新概念優(yōu)美英文背誦短文50篇

1、Un it1:The Lan guage of MusicA pain ter hangs his or her fini shed pictures on a wall, and every one can see it. A composer writes a work, but no one can hear it until it is performed. Professional sin gers and players have great resp on sibilities, for the composer is utterly depe ndent on them. A

2、student of music needs as long and as arduous a training to become a performer as a medical stude nt n eeds to become a doctor. Most trai ning is concerned with technique, for musicians have to have the muscular proficiency of an athlete or a ballet dan cer. Sin gers practice breathi ng every day, a

3、s their vocal chords would be in adequatewithout con trolled muscular support. String players practice moving the fin gers of the left hand up and dow n, while draw ing the bow to and fro with the right arm two en tirely differe nt moveme nts.Sin gers and in strume nts have to be able to get every n

4、 ote perfectly in tune. Pianists are spared this particular anxiety, for the notes are already there, waiting for them, and it is the piano tuner respsnsibility to tune the instrument for them. But they have their own difficulties; the hammers that hit the string have to be coaxed not to sound like

5、percussi on, and each overlapp ing tone has to sound clear.This problem of gett ing clear texture is one that confronts stude nt con ductors: they have to lear n to know every note of the music and how it should sound, and they have to aim at controlling these sound with fanatical but selfless autho

6、rity.Tech nique is of no use uni ess it is comb ined with musical kno wledge and un dersta nding. Great artists are those who are so thoroughly at home in the Ian guage of music that they can enjoy perform ing works writte n in any cen tury.Un it2:Schooli ng and Educatio nIt is com mon ly believed i

7、n Un ited States that school is where people go to get an education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark is importa nt.Educati on is much more ope n-en ded and all-i nclus

8、ive tha n schooli ng. Educati on knows no boun ds. It can take place any where, whether in the shower or in the job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole uni verse of in formal lear ning. The age nts of educati on can ra

9、nge from a revered grandparent to the people debating politics on the radio, from a child to a distinguished scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a pers on to discover how little is known o

10、f other religi ons. People are en gaged in educatio n from infancy on. Educati on, the n, is a very broad, in clusive term. It is a life long process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part of one s entire life.Schooli ng, on the other han d, i

11、s a specific, formalized process, whose gen eral pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of r

12、eality that are to be lear ned, whether they are the alphabet or an un dersta nding of the work ing of gover nment, have usually bee n limited by the boun daries of the subject being taught. For example, high school students know that there not likely to find out in their classesthe truth about poli

13、tical problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooli ng.Unit3:The Defini tion of PricePrices determ ine how resources are to be used. They are also the means by which products and service

14、s that are in limited supply are rationed among buyers. The price system of the United States is a complex network composed of the prices of all the products bought and sold in the economy as well as those of a myriad of services, in clud ing labor, professi on al, tran sportati on, and public-utili

15、ty services. The in terrelati on ships of all these prices make up the“ system ” of prices. The price of aparticular product or service is linked to a broad, complicated system of prices in which everyth ing seems to depe nd more or less upon everythi ng else.If one were to ask a group of randomly s

16、elected individuals to define “ price ” , many would reply that price is an amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller of a product or service or, in other words that price is the money values of a product or service as agreed upon in a market transaction. This definition is, of course, valid a

17、s far as it goes. For a complete un dersta nding of a price in any particular tran sacti on, much more tha n the amount of money invo Ived must be known. Both the buyer and the seller should be familiar with not only the money amount, but with the amount and quality of the product or service to be e

18、xchanged, the time and place at which the exchange will take place and payment will be made, the form of money to be used, the credit terms and disco unts that apply to the tran sacti on, guara ntees on the product or service, delivery terms, return privileges, and other factors. In other words, bot

19、h buyer and seller should be fully aware of all the factors that comprise the total“ package ” being exchanged for the asoedmount of money in order that they may evaluate a give n price.Un it4:ElectricityThe modern age is an age of electricity. People are so used to electric lights, radio, televisio

20、ns, and telephonesthat it is hard to imagine what life would be like without them. When there is a power failure, people grope about in flickering candlelight, cars hesitate in the streets because there are no traffic lights to guide them, and food spoils in sile nt refrigerators.Yet, people began t

21、o understand how electricity works only a little more than two centuries ago. Nature has apparently been experimenting in this field for million of years. Scie ntists are discoveri ng more and more that the liv ing world may hold many in teresti ng secrets of electricity that could ben efit huma ni

22、ty.All living cell send out tiny pulses of electricity. As the heart beats, it sends out pulses of record; they form an electrocardiogram, which a doctor can study to determ ine how well the heart is work ing. The brain, too, sends out brain waves of electricity, which can be recorded in an electroe

23、 ncephalogram. The electric curre nts gen erated by most livi ng cells are extremely small -ofte n so small that sen sitive in strume nts are n eeded to record them. But in some ani mals, certa in muscle cells have become so specialized as electrical gen erators that they do not work as muscle cells

24、 at all. When large numbers of these cell are linked together, the effects can be ast onishing.The electric eel is an amaz ing storage battery. It can seed a jolt of as much as eight hundred volts of electricity through the water in which it live. ( An electric house current is only one hundred twen

25、ty volts.) As many as four-fifths of all the cells in the electric eel s body are specialized for generating electricity, and the strength of the shock it can deliver corresponds roughly to length of its body.Uni t5:The Beg inning of DramaThere are many theories about the beg inning of drama in an c

26、ie nt Greece. The on most widely accepted today is based on the assumptio n that drama evolved from ritual. The argume nt for this view goes as follows. In the beg inning, huma n beings viewed the n atural forces of the world-eve n the seas onal cha nges-as un predictable, and they sought through va

27、rious means to con trol these unknown and feared powers. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. Eventually stories arose which explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were

28、aba ndon ed, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama.Those who believe that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of theater because music, dan ce, masks, and costumes were almost always used, Furthermore, a suitable

29、 site had to be provided for performances and when the entire community did not participate, a clear division was usually made between the acting area and the auditorium. In addition, there were performers, and, since considerable importanee was attached to avoiding mistakes in the enactment of rite

30、s, religious leaders usually assumedthat task. Wearing masks and costumes, they often impers on ated other people, ani mals, or super natural bein gs, and mimed the desired effect-success in hunt or battle, the coming rain, the revival of the Sun-as an actor might. Eve ntually such dramatic represe

31、ntati ons were separated from religious activities.Ano ther theory traces the theaters origi n from the huma n in terest in storytelli ng. According to this vies tales (about the hunt, war, or other feats) are gradually elaborated, at first through the use of impersonation, action, and dialogue by a

32、 n arrator and the n through the assumpti on of each of the roles by a differe nt pers on. A closely related theory traces theater to those dan ces that are primarily rhythmical and gymn astic or that are imitati ons of ani mal moveme nts and soun ds.Un it6:Televisio nTelevisionthe most pervasive an

33、d persuasive of moder n tech no logies, marked by rapid cha nge and growth-is movi ng into a new era, an era of extraordi nary sophistication and versatility, which promises to reshape our lives and our world. It is an electronic revolution of sorts, made possible by the marriage of television and c

34、omputer tech no logies.The word television, derived from its Greek (tele: distant) and Latin (visi sight) roots, can literally be interpreted as sight from a distanee. Very simply put, it works in this way: through a sophisticated system of electronics, television provides the capability of converti

35、ng an image (focused on a special photoc on ductive plate with in a camera) in to electro nic impulses, which can be sent through a wire or cable. These impulses, whe n fed in to a receiver (televisi on set), can the n be electro nically recon stituted into that same image.Television is more than ju

36、st an electronic system, however. It is a means of expressi on, as well as a vehicle for com muni cati on, and as such becomes a powerful tool for reachi ng other huma n bein gs.The field of television can be divided into two categories determined by its means of transmission. First, there is broadc

37、ast television, which reaches the masses through broad-based airwave transmission of television signals. Second, there is non broadcast televisi on, which provides for the n eeds of in dividuals or specific in terest groups through con trolled tran smissi on tech niq ues.Traditionally, television ha

38、s been a medium of the masses. We are most familiar with broadcast television because it has been with us for about thirty-seven years in a form similar to what exists today. During those years, it has bee n con trolled, for the most part, by the broadcast networks, ABC, NBC, and CBS, who have been

39、the major purveyors of n ews, in formati on, and en terta inment. These gia nts of broadcast ing have actually shaped not only television but our perception of it as well. We have come to look upon the picture tube as a source of entertainment, placing our role in this dyn amic medium as the passive

40、 viewer.Un it7:A ndrew Carn egieAn drew Carnegie, known as the Ki ng of Steel, built the steel in dustry in the United States, and , in the process, became one of the wealthiest men in America. His success resulted in part from his ability to sell the product and in part from his policy of expa ndin

41、g duri ng periods of econo mic decli ne, whe n most of his competitors were reduc ing their inv estme nts.Carn egie believed that in dividuals should progress through hard work, but he also felt stron gly that the wealthy should use their fortunes for the ben efit of society. He opposed charity, pre

42、ferri ng in stead to provide educati onal opport un ities that would allow others to help themselves. He who dies rich, dies disgraced, he ofte n said.Among his more no teworthy con tributi ons to society are those that bear his n ame, including the Carnegie Institute of Pittsburgh, which has a libr

43、ary, a museum of fine arts, and a museum of n ati onal history. He also foun ded a school of tech no logy that is now part of Carn egie-Mello n Uni versity. Other phila nthrophic gifts are the Carn egie Endowment for International Peace to promote understanding between nations, the Carnegie Institut

44、e of Washington to fund scientific research, and Carnegie Hall to provide a cen ter for the arts.Few America ns have bee n left un touched by Andrew Carn egies gen erosity. His contributions of more than five million dollars established 2,500 libraries in small communities throughout the country and

45、 formed the nucleus of the public library system that we all enjoy today.Unit8:American RevolutionThe American Revolution was not a sudden and violent overturning of the political and social framework, such as later occurred in France and Russia, when both were already in depe ndent n ati ons. Sign

46、ifica nt cha nges were ushered in, but they were not breathtak ing. What happe ned was accelerated evolutio n rather tha n outright revolution. During the conflict itself people went on working and praying, marrying and playing. Most of them were not seriously disturbed by the actual fighting, and m

47、any of the more isolated com mun ities scarcely knew that a war was on.Americas War of In depe ndence heralded the birth of three moder n n atio ns. One was Can ada, which received its first large in flux of En glish-speak ing populati on from the thousands of loyalists who fled there from the Unite

48、d States. Another was Australia, which became a penal colony now that America was no Ion ger available for pris oners and debtors. The third n ewcomer-the Un ited States-based itself squarely on republica n prin ciples.Yet even the political overturn was not so revolutionary as one might suppose. In

49、 some states, no tably Conn ecticut and Rhode Isla nd, the war largely ratified a colonial self-rule already existing. British officials, everywhere ousted, were replaced by a home-grow n gover ning class, which promptly sought a local substitute for ki ng and Parliame nt.Un it9:Suburba nizatio nIf

50、by suburb is meant an urba n margin that grows more rapidly tha n its already developed in terior, the process of suburba ni zatio n bega n duri ng the emerge nee of the in dustrial city in the see ond quarter of the nin etee nth een tury. Before that period the city was a small highly compact clust

51、er in which people moved about on foot and goods were conveyed by horse and cart. But the early factories built in the 1840s were located along waterways and n ear railheads at the edges of cities, and hous ing was n eeded for the thousa nds of people draw n by the prospect of employme nt. In time,

52、the factories were surro un ded by proliferati ng mill tow ns of apartme nts and row houses that abutted the older, main cities. As a defense against this encroachment and to enl arge their tax bases, the cities appropriated their in dustrial n eighbors. In 1854, for example, the city of Philadelphi

53、a annexed most of Philadelphia County. Similar mun icipal man euvers took place in Chicago and in New York. In deed, most great cities of the Un ited States achieved such status only by in corporati ng the com mun ities along their borders.With the accelerati on of in dustrial growth came acute urba

54、 n crowdi ng and accompa nying social stress-c on diti ons that bega n to approach disastrous proporti ons when, in 1888, the first commercially successful electric traction line was developed. Within a few years the horse-drawn trolleys were retired and electric streetcar networks crisscrossed and

55、connected every major urban area, fostering a wave of suburba ni zati on that tran sformed the compact in dustrial city into a dispersed metropolis. This first phase of mass-scale suburba ni zati on was rein forced by the simulta neous emerge nee of the urba n Middle Class, whose desires for homeow

56、nership in n eighborhoods far from the aging inner city were satisfied by the developers of sin gle-family hous ing tracts.Un it10:Types of SpeechStan dard usage in eludes those words and expressi ons un derstood, used, and accepted by a majority of the speakers of a Ianguage in any situation regard

57、less of the level of formality. As such, these words and expressions are well defined and listed in standard dictionaries. Colloquialisms, on the other hand, are familiar words and idioms that are un derstood by almost all speakers of a Ian guage and used in in formal speech or writ ing, but not con

58、 sidered appropriate for more formal situatio ns. Almost all idiomatic expressions are colloquial language. Slang, however, refers to words and expressions understood by a large number of speakers but not accepted as good, formal usage by the majority. Colloquial expressi ons and eve n sla ng may be

59、 found in standard dictionaries but will be so identified. Both colloquial usage and slang are more com mon in speech tha n in writ ing.Colloquial speech ofte n passes into sta ndard speech. Some sla ng also passes into sta ndard speech, but other sla ng expressi ons enjoy mome ntary popularity followed by obscurity. In some cases, the majority never accepts certain slang phrases but neverthelessretains them in their collective memories. Every generation seems to require its own