第一单元
1 In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, led his
Grand Army into Russia. He was prepared for the fierce resistance of the
Russian people defending their homeland. He was prepared for the long
march across Russian soil to Moscow, the capital city. But he was not
prepared for the devastating enemy that met him in Moscow -- the raw,
bitter, bleak Russian winter.
1812年，法国皇帝拿破仑·波拿巴率大军入侵俄罗斯。他准备好俄罗斯人民会为保卫祖国而奋勇抵抗。他准备好在俄罗斯广袤的国土上要经过长途跋涉才能进军首都莫斯科。但他没有料到在莫斯科他会遭遇劲敌—俄罗斯阴冷凄苦的寒冬。
2 In 1941, Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany, launched an
attack against the Soviet Union, as Russia then was called. Hitler's
military might was unequaled. His war machine had mowed down
resistance in most of Europe. Hitler expected a short campaign but, like
Napoleon before him, was taught a painful lesson. The Russian winter
again came to the aid of the Soviet soldiers.
1941年，纳粹德国元首阿道夫·希特勒进攻当时被称作苏联的俄罗斯。希特勒的军事实力堪称无敌。他的战争机器扫除了欧洲绝大部分地区的抵抗。希特勒希望速战速决，但是，就像在他之前的拿破仑一样，他得到的是痛苦的教训。仍是俄罗斯的冬天助了苏维埃士兵一臂之力。
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第二单元
7 Two of the most frustrating things about driving a car are getting
lost and getting stuck in traffic. While the computer revolution is unlikely
to cure these problems, it will have a positive impact. Sensors in your car
tuned to radio signals from orbiting satellites can locate your car
precisely at any moment and warn of traffic jams. We already have
twenty-four Navstar satellites orbiting the earth, making up what is
called the Global Positioning System. They make it possible to determine
your location on the earth to within about a hundred feet. At any given
time, there are several GPS satellites orbiting overhead at a distance of
about 11,000 miles. Each satellite contains four atomic clocks, which
vibrate at a precise frequency, according to the laws of the quantum
theory.
开车最头疼的两烦是迷路和交通堵塞。虽然计算机革命不可能彻底解决这两个问题，但却会带来积极的影响。你汽车上与绕轨道运行的卫星发出的无线电信号调谐的传感器能随时精确地确定你汽车的方位，并告知交通阻塞情况。我们已经有24颗环绕地球运行的导航卫星，组成了人们所说的全球卫星定位系统。通过这些卫星我们有可能以小于100英尺的误差确定你在地球上的方位。在任何一个特定时间，总有若干颗全球定位系统的卫星在11000英里的高空绕地球运行。每颗卫星都装有4个“原子钟”，它们根据量子理论法则，以精确的频率振动。
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8 As a satellite passes overhead, it sends out a radio signal that
can be detected by a receiver in a car's computer. The car's computer can
then calculate how far the satellite is by measuring how long it took for
the signal to arrive. Since the speed of light is well known, any delay in
receiving the satellite's signal can be converted into a distance.
卫星从高空经过时发出能被汽车上计算机里的接收器辨认的无线电信号。汽车上的计算机就会根据信号传来所花的时间计算出卫星有多远。由于光速为人熟知，接收卫星信号时的任何时间迟缓都能折算出距离的远近。
第三单元
2 When a recent college graduate came into my office not too long
ago looking for a sales job, I asked him what he had done to prepare for
the interview. He said he'd read something about us somewhere.
3 Had he called anyone at Mackay Envelope Corporation to find
out more about us? No. Had he called our suppliers? Our customers? No.
4 Had he checked with his university to see if there were any
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graduates working at Mackay whom he could interview? Had he asked
any friends to grill him in a mock interview? Did he go to the library to
find newspaper clippings on us?
他可曾在就读的大学里查问过有没有校友在本公司就职，以便向他们了解一些情况?他可曾请朋友向他提问，对他进行模拟面试？可曾去图书馆查过有关本公司的剪报？
5 Did he write a letter beforehand to tell us about himself, what
he was doing to prepare for the interview and why he'd be right for the
job? Was he planning to follow up the interview with another letter
indicating his eagerness to join us? Would the letter be in our hands
within 24 hours of the meeting, possibly even hand-delivered?
他事先有没有写封信来介绍自己，告诉我们自己为这次面试在做哪些准备，自己何以能胜任此项工作？面试之后他是否打算再写一封信，表明自己加盟本公司的诚意？这封信会不会在面试后的24小时之内送到我们手上，也许甚至是亲自送来？
6 The answer to every question was the same: no. That left me
with only one other question: How well prepared would this person be if
he were to call on a prospective customer for us? I already knew the
answer.
他对上述每一个问题的回答全都一样：没有。这样我就只剩一个问题要问了：如果此人代表本公司去见可能成为我们客户的人，他准备工作会做得怎样？答案不言自明。
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第五单元
1 For thirty years now I have been studying my fellowmen. I do not
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