Unit 7AFourteen years of higher education and a handful of Ivy League degrees, and there I was, stiff and stupid, struck dumb by my own dumbness. “Ivy retardation,” a friend of mine calls this.有14年的大学教育和在几所常春藤大学工作经历的我傻乎乎的站在那里，笨拙不堪，尴尬不已。
有个朋友称这种现象为“常春藤错位”。
To consider that while some opportunities are being created, others are being cancelled and that while some abilities are being developed, others are being crippled is, within this context, not only outrageous, but inconceivable.但是在这个背景下，如果认为它创造了一些机会，却丧失了其他机会；培养了有些能力，却也削弱了其他能力，不仅是反常的而且是不可思议的。
There is nothing wrong with taking pride in one’s intellect or knowledge. There is something wrong with the smugness and self-congratulation that elite schools connive at.对自己的智慧或者知识感到自豪没有任何不对的地方。
名牌大学所纵容的沾沾自喜和自我吹捧是不对的。
Not the most abject academic failure, not the most heinous act of plagiarism, not even threatening a fellow student with bodily harm —I’ve heard of all three — will get you expelled.不管是最绝望的课程不及格，还是最可恶的抄袭行为，甚至是对其他同学的身体伤害的威胁等都不会被开除，这三种情况我都听说过。
Long before they got to college, they turned themselves into world-class hoop-jumpers and teacher-pleasers, getting A’s in every class no matter how boring they found the teacher or how pointless the subject, racking up eight or ten extracurricular activities no matter what else they wanted to do with their time.在他们进入大学之前很久就已经把自己变成世界一流的俯首帖耳、讨好老师的小爬虫，在每门课上都得优秀成绩，不管他们觉得这个老师多么乏味，也不管他们觉得这门课多么没有意义。
他们也尽力积累八到十个课外活动，不管他们多想用这些时间做别的事情。
BCertainly many neurotic boomer parents — and their stressed-out, resume-building teenagers —assume that it is always better to choose Harvard over Big State University because of Harvard’s presumably superior educational environment, better alumni connections, and more lucrative on-campus recruiting opportunities.对于那些在生育高峰期出生，已为人父母的人和那些焦虑不安，整日忙于增加阅历、以使简历内容更加丰富的十几岁的孩子来说，选择哈佛大学当然比重点州立大学更好。
大概因为哈佛有优越的教育环境，更好的校友圈子，以及更加诱人的校园招聘机会。
It’s true that big law firms, major teaching hospitals, and investment banks — heck, even the offices of FORTUNE —are stuffed with Ivy Leaguers. It’s also true that if you want a career at what passes for the American establishment — Sullivan & Cromwell, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs — a gilt-edged diploma is a distinct advantage.这是一个事实，如果你想在被当作美国经济基石的公司谋得一份职业，如苏利文·克伦威尔律师事务（Sullivan & Cromwell），麦肯锡（McKinsey），高盛（Goldman Sachs）等，那么一份镶金的学位证书无疑是一个独特的优势。
The advantage of Harvard, in other words, confer few benefits on the class slacker. Robert Zemsky, an education professor at the University of Pennsylvania, who believes a prestigious undergraduate degree does pay off, puts it this way: “It’s like the brass ring on a merry-go-round.If you go to a high-priced, highly selective school, you have a better shot at the brass ring. But you have to grab it.”宾尼法尼亚大学的教育学教授（Robert Zemsky）认为读有名的大学是划算的，他这样说：“这就好比是旋转木马上的铜环。
如果你选择去一个昂贵的高选择性的学校，你就有更好的机会能够击中铜环。
但是你必须得抓住它”So listen up, high school seniors: Your life is not over if you end up at the University of Oklahoma. In fact, if you want to be governor of Oklahoma when you grow up, you’re probably better off graduating a Sooner.请高校的高年级学生听好了：如果你仅仅只是毕业于俄克拉荷马州立大学你的人生并没有完蛋。
而事实上，如果你想长大后成为俄克拉荷马州的州长，你还能够近水楼台先得月。
Most studies use future income, the favorite yardstick of those dead souls called economists. But knowing the cost-benefit ratio of a purchase is not the same as knowing it value.很多研究运用未来收入，因为这是那些被称为经济学家的老家伙们最青睐的计算标准。
但是，知道一件所购之物的成本效率并不等于知道它的价值。
Unit 8AAs darkness fell on the olive trees and the grazing deer, I slipped into the Jacuzzi in my tree house and listened to the Pacific breakers roll in.夜幕降临到橄榄树和吃草的群鹿身上，在树屋中，我滑进按摩浴缸，听着太平洋波涛滚滚的声音。
Kaikoura is not a name that trips off the tongue when you list those lucky places that offer encounters with nature and a touch of luxury.与那些让游人接触大自然和获得奢侈享受的著名景点相比，凯库拉并不是人们耳熟能详的名字。
There’s a shock of cold water and a heave of ocean swell, even though we’re within sight of the mountains, not a half a mile from the shore.尽管我们还能看到山峦，离岸边还不到半英里，却感到一股冰冷的水袭和湍急的海涌。
Today, the hunt is for thrills not kills.今天，追踪鲸鱼是为了刺激而不是杀戮。
It’s a view that the mo dern world is starting to share. And here in Kaikoura, you can experience it for real.这一点当今世界渐达共识。
在凯库拉这里，你可以真真切切的体验到。
BIt often puts a strain on water resources, and it can force local populations to compete for the use of critical resources.它常常造成的水资源紧张的局面，迫使当地居民争夺紧缺资源。
Because of the hot climate and tendency of tourists to consume more water when on holiday than they do at home, the amount used can run up to 440 liters a day.由于气候炎热，游客度假时倾向于使用比在家里更多的水，用水量可以达到每天440升。