资源描述
UNIT 1
1. 被系在…上 be attached to…
2. 探索行为 exploratory behavior
3. 偶尔 on occasion
4. 父母的责任 parental duties
5. 揭示,阐明 throw light on
6. 最终目的 an ultimate purpose
7. 要做的动作 desired action
8. 所希望的结果 desirable outcome
9. 关键 critical point
10. 育儿观 value of child rearing
11. 填补某种错误行为 making up for a misdeed
12. 回想起来 in retrospect
13. 善意的 well-intentioned
14. 前来帮助某人 come to sb.’s rescue
15. 极其纯熟、温和地 with extreme facility and gentleness
16. 合用于 apply to
17. 发展到 evolve to
18. 发展发明力 promote creativity
19. 值得追求的目的 worthwhile goals
One way of summarizing the American position is to state that we value originality and independence more than the Chinese do. The contrast between our two cultures can also be seen in terms of the fears we both harbor. Chinese teachers are fearful that if skills are not acquired early, they may never be acquired; there is, on the other hand, no comparable hurry to promote creativity. American educators fear that unless creativity has been acquired early, it may never emerge; on the other hand, skills can be picked up later.
美国人的立场可以概括起来这么说,我们比中国人更重视创新和自立。我们两种文化的差异也可以从我们各自所怀的忧虑中显示出来。中国老师紧张,假如年轻人不及早掌握技艺,就有也许一辈子掌握不了;另一方面,他们并不同样地急于促进发明力的发展。美国教育工作者则紧张,除非从一开始就发展发明力,不然发明力就有也许永不再现;而另一方面,技艺可于日后获得。
However, I do not want to overstate my case. There is enormous creativity to be found in Chinese scientific, technological and artistic innovations past and present. And there is a danger of exaggerating creative breakthroughs in the West. When any innovation is examined closely, its reliance on previous achievements is all too apparent (the "standing on the shoulders of giants" phenomenon).
但我并不想夸大其辞。无论在过去还是在当今,中国在科学、技术和艺术革新方面都展示了巨大的发明力。而西方的创新突破则有被夸大的危险。假如仔细审阅任何一项创新,其对以往成就的依赖则都显而易见(“站在巨人肩膀之上”的现象)。
But assuming that the contrast I have developed is valid, and that the fostering of skills and creativity are both worthwhile goals, the important question becomes this: Can we gather, from the Chinese and American extremes, a superior way to approach education, perhaps striking a better balance between the poles of creativity and basic skills?
然而,假定我这里所说的反差是成立的,而培养技艺与发明力两者都是值得追求的目的,那么重要的问题就在于:我们能否从中美两个极端中寻求一种更好的教育方式,它或许能在发明力与基本技能这两极之间获得某种较好的平衡?
UNIT 2
1. 面临,遭遇 be confronted with
2. 仰头向上看 look up at
3. 填写 fill out
4. 属于 fall into
5. 仅仅,不多于,不强于 nothing more than
6. 转瞬即逝的念头 a passing whim
7. 磨损,损耗 wear and tear
8. 虽然,尽管 in spite of
9. 盼望,盼望 look forward to
10. 富裕的,有钱的 well off
11. 不自在,格格不入 out of place
12. 陈旧的家具 dated furniture
13. …之后不久 shortly after
14. 走下坡路,失败 go south
15. 转折点 a turning point
16. 与…形成对比 in contrast to
17. 对…予以注意,致力于 focus on
18. 归属感 a sense of belonging
19. 遭遇困难 go through a rough time
20. 久不消逝的微笑 a lingering smile
21. 为…感恩 be thankful for
22. 收入最低的档次 the lowest income bracket
23. 创作才干 the gift of creativity
24. 对物质财富的追求 the pursuit of possessions
Yet I feel nothing more than a passing whim to attain the material things so many other people have. My 1999 car shows the wear and tear of 105,000 miles. But it is still dependable. My apartment is modest, but quiet and relaxing. My clothes are well suited to my work, which is primarily outdoors. My minimal computer needs can be met at the library.
然而,想要得到其他那么多人都有的物质的东西,对我来说,只但是是转瞬即逝的念头而已。我的汽车是1999年的产品,到现在开了十万五千英里,已经很破很旧了,但是它仍然可靠。我的住房不大,但是很安静,住着挺舒心。我的衣服很适合于我的工作,重要都在户外。我对计算机的很少的需求,可以在图书馆得到解决。
In spite of what I don’t have, I don’t feel poor. Why? I’ve enjoyed exceptionally good health for 53 years. It’s not just that I’ve been illness-free, it’s that I feel vigorous and spirited. Exercising is actually fun for me. I look forward to long, energizing walks. And I love the “can do” attitude that follows.
尽管有些东西我没有,我并不感到贫穷。这是为什么?五十三年来我一直非常健康。我不仅不生病,并且精力充沛,情绪饱满。锻炼对我而言是确的确实的快事,我乐意长距离步行,越走越有劲。我爱慕步行后随之产生的一种“什么都干得了”的心态。
I also cherish the gift of creativity. When I write a beautiful line of poetry, or fabricate a joke that tickles someone, I feel rich inside. I’m continually surprised at the insights that come through my writing process. And talking with so many interesting writer friends is one of my main sources of enjoyment.
我还十分爱惜我的创作才干。当我写出美丽的诗句或编造出能把人逗乐的笑话时,我内心感到很富有。通过写作而获得的洞察力,不断地令我惊奇。而与那么多写作朋友交谈,是我乐趣的重要源泉之一。
UNIT 3
1. 舞台前方 the edge of the stage
2. 对观众说话 address the audience
3. 到头来让人尴尬 end up embarrassing sb.
4. 当餐厅服务员 wait tables
5. 为某人感到骄傲 be proud of sb.
6. 一致地 in unison
7. 偶尔一次 once in a while
8. 围坐在餐桌旁 be seated around the dinning room table
9. 使产生悬念 keep in suspense
10. 传下来 hand down
11. 无论如何 at any rate
12. 世界和平 global peace
13. 减少;缩小 narrow down
14. 转向某人 turn to sb.
15. 影响;刺激 come over
16. 结束某(一不快乐的)事 get sth. over with
17. 优等生 an honor student
18. 整天提心吊胆 live in constant dread
19. 负责 in charge of
20. 填写 fill out
21. 思绪 line of thought
22. 初中 junior high school
If that sort of thing happened only once in a while, it wouldn't be so bad. Overall, I wouldn't want to trade my dad for anyone else's. He loves us kids and Mom too. But I think that's sometimes the problem. He wants to do things for us, things he thinks are good.
这类事要是偶尔发生一两次,那倒也没什么。总的来说,我是不愿把自己老爸跟别人的老爸换的。他爱我们当子女的,也爱老妈。但是我想,有时问题就出在这儿。他一心想帮助我们,他自认为在为我们做好事呢。
Can you imagine how humiliated I was? An honor student, class president. And Father was out asking people to have their sons call and ask me to the prom! But that's dear old dad. Actually, he is a dear. He just doesn't stop to think. And it's not just one of us who've felt the heavy hand of interference. Oh, no, all three of us live in constant dread knowing that at any time disaster can strike 你们能想象我觉得自己有多么丢人现眼吗?堂堂的优秀生,班主席。父亲居然去求别人叫他们的儿子打电话来邀我跳舞!可这就是我那可爱的老爸。他其实挺可爱的。他就是不好好想一想。不止我一个人深受他横加干预之苦。哦,绝非我一个人,我们兄妹三个整天提心吊胆,知道晦气的事随时也许来临。
UNIT 4
1. 一周中的最佳时光 highlight of the week
2. 投稿 submit articles
3. 有时 at times
4. 对…感到厌恶 feel an aversion to
5. 社交方式 forms of socializing
6. 缺少自律 a lack of discipline
7. 网络交际 cyber-interaction
8. 面对 be confronted with
9. 穿着得体 be dressed appropriately
10. 广告令…心烦 be jarred by the commercials
11. 工作成了次要的。 Work moves into the background.
12. 坏脾气 be bad-tempered
13. 在此状态下 in this state
14. 平常事务 daily routine
15. 依赖 rely on
16. 长期失业 long-term unemployment
17. 吸毒 drug abuse
18. 恢复平衡 restore balance
19. 将…与…区分开 set apart…from…
20. 面对面 face to face
21. 找借口 make an excuse
I'd never realized how important daily routine is: dressing for work, sleeping normal hours. I'd never thought I relied so much on co-workers for company. I began to understand why long-term unemployment can be so damaging, why life without an externally supported daily plan can lead to higher rates of drug abuse, crime, suicide.
以前我从未意识到平常的生活起居是多么重要,如穿戴整齐去上班,准时就寝。以前我从未想过自己会那么依赖同事做伴。我开始理解为什么长时间的失业会那么伤人,为什么一个人的生活缺少了外部支持的平常计划就会导致吸毒、犯罪、自杀率的增长。
To restore balance to my life, I force myself back into the real world. I call people, arrange to meet with the few remaining friends who haven't fled New York City. I try to at least get to the gym, so as to set apart the weekend from the rest of my week. I arrange interviews for stories, doctor's appointments -- anything to get me out of the house and connected with others.
为了恢复生活的平衡,我逼迫自己回到真实世界中去。我给别人打电话,与所剩无几的仍然住在纽约城的几个朋友安排见面。我至少设法去去健身房,以便使周末与工作日有所不同。我安排采访好写报道,预约看医生——安排任何需要我出门与别人接触的活动。
But sometimes being face to face is too much. I see a friend and her ringing laughter is intolerable -- the noise of conversation in the restaurant, unbearable. I make my excuses and flee. I re-enter my apartment and run to the computer as though it were a place of safety.
但有时面对面地与人相处实在难以忍受。我与一位朋友见面,她那种响亮的笑声让人忍无可忍——饭店里的噪杂谈话声也让人受不了。我找了个藉口逃之夭夭。我重新回到我的公寓,冲向电脑,似乎那儿才是一个安全的地方。
I click on the modem, the once-annoying sound of the connection now as pleasant as my favorite tune. I enter my password. The real world disappears.
我点击鼠标,打开调制解调器,曾经听了就烦的连接声此刻听起来就如同最心爱的曲子那么悦耳。我键入密码。真实世界转瞬便消逝了。
UNIT 5
1. 田径比赛 track and field competition
2. 俯瞰 a bird’s eye view
3. 深呼吸 take a deep breath
4. 像雄鹰同样翱翔 soar like an eagle
5. 如出一辙; 不谋而合 coincide with
6. 每隔一天 every other day/on alternate days
7. 农场杂活 farm chores
8. 有一次 on one occasion
9. 站着 on one’s feet
10. 没故意识到 unaware of
11. 仰面躺着 lie on one’s back
12. 对…惭愧 be ashamed of
13. 感到… fill one’s mind with…
14. 摆脱紧张情绪 shake the tension
15. 在内心的最深处 from the deepest depths of one’s soul
16. 在这种时候 at a time like this
17. 舒展;伸展 stretch out
18. 缓缓移动 in slow motion
19. 使…回到现实中 bring sb. back to earth
20. 想象 see in one’s mind’s eye
The runway felt different this time. It startled him for a brief moment. Then it all hit him like a wet bale of hay. The bar was set at nine inches higher than his personal best. That's only one inch off the National record, he thought. The intensity of the moment filled his mind with anxiety. He began shaking the tension. It wasn't working. He became more tense. Why was this happening to him now, he thought. He began to get nervous. Afraid would be a more accurate description. What was he going to do? He had never experienced these feelings. Then out of nowhere, and from the deepest depths of his soul, he pictured his mother. Why now? What was his mother doing in his thoughts at a time like this? It was simple. His mother always used to tell him when you felt tense, anxious or even scared, take deep breaths.
这一回,那跑道显得有些异样。刹那间,他感到一阵惊吓。一种惶惑不安的感觉向他袭来。横杆升在高出他个人最高纪录9英寸的高度。他想,这一高度与全国纪录只差1英寸了。这一刻紧张异常,他感到焦急不安。他想摆脱紧张情绪。没有用。他更紧张了。在这种时刻怎么会这样呢,他暗暗思忖着。他有点胆怯起来。说是恐惊也许更为恰当。怎么办?他以前历来不曾有过这种感觉。这时,不知不觉地,在内心最深处,出现了他母亲的身影。为什么是在这一刻?记忆中,母亲在这种时刻会如何做呢?很简朴。母亲过去总跟他说,当你觉得紧张、焦急、甚至胆怯的时候,就深深地吸气。
So he did. Along with shaking the tension from his legs, he gently laid his pole at his feet. He began to stretch out his arms and upper body. The light breeze that was once there was now gone. He carefully picked up his pole. He felt his heart pounding. He was sure the crowd did, too. The silence was deafening. When he heard the singing of some distant birds in flight, he knew it was his time to fly.
于是他深深吸了一口气。在摆脱腿部肌肉紧张的同时,他轻轻地把撑竿放在脚边。他开始舒展双臂和上身。刚才飘过一阵轻风,此刻消失了。他小心翼翼地拿起撑竿,只觉得心怦怦在跳。他相信观众们的心也在怦怦跳动。场上鸦雀无声,令人透但是气来。当他听见远处飞鸟啼鸣时,他知道,自己飞身起跃的时刻到了。
UNIT 6
1. 把…改成 convert… into…
2. 对…一无所知 don’t know the first thing about…
3. 把…区分开来 distinguish… from…
4. 渴望独立 be craving independence
5. 不禁不寒而栗 can’t help shuddering
6. 处在劣势 at a disadvantage
7. 在…方面 when it comes to…
8. 偶尔闯入 stumble into
9. 轻而易举地把它学好 it comes easily to somebody
10. 咬紧牙学好它 grit your teeth to get good at it
11. 极有也许 there’s a strong chance that
12. 把成绩提高到A pull the grade up to an A
13. 恐惊的时候 moments of panic
14. 基于 be based on
15. 文化熏陶 cultural cues
16. 人不是孤岛。 No man is an island
17. 毫无疑问, 不可否认 There’s no denying that…
18. 与…相关联 be relevant to
19. 不容改变的结论 hard and fast conclusions
20. 生来就懂 be born knowing
21. 有敢冒风险而为的精神 take a leap of faith
22. 有所选择地听别人的话 have a selective hearing
Why are we so quick to limit ourselves? I’m not denying that most little girls love dolls and most little boys love videogames, and it may be true that some people favor side of their brain, and others the left. But how relevant is that to me, or to anyone, as an individual? Instead of translating our differences into hard and fast conclusions about the human brain, why can’t we focus instead on how incredibly flexible we are? Instead of using what we know as a reason why women can’t learn physics, maybe we should consider the possibility that our brains are more powerful than we imagine.
什么我们这么快就限制了我们自己呢?我不否认大多数小女孩喜欢娃娃而大多数小男孩爱玩电子游戏。或许真的一些人偏爱用右半脑,另一些人偏爱用左半脑。但这于我,或任何一个个人来说又有多大关联呢?为什么将男人和女人的不同归结为不容改变的结论,说成是与大脑有关,而不能看到我们难以置信的灵活性呢?或许我们应当认为我们的大脑比我们所想象的要更为强大,而不是凭我们仅有的知识去为女人不能学物理提供一个理由。
Here’s a secret: math and science don’t come easily to most people. No one was ever born knowing calculus. A woman can learn anything a man can, but first she needs to know that she can do it, and that takes a leap of faith. It also helps to have selective hearing.
秘密在于:对大多数人来说,数学和科学学习并不比其别人来得更容易些。没有人生来就懂微积分。男人能学会的,女人也能学会。但一方面女人需要明白她能做到,而那需要足够大的勇气和自信。这也会有助于我们学会有选择地采纳别人的见解。
UNIT 7
1. 排行榜 a hit parade
2. 严格地说 strictly speaking
3. 对我们真正至关重要的事 the things that really matter to us
4. 发表演说 make a speech
5. 为了加强效果 for effect
6. 系统的研究 a systematic study
7. 起源于 descend from
8. 提出 come up with
9. 向西漂泊 drift west
10. 留传给我们 pass on to us
11. 日子过得开心 enjoy oneself
12. 抚养孩子 rear/raise a child
13. 诺曼人征服英国 the Normans conquered England
14. 平民百姓 common people
15. 印刷机 a printing press
16. 大量新思想 a wealth of new thinking
17. 欧洲文艺复兴 the European Renaissance
18. 失控 be out of control
19. 付诸实行 put into practice
20. 个人自由的崇尚者 a respecter of the liberties of each
individual
21. 开拓新路 strike out new path
22. 哺育了…的准则 nourish the principles of …
23. 人权 the rights of man
24. 知识精英 an intellectual elite
Two centuries ago an English judge in India noticed that several words in Sanskrit closely resembled some words in Greek and Latin. A systematic study revealed that many modern languages descended from a common parent language, lost to us because nothing was written down.
两个世纪前,在印度当法官的一位英国人注意到,梵文中有一些词与希腊语、拉丁语中的一些词极为相似。系统的研究显示,许多现代语言起源于一个共同的母语,但由于没有文字记载,该母语已经失传。
Identifying similar words, linguists have come up with what they call an Indo-European parent language, spoken until 3500 to 2023 B.C. These people had common words for snow, bee and wolf but no word for sea. So some scholars assume they lived somewhere in north-central Europe, where it was cold. Traveling east, some established the languages of India and Pakistan, and others drif
展开阅读全文