自学考试综合英语二课文文本.docx
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自学考试综合英语二课文文本
自学考试综合英语二课文文本
TwelveThingsIWishTheyTaughtatSchool
1.Iattendedjuniorandseniorhighschool,publicinstitutioninNewYorkandNewJersey,justaftertheSecondWorldWar.Itseemsalongtimeago.ThefacilitiesandskillsoftheteacherswereprobablywellaboveaveragefortheUnitedStatesatthattime.Sincethen,i'velearnedagreatdeal.Oneofthemostimportantthingi'velearnedishowmuchthereistolearn,andhowmuchIdon'tyetknow.SometimesIthinkhowgratefuliwouldbetodayifIhadlearnedmorebackthenaboutwhatreallymatter.Insomerespectseducationsisterriblynarrow;theonlythingIeverlearnedinschoolabout
NapoleonswasthattheUnitedStatesmadeaLouisiannaPurchasefromhim(Onaplanetwheresome95%oftheinhabitantsarenotAmericans,theonlyhistorythatwasthoughtworthteachingwasAmericanhistory.)Inspelling,grammar,thefundamentals
ofmath,andothervitalsubjects,myteachersdidaprettygoodjob.Butthere'snomuchelseIwishthey'dtaughtus.
2.Perhapsallthedeficiencieshavesincebeenrectified.Itseemstometherearemanythings(oftenmoreamatterofattitudeandperceptionthanthesimplememorizationo
thingsthattrulywouldbeusefulinlaterlife,ffacts)thattheschoolsshouldteach——
usefulinmakingastrongercountryandabetterworld,butusefulalsoinmakingpeoplehappier.Humanbeingsenjoylearning.That'soneofthefewthingsthatwedobetterthantheotherspeciesonourplanet.Everystudentshouldregularyexperiencethe
"Aha!
"——whensomethingyouneverunderstood,orsomethingyouneverknewwasmysterybecomesclear.
3.Sohere'smylist:
Pickadifficultthingandlearnitwell
4.TheGreekphilosopherSocratessaidthiswasoneofthegreatestofhumanjoys,and
itis.Whileyoulearnalittlebitaboutmanysubjects,makesureyoulearnagreatdealaboutoneortwo.Ithardlymatterswhatthesubjectis,aslongasitdeeplyinterestsyou,andyouplaceitinitsbroaderhumancontext.Afteryouteachyourselfonesubject,youbecomemuchmoreconfidentaboutyourabilitytoteachyourselfanother.Yougraduallyfindyou'veacquiredakeyskill.Theworldischangingsorapidlythatyou
mustcontinuetoteachyourselfthroughoutyourlife.Butdon'tgettrappedbythefirstsubjectthatinterestsyou,orthefirstthingyoufindyourselfgoodat.Theworldisfullofwonders,andsomeofthemwedon'tdiscoveruntilwe'reallgrowup.Mostofthem.sadly,weneverdiscover.
Don'tbeafraidtoask"stupid"questions.
5.Manyapparentlynaiveinquirieslikewhygrassisgreen,orwhytheSunisround,or
whyweneed55.000nuclearweaponsintheworld——arereallydeepquestions.The
answerscanbeagatewaytorealinsights.It'salsoimportanttoknow,aswellasyoucan,whatitisthatyoudon'tknow,andaskingquestionsistheway.Toask"stupid"questionsrequirescourageonthepartoftheaskerandknowledgeandpatienceonthepartoftheanswerer.Anddon'tconfineyourlearningtoschoolwork.Discussideasin
depthwithfriends.It'smuchbravertoaskquestionsevenwhenthere'saprospectof
ridiculethantosuppressyourquestionsandbecomedeadened
totheworldaroundyou.
Listencarefully.
6.Manyconversationsareakindofcompetitionthatrarelyleadstodiscoveryoneither
side.Whenpeoplearetalking,don'tspendthetimethinkingaboutwhatyou'regoingtosaynext.Instead,trytounderstandwhatthey'resaying,whatexperienceisbehind
theirremarks,whatyoucanlearnfromoraboutthem.Olderpeoplehavegrownupinaworldverydifferentfromyours,oneyoumaynotknowverywell.They.andpeoplefromotherpartsofthecountryandfromothernations,haveimportantperspectivesthatcanenrichyourlife.
Everybodymakesmistakes
7.Everybody'sunderstandingisincomplete.Beopentocorrection,andlearntocorrectyourownmistakes.Theonlyembarrassmentisinnotlearningfromyourmistakes.
Knowyourplanet
8.It'stheonlyonewehave.Learnhowitworks.We'rechangingtheatmosphere,thesurface,thewatersoftheEarth,oftenforsomeshort-termadvantagewhenthelong-termimplicationsareunknow.Thecitizensofanycountryshouldhaveatleastsomethingtosayaboutthedirectioninwhichwe'regoing.Ifwedon'tunderstandtheissues,weabandonthefuture.
Scienceandtechnology.
9.Youcan'tknowyourplanetunlessyouknowsomethingaboutscienceandtechnology.
Schoolsciencecourses,Iremember,concentratedontheunimportantpartsofscience,
leavingthemajorinsightsalmostuntouched.Thegreatdiscoveriesinmodernsciencearealsogreatdiscoveriesofthehumanspirit.Forexample,Copernicusshowedthat—
—farfrombeingthecenteroftheuniverse,aboutwhichtheSun,theMoon,theplanets,
andthestarsrevolvedinclockwisehomage——theEarthisjustoneofmanysmallwo
rlds.Thisisadeflationofourpretensions,tobesure,butitisalsotheopeninguptoourviewofavastandawesomeuniverse.EveryhighschoolgraduateshouldhavesomeideaoftheinsightsofCopernicus,Newton,Darwin,Freud,andEinstein.(Einstein'sspecialtheoryofrelativity,farfrombeingobscureandexceptionallydifficult,canbeunderstoodinitsbasicswithnomorethanfirst-yearalgebra,andthenotionofarowboatinarivergoingupstreamanddownstream.)
Don'tspendyourlifewatchingTV.
10.YouknowwhatI'mTalkingabout.
Culture.
11.Gainsomeexposuretothegreatworksofliturature,artandmusic.Ifsuchaworkishundredsorthousandsofyearsoldandisstilladmired,thereisprobablysomething
toit.Likealldeepexperiences,itmaytakealittleworkonyourparttodiscoverwhatallthefussisabout.Butonceyoumaketheeffort,yourlifehaschanged;you'veacquiredasourceofenjoymentandexcitementfortherestofyourdays.Inaworldas
tightlyconnectedasoursis,don'trestrictyourattentiontoAmericanorwesternculture.Learnhowandwhatpeopleelsewherethink.Learnsomethingoftheirhistory,their
religion,theirviewpoints.
Compassion
12.Manypeoplebelievethatweliveinanextraordinarilyselfishtime.Butthereisahollowness,alonelinessthatcomesfromlivingonlyforyourself.Humansarecapableofgreatmutualcompassion,loveandtenderness.Thesefeelings,however,needencouragementtogrow.
13.Lookatthedelightaone-ortwo-yearoldtakesinlearning,andyouseehowpowerfulisthehumanwilltolearn.Ourpassiontounderstandtheuniverseandourcompassionforothersjointlyprovidethechiefhopeforthehumanrace.
LessontwoIcons
HerosandCulturalIcons
GrayGoshgarian
IfyouwereaskedtolisttenAmericanheroesandheroines,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.
Bydefinition,heroesandheroinesaremenandwomendistinguishedbyuncommoncourage,achievements,andself-sacrificemademostofternforthebenefitofothers---t
henarepeopleagainstwhomwemeasureothers.Theyaremenandwomenrecognizedforshapingournation‘sconsciousnessanddevelopmentaswellasthelivesofthose
whoadmirethem.Yet,somepeoplesaythatoursisanagewheretrueheroesandheroinesarehardtocomeby,wheretheveryidealofheroismissomethingbeyondus---anartifactofthepast.SomemaintainthatbecausetheColdWarisoverandbecauseAmericaisatpeaceourageisessentiallyandunheroicone.Furthermore,theoverall
crimerateisdown,povertyhasbeeneasedbyastrongandgrowingeconomy,andadvancescontinuetobemadeinmedicalscience.Consequently,bereftofculturalheroes,wehavelatchedontoculturalicons—mediasuperstarssuchasactors,actresses,spo
rtscelebrities,televisionpersonalities,andpeoplewhoaresimplyfamousforbeingfamous.
Culturaliconsarehardertodefine,butweknowthemwhenweseethem.Theyare
peoplewhomanagetotranscendcelebrity,whoarelegendary,whosomehowmanage
tobecomemythic.Butwhatmakessomefiguresiconsandothersmerecelebrities?
That‘shardtoanswer.Inpart,theirliveshavethequalityofastory.Forinstance,thebeautifulyoungDianaSpencerwhoat19marriedaprince,boreaking,renouncedmarriageandthethrone,anddiedatthemomentshefoundtruelove.Goodlookscertainlyhelp.Sodoesaspecialindefinablecharisma,withthehelpofthemedia.Butnothingbecomesaniconmorethanatragicandearlydeath---suchasMartinLutherKingJr.,
JohnF.Kennedy,andPrincessDiana.
BeingSomebody
DonnaWoolfolkCross
Onehundredyearsago,peoplebecamefamousforwhattheyhadachieved.MenlikeJ.P.Morgan,E.H.HarrimanandJayGouldwereallnotableachievers.SowereThomasEdison,MarkTwain,andSusanB.Anthony.
Theiraccomplishmentsarestillevidentinourownday.Today‘scelebrities,however,of
tendonotbecomeknownforanyenduringachievement.Thepeoplewemostadmiretodayareusuallythosewhoaremosthighlypublicizedbythemedia.In1981,aGalluppollrevealedthatNancyReaganwa