不读书的理由总比读书要多.docVIP

不读书的理由总比读书要多 　　贾庆文 选译 　　 　　There are plenty of books he hasn’t read―but that doesn’t mean he’s going to start reading them anytime soon. 　　有很多书他没有阅读过――但是这并不意味着他不久将会开始阅读它们。 　　 　　[1]I have never read War and Peace or Ulysses. I am only slightly ashamed. I have had ambitions to read both. Do I still have them? Maybe. I might make the attempt once again, given suitable circumstances―such as a month or two on a desert island, a spell in solitary confinement, a blackout of all TV channels, irreversible Internet failure, being sent to Coventry by my spouse. That sort of thing. 　　[2]In War and Peace, it is the Russian patronymics that defeat me. At least, I believe that is what they are called. Why can’t Russians have just one or, at most, two names apiece? 　　[3]In Chekhov’s plays, in spite of their relatively simple cast of characters, I can get confused. Even Uncle Vanya seems undecided about how many other names he has. Tolstoy is far worse. 　　[4]One in 10 men said he would fib about having read certain books in order to impress the opposite sex. 　　[5]Fascinatingly, the “younger generation is out to impress the most, with more than half of 19-to 21-year-olds expanding the truth.” 　　[6]This last statistic is perversely encouraging at a time when reading is reported to be going down the chute. So the reading of classic books is still considered a mark of status. Well, I never! 　　[7]I don’t think I have ever dared to lie about reading or not reading a book. It may be that I have not made a point of admitting out loud that I haven’t read a certain book; one doesn’t like to dampen the enthusiasm of someone who is sounding forth at jubilant length on a book everyone has read. 　　[8]If you aren’t a true bookworm, self-confidence is everything. 　　[9]I remember the glorious feeling, as a child, of being a bookworm―so entirely wrapped up in a book that nothing else mattered―curled in an armchair with a good winter fire ablaze, time vanishing. Lunch and teatime were un