世纪研究生公共英语教材十一单元课文与翻译

1.The origins of etiquette-----the convention rules of behavior and ceremonies observed in polite society-------are complex .one of them is respect for authority. From the most primitive times, subjects showed respect for their ruler by bowing ,prostrating themselves on the ground ,not speaking until spoken to, and never turning their backs to the throne . some monarchs developed rules to stress even further the respect due to them. The emperors of Byzantium expected their subjects to kiss their feet . when an ambassador from abroad was introduced , he had to touch the ground before the throne with his forehead . Meanwhile the throne itself was raised in the air so that ,on looking up , the ambassador saw the ruler far above him , haughty and remote

在上流社会，行为举止、各种庆典仪式都有传统的惯例，其起因相当复杂，他们的起因之一，是要对当权者表示尊重。在远古时期，臣民对统治者的膜拜表现在深深的鞠躬，匍匐在地，不问不能开口以及绝不能背对王位而行，有些君主为了使臣民对他们更加毕恭毕敬，又制定了许多繁文缛节，拜占庭时期的帝王们就让臣子庶民亲吻他们的双脚，当外交使节被引见的时候，他必须跪拜在王位之前，前额触地，而君主则高高在上，大使只能仰视君主，这样使君主更能居高临下，目空一切，高不可及，

2.Abosolute rules have , as a rule , made etiquette more complicated rather than simpler . The purpose is not only to make the ruler seem almost godlike ,but also to protect him from familiarity, for without some such protection his life ,lived inevitably in the public eye ,would be intolerable. The court of Louis XIV of France provided an excellent example of a very highly developed system of etiquette .Because the king and his family were considered to

belong to France ,they were almost continually on show among their courtiers. They woke, prayed , washed and dressed before crowds of courtiers .Even large crowds watched them eat their meals, and access to their palace which was free to all their subjects

通常情况下，专制的君主，都把礼仪变的更为复杂化，其目的不仅仅在于神化自己，

而且他们想通过超凡脱俗来巩固自己的神圣地位，因为没有这种保护要想在众人瞩

目之下生活将不堪承受，法国路易十四的王宫中有一套复杂、严明的礼仪，就是一

个极其典型的例子，因为国王和王室被认为是属于法兰西的，因而他们无时无刻不

把自己呈现在众臣之前，从起床就寝、祈祷神灵到梳洗更衣无一隐蔽，即使每日用

餐也在重视之下，所有子民都可自由进入王宫。

3.Yet this public life was organized so minutely ,with such a refinement of ceremonial ,that the authority of the king and the respect in which he was held grew steadily throughout his lifetime . A crowd watched him dress , but only the Duke who was his first valet de chamber was allowed to hold out the right sleeve of his shirt ,only the prince who was his Grand Chamberlain could relive him of his shirt , only the Master of the Wardrobe might help him pull up his breeches . These were not familiarities, nor merely duties ,but highly coveted privileges . Napoleon recognized the value of ceremony to a ruler .When he became Emperor , he discarded the revolutionary custom of calling everyone “citizen”, restored much of the Court ceremonial that the Revolution had destroyed, and recalled members of the nobility to instruct his new court in the old formal manners

这种公开化的生活安排的非常缜密，非常讲究礼仪，使得他的权威和人们对他的尊

敬终生不断增加，国王在众臣面前穿衣服，只有作为他贴身男仆的公爵才有资格伺

候他穿内衣，担任国王首席内侍的贵族为他脱晨衣，服饰总管帮他穿上马裤，所有

这些不是表示亲近，但也不仅仅是职责范围，而是令人垂涎的特权，拿破仑就意识

到这种君王礼仪的价值，当他称帝的时候，他首先废除了“公民”的称呼，这在革

命时期可是一种非常流行的相互间的称谓，他还恢复了许多革命时期废除的宫廷礼仪，他甚至还召回贵族们以旧式宫廷礼节专门训练他的大臣，

4.Rules of etiquette may prevent embarrassment and even serious disputes. The general rule of social precedence is that people of greater importance precede those of lesser importance. Before the rules of diplomatic precedence were worked out in the early sixteenth century , rival ambassadors often fought for the most honourable seating position at a function .Before the principle was established that ambassadors of various countries should sign treaties in order of seniority .disputes arose as to who should sign first . The establishment of