-
20
篇必背范文：
小
作文
4
篇书信，
3
篇告示，
3
篇摘要。大作文
1
篇提纲，
2
篇情景，
2
篇图表，
5
篇图画【
1998,2001,2002,2003,2004
】
小作文（一）
2005
-
2009
大纲样
题：
Dear Sir or
Madam,
As
I
am
planning
to
take
the
National
Entrance
Test
of
English
for
MA/MS
Candidates
(NETEM) , I have
decided to place an order of some NETEM books with
due consideration of
the good
reputation of your bookstore and the high quality
of your books.
Firstly,
please
give
me
particular
accounts
as
regards
names,
authors,
publishing
houses
and
prices
of these books. Secondly, I also need to know the
terms of payment and
after
-
sell service.
Thirdly, I wonder if it is convenient
for you to deliver these books by EMS to the
headquarters
of Beijing New Oriental
School by September 1, 2008.
I would like to express my
gratitude for your kind consideration of my
requests. I look forward
to hearing
from you soon.
Yours
sincerely,
Li
Ming
尊敬的先生或女士：
由于我计划参加全国硕士研究生入学考试英语考试，充分考虑到贵书店的良好声誉和书籍的优
良品质，
我决定订购一些考研英语书籍。
首先，请给我关于这些书的书名、作者、出版社、价格的详细信息。其次，我也想知道付款方式和售后
服务。第三，我想知道您是否方便把这些书通过特快邮政专递在
200
8
年
9
月
1<
/p>
日前送到北京新东方学
校总部。
非常感谢您好心考虑我的请求。期待着尽快得到您的答复。
您真诚的，
李明
（二）
2005
：
Dear Mr. Wang,
I
am
much
grateful
to
be
employed
by
you
two
months
ago
as
an
editor
for
your
magazine
Design
&
Fashions.
I
appreciate
the
opportunity
of
having
worked
here
with
you
and
other
colleagues. The experiences will be
unforgettable throughout my life.
However,
as
a
young
man
whose
primary
interest is in
computer
science
rather than
fashion
designing,
I
find
my
present
job
doesn't
fall
in
with
my
previous
training
and
strength.
I
therefore decide to quit this job for
something else that may conform to my former
preparation.
Please accept my sincere apologies for
any inconveniences my leaving may
occur.
Yours
truly,
Li Ming
尊敬的王先生：
十分感激您两个月之
前聘用我为杂志《设计与时尚》的编辑。我非常珍惜这个和您以及其他同事共事的
机会。
这将是我一生中的难忘经历。
但是，对于一个喜欢计算机科学
远多于时尚设计的年轻人来说，我认识到目前的工作并不符合我的教育
背景与个人能力。
因此，我决定辞职，找一份与我从前教育背景相关的工作。
我为离开可能造成的不便深表歉意。
您真诚的，
李明
（三）
2006
：
Dear Sir or Madam,
Moved by the noble cause of Project
Hope and encouraged by what has been achieved so
far, I
would like to contribute my bit
to the project by offering financial aid to a
child in a remote
area of your
province.
I would be much
grateful if you could help me seek out a girl who
has just started schooling but
whose
family cannot afford her education. My plan is to
pay for her tuition on an annual basis
till she finishes her secondary
education. I would like to remit my donation
directly to a bank
account opened by
her family in her local area.
Yours truly,
Li
Ming
尊敬的先生或女士：
希望工程这项高尚的事业感动了我，同时这项工程迄今所取得的成就也鼓舞了我。因此，我想
通过给贵
省偏远地区的一个孩子提供经济帮助，来为希望工程贡献我的微薄之力。
如果您能帮助我找到一个刚开始上学但家庭无法为其负担学费的小女
孩，我将不胜感激。本人计划按年
度支付她的学费直至她中学毕业。我希望把捐款直接汇
给她的家人在当地开设的银行账户中。
您真诚的，
李明
（四）
2007
：
Dear Sir/Madam,
I
am
a
student
in
this
university
who
regularly
come
to
the
library
to
spend
my
spare
time.
Generally speaking,
the services you offer here is quite good;
however, I have some suggestions
for
you to adopt. And I would like to extend my
greatest appreciation if you are so kind as to
take my suggestions into
consideration.
To
begin
with,
will
you
please
prolong
the
time
for
reading?
In
the
daytime,
most
of
the
students
are having class, so they can’t come to the
library. Moreover, some of the books on
shelves
are
out
of
date.
If
you
are
so
kind
as
to
provide
us
some
books
such
as
the
latest
magazines, we will be greatly
honored.
I really wish to
have a more comfortable library. Thank you for
your time and consideration.
Sincerely
yours,
Li
Ming
尊敬的先生
/
女士：
我是本校的一名学生，常来图书馆度过业余
时间。总而言之，您这里提供的服务相当不错，但我有一些
建议希望您采纳。如果您能好
心考虑我的建议，我将非常感谢。
首先，是否可以请您延长阅
读时间？在白天，大多数学生在上课，来不了图书馆。其次，书架上有些书
已经过时了。
如果您能好心提供一些例如最新杂志等的书籍，我们将非常感谢。
我确实希望拥有一个更加舒适的图书馆。再次感谢您的时间和关注。
您真诚的，
李明
（一）比赛通告：
Chinese
-
Speaking
Contest
January 8,
2011
To
improve
students’
ability
to
speak
Chinese
and
enrich
after
-
class
activities,
the
Students’
Union
of
Department
of
Chinese
Language
and
Literature
is
organizing
a
school
-
wide
Chinese
-
speaking
contest
to
be
held
on
Saturday
next
week
(15
January)
at
the
Students’
Auditorium. Those
who are interested in taking part in it may sign
up with the monitor of their
classes
before
Tuesday
next
week.
Five professors
will be invited
to be
judges.
The
first
six
winners will be given awards.
Everybody is welcome to be present at the
contest.
The Students’
Union
Department of Chinese
Language and Literature
中文演讲比赛
2011
年
1
月
8
< br>日
为提高同学们中文演讲的能力并丰富课外活动，
中文系学生会将于下周六（
1
月
15
日）
在学生大礼堂组
织全校中文演讲比赛。有兴趣参加的同学请于下周二之前在本班班长处报名。我们将邀请五位教授担任
评委，并将给前六名获奖者者颁奖。欢迎大家积极参加。
中文系学生会
（二）征稿启事：
Contributions Wanted
January 8, 2011
To celebrate the 18th anniversary of
the Beijing New Oriental Education and Technology
Group,
this journal has decided to
publish a special issue on our great achievements
in the teaching and
research activities
in the past 18 years. Articles, photos, memoirs
and other writings related to
this
topic are invited. Faculty members and students
are welcome to send in their contributions
in
whatever
forms
or
styles
to
our
office
before
the
30th
instant.
They
may
also
send
their
writings and photos electronically to
the following address:
The
Editorial Office
New
Oriental English Journal
征稿启事
2011
< br>年
1
月
8
日
为庆祝北京新东方教育科技集团成立
18
周年，本杂志决定出版专刊纪念过去
18
年来我们在教学和研究
活动中取得的光辉业绩。欢迎与此相关的任何文章、照
片、回忆录或其他文体。欢迎各位教师及同学在
30
日前把各种
形式和风格的征稿寄给我们主编室。也可将稿件与照片网上寄给下述地址：
《新东方英语》杂志社总编室
（三）招聘启事：
Teachers
Wanted
Beijing
New
Oriental
School
is
looking
for
10
teachers.
Applicants
should
have
a
strong
professional spirit and a good command
of English.
Location:
Beijing
Education:
University graduate
Requirements:
Candidate
must
have
outstanding
skills
at
English
teaching
and
the
ability
to
speak
Chinese and English fluently. The candidates must
have Chinese nationality and be aged
under 35.
Those
with relevant professional experience are
preferred.
Contact:
Candidates should send their resume, cover letter,
record of formal schooling and a
copy
of their transcripts, along with two
2
-
inch photo to:
Beijing New Oriental School
B
-
5F Zhongguancun
Finance Center, 6 Haidianzhong Street, Haidian
District
Beijing 100080,
China (Please mark: Application)
Email: bj
-
招聘教师
北京新东方学校现招聘
10
名教师。应聘者需有较强的职业精神和良好的英语水平。
工作地点：北京
教育背景：大学毕业
招聘条件：应聘
者需具有卓越的英文教学水平以及流利的中英文演讲能力。应聘者必须具有中国国籍，
年
龄在
35
岁以下。
优先考虑具有相关职业经验的人选。
联系方式：应聘者请将个人简历、附件、正规教育证明及其复印件，以及两张
2
寸照片寄至：
北京新东方学校
地址：中国北京市海
淀区海淀中街
6
号中关村金融中心
B<
/p>
座
5
层
邮编：
100080
（请注明：应聘）
邮箱：
bj
-
（一）金融类：
中文摘要
金融危机又称金融风暴，是
指一个国家或几个国家与地区的金融指标的急剧恶化。金融危机
可以分为货币危机、债务
危机、银行危机、次贷危机等类型。金融危机的特征是人们基于经济未来将更
加悲观的预
期，整个区域内货币币值出现幅度较大的贬值。产生危机的背景非常复杂，主要有以下几方
面促因。
（
1
）美国的消费习惯。借
钱消费是普遍的生活方式。
（
2
）经济
管理思想。新“自由主义”思潮
受到追捧。
（
< br>3
）经济环境与具体政策工具。
（
194
字）
Financial Crisis
Financial
crisis,
also
known
as
financial
tsunami,
refers
to
the
dramatic
deterioration
of
the
financial
indicators of a certain country or several
countries and regions in the world. It can be
classified as currency crisis, debt
crisis, banking crisis,
sub
-
loan crisis, etc. The
feature of the
crisis is that people
are pessimistic about the economic future because
of monetary depreciation
occurring
throughout the region. The causes for the crisis
are complicated with multiple reasons,
mainly
from
three
aspects,
i.e.,
the
U.S.
consumption
habits
of
borrowing,
the
idea
of
free
economic
management,
and
the
economic
environment
and
specific
policy
instruments.
(99
words)
（二）人文类：
中文摘要
这些年来，
“要敢讲真话”
，
叫得很响。
从实际情况看，
辨别真话还是有标准的。
目前，
我看至少有两个。
一个是心里怎么想，口头怎么说，就叫真话。一个是，说的符
合实际，不夸大，不缩小，没有片面性，
就叫讲真话。两种标准，实际上是从两种不同的
意义上，或者说两种不同层次上来谈论“真话”的。但
由此也便产生了倡言“讲真话”时
的歧义。看来，我们不能只停留在提倡“口心一致”的“真话”上，
还要进一步提倡实事
求是的“真话”
。当然，提倡追求真理的“真话”
，并不否认讲
心里话。同志之间，
朋友之间，包括对待上下级，都应该敞开思想，有话就说，不必顾忌
。但是写文章，做演说，搞创作，
情况有所不同，都是用自己的话，去宣传人，影响社会
，这就要顾及讲话的效果。
（
309
字
）
On Telling the
Truth
In recent years, there
is much talk about “telling the truth”, but
criteria are quite different. There
are
at least two criteria to distinguish the truth.
One is to speak out what one thinks arbitrarily,
the other is to be realistic without
any exaggeration and
one
-
sided view. Different
criteria may
bring
about
various
meanings
when
“telling
the
truth”.
Accordingly,
we
should
not
only
advocate the practice
of saying what one thinks, but more importantly,
the spirit of seeking truth
from facts.
The pursuit of truth does not contradict speaking
out one’s mind. We may talk freely
with
comrades and friends, while in writing or making
speeches, we should be prudent, taking
various realistic factors into
consideration. (116 words)
（
三）时事类：
中文摘要
奥巴马就海地发生强烈地震发表讲话
我想对海地人民表达最深的问候，美国人民将坚定地向海地提供援助。目前我们的救援活动主要集中于
以下几个紧急的方面。首先，我们迅速查明了很多在海地生活工作的美国公民的情况。其次，我们调 动
了人力和物资，支持救援。第三，我们正采取措施，确保美国政府统一行动。最后，这
次灾难提醒了我
们共同拥有的人性。
（
144
字）
President
Obama's Remarks on the Earthquake in
Haiti
I want to extend to
the people of Haiti the deep condolences and
unwavering support of the
American
people. I have directed my administration to
respond with a swift, coordinated, and
aggressive effort to save lives. Right
now our efforts are focused on several urgent
priorities.
First, we’re working
quickly to account for many American citizens who
live and work in Haiti.
Second, we’ve
mobilized resources to help rescue efforts. Third,
we are taking steps to ensure
that our
government acts in a unified way. Finally, this is
a time when we are reminded of the
common humanity that we all share. (102
words)
大作文（六）
1996
The desire for health is universal.
With the quickening pace of urban life and
ever
-
increasing
pressure,
people
in
growing
numbers
are
suffering
either
physical
or
mental
problems.
It
is
generally
believed that good health is the key to a happy
life and a successful career.
There are numerous ways of
keeping fit. First and foremost, it is most
effective to do physical
exercises.
People respectively choose jogging, playing
basketball, swimming, skating, climbing
or riding as their regular exercises
because exercises never fail to make us stronger
and more
energetic. Moreover, we should
put great emphasis on forming good habits. A
balanced diet and
sufficient sleep are
both indispensable to physical fitness. What’s
more, mental health should
also be
taken seriously. Especially in adversity, we need
to maintain an optimistic mentality to
pull through life’s pain and sorrow,
twists and turns.
As
far
as
I
am
concerned,
I
have
a
peculiar
interest
in
yoga
exercise.
An
hour’s
exercise
everyday
usually
makes
me
feel
healthier
and
more
vigorous.
Besides,
I
never
touch
any
cigarette or wine,
neither do I stay up late. Instead, I keep
balanced diet and go to bed before 11
o’clock
at
night,
because
I
believe
burning
the
midnight
oil
is
harmful
to
health.
More
importantly, an optimistic attitude
toward life makes me confident and persistent. To
sum up, all
these practices guarantee a
fit health and a happy life.
对于健康的渴望很普遍。随着都市生活节奏的加快和压力的不断增加，越来越多的人开始拥有生理或心
理问题。普遍公认健康是生活幸福和事业成功的关键。
保持健康的方式有很多种。首先，进行体育锻炼最为有效。人们分别选择慢跑、打篮球、游泳、滑冰、<
/p>
爬山或汽车作为日常锻炼，这是因为这些运动总是使我们更强壮和精力充沛。此外，我们应
该重视养成
良好习惯。均衡饮食和足够睡眠对于生理健康都是不可或缺的。另外，心理健
康也应被认真对待。尤其
在逆境中，我们需要保持一种乐观的心态来经历人生的痛苦悲伤
、迂回曲折。
就我而言，我对瑜伽有特殊的兴趣。每天一小时
的锻炼经常使我感到更健康而且更有活力。此外，我从
不吸烟喝酒，也不熬夜。相反，我
保持均衡饮食，而且晚上
11
点之前上床睡觉，因为我相信熬夜
对健
康有害。更为重要的是，对生活乐观的态度使我充满自信而且坚持不懈。简而言之，
所有这些锻炼保证
了良好的健康和快乐的生活。
（一）
2009
年
MBA<
/p>
真题：
In the new
millennium, text message is set to become an
essential feature of individuals’ life. It
comes no surprise that a vast majority
of people are indulged in sending and receiving
short
message, considering the great
pleasure and convenience it brings about. Still,
there are some
others viewing text
message as a curse of modern life, for it cause
extra waste and do harm to
our
health.
Text
messaging, as a means of communication, shortens
the distance between people, which,
many believe, is one of its apparent
advantages. By sending regards to them via short
message,
we can not only maintain
contact with our friends and relatives, but share
pleasure with them as
well. Another
benefit obtained from text message is the
convenience for people to keep up with
the latest information they need
whatever they go and whatever they do. For
instance, a large
number
of
people
have
subscribed
to
various
short
-
message
services
ranging
from
weather
forecast to fashion news and enjoy them
very much. Accordingly, with text message people’s
daily life will be greatly
enriched.
Truly,
apart from those benefits, text messaging
might have its drawbacks. But it is my
view
that its negative impacts depend,
to a large extent, on how it is used. As a
consequence, if we
make proper use of
it, short message will never do us more harm than
good. (228 words)
在新的世纪，手机短信
被视为个人生活中的一个重要特征。毫无疑问，考虑到它所带来的巨大快乐与方
便，很多
人沉迷于收发短信。然而，由于它能造成额外的浪费并损害我们的健康，有些人认为短信是现
代生活的一个弊端。
手机短信作为一种沟通工具，缩短了
人们之间的距离。很多人认为这是它的一个显著优点。通过短信问
候亲友，我们不仅可以
和他们保持联系，也可以与他们分享快乐。从短信中获得的另一个优点就是：无
论人们去
哪里或做什么，都能方便人们了解最新信息。例如，很多人订阅了从天气预报到时尚快讯的各
种短信服务。因此，短信极大丰富了人们的日常生活。
除
了这些优点，
手机短信确实也有缺点。
但在我看来，
它的负面影响在很大程度上取决于人们如何使用。
因此，如果我们适当使用
，手机短信绝不会对我们弊大于利。
（二）
< br>2008
年
MBA
真题
The past several years have
witnessed the emergence of a widespread social
phenomenon. That
is,
a
growing
number
of
people
are
in
quest
of
college
education
for
adult
despite
whatever
degrees they have
required before. It is reported that 390
university graduates, together with 15
candidates
who
have
master’s
degrees
have
taken
the
National
Adult
College
Entrance
Examination in Shanghai this year. This
issue, without the slightest question, has given
rise to
great concern in the
public.
People’s
attitudes
towards
this
phenomenon
differ
widely.
Some
find
it
quite
understandable
when considering the fact that
life
-
long education is an
era of knowledge explosion. Rather, one
has to recharge himself with updated
information so as to keep up with the development
of the
society.
And
yet
those
who
hold
negative
views
regard
it
as
a
waste
of
time
as
well
as
educational resources.
Personally, I am in favor
of the former opinion. Education is becoming a
lifetime study, just as
the old saying
goes: live and learn. After all, there is no
denying the fact that education is of
benefit to both personal growth and
economic prosperity. And this is also the exact
reason why
I have determined to do an
MBA.
过去几年目睹了一个广泛社会现象的出现：那就是越
来越多的人尽管之前已经获得学位，仍然报考成人
高校。据报道，今年在上海报名全国成
人高考的考生中，有
390
名本科毕业生和
15
名硕士生。这个问
题无疑已经引起了公众的极大关注。
人们对这一现象的态度截然不同。有人考虑到在一个知识爆炸
的时代，我们需要终身教育这一事实，认
为这种现象合情合理。相反，为了跟上社会的发
展，一个人必须利用最新信息自我充电。而那些持相反
意见的人认为这是一种时间和教育
资源的浪费。
个人而言，我支持前者的观点。教育正在变为终
身学习。正如老话所说：活到老，学到老。毕竟，不可
否认这一事实：教育对个人发展和
经济繁荣均有益处。这也是为什么我决定攻读
MBA
的确切原因
。
（一）
2001
< br>年大纲样题
The majority of
people would agree that cigarette smoking has
caused serious problems. But
the
tobacco companies insist that they contribute
greatly to the world economy by paying taxes
to the government and employing
hundreds of workers.
Personally, I believe that cigarette
production and consumption threatens to do more
harm than
good. Firstly, smoking is
responsible for many fatal diseases such as lung
cancer, heart diseases
and
so on.
According
to the survey,
tobacco
consumers
account
for
about
20%
of the
world
population,
and
among
them,
three
million
people
die
from
smoking
-
related
decreases
every
year. The fact that the output of
tobacco production is reduced from 14.364 billion
pounds in
1994 to 14.2 billion pounds
in 1995 also suggests that people have come to
realize the negative
effects
of
smoking.
Secondly,
tobacco
consumption
is
extremely
wasteful
of
money.
As
is
indicated in the
pictures, 200 billion US dollars is lost due to
smoking each year. Obviously, the
total
loss of money around the globe substantially
exceeds the gain in the industry.
In conclusion, as the economic
development aims at making our life better, we
cannot sacrifice
our
health
for
short
-
term
financial
benefits.
If
we
have
to
spend
more
and
more
money
providing medical services for those
who suffer from
smoking
-
related illnesses,
the notion of
promoting economy via
tobacco production is not justifiable. It is high
time that we fought for
the total
tobacco ban.
大多数人认为吸烟已经导致了严重
的问题。然而烟草公司声称他们通过给政府纳税和雇佣成百上千的工
人，从而为世界经济
做出了巨大的贡献。
个人而言，我认为烟草的生产和消费弊大
于利。首先，吸烟是导致诸如心脏病、肺癌等很多致命疾病的
原因。根据调查，烟民大约
占世界人口
20%
，而在他们中间，每年有
300
万人死于与吸烟相关的疾病。
世界烟草总产量从
1994
年的
143.64
亿磅下降到
1995
年的
14
2
亿磅的事实，
也证明了人们已经逐渐意识
到吸烟的负面影响。其次，烟草消费非常浪费金钱。如图所示，每年由于吸烟损失
2
000
亿美元。显而
易见，全球金钱总损失明显超过工业受益。
总而言之，由于经济发展旨在改进人民生活，我们不能为了短
期经济利益牺牲健康。如果我们不得不花
费越来越多的钱为那些受吸烟相关疾病所困扰的
人群提供医疗服务的话，那么通过烟草生产来发展经济
的观念就站不住脚了。我们早就该
进行一场全面禁烟的战役了。
（二）
1999
年真题
Currently, there is a widespread
concern regarding the previously neglected
connection between
growing human
population and decreasing wild species. As the two
graphs obviously portrayed,
American
population
in
1980
was
250
times
than
that
in
1800,
a
trend
accompanied
by
the
extinction
of nearly 70 kinds of wildlife in the past 300
years. A clear correlation is suggested
that mankind has exerted a tremendously
negative influence on natural
resources.
There are a great
many causes responsible for the aforementioned
tendency. To begin with, to
satisfy the
space demand for booming population, the only
available solution for Americans is
to
take
occupation
of
forests
and
grasslands
that
used
to
be
the
habitat
of
wild
animals
and
plants.
In
addition,
the
process
of
industrialization
and
urbanization
has
generated
severe
pollution that essentially destroys
environment and ecosystem.
In
my
point
of
view,
the
dearth
of
wild
species
today
forecasts
an
unpromising
future
for
humans tomorrow. In
order to eliminate species extinction, relevant
laws and regulations must
be
established
and
enforced
to
maintain a
large
portion
of unspoiled
areas.
Drastic
measures
should also be
applied to ensure that the impact of pollution be
removed.
近年来人们开始普遍关注以前被忽略的人口
增长和自然物种减少之间的关系。正如两幅图表显示，
1980
年的美国人口是
1900
年的
250<
/p>
倍，同时在过去的
300
年间大约有
70
种野生生物在美国灭绝。这清楚表
明人
类给自然物种带来了巨大的负面影响。
以上趋势是由诸多原因
造成的。首先为了满足迅速增长的人口对于空间的需求，对于美国人来说唯一有
效的解决
办法就是占据森林和草原，而这些地方曾是野生动植物的栖息地。此外，工业化和城市化的进
程造成了严重的污染，在根本上摧毁了环境和生态系统。
我认为，今天野生动物种类的灭绝和数量的减少预示着将来人类并不明朗的前景。为了减少物种灭绝，
我们应该制定并执行相关的法律法规来保留大部分的原始生态区。同时，我们也应该采取有效的措施 来
确保消除污染的影响。
（一）
2004
：
It
is vividly depicted in the cartoon that a boy is
running along the racetrack with painstaking
efforts, sweat pouring down his face.
After a long journey, he is making the final spurt
toward
the finishing line, with strong
determination to become a champion. It seems that
he could rest
for a while to enjoy the
ecstasy of victory. However, straight ahead lies a
sign which indicates a
new “starting
point” and urges him to continue rushing to the
next destination.
Undoubtedly, the cartoon conveys the
meaning that life is like the process of running
in which
one
should
make
constant
efforts
and
never
stop
making
progress.
Owing
to
the
quickening
pace of life, competition goes
increasingly fierce in all walks of life,
stimulating everyone to
pursue one goal
after another. Once a person stops making
progress, he can hardly maintain his
past glory and survive in this
competitive world. As DengXiaoping, the great
Chinese leader
said, “Development is
inarguable truth.” No matter how powerful a
specific institution is, it will
definitely
seek
new
development
in
high
speed.
Generally
speaking,
neither
a
country
nor
a
person can
remain stagnant.
A case in point is the successful
launching of
“
Shenzhou
Ⅶ
Spacecraft
”
which sets China in
a
high
position
of
aviation
and
space
flight.
Although
it
means
a
great
achievement
for
us
Chinese,
we
are
facing
new
challenges
in
the
forthcoming
future
and
need
to
do
further
research in space technology. Another
illustration is closely related to us, the
examinees. If we
pass this test and are
confronted with the challenge of conquering the
difficult graduate courses.
We still
have to strive for success in our future academic
study, employment and career. On the
whole, these examples effectively
clarify the saying that “destination is another
starting point.”
(296 words)
如图生动所示，一个小男孩正在沿着跑道跑步。他付出艰苦的努力，汗水淌下脸庞。在长
途跋涉之后，
他正在向着终点进行最后冲刺，抱有成为冠军的坚定决心。看起来他可以休
息一会，享受胜利的狂喜。
然而，在正前方有标志显示一个新的“起点”
，激励他继续朝着下一个目标前进。
毫无疑问，这幅
漫画显示了如下含义：人生就像跑步的过程一样，人们应该不断努力，绝不停止进步。
由
于生活节奏的加快，各行各业的竞争变得日益激烈，激励每个人追求一个又一个的目标。一旦一个人
停止取得进步，他很难保持过去的荣誉，在这个竞争世界中生活下去。正如伟大的中国领导人邓小平所
说：
“发展才是硬道理”
。无论一个具
体的机构如何成功，它肯定需要高速寻求新的发展。总而言之，无
论一个国家还是个人都
不能停滞不前。
一个恰当的例子就是“神州七号宇宙飞船”的
成功发射，这使中国处于航空航天的一个较高地位。尽管
这对我们中国人意味着一个巨大
的成就，但我们在不远的将来面临新的挑战，需要在空间技术领域进行
深入研究。另一个
例子与我们考生密切相关。如果我们通过了考试，就面临着征服艰巨研究生课程的挑
战。
我们仍须在我们未来的学业、职业和事业上为了成功而继续奋斗。总之，这些例子清楚证明了这一
说法：
“终点又是新起点”
。
（二）
1998
：
The
past
several
years
have
witnessed
a
phenomenon
that
a
variety
of
promises
have
been
arising from all walks
of life. Regretfully, quite a lot of promises are
sheer nonsense, just as the
hen in the
given cartoon commits herself to lay eggs which
are round without any angles and
corners and have shells, egg whites and
yolks.
Odd and
funny as they sound, such false promises can be
seen and heard everywhere in our
country. Administration departments
assure to perform their tasks effectively and
fairly without
taking
any
bribes;
manufacturing
units
guarantee
to
turn
out
products
of
good
quality;
commercial
enterprises
swear
to
provide
genuine
commodities
and
polite
and
enthusiastic
services. Can
you find anything new and substantial other than
their obligations, duties and jobs
in
these so called
promises?
I
guess
your
answer
will
be
negative.
As
a
matter of
fact,
their
intention to
make such commitments is nothing but to put on
civilized outer clothing to please
or
deceive the public.
I dare say that our society is
suffering corruption and cheat which are causing
damage to society
both materially and
morally. But the hen and her like should know that
by dishonest words no
one can survive
the intense competition under market economy
system. They should remember
the old
saying, “Honesty is the best policy”. (219
words)
过去几年发生了一个现象：各行各业开始出现了
各种各样的承诺。遗憾的是，相当多的承诺纯粹只是空
话，正如漫画中的这只母鸡一样，
承诺下蛋不见棱见角，并保证有蛋皮、蛋清、蛋黄。
尽管这些
承诺听起来奇怪有趣，但在全国各地都可以看到听到这样的虚假承诺。管理部门保证不接受任
何贿赂，公正有效地履行指责；生产厂家保证生产高质量产品；商业企业发誓提供真货和礼貌热情的服
务。
在这些所谓的承诺中，
除了他们的义务、
责任和工作之外，
你还能发现任何新的和实质性的东西吗？
我想你的答案将是否定的。事实上，他们做这种承诺的目的只是披上华丽的外衣以便取悦并欺
骗公众。
我认为这个社会正在受到腐败和欺骗的影响，这在物
质和道德上都在对社会造成了伤害。但这只母鸡及
其同类应该知道：在市场经济体系的激
烈竞争中，没人能通过欺诈的言语而生存下去。他们应该牢记这
条谚语：
“诚实为上策”
。
（三）<
/p>
2001
：
When we use the word “love”, we do not
simply mean an attraction to a person of the
opposite
sex,
which
is
a
very
narrow
definition
of
the
word.
The
picture
below
illustrates
the
real
meaning of love, by
stressing the fact that love is emotional
strength, which can support us no
matter how dark the world around us
becomes. As a matter of fact, throughout history
people of
many different cultures have
regarded love as the most sublime of human
emotions.
As
an
illustration
of
the
power
of
love,
we
should
remember
how
the
Chinese
people
of
all
nationalities
respond
to
the
call
to
help
the
victims
of
the
deadly
earthquake
in
Sichuan
Province. Although
their incomes are still low by international
standards, people all over the
country
do not hesitate to donate whatever they can——be it
money or goods——to help their
needy
fellow citizens. Furthermore, they do this with no
thought of gain for themselves.
It is my view that the best way to show
love is to help people who are more unfortunate
than we
are. We should always be ready
to give a helping hand to those who are in
trouble, no matter
whether they are
family members or complete strangers. Only by
doing so can we help to make
the world
a better place, for, as the picture shows, the
darker the shadows of sorrow become, the
more brightly the lamp of love shines.
(241 words)
当我们用到“爱”这个词时，我们不
仅仅指对异性的吸引，这是对这个词非常狭隘的解释。下面的图画
注解了爱的真正含义，
它强调了爱心是情感的力量，
不论我们周围的世界多么黑暗，<
/p>
爱心都能支撑我们。
事实上，历史上处于不同文化中的人们都把爱
当作人类最高尚的情感。
举一个例子证明爱心的力量，我们应
该记得中国各族人民如何响应号召去支援四川地震中的受难者。尽
管他们的收入按照国际
标准衡量还是处于低水平，但是全国人民毫不犹豫地尽他们所能捐献——不管是
钱，还是
物品——去帮助那些受难的同胞们。并且，他们这么做不考虑自己的得失。
我认为，表示爱心的最好方式是帮助比我们更加不幸的人。我们应该随时准备向有困难的人伸出援助 之
手，无论他们是家庭成员还是素昧平生。这样，我们能够助一臂之力把世界变成一个更
美好的地方，因
为，正如图画所描绘的，悲伤的阴影越黑暗，爱心之灯的光芒就越闪亮。
（四）
2002
：
The picture vividly
depicts a lovely American girl in traditional
Chinese costume with a sweet
smile on
her face. She wears ribbons, necklaces and other
accessories that are characteristic of
the clothes of a certain Chinese
minority group. Undoubtedly, the costume has added
oriental
charm/glamour to her beautiful
look/appearance/features.
What the picture conveys goes far
beyond only/merely a new fashion trend. Instead,
it carries
cultural
meanings/implications
as
well.
The
fact
that
people
from
different
countries
are
attracted to mysterious
Chinese culture indicates that to some extent a
culture can be accepted,
respected,
appreciated and shared internationally. In other
words, a nation’s unique/distinctive
culture can become international
through worldwide economic and cultural exchanges.
Since
the trend of globalization become
irresistible, the increasing cultural exchanges
can effectively
improve mutual
understanding and friendship.
It
is
my
view
that
national
culture
as
priceless
spiritual
treasure
should
be
preserved
and
cherished. Meanwhile, there are good
reasons to advocate international culture for
those ideas
from
the
other
cultures,
controversial
or
even
absurd
at
first
sight,
can
provide
a
different
perspective for us
to observe the world in the long run.
Nevertheless, when we are confronted
with a different culture, we should be
sensible enough to absorb its essence and to
resist its dark
side.
Only
in
this
way
can
we
promote
cultural
development
positively
and
make
our
world
dimensional, colorful and vigorous.
(221 words)
这幅图画生动描述了一位可爱的美国
小女孩身穿传统的中国服装，面带甜蜜的微笑。她戴着具有某个中
国少数民族服饰特征的
发带、项链和其他装饰品。毫无疑问，这套服装为她美丽的外表增添了东方的魅
力。
这幅图画所表达的远远不只是一种新的时尚潮流。反之，它具有文
化内涵。神秘的中国文化吸引了各国
人民这一事实，显示了在某种程度上，一种文化可以
被国际性地接受、尊重、欣赏和分享。换而言之，
一个民族独特的文化可以通过全球性的
经济和文化交流走向世界。由于全球化潮流不可阻挡，所以文化
交流可以有效增进相互间
的理解和友谊。
在我看来，我们应该保存和珍惜作为无价精神
财富的民族文化。同时，我们很有必要推广世界文化，因
为来自其他文化的观点，即使乍
看起来相互矛盾或荒谬，但从长远看来，可以为我们观察这个世界提供
一种不同的视角。
然而，在我们面临不同文化时，应该充满理智地取其精华、去其糟粕。只有这样我们
才能
积极发展民族文化，并使我们的世界丰富多元、五颜六色、充满活力。
（五）
2003
：
The set of drawings above vividly
depicts the destiny of a flower in different
circumstances. As
is shown in the first
cartoon, the flower is placed in a comfortable
greenhouse that shelters it
from the
threatening lightning and storm. With proper
temperature, moisture and fertilizer, the
flower
is
growing
in
full
bloom.
On
the
contrary,
when
removed
from
the
greenhouse
and
exposed to the driving
rain, the flower soon fades and withers, with the
petals scattered on the
ground.
To begin
with, the purpose of the drawings is to show us
that the flower growing in the green
house cannot withstand the test of the
storm, yet the symbolic meanings subtly conveyed
should
be taken more seriously. The
delicate flower is naturally associated with young
people, to be
specific, the only
children in our current society; the greenhouse
epitomizes parents’ doting care
and
abundant material supplies that can shield the
children from the storms, or the harsh reality.
Once the young people begin to seek
independence and accept challenges from the real
world,
they are found too spoiled to be
strong enough in the face of
difficulties.
Accordingly,
it
is
vital
for
us
to
derive
positive
implications
from
these
thought
-
provoking
drawings.
On
the
one
hand,
we
can
frequently
use
them
to
enlighten
the
youth
to
be
more
independent in life. On
the other hand, parents should be sensible enough
to give their children
more
freedom
to
deal
with
troubles
and
problems.
Only
by
undergoing
more
challenges
and
toils in adversity can young people
cultivate strong personality and ability, and only
in this way
can they become winners in
this competitive world. (271 words)
上述这组图生动描述了一朵鲜花在不同环境中的命运。如第一幅漫画所示，这朵鲜花被放在舒适
的温室
里，保护它免于可怕的闪电和风雨。拥有合适的温度、湿度和肥料，鲜花正在充分
绽放。相反，当被搬
出温室并暴露在风雨之下时，鲜花很快就凋谢枯萎了，花瓣散落一地
。
首先，这些图画的目的是告诉我们温室花朵经不起风雨，然
而我们应该认真对待它们所微妙传达的象征
含义。这朵娇弱的鲜花自然和我们的年轻人联
系起来，具体而言，就是当代社会的独生子女。温室是保
护孩子免受风雨的父母溺爱和优
越物质条件的缩影，而风雨就是严峻的现实。一旦年轻人开始寻求独立
并且接受来自现实
世界的挑战，人们发现他们已经被惯坏了，在困难面前无法足够坚强。
总之，我们很有必要从这些发人深思的图画中得出积极的含义。一方面，我们可以经常利用它们来启发<
/p>
年轻人在生活中更加独立。另一方面，父母们应该充满理智给孩子们更多自由来处理困难和
问题。只有
经历更多的挑战和磨练，年轻人才能培养强大的个性和能力，而且只有这样他
们才能成为这个竞争世界
中的强者。
加粗是考研重点词汇，要从课文句
子中掌握其用法，不是很熟的最好查一下牛津或者其他词典；划线的
重点要熟练应用的句
子，尽量应用到作文中去。
对这
36
篇文章最好是听写、翻译、背诵一步步来。先把文章听写出来，然后翻译成中文，再把中
文翻
译成英文，最后背诵。背诵是一件很痛苦的事情，实在背不下来，可以给自己定一个
量的要求：
“
50
遍
< br>啊
50
遍！
”甚至更强的“
100
遍啊
100
遍”读了
50
遍以上就算背不出来也很熟练了吧。
语言是背出来，模仿磁带的读音，大声跟读大声的背，将可以达到听说读写
齐头并进。
新概念三
Lesson 14
A noble gangster
贵族歹徒
There was a
time when
the owners of shops and
businesses in Chicago had to pay large sums
of
money
to
gangsters
in
return
for
'
protection
.'
If
the
money
was
not
paid
promptly
,
the
gangsters
would
quickly
put
a
man
out
of
business
by
destroying
his
shop.
Obtaining
'protection money' is not a modern
crime.
As long ago as
the
fourteenth century, an Englishman,
Sir
John
Hawk
wood,
made
the
remarkable
discovery
that
people
would
rather
pay
large
sums of money as have
their life work destroyed by gangsters.
Six
hundred
years
ago,
Sir
Johan
Hawk
wood
arrived
in
Italy
with
a
band
of
soldiers
and
settled
near
Florence. He soon
made a name for
himself
and
came to be known
to
the Italians
as Giovanni
Acuto. Whenever the Italian
city
-
states were
at war with
each other, Hawk
wood
used to hire his soldiers to
princes who were willing to pay the high price he
demanded
.
In
times of
peace, when
business was bad, Hawk wood and his men would
march
into a
city
-
state
and,
after
burning down
a few
farms, would
offer to
go
away if protection money was paid to
them.
Hawk
wood
made
large
sums
of
money
in
this
way.
In
spite
of
this
,
the
Italians
regarded
him as a sort of hero. When he died
at
the age of
eighty, the Florentines gave
him a
state
funeral
and
had
a
pictured
painted
which
was
dedicated
to
the
memory
of
'the
most
valiant
soldier and most
notable
leader, Signor Giovanni Haukodue.'
曾经有一个时期
,
芝加哥的店主和商行的老板
们不得不拿出大笔的钱给歹徒以换取
保护
。
如果交款不及
时
< br>,
歹徒们就会很快捣毁他的商店
,
让他破产
.
榨取
保护金
并不是一种现代的罪恶行径
.
早在
14
世纪
,
英国
人约翰
.
霍克伍德就有过非凡的发现
:
人们情愿拿出大笔的钱
,
也不愿毕生的心血毁于歹徒之手
.
600
年前
,
约翰
.
霍克伍德爵士带着一队士兵来
到意大利
,
在佛罗伦萨附近驻扎下来
,
很快就出了名
.
意大利人
叫他乔凡尼
.
阿库托
.
每次意大利各城邦之间发生战争
,
霍克伍德
把他的士兵雇佣给愿给他出高价的君主。
和平时期
,
当生意萧条时
,
霍克伍德便带领士兵进入某个城邦
,
纵火烧毁一两个农场
,
然后提出
,
如向他们缴
纳保
护金
,
他们便主动撤离。
霍克伍德用这
种方法挣了大笔钱
.
尽管如此
,
意大利人还是把他视作某种英雄。
他
80
岁那年死去时
,
佛罗伦萨人为他举行了国葬
,
并为他画像以纪念这位
骁勇无比的战士、杰出的领袖
乔凡尼
.
阿库托先生
.
Lesson 17
The
longest suspension bridge in the world
世界上最长的吊桥
Verrazano,
an
Italian
about
whom
little is
known,
sailed into
New
York
Harbor
in
1524
and
named it Angouleme. He
described
it as 'a very
agreeable
situation located
within two small
hills in the midst of
which
flowed
a great river.'
Though Verrazano is
by no
means
considered
to be a great explorer, his name will
probably
remain
immortal
, for on November
21st, 1964,
the longest
suspension
bridge in the
world was
named after
him.
The
Verrazano
Bridge,
which
was
designed
by
Othman
Amman,
joins
Brooklyn
to
Staten
Island. It has a span
of 4,260 feet. The bridge is so long that the
shape
of the earth had to
be
taken into
account
by its designer. Two great
towers
support
four huge
cables. The towers are
built on
immense
underwater platforms
made of
steel and concrete.
The
platforms
extend to
a
depth
of
over
100
feet
under
the
sea.
These
alone
took
sixteen
months
to
build.
Above
the
surface
of the water, the
towers
rise to
a
height
of nearly 700 feet.
They support the cables
from which the
bridge has been suspended.
Each of
the four cables
contains
26,108 lengths of
wire.
It
has
been
estimated
that
if
the
bridge
were
packed
with
cars,
it
would
still
only
be
carrying
a
third
of
its
total
capacity
.
However,
size
and
strength
are
not
the
only
important
things
about
this
bridge.
Despite
its
immensity,
it
is
both
simple
and
elegant
,
fulfilling
its
designer's dream to create 'an enormous
object drawn as faintly as possible'.
<
/p>
1524
年，
一位鲜为人知的意大利人维
拉萨诺驾船驶进纽约港，并将该港名为安古拉姆。
他对该港作了这
样的描述：
“
地理位置十分适宜，位于两座小山的中间，一条
大河从中间流过
”
。虽然维拉萨诺绝对算不
上一个伟大的探险家，但他的名字将流芳百世，因为
1964
年
11
月
21
日建成的一座世界上最长的吊桥
是以他的名字命名。
维拉萨诺大桥由奥斯马
.
阿曼设计，连结着布鲁克林与斯塔顿岛，桥长
4,260
< br>英尺。由于桥身太长，设计
者不得不考虑了地表的形状。
两座巨塔支撑着
4
根粗大的钢缆。
塔身
建在巨大的水下钢盘混凝土平台上。
平台深入海底
100
英尺。仅这两座塔就花了
16
个月才建成。塔
身高出水面将近
700
英尺。高塔支撑着
钢缆，而钢缆又悬吊着大桥，
4
根钢缆中的每根由
26
，
108
股钢绳组成
。据估计，若桥上摆满了汽车，
也只不过是桥的总承载力的
1/
3
。然而，这座桥重要特点不仅是它的规模与强度。尽管此桥很大，但它
的结构简单，造型优美，实现了设计者企图创造一个
“
尽量用细线条勾画出一个庞然大物
”
的梦想。
< br>
Lesson 21
Daniel Mendoza
丹
尼尔
.
门多萨
Boxing matches were very popular in
England two hundred years ago. In those days,
boxers
fought with
bare
fists for
prize money
.
Because of this, they were
known
as
'prize
-
fighters'.
However, boxing was very crude, for
there were no rules and a
prize
-
fighter could be
seriously
injured
or even killed during a match.
One of the most colorful
figures
in boxing history
was Daniel Mendoza, who was born in 1764.
The use of gloves was not
introduced
until 1860, when
the Marquis of Queensberry
drew
up
the first set of rules.
Though he was
technically
a
prize
-
fighter, Mendoza did
much to change
crude
prize
-
fighting
into
a
sport,
for
he
brought
science
to
the
game.
In
his
day
,
Mendoza
enjoyed tremendous
popularity
. He was
adored
by rich and poor
alike.
Mendoza
rose to fame
swiftly after a
boxing
-
match when he was
only fourteen years old. This
attracted
the attention of
Richard Humphries who was then the most eminent
boxer in England.
He
offered
to
train Mendoza and his young pupil
was quick to learn. In fact, Mendoza soon
became
so
successful
that
Humphries
turned
against
him.
The
two
men
quarrelled
bitterly
and it was clear
that the argument could only be
settled
by a fight. A match
was held at Stilton,
where both men
fought for an hour. The public bet a great deal of
money on Mendoza, but he
was
defeated
. Mendoza met
Humphries
in the ring
on a
later
occasion
and he lost
for a second
time.
It
was
not
until
his
third
match
in
1790
that
he
finally
beat
Humphries
and
became
Champion
of England. Meanwhile, he founded a highly
successful Academy and even Lord
Byron
became one of his pupils. He
earned
enormous sums of money
and was paid
as much
as
100
pounds for a single appearance.
Despite
this, he was so
extravagant
that he was
always
in debt. After he was defeated
by a boxer called Gentleman Jackson, he was
quickly forgotten.
He was sent to
prison for failing to pay his debts and died
in poverty
in
1836.
两百年前，拳击比赛在英国非常盛行。当时，拳击
手们不戴手套，为争夺奖金而搏斗。因此，他们被称
作
“
职业拳击手
”
。不过，拳击是十分野蛮的，因
为当时没有任何比赛规则，职业拳击手有可能在比赛中
受重伤，甚至丧命。
拳击史上最引人注目的人物之一是丹尼尔
.
门多萨，他生于
1764
< br>年。
1860
年昆斯伯里侯爵第一次为拳击
比赛制定了规则，拳击比赛这才用上了手套。虽然门多萨严格来讲不过是个职业拳击手，但在把这种粗
野的拳击变成一种体育运动方面，他作出了重大贡献。是他把科学引进了这项运动。门多
萨在他的全盛
时期深受大家欢迎，无论是富人还是穷人都对他崇拜备至。
门多萨在
14
岁时参加一场
拳击赛后一举成名。这引起当时英国拳坛名将理查德
.
汉弗莱斯
的注意。他主
动提出教授门多萨，而年少的门多萨一学就会。事实上，门多萨不久便名声
大振，致使汉弗莱斯与他反
目为敌。两个人争吵不休，显而易见，只有较量一番才能解决
问题。于是两人在斯蒂尔顿设下赛场，厮
打了一个小时。公众把大笔赌注下到了门多萨身
上，但他却输了。后来，门多萨与汉弗莱斯再次在拳击
场上较量，门多萨又输了一场。直
到
1790
年他们第
3
次对垒，门多萨才终于击败汉弗莱斯，成了全英
拳击冠军。同时，他建立了一所
拳击学校，办得很成功，连拜伦勋爵也成了他的学生。门多萨挣来大笔
大笔的钱，一次出
场费就多可达
100
英镑。尽管收入不少，但他挥霍无度，经常
债台高筑。他被一个叫
杰克逊绅士的拳击手击败后很快被遗忘。他因无力还债而被捕入狱
，最后于
1836
年在贫困中死去。
Lesson 24
A skeleton in the cupboard
“
家丑
”
We often read in novels how a
seemingly
respectable person
or family has some terrible secret
which has been
concealed
from
strangers for years.
The English language
possesses
a vivid
saying
to
describe
this
sort
of
situation
.
The
terrible
secret
is
called
‘
a
skeleton
in
the
cupboard
’.
At
some dramatic moment
in the story, the
terrible secret becomes known and a
reputation
is ruined. The
reader's
hair stands on end
when he reads in the final pages of the
novel that the
heroine
, a dear old lady who
had always been so kind to everybody, had, in her
youth,
poisoned
every one of her five husbands.
It is all very well for
such
things to
occur
in fiction.
To varying degrees
, we all
have secrets
which
we
do not
want
even
our closest
friends
to
learn,
but
few
of
us have
skeletons
in the
cupboard. The only
person I know who has a skeleton in the cupboard
is George Carlton, and
he
is
very
proud
of
the
fact.
George
studied
medicine
in
his
youth.
Instead
of
becoming
a
doctor,
however,
he
became
a
successful
writer
of
detective
stories.
I
once
spent
an
uncomfortable
weekend
which
I
shall
never
forget
at
his
house.
George
showed
me
to
the
guest
-
room which,
he said, was rarely used. He told me to
unpack
my things and then
come
down to dinner. After I had
stacked my shirts and underclothes in two
empty
drawers, I decided
to hang one of the two suits I had
brought with me in the cupboard. I opened the
cupboard door
and then stood
in front of
it
petrified
. A skeleton was
dangling
before my eyes. The
sudden
movement of the door made it
sway
slightly
and it gave me
the
impression
that it was
about to
leap
out
at me. Dropping my suit, I
dashed
downstairs to tell
George. This was worse than ‘a
terrible
secret’; this was a real skeleton! But George was
unsympathetic
. ‘Oh, that,’
he said
with a smile
as
if
he were
talking
about
an old friend. ‘That's Sebastian.
You forget that I was a
medical student
once upon a time
.
’
在小说中，我们经常读到一个表面上受人尊重的人物或家族
，却有着某种多年不为人所知的骇人听闻的
秘密。英语中有一个生动的说法来形容这种情
况。惊人的秘密被称作
“
柜中骷髅
”<
/p>
。在小说的某个戏剧性
时刻，
可怕的秘密
泄漏出来，
接着便是某人的声誉扫地。
当读者读到小说最后几页
了解到书中女主人公，
那位一向待大家很好的可爱的老妇人年轻时一连毒死了她的
5
个丈夫时，不禁会毛骨悚然。
这种事发生在小说中是无可非议的。尽管我们人人都有各种大小秘密，连最亲密的朋友都不愿让他们 知
道，
但我们当中极少有人有柜中骷髅。
我所认识的唯一的在柜中藏骷髅的人便是乔治
·
卡尔顿，
他甚至引
以为自豪。乔治年轻时学过医，然而，他后来没当上医生，
却成了一位成功的侦探小说作家。有一次，
我在他家里度周末，过得很不愉快。这事我永
远不会忘记。乔治把我领进客房，说这间房间很少使用。
他让我打开行装后下楼吃饭。我
将衬衫、内衣放进两个空抽屉里，然后我想把随身带来的两套西服中的
一套挂到大衣柜里
去。我打开柜门，站在柜门前一下子惊呆了。一具骷髅悬挂在眼前，由于柜门突然打
开，
它也随之轻微摇晃起来，让我觉得它好像马上要跳出柜门朝我扑过来似的。我扔下西服冲下楼去告
诉乔治。这是比
“
骇人听闻的秘密
”
更加惊人的东西，这是一具真正的骷髅啊！但乔治却无动于衷。
< br>“
噢，
是它呀！他笑着说道，俨然在谈论一位老朋友。<
/p>
“
那是塞巴斯蒂安。你忘了我以前是学医的了。
< br>”
Lesson 27
Nothing to sell and nothing to buy
没有东西可卖也没有东西可买
It
has
been
said
that
everyone
lives
by
selling
something.
In
the
light
of
this
statement
,
teachers
live
by
selling
knowledge,
philosophers
by
selling
wisdom
and
priests
by
selling
spiritual
comfort. Though it
may be possible to
measure
the value of material good
in terms
of
money,
it
is
extremely
difficult
to
estimate
the
true
value
of
the
services
which
people
perform
for us.
There are times when
we
would
willingly
give
everything we
possess
to
save
our
lives,
yet
we
might
grudge
paying
a
surgeon
a
high
fee
for
offering
us
precisely
this
service. The conditions of society are
such that skills have to be paid for
in
the same way that
goods are
paid for at a shop. Everyone has something to
sell.
Tramps
seem
to be the only
exception to this
general rule
. Beggars almost sell
themselves as
human
beings
to
arouse
the
pity
of
passers
-
by.
But
real
tramps
are
not
beggars.
They
have
nothing
to sell and require nothing from others. In
seeking
independence
, they
do not sacrifice
their human
dignity
. A tramp may ask you
for money, but he will never ask you to
feel sorry
for
him.
He
has
deliberately
chosen
to
lead
the
life
he
leads
and
is
fully
aware
of
the
consequences
.
He may never be sure where the next meal is
coming from
, but he is
free from
the
thousands
of
anxieties
which
afflict
other
people.
His
few
material
possessions
make
it
possible
for him to move from place to place
with ease
. By having to
sleep
in the open
, he
gets
far
closer
to
the
world
of
nature
than
most
of
us
ever
do.
He
may
hunt,
beg,
or
steal
occasionally
to keep himself
alive; he may even,
in times
of
real need, do a little work; but he
will never
sacrifice
his freedom. We
often
speak of
tramps with
contempt
and put them in the
same
class
as
beggars,
but
how
many
of
us
can
honestly
say
that
we
have
not
felt
a
little
envious
of
their simple way of life and their freedom from
care?
据说每个人都靠出售某种东西来维持生活。根据
这种说法，教师靠卖知识为生，哲学家靠卖智慧为生，
牧师靠卖精神安慰为生。虽然物质
产品的价值可以用金钱来衡量，但要估算别人为我们为所提供的服务
的价值却是极其困难
的。有时，我们为了挽救生命，愿意付出我们所占有的一切。但就在外科大夫给我
们提供
了这种服务后，我们却可能为所支付的昂贵的费用而抱怨。社会上的情况就是如此，技术是必须
< br>付钱去买的，就像在商店里要花钱买商品一样。人人都有东西可以出售。
在这条普遍的规律前面，好像只有流浪汉是个例外，乞丐出售的几乎是他本人，以引起过路人的
怜悯。
但真正的流浪并不是乞丐。他们既不出售任何东西，也不需要从别人那儿得到任何
东西，在追求独立自
由的同时，他们并不牺牲为人的尊严。游浪汉可能会向你讨钱，但他
从来不要你可怜他。他是故意在选
择过那种生活的，并完全清楚以这种方式生活的后果。
他可能从不知道下顿饭有无着落，但他不像有人
那样被千万桩愁事所折磨。他几乎没有什
么财产，这使他能够轻松自如地在各地奔波。由于被迫在露天
睡觉，他比我们中许多人都
离大自然近得多。为了生存，他可能会去打猎、乞讨，偶尔偷上一两回；确
实需要的时候
，他甚至可能干一点儿活，但他决不会牺牲自由。说起流浪汉，我们常常带有轻蔑并把他
们与乞丐归为一类。但是，我们中有多少人能够坦率地说我们对流浪汉的简朴生活与无忧无虑的境况不
感到有些羡慕呢？
Lesson 33
A day to remember
难忘的一天
We have all
experienced
days when
everything
goes wrong
. A day
may begin well enough,
but suddenly
everything seems to
get out of
control
. What
invariably
happens is that
a great
number
of
things
choose
to
go
wrong
at
precisely
the
same
moment
.
It
is
as
if
a
single
unimportant event
set up a
chain of
reactions
. Let us suppose
that you are preparing a meal
and
keeping
an
eye
on
the
baby
at
the
same
time
.
The
telephone
rings
and
this
marks
the
prelude
to
an unforeseen series of
catastrophes
. While you are
on the phone
, the baby pulls
the
table
-
cloth
off
the
table,
smashing
half
your
best
crockery
and
cutting
himself
in
the
process
. You
hang
up
hurriedly and
attend
to
baby, crockery, etc. Meanwhile, the
meal
gets
burnt
.
As if this were not enough to
reduce
you to tears, your
husband arrives,
unexpectedly
bringing three guests to dinner.
Things can
go
wrong
on a big scale, as a number of
people recently discovered in Parramatta, a
suburb of Sydney. During the
rush hour
one evening two
cars
collided
and both
drivers began
to argue. The woman
immediately
behind the two
cars
happened to be
a
learner. She suddenly
got into a
panic
and stopped her car. This made
the driver following her brake hard. His wife
was sitting beside him holding a large
cake. As she was
thrown
forward, the cake went right
through
the
windscreen
and landed on
the road. Seeing a cake flying through the air, a
lorry–
driver who was
drawing
up
alongside the car,
pulled
up
all of
a sudden
. The lorry was
loaded
with
empty
beer bottles and hundreds of them
slid
off
the back of the
vehicle
and on to the road.
This
led
to
yet
another
angry
argument.
Meanwhile,
the
traffic
piled
up
behind.
It
took
the
police nearly an hour to get the
traffic on the move again.
In the
meantime
, the lorry driver had
to sweep up hundreds of broken bottles.
Only two stray dogs
benefited
from all this
confusion
,
for
they greedily
devoured
what
was left of the cake. It was just one of those
days!
我们大家都有过事事不顺心的日子。一天开始时，
可能还不错，但突然间似乎一切都失去了控制。情况
经常是这样的，许许多多的事情都偏
偏赶在同一时刻出问题，好像是一件无关紧要的小事引起了一连串
的连锁反应。假设你在
做饭，同时又在照看孩子。这时电话铃响了，它预示着一连串意想不到的灾难的
来临。就
在你接电话时，孩子把桌布从桌子上扯了下来，将家中最好的陶瓷餐具半数摔碎，同时也弄伤
了他自己。你急急忙忙挂上电话，赶去照看孩子和餐具。这时，饭又烧糊了。好像这一切还不足以使你
急得掉泪，你的丈夫接着回来了，事先没打招呼就带来
3
个客人吃饭。
就像许多人最近在悉尼郊区帕拉马塔
所发现的那样，有时乱子会闹得很大。一天傍晚交通最拥挤时，一
辆汽车撞上前面一辆汽
车，两个司机争吵起来。紧跟其后的一辆车上的司机碰巧是个初学者，她一惊之
下突然把
车停了下来。她这一停使得跟在后头的司机也来了个急刹车。司机的妻子正坐在他身边，手里
托着块大蛋糕。她往前一冲，蛋糕从挡风玻璃飞了出去掉在马路上。此时，一辆卡车正好从后边开到那
辆汽车边上，司机看见一块蛋糕从天而降，紧急刹车。卡车上装着空啤酒瓶，成百只瓶子顺势从
卡车后
面滑出车外落在马路上。这又引起了一场唇枪舌剑的争吵。与此同时，后面的车辆
排成了长龙，警察花
了将近一个小时才使车辆又开起来。在这段时间里，卡车司机不得不
清扫那几百只破瓶子。只有两只野
狗从这一片混乱中得到了好处，它们贪婪地吃掉了剩下
的蛋糕。这就是事事不顺心的那么一天！
Lesson
34
A happy
discovery
幸运的发现
Antique shops
exert a
peculiar fascination on
a great many
people. The more expensive kind
of
antique shop where rare objects are beautifully
displayed in glass cases to keep them free
from dust is usually a
forbidding
place. But no one
has to
muster up courage
to
enter a less
pretentious
antique shop. There is always hope that in its
labyrinth
of musty, dark,
disordered
rooms
a real rarity will be found amongst the piles of
assorted
junk that litter
the floors.
No one
discovers a rarity
by
chance
. A truly
dedicated
bargain
hunter
must have
patience
,
and
above all
, the ability to
recognize
the worth of
something when he sees it. To do this, he
must be
at least as
knowledgeable as
the dealer. Like a
scientist
bent on
making a
discovery,
he must
cherish
the hope that one
day he will be
amply
rewarded
.
My
old
friend,
Frank
Holliday,
is
just
such
a
person.
He
has
often
described
to
me
how
he
picked up
a masterpiece for
a mere
￡
50. One Saturday
morning, Frank visited an antique shop
in my neighborhood. As he had never
been there before, he found a great deal to
interest him.
The
morning
passed
rapidly
and
Frank
was
about
to
leave
when
he
noticed
a
large
packing
-
case
lying on the floor. The dealer told him that it
had just
come in
, but that
he could
not be
bothered
to open it.
Frank
begged
him
to
do
so
and the
dealer
reluctantly
prised it
open. The contents were disappointing.
Apart from
an
interesting
-
looking carved
dagger, the
box was full of crockery,
much of
it
broken
. Frank gently lifted the
crockery out of the box
and
suddenly
noticed
a
miniature
painting
at
the
bottom
of
the
packing
-
case.
As
its
Composition
and line
reminded
him of an Italian
painting he knew well, he decided to buy it.
Glancing at
it briefly, the
dealer told him that it was
worth
￡
50. Frank could hardly
conceal
his
excitement
, for he knew that he had
made a real discovery
. The
tiny painting
proved to be
an unknown
masterpiece
by Correggio and
was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
古玩店对许多人来说有一种特殊的魅力。
高档一点的古玩店为了防尘，
把文物漂亮地陈列在玻璃柜子里，
那里往往令人望而却步。而对不太装腔作势的古玩店，无论是谁都不用壮着胆子才敢往里进。人们还常
常有希望在发霉、阴暗、杂乱无章、迷宫般的店堂里，从杂乱地摆放在地面上的、一堆堆各式各
样的破
烂货里找到一件稀世珍品。
无
论是谁都不会一下子就发现一件珍品。一个到处找便宜货买的人必须具有耐心，而且最重要的是看到
珍品时要有鉴别珍品的能力。要做到这一点，他至少要像古董商一样在行。他必须像一个专心致志进行
探索的科学家那样抱有这样的希望，即终有一天，他的努力会取得丰硕的成果。
我的老朋友弗兰克
·
哈利戴正是这样一个人。他多次向我详细讲他如何只花
50
英镑
便买到一位名家的杰
作。一个星期六的上午，弗兰克去了我家附近的一家古玩店。由于他
从未去过那儿，结果他发现了许多
有趣的东西。上午很快过去了，弗兰克正准备离去，突
然看见地板上放着一只体积很大的货箱。古董商
告诉他那只货箱刚到不久，但他嫌麻烦不
想把它打开。经弗兰克恳求，古董商才勉强把货箱撬开了。箱
内东西令人失望。除了一柄
式样别致、雕有花纹的匕首外，货箱内装满了陶器，而且大部分都已破碎。
弗兰克轻轻地
把陶器拿出箱子，突然发现在箱底有一幅微型画，画面构图与线条使他想起了一幅他所熟
悉的意大利画，
于是他决定将画买下来。
古董商漫不经心看了一
眼那幅画，
告诉弗兰克那画值
50
英镑
。
弗兰克几乎无法掩饰自己兴奋的心情，因为他明白自己发现了一件珍品。那幅不大的画
原来是柯勒乔的
一幅未被发现的杰作，价值几十万英镑。
Lesson 38
The
first calendar
最早的日历
Future historians will be
in
a unique position
when they
come to
record the history
of our own
times.
They
will
hardly
know
which
facts
to
select
from
the
great
mass
of
evidence
that
steadily
accumulates
.
What
is
more
,
they
will not have to
rely
solely on
the
written
word.
Films,
videos,
CDs
and
CD
-
ROMS are
just
some
of
the
bewildering
amount
of
information
they will have.
They will be able,
as it
were
, to see and hear us
in
action
. But the historian
attempting
to
reconstruct
the
distant
past
is
always
faced
with
a
difficult
task.
He
has
to
deduce
what
he
can
from
the
few
scanty
clues
available
.
Even
seemingly
insignificant
remains can
shed interesting
light on
the history of early
man.
Up
to
now
,
historians
have
assumed
that
calendars
came
into
being
with
the
advent
of
agriculture,
for
then
man
was
faced
with
a
real
need
to
understand
something
about
the
seasons. Recent
scientific
evidence
seems to
indicate that this
assumption
is incorrect.
Historians have long been
puzzled
by dots, lines and
symbols which have been
engraved
on
walls, bones, and the ivory tusks of
mammoths
. The
nomads
who made these
markings
lived
by
hunting and fishing during the last Ice Age which
began about 35,000 B.C. and ended about
10,000 B.C. By
correlating
markings made in
various parts of the world, historians have been
able to read this difficult code. They
have found that it is
connected
with the passage
of days
and the
phases
of the moon. It is,
in fact
, a
primitive
type of calendar.
It has long been known
that the hunting scenes
depicted
on walls were not
simply a form of
artistic
expression. They
had a definite
meaning, for they were
as near
as
early man could get to writing.
It is possible
that
there
is
a
definite
relation
between
these
paintings
and
the
markings
that
sometimes
accompany
them.
It
seems
that
man
was
making
a
real
effort
to
understand
the
seasons
20,000 years earlier
than has been
supposed
.
未来的历史学家在写我们这一段历史的时候会别具一格。对于逐渐积累起来的庞大材料，
他们几乎不知道选取哪些好，而且，也不必完全依赖文字材料。电影、录像、光盘和光
< br>盘驱动器只是能为他们提供令人眼花缭乱的大量信息的几种手段。他们能够身临其境般
地观看我们做事，倾听我们讲话。但是，历史学家企图重现遥远的过去可是一项艰巨的
任务，他们必须根据现有的不充分的线索进行推理。即使看起来微不足道的遗物，也可
能揭示人类早期历史的一些有趣的内容。
< br>历史学家迄今认为日历是随农业的问世而出现的，因为当时人们面临着了解四季的实际
需要，但近期科学研究发现，好像这种假设是不正确的。
长期以来，历史学家一直对雕刻在墙壁上、骨头上、古代长毛象的象牙上的点、线和形
形
色色的符号感到困惑不解。这些痕迹是游牧人留下的，他们生活在从公元前约
35
，
000
年到公元前
10
，
000
年的冰川期的末期，以狩
猎、捕鱼为生。历史学家通过把世界各地
留下的这种痕迹放在一起研究，终于弄懂了这种
费解的代码。他们发现代码与昼夜更迭
和月亮圆缺有关，事实上是一种最原始的日历。大
家早就知道，画在墙上的狩猎图景并
不是单纯的艺术表现形式，它们有着一定的含义，因
为它们已接近古代人的文字形式。
有时，这种图画与墙壁上的刻痕共存，它们之间可能有
一定的联系。看来人类早就致力
于探索四季变迁了，比人们想像的要早
< br>20,000
年。
Lesson 40
Who's who
真假难辨
It has never
been explained why university students seem to
enjoy practical jokes
more
than
anyone
else.
Students
specialize
in
a particular
type
of practical
joke: the
hoax
.
Inviting
the
fire
-
brigade
to
put
out
a
non
-
existent
fire
is
a
crude
form
of
deception
which
no
self
-
respecting
student would ever
indulge
in
. Students often create amusing
situations
which
are funny to everyone except the
victims
.
When a student recently saw two workmen
using a
pneumatic
drill
outside his university, he
immediately
telephoned
the
police
and
informed
them
that
two
students
dressed
up
as
workmen were
tearing up
the road with a
pneumatic drill.
As soon as
he had
hung up
, he went
over to the workmen and told them that
if a policeman
ordered
them
to
go away
, they were not
to
take him
seriously
. He added that a student had
dressed up as a policeman and was playing
all sorts of
silly jokes on
people. Both the police and the workmen were
grateful
to the student
for this piece of
advance
information.
The student hid in an
archway nearby where he could watch and hear
everything that went on.
Sure
enough
, a policeman
arrived
on the scene
and politely asked the
workmen to go away.
When he received a
very rude reply from one of the workmen, he
threatened
to remove them
by force. The workmen told him to do as
he pleased and the policeman
telephoned
for help
.
Shortly
afterwards
, four more policemen arrived
and
remonstrated
with the
workmen. As the
men refused to stop
working, the police
attempted
to seize the
pneumatic drill. The workmen
struggled
fiercely and one
of them
lost his temper
. He
threatened to
call the
police. At this,
the police
pointed out
ironically
that this would
hardly be necessary as the men were already
under
arrest.
Pretending
to
speak
seriously,
one
of
the
workmen
asked
if
he
might
make
a
telephone
call
before
being
taken
to
the
station.
Permission
was
granted
and
a
policeman
accompanied
him to a
pay phone
. Only when he saw
that the man was actually telephoning
the police did he
realize
that they had all
been the victims of a hoax.
谁也弄不清为什么大学生好像比任何人都更喜欢恶作剧。大学生擅长一种特殊的恶作剧
——
戏弄人。请消防队来扑灭一场根本没有的大火是一种低级骗局，有自尊心的大学生<
/p>
决不会去做。大学生们常常做的是制造一种可笑的局面，除了受害者大家都觉得非常滑
稽。
最近有个学生看见两个工人在大学校
门外用风钻干活，马上打电话报告警察，说有两个
学生装扮成工人，正在用风钻破坏路面
。挂上电话后，他又马上来到工人那儿，告诉他
们若有个警察来让他们走开，不要把他当
回事；还对工人说，有个学生常装扮成警察无
聊地同别人开玩笑。警察与工人都对那个学
生事先通报情况表示感谢。
那学生躲在附近一拱形门廊里，在
那儿可以看见、听到现场发生的一切。果然，警察来
了，有礼貌地请工人离开此地；但其
中一个工人粗鲁地回了几句。于是警察威胁要强行
使他们离开。工人说，悉听尊便。警察
去打电话叫人。一会儿工夫，又来了
4
个警察，
规劝工人离开。由于工人拒绝停下手中的活，警察想夺风钻。两个工人奋力抗争，其中
< br>一个发了火，威胁说要去叫警察。警察听后讥讽地说，这大可不必，因为他俩已被逮捕
了。其中一个工人装模作样地问道，在被带往警察局之前，是否可以打一个电话。警察
同意了，陪他来到一个投币电话前。当他看到那个工人真的是给警察挂电话，才恍然大
悟，原来他们都成了一场骗局的受害者。
Lesson
41
Illusions of
Pastoral Peace
宁静田园生活的遐想
The quiet life of the country has never
appealed to
me. City born
and city bred, I have always
regarded
the
country
as
something
you
look
at
through
a
train
window,
or
something
you
occasionally
visit during
the weekend. Most of my friends live in the city,
yet they always
go
into
raptures
at
the
mere
mention
of
the
country.
Though
they
extol
the
virtues
of
the
peaceful
life, only one of them has ever gone to live in
the country and he was back in town
within six months. Even he still lives
under the illusion that
country life is somehow
superior
to
town
life.
He
is
forever
talking
about
the
friendly
people,
the
clean
atmosphere
,
the
closeness to nature and the gentle pace
of living. Nothing can be
compared
, he maintains, with
the first cock crow, the
twittering
of birds at dawn,
the sight of the rising sun
glinting
on the
trees
and pastures.
This
idyllic
pastoral
scene
is
only
part of
the picture. My
friend
fails
to
mention
the long and
friendless winter evenings
in front
of
the TV
----
virtually
the only form
of
entertainment.
He
says
nothing
about
the
poor
selection
of
goods
in
the
shops,
or
about
those
unfortunate
people who have to travel from the country to the
city every day to get to
work.
Why
people
are
prepared
to
tolerate
a
four
-
hour
journey
each
day
for
the
dubious
privilege
of
living
in
the
country
is
beyond
me.
They
could
be
saved
so
much
misery
and
expense if they
chose
to
live in the city where they
rightly
belong.
If
you
can
do
without
the
few
pastoral
pleasures
of
the
country,
you
will
find
the
city
can
provide you
with
the best that life can offer. You
never have to travel miles to see your friends.
They
invariably
live
nearby
and
are
always
available
for
an
informal
chat
or
an
evening's
entertainment. Some of my
acquaintances
in the country
come up to
town once or
twice a year
to
visit
the
theatre
as
a
special
treat.
For
them
this
is
a
major
operation
which
involves
considerable
planning.
As
the
play
draws
to
its
close
,
they
wonder
whether
they
will
ever
catch that last train
home. The city dweller never experiences anxieties
of this sort. The latest
exhibitions
, films, or plays
are only a short bus ride away. Shopping, too, is
always a pleasure.
There is so much
variety that
you never have to make do
with second best. Country people
run
wild
when
they
go
shopping
in
the
city
and
stagger
home
loaded
with
as
many
of
the
exotic
items
as
they
can
carry.
Nor
is
the
city
without
its
moments
of
beauty
.
There
is
something comforting
about the warm glow shed by advertisements on cold
wet winter nights.
Few things could be
more
impressive
than the
peace that
descends
on
deserted city streets at
weekends when
the thousands that travel to work every day are
tucked away
in their homes
in
the country.
It has
always been a mystery to me why
city
dwellers, who
appreciate
all
these
things,
obstinately
pretend that
they would
prefer to
live in
the country.
宁静的乡村生活从来没有吸引过
我。我生在城市，长在城市，总认为乡村是透过火车车
窗看到的那个样子，或偶尔周末去
游玩一下的景象。我的许多朋友都住在城市，但他们
只要一提起乡村，马上就会变得欣喜
若狂。尽管他们都交口称赞宁静的乡村生活的种种
优点，
但其中
只有一人真去农村住过，
而且不足
6
个
月就回来了。
即使他也仍存有幻觉，
好像乡村生活就是比城市生
活优越。他滔滔不绝地大谈友好的农民，洁净的空气，贴近
大自然的环境和悠闲的生活节
奏。他坚持认为，凌晨雄鸡第一声啼叫，黎明时分小鸟吱
喳欢叫，冉冉升起的朝阳染红树
木、牧场，此番美景无与伦比。但这种田园诗般的乡村
风光仅仅是一个侧面。我的朋友没
有提到在电视机前度过的漫长寂寞的冬夜
——
电视是
唯一的娱乐形式。他也不说商店货物品种单调，以及那些每天不得不从乡下赶到城里工
作的不幸的人们。人们为什么情愿每天在路上奔波
4
个小时去换取值得怀疑的乡间的优
点，我是无法理解的。要是他们愿意住在本来属于他们
的城市，则可以让他们省去诸多
不便与节约大量开支。
如果你愿舍弃乡下生活那一点点乐趣的话，那么你会发现城市可以为你提供生活中最美
好的东西。你去看朋友根本不用跋涉好几英里，因为他们都住在附近，你随时可以同他
们聊天或在晚上一起娱乐。我在乡村有一些熟人，他们每年进城来看一回或几回戏，并
把此看作一种特殊的享受。看戏在他们是件大事，需要精心计划。当戏快演完时，他们
又为是否能赶上末班火车回家而犯愁。这种焦虑，城里人是从未体验过的。坐公共汽车
< br>几站路，就可看到最新的展览、电影、戏剧。买东西也是一种乐趣。物品品种繁多，从
来不必用二等品来凑合。乡里人进城采购欣喜若狂，每次回家时都买足了外来商品，直
到拿不动方才罢休，连走路都摇摇晃晃的。城市也并非没有良辰美景。寒冷潮湿的冬夜
里，广告灯箱发出的暖光，会给人某种安慰。周末，当成千上万进城上班的人回到了他
们
的乡间寓所之后，空旷的街市笼罩着一种宁静的气氛，没有什么能比此时的宁静更令
人难
忘了。城里人对这一切心里很明白，却偏要执拗地装出他们喜欢住在乡村的样子，
这对我
来说一直是个谜。
Lesson
42
Modern cavemen
现代洞穴人
Cave exploration, or
pot
-
holing
, as it has
come to be known
, is a
relatively
new sport.
Perhaps
it is the desire for
solitude
or the chance of
making an unexpected discovery that lures people
down
to
the
depths
of
the
earth.
It
is
impossible
to
give
a
satisfactory
explanation
for
a
pot
-
holer's
motives. For him, caves have the same peculiar
fascination
which high
mountains
have for the climber. They
arouse
instincts
which can
only be dimly understood.
Exploring really deep caves is not a
task for the Sunday afternoon
rambler
. Such undertakings
require the
precise
planning and
foresight
of
military operations
.
It can take as long as
eight
days to
rig up
rope ladders and to establish supply bases before
a
descent
can be
made into
a
very
deep cave.
Precautions
of
this sort are necessary, for it is impossible to
foretell
the exact
nature
of
the
difficulties
which
will
confront
the
pot
-
holer.
The
deepest
known
cave
in
the
world is the Gouffre Berger near
Grenoble. It
extends to
a
depth of 3,723 feet. This immense
chasm
has been formed by an
underground stream which has
tunneled
a course through a
flaw
in the rocks. The
entrance to
the cave is on a
plateau
in the Dauphine
Alps. As it is only six
feet
across,
it
is
barely
noticeable
.
The
cave
might
never
have
been
discovered
had
not
the
entrance
been spotted by the
distinguished
French
pot
-
holer, Berger. Since its
discovery, it has
become a sort of
pot
-
holers'
Evere
st
(
珠峰
). Though
a number of
descents have
been made,
much of it still remains to
be explored.
A team
of
pot
-
holers
recently
went down
the
Gouffre Berger. After entering the narrow gap
on
the plateau
,
they
climbed down
the
steep
sides of the cave
until they came to narrow
corridor
.
They
had
to
edge
their
way
along
this,
sometimes
wading
across
shallow
streams,
or
swimming
across
deep
pools.
Suddenly
they
came
to
a
waterfall
which
dropped
into
an
underground
lake
at
the
bottom
of
the
cave.
They
plunged
into
the
lake,
and
after
loading
their gear on an
inflatable
rubber
dinghy
, let the current
carry them to the other side. To protect
themselves from the icy water, they had
to wear special rubber suits. At the far end of
the lake,
they came to huge piles of
rubble
which had been washed
up by the water. In this part of the
cave, they
could
hear
an
insistent
booming
sound
which they
found
was
caused by
a
small
water
-
spout
shooting down into a pool from the roof of the
cave.
Squeezing
through a
cleft
in
the
rocks, the pot
-
holers
arrived at
an
enormous
cavern, the size of
a huge concert hall. After
switching on
powerful arc lights, they saw great
stalagmites
--
some of them over forty
feet
high
--
rising up
like
tree
-
trunks to meet the
stalactites
suspended from
the roof.
Round about,
piles of limestone
glistened
in all the colours
of the rainbow. In the
eerie
（可怕的）
silence of
the cavern, the
only sound that could be heard was made by water
which dripped
continuously
from the high dome above
them.
洞穴勘查
——
或洞穴勘探
——
是一项比较新的体育活动。寻求独
处的愿望或寻求意外发
现的机会的欲望吸引人们来到地下深处。要想对洞穴探险者的动机
作出满意的解释是不
可能的。对洞穴探险者来说，洞穴有一种特殊的魅力，就像高山对登
山者有特殊魅力一
样。为什么洞空能引发人的那种探险本能，人们对此只能有一种模模糊
糊的理解。
探测非常深的洞穴不是
那些在星期日下午漫步的人所能胜任的。这种活动需要有军事行
动般的周密布署和预见能
力。有时需要花费整整
8
天时间来搭起绳梯，建立供应基地，<
/p>
然后才能到一个很深的洞穴里。作出这样的准备是必要的，因为无法预见到洞穴探险者
究竟会遇到什么性质的困难。世界上最深的洞穴是格里诺布尔附近的高弗
.
伯杰洞，深达
3,723
英尺。
这个深邃的洞穴是由一条地下暗泉冲刷岩石中的缝隙并使之慢慢变大而形成
的。此洞的洞
口在丹芬阿尔卑斯山的高原上，仅
6
英尺宽，很难被发现。若不
是法国著
名洞穴探险家伯杰由于偶然的机会发现了这个洞口的话，这个洞也许不会为人所
知。自
从被发现以后，这个洞成了洞穴探险者的珠穆朗玛峰，人们多次进入洞内探险，但
至今
尚有不少东西有待勘探。
最近，
一队洞穴探险者下到了高弗
.
伯杰洞里。他们从高原上的窄缝进
去，顺着笔直陡峭
的洞壁往下爬。来到一条狭窄的走廊上。他们不得不侧着身子往前走，
有时过浅溪，有
时游过深潭。突然，他们来到一道瀑布前，那瀑布奔泻而下，注入洞底一
处地下湖里。
他们跳入湖中，把各种器具装上一只充气的橡皮艇，听任水流将他们带往对
岸。湖水冰
冷刺骨，他们必须穿上一种特制的橡皮服以保护自己。在湖的尽头，他们见到
一大堆一
大堆由湖水冲刷上岸的碎石。在这儿，他们可以听见一种连续不断的轰鸣声。后
来他们
发现这是由山洞顶部的一个小孔里喷出的水柱跌落到水潭中发出的声音。洞穴探险
者从
岩石缝里挤身过去，来到一个巨大的洞里，其大小相当于一个音乐厅。他们打开强力
弧
光灯，看见一株株巨大的石笋，有的高达
40
英尺，像树干似地向上长着，与洞顶悬挂下
来的钟乳石相接。
< br>周围是一堆堆石灰石，
像彩虹一样闪闪发光。
洞里有一种
可怕的寂静，
唯一的可以听见的声响是高高的圆顶上不间断地滴水的嘀嗒声。
Lesson 43
Fully insured
全保险
Insurance
companies
are
normally
willing
to
insure
anything.
Insuring
public
or
private
property
is a
standard
practice
in most countries
in the world. If, however, you were holding
an open air garden party or a
fete
it would be equally
possible to insure yourself
in the
event of
bad weather.
Needless to say, the bigger the risk an
insurance company takes, the higher the
premium you will have to pay.
It is not uncommon to
hear
that a shipping company has made
a
claim
for
the
cost of
salvaging
a
sunken
ship.
But
the
claim
made
by
a
local
authority
to
recover the cost of salvaging a sunken
pie dish must surely be unique.
Admittedly
it was an unusual
pie dish, for it was eighteen feet long and six
feet wide. It had
been
purchased
by a
local authority
so that an
enormous pie could be baked for an annual fair.
The pie
committee
decided that the best way to
transport
the dish would be
by canal
, so they
insured it for the trip.
Shortly after
it was
launched
, the pie committee
went to a local inn to
celebrate.
At the same time
, a number
of teenagers
climbed on to
the dish and held a little
party of
their own. Dancing proved to be
more
than
the dish could bear, for during
the party it
capsized
and
sank in seven feet of water.
The pie committee telephoned a local
garage
owner who
arrived in
a recovery truck
to salvage
the
pie
dish.
Shivering
in
their
wet
clothes,
the
teenagers
looked
on
while
three
men
dived
repeatedly into
the water to
locate the dish. They
had little
difficulty in
finding it, but
hauling
it out of
the water proved to be
a serious
problem
. The sides of the dish were so
smooth
that it
was almost impossible to attach hawsers
and chains to the rim without damaging it.
Eventually
chains were fixed to one end
of the
dish and a powerful winch was
put into operation
. The
dish
rose
to
the
surface
and
was
gently
drawn
towards
the
canal
bank.
For
one
agonizing
moment,
the
dish
was
perched
precariously
on
the
bank
of
the
canal,
but
it
suddenly
overbalanced
and
slid back into
the water.
The men were now obliged to try once more. This
time they fixed heavy metal clamps to
both sides of the dish so that they could fasten
the chains.
The dish now had to be
lifted
vertically
because
one edge was resting against the side of the
canal. The winch was again put into
operation and one of the men
started
up
the truck. Several
minutes later, the dish was
successfully
hauled
above
the surface of the water. Water
streamed
in
torrents over its sides with such force that it
set up
a huge wave in the
canal.
There was a
danger
that
the wave would
rebound
off the other side
of the bank and send the dish
plunging
into
the water again. By
working at
tremendous
speed,
the men
managed to
get the
dish on to
dry land before the wave
returned.
保险公司一般说来愿意承保一切东西。
承办公共财产或私人财产保险是世界上大部分国
家的正常业务。如果你要举办一次露天游
园会或盛宴，为避免碰上不好的天气而遭受损
失也同样可以保险。不用说，保险公司承担
风险越大，你付的保险费也就越高。航运公
司为打捞沉船而提出索赔，这是常有的事，但
某地当局为打捞一只焙制馅饼的盘子提出
索赔，倒是件新鲜事儿。
这个馅饼盘子确实少见，有
18
英
尺长，
6
英尺宽。某地方当局买下它用来焙制一个巨大
的馅饼为一年一度交易会助兴。馅饼委员会确认运输这只盘子的最佳方案是通过运河水
运。于是，他们对这只盘子的运输安全投了保。盘子下水后不久，馅饼委员会成员们来
到当地一家小酒店庆贺。就在这个时候，许多十几岁的孩子爬上盘子举行他们自己的集
会。他们跳起了舞，盘子难以承受。舞会进行过程中，盘子倾覆，沉入了
7
英尺深的水
中。
馅饼委员会给当地汽车修理库老板打电话，他闻讯后开着一辆急修车前来打捞盘子。那
些
孩子们穿着湿衣服哆嗦，看着
3
个工人轮番潜入水中以确定盘子
的位置。他们没费多
大事儿就找到了盘子，可是把盘子捞出却是一个很大的难题。盘子四
边十分光滑，要在
盘边拴上绳索或链条而同时又不损坏它是很难办到的。不过，他们终于
将链条固定在盘
子的一端，一台大功率的绞车开动起来。盘子慢慢浮出水面，被轻轻地拽
向运河岸边。
在令人忐忑不安的瞬间，盘子晃晃悠悠地上了岸，但它突然失去了平衡，又
跌回水中。
工人们只得再来一次。这次，他们用沉重的金属夹子把盘子夹住，以便往盘子
上安装铁
链。
这次，
盘子必须垂直吊出
水面，
因为盘子的一边紧靠着运河河岸。
绞盘机再次启动，
一位工人发动了急修车的引擎。几分钟后，盘子被成功地拽出了水面。波浪从盘子两侧
急涌而出，在运河里掀起一股大浪。但是当波浪从河对岸折回来时，就有再次把盘子拖
进水里的危险。工人们动作迅速，终于赶在那股大浪返回之前把盘子拽到了岸上。
Lesson 44
Speed and comfort
又快捷又舒适
People, traveling long
distances
frequently have to
decide whether they would
prefer
to
go by
land, sea, or air.
Hardly anyone can
positively
enjoy sitting in a train for
more
than
a few hours.
Train
compartments
soon
get cramped
and
stuffy
. It is almost
impossible to take your mind
off the
journey. Reading is only a partial solution, for
the
monotonous
rhythm of the
wheels
clicking on the rails soon
lulls
you to sleep. During
the day,
sleep comes in
snatches
. At night,
when you
really wish to
go to sleep
,
you rarely
manage to do
so.
If you are lucky enough to
get a
sleeper, you spend half the night
staring at
the small blue
light in the ceiling, or
fumbling
to find
your ticket for
inspection
.
Inevitably you
arrive at
your destination almost exhausted.
Long
car journeys are even less pleasant, for it is
quite impossible even to read. On motorways
you can, at least, travel fairly safely
at high speeds
, but
more often than not
, the
greater part
of the journey is spent on
roads with few service stations and too much
traffic.
By comparison,
ferry trips or
cruises
offer a great
variety of civilized comforts. You can
stretch
your legs on
the
spacious
decks,
play
games,
meet
interesting
people
and
enjoy
good
food
----
always
assuming, of course, that the sea is
calm. If it is not, and you are likely to get
sea
-
sick, no form
of transport could be worse.
Even if
you travel in ideal
weather, sea
journeys
take a long time
.
Relatively
few people are
prepared to
sacrifice
holiday time for
the pleasure of travelling by
sea.
Airplanes
have
the
reputation
of
being
dangerous
and
even
hardened
travellers
are
intimidated
by
them.
They
also
have
the
disadvantage
of
being
an
expensive
form
of
transport.
But
nothing can match them for
speed and
comfort. Travelling at a height of 30,
000 feet, far above the clouds, and at
over 500 miles an hour is an
exhilarating
experience. You
do not have to devise ways of taking
your mind off the journey, for an aeroplane gets
you to
your
destination
rapidly. For a
few hours, you
settle back
in a deep armchair to enjoy the flight.
The real escapist can watch a film and
sip
champagne
on some
services. But even when such
refinements
are not
available, there is plenty to
keep you
occupied
. An aeroplane offers you
an unusual and breathtaking view of the
world. You soar
effortlessly
over high mountains and
deep valleys.
You really see the shape of the land. If the
landscape is hidden from view, you can
enjoy the extraordinary sight of
unbroken cloud plains that
stretch
out
for miles before you,
while the sun shines
brilliantly
in a clear sky.
The journey is so smooth that there is nothing to
prevent
you from reading or
sleeping. However you decide to spend your time,
one thing is
certain: you will
arrive at
your
destination
fresh and
uncrumpled. You will not have to spend
the next few days
recovering
from
a long and
arduous
journey.
出远门的人常常需要决定是走旱路、水路，还是坐飞机。很少有人能够真正喜欢坐几个<
/p>
小时以上的火车。车厢很快就变得拥挤、闷热，想摆脱开旅途的困扰是很难的。看书只
能解决部分问题。
车轮与铁轨间单调的嘎喳声很快就会送你进入梦乡
。
白天是忽睡忽醒，
到了夜晚，你真想睡了，却很难入睡。即使
你走运弄到一个卧铺，夜间有一半时间你会
盯着车顶那盏小蓝灯而睡不着觉；要不然就为
查票摸索你的车票。一旦抵达目的地，你
总是疲惫不堪。乘汽车作长途旅行则更加不舒服
，因为连看书都几乎不可能。在公路上
还好，你至少能以相当快的速度安全地向前行。但
旅行的大部分时间都花在路上，而且
只有很少的服务设施，交通也很拥挤。相比之下，坐
船旅行或环游可以得到文明世界的
各种享受。你可以在甲板上伸展四肢、做游戏，还能见
到各种有趣的人，能享用各种美
味佳肴
——
当然，这一切只有在大海风平浪静的情况下才有可能。如果大海肆虐起来，
你就可能
晕船，那种难受劲儿是任何一种别的旅行方式都不会带来的。即便风平浪静，
坐船旅行也
要占用很长时间。没有多少人会为了享受坐船旅行的乐趣而牺牲假期的时间。
飞机以危险而著称，连老资格的旅行者也怕飞机。飞机的另一个缺点是昂贵。但就速度
与舒适而言，飞机是无与伦比的。腾云驾雾，在
3
万英尺高空以
500
英里的时速旅行，
这种经历令人心旷神怡。你不必想办法去摆脱旅途的困扰，因为飞机会迅速地把你送到
目
的地。几小时之内，你躺在扶手椅上，享受着旅途的欢乐。真正会享受的人还可以在
某些
航班上看一场电影和喝香槟。即使没有这些消遣条件，也总是有事可做。飞机上，
你可以
观察世界上非同寻常的奇妙的美景。你毫不费劲地飞越高山幽谷，你确能饱览大
地的风貌
。
如果这种景色被遮住了，
你便可以观赏一下展现在你面前的、
一望数英里的、
连绵不断的云海，
同时
阳光灿烂，
天空清澈明朗。
旅途平稳，
丝毫不妨碍你阅读或睡眠。
不管你打算如何消磨时间，有件事是可以肯定的，即当你抵达
目的地时，你感到精神焕
发，毫无倦意，用不着因为漫长旅途的辛苦而花几天时间休息来
恢复精神。
Lesson 45
The power of the
press
新闻报道的威力
In
democratic
countries any efforts to
restrict
the freedom of the
Press are rightly
condemned
.
However, this freedom can easily be
abused
. Stories about people
often attract far more
public
attention
than political
events. Though we may enjoy reading about the
lives
of others,
it is
extremely doubtful whether
we would equally enjoy reading about ourselves.
Acting on the
contention
that
facts
are
sacred,
reporters
can
cause
untold
suffering
to
individuals
by
publishing details about their private
lives. Newspapers
exert such tremendous
influence
that
they
can
not
only
bring
about
major
changes
to
the
lives
of
ordinary
people
but
can
even
overthrow
a government.
The story of a poor family
that
acquired
fame and
fortune overnight,
dramatically
illustrates
the power of the press. The family
lived in
Aberdeen, a small
town of 23, 000
inhabitants
in
South Dakota. As the parents had
five children, life was a
perpetual
struggle against
poverty.
They
were
expecting
their
sixth
child
and
were
faced
with
even
more
pressing
economic
problems.
If
they
had
only
had one
more
child,
the
fact
would
have
passed
unnoticed.
They
would have continued to
struggle against
economic
odds
and would have lived in
obscurity
.
But
they
suddenly
became
the
parents
of
quintuplets
,
four
girls
and
a
boy,
an
event
which
radically changed
their lives. The day after the birth of the five
children, an aeroplane arrived in
Aberdeen bringing sixty reporters and
photographers
.
The rise to fame was swift
.
Television cameras and newspapers carried the news
to everyone
in
the
country.
Newspapers
and
magazines
offered
the
family
huge
sums
for
the
exclusive
rights
to publish stories and photographs. Gifts
poured in
not
only
from unknown people, but
from
baby
food
and
soap
manufacturers
who
wished
to
advertise
their
products.
The
old
farmhouse the family lived in was to be
replaced by
a new
＄
500, 000 home. Reporters
kept
pressing
for interviews
so lawyers had to be employed to
act
as
spokesmen for the family at
press
conferences
. While the five
babies were still quietly sleeping in oxygen tents
in a hospital
nursery,
their
parents
were
paying
the
price
for
fame
.
It
would
never
again
be
possible
for
them to lead normal
lives. They had become
the victims
of
commercialization
, for their
names
had
acquired a market
value
.
Instead of
being five new family members, these children had
immediately
become a
commodity.
在民主国家里，任何限制新闻自由的
企图都理所当然地受到谴责。然而，这种自由很容
易被滥用。常人轶事往往比政治事件更
能引起公众注意。我们都喜欢看关于别人生活的
报道，但是否同样喜欢看关于自己生活的
报道，就很难说了。记者按事实至上的论点行
事，发表有关别人私生活的细节，有时会给
当事人造成极大的痛苦。新闻具有巨大的威
力。它们不仅可以给寻常人家的生活带来重大
的变化，甚至还能推翻一个政府。
下面这户穷人一夜之间出名
发财的故事戏剧性地说明了新闻报道的威力。这户人家住在
南达科他州一个人口为
23
，
000
的小镇
上，镇名为阿拜丁。家里已有
5
个孩子，全家人
常年在贫困中挣扎。第
6
个孩子即将问世，他们面临着
更为严峻的经济问题。如果他们
只是添了
1
个孩子，这件事本来就不会引起任何人的注意。这家人会继续为克服经济上
的拮据而
奋斗，并默默无闻地活下去。但是他们出人意料地生了个五胞胎，
4
女
1
男。这
事使他们的生活发生了
根本的变化。五胞胎降生第二天，一架飞机飞抵阿拜丁，随机带
来
60
名记者与摄影师。
这一家迅速
出了名。电视摄像机和报纸把消息传送到全国。报纸、杂志出高价向他们购
买文字、图片
的独家报道权。不但素昧平生的人寄来了大量的礼物，而且婴儿食品、婴
儿肥皂制造厂商
为了替自己产品做广告也寄来了大量的礼物。这家人住的旧农舍将由一
座价值
50
万美元的新住宅所取代。由于记者纷纷要求会见，他们不得不请了律师
充当他
们家的发言人举行记者招待会。眼下，五胞胎还静静地躺在医院婴儿室的氧气帐里
，他
们的父母却为这名声付出了代价，他们再也无法过正常的生活。他们成了商业化的受
害
者，因为他们的名字具有了市场价值。这些孩子立即成了商品，而不是
5
个新的家庭成
员。
Lesson 47
Too
high a price?
代价太高？
Pollution
is
the
price
we
pay
for
an
overpopulated
,
over
industrialized
planet.
When
you
come to think about
it,
there are only four ways you can
deal
with
rubbish: dump it, burn it,
turn it into something you can use
again,
attempt to
produce
less of it. We
keep trying
all four
methods
, but he
sheer volume
of rubbish we
produce worldwide
threatens to
overwhelm us
.
Rubbish,
however,
is
only
part
of
the
problem
of
polluting
our
planet.
The
need
to
produce
ever
-
increasing
quantities
of cheap food
leads to
a different kind of
pollution.
Industrialized
farming methods produce cheap meat
products: beef, pork and chicken.
The
use of pesticides
and fertilizers
produces cheap grain and vegetables. The price we
pay for cheap food may be
already
too
high:
Mad
Cow
Disease
(BSE)
in
cattle,
salmonella
in
chicken
and
eggs,
and
wisteria in dairy
products. And if you think you'll
abandon
meat and become a
vegetarian
, you
have the
choice
of
very
expensive
organically
-
grown
vegetables
or a steady diet of
pesticides
every time you think you're
eating fresh salads and vegetables, or just having
an
innocent glass
of
water
!
However,
there is an
even more
insidious
kind of pollution
that particularly affects urban areas
and invades our daily lives, and that
is noise.
Burglar
alarms
going off
at any
time
of the day
or
night
serve
only
to
annoy
passers
-
by
and
actually
assist
burglars
to
burgle.
Car
alarms
constantly
scream at
us in the street
and are a source of profound
irritation
. A recent survey
of the effects of noise revealed
(surprisingly?) that dogs barking
incessantly
in the night
rated
the
highest
form
of
noise
pollution
on
a
scale
ranging
from
1
to
7
.
The
survey
revealed
a
large number of
sources of noise that we really dislike.
Lawn mowers
whining on a
summer's
day,
late
-
night
parties
in
apartment
blocks,
noisy
neighbors,
vehicles
of
al
kinds,
especially
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