胡敏读故事记托福词汇074：一篇思想开放的论文 An Open-minded Dissertation

“I think we can disregard this article,” said John, as he helped Mary prepare materials for her political science dissertation. “The author’s dissenting opinions have brought him into disrepute, especially among his peers.”

“我想我们可以不考虑这篇文章。”约翰说。他在帮玛丽写政治科学论文准备材料。“这个作者坚持异议，这使他，尤其是在他的同辈学者中，声名狼藉。”

“Wait a minute,” responded Mary. “I don’t consider a person to be disreputable just because he is a dissenter. Maybe he did disrupt their traditional thinking, but isn’t a little bit of dissonance healthy for the intellectual community? Dissimilar thinking sometimes leads to better ideas and progress. Besides, it’s not likely that he’s been disrespectful to his peers, right?”

“等等，”玛丽应声说，“我不会因一个人是持不同政见者，就认为他品行不端。也许他的确打乱了他们的传统思想，但一点点意见不一致不更有利于知识界的发展吗?不同的思维有时会引发更伟大的思想和进步。此外，好像他并没对他的同辈学人有过失礼之举，是吧?”

“I don’t know,” said John. “I do know he is a member of a dissident group. I have also heard that he leads a dissolute lifestyle, but that is probably just a nasty rumor. Sometimes I see him at the cafeteria near the university. He is always disseminating literature about his opinions. Our professors tell us it’s rubbish and try to dissuade us from reading it.”

“我不知道，”约翰说，“我只知道他是一个持不同政见者组织的成员。我还听说他生活放荡不羁，但这也许只是恶意的谣言。有时我在大学旁的自助餐厅见到他。他总在宣传与他观点有关的文学。教授们告诉我们他在胡说八道，并努力劝我们不要读他的作品。”

“Don’t you see what’s going on?” said Mary with a smile. “Your professors are trying to keep you from learning new ideas! They only call it rubbish to dissemble their real motives. When all the smoke dissipates, you’ll see the truth.”

“你难道不明白是怎么回事吗?”玛丽笑着说，“你们的教授在尽力阻止你们接受新思想。他们把它说得分文不值就是为了掩盖自己的真正动机。当所有的烟雾散去时，你会看到庐山真面目的。”

“Really?” replied John. “I can’t imagine professor Smith trying to dissimulate her true thoughts, she’s usually pretty candid. So is professor Doe.”

“真得吗?”约翰回答，“我真想不出史密斯教授在努力隐藏自己真实的思想。通常她是很坦诚的。多伊教授也一样。”

“Are you from some distant planet?” asked Mary with a laugh. “Professor Smith dissects plants all day in botany class. Professor Doe spends most of his time dissolving chemicals in chemistry class. What could these two professors possibly know about political science?”

“你是从某个遥远的星球来的吧?”玛丽大笑着问，“史密斯教授整天在植物学课上解剖植物，多伊教授的大部分时间则花在课上的溶解化学制品。关于政治科学这两名教授又能知道些什么呢?”

Words:

disregard vt. 不理会，不顾;蔑视

disreputable adj. 声名狼藉的，品行不端的

disrepute n. 坏名声，不光彩

disrespectful adj. 无礼的，轻视的

disrupt vt. 使混乱，使中断

dissect v. 解剖(动植物等);详细研究，剖析

dissemble v. 掩盖，掩饰

disseminate vt. 传播，宣传

dissenter n. 不同意者，反对者

dissenting adj. 不同意的

dissertation n. 论文

dissident n. 持不同政见者;adj. 持不同政见的

dissimilar adj. 不同的，相异的

dissimulate v. 掩饰，隐藏

dissipate vi. 消失，消散

dissolute adj. 放荡的，无节制的，堕落的

dissolve vt. 使溶解

dissonance n. 不一致，不调和

dissuade v. 劝阻，阻止

distant adj. 远离的，遥远的