21世纪大学英语第二册_Reading_Aloud___Uint~Unit8原文及翻译

Unit1 Very hesitantly I selected a tube of blue paint and with infinite precaution made a mark about as big as a bean on the snow white field At that moment I heard the sound of a motorcar in the drive and threw down my brush in a panic I was even more alarmed when I saw who stepped from the car the wife of Sir John Lavery the celebrated painter who lived nearby Painting she declared What fun But what are you waiting for Let me have the brush the big one She plunged into the paints and before I knew it she had swept several fierce stokes and slashes of blue on the absolutely terrified canvas Anyone could see it could not hit back I hesitated no more I seized the largest brush and fell upon my wretched victim with wild fury I have never felt any fear of a canvas since 他日后回忆道 我迟疑不决地选了一管蓝色颜料 然后小心翼翼地在雪 白的底子上的画上蚕豆般大小的一笔 就在这时 我听到车道上传来一辆汽车 的声音 于是惊恐地丢下我的画笔 当我看清是谁从汽车里走出来时 更是惊 慌失措 来者正是住在附近的著名画家约翰 莱佛利爵士的妻子 在画画呢 她大声说道 多么有趣 可你还在等什么呢 把画笔给 我 大的那支 她猛地用笔蘸起颜料 还没等我缓过神来 她已经挥笔泼墨 在惊恐不已的画布上画下了有力的几道蓝色 谁都看得出画布无法回击 我不 再迟疑 我抓起那支最大的画笔 迅猛异常地向我可怜的牺牲品扑了过去 自 那以后 我再也不曾害怕过画布 Unit 2 This belief in hard work is the first of three main factors contributing to Asian students outstanding performance It springs from Asians common heritage of Confucianism the philosophy of the 5 th century BC Chinese sage whose teachings have had a profound influence on Chinese societh One of Confucius s primary teachings is that through effort people can perfect themselves Confucianism provides another important ingredient in the Asians success as well In Confucian philosophy the family plays a central role an orientation that leads people to work for the honor of the family not just for themselves One can never repay one s parents and there s a sense of obligation or even guilt that is as strong a force among Asians as Protestant philosophy is among those in the West 这种对于勤奋的信念是促成亚洲学生成绩突出的三大要素中的第一个 它 来源于亚洲人共同的儒教传统 即公元前 5 世纪那位中国圣人的哲学思想 他 的教义对中国社会产生了深远的影响 孔夫子的主要教义之一是 人们通过努 力能够完善自我 儒教也为亚洲人的成功提供了另一个要素 在孔夫子的哲学中 家庭起着 最重要的作用 这种定向引导人们为家庭的荣誉而学习工作 而不仅仅是为了 他们自己 一个人永远无法报答他的父母 而且在亚洲人中间还有一种责任感 乃至负罪感 这是一种如同新教哲学在西方一样的强大力量 Unit3 The first cultural translator I ever met was an installation engineer George by name who worked for an American company where I was the director of international operations The company had just started a joint venture with a Japanese firm and the American management needed someone to train the Japanese employees in its unique technology George s solid understanding of the equipment its installation and use made him the best qualified employee for the job so everyone was happy when George accepted a two year contract for temporary transfer to Japan From the start George was well accepted by all the Japanese employees Japanese managers often distrust anyone sent to represent US owners but George was so naturally nonassertive that no one could see him as a threat to their careers So they felt comfortable asking his advice on a wide range of matters including the odd behavior of their partners across the ocean Engineers throughout the company appreciated George s expertise and his friendly and capable help and they got into the habit of turning to him whenever they had a problem any problem And the secretaries in the office were eager to help this nice bachelor learn Japanese 我遇到的第一位文化翻译是一位设备安装工程师 名叫乔治 他在一家我 担任国际业务部主任的美国公司里工作 这家公司刚同一家日本商社开办了一 家合资企业 美方管理部门需要有人在它的独特技术方面培训日本雇员 乔治 对设备及其安装和使用的透彻了解使他成为最能胜任这项工作的雇员 所以当 乔治接受了暂时调往日本的一份两年期合同时 大家都很高兴 从一开始 乔治就被所有的日本雇员欣然接受 日方经理通常不信任任何 被派去代表美方业主的人 但乔治生性随和 没有人把他看作是对自己职业的 一种威胁 所以他们喜欢就广泛的各类问题征求他的意见 包括大洋彼岸他们 的合作伙伴的古怪行为 公司上下的工程师们都珍视乔治的专业知识和他友好 而技能熟练的帮助 他们已养成了一有问题 任何问题 就找他帮忙的习惯 办公室里的秘书们都热衷于帮助这个讨人喜欢的单身汉学习日语 Unit4 Failure is never pleasant It hurts adults and children alike But it can make a positive contribution to your life once you learn to use it Step one is to ask Why did I fail Resist the natural impulse to blame someone else Ask yourself what you did wrong how you can improve If someone else can help don t be shy about inquring Success which encourages repetition of old behavior is not nearly as good as a teacher as failure You can learn from a disastrous party how to give a good one from an ill chosen first house what to look for in a second Even a failure that seems total can prompt fresh thinking a change of direction 失败从来就不是什么令人愉快的事情 它让成年人和孩子同样伤心 然而 一旦你学会了去利用失败 它就能对你的生活起到积极的作用 第一步是要问 我为什么失败了 要抵制责怪别人的本能冲动 问问自己做错了什么 如何 才能改正 如果别人能够给予帮助 那就不要羞于询问 成功鼓励人们重复过去的行为 因而远不及失败这个老师来得好 你可以 从一次极糟的晚会中学会如何举办一次成功的晚会 从第一次不当的选房中学 到下次选房时要注意些什么 即使一次看似彻底的失败也能激发新的思路 引 起方向的改变 Uint5 Balancing work and school was difficult I was staying up late studying and going to work early every morning I was having a hard time concentratin g in class and a hard time on the job because I was so tired she says But she ended up with two A s in her first semester anyway Priscilla decided to pursue an archaeology major and in the summer of 1 992 she got her first opportunity to really test out her interest in the subject The archaeological field school of Washington State University was sponsoring a summer research project at a site alongside the Snake River in Washington Priscilla threw herself into the work and the project supervisors were impresse d At the end of the summer one of the professors offered her a job He sai d We just got a contract for a project in North Dakota We want to hire you if you re willing to take a semester off from school The offer was a diversio n from Priscilla s pursuit of her BA But by then I no longer doubted that I would ultimately finish school so I felt comfortable grabbing this opportunity she says 要做到工作学习两不误很困难 我要一直熬夜学习 每天一大早又要去上 班 我上课时很难集中精力 上班时也很难受 因为我实在太累了 她说 不过她第一学期最后还是得了两个 A 普瑞席拉决定攻读考古专业 并在 1992 年夏天获得了检验自己对这一学科 兴趣的第一个机会 华盛顿州立大学的野外考古中心正在搞一个夏季研究项目 发掘位于华盛顿州斯内克河边的一个遗址 普瑞席拉对这项工作的全身心投 入给项目管理人留下了深刻印象 夏季结束时 一名教授给她提供了一份工作 他说 我们刚拿到北达科他州一个项目的合同 如果你愿意休学一个学 期 我们就聘用你 这份工作偏离了普瑞席拉要获得学士学位的追求 但那时我已不再怀疑我最终会完成学业 所以很坦然地抓住了这次机会 她 说 Uint6 He has been proclaimed the finest mind alive the greatest genius of the late 20th century and Einstein s heir Known to millions far and wide for his book A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking is a star scientist in more ways than one His gift for revealing the mysteries of the universe in a style that non scientists can enjoy made Hawking an instant celebrity and his book a bestseller in both Britain and America It has earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for spending 184 weeks in The Sunday Times top ten lists and has sold more than five million copies worldwide virtually unheard of success for a science book How did all this happen How has a man who is almost completely paralysed and unable to speak except through a computer overcome these incredible obstacles and achieved far more than most people ever dream of 他被称为 当今最有才华的人 20 世纪后叶最伟大的天才 以及 爱因斯坦的传人 因 时间简史 一书而闻名遐迩众人皆知的史蒂芬霍金 是一位多重意义上的明星科学家 霍金擅长于用一种非科学工作者乐于接受的 文体揭示宇宙的奥秘 这种天赋使他声名鹊起 也使他的书在英国和美国都成 了畅销书 该书因在 星期日泰晤士报 十大畅销书名单上持续了 184 周 并在全世界销售了 500 多万册而在 吉尼斯世界纪录大全 上赢得了一席 之地 对于一本科学书记来说 这简直是前所未有的成功 这一切都是如何发生的呢 一个几乎全身瘫痪 只能通过电脑说话的人又是 如何克服这些令人难以置信的障碍 获得了大多数人做梦都没想过的成就的呢 Uint7 But thinking is far different from laziness Thinking is one of the most productive activities a human being can undertake Every beautiful and useful thing we have created exists because somebody took the time and effort to think of it And thinking does require time and effort It s a common misconception that if a person is gifted or bright or talented wonderful ideas will flash spontaneously into his mind Unfortunately the intellect doesn t work this way Even Einstein had to study and think for months before he could formulate his theory of relativity Those of us who are less intelligent find it a struggle to conceive even a moderately good idea let alone a brilliant one 但是 思考决非懒惰 思考是人所能从事的富有成效的活动之一 我们创造 的每一种美丽和有用的东西之所以存在都是因为曾经有人花费时间和精力去思 考它 思考是需要时间和精力的 许多人错误地以为 如果一个人有 天赋 或 才华横溢 或 有才干 绝妙的思想就会自动在他的头脑中闪现 遗憾的 是 才智并非这样体现出来 就连爱因斯坦在他能够系统地阐述他的相对论之 前也不得不研究 思考几个月 我们这些智力平平的人连想出一个比较好的主 意都得费尽心思 更别提想出个绝妙的主意了 Uint8 When you re eating among other people you don t raise your voice it s ju st one example of the unwritten rules we live by When you consider it you recognize that those rules probably govern our lives on a more absolute basis t han the ones you could find if you looked in the law books The c