高中课文高中英语必修6

1、Unit 1 ArtReadingA SHORT HISTORY OF WESTERN PAINTINGThe style of Western art has changed many times,while Chines art has changed less of ten. Art is influenced by the way of life and beliefs of the people,and China,unlike Europe,has followed a similar way of life for a very long time.There are so ma

2、ny different styles of Western art that it would be impossible to describe all of them in a short text.Consequently,this text will describe only a few of the main styles,starting from the 5th century AD.The Middle Ages (5th to 15th century AD)During the Middle Ages,the main aim of painters was to re

3、present religious themes,Artists were not interested in showing nature and people as they really were.Instead,they were interested in creating respect and love for God,and paintings from this period are full of religious symbols.Things had begun to change by the 13th century when painters like Giott

4、o di Bondone began to paint religious scenes in a more realistic style.The Renaissance(15th 16th century)In the Renaissance,new ideas and values took the place of those that were held in the Middle Ages.people became focused more on humans and less on religion.Painters returned to classical Roman an

5、d Greek ideas about art.They tried to paint people and nature as they really were.Rich people wanted to collect art for their palaces and great houses.They paid famous artists to paint pictures of themselves,their houses and other possessions,as well as their activities and achievements.One of the m

6、ost important discoveries during this period was how to draw things in perspective.The first person to use perspective in his paintings was Masaccio in 1428.When people first saw his paintings they were convinced they were looking through a hole in the wall at a real scene.If the rules of perspectiv

7、e had not been discovered,people would not have been able to paint such realistic pictures.During the Renaissance oil paints were also developed,which made colours look richer and deeper.Impressionism(late 19th to early 20th century)In the late 19th century,Europe changed a great deal,from a mostly

8、agricultural society to a mostly industrial one.Many people moved from the country to the new cities.There were many new inventions and many social changes.Naturally,these changes also led to changes in painting styles.Among the painters who broke away from the traditional style of painting were the

9、 impressionists who lived and worked in paris.The impressionists were the first artists to paint outdoors. They wanted to show how light and shadow fell on objects at different times of the day.Because natural light changes so quickly,the impressionists had to paint quickly.Their paintings were not

10、as detailed as those of earlier painters.At first,most people hated this new style of painting and became very angry about it.They said the painters were careless and their paintings were ridiculous.Modern art(20th century to today)At the time they were created,the impressionists "paintings wer

11、e controversial but today they are accepted as the beginning of what we now calF'modenn art”.Nowadays,theie are scores of modern art styles,but without the impressionists many of these painting styles would not exist.The impressionists helped artists to look at their environment and art in new w

12、ays.some moderm art is abstract;that is,the painter does not attempt to paint objects as we see them with our eyes,but instead concentrates on certain qualities of the object,using colourjine and shape to represent them.On the other hand,some modern art is so realistic,it looks almost like a photogr

13、aph.lt is interesting to predict what styles of painting there will be in the future.Unit 1 ArtReadingTHE BEST OF MANHATTAN'S ART GALLERIESThe Frick Collection 5th and Madison AvenuesMany art lovers consider this to be the best small art gallery in New York.Henry Clay Frick,a rich New Yorker,die

14、d in 1919,leaving his house,furniture and art collection to the American people.At this gallery,you will not anly see an excellent collection of pre-twentieth century western paintings but you will also be able to explore Frick's beautiful house.The garden of this lovely mansion is also well wor

15、th a visit.Guggenheim Museum5th Avenue and 88th streetThis museum owns 5,000 modern paintings,sculptures and drawings.These art works are not all displayed at the same time.The exhibition is always changing.The largest part of the collection is the impressionist and post-impressionist section.The Gu

16、ggenheim Museum building is world famous.When you walk into the gallery you feel like you are inside a huge white sea shell.The best way to see the paintings is to start from the top floor and walk down to the bottom.There are no stairsjust a circular path.The museum also has an excellent restaurant

17、.Me tropolitan Museum of Art5th Avenue and 82nd StreetThis museum has the greatest collection of art in the United States.Its art collection covers more than 5,000 years of civilization from many parts of the world,including America,Europe,China,Egypt,Africa and South America.The museum displays mor

18、e than just art.lt introduces you to ancient ways of living.You can visit an Egyptian Temple,a Ming garden,a room in an 18th century French house and many other special exhibitions.Museum of Modern Art53rd street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)It is amazing that so many great works of art from the lat

19、e 19th century to the 21st century could be contained in the same museum.The collection of Western art includes paintings by such famous artists as Monet,Van Gogh,Picasso,and Matisse.Afew words of warning:admission price is not cheap and the museum is often very crowded.Whi they Museum of American A

20、rt945 Madison Avenue(near 75th st)The whithey holds an excellent collection of contemporary American painting and sculpture.There are no permanent displays in this museum and exhibitions change all the time.Every two years,the whitney holds a special exhibition of new art by living artists.The museu

21、m also shows videos and films by contemporary video artists.ReadingA FEW SIMPLE FORMS OF ENGLISH POEMSThere are various reasons why people write poetry.Some poems tell a story or describe something in a way that will give the reader a strong impression.Others try to convey certain emotions.Poets use

22、 many different forms of poems to express themselves.In this text,however,we will look at a few of the simpler forms.Some of the first poetry written in English was nursery rhymes.Children learned these when they were very young.Nursery rhymes like the one on the right(A)are still conunon type of ch

23、ildren poetiy.They delight small children because they have strong rhythm and rhyme and have a lot of repetition.This makes them easy to learn and to recite.By playing with the words in nursery rhymes,children learn about language.Hushjittle baby,don't say a word,papa,s going to buy you a mockin

24、gbird.If that mockingbird won't sing,papa's going to buy you a diamond ring.If that diamond ring turns to brass,papa's going to buy you a lookin-glass.If that looking-glass gets broke,papas going to buy you a billy-goat.If that billy-goat runs a way,papa going to buy you another today.On

25、e of the simplest kinds of poems that students can easily write themselves are poems like B and C that list things.List poems repeat phrases and some rhyme(like B)while others do not(like C).I saw a fish-pond all on fireI saw a fish-pond all on fire, I saw a house bow to a squire, I saw a person twe

26、lve-feet high, I saw a cottage in the sky, I saw a balloon made of lead, I saw a coffin drop down dead, I saw two sparrows run a race, I saw two horses making lace, I saw a girl just like a cat, I saw a kitten wear a hat, I saw a man who saw these too,And said though strange they all were true. Our

27、first football matchWe would have won.if Jack had scored that goal, if we'd had just a few more minutes, if we had trained harder, if Ben had passed the ball to Joe, if we'd had thousands of fans screaming, if I hadn't taken my eye off the ball, if we hadn't stayed up so late the nig

28、ht before, if we hadn't taken it easy, if we hadn't mn out of energy. We would have won.if weM been better!Another simple form of poem that students can easily write is the cinquain,a poem made up of five lines.With these,students can convey a strong picture in just a few words.Look at the e

29、xamples D and E on the top of the next page.Brother Beautiful,athletic Teasing,shouting,laughing Friend and enemy too Mine SummerSleepy,salty Drying,drooping,dreading Week in,week out Endless Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry that is made up of 17 syllables.lt is not a traditional form of English p

30、oetry but it is very popular with English speakers.lt is easy to write andjike the cinquain,gives a clear picture and creates a special feeling in just a few words.The two haiku poems(F and G)on the right are translations from the Japanese.A fallen blossom Is coming back to the branch.Look,a butterf

31、ly! Snow having melted,The whole village is brimful Of happy children.Where she awaits her husband On and on the river flows.Never looking back,Transformed into stone.Day by day upon the mountain top,wind and rain revolve.Should the journey er return,this stone would utter speech,Did you know that E

32、nglish speakers have also borrowed from another kind of Asian poetry-Tang poems from China?A lot of Tang poetry has been translated into English.The translations have a free form that English speakers like to copy.This Tang poem is a translation from the Chinese.Unit 2 poemsNow readerve saved the su

33、miner”I VE SAVED THE SUMMERrve saved the siumner And I give it all to you To hold on winter mornings When the snow is new.Eve saved some sunlight If you should ever need A place away from darkness where your mind can feed.And for myself fve kept your smile Wlien you were but nineteen,Till yoifre old

34、er yoif 11 not know what brave young smiles can mean.I know no answersTo help you on your wayThe answers lie somewhereAt the bottom of the day.But if you've a need for loveril give you all I ownIt might help you down the roadTill yoifve found your own.Unit 3 A healthy lifeReadingADVICE FROM GRAN

35、DADDear James,It's a beautiful day here and I am sitting under the big tree at the end of the garden.! have just returned from a long bike ride to the old castle.It's amazing that at my age I am still fit enough to cycle 20 kilometres in an afternoon.It's my birthday in two weeks time an

36、d I'll be 82 years old!I think my long and active life must be due to the healthy life I live.This brings me to the real reason for my letter,my dear grandson.Your mother tells me that you have started smoking and that you are finding it difficult to give up.Believe me,! know how easy it is to b

37、egin smoking and how hard it is to stop.You see,when I was a teenager I also smoked and I became addicted to cigarettes.By the way,did you know there are three different ways you can become addicted?You can become physically addicted to nicotine,which is one of the hundreds of chemicals in cigarette

38、s.This means that after a while your body becomes accustomed to having nicotine in it and when the drug leaves your body,you feel sick,bad-tempered,or even in pain.You can also become addicted through habit.As you know,if you do the same thing over and over again,you begin to do it automatically.Las

39、tlyjou can become mentally addicted.Some people believe they feel happier or more relaxed after they have a cigarette and so they begin to think that they only feel good when they smoke.I think I was addicted in all three ways,so it was very difficult to give up.But I did finally manage.Wlien I was

40、youngj didn't know much about the hannfiil effects of smoking.I didn't know it could do terrible damage to your heart and lungs or that it was more difficult for smoking couples to become pregnant.Aiid I certainly didn't know that my cigarette smoke could affect the health of non-smokers

41、.However,what I did know was that my girlfriend thought I smelt terrible.She said my breath and clothes smelt and that the ends of my fingers were turning yellow.She said she wouldn't go out with me again unless I stopped! also noticed that I couldn't run as fast any more and that I wasn'

42、;t enjoying sport as much,When I was taken off the school football team because I was too slowj knew it was time to quit smoking.I am sending you some advice I found on the lnternet.lt might help you to stop.I do hope so because I want you to live as long and healthy a life as I have.Love fromGranda

43、dUnit 3 A healthy lifeHow can I stop smoking?It isn't easy to stop smoking.but millions have managed to quit and so can you.Here are a few suggestions.Prepare yourself.Decide on a day to quit.Don't choose a day that you know is going to be stressful,such as the day of an exam.Make a list of

44、all the benefits you will get from stopping smoking.At the end of the day before you plan to quit,throw away your last packet of cigarettes.Bd determined.Every time you feel like smoking a cigarette,remind yourself that you are a non-smoker.Reread the list of benefits you wrote earlier.Break the hab

45、it.Instead of smoking a cigarette,do something else.Go for a wale,clean your teeth,drink some water,clean the house;in fact,do anything that will keep your mind,and especially your hands,busy.Relax.If you start to feel neivous or stressed,don't reach for a cigarette.Try some deep breathing inste

46、ad.Learn some relaxation exercises and do them every time you feel stressed.Get help if you need it.Arrange to stop smoking with a friend so you can talk about your problems,or join a stop-smoking group.If you feel really bad,you might like to talk to a doctor or chemist about something to help youj

47、ike nicotine chewing gum.Keep trying.lt has been found that some people have to try several times before they finally stop smoking.If you weaken and have a cigarette,don?t be ashamed.Just try again.You will succeed eventually.Unit 3 A healthy lifeReadingHIV/AIDS:ARE YOU AT RISK?HIV is a virus.A viru

48、s is a very small living thing that causes disease.There are many different viruses,for example the flu virus or the SARS vims.HIV weakens a person's inunune system;that is,the part of the body that fights disease.You can have HIV in your blood for a long time,but eventually it damages your immu

49、ne system so much that your body can no longer fight disease.This stage of the illness is called AIDS.So far,almost everyone who has developed AIDS has died.HIV is spread through blood or sexual fluids that carry the virus have to get inside the body through broken skin,or by injection.One day,scien

50、tists will find a cure for HIV/AIDS.Until that happens,you need to protect yourself.Here are some things you can do to make sure you stay safe.If you inject drugs:do not share your needle with anyone else.Blood from another person could stay on or in the needle.If a person has HIV and you use the sa

51、me needle,you could inject the virus into your own blood.do not share anything else that the person has used while injecting drugs.Blood could have spilt onto it.If you have sex with a male or a female:Use a condom.This will prevent sexual fluids passing from one person to another.The following stat

52、ements are NOT true.A person cannot get HIV the first time they have sex.WRONG.If one sexual parther has HIV,the other partner could become infected.You can tell by looking at someone whether or not they have HIV.WRONG.Many people carrying HIV look perfectly healthy.lt is only when the disease has p

53、rogressed to AIDS that a person begins to look sick.Only homosexuals get AIDS .WRONG. Anyone who has sex with a person infected with HIV/AIDS risks getting the virus.Women are slightly more likely to become infected than men.If you hug,touch or kiss someone with AIDS or visit them in their home you

54、will get HIV.AIDS.WRONG You can only get the disease from blood or sexual fluid.Unfortunately,People with HIV sometimes lose their friends because people are afraid they will get HIV/AIDS from them.For the same reason,some AIDS patients cannot find anyone to look after them when they are sick.You ca

55、n get HIV/AIDS from mosquitoes.WRONG There is no evidence of this.Unit 4 Global warmingReadingTHE EARTH IS BECOMING WARMER-BUTDOES IT MATTER?During the 20th century the temperature of the earth rose about one degree Fahrenheit .That probably doesn't sound veiy much to you or me but it is a rapid

56、 increase compared to most natural changes.So how has this come about and does it matter?Eaith care's Sophie Aimstrong explores these questions.There is no doubt that the earth is becoming warmer(see Graph I)but there is fierce is fierce debate over whether it is human activity that has caused t

57、his global warming or whether it is just a natural phenomernon.Many scientists believe that people have caused the increase in the earth's temperature through the burning of fossil fuels like coal,natural gas and oil to produce energy.Some byproducts of this process are called4greeiiliousegases,

58、tlie most important one being carbon dioxide.Dr Janice Foster explains.“You see,there is a natural phenomenon that scientists call the greenhouse effect ".This is when small amounts of gases in the atmospherejike carbon dioxide,methane and wate vapour,trap heat from the sun and therefore warm t

59、he earth.Without the'greeiiliouse effect",the earth would be about thirty-three degrees Celsius cooler than it is.So,we need those gases.The problem begins when we add huge quantities of extra carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by ”An increase of five degrees would be a catastrophe,! would say.We can't predict the climate well enough to know what to expect.But it could be veiy serious.How serious?Some people think future global warming would cause the sea level to rise by several metres;others predict severe sto