新视野大学英语第二版第四册读写教程课文原文

1、Unit1Para1 An artist who seeks fame is like a dog chasing his own tail who, when he captures it, does not know what else to do but to continue chasing it.The cruelty of success is that it often leads those who seek such success to participate in their own destruction.Para2 "Don't quit your

2、day job!" is advice frequently given by understandably pessimistic family members and friends to a budding artist who is trying hard to succeed. The conquest of fame is difficult at best, and many end up emotionally if not financially bankrupt. Still, impure motives such as the desire for worsh

3、ipping fans and praise from peers may spur the artist on. The lure of drowning in fame's imperial glory is not easily resisted.Para3 Those who gain fame most often gain it as a result of exploiting their talent for singing, dancing, painting, or writing, etc. They develop a style that agents mar

4、ket aggressively to hastenpopularity, and their ride on the express elevator to the top is a blur. Most would be hard-pressed to tell you how they even got there. Artists cannot remain idle, though. When the performer, painter or writer becomes bored, their work begins to show a lack of continuity i

5、n its appeal and it becomes difficult to sustain the attention of the public. After their enthusiasm has dissolved, the public simply moves on to the next flavor of the month. Artists who do attempt to remain current by making even minute changes to their style of writing, dancing or singing, run a

6、significant risk of losing the audience's favor. The public simply discounts styles other than those for which the artist has become famous.Para4 Famous authors' styles a Tennessee Williams play or a plot by Ernest Hemingway or a poem by Robert Frost or T.S. Eliotare easily recognizable.The

7、same is true of painters like Monet, Renoir, or Dali and moviemakers like Hitchcock, Fellini, Spielberg, Chen Kaige or Zhang Yimou. Their distinct styles marked a significant change in form from others and gained them fame and fortune. However, they paid for it by giving up the freedom to express th

8、emselves with other styles or forms.Para5 Fame's spotlight can be hotter than a tropical junglea fraud is quickly exposed, and the pressure of so much attention is too much for most to endure.It takes you out of yourself: You must be what the public thinks you are, not what you really are or cou

9、ld be. The performer, like the politician, must often please his or her audiences by saying things he or she does not mean or fully believe.Para6 One drop of fame will likely contaminate the entire well of a man's soul, and so an artist who remains true to himself or herself is particularly amaz

10、ing. You would be hard-pressed to underline many names of those who have not compromised and still succeeded in the fame game. An example, the famous Irish writer Oscar Wilde, known for his uncompromising behavior, both social and sexual, to which the public objected, paid heavily for remaining true

11、 to himself. The mother of a young man Oscar was intimate with accused him at a banquet in front of his friends and fans of sexually influencing her son. Extremely angered by her remarks, he sued the young man's mother, asserting that she had damaged his "good" name. He should have hir

12、ed a better attorney, though. The judge did not second Wilde's call to have the woman pay for damaging his name, and instead fined Wilde. He ended up in jail after refusing to pay, and evenworse, was permanently expelled from the wider circle of public favor. When things were at their worst, he

13、found that no one was willing to risk his or her name in his defense. His price for remaining true to himself was to be left alone when he needed his fans the most.Para7 Curiously enough, it is those who fail that reap the greatest reward: freedom! They enjoy the freedom to express themselves in uni

14、que and original ways without fear of losing the support of fans. Failed artists may find comfort in knowing that many great artists never found fame until well after they had passed away or in knowing that they did not sell out. They may justify their failure by convincing themselves their genius i

15、s too sophisticated for contemporary audiences.Para8 Single-minded artists who continue their quest for fame even after failure might also like to know that failure has motivated some famous people to work even harder to succeed. Thomas Wolfe, the American novelist, had his first novel Look Homeward

16、, Angel rejected 39 times before it was finally published. Beethoven overcame his father, who did not believe that he had any potential as a musician, to become the greatest musician the world. And Pestalozzi, the famous Swiss educator in the 19th century, failed at every job he ever had until he ca

17、me upon the idea of teaching children and developing the fundamental theories to produce a new form of education. Thomas Edison was thrown out of school in the fourth grade, because he seemed to his teacher to be quite dull. Unfortunately for most people, however, failure is the end of their struggl

18、e, not the beginning.Para9 I say to those who desperately seek fame and fortune: good luck. But alas, you may find that it was not what you wanted. The dog who catches his tail discovers that it is only a tail. The person who achieves success often discovers that it does more harm than good. So inst

19、ead of trying so hard to achieve success, try to be happy with who you are and what you do. Try to do work that you can be proud of. Maybe you won't be famous in your own lifetime, but you may create better art.Unit2Para1 He was born in a poor area of South London. He wore his mother's old r

20、ed stockings cut down for ankle socks. His mother was temporarily declared mad.Dickens might have created Charlie Chaplin's childhood. But only Charlie Chaplin could have created the great comic character of "the Tramp", the little man in rags who gave his creator permanent fame.Para2

21、Other countriesFrance, Italy, Spain, even Japanhave provided more applause (and profit) where Chaplin is concerned than the land of his birth.Chaplin quit Britain for good in 1913 when he journeyed to America with a group of performers to do his comedy act on the stage, where talent scouts recruited

22、 him to work for Mack Sennett, the king of Hollywood comedy films.Para3 Sad to say, many English people in the 1920s and 1930s thought Chaplin's Tramp a bit, well, "crude". Certainly middle-class audiences did; the working-class audiences were more likely to clap for a character who re

23、volted against authority, using his wicked little cane to trip it up, or aiming the heel of his boot for a well-placed kick at its broad rear. All the same, Chaplin's comic beggar didn't seem all that English or even working-class. English tramps didn't sport tiny moustaches, huge pants

24、or tail coats: European leaders and Italian waiters wore things like that. Then again, the Tramp's quick eye for a pretty girl had a coarse way about it that was considered, well, not quite nice by English audiencesthat's how foreigners behaved, wasn't it? But for over half of his screen

25、 career, Chaplin had no screen voice to confirm his British nationality.Para4 Indeed, it was a headache for Chaplin when he could no longer resist the talking movies and had to find "the right voice" for his Tramp. He postponed that day as long as possible: In Modern Times in 1936, the fir

26、st film in which he was heard as a singing waiter, he made up a nonsense language which sounded like no known nationality. He later said he imagined the Tramp to be a college-educated gentleman who'd come down in the world. But if he'd been able to speak with an educated accent in those earl

27、y short comedies, it's doubtful if he would have achieved world fame. And the English would have been sure to find it "odd". No one was certain whether Chaplin did it on purpose but this helped to bring about his huge success.Para5 He was an immensely talented man, determined to a degr

28、ee unusual even in the ranks of Hollywood stars. His huge fame gave him the freedomand, more importantly, the moneyto be his own master. He already had the urge to explore and extend a talent he discovered in himself as he went along. "It can't be me. Is that possible? How extraordinary,&qu

29、ot; is how he greeted the first sight of himself as the Tramp on the screen.Para6 But that shock roused his imagination. Chaplin didn't have his jokes written into a script in advance; he was the kind of comic who used his physical senses to invent his art as he went along. Lifeless objects espe

30、cially helped Chaplin make "contact" with himself as an artist. He turned them into other kinds of objects. Thus, a broken alarm clock in the movie The Pawnbroker became a "sick" patient undergoing surgery; boots were boiled in his film The Gold Rush and their soles eaten with sa

31、lt and pepper like prime cuts of fish (the nails being removed like fish bones). This physical transformation, plus the skill with which he executed it again and again, is surely the secret of Chaplin's great comedy.Para7 He also had a deep need to be lovedand a corresponding fear of being betra

32、yed. The two were hard to combine and sometimesas in his early marriagesthe collision between them resulted in disaster. Yet even this painfully-bought self-knowledge found its way into his comic creations. The Tramp never loses his faith in the flower girl who'll be waiting to walk into the sun

33、set with him; while the other side of Chaplin makes Monsieur Verdoux, the French wife killer, into a symbol of hatred for women.Para8 It's a relief to know that life eventually gave Charlie Chaplin the stability and happiness it had earlier denied him. In Oona O'Neill Chaplin, he found a par

34、tner whose stability and affection spanned the 37 years age difference between them, which had seemed so threatening, that when the official who was marrying them in 1942 turned to the beautiful girl of 17 who'd given notice of their wedding date, he said, "And where is the young man? "

35、;Chaplin, then 54, had cautiously waited outside. As Oona herself was the child of a large family with its own problems, she was well prepared for the battle that Chaplin's life became as many unfounded rumors surrounded them bothand, later on, she was the center of calm in the quarrels that Cha

36、plin sometimes sparked in his own large family of talented children.Para9 Chaplin died on Christmas Day 1977. A few months later, a couple of almost comic body thieves stole his body from the family burial chamber and held it for money. The police recovered it with more efficiency than Mack Sennett&

37、#39;s clumsy Keystone Cops would have done, but one can't help feeling Chaplin would have regarded this strange incident as a fitting memorialhis way of having the last laugh on a world to which he had given so many.Unit3Para1 A welfare client is supposed to cheat. Everybody expects it. Faced wi

38、th sharing a dinner of raw pet food with the cat, many people in wheelchairs I know bleed the system for a few extra dollars. They tell the government that they are getting two hundred dollars less than their real pension so they can get a little extra welfare money. Or, they tell the caseworker tha

39、t the landlord raised the rent by a hundred dollars.Para2 I have opted to live a life of complete honesty. So instead, I go out and drum up some business and draw cartoons. I even tell welfare how much I make! Oh, I'm tempted to get paid under the table. But even if I yielded to that temptation,

40、 big magazines are not going to get involved in some sticky situation. They keep my records, and that information goes right into the government's computer. Very high-profile.Para3 As a welfare client I'm expected to bow before the caseworker. Deep down, caseworkers know that they are being

41、made fools of by many of their clients, and they feel they are entitled to have clients bow to them as compensation. I'm not being bitter. Most caseworkers begin as college-educated liberals with high ideals. But after a few years in a system that practically requires people to lie, they become

42、like the one I shall call "Suzanne", a detective in shorts.Para4 Not long after Christmas last year, Suzanne came to inspect my apartment and saw some new posters pasted on the wall. "Where'd you get the money for those? " she wanted to know.Para5 "Friends and family.&qu

43、ot;Para6 "Well, you'd better have a receipt for it, by God. You have to report any donations or gifts."Para7 This was my cue to beg. Instead, I talked back. "I got a cigarette from somebody on the street the other day. Do I have to report that? "Para8 "Well, I'm sorr

44、y, but I don't make the rules, Mr. Callahan."Para9 Suzanne tries to lecture me about repairs to my wheelchair, which is always breaking down because welfare won't spend money maintaining it properly."You know, Mr. Callahan, I've heard that you put a lot more miles on that wheel

45、chair than average."Para10 Of course I do. I'm an active worker, not a vegetable. I live near downtown, so I can get around in a wheelchair. I wonder what she'd think if she suddenly broke her hip and had to crawl to work.Para11 Government cuts in welfare have resulted in hunger and suf

46、fering for a lot of people, not just me. But people with spinal cord injuries felt the cuts in a unique way: The government stopped taking care of our chairs. Each time mine broke down, lost a screw, needed a new roller bearing, the brake wouldn't work, etc., and I called Suzanne, I had to endur

47、e a little lecture.Finally, she'd say, "Well, if I can find time today, I'll call the medical worker."Para12 She was supposed to notify the medical worker, who would certify that there was a problem. Then the medical worker called the wheelchair repair companies to get the cheapest

48、 bid. Then the medical worker alerted the main welfare office at the state capital. They considered the matter for days while I lay in bed, unable to move. Finally, if I was lucky, they called back and approved the repair.Para13 When welfare learned I was making money on my cartoons, Suzanne started

49、 "visiting" every fortnight instead of every two months. She looked into every corner in search of unreported appliances, or maids, or a roast pig in the oven, or a new helicopter parked out back. She never found anything, but there was always a thick pile of forms to fill out at the end o

50、f each visit, accounting for every penny.Para14 There is no provision in the law for a gradual shift away from welfare. I am an independent businessman, slowly building up my market. It's impossible to jump off welfare and suddenly be making two thousand dollars a month. But I would love to be a

51、ble to pay for some of my living and not have to go through an embarrassing situation every time I need a spare part for my wheelchair.Para15 There needs to be a lawyer who can act as a champion for the rights of welfare clients, because the system so easily lends itself to abuse by the welfare give

52、rs as well as by the clients. Welfare sent Suzanne to look around in my apartment the other day because the chemist said I was using a larger than usual amount of medical supplies. I was, indeed: The hole that has been surgically cut to drain urine had changed size and the connection to my urine bag

53、 was leaking.Para16 While she was taking notes, my phone rang and Suzanne answered it. The caller was a state senator, which scared Suzanne a little. Would I sit on the governor's committee and try to do something about the thousands of welfare clients who, like me, could earn part or all of the

54、ir own livings if they were allowed to do so, one step at a time?Para17 Hell, yes, I would! Someday people like me will thrive under a new system that will encourage them, not seek to convict them of cheating. They will be free to develop their talents without guilt or fearor just hold a good, stead

55、y job.Unit4Para1 A transformation is occurring that should greatly boost living standards in the developing world. Places that until recently were deaf and dumb are rapidly acquiring up-to-date telecommunications that will let them promote both internal and foreign investment. It may take a decade f

56、or many countries in Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe to improve transportation, power supplies, and other utilities. But a single optical fiber with a diameter of less than half a millimete can carry more information than a large cable made of coppe wires. By installing optical fiber, digita

57、l switches, and the latest wireless transmission systems, a parade of urban centers and industrial zones from Beijing to Budapest are stepping directly into the Information Age. A spider's web of digital and wireless communication links is already reaching most of Asia and parts of Eastern Europ

58、e.Para2 All these developing regions see advanced communications as a way to leap over whole stages of economic development. Widespread access to information technologies, for example, promises to condense the time required to change from labor-intensive assembly work to industries that involve engi

59、neering, marketing, and design. Modern communications "will give countries like China and Vietnam a huge advantage over countries stuck with old technology".Para3 How fast these nations should push ahead is a matter of debate. Many experts think Vietnam is going too far by requiring that a

60、ll mobile phones be expensive digital models, when it is desperate for any phones, period. "These countries lack experience in weighing costs and choosing between technologies," says one expert.Para4 Still, there's little dispute that communications will be a key factor separating the winners from the losers. Consider Russia. Because of its strong educational system in mathematics and science, it should thrive in the Information Age.The problem is its national phone system is a rus