Добавил:
ivanov666
Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз:
Предмет:
Файл:США. Этические проблемы. Учебное пособие на английском языке.pdf
arts; the conquests of the one are therefore gained by the plough-share; those of
the other by the sword. The Anglo-American relies upon personal interest to
accomplish his ends, and gives free scope to the unguided exertions and
common sense of the citizens; the Russian centers all the authority of society in
a single arm: the principal instrument of the former is freedom; of the latter,
servitude. Their starting point is different, and their courses are not the same;
yet each of them seems to be marked out by the will of Heaven to sway the
destinies of half the globe.
These prescient words were written in 1835 by Alexis de
Tocqueville in his epic work, Democracy in America. The French
traveler, like many others since his time, was struck by the differences
as well as the similarities between Americans and Russians.
The surface similarities are readily apparent. Russians feel a
common identity with Americans as citizens of multiethnic,
continental, great powers. In history, both peoples have been
expansionist. Americans moved west from the Atlantic coast across
the Great Plains and the Rockies to the Pacific shores. Russians
expanded in all directions but mostly east beyond the Ural Mountains
and across the vast stretches of Siberia to the Pacific shores, and
beyond to Alaska in 1741. And Russians and Americans eventually
met in 1812 in California where so many new overtures seem to occur.
Both tamed a wilderness. Indeed, as Russian and American
historians have noted, there is a frontier spirit shared by Siberia and
the American West. The landowning gentry and the bonded serf of
European Russia were not common to Siberia, which was settled by
such diverse groups as Cossacks, political and religious dissidents,
independent peasants, runaway serfs, and exiled convicts. Today’s
residents of the Siberian metropolis Novosibirsk liken it to Chicago,
which they know, by reputation, as a hustling, bustling city serving a
vast hinterland. And both Russians and Americans regard themselves
as chosen nations with a messianic mission, destined to bring their
own versions of enlightenment to less fortunate people.
America and Russia today are also nuclear powers with the
capacity to destroy each other and the rest of the world as well.
Likewise, they face the challenges of reducing their awesome arsenals
21
of armaments and of coping with the environmental consequences of
their weapons industries.
Americans and Russians also think big. Both are energetic and
inventive. Russians appreciate the casual, direct, and often blunt
American way of speaking, which they liken to their own — without
pretense and much different from the West European manner, which
they find formal, indirect, and less sincere. Finally, Russians, despite
their traditional suspicion of foreigners, show heartfelt hospitality to
visitors from abroad, a trait they share with Americans.
Differences between Russians and Americans are equally apparent.
Authority in America, as Tocqueville observed, has been diffused and
flows upward from the people to a representative government. In
Russia authority has been centralized and flows down. Pressure for
change in the United States has come from below, and elected
officials have either responded or eventually been replaced. Change in
Russia has been imposed from above, and Russians have usually
resisted because change there has been associated with hardship and
misfortune.
In the United States individuals are celebrated and their rights
vis-a-vis government are protected in both law and practice. In Russia,
from its beginnings, individual rights have been subordinated to the
greater communal good. In the United States pluralism and tolerance
for diverse views prevail. Such diversity appears chaotic to those
Russians who value consensus and a single prevailing truth. The
American economy is based in the private sector and a free market,
and the role of government has been minor. Russian governments,
whether tsarist, communist, or postcommunist, have distrusted the free
market and have played an active role in the economy. America’s
cultural roots are in Western Europe. Russia’s roots are in both
Europe and Asia, and historians still debate which has played the
greater role in shaping the Russian character.
Historical experience also separates Russians and Americans. For
most of its history Russia has been in a state of almost constant
warfare with neighboring nations, and its people often suffered
extreme cruelties and violence in their own land. Since the Civil War,
22
the United States has fought its wars mostly abroad, and its people
have not known wartime hardship and devastation.
Whether similar or dissimilar, the two countries were thrust upon
the world stage in the latter half of the twentieth century as nuclear
superpowers and forced, rather reluctantly, to interact with each other.
Only belatedly have they discovered the many common concerns they
share, the most vital of which is the preservation of peace in the
nuclear age.
These weighty concerns, however, have not always led to
improved understanding. Contact between Russians and Americans in
the past has been limited, separated as the two peoples have been by
distance, ideology, and language. Today, however, they are interacting
to an extent never anticipated, and the need for improved
understanding has become urgent, not merely for a few diplomats and
businesspeople but for all Americans and Russians.
CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS
Look up the following entries in the Dictionary of U. S. Life and
Culture (Жизнь и культура США: Лингвострановедческий
словарь) or other dictionaries and encyclopedias:
Alaska
American West
California
challenge
Great Plains
Rockies
Tocqueville, Alexis de
ACTIVE VOCABULARY
to allude to (v) — to mention briefly or indirectly
maintenance (n) — the action of keeping something (in good
condition) or the state of being kept: car maintenance;
maintenance of peace
23
a hustling, bustling city
hustling (adj) — quick and aggressive
bustling (adj) — busy, hurried
enlightenment (n) — greater knowledge or understanding
challenge (n) — 1. an invitation to compete in a fight, match, etc.: He
accepted his friend’s challenge to swim across the river. 2. a
questioning of the rightness, legality, etc. of something: The report
represents a challenge to the accepted version of events. 3. a
demanding task that calls for special effort or dedication: One of
the greatest challenges facing the present government is creating
new jobs and developing industries.
awesome (adj) — 1. inspiring awe 2. wonderful, impressive, excellent
awe (n) a mixed feeling of reverence, fear, and wonder caused by
something majestic, sublime, sacred, etc.: The sight filled us with
awe. He always stood in awe of his father.
to think big — to consider important issues, to plan to do things on a
large scale rather than carefully or in a limited way
casual (adj) — 1. slight or superficial; showing or feeling little interest;
or involvement; careless or cursory: His casual manner annoyed her.
He’s just a casual acquaintance. 2. not planned, incidental: a casual
visit 3. informal or relaxed; intended for informal situations or
occasions: casual clothes; casual atmosphere
blunt American way of speaking
blunt (adj) — frank and direct; not trying to be polite or tactful
authority (n) — a person or group having the power to make
decisions and take action
to be imposed from above
to impose (v) something on somebody/something — to apply or
establish by authority: to impose taxes 2. to try forcefully to make
accept an opinion, a belief, etc.
24
tolerance for diverse views
tolerance (n) for/of/towards — willingness to accept or allow
behavior, beliefs, customs, opinions, etc., which one does not like
or agree with, without opposition: a country with a reputation of
tolerance towards religious minorities
consensus (n) — a general agreement about a matter/opinion
to interact (v) with somebody — to work together or communicate
ASSIGNMENT 1
Make a list of similarities and differences between Russia and
the U.S. discussed in the text.
DISCUSSION
1. Who is Alexis de Tocqueville? What is he famous for?
2. Why does de Tocqueville allude to the Russians and the
Americans as “two great nations”?
3. Were the struggles with the wilderness and savage life the same
for both nations? If not, how were they different?
4. Why does the author believe that the principal instrument of the
Anglo-American is freedom, and of the Russian — servitude? How
does he explain his point of view? Do you agree? Justify your opinion.
5. What are the similarities between Americans and Russians
mentioned in the text? Dwell upon them. Are they really “surface”
ones?
6. What is meant by the “frontier spirit”? Do you agree that it is
shared by Siberia and the American West?
ASSIGNMENT 2
1. “National character” — myth or reality? Prepare a short speech
justifying your point of view.
2. Make a sketch of “the Russian character” and “the American
character” using information from the texts American Beliefs and
Values and From Nyet to Da.
25
TEXT 3
THE AMERICAN CONCEPTION OF A HERO
Of all figures from America’s past Abraham Lincoln is dearest to
the hearts of the American people. In fact, the admiration they have
had for him borders on worship. Writers note the fact that the Lincoln
Memorial in Washington, D.C., is not unlike the temples that ancient
Greeks built in honor of their gods, and that the annual ceremony of
celebrating Lincoln’s birthday in schools and other public places has
sometimes had characteristics of a religious service. Whether this last
observation is true or not, certainly Lincoln is a national hero. He had
many of the qualities of the hero that have appealed to Americans.
First of all, Lincoln’s career fits a popular American belief that
every boy can dream of becoming president. In other words, no matter
how humble a person’s beginning, there is no class system that
prevents him from becoming a leader in industry, government, or any
of the professions if he has ambition, brains, and a willingness to
work. Americans admire self-made man — the man who, with neither
money nor family influence, fights his way to the top.
Lincoln was born of poor parents. His mother died when he was
young. The shack in which he and his father lived one winter had only
three walls; the fourth side was open to the weather. He had little
opportunity for schooling. Most of his early study was done by
himself at night by the light of a fireplace. He did hard manual labor
through the day — splitting rails for fences, taking care of livestock,
working on a riverboat or in a store. But as he grew older he studied
law in his spare time and set up a practice. He was a good speaker and
student of political philosophy. His ability finally made a name for
him, and eventually he became president of the United States.
Lincoln is also admired because of his leadership during the
difficult period of the Civil War. He dared to do what he thought was
right at a time when his beliefs were unpopular with many people. He,
in a sense, represents the spirit of union among the states.
Before the Civil War, the economy of the South depended upon the
plantation system which made use of slave labor. Reformers in the
northern states put so much pressure upon the southerners to free their
26
slaves that some of the southern states wanted to secede from the
United States. They argued that the question of slavery was a matter
for the individual states to decide rather than the federal government,
and they did not want to submit to its decision. The national
government in Washington said that no state had the right to secede,
and the Civil War was the result. If the South had won the war, what
is now the United States might well have been divided into several
countries with peculiar regional interests and problems. Lincoln
dedicated himself to preserving the Union, and the northern states
with him at their head were victorious. Americans from both the North
and the South now generally feel that keeping the states together as
one country has produced long-range benefits, and Lincoln has
received much of the credit for holding the Union together.
Furthermore, Lincoln had many personal qualities that made him
dear to the hearts of his countrymen. He had infinite patience and
tolerance for those who disagreed with him. As president, he
appointed men to his cabinet whom he considered most capable for
the job, even though some of them openly scorned him and humiliated
him. He bore their discourtesy toward him with admirable restraint.
He was generous to his opponents. There are many stories about his
courteous treatment of southern leaders. When the war was over, he
bore the South no malice. In his famous Second Inaugural Address,
the words of which are carved on the walls of the Lincoln Memorial,
he said “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness
in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish
the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, care for him who
shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.”
Americans believe that if he had lived, he would not have tolerated the
vindictiveness that crept into the northern plans for postwar
government of the rebel states. Since generosity toward a defeated
opponent is admired by Americans, Lincoln fitted the national ideal of
what is right.
Shortly after the Civil War was over, Lincoln was shot one night
while attending a play in a Washington theater. He died within a few
hours. The hysterical reaction of the nation to his death was almost
27
unbelievable and demonstrated the adoration in which he was held.
Newspapers were edged with black; ministers gave praises of Lincoln
instead of their prepared sermons. His funeral procession in
Washington was miles long. Lincoln’s body was taken by train back
to his former home in Springfield, Illinois, but in all the major cities
through which the train passed, the casket was paraded through streets
lined with mourning thousands. In the small towns through which the
train passed, bells rang in honor of the dead president. Adoring
citizens lit torches along the railroad track to show their last respects.
It took the train twelve days to reach Springfield. Meanwhile, the
hysterical demand for vengeance upon Lincoln’s assassin was
unparalleled in United States history.
Thus the circumstances of his death made him a martyr for a cause
about which people were already highly emotional. This fact
immediately set Lincoln apart in a spectacular way from other national
heroes as did the recent deaths of John and Robert Kennedy. Had
Lincoln lived, it might well be that his postwar policies would have
brought criticism upon him which would have tarnished his
popularity. Instead, an assassin’s bullet erased in the minds of
Americans any faults he had and emphasized his virtues.
CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS
Look up the following entries in the Dictionary of U. S. Life and
Culture (Жизнь и культура США: Лингвострановедческий
словарь) or other dictionaries and encyclopedias:
Civil War
Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln, Abraham
log cabin
North, the
South, the
Union
28
ACTIVE VOCABULARY
to border on worship
to border (v) — 1. to be next to or adjoining 2. to be like; almost
be: His grief borders on madness.
worship (n) — strong usu. religious feelings of love, respect, and
admiration
to fit a popular belief
to fit (v) — 1. to be the right size or shape (for): This dress fits you
perfectly. 2. to be suitable or adapted to: to make the punishment fit
the crime.
Note that the usual past form of fit is fitted, but in AmE fit can
also be used as the past form of the first meaning: The jacket
fit/fitted him like a glove.
fit (adj) — adapted or suited, appropriate: This water is not fit for
drinking.
humble (adj) — 1. of low rank and position: He rose from humble
origins to become a prime-minister. 2. having a low opinion of
oneself and a high opinion of others: just a humble clerk
a self-made man
self-made (adj) — having become successful, rich, etc. by one’s
own efforts
to fight one’s way to the top
top (n) — the highest or most important rank/position
manual labor
manual (adj) — done by hand
to submit (v) — 1. to admit defeat: He was losing the fight but he
would not submit. 2. to offer for consideration: to submit a
proposal for approval
to bear malice — to wish somebody harm: I bear you no malice.
vengeance (n) on/ upon somebody — the paying back of an injury
that one suffered, revenge
29
assassin (n) — a person who murders somebody important or famous
for money or for political reasons
a martyr for a cause
martyr (n) — a person who is killed or made to suffer greatly
because of his or her religious or other beliefs
to tarnish one’s popularity
to tarnish (v) — to damage
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Make up your own sentences for translation from English into
Russian to illustrate how the additional vocabulary can be used in a
context.
2. Work with a dictionary to find out the difference in meanings of
the following synonyms: a) hysterical – emotional; b) admiration –
adoration – worship. Make up sentences of your own to illustrate their
shades of meaning. Consult a thesaurus for the possible antonyms.
3. Make up an outline of the text The American Conception of a Hero.
4. Look up Abraham Lincoln’s nicknames in the Dictionary of U.S.
Life and Culture (Жизнь и культура США: Лингвострановедческий словарь) or other dictionaries and encyclopedias and
explain how they reflect his personality.
DISCUSSION
1. What are the signs of the admiration for Abraham Lincoln
mentioned in the text? Can you think of any other manifestations of
this admiration?
2. How would you define the notion of a hero? What are the
qualities of a hero according the text? Can they be classified into
groups (personal traits, background, etc)?
3. What is Lincoln’s background? How does it correlate with the
concept of a hero?
30