New Concept EnglishⅡ.docx

1、New Concept English背诵短文系列（11-20）篇Unit11: Archaeology 考古学Unit12: Museums 博物馆Unit13: Raising Oysters 饲养牡蛎Unit14: A Rare Fossil Record 罕见的化石记录Unit15: The Nobel Academy 诺贝尔委员会Unit16: The War between Britain and France 英法战争Unit17: Evolution of Sleep 睡眠的进化Unit18: Modern American Universities 现代美国大学Unit19:

2、 Children s Numerical Skills 儿童的数学能力Unit20: The History Significance of American Revolution美国革命的历史意义Unit11: ArchaeologyArchaeology is a source of history, not just a humble auxiliary discipline. Archaeological data are historical documents in their own right, not mere illustrations to written texts.

3、 Just as much as any other historian, an archaeologist studies and tries to reconstitute the process that has created the human world in which we live - and us ourselves in so far as we are each creatures of our age and social environment.Archaeological data are all changes in the material world res

4、ulting from human action or, more succinctly, the fossilized results of human behavior. The sum total of these constitutes what may be called the archaeological record. This record exhibits certain peculiarities and deficiencies the consequences of which produce a rather superficial contrast between

5、 archaeological history and the more familiar kind based upon written records.Not all human behavior fossilizes. The words I utter and you hear as vibrations in the air are certainly human changes in the material world and may be of great historical significance. Yet they leave no sort of trace in t

6、he archaeological records unless they are captured by a dictaphone or written down by a clerk.The movement of troops on the battlefield may change the course of history, but this is equally ephemeral from the archaeologists standpoint. What is perhaps worse, most organic materials are perishable. Ev

7、erything made of wood, hide, wool, linen, grass, hair, and similar materials will decay and vanish in dust in a few years or centuries, save under very exceptional conditions. In a relatively brief period the archaeological record is reduced to mere scraps of stone, bone, glass, metal, and earthenwa

8、re. Still modern archaeology, by applying appropriate techniques and comparative methods, aided by a few lucky finds from peat-bogs, deserts, and frozen soils, is able to fill up a good deal of the gap.11考古学考古学是历史学的一个来源，而不是地位卑微的辅助学科。 考古学资料本身也是一种 历史文献，而不仅仅是文字资料的例证。正象任何一位历史学家那样，考古学家研究调查 并尽力去重构一个过程。 这个

9、过程创造了我们生活的人类世界，也创造了我们自身，因为我们都是我们所处的时代和社会环境的产物。 考古学的资料就是人类行为所造成的物质变 化。 更简洁地说，是石化了的人类行为。这些变化的总和构成了我们所说的考古学记录。 这些记录自有其独特和不足之处，因而导致人们对考古历史和更熟悉的文字记载历史进行相当肤浅的对比。并不是所有的人类行为都留下化石。 我说的话，你通过空气振动听见，这 当然是人类造成的物质变化，也可能有重大的历史意义，但这些话在考古学中未留下丝毫痕 迹，除非有人用录音机录下来或文书把这些话写了下来。战场上军队的行动可能改变历史 的进程，但从考古学的观点来看，这同样是难以捕捉的；可能更糟的

10、是，多数有机物质会 腐烂。任何由木头、生皮、绒线、亚麻、草、毛发以及相似物质做成的东西除非在一些非 常特殊的条件下，几年或几个世纪以后，会在尘土中腐烂并消失。在短时期内，能留下考 古记录的东西也都会退化为石头、骨头、玻璃、金属和陶器的碎片。 然而，现代考古学通过运用适当的技术和比较的方法，在从泥炭、沙漠和冻土中所获得的一些幸运发现的辅助下， 能够填充这个空缺的很大部分。Unit12: MuseumsFrom Boston to Los Angeles, from New York City to Chicago to Dallas, museums are either planning, b

11、uilding, or wrapping up wholesale expansion programs. These programs already have radically altered facades and floor plans or are expected to do so in the not-too-distant future. In New York City alone, six major institutions have spread up and out into the air space and neighborhoods around them o

12、r are preparing to do so. The reasons for this confluence of activity are complex, but one factor is a consideration everywhere - space. With collections expanding, with the needs and functions of museums changing, empty space has become a very precious commodity. Probably nowhere in the country is

13、this more true than at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which has needed additional space for decades and which received its last significant face lift ten years ago. Because of the space crunch, the Art Museum has become increasingly cautious in considering acquisitions and donations of art, in some

14、 cases passing up opportunities to strengthen its collections. Deaccessing - or selling off - works of art has taken on new importance because of the museums space problems. And increasingly, curators have been forced to juggle gallery space, rotating one masterpiece into public view while another i

15、s sent to storage. Despite the clear need for additional gallery and storage space, however, the museum has no plan, no plan to break out of its envelope in the next fifteen years, according to Philadelphia Museum of Arts president.12博物馆从波士顿到洛杉机，从纽约到芝加哥、到达拉斯，所有的博物馆或者正在筹划、建造或者正在完成大规模的扩建计划。 这些计划或者已经根本

16、性地改变了博物馆门面与展厅的设 计，或者预期在不久的将来会这样做。单单在纽约市，六个主要机构或者已经向空中和周 围扩展，或者正准备这样做。大家一致行动的原因是复杂多样的，但其中的一个因素是普遍 考虑的空间问题。随着收藏品的增多，也随着博物馆的需要和功能的变化，空间已经变成 了一项非常珍贵的商品。在我国，也许没有任何其他地方比费城艺术博物馆更符合这个事实。这个博物馆几十年来一直需要额外的空间，十年前进行了最后一次重大的翻新。 由于空间 紧缺，该艺术博物馆在考虑购买与受赠艺术品已越来越谨慎，有时甚至放弃增强艺术收藏的 机会。由于博物馆的空间问题，将艺术品脱手或者说卖掉已经有了新的重要意义。 博物馆

17、将从伟大或近乎伟大荣升为不朽。但在今天，该委员会却遭到了评选委员会内外的猛烈 批评。 批评者们争论说：评选获奖者时，起作用更大的不是真实的写作能力，而是该委员会以及瑞典特有的内部政治。 按照瑞典两家主要报纸之一的文化版编辑 Ingmar Bjorksten 的说法，该文学奖仍然是人们所说的一种非常瑞典式的做为：反映瑞典口味。对于其评选 过程中目光短浅的指责，该委员会辩护说，该委员会与世界几大文学之都相距遥远，实际上 使该委员会免受外来的干扰。这也许是对的，但批评者们反驳说，也正因为相距如此遥远， 该委员会才不能准确地把握文学界的真正趋势。尽管对评选程序存在着关注，该文学奖将继续作为世人最为推崇

18、的文学的标志而存在，并将继续是作家们难以达到却又会不断追逐的目 标。如果不考虑其他因素，而仅仅考虑与之俱来的经济利益，该奖也将继续为人所渴求：这不仅因为该奖本身就是一笔可观的现金收入，而且该奖还将极大地增加一个作家的著作的 销量。Unit13: Raising Oysters In the past oysters were raised in much the same way asdirtfarmers raised tomatoes- bytransplanting them. First, farmers selected the oyster bed, cleared the bot

19、tom of old shells and other debris, then scattered clean shells about. Next, they ”planted” fertilized oyster eggs, which within two or three weekshatchedintolarvae. The larvae drifted until they attached themselves to the clean shells on the bottom. There they remained and in time grew into baby oy

20、sters called seed or spat. The spat grew larger by drawing in seawater from which they derived microscopicparticlesof food. Before long, farmers gathered the baby oysters, transplanted them into other waters to speed up their growth, then transplanted them once more into another body of water to fat

21、ten them up. Until recently the supply of wild oysters and those crudely farmed were more than enough to satisfy peoples needs. But today thedelectableseafood is no longer available in abundance. The problem has become so serious that some oyster beds have vanished entirely. Fortunately, as far back

22、 as the early 1900s marine biologists realized that if new measures were not taken, oysters would become extinct or at best a luxury food. So they set up well-equipped hatcheries and went to work. But they did not have the proper equipment or the skill to handle the eggs. They did not know when, wha

23、t, and how to feed the larvae. And they knew little about thepredatorsthat attack and eat baby oysters by the millions. They failed, but theydoggedlykept at it. Finally, in the 1940s a significant breakthrough was made. The marine biologists discovered that by raising the temperature of the water, t

24、hey could induce oysters tospawnnot only in the summer but also in the fall, winter, and spring. Later they developed a technique for feeding the larvae and rearing them to spat. Going still further, they succeeded in breeding new strains that were resistant to diseases, grew faster and larger, and

25、flourished in water of differentsalinitiesand temperatures. In addition, the cultivated oysters tasted better! 13 饲养牡蛎 过去人们饲养牡蛎的方式很大程度上类似于田地里的农夫种植蕃茄通过移植来饲养它们。首先，农夫选好牡蛎苗床，清除底部的旧壳和其它杂物，然后四处撒播干净的壳。接着，他们“栽种”已受精的牡蛎卵。这些卵在2-3周内会孵化成幼贝。幼贝一直漂流直到粘在苗床底部干净的壳上为止。它们会呆在那儿并逐渐长成小牡蛎。我们称之为种子或贝苗。贝苗吸进海水中的微小生物作为食物从而越长越大。不

26、久之后，农夫将这些小牡蛎收集起来，把它们移种进其他的水域加快其生长，然后再次将它们移种进另外的水域以使其肥壮起来。直到最近，野生的以及人工饲养的牡蛎完全能够满足人们的需要。但是今天这种可口的海味已不再大量存在。这个问题已经变得如此严重以至于一些牡蛎苗床已完全消失。幸运的是，早在20世纪初期海洋生物学家们就意识到如果不采取新的措施，牡蛎将会灭绝或至少会变为一种奢侈的食品。因此他们建造了装备良好的孵卵场所并开始工作。但是他们尚没有适当的装置或技术来处理牡蛎卵。他们不知道何时、用什么以及如何喂养幼贝。他们对捕食数百万幼小牡蛎的动物天敌也所知无几。他们失败了，但他们顽强地坚持了下来。终于，在20世纪4

27、0年代，一个重要的突破性的进展产生了。海洋生物学家发现，升高水温能够诱导牡蛎不仅在夏季也在秋季、冬季和春季里产卵。后来他们发展了一项技术来喂养幼贝至其长成贝苗。他们进一步成功地培养出了新的品种，可以抵抗疾病、长得更快、更大并且在不同的盐度和温度的水中都能茁壮生长。此外，这些培殖出的牡蛎口感更佳！ Unit14: A Rare Fossil RecordThe preservation of embryos and juveniles is a rate occurrence in the fossil record. The tiny, delicate skeletons are usual

28、ly scattered by scavengers or destroyed by weathering before they can be fossilized. Ichthyosaurs had a higher chance of being preserved than did terrestrial creatures because, as marine animals, they tended to live in environments less subject to erosion. Still, their fossilization required a suite

29、 of factors: a slow rate of decay of soft tissues, little scavenging by other animals, a lack of swift currents and waves to jumble and carry away small bones, and fairly rapid burial. Given these factors, some areas have become a treasury of well-preserved ichthyosaur fossils. The deposits at Holzm

30、aden, Germany, present an interesting case for analysis. The ichthyosaur remains are found in black, bituminous marine shales deposited about 190 million years ago. Over the years, thousands of specimens of marine reptiles, fish and invertebrates have been recovered from these rocks. The quality of

31、preservation is outstanding, but what is even more impressive is the number of ichthyosaur fossils containing preserved embryos. Ichthyosaurs with embryos have been reported from 6 different levels of the shale in a small area around Holzmaden, suggesting that a specific site was used by large numbe

32、rs of ichthyosaurs repeatedly over time. The embryos are quite advanced in their physical development; their paddles, for example, are already well formed. One specimen is even preserved in the birth canal. In addition, the shale contains the remains of many newborns that are between 20 and 30 inches long. Why are there so many pregnant females and young at Holzmaden when they are so rare elsewhere The quality of preservation is almost unmatched and quarry operations have been carried out carefully with an awareness of the value of the fossils.