第一篇：英文五十篇美文賞析

五十篇美文賞析

Passage 1

Internet May Cause Depression Internet use appears to cause a decline in psychological well-being, according to research at Carnegie Mellon University.Even people who spent just a few hours a week on the Internet experienced more depression and loneliness than those who logged on less frequently, the two-year study showed.And it wasn’t that people who were already feeling bad spent more time on the Internet, but that using the Net actually appeared to cause the bad feelings.Researchers are puzzling over the results, which were completely contrary to their expectations.They expected that the Net would prove socially healthier than television, since the Net allows users to choose their information and to communicate with others.The fact that Internet use reduces time available for family and friends may account for the drop in well-being, researchers hypothesized.Faceless, bodiless ―virtual‖ relationships formed through it may be shallower.Another possibility is that exposure to the wider world via the Net makes users less satisfied with their lives.―But it’s important to remember this is not about the technology;it’s about how it is used‖, says psychologist Christine Riley of Intel, one of the study’s sponsors.―It really points to the need for considering social factors in terms of how you design applications and services for technology.‖

Passage 2

Message from the Sea In 1956 a young sailor at sea was feeling very far from his family and friends.He wrote a note and put it into a bottle.Then he closed the bottle and threw it into the ocean.The note in the bottle asked any pretty girl who found it to write to him.Two years later a man was fishing on a shore in Sicily.The fisherman saw the sailor’s bottle and picked it up.As a joke, he gave it to his pretty daughter.Still as a joke, the girl wrote the lonely sailor a letter.More letters went back and forth.Soon the sailor visited Sicily.He and the girl were married in 1958.This is just one of the many stories about drifting bottles that have changed people’s lives.Strange as it may seem, a sealed bottle is a good traveler at sea.It can travel safely through storms that destroy ships.And glass well last almost forever.The speed of a drifting bottle changes with the wind and the ocean current.A bottle drifting in a quiet place may not move a mile in a month.Another bottle may move 100 miles in a day.But no one can be sure just where a bottle will go.For example, two bottles of the same size, shape and weight were dropped at the same time into the ocean near Brazil.The first bottle drifted east for 130 days.It was found on a shore in Africa.The second bottle went northwest for 196 days, and was found in Nicaragua.Two other bottles, which were thrown into middle of the Atlantic Ocean, landed 350 days later in France, only a few yards from each other.Passage 3

Identifying Supporting Details As we have noted, the main idea is usually strengthened by such details as examples, reasons, facts, and other specific details.All of these specific details are called supporting details.Without them, it would be difficult to fully understand the more general main idea.To illustrate, imagine a friend saying to you, ―My English teacher is terrible.‖ You would understand the general idea that your friend dose not like his English teacher, but you wouldn’t understand exactly why.Your friend might then go on to clarify with some supporting details: ―He is always late for class and he never corrects our homework.What’s more, he is very important with us and tends to get angry for no reason at all.‖ Those supporting details clarify your friend’s general comment, his English teacher is really terrible.These are two kinds of supporting details — major and minor.The main idea and its major supporting details form the basic framework of paragraphs.The major details are the primary points that support the main idea.Paragraphs often contain minor details as well.While the major details explain and develop the main idea, they, in turn, are expanded upon by the minor supporting details.An important reading skill is the ability to find these major details and to distinguish them from the minor ones.Clearly, both the major and minor details are needed for the reader to really understand the main idea.Passage 4

Caring for a Dog Dog owners are responsible for feeding and cleaning their pets.They should also oversee the health of their dogs.It’s best to consult a veterinarian at the first sign of a dog ailment.A dog can be fed the dry meal, biscuit, semi-moist and cellophane-wrapped, or canned type of dog food.Whichever type is selected must contain the carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins essential for the animal’s well-being.As a rule, the cost of feeding a large dog can be kept low by giving it the inexpensive dry meal type.A puppy should be housebroken as soon as possible.When the puppy takes its first water or food, note how long it takes for the puppy to urinate or defecate.When you discover the schedule, take the pup outside when the prescribed time has elapsed after feeding or drinking.Soon, the puppy will associate the outdoors with toilet function and will no longer soil the house or the newspapers that have been spread around its living area.Young puppies should not be excessively groomed.A daily brushing with a soft brush is sufficient to remove surface dust and dirt.Some authorities believe that to conserve its natural skin oils a pup should not be completely bathed until its first birthday.Mud and deep dirt in its coat, however, can be removed with a damp, warm washrag.Afterward, the puppy should be completely dried with a rough towel.A dog can then have a complete bath when it is old enough, but it must be kept in the house until thoroughly dry, especially during winter.Passage 5

Waterways Despite the road improvements of the turnpike era(1790-1830), Americans continued as in colonial times to depend wherever possible on water routes for travel and transportation.The larger rivers, especially the Mississippi and the Ohio, became increasingly useful as steamboats grew in number and improved in design.River boats carried to New Orleans the corn and other crops of northwestern farmers, the cotton and tobacco of southwestern planters.From New Orleans, ships took the cargoes on to eastern seaports.Neither the farmers of the west nor the merchant of the east were completely satisfied with this pattern of trade.Farmers could get better prices for their crops if the alternative existed of sending them directly eastward to market, and merchants could sell larger quantities of their manufactured goods if these could be transported more directly and more economically to the west.New waterways were needed.Sectional jealousies and constitutional scruples stood in the way of action by the federal government, and necessary expenditures were too great for private enterprise.If extensive canals were to be dug, the job would be up to the various states.New York was the first to act.It had the natural advantage of a comparatively level route between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, through the only break in the entire Appalachian Mountain chain.Yet the engineering tasks were imposing.The distance was more than 350 miles, and there were ridges to cross and a wilderness of woods and swamps to penetrate.The Erie Canal, begun in 1817 and completed in 1825, was by far the greatest construction job that Americans had ever undertaken.It quickly proved a financial success as well.The prosperity of the Erie encouraged the state to enlarge its canal system by building several branches.Passage 6

Cartoons Millions of people struggle out of bed each morning, fumble into some clothes, and make their way to a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper.They need something cheerful to remind them that the rest of the day will be less difficult than getting up.This need may be the reason that many of them turn their half-opened eyes to the comics section of the newspaper as they sip their first cups of coffee of the day.Cartoons reflect the times and the troubles and worries of people.They give people an opportunity to laugh at themselves and at familiar situations.In times of prosperity, for example, cartoons show people enjoying the good economic situation.They also make fun of the problems that people make for themselves — like making a problem out of which type of car to buy.In hard times — times of economic troubles — people want someone or something to blame their troubles on.Cartoons provide scapegoats.They also help people to see the humor in a not-so-funny situation.For example, a cartoon might say that government of a country is responsible for the bad economy and also show the government leaders as a group of ridiculous people.Being able to use the leaders as scapegoats and to laugh at the leaders somehow makes people feel better about their situation.Cartoons also make people laugh at their own personal worries.Young people who are not always sure of how to act can smile at their awkwardness.Old people whose grown children pay little attention to them can chuckle at their neglect and loneliness.Students who have studied too little before examination can laugh at their anxiety.Everyone’s problems are made bigger-than-life in the comics.Perhaps the problems seem funny because there is humor in something that is real being made unreal.Passage 7

A Society of Employees Ours has become a society of employees.A hundred years or so ago only one out of every five Americans at work was employed, i.e., worked for somebody else.Today only one out of five is not employed but working for himself.And when fifty years ago ―being employed‖ meant working as a factory laborer or as a farmhand, the employee of today is increasingly a middle-class person with a substantial formal education, holding a professional or management job requiring intellectual and technical skills.Indeed, two things have characterized American society during these last fifty years: middle-class and upper-class employees have been the fastest-growing groups in our working population — growing so fast that the industrial worker, that oldest child of the Industrial Revolution, has been losing in numerical importance despite the expansion of industrial production.Yet you will find little if anything written on what it is to be an employee.You can find a great deal of very dubious advice on how to get a job or how to get a promotion.You can also find a good deal of work in a chosen field, whether it be the mechanist’s trade or bookkeeping.Every one of these trades requires different skills, sets different standards, and requires a different preparation.Yet they all have employeeship in common.And increasingly, especially in the large business or in government, employeeship is more important to success than the special professional knowledge or skill.Certainly more people fail because they do not know the requirements of being an employee than because they do not adequately possess the skills of their trade;the higher you climb the ladder, the more you get into administrative or executive work, the greater the emphasis on ability to work within the organization rather than on technical abilities or professional knowledge.Passage 8

Snoring Kids Do Worse in School Children who snore perform worse at school, according to a new study by German scientists.―Our study clearly showed that snoring has a detrimental effect on children’s performance in school,‖ said Christian Poets, head of a joint study by the University of Tuebingen and the Hanover Medical School.Scientists monitored the sleeping behavior of 1,144 school children aged between eight to ten in the western city of Hanover, measuring pulse rates and blood oxygen levels.The study showed that children who snored continually were three to four times as likely as non-snorers to get poor marks in math, spelling and elementary sciences.Snorers had more variable pulse rates, and Poets suggested this led snorers to wake up more tired than other children, making it harder to concentrate.―We believe the interruptions to sleep caused by snoring affect school performance, not an occasional reduction in the(blood)oxygen content snoring can produce,‖ Poets told reporters.The study matched the findings of scientists at the University of Louisville in the United States, who presented research recently showing that children who snore are more likely to have problems with learning and behavior than those who do not.Passage 9

Matching Products and Markets Marketing has been defined as the process of matching an organization’s resources with customer needs.The result of this process is a product.The need, therefore, for the organization to remain dynamic is obvious because the product is the only key to the organization’s solvency and profitability.No matter how else the organization runs itself cost-effectively and sensibly, if the product is not selling well then the money simply will not be coming in, company and consumer are interdependent.Successful product management depends on the organization knowing how and if the current product range meets consumer and organizational objectives.One way of doing this, as previously described, is to conduct detailed benefit analysis segmentation.The most important attitude towards product management is to view the product as only one part of the marketing mix which also includes price, place and promotion.In this way, the product is viewed as a variable which can be adapted or even changed radically to meet a changing market.How it can be changed will depend on several factors within and outside the organization, including the organization’s resources, market conditions and opportunities and competitive threats.Passage 10

Work, Play and Rest Hard work over a long period of time brings genuine tiredness, to which body and mind eventually make the natural response of sleep.But long before this point is reached we are often afflicted with lassitude.After a day’s work, for instance, we settle down in an easy chair to watch television.Before long we feel drowsy and nod off to sleep;perhaps we stay in front of the screen all evening, intermittently dozing, until finally we decide that our day’s work was exhausting and we retire to bed early.On another occasion, after a similar day’s work, we may spend the evening playing tennis, or building a needed bookcase, or mapping out a planned addition to the house, or in delightful conversation with charming friends, without any feeling of exhaustion or weariness.Now, on the television evening were we genuinely tired or not? And is such an evening refreshing or debilitating? There is a need for much more careful study of the nature of play, rest, and fatigue, and the relationship between them.Cyril Burt carried out an experiment with two matched groups of children who were very backward in arithmetic.One group was given an extra arithmetic lesson every afternoon while the other group slept.At the end of the term the ―sleepers‖ had improved in arithmetic more than those specially coached.Of course, there are many variables that might be causally involved here, but the results should make us question the assumption that ―work‖ is the productive sphere and ―play‖ the unproductive sphere.We all need to rest.But in order to understand the kind of rest an organism needs, we must study the nature of the organism.The way in which they rest, however, is by gradually reverting to the normal rhythm of breathing, not by stopping.This is because they are built for action.Similarly, everything intended to act, from muscles to minds, can find rest in natural action as well as in inertia.Passage 11 A Glimpse at the Life of Senior Viennese Like many other metropolises in the world, Vienna has entered an old-age society.I must say, in a country with high social welfare benefits like Austria, aged people needn’t worry about their primary needs of livelihood.The all-embracing social welfare system facilitates people in their advanced age.In addition to the subsidies and insurances of every description, there are other favours such as traveling by train, visiting museums and attending operas at cut prices all on account of your old age.Yet, we all know that supply of provisions and clothing is only one aspect of life;man’s demand on life is many-sided.Higher the civilization, higher is man’s psychological aspiration.This is especially true of old folks.Like young people, they have the need of cultural life, the need of recreation and amusement, the need of dignity and the need of accomplishment.Besides, having traversed greater part of their lives and unwilling to leave behind too many regrets, they want to, in their remaining years, make their lives easier and more substantial.During my stay in Vienna, I found that all the elderly people I met with seemed to enjoy their lives enormously.Contagiously, I couldn’t help admiring them for their positive attitude toward life, especially their optimism.Passage 12

Scanning Scanning is a search for information which is of some special interest.A student has first to know the arrangement for information before he or she can start his or her search efficiently.Much of the reference material is arranged alphabetically.A dictionary, an encyclopedia, and index of a book, or a telephone directory is usually arranged alphabetically for easy and quick location of information.But not all material is arranged this way.TV programs, for instance, are listed by day and time.Historical data and tables may be listed by month and year.And sports pages of the newspaper are arranged by category: football, tennis, basketball, and so on.At times if you are trying to locate specific information, you usually need not read the whole material carefully.What you have to do is try to find in which part that information is likely to be, then read this part with more attention.This is called ―scanning‖.Scanning, in itself, is not a completely new thing to you though it is perhaps the first time that you heard of the term.It is a technique often used when you look up a word in a dictionary.The purpose in scanning, as you know, is to search for specific information quickly.Thus, a high rate of speed is essential.Once you have located the appropriate part of the material, you should try to learn the information in the least amount of time.You are supposed not to be distracted by words or ideas unrelated to the purpose of scanning.Meanwhile, accuracy is just as essential as speed in scanning.Since you are looking for specific information, it is important that it be accurate.100 percent accuracy, along with the first-rate speed, should be your goal in scanning practice.Passage 13

Sea Lion’s Long Memories Shake up Biologists A California sea lion called Rio has astounded her trainers and may shake up the world of animal science after remembering a complicated trick for 10 years without ever practicing, researchers say.Shown cards with designs on them, Rio—at 16 a good age for a sea lion in captivity—picked out matching pairs without hesitation, in return for a reward of a fish.She first learnt to recognize pairs when she was six, but spent the next ten years learning new tasks, without a single reminder of this older one.Scientists have done little research into the long-term memory of animals, and many assumed it is relatively limited.But researchers said Rio’s astonishing response may force a rethink of how animal minds function.―It was mind-boggling.We thought she would lose something because she was not exposed to any of this material for ten years,‖ Ron Schusterman, one of the two scientists who trained Rio, told reporters in an interview.As well as shaking up what biologists think about long-term animal memory, Schusterman said their results are also important because they help prove animals can think even though they cannot express their thoughts in language and may give clues to how language developed in human beings.Passage 14

Make Writing Clear and Complete In writing, nothing can be more irritating and sometimes frustrating than the omission of essential detail.Suppose, for example, the shirts you manufacture come in several styles, colors, and sizes, but the order you have received in the mail gives no specifications.Or someone writes down a telephone message from your out-of-town friends, telling you they’re going to be in the city and will drop in to see you;but the message contains no date, no time, and nothing to indicate whether they are coming alone or with their children.And there are the instructions for setting up your hi-fi phonograph and tape recorder which take for granted that you know what a ―patch cord‖ is.Unquestionably there is virtue in brevity, but as these examples show, you must never assume that your reader is as expert or as knowledgeable as you are about whatever you are writing.Brevity is not an excuse for lack of clarity.And clarity, above all, is essential to what you have to say on paper.Clarity, precision, conciseness — each is of utmost importance to effective writing.But what of style, the way in which you pen your correspondence, business or social? Certainly you want to avoid stiffness and rigidity in any kind of writing you do.At the same time, you wouldn’t write a report on the market conditions in Hong Kong in the ―chummy‖ manner of a letter to a cousin in Duluth or to that college roommate who has just become president of some giant, and competitive, organization.The simplest and best approach toward developing your own particular style in writing is to write as you speak.This would seem to be just about as easy a task as you could set yourself — but in reality it isn’t.That old mystique which hovers over the written word seems to get into the way;even when we use a dictaphone to bridge the gap between what we wish to say and what we put to paper, the subliminal discomfort still lingers.Passage 15

Is TV a Plus or a Minus? TV is not only a convenient and cheap service of entertainment, but also a splendid mass medium of communication.People only have to pay once to buy the TV set, then they can sit at home enjoying the items on TV.All they have to do is to push a button or turn a knob, and they can see plays, films, operas and shows of every kind.TV keeps us well informed about the current events at home and abroad and the latest development in science and technology.The most distant countries and the strangest customs are brought right into our room.On TV everything is much more living and much more real.As a matter of fact, it has become so much a part of human life that a modern world without television is unimaginable.Some people even say that life without television is not worth living.Some people argue against TV.They think the TV viewers need do nothing.The viewer does not even have to use his legs if he has a remote control.Many people are glued to seats to look at the movements on TV.They become so dependent on its pictures that it begins to control their lives.As a result, TV is taking up too much of a person’s life and making him lazy, not to mention its harmful influence upon him, such as the items of violence and pornography on television in some countries.On the whole, there are more advantages than disadvantages in the use of TV.Yet different people may have different attitude toward TV.But we must realize that television in itself is neither good nor bad.Its value to people and society depends on how we look at it.Passage 16

Male and Female Roles Once it was possible to define male and female roles easily by the division of labor.Men worked outside the home and earned the income to support their families, while women cooked the meals and took care of the home and the children.These roles were firmly fixed for most people, and there was not much opportunities for men or women to exchange their roles.But by the middle of this century, men’s and women’s roles were becoming less firmly fixed.In the 1950s, economic and social success was the goal of the typical American.But in the 1960s a new force developed called the counterculture.The people involved in this movement did not value the middle-class American goals.The counterculture presented men and women with new role choices.Taking more interest in child care, men began to share child-rising tasks with their wives.In fact, some young men and women moved to communal homes or farms where economic and child care responsibilities were shared equally by both sexes.In addition, many Americans did not value the traditional male role of soldier.Some young men refused to be drafted as soldiers to fight in the war in Vietnam.In the 1970s, the feminist movement, or women’s liberation, produced additional economic and social changes.Women of all ages and at all levels of society were entering the work force in greater numbers.Most of them still took traditional women’s jobs such as public school teaching, nursing, and secretarial work.But some women began to enter traditionally male occupations: police work, banking, dentistry, and construction work.Women were asking for equal work, and equal opportunities for promotion.Today the experts generally agree that important changes are taking place in the roles of men and women.Naturally, there are difficulties in adjusting to these changes.Passage 17

Packaging a Person A person, like a commodity, needs packaging.But going too far is absolutely undesirable.A little exaggeration, however, does no harm when it shows the person's unique qualities to their advantage.To display personal charm in a casual and natural way, it is important for one to have a clear knowledge of oneself.A master packager knows how to integrate art and nature without any traces of embellishment, so that the person so packaged is no commodity but a human being, lively and lovely.A young person, especially a female, radiant with beauty and full of life, has all the favor granted by God.Any attempt to make up would be self-defeating.Youth, however, comes and goes in a moment of doze.Packaging for the middle-aged is primarily to conceal the furrows ploughed by time.If you still enjoy life's exuberance enough to retain self-confidence and pursue pioneering work, you are unique in your natural qualities, and your charm and grace will remain.Elderly people are beautiful if their river of life has been, through plains, mountains and jungles, running its course as it should.You have really lived your life which now arrives at a complacent stage of serenity indifferent to fame or wealth.There is no need to resort to hair-dyeing—the snow-capped mountain is itself a beautiful scene of fairyland.Let your looks change from young to old synchronizing with the natural ageing process so as to keep in harmony with nature, for harmony itself is beauty, while the other way round will only end in unpleasantness.To be in the elder's company is like reading a thick book of deluxe edition that fascinates one so much as to be reluctant to part with.As long as one finds where one stands, one knows how to package oneself, just as a commodity establishes its brand by the right packaging.Passage 18

Advantages of Travel Nowadays, more and more people are interested in traveling.Travel is beneficial to us in at least three ways.First, by traveling we can enjoy the beautiful scenery in different places.We will see with our own eyes many places read of in books, and visit some famous cities and scenic spots.Second, we will meet people with different interests and see strange and different things when we travel.We can get ideas of the conditions and customs of other people, taste various foods and local flavours if we like.In this way, we can understand how differently other people live.Third, travel will not only help us to gain knowledge of geography and history and other knowledge, which will arouse our deep love for our motherland, but also will help us keep healthy and make us less narrow-minded.Travel does benefit us both mentally and physically.With all these advantages of travel, it is no wonder that travel has now become more popular than ever in China.Passage 19

Problems with Automobiles America is the land of the automobile.This country has only 6 percent of the world’s population but 46 percent of the world’s cars.Right now, there are 97 million privately owned cars consuming 75 billion gallons of gasoline and traveling an estimated 1,000 billion miles a year.The figures also affirm something we know every time we refill our gasoline tank.The automobile is a very thirsty piece of technology.Of the total petroleum supply in the United States, 30 percent goes to quench that thirst.Every year for each passenger car, about 800 gallons of gasoline are consumed.Other aspects of our commitment to the automobile also bear mentioning here.It takes a great deal of energy to manufacture one automobile — about 150 million BTU’s of technology.This is equivalent to 1,200 gallons of gasoline, enough to run a car for about 16,000 miles.We expend energy in the process of shipping cars from factories to showrooms, displaying them for sale and making replacement parts for repairs.One out of six jobs in the nation is associated with the automobile business.About two gallons of gasoline are consumed in the process of making every ten gallons that are pumped into an automobile’s gas tank.Building highways and parking lots has used up much of our land.It has been estimated that we have paved over 21,000 square miles of this country’s surface, most of it to accommodate the automobile.The automobile is also the largest contributor to our nation’s air pollution problem and a very serious one because most of its pollutants are emitted in our large metropolitan areas.Passage 20

Punctuality Punctuality means observing regular or appointed time.A man who gets up at seven o’clock every morning is punctual.A man who has promised to call on a friend at five o’clock in the afternoon and actually does so at that hour is also punctual.Punctuality is a good habit, and unpunctuality is a bad one.A few minutes’ delay may not be a serious matter, but it may have bad results, getting up five minutes later than usual may upset the plan of the day.Calling on a friend five minutes later than the appointed time may cause him some unexpected trouble.Moreover, habitual unpunctuality leads to indolence and even failure in life.One delay after another makes a man unable to exert himself.It also proves him to be untrustworthy.Those who are unpunctual should try their best to get rid of their bad habit.In doing this, they should avoid making any kind of exception.They should never say to themselves: ―A few minutes’ delay does not matter this time.I shall never be unpunctual again.‖ Those who think in this way will find excuses for delay from time to time, and will at last give up the attempt to cultivate the good habit.Like all other good habits, punctuality becomes second nature with those who have duly cultivated it.Passage 21

Country The crisis in rural England has come to a head with several long-term problems erupting simultaneously, but how it’s to be resolved is far from clear.Crime in the country is still lower than in the towns but it is rising at a faster rate, a result of increased mobility and the perception of relatively easy pickings.It is more straightforward to police cities than the countryside and the village bobby will remain a memory.Instead, the solutions will be high-tech: electronic alarm systems, fences armed with sensors, automatic gates.The social divide between the rich and the poor in rural areas will become more marked, but—as with crime—dealing with poverty in the countryside is going to be more problematic than in the towns because it is so dispersed.Transport is a big issue: while it’s desirable to reduce dependency on cars, there is still no real alternative in the countryside—the railways are at capacity and the network is truncated anyway.I see daily commuting diminishing, though, because of the cost in both time and money.The next 50 years could see many urban problems being solved, and that could mean the countryside benefits as people rediscover the convenience of cities.Passage 22

Setting the Price How are prices set? Through most of history, prices were set by buyers and sellers negotiation with each other.Sellers would ask for a higher price than they expected to receive, and buyers would offer less than they expected to pay.Through bargaining, they would arrive at an acceptable price.Setting one price for all buyers is a relative modern idea.It was given impetus by the development of large-scale retailing at the end of the nineteenth century.F.W.Woolworth, Tiffany and Co., John Wanamaker, J.L.Hudson, and others advertised a ―strictly one price policy‖ because they carried so many items and supervised so many employees.Through most of history, price has operated as the major determinant of buyer choice.This is still true in poorer nations, among poorer groups and with commodity-type product.However, nonprice factors have become relatively more important in buyer-choice behavior in recent decades.Yet price still remains one of the most important elements determining company market share and profitability.Passage 23 Why Do I Want to Attend Graduate School? Upon graduating from the university, every student is facing a big, practical problem, that is, to make a choice for his/her future career.However, the choice varies from person to person.Some students want to find jobs in joint ventures, desiring to earn more money.Some dream of furthering their studies in the U.S., so they work hard to pass TOEFL and GMAT.Also, there are unambitious ones who are indifferent to the choice of career and think that any kind of job will satisfy their desire.Only a small number of students are at a loss what to choose.As to me, I am determined to enter graduate school and I am fully supported by my parents.I have many reasons for choosing to attend graduate school.The fundamental one is that in graduate school I can enrich my mind with the most advanced professional knowledge in my specialty.I believe that the more I learn, the better equipped I will be with modern knowledge, and the more probable I will succeed in my pursuit.Some people suggest that I study while working.Well, it’s not unreasonable to think that way.However, I would like to concentrate on my study while I am young, and I think three years of graduate study will undoubtedly benefit my whole life.In addition, I am sure that I will certainly have more opportunities to get a satisfactory job in the future with the profound knowledge I get in graduate school.I believe in myself.Passage 24

The True Meaning of Education With the rapid development of society, almost everyone wants to be educated.However, many people hold an erroneous view towards education.They think, probably most parents do, that through education, they will, or their children will, turn out to be either prominent scholars or rich merchants.To them, education suggests merely fame or wealth.The aim of education, in my understanding, is set upon a deeper and more important target-mental culture and moral training.When we study at school or at the university, we are certainly aiming at a profound learning of various subjects, for that is one of the essential things and a fundamental indispensable for building up our future career.Equally important is the moral education which we must receive either at school or at the university, for building our character.On the other hand, education does not simply mean ―going to school‖.We cannot consider ourselves well-educated and superior just because we are the fortunate ones who can go somewhere to study, thus looking down upon those who cannot get such golden chances as ours.It is a truth universally known that a doctor is different from a blacksmith is not because the former has received high education and the latter has not.To conclude my essay, I would like to quote an old saying ―Learn whatever it may be, wherever you can, and whenever you will‖, and this I think, is the true meaning of education.Passage 25 A Good Teacher, a Good Luck A teacher, it is said, is compared to God who blew a breath into nostrils of clay and the clay began to breathe.A good teacher is good luck of a student.I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists.It might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.I shall speak only of my first teacher because in addition to the other things, she brought discovery.She aroused us to shouting, bookwaving discussions.She had the noisiest class in school and she didn’t even seem to know it.We could never stick to the subject.She breathed curiosity into us so that we brought in facts or truths shielded in our hands like captured fireflies.She was fired and perhaps rightly so, for falling to teach fundamentals.Such things must be learned.But she left a passion in us for the pure knowable world and she inflamed me with a curiosity, which has never left.I could not do simple arthmetic but through her I sensed that abstract mathematics was very much like music.When she was relieved, sadness came over us but the light did not go out.She left her sigature on us, the literature of the teacher who writes on minds.I have had many teachers who told me soon —forgotten backs but only one who created in me a new thing, a new attitude and a new hunger.Passage 26

Youth Youth is not a time of life;it is a state of mind;it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees;it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions;it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20.Nobody grows old merely by a number of years.We grow old by deserting our ideals.Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spring back to dust.Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of what’s next and the joy of the game of living.In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.Passage 27

Three Passions I Have Lived For Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course over a deep ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy—ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of my life for a few hours for this joy.I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness—that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss.I have sought it, finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined.This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what—at last—I have found.With equal passion I have sought knowledge.I have wished to understand the hearts of men.I have wished to know why the stars shine….A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens.But always pity brought me back to earth.Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart.Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people as hated burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be.I long to alleviate the evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.This has been my life.I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me.Passage 28

Love Your Life However mean your life is, meet it and live it;do not shun it and call it hard names.It is not so bad as you are.It looks poorest when you are richest.The fault-finder will find faults in paradise.Love your life, poor as it is.You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours even in a poor-house.The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the alms-house as brightly as from the rich man's abode;the snow melts before its door as early in the spring.I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.The town's poor seem to me often to live the most independent lives of all.Maybe they are simply great enough to receive without misgiving.Most think that they are above being supported by the town;but it often happens that they are not above supporting themselves by dishonest means which should be more disreputable.Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage.Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends, Turn the old, return to them.Things do not change;we change.Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts.Passage 29

Smile I was sure that I was to be killed.I became terribly nervous.I fumbled in my pockets to see if there were any cigarettes, which had escaped their search.I found one and because of my shaking hands, I could barely get it to my lips.But I had no matches, they had taken those.I looked through the bars at my jailer.He did not make eye contact with me.I called out to him ―Have you got a light?‖ He looked at me, shrugged and came over to light my cigarette.As he came close and lit the match, his eyes inadvertently locked with mine.At that moment, I smiled.I don't know why I did that.Perhaps it was nervousness, perhaps it was because, when you get very close, one to another, it is very hard not to smile.In any case, I smiled.In that instant, it was as though a spark jumped across the gap between our two hearts, our two human souls.I know he didn't want to, but my smile leaped through the bars and generated a smile on his lips, too.He lit my cigarette but stayed near, looking at me directly in the eyes and continuing to smile.I kept smiling at him, now aware of him as a person and not just a jailer.And his looking at me seemed to have a new dimension too.―Do you have kids?‖ he asked.―Yes.Here, here.‖ I took out my wallet and nervously fumbled for the pictures of my family.He, too, took out the pictures of his family and began to talk about his plans and hopes for them.My eyes filled with tears.I said that I feared that I'd never see my family again, never have the chance to see them grow up.Tears came to his eyes, too.Suddenly, without another word, he unlocked my cell and silently led me out, out of the jail, quietly and by back routes, out of the town.There, at the edge of town, he released me.And without another word, he turned back toward the town.My life was saved by a smile.Yes, the smile ― the unaffected, unplanned, natural connection between people.I really believe that if that part of you and that part of me could recognize each other, we wouldn't be enemies.We couldn't have hate or envy or fear.Passage 30 Living up to Your New Year’s Resolution

Midnight on New Year's Eve is the traditional time to make great resolutions: ―I really mustn't drink as much as I did last year,‖ or ―This year I am going to start exercising.‖ But in the cold hard light of New Year's Day, it is easy to decide that the promises we made to ourselves are just too hard to keep.When we fail to live up to these goals, we walk away a bit damaged.The experience of not carrying through a personal goal chips away at our self-esteem and makes us feel less successful.But the difference between good intentions and failed intentions comes down to one thing: knowing that self-change is one of the hardest things we will ever do.If you're making a resolution, then it pays to do a bit of planning and give yourself a better chance of succeeding.If your resolution is to start running every morning then give yourself a hand: the night before your run, lay out those running clothes beside your bed.It will be easier to get yourself into the routine of getting ready and getting yourself out the door.Strategies like these are called ―implementation intentions‖ and they help you get the good habits started.It's also a good idea to get used to new habits at a gentle pace.If you want to stop smoking and you're a ―pack-a-day‖ person, then don't go the whole hog and give up entirely overnight.Part of you will still want that cigarette, so wean yourself off them gradually.Start by cutting down and give yourself realistic goals to achieve every week.One more thing to remember is that everybody slips up sometimes.There will come a day when your resolution slips and you find yourself sliding back into those old bad habits.Don't take this as an opportunity to give up completely, tell yourself that tomorrow will be better.It always is.Passage 31

Public Houses in Britain Visiting a pub is one of Britain’s oldest forms of entertainment.The idea for the first public houses was brought to Britain thousands of years ago by the conquering Roman army.The first pubs served only wine, but after the discovery of hops in the fourteenth century, pubs began to serve mainly beer and ale, as they do today.Today, there are 61,000 pubs in the United Kingdom.One of the oldest, Fighting Cocks in St.Albans, Herts, is located in a building that dates back to the 11th century.Modern pubs are often owned by English breweries and serve only their owner’s products.British pubs are required to have a license, which is difficult to obtain, and operate between 11 a.m.and 11 a.m.every day except Sunday, when they must close at 10:30 p.m.The drinking age in Britain is eighteen, but fourteen-year-olds may enter a pub unaccompanied if they order a meal.Children may enter a pub with their parents until 9 p.m., which lets families enjoy reasonably priced pub meals together, and allows pubs to continue in their traditional roles as community centers.Passage 32

Opportunity The air we breathe is so freely available that we take it for granted.Yet without it we could not survive more than a few minutes.For the most part, the same air is available to everyone, and everyone needs it.Some people use the air to sustain them while they sit around and feel sorry for themselves.Others breathe in the air and use the energy it provides to make a magnificent life for themselves.Opportunity is the same way, it is everywhere.Opportunity is so freely available that we take it for granted.Yet opportunity alone is not enough to create success.Opportunity must be seized and acted upon in order to have value.So many people are so anxious to ―get in‖ on a ―ground floor opportunity,‖ as if the opportunity will do all the work.That’s impossible.Just as you need air to breathe, you need opportunity to succeed.It takes more than just breathing in the fresh air of opportunity, however.You must make use of that opportunity.That’s not up to the opportunity.That’s up to you.It dosen’t matter what ―floor‖ the opportunity is on.What matters is what you do with it.Passage 33 The place of Science and Technology in Modern Life

Human life can not continue without science and technology.For many years, human society has developed with the advance of science and technology while the development of science and technology has in turn brought the process to mankind.So the life we are living now is more civilized than that of our fore fathers.The development of science and technology has brought about many changes in people's life.For example, the invention of television and space rocket has opened a new era for mankind.Through the use of TV people can hear the sound and learn the events happening thousands of miles away.Owing to the invention of spaceship and rocket, the dream of man's landing on the moon has now come true.Science and technology also play an important role in our socialist construction.We may say, our socialist construction is just like a skyscraper, while science and technology is its base.Without the base, the skyscraper can't be built.Therefore, we should try our best to contribute to the development of science and technology so as to provide a more solid base to build our country.Passage 34

Spring Festival Spring Festival, the most important holiday for the Chinese, marking the start of the lunar new year, is built on tradition and an array of centuries old customs.The celebrations begin on new year's eve, which falls on February 17 this year, and continues for two weeks until the Lantern Festival, on the 15th day of the first lunar month, or March 4.Just as people spend weeks, and sometimes months, preparing for Christmas, the Chinese prepare for this family reunion festival a long time in advance.They hit the shops, clean their homes and stock up on everything from oil and rice to fruit, candies, nuts, new clothes and shoes for the children and gifts for the elderly, friends and relatives.People decorate their homes to create a festival atmosphere.Two things that should never be forgotten are spring couplets(chunlian)and firecrackers.In a typical Chinese home, you will see all the door panels pasted with spring couplets, Chinese calligraphy on red paper, as well as fireworks in bunches resting in the corner of the room.These are two basic tools required to expel evil, especially the Nian monster.Chinese use the term guonian(pass the year)to describe their happiness at celebrating the year, as guo means ―passing‖ and ―survival‖.While Nian was originally the name of a beast who came to the village to prey on humans on new year's eve.Legend had it that the Nian had an enormous mouth that can swallow hundreds of people with just one bite.Although a powerful monster, it was afraid of two things the ―magic‖ peach-wood charms hung on the gate of each home and fireworks.When the firecrackers were lit, the monster fled.At new year, people continue to celebrate this auspicious event.Passage 35

Skyscrapers and Environment In the late 1960's, many people in North America turned their attention to environmental problems, and new steel-and-glass skyscrapers were widely criticized.Ecologists pointed out that a cluster of tall buildings in a city often overburdens public transportation and parking lot capacities.Skyscrapers are also lavish consumers, and wasters, of electric power.In one recent year, the addition of 17 million square feet of skyscraper office space in New York City raised the peak daily demand for electricity by 120, 000 kilowatts—enough to supply the entire city of Albany, New York, for a day.Glass-walled skyscrapers can be especially wasteful.The heat loss(or gain)through a wall of half-inch plate glass is more than ten times that through a typical masonry wall filled with insulation board.To lessen the strain on heating and air-conditioning equipment, builders of skyscrapers have begun to use double-glazed panels of glass, and reflective glasses coated with silver or gold mirror films that reduce glare as well as heat gain.However, mirror-walled skyscrapers raise the temperature of the surrounding air and affect neighboring buildings.Skyscrapers put a severe strain on a city's sanitation facilities, too.If fully occupied, the two World Trade Center towers in New York City would alone generate 2.25 million gallons of raw sewage each year—as much as a city the size of Stanford, Connecticut, which has a population of more than 109, 000.Passage 36

Snacks Snacks are I suppose defined as things that we eat between regular meals.In fact, if you are eating something and it is not breakfast, lunch or dinner-time then it is a snack.So, if you are having an apple sometime in the afternoon then that apple is a snack.However, on the whole when we talk about snacks we are not really talking about fruit and healthy things.The category of snacks is usually filled with things that are not so good for us.What are these traditional snacks? Chips, or as they are called in Britain, crisps, are a favourite snack and as with most popular snacks they are not a healthy option.Laden with grease because of their origin in the fat fryer they are the dieters curse.Another great favourite is chocolate and again it is a food option that is well capable of converting a sleek physique into something a little more wobbly!Regarding the healthiness of snacks a big problem of so many of the regular popular options out there is generally their low quality.What you might buy in the stores on the high streets has been mass produced with all sorts of rubbish added to boost the flavour at minimum cost.If you were to actually get many of these snack types made at home then they would probably be a lot better for you.For instance, chocolate comes from South America.The original examples of chocolate are very different to what we are now used to.Our chocolate has so much sugar and fat added to it that it would be quite unpalatable to someone used to the traditional version.However, because we have all been brought up on food and snacks with no subtlety of flavour then we cannot appreciate the more traditional examples of snacks.So because of this way our snacks are made we have developed a love-hate relationship with them.Our taste buds demand the satisfaction only snacks can give but the diet industry condemns them as the road to obesity.So there is a conflict between the advertising of snacks and promotion of the lifestyle associated with them of having a good time and the attack on them as dangerous to our health from the just as aggressive diet industry.My advice is to ignore the propaganda of both sides and enjoy snacks for what they are, which means bearing in mind that too much is too bad.Passage 37

The Immigration to America A look at the history of the United States indicates that this country has often been called ―a melting pot‖, where various immigrant and ethnic groups have learned to work together to build a unique nation.Even those ―original‖ Americans, the Indians, probably walked a land bridge from Asia to North America some thousands of years ago.So, who are the real Americans? The answer is that any and all of them are!And you, no matter where you come from, could also become an American should you want to.Then you would become another addition to America's wonderfully rich ―nation of immigrants‖.The United States is currently shifting from being a nation of immigrants of mainly European descent to one of immigrants from other parts of the world, such as Asia and Latin America.The number of recent immigrants has skyrocketed.They desire to escape economic hardship and political oppression in their native countries as well as the desire to seek a better education and a more prosperous life in America, ―the land of opportunity‖.Although there are frequent conflicts between the cultures they have brought with them from the ―old country‖ and those found in America, most immigrants learn to adjust to and love their adopted land.Americans have also learned much from the customs and ideas of the immigrants and are often influenced by them in subtle and interesting ways.Immigrants bring their native cultural, political, and social patterns and attitudes, varied academic and religious backgrounds, as well as their ethnic arts, sports, holidays, festivals, and foods.They have greatly enriched American life.Passage 38

Chinatown in New York On the surface, Chinatown is prosperous—a ―model slum,‖ some have called it—with the lowest crime rate, highest employment and least juvenile delinquency of any city district.Walk through its crowded streets at any time of day, and every shop is doing a brisk and businesslike trade: restaurant after restaurant is booming;there are storefront displays of shiny squids, clawing crabs and clambering lobster;and street markets offer overflowing piles of exotic green vegetables, garlic and ginger root.Chinatown has the feel of a land of plenty, and the reason why lies with the Chinese themselves: even here, in the very core of downtown Manhattan, they have been careful to preserve their own way of dealing with things, preferring to keep affairs close to the bond of the family and allowing few intrusions into a still-insular culture.There have been several concessions to Westerners—storefront signs now offer English translations, and Haagen Dazs and Baskin Robbins ice-cream stores have opened on lower Mott Street—but they can't help but seem incongruous.The one time of the year when Chinatown bursts open is during the Chinese New Year festival, held each year on the first full moon after January 19, when a giant dragon runs down Mott Street to the accompaniment of firecrackers, and the gutters run with ceremonial dyes.Beneath the neighborhood's blithely prosperous facade, however, there is a darker underbelly.Sharp practices continue to flourish, with traditional extortion and protection rackets still in business.Non-union sweatshops – their assembly lines grinding from early morning to late into the evening—are still visited by the US Department of Labor, who come to investigate workers' testimonies of being paid below minimum wage for seventy-plus-hour work weeks.Living conditions are abysmal for the poorer Chinese—mostly recent immigrants and the elderly—who reside in small rooms in overcrowded tenements ill-kept by landlords.Yet, because the community has been cloistered for so long and has only just begun to seek help from city officials for its internal problems, you won't detect any hint of difficulties unless you reside in Chinatown for a considerable length of time.Passage 39

New York The Big Apple has plenty of them！!Landmarks in New York go with Broadway and Times Square.New York City is a town that has grown with America, and possesses a rich group of landmarks and great attractions.Landmarks define a city, and New York is no exception.The Big Apple is host to so many world-renowned sights and structures that its residents almost take them for granted sometimes.From the obvious, such as Ellis Island and the World Trade Center, to fixtures such as Rockefeller Center and Lincoln Center, to extraordinary places like the Bronx Zoo and Saint Patrick's Cathedral, New York is full of landmarks worthy of visiting.From the shopping and theaters in Times Square to the maritime environment of South Street Seaport, New York City offers a huge selection from which to base your travel or weekend plans around.When you first encounter New York, whether for the first time or after a time away, it can be overwhelming.It can look fierce, inhuman and hard, intimidating in its enormity and complexity.The sheer magnitude of the built environment gives the impression that the city is a vast machine that has been growing, evolving, adapting over centuries.And it is.But all those buildings and asphalt, they're the work of people.It's all made of people—everyone who lives here, and everyone past who's left a mark, great or small, right on the city itself.Many of New York's streets and corners are named for someone who has contributed to the legend of the city.Edgar Allan Poe Way, part of West 84th Street, marks one of the many places the impoverished poet and author lived in New York.Frank Torre Place, on East Second Street in the Kensington section of Brooklyn, was named for the older brother of Yankees manager Joe Torre.Frank's battle for life in the fall of 1996 after a heart transplant provided great inspiration for the pinstriped Bronx Bombers, who would go on to win the World Series for New York that year.The buildings, statues, streets and neighborhoods are the people that make New York—some ―ordinary,‖ and some whom history canonizes.But all have, in deed or in spirit, left their mark on the city.Passage 40

Friday and the Thirteenth Friday-the Thirteenth has long been considered extremely unlucky because it has some bad associations which came from mythology, tale of the Bible, and the customs and habits.According to the Bible, the Lord God created the first man, Adam.Then he took a rib from Adam's body and out of it created the first woman, Eve.It was said that Adam was created on a Friday and it was on Friday that Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, and on a Friday they died.Friday was also the common day in England for executing criminals, for which it was sometimes known as Hanging Day.From the old Norse myth people got the idea that 13 people sitting at a table to have a dinner was unlucky.And this superstition was confirmed by the last supper of Christ and his disciples.Bible tells us that Christ sat down with his 12 disciples, which made up the number 13, at the last supper when Judas, one of the 12 disciples, sold his master for thirty pieces of silver.Christ was killed by nailing on the cross the following day on a Friday.Passage 41

Pop Culture When you think of American culture, what first comes to your mind? McDonald's? Coca Cola? Levi's? Disneyland? Michael Jordan? Julia Roberts? Many people imagine American culture is a collection of popular symbols like these.Actually, these symbols are only one small part of American culture—―pop culture.‖

What is pop culture? Well, pop is short for popular.The origins of pop culture can often be traced to popular movies, television shows, music stars and sports figures.Pop culture is also promoted by business and advertising.The most common examples of American pop culture appear among high school and college students.Trends set by famous personalities quickly become part of young people's lifestyles.American pop culture has spread around the world.One major reason for its popularity is that English is a universal language.English is the language of diplomacy, international business and transportation.Since language and culture go together, learning English means becoming aware of English-speaking cultures.Also, America is a world leader in movies, music and magazines.The kind of American culture communicated in those media is pop culture.Finally, pop culture is easy to package and to export.For that reason, it is easy to ―sell‖ to the world.Passage 42 23

Languages Spoken in America What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual.What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual.What do you call someone who speaks one language? An American.To people in many countries, being bilingual or even trilingual is a way of life.But since the mother tongue of most Americans is English—a language widely spoken around the world—they often don't feel the need to learn a foreign language.Moreover, people who live in the heartland of America have little contact with other linguistic groups, making foreign language skills irrelevant.Actually, though, this ―land of immigrants‖ has always had people of many different nationalities-and languages.The 1990 census indicates that almost 14% of Americans speak a non-English language at home.Yet only 3% reported that they spoke English ―not well‖ or ―not at all.‖ That means that slightly more than one out of 10 Americans could be considered bilingual.Besides that, many high school and college students—and even some elementary school students—are required to take a foreign language as a part of their curriculum.In addition to old standbys like Spanish, German and French, more and more students are opting for Eastern European and Asian languages.Of course, not all students keep up their foreign language abilities.As the old saying goes, ―If you don't use it, you lose it.‖ But still, a growing number of Americans are coming to appreciate the benefits of being multilingual.Ethnic enclaves, found particularly in major metropolitan centers, have preserved the language and culture of American immigrants.Some local residents can function quite well in their native language, without having to bother learning English.Regions such as southern Florida and the Southwest have numerous Spanish-speaking neighborhoods.In fact, Spanish speakers—numbering over 17 million—compose the largest non-English linguistic group in America.But Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Polish and many other ethnic groups add to the linguistic flavor of America.Foreign languages are so commonly used in some ethnic neighborhoods that visitors might think they are in another country!

Passage 43

The American Style of Education On the first day of school, Johnny had a hard time getting out of bed.―Johnny, get up!You're going to be late for school!‖ warned his mother.―Aw, Mom, do I have to go to school?‖ Johnny complained.―Yes, son, summer is over, and the new school year is starting.You must go to school.And besides,‖ reasoned Johnny's mother, ―you're the teacher!‖

This old American joke does have a ring of truth to it.American teachers and students alike enjoy their summer vacation.But don't let the humor fool you: Education is a major part of American culture.Schools do more than just fill students' heads with knowledge.They pass on culture, traditions and values.The American style of education, compared to that of other countries, is quite informal.In fact, the casual class atmosphere often amazes international students.American teachers encourage students to think for themselves.Instead of grading students only on test scores, teachers evaluate papers, group projects and class participation, as well.Students often have to think creatively to solve problems—not just memorize facts.Students also learn how to do research by using resource materials to find their own answers.In this way, classrooms illustrate the American emphasis on individual responsibility.Passage 44

Food and Culture

―You are what you eat.‖ Nutrition experts often use this saying to promote better eating habits.What we put in our mouths does become a part of us.But we can look at this statement another way.What we eat reflects who we are—as people and as a culture.Do you want to understand another culture? Then you ought to find out about its food.Learning about American food can give us a real taste of American culture.What is ―American food‖? At first you might think the answer is easy as pie.To many people, American food means hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken and pizza.If you have a ―sweet tooth,‖ you might even think of apple pie or chocolate chip cookies.It's true that Americans do eat those things.But are those the only kind of foods you can find in America? Except for Thanksgiving turkey, it's hard to find a typically ―American‖ food.The United States is a land of immigrants.So Americans eat food from many different countries.When people move to America, they bring their cooking styles with them.That's why you can find almost every kind of ethnic food in America.In some cases, Americans have adopted foods from other countries as favorites.Americans love Italian pizza, Mexican tacos and Chinese egg rolls.But the American version doesn't taste quite like the original!

Americans living at a fast pace often just ―grab a quick bite.‖ Fast food restaurants offer people on the run everything from fried chicken to fried rice.Microwave dinners and instant foods make cooking at home a snap.Of course, one of the most common quick American meals is a sandwich.If it can fit between two slices of bread, Americans probably make a sandwich out of it.Peanut butter and jelly is an all-time American favorite.American culture is a good illustration of the saying ―you are what you eat.‖ Americans represent a wide range of backgrounds and ways of thinking.The variety of foods enjoyed in the U.S.reflects the diversity of personal tastes.The food may be international or regional.Sometimes it's fast, and sometimes it's not so fast.It might be junk food, or maybe it's natural food.In any case, the style is all-American.Passage 45

Racial Issues Once a man had a dream.He dreamed of a land of peace and harmony.He dreamed of a place where people were not judged by their skin color.He dreamed of a country where children of different races could play together.He dreamed of a nation where all people were equal.Some people didn't like his dream.They said it would never happen.Some people applauded his dream.They wanted to make it happen.This noble vision has come true for some.For others, it's still just a fantasy.In 1963, this man, Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., expressed his vision in the famous speech, ―I Have a Dream.‖ But the dream—rooted in the American Dream—wasn't really new.From the beginning, this nation of immigrants welcomed people desiring freedom and a new start.However, the coming together of different races and ethnic groups created some tensions.The early Americans(except for the native ―Indians‖)were almost all white Europeans.As more immigrants arrived, European groups fit into society easily.Others found it more difficult.Black people were the only ―immigrants‖ who didn't choose to come to America.For hundreds of years, Africans were taken from their homes to be slaves in the New World.Even George Washington and Thomas Jefferson had slaves.The phrase ―all men are created equal‖ didn't apply to blacks in their day.The end of the Civil War finally brought freedom to the slaves in 1865, but blacks still had a lower position in society.Many Southern states practiced segregation to ―keep blacks in their place.‖ Blacks and whites went to different schools, ate at different restaurants, even drank from different water fountains.The Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s helped black people secure many of the rights promised in the Constitution.A 1954 Supreme Court decision ruled that segregation had no place in public schools.Gradually, American education became more fair.In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus for a white man.Her courage sparked a bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama, that ended segregation on city buses.Martin Luther King Jr.encouraged black people to use nonviolent means to achieve their goals of equal treatment.Finally, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to stop discrimination in all public places.Even so, in the past 40 years, race relations in America have greatly improved.Minority groups now have equal opportunities in many areas of education, employment and housing.Interracial marriages are becoming more accepted.Children of different races—and their parents—are learning to play together and work together.Maybe Dr.King's dream will come true after all.Passage 46

The Legend of Rose People have been passionate about roses since the beginning of time.In fact, it is said that the floors of Cleopatra's palace were carpeted with delicate rose petals, and that the wise and knowing Confucius had a 600-book library specifically on how to care for roses.The rose is a legend on its own.The story goes that during the Roman Empire, there was an incredibly beautiful maiden named Rhodanthe.Her beauty drew many zealous suitors who pursued her relentlessly.Exhausted by their pursuit, Rhodanthe was forced to take refuge from her suitors in the temple of her friend Diana.Unfortunately, Diana became jealous.And when the suitors broke down her temple gates to get near their beloved Rhodanthe, she became angry turning Rhodanthe into a rose and her suitors into thorns.In Greek legend, the rose was created by Chloris, the Greek goddess of flowers.It was just a lifeless seed of a nymph that Chloris found one day in a clearing in the woods.She asked the help of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, who gave her beauty Dionysus, the god of wine, added nectar to give her a sweet scent, and the three Graces gave her charm, brightness and joy.Then Zephyr, the West Wind, blew away the clouds so that Apollo, the sun god, could shine and made this flower bloom.And so the Rose was born and was immediately crowned the Queen of Flowers.The first true primary red rose seen in Europe was ―Slater's Crimson China‖ introduced in 1792 from China, where it had been growing wild in the mountains.Immediately, rose breeders began using it to hybridize red roses for cultivation.There is a special rose language invented as a secret means of communication between lovers who were not allowed to express their love for one another openly.In the mid 18th century the wife of the British ambassador in Constantinople described this in her letters, which were published after her death.These letters inspired many books on the language of flowers, each describing the secret message hidden in each flower.A red rose bud stands for budding desire.An open white rose asks “Will you love me?” An open red rose means ―I'm full of love and desire,‖ while an open yellow rose asks ―Don't you love me any more?‖

Passage 47

A Full-Time School Called Life You are enrolled in a full-time school called ―life‖.Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons.You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.Why are you here? What is your purpose? Humans have sought to discover the meaning of life for a very long time.What we and our ancestors have overlooked, however, is there is no one answer.The meaning of life is different for every individual.Each person has his or her own purpose and distinct path, unique and separate from anyone else's.As you travel your life path, you will be presented with numerous lessons that you will need to learn in order to fulfill that purpose.The lessons you are presented with are specific to you;learning these lessons is the key to discovering and fulfilling the meaning and relevance of your own life.As you travel through your lifetime, you may encounter challenging lessons that others don't have to face, while others spend years struggling with challenges that you don't need to deal with.You may never know why you are blessed with a wonderful marriage, while your friends suffer through bitter arguments and painful divorces, just as you cannot be sure why you struggle financially while your peers enjoy abundance.The only thing you can count on for certain is that you will be presented with all the lessons that you specifically need to learn;whether you choose to learn them or not is entirely up to you.The challenge here, therefore, is to align yourself with your own unique path by learning individual lessons.This is one of the most difficult challenges you will be faced with in your lifetime, as sometimes your path will be radically different from others.But, remember, don't compare your path to the people around you and focus on the disparity between their lessons and yours.You need to remember that you will only be faced with lessons that you are capable of learning and are specific to your own growth.This process may not be easy, but the rewards are well worth the struggle.Passage 48

Sportsmen's Values A veteran springboard driver, defeated by his compatriot in the finals of a world championship, offering congratulations to the victor in a warm embrace and waving a tearful farewell to the audience.An outstanding female fencer falling in a decisive set not under the attack of her rival's sword but as a result of a muscular spasm of her own.Those are common occurrences in the athletic world but they are scenes of tragic heroism bringing tears to the eyes of the outgoing heroes as well as the audience.Sportsmen spend the best part of their lives in tough training and fierce competitions fighting for ever better records.When it becomes evident they are on the decline they still make strenuous efforts to give their best so as to bring a satisfactory end to their brilliant career.Chances to compete for championship are few and far between.Life is short.Still shorter is the time for an athlete trying to win games.None other than an athletic contestant feels so keenly about the rarity of opportunity and the fleeting of time.He cherishes every minute, makes full use of it and tries to grasp any chance coming his way.He gets as much as he gives, winning honours not only for himself but also for his country.To participate and to win—that is the Olympic spirit.It finds expression in the weak daring to defy the strong, and the strong striving for ever better performance.Ever better is the ideal always luring a sportsman forward.He will do everything he can for it, never relax, never give up.It is said that none of the competitors can avoid being defeated—even the best is bound to be surpassed by someone still stronger.This is the rule of sports—thousands of losers to set off one victor who in turn will eventually be replaced by someone on the honour list.However, undaunted by the inevitable failure, he is always striving to do the best he can.When the time comes and he knows he can't, he will step down happily to give place to the younger winner, aware contentedly of the fact that he has done his bit for the ―ever better‖ records of the Olympic Games.He will say proudly that he has not lived his youth in vain.Passage 49

Wealth, Success and Love A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard.She did not recognize them.She said, ―I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry.Please come in and have something to eat.‖

―Is the man of the house home?‖ they asked.―No‖, she replied, ―He's out.‖ ―Then we cannot come in.‖ they replied.In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.―Go tell them I am home and invite them in!‖ The woman went out and invited the men in.―We do not go into a house together.‖ they replied.―Why is that?‖ she asked.One of the old men explained: ―His name is Wealth,‖ he said pointing to one of his friends, ―and he is Success, and I am Love.‖ Then he added, ―Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.‖

The woman went in and told her husband what was said.Her husband was overjoyed.―How nice!‖ he said.―Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth.Let him come and fill our home with wealth!‖ His wife disagreed.―My dear, why don't we invite Success?‖ Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house.She jumped in with her own suggestion: ―Wouldn't it be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love.‖ ―Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice,‖ said the husband to his wife.―Go out and invite Love to be our guest.‖

The woman went out and asked the three old men, ―Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.‖

Love got up and started walking toward the house.The other two also got up and followed him.Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: ―I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?‖

The old men replied together: ―If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would have stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him.Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!‖

Passage 50

Every Mountain Has a Peak What is the secret ingredient of tough people that enables them to succeed? Why do they survive the tough times when others are overcome by them? Why do they win when others lose? Why do they soar when others sink?

The answer is very simple.It's all in how they perceive their problems.Yes, every living person has problems.A problem-free life is an illusion—a mirage in the desert.Accept that fact.Every mountain has a peak.Every valley has its low point.Life has its ups and downs, its peaks and its valleys.No one is up all the time, nor are they down all the time.Problems do end.They are all resolved in time.You may not be able to control the times, but you can compose your response.You can turn your pain into profanity—or into poetry.The choice is up to you.You may not have chosen your tough time, but you can choose how you will react to it.For instance, what is the positive reaction to a terrible financial setback? In this situation would it be the positive reaction to pout and runaway? Escape through alcohol, drug, or suicide? No!Such negative reactions only produce greater problems by promising a temporary solution to the pressing problem.The positive solution to a problem may require courage to initiate it.When you control your reaction to the seemingly uncontrollable problem of life, then in fact you do control the problem's effect on you.Your reaction to the problem is the last word!That's the bottom line.What will you let this problem do to you? It can make you tender or tough.It can make you better or bitter.It all depends on you.In the final analysis, the tough people who survive the tough times do so because they've chosen to react positively to their predicament.Tough times never last, but tough people do.Tough people stick it out.History teaches us that every problem has a lifespan.No problem is permanent.Storms always give way to the sun.Winter always thaws into springtime.Your storm will pass.Your winter will thaw.Your problem will be solved.How Important Is Money No one would argue, I think, that money is unimportant.There are certain things that human beings need — food, shelter, medical care — and these things cost money.But if one has enough money to live on, to pay for the basic essentials of life, is it important to have a lot more money than that? Will your life improve in proportion to the amount of money that you have? Well, there is no denying that money can buy a lot.Maybe you do not need much money to pay for a simple shelter, but how about if you want a nice, big apartment in a nice neighbourhood, or if you want to buy a house? In fact, people do get on each other’s nerves if they are crowded together in a small kitchen, if a married couple cannot but share a room with their parents, if children are not allowed to have a little privacy of their own.Moreover, it is nice to get a little pleasure out of life, a little fun from time to time.Unfortunately, many of the fun things that you can do today cost money.In modern cities, for example, on any night, outstanding performances appear in night clubs and on concert stages.Furthermore, you can dine on foods from every corner of the world in the restaurants.So how can it be that many people in modern cities do not have fun? Simple.They do not have the money to take advantage of all these attractions.So, is money the road to happiness? Not really.Large number of people work every day, work overtime, work weekends and make a lot of money.Are they happy? No.they have no time to form or maintain friendship, no time to enjoy themselves.Surely everyone has thought at times, ―If only I had a lot of money, I would be the happiest person in the world.‖ But it is important to remember that money is only a means to an end, not the end itself.

第二篇：美文賞析

從鄉愁中找尋心靈依歸

一個夏夜，我打出租車回家。開車的是一位清瘦的年輕人。車上放著音樂，他默默開車，我倆靜靜地聽歌。行駛在北京寬闊的大街上，明亮的路燈，舒緩的旋律，沒有了白天的燠熱與喧囂，心里一片寧靜。

聽完后我來了興致，對小伙子說我這也有歌兒，要不要聽？他表示同意。于是我打開手機里的音樂，選了一首《川流不息》，這是美空云雀的名曲。美空是日本工業化時代的歌手，她唱出了工業化時代人們的情緒與心聲。

當柔美深沉略帶蒼涼的歌聲在小小的出租車里響起時，年輕的司機被吸引住了，他靜靜聽著，車速似乎也慢了一些。我問他這歌怎么樣，他說好聽。我問怎么好，他說讓人想家。我簡直吃驚了！《川流不息》正是一首懷鄉和感慨人生的歌。歌中唱道：“不知不覺走過了人生漫漫長路，回首望去是遙遠的故鄉……”我忙問司機，你以前聽過這首歌嗎？懂日語嗎？回答都是否定的。我說想必你也是從外地來北京的吧，年輕司機說，是呀，聽聽這樣的歌心里安靜，讓人想起過去，想起家鄉。他接著說，人是不能往前看只能往后想的，出門在外打拼，真是不敢想明天啊。

回到家里，我久久地回味著年輕司機的話。我忽然意識到，自己其實是一個沒有故鄉的人。我從小生長在北京，除出國進修一年外沒長時間離開過北京，住在家鄉的人沒有故鄉。而我們這個時代，至少在我居住的城市里有多少是離開故鄉的人？中國的改革開放和工業化、城市化，帶來了史上最大規模的人口遷徙和社會流動。今天的北京人恐怕很多都是離開故鄉遷徙到這來的。

離開故鄉到大都市的人們，按時下流行說法是來尋求夢想的。既然是尋夢就有不確定性，既然是奮斗就要有付出乃至犧牲。就像那位年輕司機感受到的，離開家鄉，離開父母與親人，來到一個陌生城市打拼，有機遇有風險，面對不確定的未來，壓力、不安乃至焦慮總是難免的。

如何紓解壓力？如何舒緩焦慮？故鄉，對故鄉的思念，是一劑良藥，那里有無憂無慮的童年，那里有父母的呵護，那里有幸福的時光。故鄉是旅人的底氣，是心靈的依托。我猜想故鄉在旅人的夢里一定是遼遠清靜的。而在大城市的茫茫人海里，人們更多感受到的不是親密，而是陌生與孤獨。

故鄉是熟人的社會，城市是陌生人的地方。工業化、城市化給我們帶來財富和成功，但也有對未來的焦慮、有獨處的惆悵，需要撫慰，需要紓解。故鄉、童年是最好的安慰劑，鄉愁其實也是一種勵志。

有感于竹子的故事近讀三則與竹有關的故事，其中蘊含的成才之理，引人深思。

第一則：有一種毛竹，在最初的幾年，它幾乎沒有變化。但幾年之后，它會在短短幾個月內瘋狂生長，很快超過其他竹木。之所以如此，是因為在前幾年的時間里，毛竹都在深深地扎根，在不斷積蓄迸發的力量。

根往下扎，枝往上長，是植物生長的規律，也是人才成長的規律。大凡成功者，無不是把根深扎實踐的土壤中，汲取大地的營養，積蓄向上的力量。習近平同志曾在《我是黃土地的兒子》一文中寫道：15歲來到黃土地時，我迷惘、彷徨；22歲離開黃土地時，我已經有著堅定的人生目標，充滿自信。他將鄭板橋詠《竹石》詩改了幾個字，作為自己上山下鄉的深刻體會：“深入基層不放松，立根原在群眾中。千磨萬擊還堅勁，任爾東西南北風。”可見深入實際、深入群眾，進行磨煉和積累，對于一個人的成長有多么重要！有厚積，才有薄發；有沉潛，才有飛躍。恰如古人所言，“大木百尋，根積深也；滄海萬仞，眾流成也；淵智達洞，累學之功也”。

第二則：師傅讓三個徒弟到竹林中各選一根能做笛子的竹子。徒弟甲選了一根圓潤的竹子，認為做成的笛子聲音會圓潤；徒弟乙選了一根光潔的竹子，認為做成的笛子聲音會清脆；徒弟丙選了一根有瘢痕的老竹，認為做成的笛子經久耐吹。結果徒弟丙選對了，深得師傅的贊許。

為什么徒弟丙選對了呢？因為老竹經過寒冬里“冰刀霜劍”的打磨，質地綿密厚實，做出的笛子不僅聲音清亮悅耳，而且不變形、不走調。相比之下，圓潤的竹子和光潔的竹子因為未經寒冬，雖然看著圓潤光潔，但做成笛子后，不但音色差，而且容易變形開裂。有道是“寶劍鋒從磨礪出，梅花香自苦寒來。”干部的成長與選竹做笛子的道理有許多相似之處。不吃一番苦，不在嚴酷的環境中近乎殘酷地磨煉，熱血就無法沸騰，筋骨就無法舒展，青春就無法淬火。凡有作為者，不依賴于機巧，也不寄望于僥幸，吃苦耐勞是他們人生的財富，埋頭苦干是他們成功的秘訣。

第三則：晾衣竿問笛子：同為竹子，為什么我一文不值，而你卻備受歡迎？笛子答：“因為你只挨了幾刀，我卻經歷了千雕萬鑿。”

這則寓言是第二則故事的延伸，它所蘊含的道理進一步啟示我們，成才的過程，不只是吃苦磨礪的過程，也是“千雕萬鑿”的過程。孟子在論述“天將降大任于是人”時說：“人恒過，然后能改。困于心，衡于慮，而后作。”一個人在成長過程中，不僅要戰勝各種困難，經歷挫折和失敗的考驗；而且要不斷戰勝自我，勇于給自己“修枝打杈”，這樣人生之樹才能長得挺拔而健壯。雕塑家用一塊普通的石頭雕了一只栩栩如生的鷹，旁觀者問其技，曰：石頭里本來就有一只鷹，我只不過將多余的部分去掉，它就飛起來了。只要我們不斷雕琢自我，去掉那些多余東西的羈絆，也會如鷹那樣飛得很高。

鄭板橋詩曰：“畫根竹枝插塊石，石比竹枝高一尺。雖然一尺讓他高，來年看我掀天力！”只要我們如竹那樣扎根沃土、根上發力，在艱苦環境、關鍵崗位上鍛煉，就能積蓄足夠的成長力量，展示“來年看我掀天力”的精彩，收獲“吹盡狂沙始到金”的出彩。

讀經典可以培養高尚心靈

林語堂曾說，“讀書，開茅塞，除鄙見，得新知，增學問，廣識見，養性靈。”讀書可以使人增長學問見識，領悟為人處世的道理，即“開茅塞，除鄙見”，這是閱讀大多數書籍都可以帶來的好處。讀書還可以“養性靈”，這種好處，則非品讀經典而不可得。通過品讀經典培養高尚的心靈，養成知識豐富、道德高尚、情趣健康的性靈，可以讓人生從浮躁走向寧靜、從淺陋走向優雅。

何謂經典？唐代史學家劉知幾說：“自圣賢述作，是曰經典。”他認為，古代圣賢所述所作的就是經典。這個解釋有些道理。圣賢的思想往往能夠洞穿古今，必然是經典。但問題又來了，圣賢何以成為圣賢？實際上，還是靠其著述留存后世，為后人所接受、認可、推崇。有學者曾總結過經典的特性：傳世性、權威性、耐讀性、累積性。可以說，經典之所以成為經典，關鍵在于其蘊含的思想精髓能觸及人們的心靈。它們代表著時代精神，能夠穿越時空、啟迪后人。因而，經典是歷史選擇出來的最具價值的書籍。

品讀經典，人們可以沐浴思想的光華，感受圣賢哲人的思考。例如，孔子所強調的“仁者愛人”，一直是中華民族寶貴的精神財富，在今天依然具有不可替代的價值。又如，馬克思、恩格斯的著作歷來為共產黨人所推崇，百讀不厭，回味無窮。品讀馬克思、恩格斯的經典著作，不僅有助于我們用辯證唯物主義和歷史唯物主義的立場、觀點、方法來研究人類社會的各種現象和問題，而且可以引發我們對世界觀、人生觀、價值觀的深入思考，啟迪智慧，蕩滌心靈。

品讀經典，人們可以穿越到遙遠的古代，仿佛身臨歷史現場，感受古人的風采。《史記》中荊軻刺秦王，一番悲壯，一幕驚險。從《史記》中可以看出，作者司馬遷的追求是“究天人之際，通古今之變，成一家之言”。他將失敗的英雄項羽列入“本紀”，為匈奴作列傳，還專辟《貨殖列傳》記錄那些在當時為世人所不屑的商人。品讀這部歷史經典，我們可以讀出并且學習司馬遷的大氣魄、大胸懷。

品讀經典，可以給人以美的享受。“所謂伊人，在水一方”，人美景也美；“七八個星天外，兩三點雨山前”，讓人感到清新、舒曠，意境悠長。閱讀敘事文學作品，就如同步入歷史人物長廊：劉蘭芝、焦仲卿的悲劇讓人感嘆，巾幗英雄花木蘭的形象令人嘆奇，梁山泊一百單八好漢的忠義令人回腸蕩氣，等等。文學經典往往也是歷史經典。例如，杜甫的“三吏”“三別”，書寫了安史之亂的歷史場景。又如，一部《紅樓夢》通過對賈家的細致描寫，揭示了封建社會大廈將傾的歷史趨勢。

品讀經典未必能讓人學會一項生存技能，但可以培養高尚的心靈。經典蘊含的深刻哲思、美妙文辭，給人帶來的并非單一的啟迪，而是多元的文化熏陶，使我們在潛移默化中氣質得到提升、心靈得到洗禮、心胸變得開闊、見識更加高遠。

娛樂需要場合，尊重卻是永恒

“慰安婦”，是許多二戰參與國都繞不過去的一個敏感稱謂，也是千萬受害者一生被囚禁其中的枷鎖。日軍侵華期間，20萬余的中國婦女被強擄，成為了日軍的“慰安婦”。惡劣的生存環境、殘忍的迫害手段、屈辱的精神折磨，成為了她們終生揮之不去的可怖夢魘。

她們都在等道歉，可只等到時間將她們帶入塵土。2013年，中國僅存的”慰安婦“為32人；2015年，22人；2017年，8人......真害怕，這段歷史會隨著時間車輪而被歪曲淡忘。但還好，總有人嘗試去替我們扶正記憶的脊梁。2013年，導演郭柯獨立制作拍攝紀錄片《三十二》，講述了“慰安婦”制度受害者韋紹蘭老人和她的中日混血兒子羅善學的故事；2017年8月14日，正值世界“慰安婦”紀念日，影片《二十二》公映，而中國在世的“慰安婦”受害者也僅剩下8人。

道歉太難，或許還缺乏更多宏觀的力量來促成，但起碼我們應該做到尊重。可總有些人或事，用戲謔去褻瀆國人對于歷史的敬畏。8月22日，上海一男子在影院觀看紀錄片《二十二》時卻不時發出嗤笑聲，當身旁觀眾對他的不尊重表現給予指責時，該男子卻反駁“我笑關你什么事？”而在線上，QQ空間近日也開始流傳一系列配有影片《二十二》中受害老人影像的表情包，并配有“我真的委屈啊”、“無語凝噎”等文字；21日，QQ空間發表致歉聲明，稱該系列表情包由第三方公司提供，QQ空間方面已將所有配圖下線，并將全面自查。

尼爾·波茲曼曾說，“有兩種方法可以讓文化精神枯萎，一種是奧威爾式的——文化成為一個監獄，另一種是赫胥黎式的——文化成為一場滑稽戲。”也許，成為滑稽戲要比成為監獄更讓人膽寒，因為監獄會讓我們排斥、抗拒，而滑稽戲卻如此悄無聲息地將我們吞噬，套牢其中，卻不自省。誠然，在這個科技創新、信息海量、媒體接入便利的環境，時代給了我們許多便利，也帶來了更加多元多彩的行為、思考、創作方式，但進步帶來的應該是方式內容的革新，對于底線和原則的堅守，這是永遠都不可越界、或者是模糊的雷池。我們需要娛樂，但若一切都日漸以娛樂的方式出現，甚至連國家、民族、歷史、政治、宗教等，都能無比自然地銜接為戲謔的原材料，我們的良知也許正在被一場場大眾狂歡所麻木腐蝕。

有人曾把當代學生沉迷網游，比作清末民初人們的貪食鴉片，那今天，當有人看到這些受害同胞會嗤笑，還會將同胞所曾遭受的苦難當做制作表情包的原材料，如果放在戰爭年代，我們會將他們做何比喻？

愛國，不一定體現在血染征場；制敵，也不一定要經歷槍林彈雨；文明，不只在于思維靈活衣冠楚楚；尊重，也不僅僅是單薄客套的干癟空膛。這世界沒有任何一處港口能抵達尊重，因為尊重，本就是通往一切的碼頭。

人生立志須趁早

近來讀書，歷覽前人事狀，深刻體會到少時立志的重要性。有人說“成名要趁早”，其實，莫如說立志須趁早。

“夫志，氣之帥也”。對個人而言，不患才不及，而患志不立。“宰相之杰”張居正寫下“愿以深心奉塵剎，不予自身求利益”，躬身改革、不計毀譽，將個人得失置之度外；民族英雄林則徐樹立救國為民的高遠志向，在虎門銷煙、抗擊英軍、安撫叛亂等歷史事件中，始終做到了“茍利國家生死以，豈因禍福避趨之”。注重立志，善養“浩然之氣”，就能涵養從容內斂的氣質，蓄積堅定自信的精氣神。

立志非常必要，趁早立志尤為重要。晚清名臣左宗棠青年時代就志向篤定，于23歲時自題對聯以明志：“身無半畝心憂天下，讀破萬卷神交古人。”他也十分注重家風家教，告誡自己的孩子“志患不立，尤患不堅”“小時志趣要遠大，高談闊論固自不妨”。縱觀左宗棠的一生，從辦理洋務、主持船政到收復新疆、抗擊法軍，他一以貫之地踐行自己的志向；他的孩子長大后能夠報效國家、不辱使命，也與其早立志、立長志的教導密不可分。盡早確立志向，明確人生奮斗的方向，可以助人避免隨波逐流、亦步亦趨，不被誘惑所誤導。

當然，美好的愿景不會自動實現，早立志僅僅是成長的起點。人生路途漫漫，如何堅守信念、矢志不渝，是生命歷程各個階段都需要作答的命題。特別是在屢遭挫折或逆境時，更加考驗一個人意志和勇氣。歷史上，司馬遷獄中遭受苦難不曾移志，堅韌中寫就巨著；蘇武異邦牧羊數十載不折其志，最終夢圓歸鄉。事實證明，一個人的志向如何，直接影響著成就的取得，也只有為志向執著付出，才能不斷抵近心中的理想抱負。志向引領行動、行動考驗志向，兩者相輔相成，演繹著立志與逐夢的交響。

“取乎其上，得乎其中；取乎其中，得乎其下；取乎其下，則無所得矣”。立志當胸懷寬廣、眼界開闊，大膽追求遠大的志向。而這背后，離不開理想信念的支撐。人生如寄，何以才能不枉此生？每個人都會有自己的答案，但如果沒有堅定的理想信念，人生就容易迷航。春秋戰國時期，一些人感喟人生苦短，主張及時行樂者自成一派；魏晉時期，竹林七賢縱情山水、盛行清談，逃避現實一時成風；當代西方社會也曾醉生夢死，“垮掉的一代”發人深省。

今天，為了“能被知識的亮光照到”，四川涼山州“懸崖村”的孩子曾在峭壁上留下瘦削的身影；為了觸碰大山之外的世界，重慶雙坪村村民用雙手鑿出一條“懸崖天路”……那些看不見的理想信念與志向追求，正迸發著強大的能量。哲人有言，“沒有崇高的生活理想的人，像大海里的一片小舟一樣，它時刻都會被狂風巨浪襲擊而沉沒海底。”揚起理想的風帆、握緊志向的羅盤，不為風雨所阻、不被顛簸所攔，人生這一葉輕舟才能自信駛過萬重山。

“一生一世”中的語文問題

“說要愛你一生一世的男人，最后和你離婚了，算不算說謊？”這是浙江大學竺可楨學院新生選拔考試的一道語文試題，被一些學生稱為“奇葩試題”，引起激烈的討論。

《錢江晚報》昨天報道此事后，在讀者中也引起討論。從轉載這一報道的公眾號上網友的留言可以看到，爭議集中于兩點：一是該題的正確答案應該是什么？二是拿這樣的題目來考試是否合適？應該說，這兩個問題是有內在聯系的：如果該題的正確答案不被人們所認可，那就是說人們認為該題確實過于奇葩，就不適合拿來用作考題。

這是一道語文試題，它的“語文性”在哪里？首先在“說謊”二字。要判斷“一生一世”是否說謊，先要確定“說謊”的定義，然后用這個定義去衡量那個“男人”的行為——不但要掌握詞義，還要會運用詞義。該題假設的情景對考生造成了很大的干擾，基礎知識薄弱的，或者掌握了基礎知識而思維能力較弱的，都容易被“一生一世”帶到溝里。

所謂“一生一世”，婚戀行為是人生現象或者說是社會現象，在這道試題里，它是考生的思考對象；它要求學生了解人的復雜性，社會的復雜性，又能清晰、恰當地表達自己的看法。這道試題包括了語文課的核心內容：語言文字知識和運用語文表達自己的思想觀點的能力。這里要強調的是，語文能力不僅僅是掌握了詞語、詞組等語言材料，也不僅僅是組合材料的原則即語法；語言能力更是運用語匯、語法進行思考、思辨、表達的能力。因此，從語文的專業角度來看，這是一道成功的語文試題。

從考生角度來考量，這也是一道好試題。浙大是一所研究性大學，竺可楨學院則從已經被浙大錄取的新生中選拔學生，進行重點培養。尖端的研究人才，既要有扎實的基礎知識，又要有很強的研究能力；研究能力的核心，不就是思考能力嗎？如何從紛繁復雜的表象中發現實質性問題，如何排除各種干擾找到研究方向、確定思路，這是研究型人才的核心能力。

具體到這道試題，就是看誰能夠從婚戀問題的表象中把握語文試題的核心問題。《錢江晚報》的報道提到浙大中文專業女生蔣同學——她說：“離婚有很多種因素，不一定代表著夫妻雙方不愛了。”這個回答，清楚地表明，蔣同學思路清晰概念清楚，表達周密——她能夠分辨“愛”與“婚姻”是兩個不同的概念，并依據她對生活的觀察、理解，表達自己的看法。這樣的能力，是研究型人才所必備的。

蔣同學這一事例說明，生活現象既是表達的前提，也是表達的內容；把這個觀察的結果表達出來，則是語文的任務。但是，即便是在語文圈子里，語文課的核心問題也往往被忽視，一些非專業或專業性很弱的問題常常成為熱點問題，很多專業人士也未能堅持專業立場，自覺不自覺地被牽著走。

就在大約十天前，有文章質疑課文“存在貶中崇洋傾向”，語文教師和語文研究人員的時間和精力，有很大一部分被消耗在這類非語文的問題上，對語文教學的專業性研究探討就無法深入。從這個角度考量，竺可楨學院的這道語文試題，是一個非常有價值的提醒：守住專業立場，才有專業價值。

“海歸”的失落或是一個提醒

近日有媒體披露，國內的“海歸”在就業市場上正經受著“冷遇”。據全球化智庫（CCG）與智聯招聘聯合發布《2017中國海歸就業創業調查報告》顯示，在被調查的80后、90后留學回國人員中，44.8%的人稅后月收入在6000元以下，近七成海歸認為月工資遠低于自身期望；另外，專業不對口現象在海歸群體中同樣明顯。（8月22日 《時代周報》）

曾幾何時，擁有洋文憑的“海歸”，身上罩有一道令人敬慕的“光環”，那“光環”就像是通行證，能讓他們找到理想的工作。可隨著近年來大規模“海歸潮”的出現，海歸的待遇與預期也與此前形成明顯落差。尤其是近些年，更多的留學生回國就業面臨著與國內大學畢業生幾乎同等的待遇，在部分崗位上，海歸的競爭力甚至不如國內畢業的大學生。原因不外乎兩個，一是社會和用人單位不再迷戀“海歸”的標簽；二是有些人根本就沒有取得“真經”回來。

其實，不管是國內文憑還是洋文憑，說白了不過是一張紙，用人單位更看重個人適應崗位的能力。就此而言，“海歸”的失落更像是對廣大留學生以及有去海外留學意愿，特別是抱有“鍍金”心理的學生的一個提醒：留學可以為我們提供更廣闊的發展空間，擁有更光明的前途，但也有可能遭遇失敗，得不償失。

其實，無論在國內讀大學還是在國外深造，大部分人都是為了今后能得到一個自己喜歡并愿意為之付出的工作。留學生在海外求學往往花費頗高，回國就業勢必希望獲得一份高收入的工作，實現所謂的“高投入高回報”，但隨著出國留學已經從“精英化”逐步走向了“大眾化”，這往往會事與愿違，甚至海歸變“海帶”。

因此，家長在決定是否該讓孩子出國留學時，一定要同時考慮正反兩方面的因素量力而行，這個“力”包括家庭的財力、子女的才力及適應異國學習生活方式的能力等等。此外，孩子在開始留學生活后，家長也應予以必要的關注，了解其生活、學習和心理動態，及時處理問題甚至調整發展思路。畢竟，學業有成且學以致用才是留學成功的標志。

“現實版阿甘”是最珍貴的人生歷練

廖興，四川大學錦城學院團委學生副書記，校內某營銷團隊發起人。1997年生于四川瀘州，2017年因從成都到深圳連續長跑1800公里走紅網絡，被網友稱為“現實版阿甘”。（8月21日《南方都市報》）

從成都跑回深圳，全程1800公里，他為什么選擇跑步回家？連續長跑30天是什么感覺？四川大學錦城學院學生廖興近日扛著校旗長跑千里的事情引發了不少人的好奇和關注。據了解，長跑的初衷是“愛跑步，想在20歲做點不一樣的、瘋狂的事”，整個過程對他來說充滿著考驗和疼痛，“我也是苦苦掙扎的普通人”。至于扛著校旗跑，除了宣傳母校外，還有一個原因是：“旗幟鮮明”之下不能偷懶放棄了。

對于現在的大學生來說，如此的“現實版阿甘”雖然不必效仿，但對于意志的磨煉，這樣主動“吃苦”的人生歷練實在是太需要了。而今的城市孩子，尤其是獨生子女，家長只重視孩子的讀書，學校更忙于應付應試教育，大多只重學習成績，放松素質教育，以至于現在一些學生衣來伸手飯來張口，嬌生慣養，備受寵愛甚至溺愛。再加上社會負面影響的作用，不少孩子從小驕橫自私，意志薄弱，經不起挫折，這樣的孩子，雖然考上大學，但顯然難以成為棟梁之材。因此相比于學業的深造，更急迫的是意志的錘煉。

連續長跑30天，全程1800公里，可以說是受益終生。旅途的艱辛，比如“陣痛和孤獨”，是平時難以體驗到的，這樣的經歷無疑有助于克服嬌氣和惰性。而一路風土人情和人文傳統的熏陶，尤其是活生生的社會生活的現實教育，不僅能磨煉人的意志，而且還能讓廖興感受到人與人之間的溫暖，而這都是課堂教育不可替代的。

其實，如此“現實版阿甘”，最根本的意義在于踐行陶行知先生“生活即教育”“社會即學校”的教育思想，讓自己更有勇氣去面對未知的恐懼和困難，更有信心去迎接挑戰。這種來自生活的洗禮，正是近年來我們的教育中所不足的。現在的學生，基本上是從家門到校門的兩點一線，事實上也缺少磨煉的機會。因此，有意識地為自己創造條件，更多地融入社會、融入生活，從而讓自己學會做一個人格健全的人，應成為每個大學生最重要的課程。

第三篇：美文賞析

美文賞析—《小草》

又到草黃時節。遍野的綠色斑駁著消失，只有那干枯的淺黃布滿了人的視線，是生命終結時最柔韌的余唱。

我喜歡看草綠江南岸的亮麗，蕭索的冬季在它們的淺笑聲中逃遁，是怎樣柔嫩的一莖莖新綠，在石縫里、泥土上，勇敢地挺直它們的細腰，在乍暖還寒的冷風凄雨里，一寸寸地成長，一點點把堤坡、大地湮染，在藍天輕風下編織出讓人振奮的春衣。

喜歡看盛夏里的草長鶯飛，小草在熾熱的陽光愛撫下，將生命里所有的美麗一起釋放，無邊無際的綠色原野，把各色怒放的花朵襯托得鮮艷欲滴，藍天在視野里也變低了，似乎彎腰來與小草親近。

“閉了雙目，陽光下喧騰的青草芳香就包圍了我們的嗅覺。是怎么樣溫馨而又好聞的一種清香啊，沒有各色花香的濃烈，沒有名牌香水的清雅，就是稻子成熟時的那種香味，是牛羊奶里的那個香氣，是大自然的原香，是大地的味道，是自家母親懷抱的味道。”是啊，小草，你原是牛馬羊們的主要食物，通過它們，你變身為潔白的乳汁，鮮美的肉食，溫暖的毛皮??

離離原上草，一歲一枯榮。野火燒不盡，春風吹又生。柔韌的小草，你究竟是什么呢？是我們無數卑微弱小的生命吧？我們是平凡的草民，卻也可以描繪春天，為大地梳妝，弱小的生命聯合起來，還可以改變環境，創造世界。

第四篇：雙城記 賞析 英文

Full of romantic elements in the suspense novel---a Tale of Two Cities

1.1 Strong romantic elements in Dickens’ novel It is generally regarded Dickens as a realist, but not a romantic writer.However, French historian Kazha thinks that Dickens is essentially a romantic, he classified Dickens and the Bronte sisters as a romantic writer,to Thackeray called realists.His argument on the later research on Dickens is very enlightening.British novelist, George Gissing and Jester Dayton found the romanticism in Dickens’ creations, Gisssing think that Dickens and Shakespeare, are the supreme idealist, he even directly called Dickens a “romantic realism ” [1 ];Jester Dayton that shaped the characters of Dickens is not a person like“ God ”, he called England Dickens,“ the last myth of writers, perhaps the greatest myth of writers ” [2].Modern British poet T.S.Eliot said that “Dickens's characters and the characters Dante and Shakespeare, like, all belong to the scope of poetry” [2].Indeed, the spirit of idealism to the romantic way Dickens can never exclude.In his work, romantic love is often described;the struggle of good over evil is romantic;figure of joys and sorrows of life and death is often romantic parting.Specific to the “Tale of Two Cities,” the novel, Carlton and Pross complete of their noble acts are on the very romantic, even when Cruncher from bad to good are also very impassioned, romantic and exciting atmosphere.A Tale of Two Cities is a true reflection of the times that all kinds of conflict and discord, quirks, depression, vitality and their unusual wealth.Although the details of Charles Dickens described unique, the characters sharp and detailed observation of the external characteristics, he may be described as a “realist” is not appropriate.1.2A suspense novel with wonderful story Dickens is good at creating suspense..A Tale of Two Cities is particularly successful in dramatized the plight of individuals with personality conflicts by a good structure and the tense atmosphere in the social historical background.At the beginning , the writer didn’t tell us the reason why Dt.Manette as a prison for 18 years.When Charles Darnay ask to Dr.Manette that he want to marry Lucie, Manette seemed to be aware of what cause for alarm, again and again to stop Darnay, asked him to repeat the morning of the marriage;the same evening, Manette again fall ill, the spirit of it Lost in the days of the Bastille.Even wondered for a moment the reader, however, not be explained Dickens.Readers can not help asking: what is the link of Darnay's life experience and Manette? Until the end of the book, people knows the link of Damay and Manette.By use of suspense, Dickens make the Manette as a person who see the bright side of human nature, and bring a wonderful story and the beauty of works of art for readers.The benevolence spirit and in the novel.2.1The justification of the revolutionA Tale of Two Cities“ was written in the 19th century 50's, a period of rapid economic development of capitalism.The capitalist development brings evils and impoverishment of working people's lives lead the British society to the edge of the outbreak of a social revolution.As early as 30~40years in 19c , the working class to fight for political rights, on a grand scale across the country launched a ”charter movement.“ Which Lenin called asthe world's first broad, truly mass, political, proletarian revolutionary movement[3] And this makes Dickens clearly aware of the 50's Britain and 18th century French society is very similar.For this reason,he decided to create a novel set in the French Revolution to Criticize the British social reality, provide a reference for the contemporary English, it is the background that the novel ”Tale of Two Cities“ in 1859 come out.”Tale of Two Cities“ is a historical theme of the novel, but Dickens's focus is firmly targeted at the real life.Works of the late 19th century French and British social life, extensive descriptions of the French Revolution broke out to explore the root causes are to the French Revolution's various social crisis and the reality of British society together, in an ancient metaphor for the modern use of way, warned the British rulers of the bourgeoisie: the cruel exploitation and oppression, the people's extreme poverty is the root of the revolution, if not alleviate the suffering of the civilian population, then the current outbreak of revolution in Britain is inevitable.Novels to social conflicts before the French Revolution shows very detailed and real, whether in cities or in rural areas ”, hunger rampant everywhere“, the majority of the people to ”mulberry grass“ for the food, while the upper class is extravagant, bully Pa women, among the country do not see ”a face with any respect,“ unbearable oppression, the people are ready to ”hang with a rope and pulley to the enemy.“ In

1859, Charles Dickens On the ”Tale of Two Cities“ creative experience, said: ”I spent a lot of time and effort to create“ Tale of Two Cities ”, after numerous changes, finally satisfied.Able to repay my creation your effort in any way any money and other things, but the novel's theme of the meaning and the joy of creation is complete.“[4] Indeed, the deep thinking of this for Dickens, regardless of their historical significance revealed and social significance, or possess its own aesthetic values are worthy descendants mining and exploration.2.2 Forgiveness Thought and the benevolence spirit ”Tale of Two Cities“ is a controversial novel, the lower revolutionary image Madame Defarge of the novel impact assessment is an important factor.Liang Shiqiu said: ”Dickens read the card depends on which of the“ French Revolution ”, was deeply moved and determined to try to write a history of the Romans.Karay and sent two cars for his reference book, but most are not Charles Dickens Canada used because he did not want to write the history of the revolution have been Carey and the best structure in the former, not to write the necessary, as long as he captures the atmosphere of that era, with a story to illustrate the bloodshed will only lead to more bloodshed, only love can save the hearts of catastrophe.“[5] This is insightful.Dickens is the French Revolution as the only carrier to reflect the sharp class antagonisms and intense class struggle, as reflected in this class antagonism and class struggle has shown a wide range of people and human nature, the expression of specific events that goes beyond and have a more general sense of things.Dickens in the novel shaped the way Lucie, Manette ,Darnay and Carlton the ideal of humanitarian character, in that they embodied a kind of humanity as the core of the Christmas spirit.Best embodies the spirit of this love to be part of the British lawyer Carlton, purely for love, his unconditional practice the ”I want for you and your loved ones and make all the sacrifices“ of the promise, help Lucie's husband escape the prison to arrange a road away from the danger , while he replace Darnay on the guillotine.The Lord said: I am the resurrection, life is in me;believes in me, though dead, yet he will live;whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”intended to emphasize the spirit of Carlton's benevolence and altruism world forever.Conclusion

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens shows effectively the novelist’s aim to point out the injustice of oppression and the justification of the revolution.However, Dickens shows his strong criticism on the excess of bloodshed during the French Revolution, especially in his consideration of the innocent(like Charles Darnay)being punished along with the guilty.He feels that the old ways of oppression must be changed, and that much oppression and much misery inevitably lead to revolution, but when the revolution actually comes, he thinks that it is too violent and that the less bloodshed the better.The chief and the best portrayed figure is the benevolence spirit the leader of the revolution.

第五篇：英文定影賞析

建筑工程學院

建筑工程技術二班

姓名：朱衛紅

學號:201217010242

作業:<<費城故事>>影評

《The Philadelphia Story》

Andrew and Joe are two young lawyer in Philadelphia, they work hard and have a bright future.However, Andrew did not dare to tell the boss that he is a homosexual, and infected with AIDS.As he had been promoted soon, because the boss found a secret document on the grounds of his lost fired him, Andrew found Joe wanted him to accept the case.Joe was originally rejected, but his wife Louise and Andrew scolding the request agreed.Andrew's family went to court to support him.Trial, a number of demonstrators gathered outside the court, a request to the legitimate interests of homosexuals are not allowed to discriminate against people with AIDS.However, the defendant insisted that for this reason does not recognize Andrew's dismissal.Andrew debilitating body has been unable to withstand the intense anti-AIDS drugs intravenously, he had a premonition that I was going to die.But he is still strong enough to survive the fierce court defense.To the day of judgment, the jury verdict was finally subjected to unfair dismissal Andrew plaintiff, the defendant shall be responsible for damages.Andrew finally won.Joe went to the hospital to the news told Andrew and his family, but Andrew is not longer supported anymore, he is slowly dying.Hollywood has always been a vast world of entertainment films, because of lack of seriousness of the Films business benefits without being optimistic, the major film companies are reluctant to

spend money Toupai.However, 94 years, this situation has been turning suddenly, a group of historical reflection on the theme of social concern serious film appearance, in which the “Philadelphia,” the most attention, response was tremendous.“The Philadelphia Story” tells the story of an AIDS patient with a legal right to protect their interests in the story, it is called “Hollywood face of AIDS,” the movie.It marks the Hollywood no longer evade social reality, while flooding the United States formally declared war on AIDS.Video calls on people to care about helping people with AIDS, people with AIDS, also praised the fighting spirit of self-improvement, caused widespread concern in the community.In order to play AIDS emaciated body, his approach to weight loss with diet 30 pounds, and personally with homosexuals, AIDS, human contact, direct experience of life;to show the desperation of people with AIDS unique mind, he trained every day for modeling But back home and then that restore self, suffering inner torment.More valuable is that he is not only performed a patient, it is a strong struggle with the love of his family and friends, his career and a great role in society as a whole.For this reason, Tom Hanks won the 66th Oscar for Best Actor and the 44th Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear for Best Actor.Probably because Tom Hanks played the protagonist Andrew, and speech is a gradual dying man, so viewers can easily generate sympathy for him.Hanks of this role is his twice Oscar-winner for the first time.Look out, it has paid no small effort, a lot of meticulous touching performances.Movie “Andrew” is a shrewd, articulate characters, and the following year in “Forrest Gump” image contrast and performance style but also with “Forrest Gump” very different, it is “Andrew” and “A Gan ”two shaping the character, so that Hanks' acting school" image popular.So look at this his first Oscar-winner film is still worthwhile.