评论
打印
Onwards and Upwards
往前与往上，行进与改进
Author Unknown
作者：佚名
...In the rich world today, the idea of progress has become impoverished.
……今天，在那些富有的国家里，“进步”的概念已经变得贫乏无力。
Through complacency and bitter experience, the scope of progress has narrowed.
由于自满和痛苦的经历，进步包含的范围已经缩小了。
The popular view is that, although technology and GDP advance, morals and society are treading water or,
现在普遍的观点认为，虽然技术和国内生产总值在发展，道德和社会却在原地踏步，或者正在倒退到腐朽堕落和野蛮的境地——
depending on your choice of newspaper, sinking back into decadence and barbarism.
是否这么说，要取决于你政治立场。
On the left of politics these days, "progress" comes with a pair of ironic quotation marks attached; on the right, "progressive" is a term of abuse.
目前，持左翼政治观点的人士认为，“进步”这个词的出现总要伴随着一对具有讽意味的引号；而持右翼政治观点的人士则认为，说什么“在进步”是一句骂人的话。
It was not always like that.
过去，情况并不总是这样的。
There has been a tension between seeking perfection in life or in the afterlife.
一直以来就存在着是在今生寻求完美还是寄希望于来世的对立观念。
Optimists in the Enlightenment and the 19th century came to believe that the mass of humanity could one day lead happy and worthy lives here on Earth.
启蒙时代和19世纪的那些乐观主义者相信人民大众有朝一日能在地球上过上幸福的、有价值的生活。
They were bursting with ideas for how the world might become a better place.
他们的头脑里充满了这个世界如何才能成为更加美好的地方的种种想法。
