2017年最新英語(yǔ)課外閱讀材料
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Unit Eight : Yoe Go Your Way，I'll Go Mine
TEXT
A young boy faces the impossible task of trying to soften the blow of tragic mews.
You Go Your Way, I'll Go Mine
The messenger got off his bicycle in front of the house of Mrs. Rosa Sandoval. He went to the door and knocked gently. He knew almost immediately that someone was inside the house. He could not hear anything, but he was sure the knock was bringing someone to the door and he was most eager to see who this person would be -- his woman named Rosa Sandoval who was now to heat of murder in the world and to feel it in herself. The door was not a long time opening, but there was no hurry in the way it moved on its hinges. The movement of the door was as if, whoever she was, she and nothing in the world to fear. Then the door was open, and there she was.
To Homer the Mexican woman was beautiful. He could see that she had been patient all her life, so that now, after years of it, her lips were set in a gentle and saintly smile. But like all people who never receive telegrams the appearance of a messenger at the front door is full of terrible implication. Homer knew that Mrs. Rosa Sandoval was shocked to see him. Her first word was the first word of all surprise. She said "Oh," as if instead of a messenger she had thought of opening the door to someone she had know a long time and would be pleased to sit down with. Before she spoke again she studied Homer's eyes and Homer Knew that she knew the message was not a welcome one.
"You have a telegram?" she said.
It wasn't Homer's fault. His work was to deliver telegrams. Even so, it seemed to him that he was part of the whole mistake. He felt awkward and almost as if he alone were responsible for what had happened. At the same time he wanted to come right out and say, "I'm only a messenger, Mrs. Sandoval, I'm very sorry I must bring you a telegram like this, but it is only because it is my work to do so."
"Who is it for?" the Mexican woman said.
"Mrs. Rosa Sandoval, 1129 G Street." Homer said. He extended the telegram to the Mexican woman, but she would not touch it.
"Are you Mrs. Sandoval?" Homer said.
"Please," the woman said. "Please come in. I cannot read English. I am Mexican. I read only La Prensa which comes from Mexico City." She paused a moment and looked at the boy standing awkwardly as near the door as he could be and still be inside the house.
"Please," she said, "what does the telegram say?"
"Mrs. Sandoval," the messenger said, "the telegram says --"
But now the woman interrupted him. "But you must open the telegram and read it to me," she said. "You have not opened it."
"Yes, ma'am," Homer said as if he were speaking to a school teacher who had just corrected him.
He opened the telegram with nervous fingers. The Mexican woman stooped to pick up the torn envelope, and tried to smooth it out. As she did so she said, "Who sent the telegram -- my son Juan Domingo?"
"No, ma'am." Homer said. "The telegram is from the War Department."
"War Department?" the Mexican woman said.
"Mrs. Sandoval," Homer said swiftly, "your son is dead. Maybe it's a mistake, Everybody makes a mistake, Mrs. Sandoval. Maybe it wasn't your son. Maybe it was somebody else. The telegram says it was Juan Domingo. But maybe the telegram is wrong,"
The Mexican woman pretended not to hear.
"Oh, do not be afraid," she said. "Come inside. Come inside. I will bring you candy." She took the boy's arm and brought him to the table at the center of the room and there she made him sit.
"All boys like candy," she said. "I will bring you candy." She went into another room and soon returned with an old chocolate candy box. She opened the box at the table and in it Homer saw a strange kind of candy.
"Here," she said. "Eat this candy. All boys like candy."
Homer took a piece of the candy from the box, put it into his mouth, and tried to chew.
"You would not bring me a bad telegram," she said. "You are a good boy -- like my little Juanito when he was a little boy. Eat another piece." And she made the messenger take another piece of the candy.
Homer sat chewing the dry candy while the Mexican woman talked. "It is our own candy," she said, "from cactus. I made it for my Juanito when he come home, but you eat it. You are my boy, too."
Now suddenly she began to sob, holding herself in as if weeping were a disgrace. Homer wanted to get up and run, but he knew he would stay. He even thought he might stay the rest of his life. He just didn't know what else to do to try to make the woman less unhappy, and if she had asked him to take the place of her son, he would not have been able to refuse, because he would not have known how. He got to his feet, as if by standing he meant to begin correcting what could not be corrected and then he knew the foolishness of this intention and became more awkward than ever. In his heart he was saying over and over again, "What can I do? What the hell can I do? I'm only the messenger."
NEW WORDS
soften
v. (cause to) become soft(er) or gentle (使)軟化;(使)溫和
tragic
a. very sad, unfortunate; of or related to tragedy 悲慘的;悲劇的
messenger
n. a person employed to deliver telegrams, letters or parcels 送信人，電報(bào)投遞員
gently
ad. softly 輕輕地
immediately
a. at once
immediate
a.
eager
a. marked by strong interest or impatient desire 熱切的，渴望的
hinge
n. 鉸鏈
whoever
pron. no matter who 無論誰(shuí)，不管誰(shuí)
saintly
a. like a saint; very holy 像圣徒一樣的`;圣潔的
implication
n. 含義
imply
vt.
shock
vt. cause unpleasant or angry surprise to (sb.) 使(某人)震驚
deliver
vt. take (sth.) to the place where it esp. sth. bad 交付，遞送
awkward
a. uncomfortable 尷尬的
responsible
a. having done or been the cause of esp. sth. bad(應(yīng))負(fù)責(zé)的
Mexican
n & a. 墨西哥人;墨西哥(人)的
extend
vt. hold out 伸出
pause
vi. stop for a short time 暫停，中止
interrupt
vt. stop (sb. speaking) by breaking in 打斷(某人講話)
nervous
a. 神經(jīng)質(zhì)的;緊張的
ma'am
madam (used in direct address) 夫人，太太，小姐
smooth
vt. make smooth or smoother 把...弄平
department
n. 部門;系
swiftly
ad. rapidly, quickly 快速地;敏捷地
swift
a.
chocolate
n. 巧克力(糖)
chew
vt. crush (food) with the teeth 咀嚼
cactus
n. 仙人掌
sob
vi. cry with short, quick breaths 啜泣;嗚咽
disgrace
n. shame 恥辱;丟臉的人(或事)
unhappy
a. not happy
hell
n. 地獄
PHRASES & EXPRESSIONS
hear of
have knowledge of or receive information about 聽到，聽說
be responsible for
be the cause of 應(yīng)對(duì)...負(fù)責(zé)的
come out (with)
speak out 大聲地說，清楚地說
smooth out
make smooth(er)
hold oneself in
control one's feelings
take the place of
act or be used instead of, replace 代替，取代
get to one's feel
stand up
over and over again
very often, repeatedly 反復(fù)地，再三地
PROPER NAMES
Rosa Sandoval
羅莎.桑多瓦爾
Homer
霍默
Mexico City
墨西哥城(墨西哥首都)
Juan Domingo
胡安 多明哥
the War Department
(美國(guó))陸軍部(舊稱)
Juanito
胡安尼特(Juan的昵稱)
Unit Nine：The Brain
TEXT
Throughout the ages different ideas have been expressed about the working of the human brain. It is only recently, however, that science has begun to give us some idea of how the brain really works.
The Brain
The Most Powerful
Computer in the Universe
Man still has a lot to learn about the most powerful and complex part of his body -- the brain.
In ancient times men did not think that the brain was the centre of mental activity. Aristotle the philosopher of ancient Greece thought that the mind was based in the heart. It was not until the 18th century that man realised that the whole of the brain was involved in the workings of the mind.
During the 19th century scientists found that when certain parts of the brain were damaged men lost the ability to do certain things. And so, people thought that each part of the brain controlled a different activity. But modern research has found that this is not so. It is not easy to say exactly what each part of the brain does.
In the past 50 years there has been a great increase in the amount of research being done on the brain. Chemists and biologists have found that the way the brain works is far more complicated that they had thought. In fact many people believe that we are only now really starting to learn the truth about how the human brain works. The more scientists find out, the more questions they are unable to answer. For instance, chemists have found that over 100,000 chemical reactions take place in the brain every second. Mathematicians who have tried to use computers to copy the way the brain works have found that even using the latest electronic equipment they would have to build a computer which weighed over 10,000 kilos. Some recent research also suggests that we remember everything that happens to us. We may not be able to recall this information, but it is all stored in our brains.
Scientists hope that if we can discover how the brain works, the better use we will be able to put it to. For example, how do we learn language? Man differs most from all the other animals in his ability to learn and use language but we still do not know exactly how this is dine. Some children learn to speak and read and write when they are very young compared to average children. But scientists are not sure why this happens. They are trying to find out whether there is something about the way we teach language to children which in fact prevents children from learning sooner.
Earlier scientists thought that during a man's lifetime the power of his brain decreased. But it is now thought that this is not so. As long as the brain is given plenty of exercise it keeps its power. It has been found that an old person who has always been mentally active has a quicker mind than a young person who has done only physical work. It is now thought that the more work we give our brains, the more work they are able to do.
Other people now believe that we use only 1% of our brains' full potential. They say that the only limit on the power of the brain is the limit of what we think is possible. This is probably because of the way we are taught as children. When we first start learning to use our minds we are told what to do, for example, to remember certain facts, but we are not taught how our memory works and how to make that best use of it. We are told to make noted hut we are not taught how our brains accept information and which is the best way to organise the information we want our brains to accept.
This century man has made many discoveries about the universe -- the world outside himself. But he has also started to look into the workings of that other universe which is inside himself -- the human brain.
NEW WORDS
computer
n. machine that stores information and works out answers 計(jì)算機(jī)
universe
n. 宇宙
complex
a. difficult to understand or explain 錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜的，難懂的
ancient
a. in or of times long ago 古代的;古老的
philosopher
n. 哲學(xué)家
philosophy
n. 哲學(xué)
involve
vt. cause to become connected or concerned 使卷入
working
n. (usu. pl.) operation; action 運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)，運(yùn)行，活動(dòng)
ability
n. 能力
exactly
ad. with complete connected or concerned 確切地;精確地
amount
n. 數(shù)量，數(shù)額
chemist
n. one who studies and understands chemistry 化學(xué)家
biologist
n. one who studies the life of animals and plants 生物學(xué)家
biology
n. 生物學(xué)
complicated
n. difficult to understand, complex 難懂的;復(fù)雜的
chemical
a. of chemistry
unable
a. not able
reaction
n. 反應(yīng)
mathematician
n. one who studies and understands mathematics 數(shù)學(xué)家
equip
n. 設(shè)備，裝置
kilo = kilogram
公斤，千克
recent
a. done or made not long ago 近來的
recall
vt. remember 記得;回憶起
differ
vi. be different (from)
mentally
ad. 智力上，腦力上
physical
a. of the body; of matter; of the science of physics 身體的;物質(zhì)的;物理學(xué)的
potential
n. 潛力
limit
n. 局限，限度
PHRASES & EXPRESSIONS
put...to (good) use
use (in a profitable) (好好)利用
differ from
be dissimilar to 與...不同
compared to / with
in comparison with 與...相比
make notes
take notes 記筆記
look into
examine 調(diào)查，觀察
PROPER NAMES
Aristotle
亞里士多德
Greece
希臘
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