【文章內(nèi)容簡介】 It can send a jolt of as much as eight hundred volts of electricity through the water in which it lives. (An electric house current is only one hundred twenty volts.) As many as fourfifths of all the cells in the electric eel39。s body are specialized for generating electricity, and the strength of the shock it can deliver corresponds roughly to the length of its body. 電 當(dāng)今時(shí)代是電氣時(shí)代。 人們對電燈、收音機(jī)、電視和電話早已司空見慣以致很難想 象沒有它們生活會變成什么樣。 當(dāng)停電時(shí)，人們在搖曳不定的燭光下暗中摸索； 因沒有紅 綠燈的指示，汽車在道路上遲疑不前；冰箱也停止工作，導(dǎo)致食 物變質(zhì)。人們只是在兩個(gè)世 紀(jì)前一點(diǎn)才開始了解電的使用原理，自然界卻顯然在這方面經(jīng)歷過了數(shù)百萬年。 科學(xué)家不 斷發(fā)現(xiàn)許多生物世界里可能有益于人類的關(guān)于電的有趣秘密。所有生物細(xì)胞都會發(fā)出微小的 電脈沖。 當(dāng)心臟跳動時(shí)，把它發(fā)出的脈沖記錄下來就成了心電 ? 圖，這可讓醫(yī)生了解心臟的 工作狀況。大腦也發(fā)出腦電波，這可在腦電圖上記錄下來。 許多生物細(xì)胞發(fā)出的電流都是 極微小的，小到要用靈敏儀器才能記錄和測量。 但一些動物的某些肌肉細(xì)胞能轉(zhuǎn)化成一個(gè) 個(gè)發(fā)電機(jī)，以致完全失去肌肉細(xì)胞的功能。 這種細(xì)胞大量地連接在一起時(shí)產(chǎn)生的效果 將是 非常令人吃驚的。電鰻就是一種令人驚異的蓄電池。 它可以在水中發(fā)出相當(dāng)于 800 伏特電 壓電流 (家庭用戶的電壓只有 120 伏特 )。 在電鰻的身體里，多至五分之四的細(xì)胞都專門用 來發(fā)電，而且發(fā)出的電流的強(qiáng)度大約和它身體的長度成正比。 05 The Beginning of Drama There are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world even the seasonal changes as unpredictable, and they sought through various means to control these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and who believe that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dance, masks, and costumes were almost always used. Furthermore, a suitable site had to be provided for performances and when the entire munitydid not participate, a clear division was usually made between the acting area and theauditorium. In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importance was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rites, religious leaders usually assumed that task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impersonated other people, animals, or supernatural beings, and mimed the desired effect success in hunt or battle, the ing rain, the revival of the Sun as an actor might. Eventually such dramatic representations were separated from religious theory traces the theater39。s origin from the human interest in storytelling. According to this view tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a narrator and then through the assumption of each of the roles by a different person. A closely related theory traces theater to those dances that are primarily rhythmical and gymnastic or that are imitations of animal movements and sounds. 戲劇的起源 關(guān)于古希臘戲劇的起源存在著多種理論，其中一個(gè)最普遍為人接受的理論 假設(shè)認(rèn)為戲劇從儀式演化而來。 這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)是這樣進(jìn)行論證的：一開始，人類把世界上的自 然力量，甚至季節(jié)的變化都看成是不可預(yù)料的。 他們試圖通過各種方式去控制這些未知的、 令人恐懼的力量。 那些似乎帶來了滿意結(jié)果的手段就被保留下來并且重復(fù)直到這些手段固 化為不變的儀式，最后產(chǎn)生了能夠解釋或者掩蓋這些儀式神秘性的故事。 隨著時(shí)間的推移， 一些儀式被廢棄了，但這些后來被稱作神話的故事流傳下來并且為藝術(shù)和戲劇提供了素材。 認(rèn)為戲劇從儀式演化而來的人們還認(rèn)為那些儀式包含了戲劇的基本因素，因?yàn)橐魳?、舞蹈? 面具和服裝幾乎經(jīng)常被使用，而且，必須為演出提供 一個(gè)合適的地點(diǎn)；如果不是整個(gè)社區(qū)共 同參加演出，經(jīng)常在 演出區(qū) 和 觀眾席 之間劃分出明顯的分界。 另外，儀式中還有演員， 而且宗教領(lǐng)袖通常承擔(dān)演出任務(wù)，因?yàn)樵趦x式的執(zhí)行中避免錯(cuò)誤的發(fā)生被認(rèn)為有相當(dāng)大的重 要性；他們經(jīng)常帶著面具，穿著服裝象演員那樣扮演其它人、動物或超自然的生靈，用動作 來表演以達(dá)到所需要的效果，比如打獵的成功或戰(zhàn)斗的勝利、將至的雨、太陽的復(fù)活。 最 后這些戲劇性的表演從宗教活動中分離了出來。 另一個(gè)追溯戲劇起源的理論認(rèn)為它來自人 們對敘述故事的興趣。 根據(jù)這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)，故事 (關(guān)于狩獵、戰(zhàn)爭或者 其它偉績 )是逐漸豐富起 來的。 首先通過一個(gè)講解人來運(yùn)用模仿、表演和對話，然后再由不同的人扮演各自的角色； 另一個(gè)與之緊密相關(guān)的理論將戲劇的起源追溯至舞蹈，這些舞蹈大體上是有節(jié)奏感的和 ?? 體操 式的那一類，或者是對動物動作和聲音的模仿。 06 Television Television the most pervasive and persuasive of modern technologies, marked by rapid change and growth is moving into a new era, an era of extraordinary sophistication and versatility, which promises to reshape our lives and our world. It is an electronic revolution of sorts, made possible by the marriage of television and puter word television, derived from its Greek (tele: distant) and Latin (visio: sight) roots, can literally be interpreted as sight from a distance. Very simply put, it works in this way: through a sophisticated system of elec