最新大學英語綜合教程第二冊第二六單元原文及翻譯.doc

A LEFT FULL OF RICHES1. It was early December 2003, my first season as a Salvation Army bell ringer, when I was confronted with the question. I was standing just outside the doorway of a Wal-Mart, offering a thank you and a smile to each person who dropped a donation into my red kettle. A neatly dressed woman and her young son walked up to the kettle stand. While she searched her purse for some cash, the boy looked up at me. I can still see the confusion and curiosity in his eyes as he asked, Are you poor?2. Well, I stammered, trying to think, I have more than some people, but not as much as others. His mother scolded him for the social no-no, and they hurried off to do their shopping. His question, however, did not leave me.3. Ive never thought of myself as poor, but I cant deny certain facts. Every time I fill out my 1040 form, I fall into one of the lowest income brackets. In the past 35 years, Ive taken just one vacation trip. My TV is a black-and-white set that someone gave me eight years ago.4. Yet I feel nothing more than a passing whim to attain the material things so many other people have. My 1999 car shows the wear and tear of 105,000 miles. But it is still dependable. My apartment is modest, but quiet and relaxing. My clothes are well suited to my work, which is primarily outdoors. My minimal computer needs can be met at the library.5. In spite of what I dont have, I dont feel poor. Why? Ive enjoyed exceptionally good health for 53 years. Its not just that Ive been illness-free, its that I feel vigorous and spirited. Exercising is actually fun for me. I look forward to long, energizing walks. And I love the can do attitude that follows.6. I also cherish the gift of creativity. When I write a beautiful line of poetry, or fabricate a joke that tickles someone, I feel rich inside. Im continually surprised at the insights that come through my writing process. And talking with so many interesting writer friends is one of my main sources of enjoyment.7. But there is one vital area of my life where I am not so well off. In a society that spends so much emotional energy on the pursuit of possessions, I feel out of place.8. When I was younger, there was an exceptionally interesting person I dated. What was most important to her, she told me, was whats on the inside. I thought I had found someone special to share my life with. Then I took her to see my apartment. At the time, I lived in a basement efficiency with a few pieces of dated furniture. The only new, comfortable chair was the one at my desk. Shortly after her visit, our relationship went straight south.9. The seemingly abrupt change in her priorities was jolting. It remains a most memorable turning point in my personal journey.10. In contrast to relationships, stuff just doesnt mean that much to me. I think most people feel the same wayexcept when there are social consequences to not having particular items. There is a commercial on the radio that begins, Everybody wants a high-end TV The pressure to purchase is real. It may be true that everybody wants a high-end TV. After all, nobody wants to be a nobody.11. But Im happy to live without one. In fact, not being focused on material goods feels quite natural to me. There are many people throughout the world who would consider my lifestyle to be affluent.12. Near the end of the year, when I put on the Salvation Armys red apron, something changes inside me. Instead of feeling out of place economically, I begin to feel a genuine sense of belonging. As I ring my bell, people stop to share their personal stories of how much it meant to be helped when they were going through a rough time. People helping people is something I feel deeply connected to. While Im ringing the bell, complete strangers have brought me hot chocolate, leaving me with a lingering smile. Countless individuals have helped to keep me warm with the sentiments of the season: Thank you for ringing on such a cold day. Can I get you a cup of coffee? Bless you for your good work. December is the time of year I feel wealthiest.13. Over the past four years, Ive grown to understand more about myself because of a single question from a curious child. As Ive examined what it means to be poor, it has become clear to me what I am most thankful for: both my tangible and my intangible good fortune.富足的一生 卡爾格林 1. 首次面對這個問題，是在2003年12月初，我第一次為救世軍搖鈴募捐的時候。當時我就站在沃爾瑪商場入口處門外，對每一位向我的紅壺里投入捐款的人都報以一聲“謝謝”和一個微笑。一位穿著整潔的婦人牽著她的幼子向放壺的臺子走過來。她在錢包里摸著找錢時，孩子抬頭看了我一眼， 問我：“你窮嗎？”當時他眼里充滿疑惑和好奇，時至今日仍歷歷在目。 2.“嗯，”我結(jié)結(jié)巴巴，邊想邊回答，“我比有些人擁有的多，但比其他人擁有的少。”母親因為孩子問了一個在社交上不該問的問題，訓斥了他一頓，他倆便匆匆的趕去購物。但是孩子的問題卻一直留在我的心頭揮之不去。 3.我從不認為自己“窮”，但有些事實我不可否認。每當我填1040稅務申報表時，我都屬于收入最低的檔次之一。在過去的三十五年中，我只出去度過一次假。我的電視機是黑白的，還是八年前別人送給我的。 4. 然而，想要得到其他那么多人都有的物質(zhì)的東西，對我來說，只不過是轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝的念頭而已。我的汽車是1999年的產(chǎn)品，到現(xiàn)在開了十萬五千英里，已經(jīng)很破很舊了，但是它依然可靠。我的住房不大，但是很安靜，住著挺舒心。我的衣服很適合于我的工作，主要都在戶外。我對計算機的很少的需求，可以在圖書館得到解決。 5.盡管有些東西我沒有，我并不感到貧窮。這是為什么？五十三年來我一直非常健康。我不但不生病，而且精力充沛，情緒飽滿。鍛煉對我而言是確確實實的快事，我樂意長距離步行，越走越有勁。我喜愛步行后隨之產(chǎn)生的一種“什么都干得了”的心態(tài)。 6.我還十分珍惜我的創(chuàng)作才能。當我寫出美麗的詩句或編造出能把人逗樂的笑話時，我內(nèi)心感到很富有。通過寫作而獲得的洞察力，不斷地令我驚奇。而與那么多寫作朋友交談，是我樂趣的主要源泉之一。 7.但是在我生活中，有一個重要方面我并不那么富有。在一個對物資財富的追求投入如此之多心力的社會中，我覺得很不自在。 8.我年輕時曾與一位非常有趣的女士談過朋友。她對我說，對她而言，最重要的是“一個人的內(nèi)心”。我以為我找到了非同一般的生活伴侶。后來我就帶她到我的寓所。當時我住的是一個地下室經(jīng)濟型小套間，只有幾件陳舊的家具。唯一新而舒適的椅子是書桌旁的那把。她來訪后不久，我們的關系就急轉(zhuǎn)直下。 9. 她所看重的東西似乎突然有了變化，使我大為震動。在我的人生旅途上，這仍然是一個最難以忘懷的轉(zhuǎn)折點。 10.相對于人際關系而言，物質(zhì)財富對我并不那么重要。我認為大多數(shù)人與我同感除非當某一物品的缺失會引發(fā)社會后果時，人們才會有不同的想法。電臺播放的一個商業(yè)廣告開頭這樣說：“每個人都想擁有一臺高檔電視”，購買這種電視機的壓力千真萬確。也許每個人真的都想要一臺高檔電視機，畢竟沒有人想做一個無名之輩。 11.但是沒有這樣的電視機我也照樣活得快樂。事實上不專注于物質(zhì)財富，對我而言相當自然。在這個世界上有很多人認為我活得很富足。 12.臨近歲末每當我系上救世軍的紅圍裙時，我的內(nèi)心會發(fā)生變化。我非但不感到經(jīng)濟上不自在，還開始感到一種真正的歸屬感。我搖鈴時，人們會停下腳步，給我講述他們的故事，講述他們遇到困難時受到幫助對他們多么重要。我感到我與人助人這件事深深地聯(lián)系在一起。在我搖鈴的時候，從未謀面的陌生人給我拿來熱乎乎的巧克力飲料，留給我一個久不消逝的微笑。無數(shù)的路人向我表達圣誕節(jié)的祝愿，使我感到溫暖?！爸x謝你在這樣的冷天搖鈴?！薄耙灰医o您弄一杯咖啡?”“你做好事，上帝保佑你?！笔率且荒曛形腋械阶罡蛔愕臅r候。 13.由于一個好奇的孩子提了一個簡單問題，我在過去的四年中對自己的了解進了一步。當我審視貧窮究竟意味著什么時，我清楚了我最應感恩的是什么：我的有形和無形的好運氣。A MAN CANApr 4, 2004 8:00 PM EDT 1. When I was a kid, everything in my bedroom was pink. I have two sisters and we had a complete miniature kitchen, a herd of My Little Ponies and several Barbie and Ken dolls. We didnt have any toy trucks, G.I. Joes or basketballs. We did have a Wiffle-ball set, but you would have been hard-pressed to find it in our playroom. Tomboys we werent.2. So some people may find it ironic that I grew up to be a mechanical engineer. In fact, I am the only female engineer at my company. In order to get my college degree, I had to take a lot of math and science classes. I also had to work with a team of students as part of a national competition to convert a gas-guzzling SUV into a hybrid electric vehicle-thats where I learned how to fix cars. Im proud to say that I got As in all my classes, including multivariable calculus and differential equations. Ive always been pretty good at math and design, but I didnt understand where that could take me. I was expected to go to college, but no one ever told me Id make a good engineer someday.3. When I was in high school, I didnt know the first thing about engineering. I couldnt have distinguished a transmission from an alternator. The car I drove needed some work but I was afraid to take it to the mechanic. Because honestly, the mechanic could have shown me an electric can opener and said, This is part of your car and its broken-pay me to fix it, and I wouldnt have known any better.4. At the end of my junior year of high school, I heard about a summer program designed to interest girls in engineering. The six-week program was free, and students were given college credit and a dorm room at the University of Maryland. I applied to the program, not because I wanted to be an engineer, but because I was craving independence and wanted to get out of my parents house for six weeks.5. I was accepted to the program and I earned six engineering credits. The next year I entered the university as an engineering major. Five years later I had a degree and three decent job offers.6. I cant help shuddering when I hear about studies that show that women are at a disadvantage when it comes to math. They imply that I am somehow abnormal. Im not, but I do know that if I hadnt stumbled into that summer program, I wouldnt be an engineer.7. When I was growing up I was told, as many students are, to do what I am best at. But I didnt know what that was. Most people think that when you are good at something, it comes easily to you. But this is what I discovered: just because a subject is difficult to learn, it does not mean you are not good at it. You just have to grit your teeth and work harder to get good at it. Once you do, theres a strong chance you will enjoy it more than anything else.8. In eighth grade I took algebra. On one test I got only 36 percent of the answers correct. I failed the next one, too. I started to think, Maybe Im just no good at this. I was lucky enough to have a teacher who didnt take my bad grades as a judgment of my abilities, but simply as an indication that I should study more. He pulled me aside and told me he knew I could do better. He let me retake the tests, and I pulled my grade up to an A.9. I studied a lot in college, too. I had moments of panic while sitting underneath the buzzing fluorescent lights in the engineering library on Saturday afternoons, when I worried that the estrogen in my body was preventing me from understanding thermodynamics. But the guys in my classes had to work just as hard, and I knew that I couldnt afford to lose confidence in myself. I didnt want to choose between my femininity and a good career. So I reminded myself that those studies, the ones that say that math comes more naturally to men, are based on a faulty premise: that you can judge a persons abilities separate from the cultural cues that she has received since she was an infant. No man is an island. No woman is, either.10. Why are we so quick to limit ourselves? Im not denying that most little girls love dolls and most little boys love videogames, and it may be true that some people favor the right side of their brain, and others the left. But how relevant is that to me, or to anyone, as an individual? Instead of translating our differences into hard and fast conclusions about the human brain, why cant we focus instead on how incredibly flexible we are? Instead of using what we know as a reason why women cant learn physics, maybe we should consider the possibility that our brains are more powerful than we imagine.11. Heres a secret: math and science dont come easily to most people. No one was ever born knowing calculus. A woman can learn anything a man can, but first she needs to know that she can do it, and that takes a leap of faith. It also helps to have selective hearing.第六單元卡羅琳.特克從事的職業(yè)傳統(tǒng)上一直是男人們的天下。在本文，她談到自己是如何干上這一行的以及通過她的成功顯示出男人們能學會的事女人們也能做到。男人學得會的，女人也學得會卡羅琳特克 1. 我小時候臥室里的每樣東西都是粉紅色的。我有兩個姐妹，我們有一個一應俱全的微型廚房，一群各種顏色的小馬駒，還有好幾個芭比和凱恩玩具娃娃。我們沒有玩具卡車，沒有玩具大兵，也沒有籃球。我們確實有一套空心棒球，但是很難在我們的游戲室找到，畢竟我們不是假小子。2.正因為如此，有些人對我長大后成了一名機械工程師也許感到出乎意外。事實上，我是我公司里唯一的一個女工程師。為了取得大學文憑，我要上許多數(shù)學和自然科學方面的課程。我還得和幾個學生一起工作，作為參與一次全國性競賽的一部分，把一輛耗費汽油特多的運動型多用途汽車改裝成混合型電動車就這樣我學會了修車。 我可以自豪地說，我門門功課都是A，包括多變量微積分和微分方程。我的數(shù)學和設計總是相當好，但是我不知道