136. Individualism was unheard of a short 30-odd years ago during the tumultuous Cultural Revolution. Things have changed today , however ,with color returning to the streets of Chinese streets, people gaining a greater degree of self-determination and reform yielding monumental changes in traditional practices.人們?cè)谌嗄昵盎靵y的文化大革命時(shí)期沒(méi)有聽說(shuō)過(guò)個(gè)人主義。然而，今天的情況不同了，中國(guó)的街道上又恢復(fù)了色彩，人們獲得了更大的自主，改革帶來(lái)了傳統(tǒng)方式的巨變。
137. Social inequities of the past are rapidly giving way to expanded social consciousness.
過(guò)去社會(huì)的不公平正在被擴(kuò)大的社會(huì)覺悟迅速取代。
138. Many claim that the world's highly developed countries bear sole responsibility for the plight of less-developed nations. I seriously doubt their contentions will bear the brunt of close scrutiny.許多人聲稱世界上最發(fā)達(dá)的國(guó)家應(yīng)該對(duì)欠發(fā)達(dá)國(guó)家的困境承擔(dān)全權(quán)責(zé)任。我非常懷疑他們的觀點(diǎn)能經(jīng)受住仔細(xì)審查的沖擊。
139. Although media reports expound on the volume of scientific and technological achievements, recent surveys indicate that the rapidity of transforming same into productive forces leaves much to be desired.雖然媒體詳細(xì)報(bào)道大量的科技成就，但是，最近的調(diào)查顯示，把它們迅速轉(zhuǎn)化為生產(chǎn)力還需要做出很多努力。
140. The popular belief in the invincibility of man is constantly rebuked by revaluations of man's fallibility.認(rèn)為人類無(wú)敵的普遍看法經(jīng)常遭到重新評(píng)價(jià)人類易犯錯(cuò)誤的特點(diǎn)的非難。

141. While the inclination to procrastinate is common, one must fully consider the detrimental impact of unnecessary delays.雖然拖延的傾向是普遍的，但是人們應(yīng)該充分考慮到不必要的延誤造成的有害影響。
142. The tendency to take things for granted is understandable, but the need for one to rationally evaluate the circumstances of any situation is absolutely essential.想當(dāng)然的傾向是可以理解的，但是，理智地估計(jì)任何情形的情況是完全必需的。
143. Most people are under the illusion that a college degree guarantees success. There is no such guarantee without hard work.許多人錯(cuò)誤地認(rèn)為大學(xué)學(xué)位能保證成功。不努力工作就沒(méi)有這樣的保證。
144. Some stubbornly hold to the correctness of traditional practices, but in so doing they seem to totally ignore the fact that progress depends on change.一些人固執(zhí)地堅(jiān)持傳統(tǒng)做法的正確性，但是，他們這么做，似乎完全忽視了進(jìn)步依靠變化的事實(shí)。
145. Generally speaking, previous parliamentary policy debates ignored the relevance of transparency.總的來(lái)說(shuō)，以前議會(huì)中針對(duì)政策的辯論忽視了透明度的重要性。
146. A precise definition of poverty is actually very difficult to determine. Where does one draw the line between those who are poor and those who are not?對(duì)貧困的精確定義實(shí)際上是很難的。如何在貧窮和非貧窮的人之間劃一條界限呢？
147. Admittedly , bribery and corruption are endemic to our political and economic systems, but it doesn't necessarily follow that all politicians and business people resort to illicit behavior.誠(chéng)然，賄賂和腐敗在我們的政治和經(jīng)濟(jì)系統(tǒng)中很流行，但這并不是說(shuō)所有的政府官員和商界人士都采取違法行為。
148. There's little doubt that a third World War is avoidable, but it is highly unlikely that regional conflicts will disappear in the foreseeable future.毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)，是可以避免的，但是，在可預(yù)見的將來(lái)地區(qū)沖突消失是非常不可能的。
149. Some people assume that investing in stock is a safe pursuit, but their assumption fails to hold water when considering the substantial risk involved.有的人想當(dāng)然地認(rèn)為投資股票是有把握的事情，但是，考慮到涉及的巨大風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，他們的想當(dāng)然就說(shuō)不通了。
150. Some people have called for accelerated across-the-board changes. Their approach quite frankly ignores the need for gradual but effective changes.一些人要求更快速的全盤改變。他們的做法的確忽略了漸進(jìn)而有效的改變的必要性。