10个完全错误的“常识”：英语精读讲义

Number 10:

第10名：

The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space.

中国长城是唯一能从太空中看到的人造物。

To see something on Earth from space, it would have to be pretty big, 語法

想从太空中看到地球上的东西，它得足够大才行，

which the Great Wall of China,

而中国长城，

all 5,000 mi of it, certainly is.

全长5000英里，肯定算得上。

But it's only 30 ft across at its widest. 短語搭配

但它最宽处也只有30英尺。

Here's a photo taken from the International Space Station 200 mi above Earth.

这是一张从地球上方200英里的国际空间站拍摄的照片。

Can you spot the Great Wall amid the mountaintops?

你能在群山中找到长城吗？

Here, right?

在这儿，对吧？

No, that's a river.

不，那是一条河。

The wall is actually here.

长城其实在这里。

Even if you guessed the right lines by pure luck, 講解

就算你纯凭运气猜对了位置，

this photo was taken with a zoom lens.

这张照片也是用长焦镜头拍的。

So from the window of the International Space Station,

所以从国际空间站的窗户看出去，

it would look more like this,

它其实更像这样，

which pretty clearly makes the Great Wall count as not visible. 短語搭配

这很明显说明长城根本看不见。

As for the man-made part of this misconception, 表達脈絡

至于这个谬论中“人造”的部分，

our glorious man-made cities blasting light into the void certainly are visible. 習語

我们人类建造的光芒四射的城市在太空中绝对是可见的。

Number 9:

第9名：

Cracking your knuckles causes arthritis. 短語搭配

掰手指关节会导致关节炎。

Socially obnoxious?

这种行为招人烦吗？

Yes.

是的。

Gives you arthritis later in life as karmic punishment? 短語搭配

会像因果报应一样让你晚年得关节炎吗？

No.

不会。

Number 8:

第8名：

People only use 10% of their brain.

人类只使用了大脑的10%。

If you haven't seen a medical drama in the past,

如果你过去没看过医疗剧，

oh, 30 years,

呃，大概30年来都没看过，

you might not be aware that doctors now have machines that can see inside people's brains.

你可能不知道，现在的医生已经有能看清人大脑内部的仪器了。

And, contrary to popular belief, 表達脈絡

而且，与大众的认知相反，

90% of the neurons don't sit around all day doing nothing. 短語動詞

剩下的90%神经元并没有整天无所事事。

While scientists don't yet know exactly what each part does, 表達脈絡

虽然科学家还没完全弄清楚每个部分具体是干什么的，

they do know that all the bits matter. 語法

但他们确信每个部分都很重要。

So if you think that someone could scoop out 90% of your brain and you'd still be just fine, 短語動詞

所以如果你觉得有人挖掉你90%的大脑你还能好好的，

then perhaps you really only do use 10% of it. 語氣意圖

那也许你真的只用了大脑的10%。

Number 7:

第7名：

Eskimos have hundreds of words for snow.

爱斯基摩人有几百个词来形容雪。

This one is technically correct, 表達脈絡

这个说法严格来说是对的，

but misleading.

但有误导性。

Some languages,

有些语言，

such as German,

比如德语，

like to make compound words by running several smaller ones together, 短語動詞

喜欢把几个小词连在一起造出复合词，

which is why German words are sometimes absurdly long.

这也是为什么德语单词有时候长得离谱。

Inuit languages use compound words as well,

因纽特语也使用复合词，

so rather than say yellow snow, 語法

所以他们不会说“黄色的雪”（yellow snow），

as you would in English,

像英语那样，

an Inuit speaker combines the two words into one.

而是把这两个词拼成一个词。

But it's not really a new word, 表達脈絡

但这算不上是一个新词，

just a quirk of grammar.

只是语法上的一个小特点。

So technically Eskimos do have hundreds of ways to describe snow,

所以严格来说，爱斯基摩人确实有几百种描述雪的方法，

but then so does every language. 語法

但所有语言其实都能做到。

Number 6:

第6名：

You need eight glasses of water a day.

你每天需要喝八杯水。

While doubtless some people would benefit from drinking more water and drinking less crap, 短語搭配

毫无疑问，多喝水少喝垃圾饮料对某些人肯定有好处，

there's no scientific evidence that eight glasses of water a day is the required amount 短語搭配

但并没有科学证据表明每天八杯水是必需的量，

and some evidence that it might be too much. 語法

反而有证据表明这可能喝得太多了。

And while we're talking about water, 表達脈絡

既然说到了水，

number 5:

第5名：

Tap water is bad,

自来水不好，

but bottled water is good.

但瓶装水好。

If you live in a paradise free from government regulations,

如果你住在一个没有政府监管的“天堂”，

like say Somalia,

比如说索马里，

then you might have good reason to prefer bottled water over tap. 短語搭配

那你确实有充分的理由偏爱瓶装水而不是自来水。

But modern functioning countries have something called health regulations,

但现代正常运转的国家都有所谓的卫生法规，

which cover both kinds of water.

这涵盖了两种水。

Also,

另外，

water is extremely dense,

水的密度很大，

making transporting it from those pristine mountaintops and glaciers enormously expensive, 語法

要从那些原始的山顶和冰川运水过来成本极高，

which is why bottled water companies don't bother. 短語搭配

这也是为什么瓶装水公司根本懒得这么干。

Bottled water is often just local tap water with a fancy label and an enormous markup. 用詞

瓶装水通常只是贴了漂亮标签、价格翻了好几倍的当地自来水。

Number 4:

第4名：

Gum takes 7 years to pass through your digestive system. 語法

口香糖需要7年才能从消化系统排出。

This is pretty easy to disprove yourself,

这个说法很容易自己去证伪，

but it's understandable why most people don't try the experiment. 語法

不过大多数人不愿去亲自实验也是可以理解的。

Number 3:

第3名：

Blood in your veins is blue.

你的静脉血是蓝色的。

The idea here is that blood in veins is blue

这种观点的理由是，静脉里的血是蓝色的，

and it only turns red when exposed to the oxygen in the air. 語法

只有接触到空气中的氧气才会变成红色。

Thinking this isn't unreasonable.

这么想并非毫无道理。

After all, 表達脈絡

毕竟，

your veins look blue and medical diagrams show arteries as red and veins as blue, 語法

你的静脉看起来是蓝色的，而且医学图表上也把动脉画成红色，静脉画成蓝色，

but it's the same mistake as thinking that Mountain Dew is green because it's in a green bottle. 語法

但这就像因为Mountain Dew（激浪）装在绿瓶子里就认为它是绿色的一样，犯了同样的错误。

Pour it out and you discover that Mountain Dew is really piss yellow,

倒出来你就会发现Mountain Dew其实是尿黄色的，

which is probably why it's in a green bottle to begin with. 短語搭配

这可能也是它一开始要装在绿瓶子里的原因。

The next time you get blood withdrawn from a vein, 語法

下次你抽静脉血的时候，

take a look.

仔细看看。

What color is it?

是什么颜色的？

Red.

红色的。

How much oxygen is inside a good syringe?

一个好注射器里有多少氧气？

None.

一点也没有。

Unless you're a horseshoe crab or Plavalaguna, 講解

除非你是鲎或者是Plavalaguna，

your blood isn't blue.

否则你的血绝对不是蓝色的。

Number 2:

第2名：

Fan death. 文化背景

电风扇致死。

This misconception is a specialty of South Korea.

这个谬论是韩国的特产。

Here,

在那里，

the belief is that if you spend too much time with a rotating fan in a confined space,

人们认为如果你在密闭空间里和一台转动的电风扇待太久，

it will use up all your oxygen and you'll asphyxiate to death. 短語動詞

它会耗尽你所有的氧气，让你窒息而死。

Exactly how the fan, 表達脈絡

至于电风扇，

made of a lifeless anaerobic plastic,

一个毫无生命、不需要氧气的塑料机器，

competes for your oxygen is unclear,

到底是怎么跟你抢氧气的还真不清楚，

but hilariously South Korean fan manufacturers,

但好笑的是，韩国的电风扇制造商，

who surely must know better, 語氣意圖

他们肯定心知肚明，

include timers on fans to prevent them from running too long. 語法

却还是在电风扇上加了定时器以防止运转太久。

Number 1:

第1名：

People swallow eight spiders a year while sleeping. 語法

人在睡觉时每年会吞下八只蜘蛛。

Supposedly, 表達脈絡

据说，

while you're in bed helplessly unconscious with your gob wide open, 用詞

当你躺在床上、毫无防备地失去意识、张着大嘴时，

each year eight spiders find their way into your mouth 短語搭配

每年会有八只蜘蛛溜进你的嘴里，

and you reflexively swallow them.

然后你就不自觉地把它们吞了下去。

This is plainly ridiculous.

这简直荒谬透顶。

Spiders love warm,

蜘蛛喜欢温暖、

moist places,

潮湿的地方，

so eight is far too low an estimate. 語氣意圖

所以每年八只这个估计也太低了吧。