為了方便同學(xué)們的學(xué)習(xí)，為大家整理了新概念英語第四冊學(xué)習(xí)手冊，新概念英語作為一套世界聞名的英語教程，以其全新的教學(xué)理念，有趣的課文內(nèi)容和全面的技能訓(xùn)練，深受廣大英語學(xué)習(xí)者的歡迎和喜愛。希望以下內(nèi)容能夠?yàn)榇蠹业男赂拍钣⒄Z學(xué)習(xí)提供幫助!
Lesson 37
The process of ageing
衰老過程
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What is one of the most unpleasant discoveries we make about ourselves as we get older?
At the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous. It has yet to reach its full size and strength, and its owner his or her full intelligence; but at this age the likelihood of death is least. Earlier, we were infants and young children, and consequently more vulnerable; later, we shall undergo a progressive loss of our vigour and resistance which, though imperceptible at first, will finally become so steep that we can live no longer, however well we look after ourselves, and however well society, and our doctors, look after us. This decline in vigour with the passing of time is called ageing. It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make that we must decline in this way, that if we escape wars, accidents and disease we shall eventually 'die of old age', and that this happens at a rate which differs little from person to person, so that there are heavy odds in favour of our dying between the ages of sixty-five and eighty. Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer -- on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive, however lucky and robust we are.
Normal people tend to forget this process unless and until they are reminded of it. We are so familiar with the fact that man ages, that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigour with time, of becoming more likely to die the older we get, was something self-evident, like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes. They have also assumed that all animals, and probably other organisms such as trees, or even the universe itself, must in the nature of things 'wear out'. Most animals we commonly observe do in fact age as we do, if given the chance to live long enough; and mechanical systems like a wound watch, or the sun, do in fact run out of energy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics (whether the whole universe does so is a moot point at present). But these are not analogous to what happens when man ages. A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch, by contrast, becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. But a watch could never repair itself -- it does not consist of living parts, only of metal, which wears away by friction. We could, at one time, repair ourselves --well enough, at least, to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents. Between twelve and eighty years we gradually lose this power; an illness which at twelve would knock us over, at eighty can knock us out, and another 700 for the survivors to be reduced by half again.
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
likelihood
n. 可能性
infant
n. 嬰兒
vulnerable
adj. 脆弱
imperceptible
adj. 感覺不到的
steep
adj. 急轉(zhuǎn)直下
ageing
n. 老化
odds
n. 可能性
virtual
adj. 實(shí)際上的
robust
adj. 強(qiáng)健的
organism
n. 有機(jī)體
thermodynamics
n. 熱力學(xué)
moot
adj. 爭論未決的
run-down
adj. 破舊的
friction
n. 摩擦
參考譯文
人體在12歲時(shí)是生命力旺盛的時(shí)期。雖然這個(gè)時(shí)期人的身材、體力和智力還有待發(fā)展和完善，但在這個(gè)年齡死亡的可能性小。再早一些，我們是幼兒和小孩子，身體較脆弱;再遲一些，我們就要經(jīng)歷生命力和抵抗力逐步衰退的過程。雖然這個(gè)過程起初難以覺察，但終會急轉(zhuǎn)直下，不管我們怎樣精心照料我們自己，不管社會和醫(yī)生怎樣對我們進(jìn)行精心照顧，我們也無法再活下去了。生命力隨著時(shí)間的流失而衰退叫做衰老。人類發(fā)現(xiàn)的不愉快的一個(gè)事實(shí)是：人必然會衰老。既使我們能避開戰(zhàn)爭、意外的事故和各種疾病，我們終也會“老死”;衰老的速度在人與人之間相差甚微，我們可能死亡的年齡在65至80歲之間，有些人會死得早一些，少數(shù)人壽命會長一些 -- 活到八十幾歲或九十幾歲，但這種可能性很小。不管我們多么幸運(yùn)，多么健壯，我們所希望的長壽實(shí)際上是有限度的。
衰老的過程，不經(jīng)提起，正常人容易忘記;一經(jīng)提醒，才會記起。我們對人總是要衰老的現(xiàn)象并不陌生，多年來就已認(rèn)識到。生命隨著時(shí)間流失而喪失活力，人隨著年齡的增長而接近死亡，這是不言而喻的，就像一壺?zé)崴t早會涼不來，一雙鞋漸漸會磨破一樣。人們不但認(rèn)識到所有的動物，大概也認(rèn)識到所有的有機(jī)物。如樹木，甚至宇宙本身，從事物的本質(zhì)上來說都會“磨損掉”。我們通?？吹降拇蠖鄶?shù)動物，即使能讓它們活得足夠長久的話，也會像我們一樣衰老的。像上緊發(fā)條的手表那樣的機(jī)械裝置，或太陽，也都會消耗完其能量(整個(gè)宇宙否如此，目前沿有爭論)。不過，這些衰老的情況同人并不相似。手表停了依然是只手表，還可以重上好發(fā)條。然而一只老掉牙的手表，磨損太厲害，老得一點(diǎn)兒不準(zhǔn)了，終不值得修理了。但是，手表決不會自行修理，它不是由有生命的部件組成，而是由金屬組成，而金屬可以隨著磨擦而磨損殆盡。而我們?nèi)?，在一定時(shí)間內(nèi)是可以自行修復(fù)的，除了暴病死或意外事故外，至少足以克服一切疾病和事故。在12歲至80歲之間，我們逐漸喪失這種能力。能使我們在12歲時(shí)病倒的疾病，到了80歲可能會使我們一厥不振而進(jìn)入墳?zāi)?。假如我們能保?2歲時(shí)的旺盛生命力，那么我們當(dāng)中的一半人過700年才會死去，剩下的一半人再過700年，才會又減少一半。
Lesson 38
Water and the traveller
水和旅行者
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What does this text describe?
Contamination of water supplies is usually due to poor sanitation close to water sources, sewage disposal into the sources themselves, leakage of sewage into distribution systems or contamination with industrial or farm waste. Even if a piped water supply is safe at its source, it is not always safe by the time it reaches the tap. Intermittent tap-water supplies should be regarded as particularly suspect.
Travellers on short trips to areas with water supplies of uncertain quality should avoid drinking tap-water, or untreated water from any other source. It is best to hot drinks, bottled or canned drinks of well-known brand names -- international standards of water treatment are usually followed at bottling plants. Carbonated drinks are acidic, and slightly safer. Make sure that all bottles are opened in your presence, and that their rims are clean and dry.
Boiling is always a good way of treating water. Some hotels supply boiled water on request and this can be used for drinking, or for brushing teeth. Portable boiling elements that can boil small quantities of water are useful when the right voltage of electricity is available. Refuse politely any cold drink from an unknown source.
Ice is only as safe as the water from which it is made, and should not be put in drinks unless it is known to be safe. Drink can be cooled by placing them on ice tather than adding ice to them.
Alcohol may be a medical disinfectant, but should not be relied upon to sterilize water. Ethanol is more effective at a concentration of 50-70 per cent; below 20 per cent, its bactericidal action is negligible. Spirits labelled 95 proof contain only about 47 per cent alcohol. Beware of methylated alcohol, which is very poisonous, and should never be added to drinking water.
If no other safe supply can be obtained, tap water that is too hot to touch can be left to cool and is generally safe to drink. Those planning a trip to remote areas, or intending to live in countries where drinking water is not readily available, should know about the various possible methods for making water safe.
RICHARD DAWOOD Travellers' Health
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
contamination
n. 污染
sanitation
n. 衛(wèi)生，衛(wèi)生設(shè)備
sewage
n. 污水
leakage
n. 泄漏
intermittent
adj. 間歇的，斷斷續(xù)續(xù)的
carbonated
adj. 碳化的，碳酸的
acidic
adj. 酸的，酸性的
alcohol
n. 酒精
disinfectant
n. 消毒劑
sterilize
v. 消毒
ethanol
n. 乙醇
bactericidal
adj. 殺菌的
negligible
adj. 可以忽略的，微不足道的
methylated
adj. 加入甲醇的
參考譯文
水源的污染通常是由于接近水源的地方衛(wèi)條件太差而造成的：污水排入水源，污水滲入給水系統(tǒng)或工農(nóng)業(yè)污水造成污染。即使管道供水系統(tǒng)在水源處安全的，等水到達(dá)龍頭時(shí)就不一定總是安全的了。斷斷續(xù)續(xù)的水管應(yīng)該被視為是非?？梢傻摹?BR> 短途旅行到水質(zhì)不保險(xiǎn)的地區(qū)時(shí)，應(yīng)避免飲用水龍頭的水或未經(jīng)處理任何其他來源的水。好僅飲用開水，瓶裝或罐裝水 -- 裝瓶廠通常遵循國際水處理的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。碳酸飲料是酸性的，就更安全一些。確保瓶子是當(dāng)你面開啟的，瓶口清潔干燥。
燒開一直是水處理的一種好辦法。有的酒店根據(jù)要求可提供開水，這些開水可用于飲用和刷牙。如果有相配的電壓，可以煮少量水的便攜式熱水裝置是有用的。應(yīng)謝絕任何不明來源的冷飲。
冰塊只有當(dāng)制造冰塊的水安全時(shí)才是保險(xiǎn)的，只有知道冰塊安全時(shí)才能加入飲料?？梢园扬嬃现糜诒鶋K之上來冷卻，而不是把冰塊加進(jìn)飲料之中。
酒精可能是醫(yī)學(xué)上的消毒劑，但決不可用來消毒飲用水。乙醇的濃度為50%至70%時(shí)比較有效，濃度低于20%時(shí)，殺菌能力基本上就不存在了。強(qiáng)度標(biāo)為95的酒中含有47%的酒精。要提防甲基化酒精，那是劇毒的，永遠(yuǎn)不能摻入飲用水。
如果沒有其他安全的飲用水，水管中流出的燙手的水可以留下來冷卻。這種水一般是安全的。那些計(jì)劃去偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)旅行，或在飲用水不現(xiàn)成的國家居住的人，應(yīng)該知道如何使水適于飲用的各種辦法。
Lesson 39
What every writer wants
作家之所需
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
How do professional writers ignore what they were taught at school about writing?
I have known very few writers, but those I have known, and whom I respect, confess at once that they have little idea where they the are going when they first set pen to paper. They have a character, perhaps two; they are in that condition of eager discomfort which passes for inspiration; all admit radical changes of destination once the journey has begun; one, to my certain knowledge, spent nine months on a novel about Kashmir, then reset the whole thing in the Scottish Highlands. I never heard of anyone making a 'skeleton', as we were taught at school. In the breaking and remaking, in the timing, interweaving, beginning afresh, the writer comes to discern things in his material which were not consciously in his mind when he began. This organic process, often leading to moments of extraordinary self-discovery, is of an indescribable fascination. A blurred image appears; he adds a brushstroke and another, and it is gone; but something was there, and he will not rest till he has captured it. Sometimes the yeast within a writer outlives a book he has written. I have heard of writers who read nothing but their own books; like adolescents they stand before the mirror, and still cannot fathom the exact outline of the vision before them. For the same reason, writers talk interminably about their own books, winkling out hidden meanings, super-imposing new ones, begging response from those around them. Of course a writer doing this is misunderstood: he might as well try to explain a crime or a love affair. He is also, incidentally, an unforgivable bore.
This temptation to cover the distance between himself and the reader, to study his image in the sight of those who do not know him, can be his undoing: he has begun to write to please.
A young English writer made the pertinent observation a year or two back that the talent goes into the first draft, and the art into the drafts that follow. For this reason also the writer, like any other artist, has no resting place, no crowd or movement in which he may take comfort, no judgment from outside which can replace the judgment from within. A writer makes order out of the anarchy of his heart; he submits himself to a more ruthless discipline than any critic dreamed of, and when he flirts with fame, he is taking time off from living with himself, from the search for what his world contains at its inmost point.
JOHN LE CARRE What every writer wants from Harper's
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
confess
v. 承認(rèn)
inspiration
n. 靈感
Kashmir
n. 克什米爾
interweave
v. 交織
afresh
adv. 重新
discern
v. 辨明，領(lǐng)悟
indescribable
adj. 無法描述的
blur
v. 使...模糊不清
yeast
n. 激動
fathom
v. 領(lǐng)悟，徹底了解
interminably
adv. 沒完沒了地
winkle
v. 挖掘
incidentally
adv. 順便說一下
pertinent
adj. 中肯的
flirt
v. 調(diào)情
inmost
adj. 內(nèi)心深處
參考譯文
我的認(rèn)識的作家寥寥無幾，然而凡是我所認(rèn)識和尊敬的作家，都立即承認(rèn)在他們動筆時(shí)，不清楚要寫什么，怎么寫。他們心中只在一個(gè)或兩個(gè)角色。他們處于急切不安的狀態(tài)，而被當(dāng)作是靈感。他們無不承認(rèn)，一旦“旅程”開始，“目的地”常有急劇的變化。據(jù)我所知，有位作家花了9個(gè)月的時(shí)間寫了一部關(guān)克什米爾的小說，后來卻把整個(gè)故事背景換成了蘇格蘭高地。我從未聽說過任何一位作家像我們在學(xué)校那樣，動筆前先列什么提綱。作家在剪裁修改、構(gòu)思時(shí)間、穿插情節(jié)、以至從頭重寫的過程中，會領(lǐng)悟到素材中很多東西是他剛動筆時(shí)所未意識到的。這種有機(jī)的加工過程往往達(dá)到不尋常自我發(fā)現(xiàn)的境界，具有難以言表的構(gòu)思魅力。一個(gè)朦朧的形象出現(xiàn)在作家的腦海里，他左添一筆，右添一筆，形象反而消逝了;可是，好像還有什么東西存在著，不把它捕捉到，作家是不會罷休的。有時(shí)，一個(gè)作家一本書寫完了，但興奮仍不消散。我聽說一些作家，除了自己的書外，別的書一概不讀，猶如希臘神話中那位漂亮的少年，站在鏡前，不能辨認(rèn)自身的真面目。由于這個(gè)原因，作家喋喋不休地談?wù)撟约旱臅诰蚱潆[晦的含義，詢問周圍人的反應(yīng)。作家如此行事當(dāng)然被人誤解。他還不如給人講一個(gè)犯罪案件或一個(gè)戀愛故事。順便說一句，他也是個(gè)不可饒恕的令人厭煩的人。
這種企圖消除自己和讀者之間距離的作法，企圖用不了解自己的人的觀點(diǎn)來研究自己塑造的形象的作法，會導(dǎo)致作家的毀滅，因?yàn)樗呀?jīng)開始為取悅他人而寫作了。
一兩年前，一位年輕的英國作家發(fā)表了中肯的看法。他說，初稿是才華，以后各稿是藝術(shù)。也是由于這個(gè)原因，作家同任何藝術(shù)家一樣，找不到可休息的場所，找不到伙伴和活動使自己得到安逸。任何局外人的判斷也比不上他內(nèi)心的正確判斷。一旦作家從內(nèi)心的紊亂中理出頭緒，就應(yīng)該按任何評論家想像不到的無情規(guī)范約束自己寫作;當(dāng)他沽名釣譽(yù)時(shí)，他就脫離了自我生活，脫離了對自己靈魂深處世界的探索。
Lesson 37
The process of ageing
衰老過程
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What is one of the most unpleasant discoveries we make about ourselves as we get older?
At the age of twelve years, the human body is at its most vigorous. It has yet to reach its full size and strength, and its owner his or her full intelligence; but at this age the likelihood of death is least. Earlier, we were infants and young children, and consequently more vulnerable; later, we shall undergo a progressive loss of our vigour and resistance which, though imperceptible at first, will finally become so steep that we can live no longer, however well we look after ourselves, and however well society, and our doctors, look after us. This decline in vigour with the passing of time is called ageing. It is one of the most unpleasant discoveries which we all make that we must decline in this way, that if we escape wars, accidents and disease we shall eventually 'die of old age', and that this happens at a rate which differs little from person to person, so that there are heavy odds in favour of our dying between the ages of sixty-five and eighty. Some of us will die sooner, a few will live longer -- on into a ninth or tenth decade. But the chances are against it, and there is a virtual limit on how long we can hope to remain alive, however lucky and robust we are.
Normal people tend to forget this process unless and until they are reminded of it. We are so familiar with the fact that man ages, that people have for years assumed that the process of losing vigour with time, of becoming more likely to die the older we get, was something self-evident, like the cooling of a hot kettle or the wearing-out of a pair of shoes. They have also assumed that all animals, and probably other organisms such as trees, or even the universe itself, must in the nature of things 'wear out'. Most animals we commonly observe do in fact age as we do, if given the chance to live long enough; and mechanical systems like a wound watch, or the sun, do in fact run out of energy in accordance with the second law of thermodynamics (whether the whole universe does so is a moot point at present). But these are not analogous to what happens when man ages. A run-down watch is still a watch and can be rewound. An old watch, by contrast, becomes so worn and unreliable that it eventually is not worth mending. But a watch could never repair itself -- it does not consist of living parts, only of metal, which wears away by friction. We could, at one time, repair ourselves --well enough, at least, to overcome all but the most instantly fatal illnesses and accidents. Between twelve and eighty years we gradually lose this power; an illness which at twelve would knock us over, at eighty can knock us out, and another 700 for the survivors to be reduced by half again.
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
likelihood
n. 可能性
infant
n. 嬰兒
vulnerable
adj. 脆弱
imperceptible
adj. 感覺不到的
steep
adj. 急轉(zhuǎn)直下
ageing
n. 老化
odds
n. 可能性
virtual
adj. 實(shí)際上的
robust
adj. 強(qiáng)健的
organism
n. 有機(jī)體
thermodynamics
n. 熱力學(xué)
moot
adj. 爭論未決的
run-down
adj. 破舊的
friction
n. 摩擦
參考譯文
人體在12歲時(shí)是生命力旺盛的時(shí)期。雖然這個(gè)時(shí)期人的身材、體力和智力還有待發(fā)展和完善，但在這個(gè)年齡死亡的可能性小。再早一些，我們是幼兒和小孩子，身體較脆弱;再遲一些，我們就要經(jīng)歷生命力和抵抗力逐步衰退的過程。雖然這個(gè)過程起初難以覺察，但終會急轉(zhuǎn)直下，不管我們怎樣精心照料我們自己，不管社會和醫(yī)生怎樣對我們進(jìn)行精心照顧，我們也無法再活下去了。生命力隨著時(shí)間的流失而衰退叫做衰老。人類發(fā)現(xiàn)的不愉快的一個(gè)事實(shí)是：人必然會衰老。既使我們能避開戰(zhàn)爭、意外的事故和各種疾病，我們終也會“老死”;衰老的速度在人與人之間相差甚微，我們可能死亡的年齡在65至80歲之間，有些人會死得早一些，少數(shù)人壽命會長一些 -- 活到八十幾歲或九十幾歲，但這種可能性很小。不管我們多么幸運(yùn)，多么健壯，我們所希望的長壽實(shí)際上是有限度的。
衰老的過程，不經(jīng)提起，正常人容易忘記;一經(jīng)提醒，才會記起。我們對人總是要衰老的現(xiàn)象并不陌生，多年來就已認(rèn)識到。生命隨著時(shí)間流失而喪失活力，人隨著年齡的增長而接近死亡，這是不言而喻的，就像一壺?zé)崴t早會涼不來，一雙鞋漸漸會磨破一樣。人們不但認(rèn)識到所有的動物，大概也認(rèn)識到所有的有機(jī)物。如樹木，甚至宇宙本身，從事物的本質(zhì)上來說都會“磨損掉”。我們通?？吹降拇蠖鄶?shù)動物，即使能讓它們活得足夠長久的話，也會像我們一樣衰老的。像上緊發(fā)條的手表那樣的機(jī)械裝置，或太陽，也都會消耗完其能量(整個(gè)宇宙否如此，目前沿有爭論)。不過，這些衰老的情況同人并不相似。手表停了依然是只手表，還可以重上好發(fā)條。然而一只老掉牙的手表，磨損太厲害，老得一點(diǎn)兒不準(zhǔn)了，終不值得修理了。但是，手表決不會自行修理，它不是由有生命的部件組成，而是由金屬組成，而金屬可以隨著磨擦而磨損殆盡。而我們?nèi)?，在一定時(shí)間內(nèi)是可以自行修復(fù)的，除了暴病死或意外事故外，至少足以克服一切疾病和事故。在12歲至80歲之間，我們逐漸喪失這種能力。能使我們在12歲時(shí)病倒的疾病，到了80歲可能會使我們一厥不振而進(jìn)入墳?zāi)?。假如我們能保?2歲時(shí)的旺盛生命力，那么我們當(dāng)中的一半人過700年才會死去，剩下的一半人再過700年，才會又減少一半。
Lesson 38
Water and the traveller
水和旅行者
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
What does this text describe?
Contamination of water supplies is usually due to poor sanitation close to water sources, sewage disposal into the sources themselves, leakage of sewage into distribution systems or contamination with industrial or farm waste. Even if a piped water supply is safe at its source, it is not always safe by the time it reaches the tap. Intermittent tap-water supplies should be regarded as particularly suspect.
Travellers on short trips to areas with water supplies of uncertain quality should avoid drinking tap-water, or untreated water from any other source. It is best to hot drinks, bottled or canned drinks of well-known brand names -- international standards of water treatment are usually followed at bottling plants. Carbonated drinks are acidic, and slightly safer. Make sure that all bottles are opened in your presence, and that their rims are clean and dry.
Boiling is always a good way of treating water. Some hotels supply boiled water on request and this can be used for drinking, or for brushing teeth. Portable boiling elements that can boil small quantities of water are useful when the right voltage of electricity is available. Refuse politely any cold drink from an unknown source.
Ice is only as safe as the water from which it is made, and should not be put in drinks unless it is known to be safe. Drink can be cooled by placing them on ice tather than adding ice to them.
Alcohol may be a medical disinfectant, but should not be relied upon to sterilize water. Ethanol is more effective at a concentration of 50-70 per cent; below 20 per cent, its bactericidal action is negligible. Spirits labelled 95 proof contain only about 47 per cent alcohol. Beware of methylated alcohol, which is very poisonous, and should never be added to drinking water.
If no other safe supply can be obtained, tap water that is too hot to touch can be left to cool and is generally safe to drink. Those planning a trip to remote areas, or intending to live in countries where drinking water is not readily available, should know about the various possible methods for making water safe.
RICHARD DAWOOD Travellers' Health
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
contamination
n. 污染
sanitation
n. 衛(wèi)生，衛(wèi)生設(shè)備
sewage
n. 污水
leakage
n. 泄漏
intermittent
adj. 間歇的，斷斷續(xù)續(xù)的
carbonated
adj. 碳化的，碳酸的
acidic
adj. 酸的，酸性的
alcohol
n. 酒精
disinfectant
n. 消毒劑
sterilize
v. 消毒
ethanol
n. 乙醇
bactericidal
adj. 殺菌的
negligible
adj. 可以忽略的，微不足道的
methylated
adj. 加入甲醇的
參考譯文
水源的污染通常是由于接近水源的地方衛(wèi)條件太差而造成的：污水排入水源，污水滲入給水系統(tǒng)或工農(nóng)業(yè)污水造成污染。即使管道供水系統(tǒng)在水源處安全的，等水到達(dá)龍頭時(shí)就不一定總是安全的了。斷斷續(xù)續(xù)的水管應(yīng)該被視為是非?？梢傻摹?BR> 短途旅行到水質(zhì)不保險(xiǎn)的地區(qū)時(shí)，應(yīng)避免飲用水龍頭的水或未經(jīng)處理任何其他來源的水。好僅飲用開水，瓶裝或罐裝水 -- 裝瓶廠通常遵循國際水處理的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。碳酸飲料是酸性的，就更安全一些。確保瓶子是當(dāng)你面開啟的，瓶口清潔干燥。
燒開一直是水處理的一種好辦法。有的酒店根據(jù)要求可提供開水，這些開水可用于飲用和刷牙。如果有相配的電壓，可以煮少量水的便攜式熱水裝置是有用的。應(yīng)謝絕任何不明來源的冷飲。
冰塊只有當(dāng)制造冰塊的水安全時(shí)才是保險(xiǎn)的，只有知道冰塊安全時(shí)才能加入飲料?？梢园扬嬃现糜诒鶋K之上來冷卻，而不是把冰塊加進(jìn)飲料之中。
酒精可能是醫(yī)學(xué)上的消毒劑，但決不可用來消毒飲用水。乙醇的濃度為50%至70%時(shí)比較有效，濃度低于20%時(shí)，殺菌能力基本上就不存在了。強(qiáng)度標(biāo)為95的酒中含有47%的酒精。要提防甲基化酒精，那是劇毒的，永遠(yuǎn)不能摻入飲用水。
如果沒有其他安全的飲用水，水管中流出的燙手的水可以留下來冷卻。這種水一般是安全的。那些計(jì)劃去偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)旅行，或在飲用水不現(xiàn)成的國家居住的人，應(yīng)該知道如何使水適于飲用的各種辦法。
Lesson 39
What every writer wants
作家之所需
First listen and then answer the following question.
聽錄音，然后回答以下問題。
How do professional writers ignore what they were taught at school about writing?
I have known very few writers, but those I have known, and whom I respect, confess at once that they have little idea where they the are going when they first set pen to paper. They have a character, perhaps two; they are in that condition of eager discomfort which passes for inspiration; all admit radical changes of destination once the journey has begun; one, to my certain knowledge, spent nine months on a novel about Kashmir, then reset the whole thing in the Scottish Highlands. I never heard of anyone making a 'skeleton', as we were taught at school. In the breaking and remaking, in the timing, interweaving, beginning afresh, the writer comes to discern things in his material which were not consciously in his mind when he began. This organic process, often leading to moments of extraordinary self-discovery, is of an indescribable fascination. A blurred image appears; he adds a brushstroke and another, and it is gone; but something was there, and he will not rest till he has captured it. Sometimes the yeast within a writer outlives a book he has written. I have heard of writers who read nothing but their own books; like adolescents they stand before the mirror, and still cannot fathom the exact outline of the vision before them. For the same reason, writers talk interminably about their own books, winkling out hidden meanings, super-imposing new ones, begging response from those around them. Of course a writer doing this is misunderstood: he might as well try to explain a crime or a love affair. He is also, incidentally, an unforgivable bore.
This temptation to cover the distance between himself and the reader, to study his image in the sight of those who do not know him, can be his undoing: he has begun to write to please.
A young English writer made the pertinent observation a year or two back that the talent goes into the first draft, and the art into the drafts that follow. For this reason also the writer, like any other artist, has no resting place, no crowd or movement in which he may take comfort, no judgment from outside which can replace the judgment from within. A writer makes order out of the anarchy of his heart; he submits himself to a more ruthless discipline than any critic dreamed of, and when he flirts with fame, he is taking time off from living with himself, from the search for what his world contains at its inmost point.
JOHN LE CARRE What every writer wants from Harper's
New words and expressions 生詞和短語
confess
v. 承認(rèn)
inspiration
n. 靈感
Kashmir
n. 克什米爾
interweave
v. 交織
afresh
adv. 重新
discern
v. 辨明，領(lǐng)悟
indescribable
adj. 無法描述的
blur
v. 使...模糊不清
yeast
n. 激動
fathom
v. 領(lǐng)悟，徹底了解
interminably
adv. 沒完沒了地
winkle
v. 挖掘
incidentally
adv. 順便說一下
pertinent
adj. 中肯的
flirt
v. 調(diào)情
inmost
adj. 內(nèi)心深處
參考譯文
我的認(rèn)識的作家寥寥無幾，然而凡是我所認(rèn)識和尊敬的作家，都立即承認(rèn)在他們動筆時(shí)，不清楚要寫什么，怎么寫。他們心中只在一個(gè)或兩個(gè)角色。他們處于急切不安的狀態(tài)，而被當(dāng)作是靈感。他們無不承認(rèn)，一旦“旅程”開始，“目的地”常有急劇的變化。據(jù)我所知，有位作家花了9個(gè)月的時(shí)間寫了一部關(guān)克什米爾的小說，后來卻把整個(gè)故事背景換成了蘇格蘭高地。我從未聽說過任何一位作家像我們在學(xué)校那樣，動筆前先列什么提綱。作家在剪裁修改、構(gòu)思時(shí)間、穿插情節(jié)、以至從頭重寫的過程中，會領(lǐng)悟到素材中很多東西是他剛動筆時(shí)所未意識到的。這種有機(jī)的加工過程往往達(dá)到不尋常自我發(fā)現(xiàn)的境界，具有難以言表的構(gòu)思魅力。一個(gè)朦朧的形象出現(xiàn)在作家的腦海里，他左添一筆，右添一筆，形象反而消逝了;可是，好像還有什么東西存在著，不把它捕捉到，作家是不會罷休的。有時(shí)，一個(gè)作家一本書寫完了，但興奮仍不消散。我聽說一些作家，除了自己的書外，別的書一概不讀，猶如希臘神話中那位漂亮的少年，站在鏡前，不能辨認(rèn)自身的真面目。由于這個(gè)原因，作家喋喋不休地談?wù)撟约旱臅诰蚱潆[晦的含義，詢問周圍人的反應(yīng)。作家如此行事當(dāng)然被人誤解。他還不如給人講一個(gè)犯罪案件或一個(gè)戀愛故事。順便說一句，他也是個(gè)不可饒恕的令人厭煩的人。
這種企圖消除自己和讀者之間距離的作法，企圖用不了解自己的人的觀點(diǎn)來研究自己塑造的形象的作法，會導(dǎo)致作家的毀滅，因?yàn)樗呀?jīng)開始為取悅他人而寫作了。
一兩年前，一位年輕的英國作家發(fā)表了中肯的看法。他說，初稿是才華，以后各稿是藝術(shù)。也是由于這個(gè)原因，作家同任何藝術(shù)家一樣，找不到可休息的場所，找不到伙伴和活動使自己得到安逸。任何局外人的判斷也比不上他內(nèi)心的正確判斷。一旦作家從內(nèi)心的紊亂中理出頭緒，就應(yīng)該按任何評論家想像不到的無情規(guī)范約束自己寫作;當(dāng)他沽名釣譽(yù)時(shí)，他就脫離了自我生活，脫離了對自己靈魂深處世界的探索。