哈佛大学校园英语情景对话33：哈佛与耶鲁的恩恩怨怨（mp3+中英）

Han Meimei is asking John about Yale University.
H: John, why do you want to prefer Harvard University to Yale University? They’re about the same.

K:约翰，为什么想选择哈佛大学而不是耶鲁大学呢？

J： You tell me your reason first.

J：你先说说你的理由。

H： To be honest, I’m kind of following the crowd. In China, the most well-known American universities are Harvard and Yale. They are like Oxford and Cambridge, so to speak. Oddly, far less Chinese students apply for Yale than for Harvard.

H:老实说，我有点随大流。在中国数哈佛和耶鲁最出 名了，可以说就像牛津和剑桥一样。奋怪的是，报 考耶鲁的中国学生远比报考哈佛的少。

J： I guess I know what you mean. Harvard is more popular in China, right? In the United States, the two universities will compete fiercely with each other in enrolling students each year.

J：我想我知道你什么意思了。哈佛在中国更流行，对 吗？在美国，每年大学招生时这两所大学都要进行 激烈的竞争。

H： I’ve heard a little bit about the competition between them, which has lasted for more than 300 years. And their relationship is very subtle.

H:我听说过一点，他们之间的竞争有300年了，二者 之间的关系还很微妙。

J： They have mixed feelings about each other, half gratitude and half resentment, as it were.

J:他们对彼此的感觉很复杂，可以说恩怨参半。

H: I thought they only see each other as rivals.

H:我以为他们只是把对方看作对手。

J： If you know Yale’s history, you will understand why sometimes Harvard behaves like a big brother.

J：如果你知道了耶鲁的历史，你就会明白为什么哈佛有时表现得像个兄长。

H: Can you tell me?

H:你能绐我说说吗？

J: You may not know that Yale was founded by a group of Harvard students.

J：你可能不知道耶鲁是由一群哈佛学生创建的。

H: Really? I didn’t know. How come?

H:真的吗？我不知道，怎么回事？

J: We know that Harvard struggled to get rid of religious control after its foundation. In the second half of the 17 century, Harvard deviated more and more from Puritan tenets and moved towards academic freedom.

J：我们知道哈佛在成立之后就想要努力摆脱宗教束缚。17世纪下半叶，哈佛越来 越偏离清教教义，走向学术自由。

H: That’s a big step forward.

H:那是向前迈出了很大一步。

J: But it incurred great dissatisfaction from some students, most of whom were from Congregational Church. They demanded for the original Puritan doctrine, but they were ignored by Harvard.

J：但这却引起了一部分哈佛学生的不满，这些学生大都是公理派教会的，他们要求 恢复原来的>青教教义，但院方没理会他们。

H: Were they irritated?

H:他们生气了？

J: Perhaps. Frustrated, in 1701 they founded a new college in New Haven, Connecticut and named it Collegiate School of Connecticut. The first president of the new college was also a Harvard alumnus. His name was Abraham Person.

J:也许吧。无奈之下，这些人1701年在康涅狄格州的纽黑文另建立了一所学院， 并取名为康州联含学校。新学院的第一任院长也是个哈佛毕业生，名叫亚伯拉 罕?皮尔逊。

H: Why was it called Yale later?

H:为什么后来叫耶鲁了呢？

J： In 1718, another Harvard alumnus called Cotton Mather renamed it after an English businessman E. Yale who donated some goods, which were worth 562 pounds, and 417 books to the new college.

J： 1718年另一位叫考顿*麻特的哈佛毕业生以英国商人伊莱休?耶鲁的名字为学校重 新命名，耶鲁给学校捐了价值562英镑的货物和417本图书。

H: Same as other private colleges.

H:和其他私立大学一样。

J： Interestingly, Mather wasn’t appreciated at Harvard. He had been starving to become Harvard President, but was twice refused by the school board. So, he got a chip on his shoulder about this.

J：有趣的是，麻特本人不受哈佛的青睐。他一直渴望成为哈佛大学的校长，但两次 遭到校董会拒绝。所以，他一直为此愤愤不平。

H： It’s ironical. Harvard’s refusal gave birth to a top university in the States. Harvard people must take this to heart.

H:真讽刺。由于哈佛的拒绝产生了一所美国顶尖大学。哈佛人肯定对此耿耿于怀。

J: I believe Yale also took it to heart. After all, not only was it founded by a group of Harvard alumni, but its named was given by a Harvard alumnus. Still and all, Yale finally paid off the debt of gratitude it owned to Harvard.

J：我相信耶鲁也耿耿于怀，毕竟它不仅是由哈佛毕业生建立的，连名字也是哈佛人 给起的。尽管如此，耶鲁终于还清了欠哈佛的人情债。

H ： What happened?

H:发生了什么事？

J: In 1930 a Yale alumnus named Edward Harkness donated 13 million dollars to Harvard for constructing seven special Houses. That was enormous figure at that time and the Houses opened up the House system at Harvard.

J： 1930年一位名叫爱德华?哈克尼斯的耶鲁毕业生给哈佛捐了 1300万美元，以建立 七所特别的住宿学院。这在当时是一笔天文数字，这些住宿学院开了哈佛的住宿 学院体系的先河。

H: Why didn’t he donate money to his mother university?

H:他为什么不把钱捐绾他的母校呢？

J: He did want to, but his idea received a cool response from Yale. In his flay, he donated money to Harvard. Anyway, his action paid off the debt Yale had owned to Harvard.

J：他想，可耶鲁反应冷淡。一气之下，他就把钱捐给了哈佛。不管怎么说，他的行 为也算是还清了耶鲁欠哈佛的债。

H: I didn’t know there is such interesting stories between their relationship is subtle and complex.
 

H:我以前不知道哈佛和耶鲁之间发生了这么有趣的事，难怪二者之间的关系很微妙呢。