英译汉练习短文6篇

第一篇：英译汉练习短文6篇

·英译汉练习短文6篇·

Passage 1 Satiric Literature1

Perhaps the most striking quality of satiric literature is its freshness, its originality of perspective.Satire rarely offers original ideas.Instead, it presents the familiar in a new form.Satirists do not offer the world new philosophies.What they do is look at familiar conditions from a perspective that makes these conditions seem foolish, harmful, or affected.Satire jars us out of complacence into a pleasantly shocked realization that many of the values we unquestioningly accept are false.Don Quixote makes chivalry seem absurd;Brave New World ridicules the pretensions of science;A Modest Proposal dramatizes starvation by advocating cannibalism.None of these ideas is original.Chivalry was suspected before Cervantes2, humanists objected to the claims of pure science before Aldous Huxley3, and people were aware of famine before Swift4.It was not the originality of the idea that made these satires popular.It was the manner of expression，the satiric method, that made them interesting and entertaining.Satires are read because they are aesthetically satisfying works of art, not because they are morally wholesome or ethically instructive.They are stimulating and refreshing because with commonsense briskness5 they brush away illusions and secondhand opinions6.With spontaneous irreverence, satire rearranges perspectives, scrambles familiar objects into incongruous juxtaposition, and speaks in a personal idiom instead of abstract platitude.Satire exists because there is need for it.It has lived because readers appreciate a refreshing stimulus, an irreverent reminder that they live in a world of platitudinous thinking, cheap moralizing7, and foolish philosophy.Satire serves to prod people into an awareness of truth, though rarely to any action on behalf of truth.Satire tends to remind people that much of what they see, hear, and read in popular media is sanctimonious, sentimental, and only partially true.Life resembles in only a slight degree the popular image of it.Soldiers rarely hold the ideals that movies attribute to them, not do ordinary citizens devote their lives to unselfish service of humanity.Intelligent people know these things but tend to forget them when they do not hear them expressed8.Notes

1．这篇文章用词正式，句式严谨、周密、冗长，文风较为华丽。翻译时选词要正式，可多用四字结构和铺排形式。

2．Cervantes: 塞万提斯（1754-1616），西班牙伟大的作家、诗人、戏剧家。

3．Aldous Huxley:奥尔德斯·赫胥黎（1825-1895），英国生物学家，作家。

4．Swift: 斯威夫特（1667-1745），英国作家，擅长用讽刺和幽默揭露社会黑暗现象。

5．briskness：brisk意为keen or sharp in speech or manner。

6．secondhand opinions：不可翻译为“二手的观点”，应该是“人云亦云的的观点”。

7．cheap moralizing：这里cheap意思不是“便宜的”，而是vulgar, contemptible;moralizing不是“道德”，而是“说教”。

8．when they do not hear them expressed：当直译不方便时，我们可用视点转移法：但是当周围人不谈起时

Key 讽刺文学

或许讽刺文学最突出的特点是它耳目一新、视角独创。讽刺文学很少给人以原创的思想,但是它却将人们熟悉的事情以全新的形式展现出来。讽刺作家并不给人以新的哲学理念。他们所做的只是从某一视角来看待一些为人熟知的事情，在这一视角下，这些事情显得愚蠢不堪、充满危害而又矫揉造作。讽刺作品将我们从自鸣得意中震醒，让我们既愉快又惊诧地看到，我们从未质疑、全盘接受的价值观中，有很多都是错误的。《唐吉珂德》使得骑士精神显得荒谬可笑；《挑战新世界》嘲笑了科学的自诩；《一个小小的建议》则建议食用人肉，使饥饿问题戏剧化。这些思想中没有一条是原创的：在塞万提斯之前就有人怀疑骑士精神；在赫胥黎之前人文主义者就反对宣称纯科学的至高无上；在斯威夫特之前人们就已经意识到饥荒问题。并不是思想的独创而使得讽刺文学受人欢迎，而是它的表述方式、嘲讽方法使得它趣味横生、有娱乐性。人们阅读讽刺文学只是因为在美学上它是让人心满意足的艺术品，而不是因为它在道德上有益或伦理上的教益。它激人兴奋、爽人身心，因为它只是运用常理通识、辛言辣语，便将各种幻想和人云亦云的观点一扫而光。讽刺文学自心而来不拘谦恭，它重新调整视角，将熟悉的事物紊杂地放置在一起，用个性化的语言而不是抽象的陈词滥语表述出来。

讽刺作品之所以存在是因为人们需要它。它存续至今，是因为读者欣赏爽身怡心的刺激和不拘谦恭的告诫，它提醒读者，他们生活的世界里充满了陈腐的思想意识、低俗的道德说教和愚蠢的哲学理念。讽刺作品虽然很少代表真理促成行动，但它却能使人们感悟到真理。讽刺作品常常告诉人们，他们在大众媒体中所看到的、听到的、读到的大多是伪装善良、多愁善感或只有部分真实。生活只在很小的程度上与大众对它的印象相符。士兵们很少拥有电影赋予他们的理想，而普通老百姓也决不会把自己的生命无私地奉献给人道主义服务。聪明人知道这些事实，但是当周围人不谈起时，他们常常会忘记掉。

Passage 2 American Folk Art

What we today call American folk art was, art of, by, and for ordinary, everyday1 “folks” who, with increasing prosperity and leisure, created a market for art of all kinds, and especially for portraits.Citizens of prosperous, essentially middle-class republics—whether ancient Romans, seventeenth-century Dutch burghers, or nineteenth-century Americans—have always shown a marked taste for portraiture.Starting in the late eighteenth century, the United States contained increasing number of such people, and of the artists who could meet their demands.The earliest American folk art portraits come, not surprisingly, from New England — especially

Connecticut and Massachusetts—for this was a wealthy and populous region and the center of a strong craft tradition.Within a few decades after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the population was pushing westward, and the portrait painters could be found at work in western New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri.Midway through its first century2 as a nation, the United States’ population had increased roughly five times, and eleven new states had been added to original thirteen.During these years, the demand for portraits grew and grew, eventually to be satisfied by camera.In 1839 the daguerreotype was introduced to America, ushering in the age of photography, and within a generation the new invention put an end to the popularity of painted portraits.Once again an original portrait became a luxury, commissioned by the wealthy and executed by the professional.But in the heyday of portrait painting—from the late eighteenth century until the 1850’s — anyone with a modicum of artistic ability could become a limner, as such a portraitist3 was called.Local craftspeople—sign, coach, and house painters—began to paint portraits as a profitable sideline;sometimes a talented man or woman who began by sketching family members gained a local reputation and was besieged with requests for portraits;artists found it worth their while to pack their paints, canvasses, and brushes and to travel the countryside, often combining house decorating with portrait painting.Notes everyday: 意为commonplace, ordinary

midway through its first century: 美国独立后50年间

portraitist：译为“画师”，以和前面的limner（画家）相区别。

Key 美国民间艺术

我们所说的美国民间艺术是由普通百姓所拥有、创造并享受的艺术。随着财富和闲暇与日俱增，他们创造了各种艺术的市场，特别是肖像绘画。家境殷实的、主要是中产阶级的市民——不管他们是古罗马人，或是17世纪荷兰自治城市富裕居民，抑或是19世纪的美国人——都对肖像绘画艺术表现出突出的爱好。从18世纪晚期开始，美国这一群体的数量不断增加，而且满足画像要求的艺术家也不断地增加。

勿需惊奇，美国最早的民间艺术画像来自于新英格兰地区——特别是康涅狄格州和.麻萨诸塞州——因为这一地区富裕、人口稠密，而且是浓厚艺术传统的中心。1776年《独立宣言》宣布后的几十年中，人口不断西徙，在纽约州西部、俄亥俄州、肯塔基州、伊利诺斯州、密苏里州，人们随处可见肖像画师绘画的身影。美国独立后50年间，人口增加了近5倍，原先13个州又增加了11个。在这些岁月里，肖像绘画的要求不断增长，直到有了照相机才算得到满足。1839年银版照相法传入美国，摄影时代开始，而且，在不超过一代人的时间内，手工画像就不再风靡了。从此，人物画像又成为了奢侈品——有钱人提出绘画要求，专业画家来完成绘画。

但是在肖像绘画的全盛时期——从18世纪晚期到19世纪50年代——任何有一点艺术才能的人都可以成为“画家”，当时的肖像画师就是这么被人称呼的。当地艺人——标牌、马车、房屋的画师——也开始画人物肖像作为一个赚钱的副业。有时候有绘画天赋的男子或妇女一开始只给家庭成员勾勒画像，很快在当地声誉鹊起，然后很多人前来要求画像；艺术家们发现，他们收拾起颜料、画布、画笔去各地巡游，既做房屋装饰又画人物肖像，是一件非常值得的事情。

Passage 3 Crows

Crows are probably the most frequently met and easily identifiable members of the native fauna of the United States.The great number of tales, legends, and myths about these birds indicates that people have been exceptionally interested in them for a long time.On the other hand, when it comes to substantive─particularly behavioral─information, crows are less well known than many comparably common species and, for that matter, not a few quite uncommon ones, the endangered California condor, to cite one obvious example.There are practical reasons for this.Crows are notoriously poor and aggravating subjects for field research.Keen observers and quick learners, they are astute about the intentions of other creatures, including researchers, and adept at avoiding them.Because they are so numerous, active, and monochromatic, it is difficult to distinguish one crow from another.Bands, radio transmitters, or other identifying devices can be attached to them, but this of course requires catching live crows, who are among the wariest and most untrappable of birds.Technical difficulties aside, crow research is daunting because the ways of these birds are so complex and various.As preeminent generalists, members of this species ingeniously exploit a great range of habitats and resources, and they can quickly adjust to changes in their circumstances.Being so educable, individual birds have markedly different interests and inclinations, strategies and scams.For example, one pet crow learned how to let a dog out of its kennel by pulling the pin on the door.When the dog escaped, the bird went into the kennel and ate its food.Key 乌鸦

乌鸦可能是美国本土动物中最常见、也是最容易识别的成员（物种）。关于它的奇闻异事和神话传说（故事、传说和神话）流传众多，可见，人们对它的浓厚兴趣由来已久。另一方面，在提及对它的本性——特别是行为方面的了解时，与其他同样普通和一些非常罕见的物种——一个显而易见的例子是加州濒临灭绝的秃鹫——相比，它更鲜为人知。这其中有一些实际的原因。

众所周知，野外的乌鸦研究成果甚少，并让研究者苦恼不已。它们观察敏锐，领悟快捷，善于分辨其他动物和研究人员的意图，并能巧妙地避开他们。由于乌鸦数量众多、颜色单

一、机警灵活，人们很难把它们区分开来。人们当然可以把脚环、无线电发射机和其他识别装置缚在乌鸦身上，但这却要满足一个前提，那就是活抓乌鸦——但这却是最为机警、最难抓到的鸟类之一。

乌鸦的研究之所以令人却步，撇开技术上的困难不谈，其原因之一便是它们生活方式复杂多变。它们是超凡的多面手，其种族中的一些成员创造性地开发了大量的栖息地、利用大量的资源，而且能很快适应环境的变化。由于善于学习，每个乌鸦个体都有迥然不同的兴趣、爱好，策略和花招。比如，有一只宠物乌鸦，学会将狗窝上的门闩拉开放狗出窝。狗出窝后，它便进去，享用了狗的美食。

第二篇：英译汉练习短文

·英译汉练习短文·

Passage1

SatiricLiterature1

Perhapsthemoststrikingqualityofsatiricliteratureisitsfreshness,itsoriginalityofperspective.Satirerarelyoffersoriginalideas.Instead,itpresentsthefamiliarinanewform.Satiristsdonotoffertheworldnewphilosophies.Whattheydoislookatfamiliarconditionsfromaperspectivethatmakestheseconditionsseemfoolish,harmful,oraffected.Satirejarsusoutofcomplacenceintoapleasantlyshockedrealizationthatmanyofthevaluesweunquestioninglyacceptarefalse.DonQuixotemakeschivalryseemabsurd;BraveNewWorldridiculesthepretensionsofscience;AModestProposaldramatizesstarvationbyadvocatingcannibalism.Noneoftheseideasisoriginal.ChivalrywassuspectedbeforeCervantes2,humanistsobjectedtotheclaimsofpuresciencebeforeAldousHuxley3,andpeoplewereawareoffaminebeforeSwift4.Itwasnottheoriginalityoftheideathatmadethesesatirespopular.Itwasthemannerofexpression，thesatiricmethod,thatmadetheminterestingandentertaining.Satiresarereadbecausetheyareaestheticallysatisfyingworksofart,notbecausetheyaremorallywholesomeorethicallyinstructive.Theyarestimulatingandrefreshingbecausewithcommonsensebriskness5theybrushawayillusionsandsecondhandopinions6.Withspontaneousirreverence,satirerearrangesperspectives,scramblesfamiliarobjectsintoincongruousjuxtaposition,andspeaksinapersonalidiominsteadofabstractplatitude.Satireexistsbecausethereisneedforit.Ithaslivedbecausereadersappreciatearefreshingstimulus,anirreverentreminderthattheyliveinaworldofplatitudinousthinking,cheapmoralizing7,andfoolishphilosophy.Satireservestoprodpeopleintoanawarenessoftruth,thoughrarelytoanyactiononbehalfoftruth.Satiretendstoremindpeoplethatmuchofwhattheysee,hear,andreadinpopularmediaissanctimonious,sentimental,andonlypartiallytrue.Liferesemblesinonlyaslightdegreethepopularimageofit.Soldiersrarelyholdtheidealsthatmoviesattributetothem,notdoordinarycitizensdevotetheirlivestounselfishserviceofhumanity.Intelligentpeopleknowthesethingsbuttendtoforgetthemwhentheydonothearthemexpressed8.Notes

1．这篇文章用词正式，句式严谨、周密、冗长，文风较为华丽。翻译时选词要正式，可多用四字结构和铺排形式。

2．Cervantes:塞万提斯（1754-1616），西班牙伟大的作家、诗人、戏剧家。

3．AldousHuxley:奥尔德斯·赫胥黎（1825-1895），英国生物学家，作家。

4．Swift:斯威夫特（1667-1745），英国作家，擅长用讽刺和幽默揭露社会黑暗现象。

5．briskness：brisk意为keenorsharpinspeechormanner。

6．secondhandopinions：不可翻译为“二手的观点”，应该是“人云亦云的的观点”。

7．cheapmoralizing：这里cheap意思不是“便宜的”，而是vulgar,contemptible;moralizing不是“道德”，而是“说教”。

8．whentheydonothearthemexpressed：当直译不方便时，我们可用视点转移法：但是当周围人不谈起时

Key

讽刺文学

或许讽刺文学最突出的特点是它耳目一新、视角独创。讽刺文学很少给人以原创的思想,但是它却将人们熟悉的事情以全新的形式展现出来。讽刺作家并不给人以新的哲学理念。他们所做的只是从某一视角来看待一些为人熟知的事情，在这一视角下，这些事情显得愚蠢不堪、充满危害而又矫揉造作。讽刺作品将我们从自鸣得意中震醒，让我们既愉快又惊诧地看到，我们从未质疑、全盘接受的价值观中，有很多都是错误的。《唐吉珂德》使得骑士精神显得荒谬可笑；《挑战新世界》嘲笑了科学的自诩；《一个小小的建议》则建议食用人肉，使饥饿问题戏剧化。这些思想中没有一条是原创的：在塞万提斯之前就有人怀疑骑士精神；在赫胥黎之前人文主义者就反对宣称纯科学的至高无上；在斯威夫特之前人们就已经意识到饥荒问题。并不是思想的独创而使得讽刺文学受人欢迎，而是它的表述方式、嘲讽方法使得它趣味横生、有娱乐性。人们阅读讽刺文学只是因为在美学上它是让人心满意足的艺术品，而不是因为它在道德上有益或伦理上的教益。它激人兴奋、爽人身心，因为它只是运用常理通识、辛言辣语，便将各种幻想和人云亦云的观点一扫而光。讽刺文学自心而来不拘谦恭，它重新调整视角，将熟悉的事物紊杂地放置在一起，用个性化的语言而不是抽象的陈词滥语表述出来。

讽刺作品之所以存在是因为人们需要它。它存续至今，是因为读者欣赏爽身怡心的刺激和不拘谦恭的告诫，它提醒读者，他们生活的世界里充满了陈腐的思想意识、低俗的道德说教和愚蠢的哲学理念。讽刺作品虽然很少代表真理促成行动，但它却能使人们感悟到真理。讽刺作品常常告诉人们，他们在大众媒体中所看到的、听到的、读到的大多是伪装善良、多愁善感或只有部分真实。生活只在很小的程度上与大众对它的印象相符。士兵们很少拥有电影赋予他们的理想，而普通老百姓也决不会把自己的生命无私地奉献给人道主义服务。聪明人知道这些事实，但是当周围人不谈起时，他们常常会忘记掉。

Passage2

AmericanFolkArt

WhatwetodaycallAmericanfolkartwas,artof,by,andforordinary,everyday1“folks”who,withincreasingprosperityandleisure,createdamarketforartofallkinds,andespeciallyforportraits.Citizensofprosperous,essentiallymiddle-classrepublics—whetherancientRomans,seventeenth-centuryDutchburghers,ornineteenth-centuryAmericans—havealwaysshownamarkedtasteforportraiture.Startinginthelateeighteenthcentury,theUnitedStatescontainedincreasingnumberofsuchpeople,andoftheartistswhocouldmeettheirdemands.TheearliestAmericanfolkartportraitscome,notsurprisingly,fromNewEngland—especiallyConnecticutandMassachusetts—forthiswasawealthyandpopulousregionandthecenterofastrongcrafttradition.WithinafewdecadesafterthesigningoftheDeclarationofIndependencein1776,thepopulationwaspushingwestward,andtheportraitpainterscouldbefoundatworkinwesternNewYork,Ohio,Kentucky,Illinois,andMissouri.Midwaythroughitsfirstcentury2asanation,theUnitedStates’populationhadincreasedroughlyfivetimes,andelevennewstateshadbeenaddedtooriginalthirteen.Duringtheseyears,thedemandforportraitsgrewandgrew,eventuallytobesatisfiedbycamera.In1839thedaguerreotypewasintroducedtoAmerica,usheringintheageofphotography,andwithinagenerationthenewinventionputanendtothepopularityofpaintedportraits.Onceagainanoriginalportraitbecamealuxury,commissionedbythewealthyandexecutedbytheprofessional.Butintheheydayofportraitpainting—fromthelateeighteenthcenturyuntilthe1850’s—anyonewithamodicumofartisticabilitycouldbecomealimner,assuchaportraitist3wascalled.Localcraftspeople—sign,coach,andhousepainters—

begantopaintportraitsasaprofitablesideline;sometimesatalentedmanorwomanwhobeganbysketchingfamilymembersgainedalocalreputationandwasbesiegedwithrequestsforportraits;artistsfounditworththeirwhiletopacktheirpaints,canvasses,andbrushesandtotravelthecountryside,oftencombininghousedecoratingwithportraitpainting.Notes

everyday:意为commonplace,ordinary

midwaythroughitsfirstcentury:美国独立后50年间

portraitist：译为“画师”，以和前面的limner（画家）相区别。

Key

美国民间艺术

我们所说的美国民间艺术是由普通百姓所拥有、创造并享受的艺术。随着财富和闲暇与日俱增，他们创造了各种艺术的市场，特别是肖像绘画。家境殷实的、主要是中产阶级的市民——不管他们是古罗马人，或是17世纪荷兰自治城市富裕居民，抑或是19世纪的美国人——都对肖像绘画艺术表现出突出的爱好。从18世纪晚期开始，美国这一群体的数量不断增加，而且满足画像要求的艺术家也不断地增加。

勿需惊奇，美国最早的民间艺术画像来自于新英格兰地区——特别是康涅狄格州和.麻萨诸塞州——因为这一地区富裕、人口稠密，而且是浓厚艺术传统的中心。1776年《独立宣言》宣布后的几十年中，人口不断西徙，在纽约州西部、俄亥俄州、肯塔基州、伊利诺斯州、密苏里州，人们随处可见肖像画师绘画的身影。美国独立后50年间，人口增加了近5倍，原先13个州又增加了11个。在这些岁月里，肖像绘画的要求不断增长，直到有了照相机才算得到满足。1839年银版照相法传入美国，摄影时代开始，而且，在不超过一代人的时间内，手工画像就不再风靡了。从此，人物画像又成为了奢侈品——有钱人提出绘画要求，专业画家来完成绘画。

但是在肖像绘画的全盛时期——从18世纪晚期到19世纪50年代——任何有一点艺术才能的人都可以成为“画家”，当时的肖像画师就是这么被人称呼的。当地艺人——标牌、马车、房屋的画师——也开始画人物肖像作为一个赚钱的副业。有时候有绘画天赋的男子或妇女一开始只给家庭成员勾勒画像，很快在当地声誉鹊起，然后很多人前来要求画像；艺术家们发现，他们收拾起颜料、画布、画笔去各地巡游，既做房屋装饰又画人物肖像，是一件非常值得的事情。

Passage3

Crows

CrowsareprobablythemostfrequentlymetandeasilyidentifiablemembersofthenativefaunaoftheUnitedStates.Thegreatnumberoftales,legends,andmythsaboutthesebirdsindicatesthatpeoplehavebeenexceptionallyinterestedinthemforalongtime.Ontheotherhand,whenitcomestosubstantive─particularlybehavioral─information,crowsarelesswellknownthanmanycomparablycommonspeciesand,forthatmatter,notafewquiteuncommonones,theendangeredCaliforniacondor,tociteoneobviousexample.Therearepracticalreasonsforthis.Crowsarenotoriouslypoorandaggravatingsubjectsforfieldresearch.Keenobserversandquicklearners,theyareastuteabouttheintentionsofothercreatures,includingresearchers,andadeptatavoidingthem.Becausetheyaresonumerous,active,andmonochro

matic,itisdifficulttodistinguishonecrowfromanother.Bands,radiotransmitters,orotheridentifyingdevicescanbeattachedtothem,butthisofcourserequirescatchinglivecrows,whoareamongthewariestandmostuntrappableofbirds.Technicaldifficultiesaside,crowresearchisdauntingbecausethewaysofthesebirdsaresocomplexandvarious.Aspreeminentgeneralists,membersofthisspeciesingeniouslyexploitagreatrangeofhabitatsandresources,andtheycanquicklyadjusttochangesintheircircumstances.Beingsoeducable,individualbirdshavemarkedlydifferentinterestsandinclinations,strategiesandscams.Forexample,onepetcrowlearnedhowtoletadogoutofitskennelbypullingthepinonthedoor.Whenthedogescaped,thebirdwentintothekennelandateitsfood.Key

乌鸦

乌鸦可能是美国本土动物中最常见、也是最容易识别的成员（物种）。关于它的奇闻异事和神话传说（故事、传说和神话）流传众多，可见，人们对它的浓厚兴趣由来已久。另一方面，在提及对它的本性——特别是行为方面的了解时，与其他同样普通和一些非常罕见的物种——一个显而易见的例子是加州濒临灭绝的秃鹫——相比，它更鲜为人知。这其中有一些实际的原因。

众所周知，野外的乌鸦研究成果甚少，并让研究者苦恼不已。它们观察敏锐，领悟快捷，善于分辨其他动物和研究人员的意图，并能巧妙地避开他们。由于乌鸦数量众多、颜色单

一、机警灵活，人们很难把它们区分开来。人们当然可以把脚环、无线电发射机和其他识别装置缚在乌鸦身上，但这却要满足一个前提，那就是活抓乌鸦——但这却是最为机警、最难抓到的鸟类之一。

乌鸦的研究之所以令人却步，撇开技术上的困难不谈，其原因之一便是它们生活方式复杂多变。它们是超凡的多面手，其种族中的一些成员创造性地开发了大量的栖息地、利用大量的资源，而且能很快适应环境的变化。由于善于学习，每个乌鸦个体都有迥然不同的兴趣、爱好，策略和花招。比如，有一只宠物乌鸦，学会将狗窝上的门闩拉开放狗出窝。狗出窝后，它便进去，享用了狗的美食。

Passage4

LifeonEarth

LifeoriginatedintheearlyseaslessthanabillionyearsaftertheEarthwasformed.Yetanotherthreebillionyearsweretopassbeforethefirstplantsandanimalsappearedonthecontinents.Life’stransitionfromtheseatothelandwasperhapsasmuchofanevolutionarychallengeaswasthegenesisoflife.WhatformsoflifewereabletomakesuchadrasticchangeinlifestyleThetraditionalviewofthefirstterrestrialorganismsisbasedonmegafossils--relativelylargespecimensofessentiallywholeplantsandanimals.Vascularplants,relatedtomodernseedplantsandferns,leftthefirstcomprehensivemegafossilrecord.Becauseofthis,ithasbeencommonlyassumedthatthesequenceofterrestrializationreflectedtheevolutionofmodernterrestrialecosystems.Inthisview,primitivevascularplatsfirstcolonizedthemarginsofcontinentalwaters,followedbyanimalsthatfedontheplants,andlastlybyanimalsthatpreyedontheplant-eaters.Moreover,themegafossilssuggestthatterrestriallifeappearedanddiversifiedexplosivelyneartheboundarybetweentheSilurianandtheDevonianperiods,alittlemorethan400millionyearsago.Recently,however,paleontologistshavebeentakingacloserlookatthesedimentsbelowthisSilurian-Devoniangeologicalboundary.Itturnsoutthatsomefossilscanbeextractedfromthesesedimentsbyputtingtherocksinanacidbath.Thetechniquehasuncoverednewevidencefromsedimentsthatweredepositedneartheshoresoftheancientoceans-plantmicrofossilsandmicroscopicpiecesofsmallanimals.Inmanyinstancesthespecimensarelessthanone-tenthofamillimeterindiameter.Althoughtheywereentombedintherocksforhundredsofmillionsofyears,manyofthefossilsconsistoftheorganicremainsoftheorganism.Thesenewlydiscoveredfossilshavenotonlyrevealedtheexistenceofpreviouslyunknownorganisms,buthavealsopushedbackthesedatesfortheinvasionoflandbymulticellularorganisms.Ourviewsaboutthenatureoftheearlyplantandanimalcommunitiesarenowbeingrevised.Andwiththoserevisionscomenewspeculationsaboutthefirstterrestriallife-forms.Key

在地球形成不到十亿年的时间后，生命就起源于早期的海洋了。然而（按照以前通行的观点），要再过30亿年，第一批动植物才出现在大陆上。或许，正如生命的起源一样，生命从海洋向陆地的过渡，同样在进化论上受到质疑。

什么形式的生命能使其生活方式发生如此惊人的变化？对于第一批登陆的生物，传统的观点是建立在巨化石基础上的，这些巨化石是一些基本上完整的动植物的较大标本。与现代种子植物和蕨类植物有种属相关的微管植物，留下了一批巨化石记录。因此，人们可以推测，生命登陆的次序反映了现代陆生系统的进化。按照这种观点，维管植物首先移居到大陆水域的周边，其次是以这种植物为食的动物，最后是吃这种食草动物的动物。而且，巨化石也表明（提示），在四亿多年前的志留纪和盆泥纪之间的期间（在志留纪和盆泥纪之间的期间，即四亿多年前），陆生生命已经出现，种类也急剧增加。

但是最近，古生物学家一直对志留纪-盆泥纪抵制界限以下的积淀物进行更为周密的调查。结果表明，将岩石放在一些盛有酸的容器里，一些化石就能从这些沉淀物中离析出来。这项技术从古海洋岸边的沉积物中又发现了新的证据——植物的微小化石以及在显微镜才可以看得见的小动物的碎片。多数情况下，标本的直径不足1/10微米。尽管他们在岩石中埋藏了数亿年，许多化石仍遗留有生物体的有机物质。

这些新发现的化石不仅揭示了先前不为人质的有机体的存在，也将多细胞生物进居陆地的时间向前推移。我们对早期动植物群体（群落）本质的看法正得以修正，随之而来的是对第一批陆生生命的新推断。

Passage5

HistoricalMethods

Whiletherearealmostasmanydefinitionsofhistoryastherearehistorians,modernpracticemostcloselyconformstoonethatseeshistoryastheattempttorecreateandexplainthesignificanteventsofthepast.Caughtinthewebofitsowntimeandplace,eachgenerationofhistoriansdeterminesanewwhatissignificantforitinthepast.Inthissearchtheevidencefoundisalwaysincompleteandscattered;itisalsofrequentlypartialorpartisan.Theironyofthehistorian’scraftisthatitspractitionersalwaysknowthattheireffortsarebutcontributionstoanunendingprocess.Interestinhistoricalmethodshasarisenlessthroughexternalchallengetothevalidityofhistoryasanintellectualdisciplineandmorefrominternalquarrelsamonghistoriansthemselves.Whilehistoryoncerevereditsaffinitytoliteratureandphilosophy,theemergingsocialsciencesseemedtoaffordgreateropportunitiesforaskingnewquestionsandprovidingrewardingapproachestoanunderstandingofthepast.Socialsciencemethodologieshadtobeadaptedtoadisciplinegovernedbytheprimacyofhistoricalsourcesrather

thantheimperativesofthecontemporaryworld.Duringthistransfer,traditionalhistoricalmethodswereaugmentedbyadditionalmethodologiesdesignedtointerpretthenewformsofevidenceinthehistoricalstudy.Methodologyisatermthatremainsinherentlyambiguousinthehistoricalprofession.Thereisnoagreementwhethermethodologyreferstotheconceptspeculiartohistoricalworkingeneralortotheresearchtechniquesappropriatetothevariousbranchesofhistoricalinquiry.Historians,especiallythosesoblindedbytheirresearchintereststhattheyhavebeenaccusedof“tunnelmethod,”frequentlyfallvictimtothe“technicistfallacy.”Alsocommoninthenaturalsciences,thetechnicistfallacymistakenlyidentifiesthedisciplineasawholewithcertainpartsofitstechnicalimplementation.Itappliesequallytotraditionalhistorianswhoviewhistoryasonlytheexternalandinternalcriticismofsources,andtosocialsciencehistorianswhoequatetheiractivitywithspecifictechniques.Vocabulary:

practice:custom

create:makesthfromthepastexitagainorseemtoexistagain

affinity:acloseconnectionbetweentwothingsbecauseofqualitiesorfeaturesthattheyshare

revere:respectandadmire

primacy:thestateofbeingthemostimportantthingorperson

inherent:aqualitythatisinherentinsomethingisanaturalpartofitandcannotbeseparatedfromit

equate:toconsiderthattwoormorethingsaresimilarorconnected

Key

历史研究方法

虽然每一位历史学家对历史有自己的界定，但是，现代最习惯的做法是，将历史看着是对过去重大事件进行再现并予以解释。每一代的历史学家，总会根据自身所处的时代和位置，重新判定过去的事件中哪些是重要的。这样找到的证据往往是不完全的、零散的；也常常是片面的、有着个人偏见的。对历史学家研究技艺的讽刺在于，运用这一技艺的人总是知道，他们所付出的努力不过是在给一个无边无际的过程不断加砖添瓦。

人们对历史学研究方法产生兴趣原因有二，其主要原因是历史学家内部意见不统一，其次原因是，将历史学作为一门需要智力活动参与（进行分析和研究）的学科是否合理，外界持尚有怀疑态度。虽然以前的历史学重视与文学和哲学的紧密关系，但是在提出新问题、并为理解过去提供有益的方法方面，新兴的社会科学似乎提供了更多的机会。社会科学方法论必须调整之后适应这样的学科：它由历史资料的重要程度决定，而非根据当代世界所必不可少的需求决定。

在历史学的研究中还有其他的一些方法是用来解释历史资料的。而在上一转化过程中，这些方法使得传统研究方法更为有效。

在历史学界，方法论是一个从根本上就非常含糊的术语。它到底是普通历史研究中所特有的概念，还是适合于各个分支领域的研究技巧，人们对此尚无定论。历史学家，特别是那些盲目从于自己的研究兴趣、因而被指责为使用“井蛙（狭隘）方法”的历史学家，常常成为“技术谬误”的牺牲品。同样，在自然科学领域，技术谬误

也错误地将学科看成是由一些技术运用所组成的整体。这种谬误同样存在于传统历史学派和社会科学历史学派的身上，前者认为历史就是史学界内部和外部人士对各种史料的评议；后者认为历史的研究应该是某些具体技术的运用。

Passage6

TheMethodofScientificInvestigation

Themethodofscientificinvestigationisnothingbuttheexpressionofthenecessarymodeofworkingofthehumanmind;itissimplythemodebywhichallphenomenaarereasonedaboutandgivenpreciseandexactexplanation.Thereisnomoredifference,butthereisjustthesamekindofdifference,betweenthementaloperationsofamanofscienceandthoseofanordinaryperson,asthereisbetweentheoperationsandmethodsofabakerorofabutcherweighingouthisgoodsincommonscales,andtheoperationsofachemistinperformingadifficultandcomplexanalysisbymeansofhisbalanceandfinelygradedweights.Itisnotthatthescalesintheonecase,andthebalanceintheother,differintheprinciplesoftheirconstructionormannerofworking;butthatthelatterisamuchfinerapparatusandofcoursemuchmoreaccurateinitsmeasurementthantheformer.Youwillunderstandthisbetter,perhaps,ifIgiveyousomefamiliarexamples.Youhaveallhearditrepeatedthatmenofscienceworkbymeansofinductionanddeduction,thatbythehelpoftheseoperations,they,inasortofsense,managetoextractfromNaturecertainnaturallaws,andthatoutofthese,bysomespecialskilloftheirown,theybuilduptheirtheories.Anditisimaginedbymanythattheoperationsofthecommonmindcanbebynomeanscomparedwiththeseprocesses,andthattheyhavetobeacquiredbyasortofspecialtraining.Tohearalltheselargewords,youwouldthinkthatthemindofamanofsciencemustbeconstituteddifferentlyfromthatofhisfellowmen;butifyouwillnotbefrightenedbyterms,youwilldiscoverthatyouarequitewrong,andthatalltheseterribleapparatusarebeingusedbyyourselveseverydayandeveryhourofyourlives.Thereisawell-knownincidentinoneofMoliere‘splays,wheretheauthormakestheheroexpressunboundeddelightonbeingtoldthathehadbeentalkingproseduringthewholeofhislife.Inthesameway,Itrustthatyouwilltakecomfort,andbedelightedwithyourselves,onthediscoverythatyouhavebeenactingontheprinciplesofinductiveanddeductivephilosophyduringthesameperiod.Probablythereisnotoneherewhohasnotinthecourseofthedayhadoccasiontosetinmotionacomplextrainofreasoning,oftheverysamekind,thoughdifferingindegree,asthatwhichascientificmangoesthroughintracingthecausesofnaturalphenomena.Key

科学研究的方法

科学研究的方法只是人类思维中必要的工作方式的表现，正是通过这种方式，人类对一切现象进行逻辑推理，并做出精确的解释。科学家的思维活动与普通人的思维活动之间并无实质的区别，其区别有如面包师或者肉匠用普通磅秤称量他们的物品，而化学家则用天平和精确/细致分级的砝码来进行难度很大和复杂深入的分析一样。并不是因为在前一种情况下的磅秤与后一种情况下的天平在构造原理或工作方式上有何不同，只是因为天平是更为精密的仪器，与磅秤比较起来，其称量结果自然要精确得多。

如果我给你（可省去）举一些非常熟悉的例子，或许你会理解得更清楚。你会多次听说过科学家们是运用归纳法和演绎法工作，而且，在某种意义上，他们运用这些思维方式从自然界中总结出一些自然规则，然后运用特殊的技巧，在这些自然规则的基础上建立自己的理论。因此，很多人认为，普通人的思维活动决不能与科学家的思维活动堪比；只有通过某种特殊训练，普通人才能获得这些思维过程。听到这些夸张的说法，你或许会认为科学家的大脑和普通人的大脑在构造上不相一样；但是如果你不被这些大话（夸张的说法）唬住，你会发现你弄错

了：在你生命中的每天、每时、每刻，你都在运用这些绝妙的思维方法。

在莫里哀的戏剧中有一个众所周知的情节：主人公在听到别人夸赞他毕生都是出口成章时，他表现出无尽的喜悦。同样，我相信，当你发现（在科学家运用科学思维的同时，）你也一样基于归纳法和演绎法原理行事，你会感到十分慰籍，也会对自己也非常满意。（在座）每一个人在一天中都有可能有机会开动一辆思维的列车进行（一连串）复杂的推理，这与科学家在探寻自然现象时的思维活动相比，虽然程度有些不同，但其性质却完全一样。

Asecretary’sjob

Althoughthesecretaryismostoftenthoughtofas”she”andtheexecutiveas“he”,itisn’talwaysnecessarilyso!Intheearlydaysofofficework,mostsecretariesweremalebecausewomenwereconsideredtooweakforsuchhardactivities.NowthereisanincreaseinthenumberofmencomingintothesecretarialfieldAndmorewomenaremovingintoexecutivepositions.Jobsandcareersanrnolongerdecidedbysex,butbyability.Aslongasthepersonhasthequalityofbeingagoodsecretary,heorshewillbeabletogetajob.Goodsecretariesarealwaysindemand.Agoodsecretaryshouldbeexcellentinofficeduties.Forexample,whenthebosshasanurgentbudgetmeeting,thesecretaryshouldnotdisturbhim.Ifthebossisgoingtogiveadinnerparty,heorsheshouldmakethereservationaheadoftimeinanappropriaterestaurant.Goodsecretariesshouldalsopayattentiontotheirappearanceanddressfashionablyandneatly.Theymustbeabletospeakatleastoneforeignlanguagefluently.Ifasecretaryisveryskilledintypingandusingacomputer,sheismorelikelytoberecommendedforpromotion.一份秘书的工作

通常秘书一般都被想成是“她”而执行者是“他”，但这不是必然的！在最初的办公室工作中，几乎所有的秘书都是男性，因为女性被认为是无法胜任如此难的工作。现在越来越多的男性加入到秘书的工作领域而许多女性加入到执行者的行列。工作和经历不在取决于性别而是能力。只要这个人有成为好秘书的资质，他或她将得到这份工作。好的秘书经常是受欢迎的。一个好的秘书必须有出色的办公室工作潜质。例如：当老板正在开一个紧急预算会议，秘书就不能打扰他。如果老板要开一个晚宴，他或她在这之前要预定一个合适的酒店。好的秘书还必须要注重他们的形象，穿着时尚整齐。他们要最少流利的讲一门外语。如果一个秘书非常熟练并且有技巧的掌握电脑，那么她很有可能被推荐升职。

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第三篇：英译汉练习短文6篇

英译汉练习短文6篇·

Passage 1 Satiric Literature1

Perhaps the most striking quality of satiric literature is its freshness, its originality of perspective.Satire rarely offers original ideas.Instead, it presents the familiar in a new form.Satirists do not offer the world new philosophies.What they do is look at familiar conditions from a perspective that makes these conditions seem foolish, harmful, or affected.Satire jars us out of complacence into a pleasantly shocked realization that many of the values we unquestioningly accept are false.Don Quixote makes chivalry seem absurd;Brave New World ridicules the pretensions of science;A Modest Proposal dramatizes starvation by advocating cannibalism.None of these ideas is original.Chivalry was suspected before Cervantes2, humanists objected to the claims of pure science before Aldous Huxley3, and people were aware of famine before Swift4.It was not the originality of the idea that made these satires popular.It was the manner of expression，the satiric method, that made them interesting and entertaining.Satires are read because they are aesthetically satisfying works of art, not because they are morally wholesome or ethically instructive.They are stimulating and refreshing because with commonsense briskness5 they brush away illusions and secondhand opinions6.With spontaneous irreverence, satire rearranges perspectives, scrambles familiar objects into incongruous juxtaposition, and speaks in a personal idiom instead of abstract platitude.Satire exists because there is need for it.It has lived because readers appreciate a refreshing stimulus, an irreverent reminder that they live in a world of platitudinous thinking, cheap moralizing7, and foolish philosophy.Satire serves to prod people into an awareness of truth, though rarely to any action on behalf of truth.Satire tends to remind people that much of what they see, hear, and read in popular media is sanctimonious, sentimental, and only partially true.Life resembles in only a slight degree the popular image of it.Soldiers rarely hold the ideals that movies attribute to them, not do ordinary citizens devote their lives to unselfish service of humanity.Intelligent people know these things but tend to forget them when they do not hear them expressed8.Notes

1．这篇文章用词正式，句式严谨、周密、冗长，文风较为华丽。翻译时选词要正式，可多用四字结构和铺排形式。2．Cervantes: 塞万提斯（1754-1616），西班牙伟大的作家、诗人、戏剧家。

3．Aldous Huxley:奥尔德斯·赫胥黎（1825-1895），英国生物学家，作家。

4．Swift: 斯威夫特（1667-1745），英国作家，擅长用讽刺和幽默揭露社会黑暗现象。

5．briskness：brisk意为keen or sharp in speech or manner。

6．secondhand opinions：不可翻译为“二手的观点”，应该是“人云亦云的的观点”。

7．cheap moralizing：这里cheap意思不是“便宜的”，而是vulgar, contemptible;moralizing不是“道德”，而是“说教”。

8．when they do not hear them expressed：当直译不方便时，我们可用视点转移法：但是当周围人不谈起时

Key 讽刺文学

或许讽刺文学最突出的特点是它耳目一新、视角独创。讽刺文学很少给人以原创的思想,但是它却将人们熟悉的事情以全新的形式展现出来。讽刺作家并不给人以新的哲学理念。他们所做的只是从某一视角来看待一些为人熟知的事情，在这一视角下，这些事情显得愚蠢不堪、充满危害而又矫揉造作。讽刺作品将我们从自鸣得意中震醒，让我们既愉快又惊诧地看到，我们从未质疑、全盘接受的价值观中，有很多都是错误的。《唐吉珂德》使得骑士精神显得荒谬可笑；《挑战新世界》嘲笑了科学的自诩；《一个小小的建议》则建议食用人肉，使饥饿问题戏剧化。这些思想中没有一条是原创的：在塞万提斯之前就有人怀疑骑士精神；在赫胥黎之前人文主义者就反对宣称纯科学的至高无上；在斯威夫特之前人们就已经意识到饥荒问题。并不是思想的独创而使得讽刺文学受人欢迎，而是它的表述方式、嘲讽方法使得它趣味横生、有娱乐性。人们阅读讽刺文学只是因为在美学上它是让人心满意足的艺术品，而不是因为它在道德上有益或伦理上的教益。它激人兴奋、爽人身心，因为它只是运用常理通识、辛言辣语，便将各种幻想和人云亦云的观点一扫而光。讽刺文学自心而来不拘谦恭，它重新调整视角，将熟悉的事物紊杂地放置在一起，用个性化的语言而不是抽象的陈词滥语表述出来。

讽刺作品之所以存在是因为人们需要它。它存续至今，是因为读者欣赏爽身怡心的刺激和不拘谦恭的告诫，它提醒读者，他们生活的世界里充满了陈腐的思想意识、低俗的道德说教和愚蠢的哲学理念。讽刺作品虽然很少代表真理促成行动，但它却能使人们感悟到真理。讽刺作品常常告诉人们，他们在大众媒体中所看到的、听到的、读到的大多是伪装善良、多愁善感或只有部分真实。生活只在很小的程度上与大众对它的印象相符。士兵们很少拥有电影赋予他们的理想，而普通老百姓也决不会把自己的生命无私地奉献给人道主义服务。聪明人知道这些事实，但是当周围人不谈起时，他们常常会忘记掉。

Passage 2 American Folk Art

What we today call American folk art was, art of, by, and for ordinary, everyday1 “folks” who, with increasing prosperity and leisure, created a market for art of all kinds, and especially for portraits.Citizens of prosperous, essentially middle-class

republics—whether

ancient

Romans, seventeenth-century Dutch burghers, or nineteenth-century Americans—have always shown a marked taste for portraiture.Starting in the late eighteenth century, the United States contained increasing number of such people, and of the artists who could meet their demands.The earliest American folk art portraits come, not surprisingly, from New England — especially

Connecticut and Massachusetts—for this was a wealthy and populous region and the center of a strong craft tradition.Within a few decades after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the population was pushing westward, and the portrait painters could be found at work in western New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri.Midway through its first century2 as a nation, the United States’ population had increased roughly five times, and eleven new states had been added to original thirteen.During these years, the demand for portraits grew and grew, eventually to be satisfied by camera.In 1839 the daguerreotype was introduced to America, ushering in the age of photography, and within a generation the new invention put an end to the popularity of painted portraits.Once again an original portrait became a luxury, commissioned by the wealthy and executed by the professional.But in the heyday of portrait painting—from the late eighteenth century until the 1850’s — anyone with a modicum of artistic ability could become a limner, as such a portraitist3 was called.Local craftspeople—sign, coach, and house painters—began to paint portraits as a profitable sideline;sometimes a talented man or woman who began by sketching family members gained a local reputation and was besieged with requests for portraits;artists found it worth their while to pack their paints, canvasses, and brushes and to travel the countryside, often combining house decorating with portrait painting.Notes everyday: 意为commonplace, ordinary

midway through its first century: 美国独立后50年间

portraitist：译为“画师”，以和前面的limner（画家）相区别。

Key 美国民间艺术

我们所说的美国民间艺术是由普通百姓所拥有、创造并享受的艺术。随着财富和闲暇与日俱增，他们创造了各种艺术的市场，特别是肖像绘画。家境殷实的、主要是中产阶级的市民——不管他们是古罗马人，或是17世纪荷兰自治城市富裕居民，抑或是19世纪的美国人——都对肖像绘画艺术表现出突出的爱好。从18世纪晚期开始，美国这一群体的数量不断增加，而且满足画像要求的艺术家也不断地增加。

勿需惊奇，美国最早的民间艺术画像来自于新英格兰地区——特别是康涅狄格州和.麻萨诸塞州——因为这一地区富裕、人口稠密，而且是浓厚艺术传统的中心。1776年《独立宣言》宣布后的几十年中，人口不断西徙，在纽约州西部、俄亥俄州、肯塔基州、伊利诺斯州、密苏里州，人们随处可见肖像画师绘画的身影。美国独立后50年间，人口增加了近5倍，原先13个州又增加了11个。在这些岁月里，肖像绘画的要求不断增长，直到有了照相机才算得到满足。1839年银版照相法传入美国，摄影时代开始，而且，在不超过一代人的时间内，手工画像就不再风靡了。从此，人物画像又成为了奢侈品——有钱人提出绘画要求，专业画家来完成绘画。

但是在肖像绘画的全盛时期——从18世纪晚期到19世纪50年代——任何有一点艺术才能的人都可以成为“画家”，当时的肖像画师就是这么被人称呼的。当地艺人——标牌、马车、房屋的画师——也开始画人物肖像作为一个赚钱的副业。有时候有绘画天赋的男子或妇女一开始只给家庭成员勾勒画像，很快在当地声誉鹊起，然后很多人前来要求画像；艺术家们发现，他们收拾起颜料、画布、画笔去各地巡游，既做房屋装饰又画人物肖像，是一件非常值得的事情。

Passage 3 Crows

Crows are probably the most frequently met and easily identifiable members of the native fauna of the United States.The great number of tales, legends, and myths about these birds indicates that people have been exceptionally interested in them for a long time.On the other hand, when it comes to substantive─particularly behavioral─information, crows are less well known than many comparably common species and, for that matter, not a few quite uncommon ones, the endangered California condor, to cite one obvious example.There are practical reasons for this.Crows are notoriously poor and aggravating subjects for field research.Keen observers and quick learners, they are astute about the intentions of other creatures, including researchers, and adept at avoiding them.Because they are so numerous, active, and monochromatic, it is difficult to distinguish one crow from another.Bands, radio transmitters, or other identifying devices can be attached to them, but this of course requires catching live crows, who are among the wariest and most untrappable of birds.Technical difficulties aside, crow research is daunting because the ways of these birds are so complex and various.As preeminent generalists, members of this species ingeniously exploit a great range of habitats and resources, and they can quickly adjust to changes in their circumstances.Being so educable, individual birds have markedly different interests and inclinations, strategies and scams.For example, one pet crow learned how to let a dog out of its kennel by pulling the pin on the door.When the dog escaped, the bird went into the kennel and ate its food.Key 乌鸦

乌鸦可能是美国本土动物中最常见、也是最容易识别的成员（物种）。关于它的奇闻异事和神话传说（故事、传说和神话）流传众多，可见，人们对它的浓厚兴趣由来已久。另一方面，在提及对它的本性——特别是行为方面的了解时，与其他同样普通和一些非常罕见的物种——一个显而易见的例子是加州濒临灭绝的秃鹫——相比，它更鲜为人知。这其中有一些实际的原因。

众所周知，野外的乌鸦研究成果甚少，并让研究者苦恼不已。它们观察敏锐，领悟快捷，善于分辨其他动物和研究人员的意图，并能巧妙地避开他们。由于乌鸦数量众多、颜色单

一、机警灵活，人们很难把它们区分开来。人们当然可以把脚环、无线电发射机和其他识别装置缚在乌鸦身上，但这却要满足一个前提，那就是活抓乌鸦——但这却是最为机警、最难抓到的鸟类之一。

乌鸦的研究之所以令人却步，撇开技术上的困难不谈，其原因之一便是它们生活方式复杂多变。它们是超凡的多面手，其种族中的一些成员创造性地开发了大量的栖息地、利用大量的资源，而且能很快适应环境的变化。由于善于学习，每个乌鸦个体都有迥然不同的兴趣、爱好，策略和花招。比如，有一只宠物乌鸦，学会将狗窝上的门闩拉开放狗出窝。狗出窝后，它便进去，享用了狗的美食。

Passage 4 Life on Earth

Life originated in the early seas less than a billion years after the Earth was formed.Yet another three billion years were to pass before the first plants and animals appeared on the continents.Life’s transition from the sea to the land was perhaps as much of an evolutionary challenge as was the genesis of life.What forms of life were able to make such a drastic change in lifestyle The traditional view of the first terrestrial organisms is based on megafossils--relatively large specimens of essentially whole plants and animals.Vascular plants, related to modern seed plants and ferns, left the first comprehensive megafossil record.Because of this, it has been commonly assumed that the sequence of terrestrialization reflected the evolution of modern terrestrial ecosystems.In this view, primitive vascular plats first colonized the margins of continental waters, followed by animals that fed on the plants, and lastly by animals that preyed on the plant-eaters.Moreover, the megafossils suggest that terrestrial life appeared and diversified explosively near the boundary between the Silurian and the Devonian periods, a little more than 400 million years ago.Recently, however, paleontologists have been taking a closer look at the sediments below this Silurian-Devonian geological boundary.It turns out that some fossils can be extracted from these sediments by putting the rocks in an acid bath.The technique has uncovered new evidence from sediments that were deposited near the shores of the ancient oceans-plant microfossils and microscopic pieces of small animals.In many instances the specimens are less than one-tenth of a millimeter in diameter.Although they were entombed in the rocks for hundreds of millions of years, many of the fossils consist of the organic remains of the organism.These newly discovered fossils have not only revealed the existence of previously unknown organisms, but have also pushed back these dates for the invasion of land by multicellular organisms.Our views about the nature of the early plant and animal communities are now being revised.And with those revisions come new speculations about the first terrestrial life-forms.Key

在地球形成不到十亿年的时间后，生命就起源于早期的海洋了。然而（按照以前通行的观点），要再过30亿年，第一批动植物才出现在大陆上。或许，正如生命的起源一样，生命从海洋向陆地的过渡，同样在进化论上受到质疑。

什么形式的生命能使其生活方式发生如此惊人的变化？对于第一批登陆的生物，传统的观点是建立在巨化石基础上的，这些巨化石是一些基本上完整的动植物的较大标本。与现代种子植物和蕨类植物有种属相关的微管植物，留下了一批巨化石记录。因此，人们可以推测，生命登陆的次序反映了现代陆生系统的进化。按照这种观点，维管植物首先移居到大陆水域的周边，其次是以这种植物为食的动物，最后是吃这种食草动物的动物。而且，巨化石也表明（提示），在四亿多年前的志留纪和盆泥纪之间的期间（在志留纪和盆泥纪之间的期间，即四亿多年前），陆生生命已经出现，种类也急剧增加。

但是最近，古生物学家一直对志留纪-盆泥纪抵制界限以下的积淀物进行更为周密的调查。结果表明，将岩石放在一些盛有酸的容器里，一些化石就能从这些沉淀物中离析出来。这项技术从古海洋岸边的沉积物中又发现了新的证据——植物的微小化石以及在显微镜才可以看得见的小动物的碎片。多数情况下，标本的直径不足1/10微米。尽管他们在岩石中埋藏了数亿年，许多化石仍遗留有生物体的有机物质。

这些新发现的化石不仅揭示了先前不为人质的有机体的存在，也将多细胞生物进居陆地的时间向前推移。我们对早期动植物群体（群落）本质的看法正得以修正，随之而来的是对第一批陆生生命的新推断。

Passage 5

Historical Methods

While there are almost as many definitions of history as there are historians, modern practice most closely conforms to one that sees history as the attempt to recreate and explain the significant events of the past.Caught in the web of its own time and place, each generation of historians determines anew what is significant for it in the past.In this search the evidence found is always incomplete and scattered;it is also frequently partial or partisan.The irony of the historian’s craft is that its practitioners always know that their efforts are but contributions to an unending process.Interest in historical methods has arisen less through external challenge to the validity of history as an intellectual discipline and more from internal quarrels among historians themselves.While history once revered its affinity to literature and philosophy, the emerging social sciences seemed to afford greater opportunities for asking new questions and providing rewarding approaches to an understanding of the past.Social science methodologies had to be adapted to a discipline governed by the primacy of historical sources rather than the imperatives of the contemporary world.During this transfer, traditional historical methods were augmented by additional methodologies designed to interpret the new forms of evidence in the historical study.Methodology is a term that remains inherently ambiguous in the historical profession.There is no agreement whether methodology refers to the concepts peculiar to historical work in general or to the research techniques appropriate to the various branches of historical inquiry.Historians, especially those so blinded by their research interests that they have been accused of “tunnel method,” frequently fall victim to the “technicist fallacy.”Also common in the natural sciences, the technicist fallacy mistakenly identifies the discipline as a whole with certain parts of its technical implementation.It applies equally to traditional historians who view history as only the external and internal criticism of sources, and to social science historians who equate their activity with specific techniques.Vocabulary: practice: custom create: make sth from the past exit again or seem to exist again affinity: a close connection between two things because of qualities or features that they share revere: respect and admire primacy: the state of being the most important thing or person inherent: a quality that is inherent in something is a natural part of it and cannot be separated from it equate: to consider that two or more things are similar or connected Key 历史研究方法

虽然每一位历史学家对历史有自己的界定，但是，现代最习惯的做法是，将历史看着是对过去重大事件进行再现并予以解释。每一代的历史学家，总会根据自身所处的时代和位置，重新判定过去的事件中哪些是重要的。这样找到的证据往往是不完全的、零散的；也常常是片面的、有着个人偏见的。对历史学家研究技艺的讽刺在于，运用这一技艺的人总是知道，他们所付出的努力不过是在给一个无边无际的过程不断加砖添瓦。

人们对历史学研究方法产生兴趣原因有二，其主要原因是历史学家内部意见不统一，其次原因是，将历史学作为一门需要智力活动参与（进行分析和研究）的学科是否合理，外界持尚有怀疑态度。虽然以前的历史学重视与文学和哲学的紧密关系，但是在提出新问题、并为理解过去提供有益的方法方面，新兴的社会科学似乎提供了更多的机会。社会科学方法论必须调整之后适应这样的学科：它由历史资料的重要程度决定，而非根据当代世界所必不可少的需求决定。

在历史学的研究中还有其他的一些方法是用来解释历史资料的。而在上一转化过程中，这些方法使得传统研究方法更为有效。

在历史学界，方法论是一个从根本上就非常含糊的术语。它到底是普通历史研究中所特有的概念，还是适合于各个分支领域的研究技巧，人们对此尚无定论。历史学家，特别是那些盲目从于自己的研究兴趣、因而被指责为使用“井蛙（狭隘）方法”的历史学家，常常成为“技术谬误”的牺牲品。同样，在自然科学领域，技术谬误也错误地将学科看成是由一些技术运用所组成的整体。这种谬误同样存在于传统历史学派和社会科学历史学派的身上，前者认为历史就是史学界内部和外部人士对各种史料的评议；后者认为历史的研究应该是某些具体技术的运用。

Passage 6 The Method of Scientific Investigation

The method of scientific investigation is nothing but the expression of the necessary mode of working of the human mind;it is simply the mode by which all phenomena are reasoned about and given precise and exact explanation.There is no more difference, but there is just the same kind of difference, between the mental operations of a man of science and those of an ordinary person , as there is between the operations and methods of a baker or of a butcher weighing out his goods in common scales, and the operations of a chemist in performing a difficult and complex analysis by means of his balance and finely graded weights.It is not that the scales in the one case, and the balance in the other, differ in the principles of their construction or manner of working;but that the latter is a much finer apparatus and of course much more accurate in its measurement than the former.You will understand this better, perhaps, if I give you some familiar examples.You have all heard it repeated that men of science work by means of induction and deduction, that by the help of these operations, they, in a sort of sense, manage to extract from Nature certain natural laws, and that out of these, by some special skill of their own, they build up their theories.And it is imagined by many that the operations of the common mind can be by no means compared with these processes, and that they have to be acquired by a sort of special training.To hear all these large words, you would think that the mind of a man of science must be constituted differently from that of his fellow men;but if you will not be frightened by terms, you will discover that you are quite wrong , and that all these terrible apparatus are being used by yourselves every day and every hour of your lives.There is a well-known incident in one of Moliere's plays, where the author makes the hero express unbounded delight on being told that he had been talking prose during the whole of his life.In the same way, I trust that you will take comfort, and be delighted with yourselves, on the discovery that you have been acting on the principles of inductive and deductive philosophy during the same period.Probably there is not one here who has not in the course of the day had occasion to set in motion a complex train of reasoning, of the very same kind, though differing in degree, as that which a scientific man goes through in tracing the causes of natural phenomena.Key 科学研究的方法

科学研究的方法只是人类思维中必要的工作方式的表现，正是通过这种方式，人类对一切现象进行逻辑推理，并做出精确的解释。科学家的思维活动与普通人的思维活动之间并无实质的区别，其区别有如面包师或者肉匠用普通磅秤称量他们的物品，而化学家则用天平和精确/细致分级的砝码来进行难度很大和复杂深入的分析一样。并不是因为在前一种情况下的磅秤与后一种情况下的天平在构造原理或工作方式上有何不同，只是因为天平是更为精密的仪器，与磅秤比较起来，其称量结果自然要精确得多。

如果我给你（可省去）举一些非常熟悉的例子，或许你会理解得更清楚。你会多次听说过科学家们是运用归纳法和演绎法工作，而且，在某种意义上，他们运用这些思维方式从自然界中总结出一些自然规则，然后运用特殊的技巧，在这些自然规则的基础上建立自己的理论。因此，很多人认为，普通人的思维活动决不能与科学家的思维活动堪比；只有通过某种特殊训练，普通人才能获得这些思维过程。听到这些夸张的说法，你或许会认为科学家的大脑和普通人的大脑在构造上不相一样；但是如果你不被这些大话（夸张的说法）唬住，你会发现你弄错了：在你生命中的每天、每时、每刻，你都在运用这些绝妙的思维方法。

在莫里哀的戏剧中有一个众所周知的情节：主人公在听到别人夸赞他毕生都是出口成章时，他表现出无尽的喜悦。同样，我相信，当你发现（在科学家运用科学思维的同时，）你也一样基于归纳法和演绎法原理行事，你会感到十分慰籍，也会对自己也非常满意。（在座）每一个人在一天中都有可能有机会开动一辆思维的列车进行（一连串）复杂的推理，这与科学家在探寻自然现象时的思维活动相比，虽然程度有些不同，但其性质却完全一样

第四篇：英译汉练习

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编号：TCB 827010

中国国家技术进口总公司(以下简称“中技”)根据中华人民共和国对外经济关系与贸易部与日本海外经济合作基金会签订的京秦铁路、兖石铁路、大瑶山隧道以及石臼所港口四项建设工程贷款协议，被授权采用国际竞争方式对上述项目建设所需的信号设备、通讯设备、电力以及高空电力牵引线设备、电线电缆、水泵、施工设备、玻璃等进行采购。所有款项通过贷款方式实现。

本公司诚邀信誉良好经验丰富的制造商和（或）在合格货源国组建注册并由该国控股的贸易公司（涉及所有发展中国家，包括中国以及所有经济合作与发展组织OECD成员国）参与上述竞标活动。对此招标有兴趣的制造商和（或）贸易公司请于1983年1月20日前以函告拟供贷项目并向我公司提交预审材料。全部材料请以英文书写，一式三份。材料应涉及以下条例：

①参与竞标制造商和（或）贸易公司名称及所属国名称。

②参与竞标公司的历史简介。

③参与竞标公司的规章制度。

④竞标公司的组织结构、主要负责人及所属财团。

⑤竞标公司的实收资本，最近三年的贸易总额及净利润总额。

⑥竞标公司的绝信银行名称以及该银行所出具的资信证明。

⑦对竞标公司授权代理的相关信息以及制造商的授权书（若该竞标公司为代理）。

⑧制造商的相关信息以及其最近三年类似产品的生产和销售情况，参照清单、质量保证书。

⑨竞标公司对以上所提供物品的供贷能力及交货时间。

凡在前两轮招标中审查合格的竞标公司需提交补充材料。

若在此招标书刊登起一年内我们如需购买上述所列中任一项设备，我们将直接向本次资格预审合格者发信任询价并不再重新刊登招标通告。

英译汉练习（1）08011班李莹莹080114124

中国国家技术进口总公司第七业务部

地址：中国北京市西郊区二里沟

电报地址：TECHIMPORT BEIJING

电传：22244 CNTIC CN

电话：890931-240，242

第五篇：英译汉练习

英译汉练习1.The increase in their profits is due partly to their new market strategy.2.It is desirable always to wear a safety belt when you are driving on a highway.3.Finland of Northern Europe is remarkable for its large number of lakes.4.The student can hardly speak simple English, much less write English articles.5.Some highly praise him, whereas others put him down highly.6.That car has given me nothing but trouble ever since I bought it.7.This attitude resulted in a nation committed to researching and experimenting.8.Many new arrivals have difficulty adapting themselves to life in a foreign country.9.Nowadays depressing amounts of environmental pollution is familiar to the public.10.Many young men in modern society have not enough political awareness.11.In spite of the severe competition, he is still ambitious to be successful in the job.12.The National Arts Association sponsored the fair to raise money for Hope Project.13.Last year the Central Government waged a war against crime and disease.14.New buildings have been springing up everywhere since the reform policy in 1978.15.Upon arriving in New York he converted all his pounds into dollars.16.The factory is faced with many problems as a result of years of bad management.17.It is too difficult for us to finish the task, so it remains for him to do it.18.The famine, together with the war, killed millions of lives.19.He cannot go without wine even for one day;he is a complete slave to drink.20.Illness and age had changed the once well-known actress beyond recognition.21.One clear finding is that people need green spaces for better mental health.22.However, city children just don’t have as much fun as children in small towns.23.People there have coordinated their efforts to clean up the trash or garbage.24.People in cities have little opportunity to experience parks or unprotected spaces.25.Last week we went mountaineering and the view was breathtaking on the summit.26.His contact with famous critics paved the way to his

artistic success.27.When reading a poem, you’d better not understand it in a literal sense.28.People living in large cities often erect emotional barriers against each other.29.An environmentalist is one concerned with the conservation of natural resources.30.They are fully confident that the 21st century will be characterized by development.31.The light went out and the entire hall sank into complete darkness.32.The Chinese government has all along been combating drug trafficking.33.The man and his friend were supportive of each other at that critical moment.34.My figuring was wrong because I overlooked one tiny point.35.As everyone was seated, the chairperson proceeded to announce her plan.36.I firmly believe that this agreement will be for our mutual benefit.37.We anticipate that we will meet a certain amount of resistance to our plan.38.One ingredient needed when making a cake is flour;another is sugar.39.Try to be diplomatic when you turn down her invitation.40.Our efforts should be directed towards/with great efficiency.41.Mother is against the idea, but I’m sure I can win her over.42.The working staff had some reservations about the truth of the claim.43.He tried to buy time by doing a lot of talking.44.This year the company hit the target to double their domestic sales.45.Some are reluctant to work because their living is ensured by social assistance.46.The boss encourages his employees to go all out for a prosperous business.47.The days are lengthening as summer approaches.48.As she was waiting for the result to come out, her excitement was heightening.49.Before night fell, the setting sun reddened the clouds.50.Nothing more was heard from him so that we began to wonder if he was still living.51.In China we implement a system ensuring that people doing comparable jobs receive comparable rates of pay.52.Indonesians have traditionally favored large families and their religion, Islam, frowns on birth control.53.In order to protect the environment, people should remove all the tins, bottles, leftovers and other garbage after a picnic.54.The education system in China is currently characterized by an emphasis on success in exams.55.By itself, nature can keep the water recycling and provide us with an unchanging amount of water.56.Nature’s recycling system is in danger because much of the Earth is covered with paved and concrete surfaces.57.A foreigner’s first impression of the U.S.is likely to be that everyone is in a rush—often under pressure.58.We produce a steady flow of labor-saving devices;we communicate rapidly through faxes, phone calls or emails.59.In some countries no major businesses is conducted without eye contact, requiring face-to-face conversation.60.That telephone save the feet and endless amounts of time is partly due to the fact that the telephone service is superb here.61.Having studied business at college and knowing two foreign languages, my secretary is perfectly competent for her job.62.There is an acute lack of water in the northern part of the country, because there have been no rain since last February.63.What one thinks and feels is, in the eyes of social scientists, mainly due to tradition, habit and education.64.To do the job of the sales representative, it is desirable that you know something about medicine as well as the market.65.The bank will lend you money on very favorable terms so long as you are able to pay the money back in good time.66.The quality of the water has greatly improved in this region and now the water coming directly from a tap is perfectly drinkable.67.In order to meet the demands of quality education, China should introduce more choice into the educational system.68.Since the beginning of this summer, Haier has waged a massive ad campaign to promote its air-conditioner sales.69.Emily knows that continuous letters from John, together with countless roses, are aimed at winning her heart.70.Psychologists have been studying the changes people experience when they leave rural areas and move into urban environments.71.Tolerance is the quality of allowing other people to say and do as they like, even if you do not agree with it.72.In those days when he looked for a job, he strongly felt that there was a strong prejudice against men over forty-five.73.Having worked in the company for two years, Mr.Smith is now taking care of marketing and public relations.74.To make a man perfectly happy, tell him that he is brilliant, or noble, or wise, or good.75.A dialect is a form of a language that is spoken in a particular area by people belonging to a particular social class.76.Sitting motionlessly at his desk for quite a while, Robert

thought hard but could not come up with a solution to the problem.77.Most of them are not used to food and long for home;some find it difficult to observe the regulation about time.78.Online learning has marked a new departure in education;now the students have more resources to turn to.79.He has a good command of French and German, which enables him to work in these two countries successfully.80.The slightest carelessness in handling the current crisis can result in a crash on the country’s stock market.81.In order to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor, the government has recently adopted a new measure to raise income tax.82.An icy wind from the north had been blowing the whole night, so the temperature dropped below zero early this morning.83.Tension descended on these children when it was time for departure, since they didn’t know whether they could adapt to the new life.84.We must take everything into consideration before we make any decision, because a wrong decision could do infinite harm to us.85.We don’t agree with him because his argument is unrealistically idealistic and does more to harden the problem than to provide solutions.86.Prejudices are most difficult to remove from the heart whose soil has never been loosened by education.87.Many American gestures may have offending, embarrassing, or at least confusing meanings in another culture.88.Martin Luther King, Jr.is awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize for advocating the nonviolence policy in the movement for civil rights.89.Though most of us would like to think ourselves free from such prejudiced opinions, we’re all guilty of name stereotyping to some extent.90.It is common sense that lightning usually accompanies thunder, but can you tell me whether we see lightning first or hear thunder first?