(完整版)高中英语选修六课文原文

高中英语选修6Unit1ASHORTHISTORYOFWESTERNPAINTINGArtisinfluencedbythecustomsandfaithofapeople.StylesinWesternarthavechangedmanytimes.AstherearesomanydifferentstylesofWesternart,itwouldbeimpossibletodescribealloftheminsuchashorttext.Consequently,thistextwilldescribeonlythemostimportantones.StartingfromthesixthcenturyAD.TheMiddleAges(5thtothe15thcenturyAD)DuringtheMiddleAges,themainaimofpainterswastorepresentreligiousthemes.Aconventionalartistofthisperiodwasnotinterestedinshowingnatureandpeopleastheyreallywere.Atypicalpictureatthistimewasfullofreligioussymbols,whichcreatedafeelingofrespectandloveforGod.Butitwasevidentthatideaswerechanginginthe13thcenturywhenpainterslikeGiottodiBondonebegantopaintreligiousscenesinamorerealisticway.TheRenaissance(15thto16thcentury)DuringtheRenaissance,newideasandvaluesgraduallyreplacedthoseheldintheMiddleAges.Peoplebegantoconcentratelessonreligiousthemesandadoptamorehumanisticattitudetolife.AtthesametimepaintersreturnedtoclassicalRomanandGreekideasaboutart.Theytriedtopaintpeopleandnatureastheyreallywere.Richpeoplewantedtopossesstheirownpaintings,sotheycoulddecoratetheirsuperbpalacesandgreathouses.Theypaidfamousartiststopaintpicturesofthemselves,theirhousesandpossessionsaswellastheiractivitiesandachievements.Oneofthemostimportantdiscoveriesduringthisperiodwashowtodrawthingsinperspective.ThistechniquewasfirstusedbyMasaccioin1428.Whenpeoplefirstsawhispaintings,theywereconvincedthattheywerelookingthroughaholeinawallatarealscene.Iftherulesofperspectivehadnotbeendiscovered,noonewouldhavebeenabletopaintsuchrealisticpictures.Bycoincidence,oilpaintswerealsodevelopedatthistime,whichmadethecoloursusedinpaintingslookricheranddeeper.Withoutthenewpaintsandthenewtechnique,wewouldnotbeabletoseethemanygreatmasterpiecesforwhichthisperiodisfamous.Impressionism(late19htoearly20thcentury)Inthelate19thcentury,Europechangedagreatdeal,fromamostlyagriculturalsocietytoamostlyindustrialone.Manypeoplemovedfromthecountrysidetothenewcities.Thereweremanynewinventionsandsocialchangesalsoledtonewpaintingstyles.AmongthepainterswhobrokeawayfromthetraditionalstyleofpaintingweretheImpressionists,wholivedandworkedinParis.TheImpressionistswerethefirstpainterstoworkoutdoors.Theywereeagertoshowhowlightandshadowfellonobjectsatdifferenttimesofday.However,becausenaturallightchangessoquickly,theImpressionistshadtopaintquickly.Theirpaintingswerenotasdetailedasthoseofearlierpainters.Atfirst,manypeopledislikedthisstyleofpaintingandbecameveryangryaboutit.Theysaidthatthepainterswerecarelessandtheirpaintingswereridiculous.ModernArt(29thcenturytotoday)Atthetimetheywerecreated,theImpressionistpaintingswerecontroversial,buttodaytheyareacceptedasthebeginningofwhatwecall"modernart".ThisisbecausetheImpressionistsencouragedartiststolookattheirenvironmentinnewways.Therearescoresofmodernartstyles,butwithouttheImpressionists,manyofthesepaintingstylesmightnotexist.Ontheonehand,somemodernartisabstract;thatis,thepainterdoesnotattempttopaintobjectsasweseethemwithoureyes,butinsteadconcentratesncertainqualitiesoftheobject,usingcolour,lineandshapetorepresentthem.Ontheotherhand,somepaintingsofmodernartaresorealisticthattheylooklikephotographs.Thesestylesaresodifferent.Whocanpredictwhatpaintingstylestherewillbeinthefuture?Unit3ItisabeautifuldayhereandIamsittingunderthebigtreeattheendofthegarden.Ihavejustreturnedfromalongbikeridetoanoldcastle.ItseemsamazingthatatmyageIamstillfitenoughtocycle20kilometresinanafternoon.It'smybirthdayintwoweeks'timeandI’llbe82yearsold!IthinkmylongandactivelifemustbeduetothehealthylifeIlive.Thisbringsmetotherealreasonformyletter,mydeargrandson.Yourmothertellsmethatyoustartedsmokingsometimeagoandhowyouarefindingitdifficulttogiveitup.Believeme,Iknowhoweasyitistobeginsmokingandhowtoughitistostop.Yousee,duringadolescenceIalsosmokedandbecameaddictedtocigarettes.Bytheway,didyouknowthatthisisbecauseyoubecomeaddictedinthreedifferentways.First,youcanbecomephysicallyaddictedtonicotine,whichisoneofthehundredsofchemicalsincigarettes.Thismeansthatafterawhileyourbodybecomesaccustomedtohavingnicotineinit.Sowhenthedrugleavesourbody,yougetwithdrawalsymptoms.Irememberfeelingbad-temperedandsometimeseveninpain.Secondly,youbecomeaddictedthroughhabit.Asyouknow,ifyoudothesamethingoverandoveragain,youbegintodoitautomatically.Lastly,youcanbecomementallyaddicted.IbelievedIwashappierandmorerelaxedafterhavingacigarette,soIbegantothatIcouldonlyfeelgoodwhenIsmoked.Iwasaddictedinallthreeways,soitwasverydifficulttoquit.ButIdidfinallymanage.WhenIwasyoung,Ididn'tknowmuchabouttheharmfuleffectsofsmoking.Ididn'tknow,forexample,thatitcoulddoterribledamagetoyourheartandlungsorthatitwasmoredifficultforsmokingcouplestobecomepregnant.Icertainlydidn'tknowtheirbabiesmayhaveasmallerbirthweightorevenbeabnormalinsomeway.NeitherdidIknowthatmycigarettesmokecouldaffectthehealthofnon-smokers.However,whatIdidknowwasthatmygirlfriendthoughtIsmeltterrible.Shesaidmybreathandclothessmelt,andthattheendsofmyfingerswereturningyellow.Shetoldmethatshewouldn'tgooutwithmeagainunlessIstopped!IalsonoticedthatIbecamebreathlessquickly,andthatIwasn'tenjoyingsportasmuch.WhenIwastakenofftheschoolfootballteambecauseIwasunfit,Iknewitwastimetquitsmoking.IamsendingyousomeadviceIfoundontheInternetItmighthelpyoutostopandstrengthenyourresolve.IdohopesobecauseIwantyoutoliveaslongandhealthyalifeasIhave.LovefromGrandadUnit4THEEARTHISBECOMIGWARMER-BUTDOESITMATTER?Duringthe20thcenturythetemperatureoftheearthroseaboutonedegreeFahrenheit.Thatprobablydoesnotseemmuchtoyouorme,butitisarapidincreasewhencomparedtoothernaturalchanges.Sohowhasthiscomeaboutanddoesitmatter?Earthcare'sSophieArmstrongexploresthesequestions.Thereisnodoubtthattheearthisbecomingwarmer(seeGraph1)andthatitishumanactivitythathascausedthisglobalwarmingratherthanarandombutnaturalphenomenon.Allscientistssubscribetotheviewthattheincreaseintheearth'stemperatureisduetotheburningoffossilfuelslikecoal,naturalgasandoiltoproduceenergy.Somebyproductsofthisprocessarecalled"greenhouse"gases,themostimportantoneofwhichiscarbondioxide.DrJaniceFosterexplains:"Thereisanaturalphenomenonthatscientistscallthe"greenhouseeffect".Thisiswhensmallamountsofgasesintheatmosphere,likecarbondioxide,methaneandwatervapour,trapheatfromthesunandthereforewarmtheearth.Withoutthegreenhouseeffectheearthwouldbeaboutthirty-threedegreesCelsiuscoolerthanitis.So,weneedthosegases.Theproblembeginswhenweaddhugequantitiesofextracarbondioxideintotheatmosphere.Itmeansthatmoreheatenergytendstobetrappedintheatmospherecausingtheglobaltemperaturetogoup.Weknowthatthelevelsofcarbondioxidehaveincreasedgreatlyoverthelast100to150years.ItwasascientistcalledCharlesKeeling,whomadeaccuratemeasurementsoftheamountofcarbondioxideintheatmospherefrom1957to1997.Hefoundthatbetweentheseyearsthecarbondioxideintheatmospherewentupfromaround315partstoaround370partspermillion(seeGraph2)Allscientistsacceptthisdata.Theyalsoagreethatitistheburningofmoreandmorefossilfuelsthathasresultedinthisincreaseincarbondioxide.Sohowhighwillthetemperatureincreasego?DrJaniceFostersaysthatoverthenext100yearstheamountofwarmingcouldbeaslowas1to1.5degreesCelsius,butitcouldbeashighas5degrees.However,theattitudeofscientiststowardsthisriseincompletelydifferent.Ontheonehand,DrFosterthinksthatthetrendwhichincreasesthetemperatureby5degreeswouldbeacatastrophe.Shesays,"Wecan'tpredicttheclimatewellenoughtoknowwhattoexpect,butitcouldbeveryserious."Otherswhoagreewithherthinktheremaybeariseofseveralmetresinthesealevel,orpredictseverestorms,floods,droughts,famines,thespreadofdiseasesandthedisappearanceofspecies.Ontheotherhand,therearethose,likeGeorgeHambley,whoareopposedtothisview,believethatweshouldnotworryabouthighlevelsofcarbondioxideintheair.Theypredictthatanywarmingwillbemildwithfewbadenvironmentalconsequences.Infact,Hambleystates,"Morecarbondioxideisactuallyapositivething.Itwillmakeplantsgrowquicker;cropswillproducemore;itwillencourageagreaterrangeofanimals-allofwhichwillmakelifeforhumanbeingsbetter."Greenhousegasescontinuetobuildupintheatmosphere.Evenifwestartreducingtheamountofcarbondioxideandothergreenhousegases,theclimateisgoingtokeeponwarmingfordecadesorcenturies.Nooneknowstheeffectsofglobalwarming.Doesthatmeanweshoulddonothing?Or,aretheriskstoogreat?Unit5ANEXCITINGJOBIhavethegreatestjobintheworld.Itraveltounusualplacesandworkalongsidepeoplefromallovertheworld.Sometimesworkingoutdoors,sometimesinanoffice,sometimesusingscientificequipmentandsometimesmeetinglocalpeopleandtourists,Iamneverbored.Althoughmyjobisoccasionallydangerous,Idon'tmindbecausedangerexcitesmeandmakesmefeelalive.However,themostimportantthingaboutmyjobisthatIhelpprotectordinarypeoplefromoneofthemostpowerfulforcesnearth-thevolcano.IwasappointedasvolcanologistinformationforadatabaseaboutMountKilauea,whichisoneofthemostactivevolcanoesinHawaii.Havingcollectedandevaluatedtheinformation,Ihelpotherscientiststopredictwherelavafromthevolcanowillflownextandhowfast.Ourworkhassavedmanlivesbecausepeopleinthepathofthelavacanbewarnedtoleavetheirhouses.Unfortunately,wecannotmovetheirhomesoutoftheway,andmanyhouseshavebeencoveredwithlavaorburnedtotheground.Whenboilingrockeruptsfromavolcanoandcrashesbacktoearth,itcauseslessdamagethanyoumightimagine.ThisisbecausenoonelivesnearthetopofMountKilauea,wheretherocksfall.Thelavathatflowsslowlylikeawavedownthemountaincausesfarmoredamagebecauseitburieseverythinginitspathunderthemoltenrock.However,theeruptionitselfisreallyexcitingtowatchandIshallneverforgetmyfirstsightofone.ItwasinthesecondweekafterIarrivedinHawaii.Havingworkedhardallday,Iwenttobedearly.IwasfastasleepwhensuddenlymybedbeganshakingandIheardastrangesound,likearailwaytrainpassingmywindow.HavingexperiencedquiteafewearthquakesinHawaiialready,Ididn'ttakemuchnotice.Iwasabouttogobacktosleepwhensuddenlymybedroombecameasbrightasday.IranoutofthehouseintothebackgardenwhereIcouldseeMountKilaueainthedistance.Therehadbeenaneruptionfromthesideofthemountainandredhotlavawasfountaininghundredsofmetresintotheair.Itwasanabsolutelyfantasticsight.ThedayafterthiseruptionIwasluckyenoughtohaveamuchcloserlookatit.TwootherscientistsandIweredrivenupthemountainanddroppedascloseaspossibletothecraterthathadbeenformedduringtheeruption.Havingearliercollectedspecialclothesfromtheobservatory,weputthemonbeforewewentanycloser.Allthreeofuslookedlikespacemen.Wehadwhiteprotectivesuitsthatcoveredourwholebody,helmets,bigbootsandspecialgloves.Itwasnoteasytowalkinthesesuits,butweslowlymadeourwaytotheedgeofthecraterandlookeddownintothered,boilingcentre.Theothertwoclimbeddownintothecratertocollectsomelavaforlaterstudy,butthisbeingmyfirstexperience,Istayedatthetopandwatchedthem.Today,IamjustasenthusiasticaboutmyjobasthedayIfirststarted.Havingstudiedvolcanoesnowformanyyears,Iamstillamazedtheirbeautyaswellastheirpotentialtocausegreatdamage.