Unit 1Part II伟大的一代课文翻译

GENERATION Y: THE NEXT “GREATEST GENERATION?” Perhaps the most iconic image to emerge from the devastating Depression of the 1930s is Dorothea Lange's photo "Migrant Mother," in which a desperate-looking woman, her face heavy with weariness, holds an infant in her arms while her other children cling to her shoulders.

Now contrast this image with the latest photo of Paris Hilton dancing on a nightclub table, or Facebook snapshots of college seniors at a party, and you begin to get an idea of how Generation Y (my generation, also known as the millennials) is generally seen as different from other generations – particularly the "Greatest Generation," which weathered both the Great Depression and World War II. （新一代人，据说没经风雨， 天天玩夜总会，玩facebook，不干正事！） They were called resilient; we're called lazy. They were selfless and sacrificing; we're entitled and indulgent. Commentators often point to studies in which 20-somethings have admitted to – horror of horrors – believing in ourselves and our ability to accomplish great things. （专家认为我们一无是处）(评论家在他们研究里一再指出，认为是最令人恐怖的事就是我们20多岁的年青一代谁也不信，就信他们自己，自认为有能力成就一番大事业。) And they insist that our fluency in all things technology means that we're more concerned with updating our Facebook profiles than working hard. （认为我们这一代就是只懂技术，不实干的一代。）

Forget the uselessness of writing off an entire generation before its members have even had the chance to do anything with their lives; （意思是“在没有给年青一代展示的机会之前，不要匆忙就否定这代人。这里的write off = wipe clear） this underestimation has been happening since kids danced the Charleston, talked about flower-power, or listened to hip-hop. Using one label to describe millions of people from all types of socioeconomic and educational backgrounds is the kind of intellectual shorthand these same pundits are all too happy to ascribe to us millennials and say it comes from our warped attention

spans. (意思是：we can’t put the same label on the whole generation or on each inpidual. 这里的too happy的意思不是常见的too … to 结构，而是：They think they are 100% correct in their judgement. They think they are right to describe us as millennials. They are willing to do it也就是说专家们非常善长找一个标记去概括具有不同社会经济，教育背景的人群，所以他们吧我们叫做们millennial. 之所以这么叫我们是因为我们变化太快，没有准确的标记。我们一会儿热衷这样，一会儿热衷那样，warped attention span).

But millennials haven't necessarily had it as easy as everyone might think. Our

adolescence was defined by Sept. 11 – and we've been bombarded by the insistence that we live in a terrifying world ever since. Studies by Demos and the Center for American Progress have suggested that the combination of declining incomes, growing debt, and high costs of education, home ownership, and healthcare are conspiring to make this

generation the first to not surpass the living standards of their parents. (其实我们这一代人也是蛮艰难的。)

Signs suggest that the very characteristics Gen- Y-ers are often laughed for –

self-awareness, assertiveness, relentless positivity, etc. – are what will help us emerge from this economic crisis with our livelihoods and our sanity still intact. （蛮滑稽的，我们这一代人具有self-awareness, assertiveness, relentless positivity等品质，正是这些使我们面对经济危机而具有相应活力和健康。） Couldn't it be that because we're known for our hyper-inpidualism – blame it on our many online profiles, iPods that shut out the world, and personal computers – that we understand better than anyone else the importance of being self-sufficient? Or that the confidence we've been instilled with by always receiving a trophy growing up is what will help us keep our spirits up when jobs and security seem out of reach?（Couldn’t it be that… 难道不是我们的超级个人主义，很多人说我们沉溺网上，只听iPod不闻天下事，离不开personal computers, 或许正式因为我们能使用这些技术，我们比任何一代人都更能知道自我满足的重要性。这个时代不靠自己，靠何人？在时局如此悲惨的时代，工作，安全都遥不可及，全靠这点自信能让我们避免沉沦，我们有这点自信要感谢我们成长的时代，给了我们很多技术的成就，我们的长辈总是寄很高的希望在我们身上。Trophy=achievement 。 作者在这里想强调的是专家说我们天天被技术isolated，其实这些技术让我们更自信了，我们可以不要别人来指点我们，我们可以自我获得信息，自我表达，自我判断。）

While the recession is giving us plenty to worry about, there is evidence elsewhere that our incessant hopefulness is working for us. （我们还是有希望的。）

We did, after all, help elect the first black president precisely because he identified and embodied that same sense of optimism so well. （我们不是也能选出总统吗？谁说我们就没希望了？）

William Strauss and Neil Howe echo this in their book "Millennials Rising: the Next Great Generation," saying that members of Gen Y "rebel against adult pessimism by being

upbeat, and rebel against social ennui（boredom倦怠） by actually going out and getting a few things done." They also suggest that Gen Y really is indeed ready to take up the mantle of the Greatest Generation, because "hero generations" come in cycles. （我们也是伟大的一代）

Every generation ends up being defined by the struggles it met, whether war, a

depression, or a battle for certain rights. Watch members of this generation walk into any of those storms with their heads held high and a strong sense of self and walk out triumphant as a result. （这一代也是经历风雨的一代。）