大學(xué)英語精讀第三版第四冊課文及課文翻譯

大學(xué)英語精讀第三版第四冊課文及課文翻譯Unit1TextTwocollege-ageboys,unawarethatmakingmoneyusuallyinvolveshardwork,aretemptedbyanadvertisementthatpromisesthemaneasywaytoearnalotofmoney.Theboyssoonlearnthatifsomethingseemstogoodtobetrue,itprobablyis.BIGBUCKSTHEEASYWAYJohnG.Hubbell"Yououghttolookintothis,"Isuggestedtoourtwocollege-agesons."Itmightbeawaytoavoidtheindignityofhavingtoaskformoneyallthetime."Ihandedthemsomemagazinesinaplasticbagsomeonebadhungonourdoorknob.Amessageprintedonthebagofferedleisurely,lucrativework("BigBuckstheEasyWay!")ofdeliveringmoresuchbags."Idon'tmindtheindignity,"theolderoneanswered."Icanlivewithit,"hisbrotheragreed."Butitpainsme,"Isaid，"tofindthatyoubothhavebeenpanhandlingsolongthatitnolongerembarrassesyou."Theboyssaidtheywouldlookintothemagazine-deliverything.Pleased,Ilefttownonabusinesstrip.BymidnightIwascomfortablysettledinahotelroomfarfromhome.Thephonerang.Itwasmywife.Shewantedtoknowhowmydayhadgone."Great!"Ienthused."Howwasyourday?"Iinquired."Super!"Shesnapped."Justsuper!Andit'sonlygettingstarted.Anothertruckjustpulledupoutfront.""Anothertruck?""Thethirdonethisevening.ThefirstdeliveredfourthousandMontgomeryWards.ThesecondbroughtfourthousandSears,Roebucks.Idon'tknowwhatthisonehas,butI'msureitwillbefourthousandofsomething.Sinceyouareresponsible,Ithoughtyoumightliketoknowwhat'shappening.WhatIwasbeingblamedfor,itturnedout,wasanewspaperstrikewhichmadeitnecessarytohand-delivertheadvertisinginsertsthatnormallyareincludedwiththeSundaypaper.Thecompanyhadpromisedourboys$600fordeliveringtheseinsertsto4,000housesbySundaymorning."Pieceofcake!"ouroldercollegesonhadshouted."Sixhundredbucks!"Hisbrotherhadechoed,"Andwecandothejobintwohours!""BoththeSearsandWardadsarefournewspaper-sizepages,"mywifeinformedme."Therearethirty-twothousandpagesofadvertisingonourporch.Evenaswespeak,twobigguysarecarryingarmloadsofpaperupthewalk.Whatdowedoaboutallthis?""Justtelltheboystogetbusy,"Iinstructed."They'recollegemen.They'lldowhattheyhavetodo."AtnoonthefollowingdayIreturnedtothehotelandfoundanurgentmessagetotelephonemywife.Hervoicewasunnaturallyhighandquavering.Therehadbeenseveralmoretruckloadsofadinserts."They'refordepartmentstores,dimestores,drugstores,grocerystores,autostoresandsoon.Somearewholemagazinesections.Wehavehundredsofthousands,maybemillions,ofpagesofadvertisinghere!Theyarecrammedwall-to-wallallthroughthehouseinstackstallerthanyouroldestson.There'sonlyenoughroomforpeopletowalkin,takeoneeachoftheeleveninserts,rollthemtogether,sliparubberbandaroundthemandslidethemintoaplasticbag.WehaveenoughplasticbagstosupplyeverytakeoutrestaurantinAmerica!"Hervoicekeptrising,asifworkingitswayoutoftherangeofthehumanear."Allthismustbedeliveredbyseveno'clockSundaymorning.""Well,youhadbettergetthoseguysbandingandslidingasfastastheycan,andI'lltalktoyoulater.Gotalunchdate.WhenIreturned,therewasanotherurgentcallfrommywife."Didyouhaveanicelunch?"sheaskedsweetly.Ihadhadamarveloussteak,butknewbetterbynowthantosayso."Awful,"Ireported."Somesortofsourfish.Eel,Ithink.""Good.Yourcollegesonshavehiredtheiryoungerbrothersandsistersandacoupleofneighborhoodchildrentohelpforfivedollarseach.Assemblylineshavebeensetup.Inthelanguageofdiplomacy,thereis'movement.'""That'sencouraging.""No,it'snot,"shecorrected."It'sverydiscouraging.They'rebeenasitforhours.Plasticbagshavebeenfilledandpiledtotheceiling,butallthishasn'tmadeadent,notadent,inthesituation!It'salmostasiftheinsertskeepreproducingthemselves!""Anotherthing,"shecontinued."Yourcollegesonsmustlearnthatonedoesnotgetthebestoutofemployeesbythreateningthemwithbodilyharm.ObtaininganaudiencewithsonNO.1,Isnarled,"I'llkillyouifthreatenoneofthosekidsagain!Idiot!Youshouldbeofferingabonusofadollareveryhourtotheworkerwhofillsthemostbags."Butthatwouldcutintoourprofit,"hesuggested."Therewon'tbeanyprofitunlessthosekidsenableyoutomakeallthedeliveriesontime.Iftheydon't,youtwowillhavetoremoveallthatpaperbyyourselves.Andtherewillbenoeatingorsleepinguntilitisremoved."Therewasashort,thoughtfulsilence.Thenhesaid,"Dad,youhavejustworkedaprofoundchangeinmypersonality.""Doit!""Yes,sir!"Bythefollowingevening,therewasmuchformywifetoreport.Thebonusprogramhadworkeduntilsomeonedemandedtoseethecolorofcash.Thensomeactivistontheworkforceclaimedthattheworkershadnobusinesssettlingfor$5andafewcompetitivebonuseswhilethebossedcollectedhundredsofdollarseach.Theorganizerhaddeclaredthatalltheworkerswereentitledto$5perhour!Theywouldnotworkanotherminuteuntilthebossesagreed.Thestrikelastedlessthantwohours.Inmediation,thepartiesagreedon$2perhour.Gradually,thehugestacksbegantoshrink.Asitturnedout,thejobwascompletedthreehoursbeforeSunday's7a.m.deadline.BythetimeIarrivedhome,theboyshadalreadysettledtheiraccounts:$150inlaborcosts,$40forgasoline,andalikeamountforgifts—boxesofcandyforsaintlyneighborswhohadvolunteeredstationwagonsandhelpindeliveryanddozenrosesfortheirmother.Thisleftthemwith$185each—abouttwo-thirdstheminimumwageforthe91hourstheyworked.Still,itwas"enough",asoneofthemputit,toenablethemto"avoidindignity"forquiteawhile.Allwentwellforsomeweeks.ThenoneSaturdaymorningmyattentionwasdrawntotheoddgoings-onofourtwoyoungestsons.Theykeptcarryingcartonaftercartonfromvariouscornersofthehouseoutthefrontdoortocurbside.Iassumedtheirmotherhadenlistedthemtoremovejunkforatrashpickup.ThenIoverheardthemdiscussingfinances."Geez,we'regoingtomakealotofmoney!""We'regoingtoberich!"Investigationrevealedthattheywereoffering"forsaleorrent"ourentirelibrary."No!No!"Icried."Youcan'tsellourbooks!""Geez,Dad,wethoughtyouweredonewiththem!""You'renever'done'withbooks,"Itriedtoexplain."Sureyouare.Youreadthem,andyou'redonewiththem.That'sit.Thenyoumightaswellmakealittlemoneyfromthem.Wewantedtoavoidtheindignityofhavingtoaskyoufor……"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，如果事情看起來好得不像真的，那多半確實(shí)不是真的。 輕輕松松賺大錢“你們該看看這個(gè)，〞我向我們的兩個(gè)讀大學(xué)的兒子建議道?！澳銈兗僭O(shè)想防止因?yàn)槔鲜窍蛉擞戝X而有失尊嚴(yán)的話，這興許是一種方法。〞我將掛在我們門把手上的、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，需要招聘人投遞這樣的袋子，這活兒既輕松又賺錢?！病拜p輕松松賺大錢!〞〕“我不在乎失不失尊嚴(yán)，〞大兒子答復(fù)說?！拔铱梢匀淌?，〞他的弟弟附和道?！翱吹侥銈儌z伸手討錢討慣了一點(diǎn)也不感到為難的樣子，真使我痛心，〞我說。孩子們說他們可以考慮考慮投遞雜志的事。我聽了很快樂，便離城出差去了。午夜時(shí)分，我已遠(yuǎn)離家門，在一家旅館的房間里舒舒服服住了下來。鈴響了，是妻子打來的。她想知道我這一天過得可好?！昂脴O了!〞我興高采烈地說?！澳氵^得怎么樣?〞我問道。“棒極了!〞她大聲挖苦道。“真棒!而且這還僅僅是個(gè)開始。又一輛卡車剛在門前停下。〞“又一輛卡車?〞“今晚第三輛了。第一輛運(yùn)來了四千份蒙哥馬利-沃德百貨公司的廣告；第二輛運(yùn)來四千份西爾斯-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)展。〞我之所以受到指責(zé)，事情原來是這樣：由于發(fā)生了一起報(bào)業(yè)工人罷工，通常夾在星期日報(bào)紙里的廣告插頁，必須派人直接投送出去。公司容許給我們的孩子六百美金，任務(wù)是將這些廣告插頁在星期天早晨之前投遞到四千戶人家去。“不費(fèi)吹灰之力!〞我們上大學(xué)的大兒子嚷道?！傲賶K!〞他的弟弟應(yīng)聲道，“我們兩個(gè)鐘點(diǎn)就能干完!〞“西爾斯和沃德的廣告通常都是報(bào)紙那么大的四頁，〞妻子告訴我說，“現(xiàn)在我們門廊上堆著三萬二千頁廣告。就在我們說話的當(dāng)兒，兩個(gè)大個(gè)子正各抱著一大捆廣告走過來。這么多廣告，我們可怎么辦?〞“你讓孩子們快干，〞我指示說?！八麄兌际谴髮W(xué)生了。他們自己的事得由他們自己去做。〞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。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?！坝邪儇浌镜?，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)十萬頁，說不定是幾百萬頁的廣告!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給全美所有的外賣餐廳!〞她越講聲音越響，幾乎震耳欲聾?！斑@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。〞“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)。〞我餐后回來，妻子又打來一只緊急?！澳阄绮统缘貌诲e(cuò)吧?〞她用悅耳的聲音問道。我吃的牛排好極了，但這次我學(xué)乖了，還是不說為妙?！霸阃噶?，〞我報(bào)告說?！耙环N什么酸溜溜的魚，我想大概是鰻鱺吧。〞“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)鄰居的小孩幫助，工錢一人五塊，建起了流水作業(yè)線。用外交術(shù)語來說，事情‘有進(jìn)展’。〞“這確實(shí)令人鼓舞。〞“不，并非如此，〞她糾正說?！跋喾?，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。這些廣告宣傳品簡直就像是不停地自行生產(chǎn)出來一樣!〞“還有一件事，〞她接著說，“你那上大學(xué)的兒子必須明白，威脅雇員，說要揍他們，是不可能使他們賣力的。〞我跟大兒子一通上話，便咆哮道，“你如果再威脅那些孩子，我就對你不客氣了!白癡!你應(yīng)該給獎(jiǎng)金，對裝袋最多的工人每小時(shí)獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)一塊。〞“可那要減少我們的利潤啦，〞他提醒道。“那些孩子不幫你按時(shí)將所有的廣告投送出去，你就什么利潤也得不到。如果他們不干，你們倆就得親手搬走所有的廣告。而在把它們搬掉之前，你們吃不成，也睡不成。〞里出現(xiàn)了短暫的沉默，他在思考。接著，他說，“爸爸，你剛剛使我深受啟迪，令我恍然大悟。〞“那就干吧!〞“是，閣下!〞到第二天黃昏，我妻子就有許多事報(bào)告了。獎(jiǎng)金方案行之有效，可后來有人對能否兌現(xiàn)表示疑心，提出把錢拿出來給大家看看。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，工人們決沒有理由滿足于每人五塊外加一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)競爭性的獎(jiǎng)金。勞工組織人宣布，所有工人的工資都應(yīng)該到達(dá)每小時(shí)五塊錢!在老板容許之前，他們不再干活兒，一分鐘也不干。罷工持續(xù)了不到兩小時(shí)。通過調(diào)解，雙方達(dá)成協(xié)議，每小時(shí)兩塊。漸漸地，大堆的廣告開始減少。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，送給樂于助人的鄰居，他們主動(dòng)開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，可正如一個(gè)兒子所說，那還是“足夠〞他們花一陣子，使他們“防止那種有失尊嚴(yán)的事。〞幾個(gè)星期過去了，一切都很好。后來，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)過前門，送到人行道邊。我以為他們的媽媽在指揮他們?nèi)コ茽€，好讓垃圾車運(yùn)走呢。正在這時(shí)，我聽到他們在議論經(jīng)濟(jì)問題。“喲，我們會(huì)賺許多錢呢!〞“我們要發(fā)財(cái)啦!〞經(jīng)查問發(fā)現(xiàn)，他們正在把我們的全部圖書“出售或出租〞?！安怀?不成!〞我叫道?！安荒馨盐覀兊臅u了!〞哎唷，爸，我們以為你用不著它們了呢!〞“書永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)'用'不著的，〞我盡力解釋道?！澳憧隙ㄓ貌恢恕Ｄ愣伎催^了，再也不用了。沒有錯(cuò)。既然不用，還不如賣點(diǎn)錢。我們想防止那種有失尊嚴(yán)的事，不再伸手向你要……〞Unit2TextIsthereanythingwecanlearnfromdeer?Duringthe"energycrisis"of1973-1974thewriterofthisessaywaslivinginnorthernMinnesotaandwasabletoobservehowdeersurvivewhenwinterarrives.Thelessonshelearnsabouthewaydeerconserveenergyturnoutapplicabletooureverydaylife.DEERANDTHEENERGYCYCLESomepersonssaythatlovemakestheworldgoround.Othersofalessromanticandmorepracticalturnofmindsaythatitisn'tlove;it'smoney.Butthetruthisthatitisenergythatmakestheworldgoround.Energyisthecurrencyoftheecologicalsystemandlifebecomespossibleonlywhenfoodisconvertedintoenergy,whichinturnisusedtoseekmorefoodtogrow,toreproduceandtosurvive.Onthiscyclealllifedepends.Itisfairlywellknownthatwildanimalssurvivefromyeartoyearbyeatingasmuchastheycanduringtimesofplenty,thesummerandfall,storingtheexcess,usuallyintheformoffat,andthenusingthesereservesoffattosurviveduringthehardtimesinwinterwhenfoodisscarce.Butitisprobablylesswellknownthatevenwiththeirstoredfat,wildanimalsspendlessenergytoliveinwinterthaninsummer.Agoodcaseinpointisthewhiter-taileddeer.Likemostwildlife,deerreproduce,grow,andstorefatinthesummerandfallwhenthereisplentyofnutritiousfoodavailable.Aphysicallymaturefemaledeeringoodconditionwhohasconceived懷孕inNovemberandgivenbirthtotwofawnsduringtheendofMayorfirstpartofJune,mustsearchforfoodforthenecessaryenergynotonlytomeetherbody'sneedsbutalsotoproducemilkforherfawns.Thebestmilkproductionoccursatthesametimethatnewplantgrowthisavailable.Thisisgoodtiming,becausemilkproductionisanenergyconsumingprocess—itrequiresalotoffood.Thecostcannotbemetunlesstheregionhasamplefoodresources.Asthesummerprogressesandthefawnsgrow,theybecomelessdependentontheirmother'smilkandmoredependentongrowingplantsasfoodsources.Theadultmalesspendthesummergrowingantlersandgettingfat.Bothmalesandfemalescontinuetoeathighqualityfoodinthefallinordertodepositbodyfatforthewinter.Inthecaseofdoesandfawns,agreatdealofenergyisexpendedeitherinmilkproductionoringrowing,andfatisnotaccumulatedasquicklyasitisinfullgrownmales.Fatreservesarelikebankaccountstobedrawnoninthewinterwhenfoodsuppliesarelimitedandsometimesdifficulttoreachbecauseofdeepsnow.Asfallturnsintowinter,otherchangestakeplace.Fawnslosetheirspottedcoat.Haironallthedeerbecomesdarkerandthicker.ThechangeinthehaircoatsisusuallycompletebySeptemberandmaximumhairdepthsarereachedbyNovemberorDecemberwhentheweatherbecomescold.Butinaddition,natureprovidesafurthersafeguardtohelpdeersurvivethewinter—aninternalphysiologicalresponsewhichlowerstheirmetabolism,orrateofbodilyfunctioning,andhenceslowsdowntheirexpenditureofenergy.Thedeerbecomesomewhatslowanddrowsy.Theheartratedrops.Animalsthathibernatepracticeenergyconservationtoagreaterextremethandeerdo.Althoughdeerdon'thibernate,theydothesamethingwiththeirseasonalrhythmsinmetabolism.Deerspendmoreenergyandstorefatinthesummerandfallwhenfoodisabundant,andspendlessenergyandusestoredfatinthewinterwhenfoodislessavailable.Whenthe"energycrisis"firstcamein1973-1974,IwaslivingwithmyfamilyinacabinontheedgeofanareawheredeerspendthewinterinnorthernMinnesota,observingthedeerastheirbehaviorchangedfrommoreactivityinsummerandfalltolessaswinterprogressed,followedbyanincreaseagaininthespringasthesnowmelted.Itwasinterestingandratheramusingtolistentotheadvicegivenontheradio:"Driveonlywhennecessary,"weweretold."Putonmoreclothestostaywarm,andturnthethermostatonyourfurnacedown."Meanwhilewewatchedthedeerreducetheiractivity,growawintercoatofhair,andreducetheirmetabolismastheyhaveforthousandsofyears.Itisbiologicallyreasonablefordeertoreducetheircostoflivingtoincreasetheirchanceofsurvivinginwinter.Noteverywinteriscriticalfordeerofcourse.Ifthewinterhaslightsnow,survivalandproductivitynextspringwillbehigh.Butifdeepsnowscomeandtheweatherremainscoldforseveralweeks,thenthedeermustspendmoreenergytomoveabout,foodwillbehardertofind,andtheymustthendependmoreontheirfatreservestopullthemthrough.Ifsuchconditionsgoonfortoolongsomewilldie,andonlythelargestandstrongestarelikelytosurvive.Thatisafundamentalruleoflifeforwild,freewanderinganimalsuchasdeer.Yes,life—anddeath,too--isacyclethatgoesroundandround,andwhenanimalsdietheirbodiesbecomefoodforotherlifeformstousebyconvertingthemintoenergy.Andthecyclecontinues.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。鹿和能量循環(huán)有些人說，愛情驅(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)際的人那么說，不是愛情，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?，能量再用來獲取更多的食物以供生長、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。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旺季盡量多吃，通常將多余的局部以脂肪的形式儲(chǔ)存起來，然后到了冬天食物稀少的艱難時(shí)期，就用這些儲(chǔ)藏的脂肪來維持生命。然而，很可能鮮為人知的是，即使有儲(chǔ)藏的脂肪，野生動(dòng)物在冬天消耗的能量比夏天要少。一個(gè)很好的例證是白尾鹿。與大多數(shù)野生動(dòng)物一樣，鹿在營養(yǎng)豐富、食物充足的夏秋兩季，繁殖、生長并儲(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)乳的最正確期也正是植物生長茂盛之時(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，否那么無法滿足這種消耗。夏季一天天過去，幼鹿日漸生長，它們變得較少依賴母鹿的乳汁，而更加依靠生長中的植物為其食物來源。雄性成鹿在夏天生長鹿角并養(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，以備過冬。至于雌鹿和幼鹿，由于大量的能量用于產(chǎn)奶或生長，脂肪的積累速度不如完全成熟的雄鹿快。脂肪儲(chǔ)藏如同銀行里的存款，供冬天食物來源缺乏時(shí)和有時(shí)由于雪深難以獲得時(shí)，支取使用。隨著秋去冬來，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)，毛長得最厚。此外，大自然還為鹿提供進(jìn)一步的保護(hù)以幫助它們度過冬天——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)作緩慢、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)性那么是一樣的。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)，它們那么消耗較少的能量并使用儲(chǔ)存的脂肪。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)又是如何增多起來的。當(dāng)時(shí)播送電臺(tái)常告誡我們:“沒有必要不開車，〞“多穿衣服好保暖，并請調(diào)低鍋爐上的恒溫器。〞這些話聽起來既有趣又逗笑。因?yàn)榕c此同時(shí)，我們一直注視著鹿減少活動(dòng)，長出越冬的厚毛，并減緩新陳代謝。幾千年來，他們一貫如此。鹿減少生存所需的能耗以增加越冬生存的時(shí)機(jī)，從生物學(xué)角度來看是合情合理的。當(dāng)然，對鹿來講，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)藏度過寒冬。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。對于像鹿這樣四處自由奔波的野生動(dòng)物來說，這是一條根本的生存規(guī)律。確實(shí)，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。如此循環(huán)，永不止息。Unit3TextCanyouprovethattheearthisround?Goaheadandtry!Willyourelyonyoursensesorwillyouhavetodrawontheopinionsofexperts?WHYDOWEBELIEVETHATTHEEARTHISROUND?GeorgeOrwellSomewhereorother—IthinkitisintheprefacetosaintJoan—BernardShawremarksthatwearemoregullibleandsuperstitioustodaythanwewereintheMiddleAges,andasanexampleofmoderncredulityhecitesthewidespreadbeliefthattheearthisround.Theaverageman,saysShaw,canadvancenotasinglereasonforthinkingthattheearthisround.Hemerelyswallowsthistheorybecausethereissomethingaboutitthatappealstothetwentieth-centurymentality.Now,Shawisexaggerating,butthereissomethinginwhathesays,andthequestionisworthfollowingup,forthesakeofthelightitthrowsonmodernknowledge.Justwhydowebelievethattheearthisround?Iamnotspeakingofthefewthousandastronomers,geographersandsoforthwhocouldgiveocularproof,orhaveatheoreticalknowledgeoftheproof,butoftheordinarynewspaper-readingcitizen,suchasyouorme.AsfortheFlatEarththeory,IbelieveIcouldrefuteit.Ifyoustandbytheseashoreonaclearday,youcanseethemastsandfunnelsofinvisibleshipspassingalongthehorizon.Thisphenomenoncanonlybeexplainedbyassumingthattheearth'ssurfaceiscurved.Butitdoesnotfollowthattheearthisspherical.ImagineanothertheorycalledtheOvalEarththeory,whichclaimsthattheearthisshapedlikeanegg.WhatcanIsayagainstit?AgainsttheOvalEarthman,thefirstcardIcanplayistheanalogyofthesunandmoon.TheOvalEarthmanpromptlyanswersthatIdon'tknow,bymyownobservation,thatthosebodiesarespherical.Ionlyknowthattheyareround,andtheymayperfectlywellbeflatdiscs.Ihavenoanswertothatone.Besides,hegoeson,whatreasonhaveIforthinkingthattheearthmustbethesameshapeasthesunandmoon?Ican'tanswerthatoneeither.Mysecondcardistheearth'sshadow:Whencastonthemoonduringeclipses,itappearstobetheshadowofaroundobject.ButhowdoIknow,demandstheOvalEarthman,thateclipsesofthemoonarecausedbytheshadowoftheearth?TheansweristhatIdon'tknow,buthavetakenthispieceofinformationblindlyfromnewspaperarticlesandsciencebooklets.Defeatedintheminorexchanges,Inowplaymyqueenoftrumps:theopinionoftheexperts.TheAstronomerRoyal,whooughttoknow,tellsmethattheearthisround.TheOvalEarthmancoversthequeenwithhisking.HaveItestedtheAstronomerRoyal'sstatement,andwouldIevenknowawayoftestingit?HereIbringoutmyace.Yes,Idoknowonetest.Theastronomerscanforetelleclipses,andthissuggeststhattheiropinionsaboutthesolarsystemareprettysound.Iam,tomydelight,justifiedinacceptingtheirsay-soabouttheshapeoftheearth.IftheOvalEarthmananswers—whatIbelieveistrue—thattheancientEgyptians,whothoughtthesungoesroundtheearth,couldalsopredicteclipses,thenbanggoesmyace.Ihaveonlyonecardleft:navigation.Peoplecansailshiproundtheworld,andreachtheplacestheyaimat,bycalculationswhichassumethattheearthisspherical.IbelievethatfinishestheOvalEarthman,thougheventhenhemaypossiblyhavesomekindofcounter.Itwillbeseenthatmyreasonsforthinkingthattheearthisroundareratherprecariousones.Yetthisisanexceptionallyelementarypieceofinformation.OnmostotherquestionsIshouldhavetofallbackontheexpertmuchearlier,andwouldbelessabletotesthispronouncements.Andmuchthegreaterpartofourknowledgeisatthislevel.Itdoesnotrestonreasoningoronexperiment,butonauthority.Andhowcanitbeotherwise,whentherangeofknowledgeissovastthattheexperthimselfisanignoramusassoonashestraysawayfromhisownspecialty?Mostpeople,ifaskedtoprovethattheearthisround,wouldnotevenbothertoproducetheratherweakargumentsIhaveoutlinedabove.Theywouldstartoffbysayingthat"everyoneknows"theearthtoberound,andifpressedfurther,wouldbecomeangry.InawayShawisright.Thisisacredulousage,andtheburdenofknowledgewhichwenowhavetocarryispartlyresponsible.你能證明地球是圓的嗎?來試試看吧！你將依靠你自己的智力還是不得不引用專家的觀點(diǎn)呢?我們?yōu)槭裁聪嘈诺厍蚴菆A的?記得在什么地方——我想是在《圣女貞德》序言中——肖伯納評論說，今天我們比在中世紀(jì)時(shí)更加輕信，更加迷信。而作為現(xiàn)代輕信的例證，他舉出地圓說這一廣為傳播的信念。肖伯納說，普通人舉不出一條理由來說明為什么相信地球是圓的。他全盤接受這一理論，只是因?yàn)檫@一理論中有一種迎合20世紀(jì)心態(tài)的東西。當(dāng)然，肖伯納是夸大其詞了，但他說的也確實(shí)有些道理，這一問題值得進(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)相信地球是圓的呢?我說的不是數(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。至于“地平說〞，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)而不見船體本身。只有假設(shè)地球外表呈曲線狀，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〞的理論吧，這一學(xué)說聲稱地球形如蛋狀。對此，我能說什么加以反駁呢?面對“地球卵形說〞者，我能打的第一張牌是，可以根據(jù)太陽和月亮來類推?！暗厍蚵研握f〞者立即回敬道，我無法根據(jù)自己的觀察得知那些天體是球形的。我只能得知他們是圓的，而它們完全可能呈扁平的圓盤狀。我對此無言以答。此外，他還會(huì)說，我憑什么理由認(rèn)為地球一定與太陽和月亮的形狀相同?對此，我同樣無法解答。我的第二張牌是地球的影子:月食期間，地球投在月亮上的影子看上去呈圓形物體狀。但“地球卵形說〞者馬上要問，我怎么知道月食是由地球的影子造成的呢?答復(fù)是，我并不知道，我只是照搬報(bào)刊文章和科普小冊子上的說法而已。小小交鋒受挫，于是我打出一張王牌“Q〞:專家的看法。英國格林威治皇家天文臺(tái)臺(tái)長總該是權(quán)威了，他告訴我說地球是圓的?！暗厍蚵研握f〞者用他的“K〞牌壓倒我的“Q〞牌。天文臺(tái)臺(tái)長的話我檢驗(yàn)過沒有?再說，我知道怎么個(gè)檢驗(yàn)法嗎?這時(shí)候，我打出我的“愛司〞。是的，我確實(shí)知道一個(gè)檢驗(yàn)方法。天文學(xué)家能預(yù)報(bào)月食，這一點(diǎn)說明他們關(guān)于太陽系的看法是非?？尚诺?。因此，令我快樂的是，我接受他們關(guān)于地球形狀的論斷是有道理的。如果“地球卵形說〞者反駁道——我以為他反駁得有理——認(rèn)為太陽繞地球轉(zhuǎn)的古代埃及人也能預(yù)言月食，那我的“愛司〞牌便立刻化為烏有。我只剩下一張牌:航海。人們可以揚(yáng)帆繞地球航行而到達(dá)他們的目的地，其航程的計(jì)算，就是以地球是球形的假定為依據(jù)的。我相信這一下可以徹底擊敗“地球卵形說〞者了。不過即便如此，他還可能有某種回?fù)舻姆椒?。由此可見，我認(rèn)為地球是圓的，其根據(jù)是相當(dāng)不牢靠的。然而這卻是一點(diǎn)極其根本的知識(shí)。在別的大多數(shù)問題上，我只得更早地依賴專家的理論，且更少有方法檢驗(yàn)他的結(jié)論了。我們的知識(shí)，其絕大局部都停留在這一水平上。它不是依靠推理或?qū)嶒?yàn)，而是依賴權(quán)威?？墒?，不這樣，又有什么別的法子呢?知識(shí)的范圍如此廣博，一旦越出其專業(yè)范圍，專家也會(huì)變成一無所知。對大多數(shù)人來說，如果要他們證明地球是圓的話，就連我上面概述的這些相當(dāng)無力的論據(jù)，他們也不愿提供出來。他們一開始就會(huì)說:誰都知道地球是圓的。要是再加追問，就會(huì)生氣了。在某種程度上講，肖伯納是說對了，如今是一個(gè)輕信的時(shí)代。究其緣由，局部在于，我們現(xiàn)今必須掌握的知識(shí)實(shí)在太多了。Unit4TextOnSeptember11,2001,aseriesofsuicideattacksontheUnitedStatestookplace.ForeignhijackerstookcontroloffourU.S.airliners.TwowerecrashedintotheWorldTradeCenter.ThethirdaircraftwascrashedintothePentagon.Thefourth,intended,itisthought,foranothergovernmenttarget,crashedintoafield,apparentlyafterpassengerresistance.ThisisthestoryofoneofthosepassengersFlight93:WhatIneverknowSunday,September9,2001,wasagooddayforthethreeofus.Emmywasjust11weeksoldandwewereenjoyingherenormously.Afterthreemiscarriagesintwoyears,shewasdoublyprecioustous.Myhusband,Jeremy,whowasthinkingofchangingjobs,hadgoneontwointerviewsandfelttheywentwell.SinceSundaywasrainy,wejustlayaroundourhouseinnorthernNewJersey.Welaughedalot,andwatchedEmmy,andthenwenttobedearly.Thenextday,September10,wasbusy,withJeremyduetoflyfromNewarktoCaliforniaonbusiness.IwouldtakeEmmyuptomyparents’houseinWindham,NewYork,andhecouldmeetustherewhenhereturned.ForsomereasonheparticularlywantedtotakecareofEmmythatmorning.Sohefedherandbathedanddressedher.Hepackedupbothourcars,madesureEmmywastuckedintohercarseat,andkissedher.Thenhestoodwavingaswedroveoff.WhenIgottoWindham,Jeremycalled.HisflighttoSanFranciscohadbeencanceled.Hedidn’twanttotakethenextavailableflightandgetinat2a.m.“Screwit，〞hesaid.“I’mgoingtogohome,getagoodnight’ssleep,andgetupearlytomorrow.〞HewouldgrabthefirstflightoutofNewark.UnitedFlight93.Tuesdaymorningfoundmeinthekitchen,fumblingwiththelidofthedoughnutbox,whenIheardmyfathersaysomethingabouttheWorldTradeCenter.IlookedinthelivingroomattheTV,andsawtheimageofthefirepokingthroughtheblackenedholesinthetower’ssilverskin.Thephonerang,andmydadsaidintoit,“Oh,thankGodit’syou.〞Iranintothelivingroom.Heheldoutthephone,hisfacepale.“Jeremy,〞hesaid.Igrabbedthephone.“Jer〞Isaid.“Hi〞hesaid.“Listen，therearesomebadmenontheplane.〞“Whatdoyoumean?〞“Thesethreeguystookovertheplane.Theyputontheseredheadbands.Theysaidtheyhadabomb.〞Iwascryingnow.“Iloveyou,〞hesaid.“Iloveyou,〞Isaid.“onlyhavegoodthoughts〞Iwasshakingandnauseated,butIalsoknewIcouldmakemyselfdowhateverwasnecessarytohelpJeremy.“Idon’tthinkI’mgoingtomakeitoutofhere,〞hesaid.Andthen,“Idon’twanttodie.〞Andhecursed.“You’renotgoingtodie,〞Itoldhim.“Jer,putapictureofmeandEmmyinyourheadandonlyhavereallygoodthoughts.〞“Yeah,〞heanswered.“Don’tthinkaboutanythingbad,〞Isaid.“You’vegottopromisemeyou’regoingtobehappy,〞hesaid.“ForEmmytoknowhowmuchIloveher.Andthatwhateverdecisionsyoumakeinyourlife,nomatterwhat,I’llsupportyou.〞Afterapause,Jeremysaidtome,“Apassengersaidthey’recrashingplanesintotheWorldTradeCenter.Isthattrue?〞“Aretheygoingtoblowtheplaneuporaretheygoingtocrashitintosomething?〞healmostscreamedatme.“They’renotgoingtotheWorldTradeCenter,〞Isaid.“Becausethewholething’sonfire.〞Hesaidthereweremaybe30or35passengers,herdedtotheback.Forsomereason,however,noonewasguardingthembackthere.“Whataboutthepilots?〞Iaskedhim.“Hastherebeenanycommunication?〞“No.Theseguysjuststoodupandyelledandranintothecockpit.Afterthat,wedidn’thearfromthepilots.〞Justthen,wesawsomethingonTVaboutaplanecrashingintothePentagon,andIthought,thankGoditisn’tJeremy’splane.WhenItoldhimaboutthisnewattack,Jeremycursedagain.ThePentagonwasprobablythejoltthatmadehimseeclearlythathisfateandthatofhisfellowpassengersintherearoftheplanewerecompletelyintheirownhands.“Okay,I’mgoingtotakeavote,〞hesaid.“There’sthreeotherguysasbigasmeandwe’rethinkingofattackingtheguywiththebomb.Whatdoyouthink?〞“No,Ididn’tseeguns.Isawknives.〞Hejoked,“Istillhavemybutterknifefrombreakfast.〞Therewasapause,andthenhesaid,“IknowIcouldtaketheguywiththebomb.Doyouthinkit’sreallyabomb?〞Idon’tthinkso.Ithinkthey’rebluffingyou.〞“Okay,I’mgoingtodoit,〞Jersaid“screamsinthebackground〞“Ithinkyouneedtodoit,〞Itoldhim.“You’restrong,you’rebrave,Iloveyou.〞“Okay,I’mgoingtoputthephonedown,I’mgoingtoleaveithere,andI’mgoingtocomerightbacktoit,〞Whenmyfatherputthephonetohisear,heheardnothingonthelinefortwoorthreeminutes.Thenheheardscreamsoffinthebackground.Andhethought,They’redoingit.Itwasboundtobenoisy.Perhapsaminuteandahalflater,therewasanothersetofscreams,muffled,likepeopleonarollercoaster.ThensilenceIsatonthelivingroomcouchandallmyenergyseemedtohavedesertedme.Afterawhile,Igotupandheadedforthekitchenandalmostcollidedwithmydad,whowascomingtheo