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Text 1 A Very Special Goose
About the author
Isaac Asimov（1920-1992): Russian-born US author and editor of science fiction
and nonfiction. Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, but his family moved
to the United States in 1923 and settled in New York, where his parents opened
a sweet-shop. After leaving the boys' high school in Brooklyn, Asimov studied
chemistry at Columbia University, New York, where he graduated in 1939 and received
his MA in 1941.
During World War II Asimov worked in the US Naval Air Experimental Station alongside
L. Sprague de Camp and Robert A. Heinlein. Towards the end of the war he served
in the army as a corporal. In 1949 Asimov joined the Boston University School of Medicine, where he worked
as an associate professor of biochemistry. Although he soon gained the reputation
as one of the best lecturers, he devoted himself to writing. He remained an
associate professor until 1979 and subsequently held the title of professor.
Asimov's first tales appeared in science-fiction magazines in 1939. Most of
Asimov's books are pure adventure, good entertainment solving all kinds of problems
of human society and technology. Among his most popular works are the
"Foundation" novels - based loosely on the fall of the Roman Empire - and
"Robot" novels
and stories. Isaac Asimov was a professional writer of renowned versatility. He was called
a genius and "the nearest thing to a human writing machine"， and was
perhaps best known as one of the major science fiction writers of his day. His
broad range of works includes histories, children's books, collections of articles,
mysteries, and books concerning the Bible, literature, geography, and nonfiction
science material. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Association's Advancement of Science Westinghouse Award for excellence in magazine
writing and a 1983 Hugo Award from the World Science Fiction Convention for
his novel Foundation's Edge. Known to type 90 words a minute and to produce as many as 35 pages of manuscript
a day, Asimov maintained an 8-hour-a-day, 4-day-a-week writing schedule and
called writing "my idea of a vacation. Most of all, I want to be
writing,"
he said. "If I could, I'd write every book in the world." Dr. Asimov
lectured as enthusiastically as he wrote, and had been referred to as one of
the "great explainers" of our technological age, helping to bridge
the gap between science and the public. Asimov wrote in his lifetime over 500
books that enlightened, entertained, and spanned the realm of human knowledge.
More about the story
A Very Special Goose is one of Asimov's funniest stories ever. The government
tries to figure out what to do with the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs. This
is absolutely hilarious. The completely unlikely premise combined with the straight-faced
narrative, the plausible-sounding science, and the government's desperation
at trying to solve the problem of a goose that can catalyze nuclear reactions
combine for one of Asimov's best.
Cultural and background notes
1) The Department of
Agriculture 美国农业部
In 1862, when President Abraham Lincoln
founded the U.S. Department of Agriculture, he called it the "people's
Department." In Lincoln's day, 48 percent of the people were farmers who
needed good seeds and information to grow their crops. Today, USDA continues
Lincoln's legacy by serving all Americans.
2) The Goose That Laid the Golden
Eggs
This phrase comes from the English
proverb "kill the goose that lays the golden eggs," which means
"destroy
a source of riches through stupidity or greed." The proverb
alludes to Aesop's fable about a farmer whose goose lays one golden egg a day,
and who kills the goose in the mistaken belief that he will get all the eggs
at once.
3) Temple
University
Based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Temple
University is a comprehensive public research university with more than 30 000
students. It is the 36th largest university in the United States, and it is
the third largest provider of professional education (law, dentistry, medicine,
pharmacy and pediatric medicine) in the country.
4) Purdue
Based in Indiana, Purdue is one of the largest four-year universities
in the United States, with 32 208 students enrolled in autumn 2001 on its West
Lafayette Campus. Purdue also offers degrees at four regional campuses and 11
School of Technology sites statewide, bringing its system-wide enrollment to
67 548.
Language notes
1) I
couldn't tell you my real name if I wanted to, and under the circumstances I
don't want to.
（即使我想把我的真实姓名告诉你，我也不能这么做，何况在这种情况下我也不想告诉你。）
Under the circumstances means considering the situation at a
particular time.
e.g. I'm going away next week so under the circumstances I wouldn't have time
to finish the job.
2) I'm not
much of a writer myself...
（我自己不大会写作......）
Be not much of a writer (swimmer, cook, etc.)
means
one doesn't write (swim, cook, etc.) well.
e.g. He's very good at tennis, but he's not much of a swimmer.
3) ...so
I'm having Isaac Asimov write this up for me.
（所以我请艾萨克•阿西莫夫替我整理这篇东西。）
To write sth up
means to record sth
on paper or on a computer in a complete or final form using notes that have
already been made.
e.g. Most students spend
two years doing research for their thesis and one year writing it up.
4) I'm in
the employ of the Department...
（我在农业部工作......）
In the employ of sb/in sb's employ means
working for sb.
e.g. She has fifty workers
in her employ ( = she employs them).
5)
...so
my boss asked me to stop off at MacGregor's place and see what I could do.
（因此，我的上司让我中途在麦格雷戈的农场停一下，看看我能帮点什么忙。）
To stop off means to visit or stay at a
place briefly on the way to somewhere else.
e.g. On our way to Scotland we stopped off in York to do some sightseeing.
6) Pieces
of it had flaked away and what shone through was a dull yellow in color.
（裂开的白色蛋壳剥落了，里面透出暗黄色的光。）
To flake away means to come or fall off in
flakes.
e.g. The paint on the walls is beginning
to flake away.
7) "I
don't want the Government butting in," he said stubbornly.
（“我不想政府插手，”他固执地说。）
To butt in is to interrupt or interfere.
e.g. Don't butt in like that when I'm speaking.
8)
He stated the obvious.
（他说了明摆的事实。）
To state the obvious means to say what
everyone already knows.
e.g. To say we are
disappointed would be stating the obvious.
9)
"What
it amounts to," said Billings, "is that The Goose can convert any
radioactive isotope into a stable one..."
（“也就是说，”比林斯说道，“这只鹅能够把任何放射性同位素转变成稳定的同位素......”）
To amount to sth
means to be equal to sth
in meaning.
e.g. Her reply amounts to
a refusal.
10) "...we'd
have the perfect way of disposing of radioactive ash from nuclear power
plants."
（“......那么我们就为核电厂处理放射性烟尘找到了一个十全十美的办法。”）
To dispose of sth means to get rid of sth
that one doesn't want or can't keep.
e.g.
All the furniture has been disposed of.
Text 2 Happy Accidents
Cultural and background notes
1) Leo Baekeland
(1863-1944)
Belgian-born US chemist who invented Bakelite,
the first commercial plastic, made from formaldehyde and phenol. He later made
a photographic paper, Velox, which could be developed in artificial light.
2) Horace Walpole
(1717-1797)
English novelist and politician, the son of
Robert Walpole. He was a Whig member of Parliament （1741-67）. He converted his
house at Strawberry Hill, Twickenham (then a separate town southwest of London),
into a Gothic castle； his The Castle of Otranto 1764 established the genre of
the Gothic, or "romance of terror" novel.
3) Charles Goodyear
(1800-1860)
US inventor who developed rubber coating (1837)
and vulcanized rubber (1839), a method of curing raw rubber to make it strong
and elastic.
4) Wilhelm von Roentgen
(1845-1923)
German professor of physics. His name
is chiefly associated with his discovery of the rays that he called X-rays.
He received the Nobel Prize in 1901.
5) Serendip
Ancient name of Ceylon, today known as Sri Lanka 锡兰的旧称，今称斯里兰卡。
Language notes
1) Although
he could not determine beforehand what kind of mixture he would get, one thing
was certain: he was on the right track.
（虽然他事先无法确定会得到什么样的混合物，但有一点是肯定的：他的努力方向是对的。）
On the right track
means thinking or acting in a correct way.
e.g. We haven't
found the solution yet, but I'm sure we're on the right track.
2)
Eventually this process would result in a better varnish.
（这样做下去最终就会制成更好的清漆。）
To result in sth means to have a specified
effect or consequence.
e.g. Our efforts
resulted in success.
3)
Baekeland and his assistant dived for cover.
（贝克兰和助手慌忙躲避。）
To dive for sth means to move quickly
towards or in search of sth.
e.g. We dived for
cover when the storm started.
4)
But regardless of what they used, nothing had any effect on it...
（但无论他们用什么手段，都不起任何作用。）
Regardless of sb/sth means paying no
attention to sb/sth.
e.g. He continued speaking,
regardless of my feelings on the matter.
5)
Leo Baekeland is only one of countless scientists who have set out in search of
one thing and through an accident or unforeseen event have discovered something
else - often more valuable than what they were seeking.
（许多科学家寻找某一样东西时，却在无意中或由于某个事故而发现了另一样东西，而且常常比原来寻找的东西更有价值，利奥•贝克兰只是无数这样的科学家中的一个。）
In search of means searching for.
e.g. Scientists are in search of a
cure for the disease.
6)
In 1754 an English writer by the name of Horace Walpole, coined
a word for such “happy accidents”: serendipity.
（1754年一位名叫霍勒斯•沃尔浦尔的英国作家为这种“意外收获”杜撰了一个词，serendipity。）
By the name here means named.
e.g. He goes by the name of Henry.
7) This
rubber, mixed with sulphur and then exposed to intense heat, was flexible in
cold yet firm in heat.
（这块橡胶混合了硫磺，经过高温处理后，在受冷时会变软，受热时能变硬。）
To expose to means to leave (sb/sth) uncovered
or unprotected from.
e.g. Keep indoors and
don't expose your skin to the sun.
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