1.Porpoises
Porpoises（海豚）一文的作者Ralph Nading Hill是美国作家以及环境保护主义者，这篇文章选自他的书籍Window in the sea，Porpoises属于典型的科普文章：通俗易懂，没有太多的文化背景知识。这篇主要对海豚的一些生活习性做介绍。
文章里面有这样一句话：
Whether it be bird, fish or beast, the porpoise is intrigued with anything that is alive. They are constantly after the turtles, who peacefully submit to all sorts of indignities.
上面这个句子中whether it be是一个很古典的用法，it在这里是指后面的anything that is alive，be则是一个虚拟语气用法，如果将whether it be bird, fish or beast 改为whether it is bird, fish or beast也是可以的，但在语气上就没有whether it be那么古典正式。事实上，whether it be这个用法在新四中多次出现，在第26课The past life of the earth也有一个例子：
After all, all living creatures live by feeding on something else, whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive, and it is only by chance that such a fate is avoided.
Whether it be plant or animal 这里it指代的是前面的something else，另外后面的…and it is only by chance that …为强调句，强调的是by chance，还原后是：…and such a fate is avoided only by chance.
在写作中可以用whether it be来对一些可能的情况进行列举，例如：
Due to the generation gap, young adults are often at odds with older generations over everyday matters, whether it be hairstyles or taste in music.
2.The ‘Vasa’
The ‘Vasa’ （瓦萨号）是以瑞典瓦萨王朝创始人Gustavus Vasa的姓氏命名的一艘战船，瓦萨号建造时瑞典正处于最强盛的时期，但这艘船却在首航中很离奇地沉没在斯德哥尔摩港口。新概念4这篇文章正是对这一事件的描写。文章的用词很生动华丽，一些修辞手法也值得我们借鉴：
As she emerged from her drifting cloud of gun smoke with the water churned to foam beneath her bow, her flags flying, pennants waving, sails filling in the breeze, and the red and gold of her superstructure ablaze with color, she presented a more majestic spectacle than Stockholmers had ever seen before.
上面句子描写的是瓦萨号刚起航时的壮观场面，对此作者采用了排比的手法，连用with the water churned to foam beneath her bow, (with) her flags flying, (with her) pennants waving, (with her) sails filling in the breeze, (with) the red and gold of her superstructure ablaze with color 这五个独立主格结构来描述这一气势磅礴的场景。
句子的用词也很有画面感，比如as she emerged from her drifting cloud of gun smoke，这里用drifting来表现礼炮烟云四处弥漫的状态。the water churned to foam beneath her bow，foam作为名词时是指“泡沫”，这里采用其动词含义“起泡沫”，准确地描绘了船头下白浪四溅的场景。the red and gold of her superstructure ablaze with color，ablaze一词常用来指某事物色彩缤纷，例如：Her yard was ablaze with summer flowers. 她院子里夏季的鲜花五彩缤纷。用在这里指瓦萨号的船楼金碧辉煌非常贴切。
值得注意的一点是，作者在指瓦萨号时用的是’she’，这其实是一种经常在文学作品中出现的手法：用she来指船只，国家或者汽车。新概念3有一篇文章Five pounds too dear，里面也用到了这种手法：
Small boats loaded with wares sped to the great liner as she was entering the harbour. Before she had anchored, the men from the boats had climbed on board and the decks were soon covered with colourful rugs from Persia, silks from India, copper coffee pots, and beautiful handmade silverware.
3.Hobbies
新四不少文章富有人文关怀，而Hobbies一文就是典型代表。这篇文章是丘吉尔关于人类兴趣爱好的随笔，文中有不少内容其实也是其人生经历的反映，比如：
To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: ‘I will take an interest in this or that.’ Such an attempt only aggravate the strain of mental effort.
人应该培养一到两门真正的兴趣，这样才能过一个积极而有意义的人生，这样人到晚年精神才有所依托。绘画是丘吉尔平生最大的兴趣之一，他一生的作品包括逾570件画作和两件雕塑，英国皇家戏剧艺术学院还向他颁赠过证书。这一兴趣也使丘吉尔得以在繁忙的政治生活之外找到精神寄托，让他在屡次受挫，数次落选之后还能保持淡定的心境。（关于丘吉尔的更多介绍可见为什么你需要去读一读丘吉尔的演讲稿？）
对于兴趣的培养，丘吉尔用了一个很巧妙的比喻：
The growth of alternative mental interest is a long process. The seeds must be carefully chosen; the must fall on good ground; they must be sedulously tended, if the vivifying fruits are to be at hand when needed.
这里将兴趣的培养过程比作植物的生长过程：精选良种，植入肥沃的土地，还需要精心护理。对应到兴趣的培养即认真挑选要发展的兴趣，并且提供能让兴趣发展的条件，比如时间和精力等。
在文中作者还提到，大部分人工作是工作，娱乐和娱乐，而对于另外一部分人来说，工作和娱乐是一回事实用口语英语句子摘抄，这些人是命运的宠儿：
Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays, when they come, are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation.
而达到这样一种状态的方式就如同作者说的：It is no use doing what you like; you have got to like what you do. （干你所喜欢的事是没有用的，你得喜欢你所干的事）。
关于兴趣爱好作者在文中还有很多经典论述实用口语英语句子摘抄，推荐各位精读全文。
4.The modern city
The modern city的作者是法国著名外科医生Alexis Carrel（同时他也是1912年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖获得者），新四的这篇文章选自他的书籍Man, the Unknown，书中主要讨论了现代社会面临的主要问题以及作者对此的解决方案。
在The modern city一文中他列举了大城市带来的一系列问题，比如缺乏人文关怀、空气和噪音污染、过度拥挤等等。其中有这样的句子：
The modern city consists of monstrous edifices and of dark, narrow streets full of petrol fumes and toxic gases, torn by the noise of the taxicabs, lorries and buses, and thronged ceaselessly by great crowds. Obviously, it has not been planned for the good of its inhabitants.
大得吓人的高楼和阴暗狭窄的街道组成了今日现代化的城市。街道上充斥着汽油味和有毒气体，出租汽车、卡车和公共汽车的噪音刺耳难忍，络绎不绝的人群挤来挤去。显然，现代化的城市不是为居民的利益而规划的。
第一个长句中torn by…buses以及thronged…crowds是过去分词作定语修饰前面的streets，句子用了一系列形容词和动词来说明城市存在的各种问题：monstrous edifices，dark, narrow streets，torn by the noise，thronged ceaselessly by great crowds，从这里的用词也可以很明显地看出作者对大城市的感情，比如monstrous一词虽然可以用来形容物体巨大，但它通常带有贬义，例如： a monstrous copper edifice 又大又难看的铜制建筑物，如果我们想要表达“大厦宏伟壮观”这一积极含义，就不能说a monstrous edifice，而要说an imposing edifice
此外，throng一词在这里用得很准，它作名词时是指“一大群人”，作为动词时则是指“（人群）蜂拥，挤满”（thronged在这里的动词用法也正好与前面的torn保持一致），例如：Tourists thronged the bars and restaurants. 游客挤满酒吧和餐馆。
如果将原文改为：
The modern city consists of monstrous edifices and of dark, narrow streets full of petrol fumes and toxic gases, torn by the noise of the taxicabs, lorries and buses, and full of great crowds.
句子读起来显然没有原句生动。
5.Snake poison
Snake poison是一篇科普短文，文章节选自英国作家John Battersby Crompton Lamburn的书籍The snake，Snake poison主要对蛇毒进行介绍。文章开头有这样两句话：
How it came about that snakes manufactured poison is a mystery. Over the periods their saliva, a mild, digestive juice like our own, was converted into a poison thatdefies analysis even today.
蛇是怎样产生毒液的，这是一个谜。蛇的唾液本来和我们人的消化液一样柔和，但经过漫长的时间演变成了今天仍无法分析清楚的毒液。
第二句中a mild, digestive juice like our own是作为名词saliva的同位语实用口语英语句子摘抄，a poison that defies analysis even today其中that引导定语从句，修饰a poison（poison在此处是可数名词，表示“具体的某种毒液”，句子前面还出现了 manufactured poison 的说法，这里poison则是不可数名词，泛指“毒液”）
句子后面的defy analysis这个说法很有意思。Defy原本的意思是“向……挑战，反抗”，a poison defies analysis表面意思是“毒液向分析挑战”，引申为“毒液无法被分析清楚”。类似的我们还可以说defy description/explanation，例如：The beauty of the scene defies description. 这里风景优美，无法形容。
这里defy的主语是物新概念英语教材中的精美语段，快来摘抄打印，而不是人，英语中类似这样的用法还有不少。举个例子，“她未能获得金牌”怎么说？你可能会想到：
She failed to win the gold medal.
但其实还可以说：
The gold medal eluded her.
又比如“他内心充满了胜利感”，可以说：
He felt a sense of victory.
但也可以用victory作为主语：
Victory filled him.
使用物而不是人作为主语有时候会使得句子更加简洁生动，同学们平时在阅读时可以多留意此类用法。
6.Knowledge and progress
Knowledge and progress一文出自英国数学家和物理学家George Nugent Merle Tyrrell之手，这是一篇思辨性很强的文章，主要讨论了知识和进步之间的关系。从几万年前到现在，人类的智商并没有经历很大变化，为什么科技的发展会如此之快？这是因为语言和文字的出现使得知识得以被传播和储存，进而产生了知识积累的复利效应：
Libraries made education possible, and education in its turn added to libraries: the growth of knowledge followed a kind of compound interest law, which was greatly enhanced by the invention of printing.
Libraries在这里并不是指图书馆，而是指“藏书”（a collection of books），即：藏书使教育成为可能，而教育反过来又丰富了藏书。对于知识的的增长，作者用了一个经济学概念：compound interest law，复利法则，又称为雪球效应，即以本金加上未付的利息为基数计算的利息，增长速度很快。
作者用这个概念能够很形象地说明知识的增长速度之快。
对于人类飞速增长的知识，作者还提出了一个隐忧：知识是一把双刃剑，可以用来造福，也可以用来危害，但现在人们正漫不经心地把知识用于这两方面：
As is so often pointed out, knowledge is a two-edged weapon which can be used equally for good or evil. It is now being used indifferently for both.
上面第一个句子中as作为关系代词，指代knowledge is a…or evil这一整句话。Something is a two-edged weapon which can be used equally for good or evil. 是一个很经典的句式，可以用来描述具有两面性的事物，例如the internet/nuclear technology/genetic engineering等等，写作时可以灵活应用。
最后作者提出了自己的观点：
We have to ask ourselves very seriously what will happen if this twofold use of knowledge, with its ever-increasing power, continues.
我们必须严肃对待这些日益增长的知识，在应用时保持谨慎，否则会产生意想不到的严重后果。
