自考0795综合英语(二)基础班课程讲义全下册Lessom15

1、Lesson Fifteen Edison Inventor of Invention昌打Lesson Fifteen Edison Inventor of Invention昌打印本页I . Outline of the TextPart 1： (Para. 1)Edison has changed mans thinking about what could be achieved.(Paras. 2-3)Edisons inventions convinced people that science could benefit them.(Para. 4)Edisons genius l

2、ies in his ability to combine and put into practice what other scientists and inventors had discovered and invented.(Para. 5)Owing to Edison* s work, scientific research gained an important place in society.(Para. 6)Man must adapt to the constantly changing age he lives in.II. TextIt is impossible t

3、o measure the importance of Edison by adding up the specific inventions with which his name is associated：仅仅把爱迪生参与发明的那些东西加在一 起，是绝不可友爱衡量出他的贡献的。(直译：与爱迪生的名字有联系的那些具体发明加 在一起O )add up：加起来be associated with与联系起来Far-reaching as many of them have been in their effect upon modern civilization, the total effec

4、t of Edison* s career surpasses the sum of all of them：尽管这其中的 许多发明对现代文明有着深远的影响，爱迪生事业的宏观意义超过了他所有发明的总价值。He did not merely make the incandescent lamp and the phonograph and innumerable other devices practicable for general use; it was given to him to demonstrate the power of applied science so concrete

5、ly, so understandably, so convincingly that he altered the mentality of mankind：他不仅仅使得白炽灯泡，和不计其数的留声机和其他的设备被广 泛的应用；把应用科学的威力展示得如此具体，如此易懂，如此令人信服，从而改变了人类的 精神面貌，这是命运交给他的使命。applied science 应用科学In his lifetime, largely because of his successes, there came into widest acceptance the revolutionary conception

6、 that man could by the use of his intelligence invent a new mode of living on this planet;在他的有生之年，主要是由于他的成就，人们普遍接受了一种崭新的观念-人是能够运用自 己的智慧在这个星球上创造出一种崭新的生活方式的；Come into acceptance 开始被接受conception 意思是 ideathe human spirit, which in all previous ages had regarded the conditions of life as essentially unch

7、anging and beyond mans control, confidently, and perhaps somewhat naively, adopted the conviction that anything could be changed and everything could be controlled：人满怀信心地，或许也多少有些天真地产生了一个信念-任何事物都可以改变, 一切事物能得以控制，而在以往所有的时代，人们却一直认为自己的生存条件是不变的，是人 所控制不了的。Come into acceptance 开始被接受This idea of progress is

8、in the scale of history a very new idea： 进步这一思 想在历史的范围内是个崭新的观念。It seems first to have taken possession of a few minds in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as an accompaniment of the great advances in pure science： 这 个观念是在17和18世纪随着纯科学的长足发展首先在为数不多的、有才智的人的头脑里产生 的。Take possession of: control, occ

9、upy 占领，占据英文解析：With the rapid advantages in pure science, the idea of progress began to be accepted by a few highly intelligent people in the 17th and 18th centuries.It gained greater currency in the first half of the nineteenth century when industrial civilization began to be transformed by the appl

10、ication of steam power： 在19世纪上半叶，蒸汽动力的使用开始改造工业社会之时，进步这一观念为更多的人接受。gain currency 意思是 become popular 变得受欢迎But these changes, impressive as they were, created so much human misery by the crude and cruel manner in which they were exploited that all through the century men instinctively feared and opposed

11、 the progress of machines, and of the sciences on which they rested：（以蒸汽为动力的蒸汽机带来的）这些变化十分瞩目，但是由于原始地、残酷地 以牟利为目的面使用这种机器，给人类造成了深重的苦难，在整个19世纪，人们自然害怕并抵 制机器的进步，以及支撑机器进步的科学进展。adj. As （尽管）+主语+谓语让步状语从句in manner/may 用方式re st/base on以为基础It was only at the end of the century, with the perfecting of the electric

12、 light bulb, the telephone, the phonograph, and the like, that the ordinary man began to feel that science could actually benefit him：只是在这个世纪之末（即19世纪末）随着电灯 泡、电话、留声机以及诸如此类的新产品的完善，一般老百姓才开始感到科学确实能给他们带 来好处。it wasthat是一个强调句and the like： and so on 等等sb. benefit from sb 对某人有利Edison supplied the homely demo

13、nstrations which insured the popular acceptance of science, and clinched the popular argument, which had begun with Darwin, about the place of science in mans outlook upon life：爱辿生提供了简单明了的示范使大众接受了科学， 给自从达尔文开始的、就科学在形成人们人生观中的作用这具争论不休的话题，画上了句号。insured 展示、投保=ensure：begin with从开始，以开始outlook 意思是 viewpoint

14、 观点Thus he became the supreme propagandist of science and his name the great symbol of an almost blind faith in its possibilities：因而他成了推广科学的尖兵,他的名字几 乎成了对科学能取得无限成就坚信不疑的代名词，Thirty years ago, when I was a schoolboy, the ancient conservatism of man was still the normal inheritance of every child： 30年以前,

15、我还是个小学生的时候,每个孩子继承 的思想仍然是人从远古时期保留下来的保守主义。(即，那时的孩子也和成人一样认为世界是 永远不变的。)We began to have electric lights, and telephones, and to see horseless carriages, but our attitude was a mixture of wonder, fear, and doubt. Perhaps these things would work. Perhaps they would not explode. Perhaps it would be amusing

16、 to play with them. 我们开始拥有了电灯，电话，不用马拉的车，但是我们是疑虑、害怕和怀疑的混合体。也许这 些东西可以起作用，也许他们不会继续深入下去。也许玩一玩挺有意思的。Today every schoolboy not only takes al the existing inventions as much for granted as we took horses and dogs for granted, but also, he is entirely convinced that all other desirable things can and will b

17、e invented：今天,每个小学生不仅对现有的发明创 造习以为常，就像我们小时候把马和狗看成是极为平常的东西一样-今天的孩子还完全相信更多 的好东西不仅能够创造出来，而且也一定会创造出来。takefor granted认为理所当然sb. be convinced that 某人对确信。In my youth the lonely inventor who could not obtain a hearing was still the stock figure of the imagination：我年轻的时候，人们对发明家的印象仍然是那种不为人理睬、孤 立无援这种固定模式的人物。obta

18、in a hearing被倾听,被理解stock figure通常的印象英文解析：When I was young, inventors were regarded as people with queer ideas. This was how people generally imagined an inventor.Today the only people who are not absolutely sure that television is perfected are the inventors themselves：今天除了电视机的发明者本人之外，人人都觉得电视机己经完美 无

19、缺，无须改进了。(即，人人都接受并欢迎科学的成果-发明创造)at a part as Edison in this change in human expectation, and finally, by the cumulative effect of his widely distributed inventions plus a combination of the modern publicity technique and the ancient myth-making faculty of the modern publicity technique and the ancient

20、 myth-making faculty of men,人类对未来的设想发生了巨大的变 化，以此爱迪生所起的作用无人超过，最后，由于他那些范闱极广的发明创造与日俱增的影响， 再加上现代传播技术与古代人们编造神话的天赋巧结合，technology (n.)科技含量较高的技术；technique (n.)技艺、技巧he was lifted in the popular imagination to a place where he was looked upon not only as the symbol but as the creator of a new age：在人们的心目中他的地位大

21、大提高， 他不只是象征着一个新时代，而且还开创了一个崭新的时代。look upon as 被看作In strict truth an invention is almost never the sole product of any one mind： 严格地说，一项发明创造几乎不可能只是任何一个个人的思想结晶。英文解析：Strictly speaking, nearly all inventions are the result of the inventor adapting and improving on previous inventions and ideas.Strictly s

22、peaking 严格的说The actual invention is almost invariably the man who succeeds in combining and perfecting previous discoveries in such a way as to make them convenient and profitable： 实际上发明家几乎亳无例外都是成功把以往的发现结合起来，使之完善，最后使其实用并有钱 可赚。succeed in doing sth.成功地做某事Edison had a peculiar genius for carrying exist

23、ing discoveries to the point where they could be converted into practicabledevices, and it would be no service to his memory, or to the cause of science which he serves so splendidly, to pretend that he invented by performing solitary miracles：爱迪生有一种特殊的天赋，能进一步开发现有 的发明创造，使其转变成实用的东西，因此认为他是单枪匹马地在那里创造奇迹

24、而搞出了发明 创造，既不是维护他的声誉，也无益于他为之做出了杰出贡献的科学事业。no service to =no use/help toConvert into把.转变成memory 意思是 fame： cause 意思、是 career：The light which was born in his laboratory at Menlo Park fifty-two years ago was conceived in the antecedent experiments of many men in many countries over a period of nearly fort

25、y years, and these experiments in their turn were conceivable only because of the progress of the mathematical and physical sciences in the preceding two centuries： 52年前在他的门洛园实验室里诞生的白炽灯，是从许多不同国家的人在近40年间实验的基础之 上构想出来的；反过来，先前的这些实验之所以能够设想出来，也要归功于前两个世纪数学科 学和物理科学的发展。in the antecedent 意思是 previous 以前的2 min

26、d v. 介意，mind doing sth2 Do you mind my smoking?2 be out of one* s mind 发疯e. g Hes (gone) out of his mind.bear/keep sth. in mind ： 牢 i己e. g. He tries his best to keep the words in mind.make up ones mind :下定决心e. g. Have you made up your mind what to do yet?Take sbs mind off sth.：使某人不再挂念或注意2 Turn one s

27、 mind to sth：把注意力转移到2 Carry on doing sth. /with sth. ： go on doing sth. /with sth.继续进彳亍e. g. We can carry on our discussion after lunch.Carry sth. out：执行e. g. They are carrying out urgent repair.这段讲了 Owing to Edisons work, scientific research gained an important place in society.Because of Edison, m

28、ore than of any other man, scientific research has an established place in our society; because of the demonstrations he made, the money of taxpayers and stockholders has become available for studies the nature of which they do not often understand, though they appreciate their value and anticipate

29、their ultimate pecuniary benefits：由于爱迪生一生的功劳大于其他任何人-科学研究的重要地位在 我们的社会里得以确立：由于他那些发明创造的示范作用，纳税人和股票持有人的钱才能用来 进行研究；虽然他们对其价值十他赏识，也能预料其最终的好处，但实际上他们对这些研究的 性质往往不甚了解。It would be a shallow kind of optimism to assume that the introduction of the art of inventing has been an immediate and unmixed blessing to man

30、kind： 认为开创革 新视野能直接造福人类，并无阻力，是一种肤浅的乐观主义的表现。It is rather the most disturbing element in civilization, the most profoundly revolutionary thing which has ever been let loose in the world,这其实是文明社会最令 人不安的因素，是世上迄今所爆发的最深刻的革命事件。most disturbing=upset 令人不安的let loose=release 释放For the whole ancient wisdom of ma

31、n is founded upon the conception of a life which in its fundamentals changes imperceptibly if at all：因为人类古代全部思想是建筑在对 生活的这种观念上-在基本原则方而，生活即使发生变化，也只可能是细微的变化。be founded upon=be based on 至于的基础上The effect of organized, subsidized invention, stimulated by tremendous incentives of profit, and encouraged by

32、an insatiable popular appetite for change, is to set all the relations of men in violent motion, and to create overpowering problems faster than human wisdom has as yet been able to assimilate them：有组织、得到资助的革新受到利 润的巨大驱动，并从大众永不满足的变革要求中得到鼓励，其结果是使人类的各种关系发生巨 大变动，并带来了影响极大的问题，这些问题出现之快是迄今为止人类思想难以理解的。Thus t

33、he age we live in offers little prospect of outward stability, and only those who by an inner serenity and disentanglement have learned how to deal with the continually unexpected can be at home in it：因此我们生活的这个时代难以有安定的外部 环境，只有那些通过内心的宁静与超脱学会如何对待持续不断的意外情况的人，才能在这个时 代里感到自由自在。prospect 前景,可能性：即 possibilit

34、y英文解析：Therefore we must realize that in this age of ours, we cannot expect the world to remain stable. Only those who, with their sober mind and inner calmness, have learned how to adjust to the ever-changing world can feel comfortable in this age.It may be that in time we shall become used to chang

35、e as in our older wisdom we had become used to the unchanging：也许，随着时间的推移,我们会慢慢习惯于变革,就像 在此以前，我们的思想状态使我们习惯于停滞不变一样。(961 words)wisdom 意思是 ideaSet about (doing) sth.：开始,着手Set out to do sth.：开始，着手Set out ： to set off 出发，动身e. g. We set out to paint the whole house but finished only the front part.Set sth.

36、up：成立，建立e. g. Roadblocks were set up the police to catch the escaped prisoner.HL Vocabulary ExercisesComplete the following sentences with words formed with different prefixes or suffixes, making changes in the spelling wherever necessary.adj. : private patient troublev. : discover imagineA successf

37、ul inventor must be very creative and imaginative.The customers became impatient after standing at the counter for 10 minutes without being attended to.More and more people appeal for a law to protest their privacy.His back has been troublesome for a month and he has decided to see a doctor tomorrow

38、 morning.Complete the following sentences.Put suitable prepositions or adverbs in the blanks.Its hard to associate such a nice-looking place with drug dealing.Our fate is not beyond our control; rather, it，s in our own hands.He took possession of the farm after his uncle died.Tell the child never to

39、 play with fire again.He played a great part in the development of nuclear technology of our country.At last, he succeeded in convincing the others of his innocence.convince sb. Of sth确信某人某事，向某人确信某事：也可以用做 sb. be convinced thatOnce upon a time, there was a king who dreamed of having the magic power t

40、o convert all things he touched into gold.His insatiable appetite for material wealth may ruin his life in the end.The interpreter is at home in both English and French.If you can keep these rules in mind, you will have no difficulty in passing the driving test.They are carrying out a survey into pe

41、ople* s attitudes towards violence on TV.In the United States, anyone who is willing to quarrel with the dictionary is regarded as out of his mind.I stopped and bought a newspaper outside the Tube. I thought it would take my mind off work for a while.She has set her mind on going to work in Tibet up

42、on graduation.My mother wasnt content just to say that I was not an idiot: she set out to prove it.Choose the right word for each blank and put the verb in the right form.imply, inferHis remarks implied that he hadnt enjoyed his holiday.I inferred from his remarks that he hadnt enjoyed his holidays.

43、ensure, assureA.The doctor assured me that I would recover very soon.If you want to ensure that you catch the plane, take a taxi.sb. assure sb. That某人向某人确信sb.Ensure thatmix, combineShe put the butter and sugar into a bowl and mixed them up together.Hydrogen combines with oxygen to form water.relatio

44、ns, relationshipA.The local community has good relations with the police.My relationship with my boyfriend has lasted six months now.just, alreadyOnly one minute to go,Youre just in time for the train.It s one minute past eight. You, re already late.Choose the best word for each blank.When the story

45、 of the information revolution caused by the widespread (1) access (access, adoption, application, usage) to computer technology is written, one of the most (2) interesting (funny, interested, interesting, strange) people discussed will be Bill Gates. As Microsoft, s largest (3) stock-holder (stock-

46、agent, stock-holder, stock-keeper, stock-sharer) , hes worth nearly $6. 1 billion. (4) making (changing, making, shaping, showing) him America，s second wealthiest man and, at 38, its youngest (5) self-made, (self-claimed, self-created, self-established,self-made) billionare. Certainly few people can

47、 talk about the future, as he does, with the riveting (6) authority (authority, recognition, strength, weight) of someone who not only knows what* s in (7) future (future, hiding, save, store) for tomorrow but is a major fore in (8) shaping (altering, changing, coloring, shaping) that future as well. As the founder, developer, and owner of Microsoft, Gates was able to take his love for computer games and (9) translate (make, mix, produce, translate) it into programming ideas.As a high school student, he (10) used (had, got, used, was used) to spend many hours playing computer games;