翻译题
"Philosophy" used to mean "love of wisdom," and people devoted their lives to it for that reason. Nowadays professional philosophers would be embarrassed to acknowledge so naive a conception of their craft. Today a philosopher may be a specialist in deconstructionism or logical positivism, an epistemologist or an existentialist, but don't bother him with wisdom. 【F1】It is a common fate of many human institutions to begin as a response to some universal problem until, after many generations, the problems peculiar to the institutions themselves will take precedence over the original goal. 【F2】Amateur philosophers, unlike their professional counterparts at universities, need not worry about historical struggles for prominence among competing schools, the politics of journals, and the personal jealousies of scholars. They can keep their minds on the basic questions. What these are is the first task for the amateur philosopher to decide. 【F3】As in all other branches of learning, the first step after deciding what area one wants to pursue is to learn what others have thought about the matter. By reading, talking, and listening selectively one can form an idea of what the "state of the art" in the field is. Again, the importance of personally taking control of the direction of learning from the very first steps cannot be stressed enough. When his preferences in philosophy become clear, even the amateur may feel compelled to specialize. Someone interested in the basic characteristics of reality may drift toward ontology and read Wolff, Kant, Husserl, and Heidegger. Another person more puzzled by questions of right and wrong would take up ethics and learn about the moral philosophy of Aristotle, Aquinas, Spinoza, and Nietzsche. 【F4】While specialization is necessary to develop the complexity of any pattern of thought, the goals-ends relationship must always be kept clear: specialization is for the sake of thinking better, and not an end in itself. In philosophy as in other disciplines there comes a point where a person is ready to pass from the status of passive consumer to that of active producer. 【F5】To write down one's insights expecting that someday they will be read with awe by future generations would be in most cases an act of arrogance. But if one records ideas in response to an inner challenge to express clearly the major questions by which one feels confronted, and tries to sketch out answers that will help make sense of one's experiences, then the amateur philosopher will have learned to derive enjoyment from one of the most difficult and rewarding tasks of life.
【答案解析】①本句为复合句，包含一个时间状语从句。②句首的It是形式主语，真正的主语是不定式to begin as…problem；主句表语中的of many human institutions作common fate的后置定语，说明是何者的common fate。③until引导时间状语从句，其中after many generations为插入语，补充说明一段时间。peculiar to the institutions themselves作the problems的后置定语，对the problems的性质进行说明；take precedence over sth．是惯用搭配，意为“优先于；高于”。
【答案解析】①本句为主谓宾结构的简单句，worry about的宾语由三个并列名词短语充当。②第一个逗号后的unlike their professional counterparts at universities为插入语，对主语Amateur philosophers进行补充说明。③第一个宾语historical struggles后的for prominence among competing schools作后置定语修饰historical struggles，表示“不同竞争流派间为取得优越地位的历史斗争”。
【答案解析】①本句是较为复杂的复合句。句首为While引导的让步状语从句，表示“虽然／尽管……”；介词短语of any pattern of thought作the complexity的后置定语，说明the complexity的主体；pattern of thought意为“思想模式”。②主句为主系表结构，must在句中表强调；冒号后的部分是对主句的补充说明；for the sake of thinking better和not an end in itself同时作系动词is的表语。
【答案解析】①本句为复合句。主句主干为主系表结构，主语由不定式短语To write down one’s insists充当；表语中的in most cases为状语成分；of arrogance作an act的后置定语，an act of arrogance意为“傲慢的行为”。②主句主语和系动词之间的expecting…为write down…的伴随状语，其中含有that引导的从句，作expecting的宾语，表明“期待，期望”的内容；someday是该宾语从句中的时间状语；they指代前面提到的insights“见解”：with awe by future generations作状语修饰read。