高级英语第七册翻译.docVIP

In childhood, people frequently indulge themselves in self-deception, for they are just too narcissistic. It is particularly so, if lights in life have so far turned green for them. However, an unexpected incident may strip them of innocence, which is the beginning of real self-respect, because they are driven back upon themselves. They have come to realize the dismal fact that self-respect has nothing to do with the approval of others, and has nothing to do even with reputation.Those who care little about self-respect are inclined to cast up the balance of gains and losses in life. They tend to take such things as their betrayed trusts and subtly broken promises too much to heart. On the contrary, people with self-respect have the courage of mistakes, for they are clear about the prices of things. Therefore, they won’t complain unduly about anything. People with self-respect are ready to run a risk, for they know the elusive odds once they have decided to play a game. To have the sense of one’s intrinsic worth is one of the indispensable elements that constitute self-respect. They have the ability to discriminate, to love and to remain indifferent. To lack self-respect means to be locked within oneself, incapable of either love or indifference. In the final analysis, if we want to have self-respect, we should not drown ourselves in self-reproach, but free ourselves from any disproportionate guilt, and liberate ourselves from the bondage of others’ experience, and give us back to ourselves. Only then can we find the unique power of self-respect. When he talks about being human, Lin Yutang elaborates on human dignity. He says that human beings are superior to any other living creatures thanks to human dignity which consists of several elements. First of all, human beings have playful curiosity, which could be the first signs of developing human intelligence. Secondly, human beings have dreams. A man has the capacity and tendency to dream of another world though li