英语朗诵比赛供选篇目.doc

长江师范学院2011年大学生英语朗诵比赛诵读材料共9篇（去掉了第3 篇，以便统一在同一个难度系数上）On LearningLearning is ones own business, which cannot rely on others. As we know, learning is a process of accumulating knowledge. It is ones life-long task, which cannot be accomplished in one move. A successful learner is an independent one who has both an indomitable (unyielding) will and amazing endurance. He will try to discover his own way of learning. Instead of waiting for the teachers help, he will make efforts to create favorable conditions on his own initiative. It will certainly be of great help, if there is good environment, sufficient books and equipment, as well as instructions from teachers and beneficial friends. But even if one has got all these favorable conditions, one cannot be sure to succeed in learning.So the most important factor in learning consists in ones own effort. To learn is rather a painstaking and persevering business. Many a man is a failure because he cannot bear such indispensable hardships. Unremitting (never stopping) efforts can compensate for the lack of talents and thus enable one to get considerable progress in learning.Passage 2（难度系数：1）For all the wonderful things the Internet has brought us, people still cant do the simple things like reaching out and touching someone else. Or can they? When the Internet was first introduced, it was completely textual. Words could be transmitted to one another but nothing more. But as the World Wide Web came online, people could share images of what they were talking about. As technology progressed, those images became “real-time” in the form of web-cameras and video links. Along with that came the ability to hear and communicate with voice.While the Internet has met the needs of sight and sound, it has not reached touch, taste, and smell yet. Several groups out there are trying to break those barriers. Immersion is developing a system called TouchSense. With the plug-in they provide for free at their site and the correct type of mouse, one can actually “feel” the sensation of rolling over different things online. Passage 4（难度系数NegotiatioA negotiation is a give-and-take proposition. For it to end in a positive manner it must be a win-win situation for both parties. It is not a game where there is only a winner and a loser. The goal of negotiations is not a dead competitor. That is not to say that competition is not needed in negotiations. In fact, competition is an ingredient for a healthy negotiation. That way, each party will raise its competence level and the final agreement will be a more meaningful one. Negotiations have to be looked on as a cooperative enterprise in which both parties feel that they have gained. If the outcome of a negotiation ends up in a lopsided “victory” for one side, you can rest assured that such settlement will not stick and those negotiations would have been futile. Pushing your opponent to the ropes might not be wise. There is a point where your opponent will simply decide that there is no gain in negotiating with you and abandon the whole process. Passage 5（难度系数：1）Knowledge and PowerKnowledge and power are the two things most desired by man. There is close connection between these two things. The man, having done his best in acquiring knowledge, will easily get a high position and perform it successfully.Power depends on knowledge. Knowledge to power is just like a compass to a ship, by which her sailing is made safely across an unknown ocean. A great statesman or a learned scholar can render (give) his good services to his country just because he has perfect and profound knowledge.Power only follows knowledge. A man cannot do anything well unless he has some information as how to do it well. A man will sometimes lose his way in a strange land; an apprentice cannot produce any delicate work. Why are these so? Because they are in want of knowledge. If the apprentice wishes to produce good work, he must pay attention to his instructors advice.We are all the future masters of our country. Our country needs our services. How can we fulfill our future tasks? To get more knowledge is the only answer.Passage 6（难度系数：1）Try to Be a Good StudentPerhaps it is the dream of everyone to be a good student at school, but quite a few students feel at a loss on how to make it. In my opinion it is rather easy if you can act on the following points.First of all, make full use of your time and work hard. Dont put off till tomorrow what should be done today, as time past will never come back. The fast developing society requires adequate knowledge, which presses us to spare no efforts to study. Of course, your hard work will be rewarded one day.Secondly, use your own head and present your point of view. Credulous（轻信的）attitude will only make you take anything for granted. With your own judgment you will be able to tell right from wrong and set up your own theory.Thirdly, set aside enough time for relaxation, entertainment, etc. dont ignore the harm of all work and no play. Proper sports will build up your body and improve the efficiency of your studying.To be a good student is easier said than done, for it needs a students consistent efforts. But nothing is difficult to a man if he puts his heart into it.Passage 7（难度系数：1）Ability and Gook LooksOld people usually tell the young, “Dont judge a person by his appearance.” Meaning ability is more important than appearance. Indeed, weve seen so many brilliant but not at all good-looking people. In the film Mozart, an opera singer reiterates (repeat) this view by saying, “For a woman of taste, it is not the looks, but the talent that interests me.” For her, the preference shows ones taste.However, nowadays, with more and more interviewers putting much emphasis on the looks, the appearance of the job-applicants, a lot of people come to the conclusion that appearance is more important than ability because many beautiful girls acquire very good positions although they dont have much talent.In my opinion, ability is definitely much more important than good looks, because it demonstrates ones own self-cultivation. It bespeaks (show) the efforts and the glory of acquiring something through ones hard work whereas a good look bespeaks no struggle of the individual. Good looks are pleasant, but I like the ability because it really shows something of my own self.Passage 8（难度系数：1）The DictionaryThe dictionary is a living teacher. Whenever you come across a new word, just consult it and you will get a clear definition. Every student, whether attending school or self-taught, should always have a dictionary at hand. As a study aid, it is convenient, inexpensive and almost omniscient (all-knowing).Language skills will develop with your constant use of various dictionaries. The more you use them, the more familiar you will become with them. Sooner or later, you will be quite skilled in finding the page, scanning the entries and locating the exact meanings of the new words. But you should have one thing in mind. As a language student, you can never become too much attached to dictionaries; basic language skills do not come from dictionaries, but from your practice. Expose yourself to the language by listening, speaking, reading and writing more, and that is the only way to the mastery of a language.Passage 9（难度系数：1）Water“Water, which is essential for life, costs nothing. On the other hand, diamonds, which are essential for nothing, cost a lot.” Unfortunately, the world has changed considerably since an 18th century economist made this remark. What was true over 200 years ago is certainly no longer true now. In a number of countries people pay as much for water in their homes as they do for electricity. What is still true, however, is the remark made by Benjamin Franklin at the same time as the previous observation was made. “When the wells dry, we know the worth of water,” he observed. Like health, we ignore water when we have it - unless there are floods, of course. Once there is a threat to our water supply, however, water can quickly become the only thing that matters. We know only too well that, without water, there can be no life. The situation is now becoming so bad that environmentalists feel it may be necessary to shock the world into saving water in a similar way to the shock caused by the oil crisis in the 1970s. Passage 10（难度系数：1）We Have Only One WorldWhen industries grow, p