自考综合英语二课文.doc

自考综合英语二课文.doc

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自考综合英语二课文

全国高等教育自学考试指定教材综合英语二（上下）主编徐克荣外语教学与研究出版社

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LessonOne

TwelveThingslWishTheyTaughtatSchool

CarlSagan

　　俗话说：

“活到老，学到老。

”人的一生就是不断学习、不断丰富和充实自己的过程。

青少年阶段，尤其是中学阶段，无疑是学习的最佳时期。

中学教育的重点应放在什么地方？

美国著名科学家和科普作家萨根批评中学只抓各个学科具体内容的做法，他认为中学要注重对青少年的宏观教育，使他们建立起唯物的世界观和宇宙观，使他们能够正确对待自己，关心周围的世界——人类生存的环境和自己的地球同胞。

　　1Iattendedjuniorandseniorhighschool,publicinstitutionsinNewYorkandNewJersey,justaftertheSecondWorldWar.Itseemsalongtimeago.ThefacilitiesandtheskillsoftheteacherswereprobablywellaboveaveragefortheUnitedStatesatthattime.Sincethen,I'velearnedagreatdeal.OneofthemostimportantthingsI'velearnedishowmuchthereistolearn,andhowmuchIdon'tyetknow.SometimesIthinkhowgratefulIwouldbetodayifIhadlearnedmorebackthenaboutwhatreallymatters.Insomerespectsthateducationwasterriblynarrow;theonlythingIeverheardinschoolaboutNapoleonwasthattheUnitedStatesmadetheLouisianaPurchasefromhim.（Onaplanetwheresome95%oftheinhabitantsarenotAmericans,theonlyhistorythatwasthoughtworthteachingwasAmericanhistory.）Inspelling,grammar,thefundamentalsofmath,andothervitalsubjects,myteachersdidaprettygoodjob.Butthere'ssomuchelseIwishthey'dtaughtus.

　2Perhapsallthedeficiencieshavesincebeenrectified.Itseemstometherearemanythings（oftenmoreamatterofattitudeandperceptionthanthesimplememorizationoffacts）thattheschoolsshouldteach—thingsthattrulywouldbeusefulinlaterlife,usefulinmakingastrongercountryandabetterworld,butusefulalsoinmakingpeoplehappier.Humanbeingsenjoylearning.That'soneofthefewthingsthatwedobetterthantheotherspeciesonourplanet.Everystudentshouldregularlyexperiencethe"Aha!

"—whensomethingyouneverunderstood,orsomethingyouneverknewwasamystery,becomesclear.

　　3Sohere'smylist:

　　　Pickadifficultthingandlearnitwell.

　　4TheGreekphilosopherSocratessaidthiswasoneofthegreatestofhumanjoys,anditis.Whileyoulearnalittlebitaboutmanysubjects,makesureyoulearnagreatdealaboutoneortwo.Ithardlymatterswhatthesubjectis,aslongasitdeeplyinterestsyou,andyouplaceitinitsbroaderhumancontext.Afteryouteachyourselfonesubject,youbecomemuchmoreconfidentaboutyourabilitytoteachyourselfanother.Yougraduallyfindyou'veacquiredakeyskill.Theworldischangingsorapidlythatyoumustcontinuetoteachyourselfthroughoutyourlife.Butdon'tgettrappedbythefirstsubjectthatinterestsyou,orthefirstthingyoufindyourselfgoodat.Theworldisfullofwonders,andsomeofthemwedon'tdiscoveruntilwe'reallgrownup.Mostofthem,sadly,weneverdiscover.　　　Don'tbeafraidtoask"stupid"questions.

　　5Manyapparentlynaiveinquirieslikewhygrassisgreen,orwhytheSunisround,orwhyweneed55,000nuclearweaponsintheworld—arereallydeepquestions.Theanswerscanbeagatewaytorealinsights.It'salsoimportanttoknow,aswellasyoucan,whatitisthatyoudon'tknow,andaskingquestionsistheway.Toask"stupid"questionsrequirescourageonthepartoftheaskerandknowledgeandpatienceonthepartoftheanswerer.Anddon'tconfineyourlearningtoschoolwork.Discussideasindepthwithfriends.It'smuchbravertoaskquestionsevenwhenthere'saprospectofridiculethantosuppressyourquestionsandbecomedeadenedtotheworldaroundyou.

　　　Listencarefully.

　　6Manyconversationsareakindofcompetitionthatrarelyleadstodiscoveryoneitherside.Whenpeoplearetalking,don'tspendthetimethinkingaboutwhatyou'regoingtosaynext.Instead,trytounderstandwhatthey'resaying,whatexperienceisbehindtheirremarks,whatyoucanlearnfromoraboutthem.Olderpeoplehavegrownupinaworldverydifferentfromyours,oneyoumaynotknowverywell.They,andpeoplefromotherpartsofthecountryandfromothernations,haveimportantperspectivesthatcanenrichyourlife.

　　　Everybodymakesmistakes.

　　7Everybody'sunderstandingisincomplete.Beopentocorrection,andlearntocorrectyourownmistakes.Theonlyembarrassmentisinnotlearningfromyourmistakes.

　　　Knowyourplanet.

　　8It'stheonlyonewehave.Learnhowitworks.We'rechangingtheatmosphere,thesurface,thewatersoftheEarth,oftenforsomeshort-termadvantagewhenthelong-termimplicationsareunknown.Thecitizensofanycountryshouldhaveatleastsomethingtosayaboutthedirectioninwhichwe'regoing.Ifwedon'tunderstandtheissues,weabandonthefuture.

　　　Scienceandtechnology.

9Youcan'tknowyourplanetunlessyouknowsomethingaboutscienceandtechnology.Schoolsciencecourses,Iremember,concentratedontheunimportantpartsofscience,leavingthemajorinsightsalmostuntouched.Thegreatdiscoveriesinmodernsciencearealsogreatdiscoveriesofthehumanspirit.Forexample,Copernicusshowedthat—farfrombeingthecenteroftheuniverse,aboutwhichtheSun,theMoon,theplanets,andthestarsrevolvedinclockwisehomage—theEarthisjustoneofmanysmallworlds.Thisisadeflationofourpretensions,tobesure,butitisalsotheopeninguptoourviewofavastandawesomeuniverse.EveryhighschoolgraduateshouldhavesomeideaoftheinsightsofCopernicus,Newton,Darwin,Freud,andEinstein.（Einstein'sspecialtheoryofrelativity,farfrombeingobscureandexceptionallydifficult,canbeunderstoodinitsbasicswithnomorethanfirst-yearalgebra,andthenotionofarowboatinarivergoingupstreamanddownstream.）　　

　Don'tspendyourlifewatchingTV.

　　10YouknowwhatI'mtalkingabout.Culture.

　　11Gainsomeexposuretothegreatworksofliterature,artandmusic.Ifsuchaworkishundredsorthousandsofyearsoldandisstilladmired,thereisprobablysomethingtoit.Likealldeepexperiences,itmaytakealittleworkonyourparttodiscoverwhatallthefussisabout.Butonceyoumaketheeffort,yourlifehaschanged;you'veacquiredasourceofenjoymentandexcitementfortherestofyourdays.Inaworldastightlyconnectedasoursis,don'trestrictyourattentiontoAmericanorWesternculture.Learnhowandwhatpeopleelsewherethink.Learnsomethingoftheirhistory,theirreligion,theirviewpoints.

　　　Compassion.

　　12Manypeoplebelievethatweliveinanextraordinarilyselfishtime.Butthereisahollowness,alonelinessthatcomesfromlivingonlyforyourself.Humansarecapableofgreatmutualcompassion,love,andtenderness.Thesefeelings,however,needencouragementtogrow.

13Lookatthedelightaone-ortwo-year-oldtakesinlearning,andyouseehowpowerfulisthehumanwilltolearn.Ourpassiontounderstandtheuniverseandourcompassionforothersjointlyprovidethechiefhopeforthehumanrace.

LessonTwo

Icons

　　提起一位获得诺贝尔奖的华人物理学家的名字，今天的青少年恐怕很多人会感到陌生，无话可说，可是谈起当红歌星、球星，他们则是津津乐道。

当今国内外的明星大腕被少男少女们一个个奉为偶像。

君不见，追星族们为求得偶像的签名，可以在瓢泼大雨中等待半天，为一睹偶像的风采，可以大打出手破门而入。

三四十年前青年人崇拜的科学家和英雄人物已被视为昨日黄花，中外都是如此。

这种价值观的变化引起了社会学家和教育家的忧虑，他们指出星们、腕儿们只不过是媒体尤其是电视炒作的产物。

HeroesandCulturalIcons

GaryGosggarian

1IfyouwereaskedtolisttenAmericanheroesandheroines,youwouldprobablynamesomeorallofthefollowing:

GeorgeWashington,AbrahamLincoln,DanielBoone,MartinLutherKingJr.,AmeliaEarhart,SusanB.Anthony,JacquelineKennedyOnassis,HelenKeller,ElizabethCadyStanton,andRosaParks.Ifnextyouwereaskedtolistpeoplewhoaregenerallyadmiredbysociety,whosomehowseembiggerthanlife,youmightcomeupwithanentirelydifferentlist.Youmight,infact,namepeoplewhoarecelebratedfortheirwealthandglamourratherthantheirachievementsandmoralstrengthofcharacter.Andyouwouldnotbealone,becausepollstershavefoundthatpeopletodaydonotchoosepoliticalleaderswhoshapehistoryfortheir"MostAdmired"list,butrathermovieandtelevisioncelebrities,fashionmodels,professionalathletes,andevencomicbookandcartooncharacters.Inshortmediaicons.

　　2Bydefinition,heroesandheroinesaremenandwomendistinguishedbyuncommoncourage,achievements,andself-sacrificemademostoftenforthebenefitofothers—theyarepeopleagainstwhomwemeasureothers.Theyaremenandwomenrecognizedforshapingournation'sconsciousnessanddevelopmentaswellasthelivesofthosewhoadmirethem.Yet,somepeoplesaythatoursisanagewheretrueheroesandheroinesarehardtocomeby,wheretheveryidealofheroismissomethingbeyondus—anartifactofthepast.SomemaintainthatbecausetheColdWarisoverandbecauseAmericaisatpeaceourageisessentiallyanunheroicone.Furthermore,theoverallcrimerateisdown,povertyhasbeeneasedbyastrongandgrowingeconomy,andadvancescontinuetobemadeinmedicalscience.Consequently,bereftofculturalheroes,wehavelatchedontoculturalicons—mediasuperstarssuchasactors,actresses,sportscelebrities,televisionpersonalities,andpeoplewhoaresimplyfamousforbeingfamous.

　　3Culturaliconsarehardertodefine,butweknowthemwhenweseethem.Theyarepeoplewhomanagetotranscendcelebrity,whoarelegendary,whosomehowmanagetobecomemythic.Butwhatmakessomefiguresiconsandothersmerecelebrities?

That'shardtoanswer.Inpart,theirliveshavethequalityofastory.Forinstance,thebeautifulyoungDianaSpencerwhoat19marriedaprince,boreaking,renouncedmarriageandthethrone,anddiedatthemomentshefoundtruelove.Goodlookscertainlyhelp.Sodoesaspecialindefinablecharisma,withthehelpofthemedia.Butnothingbecomesaniconmorethanatragicandearlydeath—suchasMartinLutherKingJr.,JohnF.Kennedy,andPrincessDi