第一篇：英語期末考試總結

期末考試結束了，成也好，敗也罷，都已經過去了，我們現在要做的就是認真總結，積極反思，調適心態，再決將來。

期末考試不僅給我們查找自己不足的機會，還讓我們知道自己的真實水平，給我們指明了努力的方向！

一、寫作：平時應多積累好句，應用到寫作中，這會使作文提高不少分。寫的時候還要多加入一些感受，是文章更生動。

二、英語聽力：明明告訴自己要專心，可越是這樣越發無法將心思全部投入聽力當中來，有時候甚至聽到下一題的時候，還在回想上一題是否正確，這個毛病必須克服。平時應該多訓練才好。

三、完形填空：需要耐心，而我缺乏的就是耐心，專心理解吧。

四、閱讀理解：先看題目再讀文章，這是初中英語老師教我的，謝謝他，這個方法挺好的。帶著問題去邊讀邊找答案。更重要的是，讀文章時，不能被打擾，不能中斷，不能一心二用，心平氣和地做題才好。

五、平時沒有養成認真檢查的習慣。答完卷之后，沒有認真檢查試卷，馬馬虎虎、粗心大意，導致失分嚴重。

一次考試并不是句號，更不能代表我們全部的實力。我要及時調整自己，為下一次考試做好準備！

第二篇：四年級英語期末考試總結

四年級英語期末考試總結

一、題型特點

本次試卷命題基于教材，緊扣課標，立足全體學生，在試題中體現了趣味化、生活化、任務化、開放性、交際性和應用性等新課程課程概念，絕大多數學生能勝任作為水平考試的英語試題，從中感受英語學習的成功與樂趣。具體說來，本次試題有如下特點：

1、注重基礎知識的考查

試卷堅持依據于課本，但又避免對教材中機械的知識進行生搬硬套，對于一些學生必須掌握的基礎知識作為重點考查的內容，因為這些語言知識的掌握能更好地為今后的學習打下堅實的基礎。

2、突出語言的交際功能

英語作為語言，是一種交際的工具。而小學英語教學根據學生的年齡特點和語言學習的規律，確立以聽、說能力的培養為主要目標，讀寫跟上的原則進行。因此，整個考試加大了對聽說能力的考查。

3、寓樂趣于試題中

試卷中配了多幅插圖，有很強的趣味性，使考生在做題中自然地排除緊張心理，既開發了智力，檢測了知識和能力水平，又獲得了英語學習的樂趣。

二、答題分析

1、聽力包括給圖片排序、單詞選擇、選擇正確的就答句，由淺入深，循序漸進，梯度合理。

（1）給圖片排序該題配以插圖，內容具有親和力和活潑性，以人為本。試題前的溫馨提示、聽力前的美妙音樂，有力緩解了學生的緊張情緒；大量圖片的呈現，讓整張試卷呈現出活潑感，但是聽的不是單純的單詞，而是聽對話，根據對話選擇有關的圖片，學生第一次接觸，難度比較大,本題學生失分較多，正確率不高。（2）單詞選擇旨在考查學生的判斷能力及瞬間的聽覺反應能力，選項之間有一定的干擾性，但學生對單詞掌握得熟練，此題得分不錯。

（3）選擇正確的應答句考查學生對本冊中主要句型的掌握情況，由于平時講得扎實，夯實了基礎，此題難不倒學生。

總之，聽力部分學生做得沒有以前好，第一題失分較多，從中體現了學生較弱的運用和反映能力。

2、筆試包括單詞分類、大小寫互換,四會單詞默寫、單項選擇、完成對話和情景對話。

（1）單詞分類考察學生對三會單詞的掌握情況,他們的早自習經常會讀單詞卡片,所以這個對他們來說沒問題,失分很少。

（2）單詞的默寫考查學生對單詞的掌握情況，平時老師緊扣大綱、課標，學生單詞掌握牢固，完成情況良好，稍有不足的是學生對個別單詞的運用有所混淆。（3）單項選擇巧設機關，啟發思維。有些測試試題的設計一改傳統的平鋪直敘形式，把幾方面的知識有機地融合在一起，既有知識的記憶，又有運用基礎知識、解決實際問題的能力，學生完成較好。

（4）完成對話，本題非常直觀，同時又給予學生一定的想象空間，避免了單獨的語法知識的考查，該題要求不高，但有一定的區分度，學生對單詞掌握不夠牢固。

（5）情景對話情境的設置貼進學生，貼進生活，具有一定的時代性，學生完成得較理想。

三、改進措施

本次質量監控留給我們的思考的問題很多，現對如何進一步加強教學，提高教學質量提出以下改進措施：

1、狠抓基礎，培養能力老師精心備課，認真上課，打好扎實的語言基礎，特別是最基本的詞匯和常用句型，要反復訓練，做到舉一反三。在課堂教學中，教師經引導學生進行觀察、比較、分析、討論、歸納總結等，把更多的時間讓給學生進行聽、說、讀、寫的語言實踐。

2、要適當增加語言的輸入量，拓展學生的知識面。

在教師中，不僅要學好書本知識，還要適當增加些聽、讀材料，加強情景方面的聽力訓練。

3、做好培優補差教學中注意趣味性，不斷激發學生的學習興趣，同時分層布置作業，讓優生更優，后進生迎頭趕上，中等生向優生轉化，面向全體，全面提高學生的英語水平。

第三篇：三年級英語期末考試總結

三年級英語期末考試總結

三年級本次仍是校內檢測，共分為兩部分：面試和筆試，面試和筆試各占50分。筆試分為聽力和書寫兩部分。聽力占25分，書寫部分占25分。考慮到三年級學生初次接觸英語，面試題目側重于考察學生的綜合運用語言能力。筆試題目則側重于考察學生對基礎知識的掌握情況，以及本階段所應具備的英語綜合運用能力。英語的學習離不開聽、說、讀、寫，以及好的語言環境。因此，倡導學生熟練掌握基礎知識的同時，注重在日常生活中多運用英語，注重語用能力的提高。

三年級實際人數 55 人，參加考試人數 55人，總分 分，平均分為 分，優秀率 85%，及格率100%。根據學生成績表分析，三年級英語上冊課標要求掌握的基礎知識和基本技能，90%以上的學生都能掌握。其中對單詞和對話的掌握較為牢固。但是對字母的左鄰、右舍掌握略微薄弱。個別學生不能迅速說出所給字母的左鄰、右舍。

在接下來的教學過程中，一方面，句子的聽說認讀和運用能力繼續提高。課堂上多采用情景教學法和角色扮演,讓學生多參與課堂活動，敢于說英語，多說英語。另一方面我應著重培養學生書寫習慣的培養。尤其是對26個字母的讀、寫，注意一些字母的筆順。26個字母是最基礎的，是學生必需掌握的。正確書寫，掌握書寫方法對于學生學習英語非常重要。課下當然也離不開單選、選答語、根據情境選擇合適句子等相關題型的練習。再接再厲，爭取將三年級學生基礎打得更牢，為四年級做準備。

第四篇：英語期末考試

維多利亞女王 Queen Victoria 伊麗莎白女王 Queen Elizabeth 迪斯尼樂園 Disneyland 天佑女王 God Save the Queen 君主立憲制 constitutional monarchy 星條旗Stars and Stripes 英美的上下議院、眾參議院 house of lords house of commons House of Representatives Senate 嘉德勛章 The Most Noble Order of the Garter 印度之星勛章 The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India 執政黨 party in power 反對黨 Opposition Party 影子內閣 Shadow Cabine 國務卿 Secretary of State 唐寧街 Downing Street 唐人街 Chinatown 圣帕特里克 St.Patrick's Day 圣喬治 St George’s Day 沙夫茨伯里大街 shaftesbury avenue 圣安德魯 St Andrews 自由女神 Statue of Liberty 英國首相 Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service 西敏寺 Westminster Abbey 圣米迦勒 Michaelis 天主教 Catholic Church 東正教 Orthodox Church 清教 Puritan 新教 Protestantism 杜莎夫人蠟像館 Madame Tussaud's 圣公會 Anglican Church 華爾街 Wall Street 百老匯 Broadway 帝國大街 Britannia Street 2 倫敦電影節:London Film Festival ABC：American Broadcasting Company（美國廣播公司）VOA：Voice of America（美國之音）

CNN：Cable News Network（美國有線電視新聞網）

英國首相：David William Donald Cameron（戴維·卡梅倫）副首相：Nick Clegg（尼克?克萊格）美國總統：貝拉克·奧巴馬（Barack Obama）美國副總統：約瑟夫·拜登（Joseph Robinette）

澳大利亞 英國女王伊麗莎白二世（Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II）總理：Kevin Rudd 陸克文

加拿大：英國女王伊麗莎白二世（Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II）加拿大總理：史蒂芬·哈珀（Stephen Harper）英國外交大臣：威廉·黑格（William Hague）

美國外交部長及國務卿：希拉里·克林頓Hillary Clinton 澳大利亞外交部長:Julie Bishop(朱莉·畢曉普)加拿大現任外交官：Robert Douglas Nicholson 羅伯特·道格拉斯·尼克爾森 英美單詞拼寫差異：

1,英語單詞中不發音的詞尾-me,-ue在美語拼寫中被刪除.英語拼法 美語拼法

公斤 kilogramme——kilogram 方案 programme——program 目錄 catalogue——catalog 對話 dialogue——dialog 序言 prologue——prolog 獨白 monologue——monolog 類似的 analogue——analog 2,英語中的以-our結尾的單詞,在美語中刪去了不發音的字母u.英語拼法 美語拼法

舉止、行為 behaviour——behavior 顏色 colour——color 特別喜愛的 favourite——favorite 風味 flavour——flavor 榮譽 honour——onor

勞動 labour——labor 幽默 humour——humor 3,英語中以-re結尾,讀音為/e/的單詞,在美語中改為-er結尾,讀音不變.英語拼法 美語拼法

中心 centre——center

纖維 fibre——fiber 公尺 metre——meter

劇場 theatre——theater 升 litre——liter 4,英語中某些以-ence為結尾的單詞,在美語中改為-ense結尾,讀音仍為/ns/.英語拼法 美語拼法

防御 defence——defense 犯法行為 offence——offense 執照 licence——license 托詞 pretence——pretense 5英語中一些以－ise為結尾的單詞，在美語中改為－ize結尾，讀音仍這/z/.英語拼法 美語拼法 組織 organise——organize, actualise——actualize 實現 realise——realize

創作 improvise ——improvize 專攻 Specialise——specialize 現代化 modernise——modern ize 受歡迎 Popularise——popularize 6一些以l結尾的單詞變形時，美式不雙寫l;英式雙寫l 旅游 travelling——traveling 吵架 quarrelling——quarreling 英國大學五種種類： Ancient university Red brick university New university Modern university Open university 英國中學的四種種類：

私立學校（independent school）普通中學（comprehensive school）文法學校（grammar school）學院制中學（academy）三位一體教義：

the union of three persons(Father, Son, and Holy Ghost)in one Godhead, or the threefold personality of the one Divine Being.星座：

白羊座----Aries 金牛座-----Taurus 雙子座-----Gemini

巨蟹座----Cancer 獅子座----Leo

處女座----Virgo 天秤座-----Libra 天蝎座----Scorpio 射手座----Sagittarius 山羊座----Capricorn 水瓶座-----Aquarius 雙魚座------Pisces 生肖：

1.Rat 鼠 2.Ox 牛 3.Tiger 虎 4.Rabbit 兔 5.Dragon 龍 6.Snake 蛇 7.Horse 馬 8.Goat 羊 9.Monkey 猴 10.Rooster 雞 11.Dog 狗 12.Boar 豬 希臘羅馬諸神：

宙斯(Zeus)天神 赫拉(Hera)天后 雅典娜(Athena)智慧女神，女戰神 阿波羅(Apollo)太陽神 潘(Pan)山林之神 維納斯(Venus）薩坦 Saturn 丘比特(Cupid)美國兩大新聞社：

美國聯合通訊社 The Associated Press(AP)路透社 Reuters 兩大財團：

凱雷集團(CarlyleGroup)與保德信(PrudentialFinancial)兩大航空公司：

美國航空(American Airlines)與達美航空(Delta Airlines)第三題 1.貴族頭銜

公：duke 候：Marpuis 伯：earl 子：viscount 男：baron 2.祝酒詞

Bottoms up 干杯！Prosit!祝妳健康！祝妳成功！Bon appetite 喫好！Slainte 干杯！Down the hatch!干杯！3.英語期刊種類

Sorts of periodicals Catchall periodicals Commercial periodicals Technical periodicals Special periodicals Entertaining periodicals 4.莎士比亞 Hamlet 哈姆雷特

Romeo and Juliet羅密歐與朱麗葉 As You Like It 皆大歡喜 Much Ado about Nothing無事生非 The Taming of the Shrew馴悍記 4.狄更新

《荒涼山莊》 Bleak House 《艱難時世》

Hard Times 《小杜麗》 Little Dorrit 《美國紀行》American Notes 《圣誕頌歌》A Christmas Carol 5.海明威

《老人與海》The Old Man and the Sea 《島在灣流中》Islands in the Stream 《伊甸園》The Garden of Eden《曙光示真》True At First Light《在我們的時代里》In Our Time 英國酒吧的種類

Public bar or pub 大眾酒吧

Saloon bar 雅座酒吧 private bar 私人酒吧 lounge bar 高級酒吧 Beer garden 啤酒花園 6.劇院的種類（3種）1 State--owned theatres : Royal Opera House National Theatre 2.Commercial theatres : Apollo Theatre Piccadilly Theatre Lily Theatre 3 Experimental theatres 第四題：

2、英美電影分級： 美國

G級：GENERAL AUDIENCES All ages admitted PG級(PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED Some material may not be suitable for children.)R級 RESTRICTED Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian 英國

U級 GENERAL AUDIENCES All ages admitted PG“級 Parental Guidance UC級 Especially suitable for children to watch 12級 Suitable for more than 12 years old or adult 15級 Suitable for more than 15 years old or adult 18級 Suitable for more than 18 years old or adult 4.3 七宗罪：

傲慢（Pride），嫉妒（Envy），暴怒（Wrath），懶惰（Sloth），貪婪（Greed），饕餮（Gluttony），以及貪欲（Lust）

Pride is the feeling that they have that they are better or more important than other people.Envy is the feeling you have when you wish you could have the same thing or quality that someone else has.Wrath is strong fierce anger especially based on the desire to punish sb for harm done to oneself.Sloth is laziness, especially with regard to work.Greed is the desire to have more of something, such as food or money, than is necessary or fair.Gluttony is the act or habit of eating too much and being greedy.Lust is a feeling of strong sexual desire for someone.4.4英國主要政黨 I Republican Party Alexander Hamilton Secretary of the Treasury Federalists Federal Party The Whigs Grand Old Party II Democratic Party Thomas Jefferson Secretary of State Anti--Federalist Democratic –Republican Party 4.5--英國的桂冠詩人解釋：

The word of ”Crown" comes from ancient Greece and Rome, which refers to eminent poet.In the western literary world Laureate is an honour title with a long history.It is an encouraging system issued by the goverment in England.It has an extensive and profound influence on literature and politics.So, reforming the system becomes a must.Therefore, crown is the sign of success , outstanding and honor, About the origin of laurel can be traced back to the Roman era.5.1中西禮儀的理解

The etiquette becomes more and more important in modern daily life.Etiquette is the process and means to show respect to each other in interpersonal relationship by certain, common procedures.Etiquette also can be said to be a person’s external appearance of inward cultivation and quality.People take it as a standard to balance a person’s self-cultivation.There are a lot of differences in the habit of conducts and the ceremony, especially between China and the West.The jokes and the mistakes caused by misunderstanding are not unusual.this shows that the understanding of different etiquette between Chinese and the westerners is absolutely necessary.Along with the constant development of Chinese culture and the western culture, Chinese ritual and the western ritual are fusions.the westerners have accepted the reasonable factors in Chinese culture and other important feelings.Chinese people have gradually accepted the advanced civilization of the western culture and etiquette style.5.2中西方餐飲文化的理解

The differences between the Chinese and Western dietary culture are derived from the difference in their ways of thinking and philosophy of life.Because of the differences between Chinese and western cultural traditions, the Chinese and western dietary cultures are different in concept, pattern, and nature.We study these differences and then find out the points that can be digested.First, the Chinese and western diet have the differences that cannot be ignored in concepts.Nobody will deny that the Western diet is a rational concept, regardless of the color of food, incense, flavor and shape, but nutrition must be assured.It cares about the intake of calories, vitamins, protein and so on during a day.The Chinese and Western dietary patterns can be very different, and these differences affect the national character.In China, a celebration, no matter what, there will be only one form, as sitting together, sharing one feast.Banquet uses round table, which has created a unity of form, which is courtesy, comity atmosphere.Differences in the nature of the Chinese and western diet are inosculated with the respective lifestyle and the pace of life.The impact brought about by economic globalization is stronger and deeper than the internationalization.Chinese and Western food culture’s collision and exchange have largely promoted the progress and development of human society to some degree , making the dietary culture become an important part of world culture.By the analysis of the differences between Chinese and western dietary cultures, we can comprehend the respective cultural traditions of China and the west.And we can also improve and create the culture of China.5.3 英美是被同一語言分離的兩個國家

Two countries divided by a common language: the use of English & shared history makes people think the two are close, but there are a lot of very real cultural differences.Britain is a traditional European country with long historical tradition continuity, The British tends to be conservative, and behaves like a gentleman.However, The United States is a nation of immigrants, is a young country.So, the Americans dare to innovate and stress emphasis on personal value.We can see that the British are sensitive, restrained, conservative, they tend to be rational rigorous and gentlemanly.By comparison, Americans are warm and cheerful, bold and frank.They are with a spirit of adventure and innovation.In general, British people tend to be calm and quiet, but American people tend to be enthusiastic and active.American people are talkative and easy-going.They are willing to make a friend with a stranger.Secondly, Besides, British people pay little attention to other people and other countries because within their hearts, they look down on the others.American people are risk-takers, they like changes and challenges.They would like to travel around the world to seek opportunities.In their opinion, success relies on personal efforts.They are more independent than British people.5.4美劇在中國受歡迎的原因

Compared to national productions，American TV series have a certain freshness to us.Obviously, the American TV series are much more attractive than TV series in China.First, the structure of them is better because every series can have a chance to improve by getting response from the audience.Second, they cost a large sum of money so that they can give us more beautiful and amazing scenes which will with them make us fall in love.Third, the ideas that American TV series are shown are creative and brave.And the stories they are made are colorful, extensive, and flexible.In addition, the American TV series are popular in China also benefited from the rise of all kinds of new media platforms, the American TV series creative attitude quite strict, a lot of work on the background details of the story can withstand strict scrutiny;the American TV series to be very particular about the quality of the production.And style of national TV series is single, while the Anglo-American TV series style varied, and the special effects is also better.5.5英語在中國流行的原因：

Overall, China's rapid economic development, led to China from young to old may have contact with foreigners, as the most widely used language in the English language is inevitable.Specifically, in the economic globalization today, the people of all ethnic groups between culture, economy constantly and penetration.While in this form under the influence, English learning becomes brook no delay.Only by understanding the other language can understand a culture of the other side, can learn from each other, and even is the use of such language advantage to work hard but his career.Especially now, English country especially the United States dominated the world economy dominant position, this also led to the popularity of English results.Many parents now pay attention to the urine of bilingual teaching.I think this kind of phenomenon is in after a long period of time will exist.The heat should continue.

第五篇：研究生英語期末考試close總結

第一章

The web magazine From the Window contains poetry and literature from well-know writes across the global.There are thoughtful articles analyzing the state of the world we live in.there is even a piece from the Secretary General of United States, Kofi Annan.It may come as some surprise to find out that the editor of the magazine is a 12-year-old girl, Joy Nightingale.From the Window won Joy Nightingale the first prize in the 1999 child net International and wireless awards.These are given annually for the best use of the internet by and for young people.And they highlight one of the most welcoming aspects of the virtual world.Children have taken to the Internet as though they are born surfing.Perhaps there is because adults have had to change their understanding of technology while children simply accept it as natural.Whatever the reason, children can be found building web and E-mailing friends across the world while adults are still asking: Tell me again –where exactly is cyberspace?

Of course there is growing concern about the fact that children can travel far away from parental supervision in cyberspace.In response, many parents have installed software packages which prevent access to violent or pornographic web.Children are taking a more positive line.The web is a gateway to a world of education and entertainment.The rapid growth in Internet culture has led analysts to speculate that society will soon be divided between the “information rich” and “information poor”.For child net it is especially important that children at the margins of society through poverty or disability have the chance to take their place as equal citizens in the virtual world.第五章

It is an astonishing fact that there are laws of nature, rules that summarize conveniently-not just qualitatively but quantitatively-how the word works.We might imagine a universe in which there are no such laws, in which the 1080 elementary particles that make up a universe like our own behave with utter and uncompromising abandon.To understand such a universe we would need a brain at least as massive as the universe.It seems unlikely that such a universe could have life and intelligence, because beings and brains require some degree of internal stability and order.But even if in a much more random universe there were such beings with an intelligence much greater than our own, there could not be much knowledge, passion or joy.Fortunately for us, we live in a universe that has at least important parts that are knowable.Our common-sense experience and our evolutionary history have prepared us to understand something of the workaday world.When we go into other realms, however, common sense and ordinary intuition turn out to be highly unreliable guides.It is stunning that as we go close to the speed of light, our mass increases indefinitely, we shrink toward zero thickness in the direction of motion, and time for us comes as near to stopping as we would like.Many people think that this is silly, and every week or two I get a letter from someone who complains to me about it.But it is virtually certain consequence not just of experiment but also of Albert Einstein?s brilliant analysis of space and time called the Theory of Relatively.It does not matter that these effects seem unreasonable to us.We are not in the habit of traveling close to the speed of light.The testimony of our common sense is suspect at high velocities.The idea that the world places restrictions on what humans might do is frustrating.Why shouldn?t we be able to have intermediate rotational positions? Why can?t we travel faster than the speed of light? But so far as we can tell, this is the way the universe is constructed.Such prohibitions not only press us toward a little humility;they also make the world more knowable.When 1988 began,East Africa should have been at its most beautiful:normally the short rainy season ends in December , the rivers subside , and the country sparkles;farmers raise crops , animals graze , tourists go on safaris.But this year was different.The rains were heavy and long.The water spread out for miles in places in Kenya and Somalia , cutting off village and forcing herders to ctowd with their livestock onto a few patches of dry land.Things quickly turned ugly.Camels , cows , sheep , and goats all started dying of violent fevers.Some people , too，began to get sick.Some went temporarily blind ；others began bleeding uncontrollably.The disease was Rift Valley fever，caused by an obscure mosquito borne virus.It pops up every few years in Africa when standing water encourages mosquito eggs to hatch--this year?s huge floods brought a spectacular outbreak.According to official estimates , at least 89，000 people caught the disease.Two hundred died，but then the disease is not usually fatal to humans.Animal losses，however，were almost certainly vast--owners reported losing up to 90 percent of their herds.Yet catastrophic as the East African floods were，they had to jostle for the world?s attention with other cases of strange weather---with unusual occurrences of droughts，fires，rains，cold snaps，and heat waves.Every year brings its own grab bag of such anomalies，but this year many of them could be linked to a phenomenon in the empty expanses of the equatorial Pacific--a change in the ocean currents and winds that began in the early months of 1997 and that altered weather patterns around the world.The change in the weather was , of course , the work of E1 Nino.By the end of 1997 , E1 Nino had already become a celebrity of sorts.In 1998, however , E1 Nino's effects on the world came into full flower.It helped make the year the hottest ever recorded.In addition to Rift Valley fever , E1 Nino has been linked to an upsurge in diseases ranging from choler to malaria to dengue fever ,in Kenya , Cambodia , Peru ,and other countries scattered around the globe.第七章

I have always disliked being a man, The whole idea of manhood in America is pitiful, a little like having to wear an ill-fitting coat for one?s entire life.Even the expression “Be a man!” strikes me as insulting and abusive.It means: Be stupid, be unfeeling, obedient and soldierly, and stop thinking.Man means“manly”-how can one think“about men”without considering the terrible ambition of manliness? And yet it is part of every man?s life.It is a hideous and crippling lie;it not only insists on difference and connives at superiority,It is also by its very nature destructive-emotionally damaging and socially harmful.The youth who is subverted, as most are, into believing in the masculine ideal is effectively separated from women –it is the most savage tribal logic and he spends the rest of his life finding women a riddle and a nuisance.Of course, there is a female version of this male affliction.It begins with mothers encouraging little girls to say(to other adults), “ Doyou like my new dress?” In a sense, Girls are traditionally urged to please adults with a kind of coquettishness, while boys are enjoined to behave like monkeys toward each other.The-9-year-old coquette proceeds to become womanish in a subtle power game in which she learns to be sexually indispensable, socially decorative and always alert to a man?s sense of inadequacy.Femininity-being ladylike –implies needing a man as witness and seducer;but masculinity celebrates the exclusive company of men.That is why it is so grotesque;and that is also why there is no manliness without inadequacy –because it denies men the natural friendship of women.It is very hard to imagine any concept of manliness that does not belittle women, and it begins very early.At an age when I wanted to meet girls –let?s say the treacherous years of 13 to 16-I was told to take up a sport , get more fresh air, join the Boy Scouts, and I was urged not to read so much

Late next century, when scholars are scripting the definitive history of the PC,these last few years of high-octane growth may actually be depicted as the Dark Ages.Historians will marvel at how we toiled in front of monolithic ,beige BUBs(big ugly boxes),suffering under the oppressive glare of cathode-ray tubes while our legs scraped against the 30-pound towers beneath our desks.They may also mark 1999 as the start of the PC renaissance ,when manufacturers finally started to get it :This holiday season, computer shoppers will enjoy unprecedented variety in shapes, sizes and colors-and not just in Apple?s groundbreaking line of translucent iMacs and iBooks.Nearly every major PC maker now has innovative desktop designs on the way to market,from hourglass-sculpted towers to flat-panel displays with all the processing innards packed into the base.Among industrial designers,who still think the PC has a long way before you?ll want to display it on your mantle ,the only question is ,what took so long? “The PC industry has ridiculed design for a long time,”says Hartmut Esslinger ,founder of Frog Design.“They have not respected their customers and have underestimated their desires.”

PC makers are finally catching on-and it?s partly out of desperation.Manufacturers used to sell computer by trumpeting their techno bells and whistles,like processor speed and memory.But since ever-faster chips have given us more power on the desktop than we could ever possibly use, computer makers have been competing on price-a strategy that has dropped most units below $1000 and slashed profits.Last week IBM limped from the battlefield ,announcing it would pull its lagging Aptiva line from store shelves and sell it only on the web.Competing only on price “made an industry shakeout inevitable”, says Nick Donatiello,president of the marketing-research firm Odyssey.第九章

A symbol is not the same thing as a sign;that is a fact that psychologists and philosophers often overlook.All intelligent animals use signs,So do we.To them as well as to us sounds and smells and motions are signs of good ,danger ,the presence of other beings,or of rain or storm..Furthermore some animals not only attend to signs but also produce them for the benefits of others.Dogs bark at the door to be let in;rabbits thump to call each other;the cooing of doves and the growl of wolf are unequivocal signs of feelings and intention to be reckoned with by other creatures.We use signs just as animals do,though with considerably more elaboration.We stop at red lights and go on green;we answer calls and bells,watch the sky for coming storms,read trouble or promise or anger in each other’s eyes.That is animal intelligence raised to the human level.Those of us who are dog lovers can probably all tell wonderful stories of how high our dogs have sometimes risen in the scale of clever sign interpretation and sign using.A sign is anything that announces the existence or the imminence of some events,the presence of a thing or a person ,or a changes in the state of affairs.There are signs of the weather ,signs of danger,signs of danger ,signs of future good or evil,signs of what the past expected in experience.It is always a part of the situation to which it refers ,though the reference may be remote in space and time.A symbol differs from a sign in that it dose not announce the presence of the object,the being ,condition,but merely brings this thing to mind.A sign cause us to or act in face of the signified,whereas a symbol causes us to think about the thing symbolized.A sign is always embedded in reality,but a symbol may be divorced from reality althogether.It may refer to a mere idea,or a dream.