大学英语精读第三版第四册Book4 Unit2

合集下载

现代大学英语精读4unit2翻译及课后答案

现代大学英语精读4unit2翻译及课后答案

UNIT2历史学家们为什么意见不一大多数学生通常是通过一本厚厚的课本接触历史的,他们很快就被淹没在姓名、日期、时间和数据中。

然后学生的技能通过考试来检验,考试考的是他们记住了多少材料。

记得越多,分数就越高。

我们可以从中得出几条明显的结论:学习历史就是学习“史实”;作为历史专业的学生,知道的“史实”越多,你学得就越好。

专业的历史学家只不过是把大量的“事实”搜集在一起的人。

因此,当学生们发现历史学家们即使在研究同一事件时意见也有很大分歧的时候,他们常常感到困惑不解。

对于这种情况,学生们根据自己的常识作出的反应是,断定一位历史学家是正确的,而另一位是错误的。

而且,据此推测,错误的历史学家给出的“事实”是错误的。

然而,实际情况很少如此。

历史学家的论证通常很有道理,并且有说服力。

而且,“事实”——姓名、日期、事件和数据——常常是被证明是正确的。

此外,学生们还经常发现争论不休的历史学家对事实大致持相同意见;也就是说,他们使用大体相同的材料。

他们作出的结论不同,是因为他们看待过去的角度不同。

历史,本来已定就是记忆“史实”,现在变成了从众多解释中挑选一个令人满意的解释的事情。

历史的真相成为了个人偏好问题。

这种看法很难使人满意。

学生们肯定会想,对同一事件的两种完全不同的观点不可能同时是正确的;然而,他们没有能力在两者之间作出选择。

要了解历史学家们为什么意见不一致,学生们必须考虑一个他们或多或少认为是理所当然的问题。

他们必须问问自己,历史到底是什么。

从最广泛的意义上来说,历史指的是人类过去的总和。

比较狭义的概念是,历史是有记录的过去,即留下了某种记录的人类生活的一部分,比如民间故事、手工艺品或者有文字记载的文献。

最后,历史可以被定义为历史学家们书写的过去。

当然,这三种定义互相联系。

历史学家们的记述以过去人们的遗留物为根据;显然,他们不可能对所有的事情都了解,原因很简单,并不是每一件大小事件都被完整地记录下来了。

因此,历史学家充其量也只能接近历史。

大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译

大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译

Unit 1Two college-age boys, unaware that making money usually involves hard work, are tempted by an advertisement that promises them an easy way to earn a lot of money. The boys soon learn that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is.一个大学男孩,不清楚赚钱需要付出艰苦的劳动,被一份许诺轻松赚大钱的广告吸引了。

男孩们很快就明白,如果事情看起来好得不像真的,那多半确实不是真的。

BIG BUCKS THE EASY W AY轻轻松松赚大钱"You ought to look into this," I suggested to our two college-age sons. "It might be a way to avoid the indignity of having to ask for money all the time." I handed them some magazines in a plastic bag someone bad hung on our doorknob. A message printed on the bag offered leisurely, lucrative work ("Big Bucks the Easy Way!") of delivering more such bags.“你们该看看这个,”我向我们的两个读大学的儿子建议道。

“你们若想避免因为老是向人讨钱而有失尊严的话,这兴许是一种办法。

”我将挂在我们门把手上的、装在一个塑料袋里的几本杂志拿给他们。

大学英语精读第三版第四册Unit2 课件

大学英语精读第三版第四册Unit2 课件

pregnant annually in late autumn, producing one to three young in
late spring or early summer. The normal lifespan is 15 to 20 years.
fawn Ex. P35
doe
buck
Language points
1. turn of mind: a characteristic tendency or way of thinking e.g. He is a man of a very peculiar turn of mind. He has a poetic/philosophic/humorous/optimistc/curious turn of mind. 2. currency: the particular type of money in use in a country e.g. Though gold is still used as a standard of value, it is no longer used as currency. 3. convert into: change into e.g. The hotel is said to have been converted into an office building. Coal can be converted into gas by burning. 4. Ecological system
when winter arrives. The lessons he learns about the way deer
conserve energy turn out applicable to our everyday life.

大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译

大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译

大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译.大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译Unit 1TextTwo college-age boys, unaware that makingmoney usually involves hard work, are temptedby an advertisement that promises them an easyway to earn a lot of money. The boys soon learnthat if something seems to good tobe true, itprobably is.BIG BUCKS THE EASY WAYJohn G. HubbellYou ought to look into this, I suggested toour two college-age sons. It might be a way toavoid the indignity of having to ask for moneyall the time. I handed them some magazines ina plastic bag someone bad hung on ourdoorknob. A message printed on the bag offeredleisurely, lucrative work (Big Bucks the EasyWay!) of delivering more such bags.I don't mind the indignity, theolder oneanswered.I can live with it, his brother agreed.But it pains me, I said,o find that youboth have been panhandling so long that it nolonger embarrasses you.The boys said they would look into themagazine-delivery thing. Pleased,I left town ona business trip. By midnight I was comfortablysettled in a hotel room far from home. Thephone rang. It was my wife. She wanted to knowhow my day had gone.Great! I enthused. How was your day?I inquired.Super! She snapped. Just super! Andit's only getting started. Another truck justpulled up out front.Another truck?The third one this evening. Thefirstdelivered four thousand Montgomery Wards.The second brought four thousand Sears,Roebucks. I don't know what this one has, butI'm sure it will be four thousand of something.Since you are responsible, I thought you mightlike to know what's happening.What I was being blamed for, it turned out,was a newspaper strike which made it necessaryto hand-deliver the advertising inserts thatnormally are included with the Sunday paper.The company had promised our boys $600 fordelivering these inserts to 4,000 houses bySunday morning.Piece of cake! our older college son hadshouted.Six hundred bucks! Hisbrother hadechoed, And we can do the job in two hours!Both the Sears and Ward ads are fournewspaper-size pages, my wife informed me.There are thirty-two thousand pages ofadvertising on our porch. Even as we speak, twobig guys are carrying armloads of paper up thewalk. What do we do about all this? Just tell the boys to get busy, I instructed.They're college men. They'll do what they haveto do.At noon the following day Ireturned to thehotel and found an urgent message to telephonemy wife. Her voice was unnaturally high andquavering. There had been several moretruckloads of ad inserts. They're fordepartment stores, dime stores, drugstores,grocery stores, auto stores and so on. Some arewhole magazine sections. We have hundreds ofthousands, maybe millions, of pages ofadvertisinghere!Theyarecrammedwall-to-wall all through the house in stackstaller than your oldest son. There's only enoughroom for people to walk in, take one each of theeleven inserts, roll them together, slip a rubberband around them and slide them into a plasticbag. We have enough plastic bags to supplyevery takeout restaurant in America! Her voicekept rising, as if working its way out of therange of the human ear. All this must bedelivered by seven o'clock Sunday morning.Well, you had better get those guysbanding and sliding as fast as they can, and I'lltalk to you later. Got a lunch date.When I returned, there was another urgentcall from my wife.Did you have a nice lunch? she askedsweetly. I had had a marvelous steak, but knewbetter by now than to say so. Awful, I reported. Some sort of sourfish. Eel, I think.Good. Your college sons have hired theiryounger brothers and sisters and a couple ofneighborhood children to help for five dollarseach. Assembly lines have been set up. In thelanguage of diplomacy, there is 'movement.'That's encouraging.No, it's not, she corrected. It's verydiscouraging. They're been as it for hours.Plastic bags have been filled and piled to theceiling, but all this hasn't made a dent, not adent, in the situation! It's almost as if the insertskeep reproducing themselves!Another thing, she continued. Yourcollege sons must learn that one does not get thebest out of employees by threatening them withbodily harm.Obtaining an audience with son NO. 1, Isnarled, I'll kill you if threaten one of thosekids again! Idiot! You should be offering a bonusof a dollar every hour to the worker who fills themost bags.But that would cut into our profit, hesuggested.There won't be any profit unless thosekids enable you to make all thedeliveries ontime. If they don't, you two will have to removeall that paper by yourselves. And there will beno eating or sleeping until it is removed.There was a short, thoughtful silence. Thenhe said, Dad, you have just worked a profoundchange in my personality.Do it!Yes, sir!By the following evening, there was muchfor my wife to report. The bonus program hadworked until someone demanded to see the colorof cash. Then some activist on the work forcebusinessno had workers the that claimedsettling for $5 and a few competitive bonuseswhile the bossed collected hundreds of dollarseach. The organizer had declared that all theworkers were entitled to $5 per hour! Theywould not work another minuteuntil the bossesagreed.The strike lasted less than two hours. Inmediation, the parties agreed on $2 per hour.Gradually, the huge stacks began to shrink.As it turned out, the job was completedthree hours before Sunday's 7 a.m. deadline. Bythe time I arrived home, the boys had alreadysettled their accounts: $150 in labor costs, $40for gasoline, and a like amount for gifts—boxes of candy for saintlyneighbors who had volunteered station wagonsand help in delivery and dozen roses for theirmother. This left them with $185 each — abouttwo-thirds the minimum wage for the 91 hoursthey worked. Still, it was enough, as one ofthem put it, to enable them to avoid indignityfor quite a while.All went well for some weeks. Then oneSaturday morning my attention was drawn tothe odd goings-on of our two youngest sons.They kept carrying carton after carton fromvarious corners of the house out the front doorto curbside. I assumed their mother had enlistedthem to remove junk for a trash pickup. Then Ioverheard them discussingfinances.Geez, we're going to make a lot ofmoney!We're going to be rich!Investigation revealed that they wereoffering for sale or rent our entire library.No! No! I cried. You can't sell ourbooks!Geez, Dad, we thought you were done withthem!You're never 'done' with books, I tried toexplain.Sure you are. You read them, and you'redone with them. That's it. Then you might aswell make a little money from them. We wantedto avoid the indignity of having to ask you潦╲?日┶?日尶一个大学男孩,不清楚赚钱需要付出艰苦的劳动,被一份许诺轻松赚大钱的广告吸引了。

大学英语精读第三版第四册Book4 Unit2答案

大学英语精读第三版第四册Book4 Unit2答案

大学英语精读第三版第四册Book4 Unit2答案1) bull2) horse3) dog4) dog5) tiger6) tiger7) lioness8) goose9) fowl10) cock11) duck1) practical2) scarcity3) external4) raise5) rise6) waste7) deficiency8) minimum9) draw10) insufficient11) reduce12) freeze1) fundamental2) deposited3) in the form of4) in good condition/in condition5) currencies6) resources7) lowering8) conceived9) Rhythm10) reserve11) romantic12) productivity13) dependent14) internal1) mature2) reserve3) deposit/deposit enough money4) currency5) ample6) fundamental7) given birth to8) somewhat9) an excess10) expended11) safeguard12) conceive1) drew on/draws on2) depend on3) slowing down4) put on5) turn down1) The country is trying to be/become less dependent on foreign aid.2) It amused us to see the actor's beard fall off.3) The rhythm of life is made up of a cycle of birth, youth, maturity, and death.4) Conservation of our mineral resources is highly important because they can never be replenished.5) Parking spaces in this city are scarce on Saturdays.1) man-eating2) earth-shaking3) body-building4) labor-saving5) fact-finding6) record-breaking7) tone-setting8) paper-cutting1) biochemistry: the science that deals with the chemical processes of living animals and plants; biological chemistry2) biocide: any substance poisonous to life3) bioconversion: the conversion of biological waste, garbage, and plant material into energy, fertilizer, and other useful products4) biophysics: the branch of biology which applies the laws of physics to explain the phenomena of biology5) ecoactivity: any project or undertaking to combat pollution or improve the quality of the environment6) ecocatastrophe: a large-scale or world-wide disaster resulting from uncontrolled use of pollutants7) ecocide: the destruction of the earth's environment or ecology through the uncontrolled use of pollutants8) ecospecies: a group of organisms only somewhat fertile with organisms of related groups, usually considered equivalent to a species1) All children in that country are2) all her life/her whole life3) Whole Indian tribes in the region were killed off.4) the whole staff/all the staff5) all the time/the whole time6) this whole business/all this business1) in the case of Tom: he was ill.2) A case in point is Dujiangyan, which was built about 2000 years ago.3) in the case of my two college sons, they try to live on their parents as long as possible.4) A case in point is the successful launching of space shuttles.5) A case in point is the chimp, who can learn to paint like a small child.1) He does not lend his books to everybody.2) She is not always so cooperative.3) Not all his stories make interesting reading.4) This plant is not to be found everywhere.5) The exhibits are not all of them worth looking at.1) go round2) romantic3) fundamental4) dependent5) resources6) abundant7) deposited8) scarce9) slowing down10) pull through11) draw on12) in good condition13) give birth to1) with2) on3) future4) as5) to6) cycles7) rhythms8) from9) body10) other11) studying12) over13) that14) effects15) direction16) take17) one翻译1) 比尔已是个成熟的小伙子,不再依赖父母替他做主。

大学英语精读4 unit2课件

大学英语精读4 unit2课件

大学英语精读4 unit2课件1. Introduction本课件是针对大学英语精读4课程中的Unit 2而编写的教学材料。

本单元的主要内容是关于国际关系和全球化的讨论。

通过本课程,学生将了解到有关国际关系的重要概念,并学会阅读并分析相关的英语文章。

2. Learning Objectives本单元的学习目标包括:•了解全球化和国际关系的定义和背景;•掌握本单元涉及的核心词汇和表达;•学会阅读并分析相关的英语文章;•提高关于国际关系的英语写作能力。

3. Unit Outline本单元的内容主要分为以下几个部分:3.1 全球化的定义和背景在这一部分,我们将探讨全球化的概念以及对国际关系产生的影响。

学生将了解到全球化的背景和原因,并通过案例分析来深入了解全球化对经济、文化和社会的影响。

3.2 国际关系中的重要概念这一部分将介绍国际关系中的一些重要概念,如国家主权、国际法、联合国等。

学生将学习这些概念的定义和相关的背景知识,并了解它们在实际的国际事务中的应用。

3.3 国际关系中的核心词汇和表达在这一部分,我们将学习与国际关系相关的核心词汇和常用表达。

这些词汇和表达将帮助学生更好地理解相关的文章和进行书面和口头表达。

3.4 阅读和分析相关的英语文章本单元还将包括阅读和分析相关的英语文章的训练。

学生将通过阅读和讨论来进一步理解国际关系的重要议题,并学会从英语文章中提取关键信息。

3.5 提高写作能力在这一部分,我们将进行有关国际关系的英语写作训练。

学生将学习如何撰写关于国际关系的议论文,并提高写作技巧和思维能力。

4. Assessment本单元的评估方式主要包括以下几个方面:•课堂参与和讨论:学生在课堂上积极参与讨论和提问,展示对国际关系的理解和分析能力。

•阅读报告:学生需要阅读指定的英语文章,并撰写阅读报告,分析其内容和观点。

•写作作业:学生需要完成有关国际关系的写作作业,包括议论文和摘要等。

5. Resources为了辅助学习,以下是一些可以参考的资源:•教科书:《大学英语精读4》•课件资料:本课件提供的教学资料和范例•英语词典:如牛津高阶英汉双解词典等,帮助理解核心词汇和表达•网络资源:如相关的学术文章、新闻报道和学术论坛等,帮助扩展阅读和研究的范围6. Conclusion通过本单元的学习,学生将对国际关系和全球化有更深入的理解,并提高相关的阅读和写作能力。

大学英语精读答案1~4册全

大学英语精读答案1~4册全

大学英语精读第一册答案大学英语精读第一册第三版book1Unit1答案/s/blog_658766530100mlcx.html 大学英语精读第一册第三版book1Unit2答案/s/blog_658766530100mlcz.html 大学英语精读第一册第三版book1Unit3答案/s/blog_658766530100mld4.html 大学英语精读第一册第三版book1Unit4答案/s/blog_658766530100mld5.html 大学英语精读第一册第三版book1Unit5答案/s/blog_658766530100mld9.html 大学英语精读第一册第三版book1Unit6答案/s/blog_658766530100mlda.html 大学英语精读第一册第三版book1Unit7答案/s/blog_658766530100mldd.html 大学英语精读第一册第三版book1Unit8答案/s/blog_658766530100mldf.html 大学英语精读第一册第三版book1Unit9答案/s/blog_658766530100mldk.html大学英语精读第一册第三版book1Unit10答案/s/blog_658766530100mldl.html大学英语精读第一册第三版课后翻译答案/s/blog_658766530100mldm.html欢迎点击/enfreshman查看更多大学英语精读答案大学英语精读第二册答案大学英语精读第二册第三版book2Unit1答案/s/blog_658766530100iulr.html大学英语精读第二册第三版book2Unit2答案/s/blog_658766530100iult.html大学英语精读第二册第三版book2Unit3答案/s/blog_658766530100izab.html大学英语精读第二册第三版book2Unit4答案/s/blog_658766530100j1dv.html大学英语精读第二册第三版book2Unit5答案/s/blog_658766530100j1dw.html/s/blog_658766530100j1dx.html大学英语精读第二册第三版book2Unit7答案/s/blog_658766530100j1e0.html大学英语精读第二册第三版book2Unit8答案/s/blog_658766530100j1e3.html大学英语精读第二册第三版book2Unit9答案/s/blog_658766530100j9eg.html大学英语精读第二册第三版book2Unit10答案/s/blog_658766530100j9ej.html大学英语精读第二册第三版课后翻译答案/s/blog_658766530100lctj.html欢迎点击/enfreshman查看更多大学英语精读答案大学英语精读第三册答案大学英语精读第三册第三版book3Unit1答案/s/blog_658766530100mldq.html大学英语精读第三册第三版book3Unit2答案/s/blog_658766530100mldt.html/s/blog_658766530100mldu.html大学英语精读第三册第三版book3Unit4答案/s/blog_658766530100mldv.html大学英语精读第三册第三版book3Unit5答案/s/blog_658766530100mldx.html大学英语精读第三册第三版book3Unit6答案/s/blog_658766530100mle1.html大学英语精读第三册第三版book3Unit7答案/s/blog_658766530100mle2.html大学英语精读第三册第三版book3Unit8答案/s/blog_658766530100mle6.html大学英语精读第三册第三版book3Unit9答案/s/blog_658766530100mle8.html大学英语精读第三册第三版book3Unit10答案/s/blog_658766530100mlea.html大学英语精读第三册第三版课后翻译答案/s/blog_658766530100mleb.html欢迎点击/enfreshman查看更多大学英语精读答案大学英语精读第四册答案大学英语精读第四册第三版book4Unit1答案/s/blog_658766530100lc8s.html 大学英语精读第四册第三版book4Unit2答案/s/blog_658766530100lc8o.html 大学英语精读第四册第三版book4Unit3答案/s/blog_658766530100lc8n.html 大学英语精读第四册第三版book4Unit4答案/s/blog_658766530100lc8m.html 大学英语精读第四册第三版book4Unit5答案/s/blog_658766530100lc8k.html 大学英语精读第四册第三版book4Unit6答案/s/blog_658766530100lbe3.html 大学英语精读第四册第三版book4Unit7答案/s/blog_658766530100lbe0.html 大学英语精读第四册第三版book4Unit8答案/s/blog_658766530100lbdz.html 大学英语精读第四册第三版book4Unit9答案/s/blog_658766530100lbay.html大学英语精读第四册第三版book4Unit10答案/s/blog_658766530100lb6f.html大学英语精读第四册第三版课后翻译答案/s/blog_658766530100lc8u.html欢迎您点击/enfreshman查看更多大学英语精读答案。

[实用参考]大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译

[实用参考]大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译

Unit1Twocollege-ageboPs,unawarethatmakingmonePusuallPinvolveshardwork,aretemptedbPanadvertis ementthatpromisesthemaneasPwaPtoearnalotofmoneP.TheboPssoonlearnthatifsomethingseemstog oodtobetrue,itprobablPis.一个大学男孩,不清楚赚钱需要付出艰苦的劳动,被一份许诺轻松赚大钱的广告吸引了。

男孩们很快就明白,如果事情看起来好得不像真的,那多半确实不是真的。

BIGBUCKSTHEEASPWAP轻轻松松赚大钱"Pououghttolookintothis,"Isuggestedtoourtwocollege-agesons."ItmightbeawaPtoavoidtheindignitP ofhavingtoaskformonePallthetime."Ihandedthemsomemagazinesinaplasticbagsomeonebadhungon ourdoorknob.AmessageprintedonthebagofferedleisurelP,lucrativework("BigBuckstheEasPWaP!")o fdeliveringmoresuchbags.“你们该看看这个,”我向我们的两个读大学的儿子建议道。

“你们若想避免因为老是向人讨钱而有失尊严的话,这兴许是一种办法。

”我将挂在我们门把手上的、装在一个塑料袋里的几本杂志拿给他们。

塑料袋上印着一条信息说,需要招聘人投递这样的袋子,这活儿既轻松又赚钱。

(“轻轻松松赚大钱!”)"Idon'tmindtheindignitP,"theolderoneanswered.“我不在乎失不失尊严,”大儿子回答说。

大学英语精读第四册作文参考答案汇总

大学英语精读第四册作文参考答案汇总

大学英语精读第四册作文参考答案汇总大学英语精读第三版(上海外语教育出版社董亚芬主编)第四册Book4Unit1~Unit10 作文参考答案Unit 1Kid 1:The pay is too low. We workers will get five dollars each. And both of you will collect hundreds. That isn't fair.Kid 2: Five dollars per hour. Otherwise, we'll quit.Boss 1: Geez, that's too much. What do you take us for?Boss 2: Millionaires, huh?Kid 2: Millionaire or no millionaire, we don't care. What we care about is you ought to pay us reasonably.Boss 1: You know, besides your wages, we have to pay for the gasoline and buy gifts for our neighbors who have helped us a lot as you must have seen. That'll be a lot of money.Kid 3: We don't intend to put you in an awkward position. But we do deserve more. Boss 1: How about, say, one dollar and a half per hour?Kid 3: Three dollars.Boss 2: (shakes his head) No. Kids (almost in chorus) Two dollars, no less. Bosses (nod to each other) Done!Unit 2The modern world gets most of its energy needs from coal, oil and natural gas. These sources have one thing in common: once they have been taken from the depths of the earth, they can never be replaced. Naturally, their reserves tend to be on the decrease. However, as economies develop, the world demand for energy is growing enormously day by day. It is quite obvious, therefore, that we are threatened with the approach of energy crisis. What, then, can we do to prevent energy crisis? The answer lies partly in practicing conservation of resources. Large amounts of energy are being wasted in all sections of the modern society so that the present major energy sources will be used up much sooner than expected. If we heighten our awareness of the urgent need to conserve energy, however, we will be able to make the sources last a lot longer. Of course, conservation is not the perfect solution to the energy problem. Eventually, sources like coal and oil will be exhausted. But there are many other energy sources that can be used in place of them, such as nuclear power, wind energy and solar energy. Scientists are now doing their best to develop new sources of energy, which is our hope for the future. We are convinced that so long as both solutions are applied, energy crisis can be prevented.Unit 3Why Should We Attach Importance to Both Theory and Practice?It is generally accepted that theory is based on practice. Galileo, for example, based his studies of natural laws on experimentation and observation. It was by observationthat he proved the theory that the sun is the center of the solar system. Likewise, Comrade Deng Xiaoping's theory concerning the building of socialism with distinctive Chinese features has been established on the basis of revolutionary practice in China today. Beyond doubt, there can be no scientific theory without practice. It is also certain that theory, in turn, serves practice. For instance, astronomers apply theories about the heavenly bodies to foretell eclipses and suchlike. Another case in point is, again, Comrade Deng Xiaoping's theory, which guides the Chinese people on their way to building a prosperous and powerful socialist society. Practice without theory as its guide is like a ship sailing into a port without a pilot. The consequences can be disastrous. In view of the above, we can safely conclude that it is highly important to combine theory with practice in our work. We must never ignore one in favor of the other.Unit 4How to Win the War against TerrorismFew can doubt the harm terrorism produces. News of death and suffering caused by terrorist attacks on innocent people going about their everyday lives is far too common. What can bring one human to behave with such cruelty towards another? Some terrorists may claim that the injustice their group has suffered is so great that any means are justified. They may argue that those stronger than them have used force against their people and that terror is the only weapon left to the weak. Yet such arguments only lead to the ruin of more innocent lives. Two wrongs do not make a right. What can be done to solve the problem? One tactic must be better protection through increased security, making attacks easier to uncover and prevent. Another is to attack the root cause of terrorism, the sources of injustice that fuel its support. Neither task is easy.Unit 5May 8, 1998Dear Sir,I am writing in response to your advertisement in today's Guangming Daily. I wish very much to be considered for the position referred to. I feel that I am competent to perform the duties outlined in your advertisement, for my education and experience are both in line with the requirements of the job you offer. I am twenty-five years of age, and a graduate of Fudan University with a bachelor's degree in business administration. Since my graduation in 1996, I have held a job as a salesman in a trade company, where my performance is highly appreciated. Now I would like to move on to a position that requires more individual responsibility. Your advertisement indicates to me that the job opening in your company is exactly what I am looking for. It is the kind of challenge I'd like to meet. If you feel that I might be qualified for the post, I should welcome an interview any time at your convenience. Enclosed you will find my résumé and a recent photo of myself.Yours faithfully,Zhang HuapingUnit6How to Improve Your Reading ComprehensionAs our studying is mostly done through reading, it is self-evident that we should endeavour to improve our reading comprehension. The best way you can become a good reader is through practice. You cannot read a few paragraphs just once in a while and become a fluent reader. You need to read constantly. It is advisable to carry something to read with you wherever you go. Whenever you have the chance, take it out and read a paragraph or two. Once you have made reading a habit, your reading is bound to benefit. To improve your reading comprehension, you also need to develop certain reading skills. For example, a poor reader tends to move his eyes from word to word whereas an efficient reader will move his eyes from thought group to thought group. To pick up speed and fluency, therefore, you should learn to read in thought groups. Mastering such reading techniques is the key to effective reading.Unit 7Sam went to the cinema the other night, but he didn't enjoy it. Entering the cinema, Sam thought of taking off his coat. But the cinema turned out to be very cold and he had to keep his coat on. As there wasn't much space between the rows, his legs began to ache shortly after he took his seat. Worse still, he found it difficult to breathe easily. Looking about, he saw a lot of people were smoking. At last the film started. To his annoyance, the person in front was wearing such a big hat that he could hardly see the screen. To top it all, people all around him made a lot of noise, some telling jokes, others laughing loudly, not to mention a child crying out with pleasure. Needless to say, Sam missed most of the dialogue. He couldn't bear to sit out the rest of the film and went out of the cinema into the cold night in a fury.Unit 8Effects of Technological Advance on HumankindTechnology has brought immense benefits to humankind. Take a look around and you'll find examples too numerous to list. Electric appliances like microwave ovens have rendered our home life much easier and more enjoyable. Also, if you wish to travel to another city or country, the airplane will take you there within a matter of hours. What's more important, the use of advanced technology has made possible enormous increases in our food production capacity, enabling the world's fast-growing population to maintain at least an acceptable standard of living. On the other hand, however, technology has created problems that may threaten human existence. A major hazard is pollution. Indisputably, we have little chance to survive while the land, water and atmosphere are seriously polluted. Furthermore, technology can expose mankind to such threats as a nuclear war. Confronted with the two sets of consequences, we must keep a clear head. Personally, it is important to realize that without technological advance there can be no further progress for human civilization. At the same time, because of the associated hazards, the use of technology must be subjected to careful planning and firm social control.Unit 9As early as I was a high school student I decided to dedicate myself to medical science. This important decision in my life had a great deal to do with my uncle's sudden death. It was like this: One day when I came home from school I was shocked to hear my aunt crying with deep grief. Upon inquiry I learned that my uncle, who had been ill with hypertension for years, died of cerebral haemorrhage that very afternoon. While mourning my uncle's passing I recalled that hypertension was also the root cause of my grandfather's death and my father was afflicted with the same illness. Obviously it is mostly a hereditary disease, able to be passed on through the genes of a parent to a child. So there is a chance I may suffer from it too. As time went on, I uncovered more about hypertension. For one thing, at present it is impossible to effect a permanent cure of the disease. For another, it causes thousands upon thousands of deaths every year. It became clear to me that we got to find ways to make the incurable disease curable and save millions of lives. A likely victim of the disease, I made up my mind that one day I would join hands with the scientists in trying to solve this knotty medical problem.Unit10True Happiness and Hard WorkSome people think that health is essential to happiness. Others believe wealth makes them happy. Still others of a strong intellectual turn of mind look upon wisdom as the source of happiness. In a way, they all have a point. However, health, wealth and wisdom are not gifts dropped from the heaven, but rewards of your own efforts. For instance, you have to work very hard in order to earn your share of money. Indeed, it is work that helps make us healthy, wealthy and wise. True happiness, to my mind, comes first and last from hard work. We derive great satisfaction from our work also because work constitutes a contribution to the modernization effort. As masters of our country, we feel duty bound to do our bit for socialist construction and take pride in the fact that our joint efforts are bringing prosperity to our motherland. And then again, we are eager to become more knowledgeable about and efficient in our lines of work. Work, more than anything else, provides us with the much-desired opportunity to learn and improve ourselves.更多精彩请点击/?id=2465。

大学英语精读book4-unit2

大学英语精读book4-unit2

Book4-unit2turn of mind: adj. a characteristic tendency or way of thinking性情;气质倾向,才能He has an optimistic turn of mind.因为他的想法奇怪,行为也和别人极为不同。

With a very peculiar turn of mind, he behaves very differently from anyone else.convert into:1) change into转变, 转化One last effort converted defeat into victory.The hotel has been converted into an office building.2) cause (a person) to change his beliefs, etc. 皈依;改变信仰他们已经改信佛教。

They have converted to Buddhism.reserve:1. n.1) sth. kept for later use贮藏; 储备有些动物在秋季储备大量的食物,以防冬季挨饿。

Some animals keep a great reserve of food in fall to keep from starving in winter.2) a piece of land kept for a (stated) purpose保护区Laws and regulations are made to protect the wildlife reserves.他在自然保护区拍了很多狮子的照片。

He took a lot of photos of the lions in the nature reserves.2. vt. keep for special purpose 保留,预订这些座位是留给贵宾的。

大学英语精读第三版第四册课后答案全部

大学英语精读第三版第四册课后答案全部

大学英语精读第三版第四册课后答案【全部】大学英语精读第三版第四册Book4 Unit1答案上海外语教育出版社董亚芬主编1) thoughtful2) might as well/may as well/could as well3) draw your attention to4) marvelous5) settle for6) done with7) Competitive competitive8) pains/pained9) bonus10) shrink11) delivery12) overheard13) sour14) for rent15) stack16) reproduce1) inquired2) informed3) awful4) settle for5) trash6) claimed7) Normally8) a piece of cake9) be done with10) enable11) am entitled12) quite a while1) ask for2) was set up/has been set up3) pulled up4) gives off5) was held up6) keep up7) ran over8) made up9) be left out10) cut off1) It pained Jenny to learn of Jim's refusal to help her with the translation.2) The extra work to be assigned to you will greatly cut into your spare time.3) We'd been at the job for hours, but we hardly made a dent in it.4) You have no business saying those nasty things about Dick.5) We might as well listen to the radio program since there isn't anything interesting on television.1) standee2) payee3) grantee4) addressee5) a person who is absent6) a person who is being trained7) a divorced person8) a person who is appointed1) output2) breakdown3) setup4) Takeoff5) drawbacks6) breakthrough7) cutback8) takeover1) paper, store, shop, case, cream2) making, keeping, bathing, conditioning, walking3) market, way, stop, board/smith, ground4) pill, water, material, point, machine5) pour, look/put/come, come,6) out, back/up, through/down/out1) a dozen years2) dozens of times3) two dozen passengers4) dozens of phone calls5) three dozen boxes6) a dozen bottles/a dozen bottles of wine1) a great deal of pain "has been caused by evils which have never happened"2) the elderly lady Miss Morris quarrelled with was none other than her future mother-in-law3) this essay is well-written except for a few grammatical mistakes4) I just caught the train in time5) You can't eat your cake and have it too1) You ought to know better than to go swimming straight after a meal.2) Uncle Rob should have known better than to trust that treacherous son of his.3) Sally is old enough to know better than to spend all her money on fancy goods.4) Miss Miller certainly knows better than to explore the desert all alone.5) His college sons should have known better than to try to get the best out of their employees by threatening them with bodily harm.6) You ought to know better than to go out in this freezing weather in those thin clothes. You'll get frozen.1) delivery2) a piece of cake3) inquire4) pulling up5) stacks6) deadline7) marvelous8) enable9) cut into10) settle for11) settled our accounts12) minimum13) known better than1) advertisement/ad2) read3) No4) like5) words6) towards7) which8) sizes9) sitting10) water11) bottle12) one13) started14) passed15) run/pass16) into17) coming18) if19) quit20) hour21) wrote翻译1) 我们接到通知,财政部长将于次日接见我们。

大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译

大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译

大学英语精读第三版第四册课文及课文翻译Unit 1TextTwo college-age boys, unaware that making money usually involves hard work, are tempted by an advertisement that promises them an easy way to earn a lot of money. The boys soon learn that if something seems to good to be true, it probably is.BIG BUCKS THE EASY W AYJohn G. Hubbell"You ought to look into this," I suggested to our two college-age sons. "It might be a way to avoid the indignity of having to ask for money all the time." I handed them some magazines in a plastic bag someone bad hung on our doorknob. A message printed on the bag offered leisurely, lucrative work ("Big Bucks the Easy Way!") of delivering more such bags."I don't mind the indignity," the older one answered."I can live with it," his brother agreed."But it pains me," I said,"to find that you both have been panhandling so long that it no longer embarrasses you."The boys said they would look into the magazine-delivery thing. Pleased, I left town on a business trip. By midnight I was comfortably settled in a hotel room far from home. The phone rang. It was my wife. She wanted to know how my day had gone."Great!" I enthused. "How was your day?" I inquired."Super!" She snapped. "Just super! And it's only getting started. Another truck just pulled up out front.""Another truck?""The third one this evening. The first delivered four thousand Montgomery Wards. The second brought four thousand Sears, Roebucks. I don't know what this one has, but I'm sure it will be four thousand of something. Since you are responsible, I thought you might like to know what's happening.What I was being blamed for, it turned out, was a newspaper strike which made it necessary to hand-deliver the advertising inserts that normally are included with the Sunday paper. The company had promised our boys $600 for delivering these inserts to 4,000 houses by Sunday morning."Piece of cake!" our older college son had shouted." Six hundred bucks!" His brother had echoed, "And we can do the job in two hours!""Both the Sears and Ward ads are four newspaper-size pages," my wife informed me. "There are thirty-two thousand pages of advertising on our porch. Even as we speak, two big guys are carrying armloads of paper up the walk. What do we do about all this?""Just tell the boys to get busy," I instructed. "They're college men. They'll do what they have to do."At noon the following day I returned to the hotel and found an urgent message to telephone my wife. Her voice was unnaturally high and quavering. There had been several more truckloads of ad inserts. "They're for department stores, dime stores, drugstores, grocery stores, auto stores and so on. Some are whole magazine sections. We have hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of pages of advertising here! They are crammed wall-to-wall all through the house in stacks taller than your oldest son. There's only enough room for people to walk in, take one each of the eleveninserts, roll them together, slip a rubber band around them and slide them into a plastic bag. We have enough plastic bags to supply every takeout restaurant in America!" Her voice kept rising, as if working its way out of the range of the human ear. "All this must be delivered by seven o'clock Sunday morning.""Well, you had better get those guys banding and sliding as fast as they can, and I'll talk to you later. Got a lunch date.When I returned, there was another urgent call from my wife."Did you have a nice lunch?" she asked sweetly. I had had a marvelous steak, but knew better by now than to say so."Awful," I reported. "Some sort of sour fish. Eel, I think.""Good. Your college sons have hired their younger brothers and sisters and a couple of neighborhood children to help for five dollars each. Assembly lines have been set up. In the language of diplomacy, there is 'movement.'""That's encouraging.""No, it's not," she corrected. "It's very discouraging. They're been as it for hours. Plastic bags have been filled and piled to the ceiling, but all this hasn't made a dent, not a dent, in the situation! It's almost as if the inserts keep reproducing themselves!""Another thing," she continued. "Your college sons must learn that one does not get the best out of employees by threatening them with bodily harm.Obtaining an audience with son NO. 1, I snarled, "I'll kill you if threaten one of those kids again! Idiot! You should be offering a bonus of a dollar every hour to the worker who fills the most bags."But that would cut into our profit," he suggested."There won't be any profit unless those kids enable you to make all the deliveries on time. If they don't, you two will have to remove all that paper by yourselves. And there will be no eating or sleeping until it is removed."There was a short, thoughtful silence. Then he said, "Dad, you have just worked a profound change in my personality.""Do it!""Yes, sir!"By the following evening, there was much for my wife to report. The bonus program had worked until someone demanded to see the color of cash. Then some activist on the work force claimed that the workers had no business settling for $5 and a few competitive bonuses while the bossed collected hundreds of dollars each. The organizer had declared that all the workers were entitled to $5 per hour! They would not work another minute until the bosses agreed.The strike lasted less than two hours. In mediation, the parties agreed on $2 per hour. Gradually, the huge stacks began to shrink.As it turned out, the job was completed three hours before Sunday's 7 a.m. deadline. By the time I arrived home, the boys had already settled their accounts: $150 in labor costs, $40 for gasoline, and a like amountfor gifts—boxes of candy for saintly neighbors who had volunteered station wagons and help in delivery and dozen roses for their mother. This left them with $185 each — about two-thirds the minimum wage for the 91 hours they worked. Still, it was "enough", as one of them put it, to enable them to "avoid indignity" for quite a while.All went well for some weeks. Then one Saturday morning my attention was drawn to the odd goings-on of our two youngest sons. They kept carrying carton after carton from various corners of the house out the front door to curbside. I assumed their mother had enlisted them to remove junk for a trash pickup. Then I overheard them discussing finances."Geez, we're going to make a lot of money!""We're going to be rich!"Investigation revealed that they were offering " for sale or rent" our entire library."No! No!" I cried. "You can't sell our books!""Geez, Dad, we thought you were done with them!""You're never 'done' with books," I tried to explain."Sure you are. You read them, and you're done with them. That's it. Then you might as well make a little money from them. We wanted to avoid the indignity of having to ask you for……"一个大学男孩,不清楚赚钱需要付出艰苦的劳动,被一份许诺轻松赚大钱的广告吸引了。

现代大学英语精读4unit2springsowing原文

现代大学英语精读4unit2springsowing原文

Spring SowingIt was still dark when Martin Delaney and his wife Mary got up. Martin stood in his shirt by the window, rubbing his eyes and yawning, while Mary raked out the live coals that had lain hidden in the ashes on the hearth all night. Outside, cocks were crowing and a white streak was rising form the ground, as it were, and beginning to scatter the darkness. It was a February morning, dry, cold and starry.The couple sat down to their breakfast of tea, bread and butter, in silence. They had only been married the previous autumn and it was hateful leaving a warm bed at such and early hour. Martin, with his brown hair and eyes, his freckled face and his little fair moustache, looked too young to be married, and his wife looked hardly more than a girl, red-cheeked and blue-eyed, her black hair piled at the rear of her head with a large comb gleaming in the middle of the pile, Spanish fashion. They were both dressed in rough homespuns, and both wore the loose white shirt that Inverara peasants use for work in the fields.They ate in silence, sleepy and yet on fire with excitement, for it was the first day of their first spring sowing as man and wife. And each felt the glamour of that day on which they were to open up the earth together and plant seeds in it. But somehow the imminence of an event that had been long expected loved, feared and prepared for made them dejected. Mary,with her shrewd woman's mind, thought of as many things as there are in life as a woman would in the first joy and anxiety of her mating. But Martin's mind was fixed on one thought. Would he be able to prove himself a man worthy of being the head of a family by dong his spring sowing well?In the barn after breakfast, when they were getting the potato seeds and the line for measuring the ground and the spade, Martin fell over a basket in the half-darkness of the barn, he swore and said that a man would be better off dead than.. But before he could finish whatever he was going to say, Mary had her arms around his waist and her face to his. "Martin," she said, "let us not begin this day cross with one another." And there was a tremor in her voice. And somehow, as they embraced, all their irritation and sleepiness left them. And they stood there embracing until at last Martin pushed her from him with pretended roughness and said: "Come, come, girl, it will be sunset before we begin at this rate."Still, as they walked silently in their rawhide shoes through the little hamlet, there was not a soul about. Lights were glimmering in the windows of a few cabins. The sky had a big grey crack in it in the east, as if it were going to burst in order to give birth to the sun. Birds were singing somewhere at a distance. Martin and Mary rested their baskets of seeds on a fence outside the village and Martin whispered to Mary proudly: "We are first, Mary." And they both looked back at the little cluster of cabins that was the centre of their world, with throbbing hearts. For the joyof spring had now taken complete hold of them.They reached the little field where they were to sow. It was a little triangular patch of ground under an ivy-covered limestone hill. The little field had been manured with seaweed some weeks before, and the weeds had rotted and whitened on the grass. And there was a big red heap of fresh seaweed lying in a corner by the fence to be spread under the seeds as they were laid. Martin, in spite of the cold, threw off everything above his waist except his striped woolen shirt. Then he spat on his hands, seized his spade and cried: "Now you are going to see what kind of a man you have, Mary.""There, now," said Mary, tying a little shawl closer under her chin. "Aren't we boastful this early hour of the morning Maybe I'll wait till sunset to see what kind of a man I have got."The work began. Martin measured the ground by the southern fence for the first ridge, a strip of ground four feet wide, and he placed the line along the edge and pegged it at each end. Then he spread fresh seaweed over the strip. Mary filled her apron with seeds and began to lay them in rows. When she was a little distance down the ridge, Martin advanced with his spade to the head, eager to commence."Now in the name of God," he cried, spitting on his palms, "let us raise the first sod!""Oh, Martin, wait till I'm with you !" cried Mary, dropping her seeds onthe ridge and running up to him .Her fingers outside her woolen mittens were numb with the cold, and she couldn't wipe them in her apron. Her cheeks seemed to be on fire. She put an arm round Martin's waist and stood looking at the green sod his spade was going to cut, with the excitement of a little child."Now for God's sake, girl, keep back!" said Martin gruffly. "Suppose anybody saw us like this in the field of our spring sowing, what would they take us for but a pair of useless, soft, empty-headed people that would be sure to die of hunger Huh!" He spoke very rapidly, and his eyes were fixed on the ground before hm. His eyes had a wild, eager light in them as if some primeval impulse were burning within his brain and driving out every other desire but that of asserting his manhood and of subjugating the earth."Oh, what do we care who is looking" said Mary; but she drew back at the same time and gazed distantly at the ground. Then Martin cut the sod, and pressing the spade deep into the earth with his foot, he turned up the first sod with a crunching sound as the grass roots were dragged out of the earth. Mary sighed and walked back hurriedly to her seeds with furrowed brows. She picked up her seeds and began to spread them rapidly to drive out the sudden terror that had seized her at that moment when she saw the fierce, hard look in her husband's eyes that were unconscious of her presence. She became suddenly afraid of that pitiless, cruel earth, thepeasant's slave master that would keep her chained to hard work and poverty all her life until she would sink again into its bosom. Her short-lived love was gone. Henceforth she was only her husband's helper to till the earth. And Martin, absolutely without thought, worked furiously, covering the ridge with block earth, his sharp spade gleaming white as he whirled it sideways to beat the sods.Then, as the sun rose, the little valley beneath the ivy-covered hills became dotted with white shirts, and everywhere men worked madly, without speaking, and women spread seeds. There was no heat in the light of the sun, and there was a sharpness in the still thin air that made the men jump on their spade halts ferociously and beat the sods as if they were living enemies. Birds hopped silently before the spades, with their heads cocked sideways, watching for worms. Made brave by hunger, they often dashed under the spades to secure their food.Then, when the sun reached a certain point, all the women went back to the village to get dinner for their men, and the men worked on without stopping. Then the women returned, almost running, each carrying a tin can with a flannel tied around it and a little bundle tied with a white cloth, Martin threw down his spade when Mary arrived back in the field. Smiling at one another they sat under the hill for their meal .It was the same as their breakfast, tea and bread and butter."Ah," said Martin, when he had taken a long draught of tea form his mug,"is there anything in this world as fine as eating dinner out in the open like this after doing a good morning's work There, I have done two ridges and a half. That's more than any man in the village could do. Ha!" And he looked at his wife proudly."Yes, isn't it lovely," said Mary, looking at the back ridges wistfully. She was just munching her bread and butter .The hurried trip to the village and the trouble of getting the tea ready had robbed her of her appetite. She had to keep blowing at the turf fire with the rim of her skirt, and the smoke nearly blinded her. But now, sitting on that grassy knoll, with the valley all round glistening with fresh seaweed and a light smoke rising from the freshly turned earth, a strange joy swept over her. It overpowered that other felling of dread that had been with her during the morning. Martin ate heartily, reveling in his great thirst and his great hunger, with every pore of his body open to the pure air. And he looked around at his neighbors' fields boastfully, comparing them with his own. Then he looked at his wife's little round black head and felt very proud of having her as his own. He leaned back on his elbow and took her hand in his. Shyly and in silence, not knowing what to say and ashamed of their gentle feelings, they finished eating and still sat hand in hand looking away into the distance. Everywhere the sowers were resting on little knolls, men, women and children sitting in silence. And the great calm of nature in spring filled the atmosphere around them. Everything seemedto sit still and wait until midday had passed. Only the gleaming sun chased westwards at a mighty pace, in and out through white clouds.Then in a distant field an old man got up, took his spade and began to clean the earth from it with a piece of stone. The rasping noise carried a long way in the silence. That was the signal for a general rising all along the little valley. Young men stretched themselves and yawned. They walked slowly back to their ridges.Martin's back and his wrists were getting sore, and Mary felt that if she stooped again over her seeds her neck would break, but neither said anything and soon they had forgotten their tiredness in the mechanical movement of their bodies. The strong smell of the upturned earth acted like a drug on their nerves.In the afternoon, when the sun was strongest, the old men of the village came out to look at their people sowing. Martin's grandfather, almost bent double over his thick stick stopped in the land outside the field and groaning loudly, he leaned over the fence.“God bless the work, "he called wheezily."And you, grandfather," replied the couple together, but they did not stop working.'Ha!" muttered the old man to himself. "He sows well and that woman is good too. They are beginning well."It was fifty years since he had begun with his Mary, full of hope and pride,and themerciless soil had hugged them to its bosom ever since, each spring without rest. Today, the old man, with his huge red nose and the spotted handkerchief tied around his skull under his black soft felt hat, watched his grandson work and gave him advice."Don't cut your sods so long," he would wheeze, "you are putting too much soil on yourridge."''Ah woman! Don't plant a seed so near the edge. The stalk will come out sideways."And they paid no heed to him."Ah," grumbled the old man," in my young days, when men worked from morning till night without tasting food, better work was done. But of course it can't be expected to be the same now. The breed is getting weaker. So it is."Then he began to cough in his chest and hobbled away to another field where his sonMichael was working.By sundown Martin had five ridges finished. He threw down his spade and stretched himself. All his bones ached and he wanted to lie down and rest. "It's time to be going home, Mary," he said.Mary straightened herself, but she was too tired to reply. She looked atMartin wearily and it seemed to her that it was a great many years since they had set out that morning. Then she thought of the journey home and the trouble of feeding the pigs, putting the fowls into their coops and getting the supper ready, and a momentary flash of rebellion against the slavery of being a peasant's wife crossed her mind. It passed in a moment. Martin was saying, as he dressed himself:"Ha! It has been a good day's work. Five ridges done, and each one of them as straight as a steel rod. By God Mary, it's no boasting to say that you might well be proud of being the wife of Martin Delaney. And that's not saying the whole of it ,my girl. You did your share better than any woman in Inverara could do it this blessed day."They stood for a few moments in silence, looking at the work they had done. All her dissatisfaction and weariness vanished form Mary's mind with the delicious feeling of comfort that overcame her at having done this work with her husband. They had done it together. They had planted seeds in the earth. The next day and the next and all their lives, when spring came they would have to bend their backs and do it until their hands and bones got twisted with rheumatism. But night would always bring sleep and forgetfulness.As they walked home slowly, Martin walked in front with another peasant talking about the sowing, and Mary walked behind, with her eyes on the ground, thinking. Cows were lowing at a distance.。

现代大学英语精读4Unit2SpringSowing原文

现代大学英语精读4Unit2SpringSowing原文

Spring SowingIt was still dark when Martin Delaney and his wife Mary got up. Martin stood in his shirt by the window, rubbing his eyes and yawning, while Mary raked out the live coals that had lain hidden in the ashes on the hearth all night. Outside, cocks were crowing and a white streak was rising form the ground, as it were, and beginning to scatter the darkness. It was a February morning, dry, cold and starry.The couple sat down to their breakfast of tea, bread and butter, in silence. They had only been married the previous autumn and it was hateful leaving a warm bed at such and early hour. Martin, with his brown hair and eyes, his freckled face and his little fair moustache, looked too young to be married, and his wife looked hardly more than a girl, red-cheeked and blue-eyed, her black hair piled at the rear of her head with a large comb gleaming in the middle of the pile, Spanish fashion. They were both dressed in rough homespuns, and both wore the loose white shirt that Inverara peasants use for work in the fields.They ate in silence, sleepy and yet on fire with excitement, for it was the first day of their first spring sowing as man and wife. And each felt the glamour of that day on which they were to open up the earth together and plant seeds in it. But somehow the imminence of an event that had been long expected loved, feared and prepared for made them dejected. Mary, with her shrewd woman's mind, thought of as many things as there are in life as a woman would in the first joy and anxiety of her mating. But Martin's mind was fixed on one thought. Would he be able to prove himself a manworthy of being the head of a family by dong his spring sowing well?In the barn after breakfast, when they were getting the potato seeds and the line for measuring the ground and the spade, Martin fell over a basket in the half-darkness of the barn, he swore and said that a man would be better off dead than.. But before he could finish whatever he was going to say, Mary had her arms around his waist and her face to his. "Martin," she said, "let us not begin this day cross with one another." And there was a tremor in her voice. And somehow, as they embraced, all their irritation and sleepiness left them. And they stood there embracing until at last Martin pushed her from him with pretended roughness and said: "Come, come, girl, it will be sunset before we begin at this rate."Still, as they walked silently in their rawhide shoes through the little hamlet, there was not a soul about. Lights were glimmering in the windows of a few cabins. The sky had a big grey crack in it in the east, as if it were going to burst in order to give birth to the sun. Birds were singing somewhere at a distance. Martin and Mary rested their baskets of seeds on a fence outside the village and Martin whispered to Mary proudly: "We are first, Mary." And they both looked back at the little cluster of cabins that was the centre of their world, with throbbing hearts. For the joy of spring had now taken complete hold of them.They reached the little field where they were to sow. It was a little triangular patch of ground under an ivy-covered limestone hill. The little field had been manured with seaweed some weeks before, and the weeds had rotted and whitened on the grass. And there was a big red heap of fresh seaweed lying in a corner by the fence to be spreadunder the seeds as they were laid. Martin, in spite of the cold, threw off everything above his waist except his striped woolen shirt. Then he spat on his hands, seized his spade and cried: "Now you are going to see what kind of a man you have, Mary.” "There, now," said Mary, tying a little shawl closer under her chin."Aren't we boastful this early hour of the morning? Maybe I'll wait till sunset to see what kind of a man I have got."The work began. Martin measured the ground by the southern fence for the first ridge, a strip of ground four feet wide, and he placed the line along the edge and pegged it at each end. Then he spread fresh seaweed over the strip. Mary filled her apron with seeds and began to lay them in rows. When she was a little distance down the ridge, Martin advanced with his spade to the head, eager to commence."Now in the name of God," he cried, spitting on his palms, "let us raise the first sod!" "Oh, Martin, wait till I'm with you !" cried Mary, dropping her seeds on the ridge and running up to him .Her fingers outside her woolen mittens were numb with the cold, and she couldn't wipe them in her apron. Her cheeks seemed to be on fire. She put an arm round Martin's waist and stood looking at the green sod his spade was going to cut, with the excitement of a little child."Now for God's sake, girl, keep back!" said Martin gruffly. "Suppose anybody saw us like this in the field of our spring sowing, what would they take us for but a pair of useless, soft, empty-headed people that would be sure to die of hunger? Huh!" He spoke very rapidly, and his eyes were fixed on the ground before hm. His eyes had a wild, eager light in them as if some primeval impulse were burning within his brainand driving out every other desire but that of asserting his manhood and of subjugating the earth."Oh, what do we care who is looking?" said Mary; but she drew back at the same time and gazed distantly at the ground. Then Martin cut the sod, and pressing the spade deep into the earth with his foot, he turned up the first sod with a crunching sound as the grass roots were dragged out of the earth. Mary sighed and walked back hurriedly to her seeds with furrowed brows. She picked up her seeds and began to spread them rapidly to drive out the sudden terror that had seized her at that moment when she saw the fierce, hard look in her husband's eyes that were unconscious of her presence. She became suddenly afraid of that pitiless, cruel earth, the peasant's slave master that would keep her chained to hard work and poverty all her life until she would sink again into its bosom. Her short-lived love was gone. Henceforth she was only her husband's helper to till the earth. And Martin, absolutely without thought, worked furiously, covering the ridge with block earth, his sharp spade gleaming white as he whirled it sideways to beat the sods. Then, as the sun rose, the little valley beneath the ivy-covered hills became dotted with white shirts, and everywhere men worked madly, without speaking, and women spread seeds. There was no heat in the light of the sun, and there was a sharpness in the still thin air that made the men jump on their spade halts ferociously and beat the sods as if they were living enemies. Birds hopped silently before the spades, with their heads cocked sideways, watching for worms. Made brave by hunger, they often dashed under the spades to secure their food.本文档如对你有帮助,请帮忙下载支持!Then, when the sun reached a certain point, all the women went back to the village to get dinner for their men, and the men worked on without stopping. Then the women returned, almost running, each carrying a tin can with a flannel tied around it and a little bundle tied with a white cloth, Martin threw down his spade when Mary arrived back in the field. Smiling at one another they sat under the hill for their meal .It was the same as their breakfast, tea and bread and butter."Ah," said Martin, when he had taken a long draught of tea form his mug, "is there anything in this world as fine as eating dinner out in the open like this after doing a good morning's work? There, I have done two ridges and a half. That's more than any man in the village could do. Ha!" And he looked at his wife proudly."Yes, isn't it lovely," said Mary, looking at the back ridges wistfully. She was just munching her bread and butter .The hurried trip to the village and the trouble of getting the tea ready had robbed her of her appetite. She had to keep blowing at the turf fire with the rim of her skirt, and the smoke nearly blinded her. But now, sitting on that grassy knoll, with the valley all round glistening with fresh seaweed and a light smoke rising from the freshly turned earth, a strange joy swept over her. It overpowered that other felling of dread that had been with her during the morning. Martin ate heartily, reveling in his great thirst and his great hunger, with every pore of his body open to the pure air. And he looked around at his neighbors' fields boastfully, comparing them with his own. Then he looked at his wife's little round black head and felt very proud of having her as his own. He leaned back on his elbow and took her hand in his. Shyly and in silence, not knowing what to say and ashamed of their gentle本文档如对你有帮助,请帮忙下载支持!feelings, they finished eating and still sat hand in hand looking away into the distance. Everywhere the sowers were resting on little knolls, men, women and children sitting in silence. And the great calm of nature in spring filled the atmosphere around them. Everything seemed to sit still and wait until midday had passed. Only the gleaming sun chased westwards at a mighty pace, in and out through white clouds.Then in a distant field an old man got up, took his spade and began to clean the earth from it with a piece of stone. The rasping noise carried a long way in the silence. That was the signal for a general rising all along the little valley. Young men stretched themselves and yawned. They walked slowly back to their ridges.Martin's back and his wrists were getting sore, and Mary felt that if she stooped again over her seeds her neck would break, but neither said anything and soon they had forgotten their tiredness in the mechanical movement of their bodies. The strong smell of the upturned earth acted like a drug on their nerves.In the afternoon, when the sun was strongest, the old men of the village came out to look at their people sowing. Martin's grandfather, almost bent double over his thick stick stopped in the land outside the field and groaning loudly, he leaned over the fence.God bless the work, "he called wheezily."And you, grandfather," replied the couple together, but they did not stop working.'Ha!" muttered the old man to himself. "He sows well and that woman is good too. They are beginning well."It was fifty years since he had begun with his Mary, full of hope and pride, and the本文档如对你有帮助,请帮忙下载支持!merciless soil had hugged them to its bosom ever since, each spring without rest. Today, the old man, with his huge red nose and the spotted handkerchief tied around his skull under his black soft felt hat, watched his grandson work and gave him advice. "Don't cut your sods so long," he would wheeze, "you are putting too much soil on your ridge."''Ah woman! Don't plant a seed so near the edge. The stalk will come out sideways." And they paid no heed to him."Ah," grumbled the old man," in my young days, when men worked from morning till night without tasting food, better work was done. But of course it can't be expected to be the same now. The breed is getting weaker. So it is."Then he began to cough in his chest and hobbled away to another field where his son Michael was working.By sundown Martin had five ridges finished. He threw down his spade and stretched himself. All his bones ached and he wanted to lie down and rest. "It's time to be going home, Mary," he said.Mary straightened herself, but she was too tired to reply. She looked at Martin wearily and it seemed to her that it was a great many years since they had set out that morning. Then she thought of the journey home and the trouble of feeding the pigs, putting the fowls into their coops and getting the supper ready, and a momentary flash of rebellion against the slavery of being a peasant's wife crossed her mind. It passed in a本文档如对你有帮助,请帮忙下载支持! moment. Martin was saying, as he dressed himself:"Ha! It has been a good day's work. Five ridges done, and each one of them as straightas a steel rod. By God Mary, it's no boasting to say that you might well be proud of being the wife of Martin Delaney. And that's not saying the whole of it ,my girl. You did your share better than any woman in Inverara could do it this blessed day." They stood for a few moments in silence, looking at the work they had done. All her dissatisfaction and weariness vanished form Mary's mind with the delicious feeling of comfort that overcame her at having done this work with her husband. They had done it together. They had planted seeds in the earth. The next day and the next and all their lives, when spring came they would have to bend their backs and do it until their hands and bones got twisted with rheumatism. But night would always bring sleep and forgetfulness.As they walked home slowly, Martin walked in front with another peasant talking about the sowing, and Mary walked behind, with her eyes on the ground, thinking. Cows were lowing at a distance.。

现代大学英语精读4第三版unit2读后感

现代大学英语精读4第三版unit2读后感

现代大学英语精读4第三版unit2读后感Title: Reflections on Unit 2 of Contemporary College English Reading 4In Unit 2 of the Contemporary College English Reading 4 textbook, I was profoundly struck by the themes surrounding the importance of cultural understanding and communication in our increasingly globalized world. The text provided a multifaceted perspective on how cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings but also pave the way for meaningful connections.One of the most compelling aspects of this unit was its exploration of various cultural norms and how they shape individual behaviors and expectations. As the readings highlighted, what might be considered polite in one culture can be perceived as rude in another. This idea prompted me to reflect on my own experiences with cultural diversity, bothin my travels and interactions with people from different backgrounds. I realized how essential it is to approach such differences with an open mind and a willingness to learn.The narratives presented in the unit illustrated personal anecdotes that resonated with me. For instance, stories of individuals who faced challenges due to cultural misunderstandings underscored the necessity of empathy and patience. These stories reminded me that we are all products of our backgrounds, and understanding these contexts can facilitate smoother exchanges and foster stronger relationships.Moreover, the exercises accompanying the readings encouraged critical thinking about how we communicate in multicultural environments. I found myself questioning my own communication strategies and considering how I could become a more effective interlocutor. The emphasis on active listening and the need to be aware of non-verbal cues were especiallyenlightening. It became clear to me that effective communication is not solely about language proficiency; it also hinges on cultural sensitivity and adaptability.Additionally, the discussions on globalization and its impact on cultural identity were thought-provoking. The readings highlighted the tension between preserving one's cultural heritage and embracing global influences. This resonated deeply with me, as I often grapple with these dynamics in my own life. The realization that cultural exchange can lead to both enrichment and dilution prompted me to consider how I can contribute positively to this ongoing dialogue.In conclusion, Unit 2 of Contemporary College English Reading 4 provided me with valuable insights into the complexities of cultural interactions. It has inspired me to continue exploring these themes, enhancing both my understanding and appreciation of the rich tapestry of humanexperience. As I move forward, I aim to cultivate a greater awareness of cultural differences, actively engage with diverse perspectives, and strengthen my communication skills in a global context. This unit has undoubtedly enriched my academic journey and personal growth in ways I will carry with me long after my studies conclude.。

现代大学英语精读4 Unit2 Spring Sowing原文

现代大学英语精读4 Unit2 Spring Sowing原文

Spring SowingIt was still dark when Martin Delaney and his wife Mary got up. Martin stood in his shirt by the window, rubbing his eyes and yawning, while Mary raked out the live coals that had lain hidden in the ashes on the hearth all night. Outside, cocks were crowing and a white streak was rising form the ground, as it were, and beginning to scatter the darkness. It was a February morning, dry, cold and starry.The couple sat down to their breakfast of tea, bread and butter, in silence. They had only been married the previous autumn and it was hateful leaving a warm bed at such and early hour. Martin, with his brown hair and eyes, his freckled face and his little fair moustache, looked too young to be married, and his wife looked hardly more than a girl, red-cheeked and blue-eyed, her black hair piled at the rear of her head with a large comb gleaming in the middle of the pile, Spanish fashion. They were both dressed in rough homespuns, and both wore the loose white shirt that Inverara peasants use for work in the fields.They ate in silence, sleepy and yet on fire with excitement, for it was the first day of their first spring sowing as man and wife. And each felt the glamour of that day on which they were to open up the earth together and plant seeds in it. But somehow the imminence of an event that had been long expected loved, feared and prepared for made them dejected. Mary, with her shrewd woman's mind, thought of as many things as there are in life as a woman would in the first joy and anxiety of her mating. But Martin's mind was fixed on one thought. Would he be able to prove himself a manworthy of being the head of a family by dong his spring sowing well?In the barn after breakfast, when they were getting the potato seeds and the line for measuring the ground and the spade, Martin fell over a basket in the half-darkness of the barn, he swore and said that a man would be better off dead than.. But before he could finish whatever he was going to say, Mary had her arms around his waist and her face to his. "Martin," she said, "let us not begin this day cross with one another." And there was a tremor in her voice. And somehow, as they embraced, all their irritation and sleepiness left them. And they stood there embracing until at last Martin pushed her from him with pretended roughness and said: "Come, come, girl, it will be sunset before we begin at this rate."Still, as they walked silently in their rawhide shoes through the little hamlet, there was not a soul about. Lights were glimmering in the windows of a few cabins. The sky had a big grey crack in it in the east, as if it were going to burst in order to give birth to the sun. Birds were singing somewhere at a distance. Martin and Mary rested their baskets of seeds on a fence outside the village and Martin whispered to Mary proudly: "We are first, Mary." And they both looked back at the little cluster of cabins that was the centre of their world, with throbbing hearts. For the joy of spring had now taken complete hold of them.They reached the little field where they were to sow. It was a little triangular patch of ground under an ivy-covered limestone hill. The little field had been manured with seaweed some weeks before, and the weeds had rotted and whitened on the grass. And there was a big red heap of fresh seaweed lying in a corner by the fence to be spreadunder the seeds as they were laid. Martin, in spite of the cold, threw off everything above his waist except his striped woolen shirt. Then he spat on his hands, seized his spade and cried: "Now you are going to see what kind of a man you have, Mary." "There, now," said Mary, tying a little shawl closer under her chin."Aren't we boastful this early hour of the morning? Maybe I'll wait till sunset to see what kind of a man I have got."The work began. Martin measured the ground by the southern fence for the first ridge, a strip of ground four feet wide, and he placed the line along the edge and pegged it at each end. Then he spread fresh seaweed over the strip. Mary filled her apron with seeds and began to lay them in rows. When she was a little distance down the ridge, Martin advanced with his spade to the head, eager to commence."Now in the name of God," he cried, spitting on his palms, "let us raise the first sod!" "Oh, Martin, wait till I'm with you !" cried Mary, dropping her seeds on the ridge and running up to him .Her fingers outside her woolen mittens were numb with the cold, and she couldn't wipe them in her apron. Her cheeks seemed to be on fire. She put an arm round Martin's waist and stood looking at the green sod his spade was going to cut, with the excitement of a little child."Now for God's sake, girl, keep back!" said Martin gruffly. "Suppose anybody saw us like this in the field of our spring sowing, what would they take us for but a pair of useless, soft, empty-headed people that would be sure to die of hunger? Huh!" He spoke very rapidly, and his eyes were fixed on the ground before hm. His eyes had a wild, eager light in them as if some primeval impulse were burning within his brainand driving out every other desire but that of asserting his manhood and of subjugating the earth."Oh, what do we care who is looking?" said Mary; but she drew back at the same time and gazed distantly at the ground. Then Martin cut the sod, and pressing the spade deep into the earth with his foot, he turned up the first sod with a crunching sound as the grass roots were dragged out of the earth. Mary sighed and walked back hurriedly to her seeds with furrowed brows. She picked up her seeds and began to spread them rapidly to drive out the sudden terror that had seized her at that moment when she saw the fierce, hard look in her husband's eyes that were unconscious of her presence. She became suddenly afraid of that pitiless, cruel earth, the peasant's slave master that would keep her chained to hard work and poverty all her life until she would sink again into its bosom. Her short-lived love was gone. Henceforth she was only her husband's helper to till the earth. And Martin, absolutely without thought, worked furiously, covering the ridge with block earth, his sharp spade gleaming white as he whirled it sideways to beat the sods.Then, as the sun rose, the little valley beneath the ivy-covered hills became dotted with white shirts, and everywhere men worked madly, without speaking, and women spread seeds. There was no heat in the light of the sun, and there was a sharpness in the still thin air that made the men jump on their spade halts ferociously and beat the sods as if they were living enemies. Birds hopped silently before the spades, with their heads cocked sideways, watching for worms. Made brave by hunger, they often dashed under the spades to secure their food.Then, when the sun reached a certain point, all the women went back to the village to get dinner for their men, and the men worked on without stopping. Then the women returned, almost running, each carrying a tin can with a flannel tied around it and a little bundle tied with a white cloth, Martin threw down his spade when Mary arrived back in the field. Smiling at one another they sat under the hill for their meal .It was the same as their breakfast, tea and bread and butter."Ah," said Martin, when he had taken a long draught of tea form his mug, "is there anything in this world as fine as eating dinner out in the open like this after doing a good morning's work? There, I have done two ridges and a half. That's more than any man in the village could do. Ha!" And he looked at his wife proudly."Yes, isn't it lovely," said Mary, looking at the back ridges wistfully. She was just munching her bread and butter .The hurried trip to the village and the trouble of getting the tea ready had robbed her of her appetite. She had to keep blowing at the turf fire with the rim of her skirt, and the smoke nearly blinded her. But now, sitting on that grassy knoll, with the valley all round glistening with fresh seaweed and a light smoke rising from the freshly turned earth, a strange joy swept over her. It overpowered that other felling of dread that had been with her during the morning. Martin ate heartily, reveling in his great thirst and his great hunger, with every pore of his body open to the pure air. And he looked around at his neighbors' fields boastfully, comparing them with his own. Then he looked at his wife's little round black head and felt very proud of having her as his own. He leaned back on his elbow and took her hand in his. Shyly and in silence, not knowing what to say and ashamed of their gentlefeelings, they finished eating and still sat hand in hand looking away into the distance. Everywhere the sowers were resting on little knolls, men, women and children sitting in silence. And the great calm of nature in spring filled the atmosphere around them. Everything seemed to sit still and wait until midday had passed. Only the gleaming sun chased westwards at a mighty pace, in and out through white clouds.Then in a distant field an old man got up, took his spade and began to clean the earth from it with a piece of stone. The rasping noise carried a long way in the silence. That was the signal for a general rising all along the little valley. Young men stretched themselves and yawned. They walked slowly back to their ridges.Martin's back and his wrists were getting sore, and Mary felt that if she stooped again over her seeds her neck would break, but neither said anything and soon they had forgotten their tiredness in the mechanical movement of their bodies. The strong smell of the upturned earth acted like a drug on their nerves.In the afternoon, when the sun was strongest, the old men of the village came out to look at their people sowing. Martin's grandfather, almost bent double over his thick stick stopped in the land outside the field and groaning loudly, he leaned over the fence.“God bless the work, "he called wheezily."And you, grandfather," replied the couple together, but they did not stop working.'Ha!" muttered the old man to himself. "He sows well and that woman is good too. They are beginning well."It was fifty years since he had begun with his Mary, full of hope and pride, and themerciless soil had hugged them to its bosom ever since, each spring without rest. Today, the old man, with his huge red nose and the spotted handkerchief tied around his skull under his black soft felt hat, watched his grandson work and gave him advice."Don't cut your sods so long," he would wheeze, "you are putting too much soil on yourridge."''Ah woman! Don't plant a seed so near the edge. The stalk will come out sideways." And they paid no heed to him."Ah," grumbled the old man," in my young days, when men worked from morning till night without tasting food, better work was done. But of course it can't be expected to be the same now. The breed is getting weaker. So it is."Then he began to cough in his chest and hobbled away to another field where his son Michael was working.By sundown Martin had five ridges finished. He threw down his spade and stretched himself. All his bones ached and he wanted to lie down and rest. "It's time to be going home, Mary," he said.Mary straightened herself, but she was too tired to reply. She looked at Martin wearily and it seemed to her that it was a great many years since they had set out that morning. Then she thought of the journey home and the trouble of feeding the pigs, putting the fowls into their coops and getting the supper ready, and a momentary flash of rebellion against the slavery of being a peasant's wife crossed her mind. It passed in amoment. Martin was saying, as he dressed himself:"Ha! It has been a good day's work. Five ridges done, and each one of them as straight as a steel rod. By God Mary, it's no boasting to say that you might well be proud of being the wife of Martin Delaney. And that's not saying the whole of it ,my girl. You did your share better than any woman in Inverara could do it this blessed day."They stood for a few moments in silence, looking at the work they had done. All her dissatisfaction and weariness vanished form Mary's mind with the delicious feeling of comfort that overcame her at having done this work with her husband. They had done it together. They had planted seeds in the earth. The next day and the next and all their lives, when spring came they would have to bend their backs and do it until their hands and bones got twisted with rheumatism. But night would always bring sleep and forgetfulness.As they walked home slowly, Martin walked in front with another peasant talking about the sowing, and Mary walked behind, with her eyes on the ground, thinking. Cows were lowing at a distance.。

现代大学英语精读4Unit2SpringSowing原文

现代大学英语精读4Unit2SpringSowing原文

Spring SowingIt was still dark when Martin Delaney and his wife Mary got up. Martin stood in his shirt by the window, rubbing his eyes and yawning, while Mary raked out the live coals that had lain hidden in the ashes on the hearth all night. Outside, cocks were crowing and a white streak was rising form the ground, as it were, and beginning to scatter the darkness. It was a February morning, dry, cold and starry.The couple sat down to their breakfast of tea, bread and butter, in silence. They had only been married the previous autumn and it was hateful leaving a warm bed at such and early hour. Martin, with his brown hair and eyes, his freckled face and his little fair moustache, looked too young to be married, and his wife looked hardly more than a girl, red-cheeked and blue-eyed, her black hair piled at the rear of her head with a large comb gleaming in the middle of the pile, Spanish fashion. They were both dressed in rough homespuns, and both wore the loose white shirt that Inverara peasants use for work in the fields. They ate in silence, sleepy and yet on fire with excitement, for it was the first day of their first spring sowing as man and wife. And each felt the glamour of that day on which they were to open up the earth together and plant seeds in it. But somehow the imminence of an event that had been long expected loved, feared and prepared for made them dejected. Mary, with her shrewd woman'smind, thought of as many things as there are in life as a woman would in the first joy and anxiety of her mating. But Martin's mind was fixed on one thought. Would he be able to prove himself a man worthy of being the head of a family by dong his spring sowing well?In the barn after breakfast, when they were getting the potato seeds and the line for measuring the ground and the spade, Martin fell over a basket in the half-darkness of the barn, he swore and said that a man would be better off dead than.. But before he could finish whatever he was going to say, Mary had her arms around his waist and her face to his. "Martin," she said, "let us not begin this day cross with one another." And there was a tremor in her voice. And somehow, as they embraced, all their irritation and sleepiness left them. And they stood there embracing until at last Martin pushed her from him with pretended roughness and said: "Come, come, girl, it will be sunset before we begin at this rate."Still, as they walked silently in their rawhide shoes through the little hamlet, there was not a soul about. Lights were glimmering in the windows of a few cabins. The sky had a big grey crack in it in the east, as if it were going to burst in order to give birth to the sun. Birds were singing somewhere at a distance. Martin and Mary rested their baskets of seeds on a fence outside the village and Martin whispered to Mary proudly: "We are first, Mary." And they both looked back at the little cluster of cabins that was the centre of their world, with throbbing hearts. For the joy of spring had now taken complete hold of them.They reached the little field where they were to sow. It was a little triangular patch of ground under an ivy-covered limestone hill. The little field had been manured with seaweed some weeks before, and the weeds had rotted and whitened on the grass. And there was a big red heap of fresh seaweed lying in a corner by the fence to be spread under the seeds as they were laid. Martin, in spite of the cold, threw off everything above his waist except his striped woolen shirt. Then he spat on his hands, seized his spade and cried: "Now you are going to see what kind of a man you have, Mary.""There, now," said Mary, tying a little shawl closer under her chin."Aren't we boastful this early hour of the morning? Maybe I'll wait till sunset to see what kind of a man I have got."The work began. Martin measured the ground by the southern fence for the first ridge, a strip of ground four feet wide, and he placed the line along the edge and pegged it at each end. Then he spread fresh seaweed over the strip. Mary filled her apron with seeds and began to lay them in rows. When she was a little distance down the ridge, Martin advanced with his spade to the head, eager to commence."Now in the name of God," he cried, spitting on his palms, "let us raise the first sod!""Oh, Martin, wait till I'm with you !" cried Mary, dropping her seeds on the ridge and running up to him .Her fingers outside her woolen mittens were numb with the cold, and she couldn't wipe them in her apron. Her cheeks seemed to beon fire. She put an arm round Martin's waist and stood looking at the green sod his spade was going to cut, with the excitement of a little child."Now for God's sake, girl, keep back!"said Martin gruffly. "Suppose anybody saw us like this in the field of our spring sowing, what would they take us for but a pair of useless, soft, empty-headed people that would be sure to die of hunger? Huh!" He spoke very rapidly, and his eyes were fixed on the ground before hm. His eyes had a wild, eager light in them as if some primeval impulse were burning within his brain and driving out every other desire but that of asserting his manhood and of subjugating the earth."Oh, what do we care who is looking?" said Mary; but she drew back at the same time and gazed distantly at the ground. Then Martin cut the sod, and pressing the spade deep into the earth with his foot, he turned up the first sod with a crunching sound as the grass roots were dragged out of the earth. Mary sighed and walked back hurriedly to her seeds with furrowed brows. She picked up her seeds and began to spread them rapidly to drive out the sudden terror that had seized her at that moment when she saw the fierce, hard look in her husband's eyes that were unconscious of her presence. She became suddenly afraid of that pitiless, cruel earth, the peasant's slave master that would keep her chained to hard work and poverty all her life until she would sink again into its bosom. Her short-lived love was gone. Henceforth she was only her husband's helper to till the earth. And Martin, absolutely without thought, worked furiously, covering the ridge with block earth, his sharp spadegleaming white as he whirled it sideways to beat the sods.Then, as the sun rose,the little valley beneath the ivy-covered hills became dotted with white shirts, and everywhere men worked madly, without speaking, and women spread seeds. There was no heat in the light of the sun, and there was a sharpness in the still thin air that made the men jump on their spade halts ferociously and beat the sods as if they were living enemies. Birds hopped silently before the spades, with their heads cocked sideways, watching for worms. Made brave by hunger, they often dashed under the spades to secure their food.Then, when the sun reached a certain point, all the women went back to the village to get dinner for their men, and the men worked on without stopping.Then the women returned,almost running, each carrying a tin can with a flannel tied around it and a little bundle tied with a white cloth, Martin threw down his spade when Mary arrived back in the field. Smiling at one another they sat under the hill for their meal .It was the same as their breakfast, tea and bread and butter."Ah," said Martin, when he had taken a long draught of tea form his mug, "is there anything in this world as fine as eating dinner out in the open like this after doing a good morning's work? There, I have done two ridges and a half. That's more than any man in the village could do. Ha!" And he looked at his wife proudly."Yes,isn't it lovely," said Mary, looking at the back ridges wistfully. She was justmunching her bread and butter .The hurried trip to the village and the trouble of getting the tea ready had robbed her of her appetite. She had to keep blowing at the turf fire with the rim of her skirt, and the smoke nearly blinded her. But now, sitting on that grassy knoll, with the valley all round glistening with fresh seaweed and a light smoke rising from the freshly turned earth, a strange joy swept over her. It overpowered that other felling of dread that had been with her during the morning.Martin ate heartily, reveling in his great thirst and his great hunger, with every pore of his body open to the pure air. And he looked around at his neighbors' fields boastfully, comparing them with his own. Then he looked at his wife's little round black head and felt very proud of having her as his own. He leaned back on his elbow and took her hand in his. Shyly and in silence, not knowing what to say and ashamed of their gentle feelings, they finished eating and still sat hand in hand looking away intothe distance. Everywhere the sowers were resting on little knolls, men,women and children sitting in silence. And the great calm of nature in spring filled the atmosphere around them. Everything seemed to sit still and wait until midday had passed. Only the gleaming sun chased westwards at a mighty pace, in and out through white clouds.Then in a distant field an old man got up, took his spade and began to clean the earth from it with a piece of stone. Therasping noise carried a long way in the silence. That was the signal for a general rising all along the little valley. Young men stretched themselves and yawned. They walked slowly back totheir ridges.Martin's back and his wrists were getting sore, and Mary felt that if she stooped again over her seeds her neck would break, but neither said anything and soon they had forgotten their tiredness in the mechanical movement of their bodies. The strong smell of the upturned earth acted like a drug on their nerves.In the afternoon, when the sun was strongest, the old men of the village came out to look attheir people sowing. Martin's grandfather, almost bent double over his thick stick stoppedin the land outside the field and groaning loudly, he leaned over the fence.“God bless the work,"he called wheezily."And you, grandfather," replied the couple together, but they did not stop working.'Ha!" muttered the old man to himself. "He sows well and that woman is good too. They are beginning well."It was fifty years since he had begun with his Mary, full of hope and pride, and themerciless soil had hugged them to its bosom ever since, each spring without rest. Today, theold man, with his huge red nose and the spotted handkerchief tied around his skull underhis black soft felt hat, watched his grandson work and gave him advice."Don't cut your sods so long,"he would wheeze,"you are putting too much soil on yourridge."''Ah woman! Don't plant a seed so near the edge. The stalk will come out sideways."And they paid no heed to him."Ah,"grumbled the old man,"in my young days, when men worked from morning tillnight without tasting food, better work was done. But of course it can't be expected to bethe same now. The breed is getting weaker. So it is." Then he began to cough in his chest and hobbled away to another field where his sonMichael was working.By sundown Martin had five ridges finished. He threw down his spade and stretched himself. All his bones ached and he wanted to lie down and rest. "It's time to be going home, Mary," he said.Mary straightened herself, but she was too tired to reply. She looked at Martin wearily and it seemed to her that it was a great many years since they had set out that morning. Then she thought of the journey home and the trouble of feeding the pigs, putting the fowls into their coops and getting the supper ready, and a momentary flash of rebellion against the slavery of being a peasant's wife crossed her mind. It passed in a moment. Martin was saying,as he dressed himself:"Ha! It has been a good day's work.Five ridges done, and each one of them as straight as a steel rod. By God Mary, it's no boasting to say that you might wellbe proud of being the wife of Martin Delaney. And that's not sayingthe whole of it ,my girl. You did your share better than any woman in Inverara could do it this blessed day."They stood for a few moments in silence, looking at the work they had done. All her dissatisfaction and weariness vanished form Mary's mind with the delicious feeling of comfort that overcame her at having done this work with her husband. They had done it together. They had planted seeds in the earth. The next day and the next and all their lives, when spring came they would have to bend their backs and do it until their hands and bones got twisted with rheumatism. But night would always bring sleep and forgetfulness.As they walked home slowly, Martin walked in front with another peasant talking about the sowing, and Mary walked behind, with her eyes on the ground, thinking. Cows were lowing at a distance.。

相关主题
  1. 1、下载文档前请自行甄别文档内容的完整性,平台不提供额外的编辑、内容补充、找答案等附加服务。
  2. 2、"仅部分预览"的文档,不可在线预览部分如存在完整性等问题,可反馈申请退款(可完整预览的文档不适用该条件!)。
  3. 3、如文档侵犯您的权益,请联系客服反馈,我们会尽快为您处理(人工客服工作时间:9:00-18:30)。

大学英语精读第三版第四册Book4 Unit2
1) bull
2) horse
3) dog
4) dog
5) tiger
6) tiger
7) lioness
8) goose
9) fowl
10) cock
11) duck
1) practical
2) scarcity
3) external
4) raise
5) rise
6) waste
7) deficiency
8) minimum
9) draw
10) insufficient
11) reduce
12) freeze
1) fundamental
2) deposited
3) in the form of
4) in good condition/in condition
5) currencies
6) resources
7) lowering
8) conceived
9) Rhythm
10) reserve
11) romantic
12) productivity
13) dependent
14) internal
1) mature
2) reserve
3) deposit/deposit enough money
4) currency
5) ample
6) fundamental
7) given birth to
8) somewhat
9) an excess
10) expended
11) safeguard
12) conceive
1) drew on/draws on
2) depend on
3) slowing down
4) put on
5) turn down
1) The country is trying to be/become less dependent on foreign aid.
2) It amused us to see the actor's beard fall off.
3) The rhythm of life is made up of a cycle of birth, youth, maturity, and death.
4) Conservation of our mineral resources is highly important because they can never be replenished.
5) Parking spaces in this city are scarce on Saturdays.
1) man-eating
2) earth-shaking
3) body-building
4) labor-saving
5) fact-finding
6) record-breaking
7) tone-setting
8) paper-cutting
1) biochemistry: the science that deals with the chemical processes of living animals and plants; biological chemistry
2) biocide: any substance poisonous to life
3) bioconversion: the conversion of biological waste, garbage, and plant material into energy, fertilizer, and other useful products
4) biophysics: the branch of biology which applies the laws of physics to explain the phenomena of biology
5) ecoactivity: any project or undertaking to combat pollution or improve the quality of the environment
6) ecocatastrophe: a large-scale or world-wide disaster resulting from uncontrolled use of pollutants
7) ecocide: the destruction of the earth's environment or ecology through the uncontrolled use of pollutants
8) ecospecies: a group of organisms only somewhat fertile with organisms of related groups, usually considered equivalent to a species
1) All children in that country are
2) all her life/her whole life
3) Whole Indian tribes in the region were killed off.
4) the whole staff/all the staff
5) all the time/the whole time
6) this whole business/all this business
1) in the case of Tom: he was ill.
2) A case in point is Dujiangyan, which was built about 2000 years ago.
3) in the case of my two college sons, they try to live on their parents as long as possible.
4) A case in point is the successful launching of space shuttles.
5) A case in point is the chimp, who can learn to paint like a small child.
1) He does not lend his books to everybody.
2) She is not always so cooperative.
3) Not all his stories make interesting reading.
4) This plant is not to be found everywhere.
5) The exhibits are not all of them worth looking at.
1) go round
2) romantic
3) fundamental
4) dependent
6) abundant
7) deposited
8) scarce
9) slowing down
10) pull through
11) draw on
12) in good condition
13) give birth to
1) with
2) on
3) future
4) as
5) to
6) cycles
7) rhythms
8) from
9) body
11) studying
12) over
13) that
14) effects
15) direction
16) take
17) one
翻译
1) 比尔已是个成熟的小伙子,不再依赖父母替他做主。

Bill is a mature young man who is no longer dependent on his parents for decisions.
2) 这个地区有大量肉类供应,但新鲜果蔬奇缺。

There are abundant supplies of meat in this region, but fresh fruit and vegetables are scarce.
3) 工程师们依靠工人们的智慧发明了一种新的生产方法,使生产率得以提高。

Drawing on the wisdom of the workers, the engineers invented a new production method that led to increased productivity.
4) 他花了许多时间准备数学考试,因此当他获知自己只得了个B时感到有点失望。

He spent a lot of time preparing for his math exam. Hence he was somewhat disappointed to learn that he got only a B.
5) 我们有充裕的时间从从容容吃顿午饭。

We have ample time for a leisurely lunch.
6) 地方政府不得不动用储备粮并采取其他紧急措施,以渡过粮食危机。

The local government had to draw on its grain reserves and take other emergency measures so as to pull through the food crisis.。

相关文档
最新文档