1、file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/01.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:22Unit 1Lesson 1 Finding fossil man 发现化石人First listen and then answer the following question.听录音，然后回答以下问题。Why are legends handed down by storytellers useful?We can read of things that happened 5,000 years ago in the Near East, where people fi
2、rst learned to write. But there are some parts of the word where even now people cannot write. The only way that they can preserve their history is to recount it as sagas - legends handed down from one generation of another. These legends are useful because they can tell us something about migration
3、s of people who lived long ago, but none could write down what they did. Anthropologists wondered where the remote ancestors of the Polynesian peoples now living in the Pacific Islands came from. The sagas of these people explain that some of them came from Indonesia about 2,000 years ago.But the fi
4、rst people who were like ourselves lived so long ago that even their sagas, if they had any, are forgotten. So archaeologists have neither history nor legends to help them to find out where the first modern men came from.Fortunately, however, ancient men made tools of stone, especially flint, becaus
5、e this is easier to shape than other kinds. They may also have used wood and skins, but these have rotted away. Stone does not decay, and so the tools of long ago have remained when even the bones of the men who made them have disappeared without trace.ROBIN PLACE Finding fossil manNew words and exp
6、ressions 生词和短语 file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/01.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:22fossil man (title)adj. 化石人recountv. 叙述sagan. 英雄故事legendn. 传说，传奇migration n. 迁移，移居anthropologist n. 人类学家archaeologist n. 考古学家ancestor n. 祖先Polynesianadj.波利尼西亚（中太平洋之一群岛）的Indonesia n. 印度尼西亚flint n. 燧石rot n. 烂掉参考译文我们从书籍中可读到 5,000
7、 年前近东发生的事情，那里的人最早学会了写字。但直到现在,世界上有些地方，人们还不会书写。 他们保存历史的唯一办法是将历史当作传说讲述，由讲述人一代接一代地将史实描述 file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/01.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:22为传奇故事口传下来。人类学家过去不清楚如今生活在太平洋诸岛上的波利尼西亚人的祖先来自何方，当地人的传说却告诉人们：其中一部分是约在 2,000 年前从印度尼西亚迁来的。但是，和我们相似的原始人生活的年代太久远了，因此，有关他们的传说既使有如今也失传了。于是，考古学家们既缺乏历史记载，又无口头传说来帮助他们弄清最
8、早的“现代人”是从哪里来的。然而， 幸运的是，远古人用石头制作了工具，特别是用燧石，因为燧石较之其他石头更容易成形。他们也可能用过木头和兽皮，但这类东西早已腐烂殆尽。石头是不会腐烂的。因此，尽管制造这些工具的人的骨头早已荡然无存，但远古时代的石头工具却保存了下来。file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本TXT 版/4 册/02.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:23Lesson 2 Spare that spider不要伤害蜘蛛First listen and then answer the following question.听录音，然后回答以下问题。How much of
9、each year do spiders spend killing insects?Why, you may wonder, should spiders be our friends? Because they destroy so many insects, and insects include some of the greatest enemies of the human race. Insects would make it impossible for us to live in the world; they would devour all our crops and k
10、ill our flocks and herds, if it were not for the protection we get from insect-eating animals. We owe a lot to the birds and beasts who eat insects but all of them put together kill only a fraction of the number destroyed by spiders. Moreover, unlike some of the other insect eaters, spiders never do
11、 the harm to us or our belongings.Spiders are not insects, as many people think, nor even nearly related to them. One can tell the difference almost at a glance, for a spider always has eight legs and insect never more than six.How many spiders are engaged in this work no our behalf? One authority o
12、n spiders made a census of the spiders in grass field in the south of England, and he estimated that there were more than 2,250,000 in one acre; that is something like 6,000,000 spiders of different kinds on a football pitch. Spiders are busy for at least half the year in killing insects. It is impo
13、ssible to make more than the wildest guess at how many they kill, but they are hungry creatures, not content with only three meals a day. It has been estimated that the weight of all the insects destroyed by spiders in Britain in one year would be greater than the total weight of all the human being
14、s in the country.file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/02.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:23T. H. GILLESPLE Spare that spider from The ListenerNew words and expressions beastn. 野兽censusn. 统计数字acren. 英亩contentadj. 满足的参考译文你可能会觉得奇怪， 蜘蛛怎么会是我们的朋友呢？因为它们能消灭那么多的昆虫，其中包括一些人类的大敌，要不是人类受一些食虫动物的保护，昆虫就会使我们无法在地球上生活下去，昆虫会吞食我们的全部庄稼
15、，杀死我们的成群的牛羊。我们要十分感谢那些吃昆虫的鸟和兽，然而把它们所杀死的昆虫全部加在一起也只相当于蜘蛛所消灭的一小部分。此外，蜘蛛不同于其他食虫动物，它们丝毫不危害我们和我们的财物。许多人认为蜘蛛是昆虫，但它们不是昆虫，甚至与昆虫毫无关系。人们几乎一眼就能看出二者的差异，因为蜘蛛都是 8 条腿，而昆虫的腿从不超过 6 条。有多少蜘蛛在为我们效力呢？一位研究蜘蛛的权威对英国南部一块草坪上的蜘蛛作了一次调查。他估计每英亩草坪里有 225 万多只蜘蛛。这就是说，在一个足球场上约有 600 万只不同种类的蜘蛛。蜘蛛至少有半年在忙于吃昆虫。它们一年中消灭了多少昆虫，我们简直无法猜测，它们是吃不饱的动
16、物，不满意一日三餐。据估计，在英国蜘蛛一年里所消灭昆虫的重量超过这个国家人口的总重量。file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/03.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:24Lesson 3 Matterhorn man马特霍恩山区人First listen and then answer the following question.听录音，然后回答以下问题。What was the main objective of early mountain climbers?Modern alpinists try to climb mountains by a ro
17、ute which will give them good sport, and the more difficult it is, the more highly it is regarded. In the pioneering days, however, this was not the case at all. The early climbers were looking for the easiest way to the top, because the summit was the prize they sought, especially if it and never b
18、een attained before. It is true that during their explorations they often faced difficulties and dangers of the most perilous nature, equipped in a manner with would make a modern climber shudder at the thought, but they did not go out of their way to court such excitement. They had a single aim, a
19、solitary goal - the top!It is hard for us to realize nowadays how difficult it was for the pioneers. Except for one or two places such as Zermatt and Chamonix, which had rapidly become popular, Alpine village tended to be impoverished settlements cut off from civilization by the high mountains. Such
20、 inns as there were generally dirty and flea-ridden; the food simply local cheese accompanied by bread often twelve months old, all washed down with coarse wine. Often a valley boasted no inn at all, and climbers found shelter wherever they could - sometimes with the local priest (who was usually as
21、 poor as his parishioners), sometimes with shepherds or cheese-makers. Invariably the background was the same: dirt and poverty, and very uncomfortable. For men accustomed to eating seven-course dinners and sleeping between fine linen sheets at home, the change to the Alps must have very hard indeed
22、.WALTER UNSWORTH Matterhorn Manfile:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/03.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:24New words and expressions 生词和短语Matterhorn n. 马特霍恩峰（阿尔卑斯山之一，在意大利和瑞士边境）alpinist n. 登山运动员 pioneer v. 开辟，倡导；n. 先锋，开辟者summit n. 顶峰attain v. 到达perilous adj. 危险的shudder v. 不寒而栗court v. 追求solitary adj. 唯一的impoverishv.
23、 使贫困Alpineadj. 阿尔卑斯山的flea-riddenadj. 布满跳蚤的 file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/03.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:24coarseadj. 粗劣的boastv. 自恃有parishionern. 教区居民shepherdn. 牧羊人linenn. 亚麻布床单the Alpsn. 阿尔卑斯山脉参考译文现代登山运动员总想找一条能够给他们带来运动乐趣的路线来攀登山峰。他们认为， 道路愈艰险愈带劲儿。然而，在登山运动的初期，全然不是这种情况。早期登山者所寻找的是通往山顶的最方便的途径，因为顶峰特别是前人未曾到过的顶
24、峰 - 才是他们寻求的目标。确实，在探险中他们经常遇到惊心动魄的困难和危险，而他们装备之简陋足以使现代登山者一想起来就胆战心惊。但是，他们并非故意寻求这种刺激，他们只有一个目标，唯一的目标 - 顶峰！我们今天很难想像昔日的登山先驱们是多么艰苦。除了泽曼特和夏蒙尼等一两个很快出了名的地方外，阿尔卑斯山山区的小村几乎全是高山环抱、与世隔绝的穷乡僻壤。那里的小客栈一般都很肮脏，而且跳蚤猖獗。 食物是当地的干酪和通常存放了一年之久的面包，人们就着劣酒吞下这种食物。山谷里常常没有小客栈，登山者只好随遇而安。有时同当地牧师 （他通常和他的教民一样穷）住在一起，有时同牧羊人或制乳酪的人住在一起。无论住在哪儿
25、，情况都一样：肮脏、贫穷，极其不舒适。对于过惯了一顿饭吃 7 道菜、睡亚麻细布床单的人来说，变换一下生活环境来到阿尔卑斯山山区，那一定是很艰难的。file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/04.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:25Lesson 4Seeing hands能看见东西的手First listen and answer the following question.听录音，然后回答以下问题。How did Vera discover she had this gift of second sight?Several cases have been
26、reported in Russia recently of people who can detect colours with their fingers, and even see through solid and walls. One case concerns and eleven-year-old schoolgirl, Vera Petrova, who has normal vision but who can also perceive things with different parts of her skin, and through solid walls. Thi
27、s ability was first noticed by her father. One day she came into his office and happened to put her hands on the door of a locked safe. Suddenly she asked her father why he kept so many old newspapers locked away there, and even described the way they were done up in bundles.Veras curious talent was
28、 brought to the notice of a scientific research institute in the town of Ulyanovsk, near where she lives, and in April she was given a series of tests by a special commission of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federal Republic. During these tests she was able to read a newspaper through an opa
29、que screen and, stranger still, by moving her elbow over a childs game of Lotto she was able to describe the figures and colours printed on it; and, in another instance, wearing stockings and slippers, to make out with her foot the outlines and colours of a picture hidden under a carpet. Other exper
30、iments showed that her knees and shoulders had a similar sensitivity. During all these tests Vera was blindfold; and, indeed, except when blindfold she lacked the ability to perceive things with her skin. It was also found that although she could perceive things with her fingers this ability ceased
31、the moment her hands were wet.ERIC DE MAUNY Seeing hands from The Listenerfile:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/04.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:25New words and expressionssolidadj. 坚实的safen. 保险柜Ulyanovskn. 乌里扬诺夫斯克commissionn. 委员会opaqueadj. 不透明的lotton. 一种有编号的纸牌slippern. 拖鞋blindfoldadj.& adv. 被蒙上眼睛的参考译文俄罗斯最近报导了几个
32、事例，有人能用手指看书识字和辨认颜色，甚至能透过厚实的门和墙看到东西。 其中有一例谈到有一个名叫维拉.彼托洛娃的 11 岁学生。她的视力与常人一样，但她还能用皮肤的不同部位辨认东西，甚至看穿坚实的墙壁。是她父亲首先发现她这一功能的。一天，维拉走进父亲的办公室，偶然把手放在一个锁着的保险柜的门上，她突然问父亲为什么把这么多的旧报纸锁在柜子里，还说了报纸捆扎的情况。维拉的特异功能引起了她家附近乌里扬诺夫斯克城一个科研单位的注意。4 月里，俄罗斯卫生部一个特别委员会对她进行了一系列的测试。在这些测试中，她能隔着不透明的屏幕读报纸。更为奇怪的是，她把肘部在儿童玩的“罗托”纸牌上移动一下，便能说出印在纸
33、牌上的数字和颜色。还有一次，她穿着长筒袜子和拖鞋，file:/D|/temp/book/ 新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/04.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:25能用脚步识别出藏在地毯下面的一幅画的轮廓和颜色。其他实验表明，她的膝盖和双肩有类似的感觉能力，在所有这些实验中，维拉的双眼都是蒙着的。如果不蒙上双眼她的皮肤就不再具有识别物体的能力。这是千真万确的。同时还发现，尽管她能用手指识别东西，但她的手一旦弄湿，这种功能便会立即消失。file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/05.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:26Lesson 5Youth青年Fi
34、rst listen and then answer the following question:听录音，然后回答以下问题。How does the writer like to treat young people?People are always talking about the problem of youth. If there is one - which I take leave to doubt - then it is older people who create it, not the young themselves. Let us get down to fund
35、amentals and agree that the young are after all human beings - people just like their elders. There is only one difference between an old man and a young one: the young man has a glorious future before him and the old one has a splendid future behind him: and maybe that is where the rub is.When I wa
36、s a teenager, I felt that I was just young and uncertain - that I was a new boy in a huge school, and I would have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as a problem. For one thing, being a problem gives you a certain identity, and that is one of the things the young are busil
37、y engaged in seeking.I find young people exciting. They have an air of freedom, and they not a dreary commitment to mean ambitions or love of comfort. They are not anxious social climbers, and they have no devotion to material things. All this seems to me to link them with life, and the origins of t
38、hings. Its as if they were, in some sense, cosmic beings in violent and lovely contrast with us suburban creatures. All that is in my mind when I meet a young person. He may be conceited, ill-mannered, presumptuous or fatuous, but I do not turn for protection to dreary cliches about respect of elder
39、s - as if mere age were a reason for respect. I accept that we are equals, and I will argue with him, as an equal, if I think he is wrong.file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本TXT 版/4 册/05.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:26FIELDEN HUGHES from Out of the Air, The ListenerNew words and expression 生词和短语leaven. 允许fundamentalsn.
40、基本原则gloriousadj. 光辉灿烂的splendidadj. 灿烂的rubn. 难题identityn. 身份drearyadj. 沉郁的commitmentn. 信奉meanadj. 吝啬，小气social climber追求更高社会地位的，向上爬的人devotion n. 热爱cosmicadj. 宇宙的suburbanfile:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/05.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:26adj. 见识不广的，偏狭的conceitedadj. 自高自大的presumptuousadj. 自以为是的，放肆的fatuousadj. 愚蠢
41、的clichen. 陈词滥调参考译文人们总是在谈论“青年问题” 。如果这个问题存在的话 - 请允许我对此持怀疑态度 - 那么，这个问题是由老年人而不是青年人造成的。让我们来认真研究一些基本事实：承认青年人和他们的长辈一样也是人。老年人和青年人只有一个区别：青年人有光辉灿烂的前景，而老年人的辉煌已成为过去。 问题的症结恐怕就在这里。我十几岁时，总感到自己年轻，有些事拿不准 - 我是一所大学里的一名新生，如果我当时真的被看成像一个问题那样有趣，我会感到很得意的。因为这至少使我得到了某种承认，这正是年轻人所热衷追求的。我觉得年轻人令人振奋，无拘无束。他们既不追逐卑鄙的名利，也不贪图生活的舒适。他们不
42、热衷于向上爬，也不一味追求物质享受。在我看来，所有这些使他们与生命和万物之源联系在了一起。从某种意义上讲，他们似乎是宇宙人，同我们这些凡夫俗子形成了强烈而鲜明的对照。每逢我遇到年轻人，脑子里就想到这些年轻人也许狂妄自负，举止无理，傲慢放肆，愚昧无知，但我不会用应当尊重长者这一套陈词滥调来为我自己辨护，似乎年长就是受人尊敬的理由。我认为我和他们是平等的。如果我认为他们错了，我就以平等的身份和他们争个明白。file:/D|/temp/book/ 新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/06.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:27Lesson 6The sporting spirit体育的精神Firs
43、t listen and then answer the following question.听录音，然后回答以下问题.How does the writer describe sport at the international level?I am always amazed when I hear people saying that sport creates goodwill between the nations, and that if only the common peoples of the would could meet one another at football
44、 or cricket, they would have no inclination to meet on the hattlefield. Even if one didnt know from concrete examples (the 1936 Olympic Games, for instance) that international sporting contests lead to orgies of hatred, one could deduce if from general principles.Nearly all the sports practised nowa
45、days are competitive. You play to win, and the game has little meaning unless you do your utmost to win. On the village green, where you pick up sides and no feeling of local patriotism is involved, it is possible to play simply for the fun and exercise: but as soon as a the question of prestige ari
46、ses, as soon as you feel that you and some larger unit will be disgraced if you lose, the most savage combative instincts are aroused. Anyone who has played even in a school football match knows this. At the international level, sport is frankly mimic warfare. But the significant thing is not the be
47、haviour of the players but the attitude of the spectators: and, behind the spectators, of the nations who work themselves into furies over these absurd contests, and seriously believe - at any rate for short periods - that running, jumping and kicking a ball are tests of national virtue.GEORGE ORWEL
48、L The sporting spiritNew words and expression goodwillfile:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/06.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:27n. 友好cricketn. 板球inclinationn. 意愿contestn. 比赛orgyn. 无节制的，放荡deducev. 推断competitiveadj. 竞争性的patriotismn. 地方观念，爱国主义disgrace v. 使丢脸savageadj. 野性的combativeadj. 好斗的mimic warfare模拟战争behaviourn.
49、 行动，举止absurdadj. 荒唐的参考译文 file:/D|/temp/book/新概念英语文本 TXT 版/4 册/06.TXT2009/3/4 19:38:27当我听人们说体育运动可创造国家之间的友谊，还说各国民众若在足球场或板球场上交锋，就不愿在战场上残杀的时候，我总是惊愕不已。一个人即使不能从具体的事例（例如 1936 年的奥林匹克运动会）了解到国际运动比赛会导致疯狂的仇恨，也可以从常理中推断出结论。现在开展的体育运动几乎都是竞争性的。参加比赛就是为了取胜。如果不拚命去赢，比赛就没有什么意义了。 在乡间的草坪上，当你随意组成两个队，并且不涉及任何地方情绪时，那才可能是单纯的为了娱乐和锻炼而进行比赛。可是一量涉及到荣誉问题，一旦你想到你和某一团体会因为你输而丢脸时，那么最野蛮的争斗天性便会激发起来。即使是仅仅参加过学校足球赛的人也有种体会。在国际比赛中，体育简直是一场模拟战争。但是，要紧的还不是运动员的行为，而是观众的态度，以及观众身后各个国家的态度。面对着这些荒唐的比赛，参赛的各个国家会如痴
