Tales of the Terrible Past
    It is not the job of fiction writers to analyze and interpret history. Yet by writing about the past in a vivid and compelling manner，storytellers can bring earlier eras to life and force readers to consider them seriously. Among those taking on the task of recounting history are some black writers who attempt to examine slavery from different points of view.
    Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison deals specifically with the legacy of slavery in her book Beloved. The main character in this novel，a former slave called Sethe，lives in Ohio in the years following the Civil War，but she cannot free herself from her horrific memories. Through a series of flashbacks and bitter reminiscences，the reader learns how and why Sethe escaped from the plantation she had lived on; the fate of her husband，who also tried to escape; and finally，what happened to the child called Beloved. Morrison's scenes of torture and murder are vivid and strongly convey the desperation of the slaves and the cruelty of their owners.
    Charles Johnson's Middle Passage approaches slavery from a different，yet no less violent，vantage point. His main character，Rutherfprd Calhoun，is a ne'er-do-well free black American who stows away on a slave ship bound for Africa to collect its "cargo". Put to work after he is discovered，Calhoun witnesses firsthand the appalling conditions in which the captured Africans are transported. When they finally rebel and take over the ship，he finds himself in the middle -- and is forced to come to terms with who he is and what his values are.
    Neither Beloved nor Middle Passage is an easy read，but both exemplify African American writers' attempts to bring significant historical situations alive for a modem audience.譯文：
    講述可怕的過去
    分析和詮釋歷史并不是小說家的工作。然而通過用一種生動(dòng)有趣的方式來描寫過去，小說家 可以重現(xiàn)早斯時(shí)代，并引起讀者的重視。在敘述歷史的作家中，有一些黑人作家試圖從不同的角 度審視奴隸制。
    諾貝爾獎(jiǎng)獲得者托妮•莫里森在她的作品《寵兒》中專門闡述了奴隸制問題。小說的主人公 叫塞絲，她以前是個(gè)奴隸，內(nèi)戰(zhàn)之后住在俄亥俄，但是她無法讓自己從可怕的記憶中解脫出來。 通過一系列的倒序和痛苦的回憶，讀者了解到賽絲為什么以及怎樣逃出她賴以生存的種植園，她 那同樣試圖逃出來的丈夫的命運(yùn)，以及最后發(fā)生在叫做寵兒的孩子身上的事情。莫里森對奴隸受 折磨和遭謀殺的場景描寫得很生動(dòng)，充分地表達(dá)出奴隸們的絕望以及奴隸主的殘酷。
    查爾斯•約翰遜的小說《中途》從另一個(gè)不同的角度來描寫奴隸制，但同樣充滿著暴力。他 的主人公叫做盧瑟福•卡爾霍恩，是一個(gè)游手好閑、身份自由的美國黑人。他偷偷登上了一艘開 往非洲販賣奴隸的船只。被發(fā)現(xiàn)后，他開始為之工作，并親眼目睹了非洲人被抓起來，然后被運(yùn) 送到美國這種可怕的狀況。當(dāng)非洲人最終抵抗并占有了船只后，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了自己的中間性——并且 被迫與他自己的身份和價(jià)值觀念妥協(xié)。
    不論是《寵兒》還是《中途》讀起來都不輕松，但是它們都是非裔美國作家努力為現(xiàn)代觀眾 重現(xiàn)重要?dú)v史的典范之作。
    Look on The Bright Side
    Do you ever wish you were more optimistic, someone who always (1) _______ to be successful? Having someone around who always (2) _______ the worst isn’t really a lot of (3) _______ . We all know someone who sees a single cloud on a sunny day and says ，"INooks ( 4 ) _______ rain. " But if you catch yourself thinking such things，it's important to do something (5) _______ it.
    You can change your view of life ，(6) _______to psychologists. It only takes a little effort ，and you'll find life more rewarding as a (7) _______. Optimism，they say，is partly about self-respect and confidence but it's also a more positive way of looking at life and all it has to (8) _______. Optimists are more (9) _______ to start new projects and are generally more prepared
    to take risks.
    Upbringing is obviously very important in forming your (10) _______to the world. Some people are brought up to (11) _______too much on others and grow up forever blaming other people when anything (12) _______wrong. Most optimists，on the (13 ) _______ hand, have been brought up not to (14) _______failure as the end of the world—they just (15) _______ with their lives. 看光明的一面
    你曾經(jīng)想要讓自己變得更樂觀嗎?想過讓自己變成一個(gè)總是期待成功的人嗎?若是周圍有個(gè)總是往事情最壞處考慮的人，我們一定沒有什么樂趣——就像我們都知道某些人看到天空有一片云便說要下雨。但是你要是發(fā)現(xiàn)自己也這樣想了，那就有必要針對它采取一些措施了。
    根據(jù)心理學(xué)家的說法，人們可以改變對生活的看法。只需一點(diǎn)兒努力，你將發(fā)現(xiàn)生活會(huì)回報(bào)給你的更多。人們說樂觀主義在一定程度上是自尊和自信，但它也是對待生活的和它所給予的一種積極態(tài)度。樂觀主義者更有可能開始新的項(xiàng)目，通常也更容易準(zhǔn)備好去承擔(dān)風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。
    很顯然，成長經(jīng)歷對于你對待世界的態(tài)度的形成是至關(guān)重要的。有些人養(yǎng)成了過于依賴別人的習(xí)慣，一旦事情出了差錯(cuò)，便責(zé)備他人。然而另一方面，許多樂觀主義者被教導(dǎo)，不要把失敗當(dāng)成世界末日，只需繼續(xù)生活。