越來越多的人在學(xué)英語的過程中詢問，你家孩子新概念學(xué)到幾冊了，你家又學(xué)到幾冊了，或者說學(xué)的過程中，老師要求背誦課文，至于原因是什么呢？那肯定就是新概念英語是學(xué)習(xí)英語的好材料，學(xué)習(xí)新概念英語可以大幅度的提高孩子的英語水平，下面是整理的新概念背誦短文，學(xué)習(xí)新概念的朋友們進(jìn)來借鑒一下吧。
【睡眠】
Sleep
睡眠
Sleep is part of a person's daily activity cycle. There are several different stages of sleep, and they too occur in cycles.
睡眠是人每天日?；顒?dòng)循環(huán)的一部分。人的睡眠分幾個(gè)階段，而這些階段也是循環(huán)發(fā)生的。
If you are an average sleeper, your sleep cycle is as follows. When you first drift off into slumber, your eyes will roll about a bit, your temperature will drop slightly, your muscles will relax, and your breathing well slow and become quite regular. Your brain waves slow down a bit too, with the alpha rhythm of rather fast waves predominating for the first few minutes. This is called stage 1 sleep. For the next half hour or so, as you relax more and more, you will drift down through stage 2 and stage 3 sleep. The lower your stage of sleep, the slower your brain waves will be. Then about 40 to 60 minutes after you lose consciousness you will have reached the deepest sleep of all. Your brain waves will show the large slow waves that are known as the delta rhythm. This is stage 4 sleep.
如果你是一個(gè)正常的睡眠者，你的睡眠循環(huán)會(huì)這樣進(jìn)行。在你開始昏昏入睡時(shí)，你的眼睛會(huì)滾動(dòng)幾下，體溫略有下降，肌肉放松，呼吸變得緩慢而有節(jié)奏。除了開始幾分鐘比較快的α節(jié)奏外，腦電波也稍有減緩。這被稱為第一階段睡眠。在隨后約半小時(shí)內(nèi)，你進(jìn)一步放松，進(jìn)入第二和第三階段睡眠。睡眠越深入，腦電波就越緩慢。大約在開始睡眠后的40到60分鐘，你將進(jìn)入沉睡狀態(tài)。這時(shí)的腦電波表現(xiàn)為巨大的緩波，被稱為δ節(jié)奏。這就是第四階段睡眠。
You do not remain at this deep fourth stage all night long, but instead about 80 minutes after you fall into slumber, your brain activity level will increase again slightly. The delta rhythm will disappear, to be replaced by the activity pattern of brain waves. Your eyes will begin to dart around under your closed eyelids as if you were looking at something occurring in front of you. This period of rapid eye movement lasts for some 8 to 15 minutes and is called REM sleep. It is during REM sleep period, your body will soon relax again, your breathing will grow slow and regular once more, and you will slip gently back from stage 1 to stage 4 sleep - only to rise once again to the surface of near consciousness some 80 minutes later.
但你并不是整夜都保持這種沉睡狀態(tài)。入睡后約80分鐘左右，你的大腦運(yùn)動(dòng)水平會(huì)再度略有提高。δ節(jié)奏消失，并被腦電波的運(yùn)動(dòng)圖形取代。你的眼睛會(huì)在閉著的眼瞼下迅速轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)，就好象你在看著眼前發(fā)生的什么事情。這種迅速的眼球運(yùn)動(dòng)持續(xù)約8-15分鐘，這一階段睡眠被稱之為快速眼動(dòng)(REM)睡眠。在REM睡眠階段，你的肢體會(huì)很快再度放松，呼吸也再次放慢并變得有節(jié)奏，你會(huì)輕松地從第一階段滑入第四階段睡眠——直到大約80分鐘后重新接近清醒狀態(tài)。
【細(xì)胞與溫度】
Cells and Temperature
細(xì)胞與溫度
Cells cannot remain alive outside certain limits of temperature, and much narrower limits mark the boundaries of effective functioning.
細(xì)胞只能在一定的溫度范圍內(nèi)存活，而進(jìn)一步保證它們有效工作的溫度范圍就更小了。
Enzyme systems of mammals and birds are most efficient only within a narrow range around 37℃; a departure of a few degrees from this value seriously impairs their functioning. Even though cells can survive wider fluctuations, the integrated actions of bodily systems are impaired. Other animals have a wider tolerance for changes of bodily temperature.
哺乳動(dòng)物和鳥類的酶系統(tǒng)只能在37℃左右的很小范圍內(nèi)才能有效工作。與此相差僅幾度的溫度都會(huì)大大削弱它們的工作效率。盡管溫度變化更大時(shí)細(xì)胞仍能存活，但機(jī)體系統(tǒng)的整體運(yùn)行能力卻被削弱了。其它動(dòng)物對體溫的變化有更強(qiáng)的適應(yīng)性。
For centuries it has been recognized that mammals and birds differ from other animals in the way they regulate body temperature. Ways of characterizing the difference have become more accurate and meaningful over time, but popular terminology still reflects the old division into "warm blooded" and "cold blooded" species; warm-blooded included mammals and birds whereas all other creatures were considered cold-blooded. As more species were studied, it became evident that this classification was inadequate. A fence lizard or a desert iguana -- each cold-blooded -- usually has a body temperature only a degree or two below that of humans and so is not cold.
幾個(gè)世紀(jì)以來，人們就認(rèn)識到哺乳動(dòng)物和鳥類調(diào)節(jié)體溫的方式與其它動(dòng)物不同。隨著時(shí)間的推移，人們對這種差異的描述越來越精確和有意義，但是“暖血?jiǎng)游铩焙汀袄溲獎(jiǎng)游铩边@一古老的分類方式至今仍在大眾詞匯中有所反映。暖血?jiǎng)游锇ú溉閯?dòng)物和鳥類，其它動(dòng)物統(tǒng)統(tǒng)被視為冷血?jiǎng)游?。但是對更多物種進(jìn)行的研究表明這種分類顯然是不適當(dāng)?shù)?。美洲一種小型蜥蜴和沙漠鬣蜥同屬冷血?jiǎng)游?，但?shí)際上它們的體溫通常只比人類的體溫低1-2度，因此并不是真正的冷血。
Therefore the next distinction was made between animals that maintain a constant body temperature, called homeotherms, and those whose body temperature varies with their environment, called poikilotherms. But this classification also proved inadequate, because among mammals there are many that vary their body temperatures during hibernation. Furthermore, many invertebrates that live in the depths of the ocean never experience changes in the chill of the deep water, and their body temperatures remain constant.
因此又出現(xiàn)了恒溫動(dòng)物（即保持恒定體溫的動(dòng)物）和變溫動(dòng)物（即體溫隨外界環(huán)境的變化而改變的動(dòng)物）這一區(qū)分方式。但這種分類也不恰當(dāng)。因?yàn)橛胁簧俨溉閯?dòng)物在冬眠期間會(huì)改變體溫，而許多生活在深海的無脊椎動(dòng)物在寒冷的深海水域中體溫并不變化，而是恒定的。
【鋼琴】
Piano
鋼琴
The ancestry of the piano can be traced to the early keyboard instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries -- the spinet, the dulcimer, and the virginal. In the seventeenth century the organ, the clavichord, and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group, a supremacy they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century.
鋼琴的家系可以追溯至15至16世紀(jì)早期的鍵盤樂器，包括小型撥弦琴、洋琴和維金娜琴。17世紀(jì)時(shí)風(fēng)琴、敲弦琴和撥弦琴成為鍵盤樂器類的主要成員。這種至高無上的地位一直為它們所保持，直到18世紀(jì)末期鋼琴將它們?nèi)〈?BR> The clavichord's tone was metallic and never powerful; nevertheless, because of the variety of tone possible to it, many composers found the clavichord a sympathetic instrument for intimate chamber music.
敲弦古鋼琴的音調(diào)有金屬的音質(zhì)，缺乏雄勁。然而由于它的音調(diào)變化多，許多作曲家發(fā)現(xiàn)對于親切的室內(nèi)樂是一種得體的樂器。
The harpsichord with its bright, vigorous tone was the favorite instrument for supporting the bass of the small orchestra of the period and for concert use, but the character of the tone could not be varied save by mechanical or structural devices.
人們喜歡用具備明快有力音調(diào)的撥弦古鋼琴來配合當(dāng)時(shí)小型管弦樂團(tuán)的低音樂器以及在演奏會(huì)上演奏。但它的音調(diào)難以變化，除非使用機(jī)械或構(gòu)件裝置。
The piano was perfected in the early eighteenth century by a harpsichord maker in Italy(though musicologists point out several previous instances of the instrument).This instrument was called a piano e forte (soft and loud), to indicate its dynamic versatility; its strings were struck by a recoiling hammer with a felt-padded head.
18世紀(jì)早期的意大利，鋼琴在一位撥琴鋼琴制造者手中得到完善（盡管音樂理論家們指出有更早的例子）。 這種樂器被稱為piano e forte（意大利語，柔和而響亮的），以顯示它有力的多樣性。 演奏者用一個(gè)頭部帶皮氈的彈擊樂錘敲擊琴弦。
The wires were much heavier in the earlier instruments. A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century, including the introduction of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it, the perfection of a metal frame, and steel wire of the finest quality, finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound, from a liquid, singing tone to a sharp, percussive brilliance.
更早的這種樂器之上的金屬絲要重得多。從此，持續(xù)到19世紀(jì)的一系列機(jī)械上的改進(jìn)，包括引入踏板以維持音調(diào)或使其柔和，改善金屬框架，以及使用佳性能的鋼絲，終產(chǎn)生了一種具備無數(shù)音調(diào)效果的樂器。這些效果涵蓋了從精致的和聲到幾乎全部的管弦樂音響，從明快流暢的吟唱的音調(diào)到尖銳的打擊樂器的清晰動(dòng)人的恢宏氣勢。
Sleep
睡眠
Sleep is part of a person's daily activity cycle. There are several different stages of sleep, and they too occur in cycles.
睡眠是人每天日?；顒?dòng)循環(huán)的一部分。人的睡眠分幾個(gè)階段，而這些階段也是循環(huán)發(fā)生的。
If you are an average sleeper, your sleep cycle is as follows. When you first drift off into slumber, your eyes will roll about a bit, your temperature will drop slightly, your muscles will relax, and your breathing well slow and become quite regular. Your brain waves slow down a bit too, with the alpha rhythm of rather fast waves predominating for the first few minutes. This is called stage 1 sleep. For the next half hour or so, as you relax more and more, you will drift down through stage 2 and stage 3 sleep. The lower your stage of sleep, the slower your brain waves will be. Then about 40 to 60 minutes after you lose consciousness you will have reached the deepest sleep of all. Your brain waves will show the large slow waves that are known as the delta rhythm. This is stage 4 sleep.
如果你是一個(gè)正常的睡眠者，你的睡眠循環(huán)會(huì)這樣進(jìn)行。在你開始昏昏入睡時(shí)，你的眼睛會(huì)滾動(dòng)幾下，體溫略有下降，肌肉放松，呼吸變得緩慢而有節(jié)奏。除了開始幾分鐘比較快的α節(jié)奏外，腦電波也稍有減緩。這被稱為第一階段睡眠。在隨后約半小時(shí)內(nèi)，你進(jìn)一步放松，進(jìn)入第二和第三階段睡眠。睡眠越深入，腦電波就越緩慢。大約在開始睡眠后的40到60分鐘，你將進(jìn)入沉睡狀態(tài)。這時(shí)的腦電波表現(xiàn)為巨大的緩波，被稱為δ節(jié)奏。這就是第四階段睡眠。
You do not remain at this deep fourth stage all night long, but instead about 80 minutes after you fall into slumber, your brain activity level will increase again slightly. The delta rhythm will disappear, to be replaced by the activity pattern of brain waves. Your eyes will begin to dart around under your closed eyelids as if you were looking at something occurring in front of you. This period of rapid eye movement lasts for some 8 to 15 minutes and is called REM sleep. It is during REM sleep period, your body will soon relax again, your breathing will grow slow and regular once more, and you will slip gently back from stage 1 to stage 4 sleep - only to rise once again to the surface of near consciousness some 80 minutes later.
但你并不是整夜都保持這種沉睡狀態(tài)。入睡后約80分鐘左右，你的大腦運(yùn)動(dòng)水平會(huì)再度略有提高。δ節(jié)奏消失，并被腦電波的運(yùn)動(dòng)圖形取代。你的眼睛會(huì)在閉著的眼瞼下迅速轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)，就好象你在看著眼前發(fā)生的什么事情。這種迅速的眼球運(yùn)動(dòng)持續(xù)約8-15分鐘，這一階段睡眠被稱之為快速眼動(dòng)(REM)睡眠。在REM睡眠階段，你的肢體會(huì)很快再度放松，呼吸也再次放慢并變得有節(jié)奏，你會(huì)輕松地從第一階段滑入第四階段睡眠——直到大約80分鐘后重新接近清醒狀態(tài)。
Cells and Temperature
細(xì)胞與溫度
Cells cannot remain alive outside certain limits of temperature, and much narrower limits mark the boundaries of effective functioning.
細(xì)胞只能在一定的溫度范圍內(nèi)存活，而進(jìn)一步保證它們有效工作的溫度范圍就更小了。
Enzyme systems of mammals and birds are most efficient only within a narrow range around 37℃; a departure of a few degrees from this value seriously impairs their functioning. Even though cells can survive wider fluctuations, the integrated actions of bodily systems are impaired. Other animals have a wider tolerance for changes of bodily temperature.
哺乳動(dòng)物和鳥類的酶系統(tǒng)只能在37℃左右的很小范圍內(nèi)才能有效工作。與此相差僅幾度的溫度都會(huì)大大削弱它們的工作效率。盡管溫度變化更大時(shí)細(xì)胞仍能存活，但機(jī)體系統(tǒng)的整體運(yùn)行能力卻被削弱了。其它動(dòng)物對體溫的變化有更強(qiáng)的適應(yīng)性。
For centuries it has been recognized that mammals and birds differ from other animals in the way they regulate body temperature. Ways of characterizing the difference have become more accurate and meaningful over time, but popular terminology still reflects the old division into "warm blooded" and "cold blooded" species; warm-blooded included mammals and birds whereas all other creatures were considered cold-blooded. As more species were studied, it became evident that this classification was inadequate. A fence lizard or a desert iguana -- each cold-blooded -- usually has a body temperature only a degree or two below that of humans and so is not cold.
幾個(gè)世紀(jì)以來，人們就認(rèn)識到哺乳動(dòng)物和鳥類調(diào)節(jié)體溫的方式與其它動(dòng)物不同。隨著時(shí)間的推移，人們對這種差異的描述越來越精確和有意義，但是“暖血?jiǎng)游铩焙汀袄溲獎(jiǎng)游铩边@一古老的分類方式至今仍在大眾詞匯中有所反映。暖血?jiǎng)游锇ú溉閯?dòng)物和鳥類，其它動(dòng)物統(tǒng)統(tǒng)被視為冷血?jiǎng)游?。但是對更多物種進(jìn)行的研究表明這種分類顯然是不適當(dāng)?shù)?。美洲一種小型蜥蜴和沙漠鬣蜥同屬冷血?jiǎng)游?，但?shí)際上它們的體溫通常只比人類的體溫低1-2度，因此并不是真正的冷血。
Therefore the next distinction was made between animals that maintain a constant body temperature, called homeotherms, and those whose body temperature varies with their environment, called poikilotherms. But this classification also proved inadequate, because among mammals there are many that vary their body temperatures during hibernation. Furthermore, many invertebrates that live in the depths of the ocean never experience changes in the chill of the deep water, and their body temperatures remain constant.
因此又出現(xiàn)了恒溫動(dòng)物（即保持恒定體溫的動(dòng)物）和變溫動(dòng)物（即體溫隨外界環(huán)境的變化而改變的動(dòng)物）這一區(qū)分方式。但這種分類也不恰當(dāng)。因?yàn)橛胁簧俨溉閯?dòng)物在冬眠期間會(huì)改變體溫，而許多生活在深海的無脊椎動(dòng)物在寒冷的深海水域中體溫并不變化，而是恒定的。
Piano
鋼琴
The ancestry of the piano can be traced to the early keyboard instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries -- the spinet, the dulcimer, and the virginal. In the seventeenth century the organ, the clavichord, and the harpsichord became the chief instruments of the keyboard group, a supremacy they maintained until the piano supplanted them at the end of the eighteenth century.
鋼琴的家系可以追溯至15至16世紀(jì)早期的鍵盤樂器，包括小型撥弦琴、洋琴和維金娜琴。17世紀(jì)時(shí)風(fēng)琴、敲弦琴和撥弦琴成為鍵盤樂器類的主要成員。這種至高無上的地位一直為它們所保持，直到18世紀(jì)末期鋼琴將它們?nèi)〈?BR> The clavichord's tone was metallic and never powerful; nevertheless, because of the variety of tone possible to it, many composers found the clavichord a sympathetic instrument for intimate chamber music.
敲弦古鋼琴的音調(diào)有金屬的音質(zhì)，缺乏雄勁。然而由于它的音調(diào)變化多，許多作曲家發(fā)現(xiàn)對于親切的室內(nèi)樂是一種得體的樂器。
The harpsichord with its bright, vigorous tone was the favorite instrument for supporting the bass of the small orchestra of the period and for concert use, but the character of the tone could not be varied save by mechanical or structural devices.
人們喜歡用具備明快有力音調(diào)的撥弦古鋼琴來配合當(dāng)時(shí)小型管弦樂團(tuán)的低音樂器以及在演奏會(huì)上演奏。但它的音調(diào)難以變化，除非使用機(jī)械或構(gòu)件裝置。
The piano was perfected in the early eighteenth century by a harpsichord maker in Italy(though musicologists point out several previous instances of the instrument).This instrument was called a piano e forte (soft and loud), to indicate its dynamic versatility; its strings were struck by a recoiling hammer with a felt-padded head.
18世紀(jì)早期的意大利，鋼琴在一位撥琴鋼琴制造者手中得到完善（盡管音樂理論家們指出有更早的例子）。 這種樂器被稱為piano e forte（意大利語，柔和而響亮的），以顯示它有力的多樣性。 演奏者用一個(gè)頭部帶皮氈的彈擊樂錘敲擊琴弦。
The wires were much heavier in the earlier instruments. A series of mechanical improvements continuing well into the nineteenth century, including the introduction of pedals to sustain tone or to soften it, the perfection of a metal frame, and steel wire of the finest quality, finally produced an instrument capable of myriad tonal effects from the most delicate harmonies to an almost orchestral fullness of sound, from a liquid, singing tone to a sharp, percussive brilliance.
更早的這種樂器之上的金屬絲要重得多。從此，持續(xù)到19世紀(jì)的一系列機(jī)械上的改進(jìn)，包括引入踏板以維持音調(diào)或使其柔和，改善金屬框架，以及使用佳性能的鋼絲，終產(chǎn)生了一種具備無數(shù)音調(diào)效果的樂器。這些效果涵蓋了從精致的和聲到幾乎全部的管弦樂音響，從明快流暢的吟唱的音調(diào)到尖銳的打擊樂器的清晰動(dòng)人的恢宏氣勢。