利波特》(一)中，变成孤儿的哈利盯着那面能够说出每个人内心深处愿望的厄里斯魔镜看，他看见了逝去的双亲。“直到我自己重读我写过的东西，我才意识到这个情节完完全全——完完全全地——来自于我对于母亲去世的感觉，”罗琳说，In the first book the orphaned Harry stares into the Mirror of Erised ,which shows the viewer his or her utmost desires .Harry sees his dead parents . Not until I’d written did reread what I realized that had been taken entirely --entirely --from how I felt about my mother’s death ,Rowling said .“事实上，我可以说，死亡、丧亲之痛以及死亡意味着什么是所有这七册书的中心主题之一。” 而年轻的读者们能够领会这一份深刻的理性吗?也许不能自觉地做到这一点吧。In fact ,death and bereavement and what death means ,I would say is one of the central themes in all seven
books
.
Do
young
readers
pick
up
on
all
this
deep
intellectualism ?Consciously ,perhaps not .但是我认为，如果这些书只是一些有关魔幻之旅的有趣的故事，那么它们就不可能有这么广泛的吸引力。而且我知道，那样的话成人就不会被它吸引。But I don’t think the books would have their broad appeal if they were only exciting tales of magical adventure ,and I know adults would not find them so enticing .
9《哈利波特》系列丛书不尽完美。在这些丛书中我最想看到的是一个绝妙的反面角色。我这里说的“绝妙的反面角色”是指“有趣的反面角色”。The Harry Potter books aren’t perfect . What I miss most in these novels is the presence of a great villain . And by great villain I mean an interesting villain . 因为高个子约翰·希尔弗既邪恶又迷人，所以他才让人更觉害怕。如果他仅仅只是坏的话，他带给我们的恐怖感会减少一大半。伏地魔王让人抗拒就是因为他仅仅只是一个十足
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的坏蛋。Long John Silver is doubly frightening because he is both evil and charming . If he were just all bad ,he wouldn’t frighten us half as much .Voldemort is resistible precisely because he is just had to the bone .这么一说，我想在罗琳超越自己的这本新书中加上这样一个反面角色。这个角色是如此的有魅力，你是永远也见不到的，而且他相当令人恐惧。That said ,I would add that in the new book Rowling outdoes herself with a bad guy so seductive you’ll never see him coming . And he is scary .
10除了这些吹毛求疵的意见，罗琳的书可能是孩子们所接触到的最好的书，而且阅读这些书也不是家长强加的任务。That quibble aside ,Rowling’s novels are probably the best books children have ever encountered that haven’t been thrust upon them by an adult.我羡慕那些阅读这些书的孩子，因为在我还是个孩子的时候，可没有这么好的东西——我的意思是说，我们没有通过自己去发现有这么好的东西，不像现在的孩子，他们找到了哈利。I envy kids reading these books ,because there was nothing this good when I was a boy --nothing this good ,I mean ,that we found on our own ,the way kids are finding Harry .我们深深地记着哈迪男孩和南茜·朱尔，但是当我们尝试着重新阅读这些角色的时候，他们的魅力很快就散去了。罗琳的书也许不如托尔金的书那么具有权威性，也不如达尔的作品那般跌宕起伏，但是她的书将涉世未深的读者带入了一个相当高的娱乐水准。We affectionately remember The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew ,but try rereading them and their charm fades away pretty quickly .Rowling may not be as magisterial as Tolkien or as quickly as Dahl ,but her books introduce fledgling readers to a very high standard of entertainment .《哈利波特》系列丛书还有三册尚未出版，现在下定论
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还为时尚早。但是，就目前我们看到的情况来看，特别是在最后一册，《哈利波特》具备了经典作品的所有特征。With three books left to go in the series ,it’s too early to pass final judgment . But considering what we’ve seen so far ,especially in the lasted volume ,Harry Potter has all the earmarks of a classic . Unit Five
“瑜伽”这个词源于梵语，意思是“结合”或“联合”，传统上瑜伽是一种把个人和神，万物之灵或无穷的意识联合在一起的方法。为了帮助达到这个也被称为“自我超越”或“启蒙”的目的，设计了身体上和精神上的锻炼方法。The term
yoga
comes
from
a
Sanskrit
word
which
means
yoke
or
union .traditionally ,yoga is a method joining the individual self with the Divine ,Universal Spirit ,or Cosmic Consciousness . Physical and mental exercises are designed to help achieve this goal also called self-transcendence or enlightenment . 在身体上，设计了各种瑜伽姿势来使人的身体结实、强壮，有协调性，练习这些体位能使脊柱变得柔软健康，血液更通畅地到达各器官、腺或人体组织，从而使身体各系统更健康穹.在精神上，瑜伽使用呼吸法和冥想使心境平和、澄净，精神得到很好的修养。On the physical level ,yoga postures ,called asanas ,are designed to tone ,strengthen ,and align the body . These postures are performed to make the spine supple and healthy and to promote blood flow to all the organs glands , and tissues ,keeps all the bodily systems healthy . On the mental level ,yoga uses breathing techniques and meditation to quiet ,clarify and discipline the mind .但是专家们很快指出瑜伽不是一种宗教，而是将健康与平和的心境结合在一起的一种
23
生活方式。 However ,experts are quick to point out that yoga is not a religion ,but a way of living with health and peace of mind as its aims .
瑜伽在美国
道格拉斯·多普勒
1瑜伽起源于古印度，是世界上最古老的哲学体系之一。一些学者估计，瑜伽至少有5,000年的历史；印度曾出土过3,000年前的表现瑜伽姿势的手工艺品。Yoga originated in ancient India and is one of the longest surviving philosophical systems in the world . Some scholars have estimated that yoga is as old as 5000 years ;artifacts detailing yoga postures have been found in India from over 3000 B.C.瑜伽师们认为，经过几千年的考验和完善，瑜伽已经发展成为一门养生的成熟科学。19世纪晚期，印度学者、瑜伽师斯瓦米·维韦卡南达在芝加哥做了一场关于冥想的演讲，从此瑜伽传人了美国。Yogis claim that it is a highly developed science of healthy living that has been tested and perfected for all these years . Yoga was first brought to America in the late 1800s when Swami Vivekananda ,an India teacher and yogi ,presented a lecture on meditation in Chicago. 慢慢地有人开始练习瑜伽，并在20世纪60年代东方哲学热盛行的时候形成了学习瑜伽的高潮。从此，瑜伽知识在美国传播开来，许多学徒专程前往印度学习，很多印度瑜伽师也来到美国教学，创办了大量瑜伽学校。Yoga slowly began gaining flowers ,and flourished during the 1960s when there was a surge of interest in Eastern philosophy . There has since been a vast exchange of yoga knowledge in America,with many students going to India to study and many Indian experts coming here to teach ,resulting in the establishment of a wide variety of schools .今天的美国，瑜伽
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