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21世紀大學英語讀寫教程第二冊第2單元內容詳解
英語讀寫是為高等院校英語專業一至三年級學生編寫的基礎英語教材，旨在鞏固和提高學生的語言基礎，特別是閱讀和寫作的能力。下面是小編給大家帶來21世紀大學英語讀寫教程第二冊第2單元內容詳解，希望能幫到大家！
在聽磁帶之前，請快速查看以下空白以準備好自己聆聽數字。當你第一次聽這段話時，用你聽到的單詞填寫那些空白。
Pre-reading Activities
First Listening
Before listening to the tape, have a quick look at the following blanks to prepare yourself to listen for the figures.
1. As you listen to the passage the first time, fill these blanks with the words you hear:
Asians and Asian Americans make up only _____ of the US population, but they come up to ____ of the undergraduates at Harvard, _____ at MIT, ______ at Yale and _____ at Berkeley.
Second Listening
Read the following words first to prepare yourself to answer them to the best of your ability.
Talent effort money concentration ambition intelligence pressure sacrifice discrimination tradition
2. Why are these statistics "amazing"? And what do you think the explanation is?
Why They Excel
Fox Butterfield
Kim-Chi Trinh was just nine when her father used his savings to buy a passage for her on a fishing boat that would carry her from Vietnam. It was a heartbreaking and costly sacrifice for the family, placing Kim-Chi on the small boat, among strangers, in hopes that she would eventually reach the United States, where she would get a good education and enjoy a better life.
It was a hard journey for the little girl, and full of risks. Long before the boat reached safety, the supplies of food and water ran out. When Kim-Chi finally made it to the US, she had to cope with a succession of three foster families. But when she graduated from San Diego's Patrick Henry High School in 1988, she had straight A's and scholarship offers from some of the most prestigious universities in the country.
"I have to do well," says the 19-year-old, now a second-year student at Cornell University. "I owe it to my parents in Vietnam."
Kim-Chi is part of a wave of bright, highly - motivated Asian - Americans who are suddenly surging into our best colleges. Although Asian - Americans make up only 2.4 percent of the nation's population, they constitute 17.1 percent of the undergraduates at Harvard, 18 percent at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and 27.3 percent at the University of California at Berkeley.
Why are Asian - Americans doing so well? Are they grinds, as some stereotypes suggest? Do they have higher IQs? Or can we learn a lesson from them about values we have long treasured but may have misplaced — like hard work, the family and education?
Not all Asians are doing equally well; poorly - educated Cambodian refugee children, for instance, often need special help. And many Asian - Americans resent being labeled a "model minority," feeling that this is reverse discrimination by white Americans — a contrast to the laws that excluded most Asian immigrants from the US until 1965, but prejudice nevertheless.
The young Asians' achievements have led to a series of fascinating studies. Perhaps the most disturbing results come from the research carried out by a University of Michigan psychologist, Harold W. Stevenson, who has compared more than 7,000 students in kindergarten, first grade, third grade and fifth grade in Chicago and Minneapolis with counterparts in Beijing, Taipei and Sendai. On a battery of math tests, the Americans did worst at all grade levels.
Stevenson found no differences in IQ. But if the differences in performance are showing up in kindergarten, it suggests something is happening in the family, even before the children get to school.
It is here that various researchers' different studies converge: Asian parents are motivating their children better. "The bottom line is, Asian kids work hard," Stevenson says.
The real question, then, is how Asian parents imbue their offspring with this kind of motivation. Stevenson's study suggests a critical answer. When asked why they think their children do well, most Asian parents said "hard work." By contrast, American parents said "talent."
"From what I can see," criticizes Stevenson, "we've lost our faith in the idea that we can all get ahead in life through hard work. Instead, Americans now believe that some kids have what it takes and some don't. So we start dividing up classes into‘fast learners’and‘slow learners’, whereas the Chinese and Japanese feel all children can succeed in the same curriculum."
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.
There's yet another major factor in this bond between Asian parents and their children. During the 15 years I lived in China, Japan, and Vietnam, I noticed that Asian parents establish a closer physical tie to their infants than most parents in the United States. When I let my baby daughter crawl on the floor, for example, my Chinese friends were horrified and rushed to pick her up. We think this constant attention is old-fashioned or even unhealthy, but for Asians, it's highly effective.
Can we learn anything from the Asians? "I'm not naive enough to think everything in Asia can be transplanted," says Stevenson. But he offered three recommendations.
"To start with," he says, "we need to set higher standards for our kids. We wouldn't expect them to become professional athletes without practicing hard."
Second, American parents need to become more committed to their children's education, he declares. "Being understanding when a child doesn't do well isn't enough." Stevenson found that Asian parents spend more time helping their children with homework or writing to their teachers than American parents do.
And, third, our schools could be reorganized in simple but effective ways, says Stevenson. Nearly 90 percent of Chinese youngsters say they actually enjoy school, and 60 percent can't wait for school vacations to end. This is a vastly more positive attitude than youngsters in The US express. One reason may be that students in China and Japan typically have a break after each class, helping them to relax and to increase their attention spans.
"I don't think Asians are any smarter," says Don Lee, an Asian-American student at Berkeley. "There are brilliant Americans in my chemistry class. But the Asian students work harder. I see a lot of wasted potential among the Americans."
New Words
excel
v. (at) be the beat or better others (at sth.) 勝過他人
savings
n. money saved, esp. in a bank 積蓄;存款
heartbreaking
a. which causes great sorrow 令人悲痛的，令人心碎的
costly
a. expensive, costing a lot of money 代價高昂的;昂貴的
sacrifice
n. loss or giving up of sth. of value, esp. for what is believed to be a good purpose 犧牲
vt. 犧牲
risk
n. (of) a danger;sth. that might have undesirable results 危險;風險
vt. place in a dangerous situation 使遭受危險;冒…的風險
cope
vi. (with) deal successfully (with a difficult situation) (妥善地)應付或處理
succession
n. a series or the act of following one after the other (前后相接的)一系列，一連串;連續
successive
a. following each other closely 接連的，連續的，相繼的
*foster
a. 收養孩子的;寄養的
vt. 收養;照料
scholarship
n. 1. 獎學金
2. 學識;學術成就
owe
vt. (to) 1. have sth. (usually sth. good) because of 把…歸功于
2. have to pay, for sth. already done or given 欠
owing
a. (to) still to be paid 未付的，欠著的
motivate
vt. (often pass.) 1. provide (sb.) with a (strong) need, purpose or reason for doing sth. [常被動] 激發…的積極性
2. 使有動機
*surge
vi. move, esp. forward, in or like powerful waves (如浪潮般) 洶涌;奔騰
n. (感情等的)洋溢或奔放
constitute
vt. 1. form or make up 形成;構成
2. formally establish or appoint 組建;選派
constitution
n. 1. the act of establishing, making, or setting up;constituting 制定;設立;組成
2. (often cap.) [常大寫] 憲法;法規;章程
*constitutional
a. allowed or limited by a political constitution 憲法規定的;合乎憲法的
grind
n. (AmE, often derog.) a student who is always working (美)[常貶義]用功的學生，書呆子
vt. 磨;磨碎
*stereotype
n. a fixed pattern which is believed to represent a type of person or event 固定形式，老套
misplace
vt. 1. lose (sth.),usu. for only a limited time (暫時)丟棄
2. put in an unsuitable or wrong place 把…放錯地方
refugee
n. sb. who has been forced to leave their country for political reason or during a war 難民;流亡者
*resent
vt. feel anger and dislike about sth. 對…表示憤恨
label
vt. 1. describe as belonging to a particular kind or class 把…稱為;把…列為
2. 加標簽于;用標簽標明
n. 標簽
minority
n. 1. a small part of a population which is different from others in race, religion, etc. 少數民族;少數派
2. the small number or part;less than half 少數
minor
a. 較少的，較小的
*discrimination
n. 1. the practice of unfairly treating sb. or sth. 區別對待;歧視
2. the ability to recognize the difference between two things 識別力;辨別力
reverse discrimination
the making of distinctions in favour of groups considered disadvantaged or underprivileged 逆向歧視，反其道而行之的歧視
*discriminate
v. 1. (against, in favor of) unfairly treat one person or group worse or better than others 有差別地對待
2. see or make a difference between things or people 區別，辨別，區分
contrast
n. (to, with) a strong difference between two people, objects or situations 對比;對照
v. examine (two things) in order to find or show differences 對比;對照
exclude
vt. keep out from a place or an activity 阻止…進入;把…排斥在外
exclusion
n. the act of excluding or fact of being excluded 拒絕;排斥
exclusive
a. (of) not taking into account;without;excluding 不算;不包括;把…排斥在外
exclusively
ad. only;and nothing/no one else 排斥其他地;專有地;單獨地
immigrant
n. a person who has come to live in a country from abroad 移民;僑民
prejudice
n. unfair and usually unfavorable feeling or opinion about a group—e.g.a nationality or race 歧視;偏見;成見
series
n. 1. (of) a set or group of things of the same kind or related in some way, coming one after another or in order 系列;連接
2. 叢書;廣播(或電視)系列節目
fascinating
a. having great attraction or charm 吸引人的;迷人的
*fascinate
vt. (with) charm powerfully;be very interesting to 強烈地吸引;迷住
disturbing
a. causing worry or fright 令人不安的;令人煩惱的
disturb
vt. 1. break the peace or order of 擾亂;打擾
2. cause to become anxious or upset 使心神不安;使煩惱
*disturbance
n. 1. an act of disturbing or the state of being disturbed 打擾;擾亂
2. sth. that disturbs 造成干擾的事物
kindergarten
n. a school or class for young children, usu. between the ages of four and six 幼兒園
*counterpart
n. a person or thing that has the same purpose or does the same job as another in a different system 對應的人(或物);對手(方)
battery
n. 1. (of) a set or number of things of the same kind occurring in rapid succession 一組;一系列
2. 電池(組)
*converge
vi. (of two or more things) come together towards the same point (在一點上)會合;集中
the bottom line
the basic point 基本要點
imbue
v. (with)(usu. pass.) to fill with (sth., often a strong feeling or opinion) [常被動]灌輸(某種強烈的情感或意見)
*offspring
n. a child or children from particular parents 子女;后代
critical
a. 1. providing a careful judgment of the good and bad qualities of sth. 判斷(或評價)審慎的
2. 批判的
3. 關鍵的
criticize (-cise)
v. 1. make judgments about the good or bad points of 評論
2. judge with disapproval;point out the faults of 批評;指責
criticism
n. unfavorable judgment or expression of disapproval 批評;指責
curriculum
n. the program of study offered in a school, college, etc. 課程，大綱
factor
n. any of the facts, conditions, influences, etc. that act with others to bring about a result 因素，要素
outstanding
a. 1. better than others, very good 杰出的;優秀的
2. easily seen, important 顯要的;重要的
*heritage
n. a tradition, custom, or quality which is passed down over many years within a family, social group, or nation and which is thought of as belonging to all its members 繼承物，遺產;傳統
philosophy
n. 哲學
sage
n. sb., esp. an old man or historical person, known for his wisdom and long experience 圣賢;哲人
primary
a. 1. chief, main 主要的
2. earliest in time or order of development 最初的
ingredient
n. 1. one of the essential parts of a situation 因素;要素
2. 成分
central
a. 1. chief, main, of greatest importance 主要的，最重要的
2. being (at, in, or near) the center (位居)中心的
*orientation
n. a direction or position 取向;方位;定位
*repay
vt. reward;pay back 償還;回報
obligation
n. sth. that one must do out of a duty or promise 義務;責任
guilt
n. 1. the feelings produced by knowledge or belief that one has done wrong 內疚
2. the fact of having broken a moral rule or official law 罪(行)
bond
n. 1. sth. that unites two or more people, or groups, such as a shared feeling or interest 聯結;聯系
2. 公債，債券
3. 合約
crawl
vi. & n. 爬(行)
horrify
vt. shock greatly;fill with horror 嚇;使感驚駭
unhealthy
a. 1. likely to cause illness or poor health 有礙健康的
2. not very strong or well, often ill 體弱多病的，不結實的，不健康的
*naivea. 1. too willing to believe or trust 輕信的
2. without experience (as of social rules or behaviour), esp. because one is young 幼稚的;天真的
*transplant
vt. move sth. from one place and plant, settle or establish elsewhere 移植;移居
recommendation
n. 1. suggestion, piece of advice 建議
2. 推薦信
vacation
n. (esp. AmE) holiday 假期;休假
vastly
ad. 1. very greatly 非常大地
2. 廣闊地
vast
a. 1. very large and wide 廣闊的;廣大的
2. great in amount 大量的
positive
a. 1. (of people) sure, having no doubt about sth. 無疑問的;確定的
2. certain, beyond any doubt 肯定的
3. (of a statement) direct 正面的
span
n. 1. the length of time over which a stated thing continues or works well 持續時間
2. 跨度;跨距
attention span
a length of time over which one can concentrate 注意力的持續時間
Phrases and Expressions
make it (to) (a place)
succeed in getting (to) (a place) 成功抵達某地
owe to
have (sth. good) because of 把…歸功于…
imbue with
(use. pass.) fill (sb), with (sth.), esp. a strong feeling or opinion [常被動] 向…灌輸…
by contrast
very differently (from sth. previously mentioned);on the other hand 對比之下
get ahead
be successful in one's career 獲得成功;出頭
have what it takes
(infml.) have the qualifications necessary for success 具備取得成功的必要條件
spring from
be a product or result of;originate from 發源于;來自
can't wait (for sth.)
be excited about and eager (for sth.) 迫不及待，等不及
Proper Names
Fox Butterfield
富克斯·巴特菲爾德
Trinh Kim-Chi
鄭金枝(越南人名)
Vietnam
n. 越南
San Diego
圣地亞哥(美國港市，位于加利福尼亞州南部)
Patrick Henry High School
帕特里克·亨利中學
Cornell University
康奈爾大學(美國紐約州一大學)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
(美國)馬薩諸塞州理工學院(或譯麻省理工學院)
IQ
intelligence quotient 智商
Cambodian
a. 柬埔寨的
University of Michigan
(美國)密歇根大學
Harold W. Stevenson
哈羅德·W·斯蒂文森
Minneapolis
明尼阿波利斯 (美國明尼蘇達州東南部城市)
Taipei
臺北(臺灣省)
Sendai
仙臺(日本本州島東北岸港市)
Confucianism
n. 孔子學說，儒學
Confucius
孔子
Confucian
n. & a. 孔子(的);儒學(的);孔子信徒;儒士
Protestant
n. & a. 新教徒;新教(教徒)的
Lee Don
李·唐
全新版大學英語綜合教程
The features of Illinois are not striking; they do not leap to the eye but lie flat and at first appear monotonous. The roads are wide, hard, perfect, sometimes of a shallow depth in the far distance but so nearly level as to make you feel that the earth really is flat. From east and west, travelers dart across these prairies into the huge horizons and through cornfields that go on forever; giant skies, giant clouds, an eternal nearly featureless sameness. You find it hard to travel slowly. The endless miles pressed flat by the ancient glacier seduce you into speeding. As the car eats into the distances you begin gradually to feel that you are riding upon the floor of the continent, the very bottom of it, low and flat, and an impatient spirit of movement, of overtaking and urgency passes into your heart.
伊利諾伊的地貌平平常常，沒有引人注目之處。平坦的地勢，初初看來單調乏味。道路寬闊堅實，毫無損毀，有時遙看有個不深的凹陷，可差不多全是那么平坦，你禁不住以為地球實際上是平的。從東到西，從西到東，旅人飛快地駛過茫茫大草原，駛向蒼茫天際，穿過一望無際的玉米地;高不可測的蒼穹，碩大的云朵，老是幾乎平淡無奇、千篇一律。你很難緩慢地行駛。被古冰川擠壓得平平坦坦的無盡長路誘使你加快車速。汽車漸行漸遠，你這才開始逐步意識到自己正穿行在北美大陸的底部，地勢最低之處，既低又平坦，這時一種亟欲行進、急著想超車的焦躁情緒在心頭滋生。
Miles and miles of prairie, slowly rising and falling, sometimes give you a sense that something is in the process of becoming, or that the liberation of a great force is imminent, some power, like Michelangelo's slave only half released from the block of stone. Conceivably the mound-building Indians believed their resurrection would coincide with some such liberation, and built their graves in imitation of the low moraines deposited by the departing glaciers. But they have not yet been released and remain drowned in their waves of earth. They have left their bones, their flints and pots, their place names and tribal names and little besides except a stain, seldom vivid, on the consciousness of their white successors.
連綿不斷的大草原徐徐起伏，有時會讓你覺得有什么東西正在生成，或是即刻將有偉力釋放，某種力，一如米開朗琪羅的奴隸雕像只浮現半個身形�？梢韵胂螅瞄L構筑土墩的印第安人相信人的死而復生會與某種類似的釋放同時發生，所以他們在建造墓塋時模仿離去的冰川積下的低矮冰磧。然而，他們迄今未能復蘇，仍掩埋在泥土中。他們留下了自己的尸骸、燧石、壺罐、地名和部落名，此外就沒留下什么，除了白人后繼者的意識中并不清晰的污痕。
The soil of the Illinois prairies is fat, rich and thick. After spring plowing it looks oil-blackened or colored by the soft coal which occurs in great veins throughout the state. In the fields you frequently see a small tipple, or a crazy-looking device that pumps oil and nods like the neck of a horse at a quick walk.... () Along the roads, with intervals between them as neat and even as buttons on the cuff, sit steel storage bins, in form like the tents of Mongolia. They are filled with grain. And the elevators and tanks, trucks and machines that crawl over the fields and blunder over the highways -- whatever you see is productive. It creates wealth, it stores wealth, it is wealth.
伊利諾伊大草原上，土壤肥沃、豐產而深厚。春耕之后，泥土油亮烏黑，像是被遍布全州的大礦脈里松軟的煙煤染過似的。田野上你常�？吹揭环N小型翻卸車，一種樣子滑稽的抽油用的裝置，就像飛奔中馬匹的頸部上下抖動…… 沿途聳立著形似蒙古包的鐵皮谷倉，它們之間的間距如同袖口的紐扣般排列得整齊劃一。里面儲滿了谷物。還有升降機、儲藏罐、卡車、機器緩慢地行駛在田野上，笨拙地奔走在公路上――你所見到的一切都能產生經濟效益。這塊土地創造財富，這塊土地儲存財富，這塊土地本身就是財富。
As you pass the fields, you see signs the farmers have posted telling in short code what sort of seed they have planted. The farmhouses are seldom at the roadside, but far within the fields. The solitude and silence are deep and wide. Then, when you have gone ten or twenty miles through cornfields without having seen a living thing, no cow, no dog, scarcely even a bird under the hot sky, suddenly you come upon a noisy contraption at the roadside, a system of contraptions, rather, for husking the corn and stripping the grain. It burns and bangs away, and the conveyor belts rattle....
當你穿過田野時，你見到農場主張貼的指示牌，上面用簡短的標記寫明他們播下的是什么種子。農舍通常不在路邊，而是建在田野深處。那份寂寥和靜謐既深沉又廣大。當你穿行在玉米田間，行駛了十里，二十里，卻看不到一個活物，看不到�？床坏焦罚B晴熱天空下的飛鳥也難見到，這時，突如其來地，你會見到路旁有個發出噪聲的新奇的機械裝置，或者說是一組機械裝置，那是用來剝玉米殼碾谷的。它熱得燙手，不停地砰砰作響，傳送帶咯嚓喀嚓地在運行……
When you leave, this noise and activity are cut off at one stroke: you are once more in the deaf, hot solitude of trembling air, alone in the cornfields.
你一走開，這聲響，這動靜就倏然消失：你重新回到那份無聲的灼人的寂寥之中，呼吸顫動的空氣，回到玉米田間，孤身一人……
North, south, east and west, there is no end to them. They line roads and streams and hem in the woods and surround towns, and they crowd into back yards and edge up to gas stations. () An exotic stranger might assume he had come upon a race of corn worshipers who had created a corn ocean;or that he was among a people who had fallen in love with infinite repetition of the same details, like the builders of skyscrapers in New York and Chicago who have raised up bricks and windows by the thousands, and all alike. From corn you can derive notions of equality, or uniformity, massed democracy. You can, if you are given to that form of mental play, recall Joseph's brethren in the lean years, and think how famine has been conquered here and super-abundance itself become such a danger that the Government has to take measures against it.
東南西北，四面八方的玉米地望不到邊。路邊、溪邊都種了玉米，林子、城鎮四周也都種了玉米，玉米種滿后院，甚至擠到了加油站。異鄉客會以為自己來到了一個創建起玉米海洋的對玉米頂禮膜拜的民族，或以為自己身處那些偏愛無休止地重復同樣細節的人們之中，就如同紐約、芝加哥那些摩天高樓的建造者，他們壘萬磚安千窗，全都一個模樣。在玉米田間，你可以獲得平等的觀念、劃一的觀念、大眾民主的觀念。如果你好做這類腦力游戲，你可以回想一下遇到荒年的約瑟夫兄弟，想一想在這里饑饉是如何被鏟除的，過剩本身又如何成為一種危險，政府不得不對其采取措施。
The power, the monotony, the oceanic extent of the cornfields do indeed shrink up and dwarf the past. How are you to think of the small bands of Illini, Ottawas, Cahokians, Shawnee, Miamis who camped in the turkey grass, and the French Jesuits who descended the Mississippi and found them. () When you force your mind to summon them, the Indians appear rather doll-like in the radiance of the present moment. They are covered in the corn, swamped in the oil, hidden in the coal of Franklin County, run over by the trains, turned phantom by the stockyards. There are monuments to them...throughout the state, but they are only historical ornaments to the pride of the present...
玉米地所展現的那種震撼力、那種千篇一律、浩瀚無垠的確使過去變得渺小。你不妨回想一下那些在草地設營的小群印第安人：伊里尼人、奧塔瓦人、卡豪凱揚人、肖尼人、邁阿密人，也不妨回想一下順密西西比河而下、發現他們的法國耶穌會教徒。當你凝神回顧這些昔日的印第安人時，他們在今日的輝煌之前顯得猶如玩偶。他們被玉米掩沒，被石油淹沒，被富蘭克林縣的煤埋沒，被火車碾過，化作了在牲畜圍場近旁出沒的幽靈。為他們建的紀念碑……遍布全州，但這些不過是為今日的榮耀添彩的歷史點綴……
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