2015职称英语 综合B阅读理解原文与译文 新版教材 精编版.doc

2015职称英语 综合b阅读理解原文与译文 新版教材王霞老师提示：阅读理解是职称英语考试的关键得分点，可谓“得阅读者得天下”。在新形势下，唯有踏踏实实的去读、去掌握这些教材内的材料，提高阅读速度，培养阅读能力，才是最应该做的事情。建议考生熟读以下文章，最好是边阅读边理解，掌握译文。十七 eiffel is an eyeful引人注目的埃菲尔铁塔some2 300 meters up, near the eiffel towers wind-whipped summit the world comes to scribble3. japanese,brazilians, americans they graffiti4 their names,loves and politics on the cold iron transforming the most french of monuments into symbol of a world on the move5. 世界各地的人们都来到大约300米高，接近埃菲尔铁塔顶端的地方涂鸦。日本人、巴西人、 美国人都在冰冷的铁上涂上自己的名字、喜好和政治观点，使这最具有法兰西色彩的纪念碑成为 动感世界的象征。with paris laid out in miniature6 below，it seems strange that visitors would rather waste time marking their presence than admiring the view7. but the graffiti also raises a question ： why, nearly 114 years after it was completed,and decades after it ceased to be the world, s tallest structure,is la tour eiffel still so popular8?从塔上可以看到巴黎市的远景，但奇怪的是观光者们宁愿花时间留下到此一游的痕迹，而不 去观赏风景。但这些涂鸦者也引起了一个问题：为什么在建成114年后，埃菲尔铁塔仍然这么受 欢迎?尽管它在几十年前减已经不是世界上最高的建筑物了。the reasons are as complex as the iron work that graces9 a structure some 90 stories high. but part of the answer is, no doubt, its agelessness. regularly maintained, it should never rust away. graffiti is regularly painted over,but the tower lives on. 这个问题的答案就像那构成90层的铁塔的工程一样复杂。一部分的理由是，毫无疑问，铁塔 是永不过时的。周期性的维护使得它永远不会被腐蚀掉。埃菲尔铁塔定期油漆，覆盖那些涂鸦, 但是它仍将继续存在下去。eiffel represents paris and paris is france. it is very symbolic”，says hugues richard10,a 31- year-old frenchman who holds the record for cycling up to the towers second floor 一 747 steps in 19 minutes and 4 seconds, without touching the floor with his feet. its iron lady，it inspires us11 ”， he says. “埃菲尔是巴黎的象征，而巴黎又代表了法国。所以，埃菲尔十分具有象征性。” hugues richard说道。这位31岁的法国人保持着在19分零4秒的时间内骑自行车经过747级台阶登上铁 塔二层的纪录。“这是铁娘子，能让人产生灵感，”他说。but to what12? after all,the tower doesn t have a purpose. it ceased to be the world s tallest in 1930 when the chrysler building13 went up in new york. yes，television and radio signals are beamed from the top,and gustave eiffel,a frenetic builder who died on december 27，aged 91 ,used its height for conducting research into weather, aerodynamics and radio communication. 但是它能使人们产生怎样的灵感呢？毕竟，铁塔并没有任何&的。1930年纽约的克莱斯勒大 厦取代它成为世界上最高的建筑。但是电视和广播信号仍然从塔顶发送出来，而古斯塔夫埃菲 尔，这个狂热的建造者利用它的高度进行气象学、空气动力学和无线电通讯的研究。他在12月27 日逝世，终年91岁。but in essence the tower inspires simply by being there _ a blank canvas for visitors to make of it what they will14. to the technically minded15, its an engineering triumph. for lovers, its romantic. 本质上来说，铁塔伫立在那儿本身就是一个灵感它就像一张空白的画布，任游客自由遐 想。对于那些善于从技术角度考虑问题的人来说，它是一个工程上的胜利;而对于恋人们来说， 它则象征着浪漫。the tower will outlast all of us,and by a long way16”，says isabelle esnous, whose company manages eiffel tower.“这座塔将在我们所有的人离去后长久存在。”埃菲尔铁塔管理公司的伊莎贝尔说。十八goal of american educationeducation is an enormous and expensive part of american life. its size is matched by its variety.教育是美国人的生活中很重要的一部分，花销也大。其规模宏大，种类多样。differences in american schools compared with those found in the majority of other countries lie in the fact that education here has long been intended for everyone not just for a privileged elite. schools are expected to meet the needs of every child, regardless of ability, and also the needs of society itself. this means that public schools offer more than academic subjects. it surprises many people when they come here to find high schools offering such courses as typing, sewing, radio repair, computer programming or driver training, along with traditional academic subjects such as mathematics, history, and languages. students choose their curricula depending on their interests, future goals, and level of ability. the underlying goal of american education is to develop every child to the utmost of his or her own possibilities, and to give each one a sense of civic and community consciousness.与其他大多数国家相比，美国教育的不同在于美国教育是为每一个人设置的不只是为享 有特权的优等生。学校是要满足每个孩子的需要，不论其能力如何，同时也要满足社会本身的需 求。这意味着公立学校提供的教育不只限于学术方面的课程。很多人来到美国之后会吃惊地发现， 高中除了提供传统课程，例如：数学、历史和语言之外，他们还提供一些课程如打字、缝纫、无线电修理、计算机课程或驾驶训练课程。学生选择课程是根据个人喜好、目标以及能力水平。美 国教育的潜在目标是将每一个孩子的能力最充分地发挥出来，培养每一个孩子的公民和社区觉悟感。schools have traditionally played an important role in creating national unity and “americanizing” the millions of immigrants who have poured into this country from many different backgrounds and origins. schools still play a large role in the community, especially in the small towns.成千上万的移民者涌入这个国家，他们的出身背景不同。传统上,学校在建立民族团结以及 使移民者美国化两方面起着重大作用。在社区中，尤其在小城镇，学校仍然起着重要作用。the approach to teaching may seem unfamiliar to many, not only because it is informal, but also because there is not much emphasis on learning facts. instead, americans try to teach their children to think for themselves and to develop their own intellectual and creative abilities. students spend much time, learning how to use resource materials, libraries, statistics and computers. americans believe that if children are taught to reason well and to research well, they will be able to find whatever facts they need throughout the rest of their lives. knowing how to solve problems is considered more important than the accumulation of facts.大家对美国的教学方法彳以乎也很陌生。因为这种教学方法不仅不正式，而且不把重点放在学 习具体知识上。相反，美国人教孩子独立思考，教他们自己去开发自己的智慧以及创造能力。学 生花很多时间学习怎样使用参考资料、图书馆、数据以及计算机。美国人认为只要孩子具有好的 推理能力，好的研究方法，他们就能在以后找到自己所需的具体知识。他们还认为懂得怎样解决 问题比积累事实更重要。this is americas answer to the searching question that thoughtful parents all over the world are asking themselves in the fast-moving time: “how can one prepare todays child for a tomorrow that one can neither predict nor understand?”在这个变化万千的时代里，全世界细心的父母都在思考一个尖锐而深刻的问题：“怎样为孩子的明天做准备呢？孩子的明天既不能预料也不能理解。”上述的教学方法正是美国对这一问题 的回答。十九the family the structure of a family takes different forms around the world and even in the same society. the familys form changes as it adapts to changing social and economic influences. until recently, the most common form in north america was the nuclear family，consisting of a married couple with their minor children. the nuclear family is an independent unit. it must be prepared to fend for itself. individual family members strongly depend on one another. there is little help from outside the family in emergencies. elderly relatives of a nuclear family are cared for only if it is possible for the family to do so. in north america，the elderly often do not live with the family ; they live in retirement communities and nursing homes.在全世界，甚至在同一个社会中，家庭结构有着不同的形式。家庭的构成形式随着不断变化 的社会和经济影响而改变。直到最近，北美洲最普遍的家庭形式为核心家庭，由一对夫妇和他们 未婚的孩子构成。核心家庭是一个独立的单位。它必须能够照料自己。家庭成员紧密依赖着彼此。 在紧急情况下，外界提供给家庭的帮助微乎其微。核心家庭中，只有当条件允许的时候，才会照 料家中年长的亲属。在北美洲，老人很少和家人一起生活，他们般住在退休社区和养老机构。there are many parallels between the nuclear family in industrial societies，such as north america，and of families in societies such as that of the inuits，who live in harsh environments. the nuclear family structure is well adapted to a life of mobility. in harsh conditions，mobility allows the family to hunt for food. for north americans，the hunt for jobs and improved social status also requires mobility.在工业社会，例如北美洲，核心家庭之间有很多相似点。在居住在恶劣环境中的因纽特人的 社会中，家庭间也有很多相似点。核心家庭结构良好地适应于流动性的生活。在恶劣的条件下， 流动性能让一个家庭吃饱饭。对北美洲人来说，找工作和提高社会地位同样需要流动性。the nuclear family was not always the north american standard. in a more agrarian time，the small nuclear family was usually part of a larger extended family. this might have included grandparents，mother and father，brothers and sisters，uncles，aunts，and cousins. in north america today，there is a dramatic rise in the number of single-parent households. twice as many households in the united states are headed by divorced，separated，or never-married individuals as are comprised of nuclear families. the structure of the family，not just in north america, but throughout the world，continues to change as it adapts to changing conditions.核心家庭并不总是北美洲人的标准。在农业社会时期，小型的核心家庭经常是大家庭的一部 分。其中可能包括了祖父母、父母、兄弟姐妹、叔伯、阿姨以及表兄弟姐妹。在现在的北美洲， 单亲家庭的数目大幅度增加。由核心家庭构成的单亲家庭的数目是美国由于离婚、分居或者未婚 导致的单亲家庭的两倍。不仅在北美洲，在世界范围内，家庭结构都会随着不断变化的条件而改变。二十tales of the terrible pastit is not the job of fiction writers to analyze and interpret history. yet by writing about the past in a vivid and compelling manner，storytellers can bring earlier eras to life and force readers to consider them seriously. among those taking on the task of recounting history are some black writers who attempt to examine slavery from different points of view.nobel prize-winning author toni morrison deals specifically with the legacy of slavery in her book beloved. the main character in this novel，a former slave called sethe，lives in ohio in the years following the civil war，but she cannot free herself from her horrific memories. through a series of flashbacks and bitter reminiscences，the reader learns how and why sethe escaped from the plantation she had lived on; the fate of her husband，who also tried to escape; and finally，what happened to the child called beloved. morrisons scenes of torture and murder are vivid and strongly convey the desperation of the slaves and the cruelty of their owners.charles johnsons middle passage approaches slavery from a different，yet no less violent，vantage point. his main character，rutherfprd calhoun，is a neer-do-well free black american who stows away on a slave ship bound for africa to collect its cargo. put to work after he is discovered，calhoun witnesses firsthand the appalling conditions in which the captured africans are transported. when they finally rebel and take over the ship，he finds himself in the middle - and is forced to come to terms with who he is and what his values are.neither beloved nor middle passage is an easy read，but both exemplify african american writers attempts to bring significant historical situations alive for a modem audience.讲述可怕的过去分析和诠释历史并不是小说家的工作。然而通过用一种生动有趣的方式来描写过去，小说家 可以重现早斯时代，并引起读者的重视。在叙述历史的作家中，有一些黑人作家试图从不同的角 度审视奴隶制。诺贝尔奖获得者托妮莫里森在她的作品宠儿中专门阐述了奴隶制问题。小说的主人公 叫塞丝，她以前是个奴隶，内战之后住在俄亥俄，但是她无法让自己从可怕的记忆中解脱出来。 通过一系列的倒序和痛苦的回忆，读者了解到赛丝为什么以及怎样逃出她赖以生存的种植园，她 那同样试图逃出来的丈夫的命运，以及最后发生在叫做宠儿的孩子身上的事情。莫里森对奴隶受 折磨和遭谋杀的场景描写得很生动，充分地表达出奴隶们的绝望以及奴隶主的残酷。查尔斯约翰逊的小说中途从另一个不同的角度来描写奴隶制，但同样充满着暴力。他 的主人公叫做卢瑟福卡尔霍恩，是一个游手好闲、身份自由的美国黑人。他偷偷登上了一艘开 往非洲贩卖奴隶的船只。被发现后，他开始为之工作，并亲眼目睹了非洲人被抓起来，然后被运 送到美国这种可怕的状况。当非洲人最终抵抗并占有了船只后，他发现了自己的中间性并且 被迫与他自己的身份和价值观念妥协。不论是宠儿还是中途读起来都不轻松，但是它们都是非裔美国作家努力为现代观众 重现重要历史的典范之作。二十一spacing in animalsflight distanceany observant person has noticed that a wild animal will allow a man or other potential enemy to approach only up to a given distance before it flees. “flight distance” is the terms used for this interspecies spacing. as a general rule, there is a positive relationship between the size of an animal and its flight distancethe larger the animal, the greater the distance it must keep between itself and the enemy. an antelope will flee when the enemy is as much as five hundred yards away. the wall lizards flight distance, on the other hand is about six feet. flight is the basic means of survival for mobile creatures.critical distancecritical distance apparently is present wherever and whenever there is a flight reaction. “critical distance” includes the narrow zone separating flight distance from attack distance. a lion in a zoo will flee from an approaching man until it meets a barrier that it cannot overcome. if the man continues the approach, he soon penetrates the lions critical distance, at which point the cornered lion reverses direction and begins slowly to stalk the man.social distancesocial animals need to stay in touch with each other. loss of contact with the group can be fatal for a variety of reasons including exposure to enemies. social distance is not simply the distance at which an animal will lose contact with his groupthat is, the distance at which it can no longer see, hear, or smell the groupit is rather a psychological distance, one at which the animal apparently begins to feel anxious when he exceeds its limits. we can think of it as a hidden band that contains the group.social distance varies from species to species. it is quite shortapparently only a few yardsamong some animals, and quite long among others.social distance is not always rigidly fixed but is determined in part by the situation. when the young of apes and humans are mobile but not yet under control of the mothers voice, social distance may be the length of her reach. this is readily observed among the baboons in a zoo. when the baby approaches a certain point, the mother reaches out to seize the end of its tail and pull it back to her. when added control is needed because of danger, social distance shrinks. to show this in man, one has only to watch a family with a number of small children holding hands as they cross a busy street.动物的空间距离逃离距离一些善于观察的人已经注意到一只野生动物只让人或其他潜在的敌人在特定的距离内接近它， 然后它便会逃走。“逃离距离”是用来描述这种物种间的空间距离的术语。一般说来，动物体积 与其逃离距离之间成正比关系动物的体积越大，和敌人保特的距寓就越大。当敌人离羚羊 500码远时，羚羊就会逃离。另一方面,壁虎的逃离距离大约6英尺。逃离是动物生存的基本手 段。 , 关键距离关键距离显然与逃离行为的时间和地点有关。关键距离指的是逃离距离和进攻距离之间的狭 窄区域。动物园的狮子会躲开接近它的人，直到它遇到不可跨过的障碍物才停步。如果那人继续 朝它走去,他就很快地进入了狮子的关键距离,这时无路可走的狮子会调转方向，开始慢慢逼近 那个人。 相聚距离群居动物需要相互之间保持联系。和群体失去联系会因为各种原因（包括面临敌人）而导致 不幸。相聚距离不仅仅是动物和群体失去联系时的距离也就是说，在这个距离它不再能看到、 听到或闻到群体确切地说，它更是一种心理距离，一种当动物超越它的限度后会明显感到焦 虑的距离。我们可以认为它是一条控制群体的隐形带。相聚距离会因动物种类不同而有差别。对一些动物而言，相聚距离非常近，仅有几码远。但 其他动物的相聚距离会非常远。相聚距离不是一成不变的，而是部分地取决于环境。当无尾猿和人类的幼儿会活动，但还不 受母亲言语控制时，相聚距离是她手臂够得着的长度。从动物园的狒狒，我们很容易看到这点。 当小狒狒走到某个位置时，狒狒妈妈会伸出手来，抓住小狒狒的尾巴，把它拖回身边。因为危险 而需要加强控制时，相聚距离就会缩小。要在人类身上证明这点，你只要观察一个有许多孩子的 家庭就行了。当孩子们横过条繁忙的街道时，他们会互相牵着手。二十二some things we know about language many things about language are a mystery, and many will always remain sobut some things we do know first, we know that all human beings have a language of some sortthere is no race of men anywhere on earth so backward that it has no language, no set of speech sounds by which the people communicate with one motherfurthermore, in historical times, there has never been a race of men without a language second, there is no such thing as a primitive languagethere are many people whose cultures are undeveloped, who are, as we say, uncivilized. but the languages they speak are not primitivein all known 1anguages we can see complexities that must have been tens of thousands of years in developing this has not always been well understood；indeed, the direct contrary has often been stated popular ideas of the 1anguage of the american indians will illustratemany people have supposed that the indians communicated in a very primitive system of noisesstudy has proved this to be nonsensethere are, or were, hundreds of american indian languages, and a11 of them rum out to be very complicated and very old. they are certainly different from the languages that most of us are familiar with, but they are no more primitive than english and greek a third thing we know about language is that all languages are perfectly adequatethat is, each one is a perfect means of expressing the culture of the people who speak the language finally, we know that language changesit is natural and normal for language to change； the only languages which do not change are the dead onesthis is easy to understand if we look backward in timechange goes on in all aspects of languagegrammatical features change as do speech sounds, and changes in vocabulary are sometimes very extensive and may occur very rapidlyvocabulary is the least stable part of any language. 我们知道的关于语言的一些事情许多关于语言方面的事情还是一个谜，而且将永远是一个谜。但是有些事情我们是知道的。 首先，我们知道所有人类都有某种语言。世界上没有哪一种族落后到没有语言，没有人们用 于交流的一套声音语言。历史上也没有哪个种族没有自己的语言。其次，没有原始语言这种东西。许多人的文化不发达，按照我们的说法，他们是不文明的。 但是，他们说的语言则不是原始的。在我们所知道的语言中，我们都可以看到它们经历了几万年 发展历程的复杂性。 这并不总是那么易于理解。的确人们常常提出完全相反的观点。人们对美印第安人语言的普 遍看法就很能说明问题。许多人都认为印第安人用非常原始的声音系统进行交流。研究结果已经 证明那全是瞎说。美印第安人语言有几百种，且所有这些语言都被证明是很复杂和古老的。它们 虽然不同于我们大多数所熟悉的语言，但是它们同英语和希腊语一样不是原始的语言。:关于语言我们知道的第三件事是所有的语言都是完全能够满足需要的，也就是说,每一种语 言都能满足说这种语言的人们表达其文化的需要。最后，我们知道语言是变化的。语言变化是很自然的和正常的，二成不变的语言是死语言。 只要我们看一看过去就会发现这是很好理解的。语言在各方面都在发生变化。语法特点就像语音 一样变化。词汇方面的变化有时是非常广泛和迅速的。词汇是任何语言中最不稳定的部分。二十三the only way is upthink of a modem city and the first image that come to mind is the skyline. it is full of great buildings, pointing like fingers to heaven. it is true that some cities dont permit buildings to go above a certain height. but these are cities concerned with the past. the first thing any city does when it wants to tell the world that it has arrived is to build skyscrapers.when people gather together in cities, they create a demand for land. since cities are places where money is made, that demand can be met. and the best way to make money out of city land is to put as many people as possible in a space that covers the smallest amount of ground. that means building upwards.the technology existed to do this as early as the 19th century. but the height of buildings was limited by one important factor. they had to be small enough for people on the top floors to climb stairs. people could not be expected to climb a mountain at the end of their journey to work, or home.elisha otis, a us inventor, was the man who brought us the lift-or elevator, as he preferred to call it. however, most of the technology is very old. lifts work using the same pulley system the egyptians used to create the pyramids. what otis did was attach the system to a steam engine and develop the elevator brake, which stops the lift falling if the cords that hold it up are broken. it was this that did the most to gain public confidence in the new invention. in fact, he spent a number of years exhibiting lifts at fairgrounds, giving people the chance to try them out before selling the idea to architects and builders.a lift would not be a very good theme park attraction now. going in a lift is such an everyday thing that it would just be boring. yet psychologists and others who study human behavior find lifts fascinating. the reason is simple. scientists have always studied animals in zoos. the nearest they can get to that with humans is in observing them in lifts.it breaks al