基礎(chǔ)考研作文修煉新概念必背Part4

Lesson53Inthepublicinterest為了公眾的利益

TheScandinaviancountriesaremuchadmiredallovertheworldfortheirenlightenedsocialpolicies.Sweden

hasevolvedanexcellentsystemforprotectingtheindividualcitizenfromhieh-handedorincompetentpublic

officers.Thesystemhasworkedsowell,thatithasbeenadoptedinothercountriestoo.

TheSwedeswerethefirsttorecognizethatpublicofficialslikecivilservants,policeofficers,health

inspectorsortax-collectorscanmakemistakesoractover-zealouslyinthebeliefthattheyareservingthe

public.Aslongagoas1809,theSwedishParliamentintroducedaschemetosafeguardtheinterestofthe

individual.Aparliamentarycommitteerepresentingallpoliticalpartiesappointsapersonwhoissuitably

qualifiedtoinvestigateprivategrievancesagainsttheState.Theofficialtitleofthepersonis

'Justiteombudsman?,buttheSwedescommonlyrefertohimasthe'J.0/or'Ombudsman'.TheOmbudsman

isnotsubjectt。politicalpressure.Heinvestigatescomplaintslargeandsmallthatcometohimfromall

levelsofsociety.Ascomplaintsmustbemadeinwriting,theOmbudsmanreceivesanaverageof1,200letters

ayear.Hehaseightlawyerassistantstohelphimandheexamineseverysingleletterindetail.Thereis

nothingsecretiveabouttheOmbudsman'swork,forhiscorrespondenceisopentopublicinspection.Ifa

citizen'scomplaintisjustified,theOmbudsmanwillactonhisbehalf.Theactionhetakesvariesaccordingto

thenatureofthecomplaint.Hemaygentlyreprimandanofficialorevensuggesttoparliamentthatalawbe

altered.ThefollowingcaseisatypicalexampleoftheOmbudsman'swork.

AforeignerlivinginaSwedishvillagewrotetotheOmbudsmancomplainingthathehadbeenill-treatedby

thepolice,simplybecausehewasaforeigner.TheOmbudsmanimmediatelywrotetotheChiefofPoliceinthe

districtaskinghimtosendarecordofthecase.Therewasnothingintherecordtoshowthattheforeigner's

complaintwasjustifiedandtheChiefofPolicestronglydeniedtheaccusation.Itwasimpossibleforthe

Ombudsmantotakeaction,butwhenhereceivedasimilarcomplaintfromanotherforeignerinthesame

village,heimmediatelysentoneofhislawyerstoinvestigatethematter.Thelawyerascertainedthata

policemanhadindeeddealtroughlywithforeignersonseveraloccasions.Thefactthatthepolicemanwas

prejudicedagainstforeignerscouldnotberecordedintheofficialfiles.Itwasonlypossibleforthe

Ombudsmantofindthisoutbysendingoneofhisrepresentativestocheckthefacts.Thepolicemanin

questionwasseverelyreprimandedandwasinformedthatifanyfurthercomplaintswerelodgedagainsthim,

hewouldbeprosecuted.TheOmbudsman'spromptactionatonceputanendtoanunpleasantpractice

whichmighthavegoneunnoticed.

斯堪的納維亞半島各國(guó)實(shí)行的開(kāi)明的社會(huì)政策，受到全世界的推崇。在瑞典，已逐漸形成了--種完善的

制度以保護(hù)每個(gè)公民不受專(zhuān)橫的和不稱(chēng)職的政府官員的欺壓。由于這種制度行之有效，已被其他國(guó)家采

納。

是瑞典人首先認(rèn)識(shí)到政府工作人員如文職人員、警官、衛(wèi)生稽查員、稅務(wù)人員等等也會(huì)犯錯(cuò)誤或者自以

為在為公眾服務(wù)而把事情做過(guò)了頭。早在1809年，瑞典議會(huì)就建立了一個(gè)保護(hù)公民利益的制度。議會(huì)

內(nèi)有一個(gè)代表各政黨利益的委員會(huì)，由它委派一位稱(chēng)職的人選專(zhuān)門(mén)調(diào)查個(gè)人對(duì)國(guó)家的意見(jiàn)。此人官銜為

“司法特派員”，但瑞典人一般都管他叫“J.O.”，即“司法特派員司法特派員不受任何政治壓力的制

約。他聽(tīng)取社會(huì)各階層的各種大小意見(jiàn)，并進(jìn)行調(diào)查。由于意見(jiàn)均需用書(shū)面形式提出，司法特派員每年

平均收到1,200封信。他有8位律帥做他的助手協(xié)助工作，每封信都詳細(xì)批閱。司法特派員的工作沒(méi)

有什么秘密可言，他的信件是公開(kāi)的，供公眾監(jiān)督。如果公民的意見(jiàn)正確，司法特派員便為他伸張正義。

司法特派員采取的行動(dòng)因意見(jiàn)的性質(zhì)不同而有所不同。他可以善意地批評(píng)某位官員，也可以甚至向議會(huì)

提議修改某項(xiàng)法律。下述事件是司法特派員工作的一個(gè)典型例子。

一個(gè)住在瑞典鄉(xiāng)村的外國(guó)人寫(xiě)信給司法特派員，抱怨說(shuō)他受到警察虐待，原因就是因?yàn)樗莻€(gè)外國(guó)人。

司法特派員立即寫(xiě)信給當(dāng)?shù)氐木炀珠L(zhǎng)，請(qǐng)他寄送與此事有關(guān)的材料。材料中沒(méi)有任何文字記載證明外

國(guó)人所說(shuō)的情況符合事實(shí)，警察局長(zhǎng)矢口否認(rèn)這一指控。司法特派員難以處理。但是，當(dāng)他又收到住在

同一村莊的另一個(gè)外國(guó)人寫(xiě)的一封內(nèi)容類(lèi)似的投訴信時(shí)，他立即派出一位律師前去調(diào)查。律師證實(shí)有個(gè)

警察確實(shí)多次粗魯?shù)貙?duì)待外國(guó)人。警察歧視外國(guó)人的事在官方檔案中不可能加以記載，司法特派員只有

派他的代表去核對(duì)事實(shí)才能了解真相。當(dāng)事的警察受到嚴(yán)厲斥責(zé)，并被告知，如果再有人投訴他，他將

受到起訴。司法特派員及時(shí)采取的行動(dòng)，迅速制止了這一起不愉快的事件，不然這件事可能因未得到人

們注意而不了了之。

Lesson54Instinctorcleverness?是本能還是機(jī)智

Wehavebeenbroughtuptofearinsects.Weregardthemasunnecessarycreaturesthatdomoreharmthan

good.Wecontinuallywagewaronthem,fortheycontaminateourfood,carrydiseases,ordevourourcrops.

Theystingorbitewithoutprovocation:theyflyuninvitedintoourroomsonsummernights,orbeatageistour

lightedwindows.Weliveindreadnotonlyofunpleasantinsectslikespidersorwasps,butofquiteharmless

onelikemoths.Readingaboutthemincreasesourunderstandingwithoutdispellingourfears.Knowingthat

theindustriousantlivesinahighlyorganizedsocietydoesnothingtopreventusfrombeinqfilledwith

revulsionwhenwefindhordesofthemcrawlingoveracarefullypreparedpicniclunch.Nomatterhowmuch

welikehoney,orhowmuchwehavereadabouttheuncannysenseofdirectionwhichbeespossess,wehavea

horrorofbeingstunR.Mostofourfearsareunreasonable,buttheyareimpossibletoerase.Atthesametime,

however,insectsarestrangelyfascinating.Weenjoyreadingaboutthem,especiallywhenwefindthat,likethe

prayingmantis,theyleadperfectlyhorriblelives.Weenjoystaringatthem,entrancedastheygoabouttheir

business,unaware(wehope)ofourpresence.Whohasnotstoodinaweatthesightofaspiderpouncingona

fly,oracolumnofantstriumphantlybearinghomeanenormousdeadbeetle?

LastsummerIspentdaysinthegardenwatchingthousandsofantscrawlingupthetrunkofmyprizepeach

tree.Thetreehasgrownagainstawarmwallonashelteredsideofthehouse.Iamespeciallyproudofit,not

onlybecauseithassurvivedseveralseverewinters,butbecauseitoccasionallyproduceslusciouspeaches.

Duringthesummer,Inoticedthattheleavesofthetreewerebeginningtowither.Clustersoftinyinsects

calledaphidesweretobefoundontheundersideoftheleaves.Theywerevisitedbyalargecolonyofants

whichobtainedasortofhoneyfromthem.Iimmediatelyembarkedonanexperimentwhich,eventhoughif

failedtogetridoftheants,keptmefascinatedfortwenty-fourhours.Iboundthebaseofthetreewithsticky

tape,makingitimpossiblefortheantstoreachtheaphides.Thetapewassostickthattheydidnotdareto

crossit.Foralongtime.Iwatchedthemscurryingaroundthebaseofthetreeinbewilderment.Ievenwent

outatmidnightwithatorchandnotedwithsatisfaction(andsurprise)thattheantswerestillswarmingaround

thestickytapewithoutbeingabletodoanythingaboutit.Igotupearlynextmuniinqhopinqtofindthatthe

antshadRivenupindespair.Instead,Isawthattheyhaddiscoveredanewroute.Theywereclimbingupthe

wallofthehouseandthenontotheleavesofthetree.IrealizedsadlythatIhadbeencompletelydefeatedby

theiringenuity.Theantshadbeenquicktofindananswertomythoroughlyunscientificmethods!

我們自幼就在對(duì)昆蟲(chóng)的懼怕中長(zhǎng)大。我們把昆蟲(chóng)當(dāng)作害多益少的無(wú)用東西。人類(lèi)不斷同昆蟲(chóng)斗爭(zhēng)，因?yàn)?/p>

昆蟲(chóng)弄臟我們的食物，傳播疾病，吞噬莊稼。它們無(wú)緣無(wú)故地又叮又咬；夏天的晚上，它們未經(jīng)邀請(qǐng)便

飛到我們房間里，或者對(duì)著露出亮光的窗戶(hù)亂撲亂撞。我們?cè)谌粘Ｉ钪?，不但憎惡如蜘蛛、黃蜂之類(lèi)

令人討厭的昆蟲(chóng)，而且憎惡并無(wú)大害的飛蛾等。閱讀有關(guān)昆蟲(chóng)的書(shū)能增加我們對(duì)它們的了解，卻不能消

除我們的恐懼的心理。即使知道勤奮的螞蟻生活具有高度組織性的社會(huì)里，當(dāng)看到大群螞蟻在我們精心

準(zhǔn)備的午間野餐上爬行時(shí)，我們也無(wú)法抑制對(duì)它們的反感。不管我們多么愛(ài)吃蜂蜜，或讀過(guò)多少關(guān)于蜜

蜂具有神秘的識(shí)別方向的靈感的書(shū)，我們?nèi)匀皇趾ε卤环潋?。我們的恐懼大部分是沒(méi)有道理的，但去

無(wú)法消除。同時(shí)一，不知為什么昆蟲(chóng)又是迷人的。我們喜歡看有關(guān)昆蟲(chóng)的書(shū)，尤其是當(dāng)我們了解螳螂等過(guò)

著一種令人生畏的生活時(shí)，就更加愛(ài)讀有關(guān)昆蟲(chóng)的書(shū)了。我們喜歡入迷地看它們做事，它們不知道(但

愿如此)我們就在它們身邊。當(dāng)看到蜘蛛撲向一只蒼蠅時(shí)，一隊(duì)螞蟻抬著一只巨大的死甲蟲(chóng)凱旋歸時(shí)，

誰(shuí)能不感到敬畏呢？

去年夏天，我花了好幾天時(shí)間站在花園里觀察成千只螞蟻爬上我那棵心愛(ài)的桃樹(shù)的樹(shù)干。那棵樹(shù)是靠著

房子有遮擋的一面暖墻生長(zhǎng)的。我為這棵樹(shù)感到特別自豪，不僅因?yàn)樗冗^(guò)了幾個(gè)寒冬終于活了下來(lái)，

而且還因?yàn)樗袝r(shí)結(jié)出些甘甜的桃子來(lái)。到了夏天，我發(fā)現(xiàn)樹(shù)葉開(kāi)始枯萎，結(jié)果在樹(shù)葉背面找到成串的

叫作蠣蟲(chóng)小蟲(chóng)子。蚣蟲(chóng)遭到一窩螞蟻的攻擊，螞蟻從它們身上可以獲得一種蜜。我當(dāng)即動(dòng)手作了一項(xiàng)試

驗(yàn)，這項(xiàng)試驗(yàn)盡管沒(méi)有使我擺脫這些螞蟻，卻使我著迷了24小時(shí)。我用一條膠帶把桃樹(shù)底部包上，不

讓螞蟻接近蛇蟲(chóng)。膠帶極粘，螞蟻不敢從上面爬過(guò)。在很長(zhǎng)一段時(shí)間里，我看見(jiàn)螞蟻圍著大樹(shù)底部來(lái)回

轉(zhuǎn)悠，不知所措。半夜，我還拿著電筒來(lái)到花園里，滿(mǎn)意地（同時(shí)驚奇地）發(fā)現(xiàn)那些螞蟻還圍著膠帶團(tuán)

團(tuán)轉(zhuǎn)。無(wú)能為力。第二天早上，我起床后希望看見(jiàn)螞蟻已因無(wú)望而放棄了嘗試，結(jié)果卻發(fā)現(xiàn)它們又找到

一條新的路徑。它們正在順著房子的外墻往上爬，然后爬上樹(shù)葉。我懊喪地感到敗在了足智多謀的螞蟻

的手下。螞蟻已很快找到了相應(yīng)的對(duì)策，來(lái)對(duì)付我那套完全不科學(xué)的辦法！

lesson59Collecting收藏

Peopletendtoamasspossessions,sometimeswithoutbeingawareofdoingso.Indeedtheycanhavea

delightfulsurprisewhentheyfindsomethingusefulwhichtheydidnotknowtheyowned.Thosewhonever

havetomovehousebecomeindiscriminatecollectorsofwhatcanonlybedescribedasclutter.Theyleave

unwantedobjectsindrawers,cupboardsandatticsforyears,inthebeliefthattheymayonedayneedjustthose

verythings.Astheygrowold,peoplealsoaccumulatebelongingsfortwootherreasons,lackofphysicaland

mentalenergy,bothofwhichareessentialinturningoutandthrowingaway,andsentiment.Thingsowned

foralonqtimearefUllofassociationswiththepast,perhapswithrelativeswhoaredead,andsothey

graduallyacquireavaluebeyondtheirtrueworth.

Somethingsarecollecteddeliberatelyinthehomeinanattempttoavoidwaste.AmongtheseIwouldlist

stringandbrownpaper,keptbythriftypeoplewhenaparcelhasbeenopened,tosavebuyingthesetwo

requisites.Collectingsmallitemscaneasilybecomeamania.Iknowsomeonewhoalwayscutssketchesout

fromnewspapersofmodelclothesthatshewouldliketobuy,ifshehadthemoney.Assheisnotrich,the

chancesthatshewilleverbeabletoaffordsuchpurchasesareremote;butsheisneversufficiently

strongmindedtobeabletostopthepractice.Itisaharmlesshabit,butitlittersupherdesktosuchanextent

thateverytimesheopensit;loosebitsofpaperfalloutineverydirection.

Collectingasaserioushobbyisquitedifferentandhasmanyadvantages.Itprovidesrelaxationforleisure

hours,asjustlookingatone'streasuresisalwaysajoy.Onedoesnothavetogooutsideforamusement,since

thecollectionishousedathome.Whateveritconsistsof,stamps,records,firsteditionsofbooks,china,glass,

antiquefurniture,pictures,modelcars,stuffedbirds,toyanimals,thereisalwayssomethingtodoin

connectionwithit,fromfindingtherightplaceforthelatestaddition,toverifyingfactsinreferencebooks.

Thishobbyeducatesonenotonlyinthechosensubject,butalsoingeneralmatterswhichhavesomebearing

onit.Therearealsootherbenefits.Onewantstomeetlike-niindedcollectors,togetadvice,tocomparenotes,

toexchangearticles,toshowoffthelatestfind.Soone'scircleoffriendsgrows.Soonthehobbyleadstotravel,

perhapstoameetinginanothertown,possiblyatripabroadinsearchofararespecimen,forcollectorsarenot

confinedtoanyonecountry.Overtheyears,onemaywellbecomeanauthorityonone'shobbyandwillvery

probablybeaskedtogiveinformaltalkstolittlegatheringsandthen,ifsuccessful,tolargeraudiences.Inthis

wayself-confidencegrows,firstfrommasteringasubject,thenfrombeingabletotalkaboutit.Collecting,by

occupyingsparetimesoconstructively,makesapersoncontented,withnotimeforboredom.

人們喜歡收藏東西，有時(shí)并沒(méi)有意識(shí)到自己在這樣做。確實(shí)，一旦無(wú)意之中從自己的收藏品中找到某件

有用的東西時(shí)，可以給人一種驚喜的感覺(jué)。那些從來(lái)不必搬家的人們成了一種無(wú)所不容的收藏家。他們

專(zhuān)門(mén)收臧那些只能被稱(chēng)作雜貨的東西。他們?cè)诔閷侠?、碗柜中、閣樓上堆放著一些不用的東西，一放就

是好幾年，相信總有一天需要的正好是那些東西。人們年老之后也喜歡收臧東西，不過(guò)是出于兩個(gè)不同

的原因：一是體力、精力均告不佳，這二者是清除無(wú)用的東西必不可少的因素；另一個(gè)原因是感情因素。

東西擱得時(shí)間久了，便會(huì)充滿(mǎn)著與過(guò)去歲月的聯(lián)系，比方說(shuō)與死去的親戚有關(guān)。因此這些東西慢慢獲得

了一種超出它本身的價(jià)值。

居家度日，有目的地收藏某些東西是為了防止浪費(fèi)。這些東西中我想舉出線繩和包裝紙為例。節(jié)儉的人

們打開(kāi)包裹后便把這兩樣必備的東西收藏起來(lái)，省得日后去買(mǎi)。收集小玩藝兒很容易著迷。我認(rèn)識(shí)一個(gè)

人，她總喜歡從報(bào)紙上剪下流行服裝的圖樣，等以后有錢(qián)時(shí)去買(mǎi)服裝。由于她并不富裕，她買(mǎi)得起這些

服裝的可能性十分渺茫。但她又缺乏足夠堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的意志把這一收集活動(dòng)停下來(lái)。這種習(xí)慣無(wú)害，只是把寫(xiě)

字臺(tái)里堆得滿(mǎn)滿(mǎn)當(dāng)當(dāng)，以致每次打開(kāi)抽屜總能帶出許多紙片四處飛揚(yáng)。

作為一種嚴(yán)肅的業(yè)余愛(ài)好的收藏活動(dòng)完全是另外一回事，它具有許多益處。它可以使人在閑暇中得到休

息，因?yàn)樾蕾p自己收藏的珍品總會(huì)充滿(mǎn)了樂(lè)趣。人們不必走到戶(hù)外去尋求娛樂(lè)，因?yàn)槭詹仄范际谴娣旁?/p>

家中。不管收藏品是什么，郵票、唱片、頭版書(shū)籍、瓷器、玻璃杯、老式家具、繪畫(huà)、模型汽車(chē)、鳥(niǎo)類(lèi)

標(biāo)本，還是玩具動(dòng)物，從為新增添的收藏品尋找擺放位置到核對(duì)參考書(shū)中的事實(shí)，總歸有事可做。這種

愛(ài)好不僅能使人從選擇的專(zhuān)題中受到教育，而且也能從與之有關(guān)的一般事物中獲得長(zhǎng)進(jìn)。除此之外，還

有其他的益處。收藏者要會(huì)見(jiàn)情趣相投的收藏者，以獲取教益、交流經(jīng)驗(yàn)、交換收藏品、炫耀自己的最

新收藏。朋友的圈子就這樣不斷擴(kuò)太。用不了多久，有這種愛(ài)好的人便開(kāi)始旅行，也許是去另一個(gè)城市

參加會(huì)議，也可能是出國(guó)尋找一件珍品，因?yàn)槭詹丶沂遣环謬?guó)籍的。一人積了多年經(jīng)驗(yàn)會(huì)成為自己這種

愛(ài)好的權(quán)威，很可能應(yīng)邀在小型集會(huì)上作非正式的講話(huà)。如果講得好，可能向更多的人發(fā)表演說(shuō)。這樣，

你自信心不斷增強(qiáng)，先是因?yàn)檎莆樟艘婚T(mén)學(xué)問(wèn)，接下來(lái)是因?yàn)槟軌蚓痛税l(fā)表見(jiàn)解。收藏活動(dòng)通過(guò)富有建

設(shè)性地利用業(yè)余時(shí)間使人感到心滿(mǎn)意足，不再有無(wú)聊之日。

Lesson60Tooearlyandtoolate太早和太晚

Punctualityisanecessaryhabitinallpublicaffairsincivilizedsociety.Withoutit,nothingcouldeverbe

broughttoaconclusion;everythingwouldbeinastateofchaos.Onlyinasparsely-populatedrural

communityisitpossibletodisregardit.Inordinaryliving,therecanbesometoleranceofunpunctuality.The

intellectual,whoisworkingonsomeabstruseproblem,haseverythingcoordinatedandorganizedforthe

matterinhand.Heisthereforeforgiven,iflatefbradinnerparty.Butpeopleareoftenreproachedfor

unpunctualitywhentheironlyfaultiscuttingthingsfine.Itishardforenergetic,quick-mindedpeopleto

wastetime,sotheyareoftentemptedtofinishajobbeforesettingouttokeepanappointment.Ifno

accidentsoccurontheway,likepuncturedtyres,diversionsoftraffic,suddendescentoffog,theywillbeon

time.Theyareoftenmoreindustrious,usefulcitizensthanthosewhoareneverlate.Theover?punctualcanbe

asmuchatrialtoothersastheunpunctual.Theguestwhoarriveshalfanhourtoosoonisthegreatest

nuisance.Somefriendsofmyfamilyhadthisirritatinghabit.Theonlythinntodowasaskthemtocome

halfanhourlaterthantheotherguests.Thentheyan'ivedjustwhenwewantedthem.

Ifyouarecatchingatrain,itisalwaysbettertobecomfortablyearlythanevenafractionofaminutetoolate.

Althoughbeingearlymaymeanwastingalittletime,thiswillbelessthanifyoumissthetrainandhaveto

waitanhourormoreforthenextone;andyouavoidthefrustrationofarrivingattheverymomentwhenthe

trainisdrawingoutofthestationandbeingunabletogetonit.Anevenhardersituationistobeonthe

platformingoodtimeforatrainandstilltoseeitgooffwithoutyou.Suchanexperiencebefellacertain

younggirlthefirsttimeshewastravellingalone.

Sheenteredthestationtwentyminutesbeforethetrainwasdue,sinceherparentshadimpresseduponherthat

itwouldbeunforgivabletomissitandcausethefriendswithwhomshewasgoingtostaytomaketwo

journeystomeether.Shegaveherluggagetoaporterandshowedhimherticket.Toherhorrorhesaidthat

shewastwohourstoosoon.Shefeltinherhandbagforthepieceofpaperonwhichherfatherhadwritten

downallthedetailsofthejourneyandgaveittotheporter.Heagreedthatatraindidcomeintothestationat

thetimeonthepaperandthatitdidstop,butonlytotakeonmail,notpassengers.Thegirlaskedtoseea

timetable,feelingsurethatherfathercouldnothavemadesuchamistake.Theporterwenttofetchoneand

arrivedbackwiththestationmaster,whoproduceditwithaflourishandpointedoutamicroscopic'o'beside

thetimeofthearrivalofthetrainathisstation;thislittle'o'indicatedthatthetrainonlystoppedformail.Just

asthatmomentthetraincameintothestation.Thegirl,tearsstreamingdownherface,beggedtobeallowed

toslipintotheguard'svan.Butthestationmasterwasadamant:rulescouldnotbebroken.Andshehadto

watchthattraindisappeartowardsherdestinationwhileshewaslef[behind.

準(zhǔn)時(shí)是文明社會(huì)中進(jìn)行一切社交活動(dòng)時(shí)必須養(yǎng)成的習(xí)慣。不準(zhǔn)時(shí)將一事無(wú)成，事事都會(huì)陷入混亂不堪的

境地。只有在人口稀少的農(nóng)村，才可以忽視準(zhǔn)時(shí)的習(xí)慣。在日常生活中人們可以容忍一定程度的不準(zhǔn)時(shí)。

一個(gè)專(zhuān)心鉆研某個(gè)復(fù)雜問(wèn)題的知識(shí)分子，為了搞好手頭的研究，要把一切都協(xié)調(diào)一致、組織周密。因此,

他要是赴宴遲到了會(huì)得到諒解。但有些人不準(zhǔn)時(shí)常常是因?yàn)槠婞c(diǎn)所致，他們常常會(huì)受到責(zé)備。精力充

沛、頭腦敏捷的人極不愿意浪費(fèi)時(shí)間，因此他們常想做完一件事后再去赴約。要是路上沒(méi)有發(fā)生如爆胎、

改道、突然起霧等意外事故，他們是決不會(huì)遲到的。他們與那些從不遲到的人相比，常常是更勤奮有用

的公民。早到的人同遲到的人一樣令人討厭?？腿颂崆鞍胄r(shí)到達(dá)是最令人討厭的。我家有幾個(gè)朋友就

有這種令人惱火的習(xí)慣。唯一的辦法就是請(qǐng)他們比別的客人晚來(lái)半小時(shí)。這樣，他們可以恰好在我們要

求的時(shí)間到達(dá)。

如果趕火車(chē)，早到總比晚到好，哪怕早到一會(huì)兒也好。雖然早到可能意味著浪費(fèi)一點(diǎn)時(shí)間，但這比誤了

火車(chē)、等上一個(gè)多小時(shí)坐下一班車(chē)?yán)速M(fèi)的時(shí)間要少，而且可以避免那種正好在火車(chē)駛出站時(shí)趕到車(chē)站，

因上不去車(chē)而感到的沮喪。更難堪的情況是雖然及時(shí)趕到站臺(tái)上，卻眼睜睜地看著那趟火車(chē)啟動(dòng)，把你

拋下。一個(gè)小姑娘第一次單獨(dú)出門(mén)就碰到了這種情況。

在火車(chē)進(jìn)站20分鐘前她就進(jìn)了車(chē)站。因?yàn)樗母改冈偃f(shuō)，如果誤了這趟車(chē)，她的東道主朋友就

得接她兩趟，這是不應(yīng)該的。她把行李交給搬運(yùn)工并給他看了車(chē)票。搬運(yùn)工說(shuō)她早到了兩個(gè)小時(shí)，她聽(tīng)

后大吃一驚。她從錢(qián)包里摸出一張紙條，那上面有她父親對(duì)這次旅行的詳細(xì)說(shuō)明，她把這張紙條交給了

搬運(yùn)工。搬運(yùn)工說(shuō)，正如紙條上所說(shuō)，確有一趟火車(chē)在那個(gè)時(shí)刻到站，但它只停站裝郵件，不載旅客。

姑娘要求看時(shí)刻表，因?yàn)樗嘈鸥赣H不能把這么大的事給弄錯(cuò)。搬運(yùn)工跑回去取時(shí)刻表，同時(shí)請(qǐng)來(lái)了站

長(zhǎng)。站長(zhǎng)拿著時(shí)刻表一揮手，指著那趟列車(chē)到站時(shí)刻旁邊的一個(gè)很小的圓圈標(biāo)記。這個(gè)標(biāo)記表示列車(chē)是

為裝郵件而停車(chē)。正在這時(shí)，火車(chē)進(jìn)站了。女孩淚流滿(mǎn)面，央求讓她不聲不響地到押車(chē)員車(chē)廂里去算了。

但站長(zhǎng)態(tài)度堅(jiān)決，規(guī)章制度不能破環(huán)，姑娘只得眼看著那趟火車(chē)消逝在她要去的方向而撇卜一了她。

新概念四Lesson1Findingfossilman發(fā)現(xiàn)化石人

Wecanreadofthingsthathappened5,000yearsagointheNearEast,wherepeoplefirstlearnedtowrite.But

therearesomepartsoftheworldwhereevennowpeoplecannotwrite.Theonlywaythattheycanpreserve

theirhistoryistorecountitassagas----legendshandeddownfromonegenerationofstory-tellerstoanother.

Theselegendsareusefulbecausetheycantellussomethingaboutmigrationsofpeoplewholivedlongago,

butnonecouldwritedownwhattheydid.Anthropologistswonderedwheretheremoteancestorsofthe

PolynesianpeoplesnowlivinginthePacificIslandscamefrom.Thesagasofthesepeopleexplainthatsome

ofthemcamefromIndonesiaabout2,000yearsago.

Butthefirstpeoplewhowerelikeourselveslivedsolongagothateventheirsagas,iftheyhadany,are

forgotten.Soarchaeologistshaveneitherhistorynorlegendstohelpthemtofindoutwherethefirst4modern

men'camefrom.

Fortunately,however,ancientmenmadetoolsofstone,especiallyflint,becausethisiseasiertoshapethan

otherkinds.Theymayalsohaveusedwoodandskins,butthesehaverottedaway.Stoeedoesnotdecay,and

sothetoolsoflongagohaveremainedwheneventhebonesofthemenwhomadethemhavedisappeared

withouttrace.

我們從書(shū)籍中可以讀到5,000年前近東發(fā)生的事情，那里的人最早學(xué)會(huì)了寫(xiě)字。但直到現(xiàn)在，世界上仍

然有些地方；人們還不會(huì)書(shū)寫(xiě)。他們保存歷史的唯一辦法是將歷史當(dāng)作傳說(shuō)講述，由講述人一代接一代

地將史實(shí)描述為傳奇故事口傳下來(lái)。這些傳說(shuō)是很有用的，因?yàn)樗鼈兡芨嬖V我們以往人們遷居的情況。

但是；沒(méi)有人能把他們當(dāng)時(shí)做的事情記載下來(lái)。人類(lèi)學(xué)家過(guò)去不清楚如今生活在太平洋諸島上的波利尼

西亞人的祖先來(lái)自何方，當(dāng)?shù)厝说膫髡f(shuō)卻告訴了人們：其中有一部分是約在2,000年前從印度尼西亞遷

來(lái)的。

但是，和我們相似的原始人生活的年代太久遠(yuǎn)了；因此，有關(guān)他們的傳說(shuō)即使有如今也失傳了。于是，

考古學(xué)家們既缺乏歷史記載，又無(wú)口頭傳說(shuō)來(lái)幫助他們弄清最早的“現(xiàn)代人”是從哪里來(lái)的。

然而，幸運(yùn)的是，遠(yuǎn)古人用石頭制作了工具，特別是用燧石，因力燧石較之其他石頭更易成形。他們也

可能用過(guò)木頭和獸皮，但這類(lèi)東西早已腐爛殆盡。石頭是不會(huì)腐爛的。因此，盡管制造這些工具的人的

骨頭早已蕩然無(wú)存；但遠(yuǎn)古時(shí)代的石頭工具卻保存了下來(lái)。

Lesson2Sparethatspider不要傷害蜘蛛

Why,youmaywonder,shouldspidersbeourfriends?Becausetheydestroysomanyinsects,andinsects

includesomeofthegreatestenemiesofthehumanrace.Insectswouldmakeitimpossibleforustolivein

theworld;theywoulddevourallourcropsandkillourflocksandherds,ifitwerenotfortheprotectionwe

getfrominsect-eatinganimals.Weowealottothebirdsandbeastswhoeatinsectsbutallofthemput

togetherkillonlyafractionofthenumberdestroyedbyspiders.Moreover,unlikesomeoftheotherinsect

eaters,spidersneverdotheleastharmtousorourbelongings.

Spidersarenotinsects,asmanypeoplethink,norevennearlyrelatedtothem.Onecantellthedifference

almostataglance,foraspideralwayshaseightlegsandaninsectnevermorethansix.

HowmanyspidersareenTagedinthisworkonourbehalf?Oneauthorityonspidersmadeacensusofthe

spidersinagrassfieldinthesouthofEngland,andheestimatedthatthereweremorethan2,250,000inone

acre;thatissomethinglike6,000,000spidersofdifferentkindsonafootballpitch.Spidersarebusyforatleast

halftheyearinkillinginsects.Itisimpossibletomakemorethanthewildestguessathowmanytheykill,but

theyarehungrycreatures,notcontentwithonlythreemealsaday.Ithasbeenestimatedthattheweightofall

theinsectsdestroyedbyspidersinBritaininoneyearwouldbegreaterthanthetotalweightofallthehuman

beingsinthecountry.

你可能會(huì)覺(jué)得奇怪，蜘蛛怎么會(huì)是我們的朋友呢？因?yàn)樗鼈兡芟麥缒敲炊嗟睦ハx(chóng)，其中包括一些人類(lèi)的

大敵。要不是人類(lèi)受一些食蟲(chóng)動(dòng)物的保護(hù)，昆蟲(chóng)就會(huì)使我們無(wú)法在地球上生活下去，昆蟲(chóng)會(huì)吞食我們的

全部莊稼，殺死我們的成群的牛羊。我們要十分感謝那些吃昆蟲(chóng)的鳥(niǎo)和獸，然而把它們所殺死的昆蟲(chóng)全

部加在一起也只相當(dāng)于蜘蛛所消滅的一小部分。此外，蜘蛛不同于其他食蟲(chóng)動(dòng)物，它們絲毫不危害我們

和我們的財(cái)物。

許多人認(rèn)為蜘蛛是昆蟲(chóng)，但它們不是昆蟲(chóng)，甚至與昆蟲(chóng)毫無(wú)關(guān)系。人們幾乎一眼就能看出二者的差異，

因?yàn)橹┲攵际?條腿，而昆蟲(chóng)的腿從不超過(guò)6條。

有多少蜘蛛在為我們效力呢？一位研究蜘蛛的權(quán)威對(duì)英國(guó)南部一塊草坪上的蜘蛛作了一次調(diào)查。他估計(jì)

每英畝草坪里有225萬(wàn)多只蜘蛛。這就是說(shuō)，在一個(gè)足球場(chǎng)上約有600萬(wàn)只不同種類(lèi)的蜘蛛。蜘蛛至少

有半年忙于吃昆蟲(chóng)。它們一年中消滅了多少昆蟲(chóng)，我們簡(jiǎn)直無(wú)法猜測(cè)，它們是吃不飽的動(dòng)物，不滿(mǎn)意一

日三餐。據(jù)估計(jì)，在英國(guó)蜘蛛一年里所消滅昆蟲(chóng)的重量超過(guò)了這個(gè)國(guó)家人口的總重量。

Lesson3Matterhornman馬特霍恩山區(qū)人

Modernalpiniststrytoclimbmountainsbyaroutewhichwillgivethemgoodsport,andthemoredifficultit

is,themorehighlyitisregarded.Inthepioneeringdays,however,thiswasnotthecaseatall.Theearly

climberswerelookingfortheeasiestwaytothetop,becausethesummitwastheprizetheysought,especially

ifithadneverbeenattainedbefore.Itistruethatduringtheirexplorationstheyoftenfaceddifficultiesand

dangersofthemostperilousnature,equippedinamannerwhichwouldmakeamodernclimbershudderat

thethought,buttheydidnotgooutoftheirwaytocourtsuchexcitement.Theyhadasingleaim,asolitary

goal--thetop!

Itishardforustorealizenowadayshowdifficultitwasforthepioneers.Exceptforoneortwoplacessuch

asZermattandChamonix,whichhadrapidlybecomepopular,Alpinevillagestendedtobeimpoverished

settlementscutofffromcivilizationbythehighmountains.Suchinnsas[herewereeeneraHydirtyand

flea-ridden;thefoodsimplylocalcheeseaccompaniedbybreadoftentwelvemonthsold,allwasheddown

withcoarsewine.Oftenavalleyboastednoinnatall,andclimbersfoundshelterwhereverthey

could-sometimeswiththelocalpriest(whowasusuallyaspoorashisparishioners),sometimeswith

shepherdsorcheese-makers.Invariablythebackgroundwasthesame:dirtandpoverty,andvery

uncomfortable.Formenaccustomedtoeatingseven-coursedinnersandsleepingbetweenfinelinensheetsat

home,thechangetotheAlpsmusthavebeenveryhardindeed.

現(xiàn)代登山運(yùn)動(dòng)員總想找一條能夠給他們帶來(lái)運(yùn)動(dòng)樂(lè)趣的路線來(lái)攀登山峰。他們認(rèn)為，道路愈艱險(xiǎn)愈帶勁

兒。然而，在登山運(yùn)動(dòng)的初期，全然不是這種情況。早期登山者所尋找的是通往山頂?shù)淖罘奖愕耐緩剑?/p>

因?yàn)轫敺濉貏e是前人未曾到過(guò)的頂峰一一才是他們尋求的目標(biāo)。確實(shí)，在探險(xiǎn)中他們經(jīng)常遇到驚心

動(dòng)魄的困難和危險(xiǎn)，而他們裝備之簡(jiǎn)陋足以使現(xiàn)代登山者一想起來(lái)就膽戰(zhàn)心驚。但是，他們并非故意尋

求這種刺激，他們只有一個(gè)目的，唯一的目標(biāo)——頂峰！

我們今天很難想像昔日的登山先驅(qū)們是多么艱苦。除了澤曼特和夏蒙尼等一兩個(gè)很快出了名的地方外，

阿爾卑斯山山區(qū)的小村幾乎全是高山環(huán)抱、與世隔絕的窮鄉(xiāng)僻壤。那里的小客棧一般都很骯臟，而且跳

蚤猖獗。食物是當(dāng)?shù)氐母衫液屯ǔ４娣帕艘荒曛玫拿姘?，人們就著劣質(zhì)酒吞下這種食物。山谷里常常

沒(méi)有小客棧，登山者只好隨遇而安。有時(shí)同當(dāng)?shù)啬翈?他通常和他的教民一樣窮)住在一起，有時(shí)同牧

羊人或制乳酪的人住在一起。無(wú)論住在哪兒，情況都一樣：骯臟、貧窮，極其不舒適。對(duì)于過(guò)慣了一頓

飯吃7道菜、睡亞麻細(xì)布床單的人來(lái)說(shuō)，變換一下生活環(huán)境來(lái)到阿爾卑斯山山區(qū)，那一定是很艱難的。

Lesson6Thesportingspirit體育的精神

IamalwaysamazedwhenIhearpeoplesayingthatsportcreatesgoodwillbetweenthenations,andthatif

0111ythecommonpeoplesoftheworldcouldmeetoneanotheratfootballorcricket,theywouldhaveno

inclinationtomeetonthebattlefield.Evenifonedidn'tknowfromconcreteexamples(the1936Olympic

Games,forinstance)thatinternationalsportingcontestsleadtoorgiesofhatred,onecoulddeduceit

fromgeneralprinciples.

Nearlyallthesportspracticednowadaysarecompetitive.Youplaytowin,andthegamehaslittlemeaning

unlessyoudoyourutmosttowin.0nthevillagegreen,whereyoupickupsidesandnofeelingoflocal

patriotismisinvolved,itispossibletoplaysimplyforthefunandexercise:butassoonasthequestionof

prestigearises,assoonasyoufeelthatyouandsomelargerunitwillbedisgracedifyoulose,themostsavage

combativeinstinctsarearoused.Anyonewhohasplayedeveninaschoolfootballmatchknowsthis.Atthe

internationallevel,sportisfranklymimicwarfare.Butthesignificantthingisnotthebehavioroftheplayers

buttheattitudeofthespectators:and,behindthespectators,ofthenationswhoworkthemselvesintofuries

overtheseabsurdcontests,andse