大學(xué)英語(yǔ)精讀第三版第四冊(cè)課文及課文翻譯

1、Unit 1 Two college-age boys, unaware that making money usually involves hard work, are tempted by an advertisement that promises them an easy way to earn a lot of money. The boys soon learn that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is. 一個(gè)大學(xué)男孩，不清楚賺錢需要付出艱苦的勞動(dòng)，被一份許諾輕松賺大錢的廣告吸引了。男孩們很快就明白，如果

2、事情看起來(lái)好得不像真的，那多半確實(shí)不是真的。 BIG BUCKS THE EASY WAY 輕輕松松賺大錢 You ought to look into this, I suggested to our two college-age sons. It might be a way to avoid the indignity of having to ask for money all the time. I handed them some magazines in a plastic bag someone bad hung on our doorknob. A message prin

3、ted on the bag offered leisurely, lucrative work (Big Bucks the Easy Way!) of delivering more such bags. “你們?cè)摽纯催@個(gè)， ”我向我們的兩個(gè)讀大學(xué)的兒子建議道。 “你們?nèi)粝氡苊庖驗(yàn)槔鲜窍蛉擞戝X而有失尊嚴(yán)的話，這興許是一種辦法。 ”我將掛在我們門(mén)把手上的、裝在一個(gè)塑料袋里的幾本雜志拿給他們。塑料袋上印著一條信息說(shuō)，需要招聘人投遞這樣的袋子，這活兒既輕松又賺錢。（“輕輕松松賺大錢!” ） I dont mind the indignity, the older one answered. “我

4、不在乎失不失尊嚴(yán)， ”大兒子回答說(shuō)。 I can live with it, his brother agreed. “我可以忍受， ”他的弟弟附和道。 But it pains me, I said， o find that you both have been panhandling so long that it no longer embarrasses you. “看到你們倆伸手討錢討慣了一點(diǎn)也不感到尷尬的樣子，真使我痛心， ”我說(shuō)。 The boys said they would look into the magazine-delivery thing. Pleased, I

5、left town on a business trip. By midnight I was comfortably settled in a hotel room far from home. The phone rang. It was my wife. She wanted to know how my day had gone. 孩子們說(shuō)他們可以考慮考慮投遞雜志的事。我聽(tīng)了很高興，便離城出差去了。午夜時(shí)分，我已遠(yuǎn)離家門(mén)，在一家旅館的房間里舒舒服服住了下來(lái)。電話鈴響了，是妻子打來(lái)的。她想知道我這一天過(guò)得可好。 Great! I enthused. How was your day? I

6、 inquired. “好極了!”我興高采烈地說(shuō)。 “你過(guò)得怎么樣?”我問(wèn)道。 Super! She snapped. Just super! And its only getting started. Another truck just pulled up out front. “棒極了!”她大聲挖苦道。 “真棒!而且這還僅僅是個(gè)開(kāi)始。又一輛卡車剛在門(mén)前停下。 ” Another truck? “又一輛卡車?” The third one this evening. The first delivered four thousand Montgomery Wards. The second

7、 brought four thousand Sears, Roebucks. I dont know what this one has, but Im sure it will be four thousand of something. Since you are responsible, I thought you might like to know whats happening. “今晚第三輛了。第一輛運(yùn)來(lái)了四千份蒙哥馬利-沃德百貨公司的廣告；第二輛運(yùn)來(lái)四千份西爾斯-羅伯克百貨公司的廣告。我不知道這一輛裝的啥，但我肯定又是四千份什么的。既然這事是你促成的，我想你或許想了解事情的進(jìn)

8、展。 ” What I was being blamed for, it turned out, was a newspaper strike which made it necessary to hand-deliver the advertising inserts that normally are included with the Sunday paper. The company had promised our boys $600 for delivering these inserts to 4,000 houses by Sunday morning. 我之所以受到指責(zé)，事情

9、原來(lái)是這樣：由于發(fā)生了一起報(bào)業(yè)工人罷工，通常夾在星期日?qǐng)?bào)紙里的廣告插頁(yè)，必須派人直接投送出去。公司答應(yīng)給我們的孩子六百美金，任務(wù)是將這些廣告插頁(yè)在星期天早晨之前投遞到四千戶人家去。 Piece of cake! our older college son had shouted. “不費(fèi)吹灰之力!”我們上大學(xué)的大兒子嚷 道。 Six hundred bucks! His brother had echoed, And we can do the job in two hours! “六百塊!”他的弟弟應(yīng)聲道， “我們兩個(gè)鐘點(diǎn)就能干完!” Both the Sears and Ward ads

10、are four newspaper-size pages, my wife informed me. There are thirty-two thousand pages of advertising on our porch. Even as we speak, two big guys are carrying armloads of paper up the walk. What do we do about all this? “西爾斯和沃德的廣告通常都是報(bào)紙那么大的四頁(yè)， ”妻子告訴我說(shuō)， “現(xiàn)在我們門(mén)廊上堆著三萬(wàn)二千頁(yè)廣告。就在我們說(shuō)話的當(dāng)兒，兩個(gè)大個(gè)子正各抱著一大捆廣告走過(guò)來(lái)

11、。這么多廣告，我們可怎么辦?” Just tell the boys to get busy, I instructed. Theyre college men. Theyll do what they have to do. “你讓孩子們快干， ”我指示說(shuō)。 “他們都是大學(xué)生了。他們自己的事得由他們自己去做。 ” At noon the following day I returned to the hotel and found an urgent message to telephone my wife. Her voice was unnaturally high and quaver

12、ing. There had been several more truckloads of ad inserts. Theyre for department stores, dime stores, drugstores, grocery stores, auto stores and so on. Some are whole magazine sections. We have hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of pages of advertising here! They are crammed wall-to-wall all th

13、rough the house in stacks taller than your oldest son. Theres only enough room for people to walk in, take one each of the eleven inserts, roll them together, slip a rubber band around them and slide them into a plastic bag. We have enough plastic bags to supply every takeout restaurant in America!

14、Her voice kept rising, as if working its way out of the range of the human ear. All this must be delivered by seven oclock Sunday morning. 第二天中午，我回到旅館，看到一份緊急留言，要我馬上給妻子回電話。她的聲音高得很不自然，而且有些顫抖。家里又運(yùn)到了好幾卡車的廣告插頁(yè)。 “有百貨公司的，廉價(jià)商店的，雜貨店的，食品店的，汽車行的，等等。有些像整本雜志那么厚。我們這里有數(shù)十萬(wàn)頁(yè)，說(shuō)不定是幾百萬(wàn)頁(yè)的廣告!我們家整個(gè)房子從東墻到西墻，從南墻到北墻統(tǒng)統(tǒng)堆滿了廣告，一

15、堆又一堆，比你大兒子還要高?，F(xiàn)在只剩下一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)空間，剛夠一個(gè)人走進(jìn)去，從十一種插頁(yè)中各取一份，卷在一起，套上橡皮筋，再塞進(jìn)一只塑料袋內(nèi)。我們的塑料袋足夠供應(yīng)全美所有的外賣餐廳!”她越講聲音越響，幾乎震耳欲聾。 “這么多的廣告必須在星期日早晨七點(diǎn)以前統(tǒng)統(tǒng)送出去。 ” Well, you had better get those guys banding and sliding as fast as they can, and Ill talk to you later. Got a lunch date. “嗯，你最好讓孩子們盡快地捆扎裝袋，等會(huì)兒我再跟你談。我有個(gè)午餐約會(huì)。 ” When I r

16、eturned, there was another urgent call from my wife. 我餐后回來(lái)，妻子又打來(lái)一只緊急電話。 Did you have a nice lunch? she asked sweetly. I had had a marvelous steak, but knew better by now than to say so. “你午餐吃得不錯(cuò)吧?”她用悅耳的聲音問(wèn)道。我吃的牛排好極了，但這次我學(xué)乖了，還是不說(shuō)為妙。 Awful, I reported. Some sort of sour fish. Eel, I think. “糟透了， ”我報(bào)告說(shuō)

17、。 “一種什么酸溜溜的魚(yú)，我想大概是鰻鱺吧。 ” Good. Your college sons have hired their younger brothers and sisters and a couple of neighborhood children to help for five dollars each. Assembly lines have been set up. In the language of diplomacy, there is movement. “不錯(cuò)嘛。你的大學(xué)生兒子已經(jīng)雇了他們的弟弟妹妹和兩三個(gè)鄰居的小孩幫忙，工錢一人五塊，建起了流水作業(yè)線。用外交

18、術(shù)語(yǔ)來(lái)說(shuō)，事情有進(jìn)展。 ” Thats encouraging. “這確實(shí)令人鼓舞。 ” No, its not, she corrected. Its very discouraging. Theyre been as it for hours. Plastic bags have been filled and piled to the ceiling, but all this hasnt made a dent, not a dent, in the situation! Its almost as if the inserts keep reproducing themselves!

19、 “不，并非如此， ”她糾正說(shuō)。 “相反，非常叫人泄氣。他們干了好幾個(gè)小時(shí)了。裝好的塑料袋，一直堆到天花板，但一切努力收效很小。這些廣告宣傳品簡(jiǎn)直就像是不停地自行生產(chǎn)出來(lái)一樣!” Another thing, she continued. Your college sons must learn that one does not get the best out of employees by threatening them with bodily harm. “還有一件事， ”她接著說(shuō)， “你那上大學(xué)的兒子必須明白，威脅雇員，說(shuō)要揍他們，是不可能使他們賣力的。 ” Obtaining a

20、n audience with son NO. 1, I snarled, Ill kill you if threaten one of those kids again! Idiot! You should be offering a bonus of a dollar every hour to the worker who fills the most bags. 我跟大兒子一通上話，便咆哮道， “你如果再威脅那些孩子，我就對(duì)你不客氣了!白癡!你應(yīng)該給獎(jiǎng)金，對(duì)裝袋最多的工人每小時(shí)獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)一塊。 ” But that would cut into our profit, he suggest

21、ed. “可那要減少我們的利潤(rùn)啦， ”他提醒道。 There wont be any profit unless those kids enable you to make all the deliveries on time. If they dont, you two will have to remove all that paper by yourselves. And there will be no 慥楴杮漠慥楴杮漠?汳敥楰杮甠瑮汩槧汳敥楰杮甠瑮汩槧?獩爠浥癯摥尮獩爠浥癯摥尮 “那些孩子不幫你按時(shí)將所有的廣告投送出去，你就什么利潤(rùn)也得不到。如果他們不干，你們倆就得親手搬走所有的廣告

22、。而在把它們搬掉之前，你們吃不成，也睡不成。 ” There was a short, thoughtful silence. Then he said, Dad, you have just worked a profound 檔湡敧槧檔湡敧槧?祭瀠牥潳慮楬祴尮祭瀠牥潳慮楬祴尮 電話里出現(xiàn)了短暫的沉默，他在思考。接著，他說(shuō)， “爸爸，你剛才使我深受啟迪，令我恍然大悟。 ” ?瑩尡瑩尡 “那就干吧!” 奜獥奜獥?楳楳 “是，閣下!” By the following evening, there was much for my wife to report. The bonus program

23、 had worked until someone demanded to see the color of cash. Then some activist on the work force claimed that the workers had no business settling for $5 and a few competitive bonuses while the bossed collected hundreds of dollars each. The organizer had declared that all the workers were entitled

24、to $5 per hour! They would not work another minute until the bosses agreed. 到第二天傍晚，我妻子就有許多事報(bào)告了。獎(jiǎng)金計(jì)劃行之有效，可后來(lái)有人對(duì)能否兌現(xiàn)表示懷疑，提出把錢拿出來(lái)給大家看看。接著工人隊(duì)伍里的一位活動(dòng)家聲稱，老板每人拿幾百塊錢，工人們決沒(méi)有理由滿足于每人五塊外加一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)性的獎(jiǎng)金。勞工組織人宣布，所有工人的工資都應(yīng)該達(dá)到每小時(shí)五塊錢!在老板答應(yīng)之前，他們不再干活兒，一分鐘也不干。 The strike lasted less than two hours. In mediation, the parties

25、 agreed on $2 per hour. Gradually, the huge stacks began to shrink. 罷工持續(xù)了不到兩小時(shí)。通過(guò)調(diào)解，雙方達(dá)成協(xié)議，每小時(shí)兩塊。漸漸地，大堆的廣告開(kāi)始減少。 As it turned out, the job was completed three hours before Sundays 7 a.m. deadline. By the time I arrived home, the boys had already settled their accounts: $150 in labor costs, $40 for ga

26、soline, and a like amount for giftsboxes of candy for saintly neighbors who had volunteered station wagons and help in delivery and dozen roses for their mother. This left them with $185 each about two-thirds the minimum wage for the 91 hours they worked. Still, it was enough, as one of them put it,

27、 to enable them to avoid indignity for quite a while. 結(jié)果，全部工作比最后限期星期日早晨七點(diǎn)提前三個(gè)小時(shí)完成。等我回到家里，孩子們已經(jīng)結(jié)了賬。勞務(wù)支出 150 元，汽油費(fèi)?40 元，還有 40 元買禮品幾盒糖果，送給樂(lè)于助人的鄰居，他們主動(dòng)開(kāi)出自家的車幫助投遞，還有一打玫瑰送給他們的母親。除去以上開(kāi)支，他們每人得到 185 元大約相當(dāng)于他們所干的 91 小時(shí)的最低工資的三分之二。雖然如此， ”避免那種有失尊嚴(yán)的事。 “他們花一陣子，使他們”足夠“可正如一個(gè)兒子所說(shuō)，那還是 All went well for some weeks. Then

28、 one Saturday morning my attention was drawn to the odd goings-on of our two youngest sons. They kept carrying carton after carton from various corners of the house out the front door to curbside. I assumed their mother had enlisted them to remove junk for a trash pickup. Then I overheard them discu

29、ssing finances. 幾個(gè)星期過(guò)去了，一切都很好。后來(lái)，一個(gè)星期六的上午，我們兩個(gè)小兒子的奇怪舉動(dòng)引起了我的注意。他們不停地將一個(gè)又一個(gè)的紙箱從房屋四處的角落里搬出，經(jīng)過(guò)前門(mén)，送到人行道邊。我以為他們的媽媽在指揮他們清除破爛，好讓垃圾車運(yùn)走呢。正在這時(shí)，我聽(tīng)到他們?cè)谧h論經(jīng)濟(jì)問(wèn)題。 Geez, were going to make a lot of money! “喲，我們會(huì)賺許多錢呢!” Were going to be rich! “我們要發(fā)財(cái)啦!” Investigation revealed that they were offering for sale or rent ou

30、r entire library. 經(jīng)查問(wèn)發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們正在把我們的全部圖書(shū)“出售或出租” 。 No! No! I cried. You cant sell our books! “不成!不成!”我叫道。 “不能把我們的書(shū)賣了!” Geez, Dad, we thought you were done with them! 哎唷，爸，我們以為你用不著它們了呢!” Youre never done with books, I tried to explain. “書(shū)永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)用不著的， ”我盡力解釋道。 Sure you are. You read them, and youre done with

31、them. Thats it. Then you might as well make a li 瑴敬洠湯祥映潲?桴浥?敗眠湡整?潴慍潶摩琠敨槧摮榪楮祴漠?慨楶杮琠?獡?潹?潦?日?日尶 “你肯定用不著了。你都看過(guò)了，再也不用了。沒(méi)有錯(cuò)。既然不用，還不如賣點(diǎn)錢。我們想避免那種有失尊嚴(yán)的事，不再伸手向你要” Unit 2 Is there anything we can learn from deer? During the energy crisis of 1973-1974 the writer of this essay was living in northern Minnesota a

32、nd was able to observe how deer survive when winter arrives. The lessons he learns about he way deer conserve energy turn out applicable to our everyday life. 有什么是我們能從鹿身上學(xué)到的嗎?在 1973-1974 年的“能源危機(jī)”期間，本文作者正住在明尼蘇達(dá)北部，能夠觀察當(dāng)冬天來(lái)臨時(shí)，鹿如何生存。他從鹿儲(chǔ)存能量的方法上得到的經(jīng)驗(yàn)也能夠運(yùn)用到我們的日常生活中。 DEER AND THE ENERGY CYCLE 鹿和能量循環(huán) Some p

33、ersons say that love makes the world go round. Others of a less romantic and more practical turn of mind say that it isnt love; its money. But the truth is that it is energy that makes the world go round. Energy is the currency of the ecological system and life becomes possible only when food is con

34、verted into energy, which in turn is used to seek more food to grow, to reproduce and to survive. On this cycle all life depends. 有些人說(shuō)，愛(ài)情驅(qū)使世界運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)；另一些并不那么羅曼蒂克而更為注重實(shí)際的人則說(shuō)，不是愛(ài)情，而是金錢。但真實(shí)情況是，能量驅(qū)使世界運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)。能量是生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的貨幣，只有當(dāng)食物轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)槟芰?，能量再用?lái)獲取更多的食物以供生長(zhǎng)、繁殖和生存，生命才成為可能。所有生命都維系在這一循環(huán)上。 It is fairly well known that wild anima

35、ls survive from year to year by eating as much as they can during times of plenty, the summer and fall, storing the excess, usually in the form of fat, and then using these reserves of fat to survive during the hard times in winter when food is scarce. But it is probably less well known that even wi

36、th their stored fat, wild animals spend less energy to live in winter than in summer. 差不多眾所周知，野生動(dòng)物得以年復(fù)一年地生存下去，主要依靠在夏秋生長(zhǎng)旺季盡量多吃，通常將多余的部分以脂肪的形式儲(chǔ)存起來(lái)，然后到了冬天食物稀少的艱難時(shí)期，就用這些儲(chǔ)備的脂肪來(lái)維持生命。然而，很可能鮮為人知的是，即使有儲(chǔ)備的脂肪，野生動(dòng)物在冬天消耗的能量比夏天要少。 A good case in point is the whiter-tailed deer. Like most wildlife, deer reproduce,

37、 grow, and store fat in the summer and fall when there is plenty of nutritious food available. A physically mature female deer in good condition who has conceived 懷孕 in November and given birth to two fawns during the end of May or first part of June, must search for food for the necessary energy no

38、t only to meet her bodys needs but also to produce milk for her fawns. The best milk production occurs at the same time that new plant growth is available. This is good timing, because milk production is an energy consuming process it requires a lot of food. The cost can not be met unless the region

39、 has ample food resources. 一個(gè)很好的例證是白尾鹿。與大多數(shù)野生動(dòng)物一樣，鹿在營(yíng)養(yǎng)豐富、食物充足的夏秋兩季，繁殖、生長(zhǎng)并儲(chǔ)存脂肪。一只成熟健壯的母鹿，在十一月份懷胎，五月底或六月初生下兩只幼鹿，這時(shí)，它必須尋找食物以獲得必要的能量，這不僅是為了滿足自身的需要，而且也是為了給幼鹿生產(chǎn)乳汁。產(chǎn)乳的最佳期也正是植物生長(zhǎng)茂盛之時(shí)。這個(gè)時(shí)機(jī)選擇得很好，因?yàn)槿橹a(chǎn)是一個(gè)消耗能量的過(guò)程它需要大量的食物，除非該地區(qū)具有豐富的食物資源，否則無(wú)法滿足這種消耗。 As the summer progresses and the fawns grow, they become less d

40、ependent on their mothers milk and more dependent on growing plants as food sources. The adult males spend the summer growing antlers and getting fat. Both males and females continue to eat high quality food in the fall in order to deposit body fat for the winter. In the case of does and fawns, a gr

41、eat deal of energy is expended either in milk production or in growing, and fat is not accumulated as quickly as it is in full grown males. Fat reserves are like bank accounts to be drawn on in the winter when food supplies are limited and sometimes difficult to reach because of deep snow. 夏季一天天過(guò)去，幼

42、鹿日漸生長(zhǎng)，它們變得較少依賴母鹿的乳汁，而更加依靠生長(zhǎng)中的植物為其食物來(lái)源。雄性成鹿在夏天生長(zhǎng)鹿角并養(yǎng)肥身體。在秋天，雄鹿和雌鹿都繼續(xù)進(jìn)食高質(zhì)量食物，貯存體內(nèi)脂肪，以備過(guò)冬。至于雌鹿和幼鹿，由于大量的能量用于產(chǎn)奶或生長(zhǎng)，脂肪的積累速度不如完全成熟的雄鹿快。脂肪儲(chǔ)備如同銀行里的存款，供冬天食物來(lái)源不足時(shí)和有時(shí)由于雪深難以獲得時(shí)，支取使用。 As fall turns into winter, other changes take place. Fawns lose their spotted coat. Hair on all the deer becomes darker and thicke

43、r. The change in the hair coats is usually complete by September and maximum hair depths are reached by November or December when the weather becomes cold. 隨著秋去冬來(lái)，還會(huì)發(fā)生其他變化: 幼鹿失去皮毛上的斑紋，所有鹿身上的毛長(zhǎng)厚，顏色變深。毛皮的變化通常持續(xù)到 9 月。到?11 月或 12 月天氣變冷時(shí)，毛長(zhǎng)得最厚。 But in addition, nature provides a further safeguard to help

44、deer survive the winteran internal physiological response which lowers their metabolism, or rate of bodily functioning, and hence slows down their expenditure of energy. The deer become somewhat slow and drowsy. The heart rate drops. Animals that hibernate practice energy conservation to a greater e

45、xtreme than deer do. Although deer dont hibernate, they do the same thing with their seasonal rhythms in metabolism. Deer spend more energy and store fat in the summer and fall when food is abundant, and spend less energy and use stored fat in the winter when food is less available. 此外，大自然還為鹿提供進(jìn)一步的保

46、護(hù)以幫助它們度過(guò)冬天體內(nèi)生理機(jī)能作相應(yīng)調(diào)節(jié)，放慢新陳代謝，亦即生理活動(dòng)的速度，從而降低能量的消耗。鹿變得有點(diǎn)動(dòng)作遲緩、嗜睡。它們的心率減慢。冬眠的動(dòng)物保存能量的習(xí)性勝過(guò)鹿。雖然鹿不冬眠，但他們隨季節(jié)改變新陳代謝節(jié)奏的習(xí)性則是一樣的。夏秋間，食物充裕的時(shí)候，鹿消耗較多的能量并儲(chǔ)存脂肪。在冬天食物匱乏時(shí)，它們則消耗較少的能量并使用儲(chǔ)存的脂肪。 When the energy crisis first came in 1973-1974, I was living with my family in a cabin on the edge of an area where deer spend th

47、e winter in northern Minnesota, observing the deer as their behavior changed from more activity in summer and fall to less as winter progressed, followed by an increase again in the spring as the snow melted. It was interesting and rather amusing to listen to the advice given on the radio: Drive onl

48、y when necessary, we were told. Put on more clothes to stay warm, and turn the thermostat on your furnace down. Meanwhile we watched the deer reduce their activity, grow a winter coat of hair, and reduce their metabolism as they have for thousands of years. It is biologically reasonable for deer to

49、reduce their cost of living to increase their chance of surviving in winter. 1973-1974 年間，第一次出現(xiàn)“能源危機(jī)”的時(shí)候，我正與家人住在明尼蘇達(dá)州北部一處鹿群過(guò)冬地方的邊緣地帶。我們住在一個(gè)小屋里，觀察鹿的生活習(xí)性，觀察它們是如何隨著冬季來(lái)臨從夏秋的活動(dòng)頻繁狀態(tài)而變得少動(dòng)的，而到春暖雪融時(shí)，他們的活動(dòng)又是如何增多起來(lái)的。當(dāng)時(shí)廣播電臺(tái)常告誡我們:“沒(méi)有必要不開(kāi)車， ” “多穿衣服好保暖，并請(qǐng)調(diào)低鍋爐上的恒溫器。 ”這些話聽(tīng)起來(lái)既有趣又逗笑。因?yàn)榕c此同時(shí)，我們一直注視著鹿減少活動(dòng)，長(zhǎng)出越冬的厚毛，并減緩新陳代謝

50、。幾千年來(lái)，他們一貫如此。鹿減少生存所需的能耗以增加越冬生存的機(jī)會(huì)，從生物學(xué)角度來(lái)看是合情合理的。 Not every winter is critical for deer of course. If the winter has light snow, survival and productivity next spring will be high. But if deep snows come and the weather remains cold for several weeks, then the deer must spend more energy to move abo

51、ut, food will be harder to find, and they must then depend more on their fat reserves to pull them through. If such conditions go on for too long some will die, and only the largest and strongest are likely to survive. That is a fundamental rule of life for wild, free wandering animal such as deer.

52、當(dāng)然，對(duì)鹿來(lái)講，并非每個(gè)冬天都處于危難之中。如果冬天雪下得少，存活率和次年春天的繁殖力就高。但如果雪積得深，天氣連續(xù)數(shù)周寒冷，鹿活動(dòng)起來(lái)就得花費(fèi)較多的能量，覓食會(huì)更難，這時(shí)它們就得更多地依賴其脂肪儲(chǔ)備度過(guò)寒冬。如果這種情況持續(xù)太久，有些鹿就要死亡，只有體型最大最壯的，才有可能存活。對(duì)于像鹿這樣四處自由奔走的野生動(dòng)物來(lái)說(shuō)，這是一條根本的生存規(guī)律。 Yes, lifeand death, too - is a cycle that goes round and round, and when animals die their bodies become food for other life f

53、orms to use by converting them into energy. 的確，生命還有死亡周而復(fù)始，循環(huán)不已。當(dāng)動(dòng)物死亡的時(shí)候，他們的尸體轉(zhuǎn)化為能量，變成食物，供其他生命形式使用。And the cycle continues. 如此循環(huán)，永不止息。 Unit 3 Can you prove that the earth is round? Go ahead and try! Will you rely on your senses or will you have to draw on the opinions of experts? 你能證明地球是圓的嗎?來(lái)試試看吧！你將依

54、靠你自己的智力還是不得不引用專家的觀點(diǎn)呢? WHY DO WE BELIEVE THAT THE EARTH IS ROUND?我們?yōu)槭裁聪嘈诺厍蚴菆A的? George Orwell Somewhere or other I think it is in the preface to saint Joan Bernard Shaw remarks that we are more gullible and superstitious today than we were in the Middle Ages, and as an example of modern credulity he c

55、ites the widespread belief that the earth is round. The average man, says Shaw, can advance not a single reason for thinking that the earth is round. He merely swallows this theory because there is something about it that appeals to the twentieth-century mentality. 記得在什么地方我想是在圣女貞德序言中肖伯納評(píng)論說(shuō)，今天我們比在中世紀(jì)

56、時(shí)更加輕信，更加迷信。而作為現(xiàn)代輕信的例證，他舉出地圓說(shuō)這一廣為傳播的信念。肖伯納說(shuō)，普通人舉不出一條理由來(lái)說(shuō)明為什么相信地球是圓的。他全盤(pán)接受這一理論，只是因?yàn)檫@一理論中有一種迎合 20 世紀(jì)心態(tài)的東西。 Now, Shaw is exaggerating, but there is something in what he says, and the question is worth following up, for the sake of the light it throws on modern knowledge. Just why do we believe that the

57、earth is round? I am not speaking of the few thousand astronomers, geographers and so forth who could give ocular proof, or have a theoretical knowledge of the proof, but of the ordinary newspaper-reading citizen, such as you or me. 當(dāng)然，肖伯納是夸大其詞了，但他說(shuō)的也確實(shí)有些道理，這一問(wèn)題值得進(jìn)一步探討，因?yàn)樗鼤?huì)幫助人們看清現(xiàn)代知識(shí)的真實(shí)情況。我們究竟為什么會(huì)相信

58、地球是圓的呢?我說(shuō)的不是數(shù)千位天文學(xué)家、地理學(xué)家之類的人，他們可以用觀察到的事實(shí)或用理論上的根據(jù)來(lái)證實(shí)這一點(diǎn)，我指的是如同你我之輩的報(bào)紙的普通讀者。 As for the Flat Earth theory, I believe I could refute it. If you stand by the seashore on a clear day, you can see the masts and funnels of invisible ships passing along the horizon. This phenomenon can only be explained by

59、assuming that the earths surface is curved. But it does not follow that the earth is spherical. Imagine another theory called the Oval Earth theory, which claims that the earth is shaped like an egg. What can I say against it? 至于“地平說(shuō)” ，我相信我能夠加以駁斥。如果你在天氣晴朗的日子站立海邊，你可以看到船桅和煙囪沿著地平線移動(dòng)而不見(jiàn)船體本身。只有假設(shè)地球表面呈曲線狀

60、，這一現(xiàn)象才能得到解釋。但不能由此推斷地球是球形的。設(shè)想另一個(gè)稱做“地球卵形說(shuō)”的理論吧，這一學(xué)說(shuō)聲稱地球形如蛋狀。對(duì)此，我能說(shuō)什么加以反駁呢? Against the Oval Earth man, the first card I can play is the analogy of the sun and moon. The Oval Earth man promptly answers that I dont know, by my own observation, that those bodies are spherical. I only know that they are r