实用英语翻译课后练习

The mighty Pacific washes the shores of the continents-North America, South America, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica. Its waters mingle in the southeast with the Atlantic Ocean and in the southwest with the Indian Ocean. It is not on the shores of continents or in the coastal islands, however, that the soul of the great Pacific is found. It lies far out where the fabled South Sea Islands are scattered over the huge ocean like stars in the sky.

气势磅礴的太平洋冲刷着五大洲-北美洲、南美洲、亚洲、大洋洲和南极洲-的海岸。太平洋在东南方与大西洋汇合，在西南方与印度洋相接。然而，巨大的太平洋最美妙之处不在大陆的海岸上，也不在沿海的岛屿上，而是在远离陆地的海域，在那里，富有神奇色彩的南太平洋诸岛像天上的繁星一样散布在广阔的海面上。

Here great disturbances at the heart of the earth caused mountains and volcanoes to rise above the water. For hundreds of years tiny coral creatures have worked and died to make thousands of ring-shaped islands called atolls.

在那里，由于地心的剧烈活动，使山脉和火山升出水面。千百年来，微小的珊瑚虫在这里活动、死亡，形成了数不胜数的环状岛屿，这些岛屿被称为环礁。

The air that sweeps the South Sea Islands is fragrant with flowers and spice. Bright warm days follow clear cool nights, and the rolling swells break in a never-ending roar on the shores. Overhead the slender coconut palms whisper their drowsy song.

散发着鲜花和香料芬芳的微风轻轻吹拂着南太平洋诸岛。明媚温暖的白天和清澈而凉爽的夜晚交相更替。滚滚巨浪拍打着海岸发出阵阵轰鸣，椰树柔弱的枝叶在空中低声吟唱着催眠曲。

When white men first came to the Pacific islands, they found that the people living there were like happy children. They were tall men and beautiful women who seemed not to have a care in the world. Coconut palms and breadfruit trees grew at the doors of their huts. The ocean was filled with turtles and fish, ready for the net. The islanders had little need for clothing. There was almost no disease.

白人首次登上这些太平洋海岛时，发现生活在那里的人们都像孩子一样欢乐。男子身材高大，妇女婀娜多姿，他们无忧无虑，好像对世界上的一切都不用操心似的。茅舍门前长着椰子树和面包树，海洋里鱼鳖成群，张网可得。岛上人几乎不需要穿什么衣服，也几乎没有任何疾病。

Cruel and bloody wars sometimes broke out between neighboring tribes, and canoe raids were sometimes made on nearby islands. The strong warriors enjoyed fighting. Many of the islanders were cannibals, who cooked and ate the enemies they killed. This was part of their law and religion. These savages, however, were usually friendly, courteous, and hospitable. Some of the early explorers were so fascinated with the Pacific islands that they never returned to their own countries. They preferred to stay.

在邻近部落之间有时会爆发残酷的流血战争。他们有时乘独木舟去攻击附近的岛屿。强悍的勇士们认为战争是一种乐趣。许多岛上的人都有吃人的习俗。他们把杀死的敌人煮熟吃掉。这一习俗是他们的法律和宗教的一部分。然而，这些野蛮人通常是友善、谦恭和好客的。一些早期的探险家因为太迷恋这些太平洋岛屿而不再返回自己的国家，他们宁愿长期呆在那里。

When Bill Clinton and Bill Gates played golf on Martha's Vineyard a few years ago, they didn't click. The President gave Gates a heavy dose of the Clinton treatment, oozing charm and seeking emotional common ground in the fact that both had recently lost their mothers. Clinton must have been disappointed by the cool response of Gates, who saw the subject as unduly personal. Gates, for his part, was put off that Clinton didn't engage him on his favorite topic, technology. When the golfing ended, the two men went their separate ways. Gates didn't take sides in the Clinton-Dole election a couple of years later. Clinton let his Justice Department pursue a potentially devastating antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.

几年前比尔·克林顿和比尔·盖茨在马撒葡萄园里打高尔夫球，两个人并没有相处的很融洽。总统以自己惯用的热烈的待人接物方式对待盖茨，满脸魅力，笑容可掬。因为两人都新近丧母，所以他满以为能在两人之间找到共同语言。但是盖茨认为这个话题太私人而表现得很冷漠，总统肯定很是失望。对比尔盖茨来说，也很不爽，因为克林顿没有让他谈论他喜欢的话题--科技。打完高尔夫后，两个人分道扬镳。几年后，克林顿和多尔竞选总统，盖茨选择了中立。而克林顿不久却让美国司法部指控盖茨违反《反托拉斯法案》，这对微软公司是一次毁灭性的打击。

It's not hard to see why these two larger-than-life figures--one is the world's most powerful man, the other is the richest--didn't become fast friends: the two Bills are as different as the two ends of the baby-boom generation they represent. Clinton, who entered college in 1964, is dripping with Sixties values: a John F. Kennedy-style belief in public service as a calling; an Age-of-Aquarius focus on emotional connection; and a countercultural streak of sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll. Gates, who came of age in the 1970s, has a Watergate-year detachment from politics, a mind-set more me-generation than "love-in", and a passion for the great revolutionary force of his own decade: the personal computer.

不难看出这两位带有传奇色彩的人物--世界上最有权者和最有钱者--没有成为密友。因为两个比尔禀性大不一样，他们分别代表了战后生育高峰首尾两端出生的这一代人。克林顿1964年进大学，满脑子浸透了60年代的价值观念：他的身上既有约翰·肯尼迪式的以服务大众为己任的信念，也有大同时代的人所特有情感专注，同时还带有纵欲、吸毒、迷恋摇滚乐之类反文化的个人特性。盖茨70年代长大成人，具有水门事件年代的人对政治冷漠超然的特点，其心态更接近"惟我的一代"，而不是颓废派；他热衷于个人电脑，将其视为自己这十年的一种极具革命性的动力。

But Clinton and Gates are remarkably alike in other ways, particularly in their flaws. Both have almost limitless drive and self-absorption and a willingness to push the rules to the edge--or pass it--to get what they want. When called to account, both have been dismissive of the legal process and have had a strained relationship with the truth. These qualities have landed both men in similar binds: Clinton is waiting to hear if he will be removed from office; Gates is fending off the Justice Department's effort to rein in, or even carve up, Microsoft. Their flaws will take center this week, as both men mount defenses in their respective trials.

但是在其他方面，克林顿和盖茨有惊人的相似，尤其是在两人的缺点方面。两个人都有无限的干劲和专注力，为了获得自己想要的东西，他们都会触及条规底线或者超越条规。当被要求解释他们的行为时，两人都选择蔑视法律，甚至违背事实。这些品质是两人陷入了同样的困境：克林顿等待着被革职，盖茨尽力避开司法部门对微软的控制，甚至是瓜分。他们的缺点在这周将成为焦点，因为两人都在为各自的案子尽力辩护。