly and righteously screwed: truly cheated and ruined，and yet you can’t blameanybody.

1. 60. The quest at the center of a liberal arts education is not aluxury quest; it's a necessity quest. (Para. 24)

The most importantthing of a liberal arts education is the quest for self fulfillment orself-realization. This quest is a must, not a luxury. Otherwise, the speakersays, “you risk leading a life of desperation. For you risk trying to besomeone other than who you are,” and this, he says, is killing in the long run.

1. 61. Your parents and friends, yourteachers, your counselors, your priests and rabbis and ministers and imams haveall had their say. (Para. 25)

In this paragraph thespeaker tells students that by the time they come to college, they have alreadybeen heavily influenced by their parents and friends, teachers and counselors.He especially stresses the influence of religion and family traditions as wellas what is called common sense.

counselor: (US) a person whose job is to give students advice or guidance atschool

size sb. up: to consider sb. in order to form an opinion or conclusion.

1. 62. They've given you a sharp and protracted taste of what theyfeel is good and bad, right and wrong. (Para. 25)

They have also throughall these years taught you their views of what is right and wrong, and what isgood and bad.

1. 63. Much is on theirside. (Para. 25)

The speaker agrees that the influences on the young students arevery strong and in the next three paragraphs, he admits that these influencesare not necessarily bad. All major religions contain profound truths, familytraditions and parental advice should not be ignored or thrown away, and commonsense also deserves our respect.

1. 64. … their hopes foryour fulfillment—or their fulfillment in you… (Para. 27)

他们期望着你能实现你的理想—或者在你身上实现他们（自己没有实现）的理想

1. 65. The major conservative thinkers have always been very seriousabout what goes by the name of common sense. (Para. 28)

The leadingconservative thinkers have always treasured what is known as common sense.

The speaker thinks EdmundBurke is a good example. Burke regards common sense as the profound, hard-earnedcollective wisdom of humanity.

the precipitate (of joy and tears): a solid substance separated from the fluid it was in (欢乐和眼泪)的沉淀物

1. 66. …and common sense is something to respect, though notquite—peace unto the formidable Burke—to revere. (Para. 28)

常识是应该尊重的东西，但不一定崇拜希望令人钦佩的伯克先生别生气。

1. 67. You may be allthat… But then again, you may not be. (Para. 29)

This paragraph servesas a transition. The speaker is now going to consider the question what if sstudent is not the person he is taken to be.

1. 68. The reason to read Blake and Dickinson and Freud and Dickensis… embarrassed (or who can embarrass others). (Para. 30)

Notice that the namesmentioned here are names of poets, a novelist, and a thinker because thespeaker is focusing on the importance of a liberal arts education. People oftendo not know the true value of reading. They just want to be considered culturedand articulate, and be able to show off, to impress others, to carry onintelligent conversations on social occasions. But these are not good reasons.According to the speaker, the best reason is to see if these writers may knowyou better than you know yourself.

1. 69. You may find your own suppressed and rejected thoughts flowingback to you with an “alienated majesty.” (Para. 30)

    你在阅读中会发现你自己过去有些遭到压制和拒绝的思想现在有点像遭贬的又庄严回来了。

1. 70. Reading the greatwriters, you… more yourself than you are. (Para. 30)

the sublime: the most beautiful and wonderful

for somehow yourpredecessors are more yourself than you are: Because somehow these writers seemto know you better than you do yourself.

1. 71. They gave words to thoughts and feelings that I had never beenable to render myself. (Para. 31)

to render: to put into words, to translate

1. 72. From Emerson I learned to trust my own thoughts, to trust themeven when every voice seems to be on the other side. (Para. 31)

The idea is that if one loves the truth, he should not be afraidto be alone. Emerson once said that to be great is to be misunderstood.

1. 73. I need the wherewithal, as Emerson did, to say what's on mymind and to take the inevitable hits. (Para. 31)

wherewithal: the ability/inner resources (in other contexts may mean money) todo something  资金和能力

to take the inevitable hits: to take the inevitable criticisms

1. 74. Much more Ilearned from the sage… (Para. 31)

The sage refers toEmerson, a man who is wise and shows good judgment.

1. 75. … but Emerson most centrally preaches the gospel ofself-reliance… (Para. 31)

Notice that forEmerson, self-reliance is not an economic concept. It mainly refers to man’srelationship with God, the State, and society.

76. “Society is a…, but names and customs.” (Para. 31)

Emerson compares society toa joint-stock company, and the members of society to shareholders. The companyis organized for the better securing of bread (bread here means"livelihood") for the members. And for this purpose the members agreeto give up their liberty and culture. The most important virtue in this societytherefore is conformity.

1. 77.Emerson's greatness lies not only in… for decades. (Para. 32)

Emerson regardsself-reliance as the force opposing conformity. Therefore he says that Emerson'sgreatness lies in showing how exhilarating it is to buck (to oppose, resist)them (names, customs, conformity).

A good example was atalk Emerson gave at Harvard in which his revolutionary religious views shockedboth professors and students. As a result Harvard did not dare to invite him tospeak again for decades after that.

1. 78. Freud was a speculative essayistand interpreter of the human condition. He challenges nearly every significanthuman ideal. (Para. 33)

According to thespeaker, Freud bases his views about the human conditions on guesses(speculation) rather than facts.

The speaker givesfour examples to illustrate that Freud challenges nearly every significanthuman ideal:

Our need forreligion: Freud says that this is onlyour longing for a father (a fatherly figure who will assume all of our worriesand look after all of our needs)

Our passion for love: He calls it “the overestimation of the erotic object.” (theworship of a person for whom we feel sexual passion)

Our desire forcharismatic leaders: He says that this comesfrom our hunger for absolute authority.

Our dreams: He declares that these are nothing but disguised fulfillments of our repressed wishes.

1. 79. I learned that if I wanted to affirm any consequential ideal,I had to talk my way past Freud. (Para. 34)

to affirm any consequential ideal: to declare my firm belief in any important ideal

to talk my way past Freud: to deal with Freud’s views and successfully argue with/refute himbefore (I can declare my belief in that ideal)

1. 80.He was—and is—aperpetual challenge and goad. (Para. 34)

Freud has something challenging and provoking to say aboutvirtually every human aspiration (desire or ideal). Therefore his writing is alwaysa challenge and goad (stimulus, spur).

81. We need to see where they fall short and where they exceed themark, and then to develop them a little... (Para. 35)

fall short: to fail to reach a standard or the required level 不够水平

exceed the mark：to be better than requiredor expected

1. 82. In reading, I continue to look for one thing—to be influenced,to learn something new, to be thrown off my course and onto another, betterway. (Para. 35)

to be thrown off my course and onto another, better way:使我摆脱老路。This is why the speaker said earlier that true education shouldaim at perspective-changing.

1. 83. Right now, if you’regoing to get a real education, you may have to be aggressive and assertive. (Para. 36)

The speaker tells thestudents that they may have to be aggressive and assertive instead of beingshy, bashful, submissive.

aggressive:有冲劲的；积极地；有进取精神的（注意，这里是褒义，不宜翻译成“富有侵略性的”或“咄咄逼人的”。）

assertive: 自信的（注意，此词可以有贬义，作过分自信、近乎狂傲解）

1. 84.Occasionally… “just one fuckin’thing after another.” (Para. 38)

to pester: to keep annoyingespecially by asking sb for something or to do sth.

whether there is a design to our history: whether history follows a fixed pattern or the planning of God

whether we’re progressing or declining: whether we are progressing toward paradise/a better world orwhether we are declining toward final self-destruction.