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Passage 1 Science Science is a comprehensive and academic sphere. It touches almost every aspect of our life and educated people need some acquaintance with its structure and operation. Accordingly, they should also have a glimpse into and sympathize with how scientists live and to penetrate their genius temper, outlook, faculty, standpoint and what motivates them in their pursuits. Similarly, an understanding of general characteristics of science as well as specific abstract scientific concepts is easier to attain if one has an indication about the breadth of which excite and bore the scientist, even what makes them bristle, embarrass, sin, be ashamed, repent and feel stupid. This will be utilized by the intelligent pupil or lay person whose definition about science is unusually sophisticated; for the person who sees the objective of science as an undertaking to deepen the understanding of our world. The book can be used to supplement or accompany a course in any science, or simply to investigate and simplify our world. This book will sketch a broader perspective on scientific attitudes and a more specialized view of what science is with the utmost precision and satisfy ones curiosity about who scientists are, and what they do. It will explore an understanding of the relationship between science and our culture and how science can clarify how we perceive our culture. Readers may learn to appreciate the relationship between scientific views and some philosophies that prevail in our culture and learn an alternative view or refute previous ideas. We have presented in this book an accurate picture of the scientific community and index the scientific framework. More women increasingly comprise the scientific community and this is not a unique incident but, rather, part of the trend evident and increasingly measurable in all aspects of society as more women enter conventionally by majority male fields and contribute to the society greatly. (These fields include fishermen, butchers, police lieutenant, priests, carpenters, captains, porters, surgeons, clerks, colonels, amongst others. They are no longer just a bunch of landladies, librarians, hostesses and mistresses who wear perfume, necklaces and get shampoos and haircuts.) The presence of competent and learned women in this previously manly field is similarly proportional in all fields, some exceptions excluded. In discussing these changes, we are faced with a completely sexist (男性至上主义者) language, one that uses male nouns and adjectives and adverbs in referring to unspecified individuals. Though scarcely acceptable and sometimes faulty, we have adopted the policy of using plural nouns and pronouns whenever feasible and absolutely necessary. Needless to say, while still insufficient and may dissatisfy, it is an attempt to treat half of the human race with equality from a considerate, neutral standpoint. Our approach is that we shouldnt take ourselves too seriously. We see science as a pleasant pastime rather than as a burden or tedious way to earn a living. 科学是一个综合性的学术领域。它几乎涉及到我们生活的方方面面，受教育者需要了解其结构和作用。相应地，受教育者也应该了解科学家们的生活及感受他们的思想性情、观点见解、才能本领以及刺激他们追求的动机。同样地，如果有人能够找到使科学家们激动、烦恼，甚至是使他们感到生气、不安、罪过、羞愧、后悔、愚蠢等种种迹象的话，那么理解科学的共性及其特殊的抽象概念就比较容易了。 这将会被那些对科学概念有着异常深刻理解的聪明学生或外行所利用；这些人认为科学的目标是加深我们对世界的认识。对于聪明的学生或外行，这会大有帮助，因为他们认为科学是异常复杂的；而对于那些认为科学的目的是加深我们对世界认识的人而言，这也是大有用处的。这本书可以用作任何科学教程的教辅，或者只是用来探询并简化我们的世界。这本书会以一个更广阔的角度描述科学态度，并以更专业的观点极其准确地解释什么是科学，并满足人们对科学家及其所作所为的好奇心。该书将会探讨科学与文化之间的关系，并探寻科学是如何使我们对文化的认识越来越清晰的。读者可认识到科学观点与我们文化中普遍存在的哲学思想之间的关系，并学习到新的观念或反驳先前的观点。 我们在这本书中准确地描述了科学界并对科学框架进行了索引。越来越多的女性进入科学界，这已不是什么稀罕的事情。随着越来越多的妇女进入到传统上男性主导的领域并为社会做出了巨大贡献，这已经变成了一种趋势，体现在社会的方方面面，并日益重要起来。（这些领域包括渔民、屠夫、警官、牧师、木匠，船长，搬运工，外科医生，职员，上校。她们不再仅仅是一群女房东，图书馆管理员，女招待或喷着香水、戴着项链、有着悉心打理发型的情妇。）除去某些特殊的领域，博学多才的女性出现在曾经男性主导的各个领域，并和男性构成了几乎相当的比例。 在讨论这些变化的过程中，我们遇到一种完全带有性别歧视的语言。这种语言使用男性名词、形容词和副词来指代未加详细说明的人。这种语言是很难被接受的，有时甚至是错误的，在行得通且又必不可少的情况下，我们都会采用复数名词和代词来取而代之。虽然仍有不足，但不用说，这是从体贴和中立的角度出发，平等地对待人类半边天的一种尝试。 我们的方法是，不要太把自己当回事。我们认为科学是让人快乐的消遣，而不是一种负担或单调乏味的谋生方式。Passage 2 A Different Idea of Knowledge His knowledge was extraordinary. He was well read in contemporary literature, philosophy and politics, the Bible, Socialism, Marxism, even prepositions and pronunciation and other grammatical points. Upon my quoting Thomas Carlyle, he inquired, in the most innocent way, who he might be and what he had done. My pulse quickened when I found occasionally that he was ignorant of the composition of the Solar system. “You appear to be astonished,” Holmes said, bursting into laughter. “You see, I consider that a mans brain at the original stage is like a little vacant room, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose: A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort, but the room does not have elastic walls and cannot extend indefinitely. For every addition of knowledge, you forget and subtract something that you know before. There is a margin to which you can pluck and unload information, a highest dose. It is of importance, thereby, not to have worthless, superficial facts elbowing out the useful ones. Foremost, one must filter the information. You may boast that you have compiled an abundant catalog of elementary information, but most is merely nonsense and will betray you when you need to recollect, elaborate or illustrate a sensible and valid point.” “But the Solar System!” I protested in stern reproach as I reined in my surprise. “What the use is it to me?” he interrupted, vexed. While my companion ate, and digested the crust from his loaf of bread, radish, cucumber and cherry salad, porridge, roast turkey, breast, and a kettle of tea and licked his pudding from his spoon and thumb. I noticed a somewhat bold heading in the newspaper. “The Book of Life.” I read the corresponding article which showed how much an observer might learn by systematic examination of all that came in his way. The reasoning was close and intense, but he deduced to me with a mixture of far-fetched and exaggerated appearance. The writer claimed by a brief expression, an abnormal movement of a muscle or a sly glance of an eye, a slight tremble of the lip, an almost invisible pattern or an emotional clue, any trifle, to determine and evaluate and spy a mans private thoughts. Deceit, according to him, was not feasible in the case of one trained to observation and analysis. His conclusions were to be rendered fact. There was always reliability in the detection for and little chance to deceive, conceal or disguise these movements. Until the untrained learned the mechanics of it they might well consider him as a cunning magician. “From a splash of water,” said the writer, “a theoretical thinker could infer the possibility of an Atlantic. Like all other arts, this science can be acquired by patient study of single links in a succession of the great chain, nor is life long enough to allow any mortal to attain the highest possible perfection in it.” 他知识极其丰富。他涉猎当代文学、哲学和政治、圣经、社会主义、马克思主义、甚至是介词、发音法和其它的语法点。 当他看到我引用的托马斯卡莱尔的作品时，却以最无知的方式问：他是谁，他又做了什么。当我偶然间发现他对太阳系的构成一无所知时，我的脉搏都加快跳动了。 “你看起来很吃惊，”福尔摩斯突然大笑着说。“你看，我认为一个人的大脑原本就像一个空的小房间，你要挑选家具去填充它：傻瓜才会把各种各样的破烂都放进去，可是房间内的墙壁没有弹性，不能无限延展。每增加一点知识，你就会忘掉并压缩一些你之前获得的知识。你可以卸载在脑中的信息量是有限的。因此重要的是，不要让那些没用的、浅薄的东西挤掉了有用的。首先，我们必须要过滤信息。你可以夸耀自己已经编制了一份含有丰富基本信息的目录，但这些信息大多数是没有价值的，当你需要回忆、阐明一个有道理的、正确的观点时，它们还会背叛你。” “但这是太阳系！”我抑制住自己的惊讶并严厉地反驳。 “它对我来说有什么用？”他非常恼火地打断了我的话。 在我的朋友吃着面包皮、小萝卜、黄瓜和樱桃做成的沙拉、粥、烤火鸡胸，喝着茶水，舔着勺子和大拇指上的布丁的时候，我注意到报纸上有一个加粗的标题。“生活之书”，我读了下面的文章。文章说明了通过系统地审视周围的一切，一个人可以学到多少有用的东西。文章的论证是细致而深入的，而他给我讲起来却是既牵强又夸张。作者通过一段简短的表述声称，一次异常的肌肉运动或某只眼睛狡猾的一瞥、嘴唇轻微的颤抖、几乎看不见的形态或情绪的线索，及任何小事都可以判定、估量和洞悉一个人的内心思想。 依他所言，对于一个接受过观察和分析训练的人来说，谎言是蒙蔽不了他们的。他的结论需要提供事实依据。观察这些小动作是很可靠的，人们通常很掩饰或隐藏这些小动作。那些没有经过训练的人在了解这些机关前，会把他当作一个狡猾的魔术师。 作者还说：“一个理论思想家从一个飞溅的水滴就可以推断出大西洋里可能发生的事。像所有其它的艺术一样，你可以通过耐心地研究一系列事物之间的联系而掌握这种科学。而生命的长度是有限的，没有人能对其做到无所不知。”Passage 3 The Age of Stuff The Stone Age, the Iron Age. Entire eras have been named for materials. This is the age of stuff. There have been advances in materials like electronics, artificial teeth, plastics, ceramics, like the inventions of nylon, gunpowder, rifles, magnets, cannons, light bulbs, and glue and pastes years ago. These new materials will shape the future just as surely as have genetic(基因的)engineering and computer science. The key to the new materials is researchers increasing ability to control substances at the atomic level. Ceramics(制陶业), for example, have long been limited by their brittle character. But by minimizing the minute defects that cause it, scientists are making far more durable ceramics that still retain such qualities as solidity, density and heat resistance according to metric weight. Ford Motor Co. now uses ceramic tools to cut steel. A firm has created a line of ceramic scissors and knives that can maintain sharpness for years and never rust and are as sharp as razor blades. These synthetic specimens are made of compressed atoms which make them more resistant comparative to its cubic volume. A similar transformation has overtaken plastics. One new plastic that generates electricity when vibrated or pushed is used in electrical guitars, touch sensors(传感器)for robot hands and martial arts jackets that mechanically record each punch and chop, even helicopter parts. Several manufacturers now make forms that can decompose and are not threatened to permanently remain on the Earth and can gradually lead to fairly excessive break down when there is exposure to sunlight. Researchers are developing ways to make plastics as environment-friendly as metal or glass. Scientists have been able to exploit and modify the structural composition of these plastics with a kind of soluble acid so that when we toss or dump our daily consumption of plastic outdoors in disposal heaps or other deposits, the particles will dissolve. These plastics will be used in mugs, cassettes, tennis rackets, stools, submarines, as well as other things. Besides, plastic reinforced with proteins or other compounds without the use of radium or carbon made the round-the-world flight of the voyage possible and have even been proved in battle: a helmet saved an army life by preventing two bullets in the Grenada invasion. Some advanced materials are old standard with a new twist. The new fiber optic(光学纤维的)cable that enable telephone transmission cross-country are made of glass so transparent that a piece 100 miles thick is clearer than a standard window pane. But new materials have no impact until they are made into products. And that change could prove difficult, for switching requirement is extensive research and investment. 石器时代，铁器时代。所有的时代都以物质材料命名。这是物质的时代。这些年人类在物质材料方面取得了很大的进步，如电子产品、假牙、塑料、陶瓷，再如多年前发明的尼龙、火药、步枪、磁铁、大炮、灯泡、胶水和浆糊等。这些新材料一定会像基因工程和计算机科学一样塑造未来。 对于新材料，关键的是研究人员在原子水平下对物质的支配能力日益增强。举例来说，陶瓷长久以来受限于其易碎性。但通过最大限度地缩小造成脆裂的细小瑕疵，科学家正在研制更加耐用的陶瓷，根据公制重量，这种瓷器保留了坚固、高密度和耐热的特性。福特汽车公司现在使用陶瓷刀具切割钢材。一家工厂已经发明了陶瓷剪刀生产线，这种刀具可以多年保持像剃须刀一样锋利，并且永不生锈。这些合成的样本都是通过压缩原子制成的，与立方体结构相比，它们的抗压性大大增强了。 类似的转变也发生在塑料上。一种新型塑料在振动或挤压时可以发电，这种塑料被用于电吉他、机器人手部触摸传感器和可以机械记录每次冲撞的武术服，甚至还被用作直升机的零件。 几个制造商现在正在制造可以分解的塑料，这种塑料在阳光下可以被充分地分解而不会永远留在地球上威胁环境。研究人员正在研发能够使塑料像金属或玻璃一样环保的方法。科学家已能利用一种可溶性酸来改变这些塑料制品的组成结构，这样当我们把日常塑料消费品丢至室外的垃圾堆时，它们便可以降解。这些塑料将被用来做杯子、磁带、网球拍、凳子、潜艇以及其它物品。 此外，无需使用镭或碳，塑料与蛋白质或其它化合物作用就可使环球飞行成为可能。这种塑料还在战斗中发挥作用：由其制成的头盔在格林纳达入侵中阻挡了两枚子弹，挽救了士兵的生命。 一些先进的材料则是老瓶装新酒。由玻璃制成的新型光缆使跨国的电话信号传输成为可能。这种玻璃光纤透明度非常高，在100英里厚的情况下仍比普通的窗户玻璃要透亮。 但新材料只有在被制成产品的情况下才能发挥作用。由于条件的转换需要大量的研究与资金投入，这种转变可能会很困难。Passage 4 The Rush Hour of Jackie Chan A hero swings from vertical rope hung downward from a jet or airplane some 200 feet above. He climbs like a squirrel in shear daring as he whirls like a whip, bounce like a hare, a close shave to death. Suddenly, a top needle of a building is pressing toward him. He fails to move sideways and gets crushed against the concrete needle in a collision. This stimulating adventure is impressive to numerous Jackie Chan fans. He has finally conquered Hollywood. Only three days after it was released in theatres it made the highest weekend gross ever (before tax) on its opening weekend and not just in specialty video stores. Now Jackie Chan is a household name the way Enter the Dragon made a legend of Bruce Lee. The film begins in Hong Kong on the eve of the hand-over as Han, a mainland Chinese diplomat, is sent to Los Angeles. At the outset, a wicked gang is prompt to take Hans darling daughter captive. They dread that she has been taken possession of at the hand of a criminals pistol and with violent force. Though the Federal Bureau of Investigation gets called in, Han subsequently sends for Lee (Chan) from, a Hong Kong agent with special ties to Hans family. The FBI doesnt like this and the captain puffs on a cigarette and barks:“This is an FBI assignment, and I dont need any help from the LAPD - or some Oriental cop!” When Lee arrives, LAPD Detective James Carter (Tucker) is assigned to keep him out of the real investigation. The dynamic duo team up, getting into one scrape after another. They pursue one suspect through a building, nearly catching up with him until their collective weight sends them crashing through the awning of a grocer. Fortunately, much of the lame plot is played for laughs. At first, Chan seems to be an awkward coward and victim of Tuckers threats. Ultimately, he proves himself in this conflict by making an escape in the unique Jackie Chan way he dashes with grace from the top of a tour bus to a street sign suspended overhead, runs through the dorm of a dormitory, drops onto a passing truck, then dives into the automobile of startled Americans, before plunging into a taxi. The climax of the film comes when Chan is seen tip-toeing across five-storey-high beams inside the Los Angeles Convention Centre. Long-time Jackie Chan fans who are accustomed to and have an affection for his antics may condemn the films fancy editing for relying more on visual tricks and camera angles than Chans signature flourishes of spins, slams, slips and strains. The studios cannot risk a nasty wreck or a trip away in an ambulance for an enthusiastic drama or a spectacle of excess. After all, Chans insurance codes prohibit him from performing some of the stunts for which Hong Kong films are famous. But anyway, Jackie Chans return as an action hero in the West is a definite triumph 一名英雄挂在绳子上荡来荡去，这根绳子是从200英尺的飞机上垂直悬下的。他像松鼠一样大胆地攀爬，像鞭子一样地回旋，像兔子一样地弹跳，侥幸脱险。突然，楼尖向他逼近。他没法向两侧移动，撞在了水泥尖上。 这种刺激的冒险场面给众多成龙迷们留下了深刻的印象。他终于征服了好莱坞。在影片首映的一周内，三天后仅影院票房收入（税前）就获得了单周最高，这还不包括在音像专卖店里的收入。正如当年李小龙通过龙争虎斗成为传奇人物一样，如今成龙也成为一个家喻户晓的名字。 故事发生在香港，韩大使是中国大陆的一名外交官，在完成工作交接后被派往洛杉矶。一开始，韩的女儿就被黑帮绑架为人质。他们恐吓韩，说他的女儿已经在罪犯分子的手枪下，并受暴力虐待。 虽然美国联邦调查局介入，韩大使随后还是派李某（成龙）前往办案，李某是一名香港密探，与韩大使家有私交。美国联邦调查局对此很反感，队长吐着烟大叫到：“这是联邦调查局的任务，我并不需要洛杉矶警察或亚洲警察的帮助！” 当李到来之际，洛杉矶警察詹姆斯卡特（塔克）被派来阻止他进行真正的调查。这两个精力旺盛的人被组合在了一起，麻烦不断。他们穿过一座大楼追一名疑犯，在马上就要抓到的时候，结果双双掉在了一个杂货店的遮阳篷上。 所幸，大部分的的阴谋都被用作了笑料。 起初，成龙似乎是一个笨拙的胆小鬼，受到塔克的威胁。最后，在一场搏斗中他用成龙独特的逃生方式证明了自己他从一辆旅游巴士的车顶优美地冲上了头顶上方的路牌，穿过一间宿舍，掉在了一辆正在驶过的卡车上，然后在这辆卡车即将撞上一辆出租车前，钻进了驾驶室，里面则是受惊的美国人。 电影的高潮出现在这一幕：人们看着成龙踮着脚尖穿过五层楼高的洛杉矶会议中心横梁。 习惯并喜爱成龙搞怪动作的老影迷们可能会谴责电影的剪辑太花哨，过多依赖视觉技巧以及镜头角度，而不是成龙的招牌动作：转、撞、滑、拉。但制片方不会为了轰轰烈烈的戏剧场面或壮观的场景而冒险，最后落得个无法收拾的残局或是某人被送上了救护车。毕竟，成龙的保险中规定禁止他从事类似香港电影中的知名的特技表演。但不管怎样，成龙作为动作英雄在西方的回归还是一个毋庸置疑的胜利。Passage 5 The Sense of Taste An Arabian idiom claims that fish, to taste right, should be classified three times - in water, in butter and in wine or liquor. The early scientists in the food industry committed themselves to improving the preparation, conservation, and distribution of safe and healthy foods. Our comprehension of foods eaten during World War II suggest that neither did they certainly taste right nor were appetites altered by appearance or odor. This neglect of the sensory appeal of foods has vanished. In the book “Principles of Sensory Evaluation of Food”, food experts and technicians and also others are engaged in research into the problem of sensory assessment of foods. The book seems at first sight to be thorough and unsatisfactory but practically useful and the discussions are exceedingly creative. Of particular attraction is the weight given to the psychological aspects to perceive taste, both objectively and subjectively. It is interesting to find that despite many attempts to separate and define the modalities of taste, nothing better has been achieved than the familiar classification into sweet, sour, salty and bitter. Systems of separating into many fractions is of little value regarding the smell because of the extraordinary sensitive nature of the nose and because the response to stimulate is so subjective. The authors suggest that the theoretical proposition of a classification based on the size, shape and electronic status of the molecule involved merits further investigation in the lab under a microscope. Apart from taste and smell, there are many other components of perception of the sensations from food in the mouth. The basic modalities of pain, cold, warmth and touch, together with vibration sense, may all play a part, as, of course, does aural reception of vibrations from the teeth when eating brittle or hard foods. Taste cannot be divorced from sound. The authors believe that subjective measurements of taste are primarily influenced by auxiliary scent, visual and aural elements. They believe that taste is not arbitrary. These factors make some foods more preferable than others and they argue that it gives a variation on the intensity of tastes. When you lick or chew a mouthful of food, our sharpened sense of taste is derived from an interaction between oral instinct and logic of biology. This will be true when you taste beans, berry, biscuit, pint of draft beer, sauce, sausage, dairy products, gum, mushrooms, pepper, lemon peel, whisky, or brandy. After you smoke tobacco or smell sulphur, or whitewash paint, your taste will be altered. In this connection the authors exactly point out that this type of stimulus requires much more investigation, suggesting that a start might be made by using subjects are various levels of deaf. 阿拉伯习语中说，为了品尝到鱼真正的滋味，要对它们进行三次归类分等在水中、在黄油中、在葡萄酒或白酒中。早期的食品工业科学家致力于改进安全健康食品的准备、保存和配送环节。而在二战期间我们对食品的理解既不是味，也不是因色和香而引起食欲。但这种对食品感官上的忽略现在已经无影无踪了。 在感官评定食品法则一书中，食品专家和技术人员都投入到感官评估食品的问题研究中。刚一看这本书，就会觉得它的见地深刻，虽然不能全令人满意，但却也很实用，而且对问题的探讨也非常有新意。 特别值得注意的是，它讲到了心理因素从主客观两方面在人们味觉体验中所起到的作用。有趣的是，尽管人们多次试图划分并定义各种味道，但还是没有发现比我们熟悉的甜、酸、咸、苦更好的划分方法。由于鼻子极其敏感，而且对刺激的反应又比较主观，所以根据嗅觉进行分组的方法是几乎没有价值的。 作者指出，基于大小、形状和分子的电子形态进行分类的理论命题有利于在实验室的显微镜下作进一步研究。 除了味觉和嗅觉，在嘴里还有很多其它的对食物的感觉。疼痛、冰冷、温暖、碰触以及振动等基本的感觉都会发挥作用，就像吃脆的或坚硬的食物时，人们的耳朵会感到牙齿的振动一样。味觉不能脱离声音。作者认为人们对味觉的主观衡量，主要是受辅助的嗅觉、视觉及听觉要素的影响。他们并不认为味觉是没有规律可寻的。这些因素使得一些食品比别的食品更受欢迎。他们还说这会导致味觉强度的变化。当你舔或咀嚼满嘴的食物时，我们敏锐的味觉源于口腔的直觉与生物学原理的相互作用。当你品尝豆类、浆果、饼干、一品脱生啤酒、酱油、香肠、乳制品、口香糖、香菇、辣椒、柠檬皮、威士忌或白兰地时，就会认同这种说法。在抽过烟、闻过硫磺或石灰涂料后，你的味觉就会改变。 关于这一点，作者指出，此类刺激因素还需要更多的调查，调查的主体可能会选择有不同听力障碍的人群。Passage 6 The Development of Gypsies in Politics The striving of countries in Central Europe to enter the European Union may offer an desirable chance to the continents Gypsies (or Roman) to be recognized as a nation, even one without a defined territory. Gypsies have had no known ancestors land to refer to and the origins of where they come from are unclear. They are neither Portuguese, Swiss or Mediterranean, nor do they have a plantation around which they can put up their own fence. Many thought these peasants were traveling metal workers and entertainers who drifted westward from Egypt (hence the name Gypsy) or India in the 7th century. Today there are approximately 15 million or more gypsies circulating across the frontiers of Europe and Eastern Europe without any specific residence. They are a civilized culture but have traditionally made a poor wage packet working as seame
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