新视野大学英语第四册Unit 1及unit8课文翻译.doc

新视野大学英语第四册Unit 1课文翻译 An artist who seeks fame is like a dog chasing his own tail who, when he captures it, does not know what else to do but to continue chasing it. 艺术家追求成名，如同狗自逐其尾，一旦追到手，除了继续追逐不知还能做些什么。 The cruelty of success is that it often leads those who seek such success to participate in their own destruction. 成功之残酷正在于它常常让那些追逐成功者自寻毁灭。 "Don't quit your day job!" is advice frequently given by understandably pessimistic family members and friends to a budding artist who is trying hard to succeed. 对一名正努力追求成功并刚刚崭露头角的艺术家，其亲朋常常会建议“正经的饭碗不能丢！”他们的担心不无道理。 The conquest of fame is difficult at best, and many end up emotionally if not financially bankrupt. 追求出人头地，最乐观地说也困难重重，许多人到最后即使不是穷困潦倒，也是几近精神崩溃。 Still, impure motives such as the desire for worshipping fans and praise from peers may spur the artist on. 尽管如此，希望赢得追星族追捧和同行赞扬之类的不太纯洁的动机却在激励着他们向前。 The lure of drowning in fame's imperial glory is not easily resisted. 享受成功的无上光荣，这种诱惑不是能轻易抵挡的。 Those who gain fame most often gain it as a result of exploiting their talent for singing, dancing, painting, or writing, etc. 成名者之所以成名，大多是因为发挥了自己在歌唱、舞蹈、绘画或写作等方面的特长，并能形成自己的风格。 They develop a style that agents market aggressively to hasten popularity, and their ride on the express elevator to the top is a blur. 为了能迅速走红，代理人会极力吹捧他们这种风格。他们青云直上的过程让人看不清楚。 Most would be hard-pressed to tell you how they even got there. 他们究竟是怎么成功的，大多数人也都说不上来。 Artists cannot remain idle, though. 尽管如此，艺术家仍然不能闲下来。 When the performer, painter or writer becomes bored, their work begins to show a lack of continuity in its appeal and it becomes difficult to sustain the attention of the public. 若表演者、画家或作家感到无聊，他们的作品就难以继续保持以前的吸引力，也就难以保持公众的注意力。 After their enthusiasm has dissolved, the public simply moves on to the next flavor of the month. 公众的热情消磨以后，就会去追捧下一个走红的人。 Artists who do attempt to remain current by making even minute changes to their style of writing, dancing or singing, run a significant risk of losing the audience's favor.