第一篇:新编大学英语第一册翻译答案
Translation
Unit 1
1)I’m tired.I shouldn’t have gone to bed so late last night.2)I don’t/didn’t know bob very well, but we go/went out for an occasional drink together.3)We’re supposed to meet her at the train station.4)You could clearly see people drowning, but/and yet you took no action to save them.5)Including weekends, there are only twelve more days to buy Christmas presents.6)Without immediate action, many kinds of wild animals would die from hunger.Unit 2
1.That song always reminded her of the night spent in Chicago.2.There happened to be a policeman on the corner, so I asked him the way.3.All flights to New York today are/were delayed because of the bad weather.4.Whoever is responsible will have to pay for the damage.5.I can’t find my checkbook.I must have left it at home.6.By the time the football match was going to start, the storm had already stopped.Unit 3
1.You won’t get the job unless you’ve got the experience.2.Most of my time is spent studying the differences between Chinese and American cultures.3.The statement/sentence is so clear that it can’t cause any misunderstanding.4.He wished he could give her more help than he does.5.Put on your coat or you’ll catch cold.6.She has added a Picasso to her collection.7.I am not aware of ever having been here before.8.You will soon find yourself without any friends at all if you keep on being so rude to everybody.Unit 4
1.It’s far too hot in the room;open the window, please!
2.The noise woke us up in the middle of the night.3.He shouldn’t have been angry at what I said.It was nothing more than a joke.4.We invited all our friends to the picnic but it rained and only five of them showed up.5.She views marriage as a serious matter.6.To my disappointment, the movie didn’t live up to my expectations.Unit 5
1.I used to go to the cinema/movies a lot, but I never have the time now.2.The two workers cooperated with each other to fix the broken pipe.3.This is a cruel practice which should be stopped immediately.4.What aspect of your job/work is(the)most difficult, and what aspect is(the)most rewarding?
5.Some people think he is rude, but that’s not the case.6.I’ll help as much as I can, but there is a limit to what I can do.
第二篇:大学英语第一册u1-u4 翻译答案
U1 1.背离传统需要极大的勇气。
It takes an enormous amount of courage to make a departure from the tradition.2.汤姆过去很腼腆,但这次却非常勇敢能在大庭广众面前上台表演了。Tom used to be very shy, but this time he was bold enough to give a performance in front of a large audience.3.很多教育家认为从小培养还自动创新精神是很可取的
Many educators think it desirable to foster the creative spirit in the child at an early age.4.假设那幅画确实是名作,你觉得值得购买吗? Assuming this painting really is a masterpiece, do you think its worthwhile to buy it?
’ 如果这些数据统计上是站得住脚的,那它将会帮助我们认识正在调查的问题。
If the data is statistically valid, it will throw light on the problem we are investigating Unit 2 1)该公司否认其捐款有商业目的。(deny,commercial)
The company denied that its donations had a commercial purpose.2)每当他生气的时候,他说话就有一点结巴。(stammer)Whenever he was angry, he would begin to stammer slightly.3)教育是我们家庭最看重的传统,这就是为什么我父母从不带我到昂贵的饭店吃饭,却送我到最好的私立学校上学。(cherish)
Education is the most cherished tradition in our family.That’s why my parents never took me to dinner at expensive restaurants, but sent me to the best private school.4)手术康复后不久,他失业了,因此经历了人生的又一个困难阶段。(shortly after,go through)
Shortly after he recovered from the surgery, he lost his job and thus had to go through another difficult phase of his life.5)与我们的富裕邻居相比,我们的父母就相当穷了,但是他们总是努力满足我们最起码的需求。(affluent,minimal)In contrast to our affluent neighbors, my parents are rather poor, but they have always tried hard to meet our minimal needs.Unit3 1)科学家们找到火星上有水的证据了吗?(proof)Have scientists found proof of water on Mars? 2)计划委员会已经将建核电厂的可能地点缩小到了两个沿海城镇。(location,narrow down)
The planning committee has narrowed down the possible locations for the nuclear power plant to two coastal towns.3)山姆不仅失去了工作,而且还失去了双腿,他只好靠社会救济度过余生。(welfare)
Sam not only lost his job but also both legs;he had to live on welfare for the rest of his life.4)有十二人组成的陪审团(jury)一致表决认为玛丽有罪(guilty)。(consist of,in unison)
A jury consisting of 12 members voted in unison that Mary was guilty.5)听到有人质疑他的才能,肖恩觉得受了奇耻大辱。(talent,humiliate)Sean felt humiliated to hear his talent being questioned.Unit4 1)
研究表明,笑能够带来许多健康上的好处。(laughter)Research shows that laughter can bring a lot of health benefits.2)
互联网连接速度慢真让人心烦。(connection,annoy)A slow Internet connection speed is really annoying.3)
法律规定,帮助他人自杀是犯罪。(suicide,crime)As the law stands, helping someone commit suicide is a crime.4)
玛丽在她的报告中试图从一个完全不同的角度来解释这些数据。(interpret,angle,data)
In her report, Mary tries to interpret the data from a completely different angle.5)
苏是一个很有天份的女孩,她那惊人的记忆力使她在同班同学中显得格外突出。(of great talent,set apart)
Sue is a girl of great talent.Her amazing memory sets her apart from her classmates.
第三篇:新编大学英语第一册汉译英练习
新编大学英语第一册汉译英练习1)我累了,昨晚我不该那么晚睡觉
I’m tired.I shouldn’t have gone to bed so late last night.2)我和鲍勃不是很熟,不过我们偶尔一起出去喝一杯
I don’t/didn’t know Bob very well ,but we go/went out for an occasional drinking together
3)我们应该到火车站接她We are supposed to meet her at the railway/train station4)你可以清楚地看到有人快要淹死,而你却没有采取行动救他们
You could clearly see(some)people drowning,but/and you didn’t take any action/took no action to save them.5)包括周末在内仅仅还有12天时间可以用来买圣诞礼物
Including weekends,they are only 12 more days to buy Christmas’gifes.6)如果不立即采取行动,许多种野生动物就会因饥饿而死亡。
Without immediate action ,many kinds of wild animals would did from hunger.1)那首歌总是使她回想想在芝加哥过的那个夜晚
That/The song always reminds/reminded her of the night spent in Chicago 街角处有一位警察,我便向他问路。
2)There happened to be a policeman on the corner, so I asked him the way.3)由于天气恶劣,今天所有去纽约的航班都延误了。
All flights to New York today have been delayed because of the bad weather.4)谁有责任谁就必须赔偿。
Whoever is responsible must/will have to pay for the damage.5)我找不到我的支票簿,我准是把它留在家里了。I can`t find my check book;/.I must have left it at home.6)到足球比赛快开始时,暴风雨已经停了。
By the time the football match was going to start ,the storm had already stopped.1)除非你有经验,否则你得不到这份工作。
You won`t get the job unless you have/have gotthe experience.2)我把大部分时间花在研究中美文化的差异上了。
I spend most of my time on the differences between Chinese and American cultures./ Most of my time spent studying the differences between Chinese and American cultures.3)这句话意思极清楚,决不会引起误解。
The stentence/statement is so clear that it can`t cause any misunderstanding.4)他希望能够给与她比现在更多的帮助。
He hopes to give her more help than he does./ He wishes he could give her more help than he does.5)穿上外套,否则你会感冒。Put on your coat or you will catch cold.6)她的手藏品中增加了一张毕加索的画。She has added a Piasso to her collection.7)我没意识到以前曾来过这儿。I am not aware of ever having been here before.8)如果你继续对每个人这么粗鲁,你很快机会发现自己什么朋友都没有了。
You will soon find yourself without any friends at all if you keep on being so rude to everday.1)房间里热极了,请把窗户打开。It’s far too hot in the room.Open the window, please!2)半夜里拿嘈杂声把我们弄醒了。
The noise woke us up in the middle of the night/ at the midnight.3)他不应该对我说的话表示生气,那仅仅是玩笑而以。
He shouldn’t have been angry at what I said(my words).It was nothing more than(just,only)a joke.4)我们邀请了所有的朋友去野餐,但是由于下雨之来了一位。
We invited all our friends to the picnic,but only five of them showed up(arrived)because of the rain.=but it rained and only five of them showed up(arrived).5)她视婚姻为严肃的事。She views marriage as a serious thing(matter).6)令我失望的是,这部电影并不像我期望的那么好。
To my disappointment,the movie(film)didn’t live up to my expectations.1)我过去常去看电影,但现在再也没时间了。
er have the time.2)两个工人互相合作修理破裂的管子。
The two workers cooperated with each other to repair/fix the broken pipe.3)这是一种残忍的做法,应该马上停止。
This is a cruel practice which should be stopped immediately.4)你的工作的那一方面最困难,那一方面最有益。
Which aspect of your work/job is the most difficult,and which aspect(of your work/job)is the most rewarding?
5)有些人认为他很粗野,但情况并非如此。
Some people think he is rude,but that is not the case=true.6)我会尽我的所能帮忙,但我所能做的也有限。
I will help as much as I can,but there is a limit to what I can do.1)她的努力工作,使她得到了一大笔奖金Her hard work resulted in a big bonus for her.2)孩子们正在观看飞机起飞和着
陆。The children are/were watching the plane(s)take off and land.3)我总是一上船就晕。As soon as I am on board a ship,I always feel sick.、4)博物馆的公众开放的第一天,总共有20,000人参观。
On the first day when it was open to the public, a total number of 20,000 people visited the museum.5)委员会由科学家和工程师组成。
The committee consists of(is made up of)scientists and engineers.6)工作没有完成我不刚回家。
With the job/work unfinished,I dare not go home /I did not dare to go home.1)我们正在考虑卖房子。We are considering selling the house.2)我建议先把它等一会儿,然后再作决定。
I suggest(that)he(should)wait a while(moment)before he makes the decision.3)明天约翰很可能来参加聚会。John is very likely to come to the party tomorrow.4)我们想知道她不接受这份工作的原因。
We’d like to know the reason why she didn’t accept the job(work)
5)你本不应该再回到那栋还在燃烧的大楼,你有可能会被严重烧伤的..You shouldn’t have gone to the burning building,for you might have been seriously(badly)burnt.6)我从来没有想过会有问题。
The thought/It never crossed my mind that there might be a problem.1)第二次世界大战发生于1945World War II took place in 1945.2)我爷爷喝酒喝得厉害My grandfather drinks a great deal.3)到65岁的时候,他仍在工作He was still working by the age of 65.4)这个老师知道他所有学生的名字The teacher knows all his students by name.5)警察最终成功破解了这个疑案
The police have finally succeeded in solving the mystery.6)他喜欢各种体育运动,特别是篮球
He like all kinds of sports,but most of all, baskeball.7)打电话和面对面说话不一样
Talking on the phone is different from talking face to face/.8)他们因为有共同的兴趣爱好而相爱
They fell in love with each other because they had common interests.1)The topic of the speech is announced a week in advance,but the name of the speaker is not.2)It seemed incredible that some students still played football before the exams.3)Mr.Auden is a happy man who derives pleasure from helping others.4)Two Americans shared last year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine.5)First of all I’d like to welcome you to the meeting.6)I’m not accustomed/used to such luxury.It’s a waste of money.7)The results of the exam will be put up on Friday afternoon.8)Some cruel experiments on animals are carried out in the name of science.1)The best way to lose weight is to avoid eating fatty foots.2)One of the main causes of hunger used to be lack of transportation.3)Wasterful packaging will add to the price of food/food price.4)Economic reform would not have been successful without the development of agriculture.5)The farmers will grow more cash crops next year instead of grains.6)At present,there are still places in the world where farmers make use of animal labour.
第四篇:新视野大学英语第一册课后翻译答案
新视野大学第三版英语课后翻译原文及答案
Unit 1 原文:
Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher who is credited with laying the fundamentals(基础)of modern Western philosophy.He is a mysterious figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his most famous student Plato.Socrates has become well known for his contribution to the field of ethics.His method of teaching, known as the Socratic Method, by asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to explain ideas remains a commonly used tool in a wide range of discussions.He also made important and lasting contributions to the field of epistemology(认
识论)and logic, and the influence of his ideas and approach remains a strong foundation for Western philosophy that followed.Socrates was the most colorful figure in the history of ancient philosophy.His fame was widespread in his own time, and his name soon became a household word although he constructed no philosophical system, established no school, and founded no sect(宗派).翻译:
苏格拉底是古希腊哲学家,被誉为现代西方哲学的奠基人。他是一个谜一般的人物,人们主要通过后来的一些古典作家的叙述,尤其是他最著名的学生柏拉图的作品去了解他。苏格拉底以他对伦理学的贡献而闻名。他的教学法亦称为苏格拉底法,即通过提问和回答来激发批判性思维以及阐述观点。该方法在各种讨论中仍被普遍使用。他还在认识论和逻辑领域做出了重大而深远的贡献。他的思想和方法所带来的影响一直是后来的西方哲学的坚实基础。苏格拉底是古代哲学史上最丰富多彩的人物。他
在他那个时代已威名远扬。虽然他未曾建立什么哲学体系,未曾设立什么学派,也未曾创立什么宗派,但他的名字很快就变得家喻户晓了。
原文:
孔子是中国历史上著名的思想家、教育家,是儒家(Confucianism)的创始人,被尊称为古代的“圣人”(sage)。
他的言论和生平活动记录在《论语》(The Analects)一书中。《论语》是中国古代文化的经典著作,对后来历代的思想家、文学家、政治家产生了很大影响。不研究《论语》,就不能真正把握中国几千年的传统文化。孔子的很多思想,尤其是其教育思想,对中国社会产生了深远的影响。在21世纪的今天,孔子的学说不仅受到中国人的重视,而且也越来越受到整个国际社会的重视。翻译:Confucius was a great thinker and educator in Chinese history.He was the founder of Confucianism and was respectfully referred to as an ancient “sage”.His words and life story were recorded in The Analects.An enduring classic of ancient Chinese culture, The Analects has had a great influence on the thinkers, writers, and statesmen that came after Confucius.Without studying this book, one could hardly truly understand the thousands-of-years' traditional Chinese culture.Much of Confucius' thought, especially his thought on education, has had a profound influence on Chinese society.In the 21st century, Confucian thought not only retains the attention of the Chinese, but it also wins an increasing attention from the international community.Unit 2 Christmas is a widely observed cultural holiday, celebrated on December 25 by millions of people around the world.It commemorates(纪念)the birth of Jesus Christ.The festival dated from as early as 336 AD.Gradually it evolved into a religious as well as secular(非
宗
教的)celebration, celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians.Today Christmas is observed as an important festival and public holiday around the world.Christmas customs differ in different countries.Popular modern customs of the holiday include an exchange of Christmas cards and gifts, Christmas singing, church attendance, the display of various Christmas decorations and trees, family gatherings, and a special meal preparation.To small children, the festival is full of fantasy and surprise.Legend(传说)has it that Santa Claus will enter each house through the chimney and bring gifts to well-behaved children on Christmas Eve.Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival heighten economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, the holiday has also become a significant event and a key sales period for businesses.翻译: 圣诞节是一个被广泛庆祝的文化节日,全世界有许许多多的人在1 2月2 5日庆祝这一节日。它是为了纪念耶稣基督的诞辰。该节日最早可追溯到公元3 3 6年。渐渐地,这一节日演变为一个既是宗教又是非宗教的节日,越来越多的非基督徒也庆祝圣诞节。如今,圣诞节在全球被作为一个重大的节日和公共假日来庆祝。不同国家的圣诞节风俗也各不相同。现代流行的圣诞节风俗包括交换圣诞贺卡和圣诞礼物、唱圣诞歌曲、参加教堂活动、摆放各种圣诞装饰品和圣诞树、举行家庭聚会以及准备一顿特别的大餐。对小孩子们来说,这个节日充满了幻想和惊喜。据传说,圣诞老人会在圣诞夜从烟囱进入每户人家,给乖巧听话的孩子带来礼物。由于圣诞节送礼物以及许多其他方面推动了基督徒和非基督徒的经济活动,圣诞节也因此成为商家的一个重大活动和主要销售季。原文:
每 年 农 历(Chinese lunar calendar)八 月 十 五 是我 国 的 传 统 节 日 —— 中 秋 节(the Mid-Autumn Festival)。这时是一年秋季的中期,所以被称为中秋。中秋节的一项重要活动是赏月。夜晚,人们赏明月、吃月饼,共庆中秋佳节。中秋节也是家庭团圆的时刻,远在他乡的游子,会借此寄托自己对故乡和亲人的思念之情。中秋节的习俗很多,都寄托着人们对美好生活的热爱和向往。自2008年起,中秋节成为中国的法定节假日 翻译:
According to the Chinese lunar calendar, August 15 of every year is a traditional Chinese festival — the Mid-Autumn Festival.This day is the middle of autumn, so it is called Mid-Autumn.One of the important Mid-Autumn Festival activities is to enjoy the moon.On that night, people gather together to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, looking up at the bright moon and eating moon cakes.The festival is also a time for family reunion.People living far away from home will express their feelings of missing their hometowns and families at this festival.There are many customs to celebrate the festival, all expressing people's love and hope for a happy life.Since 2008, the Mid-Autumn Festival has become an official national holiday in China.Unit 3 原文:
he London Underground is a rapid transit(交
通
运
输
系统)system in the United Kingdom, serving a large part of Greater London.The underground system is also known as the Tube, due to the characteristic shape of the subway tunnels.It all started in the mid-1800s.The Tube wasthe world's first underground train system, with the first section opening in 1863.Since then it has grown to an underground masterpiece(杰作)of 12 lines, 275 stations, and over 250 miles of rail track, 45% of which is underground.It is the fourth largest metro system in the world in terms of route miles.It also has one of the largest numbers of stations.As an affordable and easy way to get around London, the Tube remains the first choice for millions of commuters each day, as well as tourists visiting the city on holidays.The Tube has been an international icon for London.The London Underground celebrated its 150 years of operation in 2013, with various events marking the milestone(里程碑).翻译:
伦敦地铁是英国的一个快速交通运输系统,服务于大伦敦的大部分地区。地铁系统因其地铁隧道的典型形状也被称为地下管道。伦敦地铁始建于19 世纪中期,是世界上最早的地下铁路系统。它的第一段地铁于1863 年开始运营。自此,伦敦地铁不断延伸,发展成为一个包括12条线路、275个车站、铁轨总长超过250 英里的地铁杰作,其中有45%在地下运行。就路线长度而言,它是世界上第四大地铁系统,也是车站数量最多的地铁系统之一。作为一个走遍伦敦的经济便捷的途径,伦敦地铁一向是每天数百万通勤者以及在节假日游历伦敦的游客的首选。伦敦地铁已成为伦敦的一个国际标志。2013 年伦敦举办了各种各样的活动,庆祝地铁运营150 周年,纪念这一里程碑。原文:
中国航天业开创于1956年。几十年来,中国航天事业创造了一个又一个奇迹。1970年,中国成功发射了第一颗人造地球卫星,成为世界上第五个独立自主研制和发射人造地球卫星的国家。1992年,中国开始实施载人航天飞行工程(manned spaceflight program)。2003年,中国成功发射了“神舟五号”载人飞船,使中国成为第三个发射载人飞船的国家。2007年发射了“嫦娥一号”,即第一颗绕月球飞行(lunar-orbiting)的人造卫星。2013年,第五艘载人飞船“神舟十号”发射成功,为中国空间站的建设打下了基础。翻译:
China's space industry was launched in 1956.Over the past decades, China's space industry has created one miracle after another.In 1970 China launched its first man-made earth satellite, ranking China the fifth country in the world to independently develop and launch man-made earth satellites.In 1992 China began to carry out the manned spaceflight program.In 2003 China launched Shenzhou-5, a manned spaceship.The successful launch made China the third country to launch manned spaceships.In 2007 Chang'e-1, the first lunar-orbiting man-made satellite, was sent to space.In 2013 Shenzhou-10, the fifth manned spaceship, was launched successfully, laying the foundation for building the Chinese Space Station.Unit 4 原文:
As one of the first Europeans to travel across Asia through China, Marco Polo is perhaps the most well-known foreign merchant and voyager to the Chinese people.He traveled extensively(广
泛地)with his family, journeying from Europe to Asia from 1271 to 1295.He remained in China for 17 of those years.His book The Travels of Marco Polo depicts his journeys throughout Asia, giving Europeans their first comprehensive look into the Far East, including China, India, and Japan.From his written accounts the Westerners learned of porcelain, coal, gunpowder, printing, paper money, and silk for the first time.The wealth of new geographic information recorded by Polo was widely used in the late 15th and the 16th centuries duringthe age of the European voyages of discovery and conquest(征服).In the centuries since his death, Marco Polo has received the recognition that failed to come his way during his lifetime.Marco Polo's story has inspired countless other adventurers to set off and see the world.译:
作为通过中国游历亚洲的首批欧洲人之一,马可•波罗可能是中国人最熟知的外国商人和航海家。从1271 年到1295 年,他和他的家人游历广泛,遍及欧洲和亚洲。期间,他在中国留居了17 年。他的著作《马可•波罗游记》描述了他游历亚洲的旅程,让欧洲人首次全面领略了包括中国、印度和日本在内的远东地区的情况。从他的文字叙述中,西方人第一次了解到瓷器、煤炭、火药、印刷术、纸币以及丝绸。在15 世纪末和16 世纪欧洲发现与征服的大航海时代,马可•波罗所
翻记录的大量新的地理信息得到了广泛使用。在他去世后的这几个世纪里,马可•波罗获得了他在有生之年未曾获得的赞誉。马可•波罗的故事鼓舞了其他无数的探险者去踏上征程,发现世界。原文: 郑和是中国历史上最著名的航海家(maritime explorer)。公元1405 年,明朝的统治者为了稳固边防(border defense)和开展海上贸易,派郑和下西洋(the Western Seas)。在此后的28 年里,郑和带领船队七下西洋,前后出海的人员有10 多万人,访问了30 多个国家和地区。船队纵横南亚、西亚,一直到非洲大陆。郑和下西洋是世界航海(navigation)史上的壮举,它展现了郑和卓越的航海和组织才能,同时展现了明朝的国力和国威(national strength and prestige),加强了明朝和海外各国之间的关系。翻译:
Zheng He was the most famous maritime explorer in Chinese history.In 1405 AD, the ruler of the Ming Dynasty sent Zheng He on a voyage to the Western Seas in order to strengthen border defense and develop trade by sea.In the following 28 years, Zheng He led his fleet, made seven voyages to the Western Seas with over 100,000 crew members in total, and visited more than 30 countries and regions.The fleet traveled far into South Asia and West Asia, and made all the way to the continent of Africa.Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas were a great feat in the world's navigation history.It showed Zheng He's outstanding navigation and organization talents;meanwhile, it exhibited the national strength and prestige of the Ming Dynasty, and strengthened the relationships between the Ming Dynasty and the overseas countries.Unit 5 原文:
The first written records of the ancient Olympic Games date to 776 BC.The ancient Olympics were held every four years between August 6 and September 19 during a religious festival honoring Zeus(宙斯).The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.The Olympic symbol consists of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions, representing the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games.The Olympics truly took off as an international sporting event after 1924, when the 8th Olympic Games were held in Paris.Some 3,000 athletes from 44 nations competed that year, and for the first time the Games featured a closing ceremony.The Winter Olympics debuted(问世)that year, including such events as figure skating, ice hockey, bobsledding and the biathlon.Eighty years later, when the 2004 Summer Olympics returned to Athens for the first time in more than a century, nearly 11,000 athletes from 201 countries competed, breaking the then record of participating countries.翻译:
有关古代奥林匹克运动会的最早文字记载可追溯至公元前776年。古代奥运会每4年举办一次,在8月6日与9月19日之间的一个纪念宙斯的宗教节日期间举行。第一届现代奥运会于1896年在希腊雅典举办。奥运会的标志由五个大小相同的套环组成,代表着五大洲的联合和来自世界各地运动员的大聚会。奥运会真正腾飞、成为一项国际体育盛会是在1924年之后,即第8届奥运会在巴黎举办之后。这一年,来自44个国家约3,000名运动员同场竞技,并且第一次在奥运会上增加了闭幕式这一仪式。同年,冬季奥运会首次亮相,比赛项目包括花样滑冰、冰球、雪橇和冬季两项运动。80年后,2004年夏季奥运会在相隔一个多世纪后再次在雅典举办,来自201个国家的近11,000名运动员展开竞技,创下参赛国数量之最。原文: 太极拳(Tai Chi)是一种武术(martial arts)项目,也是一种健身运动,在中国有着悠久的历史。太极拳动作缓慢而柔和,适合任何年龄、性别、体型的人练习。太极拳既可防身,又能强身健体,因而深受中国人的喜爱。太极拳在发展的过程中,借鉴并吸收了中国传统哲学、医术、武术的合理内容(element),成为特色鲜明的一项运动。作为中国特有的一种运动形式,太极拳也越来越受到众多外国朋友的喜爱。翻译:
Tai Chi is a kind of martial arts, and a fitness exercise as well.It has a long history in China.With slow and gentle movements, Tai Chi is suitable for people of any age, sex, or body type to practice.It can be used to provide self-defense as well as build the body.Therefore, it has become very popular among Chinese people.During its development, Tai Chi borrowed and absorbed desirable elements from traditional Chinese philosophy, medicine, and martial arts, and it has developed into a sport with unique features.As a unique sport in China, Tai Chi is also gaining increasing popularity among many foreign friends.Unit 6 原文: Gap year(间
隔
年)refers to a period of time
—not necessarily a year — in which students take time off and do something other than schooling, such as travel or work.The year out is most commonly taken after high school and before going to university.During this time, a student might travel, engage in volunteer work or undertake(承担)a working holiday abroad.A new trend is to participate in international education programs that combine language study, home stays, cultural exchange, community service, and independent study.The practice of taking a year out developed in the United Kingdom in the 1960s.It has grown very popular among students in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.In the United States, however, the practice of taking a year off remains the exception(例外).But in recent years, taking a year out has become slightly more common for Americans.Some 40,000 American students participated in 2013 in gap year programs, an increase of almost 20% since 2006.Universities such as Princeton University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology have formal policies allowing students to defer(期)admission.翻译:
延间隔年指的是学生休假不去上学而去旅游或工作等的一段时间,但不一定是一年。间隔年通常选在高中毕业和进入大学之前的一段时间。在这段时间里,学生可以旅游、参加志愿者工作或者在国外边打工边度假。一种新潮流是参加集语言学习、住家、文化交流、社区服务和自主学习于一体的国际教育活动。间隔年的做法于20世纪60年代兴起于英国。它在英国、澳大利亚、新西兰和加拿大已经变得非常流行。但是在美国,间隔年的做法仍然只是个别现象。不过近年来,间隔年对美国人来说变得稍微普遍起来。2013年有大约四万美国学生参加了间隔年活动,比2006年增加了近20%。普林斯顿大学、哈佛大学、麻省理工学院等大学都有明文规定允许学生延迟入学。原文:
改革开放以来,中国的教育事业得到了快速发展,取得了引人瞩目的成就。中国政府把教育摆在优先发展的地位,坚持科教兴国(revitalize the country),全
面
提
倡
素
质
教育(quality-oriented education)。同时,积极推进教育公平,保障人人有受教育的机会。中国的教育成就反映在两个不同的层面:一个是全面普及了九年义务教育(nine-year compulsory education),另一个是实现了高等教育大众化(mass higher education)。教育的发展为中国的经济发展和社会进步作出了重大贡献。近年来,为适应社会、经济发展的需要,中国政府不断加快培养各领域的急需人才。翻译: Since its economic reform and opening-up to the world, China's education has gone through rapid development and made remarkable achievements.The Chinese government gives top priority to the development of education, persists in revitalizing the country by science and education, and fully advocates quality-oriented education.Meanwhile, it actively promotes equality in education to guarantee everyone access to education.China's achievements in education can be reflected in two different layers: One is the popularization of the nine-year compulsory education;the other is the realization of mass higher education.The development of education has made significant contributions to China's economic development and social progress.In recent years, to satisfy the needs of social and economic development, the Chinese government has sped up the training of qualified personnel urgently needed in various fields.Unit 7 原文:
The belief in the freedom of the individual is probably the most basic and most strongly held of all American beliefs.The most important thing to understand Americans is probably their devotion(深爱)to “individualism”.They have been trained since very early in their lives to consider themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for their own situations in life and their own destiny.Americans view themselves as highly individualistic in their thoughts and actions.They resist being thought of as representatives of any homogeneous(由同类组成的)group.When they do join groups, they believe they are special, just a little different from other members of the same group.Closely associated with the value they place on individualism is the importance Americans assign privacy.Americans assume people “need some time to themselves” or “some time alone” to think about things or recover their spent psychological energy.Americans have great difficulty understanding foreigners who always want to be with another person and who dislike being alone.翻译:
在所有美国人的信念中,最基本、最强烈的信念可能就是崇尚个人自由。要理解美国人,最重要的也许就是了解他们对“个人主义”的热爱。生活中他们很早就开始受到教育,把自己看成独立的个体,对人生中自己的处境以及自己的前途命运负责。美国人认为自己的思想和行为高度个性化。他们不愿被视为任何同质群体的代表。如果确实加入了群体,他们也认为自己有特别之处,与同一个群体中的其他成员有着些许的差别。与美国人对个人主义赋予的价值紧密相关的是他们对个人隐私的重视。美国人认为,人“需要有自己的时间”或者“有时间独处”,用来思考事情,或者恢复他们所消耗的心理能量。美国人很难理解那些总想与人结伴、不爱独处的外国人。原文:
为人诚信,以和为贵是中华民族的传统美德。“和”的思想体现在很多方面。在处理人与人的关系上,中国传统思想主张“和为贵”以及“家和万事兴”,从而创造一个和谐的社会环境。在人与自然的关系上,人类应当学会认识自然,尊重自然,保护自然。人与人、人与社会、人与自然都需要“和谐”。如今,和谐发展依然是我们的治国之本和管理人才之道。随着我国社会经济和文化的发展,“和”的思想更加深入人心。中国正在向构建社会主义和谐社会的目标迈进。翻译: Integrity and harmony are traditional Chinese virtues.“Harmony” is demonstrated in various aspects.In regard to interpersonal relations, traditional Chinese thoughts hold that “Harmony is most precious” and “A family that lives in harmony will prosper”.A harmonious social environment can be created based on these principles.As for relations between human beings and nature, people should learn to understand, respect and protect nature.Harmony is essential to interpersonal relations, relations between human beings and society, as well as between human beings and nature.Nowadays, harmonious development is still the way of running the country and managing talented personnel.With the development of China's society, economy and culture, the idea of “harmony” goes even deeper into people's hearts.China is on its way toward the goal of building a harmonious socialist society.Unit 8 原文:
As the world's only truly universal global organization, the United Nations(UN)has become the foremost forum to address issues that transcend(超越)national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone.The initial goals of the UN are safeguarding(保护)peace, protecting human rights, establishing the framework for international justice and promoting economic and social progress.In recent years, the UN has been faced with new challenges, such as climate change, international terrorism and AIDS.While conflict resolution and peacekeeping continue to be among its primary efforts, the UN, along with its specialized agencies, is also engaged in a wide range of activities to improve people's lives around the world — from disaster relief, through education and advancement of women, to peaceful uses of atomic energy.The UN and its specialized agencies have helped the world become a more hospitable(热
情
友
好的)and livable place and brought great benefits to people around the world.翻译:
作为世界上唯一一个真正具有普遍性的世界组织,联合国已经成为处理超越国界、而且任何一个国家都无法独立解决的问题的首要论坛。联合国最初的宗旨是维护和平、保护人权、建立国际公平正义的框架以及促进经济和社会进步。近年来,联合国又面临着新的挑战,诸如气候变化、国际恐怖主义和艾滋病等。现在,解决争端及维护和平仍然是联合国最主要的任务。除此之外,联合国及其专门机构还致力于各种旨在改进世界人民生活的活动,从赈灾到教育和妇女进步,再到原子能的和平使用。联合国及其专门机构推动世界成为一个更加友好、更加宜居的地方,为全世界人民带来了福祉。原文:
新中国成立后,中国坚持(persist in)独立自主的和平外交政策,在外交领域取得了巨大成就。截至2011年,中国已与172个国家建立了外交关系(diplomatic relations)。近年来,随着中国综合国力的提升(enhancement),中国在国际事务中的作用越来越重要,中国的国际地位得到进一步提升。在地区性事务中,中国积极推动各种区域合作,为维护地区和平、促进地区发展作出了重要贡献。中国外交(diplomacy)将高举“和平、发展、合作、共赢”的旗帜(banner),在和平共处五项原则的基础上,通过全面发展同各国的友好合作,为建设持久和平、共同繁荣的和谐世界作出不懈的努力(make unremitting efforts)。翻译:
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has persisted in the independent foreign policy of peace, and made tremendous progress in foreign affairs.By 2011, China had established diplomatic relations with 172 countries.Over recent years, with the enhancement of its comprehensive national strength, China has been playing an increasingly important role in international affairs, and China's international status has been further enhanced.In regional affairs, China actively promotes all kinds of regional cooperation.It has made important contributions in maintaining regional peace and promoting regional development.China's diplomacy will hold high the banner of “peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit”.On the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and through all-round and friendly cooperation with various countries, China will make unremitting efforts to build a harmonious world of enduring peace and common prosperity.
第五篇:新编大学英语4翻译
新编大学英语4课文翻译及课后答案
Unit 1
享受幽默—什么东西令人开怀? 听了一个有趣的故事会发笑、很开心,古今中外都一样。这一现象或许同语言本身一样悠久。那么,到底是什么东西会使一个故事或笑话让人感到滑稽可笑的呢? 我是第一次辨识出幽默便喜欢上它的人,因此我曾试图跟学生议论和探讨幽默。这些学生文化差异很大,有来自拉丁美洲的,也有来自中国的。我还认真地思考过一些滑稽有趣的故事。这么做完全是出于自己的喜好。为什么听我讲完一个笑话后,班上有些学生会笑得前仰后合,而其他学生看上去就像刚听我读了天气预报一样呢?显然,有些人对幽默比别人更敏感。而且,我们也发现有的人很善于讲笑话,而有的人要想说一点有趣的事却要费好大的劲。我们都听人说过这样的话:“我喜欢笑话,但我讲不好,也总是记不住。”有些人比别人更有幽默感,就像有些人更具有音乐、数学之类的才能一样。一个真正风趣的人在任何场合都有笑话可讲,而且讲了一个笑话,就会从他记忆里引出一连串的笑话。一个缺乏幽默感的人不可能成为一群人中最受欢迎的人。一个真正有幽默感的人不仅受人喜爱,而且在任何聚会上也往往是人们注意的焦点。这么说是有道理的。甚至有些动物也具有幽默感。我岳母从前经常来我们家,并能住上很长一段时间。通常她不喜欢狗,但却很喜欢布利茨恩—我们养过的一条拉布拉多母猎犬。而且,她们的这种喜欢是相互的。布利茨恩在很小的时候就常常戏弄外祖母,当外祖母坐在起居室里她最喜欢的那张舒适的椅子上时,布利茨恩就故意把她卧室里的一只拖鞋叼到起居室,并在外祖母刚好够不到的地方蹦来跳去,一直逗到外祖母忍不住站起来去拿那只拖鞋。外祖母从椅子上一起来,布利茨恩就迅速跳上那椅子,从它那闪亮的棕色眼睛里掠过一丝拉布拉多式的微笑,无疑是在说:“啊哈,你又上了我的当。” 典型的笑话或幽默故事由明显的三部分构成。第一部分是铺垫(即背景),接下来是主干部分(即故事情节),随后便是妙语(即一个出人意料或令人惊讶的结尾)。如果这个妙语含有一定的幽默成分,这个笑话便会很有趣。通常笑话都包含这三部分,而且每部分都必须交代清楚。如果讲故事或说笑话的人使用听众都熟悉的手势和语言,则有助于增强效果。我们可以对幽默这种娱乐形式,进行分析,从而发现究竟是什么使一个有趣的故事或笑话令人发笑。举例来说,最常见的幽默有以下几种,包括了从最显而易见的幽默到比较微妙含蓄的幽默。“滑稽剧”是最明显的幽默。它语言简单、直截了当,常常以取笑他人为乐。说笑打闹这种形式过去是、现在仍然是滑稽说笑演员和小丑的惯用技巧。它为不同年龄、不同文化背景的人们所喜爱。几乎本世纪的每个讲英语的滑稽说笑演员都曾以这样或那样的方式说过下面这则笑话。一位男士问另一位男士:“昨晚我看到的那位和你在一起的贵妇是谁?”那位男士回答道:“那可不是什么贵妇,那是我老婆。”这个笑话的幽默之处在于第二位男士说他的妻子不是一位贵妇,也就是说她不是一个高雅的女人。这个笑话并没有因为经常讲而变得不再那么好笑。由于这是一个经典笑话,观众都知道要说什么,而且因为大家对这个笑话很熟悉而更加珍爱它。中国的相声是一种特殊的滑稽剧。相声中两名中国喜剧演员幽默地谈论诸如官僚主义者、家庭问题或其他一些有关个人的话题。相声随处都能听到,无论是在乡村的小舞台上,还是在北京最大的剧院里,抑或在广播、电视上。它显然是中国人家喻户晓的一种传统的幽默形式。“俏皮话”不像滑稽剧那样浅显,它是因语言的误用或误解而引人发笑。我特别喜欢的一个例子是三位年长的绅士在英国乘火车旅行的故事。当火车慢慢停下来时,第一位绅士问道:“这是Wembley(温布利)吗?”“不,”第二位绅士说:“是Thursday(星期四)。”“我也是,”第三位说道,“让我们下车喝杯啤酒吧。”我们知道上了年纪的人往往耳背,因此会把Wembley(温布利)听成了Wednesday(星期三),把Thursday(星期四)听成了thirsty(渴了),这样一来就为第三位老人的妙语做好了铺垫。著名的中国漫画家和幽默家丁聪便是一位俏皮话大师。在他的一幅幽默漫画中,一位老师说:“你为什么一字不改地抄别人的作业?”那位年轻的学生回答道:“我没有一字不改地抄。我把作业上的名字改成自己的了。”在丁聪的另一幅经典漫画里,一位生气的父亲问道:“告诉我,1加2等于几?”儿子说:“我不知道。”这位不耐烦的父亲接着说道:“比方说,你、你妈妈和我,我们加起来一共是几个,傻瓜?”儿子得意地回答道:“是三个傻瓜。” 这些故事无论是漫画还是笑话,是由演滑稽剧的喜剧演员说还是由搭档的相声演员讲,都为各地人们所喜爱。人们喜爱这些有趣的故事,因为它们贴近现实生活,而且里面那些出人意料的妙语十分有趣。双关语是一种更微妙的俏皮话。它使用的技巧是利用发音相似的词或同一个词的不同意思。有些批评家认为双
关语是最低级的幽默,但我不同意这种观点。双关语与其他形式的幽默相比需要更细微、更巧妙的语言技巧;然而,简单的双关语甚至很小的孩子也能利用。例如,谜语或脑筋急转弯问题常使用双关语做铺垫、制造故事情节,而且更多地是用在妙语部分。双关语是我最早懂得的幽默。记得大约在五岁时我听到了下面这个谜语。一个人问:“什么东西整个儿是黑的、白的和红的?”另外一个人通常猜不出来,于是问道:“我不猜了。是什么呀?”出谜语的人回答:“是报纸。”如果你知道在英语中“red(红色)”和“read(读)”的读音一样但意思完全不同,答案就很明显了。12 DOUBLE ENTENDRES(法语中的“一语双关”)是双关语的特殊形式, 其中的词或短语有双重意思。两个意思往往很不相同,一个比较恰当,另一个往往比较粗俗—但并不总是这样。我喜欢那个关于一位中学教师和校长因看见学生在学校操场上接吻而感到担心的故事。故事并不过火。那位教师对学生们说;“我和校长已经决定停止在学校操场上接吻。”听到笑声,她意识到她没有把意思表达清楚,于是补充说:“我的意思是不能再在我们的鼻子下面发生接吻这样的事了。”当然,这个解释并没有纠正她的第一句话,反而使这个笑话的双重含义变得更加好笑。一些专业的幽默家认为如今的幽默大多缺乏智慧,不够巧妙。他们不喜欢在幽默中过多使用有色情意味或粗俗的语言,而且觉得大多数幽默家缺乏创造性。的确,现在有些幽默令人震惊,但我认为这不是幽默的过错。幽默本身是活泼健康的,它还会继续生存下去,只因为每天都有有趣的事情发生。一些有幽默感的人会看到听到这些有趣的事情,并把它们编成妙趣横生、令人开心的笑话和故事。
Unit 2
便笺的力量 我当体育编辑,最早是为蒙比利埃(俄亥俄州)的《企业导报》工作,当时我很少收到体育迷的来信。因此,一天早晨放在我桌上的一封来信把我吸引住了。打开来信,我看到了下面的话:“关于老虎队的述评很不错,再接再厉。”签名的是体育编辑堂?沃尔夫。当时我只是一个十几岁的小伙子(为每一竖栏写一英寸文字,稿酬总计达15美分),因此他的话最鼓舞人心了。我把这封信一直放在书桌的抽屉里,后来它的边角都卷起来了。每当我怀疑自己不是当作家的料时,重温一下堂的便笺,就又会树起信心来。后来,我逐渐对堂有所了解,知道给各行各业的人写快捷而鼓舞人心的便笺是他养成的习惯。他告诉我说:“当我使别人充满信心时,我也感觉好极了。” 因此毫不奇怪,他的朋友圈子就像附近的伊利湖那么大。去年他去世了,享年75岁。电话与悼函像潮水般涌向报社,都来自于曾经得到过他激励(文字)的人们。多年来,我努力效仿堂以及我的其他朋友,他们关心别人,常写一些鼓舞人心的话语,因为我觉得,他们这样做是很有意义的。在这样一个惯于冷漠、无动于衷的世界上,这种便笺给人们带来了温暖和安慰。我们都时不时地需要鼓励,大家知道几行赞扬的话会改变一个人的一天,甚至一生。那么,这些激励人心的便笺的作者为什么寥若晨星呢?我猜想很多人回避写,是因为他们太看重人们的看法。他们担心会被误解,怕别人觉得他们自作多情或者言不由衷。还有,写也要花时间,远不如打电话方便。当然打电话的缺点是:说过的话留不住。而一张便笺使我们的良好意愿显得更加珍贵。便笺是白纸黑字记录在案的东西,而且我们写下的字可以反复阅读,细细品味并珍藏起来。尽管写便笺会多花一些时间,但一些非常忙的人也在这么做,其中包括乔治?布什。有人说,他政治上的成功在很大程度上归功于他那枝随时准备写字的笔。这是怎么回事呢?在他整个职业生涯中,每次与人们接触之后,他几乎都随后写封信,内容亲切——一句赞美之辞,一行表扬的话,或一段感谢语。他不仅写给朋友和同事,还写给萍水相逢的人以及完全陌生的人——比如那位借伞给他的人,后来收到他热情的赞扬信,感到很惊讶。那些通常做作的公司高层经理们,其领导作风只能被形容为强硬、冷漠、脱离群众。甚至这些人也开始学习写便笺去鼓舞人心,且从中获益匪浅。唐纳德?彼得森,福特公司的前主席,把每天写便笺鼓励同事当作一件日常工作。该公司在80年代时走出低谷取得成功主要是他的功劳。“我只不过匆匆地在备忘录或信的角上写一些鼓舞人心的话,然后传递出去,”他说道。“每天最重要的一段时间,就是鼓舞那些为你工作的人的那10分钟。” “太多的时候,”他发表自己的看法说,“那些我们真正喜欢的人并不知道我们是怎么看待他们的。太多的时候,我们会以为,我并没有说过什么批评的话,为什么非得去说好话呢?我们忘了,人类需要正面的肯定或鼓励——事实上,我们靠这个取得进步,获得成功!” 怎样才能写出振奋精神、温暖人心的信呢?只要我们怀有要表示感激之情的心愿。写这种便笺的高手都具有我所谓的 “4S”技巧。1)真诚(sincere)。没人要听虚假的赞美。2)简短(short)。如果不能用三句话表达出你的意思,你很可能过火了,写得太长。3)具体(specific)。赞扬一位业务伙伴 “演讲精彩”太笼统含糊;告诉他“关于沃伦?巴菲特的投资策略讲得很精彩”才是一语中的。4)自然(spontaneous)。这使得便笺充满了生气,洋溢着热情,并使读者的心灵长久地感受这种生气和热情。16 当你非得到处找写信用品时,写出来的东西就难以自然,因此我总是把纸、信封和邮票放在手边,甚至在旅行时也是如此。信封信笺不需要很花哨,重要的是要表达的思想。17 那么,你周围又有谁值得你写便笺表示感谢或鼓励呢?一位邻居?为你服务的那位图书馆管理员?一位亲戚?你的市长?你的伙伴?一位教师?你的医生?你不必富有诗意。如果你需要一个写的理由,就找一个生活中的重要事件,例如你们共同参加的某个特殊事件的周年纪念日、生日或者节日。例如,过去的25年里,我总是为远方的朋友每年准备一张圣诞卡,而且常常在上面亲笔写上一句感谢或祝贺的话。鉴于圣诞节的氛围,就一年来所取得的成功与得到的好运特意表示谢忱似乎是最恰到好处的。不要吝啬你的赞美之言。像“最了不起的”、“最聪明的”、“最漂亮的”这种最高级的表达法——使大家都感到高兴。即使你的赞美之词稍稍超前了一点也没关系,记住,梦想的实现往往孕育于期望之中。今天,我收到了以前的老板和精神导师诺曼?文森特?皮尔的一封温暖的赞扬信。这张小小的便笺上满是鼓舞人心的词句,这促使我坐到了打字机前来完成几封我早就该写的信。我不知道这些信会不会使别人的一天别有意义,但是,对我自己确实如此。正如我的朋友堂?沃尔夫所说的:使别人充满信心,也就使我自己感觉很好。
Unit 3
从文化角度看性别角色 在过去的几十年里,已经无数次地证实了这样一个事实:构成男子阳刚之气和女子阴柔之气的各种不同类型的行为、情感、和兴趣都既是遗传又是文化熏陶的结果。在成长的过程中,每个孩子学会了细微的行为举止,数量之多数以百计,这一切都带有文化的烙印,成了他们性别特征的一部分。有些行为举止是直接学到的。也就是说,别人教孩子如何恰如其分地行事, 男有男的规矩, 女有女的标准。另一些跟性别有关的具体举止是无意识地或间接地学会的,因为文化为女孩子和男孩子提供的形象、向往的目标以及成人的榜样各不相同。例如,最近对美国公立学校的一项研究显示,在教育中存在一种男孩比女孩更受偏爱的文化偏见。据研究人员反映,这种偏爱是无意的、不知不觉的,但它确实存在,并每年都在影响着数百万计学生的生活。为了研究在教育中存在的性别偏爱,戴维?赛德克博士和迈拉?赛德克博士夫妇录制了教师在课堂上课的情形。他们的研究显示,许多自认为无性别偏爱的教师惊奇地发现,从录像带上看他们竟是那么偏心。从幼儿园到研究生课程,都可以看到教师们请男生回答问题的次数远比女生多。这对学习过程有着巨大的影响,因为总的来说,那些积极的课堂活动参与者对学习更加乐观有信心,并能在今后取得更大的成就。事实上,在20世纪60年代末期,当美国东北部多所最好的女子学院向男生开放之后,教授们和女学生们都发现男孩们正在“接管”课堂讨论,而女生积极参与的程度则明显下降。近年来,在法学院和医学院的课堂上也发现了类似的情况:与男生相比女生处于次要的地位。赛德克夫妇所做的研究显示,教师有时候会按照固有的性别模式给女孩子和男孩子不同布置的任务,这样便不知不觉地使女孩子不能像男孩子一样积极地参与。例如,有位教师在给幼儿园的孩子上自然科学课时,不断地让小男孩去操作科学“实验”,而让女孩子只是做一些安放材料的工作。既然使用课堂材料动手操作是早期教育的一个重要方面,这些女孩子就这样被剥夺了重要的学习经历,这会影响到她们今后的整个人生。美国教师中一个具有代表性的想法是,男孩擅长数学和自然科学,这些学科都是“难懂的”、“适合于男性的”,而女孩会在语言和阅读技能上比男孩强。这是教育中性别偏见的另一种表现。结果美国的男孩们确实在阅读上出了问题,而在数学方面女孩尽管在九岁以前一直比男孩强,但此后却落在了他们后面。这成了预言自我应验的一个例子。然而这些特征是文化造成的,而非遗传的原因。例如,在德国,读书学习都被看作是“适合于男性的”,于是在阅读上有问题的便是女孩子了。而在日本,由于早期教育似乎不分性别,女孩和男孩在阅读上就旗鼓相当。在教育过程中对女孩和男孩的不同态度始于家庭。例如,有一项研究显示了这样一种情况:让学龄前儿童看一幢房子的图片,然后要他们说出家里允许他们走开多远,这时男孩所指的范围要比女孩大得多,女孩指出的范围很有限,而且离家很近。女孩们不像男孩那样受到鼓励去发展求知欲和动手能力,尽管这些正是与外部世界打交道时有用的;对女孩灌输的结果是:对自己家外面的世界充满了恐惧,且期望别人对自己的优良品格和循规蹈矩的服从精神加以认可。这类教诲从家庭一直延续到课堂。于是,在课堂里我们常常可以看到女孩们更依赖教师,更注重作业的形式和整
洁而非内容,更在乎她们所给的答案是否“正确”而不在乎智力方面的独立自主以及分析能力和创造能力的提高。教育过程占据了孩子除睡眠以外的大部分时间,社会则通过这一过程加强了它固有的价值观,并按其传统的、期望的模式造就了不同性别的人。
Unit 4
关于创造力的培养——鼓励孩子思考 教育界和商业界的专家们说, 具有创造性是通向光明前程的关键。本文将介绍一下学校和家长如何才能鼓励孩子发展这一至关重要的能力。如果1925年迪克?德鲁听从了他老板的意见,也许我们就不会有遮护胶带这种用品 了。现在我们几乎离不开它。德鲁当时就职于“明尼苏达制造和矿业公司”,通常称为3M公司。在工作中,他研制了一种用于胶带有黏性那面的物质,黏性很强,能使物体粘在一起。但是老板却不让他做进一步的研究。最后德鲁只好利用自己的时间改进了这种胶带。这种胶带现已被人们广泛使用。而他原来工作过的3M公司也从自己的失误中吸取了教训:现在该公司鼓励员工抽出15%的工作时间专门用来开动脑筋搞创新。现在这种策略已被越来越多的公司所采用,而且全国各地的专家认为,对待孩子也应仿效这种做法,无论是在家里还是在学校。他们认为,如果我们教育孩子进行创造性思维,他们就能在明天的社会中更好地发挥作用。受益于创造性的不只限于音乐和艺术领域。能取得成功的学生和成人都是那些会寻求各种办法解决问题的人。5 创造性并非与生俱来,也不一定就是高智慧的特征。一个人智力高并不意味着他必然能创造性地发挥才智。创造性是指能利用已有的资源想出新点子,而这些点子有助于解决某方面的问题。遗憾的是,学校还没有想到要促使学生发挥创造性。许多教育者十分看重考试分数,强调阅读、写作和数学能力,往往因追求正确的答案而牺牲了对创造性的培养。其结果是,孩子们能够反馈所学的知识,却不知道如何灵活地应用知识。比如,他们可能熟记乘法表,却不会用它来解决数学应用题。然而,在有些学校里,教育者们正逐渐认识到这一问题,并致力于研究能启发学生创造性的新的教学方法。一些教师把基础知识和要求学生发挥想象力的活动结合起来。比如,教师不再简单地问学生哥伦布何时发现了新大陆,他们可能让学生思考如果哥伦布首先到达的不是加勒比地区而是纽约,情况会是如何。要回答这一问题,学生必须应用自己掌握的关于哥伦布、纽约和加勒比地区的知识。教师们认为即便学生的回答会很可笑,也毫无关系,这也许是通向创造性的重要一步。专家认为,在课堂以及在家里,必须允许孩子们有些荒唐的念头。家长和教师们则有责任和孩子共同努力,使那些念头成为切实可行的建议。最好的办法是通过提问来鼓励孩子,同时对他们的想法和新点子表示赞赏。专家认为必须创造一个可以自由发挥创造力的氛围,一个尊重和赞赏而不是鄙视或不理会荒诞想法的环境。8 在家里,家长可以做一些鼓励孩子发挥创造力的事情。如果遇到合适的问题,家长可以就该问题征求孩子的意见,让他们参与决策。家长可以帮助孩子了解不同的决策将会带来的各种后果。家长还应鼓励孩子大声谈论他们正在做的事情。思维能力和语言能力是紧密相关的。大声地谈论有助于提高语言能力和思维能力。具有幽默感对于开发孩子的创造力也非常重要。当家长表现出幽默时,孩子们就看到了最地道的创造性。从本质上看,幽默跨越了常规界限,打破了固有模式。要创造往往也得如此。给孩子一些选择的余地也很重要。应该允许孩子自己做决定并清楚其后果,要让孩子从尽可能早的年龄开始这样做。做决定有助于培养思维能力,即便只是在午餐的两种食物的选择上做决定也行。随着孩子慢慢长大,家长应让孩子自己做主支配时间或金钱;当他们作出错误的决定时,不要不假思索地给予过多的帮助。这种做法可能会使孩子迷惑不解,但这没有关系。因为富有创造力的人有很强的动力,使他们能够从混乱中创造秩序。这是他们的一个最重要的特点。
Unit 6
风险与你 在说不定的某个时候,我们大家都曾充当过疑病症患者的角色,只凭一些轻微的症状便怀疑自己得了某种可怕的病。有的人只要一听说一种新的疾病,就会去检查,看自己是否可能患了这种病。然而,对疾病的恐惧并非我们唯一的恐惧。同样,患病的危险也并非我们唯一会遇上的危险。现代生活中充满了各种各样的威胁,诸如对我们生命的威胁,对我们平和心境的威胁,对我们家人的威胁,对我们未来的威胁。从而产生了好些问题,我们不得不问自己:我买的食品安全吗?给孩子们的玩具会伤害他们吗?我们家的人是不是不该吃熏肉?我度假时会不会遭抢劫?我们的疑
虑就无休止地增加。对生活中风险的担忧与疑病症有相似之处;二者的恐惧或忧虑皆起因于信息不全面。但二者之间也存在一个明显的差别。疑病症患者通常可以求助于医生,以便澄清疑虑——要么你得了你所怀疑的疾病,要么你没得。但当涉及到其它形式的风险时,事情就要困难得多,因为对许多风险来说,情况并不那么简单。风险几乎总是一个可能性的问题而无确定性可言。你也许会问:“我该不该系安全带?”如果你坐的车要与其它车正面相撞,那当然该系安全带。倘若你的车侧面被撞,结果你被困在车里,又因安全带装置遭破坏而无法挣脱,那怎么办呢?这是否意味着你该再花些钱在车内安一个保险气袋呢?同样,在正面相撞的情况下,保险气袋完全可以救你一命。但是,万一正当你在高速公路上开车时,保险气袋突然意外充气膨胀,从而导致了本来绝不会发生的事故,那又该如何是好? 上面说的这一切,只是从另一角度说明我们所做的事没有一件是百分之百安全的。有些风险——常常是潜在的重大风险——与我们的每个业余爱好、所做的每项工作、所吃的每种食物有关,换句话说,与所进行的任何活动有关。但我们又不能,也不该因危险存在于我们将要做的每件事,而变成战战兢兢的神经症患者。有些活动是比其它活动更危险。关键在于要让自己了解相应的风险,然后相机行事。例如,两车相撞时,大车总的说来要比小车安全些。可究竟能安全多少呢?答案是这样:在一起严重的车祸中坐小车丧生的可能性是坐大车的两倍左右。然而,大车通常比小车贵(并且消耗更多的汽油,由此给环境带来了更大的风险!)。那么我们该怎样确定什么时候值得为降低风险增加花费呢?例如,避免风险最保险的做法也许是去买一辆坦克或装甲车,从而把撞车时死亡或受伤的风险降到最小。然而,即便你买得起,这笔额外的费用以及忍受坦克或装甲车所带来的不便是否值得呢? 在我们尚不知所涉及的风险程度之前,我们还无法回答这些问题。那么,我们该如何去衡量风险程度呢?有些人似乎认为答案只不过是一个简单的数字。例如,我们知道每年大约有25,000 人死于车祸。相比之下,每年只有大约300人死于矿山事故和灾难。这难道就意味着乘坐汽车要比采矿危险得多吗?未必。事实是,在美国每年大约有两亿人经常性地以车代步;而大概只有70万人从事采矿作业。我们评估一种风险时,所需要的有关数字是一个比率或分数。该分数的分子告诉我们在某个特定时期由于从事某种特定活动而丧生或受伤的人数;其分母告诉我们在这一时期从事这种活动的总人数。这样,所有的风险程度都是由比率或分数表示,其大小介于0(无风险)到1(完全风险)之间。7 通过把所有风险都简化为这种比率或分数,我们便可以开始比较不同种类的风险,如比较采矿与乘坐汽车。这个比率越大,也就是说它越接近1,那么有关活动的风险就越大。在刚才讨论的例子中,我们可以用每一活动中死亡的人数除以参与该活动的总人数,从而找出汽车旅行与采煤的相对安全性。此处,我们可以很清楚地看到,乘坐汽车旅行的风险是每一万人中大约有一人丧生;而就采矿而言,其危险程度是每一万矿工中大约有四人死亡。所以,尽管在车祸中丧生的人远比采矿要多,其实后者的风险是前者的四倍。这些比率使我们能够对毫不相干的活动或情形的危险性加以比较,即便差别如苹果与橘子那样大也能比较。如果你反对冒险,你就会选择风险比率较小的活动。如果你无所畏惧,那么你往往会对高比率不太在乎,除非它们大得令人难以承受。我们一旦明白了风险是永远无法从任何情况中完全去除的,因而就没有绝对安全的事,我们也就会明白问题的关键不是要彻底避免风险,而是要理智地管理风险。风险管理需要两大要素:常识以及与我们可能要承担的风险的性质和程度相关的信息。