适合高中生背诵的经典英语短文

PAGEPAGE1TheForceofHabitsHabits,whethergoodorbad,aregraduallyformed.Themorewedoathing,themorewetendtolikedoingit;andifwedonotcontinuetodoit,wefeeluncomfortable.Thisiscalledtheforceofhabits,andtheforceofhabitsshouldbefoughtagainst.Thisapplieseventosuchgoodthingsasworkorrest.Somepeopleformabadhabitofworkingtoomuch,andothersofidlingtoomuch.Badhabits,onceformed,aredifficulttogetridof.Thewisemanalwaysrememberstocheckanybadhabit.Hewarnshimself“Iamnowbecomingidle”or“Iliketoomanysweets”or“Ismoketoomuch”.Andthenadds,“Iwillgetmyselfoutofthisbadhabitatonce.”TheWaytoAchieveSuccessManypeoplesaythattheyowemuchofittothecultivationofcertaingoodhabitsinearlylife.Informinggoodhabits,Ithinkweshouldpayattentiontofourthings,thatishonesty,industry,enthusiasmandthrift.“Honestyisthebestpolicy.”Thisisaproverbtowhichwemustpayattention.Therearesomanytemptationsinsocietythatthroughalittlecarelessnesswemaygoastray.Butwhenwearehonest,peoplewillnotbedishonesttous.Industrygiveseverymanandwoman,everyboyandgirl,properworktodo.Todonothingisgoingtoruinoneself.Enthusiasmisagreatforce.One’ssoulwillexpandifonedevotesoneselftoanoblecause.Thedifficultiesinourwayaretremendous,butwhatcanwenotaccomplish,ifwithenthusiasm?Therearemanyproverbs,whichsetforththeadvantagesofthrift.Sinceweliveintheworldinwhichmoneyisaverypowerfulthing,weshouldalwaystrytosaveaportionofourearningsforfutureuse.Thesearethefourthingstowhichwemustpayattention.Itisonlybythiswaythatwecanachievesuccess.TVABlessingoraCurse?AsTVentersmoreandmorefamilies,peoplebegintowonderaboutitsadvantagesanddisadvantages.Somebelieveitisablessing,othersholdthatitisacursetosociety.TV,asamassmedia,canbringtopeoplenewinformationoneconomies,culture,arts,andmanyotherfields.Peoplecanenjoytheirfavoriteprogramsathome.Insomecountries,someTVstationsprovidesuchprogramsaslookingfordangerouscriminalsandlostchildren,helpingtofindanideallover,andotherswhicharequitebeneficialtosociety,someTVstationsprovidevarioususefulseminarsforpeopleofvariousagesandsocialstatus.Butontheotherhand,TVmayexertbadinfluenceonpeople.Someprogramsarefullofviolence.Asaresult,people,especiallyjuveniles,areledtocommitcrimes.AnincreasingnumberofpeoplearesoindulgedinTVprogramsthatsomeevenneglecttheirduties.Inmyopinion,theattitudetowardsTValldependsononeself.Peopleshouldchoosethoseprograms,whichareuseful,andcanbringtothemthesenseofbeauty.OnTestandTestTakingThepurposeofatestistocheckhowmuchwestudentshavelearnedaboutasubject.Itnotonlyhelpsmakeournewlyacquiredknowledgepermanent,butalsoenablesustofindoutwhatneedstospendmoretimeimproving.Butsomestudentsdonotdealwithtestcorrectly.Someofthemareafraidoffailinginatest.Theycheatevenattheriskofbeingcaughtonexams.Thoughcheatingmightgiveone“bettergrades”,itaddsnothingtoone’sknowledge.Thisdishonestbehaviorwilldoonemoreharmthangood.Ithinkthatwegotocollegeinordertohaveourfurtherstudies,andprepareustobequalifiedforthefuturejob.Therefore,weshouldtakeacorrectattitudetowardstest.Aslongaswestudydiligentlyandreviewourlessonsregularly,wearesuretobeusedtoserveitsrealpurpose.TheDictionaryThedictionaryisalivingteacher.Wheneveryoucomeacrossanewword,justconsultitandyouwillgetacleardefinition.Everystudent,whetherattendingschoolorself-taught,shouldalwayshaveadictionaryathand.Asastudyaid,itisconvenient,inexpensiveandalmostomniscient(all-knowing).Languageskillswilldevelopwithyourconstantuseofvariousdictionaries.Themoreyouusethem,themorefamiliaryouwillbecomewiththem.Soonerorlater,youwillbequiteskilledinfindingthepage,scanningtheentriesandlocatingtheexactmeaningsofthenewwords.Butyoushouldhaveonethinginmind.Asalanguagestudent,youcanneverbecometoomuchattachedtodictionaries;basiclanguageskillsdonotcomefromdictionaries,butfromyourpractice.Exposeyourselftothelanguagebylistening,speaking,readingandwritingmore,andthatistheonlywaytothemasteryofalanguage.OnLearningLearningisone’sownbusiness,whichcannotrelyonothers.Asweknow,learningisaprocessofaccumulatingknowledge.Itisone’slife-longtask,whichcannotbeaccomplishedinonemove.Asuccessfullearnerisanindependentonewhohasbothanindomitable(unyielding)willandamazingendurance.Hewilltrytodiscoverhisownwayoflearning.Insteadofwaitingfortheteacher’shelp,hewillmakeeffortstocreatefavorableconditionsonhisowninitiative.Itwillcertainlybeofgreathelp,ifthereisgoodenvironment,sufficientbooksandequipment,aswellasinstructionsfromteacherandbeneficialfriends.Butevenifonehasgotallthesefavorableconditions,onecannotbesuretosucceedinlearning.Sothemostimportantfactorinlearningconsistsinone’sowneffort.Tolearnisratherapainstakingandperseveringbusiness.Manyamanisafailurebecausehecannotbearsuchindispensablehardships.Unremitting(neverstopping)effortscancompensateforthelackoftalentsandthusenableonetogetconsiderableprogressinlearning.IsFailureaBadThing?Failureisacommonoccurrence(happening)inourdailylife.Whateverwedo,therearealwaystwopossibleresults:successorfailure.Althougheveryonewantstosucceedinwhathetries,sometimesfailurecan’tbeavoided.Differentpeopleholddifferentattitudestowardsfailure.Whenfacedwithit,somecanstanduptoit,drawausefullessonfromitandtrytheirbesttofulfillwhattheyaredeterminedtodo.Others,however,loseheartandgivein.Theydonothingbutcomplainaboutthemselvesandobjectiveconditions.Asapopularsayinggoes,“Failureteachessuccess.”Inmyopinion,whatreallycountsisnotthefailureitself,buttheproperattitudeweshouldtakeafterit.Itrustthataslongaswekeeptowhatisrightandcorrectwhatiswrong,thatistosay,learnalessonfromfailure,wewillbecertaintosucceed.SoIamoftheopinionthatfailureisnotabadthing.RecreationItisimpossibletokeepingoodhealthunlesswetakesufficient(enough)recreation.Themind,too,requireschangetomakeitacute(sharp)andvigorous.Thereismuchtruthintheoldsaying,“AllworkandnoplaymakesJackadullboy.”Therearemanygamesforpeopletoindulge(enjoy)aftertheirworkofstudy.Amongthemarefootball,tennis,andkite-flying.Otherformsofrecreationareboating,fishing,gardening,cycling,walking,chess-playing,andreading.Thosewhospendmostoftheirtimeintheopenairandhaveconstantmuscularemployment,shouldadoptreadingorsomeotherquietformsofrecreation.Personswhositmuchattheirbusinessshouldtakeakindofrecreationthatwillsupplytheirmuscleswithexercise.Recreationprovidespeoplewiththekindofrestandrelaxation.Itmakespeoplefeelhappy,energeticandconfident,meanwhileitpreparespeopletodomuchbetterthaneverintheirdailywork.OnToday’sEducationIthinkoneofthemainproblemswithtoday’seducationisthattoomuchemphasisisplacedontestscore.Ithasbecomethemostimportantcriterion(standard)forcollegeenrollment.Astudent,howevercreativeandintelligent,willnotbeadmittedintoacollegeforhistotalscoresarejustonepointlessthanrequired.Itisalsoonofthecrucial(decisive)factorseitherinjobassignmentorinemploymentcompetitions.Thecompetitionforhighscoresamongstudentsbecomesintense.Studentsfindthemselvesconcentratingmoreonstrategiestoachievehighscoresthanonacquiringtheknowledge.Theywillplaytruant(stayawayfrom)ofsomesubsidiary(lessimportant)coursesandskipoverthesubstance,whichwillnotbetestedon.Teachersareapttogivetheirstudentshighscores.Astheirjobisjudgedmainlybythestudents’performanceintermsofscores,someteacherstendtoseteasypaperstotesttheirstudentsonornarrowdownthescopeoftheexam,evengivethemthehintstoexams,orfavortheirstudentswithhigherscores.Asaresult,thecompetitionforhighscoresbecomessointensethatitactuallyaffectsoureducationresults.WeekendWeekendsareimportant.Theyprovidepeoplewiththekindofrestandrelaxationthatareessentialtoahappyandhealthylife.I’moneofthosewhoknowhowtoenjoytheirleisureontheweekend.AgoodsleepatSaturdaynightusuallyhelpsmetorecoverfromthehardlaboroftheweek.AdelightSundaytriptothesuburbsmakesmefreshandfreefromanytension.IfIstayathome,IusuallydosomelightreadingorpracticeChinesecalligraphyatraditionalwritingskillwhichhasanextraordinarycalmingeffect.SometimesmotherinvitesmetohelphercookandIamalwayshappytoacceptherinvitation.Agoodrestontheweekendalwaysmakesmefeelhappy,energetic,confidentandreadytoallthehardworkaheadofme.Youcannotworkhappilyandefficientlyuntilyoulearnhowtorestandrelaxontheweekend.MyViewonJob-HoppingSomepeopletendtosticktotheirpositionsallthetime,astheythinkthelongeroneworksinaparticularfield,themoreskillfulonewillbeatit.Somehavebeenteachersalltheirlives.Somedevotetheirlifeenergytoscientificresearch.Suchpeoplelovetheirworkandturnouttobespecialistsintheirownfield.Theyareusuallyhighachievers.Somearedifferent.Theyareinthehabitofjob-hopping,fortheyalwayspursue(follow)whatisnewandstimulating(interesting).Theyneverseemcontentwiththeirpresentsituation.Someliketomeetmorepeople,makemoremoneyandnewacquaintances,sotheyhopfromjobtojob.AsfarasIamconcerned,Iwanttobeprofessionallystrong.Iamnotinfavorofconstantjob-hopping,asthesayinggoes“Jackofalltrades,masterofnone”.ButIwanttocooperateandcommunicatewithsomeoneelsesoastobemorecreativeandlesspartial.AttendingCollegeatOne’sOwnExpenseNowadays,collegesanduniversitiestendtoacceptmoreandmorecandidateswithascoreclosetotherequiredbychargingaportionoftheirtuition.Moreover,thepercentageofthestudentsattendingcollegethiswaywillbeincreasingyearbyyear.Owingtothispractice,collegecandidateshavemuchfreedominchoosingthemajortheymostlyinterestedin.Inaddition,thosewhodidnotperformwellontheCollegeEntranceExamareabletoattendcollegetohavefurtherstudies.Itisreportedthatmostofthesestudentsworkharderthantheirclassmates.Certainlythispracticehassomedisadvantages.Forexample,thosecandidateswhocannotaffordthetuitionmighthavefeweropportunitiestoreceivehighereducation.Inmyopinion,theadvantagesofthispracticeweighmorethanitsdisadvantages.SoIaminfavorofitandIbelievepeoplewillbemorewillingtoacceptitastimegoesby.School-agedChildrenDropOutIt’sreportedthatinChinaaboutonemillionschool-agedchildrendropoutofschooleachyearand80%ofthedrop-outsarefromthefamilieswhicharetoopoortokeeptheirchildrenatschool.Totackletheproblem,thegovernmenthaslaunchedtheHopeProject.Ithashelpedthousandsofchildrengobacktoschool.Butinmyopinion,thisisfarfromenough.Inordertochangethissituationcompletely,thegovernmentshouldsetasideanadequateamountofmoneyforeducation,especiallyforelementaryeducation.Andalso,thegovernmentshouldestablishlawstoensurethatnochildrenshoulddropoutofschoolaselementaryschooleducationiscompulsoryinChina,andlocalgovernmentsshouldaidthepoorfamiliessothattheycansendtheirchildrentoschool.Tosumup,solongasourcentralandlocalgovernmentsandthewholesocietypayenoughattentiontothisproblemandtakeeffectiveaction,thissituationwillbechanged.KnowledgeandPowerKnowledgeandpowerarethetwothingsmostdesiredbyman.Thereiscloseconnectionbetweenthesetwothings.Theman,havingdonehisbestinacquiringknowledge,willeasilygetahighpositionandperformitsuccessfully.Powerdependsonknowledge.Knowledgetopowerisjustlikeacompasstoaship,bywhichhersailingismadesafelyacrossanunknownocean.Agreatstatesmanoralearnedscholarcanrender(give)hisgoodservicestohiscountryjustbecausehehasperfectandprofoundknowledge.Poweronlyfollowsknowledge.Amancannotdoanythingwellunlesshehassomeinformationashowtodoitwell.Amanwillsometimeslosehiswayinastrangeland;anapprenticecannotproduceanydelicatework.Whyaretheseso?Becausetheyareinwantofknowledge.Iftheapprenticewishestoproducegoodwork,hemustpayattentiontohisinstructor’sadvice.Weareallthefuturemastersofourcountry.Ourcountryneedsourservices.Howcanwefulfillourfuturetasks?Togetmoreknowledgeistheonlyanswer.BreakfastWegettheenergyforourmovementsfromfood.Humanbeingsarejustlikemachines.Forustoworkproperly,wemustbewellenergized.Theenergy,ofcourse,comesfromthethreemealsaday,thatis,breakfast,lunchanddinner.Breakfastismoreimportantthananyothermealinaday.Foronething,afteranight’ssleep,mostoftheenergystoredinthehumanbodyhasbeenconsumed.Breakfastservesthepurposeofreplenishing(fillupagain)energy,thusmakingusenergeticagain.Foranother,inthecourseofaday,morningistheperiodoftimeinwhichweworkwithmostefficiency.Withoutbreakfast,theefficiencywouldbelost.Finally,theconstantlackofbreakfastcancontributetostomachtroubles.Therefore,tokeepfit,wemusthavebreakfasteveryday.Itcanbeacupofmildwithsomebread,orabowlofporridgewithsomesteamedbread,oranythingelseofthesimilarkind.Anyway,wemusteatourfill(eatasmuchaswecan),becauseagoodbreakfastcannotonlyensureourgoodhealthbutalsomakeagoodbeginningforanewday.AbilityandGookLooksOldpeopleusuallytelltheyoung,“Don’tjudgeapersonbyhisappearance.”Meaningabilityismoreimportantthanappearance.Indeed,we’veseensomanybrilliantbutnotatallgood-lookingpeople.InthefilmMozart,anoperasingerreiterates(repeat)thisviewbysaying,“Forawomanoftaste,itisnotthelooks,butthetalentthatinterestsme.”Forher,thepreferenceshowsone’staste.However,nowadays,withmoreandmoreinterviewersputtingmuchemphasisonthelooks,theappearanceofthejob-applicants,alotofpeoplecometotheconclusionthatappearanceismoreimportantthanabilitybecausemanybeautifulgirlsacquireverygoodpositionsalthoughtheydon’thavemuchtalent.Inmyopinion,abilityisdefinitelymuchmoreimportantthangoodlooks,becauseitdemonstratesone’sownself-cultivation.Itbespeaks(show)theeffortsandthegloryofacquiringsomethingthroughone’shardworkwhereasagoodlookbespeaksnostruggleoftheindividual.Goodlooksarepleasant,butIliketheabilitybecauseitreallyshowssomethingofmyownself.LifeIsStruggleEverythingintheworldisinconstantstruggle.Struggleisinasenseofthecompetitioninnaturalselectionamongorganisms.Animalsandplantsstrugglefortheirexistence.Natureprovidesthemwithweaponsforthatstruggle.Lionshaveclaws;fishhavescales;roseshavethorns.Theyusetheseweaponsfortheunavoidablewarofexistence.Naturealsoordersustostruggle;whenweobeythenature,wewinourexistence.Theresultofstruggleistheevolutionofabettersociety.Inordertosurpasstheothers,onehastodevotehimselftowhathedoes.Ifeveryindividualdoesso,thesocietywillmakeprogress.Struggleisinevitable.Butweshouldstrugglewithsportsmanship,nottostandinthewayofothersinordertoachieveourownsuccess.Itisonlybystrugglinginsuchaway,mankindwillseeaworldgettingmoregloriousdaybyday.CanComputerReplaceHumanBrainComputersareworkingfasterthanhumanbrain.Butisitpossiblethatsomedaythecomputerwillreplacehumanbrainandcontrolthehumanbeing?Itisquiteimpossible.Computersaredesignedanddevelopedbyhumanbrain.Theyareusedtospeedupthecalculation.Computersareworkingaccordingtotheordersdesignedbyhumanbeing.Therunningofcomputerisagroupofintegratedcircuitrunbyasetofprogrammes.Withoutprogrammes,thecomputerswillnotknowwhattodo.Itistruepeoplearerelyingmoreandmoreoncomputers.Ifpeopledon’tknowhowtocontrolcomputers,theymaybereplacedbycomputersandlosetheirjobs.SuccessSuccessisalousy(verybad)teacher.Itseduces(tempt)smartpeopleintothinkingtheycan’tlose.Andit’sanunreliableguidetothefuture.Whatseemstheperfectbusinessplanorlatesttechnologytodaymaysoonbeout-of-date.Usuallywinninglottery(彩票)isthoughttobeone’sluck.Manypeopleliketotrytheirluck.Oneofthelottery’snewmillionairesgaveaninterviewontelevision.Whenhewasaskedbythereporterhowhehadpickedhiswinningnumbers,hesaidthatwhile“twoofthesixnumbershejustpulledfornoparticularreason.”Asfortheotherfournumbers,heusedfamilybirthdates.“So,yousee,”heboasted（自夸）,“Winningthelotteryisnotalljustluck.”TheCarandPollutionMostAmericanswouldfindithardtothinkwhatlifewouldlooklikewithoutacar.However,somehaverealizedtheseriousproblemoftheairpollutioncausedbythecar.Thepollutedairbecomespoisonousanddangeroustohealth.Onewaytogetridofthepollutedairistobuildacarthatdoesnotpollute.That’swhatseveralofth