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自考英语(二)教材课文翻译

自考英语(二)教材课文翻译
自考英语(二)教材课文翻译

自考英语(二)课文翻译

Unit One What Is a Decision ?

何为决策 ?

A decision is a choice made from among alternative courses of action that are available. The purpose of making a decision is to establish and achieve organizational goals and objectives. The reason for making a decision is that a problem exists, goals or objectives are wrong, or something is standing in the way of accomplishing them.

决策是一种选择,来自可以获得的、任择其一的行动步骤。作决策的意图是要确立和实现机构的目标和目的。作决策的原因是有问题存在、目标和目的不正确、或者有某种东西妨碍目标或目的的实现。

Thus the decision-making process is fundamental to management. Almost everything a manager does involves decisions, indeed, some suggest that the management process is decision making. Although managers cannot predict the future, many of their decisions require that they consider possible future events. Often managers must make a best guess at what the future will be and try to leave as little as possible to chance, but since uncertainty is always there, risk accompanies decisions . Sometimes the consequence s of a poor decision are slight; at other times they are serious.

因此,作决策的过程对管理人员来说至关重要。管理者所做的每件事几乎都与决策有关,事实上,有些人认为管理过程就是作决策。尽管管理者不能预测未来,但他们所作的许多决策都要求他们考虑将来可能发生的事情。通常情况下,管理者必须对未来情况作出最佳估测,并且努力要使偶然事件尽可能少地发生,但是,由于不确定的因素一直存在,所以,决策总是与风险为伴。有时候,拙劣决策的后果并不严重,但在另外一些时候则是非常严重了。Choice is the opportunity to select among alternatives. If there is no choice, there is no decision to be made. Decision making is the process of choosing, and many decisions have a broad range of choice. For example, a student may be able to choose among a number of different courses in order to implement the decision to obtain a college degree. For managers, every decision has constraints based on policies, procedures, laws, precedents, and the like. These constraints exist at all levels of the organization.

选择是指从多个可能性中挑选的机会。如果没有选择,就毋须作决策。作决策就是挑选的过程,许多决策的选择范围很广。例如,一个学生为了获得学位,他可能会从许多不同的课程中选择从而作出决策。对管理者来说,每项决策都受到基于政策、程序、法律、惯例等等因素的制约,这些制约存在于各个层次的机构中。

Alternatives are the possible courses of action from which choices can be made. If there are no alternatives, there is no choice and, therefore, no decision. If no alternatives are seen, often it means that a thorough job of examining the problems has not been done. For example, managers sometimes treat problems in an either/or fashion; this is their way of simplifying complex problems. But the tendency to simplify blind s them to other alternatives.

抉择是从中可以作出选择的可能的行动步骤。假如没有可供选择的可能性,这就意味着没

有做过对问题进行彻底调查的工作。例如,管理者有时用两者择一的方式来处理问题,即他们简化复杂问题的手法。但是,这种简化的倾向使他们看不到其他可供选择的可能性。

At the managerial level, decision making includes limiting alternatives as well as identify ing them, and the range is from highly limited to practically unlimited. 在管理层,作决策包括了限定和鉴别可供选择的可能性,其限定范围从非常有限到基本无限。

Decision makers must have some way of determining which of several alternatives is best —that is, which contributes the most to the achievement of organizational goals. An organizational goal is an end or a state of affairs the organization seeks to reach. Because individuals (and organizations) frequently have different ideas about how to attain the goals, the best choice may depend on who makes the decision. Frequently, departments or units within an organization make decisions that are good for them individually but that are less than optimal for the larger organization. Called suboptimization, this is a trade-off that increases the advantages to one unit or function but decreases the advantages to another unit or function. For example, the marketing manager may argue effective ly for an increased advertising budget. In the larger scheme of things, however, increased funding for research to improve the products might be more beneficial to the organization.

决策者必须具备从多个可供选择的可能性中确定最佳选择——即:最有助于实现机构的目标—的手段。机构目标是该机构竭力要达到的最终目标或理想状态。因为个人(和机构)常常对达到目标有着不同的主意,所以,最佳选择就取决于决策者了。在同一机构内的部门或单位经常会作出有利于他们自己而对大单位不甚理想的决策。被称为局部最优化的权衡加强了某一单位或某一功能的优势,却削弱了另一单位或另一功能的优势,例如,市场营销经理会极力要求增加广告预算。然而,在更大的事情策划中,为改进产品而增加科研经费可能会更有益于该机构。

These trade-offs occur because there are many objectives that organizations wish to attain simultaneously. Some of these objectives are more important than others, but the order and degree of importance often vary from person to person and from department to department .Different managers define the same problem in different term s. When presented with a common case, sales managers tend to see sales problems, production managers see production problems, and so on.

这些权衡的产生是因为机构希望同时达到多个目标。有些目标比其他的目标更重要,但其重要性的先后顺序和等级却因人而异、因部门而异。不同的管理者对同一个问题持不同的看法。面对一件日常事件时,销售经理常易看到销售问题,生产经理则常易看到生产问题等等。The ordering and importance of multiple objectives is also based, in part, on the values of the decision maker. Such values are personal; they are hard to understand, even by the individual, because they are so dynamic and complex. In many business situations different people's values about acceptable degrees of risk and profitability cause disagreement about the correctness of decisions.

多种目标的顺序和重要性也部分地基于决策者的价值观,这些价值观带有个人特色,他人很难理解,因为价值观是不断变化的、极为复杂的。在许多商情中,不同的人对于风险的可接受程度有着不同的价值观,这就造成了决策正确与否的不同意见。

People often assume that a decision is an isolated phenomenon. But from a systems point of view, problems have multiple causes, and decisions have intended and

unintended consequences. An organization is an ongoing entity, and a decision made today may have consequences far into the future. Thus the skilled manager looks toward the future consequences of current decisions.

人们常常以为决策是一个孤立的现象。但从系统的观点来看,问题具有多种原因,故而决策有意料中的结果和非意料中的结果。一个机构是一个发展中的实体,今天所作的决策可能会对将来产生深远的影响。因此,有经验的管理者着眼于当前决策的将来效果。

Unit Two Black Holes

黑洞

What is a black hole ? well, it's difficult to answer this question ,

since the terms we would normally use to describe a scientific phenomenon

are inadequate here. Astronomers and scientists think that a black hole

is a region of space (not a thing ) into which matter has fallen and from

which nothing can escape –not even light. So we can't see a black hole.

A black hole exerts a strong gravitational pull and yet it has no matter .

It is only space — or so we think. How can this happen?

黑洞是什么?这个问题很难回答,因为我们通常用来描述某一科学现象的术语不

足以回答这个问题。天文学家和科学家都认为黑洞是一个太空区域(不是一种事

物),落人其中的任何物质都无法逃逸——甚至包括光。所以我们看不见黑洞。

一个黑洞能产生强大的吸力,但它却没有物质。它只是空间——或许是我们这么

想的。这种现象是怎样发生的呢?

The theory is that some stars explode when their density increases to

a particular point; they collapse and sometimes a supernova occurs. From

earth, a supernova looks like a very bright light in the sky which shines

even in the daytime. Supernova were reported by astronomers in the

seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Some people think that the Star of

Bethlehem could have been a supernova. The collapse of a star may produce

a White Dwarf or a neutron star — a star, whose matter is so dense that

it continually shrinks by the force of its own gravity. But if the star

is very large (much bigger than our sun) this process of shrinking may

be so intense that a black hole results. Imagine the earth reduced to the

size of a marble, but still having the same mass and a stronger

gravitational pull, and you have some idea of the force of a black hole .

Any matter near the black hole is sucked in. It is impossible to say what

happens inside a black hole. Scientists have called the boundary area

around the hole the "event horizon." We know nothing about events which

happen once object s pass this boundary. But in theory, matter must behave

very differently inside the hole.

从理论论来说,当某些恒星的密度增大到某种程度时就会发生爆炸,爆炸使它们崩溃,有时会产生超新星。从地球上看,一颗超新星看上去像是天空中的一盏

明灯,甚至在白天也闪闪发光。超新星是由十七、十八世纪的天文学家发现的。

有人认为圣诞星可能是一颗超新星。一颗超新星的崩溃可能会产生白矮星或中子

星,其物资的密度非常大以至于在其自身重力的作用下持续收缩。但是,假如这

颗恒星非常大(比我们的太阳大得多),那么,这种收缩的过程可能会非常强烈,其结果导致了黑洞的产生。想像一下地球收缩小到有弹球那么大,但仍具有同样的质量和更强的吸力,你就会对黑洞的力量有某种概念。靠近黑洞的任何物质都会被吸入,根本说不出黑洞里究竟发生了什么、科学家把黑洞的边缘区域称为“事界”。对物质通过这个界线时发生的情况我们一无所知。从理论上来说,黑洞里面物质的表现一定是不大相同的。

For example, if a man fell into a black hole, he would think that he reached the center of it very quickly. However an observer at the event horizon would think that the man never reached the center at all. Our space and time law s don't seem to apply to objects in the area of a black hole. Einstein's relativity theory is the only one which can explain such phenomena. Einstein claimed that matter and energy are interchangeable, so that there is no " absolute " time and space. There are no constants at all, and measurements of time and space depend on the position of the observer. They are relative. We do not yet fully understand the implications of the relativity theory; but it is interesting that Einstein's theory provided a basis for the idea of black holes before astronomers started to find some evidence for their existence. It is only recently that astronomers have begun specific research into black holes. In August 1977, a satellite was launched to gather data about the 10 million black holes which are thought to be in the Milky Way. And astronomers are planning a new observatory to study the individual exploding stars believed to be black holes.

例如,假如一个人落人黑洞,他可能会认为自己很快就会到达黑洞的中心。然而,位于“事界”上的观察者则认为这个人永远不会到达黑洞的中心。我们的时空法则似乎不适用于黑洞区内的物体。爱因斯坦的相对论是惟-解释这种现象的理论。爱因斯坦宣称物质和能量是互换的,因此不存在“绝对的”时间和空间。根本没有不变的事物,时间和空间的衡量取决于观察者的位置,是相对的。我们还没有能完全理解相对论的蕴涵。但有趣的是爱因斯坦的相对论为黑洞的假说提供了理论基础,早于天文学家找到黑洞存在的证据。天文学家只是在最近才开始对黑洞作具体的研究。1977年8月,人类发射了一颗卫星收集有关被认为处于银河系中的1000万个黑洞的信息。而且天文学家正在设计一座新天文台,用来研究被认为是黑洞的爆炸恒星。

The most convincing evidence of black holes comes from research into binary star systems. Binary stars, as their name suggests, are twin stars whose position in space affects each other. In some binary systems, astronomers have shown that there is an invisible companion star, a "partner" to the one which we can see in the sky. Matter from the one which we can see is being pulled towards the companion star. Could this invisible star, which exerts such a great force, be a black hole? Astronomers have evidence of a few other stars too, which might have black holes as companions.

有关黑洞的最有说服力的证据来自对双星系的研究。双星,顾名思义,就是彼此之间的空间位置相互影响的成双恒星。天文学家已证实在某些双子星座里有一颗

隐匿的伴星,即我们从天空上能看到的某颗星的“伙伴”。我们能看见的那颗星

被其伴星所吸引,难道产生这么大吸引力的隐匿的恒星就是黑洞?天文学家也还

有另外几颗恒星的证据,这几颗恒星也可能有黑洞作伴。

The story of black holes is just beginning. Speculations about them are endless. There might be a massive black hole at the center of our galaxy swallowing up stars at a very rapid rate. Mankind may one day meet this fate. On the other hand, scientists have suggested that very advanced technology could one day make use of the energy of black holes for mankind. These speculations sound like science fiction . But the theory of black holes in space is accepted by many serious scientists and astronomers. They show us a world which operates in a totally different way from our own and they question our most basic experience of space and time.

有关黑洞的故事刚刚开头,各种各样的假说层出不穷。在我们的星系中心可能存

在一个以极快速度吞噬恒星的巨大黑洞。人类总有一天要遭此命运。另一方面,科学家已表明,总有一天,人类会使用非常先进的技术来利用黑洞的能量。这些

假说听起来像科幻小说,但宇宙黑洞理论却被许多严肃的科学家及天文学家所接受。他们给我们展示了一个跟我们截然不同的世界,他们对时空的基本认识提出

了疑问。

Unit Three Euthanasia : For and Against

安乐死—赞成和反对

"We mustn't delay any longer ... swallowing is difficult ... and breathing, that's also difficult. Those muscles are weakening too ... we mustn't delay any longer."

“我们不能再拖了……吞咽困难……呼吸困难。那部分肌肉也在萎缩……我们不能再拖了。”

These were the words of Dutchman Cees van Wendel de Joode asking his doctor to help him die. Affected with a serious disease, van Wendel was no longer able to speak clearly and he knew there was no hope of recovery and that his condition was rapidly deteriorating.

以上是荷兰人齐思.范.万德尔,德.尤德请求医生帮他结束自己生命时说过的话了,患有严重疾病的范.万德尔当时已不再能够清楚地说话了,他知道自己没有康复的希望,他的病情正在迅速恶化。

Van Wendel's last three months of life before being given a final, lethal injection by his doctor were filmed and first shown on television last year in the Netherlands . The programme has since been bought by 20 countries and each time it is shown, it starts a nationwide debate on the subject.

范.万德尔在接受其医生给他打最后致命的一针之前的3个月的情况被制作成影片,去年首次在荷兰电视上播出。此后,该影片被20个国家购买,每次播放时都引起一场全国性的有关安乐死的大讨论。

The Netherlands is the only country in Europe which permits euthanasia, although it is not technically legal there. However, doctors who carry out

euthanasia under strict guidelines introduced by the Dutch Parliament two years ago are usually not prosecuted. The guideline s demand that the patient is experiencing extreme suffering , that there is no chance of a cure, and that the patient has made repeated requests for euthanasia . In addition to this, a second doctor must confirm that these criteria have been met and the death must be reported to the police department.

尽管安乐死在荷兰并未合法化,但荷兰仍然是欧洲惟一允许安乐死的国家。两年前在荷兰议会制定的严格标准下实施安乐死的医生通常不会被起诉。这此指导原则要求:病人正在经受极度的痛苦;没有治愈的机会;病人一再提出安乐死的请求。除此之外,还需有另外一位医生确认是否已达到安乐死的标准,而且,必须向警方提出死亡报告。

Should doctors be allowed to take the lives of others? Dr, Wilfred van Oijen, Cees van Wendel's doctor, explains how he looks at the question: "Well, it's not as if I'm planning to murder a crowd of people with a machine gun. In that case, killing is the worst thing 1 can imagine. But that's entirely different from my work as a doctor. I care for people and I try to ensure that they don't suffer too much. That's a very different thing."

是不是应该允许医生结束病人的生命呢?齐思.范.万尔德的医生威尔费雷德.范.奥仁博上解释了对这个问题的看法:“情况并不像我计划用机关枪屠杀一大群人似的,倘若那样,屠杀是我所能想像到的最坏的事情,这与我的医生职业风马牛不相及。我关怀病人并努力使他们不至于遭受太多的痛苦。这完全是两码事。” Many people, though, are totally against the practice of euthanasia, Dr. Andrew Ferguson, Chairman of the organization Healthcare Opposed to Euthanasia, says that "in the vast majority of euthanasia cases, what the patient is actually asking for is something else. They may want a health professional to open up communication for them with their loved ones or family — there's nearly always another question behind the question."

然而,许多人完全反对安乐死。反对安乐死保健组织主席安德鲁.福格森博士说:“在大量安乐死的病例中,病人实际所要求的是别的东西。他们或许是想要保健专业人员为他们打开与亲人或家人开展思想交流的渠道—-可能请求之后另有他求”。

Britain also has a strong tradition of hospices —special hospitals which care only for the dying and their special needs. Cicely Saunders, President of the National Hospice Council and a founder member of the hospice movement, argues that euthanasia doesn't take into account that there are ways of caring for the dying. She is also concerned that allowing euthanasia would undermine the need for care and consideration of a wide range of people: "It's very easy in society now for the elderly, the disabled and the dependent to feel that they are burdens, and therefore that they ought to opt out. I think that anything that legally allows the shortening of life does make those people more vulnerable.

英国对晚期病人收容所的做法有着根深蒂固的传统。收容所就是指那些关怀临终之人和照顾他们特殊需要的专门医院。英国收容所理事会主席及收容所运动创始人之一的茜茜莉.桑德斯认为,安乐死没有考虑其他关怀临终病人的途径。她还担心

允许安乐死会减弱大众对关怀和照顾的需求:“当前社会中的那些老年人、残疾人和受赡养的人很容易感到自已是个负担从而脱离社会。我认为任何法律允许缩短生命的行为都必定使这些人更容易受到伤害”。

Many find this prohibition of an individual's right to die paternalistic. Although they agree that life is important and should be respected, they feel that the quality of life should not be ignored. Dr. van Oijen believes that people have the fundamental right to choose for themselves if they want to die: "What those people who oppose euthanasia are telling me is that dying people haven't the right. And that when people are very ill, we are all afraid of their death. But there are situations where death is a friend. And in those cases, why not?"

许多人认为这种禁止个人生死权利的做法是家长作风。尽管他们同意生命是重要的、应该受到尊重,但是他们感到生命的质量不应该被漠视。范.奥仁博十认为人们具有自己选择生死的基本权利:“那些反对安乐死的人告诉我的是临终之人没有这个权利。当人们病重的时候,我们都害怕他们死亡。但是,在某些情况下,死亡是一位朋友。如果这样,为什么不呢?”

But "why not?" is a question which might cause strong emotion . The film showing Cees van Wendel's death was both moving and sensitive. His doctor was clearly a family friend; his wife had only her husband's interests at heart. Some, however, would argue that it would be dangerous to use this particular example to support the case for euthanasia. Not all patients would receive such a high level of individual care and attention.

然而,“为什么不呢?”是一个引起强烈感情的问题。展示齐思.范.万德尔死亡的影片既动人又敏感。他的医生显然是他们家的一位朋友;他的妻子心中只有她丈夫的利益。那么,有人就会争辩说用这样一个特殊的例子来支持安乐死是危险的,并非所有的病人都会受到如此高水平的关怀和照料。

Slavery on Our Doorstep

家庭雇佣奴役

There are estimate d to be more than 20,000 overseas domestic serva nts working in Britain (the exact figure is not known because the Home O ffice, the Government department that deals with this, does not keep sta tistics). Usually, they have been brought over by foreign businessmen, d iplomats or Britons returning from abroad. Of these 20,000, just under 2,000 are being exploited and abused by their employers, according to a London-based campaigning group which helps overseas servants working in Britain.

据统计,在美国工作的外籍家庭佣人有两万多人(由于处理该项事务的政府部门————内政部——没有做过统计,精确数字不得而知)。通常,他们是由外国商人、外交官员和归国英侨带来的。根据设在伦敦的帮助在伦敦工作的外籍家庭佣

人的政治组织说,在两万多外籍家庭佣人中几乎有2000人正遭受雇主的剥削和虐待。

The abuse can take several forms. Often the domestics are not allow ed to go out, and they do not receive any payment . They can be physical ly , sexually and psychologically abused. And they can have their passpo rts removed, making leaving or "escaping" virtually impossible.

虐待有几种形式〔家庭佣人常常不允许外出,又得不到任何报酬。他们在身体上、性和心理上遭受凌辱。他们还会被收去护照,使得出走或“逃跑”根本不可能。

The sad condition of women working as domestics around the world re ceived much media attention earlier this year in several highly publicis e d cases. In one of them, a Filipino maid was executed in Singapore aft er being convicted of murder, despite protests from various quarter s th at her guilt had not been adequately established. Groups like Anti-Slave ry International say other, less dramatic, cases are equally deserving o f attention, such as that of Lydia Garcia, a Filipino maid working in Lo ndon:

今年年初,几个透明度颇高的案例中有关世界各地的家庭女佣的悲惨状况受到新闻媒体的关注。其中一个案例是讲一位菲律宾女佣因被指控犯有谋杀罪在新加坡被处死,尽管有来自各地的抗议认为她的罪名不足以成立。诸如“反对奴隶制国际组织”之类的团体说,一些不那么戏剧化的其他案例也应同样受到人们的关注,比如莉迪亚.加西亚,一位在伦敦工作的菲律宾女佣的案例。

"I was hired by a Saudi diplomat directly from the Philippines to w ork in London in 1989. I was supposed to be paid £ 120 but I never rece ived that amount. They always threatened that they would send me back to my country."

“我是1989年由一位沙特外交官直接从菲律宾雇到伦敦来工作的。我的报酬应该是 120英镑,但我从未得到过那么多钱。雇主总是威胁要把我遣送回国”。

Then there is the case of Kumari from Sri Lanka. The main breadwinn er in her family, she used to work for a very low wage at a tea factory in Sri Lanka. Because she found it difficult to feed her four children, she accepted a job working as a domestic in London. She says she felt li ke a prisoner at the London house where she worked.

还有一个来自斯里兰卡名叫库马里的案例。她家主要靠她挣钱维持生计,她曾在斯里兰卡一家茶厂挣一份微薄的工资。因为她发现很难养活她的4个孩子,她才接受到伦敦去做家庭佣人。她说她觉得在伦敦她干活的那家人家眼就像一个犯人: "No days off — ever, no breaks at all, no proper food. I didn't ha ve my own room; I slept on a shelf with a space of only three feet above me. I wasn't allowed to talk to anybody. I wasn't even allowed to open the window. My employers always threatened to report me to the Home Offi ce or the police."

“没有休息日——甚至根本没有闲下来的功夫,没有适当的食物,没有自己的房间,睡在一个上面的空间只有3英尺高的架子上。不允许我跟任何人说话,甚至不许我开窗。雇主总是威胁把我的身份报告给内政部或警察局。”

At the end of 1994 the British Government introduced new measure s

to help protect domestic workers from abuse by their employers. This inc luded increasing the minimum age of employees to 18, getting employees t o read and understand an advice leaflet , getting employers to agree to provide adequate maintenance and conditions, and to put in writing the m ain terms and conditions of the job (of which the employees should see a copy).

1994年底,英国政府采取新措施来帮助家庭佣人免遭雇主的虐待。措施包括把雇工的最小年龄提高到18岁,使受雇者能阅读并理解通告单,使雇主同意提供适当的生活费用和条件,并写出工作条件和主要的工作条款(受雇者应有此种副本)。

However, many people doubt whether this will successfully reduce th e incidence of abuse. For the main problem facing overseas maids and dom estics who try to complain about cruel living and working conditions is that they do not have independent immigrant status and so cannot change employer. (They are allowed in the United Kingdom under a special conces sion in the immigration rules which allow foreigners to bring domestic s taff with them.) So if they do complain, they risk being deported.

然而,许多人怀疑该措施能否成功地减少虐待发生率,因为那些企图抗议恶劣生活和工作条件的外籍女佣和家仆所面临的主要问题是他们没有独立的移民身份,因此不能更换雇主(英国移民法的特许条款允许外国人携带家仆)。所以如果抗议的活,他们就冒着被驱逐出境的风险。

Allowing domestic workers the freedom to seek the same type of work but with a different employer, if they so choose, is what groups like A nti-Slavery International are campaigning the Government for. It is, the y say, the right to change employers which distinguishes employment from slavery.

允许家庭雇工自由寻找不同雇主的同类工作——假如他们这样选择——正是“反奴隶制国际组织”与政府交涉的内容,他们说正是有权改变雇主的这一做法区分了雇佣制和奴隶制。

Unit Five

The new music was built out of materials already in existence: bule s, rock'n'roll, folk music. But although the forms remained, something c ompletely new and original was made out of these older element s — more original, perhaps, than even the new musicians themselves yet realize. The transformation took place in 1966- 1967. Up to that time, the blues had been an essentially black medium . Rock'n'roll, a blues derivative , was rhythmic dance music. Folk music, old and modern, was popular among college students. The three forms remained musically and culturally dis tinct, and even as late as 1965, none of them were expressing any radica lly new states of consciousness. Blues expressed black soul; rock was th

e beat o

f youthful energy; and folk music expressed anti-war sentiments as well as love and hope.

新音乐是从已有的音乐:布鲁斯,摇滚乐,民间音乐中产生的。虽然新音乐保留了原有的形式,但某些全新的、独创性的东西从旧的成分中脱颖而出的——它们也许比新音乐家意识到的还要更富有独创性。这个变革发生在1966-1967年间。那个时候以前,布鲁斯基本上一直是黑人的音乐表达方式。由它衍生出的摇滚乐是节奏性很强的舞蹈音乐。而民间音乐,既有古老又有现代的,在大学生中颇为流行。这三种音乐形式在音乐和文化方而都各不相同,甚至直到1965年,它们中任何一个都没有表达任何全新的意识境界。布鲁斯表现黑人的心灵,摇滚是年轻活力的节拍,民乐除表现爱情与希望外,还表现反战情绪。

In 1966-1967 there was spontaneous transformation . In the United S tates, it originated with youthful rock groups playing in San Francisco. In England, it was led by the Beatles, who were already established as an extremely fine and highly individual rock group What happened, as wel l as it can be put into words, was this. First the separate musical trad itions were brought together. Bob Dylan and the Jefferson Airplane playe d folk rock, folk ideas with a rock beat White rock groups began experim enting with the blues. Of course, white musicians had always played the blues, but essentially as imitators of the Negro style; now it began to be the white band s' own music. And all of the groups moved towards a br oader eclecticism and synthesis. They freely took over elements from jaz z, from America country music, and as time went on from even more divers e sources What developed was a music readily taking on various forms and capable of an almost limitless range of expression.

自发的变革出现在1966年到1967年间。在美国,旧金山的年轻摇滚乐队发起了这场变革;在英国,被公认是极其完美和非常独特的披头士摇滚乐队领导了这股新潮流。所发生的情况,如用言词尽可能地表达出来是这样的:首先,分离的音乐传统被结合起来了。鲍伯.狄伦和杰弗逊飞机队演奏民歌摇滚乐,将民歌思想与摇滚节奏结合在一起。白人摇滚乐队开始尝试演奏布鲁斯。当然,白人音乐家虽然已经一直在演奏布鲁斯,但基本上只是模仿黑人音乐的风格。而现在,它开始变成白人乐队自己的音乐了。所有的乐队都朝着更广泛的折衷主义和结合主义的方向前进。他们自由地吸收爵士音乐、美国乡土音乐的成分,而随着时间的推移,他们甚至对各种各样的音乐兼收并蓄,最后发展成一种能轻松采取多种形式的、几乎有无穷表现力的新音乐。

The second thing that happened was that all the musical groups bega n using the full range of electric instruments and the technology of ele ctronic amplifiers. The electric guitar was an old instrument, but the n ew electronic effects were altogether different — so different that a n ew listener in 1967 might well feel that there had never been an; sounds like that in the world before. Electronics did, in fact, make possible sounds that no instrument up to that time could produce. And in studio r ecordings, new techniques made possible effects that not even an electro nic band could produce live . Electronic amplifiers also made possible a fantastic increase in volume , the music becoming as loud and penetrati

ng as the human ear could stand, and thereby achieving a "total" effect, so that instead of an audience of passive listeners, there were now aud iences of total participants, feeling the music in all of their senses a nd all of their bones.

发生的第二件事是所有乐队都开始使用全套的电子乐器和电子扬声器技术。电吉他是一种老式乐器,但新的电子效果迥然不同——如此不同,以致1967年一位新听众可能感觉以前在世界上从没有听过像这样的声音。事实上,电子技术的确能合成那时任何乐器也无法奏出的声音。在录音室录制时,新技术有可能制作出甚至电子乐队现场表演时也演奏不出的效果。电子扬声器也能使音量有惊人的增大,音乐变得那么宏亮,那么富有穿透力,极尽人的耳朵承受之能,从而达到了一种“整体”效果。因此,观众不再是被动地听,而是完全参与,他们全身心地感受音乐,如痴如醉。

Third, the music becomes a multi-media experience; a part of a tota l environment. The walls of the ballrooms were covered with changing pat tern s of light, the beginning of the new art of the light show. And the audience did not sit, it danced. With records at home, listeners imitat ed these lighting effects as best they could, and heightened the whole e xperience by using drugs. Often music was played out of doors, where nat ure provided the environment.

第三,音乐变成一种多媒体的感受,成了整体环境的一部分。舞厅的墙壁上布满变幻无常的灯光图案,这也是灯光表演这门新艺术的开始。观众并不坐着,而是随着音乐起舞。在家里欣赏唱片时候听众尽力模仿照明效果,甚至服用毒品来增强整个音乐享受的快感。音乐常在户外演奏,在那儿大自然则提供了周围的环境。

Unit Six

Improving Industrial Efficiency through Robotics

采用机器人技术提高工业效率

Robots , becoming increasingly prevalent in factories and industrial plants throughout the developed world, are programmed and engineered to perform industrial tasks without human intervention.

机器人在所有发达国家的工厂和其他工业生产部门日益普遍得到应用;机器人通过编制程序和策划在无人干预的条件下完成工业生产任务。

Most of today's robots are employed in the automotive industry, wher e they are programmed to take over such jobs as welding and spray painti ng automobile and truck bodies. They also load and unload hot, heavy met al forms used in machines casting automobile and truck frames.

目前多数机器人用于汽车工业,它们按编制的程序承担轿车和卡车车身的焊接和喷漆这一类的工作。机器人还可以用来装卸用于铸造轿车和卡车框架的机械中的

炽热、笨重的金属铸模。

Robots, already taking over human tasks in the automotive field, are beginning to be seen, although to a lesser degree, in other industries as well. There they build electric motors, small appliances, pocket calc ulators, and even watches. The robots used in nuclear power plants handl e the radioactive materials, preventing human personnel from being expos ed to radiation. These are the robots responsible for the reduction in j ob-related injuries in this net industry.

除了已在汽车生产领域替代人工劳动外,机器人也开始出现在别的工业部门,虽然应用的程度低一些。在那里机器人制造电机、小型器具、袖珍计算机甚至手表等。在核电站使用的机器人处理放射性材料,避免人员接触放射性物质。这样的机器人在这一新工业中用来减少职业性伤害。

What makes a Robot a Robot and not just another kind of automatic ma chine? Robots differ from automatic machines in that after completion of one specific task, they can be reprogrammed by a computer to do another one. As an example, a robot doing spot welding one month can be reprogr ammed and switched to spray painting the next. Automatic machines, on th e other hand, are not capable of many different uses; they are built to perform only one task.

是什么东西决定一个自控装置是机器人而不是一个自动化机器呢?机器人与自动化机器不同之处在于机器人完成某一特定任务后,可由计算机重新编制程序去完成另一项任务。例如,做电焊工作1个月后,可以重新编制程序而转成下个月做喷漆工作。反之,自动化机器不能有多种不同的用途,它只是被制造成执行一项任务。

The next generation of robots will be able to see objects, will have a sense of touch, and will make critical decisions. Engineers skilled i n microelectronics and computer technology are developing artificial vis ion for robots. With the ability to "see", robots can identify and inspe ct one specific class of objects out of a stack of different kinds of ma terials. One robot vision system uses electronic digital cameras contain ing many rows of light-sensitive materials. When light from an object su ch as a machine part strikes the camera, the sensitive materials measure the intensity of light and convert the light rays into a range of numbe rs. The numbers are part of a grayscale system in which brightness is me asured in a range of values. One scale ranges from 0 to 15, and another from 0 to 255. The 0 is represented by black. The highest number is whit e. The numbers in between represent different shades of gray. The comput er then makes the calculations and converts the numbers into a picture t hat shows an image of the object in question. It is not yet known whethe r robots will one day have vision as good as human vision. Technicians b elieve they will, but only after years of development.

下一代机器人将有视觉和触觉功能,并且能够做出关键性的决策。在微电子学和计算机技术上有专长的工程技术人员正研制机器人的人工视觉。机器人有了“看”的能力便能在一堆不同类别的物中辨别和检查出某一特定物体。有一种机器人的视

觉系统使用多排光敏材料的数字电子摄像机当一个物体(如机器零件)上的光线照射到摄像机上时,光敏材料能测量光的强度并将光线转变为一系列数字。这些数字是灰度系统的一部分,该系统以数值表示亮度。有的灰度范围为0一15,有的灰度范围为0一255。0代表黑色,而最大的数值代表白色。中间的数字代表不同的灰色程度。然后由计算机计算,并将数字转换成一幅表示该物体形态的图像。迄今尚不清楚机器人会不会有朝一日具有人眼那样的视力。技术人员相信机器人会做到这一点的,但需要若干年的研究。

Engineers working on other advances are designing and experimenting with new types of metal hands and fingers, giving robots a sense of touc h. Other engineers are writing new programs allowing robots to make deci sions such as whether to discard defective parts in finished products. T o do this, the robot will also have to be capable of identifying those d efective parts.

从事其他先进技术研究的工程技术人员正在设计和试验新型金属手与手指,赋予机器人以触觉。还有的工程技术人员编制新的程序使机器人能确定诸如是否要报废成品中有缺陷的零件。要做到这一点,机器人还应能识别哪些零件有缺陷。

These future robots, assembled with a sense of touch and ability to see and make decisions, will have plenty of work to do. They can be used to explore for minerals on the ocean floor or deep areas of mines too d angerous for humans to enter. They work as gas station attendants, firem en, housekeepers, and personnel. Anyone wanting to understand the indust ry of the will have to know about robotics.

具有触觉、视觉并能决策的未来机器人将要做许多工作。它们可用来海底探矿或进入对人危险的矿井深区。机器人还可充当汽车加油站的服务员、消防员、勤杂工以及保安人员等。任何想要了解未来工业的人必须要了解机器人

Unit Seven

Leisure and Leadership

休闲与导向

Observations and research findings indicate that people in advanced industrial societies are increasingly concerned with opportunities for l eisure and what they can do in their leisure time. The importance people attach to paid holidays and the rapid development of service for mass e ntertainment and recreation are signs of this increase concern.

观察与研究成果表明,生活在先进的工业化社会的人们越来越关心休闲的机会和休闲中他们能干些什么。人们赋予带薪休假的重要性和大众娱乐服务的快速发展是日益关注这一问题的标志。

The term "quality of life" is difficult to define. It covers a very

wide scope such as living environment, health, employment, food family l ife, friends, education, material possessions, leisure and recreation, a nd so on. Generally speaking, the quality of life, especial as seen by t he individual, is meaningful in terms of the degree I which these variou s areas of life are available or provide satisfaction. to the individua l.

生活质量这一术语不易定义,它包括范围很广,如生活环境、健康、就业、饮食、家庭生活、朋友、教育、物质的占有、休闲与娱乐等等。一般来说,生活质量,特别在个人看来,其意义是由这些不同的生活领域可以供个人享受或者可以使个人满意的程度来衡量的。

As activity carried out as one thinks fit during one's spare time le isure has the following functions: relaxation, recreation and entertainm ent, and personal development. The importance of these varies according to the nature of one's job and one's life-style. Thus, people who need t o exert much energy in their work will find relaxation most desirable in leisure. Those with a better education and in professional occupations may tend more to seek recreation and personal development (e.g., cultiva tion of skills and hobbies) in leisure.

休闲作为空闲时进行的自己认为适当的活动,具有下列功能:放松、娱乐、个人发展。这些功能的重要性随着个人工作性质与生活方式的不同而变化,所以在工作中需要付出很多精力的人,更渴望休闲时放松,而受过良好教育、从事专业工作的人可能更趋向于休闲时寻求娱乐和个人发展,如掌握技巧,培养爱好。

The specific use of leisure varies from individual to individual. Ev en the same leisure activity may be used differently by different indivi duals. Thus, the following are possible uses of television watching, a p opular leisure activity: a change of experience to provide "escape" from the stress and strain of work; to learn more about what is happening in one's environment; to provide an opportunity for understanding oneself by comparing other people's life experiences as portrayed in the program mes.

对休闲的具体利用人与人不同,即使是同一休闲活动,不同的人也有不同的利用方式。下面就是对最常见的休闲方式看电视的不同利用:改变感受来“逃避”工作压力与紧张;更多了解自己周围正在发生的一切;通过对比节目中描绘的他人生活经历,提供机会理解自己。

In an urban society in which highly structured, fast-paced and stres sful work looms large in life, experiences of a different nature, be it television watching or bird-watching, can lead to a self-renewal and a m ore "balanced" way of life.

在城市社会中,结构紧密、节奏快捷、充满压力的工作笼罩着人们的生活,某种不同性质的经历,不管是看电视还是看鸟,都能导致自我更新和一种更加“平衡”的生活方式。

Since leisure is basically self-determined, one is able to take to o ne's interests and preferences and get involved in an activity in ways t

hat will bring enjoyment and satisfaction.

由于休闲基本上是自己决定的事,个人就可以培养自己的兴趣和爱好,并以能为自己带来享乐和满足的方式参与某项活动。

Our likes and dislikes, tastes and preferences that underlie our cho ices of such activities as reading books, going to the cinema, camping, or certain cultural pursuits, are all related to social contexts and lea rning experiences. We acquire interests in a variety of things and subje cts from our families, schools, jobs, and the mass media. Basically, suc h attitudes amount to a recognition that leisure is an important area of life and of a belief that leisure can and should be put to good use.

我们的喜爱与厌恶、品味与偏爱决定我们选择这样的活动,如:读书、看电影、野营、或者某些文化追求,所有这些活动均与社会环境和学习经历有关。我们通过家庭、学校、工作、和大众传媒获得对不同事物、不同主题的兴趣。基本上说,上述态度相当于一个共识:休闲是生活的一个重要方面;相当于一个信念:休闲能够并且应该充分利用。

Professional workers in recreation services, too, will find that to impart positive leisure attitudes to the general public is essential for motivating them to use their leisure in creative and satisfying ways. H ence, it can be argued that the people with whom we come into contact in these various contexts are all likely to have in shaping our attitudes, interests and even skills relevant to how we handle leisure. Influence of this kind is a form of leadership.

从事娱乐业的专业工作者也会发现,培养大众积极的休闲态度对促进他们以创造性的,满意的方式利用休闲时间十分必要。因此,可以认为,我们在不同环境中接触的人都可能对形成我们如何处理休闲时间的态度、兴趣、甚至技巧产生影响。这也是一种导向形式。

Parents, teachers in schools, work associates and communicator in or using the mass media are all capable of arousing our potential interest s. For example, the degree to which and the ways in which a school encou rages participation in games, sports and cultural pursuit: are likely to contribute to the shaping of leisure attitudes on the part of the stude nts.

父母、学校的老师、工作中的同事、大众媒体的传播上作者都能对我们的兴趣产生潜在的影响。比如,学校鼓励参加游戏、运动和文化活动的程度和方式可能对形成学生的休闲态度起一定的作用。

Schools usually set as their educational objective the attainment, o f a balanced development of the person. The more seriously this is sough t, the more likely positive attitudes towards leisure as well as academi c work will be encouraged.

学校常常把达到个人均衡发展定为它们的教育目标对此追求得越认真,就越可能鼓励人们对待休闲和学术工作持积极态度。

Unit Eight

Jet Lag: Prevention and Cure

喷气飞机时差综合症的预防和治疗

The problem of Jet Lag is one every international traveler comes acr oss at some time . But do you have to suffer? Understand what it is. and how a careful diet can minimize its worst effects, and your flights wil l be less stressful.

喷气飞机时差综合症是每个乘坐国际航班旅行的人在某个时候会碰到的问题。但你是否就这样忍受着?如果你能了解喷气飞机时差综合症是怎么回事以及注意饮食怎样把它的不良作用减少到最小,你坐飞机的紧张程度就会轻些。

The effects of rapid travel on the body are actually far more distu rbing than we realize. Jet Lag is not a psychological consequence of hav ing to readjust to a different time zone. It is due lo changes in the bo dy's physiological regulatory mechanisms, specifically the hormonal syst ems, in a different environment.

乘飞机旅行对身体的影响实际上远比我们意识到的更令人焦灼不安。时差综合症不是对不同时区进行调整的心理后果。它是身体的生理调节机制,特别是激素系统,在不同环境中发生变化所引起的。

Confused? So was John Foster Dulles, the American Secretary of Stal e, when he flew to Egypt to conduct negotiations on the Aswan Dam. He la ter blamed his poor judgement on Jet Lag.

是不是被弄糊涂啦?美国国务卿约翰.福斯特.杜勒斯从美国飞往埃及谈判阿斯旺水坝问题时就被弄糊涂了。他后来把自己在谈判中判断失误归咎于时差综合症。

The effects can be used to advantage, too. President Johnson once c onducted an important meeting in Guam and kept the entire proceedings at Washington DC time. The White House working personnel were as fresh as paint, while the locals, in this case, were jet-lagged. Essentially, the y had been instantaneously transported to America.

但是乘飞机旅行对身体的影响也可使之对人有利。约翰逊总统曾在关岛主持一次重要会议,整个会议按华盛顿时间进行。白宫的工作人员个个精力充沛,而当地人在这种情况下却得了时差综合症。从本质上说,他们瞬间一下子被运到了美国。

Now that we understand what Jet Lag is, we can go some way to overc oming it. A great number of the body's events are scheduled to occur at a certain time of day. Naturally these have to be regulated, and there a re two regulatory systems which interact.

既然我们懂得了喷气飞机时差综合症是怎么回事,我们就能够在解决它方而有所作为。我们身体的大量活动都按时在一天中的某个时间发生的。很自然它们需要调整。这时两个调节系统相互起作用。

One timing system comes from the evidence of our senses and stomach s, and the periodicity we experience when living in a particular time zo ne. The other belongs in our internal clocks (the major one of which may be physically located in a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus) which, left alone, would tie the body to a 25 hour — yes, 25 — rhythm. Normally the two timers are in step, and the external cues te nd to regularise the internal clocks to the more convenient 24 hour peri od.

一个定时系统根据我们的官能和饥饿感以及我们在某个特定时区所经受的周期性变化。另一个定时系统在我们的体内时钟内(其中一个主要时钟可能位于我们大脑的称为超交叉核的那部分中)这些体内时钟在不受干扰时,会使人体有一个25小时——是的,25小时——的生理节奏。正常情况下两个定时系统是同步的,外部的信号会将体内时钟调节到更方便的24小时周期。

If, however, you move the whole body to a time zone which is four h ours different, the two clocks will be out of step, like two alarm clock s which are normally set together, but which have been reset a few hours apart. Whereas the two clocks would normally sound their alarms togethe r, now they ring at different times. Similarly, the body can be set for evening while the sun is rising.

然而如果你把整个身体移到一个时差4个小时的时区,两个时钟就不再同步,正像两个闹钟通常被一起定时,但现在定时相差几个小时,两个闹钟通常同时报时,但现在则不同时间报时。和时钟相似,人体可以定时在晚上,而这时太阳正在升起来。

In time the physiological system will reset itself, but it does tak e time. One easily monitored rhythm is palm sweating. A man flown to a t ime zone different by 10 hours will take eight days to readjust his palm sweat. Blood pressure, which is also rhythmical, takes four days to rea djust.

经过一段时间之后,生理系统将会自我调整过来,但这需要时间一个很容易监测到的节奏是手掌出汗。一个人飞往某个时差为10小时的时区将需要8天的时间重新调节他的手掌出汗情况。血压也是有节奏性的,需要4天才能调整过来。

One reason for this discrepancy is that different bodily events are controlled by different factors. The hormone cortisol, which controls s alt and water excretion, is made in the morning, wherever the body is. B ut the growth hormone is released during sleep, whenever in the day that sleep occurs. Normally these two hormones are separated by seven or eig ht hours, but if the body arrives at a destination in the early morning (local) and goes to sleep as soon as possible, the two hormones will be released simultaneously.

出现这种差异的一个原因是人体的不同活动受到不同因素的支配。激素皮质醇控制盐和水的排泄,不管人体处于何地,它都是在早晨形成的。但生长激素在睡眠时才分泌,而不论一天中什么时候睡觉。这两种激素的分泌时间通常间隔七八个小时,但如果人体在(当地)清晨很早到达目的地并且尽快睡觉,这两种激素将会同时分泌。

What can we do about it? It is not feasible to wait four days until the body is used to the new time zone. Fortunately there is a short cu

t. It relies on two things — the power of the stomach to regulate the t

iming of other events, and the pharmacological actions of coffee.

The basic assumptions are:

Coffee delays the body clock in the morning, and advances it at ni ght. Coffee at mid-afternoon is neutral.

Protein in meals stimulates wakefulness, while carbohydrates promo te sleep.

Putting food into an empty stomach helps synchronize the body cloc k.

我们对此该怎么办呢?不可能等上4天直到身体习惯新的时区。幸好我们有个捷径。这靠两件东西——利用胃的力量调节其他活动发生的时间和利用咖啡的药理作

用。

基本的设想是:

早晨喝咖啡可以延迟体内时钟,晚上可以加快体内时钟,下午三点左右喝咖啡对人体时钟不起作用。

膳食中的蛋白质引起不眠,而碳水化合物促人人睡。空腹进食有助使体内时钟得到调整。

Unit Nine

Aging in European Countries

欧洲国家的年龄老化问题

We have to realise how old , how very old , we are . Nations are cla

ssified as “aged” when they have 7 per cent or more of their people ag

ed 65 or above, and by about 1970 every one of the advanced countries ha

d becom

e like this. O

f the really ancient societies, with over 13 per ce

nt above 65, all are in Northwestern Europe. At the beginning of the I98

0's East Germany had 15.6 per cent, Austria, Sweden, West Germany and Fr

ance had 13.4 per cent or above, and England and Wales 13.3 per cent. Sc

otland had 12.3 per cent. Northern Ireland 10.8 per cent and the United

States 9.9 per cent. We know that we are getting even older, and that th

e nearer a society approximates to zero population growth, the older its

population is likely to be — at least, for any future that concerns us

now.

我们必须认识到我们有多老了。当一个国家人口中有7%或以上的人满65岁或超

过65岁时,就被列为“老龄国”,而大约在1970年前,每一个先进国家就已步人这个

行列了。在真正的老龄社会中,有13%以下的人超过65岁的国家全部分布在西北欧。在20世纪80年代初,一些国家(或地区)人口超过65岁的比例如下:东德15.6%,奥地利、瑞典、西德和法国13.4%或超过13.4%,英格兰和威尔13.3%,苏格兰12.3%a,北爱尔兰10.8%,美国9.9%。我们知道我们的社会正在变得更老,一个社会的人口增长率越接近零,它的人口就可能越老龄——至少对任何能关系到我们现在的未来是这样的。

To these now familiar facts a number of further facts may be added, some of them only recently recognised. There is the apparent paradox tha t the effective cause of the high proportion of the old is births rather than deaths. There is the economic principle that the dependency ratio — the degree to which those who cannot earn depend for a living on thos e who can — is more advantageous in older societies like ours than in t he younger societies of the developing world, because lots of dependent babies are more of a liability than numbers of the inactive aged. There is the appreciation of the salient historical truth that the aging of ad vanced societies has been a sudden change.

除了这些我们现在已经熟知的事实外,还有更多的事实可以补充,而其中一些还是最近才被我们认识到的。有这样一个明显的、似非而是的论点:造成老年人高比例的实际原因是出生人数而不是死亡人数。有这样一条经济原则:扶养率——即不能挣钱生活的人依赖能挣钱养家的人的程度——在我们这样老龄化社会里比发展中世界的较年轻社会里要有利一些,因为大量尚需扶养的孩子与一定数量不能工作的老年人相比,更是一个负担。人们已认识到这样一个突出历史事实:先进社会的老龄化都是一种突变。

If "revolution" is a rapid resettlement of the social structure, and if the age composition of the society counts as a very important aspect of that social structure, then there has been a social revolution in Eu ropean and particularly Western European society within the lifetime of everyone over 50. Taken together, these things have implications which a re only beginning to be acknowledged. These facts and circumstances were well to the fore earlier this year at a world gathering about aging as a challenge to science and to policy, held at Vichy in France.

如果“革命”是对社会结构的迅速重建,如果社会的年龄构成被看作是社会结构的一个非常重要的方面,那么在欧洲尤其是在西欧社会里,每个超过50岁的人一生中就已经历过一次社会革命了。综合起来,这些事情牵连出的结果刚开始被人们认识。这些事实和情况今年早些时候在法国维希举行的一个世界大会上被视为对科学和政策的挑战而置于显著地位。

There is often resistance to the idea that it is because the birthra te fell earlier in Western and Northwestern Europe than elsewhere, rathe r than because of any change in the death rate, that we have grown so ol d. But this is what elementary demography makes clear. Long life is alte ring our society, of course, but in experiential terms. We have among us a very much greater experience of continued living than any society tha t has ever preceded us anywhere, and this will continue. But too much of that lengthened experience, even in the wealthy West, will be experienc

e o

f poverty and neglect, unless we do somethin

g about it.

这种观点常遇到反对意见,即正因为西欧和西北欧出生率比别的地区下降得早,

而不是因为死亡率方面的任何变化,所以我们的社会才变得如此老龄但初级人口统

计学已经把这个问题解释清楚了。当然长寿正改变我们的社会,但这是根据经验而

来的说法。我们比以前任何一个社会更经历着长寿,这种情况还将继续下去。但过

度的长寿,即便是在富裕的西方,也会遭受贫穷和忽视,除非我们采取一些办法。

If you are now in your thirties, you ought to be aware that you can

expect to live nearly one third of the rest of your life after the age o

f 60. The older you are now , of course, the greater this proportion wil

l be, and greater still if you are a woman. Expectation of life is a sli

ppery figure, very easy to get wrong at the highest ages. At Vichy the d emographers were telling each other that their estimates of how many old

there would be and how long they will live in countries like England an

d Wales ar

e due for revision upwards.

如果你现在30多岁,你应当知道你可以期望活到60岁后再活上剩余生命的三分

之一。当然,你现在年龄越大,这种比例就越高,如果你是女人,这比例还应该更

高。人生的估计寿命是一个飘忽不定的数字,年龄越大越容易有误差。在维希,人

口学家们互相转告,他们对一些地方人口情况的估计,如英格兰和威尔上将有多少

老年人,这些老人的寿命如何,注定要进行修改,因为这些数字一直呈上升趋势。

Unit Ten

The campaign for election

美国的竞选运动

The winner in the November general election is almost certain to be either the Republican or the Democratic nominee. A minor-party or

independent candidate, such as George Wallace in 1968, John Anderson in

1980, or Ross Perot in 1992 and 1996, can draw votes away from the

major-party nominees but stands almost no chance of defeating them.

11月大选的获胜者几乎可以肯定不是共和党就是民主党提名的候选人。小党派或独立的候选人,如1968年的乔治.华莱十、1980年的约翰.安德森,或者1992

年和1996年的罗斯.佩罗等,可能会从大党的提名人那里拉走一此选票,但几乎

没有人可能战胜他们。

A major-party nominee has the critical advantage of support from the

party faithful. Earlier in the twentieth century, this support was so firm

and steady that the victory of the stronger party's candidate was

almost a certainty. Warren G. Harding accepted the 1920 Republican

nomination at his Ohio home, stayed there throughout most of the campaign,

and won a full victory simply because most of the voters of his time were

2016年自考英语二教材课文讲义unit7

Unit 7 Inner Voice I. New words and expressions New words 1. inner adj. 内心的;隐藏的 2. precisely adv. 准确地;恰好地 precise precision 联想:accurate, accuracy 比较:simply, possibly, subtly, truly / definitely, rarely, fortunately, likely / luckily, heavily 3. bombard v. 大肆抨击;连珠炮似地质问;提供过多信息, 4. dreaded adj. 令人害怕的;可怕的 5. small talk n. 寒喧;闲谈;聊天 6. hesitation n. 犹豫 hesitate hesitant hesitancy / hesitation 7. wonder v. 想知道;想弄明白;琢磨n. 奇迹 wonder wh-… do / work wonders / miracles

精选文库 8. prompt v. 促使;导致;激起 9. complete adj. (用以强调)完全的,彻底的 10. upset adj. 难过的;不高兴的;沮丧的 11. roll v. (使)翻滚,滚动 12. despite prep. 即使;尽管 despite / in spite of that fact that … 13. feeble adj. 无效的;无力的 14. attempt n./ v. 企图;试图;尝试 attempted 15. wipe v.(用布、手等)擦干净,抹掉 16. profusely adv. 大量地;连连地 17. address v. 写(收信人)姓名地址;致函 18. receptionist n. 接待员 19. attach v. 把…固定,把…附(在…上) attach …to… attached 依恋的;附加的;附属的 attachment 依恋;附件 20. emotion n. 强烈的感情;情感;情绪 emotional emotionless 21. contain v. 控制,克制,抑制(感情) 22. apparently adv. 据…所知;看来;显然

山东自考英语二课文翻译

Unit 1 Text A How Difficult Is English? 英语有多难 Like the national push for Asian literacy (n.有文化,有教养,有读写能力)in Australia,就如澳大利亚在全国推行学亚洲语言一样,there has been foreign languages fervor[f??v?] in China,中国也掀起一股外语热,with English on top of the list. 在这股热潮中,英语高居榜首。English is not only taught at schools,colleges and universities,but also at evening classes,on radio and TV.不仅各级学校教英语,夜校、电台、电视台也都设有英语课程。Parents hire private tutors for their school children;父母为学龄的孩子聘请英语家教,adult English learners would sacrifice the weekend at an English corner in a public park practicing their spoken English with peop1e of the same interest and determination. 成年英语学习者会牺牲周末休息日,到公园参加英语角,与志趣相投的英语学习者练习口语。Is English such a difficult language that it really demands people to invest a large amount of time and energy before it is mastered ? 英语真的有这么难,需要人们投入大量的时间和精力才能掌握吗? The answer,if I am asked to offer,is undoubtedly,yes.如果我被问及这个问题,那么毫无疑问,我的答案是:是的。From my personal experience, 从我个人的经验来看,I think learning English means far more than learning its pronunciation,its grammatical rules,its words,etc.英语学习不仅仅是学习英语发音、语法规则、词汇等,It involves learning everything about the countries where it is used and the people who use it.它包括学习与使用该语言的国家和民族有关的所有内容。Without such a complete understanding of the language, 对英语没有这样全面的理解,the English a foreigner speaks will inevitably sound strange or even unintelligible though there is not anything wrong with his pronunciation,sentence structure and the words he uses.即使发音、句子结构、措辞毫无错误,一个外国人所讲的英语也难免听起来稀奇古怪甚至难以理解。The social customs and habits of the English-speaking people contribute a lot to the difficulty a foreigner has in learning it.讲英语民族者的社会风俗习惯增加了外国人学习英语的难度。Take the Chinese English learners for example.以学英语的中国人为例," Hello "and "Good morning" may sound a little bit simple to Chinese people."你好"和"早上好"是非常简单的。It is totally beyond the understanding of a Chinese English learner that native English speakers would be annoyed when they're addressed "Where are you going?",which is a commonly used addressing among the Chinese."你去哪儿?"是中国人常用的问候语,若英语母语者被问及"你去哪儿?",他们会因此感到不悦,这一点让中国的英语学习者大为不解。Is there anything wrong with the English sentence structure ? 这个英语句子结构不对吗? Of course not.当然不是。It takes quite some time for a Chinese English learner to understand the western concept of privacy being violated in this address. 学英语的中国人得费点儿时间才能理解这一问候语侵犯了西方人的隐私。By the same token,同样,"Have you eaten?"(which is another addressing term the Chinese people usually use)will sound to native English speakers that the Chinese are so hospitable that they invite people to meals off-handedly. 英语母语者听到"你吃了吗?"(中国人常用的另外一个问候语),会觉得中国人非常好客,会在事先毫无准备的情况下请人吃饭。Meanwhile,the Chinese would be shocked to hear,"Oh,it's very nice of you.When?",if the addressee happens to have a craving for Chinese cooking and has not had his dinner yet.如果听话者此刻正希望品尝一下中国美食,又碰巧没有吃饭,他会回答"太好了,什么时候?",中国人为此也会大吃一惊。 "We can say we are going to have chicken for dinner.Why can't we say pig,bull or sheep for dinner instead of pork,beef or mutton?" Chinese English learners may raise such questions.中国的英语学习者可能会这样问:"我们可以说吃鸡,为什么不能说吃猪、吃牛、吃羊,而要说吃猪肉、牛肉、羊肉呢?"Figuring out the reasons for the peculiar English vocabulary is no easy task for Chinese English learners.对学习英语的中国人来说,为这些特殊的英语词汇找出理由并非易事。But the problem is that memorizing English words mechanically would be devastating and inefficient if they did not know what had happened in British history.问题在于如果不懂英国历史,死记硬背英语单词毫无效率。Thus learning English(and other languages as well)involves learning the history of the countries where it is spoken.所以说,学英语(其他语言亦如此)还包括学习使用该语言国家的历史知识。A task of this kind is more difficult for Chinese English learners than for people who speak

2016自考英语二教材课文讲义unit3说课讲解

Unit 3 Friendship and Loyalty I. New words and expressions New words 1. reflection n. (关于某主题的)思考,回忆 2. loyalty n. 忠诚;忠实;忠心耿耿 3. recognize v. 承认;意识到 4. betray v. 辜负;对…不忠 5. indeed adv. 其实;实际上 6. virtue n. 高尚的道德;正直的品性;德行 7. trend n. 趋势;趋向;倾向;动态;动向 8. befriend v. 做(尤指需要帮助者的)朋友;友善相待 9. request v. (礼貌或正式地)请求,要求 10. trendy adj. 时髦的;赶时髦的 11. multitude n. 众多;大量 12. mutual adj. 共有的;共同的 mutual respect / understanding 辨析:mutual / manual / manure / mature / menu / mental 13. term n. 词语;术语:措辞 14. site n. 网站;站点 15. acronym n. 首字母缩略词

16. perish v. 丧失;湮灭;毁灭 17. thought n. 想法;看法;主意;记忆 18. gossip n. 流言蜚语 19. challenge v. 考查…的能力;考验…的技巧 20. akin adj. 相似的;类似的 21. deposit n. 存款 22. account n. 账户 accountant current account deposit account 23. interest n. 利息 24. well-being n. 健康;安乐;康乐 25. welfare n. (个体或群体的)幸福,安全与健康 26. essence n. 本质;实质;精髓 27. seek v. 寻找 28. notoriety n. 恶名;坏名声 notorious 相当于infamous 29. premise n. 前提;假定; 30. exploit v. 利用(…为自己谋利) 31. reconnect v. 再联系;再联络 32. virtual adj. (通过计算机软件,如在因特网上)模拟的,虚拟的 33. assure v. 使确信;向…保证

2016年自考英语二教材课文讲义unit9

Unit 9 Facing Life’s Challenges I. New words and expressions New words 1. hurdle n. hurdles [pl.]跨栏赛;栏架,跨栏;难关,障碍 2. negative n. 否定词;否定;拒绝 adj. 坏的;有害的 3. despair v. 绝望;失去希望;丧失信心 4. petty adj. 小的:琐碎的;次要的 5. individual adj. 一个人的;供一个人用的 6. lane n. (比赛的)跑道,泳道 7. spot n. 地点;场所;处所 8. symbolize v. 象征;是…的象征;代表 symbol -ize常用的动词后缀:modernize, globalize, economize 9. incredibly adv. 极端地;极其 credible 可靠的,可信的 credibly 变副词时需省略-e的形容词有simple, true, credible, believable simply, truly, (in)credibly, (un)believably 10. positive adj. 良好的;正面的 11. tough adj. 艰苦的;艰难的;棘手的 12. arise v. 发生;产生;出现 arise from sth. 区分:arouse / arise arouse one's anger / respect / sympathy 13. lost adj. 不知所措的;一筹莫展的 14. leap v. 跳跃 15. yard n. 码 16. inch n. 英寸 17. cinch n. 很容易的事;小莱 Phrases and Expressions 1. line up 排成一行;站队;排队(等侯) 2. end up最终成为;最后处于 end up (in) doing sth. end up begging / being arrested end up as a beggar / prisoner / millionaire

自考英语二(新版) 原文 Unit 11 Cyber World

Unit 11 Cyber World A Famous Quote The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. - Bill Gates Bill Gates (1955- ), American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former chief executive officer (CEO) and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen. Text A Cyber Love Pre-reading Questions: 1. Have you ever made a friend on the Internet? How did you develop your friendship? 2. What suggestions can you give if one hopes to make friends on the Internet? Thanks to the late 20th century technology, Maria of Denmark and Martijin of Holland met on a chatline. For months they’ve talked and sent letters to each other with the help of their computers as they found themselves falling head over heels in love. It was then that they decided to meet in the real, not only the virtual, world. It was not easy to arrange as the young man and his lady were separated by 700 very real kilometers, but the date was a success and Maria and M artijin have been living together happily ever since. They’ve created a home page to let the world know how they’ve found happiness via the Internet and introduce couples who’ve met under similar circumstances. Throughout history men and women have used a variety of means to find each other. Internet romance, according to some, is a bizarre method, and to others it is a natural way for the 90’s to meet potential mates. Romances formed on the Internet follow a characteristic script. The development of emotional intimacy is a long progress, sometimes taking several months. “Love at first byte” is rare although there are examples. The initial light exchanges, whether by e-mail or in chat rooms, are generally followed by increasingly self-revealing topics, and then after a while, the two strangers perceive each other as a true friend. Hearts open, an avalanche of e-mail crosses cyberspace carrying literary quality, and electronic messages are even enhanced with verse and virtual gifts (flowers, kisses, animated pictures). Could any heart with romantic inclinations resist? When you reach

2016年自考英语二教材课文讲义unit11

Unit11CyberWorld I.Newwordsandexpressions Newwords 1.chatlinen.(消遣性的)热线电话交谈服务 2.variety?n.(同一事物的)不同种类,多种式样 varyvaryfrom…to… 比较:range/shiftfrom…to… various 3.romance?n.恋爱;爱情 romantic https://www.sodocs.net/doc/a58374151.html,arreadj.极其怪诞的;异乎寻常的 5.potentialadj.潜在的;可能的 6.scriptn.剧本;广播(或讲话等)稿 7.intimacy?n.亲密;关系密切 intimate 8.initialadj.最初的;开始的 9.perceivev.将…视为;认为 10.avalanchen.雪崩;山崩 11.literary?adj.文学的;文学上的 literature literal literary literate liberal

12.versen.诗;韵文 13.animatedadj.栩栩如生的;(似)能活动的 14.inclination?n.倾向;意愿 incline inclined 15.sweatyadj.满是汗的;汗津津的 16.palmn.手掌;手心 17.varyv.相异;不同 18.conveyv.表达,传递(思想、感情等) 19.polishv.修改;润饰;润色 20.intellectn.(尤稻高等的)智力,思维逻辑领悟力 21.personalityn.性格;个性;人格 22.sequencen.顺序;次序 23.reversev.颠倒;彻底转变;使完全相反 24.veil?v.掩饰;掩盖 unveil揭露,揭开 25.intellectualadj.智力的;脑力的;理智的 26.familiarity?n.熟悉;通晓 familiar familiarize 27.appearance?n.外貌;外表 28.intensity?n.强烈;紧张;剧烈 intense 29.stirringn.(感情、想法或发展的)开始,出现,萌发

2016年自考英语二教材课文讲义unit2

Unit 2 Mistakes to Success I. New words and expressions New words 1. spill v.(使)洒出,泼出,溢出 2. respond v. 作出反应;响应 respond to… response 3. interview v. (媒体)采访,访问 4. creative adj. 创作的 5. occur v. 发生;出现 It occurred to me that… 6. remove v. 拿开;去掉 7. refrigerator n. 冰箱 8. grip n. 紧握;紧抓 9. slippery adj. 滑的;滑得抓不住(或站不稳、难以行走) 10. content n. 所容纳之物;所含之物 11. veritable adj. 十足的;名副其实的;不折不扣的 12. yell v. 叫喊;大喊;吼叫 13. lecture n.(冗长的)教训,训斥,谴责 14. mess n. 肮脏;杂乱;不整洁 15. rarely adv. 罕有;很少;不常 rare animals / stamps Rarely is he late for class. 16. puddle n. 水洼;小水坑 17. eventually 最后;终于 18. restore v. 使复原;使复位;使复职 19. sponge n. 海绵块 20. effectively adv. 有效地 effective ineffective 注意区分:effective / efficient 21. tiny adj. 极小的;微小的 22. discover v. 了解到;认识到;查明 discovery 23. grasp v. 抓紧;抓牢 24. lip n.(容器或凹陷地方的)边,边沿

[整理版]自考英语二上册课文翻译

Unit,,,,,1,,,,,,,,,,Text,,,,,A,,,,,,,,,,怎样成为一名成功的语言学习者 “学习一门语言很容易,即使小孩也能做得到。” 大多数正在学习第二语言的成年人会不同意这种说法。对他们来说,学习一门语言是非常困难的事情。他们需要数百小时的学习与练习,即使这样也不能保证每个成年语言学习者都能学好。 语言学习不同于其他学习。许多人很聪明,在自己的领域很成功,但他们发现很难学好一门语言。相反,一些人学习语言很成功,但却发现很难在其他领域有所成就。 语言教师常常向语言学习者提出建议:“要用新的语言尽量多阅读”,“每天练习说这种语言”,“与说这种语言的人住在一起”,“不要翻译——尽量用这种新的语言去思考”,“要像孩子学语言一样去学习新语言”,“放松地去学习语言。” 然而,成功的语言学习者是怎样做的呢,,,,,语言学习研究表明,成功的语言学习者在许多方面都有相似之处。 首先,成功的语言学习者独立学习。他们不依赖书本和老师,而且能找到自己学习语言的方法。他们不是等待老师来解释,而是自己尽力去找到语言的句式和规则。他们寻找线索并由自己得出结论,从而做出正确的猜测。如果猜错,他们就再猜一遍。他们都努力从错误中学习。 成功的语言学习是一种主动的学习。因此,成功的语言学习者不是坐等时机而是主动寻找机会来使用语言。他们找到(说)这种语言的人进行练习,出错时请这些人纠正。他们不失时机地进行交流,不怕重复所听到的话,也不怕说出离奇的话,他们不在乎出错,并乐于反复尝试。当交流困难时,他们可以接受不确切或不完整的。对他们来说,更重要的是学习用这种语言思考,而不是知道每个词的意思。 最后,成功的语言学习者学习目的明确。他们想学习一门语言是因为他们对这门语言以及说这种语言的人感兴趣。他们有必要学习这门语言去和那些人交流并向他们学习。他们发现经常练习使用这种语言很容易,因为他们想利用这种语言来学习。 你是什么样的语言学习者,,,,,如果你是一位成功的语言学习者,那么你大概一直在独立地,主动地,目的明确地学习。另一方面,如果你的语言学习一直不太成功,你不妨试试上面提到的一些技巧。 Unit,,,,,1,,,,,,,,,,Text,,,,,B,,,,,,,,,,语,,,,,言 当我们想告诉别人我们想什么时,我们不但可以借助于词语,还可以用其他表达方法。比如,当我们想说“是”时,我们有时会上下点头,而当我们想说“不”,,,,,时,我们会左右摇头。那些既听不见也不会说话的人(也就是聋哑人)借助于手势相互交谈。那些彼些不懂对方语言的人也用这种方式交谈。下面这个故事就说明了人们有时是怎样借助于手势进行交谈的。

2012新版自考英语二教材翻译00015

第1课Text A 批判性地阅读 批判性阅读适合于那种作者提出一个观点或试图陈述一个说法的纪实类写作。批判性阅读是积极阅读。它不仅仅包括理解作者说了些什么,还包括质疑和评价作者的话,并对此形成自己的观点。成为一名批判性阅读者需要做到以下几点。 考虑写作背景。你所读的可能是与你有不同文化背景的人所写的,或者是与你有不同时代背景的人多年以前所写的。无论哪种情况,你都必须注意并考虑你的价值观和态度与作者所代表的价值观和态度有何不同。 质疑作者的论点。不要轻信作品的表面意思。在接受作者观点前,首先要确定作者作出的每一个论点都有足够的论据支持。找出能支持该论点的事实、实例、和数据。另外,注意作者是否参考了权威著作。 与同主题文章进行比较。查看该作者的文章与其他作者关于同一主题的文章是否有一致性。如果存在不一致性,对不一致的地方背后的论据支持要进行仔细甄别。 分析作者提出的假设。假设是作者认为具有正确性的前提,基于这些前提作者才能提出论点。很多时候作者的假设并没有直接说明,这就意味着你必须通过仔细阅读来发现这些假设。一旦发现某一假设,你必须判断这一假设是否合理。 鉴别文章出处。鉴别时要确保文章出处真实可信。例如,如果文章是关于物理学里程碑式的成就,那么爱因斯坦的论述就是可靠的出处。此外还要确保出处具有相关性。如果文章主题是诗歌,那么爱因斯坦的论述就不是相关出处。最后,如果作者写的是某个主题当前的情形,那就要确保出处来源也是当前最新的。例如,如果作者讨论的是物理学知识的现状,那么爱因斯坦在二十世纪早期进行的研究可能就不适合作出处了。 甄别作者可能带有的偏见。有关美国政治的书面论述可能因作者是共和党人或民主党人迥然而异。作者所写的内容很可能反映其带有偏见的立场。阅读时要考虑到这种偏见存在的可能性。也就是说,要对文章内容“半信半疑”。 成为一名批判性阅读者,你的思路会不断拓宽,观点会更加合理。 第1课Text B 自信的语言 语言能影响我们的大脑。掌握语言就能在很大程度上掌握我们的生活和命运。将语言发挥到极致可以极大地改善我们的生活质量,这一点至关重要。 再短的单词也能对我们的潜意识产生深远的影响。我们的潜意识就像一个孩子,分不清真实发生的事和自己想象的事。它渴望取悦,乐意听从你给它的任何命令,而你是有意还是无意地做这些完全取决于你。’ “尽力” 这是一个简单的词,却能对我们产生不简单的影响。如果有人说“我会尽力做这件事的”,你

山东自考(00015)英语二课文翻译

Unit 1 Text A How Difficult Is English? 英语有多难 Like the national push for Asian literacy in Australia,there has been foreign languages fervor in China,with English on top of the list. English is not only taught at schools,colleges and universities,but also at evening classes,on radio and TV.Parents hire private tutors for their school children;adult English learners would sacrifice the weekend at an English corner in a public park practicing their spoken English with peop1e of the same interest and determination .Is English such a difficult language that it really demands people to invest a large amount of time and energy before it is mastered ? The answer,if I am asked to offer,is undoubtedly,yes. 就如澳大利亚在全国推行学亚洲语言一样,中国也掀起一股外语热,在这股热潮中,英语高居榜首.不仅各级学校教英语,夜校、电台、电视台也都设有英语课程。父母为学龄的孩子聘请英语家教,成年英语学习者会牺牲周末休息日,到公园参加英语角,与志趣相投的英语学习者练习口语。英语真的有这么难,需要人们投入大量的时间和精力才能掌握吗? 如果我被问及这个问题,那么毫无疑问,我的答案是:是的。 From my personal experience, I think learning English means far more than learning its pronunciation,its grammatical rules,its words,etc.It involves learning everything about the countries where it is used and the people who use it.Without such a complete understanding of the language, the English a foreigner speaks will inevitably sound strange or even unintelligible though there is not anything wrong with his pronunciation,sentence structure and the words he uses. 从我个人的经验来看,英语学习不仅仅是学习英语发音、语法规则、词汇等,它包括学习与使用该语言的国家和民族有关的所有内容。对英语没有这样全面的理解,即使发音、句子结构、措辞毫无错误,一个外国人所讲的英语也难免听起来稀奇古怪甚至难以理解。 The social customs and habits of the English-speaking people contribute a lot to the difficulty a foreigner has in learning it.Take the Chinese English learners for example." Hello "and "Good morning" may sound a little bit simple to Chinese people.It is totally beyond the understanding of a Chinese English learner that native English speakers would be annoyed when they're addressed "Where are you going?",which is a commonly used addressing among the Chinese.Is there anything wrong with the English sentence structure ? Of course not.It takes quite some time for a Chinese English learner to understand the western concept of privacy being violated in this address. By the same token,"Have you eaten?"(which is another addressing term the Chinese people usually use)will sound to native English speakers that the Chinese are so hospitable that they invite people to meals off-handedly. Meanwhile,the Chinese would be shocked to hear,"Oh,it's very nice of you.When?",if the addressee happens to have a craving for Chinese cooking and has not had his dinner yet. 讲英语民族者的社会风俗习惯增加了外国人学习英语的难度。以学英语的中国人为例,"你好"和"早上好"是非常简单的。"你去哪儿?"是中国人常用的问候语,若英语母语者被问及"你去哪儿?",他们会因此感到不悦,这一点让中国的英语学习者大为不解。这个英语句子结构不对吗? 当然不是。学英语的中国人得费点儿时间才能理解这一问候语侵犯了西方人的隐私。同样,英语母语者听到"你吃了吗?"(中国人常用的另外一个问候语),会觉得中国人非常好客,会在事先毫无准备的情况下请人吃饭。如果听话者此刻正希望品尝一下中国美食,又碰巧没有吃饭,他会回答"太好了,什么时候?",中国人为此也会大吃一惊。 "We can say we are going to have chicken for dinner.Why can't we say pig,bull or sheep for dinner instead of pork,beef or mutton?" Chinese English learners may raise such questions.Figuring out the reasons for the peculiar English vocabulary is no easy task for Chinese English learners.But the problem is that memorizing English words mechanically would be devastating and inefficient if they did not know what had happened in British history.Thus learning English(and other languages as well)involves learning the history of the countries where it is spoken.A task of this kind is more difficult for Chinese English learners than for people who speak a western language other than English because Chinese has nothing in common with the alphabetic English and China had little contact with the Western world in modern history.Consequently, the background knowledge of English fascinates large numbers of interested and determined English learners in China but at the same time disheartens quite a few. 中国的英语学习者可能会这样问:"我 们可以说吃鸡,为什么不能说吃猪、 吃牛、吃羊,而要说吃猪肉、牛肉、 羊肉呢?"对学习英语的中国人来说,为 这些特殊的英语词汇找出理由并非易 事。问题在于如果不懂英国历史,死 记硬背英语单词毫无效率。所以说, 学英语(其他语言亦如此)还包括学习 使用该语言国家的历史知识。学习英 语的中国人要做到这一点比其他非英 语国家的西方人要困难得多,因为汉 字和英语这种拼音文字毫无共同之 处,并且中国和西方世界在近代史上 很少接触。所以,在中国,英语背景 知识既吸引了大量英语爱好者,也使 许多人丧失信心。 The Western and Oriental values are found to be in confrontation in learning English.Native English speakers may complain about Chinese confusion when using "he" and "she",for the two words sound the same,though,different in written forms in Chinese.As a result, some native English speakers conclude that the Chinese are unable to tell the difference between the two sexes.But native English speakers are more gender blind than the Chinese when they mention their cousins.The confusion caused by the confrontation of Western and Chinese values,to a certain extent, affects the Chinese English learner's comprehension of what he/she reads and hears.Only by developing an understanding and tolerance(忍受)of different cultural values can a Chinese English learner reach the goal of communicating with native English speakers. 英语学习中,东西方的价值观念是相 互冲突的。英语母语的人会混淆汉语 中"他""她"的用法,因为这两个字尽管 字形不同,读音却相同,他们因此常 常抱怨。结果有些英语母语的人得出 结论,认为中国人不区分两种性别。 但是在涉及表亲的时候,英语母语的 人更是混淆性别。东西方价值观的冲 突造成的语言上的混淆,在一定程度 上影响学习英语的中国人对自己所读 或所听到的内容的理解.学习英语的中 国人只有增加不同文化价值观之间的 理解和宽容,才能达到与英语母语者 交流的目标。 A Chinese English learner could not have a good command of Eng1ish unless he overcomes the cultural barriers(not all,of course!)in learning English.Many Chinese translate what they think about in Chinese into English when they talk or write.This kind of English inevitably affects the fluency and flow of speech, the amount of information conveyed, and,above all,the quality of communication. 学习英语的中国人,只有在学习英语 的过程中克服文化障碍才能很好地掌 握英语。(当然不可能是克服全部文化 障碍!) 很多中国人说话或写作的时 候,将自己汉语思维的内容翻译成英 语,这势必会影响英语表达的流畅、 传达的信息量,最重要的是,影响交 流的质量。 The above is,not wholly,how difficult English is.Some native speakers might have said,"You foreigners don't use good English! " at the time a foreigner fails to understand what he is saying."Why should l?"1 would protest,though.Still,I have to keep asking myself:Is it possible for a foreigner to command English? 尽管不完全,以上就是学习英语的困 难。英语母语者被外国人误解的时候 可能会说:"你们外国人不懂地道的英 语!" 我要反驳:"我们为什么要懂?"我还要 问:一个外国人可能精通英语吗? Text B Learning a Language 学 语言 Most students would like to know how to learn a 1anguage more easily. Most linguists and language teachers would also like to know this.Linguists are working on this problem in two ways.First,they are trying to understand how children learn to speak and understand their native language. They are also trying to learn how people learn a second language. 大部分学生都想知道如何能够轻松地 学好一门语言,大部分语言学家和语 言教师也想弄清楚这个问题。语言学 家从两个方面研究这个问题。一方面, 他们致力于弄清楚儿童是如何学会母 语、理解母语的。另一方面致力于研 究人是如何学习第二语言的。 Linguists are not sure how children learn to speak.Some linguists think that children are born with an ability to learn and use a 1anguage.This does not mean that they come into the world knowing their native language. It means that, along with many other things,they are born with the ability to learn their native language. With just a little exposure to the language,and a little help from their parents,they are able to learn to speak.Another group of linguists does not think this is correct. 语言学家并不确定儿童是如何学说话 的。一些语言学家认为儿童生来就有 学习和使用语言的能力。这并不是指 一个人的母语是与生俱来的;而是指 一个人生来具有学习其母语的能力, 这种能力与人在其他方面表现出来的 能力是相同的。孩子只要与要学习的 语言有一定接触,在父母的些许帮助 下就能够学会说话。另外一派语言学 家则对此持有异议。 This second group of linguists thinks that children learn to use a 1anguage from their parents.They believe that parents teach their children to produce sounds and words in their language.When children know some words,their parents will begin to teach them to say sentences.These linguists do not think that parents teach their children in the same way that adults are taught a second language.Instead, parents probably teach their children by talking to them and correcting their use of 1anguage. These linguists feel that children learn their language mainly from the environment . In this case,the environment is their family and their home. As you see,the first group of linguists disagrees. 持反对意见的语言学家认为儿童是跟 着父母学会使用语言的。他们认为父 母首先教孩子发声、吐字。当孩子掌 握一定词汇以后,父母就开始教他们 如何组织句子。但是他们认为,父母 教孩子的方式不同于教成年人学习第 二语言的方法。相反,父母是通过与 孩子交谈并纠正他们的语言错误来教 孩子说话的。这一派语言学家认为, 儿童主要通过语言环境学会使用语言 的。这种情况下,语言环境是家庭和 生活环境。可以看出,第一派语言学 家对此并不赞同。 There are some other theories about how children learn a language.Many people are studying the process of language learning by children.This work is being done in many countries.Linguists are not the only people who are interested in this process.Many psychologists,doctors, and parents are also interested.People who teach foreign languages are interested, too. 关于儿童如何学习语言还有一些其他 理论。许多国家中有很多人正着手研 究儿童学习语言的过程。不仅语言学 家,许多心理学家、医生和父母都对 儿童的语言学习过程感兴趣。外语教 师也对这一过程很感兴趣。 Foreign language teachers are interested in how children learn to speak their native language for a very important reason.If they knew how children learn their native language,perhaps they would have an easy way to teach adults, as well as children, a second language.This is a very interesting idea.Some foreign language teachers believe that adults learn a second language the same way children learn their native language . These teachers try to make their students' learning similar to that of children.These teachers speak only the foreign language in the classroom.They will not talk to students in the native language.They try to expose them to as much of the spoken foreign language as possible.They do not teach them any rules for using the language.Most parents don't teach their children rules for language usage,either. They simply tell them how to say something correctly.Foreign language teachers using this spoken language method do the same thing. For some students,this method is successful.They learn to speak quickly and easily.They seem to enjoy using the language,and they do not pay much attention to whether they use exactly the right rules for what they say.Some students, however,cannot learn a language this way.Linguists are trying to find another way to teach them a language. 外语教师对儿童如何学说母语感兴 趣,有其很重要的原因。他们如果知 道儿童如何学习母语,就可能找到一 种简便的方法教儿童和成年人学习第 二语言。这是一种非常有意思的想法。 有些外语教师认为成年人学习第二语 言的过程和儿童学习母语的过程是相 同的。这部分外语教师模仿儿童学习 语言的过程组织教学:课堂上只讲外 语,不与学生讲母语。他们使学生尽 可能多地接触所学外语的口语形式, 不教学生语言使用的规则。外语教师 采用这种口语教法是因为大多数父母 在教孩子说话的时候也不教孩子语言 使用规则,而只是告诉孩子怎样讲话 是正确的。对一些学生来说,这种方 法是成功的,他们能够轻而易举地、 很快地学会所学的语言。他们似乎很 喜欢去用所学的语言,并不很在意是 否使用了正确的语言规则。另外一些 学生则不适合这种方法,语言学家着 手寻找一种适合他们的教学方法。 A second method,the rule-learning method,sometimes works better with these students.Some linguists believe that learning a foreign language is different from learning to speak one's native language.They feel that students must learn the rules for using the language by memorizing them and must practice saying things in the language and using the rules correctly.These linguists try to teach students the rules of the language they want to learn.Then they give them many sentences in the language to say over and over again.The students are encouraged to make up new sentences, using the rules that they have learned and the words that they know. 另外一种方法--语言规则学习法--更适 合这部分学生。一些语言学家认为学 习外语不同于学习母语。学生必须通 过记忆来学习语言使用规则,必须练 习使用这种语言,练习正确地使用这 些规则。语言教师首先教学生要学的 语法规则,再给学生一些例句让他们 反复练习,同时鼓励学生使用所学过 的语法规则和他们所掌握的词造句。 Some students are very successful with this second, rule-learning method.They learn the language quite quickly and can use it well. They know the rules for using the language and can speak the language and understand it,too.For many students, this is the best way to learn a foreign language.For some students, both of these methods may work. Sometimes teachers use a combination of these methods in class, hoping that everyone will be able to learn the language with one method or the other. Some people can go to a country and "pick up" the language simply from hearing it and trying to communicate in it.These people are rare. 一些学生使用这种语法规则学习法效 果非常好,他们学得很快,用得也好。 他们掌握了语言使用规则,能够使用 所学的语言,也能够理解别人的话。 对一些学生来说,这是学外语最好的 方法。对另外一些学生来说,两种方 法都行之有效。有时候,老师在课堂 上将两种方法结合起来用,目的是让 每个学生都能受益。有些人能够到国 外通过倾听,与人交流等手段自然而 然的学会那个国家的语言。但这毕竟 是少数人。 Most people try to learn a language by taking classes and studying it in some way. Most teachers will try different ways to help students learn a language quickly and easily.Linguists and psychologists are trying to understand how people learn and use a language.Perhaps language 1earning will be easier when they have a clear understanding of how people learn and use a language. 大多数人还是通过课堂或者其他方式 来学语言的。大多数老师也通过不同 的教法来帮助学生轻松快速的学会一 门语言。语言学家和心理学家正致力 于弄清楚人是如何学会并使用语言 的。也许在解决了这个问题之后,语 言学习会变得容易一些。 Unit 2 Text A Caught Between Two Cultures 夹在两种文化之间 I was born and raised in Hong Kong. For the past six years I’ve been living in the United States.I work as a salesgirl in a large department store. Right now I’m going through a difficult period of my life which is hard for me to talk about. 我是土生土长的香港人。六年来一直 生活在美国,是一家大百货商店的女 售货员。目前我正经历人生中一段痛 苦,自己也很难讲述。 A few months ago 1 went to Hong Kong for a visit.It was the first time I’d gone back there since coming to the United States.I was eager to see my parents, my brothers and sisters,and my friends. 几个月前,我回香港探亲,这也是我 到美国后第一次回家探亲。我期待着 见到我的父母、兄弟姐妹和我的朋友。 I really got a shock when I arrived.Hong Kong was not the same city that I left six years ago.Things had changed so much that I didn’t recognize parts of it.My elementary school was gone.The houses on the street where I used to live had been torn down and replaced by office buildings. 到达时,我确实大吃一惊。香港已经 不是六年前我离开时的那座城市了。 这儿发生了巨大的变化,一些地方都 认不出来了。我读书的那所小学已经 不复存在。曾经住过的那条街上的房 子已被拆掉,代之而起的是办公大楼。 The shock from the physical changes in the city,however,was nothing compared to the confusion and hurt I soon began to feel in my parents’ home.My family greeted me warmly when I arrived.While my mother was busy preparing a special dinner in my honor,the rest of the family eagerly asked me questions about my life in the United States.I felt happy that day and for a couple of days after,but then I began to feel that something was wrong.I noticed that my family, especially my mother, would sometimes glance at me in a strange way when I was speaking.They gradually became less warm and friendly toward me,and I became uncomfortable and confused as to(至于)why they were behaving that way. 但是,我到了父母亲家里不久,就发 现了一些令我想不通的问题,情感上 也受到了挫伤。与之相比,香港外观 上的变化给我的震惊算不得什么。我 的家人热情地迎接我回家。我母亲忙 着备饭为我接风,家里其余的人迫不 及待地问我在美国的生活。那天和之 后的几天我都非常高兴, 但是不久我 就开始感觉到事情有些不对劲儿。我 注意到,在我讲话的时候,我的家人, 尤其是我母亲,会以一种奇怪的目光 看我。渐渐地,大家对我疏远起来, 不像开始时那么热情、友好了, 我感到 不舒服,弄不明白他们为什么这样对 待我。 I decided to talk to my mother.She asked me,“Have you forgotten your Chinese way ?”I asked her what she meant.She said.“You’ve forgotten the place of women in a Chinese home.You talk when you should remain silent.You speak on matters that are of concern only to men.You speak openly of your inner feelings and desires.That’s not the way of a Chinese woman.We keep our thoughts and feelings to ourselves.” 我决定和母亲谈一谈。她问我:“你忘 了中国的规矩了吗?”我问她指的是什 么。她回答说:“你忘了中国家庭里女 人的地位了。应该保持沉默的时候, 你却在讲话。你就那些只与男人有关 的事情发表见解。你直言不讳你的内 心感受和愿望,这不是中国女人的做 法。我们的想法和感情都不说出来。” As my mother spoke,I realized what had happened to me.American including American women,are much freer in expressing their thoughts and feelings.Also American women feel as free as men to speak or give an opinion about any subject.They don’t take a silent back seat during a discussion.I guessed that through my association with Americans during the past six years,,I had gradually adopted some of their ways. 听着母亲这样讲,我意识到了是怎么 回事。美国人,包括美国女性,都非 常自由地表达自己的思想和感情。美 国男女一样,对任何问题都自由地发 表见解。在讨论中,她们不会做一个 沉默的旁观者。我想,过去六年和美 国人的交往中, 我渐渐学了他们的一 些做法。 During the next few days I tried to be a Chinese woman.But it didn’t work.My family remained distant from me.They could no longer accept me fully as one of them.I became more uncomfortable and hurt as things were said and done that made me feel that I was an outsider,a stranger in my own country. 接下来的几天,我尽力作一名中国女 性,可是没用。家人和我疏远。他们 无法完全把我当作自己人。身在家乡 却被视为外人,这使我更加不自在, 感觉受到了深深的伤害。 I cut my visit short by three weeks and came back to the United States.But coming back here didn’t lessen the confusion and pain.In fact,I feel more confused than before.I now feel homeless.I don’t feel like an American.Americans haven’t accepted me.The women I work with at the store are polite enough,but they don’t try to get close to me or let me get close to them.During the morning coffee break they make plans to have lunch together and go shopping.On Fridays they talk about the disco place they’re going to that night.My accent,my name,and 1

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