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life history handed down in his munity。 From the moment of his birth； the customs into which he is born shape his experience and behaviour。 By the time he can talk； he is the little creature of his culture； and by the time he is grown and able to take part in its activities； its habits are his habits； its beliefs his beliefs； its impossibilities his impossibilities。 Every child that is born into his group will share them with him； and no child born into one on the opposite side of the globe can ever achieve the thousandth part。 There is no social problem it is more incumbent upon us to understand than this of the role of custom。 Until we are intelligent as to its laws and varieties； the main plicating facts of human life must remain unintelligible。
The study of custom can be profitable only after certain preliminary propositions have been accepted； and some of these propositions have been violently opposed。 In the first place； any scientific study requires that there be no preferential weighting of one or another of the items in the series it selects for its consideration。 In all the less controversial fields； like the study of cacti or termites or the mature of nebulae； the necessary method of study is to group the relevant material and to take note of all possible variant forms and conditions。 In this way； we have learned all that we know of the laws of astronomy； or of the habits of the social insects； let us say。 It is only in the relevant material and to take note of all possible variant forms and conditions。 In this way； we have learned all that we know of the laws of astronomy； or of the habits of the social insects； let us say。 It is only in the study of man himself that the major social sciences have substituted the study of one local variation； that of Western civilization。
Anthropology was by definition impossible； as long as these distinctions between ourselves and the primitive； ourselves and the barbarian； ourselves and the pagan； held sway over people's minds。 It was necessary first to arrive at that degree of sophistication where we no longer set our own belief against our neighbour's superstition。 It was necessary to recognize that these institutions which are based on the same premises； let us say the supernatural； must be considered together； our own among the rest。
RUTH BENEDICT Patterns of Culture
New words and expressions 生词和短语
monplace
adj。 平凡的
aberrant
adj。 脱离常轨的，异常的
trivial
adj。 微不足道的，琐细的
predominant
adj。 占优势的，起支配作用的
manifest
v。 表明
pristine
adj。 纯洁的，质朴的
stereotype
n。 陈规
vernacular
n。 方言
acmodation
n。 适应
incumbent
adj。 义不容辞的，有责任的
preliminary
adj。 初步的
proposition
n。 主张
preferrential
adj。 优先的
controversial
adj。 引起争论的
cactus
n。 仙人掌
termite
n。 白蚁
nebula
adj。 星云
variant
n。 不同的
barbarian
n。 野蛮人
pagan
n。 异教徒
sophistication
n。 老练
premise
n。 前提
supernatural
adj。 超自然的
参考译文
风俗一般未被认为是什么重要的课题。我们觉得，只有我们大脑内部的活动情况才值得研究，至于风俗呢，只是些司空见惯的行为而已。事实小，情况正好相反。从世界范围来看，传统风俗是由许多细节性的习惯行为组成，它比任何一个养成的行为都更加引人注目，不管个人行为多么异常。这只是问题的一个次要的侧面。最重要的是，风俗在实践中和信仰上所起的举足轻重的作用，以及它所表现出来的极其丰富多采的形式。
没有一个人是用纯洁而无偏见的眼光看待世界。人们所看到的是一个受特定风俗习惯、制度和思想方式剪辑过的世界。甚至在哲学领域的探索中，人们也无法超越这此定型的框框。人们关于真与伪的概念依然和特定的传统风俗有关。约翰。杜威曾经非常严肃地指出：风俗在形成个人行为方面所起的作用和一个对风俗的任何影响相比，就好像他本国语言的总词汇量和自己咿呀学语时他家庭所接纳的他的词汇量之比。当一个人认真地研究自发形成的社会秩序时，杜威的比喻就是他实事求是观察得来的形象化的说法。个人的生活史首先是适应他的社团世代相传形成的生活方式和准则。从他呱呱坠地的时刻起，他所生于其中的风俗就开始塑造他的经历和行为规范。到会说话时，他就是传统文化塑造的一个小孩子；等他长大了，能做各种事了，他的社团的习惯就是他的习惯，他的社团的信仰就是他的信仰，他的社团不能做的事就是他不能做的事。每一个和他诞生在同一个社团中的孩子和他一样具有相同的风俗；而在地球的另一边。诞生在另一个社团的孩子与他就是少有相同的风俗。没有任何一个社会问题比得上风俗的作用问题更要求我们对它理解。直到我们理解了风俗的规律性和多样性，我们才能明白人为生活中主要的复杂现象。
只有在某些基本的主张被接受下来、同时有些主张被激烈反对时，对风俗的研究才是全面的，才会有收获。首先，任何科学研究都要求人们对可供考虑的诸多因素不能厚此薄彼，偏向某一方面。在一切争议较小的领域里，如对仙人掌、白议或星云性质的研究，应采取的研究方法是。把有关各方面的材料汇集起来，同时注意任何可能出现的异常情况和条件。例如，用这种方法，我们完全掌握了天文学的规律和昆虫群居的习性。只是在对人类自身的研究。只要我们同原始人，我们同野蛮人，我们同异教徒之间存有的区别在人的思想中占主工导地位，那么人类学按其定义来说就无法存在。我们首先需要达到这样一种成熟的程度：不用自己的信仰去反对我们邻居的迷信。必须认识到，这些建立在相同前提基础上的风俗，暂且可以说是超自然的东西，必须放在一起加以考虑，我们自己的风俗和其他民族的风俗都在其中。
Lesson 45
Of men and galaxies
人和星系
First listen and then answer the following question。
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What is the most influential factor in any human society？
In man's early days。 petition with other creatures must have been critical。 But this phase of our development is now finished。 Indeed； we lack practice and experience nowadays in dealing with primitive conditions。 I am sure that； without modern weapons； I would make a very poor show of disputing the ownership of a cave with a bear； and in this I do not think that I stand alone。 The last creature to pete with man was the mosquito。 But even the mosquito has been subdued by attention to drainage and by chemical sprays。
petition between our selves； person against person； munity against munity； still persists； however； and it is as fierce as it ever was。
But the petition of man against man is not the simple process envisioned in biology。 It is not a simple petition for a fixed amount of food determined by the physical environment； because the environment that determines our evolution is no longer essentially physical。 Our environment is chiefly conditoned by the things we believe。 Morocco and California are bits of the Earth in very similar latitudes； both on the west coasts of continents with similar climates； and probably with rather similar natural resources。 Yet their present development is wholly different； not so much because of different people wish to emphasize。 The most important factor in our environment is the state of our own minds。
It is well known that where the white man has invaded a primitive culture； the most destructive effects have e not from physical weapons but from ideas。 Ideas are dangerous。 The Holy Office knew this full well when it caused heretics to be burned in days gone by。 Indeed； the concept of free speech only exists in our modern society because when you are inside a munity； you are conditioned by the conventions of the munity to such a degree that it is very difficult to conceive of anything really destructive。 It is only someone looking on from outside that can inject the dangerous thoughts。 I do not doubt that it would be possible to inject ideas into the modern world that would utterly destroy us。 I would like to give you an example； but fortunately I cannot do so。 Perhaps it will suffice to mention the unclear bomb。 Of making the effect on a reasonably advanced technological society； one that still does not possess the bomb； of making it aware of the possibility； of supplying sufficient details to enable the thing to be constructed。 Twenty or thirty pages of information handed to any of the major world powers around the year 1925 would have been sufficient to change the course of world history。 It is a strange thought； but I believe a correct one； that twenty or thirty pages of ideas and information would be capable of turning the present…day world upside down； or even destroying it。 I have often tried to conceive