作品介紹
美國中學(xué)規(guī)定閱讀的十大經(jīng)典英文小說
作者：著名作家 整理日期：2022-07-17 08:44:05
美國中小學(xué)最重要的兩門課是語言和數(shù)學(xué)，如想獲得語言考試的好成績，必須有很強(qiáng)的閱讀能力。如果閱讀跟不上，語言考試是很難過關(guān)的。因此，美國中小學(xué)特別重視對學(xué)生進(jìn)行閱讀訓(xùn)練。
他們的語言課主要是閱讀，分精讀和泛讀。精讀課有些像我們的語文課，而泛讀課學(xué)生有較大自由，沒有統(tǒng)一的課本，通常由老師提出一個(gè)書單，供學(xué)生選讀，有時(shí)也指定若干本書為必讀。
下面是美國中學(xué)規(guī)定閱讀的十大經(jīng)典英文小說，給大家作為參考。
《殺死一只知更鳥》
To Kill a Mockingbird
愛與真知的成長經(jīng)典
Harper Lee's 1960 paean to the South is one of the most beloved American novels ever written. Some of that is due to the 1962 classic film adapted from it, which stars Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, a small-town lawyer who also happens to be the most upstanding and sympathetic father ever.
With its competing subplots about a black man on trial for allegedly raping a white woman and the children's attempts to learn about their reclusive neighbor Boo Radley, the novel is perfectly structured to provide half a dozen lessons about history and acceptance and injustice and compassion. No wonder it's the staple of all middle-school staples. Happy 50th, Mockingbird!
哈潑·李1960年對南方的贊歌，是美國歷來最受喜愛的小說之一。部分是因?yàn)?962年的改編經(jīng)典電影。格雷戈里·派克飾演小鎮(zhèn)律師阿提卡斯·芬奇，也是一位最正直、最有同情心的父親。
本書有兩個(gè)次要情節(jié)：黑人男子涉嫌強(qiáng)奸白人婦女的審判以及兄妹意圖了解孤獨(dú)的鄰居布·拉德利，其結(jié)構(gòu)非常適于提供十幾個(gè)有關(guān)歷史、容納、不公義、同情的教訓(xùn)。難怪本書是中學(xué)必讀小說的重中之重。
《人鼠之間》
Of Mice And Men
被絕望逼退的美國夢
The plot traces the journey of George and Lennie, two migrant workers in California farm country. We meet them after they've been forced to leave their previous ranch in a chain of events chalked up to Lennie's odd behavior. Upon arriving at their new farm, owned and run by a character known simply as "The Boss," George and Lennie once again find themselves in crosshairs. The strong and complicated bond between the pair forces George to take weak Lennie's life into his own hands.
Along the way, their pursuit of the American Dream (and the attendant prospect of land ownership) falls by the wayside, the victim of a harsh economic downturn, a freak accident and mob hysteria.
故事敘述了加州農(nóng)場民工喬治與倫尼的旅程。小說一開始，他們已經(jīng)因?yàn)閭惸岬墓殴中袨樗鸬囊贿B串事件，被迫離開了以往工作的牧場。他們到了一個(gè)新的農(nóng)場，主人就叫做“老板”并且自己經(jīng)營農(nóng)場，喬治和倫尼再次成為注目的焦點(diǎn)。兩人之間強(qiáng)烈又復(fù)雜的關(guān)系，致使喬治將脆弱的倫尼，掌控在自己的手中。
一路走來，他們的美國夢（以及隨之而來，擁有土地的希望）遺棄在路邊了，他們受害于嚴(yán)峻的經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退，罕見的意外事件以及歇斯底里的暴民。
《單獨(dú)合約》
A Separate Peace
一群男孩的成熟故事
One of the great coming-of-age tales, A Separate Peace is also one of the darker novels assigned to teenagers. The plot revolves around two roommates at Devon, a New England boarding school, during the summer and winter of 1942. The narrator, Gene, an introverted, studious Southerner, recalls his relationship with his best friend Phineas, known as "Finny," a charismatic, gregarious athlete.
The novel chronicles the boys' maturation as the war encroaches further and further into their lives. While Knowles' tale of the journey from innocence to experience has been described as depressing, his capture of youthful emotion, surprising maturity and reactions to life's great tragedies make it a must-read during those awkward teenage years.
一部杰出的成長經(jīng)驗(yàn)小說，也是少年指定讀物中比較黑暗的。故事圍繞在1942年夏季與冬季、新英格蘭德文寄宿學(xué)校的兩位室友。敘述者是一位內(nèi)向、好學(xué)的南方人，回憶他與最好的朋友菲尼亞斯之間的關(guān)系。菲尼亞斯小名“芬尼”，是個(gè)魅力十足，愛交朋友的運(yùn)動(dòng)員。
《單獨(dú)合約》記錄了男孩的成熟過程，以及戰(zhàn)爭對他們的生活日益加深的影響。盡管作者諾爾斯的這個(gè)從天真到成熟的故事，被認(rèn)為令人沮喪，他捕捉到青春的情感、驚人的成熟、對生命重大大悲劇的反應(yīng)，使本書成為青少年尷尬時(shí)期的必讀小說。
《麥田里的守望者》
The Catcher in the Rye
這個(gè)男孩的牢騷聽起來就像生活
Published in 1951, Catcher has long been a literary touchstone for alienated high school students. Main character Holden Caulfield is the ultimate whiner — everyone's a phony, everyone's a crumbum, and the only person who is really worth a damn is his little sister.
Holden roams around New York City for a couple of days, gets into bars, dances with older women and gets beaten up while trying to procure a lady of ill repute. While it may seem like the boy is just drifting, that sounds like living! "I can't really feel bad for this rich kid with a weekend free in New York City," said one teacher, paraphrasing some of her students. But despite the generational gap, this book won't be leaving classrooms anytime soon.
1951年出版，對于疏離的高中生學(xué)生而言，長期以來一直是文學(xué)的試金石。主角霍爾頓·考菲爾德是個(gè)不折不扣的牢騷大王——每個(gè)人都是冒牌貨，每個(gè)人都是廢物，只有他的小妹才真的有點(diǎn)分量。這個(gè)故事相當(dāng)憂郁，主角在哥哥死后可能發(fā)瘋，搞砸了一切。
霍爾登在紐約閑蕩了幾天，混進(jìn)了酒吧，與年紀(jì)較大的女人跳舞，想要跟不良婦女進(jìn)行交易的時(shí)候受到毆打。盡管男孩似乎只是無所事事，這些聽起卻像是生活！一位老師轉(zhuǎn)述學(xué)生的話：“一位富家子在紐約自由自在的過周末，我真的不會為此感到難過。”盡管有代溝，本書不會很快在教室中消失。
《動(dòng)物莊園》
Animal Farm
從前有一只搞獨(dú)裁的豬
This classic tale of an animal revolution gone rogue is George Orwell's allegorical take on Stalinism. Under two pigs named Snowball and Napoleon, a group of farm animals overthrow their drunken human caretaker and establish a new community based on seven commandments, including the tenet that all animals are equal.
Soon after, Snowball and Napoleon engage in a power struggle to control the farm, with Napoleon emerging on top. He quickly turns Snowball into a scapegoat for a failed windmill project and kills any animals who appear to have an allegiance to his opponent. As time passes, the swine adopt human traits, soon wearing clothes and walking on two legs. Before long, the lowly farm animals can no longer distinguish between the pigs and the people.
這個(gè)動(dòng)物革命淪為暴力的經(jīng)典故事，是喬治·奧威爾針對斯大林主義的寓言。在兩只豬雪球和拿破侖的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)下，一群農(nóng)場的動(dòng)物推翻了他們酒醉的主人，并成立了一個(gè)基于六條誡命的社區(qū)，誡命之一是，所有的動(dòng)物皆平等。
不久之后，雪球和拿破侖進(jìn)行權(quán)力斗爭，以控制農(nóng)場，結(jié)果拿破侖獲勝。拿破侖很快將雪球變成風(fēng)車磨房失敗的替罪羊，并殺死任何看起來對雪球效忠的動(dòng)物。時(shí)間推移，豬采用了人類的特征，很快就穿上衣服，用兩條腿走路。不久之后，農(nóng)場中卑微的動(dòng)物不再能區(qū)分豬與人。
《蠅王》
Lord of the Flies
天真的結(jié)束，人性的黑暗
The book begins when a plane carrying a group of British boarding-school students crashes on an isolated island. The boys (in the truest meaning of the word; the oldest is 13) establish a working society, with Ralph as their charismatic yet humble leader. Order breaks down as Ralph battles with Jack, the leader of the school's choir, and the entire group slowly descends into chaos.
The end, a brutal literal and figurative shattering of humanity, has served as the book's chief teaching point and mark of contention for half a century. Often seen as a cautionary tale about the breakdown of civilization, the book details "the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart" and the horrific possibilities that lie within us all.
本書開始時(shí)，一架載有英國寄宿學(xué)校學(xué)生的飛機(jī)墜落于一個(gè)孤島之上。飛機(jī)上的男孩（年齡最大的僅13歲）在該島建立了一個(gè)勞動(dòng)社會。領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者拉爾夫，有魅力卻謙遜。拉爾夫與學(xué)校合唱團(tuán)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人杰克斗爭之際，秩序開始無法維持，并且整個(gè)團(tuán)體陷入混亂。
故事最后，人性經(jīng)歷了實(shí)質(zhì)與象征性的破碎，成為本書的教學(xué)要點(diǎn)，也是長達(dá)半個(gè)世紀(jì)的爭議之所在。本書常被視為文明崩潰的警世故事，詳述了“天真的結(jié)束，人性的黑暗”，以及深藏所有人內(nèi)心、令人害怕的種種可能。
《了不起的蓋茨比》
The Great Gatsby
當(dāng)東部的豪門遇上中西部的小康
Every school takes a field trip to Long Island, New York, at some point, visiting the Roaring '20s as only F. Scott Fitzgerald could write them. Thanks to its evocative setting, rich themes and masterly prose, The Great Gatsby has secured its standing as a reading-list staple as well as one of the greatest American novels ever written.
Here, the moneyed East meets the modest Midwest, and Fitzgerald's memorable characters — Jay Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker — perpetuate a lavish lifestyle that, alas, doesn't offer much of a life. The enigmatic Gatsby has the best parties, but it's Daisy he really wants. He may have no shortage of party guests, but he's sorely lacking in funeral attendees. Narrator Nick Carraway is witness to the glitz that ultimately reflects emptiness, not success.
每間學(xué)校到了一定時(shí)候，總要到紐約州長島做“實(shí)地考察”，在書中探索只有史考特·菲茨杰拉德筆下才能呈現(xiàn)的咆哮1920年代。由于《了不起的蓋茨比》有喚起感情的場景、豐富有趣的主題、精湛的文筆，已確定其在必讀書單中的地位以及美國最偉大的小說之一。
在書中，東部的豪門遇上中西部的小康。菲茨杰拉德令人難忘的人物——杰伊·蓋茨比、黛西、湯姆布·坎南，約旦·貝克——使那種豪華的生活方式永垂不朽；我的天，那真算不得什么生活。神秘的蓋茨比很會開派對，但他真正想要的是黛西。他或許宴會從不缺嘉賓，但是葬禮就門可羅雀。敘述者尼克·卡拉韋見證了浮華最終反映的是空虛，不是成功。
《永別了，武器》
A Farewell to Arms
即使離開了戰(zhàn)場，也逃不掉死亡的陰影
When Ernest Hemingway combined his "consciously bald" style with his experiences as a World War I ambulance driver, the resulting novel was an immediate success. Published in 1929, A Farewell to Arms not only revisits the conflict that had ended just a decade earlier; it also tells of romance.
Sadly — not that dutiful American-lit students would expect to be cheered up by Hemingway — the love story isn't any less tragic than the war. Lieutenant Frederic Henry and English nurse Catherine Barkley have to face the fact that death can make its presence known off the battlefield as well as on.
海明威結(jié)合了“自覺地光禿”風(fēng)格與自己在一戰(zhàn)時(shí)救護(hù)車司機(jī)的經(jīng)驗(yàn)，寫出來的小說立刻走紅。《永別了，武器》出版于1929年，不僅重現(xiàn)了10年前剛結(jié)束的戰(zhàn)爭沖突，也講述了一個(gè)浪漫故事。
可悲的是，這個(gè)愛情故事跟戰(zhàn)爭一樣是個(gè)悲劇，倒不是說一位認(rèn)真的美國文學(xué)學(xué)生，會期望海明威的故事能鼓舞人心。弗雷德里克·亨利中尉和英國護(hù)士凱瑟琳·巴克利，不得不面對一個(gè)事實(shí)：即使離開了戰(zhàn)場，也逃不掉死亡的陰影。
《紅字》
The Scarlet Letter
一個(gè)女人背上的枷鎖
Nathaniel Hawthorne's best-known work opens in Puritan Boston, with young Hester Prynne on trial for adultery. Because she refuses to name the father of her infant daughter Pearl, Hester is ostracized by the community and forced to wear a scarlet piece of cloth in the shape of an "A" on her chest — an enduring symbol throughout the book. This central conflict is the basis for all the themes the novel examines: sin, repentance, moral purity, forgiveness.
納撒尼爾·霍桑最著名的作品，場景開始在清教徒的波士頓。年輕的海絲特·白蘭，因通奸罪受審。因?yàn)樗芙^說出誰是女嬰珍珠的父親，受到社會排斥，被迫在胸前佩戴一個(gè)布做的猩紅“A”字——這是貫穿全書的象征。這個(gè)核心的沖突是小說一切探討主題的基礎(chǔ)：罪、悔改、道德的無瑕、寬恕。
《麥克白》
Macbeth
寫透人性的弱點(diǎn)與性格
The tersely written play spares no human frailty — and few characters — on the battlefield of 11th century Scotland. Whereas decisiveness, the lack thereof and revenge drive the other Great High School Shakespearean Play, Hamlet, ambition and personal morality are at the center of the plot of Macbeth.
Upon losing his wife in the fray, Macbeth delivers his epic "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy, which captures the sensation of despair as well as any other verse in the English language.
《麥克白》（1606）是莎士比亞戲劇中心理描寫的佳作。全劇彌漫著一種陰郁可怕的氣氛。莎士比亞通過對曾經(jīng)屢建奇勛的英雄麥克白變成一個(gè)殘忍暴君的過程的描述，批判了野心對良知的侵蝕作用。在迷信、罪惡、恐怖的氛圍里，作者不時(shí)讓他筆下的罪人深思、反省、剖析內(nèi)心，麥克白夫婦弒君前后的心理變化顯得層次分明，這就更加增大了悲劇的深度。
在失去了他的妻子之后，麥克白寫下了提供他的史詩“明天再明天”的獨(dú)白，其中捕捉到的絕望之情與英文里的其他詞語有異曲同工之妙。
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