英语笔译（3）
E-C
1.
I, by comparison, living in my overpriced city apartment, walking to work past putrid sacks of street garbage, paying usurious taxes to local and state governments I generally abhor, I am rated middle class. This causes me to wonder, do the measurements make sense? Are we measuring only that which is easily measured – the numbers on the money chart – and ignoring values more central to the good life? （148 words）
Nor do I want to belittle the opportunities for small decencies in cities – the eruptions of one-stranger-to-another caring that always surprise and delight. But these are, sadly, more exceptions than rules and are often overwhelmed by the awful corruptions and dangers that surround us.
2.
Opera is expensive: that much is inevitable. But expensive things are not inevitably the province of the rich unless we abdicate society’s power of choice. We can choose to make opera, and other expensive forms of culture, accessible to those who cannot individually pay for it. The question is: why should we? Nobody denies the imperatives of food, shelter, defence, health and education. But even in a prehistoric cave, mankind stretched out a hand not just to eat, drink or fight, but also to draw. The impulse towards culture, the desire to express and explore the world through imagination and representation is fundamental. In Europe, this desire has found fulfilment in the masterpieces of our music, art, literature and theatre. These masterpieces are the touchstones for all our efforts; they are the touchstones for the possibilities to which human thought and imagination may aspire; they carry the most profound messages that can be sent from one human to another. (195 words)
3.
I agree to some extent with my imaginary English reader. American literary historians are perhaps prone to view their own national scene too narrowly, mistaking prominence for uniqueness. They do over-phrase their own literature, or certainly its minor figures. And Americans do swing from aggressive overphrase of their literature to an equally unfortunate, imitative deference. But then, the English themselves are somewhat insular in their literary appraisals. Moreover, in fields where they are not pre-eminent – e.g. in painting and music – they
too alternate between boasting of native products and copying those of the Continent. How many English paintings try to look as though they were done in Paris; how many times have we read in articles that they really represent an “English tradition” after all.
4.
In some societies people want children for what might be called familial reasons: to extend the family line or the family name, to propitiate the ancestors; to enable the proper functioning of religious rituals involving the family. Such reasons may seem thin the modern, secularized society but they have been and are powerful indeed in other places. than one person for sustenance and in generational extension. (166 words)
5.
Every day, newspapers, magazines, and television fill our eyes and ears with reports about the world: The unemployment rate is down four-tenths of a percent; another candidate has declared her intention to run; the space shuttle completes a successful mission i guerrillas claim responsibility for an attack on a refugee settlement. We rarely question such information; instead, we accord it the status of fact by making two crucial assumptions: that such stories could be verified if we wanted to check into them and that the sources who deliver them have no intent to deceive us.
. (151 words, 30 min.)
6.
The thirty-second day out of Bombay began inauspiciously. In the morning a sea smashed one of the galley doors. We dashed in through lots of steam and found the cook very wet and indignant with the ship: “She's getting worse every day. She’s trying to drown me in front of my own stove!” He was very angry. We pacified him, and the carpenter, though washed away twice from there, managed to repair the door. Through that accident our dinner was not ready till late, but it didn’t matter in the end because Knowles, who went to fetch it, got knocked down by a sea and the dinner went over the side. Captain Allistoun, looking more hard and thin-lipped than ever, hung on to full topsails and foresail, and would not notice that the ship, asked to do too much, appeared to lose heart altogether for the first time since we knew her. (159 words, 30 min)
7．
Schubert’s Serenade
Henry and Dana Lee Thomas
Schubert continued his solitary dreams among the stars. Poverty, disillusionment, disease could not still his music. Many a time he had declared that he would never write another song. He was tired of scattering his treasures to the fickle winds. But he never stopped. Sitting at the tavern amidst the clatter of ninepins and the laughter of the drinkers, he would suddenly snatch up a menu and dash off upon the back of it a melody that bubbled like wine out of his overflowing heart.
One day a friend asked him to set to music the words of a little poem he had composed for a young lady's birthday. Schubert, who knew nothing of the young lady, scribbled down a handful of notes and gave them to his friend with an apology, “Sorry, but I haven’t the time for anything more serious just now.” His friend took the music home and tried it on the piano. He was so delighted with it that he made arrangements to have Schubert play it at the home of a mutual friend before a select circle of music lovers.
At the appointed hour everybody was there -- except Schubert. The composer was nowhere to be found. The hostess was beside herself. She sent one of Schubert’s companions to search all the beer taverns in town, certain that he would be found in some isolated corner, sipping his beverage and shaping his dreams. She was right. Schubert was discovered in one of his favorite haunts. Dragged unceremoniously to the drawing room, he confessed that he had forgotten all about the appointment. He sat down and played the song he had scribbled for his friend in such a hurry. When he had finished playing, the tears came into his eyes. “ I hadn’t realized it was so beautiful,”
he said.
The name of the song? Schubert’s Serenade! (320 words, 50 min.)
8．Down into the Deep-- Using high tech to explore the Titanic
After resting on the ocean floor, split asunder and rusting, for nearly three quarters of a century, a great ship seemed to come alive again. The saga of the White Star Liner Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank on its maiden voyage in 1912,carrying more than 1,500 passengers to their deaths, has been celebrated in print and on film, in poetry and song. But last week what had been legendary suddenly became real. As they viewed videotapes and photographs of the sunken leviathan, millions of people around the world could sense her mass, her eerie quiet and the ruined splendor of a lost age.
Watching on television, they vicariously joined the undersea craft Alvin and Jason Jr. as they toured the wreckage of the luxury liner, wandering across the decks past corroded bollards, peering into the officers’ quarters and through rust-curtained portholes. Views of the railings where doomed passengers and crewmembers stood evoked images of the moonless night 74 years ago when the great ship slipped beneath the waves.
The two-minutes videotape and nine photographs, all in colour and shot 12,500 ft. under the North Atlantic, were a tiny sample of the 60 hours of video and 60,000 stills garnered during the twelve-day exploration. They were released at a Washington press conference conducted by Marine Geologist Robert Ballard, 44,who led the teams from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that found the Titanic last September and revisited it this Jul y.
Recounting the highlights of what has already become the most celebrated feat of underwater exploration, Ballard revealed some startling new information. His deep-diving craft failed to find the 300 ft. gash that, according to legend, was torn in the Titanic’s hull when the ship plowed into the iceberg. Instead, he suggested, the collision had buckled the ship’s plates, allowing water to pour in. He also brought back evidence that the ship broke apart not when she hit bottom, as he had thought when viewing the first Titanic images last September, but as she sank, the stern , which settled on the bottom almost 1, 800 ft. from the bow, had swiveled 180° on its way down. (365 words)
9．
Japanese Ability to Use English
In international meetings Japanese ability in the language of the conference, which usually is English, likely ranks near the bottom among the participants. Inevitably the voice of Japan seems less loud and distinct than it should be. This is a sorry state of affairs for a country so great in economic size and so overwhelmingly dependent on its international relations.
There are a number of reasons for this blind spot. One is that Japan has traditionally thought of contact with other cultures as being through the written word, not as two-way oral communication. There even seemed an advantage in not communicating with foreigners, and in keeping them from learning about Japan and what was in the minds of Japanese.
The great majority of Japanese have little appreciation of the drawbacks of this situation. They are not aware that Japan is intellectually isolated, or that to others it sometimes appears to be a tongue-tied giant or a sinister outsider. Only slowly have they begun to realize the need for others to understand Japan better and for Japanese to know more about the rest of the world. For
both purposes a great improvement in language skills is mandatory.
Another barrier in Japan's relationship with the outside world is more amorphous, and probably more difficult to overcome: the Japanese sense of being a separate people. The line between the “we” of the Japanese as a national group and the “they” of the rest of mankind seems sharper for them than for most other people.
These attitudes are a natural product of Japan's geographical isolation and its unique position as the one major industrialized country that is not of Western cultural background – the country that does not quite fit into either the Western or Eastern worlds. In fact, the Japanese almost glory in the thought that they are somehow unique. (315 words, 50min)
(From Reader’s Digest)
10．
Person of the Year
(by Nancy Gibbs)
Sept. 11 delivered both a shock and a surprise -- he attacks and our response to it -- and we can argue forever over which mattered more. There has been so much talk of the goodness that erupted that day that we forget how unprepared we were for it. We did not expect much from a generation that had spent its middle age examining all the ways it failed to measure up to the one that had come before -- all fat, no muscle less a beacon to the world than a bully, drunk on blessings taken for granted.
It was tempting to say that Sept. 11 changed all that, just as it is tempting to say that every hero needs a villain, and goodness needs evil as its grinding stone. But try looking a widow in the eye and talking about all the good that has come of this. It may not be a coincidence, but neither is it a partnership: good does not need evil ,we owe no debt to demons ,and the attack did not make us better. It was an occasion to discover what we already were. “Maybe the purpose of all this,” New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said at a funeral for a friend, “is to find out it America today is as strong as when we fought for our independence or when we fought for ourselves as a Union to end slavery or as strong as our fathers and grandfathers who fought to rid the world of Nazism.” The terrorists, he argues, were counting on our cowardice. They've learned a lot about us since then. And so have we.
For leading that lesson, for having more faith in us than we had in ourselves, for being brave when required and rude where appropriate and tender without being trite, for not sleeping and not quitting and not shrinking from the pain all around him, Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of the World, is TIME’s 2001 Person of the Year. (342 words, 60 min.)
C-E
1．
简·奥斯丁的小说写的都是三五户人家居家度日，婚恋嫁娶的小事。因此不少中国读者不理解她何以在西方享有那么高的声誉。但一部小说开掘得深不深，艺术和思想是否有过人之处，的确不在题材的大小。有人把奥斯丁的作品比作越嚼越有味的橄榄。这不仅因为她的语言精彩，并曾对小说艺术的发展有创造性贡献，也因为她的轻快活泼的叙述实际上并不那么浅白，那么透明。史密斯夫人说过，女作家常常试图修正现存的价值秩序，改变人们对“重要”和
“不重要”的看法。也许奥斯丁的小说能教我们学会转换眼光和角度，明察到“小事”的叙述所涉及的那些不小的问题。（154字）
2．
来美国求学的中国学生与其他亚裔学生一样，大多非常刻苦勤奋，周末也往往会抽出一天甚至两天的时间去实验室加班，因而比起美国学生来，成果出得较多。我的导师是亚裔人，嗜烟好酒，脾气暴躁。但他十分欣赏亚裔学生勤奋与扎实的基础知识，也特别了解亚裔学生的心理。因此，在他实验室所招的学生中，除有一名来自德国外，其余5位均是亚裔学生。他干脆在实验室的门上贴一醒目招牌：“本室助研必须每周工作7天，早10时至晚12时，工作时间必须全力以赴。”这位导师的严格及苛刻是全校有名的，在我所呆的3年半中，共有14位学生被招进他的实验室，最后博士毕业的只剩下5人。1990年夏天，我不顾别人劝阻，硬着头皮接受了导师的资助，从此开始了艰难的求学旅程。 （195 字）
3．
1997年2月24日我们代表团下榻日月潭中信大饭店，送走了最后一批客人，已是次日凌晨3点了。我躺在床上久久不能入睡，披衣走到窗前，往外看去，只见四周峰峦叠翠，湖面波光粼粼。望着台湾这仅有的景色如画的坦然湖泊，我想了许多，许多„„
大家走到一起，谈论的一个重要话题就是中华民族在21世纪的强盛。虽然祖国大陆、台湾的青年生活在不同的社会环境中，有着各自不同的生活经历，但大家的内心都深深铭刻着中华文化优秀传统的印记，都拥有着振兴中华民族的共同理想。在世纪之交的伟大时代，我们的祖国正在走向繁荣富强，海峡两岸人民也将加强交流，共同推进祖国统一大业的早日完成。世纪之交的宝贵机遇和巨大挑战讲青年推到了历史前台。跨世纪青年一代应该用什么样的姿态迎接充满希望的新世纪，这是我们必须回答的问题。 （261字）
日月潭水波不兴，仿佛与我一同在思索„„
4．
加拿大的温哥华1986年刚刚度过百岁生日，但城市的发展令世界瞩目。以港立市，以港兴市，是许多港口城市生存发展的道路。经过百年开发建设，有着天然不冻良港的温哥华，成文举世闻名的港口城市，同亚洲、大洋洲、欧洲、拉丁美洲均有定期班轮，年货物吞吐量达到8,000万吨，全市就业人口中有三分之一从事贸易与运输行业。
温哥华（Vancouver ）的辉煌是温哥华人智慧和勤奋的结晶，其中包括多民族的贡献。加拿大地广人稀，国土面积比中国还大，人口却不足3000万。 吸收外来移民，是加拿大长期奉行的国策。可以说，加拿大除了印第安人外，无一不是外来移民，不同的只是时间长短而已。温哥华则更是世界上屈指可数的多民族城市。现今180万温哥华居民中，由一半不是在本地出生的，每4个居民中就有一个是亚洲人。而25万华人对温哥华的经济转型起着决定性的作用。他们其中有一半是近5年才来到温哥华地区的，使温哥华成为亚洲以外最大的中国人聚居地。（237 字）
5．
炎黄子孙
中华民族把炎帝和黄帝看作自己的祖先。中华民族的子孙不管迁徙到哪里，都把自己称为炎黄子孙，看作同一血统传下来的。即使到了外国定居，他们的子孙也希望有机会回中国寻根。中国有许多姓氏，为了说明自己是炎黄子孙，他们的族谱往往要追溯到炎黄二帝上头
去。比如，中国姓张的人有一亿多，现存的张氏族谱就有轩辕黄帝第五子赐姓张氏的记载。 血浓于水，炎黄子孙具有巨大的凝聚力。依靠海内外炎黄子孙的共同努力，中华大地一定会建设得更加美丽，更加富强。（211字）
6．
没有罚就没有教育？
曾几何时，“体罚”被视作封建教育制度下的糟粕遭到唾弃。然而今天，它不知怎的又出现在小学校园里。难道真的没有体罚就没有教育吗?
记者最近在广州采访过部分小学生、家长和教师，他们毫不隐瞒地向记者透露了一些内情。
“我以后不敢上课搞小动作了。”在一个小学生的作本上，记者见到这句话被写了一百遍。
事实上，一些学校里出现的惩罚五花八门，如罚站、罚跪、罚蹲、罚跑、罚倒立、罚扫 课室扫操场„„
有个“调皮鬼”，上课多次讲话，老师干脆用不干胶纸封了他的嘴，叫他免开金口。（211字）
7．
老与少
老年为少年之过来人，少年为老年之候补者，老与少，只不过时间上之差别而已。然中国习惯，对老少之间，往往划有无形界限。在客观上，有时重老而轻少，有时重少而轻老。在主观上，老者自恃其老，少者自矜其少。几千年来，形成老者自以为经验丰富而鄙薄少年为处事幼稚．而少年自以为活力充沛而蔑视老者为老朽昏庸。这真是偏颇的见地！
粱启超在“少年中国”一文中，对老年人与少年人曾有一适当对比。他说：“老年人如夕照，少年人如朝阳，老年人如僧，少年人如侠，老年人如字典，少年人如戏文；老年人如埃及沙漠之金字塔，少年人如西伯利亚之铁路；„„”
观此，则知老年与少年，各有所长，各有所用。（243字）
8．
人间天堂——杭州
杭州是一座有悠久历史的文化名城。“良渚文化”遗址即可证明，在四千多年前，这里已有人类繁衍生息。五代时的吴越国和南宋均曾在此建都，历时237年。现今的杭州，辖市内6个区和7个县。
杭州素以风景秀丽著称。七百年前，意大利旅行家马可·波罗曾称誉它是“世界上最美丽华贵之城”。
杭州的工业十分发达，1984年全市工业总产值突破一百亿元，成为全国十大工业城市之一。杭州又是中国东南沿海交通枢纽，这里水陆交通便利，有可供大型客机升降的机场，班机直飞北京、上海、香港和各大城市。(202字)
9．
麦当劳餐馆
麦当劳餐馆以其特有的管理风格、按小时计酬、笑容可掬的服务员以及各种社会公共福利活动而享誉全球。1992年8月，麦当劳分店在北京王府井开张营业。一时许多人辞去原来的工作，来麦当劳餐馆求职。他们以为，只要在合资企业工作，收入便会增加。然而，没过多久，他们就发现实际情况并非美妙。普通工的标准工作量为一天6小时，每小时的收入仅为2元。算下来，一名普通工的月工资仅为300元而已。
麦当劳的中国员工对此表示不满，认为他们的收入与他们所付出的劳动不相符。此外，即使时逢严寒的冬季，北京的麦当劳餐馆也要求其雇员严格遵守公司的一向全球性规定：员工上班必须身着短袖衬衫。中国员工对麦当劳的工时制和伙食规定也深表不满。他们找餐馆资方代表交涉，希望解决问题，但是毫无结果。一些雇员开始消极怠工，甚至顶撞上司。另一些雇员则试图通过同公司行政领导谈判来解决问题。他们列举了中国法律中的有关条文，提出要建立工会，来保护餐馆员工的合法利益。
公司终于在工作条件和工资方面作出让步。麦当劳餐馆的中国雇员对此表示满意，餐馆的生意也随之回升。最近，麦当劳又在北京新开张了几家分店。（466字）
10．
气象心理学
气象心理学所研究的是天气对人类行为的影响作用，其中包括离子数量平衡的作用。
离子是存在于大气中的电荷，它们存在于我们所呼吸的空气中。一立方厘米的空气约含2,000个离子。离子分为正负两种。空气中正离子的数量多于负离子的数量，它们的比率约为四个负离子对五个正离子，即空气中正离子约占56%，负离子约占44%。
气象心理学家特别关心两种与离子有关的情况。一种情况是正负离子的平衡问题。当负离子的总数下降时，人的行为可能也会随之发生变化。
气象学家发现，当空气中有过量的正离子时，有些人会变得更加紧张不安，心烦意乱，急不可待。空气中高比率的正离子容易引发交通事故和犯罪行为。
气象心理学家所关心的另一种情况是空气中离子的总数。在一些空气受到严重污染的地区，离子的总数减少了。离子数量的减少容易使某些人的情绪更为忧郁。空气中离子数量低于正常标准时，更多的人容易出现健康问题，这时会有更多的人去看病。
目前气象心理学家的注意力主要集中在离子与健康的关系上。他们希望通过研究离子平衡和离子总数对健康所产生的作用，找到预防出现某些疾病和不良行为的方法。（456字）
11．
信息高速公路
信息高速公路是一个大规模的信息网络，包括光纤电缆高速通道，金属电缆低速通道和无线电传播。这个信息网络几乎能够传送任何形式的记录资料，如文字、声音、图像等等。人们可以在办公室或家里的电脑终端机上，获取包括金融、商贸、医疗、教育、科研以及娱乐等内容的信息。这个崭新的信息系统极大地改变了人们的生活方式。
中国的中心城市和沿海发达地区迫切需要获取信息。中国政府已经把建立信息市场提到议事日程，提出分两步走的发展战略。
从现在起到2000年为第一步。在此期间将建立一条信息高速公路主干道，主要为
经济发达地区服务，同时也为进一步扩展网络打下基础。从2000年到2020年为第二步。到那时，将建立一张遍布全国各地的国家高速信息网络，把不发达地区带入信息网络。
几百年前中国的瓷器被西方世界称为“china ”。今天，“中国高速信息网络法”的英译文是“China’s High-speed Information Network Approach”。这个英文名称的首字母缩略词正好是“CHINA ”。这是一个好迹象，预示中国在世界信息革命中将取得成功。中国将会从一个农业社会一跃成为一个信息社会。