2016新版中石油职称英语水平考试《通用英语选读》第51-60课-课文精讲.docx

2016新版中石油职称英语水平考试通用英语选读培训笔记（考过的大题已标出）目 录51. THOSE FASCINATING NORTHERN LIGHTS 迷人的北极光（2016新版）252 SALES PROMOTION 产品促销653. OIL REFINING 石油炼制（2016新增）654 ANOTHER HAPPINESS 另一种快乐1355. ITS NEVER TOO LATE FOR SUCCESS成功不分早晚（2016新增）1656 WHY TO MARK A BOOK 怎样在书上做标记2057 EARTHS LAST FRONTIER:THE SEA 海洋，地球最后的待开发疆域2558. OUR MANY RESPONSES TO PAIN 3159. FOREST FIRES: A MAJOR DISASTER 3660 WHY ANTARCTICA IS BEING EXPLORED 为什么要勘探南极洲41温馨小语： 每篇“学习笔记”将可能涉及到的“考点”做了重点标记，它们基于“职称考试”的四个主要方面，即词汇、语法、阅读和翻译，所以在学习中要认真体会，找到自己要重点学习的内容。跳过每一段英文原文，只通篇看下“带有英文”的中文部分。是不是感觉清楚了课文大致要说的内容？熟悉中文意思，在考试中也是很有帮助的，特别是在回答阅读类的选择题时，如果它恰好又是你在此读过的一篇课文，你一定会用最短的时间，找到正确的答案。考试的题量可不小，要在此处抢得先机。过段时间，再来温习下吧。51. Those Fascinating Northern Lights 迷人的北极光（2016新增）1.At 10:00 p.m. on March 23，1969, the Bowater Power Water Company in Deer Lake, Newfoundland experienced a disturbance on its system. The frequency converter at Comer Brook tripped off, shutting down half of the big paper mill. There was a radio blackout over most of the Atlantic Provinces. And accompanying these activities was a magnificient display of northern lights boiling up out of the north and hanging in bundles of long rays like draperies across the sky. Ninety-three million miles away, a rather ugly looking sunspot was making its way across the disc of the sun.1.1969年3月23曰晚上10点，保华特水电公司（the Bowater Power Water Company)位于纽芬兰（Newfoundland)鹿湖的设备系统出现了异常；科纳 布鲁克（ComerBrook)的变频器跳间，使得一半的大造纸厂停产；大西洋沿 岸各省的无线电中断。伴随这些异常出现的还有辉煌的北极光从北面喷涌而出，一束束巨大的光束像帷幔一般遮盖了整个天际。9300万英里之外， 一个相形见绌的太阳黑子出现在太阳的圆盘上。2.This little drama demonstrated once again the close relationship of the earth with the sun, and the importance of the intervening space.2.这个小小的插曲再次展现了地球和太阳的亲密关系以及介入空间的重要性。3.During the past several years twelve similar disturbances have taken place in this area. A magnetic storm in November, 1960, was so severe its effects were felt all over Canada. The C.N.T. people alone suffered $3 million worth of equipment damage. At their height of excitement, sunspots can bring on violent magnetic storms.3.在过去的几年中，类似的异常在同一地区出现了 12次。1960年11月 的电磁风暴甚至影响了整个加拿大。仅仅设备损失就达300万元。太阳黑子 活跃的鼎盛时期就能带来剧烈的电磁风暴。4.What are the northern lights or “aurora borealis”？ They have been called “dancing ghosts，” “searchlight of God,” and “the language of mystic signs and portents.”Old school books explain them as sunlight reflected from ice and snow. But the great scientific achievements of the past twenty years have revealed new knowledge about the sun and our earth5s outer atmosphere. It is now certain that most auroras are associated with explosive disturbances in the suns atmosphere. These disturbances reach a peak every eleven years, and take the forms of flares, prominences and sunspots. They send out great jets of X-rays and charged particles travelling at terrific speeds. When these charged particles reach the earths magnetic field, some of them are deflected toward the magnetic poles. There they crash into atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere (ionosphere) causing ionization, excitement, and the glow of the aurora. The level of excitement may vary anywhere from fifty to six hundred miles above the earths surface.4.那么，什么是北极光？它们被称为“舞蹈的幽灵”、“上帝的探照灯” 或是“神秘迹象与前兆的语言”。过去的课本解释说它们是冰雪反射太阳光形 成的，但过去20年里取得的伟大科学成就揭示了太阳和地球外大气层的新知 识。现在我们知道，大部分的极光与太阳大气层的爆炸摄动有关，它们每11 年达到活动的顶峰，表现为耀斑、日珥和太阳黑子。它们释放出大量的X射 线和带电粒子高速传播；当传播到地球的磁场时，一些带电粒子就会向磁极 偏转，与上层大气（电离层）的原子和分子发生碰撞，产生电离作用，引起 极光的突发。这种作用发生在距离地球表面50到600英里的空间，其强烈程 度各不相同。5.The beautiful colors of the northern lights depend on the altitude at which the collisions occur and on the particles involved. Thus green is emitted by atomic oxygen and blue by nitrogen. Perhaps the rarest colors to be seen are rosy red glows tinged with green. 5.极光的美丽色彩取决于它发生的纬度和粒子的种类。绿色的极光是由 氧原子发出的，蓝色的是氮原子发出的。最罕见的是带有绿色的玫瑰红的光晕。6.Actually, much of the excitement of the aurora is missed. It has recently been discovered that human eyes cannot see all of their colors. To compensate for this, any camera fan can take excellent aurora photographs. These often reveal reddish areas and glows not visible to the observer.6.实际上，大部分的极光都没有被人们看到。最近人们才发现，人类的 眼睛并不能看到所有的颜色，而摄影迷们却用相机捕捉到了灿烂的极光照片， 弥补了这一缺憾，他们发现微红的光不能够被肉眼观察到。7.A romantic nature seems to be an essential part of an explorer. Certainly Arctic and Antarctic explorers have written some of the most imaginative descriptions of the lights. An excerpt from Captain Scotts diary reads: “the eastern sky was massed with swaying auroral light, fold on fold, the arches and curtains of vibrating luminosity rose and spread across the sky. The appeal is to the imagination by the suggestion of something wholly spiritual, something instinct with fluttering ethereal life.”7.浪漫的天性似乎是探险家生命的一部分。到北极圈和南极洲探险的人 曾经对极光进行了最具想象力的描写，下面是斯考特船长（Captain Scott)曰 记的节选：“东边的天空被摇曳的极光笼罩着，层层叠叠。晃动的玫瑰色光晕 如拱门和帷幔一般升起，满布整个天空。这一切激发我们无限的想象，联想 起那些纯粹精神的东西，那些充满了颤动的非凡生命力的东西。”8.During a big magnetic storm, one may first see strong rays and curtains, followed by flaming aurora, all climaxing in a spectacular corona at the zenith.8.强烈的电磁风暴首先展现的是耀眼的光束和光幕，紧接着是如火焰般 的光环，最后形成瑰丽的日冕达到高潮。9.All of these forms can be easily identified by the interested observer. Contrary to popular belief, auroras happen at all seasons of the year.9.热心的观察者可以轻易地辨别各种不同的极光。与普遍的看法相反的 是，极光可能发生在一年的任何一个季节。10.Can you hear the northern lights? Now there is a question still unanswered. If sound waves originate at the seat of auroral displays, it seems hardly possible that they could be heard on earth. Many observers scoff at the idea of lights snapping. But in the Arctic where there is great stillness and the auroras come very low there is some evidence of characteristic noise. Indians, Eskimos and “voyageurs,” who often spend their nights in the open, insist that they hear them “swish” as the great waves sweep out across the sky.10.你能听到极光吗？这个问题至今无人能答。如果极光发出的地方也产 生声波的话，似乎在地球上无法听到。许多观测者对于那种极光产生噼啪声 的说法嗤之以鼻，但在异常寂静的北极圈，当极光发生低空时，的确有证据 证明出现过特殊的声响。印第安人、爱斯基摩人以及加拿大船夫们经常在露 天过夜，他们坚持说，当巨大的光波划过天际时，他们的确能听到嗖嗖的声音。11.Mr. Edward Gregory, well-known guide and woodsman, has spent many years in the solitude of Birchy Basin on the Upper Humber River. Well acquainted with the northern lights, he says: “They actually do make a noise at certain times; it is like a race of wind going along by you through the trees.”Roald Amundsen in his book The South Pole takes a romantic view of the whole activity. “It looks as if nature wishes to honor our guests and show herself in her best attire. And it is a gorgeous dress she has chosen. Perfectly calm, clear with a starry sparkle, and not a sound in any direction. But wait; what is that? Like a stream of fire the light shoots across the sky, and a whistling sound follows the movement. Hush! Cant you hear? It shoots forward again, takes the form of a band and glows in rays of red and green and then away again followed by an intermittent whistling sound. So nature has offered us one of her most mysterious and incomprehensible phenomena, the audible Southern Light.”11.爱德华格里高利先生是一位有名的向导和樵夫，他常年独自一人生 活在衡博河上游的波奇盆地，对极光非常熟悉。他说：“有时极光的确能发出 声音，就像在树林中一阵疾风从你身边刮过。”罗纳德阿蒙森在南极一 书中对极光进行了浪漫的描写。“它就像大自然为了款待我们这些尊贵的客 人而展现她最华美的衣裳。精心挑选的华美衣衫如此沉静完美，点缀着闪闪 星光，不论在哪个角落都没有一丝声音。但是，敬请等待。那是什么？就像 一束火光射向天际，同时伴随着轻哨声。墟！你难道听不见吗？它又射出来 了，有的是光带，有的是红绿相间的射线仍然伴随着断断续续的轻哨声。 大自然就这样展现出它最神秘、最令人费解的现象：南极光。”12.In the past scientists paid little attention to the arguments for auroral noise. Recent observations, however, suggest that some sounds do occur. Two microphones set up in Alaska about a mile apart picked up pressure waves whenever there were auroras. These waves were too low in pitch to be heard by the human ear.12.过去，科学家们很少关注有关极光声音的争论。最近的研究显示，有 时确有声音产生。在阿拉斯加，科学家将两个麦克风间隔一英里放置，终于 在极光发生时捕捉到了压力波，只不过这些声波音频很低，以至于人耳不能 听到。13.This question of sound, the possibility that auroras could effect weather changes, and many other mysteries of the lights still leave much to be discovered.13.声音的问题、极光是否能够影响天气的问题以及许多有关极光的秘密 仍然有待我们去探索。14.Today, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador show no great awe or fear of these magnificent spectacles. Having lived amidst the northern lights so long, they take them for granted and enjoy them as one of the lovelier benefits of northern living. They all, however, agree on one point. “If you whistle, they will dance for you.”14.今天，纽芬兰和拉布拉多的居民们己经不再对这些绚丽的景象表现出 任何的敬畏和恐惧。见惯了北极的极光，他们只是见怪不怪，把它当做北部 生活的一个可爱享受而己。然而，他们仍然有一个共识。“只要你吹口哨，它 们就会随着翩翩起舞。”52 Sales Promotion 产品促销1. Sales promotion consists of those promotional activities other than advertising, personal selling, and publicity. As such, any promotional activities that do not fall under the other three activities of the promotion mix are considered sales promotion. The trade often uses the term indiscriminately. Businesspersons may use the term “promotion” when they actually mean “sales promotion.” For purpose here, promotion is a broad term that encompasses sales promotion as well as the other three promotional activities.1、产品促销指的是不同于(other than 除了)广告、个人销售和宣传(publicity)的推销活动（promotional activities）。因此，不属于(do not fall under)以上三种推销活动的推销活动都被认为是(are considered)促销。实际生活中经常不加区分地(indiscriminately)使用这一概念。商务人员在说“推销”(promotion)时，实际上指的是“促销”(sales promotion)。本文中，推销是一个广义的概念(a broad term)，它包括(encompass)促销以及(as well as)其他三种推销活动。2. The techniques of sales promotion are varied and numerous. The common ones used are coupons, sweepstakes, games, contests, price-offs, demonstrations, premiums, samples, and money refund offers. A combination of these can be used and sometimes is used in the same campaign. 2、推(促)销的手段(techniques)多种多样(varied)，数不胜数(numerous)。普遍运用的手段(the common ones used)有附在商品上的赠券、各种抽奖活动、游戏、竞赛、降价销售(price-offs)、产品示范、各种奖励、样品试验(体验)以及钱款返还承诺（money refund offers）等等。在同一推销活动中(in the same campaign)，多种手段可以结合使用，有时也确实结合使用。3. Sales promotion is temporary in nature. Not being self-sustaining, its function is to supplement advertising, personal selling, and publicity. To launch Budweiser beer in Great Britain, Anheuser-Busch employed the “American” theme. Its TV commercials on the 4th of July and Thanksgiving Day were spots filmed in California with American actors. To supplement its advertising effort, the company used a variety of sales-promotion techniques. It made posters, bunting, flags, pennants, T-shirts, and sweatshirts available to pubs and discos for promotional parties. Bud ashtrays, bar towels, coasters, football pennants, and similar items were offered for sale. Moreover, American disc jockeys were brought in to program American music nights. 3、从本质上说(in nature)，促销活动具有时间短暂的(temporary)特点。由于其本身没有自我持续的能力(not being self-sustaining)，它的作用就是作为广告、个人销售和宣传等推销活动的补充(supplement)。(举例说明：)为了将百威啤酒打入(to launch)英国市场，Anheuser-Busch运用(employ)了“美国”主题（theme）。7月4日和感恩节的电视广告播的都是美国演员在加利福尼亚拍摄的(filmed)场景(spots)。为了加强(to supplement)广告力度，该公司运用了大量的(a variety of)促销手段，如制作海报(posters)、装饰旗(bunting)和三角旗(pennant)等各种旗帜以及T恤衫和汗衫(sweatshirt)等供促销团体出入酒吧和迪斯科夜总会。同时它还制作烟灰缸、酒吧餐巾、杯垫子、足球赛用的三角旗以及诸如此类的物品(similar items)用于销售。此外(moreover)，该公司还专门邀请美国电台的音乐节目主持人(disc jockey=D.J.)开办美国音乐之夜。4. Sales promotion is not restricted to the stimulation of demand at the consumer level. It may be used to gain middlemens support as well. In Order to get Thai middlemen to carry Foremosts dairy products, the company used leasing and conditional sales contracts to provide small retail outlets and restaurants with freezers for $1 if contract terms were met. Foremost also had to convince these resellers not to store other products in the freezers and not to unplug freezer units at night to save electricity. 4、促销不仅仅局限于拉动(stimulation)消费者的需求，也(as well)可以用来赢得中间商的支持(to gain middlemens support)。为了使泰国的中间商销售其乳制品(dairyproducts)，Foremost公司运用租赁(used leasing)和有条件销售合同(conditional sales contracts)以一美元的价格向那些零售小商店(small retail outlet)和饭店提供(provide with)冰柜，条件是要满足(meet)合同条款(contract terms)。同时，该公司还得说服这些转卖商(reseller)不要在冰柜中储存其他产品，并且不要为了省电而在夜间拔去(unplug)冰柜插座。5. The use of sales promotion is not limited to consumer products. It can be used with industrial selling too. Misawa Homes promoted its House 55 by sending samples to U.S. Homes and Germanys Okal. Pfizer, like other drug firms, attracts drug wholesalers by sponsoring trips and other events. Gifts are given to doctors, and doctors wives are taken on shopping tours. 5、促销手段的运用不仅仅限于消费品，它也可以用于工业销售。MisawaHomes为了推销(promote)其House55产品而向美国的Homes公司和德国的Okal公司寄送样品。Pfizer公司同其他药品公司一样，通过组织(sponsor)旅游和其他活动(other events)来吸引药品批发商(drug wholesaler)。他们向医生们赠送礼品，而且组织医生的夫人们进行购物旅游。6. The popularity of sales promotion has grown steadily both in the United States and overseas. A survey of executives conducted by Stimulus, Canadas leading advertising journal, revealed a shift from media advertising to sales promotion. Compared with five years ago, three of five firms had moved to spend more of their advertising budget on such non-media alternatives as trade shows, point-of-purchase displays, and publicity. According to a POPAI (Point-of- Purchase Advertising Institute) -Du Pont study of shopping behavior in the United States, almost 70 percent of all non-food purchases in supermarkets are generated by in-store decisions. If the same decision-making pattern is prevalent outside the United States, sales promotion should prove to be just as indispensable (as other promotional techniques). 6、无论是在美国还是在海外，促销活动越来越受人青睐，而且势头强劲。加拿大首屈一指的(leading)广告杂志Stimulus对公司经理们的一项调查表明(revealed)，他们已从媒体广告转向促销活动。同五年前相比(compared with five years ago)，有五分之三(three of fvie)的公司开始在广告预算(budget)中增加对非媒体(non-media)手段的投入，如交易展销、买点(point-of-purchase, POP)展示和宣传。根据买点广告机构和杜邦公司对美国人购物行为所作的一项调查，在超市里所有非食品购买行为中，几乎有70源自(are generated by)顾客在超市内的临时决定(in store decisions; in store 将要发生, 就要出现)。如果这种购物方式(pattern)能在美国以外的其他地方(outside the United States)盛行开来(prevalent adj.)，那么，将证明促销活动同样是必不可少的(indispensable)。7. Sales promotion is effective when a product is first introduced to a market. It also works well with existing products that are highly competitive and standardized, especially when they are of low unit-value and have high turnover. Under such conditions, sales promotion is needed to gain that “extra” competitive advantage. A Japanese firm created a great deal of excitement in Thailand by including game cards in its detergent boxes, and consumers could not resist buying more and more in search of the winning cards, Likewise, most gas stations in Thailand at one time gave free washcloths with a gas fill-up. Middlemen were also allowed to participate in the sales-promotion program. Stores were informed of the display, and their salespeople or sales clerks were made aware of the program and benefits. 7、当某种产品首次进入(introduce to)一个市场时，促销活动是相当有效的(effective)。如果产品本身极具竞争力(highly competitive)，而且比较规范(standardized)，那么，促销也适用于现有产品。尤其是如果这种产品单价较低(low unit-value)而且流通量大(high turnover 营业额)。在这种条件下，就需要促销以赢得额外的(extra)竞争优势（competitive advantage）。一家日本公司通过将游戏纸牌装在其洗涤剂(detergent)盒子中，结果在泰国引起轰动效应(a great deal of excitement)。消费者情不自禁(could not resist)，越买越多，希望得到(in search of)胜张。与此类似(likewise)，在泰国大多数加油站，顾客每加一次油，即可免费得到一块清洗布(washcloths)。中间商(middlemen)同样可以参加促销活动。经销商店及时了解(be informed of)产品展示信息，商店的销售人员和职员(salespeople or sales clerks)对这些活动及其利益一清二楚。8. The effectiveness of sales promotion can be tempered by psychological barriers, and this fact is applicable to middlemen as well as consumers. Some foreign retailers are reluctant to accept manufacturers coupons because they fear that they will not be reimbursed. Consumers, on the other hand, may view rebates, mail-in coupons, and money-back guarantees with suspicion, thinking that something must be wrong with the product. 8、无论是中间商还是消费者，只要有了心理障碍(psychological barriers)，便会使促销活动的效果(effectiveness)打折扣(be tempered)。有些国外零售商不大愿意(reluctant adj.)接受产品厂家附在其商品中的赠券(coupon)，因为他们担心（fear）这些赠券中的款项无法返还(reimburse)。另一方面，消费者可能对折扣(rebate)、邮寄来的赠券和返还款项的承诺(money-back guarantees)持(view)怀疑态度，他们会认为，这样的产品肯定有问题。9. Much like many other marketing aspects, sales-promotion methods may have to be modified. The techniques employed, to be effective, should be consistent with local preference. Philips offered a set of dominoes as a premium for electricity purchase in Brazil, where the game is national pastime and electrical products are treated as commodities. A player holds the colored side up to prevent an opponent from seeing the dotted numbers side. Since the companys name was on the back of every domino, electricians were often reminded of the brand. 9、促销方法同营销的其他许多方面(many other marketing aspects)极为相似(much like)，应该加以改进。要使所运用的(employed)手段产生作用(to be effective)，就应使它同当地消费者的喜好(local preference)相一致(consistent with)。电力在巴西是视为商品(electrical products are treaded as commodities)，而在该国玩骨牌是一项全国性的娱乐活动(pastime)，飞利浦公司即在那里推出(offered)一套骨牌(a set of dominoes)作为购买电力的奖品(premium)。一方要将骨牌反扣，使彩色的一面(the colored side)朝上，这样，对方就看不见带点数的那一面(the dotted numbers side)。由于(since)每张骨牌的反面印有飞利浦公司的名称，电工们(电器使用者)便会经常想起这种品牌的产品。53. Oil Refining 石油炼制（2016新增）1.Primary Refining 粗炼2.Petroleum refining is the process of separating the many compounds present in crude petroleum. This process is called fractional distillation where the crude oil is heated; the various compounds boil at different temperatures and change to gases; and are later recondensed back into liquids. The primary refining processes are the distillation of the feedstock into its basic fractions, and then the re-distillation of these, in separate towers, into highly concentrated intermediates.2.石油炼制是将原油中的多种混合物进行分离的过程。原油经过加热后， 其中的不同组分将在不同的温度下沸腾并气化，随后又经冷凝浓缩转化为液 体，这个过程称为分馏。粗炼工序是将进料蒸馏成为其基本组分，然后再将这些组分在单独的炼塔中再蒸馏成为高浓度的半成品。3.Distillation is the start of the refining process where the crude oil is split into a number of parts or cuts. The separation is made on the basis of boiling-point and groups of hydrocarbons boiling within a certain range are produced. The theory of distillation is very easy. The longer the carbon chain, the higher the temperature at which the compounds will boil. When crude oil boils, it sends out vapor and condenses. All the different hydrocarbons in crude oil are at different temperatures. And their vapors all make separat