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Curiosity 来自北京外语广播 00:00 25:00

Curiosity is often silly, and sometimes it is wrong. People with nothing better to do are full of curiosity about what their neighbors are doing. They want to know what they are eating, what they are bringing home, or why they have come home so late. Curiosity about these things is silly because they are trivial. It is no business of theirs what their neighbors do. Such curiosity is not only foolish, but it sometimes even causes harm. For it generally leads to gossip which often gives rise to scandal and hurts innocent people.

On the other hand, there is a noble curiosity ─ the curiosity of wise men, who wonder at all the great things God has made and try to find out as much as they can about them. Columbus could never have found America had he not been curious. James Watt would not have made the steam engine without his curiosity about the raising of the kettle lid. All the discoveries of science have been due to man's curiosity, but the curiosity is never about unimportant things which have little concern with the welfare of the public.

好奇心往往很愚蠢，有时候还会出错。整天无所事事的人，反而会对邻居的所做所为充满好奇。他们想知道他们在吃什么，带了什么东西回家，或为什么他们那么晚才回家。对这样事物的好奇心非常愚蠢，因为这些事物根本微不足道。邻居做什么事情关他们什么事。这样的好奇心不仅愚蠢，有时候甚至会造成伤害。事实上，这种好奇心往往造成闲言闲语，而这种闲言闲语常常会导致丑闻，也伤到无辜的人。

另一方面，有一种高尚的好奇心，就是智者的好奇心。他们对上帝所创造的所有伟大事物感到好奇，同时会尽可能地去了解这些伟大的事物。哥伦布要是当时没有好奇心的话就不会发现美洲新大陆。詹姆士‧瓦特当时要不是对茶壶盖子感到好奇的话就不会发明蒸汽引擎了。科学上的种种发现都是由于人类的好奇心所使然，但这种好奇心绝不是去关心那些与大众福祉无关的琐碎事情。

语法重点

1. 分析本课第一段倒数第三句句构：

It( 形式主语) is no business of theirs what their neighbors do(名词从句作真实主语).

= What their neighbors do is no business of theirs.

= What their neighbors do is none of their business.

= What their neighbors do has nothing to do with them.

他们的邻居所做的事跟他们毫不相关。

我们亦可按上述句型仿造出下列的句子：

It is no business of yours who I'm going to marry.

Who I'm going to marry is none of your business.

= Who I'm going to marry is no business of yours.

= Who I'm going to marry has nothing to do with you.

我要嫁给谁跟你无关。

＊上句的名词性从句who 原本应采用宾格whom，作及物动词 marry（嫁；娶）的宾语，不过现在英、美语均用who取代，如下例：

Whom(宾语) did you see(vt.) last night?（少用）

→Who( 宾语 )did yousee(vt.)last night?（常用）

2. 复习与过去事实相反的虚拟语气句型：

a. If+主语+had+过去分词，主语+would have(should have,could have,might have)+过去分词

如果当时……的话，……  就会……了(就应……了,就能够……了,就可能……了)。

请参看下例：

If I had seen him yesterday, I would have told him the truth.

我昨天要是见到他的话，就会把真相告诉他。

John told me that if he had had enough money that time, he might haveboughtthat fancy sports car.

约翰告诉我当时他要是钱够的话，也许就会把那辆很炫的跑车买下来了。

b. 我们在本系列丛书曾学过，if 从句中若有过去完成式助动词（had + 过去分词）、should、were 出现时，可将 had、should 或 were 置句首，省略 if，故上述例句均可改变如下：

Had I seen him yesterday, I would have told him the truth.

John told me that had he had enough money that time, he might have bought that fancy sports car.

3. 本课第二段第三句即采用了与过去事实相反并省略 if 的虚拟语气句型：

Columbus could never have found America had he not been curious.

= Columbus could never have found America if he had not been curious.

当时哥伦布若无好奇心的话，就不会发现美洲了。

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英语学习专家 | 赖世雄

台湾与大陆地区做英语广播教学的第一人，美明尼苏达大学英语教师、大众传播硕士，从事专任口译、笔译及大众传播研究多年。著有《初级美国英语教程》、《中级美国英语教程》、《高级美国英语课程》及《赖世雄教你轻松学英语》等300余种图书，涉及成人、儿童、升学、职场、生活等各个领域。