第十四课下Why We Walk in Circles为什么我们会走

第十四课下Why We Walk in Circles为什么我们会走："Pin the Tail on the Donkey" is always fun when you're watching rather thanpinning. It is somewhat surprising to see how the blindfolded performers act.

Why We Walk in Circles 为什么我们会走成两个大圆圈

• 课文
  • "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" is always fun when you're watching rather than pinning. It is somewhat surprising to see how the blindfolded performers act. Instead of going straight, they always wander off to one side or the other. The greater the distance to the donkey, the farther they go astray. Have you ever wondered why they are unable to walk straight ahead?
    • 观看别人做"去把尾巴给毛驴安上"的游戏，比自己亲自去做更逗人。看到了被蒙住眼睛的参加游戏表演的人所走的路线着实有点儿让人吃惊。他们都不走直线，总是要由一边偏离到另一边。参加游戏比赛的人距离毛驴越远，他们偏离目标毛驴也越远。
  • It is a well-known fact that a person will move in a circle when he cannot use his eyes to control his direction. Dark nights, dense fogs, blinding snowstorms, thick forests - all these can keep a traveler from seeing where he is going. Then he is unable to move in any fixed direction, but walks in circles.
    • 一个人若不用眼睛来掌握走路的方向，就会走成一个大圈。这一事实是众所周知的。每遇到漆黑的夜晚，浓浓的大雾，伸手不见五指的暴风雪，浓密森林--这一切都会使路上的行人看不见是在往哪个方向走。这时他就不能按既定的目标前进，只能走成一个大圆圈。
  • Animals act the same way. You have probably heard the saying "running around like a chicken with its head cut off." Well, a chicken with its head cut off actually does run around incircles. Blind birds fly in circles. And a blind folded dog will swim in circles.A Norwegian biologist, F.O.Guldberg, decided that this problem of circular movement was worth investigating. He collected many true stories on the subject.
    • 动物也会这样。你也许听过这样一句老话："像砍掉脑袋的鸡一样转着圈跑。"是的，一只被砍掉了脑袋的鸡确实会转着圈跑的。瞎了眼睛的鸟也都是转着圈飞的。一双被蒙住了眼睛的狗也会转着大圈游泳。一位挪威的生物学家哥尔柏格认为绕圈运动的问题确实值得调查研究。关于这一课题他汇集了很多实际事例。
  • One of his stories is about people rowing on a lake during a fog on a dark night. One group of rowers who tried to cross three miles of water in foggy weather never succeeded in reaching their goal. Without knowing it, they rowed in two large circles. When they finally got to the shore, they discovered that they were at the spot they had started from.
    • 他汇集的实例之一就是在一个浓雾黑夜里，人们在湖面上划般。在大雾的天气里，一帮想要横渡三英里的水面的划船手永远也不能成功地划到他们的目的地。不知不觉地，他们都把船划行路线划成两个大圈。在他们缍上个岸后，才发现又划回到了他们原来出发的地点。
  • After studying many stories such as this, Professor Guldberg wrote an article in which he discussed "Circular Motion as the Basic Motion of Animals." A simple example will help you to understand his explanation of why we walk in circles.
    • 在研究过很多诸如此类的实际经历之后，哥尔柏格教授写了一篇题为《动物的基本运动模式是圆周运动》的论文。一个很简单的的例子，就可以帮助你弄明白他的论点：为什么我们会走成两个大圆圈。
  • Have you ever wound up a toy automobile and started it off across the floor? Then you know that it will rarely travel in a straight path. It will travel, instead, in some kind of arc, or curve. If it is to travel in a straight line, the wheels on both sides have to be of exactly equal size. If they are not, the little automobile turns toward the side with the smaller wheels.
    • 你有没有把一辆玩具汽车上好发条以后，把它放到地板上让它从头跑到那头的经历？那么，你就会知道小汽车几乎很少顺着直线跑，那么它左右两边的车轮的大小必须是正好绝对相等的。
  • Circular movement in walking is caused in much the same way. Usually a man walking will "watch his step" and "look where he is going." He needs his senses, especially his eyes, to get to the point he intends to reach. When he cannot use his eyes to guide his steps, he will walk straight only if he takes a step of the same length with each foot.
    • 步行时绕大圆周运动的规律在很大程度上是由同一原理引起的。通常一个人走路时会看着脚下所踩的步子，会看着所要去的方向。一个人需要用他们的各种器官，特别是要用两只眼睛，才能走到他打算要去的地点。只有当一个人的两只脚所迈出的每一步的长短都完全相同时，这个人才可以不用眼睛来引导脚步而能够顺着一条直线往前走。
  • In most people, however, muscle development is not the same in both legs, so that it isprobable that the steps will be uneven. The difference may be so small that no one is aware of it.But small as it is, it can cause circular movement.
    • 但是，在绝大多数人左右两腿肌肉的发育并不是一样的，结果很可能左右两脚所迈的步子长短是不一致的。迈步子长短的差距是非常小的，以致于没有人会意识到这一微小的差距。尽管这个差距很小，但结果却导致了圆周运动。
  • Let us suppose that a man's left foot takes a step 20 inches long and that his right foot takes a step 30 inches long. Now suppose he takes ten step - five with his left foot and five with his right.His left foot will travel 100 inches. His right foot will travel 150 inches. This sounds impossible.One foot cannot remain 50 inches behind the other. What really happens? At each step the man turns a little bit to the left. Sooner or later he makes a complete circle. The tracks of his feet,however, make two circles, one inside the other. His left foot makes the smaller circle because it is taking larger steps. This is why a person may walk in an arc when he sets out in a straight line.
    • 我们假定某一人的左脚迈一步是 20 英寸长，右脚万一步是 30 英寸长。现在假设这个人迈了十步--左脚迈五步，右脚也迈五步。他的左脚总共走了 100 英寸，他的右脚总共走了 150英寸。这听起来让人觉得不可能。到底是怎么回事呢？每迈一步这个人就稍微向左转了一点点。迟早，他会走成一个大圆圈。于是他的两只脚所走过的圆圈稍微小一点，因为左脚迈的步子小。他的右脚所走的圈比较大，因为右脚的每一步都大一点。这就是一个人在出发时本来是想走的直线，结果却走成了一条弧线的原因。
  • The muscles of a man's arms are no more identical than the muscles of his legs. This explains why the rowers who set out to cross the lake at night rowed in a circle. By the same rule, a bird's wings do not develop evenly, and so it will fly in circles when blinded. Thus, dear readers, our circular mystery has a very straight answer.
    • 一个人的两只胳膊肌肉的发育和他的两只腿的肌肉的发育也是不同的。这足可以说明这些在夜间出发去横渡湖面的划船手缍把船划行的路线划成了一个大圆圈的道理。同理，鸟的左右两个翅膀的发育也是不均衡的，所以如果它的眼睛瞎了以后，也会绕圆圈飞行。由此可见，亲爱的读者，这就是我们的圆圈运动之迷的最直截了当的答案。
• New words
  • 雾
    • fog
      • [fɒɡ]
        • n. 雾; 烟雾; 迷惑; 割后再生的草;
        • vt. 以雾包围; 使模糊; 使迷惑;
        • vi. 为雾笼罩; 朦胧; 照片（模糊）;
      • 词源不详。
    • foggy
      • [ˈfɒɡi]
        • adj. 有雾的; 模糊的;
      • fog雾(g双写) + -y形容词词尾
  • 走失
    • stray
      • [streɪ]
        • vi. 走失; 偏离正题; 走入歧途; （已婚者或有固定关系者）有外遇;
        • n. 走失的动物，离群者; 迷路的孩子; 不在原位置的东西;
        • adj. 独自的，零散的; （常指宠物）走失的; 无主的; 意外的;
      • 来自古法语 estraier,漫游，流浪，偏离，可能来自通俗拉丁语*estragare,缩写自 estravagare, 来自拉丁语 extra vagari,漫游，偏离，词源同 extravagant,vagary.
    • astray
      • [əˈstreɪ]
        • adv. 迷路; 堕落;
      • astray = a（处于…状态）+stray（迷路的）→迷路的
        • stray←古法语estraier（漫游、流浪；走失的牲畜）
      • go astray
        • The letter had gone astray.
        • Make sure that no sheep go astray.
  • 运动
    • motion
      • [ˈməʊʃn]
        • n. 运动; 手势; 动机，意向; 请求;
        • vt. 打手势; 向某人点头或摇头示意; 打手势要求[指示];
        • vi. 运动; 打手势;
      • -mot-移动 + -ion名词词尾，词源同move.-t,过去分词后缀。
        • -mov-, -mob-, -mot- = to move（运动）
          • mov 来源于拉丁动词movere,mot来源于movere 的动名词词干，mob 是movere 的形容词性分词的词干。它们的同义词根有来源于拉丁语的migr和来源于希腊语的kine/cinema。
      • motion to
      • promote
        • [prəˈməʊt]
          • v. 促进; 促销; 晋升; 使…升级;
        • pro-前 + -mot-移动 + -e → 向前移动
  • 打算
    • intend
      • [ɪnˈtend]
        • v. 打算，计划; 想要; 意指;
      • in-,进入，使，-tend,延伸，词源同tend,extend.引申词义打算，计划。
        • tend, tens, tent = to stretch（伸）
          • tend来源于拉丁动词tendere, 意为to stretch（伸开，伸长，延伸）
          • tens和tent都是这个拉丁动词的动名词词干（tendere有两个动名词形式:tensum和tentum），主要用来构成相应的名词和形容词。
      • intend to do;
        • He intended to give us an explanation, but he didn't.
        • I didn't intend to hurt you.
  • 甚至
    • even
      • [ˈiːvn]
        • adv. 甚至; 更加; 甚至可以说;
        • adj. 平坦的; 平均的; 双数的; 匀称的; 平和的;
      • 1.平的，甚至，来自PIE*aim, 相似，持平，词源同emulate, imitate. 形容词用修饰副词，参照very, 真实的。
      • 2.黄昏，来自古英语aefen, 黄昏。
    • uneven
      • [ʌnˈiːvn]
        • adj. 不平坦的，凹凸不平的; 不一律的，参差不齐的; 不势均力敌的; [数]奇数的;
  • 秘密
    • mystery
      • [ˈmɪstri]
        • n. 秘密，谜; 神秘，神秘的事物; 推理小说，推理剧; 常作 mysteries 秘技，秘诀;
      • myst = secret/mystery 秘密/神秘 -->myster-, myst-( "one whose eyes are closed")
        • 源于拉丁语或希腊语 mysticus/mythos 神秘,-myth- 为 -myst- 的变体
          • 希腊语中muein(闭上眼睛或嘴巴→保密;准许加入秘密社团)派生了mustes(秘密活动发起人),继而派生了musterion(机密的仪式;机密的事)和mustikos。在拉丁语中为mysterium。 词根词缀： -myst-神秘 + -ery名词词尾
        • 有异形同义词根：-aw- 惊骇/敬畏，来源于古挪威语 agi，如：awe 敬畏 / 使惊叹 / 使畏怯、awesome 令人敬畏的。
    • mysterious
      • [mɪˈstɪəriəs]
        • adj. 神秘的，诡秘的; 难以解释的; 故弄玄虚的;
• 短语表达
  • rather than
    • He came all the way to China for promoting friendship rather than for making money.
    • He was reading a book rather than watching TV.
  • somewhat
    • He felt somewhat tired.
    • This book is somewhat difficult to understand.
  • instead of
    • Instead of pushing and crowding, he waited quietly for his turn.
      • 他没有挤来挤去，而是静静地等着轮到他。
    • He gave us a lot of trouble instead of help.
  • keep from 防止
    • The poor child was kept from seeing his mother.
      • 那个可怜的孩子被阻止去见他的母亲。
    • The bad weather kept us from getting there as scheduled.
      • schedule
        • [ˈʃedjuːl]
          • n. 工作计划，日程安排; 时刻表; 节目表; 课程表; 清单;
          • v. 安排; 列入;
      • 恶劣的天气使我们未能如期到达那里。
  • cut off
    • Cut me off if I talk too much.
    • Gas supplies had now been cut off.
      • 天然气供应现在已被切断。
  • be worth
    • This book is worth reading.
    • This problem is worth following up.
  • reach one's goal 达到的目标
    • You have to work hard to reach your goal.
    • goal
      • [ɡəʊl]
        • n. 球门; 进球得分; 目标;
      • 来自古英语词gol, 边界，词源不详。可能来自go, 走，离开，目标。后用于指球门。
  • such as
    • Many stories such as these will prove instructive to the children.
  • no more…than
    • He is no more a teacher than a writer.
    • We are no more satisfied than you are.
  • 让步状语从句的倒装
    • Young as he is, he holds an important position in the company.
      • position
        • [pəˈzɪʃn]
          • n. 位置; 姿势; 地位; 职位; 名次; 处境; 立场; 阵地;
          • v. 安放; 定位; 驻扎;
        • -posit-放置 + -ion名词词尾
    • Smart as they are, they are always modest.
      • smart
        • [smɑːt]
          • adj. 聪明的; 敏捷的; 整洁的;
          • v. 感到刺痛;
        • bright 口语常用词，多指年轻人，尤指小孩思路敏捷，理解力强，机灵等。
        • clever 强调头脑灵活，接受新事物快，有智有谋，但不一定暗示全面妥当地考虑问题。
        • wise 侧重不是一般的聪明伶俐，而是有远见，有智慧，能明智地处理问题。
        • brilliant 指人的才华出众，思路敏捷，常令人赞叹不已。
        • intelligent 正式用词，指在理解新的、抽象东西或处理解决问题时，智力超过一般常人。
        • ingenious 指思路敏捷，并暗示有创造与发明的才能和技巧。
        • smart 普通用词，与bright和clever的意思很相近，但更强调机灵。
        • shrewd 指精明老练，有头脑，善于判断，把握有利机会。
      • modest
        • [ˈmɒdɪst]
          • adj. 不太大的; 适中的; 谦虚的; 端庄的;
        • 来自mode,模式，方式，尺度，-est,形容词后缀。引申词义有尺度的，谦逊的，谦虚的等。
    • Child as he was, he knew what was the right thing to do.
  • 独立结构：with ＋名词＋过去分词
    • With many eyes fixed on her, she felt very nervous.
    • With all the work completed, we felt greatly relieved.
    • With all his savings gone, he had to find a job now