临时抱佛脚的英语

Having listened to both Chinese and English, I`m suspicious of comparisons between the two
languages, as I notice the reciprocal(相互的) challenges they each present < br>由于一直听着中英文两种语言，故而我对它们之间的任何对比总是心存怀疑，因为我注意到
他们双 方都有各自所没有的难点。


English speakers say Chinese is extremely difficult because different words can be denoted by
very subtle variations in tone.
说英文的人会认为中文极其难，因为中文用非常微妙的声调变化就可以表示不同的词语。



English is often bracketed with the label of inconsistency, a language of too many broken rules.
而英文则常常被认为缺乏一致性，因为英文具有太多不合规则的用法。



Even more dangerous , in my view, is the temptation(诱惑) to view the gulf(分歧) between
different languages and behavior in translation.
在我看来，更危险的做法是，人们往往倾向于通过翻译来理解不同语言和行为之间的差异。


To listen to my mother speak English, an outside spectator(观众) might make the deduction(结论)
that she has no concept of the temporal(时间的) differences of past and future or that she is
gender blind because she refers to my husband as “she”.
如果一个旁观的外人听我母亲说英语，可能会得出结论，说她对过去和将来这样 的时间没有
概念，或者认为她对人的性别不加区分，因为她提到我丈夫的时候总是说“她”。



If one were not careful, one might also generalize that all Chinese people take an indirect route
to get to the point.
如果一个人对 此类现象不假思索，他也许还会概括说，所有中国人都是通过委婉迂回的方式
才能说到话题的重点。


It is , rather , my mother’s individual tendency to ornament(修饰) her language and wander
around a bit .
而实际上，喜欢修饰和绕弯子只是我母亲个人的说话风格。



These remarks are not representative of new ideas, honest emotions, or considered thought.
这些话并不能代表什么新观点，也不能传达什么真实的情感或深思熟虑的想法。

Like a piece of bread, they are only the crust of the interaction, or what is said from the polite
distance of social contexts : greetings, farewells, convenient excuses, and the like.
它们就像一块面包，只是人们交往中最表层的东西，或社交场合下出于礼貌说的一些话：问
候、道别、顺口的托词，诸如此类。









This generalization, therefore, is not a true composite of Chinese culture but only a stereotype of
our exterior behavior. 由此看来，那些对中国人的概括性评价并非是对中国文化成分的真实描述，而仅仅是对我们
外在行为 的一种成见而已。
this generalization, therefore, is not a true composite to Chinese culture, but only a stereotype to
our exterior behavior.








These weren`t the only destinies of men, as I learned from having a few male teachers, from
reading books and from watching television.
这些并非男人们唯一的归宿，我从曾经有过的几位男教师，从看书及看电视中了解到了这一
点。

But the man on television - the news commentators, the lawyers, the doctors, the politicians who
levied the taxes and the bosses who gave orders - seemed as remote and unreal to me as the
figures in old paintings.
但是，那些上电视的男人们——新闻评论员，律师，医生，课征税款的政治家和发号施令的
老板 们——在我看来就像古老绘画上的人像，遥远而不真实。

I could no more imagine growing up to become one of these sophisticated people than I could
imagine becoming a sovereign prince.
我不能想象自己长大后会变成这些精明 世故的人中的一员，就像我无法想象自己能变成一个
权力至高无上的国君一样。

When the women I met at college thought about the joys and privileges of men, they didn’t see
the sort of men I had known.
当我 在大学里遇到的那些女孩子们想到男人的享乐和特权时，她们并没有见过我以前认识的
那些男人。

These daughters of privileged, Republican men wanted to inherit their fathers ` power and
lordship over the world.
这些特权阶层的、共和党男人的女儿们渴望继承她们父亲的权力和凌驾世界的尊贵身份。

They longed for a say over their future. But so did I .
她们渴望能对自己的未来拥有发言权。而我也渴望这样。

The difference between me and these daughters was that they saw me ,because of my sex, as
destined from birth to become like their fathers , and therefore as an enemy to their desires.
我和这些女儿们之间的区别在于，她们看到我时想到的是，我因为我自己的性别而注 定出生
起就可以成为像她们父亲那样的人，从而也是她们实现自己欲望的敌人。

But I knew better, I wasn`t an enemy to their desires, in fact or in feeling.
但我比她们更清楚，无论是事实上还是感情上，我都不是她们欲望的敌人。

I was an ally in their rebellion.
我是她们反抗行动的同盟者。

If I had known then, how to tell them so , or how to be a mediator , would they have believed me?
如果那时我就知道如何把这些告诉她们，或如何在中间做一个调停人，他们会相信我吗？

Would they have known?
她们能够理解吗？






Two hundred years ago, the world experienced an energy revolution that launched the Industrial
Age.
两百年前，全球经历了一场能源革命，由此引发了工业时代的到来。

Ever since then, with the rapid increase of population density, the industrialized world’s thirst
for energy has more than tripled.
从那时起，随着人口密度的迅速增加，工业国家对于能源的需求成倍成倍地增加。

Petroleum and natural gas are exploited as versatile and high quality energy products.

石油气和天然气被看作是用途多、质量好的能源产品而得到开发。

Uranium is also tapped to fuel nuclear reactors and provide atomic energy.
而铀也得以开发，为核反应堆提供燃料并供应原子能源。


Although renewable energies are not yet economically competitive with fossil fuels, their price
becomes more attractive when compared with the health and environmental costs associated
with burning coal and oil.
虽然从经济实惠的方面来说，可再 生能源没有矿物能源有竞争力，但是，与燃烧煤和石油所
带来的健康及环境代价相比，它们的价格又变得 有吸引力了。

Perhaps, the best solution to our growing energy challenges comes in a bulletin from the union of
Concerned Scientists: ”Our society`s future success cannot hinge on one single solution. The
answer instead must come from a family of diverse energy technologies that share a unified
purpose – they do not deplete our natural resources or destroy our environment.”
也许，对于日益紧迫的能源挑战，最好的解决办法正如“忧思科学家联盟”所作出的一份简
报上 所说的那样：“未来我们社会的成功不能依赖于某一单一的解决方案。相反，答案须来
自一系列各种不同 的能源技术。这些技术有一个共同的目的：它们不会耗尽我们的自然资源，
也不会破坏我们的环境。”

Despite the difficulties, it is important to remember that an energy crisis is approaching at
supersonic speeds and will soon be upon us .
尽管困难重重，我们需要牢记的是，能源危机正以超音速逼近，即将来到我们面前。

In order to inaugurate a new era in energy , we must act quickly and work toward international
collaboration to find the most effective solutions to our energy problems.
为了能在能源领域开创一个 新时代，我们必须赶快行动，努力寻求国际合作，以找到能源问
题最有效的解决办法。