40篇短文搞定高考3500个单词(2)
40篇英语短文搞定高考3500个单词第二部分，中英文对照。enjoy~
A Strange Disease
奇怪的疾病
When the construction of the firework factory came to the stage of painting, a pump was put in. Then, all the painters in the neighbourhood were defeated by a severe disease whose characteristic was alike to that of a bad burn.
An expert physician was instructed to attend to the victims and handle this case. He was enthusiastic, but he didn’t foresee that it was a hard challenge. After simple enquiry, he announced that the polluted paint was to blame. But without positive evidence, people suspected and rejected his view, saying the theory he put forward made no sense. Being much more strict with himself, he contributed himself to the case. Apart from making enquiries, he made detailed charts and analysed the data cautiously. Finally, he drew a scientific conclusion, linking the disease to the radium in the pump. Exposed to radium, a kind of radioactive material in the universe, people absorbed radiation and got sick immediately.
Spinning the pump backward, he took away the radium. This simple movement cured all the victims.
当那座烟花工厂的建设到了油漆阶段时，一个水泵被安装进来，接着，在它附近的油漆
工都得了一种严重的疾病（疾病击败油漆工），其特征与烧伤相似。
一位经验丰富的内科医生被指定去照顾受害者并负责处理这一案例。他热情地投入到工作中，但是却没有预见到这是一次艰难的挑战。在简单的询问后，他就宣布说罪魁祸首是受污染的油漆（油漆应受责备）。但是没有确实的证据，人们很怀疑并拒绝他的观点，大家都说他提出的理论毫无道理。他对自己要求更加严格，全身心地投入。除了询问，他还制作了详细的图表，谨慎地分析各项数据，最后，他终于得出了一个科学的结论，把疾病和水泵中的镭联系起来。镭是宇宙中的一种放射性物质，当暴露在镭的辐射中时，人体吸收其射线，立刻染上疾病。
他把水泵向后旋转，拿走了里面的镭，这个简单的动作治愈了所有的受害者。
Sightseeing in the United Kingdom
观光联合王国
After the wedding, my cousin and his wife went to the United Kingdom for nationwide sightseeing. He faxed a letter to me in English yesterday. To my delight, he no longer made any tense error. And his description roughly clarified my questions about the UK–its currency, its administration, the institution which divides it into four provinces, and the historical conflicts and quarrels when Southern Ireland broke away from the UK.
Unwilling to leave out any attraction, my cousin arranged his enjoyable journey carefully. One attractive place he visited was a castle in the countryside of Scotland, which lies near a port. It used to be the headquarters（请注意：音频里面是headquarter，没有加s，是不对的。）of the Communism Union but broke down during the war. Finding nothing could take the place of this splendid architecture, people accomplished rebuilding it in 1952. It was to their credit that all furnished rooms are consistent with what they used to be. My cousin was thrilled by its collections consisting of statues plus royal uniforms folded in glass tanks. Though there was no possibility to buy some of these exhibits, it was convenient to take photos, which he sent me along with his fax.
我的表弟和他妻子在举办了婚礼后到联合王国做全国旅游观光去了。他昨天传真了一封英文信给我，让我高兴的是，他再也不犯时态错误了，而且他的描述也粗略地向我阐明了关于英国的一些问题——它的货币啦，行政管理啦，把它分成四个行政区的制度啦，还有在南爱尔兰脱离联合王国时发生的一些历史上的冲突和争拗。
因为不愿意漏掉任何一个景点，我表弟仔细地安排了他愉快的旅程。他参观的其中一个吸引人的地方是苏格兰乡村的一个城堡。城堡靠近一座港口，曾经是共产主义联盟会的总部，但是在战争中倒塌了。人们发现没有任何东西可以取代这座辉煌的建筑，于是在1952年完成了重建。值得赞扬的是，所有配备家具的房间都和它们过去一致的。由雕像加折叠在玻璃柜里的皇家制服组成的收藏品使我表弟震撼不已。尽管没有可能购买这些展览品，拍照却很方便，他在传真中一起发给了我。
An Air Crash
飞机失事
I was a previous typist in a post office. Because I couldn’t tolerate typing any more postage bills or postcodes on a typewriter every day, I resigned. With a greedy motivation of making big money, I took up working as a business representative for the G.E Ecology Company, which produced goods by recycling useful materials from our dustbins. My new job left me good impressions in many aspects except that the working timetable was full of traveling by jets.
Once, when speeding up, our jet was swallowed by a thunderstorm, which destroyed our GPS receiver and made us lose sight of the directions. A constantly flashing light showed that our jet was in danger. A steward instantly asked us to put on masks and fasten the safety belts, and then pressed a button to switch on the escaping capsule. It slid sideways out of the opening at once and landed in a desert area safely. Lacking food and tablets, we were nervous and uncertain at first. But we all kept optimistic and made good adjustment to the situation. We swept up the surrounding mud to make our settlement and were back on our feet soon. Finally, guided by the smoke of our crashing jet, some local citizens came by carriages and saved us.
我以前是一家邮局的打字员，因为忍受够了每天在打字机上打邮资账单或邮政编码，我辞了职。带着想挣大钱的贪婪动机，我开始给一家叫G.E生态公司的企业当商务代表，这家公司通过回收我们垃圾箱里的有用材料生产商品。我的新工作在多方面都给了我很好的印象，除了一点：乘飞机旅行挤满了我的工作时间表。
有一次，我们的喷气飞机在加速时被一场雷暴吞没，不仅损坏了GPS信号接收器，还使我们看不见方向。一盏持续闪亮的灯说明我们的飞机正处在危险中。一名乘务员立刻让我们戴上面罩、系牢安全带，接着按下一枚按钮 打开逃生仓电源，逃生仓马上侧着滑出出口，安全降落在一片荒凉的地区。因为缺少食品和药品，我们一开始都又紧张又心里没底，但是我们都保持乐观，做好调整适应这一新境况。我们打扫干净周围的泥土，安顿下来，很快就恢复过来。最后，在我们坠机烟雾的指引下，一些当地的居民搭乘马车到来，我们都获救了。
An Amateur Journalist
业余记者
Jane is a housewife, but delighted to work as an amateur journalist. It is a dilemma for her to rush between family and work, and it is also unusual for the News Department to depend on an amateur to cover crimes. But Jane is really gifted. It is admirable that she is seldom accused of making mistakes. And, eager to become more professional, she concentrates on her job and updates herself now and then.
Once she is informed of a new case, her normal working process is as follows: first, she makes appointments with guilty people for interviews. So as to acquire accurate stories, she usually demands to record what they say. Meanwhile, a technically good colleague will assist her in taking photographs. Second, she assesses whether they are deliberately hiding the truth. If she is skeptical about their words, she will look into the case herself. Third, she writes thorough stories ahead of the deadline and submits it to the senior chief editor, who polishes and approves every section. Finally, her stories will be published in different editions of their magazine.
简是一名家庭主妇，但却非常乐意做一名业余记者。在家和工作之间奔波总是使她左右为难，而且对于新闻部来说，依靠一名业余人员来报道罪案也是不同寻常的，但是简真的很有天赋，让人钦佩的是她极少因为犯错而受到责备。因为渴望做得更加专业，她全神贯注于工作，且时不时地就提升自身的业务水平。
一旦接到新案子的通知，她通常的工作程序如下：首先，她和有罪的人约了作采访。为了获得准确的新闻，她通常要求做录音，同时，一位技术上好的同事会协助她拍照；接着，她对受采访的人是否有故意隐瞒真相作出评估。如果她怀疑他们的话，就会亲自调查案件；然后，她在截稿期限前写出详尽的报道，呈交给高级主编，由他对每个部分做润色和批准；最后，她的新闻就发表在杂志的各个版本中了。
First Aid
急救
A boy fell ill. His organs were damaged by the radiation of an infrared ray stove. But before the ambulance arrived, a number of other injuries happened to this unlucky boy over and over again. First, he was choked by some poisonous liquid from the kettle on the cupboard. Then his wrist skin was burnt by electric shock. Finally, his ankle was cut by a pan.
Fortunately, the boy’s nurse gave him proper temporary treatments according to his complex symptoms. She mildly squeezed the poisonous liquid out of his throat and put bandages firmly in place to apply pressure to the ankle wound to stop bleeding. As for the burn, she used scissors to remove his sleeve, poured a basin of cold water over the burn to cool it and put her hands on a damp blouse to cover his swollen tissue tightly. She also inspired his bravery to fight against the unbearable pain. Her first aid made a vital difference in saving his life. A ceremony was held to honour the nurse who overcame a variety of barriers to save the boy.
有个孩子病倒了，他的体内器官被一台红外线烤炉的放射线灼伤了。但是在救护车到来前，这个不幸的孩子身上还一而再、再而三地发生了许多别的伤害。开始是被橱柜上水壶里的有毒液体噎住，然后是手腕的皮肤被电击烧伤，最后，一只平底锅还割伤了他的脚踝。
幸运的是，男孩的保姆根据他的复杂症状给予了适当的临时治疗。她轻轻地从他喉咙里把有毒液体挤了出来；并在脚踝合适的位置紧紧扎上绷带，施加压力使伤口的流血止住；对于烧伤，她用剪刀剪去他的袖子，倒了一盆凉水给烧伤位置降温，并找来一件湿的女式衬衫紧紧盖住他肿胀的皮肤组织。此外，她还激发起他的勇敢和难以忍受的疼痛做斗争。她的急救在挽救他性命中起了至关重要的作用。人们举办了一场典礼来表彰这位克服各种障碍挽救了男孩的小保姆。
Abstract Art
抽象艺术
Abstract art used to be controversial. On one hand, the artists stopped painting delicate figures but attempted to adopt special techniques to give people different visual impacts. On the other hand, their works, including sculptures carved out of marble or fragile clay, were all with a specific aim of showing feelings. Some conventional scholars who were allergic to abstract art said it was evidently ridiculous and neither art nor geometry. Their Traditional Art Committee predicted its soon disappearing.
But nowadays, abstract art has become part of the permanent possessions of contemporary civilization. Galleries along the Madison Avenue give scores of superb exhibitions on typical abstract works, appealing to many who have a preference for abstract art. The Shadow of Egypt, a café in this district, has become the home to those aggressive abstract artists. Consequently, it is not a coincidence for you to meet one of these artists of great reputation in the flesh. They are asked for signatures and given bunches of fragrant flowers plus they are given a great deal of praise by their faithful fans.
抽象艺术曾经颇受争议，一方面，抽象艺术家们不再画精致的画像，而是试图采用特别的技巧给人们以不同的视觉冲击；另一方面，他们的作品，包括用大理石和易碎的粘土雕刻出来的雕像，都以表达感情为其明确的目的。有些对抽象艺术反感的传统学者说抽象艺术是极其明显地荒谬可笑，说它既不是艺术，又不是几何学，他们的传统艺术委员会还预言了它的迅速消失。
但是到了今天，抽象艺术已经成为当代文明永久财产的一部分，麦蒂逊大道的画廊为典型的抽象艺术作品举办了许多出色的展览，吸引了许多对抽象艺术有偏爱的人。这区有家叫埃及之影的咖啡馆已经成为那些有进取精神的抽象艺术家们活动的根据地，所以，亲眼见到一位名声极大的艺术家本人并不是什么巧合的事，他们被忠实的崇拜者索取签名，并被给予成束的芬芳花朵和大量的赞扬。
A Russian Poem
俄国童谣
Since childhood, Anton had often recited poems, accompanied by pianists and violinists, at wedding ceremonies before brides and bridegrooms exchanged rings. Gradually, he found writing poems the most appropriate way to convey his joy and sorrow. When his poem Contradictory Blank won him a national championship and a scholarship to the Moscow University from a sponsor, he was just an unknown librarian. After getting his diploma, he devoted his life to writing poems. Using concrete but flexible language and the minimum of words is his style. He tried out different patterns and preferred nursery rhyme in particular. The following is a translation of one of his works made up of 3 sections:
Little sparrow with heavy load,
Ran out of energy and very cold;
No compass and all sweat salty,
Can you go through the endless darkness?
Little balloon let out by the thread,
Flew over cottages and was very glad;
With warmth transformed from sunlight,
He said he could forever fly;
Take it easy, little balloon;
Don’t tease the sparrow with his wound;
On the bare branch and have a rest;
This diamond heart will eventually get success.
从童年时起，安东就常常在钢琴师或小提琴师的伴奏下在婚礼上朗诵诗歌，为新郎新娘交换戒指前的仪式助兴。渐渐地，他发现写诗是表达他的欢乐和悲伤的最合适方式。在他还是个寂寂无闻的图书管理员时，他的诗《矛盾的空白》就获得了全国诗歌创作冠军，并为他赢得一位赞助人提供的奖学金，到莫斯科大学深造。获得文凭后，他将一生都投入到诗歌创作中。使用具体而灵活的语言和最少的词语数量是他的风格，他还喜欢尝试不同的诗歌形式，特别是童谣。下面由三部分组成的译文就是他的作品中的一首：
小麻雀，负重担，
筋疲力尽挡风寒；
没有罗盘和航标，
汗水成盐无指引，
能否穿越无边暗？
小气球，脱绳系，
飞越农舍真高兴；
阳光给予它温暖，
永远高飞不费力；
别紧张，小气球，
别笑麻雀伤口留；
光光的树梢歇片刻，
恒（钻石）心终把成功求。
Let’s Help Adolescents
帮助青少年
Whether they are male or female, adolescents feel like deciding on everything themselves in spite of parents’ instruction, especially when they face problems like sex, mental stress, etc., which make them feel ashamed and embarrassed. Thus they often automatically get into troubles due to their imperfect comprehension and judgement. Some are addicted to cigarettes, only several packets of which will hurt their lungs and make them breathless quickly. Others can’t quit drinking alcohol, whose harmful effects include causing young pregnant women to abort or give birth to abnormal babies. The worst is drug abuse, for the withdrawal is tough once their bodies are accustomed to the drugs. Meanwhile, those who share needles bought from illegal chemists are at great risk of being infected with desperate AIDS. If so, neither injecting nor taking pills can guarantee their survival.
However, don’t be disappointed at or have prejudice against our children so easily. After all, being awkward is an appendix of youth. As long as we strengthen communication with them instead of only banning this or banning that, we will surely help them avoid anything unfit.
不论男女，青少年们都喜欢不顾家长的指导，自己对一切作决定，特别是当他们面对如性、心理压力等等一些使他们觉得羞愧和尴尬的问题时更是如此。因此，由于他们理解力和判断力的不足，他们常常会无意识地陷入困境中。有的对香烟上瘾，只要几包就会对他们的肺造成损害，使他们很容易就气喘吁吁；有的没法戒除酒精带来的不良后果，包括造成年轻的怀孕女性流产或生下不正常的婴儿；最糟糕的是滥用毒品，因为一旦他们的身体对毒品习惯了，要想戒毒就相当困难了。同时，那些共用从非法药剂师处购买的注射器的青少年冒着感染令人绝望的艾滋病的极大风险，一旦感染上，不管是打针还是吃药都没法保证他们的生存了。
然而，请不要轻易就对我们的孩子失望或抱有偏见，毕竟，不成熟是年轻的必然附属品。只要我们加强和他们的沟通，而不是仅仅禁止这样，不准那样，我们一定能帮助他们避开不健康的东西。
Refresh Our Environment
恢复环境生机
As the director stated on behalf of his researching group, the data of this graph makes a clear presentation of the future environmental tendency. On one hand, the quantity of fuel keeps on decreasing by 9% per year while the growth of a wide range of pollution has been a global trend. On the other hand, the mildly but steadily going up of the average temperature is resulting in catastrophes like widespread floods. Without disagreement, they subscribe to the view that it is humans’ existence and their randomly consuming energy that result in this phenomenon.
Many people have a commitment that developing nuclear power or energy from outer space will stop bad consequences coming about. However, scientists and educators are opposed to this view even if our needs may be met on the whole. They tend to advocate refreshing our circumstances by saving energy and recycling waste. It is suggested that we use energy-saving appliances such as electrical motors, microwaves and so on and not be casual about little things like recycling a can. So please glance around and see what you can do. So long as everybody makes contribution, we will not have to put up with this problem anymore.
正如那位主任代表他的研究小组所说明的那样，这张图表的数据清楚地描述了未来环境的趋势：一方面，燃料的数量以每年9%的速度持续减少，同时，大范围污染的增长已经成为一种全球趋势；另一反面，平均气温轻微却稳定地升高正在造成像广泛的洪涝那样的灾难。无不同意地，他们一致赞成是人类的存在和任意的消耗能源才造成了这一现象。
许多人都信奉开发核能和外太空能源会防止糟糕的后果发生的理论，然而，即使这样可以基本上满足我们的需要，科学家和教育家们仍然反对这一观点。他们更倾向于拥护用节省能源和回收废料的方法恢复环境生机，并建议我们要使用节省能源的器具，如电力发动机、微波炉等，还建议我们不要对如回收罐子这种小事漫不经心。因此，看看你身边是否有你能做的事，只要每个人都作出贡献，我们就不必再忍受这个问题的困扰了。
A Volcano Eruption
火山爆发
As the best candidate, I was appointed to collect and evaluate information for a database about diverse natural disasters, such as hurricanes, typhoons or thunderstorms. Sometimes I did this by giving out questionnaires to those who went through them. But sometimes I had to go through actual disasters myself. The Musaki Volcano was one of them.
At that time, I lived in a bungalow alongside the volcano with a novelist, who came for the appreciation of its eruption. One day, when I was drawing diagrams on the balcony and he was bathing inside, the volcano erupted unexpectedly. The ash and lava fountains shooting highly in the sky varied from 50 to 100 meters in height. It was absolutely fantastic! I even noticed a rainbow appear in the fog caused by a heat wave.
But, glancing through our surroundings, I foresaw the potential danger and found no guarantee of our safety. The uncomfortable gas almost made us unconscious. Sweats of anxiety began to drop. Managing to stop panicking and trembling, we quickly put on our protective suits, helmets and boots and eventually made our way to a safe place. How lucky we were even though my precious equipment and documents were all burnt to the ground!
作为最好的候选人，我被委派为一个数据库收集和评估各种自然灾害的信息，例如飓风、台风或雷暴等。有时我通过向经历过这些灾害的人分发调查问卷来收集信息，有时却得亲自经历实际的灾害。Musaki火山就是其中之一。
那时，我和一名来欣赏火山爆发的小说家同住在火山边上的一座平房里。有一天，当我正在阳台上画图表而他在屋里洗澡时，火山突然爆发了，喷射到天空中的火山灰和岩浆喷泉从50米到100米不等，这一情景绝对地奇异，我甚至还注意到一条彩虹出现在热浪造成的雾里。
然而，我向四周看了一下，马上预见到了潜在的危险，也发现了我们的安全毫无保障。令人不舒服的气体几乎使我们失去知觉，忧虑的汗水开始流淌下来。我们努力使自己不要惊慌和颤抖，迅速穿上保护套装、头盔和靴子，最后成功前往安全的地方。尽管我珍贵的设备和文件都烧得精光，但是我们真的非常幸运。
Defeat Disability
战胜残疾
Yang’s ambition was to get an architect certificate or become a bowling master. But when he was conducting experiments with a microscope in the basement, a tank on the bench exploded, sending him flying outwards through the exit. He was out of breath while knowing he lost his eyesight as well as 70% of his hearing. In other words, he was disabled. 阳的雄心是，要么获得一张建筑师证书，要么成为一名保龄球高手。但是在地下室里的显微镜下进行试验时，放在长凳上的一只大桶突然爆炸，把他从出口处炸飞了出去。当知道自己除了失去70%的听力之外，还失去了视力时，他完全喘不过气来。换句话说，他残疾了。
Feeling clumsy, he was annoyed at first though nobody made fun of him. He cut out going outdoors and just sat around at home talking to his parrot or tortoise silently. His sister resigned to help him in many ways. Her assistance and encouragement were so beneficial to his psychology that he adapted to his disability soon and became outgoing again. In a college accessible to him, he studied politics and literature. He always sat in the front row near the entry without any absence and, with the help of his handy laptop, he studied well by means of dictation. His thesis, Abolishing Slavery, met with all professors’ approval. After class, he and his companions often played drum music, which was noisy but suitable for his hearing. After graduation, he made high profits by designing software for a firm. All in all, in his community, he won his dignity and people’s congratulations.
He always wished all the best to his disabled fellows and encouraged them, “Never mind! All you have is adequate to get your achievement.”
最初，尽管没人取笑他，他还是非常气恼于自己的笨拙。他取消了外出，总是在家里闲坐，和他的鹦鹉和乌龟默默相对。他的姐姐辞了职，用许多方式帮助他。她的帮助和鼓励对他的心理是如此地有益，以致他很快就适应了自己的残疾，再次变得外向起来。他在一所接受他就读的学校里学习政治和文学，总是坐在靠近入口的前排，从不缺席。在他轻便好用的手提电脑的帮助下，他用听写的方式学习得很好。他的论文《废除奴隶制》受到所有教授的一致认可。课后，他和伙伴们还常常演奏大声却适合他听觉的鼓乐。毕业后，他通过设计软件为一家公司获得很高的利润。总之，在他的社区里，他赢得了自己的尊严和人们的祝贺。他一直都把所有最好祝愿给予他残疾的同伴，并鼓励他们：“没关系，你拥有的一切一定足够你取得自己的成就！”
Happy Marriage Needs Fighting For
幸福的婚姻需要争取
As a talented navy officer, he was bound to be busy. When his wife rang him up to declare her divorce alarm, he was still scanning a digital counter to check the data so as to give an assessment of the theoretical framework for a biochemical weapon. His junior staff’s sympathy made him feel embarrassed.
His wife was a part-time clerk. With his high bonus, she lived in a grand house with elegant cushions and bedding. Her favour was reading stars’ biographies or absurd fictions with endless chapters in her armchair. People envied her leisure life very much. But in fact, she was tired of being left alone. She sent emails to his mailbox every week to state her thinking and ask for his accompaniment, but never received reply of satisfaction. Tired of his explanation that he must obey the orders, she filed for divorce.
Because he desired to get their holy affection back, he set other affairs aside. He trimmed his fingernails short and changed his overweight figure as well as his awful haircut. He wore an apron to prepare delicious cuisine for her. He also bought her a necklace and piles of flowers hoping that their receiver could turn around.
After being tested out for 3 months in all, he eventually succeeded.
作为一名才华出众的海军军官，他注定是要忙碌的。当他的妻子打来电话宣布和他离婚的警告时，他还在查看一台数码计数器核对数据，以对一种生物化学武器的理论框架做出评估。他的下级职员表现出的同情使他很尴尬。
他的妻子是一位非全日性工作的职员，有了他的高津贴，她住在一所装饰有优雅垫子和寝具的富丽堂皇的屋子里。她的爱好是坐在扶手椅上读读明星们的传记或一些有没完没了章节的荒谬小说。别人都很妒忌她安逸的生活，但是实际上，她厌透了被独自丢下。她每周都给他的邮箱发电子邮件陈述她的想法，要求他的陪伴，但却从未收到满意答复。受够了他总是必须服从命令的解释，她提出了离婚。
因为渴望重新获得这份神圣的爱，他把别的事务都放在一边。他剪短了指甲，改变了超重的身材和糟糕的发型，还穿上围裙为她做可口的菜肴，他甚至还给她买了项链和成堆的鲜花，希望它们的接受者能够回心转意。
在被考验了总共3个月后，他最终成功了。
Mark and a Seal
马克和海豹
Mark rented an accommodation with his pension near the shore. He paid annual visits there to enjoy the vivid beauty in the depths of the pure sea.
Once, with his underwater telescope and flashlight, Mark dived along the boundary between the steep reef and the area of seaweed conservation. Suddenly, an awesome Antarctic seal with sharp teeth appeared opposite him. Every cell in his body was scared to death. But soon, he was aware that he wasn’t the target of an attack. With a neat wound in its lip caused by a shark, this grey seal was washed upside down by the tides time after time. But it tried to jog Mark as if to urge him to help it. So Mark abandoned fleeing away. With its teamwork, Mark used a net to drag the seal to the shallow water. Without pausing he helped it out after a simple operation and settled it in a narrow cave by the seaside. Every time he brought it tasty fish, it would yell and suck his hands happily. Witnesses said their anecdotes reflected a magic dimension of the relationship between humans and animals.
马克用他的退休金在海岸边租了一间住所，每年都去那儿欣赏纯净的大海深处那生动的美丽。
有一次，马克带着他的水下望远镜和手电筒，潜到陡峭的暗礁和海草保护区间的分界线。突然，一只长着尖利牙齿、使人畏惧的南极海豹出现在他对面。马克吓坏了，但是很快，他就意识到，他不是攻击的目标。这只灰色海豹的唇上有道鲨鱼咬出的整齐伤口，还时不时地被潮水冲得头上脚下。尽管如此，它却总是努力轻轻碰撞马克，似乎在催促他帮助它。于是马克放弃了逃跑。在这只海豹的合作下，马克用一张网把它拖到浅水区，并毫不停歇给它动了一个简单的手术，帮助它解决了问题，然后将它安置在海边一个狭窄的洞里。每次当马克给它带来鲜美可口的鱼时，它就会高兴地大声叫唤，还吮吸他的手。目击者都说他们的轶事映射出人与动物关系中奇妙的一个方面。
Helping the Remote Village
援助山村
A year ago, the famous astronaut received an invitation by airmail from a remote village. Intending to sniff some fresh air, he and his interpreter paid a fortnight visit there. It was a privilege for them to be there, but they were shocked by what they saw. The tracks were muddy. The river was drying up. Most villagers only possessed one broom, a few tins and several jars and their rectangular grass huts with round angles were surrounded by weeds. Besides, their school had no roof and platform, and the students had no concept of clicking a computer at all. They were badly in need.
Soon, the astronaut made a generous voluntary donation to the village. There were textbooks for students, sewing machines for tailors and tractors for farmers. His distribution catalogue also included operating a clinic and a trunk library, as well as giving weekly lessons to teach relevant farming knowledge like how to dry out seeds or raise oxen. He himself not only helped do some paperwork but also purchased grills for boys to toast potatoes and combs for girls who were dying to get one. The other day, he heard from the villagers again inviting him to participate in the donation anniversary. For political and security reasons, he couldn’t adjust his outgoing arrangement-otherwise he would go. But his deeds were remembered forever.
一年前，那位著名的宇航员收到一份由一个偏远村庄通过航空邮件寄来的邀请。因为想要呼吸一下新鲜空气，他和翻译到那儿做了一次两周的访问。当地之行使他们倍感荣幸，但却震惊于所见所闻。泥泞的道路、河流干枯，大部分的村民拥有的财产只不过是一只扫帚、几个瓶瓶罐罐而已，圆角的矩形草屋四周长满了杂草，学校也没有屋顶和讲台，学生们更对点击操作电脑毫无概念。他们生活确实相当困难。
很快，宇航员就向村庄做了慷慨的自愿捐赠。捐赠品中有给学生的课本，给裁缝的缝纫机，还有给农民的拖拉机。捐赠金的分配目录中还包括一间诊所和一间书箱图书馆的运作，并有传授像怎么使种子干透，或者怎么养牛这种相关农业知识的每周课程。他自己不仅亲自帮助做一些文书工作，还给男孩子们购买了烤马铃薯的烤架、给渴望得到梳子的女孩子们买了梳子。前几天，他又收到了村民们邀请他参加捐赠周年会的来信。出于政治和安全原因，他无法调整外出时间安排，否则他就会去了。不过他所做的一切村民们都永远记得。
Study in America
留学美国
Nannan’s father runs an enterprise near the Ming Tombs selling batteries and drills to the Daqing Oilfield. Hoping to get the qualification to help govern it, Nannan made much preparation and then left her motherland with her visa to study in America. Having reached her destination, she settled in an inn recommended by the travel agent.
As far as Nannan was concerned, she always kept it up in China. But she had to acknowledge it was not easy to adjust herself to the new academic requirements, which were not parallel with China’s. Though she was occupied with lectures and seminars day in and day out, the essays she drafted were still contradicted by her tutors. As for her routine life, she felt that it was hard to fit in, too. For example, she found English idioms difficult to understand. And it was out of the question to eat delicious Chinese foods though many optional cafeterias served abundant substitutes. In addition, she had to wait in a queue early for the minibus that took her to school and it was usually so cold that she felt numb. What bothered her most was that she received no apology when her sleeping was disturbed by a barking dog in a shopkeeper’s cage.
Luckily, with her parents comforting her by videophone, she became autonomous soon and eventually got her bachelor’s degree successfully.
楠楠的父亲在明陵附近经营一家企业，销售电池和钻机到大庆油田。抱着获得相应资格帮助管理的希望，楠楠做了大量准备，然后带着签证离开祖国去美国留学。抵达目的地后，她在一间旅行代理推荐的旅馆安顿下来。
就楠楠而言，她在国内一直保持着良好的状态，但是在国外，她却不得不承认，要适应新学院的要求不容易，它们和国内的要求不相同。尽管她整天都忙着听讲座、参加研讨会努力学习，她起草的论文还是被导师驳了回来。至于日常生活，她也感觉难于适应，例如，她发觉英语成语很难理解，而且不可能吃到地道的中国食品，尽管可选的许多餐馆都有提供丰富的替代品。此外，她还得冒着把人冻得麻木的寒冷早起排队等小型巴士去学校。最使她烦恼的是，一名店主笼子里的狗的吠叫闹得她睡不好觉，但却没有任何人向她道歉。
幸运的是，在她父母通过可视电话的安慰下，她很快就锻炼得自主独立起来，并最终成功获得了学士学位。
Immigrate to America
移民美国
Attracted by the boom in America, my nephew teamed up with a Korean to illegally cross the Bearing Strait in the Arctic to America. To avoid the Customs’ punishment, they hid in a small ferry called the North Pole Seagull, sitting back to back without sleeping, showering and shaving for 3 days, and had no chance to mourn their lost luggage when landing. The hardship of this crossing was apparent.
At first, he made a living by means of raising cattle and then was hired in aircraft industries. He lived in a Catholic district. Taking in a small percentage of Pakistani immigrants, the majority of the residents were from Italy and Denmark, who all kept up their customs and cultures. Different blocks here were distinctly marked out and indicated from the racial angle. It was unfair and needed reforming. But with nowhere else to go, my nephew lived on and managed to make a life for himself.
My nephew’s fortune came when he bravely helped a conductor brake a ream to stop it from slipping out of the rails. The man was elected vice chairman of the Socialist Party later. It occurred to my nephew that he could grasp this opportunity to ask for his help. The man who was thankful helped him apply to the civil authority for the right to live in America by inserting his brave deed into his documents. Unlike a great many other applicants, his application was approved by the Federal Justice Ministry. Before long, he started his own bakery and lived a better life.
因为受到美国繁荣的吸引，我的侄子与一名韩国人合作，从北极的白令海峡偷渡到美国。为了避开海关的惩处，他们躲在一艘叫“北极海鸥”的渡轮里，背靠背坐着，整整3天没有睡觉、洗澡和刮胡子，上岸的时候也没有机会心痛他们丢失的行李，这次横渡的艰辛是显而易见的。
起初，他借助饲养牲畜谋生，后来受雇于飞机制造工业。他住的地方是一个天主教区，除了包括一小部分（百分比）的巴基斯坦移民，大部分的居民都来自于意大利和丹麦，他们都保持着自己的风俗和文化，使这里的街区都从种族的角度清楚地划出界线，明确标示。这很不公平，极需改革，但我的侄子没别的地方可去，只好继续居住下去，想法设法开始新的生活。
我侄子的好运在他勇敢地帮助一名列车员刹停一列电车以防止其滑出轨道时到来了。那个人后来被选为社会党的副主席，我侄子就想到应该抓住机会请求他的帮助。这个人充满感激，立即把我侄子的勇敢事迹插入到申请文件中，帮助我侄子向美国国内政权当局申请美国居住权。不像别的许多申请人，我侄子的申请很快被联邦司法部批准了。不久，他就开了自己的面包店，过上了稍好一点的生活。
Be Careful about Cloning
谨慎对待克隆
After a series of initial experiments and corrections, the scientist’s hard work paid off when the twin clone turkeys were hatched with normal feather and claws. This breakthrough possibly enabled people to bring their adored pets back to life. However, it bothered him from time to time that their health was in poor condition because they were unable to resist illnesses. This drawback cast him down. Merely 2 weeks later, the clones and their carrier died, which struck frustration into his heart. He retired before he attained his ambition and became a member of an opera chorus to relieve his depression.
Shortly afterwards, the media published a conservative argument objecting to cloning owing to moral problems, and suggested the constitution include compulsory regulations to forbid obtaining commercial profits from cloning.
When interviewed, the scientist stared at the decorations on the ceiling, thinking for a while, and then said, “I’m not in favour of any arbitrary assumption, but undertaking cloning does differ from the straightforward procedure of making loafs out of flour. Until we accumulate enough exact knowledge, any practice is in vain and is bound to fail. Altogether, being more careful is reasonable or we may walk into a side road.”
在最初一系列的实验和修正之后，科学家的辛苦工作终于取得了成功，一对双生的克隆火鸡孵化出来，羽毛和爪子都很正常。这一突破或许能让人们使他们喜爱的宠物死而复生。然而，使他不时地烦恼的是，因为它们无法抵抗疾病，使得它们的健康状况极差。这个缺点让他很沮丧。仅仅过了2个星期，克隆体和母体都死亡了，这使他内心里充满了挫折，他也因此在达到自己目标前就退休了，并选择加入歌剧合唱团来减轻消沉的感觉。
之后不久，媒体就因为道德问题而发表了反对克隆的保守论点，并且建议宪法应该包括强制性的法规禁止通过克隆获得商业利益。
当被采访时，科学家盯着天花板上的装饰物思考了一会儿，说：“我不赞成任何任意的假设，但是从事克隆与用面粉制作面包的简单过程确实不大相同。在我们积累了足够的准确知识前，任何实际操作都是徒劳无功的，注定会失败。总而言之，更加谨慎地对待克隆是合理的，否则我们或许会误入歧途。”
Strange Patent Applications
奇怪的专利申请
I set about working in the current Patent Office after resigning from the court personnel. Competent and dynamic, I never feel passive while diving into the identifications of whether applications are valid and practical according to the new version of the criteria. 从法院人事部辞职后，我开始在现在的专利局工作。我工作起来既称职又有活力，在投身于根据新版的申请标准鉴定专利申请，以防它们无效或不实用时，我从未感觉到消极没劲。
With the expectation of distinguishing their own importance, some people leave the beaten track and file strange products with us now and then, for example, lantern that can be attached on your forehead, cubic walnuts, refrigerator made of straw and glue, perfume that nobody can bear to smell, and so on. 为了显示与众不同，时不时就有人违反常规，向我们提交一些奇怪的产品申请，例如固定在前额的信号灯、立方体的胡桃、用稻草和胶水制作的冰箱、没人能受得了的香水等
Once, a man made a triangle helicopter out of stainless wires and string. He called us up and merrily claimed it was stable and convenient to use, and never out of order. I asked him to hang on, but this innocent man just rang off and set out to fly from his courtyard. I dialed his number in the directory trying to ring him back, but never got through. 有一次，有个人用不锈钢丝和绳子制作了一架三角形的直升飞机。他致电给我们，高兴地声称其确实牢固，而且方便使用，从不发生故障。我请他稍等，但这个天真的人挂了电话就开始从院子里起飞。我拨打他在电话簿上的号码试图回电给他，却无法接通。
Merciful God blessing, an abrupt freezing rainfall made his powder wet. Luckily, the trouble was without any extension except that he crashed into a greengrocer’s making all the ripe fruits become messy jam. When people seized this crazy man with caution and sobered him by tapping his face, he complained about the bad weather instead of associating his failure with his unscientific design.
仁慈的上帝保佑，一场突然降临的冻雨打湿了他的火药，使他造成的麻烦没有扩大，只是撞入一间水果店，把所有成熟的水果都压成一塌糊涂的果酱。当人们小心地抓住这个失去理智的人，轻轻拍打他的脸使他清醒过来时，他还在抱怨糟糕的坏天气，却没有将他的失败与他不科学的设计联系起来。
Pronunciation and Status
口音与身份
An ambassador and a referee were consulting a professor on the caption of a Buddhistic alphabet when a sobbing woman stopped them to sell an antique musical bathtub. Her dirty garment and the handkerchief around her waist were badly in need of sending to a laundry. The ambassador uncomfortably gave her a handful of pence from his wallet and said, “Take this fortune away, troublesome woman.”
When her figure faded away, the brilliant professor said, “You are mistaken and your improper remark on her should be condemned. In terms of this extraordinary woman, you can’t classify her status by her horrible clothes or disgusting nails. Her clean woolen vest and stockings, especially her classic pronunciation, all suggested her upper status.” The ambassador gave a whistle in amazement, and advised making her acquaintance. The professor hesitated for a while, then compromised.
The outcome was that she was an authentic superior police officer. When they were shown in her office and saw her once more, she brought them a teapot of tea and some cookies, laughing and saying, “I rubbed some cream and wax on my garment and passed myself off as a shabby woman among thieves and robbers to investigate a plot. Generally speaking, your overlooking me and my adaptation are the best help. But my pronunciation seemed to have betrayed me.”
一位大使和一位裁判正在就一张佛教符号表的文字说明请教教授，这时，一名哭哭啼啼的女人把他们拦住，要卖给他们一个古董音乐澡盆，她肮脏的衣服和腰间的手帕都急需送到洗衣店清洗。大使很不舒服地从钱包里掏出一把便士说：“把这大笔钱拿走，麻烦的女人！”
等她的身影渐渐远去，那位才华横溢的教授说：“你错了，你对她不适当的评论语应该受到谴责。就这个不同寻常的女人来说，你不能根据她糟糕的衣服或令人恶心的指甲给她的身份地位分类。她干净的羊毛背心和袜子，尤其是她一流的发音，都暗示着她的上层身份。”大使惊奇地吹了声口哨，建议去认识她。教授犹豫了一会儿，最后妥协了。
结果呢，她真的是一位高级警官。当他们被带进她的办公室再次见到她时，她给他们拿来一壶茶和一些饼干，笑着说：“我把奶油和蜡涂在大衣上假扮成寒酸肮脏的女人混进在小偷和抢劫犯中间，是为了调查一宗阴谋。通常说来，你们对我的忽视和我对此的适应就是最好的帮助。但是我的发音似乎暴露了我啊。”
A Sly Murder
一宗狡猾的谋杀案
When giving a lecture about the significance of punctuation, the academic professor was interrupted and arrested by the police for murdering his wife, a receptionist of a kindergarten. The police found some photos he deleted from their e-album showing that they used to have a gay life. But, fed up with her wrinkled face, he murdered her instead of divorcing her to avoid fortune division. He cut up a kind of seashell with a sharpened knife, and hammered it into powder on a skateboard, and made at most one gram, which was enough to accelerate one’s pulse until he or she dies. This kind of poison can date back to 10,000 BC when people rubbed it on spears to kill beasts. The professor mixed the poison with onion, watermelon and yogurt for his wife. Howling and scratching her chest, she felt dizzy and died soon.
那位学院的教授在发表关于标点符号重要意义的演讲时被警察打断了，他因谋杀自己的妻子——一位幼儿园的接待员——而被逮捕。警察找到了一些被他从电子相册里删除的照片，照片表明，他们曾经有过快乐的生活，但是，因为厌烦了妻子起皱的脸，他杀死她而不是和她离婚以避免离婚时的财产分割。他用一把磨利的小刀切碎一种贝壳，然后在滑板上锤打成粉末，最多1克就足以加速人的脉搏直到其死亡。这种毒药可以追溯到公元前10，000年，当时它就被涂抹在长予上杀死野兽。教授把这种毒药混合在洋葱、西瓜和酸奶里给他的妻子，后者叫喊、抓挠胸口、头晕目眩，很快就死了。
After tentative examination, the police assumed she died of heart disease. But systematic botanical analyses showed that the watermelon spit on the messy mat and the quilt was poisonous. Regardless of exhaustion and starvation, the acute and skilful policemen used radioactive equipment to make sure the category of the poison. Primitive and not ample as their alternative equipment was, they got perfect accuracy somehow.
在初步检查之后，警察设想她是死于心脏病。但是系统的植物学分析却表明，吐在凌乱的席子和被子上的西瓜有毒。敏锐而又技术娴熟的警察不顾疲劳和饥饿，用放射性的设备确定了毒素的种类。尽管可供选择的设备原始，且数量不足，他们还是设法取得了完美的准确度。
People applauded the police and the woman’s family can look ahead with relief now.
人们都为警察欢呼鼓掌，而那位女人的家人现在也可以带着欣慰为将来打算了。