大学英语文化背景知识学习(1).doc

大学英语文化背景知识阅读1Highways in U.S.AThe United States is well-known for its network (1) of major highways designed to help a driver get from one place to another in the shortest possible time. Although these wide modern roads are generally direct, smooth and well-maintained (2) they are not always the most enjoyable one. Large highways often pass by scenic (3) areas and interesting small towns. Furthermore, these highways generally connect large urban (4) centers which means they would become crowded (5) with heavy traffic during rush hours. However, if you are not in a hurry, you can choose another route (6). Not far from the new superhighways, there are often older, less heavily traveled roads which go through the countryside. These secondary (7) routes may go up steep (8) slopes, along high cliffs (9) or down frightening hill sides to towns lying in deep valleys. Through these less direct routes, longer and slower, they generally go to places where the air is clean and the scenery (10) is beautiful, and the driver may have a chance to get a fresh, clean view of the world.1. networkn.网络2. well-maintainedadj.保养良好的3. scenicadj.风景优美的4. urbanadj.都市的5. crowdedadj.拥挤的6. routen.路线7. secondaryadj.次要的8. steepn.陡峭的9. cliffn.悬崖10. sceneryn.风景，景色美国的公路 美国的公路系统能够让司机以最短的时间在地区之间穿行。尽管这些宽阔的现代公路通常是笔直、顺畅并且养护良好的，但是，他们也并不总是那么令人愉悦。主要的公路常常穿过风景区和有趣的小镇。还有，这些公路通常连接大的城市，这意味着在高峰时段这些道路将变得异常拥挤。 然而，如果你不着急赶时间，你可以选择另一条路线。距离新修建的高速公路旁边通常都有古老的，穿过乡村的车辆不多的公路。走这些路线可能要翻过陡峭的坡，沿着悬崖和山脉，深入到山谷。走这些绕弯的，花费更长时间的道路，你就可以到达那些空气清新，风景优美的地方。司机也可以看到新鲜的纯净的风景。2Cars in USAHenry Ford was the man who first started making cars in large numbers. He probably didnt know how much the car was going to affect (1) American culture(2) The car made the United States a nation on wheels. (3) And it helped make the United States what it is today.There are three main reasons why the car became so popular in the United States. First of all the country is a huge one and Americans like to move around in it. The car provides the most comfortable and cheapest form of transportation. With a car people can go any place without spending a lot of money.The second reason cars are so popular (4) is the fact that the United States never really developed an efficient (5) and inexpensive (6) form of public transportation. (7) Long-distance trains have never been as common in the United States as they are in other parts of the world. Nowadays there is a good system of air-service provided by planes. (8) But it is too expensive to be used frequently.The third reason is the most important one, though. The American spirit of independence is what really made cars popular. (9) Americans dont like to wait for a bus, or a train or even a plane. They dont like to have to follow an exact schedule. A car gives them the freedom that Americans want most to have(10)1. affect影响2. culture文化3. wheel轮子4. popular流行的5. efficient有效率的6. inexpensive便宜的7. transportation交通8. Nowadays there is a good system of air-service provided by planes.如今飞机为我们提供了良好的空中服务系统。9. The American spirit of independence is what really made cars popular.美国人的独立精神是使私家车受欢迎的真正原因。10. A car gives them the freedom that Americans want most to have.汽车带给美国人他们最想要的自由。美国的汽车 亨利福特是第一个大规模制造汽车的人。他可能不知道汽车将极大地影响美国的文化。汽车使美国成为一个车轮上的国家。它也帮助美国取得今天的成绩。汽车在美国之所以这么普及主要有三个原因。首先，这个国家土地辽阔，美国人喜欢到处走走。汽车是最舒适和最便宜的交通工具。有了汽车，人们就可以无需花费很多钱去任何一个地方。第二个原因，美国根本没发展一种便宜有效的公共交通工具。在美国长途火车不像世界上其他地方那样普遍。如今，飞机提供了良好的空中飞行服务。但是由于价格太贵使人们不会频繁地乘坐。第三个原因也是最重要的原因。美国人的独立精神使汽车很普及。美国人不喜欢等公共汽车、火车甚至飞机。他们不喜欢按精确的时间表做事。汽车给与美国人最想要的自由。3The United NationsIn 1954, representatives (1) of 50 nations met to plan this organization (2). It is called the United Nations. After the war, many more nations joined. There are two major (3) parts of the United Nations. One is called the General Assembly. In the General Assembly, every member nation is represented (4) and has an equal (5) vote. The second part is called the Security (6) Council. It has representatives of just 15 nations. Five nations are permanent (7) members: the United States, Russia, France, Britain, and China. The 10 other members are elected (8) every two years by the General Assembly. (9) The major job of the Security Council (10) is to keep peace in the world. If necessary, it can send troops from member nations to try to stop little wars before they turn into big ones. 11. representativen.代表12. organizationn.组织13. majorn.专业14. representv.代表15. equaladj.平等的16. securityn.安全17. permanentadj.永久的18. electv.选举19. assemblyn.大会，集会20. counciln.委员会联合国1954年，来自50个国家的代表聚会筹备组建联合国。战后，更多的国家加入进来。联合国由两个主要部分组成。一个被称为大会。在联合国大会，每一个成员国都派代表，每个代表拥有平等的投票权。另一个被称为安理会。它是由15个国家组成。其中有5个常任理事国：美国、俄罗斯、法国、英国和中国。其他10个成员国每两年由联合国大会选举一次。安理会的主要工作是维护世界和平。如果有必要，安理会可以从成员国派兵，阻止小的动乱以防它演变成大规模战争。4IndustrializationThird World countries often mistakenly decide to permit (1) rapid industrialization (2). When this industrialization occurs, many new factories open, and workers get jobs. Unfortunately, many of these new jobs are not permanent. The leaders of an industry want their factories to be as productive (3) as possible, and they will do anything to achieve that goal. Whenever they can they take advantage of automation (4), which means that workers are replaced by a more efficient (5) machine. As a result, a worker trained for a specific factory job becomes unemployed, and profits (6) of the factory owners are maximized.Many experts in Third world economies are concerned about rapid industrialization because it brings problems as well as progress (7). Citizens of these countries need jobs that will last, not jobs that are temporary (8). In the opinion of these economists (9), the leaders of Third World countries should be aware (10) of the dangers as well as the advantages of rapid industrialization. permit v. 允许1. industrializationn. 工业化2. productiveadj.高产的3. automobilen.汽车4. efficientadj.有效率的5. profitn.利润6. progressn.进步7. temporaryadj.暂时的8. economistn.经济学家9. awareadj.有意识的 工业化 第三世界国家总是错误地决定允许工业化快速地发展。当这种工业化进程开始的时候，很多新的工厂被建立，工人找到工作。不幸的是，这些新的工作大都不是永久性的。工厂的老板希望他们的工厂越高产越好。为了实现这一目标，他们会去做任何事情。每当他们可以利用自动化的时候，工人就被更加有效率的机器所取代。结果，接受过工厂专门训练的工人就失业了，工厂主的利润达到了最大化。第三世界的很多经济学家对快速的工业化进程非常关注，因为这不仅带来进步而且也带来了问题。这些国家的居民需要长久性而不是临时性的工作。这些第三世界的领导人应该认识到快速工业化的好处和弊端5GlobalizationGlobalization refers to (1) the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers toeconomics: the global distribution(2) of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers tointernational trade(3) such astariffs(4), export fees, andimport quotas. Globalization (5) accompanied and allegedly contributed to (6) economic growth in developed and developing countries through increased specialization and the principle ofcomparative advantage.The term can also refer to the transnational circulation of ideas, languages, andpopular culture. The distances are shrinking between continents and countries due to (7) globalization, causing developing and developed countries to find ways to solve problems on a global rather than regional scale. Agencies like the United Nations now must be the global regulators of pollution, whereas before, regional governance was enough. Opponents (8) of globalizationalleged that globalizations benefits have been overstated and its costs underestimated (9). Among other points, they argued that it decreased inter-cultural contact (10) while increasing the possibility of international and intra-national conflict.1. refer to所指2. distribution分配3. international trade国际贸易4. tariff关税5. globalization全球化6. contribute to做贡献7. due to由于8. opponent对手9. underestimate低估10. inter-cultural contact跨文化交流全球化全球化指的是日益密切的，全球性的文化、人口和经济活动之间的关系。大多数情况下，它指的是经济：通过减少国际贸易中诸如关税、出口费和进口配额之类的壁垒对产品生产和服务进行全球化的分配。全球化通过更加细化的分工和比较优势的原则，在发达国家和发展中国家能够促进经济的增长。这个术语也可以指观念、语言和流行文化的跨国循环。由于全球化，国家之间的距离缩短了。发展中国家和发达国家设法在全球范围而不是在区域范围内解决问题。像联合国这样的组织成为治理污染问题的全球性的监管者，以前，区域性的监管就足够了。全球化的反对者声称，全球化的好处被过分夸大了，弊端被低估了。他们认为全球化使一个文化体内部的接触减少了，然而却使国家之间冲突的可能性增加了。6Melting Pot and Salad Bowl Melting pot (1) means a place where people from many different ethnic groups or cultures form a united society. The idea comes from heating metals in a container. When they melt, the metals unite and become something new and stronger. The term has been used to describe (2) the United States as a nation created from people who came here from many different countries. For many years, Americans generally accepted the idea of their country as a melting pot. They welcomed immigrants (3) from many nations. Yet some of those immigrants criticized the melting pot idea. They felt they were forced to lose their culture and language in order to be accepted in America. Other people also criticized (4) the idea. They said the aim of the melting pot is to make different cultures disappear (5) into the one representing (6) the largest group.Some experts who study immigration (7) say they now compare American society not with(8) a melting pot, but with a salad (9) bowl. A salad is made of many different foods. They each keep their own taste while being part of a successful product. In this way, cultural groups keep their customs (10) and language and are still part of American society.1. melting pot大熔炉2. describe描述3. immigrant移民4. criticize批评5. disappear消失6. represent代表7. immigration移民8. comparewith和 相比较9. salad色拉10. customs风俗大熔炉和色拉碗大熔炉就是这样一个地方：来自不同种族或文化的人形成一个联合的社会。这个概念来源于在一个容器中把金属熔化。当他们熔化的时候，金属结合在一起并形成新的更加坚硬的东西。人们用这个术语来描述来自不同国家的人共同创造美国。多年以来，美国人普遍接受把他们的国家称为大熔炉。他们欢迎来自不同国家的移民。然而，有一些移民批评这种大熔炉的观点。他们感到，为了在美国得到认可，他们是被迫放弃自己的文化和语言。其他人也批评这个观点。他们说，大熔炉的目的是消除不同文化之间的差别而形成一个更大的文化体。一些移民专家说，他们现在不是将美国比作一个大熔炉，而是比作一个色拉碗。色拉是由不同的食物组成的。他们各自保持自己的风味，同时成为新菜品的一部分。这样一来，各个文化群体保有自己的风俗和语言，同时也成为美国社会的一个组成部分。7Establishment of StanfordA lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment (1) into the president of Harvards outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods country folk had not business at Harvard, and probably didnt even deserve to be in Cambridge. She frowned. ”We want to see the president,” the man said softly.” Hell be busy all day,” the secretary snapped.” Well wait,” the lady replied. For hours, the secretary ignored (2) them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didnt. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president. ”Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, theyll leave,” she told him. He signed in exasperation (3) and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didnt have the time to spend with nobodies, but he detested gingham and homespun suits cluttering his office. The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple. The lady told him, “We had a son that attended (4) Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard, and was very happy here. But about a year ago he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial (5) to him somewhere on campus. ”The president wasnt touched, and she was shocked, “Madam,” he said gruffly, ”we cant put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery. “Oh, no,” the lady explained quickly, “we dont want to erect a statue (6) .We thought we would give a building to Harvard.” The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, (7) “A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard.(8) For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, “Is that all it costs to start a university? Why dont we just start our own?” Her husband nodded. The presidents face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. (9) Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the university that bears their name a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about. You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.(10)1. appointment约会2. ignore忽视3. exasperation激怒4. attend参加5. memorial纪念馆6. statue雕像7. exclaim大喊8. We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard.我们在哈佛大学的硬件上花费七百五十万美元。9. The presidents face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. 校长的脸因为疑惑不解而失去了生气。10. You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who can do nothing for them or to them.你可以通过人们对待那些什么也不能为他们做的人的态度上来判断他们的性格。 不要以貌取人穿着退色的方格花布裙子的妇人和她穿着简朴的旧西装的丈夫在波士顿下了火车，小心翼翼地走向哈佛大学校长的办公室去赴一个约会。秘书马上就能判断出这样两个来自偏远地区的乡巴佬在哈佛能有什么事，甚至都不配待在剑桥。她皱着眉头。“我们想见校长。”男的轻声地说。“他一整天都会很忙。”秘书打断他。“我们会等的。”妇人回答。接下来的几个小时，秘书都没有理会他们，希望这样能打消他们的念头并让他们走人。他们并没走。秘书感到很是受挫，最后决定去通报校长。“可能他们就需要几分钟，然后就会离开。”她告诉校长。他恼怒地摆手示意让他们进来。他这样身份的人显然没有时间去答对这些小人物，但是他讨厌这些衣衫不整的人把办公室搞乱。表情严肃，面带威严的校长先生大摇大摆地走向夫妇俩。妇人告诉他，“我们有个儿子在哈佛上学有一年了。他很爱他的学校并且在这很开心。但是一年前，他出意外去世了。我丈夫和我想在校园里某个地方为他建一座纪念碑。”总统并不为之所动，“女士，我们不能为每一个哈佛死去的学生都建纪念碑。如果是这样的话，这里就会变成墓地。”校长粗暴地说。妇人很快解释道，“哦，不是这样的。我们并不想建座墓碑。我们想在哈佛建座大楼。”校长转了一下眼珠，打量这对衣着朴素的夫妇，然后大喊道，“大楼！你知道建一栋大楼要花多少钱吗？我们有750万美金用于哈佛的校舍建设。”妇人沉默了一会儿。校长很高兴地认为终于可以摆脱他们了。妇人转向她的丈夫，平静地说，“建一所大学就需要这些钱吗？既然是这样我们为什么不自己建一所大学呢？”她的丈夫点点头。校长一脸的困惑和不解。斯坦福夫妇走了。他们来到加州建立了一所用他们的名字命名的大学为了纪念他们被哈佛忽视的儿子。通过人们对待那些不能为他们做任何事情的人的态度，你可以轻松地判断一个人的性格。8Secure Large Buildings against Terrorist AttacksExperts are beginning to study ways to secure large buildings against terrorist (1) attacks. They are reacting to the attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center buildings in New York September 11th.The American Institute (2) of Steel Construction has created a working group of experts to investigate (3) the reasons the buildings fell. The AISC is the organization responsible (4) for developing the rules for the design of steel (5) buildings in the United States. Information (6) developed by the working group will help AISC decide if the design (7) rules should be changed.The South World Trade Center building fell 56 minutes after a passenger plane crashed (8) into it. The North building fell about 100 minutes after a similar crash. Each building was 410 meters tall. Experts say the buildings could not survive (9) the extremely hot fires caused by the airplane fuel (10).21. terroristn.恐怖分子22. instituten.机构23. investigatev.调查24. responsibleadj.负责任的25. steeln.钢26. informationn.信息27. designn.设计28. crashv.撞击29. survivev.生存30. fueln.燃料 保护高层建筑不受恐怖袭击专家正在研究保护高层建筑不受恐怖袭击的办法。这是他们在对摧毁世贸大厦的9.11事件做出回应。美国钢铁建筑研究所已经组建了一个专家团队来调查世贸大厦倒塌的原因。美国钢铁建筑研究所是负责制定美国钢铁建筑设计规范的组织。工作组收集到的信息将帮助研究所决定是否应该对规范进行调整。世贸大厦南侧大楼在被一架客机撞击后56分钟倒塌。北侧大楼在遭到同样的撞击100分钟以后倒塌。两栋大楼都是410米高。专家说大楼将被飞机燃料燃烧引起的大火烧毁。9Nobel PrizeA Nobel Prize is one of the most highly regarded (1) international honors a person can receive. These prizes were named after Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist and inventor (2). The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, five years after Nobels death. Many famous people from all over the world (3) have been awarded Nobel Prizes for their achievements. There are five different prizes: three in various sciences, one for literature, and the Peace Prize.Alfred Nobel became a very rich man as a result of (4) his inventions. He used part of his money to invest in oil (5) and became even more wealthy. However, in spite of his great wealth, he was not a happy man. He never married or had children. He died in 1896 and left all his money in a trust fund (6). This money is held by a group of people who run the Nobel Foundation which holds the money and gives the prizes.The prizes are awarded by the Nobel Foundation for outstanding achievements (7) every five years. A prize is given in chemistry, physics, medicine or physiology (8), literature and peace. Each prize has three parts. The first part is a gold medal (9). Second, a winner of a Nobel Prize is given a diploma (10) saying that he has been awarded the prize. The third part is a large amount of money. 1. be highly regarded被高度重视的2. chemist and inventor化学家和发明家3. all over the world全世界4. as a result of由于5. invest in oil投资石油6. a trust fund一家信托基金7. outstanding achievements杰出成就8. medicine or physiology医学或生理学9. a gold medal一块金牌10. a diploma一份获奖证书诺贝尔奖诺贝尔奖是人们能够获得的最受推崇的国际大奖之一。这些奖项是以瑞典化学家和发明家阿尔弗莱德 诺贝尔的名字来命名的。第一个诺贝尔奖在1901年诺贝尔死后五年被颁发。来自全世界的众多名人由于取得了杰出成就被授予诺贝尔奖。奖项分为五类：三项是不同的科学奖项，一项是文学奖，还有一项是和平奖。由于多项发明阿尔弗莱德诺贝尔成为一名有钱人。他用部分资金投资石油结果变得更为富有。然而，尽管财富众多，他却并不快乐，他一生未娶没有子女。1896年去世后他把所有的钱都留给了一家信托基金，由一群人专门成立了诺贝尔基金会来负责管理这笔钱并颁出奖项。每五年诺贝尔基金会都会给取得杰出成就的人士颁奖。其中化学、物理学、医学或生理学奖各一项，文学奖一项，和平奖一项。奖项包含三个部分：第一部分是一块金牌，第二部分是获奖人收到一份表明被授予诺贝尔奖的证书，第三部分则是一大笔奖金。10American ValuesTo Americans, industriousness, thrift and ambition are positive values. We encourage our children to be competitive (1), to get ahead, to make money, to acquire possession (2). In games and in business alike, the aim is to win the game, the trophy (3), and the contract. We go in for laborsaving devices, gadgets, speed and shortcuts (4). We think every young couple should set up a home of their own. And we pity (5) the couple who must share their home with their parent, let alone with other relatives (6). Actually, of course, not all Americans hold all these values. And those who do may hold other, and at times contradictory (7) values that affect their ways of behaving. In the main, however, the collective expectation (8) of our society is that these are desirable (9) goals, and the ind