2008年12月6级阅读理解逐句翻译.doc

2008年12月一、Sustainable development is applied to just about everything from energy to clean water and economic growth, and as a result it has become difficult to question either the basic assumptions behind it or the way the concept is put to use. 可持续发展适用于诸如能源，净水，经济增长等几乎所有的方面，因此，要对可持续发展的基本假设或其概念的实施方法提出质疑也变得日益困难。This is especially true in agriculture, where sustainable development is often taken as the sole measure of progress without a proper appreciation of historical and cultural perspectives.这在农业方面尤其显著，可持续发展经常被认为是农业进步的唯一标准，而这并没有从历史和文化的角度进行适当的评估。To start with, it is important to remember that the nature of agriculture has changed markedly throughout history, and will continue to do so .medieval agriculture in northern Europe fed, clothed and sheltered a predominantly rural society with a much lower population density than it is today.首先，重要的是认识到农业的本质随着历史的发展已经发生了显著的变化，并且这种变化仍将持续。中世纪北欧的农业为以农业为主导的社会提供了衣食和住所，而当时的人口密度远低于现在。 It had minimal effect on biodiversity, and any pollution it caused was typically localized. 那是的农业对生物多样性的影响有限，产生的任何污染通常都是地方性的。In terms of energy use and the nutrients（营养成分）captured in the product it was relatively inefficient.当时的农业在能源利用以及农产品的营养成分方面是相对低效的。Contrast this with farming since the start of the industrial revolution.对比一下工业革命开始以后出现的农场化。Competition from overseas led farmers to specialize and increase yields. 来自国外的竞争促使农民专业化并且提高产量。Throughout this period food became cheaper, safe and more reliable. 在这个时期，食品价格下降，安全性和可靠性都有所提高。However, these changes have also led to habitat（栖息地）loss and to diminishing biodiversity.但是，这些变化也是导致了栖息地的流失和生物多样性的减少。Whats more, demand for animal products in developing countries is growing so fast that meeting it will require an extra 300 million tons of grain a year by 2050.yet the growth of cities and industry is reducing the amount of water available for agriculture in many regions.此外，发展中国家队畜产品的需求增长如此迅速，以至于在2050年之前每年需要额外收货3亿吨谷物才能满足该需求。但是城市和工业的发展导致在很多地区农业可利用的水资源越来越少。All this means that agriculture in the 21stcentury will have to be very different from how it was in the 20th.所有这些都意味着21世纪的农业将非常不同于20世纪的农业。This will require radical thinking. 这需要激进的思考方式。For example, we need to move away from the idea that traditional practices are inevitably more sustainable than new ones. 例如，我们需要摒弃传统生产比新型生产注定更有利于可持续发展的方法，而这些方法的核心在于需要在保持生产的同时避免产生更多的破坏。We also need to abandon the notion that agriculture can be “zero impact”. 我们同样需要抛弃农业可以“零污染”的观念。The key will be to abandon the rather simple and static measures of sustainability, which centre on the need to maintain production without increasing damage.关键在于放弃相对简单和静态的衡量可持续发展性的方法，而这些方法的核心在于需要在保持生产的同时避免产生更多的破坏。Instead we need a more dynamic interpretation, one that looks at the pros and cons（正反两方面）of all the various way land is used. 取而代之的是更加动态的解释，可以兼顾到种种土地使用方式的正反两面。There are many different ways to measure agricultural performance besides food yield: energy use, environmental costs, water purity, carbon footprint and biodiversity.除了粮食产量以外，还有很多不同的方式可以衡量农业的效益；能源利用，环境成本，水源纯净程度，碳排放和生物多样性。It is clear, for example, that the carbon of transporting tomatoes from Spain to the UK is less than that of producing them in the UK with additional heating and lighting. 例如，显然把番茄从西班牙运到英国的碳排放量要少于在英国用额外的供暖和照明设备种植番茄。But we do not know whether lower carbon footprints will always be better for biodiversity.但是我们不知道降低碳排放量是否总是对生物多样性是有益的。What is crucial is recognizing that sustainable agriculture is not just about sustainable food production.关键是要意识到农业可持续的发展并不仅仅是关于可持续的食物生产。二、The percentage of immigrants (including those unlawfully present) in the United States has been creeping upward for years. 美国移民的比例（包括非法移民）连续数年呈增长趋势.At 12.6 percent, it is now higher than at any point since the mid1920s.现已达到12.6%，比20世纪20年代中期以来的任何时候都要高。We are not about to go back to the days when Congress openly worried about inferior races polluting Americas bloodstream. 我们不是要回到国会公开表示担忧等民族污染美国血统的时代。But once again we are wondering whether we have too many of the wrong sort of newcomers. 但是我们再一次想知道美国是否有太多不适合的新移民。Their loudest critics argue that the new wave of immigrants cannot, and indeed do not want to, fit in as previous generations did.其中声势最大的批评认为新的移民浪潮并不能像前面数代人一样真正融入，实际上他们也并不想这么做。We now know that these racist views were wrong. In time, Italians, Romanians and members of other so-called inferior races became exemplary Americans and contributed greatly, in ways too numerous to detail, to the building of this magnificent nation. 现在我们知道这些种族主义的观点都是错的。曾经，意大利人、罗马尼亚人以及其他所谓的“低等民族”成为美国人的楷模，并且通过不胜枚举的方式为这个美妙国度的建设做出了伟大的贡献。There is no reason why these new immigrants should not have the same success.说这些新移民不能取得同样的成功毫无根据。Although children of Mexican immigrants do better, in terms of educational and professional attainment, than their parents, UCLA sociologist Edward Telles has found that the gains dont continue.尽管墨西哥移民的孩子在教育和职业成就领域比起他们的父母表现更佳，加州大学洛杉矶分校的社会学家爱德华-特列斯发现这种成就感并没有持续性。 Indeed, the fourth generation is marginally worse off than the third. James Jackson, of the University of Michigan, has found a similar trend among black Caribbean immigrants.事实上，第四代要比第三代稍差一点。密歇根大学的詹姆斯-杰克逊在加勒比黑人移民中也发现了相似的趋势。Telles fears that Mexican-Americans may be fated to follow in the footsteps of American blacksthat large parts of the community may become mired (陷入) in a seemingly permanent state of poverty and underachievement. 特列斯担心墨西哥裔美国人可能注定会步美国黑人的后尘-社区中的大部分人将陷入贫穷和毫无建树的状态。Like African-Americans, Mexican-Americans are increasingly relegated to (降入) segregated, substandard school, and their dropout rate is the highest for any ethnic group in the country.像非裔美国人一样，墨西哥裔美国人日益降入实行种族隔离政策、低标准的学校，他们的退学率在整个国家的所有民族中是最高的。We have learned much about the foolish idea of excluding people on the presumption of ethnic/racial inferiority. 我们已经认识到在民族、种族低劣的前提下去排斥他们是多么愚蠢。But what we have not yet learned is how to make the process of Americanization work for all.但是我们仍然不知道如何使美国化的过程适合所有的人。 I am not talking about requiring people to learn English or to adopt American ways; those things happen pretty much on their own. 我并不是说要求所有的人都学习英语或者采取美国的方式；这些事情自然而然就会发生。But as arguments about immigration heat up the campaign trail, we also ought to ask some broader questions about assimilation