新概念英語文章翻譯

  我國已進入一個英語教材大繁榮的時代,但《新概念英語》在廣大英語學習者心目中的經典地位卻從未有過動搖。下面是小編帶來的,歡迎閱讀!

  1

  The source of Energy

  能量的來源

  A summary of the physical and chemical nature of life must begin, not on the Earth, but in the Sun; in fact, at the Sun's very center. It is here that is to be found the source of the energy that the Sun constantly pours out into space as light and heat. This energy is librated at the center of the Sun as billions upon billions of nuclei ofhydrogen atoms collide with each other and fuse together to form nuclei of helium, and in doing so, release some of the energy that is stored in the nuclei of atoms. The output of light and heat of the Sun requires that some 600 million tons of hydrogen be converted into helium in the Sun every second. This the Sun has been doing for several thousands of millions of year.

  概說生命的物理和化學特性必須始於太陽--確切地說,是太陽的核心,而非地球。能量來自太陽的核心。在這裡,太陽不停地以光和熱的形式向空間傾瀉出能量。數十億計的氫原子核在太陽的核心碰撞並且聚變生成氦。在此過程中一部分原本儲存於原子核中的能量被釋放出來。太陽所產生的光和熱需要每秒將六億噸氫轉化為氦。這樣的轉化在太陽中已經持續幾十億年了。

  The nuclear energy is released at the Sun's center as high-energy gamma radiation, a form of electromagneticradiation like light and radio waves, only of very much shorter wavelength. This gamma radiation is absorbed by atoms inside the Sun to be reemitted at slightly longer wavelengths. This radiation , in its turn is absorbed and reemitted. As the energy filters through the layers of the solar interior, it passes through the X-ray part of thespectrum eventually becoming light. At this stage, it has reached what we call the solar surface, and can escape into space without being absorbed further by solar atoms. A very small fraction of the Sun's light and heat isemitted in such directions that after passing unhindered through interplanetary space, it hits the Earth.

  核能在太陽的核心被釋放為高能的伽馬射線。這是一種電磁射線,就象光波和無線電波一樣,只是波長要短得多。這種伽瑪射線被太陽內的原子所吸收,然後重新釋放為波長稍長一些的光波。這新的射線再次被吸收,而後釋放。在能量由太陽內部一層層滲透出來的過程中,它經過了光譜中X射線部分,最後變成了光。在此階段,能量到達我們所稱的太陽表層,並且離散到空間而不再被太陽原子所吸收。只有很小一部分太陽的光和熱由此方向釋放出來,並且未被阻擋,穿越星空,來到地球。

  2

  Vision

  視覺

  Human vision like that of other primates has evolved in an arboreal environment. In the dense complex world of atropical forest, it is more important to see well than to develop an acute sense of smell. In the course of evolution members of the primate line have acquired large eyes while the snout has shrunk to give the eye an unimpededview.

  人類的視覺,和其它靈長目動物的一樣,是在叢林環境中進化出來的。在稠密、複雜的熱帶叢林裡,好的視覺比靈敏的嗅覺更加重要。在進化過程中,靈長目動物的眼睛變大,同時鼻子變小以使視野不受阻礙。

  Of mammals only humans and some primates enjoy color vision. The red flag is black to the bull. Horses live in amonochrome world.Light visible to human eyes however occupies only a very narrow band in the whole electromagnetic spectrum. Ultraviolet rays are invisible to humans though ants and honeybees are sensitive to them. Humans have no direct perception of infrared rays unlike the rattlesnake which has receptors tuned into wavelengths longer than 0.7 micron. The world would look eerily different if human eyes were sensitive to infrared radiation. Then instead of the darkness of night, we would be able to move easily in a strange shadowless world where objects glowed with varying degrees of intensity.

  在哺乳類動物中,只有人和一些靈長目動物能夠分辨顏色。紅旗在公牛看來是黑色的,馬則生活在一個單色的世界裡。然而,人眼可見的光在整個光譜中只佔一個非常狹窄的頻段。人是看不到紫外線的,儘管螞蟻和蜜蜂可以感覺到。與響尾蛇不同,人也不能直接感受到紅外線。響尾蛇的感覺器可以感受波長超過0.7微米的光線。如果人能感受到紅外線的話,這世界看上去將十分不同,而且恐怖。到那時,將與夜的黑暗相反,我們能輕易地在一個奇異的沒有陰影的世界裡走動。任何物體都強弱不等地閃著光。

  But human eyes excel in other ways. They are in fact remarkably discerning in color gradation. The color sensitivity of normal human vision is rarely surpassed even by sophisticated technical devices.

  然而,人眼在其它方面有優越之處。事實上,人眼對顏色梯度具有非凡的分辨能力。普通人類的視覺感受色彩的靈敏程度,甚至連精密的技術裝備都很難超越。

  3

  Folk Culture

  民間文化

  A folk culture is a small isolated, cohesive, conservative, nearly self-sufficient group that is homogeneous in custom and race with a strong family or clan structure and highly developed rituals.

  民間文化是小型的、孤立的、緊密的、保守的、近乎自給自足的群體,具有同樣的習俗、同樣的人種和強有力的家庭或部族結構以及高度發展的宗教儀式。

  Order is maintained through sanctions based in the religion or family and interpersonal relationships are strong.Tradition is paramount, and change comes infrequently and slowly. There is relatively little division of labor into specialized duties. Rather, each person is expected to perform a great variety of tasks, though duties may differ between the sexes. Most goods are handmade and subsistence economy prevails.

  秩序由宗教或家庭的約束來維持,成員間的關係非常緊密,傳統至高無上,很少有變動且變動緩慢。勞動專業分工相對較少。每個人都要做各類活計,儘管男女兩性分工不同。絕大多數物品是手工製造的,經濟一般為自給自足型。

  Individualism is weakly developed in folk cultures as are social classes. Unaltered folk cultures no longer exist in industrialized countries such as the United States and Canada. Perhaps the nearest modern equivalent in AngloAmerica is the Amish, a German American farming sect that largely renounces the products and labor saving devices of the industrial age. In Amish areas, horse drawn buggies still serve as a local transportation device and the faithful are not permitted to own automobiles. The Amish's central religious concept of Demut "humility", clearly reflects the weakness of individualism and social class so typical of folk cultures and there is acorresponding strength of Amish group identity. Rarely do the Amish marry outside their sect. The religion, a variety of the Mennonite faith, provides the principal mechanism for maintaining orders.

  個人主義和社會階層在民間文化群體中的發展十分薄弱。在象美國和加拿大這樣的工業化國家裡,一成不變的民間文化群體已不復存在了。在當代美洲的英語區,與民間文化最相似的群體也許算是Amish。Amish是美國的德裔農耕部落,他們基本上拒絕接受工業時代的大多數產品和節省勞力的設施。在Amish地區,輕便馬車仍是當地的交通工具,信徒們不允許擁有汽車。Amish宗教中的核心觀念Demut即謙卑典型地反映了在民間文化群中個人主義和階級的不發達。而與此同時,Amish對群體的認同性卻十分強。Amish人很少和他們宗派以外的人通婚。其宗教,作為Mennonite信仰的一種,提供了維護秩序的主要機制。

  By contrast a popular culture is a large heterogeneous group often highly individualistic and constantly changing. Relationships tend to be impersonal and a pronounced division of labor exists, leading to the establishment of many specialized professions. Secular institutions of control such as the police and army take the place of religion and family in maintaining order, and a money-based economy prevails. Because of these contrasts, "popular" may be viewed as clearly different from "folk". The popular is replacing the folk in industrialized countries and in many developing nations. Folk-made objects give way to their popular equivalent, usually because the popular item is more quickly or cheaply produced, is easier or time saving to use or leads more prestige to the owner.

  相反,大眾文化是包含不同種族的大群體,通常高度個性化而且不斷在變化。人際關係冷漠,勞動分工明確,由此產生了許多專門的職業。世俗的控制機構,比如警察和軍隊,取代了宗教和家庭來維持秩序,而且實行的是貨幣經濟。由於存在著這些差異,"大眾的"與"民間的"可謂大相徑庭。在工業化國家以及許多發展中國家裡,大眾文化正在取代民間文化。民間製造的物品正讓位於大眾化產品,這通常是因為大眾化的物品製造起來更快、更便宜,用起來更容易、更方便或者是能給其所有者帶來更多的威望。