新版《新概念英语》新在何处？

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新版《新概念英语》新在何处？
97年版《新概念英语》与85年版相比，新在何处？


（1）战争的历史痕迹被无声抹去了
85版第2课中“The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was damaged during the war and has been silent ever since”变成了“The big clock which used to strike the hours day and night was damaged many years ago and has been silent ever since.”

（2）通讯、娱乐工具变了
85版第5课中用“telegram”沟通，到了97版中已经更新换代成“FAX”了。第38课中的“gramophone records, and magnetic tapes”升级为“videos, CDs and CD-ROMS”。第46课中的“Some really keen enthusiasts go so far as to build their own record players and radio transmitters”也改行组装“their own computers”了。

（3）老文章也与“时”俱进了
第18课中，“Some so-called ‘modern’ pieces have been on display for nearly fifty years. ”在97版，改成了“Eighty years”，看来，也仅仅是与“时”俱进而已。日后在新版，还会再改不？

（4） Titanic重量变了
85版第10课中Titanic是“66,000 Ton”, 到了97版中Titanic是“46,000 Ton”。经WIKI核实，后者更接近实际重量“46,328吨”。看来经典，在首版时也是有难免瑕疵的。

（5）物价上涨了
85版第15课中的“SIX PENCE”能买一个“SATISFYING bar of chocolate”的美好时代一去不复返了（Six pence is a small price to pay for a satisfying bar of chocolate.），97年版中是需要“fifty pence” 才能买到“a nice big bar of chocolate”（fifty pence is a small price to pay for a nice big bar of chocolate.）。而且chocolate满意度可能也无法保证了，故编者删去了“SATISFYING”一词。
同样，上涨在还有房价，85版第45课中的“The old farmhouse the family lived in was to be replaced by a new $100,000 home.”在97版上也上涨为“The old farmhouse the family lived in was to be replaced by a new $500,000 home.”了。

（6） 奢侈消费的喜好变了
原本是动辄去EXPENSIVE SHOP购买“FUR COAT”的顾客，现在变成“DIAMOND”或者“WATCH”的粉丝了。如第31课“A lovable eccentric” 中，“FUR COAT” 改成“WATCH”，结果反而是弄巧成拙，具体参阅下文。近日和老婆开玩笑时提起，“你和我老妈的区别，就是两个版本新概念的区别，你是动辄DIAMOND，她是动辄FUR COAT”。

（7）世界记录也改名了
85版中第17课， “The Greatest Bridge in the World”改成了“The longest suspension bridge in the world”。

（7） 一些细节，用心良苦

比如第30课中，85版是"Eric had been the eldest son of the family", 97版中此话后加了半句话“very much older than his two brothers”，根据上下文判断没有增加此句的必要，初步判断这是编者为了让大家区别“eld”和“old”而设。

97版新概念同时也存在以下问题

（1）中文翻译，有待商榷
97NCE3 3中，”hands rested on her hips”的翻译可能是避免让人想入非非吧，翻译成了“双手叉腰”，而根据原文与插图，这翻译显然与原文不符，应为“手著于臀”。
 


（2）删改原文，弄巧成拙
原版的新概念课文与插图两者是精心编排、相映成趣的整体。编者应该没有注意到这点，所以在单单地删改文章之后，结果便出现“图不符文”的怪象。
如课31课“A lovable eccentric” 中，“FUR COAT” 改成“WATCH”，结果反而是弄巧成拙，因为插图中的DICKIE在购物后是还抱着一个大纸箱得意而去，而非一个精致的装手表的小纸箱。
 

如第49课“The ideal servant”中，把“Though this occasioned great mirth among”改成“Though this caused great mirth among the guests”反而与插图中的内容矛盾。
 

还有删节得令原文支离破碎的。
第45课，The day after the birth of the five children, an aeroplane arrived in Aberdeen bringing sixty reporters and photographers. 之后删节了“The news was of national importance, for the poor couple had become the parents of the only quintuplets in America. ”
Reporters kept pressing for interviews so lawyers had to be employed to act as spokesmen for the family at press conferences.之后删节了“The event brought serious changes to the town itself. Plans were announced to build a huge new highway, as Aberdeen was now likely to attract thousands of tourists. Signposts erected on the outskirts of the town directed tourists not to Aberdeen, but to ‘Quint-City U.S.A.’ The local authorities discussed the possibility of erecting a ‘quint museum’ to satisfy the curiosity of the public and to protect the family from inquisitive tourists.”
They had become the victims of commercialization, for their names had acquired a market value. 之后删节了“The town itself received so much attention that almost everyone of the inhabitants was affected to a greater or less degree. ”
个人以为所有被删节内容对理解原文是至关重要的。

（3）拼写错误，赫然在目
第38课课文题目为“The first calender”，显然“calender”为“calendar”之误。

（4）少数内容，让人费解
如97版 Lesson 51 Predicting the future 中“Mainframe computers were very large indeed, often occupying whole air-conditioned rooms, employing full-time technicians and run on specially-written software.”的“run”让人感觉时态错乱，不如用”ran”。
还有，Lesson 50 New Year resolutions 中“slip back into our bad old ways.”“got back to my old bad habit”并存也让人费解，如果严格根据英语形容词顺序的话，”old””bad”在两个句子中的排序排序应该是一样的。