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1、精选优质文档-倾情为你奉上Why Historians Disagree Allen F. Davis & Harold D.Woodman1 Most students are usually introduced to the study of history by way of a fat textbook and become quickly immersed in a vast sea of names, dates,events and statistics. The students skills are then tested by examinations that requ
2、ire them to show how much of the data they remember; the more they remember, the higher their grades. From this experience a number of conclusions seem obvious: the study of history is the study of facts about the past; the more factsyou know,the better you are as a student of history. The professio
3、nal historian is simply one who brings together a very large number of facts. Therefore students often become confused upon discovering that historians often disagree sharply even when they are dealing withe the same event.大多数学生通常都是通过一本厚厚的教科书接触历史的，然后他们很快便淹没在浩瀚如海的名字、日期、事件和数据当中。然后学生们的学习水平通过考试来检验，主要考察他
4、们记住了多少资料；记得越多，成绩就越好。我们可以从中得出一些显而易见的结论：历史学习就是学习过去的”事实“；你知道的历史”事实“越多，你的历史就学得越好。专业历史学家们就是将大量”事实“搜集到一起的人。因此，当学生们发现历史学家们甚至对同一个历史事件常常有完全不同的意见时，他们常常感到困惑不解。2 Their commonsense reaction to this state of affairs is to conclude that one historian is right while the other is wrong. And presumably, historians wh
5、o are wrong will have their facts wrong. This is seldom the case, however. Historians usually all argue reasonably and persuasively. And, the facts-the names,dates, events, statistics-usually turn out to be correct. Moreover, they often find that contending historians more or less agree on the facts
6、; that is , they use much the same data. They come to different conclusions because they view the past form a different perspective. History, which seemed to be a cut-and -dried matter of memorizing facts, now becomes a matter of choosing one good interpretation form among many. Historical truth bec
7、omes a matter of personal preference.面对这种情况，学生们的通常反应是，断定其中一位历史学家是正确的，而另一位是错误的。而且，据此推测，错误的历史学家们所掌握的”史实“是错的。然而，实际情况很少是这样的。历史学家们的论证通常都有理有据，并具有说服力。而且，那些”事实“-名字、日期、事件和数据-通常被证明是正确的。此外，学生们常常发现争论不休的历史学家或多或少认同这些”史实“；也就是说，他们使用的资料几乎相同。他们得出不同的结论是因为他们从不同的角度看待历史。原本历史似乎是一件记忆”史实“的事，现在却变成从许多解释中挑选出一种合理的解释的事了。历史真相变成了个
8、人喜好问题。3 This position is hardly satisfying. They cannot help but feel that two diametrically opposedpoints of view about an event cannot both be right; yet they lack the ability to decide between them.这种看法几乎难以令人满意。学生们不禁觉得，关于同一个历史事件的两种截然相反的观点不可能同时正确；然而，他们缺乏判断孰是孰非的能力。4 To understand why historians dis
9、agree, students must consider a problem they have more or less taken for granted. They must ask themselves what history really is .要理解历史学家们为什么意见不统一，学生们必须考虑一个他们或多或少已经认为理所当然的问题。他们必须问问自己，历史到底是什么。5 In its broadest sense, history denotes the whole of the human past. More restricted is the notion that his
10、tory is the recorded past, that is , that part of human life which has left some sort of record such as folk tales, artifacts, or written documents. Finally, history may be defined as that which historians write about the past. Of course the three meanings are related. Historians must base their acc
11、ounts on the remains of the past, left by people. Obviously they cannot know everything for the simple reason that not every event, every happening, was fully and completely recorded. Therefore the historian can only approximate history at best. No one can ever claim to have concluded the quest.从最广义
12、的角度看，历史是指人类过去的全部。若加以限定，历史是有记录的过去，即人类生活中留下某种记录的那部分，如明间故事、手工制品或书面文件等。最后，历史也可以被定义为历史学家们对过去的描述。当然，这三种定义是相互关联的。历史学家们对历史的描述必须以过去人们的遗物为基础。显然，他们不可能清楚过去的一切，原因很简单，并非过去的每一大小事件都被全面完整地记录下来。因此，历史学家们至多只能是接近历史。没有哪位历史学家敢断言自己已终止了对历史的探索。6But this does not say enough. If historians cannot know everything because not ev
13、erything was recorded, neither do they use all the records that are available to them. Rather, they select only those records they deem most significant. Moreover, they also re-create parts of the past. Like detectives, they piece together evidence to fill in the gaps in the available records.但这种解释还
14、是不够。如果说历史学家因为过去的一切并非都有记载而不能全面了解历史，他们也不会全部采用获得的所有历史记录。相反，他们只挑选那些他们认为最重要的记录来用。此外，他们还对部分历史进行重新创造。就像侦探一样，他们要拼凑已有证据来填补现有记录中的空白。7 Historians are able to select and create evidence by using some theory of human motivations and behavior Sometimes this appears to be easy, requiring very little sophistication
15、 and subtlety. Thus, for example, historians investigating Americas entry into World War I would probably find that the sinking of American merchant ships on the high seas by German submarines was relevant to their discussion. At the same time, they would most likely not use evidence that President
16、Woodrow Wilson was dissatisfied withe a new hat he bought during the first months of 1917. The choice as to which fact to use is based on a theory-admittedly, in this case a rather crude theory, but a theory nonetheless. It would go something like this: National leaders contemplating war are more li
17、kely to be influenced by belligerent acts against their countries than by their unhappiness with their haberdashers.根据某些有关人类动机和行为的理论，历史学家能够挑选和创造证据。有时，这看起来很容易，不需要复杂的经验和敏锐的观察力。比如说，那些研究美国参加第一次世界大战原因的历史学家很有可能会认为，德国潜水艇击沉在公海航行的美国商船这件事与他们的讨论有关。与此同时，他们绝不会使用伍德罗.威尔逊总统对他在1917年头几个月买的一顶新帽子不满意这样的证据。选择使用哪些事实是基于一种理
18、论-不可否认，在这种情况下，这是一个相当粗糙的理论，但不管怎么说，它是一种理论。这个理论大致是这样的：对于考虑战争问题的国家领导人来说，他们更可能受到针对他们国家的寻衅行为的影响，而不是受到对服饰经销商的不满的影响。8 If the choices were as simple as this ,the problem would be easily resolved. but the choices were not so easy to make. Historians investigating the United States entry into World Was I will
19、find in addition to German submarine warfare a whole series of other facts that could be relevant to the event under study. For instance, they will find that the British government had a propaganda machine at work in the United States that did its best to win public support for the British cause. Th
20、ey will discover that American bankers had made large loans to the British, loans that would not be repaid in the event of a British defeat. They will read of the interception of the Zimmerman Note, in which the German Foreign Secretary ordered the German minister in Mexico, in the event of war, to
21、suggest an alliance between Germany and Mexico whereby Mexico, with German support, could win back territory taken form Mexico by the United States in the Mexican War. They will also find among many American political leaders a deep concern over the balance of power in Europe, a balance that would b
22、e destroyed -to Americas disadvantage-if the Germans were able to defeat the French and the British and thereby emerge as the sole major power in Europe.如果选择都如此简单，那问题就很容易解决了。但做出选择不是那么容易。那些研究美国参加第一次世界大战的历史学家们会发现，除了德国潜水艇战之外，还有其他一系列的史实可能与他们正在研究的事件有关。例如，他们会发现英国政府的一个宣传机构在美国进行了大量宣传，极力争取美国公众对英国的支持。他们会发现美国的
23、银行家们给英国发放了大量贷款，一旦英国战败，这些巨额贷款将无法得到偿还。他们会读到截获的”齐默尔曼外交照会“，里面德国外交部长命令德国驻墨西哥公使节，一旦德美战争爆发，就建议墨西哥政府与德国结成同盟，由此在德国的帮助下，墨西哥可以夺回它在墨西哥战争中被美国夺去的领土。他们还会发现许多美国政治领导人非常关注欧洲的实力平衡，如果德国打败法国和英国从而成为欧洲唯一的主要强国，这种平衡就会被打破，那将对美国非常不利。9 What then are historians to make of these facts? One group could simply list them .By dong s
24、o, they would be making two important assumptions: (1) those facts they put on their list are the main reasons, while those they do not list are not important; and (2) those things they put on their list are of equal importance in explaining the U.S. role.But another group of historians might argue
25、that the list is incomplete in that it does not take into account the generally pro-British views of Woodrow Wilson, views that disagreement among the historians. Moreover, because the second group raise the question of Wilsons views, they will find a number of relevant facts that the first group hi
26、s teachers, the books he read, and the books he wrote. In short, although both groups of historians are dealing with the same subject they will come to different conclusions and use different facts to support their points of view. The facts selected, and those ignored, will depend not on the problem
27、 studied but on the points of view of the historians.那么，历史学家们将如何来看待和解释这些事实呢？一组历史学家可能仅仅把它们列出来。这样做，意味着他们作出了两个重要的假设：（1）那些他们列出来的事实是主要原因，而那些他们没有列出来的则无足轻重；（2）在解释美国在战争中所扮演的角色时，那些他们列出来的事实同等重要。但另一组历史学家可能争辩说，所列内容不够完整，因为这些事实没有把伍德罗.威尔逊总统的亲英观点考虑进去，这个观点源于总统本人的背景和教育经历。结果，历史学家们的意见出现了分歧。而且，由于第二组历史学家提出了威尔逊的亲英观点这一问题，他
28、们会找出许多倍第一组历史学家所忽略的相关史实。他们会关注威尔逊的教育经历、他的老师对他的影响、他读过的书以及他所著的书。总而言之，虽然两组历史学家在讨论同一个问题，但他们会得出不同的结论并使用不同的史实来支持自己的观点。事实的挑选和忽略并不由所研究的问题决定，而是取决于他们的观点。10 Similarly a third group of historians might maintain that the various items on the list should not be given equal weight, that one of the reasons listed, sa
29、y, bankers loans,was most important. The theory here would be that economic matters are the key to human motivation, and that a small number of wealthy bankers have a disproportionate ability to influence government.同样，第三组历史学家可能坚持认为，所列出的各项事实的重要性不应是等同的，而其中的一个原因，如银行家的贷款，是最为重要的。他们的理论根据是：经济因素是人类动机的关键，并且
30、为数不多的富有的银行家对政府有着特别大的影响力。11 In the examples given, historians disagree because they begin from different premises. But there is still another realm of disagreement which stems form something rather different. Historians sometimes disagree because they are not really discussing the same thing. Often t
31、hey are merely considering different levels of cause and effect. Suppose the teacher asked you Why were you late for class this morning? I was late for class you explained, because I overslept. Or to use a historical example, The Civil War began because South Carolina shore batteries opened fire on
32、the federal garrison at Fort Sumter on April 12,1861. Neither statement can be faulted on the grounds that it its inaccurate; at the same time, however, neither is sufficient as an explanation of the event being considered. The next question is obvious.Why did you oversleep, or why did relations bet
33、ween one state and the Federal government reach the point where differences had to be settled by war? In other words, we have to go beyond the proximate cause and probe further and further. but as we dig more deeply into the problem, the answer becomes more difficult and complex. In the end, you mig
34、ht argue that the ultimate cause of your being late was the fact that you were born, but obviously this goes too far back to be meaningful. That you were born is of course a necessary factor, but it is not a sufficient factor; it does not really tell enough to explain your behavior today. Similarly
35、you could trace the cause of the Civil War back to the discovery of America, but again, that is a necessary but not a sufficient cause. The point at which causes are both necessary and sufficient is not self-evident. Therefore historians may again disagree about where to begin the analysis. By now s
36、tudents should see that the well-used phrase let the facts speak for themselves has no real meaning. The facts do not speak for themselves; historians use the facts in a particular way and therefore they, and not the facts, are doing the speaking.以上所举的例子中，历史学家们之所以意见不一是因为他们开始的前提不同。但是历史学家们之间还有另一种分歧，而这
37、种分歧源于一个相当不同的原因。历史学家们有时意见不一是因为他们实际上并不是在讨论同一个问题。他们通常考虑的只是事物因果关系的不同层次。假如老师问你”今天早晨上课为什么迟到了？“你会解释说：”我迟到是因为我睡过了头。“或者举一个历史上的例子，”美国南北战争的起因是南卡罗来纳州的海岸炮兵在1861年4月12日向驻守在萨姆特堡的守备部队开火。“这两种说法都不能因为不准确而被说成是错误的；但同时，两者都不足以用来解释相关问题。接下来的问题显而易见：你为什么睡过头，或者为什么一个州和联邦政府的关系恶化到要通过战争才能解决分歧的地步？换句话说，我们得超越近因，更深入地探究下去。但随着我们对问题的剖析更加深
38、入，问题的答案也变得更难、更复杂。最后，你可能会说，你迟到的最终原因是因为你来到了人世，但显然这偏离我们的话题太远，已经没有实际意义了。你的出生当然是个必要条件，但它不是充分条件。问题在于，在所有的原因中，必要条件和充分条件的交叉点并不是显而易见的。因此，历史学家们就会在从何处着手分析问题上再次产生分歧。现在学生们应当明白，人们常说的”让事实说话“实际上没有任何意义。事实自己不会说话；历史学家们用一种特殊的方式使用事实，因此，是他们在说话，而不是事实。12 Historians not only often disagree with others. They often disagree w
39、ith themselves. Indeed they are often revising their ideas. They have to do so because they are constantly discovering new information, gaining new insights form other social scientists and mastering and using new techniques. Historians also learn form each other and benefit form international compa
40、risons of similar events and institutions.历史学家们不仅经常和其他人意见不一，他们也会经常和自己的意见产生分歧。事实上，他们经常修改自己的观点。他们这样做是因为他们在不断地发现新的信息，从其他社会学家那里获得新的见解，不断掌握并使用新的技术。历史学家们还会互相学习，并且通过对比研究国际上的相似事件和制度获益。13 Can we eliminate all disagreement? If the state of our knowledge were such that it provided us with a model of unquestion
41、ed validity that completely explained human behavior, we can. But since we don t have such a complete and foolproof explanation, disagreements are destined to remain. when students realize that there is no one easy answer to the problems historians raise and that truth is but an elusive yet intrigui
42、ng goal in a never ending quest, they will find the study of history to be a significant, exhilarating, and useful part of their education.我们能消除所有的分歧吗？如果我们的知识水平已能为我们提供一个能完全地解释人类行为的绝对有效模式，我们就能消除分歧。但由于我们无法做出这样一个完整可靠的、万无一失的解释，分歧便注定要存在。当学生们意识到，历史学家们提出的问题没有一个简单的答案，并且”真相“只是在永无止境的探索中的一个难以实现却又引人入胜的目标时，他们会发现
43、学习历史是他们所受教育中一个意义深远的、令人兴奋的且有益的组成部分。(1,624 words)Vocabulary 1 Translate the following expressions.Into Chinese. 专心-专注-专业1. 专业的历史学家2. 常识反应3. 情况; 事态4. 已经准备好了的东西5. 个人喜好问题6. 截然不同的观点7. 过去的遗留物8. 一旦发生潜艇战9. 一个不成熟的理论10. 好战的行为11. 宣传机器12. 力量均衡; 实力平衡13. (事物的)因果14. 海岸炮兵15. 终极关怀16. 近因17. 万无一失的解释18. 永不停止的探索Into Engl
44、ish. 1. to gain new insights 2. to benefit from the comparison 3. to trace the cause 4. to dig into the problem 5. to begin from this premise 6. to be immersed in a vast sea 7. to master the new techniques8. to give equal weight to sth 9. to be destined to do sth 10. to influence the government11. t
45、o make an assumption 12. to destroy the balance of power 13. to form an alliance14. to repay the loans 15. to contemplate war 16. to intercept the secret message17. to fill in the gaps 18. to conclude the quest 2 Replace the words in bold type with words and phrases that convey more or less the same
46、 meaning. 1. crude: simple required: made fat: thick2. contemplating the destiny: pondering the future/ thinking about the future trivial: insignificant3. diametrically opposed: completely different 4. deem: consider view: look at perspectives: points of view5. is fully aware of: knows only too well
47、/ knows very well mounting resentment: growing anger6. In addition to: Apart from convenient: easy in the event of: in the case of7. deliberately: intentionally ignored: neglected; paid no attention to8. more or less: generally Nevertheless: However stemming from: coming from9. foolproof: completely
48、 reliable eliminating: getting rid of are destined to: are bound to 3 Fill in the blanks with appropriate prepositions. Page 269-2701. In, of, to 2. over, throughout, with, in, of 3. to, in 4. with, to, On, to 5. from, in, as, to, of 6. with, up, in, of, out, out, in 7. to, to, under, on 8. into, In
49、, to 9. to, of, as 10. At, from, from, from 4 Translate the following sentences into English. 1.Scientists more or less agree that global warming is a fact, but its cause is still hotly debated among them. Many believe that if we piece together all the available evidence, we can conclude that it is caused by