【编辑声明】 高中/大学无障碍阅读系列材料来自市面或网络上公开的全国各地高考原文、名校模考佳文、《英语周报》、大学各类等级考试中（低、中难度）原文。所有文章均由张九明本人参照《网易有道词典》编译而成。
【详细使用说明见文章底部】【疑似生词汉语加注也许不能完全解决您的生词问题，但你可以自己借助词典进行补充查阅（相信这样的生词应该不会很多）。】
Freedom and Responsibility
1 Freedom’s challenge in the Digital Age is a serious topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it.
数字时代对自由的挑战是一个严肃的话题。今天我们面对的是一个（全新但又）陌生的新世界，我们都在想，我们将如何应对这个新世界。
freedom自由n，responsibility责任/责任心n，challenge挑战n，digital数字化的a，serious 严重的/严肃的a
2 Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies暴君, one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.
大约2500年前，希腊发现了自由。在那之前没有自由。有伟大的文明，辉煌的帝国，但没有自由。埃及和巴比伦都是暴君，一个非常强大的人统治着无助的群众。
some大约adv，discover发现v，civilization文明n，splendid辉煌的/灿烂的a，empire帝国n，powerful强有力的a，rule over统治v，helpless无助的/绝望的a，masses大众n
3 In Greece, in Athens雅典, a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses. And Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together.
在希腊（一个小国家）的雅典（一个小城市），没有无助的群众。雅典人心甘情愿地遵守他们自己通过的成文的法律，也遵守自由人在一起生活时所必须遵守的不成文法律。
willingly原意地adv，obey遵守v
They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be very painful unless one chose to live alone in the desert.The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted.
他们必须彼此表现出仁慈和怜悯，以及许多品质。如果没有这些品质，除非一个人选择独自在沙漠中生活，否则生活将是非常痛苦的。雅典人从来不认为一个为所欲为的人就能获得自由。
kindness善良/友善n，pity怜悯n，quality素质/品质n，painful痛苦的a
A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair.
一个人如果能自制，他就是自由的。服从你所同意认可的成文法律便是自由。他们没有把自己的生活看成是自己的私事。
self-controlled自我控制的a，approve同意/许可v，private 私人的a，affair事情n
Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was forced on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety.
每个人都觉得自己对雅典的幸福负有责任，不是因为这是外界强加给他的，而是因为这座城市是他的骄傲和安全。
welfare福祉n，pride骄傲n
The essential belief of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state.
世界上第一个自由政府的基本信念就是自由 --- 所有能够控制自己并对国家负责的人都享有自由。
essential至关重要的/不可或缺的a，belief 相信/新年n，liberty自由n，state国家n
4 But discovering freedom is not like discovering computers. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will go. Constant watch is its price. Athens changed.
但是发现了自由不像发现了电脑。它不可能一劳永逸地被发现。如果人们不重视它，不为它努力，它就会消失。代价是持续不断的看护是它。所以雅典（的自由）后来发生了变化。
constant 持续不断的a，price代价n
It was a change that took place without being noticed though it was of the extreme importance, a spiritual change which affected the whole state. It had been the Athenian’s pride and joy to give to their city.
这是一种没有引起任何人注意的变化（尽管此变化极其重要），是一种影响到整个国家的精神上的变化。付出曾是雅典人献给他们自己的城市的骄傲和欢乐。
extreme极其的/极端的a，spiritual精神上的a
That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work.
那时雅典人从来没有想过从自由（她）那里得到物质上的好处。当时他们必须先彻底改变观念/态度，后才能把这个城市看作是一个老板（该老板通过行使职能给市民带来好处）。
material材料/物质n，benefit 利益/好处n，complete完成的/彻底的a，attitude态度n，employer雇主n，pay付钱给/对...有利或有好处v
Now instead of men giving to the state, the state was to give to them. What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the primary object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were neglected to the point of disappearing.
到了这个时候的希腊社会，不是人们付出给国家，而是人们要国家付出给他们。人民想要的是一个能给他们提供舒适生活的政府。以这一点作为首要目标的社会，自由和自力更生还有责任的观念全被忽视（到了消失的地步）。
primary主要的a，object目标/对象n，self-reliance依靠自己n，neglect 忽视/忽略v
Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.
此时的雅典越来越被视为一个拥有巨大财富的合作企业，所有公民都有权分享这些财富。
look on...as...把...看作v，cooperative合作的a，possess拥有v
5 Athens reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free.
雅典人进入了这样一个时期 ---- 人们想要的自由就是摆脱责任。结果可能只有一个，也就是如果人们坚持要从自力更生的负担和公共利益的责任中解脱出来，他们将不再有什么自由。
reach 达到/到达v，insist on坚持做某事v，for the common good为了共同的利益pp，cease 停止v
Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility; she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again.
责任是每个人为自由必须付出的代价。这种自由的获得不能有其他任何（附加）条件。雅典（古希腊的雅典人）拒绝承担责任。她已经到了自由的尽头，再也得不到自由了。
6 But, “the excellent becomes the permanent”, Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American, James Madison, referred to: “The capacity of mankind for self-government.”
但是，亚里士多德曾说过:“优秀会成为永恒”。虽然雅典永远失去了自由，但对世界而言，自由并没有永远失去。一个伟大的美国人，詹姆斯·麦迪逊曾提到“人类有自我组建政府的能力”。
excellent优秀的a，permanent永久的a，refer to提到v，capacity能力n
No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once man has a great and good idea, it is never completely lost. The Digital Age cannot destroy it.
毫无疑问，他不知道自己在说希腊语（表达的是和当时希腊做法一样的意思）。希腊并不在他脑中最深邃的背景/愿景之列，但一旦有人有了伟大而好的想法，它就永远不会完全消失。数字信息时代也无法摧毁它。
Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action only sure that it will do so sometime.
不知何故，“人类有自我组建政府的能力”的想法一直存在在一些人的脑中，尽管没有看到有人在行动（没有被世界的行动所考虑）。没有人能确保这样的想法正欲突破瓶颈（马上就要发生，或在行动的爆发点上）。但人们可以确信，总有一天这样的想法能成为现实。
【效果说明】 从教30多年的老九老师悄悄地告诉您（众多人中我只告诉你一个人！）：高中/大学英语无障碍阅读是迅速扩大英语词汇量提升英语阅读水平之十分有效的手段（我个人近几年年年教毕业班，屡试屡验）！
【材料来源】全国各地高考原文、名校模考佳文、《英语周报》、大学各类等级考试中（低、中难度）原文。
【适用对象】高一、高二、高三学生，大学生。高一同学可以有选择地阅读（选择能看懂的无障碍阅读）！
【使用方法】以教师为例（学生/家长可参照执行）：一、先要求学生做好阅读笔记（叫学生借助“全文汉语翻译”及“疑似生词加注”摘录整理在学习过程中遇到的难句和生词）。换言之，学生除了记在笔记上的难句和生词，阅读材料中的其它句子和单词都应该能完全理解。二、后检查学生对记在笔记上的难句的理解和生词的记忆（没有条件的只抽查生词--注意只要求学生根据英语写汉语）。
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