Unit2(大学英语读写译4课文翻译)

Unit 2
Text A
Technology and Happiness
技术与幸福
Para. 1
1.In the 20 th century, Americans, Europeans, and East Asians enjoyed material and technological advances that were unimaginable in previous eras.
=20 世纪的美国人、欧洲人和东亚人都享受到了过去历代人都无法想象的物质和技术进步所带来的乐趣。

2.In the United States, for instance, gross domestic product per capita tripled from 1950 to 2000. = 譬如，在美国，从1950 年到2000 年，人均国民生产总值翻了3 倍。

3.Life expectancy soared. =人的寿命大幅度提高。

4.The boom in productivity after World War II made goods better and cheaper at the same time. =二战后生产力的迅速发展使商品物美价廉。

5.Things that were once luxuries, such as jet travel and long-distance phone calls, became necessities.
=诸如乘飞机旅行和打长途电话等曾经是奢侈的事情成了生活中不可或缺的一部分。

6.And even though Americans seemed to work extraordinarily hard, their pursuit of entertainment turned media and leisure into multibillion-dollar industries.
=即使美国人工作时似乎是格外勤奋努力的，可他们对娱乐的追求却使得他们将媒体和闲暇转变成了盈利数十亿美元的产业。

Para. 2
1.By most standards, then, you would have to say that Americans are better off now than they were in the middle of the last century.
=那么，根据大多数标准衡量，你会说，现在的美国人比上个世纪中叶富裕得多。

2.Oddly, though, if you ask Americans how happy they are, you find that they are no happier than they were in 1946 (which is when formal surveys of happiness started). = 然而，奇怪的是，如果你问美国人有多幸福，你会发现，他们并不比1946 年时幸福( 1946
年正式开始对幸福状况进行调查) 。

3.In fact, the percentage of people who say they are “very happy ” has fallen slightly since the early 1970s even though the income of people born in 1940 has, on average, increased by 116 percent over the course of their working lives.
=事实上，那些说自己“非常幸福”的人所占的比例自20 世纪70 年代早期以来一直稳中有
降——尽管20 世纪40 年代出生的人的收入在他们的工作生涯中平均增长了116% 。

4.You can find similar data for most developed countries. =你可以在大多数发达国家找到相似的数据。

Para. 3
1.The relationship between happiness and technology has been an eternal subject for social critics and philosophers since the advent of the Industrial Revolution.
=自工业革命出现以来，幸福与技术之间的关系一直是社会批评家和哲学家们长期研究
的课
题。

2.But it 's been left largely unexamined by economists and social scientists. =然而，这个课题基本上还没有受到经济学家和社会科学家们的关注。

3.The truly groundbreaking work on the relationship between prosperity and well-being was done by the economist Richard Easterlin, who in 1974 wrote a famous paper entitled “Does Economic Growth Improve the Human Lot? ” =经济学家理查德·伊斯特林在经济繁荣和幸福的关系方面进行了具有开拓性的研究，并于1974 年发表了一篇题为“经济增长改变人类命运吗？”的著名论文。

4.Easterlin showed that when it came to developed countries, there was no real correlation between a nation's income level and its citizens ' happiness.
=伊斯特林表明，就发达国家而言，一个国家的收入和国民的幸福之间并没有真正的相互关系。

5.Money, Easterlin argued, could not buy happiness at least not after a certain point.
= 伊斯特林认为，金钱买不到幸福——至少金钱达到了一定程度以后是如此。

6.Easterlin showed that though poverty was strongly correlated with misery, once a country was solidly middle-class, getting wealthier did not seem to make its citizens any happier. =伊斯特林表明，尽管贫穷与苦难密不可分，但是，一个国家一旦达到稳定的中产阶级水平，更富有一些似乎就不会使其国民感到更多的幸福了。

Para. 4
1.This seems to be close to a universal phenomenon.
=这近乎是一种普遍现象。

2.In fact, one of happiness scholar s ' most important insights is that people adapt very quickly to good news.
=事实上，研究幸福的学者们最重要的观点之一是：人们对好消息很快便习以为常。

3.Take lottery winners for example. One famous study showed that although winners were very, very happy when they won, their extreme excitement quickly evaporated, and after a while their moods and sense of well-being were indistinguishable from what they had been before the victory. = 拿彩票中奖者为例吧。

一项重要的研究表明，尽管彩票中奖者中奖时会感到非常非常幸福，可这类兴奋很快就消逝了。

一段时间之后，他们的心情和幸福感与中奖之前并没什么区别。

Para. 5
1.So, too, with technology: no matter how dramatic a new innovation is, no matter how much
easier it makes our lives, it is very easy to take it for granted.
=人们对待技术的态度也是一样的：无论一种新事物多么引人注目，也无论它使我们的生活变得多么舒适，人们很快就会认为这是理所当然的事情。

2.You can see this principle at work in the world of technology every day, as things that once seemed miraculous soon become common and, worse, frustrating when they don 't work perfectly. =在技术世界里，你每天都会看到这一原则在发挥作用。

曾经一度被视为非常神奇的东西很快就变的习以为常，更糟的是，当这些东西运转不正常时，还会令人沮丧。

3.It 's hard, it turns out, to keep in mind what things were like before the new technology came along.
=事实表明，要把新技术问世之前的情形牢记在心原来是如此困难！
Para. 6
1.Does our fast assimilation of technological progress mean, then, that technology makes no difference?
=那么，我们对新技术的快速吸收是否意味着技术没有发挥什么作用呢？
2.No. It just makes the question of technology 's impact, for good or ill, more complicated. =不，决非如此。

不论好坏，这只是把技术对人类的影响的问题变得更复杂而已。

3.Let 's start with the downside. =让我们先从负面影响谈起吧。

4.There are certain ways in which technology makes life obviously worse. =在某些方面，技术显然使得生活更加糟糕了。

5.Telemarketing, traffic jams, and identity theft all come to mind. =譬如，我们马上会想到电话推销、交通阻塞以及身份资料失窃等情况。

6.These are all phenomena that make people consciously unhappy. =这些都是让人们明显意识到不幸福的现象。

7.But for the most part, modern critiques of technology have focused not so much on specific, bad technologies as the impact of technology on our human relationships. =可是，现代的技术评论文章多半都没有把焦点集中在具体的、有害的技术本身上，而是集中在技术对人际关系的影响上。

Para. 7
1.Privacy has become increasingly fragile in a world of linked databases. =在数据库联网的世界里，隐私变得越来越脆弱。

2.In many workplaces, technologies like keystroke monitoring and full recordings of phone calls make it easier to watch workers.
=在许多工作场所，诸如按键监控和电话全程录音之类的技术使得对员工的监视变得更加容易了。

3.The notion that technology disrupts relationships and fractures community gained mainstream prominence as an attack on television.
=技术扰乱了人际关系，破坏了社区交往——这样的观念成为人们攻击电视时的主要焦点。

4.Some even say that TV is chiefly responsible for the gradual isolation of Americans from each other.
=有些人甚至说，电视是美国人逐渐相互疏远的罪魁祸首。

5.Similarly, the harmful effects of the Internet, which supposedly further isolates people from what is often called “the real world ”.
=同样也有人认为，互联网的负面影响进一步使人们远离了我们常说的“真实世界”。

Para. 8
1.This broad criticism of technology 's impact on relationships is an interesting one and is especially relevant to the question of happiness, because one of the few things we can say for certain is that the more friends and the closer relationships people have, the happier they tend to be.
=这种广义上关于技术影响人际关系的批评颇有趣味，尤其与幸福的问题密切相关，因为我们真正有把握说清楚的事情没有几件，但其中之一是：人们的朋友越多，关系越密切，就越幸福。

Para. 9
1.Today, technological change is so rappid that when you buy something, you do so knowing that in a few months there 's going to be a better, faster version of the product, and that you 're going to be stuck with the old one.
=今天的技术变化异常神速，购买某种产品时你就知道，在过几个月，比这个产品性能更好、运作更快捷的款式就会问世，而你却不得不继续使用旧款式的产品。

2.Someone else, in other words, has it better. =换句话说，别人买到的产品要比你的好。

3.It 's as if disappointment were built into acquisition from the very beginning. =这种失望感仿佛从你开始购买这件产品时就已经深深植入你的认知系统中了。

Para. 10
1.Daily stress, an annoying sense of disappointment, fear that the government knows
a lot more about you than you would like it to these are obviously some of the ways in which technology reduces people's sense of well-being.
=日常生活的压力、一种令人烦恼的失望感、对政府知晓你的情况超出你所希望的程度而造成的恐惧感——这些显然都是技术降低了人们幸福感的几个方面。

2.But the most important impact of technology on people 's sense of well-being is in the field of health care.
=然而，技术对人们的幸福感的最重要的影响体现在医疗保健方面。

3.Before the Industrial Revolution, two out of every three Europeans died before the age of 30.
= 工业革命以前，每三个欧洲人中就有两个的寿命不足30 岁。

4.Today, life expectancy for women in Western Europe is almost 80 years, and it continues to increase.
= 而今天，西欧妇女的寿命差不多是80 岁，而且还会继续提高。

5.The point is obvious: the vast majority of people are happy to be alive, and the more time they get on earth, the better off they feel they 'll be.
=道理很明了：绝大多数人很乐意活下去，他们在地球上生活的时间越长感觉就越好。

6.But until very recently, life for the vast majority of people was nasty, rough, and short. =但是，就在不久前，绝大多数人还过着龌龊不堪、牲口不如的生活，而且寿命非常短暂。

7.Technology has changed that, at least for people in the rich world. =技术改变了这一状况，至少对于富裕国家的人们来说情况是如此。

8.As much as we should worry about the rising cost of health care and the problem of the uninsured, it 's also worth remembering how valuable for our spirits as well
as our bodies are the benefits that medical technology has brought us.
=我们在为医疗保健费用的提高和没有参加保险的人们的问题担忧的同时，同样也应该记住，医疗技术所带给我们的身体和精神上的好处是多么有价值。

Para. 11
1.On a deeper level, what the technological improvement of our health and our longevity emphasizes is a paradox of any discussion of happiness on a national or a global level: even though people may not be happier, even though they are wealthier and possess more technology, they're still as hungry as ever for more time.
=从更深层次上来说，我们在健康和长寿方面所取得的进步却强调了在国家和全球层面讨论幸福问题的一个自相矛盾的说法：即使人们不会更幸福，即使他们更加富裕并拥有更多技术，他们还会像以前那样渴望长寿。

2.It 's like that old joke: the food may not be so great, but we want the portions to be as big as possible.
=这就像那个古老的笑话一样：食品也许并不好，可我们都想让自己得到的那一份尽量大一些。

The End Of Text A of Unit 2 of Book 4
Text B
Who to Blame, Technology or the Person Who Uses It?
该怨谁——技术，还是使用技术的人？
Para. 1
1.Technology is always a “hot” issue in discussions nowadays. =技术一直是当今
人们谈论的“热门”话题。

2.A lot has been said and written about it. =关于这个话题，人们发表了许多见解，撰写了大量文章。

3.The defenders of technology are as many as the opponents of it. =技术的捍卫者和反对者的人数旗鼓相当。

ually each one of these two classes of people stresses the advantages or disadvantages of technology without taking the time to look at the opposite point of view.
=这两类人通常各自一味地强调技术的长处或短处，而不愿意花时间去考虑对方的观点。

5.For those who have no prejudice in favor of or against technology, the truth is
to be found somewhere between these two extreme views.
=至于那些对技术没有偏见（既不偏爱技术，也不反对技术）的人，他们的看法大致在这两种极端的观点之间。

6.Technology is like a knife: we can use it to cut our food, and we can also use it to kill somebody.
=技术就像一把刀：我们可以用它切割食物，也可以用它去杀人。

7.It depends on what we want to do with technology. =这取决于我们想用这把刀去做什么。

8.Do we want to improve our lives or do we want to destroy them? =我们是要用它来改善我们的生活呢，还是要毁灭我们的生活？
Para. 2
1.Of course, nobody can neglect the fact that our living conditions have been improved due to technology;
=当然，谁也不能反驳下面的事实：由于技术，我们的生活条件得到了改善；
2.scientists have been able to cure many diseases;
=科学家们已经能治疗多种疾病；
3.production has been increased, and many products have become obtainable by many more people, because the cost of production has been reduced;
=由于生产成本降低，生产力提高，许多产品得以被更多的人享用；
4.human labor has been decreased, and therefore, people have more free time; =人力劳动减少了，闲暇时间更多了；
5.people's mental horizons have been broadened; =人们的视野开阔了；
6.and generally we live longer and better because of technology. =总体说来，技术使我们寿命延长，生活质量也提高了。

Para. 3
1.But the other side of the coin has become already visible. =但是，事情的另一方面也已经体现出来。

2.We talk about the irrational interference with nature, the exhaustion of natural resources, the consumerism of modern societies, the social responsibility of scientists when their inventions are used for bad ends, and the mechanization of work which leaves man as little more than a machine operator.
=我们谈论下面这些问题：对大自然的无理性的破坏、对自然资源的过度利用、现代社会的消费之上主义、当科学家们的发明被用于不道德的目的时他们应该承担的社会责任、以及工作的机械化把人类置于仅仅是机器操作者的地位。

Para. 4
1.Let us use an example from medicine to make matters clearer. =让我们应用一个医学上的例子，以便把问题讲得更清楚一些。

Para. 5
1.Technology improves people 's health.
=技术改善了人们的健康。

2.This can be seen if one looks at the possibilities of surgery in technologically developed countries like America as compared to countries which do not have this advantage.
=只要看看在像美国这样的技术发达的国家所实施的种种可能的外科手术，再看看另外一些没有这种优势的国家，将两者进行比较，就可看出技术是如何改善人们的健康
了。

3.On the other hand, the involvement of advanced technical equipment in medicine modified the synthetic and conservative way of thinking into an analytical one.
=另一方面，先进的技术设备在医学领域的使用也使得原来综合保守型的思维方式变成了分析型的思维方式。

4.The physician can do much, but not on his own. =内科医生能做许多事情，但都不是独立完成。

5.Doctors today have become “good learners ”, but not “thinkers ” as they are used to translating every piece of health data into numbers.
= 今天的医生已经成为“良好的效仿者” ，却不是“思考者” ，因为他们已经习惯于把每一条健康参数转换成数字。

6.A close relationship and human interaction between the doctor and the patient does not exist any more.
=医患之间那种密切的关系和人际交往已不复存在。

7.Patients feel more like objects than persons. =病人感到自己更像一件物品而不是一个人。

Para. 6
1. Furthermore, consider biotechnology. =再者，让我们考虑一下生物工艺学的问题。

2.It fascinates man 's thoughts. =这门学科把人们撩拨的神魂颠倒。

3.The fact that scientists feel that they can “play ” with the secret of life pushes them further and further, promising biological immortality and eternity.
= 科学家们觉得自己是在与生命的奥秘“玩游戏”，这一事实将他们越推越远，信誓旦旦地
保证要创造生物体的不死或永恒。

4.People expect miracles from genetic engineering, but nature has its own secret laws. =尽管人们期待着遗传工程的奇迹，可大自然却有其自身的神秘法则。

5.Everything that disturbs them has its cost. =所有干扰或破坏这些法则的东西都要付出代价。

6.The closer people reach nature's truth, the further it eludes them. =人们对大自然的本质知道的越多，就越对其本质感到困惑。

7.When scientists find the cure for a disease, something worse appears to terrify mankind. =当科学家们找到了治愈某种疾病的疗法时，更加糟糕的疾病又会出现，使人们恐惧不已。

Para. 7
1. Additionally, think about how much war has changed because of technology. =此外，想想技术使战争发生了多大的改变。

2.People do not fight hand to hand any more they fight from a distance; technology makes this possible.
=人们不再手对手地交战了——他们进行远距离作战；是技术使之成为可能。

3.Fighting face to face needs some values which do not exist in the case where someone presses a button and directs the modern means.
=面对面交战需要某些价值观，而在一个人按动按钮就可发动现代花武器装备时，这些价值观是无须存在的。

Para. 8
1. The problem is certainly not technology, but the direction we have finally given to it. =问题肯定不在技术方面，而在于我们最终对技术发出的指令。

2. When man has no values, technology cannot be controlled any more. =人一旦丧失了价值观，技术就再也无法控制了。

3.When man has values, technology serves him. =只要人类还有价值观，技术就会为人类服务。

Para. 9
1. Technology is neither good or bad.
=技术本身既不会行善也不会作恶。

2. It depends on how we use it. =这取决于我们如何使用它。

3.I strongly believe that it is time for us to understand that the responsibility belongs exclusively to humans who have to acquire a social conscience, to respect human beings, nature and its balances.
=我坚信，现在该是我们明白一个道理的时候了：确保技术造福人类的责任只能由具有社会
良知、尊重人
尊重自然和自然平衡的那些人来承担。

类、
The End Of Text B of Unit 2 of Book 4。