1."One can best understand the most important characteristics of a society by studying its major cities."

　　一个人要想真正了解一个社会的最大的特点，只用研究一下它的主要城市即可

　　2."Governments must ensure that their major cities receive the financial support they need in order to thrive, because it is primarily in cities that a nation's cultural traditions are preserved and generated." 10. 政府必须保证主要城市用于发展的财政支持，因为国家的文化传统发源于并保留在这些主要城市

　　3.."Rituals and ceremonies help define a culture. Without them, societies or groups of people have a diminished sense of who they are." 207. 典礼和仪式有助于给一种文化下定义。没有典礼和仪式，人们就无法很好地了解自己。

　　4."The way people look, dress, and act reveals their attitudes and interests. You can tell much about a society's ideas and values by observing the appearance and behavior of its people." 208. 人们的外表、衣着和行动表现了他们的态度和兴趣。你可以通过观察人们的外表和行为来获知这个社会的想法和价值

　　5.. At various times in the geological past, many species have become extinct as a result of natural, rather than human, processes. Thus, there is no justification for society to make extraordinary efforts, especially at a great cost in money and jobs, to save endangered species." 121. 在过去不同的时期，很多物种的灭绝都是自然因素造成，而并非人类行为。所以，现在我们花费很大的人力物力去拯救濒临灭绝的物种是没有多少价值的

　　6."Government should preserve publicly owned wilderness areas in their natural state, even though these areas are often extremely remote and thus accessible to only a few people." 83. 政府应该保护那些疆域范围内的偏远地区，尽管这些地区人烟稀少

　　7."The well-being of a society is enhanced when many of its people question authority." 142.当很多人都质疑权威时候社会才会繁荣富强。

　　8."Many problems of modem society cannot be solved by laws and the legal system because moral behavior cannot be legislated."

　　现代社会的许多问题是法律和司法系统不能解决的，因为立法不能左右人的道德行为。

　　9."There are two types of laws: just and unjust. Every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws and, even more importantly, to disobey and resist unjust laws."

　　有两种法律：公平的和不公平的。社会中的每个人都应该遵守公平的法律，更重要的是，应该不遵守或者违抗不公平的法律

　　10."Laws should not be stationary and fixed. Instead, they should be flexible enough to take account of various circumstances, times, and places."

　　法律不应该太严格、太固定。他们应该根据实际情况而有伸缩性

　　11."Scandals—whether in politics, academia, or other areas—can be useful. They focus our attention on problems in ways that no speaker or reformer ever could."

　　丑闻，不管是政治、学术还是其他领域，可能是有用的。它们能吸引人们的注意力，而这点，是任何发言人和改革家都办不到的(传媒)

　　12."Public figures such as actors, politicians, and athletes should expect people to be interested in their private lives. When they seek a public role, they should expect that they will lose at least some of their privacy."

　　公众人物，例如演员、政治家和运动员应该预料到人们对他们私生活的关注。当他们决定成为公众角色时，他们应该知道自己的一些隐私将被公布于众(媒体)

　　13."'In this age of intensive media coverage, it is no longer possible for a society to regard any woman or man as a hero. The reputation of anyone who is subjected to media scrutiny will eventually be diminished."

　　在媒体覆盖率很大的当今社会，人们不可能把一个人当作英雄。任何有威望的人在媒体强烈的“关注”下都会名声扫地。

　　14. "It is primarily through identification through social groups that we define ourselves."

　　我们定义自己，最重要的是通过我们和社会群体的不同来实现的。(不太好翻) %%%%%我们定义自己，最主要是通过我们对社会集体的参与和认识来实现的。 (一个孤立的人只有参与到社会集体中去，才能够定义自己。)

　　15. "The material progress and well-being of one country are necessarily connected to the material progress and well-being of all other countries."

　　一个国家的生活质量提高和社会的安定是和其他所有国家的生活质量提高和社会安定密不可分的。

　　16.-"The goal of politics should not be the pursuit of an ideal, but rather the search for common ground and reasonable consensus." ?? 195. 政治的目标不应该是追求一个理想，而是寻找普遍合理的大多数人的意见

　　17."The most essential quality of an effective leader is the ability to remain consistently committed to particular principles and objectives. Any leader who is quickly and easily influenced by shifts in popular opinion will accomplish little." 160. 一个好的领导最主要的品质就是对某些特定原则和目标的坚持。任何领导，如果他很容易受到大众化观点的影响，那他就一事无成。

　　18."In many countries it is now possible to turn on the television and view government at work. Watching these proceedings can help people understand the issues that affect their lives. The more kinds of government proceedings - trials, debates, meetings, etc. - that are televised, the more society will benefit."

　　在很多国家，人们一打开电视就能看到政府人员办公的场景。观看这样的场景有助于人们理解影响他们生活的决议。政府办公的过程，如日常事物、辩论、会议等，向人们开放得越多，人们就越能从中受益

　　19."Tradition and modernization are incompatible. One must choose between them."

　　传统和现代是不相容的。人们必须在二者之间做出选择。

　　20."In any profession—business, politics, education, government—those in power should step down after five years. The surest path to success for any enterprise is revitalization through new leadership."

　　在任何领域，商业、政治、教育、政府，掌权者应该在5年任期后下台。对任何公司企业来说，取得成功最保险的途径就是聘用新生的人担当领导

　　21."Such nonmainstream areas of inquiry as astrology, fortune-telling, and psychic and paranormal pursuits play a vital role in society by satisfying human needs that are not addressed by mainstream science."

　　一些非主流的领域，如占星、算命以及偏执在社会中扮演着非常重要的角色，它们满足了人们的那些主流科学满足不了的需要

　　历史类

　　1."The greatness of individuals can be decided only by those who live after them, not by their contemporaries."

　　只有后来人评价以前的人，而不应该同时代的人相互评价

　　2.."When we concern ourselves with the study of history, we become storytellers. Because we can never know the past directly but must construct it by interpreting evidence, exploring history is more of a creative enterprise than it is an objective pursuit. All historians are storytellers." 110. 当我们把自己和历史关联起来时，我们变成了讲故事的人。因为我们无从知道过去发生的事情，但是又必须要把她们表述出来，所以历史研究是一个非常有创造性的领域，而并非一个客观的过程。所有的历史学家都是讲故事的人(storyteller)

　　3. "The best way to understand the character of a society is to examine the character of the men and women that the society chooses as its heroes or its heroines."

　　理解一个社会特征的最好的方法就是研究那个社会所认为的伟大人物

　　4."The study of history places too much emphasis on individuals. The most significant events and trends in history were made possible not by the famous few, but by groups of people whose identities have long been forgotten."

　　对历史的研究把太多的重点放在对某些个人上。而历史上一些重大的事件和发展趋势不是由个别名人决定的，而可能是由那些已经被人们淡忘的人制造的

　　5"Most people would agree that buildings represent a valuable record of any society's past, but controversy arises when old buildings stand on ground that modern planners feel could be better used for modern purposes. In such situations, modern development should be given precedence over the preservation of historic buildings so that contemporary needs can be served."

　　很多人认为建筑代表了一个社会过去的历史价值，但是当现代城市的规划者想要利用老建筑占用的地盘做新的规划时，就会引起很多争辩。在这样的情况下，现代的发展应该优先被考虑，以使当代的需要得到满足。

　　6"History teaches us only one thing: knowing about the past cannot help people to make important decisions today."

　　7."So much is new and complex today that looking back for an understanding of the past provides little guidance for living in the present."

　　现在的生活日新月异，对过去的研究学习没有实际的指导意义

　　8."The study of history has value only to the extent that it is relevant to our daily lives."

　　只有当历史和我们的生活相关时，对它的研究才有扩展性和价值

　　科技类

　　1.”The human mind will always be superior to machines because machines are only tools of human minds.”

　　人总是比机器聪明，因为机器只不过是人类的工具而已

　　2"The primary goal of technological advancement should be to increase people's efficiency so that everyone has more leisure time."

　　技术进步的最主要的目标就是提高人们的效率，使得每个人都有更多的闲暇时间

　　3."Technologies not only influence but actually determine social customs and ethics."

　　科学技术不但影响而且决定了社会风俗和民族习惯

　　4."Technology creates more problems than it solves, and may threaten or damage the quality of life."

　　科学技术产生了许多不能解决的问题，对人们的生活质量构成威胁

　　5"Only through mistakes can there be discovery or progress."

　　不犯错误就不会有发现和进步

　　6.The video camera provides such an accurate and convincing record of contemporary life that it has become a more important form of documentation than written records."

　　摄像机可以通过如此精确而有力的纪录手段来再现当代生活，因此它已经代替书面纪录成为一种更重要的纪录手段

　　7."High-speed electronic communications media, such as electronic mail and television, tend to prevent meaningful and thoughtful communication."

　　8."In the age of television, reading books is not as important as it once was. People can learn as much by watching television as they can by reading books."

　　在电视机时代，阅读书籍已经没有原来那样重要了。人们从电视上学到的东西丝毫不比从书本中学来的少

　　9."Because of television and worldwide computer connections, people can now become familiar with a great many places that they have never visited. As a result, tourism will soon become obsolete."

　　通过电视和全世界联网的计算机，人们得以了解很多他们没有去过的地方。所以，旅游事业会越来越不景气

　　10."With the growth of global networks in such areas as economics and communication, there is no doubt that every aspect of society—including education, politics, the arts, and the sciences—will benefit greatly from international influences."

　　随着全球网络的增长，如经济和通讯，整个社会的各方各面，包括教育、政治、艺术和科学，都从中获益非浅