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

　　一個(gè)人要想真正了解一個(gè)社會(huì)的最大的特點(diǎn)，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. 政府必須保證主要城市用于發(fā)展的財(cái)政支持，因?yàn)閲?guó)家的文化傳統(tǒng)發(fā)源于并保留在這些主要城市

　　3.."Rituals and ceremonies help define a culture. Without them, societies or groups of people have a diminished sense of who they are." 207. 典禮和儀式有助于給一種文化下定義。沒(méi)有典禮和儀式，人們就無(wú)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. 人們的外表、衣著和行動(dòng)表現(xiàn)了他們的態(tài)度和興趣。你可以通過(guò)觀察人們的外表和行為來(lái)獲知這個(gè)社會(huì)的想法和價(jià)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. 在過(guò)去不同的時(shí)期，很多物種的滅絕都是自然因素造成，而并非人類行為。所以，現(xiàn)在我們花費(fèi)很大的人力物力去拯救瀕臨滅絕的物種是沒(méi)有多少價(jià)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. 政府應(yīng)該保護(hù)那些疆域范圍內(nèi)的偏遠(yuǎn)地區(qū)，盡管這些地區(qū)人煙稀少

　　7."The well-being of a society is enhanced when many of its people question authority." 142.當(dāng)很多人都質(zhì)疑權(quán)威時(shí)候社會(huì)才會(huì)繁榮富強(qiáng)。

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

　　現(xiàn)代社會(huì)的許多問(wèn)題是法律和司法系統(tǒng)不能解決的，因?yàn)榱⒎ú荒茏笥胰说牡赖滦袨椤?/p>

　　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."

　　有兩種法律：公平的和不公平的。社會(huì)中的每個(gè)人都應(yīng)該遵守公平的法律，更重要的是，應(yīng)該不遵守或者違抗不公平的法律

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

　　法律不應(yīng)該太嚴(yán)格、太固定。他們應(yīng)該根據(jù)實(shí)際情況而有伸縮性

　　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."

　　丑聞，不管是政治、學(xué)術(shù)還是其他領(lǐng)域，可能是有用的。它們能吸引人們的注意力，而這點(diǎn)，是任何發(fā)言人和改革家都辦不到的(傳媒)

　　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."

　　公眾人物，例如演員、政治家和運(yùn)動(dòng)員應(yīng)該預(yù)料到人們對(duì)他們私生活的關(guān)注。當(dāng)他們決定成為公眾角色時(shí)，他們應(yīng)該知道自己的一些隱私將被公布于眾(媒體)

　　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."

　　在媒體覆蓋率很大的當(dāng)今社會(huì)，人們不可能把一個(gè)人當(dāng)作英雄。任何有威望的人在媒體強(qiáng)烈的“關(guān)注”下都會(huì)名聲掃地。

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

　　我們定義自己，最重要的是通過(guò)我們和社會(huì)群體的不同來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)的。(不太好翻) %%%%%我們定義自己，最主要是通過(guò)我們對(duì)社會(huì)集體的參與和認(rèn)識(shí)來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)的。 (一個(gè)孤立的人只有參與到社會(huì)集體中去，才能夠定義自己。)

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

　　一個(gè)國(guó)家的生活質(zhì)量提高和社會(huì)的安定是和其他所有國(guó)家的生活質(zhì)量提高和社會(huì)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. 政治的目標(biāo)不應(yīng)該是追求一個(gè)理想，而是尋找普遍合理的大多數(shù)人的意見(jiàn)

　　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. 一個(gè)好的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)最主要的品質(zhì)就是對(duì)某些特定原則和目標(biāo)的堅(jiān)持。任何領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，如果他很容易受到大眾化觀點(diǎn)的影響，那他就一事無(wú)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."

　　在很多國(guó)家，人們一打開(kāi)電視就能看到政府人員辦公的場(chǎng)景。觀看這樣的場(chǎng)景有助于人們理解影響他們生活的決議。政府辦公的過(guò)程，如日常事物、辯論、會(huì)議等，向人們開(kāi)放得越多，人們就越能從中受益

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

　　傳統(tǒng)和現(xiàn)代是不相容的。人們必須在二者之間做出選擇。

　　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."

　　在任何領(lǐng)域，商業(yè)、政治、教育、政府，掌權(quán)者應(yīng)該在5年任期后下臺(tái)。對(duì)任何公司企業(yè)來(lái)說(shuō)，取得成功最保險(xiǎn)的途徑就是聘用新生的人擔(dān)當(dāng)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)

　　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."

　　一些非主流的領(lǐng)域，如占星、算命以及偏執(zhí)在社會(huì)中扮演著非常重要的角色，它們滿足了人們的那些主流科學(xué)滿足不了的需要。