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1.English is a Crazy Language 英语是一门疯狂的语言1.Lets face it-English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins werent invented in England nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads,which arent sweet,are meat.1.让我们接受现实吧-英语是一种疯狂的语言。茄子（eggplant，字面意为鸡蛋植物）里并没有鸡蛋，汉堡包（hamburger，字面意为火腿夹饼）里也没有火腿。同样，菠萝（pineapple，字面意为松树苹果）里既没有松鼠也没有苹果。松饼（English muffin，字面意为英式松饼）并不是英国人发明的，而炸薯条（French fries，字面意为法式油炸食品）也不是法国人的发明。“甜肉”（sweetmeat）指的是蜜饯，而“甜面包”（sweetbread）不是甜的，它指的是牛杂碎。2.We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes,we find that quicksand can work slowly,boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why it is that writers write but fingers dont fing,grocers dont groce and hammers dont ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth,why isnt the plural of booth beeth? If you have one goose,two geese,why not one moose,two meese,or one index,two indices?2.我们理所当然地接受了英语的一切，但是如果我们分析一下英语中似是而非的情况，我们马上就会发现“快的沙子”（quicksand，流沙，也指陷阱，困境）往往走得很慢，“拳击的圆圈”（boxing rings，拳击场）是方的，“几内亚猪”（guinea pig，天竺鼠）既不是来自几内亚，也不是猪。还有，既然名词作家（writers）去掉词尾的rs 就可以成为动词“写作(write）”，那为什么名词“手指”（fingers）、杂货店（grocers）、锤子（hammers）去掉rs就不能成为各自相应的动词呢？如果牙齿的复数是teeth，那为什么售货亭的复数不是beeth？一只鹅我们用goose，两只鹅用geese，那么，一只驼鹿用moose（单复数同形），两只驼鹿就应该是meese了？为什么一条索引是index，两条索引却成了indices？3.Doesnt it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend,or that you can comb through the annals of history but not a single annal? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them,what do you call it?3.如果你赔偿时只能赔偿复数不能赔偿单数，这是不是很莫名其妙？你可以梳理历史的编年史，为什么却不能复习某一个单个的编年史？如果你有一堆麻烦，那么在你把其他的都解决了只剩下一个的时候该怎么说呢？4.If teachers taught,why didnt preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables,what does a humanitarian eat?4.如果教师教学是taught，那为什么传教士不是praught？如果素食主义者（vegetarian）吃蔬菜（vegetable），那人道主义者（humanitarian）吃什么？5.Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital; ship by truck and send cargo by ship; have noses that run and feet that smell; park on driveways and drive on parkways?5.有时候我觉得根据英国人说话时疯狂的用词可以将他们送进精神病院。哪一种语言人们可以在一出戏中朗诵，在朗诵中玩（分别指演戏和开独唱会）？用卡车运船，用船运货（分别只用卡车运输和用船运输）？鼻子可以跑而脚可以闻味道（分别指流鼻涕和脚有臭味）？车可以停在驾驶路上，而且在停车路上驾驶（driveway从字面上理解是驾驶路，parkway从字面上理解是停车路）。6.How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,while a wise man and wise guy are opposites,and quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another?6.为什么一个苗条的机会（slim chance，指没机会）和一个肥胖的机会（fat chant，也指没机会）意思是一样的，而一个聪明的人（wise man，聪明人）和一个聪明的家伙（wise guy，自作聪明的人）却意思相反？为什么相当多（quite a lot）和相当少（quite a few）意思一样?（实际上quite a lot和quite a few都是相当多的意思。）为什么天气可以热的像地狱也可以冷得像地狱？（as hell字面意思像地狱一样，指非常）7.You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down,in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on.7.你不得不对这种精神病一样的语言表示惊奇，在这种语言中，你的房子在被烧下去（burn down，意为烧为平地）的同时又被烧上去（burn up，意为烧起来，烧掉）。你用填出来（fill out，意为填写）的方法填进去（fill in,意思也是填写）一个表格。闹钟在走（go on）的时候响（go off）了。8.English was invented by people,not computers,and it reflects the creativity of the human race. That is why,when the stars are out,they are visible,but when the lights are out,they are invisible. And why,when I wind up my watch,I start it,but when I wind up this essay,I end it?8.英语是人而不是机器创造出来的语言，它反映了人类的创造性。这也是为什么当星星出来的时候，我们是看得见的，当阳光出来（out）的时候是看不见的。同理，我“处理”我的手表之后，它就开始（走）了；而我“处理”完这篇文章后，它却结束了。2.All I Learned in Kindergarten 幼儿园所学的.1.Most of what I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be,I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate mountain, but there in the sandpile at nursery school.1.大部分在生活中真正需要的，包括怎样生活，该做些什么，又该怎样去做，这些都是我在幼儿园时学会的。智慧不在研究生院的山巅之上，而在幼儿园的沙堆里。2.These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Dont hit people. Put tilings back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Dont take things that arent yours. Say youre sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work everyday some.2.以下就是我在幼儿园中学到的。分享所有的东西；行为光明磊落；不要攻击别人；东西要放回原处；自己弄脏的地方自己收拾好；不要拿走不属于自己的东西；如果你伤害了别人就得道歉；饭前洗手；热的甜点和凉的牛奶对身体有益；生活要有张有弛，学点东西、想点思想、写写画画、唱唱跳跳，休息和工作，每样事天天都要干一点。3.Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.3.每天下午小睡一会。当大家外出时，注意交通安全，记得手挽手，彼此互相扶持。多多注意那些生活的奇迹。你一定还记得那个塑料杯里的小小的种子吧，它不断的往下扎根，枝叶不断的向空中伸展。没有人真正知道它在怎样生长，也不知道是为了什么。但有一点很明白，我们也像他们一样地长大。4.Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup-they all die. So do we.4.看着金鱼、仓鼠以及小白鼠甚至是花盆中小小的一颗种子，最后他们的生命都将消亡。我们明白自己同样也不能避免。5.And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: Look. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and sane living.5.同时我们还记得迪克和珍妮的书，以及从书中学到的第一个词，也是最了不起的一个词：观察。你所需要了解的任何事情：包括为人的原则、爱、应注意的基本卫生，生态环境和政治哲学以及健全的生活方式，你都能在该书的某个地方找到答案。6.Think of what a better world it would be if we all-the whole world-had cookies and milk about 3 oclock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is better to hold hands and stick together.6.想一想，如果我们大家-全世界所有的人-每天下午3点左右能够享受甜点和牛奶，然后盖上被单美美地睡上一小会儿；如果每一个国家都能够遵循一个基本的立国之道，即东西放回原处，自己弄脏的地方自己收拾后，那么这个世界将是多么的美好啊。无论你年龄有多大，当你出去时，当你进入社会之时，最好和别人手牵手，互相扶持，团结一致，无论如何，这是一个颠扑不破的真理。3.On Mobile Office 移动的办公室1.Mobile1 office is the mutual2 product of economic,scientific,and social progress. Mobile office has become a solution that provides users with convenient,prompt,safe,reliable,and reasonably priced communications and office faculty3 anywhere anytime via4 the support of mobile interconnection platform5 (MIP) and its applications systems. Using mobile office and WAP technology,people can do their work anywhere anytime,can send and receive data via terminals6 such as mobile phone,palm computer,and PDA,and can surf the Internet. Integrating7 Internet and mobile communications network,and providing powerful applications support capacity for wireless8 interconnection,mobile interconnection platform (MIP) is an important network support technology to accomplish mobile office. 1.移动办公室是经济、科技、社会三者发展进步的共同产物。通过无线互联平台（MIP）及其应用系统的支撑，移动办公室已经成为一种能够使用户获得随时随地、简便快捷、安全可靠、价格合理的通信和办公能力的解决方案。通过移动办公室和无线接入协议（WAP）技术，人们可以在任何时间任何地点办公，可以从移动电话、掌上电脑、个人数字助理（PDA）等终端设备上收发数据，遨游于互联网上。无线互联平台将因特网和移动通信网络有机地整合起来，为无线互联提供强大的应用支撑能力，是实现移动办公室重要的网络支撑技术。2.When you leave your office to attend meetings or travel on business,what would happen to your business routine? Of course,faxes and e- mails would be still sent to your fax machine or e- mail box,but you cannot read them and make prompt reaction timely. When your clients need you to make some urgent modifications9 on your work and you are neither in the office nor carrying relevant10 documents,what can you do? Maybe you have to say “sorry”to the clients. But,your business will be affected,the clients will be unhappy and disappointed because of your delay,and you will lose a lot of business opportunities. 2. 当你离开办公室，忙于参加会议或出差在外时，你的日常工作业务会怎样呢？当然，传真和电子邮件依然会到达你的传真机和电子信箱，但是你却不能及时地看到它们并迅速作出反应。当你的客户需要你对某项工作进行一些紧急修改，而你恰好不在办公室，又没有随身携带相关文件时，怎么办呢？你也许只能向客户说“对不起”了。但是，你的业务将受到影响，客户们也会因为你的延迟而感到不快和失望，因而你失去许多商机。3.In fact,very frequently,you need to check,reply,distribute11,display,modify,or read some materials when you are not in your office.You must get out of this dilemma12. The best solution to normally handle your business anywhere anytime and not to disappoint your clients is to let your office “move”with you. Thus，you can have convenient,prompt,safe,reliable13,and reasonably priced communications and office faculty anywhere anytime.With the development of communications technology,network application,and wireless interconnection,mobile office has become simpler and smaller,and even can be realized via one mobile phone with data communications function. Thus,mobile office has already been put into your pocket,and office mobility has been realized.It uses its mobile phone function to make voice communication,and uses its data communications function to do most computation14 and storage15 in the networks other mainframes16.It uses the network to get necessary materials and data,and uses mobile phones infrared17 interface18 to connect with computers,printers,scanners19,etc. 3. 实际上，当你不在办公室，但需要对某些材料进行查阅、回复、分发、展示、修改或宣读的情形是很常见的。因此，你必须从这种困境中解脱出来。使自己能够随时随地正常处理业务，不让客户失望，最好的解决办法就是让你的办公室也随你一起“移动”起来，使你获得随时随地、简单快捷、安全可靠、价格合理的通信和办公能力。随着通信技术、网络应用以及无线互联的发展，移动办公室已经变得越来越简单小巧，甚至只需一个具有数据通信功能的移动电话即可实现。此时，移动办公室已经被你装进了口袋，从而真正实现了办公的移动性。它利用移动电话功能进行语音通信；利用数据通信功能，使大部分计算和存储工作都在网络的其他主机上进行；利用网络获得需要的材料和数据；利用移动电话的红外接口与电脑、打印机、扫描仪等设备相连。4.Mobile office has provided people with convenient,casual working environment,but at the same time it still has some unsatisfactory aspects such as mismatching equipment interface and inadequate battery. Nevertheless,we believe that with technical progress,people can certainly overcome all kinds of difficulties. Mobile office will make your career unimpeded20,and will realize the dream of completely free communication. Users will enjoy more colorful life and better working environment,and users living standard,working efficiency,and even enterprises production efficiency will certainly be immensely raised. 4.移动办公室给人们带来了方便随意的工作环境，但同时也存在着一些诸如设备接口不匹配、电池电力不足等不尽如人意的地方。但是，我们相信，随着技术的进步，人们肯定能战胜种种困难。移动办公室将使你的事业畅通无阻，实现完全自由通信的梦想。用户将会享受多彩的生活和美好的工作环境；用户的生活水平、工作效率以及企业的生产效率，必将大大提高。4.How to Explore a City 探索城市轻松游1.Are you spending two days in Tokyo? Are you moving to Melbourne? No matter where youre going or how long youre staying,keep reading! These tips will help you make the most of any urban adventure.要去东京待两天？还是要搬到墨尔本?不管打算去哪里、要待多久，往下读吧！一下介绍的小诀窍能帮你充分享受每趟都市旅游。2.Before you arrive 抵达前3.Read a city guidebook. Some are even specially designed for a 24-hour visit! If you dont want to buy one,just look through the guidebooks in a store. They can give you hints on how to plan your trip.参考城市旅游指南，有些旅游书甚至专为一日游行程而写的呢！如果不想花钱买书，在书店里翻一翻也可以。旅游指南会提出一些建议，帮助你规划行程。4.Search the Internet. Websites such as Cilysearch.com and Economist.com provide information on cities around the world. Blogs can also be a good source of information. They give you a chance to learn from others travel experiences.上网查找资料。诸如Cilysearch.com与Economist.com 等网站都提供全球各城市的相关资讯。博客是另一个搜集资讯的好地方，能够让你汲取别人的旅游经验。5.Some companies,like National Geographic,offer audio walking tours,which can be downloaded from the Internet. Once you arrive,these free podcasts will turn your MP3 player into a lour guide! They will help you explore the city on foot.有些公司例如国家地理杂志备有步行观光语音岛览，可以直接通过网络下载，你一到目的地，这些免费“播客”档案会让你的MP3立刻化身为导游！它们会带你步行走访该城。6.Doing research before you arrive will help you experience the citys claim to fame. Whether its a landmark,a shopping area,or a river-you should see it.抵达目的地前要做好功课，你就可以好好欣赏该城著名的景点。不管是地标、购物区、河流，你都不应错过。7.When you arrive 抵达后8.If possible,pick up a free city map at the airport,train station or your hotel. Visit the citys tourism office,which will provide other valuable information. Sometimes locals post notices there offering tours or other services.如果机场、火车站或下榻旅馆有免费市区地图，别忘了拿一份。参观一下当地旅游服务中心，也能获得其他宝贵资讯。当地居民偶尔也会在那里张贴广告，提供旅游行程或其他服务。Carry the hotels business card or write down the address and phone number. Take note of the neighborhood around your hotel. It will be helpful when you return.随身携带旅馆名片或写下它的地址与电话，还要留意旅馆周边的环境，以方便认路返回。9.For your first adventure,take a city bus that drives in a circle through the downtown area. Its a good-and cheap-way1 to see important landmarks. Il will also help you understand the citys layout. While on the bus,write down places that interest you so you can visit them later.你刚动身探访该城时，不妨搭乘会穿过市中心，绕行市区一圈的巴士，想走访重要地标，这是不错又便宜的选择，你还能借此一窥整个城市的轮廓。在公共汽车上，记下你感兴趣的景点吧，留待以后再参观。10.Ask a local person for advice. Many cities have treasures that most tourists dont know about. A local can direct you to a wonderful but less famous restaurant. park or museum.11. Finally,be adventurous! Some of the best tilings that a city has 10 offer can be found by mistake. II youre not afraid to get lost,youll see more-and youll have a better time!5.Can Money Buy Happiness 金钱能买到快乐？1.Many of us dream of having thousands and thousands of dollars to spend on anything we desire. We buy lottery tickets,enter contests or spend hours building a business or playing the stock market. Were sure when we have plenty of money,we will be happy. But will we?1.我们很多人都梦想拥有万贯钱财来满足自身欲望。我们会买乐透彩券、参加比赛或付出很多时间发展事业或投资股市。我们深信一旦我们有很多钱，就会很开心，但真的会吗？2.While having some money does have an impact on our level of happiness,having a lot of money docs not. People in the United States whose income goes from US$20,000 a year to US$50,000 a year are more likely to be happy.2.虽然有“一些”钱的确会影响我们的快乐程度，拥有“很多”钱则不然。在美国，年薪为2万5万美元的人比较可能感到快乐。3.But after USS50.000,happiness does not increase as salaries go up. Why is that? Its because we are never satisfied. We always think if we just had a little more money,wed be happier, says Catherine Sanderson,a psychology professor at Amherst College. But when we get there,were not.3.但薪水超过5万美元后，快乐程度会不随着薪水增多而升高。此话怎讲？原因是我们永远不会满足。安默斯特学院心理学教授凯萨琳珊德森说：“我们总是以为只要我们的钱再多一点，我们就会比较快乐，但是当我们走到那一步，我们却不快乐。”4.The more you make,the more you want. The more you have,the less it brings you joy, says Daniel Gilbert,a psychology professor at Harvard. We incorrectly assume well get more pleasure from more,and we dont.4.“你赚得越多，欲望就越多。你拥有的越多，得到的喜悦就越少。”哈佛大学心理学教授丹尼尔吉尔勃特说：“我们误以为我们会因为拥有越多而更快乐，其实不会。”5.The things money can buy dont make you happy either. A lot of research suggests that you wont find the good life buying expensive toys. You finally buy that BMW youve always wanted and it soon loses its appeal. Then,instead of wondering if a new car is what really makes you happy,you decide you just need a different new car. Its an endless cycle.5.能用金钱买到的东西也不会让你开心。很多研究显示你不会因为买了昂贵的“玩具”而得到“美满人生”。你终于买的梦寐以求的宝马汽车，它很快就丧失了吸引力，然后你不思考一部新车是否真能令你快乐，你认定自己只要再买一部新车就好了，这种循环没完没了。6.To really be happy,you need to understand what makes you happy in the first place. One secret of happiness: people. Surveys have found that people need people. Those who have five or more close friends are 50 percent more likely to describe themselves as very happy. Good relationships have a far greater effect on happiness than large raises in salary. Andrew Oswald is an economist at Englands University of Warwick. He says,If youre looking for happiness in life,find the right husband or wife rather than trying to double your salary.6.为了要真正的快乐，首先你必须了解什么让你快乐。快乐的一个秘诀在于人。一些调查报告发现人与人彼此需要。拥有五个或更多亲密朋友的人自认“非常快乐”的机会高出他人50%。美满的人际关系对能否快乐的影响程度远胜于薪水大幅调升。安德鲁奥斯瓦德是英国华威大学的经济学家，他说：“如果你在寻觅幸福人生，找一个合适的配偶吧，而不是想办法赚两倍的薪水。”7.So invest your time and energy in people. The payoff is much bigger in terms of happiness!7.所以把时间和精力投资在人身上吧，就快乐而言，回报会更大！6.How Americans View Love 美国人的爱情观1.An old song says that love makes the world go around. If you watch Americans on Valentines Day,you can believe it.The whole country breaks out with little red hearts. Love-struck people give cards,flowers and candy to their sweethearts. You might call itan annual celebration of love.1、有一首老歌中唱道“爱让世界转动”。如果你看到美国人是如何庆祝情人节的，你便会相信这句话。这一天在美国不论你走到哪里都能看到一颗颗小红心。坠入爱河中的人向自己的心上人赠送卡片、鲜花和糖果。你可以将情人节称之为一年一度的爱的庆贺日。2. The American concept of love and romance begins with dating.Young people date in several ways.At first they might have group dates with several boys and girls together. Later,they start going on single dates-just one boy and one girl.Sometimes a boy and a girl will go to a movie.Maybe they will go to a party at a friends house.Or they might go out to eat.2.美国人的爱情和浪漫始于约会。年轻人有几种约会方式。最开始，他们可能是好几个男孩和女孩都参加的集体约会。之后，他们单独出去约会只有一男一女。有时他们会去看电影，也可能一起去参加朋友的聚会，或一起出去吃饭。3.When two couple go out together,its called double dating. A friendmight even arrange a blind date for you with someone you dont know. That doesnt mean you keep your eyes closed the whole evening! You just dont know who your partner will be until the time of the date. If someone asks you out on any kind of date,and you dont want to go,you may politely say,No,thanks.3.如果两对男女一起出去，这叫做双重约会。一个朋友还可能为你和陌生人安排一个“蒙眼约会”。那并不是说你整个晚上都紧闭双目。只是在约会之前你并不知道你的约会对象是谁。如果有人请你出去约会，不管是哪种约会，假若你不想去，你都可以礼貌地说声“不，谢谢!”4. Americans view dating differently from people in other culture. American young people see a date as a time just to have fun.They dont always have a romantic interest in mind. Someone may go out with one person this week,and another person the next.After a while,a boy and a girl may decide they want to go steady. This means they think of each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. It also means they dont want to date anyone else. Romance is beginning to bloom.4、对于约会，美国人与别的文化国度的人有不同的看法。美国的年轻人把约会看成是玩得开心的时间，并不一定就抱着浪漫的念头。有的人可能这星期与一个人出去，下星期又与另外一个人出去。经过一段时间后，一个男孩和一个女孩可能决定保持稳定的关系。这意味着他们把彼此看成“男朋友和女朋友”，这也意味着他们不想与别的人约会。浪漫之花开始绽放。5. Romantic love is very much a part of American culture. Movies,TV shows and books in America all picture people falling in love. Americans know no romance is perfect,but still they try to find the ideal person. Actually,love is a pan of every culture,not just American culture. People all over the world search for happiness in a loving relationship. Maybe love does make the world go around.5、浪漫爱情是美国文化的重要组成部分。美国的电影、电视和书籍都描绘人们如何坠入爱河。美国人知道没有哪段爱情是完美的，但他们还是努力去寻找自己的意中人。事实上，爱不仅仅是美国文化，而是每种文化的组成部分。全世界的人们都在爱中寻求幸福。也许确实是爱使世界转动。7.Carbon-based Alternative 碳基替代燃料1.Although recent years have seen substantial reductions in noxious pollutants from individual motor vehicles, the number of such vehicles has been steadily increasing. Consequently, more than 100 cities in the United States still have levels of carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and ozone (generated by photochemical reactions with hydrocarbons from vehicle exhaust) that exceed legally established limits. There is a growing realization that the only effective way to achieve further reductions in vehicle emissions-short of a massive shift away from the private automobile- is to replace conventional diesel fuel and gasoline with cleaner-burning fuels such as compressed natural gas. liquefied petroleum gas, ethanol, or methanol.1.尽管近几年来私人机动车辆排放的有害污染物已有相当程度的减少，但这类车辆的数量却仍在稳定地增长。因此，美国100多个城市仍然存在着超过法律限定的一氧化碳、悬浮颗粒物和臭氧（由于车辆排出气体中碳氢化合物经过光化反应产生）。人们逐渐认识到实现车辆尾气排放更进一步减少的唯一有效方法-大规模消减私人小汽车除外-是用燃烧更为清洁的燃料，如压缩天然气、液化石油气、乙醇或甲醇代替传统的柴油和汽油。2.All of these alternatives are carbon-based fuels whose molecules are smaller and simpler than those of gasoline. These molecules burn more cleanly than gasoline, in part because they have fewer, if any, carbon-carbon bonds and the hydrocarbons they do emit are less likely to generate ozone. The combustion of larger molecules, which have multiple carbon-carbon bonds involves a more complex series of reactions. These reactions increase the probability of incomplete combustion and are more likely to release uncombusted and photochemically active hydrocarbon compounds into the atmosphere. On the other hand, alternative fuels do have drawbacks. Compressed natural gas would require that vehicles have set of heavy fuel tanks- a serious liability in terms of performance and fuel efficiency-and liquefied petroleum gas faces fundamental limits on supply.2.所有这些替代物都是碳基燃料，它的分子要比汽油的小而简单。这些分子要比汽油燃烧得更为清洁，部分是因为他们碳-碳键较少，而且即
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