A heated discussion about whether men are braver than women is settled in a rather unexpected way.关于男人是否比女人更勇敢的一场激烈争论以一种颇为出人意料的方式解决了。
Unit 1 The Dinner PartyMona Gardner 晚宴莫娜·加德纳
I first heard this tale in India, where it is told as if true — though any naturalist would know it couldn't be. Later someone told me that the story appeared in a magazine shortly before the First World War. That magazine story, and the person who wrote it, I have never been able to track down.
我最初听到这个故事是在印度，那儿的人们今天讲起它来仍好像确有其事似的——尽管任何一位博物学家都知道这不可能是真的。后来有人告诉我，在第一次世界大战之前不久，一家杂志曾刊登过这个故事。但登在杂志上的那篇故事以及写那篇故事的人，我却一直未能找到。The country is India. A colonial official and his wife are giving a large dinner party. They are seated with their guests — officers and their wives, and a visiting American naturalist — in their spacious dining room, which has a bare marble floor, open rafters and wide glass doors opening onto a veranda.
故事发生在印度。某殖民地官员和他的夫人正举行盛大的晚宴。筵席设在他们家宽敞的餐室里，室内大理石地板上没有铺地毯；屋顶明椽裸露；宽大的玻璃门外便是走廊。跟他们一起就坐的客人有军官和他们的夫人，另外还有一位来访的美国博物学家。
A spirited discussion springs up between a young girl who says that women have outgrown the jumping-on-a-chair-at-the-sight-of-a-mouse era and a major who says that they haven't.
席间，一位年轻的女士同一位少校展开了热烈的讨论。年轻的女士认为，妇女已经有所进步，不再像过去那样一见到老鼠就吓得跳到椅子上；少校则不以为然。
"A woman's reaction in any crisis," the major says, "is to scream. And while a man may feel like it, he has that ounce more of control than a woman has. And that last ounce is what really counts."
他说：“一遇到危急情况，女人的反应便是尖叫。而男人虽然也可能想叫，但比起女人来，自制力却略胜一筹。这多出来的一点自制力正是真正起作用的东西。”
The American does not join in the argument but watches the other guests. As he looks, he sees a strange expression come over the face of the hostess. She is staring straight ahead, her muscles contracting slightly. She motions to the native boy standing behind her chair and whispers something to him. The boy's eyes widen: he quickly leaves the room.
那个美国人没有参加这场争论，他只是注视着在座的其他客人。在他这样观察时，他发现女主人的脸上显出一种奇异的表情。她两眼盯着正前方，脸部肌肉在微微抽搐。她向站在座椅后面的印度男仆做了个手势，对他耳语了几句。男仆两眼睁得大大的，迅速地离开了餐室。Of the guests, none except the American notices this or sees the boy place a bowl of milk on the veranda just outside the open doors.
在座的客人中除了那位美国人以外谁也没注意到这一幕，也没有看到那个男仆把一碗牛奶放在紧靠门边的走廊上。
The American comes to with a start. In India, milk in a bowl means only one thing — bait for a snake. He realizes there must be a cobra in the room. He looks up at the rafters — the likeliest place — but they are bare. Three corners of the room are empty, and in the fourth the servants are waiting to serve the next course. There is only one place left — under the table.
那个美国人突然醒悟过来。在印度，碗中的牛奶只有一个意思——引蛇的诱饵。他意识到餐室里一定有条眼镜蛇。他抬头看了看屋顶上的椽子——那是最可能有蛇藏身的地方——但那上面空荡荡的。室内的三个角落里也是空的，而在第四个角落里，仆人们正在等着上下一道菜。这样，剩下的就只有一个地方了——餐桌下面。
His first impulse is to jump back and warn the others, but he knows the commotion would frighten the cobra into striking. He speaks quickly, the tone of his voice so commanding that it silences everyone.
他首先想到的是往后一跳，并向其他人发出警告。但他知道这样会引起骚乱，致使眼镜蛇受惊咬人。于是他很快讲了一通话，其语气非常威严，竟使得所有的人都安静了下来。
"I want to know just what control everyone at this table has. I will count three hundred — that's five minutes — and not one of you is to move a muscle. Those who move will forfeit 50 rupees. Ready!"
“我想了解一下在座的诸位到底有多大的克制能力，我数三百下——也就是五分钟——你们谁都不许动一动。动者将罚款五十卢比。准备好！”
The 20 people sit like stone images while he counts. He is saying "... two hundred and eighty..." when, out of the corner of his eye, he sees the cobra emerge and make for the bowl of milk. Screams ring out as he jumps to slam the veranda doors safely shut.
在他数数的过程中，那二十个人都像一尊尊石雕一样端坐在那儿。当他数到“……二百八十……”时，突然从眼角处看到那条眼镜蛇钻了出来，向那碗牛奶爬去。在他跳起来把通往走廊的门全都砰砰地牢牢关上时，室内响起了一片尖叫声。
"You were right, Major!" the host exclaims. "A man has just shown us an example of perfect self-control."
“你刚才说得很对，少校！”男主人大声说。“一个男子刚刚为我们显示了从容不迫、镇定自若的范例。”
"Just a minute," the American says, turning to his hostess. "Mrs. Wynnes, how did you know that cobra was in the room?"
“且慢，”那位美国人一边说着一边转向女主人。“温兹太太，你怎么知道那条眼镜蛇是在屋子里呢？”
A faint smile lights up the woman's face as she replies: "Because it was crawling across my foot
."Unit 2 Lessons from JeffersonBruce Bliven
杰斐逊的遗训布鲁斯·布利文
Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, may be less famous than George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, but most people remember at least one fact about him: he wrote the Declaration of Independence.
美国第三任总统托马斯·杰斐逊也许不像乔治·华盛顿和亚伯拉罕·林肯那样著名，但大多数人至少记得有关他的一件事实：是他写的《独立宣言》。
Although Jefferson lived more than 200 years ago, there is much that we can learn from him today. Many of his ideas are especially interesting to modern youth. Here are some of the things he said and wrote:
虽然杰斐逊生活在二百多年以前，但我们今天仍可以从他身上学到很多东西。他的许多思想对当代青年来说特别有意义。下面就是他讲过和写过的一些观点：
Go and see. Jefferson believed that a free man obtains knowledge from many sources besides books and that personal investigation is important. When still a young man, he was appointed to a committee to find out whether the South Branch of the James River was deep enough to be used by large boats. While the other members of the committee sat in the state capitol and studied papers on the subject, Jefferson got into a canoe and made on-the-spot observations.
自己去看。杰斐逊认为，一个自由的人除了从书本中获取知识外，还可以从许多别的来源获得知识；他认为，亲自做调查是很重要的。在他还很年轻的时候，他就被任命为一个委员会
的成员，去调查詹姆斯河南部支流的水深是否足以通行大型船只。委员会的其他成员都坐在州议会大厦内研究有关这一问题的文件，而杰斐逊却跳进一只独木舟去做现场观测。
You can learn from everyone. By birth and by education Jefferson belonged to the highest social class. Yet, in a day when few noble persons ever spoke to those of humble origins except to give an order, Jefferson went out of his way to talk with gardeners, servants, and waiters. Jefferson once said to the French nobleman, Lafayette, "You must go into the people's homes as I have done, look into their cooking pots and eat their bread. If you will only do this, you may find out why people are dissatisfied and understand the revolution that is threatening France."
你可以向任何人学习。按出身及其所受的教育，杰斐逊均属于最高的社会阶层。然而，在那个贵人们除了发号施令以外很少跟出身卑贱的人说话的年代，杰斐逊却常破例跟园丁、仆人和侍者交谈。有一次杰斐逊曾这样对法国贵族拉斐特说过：“你必须像我那样到平民百姓的家里去，看看他们的锅里煮些什么，吃吃他们的面包。只要你肯这样做，你就会发现老百姓为什么会不满意，你就会理解正在威胁着法国的革命。”
Judge for yourself. Jefferson refused to accept other people's opinions without careful thought. "Neither believe nor reject anything," he wrote to his nephew, "because any other person has rejected or believed it. Heaven has given you a mind for judging truth and error. Use it."
自己作判断。未经过认真的思考，杰斐逊绝不接受别人的意见。他在给侄子的信中写道：“不要因为别的人相信或拒绝了什么东西，你也就去相信它或拒绝它。上帝赐予你一个用来判断真理和谬误的头脑。那你就运用它吧。”
Jefferson felt that the people "may safely be trusted to hear everything true and false, and to form a correct judgment. Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
杰斐逊觉得，人民“是完全可以信赖的，应该让他们听到一切真实和虚伪的东西，然后作出正确的判断。倘使让我来决定，我们是应该有一个政府而不要报纸呢还是应该有报纸而不要政府，我会毫不犹豫地选择后者。”
Do what you believe is right. In a free country there will always be conflicting ideas, and this is a source of strength. It is conflict and not unquestioning agreement that keeps freedom alive. Though Jefferson was for many years the object of strong criticism, he never answered his critics. He expressed his philosophy in letters to a friend, "There are two sides to every question. If you take one side with decision and act on it with effect, those who take the other side will of course resent your actions."
做你认为是正确的事。在一个自由的国家里总会有各种相互冲突的思想，而这正是力量的源泉。使自由保持活力的是冲突而不是绝对的一致。虽然有好多年杰斐逊一直受到激烈的批评，但他从不回应那些批评他的人。他在写给一位朋友的信中表达了自己的观点：“每个问题都有两面。如果你坚决站在一面并根据它有效地采取行动，那么，站在另一面的那些人当然会对你的行动怨恨不满。”
Trust the future; trust the young. Jefferson felt that the present should never be chained to customs which have lost their usefulness. "No society," he said, "can make a perpetual constitution, or even a perpetual law. The earth belongs to the living generation." He did not fear new ideas, nor did he fear the future. "How much pain," he remarked, "has been caused by evils which have never happened! I expect the best, not the worst. I steer my ship with hope, leaving fear behind."
相信未来，相信青年。杰斐逊认为，绝不可以用那些已经无用的习俗来束缚住“现在”的手脚。他说：“没有哪个社会可以制订一部永远适用的宪法，甚至连一条永远适用的法律也制
订不出来。地球是属于活着的一代的。”他不害怕新思想，也不惧怕未来。他评论说：“有多少痛苦是由一些从未发生过的灾难引起的啊！我期待的是最好的东西，而不是最坏的东西。我满怀希望地驾驶着自己的航船，而把恐惧抛在后面。”
Jefferson's courage and idealism were based on knowledge. He probably knew more than any other man of his age. He was an expert in agriculture, archeology, and medicine. He practiced crop rotation and soil conservation a century before these became standard practice, and he invented a plow superior to any other in existence. He influenced architecture throughout America, and he was constantly producing devices for making the tasks of ordinary life easier to perform.
杰斐逊的勇气和理想主义是以知识为基础的。他懂得的东西也许比同时代的任何人都要多。在农业、考古学和医学方面他都是专家。在人们普遍采用农作物轮作和土壤保持的做法之前一个世纪，他就这样做了。他还发明了一种比当时任何一种都好的耕犁。他影响了整个美国的建筑业，他还不断地制造出各种机械装置，使日常生活中需要做的许多工作变得更加容易。Of all Jefferson's many talents, one is central. He was above all a good and tireless writer. His complete works, now being published for the first time, will fill more than fifty volumes. His talent as an author was soon discovered, and when the time came to write the Declaration of Independence at Philadelphia in 1776, the task of writing it was his. Millions have thrilled to his words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ..."
在杰斐逊的众多才能中，有一种是最主要的：他首先是一位优秀的、不知疲倦的作家。目前正在第一次出版的他的全集将超过五十卷。他作为一个作家的才能很快便被发现了，所以，当1776年在费城要撰写《独立宣言》的时刻来到时，这一任务便落在了他肩上。数以百万计的人们读到他写的下列词句都激动不已：“我们认为这些真理是不言而喻的：一切人生来就是平等的……”
When Jefferson died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of American independence, he left his countrymen a rich legacy of ideas and examples. American education owes a great debt to Thomas Jefferson, who believed that only a nation of educated people could remain free. Trying to make some money before entering university, the author applies for a teaching job. But the interview goes from bad to worse ...
为了想在进大学前赚些钱，作者申请了一份教职。但面试情况却越来越糟……
Unit 3 My First JobRobert Best
我的第一份工作罗伯特·贝斯特
While I was waiting to enter university, I saw advertised in a local newspaper a teaching post at a school in a suburb of London about ten miles from where I lived. Being very short of money and wanting to do something useful, I applied, fearing as I did so, that without a degree and with no experience in teaching my chances of getting the job were slim.
在我等着进大学期间，我在一份地方报纸上看到一则广告，说是在离我住处大约十英里的伦敦某郊区，有所学校要招聘一名教师。我因为手头很拮据，同时也想做点有用的事，于是便提出了申请，但在提出申请的同时我也担心，自己一无学位，二无教学经验，得到这份工作的可能性是微乎其微的。
However, three days later a letter arrived, asking me to go to Croydon for an interview. It proved an awkward journey: a train to Croydon station; a ten-minute bus ride and then a walk of at least a quarter of a mile. As a result I arrived on a hot June morning too depressed to feel nervous.
然而，三天之后，却来了一封信，叫我到克洛伊登去面试。这一路去那儿原来还真麻烦：先乘火车到克洛伊登车站，再乘十分钟的公共汽车，然后还要至少步行四分之一英里。结果，我在六月一个炎热的上午到了那儿，因为心情非常沮丧，竟不感到紧张了。
The school was a red brick house with big windows. The front garden was a gravel square; four evergreen shrubs stood at each corner, where they struggled to survive the dust and fumes from a busy main road.
学校是一座装着大窗户的红砖房子。前庭园是个铺着沙砾的正方形：四个角上各有一丛冬青灌木，它们经受着从繁忙的大街上吹来的尘烟，挣扎着活下去。
It was clearly the headmaster himself that opened the door. He was short and fat. He had a sandy-coloured moustache, a wrinkled forehead and hardly any hair.
开门的显然是校长本人。他又矮又胖，留着沙色的小胡子，前额上布满皱纹，头发差不多已经秃光。
He looked at me with an air of surprised disapproval, as a colonel might look at a private whose bootlaces were undone. "Ah yes," he grunted. "You'd better come inside." The narrow, sunless hall smelled unpleasantly of stale cabbage; the walls were dirty with ink marks; it was all silent. His study, judging by the crumbs on the carpet, was also his dining-room. "You'd better sit down," he said, and proceeded to ask me a number of questions: what subjects I had taken in my General School Certificate; how old I was; what games I played; then fixing me suddenly with his bloodshot eyes, he asked me whether I thought games were a vital part of a boy's education. I mumbled something about not attaching too much importance to them. He grunted. I had said the wrong thing. The headmaster and I obviously had very little in common.
他带着一种吃惊的、不以为然的神态看着我，就像一位上校看着一名没系好靴带的二等兵一样。“哦，”他咕哝着说，“你最好到里面来。”那狭窄的、不见阳光的走廊里散发出一股腐烂的卷心菜味，闻上去很不舒服；墙上墨迹斑斑，显得很脏；周围一片静寂。根据地毯上的面包屑来判断，他的书房也是他的餐室。“你最好坐下，”他说，接着便问了我许多问题：为了得到普通学校证书我学过哪些课程；我多大岁数了；我会玩些什么游戏；问到这里他突然用他那双充满血丝的眼睛盯住我，问我是否认为游戏是儿童教育的一个极为重要的组成部分。我含含糊糊地说了些不必太重视游戏之类的话。他咕哝了几句。我说了错话。我和校长显然没有多少共同语言。
The school, he said, consisted of one class of twenty-four boys, ranging in age from seven to thirteen. I should have to teach all subjects except art, which he taught himself. Football and cricket were played in the Park, a mile away on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons.
他说，学校只有一个班，二十四名男生，年龄从七岁到十三岁不等，除了美术课他亲自教以外，其余所有的课程都得由我来教。星期三和星期六的下午要到一英里以外的公园去踢足球，打板球。
The teaching set-up filled me with fear. I should have to divide the class into three groups and teach them in turn at three different levels; and I was dismayed at the thought of teaching algebra and geometry —two subjects at which I had been completely incompetent at school. Worse perhaps was the idea of Saturday afternoon cricket; most of my friends would be enjoying leisure at that time.
整个教学计划把我吓坏了。我得把全班学生分成三个组，按三种不同的程度轮流给他们上课；想到要教代数和几何这两门我在读书时学得极差的科目，我感到很害怕。更糟糕的也许是星期六下午打板球的安排，因为这时候我的朋友大都会在悠闲地自得其乐。
I said shyly, "What would my salary be?" "Twelve pounds a week plus lunch." Before I could protest, he got to his feet. "Now", he said, "you'd better meet my wife. She's the one who really runs this school."
我怯生生地问：“我的薪水是多少？”“每周十二磅外加中饭。”还没等我来得及提出异议，
他已经站了起来。“好了，”他说，“你最好见见我的妻子。她才是这所学校真正的主管人。”This was the last straw. I was very young: the prospect of working under a woman constituted the ultimate indignity. Seen through the eyes of a young friend Einstein was a simple，modest and ordinary man.
在一个年轻朋友的心目中，爱因斯坦是个纯朴、谦虚的普通人。
Unit 4 The Professor and the Yo-YoThomas Lee Bucky with Joseph P.Blank
教授与溜溜球托马斯·李·巴基和约瑟夫·P·布兰克
My father was a close friend of Albert Einstein. As a shy young visitor to Einstein's home, I was made to feel at ease when Einstein said, "I have something to show you." He went to his desk and returned with a Yo-Yo. He tried to show me how it worked but he couldn't make it roll back up the string. When my turn came, I displayed my few tricks and pointed out to him that the incorrectly looped string had thrown the toy off balance. Einstein nodded, properly impressed by my skill and knowledge. Later, I bought a new Yo-Yo and mailed it to the Professor as a Christmas present, and received a poem of thanks.
我父亲是阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦的密友。小时候有一次我去爱因斯坦家拜访时很腼腆，他说，“我有样东西拿给你看，”于是我便感到无拘无束了。他走到书桌旁，拿回来一只溜溜球。他试图做给我看这种玩具怎么个玩法，但他没法使它顺着线再转上去。轮到我时，我露了几手并向他指出，绕错的线圈使玩具失去了平衡。爱因斯坦点点头，我的技能和知识给他留下了颇深的印象。后来，我买了一只溜溜球，把它作为圣诞礼物送给了教授，并收到他一首表示感谢的诗。
As a boy and then as an adult, I never lost my wonder at the personality that was Einstein. He was the only person I knew who had come to terms with himself and the world around him. He knew what he wanted and he wanted only this: to understand within his limits as a human being the nature of the universe and the logic and simplicity in its functioning. He knew there were answers beyond his intellectual reach. But this did not frustrate him. He was content to go as far as he could.
作为一个孩子，以后又作为一个成人，我一直对爱因斯坦的个性惊叹不已。他是我所认识的人中唯一能跟自己及周围世界达成妥协的人。他知道自己想要什么，而他想要的只是：在他作为一个人的能力范围之内理解宇宙的性质以及宇宙运行的逻辑和单纯。他知道有许多问题的答案超出了他智力所及的范围。但这并不使他感到灰心丧气。只要在能力许可的范围内取得最大的成功他就心满意足了。
In the 23 years of our friendship, I never saw him show jealousy, vanity, bitterness, anger, resentment, or personal ambition. He seemed immune to these emotions. He was beyond any pretension. Although he corresponded with many of the world's most important people, his stationery carried only a watermark — W — for Woolworth's.
在我们二十三年的友谊中，我从未见他表现出妒忌、虚荣、痛苦、愤怒、怨恨或个人野心。他好像对这些感情具有免疫能力似的。他毫无矫饰之心，虚荣之意。虽然他与世界上的许多要人通信，他用的却是有W水印字母的信笺，水印字母W——五分钱商店伍尔沃思的缩写。To do his work he needed only a pencil and a pad of paper. Material things meant nothing to him. I never knew him to carry money because he never had any use for it. He believed in simplicity, so much so that he used only a safety razor and water to shave. When I suggested that he try shaving cream, he said, "The razor and water do the job."
为了做他的工作他只需要一支笔和一本拍纸簿。物质的东西对他毫无意义。我知道他身上从不带钱，因为他从来不需要用钱。他信奉简朴，甚至于只用一把安全剃刀和清水刮胡子。当
我建议他用一下刮胡膏时，他说：“剃刀和水就够了。”
"But Professor, why don't you try the cream just once?" I argued. "It makes shaving smoother and less painful."
“但是，教授，为什么你就不能仅仅试用一次刮胡膏呢？”我争辩说。“它可以让你刮起胡子来又平滑又不痛。”
He shrugged. Finally, I presented him with a tube of shaving cream. The next morning when he came down to breakfast, he was beaming with the pleasure of a new, great discovery. "You know, that cream really works," he announced. "It doesn't pull the beard. It feels wonderful." Thereafter, he used the shaving cream every morning until the tube was empty. Then he reverted to using plain water.
他耸了耸肩。最后，我终于送给他一管刮胡膏。第二天早上，当他下楼来用早餐时，他因为有了一大新发现而高兴得满脸含笑。“你知道，那种刮胡膏还真有效，”他说。“它不扯胡子，感觉好极了。”打那以后，他每天早晨都用那管刮胡膏，直到那一管用完为止。然后他又回复到只用清水刮胡子了。
Einstein was purely and exclusively a theorist. He didn't have the slightest interest in the practical application of his ideas and theories. His E=mc2 is probably the most famous equation in history — yet Einstein wouldn't walk down the street to see a reactor create atomic energy. He won the Nobel Prize for his Photoelectric Theory, a series of equations that he considered relatively minor in importance, but he didn't have any curiosity in observing how his theory made TV possible.
爱因斯坦完完全全是个理论家。他对自己的思想和理论的实际应用丝毫不感兴趣。他提出的E=mc2也许是有史以来最著名的公式——然而爱因斯坦却不愿费举足之劳去看反应堆产生原子能。他因其光电理论——他认为这是比较次要的一系列公式——而获得诺贝尔奖金，但对于观察他的理论怎样使得电视得以产生却没有一点好奇心。
My brother once gave the Professor a toy, a bird that balanced on the edge of a bowl of water and repeatedly dunked its head in the water. Einstein watched it in delight, trying to deduce the operating principle. But he couldn't.
我兄弟曾送给教授一个玩具，那是一只立在盛水的碗边保持平衡并反复把头浸入水中的鸟。爱因斯坦高兴地注视着它，试图推断出它的运动原理，但他没能推断出。
The next morning he announced, "I had thought about that bird for a long time before I went to bed and it must work this way ..." He began a long explanation. Then he stopped, realizing a flaw in his reasoning. "No, I guess that's not it," he said. He pursued various theories for several days until I suggested we take the toy apart to see how it did work. His quick expression of disapproval told me he did not agree with this practical approach. He never did work out the solution.
第二天早晨他宣布说：“关于那只鸟我睡觉前思索了很长时间，它一定是这样运转的……”他开始做起了长篇解释。后来他意识到自己推理中的一个漏洞便停了下来。“不，我想不是那么回事。”他连续几天试着用各种理论来加以解释，后来我建议他把玩具拆开来看看它是怎样运转的。他迅速显出的不赞成的表情告诉我，他并不同意这种切实可行的作法。他一直没有研究出这个答案。
Another puzzle that Einstein could never understand was his own fame. He had developed theories that were profound and capable of exciting relatively few scientists. Yet his name was a household word across the civilized world. "I've had good ideas, and so have other men," he once said. "But it's been my good fortune that my ideas have been accepted." He was bewildered by his fame: people wanted to meet him; strangers stared at him on the street; scientists, statesmen, students, and housewives wrote him letters. He never could understand why he received this
attention, why he was singled out as something special. There is one gas present in the air we breathe that is essential to life. Unfortunately, one can have too much of a good thing and the growth in carbon dioxide threatens to warm up our planet to a dangerous extent. Isaac Asimov introduces us to this villain in the atmosphere, explaining how it works and what can be done about it.
在我们呼吸的空气中，有一种气体对生命是必不可少的。遗憾的是，一样好东西我们可能会拥有得太多，而二氧化碳的增长威胁着我们，使地球变暖到一种危险的程度。艾萨克·阿西莫夫向我们介绍了大气层中的这个坏蛋，向我们解释了它是怎样活动的以及对付它的办法。
Unit 5 The Villain in the Atmosphere Isaac Asimov
艾萨克·阿西莫夫大气层中的恶棍乃是二氧化碳。
The villain in the atmosphere is carbon dioxide.大气层中的恶棍
It does not seem to be a villain. It is not very poisonous and it is present in the atmosphere in so small a quantity — only 0.034 percent — that it does us no harm.
二氧化碳看上去不像一个恶棍。它毒性不大，在大气层中的含量极小——只占0.034％——不会对我们造成任何伤害。
What's more, that small quantity of carbon dioxide in the air is essential to life. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into their own tissue, which serve as the basic food supply for all of animal life (including human beings, of course). In the process they liberate oxygen, which is also necessary for all animal life.
再者，空气中的那一点点二氧化碳对生命至关重要。植物吸收二氧化碳并将其转化成它们自己的组织，充当所有动物（当然也包括人类）的基本食物供给。在这一过程中，植物释放氧气，而氧气又是所有动物生命所不可缺少的。
But here is what this apparently harmless and certainly essential gas is doing to us:
然而，这一看上去无害而且无疑又必不可少的气体却正在对我们产生影响。
The sea level is rising very slowly from year to year. In all likelihood, it will continue to rise and do so at a greater rate in the course of the next hundred years. Where there are low-lying coastal areas (where a large fraction of the world's population lives) the water will advance steadily, forcing people to retreat inland.
年复一年，海平面正在慢慢上升。它很可能继续上升，而在今后数百年间，会以更快的速度上升。在那些低洼的沿海地区（在这些地区居住着世界上很大一部分人口），海水会稳步向前推进，迫使人们向内陆退居。
Eventually the sea will reach two hundred feet above its present level, and will be splashing against the windows along the twentieth floors of Manhattan's skyscrapers. Florida will disappear beneath the waves, as will much of the British Isles, the crowded Nile valley, and the low-lying areas of China, India, and Russia.
最后，海水将会高出目前海平面两百英尺，一阵阵海浪将会拍打曼哈顿摩天大楼二十层楼的窗户。佛罗里达将会沉没在海浪之下，英伦三岛的大部分，人口稠密的尼罗河流域，还有中国、印度和俄罗斯的低洼地区也都将遭到同样的命运。
Not only will many cities be drowned, but much of the most productive farming areas of the world will be lost. As the food supply drops, starvation will be widespread and the structure of society may collapse under the pressure.
不仅许多城市将被淹没，而且世界上大部分盛产粮食的地区也将会失去。由于食品供应下降，到处都会出现饥荒，在这种压力下，社会结构有可能崩溃。
And all because of carbon dioxide. But how does that come about? What is the connection?
而这一切都是因为二氧化碳。可怎么会出现这种情况呢？两者之间又有什么联系呢？
It begins with sunlight, to which the various gases of the atmosphere (including carbon dioxide) are transparent. Sunlight, striking the top of the atmosphere, travels right through miles of it to warm the Earth's surface. At night, the Earth cools by radiating heat into space in the form of infrared radiation.
首先是太阳光，大气层中的各种气体（包括二氧化碳）对于太阳光来说是透明的。太阳光照射大气层的顶部，径直透过数英里的大气层，温暖着地球的表面。在夜间，地球将热量以红外线的形式放射到外层空间而冷却下来。
However, the atmosphere is not quite as transparent to infrared radiation as it is to visible light. Carbon dioxide in particular tends to block such radiation. Less heat is lost at night, for that reason, than would be lost if carbon dioxide were not present in the atmosphere. Without the small quantity of that gas present, the Earth would be distinctly cooler, perhaps uncomfortably cool.
然而，大气层对红外线来说并不像它对可见光那样透明。二氧化碳特别会阻挡这样的热量辐射。因此，在夜间失去的热量要比在大气中没有二氧化碳的情况下失去的要少。要是没有少量的二氧化碳存在，地球就会明显冷得多，说不定就冷得不舒服了。
We can be thankful that carbon dioxide is keeping us comfortably warm, but the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is going up steadily and that is where the villainy comes in. In 1958, carbon dioxide made up only 0.0316 percent of the atmosphere. Each year since, the concentration has crept upward and it now stands at 0.0340 percent. It is estimated that by 2020 the concentration will be nearly twice what it is now.
我们该感到欣慰，二氧化碳给我们温暖使我们舒舒服服，但是大气中二氧化碳的浓度正在稳步升高，其恶迹也就由此而生。1958年，二氧化碳只占大气总量的0.0316％。此后，其浓度逐年悄悄攀升，而现在已达到0.0340％。据估算，到2020年，二氧化碳的浓度将接近现在的两倍。
This means that in the coming decades, Earth's average temperature will go up slightly. As a result, the polar ice caps will begin to melt.
这就意味着，在未来几十年间，地球的平均温度将要稍许升高。极地冰盖因此将开始融化。Something like 90 percent of the ice in the world is to be found in the huge Antarctica ice cap, and another 8 percent is in the Greenland ice cap. If these ice caps begin to melt, the sea level will rise, with the result that I have already described.
世界上大约90％的冰都聚积在巨大的南极冰盖中，另有8％在格陵兰冰盖。如果这些冰盖开始融化，海平面将要升高，其结果就是我上面描述的那个样子。
But why is the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere steadily rising?
可是大气中的二氧化碳浓度为什么正在不断升高呢？
To blame are two factors. First of all, in the last few centuries, first coal, then oil and natural gas, have been burned for energy at a rapidly increasing rate. The carbon contained in these fuels, which has been safely buried underground for many millions of years, is now being burned to carbon dioxide and poured into the atmosphere at a rate of many tons per day.
难辞其咎的有两个因素。首先，在近几个世纪中，先是煤，其后是石油和天然气，以快速增长的态势被用做燃料获取能量。这些燃料中所含的碳，在过去数百万年的岁月里一直安全地埋在地下，而现在正被烧成二氧化碳，并以每天数吨的速率大量排放到大气中。
To make matters worse, Earth's forests have been disappearing, slowly at first, but in the last couple of centuries quite rapidly. Right now it is disappearing at the rate of sixty-four acres per minute.
更糟的是，地球上的森林在不断消失，起先是慢慢地消失，但在近一两个世纪里其消失的速度相当快。现在，森林消失的速度是每分钟64英亩。
Whatever replaces the forest —grassland or farms or scrub —produces plants that do not consume carbon dioxide at an equal rate. Thus, not only is more carbon dioxide being added to the atmosphere through burning of fuel, but as the forests disappear, less carbon dioxide is being removed from the atmosphere by plants.
不管取代森林的是草地、农田，还是灌木丛，其生产的植物消耗二氧化碳的速率与森林是不相等的。因此，不仅是通过燃料的燃烧使更多的二氧化碳被释放到大气中，而且，随着森林的消失，植物从大气中吸收的二氧化碳也减少了。
But this gives us a new perspective on the matter. The carbon dioxide is not rising by itself. It is people who are burning the coal, oil, and gas. It is people who are cutting down the forests. It is people, then, who are the villains.
但是这也给了我们一个新的视角来考察这个问题。大气中二氧化碳并不是自行上升的。是人在烧煤、烧油和烧气。是人在砍伐森林。所以，人才是真正的元凶。
What is to be done?怎么办呢？
First, we must save our forests, and even replant them.
首先，我们必须拯救森林，乃至重植森林。
Second, we must have new sources of fuel that do not involve the production of carbon dioxide. Nuclear power is one of them, but if that is thought too dangerous, there are other alternatives. There is the energy of waves, tides, wind, and the Earth's interior heat. Most of all, there is the direct use of solar energy.
第二，我们必须有新的不产生二氧化碳的燃料源。核能就是其中之一，如果认为核能太危险，也还有其他选择。有波浪能，潮汐能，风能，还有地球内部的热能。尤其是，还可以直接利用太阳能。
All of this will take time, work, and money, to be true, but nations spend more time, work, and money in order to support competing military machines that can only destroy us all. Should we object to spending less time, work, and money in order to save us all?
RT There is one gas present in the air we breathe that is essential to life. Unfortunately, one can have too much of a good thing and the growth in carbon dioxide threatens to warm up our planet to a dangerous extent. Isaac Asimov introduces us to this villain in the atmosphere, explaining how it works and what can be done about it.
在我们呼吸的空气中，有一种气体对生命是必不可少的。遗憾的是，一样好东西我们可能会拥有得太多，而二氧化碳的增长威胁着我们，使地球变暖到一种危险的程度。艾萨克·阿西莫夫向我们介绍了大气层中的这个坏蛋，向我们解释了它是怎样活动的以及对付它的办法。
Unit 6 The Making of a Surgeon Dr. Nolen
外科医师的成功之道诺兰医生
How does a doctor recognize the point in time when he is finally a "surgeon"? As my year as chief resident drew to a close I asked myself this question on more than one occasion.
一位医生怎样辨认自己终于成了一名“外科医师”的那一时刻呢？在我任住院主任医师的那一年快要结束的时候，我曾不止一次地问过自己这个问题。
The answer, I concluded, was self-confidence. When you can say to yourself, "There is no surgical patient I cannot treat competently, treat just as well as or better than any other surgeon" — then, and not until then, you are indeed a surgeon. I was nearing that point.
我最后认定，问题的答案在于“自信”二字。当你能够对自己说：“任何外科病人我都能胜
任进行治疗，我的治疗跟其他外科医生一样高明，甚至比任何外科医生都更为高明”——那时，而且只有到了那时，你才真正成了一名外科医师。当时我正接近那个时刻。
Take, for example, the emergency situations that we encountered almost every night. The first few months of the year I had dreaded the ringing of the telephone. I knew it meant another critical decision to be made. Often, after I had told Walt or Larry what to do in a particular situation, I'd have trouble getting back to sleep. I'd review all the facts of the case and, not infrequently, wonder if I hadn't made a poor decision. More than once at two or three in the morning, after lying awake for an hour, I'd get out of bed, dress and drive to the hospital to see the patient myself. It was the only way I could find the peace of mind I needed to relax.
就以我们几乎每晚都会碰到的急诊情况为例吧。在那一年的最初几个月，我一直害怕听到电话铃响。我知道电话铃声意味着又要作出一个生死攸关的决定。事情往往是这样：在我告诉沃尔特或拉里对于某一特殊情况应如何处理之后，我就很难再重新入睡了。我会重温那位急诊病人的整个病情，常常会怀疑自己是否作出了不妥的决定。不止一次，在我躺了一个小时还睡不着之后，我会在凌晨两三点钟从床上跳起来，穿好衣服，驾车去医院亲自探视病人。唯有这样我才能找到安心休息所需要的内心平静。
Now, in the last month of my residency, sleeping was no longer a problem. There were still situations in which I couldn't be certain my decision had been the right one, but I had learned to accept this as a constant problem for a surgeon, one that could never be completely resolved -- and I could live with it. So, once I had made a considered decision, I no longer dwelt on it. Reviewing it wasn't going to help and I knew that with my knowledge and experience, any decision I'd made was bound to be a sound one. It was a nice feeling.
然而，在我做住院医生的最后一个月，睡眠已不再是个问题了。在有些情况下我仍然不能确定自己的决定是否正确，但我已学会把这看做一个外科医师经常会遇到的问题，一个永远也不能完全解决的问题——我已能适应它了。所以，我一旦经过深思熟虑作出某个决定，就不再去多想它了。多想也不会有什么帮助，而且我知道，凭我的知识和经验，我作出的任何决定肯定都是稳妥的。这是一种令人愉快的感觉。
In the operating room I was equally confident. I knew I had the knowledge, the skill, the experience to handle any surgical situation I'd ever encounter in practice. There were no more butterflies in my stomach when I opened up an abdomen or a chest. I knew that even if the case was one in which it was impossible to anticipate the problem in advance, I could handle whatever I found. I'd sweated through my share of stab wounds of the belly, of punctured lungs, of compound fractures. I had sweated over them for five years. I didn't need to sweat any more.
在手术室里我也同样充满信心。我知道自己的知识、技术和经验足以对付我在开业行医中将会碰到的任何外科病例。当我切开病人的腹部或胸腔时，我不再紧张得瑟瑟发抖了。我知道，即使碰上事先无法预见其问题所在的病例，我也能处置我发现的任何情况。我战战兢兢地治疗过交在我手上的腹部刺伤、肺部穿孔以及复合性骨折等病例。这类外科手术我已经战战兢兢地干了五年。我再也不必担惊受怕了。
Nor was I afraid of making mistakes. I knew that when I was out in practice I would inevitably err at one time or another and operate on someone who didn't need surgery or sit on someone who did. Five years earlier — even one year earlier — I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if I had had to take sole responsibility for a mistake in judgment. Now I could. I still dreaded errors —would do my best to avoid them — but I knew they were part of a surgeon's life. I could accept this fact with calmness because I knew that if I wasn't able to avoid a mistake, chances were that no other surgeon could have, either.
而且，我也不再怕犯错误了。我知道在我出去开业行医时，说不定什么时候我就会不可避免地出差错；我会给不需要手术治疗的病人开刀，也可能会把需要动手术的病人忽略过去。五年前——甚至一年前——如果我不得不为一次判断上的失误负全部责任的话，我是没法容忍自己的。现在我能了。我仍然害怕犯错误——愿意竭尽全力避免出错——但我知道这是外科医师生活的一部分。我之所以能够平静地接受这一事实，是因为我知道：如果我不能避免出差错，那么换了任何别的外科医生很可能也不能避免。
This all sounds conceited and I guess it is — but a surgeon needs conceit. He needs it to encourage him in trying moments when he's bothered by the doubts and uncertainties that are part of the practice of medicine. He has to feel that he's as good as and probably better than any other surgeon in the world. Call it conceit — call it self-confidence; whatever it was, I had it.
Ever thought about cheating on a test? Of course not. But some students are not quite so honest ... 曾想到过在考试中作弊吗？当然没有。可是有些学生并不那么诚实……Several neighbors hope to find safety in the only bomb shelter on their street when an announcement comes over the radio that enemy missiles are approaching. Can it shelter all of them? Does its owner let them in? Here is the story ...
收音机里传来敌方导弹飞近的公告时，几位邻居希望能躲进他们街上唯一的防空洞以保安全。防空洞能容纳所有这些人吗？防空洞的主人会让他们进来吗？故事是这样的……
The Shelter Rod Serling防空洞罗德·塞林
SYNOPSIS OF ACT ONE: On a summer evening, a birthday celebration is going on at Dr. Stockton's. Among those present are his neighbors: the Hendersons, the Weiss's and the Harlowes. In the midst of it comes unexpectedly over the radio the announcement of the President of the United States declaring a state of emergency for suspected enemy missiles approaching. The party breaks up and the neighbors hurry home.
第一幕内容提要：某个夏夜，斯道克顿家在庆祝生日。来宾中有他的邻居：享德森一家、韦斯一家，还有哈洛一家。正当宴会进行时，收音机里出乎意料地传来了美国总统的公告，因怀疑敌方导弹飞近，宣布全国处于紧急状态。宴会就此结束，邻居们急匆匆赶回家去。However, shortly afterwards they return one after another to the Stockton house for the simple reason that they want to survive — want to share with the Stocktons the bomb shelter which is the only one on their street.
然而，过不多久他们又一个个回到了斯道克顿家。原因十分简单，那就是他们想活下去——想分享斯道克顿家的防空洞。这是他们街上唯一的防空洞。
ACT TWO第二幕(abridged) （节本）
OUTSIDE STOCKTON HOME HENDERSON斯道克顿家外面
It'll land any minute. I just know it. It's going to land any minute –
亨德森导弹随时都可能落下来。我知道，一点不假。快啦，说落就落……
MRS. HENDERSON：(grabs hold of him) What are we going to do? Throughout above and following dialogue, a portable radio carried by one of the children carries the following announcement: ANNOUNCER'S VOICE：This is Conelrad. This is Conelrad. We are still in a state of Yellow Alert. If you are a public official or government employee with an emergency assignment, or a civil defense worker, you should report to your post immediately. If you are a public official or government employee ...
亨德森太太（一把抓住他）咱们可怎么办啊?
在上述和以下对白进行的过程中，一个小孩拿着的手提式收音机一直在广播下述通告：
播音员的声音这是康纳雷民防广播电台，这是康纳雷民防广播电台。空袭预备警报仍未解
除。公职人员、担负紧急战备任务的政府雇员以及民防系统的人员，请立即向你所在的单位报到。公职人员、担负紧急战备任务的政府雇员……
MRS. HARLOWE：Jerry, ask again.
HARLOWE：Don't waste your time. He won't let anyone in. He said he didn't have any room or supplies there and it's designed for three people.
MRS. HENDERSON：What'll we do?
HARLOWE：Maybe we ought to pick out just one basement and go to work on it. Pool all our stuff. Food, water, everything.
MRS. HARLOWE：It isn't fair. (she points toward Stockton house) He's down there in a bomb shelter completely safe. And our kids have to just wait around for a bomb to drop and —HENDERSON：Let's just go down into his basement and break down the door? A chorus of voices greet this with assent.
As HENDERSON rushes through toward the basement entrance, HARLOWE overtakes him saying:
哈洛太太杰雷，再去求求吧。
哈洛你就别白费口舌了。他任何人都不让进去。他说他腾不出地方，生活用品也不够，他家的防空洞只能呆3个人。
亨德森太太那咱们怎么办啊?
哈洛也许咱们该挑选一个地下室去收拾收拾，作好准备。咱们把东西统统凑在一起。食品啦，水啦，一切应用物件统统凑拢来。
哈洛太太这不公平。(指着斯道克顿的住宅)他躲在防空洞里安安全全一点事也没有，可咱们的孩子只好等着挨炸……
亨德森咱们到他的地下室去，把防空洞的门撞开来。大伙说好吗?
众人齐声赞同。
亨德森向地下室入口处奔去，哈洛追上了他，说道：
HARLOWE：Wait a minute, wait a minute. All of us couldn't fit in there. That would be crazy to even try.
WEISS：Why don't we draw lots? Pick out one family?
HARLOWE：What difference would it make? He won't let us in.
HENDERSON：We can all march down there and tell him he's got the whole street against him. We could do that.
HARLOWE：What good would that do? I keep telling you. Even if we were to break down the door, it couldn't accommodate all of us. We'd just be killing everybody and for no reason.
MRS. HENDERSON：If it saves even one of these kids out here —I call that a reason.
The voice comes up again.
哈洛你等等，你等等。那儿怎么挤得进这么多人。这样做简直愚蠢。
韦斯咱们何不抽签? 谁家中签就让谁家进去?
哈洛何必多此一举呢? 他不会让咱们进去的。
亨德森咱们可以一起走下去跟他说，他把这条街上的人都得罪了。咱们可以去这样跟他说。哈洛那又有什么用? 我三番五次对你们说过，即使咱们把门砸开，那个防空洞也容纳不下咱们这些人。咱们肯定会统统挤死，而且一点名堂也没有。
亨德森太太这儿的这些孩子，哪怕只有一个因此得救了——依我说，这就是堂堂正正的理由。
又传来播音员的声音。
WEISS：Jerry, you know him better than any of us. You're his best friend. Why don't you go down again? Try to talk to him. Plead with him. Tell him to pick out one family —Draw lots or something –
HENDERSON：One family, meaning yours, Weiss, huh?
WEISS：(whirls around to him) Why not? I've got a three-month—old infant —
MRS. HENDERSON：What difference does that make? Is your baby's life any more precious than our kids?
WEISS：(shouting at her) I never said that. If you're going to start trying to argue about who deserves to live more than the next one —
HENDERSON：Why don't you shut your mouth, Weiss?
(with a wild, illogical anger) That's the way it is when the foreigners come over here. Aggressive, greedy, semi—Americans —
WEISS：(his face goes white) Why you garbage-brained idiot you –
韦斯杰雷，咱们这些人里数你跟他最熟悉。你是他最要好的朋友。你何不再下去一趟呢。同他说说吧。求求他。请他挑一户人家——通过抽签什么的——
亨德森一户人家，就是你家啰，韦斯，对吗?
韦斯（蓦地向他转过身去）那又怎么样? 我有才三个月大的婴儿……
亨德森太太这有什么了不起的? 难道你家小孩的性命比我们的孩子更贵重吗?
韦斯（冲着她嚷道）我可从来没有说过这种话。要是你想争论谁应该比谁更值得活下去的话——
亨德森你干吗不把嘴闭上，韦斯? （勃发三丈无名火）外国佬来了，也就是这副样子。好斗，贪婪，哪像个真正的美国人，半拉子……
韦斯（脸色发白）你这个十足的白痴，好你个……
MRS. HENDERSON：It still goes, Weiss!I bet you're at the bottom of the list —WEISS suddenly flings himself through the crowd toward the man and there's a brief, hand-to-hand fight between them broken up by HARLOWE who stands between them breathless. HARLOWE Keep it up, both of you. Just keep it up. We won't need a bomb. We can slaughter each other. MRS. WEISS：(pleading) Marty, go down to Bill's shelter again. Ask him —
WEISS：I've already asked him. It wouldn't do any good. Once again the siren sounds and the people seem to move closer together, staring up toward the night sky. Off in the distance we see searchlights.
亨德森太太他没有说错，韦斯! 我敢断定你就是那种蹩脚透顶的货色。
韦斯突然穿过人群朝亨德森扑去，他们两个随即展开了一场短暂的格斗。哈洛气喘吁吁地奔过来，站到他们中间，把双方隔开。
哈洛你们再打啊，继续打嘛。咱们用不着等导弹飞过来。咱们自己都会火并嘛。
韦斯太太（恳求）马蒂，再到比尔的防空洞走一遭吧。求他——
韦斯我已经求过他了。毫无用处。
警报又响了，人们似乎靠得更近了，大家抬着头凝视夜空。看得见远方的探照灯光。HARLOWE：Searchlights. It must be coming closer.
HENDERSON：(as he suddenly pushes HARLOWE aside and heads for the steps) I'm going down there and get him to open up that door. I don't care what the rest of you think. That's the only thing left to do.
MAN＃1：He's right. Come on, let's do it.
哈洛探照灯。导弹一定更近了。
亨得森（突然推开哈洛，向通向地下室的台阶走去）我这就下去叫他把那扇门打开来。你们这些人怎么想，我可不管啦。现在能做的只有这件事了。
男子甲他说得对。快啊，咱们去干。
INSIDE THE SHELTER
GRACE is holding tight to PAUL. STOCKTON stands close to the door listening to the noises from outside as they approach. There's a pounding on the shelter door that reverberates.
防空洞里
格雷斯紧紧搂着保罗。斯道克顿靠近门站着，静听那伙人走近时从外面传来的喧闹声。嘭嘭，敲防空洞门的声音震天响。
OUTSIDE THE SHELTER HENDERSON
Bill? Bill Stockton? You've got a bunch of your neighbors out here who want to stay alive. Now you can open the door and talk to us and figure out with us how many can come in there. Or else you can just keep doing what you're doing –and we'll fight our way in there. HARLOWE appears and pushes his way through the group and goes over to the shelter door. HARLOWE Bill. This is Jerry. They mean business out here. STOCKTON'S VOICE
And I mean business in here. I've already told you, Jerry. You're wasting your time. You're wasting precious time that could be used for something else ... like figuring out how you can survive.
防空洞外;亨德森比尔? 比尔·斯道克顿! 一大群想活命的你的邻居都在外面等着啦。现在你好开门了，让咱们一道来合计合计你这个洞里能进去多少人。要是你不肯开，那你尽管我行我素下去吧——可咱们就要打进来了。
哈洛上场，挤过人群，走到防空洞门边。
哈洛比尔，我是杰雷。外面这些人可不是在开玩笑啊。
斯道克顿的声音我在里面也不是在开玩笑。我已经对你说过，杰雷。你们这是在浪费时间。你们在浪费宝贵时间，你们本可以用这些时间干些别的事情……比如你们可以想想逃生的办法。
MAN＃1: Why don't we get a big, heavy log to break the door down?
HENDERSON: We could go over to Bennett Avenue. Phil Kline has some giant logs in his basement. I've seen them. Let's get one. And we'll just tell Kline to keep his mouth shut as to why we want it.
WEISS: Let's get hold of ourselves. Let's stop and think for a minute –
HENDERSON:(turning to face WEISS) Nobody cares what you think. You or your kind. I thought I made that clear upstairs. I think the first order of business is to get you out of here. With this he strikes out, smashing his fist into WEISS's face in a blow so unexpected and so wild that WEISS, totally unprepared, is knocked against the wall. His wife screams and, still holding the baby, rushes to him. There's a commotion as several men try to grab the neighbor and HARLOWE is immediately at WEISS's side trying to help him to his feet. Once again the sirens blast.
男子甲咱们干吗不去找根结结实实的粗木头来把门砸开?
亨德森咱们不妨到贝内特大街去。菲尔·克兰家地下室里有几根大木头。我看见过。咱们去扛一根吧。我们只要叫克兰闭上嘴，别把这事张扬出去就行了。
韦斯咱们还是克制一点，先别争，好好想一想……
亨德森（转过身来，脸朝着韦斯）你要想就去想，不关别人什么事。你也罢，和你臭味相投的人也罢，别人才不管呢。我本以为这些话在上面已经讲清楚了。我认为，当务之急首先是得把你撵出去。
亨德森话音刚落，他便冷不防拔出拳头朝韦斯脸上猛地挥去。韦斯猝不及防，被打倒在墙脚。他妻子尖叫着奔到他身边，手里仍抱着婴孩。有几个人想使劲拉住那位邻居，这时出现了一阵混乱。哈洛迅速走到了韦斯跟前，扶着他立起身来。警报再次拉响。
HENDERSON: (shouts over the noise and commotion) Come on, let's get something to smash this door down. They start out of the cellar toward the steps.
亨德森（声音盖过警报和混乱中的喧闹声）快，咱们去找样东西把这扇门砸开。
大伙从地下室出来走向台阶。
INSIDE THE SHELTER：STOCKTON slowly turns to face his wife. The angry screaming cries of the people ring in their ears even as they depart. GRACE(looks up) Bill? Who were those people? STOCKTON:(turning to stare toward the door) "Those people?" Those are our neighbors, Grace. Our friends. The people we've lived with and alongside for twenty years. (then in a different fixed expression and in a different tone) Come on, Paul. Let's put stuff up against this door.
Everything we can.
防空洞里:斯道克顿慢慢地转过身来，脸朝着妻子。这伙人正在离去，但即便此刻，斯道克顿一家人耳边仍然回响着他们愤怒的尖叫声。
格雷斯（抬起头来）比尔，刚才那些人都是谁呀?
斯道克顿（转过身去盯着门看）"那些人?"那些是咱们的邻居，格雷斯。咱们的朋友。是和咱们在一条街上生活了20年的人。（接着露出一种异样的固执的神态，同时换了一种口气）来，保罗。咱们拿东西来把门顶住。能拿来的统统拿来。
The man and boy then start to pile up a barricade, using furniture, the generator, books, any movable object they can get their hands on.
于是，他和孩子动手用家具、发电机、书本以及凡是可以搬动的东西堆起一道障碍。OUTSIDE OF THE SHELTER
The mob marches down the street carrying a large heavy log that is perhaps fifteen feet long. Their own shouts mix with the sound of the intermittent siren and with the voice of the announcer on the Conelrad station.
ANNOUNCER'S VOICE ：We've been asked to once again remind the population that they are to remain calm, stay off the streets. This is urgent. Please remain off the streets. Everything possible is being done in the way of protection. But the military and important civil defense vehicles must have the streets clear. So you're once again reminded to remain off the streets. Remain off the streets!
防空洞外那群人扛着一根约有15英尺长的又粗又大的木头沿街走来。他们的喊叫声与断断续续的警报声、康纳雷民防广播电台播音员的声音混成一片。
播音员的声音我们接到通知，再一次提醒全体居民保持镇静，不要上街。这是紧急通知。请不要上街。有关方面正在采取一切防护措施。但我们必须保证军用车辆和民防系统的重要车辆在大街上畅通无阻。所以再一次提醒各位不要上街。请各位不要上街!
The minute the mob gathers before the STOCKTON house, they smash into it, carrying the giant log.They move down the cellar steps. As the log smashes into the shelter door, the siren goes up louder and more piercing and it is at this moment that we see both WEISS and HARLOWE join the men on the heavy log to lend their support to it.
那伙人刚聚集到斯道克顿家门前，便立刻扛着那根大木头向里冲，并沿着台阶往地下室走去。正当木头猛撞防空洞门时，警报拉得更响，更尖厉刺耳了。就在这时，我们看到韦斯和哈洛都加入到这伙人中，握住木头助上一臂之力。
INSIDE THE SHELTER:STOCKTON and PAUL lean against it as it starts to give under the
weight, under the pressure. The air is filled with angry shouts, the intermittent siren, the cries of women and children.
防空洞里当防空洞门因受到猛烈撞击而快要倒下时，斯道克顿和保罗用劲顶着。周围响着一片怒吼声，断断续续的警报声，妇女儿童的哭闹声。
INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE SHELTER
And it all reaches one vast pitch just as the door is forced open. PAUL and STOCKTON are pushed back into the shelter and just at this moment the lights go on in the basement. The siren also reaches its top and then suddenly goes off and there is absolute dead silence for a long moment. Then from the portable radio in the corner comes.
防空洞内外当防空洞门被砸开时，这片嘈杂声响到了震耳欲聋的地步。保罗和斯道克顿被推到防空洞的里面。正在这时，地下室的电灯亮了。警报声也响到了极点。接着突然消失，随之四周是长时间的一片死寂。然后，从一处角落里的手提收音机中传来了播音员的声音。ANNOUNCER'S VOICE
This is Conelrad. This is Conelrad. Remain tuned for an important message. Remain tuned for an important message. (a pause) The President of the United States has just announced that the previously unidentified objects have now been definitely identified as being satellites. Repeat. There are no enemy missiles approaching. Repeat, there are no enemy missiles approaching. The objects have been identified as satellites. They are harmless and we are in no danger. Repeat. We are in no danger. The state of emergency has officially been called off. We are in no danger. Repeat. There is no enemy attack. There is no enemy attack.
MRS. WEISS: (her eyes closed and crying softly) Thank God. Oh, thank God.
WEISS:(in a whisper, his face bruised and blood clotted) Amen to that.
HENDERSON:Hey, Marty ... Marty ... I went crazy. You understand that, don't you? I just went crazy. I didn't mean all the things I said. (he wets his lips, his voice shaking) We were all of us ... we were so scared ... so confused. (he holds out his hands in a gesture) Well, it's no wonder really, is it? I mean ... well, you can understand why we blew our tops a little —
播音员的声音这是康纳雷民防广播电台，这是康纳雷民防广播电台。本台有重要消息广播，请继续收听。本台有重要消息广播，请继续收听。（稍停）美国总统刚才宣布，原先没有辨别清楚的物体，现在已经查明肯定是卫星。再广播一遍。没有敌方导弹飞近。再广播一遍。没有敌方导弹飞近。该物体已查明是卫星。这些物体没有危害，我们没有危险。再广播一遍。我们没有危险。紧急状态已经正式解除。我们没有危险。再广播一遍。敌人没有侵袭。敌人没有侵袭。
韦斯太太（含着泪，轻声哭泣）感谢上帝。哦，感谢上帝。
韦斯（脸上青肿，结着血块。低声地）阿门。
亨德森嗨，马蒂……马蒂……我刚才真有点精神失常。望你能理解。我只不过有点失常。我刚才说的那些话都不是当真的。（他舔舔嘴唇，声音发抖）咱们大家都……咱们都那么害怕……那么慌乱。（伸出双手，做了个手势）嗳，其实这也没有什么好奇怪的，对吗?我是说……嗯，你会理解的，刚才咱们为什么有点气急败坏……
There's a murmur of voices, a few half-hearted nods, but they're all still in a state of shock. HARLOWE：I don't think Marty's going to hold it against you. (then turning to STOCKTON) I just hope Bill won't hold this —(he points to the wreckage around him) against us. We'll pay for the damage, Bill. We'll take up a collection right away. As STOCKTON walks past them across the cellar and up toward the stairs, all eyes are on him and there's an absolute dead silence. WEISS (his voice shaky and nervous) We could ... we could have a block party or something
tomorrow night. A big celebration. I think we deserve one now. He looks around smiling at the others, a nervous smile born of a carry-over of fear and the realization that something has taken hold of all of them now. Something deadening in its effect and disquieting beyond words. STOCKTON takes a step up on the stairs then stops and turns back toward them. His face is expressionless.
人群中发出一阵低语声，有几个半心半意地点点头，但这时大家还没有从震惊中清醒过来。哈洛我想马蒂不会因这件事而记恨你的。（说完转向斯道克顿）我希望比尔不要为此——（指着他周围被毁坏的东西）而记恨咱们。咱们会赔偿损失的，比尔。咱们马上募捐。
当斯道克顿穿过地下室经过他们身旁向台阶迈去时，所有的眼睛都盯着他。又是一阵沉寂。韦斯（声音颤抖，紧张不安）咱们不妨……明天晚上咱们不妨举行街坊聚会什么的。好好庆祝一番。我想这么个庆祝会倒是值得开的。
韦斯环视四周，朝大伙笑笑，但他的微笑显得局促不安，一则因为心有余悸，二则因为他感到此刻有什么东西吸引住了大家。这东西使人沮丧，令人极度不安。斯道克顿向上走了一级台阶，随即止步，回过身来面对大家。他的脸上毫无表情。
HARLOWE：(with phony laughter desperately trying to relieve situation) Block party's not a bad idea. (looking around at the others) Anything to get back to normal.
STOCKTON：(looks from face to face and slowly shakes his head) Normal? (a pause) I don't know. I don't know what "normal" is. I thought I did, but I don't any more.
HARLOWE：I told you we'd pay for the damages –
STOCKTON：(stares at him) The damages? (he nods) I wonder if we realize just what those damages are? (he looks from face to face again) Maybe the worst of them was finding out just what we're like when we're normal. The kind of people we are. Just underneath the surface. I mean all of us. A lot of naked animals who attach such great importance to staying alive that they claw their neighbors to death just for the privilege. (he leans against the stairway wall, suddenly desperately tired, very softly as he turns away from them) We were spared a bomb tonight ... but I wonder if we weren't destroyed even without it. He continues up the steps.
Unit 8 Honesty: Is It Going Out of Style?Stacia Robbins
诚实：难道它正在变得不合时宜？斯泰茜娅·罗宾斯
According to a recent poll, 61 percent of American high school students have admitted to cheating on exams at least once. It can be argued such a response may not mean much. After all, most students have been faced with the temptation to peek at a neighbor's test paper. And students can be hard on themselves in judging such behavior. However, there are other indications that high school cheating may be on the rise.
根据最近的一次民意测验，百分之六十一的美国中学生承认曾在考试中至少作过一次弊。人们可以争论说，这样一种回答也许没有多大意义。毕竟大多数学生都曾受到过偷看邻座考卷的诱惑。而学生们在评价这类行为时有时对自己过于严格。不过，还有别的一些迹象也表明，中学里的作弊现象可能是在上升。
More and more states are requiring students to pass competency tests in order to receive their high school diplomas. And many educators fear that an increase in the use of state exams will lead to a corresponding rise in cheating. A case in point is students in New York State who faced criminal misdemeanor charges for possessing and selling advance copies of state Regents examinations.
越来越多的州要求学生通过能力测试以取得中学毕业文凭。很多教育学家担心，更多地利用州级考试将会导致作弊的相应增加。一个明显的例子就是纽约州的一些学生，他们因拥有并出售州教育董事会的考卷样本而受到刑事轻罪指控。
Cheating is now considered to be a major problem in colleges and universities. Several professors say they've dropped the traditional term paper requirement because many students buy prewritten term papers, and they can't track down all the cheaters anymore.
现在作弊也被看作是大学的一大问题了。一些教授说他们已经放弃了传统的学期论文这一要求，因为很多学生购买预先写好的各种学期论文，教授们再也查不出所有的作弊者了。Colleges and universities across the nation have decided to do more than talk about the rise in student cheating. For instance, the Department of Psychology at the University of Maryland launched a campaign to stop one form of cheating. As 409 students filed out of their exam, they found all but one exit blocked. Proctors asked each student to produce an ID card with an attached photo. Students who said they'd left theirs in the dorm or at home had a mug shot taken. The purpose of the campaign was to catch "ringers," students who take tests for other students.
除了谈论学生作弊的上升外，全国各地的大学已决定采取一切措施。例如，马里兰大学心理系就开展了一场制止某种作弊形式的运动。当409名学生考完试鱼贯离开教室时，他们发现除了一个出口外，所有的出口都堵住了。监考人员要求每个学生出示贴有照片的身份证。那些说把身份证留在宿舍或家中的学生都被拍了面部照。这一运动的目的是捉拿“冒名顶替者”，即帮别人代考的学生。
The majority of students at the University of Maryland applauded the campaign. The campus newspaper editorial said, "Like police arresting speeders, the intent is not to catch everyone but rather to catch enough to spread the word."
马里兰大学的大多数学生都鼓掌欢迎这一运动。校刊社论说：“就像警察逮捕违法超速驾车者一样，这一运动的目的并不是要捉拿所有的人，而是抓住足够的作弊者以便把信息传开去。”
We frequently hear about "the good old days," when Americans were better, happier, and more honest. But were they more honest? Maybe yes, a long time ago when life was very different from what it is today.
我们经常听人谈起“美好的往日”，说是那时的美国人比现在好，比现在幸福，也比现在诚实。但他们真的较诚实吗？也许在很久以前，他们确实更诚实，因为那时的生活跟今天的生活大不相同。
School children used to know the story of how Abraham Lincoln walked five miles to return a penny he'd overcharged a customer. It's the kind of story we think of as myth. But in the case of Lincoln, the story is true ... unlike the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. Washington's first biographer invented the tale of little George saying to his father, "I cannot tell a lie. I did it with my ax." What is important in both stories, however, is that honesty was seen as an important part of the American character.
中、小学学生过去都知道亚伯拉罕·林肯步行五英里把多收的一分钱还给顾客的故事。我们已经把这类故事看成了神话。但就林肯来说，这故事却是真实的……而不像乔治·华盛顿和樱桃树的故事那样是杜撰的。华盛顿的第一位传记作者虚构了小乔治对父亲说“我不能说谎，我用斧子砍倒了樱桃树”的故事。然而，在两个故事中都很重要的一点是，诚实过去一向被看作是美国人性格中的一个重要组成部分。
And these are just two stories out of many. Students in the last century usually didn't read "fun" stories. They read stories that taught moral values. Such stories pointed out quite clearly that children who lied, cheated, or stole came to bad ends.
而且这仅仅是许许多多故事中的两个故事。上个世纪的学生一般都不读“娱乐性的”故事。他们读的都是些传授道德标准的故事。这类故事非常明确地指出，说谎、骗人、偷东西的孩
子决没有好下场。
Parents may have further reinforced those values. It's difficult to know. We do know that children didn't hear their parents talk of cheating the government on income taxes — there weren't any.
做父母的很可能进一步加强了这些道德标准。是不是真的如此就很难知道了。但我们的确知道，过去的孩子听不到父母谈论在所得税上欺骗政府的事——那时候还没有所得税。
A clue as to why Americans may have been more honest in the past lies in the Abe Lincoln story. Lincoln knew his customer. They both lived in a small town. Would a check-out person at a large supermarket return money to a customer? It's less likely. On the other hand, would overnight guests at an inn run by a husband and wife, steal towels? It's less likely.
林肯的故事中提供了一个线索，说明为什么过去的美国人也许是比较诚实的。这就是林肯认识他的顾客，他们都住在同一个小镇上。一家大的超级市场的结账员会把多收的钱还给顾客吗？可能性较小。反之，在一家夫妻经营的小旅馆过夜的客人会偷毛巾吗？可能性也不大。Perhaps this tells us that people need to know one another to be at their honest best.
也许这就告诉我们，人们需要互相了解才能达到最诚实的境界。
The vast majority of Americans still believe that honesty is an important part of the American character. For that reason, there are numerous watch-dog committees at all levels of society. Although signs of dishonesty in school, business, and government seem much more numerous in recent years than in the past, could it be that we are getting better at revealing such dishonesty?
绝大多数美国人仍然认为诚实是美国人性格的一个重要组成部分。因此，在社会各级都有许多监督委员会。虽然学校、商界和政府中的作弊和欺诈行为近年来似乎比过去多了许多，但这会不会是由于我们越来越善于揭露这类不诚实行为的缘故呢？
There is some evidence that dishonesty may ebb and flow. When times are hard, incidents of theft and cheating usually go up. And when times get better such incidents tend to go down.
有某些证据表明，欺诈行为可消可长，有起有伏。当时世艰难时，偷窃和欺骗事件通常便会增多。当形势好转时，这类事件往往就会减少。
Cheating in school also tends to ebb and flow. But it doesn't seem linked to the economy.
学校中的作弊现象也往往有涨有落。但它似乎跟经济没有什么联系。
Many educators feel that as students gain confidence in themselves and their abilities, they are less likely to cheat. Surprisingly, some efforts to prevent cheating may actually encourage cheating —a person may feel "they don't trust me anyway," and be tempted to "beat the system." Distrust can be contagious. But, so can trust! Asimov explains why there is much more in intelligence than just being able to score high on intelligence tests.
阿西莫夫说明了为什么智力远非只是在智力测验中取得高分。
Unit 9 What Is Intelligence, Anyway? Isaac Asimov
智力到底是什么？艾萨克·阿西莫夫
What is intelligence, anyway? When I was in the army I received a kind of aptitude test that all soldiers took and, against a normal of 100, scored 160. No one at the base had ever seen a figure like that and for two hours they made a big fuss over me. (It didn't mean anything. The next day I was still a buck private with KP as my highest duty.)
智力到底是什么呢？当我在部队服役时，我曾接受过一种所有士兵都参加的智能测验，在标准得分为100的情况下，我得了160分。基地上没有哪个人曾见过这样的高分，于是他们便对我大加吹捧了两个小时之久。（这对我毫无意义。第二天我仍然是一名列兵，最高的职务是担任伙食值勤员。）
All my life I've been registering scores like that, so that I have the complacent feeling that I'm
第一单元 课程开始之际，就如何使学习英语的任务更容易提出一些建议似乎正当其实。 学习英语的几种策略 学习英语决非易事。它需要刻苦和长期努力。 虽然不经过持续的刻苦努力便不能期望精通英语，然而还是有各种有用的学习策略可以用来使这一任务变得容易一些。以下便是其中的几种： 1．不要以完全相同的方式对待所有的生词。你可曾因为简直无法记住所学的所有生词而抱怨自己的记忆力太差？其实，责任并不在你的记忆力。如果你一下子把太多的生词塞进头脑，必定有一些生词会被挤出来。你需要做的是根据生词日常使用的频率以不同的方式对待它们。积极词汇需要经常练习，有用的词汇必须牢记，而在日常情况下不常出现的词只需见到时认识即可。你会发现把注意力集中于积极有用的词上是扩大词汇量最有效的途径。 2．密切注意地道的表达方式。你可曾纳闷过，为什么我们说“我对英语感兴趣”是“I’m interested in English”，而说“我精于法语”则是“I’m good at French”?你可曾问过自己，为什么以英语为母语的人说“获悉消息或密秘”是“learnthenewsorsecret”,而“获悉某人的成功或到来”却是“learn of someone’s success or arrival”?这些都是惯用法的例子。在学习英语时，你不仅必须注意词义，还必须注意以英语为母语的人在日常生活中如何使用它。 3．每天听英语。经常听英语不仅会提高你的听力，而且有助你培养说的技能。除了专为课程准备的语言磁带外，你还可以听英语广播，看英语电视和英语电影。第一次听录好音的英语对话或语段，你也许不能听懂很多。先试着听懂大意，然后在反复地听。 你会发现每次重复都会听懂更多的xx。 4．抓住机会说。的确，在学校里必须用英语进行交流的场合并不多，但你还是可以找到练习讲英语的机会。例如，跟你的同班同学进行交谈可能就是得到一些练习的一种轻松愉快的方式。还可以找校园里以英语为母语的人跟他们
2014101018 第五单元 Translation of Text A 夜莺与玫瑰 1 “她说如果我给她带去红玫瑰，她愿意和我一起跳舞。”年轻的学生哭喊道，“但满院子都没有一朵红玫瑰。” 2 这番话给在老橡树上自己巢中的夜莺听见了，她通过橡树叶张望，心中诧异。 3 “在我的花园没有红玫瑰！”他哭着说，他美丽的大眼满含泪水：“啊，圣贤之书我已读完，哲学奥妙尽藏心中，然而缺少一朵红玫瑰却使我的生活瞬时暗淡！” 4 “终于有一位重感情的人了，”夜莺说，“我曾日日夜夜为他歌唱，现在我终于见到他了。” 5 “王子明晚将举行一个舞会，”年轻的学生喃喃道：“我的爱人也将前往我若为他采得红玫瑰，她将和我一直跳舞到天亮。我会揽她入怀，而她也会偎依在我的肩头。但在我的花园没有红玫瑰，因此我只能独自坐那儿黯然神伤，心痛无比。” 6 “他确实是一个重感情的人，”夜莺说。真爱是美好的，它价胜千金。 7 “乐师们将奏乐助兴，”年轻的学生道，“我的爱人将和着竖琴和小提琴声翩翩起舞。她的身姿是如此的轻盈宛似蜻蜓点水般。但他是不会和我一起跳的，因为我没有红玫瑰献给她。”于是他扑倒在草地上，双手捂着脸放声痛哭起来。 8 “他为什么哭泣呢？”一只绿色的蜥蜴翘着尾巴经过他身边时问道。 9 “是啊，到底为什么呢？”一只在阳光下挥动着翅膀的蝴蝶问道。 10 “到底为什么呢？”一朵雏菊用低沉的声音对他的邻居说道. 11 “他为一只红玫瑰哭泣。”夜莺说。 12 “为了一朵红玫瑰？”他们叫道，“太荒谬了！”那本来就有点愤世嫉俗的小蜥蜴肆无忌惮的笑道。但是夜莺了解男孩的悲痛，默默无声地坐在橡树上。 13 突然她张开自己棕色的双翼，向空中飞去。她犹如影子般穿越树林，又如影子般越过花园。 14 在草地的中心一棵美丽的红玫瑰树傲然屹立。她看到后立即向它飞去：“给
大学英语精读1课文翻译 Unit1 Some Strategies or Learning English 学习英语绝非易事。它需要刻苦和长期努力。 虽然不经过持续的刻苦努力便不能期望精通英语，然而还是有各种有用的学习策略可以用来使这一任务变得容易一些。以下便是其中的几种。 1. 不要以完全同样的方式对待所有的生词。你可曾因为简直无法记住所学的所有生词而抱怨自己的记忆力太差？其实，责任并不在你的记忆力。如果你一下子把太多的生词塞进头脑，必定有一些生词会被挤出来。你需要做的是根据生词日常使用的频率以不同的方式对待它们。积极词汇需要经常练习，有用的词汇必须牢记，而在日常情况下不常出现的词只需见到时认识即可。你会发现把注意力集中于积极有用的词上是扩大词汇量最有效的途径。 2．密切注意地道的表达方式。你可曾纳闷过，为什么我们说 "我对英语感兴趣"是"I'm interested in English"，而说"我精于法语"则是"I'm good at French"？你可曾问过自己，为什么以英语为母语的人说"获悉消息或秘密"是"learn the news or secret"，而"获悉某人的成功或到来"却是"learn of someone's success or arrival"？这些都是惯用法的例子。在学习英语时，你不仅必须注意词义，还必须注意以英语为母语的人在日常生活中如何使用它。 3．每天听英语。经常听英语不仅会提高你的听力，而且有助你培养说的技能。除了专为课程准备的语言磁带外，你还可以听英语广播，看英语电视和英语电影。第一次听录好音的英语对话或语段，你也许不能听懂很多。先试着听懂大意，然后再反复地听。你会发现每次重复都会听懂更多的东西。 4．抓住机会说。的确，在学校里必须用英语进行交流的场合并不多，但你还是可以找到练习讲英语的机会。例如，跟你的同班同学进行交谈可能就是得到一些练习的一种轻松愉快的方式。还可以找校园里以英语为母语的人跟他们随意交谈。或许练习讲英语最容易的方式是高声朗读，因为这在任何时间，任何地方，不需要搭档就可以做到。例如，你可以看着图片或身边的物件，试着对它们详加描述。你还可以复述日常情景。在商店里购物或在餐馆里吃完饭付过账后，假装这一切都发生在一个讲英语的国家，试着用英语把它表演出来。
Glossary lesson 1 academic 学院的adolescence 青春期adolescent 青少年时期adulthood 成年 affection 喜爱 affirm 断言 agenda 日程表 anxiety 焦虑 attitudinal 态度的 baptist bounce 跳跃 capability 能力contribute 贡献 counsel 建议 crisis 危机 definite 清楚的developmental 发育的distinct 区分，差别distressed 悲伤 dorm 公寓，宿舍(大学生)
encyclopedia 百科全书endeavor 尝试endowment 天赋 ethical 道德的ethnic evaluate 估算，评估excessive 过分的，极度的feminine 女性的 financial 财政的 functional 职务的 genetic 基因的 guilt 内疚 heighten 提高 inherit 遗传，继承inhibition 压抑的情绪interact 交流 interaction 合作 involve （成功的）必要条件journal 期刊 masculine 男性的 maturity 成熟 mistrust 不信任
newscast 新闻广播parental 父母的 peer 同龄人 perceive 理解 position 工作 prejudiced 偏见 project 规划 rebel 抗议 relate 理解，同情某人resentment 怨恨 role 职责 seminary 学院的separation 分开 sexual 2性的 shrink 缩水 stressful 有压力的superior 优秀的theological 神学的unquestionably 毫无疑问的lesson2
Unit1 课程开始之际，就如何使学习英语的任务更容易提出一些建议似乎正当其时。 Some Strategies or Learning English 学习英语绝非易事。它需要刻苦和长期努力。 虽然不经过持续的刻苦努力便不能期望精通英语，然而还是有各种有用的学习策略可以用来使这一任务变得容易一些。以下便是其中的几种。 1. 不要以完全同样的方式对待所有的生词。你可曾因为简直无法记住所学的所有生词而抱怨自己的记忆力太差？其实，责任并不在你的记忆力。如果你一下子把太多的生词塞进头脑，必定有一些生词会被挤出来。你需要做的是根据生词日常使用的频率以不同的方式对待它们。积极词汇需要经常练习，有用的词汇必须牢记，而在日常情况下不常出现的词只需见到时认识即可。你会发现把注意力集中于积极有用的词上是扩大词汇量最有效的途径。 2．密切注意地道的表达方式。你可曾纳闷过，为什么我们说我对英语感兴趣是I'm 湩整敲瑳摥椠?湅汧獩屨，而说我精于法语则是???潧摯愠?牆湥档？你可曾问过自己，为什么以英语为母语的人说获悉消息或秘密是汜慥湲琠敨渠睥?牯猠捥敲屴，而获悉某人的成功或到来却是汜慥湲漠?潳敭湯?环猠捵散獳漠?牡楲慶屬？这些都是惯用法的例子。在学习英语时，你不仅必须注意词义，还必须注意以英语为母语的人在日常生活中如何使用它。 3．每天听英语。经常听英语不仅会提高你的听力，而且有助你培养说的技能。除了专为课程准备的语言磁带外，你还可以听英语广播，看英语电视和英语电影。第一次听录好音的英语对话或语段，你也许不能听懂很多。先试着听懂大意，然后再反复地听。你会发现每次重复都会听懂更多的东西。 4．抓住机会说。的确，在学校里必须用英语进行交流的场合并不多，但你还是可以找到练习讲英语的机会。例如，跟你的同班同学进行交谈可能就是得到一些练习的一种轻松愉快的方式。还可以找校园里以英语为母语的人跟他们随意交谈。或许练习讲英语最容易的方式是高声朗读，因为这在任何时间，任何地方，不需要搭档就可以做到。例如，你可以看着图片18 / 1 或身边的物件，试着对它们详加描述。你还可以复述日常情景。在商店里购物或在餐馆里吃完饭付过账后，假装这一切都发生在一个讲英语的国家，试着用英语把它表演出来。 5．广泛阅读。广泛阅读很重要，因为在我们的学习环境中，阅读是最重要、最可靠的语言输入来源。在选择阅读材料时，要找你认为有趣的、不需要过多依赖词典就能看懂的东西。开始时每天读一页是个好办法。接下去，你就会发现你每天可以读更多页，而且能对付难度更高的材料。6．经常写。写作是练习你已经学会的东西的好方法。除了老师布置的作文，你还可以找到自己要写的理由。有个笔友可以提供很好的动力；与某个跟你趣味相投但来自不同文化的人进行交流，你会学到很多东西。经常写作的其他方式还有记日记，写小故事或概述每天的新闻。 语言学习是一个积累的过程。从读和听中吸收尽量多的东西，然后再试着把学到的东西通过说和写加以运用，定会大有收益。 Unit2 弗朗西斯·奇切斯特在六十五岁时开始了只身环球航行。本文记述的就是这一冒险故事。 Sailing Round the Word 弗朗西斯·奇切斯特在独自驾船作环球航行之前，已有好几次让他的朋友们感到吃惊了。他曾试图作环球飞行，但没有成功。那是1931年。 好多年过去了。他放弃了飞行，开始航海。他领略到航海的巨大乐趣。奇切斯特在首届横渡大西洋单人航海比赛中夺魁时，已经五十八岁。他周游世界的宿愿重又被唤起，不过这一次他是要驾船环游。由于他患有肺癌，朋友们和医生们都认为他不该去，但奇切斯特决意实施自己的计划。
2014101018 第六单元 Translation of Text A 青香蕉 1尽管这种事情在任何地方都可能发生，但我与青香蕉的邂逅却源自于巴西腹地一条险峻的山路上。我那老式吉普车正吃力地穿过景色优美的乡村，这时，水箱突然漏水了，而离我最近的汽车修理站也还要十英里。发动机过热迫使我在临近的村庄停了下来。村里有一个小商店和分布在四处的几座房子。有村民围过来看，三股细细的热水柱从水箱外壳上的小孔喷出来。“这容易解决，”一个人说到。他让一个小男孩跑去拿些青香蕉来。这个人还拍了拍我的肩膀，安慰我问题会解决的。“青香蕉。”他笑了，其余的人都这么说着。 2我和他们闲聊起来，心里却一直在想他们用这青香蕉怎么能修补好水箱。毫无疑问，提问会暴露我的无知，因此我开始赞叹眼前美丽的乡村景色。耸立在我们周围巨大的岩石群，很像里约热内卢著名的糖面包山。“看见那边那块高高的岩石了吗？”那人指着一块特别高而且细长的黑色石柱问我，“那块岩石标志着世界的中心。” 3我看着他，想知道他是否在和我开玩笑，但他却表情严肃，反过来认真地审视着我，似乎想确定我是否领会了他那句话的深刻含义。这种情况要求我必须表现出认同。他点头说：“绝对是中心。这儿的人都知道。” 4这时，小男孩抱着青香蕉回来了。那个男子把其中一根掰成两半，将其断口处按在水箱的外壳上。香蕉遇到炙热的金属融成了胶，立刻就堵住了漏洞。面对如此情景，我惊呆了，我当时的表情一定是傻傻的，所有的人都笑了起来。他们把我的水箱装满水，又让我带上一些香蕉，以防沿途中水箱再出问题。路上，我又用了一次青香蕉，一个小时后，我开着车到达了目的地。当地的一修理工笑着问我：“谁教你用青香蕉的？”我告诉了他那个村子的名字。“他们有没有指给你看标志世界中心的那块岩石?”他问道。我告诉他，他们指给我看了。“我祖父就是那儿的人，”他说，“那的确是中心。一直以来这儿的人都知道。” 5作为美国教育的产物，除了把青香蕉当作还没长熟的水果，我从来就没注意过它。但突然在那条山路上，当我需要它时，它正巧出现了。可是仔细想一想，其实青香蕉一直在那儿存在着。时间可以追溯到香蕉的最初的起源。那个村子里的人都知道它已经很多年了，我现在也因此认识它了。我开始珍视村民们的聪明才智和青香蕉的特殊潜能。曾有一段时间，我一直困惑于教育家们提出的“领悟的瞬间”，而现在我知道自己刚刚同时经历了两个这样的瞬间。 6我又用了一些时间来领会村民们认为那块标志着世界中心的岩石的重要性。开始时我怀疑他们的说法，因为我知道实际上世界的中心是位于新英格兰的某个
Unit1 Twocollege-ageboPs,unawarethatmakingmonePusuallPinvolveshardwork,aretemptedbPanadvertis ementthatpromisesthemaneasPwaPtoearnalotofmoneP.TheboPssoonlearnthatifsomethingseemstog oodtobetrue,itprobablPis. 一个大学男孩，不清楚赚钱需要付出艰苦的劳动，被一份许诺轻松赚大钱的广告吸引了。男孩们很快就明白，如果事情看起来好得不像真的，那多半确实不是真的。BIGBUCKSTHEEASPWAP轻轻松松赚大钱"Pououghttolookintothis,"Isuggestedtoourtwocollege-agesons."ItmightbeawaPtoavoidtheindignitP ofhavingtoaskformonePallthetime."Ihandedthemsomemagazinesinaplasticbagsomeonebadhungon ourdoorknob.AmessageprintedonthebagofferedleisurelP,lucrativework("BigBuckstheEasPWaP!")o fdeliveringmoresuchbags. “你们该看看这个，”我向我们的两个读大学的儿子建议道。“你们若想避免因为老是向人讨钱而有失尊严的话，这兴许是一种办法。”我将挂在我们门把手上的、装在一个塑料袋里的几本杂志拿给他们。塑料袋上印着一条信息说，需要招聘人投递这样的袋子，这活儿既轻松又赚钱。（“轻轻松松赚大钱!”） "Idon'tmindtheindignitP,"theolderoneanswered.“我不在乎失不失尊严，”大儿子回答说。"Icanlivewithit,"hisbrotheragreed.“我可以忍受，”他的弟弟附和道。"Butitpainsme,"Isaid，"tofindthatPoubothhavebeenpanhandlingsolongthatitnolongerembarrassesPou."“看到你们俩伸手讨钱讨惯了一点也不感到尴尬的样子，真使我痛心，”我说。TheboPssaidthePwouldlookintothemagazine-deliverPthing.Pleased,Ilefttownonabusinesstrip.BPmi dnightIwascomfortablPsettledinahotelroomfarfromhome.Thephonerang.ItwasmPwife.Shewantedt oknowhowmPdaPhadgone.孩子们说他们可以考虑考虑投递杂志的事。我听了很高兴，便离城出差去了。午夜时分，我已远离家门，在一家旅馆的房间里舒舒服服住了下来。电话铃响了，是妻子打来的。她想知道我这一天过得可好。 "Great!"Ienthused."HowwasPourdaP?"Iinquired.“好极了!”我兴高采烈地说。“你过得怎么样?”我问道。 "Super!"Shesnapped."Justsuper!Andit'sonlPgettingstarted.Anothertruckjustpulledupoutfront."“棒极了!”她大声挖苦道。“真棒!而且这还仅仅是个开始。又一辆卡车刚在门前停下。”"Anothertruck?"“又一辆卡车?” "Thethirdonethisevening.ThefirstdeliveredfourthousandMontgomerPWards.Thesecondbroughtfour thousandSears,Roebucks.Idon'tknowwhatthisonehas,butI'msureitwillbefourthousandofsomething.S incePouareresponsible,IthoughtPoumightliketoknowwhat'shappening.“今晚第三辆了。第一辆运来了四千份蒙哥马利-沃德百货公司的广告；第二辆运来四千份西尔斯-罗伯克百货公司的广告。我不知道这一辆装的啥，但我肯定又是四千份什么的。既然这事是你促成的，我想你或许想了解事情的进展。” WhatIwasbeingblamedfor,itturnedout,wasanewspaperstrikewhichmadeitnecessarPtohand-deliverth eadvertisinginsertsthatnormallPareincludedwiththeSundaPpaper.ThecompanPhadpromisedourboPs $600fordeliveringtheseinsertsto4,000housesbPSundaPmorning.我之所以受到指责，事情原来是这样：由于发生了一起报业工人罢工，通常夹在星期日报纸里的广告插页，必须派人直接投送出去。公司答应给我们的孩子六百美金，任务是将这些广告插页在星期天早晨之前投递到四千户人家去。 "Pieceofcake!"ouroldercollegesonhadshouted.“不费吹灰之力!”我们上大学的大儿子嚷道。"SiGhundredbucks!"Hisbrotherhadechoed,"Andwecandothejobintwohours!"“六百块!”他的弟弟应声道，“我们两个钟点就能干完!” "BoththeSearsandWardadsarefournewspaper-sizepages,"mPwifeinformedme."TherearethirtP-twot housandpagesofadvertisingonourporch.Evenaswespeak,twobigguPsarecarrPingarmloadsofpaperup thewalk.Whatdowedoaboutallthis?"“西尔斯和沃德的广告通常都是报纸那么大的四页，”妻子告诉我说，“现在我们门廊上堆着三万二千页广告。就在我们说话的当儿，两个大个子正各抱着一大捆广告走过来。这么多广告，我们可怎么办?”"JusttelltheboPstogetbusP,"Iinstructed."TheP'recollegemen.TheP'lldowhatthePhavetodo."“你让孩子们快干，”我指示说。“他们都是大学生了。他们自己的事得由他们自己去做。”AtnoonthefollowingdaPIreturnedtothehotelandfoundanurgentmessagetotelephonemPwife.Hervoic
大学英语精读第三版(上海外语教育出版社董亚芬主编) 第三册Book3 Unit1~Unit10 翻译答案 ? Unit1 翻译 1) 发言人（spokesman）明确表示总统在任何情况下都不会取消（cancel）这次旅行。 The spokesman made it clear that the President would not cancel the trip under any circumstances. 2) 杰克对书架上那些书一本也不了解，所以他的选择是很随意的。 Jack didn't know anything about any of the books on the bookshelf, so his choice was quite arbitrary. 3) 随后发生的那些事件再次证明了我的猜疑（suspicions）是对的。(confirm) The subsequent events confirmed my suspicions once again. 4) 我认为我们应该鼓励中学生在暑假找临时工作。 I think we should encourage high school students to find temporary jobs / employment during their summer holidays. 5) 令我们吃惊的是，这位常被赞为十分正直的州长（governor）竟然是个贪官（corrupt official）。 To our surprise, the governor who had often been praised for his honesty turned out to be a corrupt official. 6) 少数工人得到提升（be promoted），与此同时却有数百名工人被解雇。 A few workers were promoted, but meanwhile hundreds of workers were dismissed. 7) 如果有机会，约翰也许已成为一位杰出的画家了。(given) Given the chance, John might have become an outstanding painter. 8) 数小时后，有人看见那个男孩在林子里瞎转。 Several hours later, the boy was found wandering around in the woods. Unit3 翻译 1) 许多美国大学生申请政府贷款交付学费。 Many American students apply for government loans to pay for their education / tuition. 2) 除阅读材料外，使用电影和多媒体（multimedia）会激发学生学习的兴趣。 Besides reading materials, the use of films and multimedia can stimulate students' interest in a subject. 3) 这位律师试图说服陪审团（jury）他的当事人（client）是无辜的。(convince sb. of) The attorney / lawyer tried to convince the jury of his client's innocence. 4) 提问常常会引发创造的火花。 Asking questions often generates the spark of creativity. 5) 我已经把我的简历（résumé）寄往几家公司，但尚未收到回复。 I have sent off my résuméto several corporations, but haven't yet received a reply. 6) 她的结论是建立在对当前国际情况进行了认真的分析的基础上的。 Her conclusion is built / based on a careful analysis of current international affairs. 7) 我们满怀期望地来参加会议，离开时却大失所望。 We came to the meeting full of expectations, yet we left very disappointed. 8) 暂时他只得接受了一份给一家化妆品公司发促销传单的活儿。 At the moment he has to take the job of distributing leaflets to promote products for a cosmetic company.
UNIT1 又一学年——为了什么？ 约翰·切阿迪 1.给你们讲讲我刚当老师时候的一次失败经历吧。那是1940年的1月，我从研究生院 毕业不久，在堪萨斯城大学开始第一学期的教学工作。一个瘦高，长得就像顶上有毛的豆角架一样的男学生走进我的课堂，坐下，双臂交叉放在胸前，看着我，好像在说：“好吧，教我一些东西。”两周后我们开始学习《哈姆雷特》。三周后他双手叉腰走进我的办公室，“看，”他说，“我来这是学习当药剂师的。我为什么必须读这个？”由于没有随身带着自己的书，他就指着桌子上放着的我的那本。 2.虽然我是位新老师，我本来可以告诉这个家伙许多事情的。我本来可以指出，他考 入的不是制药技工培训学校而是大学，而且他在毕业时，应该得到一张写有理学学士而不是“合格的磨药工”的学位证书。这证书会证明他专修过药剂学，但它还能进一步证明他曾经接触过一些人类发展史上产生的思想。换句话说，他上的不是技能培训学校而是大学，在大学里学生既要得到培训又要接受教育。 3.我本来可以把这些话都告诉他，但是很明显，他不会待很长时间，说了也没用。 4.但是，由于我当时很年轻而且责任感也很强，我尽量把我的意思这样表达出来：“在 你的余生中，”我说，“平均每天24小时左右。谈恋爱时，你会觉得它有点短；失恋时，你会觉得它有点长。但平均每天24小时会保持不变。在其余的大约8个小时的时间里，你会处于睡眠状态。 5.“然后在每个工作日8个小时左右的时间里，我希望你会忙于一些有用的事情。假 设你毕业于一所药科大学——或工程大学，法学院，或者其他什么大学——在那8个小时时间里，你将用到你的专业技能。作为一个药剂师，你要确保氯化物没有和阿斯匹林混在一起；作为一个工程师，你要确保一切都在你的掌控之中；作为一个律师，你要保证你的当事人没有因为你的无能而被处以电刑。这些都是有用的工作，它们涉及到的技能每个人都必须尊重，而且它们都能给你带来基本的满足。无论你还干些什么，这些技能都很可能是你养家糊口的本领。它们会给你带来收入；但愿你的收入总能够用。” 6.“但完成一天的工作后，剩下的8小时你做什么呢？比如说你可以回家，和你的家 人待在一起。你所供养的是一个什么样的家庭呢？孩子们在家里能接触到一点还算是精辟的思想吗？你主持的家庭中有民主气息吗？家里有书吗？有那种一般敏感的人看了不会发怵的画吗？孩子们会听到巴赫的音乐吗？” 7.这差不多就是我所说的，但这个讨厌鬼不感兴趣。“看，”他说，“你们教授用你 们的方法培养孩子；我会以我自己的方式抚养我自己的孩子。我呀，我会尽一切努力挣钱的。” 8.“我希望你能赚很多，”我告诉他，“因为你在开支票的余暇会愁没事干的。” 9.14年后的今天，我仍然在教书，在此我要告诉你们，大学的职责并不只是在于培训 你，它还要使你接触人类思想的精髓。如果你没时间看莎士比亚的作品，没时间看哲学入门，没时间欣赏艺术的存续，也没时间学习我们称之为历史的人类发展的课
大学英语精读课文翻译 Unit 1 How to Improve Your Study Habits 你也许是个智力一般的普通学生。你在学校的学习成绩还不错，可你也许会觉得自己永远也成不了优等生。然而实际情况未必如此。你要是想取得更好的分数，也还是能做到的。是的，即使中等智力水平的学生，在不增加学习负担的情况下，也能成为优等生。其诀窍如下：1．仔细安排你的时间。把你每周要完成的任务一一列出来，然后制定一张时间表或时间分配图。先把用于吃饭、睡觉、开会、听课等这样一些非花不可的时间填上，然后再选定合适的固定时间用于学习。一定要留出足够的时间来完成正常的阅读和课外作业。当然，学习不应把作息表上的空余时间全都占去，还得给休息、业余爱好和娱乐活动留出一定的时间，这一点很重要。这张周作息表也许解决不了你所有的问题，但是它会使你比较清楚地了解你是怎样使用你的时间的。此外，它还能让你安排好各种活动，既有足够的时间工作，也有足够的时间娱乐。 2．寻找一个合适的地方学习。选定某个地方作为你的“学习区”。这可以是家里或者学校图书馆里的一张书桌或者一把椅子，但它应该是舒适的，而且不该有干扰。在你开始学习时，你应能够全神贯注于你的功课。 3．阅读之前先略读。这就是说，在你仔细阅读一篇文章之前，先把它从头至尾迅速浏览一遍。在预习材料时，你就对它的内容及其结构有了大致的了解。随后在你正式开始阅读时，你就能辨认出不太重要的材料，并且可以略去某些章节不读。略读不仅使你的阅读速度提高一倍，还有助于提高你的理解能力。< 4．充分利用课堂上的时间。上课时注意听讲意味着课后少花力气。要坐在能看得见、听得清的地方。要作笔记来帮助自己记住老师讲课的内容。 5．学习要有规律。课后要及早复习笔记。重温课堂上提到的要点，复习你仍然混淆不清的
UNIT 1 As we are at the start of the course, this seems a good moment to offer some advice on how to make the task of learning English easier. 课程开始之际，就如何使学习英语的任务更容易提出一些建议似乎正当其时。 Some Strategies for Learning English Learning English is by no means easy. It takes great diligence and prolonged effort. 学习英语绝非易事。它需要刻苦和长期努力。 Nevertheless, while you cannot expect to gain a good command of English without sustained hard work, there are various helpful learning strategies you can employ to make the task easier. Here are some of them. 虽然不经过持续的刻苦努力便不能期望精通英语，然而还是有各种有用的学习策略可以用来使这一任务变得容易一些。以下便是其中的几种。 1. Do not treat all new words in exactly the same way. Have you ever complained about your memory because you find it simply impossible to memorize all the new words you are learning? But, in fact, it is not your memory that is at fault. If you cram your head with too many new words at a time, some of them are bound to be crowded out. What you need to do is to deal with new words in different ways according to how frequently they occur in everyday use. While active words demand constant practice and useful words must be committed to memory, words that do not often occur in everyday situations require just a nodding acquaintance. You will find concentrating on active and useful words the most effective route to enlarging your vocabulary. 1. 不要以完全同样的方式对待所有的生词。你可曾因为简直无法记住所学的所有生词而抱怨自己的记忆力太差？其实，责任并不在你的记忆力。如果你一下子把太多的生词塞进头脑，必定有一些生词会被挤出来。你需要做的是根据生词日常使用的频率以不同的方式对待它们。积极词汇需要经常练习，有用的词汇必须牢记，而在日常情况下不常出现的词只需见到时认识即可。你会发现把注意力集中于积极有用的词上是扩大词汇量最有效的途径。 2. Watch out for idiomatic ways of saying things. Have you ever wondered why we say, "I am interested in English", but "I am good at French"? And have you ever asked yourself why native English speakers say, "learn the news or secret", but "learn of someone's success or arrival"? These are all examples of idiomatic usage. In learning English, you must pay attention not only to the meaning of a word, but also to the way native speakers use it in their daily lives. 2．密切注意地道的表达方式。你可曾纳闷过，为什么我们说“我对英语感兴趣”是“I'm interested in English”，而说“我精于法语”则是“I'm good at French”？你可曾问过自己，为什么以英语为母语的人说“获悉消息或秘密”是“learn the news or secret”，而“获悉某
大学英语精读第一册课 文翻译 Pleasure Group Office【T985AB-B866SYT-B182C-BS682T-STT18】
第一单元 课程开始之际，就如何使学习英语的任务更容易提出一些建议似乎正当其实。 学习英语的几种策略 学习英语决非易事。它需要刻苦和长期努力。 虽然不经过持续的刻苦努力便不能期望精通英语，然而还是有各种有用的学习策略可以用来使这一任务变得容易一些。以下便是其中的几种： 1．不要以完全相同的方式对待所有的生词。你可曾因为简直无法记住所学的所有生词而抱怨自己的记忆力太差其实，责任并不在你的记忆力。如果你一下子把太多的生词塞进头脑，必定有一些生词会被挤出来。你需要做的是根据生词日常使用的频率以不同的方式对待它们。积极词汇需要经常练习，有用的词汇必须牢记，而在日常情况下不常出现的词只需见到时认识即可。你会发现把注意力集中于积极有用的词上是扩大词汇量最有效的途径。 2．密切注意地道的表达方式。你可曾纳闷过，为什么我们说“我对英语感兴趣”是“I’m interested in English”，而说“我精于法语”则是“I’m good at French”你可曾问过自己，为什么以英语为母语的人说“获悉消息或密秘”是“learn the news or secret”,而“获悉某人的成功或到来”却是“learn of someone’s success or arrival”这些都是惯用法的例子。在学习英语时，你不仅必须注意词义，还必须注意以英语为母语的人在日常生活中如何使用它。 3．每天听英语。经常听英语不仅会提高你的听力，而且有助你培养说的技能。除了专为课程准备的语言磁带外，你还可以听英语广播，看英语电视和英语电影。第一次听录好音的英语对话或语段，你也许不能听懂很多。先试着听懂大意，然后在反复地听。你会发现每次重复都会听懂更多的东西。
1、She intended to make teaching her ________ . （2 A．profession B．work C．employment D．occupation 我的答案：A 得分：2分 2、 Mercury freezes if it is cooled to ________ . （2 A．a low too temperature B．a too low temperature C．too low temperature D．too low a temperature 我的答案：D 得分：2分 3、 By the end of May 2000, she ________ inChinafor five years. （2 A．will have stayed B．will stay C．stays D．has stayed 我的答案：D 得分：0分 4、 Last year the temperature ________ by 10 percent. （2 分） A．raised B．arose C．aroused D．rose
我的答案：D 得分：2分 5、Despite ________ to see him again，she refused to reply to his letter.（2 A．wanting B．want C．to want D．she wants 我的答案：A 得分：2分 6、 In terms of the rank of position, an associate professor is ________ to a professor. （2 A．superior B．better C．inferior D．worse 我的答案：C 得分：2分 7、 ________ as it was at such a time, his work attracted much attention. （2 A．Being published B．Published C．Publishing D．To be published 我的答案：D 得分：0分 8、 She was terribly hungry. She had eaten ________ the whole day. （2 A．a little
Book 4-Unit 5 Text A The Telephone Anwar F. Accawi 1.When I was growing up in Magdaluna, a small Lebanese village in the terraced, rocky mountains east of Sidon, time didn't mean much to anybody, except maybe to those who were dying. In those days, there was no real need for a calendar or a watch to keep track of the hours, days, months, and years. We knew what to do and when to do it, just as the Iraqi geese knew when to fly north, driven by the hot wind that blew in from the desert. The only timepiece we had need of then was the sun. It rose and set, and the seasons rolled by and we sowed seed and harvested and ate and played and married our cousins and had babies who got whooping cough and chickenpox—and those children who survived grew up and married their cousins and had babies who got whooping cough and chickenpox. We lived and loved and toiled and died without ever needing to know what year it was, or even the time of day. 2.It wasn't that we had no system for keeping track of time and of the important events in our lives. But ours was a natural or, rather, a divine — calendar, because it was framed by acts of God: earthquakes and droughts and floods and locusts and pestilences. Simple as our calendar was, it worked just fine for us. 3.Take, for example, the birth date of Teta Im Khalil, the oldest woman in Magdaluna and all the surrounding villages. When I asked Grandma, "How old is Teta Im Khalil?" 4.Grandma had to think for a moment; then she said, "I've been told that Teta was born shortly after the big snow that caused the roof on the mayor's house to cave in." 5."And when was that?" I asked. 6."Oh, about the time we had the big earthquake that cracked the wall in the east room." 7.Well, that was enough for me. You couldn't be more accurate than that, now, could you? 8.And that's the way it was in our little village for as far back as anybody could remember. One of the most unusual of the dates was when a whirlwind struck during which fish and oranges fell from the sky. Incredible as it may sound, the story of the fish and oranges was true, because men who would not lie even to save their own souls told and retold that story until it was incorporated into Magdaluna's calendar. 9.The year of the fish-bearing whirlpool was not the last remarkable year. Many others followed in which strange and wonderful things happened. There was, for instance, the year of the drought, when the heavens were shut for months and the spring from which the entire village got its drinking water slowed to a trickle. The spring was about a mile from the village, in a ravine that opened at one end into a small, flat clearing covered with fine gray dust and hard, marble-sized goat droppings. In the year of the drought, that little clearing was always packed full of noisy kids with big brown eyes and sticky hands, and their mothers —sinewy, overworked young women with cracked, brown heels. The children ran around playing tag or hide-and-seek while the women talked, shooed flies, and awaited their turns to fill up their jars with drinking water to bring home to their napping men and wet babies. There were days when we had to wait from sunup until late afternoon just to fill a small clay jar with precious, cool water.