五十一. The Colorful World
The world around us is full of colors: the grass is green, the sky is blue. What a pity it will be if people can not see all the colors. But there are people who are blind to certain colors.
Human color blindness is a strange thing to explain. In a single eye there aremillions ofvery small things called cones(锥形物). They help us to see in bright light and to tell the difference between colors. There are also millions of rods(视网膜杆)but they are used for seeing when it is nearly dark. They show us shape but not the color.
Some birds and animals eyes have few or no cones, so they can not see colors. Cats and dogs cannot see colors as well as we can.
Some insects(昆虫) can even see X-rays. Scientists know that there are other colors around us which insects can see but which we cannot see.
Human beings have favorite colors. Blue is often popular because it is the color of the cool sky and sea. Green is the color which makes us think of grass, field and forest.Yellow is the color of the sun. On the other hand, red is the color of blood and fire. It makes some people think of accidents, danger and blood. Black is the color of the night. In the dark we cannot see what is around us, so we are sometimes afraid of the unknown and do not like black as a color.
【汉语翻译】
多彩的世界
我们周围的世界充满(be full of)色彩：草(grass)是绿色的，天空是蓝色的。如果人看不到所有这些颜色，那将是多么遗憾的事呀！但有些人对某些颜色的确是看不见的(blind)。
人类的色盲很难解释。在一只眼睛(a single eye)里有几百万(millions of)叫做视锥的微小物质。它们帮助我们在亮光(bright light)下看清并辨别颜色的差异(tell the difference between colors)。单眼中也有几百万视网膜杆，但它们是用来(be used for)在天色几乎(nearly)黑下来时看清东西的，它们为我们显示形状(shape)而非颜色。
一些鸟和动物的眼睛有很少(few)或没有视锥，所以它们看不到颜色。猫和狗不能和我们一样看清颜色。
一些昆虫甚至可以看到X射线(X-ray)。科学家们知道，我们周围有些其他颜色昆虫可以看到而我们却无法看到。
人类有最偏爱的颜色。蓝色常受欢迎是因为它是凉爽的天空和海洋的颜色。绿色是让我们想起草地、骤野和森林的颜色，黄色是太阳(sun)色。另一方面，红色是血(blood)与火(fire)的颜色，使一些人想起事故、危险和流血。黑色是夜的颜色．在黑暗中(in the dark)，我们看不到周围的一切，所以我们有时害怕未知的(unknown)事物，不喜欢黑色。?
五十二. Computers Are Becoming More and More Popular
More and more people are living the life with computers. Using computers you can send e-mails quickly and easily. You are able to send a letter with photos and sounds to someone anywhere in the world without putting a stamp. E-mail can send its message to the other side of the world in seconds. E-mail is easy to use and it saves time and money. It serves for twenty-four hours. You can send e-mails to your friends when they are in bed, and when they send e-mails back, maybe youre seeing a film at the cinema.
Computers are also important far students now. Many students like to surf the Internet, but some students only play games instead of searching for useful information and learning from the Internet. Besides, they spend too much time on the computer, which is very bad for their health. Can you imagine in the future without teachers but computers? Students will teach themselves in the school in the future. At that time, students will carry a personal computer (PC) instead of a book bag. And teachers will disappear. Computers help students develop their own ways of learning. Students will follow the learning programs by looking at on-line(在线的) libraries and watching lessons, Students can take advantage of all kinds of learning websites.
【汉语翻译】
电脑越来越普及
越来越多的人在使用电脑。通过电脑你可以迅速快捷地发送电邮（e-mail）．你能够发送附带照片和声音的邮件给世界上任何地方(anywhere)的人而无需粘贴邮票。电邮可以在几秒中(in seconds)把邮件发送给地球另一边的人。电邮使用方便，节省时间和金钱。可以24小时地服务(serve)．当你的朋友在床上睡觉时你可以给他们发邮件，当他们给你回复邮件时，可能你正在影院(at the cinema)看电影(see a film)。
现在电脑对学生也很重要。许多学生喜欢上网(surf the Internet)，但一些学生只玩游戏而不是通过电脑查找有用信息及学习。此外，他们花太多时间用电脑，这对他们的健康非常不利。
你能想象(imagine)未来没有教师只有电脑吗？未来(in the future)学生们将在学校里自学。那时，学生会携带一台个人电脑(personal computer)而不是一个书包．教师将会消失(disappear)。电脑帮助学生培养他们自己的学习方式。学生通过在线图书馆跟踪学习节目(program)，观看课程。学生可以利用(take advantage of)各种学习网站(website)。