英语四级阅读理解翻译.doc

二、I dont ever want to talk about being a woman scientist again. 我不想再谈关于作为一位女性科学家的问题了。There was a time in my life when people asked constantly for stories about what its like to work in a field dominated by men.有一段时间，人们不断地问我在男性主导的领域中工作的故事。I was never very good at telling those stories because truthfully I never found them interesting. 我不擅长将这些故事，因为实际上我并不觉得它们有趣。What I do find interesting is the origin of the universe, the shape of space-time and the nature of black holes.我真正感兴趣的是宇宙的起源，时空的形状和黑洞的本质。At 19, when I began studying astrophysics, it did not bother me in the least to be the only woman in the classroom.在19岁的时候，我开始学习天体物理学，作为班上唯一的女性，我一点也不觉得苦恼。But while earning my Ph.D. at MIT and then as a post-doctor doing space research, the issue started to bother me. 但是当我在麻省理工学院攻读博士学位和之后作为博士后进行太空研究时，这一点开始让我觉得苦恼。My every achievementjobs, research papers, awardswas viewed through the lens of gender (性别) politics.So were my failures.我的每一项成就-工作，研究论文，奖项-都被人们从性别政治的角度进行审视。我的失败也一样。 Sometimes, when I was pushed into an argument on left brain versus (相对于) right brain, or nature versus nurture (培育), I would instantly fight fiercely on my behalf and all womankind.有时候，当我陷入左脑和右脑，天赋与培育的争论中时，我会立刻为我自己和所有的妇女进行激烈的抗辩。Then one day a few years ago, out of my mouth came a sentence that would eventually become my reply to any and all provocations: I dont talk about that anymore.然后再很多年以后的一天，我口中冒出一句最终成为我对所有挑衅的回答：“我不再讨论这个问题了”It took me 10 years to get back the confidence I had at 19 and to realize that I didnt want to deal with gender issues. 我花了十年的时间重获19岁时的自信，让自己认识到我不再想要处理性别的问题。Why should curing sexism be yet another terrible burden on every female scientist? 为何性别歧视要成为每位女性科学家的另一个可怕的负担？After all, I dont study sociology or political theory.毕竟，我不是社会学或政治理论的研究者。Today I research and teach at Barnard, a womens college in New York City. 现在，我在Barnard-纽约的一所女子学院进行研究和授课。Recently, someone asked me how may of the 45 students in my class were women.最近，有人问我班上的45个学生中有多少是女性。You cannot imagine my satisfaction at being able to answer, 45. 你很难想象我在回答时的满足感：45。I know some of my students worry how they will manage their scientific research and a desire for children.And I dont dismiss those concerns. 我知道有些学生会担心如何处理科学俺就和生儿育女之间的矛盾，我不会不理会这些担心。Still, I dont tell them “war” stories. Instead, I have given them this: the visual of their physics professor heavily pregnant doing physics experiments.但是，我也不会跟她们讲述“战争”的故事，相反，我会告诉他们：他们的物理教授身怀六甲仍然坚持做物理实验的景象。And in turn they have given me the image of 45 women driven by a love of science. And thats a sight worth talking about.作为回报，他们给我我45个热爱科学的女性的形象。这才是值得谈论的景象。2007年12月一、By almost any measure, there is a boom in Internet-based instruction. 无论如何，网络教学已经十分流行。In just a few years, 34 percent of American universities have begun offering some form of distance learning (DL), and among the larger schools, its closer to 90 percent. 近几年来，有34%的美国大学开始提供不同形式的远程教学，而在较大的大学里，这个数字已经接近90%。If you doubt the popularity of the trend, you probably havent heard of the University of Phoenix. 如果你对这与潮流表示质疑，那么或许你还没有听过凤凰城大学。It grants degrees entirely on the basis of online instruction. It enrolls 90,000 students, a statistic used to support its claim to be the largest private university in the country.这所大学的学位都是通过网络教学授予的，目前学生总数为9万人，该数字使之号称是美国最大的私立学校。While the kinds of instruction offered in these programs will differ, DL usually signifies a course in which the instructors post syllabi (课程大纲), reading assignments, and schedules on Websites, and students send in their assignments by e-mail.尽管这些课程的具体教学内容不尽相同，但远程教学通常意味着老师会在网站上公布教程大纲，阅读作业和进度安排，而学生通过电子邮件交作业。Generally speaking, face-to-face communication with an instructor is minimized or eliminated altogether.一般而言，师生间面对面交流会很少，甚至没有。The attraction for students might at first seem obvious. 起初，这种教学形式对学生的吸引是显而易见的。Primarily, theres the convenience promised by courses on the Net: you can do the work, as they say, in your pajamas (睡衣). 主要是网络课堂很便利，正如其宣传的一般，学生可以穿着睡衣来上学。But figures indicate that the reduced effort results in a reduced commitment to the course. 然而数据表明，课堂参与的减少导致学生学习不是很努力。While dropout rates for all freshmen at American universities is around 20 percent, the rate for online students is 35 percent. 美国大学本科新生的退学率约为20%，而对于参加网络教学的学生而言，这个数字达到了35%。Students themselves seem to understand the weaknesses inherent in the setup.学生本身也明白这个机制的不足之处。对In a survey conducted for eCornell, the DL division of Cornell University, less than a third of the respondents expected the quality of the online course to be as good as the classroom course.康奈尔大学远程教学部的调查结果显示，只有不到三分之一的受访者热认为网络课程的质量和传统课堂一样。Clearly, from the schools perspective, theres a lot of money to be saved.无疑，从学校的角度，网络教学能节约大量金钱。Although some of the more ambitious programs require new investments in severs and networks to support collaborative software, most DL courses can run on existing or minimally upgraded(升级) systems. 尽管部分更艰巨的项目需要新资金的注入来构建服务器的网络以支持协作软件。其余大多数的网络课程都可在现有或略微提升的系统上得以实现。The more students who enroll in a course but dont come to campus, the more the schools saves on keeping the lights on in the classrooms, paying doorkeepers, and maintaining parking lots.网络教学招生越多，学校节约的成本就越多：因为学院不来学校，学校的灯无需开着，不必雇佣门卫，停车场也不用维修。 And, while theres evidence that instructors must work harder to run a DL course for a variety of reasons, they wont be paid any more, and might well be paid less.同时，有证据显示对于远程教育的导师来说，诸多原因使得他们必须更加努力地授课；也许他们的薪酬不会增加，还有可能减少。 二、In this age of Internet chat, videogames and reality television, there is no shortage of mindless activities to keep a child occupied. 在这个充斥着网聊，电子游戏与真人秀的时代，并不缺乏让小孩子沉迷的玩物。Yet, despite the competition, my 8-year-old daughter Rebecca wants to spend her leisure time writing short stories. 尽管有着这些诱惑，我8岁的女儿Rebecca，却希望花时间写写小故事。She wants to enter one of her stories into a writing contest, a competition she won last year.她打算将其中一个作品拿去比赛-一个去年她获胜的比赛。As a writer I know about winning contests, and about losing them. 作为一名作家，我十分了解写作比赛中赢和输意味着什么。I know what it is like to work hard on a story to receive a rejection slip from the publisher. 我知道，当辛辛苦苦写完一个故事却遭到出版社的拒绝是一种什么样的心情；I also know the pressures of trying to live up to a reputation created by previous victories.我也知道，要维护从前的成功所带来的声望需要承受多么大的压力。What if she doesnt win the contest again? 加入女儿这次赢不了比赛会怎么样呢？Thats the strange thing about being a parent. So many of our own past scars and dashed hopes can surface.作为父母，这是无比奇怪的事情。我们以往的很多伤痕和破碎的梦想会慢慢浮现出来。A revelation (启示) came last week when I asked her, “Dont you want to win again?” “No,” she replied, “I just want to tell the story of an angel going to first grade.”知道上星期，我得到了启示。我问她：“你想再赢一次吗？”“不”女儿回答，“我只想告诉大家一个天使上一年级的故事”I had just spent weeks correcting her stories as she spontaneously (自发地) told them.我其实已经花了好几个星期在女儿不自觉地讲述时修正她的故事。Telling myself that I was merely an experienced writer guiding the young writer across the hall.我告诉自己，这无非是一个有经验的作家在引导一个新作家而已。I offered suggestions first grade was quickly “guided” by me into the tale of a little girl with a wild imagination taking her first music lesson. 我给了她不少建议，关于角色，冲突以及故事的结局，在我的“指引”下，这个原本讲小天使担惊受怕地开始念一年级的故事，很快变成了一个充满丰富想象力的女孩开始第一节音乐课的历程。I had turned her contest into my contest without even realizing it.在我不经意时，我已经把她的比当成了自己的比赛。Staying back and giving kids space to grow is not as easy as it looks.放手给孩子空间成长不想看起来那么简单。Because I know little about farm animals who use tools or angels who go to first grade. 因为我对能用工具的农场动物，或者一年级的小天使一无所知。I had to accept the fact that I was co-opting (借用) my daughters experience.我不得不承认我借用了女儿的经历。 While steeping back was difficult for me, it was certainly a good first step that I will quickly follow with more steps, putting myself far enough away to give her room but close enough to help if asked. 尽管对于我来说放手不容易，但可喜的是，这回是一个好的开端，我很快可以学会更多，给自己一段合适的距离，既可以让女儿有发展的空间，同时在她需要时施以援手。All the while I will be reminding myself that children need room to experiment , grow and find their own voices.在这个过程中，我会一直提醒自己，孩子需要空间去尝试，去找到属于自己的路。2008年6月一、Global warming may or may not be the great environmental crisis of the 21st century, but- regardless of whether it is or isnt - we wont do much about it.全球变暖或许是21世纪最大的环境危机，但无论是或不是，我们都不会对全球变暖做什么。We will argue over it and may even, as a nation, make some fairly solemn-sounding commitments to avoid it. 我们会不断地为此争吵，甚至可能以国家形式作出一些貌似严重的承诺，以避免全球变暖发生。But the more dramatic and meaningful these commitments seem, the less likely they are to be observed.但是这些承诺看上去越是戏剧化，越是有意义，就越不可能成为现实。A1 Gore calls global warming an inconvenient truth, as if merely recognizing it could put us on a path to a solution. 戈尔称全球变暖为“不可忽视的真相”，好像仅仅认识到其存在，我们就可以找到解决办法。But the real truth is that we dont know enough to relieve global warming, and - without major technological breakthroughs - we cant do much about it.但是真正的真相是，我们并不具备足够的知识来缓解全球变暖，如果没有重大的科技突破，我们根本无法做出什么成绩。From 2003 to 2050,the world s population is projevted to grow from 6.4 billon to 9.1 billion ,a 42% increase.2003年到2050年，世界人口预计将从64亿增加到91亿，上升42%。If energy use per person and technology remain te same,total energy use and greenhouse gas emissions(mainly,CO2)will be 42% higher in 2050.如果人均能源消耗和技术水平维持现状，总能量消耗和温室气体排放（主要是二氧化碳）到2050年将会增加42%。But thats too low,because societies that grow richer use more energy.We need econmic growth unless we condemn the worlds poor to their present poverty and freeze everyone elses living standards.但是这还不算多，因为随着社会越来越富裕，能源的使用也会相应增加。我们需要经济增长，除非我们迫使穷人们处于现在的贫困状态，并且让其他人的生活水平停留在原地不动。With modest growth,energy use and greenhouse emissions more then double by 2050.就算在增长较少的情况下，到2050年，能源的使用和温室气体的排放也将至少翻一倍。No government will adopt rigid restrictions on economic growth and personal freeom (limits on electricity usage,driving and travel)that might cut back global warming.没有政府会使用严格的限制经济增长和人身自由的措施（限制用电，驾驶和旅游），虽然这些可能有助于环节全球变暖。Still,politicians want to show theyre doing somethingConsider the Kyoto Protoco(京都议定书).It alowed countries that joined to punish those that didnt.But it hasnt reduced CO2 emissions(up about 25% since 1990),and many signatories(签 字国) didnt adopt tough enough policies to hit their 2008-2012 targets.然而，政治家们想表现出他们正在“做些事情”。想想京都协议，它允许参与国家惩罚那些没有加入的国家，但这并没有降低二氧化碳排放量（自1990年以来上升了25%），很多签字国并没有采用足够严格的政策以达到2008年-2012年的目标。The practical codusion is that if global warming is a potential disaster,the only solution is new technology.比较现实的结论是，如果全球变暖是场潜在的灾难，那么唯一的解决方法就是新技术。Only an aggressive research and development program miaght find ways of breaking our dependence on fossil fuels or dealing with it.只有通过这一项积极的研究和发展项目，才可能找到方法打破现有的对矿物燃料的依赖或者解决这一问题。The trouble with the global warming debate is that it has become a moral proble when its teally an engineering one.全球变暖这场辩论的麻烦在于，当它应该还是个工程问题的时候，已经成为了道德问题。The inconvenient truth is that if we dont solve the engineering problem, were helpless.不可忽视的真相是，如果没有办法解决工程问题，我们就真的无能为力了。 二、二、High-quality customer service is preached(宣扬) by many ,but actually keeping customers happy is easier said than done很多人宣扬高质量的客户服务，但实际上，要让客户满意说起来容易做起来难。Shoppers seldom complain to the manager or owner of a retail store, but instead will alert their friends, relatives, co-workers, strangers-and anyone who will listen.顾客很少会向商店的经理或者老板投诉，然而，他们会提醒自己的朋友，亲戚，同事，甚至任何愿意听信他们的陌生人不要去光顾这家店。Store managers are often the last to hear complaints, and often find out only when their regular customers decide to frequent their competitors, according to a study jointly conducted by Verde group and Wharton school.维德咨询公司和沃顿商学院的联合调查表明，商店经理往往是最后听到抱怨的人，而且往往到了他们的老顾客频繁光顾竞争对手的店面时才发觉。“Storytelling hurts retailers and entertains consumers,” said Paula Courtney, President of the Verde group.” the store loses the customer, but the shopper must also find a replacement.”“传言损害了零售商的利益，娱乐了消费者”维德公司的总经理葆拉-考特尼说，“商店失去了顾客，顾客也必须去寻找相应的替代”On average, every unhappy customer will complain to at least four other, and will no longer visit the specific store for every dissatisfied customer, a store will lose up to three more due to negative reviews. 平均来说，每位不快的顾客至少会向四个人抱怨，并不再光顾那家店。而商店会因每位不悦的顾客的负面评论损失三位以上的顾客。The resulting “snowball effect” can be disastrous to retailers.这种滚雪球效应会对零售商造成灾难性的影响。According to the research, shoppers who purchased clothing encountered the most problems. ranked second and third were grocery and electronics customers.该调查显示，买服装的顾客遇到的问题最多。排在第二和第三位的分别是购买杂货和电子商品的顾客。The most common complaints include filled parking lots, cluttered (塞满了的) shelves, overloaded racks, out-of-stock items, long check-out lines, and rude salespeople.最常见的抱怨包括爆满的停车场，塞满的货架，超载的货架，脱销的产品，付账的长队和粗鲁的销售人员。During peak shopping hours, some retailers solved the parking problems by getting moonlighting local police to work as parking attendants.在购物的高峰时间，有的零售商雇佣当地经常兼职协助泊车的工作。Some hired flag wavers to direct customers to empty parking spaces. 有的则雇佣摇旗者把顾客引到空车位。This guidance climinated the need for customers to circle the parking lot endlessly, and avoided confrontation between those eyeing the same parking space.这样的引导使顾客不必再没完没了地绕着停车场找寻空位，并且避免了不同顾客盯上了同意停车位而产生的冲突。Retailers can relieve the headaches by redesigning store layouts, pre-stocking sales items, hiring speedy and experienced cashiers, and having sales representatives on hand to answer questions.通过重新设计店面布局，预先储存在售的货物，雇佣高校且经验丰富的收银员，以及让销售代表在现场回答问题，零售商可以摆脱那些投诉带来的难题。Most importantly, salespeople should be diplomatic and polite with angry customers.更重要的是，对待那些恼羞成怒的顾客，销售人员应该表现得老练和有礼貌。“Retailers whore responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who arent so friendly.” said Professor Stephen Hoch. “Maybe something as simple as a greeter at the store entrance would help.”“那些能够及时做出反应并且态度友好的零售商比那些不那么友好的零售商更容易顺利解决矛盾。”斯蒂芬-霍克教授说，”也许一些诸如在商店门口安排一个招待员的简单方式会有所帮助。Customers can also improve future shopping experiences by filing complaints to the retailer, instead of complaining to the rest of the world. 客户也可以通过直接向零售商提出投诉而不是向其他人抱怨的方式来改善未来的购物经历。Retailers are hard-pressed to improve when they have no idea what is wrong.因为当零售商根本不知道他们做错了什么的时候，是很难去进行改善的。2009年6月一、The January fashion show, called Future Fashion, exemplified how far green design has come. Organized by the New York-based nonprofit Earth Pledge, the show inspired many top designers to work with sustainable fabrics for the first time. 一月份的时装发布会题为“未来的时尚”，展示了绿色设计的到来指日可待。发布会是纽约的一家非营利性机构“地球誓言”组织的，它鼓励很多顶级设计师首次使用可持续发展的面料。Several have since made pledges to include organic fabrics in their lines.有几位设计师从此发誓在其发产品中使用有机面料。The designers who undertake green fashion still face many challenges.承诺绿色设计的设计师仍然要面对很多挑战。 Scott Hahn, cofounder with Gregory of Rogan and Loomstate, which uses all-organic cotton, says high-quality sustainable materials can still be tough to find. 斯科特-哈恩和格雷戈里合伙创建了罗根和路穆斯特公司，该公司使用全有机棉进行生产。哈恩认为高品质的可持续性材料仍然很难找到。“Most designers with existing labels are finding there arent comparable fabrics that can just replace what youre doing and what your customers are used to,” he says. “大部分现有品牌的设计师发现，可以取代你正在使用和消费者已经习惯的面料的等同产品还不存在”他说。For example, organic cotton and non-organic cotton are virtually indistinguishable once woven into a dress. 例如，有机棉和无机棉一旦编织成服装，实际上就很难区分了。But some popular synthetics, like stretch nylon, still have few eco-friendly equivalents.但是某些流行的合成材料，例如弹力尼龙，几乎没有环保的替代品。Those who do make the switch are finding they have more support. 正在尝试改变的人们发现他们获得了更多的支持。Last year the influential trade show Designers & Agents stopped charging its participation fee for young green entrepreneurs (企业家) who attend its two springtime shows in Los Angeles and New York and gave special recognition to designers whose collections are at least 25% sustainable.去年，一个具有影响力的展销会“设计师与代理人”，不再向准备参加其将在洛杉矶和纽约举办的两次春季发布会的年轻绿色企业家收取参展费用，同时对那些至少有25%的作品采用可持续性材料的设计师给予了特别的重视。 It now counts more than 50 green designers, up from fewer than a dozen two years ago.现在，绿色设计师的数量已从两年前的不足12人增至超过50人。This week Wal-Mart is set to announce a major initiative aimed at helping cotton farmers go organic: it will buy transitional (过渡型的) cotton at higher prices, thus helping to expand the supply of a key sustainable material. “Mainstream is about to occur,”says Hahn.本周，沃尔玛公司宣布了一项重大提议，目标是帮助种植棉花的农民进行有机种植：沃尔玛打算以更高的价位收购过度型的棉花，这将有助于旷达关键的可持续性材料的供应。”主流将发生变化。哈恩认为。Some analysts (分析师) are less sure. 部分分析师并不如此肯定。Among consumers, only 18% are even aware that ecofashion exists, up from 6% four years ago. 在消费者中，仅有18%的人意识到了环保时尚的存在，而4年前仅有6%.Natalie Hormilla, a fashion writer, is an example of the unconverted consumer. 从事时尚写作的娜塔莉-赫尔米娜就是一个还没转变观念的消费者的例子。When asked if she owned any sustainable clothes, she replied: “Not that Im aware of.”当被问起她有没有可耻性衣物时，她回答：“我不知道”. Like most consumers, she finds little time to shop, and when she does, shes on the hunt for “cute stuff that isnt too expensive.”就像大部分的消费者一样，她没有时间去购物，当他购物的时候，她寻找的是“不是太贵的可爱物件” By her own admission, green just isnt yet on her mind.她承认自己还没有考虑到“绿色”。 Butthanks to the combined efforts of designers, retailers and suppliersone day it will be.但在设计师，零售商和供应商的共同努力下，总有一天她会开始考虑的。二、Scientists have devised a way to determine roughly where a person has lived using a strand(缕) of hair , a technique that could help track the movements of criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims .科学家们已经设计出了一种利用人的一缕头发头发估计其住处的方法，这种技术有助于追踪犯罪嫌疑人或者身份不明的谋杀受害者的动向。The method relies on measuring how chemical variations in drinking water show up in peoples hair.该方法利用的是测量人们的头发中所显示的饮用水的化学成分差异。“Youre what you eat and drink, and thats recorded in you hair,” said Thure Cerling, a geologist at the University of Utah.“你就是你吃的喝的东西，在你的毛发中都有记录”犹他州地质学家托尔-瑟林说。While U.S diet is relatively identical, water supplies vary. 美国人的饮食比较类似，但是水源的供应差异较大。The differences result from weather patterns.这种差异是气候模式导致的。The chemical composition of rainfall changes slightly as raid clouds mo