第三届外语文化节之诵读大赛指定背诵文章录入:admin 阅读次数:569 时间：2009-7-2 15:02:28 返回打印关闭此页1. A foreigner's first impression of the US is likely to be that everyone is in a rush—often under pressure. City people always appear to be hurrying to get where they are going, restlessly seeking attention in a store, or elbowing others as they try to complete their shopping. Racing through daytime meals is part of the pace of life in this country. Working time is considered precious. Others in public eating-places are waiting for you to finish so they, too, can be served and get back to work within the time allowed. You also find drivers will be abrupt and people will push past you. You will miss smiles, brief conversations, and small exchanges with strangers. Don't take it personally. This is because people value time highly, and they resent someone else "wasting" it beyond a certain appropriate point.2. "To start with I must admit that at first I harbored reservations about a mixed marriage, prejudices you might even call them. But when I met Mark I found him a charming and intelligent young guy. Any mother would be proud to have him for a son-in-law. So, color has nothing to do with it. Yes, my friends talk. Some even express shock at what you are doing. But they live in a different world. So you see, Mark's color is not the problem. My biggest worry is that you may be marrying Mark for the same wrong reasons that I married your father. When we met I saw him as my beloved, intelligent, charming, and caring. It was all so new, all so exciting, and we both thought, on the surface at least, that ours was an ideal marriage with every indication that it would last forever. I realized only later that I didn't know my beloved, your father, very well when we married."3. For thirteen months, she had faithfully written to him. When his letters did not arrive, she wrote anyway, without decrease. During the difficult days of war, her letters nourished him and gave him courage. As long as he received letters from her, he felt as though he couldsurvive. After a short time, he believed he loved her, and she loved him. It was as if fate had brought them together. But when he asked her for a photo, she declined his request. She explained her objection: "If your feelings for me have any reality, any honest basis, what I look like won't matter. Suppose I'm beautiful. I'd always be bothered by the feeling that you loved me for my beauty, and that kind of love would disgust me. Suppose I'm plain. Then I'd always fear you were writing to me only because you were lonely and had no one else. Either way, I would forbid myself from loving you. When you come to New York and you see me, then you can make your decision. Remember, both of us are free to stop or to go on after that—if that's what we choose ..."4. When I travel to Third World countries I see many people like my father and daughter. There are large advertisement signs directed at them both: the tough, confident or fashionable older man, the beautiful, "worldly" young woman, both dragging away. In these poor countries, as in American inner cities and on reservations, money that should be spent for food goes instead to the tobacco companies; over time, people starve themselves of both food and air, effectively weakening and hooking their children, eventually killing themselves.I read in the newspaper and in my gardening magazine that the ends of cigarettes are so poisonous that if a baby swallows one, it is likely to die, and that the boiled water from a bunch of them makes an effective insecticide.5 Learning a foreign language has been a most trying experience for me, but one that I wouldn't trade for anything. Not only did learning another language teach me the value of hard work, but it also gave me insights into another culture, and my mind was opened to new ways of seeing things. The most wonderful result of having learned a foreign language was that I could communicate with many more people than before. Talking with people is one of my favorite activities, so being able to speak a new language lets me meet new people, participate in conversations, and form new, unforgettable friendships. Now that Ispeak a foreign language, instead of staring into space when English is being spoken, I can participate and make friends. I am able to reach out to others and bridge the gap between my language and culture and theirs.6 I now know he participated in some things through me, his only son. When I played ball (poorly), he "played" too. When I joined the Navy, he "joined" too. And when I came home on leave, he saw to it that I visited his office. Introducing me, he was really saying, "This is my son, but it is also me, and I could have done this, too, if things had been different." Those words were never said aloud. He has been gone many years now, but I think of him often. I wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen with him during our walks. If he did, I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was, how unworthy I was, how I regretted it. I think of him when I complain about trifles, when I am envious of another's good fortune, when I don't have a "good heart." At such times I put my hand on his arm to regain my balance, and say, "You set the pace. I will try to adjust to you."7 You are the message. For 25 years I've worked with thousands who want to be successful. I've helped them make persuasive presentations, answer unfriendly questions, communicate more effectively. The secret has always been you are the message. Others will want to be with you and help you if you use your good qualities. They include: physical appearance, energy, rate of speech, pitch and tone of voice, gestures, expression through the eyes, and the ability to hold the interest of others. Others form an impression about you based on these. Think of times when you know you made a good impression. What made you successful? You were committed to what you were talking about and so absorbed in the moment, you lost all self-consciousness.8 When you own a house you learn to live with its problems. If something doesn’t work quite right, the carpet is worn, the toilet or bathroom basin leaks, or you have a bad neighbor, you get used to them and, like your own shortcomings, you find ways to ignore them. Our house provides me with a simple pleasure every time I come home to it. I am welcomed by familiar furniture when I enter, and I’m warmed by everything in our house which may merely be dust, but it is our dust and I like it. The talk of moving came up at dinner one night ten years ago. My son was only half listening, but at one point he looked up from his plate, and asked, “We’re settled here. Why would we want to move away from home?” When anyone asks me how much I think our house is worth, I just smile. The house is not for sale.9 The Soviets knew that Americans liked to eat fast food in restaurants, but they were disappointed to see that Americans ate fast meals at home, too. In the Soviet Union, the evening meal often lasts an entire hour or more because families sit at the table and talk. When American families eat together -- if they eat together -- they often eat quickly and don't take time for a long dialog. The Soviets thought that was a shame. In spite of the political differences between their countries, as well as the differences in language and culture, the Soviets and Americans became friends. Sometimes the Soviets couldn't speak a word of English and the Americans couldn't speak a word of Russian. Yet they managed to communicated through sign language and a dictionary.10 And after seeing my mother's disappointed face once again, something in the depths of my soul began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes followed by failure. Before going to bed that night, I looked in the mirror above the bathroom sink and when I saw only my own face staring back -- and that it would always be this ordinary face -- I began to cry. Such a sad, ugly girl! I made cries like a crazy animal, trying to tear out the wet face in the mirror. And then I saw what seemed to be the genius side of me -- because I had never seen that face before.I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The girl staring back at me was angry, strong. This girl and I were the same. I was flooded withfresh thoughts, thoughts filled with lots of won'ts. I won't let her change me, and I promised myself I won't be tricked into being what I'm not.。
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