新概念英语第3册课文及翻译Lesson49~51

新概念英语第3册课⽂及翻译Lesson49　　【课⽂】

　　It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago. If she were alive today she would not be able to air her views on herfavourite topic of conversation: domestic servants. Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age when servants were employed to dohousework. She had a huge, rambling country house called 'The Gables'. She was sentimentally attached to this house, foreven though it was far too big for her needs, she persisted in living there long after her husband's death. Before she grew old,Aunt Harriet used to entertain lavishly. I often visited The Gables when I was a boy. No matter how many guests were

present, the great house was always immaculate. The parquet floors shone like mirrors; highly polished silver was displayedin gleaming glass cabinets; even my uncle's huge collection of books was kept miraculously free from dust. Aunt Harrietpresided over an invisible army of servants that continuously scrubbed, cleaned, and polished. She always referred to themas 'the shifting population', for they came and went with such frequency that I never even got a chance to learn their names.Though my aunt pursued what was, in those days, an enlightened policy, in that she never allowed her domestic staff to workmore than eight hours a day, she was extremely difficult to please. While she always criticized the fickleness of humannature, she carried on an unrelenting search for the ideal servant to the end of her days, even after she had been sadlydisillusioned by Bessie.

　　Bessie worked for Aunt Harriet for three years. During that time she so gained my aunt's confidence that she was put incharge of the domestic staff. Aunt Harriet could not find words to praise Bessie's industriousness and efficiency. In addition toall her other qualifications, Bessie was an expert cook. She acted the role of the perfect servant for three years before AuntHarriet discovered her 'little weakness'. After being absent from the Gables for a week, my aunt unexpectedly returned oneafternoon with a party of guests and instructed Bessie to prepare dinner. No only was the meal well below the usual

standard, but Bessie seemed unable to walk steadily. She bumped into the furniture and kept mumbling about the guests.When she came in with the last course -- a huge pudding -- she tripped on the carpet and the pudding went flying through theair, narrowly missed my aunt, and crashed on the dining table with considerable force. Though this caused great mirth

among the guests, Aunt Harriet was horrified. She reluctantly came to the conclusion that Bessie was drunk. The guests had,of course, realized this from the moment Bessie opened the door for them and, long before the final catastrophe, had had adifficult time trying to conceal their amusement. The poor girl was dismissed instantly. After her departure, Aunt Harriet

discovered that there were piles of empty wine bottles of all shapes and sizes neatly stacked in what had once been Bessie'swardrobe. They had mysteriously found their way there from the wine cellar!　　【课⽂翻译】

　　我的姑妈哈丽特好多年前就去世了，这倒是件好事。如果她活到今天，她将不能就她热衷的话题“佣⼈”发表意见了。哈丽特⽣活在⼀个悠闲的年代，家务事都由雇来的佣⼈代劳。她在乡下有⼀幢巨⼤杂乱的房⼦，叫作“⼭墙庄园”。她对这幢房⼦在感情上难舍难分。房⼦实在太⼤了，但在丈夫去世多年后，她仍然执意长年住在那⼉。哈丽特姑妈年轻时，喜欢⼤摆宴席，招待宾客。我⼩时候常去“⼭墙庄园”作客。不管去多少宾客，⼤房⼦⾥总是收拾得⼲⼲净净。镶⽊地板洁如明镜，擦得发亮的银器陈列在明亮的玻璃柜⾥，连姑夫的⼤量藏书也保存得很好，奇迹般地⼀尘不染。哈丽特姑妈统率着⼀⽀看不见的佣⼈⼤军，他们不停地擦拭、清扫、刷洗。她称这些佣⼈叫“流动⼈⼝”，因为他们来匆匆，所以我甚⾄都没有机会知道他们的姓名。姑妈待佣⼈在当时算是开明的，从来不让佣⼈每天⼯作超过8⼩时，但他们很难使她称⼼如意。她⼀⽅⾯总是批评⼈的本性朝三暮四，另⼀⽅⾯她⼜持之以恒地寻找⼀个理想的佣⼈。即使在贝西⼤⼤地伤她的⼼之后，她还在找，⼀直到她死去。

　　贝西在哈丽特家⼲了3年。在此期间，她赢得了姑母的赏识，甚⾄当上了⼤管家。哈丽特不知该⽤什么⾔辞来赞扬贝西的勤奋与⾼效。贝西除了有各种本领以外，还是⼀个烹饪⼤师。她担任“理想仆⼈”⾓⾊3年之后，哈丽特终于发现她有“⼩⼩的弱点”。⼀次，姑妈有⼀个星期没在“⼭墙庄园”住。⼀天下午，她出其不意地回来了，带来⼀⼤批客⼈，吩咐贝西准备晚饭。结果，不仅饭菜远不如平时做得好，⽽且贝西⾛起路来似乎东倒西歪。她撞到了家具上，嘴⾥还不断咕咕哝哝议论客⼈。当她端着最后⼀道菜——⼀⼤盘布丁——⾛进屋来时，在地毯上绊了⼀跤。布丁飞到半空，从姑母⾝边擦过，然后狠狠地砸在餐桌上。这件事引起了客⼈们的欢笑，但哈丽特却着实吓了⼀跳。她不得不认定贝西是喝醉了。客⼈们⾃然从贝西为他们开门那⼀刻起就看出来了，在好长⼀段时间⾥，即最后这个乱⼦发⽣前，他们努⼒克制才没笑出声来。贝西当即被解雇了。贝西⾛后，哈丽特姑妈发现在贝西以前⽤过的⾐柜⾥整整齐齐地放着⼀堆堆形状各导、⼤⼩不⼀的酒瓶⼦。这些酒瓶神不知⿁不觉地从酒窖来到了这⾥。

新概念英语第3册课⽂及翻译Lesson50　　【课⽂】

　　The New Year is a time for resolutions. Mentally, at least, most of us could compile formidable lists of 'dos' and 'don'ts'.

The same old favorites recur year in year out with monotonous regularity. We resolve to get up earlier each morning, eat less,find more time to play with the children, do a thousand and one jobs about the house, be nice to people we don't like, drivecarefully, and take the dog for a walk every day. Past experience has taught us that certain accomplishments are beyondattainment. If we remain inveterate smokers, it is only because we have so often experienced the frustration that results fromfailure. Most of us fail in our efforts at self-improvement because our schemes are too ambitious and we never have time tocarry them out. We also make the fundamental error of announcing our resolutions to everybody so that we look even morefoolish when we slip back into our bad old ways. Aware of these pitfalls, this year I attempted to keep my resolutions tomyself. I limited myself to two modest ambitions: to do physical exercise every morning and to read more of an evening. Anall-night party on New Year's Eve provided me with a good excuse for not carrying out either of these new resolutions on thefirst day of the year, but on the second, I applied myself assiduously to the task.

　　The daily exercises lasted only eleven minutes and I proposed to do them early in the morning before anyone had gotup. The self-discipline required to drag myself out of bed eleven minutes earlier than usual was considerable. Nevertheless, Imanaged to creep down into the living room for two days before anyone found me out. After jumping about on the carpet andtwisting the human frame into uncomfortable positions, I sat down at the breakfast table in an exhausted condition. It was thisthat betrayed me. The next morning the whole family trooped in to watch the performance. That was really unsettling, but Ifended off the taunts and jibes of the family good-humouredly and soon everybody got used to the idea. However, myenthusiasm waned. The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. Little by little the eleven minutes fell to zero. ByJanuary 10th, I was back to where I had started from. I argued that if I spent less time exhausting myself at exercises in themorning, I would keep my mind fresh for reading when I got home form work Resisting the hypnotizing effect of television, Isat in my room for a few evenings with my eyes glued to a book. One night, however, feeling cold and lonely, I went

downstairs and sat in front of the television pretending to read. That proved to be my undoing, for I soon got back to my oldbad habit of dozing off in front of the screen. I still haven't given up my resolution to do more reading. In fact, I have justbought a book entitled How to Read a Thousand Words a Minute. Perhaps it will solve my problem, but I just haven't hadtime to read it!　　【课⽂翻译】

　　新年是下决⼼的时候，⾄少在⼤多数⼈的⼼⾥会编排出⼀份“应做什么”和“不应做什么”的令⼈⽣畏的单⼦。相同的决⼼以单调的规律年复⼀年地出现。我们决⼼每天早晨起得早些;吃得少些;多花点时间与孩⼦们⼀起做游戏;做⼤量的家务;对不喜欢的⼈友善⼀些;⼩⼼驾车;每天都要带着狗散步;等等。以往的经验告诉我们有些事是办不到的。如果我们烟瘾⼤，戒不掉，那是因为屡戒屡败，失去信⼼。我们⼤多数⼈想⾃我完善却遭到失败，这是因为我们的规划过于宏⼤，⽽⼜根本没有时间去实施。我们还犯有⼀个根本性的错误，即把我们的决⼼向⼤家宣布。这样⼀旦滑回到那些⽼习惯上去，我们在别⼈的眼⾥会显得更加难堪。我深知这些问题，于是，今年我对⾃⼰的计划要严加保密，只给⾃⼰定下两项适中的任务;每天早上锻炼⾝体，每天晚上多看点书。新年除⼣举办的⼀次通宵晚会，使我理直⽓壮地在新年头⼀天免去了这两项任务。不过，新年第⼆天，我全⼒以赴地照着去做了。

　　早锻炼⼀共只有11分钟，我打算在别⼈起床之前进⾏。这就要求我⽐平时早11分钟把⾃⼰从床上拽起来，这种⾃我约束是很艰苦的。不过开头两天我还是成功地蹑⼿蹑脚地来到楼下起居室，被谁也没发现。我在地毯上跳来蹦过去，扭曲⾝⼦，摆出各种姿势，弄得浑⾝不舒服，然后坐到桌边吃早饭，⼀副筋疲⼒尽的样⼦。正是这副模样泄露了我的秘密。第⼆天早晨全家⼈结队来到起居室看我表演。这真叫⼈不好意思，但我⼼平⽓和地顶住全家⼈的嘲笑和奚落。不久，⼤家对我习以为常了，⽽这时我的热情却减退了。我花在锻炼上的时间逐渐减少，慢慢地从11分钟减到了零。到了1⽉ 10⽇，我恢复了原来的作息时间。我辩解说，早晨少耗费精⼒锻炼，晚上下班回家看书时头脑更清醒些。有⼏天晚上，我极⼒摆脱了电视的诱惑，坐在⾃⼰的房间⾥，两眼盯在书上。可是，有⼀天夜⾥，我感到⼜冷⼜孤单，便来到楼下坐在电视机前假装看书。这下我可完了，因为不⼀会⼉，我就恢复了以前的坏习惯，在屏幕前打起瞌睡来。但我还没有放弃多看些书的决⼼。事上，我刚买来⼀本叫《⼀分钟读⼀千字的诀窍》的书。也许这本书能解决我的问题，但我⼀直还没时间去看这本书!新概念英语第3册课⽂及翻译Lesson51　　【课⽂】

　　Predicting the future is notoriously difficult. Who could have imagined, in the mid 1970s, for example, that by the end ofthe 20th century, computers would be as common in people's homes as TV sets? In the 1970s, computers were commonenough, but only in big business, government departments, and large organizations. These were the so-called mainframemachines. Mainframe computers were very large indeed, often occupying whole air-conditioned rooms, employing full-timetechnicians and run on specially-written software. Though these large machines still exist, many of their functions have beentaken over by small powerful personal computers, commonly known as PCs.

　　In 1975, a primitive machine called the Altair, was launched in the USA. It can properly be described as the first 'homecomputer' and it pointed the way to the future. This was followed, at the end of the 1970s, by a machine called an Apple. Inthe early 1980s, the computer giant, IBM produced the world's first Personal Computer. This ran on an 'operating system'called DOS, produced by a then small company named Microsoft. The IBM Personal Computer was widely copied. Fromthose humble beginnings, we have seen the development of the user-friendly home computers and multimedia machines

which are in common use today.

　　Considering how recent these developments are, it is even more remarkable that as long ago as the 1960s, an

Englishman, Leon Bagrit, was able to predict some of the uses of computers which we know today. Bagrit dismissed the ideathat computers would learn to 'think' for themselves and would 'rule the world', which people liked to believe in those days.Bagrit foresaw a time when computers would be small enough to hold in the hand, when they would be capable of providinginformation about traffic jams and suggesting alternative routes, when they would be used in hospitals to help doctors todiagnose illnesses, when they would relieve office workers and accountants of dull, repetitive clerical work. All these

computer uses have become commonplace. Of course, Leon Bagrit could not possibly have foreseen the development of theInternet, the worldwide system that enables us to communicate instantly with anyone in any part of the world by using

computers linked to telephone networks. Nor could he have foreseen how we could use the Internet to obtain information onevery known subject, so we can read it on a screen in our homes and even print it as well if we want to. Computers havebecome smaller and smaller, more and more powerful and cheaper and cheaper. This is what makes Leon Bagrit's

predictions particularly remarkable. If he, or someone like him, were alive today, he might be able to tell us what to expect inthe next fifty years.　　【课⽂翻译】

　　众所周知，预测未来是⾮常困难的。举个例⼦吧，在20世纪70年代中叶⼜有谁能想得到在20世纪末的时候，家庭⽤的计算机会像电视机⼀样普遍?在70年代，计算机已经相当普及了，但只⽤在⼤公司，政府部门和⼤的组织之中，它们被称为主机。计算机主机确实很⼤，常常占据了装有空调的多间房间，雇⽤专职的技师，⽽且得⽤专门编写的软件才能运⾏。虽然这种⼤计算机仍然存在，但它们的许多功能已被体积⼩但功能齐全的个⼈电脑——即我们常说的 PC机——所代替了。

　　1975年，美国推出了⼀台被称为“⽜郎星”的原始机型。严格地说起来，它可以被称为第⼀台“家⽤电脑”，⽽且它也指了今后的⽅向。70年代末，在⽜郎星之后⼜出现了⼀种被称为“苹果”的机型。80年代初，计算机⾏业的王牌公司美国国际商⽤机器公司(IBM)⽣产出了世界上第⼀台个⼈电脑。这种电脑采⽤了⼀种被称为磁盘操作系统(DOS)的⼯作程序，⽽这种程序是由当时规模不⼤的微软公司⽣产的。IBM的个⼈电脑被⼤规模地模仿。从那些简陋的初级阶段，我们看到了现在都已普及的、使⽤简便的家⽤电脑和多媒体的微机的发展。

　　想⼀想这些发展的时间多么短，就更觉得英国⼈莱昂.巴格瑞特有着⾮凡的能⼒。他在60年代就能预⾔我们今天知道的计算机的⼀些⽤途。巴格瑞特根本不接受计算机可以学会⾃⼰去“思考”和计算可以“统治世界”这种想法，⽽这种想法是当时的⼈们都愿意相信的。巴格瑞特预⽰有⼀天计算机可以⼩到拿在⼿上，计算机可以使办公室⼈员和会计免除那些枯燥、重复的劳动。计算机的所有这些功能现在都变得很平常。当然了，莱昂.巴格瑞特根本没有可能预测到国际交互——就是把计算机连结到电话线路上，以便和世界上任何⼀个地⽅的⼈⽴即进⾏联系的⼀个世界范围的通讯系统——的发展。他也⽆法预测到我们可以利⽤国际交互获取有关任何已知专题的信息，以便在家⾥的屏幕上阅读，如果愿意的话甚⾄可以将其打印出来。计算机已经变得体积越来越⼩，功能越来越多，价格越来越低，这就是莱昂.巴格瑞特的预测⾮凡的地⽅。如果他或是像他的什么⼈今天还活着的话，他⼤概可以告诉我们下⼀个50年后会发⽣什么事情。