"A commonplace criticism of American culture is its excessive preoccupation with material goods and corresponding neglect of the human spirit. Americans, it is alleged, worship only "the almighty dollar". We scramble to "keep up with the Joneses". The love affair between Americans and their automobiles has been a continuing subject of derisive commentary by both foreign and domestic critics. Americans are said to live by quantitative ethic. Bigger is better, whether in bombs or sedans. The classical virtues of grace, harmony, and economy of both means and ends are lost on most Americans. As a result, we are said to be swallowing up the world's supply of natural resources, which are irreplaceable. Americans constitute 6 percent of the world's population but consume over a third of the world's energy. These are now familiar complaints. Indeed, in some respects Americans may believe the "pursuit of happiness" to mean the pursuit of material things".

　　評：本段文章語氣嚴肅，用詞精致，論證嚴密，內(nèi)部連接自然，一氣呵成。若要譯好，很多翻譯方法都要用到。有兩個考點：其一，“We scramble to 'keep up with the Joneses' (我們盲目地追逐時尚，或我們一味地人云亦云)”;其二，“The classical virtues O{grace, harmony, and economy Of both means and ends are lost on most Americans(溫文爾雅，與人為善、量入為出曾經(jīng)是美國的傳統(tǒng)美德，而如今在多數(shù)美國人身上已難覓蹤影)”。光看括號里的參考譯文，就知道是幾種翻譯原則和翻譯方法的結合。再如，“…excessive preoccupation with material goods and corresponding neglect O{the human spirit”(過分地熱衷于物質享受而相應地忽略了人文精神)等等。可見，要使譯文神形兼?zhèn)�，的確要動一番腦筋。