At present the EEC spends about $2.6 millions a year on solar research at Ispra, one of the EEC’s official joint research centres, and another 3 millions a year in indirect research with universities and other independent bodies.
Passage Four
The black robin （知更鸟）is one of the world’s rarest birds. It is a small, wild bird, and it lives only on the island of Little Mangere, off the coast of New Zealand. In 1967 there were about 50 black robins there; in 1977 there were fewer than ten. These are the only black robins left in the world. The island has many other birds, of course, of different kinds, large and small; they seem to multiply very happily.
Energetic（有力的，积极的）steps are being taken to preserve the black robin-to guard those remaining and to increase their number. Detailed studies are going on, and a public appeal for money has been made. The idea is to buy another island nearby as a special home, a “reserve”, for threatened wild life, including black robins. The organizers say that Little Mangere should then be restocked with the robin’s food-it eats only one kind of seed-and so renewed for it. Thousands of the required plants are at present being cultivated in New Zealand. The public appeal is aimed at the conscience of mankind, so that the wild black robin willl not die out and disappear from the earth in our time at least.
In the earth’s long, long past hundreds of kinds of creatures have evolved, risen to a degree of success-and died out. In the long, long future there will be many new and different forms of life. Those creatures that adapt themselves successfully to what the earth offers will survive for a long time. Those that fail to meet the challenges will disappear early. That is Nature’s proven method of operation.
The rule of selection-“the survival of the fittest” is the one by which man has himself arrived on the scene.
Life seems to have grown too tough for black robins.
参考译文:
1. 时装设计者很少关心衣服的暖和、舒服、耐用这些至关重要的问题。设计者在只对衣服的外观感兴趣的同时，利用了这样一个事实：即女人只要（穿上衣服）显得好看，就会忍受任何巨大的不舒适。
2. 巴帕萨克推断，根本不是光源信号点使这些婴儿感到欣喜，而是在解决难题、掌握技巧中所取得的成功令他们高兴，因而断定人类具有认识世界和有意识地控制世界的基本欲望。
3. 但他说，随着欧共体对这一研究工作所提供的资金数量在现有基础上适度增加，这种能源的供给在下一个十年后期是有可能取得突破的。
4. 那些能成功地适应地球所给予的一切的生物将长久地生存下来。那些不能适应生活挑战的生物在世界上将会很快灭绝。这是被证实了的大自然运行的方法。
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