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大英3课文Summary UNIT 1
1.1 catching crabs
In the fall of our final year,our mood changed.The relaxed atmosphere had disappeared, and peer group pressure to work hard was strong. Meanwhile,at the back of everyone’s mind was what we would do next after graduation. As for me,I wanted to travel,and I wanted to be a writer.I braced myself for some resistance to the idea from my father,who wanted me to go to law school,and follow his path through life.
However,he supported what I wanted but he made me think about it by watching the crabs.The cage was full of crabs. One of them was trying to escape,but each time it reached the top the other crabs pulled it back.In the end it gave up lengthy struggle to escape and started to prevent other crabs from escaping.By watching crabs,my father told me not to be pulled back by others,and to get to know himself better.
1.2We are all dying
Life is short.We never quite know when we become coffin dwellers or trampled ash in the rose garden of some local ceremony.So there’s no point in putting our dreams on the back burner until the right time arrives.Now is the time to do what we want to do. Make the best of our short stay and fill our life with the riches on offer so that when the reaper arrives,we’ve achieved much instead of regrets.
UNIT 2
2.1superman
The extract from Johnny Panic and the Bible of Dreams by Sylvia Plath is a combination of her real life and imaginary life in her childhood.In the real life,Plath was a winner of the prize for drawing the best Civil Defense signs,lived by an airport and had an Uncle who bore resemblance to Superman.In her imagination,the airport was her Mecca and Jerusalem because of her flying dreams.Superman fulfilled her dream at the moment.
David Stirling,a bookish boy,also worship Superman.During the recess at school,he and the author played Superman games.Compared with their school-mates who played the routine games,they felt they were outlaws but had a sense of windy superiority.They also found a stand-in,Sheldon Fein, who later invented tortures.
2.2cultual childhoods
Historically,childhood has undergone enormous transformations in terms of children’s responsibilities and parental expectations.Culturally,childhood is socially constructed.The interplay of history and cultural leads to different understanding of childhood,consequently it is advisable not to impose ideas from one culture to understand childhood in another culture.
UNIT 3
3.1how we listen
For the sake of clarify,we split up the process of listening to music into three hypothetical planes.Firstly,the sensuous plane.It is a kind of brainless but attractive state of mind engendered
by the mere sound appeal of the music.Secondly,the expressive plane.It is when we believe each piece of music has a theme,which mirrors a different world of feeling,such as gaiety,sadness.Thirdly,the musical plane.It is the ability to experience different musical elements,such as melodies,the rhythms,the harmonies,the tone colors etc.We usually listen to music on all three planes.
3.2the mystery of Girl with a Pearl Earring
The painting Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer’s masterworks.It shows a striking young woman wearing an exotic costume and a turban,peering over her shoulder straight out at the viewer.As the name implies,it uses a pearl earring for a focal point.It has been referred to as the Mona Lisa of the north,because,like Leonardo da Vinci’s painting,it appears to be a simple likeness of a woman with an enigmatic smile,yet which contains levels of meanings and questions.So much mystery in the painting contributes to its worldwide popularity and generates a thoroughly rewarding novel and a well-composed film.
UNIT 4
4.1work in corporate America
In today’s American jobs are not what they used to be.Not long ago,when a father was asked about his job he could answer in terms that a child could come to grips with.Nowadays,when the parent take his offspring to his place of business in glass buildings that are really incomprehensive to children.What’s more,it’s safe bet that even grown men have trouble visualizing what other men does in their jobs with his day.Therefore,it’s not difficult to imagine a poor child may answer”mulling over” after it beats me the mysteries of work,when his friends asks him of his father’s job.
4.2our supposedly exciting times are really rather dull
Living in a world of unprecedented/dazzling change,there are never been anything quite like it.However,we are just ignorant of/about deeper historical patterns,take globalization for example,from historical context point of view,the world is almost meaningless.We simply do not live in a age of great technological innovation for all our enthusiasm about internet and iPod.With staggering 90 percent of all web traffic is local,we are always be told the Internet has “opened up”the world.As the Chinese curse runs “May you live in interesting times”,it can bring chaos and anxiety in the in the wake.
UNIT 5
5.1dinner at Joanne’s
When a young black man arrives in a crowded and expensive restaurant,the head waiter makes him sit in the least comfortable place,even though a table has been booked for him and a “Ms Rogers”.
When Ms Rogers arrives,the waiter realizes that she is a well-known Senator; and Ms Roger realizes that her friend has been treated badly because of the color of his skin.The waiter realizes his mistake too,and tries to make up for it,but it’s too late.
5.2we they
The writer uses stories about doing business between Swedes and Saudis to illustrate the differences between an individualist and a collectivist approach to business. They have different concepts of the role of personal relationships in business. The Swedes believe the business is done with a company while the Saudis think it should be done with a person they know and trust.Then the writer compares the characteristics of the collectivist and those of the individualist.
In the most collectivist societies,the families are usually extended families while in the individualist societies,nuclear families are prevalent. People consider themselves as part of a “we”group or in-group in the collectivist societies.In contrast, the individualist think of themselves as “I”,their personal identity which is distinct from other people’s. A practical and psychological dependence relationship develops between the person and the in-group in the collectivist societies. However, rarely do people depend on a group in the individualist societies.
UNIT 6
6.1 Last man down
The text from Last Ma Down offers an eyewitness account of defining historical event of 9/11 attack from the perspective of Richard Picciotto, a firefighter; his story is that of a man, a hero,and a tragic event that inspired the nation. His recount isn’t one of death and destruction, but a celebration of life and it’s unpredictable nature.
6.2 Eleanor Roosevelt
The passage offers a hero who contrasts with brave firefighters. This time she is a woman of power and previlege who still wanted to devote herself to the sucess she believed in.
Living in a male-dominated world, Eleanor Roosevelt showed growing concern for women’s issues, along with those for labor issues,youth and civil rights issues.
Eleanor created new First Lady profile. She held a press conference for the female only. She was a great supporter for FDR, her wheel-bound husband, whose career as the US president offered her opportunity to come into her own.
After FDR’s departure, she still held public posts to use her power to her beliefs. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt never ran on a par with men, she set the place.