英语阅读材料Word格式.docx

英语阅读材料Word格式.docx

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B（节奏极强的一种美国音乐）（yourdaughter’sfavorite）toyourpreferredall-newsstation.Thecar’selectricmotorrunsonhydrogen,andhasalreadybeentoppedoff（装满）,automatically,fromanapplianceinyourgarage.Sofar,sogood.

2.Youglideontothefreewayramp（高速公路匝道）anddecidetogetajumpontheworkweek.Settingtheautomaticpilot,youcalluptheofficee-mailthroughtheon-boardcomputer.Guidedbyadvancedcruisecontrol,GPS,andsensorsembeddedintheroadway,thecarstaysinitslane,maintainsasafedistancefromothervehicles,andalertsyoutoyourexit.Onceintheparkinglot,youcheckthefuelgauge（燃油面指示器）andfigureyou'

vegotmorethanenoughjuicetomakeithome.Soyouplugintothecity’spowergridtofeeditelectricitygeneratedbyyourcar---forwhichyou’llgetanenergycreditlateron.

3.Soundsgreat,doesn’tit?

Whatthischeeryvisionofamorningcommute（上下班）hidesisagrowingsenseofurgencyonthepartoftheworld’sautomakers.ThecurrentmodelformakingandsellingcarsintheUnitedStates---bigvehicleswithbigfueltanksandsky-highcosts---hasalmostdriventheautoindustryofftheroad.Noone’spredictingthatgasolinepriceswillcomedowndramaticallyanytimesoon,ifever.Thepollutionandenergyconsumption,plusthetraffic,createdbysomanycarswillsimplyforcetheindustrytochange.

4.Thequestionsarewhat,andhowsoon.Expertsgenerallyagreethatwe'

reonthevergeofaneraofnewfuels.“Wehavetofindalternatives,”saysLarryBurns,vicepresidentofResearchandDevelopmentandStrategicPlanningforGeneralMotorsCorp.,andoneoftheindustry’smostoptimisticvisionaries.“By2020,we’reexpecting1.1billioncarsandtrucksontheplanet,comparedto750milliontoday.Imagine125freewaylanesrunningsidebyside,bumper（汽车的保险杆）tobumper,goingallthewayaroundtheworld.”

5.Theleadingcandidatetoreplacegoodoldsmellygasolineishydrogen（氢）,themostplentifulandavailableelementontheplanet.Noonegeographicalregionhasamonopolyonit---sothere’slittlechanceofaproductioncartel,likeOPEC.Andintheoryatleast,hydrogenwilldeliversuperiorfuelefficiencywithnoairpollution.Already,themajorautomakersareworkingonhydrogen-fedfuelcells.Demonstrationhydrogen-poweredvehiclesareontheroads,andBurnspredictsrealconsumerswillbebehindthewheelsby2010.

6.Others,however,believehydrogencarsaremuchfurtherinthefuture,maybeevenahalf-centuryaway.Forstarters,thefuelcellsmadewithtoday’stechnologyarehugelyexpensive.Scienceknowshowtomakethem---justnothowtomakethemcheaply.Addtothatthelackofahydrogen-fuelinginfrastructure（基础设施）,andtechnicaldifficultiesofstoringandhandlinghydrogen,andyou’relookingatyearsofworkahead.

7.“Fundamentally,weseenogame-changingtechnologyavailableby2020,”saysBobRivard,vicepresidentofAdvancedTechnologyandProductMarketingforautomotivesupplierRobertBoschCorp.“We’llseeevolutionarysteps,notaparadigmshift.”Amongthestagesheenvisionsarecleaner,morefuel-efficientgasoline-poweredvehicles,alongwithalternativefuelsandnewpropulsionsystems（动力装置）.Gasoline-electrichybrids,liketheToyotaPrius,FordEscape,andHondaCivicandInsight,willbemorecommon.“Asmuchaswe’dliketobegettingaroundinflyingsaucers,therealityisthatby2020we’llstillbedrivingvehiclesthatusefossilfuels,”saysMaryAnnWright,FordMotorCo.’sdirectorofSustainableMobilityTechnologiesandHybridVehiclePrograms.“ButIdothinktherewillcomeapointintimewheneveryvehiclewillhavesomekindofhybridtechnology.”

8.Withinthenextdecade,expecttoseemorecleandiesel-poweredengines,likethoseavailablefromVolkswagenandMercedes-Benz.Thesevehiclesareupto40percentmorefuel-efficientthangasolinecars,andproduceabout15percentlesscarbondioxide.Thedownsideofdiesel?

Oxidesofnitrogen---knownasNOx---arepotentirritants（有效的刺激剂）.Othernewgasolinereplacementstowatchfor:

biofuelandbiodiesel,andnaturalgas.

9.Ifthere’sdisagreementoverjustwhatwillpowerthecarofthefuture,there’snodebateabouthowcooltheactualvehicleswillbe---very,verycool.Electronicfunctions,driverpreferences,wirelessconnectivity---it’sallinthepipeline,comingatusfast.Picturethis:

It’s2020andyou’redrivinghomefromworkonthefreeway.Buttherearenoroadsignsanywhere,notforstores,gasstations,restaurantsoreventhelocalexitsandinterchanges（立体交叉道）.There’snoneedforthem---yourcar’scomputerkeepsyouorientedandontrack.（Italsoknowsthespeedlimit,soyou'

llhavenoexcuseswiththelocalcop.）Can’trecallifyouneedmilkforbreakfast?

Yourcar’scomputercontactsyourhomeinventorysystem（存储系统）tocheck.Sureenough,youneedmilk---andOJtoo.Theinteractivesystemstakeover.Yourcarspotsaconveniencestoreatthenextexitandzaps（快速备好）yourgrocerylistahead.Whenyouarrive,everythingisbaggedandreadyforpickup.

10.“By2020,itwillnolongerbeabigdealtohaveInternetconnectivityalmostanywhere,anytime,”saysK.VenkateshPrasad,technicalleaderinFord’sInfotronicsTechnologiesDepartment.Henotesthattheyoungestoftheyear2020’snewgenerationofcarbuyersisaboutthreeyearsoldrightnow.“ThatmeanseveryonecomingintotheautomarketwillhaveknownnothingbuttheInternet,andheorshewilltakeitforgranted,”hesays.Far-fetched?

Prasadthinksnomoresothanwhatwasonceanotherradicalidea---distributingmoneyfrommachinescalledATMs.

Unit3Lesson1

ThePursuitofHappiness

Modernscienceandancientwisdomagree:

whatwillreallymakeyouhappymightnotbewhatyouthink.

1Agoodfriendofminewasdrivingonerainymorningwhenhiscarsuddenlyhitanoilypatch（小块土地）andspunoutofcontrol.Hisattemptstoregaincontrolofthevehiclewerefutile.Thecarswerveddowntheroadandbegantoroll.Afterwhatseemedlikeaneternity,thecarcametoastoprightsideup.Ashesatclutching（紧紧抓住）thesteeringwheelinahotsweat—shakenbutuninjured—theradiostartedplayingthesong“Don’tWorry,BeHappy.”Laughablenow,thesentimentwasagoodoneatthetime,butalittlechallengingtoimplement（执行）underthecircumstances.

ThePursuit

2AnneFrankonceasserted,“Wealllivewiththeobjectiveofbeinghappy;

ourlivesarealldifferentandyetthesame.”Indeed,weareallonacommonquest—thepursuitofhappiness.Sohowcanwediscoverit?

3Agoodplacetostartistoidentifythethingsthatdonotguaranteehappiness.Acommonmisconceptionisthatmoney,andplentyofit,isintegraltoahappylife.Researchindicatesthatinordertobehappywedoneedthebasics（itiscertainlymorechallengingtobecheerywhenyouaresittingintherainbecauseyoudon’thavearoofoveryourheadwhileyourtummyscreamsatyouforsomefilling）,but,afterourbasicneedsaremet,itseemsthatmoneycontributeslittletoourlevelofhappiness.Itistrue:

happinesscan’tbebought.

4Careerdoesn’tguaranteehappinesseither.Ifitishappinessyouareseeking,pursuingitbyclimbingthecorporateladdercouldfindyoustaringatthewrongwall.Studieswithincompanieshavefoundsimilarlevelsofhappinessfromtheentry-levelworkersupthroughseniormanagement.Essentially,itisnotthetypeofworkwedothatpromotesorreducesourlevelofhappiness;

itiswhatthatworkmeanstousthatmakesthedifference.

5Finally,evenlovedoesn’tpromisehappiness.Marriedpeoplereportsimilarlevelsofhappinesstosingleindividuals,exceptaroundthedatingandweddingtimeswhenthereisanupwardtrendinhappinessscores.Thispeaktendstoleveloutoncemarriedlifebecomesroutineandhappinessscoresreturntobaseline.Yetwhilelovedoesnotpromisehappiness,itmayprovidetheopportunityforit.Inonesurveyindividualscommonlyreportedthatfamily（especiallychildren）andfriendsbroughtthemthegreatestjoyintheirlife.Indeed,relationshipshavetheeffectofmagnifyingouremotions—thegoodgetbetterandthebadgetworse.Itwouldseemthenthatiftimeswithfamilyandfriendsaremostlyhappyones,thenourliveswillbesignificantlyenriched.

6Ifmoney,career,andrelationshipsaren’thappinessguarantors,whatisthebestpathtohappiness?

Theanswerdependsonthetypeofhappinessyou’reseeking.PioneerhappinessresearcherDr.MartinSeligmanhasidentifiedthreelevelsofhappiness.

Level1:

Pleasure

7Agoodgiggle（大笑）doesusaworldofgood.Laughterstimulatesthereleaseofstress-relievinghormones（荷尔蒙）similartothatreleasedduringstrenuousexercise,andsothe“high”wegetfromlaughterisarealone.

8Undeniably,tolaughispleasurable,andpleasuremakesushappy,butthereisadownside.Laughterisnotlimitless.Pleasureisneverpermanent.Eventhebestjokeslosetheirpunch（吸引力）thethirdorfourthtimearound,andourmostenjoyedactivitieswearthinunlessthereisanewtwist.Sointhepursuitofhappiness,pleasureisproblematic.Ifourhappinessisfoundedinourabilitytoattainandmaintainpleasure,wearedestinedfordiscontent.JohnD.Rockefelleronceasserted,“Icanthinkofnothinglesspleasurablethanalifedevotedtopleasure.”

9Thisisnottodenigrate（诋毁