新视野大学英语第二册读写教程课文翻译
Unit 1 Text A An impressive Engli lsesson
标题: 一堂难忘的英语课
1. 如果我是唯一一个还在纠正小孩英语的家长,那么我儿子也许是对的。对他
而言,我是一个乏味的怪物:一个他不得不听其教诲的父亲,一个还沉湎于语
法规则的人,对此我儿子似乎颇为反感。
2. 我觉得我是在最近偶遇我以前的一位学生时,才开始对这个问题认真起来
的。这个学生刚从欧洲旅游回来。我满怀着诚挚期待问她:“欧洲之行如何?” 
3.
她点了三四下头,绞尽脑汁,苦苦寻恰当的词语,然后惊呼:“真是,哇!” 
4. 没了。所有希腊文明和罗马建筑的辉煌居然囊括于一个浓缩的、不完整的语
句之中!我的学生以“哇!”来表示她的惊叹,我只能以摇头表达比之更强
烈的忧虑。
5. 关于正确使用英语能力下降的问题,有许多不同的故事。学生的确本应该能
够区分诸如their/there/they're 之间的不同,或区别complimentary 跟complementary
之间显而易见的差异。由于这些知识缺陷,他们承受着大部分不该承受的批评
和指责,因为舆论认为他们应该学得更好。
6. 学生并不笨,他们只是被周围所看到和听到的语言误导了。举例来说,杂货
店的指示牌会把他们引向
stationary(静止处),虽然便笺本、相册、和笔记本等真正的
stationery(文具用品)并没有被钉在那儿。朋友和亲人常宣
称They've just ate。实际上,他们应该说They've just eaten。因此,批评学生不合乎清理。
7. 对这种缺乏语言功底而引起的负面指责应归咎于我们的学校。学校应对英语
熟练程度制定出更高的标准。可相反,学校只教零星的语法,高级词汇更是少
之又少。还有就是,学校的年轻教师显然缺乏这些重要的语言结构方面的知识
,因为他们过去也没接触过。学校有责任教会年轻人进行有效的语言沟通,可
他们并没把语言的基本框架一一准确的语法和恰当的词汇一一充分地传授给学
生。
8. 因为语法对大多数年轻学生而言枯燥且乏味,所以我觉得讲授语法得一步一
步、注重技巧地进行。有一天机会来了。我跟儿子开车外出。我们出发时,
他看到一只小鸟飞得很不稳,就说:“它飞的不稳。"(It's flying so unsteady.)我小心翼翼地问:“儿子,鸟怎么飞?”“有问题吗?我说得不对吗?(
Did I say anything incorrectly?)”他一头雾水。“太好了,你说的是 incorrectly 而不是incorrect。我们用副词来描述动词。所以,要用unsteadily 来描述鸟飞,而不是 unsteady。” 
9. 他对我的纠正很好奇,就问我什么是副词。我慢慢解释道:“副词是用来修
饰动词的词。”这又导致了他询问我什么是动词。我解释说:“动词是表示行为
的词,例如:爸爸开卡车。‘开’是动词,因为它是爸爸在做的事。” 
10. 他开始对表示行为的词产生兴趣,所以我们又罗列了几个动词:“飞行”、
“游泳”、“跳水”、“跑步”。然后,他又好奇地问我,其他的词有没有说明它们
的用法和功能的名称。这就引发了我们对名词、形容词和冠词的讨论。在短短
十分钟的驾驶时间内,他从对语法一无所知到学会了句子中主要词语的词性。
这是一次毫无痛苦而又非常有趣的学习经历。
11.
也许,语言应该被看成是一张路线图和一件珍品:我们要常常查看路线图(核
对语法)和调整汽车的引擎(调节词汇)。学好语法和掌握大量的词汇就好
比拿着路线图在车况良好的车里驾驶。
12.
路线图为你的旅行提供所需的基本路线和路途指南,可是它不会告诉你一路上
你究竟会看见什么树或什么花,你会遇见什么样的人,或会有什么样的感
受。这里,词汇会使你的旅途变得五彩缤纷、栩栩如生。大量的词汇让你享受
到开车途中所见的点点滴滴。借助语法和丰富的词汇,你就有了灵活性,掌控
自如。路线图会把你带到目的地,而一台好车却能让你完全陶醉于旅途
的所有景、声音及经历之中。
13.
对学生来说,有效、准确且富有成效的沟通技能取决于语法和词汇这两大有利
条件,可是学校并没有教他们这些。
14. 就在今天早上,我跟儿子吃早饭时,我想把牛奶加入我的茶里。“爸爸,”
他说,“如果我是你的话,我不会这样做。牛奶会变酸。(If I were you, I wouldn't do that. It's sour.)
15.
“哦,上帝!”我满怀着无比的骄傲说道,“这是一个语法完全正确的句子。你用
了 were 而不是 was。” 
16. “我知道,我知道,”他愉悦地舒了口气,“这是虚拟语气!” 
17. 这下轮到我“哇!”了。
Unit 2 Section A The humanities: Out of date?
人文学科:过时了吗?
1 When the going gets tough, the tough take accounting. When the job market worsens, many students calculate they can't major in English or history. They have to study something that boosts their prospects of landing a job.
1 当形势变得困难时,强者会去选学会计。
当就业市场恶化时,许多学生估算着他们不能
再主修英语或历史。他们得学一些能改善他们就业前景的东西。
2 The data show that as students have increasingly shouldered the ever-rising cost of tuition, they have defected from the study of the humanities and toward applied science and "hard" skills that they bet will lead to employment. In other words, a college education is more and more seen as a means for economic betterment rather than a means for human betterment. This is a trend that is likely to persist and even accelerate.
2
数据显示,随着学生肩负的学费不断增加,他们已从学习人文学科转向他们相
信有益于将来就业的应用科学和“硬”技能。汽车驾驶教程
换言之,大学教育越来越被看成是改善经济而不是提升人类自身的手段。
这种趋势可能会持续,甚至有加快之势。
3 Over the next few years, as labor markets struggle, the humanities will probably continue their long slide in succession. T here already has been a nearly 50 percent decline in the portion of liberal arts majors over the past generation, and it is logical to think that the trend is bound to continue or even accelerate. Once the dominant pillars
of university life, the humanities now play little roles when students take their college tours. These days, labs are more vivid and compelling than libraries.
3
在未来几年内,由于劳动力市场的不景气,人文学科可能会继续其长期低迷的
态势。在上一代大学生中,主修文科的学生数跌幅已近
50%。这种趋势会持续、甚至加速的想法是合情合理的。
人文学科曾是大学生活的重要支柱,而今在学生们的大学游中却只是一个小
点缀。现在,实验室要比图书馆更栩栩如生、受人青睐。
4 Here, please allow me to stand up for and promote the true value that the humanities add to people's lives. Since ancient times, people have speculated about the mystery of those inner forces that drive some people to greatness and others to self-destruction. This inner drive has been called many things over the centuries. The famous psychologist, Sigmund Freud, called it the "unconscious mind" or, more familiarly, "instinct".
4
在这儿,请允许我为人文学科给人们的生活所增添的真实价值进行支持和宣传。
自古以
来,人们一直在思索人类自身具有什么神奇的内力使一些人变得崇高伟大,而
使另一些人走向自我毁灭。几个世纪以来,这股内力被称作很多东西。
著名的心理学家西格蒙德·弗洛伊德称之为“潜意识”,或更为人熟知的“本能”。
5 From the beginning of time, this inner aspect of our being, this drive that can be constructive or destructive, has captured our imagination. The stories of this amazing struggle have formed the basis
of cultures the world over. Historians, architects, authors, philosophers and artists have captured the words, images and meanings of this inner struggle in the form of story, music, myth, painting, architecture, sculpture, landscape and traditions. These men and women developed artistic "languages" that help us understand these aspirations and also educate generations. This fertile body of work from ancient times, the very foundation of civilization, forms the basis of study of the humanities.
5
从一开始,人类这股可以是建设性也可以是毁灭性的内在驱动力,就令我们心
驰神往。这些惊人的、充满内心挣扎的故事形成了世界文化的基础。
历史学家、建筑师、作家、哲学
家和艺术家们以故事、音乐、神话、绘画、建筑、雕刻、风景画和传统的形式
,捕捉到了这些撞击心灵的文字、形象及内涵。
这些男男女女创造出了具有艺术性的“语言”,帮助我们了
解人类的这些强烈愿望,并用以教育一代又一代人。
从古时起开始的这些充满想象的大量
作品,正是文明的底蕴,它奠定了人文研究的基础。
6 Studying the humanities improves our ability to read and write. No matter what we do in life, we will have a huge advantage if we can read complex ideas and understand their meaning. We will have a bright career if we are the person in the office who can write a clear and elegant analysis of those ideas!
6 学习人文学科会提高我们的阅读和写作能力。
无论我们这一生中从事什么职业,如果我
们能读懂复杂的思想并理解它们的内涵,我们都会受益匪浅。
如果我们是在办公室里能对
这些思想写出既明确又简洁的分析的人,我们会有光明的职业前景。
7 Studying the humanities makes us familiar with the language of emotion and the creative process. In an information economy, many people have the ability to produce a useful product such as a new MP3 player. Yet, very few people have the ability to create a spectacular brand: the iPod. Most importantly, studying the humanities invests us with great insight and self-awareness, t hereby releasing our creative energy and talent in a positive and constructive manner.
7 学习人文学科会让我们熟悉表达情感的语言及进行创造的过程。
在信息经济中,很多人都有能力创造出一个如新的MP3
播放器那样的有用产品。然而,仅有很少的人具有能力创造出一个如iPod
那样的精彩品牌。最重要的是,学习人文学科使我们具有伟大的洞察力和
自我意识,从而以积极和建设性的方式来发挥我们的创造力和才艺。
8 Perhaps the best argument in favor of the humanities is the scope of possibilities that are widely open to us. Did you know that James Cameron, world-famous director of the movie, Titanic, graduated with a degree in the humanities? So did Sally Ride, the first woman in space. So did actors Bruce Lee, Gwyneth Paltrow, Renee Zellweger and Matt Damon. Dr. Harold Varmus, who won a Nobel Prize for M
edicine, studied the humanities. Even Michael Eisner, Chairman of the Disney Company, majored in the humanities. Famous people who studied the humanities make a long list indeed. It's easy to see that the humanities can prepare us for many different careers and jobs we can undertake, whether medicine, business, science or entertainment. If we study only mathematics, it's likely we will be a candidate only for jobs as a mathematician. If we include studying the humanities, we can make breakthroughs on many barriers and are limited only by our effort and imagination.
8 也许,支持人文学科的最好论点是,人文学科为我们提供了广阔的机会。
你知道世界闻
名的电影《泰坦尼克号》的导演詹姆斯·卡梅隆拿的是人文学科的学位吗?第一
个登上太空的女宇航员萨利·赖德拿的也是人文学科的学位。
还有电影演员李小龙、格温妮丝·帕特洛、蕾妮·齐薇格及马特·达蒙,也都如此。
获诺贝尔医学奖的哈罗德·瓦慕斯博士也学过人文学科。
甚至迪士尼公司的总裁迈克尔·艾斯纳也主修人文学科。
学习人文学科的有名人士确实可以列出一长串。
显而易见,人文学能为我们从事许多不同的职业做准备,不管是医学、
商务、科学或娱乐。
如果我们仅学习数学,我们很可能只能申请数学家之类的工作。如果
我们还学了人文学科,那我们就能突破许多障碍,只要我们愿意付出努力,敢
于想象。
9 Of course, nowadays, if we study the humanities alone, we are liable to miss many opportunities. Each one of us needs to become as technically and professionally skilled as possible to help meet the needs of modern life. In fact, increasingly a pairing of technical knowledge and inner insight is seen as the ideal in the establishment of a career. If I were the Dean of Admissions at a medical school and two people applied to our school, both having the required basic scientific courses, one a philosophy major
and the other solely a pre-med student, the philosophy applicant would be chosen.
9 当然,在当下,如果我们单学人文学科,可能会失去很多机会。
我们每个人都需要尽可能变得技能化、职业化,以满足现代生活的需要。
事实上,技术知识和内在洞察力的结合
越来越被看成是建立职业生涯的理想搭配。
如果我是某个医学院的招生部主任,有两个人
同时申请我们学校,这两个人都学过基础的科学课程,一个主修哲学,另一个
仅是医学院的预科生,我会选择那位哲学专业的申请者。
10 In summary, the humanities help to create well-rounded human beings with insight and understanding of the passions, hopes and dreams common to all humanity. The humanities, the ancient timeless reservoir of knowledge, teach us to see things differently and broaden our horizons. They are as useful and relevant in our modern
age as they have always been. Doesn't it make sense to spend some time in the company of the huma
nities, our outstanding and remarkable treasure of knowledge? Who knows how famous YOU might become!
10
总之,人文学科帮助造就全面发展的人,这些人具有洞察力,并理解全人类共
有的激情、希望和理想。
人文学科,这个古老、永恒的知识储蓄库,教我们如何以不同的方式看待事
物,同时也拓宽我们的视野。
在现代社会中,人文学科一如既往地同生活息息相关,也发挥着重要作用。
我们在学习中花一些时间与人文学科——我们杰出、非凡的知识宝藏——
相伴,这难道不是明智的吗?谁知道你将来会变得多有名气呢!