67. AMERICAN DREAM 美国梦

To Americans, industriousness, thrift and ambition are possitive values. We encourage our children to be competitive, to get ahead, to make money, to acquire possession. In games and in business alike, the aim is to win the game, the trorphy, the contract. We go in for laboursaving devices, gadgets, speed and shortcuts. We think every young couple should set up a home of their own. And we pity the couple who must share their home with their parent, let alone with other relatives. Actually, of course, not all Americans hold all these values. And those who do may hold other, and at times contradictory values that affect their ways of behaving. In the main, however,the collective expectation of our society is that these are desirable goals, and the individual, whatever his personal inclination, is under considerable pressure to conform.

对美国人而言，刻苦努力、勤俭节约、胸怀大志都是积极向上的美德。我们 鼓励子女敢于竞争、力争上游、自谋营生、积累财富。在比赛中，在商务往来中， 目标就是要赢得比赛，获得奖品，签订合约。我们孜孜不倦地追求省力的工具、 灵巧的装置，提高速度，寻求捷径。我们认为每对年轻夫妇都应该拥有属于自己 的家，我们同情那些必须和父亲或母亲住在一起的年轻夫妇，更不用说与其它亲 戚住在同一屋檐下的人了。当然，事实上并不是所有的美国人都具有这些品质， 拥有这些品质的人也可能同时还具备一些影响他们行为方式的品质，或者相反的 品质。但是，总的来说，我们的社会普遍期望这些品德是我们的既定目标，无论 每个人的自我倾向是什么，他都承受着一定压力去实现这些目标。