Custom has not been commonly regarded as a subject of any great moment. The inner workings of our own brains we feel to be uniquely worthy of investigation, but custom have a way of thinking, is behaviour at its most commonplace. As a matter of fact, it is the other way around. Traditional custom, taken the world over, is a mass of detailed behaviour more astonishing than what any one person can ever evolve in individual actions, no matter how aberrant. Yet that is a rather trivial aspect of the matter. The fact of first-rate importance is the predominant role that custom plays in experience and in belief, and the very great varieties it may manifest.
No man ever looks at the world with pristine eyes. He sees it edited by a definite set of customs and institutions and ways of thinking. Even in his philosophical probings he cannot go behind these stereotypes; his very concepts of the true and the false will still have reference to his particular traditional customs. John Dewey has said in all seriousness that the part played by custom in shaping the behaviour of the individual as over against any way in which he can affect traditional custom, is as the proportion of the total vocabulary of his mother tongue over against those words of his own baby talk that are taken up into the vernacular of his family. When one seriously studies the social orders that have had the opportunity to develop autonomously, the figure becomes no more than an exact and matter-off-fact observation. The life history of the individual is first and foremost an accommodation to the patterns and standards traditionally handed down in his community. From the moment of his birth the customs into which he is born shape his experience and behaviour. By the time he can talk, he is the little creature of his culture, and by the time he is grown and able to take part in its activities, its habits are his habits, its beliefs his beliefs, its impossibilities his impossibilities. Every child that is born into his group will share them with him, and no child born into one on the opposite side of the globe can ever achieve the thousandth part. There is no social problem it is more incumbent upon us to understand than this of the role of custom. Until we are intelligent as to its laws and varieties, the main complicating facts of human life must remain unintelligible.
The study of custom can be profitable only after certain preliminary propositions have been accepted, and some of these propositions have been violently opposed. In the first place any scientific study requires that there be no preferential weighting of one or another of the items in the series it selects for its consideration. In all the less controversial fields like the study of cacti or termites or the nature of nebulae, the necessary method of study is to group the relevant material and to take note of all possible variant forms and conditions. In this way we have learned all that we know of the laws of astronomy, or of the habits of the social insects, let us say. It is only in the study of man himself that the major social sciences have substituted the study of one local variation, that of Western civilization. Anthropology was by definition impossible as long as these distinctions between ourselves and the primitive, ourselves and the barbarian, ourselves and the pagan, held sway over people's minds. It was necessary first to arrive at that degree, of sophistication where we no longer set our own belief over against our neighbour's superstition. It was necessary to recognize that these institutions which are based on the same premises, let us say the supernatural, must be considered together, our own among the rest. New words and expressions
a way of thinking 一種想法
commonplace a.平凡的 口頭語common
the other way around相反
aberrant a.脫離常軌的，異常的；（醫(yī)）變異，失常
ab-表示"偏離，脫離或離開" = irregular
normal正�！猘bnormal不正常；use用——abuse濫用；
（近）eccentric怪異的；straying偏離的：a stray dog野狗；go astray步入歧途
trivial a.微不足道的，瑣碎的triviality細(xì)節(jié)，瑣事（見lesson12）
frist rate第一流 A-one第一等的，第一流的；topflight棒的； second to none；second to 次于
predominant a.占優(yōu)勢的，起支配作用的 predominace n. dominate統(tǒng)治地位
pre-前面的 = superior,preponderate
paramount絕對重要； principal主要的；校長
manifest vt.清楚地表現(xiàn) illustrate vi.舉例說明；圖解；加插圖于；闡明vi.舉例
portray繪畫
pristine a.原始的（太古年代）(lesson27) （近）primitive原始的（一般）；ancient古代的；
prehistoric史前的
stereotype n.陳規(guī)(lesson5)break through打破
over against和……相比 = be compared with
vernacular n.方言 （和外語相比較）母語，mother tongue的變體 （近）dialect方言（在一國內(nèi)）
accent口音 vary from person to person因人而異
accommodation n.適應(yīng) v. accommodate容納 He accommodates himself to sth.
accommodation to對……適應(yīng) = adapt to, adjustment to 區(qū)別adoption采取，收養(yǎng)
incumbent a.義不容辭的，有責(zé)任的 結(jié)構(gòu)：It is incumbent on sb.to do…
responsible有責(zé)任的 responsible for為……負(fù)責(zé)
proposition n.主張 來源：propose向……提議
Man proposes,God disposes.謀事在人，成事在天。
（近）tender投標(biāo)，建議
unintelligible a.難理解的 intelligible可理解的
區(qū)別：intellectual 知識分子；intelligent聰明的
read—readable—unreadable;
comprehension—comprehensible—incomprehensible;
discern—discernable—undiscernable
preferential a.優(yōu)先的 來源：prefer favorable有利的
prefer green tea to black tea./I prefer to green tea rather than black tea. black coffee =
sugar free coffee現(xiàn)在國外流行的：decaf coffee
controversial a.引起爭論的 controversy n.論爭（lesson39）
cactus n.仙人掌 復(fù)數(shù)形式：cacti拉丁變形
abacus算盤—abaci(pl.); alumnus校友—alumni(pl.)
termite n.白蟻
group vt.把……分類
variant a.不同的 variation n.變化；變奏曲
易混：various各種各樣的；variety多樣性
barbarian n.野蠻人 = savage,vandal
pagan n.異教徒 相信不只有一個神的人或非基督教徒者
區(qū)別heretic異教徒 信邪教的人
hold sway over支配，掌握 Superstition holds sway over my brain/mind.
wield揮，統(tǒng)治，支配（lesson40）
sway（左右）搖；shake（上下）搖；swing（繞圈）搖
premise n.前提 大/小前提：major/minor premise
Only on the premise of equality,can we further negotiate.
institution n.慣例，風(fēng)俗 長期的習(xí)慣，不一定要遵守（社會風(fēng)俗）
custom不同部落，種族 When in Rome,do as the Romans do.
tradition有歷史遺傳（可指家庭習(xí)俗）
supernatural a.超自然的
Notes on the text
The basic background about this author:
Ruth Benedict (female)
She is a famous anthropologist.
"Cultural relativism"文化相關(guān)論
subject ( = topic,theme)
great moment = significance重要性
The inner workings of our own brains…倒裝句式
正常：we feel the…workings to be… 賓語前置，強調(diào)賓語
workings運作（可數(shù)名詞）
uniquely獨特的 = only
worthy of值得
commonplace a.后省略名詞level
We have a way of thinking. = as we view/see it
As a matter of fact作為一個事實而言（ = in fact）
Traditional custom,taken the world over, is a mass of detailed behaviour more astonishing than what any one person can ever evolve in individual actions, no matter how aberrant.非常難句型 主語：Traditional custom 謂語：is a mass
mass大量 = collection
is a mass = is a whole/total
taken被動語態(tài)，"采樣"，"取樣"
take the world over = throughout the world
detailed細(xì)致的 astonishing = surprising evolve進(jìn)化（develop）
the predominant role一個主導(dǎo)作用
experience實踐
in belief信仰，思維活動
it may manifest體現(xiàn)
variety多樣性
第二段第一句話點出主題
pristine eye原始的眼光 = pure純潔的
edite編輯
definite一定形式的，有限的
set集合
custom習(xí)俗
institution慣例
ways of thinking思維方式
probing = research, studies研究
stereotype陳規(guī)，定式
very強調(diào)
very修飾名詞表示強調(diào)
have reference to和……有關(guān) = be connected with
John Dewey(1859-…)"哲學(xué)思想"：learning by doing
in all seriousness = seriously
the part = the role
在某一方面，用介詞in
as…as比較 第一個as后面，風(fēng)俗對人的影響——人對風(fēng)俗的影響
第二個as后面，母語總體的詞匯比例——被吸收到家庭語言中的兒語
over against對比，與……比較
orders = different levels不同層面，不同階層
have had虛擬
autonomously auto自動 autonomous自治的
figure省略用法=figure of speech
no more than正好，恰好 = just
observation觀察，證明
life history 生平
first and foremost = above all重要，首先
accommodation適應(yīng)
pattern行為模式
standard規(guī)范，標(biāo)準(zhǔn)
hand down = pass on流傳下來
省略謂語
group種族 = race
born into出生于
globe = earth
no——整體否定
cultural transmission文化傳遞
it is more incumbent upon us to understand…插入語
until直到
as to +名詞 = about 關(guān)于
complicating = difficult復(fù)雜
unintelligible難以理解的
not until直到……才
until直到……為止
profitable有利可圖的 = beneficial
preliminary基本，基礎(chǔ) = basic
have been的用法：后面的動作，一定是要和前面構(gòu)成一個完成，后面的完成才能引發(fā)前面 的動作
violently opposed強烈的反對
require虛擬
weighting稱重
item選擇的課題，項目
one of the items or another=on or another of the items
in all the less controversial fields…在不太令人爭論的一些領(lǐng)域
nebulae星云
all that we know of…
that we know做all的后置定語
of 做all的后置定語
social insects群居生活的昆蟲
let us say = so to speak
major social sciences主要的社會學(xué)
substitute替換，替代
that of 作同位語
anthropology人類學(xué)
as long as = if 只要，如果
degree of sophistication = understanding理解
set over against與……對比
these institutions這些習(xí)俗
指前面belief,superstition
Our among the rest 獨立主格句
