199. "Truly innovative ideas do not arise from groups of people, but from individuals. When groups try to be creative, the members force each other to compromise and, as a result, creative ideas tend to be weakened and made more conventional. Most original ideas arise from individuals working alone."
真正有创意的想法并非来自于群体而是来自于个人。当群体试图创新的时候，它的成员之间会被迫相互妥协，结果就是新想法趋于弱化而更接近于传统。大部分新想法都是来自于独立工作的个人。
少数和多数之新创意
Original ideas may arise from individuals working alone as well as from groups of people working together.
1. It is true that individual thinkers or scientists working alone formulated many original ideas in history.
2. However, one should see that those great individuals actually benefited a lot from the work either of his contemporaries or of the people before their time.
3. While members of a group might force each other to compromise, it is also true that they may inspire and enlighten each other.
206. "People are too quick to take action; instead they should stop to think of the possible consequences of what they might do."
人们现在太急于采取行动，实际上人们应该先停下来考虑一下他们这么做可能导致的结果。
It is always wise to think twice before you act.
1. More haste, less speed.
2. It might not be too difficult to persuade people to consider the possible impacts of their actions on themselves.
3. People should also think of the impacts of their actions on other people.
现在和将来之思维和行动
208. "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."
人们的眼神、穿着和动作都揭示了他们的态度和兴趣。你可以透过观察一个社会中人们的外貌和举止来认识该社会的理念和价值观。
1. Turning first to the way people look and dress, certain aspects of the outward appearance of a culture’s people do inform us of their ideas, attitudes and values.
2. The habits, rituals and lifestyles of a culture often do provide accurate signals about its values.
3. Finally, the statement overlooks a crucial distinction between free societies and oppressed ones.
以小见大
209. "Progress is best made through discussion among people who have contrasting points of view."
进步最好是在人们各抒己见的讨论中达成的。
In all realms of human endeavor, including the behavior and natural sciences as well as government and law, debate and disagreement form the foundation for progress.
1. Regarding the physical sciences, our scientific method is essentially a call for progress through opposition.
2. The nature-nurture debate will continue to serve as a catalyst for progress across the entire social spectrum.
3. History informs us of the chilling effect suppression of free discourse and debate can have on progress.
统一和分歧之进步
210. "Most people choose a career on the basis of such pragmatic considerations as the needs of the economy, the relative ease of finding a job, and the salary they can expect to make. Hardly anyone is free to choose a career based on his or her natural talents or interest in a particular kind of work."
大多数人选择职业是基于很实际的考虑：经济需求、找工作简单、高薪水。很难得有人能从自己的潜质和兴趣出发去自由的寻找一份特定的工作。
Although practical considerations often play a significant role in occupational trends, ultimately the driving forces behind people’s career decisions are individual interest and ability.
1. At first glance the balance of empirical evidence would seem to lend considerable credence to the speaker’s claim
2. However, upon further reflection it becomes clear that the relationship between career seekers and the supply of careers is an interdependent one, and therefore it is unfair to generalize about which one drives the other.
3. Another compelling argument against the speaker’s claim has to do with the myriad of ways in which people earn their living.
211. "Any decision-whether made by government, by a corporation, or by an individual person-must take into account future conditions more than present conditions."
任何一个决定，无论它来自政府、公司还是个人，都必须更多地考虑将来的情况而不是现在的情况。
We should take into account both future and present conditions when we make a decision.
1. Any decision that does not take into account future conditions will become obsolete as time goes by.
2. We should know that fact that nobody can foretell exactly what will happen in the future.
3. Meanwhile, if we ignore the present conditions, our decision will not work at all.
当务之急和百年大计之决定
212. "If a goal is worthy, then any means taken to attain it is justifiable."
只要值得，不择手段达到目的是合理的。
Although the idealist way is to achieve the noblest goal through the noblest means, in reality we sometimes have to resort to low means in order to attain high goals.
1. Theoretically, the means taken should be consistent with the ends in view.
2. However, in order to restore peace and social order, individuals states or the international community has repeatedly used force in history.
3. We should be alert to the possibility that individuals, organizations or government tend to plead a worthy goal in excuse of their contemptible means and private interests.
216. "Most important discoveries or creations are accidental: it is usually while seeking the answer to one question that we come across the answer to another."
最重要的发现或是创造都是偶然的：在我们为一个问题寻求答案的时候，通常通过这个答案获得另外的收获。
1. Turning first to discoveries, I agree that discovery often occurs when we unexpectedly happen upon something in our quest for something else—such as an answer to unrelated question or a solution to an unrelated problem.
2. Many important discoveries are anticipated and sought out purposefully.
3. In marked contrast to discoveries, creations are by nature products of their creator’s purposeful designs.
225. "People often look for similarities, even between very different things, and even when it is unhelpful or harmful to do so. Instead, a thing should be considered on its own terms; we should avoid the tendency to compare it to something else."
人们总是在寻找相同点，即使是在非常不同的事物间也不例外，甚至有时候这样做是无用乃至有害的。实际上，我们应该具体问题具体分析;我们应该尽量避免比较的倾向。
1. I agree with the speaker insofar as insisting on find similarities between things can often result in unfair, and sometimes harmful, comparison.
2. We should be especially careful when looking for similarities between people.
3. The speaker goes too far—by overlooking a fundamental, even philosophical, reason why we should always look for similarities between things.
分歧和统一
226. "People are mistaken when they assume that the problems they confront are more complex and challenging than the problems faced by their predecessors. This illusion is eventually dispelled with increased knowledge and experience."
人们总是错误地认为自己面临的问题要比前人来得更复杂和更具有挑战性。不断增加的知识和经验最终消除这种假象。
现在和过去
1. The speaker overlooks certain societal problems unique to today’s world, which are complex and challenging in ways unlike any problems that earlier societies ever faced.
2. However, humans face certain universal and timeless problems, which are neither more nor less complex and challenging for any generation than for preceding ones.
231. " 'Moderation in all things' is ill-considered advice. Rather, one should say, 'Moderation in most things,' since many areas of human concern require or at least profit from intense focus."
“做任何事都要适度”这句话是欠考虑的。更确切的说，我们应该“对大多数事情都要适度”，因为人类在很多领域中遇到的问题都需要全力以赴(解决)，或者至少会从中获益。
1. The virtues of moderation are undeniable. Moderation in all things affords us the time and energy to sample more of what life and world have to offer. In contrast, lack of moderation leads to a life out of balance.
2. Having acknowledged the wisdom of the old adage, I nevertheless agree that under some circumstances, and for some people, abandoning moderation might be well justified.
度的问题
234. "Most people prefer restrictions and regulations to absolute freedom of choice, although they would probably deny such a preference."
大多数人更喜欢约束和规则，而不是绝对自由的选择权，尽管他们可能会否认这样的倾向。
1. History informs us that attempts to quell basic individuals freedoms—of expression, of opinion and belief, and to come and go as we please—invariably fail; however, reasonable constraints on freedom are needed to protect freedom—and to prevent a society from devolving into a state of anarchy where life is short and brutish.
2. Our preference for constraining our own freedom of choice is evident on societal level as well as on individual level.
自由和约束
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