西班牙的红色圣佛明节


　　Surely the most interesting part of Pamplona's San Fermin Festival is its focus on danger and death. Why would so many people, over hundreds of years, take part in something everyone fears?

　　当然，在旁普罗纳的圣佛明节中，最有意思的就是对危险和死亡的关注。为什么数百年来有那么多人要参与这个所有人都害怕的事呢？

　　The American writer Ernest Hemmingway explores this very question in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises. The main1 characters, who begin to feel empty2 living in modern Paris, travel to Spain and join in the San Fermin Festival. There, they see death through Spanish eyes.

　　美国作家海明威在他1926年写的小说《太阳照常升起》中，探讨了这个问题。小说的主人公住在繁华的巴黎，由于内心感到空虚，就到西班牙旅游，参加圣佛明节。在那里，他们领悟到西班牙人对死亡的看法。

　　By joining in the events of this colorful festival, they begin to understand how the Spanish, in celebrating death, are actually celebrating life. Through the images3 of the black bull and the bullfighter's blood-red cloth, they discover that the Spanish find meaning in life by worshipping4 heroic5 death. With people running for their lives, and bullfighters dancing with the bulls, life and death come together at the San Fermin Festival.

　　由于参加这个多采多姿的庆典活动，他们开始了解，西班牙人在庆祝死亡的同时，其实是在庆祝生命。由黑色的公牛、斗牛士手中血红色的布，他们发现西班牙人透过崇拜悲壮的死亡，发掘生命的意义。随着人们没命地奔逃、斗牛士和公牛舞蹈，在圣佛明节，生命和死亡总是如影随形，密不可分。

保持健康从饮食做起


Two colleagues, Bill and Mary, areshavingslunch in their office cafeteria.

　　比尔和玛丽是同事，他们正在公司的自助餐厅吃午餐。

　　Mary: I can't believe my eyes, Bill. Are youshavingsa salad for lunch? No burger?

　　玛丽：比尔，我真不敢相信我的眼睛。你午餐只吃沙拉？不吃汉堡？

　　Bill:Get used to it, Mary. I'm off burgers for good. Most fast food is loaded with sodium.

　　比尔：玛丽，你得开始习惯喽。我已经决定永远不吃汉堡了。大部分快餐，钠的含量都很高。

　　Mary: I know. But why your sudden interest in lessening your salt intake?

　　玛丽：这我知道。但你为什么突然想减少盐的摄取量？

　　Bill:My doctor says I should cut back on sodium-rich foods to lower my blood pressure.

　　比尔：医生说我必须少吃高钠盐的食物以降低血压。

　　Mary: Do you have hypertension? I would have thought you were too young.

　　玛丽：你有高血压？你还这么年轻。

　　Bill:Actually, my blood pressure isn't that high yet, but they say it increases with age.

　　比尔：事实上我的血压也没有那么高，但据说血压会随年龄的增长而增高。

　　Mary: Well, I'm glad you're starting to pay more attention to your diet.

　　玛丽：啊，真高兴看到你开始比较注意饮食了。

　　Bill:I want to lower my risk of heart attack and stroke, too.

　　比尔：我也想降低得心脏病和中风的危险。

　　Mary: So do I. That's why I've been trying to lower my cholesterol level.

　　玛丽：我也是，这就是为什么我一直想降低胆固醇指数的原因。

　　Bill:I've noticed you've been munching4 away on lots of fruits and vegetables recently.

　　比尔：我注意到你最近大吃蔬菜水果。

　　Mary: That's right. I could stand to lose a few pounds, too.

　　玛莉：没错。这样我还可以减掉几磅。

　　Bill:In that case, you should come to my health club with me.

　　比尔：既然如此，你应该跟我一起去健身俱乐部。

　　Mary: You've joined a health club? I would never have dreamed that you'd take something like this so seriously.

　　玛丽：你参加健身俱乐部了？我做梦也没想到你会这样认真对待一件事。

　　Bill:So, how about it? Can you tear yourself away from the TV tonight?

　　比尔：怎么样？你舍得不看今晚的电视吗？

　　Mary: Why not? If you can break your unhealthy eating habits, I can surely break a sweat.

　　玛丽：为什么不呢？你都可以改正不良饮食习惯，我流点汗又何妨？

浴巾新创意


When you’re dripping wet, does your towel really absorb? Sure, a thick, plush terry cloth towel feels soft and warm rubbing the skin. But five minutes later you’re still wet… or, at least, not as dry as you could be.

　　你浑身滴水的时候，你的毛巾真能吸水吗？当然，又厚又软的毛巾布做成的浴巾擦在皮肤上带来既柔软又温暖的感觉，但是五分钟之后，你的身体还是湿的……或者至少不像应该达到的那么干爽。

　　When choosing towels, Americans are—for the most part—hooked on terry cloth. Terry cloth is a type of fabric with woven loops providing thickness. When the loops have been sheared off on one side, the fabric is known as velour. Velour provides extra softness and size. Another popular type of towel fabric is jacquard, which has a reversible design woven in. These fabrics make the big, thick bath towels preferred by Americans.

　　挑选浴巾的时候，绝大多数美国人只看得毛巾布。毛巾布是一种织物,有很多纺织时钩出的小圈圈,从而带来厚度。把一边的小圈圈全部剪掉的面料就叫做丝绒。丝绒质地更加柔软，尺寸也更大。 还有一种做浴巾很受欢迎的面料是织成正反面图案颜色相反的提花布。美国人偏好的那种又大又厚的浴巾就是这几种布料做的。

　　European towels

　　欧式毛巾

　　Consumers in many other countries, however, prefer lightweight towels. The Europeans and Japanese have figured out a way to make towels with a honeycombed, highly textured weave. This “waffle weave” creates more surface area for soaking up water.

　　但很多国家的消费者偏好轻薄的毛巾。欧洲人和日本人已想到一种方法，可以用一种织地细密、纹路呈蜂巢状的织法来做毛巾，这种“华夫格织法”创造了更多吸水空间。

　　Additionally, many Europeans prefer to air dry their laundry rather than use electric dryers. Hanging heavy plush towels out to dry just isn’t feasible in most climates.

　　更有甚者，欧洲人喜欢把洗净的衣服晾干，而不用烘干机。把厚重的毛巾拿到户外晾，在大部分的天气环境里都不可行。

　　The only waffle weave bath towels widely available in the U.S. currently are manufactured in Europe, and are more expensive than American-made towels. The higher labor costs for milling and weaving in Europe, where more traditional manufacturing methods are employed, account for the higher purchase price. Also, the attention to fine finishing details increases the expense. European makers do not employ cost-saving techniques, such as using the selvage of the fabric as the side of a towel rather than finished seams. Though by no means cheap, European waffle weave towels actually cost less than the high-end plush terry towels favored by many American consumers.

　　目前在美国很多地方都买得到的华夫格织浴巾都是在欧洲生产的，比美国本地生产的浴巾昂贵。欧洲采用较传统的生产方式，加工与纺织的人工成本因而较昂贵，售价也较高。此外，讲究精致加工也增加了成本。欧洲厂商不用节约成本 的技巧，像是毛巾边缘用布匹的织边充数，省去缝边手续。欧洲的华夫格织毛巾虽然一点也不便宜，但价格还是低于很多美国消费者喜爱的高档厚软毛巾。

　　Vocabulary focus

　　Absorb (v) to take liquid in, especially gradually

　　Hooked on (idiom) enjoying something so much that one is unable to stop having, watching or doing it

　　Shear (v) to cut or clip, usually quite short

　　Honeycombed (adj) similar to the wax structure containing many small holes which is made by bees to store their honey

　　Specialized Terms

　　Terry cloth (n) 毛巾布 a type of thick cotton cloth with short threads on each side, used especially for making towels

　　Milling (n) 加工 the operation of cutting, shaping, finishing or working products manufactured in a mill

　　Selvage (n) 布匹的织边 the edge of a fabric that is woven so that it will not fray or ravel

爱只是一根线


Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too luxurious for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.

　　有时候，我真的怀疑父母之间是否有真爱。他们天天忙于赚钱，为我和弟弟支付学费。他们从未像我在书中读到，或在电视中看到的那样互诉衷肠。他们认为“我爱你”太奢侈，很难说出口。更不用说在情人节送花这样的事了。我父亲的脾气非常坏。经过一天的劳累之后，他经常会发脾气。

　　One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.

　　一天，母亲正在缝被子，我静静地坐在她旁边看着她。

　　“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.

　　过了一会，我说：“妈妈，我想问你一个问题。”

　　“What?” she replied, still doing her work.

　　“什么问题？”她一边继续缝着，一边回答道。

　　“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.

　　我低声地问道：“你和爸爸之间有没有爱情啊？”

　　My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.

　　母亲突然停下了手中的活，满眼诧异地抬起头。她没有立即作答。然后低下头，继续缝被子。

　　I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn’t know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:

　　我担心伤害了她。我非常尴尬，不知道该怎么办。不过，后来我听见母亲说：

　　“Susan,” she said thoughtfully, “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there. Love is inside.”

　　“苏珊，看看这些线。有时候，你能看得见，但是大多数都隐藏在被子里。这些线使被子坚固耐用。如果生活就像一床被子，那么爱就是其中的线。你不可能随时随地看到它，但是它却实实在在地存在着。爱是内在的。” 

　　I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.

　　我仔细地听着，却无法明白她的话，直到来年的春天。那时候，我父亲得了重病。母亲在医院里待了一个月。当他们从医院回来的时候，都显得非常苍白。就像他们都得了一场重病一样。

　　After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.

　　他们回来之后，每天的清晨或黄昏，母亲都会搀扶着父亲在乡村的小路上漫步。父亲从未如此温和过。他们就像是天作之合。在小路旁边，有许多美丽的野花、绿草和树木。阳光穿过树叶的缝隙，温柔地照射在地面上。这一切形成了一幅世间最美好的画面。

　　The doctor had said my father would recover in two months. But after two months he still couldn’t walk by himself. All of us were worried about him.

　　医生说父亲将在两个月后康复。但是两个月之后，他仍然无法独立行走。我们都很为他担心。

　　“Dad, how are you feeling now?” I asked him one day.

　　有一天，我问他：“爸爸，你感觉怎么样？”

　　“Susan, don’t worry about me.” he said gently. “To tell you the truth, I just like walking with your mom. I like this kind of life.” Reading his eyes, I know he loves my mother deeply.

　　他温和地说：“苏珊，不用为我担心。跟你说吧，我喜欢与你妈妈一块散步的感觉。我喜欢这种生活。”从他的眼神里，我看得出他对母亲的爱之深刻。

　　Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life. Love is inside, making life strong and warm..

　　我曾经认为爱情就是鲜花、礼物和甜蜜的亲吻。但是从那一刻起，我明白了，爱情就像是生活中被子里的一根线。爱情就在里面，使生活变得坚固而温暖。

我的人生追求

Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life :the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, in a wayward course,are over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.

　　有三种简单然而无比强烈的激情左右了我的一生;对爱的渴望,对知识的探索和对人类苦难的难以忍受的怜悯。这些激情像飓风,反复地吹拂过深重的苦海,濒于绝境。

　　I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy-ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all my rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it ,next because it relieves loneliness-that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the co1d unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what-at last-I have found.

　　我寻找爱,首先是因为它使人心醉神迷。这种陶醉是如此的美妙,使我愿意牺牲所有的余生去换取几个小时这样的欣喜。我寻找爱,还因为它解除孤独(在可怕的孤独中,一颗颤抖的灵魂从世界的边缘看到冰冷、无底、死寂的深渊。最后,我寻找爱,还因为在爱的交融中,神秘而又具体入微地,我看到了圣贤和诗人们想象出的天堂的前景。这就是我所寻找的,而且,虽然对人生来说似乎过于美妙,这也是我终于找到了的。

　　With equa1 passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A 1ittle of this, but not much, I have achieved.

　　以同样的激情我探索知识。我希望能够理解人类的心灵。我希望能够知道群星为何闪烁。我试图领悟毕达哥拉斯所景仰的数字力量,它支配着此消彼长。仅在不大的一定程度上,我达到了此目的。

　　Love and knowledge, so far they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a hated burden to their pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate the evi1,but I can't, and I too suffer.

　　爱和知识,只要有可能,通向着天堂。但是怜悯总把我带回尘世。痛苦呼喊的回声回荡在我的内心。忍饥挨饿的孩子,惨遭压迫者摧残的受害者,被儿女们视为可憎的负担的痛苦无助的老人,使人类所应有的生活成为了笑柄。我渴望能够减少邪恶,但是我无能为力,而且我自己也在忍受折磨。

　　This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and wou1d gladly live it again if the chance were offered me. 

　　这就是我的一生。我发现它值得一过。如果再给我一次机会,我会很高高兴地再活它一次。

世间的我们


    We

　　我们

　　Allegedly about a million years ago we became humans as result of evolution.

　　据说大约一百万年以前.我们进化成人类,

　　Then we spent 900 thousand years learning to make and use tools;

　　然后花了九十万年学用工具;

　　Again another 90 thousand years getting acquainted with fire and its usefulness;

　　花了九万年学用火,

　　Again 9 thousand years becoming gradually experienced in farming;

　　花了九千年学种田,

　　Again 9 hundred years acquiring the skills in building machines...

　　花了九百年学造机器……

　　But in this century, the present hundred years,we've learned flying;

　　到了今世界的这一百年,我们会飞了;

　　Achieved the use of nuclear energe-the ultimate energy we can ever tap,

　　我们会用最终极的能--核能,

　　And succeeded in landing on the moon.

　　我们会登上月亮,

　　It's said that we'll eventually be able to retain vitality against aging.

　　据说-- 我们还将有长生不老之术.

　　We have boundless abilities and potentialities.

　　我们本事大极了.

　　So let us be blessed.

　　请为我们祝福.

Smarter Drugs----更聪明的药


  Historians often regard the latter part of the 19th century as a time of great "flowering" in the evolution of medicine. New insights in to how germs affect the human body, as well as advancements in microscopy, led scientists to discover the root causes for a multitude of infectious diseases.

    Now medicine is on the threshold of a second renaissance, and the discoveries of this period may lead to a revolution in the treatment of everything from heart disease to cancer. The field is known as pharmaco-genetics and the mission is to design drugs that are targeted to a patient's genetic profile. Though still in its infancy, the field has made critical steps in the battle against some cancers, and show great potential for improving the overall effectiveness of all drugs.

    历史学家常把十九世纪后半段视为医学演进“百花齐放”的时代。有关细菌如何影响人体的新见解，以及显微技术的进展，都引领科学家找到多种感染性疾病的根源。

    现在医学又来到第二个复兴的门槛，这一阶段的种种发现可能带动从心脏病到癌症各种疾病治疗方法的革新。这一个领域叫做药物遗传学，宗旨是依照病人的基因特质设计药物，虽然还在草创阶段，但已经在对抗一些癌症方面有重要的进展，并且在改进所有药物的整体疗效上展现了很大的潜力。

Breaking the Mold  打破窠臼

    Drug companies have an especially keen interest in personalized medicine. The current model of prescribing one big-name drug to millions upon millions of patients has proven ineffective, and sometimes deadly.

    Drug-maker Merck and Co. knows the dangers of the blockbuster drug model all too well. One of their products-the painkiller Vioxx-was shown to increase the risk of blood clots in a very small number of patients. As a result, a jury recently returned a $253 million verdict against the company for the death of a patient who had been taking Vioxx. And this was only the first of many lawsuits.

    Right now, scientists know very little about how human genes are linked to drug side effects. Pharmacogenetics seeks to change all that. Someday all patients may undergogenetic screening. They can then be divided into different categories based on those test. Doctors will be able to take a genttic profile and immediately know which drugs are safe to prescribe, and which ones are not. Drugs won't be hand-crafted fro every patient, but rather prescribed to different populations determined by their genetic subsets.

    药厂对个人化药品的兴趣特别浓厚。目前为数以百万计的病人开出同一种名牌药品处方的模式，已证实效果不彰，有时还会致病人于死地。

    默沙东药厂对一体通用给与知名药品模式的个中危险知之甚详。该厂的一种产品──止痛剂伟克适──经证明会增加极少数病人的凝血风险。因此陪审团最近对一位病患服用伟克适死亡的案件，做出由该厂赔偿两亿五千三百万美元的判决，这只不过是许多诉讼案的第一件而已。

    目前科学家对于人类基因与药物副作用之间的关系所知非常有限。但药物遗传学要改变这种情况。有朝一日，所有病人都可能要接受基因筛检，然后根据化验结果将他们分门别类。医生一拿到基因资料，立刻就知道开出哪些药很安全，哪些药却不然。药物并非为个别病人量身订做，而是针对依照基因群组来分类的各种人分别开药。

语言点提示：

Infectious (adj) 感染性的；传染性的 easily spread from one person to another

Threshold (n) 门槛；起点 the start of a new and important time or development

Renaissance (n) （事物的）新生；复兴 a new growth of activity or interest in something

Blockbuster (n) 极受欢迎、销量极大的产品 an usually successful hit with widespread popularity and huge sales

Verdict (n) 裁定；判决 an opinion or decision made after judging the facts that are given, especially one made at the end of a trial

Microscopy (n) 显微技术；显微镜学 the use, design or production of microscopes Blood clot (n) 凝血；血凝块 a semisolid mass of gelled red and white blood cells

来自戴尔的建议



　What I saw was a great opportunity to provide computing technology in a more efficient way. That was the core idea of what became dell computer Corporation, and that’s one we were stuck over ever since.

　　当时我看到一个大机遇就是以更有效的方式提供电脑技术。那后来成为了戴尔公司的核心理念，自那以后我们便一直坚持不懈。

　　I started the business with a simple question: how can we make the process of buying a computer better? The answer was :sell the computer directly to the end customers. Eliminate the reseller’s markup and pass the savings on to the customers.

　　我是从一个简单的问题开始创业的：我们如何使购买电脑的过程变得更方便？答案是：直接把电脑卖给终端用户。去除转销商这一层的钱，并把省下的钱还给用户。

　　It hadn’t occurred to me that others hadn’t figured it out. I thought it was pretty obvious. I am sure if I had taken the time to ask, plenty of people would have told me that my idea wouldn’t work-I have heard that a lot in the fifteen years since starting the business.

　　当时我并不知道其他人没有意识到这一点。在我看来，那是相当明显的。我确信当时如果我肯花点时间问问人的话，会有很多人说我的想法行不通－创业后十五年我听过许多这样的话。

　　Sometimes it’s better not to ask or to listen-when people tell you something can’t be done. I didn’t ask for permission or approval. I just went ahead and did it.

　　有时不闻不问是最好的办法－当别人告诉你行不通的时候。我就没有去问别人的许可和赞同。我只是一往直前的去做了。

　　On January 2, 1984, I went back to Austin earlier than I would have to attend classes, and I did all the things you need to do to set up a business. I registered the company with the State of Texas as “PC’s Limited”. I placed ads in the classified section in our local newspaper.

　　1984年1月2日，我比开学时间略早一点回到了奥斯汀，我做了一切成立新公司需要做的准备。我注册了个德州公司，名为“个人电脑有限公司”。我在当地报纸的分类广告上登了一则广告。

　　Through my previous contract with customers and the small ad I placed in the paper, I was already getting a lot of business. I was selling between $50,000 to $80,000 upgraded PCs, upgrade kits, and add-on computer components to people in Austin area. Not long after starting the classes I was able to move from a stuffy room that I shared with a roommate to a condominium with high ceilings and two bedrooms.( I didn’t, however, tell my parents for a few months that I moved.)

　　通过我与客户的早期接触以及在报纸上的广告，当时我已经接到了很多业务。我在奥斯汀地区出售的升级电脑，升级工具，附加零件，每月的销售额达到5万到8万美元之间。开学后不久我便从和室友共住的闷热宿舍搬出来，住进了有高高的天花板，和两个卧室的公寓套间。（然而，我是在好几个月后才把搬家的事情告诉父母的。）

　　In early May, about a week before I took my final exam to complete my freshman year, I incorporated the company as “Dell Computer Corporation”, doing business as “PC’s Limited”. we moved the business from my condo to a 1000-square-foot office space in a small business center in North Austin. I hired a few people to take orders over telephone and a few more to fulfill them. Manufacturing consisted of three guys with screwdivers sitting at six-foot tables upgrading machines. Business continued to grow, and I began to think of what the potential could be if I could devote myself to the venture, full- time.

　　五月初，大约是我一年级期末考试前一周吧，我的“戴尔电脑公司成立”，以股份公司形式经营“个人电脑”。公司的地址也从我的公寓搬到了奥斯汀北部一个一千多尺的小商业中心写字楼里面。我雇了些人接电话订单，还有一些人负责填单。生产部有六个人，拿着螺丝起子坐在六英尺的桌子旁升级电脑。业务逐渐扩大，我也开始考虑如果我全心全意的扑在生意上，公司是否还有潜力。 

　　Where I came from, not going to the college is not an acceptable option. Convincing my parents to allow me to leave school would have been impossible. So I just went ahead and did it, whatever the consequences. I finished my freshman year, and left.

　　不上大学在我的家乡是难以被接受的，要说服父母同意我辍学几乎是不可能的。因此我毅然不顾的我行我素。在念完一年级以后，我便离开了学校。

　　After a while, my parents forgave me. And a litter bit after that, I forgave them, too.

　　后来，我父母原谅了我。再后来，我也原谅了他们。

　　People asked me now, “were you scared?” Sure.

　　人们现在问我：“你当时害怕吗？”当然害怕。

　　But it turned out, the timing for PC’s Limited couldn’t have been better. 

　　而结果证明，那个时机成立个人电脑公司再好不过。

飞翔的梦想与现实



　　Oh, to be free like a bird. It's been the stuff of fantacy, and of reality. Sort of .A self-contained flying man. This jet pack from 1960s had barely enough fuel to fly 30 seconds. So the dream languished for decades. Everyone agreed it was completely impractical , except Micheal Moshier.

　　啊，像小鸟一样的自由自在，这一直就是人类的梦想，同时我们也要面对现实。至少有一点儿吧。这是一个可以自我操纵的飞人，这个飞行器产生于二十世纪六十世纪年代，它的全部油料加起来最多只能飞行30秒钟，就这样，几十年来这个梦想就被搁置起来。所有人都认为要飞是不可能的。只有迈可尔·莫舍除外。



　　（Movie Toy Story: To infinity and beyond!）

　　（《玩具总动员》：飞向无限！ )

　　Micheal Moshier：The pilot controls the flaps with the right-hand control stick.

　　迈可尔·莫舍：飞行员用右边的驾驶杆操纵飞行器的翼。

　　Moshier, a former Navy-pilot-turned-entrepreneur, has spent the last five years of his life working secretly on a tiny twin blade strap helicopter called The Solotrek. 

　　莫舍以前是一名海军的飞行员，如今他成了一名企业家。他用了5年时间，一直在秘密研究一种小型的双叶直升机。并给它命名为The Solotrek。

　　He said he had made his first cautious flight only two feet up at first.But to Moshier, two feet up was like being in the heaven.

　　他说他终于谨慎的进行了第一次试飞。在这次试飞中，他的飞行器只飞离地面两英尺。但对莫舍来说，飞离地面两英尺就像进了天堂一样。

　　Micheal Moshier.: It was exhilarating beyond description. I will tell you I didin’t sleep that night or for several nights thereafter. It was a monumental moment.

　　迈可尔·莫舍：我的兴奋真是难以形容。我告诉你吧，试飞成功的那个晚上和后来的几个晚上我都幸福得睡不着。这真是一次具有历史意义的经历。

　　With a little more work, he says, the machine will zip around the treetops at 80mph, stabilized by computer. He can picture the army using it to get over rugged terrain, police on search and rescue missions,and if an occasional daredevil wants to beats traffic, well, Moshier believes a pilot who can walk and chew gum with minimal training should be able to get on the aircraft suitably. There’s just this one nagging question, the machine will fly, but will the idea? True , Moshier has help from the Defense Department and from NASA, but won’t the machine be noisy or dangerous or hard to park?

　　只要再稍加努力，这个飞行器就可以靠电脑控制其稳定性，以每小时80英里的时速在树顶上盘旋。他预测军队可以利用这种飞行器在地势崎岖的地区飞行。警察可以利用他们执行搜索营救任务。如果有谁想避开交通堵塞的话，只要稍加训练，任何人都可以一边轻松的嚼着口香糖，一边操纵他的飞机安全飞行。可是还有一个让人困扰的事情。这个飞行器会飞起来，可是这个概念会不会让人接受呢？莫舍确实得到的美国国防部和美国宇航局的帮助。但是这个飞行器会不会噪音很大，太危险，或者很难停靠。

　　Jeffrey Schroeder (NASA scientist): I think we can do it but it would be expensive. The challenge is to make it so that it has more of a mess appeal.

　　杰夫里·施罗德：（美国国家宇航局科学家）我想这个飞行器是可行的，但是价格不菲。现在面临的问题是如何使普通大众对这个飞行器感兴趣。

　　Perhaps we are only destined to dream of only flying without wings and never do it. On the other hand, Micheal Moshier was two feet up. 

　　也许我们命中注定只能在梦中做无翼飞行，而在现实中永远也做不到。不过在此同时，迈可尔·莫舍已经离地两英尺了。

无法替代的父亲



　　A father's job is unique.

　　当爸是件无人能替代的活儿。

　　If parents had job descriptions mine would read:

　　如果为人父母有职务简述的话，我的"职务简述"将会包括如下内容：

　　organize bills, playmates, laundry, meals, laundry, carpool1, laundry, snacks, outings and shopping, and laundry.

　　管理账单和孩子们的玩耍同伴、洗衣、做饭、洗衣、安排与人合伙用车、洗衣、准备小吃、安排短途旅游、购物、洗衣。

　　The only thing on my husband's description would be the word "fun" written in big red letters along the top.

　　我先生的"职务简述"是在上端用红色写出的两个大字——"乐子"。

　　Although he is a selfless caregiver and provider,

　　尽管他无私地给予孩子们百般关爱，尽其所能为他们提供所需，

　　our children think of him more as a combination of a jungle gym and bozo and clown.

　　我们的孩子们更多的时候还是把他看作攀缘游戏架、大傻瓜和小丑的三合一。

　　Our parenting styles compliment each other.

　　我们俩为人父母的风格是互补的。

　　His style is a nonstop adventure

　　他的风格是持续不断的探险，

　　where no one has to worry about washing their hands, eating vegetables, or getting cavities4.

　　在这过程中，没有人需要操心孩子是不是洗手了，是不是吃蔬菜了，或者会不会长蛀牙。

　　My style is similar to Mussolini5.

　　我的风格则类似墨索里尼的执政风格。

　　I'm too busy worrying to be fun.

　　我太忙了，为这操心，为那操心，哪里顾得上找什么乐子。

　　Besides, every time I try, I am constantly outdone by my husband.

　　再者，每次我试图逗孩子们开心，我总是被我先生比下去。

　　I bought my children bubble gum flavored toothpaste,

　　我给孩子们买来带泡泡糖香味的牙膏，

　　and I taught them how to brush their teeth in tiny circles so they wouldn't get cavities.

　　教他们如何用牙刷转圈儿刷牙以免得蛀牙。

　　They thought it was neat until my husband taught them ,

　　他们认为那样刷挺好玩，直到有一天我先生教他们

　　how to rinse6 by spitting out water between their two front teeth like a fountain.

　　如何漱口——从两颗门牙间把水喷出来。他们发现这才叫好玩。

　　I took the children on a walk in the woods and, after two hours,

　　我带孩子们到小树林里去散步，两个小时后，

　　I managed to corral7 a slow ladybug8 into my son's insect cage.

　　我好不容易才逮住一个迟钝的瓢虫放进我儿子的虫笼里。

　　I was "cool" until their father came home, spent two minutes in the backyard,

　　在他们眼里我是够"酷"的，直到他们的父亲回家，在后院里只花了两分钟，

　　and captured a beetle the size of a Chihuahua9.

　　便捕获了一只有奇瓦瓦小狗那么大的甲虫！

　　I try to tell myself I am a good parent even if my husband does things I can't do.

　　我劝慰自己我是个好妈妈，尽管我先生能做的事情我做不了。

　　I can make sure my children are safe, warm, and dry.

　　我可以确保我的孩子们是安全的、暖和的、干干爽爽的。

　　I'll stand in line for five hours so the children can see Santa at the mall

　　我可以排队等5个小时，让孩子们在大商场里看到圣诞老人

　　or be first in line to see the latest Disney movie.

　　——或者第一个排队让孩子们看最新的迪斯尼影片。

　　But I can't wire the VCR1 so my children can watch their favorite video.

　　但是我不会给录像机接上电线，好让孩子们看他们喜欢的录像。

　　I can carry my children in my arms when they are tired, tuck them into bed, and kiss them goodnight.

　　当孩子玩累时，我可以把他们抱到床上，亲吻他们，送他们进入梦乡。

　　But I can't flip them upside down so they can walk on the ceiling ,

　　但是我无法让他们头冲下，那样他们可以脚踏天花板漫步；

　　or prop them on my shoulders so they can see the moths flying inside of the light fixture.

　　或者把他们扛在我的肩膀上，让他们看飞蛾如何在灯具里飞舞。

　　I can take them to doctor appointments, scout meetings, or field trips to the aquarium,

　　我可以带他们去看医生，参加童子军集会，或者带他们去参观水族馆，

　　but I'll never go into the wilderness, skewer a worm on a hook, reel in a fish,

　　但是我永远也不会进入荒郊野地，在鱼钩上挂上虫饵，钓上一条鱼，

　　and cook it over an open flame on a piece of tin foil.

　　然后把鱼用锡纸包起来在明火上烤着吃。

　　I'll even sit in the first row of every Little League game and cheer until my throat is sore and my tonsils are raw,

　　我甚至可以出席每一场少年棒球联合会的比赛，坐在第一排呐喊助威，直到我的嗓子喊疼了，我的扁桃体发炎了，

　　but I'll never teach my son how to hit a home run9 or slide into first base10.

　　但是我永远无法教我的儿子如何打一个本垒打或者如何巧妙进入一垒的位置。

　　As a mother I can do a lot of things for my children, but no matter how hard I try I can never be their father.

　　作为一个母亲，我可以为我的孩子们做许多事情，但是不管我怎样努力——我永远成为不了他们的父亲。