每日欣赏一篇英语美文
英语美文题材丰富,涉及面广,大多蕴涵人生哲理。引导学生欣赏美文,不仅能提高他们的阅读理解能力,而且能使他们得到美的熏陶,从而提高学生对周围事物的认识。下面是小编带来的每日欣赏一篇英语美文，欢迎阅读!
每日欣赏一篇英语美文篇一
Evolution of Sleep
睡眠的进化
Sleep is very ancient. In the electroencephalographic sense we share it with all the primates and almost all the other mammals and birds: it may extend back as far as the reptiles.
睡眠自古就有。从脑电图上看，我们人类和所有灵长目动物以及几乎所有的哺乳动物和鸟类都一样需要睡眠;甚至爬行类动物也有睡眠。
There is some evidence that the two types of sleep, dreaming and dreamless, depend on the life-style of the animal, and that predators are statistically much more likely to dream than prey, which are in turn much more likely to experience dreamless sleep. In dream sleep, the animal is powerfully immobilized and remarkably unresponsive to external stimuli. Dreamless sleep is much shallower, and we have all witnessed cats or dogs cocking their ears to a sound when apparently fast asleep.
有证据显示，有梦睡眠和无梦睡眠这两种类型的睡眠取决于该动物的生活方式。从统计上看，食肉动物比被捕食动物有更多的有梦睡眠，而被捕食动物更多地无梦睡眠。动物在有梦睡眠时，被有效地解除动作能力，并且对外界刺激缺乏反应。无梦睡眠则要浅得多。我们都看到过猫和狗在显然的酣睡中，有一点响动耳朵就会竖起来。
The fact that deep dream sleep is rare among prey today seems clearly to be a product of natural selection, and it makes sense that today, when sleep is highly evolved, the stupid animals are less frequently immobilized by deep sleep than the smart ones. But why should they sleep deeply at all? Why should a state of such deep immobilization ever have evolved? Perhaps one useful hint about the original function of sleep is to be found in the fact that dolphins and whales and aquatic mammals in general seem to sleep very little. There is, by and large, no place to hide in the ocean.
被捕食动物很少有深度的有梦睡眠，这看来显然是自然选择的结果。而且这一点是有道理的：当睡眠高度进化以后，愚笨的动物比聪明的动物更少在深度睡眠状态下丧失动作能力。但是动物为什么要进入深度睡眠呢?为什么这样的无动作状态也会进化出来呢?海豚、鲸鱼以及水生哺乳动物睡眠都极少，这一事实可以给睡眠的根本功能提供有用的线索。海洋中是没有藏身之处的。
Could it be that, rather than increasing an animal's vulnerability, the function of sleep is to decrease it? Wilse Webb of the University of Florida and Ray Meddis of London University have suggested this to be the case. It is conceivable that animals who are too stupid to be quiet on their own initiative are, during periods of high risk, immobilized by the implacable arm of sleep. The point seems particularly clear for the young of predatory animals. This is an interesting notion and probably at least partly true.
会不会是这样，睡眠不但不增加动物受伤害的可能性，反而是减少了这种可能性呢?佛罗里达大学的Wilse Webb和伦敦大学的Ray Meddis认为情况就是如此。可以想像得出，在危险的时刻，那些由于太愚笨而不能自动保持安静的动物，会不由自主地变得动弹不得。这一点在食肉动物的幼兽身上表现得特别明显。这是一个很有意思的看法，它至少是部分正确的。
每日欣赏一篇英语美文篇二
世界上9种独特的交通工具Venice – Traghetto
威尼斯摆渡船
Along the 3.5km stretch of Venice's Grand Canal there are just three bridges, so how do you get across? By Traghetto (meaning 'ferry' in Italian), of course. The unglamorous sibling of the gondola; these no-frills boats get passengers from one side of the canal to the other for a meagre fee. You can pick up a Traghetto from any of the seven piers along the canal - just look for the yellow signs pointing you towards the landings. Each boat is rowed by two oarsmen - one at the bow and one behind the passengers, as in a gondola - if you want to ride like a Venetian, stand for the short journey.
总长3.5公里的威尼斯大运河上，一共只有三座桥梁，那你要怎么过河呢?当然是坐Traghetto(意大利语的“渡船”之意)啦。这种摆渡船和著名的贡多拉很像，但是没贡多拉那么精致迷人。这些无装饰的船只将乘客从运河的一边送到另一边，只收取很少的费用。你可以在运河沿岸七个码头中的任意一个搭乘Traghetto——会有一些黄色指示牌指示你在哪里登船，只要找到它们即可。每艘船有两个桨手，像贡多拉一样，一个在船头，一个在所有乘客身后。如果你想像威尼斯人一样出行，那就忍受一下这趟短途旅程吧。
Pakistan - Tangah
巴基斯坦马车
Save yourself a few bucks in Pakistan and ride on a Tangah, rather than the more commonly used rickshaws and taxis. A Tangah is a carriage, sitting atop two large wooden wheels (not exactly designed for comfort, so expect a sore bottom on a long journey! ), pulled by one or two horses. They have a low-glamour, but high fun factor and have become more widely used in Pakistan for enjoyment, rather than as a functional way of getting around. Just beware that they're not the speediest way to travel!
想在巴基斯坦省点钱，那就坐坐Tangah吧，而不要选择更常用的人力三轮车或出租车。Tangah是架在两个大木轮上(木轮可不是为了舒适而设计的，所以做好心理准备，这趟漫长旅程中你的屁股可要受罪了!)、由一两匹马拉的马车。Tangah的样子不怎么迷人，但却非常有趣。在巴基斯坦，它越来越多地作为一种娱乐方式被广泛使用，而不是一个功能性的交通工具。只是要注意，它们可不是速度最快的旅行方式哟!
Cambodia - Bamboo train
柬埔寨竹火车
Those with a strong constitution may want to ride a Cambodian bamboo train - known locally as a nori. Passengers sit on a makeshift bamboo 'train' (basically just a bamboo platform) powered by an electric generator engine, travelling at up to 40km/h. The unmaintained railway tracks make for a bumpy ride and the closest you'll get to luxury is sitting on a grass mat. But the fares are low and this is a once in a lifetime experience, as all the locals use them for getting around..
体格强壮的人也许想要试试坐柬埔寨竹火车——也被当地人称作nori。乘客坐在一个临时搭建的用发电机引擎供电的竹“火车”上(基本上是一个竹子平台)，以每小时40公里的速度行驶。无人维护的铁路轨道让旅途颠簸不平，而铺上一张草垫子再坐在上面已经是最奢侈的方式了。但是竹火车的票价很低，而且这是一次千载难逢的经历，所有的当地人都使用它们出行。
Philippines - Jeepney
菲律宾吉普尼
The exhaust-belching people-carriers powered by ancient diesel car engines that careen around Filipino city streets are actually pieced-together former World War II army Jeeps. Adorned with painted flags, eagles, and starbursts, jeepneys are traditionally given names such as "Taurus" and "Mr. Lover Boy." They travel at breakneck speed overloaded with people and produce, often failing to come to a complete stop for passengers to leap on and off. These dirty, decrepit workhorses and their doctored diesel are responsible for a particularly toxic form of air pollution as well as health problems.
这些采用古老的柴油发动机、在菲律宾城市街道上猛冲、一副喷气都喷不动样子的车，实际上是第二次世界大战军用吉普车的组装车。装饰着彩旗、鹰和四射亮光，吉普尼传统上被赋予了"Taurus"和"Mr. Lover Boy"之类的名字。它们过度运载人和货，并以极速运行，常常不能完全停下让乘客们上下车。这些肮脏破旧的机器和它们所装配的柴油机对一种特殊有毒气体的产生负有主要责任，会造成空气污染和健康问题。
Thailand – Tuk Tuk
泰国嘟嘟车
Brightly colored, three-wheeled tuk tuks beetle about Bangkok, cramming passengers into their covered back seats as they battle insane traffic and hurtle about in the heat, humidity, and pollution. The impatient drivers of these rusting, souped-up golf carts hurtle from one lane of traffic to another, barely registering the presence of lumbering buses, thundering trucks, and the mosquito fleets of other tuk tuk drivers. As you idle, you'll have the chance to really enjoy how the noisy vehicles themselves contribute substantially to pollution. Tourists often find themselves delivered to an extra, unexpected stop en route as tuk tuk drivers attempt to get a cut of commission at stores where they happen to take a detour.
颜色鲜艳的三轮嘟嘟车在曼谷快速穿梭，将乘客都塞入其后排座位，和疯狂的交通作斗争，在高温、潮湿和污染中横冲直撞。没耐心的司机驾驶着这些生了锈的、加大了马力的高尔夫球车从一条小巷猛冲到另一条小巷，几乎无视笨重的巴士、雷鸣般的卡车、以及如蚊子舰队般众多的其他嘟嘟车的存在。当你无所事事，你将有机会真正体会到这些嘈杂的车辆本身是如何对污染作出重大“贡献”的。途中，游客常常会发现自己在一个莫名其妙的地方停了下来，那是因为嘟嘟车司机带他们走的弯路上碰巧有可以赚外快佣金的商店。
India - Elephant Howdah
印度象轿
"Howdah" translates as "throne," a throwback to the days when the ornate platforms transported India's royalty from one place to the next. These days, it tends to be an array of tourists rather than the traditional aristocratic loads with which these big beasts of burden are encumbered. Howdahs can range from a simple seat and canopy to an opulent, gilt and jewel-encrusted carriage, complete with windows.
Howdah被翻译为“宝座”，把我们带回过去印度王族乘坐这种华丽“工具”从一个地方去到另一个地方的日子。现在，这些庞然大物负载的往往是一群普通游客，而不是什么传统贵族。 印度象轿可以是一个简单的座椅和华盖，也可以是一个镀金并镶有宝石、还带有窗子的豪华车厢。
Alaska – Sled Dog
阿拉斯加雪橇犬
In Alaska or the Yukon, dog-pulled sleds have been replaced by snowmobiles in some communities. But hard-core husky enthusiasts still opt for canine power. Used in areas such as Denali National Park where motorized alternatives are illegal, deliveries, vet calls, and even Census visits in Alaska are still sometimes done by sled.
在阿拉斯加和育空(加拿大一地区)，一些社区已经用雪地车取代了狗拉雪橇。但是顽固不化的爱斯基摩犬爱好者仍然选择用狗作为动力。在德纳里国家公园等地区，使用雪橇犬作为电动的替代品是非法的;但是在阿拉斯加，发送货物、呼叫兽医、甚至是人口普查访问，有时仍然用狗拉雪橇。
Peru – Barco de Totora
秘鲁托托拉船
Totora is a reed which is grown in Peru, most notably on Lake Titicaca. The Uros are a group of people who live on the lake on floating islands fashioned from the reed. They also make Barco de Totora from bundles of the dried reeds, and these boats have become an icon of Peru. If you're visiting Lake Titicaca, the Barco de Totora is a wonderful, unique method of getting across the vast and beautiful stretch of water.
托托拉是一根生长在秘鲁的芦苇，是喀喀湖上最瞩目的风景线。乌鲁斯人是生活在喀喀湖中由芦苇形成的浮岛上的一群人。他们还可以用一捆捆的干芦苇制作托托拉船，这些船已成为秘鲁的象征。如果您正在喀喀湖游览，乘坐托托拉船是越过这片广袤而美丽的湖水的独特好方式。
London - DUKW
伦敦水陆两用军车
DUKW, widely pronounced 'duck', are amphibious trucks that were designed by the American military during World War II to transport equipment and troops over both land and water. Nowadays, you can take a trip in a DUKW in central London, on the aptly named Duck Tours. On a tour you'll drive past famous London landmarks like Big Ben, the London Eye and Trafalgar Square before dramatically launching into the River Thames to get a view from the water. They're the only way to experience the sights of central London by land and river - without leaving the comfort of your seat!
DUKW，通常发成'duck'的音，是第二次世界大战期间由美军设计的水陆两栖车，可以在陆地也可以在水上运输装备或搭载部队士兵。现在，你可以在伦敦市中心坐一回水陆两用军车，进行所谓的Duck Tours。途中你会经过伦敦著名的标志性建筑，如大本钟、伦敦眼和特拉法格广场，然后引人注目地开进泰晤士河，在河上观赏风景。这是在伦敦市中心水陆两地享受风景的唯一方式，而且都不用离开你舒适的座位哟!
每日欣赏一篇英语美文篇三
人的左脑可以过滤噪音
An undated image of the human brain taken through scanning technology. Researchers from Japan, Canada and Germany have found that it is our left brain that picks out the desired sounds from a cacophony of loud, competing sounds.[Agencies]
Ever wondered how we are able to conduct a conversation at a noisy party? Researchers from Japan, Canada and Germany have found that it is our left brain that picks out the desired sounds from a cacophony of loud, competing sounds.
"In daily life, we are always exposed to several noises at the same time and we have to pick up important signals, for example, speech sounds, from the background noises," wrote researcher Ryusuke Amiga from Japan's National Institute for Physiological Sciences.
"We found that the left hemisphere is generally dominant for auditory processing in noisy environments," he wrote in an email response to questions from Reuters.
It is well known that speech signals are processed in the left brain.
But this study, led by Hidehiko Okamoto and Christo Pantev at the University of Muenster in Germany, furthers our understanding of how the human brain is able to zero in on the specific sounds it wants and process them.
In the latest issue of the online journal BMC Biology, the scientists said they used neuroimaging and observed neural mechanisms in volunteers who were exposed to different combinations of tests and background sounds.
"Test sounds were played either to the left or to the right ear, while the competing noise was presented either to the same or to the opposite ear," they wrote.
"By monitoring the brain's response to these different sound combinations, the team observed that the left hemisphere was the site of most neural activity associated with processing sounds in a noisy environment."