第一篇：新视野大学英语第四册期末考试说明(修改版)

新视野英语Ⅳ期末考试说明（最终版）

1.听力部分将在开考30分钟作文完成后开始播放试音，收听调频波段为80兆赫左右，试听音乐为Yesterday Once More，试听时间约两分钟。试音结束后，听力考试正式开始。

2.请考生把所有试题答案写在答题卡上，否则成绩不予计算。

3.选择题正确答题法：A ■ C D

麻烦各位老师结课前把此考生注意事项对学生说明，试卷头上也是这样写的但是以免有些学生可能考试时注意不到。并请提醒学生调频波段只是大概80，有些接收器可能调到82才能找到，让学生到时不要焦急，静心慢慢调试。建议各位老师课间给学生播放Yesterday Once More听听，以便于考试时辨认频道。注意事项：1.考试范围为课本1-7单元。

2．课内内容（课本和综合练习册及听力书）不少于50% 考试题型和复习范围

一、作文15%（出自综合训练册2、3、5、7单元Writing部分，包括General

Writing和Practical Writing）

二、听力35%

共35题：8个短对话8%；两篇长对话 7%；三篇短文10% ；一篇短文听写10%。(短对话、长对话和短文题目出自听力教材1－7单元)

三、阅读理解25%

Section AWordBank5%（课本1-5单元Section A的课后练习）

Section BMultiple Choice Questions10%（出自综合训练册2、5单元）Section C信息匹配题10%（出自课外）

四、词汇和语法10%

单选题。（主要考察课本1-7单元Section A部分的词汇、搭配和常用语法）

五、翻译汉译英：段落翻译 15%（出自课本2、3、4、6、7单元Section A课

文中的最后一个段落。）

如有疑问，请咨询出题老师：赵克响***周智慧***

第二篇：(最新)新视野英语第二册期末考试说明

《新视野大学英语II》期末考试说明

一、期末考试的试卷头如下，请各任课老师注意并提醒学生：

1.听力部分将在开考30分钟作文完成后开始播放试音，收听调频波段为80兆赫左右，试听音乐为Yesterday Once More，试听时间约一分半钟。试音结束后，听力考试正式开始。

2.请考生把所有试题答案写在答题卡上，否则成绩不予计算。

3.正确答题法：A ■ C D，其他答题法一律不得分。

二、出题范围为《读写教程》、《听说教程》及《新视野大学英语教与学2》的1-7单元，具体分配如下：

Part I.Writing.15%（课外）

Part II.Listening Comprehension.25%(共25题：10个短对话，2篇长对话共10个问题，1篇短文

共5个问题。全部出自听说教程)

Part Ⅲ.Vocabulary and Structure.10%(共20题。题型为四选一的单项选择，重点考查每个单元的重点词汇、搭配、句型和语法。可参考课后词汇练习或句型结构练习)

Part Ⅳ.Reading Comprehension.（35%）

Section Aword bank5%（读写教程的课后练习）

Section BStatements identified10%(《新视野大学英语教与学2》)

Section CReading in depth20%（一篇选自《新视野大学英语教与学2》，另一篇选自课外）Part V.Translation（汉译英）.15%(选自读写教程Section A课文的中文翻译，可重点复习每篇

文章的开头两段。)

特别提醒：为了改卷方便，答题卡顺序做了稍微的调整：Part I.Writing.的后面紧接着另外一道主观题Part V.Translation.，其他的顺序不变。题号一目了然，请提醒学生注意。

第三篇：新视野大学英语第四册第三版课文及翻译

Unit 8

A turning point of my life

我人生的转折点

I wasn't yet 30 years old and was working as a firefighter in New York City, in a firehouse completely swamped with calls.In the rare moments when we weren't busy, I would make calls on our cordless phone handset or rush to our office to read Captain Gray's subscription of the Sunday New York Times.Late one afternoon when I finally read the Book Review section, my blood began to boil.An article stated a thesis I took to be an offensive insult: William Butler Yeats, the Nobel Prize-winning light of the Irish Literary Renaissance, had risen above his Irishness and was now a universal poet.I grew indignant suddenly, and a deep-seated passion within me was activated.我那时还不到 30 岁，是纽约市的一名消防员，我工作的消防站总是不断有求助电话进来。偶尔在我们不忙的时候，我会打打无绳电话，或是到办公室，看看格雷队长订的《纽约时报》周日版。一天下午晚些时候，当我最后读到书评栏时，我开始血液沸腾。一篇文章提出了一个在我看来带有侮辱性的观点：它说诺贝尔奖获得者威廉.巴特勒.叶芝，即点亮爱尔兰文学复兴之光的人，已经超越了其爱尔兰身份，是一名世界性的诗人。我突然感到愤怒，内心深处一种激情也被激发起来。

There were few things I was more proud of than my Irish heritage.My ancestors were Catholic Irish farmers, fishermen and blue-collar workers, all of whom were patrons of literature.From the time my family came ashore on Ellis Island and faced the threat of being deported, we have fought discrimination against Irish immigrants.Ever since I first picked up a book of his poems, Yeats had been my favorite writer.He wrote his poetry in close adherence to his Irish sensibilities.His life was, in essence, a tribute to his homeland.很少有什么事情比我是爱尔兰后裔更让我感到骄傲的了。我的祖先是信仰天主教的爱尔兰人，他们做过农夫、渔民和蓝领工人，但是他们所有人都热爱文学。从我的家族登上埃利斯岛、面临被驱逐的威胁那一刻起，我们就一直在反抗对爱尔兰移民的歧视。自从我第一次拿起叶芝的诗集开始，他就一直是我最喜欢的作家。他创作的诗中有着深深的爱尔兰情怀。实际上，他的一生都在赞颂祖国。所以，不管是从心理的、社会的还是文学的角度，认为爱尔兰的身份是能够超越的，都是一种侮辱。我感觉自己继承的身份就像是成了法庭上的被告，我别无选择，只能保护它并谴责这样一种过时的偏见。

So, it was offensive to think Irishness, no matter if it was psychological, social or literary, was something to rise above.I felt like my heritage was a defendant at a tribunal, and I had no choice but to protect it and denounce such an outdated prejudice.我焦躁不安，全身颤动，于是抓起了一张干净的纸，那张纸的顶部印有纽约市消防局的标志。我开始给《周日书评》栏目的编辑写信，表达我的愤怒。我把叶芝描述为他本来的样子，即无论从行为还是从作品来看，他都是地地道道的爱尔兰作家。

Vibrating with agitation, I grabbed a piece of clean paper, one that had the logo of the Fire Department of the City of New York across the top.I began a letter, trumpeting my indignation to the editor of the Sunday Book Review, describing Yeats as he was: a writer fundamentally Irish in all he did and wrote.我不知道为什么我觉得自己必须捍卫这位世界上最伟大的诗人（至少是仅次于荷马和莎士比亚的诗人），使其免于被“起诉”，或者为什么我要撰文捍卫爱尔兰文学。我只知道我必须写那封信，就像牧师必须祷告，或者音乐家必须演奏乐器一样。

Until that point in my life I hadn't written much of valuethe article titled “Fireman Smith” provided the impetus for a large publishing company to request a manuscript about my life.我一直认为消防员的工作是个值得一写的题材，但是到目前为止却很少被写过。起初我很困惑，对于自己是否有能力写一本完整的书没有多少信心。所以，我开始一点一点地写，一次写一部分。很快，我对整本书有了基本的结构和框架。这本书最终卖出了 200 万册，并被译成了 12 种语言。在接下来的几年中，我又写了 3 本畅销书，去年还出版了一本自传。

Being a writer had been far from my expectations;being crowned a best-selling author was almost unimaginable.How had it happened? I often found myself thinking about it, marveling at the inconsistency of my success and earlier failure.My thoughts always came back to the nucleus at the center of it all, that letter to The New York Times.最清楚的解释就是，我发现了一个让我有强烈感触的题材，因此，写作就成为这种激情很自然的结果了。在我写关于消防员以及后来写关于我母亲的系列故事时，我都怀有同样的激情。不管题材是什么，它们总是有意义并且合时宜的，因为它们代表了人类生活中伟大的价值观——得体、诚实和公正。在我写作时，这些题材在我心中炙热如火。

The clearest explanation is that I had found a subject I felt so strongly about that the writing was a natural consequence of that passion.I felt the same kind of passion when I began writing about firefighters and, later, a serial story about my mother.Whatever the subjects, they are always meaningful and timely because they represent the great values of human lifesubjects that burn within me as I write.多年来，我的五个孩子会时不时地来问我一个又一个让他们进退两难的问题：我应该踢足球还是打篮球？我是到这家公司工作还是到那家？

Over the years, all five of my children have come to me periodically with one dilemma or another.Should I go out for soccer or basketball? Should I take a job with this company or that one? 我的回答一直是相同的：想想你骨子深处的情感。估量一下那些情感的热度，因为那就是流淌于你身体每一部分的激情。任何时候都要找到那种激情。如果你失去了它，就要重新搜寻到它，然后再重新开始。你接受的教育和你的经验会引导你作出正确的决定，但是你的激情总是会使你在做任何事情时都成就非凡。My answer is always the same: Think about your feelings deep down in your bones.Measure the heat of the fire there, for that is the passion that will flow through every particle of your being.Always find that passion.And, if you lose it, retrieve it and start again.Your education and your experience will guide you toward making a right decision, but your passion will always enable you to make a difference in whatever you do.这就是那天我挺身而出为爱尔兰最伟大的诗人辩护时所学到的东西。That's what I learned the day I stood up for Ireland's greatest poet.A meaningful life

有意义的人生

The death of an angel of animal rights activism does not rate with that of a drugged-out rock star.So when Henry Spira died of cancer in September 1998, his death passed without notice, apart from a brief obituary in The New York Times.Yet Henry Spiral life tells us something important, not only about the modern animal movement, but about the possibility of an inpidual making a difference in the modern world.一位动物权利保护运动的天使的去世还比不上一个沉溺于毒品的摇滚明星的死亡。所以，亨利.斯皮拉在 1998 年 9 月因癌症去世的消息根本没有引起公众的注意，只是《纽约时报》上刊登了一则简短的讣告。但是亨利.斯皮拉的一生让我们懂得了一些重要的东西，不仅关于现代动物权益保护运动，而且还有一个人改变现代社会的可能性。

I first met Henry when he turned up at an adult education seminar I was giving at New York University.I offered a course on “Animal Liberation” that attracted about 20 students.One student was an unusual specimen, outside the regular aesthetic of an “animal person”.His clothes were untidy, and his hair uncombed.His language was so blunt and earthy that at times I thought I was listening to an assassin from a violent mob.Yet, I couldn't help feeling intrigued with his direct way of speaking and his solemn, secular oath to help animals in need.第一次见到亨利，是我在纽约大学教一个成人教育研修班时他前来听课。我开设了一门关于“动物解放”的课程，吸引了大约 20 名学生。其中一名学生很另类，完全和通常意义上“动物权利保护者”的形象背道而驰。他的衣着邋遢，头发也未曾梳理。他说话非常直率并且粗俗，有时我甚至认为，我好像是在听一个暴力团伙的杀手在讲话。但是，我情不自禁地被他那种直截了当的说话方式，还有他那庄重的、不是出于宗教目的要帮助处于困境中的动物的誓言吸引住了。

I left New York soon after that, but one day got a call from Henry.He talked with me about his work.I knew that for over a century, the animal rights movement had been putting out graphic brochures, leaflets, and audio propaganda, alerting people to the dreadful experiments on animals.But in all that time, the number of animals used in experiments had risen from a small batch of a few hundred to more than 30 million.No activist had managed to stop a single experiment or improve the lives of animals living in tiny, constricted enclosures.Henry changed that.One of his earliest campaigns permanently closed down a laboratory conducting experiments with toxic vapor on about 60 rabbits.在那之后，我很快就离开了纽约。但是有一天，我接到了亨利的电话。他和我聊起了他的工作。我知道，一个多世纪以来，动物权益运动的倡导者一直通过散发带图画的手册、传单以及音频宣传材料，来引起公众对那些可怕的动物实验的关注。但与此同时，用于实验的动物数量从原来区区几百骤增到三千多万。没有哪位活动家曾成功阻止过一项实验或改善了蜗居在狭小困笼中的动物的生活。亨利却改变了这一切。他早期的运动之一就是使一间用毒蒸汽在大约 60 只兔子身上做实验的实验室被永久关闭。

Following that success, Henry rapidly moved on to bigger targets.He laid siege to Revlon over their use of rabbits to test cosmetics for potential eye damage, and exerted enough pressure to persuade them to put $750,000 into the search for alternatives.Having seen the boycott that Revlon had narrowly averted and being afraid of incurring similar wrath, Avon, Bristol-Myers and other major cosmetics corporations soon followed suit.Though it took 10 years for the research to achieve results, it was largely Henry's public and judicious watchdog efforts that brought so many cosmetics corporations to where they now truthfully state their products are not tested on animals.取得上述成功之后，亨利马上转向更大的目标。他谴责露华浓公司用兔子检测化妆品对眼睛可能造成的伤害。他还给露华浓施加了强大的压力，说服其投入 75 万美元进行研究，以寻找替代方法。雅芳、百时美及其他大型化妆品公司看到露华浓险些遭到抵制，担心自己也会招致同样的愤怒，所以很快也都纷纷效仿。虽然他们的研究历经 10 年才取得成果，但是正是亨利所作出的这种公开而又明智的监督，才使得这么多化妆品公司现在可以如实地说，他们的产品没有在动物身上进行实验。

From decades spent working on the side of the weak and oppressed, Henry became efficient at masterminding campaigns.His victory over Revlon didn't require wealth, legislators, or the help of big governments.He learned how to build public awareness campaigns, how to shape malpractice lawsuits to successfully sue large companies and how to build committed groups of supporters for the cause.经过几十年为弱势及受压迫群体所做的抗争，亨利变得非常善于策划各种活动。他在与露华浓的抗衡中获胜，靠的不是财富、立法者或庞大的政府的帮助。他学会了如何发起能够唤醒公众意识的活动，如何开展渎职诉讼以便成功起诉大公司，以及如何为这一事业建立忠实的支持者团队。

We often assume that society has become too big and too bureaucratic for inpiduals to make a difference.How could one inpidual, however humane and passionate, possibly bring about change in the face of powerful global corporations, ministerial indifference and complicated parliamentary rules? 我们经常认为社会已经变得太大、太官僚，从而个体不可能改变它。在面对强大的跨国公司、冷漠的执政部门和众多复杂的议会规则时，单单一个人，不管他多么具有人道主义，多么富有激情，又如何能促成改变呢？

Henry's life was dedicated to the cause of preventing suffering of innocent, helpless animals, especially those used in research.He didn't stand on the sidelines or try to get revenge for the suffering he observed.Henry was practical.He acted.He appealed to the public and created publicity kits to help common people become activists.亨利的一生都致力于阻止无辜又无助的动物遭受痛苦，尤其是那些被用于研究的动物。他没有袖手旁观，也没有试图为他所看到的苦难复仇。亨利是个很实际的人。他采取了行动。他向公众呼吁，并做了各种成套的宣传材料来帮助普通人成为积极的参与者。

On April 21, 1996, I sent Henry a fax telling him I was thinking about writing a book to chronicle his life and work.I asked whether I could stay with him for a few days in June to talk about it.1996 年 4 月 21 日，我给亨利发了一份传真，告诉他我正在考虑写一本记录其生平和事业的书。我问他我是否可以 6 月份过去和他待几天，以讨论这一事宜。

Henry called that evening.He said he'd really like me to write the book, but he wasn't sure he was still going to be around in late June.He explained that he'd been diagnosed with cancer, and asked whether I could come earlier.当天晚上亨利就给我打了电话。他说他很愿意由我来写这本书，但是他不确定自己 6 月下旬是否还会活在世上。他解释说他已经被确诊得了癌症，所以问我能不能早点来。

I was in New York six days later.Henry had lost a lot of weight, and lacked the energy I was used to seeing in him.His life expectancy was a matter of months.Death seemed to be stalking him.6 天后我就到了纽约。亨利瘦了很多，而且也没有了我以前在他身上看到的精力。他的生命只剩几个月了。死亡似乎正在向他逼近。

The most remarkable thing about Henry, though, was the total absence of any sign of depression.Life had been good, he said, refusing to hear my sympathy and condolences.He said he'd done what he wanted to do and enjoyed it a lot.Why should he be depressed? 尽管如此，亨利最了不起的一点就是，你根本看不到他有一丝一毫的沮丧。他说他一直过得很好，因而拒绝听我说同情和安慰的话。他说，他做了自己想做的事，而且很享受所做的一切，为什么要感到沮丧呢？ Henry's life did not terminate in the time his doctors predicted.For the next two years he kept working, helping develop the material I needed for the book, through interviews and questionnaires.When I began writing, I never thought Henry would see a completed draft, but he lived to see the book on sale in a New York bookstore.Then, within a week, wearing his favorite striped pajamas, he died.亨利的生命并没有像医生预言的那么快终止。在接下来的两年里，他一直坚持工作，通过采访和问卷调查的方式，帮助我准备写书需要的材料。在我开始动笔的时候，我从来没想到亨利能看到完整的初稿，但是他一直活到亲眼看到书在纽约的书店出售。然后，不到一个星期，他就去世了，当时身上穿着他最喜欢的条纹睡衣。

One essential mark of living well is to be satisfied with one's accomplishments when taking a retrospective look at life, and to be able to accept death and face infinity calmly.Henry's life seemed to lack many of the things that most of us take for granted as essential to a good life.He never married, or had a long-term, live-in relationship.He had no children or successors.He never went to concerts, to the theater, or to fine restaurants.He didn't bring antibiotics to the needy or vaccinate the poor.He was never called a hero like the caped crusaders of our comic books.There is no fancy stone for him at the cemetery after his death.He just cared for the weakest creatures in his society.What gave Henry Spira's life depth and purpose? What did hesun, wind, water, and so on.While renewable energy sources are promising, an international confederation of scientists and engineers is working feverishly to overcome the various obstacles associated with these “new energy” technologies.The major challenge is to develop efficient and economically workable versions of these technologies.我们怎样才能满足未来急剧增长的能源需求呢？在我们完善冷聚变技术之前，我们只能专注于开发太阳能、风能、水电能之类的可再生能源，并提高其产量。虽然可再生能源前景乐观，一个由科学家和工程师组成的国际联盟却正在积极工作，努力克服与这些“新兴能源”技术相关的各种障碍，其中最大的挑战就是如何使这些技术变得既高效又经济。Take solar energy for example.It is a good option because there is an unlimited supply of glittering sunlight.Making it work on a large scale, however, is much easier said than done.It would be cost prohibitive to take the intricate gadgets of solar energy from the fringe of “green” society to the mainstream for major world consumption.The solar apparatus itself is ready for many new business and consumer applications, but it is way too expensive to replace the old combustion machinery of gears and motors with new electronic technology of semiconductors and transistors on a global or even a national scale.以太阳能为例。由于耀眼的太阳光能够提供源源不断的能源，所以它是个不错的选择。但是，大规模地使用太阳能却是说起来容易做起来难。把制造太阳能所需要的复杂零件从“环保”社会的边缘推广到主流社会，使之成为世界主要的消费性能源，其代价之高让人望而却步。太阳能设备本身已是技术成熟，可以使商业和消费者进行许多新型应用，但是，在全球或者即便是在全国范围内，用新型的半导体和晶体管电子技术取代老式的用齿轮和发动机驱动的燃烧设备，其成本实在太高。

Wind power, which has been used effectively in some places for generations, is also rapidly growing in the energy market.The principle behind it is that wind converts rotary force into electricity by turning the blades of the turbine clockwise or counterclockwise around an axis.Unfortunately, wind power is very unreliable and its strength depends on local weather patterns, temperature, time of year, and location.In addition to this unreliability, wind power equipment is very expensive compared with other energy sources and won't become a viable alternative until we can slash the costs significantly.Also, a “wind farm” requires enormous land clearing to produce significant amounts of energy.风能在一些地方已经被几代人有效利用，目前在能源市场中也发展迅速。风能的原理是：风通过驱动涡轮机叶片按顺时针或逆时针方向绕着一个轴旋转，从而把转动时所产生的力转换成电能。不幸的是，风能非常不稳定，其强度取决于当地的天气模式、温度、季节以及地域。除了不稳定的因素之外，和其他能源相比，风能设备造价昂贵。除非我们能将其成本大大降低，否则风能就不会成为一个可行的替代能源。而且，一个“风能农场”需要大片空旷的土地才能生产大量能源。

Hydroelectric power is another source of clean and renewable energy.It can be harnessed by controlling the natural outflow of water with different methods.The most popular is through dams, which, unfortunately, are no longer considered environmentally friendly.Most of the hydroelectric dams in the world are historically recent, but all reservoirs eventually will fill up with mud and require very expensive excavation to clear them up to become useful again.水力电能是另外一种既干净又能再生的能源。人们可以通过不同方法来控制自然水流以进行发电。最普遍的方法是通过水坝，但不幸的是，建水坝已被认为是对环境不利的方法了。世界上大多数用于水力发电的大坝建造历史都不长，但是所有的水库最终都会被淤泥填塞，需要耗资巨大进行清淤才能使它们重新得到利用。

Biomass energy derived from plant and animal matter is still another renewable source being considered as a standby replacement for fossil fuels.Organic waste in the form of dead trees, leaves, animal corpses and food processing waste exists in abundance and can be used to produce energy.However, there is no way to ventilate the direct burning of biomass as fuel without diffusing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.These gases can pose a risk to the ozone layer, increasing overall exposure of human beings to harmful UV rays from the sun.Besides, it takes time and money to collect and transport biomass in its raw form to a central point for processing into fuel, and the automation of such a process is too difficult.So, for the time being, biomass has too many costly drawbacks to be a workable alternative to fossil fuels.动植物物质所产生的生物能源也是一种可再生能源，且被认为是矿物燃料的备用替代品。以死树、枯叶、动物尸体以及食品加工废料的形式存在的有机废物十分充足，可以被用来制造能源。然而，将生物质作为燃料直接燃烧，通风时必然会将二氧化碳及其他温室气体排放到大气中。这些气体会对臭氧层造成威胁，增加人们受到来自太阳的有害紫外线照射的危险。除此以外，将生物质以原始形态进行收集，并将它们运送到某个中心站加工处理成燃料，这一过程既耗时又耗财，而且对这一过程实现自动化非常困难。所以，在目前，生物质能源有太多高成本方面的缺点，不能成为矿物燃料可行的替代品。

Although renewable energies are not yet economically competitive with fossil fuels, their price becomes more attractive when compared with the health and environmental costs associated with burning coal and oil.Perhaps the best solution to our growing energy challenges comes in a bulletin from the Union of Concerned Scientists: “Our society's future success cannot hinge on one single solution.The answer instead must come from a family of perse energy technologies that share a unified purpose-they do not deplete our natural resources or destroy our environment.” Despite the difficulties, it is important to remember that an energy crisis is approaching at supersonic speeds and will soon be upon us.In order to inaugurate a new era in energy, we must act quickly and work toward international collaboration to find the most effective solutions to our energy problems.虽然从经济实惠方面来说，可再生能源没有矿物能源有竞争力，但是，与燃烧煤和石油所带来的健康及环境代价相比，它们的价格又变得较有吸引力了。也许，对于日益紧迫的能源挑战，最好的解决办法正如“忧思科学家联盟”所出的一份简报上所说的那样：“未来我们社会的成功不能依赖于某一单一的解决方案。相反，答案须来自一系列各种不同的能源技术。这些技术有一个共同目的：它们不会耗尽我们的自然资源，也不会破环我们的环境。”尽管困难重重，我们需要牢记的是，能源危机正以超音速逼近，即将来到我们面前。为了在能源领域开创一个新时代，我们必须赶快行动，努力寻求国际合作，以找到能源问题最有效的解决办法。

A worldwide food crisis 会有全球粮食危机吗？

Historically, only local governments worried about a widespread food crisis, but today, a sharp spike in food prices and the resulting food crisis can quickly become a worldwide phenomenon.Recent droughts along the equator, and in Russia and Ukrainecaused wheat prices to surge.Many worry the tight supply will cause inflationary prices.They fear the skyrocketing grain costs in 2007, which harshly struck the world's poor and led to food riots, will recur.在历史上，只有地方政府才会担心大范围的粮食危机，而如今，粮食价格的急剧上涨及由此导致的粮食危机会很快成为一种全球现象。最近发生在赤道沿线、俄罗斯及乌克兰的干旱使小麦价格不断飆升——俄罗斯和乌克兰两国小麦出口总量占世界出口总量的四分之一。许多人担心小麦供应短缺会引发其价格膨胀，他们害怕 2007 年使世界穷人遭受重创并引发食品骚乱的飞涨的粮食价格会再次出现。

Is their fear grounded? Consultancy firms measuring the status of commodities like wheat don't think so.Stocks of wheat are at sufficiently high levels, and harvest turnout from other big producers like the US is expected to stay strong.So unlike in 2007, the supply situation isn't desperate, meaning wheat prices should eventually calm down and level off.他们的担心有根据吗？负责对像小麦这样的商品现状进行评估的咨询公司并不这样认为。目前小麦的储备非常充足，并且，重要农业生产国如美国等的农作物生产也有望十分强劲。所以，与 2007 年不同，现在粮食供应状况并不那样令人绝望，这也意味着小麦价格最终会恢复正常并平稳下来。

However, this rosy picture provides only temporary security.The bigger picture discloses a reality not so optimistic.Though current prices aren't as sky-high as in the panicked market of 2007, they're still at higher levels than before and are likely to stay that way.The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development sees the average prices of products classified as essential such as grains, vegetable oils, and dairy products rising for the next decade.但是，这一美好的画面只能带来短暂的安心。更大的画面所揭示的现实不容乐观。虽然目前粮食价格没有达到 2007 年引起恐慌的市场上的那种天价，但和以前相比，价格仍然居高不下，而且很有可能维持这样。经济合作与发展组织认为，谷物、植物油和奶制品这些基本食品的平均价格在未来十年都将持续上涨。It doesn't take an oracle to foretell that the fight to feed the world will be a huge challenge facing the global economy over the next 20 years.Food production is suffering from decades of neglect of agriculture, a period when the sector was starved of the resources and technology it needed to keep up with rising world demand.Though more and more people are intrigued by the issue and there is a growing global consensus about the need for reform in farming, we're really only at the beginning of a long, expensive, process of repairing world agricultural practices.That means food prices will stay high over the next several years, as will the risk of dangerous price fluctuations like the current one with wheat.未来 20 年，让世界上所有人都吃饱饭将是全球经济所面临的巨大挑战，这一点很明确，不需要通过行家来预言。由于过去几十年对农业的疏忽，粮食生产受到影响，而这几十年正是农业这一行业急需得到资源和技术支持以满足日益增长的世界需求的重要时期。虽然现在越来越多的人对这一问题表示出兴趣，对农业耕作进行改革的需要也获得全球越来越广泛的认同，但事实上，在修复全球农业作业这样一项耗时长、代价高的工作中，我们还只处于起步阶段。这也意味着，粮食价格在未来几年会居高不下，正如目前小麦价格波动所带来的风险也会居高不下一样。

Food isn't like garments or other products traded on world markets.The issue of food is filled with emotion.Intermittent uncertainty in food markets will animate people to act when they would otherwise remain calm.No country, for example, wants to run out of food or watch sky-high prices push people into poverty and malnourishment.That can lead to riots or even revolutions.When emotions are running high enough, grain exporters and importers may take extreme measures to prevent a shortage, like hoarding and panic-driven wholesale purchases.In other words, the overreaction of market players will act like a pistol to the head, creating a crisis when none should exist.粮食这一商品和世界市场上交易的衣服或其他商品有所不同。粮食问题是充满感情色彩的。粮食市场时断时续的不确定性会促使人们采取行动，而这种不确定性如果涉及的是其他商品，人们则会保持冷静。比如，没有哪个国家希望出现粮食短缺，眼睁睁看着粮价飞涨而使人们陷入贫穷和营养不良的困境，因为这样会引发骚乱甚至革命。当人们的情绪积聚到足够高度的时候，粮食出口商和进口商就会采取一些极端的手段，以防止粮食出现短缺。比如，他们会囤积粮食及因恐慌而大批量购买等等。换句话说，市场操纵者如果反应过度，其作用就如同指向头部的手枪，会无中生有地制造危机。

Will current prices stay high and volatile? Probably yes.There are enormous structural problems with the agriculture industry that have caused the great imbalance between supply and demand.These problems have a dual nature, one part of it on the production side, and the other on the consumption side.目前的价格会一直居高不下且变化不定吗？很可能会的。农业产业结构方面存在的诸多问题已经引发了供求关系的巨大失衡。这些问题具有两面性，一个是生产方面的，另一个是消费方面的。

On the production side, global funding for rural infrastructure or technological research to keep yields growing has been very small, well below what is needed to keep crises at bay and to meet our future food demands.But in the past, whenever economists predicted massive shortages, technological advances like higher-yield strains of wheat would overcome the difference and rescue civilizations from large-scale starvation.在生产方面，全球用于乡村基础设施建设或农业技术研究以保持粮食产量持续增长的资金非常少，大大低于能够使我们避免危机、满足人类未来食品需求所必需的资金投入量。但是，在过去，一旦经济学家们预测会有大规模的粮食短缺，就会有像高产量小麦之类的技术进步来解决这一供需差异，使人类免受大规模挨饿之苦。

On the consumption side, citizens of wealthier countries have grown accustomed to consuming more food than they need and eating more costly types of food like meat.This means more grain gets turned into livestock feed instead of food for people.Add in the new demand for bio-fuels, and you get a recipe for disaster.As an excerpt from a pamphlet by activist Peter Singer explains: “...the problem isn't that we are producing too little food;rather we're not eating the food we grow.Nearly 100 million tons of grain per year is turned into bio-fuel that goes into gas tanks.The problem is that we-the relatively affluentthey were tools like a wrench, a hammer or a screw.还有士兵也是男人的工作。据我所知，他们几乎不工作，但当战争一打响，他们很多人都会出于爱国热情而战死在疆场或异域前哨的堡垒前。这就是士兵的作用——他们就像工具，如同扳钳、锤子或螺丝一样。These weren't the only destinies of men, as I learned from having a few male teachers, from reading books and from watching television.But the men on televisionseemed as remote and unreal to me as the figures in old paintings.I could no more imagine growing up to become one of these sophisticated people than I could imagine becoming a sovereign prince.这些并非男人们唯一的归宿，我从曾经有过的几位男教师、从看书及看电视中认识到了这一点。但是，那些上电视的男人们——新闻评论员、律师、医生、课征税款的政治家及发号施令的老板们——在我看来就像古老绘画上的人像，遥远而不真实。我不能想象自己长大会变成这些精明世故的人中的一员，就像我无法想象自己能变成一个权力至高无上的国君一样。

A scholarship enabled me not only to attend college, a rare enough feat in my social circle, but even to traverse the halls of a historic university meant for the children of the rich.Here for the first time I met women who told me that men were guilty of having kept all the joys and privileges of the earth for themselves.I was puzzled, and demanded clarification.What privileges? What joys? I thought about the grim, wounded lives of most of the men back home.What had they allegedly stolen from their wives and daughters? The right to work five days a week, 12 months a year, for 30 or 40 years, wedged in tight spaces in the textile mills, or in the coal mines, struggling to extract every last bit of coal from the rock-hard earth? The right to die in war? The right to fix every leak in the roof, every gap in the fence? The right to pile banknotes high for a rich corporation in a city far away? The right to feel, when the lay-off came or the mines shut down, not only afraid but also ashamed? 一份奖学金使我得以上大学，这可是我社交圈子里极其难得的荣耀。不仅如此，它还让我能够穿行于为富人家的孩子打造的史上著名的大学殿堂里。就在这里，我生平头一次碰到女人告诉我说男人是有罪的，因为他们把地球上所有的欢乐和特权都据为己有。我被弄糊涂了，要求她们予以解释。什么特权？什么欢乐？我想到家乡大多数男人那种艰难严酷、伤痛累累的生活。人们所说的他们从妻子和女儿那里偷走的东西又能是些什么呢？难道是每周五天、每年十二个月，如此三四十年里挤缩在纺织厂狭小的空间里，或是在煤矿下挣扎着从岩石般坚硬的泥土中挖出最后一点煤的劳作的权力？战死疆场的权利？修缮屋顶上每条裂缝和围栏上每个断栏的权利？为一个遥远的城市某个富裕财团垒积钱钞的权利？在遭遇解雇或煤矿倒闭时感到既害怕又羞耻的权利？

In this alien world of the rich, I was slow to understand the deep grievances of women.This was because, as a boy, I had envied them.Before college, the only people I had ever known who were interested in art or music or literature, the only ones who ever seemed to enjoy a sense of ease were the mothers and daughters.What's more, they did not have to go to war.By comparison with the narrow, compartmentalized days of fathers, the comparatively lightweight work of mothers seemed expansive.They clipped coupons, went to see neighbors, or ran errands at school or at church.I saw their lives as through a telescope, all twinkling stars and shafts of light, missing the details that truly defined their days.No doubt, had I taken a more deductive look at their lives, I would have envied them less.I didn't see, then, what a prison a house could be, since houses seemed to me brighter, handsomer places than any factory.As such things were never spoken of, I did not realize how often women suffered from men's bullying.Even then I could see how exhausting it was for a mother to cater all day to the needs of young children.But, as a boy, if I had to choose between tending a baby and tending a machine, I think I would have chosen the baby.在这样一个满是富人的陌生世界里，我在理解女人们深深的怨怒方面很是迟钝。这是因为，当我还是一个小男孩时，我就嫉妒过她们。在上大学之前，我所认识的唯一对艺术、音乐或文学有兴趣的人，唯一看上去能够享受一丝自在的一群人就是那些做母亲和女儿的人。而且，她们也不必去参加战争。与父亲们所遭受的狭隘的、封闭的日子相比，母亲们所承担的相对较轻的工作显得更加宽泛一些。她们剪用购物券，探访邻居，在学校或教堂跑跑腿。我仿佛是透过望远镜看到她们的生活，满是闪烁的星星和一缕缕光线，而漏掉了她们生活岁月的真实细节。毋庸置疑，如果我用更具理性的方式审视她们的生活，我就不会那么嫉妒她们了。可在那时，我实在看不出一幢房子能成为什么样的牢狱，因为房子在我看来比任何厂房都更亮堂、更体面。我也没有意识到女人是多么频繁地遭受男人的欺凌，因为这样的事情从未被提及过。即使在那时，我也能够看出一个母亲整日忙碌着应付年幼孩子们的需要是多么地辛苦。但是，作为男孩，如果我那时必须在照顾婴儿和照看机器之间作选择，我想我会选择照顾婴儿。

So I was baffled when the women at college made a racket accusing me and my sex of having cornered the world's pleasures.They demanded to be emancipated from the bonds of sexism.I think my bafflement has been felt by other boys(and by girls as well)who grew up in dirt-poor farm country, by the docks, in the shadows of factoriesat first.But after a while, it annoys, as if the only things that people heard one say were what had been filtered through the sieve of social niceties: I'm so pleased to meet you.I've heard many wonderful things about you.我当然相信每个人在一开始都会把这种描述的话当成称赞。但过了一段时间，这种话就会让人恼怒，就好像所听到的只是些经过细微的社交区别过滤后的言辞，诸如“很高兴认识你，我听到许多人都夸奖你”之类的话。

These remarks are not representative of new ideas, honest emotions, or considered thought.Like a piece of bread, they are only the crust of the interaction, or what is said from the polite distance of social contexts: greetings, farewells, convenient excuses, and the like.This generalization, therefore, is not a true composite of Chinese culture but only a stereotype of our exterior behavior.这些话不能表达什么新观点，也不能传达什么真实的情感或深思熟虑的想法。它们就像一片面包，只是人们交往中最表层的东西，或社交场合下出于礼貌而说的一些话：问候、道别、顺口的托词，诸如此类。由此看来，那些对中国人的概括性评价并非是对中国文化成分的真实描述，而仅仅是对我们外在行为的一种成见而已。

”So how does one say 'yes' and 'no' in Chinese?“ my friends may ask carefully.“那么中文究竟怎么表达„是‟和„不是‟呢？”我的朋友也许会小心翼翼地问。

At this junction, I do agree in part with The New York Times Magazine article.There is no one word for ”yes“ or ”no“, but not out of necessity to be discreet.If anything, I would say the Chinese equivalent of answering ”yes“ or ”no“ is specific to what is asked.在这一点上，我的确在某种程度上同意《纽约时报杂志》的那篇文章。在中文里，没有哪一个字专门用于表达“是”或“不是”，但这并非是因为需要保持谨慎。若的确有什么不同的话，那我会说中文里对应的“是”或“不是”的表达通常是针对所问的具体内容而定的。

Ask a Chinese person if he or she has eaten, and he or she might say chrle(eaten already)or meiyou(have not).如果你问一个中国人是否吃饭了，他（或她）会说“吃了”（已经吃过）或“没有”（没有吃过）。

Ask, ”Have you stopped beating your wife?“ and the answer refers directly to the proposition being asserted or denied: stopped already, still have not, never beat, have no wife.你若问：“你停止打老婆了吗？”他会直接就所断定或所否认的假设进行回答：已经停止了，还没有，从来不打，没有老婆。What could be clearer? 还有什么能比这更明了的呢？

Culture makes the business world go round

文化推动商业世界的运转

Edward Hall, a leader in the field of intercultural studies, famously said: ”The single greatest barrier to business success is the one erected by culture.“ Can cultural differences have as big an impact on international business ventures as financial planning and visionary leadership? The surprising answer is: Yes!他曾说过一句名言：“商业成功的最大障碍是由文化竖立的障碍。”对国际企业来说，文化差异难道真的和财务规划及前瞻性领导有着同样大的影响吗？答案是出人意料的：的确如此！

A good example is the role of relationships in business dealings.While relationships play only a minor role in US business culture, they play a major role in Asian, African, and Middle Eastern countries.In these cultures, in varying degrees, relationship building is like a torch that lights and guides the way for business to occur.一个很好的例子，人际关系在生意往来中所起的作用。尽管人际关系在美国商业文化中作用不大，但在亚洲、非洲及中东国家却十分重要。在这些文化中，人际关系的经营在不同程度上就好像是照亮和引导生意征程的火炬。

Let's take the example of Kevin Johnston, a senior vice-president of a US company specializing in hospitality management.Kevin was put in charge of finalizing a merger with a company in the United Arab Emirates(UAE).Virtually all of the complicated negotiations had been completed.What remained was a 3-day trip to the UAE for face-to-face meetings between the partners to sign the paperwork and close the deal.让我们以美国一家酒店管理公司高级副总裁凯文?约翰斯顿的故事为例说明。凯文被指派负责敲定与阿拉伯联合酋长国（阿联酋）一家公司的合并事宜。几乎所有复杂的谈判均已完成，剩下的就是花三天时间前往阿联酋与对方面谈，以签署协议文件并完成整个交易。

Kevin was determined that nothing would detain him from succeeding.He sent out a memorandum across his company, enthusiastically describing the planned merger with the UAE partners.Having compiled all the necessary documents and graphs, with every figure and decimal in place, and having prepared a thorough exposition certifying the quality of his company, he packed his briefcase and headed for the UAE.凯文坚信，任何事情都不会阻碍他此行成功完成任务。他给公司上下发了一份备忘录，热情洋溢地描述了与阿联酋方面的这一合并计划。在他整理好了所有必备的文件和乃至数据及小数点都精确到位的各种图表，并准备了一份证明公司资质的详尽说明后，他就装好了公文包，奔赴阿联酋。

Kevin arrived in the UAE excited to seal the deal.He was treated with extraordinary hospitality: an elaborate hotel, blue ribbon foods, elegant convertibles with drivers to tour the city, a parade of entertainment, and beautiful gifts to commemorate the visit.He tried repeatedly to bring out his files, open the conversation and get down to business.But, surprisingly, for the three days he spent in the UAE, none of his Emirate colleagues seemed ready to hear his financial briefing.Each time Kevin tried to speak about the deal, his prospective partners seemed to ”kidnap“ the conversation, perting it to other topics.They would inquire about his health, his family or his views on education and other important issues.凯文到了阿联酋，对于此行来完成这项交易感到兴奋无比。他受到了超规格的殷勤接待：奢华的宾馆、一流的佳肴、配有专职司机的优雅的敞篷车带他游览全城、接连不断的娱乐活动、精美的纪念品。他多次试图取出带来的文件资料，想打开话题谈生意，但奇怪的是，在他停留的三天里，阿联酋的同仁们却好像没有一个人愿意听他准备的财务情况简介。每当凯文试图谈及交易时，有望成为合作伙伴的对方似乎总是“绑架”谈话内容，岔开话题。他们会转而询问他的健康、他的家人，或他对教育和其他重要问题的看法。Upon leaving the UAE, Kevin felt exasperated and defeated.He hadn't been able to receive the thorough interrogation of the materials for which he had so carefully prepared.His progress toward closing the deal was exactly where it was when he left the US: nil.离开阿联酋时，凯文感到既恼火又丧气。对于自己精心准备的材料，他根本就无法获得对方的详细询问。至于完成这项交易的计划，则与他离开美国时毫无二致：零进展。

The above case is a classic example of how a friction between different cultural expectations causes delay that, if not handled appropriately, will bring the deal to an abrupt end and leave both sides reeling.The substantial loss of revenue can never be refunded and can leave a struggling company falling without a parachute.上述例子很经典，它说明了不同文化期望值之间的冲突会如何导致延误。这种延误若未能恰当处理的话，就会使一笔生意戛然中断，让双方都不知所措。所造成的巨大的收入损失永远无法弥补，甚至还会让一家在困境中挣扎的公司突然倒闭，就像没用降落伞从高空坠落一样，毫无缓冲。

Kevin made the mistake of assuming that the ”certifications“ involved in sealing the deal were in his briefcase.He charged into the meetings like a bull.For many cultures, a person's certifications are established not only by their accomplishments, their education and abilities, but also by more personal connections.In this case, the UAE partners wanted to know if Kevin was a good man, a family man, a trustworthy man.This type of rating establishes a trusting relationship for them.Had Kevin patiently taken the time to establish relationships, he would likely have been asked to share his carefully prepared documents and have closed the deal.凯文错误地以为，生意成交只要靠自己公文包中的各种证明文件就行。他风风火火地去参加会谈，就像一头误打误撞的公牛。但对于很多文化来说，一个人确立自己的资质不仅要靠业绩、教育背景或个人能力，而且要靠更多的人际交往。在这一例子中，阿联酋合作伙伴很想知道的是，凯文是不是个好人，是不是个顾家和值得信赖的人。对他们而言，这种评判能够确立双方之间的信任关系。如果凯文当初能够花些时间耐心地去经营一下双方关系的话，他们也许就会让他介绍一下精心准备的材料并完成交易了。

Sociologists agree that another key aspect influencing global business is the concept of face.Cross-cultural differences in the way we save face impact our perceptions of trust and respect, which in turn impact our relationships and group cohesion.社会学家一致认为，影响国际商务的另一关键因素是“面子”。在“顾面子”的方式上，跨文化差异会影响我们对信任和尊重的看法，而这种看法反过来又会影响人们之间的关系和团队凝聚力。

Take the example of Ann, a US manager who took a reactionary approach to cultural differences.Ann thought being a nominee for the leadership position with a sales team based in Singapore was a climax of her career.Ann tried to establish a working relationship with each team member.After a few weeks of working on team unification and solidarity, presenting guidelines, and offering sales advice, she carefully compartmentalized goals for each member of the sales team.以一位叫安的美国经理为例。安对文化差异采取了一种保守策略。她被提名为一个设于新加坡的销售团队的领导，她将此看作自己事业的一个顶峰。安努力和每一位团队成员都建立良好的工作关系。她花了数周时间致力于建立团队的统一性与凝聚力、介绍工作原则、提出销售建议，之后她为销售团队的每位成员精心设定了分块目标。

Later, when the team convened face-to-face for their first quarterly review meeting, Ann, after praising a Chinese team member, boldly criticized and questioned a Korean, trying to extract the exact reason why he was lagging so far behind on his goals.The meeting immediately lost its groove.The entire group became solemn and, for the rest of the meeting, remained polite but largely mute.过了一段时间，在团队举行的面对面的首次季度工作总结例会上，安称赞了一位中国成员，而后毫不留情地批评并质询了一位韩国成员，试图找出他比别人落后许多的确切原因。会议立刻偏离了常规程序。整个团队变得严肃沉闷，而且在会议剩下的时间里，虽然大家都谦恭有礼，但大多数时候却沉默不言。Clearly, Ann was not familiar with the concept of saving face in other cultures.In US culture, saving face existscreatures with wings so impaired that they cannot fly.There are farms where you breed chickens for breast meat.Those birds are kept in low, repressive cages, forced to be hunched over all the time, which makes the breast muscles very big.One loud noise and the chickens go mad, killing themselves by flying against the walls of their cages.Having to spend all their lives stooped over makes an unnatural, crazy, no-good bird.It also makes unnatural, detached, no-good human beings.所有的野生鸟类都被你们改造成了鸡禽——一种翅膀退化、根本不会飞的生物。你们有许多农场，专门用来词养鸡以提供鸡胸脯肉。这些鸡被关在狭窄压抑的笼子里，不得不一直弓着身体，这使它们的胸脯肌肉变得很大。如果突发一声巨响，鸡群会吓得发疯般乱跑，撞死在笼子壁上。一辈子都必须佝偻着背使得这些鸡变成了既不天然又不正常、毫无用处的禽类。同时，人类也变得很不自然、冷漠无情、残酷刻薄。That's where you've fooled yourselves.You have not only altered, declawed, and deformed your winged and four-legged cousins;you have done it concurrently to yourselves.You inject Botox, or use plastic surgery, synthetic make-up and countless drugs.You have filtered and remolded humans into executives sitting in boardrooms, into office workers, into time-clock punchers.Your homes are filled with families disconnected from one another but tied to one great entity, television.在这点上，你们愚弄了自己。你们对自己带翅膀的和长四条腿的近亲兄弟姐妹进行了改造，剪掉了它们的爪子，甚至让它们变得畸形。同时，你们也在对自己做这些事情。你们注射肉毒杆菌毒素，接受整容手术，使用人造化妆品和数不清的药物。你们把人类进行筛选和改造：有的人是坐董事会议室的高级管理人员，有的人是坐办公室的白领，有的人是每日要按考勤钟打卡的工人。在家里，每个家庭成员之间也没有联系，却都沉溺于一个大实体，那就是电视。

”Watch the ashes, don't smoke, you'll stain the curtains.Watch the goldfish bowl.Don't lean your head against the wallpaper;your hair may be greasy.Don't spill liquor on that table: You'll peel off its delicate finish.You should have wiped your boots;the floor was just cleaned.Don't, don't, don't...“ That is absurd!We weren't made to endure this type of repression.You live in prisons which you have built for yourselves, calling them ”homes“, offices, factories.“小心烟灰，不要抽烟，否则你会熏脏窗帘。小心金鱼缸。不要把头靠在墙纸上，你的头发也许很油。不要把饮料洒在桌子上，你会把它精美的涂层弄掉。你应该先擦擦靴子，地板刚刚才打扫过。不要做这个，不要做那个，不要……”这太荒谬了！人类生下来不是忍受这种压抑的。你们住在自己亲手打造的监狱里，只不过你们把它们称之为“家”、办公室或工厂而已。后面缺几段

Achieving sustainable environmentalism

实现可持续性发展的环保主义

Environmental sensitivity is now as required an attitude in polite society as is, say, belief in democracy or disapproval of plastic surgery.But now that everyone from Ted Turner to George H.W.Bush has claimed love for Mother Earth, how are we to choose among the dozens of conflicting proposals, regulations and laws advanced by congressmen and constituents alike in the name of the environment? Clearly, not everything with an environmental claim is worth doing.How do we segregate the best options and consolidate our varying interests into a single, sound policy? 在上流社会，对环境的敏感就如同信仰民主、反对整容一样，是一种不可或缺的态度。然而，既然从泰德•特纳到乔治•W.H.布什，每个人都声称自己热爱地球母亲，那么，在由议员、选民之类的人以环境名义而提出的众多的相互矛盾的提案、规章和法规中，我们又该如何做出选择呢？显而易见，并不是每一项冠以环境保护名义的事情都值得去做。我们怎样才能分离出最佳选择，并且把我们各自不同的兴趣统一在同一个合理的政策当中呢？ There is a simple way.First, differentiate between environmental luxuries and environmental necessities.Luxuries are those things that would be nice to have if costless.Necessities are those things we must have regardless.Call this distinction the definitive rule of sane environmentalism, which stipulates that combating ecological change that directly threatens the health and safety of people is an environmental necessity.All else is luxury.有一种简便的方法。首先要区分什么是环境奢侈品，什么是环境必需品。奢侈品是指那些无需人类付出代价就能拥有的给人美好感受的东西。必需品则是指那些无论付出什么代价，都一定要去拥有的东西。这一区分原则可以被称为理性环保主义的至高原则。它规定，对那些直接威胁人类健康与安全的生态变化采取应对措施是环境保护的必需品，而其他则都属于奢侈品。

For example, preserving the atmosphereis an environmental necessity.Recently, scientists reported that ozone damage is far worse than previously thought.Ozone depletion has a correlation not only with skin cancer and eye problems, it also destroys the ocean's ecology, the beginning of the food chain atop which we humans sit.例如，保护大气层——阻止臭氧损耗及控制温室效应——是环境保护的必需品。近来，科学家报告说臭氧层遭受破坏的程度远比我们先前认为的要严重得多。臭氧损耗不仅与皮肤癌及眼疾有关，而且它还会破坏海洋生态。而海洋生态是食物链的起点，人类则位于该食物链的顶端。

The possible thermal consequences of the greenhouse effect are far deadlier: melting ice caps, flooded coastlines, disrupted climate, dry plains and, ultimately, empty breadbaskets.The American Midwest feeds people at all corners of the atlas.With the planetary climate changes, are we prepared to see Iowa take on New Mexico's desert climate, or Siberia take on Iowa's moderate climate? 温室效应所可能引发的热效应是非常具有毁灭性的：冰川融化、海岸线被淹没、气候遭受破坏、平原干涸，最终食物消失殆尽。美国中西部地区的粮食供养着全世界。随着全球气候的变化，我们难道准备看到衣阿华州变成新墨西哥州的沙漠气候，而西伯利亚变成衣阿华州的温和气候吗？

Ozone depletion and the greenhouse effect are human disasters, and they are urgent because they directly threaten humanity and are not easily reversible.A sane environmentalism, the only kind of environmentalism that will strike a chord with the general public, begins by openly declaring that nature is here to serve human beings.A sane environmentalism is entirely a human focused regime: It calls upon humanity to preserve nature, but merely within the parameters of self-survival.臭氧损耗和温室效应是人类的灾难，而且是需要紧急处理的灾难，因为它们直接威胁到人类，且后果很难扭转。理性环保主义——唯一能够引起公众共鸣的环保主张——首先公开声明，自然是服务于人类的。理性环保主义是一种完全以人类为中心的思想。它号召人类保护自然，但是是在人类自我生存得到保证的前提之下。Of course, this human focus runs against the grain of a contemporary environmentalism that indulges in overt earth worship.Some people even allege that the earth is a living organism.This kind of environmentalism likes to consider itself spiritual.It is nothing more than sentimental.It takes, for example, a highly selective view of the kindness of nature, one that is incompatible with the reality of natural disasters.My nature worship stops with the twister that came through Kansas or the dreadful rains in Bangladesh that eradicated whole villages and left millions homeless.当然，这种以人类为中心的主张与当下盛行的环保主义是格格不入的，后者已经沉溺于对地球的公然崇拜。有的人甚至声称地球是一个活的生物体。这种环保主义喜欢把自己看作是神圣的，其实它只是感情用事而已。比如，在自然是否友善的问题上，当下的环保主义采取了高度选择性的片面的观点，而这种观点与自然造成的灾难这一现实是不相协调的。当龙卷风肆虐堪萨斯州，当瓢泼大雨袭击孟加拉国，毁灭了整座整座的村庄，使几百万人失去家园的时候，我对自然的崇拜便停止了。

A non-sentimental environmentalism is one founded on Protagoras's idea that ”Man is the measure of all things.“ In establishing the sovereignty of man, such a principle helps us through the dense forest of environmental arguments.Take the current debate raging over oil drilling in a corner of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge(ANWR).Environmentalist coalitions, mobilizing against a legislative action working its way through the US Congress for the legalization of such exploration, propagate that Americans should be preserving and economizing energy instead of drilling for it.This is a false either-or proposition.The US does need a sizable energy tax to reduce consumption.But it needs more production too.Government estimates indicate a nearly fifty-fifty chance that under the ANWR rests one of the five largest oil fields ever discovered in America.It seems illogical that we are not finding safe ways to drill for oil in the ANWR.非感情用事的环保主义是建立在普罗泰哥拉的格言“人是万物的尺度”的基础上的。在建立人类权威的过程中，这条原则会帮助我们梳理各种错综复杂的关于环境保护的争议。就以当前关于是否在北极国家野生动物保护区的某一角落开采石油的激烈争论为例吧。环保主义者联盟动员人们反对目前正在试图通