大学英语自学教程 unit 03
- Unit 3 Text A
- Unit 3 Text B
[00:02.39]第三单元 课文A
[00:04.78]The Atlantic Ocean
[00:07.01]大西洋
[00:09.25]The Atlantic Ocean is one of the oceans
[00:11.91]大西洋是分隔新大陆
[00:14.58]that separate the old World from the New.
[00:17.40]与旧大陆的大洋之一。
[00:20.22]For centuries it kept the Americas
[00:22.65]几个世纪里，
[00:25.08]from being discovered by the people of Europe.
[00:27.56]它使南北美洲未被欧洲人发现。
[00:30.04]Many wrong ideas about the Atlantic
[00:32.82]许多有关大西洋的错误
[00:35.60]made early sailors unwilling to sail far out into it.
[00:39.14]导致早期的海员不愿意远航驶入大西洋。
[00:42.68]One idea was that it reached out to "the edge of the world."
[00:46.37]一个想法是，大西洋洋已远达“世界的边缘”，
[00:50.05]Sailors were afraid that they might sail right off the earth.
[00:53.54]海员们担心他可能会航行到地球队边上彻底掉下去；
[00:57.03]Another idea was that at the equator the ocean would be boiling hot.
[01:00.85]另一个想法是，在赤道处，大西洋的海水是滚烫的。
[01:04.68]The Atlantic Ocean is only half as big as the Pacific,
[01:08.40]尽管大西洋的面积只有太平洋的二分之一，
[01:12.12]but it is still very large.
[01:14.10]但它仍然非常大。
[01:16.07]It is more than 4,000 miles (6,000 kin) wide where Columbus crossed it.
[01:21.36]哥伦布穿越的那部分有4000多英里（6000公里）宽。
[01:26.65]Even at its narrowest it is about 2,000 miles (3,200 kin) wide.
[01:31.87]即使在最窄处，也有大约2000英里（3200公里）宽。
[01:37.10]This narrowest place is between the bulge
[01:40.23]最窄处在美非大陆
[01:43.37]of south America and the bulge of Africa.
[01:46.15]凸出部分之间。
[01:48.93]Two things make the Atlantic Ocean rather unusual.
[01:52.10]使大西洋不同寻常原因有二：
[01:55.28]For so large an ocean it has very few islands.
[01:58.66]首先，如此大的海洋只有很少几个岛屿；
[02:02.04]Also, it is the world's saltiest OCean.
[02:04.97]其次，它是世界上含盐分最多的海洋。
[02:07.90]There is so much water in the Atlantic
[02:10.32]大西洋里的水
[02:12.75]that it is hard to imagine how much there is.
[02:16.03]多得不可想象。
[02:19.31]But suppose no more rain fell into it
[02:22.34]假设不再有雨水落进大西洋，
[02:25.37]and no more water was brought to it by rivers.
[02:28.65]河水也不再流入
[02:31.93]It would take the ocean about 4,000 years to dry up.
[02:35.56]大西洋也需要大约四千年的时间才能干涸。
[02:39.19]On the average the water is a little more than two miles (3.2 km) deep,
[02:43.97]平均水深两英里（3。2公里）多一点，
[02:48.75] but in places it is much deeper.
[02:51.23]但有些地方更深。
[02:53.71]The deepest spot is near Puerto Rico.
[02:56.05]最深处在波多黎各岛附近，
[02:58.39]This "deep" measures 30,246 feet--almost six miles (9.6 km).
[03:04.37]深达30246英尺，几乎有六英里（9。6公里）。
[03:10.35]One of the longest mountain ranges of the world
[03:13.23]世界上一条最长的山脉
[03:16.10] rises from the floor of the Atlantic.
[03:18.78]从大西洋海底升起，
[03:21.46]This mountain range runs north and south down the middle of the ocean.
[03:25.43]它由北向南延伸，直达大西洋中部，
[03:29.40]The tops of a few of the mountains reach up above the sea and make islands.
[03:34.09]几座山峰露出海面便形成岛屿。
[03:38.78]The Azores are the tops of peaks in the mid-Atlantic mountain range.
[03:42.85]亚速尔群岛是大西洋中部山脉的峰尖。
[03:46.93]Several hundred miles eastward from Florida
[03:49.71]从佛罗里达往东几百英里处的
[03:52.49]there is a part of the ocean called the Sargasso Sea.
[03:55.66]一部分洋面称为马尾藻海。
[03:58.84]Here the water is quiet,for there is little wind.
[04:02.72]这里水面平静，几乎没有一丝风。
[04:06.60]In the days of sailing vessels the crew were afraid they would be becalmed here.
[04:10.57]在使用帆船的时代，般员们担心他们会因无风而在此处无法航行，
[04:14.54]Sometimes they were.
[04:16.57]有时的确如此。
[04:18.61]Ocean currents are sometimes called "rivers in the sea."
[04:22.03]洋流有时被称为“海上河流”。
[04:25.46]One of these "rivers" in the Atlantic is called the Gulf Stream.
[04:28.94]大西洋其中有一条“河流”被命名为墨西哥湾流，
[04:32.43]It is a current of warm water.
[04:34.86]是条暖流；
[04:37.29]Another is the Labrador Current--cold water coming down from the Arctic.
[04:41.31]另一条叫拉布拉多流，这是来自北冰洋的寒流。
[04:45.34]Ocean currents affect the climates of the lands near which they flow.
[04:48.67]洋流对其充经地区的气候有影响。
[04:52.00]The Atlantic furnishes much food for the people on its shores.
[04:55.28]大西洋为岸上的人们提供了丰富的食物。
[04:58.55]One of its most famous fishing regions,the Grand Banks,is near New-found land.
[05:02.52]最有名的渔业区之一是大浅滩渔业区，位于纽芬兰附近。
[05:06.49]Today the Atlantic is a great highway.
[05:09.12]今天的大西洋是一条主要交通干线。
[05:11.75]It is not,however,always a smooth and safe one.
[05:14.87]所以大西洋并不总是一个平静和安全的海洋。
[05:17.99]Storms sweep across it and pile up great waves.
[05:21.52]然而，横扫而来的暴风雨卷起层层巨浪
[05:25.04]Icebergs float down from the Far North across the paths of ships.
[05:28.83]遥远的北极漂浮而下的冰川穿过般只经过的航道，
[05:32.62]We now have such fast ways of traveling
[05:35.19]今天我们拥有的快捷旅行方式
[05:37.76] that this big ocean seems to have grown smaller.
[05:40.55]使大西洋显得小了。
[05:43.33]Columbus sailed for more than two months to cross it.
[05:46.71]哥伦布花了两个多月的时间才穿越大西洋，
[05:50.09]A fast modem steamship can make the trip in less than four days.
[05:54.56]今天现代化的快速轮船只需不到四天的时间就可以完成 旅行。
[05:59.03]Airplanes fly from New York to London in only eight hours
[06:02.80]从纽约到伦敦飞行只需8小时，
[06:06.58] and from South America to Africa in four!
[06:09.52]而从南美到非洲四小时就够了。
[06:12.45]Text B
[06:13.93]课文 B
[06:15.41]The Moon
[06:17.03]月球
[06:18.64]We find that the moon is about 239,000 miles
[06:21.92]我们发现月球离地球大约有大约23。9万英里
[06:25.20](384,551 km) away from the earth,
[06:29.03]（384，551万公里），
[06:32.86]and,to within a few thousand miles,its distance always remains the same.
[06:36.58]它与地球保持这个距离，变化不超地几千英里。
[06:40.30]Yet a very little observation shows that the moon is not standing still.
[06:43.72]然而略加观察就可以发现月球并非静止不动。
[06:47.14]Its distance far the earth remains the same,
[06:49.43]它与地球之间的距离不变，
[06:51.72]but its direction continually changes.
[06:53.90]但其方位却不断变化。
[06:56.08]We find that it is traveling in a circle--
[06:58.65]我们发现月球以圆周或者
[07:01.22]or very nearly a circle--round the earth,
[07:04.01]非常接近圆周绕地球一周。
[07:06.79]going completely round once a month,or,more exactly,once every 27 1/3 days.
[07:11.87]月球是我们在太空中紧近的邻居。
[07:16.95]It is our nearest neighbour in space,
[07:18.87]如同我们自己一样，
[07:20.79]and like ourselves it is kept tied to the earth
[07:23.57]地球引力月球
[07:26.35]by the earth's gravitational pull.
[07:28.34]与球紧紧联系在一起。
[07:30.32]Except for the sun,the moon looks the biggest object in the sky.
[07:34.01]除太阳以外，月球是空中看起来最大的物体。
[07:37.69]Actually it is one of the smallest,
[07:39.82]其实它是最小的天体之一，
[07:41.95]and only looks big because it is so near to us.
[07:44.68]只是因为离我们很近，所以看起来大。
[07:47.41]Its diameter is only 2,160 miles (3,389 kin),
[07:52.39]它的直径只有2160英里（3389公里），
[07:57.36]or a little more than a quarter of the diameter of the earth.
[08:00.29]或者说比地球直径的四分之一略多一点。
[08:03.21]Once a month,or,more exactly,once every 29 1/2 days,
[08:06.90]我们所说的“满月”每月有一次，确切地说，每29天半有一次，
[08:10.58]at the time we call "full moon,"its whole disc looks bright.
[08:13.75]这时整个月面明亮照人。
[08:16.93]At other times only part of it appears bright,
[08:19.87]其它时间，月球只有一部分发亮，
[08:22.80]and we always find that this is the part which faces towards the sun,
[08:26.44]我们发现这正是面朝太阳的那一部分，
[08:30.07]while the part facing away from the sun appears dark.
[08:32.74]而背靠太阳的那部分显得淡无光。
[08:35.42]Artists could make their pictures better if they kept this in mind--
[08:38.20]假使美术家们记住月球只有受到太阳照射的那部分才是明亮的，
[08:40.99]only those parts of the moon which are lighted up by the sun are bright.
[08:44.56]他们的绘画也许会更美好。
[08:48.14]This shows that the moon gives no light of its own.
[08:50.66]这也说明月球本身并不发光，
[08:53.19]It merely reflects the light of the sun,
[08:55.46]它如同悬挂在天空中的一面巨大的镜子，
[08:57.73]like a huge mirror hung in the sky.
[09:00.15]仅仅反射太阳光。
[09:02.56]Yet the dark part of the moon's surface is not absolutely black;
[09:05.68]不过月球表面黑暗的并不是绝对的漆黑。
[09:08.81]generally it is just light enough for us to be able to see its outline,
[09:12.39]一般说来它的亮度刚好足以让我们看清它的轮廓，
[09:15.96]so that we speak of seeing "the old moon in the new moon's arms."
[09:19.74]因此我们将这一景色称为“新月抱旧月”。
[09:23.51]The light by which we see the old moon
[09:25.64]看旧月所凭借的光线
[09:27.77]does not come from the sun,but from the earth.
[09:30.45]来自地球而不是太阳。
[09:33.13]We know well how the surface of the sea or of snow,
[09:36.07]我们很清楚海面、雪面
[09:39.00]or even of a wet road,
[09:40.92]或者湿漉漉的路面
[09:42.84]may reflect uncomfortably much of the sun's light on to our faces.
[09:46.03]如何将大量的太阳光反射到我们的脸上，
[09:49.22]In the same way
[09:50.84]使我们感觉不舒服。
[09:52.46]the surface of the whole earth reflects enough of the sun's light
[09:55.49]整个地球表面同样将充足的太阳光反射到月球表面，
[09:58.52]on to the face of the moon for us to be able to see
[10:01.60]使我们得以看见
[10:04.68] the parts of it which would otherwise be dark.
[10:07.22]本来会是很暗的那部分月面。
[10:09.75]If there were any inhabitants of the moon,
[10:11.97]假使月球上有居民，
[10:14.19]they would see our earth reflecting the light of the sun,
[10:17.27]他们也会见到反射太阳光的地球
[10:20.36]again like a huge mirror hung in the sky.
[10:23.14]如同悬挂在天空中的一面巨大的镜子；
[10:25.92]They would speak of earthlight just as we speak of moonlight.
[10:29.24]他们也会像我们谈论地球之光。
[10:32.56]"The old moon in the new moon' s arms"
[10:34.83]“新月抱旧月”
[10:37.10]is nothing but that part of the moon's surface on which it is night,
[10:40.38]只不过是在夜间被地球
[10:43.66]lighted up by earth light.
[10:45.49]照亮的那部分月面。
[10:47.31]In the same way,
[10:48.84]同样，
[10:50.37]the lunar inhabitants would occasionally see part of our earth in full sunlight,
[10:54.25]月球人有时也会见到地球的一部分阳光普照，
[10:58.13]and the rest lighted only by moonlight;
[11:00.45]而剩下的另一部分被月光照亮，
[11:02.78]they might call this "the old earth in the new earth's arms."
[11:06.04]他们也会把这一景色称为“新地抱旧地”。
