高中英語(yǔ)選修8課文逐句翻譯(人教版).doc

1.選修八Unit1 CALIFORNIA加利福尼亞California is the third largest state in the USA but has the largest population. 加州是美國(guó)第三大洲, 而且是人口最多的州。 It also has the distinction of being the most multicultural state in the USA, having attracted people from all over the world. 加州與眾不同之處在于它也是美國(guó)最具多元文化的一個(gè)州。它吸引了來(lái)自世界各地的人們。 The customs and languages of the immigrants live on in their new home. 這些移民的風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣以及語(yǔ)言在他們的新家都得以延續(xù)。 This diversity of culture is not surprising when you know the history of California.當(dāng)你了解了加利福尼亞的歷史，你就不會(huì)對(duì)其文化的多樣性感到驚奇了。NATIVE AMERCANS美洲土著人Exactly when the first people arrived in what we now know as California, no one really knows. 最早一批人具體是什么時(shí)候來(lái)到我們現(xiàn)在了解的加利福尼亞地區(qū)的, 誰(shuí)也說(shuō)不清楚。 However, it is likely that Native Americans were living in California at least fifteen thousand years ago. 然而，可能至少在一15,000年以前美洲土著人就住在加利福尼亞了。Scientists believe that these settlers crossed the Bering Strait in the Arctic to America by means of a land bridge which existed in prehistoric times. 科學(xué)家們認(rèn)為這些遷居者通過(guò)一條史前時(shí)期曾經(jīng)存在的大陸橋穿越北極地區(qū)的白令海峽到達(dá)美洲。 In the 16th century, after the arrival of the Europeans, the native people suffered greatly. 歐洲人在16世紀(jì)到來(lái)這里之后，土著人遭受了極大的苦難。 Thousands were killed or forced into slavery. 成千上萬(wàn)人被殺或被迫成為奴隸。In addition, many died from the diseases brought by the Europeans. 另外, 歐洲人帶來(lái)的疾病，使許多人染病而死。 However, some survived these terrible times, and today there are more Native Americans living in California than in any other state. 不過(guò)，還是有一些人經(jīng)歷了這些恐怖時(shí)期而活下來(lái)了。今天住在加利福尼亞的美洲土著人比任何其他州的都要多。 THE SPANISH西班牙人In the 18th century California was ruled by Spain. 在18世紀(jì)的時(shí)候，加利福尼亞是被西班牙統(tǒng)治的。 Spanish soldiers first arrived in South America in the early 16th century, when they fought against the native people and took their land. 西班牙士兵最早是在16世紀(jì)初期來(lái)到南美洲的，他們同土著人打仗，奪去了他們的土地。Two centuries later, the Spanish had settled in most parts of South America and along the northwest coast of what we now call the United States. 兩個(gè)世紀(jì)以后, 西班牙人在南美洲大部分地區(qū)定居下來(lái)，而且還在我們現(xiàn)在稱之為美國(guó)的西北沿海地區(qū)住下來(lái)。Of the first Spanish to go to California, the majority were religious men, whose ministry was to teach the Catholic religion to the natives. 在首批移居加利福尼亞州的西班牙人中，大部分是宗教人士，他們的職責(zé)是向原住居民傳授天主教。In 1821, the people of Mexico gained their independence from Spain. 1821年,墨西哥人從西班牙獲得了獨(dú)立。 California then became part of Mexico.加利福尼亞于是成了墨西哥的一部分。In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and after the war won by the USA, Mexico had to give California to the USA. 1846年美國(guó)向墨西哥宣戰(zhàn)，美國(guó)贏得戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)勝利后，墨西哥被迫把加利福尼亞割讓給美國(guó)。However, there is still a strong Spanish influence in the state. 但是,這個(gè)州至今仍然保留著很強(qiáng)的西班牙文化的影響。That is why today over 40 of Californians speak Spanish as a first or second language. 這就是為什么今天還有40%的加利福尼亞人仍然把西班牙語(yǔ)作為第一或第二語(yǔ)言的緣故。RUSSIANS俄羅斯人In the early 1800s, Russian hunters, who had originally gone to Alaska, began settling in California. 在19世紀(jì)初期，一批最初到阿拉斯加的俄羅斯獵人開(kāi)始在加利福尼亞定居下來(lái)。 Today there are about 25,000 Russian-Americans living in and around San Francisco. 今天，住在舊金山及其周邊地區(qū)的美籍俄羅斯人大約25，000人。GOLD MINERS金礦工In 1848, not long after the American-Mexican war, gold was discovered in California. 1848年,美墨戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)后不久,在加利福尼亞發(fā)現(xiàn)了金礦。 The dream of becoming rich quickly attracted people from all over the world. 發(fā)財(cái)夢(mèng)很快就吸引了來(lái)自世界各地的人。The nearest, and therefore the first to arrive, were South Americans and people from the United States. 距離最近因而來(lái)的最早的是南美洲人和美國(guó)人， Then adventurers from Europe and Asia soon followed. 隨后跟著來(lái)的有歐洲和亞洲的探險(xiǎn)家。 In fact, few achieved their dream of becoming rich. 事實(shí)上, 很少有人圓了發(fā)財(cái)夢(mèng)。Some died or returned home, but most remained in California to make a life for themselves despite great hardship. They settled in the new towns or on farms. 許多人死了或回家了，但是盡管條件十分艱苦，大多數(shù)人仍然留在了加利福尼亞勞作謀生，在新的城鎮(zhèn)或農(nóng)場(chǎng)里定居下來(lái)。 By the time California elected to become the thirty-first federal state of the USA in 1850, it was already a multicultural society.到1850年加利福尼亞成為美國(guó)第31個(gè)州的時(shí)候, 它已經(jīng)是一個(gè)有著多元文化的社會(huì)了。LATER A RRIVALS后來(lái)的移民Although Chinese immigrants began to arrive during the Gold Rush Period, it was the building of the rail network from the west to the east coast that brought even larger numbers to California in the 1860s. 雖然中國(guó)移民在淘金熱期間就開(kāi)始來(lái)到（美國(guó)），但是更大批量的中國(guó)移民卻是在十九世紀(jì)六十年代為了修建貫穿美國(guó)東西海岸的鐵路而來(lái)的。Today, Chinese-Americans live in all parts of California, although a large percentage have chosen to stay in the Chinatowns of Los Angeles and San Francisco. 今天,加利福尼亞州各地都有美藉華人居住,盡管有很大比例的華人還是選擇住在洛杉磯和舊金山的“中國(guó)城”里。Other immigrants such as Italians, mainly fishermen but also wine makers, arrived in California in the late 19th century. 十九世紀(jì)后期，其他國(guó)家的移民，比如意大利人來(lái)到加利福尼亞，他們主要是漁民，也有些釀酒工人。 In 1911 immigrants from Denmark established a town of their own, which today still keeps up their Danish culture. 1911年丹麥移民建立了他們自己的城鎮(zhèn)，至今仍保留著丹麥文化。 By the 1920s the film industry was well established in Hollywood, California. 到了二十世紀(jì)二十年代，電影產(chǎn)業(yè)在加利福尼亞州的好萊塢建立了起來(lái)。 The industry boom attracted Europeans including many Jewish people. 這個(gè)行業(yè)吸引了許多歐洲人包括許多猶太人。Today California has the second largest Jewish population in the United States. 今天，加利福尼亞的猶太人口在美國(guó)占第二位。Japanese farmers began arriving in California at the beginning of the 20th century, and since the 1980s a lot more have settled there. 日本的農(nóng)民是在20世紀(jì)初期開(kāi)始到加利福尼亞來(lái)的,而從20世紀(jì)80年代以來(lái)就有更多的日本人在加利福尼亞定居了。 People from Africa have been living in California since the 1800s, when they moved north from Mexico. 非洲人從19世紀(jì)就在加利福尼亞住下來(lái)，他們是從墨西哥向北遷來(lái)的。However, even more arrived between 1942 and 1945 to work in the ship and aircraft industries. 然而更多的非洲人在1942年到1945年之間來(lái)到加利福尼亞的，當(dāng)時(shí)他們是到船廠和飛機(jī)廠工作的。MOST RECENT ARRIVALS最近期的移民In more recent decades, California has become home to more people from Asia, including Koreans, Cambodians, Vietnamese and Laotians. 在最近幾十年里,加利福尼亞成了亞洲人的家,包括柬埔寨人、朝鮮人、越南人和老撾人。 Since its beginning in the 1970s, the computer industry has attracted Indians and Pakistanis to California. 從20世紀(jì)70年代開(kāi)始發(fā)展計(jì)算機(jī)工業(yè)以來(lái)，加利福尼亞又吸引了印度人和巴勒斯坦人的到來(lái)。 THE FUTURE未來(lái)展望People from different parts of the world, attracted by the climate and the lifestyle, still immigrate to California世界各地的人，由于受氣候條件和生活方式的吸引,仍然在繼續(xù)遷入加利福尼亞。. It is believed that before long the mix of nationalities will be so great that there will be no distinct major racial or cultural groups, but simply a mixture of many races and cultures. 人們認(rèn)為, 要不了多久，多種國(guó)籍的混合將會(huì)非常之大，以至于不可能存在一種主要的種族或文化群體，而只是多種族、多文化的混合體。2.選修八Unit 1 GEORGES DIARY喬治的日記12TH14TH JUNE Monday 12th, June6月12日,星期一Arrived early this morning by bus. Went straight to hotel to drop my luggage, shower and shave. 清晨乘公共汽車抵達(dá)，直赴飯店，放下行李，洗澡、刮臉，即去觀光。Then went exploring. First thing was a ride on a cable car. From top of the hill got a spectacular view of San Francisco Bay and the city. 先是乘纜車，在山頂攬勝，觀看舊金山灣及整個(gè)城市。 Built in 1873, the cable car system was invented by Andrew Hallidie, who wanted to find a better form of transport than horse-drawn trams. 纜車系統(tǒng)建立于1873年，是由安德魯哈利迪發(fā)明的，他試圖找到一種比馬拉的軌道車更好的交通方式。 Apparently hed been shocked when he saw a terrible accident in which a trams brakes failed, the conductor could not control the situation and the tram slipped down the hill dragging the horses with it. 他曾經(jīng)看到過(guò)一次可怕的交通事故：一輛馬車剎車失靈，駕車失控，車子和馬一起從山上滑了下去，很明顯這讓他受到了極大的震驚。Had a late lunch at Fishermans Wharf. 午餐是在漁人碼頭吃的，吃得很晚。 This is the district where Italian fishermen first came to San Francisco in the late 19th century and began the fishing industry. 意大利漁民在19世紀(jì)末首先來(lái)到這個(gè)地區(qū)，并且在這兒開(kāi)始捕魚(yú)業(yè)。 Now its a tourist area with lots of shops, sea food restaurants and bakeries. 如今這兒是一個(gè)旅游區(qū)了，很多商店、海鮮館和面包坊。Its also the place to catch the ferry to Angel Island and other places in the Bay. 這兒也是乘渡船去天使島和海灣其他地方的渡口。Did so much exploring at Fishermans Wharf. Am exhausted and dont feel like doing anything else. Early bed tonight!在漁人碼頭看了這么多東西，我太累了，什么也不想干了。今晚要早點(diǎn)睡覺(jué)!Tuesday 13th, June 6月13日 星期二Teamed up with a couple from my hotel (Peter and Terri) and hired a car. 同酒店里的一對(duì)夫妻(彼得和泰莉)作伴，一起租了一輛小汽車。Spent all day driving around the city. 一整天驅(qū)車游覽城市。Theres a fascinating drive marked out for tourists. 有一種專門為旅游者選定的駕車游活動(dòng)。 It has blue and white signs with seagulls on them to show the way to go. 車身上有藍(lán)白兩色相間的標(biāo)記，上面有海鷗以表示要去的路線。Its a 79km round-trip that takes in all the famous tourist spots. 這是一次79公里的旅行，它涵蓋了所有著名的旅游景點(diǎn)。 Stopped many times to admire the view of the city from different angles and take photographs. 途中多次停車，從不同角度欣賞城市風(fēng)景并攝影。 Now have a really good idea of what the citys like. 現(xiàn)在有對(duì)城市的面貌有了一個(gè)很好的了解。In evening, went to Chinatown with Peter and Terri. 傍晚，跟彼得和泰莉一起去中國(guó)城。 Chinese immigrants settled in this area in the 1850s. 中國(guó)移民于19世紀(jì)50年代定居在這個(gè)地區(qū)。 The fronts of the buildings are decorated to look like old buildings in southern China. 建筑物面前裝飾得就像在中國(guó)南部地區(qū)的古建筑一樣。Saw some interesting temples here, a number of markets and a great many restaurants. 這兒看到了一些有趣的寺廟，不少的集貿(mào)市場(chǎng)和大量的餐館，還有美術(shù)館和一個(gè)博物館。Also art galleries and a museum containing documents, photographs and all sorts of objects about the history of Chinese immigration, but it is closed in the evening. 博物館里有關(guān)于中國(guó)移民史的文件、照片和各種各樣的物品，但是晚上關(guān)門了。 Will go back during the day. Had a delicious meal and then walked down the hill to our hotel.打算白天再來(lái)。吃了一頓可口的飯菜，然后步行下山回到酒店。Wednesday 14th, June6月14日星期三In morning, took ferry to Angel Island from the port in San Francisco Bay. On the way had a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge. 早晨，從舊金山灣的港口乘渡輪去天使島，路上觀賞了金門大橋。From 1882 to 1940 Angel Island was a famous immigration station where many Chinese people applied for right to live in USA. 從1882年至1940年，天使島成為一個(gè)著名的移民站，許多中國(guó)人在那兒申請(qǐng)美國(guó)居住權(quán)。The cells in the station were very small, cold and damp; some did not even have light but the immigrants had nowhere else to go. 移民站的房間又冷又潮濕，一些房間甚至沒(méi)有光，但是移民們沒(méi)有其他去處。 Their miserable stay seemed to be punishment rather than justice and freedom to them. 悲慘的境遇對(duì)他們來(lái)說(shuō)似乎是一種懲罰而談不上公正和自由。They wrote poems on the walls about their loneliness and mourned their former life in China. 他們?cè)趬ι蠈懺?shī)，抒發(fā)孤獨(dú)的情感，痛惜以前在中國(guó)的生活。 In 1940 the civil authorities reformed the system so that many more Chinese people were able to grasp the opportunity of settling in the USA. 1940年民政部門改革了制度，使得更多的中國(guó)人能夠得到機(jī)會(huì)定居美國(guó)。Made me very thoughtful and thankful for my life today. 這引起我的感慨，使我對(duì)今天的生活感到欣慰。3.選修八Unit2 CLONING: WHERE IS IT LEADING US?克隆：它將把我們引向何方？ Cloning has always been with us and is here to stay. 克隆一直與我們同在，而且它還要持續(xù)下去。It is a way of making an exact copy of another animal or plant. 這是一種用來(lái)生產(chǎn)與原型完全相同的動(dòng)植物的方法。 It happens in plants when gardeners take cuttings from growing plants to make new ones. 當(dāng)園藝師從生長(zhǎng)著的植物上剪下枝條來(lái)培植新植物時(shí)，就會(huì)產(chǎn)生這種現(xiàn)象。 It also happens in animals when twins identical in sex and appearance are produced from the same original egg. 這種現(xiàn)象也發(fā)生在動(dòng)物身上，從同一個(gè)原生卵子產(chǎn)生性別和相貌相同的雙胞胎也是克隆。The fact is that these are both examples of natural clones.實(shí)際上，這些都是自然克隆現(xiàn)象。 Cloning has two major uses. 克隆技術(shù)有兩大用途。 Firstly, gardeners use it all the time to produce commercial quantities of plants. 第一，園藝師一直用它生產(chǎn)大量的供商用的植物； Secondly, it is valuable for research on new plant species and for medical research on animals. 第二，它在對(duì)新植物物種的研究以及在對(duì)動(dòng)物的醫(yī)學(xué)研究方面都是很有價(jià)值的。 Cloning plants is straightforward while cloning animals is very complicated. It is a difficult task to undertake.克隆植物簡(jiǎn)單，但克隆動(dòng)物就比較復(fù)雜了，是一項(xiàng)很難完成的任務(wù)。Many attempts to clone mammals failed. 克隆哺乳動(dòng)物的多次嘗試都失敗了。 But at last the determination and patience of the scientists paid off in 1996 with a breakthrough- the cloning of Dolly the sheep. 但是，科學(xué)家的決心和耐心最終得到了回報(bào)，這就是1996年具有突破性的克隆羊“多莉”的誕生。The procedure works like this:它的程序如下圖（略）所示：1.母羊（甲）提供一個(gè)卵細(xì)胞。2.在卵細(xì)胞中取出細(xì)胞核。3.卵細(xì)胞準(zhǔn)備接受新的細(xì)胞核。4.母羊（乙）提供一個(gè)供克隆的軀干細(xì)胞，該細(xì)胞應(yīng)包含有生產(chǎn)一頭新羊所需要的全部基因。5.取出該細(xì)胞的細(xì)胞核。6.用電把母羊（乙）的軀干細(xì)胞核和母羊（甲）的卵細(xì)胞連接起來(lái)。7.細(xì)胞分裂并生長(zhǎng)成胚胎。8.把胚胎置入另外一頭寄生的母羊（丙）體內(nèi)，母羊（丙）就是克隆羊的代孕。9.這頭小羔羊就是母羊（乙）所提供的細(xì)胞核克隆而成的。 On the one hand, the whole scientific world followed the progress of the first successful clone, Dolly the sheep. 一方面整個(gè)科學(xué)界都在關(guān)注著首例成功的克隆動(dòng)物多莉羊的成長(zhǎng)。 The fact that she seemed to develop normally was very encouraging. 多莉看來(lái)是在正常地成長(zhǎng)著，這很令人鼓舞。Then came the disturbing news that Dolly had become seriously ill. 接著傳來(lái)了多莉病重的壞消息。 Cloning scientists were cast down to find that Dollys illnesses were more appropriate to a much older animal. 研究看來(lái)的科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)多莉得的病更容易發(fā)生在年老的羊身上，這讓他們很沮喪。 Altogether Dolly lived six and a half years, half the length of the life of the original sheep. 可悲的是，多莉只活了六年半，這是它的原型羊壽命的一半。 Sadly the same arbitrary fate affected other species, such as cloned mice. 可悲的是，同樣無(wú)法控制的命運(yùn)也在影響著其他物種，如克隆鼠。The questions that concerned all scientists were: Would this be a major difficulty for all cloned animals? 科學(xué)家們的腦海里產(chǎn)生的問(wèn)題是“這是不是所有克隆動(dòng)物的一個(gè)主要困難呢？Would it happen forever? Could it be solved if corrections were made in their research procedure? 這種現(xiàn)象會(huì)不會(huì)永遠(yuǎn)發(fā)生？如果改進(jìn)研究程序，問(wèn)題會(huì)不會(huì)解決呢？” On the other hand, Dollys appearance raised a storm of objections and had a great impact on the media and public imagination. 另一方面，多莉羊的出現(xiàn)引起了一陣強(qiáng)烈的反對(duì)，對(duì)媒體和公眾的想象力也產(chǎn)生了極大的影響。 It became controversial. It suddenly opened everybodys eyes to the possibility of using cloning to cure serious illnesses and even to produce human beings. 它引起了爭(zhēng)議，因?yàn)樗黄拼蜷_(kāi)了人們的眼界，看到了有可能利用克隆技術(shù)來(lái)治療重病，甚至還有可能克隆出人類。 Although at present human egg cells and embryos needed for cloning research are difficult to obtain, newspapers wrote of evil leaders hoping to clone themselves to attain their ambitions. 盡管目前供克隆研究的人類卵細(xì)胞很難獲得，報(bào)紙報(bào)道說(shuō)，有些邪惡頭目希望把自己克隆出來(lái)以實(shí)現(xiàn)他們的野心。Religious leaders also raised moral questions. 宗教領(lǐng)袖還提出了道德方面的問(wèn)題。 Governments became nervous and more conservative. 各國(guó)政府惶恐不安而且更加謹(jǐn)慎。Some began to reform their legal systems and forbade research into human cloning, but other countries like China and the UK, continued to accumulate evidence of the abundant medical aid that cloning could provide. 有些政府開(kāi)始改革司法制度，明令禁止進(jìn)行克隆人類的研究，但是其他國(guó)家，如中國(guó)和英國(guó)，則仍然在繼續(xù)收集克隆技術(shù)有可能提供豐富的醫(yī)療救助的證據(jù)。 However, scientists still wonder whether cloning will help or harm us and where it is leading us.然而科學(xué)家們?nèi)詫?duì)克隆技術(shù)有助于人類還是有害于人類，以及克隆技術(shù)將把我們引向哪里感到困惑。4.選修八Unit2 THE RETURN OF THE DINOSAURS?恐龍的回歸？ The possibility of cloning fierce and extinct wild animals has always excited film makers. 克隆兇猛和滅絕的野生動(dòng)物的可能性一直使電影制片商感到興奮。And they are not the only ones! 然而他們并不是唯一對(duì)此感到興奮的人。The popularity of films such as Jurassic Park, in which a scientist clones several kinds of extinct dinosaurs, proves how the idea struck a mixture of fear and excitement into peoples hearts. 在侏羅紀(jì)公園這部影片中，有一位科學(xué)家克隆了好幾種不同的絕種恐龍。類似這樣的電影很受歡迎，證明了這一想法使人們感到既興奮又恐懼。 But in fact we are a long way from being able to clone extinct animals. 但事實(shí)上，想要克隆絕種動(dòng)物，我們還要很長(zhǎng)的路程要走。 Scientists are still experimenting with cloning mammals. 科學(xué)家們現(xiàn)在還在進(jìn)行克隆哺乳動(dòng)物實(shí)驗(yàn)，This is because the cloning of mammals is still a new science and its story only began seriously in the 1950s as this list shows:這是因?yàn)榭寺〔溉閯?dòng)物仍然還是一門新的科學(xué)，它是從20世紀(jì)50年代才開(kāi)始進(jìn)行認(rèn)真研究的，如下表所示：1950s cloning of frogs 1996 first clone of a mammal: Dolly the sheep1970s research using the embryos of mice 2000 cow gave birth to a bison1979 work on embryos of sheep and mice 2001 Chinas first cloned twin calves1981 first experimental clones of mice 2002 first cloned cats1983 first experimental clones of cows 2005 first cloned dog From time to time people suggest that extinct animals like dinosaurs, can possibly be brought back to life through cloning. 不時(shí)地會(huì)有人提議，克隆技術(shù)將有可能使地球上已經(jīng)消失的動(dòng)物（如恐龍）復(fù)活。 Unfortunately, with what we know now, this is either impossible or unsuitable. There are many reasons.不幸的是，據(jù)我們現(xiàn)在所知這是不可能的，也是不合適的。其原因有很多： The initial requirement is that you need perfect DNA (which gives information for how cells are to grow). 首先要求你有完好的DNA，以提供有關(guān)細(xì)胞將如何生長(zhǎng)的信息。 All efforts of cloning an animal will be in vain if there is not enough diversity in the group to overcome illnesses. 如果某個(gè)動(dòng)物群體沒(méi)有足夠的多樣性以戰(zhàn)勝疾病，那么克隆這種動(dòng)物的所有努力都將是無(wú)用的。 Diversity in a group means having animals with their genes arranged in different ways. 群體的多樣性是指這群動(dòng)物的基因要以不同的方式排列。 The advantage is that if there is a new illness some of these animals may die, but others will survive and pass on the ability to resist that disease to the next generation. 其優(yōu)點(diǎn)是，如果發(fā)生了某種新的疾病，這類動(dòng)物中的一些可能會(huì)死去，而另外一些卻能存活下來(lái)，并且把這種免疫力傳給下一代。 The great drawback to cloning a group of animals is that they would all have the same arrangement of genes and so might die of the same illness. Then none of them would be left to continue the species. 經(jīng)過(guò)克隆的動(dòng)物群體的最大缺點(diǎn)是：它們的基因排列有可能完全相同，因而它們有可能會(huì)死于同一種疾病，這樣它們也可能一個(gè)也留不下來(lái)傳種接代了。 It would be unfair to clone any extinct animals if they were to live in a zoo. 你如果克隆出任何絕種動(dòng)物，而它們必須生活在動(dòng)物園里那是不公平的。 A suitable habitat would be needed for them to lead a natural life. 它們需要適當(dāng)?shù)臈⒌剡^(guò)正常的野生生活。 Based on what we know now, you cannot clone animals that have been extinct longer than 10,000 years. 就我們現(xiàn)在所知，你不可能克隆那些已經(jīng)絕種了一萬(wàn)年以上的動(dòng)物。 Actually, dinosaurs disappeared 65,000,000 years ago. 事實(shí)上恐龍?jiān)?，500萬(wàn)年以前就已經(jīng)消失了， So the chance of dinosaurs ever returning to the earth is merely a dream.所以說(shuō)恐龍回歸地球的可能性僅僅是個(gè)夢(mèng)想罷了！5.選修八Unit 3 THE PROBLEM OF THE SHRIKES蛇的困擾 When I called up my mother in the countryside on the telephone she was very upset. 我給住在鄉(xiāng)下的母親打電話的時(shí)候，她感到很心煩。 There are some snakes in our courtyard, she told me. “我們?cè)鹤永镉袔讞l蛇，”她告訴我說(shuō)， Snakes come near the house now and then, and they seem to have made their home here, not far from the walnut tree. Can you get rid of them please? “蛇時(shí)不時(shí)地爬到屋子邊上來(lái)。可這幾條蛇似乎是在屋子附近離胡桃樹(shù)不遠(yuǎn)的地方安家了。你能不能把它們趕走？” I felt very proud. 我感到很自豪， Here was a chance for .me to distinguish myself by inventing something merciful that would catch snakes but not harm them. 這回我有機(jī)會(huì)來(lái)表現(xiàn)一下自己了。我要發(fā)明某種仁慈的東西。既可以把蛇捉住，而又不會(huì)傷害它們。 I knew my parents would not like me to hurt these living creatures!我知道我的父母親是不會(huì)讓我傷害這些生物的。 The first thing I did was to see if there were any products that might help me, but there only seemed to be powders designed to kill snakes. 我所做的第一件事就是看看有沒(méi)有現(xiàn)成的產(chǎn)品能幫助我。但是，看來(lái)只有一種毒殺蛇的藥粉。 A new approach was clearly needed. 很明顯，我得找一種新的方法了。 I set about researching the habits of snakes to find the easiest way to trap them. 于是我就著手研究蛇的習(xí)性，以便能找到最容易的方法捉住它們。Luckily these reptiles are small and that made the solution easier. 好在這些爬行動(dòng)物都很小，問(wèn)題比較容易解決。 Prepared with some research findings, I decided on three possible approaches: 經(jīng)過(guò)一番研究準(zhǔn)備之后，我決定采用三種可能的方法： firstly, removing their habitat; 第一，鏟除蛇的棲息地；secondly, attracting them into a trap using male or female perfume or food; 第二，用男人或女人用的香水或食物把它們引進(jìn)陷阱； and thirdly cooling them so that they would become sleepy and could be easily caught. 第三，降低它們的體溫，使它們困乏，這樣就容易把它們捉住。 I decided