新概念英語第4冊課文(中英文對照).doc

Lesson 1 Finding fossil man 發(fā)現(xiàn)化石人We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago in the Near East, where people first learned to write. But there are some parts of the word where even now people cannot write. The only way that they can preserve their history is to recount it as sagas - legends handed down from one generation of another. These legends are useful because they can tell us something about migrations of people who lived long ago, but none could write down what they did. Anthropologists wondered where the remote ancestors of the Polynesian peoples now living in the Pacific Islands came from. The sagas of these people explain that some of them came from Indonesia about 2,000 years ago. But the first people who were like ourselves lived so long ago that even their sagas, if they had any, are forgotten. So archaeologists have neither history nor legends to help them to find out where the first modern men came from. Fortunately, however, ancient men made tools of stone, especially flint, because this is easier to shape than other kinds. They may also have used wood and skins, but these have rotted away. Stone does not decay, and so the tools of long ago have remained when even the bones of the men who made them have disappeared without trace.參考譯文 我們從書籍中可讀到5,000 年前近東發(fā)生的事情，那里的人最早學(xué)會了寫字。但直到現(xiàn)在,世界上有些地方，人們還不會書寫。 他們保存歷史的唯一辦法是將歷史當(dāng)作傳說講述，由講述人一代接一代地將史實描述為傳奇故事口傳下來。人類學(xué)家過去不清楚如今生活在太平洋諸島上的波利尼西亞人的祖先來自何方，當(dāng)?shù)厝说膫髡f卻告訴人們：其中一部分是約在2,000年前從印度尼西亞遷來的。 但是，和我們相似的原始人生活的年代太久遠(yuǎn)了，因此，有關(guān)他們的傳說既使有如今也失傳了。于是，考古學(xué)家們既缺乏歷史記載，又無口頭傳說來幫助他們弄清最早的“現(xiàn)代人”是從哪里來的。 然而， 幸運(yùn)的是，遠(yuǎn)古人用石頭制作了工具，特別是用燧石，因為燧石較之其他石頭更容易成形。他們也可能用過木頭和獸皮，但這類東西早已腐爛殆盡。石頭是不會腐爛的。因此，盡管制造這些工具的人的骨頭早已蕩然無存，但遠(yuǎn)古時代的石頭工具卻保存了下來。Lesson 2 Spare that spider 不要傷害蜘蛛 Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends? Because they destroy so many insects, and insects include some of the greatest enemies of the human race. Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and kill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals. We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders. Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do the harm to us or our belongings. Spiders are not insects, as many people think, nor even nearly related to them. One can tell the difference almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and insect never more than six. How many spiders are engaged in this work no our behalf? One authority on spiders made a census of the spiders in grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre; that is something like 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch. Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects. It is impossible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meals a day. It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human beings in the country.參考譯文 你可能會覺得奇怪， 蜘蛛怎么會是我們的朋友呢？因為它們能消滅那么多的昆蟲，其中包括一些人類的大敵，要不是人類受一些食蟲動物的保護(hù)，昆蟲就會使我們無法在地球上生活下去，昆蟲會吞食我們的全部莊稼，殺死我們的成群的牛羊。我們要十分感謝那些吃昆蟲的鳥和獸，然而把它們所殺死的昆蟲全部加在一起也只相當(dāng)于蜘蛛所消滅的一小部分。此外，蜘蛛不同于其他食蟲動物，它們絲毫不危害我們和我們的財物。 許多人認(rèn)為蜘蛛是昆蟲，但它們不是昆蟲，甚至與昆蟲毫無關(guān)系。人們幾乎一眼就能看出二者的差異，因為蜘蛛都是8條腿，而昆蟲的腿從不超過6條。 有多少蜘蛛在為我們效力呢？一位研究蜘蛛的權(quán)威對英國南部一塊草坪上的蜘蛛作了一次調(diào)查。他估計每英畝草坪里有225萬多只蜘蛛。這就是說，在一個足球場上約有600萬只不同種類的蜘蛛。蜘蛛至少有半年在忙于吃昆蟲。它們一年中消滅了多少昆蟲，我們簡直無法猜測，它們是吃不飽的動物，不滿意一日三餐。據(jù)估計，在英國蜘蛛一年里所消滅昆蟲的重量超過這個國家人口的總重量。Lesson 3 Matterhorn man 馬特霍恩山區(qū)人 Modern alpinists try to climb mountains by a route which will give them good sport, and the more difficult it is, the more highly it is regarded. In the pioneering days, however, this was not the case at all. The early climbers were looking for the easiest way to the top, because the summit was the prize they sought, especially if it and never been attained before. It is true that during their explorations they often faced difficulties and dangers of the most perilous nature, equipped in a manner with would make a modern climber shudder at the thought, but they did not go out of their way to court such excitement. They had a single aim, a solitary goal - the top! It is hard for us to realize nowadays how difficult it was for the pioneers. Except for one or two places such as Zermatt and Chamonix, which had rapidly become popular, Alpine village tended to be impoverished settlements cut off from civilization by the high mountains. Such inns as there were generally dirty and flea-ridden; the food simply local cheese accompanied by bread often twelve months old, all washed down with coarse wine. Often a valley boasted no inn at all, and climbers found shelter wherever they could - sometimes with the local priest (who was usually as poor as his parishioners), sometimes with shepherds or cheese-makers. Invariably the background was the same: dirt and poverty, and very uncomfortable. For men accustomed to eating seven-course dinners and sleeping between fine linen sheets at home, the change to the Alps must have very hard indeed.參考譯文 現(xiàn)代登山運(yùn)動員總想找一條能夠給他們帶來運(yùn)動樂趣的路線來攀登山峰。他們認(rèn)為， 道路愈艱險愈帶勁兒。然而，在登山運(yùn)動的初期，全然不是這種情況。早期登山者所尋找的是通往山頂?shù)淖罘奖愕耐緩?，因為頂峰特別是前人未曾到過的頂峰 - 才是他們尋求的目標(biāo)。確實，在探險中他們經(jīng)常遇到驚心動魄的困難和危險，而他們裝備之簡陋足以使現(xiàn)代登山者一想起來就膽戰(zhàn)心驚。但是，他們并非故意尋求這種刺激，他們只有一個目標(biāo)，唯一的目標(biāo) - 頂峰！ 我們今天很難想像昔日的登山先驅(qū)們是多么艱苦。除了澤曼特和夏蒙尼等一兩個很快出了名的地方外，阿爾卑斯山山區(qū)的小村幾乎全是高山環(huán)抱、與世隔絕的窮鄉(xiāng)僻壤。那里的小客棧一般都很骯臟，而且跳蚤猖獗。 食物是當(dāng)?shù)氐母衫液屯ǔ４娣帕艘荒曛玫拿姘?，人們就著劣酒吞下這種食物。山谷里常常沒有小客棧，登山者只好隨遇而安。有時同當(dāng)?shù)啬翈?（他通常和他的教民一樣窮）住在一起，有時同牧羊人或制乳酪的人住在一起。無論住在哪兒，情況都一樣：骯臟、貧窮，極其不舒適。對于過慣了一頓飯吃7道菜、睡亞麻細(xì)布床單的人來說，變換一下生活環(huán)境來到阿爾卑斯山山區(qū)，那一定是很艱難的。 Lesson 4 Seeing hands能看見東西的手 Several cases have been reported in Russia recently of people who can detect colours with their fingers, and even see through solid and walls. One case concerns and eleven-year-old schoolgirl, Vera Petrova, who has normal vision but who can also perceive things with different parts of her skin, and through solid walls. This ability was first noticed by her father. One day she came into his office and happened to put her hands on the door of a locked safe. Suddenly she asked her father why he kept so many old newspapers locked away there, and even described the way they were done up in bundles. Veras curious talent was brought to the notice of a scientific research institute in the town of Ulyanovsk, near where she lives, and in April she was given a series of tests by a special commission of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federal Republic. During these tests she was able to read a newspaper through an opaque screen and, stranger still, by moving her elbow over a childs game of Lotto she was able to describe the figures and colours printed on it; and, in another instance, wearing stockings and slippers, to make out with her foot the outlines and colours of a picture hidden under a carpet. Other experiments showed that her knees and shoulders had a similar sensitivity. During all these tests Vera was blindfold; and, indeed, except when blindfold she lacked the ability to perceive things with her skin. It was also found that although she could perceive things with her fingers this ability ceased the moment her hands were wet.參考譯文 俄羅斯最近報導(dǎo)了幾個事例，有人能用手指看書識字和辨認(rèn)顏色，甚至能透過厚實的門和墻看到東西。 其中有一例談到有一個名叫維拉.彼托洛娃的11歲學(xué)生。她的視力與常人一樣，但她還能用皮膚的不同部位辨認(rèn)東西，甚至看穿堅實的墻壁。是她父親首先發(fā)現(xiàn)她這一功能的。一天，維拉走進(jìn)父親的辦公室，偶然把手放在一個鎖著的保險柜的門上，她突然問父親為什么把這么多的舊報紙鎖在柜子里，還說了報紙捆扎的情況。 維拉的特異功能引起了她家附近烏里揚(yáng)諾夫斯克城一個科研單位的注意。4月里，俄羅斯衛(wèi)生部一個特別委員會對她進(jìn)行了一系列的測試。在這些測試中，她能隔著不透明的屏幕讀報紙。更為奇怪的是，她把肘部在兒童玩的“羅托”紙牌上移動一下，便能說出印在紙牌上的數(shù)字和顏色。還有一次，她穿著長筒襪子和拖鞋，能用腳步識別出藏在地毯下面的一幅畫的輪廓和顏色。其他實驗表明，她的膝蓋和雙肩有類似的感覺能力，在所有這些實驗中，維拉的雙眼都是蒙著的。如果不蒙上雙眼她的皮膚就不再具有識別物體的能力。這是千真萬確的。同時還發(fā)現(xiàn)，盡管她能用手指識別東西，但她的手一旦弄濕，這種功能便會立即消失。Lesson 5 Youth 青年 People are always talking about the problem of youth. If there is one - which I take leave to doubt - then it is older people who create it, not the young themselves. Let us get down to fundamentals and agree that the young are after all human beings - people just like their elders. There is only one difference between an old man and a young one: the young man has a glorious future before him and the old one has a splendid future behind him: and maybe that is where the rub is. When I was a teenager, I felt that I was just young and uncertain - that I was a new boy in a huge school, and I would have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as a problem. For one thing, being a problem gives you a certain identity, and that is one of the things the young are busily engaged in seeking. I find young people exciting. They have an air of freedom, and they not a dreary commitment to mean ambitions or love of comfort. They are not anxious social climbers, and they have no devotion to material things. All this seems to me to link them with life, and the origins of things. Its as if they were, in some sense, cosmic beings in violent and lovely contrast with us suburban creatures. All that is in my mind when I meet a young person. He may be conceited, ill-mannered, presumptuous or fatuous, but I do not turn for protection to dreary cliches about respect of elders - as if mere age were a reason for respect. I accept that we are equals, and I will argue with him, as an equal, if I think he is wrong.參考譯文 人們總是在談?wù)摗扒嗄陠栴}”。如果這個問題存在的話 - 請允許我對此持懷疑態(tài)度 - 那么，這個問題是由老年人而不是青年人造成的。讓我們來認(rèn)真研究一些基本事實：承認(rèn)青年人和他們的長輩一樣也是人。老年人和青年人只有一個區(qū)別：青年人有光輝燦爛的前景，而老年人的輝煌已成為過去。 問題的癥結(jié)恐怕就在這里。 我十幾歲時，總感到自己年輕，有些事拿不準(zhǔn) - 我是一所大學(xué)里的一名新生，如果我當(dāng)時真的被看成像一個問題那樣有趣，我會感到很得意的。因為這至少使我得到了某種承認(rèn)，這正是年輕人所熱衷追求的。 我覺得年輕人令人振奮，無拘無束。他們既不追逐卑鄙的名利，也不貪圖生活的舒適。他們不熱衷于向上爬，也不一味追求物質(zhì)享受。在我看來，所有這些使他們與生命和萬物之源聯(lián)系在了一起。從某種意義上講，他們似乎是宇宙人，同我們這些凡夫俗子形成了強(qiáng)烈而鮮明的對照。每逢我遇到年輕人，腦子里就想到這些年輕人也許狂妄自負(fù)，舉止無理，傲慢放肆，愚昧無知，但我不會用應(yīng)當(dāng)尊重長者這一套陳詞濫調(diào)來為我自己辨護(hù)，似乎年長就是受人尊敬的理由。我認(rèn)為我和他們是平等的。如果我認(rèn)為他們錯了，我就以平等的身份和他們爭個明白。 Lesson 6 The sporting spirit 體育的精神 I am always amazed when I hear people saying that sport creates goodwill between the nations, and that if only the common peoples of the would could meet one another at football or cricket, they would have no inclination to meet on the hattlefield. Even if one didnt know from concrete examples (the 1936 Olympic Games, for instance) that international sporting contests lead to orgies of hatred, one could deduce if from general principles. Nearly all the sports practised nowadays are competitive. You play to win, and the game has little meaning unless you do your utmost to win. On the village green, where you pick up sides and no feeling of local patriotism is involved, it is possible to play simply for the fun and exercise: but as soon as a the question of prestige arises, as soon as you feel that you and some larger unit will be disgraced if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused. Anyone who has played even in a school football match knows this. At the international level, sport is frankly mimic warfare. But the significant thing is not the behaviour of the players but the attitude of the spectators: and, behind the spectators, of the nations who work themselves into furies over these absurd contests, and seriously believe - at any rate for short periods - that running, jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue.參考譯文 當(dāng)我聽人們說體育運(yùn)動可創(chuàng)造國家之間的友誼，還說各國民眾若在足球場或板球場上交鋒，就不愿在戰(zhàn)場上殘殺的時候，我總是驚愕不已。一個人即使不能從具體的事例（例如1936年的奧林匹克運(yùn)動會）了解到國際運(yùn)動比賽會導(dǎo)致瘋狂的仇恨，也可以從常理中推斷出結(jié)論。 現(xiàn)在開展的體育運(yùn)動幾乎都是競爭性的。參加比賽就是為了取勝。如果不拚命去贏，比賽就沒有什么意義了。 在鄉(xiāng)間的草坪上，當(dāng)你隨意組成兩個隊，并且不涉及任何地方情緒時，那才可能是單純的為了娛樂和鍛煉而進(jìn)行比賽?？墒且涣可婕暗綐s譽(yù)問題，一旦你想到你和某一團(tuán)體會因為你輸而丟臉時，那么最野蠻的爭斗天性便會激發(fā)起來。即使是僅僅參加過學(xué)校足球賽的人也有種體會。在國際比賽中，體育簡直是一場模擬戰(zhàn)爭。但是，要緊的還不是運(yùn)動員的行為，而是觀眾的態(tài)度，以及觀眾身后各個國家的態(tài)度。面對著這些荒唐的比賽，參賽的各個國家會如癡如狂，甚至煞有介事地相信 - 至少在短期內(nèi)如此 - 跑跑、跳跳、踢踢球是對一個民族品德素質(zhì)的檢驗。Lesson 7 Bats 蝙蝠Not all sounds made by animals serve as language, and we have only to turn to that extraordinary discovery of echo-location in bats to see a case in which the voice plays a strictly utilitarian role. To get a full appreciation of what this means we must turn first to some recent human inventions. Everyone knows that if he shouts in the vicinity of a wall or a mountainside, an echo will come back. The further off this solid obstruction, the longer time will elapse for the return of the echo. A sound made by tapping on the hull of a ship will be reflected from the sea bottom, and by measuring the time interval between the taps and the receipt of the echoes, the depth of the sea at that point can be calculated. So was born the echo-sounding apparatus, now in general use in ships. Every solid object will reflect a sound, varying according to the size and nature of the object. A shoal of fish will do this. So it is a comparatively simple step from locating the sea bottom to locating a shoal of fish. With experience, and with improved apparatus, it is now possible not only to locate a shoal but to tell if it is herring, cod, or other well-known fish, by the pattern of its echo. It has been found that certain bats emit squeaks and by receiving the echoes, they can locate and steer clear of obstacles - or locate flying insects on which they feed. This echo-location in bats is often compared with radar, the principle of which is similar.參考譯文 動物發(fā)出的聲音不都是用作語言交際。我們只要看一看蝙蝠回聲定位這一極不尋常的發(fā)現(xiàn)，就可以探究一下聲音在什么情況下有絕對的實用價值。 要透徹理解這句話的意義，我們應(yīng)先回顧一下人類最近的幾項發(fā)明。大家都知道，在墻壁或山腰附近發(fā)出的喊聲，就會聽到回聲。固體障礙物越遠(yuǎn)?；芈暦祷厮脮r間就越長。敲打船體所發(fā)了的聲音會從海底傳回來，測出回聲間隔的時間，便可算出該處海洋的深度。這樣就產(chǎn)生了目前各種船舶上普遍應(yīng)用的回聲探測儀。任何固體者反射聲音，反射的聲音因物體的大小和性質(zhì)的不同而不同。魚群也反射聲音。從測定海深到測定魚群，這一進(jìn)展比較容易。根據(jù)經(jīng)驗和改進(jìn)了的儀器，不僅能夠確定魚群的位置，而且可以根據(jù)魚群回聲的特點(diǎn)分辨出是鯡魚、鱈魚，這是人們所熟悉的其他魚。 人們發(fā)現(xiàn)，某些蝙蝠能發(fā)出尖叫聲，并能通過回聲來確定并躲開障礙物，或找到它們賴以為生的昆蟲。蝙蝠這種回聲定位常?？膳c雷達(dá)相比較，其原理是相似的。Lesson 8 Trading standards 貿(mào)易標(biāo)準(zhǔn) Chickens slaughtered in the United States, claim officials in Brussels, are not fit to grace European tables. No, say the American: our fowl are fine, we simply clean them in a different way. These days, it is differences in national regulations, far more than tariffs, that put sand in the wheels of trade between rich countries. It is not just farmers who are complaining. An electric razor that meets the European Unions safety standards must be approved by American testers before it can be sold in the United States, and an American-made dialysis machine needs the EUs okay before is hits the market in Europe. As it happens, a razor that is safe in Europe is unlikely to electrocute Americans. So, ask businesses on both sides of the Atlantic, why have two lots of tests where one would do? Politicians agree, in principle, so America and the EU have been trying to reach a deal which would eliminate the need to double-test many products. They hope to finish in time for a trade summit between America and the EU on May 28TH. Although negotiators are optimistic, the details are complex enough that they may be hard-pressed to get a deal at all. Why? One difficulty is to construct the agreements. The Americans would happily reach one accord on standards for medical devices and them hammer out different pacts covering, say, electronic goods and drug manufacturing. The EU - following fine continental traditions - wants agreement on general principles, which could be applied to many types of products and perhaps extended to other countries.參考譯文 布魯塞爾的官員說，在美國屠宰的雞不適于用來裝點(diǎn)歐洲的餐桌。不，美國人說，我們的家禽很好，只是我們使用了另一種清洗方式。當(dāng)前，是各國管理條例上的差異，而不是關(guān)稅阻礙了發(fā)達(dá)國家之間的貿(mào)易。并不僅僅是農(nóng)民在抱怨。一把符合歐洲聯(lián)盟安全標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的電動剃須刀必須得到美國檢測人員的認(rèn)可，方可在美國市場上銷售；而美國制造的透析儀也要得到歐盟的首肯才能進(jìn)入歐洲市場。 碰巧在歐洲使用安全的剃須刀不大可能使美國人觸電身亡，因此，大西洋兩岸的企業(yè)都在問，當(dāng)一套測試可以解決問題時，為什么需要兩套呢？政治家在原則上同意了， 因此，美國和歐洲一直在尋求達(dá)成協(xié)議，以便為許多產(chǎn)品取消雙重檢查。他們希望盡早達(dá)成協(xié)議，為5月28日舉行的美國和歐洲貿(mào)易的最高通級會議作準(zhǔn)備。然談判代表持樂觀態(tài)度，但協(xié)議細(xì)節(jié)如此復(fù)雜，他們所面臨的困難很可能使他們無法取得一致。 為什么呢？困難之一是起草這些協(xié)議。美國人很愿意就醫(yī)療器械的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)達(dá)成一個協(xié)議，然后推敲出不同的合同，用以涵蓋 - 比如說 - 電子產(chǎn)品和藥品的生產(chǎn)。歐洲人遵循優(yōu)良的大陸傳統(tǒng)，則希望就普遍的原則取得一致，而這些原則適用于許多不同產(chǎn)品，同時可能延伸到其它國家。Lesson 9 Royal espionage 王室諜報活動 Alfred the Great acted his own spy, visiting Danish camps disguised as a minstrel. In those days wandering minstrels were welcome everywhere. They were not fighting men, and their harp was their passport. Alfred had learned many of their ballads in his youth, and could vary his programme with acrobatic tricks and simple conjuring. While Alfreds little army slowly began to gather at Athelney, the king himself set out to penetrate the camp of Guthrum, the commander of the Danish invaders. There had settled down for the winter at Chippenham: thither Alfred went. He noticed at once that discipline was slack: the Danes had the self-confidence of conquerors, and their security precautions were casual. They lived well, on the proceeds of raids on neighbouring regions. There they collected women as well as food and drink, and a life of ease had made them soft. Alfred stayed in the camp a week before he returned to Athelney. The force there assembled was trivial compared with the Danish horde. But Alfred had deduced that the Danes were no longer fit for prolonged battle: and that their commissariat had no organization, but depended on irregular raids. So, faced with the Danish advance, Alfred did not risk open battle but harried the enemy. He was constantly on the move, drawing the Danes after him. His patrols halted the raiding parties: hunger assailed the Danish army. Now Alfred began a long series of skirmishes - and within a month the Danes had surrendered. The episode could reasonably serve as a unique epic of royal espionage!參考譯文 阿爾弗雷德大帝曾親自充當(dāng)間諜。他扮作吟游歌手到丹麥軍隊的營地里偵察。當(dāng)時，浪跡天涯的吟游歌手到處受歡迎，他們不是作戰(zhàn)人員，豎琴就是他們的通行證。阿爾弗德年輕時學(xué)過許多民歌，并能穿插演一些雜技和小魔術(shù)使自己的節(jié)目多樣化。 阿爾弗雷德人數(shù)不多的軍隊開始在阿塞爾納慢慢集結(jié)時，他親自潛入丹麥入侵司令官古瑟羅姆的營地。丹麥軍已在切本哈姆扎下營準(zhǔn)備過冬，阿爾弗雷便來到此地。他馬上發(fā)現(xiàn)丹麥軍紀(jì)律松弛，他們以征服者自居，安全措施馬馬虎虎。他們靠掠奪附近的地區(qū)的財物過著舒適的生活。他們不僅搜刮吃的喝的，而且搶掠婦女，安逸的生活已使丹麥軍隊變得軟弱無力。 阿爾弗雷德在敵營呆了一個星期后，回到了阿塞爾納。他集結(jié)在那里的軍隊和丹麥大軍相比是微不足道的，然而，阿爾弗雷德斷定，丹麥人已不再適應(yīng)持久的戰(zhàn)爭，他們的軍需供應(yīng)處于無組織狀態(tài)，只是靠臨時搶奪來維持。 因此，面對丹麥人的進(jìn)攻，阿爾弗雷德沒有貿(mào)然同敵人作戰(zhàn)，而是采用騷擾敵人的戰(zhàn)術(shù)。他的部隊不停地移動，牽著敵人的鼻子，讓他們跟著跑。他派出巡邏隊阻止敵人搶劫，因而饑餓威脅著丹麥軍隊。這時，阿爾弗雷德發(fā)起一連串小規(guī)模的進(jìn)攻，結(jié)果不出一個月，丹麥人就投降了。這一幕歷史可以說是王室諜報活動中最精彩的篇章。.Le