中级口译之英译汉模拟题02

Passage 6

The difference between a brain and a computer can be expressed in a single word, that is, complexity. The large mammalianbrain is the most complicated thing, for its size, known to us. The human brain weights 3 ponds, but in that 3 ponds are 10 billion neurons and a hundred billion smaller cells.// Even the most complicated computer man has yet built can\'t compare in intricacywith the brain. Computer switches and components number in the thousands rather than in the billions. What\'s more, the computer switch is just an on-off device, whereas the brain cell is itself possessed of a tremendously complex inner structure.// It is frequently said that computers solve problems only because they are “programmed” to do so. They can only do what men have them do. One must remember that human beings also can only do what they are “programmed” to do. Our genes “program” us and our potentialities are limited by that “program”.// Our “program” is so much more enormously complex, though, that we might like to define “thinking” in terms of our creativity in literature, art, science and technology. In that sense, computers certainly can\'t think.//

大脑与电脑的差别可以用“复杂性”这三个字来表明。哺乳动物硕大的脑子就其体积而言是我们所知道的最为复杂的东西。人脑的重量为3磅，而这3磅却包含着100亿个神经元和1000亿个更小的细胞。//就复杂性而言，世界上已生产出的最为复杂的电脑也无法与大脑的复杂性相提并论。电脑的开关和元件充其量只要数千个，而不是数千亿个。此外，电脑开关只是亿个离合装置，而大脑细胞却有着极其复杂的内部结构。//我们经常听到人们说，电脑处理问题是因为电脑设有能让其处理问题的程序，它们只能按人的指令行事。我们应该知道，人类也设有程序。我们的基因给我们编写了程序，我们的所作所为无不受制于这个“程序”。//我们大脑的程序极其复杂，我们或许可以从人类的文学、艺术、科学和技术上的创造力这些角度给“思考”下定义。从这个意义上说，电脑肯定无法思考。// 

Passage 7

In his book Brave New World, published in 1932, Aldous Huxley predicted a big biotechnological revolution about to take place: the hatching of people not in wombs but in test tubes; the drug which gave people instant happiness; the sensation which was simulated by implanted electrodes; and modification of behavior through the administration of various artificial hormones.// With 70 years of separating us from the publication of this book, we can see that Huxley\'s technological predictions are surprisingly accurate. Many of the technologies that Huxley envisioned are already here or just over the horizon. But this revolution has only just begun.// According to Huxley, the most significant threat posed by contemporary biotechnology is the possibility that it will alter human nature and thereby move us into a “posthuman” stage of history. This is important because human nature exists and defines us as a species with a stable continuity. It is what defines our most basic values.// Medical technology offers us in many cases a devil\'s bargain: longer life, but with reduced mental capacity; freedom from depression, together with freedom form creativity or spirit. It will blur the line between what we achieve on our own and what we achieve because of the levels of various chemicals in our brains.//

奥尔德斯.赫胥黎在其1932年出版的《奇妙新世界》一书中预言了一场即将发生的生物技术革命。赫胥黎预示：人类可以在试管里而不是在子宫里孕育；药物可以即刻给人以快感，植入体内的电极可以给人以刺激，输入不同的人造荷尔蒙可以改变人的行为。//此书问世70年后，我们看到赫胥黎对技术发展的预言是如此惊人的精确，所预言的许多技术已经诞生或即将诞生。但这场革命还只是刚拉开了序幕。//赫胥黎认为，当代生物技术对人类构成的最严重的威胁有可能改变人性，从而把我们带入“后人类”的历史阶段。赫胥黎的预警很重要，因为人性确实存在，人性界定着我们这个具有稳定延续性的物种，同时又界定着我们最基本的价值观。//医学技术在许多方面为我们提供了一种魔鬼交易：我们虽然延长了寿命，但是脑力却减退了。我们虽可免患忧郁症，但是也失去了创造力和灵气。我们无法区分哪些成就是我们自身努力的成果，哪些成果是由我们大脑里的化学物质造成的。//

For most of the 1990s, CEOs of Old Economy companies struggled to turn slow-moving organizations into nimbler, more flexible outfits. The truth is, real transformations are the exception rather than the rule. Changing the core values, the attitudes, and the fundamental relationships of a vast organization is overwhelmingly difficult.// Enron tumbled down. Enron didn\'t fail because of improper accounting or alleged corruption at the top. It also failed because of its entrepreneurialculture---- the very reason Enron attracted so much attention and acclaim. Too much emphasis on earnings growth and individual initiative, coupled with a shocking absence of the usual corporate checks and balances.// What constitutes entrepreneurial culture? In the narrow sense, it refers to some fundamental spirit and agglomeratingforce that come into being in the production and management practices of an enterprise, as well as the common values and norms of behavior shared by the whole staff.// In the broad sense, entrepreneurial culture also includes the culture of specific personnel in the enterprise, namely, the cultural psychological structure and cultural quality of the executives of the enterprise as well as the cultural behavior of the staff members.//

二十世纪九十年代的大部分时间里，旧经济公司的首席执行官们都在努力地将运作缓慢的公司朝着敏捷，更富有弹性的公司转型。但实际情况是，真正转型成功的公司是极个别的例子。 转变一家大型公司的核心理念，态度和基本关系极其困难。//安然栽了。安然的失败并不仅仅是因为公司做了假帐或者所谓的高层腐败，其失败的原因还应归咎于公司的企业文化，正是这种企业文化曾经使安然应人注目，备受青睐。过分强调收益的增长和个人的主动性，加上缺乏那种常规的公司制约平衡机制。//那么什么是企业文化？狭义上来说，它指的是企业在生产经营实践中行成的一种基本精神和凝聚力，以及全体职工共同具有的价值观念和行为准则。//从广义的角度上来说，企业文化还包括企业人员的文化，即企业领导人员的文化心理、文化素养以及员工的文化行为。//

Passage 9

A major appeal of investing in bonds is that they provide investors with a steady stream of income and guarantee the repayment of the loan in full at maturity. Bonds also appeal to investors because of their scope for capital appreciation. Take for instance a fall in interest rates, in this case bonds which were issued when interest rates were high will become increasingly valuable and as the bond price rises, this provides profit for bond sellers.// In addition, if interest rates had fallen significantly over a period of time, economic growth would be stimulated as lower borrowing costs and savings rates would encourage businesses to invest and households to consume. In such a low interest-rate environment, it may still be good for investors to consider investing some money in bonds because they will be able to achieve a higher return than cash deposits.// Equities and government bonds are well suited to some investors. Younger investors will benefit from equity capital growth because they are generally investing for the longer term and not undulyconcerned with the lack of immediate yield. Investors concerned with avoiding risk will be prepared to accept the relatively low yields now available on government bonds.// But many investors fall somewhere between these two extremes. In recent years, financial markets have become increasingly polarized between growth and security. Investors looking for medium and low risk are increasingly turning to the corporate bond market as an alternative to equities and government bonds.//

债券吸引人的一大特点是让投资者有一笔有固定的收入，到期时能收回借出的资金。债券也有增值的机会，例如在利率下跌时，那些在利率高时发行的债券价格将会升高，让债券持有人有机会赚取利润。//此外，如果利率在过去一段时间里明显下跌，会刺激经济增长，因为较低的贷款成本和储蓄利率将鼓励商家投资，带动家庭消费。在这样的低利率环境下，投资人可以考虑把一些资金投资在债券上，因为投资者将取得高于现金存款的回报。//股票和政府债券非常适合某些投资者的胃口。年轻的投资者一般从股票的资本增值中获益，因为他们通常做长线投资，不太在意眼前的收益。想规避风险的投资者则愿意购买目前收益相对较低的政府债券。//但是很多人选择在股票和政府债券这两者之间进行金融投资。今年来金融市场的投资增值与投资安全日趋分化。那些只愿承受中低风险的投资人都转向公司债券。公司债券是股票和政府债券的理想替代品。//

Passage 10

Silicon Valley is a magnet to which numerous talented engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs from overseas flock in search of fame and fast money and to participate enthusiastically in a technological revolution whose impact on mankind will surely surpass the epoch-making European Renaissance and Industrial Revolution of the bygone age.// The valley\'s professionals are among the most hardworking people anywhere. A 15-hour day and 7-day week is not uncommon, especially during the start-up stage. They would give up social life, and curtail their family life too, in order to pursue the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It is this single-minded pursuit of excellence, supported by strong ethos of teamwork and esprit de corps, that sustain them until their mission is accomplished.// Paper qualification, though useful, is not a be-all-and-end-all. More weight is given to a candidate\'s proven abilities and aptitude for the job. This is amply demonstrated by industry icons like Apple\'s Jobs and Wozniak and Microsoft\'s Gates, all college dropouts who might not have emerged in a qualification-conscious community.// While racial prejudice no doubt still exists in the United States, it is hardly discernible in the Valley. What counts most is one\'s vision and track record, and not one\'s nationality, skin color or creed. This, together with its multiracial society, informal lifestyle and agreeable climate, lures foreigners to its shores.//

硅谷犹如一块磁铁，把许许多多天资聪颖的工程师、科学家、企业家从世界各地吸引到这里。他们来此寻求功名，希望快速致富，积极投身于技术革命，而这场革命所带来的影响必将超 过昔日具有划时代意义的欧洲文艺复兴运动和产业革命。// 硅谷人的工作之勤奋，举世罕见。一天工作15 个小时，一周工作七天，这样的工作日程安排在硅谷却是司空见惯的现象，尤其在创业初期更是如此。硅谷人放弃社交生活，减少与家人一起生活的时间，努力去寻求事业彩虹尽头处的那一桶金。正是这种孜孜不求卓越的精神，加上优良的团队精神，支持着硅谷人的奋斗理念，他们不达目的绝不罢休。//在硅谷，文凭虽然有用，却不是一切，一纸定不了终身，硅谷更看重求职者的真才实学和岗位资质。最具有说服力的例子莫过于行业的偶像人物，如苹果公司的创始人乔布斯和沃茨尼亚克，微软的创始人盖茨，他们都是一些大学辍学者，在讲究学历的社会很可能永无出头之日。//毫无疑问，美国人虽然存在着宗族歧视，但这种现象在硅谷却难寻踪影。硅谷人最看中的是人才视野和成长历程，而不是国籍，肤色或宗教信仰。这种观念加上硅谷多宗族的社会、不拘礼仪的生活方式、舒适宜人的气候，使外国人近悦远来。//