新世纪大学英语第四册课文和翻译.docx

新世纪大学英语第四册课文和翻译.docx

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新世纪大学英语第四册课文和翻译

UnitOneTextAManintheRealmofNature

AlexanderSpirkin

Humanbeingsliveintherealmofnature.Theyareconstantlysurroundedbyitandinteractwithit.Manisconstantlyawareoftheinfluenceofnatureintheformoftheairhebreathes,thewaterhedrinks,andthefoodheeats.Weareconnectedwithnatureby"blood"tiesandwecannotliveoutsidenature.

Manisnotonlyadwellerinnature,healsotransformsit.Humanityconvertsnature'swealthintothemeansofthecultural,historicallifeofsociety.Manhassubduedanddisciplinedelectricityandcompelledittoservetheinterestsofsociety.Notonlyhasmantransferredvariousspeciesofplantsandanimalstodifferentclimaticconditions,hehasalsochangedtheshapeandclimateofhisenvironmentandtransformedplantsandanimals.

Associetydevelops,mantendstobecomelessdependentonnaturedirectly,whileindirectlyhisdependencegrows.Ourdistantancestorslivedinfearofnature'sdestructiveforces.Veryoftentheywereunabletoobtainthemerestdailynecessities.However,despitetheirimperfecttools,theyworkedtogetherstubbornly,collectively,andwereabletoattainresults.Naturewasalsochangedthroughinteractionwithman.Forestsweredestroyedandtheareaoffarmlandincreased.Naturewithitselementalforceswasregardedassomethinghostiletoman.Theforest,forexample,wassomethingwildandfrighteningandpeopletriedtoforceittoretreat.Thiswasalldoneinthenameofcivilisation,whichmeanttheplaceswheremanhadmadehishome,wheretheearthwascultivated,wheretheforesthadbeencutdown.

Butastimegoesonmankindbecomesincreasinglyconcernedwiththequestionofwhereandhowtoobtainirreplaceablenaturalresourcesfortheneedsofproduction.Scienceandman'spracticaltransformingactivitieshavemadehumanityawareoftheenormousgeologicalroleplayedbytheindustrialtransformationoftheearth.

Atpresentthepreviousdynamicbalancebetweenmanandnatureandbetweennatureandsocietyasawhole,hasshownominoussignsofbreakingdown.Theproblemoftheso-calledreplaceableresourcesofthebiospherehasbecomeparticularlyacute.Itisgettingmoreandmoredifficulttosatisfytheneedsofhumanbeingsandsocietyevenforsuchasubstance,forexample,asfreshwater.Theproblemofeliminatingindustrialwasteisalsobecomingincreasinglycomplex.

Moderntechnologyisdistinguishedbyaneverincreasingabundanceofproducedandusedsyntheticgoods.Hundredsofthousandsofsyntheticmaterialsarebeingmade.Peopleincreasinglycovertheirbodiesfromheadtofootinnylonandothersynthetic,glitteringfabricsthatareobviouslynotgoodforthem.Youngpeoplemayhardlyfeelthis,andtheypaymoreattentiontoappearancethantohealth.Buttheybecomemoreawareofthisharmfulinfluenceastheygrowolder.

Astimegoesonthesyntheticoutputofproductionturnsintowaste,andthensubstancesthatintheiroriginalformwerenotverytoxicaretransformedinthecycleofnaturalprocessesintoaggressiveagents.Todaybothnaturalscientistsandphilosophersareaskingthemselvesthequestion:

Isman'sdestructionofthebiosphereinevitable?

Theman-naturerelation–thecrisisoftheecologicalsituation–isaglobalproblem.ItssolutionliesinrationalandwiseorganizationofbothproductionitselfandcareforMotherNature,notjustbyindividuals,enterprisesorcountries,butbyallhumanity.Oneofthewaystodealwiththecrisissituationinthe"man-nature"systemistousesuchresourcesassolarenergy,thepowerofwinds,therichesoftheseasandoceansandother,asyetunknownnaturalforcesoftheuniverse.

Buttoreturntoourtheme,thebittertruthisthatthosehumanactionswhichviolatethelawsofnature,theharmonyofthebiosphere,threatentobringdisasterandthisdisastermayturnouttobeuniversal.HowaptthenarethewordsofancientOrientalwisdom:

liveclosertonature,myfriends,anditseternallawswillprotectyou!

人在自然界|亚历山大·斯伯金

人类生活在大自然的王国里。

他们时刻被大自然所包围并与之相互影响。

人类呼吸的空气、喝下的水和摄入的食物，无一不令人类时刻感知到大自然的影响。

我们与大自然血肉相连，离开大自然，我们将无法生存。

2人类不仅生活在大自然之中，同时也在改变着大自然。

人类把自然资源转变为各种文化，社会历史的财富。

人类降服并控制了电，迫使它为人类社会的利益服务。

人类不仅把各种各样的动植物转移到不同的气候环境，也改变了他生活环境的地貌和气候并使动植物因之而发生转变。

 3随着社会的发展，人类对大自然的直接依赖越来越少，而间接的依赖却越来越多。

我们远古的祖先生活在大自然的威胁及破坏力的恐惧之中，他们常常连基本的生活物资都无法获取。

然而，尽管工具不甚完备，他们却能同心协力，顽强工作，并总是有所收获。

在与人类的相互作用中，大自然也发生了改变。

森林被破坏了，耕地面积增加了。

大自然及其威力被看成是和人类敌对的东西。

譬如，森林被认为是野性的和令人恐惧的，因此人类便想方设法使其面积缩小。

这一切都是打着“文明”的旗号进行的，所谓“文明”，就是人类在哪里建立家园，耕耘土地，哪里的森林就被砍伐。

 4然而，随着岁月的流逝，人类越来越关注的是在何处得到和如何得到生产所需的不可替代的自然资源的问题。

科学与人类改变大自然的实践活动已经使人类意识到了工业在改变地球的进程中对地质产生的重大影响。

 5目前，人与自然以及自然与社会整体之间过去存在的动态平衡，已呈现崩溃的迹象。

生物圈中所谓可替代资源的问题变得极为尖锐。

人类和社会的需求，即便是简单得像淡水一样的物质，也变得越来越难以满足。

清除工业废物的问题也变得日益复杂。

 6现代技术的特征是生产和使用日益丰富的人工合成产品。

人们生产成千上万的人工合成材料。

人们越来越多地用尼龙和其他人造纤维把自己从头到脚地包裹起来，这些绚丽的织物显然对他们无益。

年轻人或许很少注意到这一点，他们更关注的是外表，而不是健康。

但是上了年岁之后，他们就会感受到这种有害的影响。

7久而久之，这些合成物质转变成废弃物，那些原本毒性不大的物质在自然循环中变为极其有害的物质。

自然科学家和哲学家如今都在问自己这样一个问题：

人类对生物圈的破坏难道是无法避免的吗？

 8人与大自然的关系——生态环境的危机——已经成为一个全球性问题。

这一问题的解决之道在于理性而明智地协调生产和对大自然的关爱之间的关系，这不仅要依靠个人、企业或者某些国家的力量，而且要依靠全人类的力量。

解决人与大自然关系危机的方法之一，就是使用太阳能、风能、海洋能等资源，以及其他尚不为人所知的宇宙中的自然能。

 9但是，回到我们原先的主题上，令人难以接受的事实是那些违背了自然规律、破坏了生物圈和谐的人类行为将会带来灾难，而这种灾难也许是全球性的。

古代东方智者的话讲得真是恰如其分：

朋友们，你要是亲近大自然，大自然就会用那永恒不变的规律永远呵护你！

UnitTwoTextATechnologyandHappiness

JamesSurowiecki

Inthe20thcentury,Americans,Europeans,andEastAsiansenjoyedmaterialandtechnologicaladvancesthatwereunimaginableinpreviouseras.IntheUnitedStates,forinstance,grossdomesticproductpercapita tripledfrom1950to2000.Lifeexpectancy soared.TheboominproductivityafterWorldWarIImadegoodsbetterandcheaperatthesametime.Thingsthatwereonceluxuries,suchasjettravelandlong-distancephonecalls,becamenecessities.AndeventhoughAmericansseemedtoworkextraordinarilyhard,theirpursuitofentertainmentturnedmediaandleisureintomultibillion-dollarindustries.

Bymoststandards,then,youwouldhavetosaythatAmericansarebetteroffnowthantheywereinthemiddleofthelastcentury.Oddly,though,ifyouaskAmericanshowhappytheyare,youfindthattheyarenohappierthantheywerein1946（whichiswhenformal surveysofhappinessstarted）.Infact,thepercentageofpeoplewhosaytheyare"veryhappy"hasfallenslightlysincetheearly1970s–eventhoughtheincomeofpeoplebornin1940has,onaverage,increasedby116percentoverthecourseoftheirworkinglives.Youcanfindsimilardataformostdevelopedcountries.

TherelationshipbetweenhappinessandtechnologyhasbeenaneternalsubjectforsocialcriticsandphilosopherssincetheadventoftheIndustrialRevolution.Butit'sbeenleftlargelyunexaminedbyeconomistsandsocialscientists.Thetrulygroundbreakingworkontherelationshipbetweenprosperityandwell-beingwasdonebytheeconomistRichardEasterlin,whoin1974wroteafamouspaperentitled"DoesEconomicGrowthImprovetheHumanLot?

"Easterlinshowedthatwhenitcametodevelopedcountries,therewasnorealcorrelationbetweenanation'sincomelevelanditscitizens'happiness.Money,Easterlinargued,couldnotbuyhappiness–atleastnotafteracertainpoint.Easterlinshowedthatthoughpovertywasstronglycorrelatedwithmisery,onceacountrywassolidlymiddle-class,gettingwealthierdidnotseemtomakeitscitizensanyhappier.

Thisseemstobeclosetoauniversalphenomenon.Infact,oneofhappinessscholars'mostimportantinsightsisthatpeopleadaptveryquicklytogoodnews.Takelotterywinnersforexample.Onefamousstudyshowedthatalthoughwinnerswerevery,veryhappywhentheywon,theirextremeexcitementquicklyevaporated,andafterawhiletheirmoodsandsenseofwell-beingwereindistinguishablefromwhattheyhadbeenbeforethevictory.

So,too,withtechnology:

nomatterhowdramaticanewinnovationis,nomatterhowmucheasieritmakesourlives,itisveryeasytotakeitforgranted.Youcanseethisprincipleatworkintheworldoftechnologyeveryday,asthingsthatonceseemedmiraculoussoonbecomecommonand,worse,frustratingwhentheydon'tworkperfectly.It'shard,itturnsout,tokeepinmindwhatthingswerelikebeforethenewtechnologycamealong.

Doesourfastassimilationoftechnologicalprogressmean,then,thattechnologymakesnodifference?

No.Itjustmakesthequestionoftechnology'simpact,forgoodorill,morecomplicated.Let'sstartwiththedownside.Therearecertainwaysinwhichtechnologymakeslifeobviouslyworse.Telemarketing,trafficjams,andidentitytheftallcometomind.Theseareallphenomenathatmakepeopleconsciouslyunhappy.Butforthemostpart,moderncritiquesoftechnologyhavefocusednotsomuchonspecific,badtechnologiesastheimpactoftechnologyonourhumanrelationships.

Privacyhasbecomeincreasinglyfragileinaworldoflinkeddatabases.Inmanyworkplaces,technologieslikekeystroke monitoringandfullrecordingsofphonecallsmakeiteasiertowatchworkers.Thenotionthattechnologydisruptsrelationshipsandfracturescommunitygainedmainstream prominenceasanattackontelevision.SomeevensaythatTVischieflyresponsibleforthegradualisolationofAmericansfromeachother.Similarly,theharmfuleffectsoftheInternet,whichsupposedlyfurtherisolatespeoplefromwhatisoftencalled"therealworld".

Thisbroadcriticismoftechnology'simpactonrelationshipsisaninterestingoneandisespeciallyrelevanttothequestionofhappiness,becauseoneofthefewthingswecansayforcertainisthatthemorefriendsandthecloserrelationshipspeoplehave,thehappiertheytendtobe.

Today,technologicalchangeissorapidthatwhenyoubuysomething,youdosokn