高中英語選修八課文及翻譯[共38頁]

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1、 選修8 Unit 1 A land of diversity-Reading CALIFORNIA California is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population. It also has the distinction of being the most multicultural state in the USA, having attracted people from all over the world. The customs and languages of the immig

2、rants live on in their new home. This diversity of culture is not surprising when you know the history of California. Unit1 加利福尼亞 加利福尼亞是美國的第三大州，而且是人口最多的州。加州與眾不同之處在于它也是美國最具多元文化的一個州，它吸引了來自世界各地的人們。這些移民的風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣以及語言在他們的新家都得以延續(xù)。當(dāng)你了解了加利福尼亞的歷史后，你就不會對此感到驚訝了。 NATIVE AMERCANS Exactly when the first p

3、eople arrived in what we now know as California, no one really knows. However, it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which e

4、xisted in prehistoric times. In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, the native people suffered greatly. Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. In addition, many died from the diseases brought by the Europeans. However, some survived these terrible times, and today there are

5、 more Native Americans living in California than in any other state. 美洲土著人 最早的一批人具體是在什么時候來到我們現(xiàn)在所知道的加利福尼亞地區(qū)的，誰也說不清楚。然而，很可能至少在15 ,000年以前美洲土著人就住在加利福尼亞了。科學(xué)家們認為，這些遷居者通過一條史前時代曾經(jīng)存在的大陸橋穿越北極地區(qū)的白令海峽到達美洲。歐洲人在16世紀來到這兒后，土著人遭受了極大的苦難，成千上萬的人被殺害或被迫成為奴隸。此外，歐洲人帶來了疾病，使許多人染病而死，不過，還是有一些人在經(jīng)歷了這些恐怖時期后活下來了。今天住在加利福尼亞的美洲

6、土著人比任何其他州的都要多。 THE SPANISH In the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early 16th century, when they fought against the native people and took their land. Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of South America an

7、d along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States. Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their independence from Spain. California then became p

8、art of Mexico. In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA. However, there is still a strong Spanish influence in the state. That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language. 西班牙人

9、 在18世紀的時候，加利福尼亞是由西班牙統(tǒng)治的西班牙士兵最早是在1 6世紀初期來到南美洲的，他們同土著人打仗，并奪去了他們的土地3兩個世紀以后，西班牙人在南美洲的大部分地區(qū)定居下來，而且還在我們現(xiàn)在稱之為美國的西北沿海地區(qū)住下來c在首批移 居加州的西班牙人中，大部分是宗教人士，他們的職責(zé)是向原住民傳授天主教。1821年，墨西哥人從西班牙獲得了獨立-加利福尼亞于是成了墨西哥的一部分。1846年美國向墨西哥宣戰(zhàn)，美國贏得戰(zhàn)爭勝利后，墨西哥被迫把加利福尼亞割讓給美國。但是，這個州至今仍然保留著很強的西班牙的影響。這就是為什么今天還有40%的加利福尼亞人仍然把西班牙語作為第一或第二語言的緣故。

10、 RUSSIANS In the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco. 俄羅斯人 19世紀初期，一批最初到阿拉斯加的俄羅斯獵人開始在加利福尼亞定居下來。今天，住在圣弗朗西斯科（舊金山）及其周邊地區(qū)的美籍俄羅斯人約有25,000人。 GOLD MINERS In 1848

11、, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soo

12、n followed. In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich. Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal state of the

13、USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society. 淘金礦工 1848年，在美國同墨西哥開戰(zhàn)之后不久，在加利福尼亞發(fā)現(xiàn)了金礦。發(fā)財夢很快就吸引了世界各地的人。距離最近因而來得最早的是南美洲人和美國人。隨后跟著來的有歐洲和亞洲的探險家。事實上很少有人圓了發(fā)財夢。一些人死了或回家了，但是盡管條件十分艱苦，多數(shù)人還是留在了加利福尼亞勞作謀生，并在新的城鎮(zhèn)或農(nóng)場里定居下來。到1850年加利福尼亞成為美國第31個州的時候，它已經(jīng)是一個有著多種文化的社會了。 LATER A RRIVALS Although Chinese imm

14、igrants began to arrive during the Gold Rush Period, it was the building of the rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s. Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of California, although a large percentage have chosen to stay in the "

15、Chinatowns" of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19th century. In 1911 immigrants from Denmark established a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. By the 1920s the

16、film industry was well established in Hollywood, California. The industry boom attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States. Japanese farmers began arriving in California at the beginning of the 20th century, and si

17、nce the 1980s a lot more have settled there. People from Africa have been living in California since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. However, even more arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries. 后來的移民 雖然中國移民在淘金熱時期就開始到來了，但是更大批量的移民卻是在1 9世紀60年代為了修建貫穿美國

18、東西海岸的鐵路而來的。今天，加利福尼亞州各地都有美籍華人，盡管有很大比例的華人還是選擇住在洛杉磯和圣弗朗西斯科（舊金山）的“中國城”里。 19世紀后期，其他國家的移民，比如意大利人來到了加利福尼亞，他們主要是漁民，也有制酒工人。1911年，丹麥的移民建立了自己的城鎮(zhèn)，至今仍然保留著丹麥文化。 20世紀20年代，電影業(yè)在加州的好萊塢建立了起來。這個行業(yè)吸引了大量的歐洲人，包括許多猶太人。今天，加利福尼亞的猶太人口在美國占第二位。 日本農(nóng)民是在20世紀初期開始到加利福尼亞來的，而從20世紀80年代以來就有更多的日本人在加利福尼亞定居了。非洲人從1 9世紀就在加利福尼亞住下來，他們

19、是從墨西哥向北遷來的。然而，更多的非洲人是在1942年至1945年期間來到加利福尼亞的，當(dāng)時他們是到船廠和飛機廠工作。 MOST RECENT ARRIVALS In more recent decades, California has become home to more people from Asia, including Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. Since its beginning in the 1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians an

20、d Pakistanis to California. 最近期的移民 在最近的幾十年里，加利福尼亞成了更多的亞洲人的家，包括朝鮮人、柬埔寨人、越南人和老撾人。從20世紀70年代以來，計算機工業(yè)吸引了印度人和巴基斯坦人來到加州。 THE FUTURE People from different parts of the world, attracted by the climate and the lifestyle, still immigrate to California. It is believed that before long the mix of nationaliti

21、es will be so great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures. 未來展望 世界各地的人，由于受到氣候條件和生活方式的吸引，仍然在繼續(xù)遷入加利福尼亞。人們認為，要不了多久，多種國籍的混合將會非常之大，以致不可能存在一種主要的種族或文化群體，而是多種族、多文化的混合體。 GEORGE’S DIARY 12TH—14TH JUNE Monday 12th, June Arrived ea

22、rly this morning by bus. Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower and shave. Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. Built in 1873, the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wa

23、nted to find a better form of transport than horse-drawn trams. Apparently hed been shocked when he saw a terrible accident in which a trams brakes failed, the conductor could not control the situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it. Had a late lunch at Fishermans Wh

24、at. This is the district where Italian fishermen first came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing industry. Now its a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries. Its also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay. D

25、id so much exploring at Fishermans What. Am exhausted and dont feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight! Tuesday 13th, June Teamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. Spent all day driving around the city. Theres a fascinating drive marked out for touris

26、ts. It has blue and white signs with seagulls on them to show the way to go. Its a 79km round-trip that takes in all the famous tourist spots. Stopped many times to admire the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. Now have a really good idea of what the citys like. In eve

27、ning, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern China. Saw some interesting temples here, a number of markets and a great many restaurants. Also art galleries and a mu

28、seum containing documents, photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, but it is closed in the evening. Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel. Wednesday 14th, June In morning, took ferry to Angel Island f

29、rom the port in San Francisco Bay. On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light b

30、ut the immigrants had nowhere else to go. Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many more Chinese peo

31、ple were able to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. Made me very thoughtful and thankful for my life today. 選修8 Unit 2 Cloning-Reading CLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING US? Cloning has always been with us and is here to stay. It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. I

32、t happens in plants when gardeners take cuttings from growing plants to make new ones. It also happens in animals when twins identical in sex and appearance are produced from the same original egg. The fact is that these are both examples of natural clones. Unit2 克隆：它將把我們引向何方？ 克隆一直與我們同在，而如今它還要持續(xù)下去

33、。這是一種用來生產(chǎn)與原型完全相同的動植物的方法。當(dāng)園藝師從生長著的植物上剪下枝條來培植新植物時，就會產(chǎn)生這種現(xiàn)象。這種現(xiàn)象也發(fā)生在動物身上，從同一個原生卵子產(chǎn)生性別和相貌相同的雙胞胎也是克隆。實際上，這些都是自然克隆現(xiàn)象。 Cloning has two major uses. Firstly, gardeners use it all the time to produce commercial quantities of plants. Secondly, it is valuable for research on new plant species and for medical r

34、esearch on animals. Cloning plants is straightforward while cloning animals is very complicated. It is a difficult task to undertake. Many attempts to clone mammals failed. But at last the determination and patience of the scientists paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough - the cloning of Dolly the sh

35、eep. The procedure works like this: 克隆技術(shù)有兩大用途。第一，園藝師一直用它生產(chǎn)大量的供商用的植物；第二，它在對新植物物種的研究以及對動物的醫(yī)學(xué)研究方面都是很有價值的。克隆植物簡單，但克隆動物就比較復(fù)雜了，是一項很難完成的任務(wù)?？寺〔溉閯游锏亩啻螄L試都失敗了。但是，科學(xué)家的決心和耐心最終得到了回報，這就是1996年具有突破性的克隆羊“多莉”的誕生。它的程序如下圖所示： On the one hand, the whole scientific world followed the progress of the first successful clon

36、e, Dolly the sheep. The fact that she seemed to develop normally was very encouraging. Then came the disturbing news that Dolly had become seriously ill. Cloning scientists were cast down to find that Dollys illnesses were more appropriate to a much older animal. Altogether Dolly lived six and a hal

37、f years, half the length of the life of the original sheep. Sadly the same arbitrary fate affected other species, such as cloned mice. The questions that concerned all scientists were: "Would this be a major difficulty for all cloned animals? Would it happen forever? Could it be solved if correction

38、s were made in their research procedure?" 一方面，整個科學(xué)界都在關(guān)注著首例成功的克隆動物多莉羊的成長多莉看來是在正常地成長著，這很令人鼓舞。接著傳來了多莉病重的壞消息。研究克隆的科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)多莉得的病更容易發(fā)生在年老的羊身上．這讓他們很沮喪。多莉總共只存活了六年半，這是它的原型羊壽命的一半。可悲的是，同樣無法控制的命運也在影響著其他物種，如克隆鼠?？茖W(xué)家的腦海里產(chǎn)生的問題是：“這是不是所有克隆動物的一個主要困難呢？這種現(xiàn)象會不會永遠發(fā)生？如果改進程序，問題會不會解決？ On the other hand, Dollys appearance rais

39、ed a storm of objections and had a great impact on the media and public imagination. It became controversial. It suddenly opened everybodys eyes to the possibility of using cloning to cure serious illnesses and even to produce human beings. 另一方面，多莉的出生引起了一陣強烈的反對，對，對媒體和公眾的想象力也產(chǎn)生了巨大的影響。它引起了爭議，因為它突然打開了

40、人們的眼界，看到了有可能：用克隆技術(shù)來治療重病，甚至克隆出人類。 Although at present human egg cells and embryos needed for cloning research are difficult to obtain, newspapers wrote of evil leaders hoping to clone themselves to attain their ambitions. Religious leaders also raised moral questions. Governments became nervous and

41、more conservative. Some began to reform their legal systems and forbade research into human cloning, but other countries like China and the UK, continued to accumulate evidence of the abundant medical aid that cloning could provide. However, scientists still wonder whether cloning will help or harm

42、us and where it is leading us. 盡管目前供克隆研究的人體卵細胞和胚胎還很難得到，但報紙報道說，有些邪惡頭目希望把自己克隆出來以實現(xiàn)他的野心。宗教領(lǐng)袖也提出了道德方面的問題。各國政府惶恐不安而且更加謹慎，有些政府開始改革司法制度，明令禁止進行克隆人類的研究。但是其他國家如中國和英國，則還在繼續(xù)收集克隆技術(shù)有可能提供豐富有的醫(yī)療救助的證據(jù)。然而，科學(xué)察們?nèi)詫寺〖夹g(shù)有助于人類還是有害于人類，以及克隆技術(shù)將把我們引向何處困惑。 THE RETURN OF THE DINOSAURS? The possibility of cloning fierce an

43、d extinct wild animals has always excited film makers. And they are not the only ones! The popularity of films such as Jurassic Park, in which a scientist clones several kinds of extinct dinosaurs, proves how the idea struck a mixture of fear and excitement into peoples hearts. But in fact we are a

44、long way from being able to clone extinct animals. Scientists are still experimenting with cloning mammals. This is because the cloning of mammals is still a new science and its story only began seriously in the 1950s as this list shows: 1950s cloning of frogs 1996 first clone of a mammal: Dolly th

45、e sheep 1970s research using the embryos of mice 2000 cow gave birth to a bison 1979 work on embryos of sheep and mice 2001 Chinas first cloned twin calves 1981 first experimental clones of mice 2002 first cloned cats 1983 first experimental clones of cows 2005 first cloned dog … From time

46、to time people suggest that extinct animals like dinosaurs, can possibly be brought back to life through cloning. Unfortunately, with what we know now, this is either impossible or unsuitable. There are many reasons. ◎ The initial requirement is that you need perfect DNA (which gives information fo

47、r how cells are to grow). ◎ All efforts of cloning an animal will be in vain if there is not enough diversity in the group to overcome illnesses. Diversity in a group means having animals with their genes arranged in different ways. The advantage is that if there is a new illness some of these anim

48、als may die,but others will survive and pass on the ability to resist that disease to the next generation. The great drawback to cloning a group of animals is that they would all have the same arrangement of genes and so might die of the same illness. Then none of them would be left to continue the

49、species. ◎ It would be unfair to clone any extinct animals if they were to live in a zoo. A suitable habitat would be needed for them to lead a natural life.Based on what we know now, you cannot clone animals that have been extinct longer than 10,000 years. Actually, dinosaurs disappeared 65,000,00

50、0 years ago. So the chance of dinosaurs ever returning to the earth is merely a dream. Unit3 蛇的困擾 Inventors and inventions-Reading THE PROBLEM OF THE SHRIKES When I called up my mother in the countryside on the telephone she was very upset. "There are some snakes in our courtyard," she to

51、ld me. "Snakes come near the house now and then, and they seem to have made their home here, not far from the walnut tree. Can you get rid of them please?" I felt very proud. Here was a chance for .me to distinguish myself by inventing something merciful that would catch snakes but not harm them. I

52、knew my parents would not like me to hurt these living creatures! 我給住在鄉(xiāng)下的母親打電話的時候，她感到很心煩。“我們院子里有幾條蛇，”她告訴我說，“蛇時不時地爬到屋子旁邊來，似乎是在屋子附近離胡桃樹不遠的地方安家了。你能不能把它們趕走？”我感到很自豪。這回我有機會來表現(xiàn)一下自己了。我要發(fā)明某種仁慈的東西，既可以把蛇捉住，而又不會傷害它們。我知道我的父母是不會讓我傷害這些生物的。 The first thing I did was to see if there were any products that might h

53、elp me, but there only seemed to be powders designed to kill snakes. A new approach was clearly needed. I set about researching the habits of snakes to find the easiest way to trap them. Luckily these reptiles are small and that made the solution easier. 我所做的第一件事就是看看有沒有現(xiàn)成的任何產(chǎn)品能幫助我。但是，看來只有一種毒蛇的藥粉。很明

54、顯，我得找一種新的方法了。于是我就著手研究蛇的習(xí)性，以便能用最容易的方法來捉住他們。好在這些爬行動物都很小，問題比較容易解決。 Prepared with some research findings, I decided on three possible approaches: firstly, removing their habitat; secondly, attracting them into a trap using male or female perfume or food; and thirdly cooling them so that they would beco

55、me sleepy and could be easily caught. I decided to use the last one. I bought an ice-cream maker which was made of stainless steel. Between the outside and the inside walls of the bowl there is some jelly, which freezes when cooled. I put the bowl into the fridge and waited for 24 hours. At the same

56、 time I prepared some ice-cubes. 經(jīng)過一番研究準(zhǔn)備之后，我決定采用三種可能的方法：第一，鏟除蛇的棲息地；第二，用男人或女人的香水或食物把它們引進陷阱；第三，降低它們的體溫，使它們困乏，這樣就很容易把它們捉住。我決定采用最后一種方法。我買了一個制冰淇淋的不銹鋼碗。在碗的內(nèi)壁和外壁都抹上果凍，這些果凍冷卻后會凍結(jié)。我把這個碗放進冰箱，冷凍了24個小時。與此同時，我還準(zhǔn)備了一些冰塊兒。 The next morning I got up early before the sun was hot. I placed the frozen bowl over the

57、snakes habitat and the ice-cubes on top of the bowl to keep it cool. Finally I covered the whole thing with a large bucket. Then I waited. After two hours I removed the bucket and the bowl. The snakes were less active but they were still too fast for me. They abruptly disappeared into a convenient h

58、ole in the wall. So I had to adjust my plan. 第二次試驗我用的還是凍結(jié)的碗和冰塊兒，但是這次我是在夜晚氣溫開始變涼的時候把它們放在蛇窩的上方，然后像以前那樣用桶把碗罩住，通宵放在那兒。第二天一早我就去看結(jié)果。這一次我小心翼翼地蹲下去檢查的時候，發(fā)現(xiàn)蛇都是睡意濃濃的。但是一把它們提起來，它們就要咬我。因為它們都是毒蛇，所以很顯然我還得改進我的捕蛇方案。 For the second attempt I froze the bowl and the ice-cubes again but placed them over the snakes hab

59、itat in the evening, as the temperature was starting to cool. Then as before, I covered the bowl with the bucket and left everything overnight. Early the next morning I returned to see the result. This time with great caution I bent down to examine the snakes and I found them very sleepy. But once p

60、icked up, they tried to bite me. As they were poisonous snakes, I clearly needed to improve my design again. My third attempt repeated the second procedure. The next morning I carried in my hand a small net used for catching fish. This was in the expectation that the snakes would bite again. But mo

61、nitored carefully, the snakes proved to be no trouble and all went according to plan. I collected the passive snakes and the next day we merrily released them all back into the wild. 第三次試驗重復(fù)了上一次的程序，不過第二天早晨我的手里拿了一個捕魚用的小網(wǎng)。這是因為我預(yù)料蛇還全再咬人。但是經(jīng)過仔細監(jiān)視，證明這些蛇是制造不了麻煩的，一切都按計劃進行著。我把這些溫順的蛇收集起來，第二天就愉快地把他們?nèi)坚尫诺?/p>

62、野外去了。 Pressed by my friends and relations, I decided to seize the opportunity to get recognition for my successful idea by sending my invention to the patent office. Only after you have had that recognition can you say that you are truly an inventor. The criteria are so strict that it is diffic

63、ult to get new ideas accepted unless they are truly novel. In addition, no invention will get a patent if it is: ◎a discovery ◎a scientific idea or mathematical model ◎literature or art ◎a game or a business ◎a computer programme ◎a new animal or plant variety 由于朋友和親戚的敦促，我決定把我這次的發(fā)明運到專利局去，請他們對

64、我這次成功的思路給予認可。只有你得到這種承認，你才可以說你是一個真正的發(fā)明者二（評定）專利標(biāo)準(zhǔn)非常嚴格，除非新的想法真是新穎的，否則很難被接受。此外，你的想法如果屬于下列情況，那么你也不可能得到專利： 一種發(fā)現(xiàn)一種科學(xué)理論或數(shù)學(xué)模式文學(xué)或藝術(shù)一場游戲或一筆交易一個電腦程序一種新的動植物物種 Nor will you receive a patent until a search has been made to find out that your product really is different from everyone elses. There are a large numb

65、er of patent examiners, too, whose only job is to examine whether your claim is valid or not. If it passes all the tests, your application for a patent will be published 18 months from the date you apply. So I have filled in the form and filed my patent application with the Patent Office. Now its a

66、matter of waiting and hoping. Youll know if I succeed by the size of my bank balance! Wish me luck! 你的產(chǎn)品要經(jīng)過仔細調(diào)查，證明它確實是與眾不同的，你才能獲得專利。專利局還有一大批審查人員，他們的唯一職責(zé)就是審查你的專利申請是否有效。如果通過了所有這些審查，你申請的專利就會在你提出申請的18個月之后公布出來。于是，我填了表，向?qū)＠痔峤涣松暾垥，F(xiàn)在就是等，待和期盼了。將來你看看我的銀行結(jié)余金額就會知道我是否成功了祝我好運吧。 ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL Alexander Graham Bell was born in 1847 in Scotland, but when he was young his family moved to Boston, USA. His mother was almost entirely deaf, so Alexander became interested in help