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| 英语新闻－Beijing Olympics legacy more profound than visible success |
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An important post-Olympics debate is taking place on China's Internet forums.
It has nothing to do with the record gold medal haul or the successful organization of the 2008 Games, but stems from the preparations taken to ensure the nation's capital would present its best face to the world.
Faced with one of the world's serious air pollution problems, the municipal government took half the city's cars off the roads with an alternating odd-even license plate system from July 20.
The smog was already a subject of intense international focus with some foreign athletes and delegations openly voicing concerns for their health.
When the Games opened on August 8, a grey haze still hung over the city and Chinese officials and weather experts argued it was humidity or "fog" -- not smog -- despite claims to the contrary.
But in the following days it gradually cleared and Beijing meteorological chiefs boasted the best summer weather in 10 years.
Not that they needed the scientific data and statistics to prove it -- Beijing residents, long used to irritated throats and warnings to stay indoors on bad air days, quickly realized the improvement themselves.
Now the debate is spreading on-line: whether the motoring restrictions should be continued or not.
An online survey on portal site www.news.cn shows 56.62 percent of the over 10,000 interviewees support a permanent motoring restriction methods while 40.62 percent disagree.
Many people who had expressed annoyance over giving up their cars for blue skies are intensely scared of returning to days of choking smog and rush-hour congestion when the restrictions end after the Paralympics.
The Beijing traffic authorities have admitted receiving many submissions from car owners, saying they were comfortable with the odd-even number system and hoping it would last.
For long it was argued that economic development was essential to improving the lives of the Chinese people: why should they not have the cars and modern conveniences that are the trappings of the developed world?
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| 美文欣赏－窗外的风景 |
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生命中没有什么恒久不变的风景，只要你的心永远朝着太阳，每一个清晨都会向你展现一番美景，等着你去欣赏--这个世界总会带给你新的希望。
From the window of my room, I could see a tall cotton-rose hibiscus. In spring, when green foliage was half hidden by mist, the tree looked very enchanting dotted with red blossom. This inspiring neighbor of mine often set my mind working. I gradually regarded it as my best friend.
Nevertheless, when I opened the window one morning, to my amazement, the tree was almost bare beyond recognition as a result of the storm ravages the night before. Struck by the plight, I was seized with a sadden saddens at the thought "all the blossom is doomed to fall". I could not help sighing with emotion: the course of life never runs smooth, for there are so many ups and downs, twists and turns. The vicissitudes of my life saw my beloved friends parting one after another. Isn't it similar to the tree shedding its flowers in the wind?
This event faded from my memory as time went by. One day after I came home from the countryside, I found the room stuffy and casually opened the window. Something outside caught my eye and dazzled me. It was a plum tree all scarlet with blossom set off beautifully by the sunset. The surprise discovery overwhelmed me with pleasure. I wondered why I had no idea of some unyielding life sprouting over the fallen petals when I was grieving for the hibiscus.
When the last withered petal dropped, all the joyful admiration for the hibiscus sank into oblivion as if nothing was left, until the landscape was again ablaze with the red plum blossom to remind people of life's alternation and continuance. Can't it be said that life is actually a symphony, a harmonious composition of loss gain.
Standing by the window lost in thought for a long time, I realized that no scenery in the world remains unchanged. As long as you keep your heart basking in the sun, every dawn will present a fine prospect for you to unfold and the world will always be about new hopes.
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| 儿童笑话－Police dog |
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It was the end of the day when I parked my police van in front of the station. As I gathered my equipment, my K-9 partner, Jake, was barking, and I saw a little boy staring in at me.
"Is that a dog you got back there?" he asked.
"It sure is," I replied.
Puzzled, the boy looked at me and then towards the back of the van. Finally he said, "What'd he do?"
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| 情感故事-The Best Time of My Life |
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It was June 15, and in two days I would be turning thirty. I was insecure about entering a new decade of my life and feared that my best years were now behind me.
My daily routine included going to the gym for a workout before going to work. Every morning I would see my friend Nicholas at the gym. He was seventy-nine years old and in terrific shape. As I greeted Nicholas on this particular day, he noticed I wasn't full of my usual vitality and asked if there was anything wrong. I told him I was feeling anxious about turning thirty. I wondered how I would look back on my life once I reached Nicholas's age, so I asked him, "What was the best time of your life?"
Without hesitation, Nicholas replied, "Well, Joe, this is my philosophical answer to your philosophical question:
"When I was a child in Austria and everything was taken care of for me and I was nurtured by my parents, that was the best time of my life.
"When I was going to school and learning the things I know today, that was the best time of my life.
"When I got my first job and had responsibilities and got paid for my efforts, that was the best time of my life.
"When I met my wife and fell in love, that was the best time of my life.
"The Second World War came, and my wife and I had to flee Austria to save our lives. When we were together and safe on a ship bound for North America, that was the best time of my life.
"When we came to Canada and started a family, that was the best time of my life.
"When I was a young father, watching my children grow up, that was the best time of my life.
And now, Joe, I am seventy-nine years old. I have my health, I feel good and I am in love with my wife just as I was when we first met. This is the best time of my life."
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| 西方文化：Are You a Good Tipper?你知道怎么给小费吗？ |
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out to dinner. The food was delicious and the service was fine. You decide to leave a big fat tip - why? The answer may not be as simple as you think.
当你在外面吃饭的时候，食物可口，服务周到，于是你决定留下一笔丰盛的小费--这是为什么呢？答案也许不像你想得那么简单。
Tipping, psychologists have found, is rarely just about service. Instead, studies have shown tipping can be influenced by psychological reactions to an array of factors ranging from the waiter's choice of words to how they carry themselves while taking orders to the bill's total. Even how much waiters remind customers of themselves can determine how much change they pocket by the end of the night.
心理学家发现，给小费不仅仅是因为服务。研究表明人们给小费会受到对一系列因素产生的心理反应所影响。这些因素包括从服务员的措辞到结帐时他们的举止。甚至连服务员能在多大程度上让顾客想到自己也决定了他一天下来能够拿到多少小费。
"Previous studies have shown that mimicry enhances positive feelings for the mimicker," wrote Rick van Baaren, a social psychology professor at the University of Nikmegen in the Netherlands, in a recent study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. "These studies indicate that people who are being mimicked become more generous toward the person who mimics them."
荷兰Nikmegen大学的社会心理学教授里克?范?巴伦在《实验社会心理学》杂志上最近发表的一项研究中写到："以前的研究已经表明模仿能够增加人们对模仿者的好感。这些研究表明被模仿者对模仿自己的人更慷慨大方。"
To detect the benefit of copying the customer, van Baaren and his colleagues surveyed staff in American-styled restaurants in southern Holland. Among a group of 59 waitstaff, van Baaren requested that half respond to diner's meal orders with a positive phrase such as, "Coming up!"
为了弄清模仿消费者的好处，范?巴伦和他的同事们对荷兰南部美国风味餐馆的员工们进行了调查。在一组总共59名服务员中，范?巴伦要求他们中的一半跟点餐者说"就来！"等明确的答复。
Those in the other half were instructed to repeat the orders and preferences back to the customers. Van Baaren then compared their take-home. The results were clear -it pays to imitate your customer. The copycat waiters earned almost double the amount of tip than the other group.
另一半服务员则被要求把顾客点的餐和喜好重复一遍。范?巴伦随后比较了他们所得的小费，结果很清楚--模仿顾客对服务员有好处。模仿顾客的服务员获得的小费差不多是另一组服务员所得的两倍。
Leonard Green and Joel Myerson, psychologists at Washington University in St. Louis, found the generosity of a tipper may be limited by their bill. After compiling data from nearly 1,000 tips left for waiters, cab drivers and hair stylists, they found that tip percentages in all three areas dropped as customers' bills went up.
圣路易斯华盛顿大学的心理学家莱昂纳德和乔尔?迈尔森发现，给小费者人是否慷慨可能会受到帐单金额的影响。通过汇总服务员、出租车司机和发型师收到的近1000份小费的数据，他们发现这三个领域中小费的比例都随着顾客帐单金额的上升而下降。
In fact, tip percentages appear to plateau when bills topped 0 and a bill for 0 garnered the worker no bigger percentage tip than a bill for 0.
当帐单超过100美元后，小费的比例变化不明显。一笔200美元的消费对于服务员来说获得小费的比例并不比100美元的消费高。
Why? Green has his theories, including one he attributes to an old Woody Allen saying: "Eighty percent of success in life is showing up."
这是为什么呢？格林有他自己的理论，其中的一条他总结为伍迪?艾伦的名言："生活中80%的成功是自我表现。"
"That's also a point of tipping," Green says. "You have to give a little extra to the cab driver for being there to pick you up and something to the waiter for being there to serve you. If they weren't there you'd never get any service. So I think part of the idea of a tip is for just being there."
格林说："这一点对于给小费来说也很重要。对于接你的出租车司机和为你服务的服务员，你不得不给一点额外的小费。如果他们不存在，你就得不到任何服务，所以我认为给小费一部分是因为他们的存在。"
Green explains since everyone would earn the "just being there" tip, it's inevitable that portion would make up a larger percentage of smaller bills.
格林解释说，既然每个人都会获得"因为存在"的那部分小费，所以小费在较小金额的消费中必然占较大的比例。
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| 行业英语－如何用英语接听电话? |
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在 公 司 接 听 电 话 时 ， 一 般 要 先 报 上 自 己 的 姓 名 与 公 司 名 称 ，
比 如 ：
This is Rita Chang of ABC Trading Company.
( 这 里 是 ABC 公 司 的 Rita Chang 。 )
或 者 也 可 以 说 ：
ABC Trading Company. Can I help you?
(ABC 贸 易 公 司 ， 我 能 为 你 作 些 什 麽 吗 ？ )
如 果 接 听 的 是 分 机 ， 要 报 上 自 己 部 门 的 名 称 ， 比 如 ：
ABC Trading Company, Overseas Sales Department. Can I help you?
(ABC 贸 易 公 司 海 外 销 售 部 。 我 能 为 你 作 些 什 麽 吗 ？ )
打 电 话 一 方 听 到 这 样 的 话 後 ， 要 告 诉 对 方 自 己 想 找 的 人 ：
I'd like to speak to Mr. Brown, please.
( 麻 烦 一 下 ， 我 想 和 Brown 先 生 讲 话 。 )
或 者 告 诉 对 方 自 己 要 转 的 分 机 号 ：
Could I have extension 321, please?
( 请 转 接 分 机 321)
如 果 想 转 接 某 个 部 门 ， 而 非 具 体 某 个 人 时 ， 可 以 说 ：
I'd like to speak to someone in the Personnel Department.
( 我 想 和 人 事 部 的 人 讲 话 。 )
如 果 接 听 者 即 是 打 电 话 者 要 找 的 人 ， 可 以 间 单 地 回 答 ：
Speaking.
( 我 就 是 ， 请 讲 。 )
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| 双语诗歌－我的父亲是我的英雄 |
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My father was my hero, all throughout my life.
The father of eight children, he saw his share of strife.
When I was very little, he appeared to be so large.
In my eyes he could do anything, we all knew he was in charge.
He was a man of great strength both physically and in mind,
but in him there was a gentleness, he found ways to be outgoing and kind.
Many days of childhood were greeted with a kiss,
and songs to me as I awoke, those days I surely miss.
He made me feel so special, "Miss America" he would sing.
I knew I had my father's love. It gave me courage to do most anything.
From him I learned to stand up tall, to be proud of who I am.
Strength and determination were the qualities of this fine man.
As the years of his life dwindled down, that strength kept him alive.
Plus the unfailing determination to help my ailing mother have the care she needed to survive.
He loved her and his children, so much he gave up years of his life
caring for this woman, his soul mate, his wife.
Day and night he struggled for years with her disease.
A lesser man would have been brought down to his knees.
With illnesses of his own, he still stood by her side
caring for her and loving her until the day she died.
Twenty days later his own time was at an end.
I lost my hero, my father, a man who was my friend.
A few years have passed, and life just isn't the same.
But as Father's Day approaches, I will celebrate8 his name.
With prayers to him and God above to stay by my side,
to watch over me and guide me, to look down on me with pride.
For I am my father's daughter, one day we will meet again.
But until then I will remember, and the love will never end.
我父亲是我的英雄，在我一生从未改变。
身为八个孩子的父亲，他清楚自己重任在肩。
当我还是小不点，他显得是如此高大。
在我眼中他无所不能，我们知道是他当家。
他的身心都蕴藏着无穷的力量，
但他也温柔，能让人感到他友善直爽。
儿时的许多早晨，我都是被他的亲吻和歌声唤醒，
那些日子令我怀念万分。
他让我感觉如此特殊，"美国小姐"他轻声吟唱。
我知道我拥有父亲的爱。这爱给我勇气去做，去闯。
从他那里我学会昂首挺胸，为自己骄傲。
力量和决心将这位优秀的男人打造。
虽然日渐衰老，但他的力量使他活力依然。
还有他坚定的决心，要让我体弱多病的母亲得到她需要的关爱继续留在人寰。
他爱她，他爱孩子，于是他把生命中的许多春秋
投入照顾这位女人，他的妻子，他心心相印的伴侣。
多少年的日日夜夜他奋力抗争，为了她的疾病。
换个不太坚强的男人恐怕早已认命。
虽然他有自己的病痛，但他一直守在她的身边，
关照她，爱她，直到她永远合上了眼。
二十天后他的生命也走到尽头。
我失去了我的英雄，我的父亲，我的朋友。
几年过去了，生活已是另一番风景。
但随着父亲节的来临，我要颂扬他的美名。
祈祷他和在天的上帝能陪伴我，
看护我，引导我，自豪地俯视我。
因为我是我父亲的女儿，总有一天我们会重逢。
但在此以前我会怀念他，会永远爱他。
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| 英文演讲－President's Radio Address |
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August 30, 2008
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This weekend, millions of Americans will celebrate Labor Day. This holiday marks the traditional end of the summer season. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the contributions of hardworking Americans all across our country - from teachers, farmers, and health care professionals, to firefighters, police officers, small business owners, and workers on the assembly line.
The American workforce continues to be the marvel of the world. Yet many working families have been weathering tough economic times. There are families across our country struggling to make ends meet. There is an understandable concern about the high price of gas and food. And many Americans are worried about the health of our housing and job markets.
I share these concerns about our economy. Yet there have been some recent signs that our economy is beginning to improve. While the housing market is continuing to experience difficulty, the decline in home sales has leveled off recently, and sales are rising in some parts of the country. Orders for some durable goods, such as business equipment, are rising. And earlier this week we received a report that America's economy grew in the second quarter at an annual rate of 3.3 percent - surprising analysts who were predicting an economic recession.
These welcome signs indicate that the economic stimulus package that I signed earlier this year is having its intended effect. The growth package will return more than $150 billion back to American families and businesses this year. Many Americans who received tax rebates are spending them. Businesses are taking advantage of tax incentives to purchase new equipment this year. And there are signs that the stimulus package will continue to have a beneficial impact on the economy in the second half of the year.
Labor Day is also the traditional start of the election season. In the coming months, it will be tempting for some in Congress to try to score political points instead of getting work done for the American people. Our citizens deserve better. We still have time to accomplish important goals for our country. My Administration remains hopeful that we can work with Democratic leaders in Congress on bipartisan measures to help Americans cope with this period of economic uncertainty.
We need to work together on a comprehensive approach to our energy problems. I've called on Congress to permit us to tap vast, unused sources of oil and gas, expand domestic refining capacity, and encourage the development of alternative energy sources. Congress continues to stand in the way of this comprehensive approach. At a minimum, Democratic leaders in Congress should move forward on common-sense energy proposals that have bipartisan support - and it is not too late to do this. They should act responsibly by lifting the ban on offshore drilling, expanding access to oil shale, and implementing long-term tax credits to spur the development of alternative sources of energy like wind, solar, and nuclear power.
We need to work together to open up markets for American goods. Exports account for a greater share of America's gross domestic product than at any time in our history. It is not too late for Congress to approve free trade agreements with strong allies like Colombia, Panama, and South Korea - so that we can create more opportunities for American farmers, ranchers, and entrepreneurs.
We need to work together to keep your taxes low. At a time of economic challenge, the last thing American families need is a massive tax increase. It's not too late for Congress to make the tax relief we passed in 2001 and 2003 permanent.
Despite our economic difficulties, there is every reason to be optimistic about America's future. Our workforce is dynamic and productive. Our economy is showing that it is resilient. And our Nation is the most industrious, creative, and prosperous on earth.
Laura and I wish you a safe and joyous Labor Day weekend. Thank you for listening.
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| 口译笔译－“近朱者赤，近墨者黑”的翻译方法 |
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"近朱者赤，近墨者黑"汉英词典中的翻译为：one who stays near vermilion gets stained red, and one who stays near ink gets stained black. 或 one takes on the color of one's company.
也有人译成：When you touch black, you become black, when you touch red, you become red.
英语国家中也有一些相近的表达方式：One takes the behavior of one's company.(一个人的行为，往往受到朋友的影响。)
One takes on the attributes of one's associates. (attributes 复数时是指品质、特性；associates指朋友、同事)
Watch the company you keep！(小心交朋友！)
As one who lies with dogs will ride with fleas, how could your son learn anything good by mixing with those people? (就象和狗躺在一起的人身上会爬满虱子，你儿子跟那些人混在一起,能学出个好样来?)
具体选用那种翻译方法要根据实际情况而定。
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