2018年英语四级美文：The Two Drives in Man

 

　　The Two Drives in Man

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　　Man is, at one and the same time,

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　　a solitary being and a social being.

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　　As a solitary being,

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　　he attempts to protect his own existence

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　　and that of those who are closest to him,

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　　to satisfy his personal desires,

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　　and to develop his innate abilities.

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　　As a social being,

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　　he seeks to gain the recognition and affection

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　　of his fellow human beings,

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　　to share in their pleasures,

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　　to comfort them in their sorrows,

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　　and to improve their conditions of life.

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　　Only the existence of these varied,

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　　frequently conflicting, strivings accounts

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　　for the special character of a man,

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　　and their specific combination determines the extent

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　　to which an individual can achieve

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　　and in an inner balance

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　　and can contribute to the well-being of society.

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　　It is quite possible that the relative strength of these two drives is,

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　　in the main, fixed by inheritance.

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　　But the personality that finally emerges

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　　is largely formed by the environment

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　　in which a man happens to find himself during his development,

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　　by the structure of the society in which he grows up,

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　　by the tradition of that society,

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　　and by its evaluation of particular types of behavior.

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　　The abstract concept “society” means to the individual human being

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　　the sum total of his direct

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　　and indirect relations to his contemporaries

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　　and to all the people of earlier generations.

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　　The individual is able to think, feel, strive, and work by himself;

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　　but he depends so much upon society —

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　　in his physical, intellectual,

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　　and emotional existence —

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　　that it is impossible to think of him,

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　　or to understand him,

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　　outside the framework of society.

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　　It is “society” which provides man with food, clothing,

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　　a home, the tools of work, language, the forms of thought,

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　　and most of the content of thought;

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　　his life is made possible through the labor

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　　and accomplishments of the many millions past and present

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　　who are all hidden behind the small word “society”.