全新版大学英语快速阅读1原文.docx

全新版大学英语快速阅读1原文.docx

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全新版大学英语快速阅读1原文

全新版大学英语

快速阅读1

Unit1

JohnnytheExplorer

Johnnywasthreewhenheranawayfromhomeforthefirsttime.Somebodyleftthegardengateopen.Johnnywanderedout,crossedsomefields,andtwohourslater,arrivedinthenextvillage.Hewasjustabletogivehisnameandaddress.

Bythetimehewasseven,Johnnyusedtovanishfromhometwotothreetimesayear.Sometimeshecoveredquitelongdistancesonfoot.Onotheroccasionshegotonabusorevenatrain,andsimplysatthereuntilsomeoneaskedforhisticket.Generallythepolicebroughthimhome."Whydoyoudoit?

"theyusedtoask."Youaren'tunhappyathome,areyou?

....""Ofcoursenot,"Johnnyreplied."Thenwhy?

""Ijustlikeseeingplaces,"Johnnytoldthem.

Johnnycontinuedto"seeplaces"althougheveryonetriedtostophim.Hisparentsusedtowatchhimclosely,andsodidhisteachers;butsoonerorlaterJohnnymanagedtoslipaway.Ashegrewolder,hisfavoritetrickwastohideonalongdistancetruck.Sometimesheusedtotravelhundredsofmilesbeforeanyonediscoveredhim.

ItishardlysurprisingthateventuallyJohnnymanagedtogetonboardaplane.Hewastwelveatthetime.Itwasacargoplaneand,afewhourslater,JohnnyfoundhimselfinCairo.Howdidhegetonboard?

Nooneknows!

AccordingtoJohnnyhimself,itwaseasy:

hejustwentintotheairport,walkedalongsomecorridorsandgotonboardthenearestplane.

Inspiteofallthis,Johnnydidwellatschool.Heenjoyedmathsandlanguagesand,perhapsnotsurprisingly,hewasespeciallygoodatgeography."Whatdoyouwanttobewhenyougrowup?

"histeachersaskedhim.Johnnydidnottakelongtoanswerthatquestion."Anexplorer!

"heanswered."Butit'sdifficulttobecomeanexplorerinthismodemage."theytriedtotellhim,"unlessyougointospace!

"Butitwasnouse:

Johnnyknewwhathewanted!

Justbeforeheleftschool,Johnnysawanoticeinoneofthedailypapers.AnexpeditionwasabouttogotoBraziltotraveluptheAmazonRiver.Therewerevacanciesforthreeyoungpeople"willingtoworkhardandwithasenseofadventure".Johnnyapplied,and,twomonthslater,hewasonhiswaytoBrazil.

GrowingPains

IguessitwasnotScottie'sday.Wedidnotknowifsomethinghadhappened,orifScottiewasjustfeelinghisage.Afterall,howgrownupisafour-year-oldsupposedtoact?

Buttoreallyunderstandwhathappened,letusstartatthebeginning.

MaryandIhadinvitedournephew,Scottie,overforhisusualSundaysupper.Wealwayslookedforwardtohavinghimbecausehewasaneatlittleboy.Onthisparticularevening,hearrivedontimeasusual.However,insteadofhugsandkisses,Scottiejustpushedpastusandheadedforthesofa.Ihadtotakeasecondlooktomakesurethiswastherightlittleboy.

Whilewewaitedfortheroastchicken—Scottie'sfavorite—tofinishcooking,wesatonthesofatalking.Rightinthemiddleofoneofmysentences,Scottiesaidsuddenly,"Hey,UncleArnold,Iwanttoplaymyrecord."Theconversationcametoahalt.Aminutelater,therecordplayerwasonasloudasitcouldgowith"DiscoDuck".Scottiewasdancingandsinginginthemiddleoftheroom.Marywastalkingtome,butIcouldnothearathingshewassaying.IwaspuzzledthatIletthematterpasswithonlyaslightcomment.

Soondinnerwasserved.Wesatdown,litthecandles,andstartedtoeat.Scottieusuallywouldbethefirsttostarteating,buttonighthejustsatthereandstaredatme."Aren'tyouhungry?

"Iasked."Yes,"repliedScottie."Thenaren'tyougoingtoeat?

""No,I'mnot,"heanswered."It'syourfavoritedinner,"saidmywife."Idon'twanttoeat,"answeredScottie.Payingnoattentiontohisstrangebehaviorforthemoment,Isaid,"Okay,ifyoudon'twanttoeat,youdon'thavetoeat.Youmaysitandkeepuscompanyuntilwefinishourdeliciousmeal."Aswecontinuedourdinner,Scottie'sfacelookedconfusedanduncertain.

Afterwefinisheddinner,webeganclearingawaythedishes,leavingScottietosittherewiththatlookofdisappointmentonhislittleface.WhenIremovedthedishcontainingtheroastbeef,itwasmorethanhecouldbear.Hestoodupandthrewhisnapkinacrossthetable.Unfortunately,ithitoneofthecandlesandcaughtfire.Idonotknowwhocriedouttheloudest,myselforScottie.Webothstoodtherewithalookofhorroronourfaces.Itookthenapkinandputitout.Scottiestartedcrying."I'msorry,"hesaid."IwasjusttryingtobeDennis.MyteacherreadusthebookaboutDennistheMenace,andwethoughtallthethingshedidweresofunny.ButtheyarenotfunnywhenIdothem.Idon'twanttobeDennisanymore."WeweregladthathewasnotDennisanymore,justourlittleScottie.

WorkingwhileYouGrow

KitchenManager—Joe

IhadbeenworkingatacafecalledPacificDessertsfortwoyears.Onedaythekitchenmanagerlefthisjob.Ihadworkedtherethelongest.Iwasgiventhekitchenmanager'swork,butnotthetitleorthepay.

Highschoolkidswaitedtablesatnightthere.Theyoftenvisitedinthemorningbeforetheplacewasopen.Theycameforfreecoffee.IhadbeenmakingmyselfbreakfastbeforethemanagergotthereandIdecidedtoexpand.Forthelastthreemonthsofschool,Imadefriedeggsandpotatosaladusingtherestaurant'seggs,cheese,milk,vegetables,potatoes,andspices.Westartedamorningcoffeeclub,andcharged$1perplate.Soonthehighschoolstudentsstartedtobringtheirfriends.Oneofthemevenmadeasignboardinhiscarpentryclassthatread"Joe'sUndergroundCafe".Iusuallymadeabout$8extraperday.Thiswasthesameasanincreaseinmypay.Iwasalsospendinganhourofthecompany'stimeformyownprofit.

BicycleMessenger—Kenny

BeingabikemessengerinSeattleishard,butourjobwaseasy.Wehadtoworkextremelyhard,butatleastwegotpaidbythehour.

Thecompanyalwaysletuswearshorts,butwehadtowearthecompanyT-shirts.Wecutoffthesleevestostaycool.Then,thecompanywantedtogiveabetterimpressionofitselfbecausewedeliveredtobigbusinesses.Theymadeuswearlongpantsandshirtsmadeofheavymaterial.Thiswascrazy!

Tryridingyourbicyclefastfortenmilesuphills,reallybighills,withheavypackageswhileyou'rewearinglongpants!

Allofthemessengersagreedwecouldnotcontinuelikethat.Wedecidedthatwewouldn'twashourclothesatall.Weworethesameclotheseveryday.Youcanimaginewhatitwaslikewhenwewereinanelevator.Ourclothessmelledterribleandourbodiesalsosmelledbad.Withinamonth,thecompanyreceivedmanycomplaints.Theyletuswearshortsagain.

E.T.—AfairyTaleoftheSpaceAge

Formanychildrenthesearchforextra-terrestriallifeorlifefromotherplanetsmayseemtobealreadyover.Anextra-terrestrialhasbeenwithusforsometime.Childrenaskforshirtsthatread"E.T.—Iloveyou"andforE.T.toysundertheChristmastree.StevenSpielberg'sfilm,"E.T.—theExtra-terrestrial",hasbecomeoneofthebiggestfilmmoney-makersofalltime;evenaheadof"StarWars".

Whatisitaboutthisbig-eyedcreaturefromouterspacethathasmadeAmerica'schildrenandmanyadultssoexcited?

PsychologistssaythatthefilmofE.T.,likeancientfairytales,containspowerfulstoriesthathelpchildrenthroughthedifficultprocessofgrowingup.Themessagethatfairytalesbringtothechildisthatastruggleagainstseveredifficultiesinlifecannotbeavoided,butthatifonedoesnotrunawaybutmeetsunexpectedandoftenunjusthardships,onemastersallobstaclesandattheendcomesoutvictorious.

Today'schildren,whooftengrowupaloneinhomesthatareseparatedfromotherchildren,needfairytalesevenmorethanchildrendidatthetimewhenthosetaleswerefirsttold.InE.T.theyfindafairytalewithaspecialinterestbecauseitissetinthespaceage,whichisclosertotheirsituationthanastorysetinanoldcastle.E.T.maynotbegood-lookingphysically,butheistotallyharmless,kindandcharming.NochildneedfearanouterspacefilledwithcreatureslikeE.T.

Thefilmhasatleasttwoheroeswhochildrencanunderstandandwithwhomtheycansharetheirfeelings—E.T.himselfandElliott,the10-year-oldboywhofinds,looksafterandsavesthefriendlyandlikablecreatureafterheisleftbehindbyhisspaceship.BothElliottandE.T.havebeenlefttolookafterthemselves.Elliottfeelsalonebecausehisparentshaveseparated,buthefindsamagicalfriendwhomhecanprotectandwhoprovideshimwithfriendship.Childrenoftenhaveastrongneedforimaginaryplaymates.

Forallchildren,thefilmraisesthequestionoftheneedtogrowupandthedesiretostayachild.ElliottdecidesnottogowithE.T.aboardthespaceship,wherehecouldcontinuelivinginanimaginaryworld.Asonechildsaid,"ElliottstayedonEarthbecausehehastogrowupandyoucan'tgrowuponthefarawayplanetofJupiter.YoustaysmallandakidlikeE.T."

Thefilmoffersmanyideasfromthetraditionalfairytale:

first,goodchildrengetthebetterofbadadults.Secondly,theheroisputinadifficultpositionintheearlystagesofthestorybutthereisahappyendingwhenheisfinallyrescued.Thirdly,thefilmofferstheideaofrebirth,whichisfoundinmanyfairytales.Finally,thestoryalsoremindsoneof"TheThreeFeathers"bythewell-knownwritersoffairytales—theGrimmbrothers.Inthisstory,theyoungestsonwinshisfather'skingdombydefeatinghisbrotherswiththehelpofanuglyoldtoad.Puttoafinaltest,tobringbackthemostbeautifulwoman,hewinsagainbychoosingthetoadwhoturnsintoabeauty.Thus,itislovewhichturnsevenuglythingsintosomethingbeautiful.It'