苏格拉底的“三重筛选测试”

One day, an acquaintance1 metSocrates and said, “Do you know what I just heard about yourfriend?”

一天,苏格拉底遇到一位熟人,熟人问:“你知道我刚刚听说你朋友发生什么事情了吗?”
“Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before you talk to me aboutmy friend, it might be a good idea to take a momentand filter2 whatyou’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple-filter test.The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that whatyou are about to tell me is true?”
“等等,”苏格拉底答道。“在你说出我朋友的事之前,何不稍等片刻,让我对你想说的内容进行过滤。我把它叫做‘三重筛选测试’。第一重滤网是‘真相’。你能百分之百确定你的消息是真事吗?”
“Well, no,” the man said, “actually I just heard about itand…”
“呃,不能,”那人说,“其实我也是刚听人说的……”
“All right,” said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s trueor not. Now, let’s try the second filter, the filterof Goodness3.Is what you are about to tell me about my friend somethinggood?”
“好的,”苏格拉底说。“所以你并不清楚事情的真伪。现在,我们来进行第二次筛选——‘善意’。你要告诉我的是有关我朋友的好事吗?”
“No, on the contrary…”
“不,恰恰相反……”
“So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad aboutmy friend, but you’re not certain it’s true. You may still pass thetest though, because there’s one filter left—the filter ofUsefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to beuseful to me?”
“那么,”苏格拉底接着说,“你打算告诉我一件关于我朋友的坏事,但你又不确定其真伪。不过你依然有可能通过测试,因为还有一重滤网——‘实用’。这件关于我朋友的事对我有用吗?”
“No, not really.”
“不,没什么用。”
“Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neithertrue, nor good, nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
“好吧,”苏格拉底总结道,“如果你要告诉我的事情既不是真的,又不是好事,甚至毫无用处,那你又何必告诉我呢?
重点词汇:
1acquaintance  [əˈkweɪntəns]  
n.认识,相识,了解;相识的人,熟人
参考例句:
Whendid you make the acquaintance of hisbrother?你是什么时候认识他兄弟的?
Ihave only a nodding acquaintance with him.我和他只有点头之交。
2filter  [ˈfɪltə(r)]  
n.滤器,过滤嘴;v.过滤,透过
参考例句:
Foreign influence began to filter into thecountry.外国势力开始渗透进这个国家。
Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。
3goodness  [ˈgʊdnəs]   
n.善良,善行,美德
参考例句:
Wouldyou have the goodness to turn off theradio?劳驾,请你把收音机关上好不好?
Thankgoodness,we’ve found a cure for the disease.好了,这病有救了!
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该日志由 1zanxin 于2016年06月27日发表在 双语阅读 分类下,
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