朋友圈不少人开玩笑， 说什么 “全球 变 暖”，美国人都快被“ 冻 死了”。 于是，我想翻 译 一篇关于“极地 涡 旋”的大众文章。但是，我 妈妈说 “人之初，性本 懒 ”。我，完完全全是她的粉 丝 。所以，我上网搜“极地 涡 旋和超冷的北半球冬天”，搜到： http://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-1721-1158074.html （“ 节约 ”下来的 时间 ，可以用来搞 卫 生。） 喜 欢 看英 语 版的， 请继续 ： Ice Loss and the Polar Vortex: How a Warming Arctic Fuels Cold Snaps The loss of sea ice may be weakening the polar vortex, allowing cold blasts to dip south from the Arctic, across North America, Europe and Russia, a new study says. BY BOB BERWYN, INSIDECLIMATE NEWS SEP 28, 2017 https://insideclimatenews.org/news/27092017/polar-vortex-cold-snap-arctic-ice-loss-global-warming-climate-change When winter sets in, polar vortex becomes one of the most dreaded phrases in the Northern Hemisphere. It's enough to send shivers even before the first blast of bitter cold arrives. New research shows that some northern regions have been getting hit with these extreme cold spells more frequently over the past four decades, even as the planet as a whole has warmed. While it may seem counterintuitive, the scientists believe these bitter cold snaps are connected to the warming of the Arctic and the effects that that warming is having on the winds of the stratospheric polar vortex, high above the Earth's surface. Here's what scientists involved in the research think is happening: The evidence is clear that the Arctic has been warming faster than the rest of the planet. That warming is reducing the amount of Arctic sea ice , allowing more heat to escape from the ocean. The scientists think that the ocean energy that is being released is causing a weakening of the polar vortex winds over the Arctic, which normally keep cold air centered over the polar region. That weakening is then allowing cold polar air to slip southward more often. The polar vortex has always varied in strength, but the study found that the weaker phases are lasting longer and coinciding with cold winters in Northern Europe and Russia. The shift toward more persistent weaker states of the polar vortex lets Arctic air spill out and threaten Russia and Europe with extreme cold, said the study's lead author, Marlene Kretschmer, a climate scientist with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The trend can explain most of the cooling of Eurasian winters since 1990. Some other scientists aren't as sure that melting sea ice affects the polar vortex so strongly. They think other factors, like long-term variations in sea surface temperatures like El Niño, and changes in the tropics, might play bigger roles. Primed for Longer Stretches of Extreme Cold The research , published in theBulletin of the American Meteorological Society,helps explain one way that rapid and intense Arctic warming affects climate extremes in the populated mid-latitudes of the Northern hemisphere. Kretschmer and her colleagues focused on the region from Scandinavia through Siberia, where winter snow cover has increased and average winter temperatures have dropped since 1990. Co-author Judah Cohen, a climate researcher at MIT, said the results also provide new clues about how the Arctic affects cold extremes in the U.S. The study tracked changes in the polar vortex in the months of December and January between 1979 and 2015. It concluded that the polar vortex is primed for extreme cold outbreaks for longer stretches—from 5.3 days during the first half of the study period to 14.1 days in the second half. During the same time, average winter surface temperatures in northern Eurasia declined. It's a piece of the whole puzzle which really helps us understand the linkages between Arctic changes and mid-latitude circulation changes, said Dörthe Handorf, a climate researcher with the Alfred Wegener Institute who was not involved in the study. Previous studies have also concluded that the changes in the stratosphere are important. Without the stratospheric changes, we can't explain why we see an increase in cold days over Eurasia, Handorf said. A Step Toward More Accurate Forecasts Along with helping explain how melting sea ice affects the atmosphere, the new study is a step toward more accurate seasonal forecasts that can help prepare communities for extreme conditions, Cohen said. Models used in forecasting don't currently anticipate these changes in the polar vortex, he said. Comparing polar vortex phases with temperatures in the study area and data on sea ice extent can potentially improve forecasts two to six weeks in advance , he said. With that information, scientists soon may be able to say that, when the sea ice forms very late in the Arctic Ocean north of Russia, people living eastern Scandinavia and Siberia should prepare for harsh early winter conditions. The picture is not as clear for North America, said Jim Overland, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who was not involved in the study. Natural year-to-year variations in weather still masks the global warming signal to some degree, he said. You can take one view or another, but the research helps make people think about the effects and how to forecast them. What we know for sure is, the Arctic is warming and losing ice and the forcing is there, he said, referring to the potential effect of melting sea ice on weather patterns. Pinpointing the impacts on areas where millions of people live, he said, would pay off for those communities.
美国的枪杀案，应该是全世界臭名昭著的。支持“枪的拥有权“的人，常常是振振有词。也许，这篇短文可以帮助你了解这个美国社会的癌症。 BAN THE THINGS. BAN THEM ALL By Molly Ivins March 16, 1993 AUSTIN -- Guns. Everywhere guns. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1993/03/16/ban-the-things-ban-them-all/74d9d23b-b786-455a-bb50-d7c9e57eb81f/?noredirect=onutm_term=.19a3df9e23be Let me start this discussion by pointing out that I am not anti-gun. I'm pro-knife. Consider the merits of the knife. In the first place, you have to catch up with someone to stab him. A general substitution of knives for guns would promote physical fitness. We'd turn into a whole nation of great runners. Plus, knives don't ricochet. And people are seldom killed while cleaning their knives. As a civil libertarian, I of course support the Second Amendment. And I believe it means exactly what it says: A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Fourteen-year-old boys are not part of a well-regulated militia. Members of wacky religious cults are not part of a well-regulated militia. Permitting unregulated citizens to have guns is destroying the security of this free state. I am intrigued by the arguments of those who claim to follow the judicial doctrine of original intent. How do they know it was the dearest wish of Thomas Jefferson's heart that teenage drug dealers should cruise the cities of this nation perforating their fellow citizens with assault rifles? Channeling? There is more hooey spread about the Second Amendment. It says quite clearly that guns are for those who form part of a well-regulated militia, i.e., the armed forces including the National Guard. The reasons for keeping them away from everyone else get clearer by the day. The comparison most often used is that of the automobile, another lethal object that is regularly used to wreak great carnage. Obviously, this society is full of people who haven't got enough common sense to use an automobile properly. But we haven't outlawed cars yet. We do, however, license them and their owners, restrict their use to presumably sane and sober adults and keep track of who sells them to whom. At a minimum, we should do the same with guns. In truth, there is no rational argument for guns in this society. This is no longer a frontier nation in which people hunt their own food. It is a crowded, overwhelmingly urban country in which letting people have access to guns is a continuing disaster. Those who want guns -- whether for target shooting, hunting or potting rattlesnakes (get a hoe) -- should be subject to the same restrictions placed on gun owners in England -- a nation in which liberty has survived nicely without an armed populace. The argument that guns don't kill people is patent nonsense. Anyone who has ever worked in a cop shop knows how many family arguments end in murder because there was a gun in the house. Did the gun kill someone? No. But if there had been no gun, no one would have died. At least not without a good footrace first. Guns do kill. Unlike cars, that is all they do. Michael Crichton makes an interesting argument about technology in his thriller Jurassic Park. He points out that power without discipline is making this society into a wreckage. By the time someone who studies the martial arts becomes a master -- literally able to kill with bare hands -- that person has also undergone years of training and discipline. But any fool can pick up a gun and kill with it. A well-regulated militia surely implies both long training and long discipline. That is the least, the very least, that should be required of those who are permitted to have guns, because a gun is literally the power to kill. For years, I used to enjoy taunting my gun-nut friends about their psycho-sexual hangups -- always in a spirit of good cheer, you understand. But letting the noisy minority in the National Rifle Association force us to allow this carnage to continue is just plain insane. I do think gun nuts have a power hangup. I don't know what is missing in their psyches that they need to feel they have the power to kill. But no sane society would allow this to continue. Ban the damn things. Ban them all. You want protection? Get a dog. Molly Ivins is a columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 1993, Creators Syndicate, Inc.
也许，我应该说：谨以此短文，献给那些在天堂的父、母。 但是，我觉得天堂是安宁的：没有痛苦、没有烦恼。而我们，活着的人，在苦苦的思念中，问自己 … https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/08/magazine/about-men.html About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems. Please send reports of such problems to archive_feedback@nytimes.com. DAD BY ANDREW H. MALCOLM Andrew H. Malcolm is chief of The New York Times Chicago bureau. THE FIRST MEMORY I have of him - of anything, really - is his strength. It was in the late afternoon in a house under construction near ours. The unfinished wood floor had large, terrifying holes whose yawning darkness I knew led to nowhere good. His powerful hands, then age 33, wrapped all the way around my tiny arms, then age 4, and easily swung me up to his shoulders to command all I surveyed. The relationship between a son and his father changes over time. It may grow and flourish in mutual maturity. It may sour in resented dependence or independence. With many children living in single-parent homes today, it may not even exist. But to a little boy right after World War II, a father seemed a god with strange strengths and uncanny powers enabling him to do and know things that no mortal could do or know. Amazing things, like putting a bicycle chain back on, just like that. Or building a hamster cage. Or guiding a jigsaw so it formed the letter F; I learned the alphabet that way in those pretelevision days, one letter or number every other evening plus a review of the collection. (The vowels we painted red because they were special somehow.) He even seemed to know what I thought before I did. ''You look like you could use a cheeseburger and chocolate shake,'' he would say on hot Sunday afternoons. When, at the age of 5, I broke a neighbor's garage window with a wild curve ball and waited in fear for 10 days to make the announcement, he seemed to know about it already and to have been waiting for something. There were, of course, rules to learn. First came the handshake. None of those fishy little finger grips, but a good firm squeeze accompanied by an equally strong gaze into the other's eyes. ''The first thing anyone knows about you is your handshake,'' he would say. And we'd practice it each night on his return from work, the serious toddler in the battered Cleveland Indians cap running up to the giant father to shake hands again and again until it was firm enough. When my cat killed a bird, he defused the anger of a 9-year-old with a little chat about something called ''instinked.'' The next year, when my dog got run over and the weight of sorrow was just too immense to stand, he was there, too, with his big arms and his own tears and some thoughts on the natural order of life and death, although what was natural about a speeding car that didn't stop always escaped me. As time passed, there were other rules to learn. ''Always do your best.'' ''Do it now.'' ''NEVER LIE!'' And, most importantly, ''You can do whatever you have to do.'' By my teens, he wasn't telling me what to do anymore, which was scary and heady at the same time. He provided perspective, not telling me what was around the great corner of life but letting me know there was a lot more than just today and the next, which I hadn't thought of. When the most important girl in the world - I forget her name now - turned down a movie date, he just happened to walk by the kitchen phone. ''This may be hard to believe right now,'' he said, ''but someday you won't even remember her name.'' ONE DAY, I REALize now, there was a change. I wasn't trying to please him so much as I was trying to impress him. I never asked him to come to my football games. He had a high-pressure career, and it meant driving through most of Friday night. But for all the big games, when I looked over at the sideline, there was that familiar fedora. And, by God, did the opposing team captain ever get a firm handshake and a gaze he would remember. Then, a school fact contradicted something he said. Impossible that he could be wrong, but there it was in the book. These accumulated over time, along with personal experiences, to buttress my own developing sense of values. And I could tell we had each taken our own, perfectly normal paths. I began to see, too, his blind spots, his prejudices and his weaknesses. I never threw these up at him. He hadn't to me, and, anyway, he seemed to need protection. I stopped asking his advice; the experiences he drew from no longer seemed relevant to the decisions I had to make. On the phone, he would go on about politics at times, why he would vote the way he did or why some incumbent was a jerk. And I would roll my eyes to the ceiling and smile a little, though I hid it in my voice. He volunteered advice for a while. But then, in more recent years, politics and issues gave way to talk of empty errands and, always, to ailments - his friends', my mother's and his own, which were serious and included heart disease. He had a bedside oxygen tank, and he would ostentatiously retire there during my visits, asking my help in easing his body onto the mattress. ''You have very strong arms,'' he once noted. From his bed, he showed me the many sores and scars on his misshapen body and all the bottles for medicine. He talked of the pain and craved much sympathy. He got some. But the scene was not attractive. He told me, as the doctor had, that his condition would only deteriorate. ''Sometimes,'' he confided, ''I would just like to lie down and go to sleep and not wake up.'' After much thought and practice (''You can do whatever you have to do.''), one night last winter, I sat down by his bed and remembered for an instant those terrifying dark holes in another house 35 years before. I told my father how much I loved him. I described all the things people were doing for him. But, I said, he kept eating poorly, hiding in his room and violating other doctor's orders. No amount of love could make someone else care about life, I said; it was a two-way street. He wasn't doing his best. The decision was his. He said he knew how hard my words had been to say and how proud he was of me. ''I had the best teacher,'' I said. ''You can do whatever you have to do.'' He smiled a little. And we shook hands, firmly, for the last time. Several days later, at about 4 A.M., my mother heard Dad shuffling about their dark room. ''I have some things I have to do,'' he said. He paid a bundle of bills. He composed for my mother a long list of legal and financial what-to-do's ''in case of emergency.'' And he wrote me a note. Then he walked back to his bed and laid himself down. He went to sleep, naturally. And he did not wake up.
This I believe 是NPR的一个节目。上面有许多好的essays。 https://www.npr.org/series/4538138/this-i-believe https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101267379 Work Is A Blessing By RUSSEL HONORE I grew up in Lakeland, La., one of 12 children. We all lived on my parents' subsistence farm. We grew cotton, sugar cane, corn, hogs, chickens and had a large garden, but it didn't bring in much cash. So when I was 12, I got a part-time job on a dairy farm down the road, helping to milk cows. We milked 65 cows at 5 in the morning and again at 2 in afternoon, seven days a week. In the kitchen one Saturday before daylight, I remember complaining to my father and grandfather about having to go milk those cows. My father said, Ya know, boy, to work is a blessing. I looked at those two men who'd worked harder than I ever had — my father eking out a living on that farm and my grandfather farming and working as a carpenter during the Depression. I had a feeling I had been told something really important, but it took many years before it sank in. Going to college was a rare privilege for a kid from Lakeland. My father told me if I picked something to study that I liked doing, I'd always look forward to my work. But he also added, Even having a job you hate is better than not having a job at all. I wanted to be a farmer, but I joined the ROTC program to help pay for college. And what started out as an obligation to the Army became a way of life that I stayed committed to for 37 years, three months and three days. … Note: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsistence_agriculture Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to feed themselves and their families. In subsistence agriculture, farm output is targeted to survival and is mostly for local requirements with little or no surplus trade. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to feed and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made principally with an eye toward what the family will need during the coming year, and secondarily toward market prices. Tony Waters writes: Subsistence peasants are people who grow what they eat, build their own houses, and live without regularly making purchases in the marketplace. Despite the primacy of self-sufficiency in subsistence farming, today most subsistence farmers also participate in trade to some degree, though usually it is for goods that are not necessary for survival, and may include sugar, iron roofing sheets, bicycles, used clothing, and so forth. Most subsistence farmers today reside in developing countries , although their amount of trade as measured in cash is less than that of consumers in countries with modern complex markets, many have important trade contacts and trade items that they can produce because of their special skills or special access to resources valued in the marketplace. 有问题，请留言。
汽水和沙拉，也可以作为科研“对象”。不信？请看下面的摘要。 很久以前看到一张图，解说可口可乐里的含糖量超高。从此，我不再浪费一分钱买汽水饮料。后来，连买果汁的钱也省了。每次坐飞机，只要矿泉水。 我常常在想：美国穷人应该集体控告麦当劳？可惜，我不是一个律师。 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827318301113?via%3Dihub Soda, salad, and socioeconomic status: Findings from the Seattle Obesity Study (SOS) Abstract Background Documenting geographic disparities in dietary behaviors can help inform public health interventions at the local level. Objective To study and visualize socioeconomic gradient in soda and salad consumption using a geo-localized measure of socioeconomic status in contrast to more traditional measures. Methods Geo-localized dietary intake data came from the Seattle Obesity Study I, a population-based sample of King County adults (n=1099). Socio-demographic data and soda and salad consumption frequencies (times/week) were obtained by 20-min telephone survey. Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) data were used to construct Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores. Individual residential property values obtained from the King County tax assessor. Multivariable linear regressions examined socioeconomic gradient in the frequency of soda and salad consumption by residential property values, the primary independent variable, in comparison to annual household incomes and educational attainment, with adjustment for age, gender, and race/ethnicity. Geographic disparities in soda and salad consumption by property value metric were illustrated at the census block level using modeled predicted marginal means. Results Among all three socioeconomic indicators (income, education and residential property values), residential property values captured strongest gradient in soda and salad consumption. Higher quintiles of residential property values were associated with lower soda and higher salad consumption. Respondents living in the highest quintile of property values −1.04 fewer sodas per week (95% CI= −1.87, −0.21) and 0.89 more salads per week (95% CI= 0.36, 1.42), adjusting for sociodemographic covariates. Residential property values illustrated geographic disparities in soda and salad consumption at the census-block level. Conclusion Geo-localized disparities in food consumption patterns by neighborhood can inform current discourse on the socioeconomic determinants of health, while providing a useful tool for targeted interventions at the local level.
今天写两篇英语阅读，看了文章，没有什么新单词，自己感觉都能翻译成中文，但是一做题目，就错误过半，这叫我情以何堪，你说看不懂文章也就算了，但是看懂文章，也做不出题，难道是真题没有理解文章和作者意思，中文英文测试真好难，学个英语就这么难，我的坚持学习，要不然我多少年后，再看英语犹如看天书一样，加油，争取明年取得好成绩。Thank you !
当代英语教学是从1977年恢复高考之后的事情，在此之前，因意识形态等原因，全国学生是学老大哥的语言俄语。无须讳言，英语教学重新恢复后，虽然成绩是显著的，但是，整体是失败的。不然，北京市教育局拟调整英语在高考中的比重，几乎是得到了绝大多数人的赞同。根据有关网站投票的结果，赞同的人数大约占到了总投票人数的2/3还要强。不少网友，看到反对英语的“成果”后，顿时意气风发，喊出了“数学滚出高考”的口号。据新浪微博投票结果，13万网友投票，居然有高达77%的网友，赞同这个主张。不过，这次高层没有让这种愚昧的民意发酵，及时在人民日报上发表评论文章“岂能只为数钱”--“ 一个需要警惕的问题，就是从对应试教育的否定，走向对知识本身的否定。对西方文明也一度奉行‘拿来主义’，以‘是否有用’决定取舍。深陷于实用主义的泥潭，就会深陷于世俗杂务而不能自拔，忽视对真理的探索求证，忽视对人类自身和精神世界的探索开拓，难以在知识和精神上，获得无限发展的空间。我们在顶级科学领域难有收获，在许多学科领域创见匮乏，这与凡事都要先问‘有用没用’，能说没一点关系吗？ ”，对于愚昧的民意，给予了当头棒喝。为什么中国人学习英语这么困难呢？笔者以自身学习过程中的痛苦和重新学习现代数学、科学和英语所获得一点点顿悟，求教于科学网上的师生，请大家给予批评指正。 1、英语学习的三重境界 笔者认为英语学习包括如下三重境界： （1）听说读写 这个层次是各级英语老师反复强调的，各位读者都很熟悉，无须多说。 （2）文化层面 这个层次只有部分英语老师提及。例如：And so, with Jai's green light, I had a challenge before me.这句话中的green light，就不能理解为“绿色的光”，而要理解为“诘难的眼光”。要能做到这一点，就必须要从文化层面去理解英语。 （3）思维层面 这个层次，就笔者所受的教育而言，从未见到任何英语老师和数学、科学老师提及过。本人是重新学习现代数学、科学和英语后，阅读了有关英语老师写的文章后，才顿悟出来的 。才明白， 学习英语，如果不从思维角度学习，一方面，学习效果一定是“事倍功半”；另外一方面，白白失去了训练思维的大好机会，从而也失去了为学习现代数学和科学，增添强劲动力的机会。 笔者下面文字，着重谈谈在这个方面的一点点心得体会。 2、英语阅读理解需要什么样的思维模式？ 只要学习过英语的中国人，很少有人不承认，英语阅读理解是一件很困难的事情，至少曾经是很困难的。当然，这里不是指简单英语句型，而是指复合句。特别是很长的英语复合句，我们理解起来，十分费力。换句话说，为了提高英文阅读理解能力，“事半功倍”的方法是什么？我所接触到的英语老师都是这样说：多阅读，仍然是中国式看书方法：“文章百遍，其义自现”，“只要功夫深，铁杵磨成针”等不讲方法式学习。说实话，当年为了提高英文阅读能力，笔者还经常买中国日报，使按照老师的要求这样做了，效果也非常不佳。笔者的这个痛苦，肯定几乎是所有学习英语遇到较大困难的人的共同体会。显然，这个里面一定存在没有掌握的规律。笔者认为对于英语阅读理解存在困难的人，理应是没有建立起英语阅读理解所需要的思维模式，这种思维模式，笔者概况为四种：并列思维、聚合思维、递归思维（嵌套思维）和对称思维。 （1）并列思维 并列思维是指一种线性顺序结构的思维活动。下图采用一颗大树来类比： 图1 大树 从下往上看，大树是由树根、树干、树枝及树叶组成。要获得这种对大树的理解，就需要并列思维。对于英语复合句中的并列句的理解，就需要并列思维，不是因果关系。例如： He had plenty of money and he spent it freely. 这个复合句包含两个并列的子句：He had plenty of money 和 he spent it freely. 并列句表述的是逻辑上的并列关系。理解了这个复合句的结构，翻译起来自然没有什么困难：他很有钱，花钱起来，大手大脚。 （2）聚合思维 聚合思维是指一种“分支--聚合”结构的思维活动。还是就图1的这棵大树来说，树根不只一根，有许许多多根，但是，不论有多少根树根，都是最后汇集到树干。要想获得这种理解，就需要聚合思维。对于英语复合句中的定语从句、状语从句、不定式动词短语的理解，就需要聚合思维。状语从句从时间、目的、结果、原因、方式、比较等方面，进一步对主语进行补充式说明，定语从句和不定式从句，是对句子中的主语或者宾语，进行限定性或不限定性修饰。例如： When the kids are older, they‘re going to go throught this phase where they absolutely, achingly know: who was my dad? What was he like?.（摘自兰迪.鲍许《最后的演讲》） 这个英语复合句包括一个主句：they‘re going to go throught this phase. 一个状语从句：When the kids are older. 一个定语从句：where they absolutely, achingly know: who was my dad? What was he like?. 其中who was my dad? What was he like? 在定语从句又做宾语从句。这句话的参考译文是：当孩子慢慢长大了的时候，他们要经历这样的一个阶段，在这个阶段里，孩子们绝对迫不可待地想知道：“谁是我的爸爸？他长得什么样子？”。 例句：The man who robbed him has been arrested. 这个复合句的主句是：The man has been arrested.定语 从句是：Who robbed him，对man加以限定性的修饰。参考译文：抢劫他的人被逮捕了。 我们也可以从英汉不同的表达，看出语言形式上的差异，对于思维的影响。英语是直接突出“man”，汉语在“人”的前面，加上了定语“抢劫他的”。汉语的“人”在句子中间，英语的“man”在句首。这也是为什么老外谈事做事风格喜欢直奔主题，而国人喜欢绕弯子的语言方面的原因。 （3）递归思维 递归思维，也可以理解成嵌套思维，是指一种“用自身构造自身”的一种思维活动。就上图1这棵大树来说，树干上长树枝，树枝上再继续生长树枝......。要理解大树的这个结构关系，就需要递归思维。网络拓扑结构也体现出一种递归关系，如图2所示： 图2 网络拓扑结构 对于英语复合句的理解而言，宾语从句因为在复合句中，也是体现出一种递归关系，因此，也必须采用递归思维来解读。例如：It'll help them understand who I was and what I cared about.（摘自兰迪.鲍许《最后的演讲》）。这个复合句的主句是：It'll help them understand, 从句是：who I was and what I cared about. 本来宾语一般是用名词、代词或者形容词做宾语。这种简单句型，英语初学者容易理解。但是在宾语这个位置，一般是名词、代词或形容词出现的地方，突然出现了一个句子，这给初学者理解带来了困扰。如果我们具有递归思维，理解宾语从句，就一点不费力气。主句就是“树干”，宾语从句就是“树枝”。理解了这个复合句的结构，翻译就容易得多。参考译文：它能够帮助他们理解，我是一个什么样的人，我关心哪些东西。 （4）对称思维 对称思维是指一种在某一种模式中，某A元素与某B元素有一种对称关系的思维活动。就图1的大树而言，树冠就具有一种以树干为对称轴的左右对称的模式。 例句：How could I turn this academic talk into something that would resonate with our kids a decade or more up the road（.摘自兰迪.鲍许《最后的演讲》）。 主句：How could I turn this academic talk into something. 同位语从句：that would resonate with our kids a decade or more up the road. 同位语从句中的a decade or more up就具有对称性，意思是“十年或者更长时间”。参考译文：我怎样才能使这个学术讲座在今后的十年甚至更长的未来之路上与我的孩子们产生共鸣呢？ 从上面的介绍，我们可以看出，如果一个人的思维具有“并列思维”、“聚合思维”、“递归思维”和“对称思维”的话，英语阅读理解就会容易得多，反之，则会相当困难。 特别值得强调的是，“聚合思维”、“递归思维”和“对称思维”，是现代数学和科学中，极为重要的三种思维活动。 笔者曾在单位QQ群与同事讨论一个问题：“我们中国人在没有学习计算机编程语言，是否有递归思想？递归思想与自然语言有关系吗？是不是可以说，如果没有学习过计算机编程，是不会懂得递归思想？如果这个观点成立的话，假如洋人没有把计算机编程技术送给我们，我们即使是‘愚公移山’，也不会提出递归思想？”，没有一个同事能够给予回答。照说我们人口基数这么大，历史又这么悠久，提出递归思想，应该是我们中国人提出的可能性更大。事实上，这种思维模式，仍然是洋人提出的。 我们再回头审视网页编程语言HTML，其标签也体现出递归形式。从语言学角度说，如果网页HTML语言没有被发明，中国人发明的概率将会很小。 3、英语阅读理解范式 对于美国著名数学家和数学教育家波利亚来说，世界上所有问题的解决方法，都可以归于他提出的解决问题的一般模式（UPSC）：理解问题（Understanding），提出一个解决问题的方案（Plan），执行这个方案（Solve），检查结果（Check） 对于如何有效阅读这个问题，【美】Dennis Coon, John O. Mitterer在《心理学导论》这部著作中，提出了SQ4R阅读方法。S：survey（概览），Q：Question（提问），R1：Read（阅读），R2：Repeat（复述），R3：Reflect（联想），R4：Review（复习） 基于波利亚解决问题的一般模式和Dennis Coon, John O. Mitterer提出的SQ4R阅读方法，笔者提出基于英语阅读理解的一般模式（EUPSC：Extensive UPSC） （1）理解问题（Understanding） 对于阅读理解考题的话，就是阅读具体内容之前，先要看看阅读材料后面提出的问题。如果不是考试性质的阅读，就要自己虚拟问题，例如，对于一般新闻事件，可以自己提出5W1H（What、Where、When、Who、Why How）。也可以从阅读材料的标题，甚至插图提出自己感兴趣的问题。总之，要养成带着问题阅读的习惯。 （2）提出一个解决问题的方案（Plan） 在脑子里面虚拟一颗大树（Virtual Tree），树根、树干、树枝、树叶都是虚的。准备好“并列思维”、“聚合思维”、“递归思维”和“对称思维”，然后运用这把“思维手术刀”，去解剖所阅读的材料，得出问题的答案。 （3）执行这个方案（Solve） 运用上述构建好的“思维手术刀”，将所阅读到的英语复合句的主句，搬到大脑里面虚拟大树的树干；定语从句、状语从句等，搬到虚拟大树的树根；宾语从句搬到虚拟大树的树枝，对称成分搬到虚拟大树的树叶，然后采用逻辑处理法则，把脑袋里面的虚拟大树，变得“有血有肉”和丰满起来，以图达到理解作者通过文字表达出的心声。 “读了一小段后，停顿一下，尝试一下复述已经读过的内容，看看能否回答相关问题，学习的过程就是：‘提问--阅读--复述’的循环往复的过程。阅读遇到新的概念、事实的时候，尝试一下与你自己已经具有的概念和经验联系起来，以增进对原文的理解”。 （4）检查结果（Check） 当自己认为已经读懂了原文，并已经找到问题的答案的时候，再回头，快速浏览全文，并重点关注问题答案所涉及到的事实。这样做的目的，是尽最大可能不误解作者的原意。 4、不是多余的话 坦率地说，笔者因出生在农村，高中阶段才开始学习英语，到了大学学习英语因不得法，再加上自己勤奋程度也不够，导致英语一直很跛脚。本文是笔者重新学习现代数学科学之后，理性思维稍许有些进步，然后再重新学习英语获得的一点点感悟。对于英语水平已经很高的读者，本文肯定是画蛇添足。对于至今还在英语学习泥坑中挣扎的读者，本文看看能否对你们有一点点借鉴作用。假如能够减轻一点点你们的痛苦，那么，对于笔者而言，没有什么比这个更令笔者喜悦。不是别的，学习英语过程中的痛苦，笔者至今仍然记忆犹新。 参考文献： 1、李柯，“从中西思维方式的对比看英汉表达方式的差异”，新疆师范大学学报（哲学社会科学版），200506 2、波利亚著，涂弘、冯承天译，《怎样解题》，上海科技出版社，2007，p4 3、，【美】Dennis Coon, John O. Mitterer著，郑钢译，《心理学导论--思想与行为的认知之路》，中国轻工出版社2007，p1
最近一段时间做了一些 GRE 阅读，发现了一个规律：一篇文章刚开始一看，全蒙了，啥都不懂，再看第二遍，还是蒙的，第三遍，也不行……咋办呢？把不懂的单词一个一个的查出来，尝试理解每一个句子。一遍下来，豁然开朗！一篇文章中，大部分东西我们应该是懂的，只有三四个单词不认识或者三四个句子不明白意思，但就是这些小小的细节，造成了我们对整篇文章的理解程度大幅下降。民间说法：一粒老鼠屎打坏一锅粥。 科研中又何尝不是如此呢？阅读一篇文献，如果有一两个看不懂的公式了，整篇文章就看不懂了；看一段代码，小部分没看懂，整段代码的理解就困难了。所以，我们在很多情况下都要善于发现这些关键的、阻碍我们理解的小问题，理性的看待、分析问题，不要被问题的表面现象所吓倒，一个大问题总有一部分是我们懂的，集中精力消除那一小部分不懂的东西大问题可能就迎刃而解了。 小小的感触，仓促的记录下来，资历尚浅，请大家不要拍砖。
http://www.sciencenet.cn/m/user_content.aspx?id=350496 非常感谢施一公老师！ 【 序：此文针对本科生和一、二年级的博士、硕士生，对高年级的博士生和博士后也应该有参考价值。该文的一些背景可以参考我此前关于提高英文写作能力的博文： http://www.sciencenet.cn/m/user_content.aspx?id=349932 】 从小到大，我感性思维多一些，不善于读书。 85至89年在清华生物系读本科期间，从未读过任何一种英文专业期刊。我受到的与英文阅读相关的训练一共只有两个。一是我在1986年暑假期间选修的时任系主任的蒲慕明老师开设的《生物英语》系列讲座，隐隐约约记得蒲先生让我们阅读一些诸如DNA双螺旋发现之类的科普性英文文章，很有意思。但时间较短，暑假过后也没有养成读英文文章的习惯。二是《生物化学》这门课。与现在的清华生命学院形成鲜明对比，我上大学期间的所有基础课和专业课都是采用中文教材、中文讲课，只有郑昌学老师讲授的《生物化学》采用了Lehninger的《Principles of Biochemistry》，而且郑老师要求我们每个学生每次课后阅读10-20页教材。我们同学大多感觉到专业英文阅读有所提高。 1990年 4月至7月初，我在依阿华州Ames小镇的Iowa State University度过了初到美国的前三个月，其中大部分时间在Herbert Fromm教授的实验室做轮转（rotation），跟随刘峰和董群夫妻两人做研究（刘峰现在University of Texas Health Science Center做教授）。当时感觉最困难的就是读专业论文。有一次，Fromm教授要求我在组会上讲解一篇《Journal of Biological Chemistry》的文章，我提前两天开始阅读，第一遍花了足足六个小时，许多生词只能依靠英汉词典，文章中的有些关键内容还没有完全读懂，当时的感觉是JBC的文章怎么这么长、这么难懂？！真有点苦不堪言。为了能给Fromm教授和师兄师姐留下好印象，第二天又花了好几个小时读第二遍，还做了总结。第三天我在组会上的表现总算没有给清华丢脸。但是，前前后后，真搞不清楚自己为了这一篇文章到底花了多少时间！ 90年 7月我转学到约翰霍普金斯大学以后，与本科来自北大的虞一华同在IPMB program。虞一华大我一岁，来巴尔地摩之前已经在夏威夷大学读了一年的研究生，对于科研论文的阅读比我强多了。他常常在IPMB的办公室里拿着《科学》和《自然》周刊津津有味地阅读，看得我很眼馋，也不理解其中那些枯燥的文章有什么意思。他告诉我：他在读很有意思的科学新闻。科学新闻能有什么意思？虞一华给我讲了好几个故事：洛克菲勒大学校长诺贝尔奖得主David Baltimore如何深陷泥潭、人类基因组测序如何争辩激烈、HIV病毒究竟是谁发现的，等等。我还真没有想到学术期刊上会有这么多我也应该看得懂的内容！从那时起，每一期新的《科学》和《自然》一到，我也开始尝试着阅读里面的新闻和研究进展介绍，这些内容往往出现在News Comment Research NewsNews ViewsPerspectives等栏目，文笔平实，相对于专业的科研论文很容易读懂。有时，我还把读到的科研新闻讲给我的同事朋友们听，而同事的提问和互动对我又是更好的鼓励。除了《科学》和《自然》，我也常常翻看《科学美国人》 ( Scientific American)。 与《细胞》 (Cell)、《生物化学期刊》（JBC）等非常专业的期刊不同，《科学》和《自然》里面有相当一部分内容是用来做科普教育的。《科学》周刊的Perspectives 和《自然》周刊的News Views栏目都是对重要科学论文的深入浅出的介绍，一般 1-3页，读起来比较通俗易懂，较易入门。读完这些文章后，再读原始的科学论文，感觉好多了！而且可以把自己的体会与专家的分析比较一下，找找差距，有时甚至也能找回来一点自信！ 从 1998年在普林斯顿大学任职到现在清华大学做教授，我总是告诉自己实验室的所有年轻人（包括本科生、硕士生、博士生、博士后）下面这几点读科研论文的体会，也希望我的学生跟我学： 1． 请每位学生每周关注《科学》和《自然》。（生命科学界的学生还应该留心《细胞》）。如果时间有限，每周花一个小时读读这两种周刊里的 文章标题 以及与自己研究领域相关的科研论文的 abstract ,即可！这样做可以保证一个学生基本上能够跟踪本领域最重要的发现和进展，同时开阔视野，大概知道其它领域的动态。 2． 在时间充足的情况下，可以细读《科学》和《自然》里的新闻及科研论文。如果该科研论文有News Views或 Perspectives 来介绍，请先读这些文章，这类导读的文章会提炼问题，就好比是老师事先给学生讲解一番论文的来龙去脉，对学生阅读原始论文有很大帮助。 3． 在读具体的科研论文时，最重要的是了解文章的 主线逻辑 。文章中的所有Figures都是按照这个主线逻辑展开描述的。所以，我一般先读introduction部分，然后很快地看一遍Figures。大概知道这条主线之后，才一字一句地去读results和discussion。 4． 当遇到一些实验或结果分析很晦涩难懂时， 不必花太多时间深究 ，而力求一气把文章读完。也许你的问题在后面的内容中自然就有解答。这与听学术讲座非常相似！你如果想每个细节都听懂，留心每一个技术细节，那你听学术讲座不仅会很累，而且也许会为了深究一个小技术环节而影响了对整个讲座逻辑推理及核心结论的理解。 5． 对个别重要的文章和自己领域内的科研论文，应该精读。对与自己课题相关的每一篇论文则必须字斟句酌地读。这些论文，不仅要完全读懂，理解每一个实验的细节、分析、结论，还必须联想到这些实验和结论对自己的课题的影响和启发，提出自己的观点。 6． 科学论文的阅读水平是循序渐进的。每个人开始都会很吃力，所以你有这种感觉不要气馁。坚持很重要，你一定会渐入佳境。当你有问题时或有绝妙分析时，应该与师兄师姐或找导师讨论。 7． 科研训练的一个重要组成部分就是科研论文的阅读。每一个博士生必须经过严格的科研论文阅读的训练。除了你自己的习惯性阅读外，你应该在研究生阶段选修以阅读分析专业文献为主的一至两门课，在实验室内也要有定期的科研论文讨论（Journal Club）。如果你的实验室还没有这种讨论，你们学生可以自发地组织起来。 8． 前面几条都是讨论如何提高科研论文的阅读能力，但是一旦入了门，就要学会 critical reading。不要迷信已发表的论文，哪怕是发表在非常好的期刊上。要时刻提醒自己：该论文逻辑是否严谨，数据是否可靠，实验证据是否支持结论，你是否能想出更好的实验，你是否可以在此论文的基础上提出新的重要问题？等等。 天外有天，读科研论文是一件很简单、但也很深奥的事情。一般的学生常常满足于读懂、读透一篇好的论文，优秀的学生则会举一反三、通过查找 references纵深了解整个领域的历史、现状，并展望该领域未来的可能进展。 我从 1990年对学术论文一窍不通到96年博士后期间的得心应手，还常常帮助同事分析，自以为水平了得。但是有一件事让我看到了自己的严重不足，颇为羞愧。1996年，是SMAD蛋白发现及TGF- b信号转导研究的最激动人心的一年，哈佛医学院的 Whitman实验室在十月份的《自然》杂志上以Article的形式发表了一篇名为 A transcriptional partner for MAD proteins in TGF-b signaling的文章。读完之后，正好遇到 TGF- b领域的著名学者Joan Massague,我对 Joan评论说： Im not so sure why this paper deserves a full article in Nature. They just identified another Smad-interacting protein, and the data quality is mediocre. 完全出乎我的意料，Joan马上回应我：I disagree! This paper links the cytoplasmic Smad protein into the nucleus and identifies a transcription factor as its interacting protein. Now the TGF-b signaling pathway is complete. It is a beautiful Nature article! 这件事对我触动极大：原来大师的视野和品位远远在我之上。从那以后，我也开始从整个领域的发展方面来权衡一篇文章的重要性，这件事对我今后为国际重要学术期刊审稿、自己实验室选择研究课题都起到了相当重要的作用。 如今，我阅读一篇本领域内的科研论文，非常顺利，而且常常可以看出一些作者没有想到或分析到的关键点。回想从前，感慨万千，感谢蒲慕明、郑昌学、虞一华、John Desjarlais、Jeremy Berg、Joan Massague等一批老师和同事对我的帮助。我很留心，也很用心。 希望所有的学生也能通过努力和坚持对英文科研论文的阅读得心应手！
标签: 英语阅读
