loading08级第二学期期末背诵段落
Unit 1
“Very hesitantly I selected a tube of blue paint, and with infinite precaution made a mark about as big as a bean on the snow-white field. At that moment I heard the sound of a motorcar in the drive and threw down my brush in a panic. I was even more alarmed when I saw who stepped from the car: the wife of Sir John Lavery, the celebrated painter who lived nearby. “'Painting!' she declared. 'What fun. But what are you waiting for? Let me have the brush — the big one.' She plunged into the paints and before I knew it, she had swept several fierce strokes and slashes of blue on the absolutely terrified canvas. Anyone could see it could not hit back. I hesitated no more. I seized the largest brush and fell upon my wretched victim with wild fury. I have never felt any fear of a canvas since.” （152字）
Unit 2
This belief in hard work is the first of three main factors contributing to Asian students? outstanding performance. It springs from Asians? common heritage of Confucianism, the philosophy of the 5th-century-BC Chinese sage whose teachings have had a profound influence on Chinese society. One of Confucius?s primary teachings is that through effort, people can perfect themselves.
Confucianism provides another important ingredient in the Asians? success as well. In Confucian philosophy, the family plays a central role — an orientation that leads people to work for the honor of the family, not just for themselves. One can never repay one?s parents, and there?s a sense of obligation or even guilt that is as strong a force among Asians as Protestant philosophy is in the West. (123字)
Unit 3
From the start, George was well accepted by all the Japanese employees. Japanese managers often distrust anyone sent to represent US owners, but George was so naturally nonassertive that no one could see him as a threat to their careers. So they felt comfortable asking his advice on a wide range of matters, including the odd behavior of their partners across the ocean. Engineers throughout the company appreciated George?s expertise and his friendly and capable help, and they got into the habit of turning to him whenever they had a problem — any problem. And the secretaries in the office were eager to help this nice bachelor learn Japanese.( 108字)
Unit 4
Failure is never pleasant. It hurts adults and children alike. But it can make a positive contribution to your life once you learn to use it. Step one is to ask, “Why did I fail?” Resist the natural impulse to blame someone else. Ask yourself what you did wrong, how you can improve. If someone else can help, don?t be shy about inquiring.
Success, which encourages repetition of old behavior, is not nearly as good a teacher as failure. You can learn from a disastrous party how to give a good one, from an ill-chosen first house what to look for in a second. Even a failure that seems total can prompt fresh thinking, a change of direction. （118字）
Unit 5
Priscilla decided to pursue an archaeology major, and in the summer of 1992, she got her first opportunity to really test out her interest in the subject. The archaeological field school of Washington State University was sponsoring a summer research project at a site alongside the Snake River in Washington. Priscilla threw herself into the work, and the project supervisors were impressed. At the end of the summer, one of the professors offered her a job. “He said, ?we just got a contract for a project in North Dakota. We want to hire you if you?re willing to take a semester off from school.?” The offer was a diversion from Priscilla?s pursuit of her BA. “But by then I no longer doubted that I would ultimately finish school, so I felt comfortable grabbing this opportunity,” she says. (137字)
Unit 6
He has been proclaimed “the finest mind alive”, “the greatest genius of the late 20th century”, and “Einstein?s heir”. Known to millions, far and wide, for his book A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking is a star scientist in more ways than one. His gift for revealing the mysteries of the universe in a style that non-scientists can enjoy made Hawking an instant celebrity and his book a bestseller in both Britain and America. It has earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for spending 184 weeks in The Sunday Times “top-ten” lists, and has sold more than five million copies worldwide — virtually unheard-of success for a science book.. (112字)
Unit 7
But thinking is far different from laziness. Thinking is one of the most productive activities a human being can undertake. Every beautiful and useful thing we have created exists because somebody took the time and effort to think of it.
And thinking does require time and effort. It?s a common misconception that if a person is “gifted” or “bright” or “talented,” wonderful ideas will flash spontaneously into his mind. Unfortunately, the intellect doesn?t work this way. Even Einstein had to study and think for months before he could formulate his theory of relativity. Those of us who are less intelligent find it a struggle to conceive even a moderately good idea, let alone a brilliant one. (116字)
Unit 8
When you're eating among other people, you don't raise your voice; it's just one example of the unwritten rules we live by. When you consider it, you recognize that those rules probably govern our lives on a more absolute basis than the ones you could find if you looked in the law books. The customs that govern us are what make a civilization. There would be chaos without them, and yet it's not at all clear why — even in our disintegrating society — we obey them.
How many times have you stopped at a red light late at night? You can see in all directions; there's no one else around — no headlights, no police cruiser idling behind you. You're tired and in a hurry. But you wait for the light to change. (131字)
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