爱华网随着《新概念英语》这套教材的引入，已经在全国都引起了轰动乃至学习新概念的潮流。下面是小编带来的新概念英语文章精选，欢迎阅读!
新概念英语文章精选1The Salinity of Ocean Waters
海水盐度
If the salinity of ocean waters is analyzed, it is found to vary only slightly from place to place. Nevertheless, some of these small changes are important.
如果我们分析海水的盐度，会发现地区间只有轻微的变化，然而有些小的变化是重要的。
There are three basic processes that cause a change in oceanic salinity. One of these is the subtraction of water from the ocean by means of evaporation -- conversion of liquid water to water vapor. In this manner the salinity is increased, since the salts stay behind. If this is carried to the extreme, of course, white crystals of salt would be left behind.
导致海洋的盐度变化的基本过程有三个，其中之一是通过蒸发的方式即把液态水转化为水蒸气来减少海洋中的水分。这样由于盐留了下来，所以盐度增大。当然，如果这种方式走向极端，将会余下白色的盐晶体。
The opposite of evaporation is precipitation, such as rain, by which water is added to the ocean. Here the ocean is being diluted so that the salinity is decreased. This may occur in areas of high rainfall or in coastal regions where rivers flow into the ocean.
与蒸发相反的是降水，如降雨，由此水被加入海中，海水被稀释，从而盐度降低。这种情形会发生在大量降雨的地区，或江河入海岸处。
Thus salinity may be increased by the subtraction of water by evaporation, or decreased by the addition of fresh water by precipitation or runoff.
因此，盐度通过蒸发减少水分而上升或通过降水或径流增加淡水成分而下降。
Normally, in tropical regions where the sun is very strong, the ocean salinity is somewhat higher than it is in other parts of the world where there is not as much evaporation. Similarly, in coastal regions where rivers dilute the sea, salinity is somewhat lower than in other oceanic areas.
一般来说，在阳光很强烈的热带地区，海水的盐度略高于世界上其它没有热带那样多的蒸发的地区。同理，在江河稀释海水的海岸地带，海水盐度略低于其它海区。
A third process by which salinity may be altered is associated with the formation and melting of sea ice. When sea water is frozen, the dissolved materials are left behind. In this manner, sea water directly beneath freshly formed sea ice has a higher salinity than it did before the ice appeared.Of course, when this ice melts, it will tend to decrease the salinity of the surrounding water.
第三个可以变更盐度的过程与海洋中冰的形成和融化有关。海水冻结时，溶于其中的物质被留了下来。这样，在新形成的海水冰面的正下方的海水比在冰形成之前有更高的盐度。当然，当冰融化的时候，会降低周围水中的盐度。
In the Weddell Sea Antarctica, the densest water in the oceans is formed as a result of this freezing process, which increases the salinity of cold water. This heavy water sinks and is found in the deeper portions of the oceans of the world.
在南极洲边缘的威德尔海中，结冰过程增加低温海水的盐度，从而形成了浓度最大的海水。这些大密度的海水下沉，可以在世界海洋的深水域发现。
新概念英语文章精选2Cohesion-tension Theory
内聚压力理论
Atmospheric pressure can support a column of water up to 10 meters high. But plants can move water much higher; the sequoia tree can pump water to its very top more than 100 meters above the ground.
大气压能够支持10米高的水柱，但植物可将水送得更高。美洲红杉就能把水泵到地面以上100多米高的树顶。
Until the end of the nineteenth century, the movement of water in trees and other tall plants was a mystery. Some botanists hypothesized that the living cells of plants acted as pumps. But many experiments demonstrated that the stems of plants in which all the cells are killed can still move water to appreciable heights. Other explanations for the movement of water in plants have been based on root pressure, a push on the water from the roots at the bottom of the plant. But root pressure is not nearly great enough to push water to the tops of tall trees. Furthermore, the conifers, which are among the tallest trees, have unusually low root pressures.If water is not pumped to the top of a tall tree, and if it is not pushed to the top of a tall tree, then we may ask: how does it get there?
直到19世纪末，水在树木和其它高大植物中的输送还是一个谜。一些植物学家假定植物中的活细胞充当了水泵的角色。但许多实验表明细胞都已死亡的植物茎干仍能将水输送到相当可观的高度。对于植物中输送水的其它解释都基于根压——植物底端的根对水的推动。但根压完全不足以将水推到树顶。况且，最高树木中的松柏只有很低的根压。如果水不是被泵到高树的树顶，也不是被推到树顶，那么我们会问：它是怎样到达树顶的呢?
According to the currently accepted cohesion-tension theory, water is pulled there. The pull on a rising column of water in a plant results from the evaporation of water at the top of the plant. As water is lost from the surface of the leaves, a negative pressure, or tension, is created. The evaporated water is replaced by water moving from inside the plant in unbroken columns that extend from the top of a plant to its roots. The same forces that create surface tension in any sample of water are responsible for the maintenance of these unbroken columns of water. When water is confined in tubes of very small bore, the forces of cohesion (the attraction between water molecules) are so great that the strength of a column of water compares with the strength of a steel wire of the same diameter. This cohesive strength permits columns of water to be pulled to great heights without being broken.
根据目前为人们所接受的内聚压力的理论，水是被拉到上面去的。一株植物中作用于一个正在升高的水柱之上的拉力来自该植物顶部水的蒸发。由于水从叶子表面丧失，一个负压力，或张力就得以产生。蒸发出去的水被植物里流动的水代替。这些水形成水柱从植物顶端一直延伸到根部。在任何水样中造成表面张力的力支持着这些不断的水柱。当水被限制在内径很小的管道中时，内聚压力(水分子之间的相互吸引力)是如此之大以致一支水柱的强度相当于一根直径相同的钢丝的强度。这种内聚压力使得水柱被拉到非常高的地方而不会断裂。
新概念英语文章精选3American black bears
美国黑熊
American black bears appear in a variety of colors despite their name. In the eastern part of their range, most of these bears have shiny black fur, but in the west they grow brown, red, or even yellow coats. To the north, the black bear is actually gray or white in color. Even in the same litter, both brown and black furred bears may be born.
美国黑熊虽然被叫做黑熊但却有各种各样的颜色。在它们生活区域的东部，大部分黑熊长有富有光泽的黑毛，但在西部，他们则长着棕色、红色甚至是黄色的毛。在北部，黑熊其实长着灰色或白色的毛。就是在一胎所生的小熊中，都可能混杂棕毛和黑毛。
Black bears are the smallest of all American bears, ranging in length from five to six feet, weighing from three hundred to five hundred pounds. Their eyes and ears are small and their eyesight and hearing are not as good as their sense of smell. Like all bears, the black bear is timid, clumsy, and rarely dangerous, but if attacked, most can climb trees and cover ground at great speeds. When angry or frightened, it is a formidable enemy.
黑熊是所有美洲熊中最小的，5-6英尺长，300-500磅重。它们的眼睛和耳朵都很小，他们的视力和听觉不如嗅觉那样好。像所有的熊一样，黑熊胆小，笨拙，很少具有危险性。但如果受到攻击，大部分黑熊会以很快的速度爬上树和奔跑。当发怒或受惊吓时，黑熊会成为可怕的对手。
Black bears feed on leaves, herbs, roots, fruit, berries, insects, fish, and even larger animals. One of the most interesting characteristics of bears, including the black bear, is their winter sleep. Unlike squirrels, woodchucks, and many other woodland animals, bears do not actually hibernate. Although the bear does not eat during the winter months, sustaining itself from body fat, its temperature remains almost normal, and it breathes regularly four or five times per minute.
黑熊以树叶、草、树根、水果、浆果、昆虫、鱼，甚至更大的动物为食。熊类，包括黑熊的最有趣的一个特点是他们的冬眠。与松鼠、旱獭和其它别的林地动物不同，熊并不真正地冬眠。虽然熊在冬天的几个月中不吃东西，靠体内脂肪维持生命，但它们的体温保持正常，并有规律地一分钟呼吸4或5次。
Most black bears live alone, except during mating season. They prefer to live in caves, hollow logs, or densethickets. A little of one to four cubs is born in January or February after a gestation period of six to nine months, and they remain with their mother until they are fully grown or about one and a half years old. Black bears can live as long as thirty years in the wild , and even longer in game preserves set aside for them.
除交配季节外，大多数黑熊独自生活。他们喜欢住在洞里、空心的大木头里或茂密的树丛里。经过6到9个月的怀孕期后一胎1-4个小熊在1月或2月出生。它们同母熊住在一起，直到它们完全长大，即1岁半左右。黑熊在野外可以活到长达30年，在专门的保护区中甚至能活得更长。
