大学英语快速阅读教程(第一册第一单元)

Book OneUnit OnePassage OneDirections: You will have 10 minutes to read this passage quickly and answer the following questions from A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.Chinese AlcoholAn important part of Chinese culture, the use of alcohol can be traced back to the dawn of the nation’s history. Over the centuries many different kinds of alcoholic drinks have been developed and brewing (酿造) methods as well as distillation (蒸馏) has become more sophisticated. At the same time the way of enjoying these desirable products has become a vital part of custom and culture.Alcoholic beverages have inspired many writers resulting in thousands of poems and other works relating to “the magic elixir” (长生不老药). People drink it when they are joyous and for fun. No formal dinner would be complete without it, while a toast can seal a business enterprise, send troops into battle with a prayer for victory as well as express a wish for the health and happiness of family and friends. One of the classic examples of the ceremonial use of alcohol is described in the famous story Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The three heroes in the tale, become blood brothers by drinking bowls of wine into which they have mixed drops of their own blood from cuts in their fingers. This act may seem extreme but was a symbol of faithfulness in those days.The symbolic serving and drinking of wine on various occasions and in different places can convey many meanings. It can express either joy or sorrow. In China, there is a saying that “a thousand cups of wine is not too much when bosom friends meet together”, which indicates the happiness between two close friends; whereas a poem by Li Bai, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), says, “releasing melancholy by wine, but adding more,” suggested a touch of sadness. There are frequent references to wine in well-known legends, as for example—“to taste the sweet osmanthus (木犀属植物) wine on the moon, produced by the beautiful fairy Chang’e when she felt lonely, is everyone’s dream”.Nearly all important occasions are celebrated with alcohol. The Spring Festival, which is a favorite time for family party, is probably one of the most meaningful when happiness is expressed by social drinking. During the Double Ninth Festival, people drink chrysanthemum (菊花) wine to drive away the evil and to wish their elders good health and long life. Of course, no wedding ceremony is complete unless the happy couple expresses their love for each other by linking their arms to drink to their future happiness (jiaobeijiu), after which they offer a dutiful toast to their parents to thank them for the care they have given to them as children. Similarly, birthday celebrations and the ceremony to mark the 100th day following the birth of a baby will be celebrated with a toast of wine. In South China, when a baby girl is born, her parents will brew alcohol for her, bury it underground and keep it until she marries. Then they take the jar up and paint pleasant pictures upon it to give greetings.Each ethnic group has some form of alcoholic drink with which to celebrate special festivals.For example, around the Spring Festival, Korean people drink their “suijiu” to which they add rice, root of the balloon flower, cinnamon (肉桂) and, red chili and so on, to protect themselves from demons.When drinking wine at table, both the host and the guests are expected to follow certain rules of manners and behavior.The glass should be full of wine, or else the guest will think they are lacking due respect. The elders and superior person or persons present should always be served first.A toast represents respect, while refusing to participate in a toast shows a lack of politeness or respect. Should a guest be really unable to take a drink, he has to find another to do it for him in order to save face.When making a toast, everyone is required to stand and lightly touch each others’ cup, ensuring that the junior’s cup is held lower than that of their superior. The cup should be emptied and inverted to show that no wine remains. Drinking with a single draught symbolizes courage. Those who cannot manage to do so should explain in advance in order to receive a kindly understanding of their situation and thus ensure that no one is offended.(714 words) Questions1. Chinese alcohol .A) has a history more than a centuryB) is developing rapidlyC) is enjoyed in more sophisticated ways than the westernersD) is an important part of Chinese culture2. The act of the three heroes in Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a symbol of inthose days.A) faithfulness B) courage C) happiness D) willingness3. Li Bai’s poem mentioned in the third paragraph expresses .A) sadness B) joy C) loneliness D) sorrow4. parents will brew alcohol for their baby girl for future use.A) During the Spring Festival B) In South ChinaC) On the wedding ceremony D) During the Double Ninth Festival5. Which of the following is NOT mentioned when people make a toast?A) E veryone is required to stand and lightly touch each others’ cup.B) The elders and superiors should hold the cups higher.C) People should ensure that the junior’s cup is held lower than that of their superior.D) Those who cannot drink with a single draught should explain in advance.Notes1. Romance of the Three Kingdoms:《三国演义》Passage TwoDirections: In this part,y ou will have 10 minutes to go over the passage quickly and decide questions 1-8 according to the passage. If it is true you fill “T” in theparenthesis, if not or false fill “F” in parenthesis before the sentence.Zhang Yimou—A Creative GeniusOn the eighth day of the eighth month of 2008, 2 billion TV viewers and thousands in attendance in the now famous Bird’s Nest enjoyed an unforgettable sight at the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games.Behind it all was the creative genius of Chinese film director Zhang Yimou. Drawing from the depths of the Chinese culture and creativity of the Chinese people, showing ancient Chinese inventions—paper, printing, gunpowder, ceramics and the compass—that have shaped civilization and channeling the sensibility and spirit that unite his fellow 1.3 billion citizens, Zhang told China’s story to a watching world. He created arguably the grandest sight of the new millennium, and it was viewed by nearly one-third of the world’s population. With this work, Zhang obtained a high position shared by very few film directors in the world.In telling China’s story, Zhang explored the Chinese character he, or peaceful harmony—an ideal extremely important to Chinese culture. This level of creative artistry is rare in the controlled field of filmmaking, let alone in a multidimensional arena (多维的舞台) with thousands of performers and visual set pieces that seemed to be impossible—yet it was all happening live, before the eyes of the world.There is much legend surrounding Zhang’s rise to his world fame, given that his first job was as a farmhand and then a laborer in a cotton mill. But the story I enjoy most is that he gave blood over a period of months to earn enough money to buy his first camera. He was 25. When the Beijing Film Academy reopened in 1978 after the Cultural Revolution, he was 27, already considered too old to become a filmmaker and lacking many of the necessary credits. Bravely, he offered his photographic works and was admitted to the department of cinematography.Zhang became a filmmaker, and for the past two decades, he has inspired the world’s interest with China through his films. Not since the great British director Michael Powell has a director used color so effectively to tell stories. In Red Sorghum(1987), Ju Dou(1990) and one of his greatest works, Raise the Red Lantern (1991), the vivid use of red in the manufacturing of wine, the traditional wedding gown, the process of dyeing silk and even the dark red splashes of blood illuminate Zhang’s celebration of life, exoticism and death. Ju Dou was the first Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award; Raise the Red Lantern was the second.Zhang also brought the actress Gong Li to prominence, casting her in starring roles in six of his films. Together they are credited with introducing sensuality and eroticism to Chinese cinema. Western audiences are probably familiar with Zhang more from his action films: Hero(2002), House of Flying Daggers (2004) and his most Shakespearean work, Curse of the Golden Flower (2006).Zhang was no stranger to live theatrical events either. In 1998 he staged and directed Puccini’s opera Turandot at the Forbidden City in Beijing. He directed a folk musical in 2003 and staged it outdoors on the Li River. In 2006 he direct ed Tan Dun’s The First Emperor for New York City’s Metropolitan Opera.All this work and its complexity should have prepared me for the depth and breadth of Zhang’s vision, apparent even in its early stages wh en he first met me in 2005 about the Beijing ceremonies. We met on a sunny afternoon in East Hampton, New York, and I knew immediately we were going to become good friends. With the description of his idea on his computer, he showed me what he was thinking. I realized Zhang would be the creator-director of the Olympic ceremonies, with the honor of putting on what would become the greatest show on earth, with China at center stage. I was honored to have been one of the first people inspired by Zhang’s ideas.At the heart of Zhang’s Olympic ceremonies was the idea that the conflict of man foretells the desire for inner peace. This theme is one he’s explored and perfected in his films, whether they are about the lives of humble peasants or great nobles. This year he captured the theme of harmony and peace, which is the spirit of the Olympic Games. In one evening of visual and emotional splendor, he educated, enlightened and entertained us all. In doing so, Zhang secured himself a place in world history.(746 words) True or False( ) 1. The Beijing ceremonies showed the Chinese culture, creativity of the Chinese people and the quick development of China to the world.( ) 2. The opening ceremonies were viewed by nearly one-third of the world’s population. ( ) 3. The Chinese character he means peaceful harmony.( ) 4. Not until he was 25, was Zhang Yimou admitted to the department of cinematography. ( ) 5. Zhang Yimou’s Raise the Red Lantern was the first Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award.( ) 6. Gong Li became world famous by starring 7 of Zhang Yimo’s films.( ) 7. Zhang Yimou once discussed the Beijing ceremonies with the author in the USA in 2005. ( ) 8. The theme of harmony and peace is also the spirit of the Olympic Games.Passage ThreeDirection:In this part, you’ll h ave 15 minutes to read the passage quickly and answer the questions followed. For questions 1-7, mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees withthe information given in the passage. N (for NO) if the statement contradicts theinformation given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is notgiven in the passage.The Mystery of StonehengeFor hundreds of years people have wondered about Stonehenge (英国的史前巨石柱), the great circle of huge stones on the Salisbury Plains in southern England. Who built it? How did they do it? And, most puzzling of all, why?The word Stonehenge means “the hanging stones.” We do not know who gave the place this name, but it is a good one. Some of the stone pillars (柱子) still stand, just as they did almost 4, 000 years ago. Across the top of a few of the pillars, connecting one to another, are smaller stones that seem to hang in space.Some people thought that Stonehenge was an old Roman temple. Others said that it was the work of Merlin, the wizard of King Arthur’s court. Still others said that it was built by Druids, religious leaders of the people who lived in England not long before the time of Jesus. In each case, people suggested the earliest groups that they knew about. Today we know more about prehistoric times, and we do not put Stonehenge into the earliest period we know.Scientists have done a great deal of digging at Stonehenge and at hundreds of other old stone circles around the English countryside. Joining each small piece of information together, they came up with a remarkable story.About 2300 B.C. a group of people came from the European continents to what is now England. The people in England before them lived by hunting, but the newcomers were farmers and herders. Using deer antlers (鹿角) for picks, they built huge round corrals (畜栏) with sides of heaped earth.About 2000 B. C. another group of people came from Europe. They began to use the corrals as temples and meeting places. Around 1850 B. C. these people started work on what was to become Stonehenge.About 150 years later a third group of people arrived. They have been called the Beaker people because much of their pottery (陶器) looked like the containers called beakers that chemists use.The Beakers became very wealthy and began to build up Stonehenge. They added a huge avenue to the circle and decided to bring stone blocks from Wales to place inside the circle.They chose eighty stones that weigh up to 5, 400 kilograms (six tons) each. As far as we know, these people had no wheels or animals to carry loads. They had to pull the stones by using large round wood as rollers. The Beakers must have taken the stones most of the way by water. It would be far easier to float them on rafts than to drag them over the hilly country. But a raft big enough to carry such stones on the ocean would be too big to travel up English rivers. The stones must have gone upriver on dugout canoes (独木舟), probably on two or three canoes roped together.How were these huge stones shaped and polished? Large stone hammers have been found atStonehenge. The workers must have heated a rock with torches where they wished to make a cut. Then if they poured cold water on the hot rock, the stone would be weakened and would break smoothly when cut with the hammers. The final shaping and polishing were done by teams of workers who struck the stone again and again and pulled grinders (研磨的机械) over it.Now the stones were ready to be put into place. The workers should use a strong machine to lift a fallen stone back on top of two others. But the builders of Stonehenge had only wood and leather rope. With these alone they set huge stones upright and lifted others to the tops of the columns.The biggest question about Stonehenge, its purpose, is still asked. Careful study has shown that different arrangements of the stones line up with twenty-four separate points. It was found that the sun and moon rose and set in different seasons in the years around 1500 B.C. By standing in different places, the builders could predict when the sun and moon would rise or set in winter or summer. Other studies show that the stones may have been used to predict things that happen in the sky.One thing is sure, though. Stonehenge will continue to attract people even if its mysteries are solved. The more we learn about it, the more remarkable it seems.(726 words) Questions( ) 1. The Stonehenge in southern England has aroused people’s great interest.( ) 2. Stonehenge has a history as long as 2, 300 years.( ) 3. Druids was religious leaders of the people in England not long after the time of Jesus. ( ) 4. The Beakers must have taken the stones most of the way on dugout canoes.( ) 5. People now doubt whether the builders in the ancient time were able to set huge stones upright and lifted others to the tops of the columns with only wood and leather ropes. ( ) 6. Study has shown that different arrangements of the stones line up with twenty-four separate points.( ) 7. The mystery of Stonehenge has already solved completely.Fill in the blanks8. The meaning of the word Stonehenge is ________________.9. The corrals were used as temples and meeting places in about ________________.10. It was who began to build up Stonehenge in around 1700 B.C.Passage FourDirections: In this part, you will have15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information givenin the passage.The Need for Environmental AssessmentEconomic, social and environmental change is closely related to development. While development aims to bring about positive change, it can also lead to conflicts. In the past, the promotion of economic growth meant people had a chance to enjoy better life; however, people were not aware there might be negative social or environmental impacts (影响). The need to avoid negative impacts and to ensure long term benefits led to the concept of sustainable development (可持续发展). This has become accepted as a key characteristic of development, if the aim of increased happy life and greater equity in satisfying basic needs is to be met for this and future generations.In order to predict environmental impacts of any development activity and to provide an opportunity to decrease negative impacts and improve positive impacts, the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure was developed in the 1970s. An EIA may be explained as:a formal process to predict the environmental effects of human development activities and to plan appropriate measures to get rid of or reduce negative impacts and to increase positive effects.EIA thus has three main functions:• to predict problems,• to find ways to avoid them, and• to improve positive effects.The third function is of particular importance. The EIA provides a unique opportunity to find ways in which the environment may be improved as part of the development process. The EIA also predicts the conflicts and limits between the suggested project, or program and its environment. It provides an opportunity for mitigation (缓解) measures to be taken to minimize problems. It enables monitoring programs to be set up to assess future impacts and provide data on which managers can take wiser decisions to avoid environmental damage.EIA is a management tool for planners and decision makers and complements (补充) other project studies on engineering and economics. Environmental assessment is now accepted as a key part of development planning and management. It should become as familiar and important as economic analysis in project assessment.The aim of any EIA should be to promote sustainable development. Beneficial environmental effects are maximized while negative effects are improved or avoided to the greatest possible extent. EIA will help select and design projects, programs or plans with long term development and therefore improve cost effectiveness.It is important that an EIA is not just considered as part of the approval process. Many reports produced for such a purpose, which are neither read nor acted upon, will lower the value of the process. A key output of the EIA should be an action plan to be followed during implementation (实施) and after implementation during the monitoring stage. To enable the action plan to be effective, the EIA may also recommend changes to laws and institutional structures.In the beginning EIA was seen by some project promoters as a limit to development but this view is gradually disappearing. It can, however, be a useful limit to unsustainable development. It is now well understood that environment and development are complementary and depend on each other, and EIA is a technique for ensuring that the two can reinforce each other. A study carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (USA) in 1980 showed that there were significant changes to projects during the EIA process, obvious improvements in both environmental protection measures and financial benefits. Irrigated agriculture is such a good example.Irrigated agriculture is extremely important to the economy, health and welfare of a very large part of the developing world. It is too important to be ignored as it is vital for world food security. However, irrigated agriculture often greatly changes land use and is a major consumer of freshwater. Irrigation development thus has a major impact on the environment. All new irrigation and drainage (排水) development results in some form of degradation (退化). It is necessary to determine the acceptable level and to compensate (补偿) for the degradation. This degradation may extend both upstream and downstream of the irrigated area. The impacts may be both to the natural, physical environment and to the human environment，and large irrigation and drainage developments is environmentally sensitive.An EIA is concerned both with impacts of irrigation and drainage on the environment and with the sustainable development of irrigation and drainage itself. Clearly an EIA will not resolve all problems. There will be balances between economic development and environmental protection as in all development activities. However, without an objective EIA, reasonable decision making would be impossible.(743 words) Questions1. In the past, __________________.A) economy grew slowlyB) people didn’t know economic development might have negative social or environmentalimpactsC) people tried to predict environmental impacts of any development activityD) people enjoyed better life2. Sustainable development _____________.A) has become accepted as a key characteristic of developmentB) means quicker economic developmentC) lowers economic developmentD) aims to satisfy people’s basic needs3. Which of the following is not the mains function of EIA?A) To improve positive effects.B) To predict the possible problems.C) To plan appropriate measures.D) To find ways to avoid the possible problems.4. EIA aims _____________.A) to improve beneficial effectsB) to avoid negative effects completelyC) to benefit the present generationD) to sustainable development5. _________will lower the value of the EIA process.A) That EIA is just considered as part of the approval processB) Focusing on economic developmentC) Quick economic developmentD) The changes to laws and institutional structures6. EIA is now well understood that ___________.A) it is a technique for ensuring quick developmentB) it is a technique for ensuring environmental protectionC) it is a technique for ensuring that environment and development can reinforce each otherD) it is still a limit to development7. A study by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1980 showed________.A) environmental protection measures are improvedB) financial benefits are improvedC) neither environmental protection measures and financial benefits are improvedD) both environmental protection measures and financial benefits are improvedFill in the blanks8. change may have a strong effect on development.9. _____________ is very important to the economy, health and welfare of a very large part ofthe developing world.10. People can make _______________ if they have an objective EIA.。