雙語美文篇一：英漢雙語美文推薦

英漢雙語美文推薦

雙語美文：愛你所做，做你所愛

Life is short. Are you doing what you love? Are you living your passion?

人生短暫。你所從事的是你熱愛的工作嗎？你生活在激情中嗎？

If not, why? I am guessing most people will answer that question with "I have a mortgage, a spouse and three kids to support.” In the real world people have responsibilities. They have to make sacrifices. You aren't supposed to be happy with your job but you do it because you have to."

如果不是，為什么？我猜想大部分都會以“我要付房子的按揭貸款，還有愛人和三個孩子要養(yǎng)”之類的回答來搪塞這個問題。的確，在現(xiàn)實生活中，我們有自己的家庭責任，我們不得不做些犧牲，我們做著一些自己并不熱愛的工作只因我們必需這樣去做。

With all due respect, they are wrong. You can take care of your responsibilities and be happy with your job. We spend over 1/3 of our day, at least five days a week performing our jobs. This is a lot of time to be wasting on something we don't enjoy, is it not? Why not spend that time doing something you truly are passionate about for 50 hours a week instead of something that lacks meaning?

恕我直言，這一切并非正確。你可以兼顧你的責任，同時熱愛你的工作。我們一天中要花去1/3的時間，至少一個星期5天去工作。如果不熱愛這份工作，這確實是一筆很大的時間浪費，不是嗎？為什么不能用這寶貴的時間，一星期50個小時去從做你真正激情洋溢的事情呢，而不是對你來說缺少意義的工作。

I think there is one main reason people don't follow their passion: fear. Fear of how others will react, fear of failure, and fear that they can't do it themselves. I think the first part is for people to realize that they can conquer their fear. You will fail at times and others will think you are crazy at times, but if you believe that you will succeed than you ultimately will.

我認為有些人之所以不去追求他們的夢想是有一個主要的原因：恐懼。懼怕他人的指指點點，懼怕失敗，懼怕沒有能力完成他們的夢想。我認為第一步人們應該去戰(zhàn)勝恐懼。有時我們會失敗，有時別人也會覺得你有些瘋狂，但只要你堅信你能夠成功，那么你最終必將成功。

I understand that it is not easy. I am in the middle of going through it right now. But understand that there are other people out there who have been through what you are going through and can help you immensely. They have failed, been ridiculed, and come out on the other end extremely successful. They are living proof that you can do what you love.

我理解這做起來并不容易。其實，我也正在克服追求我的夢想過程中的恐懼。但我們相信有些人已經(jīng)從這個恐懼中堅強地走了出來，并愿意幫助我們。他們曾經(jīng)失敗過，被嘲笑過，但他們走向了勝利的彼岸。這些人的故事正是“你能做你所愛”的真實而有力的證據(jù)。

雙語美文：生活是自己的

She was dressing up in the make-up room and going to perform on the stage, when one of her

friends rushed to her breathlessly and told her that her husband left for another place with another woman. Hearing the news, she just smiled frankly and did not stop making up. She made up very delicately for that show. After ten minutes, she showed on the stage and kept a charming smile as well as a steady tone as usual. She interacted with the audience and threw out quite a few of jokes that deeply pleased her audience. Returning back to the make-up room, she cleansed her makeup and still maintained calm. Her friend felt it incredible: Why she could bear when her husband fooled around with other woman while she was performing?

一個女人參加演出,在后臺化妝時,有個朋友風風火火地跑來對她說,她的丈夫跟別的女人走了。女人粲然一笑,沒有停止化妝,那一場的妝化得十分精致。十幾分鐘后,她走上舞臺,燦爛地微笑,一如既往的平穩(wěn)聲調(diào)。她和觀眾們進行互動,還說了不少輕松的笑話,她的觀眾十分開心。 回到后臺,她卸下妝來,仍然平靜如常,她的朋友感到不可思議。自己的丈夫背叛了她,趁她演出的時候跟別的女人在一起,作為妻子,能忍受嗎?

There was another woman singer having the similar experience. When she reached the age of retirement, she suffered the change of marriage. Her husband had another woman and departed from her, leaving her feeling sad alone. She told others miserably that she broke down with her husband because their characteristics were not suitable for each other and that she had chosen a wrong man initially. Many of her fans had thought that her singing career would come to an end since then. As a female singer who had lost her youth and love, how could she still strive in her field?

還有一個女人,作為一位歌手,她的年紀已到了收山的年齡。這時,她遭遇了婚變,她的丈夫有了另外的女人,她和丈夫分手了,她很悲傷。 她對別人說,我和丈夫是因為性格不合分開的,我從當初就選錯了人,言語之間,無限悲愴。許多歌迷都認為她的藝術生涯可能到此結束了,一個沒有年齡優(yōu)勢的女人,一個喪失情感寄托的女人,還能在歌壇上拼搏下去?

However, the choices of both ladies mentioned above are totally beyond our wildest dream. The first lady was Jin Yuxi. After divorce, (Motivational model yuedu.mipang.com) her career reached a higher peak and she led a more colorful life. Wherever she went, she would keep a smiling and confident profile. The second lady was Cai Qin. She did not give up singing with youth fading away. On the contrary, her career leapt to another culmination.

事實上,她們所選擇的,所告訴我們的,完全出乎我們意料之外。 第一個女人叫靳羽西,她的事業(yè)在婚變后更加輝煌,她一個人的生活更加精彩,無論走到哪里,她都笑意盈盈、自信滿滿。 第二個女人叫蔡琴,她沒有隨著年齡的老去而放棄歌唱,相反,她的事業(yè)更臻佳境。

There are numerous women’ lives ruined by failed marriage, but these two ladies’ did not. The reason is indeed very simple. Cai Qin once said, “Your life is yours, not others!” It is more than true that your life is belonging uniquely to yourself and you should sense and capture every moment of happiness from life with a generous and grateful mindset. No one would present you happiness unless you seize it by yourself in daily life!

有多少女人毀在婚姻手中,但是,這兩個女人沒有。道理其實很簡單。蔡琴說:“生活是自己的啊!”真的,生活是自己的,你的每一天,你的每一份快樂,上蒼是不會隨隨便便賜給你的,而是需要你用豁達的心態(tài)、感恩的心靈去努力捕捉和感悟的。

雙語美文：心靈維他命

One of the most important habits in life is to feed your mind with positive mental food.

Remember, you are very susceptible to the suggested influences in your environment, whether radio, television, newspapers, magazines, billboards or conversations with other people. Your mind is your most important and precious asset. You must protect it and keep it clean, clear and focused on what you want, rather than allowing it to be polluted by the negative influences around you.

生活中最重要的習慣之一就是要經(jīng)常為自己補充積極的精神食糧。要記住，你對周圍的環(huán)境非常敏感，無論是收音機、報紙、電視、雜志、廣告或與他人的對話，都會對你產(chǎn)生很大影響。你的心靈是你最重要和珍貴的資產(chǎn)，你必須盡力保護，維持其純凈清明。同時要專注于自己向往的事物，不受消極因素的影響。

Refuse to watch terror or trash on television. Refuse to read about all the murders, robberies, rapes and tragedies in the newspapers. Refuse to listen to endless hours of mindless radio commentary on all the problems in the modern world. Refuse to engage in endless conversations with people about all the political and social problems in your nation or community. Keep your mind clean, clear, positive and free.

拒絕收看電視渲染的暴力和色情，拒絕閱讀報紙上有關謀殺、搶劫、強奸的報道，拒絕收音機里滔滔不絕的無意義時事評論，拒絕參與對于政治和社會的無休止辯論。保持你的心靈純凈、清明、積極且自由自在。

Not only do you become what you think about, but also you become what you feed into your mind on a regular basis. If you want to be positive, optimistic and happy, continually feed your mind with positive books and articles, positive audio learning programs, positive input and information from other experts in your field, and positive conversations with other optimistic goal-oriented people who are going somewhere with their lives.

你是自己思想的產(chǎn)物，也是心靈食糧的產(chǎn)物。如果你希望自己積極、樂觀、快樂，必須為自己補充“心靈維他命”，這包括積極的書籍和文章、積極的語音課程節(jié)目、專家的專業(yè)知識分享，或是經(jīng)常與樂觀的人溝通對話。

雙語美文篇二：雙語美文集錦

雙語美文集錦

If you had an email?

A jobless man applied for the position of office boy at

Microsoft. The HR manager interviewed him then watched him

cleaning the floor as a test.

“You are employed”, he said, “Give me your email address

and I’ll send you the application to fill in, as well as date when you may start.”

The man replied, “But I don’t have a computer, neither an email. ”

“I’m sorry”, said the HR manager, “If you don’t have an email, that means you do not exist. And who doesn’t exist cannot have the job.”

The man left with no hope at all. He didn’t know what to do, with only 10 dollars in his pocket. He then decided to go to the supermarket and buy 10 kg tomatoes. He then sold the tomatoes in a door to door round. In less than two hours, he succeeded to double his capital. He repeated the operation three times, and returned home with 60 dollars.

The man realized that he can survive by this way, and started to go everyday earl(轉 載 于:www.91mayou.com 蒲 公英文 摘:雙語美文)ier, and returned late. Thus, his money doubled or tripled everyday. Shortly, he bought a cart, then a truck, and then he had his own fleet of delivery vehicles. Five years later, the man is one of the biggest food retailers in the US.

He started to plan his family’s future, and decided to have a life insurance. He called an insurance broker, and chose a protection plan. When the conversation was concluded the broker asked him his email. The man replied, “I don’t have an email.”

The broker answered curiously, “You don’t have an email, and yet have

succeeded to build an empire. Can you imagine what you could have been if you had an email?!!” The man thought for a while and replied, “Yes, I’d be an office boy at Microsoft!”

如果你有郵箱那將會怎樣？

一個失業(yè)的人去微軟申請辦公室文員的職位，人事經(jīng)理面試了他，并且看著他打掃地板，作為測試。

“你被錄用了”，人事經(jīng)理說，“給我你的郵箱地址，我會把申請表發(fā)給你填，發(fā)給你的同時也意味著告訴你開始上班的日期�！�

這個人回答說：“但是我沒有電腦，更沒有郵箱。”

“我很抱歉，”人事經(jīng)理說，“如果你沒有郵箱，那就意味著你不能生存。一個不能生存的人當然不能擁有這份工作�！�

這個人不抱任何希望地離開了。他不知道要做什么，帶著口袋里僅有的10美元。然后他決定去超市買10千克西紅柿。接著他在附近挨家挨戶地賣西紅柿。不到兩小時，他成功地將他的資金翻了一倍。他又做了3次，到回家時身上已經(jīng)有60美元了。

這個人意識到他可以用這種方式生存，以后他每天早出晚歸。因此，他的錢每天都翻兩三倍。很短的時間里，他買了個手推車，然后卡車，接著他有了自己的運輸車隊。5年以后，他成了美國最大的食品零售商之一。

他開始計劃他家庭的未來，并且決定買人身保險。他打電話給一個保險經(jīng)濟人，然后選擇了一個保險項目。當談話結束后保險經(jīng)濟人問他的郵箱地址，他說：“我沒有郵箱�！�

保險經(jīng)濟人很吃驚地說：“你沒有郵箱都可以成功地建立一個帝國。你能

想像如果你有郵箱的話會怎樣嗎？�。　边@個人想了一下然后回答：“是的，我會成為微軟的辦公室文員！”

Catch the shinning star that holds your destiny

Catch the star that holds your destiny, the one that

forever twinkles within your heart. Take advantage of

precious opportunities while they still sparkle before you.

Always believe that your ultimate goal is attainable as long

as you commit yourself to it.

Though barriers may sometimes stand in the way of your dreams, remember that your destiny is hiding behind them. Accept the fact that not everyone is going to approve of the choices you’ve made. Have faith in your judgment. Catch the star that twinkles in your heart and it will lead you to your destiny’s path. Follow that pathway and uncover the sweet suises that await you.

Take pride in your accomplishments, as they are stepping stones to your dreams. Understand that you may make mistakes, but don’t let them discourage you. Value your capabilities and talents for they are what make you truly unique. The greatest gifts in life are not purchased, but acquired through hard work and determination. Find the star that twinkles in your heart—for you alone are capable of making your brightest dreams come true. Give your hopes everything you’ve got and you will catch the star that holds your destiny.

抓住最閃亮的星，抓住最美的夢想

當生命中的那顆星在你內(nèi)心閃耀的時候，要學會把握它。當珍貴的機會仍

在閃耀的時候，學會利用。永遠相信只要自己持之以恒，就一定能夠?qū)崿F(xiàn)自己心中的夢想。

盡管通往夢想的道路上總有坎坷，你需要記住的是，你的命運就隱藏在那坎坷背后。學會接受這樣的事實：不是每一個人都贊同你的選擇。相信自己的判斷。捕捉住那顆在你內(nèi)心閃耀的星吧，它將引領你抵達自己的命運之路。沿那條路走下去，你就會發(fā)現(xiàn)那屬于自己的美麗日出。

為自己的成績自豪，因為它們是你通往夢想的階梯。要知道你自己也會犯錯誤，但是可別因此而氣餒。正確評價自己的能力與天分，是它們令你與眾不同。生活里最豐厚的禮物不是買來的，而是通過艱苦的努力和決心獲得的。找到在你內(nèi)心閃耀的那顆星吧——雖然你獨自一人，但也有能力實現(xiàn)你最輝煌的夢想。對既得的抱有希望并抓住那顆掌控你命運的星吧。

Are you ready to pay the price of your success?

Have you ever thought why there are very few great

people? I think there is probably only one great person out

of 10,000 at best, and most probably much less than that.

But why? Most people want to be great, right? Why are

there only very few of them? Here is the reason:

Most people do not pay the price of greatness.

I think this one is quite obvious. Now, the next question is: Why not? If there are so many people who want to be great, why only very few of them actually pay the price? The answer to the question explains the difference between the almost 100% people who want to be great and the much less than 0.01% who actually be so.

The reason why very few people actually pay the price is this: The road to

greatness is continuously painful for long time.

Greatness requires sacrifices and there is no sacrifice without pain. The kind of sacrifices required for greatness is the ones that make the process continuously painful for long time. If you want to be good it will be painful only every now and then, and many people can still handle it. But being great is a totally different level. The pain is much deeper and it is continuous. Very few people can endure this kind of pain and that’s why there are very few great people. Most people naturally choose things that bring pleasures to them. It’s unnatural to choose pain over pleasure, let alone doing it continuously for long time.

But that’s what I believe is the secret to greatness: The secret to greatness is choosing pain over pleasures continuously for long time.

渴望成功的你可曾準備好代價

你可曾想過為什么成功的人那么少？我想，大概在一萬個人里最多有一個人能獲得成功，很可能更少。但是為什么會這樣呢？大多數(shù)人都渴望成功，不是嗎？那為什么成功的人還是屈指可數(shù)呢？原因如下：

大多數(shù)人沒有為成功付出代價。

這個答案顯而易見�，F(xiàn)在，就引出了下一個問題：為什么呢？為什么有那么多人想要成功，而只有很少數(shù)的人愿意為成功付出代價呢？這個問題的答案就能把幾乎是100%想要獲得成功的人和不足0.01%真正獲得成功的人和給區(qū)分開來。

極少數(shù)人愿意為成功付出代價的真正原因在于：成功之路須要長期痛苦的堅持。

雙語美文篇三：80篇中英雙語美文

>01 The Language of Music

A painter hangs his or her finished picture on a wall, and everyone can see it. A composer writes a work, but no one can hear it until it is performed. Professional singers and players have great responsibilities, for the composer is utterly dependent on them. A student of music needs as long and as arduous a training to become a performer as a medical student needs to become a doctor. Most training is concerned with technique, for musicians have to have the muscular proficiency of an athlete or a ballet dancer. Singers practice breathing every day, as their vocal chords would be inadequate without controlled muscular support. String players practice moving the fingers of the left hand up and down, while drawing the bow to and fro with the right arm -- two entirely different movements.

Singers and instrumentalists have to be able to get every note perfectly in tune. Pianists are spared this particular anxiety, for the notes are already there, waiting for them, and it is the piano tuner's responsibility to tune the instrument for them. But they have their own difficulties: the hammers that hit the strings have to be coaxed not to sound like percussion, and each overlapping tone has to sound clear.

This problem of getting clear texture is one that confronts student conductors: they have to learn to know every note of the music and how it should sound, and they have to aim at controlling these sounds with fanatical but selfless authority.

Technique is of no use unless it is combined with musical knowledge and understanding. Great artists are those who are so thoroughly at home in the language of music that they can enjoy performing works written in any century. 01 音樂的語言

畫家將已完成的作品掛在墻上，每個人都可以觀賞到。 作曲家寫完了一部作品，得由 演奏者將其演奏出來，其他人才能得以欣賞。因為作曲家是如此完全地依賴于職業(yè)歌手和職 業(yè)演奏者，所以職業(yè)歌手和職業(yè)演奏者肩上的擔子可謂不輕。 一名學音樂的學生要想成為 一名演奏者，需要經(jīng)受長期的、嚴格的訓練，就象一名醫(yī)科的學生要成為一名醫(yī)生一樣。 絕 大多數(shù)的訓練是技巧性的。 音樂家們控制肌肉的熟練程度，必須達到與運動員或巴蕾舞演 員相當?shù)乃�平�?歌手們每天都練習吊嗓子，因為如果不能有效地控制肌肉的話，他們的聲 帶將不能滿足演唱的要求。 弦樂器的演奏者練習的則是在左手的手指上下滑動的同時，用 右手前后拉動琴弓--兩個截然不同的動作。歌手和樂器演奏者必須使所有的音符完全相同協(xié) 調(diào)。 鋼琴家們則不用操這份心，因為每個音符都已在那里等待著他們了。 給鋼琴調(diào)音是調(diào) 音師的職責。 但調(diào)音師們也有他們的難處： 他們必須耐心地調(diào)理敲擊琴弦的音錘，不能讓 音錘發(fā)出的聲音象是打擊樂器，而且每個交疊的音都必

須要清晰。如何得到樂章清晰的紋理 是學生指揮們所面臨的難題：他們必須學會了解音樂中的每一個音及其發(fā)音之道。 他們還 必須致力于以熱忱而又客觀的權威去控制這些音符。除非是和音樂方面的知識和悟性結合起 來，單純的技巧沒有任何用處。 藝術家之所以偉大在于他們對音樂語言駕輕就熟，以致于 可以滿懷喜悅地演出寫于任何時代的作品。

>02 Schooling and Education

It is commonly believed in the United States that school is where people go to get an education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark is important. Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows no bounds. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or in the job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole universe of informal learning. The agents of education can range from a revered grandparent to thepeople debating politics on the radio, from a child to a distinguished scientist.

Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People are engaged in education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part of one's entire life.

Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.

上學與受教育

在美國，人們通常認為上學是為了受教育。 而現(xiàn)在卻有人認為孩子們上學打斷了他們 受教育的過程。 這種觀念中的上學與受教育之間的區(qū)別非常重要。 與上學相比，教育更具 開放性，內(nèi)容更廣泛。 教育不受任何限制。 它可以在任何場合下進行，在淋浴時，在工作 時，在廚房里或拖拉機上。 它既包括在學校所受的正規(guī)教育，也包括一切非正規(guī)教育。 傳 授知識的人可以是德高望重的老者，可

以是收音機里進行政治辯論的人們，可以是小孩子， 也可以是知名的科學家。 上學讀書多少有點可預見性，而教育往往能帶來意外的發(fā)現(xiàn)。 與 陌生人的一次隨意談話可能會使人認識到自己對其它宗教其實所知甚少。 人們從幼時起就 開始受教育。 因此，教育是一個內(nèi)涵很豐富的詞，它自始至終伴隨人的一生，早在人們上 學之前就開始了。 教育應成為人生命中不可缺少的一部分。然而，上學卻是一個特定的形 式化了的過程。 在不同場合下，它的基本形式大同小異。 在全國各地，孩子們幾乎在同一 時刻到達學校，坐在指定的座位上，由一位成年人傳授知識，使用大致相同的教材，做作業(yè)， 考試等等。 他們所學的現(xiàn)實生活中的一些片斷，如字母表或政府的運作，往往受到科目范 圍的限制。 例如，高中生們知道，在課堂上他們沒法弄清楚他們社區(qū)里政治問題的真情， 也不會了解到最新潮的電影制片人在做哪些嘗試。 學校教育這一形式化的過程是有特定的 限制的。

>03 The Definition of "Price"

Prices determine how resources are to be used. They are also the means by which products and services that are in limited supply are rationed among buyers. The price system of the United States is a complex network composed of the prices of all the products bought and sold in the economy as well as those of a myriad of services, including labor, professional, transportation, and public-utility services. The interrelationships of all these prices make up the"system" of prices. The price of any particular product or service is linked to a broad, complicated system of prices in which everything seems to depend more or less upon everything else. If one were to ask a group of randomly selected individuals to define "price", many would reply that price is an amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller of a product or service or, in other words, that price is the money value of a product or service as agreed upon in a market transaction. This definition is, of course, valid as far as it goes. For a complete understanding of a price in any particular transaction, much more than the amount of money involved must be known. Both the buyer and the seller should be familiar with not only the money amount, but with the amount and quality of the product or service to be exchanged, the time and place at which the exchange will take place and payment will be made, the form of money to be used, the credit terms and discounts that apply to the transaction, guarantees on the product or service, delivery terms, return privileges, and other factors. In other words, both buyer and seller should be fully aware of all the factors that comprise the total "package" being exchanged for the asked-for amount of money in order that they may evaluate a given price.

"價格"的定義 價格決定資源的使用方式。 價格也是有限的產(chǎn)品與服務在買方中的配給 手段。 美國的價格系統(tǒng)是復雜的網(wǎng)狀系統(tǒng)，包括經(jīng)濟生活中一切產(chǎn)品買賣的價格，也包括 名目繁多的各種服務，諸如勞動力、專職人員、交通運輸、公共事業(yè)等服務的價格。 所有 這些價格的內(nèi)在聯(lián)系構成了價格系統(tǒng)。 任何一種個

別產(chǎn)品或服務的價格都與這個龐大而復 雜的系統(tǒng)密切相關，而且或多或少地受到系統(tǒng)中其它成份的制約。如果隨機挑選一群人，問 問他們?nèi)绾味�義"價格"，許多人會回答價格就是根據(jù)賣方提供的產(chǎn)品或服務，買方向其付出 的錢數(shù)。 換句話說，價格就是市場交易中大家認同的產(chǎn)品或服務的貨幣量。 該定義就其本 身來說自有其道理。 但要獲得對價格在任何一樁交易中的完整認識，就必須考慮到大量" 非貨幣"因素的影響。 買賣雙方不但要清楚交易中的錢數(shù)，而且要非常熟悉交易物的質(zhì)量和 數(shù)量，交易的時間、地點，采用哪種形式付款，有怎樣的緩付和優(yōu)惠，對交易物的質(zhì)量保證、 交貨條款、退賠權利等等。 也就是說，為了能估算索價，買賣雙方必須通曉構成交易物價 格的通盤細節(jié)。

>04 Electricity

The modern age is an age of electricity. People are so used to electric lights, radio, televisions, and telephones that it is hard to imagine what life would be like without them. When there is a power failure, people grope about in flickering candlelight, cars hesitate in the streets because there are no traffic lights to guide them, and food spoils in silent refrigerators.Yet, people began to understand how electricity works only a little more than two centuries ago. Nature has apparently been experimenting in this field for millions of years. Scientists are discovering more and more that the living world may hold many interesting secrets of electricity that could benefit humanity.

All living cells send out tiny pulses of electricity. As the heart beats, it sends out pulses of record; they form an electrocardiogram, which a doctor can study to determine how well the heart is working. The brain, too, sends out brain waves of electricity, which can be recorded in an electroencephalogram. The electric currents generated by most living cells are extremely small -- often so small that sensitive instruments are needed to record them. But in some animals, certain muscle cells have become so specialized as electrical generators that they do not work as muscle cells at all. When large numbers of these cells are linked together, the effects can be astonishing.

The electric eel is an amazing storage battery. It can send a jolt of as much as eight hundred volts of electricity through the water in which it lives. (An electric house current is only one hundred twenty volts.) As many as four-fifths of all the cells in the electric eel's body are specialized for generating electricity, and the strength of the shock it can deliver corresponds roughly to the length of its body.

電 當今時代是電氣時代。 人們對電燈、收音機、電視和電話早已司空見慣以致很難想 象沒有它們生活會變成什么樣。 當停電時，人們在搖曳不定的燭光下暗中摸索； 因沒有紅 綠燈的指示，汽車在道路上遲疑不前；冰箱也停止工作，導致食物變質(zhì)。人們只是在兩個世 紀前一點才開始了解電的使用原理，自然界卻顯然在這方面經(jīng)歷過了數(shù)百萬年。 科學家不 斷發(fā)現(xiàn)許多生物世界里可能有益于人類的關于電的有趣秘密。所有生物細胞都會發(fā)出微小的 電脈沖。 當心臟跳動時，

把它發(fā)出的脈沖記錄下來就成了心電圖，這可讓醫(yī)生了解心臟的 工作狀況。大腦也發(fā)出腦電波，這可在腦電圖上記錄下來。 許多生物細胞發(fā)出的電流都是 極微小的，小到要用靈敏儀器才能記錄和測量。 但一些動物的某些肌肉細胞能轉化成一個 個發(fā)電機，以致完全失去肌肉細胞的功能。 這種細胞大量地連接在一起時產(chǎn)生的效果將是 非常令人吃驚的。電鰻就是一種令人驚異的蓄電池。 它可以在水中發(fā)出相當于 800 伏特電 壓電流(家庭用戶的電壓只有 120 伏特)。 在電鰻的身體里，多至五分之四的細胞都專門用 來發(fā)電，而且發(fā)出的電流的強度大約和它身體的長度成正比。

>05 The Beginning of Drama

There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world - even the seasonal changes - as unpredictable, and they sought through various means to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama.

Those who believe that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances and when the entire community

did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the "acting area" and the

"auditorium." In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, or supernatural beings, and mimed the desired effect -- success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival of the Sun -- as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious activities.

Another theory traces the theater's origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this view tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds.

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