优说英语动物儿童（刘博士英语公开课30:）

【本课内容】今天，我们一起来欣赏the Velveteen Rabbit 的第二节。在第一节里，little Rabbit (丝绒兔子) 问起了痩皮马（Skin Horse）什么是真的“real”，他以为，只要玩具肚子里有发条，外边有上发条的东西，可以动的玩具就是真的。可是Skin Horse 告诉他，真假与否与你是用什么做成的没有关系。只有当玩具的主人真正爱他/她的玩具的时候，而且是真心的爱，而不仅仅是爱和他玩的时候，他才会慢慢变成“真的”。可是如果你想变成“真的”的话，是有代价的。你的美丽都会因为爱而逐渐失去，有时候还会疼。不过只有被爱过的人是不会在乎这些的。因为当你是“真的”的时候，你是不可能很丑的。而且，一旦你成为了“真的”，你就会永远都是“真的”。

可是，什么是真的（real）,真的和真实的（true）是一回事吗？

【刘博士故事解析】英语的真的（real ）和 真实的（true）有什么区别？

举例子是最容易明白的。我举两个例子：

1） 我们每一个人都是一样的人，没有谁比谁更珍贵，更值得爱、更有价值；我们是一样的。这是比较事实的（true）陈述；我们每一个人的心里都有这样一些人，或者我们会在一些人的心里，是比别人更珍贵，更值得爱，更有价值的。总有那么一个人或是几个人在我们眼里是与众不同的。这种情况是真的（real）。

2） 中国有句古话，情人眼里出西施。情人眼里的西施在情人眼里是“真的”(real)“西施”，但她们并不是“真正的 ”true” 的西施。

牛津字典对于“real” 和 “true”的定义。

如果我们采用英语字典中关于“real” 和“true”的定义，会发现很有意思的英语定义以及real 和true 之间的关系：

Real（牛津词典）：实际存在的东西或实际发生的事情，不是想象的或是假设的 （Actually existing as a thing or occurring in fact; not imagined or supposed）；它的名词为“reality” (真实存在)。它的同义词是实际的（actual）/存在的(existent)，其反义词为unreal，imaginary。

True：（牛津词典）：符合事实或实际（In accordance with fact or reality）。其延伸出来的含义包括精确（accurate or exact）和忠诚/诚信（loyal or truthful）。它的名词为（truth），同义词为accurate (准确的)，correct（正确）。其反义词为Untrue, false。

Some things are real but not true。

从英语中real 和true 的定义我们可以看出，true 一词原本以reality 为判断参照。然而随着科学的发展，出现了越来越多的truth 却和人们所熟知的reality 不符。如今，科学和科学探索的问题已经不再用“is it real”的问题, 而是 “Is it true”的问题。最终，” truth” 和 “reality” 开始分道扬镳。科学专注于“truth”，科学的truth 以事实和客观依据（可验证、可重复）依据为唯一标准。哲学、信仰、情感和意见与科学的truth 无关。于是就出现了some things are real but not true的矛盾。

在科学的角度，几乎所有的信仰/宗教、情感和观点也许对于当事人来说是real 的，但是从科学的角度看待却不是准确或是客观事实的。

受科学的真实所影响而产生的意识形态及哲学流派为 “realism”(我暂翻译成写实主义，中文通常翻译成现实主义)。而与之相反的思想和哲学流派则为“Idealism”（我暂且翻译成理想主义，中文普遍翻译为唯心主义）。它们代表了两种相互对立的认识世界和存在的方法。Realism 认为我们所看见/观察到的世界就是世界本身，idealism 认为我们所看到的世界只是它的表象，我们更想看简单是世界还能够成为怎样/应该成为怎样。

通常认为，Idealism 概念的初创人物是柏拉图（Plato）,因此类似的思想也被称之为Platonist思想； Realism 的始创人物通常认为是Aristotle（亚里士多德）,因此，此类思想也常被称之为Aristotelian思想。

下面我们先来看《丝绒兔子》第二节的译文。

刘博士的中文译文起到以下作用：

1）如果你只是想读中文，就当中文文学阅读吧。

2）如果你是基础英语学习者，你可以首先熟悉中文内容，然后再反复阅读英文原文，直到你能完全理解英文原文为准。

3）如果你可以直接阅读原文，可以先从原文阅读开始。如果出现理解困难时，再参考译文，也可以向刘博士提问#刘博士英语学习法问答#。直到你可以完整阅读原文，无需参考中文就可以理解（这是阅读突破型学习法）；

4）接下来，边听音频边阅读，直到听力理解和阅读理解可以同步 （这是阅读 听力突破学习法）；

5）跟读：一边听音频，一边看着英文原文跟读，直到你可以完全跟上朗读为止（这是刘博士英语学习法听说读全面突破学习法）。

【刘博士译文】丝绒兔子 02（又名“玩具是如何成真的”）

The Velveteen Rabbit (or How Toys Become Real) 02

By Margery Williams

丝绒兔子叹了口气。他想，还要过很长一段时间，这个叫做“真的”的魔法才会发生在他身上呢。他可想变成‘真的’了，他想知道那会是怎样的感觉；可是，一想到自己还会变得衣衫褴褛，会失去他的眼睛和胡须，那也是很难受的事情。他多么希望自己不用经历那些不舒服的事情就能变成‘真的’啊。

掌管儿童房的是一个叫Nana的人。她有时候根本不会注意地上摊着的各种玩具，还有些时候，她会无缘无故地像狂风一般把所有的玩具都塞进柜子里。她把这称之为“收拾”。所有的玩具们都讨厌收拾，尤其是那些铁皮玩具。丝绒兔子倒不那么介意，因为不管他被扔到哪里，他都会温顺地躺下来。

一天晚上，男孩准备上床睡觉的时候，他找不着那只一直陪他睡觉的瓷器小狗了。娜娜急匆匆的，觉得在就寝时间找瓷器狗太麻烦了，于是她就四周看了看，发现玩具柜门还敞开着，就迅速走了过去。

“拿这个吧,” 她说，“拿你的老邦尼兔！他陪你睡觉就好！”Nana揪着丝绒兔子的一只耳朵把他拽了出来，然后把他塞进男孩的怀里。

那天晚上，以及之后的许多夜晚，丝绒都睡在男孩的床上。一开始丝绒兔子觉得可不舒服了，因为男孩紧紧地抱着他，有时还会在翻身的时候把他压在身下，还有时他把他塞到枕头底下，丝绒兔子几乎都没法呼吸了。丝绒兔子他也开始怀念起了在儿童房里的许多个有月光的晚上，那时候整个屋子都静悄悄的，他也怀念与瘦皮马聊天的时候。可是没过多久丝绒兔子就开始喜欢上和男孩在一起，因为男孩会和他说话，还会在被褥下面给他做很舒服的地道，男孩还说真正的兔子就生活在像这样的洞穴里的。当Nana离开去吃晚饭的时候，会在壁炉台上留一盏夜灯，丝绒兔子和男孩就会一边小声说着话，一边玩好玩的游戏。当男孩睡着的时候，丝绒兔子会紧紧地依偎在男孩那温暖的小下巴下面做梦，而男孩会整晚上都搂着他。

时间就这样一天天过去，小丝绒兔子非常快活——快活得一点都没有注意到自己美丽的天鹅绒皮正变得越来越破旧，他的尾巴也开线了，而他鼻子上的粉红色则因为男孩经常吻他而全都掉色了。

春天来了。他们会在花园里待很长的时间，因为无论男孩走到哪里都带着丝绒兔子。丝绒兔子坐过独轮车，在草地上经历过野餐，在花圃后面的覆盆子树下还有男孩为他建的可爱精灵小屋。有一次，男孩突然被叫走去外面吃茶点，丝绒兔子被落在了草坪上。天黑以后过了许久，娜娜不得不拿着蜡烛来寻找丝绒兔子，因为男孩没有兔子在身边就睡不着觉。丝绒兔子被露水给打湿透了。当他被从花圃中男孩为他做的地洞里给拿出来时，浑身都是泥土。娜娜一边用围裙的一角把他擦干净，一边发着牢骚：

“你还非要你的老兔子！”她说，“想不到为了一个玩具就这么没完没了的！”

男孩在床上坐起来，伸出他的双手。

“把我的小兔子给我！”男孩说，“不许你这么说。他不是玩具。他是“真的”兔子！”

当小兔子听到这话时他可开心了，他现在知道瘦皮马所说的一切都是真话了。儿童屋的魔法已经在他身上应验了，他不再是一个玩具了。他是“真的”了。这是男孩自己亲口说的。

那天晚上，丝绒兔子高兴得简直睡不着觉，他那颗小小的用木屑做成的心里爱意流荡，差点都要爆炸了。而他那双用靴子纽扣做成的眼睛，虽说早就没有了当初的光亮劲，却透出了一丝睿智和美丽的神情来，以至于当Nana在第二天早上把他拿起来的时候，Nana也察觉到了这一点，并且说：“我敢说，要是那只老兔子看起来还不领情的话才怪呢！”

那个夏天更是美妙无比！

他们住的屋子附近有一片树林，在漫长的六月黄昏，男孩喜欢吃完茶点后去那里玩。他会带着丝绒兔子，而且当他去远处采花，或是在树间玩强盗游戏之前，他总会给丝绒兔子在草丛里的某个地方做个小窝，让小兔子舒舒服服地呆在那里。因为小男孩是一个心地善良的孩子，他也愿意让他的小兔子过得舒坦。

(未完待续）。

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[Audio Transcript]: The Velveteen Rabbit 02

The Rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad.

He wished that he could become it without these uncomfortable things happening to him.

There was a person called Nana who ruled the nursery. Sometimes she took no notice of the playthings lying about, and sometimes, for no reason whatever, she went swooping about like a great wind and hustled them away in cupboards. She called this "tidying up," and the playthings all hated it, especially the tin ones. The Rabbit didn't mind it so much, for wherever he was thrown he came down soft.

One evening, when the Boy was going to bed, he couldn't find the china dog that always slept with him. Nana was in a hurry, and it was too much trouble to hunt for china dogs at bedtime, so she simply looked about her, and seeing that the toy cupboard door stood open, she made a swoop.

"Here," she said, "take your old Bunny! He'll do to sleep with you!" And she ragged the Rabbit out by one ear, and put him into the Boy's arms.

That night, and for many nights after, the Velveteen Rabbit slept in the Boy's bed. At first he found it rather uncomfortable, for the Boy hugged him very tight, and sometimes he rolled over on him, and sometimes he pushed him so far under the pillow that the Rabbit could scarcely breathe. And he missed, too, those long moonlight hours in the nursery, when all the house was silent, and his talks with the Skin Horse. But very soon he grew to like it, for the Boy used to talk to him, and made nice tunnels for him under the bedclothes that he said were like the burrows the real rabbits lived in. And they had splendid games together, in whispers, when Nana had gone away to her supper and left the night-light burning on the mantelpiece. And when the Boy dropped off to sleep, the Rabbit would snuggle down close under his little warm chin and dream, with the Boy's hands clasped close round him all night long.

And so time went on, and the little Rabbit was very happy–so happy that he never noticed how his beautiful velveteen fur was getting shabbier and shabbier, and his tail becoming unsewn, and all the pink rubbed off his nose where the Boy had kissed him.

Spring came, and they had long days in the garden, for wherever the Boy went the Rabbit went too. He had rides in the wheelbarrow, and picnics on the grass, and lovely fairy huts built for him under the raspberry canes behind the flower border. And once, when the Boy was called away suddenly to go out to tea, the Rabbit was left out on the lawn until long after dusk, and Nana had to come and look for him with the candle because the Boy couldn't go to sleep unless he was there. He was wet through with the dew and quite earthy from diving into the burrows the Boy had made for him in the flower bed, and Nana grumbled as she rubbed him off with a corner of her apron.

"You must have your old Bunny!" she said. "Fancy all that fuss for a toy!"

The Boy sat up in bed and stretched out his hands.

"Give me my Bunny!" he said. "You mustn't say that. He isn't a toy. He's REAL!"

When the little Rabbit heard that he was happy, for he knew that what the Skin Horse had said was true at last. The nursery magic had happened to him, and he was a toy no longer. He was Real. The Boy himself had said it.

That night he was almost too happy to sleep, and so much love stirred in his little sawdust heart that it almost burst. And into his boot-button eyes, that had long ago lost their polish, there came a look of wisdom and beauty, so that even Nana noticed it next morning when she picked him up, and said, "I declare if that old Bunny hasn't got quite a knowing expression!"

That was a wonderful Summer!

Near the house where they lived there was a wood, and in the long June evenings the Boy liked to go there after tea to play. He took the Velveteen Rabbit with him, and before he wandered off to pick flowers, or play at brigands among the trees, he always made the Rabbit a little nest somewhere among the bracken, where he would be quite cosy, for he was a kind-hearted little boy and he liked Bunny to be comfortable.

(To be Continued.)

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