最新新世纪英语高二下册全部课文资料讲解

上海外语教育出版社——新世纪英语高二全部课文

（包括Additional Reading）及重点词组

高二第二学期

17. Words and their stories

EAGER BEA VER An eager beaver is a person who is always willing to do and is excited about doing what is expected of him.

Suppose, for example, that a teacher tells his students they each must solve one hundred math problems before coming to school the next day. The children complain about so much homework. But one student does not protest at all. That student is an eager beaver. He loves to do math problems, and does not mind all the homework.

The expression is said to have come from the name of a hard-working animal---the beaver.

Beavers are strange-looking creatures. They spend a lot of time in the water, building dams to create little lakes or ponds. They use their huge teeth and work hard to cut down trees, remove branches and put them across streams. They use their tails to pack mud on the branches to make the dams solid. Few other animals work so hard.

Historians say the beaver had an important part in the settlement of North America.

There were hundreds of millions of beavers when European settlers first arrived. The settlers put great value on the fur of beavers. In fact, for two hundred years or more, beavers provided the most valuable fur in North America. Beaver skins often used as money.

Young men looking for adventure headed west across the country to search for beavers. In their search, they explored much of the western territories. The trading posts, where they exchanged beaver skins for the goods they needed, became villages, and later towns and cities.

IT’S IN THE BAG The bag---one of the simplest and most useful things in every man or woman’s life---has given the world many strange expressions that are not very simple. A number of these expressions are widely used in the United States today. Some were imported from England a long time ago.

When you are sure of something, you can say, “It’s in the bag.”

This phrase seemed to have arrived with the modern paper bag. Before, Americans used to say, “It’s all wrapped up.” Then, things you bought were wrapped in plain brown paper, or sometimes in old newspaper.

Another widely used expressions is “to let the cat out of the bag”, meaning to reveal a well-kept secret.

No one can explain how the cat got into the bag, or why it remained there. But there is an old story about it. Long ago tradesman sold things in large cloth bags. Once a woman asked for a pig. The tradesman held up his cloth bag. Inside there was supposed to be a live pig. The woman asked to see it. When the dishonest tradesman opened the bag, out jumped a squealing cat, not a pig. The tradesman’s secret was out: he was tricky, and now everybody knew it.

18. English proverbs

Characters

Teacher of English: Ms Smith (MS)

Students: Li (LI), Mao (MA), Anne (AN), Rivera (RI)

MS: Good morning, everyone. I hope you all know what we are here for. The topic of our discussion this morning is “English Proverbs”.

LI: So, I’m in the right group.

MA: Me, too.

RI: Me, too.

MS: But I was told we would have four…and yet…

AN: I’m coming. Good morning. Am I late?

MS: Morning. “Speak of angels and you hear their songs.”

AN: Is that a proverb referring to my coming?

MS: Exactly.

LI: We have a saying in Chinese, which I think is very close in meaning…

MA: Speak of Cao Cao and he appears.

MS: Right. Well, “first things first”. A proverb is a traditional saying which offers advice or presents a moral in a short and brief manner. A proverb normally is a sentence, into which the writer often works rhyme. For instance, “East or west, home is best.” Sometimes it comes out in the form of a phrase.

MA: I’ve seen dictionaries of proverbs.

MS: Well, there are thousands of proverbs. They fall into three main categories. Those of the first type take the form of abstract statements. They express general truths. Here are two good examples: “One is never too old to learn.” and “A man who neglects his studies in youth will regret it in later years.”

RI: I think there is some truth in both proverbs. To encourage a person who has had little education for some reason as a young man, we may use the former. With us, I guess the latter works.

MS: So you have to keep this in mind. Never use proverbs out of context. “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.”

LI: I see. Then, what is the second type?

MS: The second type uses specific observations from everyday experience to make a general point.

AN: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Does it fall into the second category? MS: You’re right, dear. Then the third type consists of sayings from particular areas o f traditional customs and beliefs. “After dinner, rest a while; after supper, walk a mile.” is an example of this type. Such proverbs are often related to agriculture, the seasons, and the weather.

LI: Many people hold the opinion that proverbs are going out of fashion. Is that true? MS: The fact is, as some old ones are falling into disuse, new ones are being created. The computer world has recently given us lots of them.

AN: I’ve got one: “Rubbish in, rubbish out.”

MA: It also goes “Garbage in, garbage out.”

MS: I think it is more common to say “Garbage in, garbage out.” Well, I hope, today “You’ll have something nice out as you have had something nice in.”

AN: Thank you, Ms Smith. By the way, do we have an assignment as usual?

MS: Yes. You are to collect some proverbs of the first type, that is, proverbs that express general truths.

LI: I’d like to collect some on studies.

MS: Good! I’m so glad to have been with you. (To the four students) “Strike while the iron is hot.” See you next week.

19. Tips on making a public speech

It is interesting to note that speeches are always “given” or “delivered”. They are never “said”. When giving a speech, therefore, it is useful to think of yourself as playing a part, i.e. acting. This kind of acting calls for an integration of verbal and nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication chiefly involves the speaker’s stance and gestures, the eye contact between the speaker and the audience, and a good control of the presentation speed of talking/speaking.

STANCE This is important to the delivery of a good speech. Stand up straight and keep your head up. Dropping your head looks unprofessional and may prevent your audience from hearing you clearly. On the other hand, don’t stand like a guard on duty. You have to be able to move in a natural way in order to add expression to your words. Body language “says” a lot. Avoid holding your hands tightly together; this will interfere with free and natural movement. Don’t play with keys or coins in your pocket; this will distract your audience.

GESTURES Gestures and facial expressions are both important aids to the spoken word when you are communicating. A dull, long speech delivered without expression, without gestures or eye contact will not be well received. The skill is in deciding how much gesturing to be employed and in making sure that your gestures are natural.

In general, the larger the audience, the more expansive the gestures should be, because they will not be seen so clearly by the audience. In a small group, facial expressions will add a lot to understanding. Try telling somebody something funny with a very serious face. They will have difficulty believing what you are really saying is funny.

Different gestures are supposed to be used in delivering a speech. Some people use their hands a lot when speaking. You must make sure that your gestures are not repeated too often, and they should be expressive and meaningful.

EYE CONTACT To have maximum impact you need to make each member of your audience fell as if you were speaking to them personally. To do this, glance towards all sections of the audience and don’t be afraid to move your head. If you favour one direction, the other side may feel you are ignoring them and therefore lose interest in what you are saying.

TIMING Accurat e timing is essential. You should ensure that you don’t fall short of or run over the time allowed for your speech. Either way, the audience will feel unhappy and lose concentration on your speech. The best way to overcome this is through preparation. Clear thinking about what you want to say and how long your speech will last, before you start to write it, will save a lot of time. When practising, make sure that you speak at the correct speed and do time yourself.

20. Keep it short for the audience’s sake

How long should I make my speech? How long will my audience concentrate on

my speech? Hoe slowly should I speak to make myself clearly understood? In trying to answer these questions, we see how important timing is to speech.

KEEP YOUR SPEECH LESS THAN 15 MINUTES Lin Yutang, the famous writer and translator, once said about the length of a speech, “the shorter, the better.” Speaking around the topic should be seriously avoided, not only in speech, but in all conversations in English. Being indirect and roundabout in your approach may be thought skillful in Chinese. But in English speech? No way. When one is making a speech in English, he should always stick to the point, and use simple, clear, and direct language.

According to scientists, audiences can generally only manage to concentrate for about 13 minutes. So a 10-15-minute speech is about right.

The famous Gettysburg Address, delivered by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863 has about 200 words, but it still managed to express the idea that all people are born equal.

150-160 WORDS PER MINUTE Speaking speed often depends on the occasion for the speech. The number of people in the audience is also an important factor to be considered.

If you are speaking to hundreds or even thousands of people, especially in the open air, you should speak slowly. The idea is to let the audience catch every single word of your speech. For example, when Martin Luther King spoke, even to a small group, his usual speaking speed was only 110 to 120 words per minute.

When you are speaking indoors to a small group, say, 10 or 20 people, you may speed up a bit. Speaking at a speed of around 200 words a minute, you can still retain the audience’s attention.

So, we can see that the average speed is about 150 to 160 words per minute.

Whether you are speaking slowly or rapidly, the important point is to pronounce every word clearly. Otherwise, no matter how wonderful you think your content is, the audience won’t be able to follow you. Use phonetic symbols to mark the places you often mess up, in advance, and practise every day before you get up on stage. PAUSE FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT If you want a particular sentence or expression to leave a deep impression on your audience, you can pause a while before uttering it. During the pause, the audience will grow curious about why you choose to pause and they will anxiously expect to hear the next sentence, which is exactly what you want to happen.

But don’t pause too frequently or too long. Eye contact and a smile, with a bit of body language, will also effectively impress your audience. If you simply stop suddenly and remain silent for several seconds before you start again, they’ll probably think, “Oh, he (she) has forgotten the words!”

21. Making friends

Jamie was like a magnet---she always had a c rowd around her. She wasn’t especially pretty, and she wasn’t particularly good at sports. But she was one of the most popular students at school. Everyone loved her!

Why? What was it about Jamie that made everyone notice her? If her looks and her talents weren’t anything to show off, what did she have going for her?

Here it is---short and simple---Jamie had learned the secret of how to make friends and keep them. Her secret is: Be nice to others! Jamie was kind and genuinely cared about others: people responded by wanting to be around her.

Going along with this big secret of making friends are a few additional suggestions:

SMILING SUGGESTS CONFIDENCE There is something fascinating about someone who smiles a lot. We are automatically drawn to someone who is happy. Wearing a smile usually implies the person behind it is approachable. An approachable person makes others feel at ease and comfortable.

Smiles also convey confidence, which is really important when making friends. You don’t have to actually feel con fident to smile, but when you do, people will think you are. Furthermore, the more you smile, the more natural your smile will be. You’ll gain confidence from smiling!

LEARN TO LISTEN AND TALK Everyone wants to talk. We all have a story to tell. Each of us enjoys having someone listen to what we say. It makes us feel important when someone is truly interested in what we’re saying.

When other people find out you are willing to listen, they will be talking to you! When someone is talking to you, zero in 100 per cent on that person. Don’t pretend to listen but really think about something else. That won’t work in making friends.

Meanwhile, don’t put the burden of the entire conversation on someone else. You’ve got to do your part, too. It is learning when to talk that is important. Try not to talk just to hear yourself talking; no one else can get a word in.

Everyone should learn to give and take in any relationship. Learn to move from being the centre of attention to focusing on the needs of others. Modesty is extremely attractive.

TRY TO ADD V ALUE TO THOSE AROUND YOU People light up when you recognize something they do well and let them know. It only takes a minute to give someone a compliment or to notice what gifts a person has. It automatically adds value to how they see themselves. Try to be the kind of person who’s always seeing the positive qualities in others. Don’t tear someone down.

22. What does friendship mean to westerners?

What is meant by the word “friend”? The dictionary defines it as “one attached to another by affection or respect”. Americans use the word freely---that is, a friend may or may not be a person to whom one is really attached. Friends may have known each other since childhood or they may have recently met. It is difficult to give an exact definition of this word as it is used in the US, because it covers many types of relationships.

It is common for Americans to have different “circles”. Terms such as office mate and tennis partner indicate different types of friends. The office mate is a friend in the office and the tennis partner is a friend on the tennis court. A person may have many good friends and one best friend. “Best friends” are usually two people of the same sex who have known each other for a long period of time. People usually have more casual friends than close or best friends.

Americans move around quite often and learn to develop friendships easily and

quickly. About one out of every five American families moves every year. People move to new places because they begin new jobs, attend distant colleges, get married, have children or simply want a change in their lives. Perhaps as a result of this, people form and end friendships quickly.

Relationships based on a common activity may stop or end when the activity ends. Students might meet in classes and remain friends for the duration of the course and then stop seeing each other after the final examination. The same holds true for neighbours who are the closest of friends until one moves away. In these friendships, shared daily experiences form the foundation for the relationship. Long-lasting friendships develop when individuals have similar interests and a common outlook on life. the high rate of mobility in the US can explain a great deal about short-term friendships.

Friendship and friendliness do not mean the same thing. Friendliness characterizes much of American daily interaction but is not always an indication of friendship. Strangers may share life histories without any wish to set up a relationship. Instant friendships are characterized by the appearance of two people becoming close but, in reality, there is no string connection between them. Two people saying hello to each other after being introduced for the first time do not always mean that they have a strong wish to develop a friendship. Many people frequently smile or say “Have a nice day” or “See you later”, or even give an invitation as part of a cultural pattern of politeness. Such expressions do not always suggest an offer of continued friendship.

23. Adjo

How the years have rushed by! It has been a long time since I knew Marget Swenson. I was a child when I knew her, and now I myself have children. The mind loses many things as it matures, but I never lost Marget---my first love and first hurt.

I met Marget Swenson when she joined our sixth-grade class.

Marget, just fresh from Sweden, and I, a sixth generation American. She spoke very little English, but somehow we did manage to understand each other. We took to each other instantly.

Marget lived up on the hill. That was the place where there were many large and pretty houses. I suppose it was only in passing that I knew only white people lived there.

We had so much fun together. We sat for hours in my garden or hers, surrounded by grass. Her words were Swedish; mine, English. We laughed at the way each of us slid our tongues over the unfamiliar words. I learned the Swedish equivalents of hello, friend, and goodbye.

However, such fun did not last long, and the disaster began at Marget’s birthday party.

It was a Wednesday. I arrived at the party early. Marget and I ran around quickly, putting the finishing touches on the decorations.

Some fifteen minutes later, the doorbell rang, and in came Mary, another girl in our class.

But after that nobody came. No one.

When it got to be after five, Mrs Swenson called Marget inside. She was there

for a long time, and when she came out, she looked very, very sad. “My mother does not think they are coming,” she said.

“Why not?” Mary blurted.

Marget cast a quick glance at me, bu t she didn’t say anything.

I took Marget’s hand. “It’s me, isn’t it?” I said. Oh! I remember so painfully today how much I wanted her quick and positive “No!” to my question. But I was only aware of Marget trying to slip her hand from mine. I opened my hand and let her go.

It was different between us after her birthday. Marget stopped coming to my house, and when I asked her when she would, she looked as though she would cry.

One day, uninvited, I went to her house, climbed up the hill, and a restless feeling grew within me at every step.

Marget almost jumped when she opened the door. She stared at me in shock. Then, quickly, in a voice I’d never heard before, she said, “My mother says you can’t come to my house any more.”

I opened my mouth, and closed it without speaking. The awful thing had come; my suspicion was confirmed; Marget was white and I was not. I did know it deep within myself.

Since that meeting Marget and I did not speak to each other at all.

On the last day of school, getting up a strange courage, I handed my autograph book to Marget. She hesitated, then without looking up, wrote words I don’t remember now; they were quite common words, the kind everyone was writing in everyone else’s book. I waited. Slowly, she passed her book to me and in it I wrote with a slow, firm hand some of the words she had taught me. I wrote Adjo min van---Goodbye, my friend. I released her, let her go, told her not to worry, told her that I no longer needed her. Adjo.

24. Ryan, his friends, and his incredible torch run

We met in a biology class. Ryan sat in the front so that his wheelchair wouldn’t get in the way. I, however, believed that he wouldn’t have gotten in the way wherever he sat. I greeted him with a “Hello!” and he replied cheerfully. Later it proved that t his simple “Hello!” was all it took for Ryan and me to become great friends.

Ryan suffered from brain damage and had endured many an obstacle. Yet, he is able to go on living his life to the fullest. He knows the old saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” to the deepest and most personal extent.

The highlight of our friendship came in our junior year, when Ryan asked me to hold the flag that would mark the spot where he would begin his Olympic torch run. When he asked me, I didn’t know what to say. “Why me?” I asked. He gently responded that he would be honoured if I would accept this position. He said that the Olympic committee sent a letter saying that the person that holds the flag must be someone important to him, and I was important to him because I was the only true friend he had ever made that talked to him and not to his wheelchair. How could I refuse such a gracious compliment and request?

On June fifth, I took the flag and reached Ryan’s starting point early. By then, the streets had begun to fill with students from the surrounding schools and the area