Unit Thirteen
Professionals and Amateurs
①Specialization can be seen as a response to the problem of an increasing accumulation of scientific knowledge. By splitting up the subject matter into smaller units, one man could continue to handle the information and use it as the basis for further research. But specialization was only one of a series of related developments in science affecting the process of communication. Another was the growing professionalisation of scientific activity.
②No clear-cut distinction can be drawn between professionals and amateurs in science: exceptions can be found to any rule. Nevertheless, the word “amateur” does carry a connotation that the person concerned is not fully integrated into the scientific community and, in particular, may not fully share its values. The growth of specialization in the nineteenth century, with its consequent requirement of a longer, more complex training, implied greater problems for amateur participation in science. The trend was naturally most obvious in those areas of science based especially on a mathematical of laboratory training, and can be illustrated in term of the development of geology in the United Kingdom.
A comparison of British geological publications over the last century and a half reveals not simply an increasing emphasis on the primacy of research, but also a changing definition of what constitutes an acceptable research paper. Thus, in the nineteenth century, local geological studies represented worthwhile research in their own right; but in the twentieth century, local professionals only if they incorporate, and reflect on, the wider geological picture. Amateurs, on the other hand, have continued to pursue local studies in the old way. The overall result has been to make entrance to professional geological journals harder for amateurs, a result that has been reinforced by the widespread introduction of refereeing, first by national journals in the nineteenth century and then by several local geological journals in the twentieth century. As a logical consequence of this development, separate journal have now appeared aimed mainly towards either professional or amateur readership. A rather similar process of differentiation has led to professional geologists coming together nationally within one or two specific societies, whereas the amateurs have tended either to remain in local societies or to come together nationally in a different way.
Although the process of professionalisation and specialization was already well under way in British geology during the nineteenth century, its full consequences were thus delayed until the twentieth century. ③In science generally, however, the nineteenth century must be reckoned as the crucial period for this change in the structure of science.
生词与联想词
special--------specialist----------specialty
accumulate--------------accumulation--------stack-------heap
split-------slit---------flaw---------crack--------------fracture------seam
basis----------foundation
series
affect
profession-------------professional---------barber------------amateur
integrate---------integrity----------integral
imply-----------implication-------implicit-----------hint---------connote
trend--------tend---------tendency
illustrate-----------illustration--------clarify-------cartoon--------pictorial
geology
publication----------publish
constitute---------constitution----------constituent
represent-----------------representation-------representative
incorpotare--------------------assimilate
reflect------------------reflection
overall
pursue----------------pursuit--------------chase
reinforce----------------strengthen
logic----------------------logical
differentiate------------------differentiation--------------differ
reckon-----------------------calculate
structure-------------construct-----------formation--------architecture
architect
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Unit Fourteen
The Virtue Americans Value Highly
A report consistently brought back by visitors to the US is how friendly, courteous, and helpful most Americans were to them. To be fair, this observation is also frequently made of Canada and Canadians, and should best be considered North American. There are, of course, exceptions. ①Small-minded officials, rude waiters, and ill-mannered taxi drivers are hardly unknown in the US. Yet it is an observation made so frequently that it deserves comment.
For a long period of time and in many parts of the country, a traveler was a welcome break in an otherwise dull existence. Dullness and loneliness were common problems of the families who generally lived distant from one another. Strangers and travelers were welcome sources of diversion, and brought news of the outside world.
②The harsh realities of the frontier also shaped this tradition of hospitality. Someone traveling alone, it hungry, injured, or ill, often had nowhere to turn except to the nearest cabin or settlement. It was not a matter of choice for the traveler or merely a charitable impulse on the part of the settlers. It reflected the harshness of daily life: if you didn’t take in the stranger and take care of him, there was no one else who would. And someday, remember, you might be in the same situation.
Today there are many charitable organizations which specialize in helping the weary traveler. Yet, the old tradition of hospitality to strangers is still very strong in the US, especially in the smaller cities and towns away from the busy tourist trails. “I was just traveling through, got talking with this American, and pretty soon he invited me home for dinner – amazing.” Such observations reported by visitors to the US are not uncommon, but are not always understood properly. The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial, but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.
③As is true of any developed society, in America a complex set of cultural signals, assumptions, and conventions underlies all social interrelationships. And, of course, speaking a language does not necessarily mean that someone understands social and cultural patterns. Visitors who fail to “translate” cultural meanings properly often draw wrong conclusions. For example, when an American uses the word “friend” , the cultural implications of the visitor’s language and culture. It takes more than a brief encounter on a bus to distinguish between courteous convention and individual interest. Yet, being friendly is a virtue that many Americans value highly and expect from both neighbors and strangers.
生词与联想词
consistent----------persistent
courtesy---------------courteous-----------decent---------------gracious
observe----------------observation
otherwise
diversion
frontier-------------border------vicinity---------------verge
hospitality-----------cordial
cabin----hut-------------cottage
settlement-------------------------community
charity--------------------charitable
impulse-------------propel---------propeller-------peopulsion
situation-------------------status
weary-----------fatigue---------tedious----------monotonous
tourism----------sightseeing---------excursion
trail----------------trace
amaze-----------astonish---------------startle
superficial----------------------------shallow-------------hollow---------profound
artificial---------------synthetic-------------genuine
convention-----------conventional
distinguish-------------------discern-----------------discriminate
virtue---------------------------morality