新视野大学英语2全部课文原文.docx

新视野大学英语2全部课文原文.docx

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新视野大学英语2全部课文原文

Unitl

Americansbelievenoonestandsstill.Ifyouarenotmovingahead,youarefallingbehind.This

attituderesultsinanationofpeoplecommittedto

researching,experimentingandexploring.Timeisoneof

thetwoelementsthatAmericanssavecarefully,theotherbeinglabor.

"Weareslavestonothingbuttheclock,”thasbeen

said.Timeistreatedasifitweresomethingalmost

real.Webudgetit,saveit,wasteit,stealit,killit,cutit,accountforit;wealsochargeforit.Itisapreciousresource.Manypeoplehavearatheracutesenseofthe

shortnessofeachlifetime.Oncethesandshaverunoutofa

person'hourglass,theycannotbereplaced.Wewanteveryminutetocount.

Aforeigner'sfirstimpressionoftheU.S.islikelytobethateveryoneisinarush--oftenunderpressure.City

peoplealwaysappeartobehurryingtogetwheretheyare

going,restlesslyseeking

attention

ina

store,

orelbowingothersas

theytry

tocomplete

their

shopping.Racingthroughdaytimemealsispartofthepace

oflifeinthiscountry.Workingtimeisconsidered

precious.Othersinpubliceating-placesarewaitingforyou

tofinishsothey,too,canbeservedandgetbacktowork

withinthetimeallowed.Youalsofinddriverswill

beabruptandpeoplewillpushpastyou.Youwillmisssmiles,briefconversations,andsmallexchangeswith

strangers.Don'ttakeitpersonally.Thisisbecausepeople

valuetimehighly,andtheyresentsomeoneelse“wasting”it

beyondacertainappropriatepoint.

Many

newarrivals

to

theStates

will

miss

theopening

exchanges

of

abusiness

call,

for

example.They

will

miss

theritualinteractionthat

goes

withawelcomingcupoftea

orcoffee

thatmay

beaconventionin

their

own

country.They

maymissleisurelybusiness

chats

ina

restaurant

orcoffee

house.Normally,Americans

do

notassesstheirvisitorsinsuchrelaxedsurroundingsover

extendedsmalltalk;muchlessdotheytakethemoutfordinner,orforaroundonthegolfcoursewhiletheydevelopasenseoftrust.Sincewegenerallyassess

andprobeprofessionallyratherthansocially,westart

talkingbusinessveryquickly.Timeis,therefore,

alwaysticking

inourinnerear.

Consequently

wework

hard

atthe

task

ofsavingtime.1

Weproduce

a

steady

flow

oflabor-saving

devices;we

communicate

rapidly

throughfaxes,phonecallsoremailsratherthanthrough

personalcontacts,whichthoughpleasant,takeIonger-especiallygivenourtraffic-filledstreets.We,

therefore,savemostpersonalvisitingforafter-workhoursorforsocialweekendgatherings.

Toustheimpersonalityofelectroniccommunicationhas

littleornorelationtothesignificaneeofthe

nomajorbusiness

matterathand.Insomecountries

isconductedwithouteyecontact,

requiring

face-to-face

normally

besignedinperson.However,

peopleare

meeting

increasinglyon

television

screens,

conducting

conversation.In

America,too,afinalagreementwill

“teleconferences”tosettleproblemsnotonlyinthis

countrybutalso--bysatellite--internationally.

TheU.S.isdefinitelyatelephonecountry.Almost

everyoneusesthetelephonetoconductbusiness,tochat

withfriends,tomakeorbreaksocialappointments,tosay

“Thankyou,”toshopandtoobtainallkindsofinformation.Telephonessavethefeetandendlessamounts

oftime.Thisisduepartlytothefactthatthetelephoneserviceissuperbhere,whereasthepostalserviceislessefficient.

Somenewarrivalswillcomefromcultureswhereitis

consideredimpolitetoworktooquickly.Unlessacertain

amountoftimeisallowedtoelapse,itseemsintheireyes

asifthetaskbeingconsideredwereinsignificant,

notworthyofproperrespect.Assignmentsare,

consequently,felttobegivenaddedweightbythepassageoftime.IntheU.S.,however,itistakenasasignofskillfuInessorbeingcompetenttosolveaproblem,

orfulfillajobsuccessfully,withspeed.Usually,themoreimportantataskis,themorecapital,energy,andattentionwillbepouredintoitinorderto“getitmoving.”

Unit2

LearningtheOlympicStandardforLove

NikolaiPetrovichAnikinwasnothalfasintimidatingasIhadimagine

dhewouldbe.No,thissurelywasnottheex-Sovietcoachmyfatherhadshippedmeoutto

meet.

ButNikolaihewas,Petrovichandall.Heinvitedmeinsideandsatdownonthecouch,pattingtheblanketnexttohimtogetmetositnexttohim.Iwassonervousinhispresence.

"Youareyoung,"hebeganinhisRussian-styleEnglish."IfyouliketotryforOlympicGames,Iguessyouwillbeabletodothis.NaganoOlympicstoosoonforyou,butfor2002inSaltLakeCity,youcouldbeready."

"Yes,whynot?

"herepliedtotheshockedlookonmyface.

Iwasapromising

amateurskier,butbynomeansthetopskierinthecountry."Ofcourse,therewillbemanyhardtrainingsessions,andyouwillcry,butyouwillimprove."

Tobesure,therewerecountlesstrainingsessionsfullofpainandmorethanafewtears,

butinthefiveyearsthatfollowed

IcouldalwayscountonbeingencouragedbyNikolai'samusingstoriesandsenseofhumor.

"Myfriends,theygointhemovies,theygointhedance,theygooutwithgirls,"hewouldstart."ButI,"hewouldcontinue,loweringhisvoice,"Iampractice,practice,practicein

thestadium.Andbythenextyear,Ihadcut1-1/2minutesoffmytimeinthe

15-kilometerrace!

"Myfriendsaskedme,'Nikolai,howdidyoudoit?

'AndIreplied,'Yougointhemovies,yougointhedance,yougooutwithgirls,butIampractice,practice,practice.'"

Herethestoryusuallyended,butononeoccasion,whichwelaterlearnedwashis25thweddinganniversary,hestoodproudlyinawornwoolensweaterandsmiledandwhispered,"AndItellyou,Iam26yearsoldbeforeIeverkissagirl!

ShewasthewomanIlatermarry."Romanticandotherwise,Nikolaiknewlove.

Hisconsistentgoodhumor,quietgratitude,perceptivity,andsinceritysetanOlympicstandardforlovethatIcontinuetoreachfor,eventhoughmyskiingdaysareover.

Still,heneverbabiedme.

OneFebruarydayIhadamassiveheadacheandfeltquitefatigued.Icameuponhiminaclearing,andafterapproximately15minutesofstriding

intothecoldbreezeoverthewhitepowdertocatchhim,Ifussed,"Oh,Nikolai,IfeellikeIamgoingtodie."

"Whenyouareahundredyearsold,everybodydies,"hesaid,indifferenttomypain.

"Butnow,"hecontinuedfirmly."Nowmustbeski,ski,ski."And,onskis,Ididwhathesaid.

Onothermatters,though,Iwasrebellious.

Once,hepacked10ofusintoaFinnishbachelor'stinyhomeforalow-budgetskicamp.Weawoke

thefirstmorningtofindNikolaimakingbreakfastandthenmadequickworkwithourspoons

whilesittingonmakeshiftchairsaroundatinycardtable.

Whenwewerefinished,Nikolai

stackedthestickybowlsinfrontofmysolefemaleteammateandme,asserting,"Now,girlsdodishes!

"

Ithrewmynapkinonthefloorandsworeathim,

"Askthedamnboys!

Thisisunfair."

Heneveraskedthisofmeagain,nordidhetakemuchnoticeofmyoutburst.Hesaved

hispassionforskiing.

Whencoaching,hewouldsingouthisinstructionskeepingrhythmwithourstride:

"Yes,yes,one-two-three,one-two-three."Adearladyfriendofmygrandfather,afterviewingacopyofavideoofmetrainingwithNikolai,asked,"Doeshealsoteachdance?

"

Intraining,IworkedwithoutresttocorrectmistakesthatNikolaipointedoutandIaskedaftereachpassifitwasbetter.

"Yes,it'sOK.Butthefasterkneedown,thebetter.""Butisitfastenough?

"I'dpersist.Finallyhewouldfrownandsay,

"Billiontimesyoumakemotion—thenbeperfect,"

remindingmeinanI've-told-you-a-billion-timestone,"Youmustbepatient."

Nikolai'spatienceandmyhardworkearnedmeafourth-placenationalrankingheading

intothepre-Olympicseason,

butthenImissedthecutforthe2002Olympics.

Lastsummer,IreturnedtovisitNikolai.Hemademetea...anddidthedishes!

Wetalkedwhilesittingonhiscouch.

MissingtheOlympicTeamthepreviousyearhadmademe

pauseandreflectonwhatIhadgaine—dnottheleastofwhichwasaquiet,indissolublebondwithashortmaninatropicalshirt.

Nikolaitaughtmetohavethecourage,heart,anddisciplinetopersist,evenifittakesabilliontries.

Hetaughtmetobethankfulinadvanceforacenturyoflifeonearth,andto

remindmyselfeverydaythatdespitethechallengesathand,"Nowmustbelove,love,love.

Unit3

MarriageAcrosstheNations

GailandIimaginedaquietwedding.Duringourtwoyearstogetherwehadexperiencedtheusualupsanddownsofacouplelearningtoknow,understand,andrespecteachother.Butthroughitallwehadhonestlyconfrontedtheweaknessesandstrengthsofeachother'scharacters.

Ourracialandculturaldifferencesenhancedour

relationshipandtaughtusagreatdealabouttolerance,

compromise,andbeingopenwitheachother.Gail

sometimeswonderedwhyIandotherblackswereso

involvedwiththeracialissue,andIwassurprisedthatshe

seemedtoforgetthesubtlerformsofracialhatredin

Americansociety.

GailandIhadnoillusionsaboutwhatthefutureheldforusasamarried,mixedcoupleinAmerica.Thecontinualsourceofourstrengthwasourmutualtrustandrespect.

Wewantedtoavoidthemistakemadebymanycouplesofmarryingforthewrongreasons,andonlyfindingoutten,

twenty,orthirtyyearslaterthattheywereincompatible,thattheyhardlytooktheti