1、综合英语(二) 上册课文翻译及详解Lesson OneTwelve Things l Wish They Taught at SchoolCarl SaganLearning Guide 俗话说：“活到老，学到老。 ”人的一生就是不断学习、不断丰富和充实自己的过程。青少年阶段，尤其是中学阶段，无疑是学习的最佳时期。中学教育的重点应放在什么地方？美国著名科学家和科普作家萨根批评中学只抓各个学科具体内容的做法，他认为中学要注重对青少年的宏观教育，使他们建立起唯物的世界观和宇宙观，使他们能够正确对待自己，关心周围的世界人类生存的环境和自己的地球同胞。1 I attended junior and s
2、enior high school, public institutions in New York and New Jersey, just after the Second World War. It seems a long time ago. The facilities and the skills of the teachers were probably well above average for the United States at that time. Since then, Ive learned a great deal. One of the most impor
3、tant things Ive learned is how much there is to learn, and how much I dont yet know. Sometimes I think how grateful I would be today if I had learned more back then about what really matters. In some respects that education was terribly narrow; the only thing I ever heard in school about Napoleon wa
4、s that the United States made the Louisiana Purchase from him. (On a planet where some 95% of the inhabitants are not Americans, the only history that was thought worth teaching was American history. ) In spelling, grammar, the fundamentals of math, and other vital subjects, my teachers did a pretty
5、 good job. But theres so much else I wish theyd taught us. The facilities and skills of the teachers were probably well above average for the United States at that time. 学校的设施、教师的水平在当时的美国大大高于一般的水平。above/ average：高于或低于一般的标准水平。well：adv 相当地，大大地 The facilities and skills of the teachers were perhaps muc
6、h better than those in most schools in. .how much I dont yet know. 我所学到的最重要的一点，就是要学的东西实在太多，而我还没有学到的东西也太多了。how much I dont know up till now. Sometimes I think how grateful I would be today if I had learned more back then about what really matters.有时候，我想那时要是能多学点真正的东西，今天我会多么地心存感激。 I would be grateful t
7、oday if I had learned more at high school about things that are really important. On a planet where some 95% of the inhabitants are not Americans, the only history that was thought worth teaching was American history.在一个约 95%的居民不是美国人的星球上，学校当局认为只有美国历史才值得讲授（这里作者委婉地批评了美国教育部门的狭隘与偏见）where some 95% of the
8、 inhabitants are not Americans：是定语从句，修饰 a planetthat was thought worth teaching：也是定语从句，修饰 the only history The population of the US accounts for only about 5% of that of the world. But in my high school days school taught American history only because it was thought that the history of other countri
9、es was not important for Americans to learn.2 Perhaps all the deficiencies have since been rectified. It seems to me there are many things ( often more a matter of attitude and perception than the simple memorization of facts) that the schools should teach things that truly would be useful in later
10、life, useful in making a stronger country and a better world, but useful also in making people happier. Human beings enjoy learning. Thats one of the few things that we do better than the other species on our planet. Every student should regularly experience the “Aha!“ when something you never under
11、stood, or something you never knew was a mystery, becomes clear.3 So heres my list: Perhaps all the deficiencies have since been rectified.或许该教而没教的缺陷自那以后已经得以纠正。deficiencies：缺乏，缺少，不足Perhaps schools have overcome all the shortcomings and improved greatly since I left school. .often more a matter of at
12、titude and perception than the simple memorization of facts.（该教的）主要是态度问题、认识问题，而不是简单的对事实记忆的问题。 matter：（讨论、考虑等问题） more + 名词+ than + 名词：与其说不如说是Students should not merely be taught facts to memorize, but they should also be taught to cultivate their ability to judge what is happening around them and tak
13、e the right attitude towards this. Thats one of the few things that we do better than the other species on our planet.这是我们人类比这个地球上其他物种做得好得多的为数有限的几件事中的一件。In most things mans fellow creatures on earth are better, but in learning man does better. Every student should regularly experience the “Aha!“ -wh
14、en something you never understood, or thing you never knew was a mystery, becomes clear.每个学生都应该经常体验一下说出： “啊，原来是这么一回事！”时的感受也就是你以往不懂的或是不知道自己不懂的事情，一下子变得豁然开朗时的感受。Students should be constantly learning new things so that they can experience the joy of learning and of discovering things they didnt know or
15、 understand before.Pick a difficult thing and learn it well. 4 The Greek philosopher Socrates said this was one of the greatest of human joys,and it is. While you learn a little bit about many subjects, make sure you learn a great deal about one or two. It hardly matters what the subject is, as long
16、 as it deeply interests you, and you place it in its broader human context. After you teach yourself one subject, you become much more confident about your ability to teach yourself another. You gradually find youve acquired a key skill. The world is changing so rapidly that you must continue to tea
17、ch yourself throughout your life. But dont get trapped by the first subject that interests you, or the first thing you find yourself good at. The world is full of wonders, and some of them we dont discover until were all grown up. Most of them, sadly, we never discover. But dont get trapped by the f
18、irst subject that interest you, or the first thing you find yourself good at. But you shouldnt limit your study to anything that attracts you immediately or anything you first find yourself good at The world is full of wonder, and some of them we dont discover until we are all grown up. Most of them
19、 sadly, we never discover. 这个世界充满奇妙的事物，有些我们完全长大成人之后就会发现；很遗憾，大部分我们一辈子也发现不了。 为了强调，宾语 some of them 及 Most of them 都挪到了主语和动词的前面。 The world is full of wonderful things, and even adults can only find out some of them.Dont be afraid to ask “stupid“ questions.5 Many apparently naive inquiries like why grass
20、 is green, or why the Sun is round, or why we need 55,000 nuclear weapons in the world are really deep questions. The answers can be a gateway to real insights. Its also important to know, as well as you can, what it is that you dont know, and asking questions is the way. To ask “stupid“ questions r
21、equires courage on the part of the asker and knowledge and patience on the part of the answerer. And dont confine your learning to schoolwork. Discuss ideas in depth with friends. Its much braver to ask questions even when theres a prospect of ridicule than to suppress your questions and become dead
22、ened to the world around you.The answers can be a gateway to real insights. 对这些问题的回答很可能会使你对事物有深刻的理解。 gateway to：通向的路径；获得的手段。 Youll possibly give a deep understanding of things while trying to find answers to those stupid questions. And dont confine your learning to schoolwork.不要把自己的学习局限于课堂。Dont limi
23、t your learning to schoolwork. Its much braver to ask questions even when theres a prospect of ridicule than to suppress your questions and become deadened to the world around you.明知会引起嘲笑而提问要比把问题埋在心里、对周围的一切麻木不仁要勇敢得多。 deaden sb to sth ：使某人对不敏感。 become deadened to sth ：对变得不敏感或麻木不仁。 Asking questions wh
24、en you know that you might be laughed at requires courage. But this is braver than keeping your questions to yourself and gradually become unable to notice what is happening around you. Listen carefully. 6 Many conversations are a kind of competition that rarely leads to discovery on either side. Wh
25、en people are talking, dont spend the time thinking about what youre going to say next. Instead, try to understand what theyre saying, what experience is behind their remarks, what you can learn from or about them. Older people have grown up in a world very different from yours, one you may not know
26、 very well. They, and people from other parts of the country and from other nations, have important perspectives that can enrich your life. Many conversations are a kind of competition that rarely leads to discovery on either side.很多情况下人们谈话时，总是争相表现自己，这类交谈对双方都无多大益处。 Often, when people talk they show
27、off: they try to show they are smarter, or that they know more than the person they are talking to; this kind of conversation gives you useful information or understanding. try to understand.what you can learn from or about them. 而是设法搞懂他们说的是什么，什么样的经历才使得他们说这些话，你从这些话中你能学到什么，你对说这些话的人又能了解到什么情况等。 这里作者使用了
28、排比的手法：用三个 what 引出的从句作understand 的宾语。 try to learn something from what they say, or try to find out the kind of person they are. Everybody makes mistakes.7 Everybodys understanding is incomplete. Be open to correction, and learn to correct your own mistakes. The only embarrassment is in not learning
29、from your mistakes. Know your planet.8 Its the only one we have. Learn how it works. Were changing the atmosphere, the surface, the waters of the Earth, often for some short-term advantage when the long-term implications are unknown. The citizens of any country should have at least something to say
30、about the direction in which were going. If we dont understand the issues, we abandon the future. .often for some short-term advantage when the long term implications are unknown.往往为了短期的利益，在尚不了解的长远影响的情况下。often for some quick profit now, when you dont know possible harm or danger might arise in the f
31、uture.The citizens of any country should have at least something to say about the direction in which we are doing. 任何一个国家的公民至少对我们人类要走向何处有发言权。All people in the world have the right at least to express their views on the future of our planet. If we dont understand the issues, we abandon the future.如果我
32、们不能理解这些问题，我们就是放弃未来。If we dont realize the seriousness of the problems we are facing, therell be no hope for the human race.Science and technology.9 You cant know your planet unless you know something about science and technology. School science courses, I remember, concentrated on the unimportant pa
33、rts of science, leaving the major insights almost untouched. The great discoveries in modern science are also great discoveries of the human spirit. For example, Copernicus showed that far from being the center of the universe, about which the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars revolved in cl
34、ockwise homage the Earth is just one of many small worlds. This is a deflation of our pretensions, to be sure, but it is also the opening up to our view of a vast and awesome universe. Every high school graduate should have some idea of the insights of Copernicus, Newton, Darwin, Freud, and Einstein
35、. (Einsteins special theory of relativity, far from being obscure and exceptionally difficult, can be understood in its basics with no more than first-year algebra, and the notion of a rowboat in a river going upstream and downstream. ) This is a deflation of our pretensions, to be sure.这当然煞了我们人类的自命
36、不凡的傲气，但是同时（哥白尼的学说）也开阔了我们的眼界，使我们看到一个漫无边际、令人敬畏的宇宙。Undoubtedly, to accept the fact that the earth is not the center of the universe is to shatter the importance of human beings. Dont spend your life watching TV.10 You know what Im talking about. Culture.11 Gain some exposure to the great works of liter
37、ature, art and music. If such a work is hundreds or thousands of years old and is still admired, there is probably something to it. Like all deep experiences, it may take a little work on your part to discover what all the fuss is about. But once you make the effort, your life has changed; youve acq
38、uired a source of enjoyment and excitement for the rest of your days. In a world as tightly connected as ours is, dont restrict your attention to American or Western culture. Learn how and what people elsewhere think. Learn something of their history, their religion, their viewpoints. Gain some expo
39、sure to the great works of literature, art and music.感受一下文艺、艺术和音乐名篇的熏陶。 exposure to：接触，感受的熏陶，受到 的影响。 Read the great works of literature, and get to know art and music and gain some insight into the profound thoughts in them.If such a work is hundreds or thousands of years old and is still admired, t
40、here is probably something to it. 既然一部作品以存在了几百年或是几千年，今天仍然受到赞赏，那么大概它确实是有些名堂。If a work was brought out hundreds or thousands of years ago and is still appreciated, there must be something special in it. .it may take a little work on your part to discover what all the fuss is about.要搞清楚人们到底为什么对这些作品还如此热
41、衷，你就得下点功夫，一切感人至深的经历莫不如此。you have to make some effort to find out why people admire and are crazy about those works of the past. In a world as tightly connected as ours is, dont restrict your attention to American or Western culture.In our age, countries and regions are closely related; what happens
42、in one country or region can affect others. Therefore we should not only study American culture and Western culture. We should also pay attention to other cultures-Asian, African and Latin American.Compassion.12 Many people believe that we live in an extraordinarily selfish time. But there is a holl
43、owness, a loneliness that comes from living only for yourself. Humans are capable of great mutual compassion, love, and tenderness. These feelings, however, need encouragement to grow.13 Look at the delight a one- or two-year-old takes in learning, and you see how powerful is the human will to learn
44、. Our passion to understand the universe and our compassion for others jointly provide the chief hope for the human race. Our passion to understand the universe and our compassion for others jointly provide the chief hope for the human race.我们有渴望了解宇宙的热忱，我们有对他人的同情心，人类的希望主要寄托于此。 We have a strong desire for learning and we are kind and tender towards one another. With these two fine qualities, the human race will have a bright future./ The hope for the human race lies mainly in our enthusiasm
