2009

2009年Text 1 更新2011-11-12 (2009-06-30 23:09:08) 转载▼ 标签： 李剑真题翻译 分类： 考研阅读   Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting herd,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative connotation. 习惯是件有趣的事情。我们无意识间养成了一些习惯，我们的大脑是自动运转的，轻松进入熟知套路所带来的不自觉舒适状态。“这并非选择，而是习惯控制了那些没有思想的人”，这是威廉·华兹华斯（William Wordsworth）19世纪时说的话。在现在这个日新月异的21世纪，甚至习惯这个词本身也带有负面涵义。   So it seems paradoxical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation. But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks. 因此，在创造和革新的背景下来谈论习惯，似乎显得有点矛盾。但大脑研究人员发现，当我们有意识地培养新的习惯的时候，我们创建了平行路径，甚至是全新的脑细胞，可以让我们的思路跳转到新的创新轨道上来。   Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try —— the more we step outside our comfort zone —— the more inherently creative we become, both in the workplace and in our personal lives. 我们不要把自己看成是一成不变的习惯动物，相反，我们可以通过有意识的培养新的习惯来引导自身的改变。事实上，我们对新事物尝试得越多 —— 就会越远地走出自己的舒适地带 —— 我们在工作场所及个人生活中就会变得越有创造性，   But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads. 但是，不必费心试图摈弃各种旧习惯；一旦这些程序惯例融进大脑，它们就会留在那里。相反，我们刻意培养的新习惯会创建平行路径能避开原来那些老路。     “The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind. “But we are taught instead to ‘decide,’ just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider.’ ” She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.” 《开放思想》一书的作者Dawna Markova说：“革新所需要的第一样东西，就是一种对好奇的着迷。然而我们被教导去做‘决定’，就像我们的总裁称呼自己为‘决策者’那样。”她补充道，“但是，决定意味着否决一切可能性而只保留一种。一个优秀的具有革新精神的思想者总是在探寻许多其它的可能。”   All of us work through problems in ways of which we're unaware, she says. Researchers in the late 1960 discovered that humans are born with the capacity to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, relationally (or collaboratively) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that capacity, preserving only those modes of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life. 她说，我们都是通过一些自己没有意识到的方法解决问题的。研究人员在20世纪60年代末发现人类天生主要用四种方法应对挑战。这四种方法是分析法，程序法，关联（或合作）法和创新法。但是在青春期结束的时候，大脑关闭一半的能力，仅仅保留了那些大约在生命最开始的十几年时间里似乎是最有价值的思维方式。   The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought. “This breaks the major rule in the American belief system —— that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will...and Ms. Markova's business partner. “That’s a lie that we have perpetuated, and it fosters commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.” This is where developing new habits comes in.   目前标准化测试主要强调分析和程序的能力，也就是说，我们中很少有人会本能地使用创新和合作的思维方式。M.J.Ryan是2006年出版的著作《今年我将......》一书的作者以及Markova女士的商业合作伙伴，她解释说：“这打破了美国信念体系里的主要规则——任何人都可以做任何事。这是一个我们已经使之永恒的谎言，这造就了平庸。了解你擅长什么并且多去实践就会成就卓越。”这样才能培养出新习惯。     21. In Wordsworth’s view，“habits” is characterized by being ___________. 根据Wordsworth 的观点，“习惯”的特点是___________. [A] casual  随意的 [B] familiar  熟悉的 [C] mechanical  机械的，自动的 [D] changeable 多变的 （C）   22. Brain researchers have discovered that the formation of new habits can be ___________.        大脑研究人员已经发现新习惯的形成能够被___________. [A] predicted  预测 [B] regulated  调整 [C] traced 追踪 [D] guided 引导 （D）   23. The word “ruts” ( line 1, paragraph 4) is closest in meaning to__________. “ruts”这个词（第4段第1行）在含义上最接近于__________. [A] tracks 小路，轨道 [B] series 连续，系列 [C] characteristics  特征 [D] connections 联系 （A）   24. Dawna Markova would most probably agree that__________. Dawna Markova  大概会认可__________. [A] ideas are born of a relaxing mind 观点源自于放松的思维 [B] innovativeness could be taught 创新是可以传授的 [C] decisiveness derives from fantastic ideas 决定来自新奇的想法 [D] curiosity activates creative minds 好奇心可以激发创造力(D）   25. Ryan’s comments suggest that the practice of standard testing __________.     Ryan的话暗示了，标准化考试的实践 __________. [A] prevents new habits form being formed 阻碍了新习惯的形成 [B] no longer emphasizes commonness不再强调平庸 [C] maintains the inherent American thinking model 保留了美国人固有的思维方式 [D] complies with the American belief system 与美国人的信念体系一致（A）       2009年Text 2 更新2011-12-23 (2009-06-30 23:10:50) 转载▼ 标签： 李剑真题翻译 分类： 考研阅读   1---It is a wise father that knows his own child, but today a man can boost his paternal (fatherly) wisdom——or at least confirm that he’s the kid’s dad. All he needs to do is shell out $30 for paternity testing kit (PTK) at his local drugstore——and another $120 to get the results. 再聪明的父亲也未必了解自己的孩子，但是如今男人可以提升其为人之父的智慧，至少可以确认他是孩子的父亲。他所要做的就是在当地药店里支付30美元买一个父子关系检测试剂盒（PTK），然后另支付120美元以获得该测试的各项结果。 注 1. 第一句话为什么这么翻译，请看： http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4982ed5c0100dumb.html       2.  kit 对于医学专业的习惯翻译是：试剂盒，这里加上“检测”是为了体现testing一词。 2---More than 60,000 people have purchased the PTKs since they first become available without prescriptions last year, according to Doug Fog, chief operating officer of Identigene, which makes the over-the-counter kits. More than two dozen companies sell DNA tests directly to the public, ranging in price from a few hundred dollars to more than $2500. Doug Fogg是Identigene (生产这种在药店可以出售的测试包的公司)的首席运营官，他说，自从去年PTK不需要处方就能购买以来，已经有超过6万人购买了该产品。超过24家公司直接向公众提供DNA检测服务，价格从几百美元到2500多美元不等。   3---Among the most popular: paternity and kinship testing, which adopted children can use to find their biological relatives and families can use to track down kids put up for adoption. DNA testing is also the latest rage among passionate genealogists——and supports businesses that offer to search for a family’s geographic roots. 其中最受欢迎的是父子和血缘关系检测，被收养的孩子可以利用它找到自己的有血缘关系的亲属，而家庭也可以用它来找到被人收养的孩子。DNA检测也得到了许多热心的家谱学专家的推崇，还为那些寻找家族地域根源的服务公司提供了支持。   4---Most tests require collecting cells by swabbing saliva in the mouth and sending it to the company for testing. All tests require a potential candidate with whom to compare DNA. 多数测试需要从口腔唾液中获取细胞，并将唾液送至公司进行检测。所有的测试都需要一个潜在的对照者，以便进行DNA对比。   5---But some observers are skeptical. “There is a kind of false precision being hawked by people claiming they are doing ancestry testing,” says Trey Duster, a New York University sociologist. He notes that each individual has many ancestors——numbering in the hundreds just a few centuries back. Yet most ancestry testing only considers a single lineage, either the Y chromosome inherited through men in a father’s line or mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down only from mothers. This DNA can reveal genetic information about only one or two ancestors, even though, for example, just three generations back people also have six other great-grandparents or, four generations back, 14 other great-great-grandparents. 但是，一些观察家们持怀疑态度。纽约大学的社会学家Troy Duster说，“那些声称可以进行血统测试的人在散播一种虚假的精确信息”。他注意到每个人都有许多祖先，仅几个世纪以前就有好几百个。但是大多数血统检测只考虑单一的血统，要么只考虑来自父亲的男性遗传Y染色体，要么只考虑遗传自母亲的线粒体DNA。举个例子来说，即使人们仅仅上溯到3代前，那就有6个旁系的曾祖父母，或者如果上溯到4代以前，那就有多达14个旁系的曾曾祖父母，但DNA却只能显示一两个祖先的基因信息。   6---Critics also argue that commercial genetic testing is only as good as the reference collections to which a sample is compared. Databases used by some companies don’t rely on data collected systematically but rather lump together information from different research projects. This means that a DNA database may have a lot of data from some regions and not others, so a person’s test results may differ depending on the company that processes the results. In addition, the computer programs a company uses to estimate relationships may be patented and not subject to peer review or outside evaluation.         批评家们还认为，商业性基因检测的过程实际上就是用样本与参考数据库进行比对的过程。一些公司使用的数据库里的数据并非系统收集所得，而是将不同研究项目的信息整合在一起。这意味某个DNA数据库可能会从某些地区收集到很多信息，而别的地区却没有收集到任何信息，所以一个人的测试结果会随着测试公司的不同而不同。此外，公司用来评估血缘关系的软件程序可能是其专利，所以这些软件缺乏同类比较或外界评估。  注：as good as 有两个常见意思：1. 和…（几乎）一样   2. 实际上 比如：It was as good as new. 这几乎像新的一样。   26. In paragraphs 1 and 2 , the text shows PTK’s __________. [A] easy availability. [B] flexibility in pricing. [C] successful promotion. [D] popularity with households. （A） 文章1、2段说明了PTK的__________. [A] 容易得到 [B] 定价灵活 [C] 成功推广 [D] 受家庭欢迎   27. PTK is used to __________. [A] locate one’s birth place. [B] promote genetic research. [C] identify parent-child kinship. [D] choose children for adoption. （C） PTK用于__________. [A] 确定人们的出生地 [B] 促进基因研究 [C] 确认亲子关系 [D] 选择孩子来收养 28. Skeptical observers believe that ancestry testing fails to __________. [A] trace distant ancestors. [B] rebuild reliable bloodlines. [C] fully use genetic information. [D] achieve the claimed accuracy. （D） 持怀疑态度的评论家认为血统测试不能__________. [A] 追踪遥远的祖先 [B] 重建可靠的血缘谱系 [C] 充分利用基因信息 [D] 获得所声称的精确性   29. In the last paragraph, a problem commercial genetic testing faces is __________. [A] disorganized data collection. [B] overlapping database building. [C] excessive sample comparison. [D] lack of patent evaluation. （A） 根据文章最后一段，商业化的基因测试所面临的一个问题是__________. [A] 不系统的数据收集 [B] 重复性的数据库建设 [C] 过度的样本对比 [D] 缺少专利评估   30. An appropriate title for the text is most likely to be __________. [A] Fors and Againsts of DNA Testing  [B] DNA Testing and It’s Problems [C] DNA Testing Outside the Lab      [D] Lies behind DNA Testing （B） 最适合作为文章标题的是__________. [A] 基因检测的认同与反对 [B] 基因检测与面临的问题 [C] 实验室外的基因检测 [D] 基因检测背后的谎言   2009年Text 3 更新12-07 (2009-06-30 23:12:55) 转载▼ 标签： 李剑真题翻译 分类： 考研阅读   The relationship between formal education and economic growth in poor countries is widely misunderstood by economists and politicians alike. Progress in both areas is undoubtedly necessary for the social, political and intellectual development of these and all other societies; however, the conventional view that education should be one of the very highest priorities for promoting rapid economic development in poor countries is wrong. We are fortunate that it is, because building new educational systems there and putting enough people through them to improve economic performance would require two or three generations. The findings of a research institution have consistently shown that workers in all countries can be trained on the job to achieve radical higher productivity and, as a result, radically higher standards of living. 贫穷国家中正规教育与经济发展之间的关系为经济学家及政治家们普遍误解。毫无疑问，在这两个方面都有所进步对于这些国家及其他国家的社会、政治及学术发展而言是必要的，但是那种认为“教育应该是促进贫穷国家经济快速发展的重要因素之一”的传统观点是错误的。我们庆幸这个传统观点的确是错误的，因为创立新的教育体制，让足够多的人接受教育以推动经济发展需要两代或三代人来完成。一家研究机构的研究成果一再表明所有国家的工人都可以进行（非正规）培训上岗以大幅度提高生产率，从而提高生活水平。  注：trained on the job其实翻译成培训上岗，或岗前培训即可，但为了体现出与formal education的强烈对比，这里我加上了（非正式）三个字强调前后不一。   Ironically, the first evidence for this idea appeared in the United States. Not long ago, with the country entering a recessing and Japan at its pre-bubble peak, the U.S. workforce was derided as poorly educated and one of primary cause of the poor U.S. economic performance. Japan was, and remains, the global leader in automotive-assembly productivity. Yet the research revealed that the U.S. factories of Honda, Nissan, and Toyota achieved about 95 percent of the productivity of their Japanese counterparts---a result of the training that U.S. workers received on the job. 具有讽刺意味的是，这一观点的首个证据出现在美国。不久前，随着美国进入衰退，日本正处于泡沫破灭前的高峰期，美国工人被嘲讽没有受过良好教育，并且被认为这是美国经济不景气的主要原因之一。在全球，不管过去还是现在，日本一直是汽车组装生产力的领袖。然而，研究表明本田、尼桑和丰田位于美国工厂的生产率大约是日本同行的95%，这是美国工人接受在职培训的结果。   More recently, while examining housing construction, the researchers discovered that illiterate, non-English-speaking Mexican workers in Houston, Texas, consistently met best-practice labor productivity standards despite the complexity of the building industry’s work. 最近，在进行住房建设检查时，研究人员发现在德克萨斯州的休斯顿，尽管建筑行业的工作复杂，但是未受过教育的，英语不是母语的墨西哥工人总是能够达到最佳的劳动生产率的各项标准。     What is the real relationship between education and economic development? We have to suspect that continuing economic growth promotes the development of education even when governments don’t force it. After all, that’s how education got started. When our ancestors were hunters and gatherers 10,000 years ago, they didn’t have time to wonder much about anything besides finding food. Only when humanity began to get its food in a more productive way was there time for other things. 教育与经济发展之间的真正关系到底是什么？我们不得不怀疑，即使政府不强迫发展教育，经济持续增长也会促进教育事业的发展。毕竟，教育就是那样开始的。一万年前当我们的祖先还在狩猎和采集野果时，除了寻找食物他们没有时间想其它很多的东西。只有当人类能够更高效地获取食物时，才有时间做其它的事情。   As education improved, humanity’s productivity potential increased as well. When the competitive environment pushed our ancestors to achieve that potential, they could in turn afford more education. This increasingly high level of education is probably a necessary, but not a sufficient, condition for the complex political systems required by advanced economic performance. Thus poor countries might not be able to escape their poverty traps without political changes that may be possible only with broader formal education. A lack of formal education, however, doesn’t constrain the ability of the developing world’s workforce to substantially improve productivity for the foreseeable future. On the contrary, constraints on improving productivity explain why education isn’t developing more quickly there than it is. 随着教育的进步，人类的生产潜力也增加了。当竞争的环境推动我们的祖先实现这一生产潜力，他们反过来，又有能力获得更多的教育机会。先进的经济水平要求复杂的政治，越来越高的教育水平可能是这种复杂政治制度的必要的，但不是充分的条件。因此，政治改革才可以使贫穷国家摆脱贫困陷阱，而政治改革则只能靠更广泛的正规教育实现。但是，发展中国家的劳动力在可预见的未来充分提高生产力的能力没有因缺乏正规教育而受到限制。相反，正是因为生产力的提高受到了各种限制，所以发展中国家的教育发展速度不能更快地发展。   31. The author holds in paragraph 1 that the important of education in poor countries__________. 31. 在第一段中，作者认为贫穷国家的教育重要性__________. [A] is subject to groundless doubts 无端受到质疑 [B] has fallen victim of bias 成为偏见的受害者 [C] is conventional downgraded 通常被低估了 [D] has been overestimated 被高估了（D）   32. It is stated in paragraph 1 that construction of a new educational system __________.  32. 文章第一段表明，一个新的教育体系的构建__________.      [A] challenges economists and politicians 向经济学家和政治家面临的挑战 [B] takes efforts of generations 需要几代人的努力 [C] demands priority from the government 要求政府给予优先权 [D] requires sufficient labor force 要求足够的劳动力（B）   33. A major difference between the Japanese and U.S workforces is that __________.        33. 日本和美国工人之间的一个主要不同是__________. [A] the Japanese workforce is better disciplined 日本工人更守纪律 [B] the Japanese workforce is more productive日本工人生产效率更高 [C] the U.S workforce has a better education美国工人教育水平更高 [D] the U.S workforce is more organized美国工人更有组织性（B）   34. The author quotes the example of our ancestors to show that education emerged __________.        34. 作者引用我们祖先的例子来说明，教育出现__________. [A] when people had enough time 当人们有了足够的时间 [B] prior to better ways of finding food 在发现寻找食物的更好办法之前 [C] when people no longer went hungry 当人们不再挨饿时 [D] as a result of pressure on government 对政府施压的结果（C）   35. According to the last paragraph, development of education__________.         35. 根据最后一段，教育的发展__________. [A] results directly from competitive environments 直接源自竞争的环境 [B] does not depend on economic performance 不依赖于经济表现 [C] follows improved productivity 发生在生产效率提高之后 [D] cannot afford political changes 无力支持政治变革（C） 2009年Text 4 更新2011-10-23 (2009-06-30 23:14:15) 转载▼ 标签： 李剑真题翻译 分类： 考研阅读   The most thoroughly studied intellectuals in the history of the new world are the ministers and political leaders of seventeenth-century New England. According to the standard history of American philosophy, nowhere else in colonial America was “So much important attached to intellectual pursuits.” According to many books and articles, New England’s leaders established the basic themes and preoccupations of an unfolding, dominant Puritan tradition in American intellectual life. 在新大陆的历史上，被研究的最彻底的学者是17世纪新英格兰的牧师和政治领袖们。根据美国标准哲学史的记载，在美洲殖民地中，没有任何地方比新英格兰地区“更重视对学术的追求。”据许多书籍及文章认为，新英格兰的领袖们在美国学术界中确立了正在发展、后来成为主流的清教传统的基本主题和关注点。   To take this approach to the New Englanders normally mean to start with the Puritans' theological innovations and their distinctive ideas about the church —— important subjects that we may not neglect. But in keeping with our examination of southern intellectual life, we may consider the original Puritans as carriers of European culture, adjusting to New world circumstances. The New England colonies were the scenes of important episodes in the pursuit of widely understood ideals of civility and virtuosity. 通过这条途径来了解新英格兰人，通常意味着要首先研究清教徒的神学创新和对于教会的独特看法——这是我们不可忽略的重要课题。但是为了与我们对南部思想生活的研究保持一致，我们可以将最初的清教徒们视作欧洲文化的传递者，他们根据新大陆的情况进行了调整。在追求公认的文明礼节和精湛技能的理想过程当中，新英格兰殖民地发生了许多重要的事情。 注: virtuosity: (formal) a very high degree of skill in performing or playing 所以本人把virtuosity翻译为精湛的技能。  civility ：polite behaviour which most people consider normal  　   e.g. Please have the civility to knock before you enter next time. 所以本人把civility翻译为文明礼节或文明礼貌   The early settlers of Massachusetts Bay included men of impressive education and influence in England. Besides the ninety or so learned ministers who came to Massachusetts church in the decade after 1629, there were political leaders like John Winthrop, an educated gentleman, lawyer, and official of the Crown before he journeyed to Boston. These men wrote and published extensively, reaching both New World and Old World audiences, and giving New England an atmosphere of intellectual earnestness. 马萨诸塞州的最早定居者包括那些在英格兰接受过良好的教育并深具影响力的英国人。在1629年之后的十年间，除了90多位来到马萨诸塞教堂的有学识的牧师，还有像约翰·温斯罗普（John Winthrop）这样的政治领袖，他是一位受过良好教育的绅士、律师，到波士顿之前曾是皇室官员。这些人大量撰写、出版书籍，在新旧大陆都有读者，这给新英格兰带来了热衷思想研究的氛围。   We should not forget, however, that most New Englanders were less well educated. While few crafts men or farmers, let alone dependents and servants, left literary compositions to be analyzed, it is obvious that their views were less fully intellectualized. Their thinking often had a traditional superstitions quality. A tailor named John Dane, who emigrated in the late 1630s, left an account of his reasons for leaving England that is filled with signs. Sexual confusion, economic frustrations , and religious hope —— all came together in a decisive moment when he opened the Bible, told his father the first line he saw would settle his fate, and read the magical words: “come out from among them, touch no unclean thing , and I will be your God and you shall be my people.” One wonders what Dane thought of the careful sermons explaining the Bible that he heard in puritan churches. 但是，我们不应该忘记，大多数新英格兰人没有接受过良好教育。虽然，几乎没有工匠或农民（更不用说其家人及仆人）给我们留下一些文学作品以供分析，但是，很明显他们的观点并不具有太大的思想性。他们的思想中往往有一种传统的迷信色彩。一个名为约翰·戴恩（John Dane）的裁缝于17世纪30年代末期移民到新大陆，他留下一个记录，陈述了离开英格兰的理由，其内容充满了各种符号征兆。性的困惑，经济挫折和宗教期望都会在一个决定性的时刻汇集涌现出来。这个时刻就是当他打开圣经对父亲说，他看到的第一行字将会决定他的命运，于是他把那些神奇的话语念了出来：“从他们当中走出来，不要沾不洁之物，我将成为你们的上帝，你就是我的子民”。人们会纳闷，戴恩（Dane）在清教徒教堂里听到那些仔细解释圣经的布道后会做何感想。   Meanwhile, many settlers had slighter religious commitments than Dane’s, as one clergyman learned in confronting folk along the coast who mocked that they had not come to the New world for religion . “Our main end was to catch fish.” 与此同时，许多定居者并没有戴恩（Dane）那样虔诚，就像一位牧师在海边遇到一些人时听到的那样，那些人揶揄道，他们来新大陆可不是为了宗教，“我们的主要目的是捕鱼。”     36. The author holds that in the seventeenth-century New England _______________. [A] Puritan tradition dominated political life. [B] intellectual interests were encouraged. [C] Politics benefited much from intellectual endeavors. （B） [D] intellectual pursuits enjoyed a liberal environment. 作者认为，在17世纪的新英格兰_______________. [A]清教传统主宰政治生活 [B]对思想的兴趣受到鼓励 [C]政治从思想研究中受益匪浅 [D]思想研究享有自由的氛围   37. It is suggested in Paragraph 2 that New Englanders _______________. [A] experienced a comparatively peaceful early history.