【www.tingchehu.com--高中周记】
【课文】Firstlistenandthenanswerthefollowingquestion.听录音，然后回答以下问题。Whatisthemostimportantfactor,bothingov...下面是小编收集整理的新概念第四册课文翻译及学习笔记Lesson精选6篇，仅供参考，大家一起来看看吧。
【课文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What is the most important factor, both in government or business, for keeping running costs low?
If a nation is essentially disunited, it is left to the government to hold it together. This increases the expense of government, and reduces correspondingly the amount of economic resources that could be used for developing the country. And it should not be forgotten how small those resources are in a poor and backward country. Where the cost of government is high, resources for development are correspondingly low.
This may be illustrated by comparing the position of a nation with that of a private business enterprise. An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business. For our purposes, we are concerned only with one kind of cost -- the cost of managing and administering the business. Such administrative overheads in a business are analogous to the cost of government in a nation. The administrative overheads of a business are low to the extent that everyone working in the business can be trusted to behave in a way that best promotes the interests of the firm. If they can each be trusted to take such responsibilities. and to exercise such initiative as falls within their sphere, then administrative overheads will be low. It will be low because it will be necessary to have only one man looking after each job, without having another man to check upon what he is doing, keep him in line, and report on him to someone else. But if no one can be trusted to act in a loyal and responsible manner towards his job, then the business will require armies of administrators, checkers, and foremen and administrative overheads will rise correspondingly. As administrative overheads rise, so the earnings of the business after meeting he expense of administration, will fall; and the business will have less money to distribute as dividends or invest directly in its future progress and development.
It is precisely the same with a nation. To the extent that the people can be relied upon to behave in a loyal and responsible manner, the government does not require armies of police and civil servants to keep them in order. But if a nation is disunited, the government cannot be sure that the actions of the people will be in the interests of the nation; and it will have to watch, check, and control the people accordingly. A disunited nation therefore has to incur unduly high costs of government.
RAYMOND FROST The Backward Society
【New words and expressions 生词和短语】
hub n. (活动的)中心
disunited adj. 分裂的
correspondingly adv. 相应地
backward adj. 落后的
incur v. 承担
administer v. 管理
adminstrative adj. 行政管理的
analogous adj. 类似的
overheads n. 一般费用
initiative n. 主动，积极性
checker n. 检查人员
foreman n. 监工
dividend n. 红利
unduly adv. 过度地
【课文注释】
1.disunited adj. 分裂的
例句：Moreover, when the employees are disunited, unhappiness is bound to set in.
更何况大家都不团结时，不愉快事件频频。
You are wretched, disunited individuals.
你们糟透了，分崩离析了。
disunite vt. 使分离, 使不和
例句：The issue disunited the party members.
该问题在党员中造成分裂。
2.correspondingly adv. 相应地
例句：The language correspondingly became stiffer.
讲话的语言也相应地变得更加强硬。
3.economic resources 经济资源
4.backward adj. 向后的, 落后的
例句：He took a backward step and ran away.
他向后退了一步,跑了。
This part of the country is still backward.
这个国家的这个地区仍很落后。
【词义辨析】
back, backward, hind, behind 这些词均有“在后，向后”之意。
back: 作为副词或形容词时，强调所修饰物的位置以及动作运动方向。
backward: 可用于人或物，指向后的，落后的或迟钝的。
hind: 指成对并且分前后的东西的“后面的”。
behind: 指一物同它物相对的位置或场所。
5.stay in business 维持营业
6.be analogous to 与...相似
例句：The human heart is analogous to a pump.
人的心脏和泵类似。
7.initiative
n.
①主动权，主动性
例句：In the economic trend of the new era, having the initiative is the key.
在新时期的经济大潮中，拥有主动权是关键。
I put it all down to her hard work and initiative.
我把这一切归因于她工作又勤奋又主动。
② 首创精神
例句：It is innovation plus initiative that has kept it thriving.
创新与进取精神使得它蓬勃发展。
adj.
①创始的
例句：The articles of incorporation usually name the initial directors.
通常情况下，公司的组织章程应记载创始董事的姓名。
②初步的
例句：The panel"s initial findings have now been made public.
这个委员会的初步调查结果已经公布于众。
③自发的
例句：She took an initiative part in the Wildlife Conservation Society.
他们自发牵制住了敌人。
8. as falls within their sphere 属于他们分内的。
9.keep someone in line 控制住某人
例句：It"s difficult to keep a group of young children in line.
让小孩都老老实实的可真不易.
【反义词】
out of line
例句：Don"t get out of line at dinner or you will be punished.
晚饭时给我老实点要不我就收拾你.
10.keep them in order 管理他们
11.in the interests of 符合......的利益
例句：We work in the interests of the people.
我们是为人民群众的利益而工作。
12.unduly adv. 过度地，不适当地
例句：An eccentric person, especially one who is unduly zealous.
异人古怪的人，尤指过分狂热的人
【参考译文】
如果一个国家实际上处于分裂状态，使之联合起来就是政府的事了。这样的一来就增加了政府的开支，从而相应地减少了可以用来发展国家的那部分经济资源。不应忘记，在一个贫穷落后的国家里，那部分财力是很有限的。凡是政府管理费用高的地方，用于发展国家经济的资金就会相应地减少。
把国家的状况同私人企业的状况加以比较，就可以看清这个问题。一个企业为了继续经营，不得不支出一定的费用和开销。就我们的目的而言，我们只关心一种费用 -- 企业行政管理费。一家企业的行政管理开支类似于一个国家的政府管理所用的开支。如果企业中的每个人都在真诚地为提高企业利润而工作，那么企业的管理费用就会降低到相应的程度。如果企业的每个人都信得过，人人都认真负责，在各自的工作范围内发挥主动性，行政管理费用就会降低。行政管理费用降低的原因是：每项工作只需要一个人去完成，用不着另外再有一个人检查工作。督促他遵守章程，或向有关人士汇报他的工作。但是，如果企业中谁也不可信赖会对工作尽忠守职，那么企业就会需要大批的管理人员、检查人员和带班人员，管理费用就会相应地增加。管理费用增加了，那么在扣除管理费用后，企业的收入就降低了。因此用于分红的金额或直接用于将来开拓和发展的投资就相应地减少了。
一个国家的情况也完全相同。如果人民忠于职守，举止规矩，能受到政府的信赖，那么政府就不需要大批的警察和文职人员去促使人民遵纪守法。但是，如果一个国家处于分裂状态，政府不能相信人民的行动有利于国家，那么政府就不得不对人民进行监督、检查和控制。因此，一个处于分裂的国家必须要支付过高的行政管理费用。
【课文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What do adolescents respect in parents?
Parents are often upset when their children praise the homes of their friends and regard it as a slur on their own cooking, or cleaning, or furniture, and often are foolish enough to let the adolescents see that they are annoyed. They may even accuse them of disloyalty, or make some spiteful remark about the friends" parents. Such loss of dignity and descent into childish behaviour on the part of the adults deeply shocks the adolescents, and make them resolve that in future they will not talk to their parents about the places or people they visit. Before very long the parents will be complaining that the child is so secretive and never tells them anything, but they seldom realize that they have brought this on themselves .
Disillusionment with the parents, however good and adequate they may be both as parents and as individuals, is to some degree inevitable. Most children have such a high ideal of their parents, unless the parents themselves have been unsatisfactory, that it can hardly hope to stand up to a realistic evaluation. Parents would be greatly surprised and deeply touched if they realized how much belief their children usually have in their character and infallibility, and how much this faith means to a child. If parents were prepared for this adolescent reaction, and realized that it was a sign that the child was growing up and developing valuable powers of observation and independent judgment, they would not be so hurt, and therefore would not drive the child into opposition by resenting and resisting it.
The adolescent, with his passion for sincerity, always respects a parent who admits that he is wrong, or ignorant, or even that he has been unfair or unjust. What the child cannot forgive is the parent"s refusal to admit these charges if the child knows them to be true.
Victorian parents believed that they kept their dignity by retreating behind an unreasoning authoritarian attitude; in fact they did nothing of the kind, but children were then too cowed to let them know how they really felt. Today we tend to go to the other extreme, but on the whole this is a healthier attitude both for the child and the parent. It is always wiser and safer to face up to reality, however painful it may be at the moment.
DOTID OFLUM Journey Through Adolescence
【New words and expressions 生词和短语】
adverse adj. 不利的
adolescence n. 青春期
slur n. 抵毁
adolescent n. 青少年(12-18岁)
disloyalty n. 不忠实
spiteful adj. 恶意的，怀恨的
dignity n.端庄，高贵，尊严
disillusionment n. 幻灭感
evaluation n. 评价
infallibility n. 一贯正确
resent v. 怨恨
sincerity n. 诚挚
victorian adj. 维多利亚式的
retreat v. 后退
unreasoning adj. 不凭理智的
authoritarian adj.专制的
cow v. 吓唬
【课文注释】
1.slur n. 诽谤, 耻辱, 污点, 污迹
例句：He took the remarks as a slur on his reputation.
他把这些话当作是对他的名誉的中伤。
She had dared to cast a slur on his character.
她竟敢对他的人品加以诋毁。
2.spiteful adj. 恶意的, 怀恨的
例句：Walter"s spiteful remarks were quite uncalled for.
沃尔特恶意的话完全是多余的。
He had been a spiteful sort of man.
他是一个善于怀恨的男人。
3.descent n.
①下降, 下坡
例句：There was a descent of temperature after rain.
雨后气温下降了。
②家世, 血统
例句：He traces his descent back to an old norman family.
他追踪自己的世系上溯至一个古老的诺曼家族。
4.on the part of 在......一边
例句：Contentment, on his part, took no vulgar form.
就他而言，满足从来没有以庸俗的方式表现出来。
5.resolve v.
①决定
例句：He resolved that nothing should hold him back.
他下决心不让任何事情阻挡他。
②解决
例句：Intensive efforts are being made to resolve the dispute.
现正全力以赴来解决这场纠纷。
③分解
例句：We can resolve the problem into more elementary items.
我们能够把这个问题分解成更基本的细目。
【词义辨析】
decide, determine, resolve, settle 这些动词都含“决定”之意。
decide: 侧重指经过思考、比较、讨论或询问之后做出的决定。
determine: 指经过深思熟虑，决心去做某事并坚持施行。
resolve: 语气较强，强调以坚定不移的信念去做或不做某事，暗含有远大抱负和坚强决心。
settle: 指排除犹豫、怀疑和争论之后作出明确的最终结论。
resolution, decision, determination, resolve 这些名词均含“决定、决心”之意。
resolution: 指自觉地正式表示的决心，含极强的主观能动意味，比如new year"s resolution。
decision: 既可指重大的或一般的决定或决心，又可指在多种情况下作出果断的抉择，毫不犹豫地采取行动。
determination: 侧重坚定不移的顽强意志力。
resolve: 语气较强，强调克服感情上的软弱，下决心干具体的一件事。
solve, resolve 这两个动词均含“解决”之意。
solve: 普通用词，含义广，指为有一定难度的问题找到满意的解法或答复。
resolve: 主要指对问题或情况进行细微的分析或思索，以得出结论或解决途径。
6.they have brought this on themselves 他们是咎由自取
7.stand up to 经得起
例句：That is why they cannot stand up to any serious test.
这就是为什么他们经受不住任何严重的考验。
Will this car stand up to winter conditions here?
这汽车经得起这儿冬天的气候条件吗?
8.retreat v. 撤退，后退
例句：After several reverses the enemy was forced to retreat.
几经失败之后，敌军被迫后撤。
9.cow vt. 恐吓，吓唬
例句：The generals tried to cow opposition to their military rule by imprisoning their
leaders.
这些将军通过监禁领导人来威吓反对军事统治的人。
10.face up to 正视
例句：He must face up to the fact that he is no longer young.
他应该勇於正视自己不再年轻这一事实。
【参考译文】
当家长听到孩子赞扬自己朋友的家时，总感到不安，认为孩子在嫌弃自家的饭菜、卫生、或家具，而且愚蠢地让孩子看出自己的烦恼。他们甚至责备孩子不忠，或者讲些小朋友家长的坏话。家长这种有失身份和孩子气的作法使青春期的孩子大为震惊，决心以后不再向父母讲述去过的地方和见过的人。不要很久,家长就会抱怨孩子守口如瓶，什么事也不告诉他们，殊不知这是他们自找的。
不管家长的人品有多么好，作为父母有多么合格，孩子们对家长幻想的破灭在某种程度上是不可避免的。除非父母自身不能令人满意，大多数孩子对父母估价过高，以致这种估价很难指望经受住现实的考验。如果家长意识到孩子们通常是多么相信家长的品行和绝对正确，意识到孩子们的这种信念会对孩子产生多么大的影响，那么家长会大为吃惊和深受感动的。如果家长对青少年的这种反应有思想准备，并且意识到这象征着孩子们正在成熟和正在发展宝贵的观察力、独立判断力，那么他们就不会那样伤心，也就不会由于怨恨和抵触这种反应，而把孩子推到自己的对立面去。
青少年酷爱真诚，对于能够承认错误或无知、甚至承认自己做得不公平或不公正的父母，他们总是尊敬的，孩子们所不能原谅的是：父母错了，孩子们也看出来了，可是做父母的还不肯承认。
维多利亚时代的父母认为，他们可以靠无理的气派来维护自己的尊严，实际上那是根本不行的。孩子们只不过被吓得不敢让父母知道自己的想法罢了。虽然现在我们倾向于走向另一个极端，但总地来看，孩子和家长双方态度都比较端正。遇事采取面对现实的态度总是比较明智和稳妥的，尽管会有暂时的痛苦。
【课文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
When will it be possible for us to think seriously about colonising Mars?
The Moon is likely to become the industrial hub of the Solar System, supplying the rocket fuels for its ships, easily obtainable form the lunar rocks in the from of liquid oxygen. The reason lies in its gravity. Because the Moon has only an eightieth of the Earth"s mass, it requires 97 per cent less energy to travel the quarter of a million miles from the Moon to Earth-orbit than the 200 mile-journey from Earth"s surface into orbit!
This may sound fantastic, but it is easily calculated. To escape from the Earth in a rocket, one must travel at seven miles per second. The comparable speed from the Moon is only 1.5 miles per second. Because the gravity on the Moon"s surface is only a sixth of Earth"s (remember how easily the Apollo astronauts bounded along), it takes much less energy to accelerate to that 1.5 miles per second than it does on Earth. Moon-dwellers will be able to fly in space at only three per cent of the cost of similar journeys by their terrestrial dwellers will be able to fly in space at only three per cent of the cost of similar journeys by their terrestrial cousins.
Arthur C. Clark once suggested a revolutionary idea passes through three phases:
1 "It"s impossible -- don"t waste my time."
2 "It"s possible, but not worth doing."
3 "I said it was a good idea all along."
The idea of colonising Mars -- a world 160 times more distant time the Moon -- will move decisively from the second phase to the third, when a significant number of people are living permanently in space. Mars has an extraordinary fascination for would-be voyagers. America, Russia and Europe are filled with enthusiasts -- many of them serious and senior scientists -- who dream of sending people to it. Their aim is understandable. It is the one world in the Solar System that is most like the Earth. It is a world of red sandy deserts (hence its name -- the Red Planet), cloudless skies, savage sandstorms, chasms wider than the Grand Canyon and at least one mountain more than twice as tall as Everest. It seems ideal for settlement.
7 DAYS, February 19, 1989
【New words and expressions 生词和短语】
hub n. (活动的)中心
lunar adj. 月球的
oxygen n. 氧气
Apollo n. 阿波罗
accelerate v. 加速
terrestrial adj. 地球的
permanently adv. 永远地
fascination n. 魅力
senior adj. 资历深的，年长的
chasm n. 断层，裂口
canyon n. 峡谷
【课文注释】
1.obtainable adj. 能获得的， 可得到的， 能达到的
例句：Are his records still obtainable?
他的唱片还能买到吗?
The timetable is obtainable post-free from the airline office.
航班时刻表可以向航空公司免费索取。
2.the comparable speed from the Moon 从月球出发相应的速度，这里是指摆脱月球引力所需达到的速度。
3.the Apollo astronauts 指1969年7月20日美国“阿波罗11号”宇宙飞船第一次载人登月球。
4.accelerate v. 加速
例句：Our present task is to accelerate economic growth.
加速经济发展是我们当前的任务。
We will accelerate the reform of the financial system under these circumstances.
在这一背景情况下，我们将加快金融体制改革。
【词义辨析】
quicken, accelerate, hasten, hurry, rush, speed 这些动词均含“加快，使加快”之意。
quicken : 普通用词，指增加速度、速率。
accelerate : 着重指频率或速率运转加快。
hasten : 指由于事的紧迫性或突然性而加速。
hurry : 指赶紧或匆忙地做某事或催促别人做某事，隐含草率或混乱意味。
rush : 含义与hurry相近，但显得更仓促更慌乱。
speed : 侧重实际的快速行动，常用词组是speed up。
5.at the cost of 以……为代价
例句：He saved the girl from drowning at the cost of his own life.
他舍身把溺水的姑娘救出来。
6.revolutionary adj. 革命的
例句：His heart glows with revolutionary enthusiasm.
他心中充满着革命的热情。
We shall carry forward the revolutionary tradition.
我们应该发扬革命传统。
7.the idea of colonising Mars 征服火星计划
8.decisively adv. 决然地，果断地
例句：We had no choice but to act decisively.
这次不果断处理不行。
9.would-be voyagers 未来的星际旅客
10.senior scientists 资深科学家
senior adj.
① 地位较高的
例句：He is senior to me, though he is younger.
他地位比我高，虽然他比我年轻。
②高级的
例句：She was unfit for such a senior position.
她不能胜任这样的高级职位。
③年长的
例句：Although he is senior to his wife, he is inferior to her in salary.
虽然他年长于他的妻子，但他妻子的收入比他高。
④资深的
例句：A senior member of the committee is authorized to act for the chairman during his absence.
主席不在时，授权委员会中的一位资深委员代理他的职务。
11.the Grand Canyon 指位于美国亚利桑那州西北部的科罗拉多河的大峡谷。
【参考译文】
月球很可能成为太阳系的工业中心。从月球上的岩石中很容易提炼出液态氧，作为航天飞船的燃料。其原因在于月球的重力。因为月球的重只有地球的1/8，因此，从月球到地球的25万英里所消耗的能量要比从地球表面进入地球轨道的200英里所耗能量少97%。
这点听起来令人难以置信，但却很容易计算出来。要乘坐一枚火箭飞离地球，火箭的速度要达到每秒7英里，而从月球出发的相应速度是每秒1.5英里。由于月球表面的重力仅是地球表面的1/6 -- 还记得阿波罗飞船中的宇航员轻松地跳跃 -- 在月球上加速到每秒1.5英里比在地球上所用能源要少得多。月球居民在太空遨游的费用仅是地球上朋友飞越同样路所需费用的3%。
亚瑟.C.克拉克曾提议，一种创新的想法要经过以下3个阶段：
1 “根本不可能，不要浪费我的时间。”
2 “可能，但不值得做。”
3 “我一直说这是个好想法。”
如果有相当数量的人永久性地住在太空，征服火星的计划 -- 一个比月球远160倍的星球 -- 就可以明确地从第2阶段进入第3阶段。火星对未来的星际旅客来说有着特殊的魅力。美国、俄罗斯和欧洲都有许多热心此项事业的人 -- 其中的不少是认真和资深的科学家，他们一直梦想着把人送上火星。他们的目标是可以理解的。火星是太阳系里与地球最接近的一颗行星。这是一个红色沙漠的世界(因而得名：红色行星)，无云的天空，凶猛的沙暴，比大峡谷还宽的裂缝，起码有一座山有珠穆朗玛峰的近两倍高。看起来，它很合适居住。
【课文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
When will it be possible for us to think seriously about colonising Mars?
The Moon is likely to become the industrial hub of the Solar System, supplying the rocket fuels for its ships, easily obtainable form the lunar rocks in the from of liquid oxygen. The reason lies in its gravity. Because the Moon has only an eightieth of the Earth"s mass, it requires 97 per cent less energy to travel the quarter of a million miles from the Moon to Earth-orbit than the 200 mile-journey from Earth"s surface into orbit!
This may sound fantastic, but it is easily calculated. To escape from the Earth in a rocket, one must travel at seven miles per second. The comparable speed from the Moon is only 1.5 miles per second. Because the gravity on the Moon"s surface is only a sixth of Earth"s (remember how easily the Apollo astronauts bounded along), it takes much less energy to accelerate to that 1.5 miles per second than it does on Earth. Moon-dwellers will be able to fly in space at only three per cent of the cost of similar journeys by their terrestrial dwellers will be able to fly in space at only three per cent of the cost of similar journeys by their terrestrial cousins.
Arthur C. Clark once suggested a revolutionary idea passes through three phases:
1 "It"s impossible -- don"t waste my time."
2 "It"s possible, but not worth doing."
3 "I said it was a good idea all along."
The idea of colonising Mars -- a world 160 times more distant time the Moon -- will move decisively from the second phase to the third, when a significant number of people are living permanently in space. Mars has an extraordinary fascination for would-be voyagers. America, Russia and Europe are filled with enthusiasts -- many of them serious and senior scientists -- who dream of sending people to it. Their aim is understandable. It is the one world in the Solar System that is most like the Earth. It is a world of red sandy deserts (hence its name -- the Red Planet), cloudless skies, savage sandstorms, chasms wider than the Grand Canyon and at least one mountain more than twice as tall as Everest. It seems ideal for settlement.
7 DAYS, February 19, 1989
【New words and expressions 生词和短语】
hub n. (活动的)中心
lunar adj. 月球的
oxygen n. 氧气
Apollo n. 阿波罗
accelerate v. 加速
terrestrial adj. 地球的
permanently adv. 永远地
fascination n. 魅力
senior adj. 资历深的，年长的
chasm n. 断层，裂口
canyon n. 峡谷
【课文注释】
1.obtainable adj. 能获得的， 可得到的， 能达到的
例句：Are his records still obtainable?
他的唱片还能买到吗?
The timetable is obtainable post-free from the airline office.
航班时刻表可以向航空公司免费索取。
2.the comparable speed from the Moon 从月球出发相应的速度，这里是指摆脱月球引力所需达到的速度。
3.the Apollo astronauts 指1969年7月20日美国“阿波罗11号”宇宙飞船第一次载人登月球。
4.accelerate v. 加速
例句：Our present task is to accelerate economic growth.
加速经济发展是我们当前的任务。
We will accelerate the reform of the financial system under these circumstances.
在这一背景情况下，我们将加快金融体制改革。
【词义辨析】
quicken, accelerate, hasten, hurry, rush, speed 这些动词均含“加快，使加快”之意。
quicken : 普通用词，指增加速度、速率。
accelerate : 着重指频率或速率运转加快。
hasten : 指由于事的紧迫性或突然性而加速。
hurry : 指赶紧或匆忙地做某事或催促别人做某事，隐含草率或混乱意味。
rush : 含义与hurry相近，但显得更仓促更慌乱。
speed : 侧重实际的快速行动，常用词组是speed up。
5.at the cost of 以……为代价
例句：He saved the girl from drowning at the cost of his own life.
他舍身把溺水的姑娘救出来。
6.revolutionary adj. 革命的
例句：His heart glows with revolutionary enthusiasm.
他心中充满着革命的热情。
We shall carry forward the revolutionary tradition.
我们应该发扬革命传统。
7.the idea of colonising Mars 征服火星计划
8.decisively adv. 决然地，果断地
例句：We had no choice but to act decisively.
这次不果断处理不行。
9.would-be voyagers 未来的星际旅客
10.senior scientists 资深科学家
senior adj.
① 地位较高的
例句：He is senior to me, though he is younger.
他地位比我高，虽然他比我年轻。
②高级的
例句：She was unfit for such a senior position.
她不能胜任这样的高级职位。
③年长的
例句：Although he is senior to his wife, he is inferior to her in salary.
虽然他年长于他的妻子，但他妻子的收入比他高。
④资深的
例句：A senior member of the committee is authorized to act for the chairman during his absence.
主席不在时，授权委员会中的一位资深委员代理他的职务。
11.the Grand Canyon 指位于美国亚利桑那州西北部的科罗拉多河的大峡谷。
【参考译文】
月球很可能成为太阳系的工业中心。从月球上的岩石中很容易提炼出液态氧，作为航天飞船的燃料。其原因在于月球的重力。因为月球的重只有地球的1/8，因此，从月球到地球的25万英里所消耗的能量要比从地球表面进入地球轨道的200英里所耗能量少97%。
这点听起来令人难以置信，但却很容易计算出来。要乘坐一枚火箭飞离地球，火箭的速度要达到每秒7英里，而从月球出发的相应速度是每秒1.5英里。由于月球表面的重力仅是地球表面的1/6 -- 还记得阿波罗飞船中的宇航员轻松地跳跃 -- 在月球上加速到每秒1.5英里比在地球上所用能源要少得多。月球居民在太空遨游的费用仅是地球上朋友飞越同样路所需费用的3%。
亚瑟.C.克拉克曾提议，一种创新的想法要经过以下3个阶段：
1 “根本不可能，不要浪费我的时间。”
2 “可能，但不值得做。”
3 “我一直说这是个好想法。”
如果有相当数量的人永久性地住在太空，征服火星的计划 -- 一个比月球远160倍的星球 -- 就可以明确地从第2阶段进入第3阶段。火星对未来的星际旅客来说有着特殊的魅力。美国、俄罗斯和欧洲都有许多热心此项事业的人 -- 其中的不少是认真和资深的科学家，他们一直梦想着把人送上火星。他们的目标是可以理解的。火星是太阳系里与地球最接近的一颗行星。这是一个红色沙漠的世界(因而得名：红色行星)，无云的天空，凶猛的沙暴，比大峡谷还宽的裂缝，起码有一座山有珠穆朗玛峰的近两倍高。看起来，它很合适居住。
【课文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What is the most important factor, both in government or business, for keeping running costs low?
If a nation is essentially disunited, it is left to the government to hold it together. This increases the expense of government, and reduces correspondingly the amount of economic resources that could be used for developing the country. And it should not be forgotten how small those resources are in a poor and backward country. Where the cost of government is high, resources for development are correspondingly low.
This may be illustrated by comparing the position of a nation with that of a private business enterprise. An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business. For our purposes, we are concerned only with one kind of cost -- the cost of managing and administering the business. Such administrative overheads in a business are analogous to the cost of government in a nation. The administrative overheads of a business are low to the extent that everyone working in the business can be trusted to behave in a way that best promotes the interests of the firm. If they can each be trusted to take such responsibilities. and to exercise such initiative as falls within their sphere, then administrative overheads will be low. It will be low because it will be necessary to have only one man looking after each job, without having another man to check upon what he is doing, keep him in line, and report on him to someone else. But if no one can be trusted to act in a loyal and responsible manner towards his job, then the business will require armies of administrators, checkers, and foremen and administrative overheads will rise correspondingly. As administrative overheads rise, so the earnings of the business after meeting he expense of administration, will fall; and the business will have less money to distribute as dividends or invest directly in its future progress and development.
It is precisely the same with a nation. To the extent that the people can be relied upon to behave in a loyal and responsible manner, the government does not require armies of police and civil servants to keep them in order. But if a nation is disunited, the government cannot be sure that the actions of the people will be in the interests of the nation; and it will have to watch, check, and control the people accordingly. A disunited nation therefore has to incur unduly high costs of government.
RAYMOND FROST The Backward Society
【New words and expressions 生词和短语】
hub n. (活动的)中心
disunited adj. 分裂的
correspondingly adv. 相应地
backward adj. 落后的
incur v. 承担
administer v. 管理
adminstrative adj. 行政管理的
analogous adj. 类似的
overheads n. 一般费用
initiative n. 主动，积极性
checker n. 检查人员
foreman n. 监工
dividend n. 红利
unduly adv. 过度地
【课文注释】
1.disunited adj. 分裂的
例句：Moreover, when the employees are disunited, unhappiness is bound to set in.
更何况大家都不团结时，不愉快事件频频。
You are wretched, disunited individuals.
你们糟透了，分崩离析了。
disunite vt. 使分离, 使不和
例句：The issue disunited the party members.
该问题在党员中造成分裂。
2.correspondingly adv. 相应地
例句：The language correspondingly became stiffer.
讲话的语言也相应地变得更加强硬。
3.economic resources 经济资源
4.backward adj. 向后的, 落后的
例句：He took a backward step and ran away.
他向后退了一步,跑了。
This part of the country is still backward.
这个国家的这个地区仍很落后。
【词义辨析】
back, backward, hind, behind 这些词均有“在后，向后”之意。
back: 作为副词或形容词时，强调所修饰物的位置以及动作运动方向。
backward: 可用于人或物，指向后的，落后的或迟钝的。
hind: 指成对并且分前后的东西的“后面的”。
behind: 指一物同它物相对的位置或场所。
5.stay in business 维持营业
6.be analogous to 与...相似
例句：The human heart is analogous to a pump.
人的心脏和泵类似。
7.initiative
n.
①主动权，主动性
例句：In the economic trend of the new era, having the initiative is the key.
在新时期的经济大潮中，拥有主动权是关键。
I put it all down to her hard work and initiative.
我把这一切归因于她工作又勤奋又主动。
② 首创精神
例句：It is innovation plus initiative that has kept it thriving.
创新与进取精神使得它蓬勃发展。
adj.
①创始的
例句：The articles of incorporation usually name the initial directors.
通常情况下，公司的组织章程应记载创始董事的姓名。
②初步的
例句：The panel"s initial findings have now been made public.
这个委员会的初步调查结果已经公布于众。
③自发的
例句：She took an initiative part in the Wildlife Conservation Society.
他们自发牵制住了敌人。
8. as falls within their sphere 属于他们分内的。
9.keep someone in line 控制住某人
例句：It"s difficult to keep a group of young children in line.
让小孩都老老实实的可真不易.
【反义词】
out of line
例句：Don"t get out of line at dinner or you will be punished.
晚饭时给我老实点要不我就收拾你.
10.keep them in order 管理他们
11.in the interests of 符合......的利益
例句：We work in the interests of the people.
我们是为人民群众的利益而工作。
12.unduly adv. 过度地，不适当地
例句：An eccentric person, especially one who is unduly zealous.
异人古怪的人，尤指过分狂热的人
【参考译文】
如果一个国家实际上处于分裂状态，使之联合起来就是政府的事了。这样的一来就增加了政府的开支，从而相应地减少了可以用来发展国家的那部分经济资源。不应忘记，在一个贫穷落后的国家里，那部分财力是很有限的。凡是政府管理费用高的地方，用于发展国家经济的资金就会相应地减少。
把国家的状况同私人企业的状况加以比较，就可以看清这个问题。一个企业为了继续经营，不得不支出一定的费用和开销。就我们的目的而言，我们只关心一种费用 -- 企业行政管理费。一家企业的行政管理开支类似于一个国家的政府管理所用的开支。如果企业中的每个人都在真诚地为提高企业利润而工作，那么企业的管理费用就会降低到相应的程度。如果企业的每个人都信得过，人人都认真负责，在各自的工作范围内发挥主动性，行政管理费用就会降低。行政管理费用降低的原因是：每项工作只需要一个人去完成，用不着另外再有一个人检查工作。督促他遵守章程，或向有关人士汇报他的工作。但是，如果企业中谁也不可信赖会对工作尽忠守职，那么企业就会需要大批的管理人员、检查人员和带班人员，管理费用就会相应地增加。管理费用增加了，那么在扣除管理费用后，企业的收入就降低了。因此用于分红的金额或直接用于将来开拓和发展的投资就相应地减少了。
一个国家的情况也完全相同。如果人民忠于职守，举止规矩，能受到政府的信赖，那么政府就不需要大批的警察和文职人员去促使人民遵纪守法。但是，如果一个国家处于分裂状态，政府不能相信人民的行动有利于国家，那么政府就不得不对人民进行监督、检查和控制。因此，一个处于分裂的国家必须要支付过高的行政管理费用。
【课文】
First listen and then answer the following question.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What do adolescents respect in parents?
Parents are often upset when their children praise the homes of their friends and regard it as a slur on their own cooking, or cleaning, or furniture, and often are foolish enough to let the adolescents see that they are annoyed. They may even accuse them of disloyalty, or make some spiteful remark about the friends" parents. Such loss of dignity and descent into childish behaviour on the part of the adults deeply shocks the adolescents, and make them resolve that in future they will not talk to their parents about the places or people they visit. Before very long the parents will be complaining that the child is so secretive and never tells them anything, but they seldom realize that they have brought this on themselves .
Disillusionment with the parents, however good and adequate they may be both as parents and as individuals, is to some degree inevitable. Most children have such a high ideal of their parents, unless the parents themselves have been unsatisfactory, that it can hardly hope to stand up to a realistic evaluation. Parents would be greatly surprised and deeply touched if they realized how much belief their children usually have in their character and infallibility, and how much this faith means to a child. If parents were prepared for this adolescent reaction, and realized that it was a sign that the child was growing up and developing valuable powers of observation and independent judgment, they would not be so hurt, and therefore would not drive the child into opposition by resenting and resisting it.
The adolescent, with his passion for sincerity, always respects a parent who admits that he is wrong, or ignorant, or even that he has been unfair or unjust. What the child cannot forgive is the parent"s refusal to admit these charges if the child knows them to be true.
Victorian parents believed that they kept their dignity by retreating behind an unreasoning authoritarian attitude; in fact they did nothing of the kind, but children were then too cowed to let them know how they really felt. Today we tend to go to the other extreme, but on the whole this is a healthier attitude both for the child and the parent. It is always wiser and safer to face up to reality, however painful it may be at the moment.
DOTID OFLUM Journey Through Adolescence
【New words and expressions 生词和短语】
adverse adj. 不利的
adolescence n. 青春期
slur n. 抵毁
adolescent n. 青少年(12-18岁)
disloyalty n. 不忠实
spiteful adj. 恶意的，怀恨的
dignity n.端庄，高贵，尊严
disillusionment n. 幻灭感
evaluation n. 评价
infallibility n. 一贯正确
resent v. 怨恨
sincerity n. 诚挚
victorian adj. 维多利亚式的
retreat v. 后退
unreasoning adj. 不凭理智的
authoritarian adj.专制的
cow v. 吓唬
【课文注释】
1.slur n. 诽谤, 耻辱, 污点, 污迹
例句：He took the remarks as a slur on his reputation.
他把这些话当作是对他的名誉的中伤。
She had dared to cast a slur on his character.
她竟敢对他的人品加以诋毁。
2.spiteful adj. 恶意的, 怀恨的
例句：Walter"s spiteful remarks were quite uncalled for.
沃尔特恶意的话完全是多余的。
He had been a spiteful sort of man.
他是一个善于怀恨的男人。
3.descent n.
①下降, 下坡
例句：There was a descent of temperature after rain.
雨后气温下降了。
②家世, 血统
例句：He traces his descent back to an old norman family.
他追踪自己的世系上溯至一个古老的诺曼家族。
4.on the part of 在......一边
例句：Contentment, on his part, took no vulgar form.
就他而言，满足从来没有以庸俗的方式表现出来。
5.resolve v.
①决定
例句：He resolved that nothing should hold him back.
他下决心不让任何事情阻挡他。
②解决
例句：Intensive efforts are being made to resolve the dispute.
现正全力以赴来解决这场纠纷。
③分解
例句：We can resolve the problem into more elementary items.
我们能够把这个问题分解成更基本的细目。
【词义辨析】
decide, determine, resolve, settle 这些动词都含“决定”之意。
decide: 侧重指经过思考、比较、讨论或询问之后做出的决定。
determine: 指经过深思熟虑，决心去做某事并坚持施行。
resolve: 语气较强，强调以坚定不移的信念去做或不做某事，暗含有远大抱负和坚强决心。
settle: 指排除犹豫、怀疑和争论之后作出明确的最终结论。
resolution, decision, determination, resolve 这些名词均含“决定、决心”之意。
resolution: 指自觉地正式表示的决心，含极强的主观能动意味，比如new year"s resolution。
decision: 既可指重大的或一般的决定或决心，又可指在多种情况下作出果断的抉择，毫不犹豫地采取行动。
determination: 侧重坚定不移的顽强意志力。
resolve: 语气较强，强调克服感情上的软弱，下决心干具体的一件事。
solve, resolve 这两个动词均含“解决”之意。
solve: 普通用词，含义广，指为有一定难度的问题找到满意的解法或答复。
resolve: 主要指对问题或情况进行细微的分析或思索，以得出结论或解决途径。
6.they have brought this on themselves 他们是咎由自取
7.stand up to 经得起
例句：That is why they cannot stand up to any serious test.
这就是为什么他们经受不住任何严重的考验。
Will this car stand up to winter conditions here?
这汽车经得起这儿冬天的气候条件吗?
8.retreat v. 撤退，后退
例句：After several reverses the enemy was forced to retreat.
几经失败之后，敌军被迫后撤。
9.cow vt. 恐吓，吓唬
例句：The generals tried to cow opposition to their military rule by imprisoning their
leaders.
这些将军通过监禁领导人来威吓反对军事统治的人。
10.face up to 正视
例句：He must face up to the fact that he is no longer young.
他应该勇於正视自己不再年轻这一事实。
【参考译文】
当家长听到孩子赞扬自己朋友的家时，总感到不安，认为孩子在嫌弃自家的饭菜、卫生、或家具，而且愚蠢地让孩子看出自己的烦恼。他们甚至责备孩子不忠，或者讲些小朋友家长的坏话。家长这种有失身份和孩子气的作法使青春期的孩子大为震惊，决心以后不再向父母讲述去过的地方和见过的人。不要很久,家长就会抱怨孩子守口如瓶，什么事也不告诉他们，殊不知这是他们自找的。
不管家长的人品有多么好，作为父母有多么合格，孩子们对家长幻想的破灭在某种程度上是不可避免的。除非父母自身不能令人满意，大多数孩子对父母估价过高，以致这种估价很难指望经受住现实的考验。如果家长意识到孩子们通常是多么相信家长的品行和绝对正确，意识到孩子们的这种信念会对孩子产生多么大的影响，那么家长会大为吃惊和深受感动的。如果家长对青少年的这种反应有思想准备，并且意识到这象征着孩子们正在成熟和正在发展宝贵的观察力、独立判断力，那么他们就不会那样伤心，也就不会由于怨恨和抵触这种反应，而把孩子推到自己的对立面去。
青少年酷爱真诚，对于能够承认错误或无知、甚至承认自己做得不公平或不公正的父母，他们总是尊敬的，孩子们所不能原谅的是：父母错了，孩子们也看出来了，可是做父母的还不肯承认。
维多利亚时代的父母认为，他们可以靠无理的气派来维护自己的尊严，实际上那是根本不行的。孩子们只不过被吓得不敢让父母知道自己的想法罢了。虽然现在我们倾向于走向另一个极端，但总地来看，孩子和家长双方态度都比较端正。遇事采取面对现实的态度总是比较明智和稳妥的，尽管会有暂时的痛苦。