For centuries town and country have been regarded as being in opposition to each other. It has been suggested that the superficial differences between the two——wide-open spaces contrasting with brick and concrete——are less important than the contrasting attitudes of town and country. 若干世纪以来，城市和农村一直被认为是相互对立的。曾经有这样的说法；两者之间的表面差异，即开阔的场地和砖石混凝土的对照并没有对两者所持的不同态度那样重要。 I am one of the many city people who are always saying that given the choice would prefer to live in the country away from the dirt and noise of a large city. I have managed to convince myself that if it weren t for my job I would immediately head out for the open spaces and go back to nature in some sleepy village buried in the country. But how realistic is this dream？ 许多城里人总是说如果给予选择，我们宁愿住在农村，远离大城市的灰尘和噪音。我也是这些人中的一员。我努力说服了自己，要不是因为工作的缘故，我将立刻搬迁到开阔的农村，回到大自然的怀抱，回到隐藏在乡间那寂静的村庄。但这—梦想又有多现实呢？ Cities can be frightening places. The majority of the population live in massive tower blocks， noisy， squalid and impersonal. The sense of belonging to a community tends to disappear when you live fifteen floors up. All you can see from your window is sky， or other blocks of flats. Children become aggressive and nervous-cooped up at home all day， with nowhere to play； their mothers feel isolated from the rest of the world. Strangely enough， whereas in the past the inhabitants of one street all knew each other， nowadays people on the same floor in tower blocks don t even say hello to each other. 城市有可能是使人害怕的地方。大多数人住在又闹又脏又没有人情味的高楼大厦里。如果你住在十五层以上高的楼上，就丧失了属于某—社会群体的感觉。从窗户里能够看到的就是天空或其他一排排的房屋。孩子们变得好斗、紧张，因为成天关在家里没处玩；他们的母亲们也感到与周围世界隔离开了。更奇怪的是过去一条街的居民彼此都认识，而今住在高楼大厦同一层楼的人甚至从不相互问好。 Country life，on the other hand，differs from this kind of isolated existence in that a sense of community generally binds the inhabitants of small villages together. People have the advantage of knowing that there is always someone to turn to when they need help. But country life has disadvantages too While it is true that you may be among friends in a village，it is also true that you are cut off from the exciting and important events that take place in cities There s little possibility of going to a new show or the latest movie. Shopping becomes a major problem，and for anything slightly out of the ordinary you have to go on an expedition to the nearest large town. The city-dweller who leaves for the country is often oppressed by a sense of unbearable stillness and quiet. 农村生活却不同于这种孤立生活，地方感情把小村庄的居民广泛地联系了起来。他们有这样的好处，即需要帮助时，知道总会有人出来关照的。但乡村生活也有不足之处。在一个村子里，周围都是你的朋友，虽然这是事实，但你却与发生在城里的振奋人心的重要事情隔离开了，这也是事实。几乎没有可能看一场新的演出或一部最新影片。去商店买东西成了主要问题，只要是稍微有点特殊的商品，你就得远征到相距最近的大城市。搬迁到农村来的城市居民常因一种不能忍受的宁静与沉寂而感到压抑。 What，then，is the answer？The country has the advantage of peace and quiet but suffers from the disadvantage of being cut off： the city breeds neurosis and a feeling of isolation-constant noise batters the senses. But one of its main advantages is that you are at the centre of things，and that life doesn t come to an end at half——past nine at night. Some people have found a compromise between the two；they have expressed their preference for the quiet life by leaving the suburbs and moving to villages within commuting distance of the large conurbations. They generally have about as much sensitivity as the plastic flowers they leave behind-they are polluted with strange ideas about change and improvement which they force on to the unwilling original inhabitants of the villages. 那么，结论如何呢？农村具有宁静之优点，但却要受与城市隔断这一缺点之苦，城市会引起神经官能症和孤独感。因为持续不断的噪音有损人的理性。但其主要优点之—“是你处在事物的中心；晚上九点半之前整个城市总是充满了生机。有的人在二者之间我到了折衷的办法，他们离开城郊搬到了能乘车往返于大城市和农村之间的村庄，以表达他们对”平静生活“的向往。这些人大概就像他们所遗弃的塑料花一样，缺乏感受，他们的脑子里沾染了些关于改变和改进农村的奇怪思想，并将这些强加给不愿接受的当地村民。 What then of my dreams of leaning on the cottage gate，chewing a piece of grass and murmuring “mornin”to the locals as they pass I m keen on the idea，but you see there s my cat，Toby. I m not at all sure that he would take to all that fresh air and exercise in the long grass. I mean，can you see him mixing with all those hearty males down on the farm？No，he would rather have the electric imitation—coal fire any evening. 那么我的梦想是：靠在一幢农舍门前，嘴嚼着一根小草，向路过的当地人喃喃说一声“早上好”——又怎么样呢？我迷恋这一想法，但你看我还有一只小猫——托比。他会不会喜欢那里所有的新鲜空气，喜欢在那长得很深的杂草中活动，我毫无把握。我的意思是，你能想象他会下去与农庄里那些活蹦乱跳的雄猫混在一起吗？不，他宁愿天天晚上见到有如炭火似的电灯光。