泛读教程第三册 泛读教程_第三册_U5_Models_for_Understanding_History_翻译.doc

泛读教程第三册 泛读教程_第三册_U5_Models_for_Understanding_History_翻译 Models for Understanding History Underlying every textbook and every historical work are a set of often un-acknowledged assumptions about how history works. Everyone who writes, reads, or thinks about history has a “model” in their mind which helps them to interpret and assemble the facts of history. These “models” can be sorted into three broad categories.(基本上所有的课本和历史相关的作品都是一系列常常不被承认的关于历史怎样发展的假设。每个写历史、读历史或是思考历史的人在脑海中都有一个模型，用以帮助他们说明和收集历史的真相。这些模型可以被分为三大类。) Model A is the dominant model for historians in the 20th century. There is a widespread and almost unshakable belief that the history of mankind is a record of progress and that future prospects are bright. There are a number of comforting implications that come with adopting this view. It抯 very flattering to oneself and one抯 contemporaries, since by implication everyone currently alive has made progress over all those folks who are dead. It also allows one to face the future with optimism, since as more time passes, more progress will be made. One can see this model clearly in the 19th century German historians such as Hegel, who saw all of history leading up to its fulfillment in the unified German state of Bismarck with Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm. There is a great deal of American history written to fit this mold, too. Those who believe in an “evolving” Constitution see all change as positive and therefore, the more time, the more changes, the better our Constitution will be.（模型A对于20世纪历史学家是最重要的。有一个广泛而基本固定的看法，人类的历史是一个进步的记录，而且未来的前景是光明的。很多令人欣慰的结果伴随着这种看法产生。由于当前活着的人已经使进步超过了那些死去的人，这使人及其同辈感到荣幸。它让人们乐观地面对将来，当更多的时间过去，会有更多的进步产生。人们可以通过19世纪海格尔等德国历史学家同当时的德国皇帝一起见证了历史导致德国在俾斯麦岛实现统一的历史，清楚地看到这个模型。也有很多美国历史按照这个模型被书写。那些相信“逐步发展”的宪法的人，乐观地看待所有的变化，因而，时间越多，改变越多，我们的宪法会更完善。） But there are other models. And the question is not which model is most comforting and reassuring, but which best fits the facts.（然而也有其他的模型。并且问题不在于哪个模型是最令人安慰放心的，而是哪个最符合事实。） Many of the Greek and Roman his