新概念第四册课文翻译及学习笔记：Lesson22

2015-01-26 10:57:28来源：网络

【资料库】第一册语法逐句精讲新概念英语2第三册经典句子解析新概念英语30天寒假学习计划
【课后题及答案解析】新概念英语第一册新概念英语第二册新概念英语第三册新概念英语第四册
【经验分享】学习新概念英语如何提升英语水平? 自学四大经典学习方法新概念学习方法及经验

　　为了方便同学们的学习，新东方在线新概念英语频道为大家整理了最全面的新概念第四册课文翻译及学习笔记，希望为大家的新概念英语学习提供帮助!

　　【课文】

　　First listen and then answer the following question.

　　听录音，然后回答以下问题。

　　In what two areas have people made no 'progress' at all?

　　Why does the idea of progress loom so large in the modern world? Surely because progress of a particular kind is actually taking place around us and is becoming more and more manifest. Although mankind has undergone no general improvement in intelligence or morality, it has made extraordinary progress in the accumulation of knowledge. Knowledge began to increase as soon as the thoughts of one individual could be communicated to another by means of speech. With the invention of writing, a great advance was made, for knowledge could then be not only communicated but also stored. Libraries made education possible, and education in its turn added to libraries: the growth of knowledge followed a kind of compound interest law, which was greatly enhanced by the invention of printing. All this was comparatively slow until, with the coming of science, the tempo was suddenly raised. Then knowledge began to be accumulated according to a systematic plan. The trickle became a stream; the stream has now become a torrent. Moreover, as soon as new knowledge is acquired, it is now turned to practical account. What is called 'modern civilization' is not the result of a balanced development of all man's nature, but of accumulated knowledge applied to practical life. The problem now facing humanity is: What is going to be done with all this knowledge? As is so often pointed out, knowledge is a two-edged weapon which can be used equally for good or evil. It is now being used indifferently for both. Could any spectacle, for instance, be more grimly whimsical than that of gunners using science to shatter men's bodies while, close at hand, surgeons use it to restore them? We have to ask ourselves very seriously what will happen if this twofold use of knowledge, with its ever-increasing power, continues.

　　G.N.M.TYRRELL The Personality of Man

　　【New words and expressions 生词和短语】

　　loom v. 赫然耸起

　　manifest adj.明显的

　　morality n. 道德

　　communicate v. 交流，交际

　　compound adj. 复合的

　　enhance v. 增进

　　tempo n. 速率

　　trickle n. 涓涓细流

　　torrent n. 滔滔洪流

　　humanity n. 人类