Discrimination is wrong only when someone or something is discriminated
against because of prejudice. But to use the word in this sense, as so many
people do, is to destroy its true meaning. If you discriminate against
something because of general preconceptions rather than particular insights,
then you are not discriminating-bias has clouded the clarity of vision which
discrimination demands.
One of the great ironies of American life is that we manage to discriminate
in the practical decisions of daily life, but usually fail to discriminate when
we make public policies. Most people are very discriminating when it comes to
buying a car, for example, because they realize that cars have differences.
Similarly, an increasing number of people have learned to discriminate in what
they eat. Some foods are better than others-and indiscriminate eating can
undermine one's health.
Yet in public affairs, good judgment is depressingly rare. In many areas
which involve the common good, we see a failure to tell differences.
想请教各位，在原文中，discrimination有点语带双关，可以指原意：“区别；辨别”之
意，如同原文中想表达的true meaning，但也可以指现今普遍认定的负面意思；“歧视；
偏见”，但这两层涵义难以以同一个中文字表达（不像英文都是discrimination）。
遇到这种情况，各位会怎么处理呢？
是一律翻成“歧视”、一概翻成“区别”，还是视上下文，有时翻成前者，有时翻成后者
呢？（但这样就感受不出原文的双关）
这是辅大翻译所的考古题，若在考试的情况下，各位会怎么抉择呢？
另外再附上我的翻译，希望各位前辈给予建议：
只有当事物是基于偏见而受到歧视时，歧视本身才是不对的行为。然而，以这样的见
解来使用这个字眼，其实是摧毁了它的真义，正如同许多人所做的。若你歧视某件事物，
是基于普遍的成见，而非特定的看法，那么你就不是歧视－－偏见已将歧视所必要的清晰
视角给遮蔽了。
在美国人的生活里，最大的讽刺之一，便是吾人设法在日常的实用决定上产生歧视，
却往往无法在公共政策的决策中产生歧视。举例来说，大部分的人在买车时是相当有歧见
的，因为他们晓得，车子有差异性。同样地，越来越多人会在饮食方面进行歧视。某些食
物比其他的好：而对吃若不带有歧见，就可能有碍健康。
可是，在公共事务上，令人沮丧的是，好的判断十分少见，涉及到公共利益时，我们
难以进行差异的辨别和歧见。