1、They say that pride comes before a fall. In the case of both Napoleon and Hitler, the many victories they enjoyed led them to believe that anything was possible, that nothing could stand in their way. Russias icy defender was to prove them wrong.人道是骄兵必败。就拿拿破仑和希特勒两人来说吧，他们所向披靡，便以为自己战无不胜，不可阻挡。但俄罗斯的冰雪卫士
2、证明他们错了。The Icy DefenderNila B. Smith1 In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, led his Grand Army into Russia. He was prepared for the fierce resistance of the Russian people defending their homeland. He was prepared for the long march across Russian soil to Moscow, the capital city. But
3、he was not prepared for the devastating enemy that met him in Moscow - the raw, bitter, bleak Russian winter.冰雪卫士奈拉B史密斯1812年，法国皇帝拿破仑波拿巴率大军入侵俄罗斯。他准备好俄罗斯人民会为保卫祖国而奋勇抵抗。他准备好在俄罗斯广袤的国土上要经过长途跋涉才能进军首都莫斯科。但他没有料到在莫斯科他会遭遇劲敌俄罗斯阴冷凄苦的寒冬。2 In 1941, Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany, launched an attack against t
4、he Soviet Union, as Russia then was called. Hitlers military might was unequaled. His war machine had mowed down resistance in most of Europe. Hitler expected a short campaign but, like Napoleon before him, was taught a painful lesson. The Russian winter again came to the aid of the Soviet soldiers.
5、1941年，纳粹德国元首阿道夫希特勒进攻当时被称作苏联的俄罗斯。希特勒的军事实力堪称无敌。他的战争机器扫除了欧洲绝大部分地区的抵抗。希特勒希望速战速决，但是，就像在他之前的拿破仑一样，他得到的是痛苦的教训。仍是俄罗斯的冬天助了苏维埃士兵一臂之力。Napoleons Campaign3 In the spring of 1812, Napoleon assembled an army of six hundred thousand men on the borders of Russia. The soldiers were well trained, efficient, and well e
6、quipped. This military force was called the Grand Army. Napoleon, confident of a quick victory, predicted the conquest of Russia in five weeks.拿破仑发起的战役1812年春，拿破仑在俄国边境屯兵60万。这些士兵受过良好训练，作战力强，装备精良。这支军队被称为大军。拿破仑对马到成功充满自信，预言要在5个星期内攻下俄国。4 Shortly afterwards, Napoleons army crossed the Neman River into Russ
7、ia. The quick, decisive victory that Napoleon expected never happened. To his surprise, the Russians refused to stand and fight. Instead, they retreated eastward, burning their crops and homes as they went. The Grand Army followed, but its advance march soon became bogged down by slow-moving supply
8、lines.不久，拿破仑的大军渡过涅曼河进入俄国。拿破仑期盼着的速决速胜迟迟没有发生。令他吃惊的是，俄国人并不奋起抵抗。相反，他们一路东撤，沿途焚毁庄稼和民居。大军紧追不舍，但它的长驱直入很快由于粮草运输缓慢而停顿下来。5 In August, the French and Russian armies engaged at Smolensk, in a battle that left over ten thousand dead on each side. Yet, the Russians were again able to retreat farther into Russian t
9、erritory. Napoleon had won no decisive victory. He was now faced with a crucial decision. Should he continue to pursue the Russian army? Or should he keep his army in Smolensk for the approaching winter? 到了8月，法俄两军在斯摩棱斯克交战，这一战役中，双方各有上万人阵亡。可是，俄国人仍能在自己的国土上继续后撤。拿破仑未能取得决定性的胜利。此刻他面临着一个重要抉择。是继续追击俄国军队，还是把军队
10、驻扎在斯摩棱斯克，在那儿度过将到的冬天？6 Napoleon took the gamble of pressing on to Moscow, 448 kilometers away. On September 7, 1812, the French and Russian armies met in fierce battle at Borodino, 112 kilometers west of Moscow. By nightfall, thirty thousand French and forty-four thousand Russians lay dead or wounded
11、 on the battlefield.拿破仑孤注一掷，决定向远在448公里之外的莫斯科进发。1812年9月7日，法俄两军在莫斯科以西112公里外的鲍罗季诺激战。夜幕降临时，3万名法国士兵以及4.4万名俄国士兵或伤或亡，倒在了战场上。7 Again, the Russian army retreated to safety. Napoleon had a clear path to Moscow, but the occupation of the city became an empty victory. The Russians fled their capital. Soon after
12、 the French arrived, a raging fire destroyed two-thirds of the city. Napoleon offered a truce to Alexander I, but the Russian czar knew he could bide his time: “We shall let the Russian winter fight the war for us.“俄国军队再次撤往安全之处。拿破仑顺利进入莫斯科，然而，对该市的占领成为毫无意义的胜利。俄国人弃城而走。法国人进城不久，一场熊熊大火烧毁了整个城市的三分之二。拿破仑向亚历山
13、大一世提出停战，但沙皇深知他可以等待时机：“且让俄罗斯的严冬为我们战斗吧。 ”8 Napoleon soon realized he could not feed, clothe, and quarter his army in Moscow during the winter. In October 1812, he ordered his Grand Army to retreat from Moscow.拿破仑很快意识到，他无法在冬天向远在莫斯科的军队供应粮草、提供御寒衣物和宿营之地。1812年10月，他命令大军撤出莫斯科。9 The French retreat turned into
14、 a nightmare. From fields and forests, the Russians launched hit-and-run attacks on the French. A short distance from Moscow, the temperature had already dropped to minus 4 degrees Celsius. On November 3, the winters first snow came. Exhausted horses fell dead in their tracks. Cannon became stuck in
15、 the snow. Equipment had to be burned for fuel. Soldiers took ill and froze to death. The French soldiers dragged on, leaving the dead along every mile.法军的撤离成为一场噩梦。俄国人出没于田野与森林，采用打了就跑的战术，向法国人发起攻击。刚出莫斯科城，气温就降到摄氏零下4度。11月3日降下初雪。困乏的马匹倒地而死。大炮陷入雪中。装备只得被用作燃料焚烧。士兵们染病冻死。法国士兵拖着脚步行进，一路上留下无数死尸。10 As the Russian
16、army was gathering its strength, the French had to flee Russia to avoid certain defeat. At the Berezina River, the Russians nearly trapped the retreating French by burning the bridges over the swollen river. But Napoleon, by a stroke of luck, was able to build two new bridges. Thousands of French so
17、ldiers escaped, but at the cost of fifty thousand dead. Once across the Berezina, the tattered survivors limped toward Vilna.正当俄罗斯军队集聚兵力之时，法国人却不得不逃离俄国，以避免注定的失败。在别列兹那河，俄国人焚烧了涨水的河道上的桥梁，差点将后撤的法军困于河边。侥幸的是，拿破仑居然突击造起两座桥。成千上万法国士兵得以逃脱，但却损失了5万人。渡过别列兹拿河，溃不成军的幸存者一瘸一拐地向维尔纽行进。11 Of the six hundred thousand soldi
18、ers Napoleon had led into Russia, less than one hundred thousand came back. The weakened French army continued its retreat westward across Europe. Soon, Britain, Austria, Russia, and Prussia formed a powerful alliance and attacked these stragglers. In March 1814, Paris was captured. Napoleon abdicat
19、ed and went into exile, his empire at an end.拿破仑发兵60万进入俄国，只有不到10万士兵返回。元气大伤的法国军队在欧洲继续西撤。不久，英国、奥地利、俄国以及普鲁士组成强大的联盟，攻击这些散兵游勇。1814年3月，巴黎被攻占。拿破仑退位去过流放生活，他缔造的帝国随之灭亡。Hitlers Invasion12 By early 1941, Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany, had seized control of most of Europe. To the east of Hitlers German em
20、pire was the Soviet Union. On June 22, 1941, without a declaration of war, Hitler began an invasion of the Soviet Union that was the largest military land campaign in history. Confident of a quick victory, Hitler expected the campaign to last no longer than three months. He planned to use the blitzk
21、rieg, or “lightning war,“ tactics that had defeated the rest of Europe. The invasion had three broad thrusts: against Leningrad and Moscow and through the Ukraine.希特勒的入侵到1941年初，纳粹德国元首阿道夫希特勒已经控制了欧洲大部分地区。希特勒的德意志帝国的东部与苏联毗邻。1941年6月22日，希特勒不宣而战，入侵苏联，发动了历史上规模最大的一场陆地战役。希特勒自信能速战速决，预计这一战役不会超过3个月。他计划采用征服了欧洲其余地
22、区的闪电式战略。入侵计划包含三大目标：向列宁格勒与莫斯科进攻，并横扫乌克兰。13 Caught off guard by the invasion, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin instructed the Russian people to “scorch the earth“ in front of the German invaders. Farms and factories were burned, destroyed, or rendered useless. During the first ten weeks of the invasion, the
23、 Germans pushed the front eastward, and the Russians suffered more than a million casualties.苏联领导人约瑟夫斯大林被打了个措手不及，他指示全国人民在德国入侵者到来之前实行“焦土”政策。农场和工厂被焚烧毁坏，或被弄得无法运转。在入侵的最初10个星期内，德国人一路东进，俄国人伤亡人数多达一百多万。14 In the north, the Germans closed in on Leningrad. Despite great suffering, however, the people of Lenin
24、grad refused to surrender. As the battle of Leningrad dragged on into winter, the citys situation became desperate. As food ran out, people died from hunger and disease. By the middle of the winter of 1941-1942, nearly four thousand people starved to death every day. Close to one million people died
25、 as a result of the siege.在北方，德国人包围了列宁格勒。尽管忍受着极大困苦，列宁格勒的人民绝不投降。列宁格勒保卫战一直持续到冬季，此时该市的处境变得危急。由于食品匮乏，人们死于饥饿与疾病。到了1941年和1942年之间的寒冬，几乎每天有4千人死于饥饿。列宁格勒之围造成近百万人死亡。15 In the center of Russia, Hitlers goal was the capture of Moscow. Because the Germans had anticipated a quick victory, they had made no plans fo
26、r winter supplies. October arrived with heavy rains. “General Mud“ slowed down the movement of the Germans lightning attack.在俄国中部，希特勒的目标是占领莫斯科。由于德国人指望速战速决，他们没有准备过冬的补给。10月来临，大雨不停。 “泥泞将军”拖延了德国人闪电式进攻的行动。16 As Hitlers armies drew closer and closer to Moscow, an early, severe winter settled over the Sovi
27、et Union, the harshest in years. Temperatures dropped to minus 48 degrees Celsius. Heavy snows fell. The German soldiers, completely unprepared for the Russian winter, froze in their light summer uniforms. The German tanks lay buried in the heavy snowbanks. The Russian winter brought the German offe
28、nsive to a halt.正当希特勒的军队逼近莫斯科时，寒冷的冬季早早地降临苏联，那是多年不遇的严寒。气温降到摄氏零下48度。大雪纷飞。对俄国的严寒冬季毫无思想准备的德国士兵身着单薄的夏装，一个个被冻伤。德国人的坦克掩埋在深深的雪堆中。俄罗斯的冬季阻止了德国人的攻势。17 By the summer of 1942, Hitler had launched two new offensives. In the south, the Germans captured Sevastopol. Hitler then pushed east to Stalingrad, a great ind
29、ustrial city that stretched for 48 kilometers along the Volga River. Despite great suffering, Soviet defenders refused to give up Stalingrad.到1942夏天，希特勒又发起两场新的攻势。在南方，德国人占领了塞瓦斯托波尔。希特勒随后向东推进到斯大林格勒，那是沿伏尔加河绵延48公里的一座大工业城市。尽管艰苦卓绝，苏联抵抗者拒绝放弃斯大林格勒。18 In November 1942, the Russians launched a counterattack. W
30、ith little or no shelter from the winter cold in and around Stalingrad, German troops were further weakened by a lack of food and supplies. Not until January 1943 did the Germans give up their siege. Of the three hundred thousand Germans attacking Stalingrad, only ninety thousand starving soldiers w
31、ere left. The loss of the battle for Stalingrad finally turned the tide against Hitler. The German victories were over, thanks in part to the Russian winter.1942年11月，俄国人发起了一场反攻。德国军队在斯大林格勒城内外几乎没有挡风避寒的地方，食品和补给的匮乏更使其元气大伤。直到1943年1月德国人才放弃围城。进攻斯大林格勒的30万德国人只剩下9万忍饥挨饿的士兵。斯大林格勒一战的失利最终使希特勒时乖运蹇。部分地由于俄罗斯的冬季，德国人走
32、向失败。19 During 1943 and 1944, the Soviet armies pushed the German front back toward the west. In the north, the Red Army broke the three-year siege of Leningrad with a surprise attack on January 15, 1944. Within two weeks, the heroic survivors of Leningrad saw their invaders depart. By March 1944, th
33、e Ukraine farming region was again in Soviet hands. On May 9, 1944, Sevastopol was liberated from the Germans. The Russians were now heading for Berlin.在1943年与1944年期间，苏联军队将德军阵线往西逼退。在北方，1944年1月15日，红军发起突然袭击，解除了列宁格勒长达3年之久的围困。列宁格勒那些英勇无畏的幸存者看着入侵者在两个星期内全部撤离。到了1944年3月，乌克兰的农村又回到了苏维埃手中。1944年5月9日，塞瓦斯托波尔从德国人手中
34、被解放出来。至此，俄国人向柏林进发。20 For Hitler, the invasion of the Soviet Union had turned into a military disaster. For the Russian people, it brought unspeakable suffering. The total Soviet dead in World War II reached almost 23 million.就希特勒而言，对苏联的入侵成为一场军事灾难。对俄罗斯人民来说，这场入侵带来了无法形容的苦难。苏维埃在第二次世界大战中死亡的人数几乎达到2300万。Ru
35、ssias Icy Defender21 The elements of nature must be reckoned with in any military campaign. Napoleon and Hitler both underestimated the severity of the Russian winter. Snow, ice, and freezing temperatures took their toll on both invading armies. For the Russian people, the winter was an icy defender
36、.俄罗斯的冰雪卫士任何军事行动都必须考虑到自然的因素。拿破仑和希特勒都低估了俄罗斯冬季的严酷。冰雪和极低的气温使两支侵略军付出惨重的代价。对俄罗斯人民而言，严冬是他们的冰雪卫士。Smart cars that can see, hear, feel, smell, and talk? And drive on their own? This may sound like a dream, but the computer revolution is set to turn it into a reality.能看、能听、有知觉、具嗅觉、会说话的智能汽车？还能自动驾驶？这听起来或许像是在做梦，但
37、计算机革命正致力于把这一切变为现实。Smart CarsMichio Kaku1 Even the automobile industry, which has remained largely unchanged for the last seventy years, is about to feel the effects of the computer revolution.智能汽车米其奥卡库即便是过去70年间基本上没有多少变化的汽车工业，也将感受到计算机革命的影响。2 The automobile industry ranks as among the most lucrative a
38、nd powerful industries of the twentieth century. There are presently 500 million cars on earth, or one car for every ten people. Sales of the automobile industry stand at about a trillion dollars, making it the worlds biggest manufacturing industry.汽车工业是20世纪最赚钱、最有影响力的产业之一。目前世界上有5亿辆车，或者说每10人就有1辆车。汽车工
39、业的销售额达一万亿美元左右，从而成为世界上最大的制造业。3 The car, and the roads it travels on, will be revolutionized in the twenty-first century. The key to tomorrows “smart cars“ will be sensors. “Well see vehicles and roads that see and hear and feel and smell and talk and act,“ predicts Bill Spreitzer, technical director
40、of General Motors Corporations ITS program, which is designing the smart car and road of the future.汽车及其行驶的道路，将在21世纪发生重大变革。未来“智能汽车”的关键在于传感器。“我们会见到能看、能听、有知觉、具嗅觉、会说话并能采取行动的车辆与道路， ”正在设计未来智能汽车和智能道路的通用汽车公司ITS项目的技术主任比尔斯普雷扎预言道。4 Approximately 40,000 people are killed each year in the United States in traff
41、ic accidents. The number of people that are killed or badly injured in car accidents is so vast that we dont even bother to mention them in the newspapers anymore. Fully half of these fatalities come from drunk drivers, and many others from carelessness. A smart car could eliminate most of these car
42、 accidents. It can sense if a driver is drunk via electronic sensors that can pick up alcohol vapor in the air, and refuse to start up the engine. The car could also alert the police and provide its precise location if it is stolen.美国每年有大约4万人死于交通事故。在汽车事故中死亡或严重受伤的人数太多，我们已经不屑在报纸上提及。这些死亡的人中至少有半数是酒后开车者造
43、成的，另有许多死亡事故是驾驶员不小心所导致。智能汽车能消除绝大多数这类汽车事故。它能通过会感测空气中的酒精雾气的电子传感器检测开车者是否喝醉酒，并拒绝启动引擎。这种车还能在遇窃后通报警方，告知车辆的确切地点。5 Smart cars have already been built which can monitor ones driving and the driving conditions nearby. Small radars hidden in the bumpers can scan for nearby cars. Should you make a serious drivin
44、g mistake (e.g., change lanes when there is a car in your “blind spot“) the computer would sound an immediate warning. 能监控行车过程以及周围行车状况的智能汽车已经建造出来。藏在保险杠里的微型雷达能对周围的汽车作扫描。如果你发生重大行车失误（如变道时有车辆你“盲点”内） ，计算机立即会发出警报。6 At the MIT Media Lab, a prototype is already being built which will determine how sleepy yo
45、u are as you drive, which is especially important for long-distance truck drivers. The monotonous, almost hypnotic process of staring at the center divider for long hours is a grossly underestimated, life-threatening hazard. To eliminate this, a tiny camera hidden in the dashboard can be trained on
46、a drivers face and eyes. If the drivers eyelids close for a certain length of time and his or her driving becomes erratic, a computer in the dashboard could alert the driver.在麻省理工学院媒介实验室，业已制造出能测知你行车时有多少睡意的样车，这对长途卡车司机意义尤其重要。一连数小时注视着中夹分道线这样一个单调、几乎能催眠的过程是被严重低估的威胁生命的重大隐患。为消除这一隐患，藏在仪表板里的一架微型相机可对准开车者的脸部及眼
47、睛。如果司机的眼帘合上一定时间，行车变得不稳，仪表板里的计算机就会向司机发出警报。7 Two of the most frustrating things about driving a car are getting lost and getting stuck in traffic. While the computer revolution is unlikely to cure these problems, it will have a positive impact. Sensors in your car tuned to radio signals from orbiting
48、satellites can locate your car precisely at any moment and warn of traffic jams. We already have twenty-four Navstar satellites orbiting the earth, making up what is called the Global Positioning System. They make it possible to determine your location on the earth to within about a hundred feet. At
49、 any given time, there are several GPS satellites orbiting overhead at a distance of about 11,000 miles. Each satellite contains four “atomic clocks,“ which vibrate at a precise frequency, according to the laws of the quantum theory.开车最头疼的两大麻烦是迷路和交通堵塞。虽然计算机革命不可能彻底解决这两个问题，但却会带来积极的影响。你汽车上与绕轨道运行的卫星发出的无线电信号调谐的传感器能随时精确地确定你汽车的方位，并告知交通阻塞情况。我们已经有24颗环绕地球运行的导航卫星，组成了人们所说的全球卫星定位系统。通过这些卫星我们有可能以小于100英尺的误差确定你在地球上的方位。在任何一个特定时间，总有若干颗全球定位系统的卫星在11000英里的高空绕地球运行。每颗卫星都装有4个“原子钟” ，它们根据量子理论法则
