新视野大学英语3课文1-6单元sectionB原文

第一单元bIt was an autumn night in my native Nova Scotia.A light rain was falling, making tapping sounds on the tin roof and the smell of mouldfilled the old lodgewe were vacationing in for the weekend.A shiverin the air inspireda fire on the Franklin stove.We were all sippinghot chocolate and then my father went over to the uprightpiano, pushed up the sleeves of his shirt and began picking out a tune with one finger. He was not much of a pianist, but he knew the love of song and family.My mother put down her sewing and joined him on the bench and then my brother drifted to the piano as well.Finally, a poor singer and so usually a violinist instead, I added my voice for a line or two.My father, ever considerate, said, "See, you can sing, darling. That was good."I have often remembered how warm, happy and loved I felt growing up.It took me years, though, to learn that the love in our family didn't just happen. In fact, love never just happens—not even to people who seem as naturally loving as my mother and father.But, I would hedgeto bet, there is a framework you must live within to let this gift that has no rivalsmature.First, love needs time.Perhaps people can recognize in a moment the possibility for love, and make grand declarationssuch as "I love you" within weeks of having met, but this love is comparableto the beginning of a long road up a mountain with many ups and downs. Mature love is like a living organism.It parallelsthe life of an oak tree, growing slowly from a seed in the mudto a slendertrunkwith barely any leaves and finally into its sheltering glory.We cannot manipulateor speed up the amount of years it needs to grow, but must instead, with witand patience, appreciate one another's differences and share one another's joys and pains over time.So it is sad when divorces are caused by small provocations, when parents and children give up on one another, when friendships fall apart at the first injury, when we give up on love.Too often we say "farewell" to someone we have loved without due thought and end up paying an emotional toll that is quite costly.I once knew a father and son who, saddledwith their respectivetroubles in life, had drawn so far apart over the years that they found little to say to each other. And, without each other, their lives had become hollow.The son, just out of college, had planned to spend the summer traveling in an old yellow lorryon the two-lane highways that connected the country together before freeways.One day, when he was nearly ready to leave, he spotted his father approaching on a busy street and was struck by a singular loneliness in that long familiar face. He invited him to stop for a beer.Then on impulse, he said, "Dad, come along. Let's spend a summer together."At great risk to the family business, the father, a furniture salesman, went along with his son.Together they camped, climbed mountains, sat by the sea and explored city streets and sleepy villages."I learned more about being a father in the last two months than in all my son's years," the father told me shortlyafter their trip.Everyone's life should have room for loves worth risking sizablepieces of time we think we can't spare.We should not misleadourselves into thinking that the ones we love must be like us. The key is to recognize and appreciate our differences.Those differences provide the mystery and wonder of human relationships.Love needs another, harder-to-find quality as well, the ability to let go.In the early years of my marriage, I had faultynotions that my husband should want to be with me all the time.On our first visit to his family's house, I discovered that the men did things together and the women did the same.My father-in-law stole my place next to my husband in the front seat of the car, and the two of them often went out together, leaving me with the women.I complained and made my husband miserable, caught as he was between the people he loved.My mother-in-law said wisely, "Being with his father is one part of his life; being with you is another. Be happy about both of them."I learned that love is like an elasticbandthat must stretchapart before it pulls you back close to one another.It is a coming tidewhose waters retreat a little after a single wave, but the next one is closer to your heart than the one before.Finally, love needs words to make it real.Without words, quarrels can't be resolved and we lose the power to share the meaning of our lives.The important thing is to acknowledgeand express our feelings.In this way, we can truly send the spirits of those we love as well as our own soaringupwards.Love is not a single act, but a lifetime adventure in which we are always learning, discovering, growing.It is neither destroyed by a single failure nor won by a single kiss.It can only be achieved through patience and understanding.第二单元bJust as exercise strengthensthe heart and lungs, bones and muscles, it may also power up the brain.A successionof scientific studies of animals impliesthat physical activity has a positive effect on mental functioning."It's clear that the brain benefits from exercise," says brain scientist William Greenough of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.His studies with rats have demonstrated two primaryeffects of activity: Vigorousphysical exercise provides the brain with more fuel, and skill-based exercise increases the formationof connections in the brain, which, according to the proposalsof some scientists, may make the brain better able to process information.In one experiment, laboratoryrats were separated into three groups.One group was exercised by running inside an automatic wheel, a second group improved their skills in a complicatedobstaclecourse, and a third group was inactive. "The animals that learned to go through the obstacle course exhibiteda greater number of brain connections than the animals in the exercised or inactive groups," Greenough said."In contrast, the animals that exercised inside the automatic wheel possesseda greater densityof blood vessels in the brain than did either of the other two groups of animals."Learning a new dance step may boostthe brain in the same way that learning a language can, he says.And if the dance is a good physical exercise as well, the benefits multiply. Young brains may be especially able to boost brain power through exercise, suggested another of Greenough's experiments that showed the most significant changes in the brain occurred among rats that had been exercised when very young.And while animals aren't people, he says it is logicalto make the inferencethat an effect found in rats may also apply to humans.Human studies have focused primarilyon older adults and suggest that regular exercise can improve the speed with which the brain processes information. Measurementsmade by Arthur Kramer at the University of Illinois demonstrated that inactive adults, aged to , could hit buttons faster in response to a tone after they went through a -week water exercise course.A correspondingcontrol group that didn't exercise showed no improvement.This boost in reaction time after exercise training may occur because declines associated with getting old could actually stemfrom declines in physical condition. Some scientists speculatethe reductionin mental function often attributed to getting old may really be a penaltyof neglecting to stay physically active, in addition to related factors such as medicines and poor diet."In older people, an exercise program appears important for brain maintenance," says Daniel M. Landers, professor of exercise science at Arizona State University, who recently published an article reviewing the scientific literature on activity's effect on the brain.Numerous studies show that children who engage in regular physical activity do better in school than their inactive classmates.But until recently, the academicedge gained by participating in sports was thought to come from the increased self-confidence, the better mood, and the ability to concentratethat comes from burning off steam in exercise.Now, however, some scientists have revisedtheir way of thinking, and point to possible physical connections.Pierce J. Howard, another expert, says new research indicates that physical exercise increases the amount of certain brain chemicals that stimulate growth of nerve cells. Consequently, the brains of people who exercise may be better equippedto tacklemental challenges.Inactivitymay also have negative effects on mind and body alike."Scientists recognize that mind is body, and body is mind," comments Howard. The most beneficialforms of exercise, he says, engage both.第三单元bTo talk about problem-solving or decision-making within a national environment means examining many complexcultural forces.It means trying to measure the impact of these forces on contemporary life, and also coming to gripswith changes now taking place.In Japan, the most important thing is what organization you work for.This is of extremeimportance when trying to analyzethe direction-taking or decision-making process.At the least, it explains the greater job stabilityin Japan, in contrast to the great job mobilityin America.While we differin many ways, such differences are neither superiornor inferiorto each other.A particular pattern of managementbehavior develops from a complex mixture of unique cultural factors—and will only work within a given culture.Let me try to describe three or four characteristics of the Japanese environment that in some way affect decision-making and problem-solving.These characteristics are related to each other.First, in any approach to a problem and in any negotiationsin Japan, there is the "you to you" approach, as distinguished from the Western "I to you" approach. The difference is this: In "I to you", both sides present their arguments openly from their own point of view—they state what they want and what they expect to get.A confrontation situation is therebyset up, and Westerners are very skillful in dealing with this.The "you to you" approach practiced in Japan is based on each side—automatically and often unconsciously—trying to understand the other person's point of view. Thus, the direction of the meeting is a mutual attempt to reduce confrontation and achieve harmony.A second characteristic is based on "consensusopinion" and "bottom-updirection". In Japan great considerationis given to the thoughts and opinions of everyone at all levels.This is true of both private enterprisesand government ministries.In Japan there is a drive for unitywithin the group—whether it is family, company, or Parliament.The difference is that Western-style decision-making proceeds mostly from top management and often does not consultmiddle management or the worker while in Japan, ideas can be created at the lowest levels, travel upward through an organization and have an impact on the eventual decision.This is "bottom up".There is also a characteristic style of communication in Japan that is different from the Western way.The Japanese business person works to achieve harmony, even if the deal falls through, and will spend whatever time is necessary to determine a "you to you" approach, communicating personal views only indirectly and delicately.This places time in a different perspective.In Japan the Western deadline approach is secondary to a thorough job.Owingto this difference in emphasis, the Japanese are thorough in their meetings as well as in their production.Thus Americans are often frustrated by the many successivemeetings in many Japanese businesses.But where the American is pressing for a specific decision, the Japanese is trying to devise a rather broad direction.On the other hand, once a given agreement is made, it is the Japanese who sometimes wonder at the slow pace in which Westerners implement the decision.The Japanese are eager to move forward and Westerners, perhaps, lagbehind as they take the time for in-depthplanning.Now, while Japan's industry and technology are highly developed, they have not replaced the fundamentalforce of human energy and motivation.By that I mean that the Japanese take great pride in doing a job well and getting it done no matter how much time is required.There is a commitment and sense of responsibility, which have not yet been discardedin this age of machines.In my field—finance and securities—I am often asked by Westerners how Nomura Securities has managed to escape the paper traffic jam that American firms have faced.We, too, have had that problem.The Tokyo Stock Exchange often has between and million transactionsa day.This volumeis many times more than that of the New York Stock Exchange.How can it be feasibleto handle this load?First, we have very sophisticatedcomputers.Second, and most important, the operationalpersonnel responsible for processing all these transactions stay and stay until the job is done.Perhaps in years—or sooner—they will be more westernized and insist on going home at five o'clock.But today, still, most insist on staying until the job is done.There is a sincere concern for quality.This willingness to help in a pinchis an important aspectof Japanese problem-solving, and you find it at every level.Some years ago, the Matsushita Company was having a very bad time.Among the many measures taken, Mr. Matsushita, the founder and then chairman, became the manager of the sales department.Also, when we at Nomura convertedto computers about five years ago, the new systemeliminated the jobs of people.We did not dismissthese people; rather, we converted them to securities sales people and some of these are now our leading sales people.Providedthere is intelligence and a willingness to exertyourself, there is a place within the company to try and to succeed.In Japan, a person's capabilities are not forced into an inflexiblearea.And we feel the company owesa worker something for loyaltyand commitment.第四单元bMary Engelbreit was a talented but struggling artist in her mid-twenties when she flew to New York from her native Saint Louis, hoping to find work illustrating children's books—her life's goal.So she was disappointed when all the book publishers she visited turned her down. One even suggested her drawings might be better suited to greeting cards."I was crushed," Engelbreit admits.Greeting cards seemed a comedownfrom her high expectations, but the advice stayed with her, and she decided to give it a try.The results transformed her life forever.Today Mary Engelbreit sells an astonishing million greeting cards a year.Her popular designs appear on more than , products, including books, calendars, and kitchen items.She runs a retailcompany with shops in nine cities ( more are planned), and her products are carried by , retailers.Annualretail sales are in the $ million range—all as a result of that fateful, disappointing trip to New York.It's probably no accident that one of Engelbreit's boldercards shows a young girl in overalls, her barefeet up on a desk, a farm field in the window behind her. "We Don't Care How They Do It in New York," the card boasts.Once you know Engelbreit's distinctivestyle, you can recognize her cards from paces away—bright, funny, and with an eye to the past.Her cards usually have elaborateborderdesigns comprisedof repeated images: hearts, flowers, peaches, and teapots, for example.Most often, there's Ann Estelle, a woman with short, straight hair, big glasses, hat and an acidtongue.Ann Estelle (named after her grandmother) is the imaginaryrepresentative of Mary's outlook.Engelbreit is cheerful, down-to-earth, humorous, and always cute."I think the world could use more cuteness," she explains.Indeed, it's her trademark.Her business card once featureda drawing of Ann Estelle, cigarin her mouth and drink in hand, with the message "Engelbreit's the Name, Cute Is My Game."She adds, "As the world gets more complicated, it's nice to have old-fashionedstuff around to help people cope with the demands of modern life.It's like comfort food.This is comfort art."Old-fashioned art—and values—have always been at the core of Engelbreit's life. Born June , , in St. Louis, the oldest of three daughters, she started drawing almost as soon as she could hold a pencil.One of her earliest memories, from age four, is of sketching her parents all dressed up to go out for the evening."I was so impressed I had to record it," she says.But what impressed her most were illustrationsfrom the children's books that her mother read to her.Artists such as Jessie Willcox Smith, illustrator of children's literaryclassics, and Johnny Gruelle, creator of Raggedy Ann, were very influentialin the development of her early drawings.While attending secondary school, Engelbreit sold dozens of hand-drawn cards to a local shop for cents a piece—her first ventureinto art and commerce.She ignored her teachers' advice to become an English teacher and didn't bother with going on to a university because "I was ready to plungeinto my life as an artist." Working in an art-supply shop, "I met working artists and realized you can make a living doing this."A later job as a designer at an advertising agency "taught me about the business of art".In Engelbreit met social worker Phil Delano, and the couple married two years later. Delano became his wife's biggest supporter."Even when we had no money, he never said, 'Go get a job,'" she says."I can't express my gratitude for his support."After that ill-fatedtrip to New York, Engelbreit sent a sampleof her drawings to two greeting card companies.One bought three of her original drawings, and she did occasional work for the other, sketching a lot of whales, dragons, castles and mythicalanimals.Then in the birth of her son added a new element to her work."Suddenly everyday life seemed more interesting to me," she says.Children, pets, even "good old Mom" started showing up on her cards.Her work became "pictures of daily life, things everyone's been through".While eight months pregnant, in , Engelbreit decided to start her own company. Within two years, her company was producing nearly different cards and selling a million of them a year.In she licensedthe copyrightsto the cards to SunrisePublications, who now manages their production and distribution, allowing her to focus on other projects. Among these is her home-decoratingmagazine which is sent to , people.Despite her success, Engelbreit's feet are planted firmly on the ground.She still lives kilometres from where she grew up, has many friends dating back to school years, and moved from a large house to a smaller one because, she explains, her family didn't use all the space in the old place.She does most of her drawing in her home studioat night.With her work taking off in so many directions, it was perhaps inevitable that Engelbreit would eventually realize her dream of illustrating a children's book.In she created drawings for a children's book and saw it become a best-seller. At the same time she made a surprising discovery: "It was fun, but oddly enough, I like doing cards best."第五单元bAssume for a moment that your -year-old mother has recently suffered a stroke. She is right-handed, and now she is unable to move her right arm and leg—they are worthlessto her.She can make sounds, but she can't make herself understood.The condition has lasted two months and since there has been no sign of improvement, the doctor tells you she will never get significantly better.Until this time your mother has always been an active, independent person who lived on her own.Now she is completely dependenton others.Next, X-raysshow your mother has a lung infection—a frequent problem with stroke patients.The doctor then calls you, her only surviving relative."We can treat the infection with drugs and she'll probably get better in a week," he says."When I say better, I mean she'll go on as she has—until some other germcomes along. Or I can deny her the medicine, in which case she'll probably die in three or four days.We can make those days comfortable by giving her painkillersand sleeping pills. Which course do you want me to follow? "Tough question, isn't it?On the one hand, you cannot bear to see your once vigorous mother living the painful, limited life to which the stroke has condemned her.On the other hand, you hate to be the one to decide to let nature take its course. I'll tell you which choice I would make in this theoreticalsituation.I'd say, "Don't give her anything to fight the infection.Keep her comfortable and let's see what happens; maybe she'll fight off the infection on her own and if she doesn't, she'll die a peaceful death.I don't want to be responsible for condemning my mother to a living hell."I can make this decision because I've gone down this road with patients many times. Recently I operated in vainon an eighty-year-old woman with cancer of the liver. There was nothing I could do to relievethe problems the cancer had caused. She was an intelligent woman, without any close relatives, and a couple of days after the operation I sat down with her and explained the situation."I can give you some anti-cancerdrugs," I said,"but they will make you sick and cannot cure you.Similarly, I can give you fluids through a needle in your arm, which will keep you fed as your appetiteslips away; the fluids might add a week or two to your life. Or I can withdrawall other treatment and just give you a vitamin pill, and we can see what happens. Personally, my recommendationwould be the last choice. I'll keep you comfortable, and we'll see what happens."The patient electedto follow my advice and died peacefully, pain free, a fortnightlater.Sometimes such a transparentdecision is more difficult to come by.Recently I had a patient who suffered a severe stroke.He was completely unable to move and couldn't swallow anything.We gave him fluids for the first two weeks and then fed him through a tubewhich passed through his nose into his stomach.After three weeks he was still completely unconscious, and the tube caused him to have a constant, painful sore throat.I talked to his four grown children and told them I thought we should inserta tube directlyinto his stomach through a small hole so he could be fed without so much pain.I also told them, "I can remove the tube and just let him swallow whatever he can. Chances are he won't live long, but he won't be in pain."No one wanted to take the responsibility for permitting an operation, yet no one would give permissionto stop feeding the patient entirely.As a result, the poor man continued on for nearly three more months with a painful throat and frequent bleeding caused by sores in the mouth.He died of a major infection—a sad way to die.So what should responsible persons do when confronted with the necessityof such an enormous decision?What it all comes down to is common sense.For the years I have been a doctor, and for hundreds of years before that, doctors and families have been quietly cooperatingto decide what is best for a patient in the final phaseof an illness.In percent of the cases a sympathetic, reasonable decision can be made after appropriate discussion.In percent of cases where such a judgment cannot immediately be reached, the proper decision will become apparent after a few days or weeks of basic treatment, observing the patient's progress.Let me sound one note of warning.Neither families nor doctors like to make life-death decisions.>But there is no question that if either party insists on bringing in aso-called"neutral" third party (usually some representative of the state or legalprofession), not only will the process take longer, in many instances it will be more arbitraryand less sympathetic.What we are trying to avoid is neutrality; the only people with any qualificationto decide are those who know the patient intimatelyand can put his or her interests first.If there's one place from which the interferenceof lawyers and government officials should be barred, it's from the rooms of critically ill patients.第六单元bPerceptions are relative.A single tree may seem large compared to a person.If you compare it to a mountain, however, the large tree seems small.In other words, things in nature are large or small, new or old, only in accordancewith the measures and the comparisons involved.During the durationof one human lifetime, not many things change.Even trees live longer than people, and the Earth itself is far older.The Earth was formed about five billion years ago from a rotating, circularcloud of dust and gases such as hydrogenand nitrogen.A billion years later, the planet had cooled, and the continents and the great bodies of water had formed.About . billion years ago, another great change occurred.The oceans began to develop an enormous system of living things, with many diverse forms of life, all dependent on one another.The first animals on this living sphere, the Earth, were primitivemarine animals, and then around million years ago these sea animals developed shells.Seventy million years later, the first fish appeared.Next, insects developed, about million years ago.After another million years, dinosaursand the first mammalswalked the Earth. About million years ago, warm-bloodedanimals took to the air—the first birds. Fifty million years later, both birds and mammals were well established.About three million years ago, scientists believe, the first human beings walked the Earth.Life was now flourishing.In terms of the evolutionof life on Earth, human beings have just arrived. Despite their short time on Earth, however, people have brought about enormous changes to the surface of the planet—changes far out of proportion to the interval of time they have occupied it.<B>People Try to Control Resources</B>People have more control over their surroundings than any other specieson Earth. With the combination of intelligence and manualskill (allowing us to make and use tools), people have found ways to use plant and animal resources, mineral ores, fuels, and many other materials and resources from the Earth.As the number of people on Earth increases, it becomes increasingly difficult for the population to survive on the resources of the land.The amount of land is limited.Although agricultural production can be increased by use of machinerysuch as tractorsand the addition of fertilizer, the land ultimately can produce only so much food and no more.As the human population grows, people consume more.Clearly, some locationson Earth already have too many people; in many of these areas, future increases will surely bring about more poverty and suffering.Yet people in rich nations use proportionallyfar more of the available resources than people in poorer nations.As they consume these resources without restraint, they also waste large amounts of them.。