1、1 人教版高中英语新教材选择性必修一人教版高中英语新教材选择性必修一 Unit 5 课文文本和翻译课文文本和翻译 APIONEER FOR ALL PEOPLE 造福全人类的先驱者造福全人类的先驱者 Yuan Longping, known as the “father of hybridrice”, is one of Chinas most famous scientists. Yet, he considers himself a farmer because he continually works the land in his research. Indeed, his slim
2、but strong body is just like that of millions of Chinese farmers, to whom he has devoted his life. 袁隆平，被誉为“杂交水稻之父”，是中国最著名的科学家之一。然而，他认为自己是个农民，因为他不断 地在田间耕作，进行科学研究。确实，他瘦削但结实的身躯看起来和他为之奉献了一生的千百万中国农民 一样。 Yuan Longping was born in 1930 in Beijing. His parents wanted him to pursue a career in science or med
3、icine. However, what concerned him most was that farmers often had poor harvests and sometimes even had a serious shortage of food to eat. To tackle this crisis, he chose to study agriculture and received an education at Southwest Agricultural College in Chongqing. 袁隆平 1930 年出生于北京。他的父母希望他从事科学或医学方面的工
4、作。然而，最让他担心的是，农民 经常歉收，有时甚至严重缺乏食物。为了应对这一危机，他选择了学习农业，并在重庆的西南农学院接受 教育。 After graduating in 1953, he worked as a researcher. Yuan Longping realised that larger fields were not the solution. Instead, farmers needed to boost yields in the fields they had. How this, could be done was a challenging question
5、at the time. Yuan was convinced that the answer could be found in the creation of hybrid rice. A hybrid is a cross between two or more varieties of a species. One characteristic of hybrids is that they usually attain a higher yield than conventional crops. However, whether it was possible to develop
6、 a hybrid of self-pollinating plants such as rice was a matter of great debate. The common assumption then was that it could not be done. Through intense effort, Yuan overcame enormous technical difficulties to develop the first hybrid rice that could be used for farming in 1974. This hybrid enabled
7、 farmers to expand their output greatly. 1953 年毕业后，他从事研究工作。袁隆平意识到，解决问题的办法并不是扩大农田面积，而是农民们需 要提高他们已有土地上农作物的产量。如何做到这一点在当时是一个具有挑战性的问题。袁隆平坚信，可 以在杂交水稻的培育中找到答案。杂交植物是一个物种的两个或多个变种之间的杂交。杂交作物的一个特 点是它们的产量通常比常规作物高。然而，是否有可能培育出如水稻等自花授粉植物的杂交种，这是一个 充满争议的问题。人们普遍认为这是不可能做到的。通过不懈的努力，袁隆平克服了巨大的技术难题，于 1974 年研制出了第一批可用于农业生产的杂
8、交水稻。 这种杂交植物使农民能够大幅度增加他们的水稻产量。 Today, it is estimated that about 60 percent of domestic rice consumption in China is comprised of crops generated from Yuans hybrid strains, and his strains have allowed Chinas farmers to produce around 200 million tons of rice per year. Yuans innovation has helped fee
9、d not just China, but many other countries that depend on rice as well, such as India and Vietnam. Because of his invaluable contributions, Yuan Longping has received numerous awards both in China and abroad. 据估算，现在中国国内消费的稻米有大约 60%来自袁隆平的杂交水稻品种形成的作物，这些品种(形成的 作物)让中国农民每年能够生产出大约两亿吨稻米。袁隆平的创新不仅帮助养活了中国，也养活
10、了许多其他 依赖大米的国家，如印度和越南。因为他做出了不可估量的贡献。袁隆平在国内外获得了无数奖项。 Given that Yuans hybrids have made him quite wealthy, one might think he would retire to a life of leisure. 2 However, this is far from the case. Deep down, Yuan is still very much a farmer at heart. As a man of the soil, he cares little for celebri
11、ty or money. Instead, he makes large donations to support agricultural research. 考虑到杂交水稻使袁隆平变得相当富有，人们可能认为他会退休享受闲适的生活。然而，事实远非如此。 实际上，袁隆平在内心深处仍然是一位农民。作为一个土生土长的人，他不太在乎名利。相反，他大量捐 款支持农业科学研究。 What impresses people most about Yuan Longping is his ongoing ability to fulfill his dreams. Long ago, he envision
12、ed rice plants as tall as sorghum, with each ear of rice as big as a broom, and each grain of rice as huge as a peanut. He succeeded in producing a kind of rice that could feed more people at home and abroad. His latest vision for “seawater rice” has also become a reality, and potentially opened up
13、nearly one million square kilometres of salty land in China for rice production. Despite his advanced years, Yuan Longping is still young at heart and full of vision, and everyone is waiting to see what he will dream up next. 袁隆平给人印象最深的是他不断实现梦想的能力。很久以前，他设想水稻高至高粱，稻穗大如扫帚，而 每粒稻谷大如花生。 他成功地种植出一种可以养活国内外更多
14、人口的水稻。 他对“海水稻”的最新设想也已成 为现实，并可能在中国开辟近 100 万平方公里的盐碱地，用于水稻生产。尽管年事已高，袁隆平的内心仍 然年轻，富有远见，每个人都在等着看他下一步的梦想。 CHEMICALVERSUS ORGANIC FARMING 化学耕作和有机耕作化学耕作和有机耕作 Chemical pesticides and artificial fertilisers have been in widespread use in farming since the middle of the 20th century. When they were first introd
15、uced, many farmers welcomed them as a great way to fight crop disease and increase production. Over time, however, what some scientists have found is that their long-term use can sometimes harm both the land and peoples health. 自 20 世纪中期以来，化学农药和人工化肥在耕作中得到了广泛使用。当它们第一次被引进时，很多农民喜 欢使用农药和化肥，把它们作为防治农作物病虫害
16、和提高产量的重要手段。然而，随着时间的推移，一些 科学家发现长期使用农药和化肥会造成土地受损，对人们的健康造成危害。 For example, pesticides can damage the land by killing not only harmful bacteria and insects, but also helpful ones. In addition, these chemicals can stay in the soil and underground water sources for a long time. This affects the crops grow
17、n on the land and, in turn, the animals and humans who digest them. Many people worry that these chemicals may make them ill and even cause cancer. In fact, some pesticides like DDT have been prohibited in most countries because of the damage they cause to people and the environment. As for chemical
18、 fertilisers, crops grown with them usually grow too fast to be rich in nutrition. They may look beautiful on the outside, but inside there is usually more water than essential minerals, and they often have less flavour as well. 例如，农药在杀死病菌和害虫的同时也会杀死有益的细菌和昆虫，从而破坏土地。此外，这些化学物质可 以在地里和地下水中保存很长时间，而这会影响生长在
19、土地上的农作物，进而影响到消化它们的动物和人 类。许多人担心这些化学物质会使他们生病甚至导致癌症。事实上，像滴滴涕这样的杀虫剂在大多数国家 已经被禁止了，因为它们对人类和环境造成了破坏。至于化肥，施过化肥的农作物通常生长得过快而营养 不足。它们表面上很好看，但是里面的水分通常比必需的矿物质多，而且味道也不太好。 As an alternative, some farmers have switched to organic farming, and many customers have turned to organic food when they shop at the local gr
20、ocery. Organic farming is simply farming without using any chemicals. Organic farmers focus on keeping their soil rich and free of disease through natural means. For example, many organic 3 farmers use natural waste from animals as fertiliser. This makes the soil in their fields richer in minerals.
21、It also keeps the air, soil, water, and crops free of chemicals. 作为另一种选择，一些农民开始转向有机耕作，许多顾客在当地杂货店购物时转向有机食品。有机耕作就 是不用任何化学肥料的耕作。有机耕作的农民注重通过自然的方式保持土壤肥沃和免受病害。例如，许多 有机耕作的农民把天然的动物粪便当作肥料。这样会使他们地里的土壤更富含矿物质，同时还可以让空气、 土壤、水以及农作物不受化学物质的污染。 Organic farmers also use many other methods to produce rich soil. They of
22、ten change the kind of crop grown in each field every year. For instance, they may grow corn or wheat in a field one year, and then grow beans there the next. Why different crops are grown is because they put important minerals back into the ground, making it ready for the next batch of crops. Organ
23、ic farmers also plant diverse crops that use different depths of soil to help keep it rich. For example peanuts grow on the grounds surface, but many other vegetables put down deep roots. The goal of using different organic farming methods is to grow good food while avoiding damage to the environmen
24、t or to peoples health. 有机耕作的农民也使用很多其他的方法来保持土壤肥沃。 在同一块地里， 他们经常每隔几年就换种农作物。 例如，他们可能一年在一块地里种玉米或小麦后来年再改种豌豆。种植不同的作物是因为它们把重要的矿 物质带回土壤，从而使之适宜于种植下一批作物。有机耕作的农民还种植多种农作物，利用不同层次的 土壤来帮助保持肥沃。例如，花生种植生长于浅层土壤，但许多其他蔬菜种植生根于深层土壤。使用不同 的有机耕作方法的目的是种植好的粮食，避免损害环境或者人们的健康。 Some people would prefer to stop the use of man-made
25、chemicals in agriculture entirely. What keeps them from doing so is the fact that chemical farming serves the high demand for food around the world. Organic farming is nowhere near able to meet that need. Therefore, there is still a long way to find a suitable solution that puts sufficient food on the dinner table while keeping people and the environment as healthy as possible. 有些人宁愿完全停止在农业中使用人造化学品。阻止他们这样做的原因是化学农业满足了世界各地对粮食 的巨大需求。有机耕作完全不能满足那样的需求。因此，要找到一个合适的解决方案，使人们的餐桌上有 足够的食物，同时保持人们和环境尽可能地健康仍然有很长的路要走。
