大學英語unit1課文翻譯.doc

大學英語綜合教程4Unit 1Text A人在自然界|亞歷山大斯伯金Nature nurtures mankind unselfishly with its rich resources. Yet, man is so carried away in his transformation of nature that he is unaware that it also has limitations and needs constant care. Now worn by the excessive demands of mankind, nature is unable to maintain the ecological balance needed. Humanity is faced with the problem of how to stop, or at least to moderate, the destruction of Mother Nature.人類生活在大自然的王國里。他們時刻被大自然所包圍并與之相互影響。人類呼吸的空氣、喝下的水和攝入的食 物，無一不令人類時刻感知到大自然的影響。我們與大自然血肉相連，離開大自然，我們將無法生存。Human beings live in the realm of nature. They are constantly surrounded by it and interact with it. Man is constantly aware of the influence of nature in the form of the air he breathes, the water he drinks, and the food he eats. We are connected with nature by blood ties and we cannot live outside nature.人類不僅生活在大自然之中，同時也在改變著大自然。人類把自然資源轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)楦鞣N文化，社會歷史的財富。人類降服并控制了電，迫使它為人類社會的利益服務(wù)。人類不僅把各種各樣的動植物轉(zhuǎn)移到不同的氣候環(huán)境，也改變了他生活環(huán)境的地貌和氣候并使動植物因之而發(fā)生轉(zhuǎn)變。Man is not only a dweller in nature, he also transforms it. Humanity converts natures wealth into the means of the cultural, historical life of society. Man has subdued and disciplined electricity and compelled it to serve the interests of society. Not only has man transferred various species of plants and animals to different climatic conditions, he has also changed the shape and climate of his environment and transformed plants and animals.隨著社會的發(fā)展，人類對大自然的直接依賴越來越少，而間接的依賴卻越來越多。我們遠古的祖先生活在大自然的威脅及破壞力的恐懼之中，他們常常連基本的生活物資都無法獲取。然而，盡管工具不甚完備，他們卻能同心協(xié)力，頑強工作，并總是有所收獲。在與人類的相互作用中，大自然也發(fā)生了改變。森林被破壞了，耕地面積增加了。大自然及其威力被看成是和人類敵對的東西。譬如，森林被認為是野性的和令人恐懼的，因此人類便想方設(shè)法使其面積縮小。這一切都是打著“文明”的旗號進行的，所謂“文明”，就是人類在哪里建立家園，耕耘土地，哪里的森林就被砍伐。As society develops, man tends to become less dependent on nature directly, while indirectly his dependence grows. Our distant ancestors lived in fear of natures destructive forces. Very often they were unable to obtain the merest daily necessities. However, despite their imperfect tools, they worked together stubbornly , collectively, and were able to attain results . Nature was also changed through interaction with man. Forests were destroyed and the area of farmland increased. Nature with its elemental forces was regarded as something hostile to man. The forest, for example, was something wild and frightening and people tried to force it to retreat . This was all done in the name of civilization , which meant the places where man had made his home, where the earth was cultivated, where the forest had been cut down.然而，隨著歲月的流逝，人類越來越關(guān)注的是在何處得到和如何得到生產(chǎn)所需的不可替代的自然資源的問題。科學與人類改變大自然的實踐活動已經(jīng)使人類意識到了工業(yè)在改變地球的進程中對地質(zhì)產(chǎn)生的重大影響。But as time goes on mankind becomes increasingly concerned with the question of where and how to obtain irreplaceable natural resources for the needs of production. Science and mans practical transforming activities have made humanity aware of the enormous geological role played by the industrial transformation of the earth.目前，人與自然以及自然與社會整體之間過去存在的動態(tài)平衡，已呈現(xiàn)崩潰的跡象。生物圈中所謂可替代資源的問題變得極為尖銳。人類和社會的需求，即便是簡單得像淡水一樣的物質(zhì)，也變得越來越難以滿足。清除工業(yè)廢物的問題也變得日益復(fù)雜。At present the previous dynamic balance between man and nature and between nature and society as a whole, has shown ominous signs of breaking down. The problem of the so-called replaceable resources of the biosphere has become particularly acute . It is getting more and more difficult to satisfy the needs of human beings and society even for such a substance , for example, as fresh water. The problem of eliminating industrial waste is also becoming increasingly complex. 現(xiàn)代技術(shù)的特征是生產(chǎn)和使用日益豐富的人工合成產(chǎn) 品。人們生產(chǎn)成千上萬的人工合成材料。人們越來越多地用尼龍和其他人造纖維把自己從頭到腳地包裹起來，這些絢麗的織物顯然對他們無益。年輕人或許很少注意到這一點，他們更關(guān)注的是外表，而不是健康。但是上了年歲之后，他們就會感受到這種有害的影響。Modern technology is distinguished by an ever increasing abundance of produced and used synthetic goods. Hundreds of thousands of synthetic materials are being made. People increasingly cover their bodies from head to foot in nylon and other synthetic, glittering fabrics that are obviously not good for them. Young people may hardly feel this, and they pay more attention to appearance than to health. But they become more aware of this harmful influence as they grow older.久而久之，這些合成物質(zhì)轉(zhuǎn)變成廢棄物，那些原本毒性不大的物質(zhì)在自然循環(huán)中變?yōu)闃O其有害的物質(zhì)。自然科學家和哲學家如今都在問自己這樣一個問題：人類對生物圈的破壞難道是無法避免的嗎？As time goes on the synthetic output of production turns into waste, and then substances that in their original form were not very toxic are transformed in the cycle of natural processes into aggressive agents . Today both natural scientists and philosophers are asking themselves the question: Is mans destruction of the biosphere inevitable?人與大自然的關(guān)系生態(tài)環(huán)境的危機已經(jīng)成為一個全球性問題。這一問題的解決之道在于理性而明智地協(xié)調(diào)生產(chǎn)和對大自然的關(guān)愛之間的關(guān)系，這不僅要依靠個人、企業(yè)或者某些國家的力量，而且要依靠全人類的力量。解決人與大自然關(guān)系危機的方法之一，就是使用太陽能、風能、海洋能等資源，以及其他尚不為人所知的宇宙中的自然能。The man-nature relation the crisis of the ecological situation is a global problem. Its solution lies in rational and wise organization of both production itself and care for Mother Nature, not just by individuals, enterprises or countries, but by all humanity. One of the ways to deal with the crisis situation in the man-nature system is to use such resources as solar energy, the power of winds, the riches of the seas and oceans and other, as yet unknown natural forces of the universe.但是，回到我們原先的主題上，令人難以接受的事實是那些違背了自然規(guī)律、破壞了生物圈和諧的人類行為將會帶來災(zāi)難，而這種災(zāi)難也許是全球性的。古代東方智者的話講得真是恰如其分：朋友們，你要是親近大自然，大自然就會用那永恒不變的規(guī)律永遠呵護你！But to return to our theme, the bitter truth is that those human actions which violate the laws of nature, the harmony of the biosphere, threaten to bring disaster and this disaster may turn out to be universal. How apt then are the words of ancient Oriental wisdom: live closer to nature, my friends, and its eternal laws will protect you!Text B|物種滅絕 過去和將來 Extinctions, Past and Present理查德利基Preface Man and wildlife are supposed to live in harmony, but human intrusion has driven a large number of species to extinction. It is high time that we took up the cause of wildlife conservation; otherwise, the price for us to pay in the future will be extremely high. In the following essay, the author calls for a global fund for wildlife conservation. 我在肯尼亞的圖爾卡納湖東岸工作時度過了生命中最激動人心的一些日子，尋找我們?nèi)祟愖嫦鹊幕瘹埡?。我們并不總是想找什么就能得到什么，但是，除了我們祖先的遺跡外，每天都會發(fā)現(xiàn)更多的東西。那些化石，有些相當完整，有些僅是碎片，道出了另一個世界。在那個世界，約150萬年至200萬年前，許多今天非洲哺乳動物的祖先漫游在肥沃的草原和森林邊緣。當時的環(huán)境與現(xiàn)在非洲雨水更多的一些草原沒有太大區(qū)別，但那里當時到處生活著今天早已滅絕的令人稱奇的動物。I spent some of the most exciting days of my life working on the eastern shores of Kenyas Lake Turkana searching for the fossilized remains (遺體) of our early ancestors. We did not always find what we wanted, but every day there was much more to discover than the traces of our own ancestors. The fossils , some quite complete, others mere fragments , spoke of another world in which the ancestors of many of todays African mammals (哺乳動物) wandered the rich grassland and forest edges between 1.5 million and 2 million years ago. The environment was not too different from the wetter grasslands of Africa today, but it was full of amazing animals that are now long extinct (絕種的). 不僅非洲如此，世界上任何地方的化石記錄下來的一 切，都是一樣。據(jù)估計，在過去的6億年中，這個世界上存在過的物種，有95以上都已滅絕了。That was true not just for Africa. The fossil record tells the same story everywhere. It is estimated that more than 95 of the species that have existed over the past 600 million years are gone.工農(nóng)業(yè)不斷的擴展加速了當前物種滅絕的步伐，因此，我們該不該關(guān)心一下這個問題？有沒有必要盡力去減慢這個永不停止的過程呢？So, should we be concerned about the current rate of extinction (滅絕), which has been accelerated by the constant expansion of agriculture and industry? Is it necessary to try to slow down a process that has been going on forever?我認為是應(yīng)該的。我們知道，人類的健康發(fā)展與其他許多物種的健康發(fā)展緊密相關(guān)，而我們不能確知哪一種生物對我們的生存最為重要。I believe it is. We know that the well-being of the human race is tied to the well-being of many other species , and we cant be sure which species are most important to our own survival.但是，解決物種滅絕的危機問題決非易事，因為世界上許多生物多樣性地區(qū)位于最貧窮的國家，尤其是亞洲、非洲和拉丁美洲。這些國家劃撥土地，興建國家公園和自然保護區(qū)而禁止人類侵入甚至接近它們，人們能接受嗎？當一個國家相當大一部分人仍生活在貧困線以下，去花大筆錢挽救一些物種，這樣做是否合適呢？But dealing with the extinction crisis is no simple matter, since much of the worlds biodiversity (生物多樣性) resides (存在) in its poorest nations, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Can such countries justify setting aside national parks and nature reserves where human intrusion (侵擾) and even access is forbidden? Is it appropriate to spend large sums of money to save some species in a nation in which a considerable percentage of the people are living below the poverty line?這些問題令我對倡導在貧窮國家中推行野生動植物的保護感到不安。然而我相信我們能夠而且也應(yīng)該做大量的工作。這是一個改變側(cè)重點的問題。大量資金已投入到對瀕危物種的野外科學研究和會議上。但是，能不能給那些保護野生動物使之不被偷獵的公園管理人員提供些膠鞋和車子？能不能為那些靠伐木和種地為生的當?shù)厝颂峁﹦e的經(jīng)濟出路，幫助他們發(fā)展？這些資金很難獲得。Such questions make me uneasy about promoting wildlife conservation in poor nations. Nonetheless , I believe that we can and should do a great deal. Its a matter of changing priorities. Plenty of money is available for scientific field studies and conferences on endangered (將要滅絕的) species. But what about boots and vehicles for park personnel who protect wildlife from illegal hunters? What about development aid to give local people economic alternatives to cutting forests and plowing over the land? That kind of funding is difficult to come by .我們不應(yīng)該要求貧窮國家的人們在自己的短期生存和長期環(huán)境需求之間做出選擇。假如他們的政府愿意保護環(huán)境，所需的資金應(yīng)由國際組織提供。我認為，答案是明擺著的：要么富有國家現(xiàn)在就伸出援助之手，要么整個世界將遭受巨大損失。People in poor countries should not be asked to choose between their own short-term survival and longer-term environmental needs. If their governments are willing to protect the environment, the money needed should come from international sources. To me, the choice is clear. Either the more wealthy world helps now or the world as a whole will lose out .為此，我們需要在全球籌集專門用于野生動植物保護的資金，這些資金應(yīng)該主要由工業(yè)國家的政府和國際援助機構(gòu)提供。For that reason, we need permanent global funds devoted to wildlife protection. The funds should Primarily come from the governments of the industrial nations and international aid agencies.至于如何使用這些資金，人們可能會無休無止地爭論下去。是應(yīng)該由當?shù)厣鐖F決定工作事項，還是由外面請來的專家控制這些資金？野生動物園里應(yīng)該允許有限制的打獵呢，還是禁止入內(nèi)？錯誤總是難免的，自然外貌也會不斷地發(fā)生變化，物種仍舊會繼續(xù)消