新标准大学英语4课文summary

Unit1 reading2 if you ask meThis is an informal and personalized account of an economic graduate who gets a job in a pub for a year and then has an opportunity to be successful (a lucky break). Since her family cant support her to further study, she has to work. She has financial problems and feels lonely. She tells her troubles to Tony, a regular customer of the pub, who talks to some friends and gets her a loan to set up a business. With this help she has her masters degree and her own company. however, unluckliy,Tony is disabled after an accident and needs the repayment of the loan to adapt his house for his disability. She pay back Tonys help, and Tony thinks that investing in people gives the best return you can ever hope for.Unit2 reading1Reading is a life-changing activity. It helps us enter a new world and liberate us from the real world we come from; it stimulates our emotions and allows us enjoy and celebrate the variety and difference from books; it aids us to get out of confusion in a material world and to discover the real meaning of the life. Simply put, books are supremely influential in the way we live. Homerun book might be the answer for the book that everyone should read. It describes the first reading experience that induces such pleasure and satisfaction that you cannot put it down and it may range from the classics to the most recent. Everyone is looking for their own homerun books. And what is yours? Unit2 reading2Henry Miller depicts the struggle he made to obtain books when he was young, and then introduces the reason that makes a book live-that is, the enthusiastic recommendation of one reader to another. In his eyes, books are one of the few things men cherished deeply, but if you lend it to others, it makes friends for you. He continues to suggest that the vast majority of books repeat what others say, so read as little as possible. He then advices such a way to test his suggestion-that is, leave a book alone, but think as intensely as possible and if you decide to read, observe with what extraordinary acumen you read it and realize that very little of the books is really new to you.Unit3 reading1Between 1960 and 2010, there are two constant factors:the ubiquitous jeans and the rise and fall of hemlines for womens skirts and dresses.Jeans were invented by Levi Strauss in the mid-19th century in America. But it soon became popular among young people. In late 1950s, it export to Europe and Asia. The most important development in fashion in the1960s was the miniskirt invented by Mary, Quant.Hemlines were related to the economy. Whenever the economic outlook is unsettled, both men and women tend to wear more conservative clothes. And as the economy situation changed, time saw a number of different styles. Sometimes the hemline can even predicted a change in the mood of the stock market long before it actually happens. And it was proved in the economic crisis in 2008.During the whole period, fashion styles have ranged widely. But the constant factors over this period are denim and hemlines.Unit3 reading2Sea glass is popular among the jewellery collectors for several reasons. First, the creation of sea glass is a form of recycling , where nature compensates for mans folly. Second, with human recycling rather than hurling it into the sea, sea glass becomes rarer than diamonds, its supply is in decline while its demand is on the rise. This leads to its boom in the market. Third, its eco-credentials lend sea glass further appeal, as gold extraction damages the environment and diamond industry has a poor human rights record. So the designers would like to put sea glass to use. Gina Cowen became a sea glass jeweller after her stints in journalism and music management in her 20s and 30s. While sea glass is disappearing, she is still on the hunt. Gina Cowens collection started in her walk along a shingle beach near Capetown, South Africa, where she was born. She has several hunting grounds, South Africa, Fiji, Majorca in Spain, and the UK. But her favourite one is Seaham Beach in the UK. Her designs were sold at Liberty, London, but mostly she sells her jewellery to private customers.With the decline of sea glass in supply, there has arisen problem of reviving old habits of dumping glass into the sea. Gina Cowen refuses to condone it and she even rejects the idea of polishing new glass to make it look old, as there is a story behind sea glass. So follow Cowens example and search for glowing pebbles before they vanish. Unit4 reading1Today, we are caught in the credit crunch because banks set traps which appeal to our vanity and greed and sometimes to our basic need for survival. The banks give a false sense of superiority to people with exclusive gold credit cards in hard. They target people who are prone to impulse-buying, and potentially bad credit risks, tempted to spend more than they have, and liable to fall behind with repayments. They lure impoverished students with unrealistic interest rates. They charge people who go over the limit the exorbitant interest but omit to tell them the interest paid is not for the debt, but for the overspend of the overdraft. By attracting us with their endless publicity for loans of money, the banks earn money.So how to get ourselves out of the traps? Lay out all of your credit cards in a line, take a large pair of scissors and cut them into small pieces. Then the banks have no potential to tempt money away from you.Unit4 reading2Whats the key to Wedded bliss? Money matters. Marriage at its core is a financial union. To preserve their marital assets and their union, couples had better share similar outlooks on money matters or, at the very least, find some middle ground. Otherwise, money will be a huge factor in breaking up marriages.However, not everyone is lucky to get married to a financial twin. To become more compatible with their significant other and ultimately more prosperous, couples need follow these guidelines: talking and sharing goals; running a home like a business, that is, making a budget and keeping track of earnings, expenses and debts, making big financial decisions and setting goals together; being supportive of careers; enjoying, but within reason; using a mediator while having strong yet divergent opinions. Maintaining some financial independence; spending time and money together as a kind of investment in marriage.Unit5 reading1Researchers have found that men gossip as much as women and men spend much more time talking about themselves. However, men dont admit they gossip, instead they define it as exchanging information.The reason why female gossip actually sounds like gossip is that there seem to be three principal factors involved. Firstly, the tone rule. Women adopt a tone which is high and quick, or sometimes a stage whisper, bue always highly animated, while men gossip in the same flat, unemotional manner as any other piece of information.Secondly, the detailed rule. For women, a detailed speculation about possible motives, causes and outcomes is crucial. However, men find all this detail boring, irrelevant and unmanly. Thirdly, the freedback rule. Female listeners are required to be at least as animated and enthusiastic as speakers. However, men who respond in such a manner would be considered inappropriately girly, or even disturbingly effeminate. For them, a suitable expletive is better to convey their surprise.Unit5 reading2Women constanly have to make choices about dress and appearance, and even the way they sign their names, which lead people to make judgments about them. A woman without a particular hair style is considered careless about how she looks and can be disqualified for many positions. Tig