12。17更新

Oct.2-什么让我们与众不同？
What Makes us Different?

You don't have to be a biologist or an anthropologist （人类学家）to see how closely the great apes--gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans--resemble （to have similarity）us.（1） Even a child can see that their bodies are pretty much the same as ours, apart from some exaggerated proportions and extra body hair. Apes have dexterous（skillful，adroitness） hands much like ours but unlike those of any other creature. And, most striking of all, their faces are uncannily（strange,frightening惊异的） expressive, showing a range of emotions that are eerily（supernature,mysterious）familiar. That's why we delight in seeing chimps wearing tuxedos（男士无尾晚礼服）, playing the drums or riding bicycles. It's why a potbellied（大腹便便的） gorilla scratching itself in the zoo reminds us of Uncle Ralph or Cousin Vinnie--and why, in a more unsettled reaction, Queen Victoria, on seeing an orangutan named Jenny at the London Zoo in 1842, declared the beast "frightful and painfully and disagreeably human."


It isn't just a superficial（apparent）resemblance. Chimps, especially, not only look like us, they also share with us some human-like behaviors. They make and use tools and teach those skills to their offspring（descendant后代）. They prey on other animals and occasionally（now and then） murder each other. They have complex social hierarchies（a series in which each element is graded or ranked等级，等次） and some aspects of what anthropologists consider culture. They can't form words, but they can learn to communicate via（by means of） sign language and symbols and to perform complex cognitive（认知的） tasks. Scientists figured out decades ago that chimps are our nearest evolutionary cousins, roughly 98% to 99% identical to humans at the genetic（of or relating to genetics or genes） level. When it comes to DNA, a human is closer to a chimp than a mouse is to a rat.


Yet tiny differences, sprinkled（to distribute or intersperse at random） throughout the genome, have made all the difference. （2）Agriculture, language, art, music, technology and philosophy--all the achievements that make us profoundly different from chimpanzees and make a chimp in a business suit seem so deeply ridiculous--are somehow encoded within minute fractions of our genetic code. Nobody yet knows precisely where they are or how they work, but somewhere in the nuclei （a plural of nucleus核子）of our cells are handfuls of amino acids（氨基酸）, arranged in a specific order, that endow（to give；to provide） us with the brainpower to outthink and outdo our closest relatives on the tree of life（a family tree）. They give us the ability to speak and write and read, to compose symphonies（交响乐）, paint masterpieces（an outstanding work of art） and delve into the molecular（simple or basic structure or form分子） biology that makes us what we are.

ape:Any of various large, tailless Old World primates of the family Pongidae, including the chimpanzee, gorilla, gibbon, and orangutan.种猩猩科大而无尾的东半球灵长目动物,包括黑猩猩、大猩猩、长臂猿和猩猩.
gorilla:The largest of the anthropoid apes (Gorilla gorilla) native to the forests of equatorial Africa, having a stocky body and coarse, dark brown or black hair. 大猩猩
chimpanzee:A gregarious anthropoid ape (Pan troglodytes) of tropical Africa, having long dark hair and somewhat arboreal habits and exhibiting humanlike behavior and a high degree of intelligence. It is now considered vulnerable to extinction in the wild. 黑猩猩
bonobo:(产于非洲刚果河以南的)倭黑猩猩
orangutan:An arboreal anthropoid ape (Pongo pygmaeus) of Borneo and Sumatra, having a shaggy reddish-brown coat, very long arms, and no tail.


答案：（1）如果不是他们那些夸张的大块头，以及超出常人的毛发，即使是一个儿童也可以发现他们的身体和我们是极其相似的。
（2）我们在农业，语言，艺术，音乐，技术以及哲学上取得的所有成就构成了我们遗传密码中的每一个微小部分，而正是这些使得我们在本质上与大猩猩不同，即便让大猩猩穿上我们工作服，也只会让人啼笑皆非。


[ 此贴被chyx66在2006-12-21 12:12重新编辑 ]

12。18更新

Oct.8- 如何保证校园的安全
How to Make Schools Safer

Nickel Mines, Pa., is not just a small, rural town where bad things rarely happen. It is a place, steeped （to infuse or subject thoroughly to沉浸在）in Amish（阿们宗派） culture, where peacefulness and spiritualism are nurtured. (1)When big-city dwellers（inhabitants） daydream of somewhere far from the high-intensity stresses — and perceived dangers — of the megapolis（megalopolis: large cities）, it might be a place like Nickel Mines that comes to mind. Surely that's one of the reasons that America was so shaken this week, when five children were executed in Nickel Mines' one-room schoolhouse.

So, what to do now? The process must start with accurate(correct) , balanced information that is neither hysterical(extremely funny) nor overly sugar-coated(just looks like helpful裹着糖衣) . Let's start with what we know.

It is not just deranged (to feel crazy) individuals who can invade a school and threaten our children. In the world of international terrorism, children and schools are considered soft targets(弱势群体) , providing high visibility(easily observed) for terrible acts that enrage(to put into a rage激怒) and demoralize(dishearten) civilized communities. Just two years ago, this reality was confirmed when Chechen rebels invaded an elementary school in the remote Russian city of Beslan, killing more than 150 children and an equal number of teachers and other adults.

Schools are supposed to be places where parents entrust(to give as a trust to 委托) officials to oversee the development and education of their children, not pen(enclose禁锢) them in. Traditionally, openness is unfettered(extremely free) by fear of physical or emotional violence. Turning our schools into armed fortresses(堡垒) would be counterproductive(have less effect反效果的) , unrealistic and, for the vast majority of our children, entirely unnecessary.

翻译答案：
（1）当城市里的居民们在幻想，是否有一个地方可以远离大都市的高度压力和逃避可预知的危险，浮现于脑海中的肯定是Nickel Mines。
（2）在我看来，消除忧虑和无助最有效的方法就是制定一套目的明确的方案。
（3）问题就在于世界各地现行的学校制度显示，进入校园是一件相当容易的事情


[ 此贴被chyx66在2006-12-18 10:03重新编辑 ]

TOO many vocabularies I don`t know.

12。19更新

Oct.9时尚流行探索未来发展
Fashion Gropes for A Future

Toward the end of Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel show on Friday morning in Paris, several models appeared on the runway with pills(small balls) of all shapes and sizes seemingly spilling(to pour out) down the fronts of their black chiffon(薄纱，缎带) minidresses. Pills were also strung (to fasten, to tie) along the gold chain handles of those famous quilted(絮有棉花的) bags. (1)It was just one small detail in a chic (stylish; specific; conforming to fashion) show, but somehow in this lackluster fashion season it resonated. Has fashion come to this: A medical emergency?

At the spring 2007 collections, questions seemed to plague(to annoy, to harass使苦恼) the posse(a group of people) of journalists, buyers and hangers-on who follow the biannual(twice in one year) fashion romp(merry play,frolic) through New York City, London, Milan and Paris: Who is driving fashion forward? Who is providing an idea inspirational(provide inspiration) , catchy(attract one’s attention) and new enough to get people excited about getting dressed? Where is fashion going to go?

Sure, there was a futuristic mood on many runways--including silver-streaked(有条纹的) trapeze dresses at Fendi, plastic corsets at Dolce & Gabbana and even articulated（有关节的） gold-colored robot leggings at Balenciaga (right). There was a hint of the high-tech future in Hussein Chalayan's remote-controlled dresses, as they shifted from long to short. (Disappearing hemlines（the bottom edge of a skirt, dress, or coat） are also a trend--most are upper-thigh high). (2) And the '80s notion that fashion will be about athletic(运动的) wear in ever more technologically advanced fabrics(the texture or quality of such cloth) still has plenty of currency.

(3)But the general feeling is that fashion has become so globalized and merchandised(trade commercially商业化) that the idea of a designer with an emotional life and the ability to communicate it to others is passé（not adapt to the current过时的）. "Fashion is now about marketing and merchandising," declares Pierre Berge, Yves Saint Laurent's business partner and a key player on the Paris fashion scene for several decades. "It is not about designer fashion. It is about Zara." The clothes are nice, the argument goes, but the real craft（skill） is in how you sell them.

Trapeze: An article of women's clothing, such as a jacket, dress, or coat, that is cut so as to hang down from the shoulders and swing out and away around the hips and legs.
Corsets : A close-fitting undergarment, often reinforced by stays, worn to support and shape the waistline, hips, and breasts.


[ 此贴被chyx66在2006-12-19 22:41重新编辑 ]

12.21更新

Oct.10- 香味和感觉
Scents and Sensibility

You might call it muzak(衬托背景) for the nose. The latest technique for putting consumers in a spending mood is to fill the air with a seductive (attractive) scent. That's why Select Comfort, a nationwide chain of 400 bedding stores, is in the market for one that will soothe(to calm or placate) shoppers browsing for bedding. ScentAir, one of several firms that design scents for retail settings, has suggested a mix of cashmere(克什米尔) wood, amber(琥珀), cardamom(豆蔻), cinnamon(肉桂) and bergamot(香柠檬). The blend(mixture), it says, will convey quiet repose.

The demand for these olfactory services--by stores, hotels, casinos(a public room or building for gambling and other entertainment) and even museums--is stimulated by a growing body of research that demonstrates how smells affect consumer behavior. (1) Advertising studies in Martin Lindstrom's book Brand Sense suggest that although most contemporary commercial messages are aimed at our eyes, many of the emotion-triggering moments people remember on a given day are actually prompted by smell. And scents, experiments have shown, can evoke(stimulate) an array of sensations. Citrus(柑橘类) notes, for example, are perceived to be energizing(give energy) or invigorating, whereas vanilla(香草) can suggest warmth and comfort.

Coming up with just the right aroma(a pleasant characteristic odor, as of a plant, spice, or food;fragrance芳香) is a complex process. For the Westin hotels, ScentAir created a fragrance that melds green tea, geranium(天竺葵), green ivy(常青藤), black cedar(雪松) and freesia(小苍兰) to evoke a peaceful aura in the chain's lobbies. "Tea, the ascendant note, suggests serenity and tranquility," says ScentAir CEO David Van Epps. "(2)Black cedar adds body, fullness to the aroma. As for the rest of the tones, each has its own characteristics, and it's as much an art as a science."

Sony hoped to benefit from both last year when it decided to try to broaden the mix of people shopping for consumer electronics in its SonyStyle stores to include more women. "Our products are about seeing and hearing," says the stores' creative director, Christine Belich, referring to Sony's cameras, TVs and music gear, "so it seemed natural to add smell to create an immersive(enthralling) sensory experience."


[ 此贴被chyx66在2006-12-21 12:09重新编辑 ]