英语阅读二 课文与笔记.docx
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英语阅读二课文与笔记
Text3ARETHESETHEBESTYEARSOFYOURLIFE?
這些是你生命中的黄金时期吗?
(Lead-in:
Whicharethebestyearsoflife?
Allofusaskourselvesthisquestionfromtimetotime,andweprobablycomeupwithdifferentanswers.Youmayfindtheanswersinthefollowingtext.)
Text:
Theupsanddowns盛衰,沉浮oflifemayseemtohavenopredictable(可预言的)plan.Butscientistsnowknowthereareverydefinitelifepatternsthatalmostallpeopleshare.Today,whenwelive20yearslongerthanourgreat-grandparents曾祖父/母,andwhenwomenmysteriouslyoutlivemenbysevenyears,itisclearerthaneverthatthe“gameoflife”isreallyagameoftrade-offs交换.Asweage,wetrade交换strengthforingenuity(聪明才智/独创性),speedforthoroughness,passionforreason.Theseexchangesmaynotalwaysseemfair,butateveryage,therearesomeadvantages.Soitisreassuringtonotethatevenifyou’vepassedsomeofyourprime全盛时期,youstillhaveotherprimeyearstoexperienceinthefuture.Certainimportantprimesseemtopeaklaterintime.
WHENAREYOUSMARTEST?
From18to25,accordingtoIQscores;butyouaremoreexperiencedwithincreasingage.You’resharpestinyour20’s;around30,memorybeginstodecline,particularlyyourabilitytoperformmathematicalcomputations.“ButyourIQforothertasksclimbs,”saysBerkeleypsychologistArthurJensen.Yourvocabularyatage45,forexample,isthreetimesasgreataswhenyougraduatedfromcollege.At60,yourbrainpossessesalmostfourtimesasmuchinformationasitdidatage21.Thistrade-offbetweensharpnessandwisdomhasledpsychologistDr.LeopoldBellatosuggestthat“maturityquotients(成熟商数)”(MQsinsteadofIQs)beadoptedforadults.
WHENAREYOUHEALTHIEST?
Formen,from15to25;forwomen15to30.
“Amanisinhisbestshapeinthedecadebeforeage25,”saysNewYorkinternistDr.DonaldTompkins.“Hismusclesarefirmest,hisresistancetocoldsandinfections(传染/感染)ishighest,andhisbodyismostefficientinutilizingnutrients营养.”Women,forreasonsscientistsdonotunderstand,getafive-yearbonus(奖金/意想不到的收获).Peakhealthbeginstodeclinewhenthebodyprocesscalledanabolism(合成代谢cellgrowth)isovertakenbytheoppositeprocess,catabolism(celldeath).“Cellshavebeendyingsincebirth,”saysTomkins,“butinourlate20’s,theystartdyingfasterthantheyarereplaced.”Also,muscleisreplacedwithfat.
Womenalsogetanadditionalbonusofgoodhealthlaterinlife.ThefiguresofNationalInstituteofHealthshowthattheonsetofsuch“oldage”diseasesasarthritis(关节炎),rheumatism(风湿病),andheartailments(疾病)deniesthegenerallygreaterfitness健康ofwomen:
Lifeexpectancyformenisnow68.3;forwomen75.9.U.S.agingauthorityWilliamKennelsays,“Olderwomenwithlowbloodpressurearepracticallyimportant.”However,psychologistsbelievethatbyenteringthecompetitivejobmarketinincreasingnumbers,womenmayeventuallygiveuptheirstatisticaladvantage.
WHENAREYOUMOSTLIKELYTODEVELOPMENTALDISORDERS?
From30to35.
Thissurprisinglynarrowpeakisveryreal.TheNationalInstituteofMentalHealth(INMH)reportsthatmorethanhalfofthepatientsinmentalhospitals,maleandfemale,areinthisagegroup(menleading领先womenbyabout20%)
Butifwearemostneurotic(患神经病的)between30and35,apparentlywerecoverquickly.Admissions进入tomentalhospitalsdropsharplyaroundage40andstaydownuntilage65.Yet,saypsychologists,between40and55,morepeoplereportthey“feel”ontheverge(边缘)ofanervousbreakdown.Relativelyfewactuallyoccur.“Webecomeveteransatcoping(cope:
应付,处理).”sayspsychologistMarvinMarlins.
Suicide,ameasureofmentalproblems,peaksfrom20to24andthenagainaround70.Incidences发生/出现ofsuicidearesmallestamongpeoplewithintact完好的marriages,highestamongthedivorced.
WHENAREYOUHAPPIEST?
Youhavethebestphysicalsenseofyourselffrom15to24;thebestprofessionalsensefrom40to49.Pessimism(悲观主义)peaksbetween30and39.SanDiegoStateUniversitypsychologistsMarilynBargesandLindaDuttonfoundthatbeforeage24,webelievethatourhappiestyearsareyettocome(还没来);over30,webelieverthatthey’rebehindus.ANationalHealthSurveyagrees:
Afterage30,webecomemorerealisticanddonotviewhappinessasagoalinitself在本质上.Ifwemaintainourhealth,achieveprofessionalandemotionalgoals,thenhappiness,wefeel,wefollow.”
TheAmericanInstituteofPublicOpinionsaysthatthepessimismpeakoccurswhenwerealizethattalentanddeterminationaren’tenoughtoguarantee(保证/担保)success.LadyLuck幸运女神musthelp.
Also,youth’sgoodphysicalsenseofselfapparentlydoeslittletofoster培养/抱有happiness.“Parentswhotelltheirteenagechildrenthesearethehappiestyears,”saysLigget,“couldn’tbemorewrong大错特错.Adolescenceisverydifficult.Onlywhenyouare40andlookingbackdoesyouth青春期lookblissful(非常幸福的,极其快乐的).”
WHENAREYOUMOSTCREATIVE?
Generallybetween30to39,butthepeakvarieswithdifferentprofessions.
Mozartwroteasymphony交响曲/乐andfoursonatas(奏鸣曲)byageeight,andMendelssohncomposedhisbest-knownwork,AMidsummerNight’sdream,at17.PsychologistH.C.Lehmanpresentstheyearsforpeakworkinmanyfields.Thoughthepeakinmostfieldscomesearly---mostNobelPrizewinnersdidtheirtopresearchintheirlate20’sand30’s----creativepeoplecontinuetoproducequalityworkthroughouttheirlives.
Byviewinglife’svariouspeaks,wecaneasilygetthefeelingthatwearepartofagiantgive-and–takeplan.Thoughstatisticallytheplanisthere,wemustrememberthateverypeakhasmanyexceptions例外.SaysMcLeish,“Thehumanlifejourneycannotbechartedbyasinglecurvingline.”
Text4 Ourdisappearingwildlife
Animallifefirstappearedontheearthabout400millionyearsago.Throughthepassingmillennia(millenniumn.aperiodof1,000years),thousandsofanimalspecieshavecomeandgone.Untilrecently,thisprocesswasgradual,theresultofchangeinclimate,inhabitat(thenaturalhomeofaplantoranimal),orinthegenes基因oftheanimalsthemselves.Butthetremendousexpansionofmoderncivilizationnowthreatenstoupsetthisnaturalbalance,puttingunprecedented(史无前例的)pressureonthesurvivalofourwildlife.
Thisimbalancecanbetracedtomanycauses.Mostariseinthegreedandpoorplanningofmanhimself.Witheachincreaseinman’spopulation,thewildernessareaswheretheanimalslivegetsmaller.Theuseofpesticidestocontrolinjuriousinsectalsoharmswildbirdsandanimals.Waterpollutionkillsfishinourrivers,lakes,andoceans.Huntershavealmostexterminated(v.destroyutterly)manyofthelargeranimalslikethebighornsheep(大角羊)andthegrizzlybear(灰熊).Andfarmersdestroysmalleranimalsliketheprairiedog(草原犬鼠)andcoyote(郊狼/小狼).Asaresultofthisunrelentingpressure,ourwildlifeisdisappearingattherateofonespeciesorsubspeciesperyears.
Ofallthecontinents,themostdrastic激烈的reductioninwildlifehasoccurredinNorthAmerica,wherethetransitionfromaruraltoahighlyindustrializedsocietyhasbeenmostrapid.Amongthevictimsarebirds,mammals哺乳动物andfish.Wewillneveragainseethepassengerpigeon旅鸽ortheeasternelk(n.麋/四不像).Theyhavebeenwipedout.Ofmanyotherspecies,onlyafewrepresentativesstillsurviveinthewild.TheU.S.DepartmentoftheInteriorhasputnofewerthan多达109speciesontheendangeredspecieslist.(Anendangeredspeciesisonewithpoorprospectsforsurvivalandinneedofprotection.)Thislistincludeseverythingfromthetimberwolf(大灰狼/林狼)tothewhoopingcrane(鸣鹤).Eventhebaldeagle,ournationalsymbol,isthreatened.
Animalsthatkillothergame猎物forfoodarecalledpredators(捕食者).Thepredatorsincludethewolf,mountainlion,fox,bobcat,andbear.AttackagainsttheseanimalsbeganwiththearrivalofthefirstEuropeansettlers,whowishedtoprotecttheirlivestock.Eventually,arewardwasofferedtohuntersforeverypredatorthatwaskilled.Thisrewardiscalledabounty奖励金(moneygivenforreward).Ironically,theFederalgovernmentisthechieffunderofpredatorcontrolprograms.
ThesettlersalsobroughtwiththemtheirOldWorldfearsandsuperstitions迷信想法concerningpredators.Whetherpreyingon捕食livestockornot,predatorswereshotonsight.Thisattitudecontinuestothisdayforcoyotes,eagles,foxes,mountainlions,andbobcats,andislargelyresponsibleforplacingtheeasterntimberwolf,grizzlybear,andbaldeagleontheendangeredspecieslist.
Yeteveryanimal,includingthepredator,hasitsplaceinnature’sgrand总的design.Predatorshelpmaintainthehealthoftheirpreyspeciesbyeliminatingthediseased,young,old,andinjured.Predatorslikethemountainlionandthewolfhelptokeepthedeerherdshealthy.Theirkillalsoproviderfoodforscavengers(食腐动物)thatfeedon以...为食carrion腐肉.Occasionallossoflivestockmustbeweighedagainstthegoodtheseanimalsdoinmaintainingthebalanceofnature.
Themountainlionhasespeciallysufferedfromtrappingandhunting.ThisgreatcathadthewidestdistributionofanymammalintheWesternHemisphere.ItsrangeextendedfromnorthernBritishColumbiatothetipofSouthAmerica,andfromtheAtlantictothePacific.Butbytheturnof19thcentury,thissplendidanimalwasalmostextinctintheeasternUnitedStates.IntheWest,thepatternofpersecutionwassimilartothatsufferedbyotherpredators.Asthesheepandcattleempiresgrew,sodidthewaronthemountainlion.
Overhuntingananimalisanobviousformofextermination,buttherearemoresubtleprocessesthatoftenhavethesamefatalresult.Oneoftheseisdestructionofhabitat.Whenfarmersintroducedsheepandcatt